Tinderbox Orchestra brought the Hidden Door Festival to a close with a phenomenal performance.

th June. The grass-roots collective consisting of a wide range of ambitious, creative young musicians, artists, youth workers, community activists and volunteers, launched their debut self-titled album with the performance on 4June.

This years festival took place in an exceptionally atmospheric building; the old Leith theatre had not been used for 28 years prior to this but the team managed to carry out a DIY-style renovation, providing an impressive, large and enticing space.

First song, Aftermath, the first piece written by one of the orchestras own members, cellist Graham Coe, skilfully combined Arabic melody with Western harmony, joined by a rather large sprinkling of heavy rock that came across in perfect measure on the night.

This song was conducted by Farrah Fawcett, a violinist in the orchestra who is only 14 years old.

The next piece Live Free or Die, allowed the strings to really show through with an anthem that subtly reflected Beirut influences.

Collaborations are a large part of the band's concept. For this song, Toby Mottershead, a member of The Black Diamond Express, and the composer, were welcomed on stage to sing and play their parts. The tune had such an enthusiasm that even the instrumentalists were dancing every time they had a break.

Sonia Killmann, an alto sax player, conducted this piece with an alternative flamboyance that really embodied what Tinderbox is all about: a modern orchestra without the stuffy rules of classical music.

Captain Beefhearts Memorial Picnic was introduced with a description of Starvinsky jazz-funk that raised the audiences expectations exponentially. The piece, written by Richard Worth, seriously lived up to its intriguing hype. The piece even had a bass drop that had all the members of the orchestra dancing in synchronized knee bouncing.

The set list was interrupted for a few minutes to explain further about the apprenticeship schemes that Tinderbox have available. They played a video which inspired numerous whoops and cheers from the crowd every time they recognised someone they knew. This gig was obviously a personal event, and seemed to achieve a level of success to be proud of.

The next few pieces were aided by the addition of the Dumfries Community Choir, which provided the performance with a fuller sound. Unfortunately, these pieces - especially in their string parts - felt somewhat lost to the volume of the electrics and the acoustics of the building, that due to its lack of recent use may have been misunderstood.

They saved the first track on their new album Bethany Lane for second to last. This piece often described as the 'Tinderbox Anthem' managed to incorporate almost all facets of their work with rappers, a soaring string section and an all-age choir which varies gig to gig but was a great success on this particular night.
Hundreds of voters were beset by registration and postal vote problems whilst trying to vote in the general election, it was claimed last night.

Students at Keele University and postal voters in Newcastle-Under-Lyme are among those who were affected by a range of issues, including being turned away from polling stations despite having polling cards with them at the time.

Theresa May speaking to students in Maidenhead (Leon Neal/PA)

In some cases, a number of others who said they registered to vote by the deadline were turned away for not having provided extra information required to confirm their registration.

Paul Farrelly, the Labour candidate for the marginal seat of Newcastle-Under-Lyme since 2001, was working tirelessly to help resolve the issues, according to his campaign team.

More from Keele CLP re hundreds of students being turned away from polling stations. pic.twitter.com/h72F2wDvGg  Mark Berry (@boulezian) June 8, 2017

Keele University Biomedical sciences undergraduate, Andrew Niblett, 18, said in his group of five friends who applied to vote in the Newcastle-Under-Lyme area, just one had been correctly registered.

He said: I phoned up the electoral office who said it was because I didnt provide ID when I was prompted, but the thing is I was never prompted to provide ID and also one of my friends, who was prompted, provided ID and it got verified and they still got turned away.

Niblett said despite complaining to the staff at the polling station that he had not received prompts, he was told: Next time just check your mail and make sure you go through the process again.

A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission said they had been in contact with electoral officers in Newcastle-Under-Lyme about what students should do to cast their vote by the 10pm deadline.

The chairman of Keele Student Union Council, Tom Snape, 21, said up to 100 students have been in touch about problems by the time the polls closed.

A spokesman for Newcastle-Under-Lyme Borough Council said those affected by out-of-date printed electoral lists at polling stations had been able to vote after polling station staff phoned council offices to verify they were on the register.

Election staff count ballot papers in Swansea (Ben Birchall/PA)

However, those affected by other issues had little option at such a late stage in the process.

Where people havent completed the online process, its unfortunate, but if they havent completed the process they cant be registered to vote.

He added: Weve had quite a few people claiming that theyve not had postal votes but when weve looked into it that just hasnt been the case either.

Election staff in Jeremy Corbyns seat, Islington North (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

There were also problems in other parts of the country, including Guildford, where hundreds of replacement postal votes were issued after complaints residents had not received them.

A spokeswoman for Guildford Council said 276 replacement postal votes had been sent out in the last week.
Polls suggest 72% of 18-25 year olds came out to vote last night, with Sky data reporting that 63% voted for Labour, in what was the highest voter turnout since 2001.

Vote by age group (Sky Data on the day poll)



18-34

Lab 63%

Con 27%



35-54

Lab 43%

Con 43%



55+

Lab 23%

Con 59%  Sky Data (@SkyData) June 8, 2017

The National Union of Students, which makes up 95% of all higer and further education unions in the UK, are now demanding that the new government increase investment in education and defend, welcome and support international students.

NUS President Malia Bouattia at the NUS Conference in 2016

The NUS says: "This general election provided a momentous opportunity for students and young people to cast their vote and make their voices were heard. Youth turnout is reported to be high with students playing a crucial role in deciding the fate of key marginal seats.

"NUS, along with students unions, have been running voter registration drives, candidate hustings and get the vote out initiatives in towns and countries across the UK, playing a huge role in getting over 2 million young people back on the electoral register after the process changed to individual registration in 2014.

"We have two clear demands from the government. We want to see international students defended, welcomed and supported in our universities and colleges, and we want investment in education.

"International students make up a vibrant part of our communities. Both the impact of Brexit and regressive Home Office policies do not make the UK an attractive place to study for international students.

"Over the last 7 years funding for further and higher education has radically reduced. Young people are now leaving education with debt that will follow them into mid-life. Investing in education is an investment in society, its time we had policies and funding that recognised this."

NUS President Malia Bouattia said students have sent a strong message to both Lib Dems and Tories.

NUS and students unions have worked tirelessly to get the vote out amongst students and young people," she says. "Students want to see progressive and fair policies that will have a very real and positive impact on all our futures.

"We want a government that does everything in its power to welcome international students and keep our universities and colleges diverse and vibrant. Under the last 7 years of Conservative rule, further and higher education funding has radically reduced and student debt now follows us into mid-life.

"We have seen the student vote play a key role in marginal seats across the UK. The student vote yesterday was about more than tuition fees. Having worked closely with nursing students at Sheffield Hallam University as they battled to save the NHS, University of Sheffield students fighting cuts to education and college students demanding investment in education whilst also going through the area review process, it is unsurprising that they sent a strong message in this election not only to the Lib Dems because of their betrayal, but also to the Tories and their destructive policies of cuts and privatisation."
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Book looks into 52 cases unsolved murders with ties to South Dakota

Christine Wevik started researching cold cases in South Dakota thinking there were about 30. She found 155.
The information technology industry is making rapid strides in India and across the globe. According to a recent report by Nasscom, Indias IT industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 12 to 14 per cent during 2016-17.

No wonder it is considered as a promising and lucrative career choice by thousands of university graduates. The importance of this sector cannot be over-emphasised.

Realising that IT proliferation can dramatically change, the government is laying huge emphasis on digital literacy. This self-sufficiency was predominantly due to the fact that the outsourcing requirements from overseas clients grew at the rapid pace during the 90s and the first decade of the new millennium.

As job market expanded exponentially, students, mostly from engineering courses got easy placements and the organisations took care of grooming them according to client requirements.

This burgeoning opportunity also attracted the aspiration of standard university graduates towards a career in this field. Responding to this market demand, the late 80s and 90s saw huge growth in the number of private training organisations providing IT education to sections of youth.

Over the past few years we are observing another churn in the training industry. With rapid technological advances on service delivery, the skills required are changing dramatically.

Today, most organisations are moving away from their traditional model of mass hiring, huge spends on incubation training and maintaining surplus bench strength.

They are now looking for talent who are capable to be accessible on a Zeroday-deployment model. As this message flows out to career aspirants, they are looking for specific and short term courses rather than yearlong comprehensive career programmes.

Most training organisations have adapted to this new requirement and are offering the model of flip classroom to spend more time on self-study than an instructor led programme.

With better knowledge, aspirants are well informed about skills that are required in the industry and therefore demand the same from training providers. The higher education architecture in the country mostly offers degrees such as BTech, BE, MCA, M Sc, with respect to IT engineering from the technical perspective. But the practical and hands on aspects of technology and its application into our lives are often overlooked in university curriculums. Add to this, a complete lack of scenario based teaching, and inadequate infrastructure, especially in public institutions explains the growing concern about high rate of skill gap among graduates.

New-age careers in IT demand a fast paced, dynamic approach, progressive vision, and quick adaptability skills towards the advent of emerging technologies.

Going forward, disruptive tech innovations such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, internet of things, cloud computing and cyber security offer highly interesting avenues for aspirants in this sector. Demystifying the next big opportunities in the sector needs amplified levels of education, skilling (and re-skilling) and domain knowledge.

This is where IT certifications and training can play an increasingly important role in enhancing career prospects. In todays dynamic work environment, acquiring professional qualifications and degrees are important, but to equip yourself with the right certifications can take your career to new heights altogether.

These certifications could be a wide range of subjects such as data security, networking, virtualisation, storage, project management, big data, mobility and cloud network administration, and so on.

They enhance your resume and tell employers that you have the right skills for the job Advanced level training courses, online educational programmes, and certificates help you learn more and groom yourself into a valued professional with a well-rounded foundation of specifics.

With the horizon of information and communication technology rapidly evolving with each passing day and India Inc moving towards a digitalised economy, not only students but potential employees and even employers in the domain feel the need to constantly upgrade skills to stay relevant and in competition.

To acquire skill sets based on your interest areas short-term courses and certifications are great options to prominently establish your competency towards a special area of expertise.

On the other hand, the subjectivity of classroom education cannot be underestimated, especially if you are opting for a long term career in this field. Embracing a sustainable balance in a more comprehensive and time-specific manner can be the ideal way out for the newage IT education.

The writer is regional director, comptia India
In this digital age, our phone and computer screens demand our attention every other second. Even in our sleep were kept distracted by a heap of things that has everything to do with both personal and professional lives.

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However, slowing down a bit will not cause harm. You need to train your brain to focus better.

This requires consistent effort. Get your mind to believe that it can do the unthinkable.

Disable notifications: When you hear a notification your brain immediately wants to switch focus and see its immediate attention. But, heres the deal. Exercise some self-control by switching off notifications on both your phone and office communicator. Set a target of going 15 minutes without getting distracted by your devices and then prolong it to another 30 minutes. You will notice that with time you will have greater control over how you function.

When you hear a notification your brain immediately wants to switch focus and see its immediate attention. But, heres the deal. Exercise some self-control by switching off notifications on both your phone and office communicator. Set a target of going 15 minutes without getting distracted by your devices and then prolong it to another 30 minutes. You will notice that with time you will have greater control over how you function. Set a time during the day to respond to emails: When you start responding to emails as soon as they reach your inbox, you tend to lose focus. Getting back to what you were initially doing then not only takes a little longer for you to re-focus, but also finish it with as much concentration. A way out of it is to set up 30 minutes or so just to respond to emails because not every email requires an immediate response. Besides, you dont need to set your day as per the schedule of others. They too will realise that you aren't available round the clock.

When you start responding to emails as soon as they reach your inbox, you tend to lose focus. Getting back to what you were initially doing then not only takes a little longer for you to re-focus, but also finish it with as much concentration. A way out of it is to set up 30 minutes or so just to respond to emails because not every email requires an immediate response. Besides, you dont need to set your day as per the schedule of others. They too will realise that you aren't available round the clock. Start early, finish challenging tasks in the first half of the day: Reach office earlier than you would and get around to completing challenging things first. This way you know what needs your attention first thing in the morning. Once you do this, you will find a sense of accomplishment taking over which keeps you motivated and upbeat.

Reach office earlier than you would and get around to completing challenging things first. This way you know what needs your attention first thing in the morning. Once you do this, you will find a sense of accomplishment taking over which keeps you motivated and upbeat. Make a list of unimportant tasks: When you realise you've begun procrastinating then make a to-do list of seemingly less important tasks. Stick it on your board and wire yourself into checking those off your list. This way you will spend less time whiling away and utilise time productively. Understand this is a small exercise of refocusing when your mind wants to meander in different directions.

When you realise you've begun procrastinating then make a to-do list of seemingly less important tasks. Stick it on your board and wire yourself into checking those off your list. This way you will spend less time whiling away and utilise time productively. Understand this is a small exercise of refocusing when your mind wants to meander in different directions. Take short breaks: Go out for a walk to revive yourself, meet your colleagues for a coffee break. Take a five-minute break every half an hour and a longer one every two hours. Sticking to your desk proves nothings, especially when you know youre probably just wasting time doing nothing and are also getting tired mentally and physically. Think of this break as a reward for working distraction-free.

Ultimately, your goal is to not stay focused 24/7, but go distraction-free for short durations that help you complete more work. You will notice a considerable difference in your productivity.

The writer is content developer, work better.
The International Monetary Fund on 8 June praised Cyprus for making progress since it exited a bailout regime but called on it to reduce bad loans and to press ahead with reforms.

In an assessment issued 15 months since the exit, the IMF board said the island's banking system was recovering while employment and economic output were growing.

It added, however, that "these achievements have not yet resulted in significant reductions in the high levels of private-sector debt, nonperforming loans."

Eurozone member Cyprus plunged into a financial crisis in 2013, leaving a number of its top banks insolvent and forcing it to negotiate painful bailout with international creditors.

It has since recovered, after the government imposed harsh austerity measures in exchange for a loan of 10-billion euro (then $13 billion) from the IMF and European Union.

In its statement on Friday, the IMF board also urged the government to push on with its privatisation programme which has stalled in recent months.

Initial plans to sell off the state-run telecommunications company and the electricity authority have been put on the back burner.

"Directors called for further efforts to curb public debt to create fiscal headroom and insulate the downward path of public debt from potential shocks," said the IMF.

"This could be achieved by saving over performance and windfall revenues and restarting stalled privatisations," it added.

The IMF also recommended measures to reduce non- performing loans, improve credit allocation, protect the adequacy of banks' capital, and also improve the culture of payments.

The lender also called for the streamlining of court procedures for the settlement of claims and steps to ensure regulations encourage timely recognition of losses.

Cyprus Finance Minister Harris Georgiades welcomed the IMF's assessment.

"The IMF report is particularly positive and notes the remarkable progress that has been made in recent years, contributing to further strengthening investment confidence in our country and improving its creditworthiness," he said.

"The IMF's suggestions are correct and should be noted."

The Cypriot economy grew by 2.8 per cent in 2016 and a similar growth rate is expected for this year, buoyed by an anticipated increase in tourism revenue.

The Mediterranean holiday island's economy has been boosted by a record tourist arrivals and income from tourism.
When theres a terrorist attack overseas, we hear people like London Mayor Sadiq Khan saying that such dangers are now part and parcel of living in a world class city, and our politicians rightly ridicule such an apparently casual acceptance of such risks. But here in the states, we have politicians implying the same about non-terrorist violence  about the gang shootings, domestic abuse, robbery violence and such that makes up the bulk of these 3000 annual victims in Chicago alone.

And yes, this is in a city of two and a half million people, in which the spokesmen know these statistics, so they know the citys on track for over 3000 wounded or killed this year (and remember, not all the woundings get reported).

In just the first five months of 2017, there were over 233 murders, and well over 1300 more victims of shootings who survived in the city of Chicago alone. And almost every day, we see some alderman, mayor or police chief proudly saying that things are getting better  this statistic or that one is improving, so even though we need to get better, we should be happy that our smart policing is succeeding so well.

Have we indeed reached the point at which such a level of violence is to be expected? Have we really?

An Evening Drive in the Big City

While I was born in Chicago, I havent actually lived there since I was a year old. I grew up in nearby suburbs, and spent a few years in Milwaukee County as well; I actually try as hard as I can to avoid the city of Chicago itself. We have great theaters, restaurants, shopping and employment in the suburbs; why on earth would you go into the city if you dont need to?

Even so once in a while an opportunity comes up that cannot be turned down. I recently attended a seminar downtown in a skyscraper on East Randolph near Millennium Park, so I drove in that morning and battled that infamous Chicago morning rush hour.

I chose to avoid the highways on my way home, instead choosing a route that was educational, if a bit depressing: yes, I took Madison Street through the city. On purpose.

For those unfamiliar with the city, this is a once major street that cuts through some of the citys dangerous neighborhoods (though not the worst), on its way from downtown to the western suburbs. It was a bit rainy, so I decided it would be safe enough, and I drove along.

You can probably imagine what I saw; I dont need to describe it, do I? I saw blight. I saw boarded-up apartment buildings and storefronts; I saw government agencies, clinics and a congressmans district office.

But I also drove through a couple of shopping districts that I hadnt been aware of before; a strip of clothing and furniture stores, for example, came first, and then a few fast food restaurants with which I was unfamiliar, their walls and signs advertising delicious fried shrimp, and fresh perch, and fried chicken. It was the end of a day I had spent sitting in a stuffy conference room; I was hungry. I would have loved to stop and buy a sampler of shrimp and a sampler of perch for my ride home.

But again, those who know the city will know that I could not stop. Dont get me wrong; this is not racism, or bigotry, or anything like that its just that the crime is so serious in that particular area that a white guy in a suit, driving a car covered with bumper stickers advertising Ted Cruz, Scott Walker and Rand Paul simply cannot pull into the parking lot and walk in to order some shrimp and perch.

Even in the rain.

Driving, I deemed safe. Stopping, not so much.

So I never got to try the seafood, and I just kept on driving until I reached Harlem Avenue in Oak Park, and turned toward the Eisenhower Expressway, which I figured might not be so busy now that rush hour was dissipating. And I had a chance to contemplate what Id learned.

The Cost of Crime

We rightly fight crime, first and foremost, because of the immediate victims.

Government cant protect everyone from every risk, but it must certainly manage a criminal justice system, chasing, arresting, prosecuting, convicting and incarcerating  perhaps executing too  the criminals who attack or rob innocent victims. This is one of the key purposes that we have governments for; if they dont do this, they have no justification for existence. We must do whatever we can to protect the innocent from known, identified, convicted criminals.

But the direct damage that criminals do to their victims, while of critical importance, is still not the only damage that such crime does to society.

Yes, we want to reduce crime so that individuals dont get robbed, raped, mugged, swindled, beaten or killed. We must look out for the direct victims, and the future victims, of these criminals.

But in addition, we must think of the indirect results of crime as well.

As I drove through this high-crime area, I saw boarded-up former business locations and empty lots. Why are they vacant today? Because most companies dont dare be based there, even if the rent is dirt cheap since its so dangerous, sensible people with options  both the potential sellers and their potential customers  stay out.

When a city resident drives through my suburb, he can safely stop at any of the restaurants in my area and try the local cuisine; we have crime too, but very little by comparison.

The reverse simply isnt the case; when we suburbanites drive through his neighborhood, we dont dare stop and give their restaurants business. This robs his neighborhood of commerce; which keeps the number of fast food places low, and also retards the creation of entry-level jobs for the kids of the neighborhood.

Where I live, a summer job at McDonalds, Burger King or Wendys is a common first job for a high schooler; it starts him on track for a career in something else. The lack of such businesses in the worst of Chicagos neighborhoods means that a much smaller percentage of their kids  who need that first rung on the ladder so desperately, if theyre to ever escape poverty  are completely denied that opportunity.

Also, oddly, life in that neighborhood is more expensive than one would expect. A coin laundry there must charge more than one in my neighborhood, because theirs requires costly alarm systems, security guards, and other defenses. This cost has to be rolled into the charge for the washers and dryers.

The fast food place there, which should be cheaper because of the lower rent, is actually often more expensive, because they have less business for the economies of scale, and such greater security costs. They too must employ a guard, and a burglar alarm, and more. All because of the high crime in their neighborhood in the heart of the city, just mere miles from safe suburbs.

And consider also every other cost of living in that neighborhood:

Owning a car is more expensive, because you have to pay for a secure garage and your auto insurance will be higher because of the risk of theft or crashes, so greatly enhanced in an urban and dangerous neighborhood.

Your rent will be more expensive than the quality of the place merits, because of the need for security fences, and/or security guards.

Your homeowners insurance on a house, or similar insurance on an apartment, will also be higher than in the safe suburbs, again because the odds of an insurable event  a robbery, arson fire, etc.  are so much greater.

Then theres the general cost of our revolving door criminal justice system itself. Since we never lock people up for long enough, and we never execute anyone anymore  no matter how many people theyve robbed, raped, or killed  were constantly having to find, arrest, prosecute and convict the same people, again and again.

This takes a lot more police, and a much busier states attorney office, and more courts and judges and bailiffs and court stenographers. The cost of crime is immense, and must be borne by the citizens somehow. So we raise property taxes, and sales taxes, and income taxes. And we tax whatever else we can think of too: Haircuts by the clipping, perhaps? Theaters by the ticket? Beverages by the ounce?

Our businesses pay so much more than they can afford and eventually, they almost inevitably realize its just not worth it anymore, and they flee to the suburbs, or even the collar counties, never to look back making life that much harder, and more expensive, for those who remain, left behind in the big city.

Can It Be Helped?

Chicago  along with most of our major cities  has been so dangerous for so long that most of the powers that be have given up on it. Governments get used to a certain level of crime, and it becomes the new normal. But is this needle unmovable? Can this awful situation be helped?

Well, yes. Of course it can.

The Left doesnt want to admit it, but everyone knows what works. Everyone knows what needs to be done. Theyve just been avoiding it for years, trying things like alternative policing (pleading with people to stop shooting each other instead of arresting them), and racial quotas (avoiding arresting minority bad guys until there are enough white bad guys arrested so the numbers for one minority group dont look so bad). And they blame the weather (of course theres more crime on a sunny summer day; its nice out!) and they blame poverty (well, the system failed them, so of course they rob and rape and kill.)

But we do know what we need to do.

We dont catch every criminal every time, and we dont win every prosecution; so we have to make sure the sentences are long, not short, to keep these criminals out of the economy for decades, not just months. But where is the Left on that issue? They insist on short sentences, to release the poor criminals back into the neighborhoods, to terrorize them again and again.

We know that many of the villains are illegal immigrants, people who either arrived as gang members or were talked into joining when they arrived. Well, shutting the door to illegals would certainly solve much of that problem. Where is the Left on this issue? They insist that we throw open the borders, and welcome in the drug dealers and other miscreants. Certainly there are good people too, among the ranks of the legal immigrants, but we know we cant afford the influx. Cutting back the inflow of illegal aliens would greatly reduce the crime in our cities.

Just in the past few years, weve had an explosion of a problem that had previously been merely an irritant: the actual animosity of law-abiding victims against the police. Its shocking to any sane outsider, to learn that the old ladies who get mugged by thugs, their granddaughters who get raped by thugs, their sons who struggle with jobs at convenience stores and get robbed by thugs nevertheless are now siding with the thugs against the police. But that has been the case, ever since Ferguson and Baltimore, making it harder for Law Enforcement to do their job in the neighborhoods that need them most. And where is the Left on this issue? Amazingly, on the side of the thugs. The monstrous Black Lives Matter movement of pro-crime, anti-police, anti-victim agitation has been adopted, fed, and clothed by the Democratic Party.

Is there a solution? Of course. Tougher sentencing, including the sentencing that leaves an impact on the community, such as execution of the move violent offenders, would help a great deal.

But as long as the cities are in the clutches of the Left, and the Left refuses to allow the criminal justice system to do its job, our cities will remain in their death throes, plagued with a crime wave thats fed by both an open door policy at the borders and a revolving door policy at the prisons.

And we suburbanites and other outsiders will have to continue to drive around the city, or to take the freeways when we cant avoid going through it, avoiding routes too dangerous to dare, withholding forever our commerce from neighborhoods that have clearly demonstrated  at the ballot box and the public square - that they dont want us there anyway.

Copyright 2017 John F. Di Leo

John F. Di Leo is a Chicagoland-based trade compliance trainer, international transportation manager, writer, and actor. His columns are regularly found in Illinois Review.

Permission is hereby granted to forward freely, provided it is uncut and the IR URL and byline are included.
China on Friday expressed grave concern over the reported killing of two Chinese nationals kidnapped in Pakistan late last month.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern. We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in response to the reports, Xinhua reported.

"The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities," she said.

"The Chinese side is firmly opposed to the acts of kidnapping civilians in any form, as well as terrorism and extreme violence in any form," she said.
Aiming to reduce emissions and promote sustainability to help India's smart city programme, France and the European Union on Friday extended a grant of 3.5 million euros under the 'Moblise Your City' (MYC) initiative.

Three Indian cities  Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad  will get the grant as part of the EU's commitment under the Paris Climate agreement, French Development Agency (AFD) officials said.

More funds would be provided to India as loan to take forward the smart city and sustainable transport initiatives in the three cities on pilot basis.

"Recently Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron. Both the leaders shared warmth India is the very first country to benefit from the MYC initiative," said Claire Thuaudet, Deputy Chief of Mission, at the French Embassy here.

The MYC, supported by the French and German government, also has financial support from the European Union (EU).

MYC aims to extend help to 100 cities globally to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by promoting sustainable urban transport and to promote sustainability in urban spaces.

"Smart city programme and urban transport is surely one of the most important programmes here. And if it's successful in India then extension of this idea will promote such initiatives in other countries," Pascal Pacaut, Director Asia, AFD told IANS.

AFD has been associated with several projects in India and conservation of biodiversity, and is currently also funding the Vijayawada, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Kochi and Nagpur metro rail projects.

"France is the ninth largest foreign investor in India and our FDI policies had been simplified for ease of doing business with the French companies. We appreciate this financial assistance. Both the governments have a common mission and we look forward to strengthen our relationship further," Selvakumar, Joint Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) said at a signing ceremony here.

Reiterating the EU's commitment to the climate change and Paris Agreement "no matter what", Ambassador of the EU to India, Tomasz Kozlowski said the MYC initiative among many others were emphasised by the Indian and European leaders during Modi's visit to Europe earlier this month.

"Investment in energy, water, waste, climate and smart cities are investment in sustainability and address priorities under the flagship programmes of the Indian government. They are also part of our strategic partnership," the Ambassador told IANS.
On his surprise visit to Libya on Thursday, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel pledged 3.5 million euros of extra refugee aid for the conflict-ridden state struggling to emerge from the throws of civil war.

The money will be used to improve the catastrophic conditions seen in the refugee camps across the country, with systematic sexual abuse and violence reportedly widespread, Xinhua reported.

For many African refugees, Libya is used as the gate to travel across the Mediterranean Sea and into Europe.

In the first five months of this year, 60,000 refugees have come to Europe via Libya, a rise of 26 per cent compared to the previous year. Approximately 1,700 people were killed as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea from January to May 2017.

Upon his arrival in Libya, Gabriel told journalists "Our goal is to fight against instability alongside Libyans".

The Foreign Minister referred to the importance of the state in the larger global crisis, saying "in Libya, we see the enormous political, humanitarian and security consequences of the conflict in the Middle East".

He continued "Escape, expulsion and migration are the consequences that directly affect us".

He also called on rival groups to compromise and negotiate with one another. "Only then will there be a chance to elevate the fighting and, in medium terms, to find order and a statehood."

Since the former Libyan President Muammar al-Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011 civil war, infighting has reigned over the North African country.

Libya remains politically divided despite signing a UN-sponsored peace agreement by the rival parties and appointing a unity government. The North African country is plagued with insecurity and unrest with presence of numerous extremist groups.
Pakistan has urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to expedite hearing in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

This was conveyed to ICJ President Ronny Abrahim during a meeting on Thursday with delegations from Pakistan and India to discuss the timeline of the case of alleged Indian spy Jadhav who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for espionage.

The ICJ registrar and other officials were present in the meeting which lasted 45 minutes.

The Court is set to announce the timetable of the hearing shortly, the News International reported.

A statement from the office of the Pakistan Attorney General said the meeting was not a hearing to discuss on the substance or merits of the case, but only to discuss procedural matters, including the timelines for submission of written memorials and to enable a hearing to be listed.

Jadhav was sentenced to death on April 10 on charges of spying. However, his execution was stayed by the ICJ on May 18 on India's request.

The delegation from Pakistan was led by Pakistan Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali. Other members of the delegation included Foreign Office Director General for South Asia Dr Muhammad Faisal, Foreign Office's Head of International Disputes Unit Ahmad Irfan Aslam and Pakistan's counsel Khawar Qureshi.

The statement said the ICJ President sought views of the parties as to the time required for submission of their written pleadings and supporting evidence, called memorials.

The AGP also informed the ICJ about Pakistan's intent to appoint an ad hoc judge who will sit on the bench for all proceedings in the case, including the substantive hearing.

The statement said Indian application seeks "at least release or acquittal" of Jadhav. "As was made clear by Pakistan's Counsel Khawar Qureshi QC on May 15, India can never obtain this from the ICJ."

It said the court on May 18 made a procedural order to enable a full hearing to take place and it did not make any finding on jurisdiction or merits.

"Pakistan is fully confident that India can never succeed in its application," it said, adding that India "can never obtain acquittal or release" of Jadhav on the basis of its application to the International Court.

India moved the ICJ against the death penalty on May 8. The next day, the international court gave Jadhav, 46, a lease of life and stayed the death sentence as a provisional measure.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Thursday agreed that consultation over the Syrian issue should be accelerated.

The parties had a routine meeting in Moscow and exchanged views on a whole range of issues related to the settlement of the Syrian crisis, according to a statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Xinhua reported.

The special envoy praised Russia's actions aimed at maintaining the ceasefire regime in Syria, including under the memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones signed on May 4.

Lavrov and de Mistura stressed the importance of consolidating the positive results achieved during the intra-Syrian consultations in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations, including with regard to constitutional reform.

In this context, they underlined the need to keep up and speed up the course of negotiations with their comprehensive nature, as well as the need to focus on the fight against terrorism.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ratified two deals allowing Turkish troops' deployment to Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie, according to the presidency.

Erdogan signed off deals on the Turkish Parliament's approval late Thursday night, Xinhua news agency reported.

The first deal, signed in Doha in April 2016, allows Turkish troops to improve Qatar's army and boost military cooperation.

The second deal, signed in December 2015 between the two Interior Ministries, allows the Turkish gendarmerie to train Qatari gendarmerie forces.

The move came after Erdogan expressed earlier this week disapproval of the sanctions imposed on Qatar by several Arab countries.

Erdogan also said that Turkey "will continue and develop" ties with Qatar.

Earlier the week, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and the Maldives snapped their diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting "terrorism and extremism.

Qatar has stoutly refuted the allegations.
ROMEOVILLE - Governor Bruce Rauner was among several dignitaries that celebrated the opening of another Amazon fulfillment center in Illinois - this one located in west suburban Romeoville.

The Daily Herald was on hand, and reports:

Thousands of packages are shipping daily to consumers from Romeoville. The site opened in September and already has about 1,000 workers picking, packing and shipping products, such as TVs and kayaks. Countless aisles of shelving in the 750,000-square-foot facility are packed to the ceiling with various products while workers drive vehicles up and down lanes to pick them up. The products then are lined up on high-speed conveyor belts to be packaged and labeled for delivery. The facility also specially designs boxes for shipping of odd-shaped products to ensure their safe arrival at a consumer's home.

Amazon could hire up to 8000 workers over the next few months to staff the area's nine centers. While Amazon is growing by leaps and bounds, retail centers are suffering and Illinois' economy in general continues to drag.

While congratulating Amazon on selecting Illinois for its facilities, Rauner also pushed for a balanced budget so more such companies will find Illinois attractive. "We should be kicking tails here," Rauner said about getting more businesses. "But we're not because regulations and property taxes here are just too high."

Read more HERE.


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The last days of the Newfie Pride

There were many nights he didnt sleep. The numbers and scenarios turned over and over in his mind, making rest impossible. Id get up two, three oclock in the morning, night after night, come out to the kitchen table and work the numbers every ...
So the Illinois Democrat majority solved the problem before they left Springfield May 31st, and they're pressuring Governor Rauner to sign into law what the Dems say is the state system's fix-it proposal - SB 1.

The problem isn't teaching methods, resources, student interest or administrations, we're led to believe. It's money - or the lack thereof.

SPRINGFIELD - The latest stats from the Illinois State Board of Education show that eighty-six percent of Illinois' students graduate from high school. Of them, only twenty-five percent were deemed college-ready in math, science, reading and English. Forty-nine percent had to take remedial courses in community college.

The bill's sponsor, State Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill), explained how his bill will fix the state's school funding issue in an op-ed published in Crain's Friday.

State Rep. Steve Reick (R-McHenry) responded on his "Illinoyances" blog, saying Senator Manar's spin of "It's no 'bailout.' Rather, this school funding bill is good for every district in Illinois" isn't the whole story.

Indeed, Rep. Reick says, SB 1 is a Chicago Public School bailout. Rep. Reick takes a deep breath and plows into the school funding formula, which for most readers is just a little too much in the weeds.

But that's exactly the point. That's how the Democrats get us. As we know, the devil's in the details.

Here's the high (or should be "low"?) points the rep makes:

Grants for state funding poverty assistance jumped from from 10% of the General State Aid (GSA) formula in FY 2000 to more than a third in FY 2012, a 431% increase.

The PTELL subsidy grew from just $46 million in 2000 to $780 million in 2009, an increase of 1,267%.

PTELL adjustments have particularly benefited Chicago Public Schools, which enrolls 18% of students, but receives 49% of PTELL dollars.

SB 1 adds the $250 million of the Chicago block grant into the Base Funding Minimum (BFM) for CPS going forward. Under current law, this is money given to CPS that is over and above the actual claims of the District.

There's more in response to Senator Manar from Rep. Reick. But the conclusion is that Chicago Public Schools back-breaking expense is unpaid teacher pensions. They'll get help while the rest of the state continues to press on property owners to carry the load.

You know, those same property owners that have been doing all they can to pay their skyrocketing taxes in order to keep their property.

And what do they get for all that work? Yes, they get to keep their property and pay for local schools that have dismal education results as shown in the first paragraph.

Rinse and repeat.
Organisation: United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Position No.: 10026380

Vacancy Notice No.: 032/2017



Duty Station: Uganda

Position Grade: GL6

About UNHCR:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was

established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCRs

mandate under the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees is to lead and co-ordinate action for international protection to

refugees; seek permanent solutions for the problems of refugees and safeguard

refugee rights and well-being. UNHCR has an additional mandate concerning

issues of statelessness, as it is given a designated role under Article 11 of

the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Job Summary: The Protection

Associate (Community-Based) is a member of the Protection Unit in a Country

Operation and may report to the Protection Officer, Protection Officer

(Community-Based), or another more senior staff member in the Protection Unit.

The incumbent will work in close coordination with other UNHCR staff,

government, NGO partners and other stakeholders, the Protection Associate

(Community-Based) works directly with communities of concern to identify the

risks they face and to leverage their capacities to protect themselves, their

families and communities. The incumbent may have direct supervisory

responsibility for part of the protection and/or support staff and supports the

application of community-based protection standards, operational procedures and

practices in community-based protection delivery at the field level. To fulfil

this role the Protection Associate (Community-Based) is required to spend a

substantial percentage of her/his time working outside the office, building and

maintaining networks within communities of persons of concern. The development

and maintenance of constructive relationships with persons of concern that

measurably impact and enhance protection planning, programming and results

forms the core of the work of the Protection Associate (Community-Based). The

incumbent also supports the designing of a community-based protection strategy

by ensuring that it is based on consultation with persons of concern.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

Support functional units, the

Multi-Functional Team (MFT) and senior management to integrate

participatory and community-based approaches in the overall protection

delivery strategy and operational procedures.

Build relationships with persons of

concern and network of partners stay abreast of political, social,

economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection

environment and provide advice to the protection team.

Understand the perspectives, capacities,

needs and resources of the persons of concern and advice the protection

team accordingly, highlighting the specific protection needs of women and

men, children, youth and older persons, persons with disabilities,

marginalized groups.

Work in liaison with host communities to

identify opportunities for national civil society involvement in improving

the protection of persons of concern.

Work closely with implementing and

operational partners as well as with displaced and local communities to

develop community-owned activities to address, where applicable, the

social, educational, psycho-social, cultural, health, organisational and

livelihood concerns as well as child protection and prevention and

response to SGBV.

Assist in the analysis that identifies the

capacities of communities of concern and risks they face.

Support participatory assessments by

multifunctional teams and ongoing consultation with persons of concern.

Render support in planning and monitoring

of programmes and budgets, with an AGD perspective.

Build office capacity for community-based

protection through training and establishing systems for community mobilization

and participation of persons of concern.

Support communities in establishing

representation and coordination structures.

Ensure community understanding of UNHCRs

commitment to deliver on accountability and quality assurance in its

response.

Act as interpreter in exchange of routine

information, contribute to related liaison activities and respond directly

to routine queries.

Perform any other relevant duties as

required.









Key Performance Indicators:

Effective support and advice is provided

to promote AGD sensitive analysis of community risks and capacities as the

essential basis for all of UNHCR work.

AGD sensitive analysis of community risks

and capacities provides the essential basis for all of UNHCR work.

The participation of persons of concern is

assured through continuous assessment and evaluation using participatory,

rights and community based approaches, which inform protection and

assistance programming and ensure that UNHCR meets its commitments to

accountability to persons of concern.

National protection capacities are

improved through direct engagement, research and advocacy with all

relevant external interlocutors.



Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:

The ideal candidate for the United Nations

UNHCR Protection Associate (Community-Based) career placement should have

competed Secondary education; Training/certificate in International

Development, Cultural Studies, Human Rights, International Social Work,

Social Science, Political Science, Anthropology, International Law or other

clearly related disciplines is required.

At least six years of previous relevant

job experience.

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MS Office, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access

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of another relevant UN language or knowledge of the local languages.









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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 ...
Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy

By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat
In another raging farmer's agitation, Tamil Nadu farmers, who have been demanding loan waivers, drought-relief packages and formation of a Cauvery management board to resolve their irrigation issues, resumed their protest in the national capital on Friday.

Resuming their protest, president of Desiya Thenninthiya Nathigal Inaippu Vivasayigal Sangam P. Ayyakannu said, "Keep the promise you made, withdraw the case from Supreme Court and give pension to farmers above 60 years."

"We will be here for 32 days and we will continue to sit here if the problem is not solved by then. We will expand agitation all over India," the farmers' leader told ANI.

Accusing the Centre and the state government for failing to address the demands of the farmers, he said, "We condemn the firing at farmers. They are the backbone of our nation. Soon, there will be a nationwide protest and for this, we have special meeting on June 16 in Delhi."

The Tamil Nadu farmers earlier withdrew their agitation after Chief Minister K. Palaniswami assured that he will take up the issue with the prime minister to waive off the loan and urged the farmers to end their protest.

These farmers had grabbed headlines for their unique and sometimes bizarre methods of protest since they arrived in Delhi to protest.

Adorned with human skulls around their necks, the farmers attempted to grab the attention of authorities towards their condition and demands for drought-relief package.

In August last year, protests erupted in Tamil Nadu after Karnataka refused to release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka's refusal to Tamil Nadu put the farmers in Delta districts in distress.
Disaster averted

Pilgrims returning from the holy temple of Badrinath had a narrow escape when a helicopter went off-course in the thick cover of fog near the mountainous region of Nandprayag. Pilot Ravindra Singh managed to successfully land the helicopter at a nearby stadium at Gopeshwar. The incident took place on Tuesday around 3.00 pm when the chopper was ferrying pilgrims from Govindghat to Sahastradhara. Extreme weather conditions and dense fog caused the chopper to veer off course.

IAF on high vigil

After recent reports of violation of the Indian airspace by China in Uttarakhand, the Indian Air Force has stepped up its vigil. According to sources, a few IAF fighter planes were seen flying in Uttarakhand near Indo-China border. But the IAF and local administration have been tight-lipped about it. Such movements have been detected earlier as well. Two PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) helicopters were also seen earlier flying in Barahoti area of Uttarakhand near Indo-China border recently. Senior officers of IAF had recently met Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to discuss the matter of Chinese intrusion, but the local administration has described this meeting as routine.

Human trafficking on bikes

Cops posted on the Indo-Nepal border along Banbasa-Champavat patch stumbled across something startling when they checked a few motorcycles. It came to light that women are being trafficked from Nepal to India and vice-versa on bikes. Further investigation revealed that these girls are brought through Uttarakhand to Delhi and then trafficked to the UAE. This has been going on for some time as lax surveillance along the Uttarakhand border provides easy access to India. In this connection, Nepal police have rescued eight women, who were being brought to India through this route. Police from both the side acted swiftly after a tip off, and rescued these women at Chandni Dodhara point in Nepal before they could reach Banbasa.

Favourite shooting destination

Uttarakhand seems to be a favourite shooting destination for cine stars in recent times. John Abraham was seen shooting in Mussoorie for his upcoming film Parmanu, a film based on India's successful nuclear testing in Pokhran. It has been learnt that some portion of this film will shot in Dehradun. Sunny Leone too is likely to shoot MTV Splitsvilla in the state. The reality show is likely to be shot at Jim Corbett National Park. Sunny has been hosting this show for the past three years.
The Islamic State has claimed that they have killed two Chinese nationals they had abducted from Quetta last month.

The Dawn reported that both China and Pakistan are now probing the ISIS claim. An investigation into the IS claim that the Chinese couple had been killed are underway.

The IS claim came hours after Inter-Services Public Relations released details of a three-day operation in the Mastung area of Balochistan earlier this month targeting 'IS facilitators', in which security forces had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists, including two suicide bombers".

Two Chinese nationals were kidnapped on May 24 from the Jinnah town area of Quetta,the provincial capital of Balochistan.

Unidentified abductors had forced the two Chinese nationals, a man and a woman, into a vehicle at gunpoint and drove away, The Dawn reported.

The two Chinese nationals were teachers at a private language school in Quetta.

Another Chinese national reportedly managed to escape, while a passerby was injured during firing by the abductors.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying told the official Xinhua News Agency Friday that the government was seeking information from Pakistani authorities.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern. We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," Hua was quoted by Dawn as saying.

China has raised its concerns about the safety of its nationals in Quetta because of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. Thousands of Pakistani soldiers have been tasked with providing security for CPEC-related construction. There have been number of violent strikes in past two years in Quetta.
President Donald Trump survived one of the biggest threats to his presidency when Thursday's hugely awaited congressional testimony by the FBI chief he fired did not yield any explosive new disclosures about his campaign's alleged ties with Russia.But former FBI Director James Comey's remarks to a packed hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee left the Republican president far from unscathed.

Comey recounted in vivid detail conversations with Trump that he viewed as an effort to undermine an investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. He also said Trump's comments after firing him on May 9 that the FBI was in disarray and that its members had lost confidence in Comey "were lies, plain and simple."

Still, Comey handed Trump and his supporters some fresh ammunition when he confirmed he had told the president the investigation was not focused on him personally. Even Senator Marco Rubio, who was among a number of Republicans who battled Trump for the 2016 Republican

presidential nomination, seemed to be advocating for him at times during the hearing.

Rubio asked Comey why he did not directly tell Trump that he thought the president was making inappropriate requests of him. Comey replied that he did not know. "I was a bit stunned, and didn't have the presence of mind," he said.

A Republican close to Trump said the president felt very good about Comey's testimony, particularly since it bore out his earlier statement that the former FBI director had told him he was not under investigation.

But the cloud from the Russia probe still hangs heavily over Trump's White House. Comey's firing set the stage for the appointment of a

special counsel, Robert Mueller, who has taken over the investigation. Congressional probes, including one by the Senate intelligence panel, are ongoing. Russia has denied interference in last year's presidential campaign.

The White House has denied any collusion with Moscow. But Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat who sits on the intelligence committee, said the matter was nowhere near over. "It's a big investigation, and these are facts. ... You have to dig for, and do a lot of analysis."

Several Democrats said Trump's conversations with Comey seemed to build a case of obstruction of justice.The lawyers are going to dig into obstruction of justice, Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat on the intelligence panel, said after the hearing. "I believe the evidence just keeps piling up that there has been a very real presidential abuse of power."

But Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said Trump's interactions with Comey may have reflected his lack of political experience rather than an effort to pressure the FBI director. Ryan said Trump may not have been "steeped" enough in the FBI's independence from the White House. "He's new in government, and so therefore I think he's learning as he goes," he told reporters. "I'm not saying it's an acceptable excuse. It's just my observation."

Trump could face even more problems over the coming months if the stream of details leaking out about the Russia investigation continues to grab the spotlight at a time when the White House wants to focus on priorities such as rolling back the Obamacare healthcare law and overhauling the tax code. "It distracts the administration and gives Republicans in the House and the Senate, many of whom have not been Trump supporters from the beginning, a reason to keep their distance and not get behind him," said Andy Smith, director of the

University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which conducts political polling.

"It's going to be a long summer," Smith said. Trump's core supporters are hunkering down for a fight. Great America Alliance, one pro-Trump group, spent $400,000 this week running ads attacking Comey, said Eric Beach, who runs the group. The ad lambasted Comey as just another DC "insider" and included images of militant attacks abroad to suggest Comey had not been focused enough on protecting Americans.

But the investigation has contributed to a steady erosion of Trump's political capital. According to a recent opinion poll taken from June 1 to 5, even before the Comey testimony38 per cent of Americans said they approved of Trump, versus 58 per cent who disapproved.

"I think the situation is getting much more serious for Mr. Trump," said Jon Bond, a political science professor at Texas A&M University. "The Mueller investigation is going on. I suspect that information that came out in today's hearings is going to feed into that investigation. It looks like to me that the president is in increasing jeopardy."
Prime Minister Theresa May was fighting to hold on to her job on Friday as British voters denied her the stronger mandate she had sought to lead the country into divorce talks with the European Union.

With no clear winner emerging from Thursday's parliamentary election, a wounded May signalled she would fight on, despite being on course to lose her majority in the House of Commons. Her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn said she should step down.

As counting progresses and clearly points towards a potential hung mandate, a look at the potential alliances that could form government is worth taking a look at.

If the Conservatives end up falling just short of a majority, they could potentially turn for support to Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a natural ally, projected to win 10 seats.

But Labour had potential allies too, not least the Scottish National Party (SNP) who suffered major setbacks but still won a majority of Scottish seats.

The pro-EU, centre-left Liberal Democrats were having a mixed night. Their former leader, Nick Clegg, who was deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, lost his seat. But former business minister Vince Cable won his back, and party leader Tim Farron held on.

In domestic policy, Labour proposes raising taxes for the richest five per cent of Britons, scrapping university tuition fees, investing 250 billion ($315 billion) in infrastructure plans and re-nationalising the railways and postal service.

Early results were in line with the exit poll, with Labour doing better than expected. That was in part because votes that had previously gone to UKIP were splitting evenly between the two major parties instead of going overwhelmingly to the Conservatives as pundits had expected.

UKIP voters wanted Brexit but they also want change," Farage said.

"They are fundamentally anti-establishment in their attitudes and the vicars daughter (May) is very pro-establishment. And I think she came across in the campaign as not only as wooden and robotic but actually pretty insincere."

In Scotland, the pro-independence SNP were in retreat despite winning most seats. Having won all but three of Scotland's 59 seats in the British parliament in 2015, their share of the vote fell sharply and they lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

Alex Salmond, the SNP's former leader and the former head of Scotland's devolved government, was among those who lost their seats, along with the leader of the SNP's lawmakers in the London parliament, Angus Robertson.

The campaign had played out differently in Scotland than elsewhere, with the SNP's drive for a second independence referendum the main faultline. All the parties that made gains oppose independence

SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it had been a disappointing night for her party, while Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said Sturgeon should take the prospect of a second independence referendum off the table.
Leo Varadkars successful bid to become the next Irish prime ministerTaoiseachis remarkable for a number of reasons. As Irelands first half-Indian and openly gay prime minister, Varadkar, at 38, is also the youngest Taoiseach and will be the European Unions youngest serving leader.

For decades, Ireland was considered to be one of the most conservative countries in Europe. But the small island nation in the North Atlantic has experienced rapid social change in the last two decades. The appointment of the doctor-turned-politician, who has a mixed ethnic background and is gay, further reinforces a new identity for the Irish people whose culture had, until relatively recently, been heavily influenced by the strict teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

His father, also a doctor, is from Mumbai, while his mother is from the southern Irish town of Waterford, explains Baby Pereppadan, who is originally from Kerala, but has lived in Dublin for the last 16 years. Pereppadan recently became a local representative for the ruling Fine Gael partywhich Varadkar now leadsin the Dublin suburb of Tallaght. They met while working at a hospital in the UK. After the birth of their first daughter, they decided to move to Ireland.

Calm under pressure, Varadkar has maintained an unrelenting, firm but polite disregard for any implication that his cultural and/ or sexual identity should define him politically, economically or socially. In a 2015 interview on Irish national radio, RTE, Varadkar came out publicly as homosexual with an approach that not only positively charged liberals in Ireland, but also served to placate more conservative members in society, too. Its not something that defines me, he said in the interview.

The timing of his decision to go public about his sexuality was no accident. He had gained significant political capital since first being elected to the Irish parliament in 2007, but risked it with his decision to publicly come out just a few short months before the country voted in a referendum on same-sex marriage. His announcement, however, turned out to be a very shrewd political move as his popularity skyrocketed and a large majority of the population voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage in May 2015.

Baby Pereppadan (in pic with Varadkar)

While the USA and the UK have traditionally been seen as the destination for bright and ambitious Indian people, Ireland is now becoming a beacon in the 21st century, says Professor Lokesh Joshi, who is originally from Rajasthan, but now lives in Galway, a city on the western coast of Ireland. It is a country where talent is welcomed and can thrive. The appointment of Varadkar shows just how outward-looking and progressive Ireland is in our modern world.

Joshi is quick to point out that his support for Varadkar isnt simply because of his Indian heritage. The satisfaction I take from Varadkars appointment isnt based solely on some misguided sense of national pride, or perhaps the desire to see change for changes sake. His age, cultural heritage and sexuality notwithstanding, Varadkar also happens to be a worthy leader, says Joshi, who is vice president of research at the National University of Ireland in Galway.

Baby Pereppadan has been watching Varadkars remarkable rise to the top more closely than most. I have worked alongside Varadkar for a number of years, he says. He was tipped by many of my colleagues to one day become leader of the Fine Gael party soon after he first entered politics back in 2002. This, according to Pereppadan, is largely due to Varadkars no-nonsense attitude. He is a genuine person, he stresses. I respect a lot of things about him but more than any other, I respect his directness. Hes very straightforward. Theres nothing in the background. Thats why I think his sexuality or ethnic background does not concern people here because they already feel like they can trust him.

Pereppadan believes an Irish prime minister of Indian origin will undoubtedly lead to greater ties between the two nations. It looked like the celebrations in Mumbai were bigger than here in Dublin, jokes Pereppadan.

Now that he is at the top, what is he likely to do? He has been described as a leader representing those who get up early in the morning, which, on the one hand, shows his support for hardworking people, while simultaneously implying an intolerance for the unemployed, homeless and more vulnerable members of society generally. As minister for social protection, Varadkar made it a priority to tackle welfare fraud. Therefore, many believe that despite his own minority status, the country could shift to the right politically under his leadership.

This, according to Pereppadan, couldnt be further from the truth. One of his top priorities is the fair treatment of migrant workers, he states. Im confident one of his first acts as Taoiseach will be to put more protections in place for people coming to Ireland from India and elsewhere.

His stance on abortion, which is still illegal in all cases in Ireland, was clarified recently when he stated publicly that abortion law, as it currently stands, was too restrictive. In the leadership campaign, Varadkar positioned himself as the only person competent enough to lead Ireland successfully through any negotiations with the UK over Brexit.

In politics, however, talk is cheap. So what Varadkar says and does arent likely to align in every case. Still taking power as he does in this very turbulent period for global politics, the people of Ireland and India can take comfort knowing that both nations should start to enjoy closer ties than ever before.

Holden is a freelance writer from Dublin, based in the US.
Ujjain is a seekers paradise. Pilgrims throng to this city of temples in Madhya Pradesh, especially during the Kumbh Mela held every 12 years, as do archaeologists, digging up history in and around its ancient monuments.

Among the many Mauryan (322-185 BCE) monuments stands a muddy stupa110m wide and 32m highon the outskirts of the city. The Kanipura stupa, which lies buried under the mound of Vaishya Tekri (merchants hillock), is a red brick structure that is covered with black soil. A preliminary excavation was done by the archaeology department of Gwalior state in 1936. It was, however, abandoned for reasons unknown. In 1951, the stupa was declared a protected monument. Archaeologists have confirmed its connection to Emperor Ashoka and his first wife, Devi. A 2015 bookAshoka in Ancient Indiaby historian Nayanjot Lahiri also mentions the hillock and stupa.

Before ascending to the throne of the Mauryan empire in Pataliputra, Ashoka was governor of the Ujjain region (previously called Avanti), where he lived for 11 years. According to Buddhist texts and historical evidences, Ashoka married Devi, the daughter of a Vidisha-based merchant (she is, therefore, called Vaishyaputri Devi). Devi was a Buddhist and used to worship at the Kanipura stupa. Their two childrenson Mahindra and daughter Sanghamitrawere born in Ujjain.

When Ashoka became emperor, his first wife remained in Ujjain with her two children, says Professor Ramkumar Ahirwar, head of department, ancient Indian history, Vikram University, Ujjain. Later, Ashoka, in honour of his wife, renovated the Kanipura stupa. An outer wall of bricks was added during his period. Later, at the same place, two other smaller stupas were erected, which were associated with Mahindra and Sanghamitra [both of whom took Buddhism to Sri Lanka].

This stupa reminds us of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who built Taj Mahal for his beloved wife, says Rajaram Patel, a scholar of Hindi literature. One of the stupas, says Ahirwar, was razed by farmers for cultivation. The stupa is surrounded by private land, and with time, the price of the property has shot up. IAS officer Ajatashatru says, When I was collector of Ujjain, I had asked the ASI [Archaeological Survey of India] to conduct a detailed excavation of the place. Since the land around it belongs to farmers, it could not be done. We had even given a proposal to farmers for acquisition of land, but the huge cost was an issue.

Like every year, the stupa attracted thousands of Buddhist monks this Buddha Purnima, too. Buddhist scriptures say clothes and a sacred mat of Gautam Buddha were kept under the stupa.

A proper excavation of the hillock will give new dimensions to the history of Ujjain and Ashoka, says Ahirwar. Any cost involved is too little, provided we get new evidences. Ujjain is an ancient town, with its continuous history of last 2,000 years. The Kanipura stupa will make this place a big pilgrimage for Buddhists from across the world.
(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, visited the Kosel on Wednesday, 13 Sivan as part of her stay in Yerushalayim. She was accompanied by Deputy Ambassador Jon Lerner and they were escorted by Rav of the Kosel and Holy Sites Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich and Director of the Kosel Heritage Foundation Mordechai Suli Eliav.

The ambassador was well-received by the crowd at the Kosel and she returned the warmth, I am very moved by the warm attitude that the Israeli public is giving me. I do not deserve it. I am just telling the truth. It hurts very much that only now, after many years, is the truth stated openly.

The ambassador then spent significant time in prayer at the Kosel.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Media Resource Group)
Following is an excerpt from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahus remarks, Wednesday evening the eve of 14 Sivan, at the Knesset, at the joint Knesset-US Congress event marking the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem:

Its a pleasure to address you from Jerusalem, the eternal undivided capital of the Jewish State of Israel.

Why do I say Jerusalem will never be divided again? Because I remember what it was like when it was divided.

The first thing is we ensured that Jerusalem was a free city for all. Thats the first thing that we did. We made sure that the holy sites of Judaism, of Christianity and Islam were available to all.

This is something that can be appreciated in retrospect, because, look around us. Understand what would happen to this, its not even a square kilometer. What would happen to this less-than-a-square-mile if we werent here? It would descend into horrible sectarian violence. It would descend into the worst barbarism that the world has seen since the outrages of World War II. Weve seen Mosques blown up, churches blown up, synagogues blown up.

But we dont see that. We see that in this great convulsion that is taking place around us, there is one free city where Christians, Jews and Muslims are free to worship undisturbed, and thats in the free united city of Jerusalem. And thats how it will stay.

We are deeply, deeply indebted to you, our American friends, for supporting us. We know that you understand in substance and in spirit our quest for redemption. We know that you understand that the story of Israel, in many ways, the rebirth of Israel and our return to this land and to this city, I think you understand in your hearts, that this is a parable for all humanity. Because if the Jews can overcome the worst travails in history, that means there is hope for all humanity.

I want to thank you for this brilliant gesture and I want to tell you once again, America has no better friend than Israel, and Israel surely has no better friend than the United States of America.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom, GPO)
It has been about a week since the announcement that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has not given the green light for building any new homes in Yehuda and Shomron. Among Bayit Yehudi MKs, there is little discussion on the matter other than an occasional statement from MKs Betzalel Smotrich and Shuli Muallem. Senior party officials, Ayelet Shaked and Naftali Bennett remain silent.

The silence however does not reflect their positions, as Bennett and Shaked are fuming over the fact the prime minister continues stalling. The fact that there was talk of building only 2,000 housing units has them furious as well. With US President Obama and his administration out of office and the recent successful visit of US President Donald Trump, they are questioning why widescale construction throughout Yehuda and Shomron has not begun.

To date, every move and statement from Bennett was met with a response from the prime minister or his office or a Likud representative. Bennett has finally realized that each time he comes out on the offensive regarding government policy, the response has been Why are you attacking Netanyahu?

This time around, the decision was made to permit Mr. Netanyahu to stew in it and not permit him an opportunity or forum to deflect the publics opinion and draw attention from his policies. Even as heads of the Yesha Council tried to enlist the heads of Bayit Yehudi, albeit without success. Bayit Yehudi officials are of the belief that their continued silence is causing PM Netanyahu to sweat as he tries to explain realities to members of the nationalist camp, his supporters. The situation they explain is compelling PM Netanyahu to make promises that he will have to keep, optimistic promises regarding building in Yehuda and Shomron, and one day he will have to make good on this somehow or pay the price politically and at the polls. They are not giving him a forum to draw attention away from his inactions to Naftali Bennet and his party as he has successfully done on so many occasions in the past.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Migron expellees have sent a message to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the hope of moving something along towards a new community, since they have been expelled about five years ago.

In a letter sent on Wednesday, 13 Sivan 5777, the expellees call to bring an end to the foot-dragging towards obtaining land registry permits for a new community, asking Mr. Netanyahu to become personally involved to move things along.

They explain that they remain confident that just as it was possible to destroy Migron within two weeks, and arrange a caravan community within four months, the Government of Israel can obtain the necessary land registration permits in under five years.

The residents left the community voluntarily after reaching an agreement with the government in 2012. A new community was promised to them for leaving their homes without a confrontation. They are still waiting for this community to be constructed.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A Jerusalem police spokesman reports that three Arab youths are in custody after they were throwing rocks at police and border police on Derech Ophel in the Old City.

The three, ages 13-to16, were taken into custody on Thursday morning, 14 Sivan and were apprehended after a short chase.

They explained to police they were on their way to school and saw police, deciding to throw rocks at them. Police are summoning their parents. Bchasdei Hashem there were no injuries.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Greg Gianforte, the Republican U.S. representative-elect who won a Montana congressional seat 24 hours after allegedly body-slamming Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs  sent a letter to Jacobs Wednesday apologizing for his actions.

Gianforte also agreed to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit organization that promotes press freedom and protects the rights of journalists, according to both his office and the Guardian. The donation was made in the hope that perhaps some good can come of these events.

My physical response to your legitimate question was unprofessional, unacceptable, and unlawful, Gianforte wrote in the letter to Jacobs, referring to the alleged May 24 altercation, which took place at Gianfortes campaign headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. As both a candidate for office and a public official, I should be held to a high standard in my interactions with the press and the public. My treatment of you did not meet that standard.

The letter is part of a settlement with Jacobs in which he agrees not to object to Gianforte entering a plea of no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge. Gianforte still faces criminal charges.

Following the release of the letter to Jacobs by a Guardian spokeswoman, Jacobs said in a statement, I have accepted Mr. Gianfortes apology and his willingness to take responsibility for his actions and statements. I hope the constructive resolution of this incident reinforces for all the importance of respecting the freedom of the press and the First Amendment and encourages more civil and thoughtful discourse in our country.

Gianforte followed-up in a statement Wednesday saying, I have taken full responsibility for my actions and both publicly and personally apologized to Mr. Ben Jacobs. Ben has accepted my apology and we are both ready to move on.

Gianforte was running in a special election for the U.S. House seat in Montana when Jacobs described being body-slammed by the candidate after asking a question about healthcare policy. And a Fox News crew witnessing the interaction said Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him.

Afterwards, Gianforte was cited with misdemeanor assault and was asked to appear in court by today [June 7]. But earlier today, a judge gave Gianforte an extension on his court date, allowing him to wait until June 20 to appear in the Gallatin County Justice Court, according to The Associated Press.

The AP reported that the extension was granted after U.S. Attorney William Mercer and a Bozeman attorney requested it, saying they are in settlement talks with prosecutors.

I went from being vertical one moment to being horizontal the next, Jacobs said in an interview with Good Morning America the morning after the alleged assault.

After winning the election the day after the alleged altercation, Gianforte apologized for his actions while speaking to supporters in Bozeman.

When you make a mistake you have to own up to it, thats the Montana way, Gianforte said. Last night I made a mistake  Thats not the person I am and its not the way Ill lead in this state.

Below, Gianfortes letter in its entirety:

Dear Mr. Jacobs:

I write to express my sincere apology for my conduct on the evening of May 24. My physical response to your legitimate question was unprofessional, unacceptable, and unlawful. As both a candidate for office and a public official, I should be held to a high standard in my interactions with the press and the public. My treatment of you did not meet that standard.

Notwithstanding anyones statements to the contrary, you did not initiate any physical contact with me, and I had no right to assault you. I am sorry for what I did and the unwanted notoriety this has created for you. I take full responsibility.

I understand the critical role that journalists and the media play in our society. Protections afforded to the press through the Constitution are fundamental to who we are as a nation and the way government is accountable to the people. I acknowledge that the media have an obligation to seek information. I also know that civility in our public discourse is central to a productive dialogue on issues. I had no right to respond the way I did to your legitimate question about healthcare policy. You were doing your job.

In the hope that perhaps some good can come of these events, I am making a $50,000 contribution to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent non-profit organization that promotes press freedom and that protects the rights of journalists worldwide.

I made a mistake and humbly ask for your forgiveness.

Sincerely,

Greg Gianforte

(AP)
A Libyan counterterrorism official says the brother of the Manchester arena suicide bomber knew he was planning something, and that his radicalization took root when he was living in the city in 2015.

Libyan official Ahmed bin Salem said Thursday that Salman Abedis brother Hashim was still being held for questioning in Libya. Abedis father, who allegedly belonged to an al-Qaida-backed extremist group, is also being held there.

Abedi blew himself up at the Manchester arena last month, killing 22 people.

Libyan officials say there is no connection between Abedi and the attackers in the more recent deadly assault in the London Bridge area.

(AP)
President Donald Trump sought comfort in the figurative embrace of his evangelical supporters Thursday as the FBI director he recently fired told Congress about their conversations. The president told a religious gathering that were under siege but will emerge bigger and better and stronger than ever.

Trump made no reference to James Comey in his remarks to the Faith and Freedom Coalitions annual gathering. But hours before the presidents first public comments of the day, Comey told the Senate intelligence committee that Trump tried to get him to pledge loyalty and drop an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Trump abruptly fired Comey last month. Trumps attorney said the president never asked Comey to stop investigating anyone.

In his remarks to the conference, Trump pledged to always support the right of evangelicals to follow their faith, which some conservatives believe is under attack by government.

We will always support our evangelical community and defend your right and the right of all Americans to follow and to live by the teachings of their faith, the president told more than 1,000 activists meeting at a hotel across town from Capitol Hill, the scene of Comeys nationally televised testimony.

And as you know, were under siege, you understand that. But we will come out bigger and better and stronger than ever. You watch, Trump said. You fought hard for me and now Im fighting hard for all of you.

Trump spoke about his actions to safeguard religious freedom and continued, for the second straight day, to label congressional Democrats as obstructionists who are blocking his agenda. Yet it is differences of opinion among Republicans, who control both houses of Congress, that are standing in the way of what Trump wants to do on health care and other issues.

Trump mentioned his nomination of federal judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, which pleased Christian conservatives. He also has directed the IRS to ease up on using a rarely enforced rule barring partisan political activity by churches and tax-exempt organizations.

As long as Im president, no one is going to stop you from practicing your faith or preaching what is in your heart, he said.

Trump won an overwhelming 80 percent of the white evangelical vote in the November election. A recent Pew Research Center survey marking his first 100 days in office found three-fourths of white evangelicals approved of his performance as president. Thirty-nine percent of the general public held the same view.

Trump said restoring freedom also meant repealing and replacing the health care law enacted in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama, saying high deductibles and premiums have turned it into a catastrophe. But a replacement health care bill has yet to clear Congress despite seven years of pledges by Republicans to scrap the law and start over, and despite the fact that the GOP has full control of the White House and Congress.

The Republican-controlled House passed a bill with the bare minimum of GOP votes and none from Democrats. Senate Republicans are working on their version of the bill, but are divided about the approach.

Trump overlooked the intraparty squabbles and blamed Democrats. He said Democrats have gone so far to the left in terms of opposing him that theyre bad right now for the country. Democrats oppose dismantling Obamas health law.

The president urged the audience to help send more Republicans to Congress in next years midterm elections, noting the GOP has just a 52-48 edge in the Senate and a slim advantage in the House.

We have to build those numbers up because were just not going to get votes from Democrats, he said. Sadly, were going to have to do it as Republicans because were not going to get any Democrat votes and thats a very, very sad, sad thing.

Trump ignored the fact that three Democratic senators voted to put Gorsuch on the Supreme Court.

(AP)
Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, who led a two-year investigation into the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, is set to take over leadership of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The House Republican Steering Committee on Thursday recommended Gowdy for the chairmanship, replacing Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who is leaving Congress at the end of the month. Gowdy beat out Oklahoma Rep. Steve Russell. The full House Republican conference is expected to confirm the choice next week.

Gowdy, 52, a former federal prosecutor, led the Benghazi inquiry that focused on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and was an outspoken critic of the Obama administration. As the new chairman, he will lead oversight of the Trump administration, including a budding investigation into possible ties between Russia and President Donald Trumps campaign.

Trey Gowdy possesses the experience and deep commitment to transparency and accountability necessary to be the Houses next Oversight chairman, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in a statement. He has proven that he will always look out for taxpayers and seek answers from the bureaucracy. Trey has my absolute confidence, and I know he will do an outstanding job.

Gowdy, in a statement, focused on committees institutional responsibilities and made no mention of specific lines of inquiry.

Chaffetz is stepping down June 30 to pursue a privatesector career amid questions about willingness of the Republican Congress to conduct oversight of Trump.

Gowdy, in his fourth term representing upstate South Carolina, is less senior than several Republican colleagues on the oversight panel but is well-liked by Ryan and other GOP leaders, with a high-profile earned as chairman of the select committee on Benghazi and a reputation as a sharp questioner.

Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., a Steering Committee member who nominated Gowdy for the oversight post, said Gowdys background as a prosecutor and leader of the Benghazi panel perfectly suits him for this chairmanship.

GOP lawmakers trust Gowdy, and hes going to do a fantastic job, Graves said.

Chaffetz, who doggedly investigated Clinton before the 2016 presidential election but declined for months to investigate Trump, said in April that he wont run for re-election.

The decision to step aside came just as the oversight panel was poised to investigate Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey amid the FBIs probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Chaffetz has asked the FBI to turn over documents about Comeys interactions with the White House and Justice Department, including materials dating back nearly four years to the Obama administration. Trump fired Comey May 9 amid questions about the FBIs investigation, which is now being overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director. Comey testified Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee about his interactions with Trump.

Gowdy is already familiar with the questions over Trumps Russia ties due to his seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which has conducted a probe of its own since allegations of Russian efforts to influence the presidential election surfaced late last year.

(AP)
He came with a score to settle.

Ramrod straight and with barely a blink, fired FBI Director James Comey sat before Congress and the nation Thursday and all but called the president of the United States a liar.

Comey spoke without a script and wasted no time getting to the business of defending his integrity and that of the FBI as the Senate intelligence committee gave him the floor.

In businesses and taverns, on family room couches and driving in their cars, Americans across the country listened in as Comey spoke his piece, laying out the strange course that led to his firing last month and tracing his fraught relationship with President Donald Trump.

Comey used his opening statement in an overflowing, austere hearing room to underscore that as president-elect and again in office, Trump had repeatedly praised his conduct and assured him he was popular within the FBI.

So it confused me when I saw on television the president saying that he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation, Comey said. He mentioned other Trump team claims that hed been fired for his conduct during the presidential election in investigating Hillary Clintons email, adding that didnt make sense to me.

From there, Comey charged, the administration chose to defame me, and more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader.

His kicker: Those were lies, plain and simple, and I am so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them and that the American people were told them.

It was clear Comey considered the president to be among those who had lied and defamed him.

In fact, Trump himself tweeted after firing Comey that the FBI director had lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. Published reports said Trump told Russian diplomats that Comey was a nut job.

Its not every day that the White House has to issue this kind of statement:

I can definitely say the presidents not a liar, Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday.

The gist of Comeys extraordinary claims that Trump had pressed him for loyalty in general and specifically to drop an investigation into Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was known in advance of Thursdays hearing.

But Comeys testimony nonetheless served up a riveting insiders account of the one-on-one encounters in which the president pushed him to back off.

Over and over, Comey brought up the significance of Trumps insistence on shooing everyone else out of the Oval Office  including the attorney general  before the president made his request to squelch the investigation.

So why did he kick everybody out of the Oval Office? Comey asked at one point.

Lordy, I hope there are tapes, Comey exclaimed at another, eager to have his claims verified in what comes down to a question of Comeys word vs. the presidents.

Release all the tapes, Comey urged. Im good with it.

Democratic senators gave Comey a sympathetic audience, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon telling him: The timing of your firing stinks.

The odor of presidential abuse of power is so strong, Wyden added.

Asked if he believed it all adds up to obstruction of justice, Comey punted, saying it was up to the special counsel to investigate.

I dont know, Comey said simply. Thats Bob Muellers job to sort that out.

(AP)
Iranian leaders on Friday accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of supporting the Islamic State-claimed dual attacks that killed 17 people in Tehran this week, as thousands of Iranians attended a funeral ceremony for the victims.

The countrys Supreme Leader said the attacks will add to the hatred that Iranians harbor toward the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.

In a condolence message ahead of a funeral for the victims, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the attack: will not damage the Iranian nations determination and the obvious result is nothing except an increase in hate for the governments of the United States and their stooges in the region like Saudi (Arabia), state media reported.

On Thursday, Irans Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavai said investigators were working to determine whether Saudi Arabia had a role Wednesdays attacks but said it was too soon to say if that was the case.

During the funeral, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called the U.S. the international version of the Islamic State group and said Washington had exchanged democracy for money, a reference to a recent huge arms deal between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. State TV broadcast the ceremony live.

He said anti-Iranian remarks by Saudi Arabias foreign minister and U.S. President Donald Trump are a matter of disgrace for them.

Larijani also criticized a Wednesday decision by the U.S. Senate to move forward on a new set of sanctions against Iran, including its elite Revolutionary Guards, a move that came on the same day as the Tehran attacks.

During a massive funeral ceremony in Tehran following Friday prayers, thousands chanted Down with the U.S. and Death to Al-Saud, the Saudi royal family, while carrying coffins of victims.

The Vatican on Friday sent a message of condolence for the victims of the attack.

Pope Francis laments this senseless and grave act of violence, and assures the people of Iran of his prayers for peace, the message read.

Also on Friday, Iranian state TV said the Intelligence Ministry had detained 41 suspects in Tehran and the western Kurdish provinces of the country. The report called the detainees elements of the Wahhabi IS group, and said they were involved in operations, communication and logistics for the local Islamic State cell.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry in a statement increased the number of wounded to 52, up from 40.

The Intelligence Ministry said its forces stormed several safe houses linked to the group in the countrys northwest, according to state television.

Reportedly two guards, 10 government staffers and five civilians were killed in the attacks that simultaneously targeted the countrys parliament and shrine of late founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

IS has long vowed to attack Iran because the country had deployed military advisers and support to both Syria and Iraq in their fights against the extremist group.

(AP)
An Alaska man charged with killing five people and wounding six in a Florida airport shooting spree is due in court as a judge closely monitors his mental health.

Lawyers for 27-year-old Esteban Santiago of Anchorage, Alaska, have said hes fit to stand trial despite a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The hearing Friday is one of several a federal judge is holding on Santiagos health status.

Santiago pleaded not guilty to a 22-count indictment in the Jan. 6 shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The Justice Department could seek the death penalty, but trial is many months away.

After the shooting, the FBI says Santiago told agents he acted under government mind control, then claimed inspiration by the Islamic State extremist group. No terrorism links have been found.

(AP)
Landlords across Britain are likely to be holding their heads in their hands after voters backed Labour in droves, leaving the country with a hung parliament.

While it's impossible to know what the fallout from this morning's election result will be until there is clarity on which party or parties will form the next Government, it's likely to spell more news for landlords.

None of the major parties seem keen on private landlords and the best outcome for buy-to-let was considered to be a Tory majority, even though the Conservative government has already tightened the tax net.

None of the major parties is keen on private landlords but a Tory majority was considered best

The Tories have consistently made it tougher for private landlords to turn a profit over recent years.

The stated aim was to level the playing field for first-time buyers and home movers, but tax hikes on stamp duty and rental income will also prove a nice little earner.

Under the former chancellor, George Osborne, the party scrapped multiple tax benefits for landlords.

It introduced an extra 3 per cent stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-lets and second homes, which in many cases trebled the tax bill for buyers.

The Conservatives also ditched the wear and tear allowance, which allowed some automatic tax relief on rental income, and have started to withdraw full tax relief on mortgage interest, which will vanish over the next three years to be replaced with a maximum 20 per cent tax credit.

These changes are highly unlikely to be reversed, despite vociferous calls from industry pundits.

That said, the tougher tax treatment has hit landlords with just one or two properties the hardest and there is evidence to suggest that more landlords are operating through limited company structures to mitigate the loss of tax relief on mortgage interest.

A further intervention in the rental market was made by Chancellor Philip Hammond, who laid out a plan to ban letting agent fees for tenants.

All the party manifestos were light on fresh plans for buy-to-let, but there was a common mood of improving life for renters and first-time buyers - something that could see further landlord crackdowns.

We look at each party's stance below.

Conservatives

Theresa May promised to cut corporation tax to 17 per cent by 2020, a bonus for those operating buy-to-lets through limited companies

Stating an intention to 'act in specific markets', the Tory manifesto looked to side with tenants.

It said: 'We will [also] improve protections for those who rent, including by looking at how we increase security for good tenants and encouraging landlords to offer longer tenancies as standard.'

The Tories had promised to cut corporation tax to 17 per cent by 2020, a bonus for those operating buy-to-lets through limited companies, particularly landlords with larger property portfolios.

A ban on letting agent fees for tenants is currently being debated by the Conservatives, and is likely to go ahead in some form later this year.

The plan was to stop some unscrupulous agents charging rip-off fees to some tenants and double-charging them and landlords for the same work.

Some in the industry claim that any cut in fees for tenants is likely to be passed straight back to landlords.

Others point out that landlords have the option to simply switch to a cheaper agent, if this happens.

Labour

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has had some radical ideas for buy-to-let in the past.

While there was no explicit mention of it in the party's manifesto, Corbyn has said if it were up to him, he would extend the Right to Buy scheme from local authority tenants to allow renters the right to buy their home from their private landlord.

This could force landlords to sell up under duress and, more than likely, at a heavy discount to open market values.

Corbyn's party also backs a ban on letting agency fees, so it seems reasonable that this will go ahead whichever party takes power.

Tenant protections would go further under a Labour-led Government however, with the party promising to cap private rents and force landlords to allow tenants to lock into rental agreements for a minimum of three years.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has had some radical ideas for buy-to-let in the past

The removal of mortgage interest tax relief under the Conservatives is unlikely to be reversed should Labour take the reins and the Tory sweetener of a 20 per cent tax credit could even be dropped by Labour.

Using a limited company structure to mitigate tax changes also won't have such an effect under Labour. In contrast to the Conservatives promising to charge businesses less tax, Labour has promised to hammer them with a plan to hike corporation tax back up to 26 per cent, hitting landlords using limited companies significantly.

Corbyn has also committed to boosting the supply of social housing considerably - this would have ramifications for private landlords, a large proportion of whom house social tenants in receipt of housing benefit or universal credit.

Tim Farron, Lib Dem leader, has promised support for renters in the form of rent to own

Liberal Democrats

The Lib Dems back the idea of 'rent to own' where tenants earn equity in their homes by paying rent.

The details were scant, but it's likely this plan would apply to tenants renting from housing associations rather than traditional private landlords.

The party is also onside with a ban on letting agents fees for tenants.

Democratic Unionist Party

Political commentators are mooting the idea of a Tory/DUP coalition, but the Northern Irish party has said nothing specific about its view of private landlords.

Its view may emerge over the next few days however

All parties back a ban on letting agents' fees for tenants, with landlords fearing these costs will be passed back to them

What do landlords think?

Landlords have felt disappointed by the Tories for several years now, with the first signs suggesting they're not too upset by Theresa May's losses at the polls.

However, the Conservative housing minister Gavin Barwell was one of the Tory party's highest profile casualties in this election, losing his seat to Labour.

This will mean yet ANOTHER housing minister switch - the 15th housing minister in 20 years - and could derail the Conservatives' plan for the housing market, outlined in its housing white paper published earlier this year.

Dr Rosalind Beck, a private landlord in south Wales, said: 'It's a shame to see the departure of Gavin Barwell because I think he was a positive influence  at least helping to move the Tories away from David Camerons and Osbornes obsession with first-time buyers and neglect of renters.

As long as the Tories can form a Government and Labour is nowhere near exercising any real power, we might be able to breathe a sigh of relief for the time being...

'On the whole the hung parliament and weakened Tory majority could be a bad thing for us, because the Tories may listen more to the other parties negative anti-landlord agendas.

'On the other hand, they may be too busy with Brexit to give us another thought and lay off us for the time being, whilst also not being in any rush to reverse the tax changes to mortgage interest relief.

'The main thing is that as long as the Tories can form a Government and Labour is nowhere near exercising any real power, we might be able to breathe a sigh of relief for the time being. It could have been a lot worse.'

'Enough is enough': Stop attacking landlords, says broker

Buy-to-let mortgage experts meanwhile have warned that further interference with private landlords' finances would put even more pressure on the sector, with one pundit saying 'enough is enough' whichever party takes control.

Jonathan Harris, director of mortgage broker Anderson Harris, said: Landlords have come under sustained attack from the Conservatives, a party which you would normally expect to protect the interests of the hard-working, small-time entrepreneur.

'But politicians must realise that enough is enough and whichever coalition we end up with must lay off landlords at the very least until all the recent changes have bedded in.'

The sharp decline in number of new buy-to-let purchases over the past 12 months underlines the fact that investors are having second-thoughts about the sector with changes to mortgage interest tax relief, tougher affordability criteria and higher stamp duty all playing a part.

Andrew Montlake, of mortgage broker Coreco, said: 'It is hard to see whether a Labour or Tory-led coalition will actually make things worse for landlords, although things like rent caps may come back into play, the possibility of further taxation changes was present on both sides of the house in any case.

'Politicians should however remember that the private rental sector is of paramount importance to the UK housing market and taking things too far may well cause the landlord sell-off authorities have been trying to avoid and exacerbate the crisis. They need to be careful what they wish for.'
Recent tragic events have highlighted the vital role of our front-line emergency services.

They need all the help they can get. Never more so when it comes to ensuring vital blood supplies quickly reach the scene of accidents and major incidents.

Next Wednesday is World Blood Day and Dacia, the budget arm of Renault, is helping a group of volunteer blood bikers get supplies to where they are required.

Dacia UK has donated a Duster 4x4 to Serv OBN, which helps the NHS distribute blood and blood products throughout Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Northamptonshire cost-free.

Dacia has donated a Duster 4x4 to Serv OBN, which helps the NHS distribute blood throughout Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Northamptonshire cost-free

Serv OBN is a founder member of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes, first formed in the Sixties to transport urgently needed medical items.

Based at the NHS blood transfusion unit at John Radcliffe hospital, Oxford, the Duster will aid 124 volunteers.

Last year, riders made 1,500 journeys. On average they are called out for three runs a day and volunteers work all hours, 365 days a year.

The fully-equipped 4x4 will provide a quicker response for larger loads, or help if the bike fleet is grounded by bad weather.

Volunteers: Serv OBN is a founder member of the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes, first formed in the Sixties to transport urgently needed medical items

Vital service: Last year, Serv OBN riders made 1,500 journeys. On average they are called out for three runs a day and volunteers work all hours, 365 days a year

It can carry up to five people or a payload of 1,636 litres with the back seats down.

The service receives no government funding and relies solely on public donations and sponsorship.

TVR's 200mph return TVR's new 90,000 200mph V8, capable of rest to 60 mph in less than four seconds, will make its global debut at the Goodwood Revival from September 8-10.

Paul Stothard, of Serv OBN, said: 'The Duster 4x4 will make such a difference to our efforts.

'It will provide a life-saving service for those in need of it.'

Louise O'Sullivan, head of Dacia UK, said: 'We are proud to support the humbling work the team do and hope the arrival of the Duster contributes to saving many more lives.'

If you fancy a Duster as a family runaround, prices start from 9,495 for the basic Access model up to 17,395 for the top-range Prestige.

If you are interested in helping click here.

THE GREAT BRITISH BIKE OFF There wasn't a soggy bottom in sight as The Great British Bake Off expert Paul Hollywood took to two wheels this week. At the Motor Sport magazine Hall of Fame awards night, he embarked on an emotional ride on a 1960 MV Agusta once raced by the late champion John Surtees whom, he revealed, had been a great mentor. Rising to the occasion: Paul Hollywood on a 1960 MV Agusta while Nigel Mansell is inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame. The baker-turned-biker said: 'John was so excited when I started racing, and became a mentor for me after I did the Racing Legends TV show with him. What a man.' About the bike, he said: 'The gears are on the right-hand side  opposite to all the other bikes I've ridden  but it handles beautifully.' Grand Prix champion Nigel Mansell CBE was one of four greats inducted into the Hall of Fame, winning the F1 category. Legendary F1 commentator Murray Walker receives his Inspiration Award from former racing champion Nigel Mansell. Larger than life two-time Grand Prix world champion Barry Sheene, who died in 2003, topped the Motorcycle poll. The US Racing award went to Roger Penske. And Brian Redman was recognised for his huge success in Sports Car Racing. Mansell also presented veteran commentator Murray Walker with the Inspiration Award, while Prodrive boss David Richards was named Industry Champion. Dario Franchitti in the driving seat for two thunderous runs up the Captains Drive aboard a 1967 ex-Bruce McLaren M6A Can-Am car at the RAC Clubs Woodcote Park. Former F1 champion John Watson tests out the Camaro of Roger Penske, also inducted into the Hall of Fame

Skoda's Superb has topped a poll of the cars that make their owners happiest.

It had the highest score in the Auto Express Driver Power survey with a satisfaction score of 93.4 per cent.

Reason to be cheerful: Skoda's Superb has topped a poll of the cars that make their owners happiest

Skoda's Yeti SUV was hard on its heels with 93.3 per cent, followed by Japan's Lexus RX (93.1 per cent) and Toyota RAV4 (93.1 per cent).

By contrast, the last two places in the list of 75 cars were the Volkswagen Up! supermini, bottom at 85.5 per cent and the Audi A1 at 86.5 per cent.

Intriguingly, both are part of the Volkswagen group, along with Czech sibling Skoda
Boohoo.com was the belle of the ball on AIM this week as the online fashion retailer hiked its full-year guidance and reported a jump in first quarter sales on Thursday.

AIM's second largest company now expects revenues for the year to February 2018 to rise by 60%, compared with the 50% increase it previously expected, following strong trading in the three months to 31 May.

Total revenue in that first quarter more than doubled to 120.1mln from 58.2mln in the same period a year earlier, with growth across all its brands and regions.

Fashion website Boohoo was the top AIM performer this week but the index slipped overall.

The results included a first revenue contribution of 30.8mln from online retailer PrettyLittleThing in which the group bought a controlling stake earlier this year. The number of active customers using the clothing website surged 146% to 1.6 million.

Boohoo's share price added 20% over the week to 260p, meaning it is now worth a whopping 2.9bn. That's good news for the two chief executives, Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, who between them and their families own more than a third of the business.

At the other end of the AIM spectrum was Bellzone Mining, which more than quadrupled in value over the past few days.

The explorer said on Thursday that formal approval for its Kalia ferronickel project should be ratified by the Guinea government within the next few weeks.

Bellzone is being bankrolled by Hudson Capital, which is providing working capital support while the feasibility study at Kalia is completed.

Michael Farrow, the company's chairman, said: 'We very much look forward to the approval and ratification of the agreement which will enable Bellzone to re-commence work on the Kalia Ferronickel project as quickly as possible.'

After a relatively quiet start to the week, that news sent Bellzone shares into orbit and they finished on Friday almost 400% higher at 1.78p.

Any other week and Clontarf Energy would likely have been the junior market's top riser after it almost doubled in value on Tuesday.

The firm was awarded the offshore Block 18 (EG-18) in the Equatorial Guinea 2017 bidding round, which director David Horgan said was a huge coup for the oil independent.

The block covers more 5,000 sq km of undrilled deep-water acreage with several play types and the focus will be on large structural and/or stratigraphic trap targets, Clontarf said.

The company will have a 70% production interest, 65% oil cost recovery, a $150,000 signature bonus, standard commerciality and production bonuses and normal land taxes.

Production royalty is a standard 13%, rising to 16% over 100,000 barrels of oil daily with profits tax at 35%.

Shares fell back slightly on Friday, but they were still more than 75% ahead for the week at 0.56p.

Given the big risers mentioned above, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the junior market as a whole had enjoyed a good week.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case, with the AIM All Share slipping 1.7%, or 3.4 points, to 975.3 as the UK general election sapped investor interest.

It was a similar story for the FTSE 100, albeit not quite as bad, which lost 0.5%, or 39 points, set to finish the week at around the 7,500 mark.

Lebanese restaurant chain group Comptoir Group was the biggest faller this week. It slumped by 42% to 17p after warning investors that the weak trends it endured in the run-up to Easter have continued.

As is usually the case, the four-day holiday period itself was good, but after that trading tailed off once again.

May saw an unexpected decline in like-for-like sales and profit at certain mature restaurants, particularly in retail-led locations and at its higher-spend restaurants, Levant and Kenza. On top of those issues, Comptoir said restaurant openings are also behind schedule.

Oilex was another stock weighing on the junior market this week. Shares tumbled by almost a third to 0.19p as the Indiafocused gas group reported that workovers at two wells on the Cambay field had not brought much joy.

Tests on C-70 and C-23z showed respectively small volumes of both oil and gas but no sustained flow and no hydrocarbons at all.

Zambeef Products shares were also in the red after the food and retail business saw profits collapse to US$533,000 from almost US$9mln in the half year to March.

Sales were good, rising to US$118mln from US$99mln, but higher admin costs, a tough economic backdrop in Zambia and weak soft commodity prices took a heavy toll.

Chairman Jacob Mwanza said the second half should be better and investors will be hoping he's right. They don't seem too convinced at the moment though, with the stock tumbling 24% to 14.2p.

Forbidden Technologies was also under pressure as it warned its move into the live broadcast market versus the traditional video/ broadcast market has seen slower results than expected.

'While this pipeline has larger deals sizes than before we are currently experiencing a slower conversion rate than we had expected.'

As well as the weak uptake of its software, Forbidden is still on the lookout for a new chief executive following the surprise departure of former boss Aziz Musa almost four months ago.

More encouragingly for investors, the company said sales should rise as it starts to pen larger deals with longer terms than it has historically agreed., while it added that it is making 'good progress' with the search for a new chief executive.

Still, shares shed 19% to 5p to head back towards its 52-week lows.
High street beauty chain The Body Shop will be sold to Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Natura Cosmeticos in a deal which could be worth 1 billion euro (880million), its parent company has revealed.

French cosmetics giant L'Oreal announced today it has received a 'firm' offer from Natura for the business and has entered into 'exclusive' talks to sell the iconic British beauty firm after declining sales in the last year.

This is despite scepticism from analysts over the 1bn price tag because of the problems the business faces, mainly from growing competition and declining revenues.

Sold off: High street beauty chain The Body Shop will be sold to Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Natura Cosmeticos in a deal which could be worth 1 billion euro (880million)

L'Oreal put The Body Shop up for sale in February, more than 10 years after snapping up the ethical skincare brand, saying its was reviewing its strategy for the chain.

At the time, the company had said it was 'exploring all strategic options' regarding its ownership of the firm founded by Dame Anita Roddick.

L'Oreal chairman and chief executive, Jean-Paul Agon said: 'I am very pleased to announce Natura as the potential new 'home' for The Body Shop.

'It is the best new owner we could imagine to nurture the brand DNA around naturality and ethics.'

Jeremy Schwartz, chairman and chief executive of The Body Shop, added that the ethical values and expertise of Natura made it 'the perfect new owner' of the chain, and said he was confident the move would help to rejuvenate the brand and drive future expansion.

Natura said the acquisition would help it take a 'decisive step towards internationalisation'.

Natura fought off a number of other bidders for The Body Group, including private equity group CVC and China's Fosun.

The Body Shop has suffered sliding sales in the face of increased competition from high street retailers including Lush, and other L'Oreal brands such as NYX Cosmetics and Kiehl's in recent months, with lacklustre performance in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong continuing to dog the firm.

Sales at the brand sank five per cent to 920.8million (784.2m) in 2016, down from 967.2m (823.7m) in 2015.

Healthy profit: Dame Anita Roddick and her husband banked around 117m from their 18 per cent stake in the business when they backed the board's decision to push through a 652.3m sale to L'Oreal in March 2006

But L'Oreal said in February that The Body Shop's 'momentum was good' in Europe - especially in the UK - and across Latin America thanks to a new operation in Chile.

The deal is still subject to approval by regulators in Brazil and the US and will be submitted to L'Oreal's employee representative body.

Dame Anita and her husband banked around 117m from their 18 per cent stake in the business when they backed the board's decision to push through a 652.3m sale to L'Oreal in March 2006.

The Roddicks started The Body Shop in 1976 to help support their two young daughters, Justine and Samantha.

The Sussex-based company has 3,000 stores in 66 countries, employing around 22,000 people.

Natura Cosmeticos, which owns the Aesop brand, is at the forefront of the Brazilian beauty market and operates in seven South American countries and France.

Founded in 1969 in Sao Paulo by Antonio Luiz Seabra, who remains the company's biggest shareholder, Natura is the largest Brazilian cosmetics company and is now worth an estimated $1.45bn, according to Forbes.
Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank

Europes top central banker has hailed stronger momentum in the euro area economy despite painfully high unemployment.

Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, said output is projected to expand at a somewhat faster pace than previously expected.

His comments came after the eurozone economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter  the fastest rate since late 2015 and far stronger than the 0.2 per cent seen in the UK.

But unemployment in Britain is far lower than in the eurozone  at a 42-year low of 4.6 per cent, it is less than half the eurozones 9.3 per cent rate.
More than a million British shareholders in Santander are being asked to hand the bank extra cash after it bailed out a rival in Spain.

Santander has around 1.4 million UK investors who were given stock to replace their shares in Abbey National when it was taken over 12 years ago.

Earlier this week, Santander agreed to buy struggling competitor Banco Popular for 1 as it teetered on the edge of collapse over 32.2 billion of toxic property loans. It is now raising 6.1 billion to shore up the stricken firm  and UK investors will be asked to contribute.

More than a million British shareholders in Santander are being asked to hand the bank extra cash after it bailed out a rival in Spain

The Mail understands that British shareholders will be asked to contribute around 173 million in total  roughly 124 each, based on an average shareholding.

Those who choose not to take part in the fundraising will then see their stake watered down.

There are growing concerns in the City about the takeover, which has uncomfortable parallels from the days of the financial crisis.

In 2008, Lloyds stepped in to rescue failing HBOS in a 12.2 billion tie-up  and both had to be bailed out weeks later with 20.3 billion because the deal was so toxic.

Banco Popular teetered on the edge of collapse over 32.2 billion of toxic property loans

Last night, veteran commentator David Buik of stockbroker Panmure Gordon warned that the deal was likely to have been agreed only after heavy pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the authorities in Spain, and that shareholders might end up suffering.

It also emerged last night that the Banco Popular rescue was rushed through because of a run on the bank  meaning massed ranks of savers started to pull their money out, severely threatening its ability to survive.

The last time this happened in the UK was during the 2007 collapse of Northern Rock, forcing the Government to nationalise it.

A Santander spokesman said: The acquisition represents excellent value for Santander shareholders, with an expected return on investment of 13 per cent to 14 per cent in three years.
Kolkata, June 7 (IBNS): Fashion designer Ramgopal Rajpuria launched his latest range of handcrafted cotton shirts Brunito Belissimo for the younger generation (meaning beautiful in Italian).

The 80 year old fashion designer aims to produce 1200 pcs this custom designed shirts annually with original German thread and on German machines specially imported by his company making Brunito line of shirts.

At 80 he is the oldest in his trade still actively involved in each of the stages of fabric selection, designing, color matching, stitching and finishing. His products caters to his buyers in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore apart from his stand alone store at Alipore, Kolkata.

Belissimo shirts begin with a price a price range of Rs 3500-9500. The range has been deliberately kept, keeping in mind the uniqueness of the shirts as the fabrics are imported from Italy, threads and machines from Germany and a trained, skilled workforce of over 3 decades making Belissimo unique.

Belissimos target market is the young fashionable buyers and the shirts are mainly evening wears/party wears with huge range of colour design and style. The shirts are specially hand designed.

These shirts will be available pan India distributors in each zone like Delhi, Mumbai through our distributors we shall use their bandwidth with customers to promote the new brand. With time the company looks to expand across greater territories.

Entrepreneurship Ram Gopal Rajpuria was born in a traditional Marwari family of traders/retailers of clothiers. He took up his ancestral business Mohanlal & Co and steadily made started a custom made tailoring which grew in popularity and there was a steady line of queue in front of his Burrabazaar shop.

Rajpuria branched out to form his signature style and counts amongst his clients legends as Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Brett Lee, Sanjiv and the late RP Goenka, Corporate heads of MacDonalds India, KFC, Usha Martin, Emami, Dabur, Hyatt, Simplex, Mani Group and many more.

A unit of 50 tailors have been working since 2001 at his Behala factory. Annually the company produces 13000 shirts. The Alipore store has 2500 ready shirts with 500 shirts in each size ready,

His brand name is Brunito (meaning Rising Sun in Italian) is a tie up with an Italian designer label.

The price range is Rs.1800- Rs. 9500 per shirt.
MBABANE  The next instalment of the Casambo Jam Session is scheduled to take place in Nelspruit on June 25, 2017 at Casambo Exclusive Guest Lodge, a four star lodge owned and run by Carol Sanderson and her husband and business partner, Sambo Sanderson  hence the lodge being named Casambo  a combination of both their names.



The Casambo Jam Session is a music, art and business festival aimed at showcasing and empowering young local creatives and entrepreneurs hosted at Casambo Lodge. It has live music, stalls, art, poetry and dance. Gates open at 10am and the music performances begin at 3pm. The sessions take place on the last Sunday of every month and are in partnership with Ligwalagwala FM.



The invitation to host Master P comes shortly after he has been hosted at Coconuts Club in Maputo for the Alive Festival and, more recently, at the Bush Fire Festival. This phenomenal DJ is truly aiming to go all the way up and this can be witnessed through his recent accomplishments. His latest single, Phenomenal Party, has risen up the SBIS charts and is currently at number one, where his fans predicted it would ultimately land. He has recently been nominated under the MTN SWAMA category of DJ of the Year.



When asked for his comment on this new feat, he expressed himself as follows, This is an indication that the Master P brand has a loyal following and this is something I do not take for granted. It fuels my desire to succeed and not only live up to, but supersede the expectations of the Master P family. Right now, I am focused on getting those by the truckload so that I can add award-winning DJ to my resume. When probed about near future plans, the inked DJ alluded to the fact that growing the brand to stratospheric levels was item number one on his strategy.
His Majesty King Mswati III greeting members of the Royal Family upon arrival at Matsapha Airport yesterday afternoon. (pics: Sibusiso Zwane)

MBABANE  His Majesty King Mswati III, in his position as the SADC Chairperson, has sent a congratulatory message to the Kingdom of Lesotho for its successful 2017 National Assembly Elections.



In a message posted on the SADC website, His Majesty applauded the kingdom for what he termed peaceful, transparent and credible elections, which took place on June 3.



I also wish to commend the leaders of political parties of Lesotho for accepting the outcome of the results of the elections and for further demonstrating their commitment to democratic practices by signing on June 7, 2017, the Statement of Acceptance of Electoral Results by political parties in Lesotho, a process which was spearheaded by the Heads of the Churches of the Christian Council of Lesotho. This move is testament that the leaders have accepted the democratic will of the Basotho, His Majesty said.

The King sang praises to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of Lesotho, for delivering successful elections and for its professionalism throughout the process.



I applaud the Chairperson of the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, Dr John Pombe Magufuli as represented by Dr Augustine P. Mahiga, Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania, for his admirable leadership as the Head of the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) to Lesotho. I commend the work of SEOM in Lesotho, and the SADC Secretariat for coordinating the SEOM effectively. The mission promoted the holding and observation of democratic elections based on the shared values and principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights enshrined in the SADC Treaty and the Revised 2015 SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, said His Majesty in his press statement.


MBABANE  The celebration of mixed cultures will now bring sad memories for a Swazi family of Lobamba as their Canadian makoti has filed for divorce.



The woman is accusing her husband of having committed adultery with another woman who is a volunteer. In her particulars of claim, the woman stated that the High Court had jurisdiction to hear the matter by virtue of the fact that their marriage was celebrated in Swaziland. She informed the court that on or about May 3, 2014, the parties got married to each other by civil rites, in community of property.



She pointed out that the marriage still subsists and there was no child born out of matrimony. She claimed that her husband told her that he had an 11- year-old child, who was currently residing with his family at Mvutjini.



She further mentioned that during the subsistence of their marriage, the parties established their marital home and lived together as husband and wife in Ezulwini. In the particulars of claim, the Canadian succinctly stated that she no longer wished to continue with the marriage because of her husbands alleged unbecoming behaviour.



She disclosed that on or about September 2016, with the intention of not returning to her matrimonial home with her husband, she left the common home.

The desertion by the plaintiff of defendant was constructive due to the defendants unbecoming behaviour, reads part of her particulars of claim.
NHLANGANO  A schoolboy has been handed a 21-year jail sentence after he thumbed his nose at the law by stealing clothing belonging to other pupils.



The 19-year-old Form III pupil at Bambanani High School, situated in the Republic of South Africa, was dealt the full might of the law at the Nhlangano Magistrates Court yesterday, where he appeared before Principal Magistrate Florence Msibi, facing 14 counts of theft and a further charge of dagga possession.



All 14 counts of theft were in relation to a burglary which was committed at the Evelyn Baring High School boys hostel on April 2, 2017, where various clothing items were stolen, including school uniforms.

The teenager apparently jumped over the fence to gain access to the hostel.



Once inside, he stole various clothing items belonging to several pupils at the school.

His thievery finally caught up with him when investigators linked him to the crime. He was arrested at his parental homestead at Zombodze Emuva, where all the stolen items were recovered.



The boy was subsequently detained at the Nhlangano Police Station before he later appeared in court.

The teenager pleaded guilty to all the theft counts filed against him.

He admitted to walking into the hostel with a friend, who is in South Africa, where they took everything they wanted, ranging from jeans wear, shoes and other clothing items belonging to 14 pupils lodged at the hostel. He was duly convicted of the offence.
Mumbai, Jun 9 (IBNS): The Indian market closed higher on Friday, with BSE Sensex up 48.70 points at 31,262.06 and NSE Nifty up 21 points at 9,668.25.

Some of the key stocks that gained were Maruti Suzuki, Vedanta, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Hindalco, HDFC Bank and Asian Paints while while GAIL, Tech Mahindra, ITC, Wipro, Infosys, Tata Power and ONGC declined.

Infosys took a beating despite denying media allegations that its founders are planning to sell their stake in the company. The company even issued a statement denying the media reports, on Friday.

In the global market, the British Pound fell after the snap General Election held on Thursday failed to return a majority verdict on Friday. Theresa May is set to stake claim to form the government even though her party failed to win a clear majority.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said that the auto industry continues to grow but commercial vehicles sale slowed down. It also believes that GST regime can fuel further growth.

According to SIAM, the industry produced a total 4,675,407 vehicles including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three wheelers, two wheelers and quadricycle in April-May 2017 as against 4,313,445 in April- May 2016, registering a growth of 8.39 percent over the same period last year.

Image: WIkimedia Commons
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The NYPD was searching for seven individuals in connection with an assault of a Long Island City teenager, according to authorities.

It was reported to police that Monday, at approximately 2:30 p.m., seven individuals approached the 14-year-old victim on the northbound platform inside the 46th Street No. 7 train subway station.

The individuals proceeded to attack and punch the victim multiple times, police said.

The victim sustained multiple injuries to his body, but refused medical attention by EMS, according to authorities.

Police describe the suspects as Hispanic males between the ages of 14 and 16.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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By Bill Parry

When City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-East Elmhurst) decided against seeking a third term so she could spend more time with her young family, it left Hiram Monserrate, the disgraced former councilman and state senator alone in the field after he announced his candidacy in May. That did not last long.

Within hours of reading of the Ferreras-Copeland decision in Politico, state Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights) announced he would run last Friday. The next day, street safety advocate Cristina Furlong announced her intention to enter the race.

Moya, who lives on the same block where he was born in Corona, thinks he can do a better job helping the community by being closer to home.

Now is the time for a champion in the City Council to pass progressive legislation that protects the community, especially with the Trump administration out to punish cities like New York over the sanctuary movement and immigration, Moya said. In this community we need to elect the right type of individual, one with integrity. We know all too well how corruption and a lack of accountability can harm our community, and the last thing we need is to follow Ferreras-Copelands tenure with the kind of failed leadership of the past.

Meanwhile, when Ferreras-Copeland made her surprise announcement, Furlong, a 17-year resident of Jackson Heights, knew she had to enter the race.

With the current political climate nationally so critical to our quality of life here in our neighborhoods of the 21st District, I couldnt stand back and let the dialogue be between Assemblyman Moya and Mr. Monserrate, she said.

As a co-founder of Make Queens safer, Furlong found herself at odds with Moya in the three-year battle to make 111th Street safer for cyclists and pedestrians trying to cross into Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

I was disheartened to hear that the City Council would be down to only seven women out of 51 seats, she said. As a mother and parent on an extremely working-class income, I want to be able to support families in similar circumstances.

When her son entered his zoned public school in one of the citys most over-utilized buildings at 145 percent capacity, she became a strong advocate for both the schoolchildren and the committed teachers and administrators who mentor and empower them. As a PTA president and SLT member, she worked tirelessly to find solutions beyond the promise of new school construction that never keeps up with the growing population.

Furlong has spent nearly 10 years as a NYC tour guide taking cyclists from overseas around town.

Ive had the opportunity over the years to see closely every neighborhood in every borough through the eyes of tourists. Then I come back to Jackson Heights and wonder what keeps our culturally rich, and colorful neighborhood straggling behind others?  Furlong said. A Council member should be the districts biggest promoter, and I intend to stay very connected to the district by doing what Ive always done: shop in our markets, take my kid to the library, parks and bigger institutions like NYSCI. Only now, Ill have the resources to improve and promote them.

As for Monserrate, his expulsion from the state Senate in 2010 after he was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend, Karla Girado. was eventually followed by a 24-month prison sentence for mail fraud.

Monserrate has tried his political comeback three times, and each time he was spurned by voters in these neighborhoods, said Moya, who insisted he was not leaving the Assembly for the City Council because the salary is more than double.

My motivation is never about money, Moya said. I was very successful in the private sector, I just believe in public service.

Monserrate said the needs of the community have been ignored and voters are not interested in empty promises.

Our community isnt interested in elected officials who are more interested in a pay raise, Monserrate said. Our community is only interested in real leadership and real results.
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By Naeisha Rose

Concerned citizens from Jamaica who live between Van Wyck Expressway to 175th Street and from Hillside Avenue to the Long Island Rail Road tracks got a chance to meet police from the 103rd Precinct Tuesday in the first of many Neighborhood Community Officer meetings.

NCOs are police who residents can have direct contact with by calling, texting or emailing tips about crime in their area.

The NCO program is something the NYPD started doing because we felt that we lost the rapport with the neighborhood and the cops, Officer Louis York said at Queens Central Library. It started becoming about the summonses, harassing and stuff of that nature, so now we realized what a huge asset we lost in the community with the information that you guys have, and we lost that line of dialogue of information. What we do is have two cops that represent a sector, day in and day out, so they can know the community and the businesses.

Officer Patrick Lynch said the NCO program was created in wake of the elimination of foot-post policing that involved officers who stood around monitoring certain areas eight hours a day.

This requires us to be more creative in getting rid of problems, Lynch said.

Police and residents discussed the problems that plague the area and what they could do to address them together. The issues ranged from drugs, illegal vendors and public nuisance.

Representing the area known as Sector Adam were Officers Adam Sclafani and York.

For Amy Anderson, a senior citizen, fighting among the hundreds of children who leave from the local high school was becoming troublesome and scary for her and other elders in the neighborhood.

Its really bad, Anderson said. The monsters from Hillcrest [High School], what is being done to address it? The mobs that come down that hill  there is no respect for the elderly.

Anderson made a complaint to the 103rd Precinct about students harassing local storekeepers last week. Sclafani addressed the issue by going to each storekeeper and leaving them his contact cards so that they have an officer nearby to stop the problem next time.

The other cops also explained that some of the rowdy students who attend Hillcrest High School are not all from the Jamaica area, but are kids from Astoria and Long Island City who just dont have respect for the neighborhood. The officers said they have and will continue to speak with their parents.

The cops also said that they would add more undercover police to nab the individuals selling or using narcotics at the train station at Parson and Archer avenues.

Residents complained about Saint Josephs Medical Center, a methadone clinic on Hillside Avenue.

I despise it, Joe Moretti said. They dont have proper security and its people from Long Island there and they hang out at the park to do drugs and block sidewalks  thats the problem with Jamaica. Every hotel that is turned into a homeless shelter and every drug clinic is dumped into here.

The officers agreed about the methadone clinic being a problem and sent more undercover officers to the food places like the White Castle on 175th Street on Hillside. According to Sclafani there has been a reduction of nuisance at the burger joint, and they are trying to bring down crime at other eateries.

When it came to illegal vendors stealing resident parking to sell cars without permits, the 103rd is towing those vehicles and will continue to until it is no longer a viable business for those taking the parking spots on Hillside on 144th Street and near Queens Boulevard, Officer Timothy Russo said.

While the officers and the residents could not find an answer to every problem, they were happy by how far they have come, Officer David Strom said.
Mumbai, June 9 (IBNS): Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), an acknowledged national resource Institute for Entrepreneurship Education, Research, Training & Incubator, has tied up with Yes Bank, a private sector bank, to lend to start-ups supported by EDII.

In the first such initiative, Yes Bak is going to provide a loan of Rs 50 lakh to EDII supported start-up, Green Ideology under the CGTMSE program (Credit Guaratee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises).

Founded by Abhishek Lodha and Neerja Lakhani in 2013, Green Ideology has introduced Indias first premium organic antimicrobial lingerie brand Inner Sense.

Speaking about this initiative, Sunil Shukla, Director, EDII said, Since many years, EDII has been mentoring and supporting start-ups, especially those founded by alumni of our Institute. But, our ability to lend to these start-ups was miniscule as we are an educational institute. Now, in association with Yes Bank, EDII is in a position to provide debt to many of the start-ups whom we support in various ways. Additionally, EDIIs recently set up technology business incubator, Centre for Advancing & Launching Enterprises (CrAdLE), will also nurture start-ups in the fields of manufacturing, food/agri business, renewable energy and healthcare.

Commenting on the tie up, Rana Kapoor, Managing Director and CEO, Yes Bank, said, Start-ups are critical to the growth of the economy as they create job opportunities in addition to contributing to economic dynamism by spurring entrepreneurship and innovation. As an extension of our Yes Head-Startup program, we are pleased to collaborate with EDII to help start-ups scale up and grow rapidly, thereby creating a multiplier effect on the Indian economy. Yes Bank remains committed to growing this dynamic partnership, offering sector specific solutions and emerging as the Banking partner of choice for start-ups across India."

Elaborating on their business trajectory, Abhishek Lodha of Green Ideology said, It was difficult at first to explain the concept of organic and antimicrobial innerwear range to our customers. To top it, we also had to meet the requisite standard of yarn and fabric processing MOQ for this type of product. Our first collection had only eight styles and today we have more than 60 styles under our brand Inner Sense. Apart from our own e-commerce portal, our products are available on all major e-commerce sites. We are also selling our products in the US, UK, and Malaysia.

Neerja Lakhani of Green Ideology added, We will be increasing the width and depth in products and categories. We want to revolutionise the shopping experience by developing an innovative software as a fitting and styling guide. Our aim is to become one of the top 5 brands in the Indian lingerie industry.


Bridgewater looks to become a regional nightlife hub in western PA

Bridgewater bars offer patrons a nightlife experience that is unique from any other in western Pennsylvania
ALBANY  The Albany City School District's insurance carrier will pay nearly $400,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against former New Scotland Elementary School Principal Gregory Jones, who was removed from the position in 2013 but kept on district payroll for another two years in order to collect 20 years of credit in the teacher pension system.

The four teachers who filed the lawsuit will each receive lump sum payments: Deborah Cronin will get $85,000, Erin Reeve will get $70,000, Cathleen Rodriguez will get $50,000 and Kellie Zappone will get $20,000, according to the settlement, obtained by the Times Union through the Freedom of Information Law.

The law firm handling their case  Iseman, Cunningham, Riester & Hyde, LLP  will also get a combined $174,000 for attorneys' fees and reimbursement costs.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs declined to comment on the agreement, citing a non-disclosure clause that prohibits the parties from discussing the settlement, which was reached May 10 and approved by the board of education last week.

"This agreement is intended only to avoid the expense and inconvenience of litigation and is not, and shall not be deemed an admission of liability or a violation of any law, rule, regulation or order," it states.

The four women brought federal civil rights claims against Jones and the district in 2014, claiming Jones frequently harassed and intimidated them and the district did nothing to stop it. Among other things, they said, Jones would touch and make comments about their bodies, leer at them in their classrooms, and make references about engaging in sex.

Jones, who started with the district in 1994 and became principal of New Scotland in 2005, denied the allegations.

The state Division of Human Rights looked into the four teachers' claims and found "probable cause" for all of them, citing that several staff members said Jones was a "bully" who would "demean female staff members" and state that they "owed him."

Jones would threaten to transfer their jobs if they challenged him, according to state reports, and investigators obtained "witness corroboration of a severe and pervasive sexually hostile work environment."

Zappone, who filed an additional claim for retaliation, said that after she had complained about Jones she was falsely accused of test-tampering and placed on administrative leave. She was eventually allowed back after a State Education Department investigation resulted in no charges.

As part of the settlement, Zappone has agreed to retire at the end of the 2017-18 school year, when she becomes eligible for 30 years of credit in the New York State Teachers' Retirement System. Although she will still collect her teacher's salary of $101,910, she will vacate her post at New Scotland and take on a position developing curriculum.

If, when she retires, the teachers' retirement system determines she hasn't completed 30 years of service credit, the district has agreed to reemploy her "for the sole purpose" of helping her attain the credit, at which point she would be let go.
Lucknow, June 9 (IBNS) : The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP, or the UP Board) on Friday declared UP Board Result 2017 Class 10 and UP Board Result Class 12 together.

The results can be checked on official website upresults.nic.in.

Pass percentage for Class 10 is 81.6 per cent and for Class 12 is 82.5 per cent.

The result of Uttar Pradesh (UP) Class 12 exam was declared on Friday by the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP).

Students who had appeared for the examinations are required to check their respective results at the official website www.upresults.nic.in Class 12 topper.

According to reports, Priyanshi Tiwari of Saraswati Bal Mandir Inter College has topped Class 12 board exams 96.20 per cent while the topper in class 12 board exams is ejaswi Devi of Fatehpur district topped the Class 10 exams with 95.83 per cent.
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The cloud from the SUNY Polytechnic Institute scandal still hangs over New York state's high-tech sector.

While economic development officials market the state's various "mega" tech parks to potential tenants in the computer chip and semiconductor industries, they say there are still questions about SUNY Poly and whether its problems have been fixed.

Last year as federal investigators were closing in on SUNY Poly President Alain Kaloyeros, associates of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and several upstate contractors, state grant funding temporarily dried up on several of SUNY Poly's most high-profile projects, putting some of them in jeopardy.

Although those funding issues appear to have been corrected, economic development officials say executives in the tech world are still wary of what happened.

Steve Hyde is one of those economic development officials. Hyde, the CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, oversees the development and marketing of a 1,250 acre mega tech park outside of Batavia known as the Western NY STAMP.

The STAMP is one of several sites upstate that Empire State Development, the state's economic development arm, has been supporting with grants to make them "shovel ready" for potential high-profile tenants. The other sites are the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta, home to the GlobalFoundries Fab 8 computer chip factory, and the Marcy Nanocenter outside of Utica, a 400-acre site owned by SUNY Poly.

Hyde said during the 87/90 Semiconductor Summit in Saratoga Springs Thursday that a CEO in the semiconductor industry came and toured the STAMP site in April, giving Hyde an hour and a half of his time.

The CEO, Hyde said, was extremely impressed, especially because Hyde could offer power at just 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour from nearby hydropower plants.

"He said 'My goodness, this is one of the most cost-effective sites in North America,'" Hyde said.

But Hyde said that during the same visit the CEO pulled his aside and asked him to tell him what "really happened" with the SUNY Poly scandal, in which Kaloyeros and the other defendants were accused of rigging bids on projects for large Cuomo donors.

"Things have happened to deal with that," Hyde remembered telling the CEO. "You cut the cancer away and you move forward."

But Hyde also said that the CEO also cautioned him, noting that the industry cannot live with delays since technology evolves so rapidly.

"That money's got to flow on time, or we're out of here," the CEO said.

Another speaker Thursday in Saratoga Springs, Georgetown innovation policy professor Charles Wessner, said that when SUNY Poly picks a new president, it should be someone with ties to the semiconductor industry.

SUNY Poly is currently being led on an interim basis by Bahgat Sammakia, a former IBMer who stepped aside from his job as head of research at Binghamton University to guide SUNY Poly until a permanent leader can be chosen.

Wessner, who is doing a study of New York's high-tech economy, said just because Kaloyeros was indicted doesn't mean he is guilty, and he said that just because there has been a leadership change it doesn't mean that the entire institution itself has been disgraced.

He added that it would be a shame if a pure academic or political appointee was chosen to lead SUNY Poly. He said it would do more damage than good.

"The tendency is to select someone who has lots of publications," Wessner said. "But the genius of (SUNY Poly) is its close interaction and partnership with industry... probably that will be a challenge for the leadership here to ensure it's someone who is not like all the other university presidents. I'm quite sincere about that. It's a different institution that needs different leadership."
Albany County Sheriff's Office

NEW SCOTLAND  A Rotterdam woman told sheriff's investigators Friday that she'd been living with her dead pets inside a feces-covered home for months before the bank foreclosed on the property, the Albany County Sheriff's Office said.

Alice Boughton was arrested and now faces animal cruelty charges. Sheriff Craig Apple described the case as "absolutely disgusting."
NEW YORK  The Republican replacement plan for Obamacare is uniquely ill-suited for New Yorks insurance market and regulatory framework, a nonprofit devoted to improving the states health care found this week.

The United Hospital Fund said in a report released Thursday that the American Health Care Act would undermine insurance coverage gains that New York achieved under Obamacare, formally the Affordable Care Act. The state's uninsured rate is now 5.4 percent, about half of what it was in 2010, when the federal law was enacted.

The proposed federal legislation, currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate, would destabilize the individual health insurance market and increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs for lower-income New Yorkers who buy policies through NY State of Health, the states online exchange established under Obamacare.

Of particular concern for New York, the report said, are tax credits in the Republican proposal that are based on age rather than income or the cost of coverage, as under the current system. In New York, a high-cost state for health insurance, the American Health Care Act subsidies would cover a much smaller share of the premiums than in low-cost states, said Peter Newell, director of UHFs Health Insurance Project and author of the report.

New York has long prohibited insurance companies from charging different premiums based on age.

(T)he AHCA credits coupled with New Yorks prohibition on age-based rates would make coverage less affordable for younger and lower income enrollees, undermining the states efforts to maintain a stable risk pool, Newell said.

Funding for about 25 percent of New Yorks Essential Plan would also be cut under the Republican proposal, the UHF report said. The Essential Plan offers health coverage with premiums of $20 a month or less to about 650,000 New Yorkers above the income eligibility level for Medicaid.

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If the American Health Care Act is adopted, it would cause New York to rethink many long-settled issues, UHF said.

The ACA mirrored the states values in many ways, but its successor may not, forcing New York to either reconsider those values or decide how much it can afford  and is willing to pay  to preserve them, UHF President Jim Tallon said.

Earlier this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signaled his intent to maintain Obamacare in New York, with the announcement of emergency regulations that would keep the federal laws provisions intact and penalize health insurers if they withdraw from NY State of Health.
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In 1977, Kathy Dumas was a teenager working at Carvel Ice Cream in Yonkers, NY. She had started there because she needed a quick summer job to save up for a trip to Europe. She ended up staying with Carvel until 1985.

Since her first day, founder Tom Carvel took Dumas under his wing, so when he decided he wanted to make a fish-shaped Father's Day Cake, she was on hand to make it happen.

At the time, Dumas said, character cakes were big. Everyone was doing Mickey Mouse and other cartoons, but Carvel wanted his own unique character.

(One of his other characters, Cookie Puss, was a joke among the Carvel employees because they all thought it looked just like Carvel himself.)

Dumas and the whole Carvel team began the long and arduous task of designing a fish-shaped ice cream cake. Carvel's idea got a lot of push-back from within the company.

"People said 'this is fish and ice cream; it's never going to work,'" Dumas said. But Carvel insisted.

"I can't tell you how many fish we made that never made it out of the pond," she said.

Carvel was determined to make it perfect, and he had a vision in his head right down to the "Mona Lisa smile," Dumas said.

Finally, Carvel liked a fish Dumas was making one day because it was large and rectangularlike a whale. The only issue was that the tail kept falling off; their solution was to cover it in fudge, which would work like cement to keep it together.

And like many great inventions, out of a quick fix to a problem, Fudgie the Whale was born on June 1, 1977.

They shot a TV commercial in-house, and Fudgie the Whale blew up. "After that, I couldn't make enough whales," she said.

The day after Father's Day, Carvel came into the store and said "I told you!"

Now, Fudgie the Whale is made using a mold and more than 50,000 of the cakes are sold every year in Carvel shops.

"Fudgie the Whale holds a special, nostalgic place in the hearts of many Americans across multiple generations," Scott Colwell, president of Carvel said in a press release. "He represents memories of pure joy and togetherness, all the way down to his core of irresistible crunchies!"

To celebrate the whale's 40th birthday, Carvel is partnering with the non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization, Save the Whales, which is also celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Today, Dumas is the VP of production at a gluten and dairy-free bakery called By the Way, which has locations in Greenwich, Conn, New York City and Westchester, NY.

"I learned my skills from Carvel," Dumas said. "I was able to get a better education than I got anywhere."

Throughout the years, Carvel let Dumas work in all aspects of the business from equipment, supply purchase, contracts and, of course, making ice cream.

"I worked with Mr. Carvel everyday, she said. "He was an incredible mentor." Dumas remembers being in her wedding dress, waiting to go to the church to get married, and talking to Carvel on the phone about food dye.

Carvel died in 1990, and Dumas said her biggest regret is not telling him how much he influenced her life.

Dumas is still a loyal customer; she buys Carvel ice cream every Wednesday, but she never would have guessed Fudgie would still be around.

"For some reason that silly thing just caught on," she said. "It's a mold that stood the test of time. I'm shocked."
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"The music capital of the world, starting Friday, will be the Monterey County Fairgrounds, not Nashville, not Tin Pan Alley and neither London nor Hollywood," wrote Ralph J. Gleason in The San Francisco Chronicle on June 11, 1967, days before music history would be made.

"The first annual Monterey International Pop Festival," he continued, "is bringing to the Fairgrounds Arena the greatest aggregation of popular song stars ever assembled in any one place for a weekend event."

Gleason was hardly hyperbolizing.

Monterey Pop, held June 16 to 18, 1967, is the rock festival that started it all, beckoning hippies to the seaside town of Monterey while the tune of "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" wafted softly through the air.

As Ben Sisario writes in the New York Times, Monterey Pop "served as the blueprint for the explosion of rock festivals that culminated in Woodstock, and with its crowds of face-painted hippies and slogan of 'music, love and flowers,' Monterey defined the look, spirit and sound of the Summer of Love."

Scroll through the above gallery to glimpse some of the sights at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival.

Although pivotal in the history of rock n' roll, the festival was actually puny by modern festival standards.

"Everybody assumes it was like Woodstock, but there were probably 10,000 people, total," D.A. Pennebaker, who filmed the festival, told The Chronicle in March. For comparison, over 400,000 flocked to Woodstock two years later. An estimated 70,000 attended just the first day of Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park last year.

Monterey Pop delivered on big pop names with now-historic performances from Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and Simon and Garfunkel. Smaller names, too, had their moments in the spotlight; tunes of San Francisco's Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead were launched out of local fandom and into the sound systems of rock n' roll fans globally.

Famous or obscure, acts were asked to perform for free; organizers Lou Adler and John Phillips (of the Mamas and the Papas) deemed the festival a charity event.

Five decades later, on the exact same calendar dates, the Monterey International Pop Festival will celebrate its 50th anniversary with 24 performers on a single stage.

See also: Monterey Pop 50th anniversary concert lineup announced

Acts like Father John Misty, Norah Jones, and Jack Johnson will play on the same grounds as the 60s rock legends, although for much higher prices. Tickets for the original show cost $3 to $6.50 a day, compared to $105 for a one-day general admission pass at this year's festival.

The price is but fine print for many. As Jim James, who performs on the Saturday of the festival, explained to the Times, "There's so much at stake in the world and so much trouble in the world. We need as many reasons as possible to get together in the name of peace and love."

Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
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The sight of a humpback whale fluke set against the New York City skyline is an anomaly no longer.

For the first time in 100 years, sizable numbers of humpback whales are being spotted in the waters off NYC, and it's thanks to years of environmental clean-up efforts, Popular Science reports.

"Because of the improvement of the water quality, algae and zooplankton have multiplied, giving good food for the menhaden [a small fish eaten by whales], which have returned in numbers that the fishermen say they have not seen in their lifetimes," Gotham Whales founder Paul L. Sieswerda told Pop Sci.

Until the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1977, New York City's waters were a dumping ground for everything from medical waste to factory run-off. Some of those chemicals were cancer-causing, the EPA said.

New Yorkers have seen a significant rise in whale sightings over the past few years, and the trend is only accelerating in 2017. The whales are thought to be ducking into New York for a bit of sightseeing and feeding on their migration routes up and down the coast. Back in November, a whale was seen near the Statue of Liberty, prompting the Coast Guard to send out warnings to nearby boaters.

The whale sightings are so frequent, there are multiple ferry companies offering whale-watching tours.

On a recent American Princess Cruises excursion, lucky whale-watchers saw four humpbacks in a single trip. In 2016, the Telegraph reported that 20 whales were seen all year.

A similar trend, also credited to conservation efforts, has been seen with the shark population in California. The Clean Water Act and the Marine Life Protection Act have boosted the numbers of great white sharks  and marine mammals in general  according to scientists.
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Tehran, Iran

Five of the men who launched an attack in the heart of Iran's capital previously fought for the Islamic State group, the country's Intelligence Ministry said Thursday, acknowledging the first such assault by the extremists in the Shiite power.

The attacks Wednesday on Iran's parliament and the tomb of its revolutionary leader killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 40, stunning its people.

The ministry issued a statement on its website with bloody pictures of the men's corpses. It identified them by their first names only, saying they didn't want to release their last names due to security and privacy concerns for their families.

It described them as "long affiliated with the Wahhabi," an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia. However, it stopped short of directly blaming the kingdom for the attack, though many in the country expressed suspicion Iran's regional rival had a hand in the attack.

The men had left Iran to fight for the extremist group in Mosul, Iraq, as well as Raqqa, Syria  the group's de facto capital, the ministry said. It said they returned to Iran in August under the command of an Islamic State leader and escaped when authorities initially broke up their extremist cell.

The ministry did not identify the men's hometowns, nor say how they were able to evade authorities. A woman suspected to be involved in the attack was arrested Wednesday.

Commuters in the Iranian capital noticed police on street corners and motorcycles, more than usual as dawn broke. That came after Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari, a deputy Interior Minister, told state TV that "law enforcement activities may increase."

"We are focused on intelligence" gathering, he said.

The state-run IRNA news agency also reported Thursday that the death toll in the attacks had risen to 17 people killed, citing Ahmad Shojaei, the head of the country's forensic center.

The attack Wednesday as lawmakers held a session in parliament and at the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini shocked Iranians who so far had avoided the chaos that has followed the Islamic State group's rise in Syria and Iraq. Iranian forces are backing embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad while the Shiite power also is supporting militias fighting against the extremists in Iraq.
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A vigil planned for missing teen Deborah Joy-Loay Trout turned into an impromptu celebration Friday evening when her parents learned the 16-year-old had been found.

Trout, a Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School student, had been missing since May 30. Police found her Friday in a Schenectady apartment not far from Proctors theater, her father, Michael Trout, said.

"I feel like a 1,000 tons of weight has been lifted from my shoulders," he said. "I can breathe again."

The missing teen, adopted by the Trouts when she was a toddler, recently transferred from a school in Schenectady, and police and her parents concentrated their search in the city.

The vigil was set for 7 p.m. at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on North Main Avenue in Albany, near The College of Saint Rose. The crowd, which included Mayor Kathy Sheehan, was told that

Trout had been found just minutes before the gathering was set to begin.

"Our sadness has been turned into joy," said Rev. Mary Robinson White at the beginning of what she called a revised service  a "Thanksgiving for Deborah's Return."

The crowd greeted Michael and Luann Trout, the teen's mother, with sustained applause and hugs. Some in the gathering wiped tears from their eyes as the group sung song with a celebratory theme.

A statement issued by Bethlehem police Friday evening said Trout was "safe with police who are continuing their investigation into her whereabouts and the circumstances of her disappearance over the last few days."

Michael Trout said he and his wife were running late for the vigil when the phone rang at their Selkirk home. He was tempted not to answer it, he said, but Luann believed they should.

"It might be good news," she said.

And it was.

Bethlehem Detective Michael Whiteley was on the line, ready to deliver news the parents had longed to hear for 10 days: We found Deborah.

"We were practically out the door," Michael Trout said, "and then everything changes."

The father said it wasn't clear when the parents would be able to see their daughter. He said he had been told that Deborah appeared to be unharmed when found.

Trout described the teen as intense and determined, particularly when it came to playing hockey, but said she had struggled with school-related anxiety in the weeks before her disappearance. She had also suffered from several hockey-related concussions, he said.

"We don't know what she's been through," he said. "At least we know she is safe."

Police initially assumed that Trout was a runaway, but as the length of her disappearance continued, they began to worry she'd been a crime victim. Detectives said interviews with the teen's friends had hit a wall.

"They obviously know something," said Bethlehem Commander Adam Hornick.

At the conclusion of Friday's service, Michael and Luanne Trout dropped to their knees in prayer and remained there for several minutes.

"Praise the Lord and what a relief," Luanne Trout said afterward. "We just love our daughter. She's the most wonderful kid in the world."
THE ISSUE:

The former FBI director describes disturbing behavior by the president and grave threats to the nation.

THE STAKES:

Are Republicans in Congress even listening?

More Information To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com or at http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion See More Collapse

---

James Comey's calm testimony Thursday belied the gravity of what the former FBI director told the Senate Intelligence Committee  that President Donald Trump sought to quash an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and that Russia was, and still is, determined to undermine American elections.

As Mr. Comey tells it, the president tried to get him to shut down the investigation of Mr. Flynn's contacts with Russian figures and payments from foreign sources. Mr. Comey told the committee of a meeting in which Mr. Trump said of the Flynn probe, "I hope you can let this go"  a statement Mr. Comey took as "a directive," as anyone would from a president.

He did not comply, to his credit, and that was probably his undoing. Mr. Trump  who Mr. Comey said also complained about wanting to get out from under "the cloud" of the FBI's counterintelligence probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion by members of the president's campaign  fired an uncompliant Mr. Comey May 9. The president has acknowledged that the Russia probe was his motivation.

To be clear: We're talking about a president trying to shut down a criminal investigation, and possibly a counterintelligence investigation, actions that would qualify as obstruction of justice, at least. That's both a crime and an impeachable offense.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter.

Mr. Comey's testimony, it's worth noting, came a day after key intelligence officials refused to tell the committee whether the president asked them to shut down the Russia investigation.

Then there's Mr. Comey's affirmation of Russian interference in the election, an issue Mr. Trump has repeatedly called "fake news." Yet as we learned this week from a leaked document, Russian intelligence actors attempted last year not just to get embarrassing information on Mr. Trump's rival, Hillary Clinton, but also to gain access to U.S. election software and hardware.

In the face of such a serious matter, Mr. Trump and his allies in Congress assert that leaks of information are the real problem, not Russia's assault on our democratic process, with possible collusion by the president's associates. House Speaker Paul Ryan seeks to explain away the president's leaning on the FBI director as just a case of a new guy on the job. And Mr. Trump and those close to him seek to fan the partisan flames, with the president telling a faith group Thursday that Democrats are "bad right now for the country" and his son Eric Trump calling them "not even human."

America has lurched from controversy to controversy, scandal to scandal large and small so much lately that it might be easy to see Thursday as just another episode in some national soap opera. It was not. What any American willing to listen heard was a respected lawman describe, even if he wouldn't use the word, obstruction by a president, and issue a clear warning that a foreign state is out to subvert our democracy.

The call could not have been louder for Congress to rise above partisan politics and, as Mr. Trump likes to say, put America first.
Liz Graznak is the co-owner of Happy Hollow Farm, a family operation located on the rolling hills of Jamestown, Missouri, USA., where she grows crops like tomatoes, greens and corn.

Graznak said she's seen big changes in weather conditions since she started farming 10 years ago. These days, she said, "it's more extreme one way or the other."

This and other effects of climate change represent a global challenge, and farmers like Graznak have found themselves on the front lines of the struggle to adapt.

For her, that's meant altering the way she farms. Large tunnels covered in plastic dot the seven acres where she grows vegetables, protecting them from greater variability in rainfall and temperature. More plastic is the way that I feel like most mid-Missouri small-scale farmers are trying to deal with the challenges of the weather, she said.

In the village of Joynagar in Bankura district, in the Indian state of West Bengal, Srimonto Soren is dealing with such challenges in his own way. He grows rice, long beans (which resemble green beans), and ladys fingers better known in the U.S. as okra. Date palms and shrubs grow along a flat landscape where the red soil can be hard to grow crops in.



Like Graznak, Soren has been farming for the past 10 years, and noticed shifts that affect his livelihood, such as rainfall that's now "more erratic and unpredictable." Soren and other farmers in the area look to low-cost ways to adjust to these shifts, such as making vermicompost, produced when earthworms speed up the breakdown of organic waste. The product is then added to the soil to make it more fertile and resilient to variable weather conditions.



In the agricultural heartlands of India and the United States, extreme weather events have caused damage to millions of acres of crops. Not only does this jeopardize the incomes of farmers, it puts food supplies in the United States, India and the world at risk.



Farmers are divided on the root causes of climate change. But experts who work to help them adapt say farmers are increasingly united in the recognition that their environment is changing. In places as far-flung as West Bengal and Missouri, farmers have very little choice but to seek out practical solutions to preserve their livelihoods.



According to data from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 were each the warmest years on record. Climate change experts say the warming climate is driving up the numbersof droughts, floods, storms, heat waves and other weather events that can devastate crops.

Water Woes

For farmers in both India and the United States, wild changes in precipitation can cause some of the most immediate problems connected to climate change.



As the earths surface warms, water from oceans, lakes, rivers and streams evaporates and rises, gathering in the clouds and resulting in rain, storms and snowfall. At other times and in other places, the warming climate increases and intensifies droughts.



All farmers depend on some level of predictability in the weather to manage their businesses. Large fluctuations in precipitation patterns can result in issues such as changes to planting and growing seasons and lower crop yields.



Extreme rainfall has devastated many farms in India. In March 2015, heavy rains fell throughout India. In states such as Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, it was the wettest spring in decades, if not on record, according to the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi.



Farmers in parts of India plan for occasional heavy rainfalls, since they are a regular feature of the climate in many regions of the subcontinent. But that spring saw especially intense rainfalleven for a string of years with precipitation far higher than normal.



The rains came just as farmers were preparing to harvest their winter crops  from wheat and sugarcane to mangoes and bananas  and the impacts were huge. In Uttar Pradesh, the Indian state most affected by the event, crops in more than 65 percent of the affected area experienced 33 percent or more damage, data from the center shows. That cost farmers more than $3 billion.



In Missouri, farmers are also feeling the effects of volatile precipitation levels.



Jerry Hatfield, laboratory director at the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said dry summers reduce farmers yields  and their profits go down. Wet springs, meanwhile may delay planting because the soil is so waterlogged. Again, farmers lose money.

Dr. Patrick Guinan, a professor of climatology at the University of Missouri, said wet springs are the biggest problem for farmers in Missouri right now. You can go back 30-40 years; you're not going to find a wetter period in Missouri, he said.



Livelihoods at stake



Hatfield, who co-authored a climate adaptation workbook aimed at farmers in the Midwest, travels often to rural areas in the region, giving presentations on measures farmers can take to make their crops more resilient in the face of increasingly variable weather patterns. He said the farmers he talks to have many questions about how to protect their crops.



They live and they survive around the weather conditions theyre experiencing, Hatfield said.



Richard Oswald, head of the Missouri Farmers Union, said many farmers he works with can be resistant to change, but are willing to do what they need to do to protect their crops when their livelihoods are at stake.



Some of them are early adopters, he said. Others have to watch that for a long time before theyre really ready to make a change.



When Hatfield talks to farmers about adaptation methods, he says he finds it best not to push them toward any particular course of action. Every one of them kind of makes their decisions a little bit differently, he said. Theyve got to adapt it into their system.



To keep the conversation focused on what farmers can do in the face of an already changing climate, Hatfield steers conversations away from discussions of the causes of climate change that have become increasingly partisan in recent years. A poll by the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C, found that in 2016, 70 percent of people who supported Hillary Clinton for president believed climate change is due to human activity, whereas only 22 percent of Donald Trumps supporters agreed. Ive become very artful at dodging that whole question, said Hatfield.



But Hatfield says that the farmers he speaks to dont doubt that things are changing. They see the evidence and they live that evidence. Most of them are saying: How do I cope with this?



Preparing for the future

While adaptations can help farmers worldwide face the climate change effects happening now, some scientists argue they will be insufficient later on.



The International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy and Sustainability at Washington University in St. Louis supports research intoclimate. A recent paper by a team at the center suggested that eventually, the Midwests agricultural profile may come to resemble that in a very different area of the country -- the mid-South.



The paper says aggressive research into how farmers can cope with dramatic changes are necessary if the region known as the nations breadbasket will continue to be able to produce anything like the yields it has in the past.



In India, the situation is becoming similarly extreme. Vineet Kumar, a program officer at the Centre for Science and Environment said the number of floods and droughts has brought Indias agriculture to a state of crisis. While those events take a tremendous toll on farmers in developed nations, they can be even more destructive in places in India where infrastructure is weaker and farmers have less access to new adaptation techniques.



Like Missouri farmers, Kumar says Indian farmers have a deep awareness of the effect variable climates have on their crops. While they may not understand the greater effects and implications (of) global warming or climate vulnerability, they are very much aware of its daily effects, said Kumar.



The stakes are high in India. According to the latest census there, 69 percent of Indias population lives in rural areas. Many of them are directly dependent on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, forestry, livestock, fishery, etc., not only for income and employment but also for basic food and nutrition security, said Rajashree Joshi, member of a team looking at climate change adaptation with BharatiyaAgro Industries Fdn.



With no end in sight to these variations, researchers are trying to find ways for farmers to cope moving forward.



In Missouri, a team at St Louis University is exploring how genetic factors in the root systems of grapevinesaffect their leaves, fruits, stems and other characteristics refer to as scion traits.



One researcher on the team, Missouri State University Professor Lazlo Kovacs, says the process of identifying how those traits are produced could one day help identify ways to breed more resilient plants. That way, even if conditions get far worse, farmers can buy seeds to grow plants that can survive and feed us in the future.

Whether adaptation methods are cutting edge, or build on techniques that have been used for centuries, farmers across the globe remain at the forefront of the effort to adjust to the demands of a rapidly changing climate. Their choices will have far-reaching impacts on the worlds food supply, and therefore everyone on the planet in the years to come.

(Images by Avishek Mitra and Video by Anna Kohls)
Titusville Free Methodist Church pastors, Timothy Maybray and Matt Johnson, told the students in attendance that their graduation would serve as a bridge, of sorts, transporting them from one chapter of their life to the next.
June 09, 2017

MSDN subscriptions are the latest rage with businesses and students alike. More and more people are jumping on the bandwagon and taking up this subscription. But, if you are clueless about what a MSDN subscription is and what it has to offer, or on the fence regarding whether you should get yourself one, here are a few things that you need to know about this new trend.







What is MSDN Subscription?

The biggest question that is in peoples minds is what exactly is a MSDN subscription? MSDN stands for Microsoft (News - Alert) Developer Network. Microsofts new MSDN subscription package is a historic offer which will offer its holders premium services at practically throwaway prices! By purchasing it, a developer will gain access and licenses to use almost all the software that Microsoft has ever released for the public. The price of a visual studio MSDN subscription ranges between $2,000 to $20,000 per year per subscription, depending on the level of access. Except for the library-only subscription, which is the cheapest package, all the holders of this subscription are sent new Microsoft software, either on DVDs or via download, every time a new update arrives, which is typically every few weeks or months. Although the software is usually on specially marked discs for MSDN subscribers, it is not different from the volume-licensed retail software that is released for the public. MSDN subscription offers you exclusive access to a rich collection of premium content and cutting-edge technology at unbelievably low prices.

What do I get when I buy a MSDN Subscription?

Since you have to shell out quite a bit of money to purchase this package, you might be wondering why you should purchase it, or if the subscription is even worth spending that much. Well, the answer is a resounding yes! This is, undoubtedly, an excellent plan, with not only premium tools and software, but also so much more.

Visual Studios Software Assurance You can only purchase MSDN as an add-on to your Visual Studio license. If you own an active MSDN Subscription along with Visual Studio, you get access to all the past as well as all the future versions of Visual Studio. It is to be noted that Software Assurance is compulsory for all purchases on a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA), therefore MSDN is necessary for all Visual Studio licenses that have been purchased on an EA.

Development/Test Environment licenses MSDN offers its users the ability to access or use any Microsoft Enterprise product they want for Dev/Test purposes. All products like WinServer, BizTalk, SQL Server, SharePoint, Visio, Dynamics, MSProject, MSOffice etc. are available to its subscribers. This allows one to build a robust and flexible dev/test environment without having to purchase all the individual software that they are using.

Team Foundation Server (TFS) TFS license AND TFS CAL have now been included within all the different tiers of MSDN subscriptions. Hence, if you are buying your MSDN subscription with Visual Studio, you are also licensed to make use of TFS. This is a very profitable deal for a developer, as every individual package doesnt have to be paid for.

Team Foundation Service Team Foundation Service delivers the complete Team Foundation Server 2012 functionality via the cloud. It was launched in October 2012 as a nudge to cloud computing. Complete licensing for this service is supplied in Vs/MSDN Premium and Ultimate.

eLearning Classes Not only an excellent suite of software package, subscription to MSDN also comes with around 20 to 40 hours of online training sessions per calendar year, which is otherwise estimated at $3,500 value. This is a valuable service not only in terms of money, but also for self-growth and improvement.

Tech Support Calls Every MSDN subscription package also includes tech support on around two to four incidents, each worth around $250. This excellent subscription pack is indeed too good to be true. It comes loaded with not only excellent software but also training and support.

Azure Development As the rest of the world is embracing cloud storage with open arms, Microsoft is far ahead of the competition. If you have always wanted to get into cloud computing, MSDN also includes a monthly allowance of Azure, Microsofts cloud services for computing and storage.

If your boss or parents are still on the fence regarding whether they should purchase it for you or not, here are the reasons why it is an excellent investment!

Big tools for small price

Microsofts Open Licensing is a simple, flexible and cost-effective approach to buying and maintaining Microsofts latest technology within the legal bounds of license. This has been designed to offer its users a simplified form of license management, lower software management prices and greater autonomy over IT investments. Thus, whether you are a student or running a business, this is value for money as you get all the premium software and so much more at unbelievably low prices.

Cloud computing

With monthly access to Azure, Microsofts cloud based storage and computing system, you can finally take your work to the next level. With cloud based computing you can give serverless computing a try without having to purchase and set up a cloud system separately, as it comes within the price you pay for your MSDN subscription. It is a faster and more efficient way of running a business.

Developer tools

The rich array of developers tools that come with the subscription package is a goldmine for any developer. Even if you are not one, it can give you a lucrative push to develop your skills. If you are a student who is looking into developing as a career option or hobby, this is extremely useful as it gives access to premium tools which could have otherwise cost so much more, if one wanted to purchase separately. Sometimes you are also entitled to early access to new tools before they are released.

Free upgrades

This subscription gives you access to all the software that Microsoft has ever released to the public. Not only that, every time a software is upgraded, holders of the MSDN subscription are sent the upgraded software in either a physical disc or a licensed soft copy via the cloud. This is what makes it a great value for money package, as one saves a substantial amount in upgrades every time a software is updated. One can get access to the best and the newest technology without spending a cent extra.

Training and support

Along with the best developing tools, software and excellent cloud facilities, Microsoft is also giving out exclusive training sessions and sterling tech support to the subscribers of the MSDN packs. The training alone is valued at around $3,500, which is included in the package. Each tech support session, which costs approximately $250, is also available to the users. It is a great new endeavor as Microsoft is not only selling its products at practically nothing, but also offering excellent post sale services.

The MSDN subscription pack is an excellent buy if you are a regular user of Microsofts products. You save quite a lot of money, get access to the coolest innovative technology and so much more!

About the Author

I began writing as a professional on my personal blog and then discovered my true calling, which is writing about technology and news in general. I am a technical writer, author and blogger since 2005. An industry watcher that stays on top of the latest features, extremely passionate about juicy tech news and everything related to gadgets. For tech tips, my email address is neneacostea at gmail.

Edited by Alicia Young
[June 09, 2017] Online Public Schools in Nevada to Celebrate First Graduating Classes

Nevada Passport Academy (NVPA) and Destinations Career Academy of Nevada (NVDCA), both statewide online public schools, will celebrate their first graduating classes on Monday, June 12, with a joint graduation ceremony at 5 p.m. at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170609005580/en/ Eight members of the Class of 2017 will graduate from NVPA and NVDCA, which both opened to Nevada students in July 2016. Daniel Diamond, head of school at both NVPA and NVDCA, will address the graduating class, and teachers and staff from both schools will be in attendance to recognize the students' achievements. "The Class of 2017 has achieved an important milestone," Diamond said. "We are so proud to see these students earn their high school diplomas, an accomplishment they have pursued with determination and fervor." An online public high school for under-credited students, NVPA is designed to help students under the age of 21 who haven't finished their high school education get back on track and earn a diploma. NVPA combines online coursework with classroom work taught by certified teachers to provide a unique individualized learning experience for each student. Flexible hours mean that school can be adapted to the student's schedule, situation and life, allowing greater opporunities for the future.



NVDCA is a career and technical education (CTE)-focused online public charter school program authorized by the White Pine School District for college- and technical career-minded high school students. NVDCA gives students the opportunity to obtain specialty trade skills by offering four years of occupational training in an industry pathway of their choice. The school provides two program options for students in key industries of growth in the state: business management and administration and health science. Media is welcome at this event. Details are as follows:

Nevada Passport Academy & Destinations Career Academy of Nevada Graduation Ceremony

Monday, June 12, 2017 - 5 p.m.

Las Vegas Springs Preserve

333 S Valley View Blvd

Las Vegas, NV 89107 About Nevada Passport Academy Nevada Passport Academy (NVPA) is a tuition-free online public high school for under-credited students. NVPA is designed to help Nevada students who are under the age of 21 on Sept. 30 of the year they enroll and who will graduate before they turn 21 get back on track and earn their high school diploma. As part of the Nevada public school system, NVPA is tuition-free. NVPA utilizes the curriculum provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of K-12 proprietary curriculum and online education programs. For more information about NVPA, visit http://nvpa.k12.com. About Destinations Career Academy of Nevada Destinations Career Academy of Nevada (NVDCA) is a full-time online public charter school program authorized by the White Pine School District that serves students in grades 9-12 statewide. As part of the Nevada public school system, NVDCA is tuition-free, providing parents and families the choice to access the award-winning curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of K-12 proprietary curriculum and online education programs. For more information about NVDCA, visit http://nvdca.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/20170609005580/en/

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[June 09, 2017] Neighborhood Sun Completes Equity Seed Round and Expands Board of Directors

SILVER SPRING, Md., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Gary Skulnik, CEO and Founder of Neighborhood Sun Benefit Corp., announced today that the firm had successfully completed a recent round of funding from local angel investors. The infusion of capital gives the company the resources it needs as it begins operations in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Neighborhood Sun is a B-Corp with a mission to strengthen communities through local solar power projects that provide affordable energy and jobs. The amount raised was $390,000. "We had an amazing response to our fundraising efforts, and we were oversubscribed in the round," said Skulnik. "The quality and depth of experience of our investors and advisors will help us grow the company and meet our mission-related goals." William (Bill) M. Bumpers led the group of investors. A senior partner and DC Environmental Chair at a national law firm, he is joining the Board of Directors of Neighborhood Sun, along with Skulnik and co-founder Scott Nash, owner of MOM's Organic Market. "I've been working on climate change for three decades. Companies like Neighborhood Sun, with their innovative approach to building community and supplying energy through solar power, are at the leading edge of true solutions," said Bumpers. "Im thrilled at the opportunity to be involved with this company and have the opportunity to help guide it to a great future."



The company has been active in Maryland for a year, but the state's community solar market is just opening up this summer. The team at Neighborhood Sun is ready to focus on what they do best, acquiring and managing customers for community solar projects. Skulnik has been active in promoting clean energy solutions to climate change in Maryland and DC for two decades. He previously co-founded and ran Clean Currents, which was Maryland's first company focusing exclusively on clean energy. Senior Advisor and investor John Paul Moscarella said, "Neighborhood Sun has a strong management team with a track record of acquiring and managing thousands of residential and commercial customers." He added, "This company can grow quickly in this new, and rapidly growing solar space."

About Neighborhood Sun: We're your friendly and trusted clean energy social enterprise with a mission to empower neighborhoods to choose local community solar. Community, or shared solar, allows electricity consumers to purchase solar from a local project, with no need to install any equipment. We are founded by the former leader of Clean Currents, the area's first exclusively green energy company, which brought together thousands of people, businesses and organizations to switch to wind and solar power. Our goal is to be the most trusted, transparent solar brand in the market. For us, solar is about creating strong communities. For more information: Gary Skulnik, CEO, [email protected], 202-413-8434

www.neighborhoodsun.solar, @neighborhoodsun, Facebook.com/neighborhoodsun To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neighborhood-sun-completes-equity-seed-round-and-expands-board-of-directors-300471413.html SOURCE Neighborhood Sun Benefit Corp

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[June 09, 2017] Tamaggo 360LiveCam, Sharing Life Moments Through Immersive 360 Photos and Videos in Real-Time With One Click

GENEVA, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Capture your life moments in real time and share them instantly with the new Tamaggo 360LiveCam, now available for pre-orders on Kickstarter. With just one click, Tamaggo 360LiveCam seamlessly captures your experiences with 360 photos and videos you can share live or on-demand via direct weblinks or social networks. With Tamaggo 360LiveCam, anyone can feel like they are with you in an immersive way, at any time, wherever you are. As of today, Tamaggo 360LiveCam is available on Kickstarter for a special price of $299, instead of the $449 MSRP. Backers will not only save up to 33% on the price, but will also be the first to start sharing their life moments with Tamaggo 360LiveCam. Tamaggo is turning to Kickstarter to get as many Tamaggo 360LiveCams in production as possible, as it is the company's mission to create life-changing experiences that connect people. Crafted in Switzerland, the 360LiveCam's high-quality functionality and design were important to the company. The Tamaggo 360LiveCam's sleek egg shape fits ergonomically in the hand and includes an intuitive touchscreen. Further, its image quality is unsurpassed due to the company's partnership with Immervision, the worldwide expert in 360 lens and designers of an exclusive lens for Tamaggo. The camera's single lens reproduces human sight and was designed based on a patented panomorph distribution of pixels that enables a homogenous high-quality image without distortion, even on the edges and even in low light. The sngle lens also gives the added benefit of no image stitching needed, which reduces processing and energy consumption. Additionally, the Tamaggo 360LiveCam includes patented embedding of orientation data in each frame of view to provide a stabilized viewing experience no matter the position of the camera.



Tamaggo 360LiveCam's 360 photos and videos are easily viewed, managed and shared through Tamaggo's companion app made for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. The app was created by Fueled NY, the world-renowned app developer for HBO, Verizon and Porsche, among others, to make immersive content seamlessly shareable with any device on social media. The Tamaggo 360LiveCam and companion app deliver on the functionality and technical specifications that are focused on the user experience: ease-of-use, live features, image quality and touch screen control.

Resources: Tamaggo 360LiveCam Kickstarter

Tamaggo website

Tamaggo Press Kit

Tamaggo Facebook

Tamaggo Instagram

Tamaggo Twitter

Tamaggo Snapchat

Tamaggo Youtube

Tamaggo Pinterest About Tamaggo

Tamaggo Enterprises SA is a privately held company, with the mission of re-connecting people by creating life-changing experiences. The company is building a premium, differentiated brand of technology products and services with an innovative 360 imaging device. The company uses the paradigms of imaging to propose a new angle for consumers to share who they are and what they live. For more information visit www.tamaggo.com Contact: Susan Lusty

415-269-0226

[email protected]

Karen Blondell

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tamaggo-360livecam-sharing-life-moments-through-immersive-360-photos-and-videos-in-real-time-with-one-click-300470955.html SOURCE Tamaggo

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New Delhi/New York, Jun 09 (IBNS): Indian ride hailing app Ola and New York-based law firm Wigdor LLP have in separate statements slammed car hailing service Uber, after reports of a sacked former company executive belonging to the latter seeking confidential medical reports of a Delhi woman raped by an Uber driver during a ride, did the rounds.

Ola has termed the incident as an "attempt to trivialise a horrific crime" referring to the Dec 2014 incident in which a young woman was raped by an Uber driver in the national capital region.

In a response to a query by Economic Times, Ola said in a statement, "If this report were to be even remotely true, this is an all-time low on morality and a reflection of the very character of an organisation."

"It is a shame that the privacy and morals of a woman have to be questioned in an attempt to trivialise a horrific crime. It is despicable that anyone can even conceive an attempt to malign competition using this as an opportunity," the statement added.

Meanwhile, the law firm, Wigdor LLP, who represented the victim in the law-suit against Uber, has said that it hopes for an apology from Travis Kalanick and Eric Alexander.

In a statement, Douglas H Wigdor, the founding partner of Wigdor LLP said, "It is incredible in this day and age that one could even fathom that a legitimate rape victim was part of a conspiracy by a rival firm to harm Uber."

"Sadly, these views, coupled with the scrutiny of private medical records, support rape culture and must end. Given the media reports, it is our sincere hope that Messrs. Kalanick and Alexander will promptly be issuing an apology to our former client."



According to recode.net, the fired executive Eric Alexander, the president of business in the Asia Pacific, had then showed the medical records of the woman to Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and SVP Emil Michael.

In addition, numerous executives at the car-hailing company were either told about the records or shown them by this group, the report said.

"Alexanders handling of the delicate situation was among 215 claims reported to two law firms  Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling  doing deep investigations into both specific and widespread mismanagement issues at the company, including around allegations of pervasive sexism and sexual harassment at Uber," the report said.

The report said "as part of the Coie investigation, 20 employees were fired for a range of infractions, from sexual harassment to unprofessional behavior to retaliation. About 100 others are either still being investigated or saw some type of action  such as warnings or mandatory employee trainings."

The 26-year-old Delhi woman was allegedly raped by an Uber driver in Dec 2014 during a ride in the capital. She had filed a lawsuit against the company, saying that Uber's "hollow" safety and driver screening practices was the cause for her unsafe situation."

The woman had said that despite the San Francisco-based company's claims that it maintained high safety standards, there was no practice of adequate screening of its drivers which puts at risk the safety of commuters.

She had filed a suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

A professional, the woman was returning home in the cab.

The accused allegedly preyed on her when she dozed off. Uber was banned in Delhi after the incident which led to the arrest of its driver Shiv Kumar Yadav.

However, it began operating in the capital later again. Police said Yadav had criminal records of committing crimes against women in the past.

In 2016, Yadav was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Presently, Uber has about 400,000 drivers in India, compared to 550,000 drivers who have registered with Ola.
IMPORTANT SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Khang & Khang LLP Announces an Investigation of Jagged Peak Energy Inc. and Encourages Investors with Losses to Contact the Firm

Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces that it is investigating claims against Jagged Peak (News - Alert) Energy Inc. ("Jagged Peak" or the "Company") (NYSE: JAG) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws.

If you purchased shares of Jagged Peak and want more information, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esquire, of Khang & Khang LLP, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA (News - Alert) 92612, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at [email protected].

The investigation focuses on whether Jgged Peak and certain of its officers and/or directors violated federal securities laws. On January 27, 2017, Jagged Peak held its initial public offering ("IPO") selling shares at $15.00 per share, raising $474 million of gross proceeds. Since the IPO, the Company's shares have fallen more than 15%, in connection with issues concerning the positioning of its acreage in the Delaware Basin.







If you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone: (949) 419-3834, or by e-mail at [email protected].

This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170609005588/en/
[June 09, 2017] AHF Promotes "One Community, One Love" at Brooklyn and Long Island Prides

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, is proud to once again join the LGBTQ community in celebrating the 2017 Gay Pride season through its planned participation in more than two dozen Pride events across the country. Founded in Los Angeles as AIDS Hospice Foundation in 1987 to provide a facility for terminally ill AIDS patients in California, AHF is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year and continues to support LGBTQ equality and the expansion of health care services to treat people living with HIV/AIDS. At festivals throughout the 2017 Pride season, AHF will give away free condoms, share information on STD prevention and treatment, and provide free HIV testing. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170609005590/en/ AHF's signature "One Community, One Love" Pride bus wrapped with smiling faces represents the diversity of LGBTQ individuals and families. The bus is scheduled to appear in the Brooklyn and Long Island Pride parades. (Photo: Business Wire) At the Brooklyn Pride parade on Saturday, June 10, AHF staff and patients will march in the twilight parade that will be led by AHF's Northern Region Director of Pharmacy Sales, Michael Camacho, who has been named a 2017 Grand Marshal. The parade steps off promptly at 7:30 p.m. around Lincoln Place and ends at 9th St. & 5th Avenue. "I am deeply honored to serve as a Grand Marshal for this year's Brooklyn Pride parade," said Camacho. "The current political atmosphere has shown that the LGBTQ community must continue to stand up for our rights and not take them for granted. Every Gay Pride march across the country this year is important to the community's visibility." AHF is proud to support the LGBTQ community in Brooklyn hrough its AHF Healthcare Center, pharmacy and Out of the Closet Thrift Store, located at 475 Atlantic Avenue. In the greater New York City area, AHF Healthcare Centers are also located in Chelsea, Midtown and Jamaica, Queens.



On Sunday, June 11, AHF will also march in the Long Island Pride Parade that begins at 12:00 p.m. on Broadway at Laurelton Blvd., and proceeds East on Broadway to Long Beach Blvd. "Our AHF staff and patients always look forward to joining with the LGBTQ community at gay pride celebrations across the country each year. Our presence at this year's Pride is particularly meaningful for us as we mark our 30th Anniversary of providing care to people living with HIV and AIDS," said AHF President Michael Weinstein. "After 30 years of being on the frontlines in the fight against AIDS, we remain grateful to be able to provide access to medical care and breakthrough treatments that have allowed people with HIV to live longer, healthier lives and to help prevent transmitting the virus to others. Today, we are currently providing care to over 740,000 patients around the globe and we're working to expand our operations internationally to be able to help even more people."

In addition to providing free HIV testing and giveaways at Pride festivals nationwide, AHF patients, volunteers and staff will also march with its signature "One Community, One Love" Pride bus wrapped with smiling faces that represent the diversity of LGBTQ individuals and families. The bus is scheduled to appear in Pride parades in U.S. cities including Brooklyn (6/10); Long Island (6/11); Washington, DC (6/10); Columbus, OH (6/16); Houston (6/24); New York City, NY (6/25); San Diego (7/15); Oakland, CA (News - Alert) (9/10); Dallas (9/16); Atlanta, GA (10/14); and Las Vegas (10/20). For a complete list of Pride festivals in which AHF will participate in 2017, visit www.ahfparticipate.org. For more information on AHF Healthcare Center locations, AHF Pharmacy, and Out of the Closet Thrift Stores, visit www.hivcare.org, www.AHFpharmacy.org, and www.outofthecloset.org. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 720,000 individuals in 36 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook (News - Alert): www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert): @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170609005590/en/

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[June 09, 2017] IBM Wins VMware Innovation Award as Global Systems Outsourcer

ARMONK, N.Y., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the company has been honored as the winner of the VMware 2016 Global System's Outsourcer Partner Innovation Award. IBM was recognized at VMware Partner Leadership Summit 2017, held in Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif. "VMware is pleased to recognize this year's Global Partner Innovation Award winners, which are given to a select group of partners for their exceptional efforts in 2016," said Ross Brown, senior vice president, Worldwide Partners and Alliances, VMware. "VMware is proud to see IBM win the Global Systems Outsourcer Partner award, and we look forward to our continued collaboration." "It's an honor to be recognized as a leader in the IT Infrastructure space," said Max Michaels, general manager of IBM, Network Servces. "Cloud has taken over computing and storage systems, and cloud-driven networks are now making software-defined infrastructure (SDI) a reality. The transition to SDI requires innovative strategies and security-centered architectures that IBM Global Technology Services offers based on our track record and experience in enterprise transformation."



Recipients of a Global VMware Partner Innovation Award were acknowledged in 21 categories for outstanding performance and distinctive achievements during 2016. About VMware Partner Leadership Summit

VMware Partner Leadership Summit 2017 offered VMware partners the opportunity to engage with VMware executives and industry peers to explore business opportunities, customer use cases, solution practices and partnering best practices. An invitation-only event, VMware Partner Leadership Summit 2017 provided partners with resources to develop and execute comprehensive go-to-market plans in 2017 and beyond. The event concluded with awards ceremonies recognizing exemplary achievements in the VMware Partner ecosystem.

About IBM Global Technology Services

IBM Global Technology Services offers end-to-end IT consulting and business services supported by an unparalleled global delivery network that is transforming its business to lead in an era of Cognitive and Cloud. As a cloud services integrator, GTS is managing the services and underlying infrastructure in an integrated and unified way. It is modernizing clients' IT environments to help them meet the increasingly complex customer demands. GTS provides clients with innovative technology solutions that help them to improve their business processes and in turn, profitability. VMware and NSX are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. Contacts:

Tricia Vuiton

IBM Media Relations

914-765-4980

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ibm-wins-vmware-innovation-award-as-global-systems-outsourcer-300471770.html SOURCE IBM

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[June 09, 2017] Export Portal & ExportPortal.com Herald New Era of Blockchain Leaders at International Conferences

GLENDALE, Calif., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Several Blockchain focused events have taken place over the past few weeks from New York to Madrid to Guiyang, Guizhou, China. The acknowledgment of Blockchain's importance by such luminaries such as Fidelity Investments CEO Abigail Johnson, noted technology author Alex Tapscott, and Chinese startup Xcener Blockchain. Export Portal applauds the speakers and their contribution to the Blockchain conversion. Export Portal has introduced a new model of secured international trade with information that is encrypted and shared in real time amongst parties involved. ExportPortal.com's private Blockchain data is tamperproof, so all buyers and sellers' most important transactional details are encrypted, timestamped, and tracked throughout the entire transaction. This private Blockchain data is updated at every step for all parties  cutting down on intermediaries, speeding up communication and transaction details, and decreasing delivery time while increasing trust among parties because they are interdependent on each block. This data block progress from buyer to seller, through insurance companies, logistic providers, shippers, and even financial institutions happens at digital speed. The amount of time that has traditonally been spent waiting across time zones and dependent on several layers of third parties can be shortened immensely. A company's bill of sale, insurance, shipping information, payment methods, contact information, instructions and other pertinent details are kept as part of a shared digital ledger that all parties can access.



Export Portal's private Blockchain trading system resonates with several Blockchain leaders and thinkers. At the Consensus 2017 event in May, Abigail Johnson discussed the need for industry wide collaboration to help private Blockchain technology reach its "full potential." She went on to say, "Part of the reason I am here is to ask this community to help us address some of the hurdles that we seeand there are several that are holding back the adoption of this technology." Alex Tapscott of Blockchain Research Institute and Northwest Passage Ventures spoke at DES2017 about moving to the second generation of the Internet adding that, "The most important thing is to start to implement this technology straight away. Blockchain represents the fourth industrial revolution and will have an impact on all the world's businesses, changing the nature of organizations."

Xcener Blockchain, a Chinese startup focused on food security-related Big Data Technology for the application of food Blockchain-based tracking at China International Big Data Industry Expo 2017 said that, "Blockchain-stored data are acknowledged by famous banks in the U.S., Japan and Singapore, such as Goldman Sachs, HSBC and Mitsubishi Bank." Speaking of using smart contracts at a large scale, "At every link of the chain, a smart contract saves on management cost." Export Portal CEO Ally Spinu agrees with Ms. Johnson when she stated that collaboration is key to unlocking private Blockchain technology's full potential. As a global leader in international trade that utilizes the private Blockchain system, Export Portal has created solutions many entrepreneurs and businesses have been waiting for. Export Portal's implementation of the private Blockchain system on its online platform is sparking the transition towards safer and faster transactions. Export Portal's entire team salutes all three leaders and thinkers of the Blockchain movement. The time for private Blockchain trading is now! Export Portal invites entrepreneurs from around the world to join ExportPortal.com and experience first-hand the best e-Commerce solution that helps businesses from the bottom, up. For more information, visit ExportPortal.com or call at (800) 289-0015. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/export-portal--exportportalcom-herald-new-era-of-blockchain-leaders-at-international-conferences-300471775.html SOURCE ExportPortal.com

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[June 09, 2017] Flexible Display Market to Reach $15.1 Billion by 2022 - Driven by Rising Demand for Smartphones, Smartwatches, Wearables, Televisions, PC Monitors & Laptops - Research and Markets

DUBLIN, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Flexible Display Market - Global Forecast to 2022" report to their offering. The flexible display market was valued at USD 2.67 Billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD 15.14 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 34.42% from 2017 to 2022. The growth of this market is majorly driven by a technological shift to and development of energy-efficient, attractive, and high-specification flexible display products and the rising demand for smartphones, smartwatches, wearables, televisions, PC monitors, and laptops.



The report covers the flexible display market based on application, technology, panel size, and geography.



Based on application, the smartphones and tablets segment was the largest segment of the flexible display market in 2016. Smartphones with curved screens are becoming popular amongst the consumers for their novelty, stylish appearance, and added features.



Based on technology, OLED technology is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period. Manufacturers are expected to us Organic Light-emitting Diode (OLED) technology in products such smartphones, smartwatches, wearables, televisions, digital signage systems, desktop monitors, and laptops in near future.







Based on panel size, the 6-20" segment was the largest segment of the flexible display market in 2016. Flexible displays with a panel size of 6-20 are predominantly used in smartphones, terminal monitors, laptops, and digital signage systems.



North America was the largest market for flexible displays in 2016, owing to the rising demand from the consumer goods, automotive, and commercial sectors. The flexible display market in Asia Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period, owing to the presence of a large number of panel manufacturers and rapid adoption of devices in the region. However, the complex manufacturing process of flexible displays can restrain the growth of the market in the coming years.

Companies Mentioned

Applied Material Inc.

Au Optronics Corp.

Boe Technology Group Co. Ltd..

Cambrios Technologies Corporation

Corning Incorporated

E Ink Holdings Inc.

E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company

Flexenable Limited

Flexterra Corporation (Polyera)

Futaba

Innolux Corporation

Japan Display Inc.

Kateeva

Lg Display Co. Ltd.

Pervasive Displays

Pioneer

Qisda Corp.

Ritdisplay

Royale Corporation

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Sharp Corp. (Foxconn)

Sinovia Technologies

Unipixel

Universal Display Corporation

Visionox Corporation

Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights



5 Market Overview



6 Industry Trends



7 Flexible Display Market, By Application



8 Flexible Display Market, By Technology



9 Flexible Display Market, By Panel Size



10 Flexible Display Market, By Geography



11 Competitive Landscape



12 Company Profiles

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/lcsf8p/flexible_display 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

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SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Goldberg Law PC Announces an Investigation of John Wood Group PLC

Goldberg Law PC, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of John Wood Group PLC ("John Wood" or the "Company") (Other OTC: WDGJF).

If you purchased or otherwise acquired shares of John Wood, and would like more information about the investigation, we encourage you to contact Michael Goldberg or Brian Schall, of Goldberg Law PC, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, CA (News - Alert) 90067, at 800-977-7401, to discuss your rights without cost to you.

You can also reach us through the firm's website at http://www.Goldberglawpc.com, or by email at [email protected].com.







The investigation focuses on whether John Wood and certain of its officers and/or directors violated federal securities laws. On May 23, 2017, in a prospectus concerning the Company's proposed acquisition of Amec Foster Wheeler ("Amec"), John Wood disclosed information about its internal probe into its past dealings with Unaoil, a Monaco-based oil business under criminal investigation by the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office ("SFO"). John Wood also divulged that the SFO requested that Amec provide information related to the Unaoil investigation. Following this news, John Wood's stock price dropped.

If you have any questions concerning your legal rights, please immediately contact Goldberg Law PC at 800-977-7401, or visit our website at http://www.Goldberglawpc.com, or email us at [email protected].

Goldberg Law PC represents investors around the world, and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170609005690/en/
November 2022 is Subscriber Appreciation Month

We're launching a full month of surprises to say thank you to our most loyal subscribers!
Astana, Jun 9 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chinese and Uzbek President Xi Jinping and Shavkat Mirziyoyev respectively and discussed bi-lateral ties with them.

Tweeting pictures from the meeting, PM Modi said, "Met President Xi Jinping. We spoke about India-China relations and how to further improve ties."

In another tweet, the Prime Minister spoke about his meeting with Mirziyoyev.

"Held talks with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. We discussed ways to boost India-Uzbekistan relations, especially economic cooperation," he tweeted.

The PM met the two leaders on sidelines of the SCO Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, experts are viewing Li's meeting with Modi as a move to repair the already fragile Indo-China bond.

Following this meeting, Modi and Li are expected to meet again at the G20 summit next month in Hamburg, Germany, followed by the BRICS Summit in China in the month of September.
Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9 (IBNS) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Astana amid speculations over the future of bilateral relations between the two neighbouring Asian powers following growing differences over a host of issues.

"Met President Xi Jinping. We spoke about India-China relations and how to further improve ties," Modi posted on his twitter handle.

The issues plaguing the relationship between the two countries include China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and India's bid to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Modi had earlier met Kazakhstan President Nusrullah Nazarbayev. "Began my programmes in Astana with a productive meeting with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.," he tweeted.

They discussed "ways to expand bilateral ties," PMO said.

The PM had arrived in the Kazakh capital on Thursday on a two-day visit to attend the SCO summit where India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the bloc.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is the best big-screen phone yet, thanks to its versatile dual cameras, S Pen improvements and beautiful 6.3-inch screen.

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 is a big-screen phone that commands your attention  and not just because it's a sequel to a device the company was forced to recall. It's because the Note 8 ushers in a new class of smartphones that is super-premium.

Priced between $930 and $960 (depending on the carrier), Samsung's new phablet has the loftiest price tag of any mainstream Android handset yet. But the Note 8 tries to justify its high price with the first dual-camera setup ever on a Samsung phone; the biggest screen ever offered by Samsung, at 6.3 inches; and a host of new tricks for the S Pen. The Note 8 also offers more RAM than the Galaxy S8 and S8+, as well as a smart new way to multitask.

Is all of that worth about $80 to $100 more than the already large-and-in-charge Galaxy S8+? After living with the Note 8 for more than a week, I would say "yes."

We've updated our review of the Galaxy Note 8 based on our in-depth smartphone drop tests. See the results below.

Design: The pinnacle of phablets

With its curved Infinity Display that goes from nearly edge to edge, the glass front of the Galaxy Note 8 is simply stunning. In fact, it makes other big-screen phones like the LG V30, Google Pixel XL and iPhone 7 Plus look downright dowdy.

I know what you're wondering: Is 6.3 inches too big? Not really, and I have pretty small hands. That's because this phone has the same narrow 18.5:9 aspect ratio as the Galaxy S8 and S8+. I found I could reach across the screen with my thumb, but because the Note's design is so tall, I sometimes had to reposition the phone in my hand to target items on the top or bottom of the display.

Samsung purposely made the curves on this screen less severe than those on the S8 or S8+, which gives you more usable real estate for the pen. I dig these more slanted edges, as they also help visually differentiate the Note 8 from its siblings. However, I do wish Samsung would offer more color options in the U.S. to make this phone truly pop. U.S. carriers are offering midnight black and orchid gray, but I want to see the gold and blue versions that are available overseas arrive stateside, too.

Around the back, you'll find the dual-lens cameras and a fingerprint reader to the right of the flash. I'm not a fan of this somewhat awkward placement, as it would be easier if the sensor were beneath the camera. It also didnt always work on the first try; fortunately, you can log in via facial recognition or iris scanning.

MORE: Which Carrier Has the Best Note 8 Deal?



Measuring 6.4 x 2.9 x 0.34 inches and weighing 6.9 ounces, the Note 8 is on the heavy side, but it feels pretty balanced in my hand. By comparison, the S8+ is slightly shorter, at 6.3 inches, but significantly lighter, at 6.1 ounces. That's to be expected, though, because the Note 8 carries a stylus.



Durability: It could be tougher

As with the Galaxy S8, the Note 8 is water-resistant. It's also pretty tough; I accidentally stepped on the screen, and it didn't crack.

But to get a better sense of the phone's durability, we tested the toughness of the Galaxy Note 8 by dropping it on its face onto wood from a height of 4 feet and 6 feet; we then dropped it on its edge and face onto concrete from 4 feet; we then dropped it on its edge and face from 6 feet onto concrete.

Samsung's phablet withstood 4- and 6-foot drops on its face onto a wood surface without any difficulty. A 4-foot fall on its edge onto concrete caused some minor scratches on the bottom edge, but a 4-foot drop on its face cracked the screen in a number of places, including in front of its front-facing camera, which gave selfies a very artistic look. A 6-foot face drop onto concrete caused the Note 8's screen to start flashing white, black and green, and the touch screen was completely unresponsive.

As a result, the Note 8 earned a low toughness score of 4.3 out of 10. To see the results of other smartphones, as well as our complete scoring methodology, check out our smartphone drop tests.

Galaxy Note 8 Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally Price $930 to $960, depending on carrier

Display: A big and beautiful canvas with more purpose

The 6.3-inch Infinity Display on the Note 8 makes your jaw drop even before you put it in your hands, and Samsung devised a clever new way to make the most of the phone's billboard-like real estate.

For starters, the Note 8's screen is deliciously colorful. I was mesmerized by the multifaceted silver armor of Cyborg in the Justice League trailer, as well as his piercing red eye. When playing Mortal Kombat X, I marveled at how grotesquely awesome the gooey brains of my splayed enemy looked when they spilled out of his head.

MORE: The Best Smartphones Available Right Now



In our lab tests, the Note 8's display covered 204.8 percent of the sRGB color gamut. By comparison, the Moto Z2 Force's OLED screen hit 199.7 percent, and the LG G6's LCD displayed 134 percent. The Note 8's display delivers accurate hues, too, as it registered a Delta-E score of 0.5; a score of 0 is perfect. The Z2 Force notched 1.06, and the LG G6 scored 1.1.

Because the Note 8's panel supports HDR (high dynamic range), you should be able to enjoy better contrast and more colors when streaming HDR content.

To maximize this phone's ultrawide screen, Samsung introduced a feature called App Pair with the Note 8. When you swipe in from the right side of the screen, you can launch two apps on the screen at once  side by side or on top of each other, depending on how you hold the phone. It's also pretty easy to create pairs.

I liked being able to have the Email app open on the left and the Calendar app on the right, or the browser on one side and YouTube on the other.

Dual Cameras: Amazing photos, great flexibility

Samsung isn't just playing catch-up with the dual cameras on the Note 8. It has leaped ahead of the iPhone  at least for now. That's because both 12-megapixel cameras on this device offer optical image stabilization; the iPhone 7 Plus' telephoto lens doesn't have that feature.

What can you do with these dual shooters? For starters, you get a 2x optical zoom with a simple tap on the screen. In Union Square, I could easily zoom in on a statue from afar without losing any detail.

You also get a new Live Focus mode, which is similar to the Portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus, which blurs the background and makes your subject pop. But only the Note 8 lets you adjust the intensity of this effect both before and after you snap the photo.



I felt like a pro when I snapped an image of purple flowers in front of a fountain. The iPhone 7 Plus did a better job than the Note 8 of blurring the background more consistently through the frame, but I liked that I could control how much of the fountain I could see.



I also really like the Dual Capture feature on the Note 8, which snaps both a close-up and a wide-angle photo at the same time, and then lets you toggle between both views in the gallery. One pic I took of the New York City skyline looked so good that a woman sitting next to me on the bus asked me to text it to her. Even in a moving vehicle, the picture turned out fairly sharp, thanks to the optical image stabilization.

My only complaint is that I sometimes had to tap more than once on the screen to switch between the close-up and wide-angle views.

In terms of image quality, the Note 8 delivered the same type of remarkably sharp and colorful pics that made the Galaxy S8 our top camera phone.

Compared with a shot taken with the iPhone 7 Plus, a Note 8 photo of trees and a statue in Union Square had richer greens and slightly more refined details around the edges when zoomed in. However, as with most iPhone photos, its colors were warmer than the Note 8's, and the Samsung image ran a bit cooler and nearly blew out some of the highlights.



S Pen: Neat new tricks (with some kinks)

Samsung has been broadening the appeal of the S Pen for the past few years, and the Note 8 takes it to the next level.

For starters, you can now take up to 100 pages of notes using the Screen Off memo feature. You just take out the pen and start writing. It's easy to pin notes to the always-on display and to edit notes in place. I found this feature handy when crossing off items on my to-do list and shopping lists.

The coolest new S Pen feature is Live Message, which turns your scribbles into animated GIFs to share with others. For example, I wrote "Love you" on top of a photo with a fun sparkle pen tip and then tried to send it to my wife via text message. I say "tried" because I got an error message that said "Maximum total size of attachments exceeded." Strangely, other times, I didn't get that error, so it might depend on the size of the image captured.

The other noteworthy new S Pen feature is the ability to translate full sentences into different languages just by hovering the pen above the screen. This worked well when I visited the French site Le Monde and highlighted a few rows of text.

For those so inclined, the S Pen remains a viable tool for sketching and drawing. I handed the Note 8 off to a colleague to create a couple of sketches, and he found the pen to be fairly accurate. However, he wished that the pen offered more nuanced control, as the Apple Pencil does on the iPad.

Battery Life: Surprisingly good

We'll have to wait and see whether the Note 8's battery lives up to Samsung's safety claims, but I can say that the phone lasts quite a long time on a charge. Although the battery's 3,300-mAh capacity is a bit lower than that of the battery inside the ill-fated Note 7, as well as the battery in the Galaxy S8+ (both 3,500 mAh), it turned in excellent results.

On the Tom's Guide Battery Test, which involves continuous web surfing over 4G on 150 nits of screen brightness, the Note 8 lasted a very strong 11 hours and 11 minutes on T-Mobile's network. That's even better than the 11:04 that the S8+ turned in and the 10:39 runtime from the S8, both also tested on T-Mobile. It's possible that the Note 8's extra RAM makes it slightly more efficient.

MORE: Smartphones with the Longest Battery Life

By comparison, the iPhone 7 Plus lasted 10:38, and the Moto Z2 Force ran for 10:23. The LG G6 mustered only 8:39.

Performance: More RAM, serious power

The Note 8 has the same Snapdragon 835 processor as other current Android flagships, but it ups the ante with 6GB of RAM. Most other phones make do with 4GB of RAM; exceptions include the OnePlus 5, which comes with up to 8GB of RAM.

In everyday use, the Note 8 was very swift, whether I was jumping right into the camera from the lock screen instantly (just double-press the home button) or playing Injustice 2 with silky-smooth frame rates. However, there were more than a couple of times when I had to tap the screen more than once for the phone to do what I wanted.

On Geekbench, which measures overall performance, the Note 8 scored 6,564 on the multicore portion of the test. That's better than the Galaxy S8 (6,124), a bit better than the Moto Z2 Force (6,489) and just slightly faster than the OnePlus 5 with 8GB of RAM (6,542).

When it comes to graphics performance, the Note 8 more than holds its own. It notched 39,834 on the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited test, which beat the Galaxy S8 (35,903) and edged out the Z2 Force (39,807) and the OnePlus 5 (39,576).

Software: Bixby is underrated

Other than the added capabilities of the S Pen and the App Pair feature for split-screen multitasking, Bixby is the highlight software feature on the Note 8, which runs Android 7.1.1. It's best not to think of Bixby as a direct Siri competitor but rather more of a personal assistant that speeds up tasks that typically take multiple taps.

For instance, I said, "Capture a screenshot, and show it to me in the gallery," and the Note 8 did both tasks in succession successfully. I also liked that I could add specific items to my to-do list by saying them aloud, such as "Add 'approve vacation day' to my task list." At first, Bixby thought I said "A prove," but the mistake was easy to correct.

MORE: Galaxy Note 8: Features to Enable and Disable

The other main highlight is the Apps Edge menu, which makes it easy to pull up your favorite apps without having to go back to the home screen. You can also quickly access your favorite contacts from this menu.

Accessories Aplenty

The Galaxy Note 8 has a new design, so you're definitely going to need a new case for this 6.3-inch monster. The good news is that there are plenty of options to choose from already, including a suede-like Alcantara cover that's available in multiple colors. My favorite is green.

MORE: 11 Best Galaxy Note 8 Accessories

The Note 8 also supports a new version of the Gear VR headset ($129) for people who want to get into virtual reality. The headset comes with a motion controller to make the VR experience more immersive.

DeX Station

If you want to leverage the full power of the Note 8 on a bigger screen, check out the DeX Station, which costs about $125. With this dock, you can run Android apps on a full-size HD monitor, and get a desktop-like experience with a mouse and keyboard connected to the peripheral. More developers are starting to support this accessory, including Zoom, which lets you seamlessly continue your conference call after you plug the phone into the dock.

Bottom Line

Spending nearly $1,000 on a smartphone seems a bit nuts when you can get a very good phone, like the OnePlus 5, for less than $500. But the Note 8 isn't just very good  it is awesome. The combination of its glorious 6.3-inch Infinity Display, excellent dual cameras and more versatile S Pen makes it the big-screen phone to beat. Some people may want to wait for the iPhone 8, but if you're an Android fan, you need look no further.

The Note 8 could be better in some ways. The fingerprint sensor is located in an awkward spot, and the Live Message feature (as novel as it is) doesn't always work the way it should. Then, there's the price. If you don't have a need for the S Pen and you just want a big screen, you'll be plenty happy with the $850 Galaxy S8 Plus. But I'd spend the extra dough on the Note 8 simply because of its dual-lens camera and what you can do with it.

Credit: Shaun Lucas/Tom's Guide


- This week a TRIPLE MURDER didn't really shock anyone given increasing gang violence the steadily rising homicide count over the past two years. There's a CRIME CRISIS in Kansas City that's putting us on a path toward more than 130 murders this year and no one has really raised an alarm.





- Kansas City convention hotel developers BRAZENLY BYPASSED VOTERS with the help of the Mayor and most of the City Council in a direct affront to local Democracy and few if any social media political activists even noticed. Like it or not, insiders can borrow $35-MILLION from City Hall with no questions asked!!! Meanwhile there are even fewer checks and balances on this project and no public confirmation of solid private investor or bond broker support.





- Organized labor leaders pushed a no-bid airport dead, pouted when that effort FAILED and now want to bully their way into public office despite declining memberships, less money, less public support amid changing demographics of the Northland. Good luck.

Quick round-up of how Kansas City news played out this week and local tends becoming all too commonplace . . .Meanwhile, locals seem exceptionally interested in Beltway gossip and the ongoing culture war while they mostly neglect what's happening in their own backyard.Developing . . .
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The federal government is getting involved to help combat the nation's growing opioid epidemic. A group in Kansas City is also getting involved by holding a 5K run/walk for awareness. A new study shows overdosing is the number one killer of Americans under the age of 50.
TKC MUST READ!!! CONGRESSMAN CLEAVER SEEMS TO PROMISE FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF PREZ TRUMP RUSSIA TROUBLE!!!

Congressman Cleaver Releases Statement on Former Director, James Comeys Testimony

(Washington D.C.)  Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II released the following statement regarding the testimony of former FBI Director, James Comey today before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.





The fact that this is where we are in this country is already troubling. Like many others, I listened to James Comey testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee today. Mr. Comey said that some of his conversations with President Trump were very concerning and very disturbing. It should be disturbing to all of us. I agree with Mr. Comey that justice should be blind. In seeking truth, loyalty should remain with the American people and not to a single leader of a nation.





Theres still a shroud of secrecy and corruption stemming from the fact that the Russians interfered with our national election process and the Administrations reaction. Make no mistake about it; we will get to the bottom of this in Congress.

Check the local word from Kansas City's top ranking elected official on the aftermath of today's political firestorm . . .Here's the word in full . . .#############You decide . . .
EPIC Kansas City Geek Fest

Purse Snatcher Suspect Lookalike

After finding his doppelganger, Kansas City man is freed from prison In prison for a crime he adamantly denied committing, Richard Anthony Jones repeatedly heard from others that there was another prisoner who looked just like him. Not only were they doppelgangers, but Jones was told that he and the other man shared the same first name.

Constant Kansas City Burning Sensation

KC home undergoing renovations after fire in March catches back on fire KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the second time in just three months a Kansas City home caught on fire Friday. The homeowner tells FOX 4 her two-story home near Northeast 113th Terrace and North Tracy was in the process of undergoing renovations because it was damaged in a fire in March.

Eric Berry Cleared $30 Million Last Year

Bet you can't guess which KC athlete makes Forbes highest-paid list - Kansas City Business Journal Forbes released its list of "The World's Highest-Paid Athletes," and it includes just one person from a Kansas City team - in fact, it lists just one athlete in all of Kansas and Missouri. According to the rankings of 100 professional athletes' salaries, Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry comes in at No.

Kansas City Concert Queue

Long line at Arrowhead Stadium for U2 tickets KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jackson County residents stood in a long line Friday morning at Arrowhead Stadium to get their hands on the first U2 tickets up for sale. Because the concert is at Arrowhead, which is supported by Jackson County taxpayers, residents of Jackson County get first dibs on the concert tickets.

Flush Creek Pool Party

Dragon Boat Festival coming to the Plaza KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It's one of the most colorful events of the year on the Country Club Plaza. The 13th Annual Kansas City International Dragon Boat Festival is this Saturday, June 10th. It begins at 8 a.m. and lasts until 4 p.m. The dragon boats will hit the water at 10 a.m.

Kansas City Foodie Guide For Fatties

Healthy Food What exactly is healthy food? Definitions can vary. On this show: a visit to T. Loft, then a local scientist says that salt has gotten a bad rap for years; many of us should eat more salt, not less.

Hottie Candice inspires this midday catch-up. Check some of the top stories that we're reading today . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
Millennials, black and white, seek neighbors for new community east of Troost Dan Edwards is the nervous one. He's the 30-year-old who owns 38 brush-swarmed vacant lots in Kansas City's Wendell Phillips Neighborhood on the East Side, talking about big plans he knows some residents will fear, doubt or even attack.

Political will and speculator hype doesn't equal reality as this report with good intentions misrepresents the urban core and mistakenly believes that hipsters can solve the problem. Take a look:
KC man found guilty of killing another man in front of his 10-year-old daughter during gun sale KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Jackson County jury found 19-year-old Kansas City man guilty in the the fatal 2016 shooting of Jacob Brantner, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced Friday. Fazon K. Swinton was convicted of 2nd degree murder, attempted 2nd degree robbery, armed criminal action, and leaving the scene of a shooting.

Aftermath of an exceptionally tragic killing that offered insight into online sales and dangerous local merchant life. Take a look:
Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, June 9 (IBNS) : A jeweller was shot dead in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri town and cash was allegedly looted from him on Thursday eving, adding to the number of similar crimes after the change of Government in the state.

According to an NDTV report, Rajesh Verma had just closed his jewellery shop and was on his way home when two bike-borne men shot at him.

Verma was taken to the district hospital where he was declared dead.

After the incident, hundreds of people went to the hospital and raised slogans against the police and the district administration.

This is the sixth major incident in Uttar Pradesh since last month.

Last month, armed robbers killed two persons while robbing a jewellery shop and a trader was shot dead in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's home base Gorakhpur.

Earlier this week, a businessman, his wife and teen son were shot dead right outside their home by four bikers in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur. The police called it a case of robbery.

A 36-year-old businessman was shot dead in front of the police headquarters in Allahabad days ago.
Kansas City Skater History

Kansas City Activist Icon Ideology

Soothing KCMO Hipster Sounds Overnight

For the late night and shift worker denizens of our blog community, here are a few local movies worth a look that tell interesting alternative stories about Kansas City.Of course, with tribute to our favorite photo set of movie hottie Alison Brie. Checkit:And so we take a brief pause that hopefully also includes a brief respite in so much local gunfire.Hopefully, more for the morning update . . .
Wyandotte County man wrongfully convicted of robbery goes free after 17 years JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. - A judge freed a Wyandotte County man imprisoned for a 1999 Roeland Park Walmart robbery. Richard Jones walked out of the Johnson County jail Thursday afternoon after his lawyers convinced a Johnson County judge Wednesday that his conviction was based on just one eyewitn ess.

Given that local streets confront far worse threats than what may or may not happen to bag full of junk and make-up . . . This little bit of liberation makes sense. Checkit:
There has been one -- one! -- voter-impersonation fraud case in the history of Missouri. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, even acknowledged this fact earlier this week. Ashcroft has been touring the state trying to explain to people how a new voter ID law, passed last year, will change the voting process from Missourians.
CHECK THIS MAINSTREAM KANSAS CITY FAITH COMMUNITY ALTERNATIVE TO THE UPCOMING MARCH AGAINST SHARIA!!!

We Stand Together KC

This week our blog communitytouted by some of the more strident supporters of Prez Trump which local mainstream media is still too scared to mention.The word of the march that many considercirculated quickly among local activist communities opposed to the idea.And now . . .Behind the scenes, we've seen this play out a few times before . . . As more militant aggressive progressives demand direct confrontation with opponents on the other side of the political spectrum, established mainstream groups quickly move into to offer a more peaceful, safe and media friendly alternative to shouting matches with opponents.And so . . . This get-together as an alternative to a Prez Trump rally directed against Sharia offers a far more friendly message of peace amid the current contentious local discourse.Take a look:THIS IS A PEACEFUL INFORMAL GATHERING. This is not a protest, rally or march.OUR FOCUS IS SOLELY about people coming together to celebrate what we value, to be connected in meaningful ways and to build relationships that will help us create a world that works for all.LETS COME TOGETHER IN UNITY! Let us remind Kansas City and our nation that WE STAND TOGETHER for love, generosity, inclusivity, peace, equality, acceptance, and for the health and well-being of our city, by honoring human rights and civil liberties for ALL.As Mother Teresa said, If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. We need each other and WE STAND TOGETHER is a time to embrace all races, faiths and life philosophies, cultures, genders, ages, sexual identities and culture.Through interfaith prayers, speakers, music, making connections, and most of all by PEACEFULLY gathering together, we will make our presence known throughout Kansas City that everyone belongs and everyone is welcome, while hate - in any form - is not.When we see violence or attempts to discriminate against whole groups of people based on faith, life philosophy, race, national origin or ethnicity, we are called to remain steadfast in expanding our awareness of the spiritual values of ANY faith tradition.This is a simple, informal gathering, please SHARE THIS! It is time to WAKE UP, GROW UP, CLEAN UP and SHOW UP!WITH THE SUPPORT OF:Greater Kansas City Interfaith CouncilAmerican Friends Service CommitteeCrescent Peace SocietyCultural CrossroadsAnti-Defamation League, Missouri/Southern Illinois/Eastern KansasMothers on the Side of PeaceChristian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Greater Kansas CitySisterhood of Salaam Shalom#########
The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that tourism in 2017 will help boost the Greek economy by 6.9 percent

With indications that 2017 will be another record tourism season, signs are that visitors are setting aside any possible concerns about Greeces ongoing economic crisis and continuing to come in droves  even if last year they didnt spend as much as was hoped.

With the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO)  which has been criticized for doing too little to push the countrys assets  predicting as many as 30 million visitors it looks like another banner year even though the expected numbers in the first quarter were off expectations.

For the last two years, Greeces growth has been nearly twice the global industry average of 3.9 percent, as reported by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in January 2017 and Travel Writer Lea Lane, in a column for Forbes, said it looks like a great year for Greece.

Stepping up its activities, GNTO has a strategy to increase access by air, land and sea even though the largest cruise ships cant use the still-being-developed port of Piraeus as well as pushing other forms of tourism, such as for culture and medicine.

The World Travel & Tourism Council estimates that tourism in 2017 will help boost the Greek economy by 6.9 percent, and will boost employment by 6.3 percent, supporting nearly 1 million jobs and representing 20% of the countrys GDP. One in five jobs created in Greece is related to the tourism sector. Tourism is essential to Greeces effort for recovery and prosperity. Every 30 or more tourists visiting Greece, creates one new job for a Greek.

We are very optimistic about the upcoming tourist season and our continued momentum, Greek Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura told Forbes. Greeces incomparable natural beauty, ancient history, vibrant urban culture and spirit of philotimo make it one of the worlds most unique and desired year-round destinations.

Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary General, who visited Athens earlier this year said he too was optimistic. Greece is one of the most popular and attractive global destinations, which enhances its international appeal and continues to record high performance, said Rifai.

Over the last two years, Greece has successfully addressed challenges by implementing a new tourism policy focused on extending the travel season, promoting new thematic products, opening new markets, boosting connectivity, promoting new Greek destinations and attracting new tourism investments. The result is a major improvement of Greeces image around the world, he said.

This year even Athens, seen as charmless but with a constant buzz, was recognized by the New York Times as one of the New York Times 52 Places to Go in 2017, and Santorini was named the #1 Island Overall in Travel + Leisures annual Worlds Best Awards.

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
Tinos is motherland of many modern Greek artists as sculptors Giannoulis Halepas, painters Gyzis and Lytras

Tinos is candidate for the European Destination of Excellency following National Tourism Organsations (GNTO) proposals, Tinos municipality announced on Thursday.

Tinos, motherland of many modern Greek artists as sculptors Giannoulis Halepas, painters Gyzis and Lytras is entitled to participate in this action. The islands exceptional role at cultural, social and historic level is underlined in the candidancy note along with key- role of religion in the islands population with the major pilmigrage to the Church of Panagia.

Moreover, the co-existence of Orthodox and Catholic Christians offers a special trend to the areas culture that constitutes a major centre of Catholicism as it is noted in the candidancy proposal.

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 driving force behind all this is Andreas Skoupouras, the islands deputy mayor for welfare and social policy

The Ionian island of Corfu is shaping up to be a leading destination in Greece for people of limited mobility, including seniors, thanks to efforts to improve access at beaches.

The driving force behind all this is Andreas Skoupouras, the islands deputy mayor for welfare and social policy and chairman of the Corfu Prefecture Association of People with Special Needs.

When I was a child my parents would help me into the water but as I grew up this was no longer possible, says Skoupouras, citing the main reasons why thousands of people with physical disabilities around the country have been forced to rule out swimming in the sea, not to mention the fun and therapeutic benefits.

The association launched the campaign in 2015 and the municipal authority took over in the summer of that same year, introducing the first floating wheelchairs that allowed people who hadnt been into the water for 25 or 30 years to finally do so. Last summer there were nine floating wheelchairs on the island that are intended for people with serious physical disabilities that otherwise would prevent them not only from getting in the water but also sunbathing on the beach.

The persons caregiver simply places them in the seat, which has a safety belt, and then they can be left alone in the sea, says Skoupouras.

We have distributed the wheelchairs as fairly as we could all over Corfu, assigning at each beach a businessman or community leader the responsibility of storing, maintaining and distributing them, says the official, adding that four more wheelchairs will be added every summer for the next three years.

In cooperation with the All Together for Corfu group, we have also installed eight ramps at parts of beaches where swimming is easy, though this presupposes a certain degree of autonomy, explains Skoupouras.

In addition, the municipal authority has installed special lifts at its theater and indoor swimming pool, as well as a Seatrac mechanism developed by a Greek startup at one beach that allows people in wheelchairs to get in and out of the water on a track with the help of pulleys.

Other than locals, cruise passengers stopping on the island for a few hours have also shown a lot of interest in learning more about Corfus wheelchair-friendly beach facilities.

We have been contacted by major travel agents in the UK who have special-needs clientele, as well as by agents from France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy, says Skoupouras.

The deputy mayors greatest source of pride, however, is the local community and the backing it has lent the initiative.

They are proud of the wheelchairs and look after them, and every beach on the island is trying to get one, he says.

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
Three German journalists from major publications were treated to a delicious gastronomic journey to wider area before the entering the Holy Athos Mountain. The culinary trip, which took place at the beginning of June, was organsied by the offices of the Greek National Tourism Organisation in Germany as part of the MountAthos Area Cuisine 2017 event.

During their four-day stay in the wider area of eastern Halkidiki, the three journalists had the opportunity to enjoy the authentic flavours of the Monks cuisine, participating actively in the creation of gastronomic dishes. In addition, they toured the cultural and religious wealth of the Pre-Athos area and discovered its natural beauties, by walking along the famous Aristotelian Hiking Routes and sailing tours. The program also included wine tours and testing of local varieties, as well as participating in original activities such as the making of soap from herbs picked from Mount Athos.

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
At least three gunmen on Wednesday stormed parliament in Iran and took some hostages, media reports said.

Two civilian visitors, one security officer were injured in the shootout, news agency Mehr quoting MP Elias Hazrati reported on Wednesday.

However, there were mixed reports, with some local news agencies reporting there was a single shooter inside the Tehran parliamentary complex and others saying there were three men armed with rifles and a pistol.

News agencies ISNA and Fars said three people had been shot, including at least one security guard.
With the conflict between Qatar and some of its Gulf neighbours intensifying, UAE national carrier Etihad has declared that Qatar's nationals as well as its expat residents will not be allowed to travel to or transit through UAE airports.

This announcement follows instructions by relevant authorities in the UAE, said a report in Reuters citing a statement released by the Abu Dhabi-based carrier.



"This ruling applies to all airlines flying into the UAE, including Etihad Airways," the airline said.



The move follows UAE severing all diplomatic relations with Qatar, in a coordinated decision with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt. The countries also said all air, sea, and land links with Qatar will be closed.



According to the ruling, nationals and expats from Qatar will not granted visa-on-arrival in the UAE.



Several other countries, including Libya, Yemen and the Maldives, have backed the GCC states' decision and snapped ties with Qatar.



The rift has affected global oil prices, hit travel plans and sown confusion among businesses, the report said.
Astana/New Delhi, Jun 9 (IBNS): Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India has extensive cooperation with SCO nations and want to deepen the focus on connectivity, according to media reports.

The two days SCO summit is taking place in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

The prime minister began his address at the SCO Summit by congratulating President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan for successful leadership and excellent organization of the SCO Summit.

PM Modi said that connectivity with SCO countries is a great priority for India.

During his speech, the PM stressed on coordinated efforts to fight menace of terrorism including radicalisation, recruitment, training and financing of terrorists

He said, "Terrorism is a major threat to humanity."

"SCO effort will give peace, stability in the region and it will fight against terrorism and extremism in any form," PM Modi said.

Talking of climate change, the PM said, "SCO can devote attention towards climate change."

He also congratulated Kazakhstan for its "Future Energy" theme at the Astana Expo, media reports said.

Prior to his departure for Astana, PM Modi had tweeted, "At this meeting, on completion of the process, India will become a full Member of the SCO upon which SCO will represent over 40% of humanity and nearly 20% of global GDP."

On the sidelines of the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chinese and Uzbek President Li Jinping and Shavkat Mirziyoyev, respectively, and discussed bi-lateral ties with them.



Images: PIB
Papua New Guinea is a tropical country located in the middle of Indonesia and Australia and yet, it is an underrated destination for tourists. But in these shots made by a tourist, it would make people longing for a tropical paradise consider this country.

Kevin Rushby, a tourist and a travel writer for The Guardian (photos are posted in this link), offers some glimpse of his adventure in Papua New Guinea. These shots show the beauty of the country underwater, a relaxing man on a boat, and an aerial view of the country.

One of Rushby's photo shows the coral reef in Papua New Guinea located at Kimbe Bay, New Britain. He shows how he passed behind a Gorgonian fan coral on the reef.

Rushby described the reefs in Papua New Guinea as one of the richest marine environments on Earth. WriteUp Cafe wrote that Kimbe Bay has the half of all the coral species found in the Indo-Pacific region.

Another photo shows a man wearing a red jacket, resting on his boat on the sea near Tufi, part of the mainland Papua New Guinea. The man, who is distinguished as a fisherman by Rushby, is resting on his dugout outrigger canoes in order to get around since the area lacks roads.

Tufi is an area in Papua New Guinea that contains tropical fjords and rich fishing grounds for indigenous people. "Fjord" is the term used to describe one of the many "rias" or drowned river valleys.

Another photo shows the beauty and the inconvenience brought by Papua New Guinea. It shows the aerial view from the plane of Rushby, an Amazon-like view of forests and rivers.

The photo shows the plane coming to land at Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. Just like the other towns of the country, Moresby is not connected by road and is only accessible by board and plane.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
Spain has been a popular site for family tourists because of its views and tourist attractions that would give them a quality time despite its costliness. A new research shows that the money saved for the European country could be more worthy in places like Thailand, Bali and even Orlando.

In an article published by Mirror, when taking into account flights, hotels, car hire, and meals, the family's money is better spent in Thailand, Bali, and Orlando compared to Spain or Ibiza. This is based on the study through price comparison by travel website Travel Supermarket.

If a family of four will go to Phuket, Thailand rather than in Menorca, Spain, they could save around 800. If they pick Orlando, Florida over Spain or Ibiza, they could save 1,240.

"People may think that their holiday budget can only stretch to the Med, that they can't afford long-haul, and that holidays are going to be more expensive this year due to volatile exchange rates," Emma Coulthurst, a travel expert for Travel Supermarket, said in an article published in Telegraph.

"But the reality is holiday package prices in places like Thailand, Bali, and Orlando are lower this year in some locations and there are bargains to be grabbed, which provide the opportunity to experience long-haul for less," she added.

Travel Supermarket said that Bali and Orlando have shown the biggest annual price drops compared to other tourists destinations. With the holiday prices, a trip to Bali is 16 percent cheaper compared to Spain and a trip to Orlando would be 11 percent cheaper. With the affordability, Thailand could be a good destination since they have a low cost of living. A simple lunch is also cheaper with foods in Thailand and Bali only costs 1.50 than in any European countries.

With all of those reasons, a family could enjoy the kiss of the sun with a cheap yet quality price in Thailand, Bali, or Orlando than Spain in Ibiza. Time to schedule those dates.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
It turns out that a night accommodation in Benidorm, Spain is more expensive than a night in Rome on an average scale. Based on the data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), cheap hotels could be found in European cities of Kiev, Rome, Majorca, and Sydney.

In a post published by 123 Hotels, the average hotel price in a budget resort in Benidorm could be more expensive than the hotels in known-to-be-expensive destinations like Rome, Majorca, and Sydney. A three-star "cheap hotel" stay in Benidorm is 65 more expensive than a similar hotel in Sydney, 56 more expensive than one in Majorca and 73 more expensive than a three-star hotel in Rome.

Moreover, in an article published by Telegraph, Benidorm, once described as a "cheap as chips" destination leads the list of having pricey hotels. The hotels in the city charge a large sum of 356 for a night in a four-star hotel on an average. Compared to a night in a Kiev hostel, it costs less than five pounds or less than a month's subscription to Netflix.

Even a two-star hostel in Kiev is cheaper than an average hotel in Benidorm. A two-star hotel in Kiev costs less than a night in a hostel in St. Moritz, which is an exclusive Alpine resort.

Besides their research on Benidorm, the research study concluded that Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia is the cheapest city for hotel prices. Kuala Lumpur is followed by Sofia, Bulgaria; Tirana, Albania; and Skopje, Macedonia. For its low charge of 211 for a five-star hotel stay, Antalya in Turkey still remains a popular destination for people looing for a place during a beach holiday. The study also shows that Tokyo, Japan is also one of the cheapest destinations for hotel accommodation.

Besides Benidorm, the study shows that the destinations with the most expensive hotel accommodations are Monte Carlo, St. Tropez, Reykjavik, San Francisco and New York. Analysts said that seeing these five cities on the list is a no surprise.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
New Delhi, Jun 9 (IBNS): The Supreme Court on Friday said that only those without an Aadhar Card will be exempted from linking it with Permanent Account Number (PAN), while ruling on mandatory requirements of Aadhar card for Income Tax Return (ITR), according to media reports.

However, the top court said that those who are in possession of both must get them linked for filing IT returns, media reports said.

The Income Tax department has been urging tax-payers to link their PAN with their Aadhar Card.

The department said that linking of Aadhaar and PAN will be useful for e-verifiaction of Income Tax returns using Aadhaar One-Time Password (OTP).

The top court also addressed people's concerns over data leakage and said that the government must come up with a suitable scheme
Astana/New Delhi, Jun 9 (IBNS): President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbheyey, declared India and Pakistan as full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at the summit in Astana on Friday, according to media reports.

Prior to that, heads of Member States signed the decision for India joining Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

The Indian flag was seen with the flags of other SCO countries after it became a full member.

Speaking at the summit on Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India has extensive cooperation with SCO nations and wants to deepen the focus on connectivity, according to media reports.



Images: Gopal Baglay Twitter
Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 9

Public sector oil marketing companies have proposed new provisions as well as amended the existing provisions of the marketing discipline guidelines (MDG) to prevent irregularities by petrol pump owners.

These include suspension of sales and supplies for 60 days and penalty of Rs 5 lakh if any dispensing unit of a pump is found to be operating in manual mode or on any tampering with the tank gauge or automated system without proper authorisation for the first irregularity and termination of dealership at the second offence.

However, the petrol pump owners said that as the onus of maintenance and installation of automated dispensing unit at petrol pumps lies with the oil marketing companies, the companies should also be held accountable.

In the recent amendments related to MDG, public sector oil marketing companies had proposed new provisions that include suspension of sales and supplies for 60 days and penalty of Rs 5 lakh for the first irregularity and termination in subsequent offence in case the automated tank gauge (ATG) is switched off and non-operational without authorisation from the competent authority.

Gurmeet Monty Sehgal, spokesman, Petrol Pump Dealers Association (Punjab), said, The onus of maintenance and installation of automated dispensing unit at petrol pumps lies with oil marketing companies. So, oil companies should be also held accountable in case the laxity is on their part. Also, they should be subjected to similar kind of penal action in case there is any problem with the software and hardware.

Demand full automation of pumps

Chandigarh: With less than 30% petrol pumps being automated in the country, the Petrol Pump Dealers Association of Punjab on Friday said that the government should fully automate those before implementing the daily revision of Retail Selling Prices of petrol and diesel. Paramjit Singh Doaba, president of the association, and Ashok Jain, general secretary, have asked the oil companies to be automation-ready before the implementation of dynamic pricing in the interest of consumers.
Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, June 9

Three members of a Chandigarh family were killed in an accident on the National Highway-1 near Khanpur Kolian in the district on Friday.

Deceased Neeraj Singhal (50); wife Tanu (45) and son Naval (20) were residents of Chandigarhs Sector 39-B.

Their other son Nipun was rushed to the PGI, Chandigarh, with multiple injuries.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The Alto car in which they were travelling crashed on to the median on the National Highway.

Police sources said no other vehicle was involved in the accident.

Police suspect the car was being driven at a high speed and Neeraj, who was driving the car, lost control over the vehicle.

The three died on the spot and the police had to use a crane to rescue Nipun and take out the bodies from the mangled car.

The family was on way to their native place in Shamli in Uttar Pradesh.
Amit Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 9

For the first time, women constables of the Chandigarh Police will patrol the city on Honda Activa scooters to keep a check on the rising crime. The police have purchased 35 Activa scooters for the purpose.

The scooters will be allotted to all police stations for patrol duty. Patrolling by women constables will help curb incidents such as snatching and eve-teasing, said a police official. Police sources said the Activa scooters would soon be used by women constables to attend to crime spots in their area.

At present, Pulsar and Enfield motorcycles are used for patrolling by the Chandigarh Police. The sources said the scooters would carry stickers of the Chandigarh Police so that residents could easily identify these. "The moment the scooters get ready with the stickers of the UT police, we will introduce these in the city," said a police official. Chandigarh has also purchased Mahindra Bolero Plus vehicles for the SHOs. Earlier, the Police Department had purchased Eritga vehicles for the SHOs. However, space constraint was an issue.
Gen VP Malik (Retd)

THE sham trial of Kulbhushan Jadhav by the Pakistan military court will be back in news next week when the ICJ sets down a time table for the full hearing of the case.

Indias decision to take Jadhavs case to the ICJ was a bold and courageous step. Firstly, on the investigation and judicial front, there are far too many loopholes which require to be brought to the notice of the international community. Secondly, in approaching the ICJ, we adopted a proactive diplomatic stance; a turning point in our diplomacy from the kind of chicanery noticed when mutilated bodies of Saurabh Kalia and his colleagues were handed over by the Pakistan army during the Kargil war.

Jadhav has been convicted and sentenced to death by a military court established under the 21st Amendment of the Pakistans constitution to implement its national action plan against terrorism. This constitutional amendment has given extra-judicial powers to Pakistani military courts. As per sub-clause inserted in Section 2, Chapter 1 of the Pakistan Army Act-1952 (PAA), Any person who is or claims or is known to belong to any terrorist group or organisation using the name of religion or sect and raises army or wages war against Pakistan or attacks the armed forces of Pakistan and law enforcement agencies, or attacks any civil or military installations in Pakistan or kidnaps any person for ransom or causes death of any person or injury, shall be punished under this Act. With this clause, Pakistan has become the only country in South Asia which allows trial of civilians by military courts.

Jadhavs case has highlighted the violation of the Vienna Convention on consular relations, gross violation of rights and natural justice, and sham probe and trial by Pakistans military court.

Jadhav was (allegedly) arrested by the Pakistan army at Mashkel (a remote Kharan desert town, 85 per cent destroyed in the 2013 earthquake) near the Iran border on March 3, 2016. Within three weeks, his so-called confession was put out for public viewing on video-tape. Is it possible to carry out a full probe that requires visits to distant locations, examination of witnesses and corroboration of testimony within such a short time? It looks extremely doubtful.

He has been charged with providing financial backup and training to several agents involved in terrorist activities against Pakistan. Who are these agents? What and where was their training carried out? Where is the proof of money paid to them? The prosecution of such cases would always be a joint trial for the co-accused. But there is no indication of any other person involved or facing trial with Jadhav.

What about the process of law?

The amended PAA allows military courts to try any person who is or claims or is known to belong to any terrorist group or organisation using the name of religion or sect. But in this case, the prosecution has not indicated the identity of any terrorist group or organisation using the name of religion or sect.

In military courts, the accused has a right to challenge the members and question its jurisdiction. There is no evidence that this vital right was offered to Jadhav. He was given assistance of a defending officer  a military officer with little or no legal qualification. Pakistan army court-martials under this Act do not allow the accused access to civil lawyers. The courts conduct trials in total secrecy. The location and timings of court-martials are not made public.

Military law, like the civilian code of criminal procedure, mandates a court-martial not to accept a plea of guilty where the charge can involve a death sentence. The trial has to be processed considering the accused as not guilty. The confession has to be supported by corroborative evidence to establish his guilt beyond all reasonable doubt. There is no such proof in this case.

The principle of fair justice warrants a written judgment by a court, explaining the logic behind the verdicts. But Pakistan military courts are not required to give such documents. Even the families of convicts are not told about the investigation and evidence related to the case. How can then one file an appeal against the verdict when essential evidence, findings and legal reasoning are not made public and given to the accused?

Under Section 133B of the PAA, an accused has no remedy against the decision of a court-martial except appeal. These Sections state any person to whom a court-martial has awarded a sentence of death, imprisonment for life, imprisonment exceeding three months or dismissal from service may prefer an appeal against the finding/sentence to a Court of Appeals headed by a Major-General within 40 days from the date of announcement of finding/sentence. The decision of the Court of Appeals cannot be called in question before any court or other authority whatsoever.

A recent report by Pakistans Inter-Services Public Relations on the trials of terror cases for 2016 says about 90 per cent accused confessed to the charges. This unusually high percentage of confession has raised doubts. It indicates that questionable interrogation and torture means have been used to elicit such confessions.

The civil society in Pakistan has questioned the setting up and functioning of military courts, especially on the trial of civilians. According to Rafia Zakaria, an attorney and political philosopher of Pakistani origin, The secrecy surrounding military courts leaves them open to charges of contravening legal principles and pursuing their own vendettas against this or that terrorist group, instead of sticking to the principles of justice and obtaining convictions via fair proceduresGiven that military courts in Pakistan do not work under a system of legal precedent, little information exists as to the basis of convictions and acquittals. Moreover, since evidence is rarely made public, plenty of room is created for conspiracy theorists to place doubt on any conviction that is produced under their auspices.

Pakistan has flouted the Vienna Convention to which India and Pakistan are signatories. The ICJ provisional order has ensured that Jadhav will not be hanged quietly but denial of consular access continues. The legal battle will be long. While India fights for Jadhavs life, the kangaroo military courts of Pakistan would also be exposed.





The writer is a former Army Chief
Kolkata, Jun 9 (IBNS): A major portion of an old two-storey building collapsed at Narkeldanga North Road area under Maniktala Police Station limits in north Kolkata on Friday evening, leaving at least one person injured, reports said.

According to reports, the incident took place at around 5 pm.

Fire and emergency services officials, local police and Disaster Management Group (DMG) personnel rushed to the scene and rescue operation is currently underway.

"Three fire tenders are there at the scene and our rescue operation is still going on," an official of state fire and emergency services department told IBNS.

"One senior man, who was trapped under the wreckage, has been rescued alive and sent to NRS Medical College and Hospital for treatment," the official added. "Our search operation is still on to ensure that there's no more person trapped inside the building."

However, exact reason behind the building collapse has not been known yet.

(Reporting by Deepayan Sinha)
S Nihal Singh

THERE was a twist in the tail of US President Donald Trump's recent visit to the Middle East that has come to haunt him and the region. In a much-publicised speech to the Muslim world in Riyadh, he surprised the world by his strong support for Sunni Islam and demonised Shia Iran. Was he then a bull in a China shop? And when Saudi Arabia, leading other Gulf monarchies and Egypt announced the breaking of diplomatic relations and all communication ties with Qatar, Mr Trump exulted in a tweet that his visit to the region was "already paying off". "I stated that there can be no rolein the funding of Radical ideology". Soon after his tweeting, Mr Trump was brought back to earth, presumably by his advisers, by asking him to telephone Saudi King Salman to stress the need for Gulf states' unity in the shape of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Qatar hosts the largest American military base in the region. And as Kuwait wore the mediator's role, Mr Trump has gone to the extent of offering his own mediation to keep the Sunni kingdoms together. As these events were unfolding, as if on cue, the Islamic State claimed it had launched unprecedented armed raids inside the Iranian Parliament and on the nearby mausoleum of the nation's founder, Ayatollah Khomeini. There was a hostage-like situation for a time and at least 13 people were killed.

There has been bad blood between the independent-minded, energy-rich Qatar and the other Gulf states for a considerable time. Saudi Arabia and others had withdrawn their ambassadors to Doha to put pressure on the then young king after his father abdicated. Other points of friction were apparent in the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood leader of Egypt, Mohamad Morsi, by an army coup led by General el-Sistani. While Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cheered and financially supported him, Qatar objected. And contrary to other Gulf states, Qatar had relations with the Palestinian Hamas movement controlling Gaza to which he has given considerable humanitarian assistance.

Another bone of contention was the ransom for $1 billion reportedly paid for the release of members of the Qatari ruling family out on a hunting trip in Iraq, with the money allegedly landing in the lap of extremist groups in Syria. While these issues have been rankling in royal circles in the other Gulf kingdoms, some reports suggest that "fake news" in the form of the hacking of the Qatari news site triggered the Saudi action. While these ambiguities are sorted out, it is clear President Trump's decision publicly to demonise Iran and signify strong support for the Sunni monarchs played a major role in the Saudi decision. Although the US had its own reservations on some of the policies pursued by Qatar, its views were expressed in private, unlike Mr Trump broadcasting his proclivities from the rooftop in Riyadh.

Larger issues are also involved in the Saudi decision. Riyadh traditionally sees itself in the role of the big brother as far as other Gulf monarchies are concerned and is thus particularly sensitive to Qatar's independent-minded foreign policy with its immense resources and dollar reserves. Being the seat of Islam's two holiest sites and a vast network to spread the austere Wahhabism around the Muslim world, it seeks disciples not questioning fellow rulers. Being new to the job of running the country, President Trump is unaware of the edifice on which Washington's Middle-East policy rests: equal portions of self-interest and hypocrisy. The US establishment is sold on Israel, which receives the highest American military and economic assistance in the world and is biased towards Israel against the Palestinians. Its military base in Qatar is the main implementer of its anti-Islamic State operations.

It is a well-documented fact that the Saudi view of spreading its message around the Muslim world through subventions, Wahhabi preachers and the building of mosques are responsible for the new wave of a particular form of piety that often translates into extreme forms of the faith. Yet Washington has little to say on this phenomenon or that the majority of 9/11 attackers were Saudis. Perhaps the bumper military order Mr Trump pocketed during his visit helped.

In practical terms, the Saudi action has caused immense problems for Qatar, with unscrambling of thousands of flights, making alternative arrangements for food imports, 40 per cent of which came across the land border with Saudi Arabia, now shut, and other necessities. Mercifully, Qatar has the resources to cope with the challenge. The Middle East is not a setting for novices. Qataris have been heartened by the support they have received from Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But there are no quick answers to the questions President Trump has posed by taking sides in the long-running Sunni-Shia contestation. Iran is a country with a considerable following in the region's changing geopolitical map. Iran has claimed a following in Shia-majority Iraq previously under the thumb of Sunni rulers, has a devoted set of followers in Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement, has sided with Houthis fighting the Saudi-led military operations in Yemen and is siding with the minority Maronite Shia clan of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

President Trump's address in Riyadh bashing Iran was therefore like manna from heaven to bring the tiny kingdom of Qatar to heel.

India comes into the picture tangentially in the millions of workers employed in Qatar and the other Gulf monarchies, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Apart from alternative travel arrangements they will have to make for visits home (depending on how long the crisis will last), they will be careful not to be caught in the cross-fire. Who will put out the fire? Obviously, US officials will do their best to seek a rapprochement between the Saudis and Qatar. The Qatar US military base has 10,000 men, in addition to a dazzling array of warplanes.
Sangareddy, June 9

A 26-year-old man from Telangana was shot at by an unidentified person in California in the US on Sunday and continues to be in "very critical condition", his relative said here on Thursday.

He is admitted in the Eden Medical Centre CA. Fortunately Mubeen is now out of danger. We are following up the case with the police./3  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 8, 2017

Mubeen Ahmed, who completed a masters degree in engineering from a university in California, was fired upon in a departmental store where he was working by a man after the latter's group picked up an argument with staff, said Mubeen's maternal uncle Mohd Aslam Sultan Qasmi.

He said Mubeen sustained injuries to his lungs, liver and kidney, and currently remains admitted in an ICU of a hospital at Castro Valley near California.

He has undergone emergency surgeries and his condition is stated to be very critical, Qasmi said, adding that Mubeen's family members were informed about the incident on Monday by their relative in the US.

He said the hospital authorities also called them up.

Mubeen went to California to pursue his masters in engineering in February this year.

His father, Mohammed Mujeeb, works in a defence institute in Secunderabad and is currently residing in Hyderabad.

Mujeeb and other relatives called on Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao and Medak MP Prabhakar Reddy seeking help.

Mujeeb is awaiting his visa to travel to the US, Qasmi said. PTI
Chandigarh, June 9

The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) on Friday held a protest at few places in Haryana against the death of five farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur.

BKU activists protested in Hisar, Sirsa and Kurukshetra districts and demanded arrest of those responsible for the deaths of the farmers and adequate compensation for the injured.

The outfits senior leader Gurnam Singh said it was unfortunate that the BJP had ignored its election promise of implementing the Swaminathan Commission report.

He said the BKU has raised four demands failing which they will intensify their protests in the coming days.

First, we want Presidents rule to be imposed in Madhya Pradesh. Those responsible for firing on farmers be tried for murder, Swaminathan Commission report should be be implemented without any delay and crop loans of farmers across the country be waived, Singh said.

He said that various farmer organisations will be meeting in Delhi soon, in which leaders from many states will participate.

Meanwhile, members of the youth Congress also protested in Panipat against over the Mandsaur incident.

Some other farmer outfits held demonstrations at various places in Haryana to protest the death of the farmers in Madhya Pradesh.

Yesterday, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said the farmer unrest in Mandsaur should not be seen in isolation as there is anger among cultivators because the BJP retracted on its poll promise to implement the Swaminathan Commission report.

The National Commission on Farmers, headed by eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan, in its final report had said, The Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50 percent more than the weighted average cost of production. PTI
Our Correspondent

Kaithal, June 9

INLD workers led by former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Ram Pal Majra burnt an effigy of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Kalayat today to protest the firing on farmers.

Addressing party workers, he said farmers in BJP-ruled states were going through tough times. He stated that farmers had committed suicide in various parts of the country.

He claimed that the BJP governments at the Centre and in states had no concern for farmers and only cared for big industrialists.

Majra expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Haryana and other BJP-ruled states. He said other sections of society were feeling cheated.
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 9

The Kandela khap today announced to start protests on the issues of the Swaminathan Commissions report and farm loan waiver. The decision comes a day after protests by farmer unions against the killing of farmers in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh,

The khap has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee to take the demands of the farmers seriously.

The khap today decided to hold a mahapanchayat of all khaps and farmer unions of the state at the historic platform of the Kandela khap on August 15 to constitute a national-level Kisan Jagriti Manch to fight for farmers issues.

Tek Ram Kandela, president of the khap, in a meeting at Kandela village in Jind today condemn ed the killing of farmers. He said that the khap leaders across the state were angry with the Union government over the killing of five farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradesh.

Kandela alleged that Mandsaur was not an isolated example of farmers unrest, but peasants across the country were feeling the pinch of the anti-farmer policies of the BJP government at the Centre.

Before the 2014 Parliamentary elections, senior BJP leaders had come to Jind for a national convention on agriculture and had promised to implement the Swaminathan Commissions report after coming to power. However, the BJP government has conveniently forgotten its promise now, Kandela alleged.

He alleged that the BJP government was acting for the welfare of a few corporate houses and the condition of farmers was becoming from bad to worse due to its policies.

He said the manner in which the prices of inputs such as fertilisers, seeds and pesticides were increasing and there was no proportionate hike in the minimum support price of the crops, farmers across the country were being forced to commit suicide.

March in Sonepat

Sonepat: Members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ambawata) took out a march and burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to protest the killing of farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Led by state president, Shamsher Singh Dahiya and state-vice president Balwinder Singh, farmers raised slogans against Central and Madhya Pradesh governments. Dahiya termed the firing on protesting farmers as unfortunate. He said farmers would not tolerate such highhandedness. He demanded dismissal of the MP government. The protesters handed over a memorandum, addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee, to Tehsildar Mukhtiyar Singh. They demanded Rs 1 crore as compensation to the family of every farmer killed and an independent inquiry. In a press note, SN Solanki, state vice-president of the All India Kisan Sabha, condemned the firing on farmers. He asked the Centre to implement recommendations of the Swaminathan commission. He said in a democratic country, every person had the right to raise demands and the government was expected to redress their grievances. OC

Modis effigy burnt

Rewari: Congress workers led by former minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav today organised a demonstration and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan here today in protest against the killing of farmers in Mandsaur. The protesters also shouted slogans against the BJP government. Firing on innocent farmers in Mandsaur has exposed the real face of Modi and Chouhan who are anti-farmers and have nothing to do with the farmers interests, said Yadav while addressing the protesters. He also decried the BJP government for not letting Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to meet family members of the deceased farmers. Chiranjeev Rao, Youth Congress leader, said the BJP government had cheated the farmers by not fulfilling its poll promises. TNS

BKU dharnas from June 12

Panipat: Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) will stage indefinite dharnas at all district headquarters in the state from Monday in support of farmers in Madhya Pradesh. This was decided in a state-level meeting of the BKU held here on Friday under the chairmanship of Rattan Mann, state president. Mann said farmers across the country were committing suicides due to increasing debt. The Madhya Pradesh Government had killed six farmers who were protesting for their rights in Mandsaur district, he said. Mann said the Union Government should fulfil the demands of farmers across the country. He demanded that the government should waive farm loans and implement the Swaminathan Commission report and farmers above the age of 60 years should be give financial aid of Rs 5 lakh. He said the national executive meeting of the BKU would be held in Haridwar from June 16 to 18 to decide the next course of action. TNS
Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 9

A day after allotment of non-party election symbols, a majority of the candidates assisted by their family members, friends and supporters today launched election campaigns in their wards.

The candidates are making door-to-door contact with the voters and using social media as well to reach out to their supporters and voters in the city to win elections. Many candidates have come out with their manifestoes for the development of their wards listing priorities ranging from water and parking problems to parks and public transport.

Though behind the scene, political parties are trying to ensure the victory of the party-backed candidates.

Even as political bigwigs are making their presence felt in many wards, the voters have kept them on tenterhooks. The voters are giving more weightage to individual capability, personal rapport and support base of the candidate, pushing political parties to the background because the elections are not being fought on party symbols.

The candidates have opened their election offices in their private premises. Posters, banners displaying their names, pictures and election symbols dot many wards in the city.

The ruling Congress has given a free run to the candidates. The candidates have not displayed party symbols and banners in their wards. So is the case with the CPM, whose Mayor and deputy Mayor had won the 2012 direct elections.

The BJP, main opposition party, has started displaying its party banners and flags in many wards and wooing the voters. Its top leaders like Union Health Minister JP Nadda, MC in charge Rajiv Bindal, former horticulture minister Narender Bragta and others are campaigning in support of the party candidates.

It appears that the BJP is focusing on the coming Assembly polls rather than fighting the MC elections, commented a political scientist at the HP University, requesting anonymity.

As many as 126 candidates are trying their luck to occupy chair of the councilor in the Town Hall, the seat of the municipality and elect the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
Our Correspondent

Kullu, June 9

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP from Telangana Palvai Govardhan Reddy, who was a member of the Parliamentary Committee for Chemicals and Fertilizers on a visit to Kullu and Manali, died in Kullu today. He was 80. He was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member in 2012.

Yunus Khan, Deputy Commissioner, Kullu, said the parliamentary committee comprising 25 members arrived at Bhuntar airport this morning. Reddy complained of uneasiness upon his arrival. He was rushed to the Kullu hospital and was admitted to the trauma centre.

Kullu Chief Medical Officer Sushil Chander said a team of medical specialists provided him cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but he suffered a cardiac arrest and could not be revived. He said Reddy was undergoing cardiac treatment from a premier medical institute in Hyderabad.

Yunus said his mortal remains were airlifted from Kullu. He said the parliamentary committee was scheduled to conduct various meetings in Kullu till June 12, but todays meetings were cancelled and the members of the committee will decide on their Kullu sojourn later.

Reddy remained a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for five terms. He was also a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council for one term.
Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 9

Exactly three years after their kin had gone missing in Iraq after being held in captivity by the ISIS, the 39 families have not left hope. Rather they are much more optimistic after having met Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj yesterday in New Delhi for the 11th time in this context.

The family members said that even as over 1,000 days had passed since they had heard from their dear ones, they still keep on trying their phone numbers with the hope that these would have got activated. They share how their lives have changed and their wait has become agonising.

Had I not been getting Rs 20,000 a month as government help, my life would have got completely ruined. My son Sandeep Kumar, who was then just 18, and my brother Nand Lal have been missing for three years. My husband is addicted to alcohol and my younger son is not employed. I just hope that this wait for my dear ones end up at the earliest. I could not make it to Delhi today, but my elder brother had gone to make the plea for their early return, said Sumitra Rani from Nakodar.

Manjit Kaur of Rurka Kalan, whose husband Dalwinder Kaur is missing for three years, had gone to Delhi yesterday for the meeting, The minister told us that since the turmoil in Iraq is settling, she was hopeful that the area where 39 men had been held too would be cleared in the next two-three months. She told us all that we should continue to have patience till then and this is what we have been doing.

Manjit, who runs a training centre in stitching, added, I have three sons who still are hopeful of seeing their dad. My younger twins were just six months old then and have no memories of their father.

Kamaljit Kaur, wife of Roop Lal from Bath Kalan village, said that her expenses were much more than the assistance given by the government. So, I am working as a domestic help in four houses. I have never been able to go to Delhi because of limited means and have no place where I can leave my two sons. All my relatives have abandoned me since the incident, she lamented. Whenever I retry calling my husband on his phone from where he had last called me on June 13, 2014, an Arab man picks it up and I cannot comprehend what he is speaking. But I do keep trying, she said.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 9

Stepping up its offensive against the infiltrators, the Army today killed five unidentified militants when they were trying to sneak into Kashmir from the Uri sector along the Line of Control.

The fresh infiltration bid was foiled on the day Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre visited forward areas along the LoC to review the overall security situation.

The latest bid was foiled near Gawalthan in Uri, some 120 km from Srinagar, when the Army intercepted a group of infiltrating militants trying to negotiate the LoC to enter into the Valley.

When the militants were challenged, they opened fire, triggering a gunfight. In the gunfight, five militants have been killed so far, a source said. Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the operation was still underway in the Uri sector.

On Wednesday, an infiltration attempt was foiled in the same sector and in a brief gunfight two soldiers had been injured.

Twelve militants have been killed in three gunfights in Nowgam and Machil in Kupwara district and Uri in Baramulla district since Wednesday. A jawan was also killed in one of these gunfights. A large quantity of arms and ammunition has been recovered from the gunfight sites.

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre also visited the forward areas along the LoC in Baramulla district to review the overall security situation.

Defence spokesman said Bhamre along with Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen JS Sandhu visited forward areas along the LoC as also the hinterland where he interacted with soldiers and was briefed on the security situation.

Tributes paid to soldier

Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre on Friday joined the Army in Srinagar in paying tributes to Rifleman Tara Bahadur Roka who was killed in the Nowgam sector on Thursday. Lt Gen JS Sandhu, Chinar Corps Commander, and all ranks paid homage to the soldier in a solemn ceremony at Badami Bagh Cantonment. Laying wreath on behalf of the proud nation, the minister saluted the heros sacrifice and expressed his condolences to the bereaved family of the martyr who is survived by his parents, a defence spokesman said. TNS
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 9

Five unidentified militants were killed in a fresh gunfight in Uri sector of Baramulla as the Army foiled fifth infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Kashmir since Wednesday.

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The latest infiltration bid was foiled near Gawalthan Uri, some 120 km from Srinagar, when the Army intercepted a group of infiltrating militants.

As the militants were challenged, they opened fire triggering a gunfight. In the gunfight five militants have been killed so far, sources said.

Srinagar-based defence spokesman said the operation is still under way in Uri.

On Wednesday two soldiers were injured in the same sector in a brief gunfight between infiltrating militants and the Army. After the brief exchange, the Army had continued the combing operation in the sector.

At least 12 militants and a soldier were killed in the past 72 hours as Army foiled multiple infiltration bids in Machil and Nowgam in Kupwara district and Uri in Baramulla.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre reviewed the overall security situation along the LoC and hinterland during his two-day visit. Bhamre, along with Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen JS Sandhu, visited the forward areas along the LoC as also the hinterland where he interacted with the soldiers and was briefed on the prevailing security situation, defence spokesman in Srinagar said.
Darjeeling, June 9 (IBNS): After the passage of twenty four hours since the violent protest of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) broke in the hills, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that the situation in Darjeeling is currently under control and peace has been restored in the area, according to media reports.

Banerjee, who stayed back in the hills on Thursday to ensure the safety of several tourists, monitored the situation closely and also provided help to several injured people, particularly to the women police whose dresses were burnt in the protest.

The GJM was protesting against a number of issues, one of which is to do away with the introduction of Bengali as a subject in schools.

Police had to resort to lathi-charge to disperse Gorkha Janmukti Morcha protesters in Darjeeling when they allegedly set three police vehicles to fire.

Condemning the incident, Banerjee said that she could not understand why the GJM resorted to such an activity, particularly during the time when tourists go to hills.

"I have no language to condemn it. This time people from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and many other states have come. All hotels are booked. Tourism is the source of income for the hills, so I really can't understand the reason behind their actions. Resorting to such an activity is nothing but a political bankruptcy," she said.

Banerjee said that she believes that the political loss of GJM to the Trinamool Congress is the sole reason for such a violent outrage, overruling the issue of imposition of Bengali in schools.

The ruling party of the state, TMC, won the Mirik municipality and also got few seats in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong in a recent election.

The TMC is the first party from the flat lands to make an entry to the political power in the hills of WB after a span of 30 years.

Several tourists were stranded in the hills since Thursday, as Darjeeling was under a bandh for 12 hours called out by the GJM.

According to reports, most of the shops and markets are closed, no private cars are plying and very few state-run buses are being noticed in Darjeeling, though the CM claimed almost 100 percent attendance in the state run offices.

The Chief Minister said that the state government has provided bus service to the tourists free of cost so that they could return to the flat lands and also requested Indian Railways and several airlines to give additional services, considering the present situation.

Speaking about the politics behind the incident, Banerjee said: "Politics should be done in a correct sense and not because someone has lost ground in the hills."

She even blamed the previous Left Front government for the unrest in the hills. When asked to make a comment on CPI(M) leader Biman Bose's blame on the TMC government for the present situation, the CM said: "The CPI(M) (the Left Front government) compromised for 34 years in the hills. They are teaching how to protest with stones. They were the first to throw stones during a protest in Kolkata (rally to Nabanna that was held in last month). I have also done protest and rallies for a long period of time (but not done like this). Biman da (Bose) is a senior politician so I expect him to speak accordingly."

Banerjee even said that the present state government has compromised a lot for the sake of the hills but she feels there should be a limit.

After coming to power, the TMC government made a Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), a separate administration for Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills which has administrative, executive and financial powers with them.

Banerjee went to Darjeeling to hold a cabinet meeting for the first time since 1972, following which the protest has erupted on Thursday afternoon.

Image: Official Facebook page of AITC.
Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 9

At least 137 people, including three crew members, had a narrow escape on Friday afternoon when four tyres of an Air India flight from Delhi burst while landing at the Jammu airport. After the incident, 10 flights were cancelled.

According to sources, the accident occurred as the Air India flight 821 failed to stop at the runway after which the pilot applied emergency brakes and four tyres of the plane burst. This caused the plane to go off the airstrip.

Notably, the Jammu airport has a runway of 6,700 feet only whereas an ideal runway should be 7,500 feet in length. All 134 passengers were safely evacuated using emergency chutes. However, a few passengers reportedly received minor injuries.

The airport was closed after the incident and all 10 flights which were scheduled to take off for different routes were cancelled as the flight 821 was stuck on the runway.

Four tyres of the aircraft burst on the runway due to which we had to shut the air services from Jammu, said DK Goutam, Director, Jammu Airport Authority of India.

There is no damage to the runway and after removal of the aircraft from the runway, it shall be available for operations. Normal flights will resume on Saturday, he added.

Critical for the countrys defence, the Jammu airport does not operate night flights. The airstrip often gets blocked as carriers planes get stuck due to technical reasons for several hours. The IAF has also asked the airlines to install station aircraft removal kits and trained personnel to operate them.

Runway short?
Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 9

There has been no end to the woes of shelling-affected people who have been staying in relief camps for a month now after migrating from their villages due to Pakistani shelling along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri district.

Uncertainty now looms as the villagers have set certain pre-conditions, including construction of concrete bunkers and allotment of plots on four or five marlas of land in safe zones, for their return. This has put the administration in a fix.

The prolonged stay of villagers in the relief camps has made the job of the district administration a bit difficult as it has to arrange for their meals three times a day. It also has to provide essential items, drinking water, baby food and clothing to them.

At present, about 3,000 border villagers are staying in five relief camps set up at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Nowshera; Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Nowshera; Government Middle School (GMS), Bhawani; Government High School, Nonial; and GMS, Nonial.

It is almost a month now but the administration has failed to find out any solution to our problem. Our lives have been shattered completely. Since August 2016, we have been forced to leave our homes and hearths three times. We are virtually living a life of refugees in relief camps, said Satish Kumar, a resident of Sher Makri village. He is staying at the GHS Nonial relief camp.

He said, We cannot put the lives of our family members, particularly children, at risk by returning to our villages. The enemy shells and bullets can hit us anytime. Our return is not possible till the construction of concrete bunkers.

After they showed reluctance to return, the administration has begun the process of identifying locations in border villages for the phased construction of community bunkers.

Rajouri Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said, We want their return to villages but it all depends on them. Their prolonged stay in camps definitely has made our job tough as all officers, including SDMs and BDOs, are busy making suitable arrangements for their stay. It affects the normal functioning of the administration as well. Besides, the cost is also heavy for the state exchequer.

The allotment of plots in safe zones had been a long-pending demand but only a policy decision could be taken by the state government on it, he said, adding, We have initiated the process of constructing bunkers for them.

Nowshera SDM Harbans Lal said, We talked to the people about their return but they are not ready for it. They demanded that they should be allotted four or five marlas of land or two-room structures in safe zones where they can stay at the time of shelling and firing from across the border. Another demand is the construction of bunkers in their native villages. We have started the process of identifying the places in six villages  Khamba, Sarya, Bhawani, Pukharni, Kalsian and Anwas Bhandar  where at least 120 bunkers (one each for three or four families) are to be constructed in the first phase.

A total of 3,044 families comprising 11,547 residents from 10 villages in the Nowshera sector had migrated after Pakistan started targeting Indian villages indiscriminately on May 10. Many people reportedly took refuge at the houses of their relatives in safe areas.

Admn begins process for building bunkers
Amarjot Kaur

Known for making issue-based documentaries on pertinent topics such as agricultural labour, mass movements, human rights and environmentalism, Daljit Ami is now headed to Singapore for his eleventh feature-length documentary titled Singapore Mutiny  A Reclamation and Saada Singapore in Punjabi. He started working on the documentary in 2012 and it is a product of his curiosity in the Ghadar Movement.

I wanted to make an elementary film on the Ghadar party, which was to be divided in chapters. While researching, the Singapore Mutiny of 1915 held my attention, says Ami. He will be visiting Singapore this month as a resident artiste on the reciprocal residency sponsored by The Objectifs Films Residency, supported by the Singapore Film Commission and the Singapore High Commission in New Delhi (India).

Past tense

Ami explains, Singapore Mutiny happened during World War I when Indian soldiers of the fifth Light Infantry Regiment of British Indian Army, instigated by the Ghadar Movement, revolted against their imperial masters whose war campaigns they were part of. He shares, The mutineers were arrested by the British with the help of allied forces of France, Japan and Russia deployed in nearby seas. The punishment awarded to these soldiers was staged as an imperial spectacle - 42 of the 205 court-marshalled soldiers were executed in the audience of 15, 000 people. The photographs of the execution are testimony of the spectacle, as shooting squads shoot the mutineers made to stand in front of a wall outside the Outram Prison with their hands tied behind.

Forgotten history

More than the public execution of the soldiers, it is Singapore Mutinys exclusion from the pages of history books that haunts Ami. He says, Most soldiers killed in the Singapore Mutiny were Muslims from Hisar and Rohtak districts of undivided Punjab. Ghadar Partys plan to organise an Army revolt in India was aborted when British Government got the information and arrested its leaders. This information could not reach Singapore where 5th Light Infantry revolted despite being ill-prepared. In post-colonial nation state, Ghadar Party got passing reference in history-writing projects. However, most Muslims fled to Pakistan after independence, and this mutiny is of relevance to Pakistan, India, and Singapore.

While sharing how history interacts with the present, Ami says that his documentary focuses on how eraser works in the conceptual category as far as history is concerned. I went around four villages in Haryana only to find that people dont even know about this event. Their reference point to this event is a consolation that these martyrs were from their village, he says.

This film is an attempt to recreate the event through these memorial plaques and memorial; architectural landscapes and people who inhabit these spaces. These questions are central to the exploration: How does memory leads back to the event? How do historical ruptures play with past events? How does repressed memory come back to problematize history? he signs off.

amarjot@tribunemail.com
Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 9

It was a double delight for the Dhesi family of Jalandhars Raipur village. Sarwan Singh Dhesi, 95, the family patriarch, broke into a gentle dance when told about the victory of his grandson Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (38) from Britains Slough constituency as well as that of relative Preet Gill (44) from Birmingham Edgbaston. Preets sister is married to Tanmanjeets cousin Taranjeet.

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Well-wishers, who swarmed the Dhesi residence, were served sweets even as local residents organised langar at the village gurdwara. Tanmanjeet faced several hurdles initially. A former MP was against his candidature. Some minority communities too were reluctant to back him. But he was eventually able to turn the tide in his favour, said a resident, barely able to contain his excitement.

Tanmanjeets uncle said his nephew, who was born in Slough, came to India when he was four years old. After schooling in Mohali, he returned to England for further studies. Now his two sons were studying in a reputed school in Jalandhar. Such is his love for his roots, he observed.

Tanmanjeets father Jaspal Singh was president of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar in Gravesend for more than 20 years. Elected councillor, Tanmanjeet was later appointed the Mayor of Gravesend.

There were celebrations at Preet Gills native village Jamsher Khehra too with residents organising langar and distributing sweets. Preets nephew Balraj said his uncle Davinder Singh, who migrated to the UK in 1962, had served as president of Smethwick Gurdwara, Birmingham, for over 20 years.

It was owing to his contribution to the people there that Preet, his eldest daughter, was elected councillor in 2011 and is now MP from Birmingham. He is the man behind my bhuas victory, he said.

Sikh community backs labour
Washington, June 9

Americas relationship with India should not be a one-for-one transactional arrangement but more than that, a former US envoy to New Delhi has said ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit here.

In the world economic situation, a strong India is good for us, Frank Wisner told a Washington audience.

It should not be a one-for-one transactional arrangement because a strong India, as (former US president) George W Bush made it clear, a strong India is good for the United States. Indias strength is good for us in maintaining the balance of power in Asia, the former US Ambassador to India said.

At an event organised by the Meridian International Center here, Wisner said when President Donald Trump met Prime Minister Modi at the White House later this month, he should say that this is a key relationship with the US.

It is of strategic significance. Were going to continue to build. We are going to make sure that the building is done in a manner that is even asymmetrical. That is, we may have to put more in before we get much out, he said.

Noting that the two countries had got a good pattern of defence cooperation, he said they had to sort out some trade issues.

We need to get our heads together on China. The rise of Chinese power is as much an issue for India as it is for us, he said.

Pakistan..., the kind of restraint we need to exercise on Pakistan to be a responsible player in the region. And there are needs from India and her dealings with Pakistan where we now have pressing interests. Afghanistan, these are all questions that we can tackle, the former American diplomat said.

India is a rising power. At the same time, Americans have got to be very careful and not take our associates about whats good for the United States and then transfer them to India, he said.

India has her own realities and as President Trump and all of us in this country sit down and think about where were going in the future, we need to be very careful that we understand exactly, first of all, India is a rising power but its not yet a great power. Its on its way but it has a lot of building to do, he said. PTI
New Delhi, June 9

Several senior journalists on Friday came together to protest against an Emergency-like situation which they alleged was due to attempts to muzzle the voices of media with NDTV founder Prannoy Roy demanding that issues involving his channel be resolved in time-bound manner.

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The protest, which saw some senior journalists like Kuldeep Nayyar, Arun Shourie, H K Dua, S Nihal Singh, Raj Chengappa and Shekhar Gupta in attendance at the lawns of the Press Club of India here, came days after the CBI conducted searches at the residence of Roy here and three other locations for allegedly causing losses to a private bank.

The NDTV had described the actions as a witch-hunt based on same old false accusations.

Former Union Minister and veteran journalist Shourie alleged that the government has been controlling the media through two major instrumentsone by offering bribe through advertisements and the other by subterranean spreading of fear.

Now they are using the third instrument, which is overt pressure and they have made NDTV an example of that. I believe this will intensify in the coming months, he said.

Shourie alleged that the government would in future not only resort to managing but also suppressing the voices of dissent.

If you (journalists) think that if you give prominence to articles of some of the ministers in newspapers or give them air time, they will help you in crisis.

In fact, when the assault comes on you, none of them will help, Shourie said.

He said the present government is run by two-and-a-half men, without elaborating whom he referred to.

There is no minister here. The government is of two-and-a-half men, he alleged.

He said boycotting the ministers and not cooperating with them were ways to fight for freedom of press. Do not call them to your functions.

Instead of buying peace with concession, I would urge non-cooperation...just boycott their (governments) press conferences, deny them that, Shourie said.

Eminent jurist Fali S Nariman said no one is immune to being prosecuted from criminal offence.

But the manner and circumstances and the so-called justification of the CBI raids give me reason to believe that all this is definitely an unjustified attack on press and media, he said.

We are meeting here to stop deligitimisatioon of the media, he said, adding similar attempts to muzzle the voices of media were made by the Indira Gandhi government.

Veteran journalist Kuldeep Nayyar urged journalists to rise to the occasion in this battle for independent media.

We cannot and should not allow anybody to muzzle the voice of media. We are facing more or less the same situation as in the Emergency, he said.

I believe in the present atmosphere, silence is not an option. This is a moment when we have to be on the right side of history, NDTV reported senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai as saying.

HK Dua, former Rajya Sabha Member, said: Last time, when the defamation Bill was introduced, we got together; and it became a national movement. Rajiv Gandhi sought talks but we refused. The unity of the press won the battle. The Bill had to be withdrawn as the people were against it. Similar signs are visible now. Unless we are united, we can meet the same fate. This is a wake-up call; we have to be vigilant and cautious of such attacks.

Senior journalist Raj Chengappa, while expressing deep concerns over the CBI raids, said: Any attack or raid is a serious threat; particularly, if residences and offices are being raided in such a manner.

Aroon Purie, Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group, said: I strongly believe the freedom of the media is inviolable in a democracy. Such a move also undermines basic tenets of free speech.

It is one of those times when we have to forget our organisational and institutional affiliations. This is an issue that concerns the mother of all our institutions  the free press. This is an assault on the free press. Please stop self-flagellating, Shekhar Gupta, senior journalist, said

Addressing the gathering, Roy said, I commit here today that we will answer all the charges openly and transparently.

What all I ask is to please make it a time-bound process. Roy, who spoke at the end of the protest meet, countered the charges, as a concocted set of facts, saying, Radhika and I, NDTV have never touched one rupee of black money, never bribed a person.

The NDTV founder also said their fight was not against the CBI or the ED, but against politicians, who, he alleged, want to eviscerate these institutions.

Please dont believe there cannot be smoke without fire.

Politicians can make smoke without fire, he said.

Members of the Press Club of India, the Federation of Press Clubs of India, Delhi Union of Journalists, the Press Association, the Foreign Correspondents Club, the Indian Womens Press Corps and the Editors Guild of India were also present. Agencies
Simran Sodhi

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 9

India today became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana where Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about the need to combat terrorism.

Significantly, the PM also pitched for enhanced connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

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In his address at the annual SCO Summit, the PM hoped that Indias entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism.

Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values... Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is not possible to find a solution, Modi said.

India has raised sovereignty concerns over Chinas ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, and on these grounds chose to skip the OBOR Summit held in Beijing last month. With Pakistan, India has maintained that cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan was the main cause of unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.

The PM also hoped that the SCO would help in resolving the conflict in war-torn Afghanistan and also contribute in the efforts to combat climate change.

For India, the admission into the SCO today is a major achievement since this will give it an important footing in central Asia. Pakistan too was today admitted as a full member. While Russia pushed for Indias full membership, Pakistans case was supported by China.

Besides India and Pakistan, the SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its members.

Meanwhile, Modi met Xi on the sidelines of the SCO Summit. The meeting was described by India as very positive and cordial and while there was no direct mention by either side of the irritants, the underlying message was that differences should not become disputes.

India and China of late have clashed mainly on three issues: Chinas blocking of Indias attempts to get Masood Azhar designated a terrorist at United Nations; Chinas blocking of Indias membership bid to enter the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and India protesting Chinas One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative over sovereignty concerns.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, when asked in Beijing today about the discussions between the two leaders and specifically if NSG or Masood Azhar were raised in the meetings, refused to get into the specifics. He, however, said: There was an understanding that where we have differences, it is important that differences should not become disputes.

Jaishankar said security and defence issues, including counter-terrorism operations, were also discussed. Both the leaders noted that in a multi-polar world, and at a time of global uncertainty, India-China relations were a factor of stability, and it was important for both the countries to work together.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, The two sides should strengthen the complementarities of the development strategies and press ahead with the major cooperation projects such as energy and railways. The two leaders will now meet for the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, next month.

Loved Dangal: Xi
Darjeeling (WB), June 9

The Army staged flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong as a 12-hour bandh sponsored by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) got underway today, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee describing the bandh as illegal.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung challenged Mamata to stop the agitation in the hill and said that it was his writ that runs in the hill. He also projected himself as the CM of the hills. GJM supporters today allegedly set afire an under-construction ITI building at Mongpu.

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In all, six columns of Army have been deployed, three in Darjeeling, two in Kalimpong and one in Kurseong, a defence spokesperson said. The Army was requisitioned by the state government for Kurseong and Kalimpong as a precautionary step, besides Darjeeling town which saw large-scale violence and vandalism yesterday. Besides, three companies of CRPF have also been deployed, the defence spokesperson said.

The Army carried out flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, he said, adding that the situation was under control of the civil administration.

Darjeeling, brimming with tourists, had witnessed violence yesterday when GJM supporters clashed with the police and torched police and government vehicles. Shops, eateries and markets remained closed in the hill although the state government has made arrangements for buses to help tourists to come down to Siliguri. Also, SpiceJet will operate a special flight from Bagdogra to Kolkata tomorrow for stranded tourists.

Mamata, who stayed back here after yesterdays Cabinet meeting, asked tourists not to get scared. She said a three-member panel comprising three senior IPS officers has been set up to look after the law and order situation in Darjeeling. The state government has also arranged buses to ferry tourists from Siliguri to Kolkata, she said.

I have seen how so many vehicles were set on fire. We want peace and development in the hill. The Army has already started route march, she said. On action the government was planning against the GJM chief, she said: Police will do their work and law will take its own course. Nobody is above law. They will act against those who are doing this vandalism.

Last night, an FIR was filed under non-bailable sections at the Darjeeling Sadar police station against Gurung and GJM general secretary Roshan Giri. The GJM supporters had protested alleging that the state government was imposing Bengali language in the hill schools which was refuted by the CM.

She said the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration has failed to carry out any development in the hill and now, they had started torturing the public.

Gurung said he would directly talk to the Centre about the deployment of Army and the alleged police atrocities on innocent people.  PTI/TNS

Prez Rule demanded
Astana, June 9

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday strongly pitched for coordinated efforts among SCO members to combat the menace of terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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In his address at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Kazakh capital, Modi hoped that Indias entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism.

Coordinated efforts are needed to fight the menace of terrorism, including radicalisation, recruitment, training and financing of terrorists, Modi said in a veiled message to Pakistan, whose Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was among the leaders present at the Summit.

Terrorism is a major threat to humanity, Modi said, adding that there was a need for concerted efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.

I have full confidence that the India-SCO cooperation will give a new direction and strength to the fight against terrorism, he said.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity, he said.

However, the Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif among others, asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such cooperation.

His remarks assume significance as they come weeks after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the Summit to highlight its concerns over the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of Xi, and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Modi said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan.

He also thanked SCO countries for granting membership to India.

The Prime Minister said Indias SCO membership will certainly take cooperation among member states to new heights.

The drivers of which will be energy, education, agriculture, defence, minerals, capacity-building, development partnership, trade and investment, he said.

The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.

Modi said today was a historic turn in the SCOs journey and India was ready for an active and positive participation in the grouping.  PTI
Guwahati, June 9 (IBNS): The sleuths of Dibrugarh police on Friday grilled 25 government officials in connection with the cash-for-job scam of Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) at the office of Assam police special branch.

According to the reports, the son of a former Congress minister, a relative of a Union minister are among the officials, who were grilled by the investigating team.



The 25 officials including Assam Civil Service (ACS), Assam Police Service (APS), who were declared successful in the 2013 APSC examination and appointed by the state government in 2015 were grilled by the Dibrugarh police team led by ASP Surajit Singh Panesar and Subhasish Baruah for several hours.



Former Congress minister Nilamoni Sen Dekas son ACS officer Rajarshi Sen Deka and Union minister Rajen Gohains relative Sunayana Aideu (Superintendent of Taxes) were also grilled in connection with the cash-for-job scam with other officials.



ASP Surajit Singh Panesar said that, earlier police had summoned to 26 officials to appear before the investigating team, but an official was absent on Friday.



The investigating team had collected 5-page handwriting samples from all 25 officials and also asked them to write a short note in the subject of Cultural Heritage of Assam.



A top police official said that, the investigating team also tested of general knowledge and English language.



All handwriting samples will be sent to forensic laboratory. If any mismatch found in forensic report, further steps will being taken following court direction, the top police official said.



Dibrugarh police had recently seized 1265 answer scripts of the APSC examination held in 2013 and 2015 from the strong room in the commission office.



Police had already arrested three ACS officials named Bhaskarjyoti Dev Sharma, Bhaskar Dutta and Amit Sharma in connection with the scam.



Apart from these officials, police had also arrested former chairman of APSC Rakesh Paul, his two associate members Samedur Rahman, Basanta Doley, Pabitra Koiborta, Nabakanta Patir.



(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 9

In a statewide crackdown, more than 26 per cent private buses were today found plying without any permit, registration certificate and road tax papers. Some had fake number plates. Inspecting teams, comprising Vigilance and Transport Department officials, found non-AC buses plying on permits meant for AC buses, pointing to tax evasion.

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Having ignored the issue for months, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had on June 7 ordered a crackdown on illegal bus operations after the matter was highlighted in the columns of The Tribune.

During the checking today, it was found that buses belonging to a particular company (owned by an influential political family) had the registration number mentioned on a slip attested by the Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, whereas it is required to be displayed on the route permit. Sources said this showed that several buses were being plied on a single permit. The surprise checking saw the daily route receipts of state transport undertakings and private transporters with valid permits recording a substantial rise. MS Narang, Managing Director, PRTC, said: Details of the route receipts will be available only tomorrow but the crackdown on illegal players is bound to boost the income of the state transport.

Of the 1,715 buses checked, 454 buses did not have a route permit or registration certificate, BK Uppal, Chief Director, Punjab Vigilance Bureau, said.

Some drivers carried only photocopies of permits. Some did not even have the drivers licence. Also, several private buses were disregarding the time schedule.

Buses with permits to carry tourists were found picking ordinary passengers, causing losses to the public transport system.

With private bus operations affected, bus stand fee collectors at the Jalandhar bus stand reported a 40 per cent fall in collections.

(With inputs from Deepkamal Kaur, Nikhil Bhardwaj and Harinder Singh)
Bhopal, June 9



The farmers' agitation in Madhya Pradesh reached the doorsteps of the state capital Bhopal on Friday, with incidents of arson and stone-pelting in Fanda area.

Police baton-charged the protesters and arrested at least 27 of them in the area, some 20 km outside Bhopal.

"Some unidentified people set a truck on fire near a spot where Congress workers were protesting. Then some men hurled stones at the policemen present there," Deputy Inspector General of police (DIG) Raman Singh Sikarwar said.

Those arrested include 19 Congress workers.

Police also arrested eight others who were allegedly pelting stones.

"We also resorted to lathi-charge to disperse stone-pelters," the DIG said.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1 to demand loan waiver and higher prices for the farm produce, among other things.

On June 6, five protesters were killed in police firing in Mandsaur district, the epicentre of agitation.

A 26-year-old farmer died in Badavan village of Mandsaur, with locals on Friday accusing police of having beaten him up.  PTI
Chennai, June 9

MDMK chief Vaiko was on Friday stopped from entering Malaysia and detained at the Kuala Lumpur airport where officials questioned him over his alleged links to the LTTE.

He will be sent back to Chennai by a Malaysian Airlines flight tonight, the MDMK (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) said in a release here. He is expected to reach here by 10.45 pm.

The leader was scheduled to attend the wedding reception of the daughter of the Deputy Chief Minister of Malaysian state of Penang, P Ramasamy, on June 10.

The party said when Vaiko landed at the Kuala Lumpur airport this morning, immigration authorities told him that he had been banned from entering the country since his name figured "in the list of persons dangerous to Malaysia."

Officials told him that "he belonged to the LTTE in Sri Lanka," and quizzed him over the outfit, the party said.

When Vaiko was told that there were "several cases against him in Sri Lanka," he denied it and told them that he was an Indian citizen and showed them his passport too.

"Still, the authorities did not accept it and made Vaiko sit in an enclosure in the immigration office. They took away his passport and told him that he should not step out of that place," the release said.

Vaiko apprised Deputy Chief Minister Ramasamy on the development.

Despite Ramasamy and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's efforts, officials did not permit the pro-Tamil leader to enter Malaysia saying they "have got an order from the office of Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister," the party said.

Ramsamy also talked to Vaiko over phone. The latter told him that he had not been "harmed" but was "made to sit in a place where I could not meet anyone," the MDMK said. PTI
Jitendra K Shrivastava

Tribune News Service

Patna, June 9

The Central Bureau of Investigation has asked a local court to allow former Siwan MP and RJD strongman Mohammad Shahabuddin to undergo polygraph and brain mapping tests in connection with investigations into journalist Rajdeo Ranjans murder.

Investigators told a special CBI court on Friday that Shahabuddin refused to cooperate during questioning. The court will hear CBIs petition for tests on June 15.

Shahbuddin, who appeared at the trial through a video chat, denied CBIs allegations that he wasnt cooperating, his defence lawyer Sharad Sinha said.

Rajan, a journalist working for a regional daily, was shot dead in May last year in Bihars Siwan district. Six people were arrested in the case.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar later announced that the investigations will be handed over to the CBI.
Washington, June 9

The US is looking forward to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington later this month, the State Department has said.

"We look forward to having the (Indian) Prime Minister here in Washington I believe it's later this month," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference yesterday.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Modi is expected to travel to Washington at the invitation of US President Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House later this month. Actual dates of the meeting has not been announced yet.

This would be Modi's first trip to the US under the Trump administration. The two leaders have spoken over phone for at least three times.

Under the previous Obama Administration, Modi had a record number of eight meetings with Barack Obama. Modi traveled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015. PTI
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 9

Taking note of a liquor advertisement displayed on LED screens along the Heritage Street leading to the Golden Temple, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday ordered an inquiry to probe the incident which has hurt the religious sentiments of devotees.

The Chief Ministers office said the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner had told the Additional Deputy Commissioner to submit the probe report within a week.

The CM said the sanctity of holy places would be maintained at all costs.

Earlier in the day, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) condemned the display of the liquor commercial. The party also demanded an unconditional apology from the CM over this blunder.

SAD secretary and former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said this incident had hurt the sentiments of devotees who visit the Golden Temple.

The objectionable advertisement was removed after local residents raised a hue and cry.
Lahore, June 9

Pakistan has alleged that India has prevented some Sikh pilgrims from travelling to the country for the annual Jor Mela as only 14 devotees have arrived so far.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had issued visas to 80 Sikh pilgrims but 66 of them couldnt reach Lahore as India stopped them at Attari Railway Station citing technical reasons, Pakistani authorities said.

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The Samjhauta Express train left for Attari on Thursday to bring 80 Sikhs for Jor Mela but when it reached there its staff was told by Indian authorities that the Sikh pilgrims couldnt board it as their visa only allows them to go to Pakistan on a special train, said Amir Hashmi, spokesman, Evacuee Trust Property Board, which looks after the minority holy places in Pakistan.

Hashmi told PTI that the Pakistan Railways was willing to send a special train to India to ferry the pilgrims but the Indian authorities didnt allow.

Fourteen of the total 80 pilgrims had a visa allowing them to enter Pakistan by road. They crossed Wagah Border by foot where the ETPB officials received them, Hashmi said.

Jor Mela is observed to mark the death anniversary of fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev. The 10-day festival, which is also called Shaheedi Jor Mela, will be held at Panja Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore.

The 14 pilgrims were taken to Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal.

The Sikh pilgrims will return to India through the Wagah border on June 17, according to a report on Radio Pakistan. PTI
Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 4

The state government has decided to link payment of scholarship amount doled out to more than 3 lakh Scheduled Caste (SC) students with their biometric attendance and Aadhaar numbers.

With this, the government hopes that the attendance of students enrolled under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme will improve and fake enrolments will be weeded out.

The Finance Department has instructed the Department of Welfare of SCs and BCs to complete the process in two months. Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has already instructed technical colleges and other colleges to introduce the biometric attendance system.

Shiamshu Gupta, president, Punjab ITIs Association, said the government should first introduce the biometric attendance system in government educational institutions before introducing it in private institutions.

A senior government functionary said the reimbursement of the scholarship amount had been in controversy ever since a probe by the Department of Welfare in 2016 had brought out that 900 private educational institutions had embezzled Rs100 crore through 32,000 fake enrolments. Of them, at least 22,000 cases were detected in colleges under the control of the DPI (Colleges).

Such students were shown as attending cases for a short period and then they were shown as dropouts. The dropout rate was as high as 40-60 per cent, the probe brought out.

Under the previous arrangement, the government used to transfer the fee in the accounts of private institutions. A part of it was to be given to SC students as maintenance allowance. But there were reports of students paying the maintenance allowance from their pockets, the functionary said.

Anshu Kataria, president, Punjab Unaided Colleges Association, said the governments move would certainly improve attendance, but it should be launched as a pilot project in one district. The government should first pay up scholarship amount of more than Rs440 crore for 2015-16 and more than Rs780 crore for 2016-17, he added.

To check fake admissions

Scholarship amount to be linked with biometric attendance and Aadhaar numbers

With this, the government hopes that the attendance of students enrolled under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme will improve and fake enrolments will be weeded out

The Finance Department has instructed the Department of Welfare of SCs and BCs to complete the process in two months

.
London

By 2019, India is expected to have almost 15 per cent of the smartphone shipment market share, followed by the US with 10 per cent and Brazil with four per cent, a report by Germany-based market research and business intelligence portal Statista said on Friday.

China is expected to maintain its leadership, with nearly half of all smartphone shipments worldwide (although no figures were given by Statista).

Smartphone shipments in India registered a growth of 15 per cent annually in the first quarter of 2017, reaching 29 million units.

"Globally, shipments passed the one billion-mark for the first time in 2013, and are forecast to total almost two billion units by 2019," Statista noted.

Smartphone shipments in China grew a modest four per cent in the first quarter of 2017 and smartphone brands like Oppo and Vivo saw the fastest growth followed by Huawei, extending their lead over Apple, Xiaomi and Samsung by a large margin.

According to New Delhi-based Counterpoint Research, global smartphone shipments hit 11 per cent in the first quarter this year compared with a two per cent decline in the same period last year.

A total of 375 million smartphone units were shipped in the first quarter.

IANS
THE Manchester correspondent of the Economist leaves no room to doubt that cotton manufacturers in Lancashire are greatly dissatisfied with their present position. He says: "Difficulties in carrying on business have increased and the engagements of spinners and manufacturers have gradually run down, with the result that the prices now being secured in yarn and cloth are distantly less satisfactory than a month or two ago." Whether this has reference to the enhancement of cotton duties in India is not clear, but the fact remains that Lancashire is far from reconciled to the additional impost, and the writer in the Economist asserts that "in due course another great effort will be made to bring about equal treatment for all producers of cotton goods in the Indian market." We cannot say what is really at the back of another "great effort" in the direction hinted at.
Official Facebook page of Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Bhopal, June 9 (IBNS): Amid the violent protest of the farmers that the state has witnessed this week, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that he will be fasting from Saturday "for peace", according to media reports.

Chouhan will sit for the fast at Dussehra Maidan in the capital city of the state, where the farmers are allowed to come and discuss their demands with the CM.

"I request everyone to come and discuss their problems with me and I will fast as well as run the government," Chouhan was quoted saying in the media.

Farmers from the state of Madhya Pradesh were protesting for last few weeks over the demands of better crop price and loan waive, but the whole scenario took a violent turn on Tuesday after police opened the fire, that killed six farmers in Mandsaur.

The conflict started after farmers blocked road, ransacked property and set vehicles on fire, which was followed by the firing.

Though the home minister of MP earlier refused to accept that five deaths were caused by the police firing, yesterday took a U-turn to admit it as a cause.

Eyeing the assembly election in the state the next year, opposition parties geared up to get a political prominence and made attacks on the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi rode a bike to reach Mandsaur but the police prevented him to enter the place and later arrested.

The ruling party of the state accused the Congress for instigating the farmers.

The police has currently barred entry of any political parties in the region.

In several states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the farm loans have been waived by the respective state governments for the near future.

After coming to power, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, followed by WB CM Mamata Banerjee announced the waiving of farm loans.
Doha (Qatar), June 9

The websites and digital platforms of the Al Jazeera Media Network are undergoing continual hacking attempts.

The platforms, however, have not been compromised.

Last month, Qatar's official news agency was hacked and false statements attributed to the country's ruler were posted that helped spark a rift with other Arab Gulf states.

Consequently, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries cut their ties with Doha on Monda.

The fake report said: "Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in a speech at a military graduation ceremony, was critical of renewed tensions with Iran, expressed the need for contextualising Hezbollah and Hamas, as resistance movements, and suggested US President Donald Trump might not last long in power."

A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team has been in Doha for the past week after the Qatari government asked the US for help following the security breach by hackers. ANI
Dubai/Doha, June 9

Arab states that have cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar tightened their squeeze on Friday by putting dozens of Qatar-linked people on terrorism blacklists, while Qatari ally Turkey came to its side with plans to send troops, warships and planes.

The developments intensified a confrontation between tiny-but-wealthy Qatar and a group of Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt that accuse it of fomenting instability. The dispute has created a major diplomatic test for the United States, which is close allies of the countries on both sides.

In an apparent escalation of the crisis, staff at Al Jazeera, Qatars influential satellite television news channel which often infuriates the rulers of the Arab world, said on Thursday its computer systems were under cyber attack.

Riyadh, Cairo and their allies accuse Qatar, the worlds richest country per capita, of supporting militant Islamist movements across the region. They have imposed what Qatar says is a blockade of shipping and air traffic, and closed Qatars only land border, causing panic buying at supermarkets.

Assertive foreign policy

Qatar, which has developed an assertive foreign policy over the past decade, denies that it supports militants and says it is helping to reduce the threat of terrorism by backing groups that fight poverty and seek political reform.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani called the moves by Arab neighbours and others clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law.

They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one, the minister said during a visit to Germany.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel called for diplomatic efforts to resolve the worst crisis to grip the region in years.

We are convinced that now is the hour of diplomacy and we must talk to each other; along with our American colleagues but above all our colleagues in the region, we must try to find solutions, especially lifting the sea and air blockades. Washington relies closely on the countries on both sides of the dispute for its military operations in the Gulf: Qatar hosts the US Air Forces biggest base in the region, while Bahrain hosts the US Navy. Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar have funded rebels fighting in the Syrian civil war.

The conflagration erupted just weeks after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia. Trump initially responded by tweeting his support for moves against Qatar, even as his State Department and Defense Department sought to remain neutral.

With supply chains disrupted and anxiety mounting about economic turbulence, banks and firms in Gulf Arab states were trying to keep business links to Qatar open and avoid a costly firesale of assets. The riyal currency has tumbled and the cost of insuring Qatari debt against default has risen.

Clashing over brotherhood

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain added 59 people to terrorist blacklists, among them 18 Qataris, including Abdullah bin Khalid Al Thani, a former interior minister and member of Qatars royal family.

The Qatari government said the move reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact.

Our position on countering terrorism is stronger than many of the signatories of the joint statement - a fact that has been conveniently ignored by the authors, it said in a statement.

Those on the list, including the former interior minister, could not be reached for comment.

Many of the others added to the list are figures associated with the Muslim Brotherhood who have made Qatar a base, including Brotherhood spiritual leader Yousef al-Qaradawi. Some are prominent jihadists who have fought in Libya and Syria.

Qatar has angered its neighbours for years by supporting the Brotherhood, a decades-old underground movement that calls for rule based on Islamic principles.

The Brotherhood says it eschews violence but some Arab states call it a terrorist movement. It came to power in Egypt in an election in 2012 but was toppled a year later by the military.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whose AK Party has its roots in Islamist politics and who has voiced support for the Brotherhood, signalled his firm backing for Qatar by swiftly signing a law to send Turkish troops to a base there.

In a signal of Turkeys urgency over the issue, parliament passed the law on Wednesday, Erdogan signed it on Thursday and it was published in the state gazette by Friday.

Turkish warplanes and warships

Turkey will send warplanes and warships to Qatar after an initial deployment of troops at a base in Doha, the mass-circulation Hurriyet newspaper said on its website.

The number of Turkish warplanes and Turkish warships going to the base will become clear after the preparation of a report based on an initial assessment at the base, Hurriyet said.

Around 90 Turkish soldiers are currently at the base, it said.

Turkish officials were not immediately available to comment on the report but Hurriyet said there were plans to send some 200-250 soldiers within two months in the initial stage.

Staff at Al Jazeera said on Thursday the Qatari state-funded network, which is watched by millions of people across the Arabic-speaking world, had come under a sustained cyber attack but was still functioning.

Qatar also said last month its state news agency had been hacked and false statements attributed to the countrys ruler posted, helping ignite the current rift with other Arab states.

Qatar said it leads the region in attacking what it called the roots of terrorism, giving young people hope through jobs, educating hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and funding community programmes to challenge extremist agendas.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting both Sunni Muslim Islamist militants and Shiite Muslim Iran - charges Qatar rejects. Several other countries later followed suit.

Would-be mediators, including Trump and Kuwaits ruling emir, have struggled to ease the crisis.

Trump initially took sides in tweets with the Saudi-led group, before apparently being nudged into a more even-handed approach when U.S. defence officials renewed praise of Qatar where their base is located.

Qatars ambassador to Washington said on Thursday his government trusted Trumps ability to resolve the dispute.

The most important engagement that happened so far from the U.S. is by the president, which we highly appreciate, Meshal bin Hamad al-Thani told the Financial Times. We truly believe that the involvement of the president and the US will bring this crisis to an end.

The ambassador left open the prospect of compromise, saying: We are courageous enough to acknowledge if things need to be amended. Reuters
London, June 9

Jeremy Corbyn may not have dislodged British Prime Minister Theresa May in the polls but the Labour Partys strong showing today prompted him to demand her resignation, saying she lost votes, lost support and lost confidence of the people.

Speaking following his re-election as the MP for Islington North, the 68-year-old Labour leader said people had voted for hope for the future.

Corbyn, who won his seat with more than 40,000 votes, said at the election count: The prime minister called this election because she wanted a mandate.

Well the mandate shes got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

I would have thought thats enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country, Corbyn said.

With one seat left to declare - Kensington - Labour has 261 seats behind the Conservatives 318, with the SNP on 35 and Lib Dems on 12.

Labour has taken seats from the Conservatives including Battersea and Canterbury and has unseated former Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in Sheffield Hallam. And the party made gains in Scotland included regaining ex-PM Gordon Browns former seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said: Obviously were disappointed if were not able to form a majority government.

But she added: For us to have come from such a long way back, supposedly, to be in a position where we could form the next government is an extraordinary performance on behalf of the Labour Party and shows what we can do when we unite. Thornberry was asked how Labour would able to form a minority government instead of the Conservatives and responded: We would put forward a Queens Speech and a Budget. Our Labour MPs would vote for it and we would call on the other parties to vote for it as well. PTI
Brussels, June 9

European Union leaders fear Prime Minister Theresa Mays shock loss of her majority in the snap British election will delay Brexit talks due to start this month and raise the risk of negotiations failing.

Guenther Oettinger, the German member of the European Commission, said it was unclear whether negotiations could be launched on June 19, as planned, while a weak British government raised the risk that talks could fail to reach the kind of deal that can limit disruption when Britain leaves in March 2019.

We need a government that can act, Oettinger told the Deutschlandfunk radio station. With a weak negotiating partner, theres the danger that the negotiations will turn out badly. A spokeswoman for the Commission, the EU executive whose Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has planned to begin talks with Mays government a week on Monday in Brussels, declined comment on whether there would not be a delay. We are ready, she said.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was quick to scotch any suggestion that Britain might do a U-turn and ask to stay in the EU - something that would need EU agreement.

Germanys European affairs minister Michael Roth said time was tight until the expiry of a two-year window to reach a negotiated deal: We should not waste any time, he said.

Few Europeans voiced much sympathy for May. Some compared her to her predecessor David Cameron, who sought to silence Eurosceptic fellow Conservatives by calling the referendum on EU membership last June which ended his career and shocked Europe.

Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May, will make already complex negotiations even more complicated, tweeted Guy Verhofstadt, the liberal former Belgian premier who is the European Parliaments point man for the Brexit process.

German conservative Markus Ferber, an EU lawmaker involved in discussions on access to EU markets for Britains financial sector, was scathing: At the most untimely point, he said, The British political system is in total disarray. Instead of strong and stable leadership we witness chaos and uncertainty. May, who had campaigned against Brexit last year, delivered her terms for withdrawal in March, binding London into a tight, two-year countdown to departure. These terms include a clean break from the EU single market. May then called a snap election hoping for a big majority to strengthen her negotiating hand.

That was also the broadly desired outcome in Brussels, where leaders believed that a stronger May would be better able to cut compromise deals with the EU and resist pressure from hardline pro-Brexit factions in her party which have called for Britain to reject EU terms and, possibly, walk out without a deal.

Elmar Brok, a prominent German conservative member of the EU parliament, said Europeans would be disappointed: Now no prime minister will have that room for manoeuvre, he said.  Reuters

UKIP leader Nuttal steps down

London: UKIP leader Paul Nuttall (in pic) announced his resignation after the far-right and anti-European Union party was washed out in the general election today, failing to win a single seat in the parliament. Nuttall, who had taken over from Nigel Farage in November last year, blamed the UKs return to a two-party system for the UKIPs massive failure. A new era must begin with a new leader, he said. Nuttall polled just 3,308 votes in Boston and Skegness  more than 10,000 fewer votes than the partys result in 2015  when the UKIP had one MP under the first-past-the-post system. He, however, stressed that the UKIP would remain relevant as the guard dogs of Brexit. He said it was clear UKIP requires a new focus and new ideas but was confident it had a great future. PTI

Pound plunges

London: Britains pound plunged to its weakest level in seven weeks on Friday after Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority in national elections, potentially disrupting Brexit negotiations. Just 10 days before the start of negotiations on Britains divorce from the European Union, no single party won a clear claim to power in Thursdays snap vote. Reuters

Scottish secessionist dreams dashed

EDINBURGH/LONDON: Scottish secessionist dreams of a swift second independence referendum were dashed on Friday when they lost 21 of their 56 seats to parties that want to keep the United Kingdom intact. As Britain slipped closer to political deadlock after Prime Minister Theresa Mays disastrous gamble on a snap election, the losses by the Scottish National Party (SNP) undermined Nicola Sturgeons (in pic) bid for a second independence vote. Sturgeons party, which nearly swept the board in Scotland two years ago, lost heavyweights to a Conservative Party reinvigorated by Scottish leader Ruth Davidson. Those losses included former leader Alex Salmond, who led Scotland in the unsuccessful bid for independence in 2014, and the SNPs top lawmaker in the British Parliament, Angus Robertson. Reuters

No time to lose on Brexit talks, May told

Brussels: European Council President Donald Tusk congratulated Theresa May on her reappointment on Friday as British prime minister and urged her to start talks as soon as possible on Britains exit from the EU to minimise disruption. Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations on the UKs withdrawal from the European Union in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome for our citizens, businesses and countries after March 2019, said Tusk, who chairs summits of European Union leaders. The timeframe set by Article 50 of the Treaty leaves us with no time to lose, he added, referring to a deadline of March 2019 when Britain will no longer be a member of the bloc, whether or not a deal is reached to avoid legal uncertainties. Reuters
London, June 9

Prime Minister Theresa Mays gamble of calling a snap poll spectacularly backfired today with the British electorate delivering a hung Parliament, forcing her to seek the support of a small party for staying in power. Defying calls for her resignation, she said she would form a government with the informal backing of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Edit: UK Elections

I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen, and I will now form a government  a government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time, a grim-faced May said outside 10 Downing Street.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Though the Conservative Party emerged as the single largest party, the impressive showing by the Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour Party sent the British politics into turmoil, putting May in a complex situation ahead of the Brexit talks scheduled to start on June 19.

The results, a sort of a turnaround in fortunes for both major parties, have thrown that timetable into doubt.

The shock defeat for the Conservatives is being seen by the British media as a humiliation for May to continue in her position. Corbyn, 68, may not have dislodged May, but his partys strong showing prompted him to demand her resignation.

May chose to call the elections three years ahead of schedule to try strengthen her hands in talks with the European Union to pull Britain out of the single market. Classified as a Brexit election, the result is being seen as a hope for the 48 per cent who had voted to remain in the EU in the June 2016 referendum and a rejection of Mays hard Brexit stance.  PTI

Britain gets first female Sikh, turbaned MPs

London: Britain on Friday got its first female Sikh MP and first turban-wearing MP as the general election results threw up a small increase in the number of Indian-origin MPs in the House of Commons. Labours Preet Kaur Gill won her Birmingham Edgbaston seat and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, known as Tan, won his Slough seat, to become Labours first turban-wearing MP.
Erbil (Iraq), June 9

Iraq's Kurds said on Friday a referendum on independence will go ahead despite warnings internationally that a vote in favour of secession could trigger conflict with Baghdad at a time when the fight against Islamic State is not yet won.

The Kurds have played a major role in the eight-month-old U.S.-backed campaign to defeat the hardline Sunni insurgents in the Nineveh province around their de-facto capital Mosul.

Baghdad's Shi'ite-led government has rejected any move by the mostly Sunni Muslim Kurds to press unilaterally for independence, insisting that any decision about the future of the country should involve all its other parts.

But Hoshiyar Zebari, a former Iraqi foreign and finance minister and now a senior adviser to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani, said the decision to hold the vote on Sept. 25 was irreversible.

"We crossed the Rubicon with that decision, there is no going back," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.

However, the expected "yes" vote would simply strengthen the Kurds' hand in talks with Baghdad rather than leading automatically to a break from Iraq, nor would an independent Kurdistan annex the oil-rich region of Kirkuk and three other disputed regions in Kurdish-controlled territory, he said.

"You will hear people saying we are for Iraqs unity, territorial integrity, we want dialogue between Baghdad and Erbil, we understand all this," he said.

"A referendum is a democratic process, no democratic country can oppose having a referendum; we are not talking about independence, we are talking about the referendum." The KRG's announcement on Wednesday sparked concern in the United States and Germany, two of the region's most important partners in the fight against Islamic State, which still controls a small part of Iraq's northern city of Mosul as well as swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Neighbouring Iran, Turkey and Syria all oppose secession, fearing separatism will spread to their own Kurdish populations.

Turkey's foreign ministry called the plan a "terrible mistake" on Friday and said that Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity was a fundamental principle for Ankara.

Iraq has been led by Shi'ites since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, by the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. The country's majority Shi'ite community mainly lives in the south while the Kurds and Sunni Arabs inhabit two corners of the north. The centre around Baghdad is mixed.

The Kurds have their own armed force, the Peshmerga, which in 2014 prevented Islamic State from capturing Kirkuk after the Iraqi army fled in the face of the militants.

They are effectively running the region, also claimed by Turkmen and Arabs. Hardline Iran-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militias have threatened to expel the Kurds by force from this region and three other disputed areas - Sinjar, Makhmour and Khanaqin.

The Sinjar region is populated by Yazidis, the followers of an ancient religion who speak a Kurdish language and the group most persecuted by Islamic State. Makhmour is south of the Kurdish capital Erbil and Khanaqin is near the border with Iran.

Zebari said the vote will only be held in these disputed territories if local elected councils want to join the process.- Reuters
Islamabad/Beijing, June 9

The IS terror group has claimed that it had killed two Chinese hostages, including a woman, who were abducted by armed gunmen from Pakistans restive Balochistan province recently.

The hostages were studying Urdu language at a local teaching centre in the provincial capital of Quetta when they were forcibly kidnapped by unknown gunmen last month. Another Chinese woman had escaped the abduction.

The IS, on its propaganda news agency Amaq, uploaded a statement in Arabic yesterday saying it had killed the two abducted Chinese nationals.

Confirming reports of the killing of its nationals, China today said the murders had not been connected to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, but asserted that such risks were unavoidable as its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) goes global.

China had worked closely with Pakistan to rescue them, but the two may have unfortunately been killed, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in Beijing, stating that Pakistan had informed China about their deaths.

This incident will not have any connection with the BRI, nor with the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting being held in Astana, Hua said.

China has deployed hundreds of its workers to work for the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is being opposed by Baloch nationalists.

Hua said contrary to reports, the two were not married and hailed from different provinces in China.

Pakistan pays great attention to the protection of Chinese citizens in the institutions there and made great efforts for their security, she said. After this incident, the Pakistan side had made their utmost efforts to rescue the hostage. PTI

Were kidnapped in Pakistan last month
Catalonia will hold a referendum on splitting from Spain on October 1, the head of the region said on Friday, setting the stage for months of confrontation with the central government

Previous secessionist challenges in Catalonia  a populous wealthy region whose capital is Barcelona  were blocked by Spains conservative government and the Constitutional Court. Reuters
Washington, June 9

US President Donald Trump called James Comey a leaker on Friday, the day after his former FBI Director accused him in congressional testimony of trying to quash an investigation and lying.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication ... and WOW, Comey is a leaker! Trump tweeted in his first comments since the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday.

Trump broke his silence on Comeys testimony with a single tweet that echoed the points made by his private lawyer after Comeys appearance: The Republican President himself was not under investigation, and Comey gave an account of his conversation with him to a lawyer friend who shared it with a news outlet.

Trump stopped short of saying that Comey lied under oath at the hearing, which occurred a month after Trump fired him on May 9.

Comey delivered a scathing indictment of his former boss, accusing him of trying to block an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and saying the White House defamed him and the FBI in trying to explain his dismissal.

He told the Senate panel he took meticulous notes of each meeting or conversation he had with Trump because I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document.  Reuters
Wolfenbuttel (Germany), June 9

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Friday that the UK vote reflected popular discontent over Prime Minister Theresa Mays hard Brexit strategy, which he said should be reconsidered.

The message from this vote is  hold fair talks with the EU and think again whether it is really good for Britain to leave the EU in this manner, he told reporters.

He added that he hoped a new government will be formed quickly with which we can hold serious negotiations.

A foreign ministry spokesman said that May had campaigned for a strong majority for a hard Brexit and that this was not the outcome of the election, in which the British PM lost her majority.

A spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile declined to comment on the election until a new government is formed, while the German leader was a on a tour of Argentina and Mexico.  AFP
Los Angeles/Mumbai, June 9 (IBNS): Throwing back to the days of the film xXx, Hollywood actor Vin Diesel on Friday shared a close picture with his co-star Deepika Padukone, on Instagram.

The picture shows both Diesel and Padukone holding each other closely, which had earned appreciations already from their followers.

Diesel commented on the photo as "all love" with a hashtag "xXxThursdays", reminding his followers and fans about his chemistry with the Bollywood diva.

"All love...#xXxThursdays" Diesel said on the picture.

All love... #xXxThursdays A post shared by Vin Diesel (@vindiesel) on Jun 8, 2017 at 12:05pm PDT

Padukone who debuted in Hollywood with the film xXx that was released early this year, acted opposite Diesel.

Diesel was seen to tour India with his Indian co-star for the promotion of his film.

He was made to dance to a popular Bollywood song 'Lungi dance' during the promotional days.

Padukone is presently shooting for a Bollywood film, Padmavati.

xXx: Return of Xander Cage was the third sequel of xXx franchise, earlier installments were released in 2002 and 2005.

#xXxToday !!!YSYYSYYSY A post shared by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on Jan 13, 2017 at 11:52am PST

Images and Videos: Official Facebook and Instagram profile of Deepika Padukone and official Instagram profile of Vin Diesel.
London, June 9

British Prime Minister Theresa May announced a minority government she said would be backed by a small Northern Irish party after she lost an election gamble days before launching talks on Britains departure from the European Union.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

May had called the snap election confident of increasing her Conservative Partys majority to strengthen her hand in the Brexit talks, instead, her authority has been diminished.

She now risks more opposition to her Brexit plans from inside and outside her party. Some colleagues may be lining up to replace her, although a party source said the post was seen as too much of a poisoned chalice for the time being.

Shes staying, for now, the source told Reuters.

Read: UK gets 1st female Sikh, 1st turbaned MPs in General Election

UK opposition Labour Party says will seek to form minority government

Just after noon, May was driven the short distance from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace to ask Queen Elizabeth for permission to form a government - a formality under the British system.

As were the party that won the most seats and most votes we are the only party in a position to form a government, May said. Her office said later that the key finance, foreign, Brexit, interior and defence ministers would remain unchanged.

The centre-right, pro-Brexit Democratic Unionist Partys 10 seats are enough to give Mays Conservatives a fragile but workable partnership, which May said would allow her to negotiate a successful exit from the EU.

Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom, May said outside her Downing Street residence.

The DUP itself said only that it would enter talks and it was not immediately clear what its demands might be. Since any deal is not expected to involve a formal coalition, such talks may not hold up the formation of government.

EU leaders expressed fears that Mays shock loss of her majority would delay the Brexit talks, due to begin on June 19, and so raise the risk of negotiations failing.

Do your best to avoid a no deal as result of no negotiations, Donald Tusk, leader of the EUs ruling council, wrote in a tweet.

With 649 of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 318 seats. A surprise resurgence by the Labour Party gave the main opposition party 261 seats, followed by the pro-independence Scottish National Party on 34.

Labours leftwing leader Jeremy Corbyn, once written off by his opponents as a no-hoper, said May should step down and that he wanted to form a minority government.

Labour resurgence

The pound hit an eight-week low against the dollar and its lowest levels in seven months versus the euro before recovering slightly on news she would form a DUP-backed government.

The DUP, which May referred to as her friends, was non-committal in its initial remarks.

The prime minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge, Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster told reporters.

With the complex talks on the divorce from the EU due to start in 10 days, it was unclear what their direction would now be and if the so-called Hard Brexit taking Britain out of a single market could still be pursued.

After winning his own seat in north London, Corbyn said Mays attempt to win a bigger mandate had backfired.

The mandate shes got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence, he said. I would have thought thats enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country.

Corbyn would be unlikely to win backing for a minority government, but was clearly revelling in a storming performance after pundits had pronounced the Labour Party all but dead.

Brexit risks

We need a government that can act, EU Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.

With a weak negotiating partner, theres a danger that the (Brexit) negotiations will turn out badly for both sides. But there was little sympathy from some other Europeans.

Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May, will make already complex negotiations even more complicated, tweeted Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian premier who is the European Parliaments point man for the Brexit process.

Mays predecessor David Cameron sought to silence eurosceptic fellow Conservatives by calling the referendum on EU membership. The result ended his career and shocked Europe.

German conservative Markus Ferber, an EU lawmaker involved in discussions on access to EU markets for Britains financial sector, was scathing.

The British political system is in total disarray. Instead of strong and stable leadership we witness chaos and uncertainty, he said, mocking Mays campaign slogan.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende said the result could mean a less radical split between Britain and the EU.

Ruth Davidson, leader of the Conservative Party in Scotland, where its candidates performed well, said the election results showed that the Conservatives should prioritise good trade relations with the European Union. Other Conservatives have emphasised the importance of migration controls.

We must in my view seek to deliver an open Brexit, not a closed one, which puts our countrys economic growth first.

Dreadful campaign

Conservative member of parliament Anna Soubry was the first in the party to disavow May in public, calling on the prime minister to consider her position.

Im afraid we ran a pretty dreadful campaign, Soubry said.

May had unexpectedly called the snap election seven weeks ago, three years early, polls predicting she would massively increase the slim majority she had inherited from Cameron.

But her campaign unravelled after a policy u-turn on care for the elderly, while Corbyns old-school socialist platform and more impassioned campaigning style won wider support than anyone had foreseen, notably from young voters, say analysts.

Late in the campaign, Britain was hit by two Islamist militant attacks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London, temporarily shifting the focus onto security issues.

That did not help May, who had overseen cuts in police numbers during six years in her previous job as interior minister. Reuters
Really big rig pauses while Western Star dealers and customers listen to presenters at the Michelin Proving grounds in South Carolina. Photos: Tom Berg

Now heres a serious dump trailer: Smithcos 85-Metric-Ton Gooseneck Tipper, one of the pieces of equipment recently demonstrated by Western Star Trucks at the Michelin Proving Grounds in South Carolina. It was pulled by a 6900XD from Western Star, which was showing off its line of off-road vehicles that compete with haul trucks from Caterpillar, Kumatsu, Terrex, and others.

While pulling the Smithco tipper, the 6900XD acted as a tractor, but its really a straight truck fitted with a fifth-wheel kit. Its part of the MBT-40 Multi-Body Transformer system from Carco Industries, using a Palfinger extreme duty model G68 hooklift that picks up bodies and puts them back down. This gives a truck multiple roles at a mine or heavy construction site.

Hook-lift systems are not new, and I recall writing about them in the 1980s (Palfinger offers many models of its own). But those are comparatively small, on-highway products, while the MBT-40 is capable of lifting and supporting larger and heavier bodies, and therefore loads. At this demo, Carco had steel dump and water tank bodies present and showed how they can be interchanged as needed by an operator.

The fifth wheel kit includes a subframe on which the coupling device is mounted. That raises the fifth wheels height by more than a foot, and the Smithco trailers gooseneck is correspondingly higher than it would otherwise need to be. Partly because of a higher center of gravity, this trailers capacity of 85 metric tons (93.7 standard or "short" tons) is somewhat less than the 100 metric tons (110 standard tons) it might otherwise be rated for, a Smithco rep said. The trade-off is versatility.

Off-road side-dump trailer offloads more than 50 cubic yards of gravel. Rigs like this are operating at mines in Canada and Australia, Western Star says.

For the demonstrations, a big Cat wheel loader filled the trailer to the gills with gravel, and when the rig returned from a demo run, attendees watched as the trailer tipped to its left, spilling the gravel onto the ground. Western Star reps said rigs like this  though with standard-height fifth wheels and larger-capacity trailers  are operating at mines in northeastern Canada and in central Australia.

Western Star says its 6900XD 40-ton dump, and now a new 4900XD 25-ton dump, cost less to buy and maintain than a haul truck and is easier on fuel. They're better for long-distance running over graded gravel and dirt roads. But haul trucks can walk over tall obstructions that would stall the Stars, said an attendee, a Georgia quarry operator who runs a group of Deere haulers.

Western Star 6900XD is a tractor and a truck because it's fitted with Carco's Transformer system. Rig was a handful to drive.

The Western Star-Smithco rig was a handful to drive, I can tell you. Thats not because of its size (about 116 inches wide and close to 100 feet long) or weight (about 220,000 pounds gross), but its stiff power steering. I needed two hands on the wheel to make all turns, and the wheel didnt automatically center; I had to twist the wheel to return it to a straight-ahead position.

However, a Detroit DD16 provided the grunt and a 7-speed Allison automatic transmission did much of the operating work. The rig imparted a sense of really getting something done. Maybe this is what I want to do when I grow up.
Will Uber disrupt trucking the way it has the taxi world?

Uber Freight, an app matching owner-operators and small fleets with loads to haul, launched with much fanfare recently. Yet the use of computer technology to match up freight with trucks that can haul it is hardly new.

There are in fact already a number of load-matching apps out there. There are companies that have been load-matching for a long time, like DAT and uShip. And there are a host of newer entrants, like Convoy, Next Trucking, Trucker Path, Loadsmart, Transfix, and Doft (which is billing itself literally as an Uber for trucking.) And in fact some of the hottest companies attracting venture capital these days are promoting Uber for trucking apps.

Some of those companies had a bone to pick with how Eric Berdinis, product lead for Uber Freight, described how Uber Freight was different from other load-matching apps out there.

Most of the apps that are out there might show the load, but its still on the carrier to pick up the phone to call to see if that load is real, Berdinis told HDT in an interview. A lot of times that load posted hours or days ago and someone else has taken it, but no one removed the posting. Theyre really no different than the current brokerage model; theres no 'book it now' button, no instant experience."

We talked with three of these companies to find out more about how they work, how they're similar to or different from Uber Freight, and how disruptive they think Uber Freight will be for trucking.

Next Trucking

Next Trucking has a function that is literally called Book It! and is an instant experience, said Erin Sullivan, spokesperson for the California-based company. There's even a video about it on YouTube.

CEO Lidia Yan got the idea for Next Trucking from working in her family business, one of the largest logistics companies in southern California for electronics. The app was launched two years ago and uses intelligent matching algorithms to match carefully vetted truckers with loads. With the push of a button, drivers can accept or decline jobs based on where they are, the time they want to travel, type of trailer, and rate.

Our app allows truckers to dictate what they want, Yan explained to HDT in an interview. We realize that drivers spend a lot of time negotiating with brokers.

Being from the industry, Yan said, we understand drivers better than a true technology company.

She noted that many drivers are not that technology-savvy, so theres a customer service team that can provide hand-holding if needed, from downloading the app to learning how to use it. We want to push them to the modern age of technology, but it does take time for drivers to learn the new technology, she said. Uber wants to automate everything, but were talking drivers over 50 years old who have never used a mobile app, who dont even have Facebook.

Uber wants to automate everything, but were talking drivers over 50 years old who have never used a mobile app, who dont even have Facebook.

Next Trucking targets owner-operators and small fleets with two to six trucks. Most of them dont have [transportation management systems], accounting systems, so we provide them with a free fleet management tool so they know where their drivers are in real time, and an accounting website," Yan said.

Currently, there are 6,000-plus drivers using the Next Trucking app, mostly in southern California. The loads come from a core network of shippers known by the Yan family business as well as shippers that sign up to use the app. Freight is typically the kind of freight drivers like to haul, she said, without a lot of loading time  electronics, solar panels, toys, furniture and the like.

Our goal is to help the drivers perform as a large virtual fleet, to consolidate the industry, Yan said. The industry is mostly made up of owner-operators and small fleets. Our goal is to consolidate them and provide more resources for them.

We know the industry. Thats very different from an outsider trying to solve our problems. We have a lot of functions Uber doesn't have, like a walkie-talkie function. We want to form a community, so drivers can chat with their own fleet or dispatchers or with anyone who downloads the Next Trucking app. They can share pictures and video with family, friends, and other drivers.

The app is free for drivers; shippers pay a charge, but its lower than what a traditional broker would charge.

While currently the focus is on freight going in and out of California, Next Trucking is looking to expand to Texas and New Jersey, again focusing on outbound and inbound lanes from and to those areas.

Doft

Doft actually billed itself as an Uber for freight before Uber Freight was launched, and Uber Freight is probably its closest competitor, said founder Aliya Salakhova.

Doft helps small and medium-sized enterprises find commercial trucks for their shipments without hassle in no time, Salakhova said in an email interview. It takes a couple of hours now for a transportation manager to book a truck, but with Doft it can take two minutes. Doft has two mobile apps, one for freight shippers and another for truck drivers, which instantly match a shipper and a truck driver.

It takes a couple of hours now for a transportation manager to book a truck, but with Doft it can take 2 minutes.

Our model is pure on-demand truck matching technology which matches loads and trucks within a short amount of time, Salakhova said.

Like Uber, Doft is focusing on owner-operators and small fleets. The approach is almost the same, but some details are different which makes the whole value proposition different, she said, noting that Doft pays its drivers in 24 hours, faster than Uber Freight. She also cited a fuel advance option that allows drivers to get up to 30% of a freight bill posted to their bank account right after a pickup by simply uploading the bill of lading in the Doft app.

Salakhova said most other load-matching apps are just mobile load boards.

A broker or shipper posts a load and it is posted in their mobile app instead of a wall. The load is hanging there for a while and sometimes the data can become obsolete. Doft solved this problem [with] instant on the fly' matching of loads and trucks. Our load is valid only when a driver looks at it on the smartphone. As soon as a load disappears from the screen, within 60-120 seconds, it is no longer valid. This is an Uber model that they use for their cab-sharing service. This is the model we are going to use to disrupt the trucking industry. Seems like the same thing, but in reality were totally different.

Unlike Uber Freight, which operates as a brokerage and will use other channels to get loads covered for shippers if they arent matched via the app, with Doft "the load will become obsolete in 120 seconds after it is posted. Shippers can use other channels to book a truck or re-try with a different price or time settings.

Salakhova said Doft has seen strong interest on the trucker side of the equation but, like Uber Freight, admits the shipper side has been slower to sign on. To keep enough freight available for truckers, Doft is launching a marketing campaign aimed at direct shippers, and plans to integrate with some existing load boards.

Doft launched in California earlier this year and is growing there. It has partners on the East Coast and plans to expand across the East Coast this summer. We hope that Doft will be ready to operate nationwide already this fall.

Like Next Trucking, Salakhova said Doft wants to build a community, a family, of drivers. Its even planning to offer Doft shares to truck drivers in exchange for a small investment.

UShip

UShip was connecting loads and trucks before apps and Uber were household words. The company launched in 2004 as a desktop-based system working a bit like eBay for trucking. Now app-based, uShip still connects the guy wanting to ship his grandmothers antique china cabinet with someone willing to transport it, but today its a global company. Its used by major less-than-truckload companies and recently signed a deal with DB Schenker, one of the worlds largest logistics companies, to automate road freight in Europe.

I think the original vision of uShip was much more of a peer-to-peer environment, kind of the sharing economy before the sharing economy was cool, said Dean Jutilla, uShip vice president of corporate communications.

I think the original vision of uShip was much more of a peer-to-peer environment, kind of the sharing economy before the sharing economy was cool."

Similar to eBay, each transportation provider gets a free profile page on uShip highlighting their experience, the type of equipment, insurance, authority, photos  and their feedback rating from people and companies that have shipped with them. Thats not something you may find with an app-based brokerage, Jutilla noted.

At the same time, its focusing on working with large 3PLs and logistics companies, uShip is also working on improving the mobile experience for the both shippers and drivers, said CEO Mike Williams, providing shippers with capabilities to book their loads, track their loads, check in on their loads, on their phone, at their deck on the dock, at home, we enable great connections. We think the truck drivers benefit from having more features pushed to them via the mobile device, so that has been a key strategy for us in 2017.

Like Uber and Next Trucking, uShip realizes that the smallest carriers can benefit from technology that allows them to get loads easier and faster.

Obviously, it is a fragmented industry when it comes to carriers, Williams said Something like 80% are less than 10 trucks. UShip is attractive to carriers in that 1 to 10 truck range because we have a good base, a good volume of shipments to be able to peruse.

At the other end of the scale are the DB Schenker and large less-than-truckload companies. Many of the top 20 LTL carriers, Williams said, are electronically providing rates through the uShip marketplace platform, which allows [shippers] to gain access to high quality carriers and those firms are obviously thousands of trailers.

He also pointed out that:

uShip is "peer to peer," anyone with any size vehicle can sign on to be a carrier

uShip ships everything: cars, boats, motorcycles, furniture, appliances, construction equipment, etc.

uShip ships everywhere in the U.S., Europe, and parts of India and South America

uShip has a lower lower cost/bidding pricing model: in comparison to Uber Freight with standardized pricing, uShip allows the bidding/negotiation of prices, which ultimately gives consumers much lower cost options.

So How Disruptive is Uber Freight?

Will Uber disrupt trucking the way it has the taxi world?

Dofts Salakhova noted that Uber is getting into a very complicated market, where a lot of companies with a lot of knowledge in trucking have been already working on automation software for a while. It will take a lot of time, human and financial resources for Uber to build a successful on-demand commercial trucking service. For me, the only question is whether Ubers investors will be patient enough to overcome all the difficulties on their way into the trucking space, or they will give up like they did with UberRush  its restaurant delivery service.

UShip CEO Williams said of Uber Freight that, Its another app being introduced by a broker. There are probably 10 of those that are going to get started this week. Ubers going to get headlines, but at the end of the day, theyre starting a brokerage and theyre using technology. And how is that different from someone like C.H. Robinson with its Navisphere Carrier app?

Anyone who would start a brokerage today would lead with technology," Williams said. However, he added, I give the company a lot of credit, it keeps everyone in this industry on our toes and reminds us that shipping and logistics is ready for more innovation, more digitalization.
New York, June 9(Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres on Thursday congratulated the people of the Kingdom of Lesotho on the conclusion of a peaceful National Assembly election.

He commends the work of the Independent Electoral Commission in organizing the election and the role played by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in assisting the Kingdom of Lesotho to ensure a peaceful political environment, said statement issued by his Spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

The Secretary-General highlights the importance of now focusing attention on the implementation of SADC decisions on further strengthening democratic governance and stability, it added.

The statement concluded by reaffirming the United Nations commitment to support the Kingdom of Lesotho in this regard.

Photo: UN Lesotho (file)

Source: www.justearthnews.com
John Regur is Tulsa branch manager for Hamilton Group Funding, a locally owned mortgage company with branches in 23 states.

1. How did Oklahomas first Hamilton Group Funding branch land in Tulsa?

Hamilton Group Funding, a mortgage bank, was founded in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, then acquired by a Tulsa business investor. The Tulsa owner wanted to make sure the companys processes and procedures were perfect before he brought the company into his backyard, and I consider myself fortunate to lead the branch.

I was raised in Tulsa, so the benefits of our market were clear to me  and quickly became clear to Hamilton, too. Tulsa is an incredible place to live, raise a family and earn a living. With so much developing in our area, it is getting easier to find creative projects to mortgage. For instance, I saw a sign for a new townhouse project at 14th and Cheyenne the other day. Its clear that downtown Tulsa has a commitment to develop downtown, so thats where Hamilton landed, and thats where were helping our clients invest.

Also, beautiful rolling landscapes can be found 12 minutes away. The new construction toward Osage Hills, in northwest Tulsa, is very exciting to me. I love Tulsa Country Club; all of the northwest Tulsa landscape is a treasure. The Gilcrease and Tisdale expressways get you commuting efficiently. A hundred years ago, when some of the wealthiest families built homes, this was the view they chose. Its cool to see our attention come full circle back to this area.

2. What sets Hamilton apart from other lenders?

We put the client first. I want to leave it at that, but I assume youd like an explanation.

First, its our dedication to what my team calls white glove concierge service. A home buyer isnt in this industry every day. They dont know our vocabulary, the steps of the process or how many pieces are moving behind the scenes, and they dont need to become an expert in mortgages to have one. Weve simplified almost every detail of the process for the borrower. If they dont have an assistant to gather paperwork, they can use mine.

Second, its our product diversity. Hamilton Group Funding has branches in 23 states and has a very diverse market to serve, i.e. condos in Miami and hobby farms in Ohio. This diversity, and the need to provide mortgages within it, helped us develop a vast product portfolio.

Many state-level banks cannot produce the transaction volume to deliver the brokered products. On the high end of the spectrum, we can take loan amounts up to $3 million. On the lower end, subprime is really opening up, although we call it non-QM now.

Third, its our processes. The secret to our corporate office is they work smart and let our technology work fast. We have a dual-track underwriting system, which allows us to process and approve loans twice as quickly as the national average  22 days vs. 50 days.

Also, we now have the ability to analyze tax returns with the same computer scan technology the IRS uses.

3. Youve been in the mortgage business for almost 20 years. Why did you enter this field?

I love real estate. All of it. I would actually love to be a Realtor, but Im also an accountant at heart, so doing mortgages keeps my finger on the pulse of buying, selling and building while also keeping me playing with numbers all day.

I also love helping families buy homes. Last week, we helped a 50-year-old veteran buy his first home. Last month, we moved a family from an apartment complex to a brand new home after working on their credit for two years. Pride of ownership is a mindset, and it can change the course of a family for generations to come.

4. You are a member of the JumpStart Coalition. What is its mission?

Four years ago, while serving on the board of directors for Camp Fire, I was asked to develop a financial literacy program for McLain High School. When we got into it, we discovered all students of the Oklahoma public school system are already offered financial literacy education modules, thanks to the JumpStart Coalition. It was an honor to receive a standing ovation from Oklahoma congressmen for our work with JumpStart at TPS. Im a firm believer that financial literacy is vital to the growth of Tulsas economy and equality.

5. How did you get involved with MUSED, the poetry and collaborative arts nonprofit of which you are a co-founder?

Most of my experience with poetry has come from song lyrics, but when my life-partner was finishing her MFA in poetry and sharing her writing and reading assignments with me, I became more and more captured by traditional poetry  the contemplation, imagery and the magic of metaphors.

We wanted to see what would happen if we paired my business and leadership experience with her passion for putting poetry back into the everyday affairs of the people. So we created the MUSED Organization. In less than three years, our volunteers have taught poetry workshops in TPS middle and high schools; through Circle Cinema; LIFE Senior Services; Head Start; the Anti-Bullying Collaboration at Youth Services; and more.

The organization teaches businesses to be more creative, too. The Poetry of Sales is a course I ask to take every year because the separation from right to left brain can sometimes seem like a chasm.
More than 70 business and community leaders joined Tulsa Regional Chamber staff members for the Tulsa Regional Washington, D.C., Fly-In on a three-day trip that ended Friday.

Attendees met with Oklahomas federal delegation to advocate for legislative priorities on behalf of the Tulsa region.

This is a pivotal year in Washington, D.C., with major policy changes occurring very quickly in the first year of a new presidential administration, said Phil Albert, chairman of the Tulsa Regional Chamber and president of Pelco Structural. Without direct involvement from local business and community leaders, our regions voice will have little or no impact on these policy discussions. Thats why this trip is so important. It provides the venue for that much-needed direct involvement.

The annual event helps build collaborative relationships between federal elected officials and the northeast Oklahoma business community.

The Tulsa contingent spent three days holding meetings and briefings, and business leaders had the opportunity to speak to Oklahoma congressmen about the federal priorities included in the 2017 OneVoice Regional Legislative Agenda.

Key federal priorities of the 2017 OneVoice Agenda include the Higher Education Act, mental health care reform following passage of the 21st Century CURES Act, the Arkansas River Corridor Project for river infrastructure improvements and appropriations to address the $180 million critical maintenance backlog of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System

Another key priority of the trip that attendees discussed with the Oklahoma delegation was the collection of online sales/use taxes. Although Oklahoma passed legislation addressing this issue at the state level, a change in federal law is necessary to ensure the taxes owed from online purchases are reported, collected and remitted.

Attendees talked about potential changes to the Affordable Care Act and how they could affect health-care reform efforts at the state level.

More than 70 cities, economic development organizations and education institutions across the Tulsa region have endorsed the priorities included in the 2017 OneVoice Regional Legislative Agenda. The agenda, now in its tenth year, has become a well-respected resource for state and federal policymakers.

The OneVoice Agenda serves as the touchstone for this trip and for all of our advocacy efforts, said Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber. That agenda  assembled collaboratively, and regionally endorsed  allows us to maximize our impact when we meet with both state and federal legislators.

Theyve come to see it as a direct reflection of the needs of our region, and it forms the basis for so many of our discussions, especially during this important trip.

918-581-8480
OKLAHOMA CITY  Legal challenges to two of Gov. Mary Fallins appointments to the Oklahoma Workers Compensation Commission have been withdrawn.

Workers comp lawyers had filed challenges claiming that the two attorneys, Megan Tilly and Jordan Russell, did not have the required three years of experience in the field to hold positions on the three-member commission.

Bob Burke, a workers compensation attorney, said he reconsidered his decision to challenge Tillys appointment after meeting with her and others who know her well.

I am convinced that she will be unbiased and fair and will simply follow the law in carrying out her responsibility as a member of the commission, Burke said.

My impression is that Megan is a very bright young lawyer who strongly believes in the rule of law and has no pre-set agenda other than applying the workers compensation law to any set of facts that come before her.

A similar challenge to Russell filed by Tulsa workers compensation attorney Cathy Enterline also has been withdrawn. Enterline could not be reached for comment.

The Oklahoma Senate confirmed both Tilly and Russell.

 Barbara Hoberock, Tulsa World
After removing a blue stripe from Tulsa Fire Department vehicles earlier this week, the department on Friday began placing a new emblem on its vehicles to show support for all public safety personnel.

The stripe had been placed on Tulsa Fire vehicles last year to show support for law enforcement and other first responders after the fatal shooting of Dallas police officers in July.

We wanted to show our fellow first responders that when the chips are down, the Tulsa Fire Department has your back, Tulsa Fire Chief Ray Driskell said. We have never felt any different about any first response agency and we never will.

But over the past week, the department started receiving concerns from community members who apparently misunderstood what the stripe represented, Driskell said.

Driskell did not want to go into detail about the concerns he received about the blue stripe, but he said he hopes the misunderstanding that prompted those concerns will be avoided by replacing the stripe with an emblem that more clearly represents support for all public safety entities.

What I think (the blue stripe) left out was that there are other entities  EMS, 911, and of course military  that we didnt include, Driskell said. And thats my fault ... I should have come up with an emblem like we did today and put that on there.

In a news release TFD sent Friday, Driskell clarified that the decision to remove the symbol was made in response to conversations with concerned community members and not at the direction of city officials.

The new emblems colors of blue, green, yellow and white represent 911 Public Safety Communications, Emergency Medical Services, the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office, TPD and the U.S. Armed Forces, according to the news release.

The new symbol will be displayed on more than 100 vehicles operated by TFD, and the design and print costs for the emblem were provided by private donations, according to TFD.
New York, June 9(Just Earth News): United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres said on Thursday that he has been aencourageda by the progress in Colombian peace process and called on the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) to continue to implement their respective commitments under the accord.

Guterres also reiterated the readiness of the UN to continue to support the peace process in the South American country, as required, read a statement issued on Thursday.

In a major milestone yesterday, the UN Mission in the country received a total of 2,300 weapons  just over 30 per cent of the arms of FARC-EP registered and identified by it  which are have been placed in its containers.

This timeline was agreed between the Government and FARC-EP on 29 May.

Also yesterday, Mission officials and those from the national Office of the High Commissioner for Peace travelled to the camps and started delivery of certificates and accreditations that will allow FARC-EP members formally start their reintegration into civilian life after the laying down of arms.

Both factors constitute a major event that attests to the willingness of the parties to respond to the hope created in Colombia and the international community by the signing of the Peace Agreement in November last year, the UN mission noted in a news release issued on Thursday.

The arms laydown process  a major component in the peace agreement  includes five distinct steps including: registration and identification of weapons, monitoring and verification of the holding of weapons, reception and storage of arms, neutralization of arms (to ensure that they will never again be used as firearms), and extraction of arms from camps.

Photo: UN Mission in Colombia

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Tulsa police arrested a man wanted on misdemeanor warrants after they say he ran from them and punched two officers, sending one of them to the hospital Thursday evening.

Two Gang Unit officers stopped a man who they allege was committing a traffic violation on a bicycle in the 5800 block of South Peoria Avenue around 7:30 p.m. and learned through a records check that he had three traffic-related warrants for his arrest.

The man, identified as Toyce Isaiah Mason, 27, began to pull away in an effort to flee before reaching back and punching an officer in the mouth, police allege. The man then ran, and both officers chased him, according to police.

Additional officers in the area trapped the suspect, who again fought with officers as they used a Taser on him to no effect, police reported. Police say they managed to take the man into custody after he punched a second officer in the head.

One of the injured officers was taken to a hospital to receive stitches.

Mason was taken to the Tulsa Jail, where he was booked on complaints of assault and battery on an officer and aggravated assault and battery on an officer. He also faces complaints of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana with intent, possessing or receiving drug proceeds, obstructing justice, resisting arrest and a bicycle violation in addition to the three warrants. Bail was set at about $57,000.

State records show that Mason has served time in prison for assault and battery on a police officer and possession of a controlled substance.
A day after the Tulsa Fire Department announced it would remove thin blue lines from its vehicles, the Tulsa County Sheriffs Office announced blue and black lines would be central to the departments new paint job for patrol vehicles.

Sheriff Vic Regalado unveiled the new design Thursday afternoon at the Faulkner Building downtown. Instead of white patrol cars with badges on doors, the agencys new vehicles will feature Sheriff in gold letters and thin blue and black lines down the vehicles sides.

The thin blue line, bordered by black accents above and below, is a common symbol among law enforcement and its supporters. Regalado said the thin blue line has different meanings, including solidarity with first responders and a line between chaos and order. But he said the decal on TCSOs patrol cars is a commitment to residents, and to remember those who died in the line of duty.

Its a reminder of the sacred oath we took to protect the citizens of Tulsa County, Regalado said. It also serves as a memorial to those first responders everywhere who gave the ultimate sacrifice in that service.

The announcement came one day after city Fire Chief Ray Driskell said the thin blue line decal would be removed from firetrucks. Driskell said the decal, which was added after the Dallas police shooting in July, may have been perceived as showing favor to the Betty Shelby trial verdict.

Regalado said the timing of TCSOs announcement was coincidental and not intended as a slight to the fire department. He also said the office chose the design weeks before the fire departments decision to remove the decal, and that he didnt think the thin blue line should be politicized in any way.

Driskell said he spoke with Regalado and Police Chief Chuck Jordan on Thursday morning before TCSOs announcement, and that the fire department will announce a new decal in a press release Friday to reaffirm its support for police and first responders.

Well be putting different stickers on our apparatus that not only show support for police, but also 911, EMS and, of course, the military, Driskell said. So Im hoping that will rectify everything to let people understand that we do support all of those.

Residents will first see the new design on the TCSOs newest Ford Explorers on order, and Regalado said all department patrol vehicles will be repainted over the next few months.

Regalado also said the thin blue line also will be incorporated into other aspects of the departments branding, such as signage at TCSO facilities.
The recently adjourned Oklahoma Legislature was a bust. From education funding to tax equity, lawmakers were confronted with the states problems ... and blinked.

But none of the Legislatures failures is more frustrating than its refusal to deal with five reasonable, criminal justice reform measures.

The bills were the latest step in the states efforts to bend the rising arc of incarceration. Oklahoma locks up a greater portion of its population than any state but one and a greater portion of its women than anyone. If the trend line is not brought to sustainable levels, the states incarceration addiction will bankrupt it.

The concept of criminal justice has been tested with the voters, who overwhelmingly approved. State Questions 780 and 781  which started the process of reconfiguring criminal sentencing and dedicating the savings to programs to deal with underlying drug abuse and mental health problems  passed with margins of 56 percent and 58 percent in November.

With the advice of a blue ribbon task force, the governors office put forward an aggressive effort to follow up the two state questions and save the state $2 billion in future costs.

But one man  state Rep. Scott Biggs, R-Chickasha  abetted by Speaker of the House Charles McCall, R-Akota, effectively blocked progress on five resulting bills that were nearing the finish line at the end of the legislative session.

 Senate Bill 649 limits sentencing augmentation on nonviolent convictions because of previous nonviolent convictions;

 Senate Bill 689 gives judges more discretion to divert people from prison to treatment and supervision programs;

 House Bill 221 adjusts penalties for small theft convictions;

 House Bill 2286 establishes specialized supervision for domestic violence and sex offenders and encourages inmates to complete treatment prior to parole;

 Senate Bill 786 distirnguishes car burlaries from home burglaries for sentencing purposes.

Biggs, you might recall, was one of the lawmakers who, earlier in the session, sought to undo the progress of SQ 780 and SQ 781, under the argument that voters were too ignorant to know what they had voted for.

He also was the legislative author of Novembers so-called Right to Farm Measure, which voters shot down overwhelmingly.

Biggs might be out of step with the people of Oklahoma, but he apparently has the trust of McCall, who allowed the House Criminal Justice chairman to run out the clock on the reform proposals.

Fallin publicly pleaded with McCall to reassign the bills to a more reasonable chairmans committee, but when the session ended, nothing had happened. The bills could be be sent to the governors desk as soon as the Legislature returns next year, but the state will continue to bleed money into an overpacked, overexpensive prison system in the meantime.

Despite the expressed will of the people, the backing of the governor and piles of evidence to the contrary, one obstinate man was allowed to kill criminal justice reform for the year, meaning the state will continue to waste money on prisoners who could and should be diverted into programs to turn them into taxpayers instead of tax consumers.

We hope the people of Chickasha are happy with the representation theyre getting in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. We arent.
Thirty years on from a Chris Masters Four Corners report into corruption amongst Queensland police, Mark Willacy hears from the whistleblowers in Breaking the Brotherhood.

Breaking the Brotherhood: The brave few who blew the whistle on Australias most corrupt police force.

Break his camera and break his mouth too! was the order. Chris Masters The Moonlight State (1987)

It was Queensland, the year was 1987, and the States police force was riddled with corruption. The brotherhood of crooked cops who gave the green light to illegal gambling and prostitution believed they were untouchable.

The level and systemic nature of it, reaching to all levels, including the highest political levels, was truly a shock to me. Leading Criminal Investigator

There was a conspiracy of silence, from within the Queensland Government and all the way up to the highest levels of the force. The nature and the extent of the corruption sickened the honest cops, who operated in a world where they could trust no-one.

There were times that I actually feared for my life and for the life of my family. It was clear to me that we had institutionalised corruption taking place. Undercover Operative

A small band of brave crime fighters, and their families, took the enormous risk to trust a journalist with the States darkest secrets. The result was The Moonlight State, perhaps the most explosive true story ever told on Australian television.

There is another side to the Sunshine State. Despite some wholesome attempts to pretend otherwise, the Queensland Government has not managed to stop the devil at the border. In the Sunshine State, sex is a great little earner. Chris Masters The Moonlight State (1987)

Chris Masters landmark report prompted one of the most important anti-corruption investigations in Australian history, the Fitzgerald Inquiry, which led to the jailing of the Queensland Police Commissioner.

But the whole story of how the whistle was blown has never fully been told. Now the key players who put their trust in Chris Masters have come forward to tell their story, on camera, for the first time.

Im sitting there with my wife at home, because I knew when it was going to air, and Im watching it. And I had this silly grin on my face, but it was also teary because we actually made it, we survived. The story got to air. Whistleblower

I believe that fate brought (us) together and that something had to be done. Undercover Operative

The program also reveals the shocking lengths corrupt police went to, to try to silence the whistleblowers, and reporter Chris Masters

My son had been walking home from school and a car had pulled up beside him and told him that his father was going to be killed. Undercover Police Officer

Things got very scary, and a very powerful syndicate of organised criminals and corrupt police realised that they had an illicit empire to protect and they started to play nasty. Chris Masters

Thirty years on from The Moonlight State, leading law enforcement figures warn that every police force today must remember the lessons of those dark days so they can never be repeated.

Monday 12th June at 8.30pm on ABC .
Adelaide Today Tonight senior producer Frank Pangallo (pictured, left) has resigned after 23 years with the Seven network.

Pangallo has more than 45 years in the media, joining Seven in 1994 for Real Life as Supervising Producer, before joining Today Tonight in 1995. Together with Executive Producer Graham Archer, he has been with the program since the first night on air.

Adelaides Today Tonight is unbeaten across its 16 successive years with more than 630 consecutive weeks won  the longest winning streak since people meters were introduced in 1991.

This was the most difficult decision Ive had to make in my career. I have truly loved my job and the support, respect and friendship Ive received from all the staff Ive worked with in the Seven Network, he said.

I would like to thank our host, Rosanna Mangiarelli, for her enormous input and professionalism both on air and in assisting us in producing TT.

My motivation to succeed has never been stronger and I am proud of the achievements weve all made together to remain at the top of our game.

Seven Adelaide Director of News and Public Affairs, Graham Archer, said: Franks style and work is legendary and his career in the media is that of the ultimate news man. His passion and sense for news and story-telling is innate. His ability to find the story and the talent is unequalled.

Frank has a strong sense of compassion for the underdog and the disenfranchised. Journalism is about confronting the unpleasant, uncovering secrets, celebrating great achievements, acknowledging human kindness, enjoying the eccentricities of life and presenting it all in a way that engages, informs and entertains. That is what Frank has managed to achieve. We all should take a leaf out of his book.

Network Director of News and Public Affairs, Craig McPherson, said: No matter where Frank worked, he became the heart and soul of that office.

Feared by his opponents, respected by his colleagues. Everyone knew when Frank was in town. Relentless and passionate and also kind and caring. Frank helped so many over his 23 years at Seven.

Seven Adelaide General Manager, Andy Kay, said: Ive known Frank for over 40 years and would struggle to find a more committed, honest and hardworking individual. He will be sorely missed at Seven, but never forgotten for setting a standard we try to achieve every day.

Pangallos last day will be July 7th. Seven is yet to announce his replacement.
New York, June 9(Just Earth News): After losing control on population centres and declining financial strength, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) terrorist group is more focused than ever before on aenabling and inspiringa attacks outside of conflict zones, the top United Nations political official said on Thursday.

The threat from ISIL has been intensified by its use of the Internet and social media to disseminate propaganda online to a wide international audience, Jeffrey Feltman, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told a Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

Although the volume of such messages has declined in the past 16 months, the threat persists as supporters outside Syria and Iraq collect and re-distribute this propaganda, he added.

In Europe, for example, ISIL has used its online presence to encourage supporters to mount attacks in their countries of residence. This has led to multiple attacks, including in Belgium, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, noted Feltman, adding that while some of those extremists had been labelled lone actors, investigations demonstrate that the perpetrators often received support or resources from facilitators and, in a number of cases, were in direct contact with ISIL enablers.

He also noted a decrease in the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and in the overall number of ISIL fighters during the last 16 months but returnees and the relocation of fighters from the conflict zones to other regions now present a considerable  and an increasingly transnational  threat to international security.

At same time, Feltman also warned that ISIL continues to fund affiliates, while urging them to become more self-sufficient and proactive in developing internal revenue strea

Money services, including exchange houses and money couriers, continue to be a preferred method for ISIL and its supporters to move funds across borders, he said, expressing concern that funds for reconstruction and stabilization for newly liberated areas should not enable ISIL remnants to abuse those new resources.

Further, welcoming recent Security Council initiatives countering terrorist narratives, protecting critical infrastructure and stemming the destruction, looting and smuggling of cultural heritage sites and artefacts, the senior UN official called for more effort to implement norms and mechanisms, particularly those relating to terrorist financing and foreign terrorist fighter threats.

He also informed the meeting of the work undertaken by the UN and other actors, including the INTERPOL and the Financial Action Task Force to strengthen regional and national frameworks to counter terrorism financing and arrest the flow of foreign terrorist fighters.

UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Source: www.justearthnews.com
New York, June 9(Just Earth News): The situation facing children in Yemen is aextremely dire,a a senior United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) official warned on Thursday, citing a dramatic increase in cases of malnutrition and a massive outbreak of cholera across the war-torn country.

Speaking to the press at the UN Headquarters in New York, Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, highlighted a dramatic increase in the number of children with malnutrition.

When he left Yemen four years ago, there was already a huge caseload of children with severe acute malnutrition. On his recent visit to Yemen, he found the caseload having since doubled, with nearly half a million children under the age of five suffering the most extreme and visible form of undernutrition.

It does not end there. Yemen has been hit by a massive outbreak of cholera, he said, noting that reported cases already exceeded 100,000. With 3,000 to 5,000 cases added daily, it is possible that the outbreak will reach 250,000 to 300,000 cases, he said.

To make the matter worse, the country's medical care system is on the verge of collapse, or half-collapsed, he said, and the half of the health system that is partially functional is operating on a zero budget. Moreover, health workers have not received salaries for eight to nine months.

Children in Yemen have suffered enough. It is high time that all those who are responsible realize that the country is at the verge of collapse; that one of Yemen's biggest assets, its children, are getting killed, he said.

The situation in Yemen must be on the radar of the international community, he stressed, calling for a scaled-up support.

UNICEF/Fuad

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Generose Mundanikure and Thomas Ntahonkiriye in front of their home in Maratane refugee camp in Mozambique  UNHCR/Tina Ghelli

Maratane refugee camp, Mozambique - It is a busy morning for 67 year old Burundian refugee Generose Mundanikure at her mud brick home at the heart of Maratane refugee camp in northern Mozambique.

Outside the house, two local laborers diligently husk corn that she grew in a small field nearby. A young man enters their homestead to borrow some tools to work on a bicycle. Someone else drops by for some advice over a dispute with a neighbor. In the busyness of the morning, Generose and her husband, 68 year old Thomas Ntahonkiriye make time for all their visitors.

In 1972, Generose and Thomas were a young couple in love. They had married five years earlier, after meeting when Thomas was assigned as a teacher to a primary school in Generoses village in Burundi.

As a young and unmarried teacher, Thomas would often be invited to the home of the villagers for dinner in the evenings. His favorite visit was to the home of Generoses family just so he could see her.

She would often him walk out to the gate after supper, the only time that was culturally appropriate for them to be alone. After a few months, they were married.

He was very handsome and he had a job, so I was very excited to marry him, says Generose.

Five years later, the life of this young couple was upended when they were forced to flee to Rwanda when intellectual Hutus were targeted. As a school teacher, Thomas life was at risk, so they left with their two young children in 1972. They managed to start a new life in Rwanda and he continued to teach primary school.

In 1993, following elections in Burundi, Generose and Thomas, like many others, returned home. While they were waiting in a transit center in Bujumbura, the President was killed and ethnic clashes ensued shortly afterwards throughout the country.

Generose and Thomas fled again to Uvira, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this time, with their now seven children. When fighting began again in the DRC, they tried to return to Burundi but never felt comfortable there. They continued to be persecuted because they were not seen as true Burundians due to their previous years in exile. Furthermore, they were attacked in their home, where Thomas was shot and Generose was stabbed with a knife by members of a youth gang known as the Sans Echec. They decided to flee again and ended up in the most peaceful place they could find, Mozambique.

In Mozambique, they have managed to build a life because of their hard work and perseverance. They cultivate some land nearby growing maize and beans. Through it all they raised their seven children and now have 17 grandchildren.

With UNHCR's support, several of their children were able to go to secondary school and complete their university degrees. Their youngest is finishing at the University in Mozambique this year.

Through their small agricultural initiative and other small business, they manage to get some extra income for themselves as well as employ some of the surrounding Mozambicans and refugees in the camp.

They are an excellent example of how families take initiatives to support themselves but also provide employment for refugees and the local community, says John Woja, Head of UNHCRs Field Office in Nampula.

Their business may not be a huge enterprise but it contributes to the economics of the camp.

We dont see this as anything extraordinary, says Generose. We are just doing what we need to get by.

When we left Burundi in 1972, we didnt think we would still be refugees over 45 years later, says Thomas, but what gave me strength was always having my wife by my side.

Despite the many times they have been uprooted during their nearly 50 years together as a married couple, the one item they managed to hold on to throughout their life in refuge, is their original marriage certificate.

We just always kept it with us, says Generose, "but the most important thing has been that we always managed to stay together.

I will live forever with her, says Thomas smiling at his bride.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi addresses future diplomats at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing. His talk focused on challenges in global forced displacement.  UNHCR/Wang Wei

BEIJING, China,  UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi today highlighted Chinas potential to address the root causes of displacement and resolve refugee crises globally through wide-ranging development initiatives.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is in Beijing this week on his first official visit to China. In the last two days he has met with top government officials, UNHCRs Goodwill Ambassador Yao Chen, and addressed future diplomats at the China Foreign Affairs University.

UNHCR and China have been cooperating for 40 years. During that time China has become a major actor on the international stage, said Grandi. The global refugee issue has also grown bigger and more complicated as factors causing people to flee are increasingly mixed.

We hope that China can invest ... resources directly in countries hosting large numbers of refugees."

Reflecting these needs, Chinas contribution to refugee programmes has increased significantly  from US$2.8 million in 2016 to US$12.5 million so far this year, much of it on the sidelines of the recent Belt and Road forum held in Beijing.

Led by China, the Belt and Road initiative is a far-reaching platform for international cooperation in multiple sectors including trade, investment, infrastructure, connectivity and people-to-people exchanges. It spans more than 60 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa  some of which are producing or hosting refugees.

The Belt and Road initiative is about peace, prosperity and inclusion, said Grandi. We hope that China can invest some of those resources directly in countries hosting large numbers of refugees and displaced people. In doing so, it can empower refugees and their host communities in a win-win situation for all.

The initiative also has the potential to pave the way for refugee solutions, the High Commissioner noted. Through its many development projects, China can help to stabilize areas in conflict and address the root causes of displacement.

"China can help to stabilize areas in conflict and address the root causes of displacement."

Grandi noted that soft power was equally important in changing attitudes towards refugees, as Chinese actress Yao Chen has done. Through her 80 million-strong social media following in China, she has been a strong voice for refugees in the last seven years.

During their meeting on Wednesday, Grandi thanked her for advocating on behalf of refugees, and presented her with a certificate renewing her tenure as Goodwill Ambassador for two more years.

I remain committed to the refugee cause for as long as Im needed, said Yao Chen. But I long for the day I become unemployed when there are no longer refugees in the world.
New York, June 9(Just Earth News): The Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court on Thursday reiterated her call for States to arrest and surrender the suspects of alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Darfur region of Sudan, including President Omar Al Bashir.

Not one of the suspects for whom warrants have been issued has been arrested and transferred to the International Criminal Court, ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the United Nations Security Council, and in remarks directed at the victims and their families she said to those who continue to long for justice in Darfur; do not despair and do not abandon hope.

Indeed, she recalled that the international tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were reminders that persistence and determination could result in the arrest and surrender of suspects many years after the issuance of arrest warrants.

The Court was established by the treaty known as the Rome Statute adopted at an international conference in Rome on 17 July 1998. It entered into force on 1 July 2002.

The States that form this Council have the power, independently and collectively, to positively influence and incentivize States, whether or not parties to the Rome Statute, to assist in the efforts to arrest and surrender the Darfur suspects, she said, adding that regional organizations can do the same.

The prosecutor said there have been alleged cases of non-compliance by the parties to the treaty.

She said a pre-trial chamber of the Court plans to decide whether South Africa acted in non-compliance with the Statute when it failed to arrest and surrender Al Bashir in June 2015. Most recently, Al Bashir travelled to Jordan on 29 March 2017, but Jordan declined to arrest and surrender him.

Inviting, facilitating or supporting the international travel of any person subject to an ICC arrest warrant is inconsistent with a commitment to international criminal justice, she said. It is also an affront to the victims in the Darfur situation.

Bensouda noted that to date, the Court has made 13 decisions on non-compliance and referred them to the Security Council. Yet not one has been acted upon by this Council, she said. By failing to act in response to such Court decisions, this Council is in essence relinquishing and undermining its clear role on such matters arising from the Rome Statute and the Council's resolution 1593 (2005), which referred the Darfur situation to the body.

In 2005, the Council asked the Hague-based Court to investigate war crimes in Darfur. ICC judges issued arrest warrants in 2009 for Al-Bashir and other top officials for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the western Darfur region, where up to 300,000 people may have died and millions have been displaced since civil war erupted in 2003 between the Government and rebels.

UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Google Pixel 2's recently leaked image suggests for a nearly bezel-free screen design of the handset. Although the image is very challenging to see in order to create with bigger details, it is still clear enough to show that the recently leaked image of Google Pixel 2 resembles with its predecessor.

The Pixel and Pixel XL are Google's two mobile devices that have the two-toned look on the rear part that comes along with a matte finish. In the same manner, Google Pixel 2's leaked image looks exactly the same with Black glass on the top portion and a black metal at the back as the cover, Android Headlines reported.

Aside from that, the recently leaked image of the Google Pixel 2 also shows that the upcoming mobile device will arrive with dual rear camera sensors. The camera of the upcoming Google Pixel 2 is said to be a 16MP rear snapper and paired with an 8MP front-facing shooter.

It is yet unclear if the render of the Google Pixel 2 is legitimate, as the image appears to be created by a fan. Even though the Google Pixel 2 render appears similar to the original Pixel smartphone, but the search engine giant has never rolled out a mobile device that feature the same design just like the predecessor model.

In terms of the Google Pixel 2 specs, the upcoming handset is said to be powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 836 chipset. Tech fans and experts are expecting the Google Pixel 2 to come loaded with Android O. The back panel of the Google Pixel 2 also seems to feature a fingerprint scanner, BGR reported.

Google is expected to launch three variants of the next-gen Pixel smartphones, dubbed as the Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL and Pixel 2 XXL, with codenames Muskie, Walleye and Taimen respectively. Speaking of the Google Pixel 2 price, Google's head of hardware Rick Osterloh hinted that the tech company will be following the same premium pricing strategy for the upcoming Google Pixel 2 smartphones.

Watch The Video Here:
Subtitle

Special Report of the Inter-Agency Meeting on Outer Space Activities on Developments within the United Nations System related to Space Weather
Title

Information on the official visit to China of the Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (10-24 April 2017)
London, Jun 9 (IBNS): Neither the ruling Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Theresa May nor the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn were able to get a clear majority in the snap UK General Elections, according to media reports on Friday.

The elections were held on Thursday. Voter turn out was around 68 per cent, according to media reports.

However, Theresa May is expected to visit Buckingham Palace on Friday afternoon to seek permission to form a new UK government, despite losing her Commons majority, reported the BBC.

According to a BBC report, by 11am local time, the Conservative party had won 318 seats while the opposition Labour Party had won 261 seats. The Scottish National Party (SNP) won 35 seats, the Liberal Democrats 12 and the Democratic Unionist Party 10.

Tweeted Jeremy Corbyn, ".@Theresa_May thought that with the backing of the billionaires and the corporate elite, she could take your vote for granted."

The pound fell sharply in response to the Election results, media reported.



Image: Theresa May Twitter
Additional charges have been filed against Ziak Vang, a man who led police on a high-speed chase across state lines.

Florence Co., Wisc, is charging the 33-year-old man with fleeing or eluding a police officer. The Green Bay man is also being charged in Dickinson County with possession of methamphetamine, two counts of fleeing a police officer to the third degree, tampering with evident, resisting or obstructing a police officer, possession of marijuana, reckless driving, and habitual offender, 2nd notice.

Vang has a court date in Florence Co. courts June 20th. He is still being held at Brown County, Wisc. Jail for a parole violation.

Vang will be extradited back to Michigan from Wisconsin once his Wisconsin criminal charges are complete.

Background Information:

On May 13, at 10:56 p.m. the Iron Mountain Police Department was involved in a high speed vehicle pursuit. The pursuit started in the area of the Midtown Mall in the City of Iron Mountain. The pursuit headed South on Carpenter Avenue (M-95) and into the State of Wisconsin. The pursuit ended with the occupants fleeing into a wooded area in Marinette County. The suspect vehicle was recovered.

The Iron Mountain Police Department was assisted with this incident by the Kingsford Public Safety Department, The Dickinson County Sheriffs Department, The Florence County Sheriffs Department, the Niagara Police Department and the Marinette County Sheriffs Department.
New York, June 9 (Just Earth News): Voicing concern over lack of progress on the part of Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to undertake credible investigations into widespread allegations of rights violations and abuses in the Kasai Central and Kasai Oriental provinces, the top United Nations human rights official on Friday called for setting up of an international investigation mechanism to look into the situation.

The crimes committed in the Kasais appear to be of such gravity that they must be of concern to the international community as a whole, and in particular the Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, urged the Council today.

We have an obligation to the victims and a duty to send a message to the perpetrators of these crimes that we are watching and that the international community is throwing its weight behind ensuring that the endemic impunity in the DRC is brought to an end.

According to a news release issued by the High Commissioner's Office (OHCHR), since August last year, some 1.3 million people from the two provinces have been displaced within the country and about 30,000 forced to flee to neighbouring Angola.

The release raised particular alarm over the presence of at least 42 mass graves  documented by OHCHR  and reports that many of these were dug by Forces armees de la Republique democratique du Congo (FARDC) after clashes with presumed elements of the Kamuina Nsapu militia over the past several months.

The actual number of the graves are feared to be higher.

In early May this year, High Commissioner Zeid urged the Government of the DRC to take a series of steps to ensure that a credible, transparent investigation, respecting international standards and with the involvement of OHCHR, be established by 8 June.

However, while the Government sought technical support and advice from OHCHR and the UN mission in the country (known by its French acronym, MONUSCO) the response of national authorities till date falls short, in view of the gravity and widespread nature of the violations and the need to ensure justice for victims, noted the news release.

It is the sovereign duty of the Government of the DRC to carry out judicial investigations into human rights violations committed on its territory and we will continue to support the Government by providing advice and support towards its fulfilment of these obligations, noted the High Commissioner, adding: [However,] the scale and nature of these human rights violations and abuses, and the consistently inadequate responses of the domestic authorities, oblige us to call for an international investigation to complement national efforts.

Continued allegations of rights violations but investigations hindered by security constraints

The news release also noted that the UN Joint Human Rights Office  comprising the Human Rights Division at MONUSCO and the former OHCHR presence in the country  continues to receive allegations of serious rights violations, but security constraints have hindered further investigations.

The flare-up of violence in the Kasais occurred in August 2016 when a customary chief was killed by the FARDC. The Kamuina Nsapu militia, named after the chief, sought to avenge the killing by targeting police and army personnel, state symbols and institutions, such as Government buildings, police stations and churches, it also recruited children to join its ranks.

The FARDC reportedly reacted to the attacks by launching a intense counter-attacks, including by firing indiscriminately with machine guns in towns where the militia were suspected to be as well as conducting door to door searches, shooting dead suspected militia members or sympathizers.

While a number of national investigations have been launched into the alleged crimes committed by the Kamuina Nsapu, the Government has failed to conduct meaningful investigations into the conduct of the FARDC and the Police nationale congolaise, noted the news release.

UN Photo/Pierre Albouy

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Four Wyoming High School Female Students Honored with NCWIT Awards

As part of an effort to encourage more young women to choose careers in technology, the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) and the NCWIT Wyoming affiliate community recently recognized four high school female students and one Wyoming educator for their accomplishments and aspirations in computing and technology.

The 2017 Wyoming award winners are:

Winner -- Kyra Smith, Kelly Walsh High School, Casper.

Honorable mention -- Victoria Bailey, Kelly Walsh High School, Casper.

Honorable mention -- Hattie Pimentel, Powell High School.

Honorable mention -- Shianne Yarrington, Hot Springs County High School, Thermopolis.

Educator Award -- London Jenks, Hot Springs County School District, Thermopolis.

The group was honored at the Wyoming Affiliate Aspirations Award Ceremony, held in conjunction with the University of Wyomings OwnIt! Awards ceremony April 18 in the Michael B. Enzi STEM Facilitys education laboratory atrium at UW.

The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing is a program of the National Center for Women and Information Technology, a coalition of more than 650 universities, corporations and organizations dedicated to increasing the meaningful participation of women in computing. The NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing was created to acknowledge the computing aspirations of young women; introduce them to leadership opportunities in the field; and generate visibility for womens participation in computing-related pursuits.

Award winners were selected for their outstanding aptitude and interest in computing, and their desire to pursue computing-related studies or occupations. The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing program is supported by lifetime sponsor Apple; national sponsors AT&T, Bank of America, Bloomberg, Google, HP Enterprise, Intel, Qualcomm and Microsoft; and additional support from Motorola Solutions Foundation, Northrop Grumman and Symantec.

The Wyoming Affiliate of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing is a collaborative effort by dedicated volunteers from UW and Western Wyoming Community College.

NCWITs work leverages programs from organizations across the country and connects efforts to increase women's participation in information technology along the entire pipeline, from K-12 and higher education through industry and academic careers. To learn more, go to www.ncwit.org.
UW Extensions New App Connects Users with Wyoming Particulars

Wyoming visitors and residents can open a vault of more than 400 videos georeferenced to the states landmarks, counties, history, culture, energy, flora, fauna and more with an app from University of Wyoming Extension.

Explorewyo is available on iTunes and on the web at www.uwexplorewyo.org, says David Keto, UW Extension media producer.

The app taps into Exploring the Nature of Wyoming videos produced by UW Extensions rangeland team for a number of years, broadcast through weekly television public service announcements and posted on YouTube.

The videos were created to educate the general public about natural resources and natural resource management, says Extension Educator Ashley Garrelts, who heads the rangeland team. Members research topics, write scripts, scout for locations and serve as on-camera hosts. Videos also are used in educational events hosted by UW Extension.

The team wanted to make the videos mobile accessible.

And since many of the videos focus on specific points of interest in the state, we wanted to make the videos available on a map with georeferenced locations, Keto says.

Videos can be viewed on the map, list or thumbnails. The map interface is the key feature, Keto says.

The map view, in particular, makes it easy to see videos near your location and provides additional layers, such as historic trails and mountain peaks, to provide even more context for the videos, he says.

Students may find it particularly useful for Wyoming history and science or agriculture classes, Keto says. For example, iconic Heart Mountain between Powell and Cody wasnt always where it is -- its part of an ancient landslide that began near what is now Cooke City, Mont., 40 miles to the west and north.

We hope the app will be useful to folks traveling around Wyoming or planning a trip at home by accessing the web version, as well as residents who want to learn more about our state, Keto says.

For more information, contact Keto at (307) 766-5695 or dketo@uwyo.edu, or Garrelts at (307) 358-2417 or ashleyg@uwyo.edu.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
New York, June 9(Just Earth News): The United Nations migration agency on Friday appealed for some $60 million to aid an estimated 16 million people suffering from the worst drought seek in decades in East and Horn of Africa.

In the coming months, we are likely to see many more needing humanitarian aid and being displaced, due to the poor rains, said Jeffrey Labovitz, Regional Director for East and Horn of Africa at the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Through the appeal, IOM said that it intends to target 2 million of the most vulnerable drought-affected people through December of this year in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

The drought is fuelling migration between these borders, particularly from Somalia, and could impact how the people who are moving and the people who are receiving them recover from the drought.

It is estimated that cross border movements may increase significantly with the predicted poor harvest as a result of below average rains during March-May and the humanitarian response is not scaled up to meet the needs of affected populations, according to the appeal.

The $60,665,000 aid would include a combination of lifesaving and early recover interventions, as well as build long-term capacity to recover. These include shelter, protection, food, water and sanitation.

Labovitz stressed that due to the impressive efforts from local and international actors, the drought has not yet led to a famine as recorded in 2011, but there is need for sustained funding and international support to mitigate what could still deteriorate.

The current drought has already shown to be different from that in 2011, which was concentrated in South Central Somalia. This year, it is affecting more parts of the country, including the north-eastern and the Somaliland regions, with a higher total number of people at risk.

The drought is affecting the region's main source of water  the river basins.

Over the past six months, severe drought conditions have contributed to the displacement of more than 700,000 people within Somalia alone.

Photo: IOM/Muse Mohammed

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Quetta, June 9 (IBNS): Militant group ISIS has claimed responsibility for the death of two Chinese nationals who were abducted from Pakistan recently, media reports said.

The two nationals were reportedly abducted from Quetta area in Pakistan.

Chinese and Pakistani authorities have started investigation into the claim made by the militant group.

A Pakistani senior government official, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn.com that an investigation into the IS claim is underway.

Chinese officials have expressed their concern over the incident.

Speaking on the issue China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement: "We have noted the relevant report and are highly concerned about that. We have been trying to rescue the two hostages during this period of time. The Chinese side is trying to learn more about and verify the situation by all means, including via the Pakistani side. The Chinese side firmly opposes kidnapping of civilians, terrorism and extremely violent acts in all forms."

Meanwhile, SITE Intel Group website said: "The Islamic States (IS) Amaq News Agency reported that group fighters killed two Chinese nationals who were being held in Balochistan province of Pakistan."
Votes are counted for the general election, at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday Jun 8, 2017. (photo source: Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

The poll showed May's Conservatives on course to fall from 330 to 314 seats, short of an overall majority in the 650-seat House of Commons, after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two deadly terror attacks.

The main opposition Labour party, led by leftist Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile is projected to increase its number of seats from 229 to 266, according to the joint exit poll by Sky, the BBC and ITV news.

The pound immediately tumbled after the poll.

As of 11am, Singapore time, Labour had won 200 seats against the Conservatives' 192. The Scottish National Party also suffered losses, as voters in Scotland swung to Labour and the Tories.

May, who held on to her Maidenhead seat, said she would ensure much-needed "stability" for Britain as the party reeled from a string of losses in the election.

CORBYN CALLS ON MAY TO RESIGN

May "has lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that's enough to go," Corbyn said after being re-elected in his Islington North constituency in central London.

For Corbyn, the ruling party's losses showed voters had "turned their backs on the politics of austerity".

"What's happened is people have said they have had quite enough of austerity," he said, adding it was time for a government that is "truly representative of all the people of this country."

Earlier in the night, Corbyn said his campaign had upended the country's political landscape.

"Whatever the final result, our positive campaign has changed politics for the better," he said in a tweet after the exit poll predicted unexpected gains for Labour.

BREXIT AT THE FORE



The election came at a pivotal time in British history as it negotiates a complicated exit from the European Union, the first country to leave the six-decade-old bloc.

The pro-European Liberal Democrats, who have campaigned for a second referendum that could keep Britain in the EU, were forecast to increase their seats from nine to 14.

In Scotland, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called for independence to avoid a "hard Brexit", her Scottish National Party was tipped to lose seats but still dominate.

All parties urged caution at the shock poll, with the final results not likely until early on Friday morning.

The forecast Conservative victory is far smaller than suggested by opinion polls when she called the snap election at a time when her popularity was running high.

Analysts had blamed the decline on May's botched announcement of a reform in funding for elderly care, a strong grassroots campaign by Corbyn and the terror attacks, which have led to scrutiny of her time as interior minister before becoming prime minister.

"It seems clear her gamble has not paid off," said Paula Surridge, politics lecturer at Bristol University.

'BLOODY DIFFICULT WOMAN'

May has said victory in the election will strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations, expected to start on Jun 19, and officials in Brussels are hopeful it will allow her to make compromises in the talks.

She has warned however that Britain could withdraw with no deal in place if the conditions imposed by the EU - particularly a divorce bill of up to 100 billion (US$112 billion) - are deemed too tough.

Following last year's Brexit referendum, the 60-year-old began the formal two-year process of leaving the EU on Mar 29.

Aside from the money, another early obstacle in the talks will be the status of EU citizens living in Britain and Britons living elsewhere in the EU.

May sharpened her rhetoric on the campaign trail and boasted she would be a "bloody difficult woman" in Brussels, saying that "no deal is better than a bad deal".

But if she loses her majority as predicted, the vicar's daughter will face questions over her decision to call the vote three years later - particular after a campaign performance which critics judged "robotic".

The Conservatives currently have a majority of just 17 seats, won by May's predecessor David Cameron in the 2015 general election, and some early forecasts had predicted a triple-digit majority.

"If these figures are correct, it will be difficult to govern," said Wyn Grant, politics professor at the University of Warwick.

TERROR IN THE CAMPAIGN

The campaign was interrupted twice by terrorism. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a pop concert in Manchester on May 22, killing 22 people.

Less than two weeks later, three assailants wearing fake suicide vests mowed down pedestrians and launched a stabbing rampage around London Bridge, killing eight people before being shot dead by police.

Just days before the election was called, a lone assailant also ran over pedestrians and stabbed a police officer to death outside the British parliament on Mar 22, killing five people.

The attacks have led to scrutiny over May's time as interior minister from 2010 to 2016, particularly since it emerged that some of the attackers had been known to police and security services.

Labour seized on radical cuts in police numbers implemented as part of a Conservative austerity programme, although May insisted that she had protected funding for counter-terrorism.

'GETTING ALONG WITH BREXIT'

At a polling station in Hackney in east London, a Labour stronghold, 41-year-old Simon Bolton said he had favoured May because he was confident that she would get the "best possible deal for Brexit".

But voters who supported the Labour party said they were concerned about the state of the National Health Service (NHS) - a major campaign issue.

"The Tories have just been devastating" for the NHS because of budget cuts, said Ben Thomas Smetton, a 28-year-old doctor voting in a building near the scene of last Saturday's terror attack.

In Halifax in northern England, a former textile hub held by Labour that voted for Brexit, 43-year-old Nathan Stott spoke of his disillusionment with Labour.

"I would vote Labour if they had a strong leader. It's as simple as that," said Stott, speaking in a seat which is a key target for the Conservatives.

Corbyn "is so far left he's unvotable. So the alternative is you have to go Theresa May".
Following up its successful Asia desk strategy, Citi is forging ahead with Korea desks

Currently, Citi is operating Korea desks in seven locations, including Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, New Delhi, Moscow, London, and New York, providing institutional banking services to Korean multi-national clients across Western and Eastern Europe, India, the ASEAN, China, North America, and Latin America. The bank plans to continue opening more desks to serve Korean companies in their key countries of operation.

The locations of the new Korea desks include one in Hanoi, Vietnam in July and one in Prague, Czech Republic in September. The financial services to be provided include corporate banking, investment banking, local debt raising, foreign exchange, cash management, and trade financing.

Our corporate clients are leveraging their business worldwide, based on their global competitiveness and strong brand awareness. The Korea desk strategy is effective in successfully supporting the local needs of our Korean multi-national clients along with Citis global network, and Citibank Koreas strategy to reinforce support and investment for Korean multi-national clients is reflected in this expansion, said MS Yoo, head of Corporate Banking for Citibank Korea.

Over the recent years, Citi has built a network of Asia desks across the world to support Asian companies in the markets of their choice. With a network of over 100 countries in the world, Citi more often than not has the local infrastructure and domestic knowledge in place to support these companies in markets across the likes of South America, and North America.

The national desks have proved to be a strong foundation for Citis strategy of growing its business with Asian multinationals across the globe. It is an important competitive advantage for Citi.

Citi named Best Foreign Investment Bank in Vietnam Citi has been named Best Foreign Investment Bank in Vietnam and Best Bank in Asia Pacific for 2016 by leading FinanceAsia Magazine, based on the performance of banks across institutional and retail banking for the past 12 months.

Citi Vietnam launches Voice Biometrics Authentication Technology Citi has become the first financial institution in Vietnam to launch Voice Biometrics Authentication Technology to enhance customers experience and banking security for its consumers in Vietnam.

Citi and ADB partner to provide $100mil for microfinance in Asia The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has entered into an agreement with Citi to expand local currency lending to the microfinance sector under the Microfinance Risk Participation and Guarantee Programme.

Citi and Lazada announce regional partnership Leading global bank Citi and Southeast Asias online trading platform Lazada Group have come up with a new partnership focusing on serving the grand Southeast Asia markets, with region-wide promotions that will benefit the lenders cardholders.
Brexit dominated the election AFP/Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS

Guenther Oettinger, the German member of the European Commission, said it was unclear if negotiations could be launched on Monday, June 19, as planned. The talks, which the EU wants to ensure a legally smooth British departure in March 2019, would be more uncertain without a strong negotiating partner, he said.

"We need a government that can act," Oettinger told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. "With a weak negotiating partner, there's the danger than the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides...I expect more uncertainty now."

His French colleague Pierre Moscovici said the result would affect the negotiations but declined to be drawn on whether the EU executive hoped Britain might ask to stay. He told Europe 1 radio that Brexit was supported by most of the last parliament following the referendum a year ago and that the timetable for leaving in 2019 was not "optional" but fixed in treaty law.

Former Finnish premier Alexander Stubb was a rare senior commentator. He tweeted: "Looks like we might need a time-out in the Brexit negotiations. Time for everyone to regroup."

May, who had campaigned against Brexit last year but took over the Conservative party after David Cameron lost last June's Brexit referendum, delivered her terms for withdrawal in March.

These include a clean break from the EU's single market and customs union. May then called a snap election hoping for a bigger majority to strengthen her hand in negotiations.

That was also the broadly desired outcome in Brussels, where leaders believed that a stronger May would be better able to cut compromise deals with the EU and resist pressure from hardline pro-Brexit factions in her party which have called for Britain to reject EU terms and, possibly, walk out without a deal.

Elmar Brok, a prominent German conservative member of the EU parliament, said Europeans would be disappointed May had failed to gain the majority that could have helped her override her party hardliners: "Now no prime minister will have that room for manoeuvre," he said. "Which is what makes things so difficult."

European leaders have largely given up considering the possibility that Britain might change its mind and ask to stay. Most now appear to prefer that the bloc's second-biggest economy leave smoothly and quickly. To halt the Brexit process now would require the consent of the other member states.

FEAR OF COLLAPSE

The other 27 governments are particularly concerned that a breakdown in negotiations could lead to Britain ceasing to be a member on March 30, 2019, as laid out in Article 50 of the EU treaty, without negotiating the kind of divorce terms that would avoid a chaotic legal limbo for people and businesses. That would also make it improbable that Britain could secure the rapid free trade agreement it wants with the EU after it leaves.

In a note to clients, UBS wrote that the relative strength of hardline pro-Brexit groups in a weak Conservative government could make a breakdown in talks more likely and make it harder to reach a trade deal: "A tighter political balance could make it easier for Eurosceptics ... to prevent the government from offering the compromises needed to secure a trade deal."

Talk in Britain that a different ruling coalition could seek a "softer" Brexit than May has proposed, possibly seeking to remain in the single market, is also problematic for the EU.

While the 27 would quite possibly be willing to extend to Britain the same kind of access to EU markets that they offer to Norway or Switzerland, they have made clear that that would mean Britain continuing to pay into the EU budget and obey EU rules, including on free migration across the bloc, while no longer having any say in how the Union's policies are set.

EU leaders question how any British government could persuade voters to accept such an outcome and so would be wary of starting down the path of negotiating it for fear of ending up without a deal that both sides could ratify in 2019.

Siegfried Muresan, spokesman for the European centre-right party whose dominant leader is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was scathing, saying on Twitter that May had followed Cameron in risking the "future of the country for personal political gain".

She had, he said, "played with fire" in binding Britain to the two-year deadline for Brexit talks and had now "got burned".
The decree will make sure less buyers get their fingers burnt

Among the big projects to be launched is An Khanh New City Developments sale of its first phase this quarter. The mega $2 billion project is developed by South Koreas Posco E&C and Vietnams Vinaconex, located in Hanois Hoai Duc district, along the Thang Long Boulevard.

Scheduled for completion in 2013, the city is expected to supply 6,440 apartments, equivalent to 392,319 square metres of accommodation, enough for 30,000 people.

Even though Hoa Phat Group, the investor in a more than 1,000 apartment Mandarin Garden in Cau Giay districts Tran Duy Hung road, refused to release its launching time, real estate experts predicted the project would be soon launched.

At the beginning of this month the CT7D, located in Le Van Luong street and invested by Nam Cuong Group and the FLC Landmark Tower of FLC Group will also be launched, with a total of 200 units and prices ranging from VND23 million ($1,200) to VND28 million ($1,470) per square metre.

In Gia Lam district, over the Red River, the second lot of Rung Co Residentials belonging to the Eco Park is also being launched, with around 1,500 apartment units.

In addition, Victoria Van Phu, Star City, Diamond Tower and Song Da City View will also add apartments to the mix.

Real estate consultant CBRE Vietnam expected that there would be 3,000 units in Hanoi launched this quarter, compared to 1,950 units in the third quarter. There were more than 4,600 units launched in the second quarter.

This decline, according to CBRE Vietnam, could be due to the Decree 71, effective on August 8, 2010 providing guidance on the Housing Law, which caps the proportion of units sold via capital contribution contracts at 20 per cent with the remaining 80 per cent sold on transaction floors.

This decree, CBRE Vietnam said, had put a pressure on developers with low financial capabilities and enhanced market transparency.

However, CBRE Vietnam executive director Richard Leech said new project launches would continue trending towards more affordable options.

With the opening and improvement of major infrastructure routes, the capitals western and southern districts are attracting new residents with easier access for commuting into the core urban districts, Leech said.

He said that the Decree 71 was expected to benefit the market by enhancing transparency, placing pressures on developers with low financial capabilities, lessening the threat of price bubbles and limiting speculative forces.

Tran Nhu Trung, Savills Vietnam associate director, said the Decree 71 had showed off its advantages to clearly regulate five types of mobilising capital investment. However, Trung said the procedures to implement Decree 71 were still complicated and wasted customers time and energy.

The more simple it [decree] regulates, the more it is practical in the real life, Trung said.
H&M's entry will diversify the fashion market for youngsters (Source: www.retaildetail.eu)

This is the same mall where Zara opened its first store in Vietnam last year. In particular, H&Ms representative in Vietnam told newswire vnexpress that the store covers about 2,200 square metres across two floors of the mall. Along with the debut, H&M also introduced its 2017 autumn-winter collection.

H&Ms debut in Vietnam was expected, but the companys latest announcement in February named Hanoi as its initial destination, making the launch in Ho Chi Minh City a big surprise to many people.

H&M was preceded by several affordable international fashion brands, such as Zara, Topshop, and Mango. The participation of H&M will diversify the fashion market for youngsters, while at the same time increasing competition among different brands, thereby benefiting customers.

According to H&Ms 2016 financial report, its sales (including VAT) increased by 7 per cent to nearly SEK223 billion ($25.6 billion), however, its after tax profit was only slightly over SEK18 billion ($2.06 billion), a decrease compared to the nearly SEK21 billion ($2.4 billion) in 2015. Explaining the reduction of profit, H&M said that it was negatively affected by increased markdown and higher purchasing costs due to the strengthened US dollar in 2016.

2016 witnessed strong expansion by H&M, with a total net addition of 427 new stores and 11 new H&M online markets worldwide. As of the end of 2016, there were 4,351 H&M stores in 64 countries across the globe.

In 2017, H&M set a 10-15 per cent target for sales growth, with continued high profitability. It also scheduled opening about 430 new stores and expanding to Kazakhstan, Colombia, Iceland, Georgia, and Vietnam.

One rival of H&M in the affordable fashion segment is Zara. According to MarketWatch, Inditex, the retailer behind the Zara fashion chain, reported a 10 per cent jump in full-year net profit and record-high sales. In particular, Zaras net profit in 2016 rose to EUR3.16 billion ($3.36 billion) from EUR2.88 billion ($3.2 billion), and sales increased by 12 per cent to EUR23.31 billion ($26.1 billion). Notably, Zara alone was responsible for 66 per cent of Inditexs total sales.

In 2017, Zara plans to open 450-500 new stores, while absorbing 150 to 200 smaller ones. If more Zara stores are opened in Vietnam, competition will be more intense.
A demonstration outside the Greek parliament on May 18, 2017 amid voting on new austerity measures. The IMF has offered a plan to break the deadlock with European nations over debt relief/ (Photo: AFP/Louisa Gouliamaki)

The International Monetary Fund is not bending its rules to help crisis-ridden Greece, but is helping to resolve an impasse over a new aid program, while continuing to insist on steps to reduce the country's massive debt burden, an IMF spokesman said on Thursday.

Coming just a week before a key Eurogroup meeting, the IMF has offered to revive a seldom-used option in its toolkit that allows the possibility of approving a new aid program for Greece, but without releasing any funds until certain conditions are met: in this case more specific commitments from Europe to bring the debt repayments to a manageable level.

Germany has resisted providing more debt relief, not least because it faces legislative elections in September, nor will it agree to a new loan for Athens unless the IMF also participates.

The impasse has lasted for months and now threatens to generate another crisis in Athens, which has a seven billion euro debt payment due in July.

The new interim step the IMF has offered could unlock the next instalment of the 86 billion euro aid package the euro zone approved for Greece in 2015. However, it also raises questions about whether the IMF is bowing to political pressure from Berlin.

"Our understanding is that the European partners could go ahead with a disbursement in this situation so it would avoid a destabilising situation in July," spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters of the compromise plan.

While the IMF is pushing to have an agreement at next week's Eurogroup meeting that includes an outline for more specific debt relief measures as the "first best solution," Rice said the compromise option would "help catalyse financing and debt relief."

"We're hoping there can be an agreement next week. We're making good progress, the differences are narrowing," he said.

However, even under the compromise option, he stressed, the IMF still would insist "on debt relief before releasing any of its funds. It is not in any way a backing down."

PLAYING WITH FIRE

With Greece's July debt repayment looming, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici urged the euro zone officials to reach a deal and warned against any deadlock at next week's ministerial meeting.

"I really want to send a very clear message to the creditors of Greece: we must not play with fire," Moscovici said in Paris on Thursday. "We cannot afford to have a failure at the end of this Eurogroup."

The notion for the IMF compromise was first floated at the last meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers, and then offered publicly on Monday by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

It seemed a softening of the longstanding position of the IMF, which has insisted repeatedly that Greece's debt is not sustainable and the country would require significant debt relief from Europe before the fund could approve a new loan program.

But it is not a case "of breaching guidelines or bending or breaking rules. I would want to push back strongly against that notion," Rice said, noting that that would simply revive a tactic used in 19 cases previously, all in the 1980s, for countries like Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Yugoslavia.

POLITICAL PRESSURE

But it would be the first time the IMF has ever used the procedure for an industrialised country, opening the fund up to criticism that it is bowing to political pressure and giving special consideration to a European country.

"That's all politics. Absolutely this is a double standard," Peter Doyle, a former EU executive at the Fund, told AFP. "This is treating Greece like no other countries."

And Thanos Catsambas, a former Greek representative to the fund, said the compromise "creates a big uncertainty."

But Desmond Lachman, another former senior official at the fund, said the deal was pragmatic. "I wouldn't regard it as a special treatment but it strikes me that it's a very imaginative solution," he said.

The situation is complicated by the fact Greece opposes the plan as a half-measure that would not reassure financial markets about the country's solvency.

"The IMF has been very pressing in its demand for austerity reforms, but when it has to ask for a settlement on the debt, it backs off or is wasting time," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on Wednesday.
All the companies at the meeting were either looking to start or expand their investments in Vietnam

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the commitment at the meeting with companies in the prefecture on July 7.

15 Japanese companies, including Daikin, Sakura, Acecook, Kubota, Takako, Asahi, Azusa Sekkei, and Fuji Impulse among others, reported on their business performance in Vietnam while the PM and leaders of government agencies addressed their concerns when seeking to invest or expand investments in Vietnam.

President of The Senshu Ikeda Bank, Ltd., Hirohisa Fujita, said in order to support companies from Kansai and other prefectures in Japan in their Vietnamese investments, they want to open a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City. He said he hoped that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and other government agencies would support him in completing the procedures to open the office. PM Phuc said he would assign the SBV to consider Senshu Ikedas proposal.

Leaders of Sakura and Takako said they were concerned about the current regulations regarding importing used equipment to Vietnam, as they want to shift their production bases into Vietnam. According to them, even though the equipment is 10 years old, it is still working well.

As assigned by the PM, Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh said that the current regulation on this is more flexible, as in each type of equipment will be evaluated separately, instead of issuing a ruling on the entire batch of equipment. The minister said that he would personally look into this case.

President of Takashimaya Co., Ltd. Shigeru Kimoto said Takashimaya wanted to build an underground arcade in Ben Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City to start operation at the same time as the urban railway. As assigned by PM Phuc, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said that this project belongs to a prioritised investment field, namely exploiting the underground transport system.

In his closing speech, PM Phuc said the Vietnamese government will continue to develop infrastructure, train human resources, and make policies to support the growth of the supporting industries, the auto industry, as well as energy, retail, and healthcare.

"Your success in Vietnam is also our success," PM Phuc told the company representatives

He asked that companies from Kansai, members of the Kankeiren Economic Federation, invest more in Vietnam, especially in infrastructure development, energy and renewable energy, finance and banking, tourism and services. He also suggested investing under the PPP form and joining the equitisation of state-owned enterprises.
New diagnoses for two types of skin cancer increased in recent years, according to a Mayo Clinic-led team of researchers.
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.
Sofia Boutella in The Mummy. Photo: Universal Pictures/Universal Studios

We constantly transform ourselves emotionally, so why not do it physically? asks Sofia Boutella, who has been making a recent habit of blockbuster metamorphoses. After a big-screen breakthrough in 2015s Kingsman: The Secret Service, where she popped as a henchwoman with blades for legs, Boutella slathered herself in striking white makeup for last years Star Trek Beyond to play the curious alien Jaylah. She made herself over once again this week for the new big-screen reboot of The Mummy, where the 35-year-old Algerian actress has the title role opposite Tom Cruise. Its a part of the job, and Im embracing it, Boutella told Vulture. Heres how she made her mummy come to undead life.

Look for the connection

When The Mummy director Alex Kurztman first sent Boutella the script for his reboot, she wasnt convinced. I remember reading it and I thought, Uh, no, Im not doing this, laughs Boutella. The first script I read was a work in progress, a template just to start off preproduction, and I was afraid to just play a monster who walks around town scaring people.

After Kurtzman sat down with Boutella to talk over the role, it started to expand. No longer just a mostly mute bogeywoman, this version of the mummy has royal lineage and a dark backstory: Born Princess Ahmanet in ancient Egypt, the character is supposed to inherit an entire kingdom until her father sires a son. Robbed of what she feels is her birthright, Ahmanet pacts with the god Set to kill her family and, once unleashed in the present day, rain down even more destruction.

I had to empathize with her, and I wanted to humanize her, says Boutella. The beauty of the original monster movies is that you were able to relate to every single character, or even to treat their monstrosity as an emotional metaphor. So even though Ahmanet chooses an evil path, Boutella sees those supernatural enhancements more like a protective shell: Its about closing yourself off from the people who were supposed to love you, she says. If youve ever been hurt to that extent, its hard to come back from.

Move like a mummy

A former dancer, Boutella spends a lot of time pondering her characters movement. I think people can tell you a lot about themselves before they even start talking, just by how they sit or how they walk, she says. Finding the physicality with Ahmanet was very important. I want to show her strength and power through her body.

So yes, Ahmanet may move with the same sort of stiff purpose youd associate with other big-screen renditions of the mummy, but Boutella gives that deliberate pace a more regal bearing: She carries herself as royalty, even more so after shes been denied.

Live in the look

There are several phases to Ahmanets look, including a mortal period that goes heavy on the bangs and eyeliner, an undead version of Ahmanet where shes covered in tattoos, and a desiccated, underpowered form where shes mostly muscle and sinew. That meant even before Boutella got to set, she sat for dozens of makeup and wardrobe tests. We wanted to find something thats never been done, she says. The longest makeup session was six hours, and even the shortest was four hours.

And while many big-screen baddies these days involve computer-generated accoutrements, almost all of Boutellas main mummy look was done for real, from those all-over tattoos to her long, precarious nails. Only Ahmanets double-irised eyes were generated in postproduction. It would have been too intense to handle, but they did try it in some of those screen tests! she says. I remember there was one look where my tongue was the only thing on my body that was not touched up  and after that, they came and started putting ink on my tongue to make it look darker.

Though Boutella knows all that makeup is worth it  I needed people to look at me the way they did once I had it on  that doesnt mean its easy to endure its application every day. The whole makeup team is full of artists who are so compassionate, and thats so important because it was really, really hard, she says. Theyre artists, and I had to embrace being a blank canvas every single morning. I had to learn how to meditate through it. A trick she learned on Star Trek Beyond helped, too: I came up with a massage table on the last one. I had to! There was no way I was sitting down for six hours.

Incorporate a sense of play

When youre working on an effects-heavy blockbuster, wearing a lot of expensive makeup, and carefully hitting all your marks, theres not a lot of room to experiment. Still, Boutella treasured the times when she could have fun with her role, none more so than when Ahmanet confronts Cruises hero in the films final third and unsettles him by using her inky tongue to deliver one long lick to his face.

That was not in the script, she says. It came on the day, and it was Alexs idea. We went from What? to Oh, good idea! And we had so much fun. I did it about eight times and it was a great, great laugh on set. By the end of it, Boutella was in no hurry to return to that massage table: I think we should have done it more, actually.

Boutella is trying to approach her career with the same sort of openness: Next up, shes got far more down-to-earth roles in Atomic Blonde and an HBO adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, neither of which necessitates much time in the makeup chair. I wont complain, but I dont want to just be doing action films and extended character transformations, you know? she says. I want to explore and Im up for anything. Honestly, I just want to read a good script and fall in love.
Photo: Walter McBride/Getty Images

Lynn Nottage is finally getting her due on the main stage: For the first time in her career, the two-time Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright has a show on Broadway. The work, Sweat, is an extensively researched look at Reading, Pennsylvania, which was once named the poorest city in America. Featuring a multiethnic ensemble cast, much of the play takes place in a local bar where workers at a steel mill decompress, and the timeline toggles between the George W. Bush election and the nearer past, just after the recent recession. Economic woes provide the background for a chain of events where the workers decide to strike and the company lays them off. The ideas are big, but Sweat is ultimately concerned with the drama of the communitys interpersonal relationships. After the Trump election, many called Sweat prescient for its understanding of working-class America and racial resentment. Ultimately what Nottage does with Sweat is remind America of what we had forgotten during the Obama years. In an extensive conversation, we discuss the two Americas, Viola Davis, and why she writes about working people.

You did extensive research where you talked to people who lived in Reading, Pennsylvania, for Sweat. Did you ever find it difficult to empathize with people during the interview process?

Yes. There are always moments where you bristle at the person that youre interviewing. I remember there was one woman I interviewed who was just a gun-toting NRA supporter. We saw the world very differently. I did empathize with her in some ways because she was going through a hard time. I could join her where she was hurting, but it was more difficult for me to join her in the other aspects of her life.

All of the characters are stuck in this larger economic and political structure. You make glancing references to the election and NAFTA, for instance. How did you decide how much of that exists in the work?

Well I think because the play takes place in the recent history and we in America have incredibly short memories  its remarkable how short our memories are  I thought it was really important to give some context without that context being a part of the play. I wanted people to understand the environment that these people were making these decisions in and living their lives in without having to work that into the actual narrative. Thats why its the wallpaper. I imagine 15 years from now I want someone to be able to read the script and understand the context.

I think people forgot in the eight years under Bush that this country went through a complete financial collapse, and when Obama finally inherited the country it was on the verge of the Great Depression. We forget that. I thought it was really important to underline that in the course of telling this story.

Now were remembering.

Were going to remember in six months, so I hope that people in the center of this country think, Oh man, I fucking forgot those were some bad years!

Something that I found funny was that a lot of people called Sweat very prescient. Did that strike you as an odd word to use?

The thing that surprised me is that so few people knew. My assumption was that everyone was tracking what was happening, and I was surprised by how myopic people who live in the urban bubbles are and were. Thats what shocked me. I just assumed that these things were known. In fact, there was a reporter from the Washington Post who saw it at Arena Stage and he said, Weve seen this play before. We know these characters. Its a union play. I wrote him a letter and I said, No, this is not just a union play. Let me explain to you why this is different. He ended up saying, Yeah, you were right. But I thought there was this resistance to really acknowledge what was happening not only by some of the mainstream media but some people who are engaging with art. That shocked me.

Why do you think they were so resistant?

I dont know why there are things in this culture we refuse to talk about on a national scale. Racism is one of them. If we could really have an honest conversation in this culture, I think wed be able to make headway. The fact is, the minute you bring up the conversation, everyone bristles like this and it gets shut down. I think that class and poverty occupy a very similar space, because the minute its raised people get very nervous and insecure. I also think that strangely in this country because were so aspirational none of us actually see ourselves as struggling. Theres this whole new generation thats really spending beyond their means because no one wants to be associated with struggle or with poverty.

And theyre accumulating debt.

Credit-card debt, and theyre killing themselves. In the old days people worked really hard. You worked on a farm and you worked really hard and it was okay not to be wealthy but to make ends meet and to have your family be fed and to be comfortable. Thats not enough anymore.

Lauren Berlant has called this cruel optimism, which is this attachment to the things that are actually detrimental to our well-being.

They are. Its in the play. One of the characters, Stan, he says two things that always resonate with me: Nostalgia is a disease. Also, he mentions that we get attached to things and those things come to define us. Sometimes its as easy as letting go of those things that liberates us. But we want a home, and then we want to fill that home with lots of expensive things and clutter and then we become trapped by that stuff, rather than being much more agile because we carry everything we need in our backpack.

When youre choosing what stories to tell, Im interested in how your gaze moves: you move away from the center of power. Do you see your work as doing a kind of historical recovery?

Absolutely. I look back at history  particularly the history of the United States  and for so long I saw these huge empty spaces in which I know my narrative existed. I think that you talk about reclamation, its one of the things where I want to reclaim my own history as part of American history and assert my presence. I know that my ancestors were there, and I know that my ancestors were instrumental in constructing what we consider to be the American narrative, but somehow those chapters are missing. I feel that as a literary person and as a playwright Im hoping to write some of those chapters.

How do you feel like labor exists in your work? Theres a lot of manual labor, like with George making the Panama Canal and Esther making clothes in Intimate Apparel, but theres a lot of emotional labor that women do for men, and black women do for white women.

Im interested in the notion of working and how that is in some ways very connected to our identity, and that a large swath of the country makes their living by their hands. Those are not stories that you often get to see on the stage, at least not in New York City. A lot of the stories that you see on the stage are about the people making policy or the people who have discovered something incredible. Very rarely do you see the trials and tribulations of the people who do very simple tasks who have these beautiful stories. I think thats why I gravitate towards working people. Its also because I come from a long tradition of working people. Both of my grandmothers had at some point worked as domestics. My one grandmother eventually in her 50s got her nursing license and became a nurse at Harlem Hospital. My other grandmother, I got to see her graduate from college. The way in which they survived was as domestics. My grandfather was a Pullman porter and my father put his way through college by cleaning floors at night in the libraries. I understand that working people are in some way the bedrock of my existence and the existence of many people here.

Yes, and I think the foundation on which everything is built.

Yes! Everything is built on that! Thats why. We forget. Its like Oscar [from Sweat] who is in some ways at the center of the play because he has more stage time than anyone, but hes the character whos working the hardest because hes always working. While everyone else is talking hes the one whos working, but hes invisible.

He is so present, but he doesnt speak.

He doesnt speak, but hes always working. Hes taking the gum off, or hes behind the bar working. Every once in a while theyll listen, but theyll be like, Can you cut a piece of cake, Oscar? Hes serving everyone. Hes just working.

In your play Intimate Apparel, the main character Esther says, That hardly seems like a life worthy of words. I love that line because I thought about it in terms of what your play was doing: giving words and life to people who might have otherwise been forgotten.

With Intimate Apparel, that story really came alive for me when I realized that Esther is that woman who when youre in an antique shop and youre going through the photographs, you pick out [her photo]. Shes someone whose history is completely lost to us but [shes] someone who obviously felt it was important enough for her to go down to a photo studio and have her photo taken. On some level she wants to be remembered. I feel like when I was writing the play I was remembering all of the Esthers who lived these very fully, rich, textured lives, touched many people, but who are forgotten.

How did that play start?

The genesis of that play was it came from a moment when my mother had died, from Lou Gehrigs disease. It moved through her very quickly. One of the things that happened to her was she lost her ability to talk. I became hyperaware of the fact that I couldnt ask her any questions. She was relatively young. I thought, Oh my god, there are all these questions about my ancestors that we never got to you. You always think you have more time. At the same moment that my mother lost her voice, my grandmother began to develop dementia and couldnt answer those questions. In one fell swoop I had lost everyone in my family who could tell me about my history. That made me very sad. I found a picture when I was cleaning out my mothers house of my grandmothers mother and my grandmother. It was an old passport picture. I felt that I knew nothing about this woman. I knew she was a seamstress. I knew she had married a man from Panama. I knew she had come to New York at the turn of the century. Intimate Apparel became my own exercise in trying to discover my ancestors.

What do you see as the problem in terms of forging a collective will right now?

I think that in the moment were governed by someone who is really drawn to divisive language and is very invested in a divide-and-conquer theory in order to maintain and build his power. I think that as a result we see this huge rupture in our American narrative. People are on one of the two divides, and we really have no language to bridge the gap right now. I think a lot of people are not really interested in bridging that gap. They have one vision of America on their side and we have another vision of America. Our vision is what I think to be the essentially American vision, which is a country that continues to evolve. Its a country of inclusion. Its a country thats continually looking for the next story rather than looking back at the story thats already been told.

Were you surprised by Trumps election?

Yes, I was absolutely surprised by his election because I could never anticipate that a reality star who is not a staggering intellect and who willfully resists reading books and learning and knowledge would become our commander-in-chief. I mean, how could anyone anticipate that? But I could predict that our country was going to sway in a direction that would make a lot of us uncomfortable, because I felt that rage. Yeah, when I was in Reading I felt like people wanted some form of revolution. And that has happened. I mean, what we have seen is a sort of mini-revolution.

Do you see your work as having a political ideology at all?

I wouldnt say I see my work as having a political ideology. Lynn Nottage certainly has a political ideology. I think that the work is an extension of who I am, but I dont think that when I write the play Im looking to push the audience one way or another. Im just asking them to have empathy for people who they may not necessarily engage with on a regular basis, to put themselves in another persons shoes.

Photo: Walter McBride/Getty Images

Why do you think it took so long to get one of your plays on Broadway?

Im sort of philosophical about this. I feel like Sweat arrived on Broadway at the moment that it needed to. I feel like a commercial audience was not prepared for Ruined or Intimate Apparel, for many different reasons. I think that Sweat also looks very different than my other plays in that its an ensemble play, and its multicultural.

As opposed to having a black cast?

Having a black cast or having a black woman who is the protagonist. And I think that I will rejoice when theres a play on Broadway in which the central character is a black woman who carries the play. I take that back: That was Eclipsed, Danai Gurira. That was great, that was wonderful.

How was working with Viola Davis for the first time on Intimate Apparel?

I mean, shes just one of the great actresses working in America today  perhaps the greatest actress working on stage and in film today. She is someone who has an incredible work ethic, who surrenders all of herself to the part that shes playing. Regardless of whether its glamorous or requires her, sort of, crawling in the mud, shes gonna fully commit to bringing that character to life. And she also is really quick in the rehearsal room, assimilates notes faster than any actor Ive ever encountered.

Has it been heartening to see her rise?

Yeah, because she was so driven, and I know, at least in the way in which she perceived it early on, that she had tremendous hurdles to overcome, and just to watch her knock down every barrier to become the star that she is, I think is phenomenal. And also to lean into her beauty in ways that I think she was more reluctant to do earlier in her career. I think now she plays glamorous women and fully embodies those glamorous women with her own glamour. Whereas I think before, she didnt celebrate that part of herself. But then again perhaps the cultures caught up with her and evolved to recognize her beauty.

I was thinking about her Emmys speech, where she said that its a lack of opportunity.

It is a lack of opportunity. There just werent that many roles, and the roles  like the role in The Help  would that be the ideal role that she would step into? Probably not, but it was a tremendous opportunity.

Have you felt that has been true in your career as a playwright?

Well, you know, its a little bit different because as writers, we create our own stories. But I think the difficulty was, certainly at some times, getting those stories onto the main stage. I mean, for a really, really long time, I remember having these bitch sessions with other women writers and other writers of color about how were stuck in developmental hell and reading hell, and then once we get out and we finally are onstage, we are relegated to the second stages, that we cant get to the main stages. And I think to a certain extent, were still struggling with getting to those big stages, Off Broadway and Broadway. You know, the fact that I am the only living playwright of color who has a play produced thats running right now, with the exception of Lin-Manuel Miranda, its kind of  this is the 21st century and that there are only two plays written by women that are represented. Theres a third play that has a woman whos a lyricist, but I find that those statistics are really just disappointing in this day and age. Because you look at the demographics of America: Why doesnt the Broadway stage reflect those demographics?

Do you feel like theres a barrier with the audience if the audience is predominately white watching your works?

Well, I think its true that whenever you go into theater, you respond to something that feels closest to your own narrative. I think thats just natural for all of us. And unfortunately, as people of color, weve had to watch white narratives for so long that we can engage with them on some level, but I think for a white audience, its more difficult for them to see the universality of narratives written by people of color. Which I dont understand, but I think its true. I went to this lecture years and years ago, it was an African-American woman who was studying racism, but was doing it scientifically. And so she hooked people up to machines to measure brain patterns, and one of the things that she measured is, when people encounter difference, how does it change their brain chemistry? And actually, there was a tangible shift in the brain chemistry when people encounter difference. And I think thats certainly true in the audience: When people see someone onstage whos different than they are, its gonna take a moment certainly.

What are you working on next?

Im continuing to do Intimate Apparel: The Opera with the composer Ricky Ian Gordon. That was a commission from the Met and the Lincoln Center Theater. Were just about finished, and I think its beautiful. But the two of us, we listen to the music, and were just like, We love opera so much, and were like, No one else is gonna like it, but we love it. We do. Knock on wood. Its different because its a ragtime opera. And it feels very American and very accessible because a lot of contemporary opera is atonal. This has beautiful melodies and songs that you can sing, kind of like the Italian opera used to have, where theres music you can leave humming. And then, the big thing is this performance installation that were working on in Reading, Pennsylvania. Its not about Sweat, its completely different. It comes out of the research that I did for Sweat, but we wanted to build something in Reading thats gonna put all the people in that community, thats so fractured, into dialogue. And also to tell the story of the city because I think that people all have a very different sense of what that city is; there are people who sort of cling to old Reading, and there are people who are really trying to invent Reading, and it would be lovely to understand, what is the narrative of this city thats evolving, and so were going to attempt to tell that story in a space through multimedia.

I didnt want to feel like a carpetbagger, and I formed a lot of attachments to that city. And Im really deeply invested in seeing that city heal and thrive because I feel at the core that if that city doesnt make it, then America doesnt make it. And so I want this city to make it. It has to resurrect itself. And it is, bit by bit, finding itself and finding its narrative.

How do you feel hope functions in your work?

Well Im an eternal optimist, so I dont want to surrender to the darkness. I think that human beings were incredibly resilient, otherwise we wouldnt keep going. I think when we talk about Sweat, there was someone who said after seeing it in Reading  which I think is really beautiful  that he tracked the story through the character of Stan the bartender. He said that Stan is Reading, Pennsylvania. I said, Why? He said, Reading got a little beat up at the beginning, but continued to work and welcome people and be protective of itself. Reading took a beating, but then at the end you have a man who has been crippled but still has the will to work. You put that sponge in his hand, hes going to do the only thing he knows how to do, which is to work and to move forward. I think built into that is the optimism. We can get dinged and battered and bruised but we still have the will to rise. I think its true of Oscar as well. These are two characters who take a beating but are not beaten. Its essentially American. Its a part of our mythology.
TNTs new series about the raucous life of young William Shakespeare, Will, premieres this summer. The 20-something-year-old Bard is a rock star of sorts, a counterculture hero complete with groupies and die-hard fans practically moshing at every performance. Its set in the Elizabethan era, but via the magic of creator/executive producer Craig Pearce (known for his work on Baz Luhrmann titles like Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby), the vibe is edgy and contemporary, amped up with modern music.

As eclectic as it may sound, it actually makes a lot sense. Shakespeare was cutting edge in his time, daring to speak out through his craft, even inventing his own words that would become part of our lexicon. He was kind of the original rebel. We chatted with Wills Laurie Davidson, a London-based newcomer fresh out of drama school, who plays the title character. We dug into his approach to bringing this rock star-esque Bard to life, what so many people get wrong about Shakespeare, and what he hopes viewers will take away from the series.

Read on, and dont forget to catch the premiere of Will on Monday, July 10 at 9 p.m.

Issey Miyake turtleneck, Burberry pants, Kenneth Cole shoes, Missoni socks

Youre somewhat of a newcomer. Tell me a little bit about how you first got into acting?

Laurie Davidson: I started in the normal way, doing school plays and Saturday classes just as a bit of fun. And then I went to a new school, which had quite a lot of drama. I actually did a Shakespeare competition where I performed the dagger speech from Macbeth and caught the attention of the head of drama there who then put me in all of the productions  and its quite a prolific school for drama. From there, I was encouraged to apply for drama school and I got into a a very good one, LAMDA [London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art] where Benedict Cumberbatch went as well as lots of other great British actors. I was fortunate enough to perform some great Shakespeare plays while I was there. I was in a production of The Winters Tale  we did quite a few. I obviously fell in love with this guys work.

How did you first hear about Will?

When I heard about this job, I was actually auditioning for a Yorgos Lanthimos film, the director who did The Lobster. The casting director said, Wed love to see you for this. They told me about it, and with my background, I was like, I have to get this job. This is the one. This is one of those opportunities. Anyway, six auditions later, I met Shekhar [Kapur, executive producer/director] and Craig [Pearce] and they were absolutely lovely. I mean, I fell in love with those guys. Shekhar was just very mystical, very softly spoken, but keenly intelligent  and Craig Pearce  the two of those guys together, what a match. So I was very excited. I was going through the process and I went on holiday to Budapest with my girlfriend and I had to come back to do a screen test. It was all very dramatic.

And then finally, I was at drama school at the time, still at LAMDA, and was just about to do a production of Fiddler on the Roof where I would be playing Tevye. I then found out that Id got the part, and I had to leave LAMDA. All my friends were very supportive. We started rehearsing and then shooting the pilot, and the rest is kind of history.

Gucci suit and shirt, Kenneth Cole shoes, Davidsons own socks

If Shakespeare were around today, he would have been so current. The guy was at the forefront of cutting-edge writing. He changed the rules.

How did you go about developing your character, your version of Shakespeare. What was your approach to becoming the Bard, if you will?

Something Craig and Shekhar were very adamant about was they wanted to create something current. Everyone was very much in agreement that they didnt want our Shakespeare to feel like something from the history books, something dusty and really dated. And actually, I wanted to create something current and relatable. I mean, if Shakespeare were around today, he would have been so current. The guy was at the forefront of cutting-edge writing. He changed the rules. He was ahead of his time. So we wanted to create something that had never been done before.

Its similar to some of Craigs other pieces like The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge where theyre in a period, but theres a very current feel to; it allows the audience to get a real sense of what it would have been like in terms of the excitement of living in that period as an artist. Because it was just crazy; it was like rock n roll for those guys. So that was something we looked at  seeing whatd be the modern day equivalent: the Mick Jaggers, the David Bowies of this world.

Also, why he wrote these plays. I was lucky enough to know a lot about his plays and theres clues throughout those plays on what kind of man this guys was. You only have to look at a handful of his plays to know that he was a very empathetic person. He can dip into characters very easily and understand humanity. So to me, that screams someone who has a big heart, who cares about people, who understands why we love, why we feel spiteful, why we are jealous. All these themes that run through Shakespeares plays  I mean, the guy had to know a thing or two about those themes because he was able to write so well about them.

So I guess the answer to your question is, looking at the work, predominantly. That gives you the clues of what kind of person this man is.

Piggybacking off of that, what would you say is the most common misconception out there about Shakespeare and his work?

Some of the best characters in the Shakespeare plays are the women. Lady Macbeth, for one, is an absolute powerhouse. He was totally before his time in that regard.

I think the most common misconception is that Shakespeare is something for the academics. If he were around today, it would have been something that really upset him because Shakespeare and a lot of contemporaries werent academics. He was a glove-maker from rural Stratford in England where he didnt have the same opportunities like a lot of contemporaries, and yet, he rose to success because he was a man of the people. He gave the common man a voice. Before Shakespeare, most of the plays were concerned with the aristocracy, with the privileged, with royalty. And what Shakespeare also represented to the people, he tried to give voice to the lower classes and, also very importantly, to women. Some of the best characters in the Shakespeare plays are the women. Lady Macbeth, for one, is an absolute powerhouse. He was totally before his time in that regard.

The people I would say who are worried about it being something thats hard for them to access, thats the whole reason weve made this show. Its because Shakespeare shouldnt be something just for the intellectual. Its for everyone, and I think what Craig and Shekhar have done so well is taking something and making it accessible because its so current.

Look on right: Blake Hyland top, John Varvatos pants, Kenneth Cole shoes

When it comes to actually making the show, what was the vibe like on set?

The vibe on set was amazing. I mean, it was my first job, so I have very limited experience or preconceptions about a film set, but there was a huge feeling of family and working together in a collaborative process. And thats all because of Shekhar and Craig who really let people breathe and allowed them to be creative by putting trust in us across the board. So, it was a lovely, lovely atmosphere on set. The theater company  the theater company of James Burbages theater, where William Shakespeare first worked  is like a family in itself. Im still in touch with all those cast members all the time. We have a WhatsApp group and everyone keeps in touch. Its really sweet. And thats kind of unheard of, from what others have told me.

Tell us about one especially funny or amazing stand-out moment from filming.

They recreated the Elizabethan theater. So were performing these plays, not only on the camera, but with 400, 500 extras.

There were loads of really funny things. I want to think of some more, actually. The best thing was performing these plays in front of an actual audience in the Globe Theater  they recreated the Elizabethan theater. So were performing these plays, not only on the camera, but with 400, 500 extras. The atmosphere in there was absolutely electric, just like it would have been in Elizabethan era. That was pretty special.

We did have a lot of fun. The first one that comes to mind is with Jamie Campbell Bower. We had to film a scene in the rain with a huge rain machine at night. And its freezing cold. And the rains chucking it down, but fortunately for me, the water is falling just in front of me. So we did this long scene, and by the end of it, Jamie Campbell Bower is soaking wet and I havent got a single spot of rain on me. And they cant use the shot because it didnt work for continuity. So Jamie had to go through the whole process again and that was very amusing. That tickled me a lot.

What are you looking most forward to sharing the show with viewers and what do you hope theyll get out of it?

I just hope that, if anything, it makes people interested in this guy from Stratford who has been celebrated as a writer  people who have a preconceived idea about Shakespeare. Im excited in the possibility of people watching the show and being inspired to go out and see these plays. Because I think thats the way  to read them is not the same. His plays were written to be seen and heard and performed. Im excited about, hopefully, people having more of an interest in that and getting something from those plays because of Will.

Photography by Atisha Paulson; Styled by Jess Mederos; Grooming by Sae-Ryun Song for Defacto; Retouching by Mike Racz
On top of being the most eminent playwright to ever exist, William Shakespeare was a remarkably brave soul. He channeled his commentary on Elizabethan society into his work; in a time when speaking out was punishable by death, Shakespeare used creative outlets to indirectly do so. And, the recurring themes in his plays, particularly those pertaining to politics and society, are just as relevant today as they were back then.

For example, Julius Caesar was selected for summers Shakespeare in the Park production because of how uncannily applicable its themes remain. For Julius Caesar, its a question of the immediate political resonance. Shakespeares extraordinary that way: His plays somehow take on the color of every time theyre performed in, so they never seem old or out of date, explains Artistic Director Oskar Eustis of the choice.

Also this summer, Will, a new series focused on the life of young William Shakespeare comes to TNT. Premiering July 10 at 9 p.m., Will follows Shakespeare as he strives to become a playwright in a society rife with oppression and religious persecution. He finds massive success  he becomes a rock star of sorts with legions of followers to boot. The escapades of the counterculture hero are brought to life with Baz Luhrmann-esque boisterous vividity and contemporary music.

Julius Caesar and Will happen to overlap quite a bit thematically, and the two will even join forces at the June 17 and 18 Shakespeare in the Park performances. To celebrate the Bards ever-relevant, enduring legacy, weve outlined a few of these common themes.

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In Wills Elizabethan England, many groups are oppressed. Catholics (like Will) are viewed as the evil other  Mass was banned, and priests were outlawed. In the pilot episode, we see Catholics facing gruesome public deaths. In fact, this sort of cruelty is condoned by the crown, so Will is forced to keep his religious identity closely guarded.

Women are also without a voice in society: Yes, I am that most useless of creatures, an educated woman, says Alice Burbage, the daughter of a theater owner, in one of her very first scenes.

In Julius Caesar, the theme of democracy versus monarchy and the implications for human rights, is central. Its capturing the end of the Roman republic .. by the time Julius Caesar is over, the Roman democracy is over  there will not be another democracy on the face of the earth until 1776, says Eustis. Just like in the absolute monarchy of Elizabethan England, the Roman people are stripped of power with this shift.

Wills playwriting prowess transforms him into an Elizabethan rock star, complete with groupies. In Shakespeares time, writing plays was one of the only ways to (albeit indirectly) express discontent at the state of society  say it outright, and literally risk your neck. Julius Caesar was one such work charged with political sentiment; parallels could easily be drawn to what was happening in the English monarchy. Around 1599 when the play was thought to have been first performed, Elizabeth I had been ruling for about four decades, with an increasing scope of power as time went on. She also didnt have an heir lined up, which was a source of great collective anxiety.

In Julius Caesar, words are used to control the fickle masses in a time of unrest and disorder. The charismatic Caesar seems to be the solution for Romes problems  the Romans even offer him the crown, which he refuses. After Caesar is assassinated, Brutus is able sway the crowd briefly in the other direction, villainizing him with a speech. Mark Antony convinces the crowd once again to lean in favor of the fallen Caesar. Its enough to spark a bloody war between the two factions.

As viewers, we tune into Will knowing the eponymous subject is destined to become one of the greatest writers in history. Were along for the crazy ride. Similarly, we experience Julius Caesar well-aware of the grim fate the leader will meet, and its resounding effects on actual history. Beware the ides of March, warns the soothsayer in a prophecy Caesar chooses to ignore.

In Will, the supernatural is a key theme. Shakespeares contemporaries believed in witchcraft. If misfortune befell you, there was surely a witch to blame, and whoever was deemed a witch would burn at the stake.

The world of Julius Caesar is peppered with omens  visions of a lion in the streets, a man with a burning hand, an owl screeching  not to mention the wise soothsayer that dictates Caesars fate. Characters sometimes (conveniently) project their own beliefs and anxieties on the things they cant explain. For example, Cassius interprets these unsettling happenings as a divine warning that Caesar is a threat to Rome.

In the world of Will, street urchins will sell you out for a bite to eat, and competitors will stab you in the back to cement their place in the spotlight. In fact, this literally happens to Will in the very first episode when a young boy discovers his religious identity and uses the information as a meal ticket. Also in episode one, it becomes clear that Will must tread carefully around some of the more territorial individuals in the theater realm or risk losing everything.

In Julius Caesar, the leader famously meets his end at the hands of his supposed friends. Et tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar, he says to Brutus as he collapses. He didnt see it coming, and the fact that Brutus was involved made the assassination particularly treacherous  Caesar seemingly resigned to his fate when he learned this. In the world of Shakespeare, its every man for himself.
Andre Holland in Jitney and Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! Photo: Joan Marcus and Julieta Cervantes

There is one thing every theater pundit can agree on regarding Sunday nights 71st Annual Tony Awards: The winner of Best Actress in a Musical is the only sure Bette. Outside of the divine Hello, Dolly! star, however, its anyones guess as to who will win at this years unusually competitive, Hamilton-free ceremony. To shed some light on which names may be read on the Radio City Music Hall stage this weekend, we asked two voters  a longtime critic and an actor  to share their perspectives on how voting may go.

Best Musical

Come From Away

Dear Evan Hansen

Groundhog Day

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

Hansen has been breaking hearts as a standing-room-only phenomenon for months now, and voters  like the critic we asked  are apt to vote with their hearts. But heart is all over this strong lineup, and the actor was not so dear to Evan: Hansen has its proponents, but I could not get past the point that there are no repercussions for kids telling lies and capitalizing on teen suicide. The actor prefers  and voted for  the audience-adored Come From Away, which just won the Drama Desks top prize. But something tells us one show will be Waving Through a Window to victory.

Likely winner: Dear Evan Hansen

Best Play

A Dolls House, Part 2

Indecent

Oslo

Sweat

Lynn Nottages Sweat nabbed the Pulitzer, and Oslo nabbed just about everything else this season, but producer Scott Rudin is going all-in on getting folks to play with his Dolls. The actor loved the rollicking, funny, and poignant Ibsen update and is supporting it (thought-provoking and kind of audacious) and it did get nods for its entire quartet (more on them to come). But Oslo  about the tense gathering of Israel and Palestine leaders for the 1990s Oslo Accords  benefits from its panoramic view of modern countries in crisis, and well  we can all certainly relate to that, right?

Likely winner: Oslo

Best Revival of a Musical

Falsettos

Hello, Dolly!

Miss Saigon

Falsettos enjoyed a five-hanky-worthy return (you can catch it on PBS this fall if you missed last winter), but our voters are in agreement: A Mack truck couldnt stop Dolly, as evidenced by the actors bold take on the victor of this category: Duh!

Likely winner: Hello, Dolly!

Best Revival of a Play

Jitney

The Little Foxes

Present Laughter

Six Degrees of Separation

Its Manhattan Theatre Club versus Manhattan Theatre Club here, with Little Foxes and Jitney duking it out. The strong-as-an-ox Foxes is still running, but Jitney was nigh-perfect August Wilson, and every awards group has uniformly agreed, not to mention the fine folks who showed us their ballots. Plus, diversity being recognized for a major award via an African-American-led production in this Hamilton- and Color Purplefree year is a step in the right direction.

Likely winner: Jitney

Best Actor in a Musical

Christian Borle (Falsettos)

Josh Groban (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812)

Andy Karl (Groundhog Day)

David Hyde Pierce (Hello, Dolly!)

Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen)

Andy Karl won the Olivier award for this role back in the spring, and he has the greatest Rocky-like story by overcoming a torn ACL to bravely perform this breakneck-paced comic role eight times a week. And this dude actually played Rocky Balboa. Hell get lots of love, and in any other year, his award would be as predestined as Phil Connors waking up to Sonny and Cher tunes in Pennsylvania every morning. In fact, the actor is even voting for the industry-loved Karl, but the critic finds it incredibly hard to believe that Platts alarmingly emotional, shattering turn will not be recognized, especially in a year where adolescent suicide and its effects are on everyones minds. (See: 13 Reasons Why)

Likely winner: Ben Platt

Best Actress in a Musical

Denee Benton (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812)

Christine Ebersole (War Paint)

Patti LuPone (War Paint)

Bette Midler (Hello, Dolly!)

Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon)

Ms. Ebersole, Ms. LuPone, Ms. Noblezada, and Ms. Denton, just concede now. She may not be campaigning but it doesnt make a Santo Loquastoreinforced stitch of difference. Bette has this thing sewn up, says the critic. Everyone loves her.

Likely winner: Bette Midler

Best Actor in a Play

Denis Arndt (Heisenberg)

Chris Cooper (A Dolls House, Part 2)

Corey Hawkins (Six Degrees of Separation)

Kevin Kline (Present Laughter)

Jefferson Mays (Oslo)

One of our voters cast his ballot for Hawkins for his impressive Broadway debut in John Guares New York City valentine. But its hard to deny Kline his third Tony, especially since he has not won one since 1981, and Kline doing Noel Coward to perfection is not a bad thing in our sources words.

Likely winner: Kevin Kline

Best Actress in a Play

Cate Blanchett (The Present)

Jennifer Ehle (Oslo)

Sally Field (The Glass Menagerie)

Laura Linney (The Little Foxes)

Laurie Metcalf (A Dolls House, Part 2)

Its quite a year, indeed, when a pair of two-time Oscar winners (Blanchett and Field) are the also-rans. Its a dead heat right now between Linney and initial front runner Metcalf, neither of whom has ever won, for their galvanizing turns in classics  one past, one (sorta) present. Seen to be the tightest race of the night, our voters are equally torn, but both believe its time to give that Antoinette Perry statue to Metcalf. She should have won a few years ago for The Other Place and happy to see her rewarded here, says the actor, but the critic says voters have been invited to see Linney and co-star Cynthia Nixon play both of the plum Foxes roles theyre playing in rep. Will awards-darling Linney double their pleasure?

Likely winner: [Gun pointed firmly at ones head]  Ahh, lets go with Laurie Metcalf.

Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Michael Aronov (Oslo)

Danny DeVito (The Price)

Nathan Lane (The Front Page)

Richard Thomas (The Little Foxes)

John Douglas Thompson (Jitney)

A category full of great pros, and a major case could be made for any of these guys. The actor is partial to Oslos magnetic Aronov (his presence and energy got me through all three hours), but the critic thinks the hard-boiled-egg chompin wonders of DeVito in Arthur Millers Uber-heavy family drama should emerge victorious, as he did at last weeks Drama Desk Awards. Plus, who could resist having him and Ruthless People co-star Midler win Tonys on the same night?

Likely winner: Danny DeVito

Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Johanna Day (Sweat)

Jayne Houdyshell (A Dolls House, Part 2)

Cynthia Nixon (The Little Foxes)

Condola Rashad (A Dolls House, Part 2)

Michelle Wilson (Sweat)

Things seem to be shaping up to a Foxes trot to the stage for previous winner Nixon, especially being up against two-show nominee face-offs. Her third act scene was brilliant says the actor.

Likely winner: Cynthia Nixon

Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical

Gavin Creel (Hello, Dolly!)

Mike Faist (Dear Evan Hansen)

Andrew Rannells (Falsettos)

Lucas Steele (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812)

Brandon Uranowitz (Falsettos)

The critic thinks Creel has this one locked up (hes a Broadway stalwart), but the actor truly loved Uranowitz (I recognize Im one of the few who will go this route, but Uranowitz provided emotional ballast). Steeles scene-stealing literal falsetto was a tremendous treat as well, but Creel has paid his dues and the feeling is that Tony will say Hello this year.

Likely winner: Gavin Creel

Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical

Kate Baldwin (Hello, Dolly!)

Stephanie J. Block (Falsettos)

Jenn Colella (Come From Away)

Rachel Bay Jones (Dear Evan Hansen)

Mary Beth Peil (Anastasia)

Okay, we lied. This might actually be the hardest category of the night. Baldwin, Block, and Colella are golden-voiced wonders of the theater, and Peil is a living legend. I would have preferred a write-in vote for Astrid Van Wieren, who is the heart of Away, says the actor, who went for Peil. The critic, however, is part of the Jones gang. Its hers by a sliver, but Joness role is the closest to a lead here, and she exquisitely anchors Platts suffering.

Likely winner: Rachel Bay Jones

Best Book of a Musical

Come From Away

Dear Evan Hansen

Groundhog Day

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

You are not experiencing deja vu, these are the exact same nominees as Best Musical. But it looks like a category ripe for a spoiler. So Away we go, as voters will want to honor its creators for telling a funny, heartfelt multi-character story of airplane travelers on 9/11 diverted to a nice Canadian town where people take them in and kiss fishes for tradition. Our voters were split with Hansen for the prize, but our Come-er thought it weaved all these stories into a cohesive whole.

Likely winner: Come From Away

Best Original Score

Come From Away

Dear Evan Hansen

Groundhog Day

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

So, yeah  it seems like there were only four musicals this season (there were not, by the way), and all have ardent supporters. Could it be Dave Malloys eclectic, original, wildly modern Great Comet? Or Tim Minchins Groundhog getting a makeup award after losing for Matilda? Maybe the Away team scores twice? Doubtful, especially when you have a rapidly ascending musical pair (Benj Pasek and Justin Paul) who already have a La La Landbranded Oscar to their names, and are racing toward the fastest EGOT triumph in history. Note: Neither of our theater experts checked their boxes for Hansen here, but both believe it will win.

Likely winner: Dear Evan Hansen
Rachel Weisz in My Cousin Rachel. Photo: Nicola Dove/Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

In her sly novel My Cousin Rachel, Daphne du Maurier offers the female gaze on the male gaze  that is, she tells the story of a possibly murderous femme fatale from the perspective of a spoiled and needy young man. Philip (played in the film by Sam Claflin) is a 24-year-old Englishman, the ward of a rich older cousin named Ambrose who travels to Italy for his health and suddenly marries another, more-distant cousin, Rachel. The tone of Ambroses letters home slowly shifts from ecstasy to panic and horror. His wife, he writes, has become his enemy. Hes sick and getting sicker. Hes surrounded by people who want him dead. By the time Philip arrives in Italy, his beloved Ambrose has indeed perished, allegedly from a brain tumor, and Rachel has left town. Arriving back home to the estate that will soon be his, Philip learns that Rachel is on her way. He steels himself for a demoness. And then Rachel (Rachel Weisz) appears, and he is almost instantly smitten.

Directed by Roger Michell in his customary clean, borderline clinical style, My Cousin Rachel tells an overfamiliar story with odd dissonances. You dont know if youre watching something very, very obvious or being set up. Philips godfather, Kendall (Iain Glen), warns him about Rachels checkered past. Kendalls daughter Louise (Holliday Grainger)  a more obviously suitable mate for Philip  winces at his intemperateness. Rachel, meanwhile, makes a special herbal tea that she insists Philip drink, after which he feels strangely weak. The portents arent subtle.

Weisz is riveting. Quick, vivacious, disarmingly informal, this Rachel is certainly not using stereotypically feminine wiles. Shes chummy with Philip but not flirty. She wears modest black outfits, as befits her mourning. And she asks for no money. But she finds herself showered with it, more and more as Philips ardor grows. Because Weisz is one of the least artificial actresses alive, you find yourself constantly asking: She cant be as evil as the movie is suggesting, can she?

From the start, Claflin makes Philip so foolish and unstable that its difficult to get too invested in his fate. But My Cousin Rachel is a fascinating hybrid. It uses clunky devices out of a 19th-century melodrama, but its subject is modern: mistakes of perception and of metaphor. Its about the myopia of the male gaze.

*This article appears in the June 12, 2017, issue of New York Magazine.
Cadet Platoon Cmdr. Shane Metcalf (right) of La Vega High School was draped with the Spirit of America medal for leadership and achievement at the Navy Junior ROTC annual awards ceremony. The award was presented by retired Marine Corps Master Sgt. Henry Gonzales, a Vietnam War combat veteran from Waco who is on the board of directors of the national Good Soldier Foundation.
Class acts

Michelle Nicoletti, of Lorena, received a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in nursing from Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at commencement ceremonies May 20.

Dylan Lee Priddy, of Hewitt, graduated with a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee during commencement exercises May 21.

Leah Visosky, of McGregor, graduated from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisburg, Virginia, with a Master of Arts in conflict transformation during commencement exercises April 30.

Students named to honors lists at McMurray University in Abilene for the spring semester are:

Deans list  Blake Janek, of Valley Mills; Savannah Freeman, of Mart.

Deans honor roll  Reagan Jaro, of Waco.

Cadets were honored at the Waco High School Army Junior ROTC annual awards ceremony recently.

Cadet Battalion Cmdr. Moses Arias was draped with the Spirit of America medal for patriotism and achievement.

The award was presented by retired Army Staff Sgt. Robert Carter, of Robinson, a Gulf War combat veteran and member of the board of directors of the national Good Soldier Foundation.

Cadet Company 1st Sgt. Jennifer Juarez was presented with a medal and ribbon, along with a $100 stipend for leadership and military achievement.

Her awards were presented by retired Army Col. Robert Lull, of Woodway, a Vietnam War combat veteran and member of the board of directors of the Military Officers Association-Heart of Texas.
Members of an Odessa family were injured after their SUV crashed into the back of an 18-wheeler Friday morning in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35 near Lorena, Lorena Police Chief Tom Dickson said.

Law enforcement agencies were called to mile-marker 323 after a Chevrolet Suburban collided with a tractor-trailer at about 10 a.m., Dickson said. Northbound traffic had slowed because of an earlier crash on the interstate when the Suburban that was carrying five people struck the tractor-trailer, he said.

The front-seat passenger, Cory Hudson, 30, suffered a serious head injury and other injuries after the crash. He was taken to Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, Dickson said. He remained in critical condition Friday evening, authorities said.

Tosha Hudson, 35, was driving the SUV and was distracted by a child in the vehicle, Dickson said. He said witnesses reported that the SUV switched lanes before crashing into the tractor-trailer.

Dickson said back-seat passengers included a 13-year-old, a 2-year-old and an 8-month-old. It was not immediately clear if all children were properly restrained in the SUV at the time of the crash.

The driver and the children suffered minor injuries, Dickson said.

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not injured, he said.

All northbound traffic was diverted onto the frontage road at exit 321 during the crash. Authorities with the Texas Department of Transportation said the roadway was fully reopened by 11:45 a.m.

Dickson said the crash remains under investigation. Texas Department of Public Safety officers are assisting in the investigation.
Hiding in plain sight in former FBI Director James Comeys testimony Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee is a potentially major new avenue for special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of Russia-related crimes: the possibility that President Donald Trump committed a federal crime by lying to Comey about his connections to Russia and activities on his 2013 visit there.

Its a crime to lie to a representative of the federal government. Thus, Mueller can now investigate the possibility of a criminal charge against Trump if he had any connection to Russia.

And Trumps denial, as reported by Comey, will also enable Mueller to do what the Federal Bureau of Investigation apparently has not done: investigate the questionable dossier claims that Trump was compromised by Russian intelligence on the basis of sexual escapades in Moscow.

The key to this analysis is one completely new piece of information in Comeys testimony. According to Comey, Trump told him on March 30 that he had nothing to do with Russia and had not been involved with hookers in Russia. These were responses to claims raised in a dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele at the behest of Trump political opponents  claims that have not been substantiated.

This insistence by Trump is noteworthy, especially because Comey had already told Trump more than three months previously that the FBI had not opened a counterintelligence investigation of him on the basis of this Steele dossier.

Trump may simply have wanted to make sure that Comey didnt believe the allegations. Or he may have wanted to emphasize his repeated request that Comey somehow announce that Trump wasnt under FBI investigation.

Regardless, Trump potentially put himself in legal jeopardy by making the statement unbidden by Comey. Under 18 U.S. Code Section 1001, its a federal crime to make any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or representation regarding any matter within the jurisdiction of the U.S. government.

If Trump was lying about having nothing to do with Russia  or if he was lying about the charge that Russian intelligence had gathered compromising material about him because of a dalliance with a Russian prostitute  that would constitute a federal crime.

Under Section 1001, there doesnt have to be an open investigation to make the lying into a crime. So it wouldnt matter that Comey had already told Trump that there was no investigation.

To be extremely clear, Im not saying that I have any reason to believe that Trump lied to Comey. I dont.

But the statements alone, coupled with the dossier that contradicts them, provide sufficient reason for Mueller to extend his investigation to consider Trumps own Russia-related conduct  including the information discussed in the dossier.

Why it matters

All this matters for two reasons. First, according to Comeys testimony, it would seem that the FBI itself never looked into the veracity of the dossiers claims about Trumps trip. If it had, that presumably would have required opening a counterintelligence investigation to see whether Trump was compromised. And Comey assured Trump that this had not happened.

Second, without the statements that Comey attributes to Trump, its entirely possible that Mueller would not have considered himself to have the jurisdiction to investigate Trumps activities in Russia.

Mueller does have the authority to explore Russian efforts to influence the election. But its not at all clear that Trumps trip would be relevant to that.

Now, however, Trumps denial of any Russia connection and of the dossiers sexual allegations exists in direct juxtaposition with his statements to Comey that the Russia investigation was casting a shadow over his presidency. Thats an immediate connection between the statements and the inquiry.

So dont be misled by the suggestion that there is little new in Comeys testimony relative to the previously existing leaks. The outline was already known, but not the details.

And details matter, especially in criminal investigations like the one Mueller is now conducting.
VALPARAISO  Firefighters from Valparaiso and four nearby departments spent most of the afternoon and evening Thursday battling a fire at a rural Valparaiso residence.

At 9:30 p.m. firefighters were still on the scene of a rural Valparaiso house fire that started around 2 p.m.

The Valparaiso Fire Department was dispatched just after 2 p.m. to the residence at 3196 Ashland Road, just southwest of Valparaiso.

Valparaiso Firefighter Mark Nelson said the home and a nearby shed were fully engulfed when they arrived.

Firefighters from Dwight, Ceresco and Raymond were called for mutual aid and battled the blaze that spread from the house to outbuildings, a barn, trees and nearby grass.

Nelson said firefighters remained on scene this evening to put out hot spots and monitor a railroad car that sits on the northeast edge of the property.

No one was home when the blaze started and no firefighters were injured. There were two animals in the home that managed to escape unscathed.

Nelson reported no firefighter injuries, but the 25 firefighters on scene were battling exhaustion, due to high temperatures,

Nelson said they were lucky that the grass and trees were green, as that helped to slow the spread of the fire.

But with 30 mile-per-hour winds expected tomorrow, were trying to make sure to get it all wrapped up to-night, Nelson said.

The cause of the fire was unknown Thursday evening.
A convicted murderer with a long criminal history has been sentenced to a further 11 and a half years in jail for the rape of a Perth woman 23 years ago.

Convicted killer Norman Frederick Hart was finally brought to justice for the 1994 rape, after advances in DNA technology linked him to the crime scene.

The small piece of blue fabric which contained Hart's DNA. Credit:WA District Court

He has already spent the past 16 years in prison for murder.

Hart, 56, was sentenced in the WA District Court on Friday over the sexual assault which occurred in Bicton in September 1994.
New Delhi: One thousand paramilitary troops were deployed in the Mandsaur region of Madhya Pradesh in central India on Thursday to curb spreading riots after five protesting farmers were shot dead by police officers.

Video footage from India Today showed crowds chanting "Long live freedom" as the bodies of the farmers shrouded in the Indian flag were paraded through the streets.

Internet and mobile services were suspended in the region and a curfew was imposed as buses and trucks were set ablaze, and toll booths along roads were looted.

Sixty-two farmers were arrested by police. On the front page of the Times of India, a headline read: "War zone Mandsaur."
Following an invitation from the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA) and in line with the National Mercator Implementation Plan for Ethiopia, the WCO undertook a Risk Management Diagnostic in Addis Ababa on the 28th of May to the 2nd of June 2017. This mission was conducted under the framework of the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD Programme with the generous financial support of the Government of the United Kingdom through Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The main objective of this mission was to complete a diagnostic of ERCAs Risk Management processes while building on work carried out in previous missions and following the WCO Mercator Programme approach. The mission consisted of comprehensive presentations by the ERCA Risk Management Directorate on their current legislation, policies and processes related to Risk Management. The WCO team of experts then presented the WCO approach on Risk Management covering various relevant instruments and tools such as the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC), Risk Management Compendium, the SAFE Framework of Standards and the WCO Data Model.

To ensure involvement of all concerned departments, meetings were organized with ERCA Directors from different divisions relevant to support Risk Management including IT, Intelligence, Legal, Customs Procedures and Human Resources among others. Moreover, study visits were made to the Bole Main Airport and to the Modjo Inland Port to study how intelligence based risk management supports the clearance process, trade facilitation and security. The WCO team of experts also analysed the supply chain movement of goods from Djibouti Port transiting through the Galafi Border to the Inland Container Ports. Discussions were held with local teams on the actual process, including risk identification, analysis and targeting against the Risk Management procedure manual.

In concluding the mission, the WCO team presented the outcomes of the diagnostic to the ERCA management. A draft action plan for forward capacity building support related to Risk Management was also developed to further build on the findings of this mission under Ethiopias Mercator Implementation Plan.
The Supreme Court said that the government cannot insist people to get a new Aadhaar card for I-T returns, if they don't have one. Such people may file their ITRs using their PAN cards.

Those already having Aadhar number must provide details while filing Income Tax returns. (File Photo)

By Anusha Soni: The Supreme Court today stayed the government's order to make Aadhaar card mandatory for PAN holders and said it can't be made mandatory for filing Income Tax returns. However, the apex court added that those who have Aadhaar must provide its details while filing Income Tax returns.

The top court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of a provision in the Income Tax Act making Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and allotment of PAN.

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"The primary Aadhaar act is voluntary for people, the subsequent amendment to the IT Act cannot make it mandatory. The Supreme Court's interim order permitted Aadhaar to be used only for PDS schemes, it can not be extended for I-T Act," Arvind Dattar, arguing for petitioners told the Supreme Court.

A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan had on May 4 reserved the verdict on the pleas, challenging section 139AA of the Income Tax (I-T) Act, which was introduced through the latest budget and the Finance Act, 2017.

Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrollment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making application for allotment of PAN (Permanent Account Number) with effect from July 1 this year.

While opposing the government's move, the petitioners, including CPI leader Binoy Viswam, have contended before the bench that the Centre cannot "belittle" the apex court's 2015 order holding the unique identification number as voluntary.

They argued that government should not have enacted section 139AA in the Act to make Aadhaar mandatory for PAN as the apex court's five-judge bench order was clear that Aadhaar was voluntary and not mandatory.

However, the Centre had contended that Aadhaar was made mandatory for allotment of PAN to weed out fake cards which were used for terror financing and circulation of black money.

ALSO READ:

No Aadhaar? Phone users to lose their numbers, Airtel and Idea start sending SMS

Furious Supreme Court to government on Aadhaar: How can you make it compulsory?

Aadhaar mandatory or voluntary? Ahead of Supreme Court hearing, 63 per cent concerned about data leakage

Aadhaar data of 130 millions, bank account details leaked from govt websites: Report

WATCH: My Take - Aadhaar card should not be linked to income tax returns

--- ENDS ---
A little over a month ago, Tamil Nadu farmers had caught national attention when they sat with skulls at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

By Akshita Nandagopal: Farmers in Tamil Nadu are back on the streets, this time in Chennai's Chepauk area, to stage a symbolic 32-day protest to remind the state and the Centre of their demands.

A little over a month ago, Tamil Nadu farmers had caught national attention when they sat on a dharna in Delhi's Jantar Mantar with skulls, which they claimed were of fellow farmers who allegedly committed suicide after the drought.

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"We stopped our protest after Chief Minister E Palaniswamy personally met us and assured us that he will address our demands. But not one of our demands has been met. We will protest till the government fulfils our demands and not just dole out empty promises," said Ayyakannu, the farmer who spearheaded the Jantar Mantar agitation.

A UNIQUE FORM OF PROTEST EVERY DAY

The protesting Tamil Nadu farmers also lit candles to express their condolence over the death of six farmers in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, and vowed solidarity with farmers across the country.

The Tamil Nadu farmers have been demanding a drought-relief package of Rs 40,000 crore, farm loan waiver and setting up of the Cauvery Management Board by the Centre.

Every day, the farmers will use a unique way to stage their protest in Chennai. They will tie their hands and legs with iron chains on Saturday.

OPPOSITION SLAMS GOVERNMENT

With the farmers relaunching their agitation, the Opposition has once again lashed out at the state government for failing to fulfil its promise to the farmers.

"The government has to walk the talk. They cannot give an assurance and not do anything. The government was left embarrassed nationally after the protest in Jantar Mantar, and to stop it they made a promise. But they are yet to fulfil it so the farmers' protest is completely justified," said DMK leader A Saravanan.

The Palaniswami government, which is already battling a party crisis, now has another burning issue to address.

Following the backlash for its response to the Supreme Court that farmer suicides were not due to the drought in Tamil Nadu, the government will be desperate to save face and ensure some damage-control.

ALSO READ:

After 41 days, Tamil Nadu farmers suspend their agitation in Delhi till May 25

Tamil Nadu farmer protest: 9 antics used to grab attention of PM Narendra Modi and the media

Police firing on protesting farmers kills 5 in Mandsaur, minister says it wasn't cops

ALSO WATCH: Farmers in Punjab commit suicide over mounting debts

--- ENDS ---
Air India's headquarters in a narrow bylane of Delhi's Ashoka Road is getting a fresh coat of paint, including a large image of its famed mascot, the Maharajah. Inside, the office of Ashwani Lohani, chairman and managing director, is being spruced up too. Bristling with plans, Lohani has just announced that Air India is introducing a flight to Copenhagen and another to Tel Aviv when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to make a historic first visit to Israel in July.

Lohani, a turnaround expert who had put Madhya Pradesh on the tourism map of India, was brought in to get Air India into shape, in September 2015. To his credit, the Indian Railway Service officer got down to the fundamentals of putting the airline back on track: motivating staff, improving on-time performance and ensuring that the passenger load factor on every flight was much higher than in previous years. That brought back some glow to Air India's sun emblem. Helped along by dropping turbine fuel costs, AI reported an operational profit of Rs 100-odd crore in the past two financials, for the first time in a decade.

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That, though, was the only glimmer of light in the fog and gloom that have enveloped India's flagship carrier in the past 10 years. Under the glass top of his desk, Lohani has placed a written sheet to constantly remind him of the grim reality. It displays the figures of annual losses that Air India has incurred since 2007-the year the central government merged the two Indian aviation public sector giants, Air India and Indian Airlines, into a single entity. Since then, it has been haemorrhaging nonstop at a crippling average rate of Rs 5,000 crore annually. At last count, the losses totalled Rs 52,000 crore. Meanwhile, Air India's share in the booming domestic aviation market has shrunk to just 14 per cent-a distant third behind the high-flying Indigo and the stable Jet Airways. On the international sector, it still has a significant share of 25 per cent but continues to lose heavily on these flights (see graphic: Air India in a Tailspin).

Now, much to Lohani's discomfort, there has been a growing chorus of voices in the past few weeks, both in Delhi's power circles and in the media, for the Narendra Modi government to take a decisive step and, if necessary, to privatise the ailing PSU. Air India's chief thinks that such talk is having a demoralising effect on his staff and he is desperately seeking clarity. Behind Lohani's desk, on a book easel, is a thickly-bound copy of the Bhagavad Gita with verses in Sanskrit, Hindi and English. Every morning when he enters the office, he randomly turns a page and reads a passage. On one recent morning, the book opened to a passage which read, "Krishna! Dispeller of all doubts! Remove this doubt of mine because only You can remove it completely."

The same afternoon, Lohani got the first clear signal of the government's intentions towards Air India. In an interview with Doordarshan, Arun Jaitley, the affable finance minister, said, "To keep Air India running, we have invested Rs 50,000 crore. That money is government's money, that's your money. It could have been used for school education. And if 86 per cent of flying can be handled by the private sector, it can also handle 100 per cent." Jaitley indicated that the Union ministry for civil aviation was exploring all options, including strategic disinvestment.

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Acknowledging that fact, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the Union minister for civil aviation, said, "It is no secret that the Maharajah is impoverished and is in a debt trap. We are all applying our minds as to how Air India can be pulled out of it." The debt trap Raju is talking of, simply put, is the Rs 20,000-odd crore Air India owes a consortium of foreign banks towards its aircraft purchases in recent years. It also has a working capital loan of around Rs 32,000 crore advanced by 18 public sector banks. It needs Rs 6,500 crore to service its debt annually. To meet that, it receives Rs 2,500 crore from equity by the government and claims depreciation of Rs 1,500 crore. Despite all this, it still has an annual shortfall of Rs 2,500 crore, for which it is forced to borrow from banks. This is the financial vortex that has seen Air India pile up Rs 52,000 crore in debt in the past decade alone.

Jayant Sinha, the savvy minister of state for civil aviation, says it is the airline's mounting debt that has the government worried, forcing it to look at various options. He told india today, "We are now at the endgame - we are getting to the end of the process of exploring the alternatives and not the beginning." After the Modi government came to power, he says, the first effort was to correct the tailspin by putting in place a competent management, to improve its performance and put an end to the operational losses.

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After having stabilised the working of the national carrier, the next step was to work out how to tackle the daunting debt issue. The big questions confronting the government were: why was this important, what are the options before it and what impact the decisions would have.

These are hard questions to answer given that the proposals for the government to get out of running airlines go as far back as 1988 when there were two national carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines, both incurring heavy losses. To his credit, then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, an Indian Airlines pilot himself, made the first bid to break the state monopoly over the aviation sector by permitting private air taxis on feeder routes to promote tourism. But when it came to privatising the two carriers, Gandhi's advisers told him to go slow.

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After all, it was his grandfather, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who pushed for a closed, self-reliant economy where the public sector would straddle the commanding heights of the economy, including aviation. Prior to Independence, a few pioneering private aviators ran airlines. Among them was JRD Tata, who started Tata Airlines in 1932 and renamed it Air India in 1946. In 1953, however, Nehru pushed through the Air Corporation Act that nationalised all eight private airlines and formed two corporations, Air India for international services and Indian Airlines for the domestic sector. Tata was made chairman of Air India and a board member of Indian Airlines. Under Tata, who served for 25 years, Air India became an iconic airline with classy service backed with savvy advertising that made the Maharajah a distinctive symbol across the world. It was only in the early eighties when British prime minister Margaret Thatcher privatised British Aerospace that India began seriously looking at breaking the stranglehold of Air India and Indian Airlines with their declining ability to cope with the demands of a growing aviation sector.

The real turning point came in 1994, when Prime Minister Narasimha Rao's government introduced the Open Skies policy by passing an ordinance repealing the Air Corporation Act. This enabled the entry of private operators, permitting foreign equity up to 40 per cent in the domestic market. Within a year, a host of new private airlines like Jet, Sahara, ModiLuft, East West and Damania had captured close to 45 per cent of the domestic market. IA plunged further into debt and officials grumbled that private airlines were being allowed to operate on the more profitable trunk routes like Delhi and Mumbai, while the national carrier was left to service loss-making ones. The domestic sector soon faced what the aviation sector called the four deadly horsemen: low traffic, overcapacity, poor yields and high unit costs. Indian Airlines' losses began to mount and some of the less efficient private airlines either had to merge or shut shop. Meanwhile, Air India, though still profitable, had begun to stagnate and its share of outbound international traffic, which was around 40 per cent in the eighties, dropped to 25 per cent-far below the average for flagship international carriers.

When the first NDA government came to power in 1998 with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the prime minister, both his disinvestment ministers Arun Shourie and Arun Jaitley, apart from civil aviation minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, pushed for privatisation of the two national carriers. A minister in that government says, "We were thwarted by a powerful lobby that prevented the move to protect private operators who thought they would lose out." To push ahead with liberalisation, the Naresh Chandra committee was formed in 2003 to study options. Months later, the committee submitted its report and among other things called for privatisation of AI and IA and the creation of an autonomous civil aviation regulator.

With UPA-I, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, coming to power, the Chandra committee report was shelved. Instead, under the supervision of the then aviation minister Praful Patel, an ambitious programme was launched to revive the two carriers by expanding and modernising their fleets. AI had initially submitted a proposal to acquire only 28 aircraft in May 2004-10 medium-capacity long-range aircraft and 18 small capacity short-range aircraft. But Patel pushed for a more aggressive policy, including beefing up Air India Express, a no-frills subsidiary of AI to cater to the Southeast Asian and Gulf market. He also pushed for Indian Airlines to expand its reach.

By november that year, the AI board had revised its proposal and pushed for the acquisition of 50 medium-capacity, long-range aircraft in addition to 18 small-capacity short-range ones. A year later, AI signed a purchase agreement with Boeing for the supply of 50 aircraft at a cost of Rs 33,197 crore. Simultaneously, IA too signed purchase agreements with Airbus for the purchase of 43 aircraft at a cost of Rs 8,400 crore. Both these acquisitions were to be funded through debt and repaid through revenue generation. A subsequent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India found that the assumptions by the civil aviation ministry were totally unreal and observed that "it was a recipe for disaster".

Another disaster was soon to follow. In 2007, soon after the large-scale acquisition of aircraft, the UPA government pushed through a move to merge the two airlines for the purposes of "synergy". The CAG, in its report, pointed out that it would have been better to have worked out the merger before making the acquisitions. Nor was the financial case for the merger validated. Worse, there were huge delays in the actual integration, particularly of human resources, with differential designations, seniority and salary needing to be harmonised. The single passenger code reservation system, a critical element of the process, was done only in 2011, four years after the merger. The result: the combined airline entity plunged into a debt of Rs 20,000 crore within just five years.

In 2011, the UPA-II government decided on a turnaround plan to stop the bleeding. It chose to infuse equity of Rs 48,212 crore for a period of 20 years starting 2011-12 and ending in 2031-32. Based on the infusion, AI was expected to show positive earnings from the financial year and a cash surplus from 2017 onwards. Instead, AI's debt only mounted with its inability to service the annual interest payments, ballooning to Rs 52,000 crore this year. Meanwhile, it had also exhausted Rs 25,000 crore or half the amount committed under the turnaround plan. That's when the alarm bells started clanging for the Modi government.

Ironically, even as AI plunged deeper into the abyss, Indian civil aviation was booming. As Kapil Kaul, CEO, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), South Asia, points out, "India's domestic civil aviation market grew by 21 per cent last year to reach 104 million passengers, overtaking Japan to become the third-largest domestic market in the world, behind China and US." Indigo, the savvy low-cost carrier, which is now by far the number one domestic airline by some distance with 40 per cent market share, has more than doubled both its passenger traffic and aircraft in the past five years even as AI stagnated and fell deeper into debt. SpiceJet, which was rescued from the brink by Ajay Singh, its original founder, has now turned the corner. Jet Airways, though overtaken by Indigo, continues to cruise along after its tie-up with Etihad. The new airlines, like Tata's Vistara and Air Asia, are also beginning to find their feet.

So why does AI find itself in such a sorry state? Ajay Singh of SpiceJet is brutally frank. "AI cannot be made viable under the present dispensation," he says. "It should have been sold a long time ago and privatised. It is among the biggest public sector lossmakers in our history as government, politicians and bureaucrats used this airline as their own private little organisation. The whole thing was so corrupt, with previous civil aviation ministers known to be bargaining away the prime routes to foreign airlines." Whether by coincidence or not, the CBI has filed a case against Praful Patel and officials for many of the alleged wrongs during his tenure as civil aviation minister, including conceding lucrative Gulf routes to Emirates.

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at the UK-based Strategic Aero Research, doesn't mince words either. "Short of scrapping the airline and starting over, there isn't a fat lot anyone can do," he says. "AI is nothing more than a crony filling state jobs programme - it has gotten so bloated, successive inept governments do not know what to do to turn it around other than throw good money after bad. It has never really woken up out of its post-merger coma to face market realities. While it remains in this lethargic state, covered in political red tape and corruption, management apathy will ensure that AI is going nowhere fast."

The real issue is one of smart leadership and swift decision-making given that profit margins in the aviation sector are a low 5 to 7 per cent at best. Key input costs such as fuel, staff expenses, lease rentals of aircraft, maintenance and ticketing make up close to 70 per cent of expenses. Fuel alone can account for as much as 34 per cent. AI's chief Lohani is fond of calling aviation the mother of all businesses because it is high on safety, tough on regulation, low on margin and stiff in competition. What he doesn't say or want to say is that a public sector unit with its cumbersome tendering process and the fear of the four Cs-the Courts, CAG, CBI and CVC - is a misfit in a sector that requires bold and dynamic decision-making.

A top private airline employee points out, "Why AI is in such a sorry state is because of decades of interference in management by the government. You cannot have a customer-facing enterprise that is run by a generalist. You had so many civil servants who came and rung the bell and went. What you need are thoroughbred professionals who understand all the levels of business and put it all together. The other issue is that in this industry, more than others, if the cost structure is set incorrectly, it is very hard to change quickly. You need a sustainable cost structure - if you have it, then over time you will do well. If you don't, you will end up like AI."

Modi, unlike his predecessors who either pampered or dithered over what to do with AI, is clear that the government share in the airline needs to reduce. As a senior official says, "The intent is not to have a commanding share in Air India. But before we do any serious thinking about privatisation or disinvestment, we have to ensure AI gets the best net worth in the given circumstances. The most difficult part is what will you do and how." There are several options available to the government for Air India. It would clearly have to considerably reduce the debt burden, particularly the working capital loan of Rs 30,000 crore. One suggestion was that the banks AI owes money to take a really short haircut or buy equity stakes in the airline. But an official says that banks are reluctant to expose themselves even more, with one banker telling him they have no interest in sitting on the board of the airline and running it. The other option was that instead of staggering the remaining amount of equity infusion of Rs 25,000 crore as part of the turnaround plan, the government does it upfront by issuing bonds which AI could use to service its debts.

However, when the civil aviation ministry sought the advice of NITI Aayog, the government's premier think-tank was clear: AI should be privatised. Reason: the total debt is too high, it is not possible to service it and only a strategic disinvestment will work. As a senior NITI Aayog official told india today, "The government doesn't want equity- the more we keep, the more the value of AI will be eroded. We need to make the disinvestment neat, clean and simple without too many conditionalities." MoCA now has the green light to explore strategic disinvestment - which essentially means that it is willing to give the buyer a majority holding-a share of 51 per cent or more.

For the government, the sale of AI will be a totem pole kind of decision. Given the airline's high profile, the privatisation of Air India will reaffirm Modi's position in the world as an economic reformer willing to take bold decisions despite the political risks. Jayant Sinha understands the magnitude of the decision to be taken, stating, "Air India's destiny will shape the destiny of India's aviation sector and, given its consumer importance, size and geopolitical relevance, to be on a par with aviation sectors in comparable countries such as China and the US. The aviation sector is vitally important to all major economies because not only does it drive revenues, jobs and taxes but it is also strategic as it shapes the nature of the aerospace industry, including commercial and defence interests."

Jitender Bhargava, a former AI director who has chronicled the descent of Air India in a hard-hitting book, while favouring privatisation, rejects the notion that AI has to go out with a begging bowl. Bhargava points out that AI has assets, including properties like the iconic Nariman Point building, that it could hive off into an SPV and sell to reduce AI's debt. It also has five subsidiary companies worth several thousands of crores that it can package separately to retire much of its debt (see graphic: Assets & Liabilities). Apart from that, it has hangars, landing rights and code shares that are valuable. Ajay Singh concurs and says, "If you can sell it lock, stock and barrel, nothing like it. But I have a feeling it will be very difficult. Because anyone who does that will also be saddled with all the wretched problems that come with it - the union and unproductive staff. So it is better to go piecemeal with it."

Jitender Bhargava, a former AI director who has chronicled the descent of Air India in a hard-hitting book, while favouring privatisation, rejects the notion that AI has to go out with a begging bowl. Bhargava points out that AI has assets, including properties like the iconic Nariman Point building, that it could hive off into an SPV and sell to reduce AI's debt. It also has five subsidiary companies worth several thousands of crores that it can package separately to retire much of its debt (see graphic: Assets & Liabilities). Apart from that, it has hangars, landing rights and code shares that are valuable. Ajay Singh concurs and says, "If you can sell it lock, stock and barrel, nothing like it. But I have a feeling it will be very difficult. Because anyone who does that will also be saddled with all the wretched problems that come with it - the union and unproductive staff. So it is better to go piecemeal with it."

--- ENDS ---
WSU Helps Community Celebrate Juneteenth Freedom Festival

June 9, 2017

OGDEN, Utah  Weber State University will help sponsor the 28th annual Juneteenth Freedom and Heritage Festival at three locations in Ogden, Layton and West Valley City, June 16-18 and June 21. This years festival added two extra days and extended its reach into the south end of Salt Lake Valley.

The additional events were added following the 2016 Utah Legislatures recognition of Juneteenth Freedom Day as an annual commemoration on the third Saturday in June, making Utah the 45th state to pass legislation for a Juneteenth holiday or holiday observance. Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.

With the official state holiday approved last year, we thought it was important to branch out and do something in Salt Lake, said Betty Sawyer, Juneteenth organizer and WSUs community engagement coordinator. As a committee our desires are that there be celebrations going on throughout the state, not just Juneteenth weekend, but the entire month of June, and thats something we will work toward.

This years theme, The Power of Now. Our Future Begins Today, will be woven through the activities and presentations.

June 16 Town Hall Discussion

The celebration begins with a town hall discussion The State of Black Utah, June 16, 6:30 p.m. at Weber State University Davis Building 3 Auditorium (2750 N. University Park Blvd., Layton).

Participants will share ideas for improving quality of life, community relations and economic development in Utahs African American community. The town hall meetings generally attract 50-75 participants.

The evening also will include performances by nationally renowned storyteller Baba Jamal Koram and drummer Baba Kenyattaa. Both are members of the National Association of Black Storytellers. They will continue their performances and workshops throughout the weekend.

June 17 & 18 Festival

New this year, Juneteenth will host activities June 17 from noon to 9 p.m. at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center (1355 W. 3100 S., West Valley City).

Even though the African American population is small in Utah, it is a good chance for us to come together and celebrate our diversity, Sawyer said. With all of the small communities inside and outside of the state, our celebration feels a lot like a huge family reunion.

Saturday activities include storytelling and drumming workshops, a family history and genealogy session, a youth art and activity pavilion, a health and wellness pavilion, food and resource booths, and college and career information. Live entertainers include, Changing Lanes Band, 365 Poetry, gospel recording artists Joshua Rogers and Zenobia Smith, the Burundi Drummers, Shard Marley, the Mr. and Miss Juneteenth winners, high school graduate recognition, and hip-hop artist Yung Joc from the Love & Hip Hop Atlanta TV series, and a host of local artists.

On June 18, the festival moves to the Ogden Amphitheater (343 E. 25th Street) from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday events will emphasize jazz and gospel music, art and food with Joshua Rogers, the George Brown Jazz Quintet with Glory Johnson Stanton, Zenobia Smith, Remnant, Juneteenth Mass choir, Debra Bonner and Unity Gospel choir, and a Fathers Day tribute.

June 21 Movie Screening and Discussion

Another addition to Utahs Juneteenth lineup is a screening of the film I Am Not Your Negro, June 21, 6 p.m. at Peerys Egyptian Theater (2415 Washington Blvd., Ogden).

Weve partnered with the Utah Film Center to bring this important film to Ogden, Sawyer said.

Directed by Raoul Peck, the 2016 documentary is based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript, Remember This House.

Weber State University education professor Forrest Crawford and communication assistant professor Nicola Corbin will lead a discussion about the film, along with Rev. William Beard, and Dr. Brenda Burrell.

All Juneteenth events are free to the public and are family friendly, except the newly added Juneteenth Friend-Raiser After Party, featuring Yung Joc. Tickets are on sale at SmithTix.

Project Success Coalition sponsors Juneteenth Festival, in partnership with Weber State University, Weber County R.A.M.P., Salt Lake County Mayors Office, NUSOUL Nubian Storytellers, and the Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.

For additional photos from the 2015 celebration, visit the following links:

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photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2016-photos/June-2016/i-DKcvTVp/0/b6a90b9b/X2/wobble%20dance-X2.jpg

photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2016-photos/June-2016/i-DKcvTVp/0/b6a90b9b/X2/wobble%20dance-X2.jpg

photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2016-photos/June-2016/i-rjxV7v2/0/25a04ede/M/jth%20youth%20steppers-M.jpg

photos.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2016-photos/June-2016/i-CXD3W5X/0/fb423734/L/dominoes-L.jpg
"We want Air India to be a global airlines and are moving as quickly as we can" ,said Jayant Sinha, MoS Civil Aviation.

By Devina Gupta: In its boldest move yet the Narendra Modi government has decided to privatise the 52,000 cr debt laden national carrier the Air India. A decision that will raise the hackles of trade unions and Left parties who have managed to block disinvestment in the airline sector for over 25 years.

But now the government has swung into action with its think tank Niti Aayog mapping the blueprint for the sale of Maharajah. It took Niti Aayog just 15 days to draft the Air India privatisation report.

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"We did recommendation on Air India in just 15 days time, it was very clear from its analysis and statistics of its financial performance, it was very clear that it will do better if you structure it with a private partner," revealed Amitabh Kant, Niti Aayog CEO to India Today.

Niti Aayog has made a strong argument to put national carrier on the sale bloc and divert the funds used to subsidise it for education and health sector needs in its fourth report to the PMO.

"Our belief is that government is very good at somethings and pathetic at other things. It should get out of areas where its very bad and it should take out resources which are not in productive area should be taken out. There is no rationale of government to put money into an airline which is just taking 14 per cent of market share. Private sector has done pretty well and our analysis showed that resources required are huge and they need to be put in education and health," asks Amitabh Kant, Niti Aayog CEO.

As a first step, the finance minister has shared a report from Niti Aayog on Air India with the aviation ministry. Speaking to India Today Jayant Sinha, Junior Minister of Civil Aviation for the first time has confirmed that the assessment of Air India's assets is already underway.

"There are no 'two opinions' in the government about the privatisation of Air India. Cabinet will decide on the process but we have already come towards the end of the assessment of the assets owned by the airline," said Jayant Sinha, MoS Civil Aviation.

BURDEN OF DEBT

But for an airline with bureaucratic baggage, it will be a difficult task. First challenge will be to deal with massive debt of 52,000 crore. While top level sources have told India Today that the government is willing to write-off the debt for the potential buyer, the question is if that option is lucrative enough to lure in enough bids for the sell-off. For the moment though, the government is not ruling out opening doors to even foreign airlines to compete in the bidding process.

"We want Air India to be a global airlines and are moving as quickly as we can," said Jayant Sinha, MoS Civil Aviation.

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But is the timing of announcement on the third anniversary of the Modi Government appropriate? While it has clocked loss of 3643 crore in last fiscal, there has been trimming of corners with staff reduction and optimisation of resources already. In March itself AI board had approved a proposal to induct 7 Boeing 787-9 aircraft to improve international connectivity to Canada, US and Australia. Currently the national carrier has 103 planes out of which 42 are Boeing and 61 are Airbus carrier.

"We won't put expansion of Air India on hold, all steps make commercial sense. If anyone wants to buy the airline, it would to take these steps," said Jayant Sinha, MoS Civil Aviation.

Air India's national grid is backbone of the government's UDAN scheme for regional connectivity.

But will the Maharajah be able to keep air fare under control or will privatisation have its own set of compulsions?

"We will keep fare under control, all airlines are in competitive fare market," assured Jayant Sinha, MoS Civil Aviation.

BIG CHALLENGE AHEAD

The process of Air India assets sale is another big challenge. Air India has 4 subsidiaries of Air India Express Limited (AIEL), Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), Air India Transport Services Limited (AISTL) and Alliance Air. Each subsidiary has different valuation with experts estimating Air India Express Limited valuation at 8,000 crore, AIESL at 3,000 crore and AITSL valued at roughly 2,000 crore. It also has a joint venture with AISATS which provides ground handling for domestic airports, with rough estimated worth at 1000 crore.

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"Its a very value rich company there will be many buyers if there aren't the government needs to structure it in the right manner", said Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog

Interestingly during Vajpayee tenure there was a push to sell stake of Air India by then divestment minister Arun Shourie but the bidding war was stuck in political and corporate quagmire. But will Modi government learn from the past to give Air India private wings this time?

"Our government is transparent and it will happen in this case as well, our government is for the people and we are ready to make any changes to make Air India more competitive", said Jayant Sinha, MoS Civil Aviation

Top level sources have told India Today that the privatisation process will be completed in the next 12 months.

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ALSO READ:

CBI to probe Air India-Indian Airlines merger, aviation deals signed under UPA tenure

Air India-Indian Airlines merger, purchase of 111 aircraft collective decision of UPA government: Praful Patel

WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: Muzaffarnagar, Jun 9 (PTI) Hundreds of Bhim Army activists protested in Charthawal town of the district demanding the release of the Dalit outfits chief Chandrasekhar.

The protesters, who came from several villages in the district, alleged yesterday that Chandrasekhar had been falsely implicated in connection with the caste-based violence at Saharanpur.

The Bhim Army chief was arrested yesterday from Himachal Pradesh.

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Staging a dharna outside a police station in the town, the activists also submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath demanding the leaders release, SHO Sanjiv Sharma said. PTI CORR BSA

--- ENDS ---
According to the plan, 3,000 vistaraks will be assigned a specific area comprising four polling booths. They will reach out to each household along with a team of local volunteers.

About 3,000 leaders will take to the streets as part of BJP's mass outreach programme starting from June 23.

By Rakesh Ranjan: Starting June 23, a BJP taskforce of nearly 3,000 leaders will take to the streets as part of BJP's mass outreach programme on the lines of its ideological mentor RSS. Similar to RSS' pracharaks, the BJP's vistaraks will go to over 13,000 polling booths in the national Capital. The vistaraks will be tasked with strengthening BJP's ground in Delhi adding over 1.5 lakh new members to the party.

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The program will continue for a fortnight, said Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari.

Central BJP leaders, including party president Amit Shah, are already carrying out the exercise in different states.

In this connection, BJP national general secretary Arun Singh has also begun his two-day camp in the national capital wherein he will be interacting with Delhi BJP office bearers as well as the grass root workers. Based on the feedback collected from each booth, a comprehensive report will be submitted to the party high command.

WHAT WILL THE VISTARAKS DO

BJP national vice president and Delhi unit in-charge Shyam Jaju told Mail Today that each vistarak will be responsible for four polling booths in the city. "The vistaraks will interact with voters and create awareness about government policies and party's vision. They will also assess the functioning and popularity of the government on the lowest level," Jaju said adding this was the first of its kind exercise initiated by any political party.

According to the plan, 3,000 vistaraks will be assigned a specific area comprising four polling booths. They will reach out to each household along with a team of local volunteers.

"BJP vistaraks will be the representatives of PM Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah. Each of them will be responsible for enrolling at least 50 new members for the party. Our vistaraks will explain the party ideology, life of Deen Dayal Upadhyay and work done in three years of Narendra Modi government at the center," Tiwari said.

TRAINING OF THE VISTARAKS

All the vistarak's will be trained before start of the programme and will be given a kit containing literature on party and its ideologue Upadhyay, achievements of Modi government and people oriented scheme.

"At the end of programme, these vistarak will submit their reports about party activities at ground and also list of 50 new members with their address and mobile numbers. This is being done to avoid duplicity," Tiwari added.

For successful roll out of the program, a meeting with all state office bearers was held at Delhi BJP headquarters on Thursday. BJP national general secretary Arun Singh held the meeting as he also interacted separately with a number of office bearers.

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"This is an ideal opportunity for every office bearer to voice their opinion on party affairs. All leaders who usually cannot meet the top brass get an opportunity to put forward their views," Jaju said.

Also Read:

BJP, RSS want 'one nation, one fuhrer,' says Rahul Gandhi at Chennai party meet

Rahul Gandhi reading Upanishads, Gita to take on RSS, BJP

Also Watch:

RSS leader in dock after saying eating mutton akin to consuming poison

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: Washington, Jun 9 (PTI) A blood test may help diagnose brain cancer up to five years before symptoms arise, an advance that could lead to more effective treatments for the disease, a new study has found.

Interactions among proteins that relay information from one immune cell to another are weakened in the blood of brain cancer patients within five years before the cancer is diagnosed, said lead researcher Judith Schwartzbaum from Ohio State University in the US.

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That information could one day lead to earlier diagnosis of brain cancer, said Schwartzbaum, an associate professor at Ohio States Comprehensive Cancer Centre.

The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, focused on gliomas, which make up about 80 per cent of brain cancer diagnoses. Average survival time for the most common type of glioma is 14 months.

Symptoms vary and include headaches, memory loss, personality changes, blurred vision and difficulty speaking. On average, the cancer is diagnosed three months after the onset of symptoms and when tumours are typically advanced.

"It is important to identify the early stages of tumour development if we hope to intervene more effectively," Schwartzbaum said.

"If you understand those early steps, maybe you can design treatments to block further tumour growth," she said.

While widespread blood testing of people without symptoms of this rare tumour would be impractical, this research could pave the way for techniques to identify brain cancer earlier and allow for more-effective treatment, Schwartzbaum said.

Schwartzbaum evaluated blood samples from 974 people, half of whom went on to receive a brain-cancer diagnosis in the years after their blood was drawn.

Schwartzbaum was interested in the role of cytokines, proteins that communicate with one another and with immune cells to spark immune responses.

She evaluated 277 cytokines in the blood samples and found less cytokine interaction in the blood of people who developed cancer.

"There was a clear weakening of those interactions in the group who developed brain cancer and it is possible this plays a role in tumour growth and development," Schwartzbaum said.

Cytokine activity in cancer is especially important to understand because it can play a good-guy role in terms of fighting tumour development, but it also can play a villain and support a tumour by suppressing the immune system, she said. PTI SAR SAR

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi Jun 9 (PTI) Delhi Polices Special Cell has arrested an aide of gangster Chhota Shakeel, who was planning to target a high-profile person here.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P S Kushwah said Junaid Chowdhry was arrested yesterday but refused to divulge details of the alleged target. Chowdhry was nabbed from Wazirabad road in north-east Delhi.

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He was arrested in June last year along with three others with arms and hawala money sent by Shakeel, but was released on bail within four months. They had been planning to kill Hindu Sabha chief Swami Chakrapani at that time.

He contacted Shakeel again but after his bail was cancelled he was sent to Tihar. Later, he was again released on bail and once more got in touch with Shakeel.

Chowdhry then started carrying out the gangsters Delhi- based activities. He is currently being interrogated. PTI SLB VIT BSA

--- ENDS ---
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 09/06/2017 (1980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dire despair is so prevalent in the tone of the indie thriller It Comes at Night, you might find yourself anticipating a Telefilm Canada mention in the end credits.

Surprise! This is an American film by up-and-coming auteur Trey Edward Shults, whose previous feature was the zero-budget family drama Krisha.

This films marketing promises a flat-out horror film, especially given its post-apocalyptic setting of a house in the woods.

In that big, rambling dwelling lives a family under siege. We find Paul (Joel Edgerton), his wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) and their son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) obliged to give a proper burial to Sarahs dad, a victim of an unspecified but cataclysmic epidemic that has apparently killed off most of the human population on Earth.

Dad needs a bullet to the brain to help shuffle off his mortal coil.

From there, the family returns to a state of normalcy which, in the case of 17-year-old Travis, means vacillating between disturbing dreams and coping with everyday horror.

Into this scenario comes a stranger, who attempts to break down the red door that keeps the family from the contaminated world outside. The would-be interloper Will (Christopher Abbott) explains he is on a foraging mission, looking for food and water to take home to his wife Kim (Riley Keough) and their young son.

MONGREL MEDIA Joel Edgerton (left) and Christopher Abbott.

After rushed discussion, Paul and Sarah agree to welcome the other family into their home, reasoning they will have strength in numbers. The addition is a particular delight for Travis, a kid in desperate need of non-parental company. But suspicion rears its head as the hyper-alert Paul suspects Will of keeping sinister secrets.

The title  It Comes at Night  suggests youre in for some good old indie horror along the lines of the critically acclaimed 2014 film It Follows.

The movie is not that. There is no supernatural entity, and notwithstanding several unsettling dream sequences, the realm on display here is based in the real world. (You may even detect a certain nationalist-vs.-globalist dynamic between the two father characters.)

The solid cast acts accordingly, with young Harrison distinguishing himself as a young man whose awkwardness is alternately endearing and alarming.

Audiences would be best equipped to go into the film anticipating relentless downbeat drama. The film is steeped in existential horror, not boo scares.

But thats not to diminish the filmmakers achievement, which is to slowly, methodically chip at the wall between nightmare and reality until the spaces are indistinguishable.

randall.king@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @FreepKing

If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more.

Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/06/2017 (1981 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba defence lawyers have come out swinging  possibly against one of their own  for questioning the integrity and ethics of the provinces top judges over a controversial plan to eliminate preliminary hearings.

Jody Ostapiw, president of the provincial Criminal Defence Lawyers Association, said its no secret her organization has concerns about proposed amendments to the Criminal Code. Theyve spoken out against the four-year pilot project that was pitched earlier this year by Court of Appeal Chief Justice Richard Chartier, Court of Queens Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal and provincial court Chief Judge Margaret Wiebe.

But Ostapiw said they were shocked that someone identifying themselves as a practising lawyer filed a formal complaint with the Canadian Judicial Council, accusing Chartier, Joyal and Wiebe of improper conduct and backroom political lobbying with provincial Justice Minister Heather Stefanson. As the Free Press reported exclusively Thursday, that triggered a lengthy investigation by the CJC, which resulted in a finding of no wrongdoing.

JUSTIN SAMANSKI-LANGILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jody Ostapiw, president of the Manitoba Criminal Defence Lawyers Association: I struggle to understand the criticism of the lack of transparency, and then remaining anonymous.'

I find that hypocritical and cowardly, frankly, Ostapiw said Thursday. I struggle to understand the criticism of the lack of transparency, and then remaining anonymous. To attack somebodys ethics and do it in that way If you felt that strongly about your position, why would you not openly discuss it?

The anonymous complainant used a generic email address and told the CJC they feared judicial reprisal if their identity got out. Ostapiw said many will assume a defence lawyer was behind it, given that theyve been the most vocal about not being consulted over the preliminary hearing idea and have the most to lose.

The complaint

I dont agree with what (the top judges) did, I dont like what they did, but I dont think its unethical what they did. Theres a big difference, she said. This was not an ethical issue. It was a disagreement certainly on the way things went down. I dont think it deserved to be raised to that level of an ethics complaint. (The person who filed the complaint) doesnt speak for me and they dont speak for this organization.

After receiving the complaint, the CJC assigned the matter to Nova Scotia Chief Justice Michael MacDonald for review. MacDonald ruled this week the top judges did not fail to uphold the principle of judicial independence by entering into private talks with Stefanson and requesting an audience with federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, who is considering their proposal.

In disposing of the complaint, Chief Justice MacDonald notes that ongoing dialogue between the judiciary and the executive is necessary to improve the administration of justice, CJC executive director Norman Sabourin said in a statement. While the idea of eliminating preliminary inquiries is not universally supported, it is worthy of debate by all participants in the justice system. Chief Justices Chartier and Joyal can be commended for their efforts at encouraging such a debate.

Chartier and Joyal spoke with the Free Press Wednesday, saying they were taken aback by the complaint and see it as an attempt to put a chill on their ability to lead. Both vowed to continue pushing for judicial reform in the wake of last years Supreme Court decision setting new time limits for criminal matters to make their way through the justice system. Provincial court matters must be completed within 18 months after charges are laid. Superior court cases  in Manitoba, the Court of Queens Bench  have a 30-month limit.

Cases that take longer are presumed to have violated the accuseds right to a trial in a reasonable amount of time unless the Crown can prove exceptional circumstances. Several legal challenges have followed, including multiple criminal cases being thrown out of court as a result of judicial delay.

Our government respects the process undertaken by the Canadian Judicial Council and (its) ruling. We believe strongly in collaboration with all stakeholders in order to improve the timeliness of the court process, that includes the judiciary. The judiciary (has) a unique perspective on the administration of justice that has always been appropriately included in policy or legislative work undertaken by government, a provincial spokesman said Thursday in response to a request for comment from Stefanson.

Ostapiws organization was critical of the plan when it was made public in February. The Canadian Bar Association sent a letter to Wilson-Raybould, urging her to reject the idea. They proposed suggestions to reduce delays, including appointing more judges, providing more legal aid, eliminating mandatory sentencing and using alternatives to court to deal with minor charges. They cite value in preliminary hearings, including reducing the potential of wrongful convictions.

Ostapiw said Thursday that much has been learned over the past four months, which has led to a softening of the associations position.

Weve had great dialogue (with the judges) since this happened. What we were striving for was an open dialogue, and weve gotten that from the bench, said Ostapiw. They also learned that Crown attorneys werent consulted, contrary to their initial concerns.

It wasnt about us, which is kind of how it initially felt  like we were left out. There were a lot of things that we learned after the fact, she said. It wasnt the shady thing that people thought it was in the beginning. I feel theyve really bent over backwards to meet with us, and to make it clear our voice matters.

Chartier and Joyal said there were no initial consultations with stakeholders because they knew they wouldnt get immediate consensus. Instead, they chose to make the appeal to Ottawa  after first approaching Stefanson  with the idea of eventually doubling back to work together with all parties should they get approval.

Out of this, rising out of the ashes, has been an enhanced relationship between us and the court. I like to focus on the positive thats come out of it, said Ostapiw. I think that were making strides and certainly dont want to see those go away because people think we had something to do with the CJC.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 09/06/2017 (1980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Sunday evening, more than a dozen new businesses created over the course of the previous 55 hours will make their final pitch to judges in the 10th iteration of Ramp Up Weekend and it will be open to the public for the first time.

North Forge Technology Exchange, the business incubator thats become the engine behind the Winnipeg startup scene, organizes the Ramp Up Weekend events. The way it works is attendees  developers, designers, makers and entrepreneurs  form into ad hoc teams to build a minimum viable product over the course of the weekend.

For the $100 participation fee (which includes all the pizza you can eat), its the perfect place for a budding entrepreneur to try out an idea or see what intense business collaboration feels like.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Chris Johnson is CEO of Permission Click, a Ramp Up Weekend success.

In the larger context, its a proving ground for the newest wave of entrepreneurs and maybe even an important way to turn up the temperature of the citys business climate.

About 3,000 of these startup blitzes have been held across North America in the past few years. The phenomenon is part of startup culture. In Winnipeg, the event isnt about getting ahead of the curve  its about keeping up.

Chris Johnson, head of the North Forge organizing steering committee, said they are capping participants at 75, which will make it the largest yet.

Its hard to believe we have done it 10 times, he said.

Johnsons own company, Permission Click, started as a Ramp Up Weekend idea. Last year, Permission Click raised close to $2 million from investors, now has a staff of about 20 people and is a business with promising growth potential.

But, Johnson said, as exciting as it is for actual businesses to emerge from Ramp Up Weekend  the top teams win office space and access to a broad suite of technical and professional support to get their business going  its also an amazing opportunity to develop skills and get experience.

Yes, we are helping the teams that are going to make it by giving them a pathway to get established, Johnson said. But the real focus is on the rest  to get them more visibility as entrepreneurs and innovators.

One of the reasons to open up the Sunday evening judging to the public was not to toot our own horn, but to get meaningful people exposed to some of the best talent in the city, he said.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Bryce North (right) and Dustin Refvik won the Ramp Up Weekend competition in 2015.

So the next time they go to meet an investor (who might happen to be there) for a pitch with that company or another company, they already have an impression, he said. Even that little bit of brand impression is critical.

Dean Schinkel, the managing partner of Winnipegs Deloitte office, is a sponsor and big fan of the event. These are likely not the most lucrative of prospective clients for Deloitte, but Schinkel said Deloitte staffers who attend and act as mentors do it because they, too, have a passion to support budding entrepreneurs.

Its really great for the city, he said. If you look at the startup community today compared to a number of years ago, its dramatically different. There are a number of great things happening. And from an economic development perspective, the city needs it. Thats why we support it. We see the effort and the tangible benefits that come out of it.

Bryce North may be the poster child for Ramp Up Weekend. His TrapTap idea won the event in 2015. Its a device that alerts drivers to red light cameras, school zones and speed traps.

His company now employs six people and did about $600,000 in business in its first year. A couple of weeks ago, he pitched the business on CBCs Dragons Den (in an episode that will air in October) looking to close his latest round of financing.

He loves the Ramp Up Weekend.

Theres something about being in the ecosystem with other entrepreneurs that just motivates you, he said.

The whole purpose of the weekend is to see how much validation and traction you can get in three days. What happens in the weekend usually takes the average person a couple of months to do.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Chris Karasewich didnt win with his Ramp Up pitch a couple of years ago, but he still started his livestock-management business  FarmTrack  and is raising funds with a solid business case already established.

His winnings in 2015 helped provide the resources to make the business a reality.

Chris Karasewich didnt win with his Ramp Up pitch a couple of years ago, but he still started his livestock-management business  FarmTrack  and is raising funds with a solid business case already established. Hes in the process of installing a pilot project at Hamiota Feedlot, the largest cattle feedlot in the province.

Ramp Up actually forced me to think of a scalable tech idea, he said. It forced me to think if I could start a business that can help solve a problem.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
China said it was gravely concerned after ISIS linked Amaq news agency said two Chinese nationals, kidnapped in Balochistan, have been killed.

ISIS linked Amaq news agency says two Chinese nationals kidnapped in Balochistan have been killed. (Photo: Reuters)

By Ananth Krishnan: China today said it was "gravely concerned" over reports that two Chinese nationals kidnapped in Pakistan had been killed.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern. We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a statement.

"The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities," she said. "The Chinese side is firmly opposed to the acts of kidnapping civilians in any form, as well as terrorism and extreme violence in any form."

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Hua's statement followed reports from the Amaq news agency, linked to the ISIS terrorist group, claimed that ISIS had carried out the kidnapping and killed the two Chinese nationals. A young couple teaching Chinese in a town in Balochistan were kidnapped last month, while a third Chinese national escaped. A passerby was shot when trying to prevent the kidnapping.

The Pakistan Army said this week it had carried out operations against the ISIS and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and killed 12 terrorists.

China has expressed concern about the kidnapping, and called on Pakistan to take "more effective" steps to protect its citizens and assets in the country.

The development comes as Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif meets China's President Xi Jinping at the SCO Summit in Astana.

India and Pakistan are on June 9 joining the Eurasian security grouping, which has combatting terror on its agenda.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on May 25 that it "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 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.

ALSO READ | Kabul blast: China defends ally Pakistan as SCO considers terror treaty

ALSO WATCH | China's media says SOC won't back Pakistan's attempts to internationalise Kashmir

--- ENDS ---
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 09/06/2017 (1980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There is growing demand in Winnipeg for a powerful opioid that has a street nickname of Drop Dead.

Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth updated the police board Friday morning about the impact of the opioid crisis and the current popular drug of choice  carfentanil.

Its designed to be a painkiller for big-game animals like elephants and rhinoceros, Smyth told the board. Its a little alarming for us that there seems to be a market for it in Winnipeg.

Blotter carfentanil seized by police in September. (Supplied)

Carfentanil is considered 100 times more powerful than fentanyl and 10,000 times more powerful than morphine, Smyth said.

A community nurse with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority noticed the increasing use of carfentanil among some of the citys drug users.

There seems to be a market for carfentanil in our city which is different than what were seeing in other cities, Smyth said, adding he cant explain its popularity.

Certainly, its a small community that partakes in that type of drug, Smyth told reporters following the meeting. For whatever reason, there seems to be a market for something that were trying to counter with public awareness and education.

In B.C. in 2016, there were almost 1,000 drug overdose deaths linked to opioids such as fentanyl and their derivatives, Smyth told the board.

In Manitoba, there were a total of 177 overdose deaths in 2016, with a little more than half of those  94  involving opioids, he said.

Unlike other opioids, which are sold in pill form, carfentanil is sold on blotters. The drug is created in liquid form in labs in China and Asia, then dabbed on paper, marketed via the Internet and delivered through the mail, Smyth said

The name Drop Dead  given to carfentanil by local drug dealers and users  has not slowed its growing popularity, Smyth said, adding there might be a misguided belief of its purity because its sold in blotter form similar to how LSD is sold.

Its certainly a macabre way to describe it, Smyth said.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/06/2017 (1981 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The world would be a different place for people who have disabilities if Toronto lawyer David Lepofsky has his way.

Lepofsky said the biggest changes would happen if governments could be convinced to create better laws to guide accessibility.

What were trying to do is fix society, Lepofsky said on Thursday.

The world has been designed as if the only people living in it successfully are people without disabilities. The buildings around us, public transit, stores, education systems, are all designed like people said, Lets design things so people with disabilities cant use them.

Our challenge is to get people to stop doing this. To design a world where public transit and living and education are fully inclusive.

Lepofsky, who has impaired vision, said governments across the country need to write laws on accessibility standards, allow plenty of time for businesses to meet them, and include fines only for those that refuse to make changes.

He said not only does it make sense for private businesses to create more accessibility for people living with disabilities, it also makes business sense.

There are four million-plus Canadians with disabilities, Lepofsky said.

I say thats way bigger than (the population in) a lot of provinces in Canada right now. Around the world, there are a billion. In Ontario, one out of every six students has special education needs.

Those numbers are huge, but not the whole picture because everybody gets a disability someday. Do businesses really think they dont need them as customers? Thats not a formula for business success.

Lepofsky is in Winnipeg this week to speak during Manitoba Access Awareness Week. He spoke on Wednesday at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights about accessibility rights legislation and he is speaking at West Kildonan Collegiate today about accessibility in education.

Lepofsky has advocated for the rights of people living with disabilities since the late 1970s.

He won two landmark human rights cases which resulted in the Toronto Transit Commission having to implement the announcement of all subway, streetcar and bus stops to help people with impaired vision.

Lepofsky has been chairman of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance since 2009 and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1995 and the Order of Ontario in 2007.

He said it was a good step for Barrier-Free Manitoba to provide comments earlier this year on the provinces proposed accessible employment standard.

Barrier-Free Manitoba has made 19 recommendations to strengthen the standard as the province moves towards its goal of making the labour market fully accessible by 2023.

These include having the accessible employment standard come in force by 2019 for the provincial government, the year after for designated public-sector organizations and the third year for all other obligated organizations, and that all companies which employ 20 or more people have in place in writing its policies related to accessible employment.

Lepofsky said businesses shouldnt fear changes that need to be made to help people living with disabilities.

Do it right, and businesses make more money and government makes more taxes, he said.

We dont want to regulate the hell out of everyone. We just want to make it better.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/06/2017 (1981 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some bunny needs a new home.

So Cindy and Jeff Hildebrand hopped to it.

The couple has officially opened the Popcorns and Binkies Rescue Haven, a non-profit rescue for domestic rabbits and guinea pigs.

JUSTIN SAMANSKI-LANGILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jeff and Cindy Hildebrand will open Popcorns and Binkies Rescue Haven for rabbits and guinea pigs today.

Were a foster-based rescue, not a shelter, Cindy said, referring to the foster-home practice of having carefully screened individuals or families care for animals in their own homes while they wait to be adopted into their fur-ever home.

Cindy, 34, said she and Jeff, 48, discovered the need for such a rescue while they were volunteers with Jenns Furry Friends Rescue. They were surprised by the number of surrendered, abandoned or rescued rabbits and guinea pigs coming into the facility.

We were getting about two or three a week, sometimes more at certain times of the year, she said.

The Winnipeg Humane Society was the only other organization taking in surrendered, abandoned or rescued rabbits and guinea pigs  until now.

Theres just such a great need for a rescue like this and for education and understanding of the responsibilities in taking care of these little guys. Its a lot more work than you think, Cindy said, noting her rescue already has a bonded pair of rabbits, Walter and Olivia, in permanent care with them and two others, Strawberry and Maple, already in a foster home waiting to be adopted.

She said Popcorns and Binkies is partnering with Jenns, and hopefully the humane society, to rescue rabbits and guinea pigs.

The humane societys Aileen White said there were 867 other animals brought into the humane society in 2016, which includes rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, rats, hamsters and chinchillas. While the society doesnt record critters outside of dogs and cats, White said rabbits are prevalent in the other category.

Popcorns and Binkies is also already fostering guinea pigs Coffee Bean and Albi. The couple also has a menagerie of owned pets that includes rabbits Honeysuckle and Howie, guinea pigs Wilson and Kale, a cocker spaniel dog named Serena, a blind Chihuahua named Aaron and four cats.

JUSTIN SAMANSKI-LANGILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A pair of rescued guinea pigs munch on some fresh grass while outside Cindy and Jeff Hildebrands house.

Most people dont know enough about caring for a rabbit or guinea pig before they buy them as pets. Cindy said rabbits and guinea pigs need to eat fresh vegetables every day and they need exercise. There are serious health and social repercussions if they are confined to a cage. Rabbits need to be spayed or neutered.

A little-known fact is that rabbits usually dont want to be cuddle bunnies. In fact, a pet rabbit might show its affection for its owner simply by remaining nearby. Domestic rabbits can live eight to 10 years while guinea pigs can live for four to seven years and do better in pairs.

Cindy said when people find out how much care the animals need, the novelty wears off and people lose interest.

When some people decide they dont want their rabbits anymore, they will surrender them but in some really unfortunate cases, theyll just let them loose outside. Domestic rabbits probably wont survive more than a couple of days outside. Its very dangerous for them, she said.

She and Jeff fell in love with guinea pigs about a year ago. They adopted Reggie, a guinea pig surrendered to Jenns who had a hole in his chin from an untreated abscess. While receiving vet care, he became quite a star at adoption fairs to raise money for Jenns. He recently had to be euthanized when the infection spread.

He was so tame and relaxed and, despite all his problems, such a happy little pig, Cindy said. That was another reason we wanted to have this rescue, because I just love guinea pigs.

Cindy said they are suddenly looking for a veterinarian to partner with Popcorns and Binkies because the vet they had been working with has decided to downsize.

We also need foster homes. We can fundraise to buy supplies but what we really need are people, she said. Its a brand-new adventure but we just want to rescue as many of these little guys as we can. Many of them we have to rehabilitate. Theyll come to us with behavioural problems because theyve been in situations where they were locked up, alone, never played with, so we have to show them they can trust humans and find them homes. Its very rewarding.

JUSTIN SAMANSKI-LANGILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A rescued rabbit relaxes outside Cindy and Jeff Hildebrands house.

The unusual name of their rescue uses words that describe physical actions by rabbits and guinea pigs that owners interpret as joy.

Binkies are what rabbits do when theyre happy. They jump and kind of kick in the air. When guinea pigs do that, its called a popcorn, Cindy said. Its what they do when theyre happy and were hoping that we can make as many guinea pigs and rabbits happy as we can.

To assist the rescue or to apply to be a foster, email popcornsandbinkies@gmail.com.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/06/2017 (1981 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A mayoral task force recommends the City of Winnipeg offer new property tax rebates and incentives in the Exchange District to arts, heritage and cultural groups; one of a slew of measures it says will support and enhance the citys arts scene.

The task force, which released its final report Thursday morning ahead of the annual state of the arts luncheon, recommends eight measures meant to guide the city toward long-term creativity and sustainability.

Theres an amazing collection of heritage buildings that are in massive decline, said task force member Thom Sparling, who serves as executive director of the Arts and Cultural Industries Association of Manitoba.

TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files A task force recommends incentives for the Exchange District to preserve heritage properties in the area.

The only way to save these heritage buildings is to fill them, he said.

But the business community does not want to be in them, Sparling added. The only people who really want to be in these buildings are artists and tech developers.

To that end, the task force wants to see the city look at possible rebates and incentives specific to the area.

The report recommends criteria be established for such programs before the end of the year and that tax rebates for museums in the Exchange District be put in place for 2018.

The report also encourages city officials to take another look at what taxes are charged for empty, derelict buildings and redirect those funds toward measures that would look at renewing those heritage properties.

Sparling pointed to the SoHo effect to argue the case. In Manhattan, artists took up residence in abandoned industrial areas only to be priced out by doctors and lawyers once all the cool people wanted to move in.

Thats happening now in the Exchange District, Sparling said, you just have to walk around the neighbourhood.

You will not hear bands rehearsing at night, he said, even though they used to.

So the recommendation, he said, is really about preserving heritage properties and maintaining the arts flavour in that district.

But North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty said the city shouldnt interfere.

The Exchange District is changing, its becoming more gentrified, he said. I think its time we stop providing incentives and let the market forces play.

Browaty made clear he thinks the city has done enough to support the arts by raising funding from $5 per capita to $7 per capita.

But additional supports, he said, I think thats maybe going too far.

Mayor Brian Bowman wouldnt say which measures he will or wont support, except that hes in favour of the final recommendation, which advises that the city create a liaison committee to help further the conversation.

Still, Bowman cautioned that people shouldnt jump to conclusions about more money coming from the City of Winnipeg.

We have to look at how we do things smarter, he said.

I expect therell be many different views on some of the different things being recommended by the group.

Chief among the recommendations is the dissolution of the citys museums board in two years. The task force wants the city to move away from its current method of grant distribution, which only allows a proportion of the citys many museums to receive funding.

Board members frustrated by how few of its recommendations were actually coming to fruition refused to meet for many months in late 2015 until Bowman promised to take action; he announced the task force a year ago.

The board is pleased with the recommendations and looks forward to a better way forward for our treasured museums, Christian Robin said via email.

Robin was on the task force and co-chair of the museums board. Without the task force, he said the museums board would still be struck with a broken, ineffective system for years and years.

jane.gerster@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/06/2017 (1981 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadas minister of foreign affairs usually deals with global affairs, but in Winnipeg on Thursday, Chrystia Freeland was also concerned with a problem within Canadas borders.

Were not perfect on human rights as Canadians. Far from it, she said to about 100 people at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) Thursday afternoon.

I personally feel our greatest failing was and continues to be the treatment of the indigenous people in Canada.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks Thursday at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Two days after delivering a major foreign policy address in the House of Commons, Freeland was in Winnipeg to discuss Canadas changing role in what she called turbulent times in a talk with Lloyd Axworthy moderated by Shannon Sampert, an associate professor in the department of political science at the University of Winnipeg.

Freelands speech in Ottawa focused largely on the need for Canada to be regarded as a global power in terms of human rights, as well as on the countrys need for increased military support and growth through trade. The next day, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced the governments plan to increase the Defence budget to $32.7 billion over the next decade, a 70 per cent increase over the current total.

Axworthy, who served as Jean Chretiens foreign affairs minister in the 1990s, praised Freelands address as a blueprint and roadmap as the government moves forward.

(The address was made) in the House of Commons. It was in the Parliament of Canada, said Axworthy. It wasnt a tweet at two oclock in the morning.

While Freelands speech in Ottawa discussed the United States at length, Axworthys remark was the only reference to Donald Trump on Thursday.

Sampert asked Freeland about the recent spate of asylum seekers and refugee claimants crossing the border at Emerson. On May 26, the body of 57-year-old Mavis Otuteye was found in a ditch about a kilometre away from the Canadian border, and it was thought she died of exposure while trying to walk across the border.

Canadians have been very open to addressing or embracing these individuals, Sampert said. At some point, though, theres going to be a backlash, and we need some co-ordination (between) Canada and the U.S., and Canada and other countries, in terms of how were going to deal with this refugee crisis.

Freeland disagreed.

I dont think we need to assume that there will be a backlash in Canada, she said.

I dont want that to happen here, and I really believe it wont.

Since Canada began accepting Syrian refugees, more than 40,000 have arrived and rather than backlash, Freeland said shes mainly received positive feedback.

In fact, many Canadians have asked her to accept more.

In my constituency, the big complaint Ive had since the election has been private sponsorship groups saying, Where are our refugees?  Freeland said, laughing.

As for the situation at the border, Freeland believes Canada will be able to maintain security and an open society simultaneously.

We have to work hard to get that balance right.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 09/06/2017 (1980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shattered glass lay scattered on the pavement of a River Heights neighbourhood on Thursday following an early morning spree of vehicle break-ins that left some residents feeling as if their property is up for grabs.

At least seven vehicles were parked on Cordova Street with smashed windows, and neighbours confirmed at least four more vehicles had also been broken into but were subsequently moved from the street.

My reaction to what happened this morning wasnt anything you can print in the Free Press, said Agnieszka Kotula, a resident of the neighbourhood.

RYAN THORPE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS More than 10 vehicles parked on Cordova Street were broken into early June 8.

This happens every year. Im beyond frustrated at this point. They come and smash open a window and steal loose change. We dont even leave anything of value in the car.

Kotula has lived in the neighbourhood for four years with her husband and two children. She said they havent gone 12 months without one of their vehicles being broken into and damaged.

All vehicles targeted were between the 100 and 700 blocks of Cordova Street.

At the time of publication, the Winnipeg Police Service had only one official report in relation to the incidents.

River Heights is known for high levels of property crime and the summer months historically correlate to a spike in the number of reports filed.

In 2014, the WPS launched Project Comet in an effort to combat the issue plaguing the neighbourhood. Despite some encouraging developments, the problem persists.

In response, concerned members of the community created an online watch group called Smashed Windows Club River Heights (SWC).

The group currently has 768 members and is used to centralize reports on crimes in the neighbourhood.

There is a bit of sadness and frustration in the neighbourhood when these crimes happen, said Jon Waldman, co-administrator of SWC.

If you havent been hit yourself, you know someone who has been hit.

We wish it was a better situation and this wasnt happening. But there is also a sense of what can we do to make this situation better? This is our neighbourhood and were not just going to sit back and let this happen.

WPS statistics show that from May 31 to June 6, 13 police reports were filed from neighbourhood residents, ranging from broken windows to a vehicle theft and a residential break-and-enter.

SWC has called on Manitoba Public Insurance to waive deductible fees in relation to vandalism in the neighbourhood, due to the high level of claims filed by residents.

MPI said drivers who have a $200 deductible will have it waived for vandalism-related claims, while those with a basic $500 deductible are expected to pay the fee.

Back in 2015, my vehicle was broken into at least eight times between February and the end of the year, Waldman said.

Thats how bad it can be. In the last two to three weeks there has been a large increase. We had a number of postings in the group last week.

Marnie Gartrell said this is the second time in the past week one of her familys vehicles has been targeted.

This is the first time weve had any damage to our vehicle, but its not the first time theyve been broken into, Gartrell said.

Our Lexus was broken into last week and rifled through. This time ,they smashed the window on the car.

Kotula, who loves the trees and green space in her neighbourhood, said she is fed up with how consistently her familys property is targeted.

As a result, she is considering moving from the neighbourhood she fell in love with four years ago.

Its a decision she does not want to make and admits there is much about her home she would miss.

I love this neighbourhood, Kotula said.

But I have to ask myself if this view is worth what we have to go through. Its a chronic problem. Ive never had to feel like this in my life, that my property is just up for grabs. Its a sense of imminent destruction.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 08/06/2017 (1981 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Still reeling from news of a devastating suicide bombing in Kabul, an Afghan womens group in Winnipeg is organizing a vigil and demonstration today to honour the victims and draw attention to what they say is a worsening situation in Afghanistan.

I feel so sorry, said Zahra Sajadi, 37, clutching a large photo of her 43-year-old cousin Tahir Sajjadi, one of the many bystanders who died May 31 when an explosives-laden truck was detonated on the streets of Kabul.

The bombing in the heart of Afghanistans capital killed more than 150 people, officials there said this week, making it the deadliest single attack in the country since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban.

Her cousins body was torn apart by the blast and his remains could only be identified by the wedding ring on his finger, Sajadi said.

She and her fellow members of the Afghan-Canadian Womens Organization are gathering today from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in front of the Manitoba legislature. Sajadi will speak at the event and hopes Winnipeggers will show up so Afghans know theyve not been forgotten by the rest of the world.

Its a good feeling that people know about the injustice and insecurity and violence, said Sajadi, who came to Canada seven years ago and is now a Canadian citizen.

Showing solidarity with Afghans will give them some hope and comfort, said Sajadi, who uses social media to stay in touch with her birthplace. She first learned of her cousins death via Facebook.

I couldnt believe it, she said.

Sajadi called relatives in Afghanistan who confirmed the devastating news about her older cousin (the family name is spelled differently because of how her name was translated into English). Tahirs death was horrifying, but she will remember him for the positive impact he had on those around him, she said.

When I saw him as an adult, he was always very kind and caring and had huge respect for women, Sajadi said.

Tahir was a provincial representative, married with a young daughter and three sons, including two who have grown up to be amazing young men, she said.

Tahir was a role model for them and a leader in his community, said Sajadi, flipping through smartphone photos from his funeral Tuesday.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Zahra Sajadi, originally from Kabul but now a Canadian citizen, mourns the death of her cousin Tahir Sajjadi who was killed in the May 31 suicide truck bombing in Kabul.

In the images, vehicles carrying mourners lined up on the twisting, hilly Afghan desert road as far as the eye could see in order to pay their respects.

Sajadi is not alone in her grief, said Ariana Yaftali, whose family fled Afghanistan in the late 1980s after the Soviet invasion that was followed by Taliban tyranny.

We need to bring the spotlight to Kabul, said Yaftali, the co-founder of the local Afghan womens group. Its still a dangerous place.

The deadly attack May 31 in Kabul has added to growing concerns about whether Afghan military can defeat the Taliban or an increasingly destructive Islamic State affiliate without further aid from international forces, which formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to a support and counterterrorism role.

Between 2014 and 2017, Canadas government has committed $330 million to help sustain the Afghan National Security Forces and $227 million in development assistance to Afghanistan, says Global Affairs Canada.

The focus is on increasing the access to and the quality of education; improving the health and rights of Afghan women and children; protecting and promoting human rights, especially those of women and girls; and building the capacity of Afghan organizations to manage humanitarian assistance responses more effectively, Global Affairs says on its website.

Were giving money and (training) troops and ordinary Afghans are still a target, said Yaftali, who is frustrated by the Afghan leaderships inability to protect people.

She questions whether Canadas financial support is getting to where it needs to go and if the current plan is working.

We need to pay attention and restrategize everything thats happening in Afghanistan, she said.

The womens group in Winnipeg will do what it can today.

Were starting a journey of sending love and peace to the world, Yaftali said. Were together. Were not afraid and were not going to be intimidated by these people who are targeting ordinary, vulnerable Afghans who are also Muslims. The terrorists are criminals who dont care who they kill.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

 with files from The Associated Press

Rahmat Gul / The Associated Press files Security forces stand next to a crater created by massive explosion in front of the German Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 31, 2017.
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 09/06/2017 (1980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sometimes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease; sometimes, it gets removed. Karen MacKinnon, a former Drumheller, Alta., town councillor, knows this from experience.

On March 25, 2011, MacKinnon was charged with defamatory libel under section 301 of the Criminal Code after she posted on Facebook that two prominent members of her southern Alberta community, including a town official, were repulsive, corrupted, lying, thieving, deviant bastards both. Although the comment was almost tame by the standard of much social media political commentary, the Crown thought it sufficient to charge her with a criminal offence.

Heres why it happened.

During her time as a town councillor, MacKinnon noticed what appeared to her to be some costly problems with the towns administration. For example, staff was permitted to bank vacation time indefinitely, incurring an accrued liability of nearly $600,000 for the municipality. An auditor called it a grave liability that could cripple the town, yet MacKinnons efforts to discuss the matter and institute a use-it-or-lose-it vacation time policy were rebuffed.

From time to time, other matters would arise that caused MacKinnon concern, including inexplicable secrecy over a $75-million overland water pipeline between Drumheller and Balzac. After voicing concerns about a number of issues, MacKinnon was summarily disqualified from serving on council in 2007, on the basis of what she believes to have been incomplete legal advice.

MacKinnon was understandably devastated. With the next municipal election just weeks away and her reputation badly damaged, she had no chance of mounting a successful re-election campaign. Yet she refused to go away quietly. She continued her public service by becoming an outspoken critic of the towns administration, including in colourfully candid language on social media.

After the police knocked on her door that March day and ultimately tossed her in jail for her Facebook comment, a deflated MacKinnon, afraid of going to trial, and risking a prison sentence and criminal record, agreed to remain civil and temperate while using social media, which was later adopted into a provincial court order.

Unbeknownst to MacKinnon at the time, the law under which she was charged had been declared unconstitutional in Alberta almost 20 years earlier. Section 301 of the Criminal Code reads: Every one who publishes a defamatory libel is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years. Under section 301, even truthful comments can be defamatory and, unlike the common law tort of defamation, it can result in a criminal conviction.

Clearly, the Crown should have known it was charging MacKinnon with an unconstitutional offence. It takes about a minute of online legal research or reading the notes to the annotated Criminal Code to discover this. One would also have hoped the court would have known, too. In fact, at the time she was charged, the superior courts of three other provinces  Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador  had also declared section 301 unconstitutional. Since 2011, the New Brunswick Court of Queens Bench has joined them.

Curiously, none of those five decisions was appealed by the Crown, and so the Supreme Court of Canada has not had an opportunity to provide national certainty on the constitutionality of this speech-restricting criminal law. This means the Crown will still occasionally bring charges under section 301  although only ever to shield public officials such as politicians and police from criticism, never average private citizens.

Last week, MacKinnon asked the Supreme Court of Canada to review her case and strike down section 301 nationally, once and for all.

If the court takes the case, as it should, her colourful Facebook comments will have done every Canadian a service by ensuring that no one else has his or her speech rights restricted based on this unconstitutional law.

Derek James From is a lawyer with the Canadian Constitution Foundation in Calgary.

 Troy Media
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 09/06/2017 (1980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Provincial NDP leadership candidate Wab Kinew recently announced the formation of an informal committee that will both advise him on diversity issues and work to bring about gender balance in his party caucus after the next election.

There is certainly room for improvement on this score. Of the current 56 MLAs in the Manitoba legislature, only 13 (23 per cent) are women. That is a small number, but is far from the lowest among the provinces: data compiled by political scientist Linda Trimble show that after all the last provincial elections, Manitoba had elected the fourth-highest proportion of women. In contrast, British Columbia leads the way on gender diversity among elected officials: 39 per cent of MLAs elected in that provinces recent election were women.

Kinew has his work cut out for him if he wishes to reach gender balance in his own caucus: only three of the NDPs 12 MLAs are women.

DAVID LIPNOWSKI / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Of the current 56 MLAs in the Manitoba legislature, only 13 are women.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made gender equity look easy when he appointed a cabinet composed of half men and half women after winning the 2015 election. But this was easy because Trudeau, with a few caveats, has the power to appoint virtually whomever he wants to his cabinet.

The same does not apply to Kinews promise to achieve gender equity in his caucus. The party leader can exercise some influence over the candidates who run for the party. At the end of the day, however, it is local NDP members in the constituencies, not the leader, who select the candidates who run for the party. Kinew obviously cannot decide which of his candidates will be elected by the voters.

Given this, its easy to think Kinew will likely not reach his goal. But one particular aspect of his announcement provides an indication that Kinews promise is more than aspirational politicking: his committee will, in addition to advising the leader on gender-equity issues, also take an active role in recruiting and encouraging women and non-binary Manitobans to seek out NDP nominations.

This group will not just have an advisory role, Kinew promised. It will also help to recruit and mentor future women NDP candidates.

If the goal is greater gender diversity in his caucus, then Kinew is on the right track with his recruitment and mentoring strategy. This informal approach is likely to pay dividends while avoiding some of the pitfalls that necessarily accompany more formal arrangements that limit party members ability to choose whomever they want as their candidates.

Abundant academic literature demonstrates that such recruitment and encouragement is crucial to increasing the number of women who decide to run for public office. Research from the United States, for example, shows that support and encouragement effectively convince potential candidates to run for office and both men and women respond favourably.

However, women are much less likely than men to receive such encouragement.

A recent headline summarized these findings well: Best way to get women to run for office? Ask repeatedly. By providing encouragement and support to potential female candidates, the NDP diversity committee could play a substantial role in boosting the number of women running for office.

Research into the factors underlying low levels of gender diversity among elected officials can provide further guidance on how this committee can more effectively do its job.

First, there is evidence that, in Canada, women are more likely than men to be nominated in seats they cannot win and less likely to be nominated in seats where their parties will help carry them to victory. This finding that female candidates are more likely than men to run as sacrificial lambs suggests the NDP committee will need to focus its recruitment and mentorship activities on traditionally strong NDP seats. If the goal is a diverse caucus rather than more women running and losing, then nominating women in Tory seats such as Steinbach and Morden-Winkler wont help reach that goal.

The selection of Bernadette Smith as the NDP candidate in the traditionally safe NDP seat of Point Douglas demonstrates how nominating women in such constituencies can lead to greater gender diversity in the caucus.

Second: while female candidates can be directly recruited, they can also be indirectly recruited by ensuring the gatekeepers who organize and administer local nomination races are supportive of female candidates. Researchers in Canada found that women were much more likely to be nominated as candidates when the local constituency association president was also a woman. The implication is that women in local gatekeeper roles are more receptive to the candidacies of other women than are men.

The new advisory committee might, therefore, wish to focus its effort both on directly recruiting candidates and also on encouraging women to sign up to sit on the party boards in the ridings, particularly as their presidents.

Royce Koop is an associate professor and head of the department of political studies at the University of Manitoba.
In Beijing, it's a widely held view that Trump's move to quit the Paris agreement may pave the way for China to emerge as a leading voice in going green.

When President Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement on June 1, he couldn't resist a barb at the world's biggest polluter. "China will be allowed to build hundreds of additional coal plants. We can't build plants, but they can," Trump complained, though the Paris agreement has no such provisions. Every country can decide its intended nationally determined contribution to cutting emissions.

Trump also hit out at India, the third-biggest emitter (after the US, yet with emissions only a fifth of China's) for supposedly receiving "billions and billions... in foreign aid" and planning to "double coal production", while glossing over the fact that India, which is installing 100 GW of solar capacity by 2022, has in fact lowered its production of coal and will bank on renewables for 40 per cent of its energy needs by 2030. "What Trump said is not the reality," retorted external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.

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Where does the US pullout leave the world? With India, China and Europe pledging they will stick to commitments, the treaty is safe. Indeed, in Beijing, it's a widely held view that Trump's move may pave the way for China to emerge as a leading voice in going green. In a sense, this shift is already under way. Despite Trump's claim, the world's biggest polluter is no longer building coal plants. In fact, China this year cancelled 103 coal projects. "While China cancels coal power plants, Trump cancels climate action," says Li Shuo, who works for Greenpeace in Beijing and echoes a common sentiment in saying that the move "will only corner the US and present China with an opportunity to reap the economic benefits of America's withdrawal".

China is certainly positioning itself to be in the lead in emerging green industries. It already builds two-thirds of the world's solar panels, around half of the world's wind turbines and operates more nuclear reactors than any other country, with 37 in use and 20 in the works. Beijing still depends on coal, which accounts for two-thirds of its energy needs. But coal production has fallen for the third straight year. Emissions will peak by 2030, by when renewables will account for 20 per cent of China's energy needs.

China's biggest compulsion in going green is not global ambition but domestic pressure, with rising public anger about air and water pollution. "This is also about social stability," says Ma Jun, a leading Chinese environmentalist. "We've seen NIMBY [not in my backyard] protests for major projects. Local and central governments are concerned."

Beijing also sees economic sense. This week, China hosted officials from around the world, including India's environment minister Harsh Vardhan, for a clean energy meeting aimed at strengthening sharing of clean technology. There is concern that the US withdrawal may reduce global funding for green projects, as well as access to technology that China still needs.

Beijing, however, is going forward with a massive $360 billion investment in green energy by 2030, which it says will create 13 million jobs, even as it deals with the problem of laying off workers in steel and coal. As US comedian John Oliver put it this week, Trump is certainly fulfilling one campaign promise: "He is creating millions of jobs, just for the wrong country."

--- ENDS ---
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 09/06/2017 (1980 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It has become fashionable for many politicians in North America to use social-media channels to bypass traditional media. The theory is that by speaking directly to citizens, one can avoid the filters inherent in professional news organizations.

However, communicating directly with citizens is also risky because in addition to eluding the filters applied by news organizations, it avoids internal political filters as well. And that can result in a propensity for self-inflicted wounds, as Premier Brian Pallister knows only too well.

Mr. Pallister has a history of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, only to see those comments broadcast verbatim and unvarnished. That tradition continued recently with a video posted by the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba on its social-media channels.

John Woods / The Canadian Press files Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister

The video featured Mr. Pallister rallying the troops at the Point Douglas byelection headquarters of Tory candidate Jodi Moskal, encouraging volunteers to continue making calls and knocking on doors in an effort to ensure a robust turnout. However, as is his style, Mr. Pallister allowed his impromptu speech to wander off topic and into some perilous political territory.

In a rambling six-minute speech, Mr. Pallister told the volunteers that his government is focused on creating good jobs for Manitobans, something that would help address the poverty that is prevalent in Point Douglas. Without warning, however, he shifted his focus to the minimum wage and how the NDP is so invested in forcing the government to increase it.

The speech wandered further off course, with Mr. Pallister attacking the left-of-centre governments of Alberta and Ontario, both of which recently announced policies to dramatically increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour (Manitobas rate is set to increase to $11.15, with future increases tied to the provinces economic performance). Mr. Pallister dismissed the work of Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne as dangerous and destructive.

It is not unprecedented for premiers to cross swords, but they almost always try to maintain a modicum of respect when asked to comment on events or policies in other provinces  particularly when those events or policies dont have a direct effect on events or policies in their home provinces.

Mr. Pallister ignored these traditions in favour of an ill-considered rant that not only tarnishes Manitobas reputation on the national stage, but also does little to help Ms. Moskal in her bid to win a riding that is, as one of the poorest in the province, a keen audience for the debate over minimum wage.

Mr. Pallister is certainly entitled to voice his aversion to significant increases in the minimum wage. However, as premier, he needs to start thinking about what unprovoked attacks on his counterparts in other provinces are doing to his national profile.

Manitobas premier already has a spotty record on national issues, having found himself on the wrong side of other national debates, including opposition to the federal health care transfer accord. Mr. Pallister tried, unsuccessfully, to muster a coalition of aggrieved provinces to force the federal government back to the table. In the end, all the other holdout provinces signed their own deals with Ottawa, leaving Manitoba alone and looking rather silly.

Mr. Pallister should demonstrate more restraint when making unscripted remarks, or perhaps cut back on the amount of time he spends speaking off the cuff. His current approach is not doing him, or Manitoba, any favours.
For students like Carla Guillen, of Minneapolis, a scholarship means more than an opportunity to attend college, it means a lifetime of opportunities  including the ability to make her childhood dreams of becoming a veterinarian come true.

More than $100,000 was recently raised for the Saint Marys University of Minnesota First Generation Initiative (FGI)  an innovative program that ensures academic success for high-need, high-potential first-generation students. Guillen, a sophomore double majoring in biology: pre-veterinary science and Spanish, is one of 40 FGI Scholars enrolled at Saint Marys for the next academic year.

The First Generation Initiative has two parts, a four-year summer college preparation program for middle- and high-schoolers called Countdown to College (C2C), and the First Generation Initiative Scholars program, which provides programming and scholarship support for students who come to Saint Marys Winona Campus from partnering Lasallian and Jesuit high schools.

Saint Marys recently raised $100,000 via the universitys fifth annual FGI S.O.A.R. (Support, Opportunity, Accountability, and Responsibility) breakfast, held at Saint Marys Twin Cities Campus in Minneapolis. More than 110 people attended the fundraising-breakfast event where two FGI Scholars, Guillen, as well as 2016 graduate Martin Quintana, spoke about their experiences.

As a Countdown to College student, Guillen had an opportunity to apply for the FGI Scholars program and receive a full scholarship. She remembers the day she learned she received the exciting news that she had been selected for the Saint Marys FGI scholarship.

I cried. I sat down and cried. (My sister) Daniela kept asking me if I had gotten the scholarship or not and all I could muster was a nod. I called my parents right away and they were so proud of me. I could not have asked for a greater feeling. I was on top of the world.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to make my family proud and make my dreams come true, she said.

Saint Marys founded the First Generation Initiative initiative in 2010, and positive results are reaffirming the program is headed in the right direction. Countdown to College has graduated four classes totaling 81 scholars; 100 percent have graduated from high school and 80 percent are enrolled in college. This summer Saint Marys will welcome 91 Countdown to College students to Saint Marys Winona Campus.

The First Generation Initiative Scholars program has graduated four classes, totaling 32 graduates. First Generation Initiative Scholars have an 80 percent graduation rate within four years, which is 15 percent higher than the national average.
A while back, Putin and some Russians started an investment fund called Rusnano. One of Trumps employees partnered in this endeavor and the Russians gave him $35 million and 75,000 shares. Or was it $53 million? No matter, it was millions. Do you remember that?

Okay, let me double check the accuracy of these facts on Google. Oopsah, never mind. It was actually Hillarys buddy, John Podesta. And he didnt disclose any of this when he was supposed to either.

Well, there is this though. Trump got $500,000 for a speech he gave in Moscow. The company that paid for this speech is named Renaissance Capital. There are reports that say this company has close connections to intelligence agencies in Russia.

Better do another Google fact check though. Darn! It wasnt Trump. It was Bill Clinton.

Okay, never mind those two. There is another smoking gun that completely incriminates Trump. Anonymous sources say that he worked with his cronies in the deep state to ensure that the sale of 20 percent of US uranium, to Russians, would be approved by the State Department.

I think Ill use another fact check source this time. Google answers arent so good.

Oh dear, another dead end on Trump. It was Hillary Clinton who actually approved that.

And the fact checkers say it gets worse. Hillary said she had nothing to do with that deal. But Podestas leaked emails show she lied. Moreover, she and the Clinton Foundation got $145 million for her efforts.

Okay, okay, hang on. In spite of the above, Trump is still guilty of collusion with the Russians. Example? Trump got millions from Russian big-wig big-bucks people that included nuclear companies and even one of Putins really good buddies. You know, the Moscow mayors wife. You can take that to the bank.

Oh crap! You cant do that either. The recipient actually was the Clinton Foundation.

All right, all right. You know darn well Trump hasnt released all of his tax returns. Moreover, he has failed to disclose all sorts of donations like, um, you know those that were found when a journalist examined tax records in Canada. The Canadian records prove absolutely without a doubt that Trump What?

Hillary? You mean it was Hillary who tried that tricky little maneuver? Geez!

This is getting a little frustrating. I guess well just have to never mind all of that. There is not a troublesome trend here. I repeat, there is not. There are only Republican alt-fact assertions of a troublesome trend.

Because we know absolutely for certain that Trump colluded with the Russians to defeat Hillary. Want proof? It is really pretty simple. Its just a matter of eliminating alt-truth.

We know that Hillary could not, would not, and did not lose to that clown Trump without outside interference. I mean its, like, you know, simply impossible. Just look at the popular vote. Hillary won that. I know the Republicans say that if the California vote is thrown out, then Trump won by more than 1.4 million. On top of that they say they didnt spend any money in California and didnt campaign there either. Their whiney logic is so lame.

There just had to be nefarious forces at work. And, by process of elimination those nefarious forces had to be Russian. Therefore, Putin and Trump were together in this thing like totally the whole time.

And they did it through, um, well, you know deep undercover and evil ways. That consisted ofwell, okay, maybe the actual methods are a little fuzzy at this point. Ill bet though, there were places in the US where Russians gave away free vodka to people in exchange for Trump votes. You just gotta know this happened. Especially in Wisconsin. And Ill also bet Russians gave away some of those fancy decorated Easter eggs for Trump votes too.

The answers will come out. They will, they will. We just have to ensure the investigation goes on and on and on so we can get to the bottom of this.

As for those who try to tie Democrats to Russians, all I have to say is, up yours. All the stuff Democrats and Russians did together was above board and on the up-and-up. Mostly. But Trump? Trump is another sorry story altogether.

And I want to thank an unknown email source for doing the research and providing inspiration and ideas for this article. We have a lot to lose you know.

MALA  Make America Liberal Again!
JUNEAU  Laverne Ware Jr. hired two new attorneys Thursday, delaying his arraignment for the fifth time for charges related to the death of his girlfriend Sesalie Dixon.

Ware is charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Dixon. He also faces charges of hiding a corpse, incest and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He could face life in prison on the homicide charge. Ware is currently in custody in Dodge County Jail on a $2.5 million bond.

Ware appeared before Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Brian Pfitzinger with his two new attorneys, Ann T. Bowe and Michael Steinle. His former attorneys, Aaron A. Nelson and Donna Jean Kuchler, called into court to confirm the dismissal.

Wares arraignment on May 17 was postponed because he requested a substitute judge. Dodge County Circuit Judge Steven Bauer was overseeing the case. Pfitzinger was assigned the case in May.

I apologize any inconvenience my hearing has caused the court, Ware said. I went to the doctor today and everything is getting better.

During his April 12 arraignment hearing, it was suggested that Ware had a problem hearing. His arraignment was postponed Feb. 15 when he told Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Steve Bauer that he intended to hire different counsel. It was also postponed on March 15.

As the two new attorneys just took over the case, Steinle said they were asking for an additional 30 days to go over the discovery information in the case.

The victims and everyone else wants to move this case forward, Dodge County District Attorney Kurt Klomberg said. I had a brief meeting with the defense, and I expect to talk to them more after, but this case was just brought to them yesterday.

Klomberg said he plans to move swiftly to trial after the next arraignment date.

Pfitzinger also agreed that the case has to speed up to trial.

A new arraignment date was set for July 20.

According to criminal complaints Wares mother, Marjorie Jones, told officers that Ware was in a committed relationship with Dixon, who was also Wares first cousin. Jones told officers that Dixon and Ware began their relationship shortly after he received a $1.5 million inheritance. Jones told officers that she did not approve of Dixons relationship with Ware, and said she believed Dixon was trying to take his inheritance.

Additionally, Jones boyfriend Vernon Mickey contacted Dodge County Central Communications at 3:58 p.m. Dec. 4 to report a possible homicide at 100 We Go Trail.

Mickey said he lived at the residence with his wife, Jones, and Ware, but was calling from a Kwik Trip gas station about a block away because he did not want them to know he was calling.

The complaint states that Mickey reported there was a lot of blood in the garage, but he did not see a body and that Wares girlfriend, Dixon, had been missing since the previous night.

Investigators found a blue Ram 2500 pickup truck inside the garage with Dixons body in the front passenger seat. Officers noted that Dixons death appeared to have occurred several hours earlier.

An autopsy revealed that she died of a shot to the head.

Also charged in the case are Wares mother, Marjorie Jones; and Jones boyfriend, Vernon Mickey.

Jones has a five-day jury trial scheduled in January 2018 after being accused of aiding her son in covering up Dixons murder.

Mickey entered a not guilty plea to charges of harboring or aiding a felon. His status conference Thursday was postponed to Monday.
Despite controlling both houses of the Legislature and the governors office, Republicans cant seem to find common ground on the state budget, especially on the questions of funding for transportation and education.

Theres no reason to panic  the state will continue to function even if legislators dont pass a budget by July 1  but continued delay and disagreement dont bode well for providing thoughtful strategic solutions to the states most serious fiscal challenges.

Transportation is one of those challenges. With roads and bridges deteriorating and traditional transportation revenue (gas tax and registration fees) unlikely to provide the funds needed, Republicans need to come up with a sustainable strategic plan for the long term. So far, theyre not even close.

Some, such as Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, are at least willing to talk about alternative funding such as toll roads. Others are willing to raise the gasoline tax and registration fees.

We think whats needed is a combination: A moderate increase in the gas tax, toll roads, perhaps sales taxes, as Rep. Dale Kooyenga has suggested, perhaps a vehicle miles traveled system.

The best system would maintain the idea that users should pay for roads while ensuring a steady and sufficient stream of income from those users given the fact that vehicles are becoming ever more efficient and able to use less gasoline, the traditional source of road funding.

Sadly, Republicans cant look to the governor for help, or even a reasonable long-term plan. He would borrow more and put off some necessary major projects, such as improving the I-94 East-West Corridor through Milwaukee. That simply wastes money and kicks the can down the proverbial road to future generations. Its unfair to them and its unfair to the businesses looking for a reliable transportation network to grow the economy.

Walker needs to take off his blinders and recognize the severity of the problem. And he needs to sit down and come to terms with Vos and Fitzgerald on a solution that can meet long-term needs.

Republicans do have urgent work to do on this budget beyond transportation, including funding for rural schools. They need to show voters that they can do their jobs in a timely manner.

Failure will leave the state a lot more than a day late and a dollar short.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) With barely a month left for GST launch from July 1, the Ministry of Coal today held a meeting to review preparedness of the stakeholders for the new tax regime and set up a facilitation cell.

Besides, GST cells have been made operational in each of the PSU under the ministry.

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"With a view to facilitating implementation of GST for the stakeholders concerned, the secretary (coal) held a meeting to review the status of preparedness for GST and the steps to be taken by the organisations under it... and also to facilitate and guide the stakeholders, particularly their consumers and suppliers," it said.

Coal is a key component in steel making, which has been put in the lowest bracket of 5 per cent under GST.

The all-powerful GST Council will meet on Sunday to review some of the rates on which industry has expressed its apprehension.

This will be the 16th meeting of the Council, to be chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It also comprises his state counterparts. PTI ABI ARD

--- ENDS ---
PARDEEVILLE  For twin brothers Cogan and Cole Kirchenwitz, joining the U.S. Marine Corps continues a family legacy, but the road ahead is the result of decisions they made entirely on their own.

The Pardeeville brothers, 22, received their commissioning certificates in May in a ceremony after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Reserve Officers Training Corps. They were among 35 graduates who completed ROTC training, and in the military they will follow in the footsteps of their father and grandfather.

Their father, retired Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Patrick Kirchenwitz, in the ceremony presented his sons with 2nd lieutenant gold bars and their first salute.

This is pretty big to see both my sons being commissioned today, he said in a news release from the school. Its legacy stuff  my dad was in, I was in. It continues to build on our familys military legacy.

You have to give a little bit to get something back.

Patrick Kirchenwitzs father  Charlie Kirchenwitz, who also attended the ceremony  served as a U.S. Navy radarman, 2nd Class, on board the cruiser Canberra in the blockade against the Soviet Union during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

To have this chance to celebrate our accomplishment in this way, finally, is very rewarding, Cole said.

Obviously were super proud to carry on the tradition, Cogan said.

There wasnt any push for it (from family).

The brothers  2013 Pardeeville High School graduates  will report to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Sept. 11, a date Cogan said was totally random.

Terrorism honestly didnt (factor into our decision), Cogan said. There are a lot of reasons (we joined). I think the number-one reason is the things that we have in Western societynot necessary as Americans, but the West in generalthe things we have that deserve to be protected.

We have so much here, we have freedoms, we have liberties and thats not something the rest of the world can say. Those are sacred and deserve to be protected. This is the society that raised me, and I feel like I have a duty to protect those things.

The brothers will attend basic school in Quantico for six months before going to Pensacola, Florida, for flight school at a naval air station. Cogan estimated theyd be in Florida for two to three years.

Cogan said he has wanted to join the military since he was 5 years old, a possible path that became more serious as he advanced to middle school.

Cogan and Cole are both pursuing aviation contracts, Cogan said. Career opportunities for the brothers will be varied, Cogan added, noting that in Quantico the brothers will get to see the ground community and try some things out, to see what we like.

The twins moved to the Pardeeville area from Detroit with their family when they were 3 years old. Cogan admitted he has no idea whether hed eventually make it back to Pardeeville after the military  but wouldnt rule it out either.

I do really like Wisconsin, and this area, he said. I could see myself coming back here.
John Gruber will get $200,000 from Columbia County for his former auto repair shop, and another $50,000 for expenses related to finding a new location.

But how much of that Gruber will get to keep remains to be seen.

Mark Hazelbaker, the attorney who represents Columbia County in the protracted Gruber eminent domain case, said that, in accordance with a settlement, the county has cut a check for $110,000, to be deposited in a trust under the care of Grubers attorney, Rose Marie Yanke.

Of that amount, $60,000 represents the amount by which the county is sweetening the $140,000 offer made by the countys Condemnation Commission 10 months ago. The remaining $50,000 is for relocation expenses, which is in addition to the $50,000 for moving expenses that the county had previously set aside for Gruber.

The County Boards Ad Hoc Building Committee on Friday voted unanimously to accept the terms of the settlement.

In reacting to the settlement, Hazelbaker echoed the thoughts that retired Judge James Evenson shared, from the bench, in April  that in a successful mediation, almost no one is happy with the outcome. The county is paying more than it wanted to pay, and Gruber ended up getting less than he wanted.

In exchange for the agreement, Gruber agreed to drop both his state and federal lawsuits against the county, over the countys effort to exercise eminent domain to acquire Gruber Automotive, formerly at 208 E. Edgewater St. The site is now part of a parking lot for the Columbia County Administration Building, 112 E. Edgewater St.

John can move on  and I hope he does, Hazelbaker said.

In April court proceedings on the state lawsuit, Evenson also ruled that Gruber owed, at the time, more than $156,000 on a pair of $65,000 mortgages that developer Richard Lynn holds on Gruber Automotive. That amount represented, at the time, the principal, plus accrued interest and attorneys fees.

Lynns attorney, William Smiley, said on Friday that he does not yet know what the settlements implications are for his client; in fact, he had not yet been officially notified of the terms of the settlement.

Before deciding how to proceed next, Smiley said, hell need to consult Lynn.

Stay tuned. I dont know what will happen next, he said.

Hazelbaker spoke highly of Yankes work, and noted that the presence of an attorney on Grubers side did a great deal to facilitate the settlement.

Gruber had previously been represented by Biersdorf and Associates, a Minneapolis-based law firm that specializes in eminent domain cases. However, Gruber has, in the last year or so, represented himself in the filing of lawsuits and in filing motions related to the suits.

Yanke, an associate with the Madison law firm Krekeler Strother, became Grubers lawyer after the April proceedings before Evenson in Columbia County Circuit Court.

The County Board voted in June 2015 to authorize eminent domain proceedings regarding the Gruber property and Grubers neighbor to the south, the Big Chicken antiques store at 131 E. Mullett St. At that time, the county had successfully acquired several other pieces of property alongside the Portage Canal and in the vicinity of the courthouse, 400 DeWitt St., for the $45.51 million project that entailed building new Administration and Health and Human Services buildings alongside the canal and renovating the courthouse for court-related uses.

The Big Chicken sale was finalized in February 2016 without condemnation. But Gruber continued to hold out.

He said, in January 2016, that the county had offered him a total of $237,000 for his property, but that it would take about $500,000 to relocate his business to a comparably-equipped facility elsewhere in Portage.

The Condemnation Commission in August awarded Gruber $140,000, plus $50,000 for moving expenses. The county deposited that money with the court, but Gruber did not accept the offer of $140,000.

The recent settlement brings an end not only to Grubers suit in Columbia County Circuit Court, but also a federal suit that he filed in the autumn of 2016. In addition to seeking a higher price for the property, the federal suit also alleged that Portage police were plotting to harm Gruber, that the entire county building project was unlawful and that previous property acquisitions for the project should be vacated.

In December, Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Brian Pfitzinger ordered Gruber to vacate Gruber Automotive in 30 days. Gruber received an extension on that deadline, but he eventually moved out in late February. A month later, the Gruber Automotive building was razed.

The Administration Building has been open for business for about a week  housing most of Columbia Countys non-court-related offices on three floors of a structure on the northwest side of the Portage Canal.
Possible additions to the Portage Family Skate Park received a significant boost this week from the Edward Lenz and June Lenz Charitable Trust.

The Lenz Charitable Trust Advisory Board notified PFSP this week the group has been awarded $37,500 in matching funds. How much PFSP raises up to that amount between June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018 will be paid to the PFSP project in June 2018.

The Board is pleased to make a contribution to this worthwhile project, and hopes that these matching funds will encourage other donors to give to the project, the boards secretary, Jesse Spankowski, wrote in a letter sent to PFSP. Spankowski also serves as city attorney.

The 4,178- square-foot skate park opened in August 2016 in Goodyear Park. Two future additions that are already designed  at about 3,500 square feet each depend on fundraising efforts and/or city budgeting.

June Lenz, who died in 2014, taught business classes at Pardeeville High School for 42 years. She and her husband, also deceased, operated a printing business in Pardeeville.

From our perspective, as the board, Spankowski said Thursday, our mission statement and the trusts mission was to support programs and projects for either the youth or the elderly, and this particular project is one that directly benefits the youth in Portage. Its something weve observed is heavily used, and whats been built already seems very popular, so were hoping to enhance that (project).

Late last year, the Lenz trust provided the city of Portage with $50,000 in matching funds for a new playground thats being installed at Pauquette Park. Since then the trust has provided $20,000 in direct funds to Pardeeville Elementary School for playground equipment and $3,500 to Columbia County Aging and Disability Resource Center, to benefit its home-delivered meal program and its Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program.

Were just really grateful, said Kyle Little, PFSP project president. Little, a 2000 Pardeeville High School graduate, knew June Lenz while he was in school. Shes done wonderful things for that school district for a long time  the family has been amazing for a very long time.

Were thankful to accept this challenge, and I do believe we can.

Spankowski explained the matching funds still need to receive final approval from trustees at BMO Harris Bank in Madison, though he expects approval will be made official within the next few weeks.

The Lenz trust has several other projects in the works, Spankowski said, announcements for which will be made at a later date. Trust documents specify that the funds  the total amount not known publically  must be dispersed within eight years, otherwise they would be issued to a different nonprofit in the community that fulfills similar missions.

Spankowski expects the funds will be distributed over several more years.

People are taking notice

PFSP has so far raised $22,000 for future additions. Little estimated the cost of each addition to be $130,000.

If we can raise that dollar amount (specified in the trust), and with our current funding, theres potential we can raise enough money for this second addition within a year, Little said.

We are challenging other businesses to take a look at our project, (because) this is really helping our community. People are taking notice. We really need to expand this.

PFSP has received support recently from Divine Savior Healthcare, which issued about $1,500 for safety gear to be used for Skateboard Basics classes that begin at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Those interested in learning more about the class or signing up may visit the Portage Parks and Recreation website, clicking the Programs tab and then searching skateboard in Activity Name.

Who knows, Little said, we might have the next Tony Hawk come right out of the Portage skateboard classes.

PFSP has several activities planned in the weeks and months ahead, which can be viewed at Portageskatepark.org, under Meetings and Events, or by visiting PFSPs Facebook page.

PFSPs long-term goal is to raise the entire $130,000 for the next phase, at which point leaders hope the city would finance the completion of the park.

Thats the hope, the ultimate goal, Little said. This way the city isnt putting up the entire $260,000.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) With barely a month left for GST launch from July 1, the Ministry of Coal today held a meeting to review preparedness of the stakeholders for the new tax regime and set up a facilitation cell.

Besides, GST cells have been made operational in each of the PSUs under the ministry.

advertisement

"With a view to facilitating implementation of GST for the stakeholders concerned, the secretary (coal) held a meeting to review the status of preparedness for GST and the steps to be taken by the organisations under it... and also to facilitate and guide the stakeholders, particularly their consumers and suppliers," it said.

Coal is a key component in steel making, which has been put in the lowest bracket of 5 per cent under GST.

The all-powerful GST Council will meet on Sunday to review some of the rates on which industry has expressed its apprehension.

This will be the 16th meeting of the Council, to be chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. It also comprises his state counterparts. PTI ABI ARD ARD

--- ENDS ---
Top Award for Research on the African Continent Awarded to Wits Researcher

Professor Lynn Morris received the prestigious Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award, considered an equivalent to the Nobel Prize, on 2 June 2017.

The award, with a monetary value of R1, 5m, is made annually to encourage excellence in scholarship and acknowledge cutting-edge, internationally significant work. Awardees are leading scholars who have a sustained record of outstanding research and intellectual achievement at the highest level. They must have demonstrated a capacity for and a commitment to knowledge transfer to their fellow citizens. Up to now, the Award has only been presented to South Africans or South Africa-based academics.

Morris is an alumna of Wits University where she earned Bachelors of Science and Honours degrees. She earned her DPhil at the University of Oxford, after which she was awarded a Royal Society Florey Fellowship to undertake postdoctoral study in Australia. On her return to South Africa, she joined the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). Currently, she is the Head of the HIV Virology Laboratory within the Centre for HIV & STIs based at the NICD at the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS). She holds a joint appointment as Research Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits University and as Research Associate at the Centre for the Aids Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA). She has devoted the best part of the last twenty years to the search for an HIV vaccine.

Morris is internationally recognised for her work in understanding how the antibody response to HIV develops. The rapid mutability of the virus means that the standard antibody response is quickly obsolete in an infected individual. She has been prominent in studying the rare appearance in some patients of so-called broadly neutralising antibodies which can attack a broad range of mutated viruses. This work is currently one of the most promising leads towards the production of an effective anti-HIV vaccine.

Morris plans on using the Oppenheimer Fellowship to develop a novel antibody-based approach for the prevention of HIV infection in women. This project will make use of an antibody, which shows exceptional antiviral activity against HIV that she and her team and collaborators in the USA, isolated from an HIV-infected woman living in KwaZulu-Natal.

Morris is the fifth scientist from Wits to earn the distinguished fellowship since its initiation in 2001. Other Harry Oppenheimer Fellows from Wits include Professor Helen Rees (2014) for Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the Wits Reproductive Health & HIV Institute (WRHI); Professor Duncan Mitchell (2010) for Physiology; Professor Norman Owen-Smith (2005) for Environmental Sciences; and Professor David Glasser (2001) for Chemical Engineering.
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Adding fresh details)

New Delhi/Hyderabad, Jun 9 (PTI) Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member from Telangana Palvai Govardhan Reddy died today after suffering a cardiac arrest while travelling in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. He was 80.

According to family sources, Reddy, who was accompanied by his wife, was going by car to Kullu to attend a parliamentary committee meeting when he suffered a cardiac arrest.

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He was rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

A five-time MLA in Andhra Pradesh before the bifurcation of the state, Reddy was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 was a member of several committees.

He is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter.

Reddys body would be taken to his New Delhi residence and then brought to Hyderabad. The cremation will take place at his native Idikuda in Nalgonda district tomorrow.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed deep sorrow and grief at the death of the veteran Congress leader.

"He was a very seasoned parliamentarian and has richly contributed to the proceedings, both in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament, of which he remained member from time to time in his long political career. In his death, the Congress has lost a great parliamentarian and a leader," he said.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has expressed shock over the death of Reddy and conveyed his condolence to the members of the bereaved family.

The chief minister spoke to TRS MP Kotha Prabhakar Reddy who was with Govardhan Reddy in the Parliamentary standing committee, which met at Kullu to know the details of the incident.

"The chief minister has instructed Chief Secretary S P Singh and Delhi Resident Commissioner Arvind Kumar to arrange a charted flight to bring the mortal remains of Govardhan Reddy to Hyderabad.

"He has also asked MPs Keshav Rao and Jithender Reddy to oversee the arrangements for bringing the body and other elated things," the CMs office said.

Several leaders cutting across party lines expressed grief over Reddys death.

Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao said he lost a very good friend, while the partys Rajya Sabha member Rapolu Anand Bhaskar said Reddy was like a "link between Pandit Nehrus generation and the youth of the country".

"His demise is loss to me, the Congress and Telangana. My humble prayers for eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to his bereaved wife and children," Bhaskar said.

Congress Mohammed Ali Shabbir, the leader of opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council, said Reddy was a seasoned parliamentarian and his death is great loss to the Congress.

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CPIs Telangana state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy said the Congress has lost an able leader.

BJP state president K Laxman expressed grief saying Reddy was active in the Telangana movement and his death is loss to the state. PTI SKC/GDK RS NRB NSD

--- ENDS ---
Darjeeling witnessed violent protests after Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) cadres protested against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's visit and her decision to make Bengali compulsory in state schools.

By Manogya Loiwal : Police today escorted hundreds of panicking tourists to safety in West Bengal's Darjeeling, after Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) cadres protested against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's visit and her decision to make Bengali compulsory in state schools.

The GJM, which has been campaigning for the creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland, is strictly against making it mandatory for students to learn Bengali.

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There were violent protests near Darjeeling's Mall Road - a tourist hub - and the entire district was put on lockdown. The army was deployed as the riots grew in intensity.

Special provisions were made for tourists who planned to fly out of Bogdogra airport .

The airport opened at 5 am this morning, and restaurants and snack stores were open for business within an hour.

With the help of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Bagdogra Airport Director Rakesh R Sahay ensured that AAI officials, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, and housekeeping and restaurant staff were available to serve passengers.

'ALL WE WANT IS TO GO HOME'

The North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) has arranged special buses which will take tourists to Kolkata from the Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus in Siliguri. These buses will be available every two hours, from 6 am to 6 pm.

"Tourists need not worry. There will be buses to take people to Siliguri, and from Siliguri to Kolkata. There has also been a hotline to the DM's office set up", Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

"My wife and I came to Darjeeling a few days ago for our honeymoon", a tourist from Murshidabad said. "We had booked return train tickets for this evening, but there are no vehicles to get us to the station, although the police are trying to arrange something. Thankfully, the local people have not engaged in any misconduct with us".

"All we want right now is to go home", another tourist from Bihar said. "The situation is so precarious right now that it could get worse at any moment. We are having a hard time finding food and accommodation also".

ALSO READ | Darjeeling on the boil: CM Mamata wants Bengali mandatory in schools, Gorkhas want Nepali, Hindi

ALSO READ | Mamata Banerjee starts Darjeeling trip amid protests over Bengali-must rule in schools

ALSO WATCH | Mamata faces Gorkha fury; CISCE board exams for Class V, VIII; more

--- ENDS ---




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By India Today Web Desk: Deepika Padukone and Vin Diesel bonded famously during the making of xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Although they have both become busy with other projects since the release of their film, Vin has not forgotten his favourite co-star and is "all love" for her. The actor posted a throwback photo with Deepika on Instagram from their xXx days.

All love... #xXxThursdays A post shared by Vin Diesel (@vindiesel) on Jun 8, 2017 at 12:05pm PDT

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Deepika's proximity with Vin had led to rumours of trouble in paradise between her and boyfriend Ranveer Singh. Adding fuel to the fire were her statements on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where she said she has "amazing babies" with Vin, although it's all in her head.

However, Deepika later joked in an interview during the Cannes Film Festival that it was Vin who was in love with her. She added that he was "the most amazing person" she had ever met and called him a "friend for life."

Vin has also been gushing about Deepika. When the two actors had come to India for the premiere of their film, Vin had told IANS that Deepika was the "queen of the whole world." He also called her "an angel with a beautiful soul."

MOVIE REVIEW: XXX RETURN OF XANDER CAGE

ALSO WATCH: xXx star Vin Diesel leaves India to shouts of 'takle'!

ALSO READ: Deepika Padukone and Vin Diesel have a new relationship now. It does not involve babies

ALSO WATCH: Deepika Padukone teaches xXx Return of Xander Cage co-star Vin Diesel Hindi

--- ENDS ---
Areva-EWN to dismantle Brunsbuttel internals

09 June 2017

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Vattenfall has awarded a contract to dismantle and package the reactor pressure vessel internals of the Brunsbuttel nuclear power plant in Germany to the Areva-EWN Consortium. The work should be completed by 2020.

Brunsbuttel (Image: Vattenfall)

Areva said the segmentation and packaging of core waste and reactor pressure vessel internals will be carried out underwater. "Proven technology and a qualified underwater robot will be used to enhance efficiency and reduce the time required for the operation," it said.

The single-unit Brunsbuttel plant was among the eight oldest German reactors taken out of service in March 2011. The 771 MWe boiling water reactor (BWR) had been idle since 2007 following a grid-facilitated trip. Brunsbuttel was one of eight older power reactors that had their operating licences withdrawn by the federal government shortly after the Fukushima accident in Japan in March 2011. Vattenfall - which owns a 66.7% stake in the plant with EOn holding the remaining 33.3% - applied in late 2012 to decommission that plant and the approval process is under way.

The contract Vattenfall signed with the Areva-EWN Consortium includes an option for the Krummel plant, should decommissioning and dismantling also be decided for that plant.

The Krummel plant - comprising a single 1346 MWe BWR - is also jointly owned by Vattenfall and EOn. It too was among the older units that had their operating licences withdrawn in 2011. Vattenfall submitted an application to decommission and dismantle the plant in August 2015.

In May 2015, EOn and Vattenfall signed an agreement to cooperate in the decommissioning and dismantling of their jointly owned nuclear power plants in Germany. The companies said that agreement aimed "to make the decommissioning and dismantling process of their joint venture nuclear power plants as economical as possible".

Energiewerke Nord GmbH (EWN) - which is decommissioning and dismantling the Greifswald and Rheinsberg nuclear power plants in Germany - was renamed ENW Entsorgungswerk fur Nuklearanlagen in February. The company is also responsible for the disposal and interim storage of used fuel and the resulting radioactive wastes. The German government has assigned EWN to manage the final disposal of all radioactive waste from the public sector.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Lithuania starts hot tests at solid waste facility

09 June 2017

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The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) in Lithuania has taken another step forward in the decommissioning process with the start today of hot trials, using radioactive materials, of the new Solid Radioactive Waste Management and Storage Facility. The milestone was announced by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The SWMSF facility at Ignalina (Image: EBRD)

The facility is a key element of the decommissioning of INPP and financed through the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund (IIDSF). Established in 2001 and managed by the EBRD, the fund has provided more than 830 million ($928 million) to date for the implementation of key decommissioning projects and the development of Lithuania's energy sector.

Known as the SWMSF B2/3/4 Project, the facility will provide INPP with the means to retrieve, characterise, sort, transport, pack and store the short- and long-lived radioactive solid waste accumulated during the operation of the Ignalina plant as well as waste being generated during the decommissioning process. It was built by Germany's Nukem Technologies at a cost of about 200 million.

Gunter Grabia, EBRD associate director and head of IIDSF, said: "We are satisfied with the successful start today of the hot trial of the new facility which is one of the most complex projects in the decommissioning process of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. We are confident that the contractor, the INPP management and the Lithuanian authorities will continue their efficient cooperation in order to complete this key project on schedule and on budget."

The waste management and storage system complies with the new requirements of the laws of Lithuania, EU standards and International Atomic Energy Agency recommendations, the London-based bank said. After the trial period, industrial operations are scheduled to begin in June next year.

Simonas Satunas, vice-minister of energy of Lithuania, said in the EBRD statement: "As we look ahead, today's celebration is evidence of successful progress towards the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant. However, significant challenges lie ahead and these will require focused leadership and close attention."

Massimo Garribba, director-general for energy at the European Commission, said: "As the main contributor to the IIDSF, the European Commission has always encouraged the parties to find pragmatic solutions to move the project forward. The project contributes to the safe management of radioactive waste. It has been excellent teamwork with a focus on tangible results. We are now looking forward to seeing this facility at work, processing waste."

The EBRD-managed IIDSF is supported by the European Union, which has provided 96% of the contributions. Other contributors include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

Lithuanian State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate, Vatesi, said on 5 May it had issued a permit for the start of commercial operation of the country's new interim used fuel storage facility. The announcement followed State Enterprise INPP's successful completion of hot tests with ten new design casks.

This facility, known as the ISFSF B1 Project, is at the plant site in Visaginas municipality. Used fuel will be stored in specially designed Constor RBMK1500/M2 casks that will each weigh 118 tonnes when fully loaded. It is expected that about 190 containers with 17,000 used fuel rods will be stored in the facility for up to 50 years.

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.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Stewart Falls (also called Stewarts Cascade) was definitely one of the more popular waterfalling excursions within the vicinity of Salt Lake City.

And it was for good reason why the falls was so popular.

After all, it featured a reportedly year-round flow on the backside of Mt Timpanogos while plunging over 200ft in a pair of drops.

The drops consisted of a giant main plunge followed by a smaller but gushing lower tier.

Its popularity was evident both times I have hiked to this waterfall as its base was accessible and a magnet for people cooling off in its stream as well as its spray.

Indeed, when I showed up on a warm Sunday afternoon during Memorial Day Weekend in 2017, there were scores of people that were either at the waterfalls base or occupying its narrow trail.

When I came back to visit on a Monday morning in mid-August 2020, there were still lots of people both on the trails and at the waterfall enjoying the beautiful weather.

During the first visit, I learned the hard way that afternoon wasnt the best time to visit Stewart Falls because it was east-facing.

So when I came back three years later, I made sure to visit the falls in the morning, and sure enough, I experienced the waterfall with beautiful morning backlighting.

That said, the latter experience was such that the falls had a much lighter flow as the snowpack was mostly depleted that deep into the Summer.

The Different Approaches to Access Stewart Falls

It turned out that there were at least a couple of different ways to do this hike  one starting from Aspen Grove and the other starting from the Sundance Resort.

Both times Ive done this hike, Ive done it from the Mt Timpanogos Trailhead by Aspen Grove (see directions below).

The main reason why was because this trailhead was on National Forest Land so it was accessible to the public.

According to the signs, this hike was around 3.6-3.8 miles round trip to reach the bottom of Stewart Falls, and my GPS logs pretty much confirmed it.

The trip logs also indicated that this up-and-down trail gained about 760ft in elevation as well as lost 750ft in elevation, which I had to get back on the return hike.

On my first visit, it took me about 2 hours total to do the hike.

On my second visit, I lingered a bit longer and explored a little more around Stewart Falls, so I wound up spending 2.5 hours away from the car.

In any case, I saw many families from elders to kids with reasonable fitness doing this hike so I figured that it made for a great family outing despite the moderate difficulty.

The Sundance Resort approach involved riding a chairlift (which costed my wife and my daugher $42 total as of August 2020 and didnt run until 11am that day).

They then took it to the Rays Summit where they learned that it was a 1.5-mile hike down to the waterfall before continuing another 1.5 miles the rest of the way down to the Sundance Resort.

Given the cost of the chairlift, the limited schedule, and the minimal distance saved by doing this option, Id argue that the Sundance approach was really more for people staying at or visiting the resort.

Either that, or it might be an option for people who had difficulty finding parking at the public lots at Aspen Grove.

We didnt do that hike so we dont have a trail description for doing Stewart Falls in this manner.

That said, we did notice lots of Private Property and No Stewart Falls Access signs throughout the Alpine Scenic Highway between Sundance and Aspen Grove.

So that indicated that this hike was only meant for resort guests, and the only benefit of the chairlift was that it was a mostly downhill hike.

Stewart Falls Trail Description  from Mt Timpanogos Trailhead to the waterfall

From the busy Mt Timpanogos Trailhead, the trail began just past a toilet facility with some trail signage.

It initially meandered to the southwest in more or less level terrain before the trail started to round a bend with a partial view of the Primrose Cirque in the distance.

Then, the trail then started its narrow climb in earnest, which persisted for the next mile or so.

The trail more or less hugged a ledge as it followed the mountainous contours providing glimpses of the valley and surrounding mountains cut forth by the Northern Fork Provo River.

The pace of the hike was a bit herky-jerky because I often stopped to let people going in the opposite direction pass through.

At the same time, I found myself being caught behind slower hikers with limited opportunities to pass.

This was made even trickier when you consider the high volume of foot traffic in both directions as well as the COVID-19 pandemic where I tried to respect the social distancing.

Eventually, the climb topped out as the tree cover briefly gave way to a clearing where many trees and shrubs were mysteriously bent in the downhill direction (to my left).

I suspected that the bending vegetation might have been caused by avalanches as this clearing was well-within range of some neighboring mountains that could have easily spawned the unstable snow.

On my mid-August 2020 visit (three years later), I noticed that more trees and shrubs have grown here and concealed a lot of the bent foliage (though some were still around).

Beyond the apex of the climb, the trail then began a pretty long descent that initially passed through more forested sections providing some welcome shade to provide a little relief from the intense sun.

As the trail eventually made a turn (at roughly 1.3 miles from the trailhead), that was when I finally got my first glimpse of Stewart Falls and the accompanying Stewart Cascades.

The Stewart Cascades looked like other tall cascades blending in with the snow that was still present on my first visit in late May 2017.

However, on my mid-August 2020 visit, the snow was less prevalent and the waterfall seemed to jump out a little more against the scenery.

The views from here also allowed me to look in the downstream direction towards the Sundance Resort area.

Anyways, the trail continued descending along a somewhat narrow ledge as it would eventually reach a rocky outcrop looking right at the Stewart Falls.

This was at about 1.7 miles from the trailhead.

The final descent was on a narrower but still well-used path as it would eventually deposit me right at the base of Stewart Falls.

There was also a trail coming up from the left that hooked up with both the Rays Summit Trail as well as the descent to the Sundance Resort.

Exploring the base of Stewart Falls

During my first visit to the base of Stewart Falls, I was looking up against the early afternoon sun, which conspired to make taking photos a difficult task.

So learning from that observation, when I came back three years later, it was during the morning when the sun was behind me.

For most people, it was enough to enjoy the creek as well as the spray from the lower drop of the waterfall.

However, I noticed that there was also a very steep and informal scrambling trail that quite a few daring folks ascended to reach a ledge at the base of the upper drop of Stewart Falls.

While there was a direct climb on an eroded slope to get up there, I found it slightly easier to climb up a more vegetated and rocky path more to the left (closer to the waterfall).

No matter which approach was taken, I had to exercise a lot of caution, especially since it was easy to kick down rocks to unsuspecting people below.

And I was aware that coming back down was also going to be tricky for the same reasons.

Eventually, I reached a narrow ledge with dropoff exposure that ultimately brought me back to the Stewart Falls upper drop.

However, the terrain here was quite sloped and uneven, so it wasnt exactly a great chill-out spot.

Nevertheless, the views from here were different, and it was also nice to get a closer look at the wispier upper drop.

After having my fill of the falls, I then had to hike back the way I came as I now had to make a pretty long climb to get back to the avalanche zone.

Only after that avalanche zone would the trail then made a final descent to the Mt Timpanogos Trailhead.

Authorities

Stewart Falls resides within the Mount Timpanogos Wilderness in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest near Provo in Utah County, Utah. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
Population density is a common way of measuring and comparing places around the world. In short, it is an average of the number of people living in a specific area. These calculations can be made on a macro level (continents and countries), right down to the micro (cities and towns). The higher the population density, the more people who live in that space.

Based on estimates produced by the United Nations (UN), the most densely populated continent as of 2020 is Asia with 150 people per square kilometer. This is not surprising given that Asias population makes up just under 60 percent of the total world population.

Europewhich is the main subject of this articleis the second most densely populated at 34 people per square kilometer. Next comes Africa and then South America. With the exception of Australia, North America is the continent with the lowest population density at 20 people per square kilometer.

For inquiring minds, the population density of Earth is roughly 57 people per square kilometer.

Three Most Densely Populated European Countries

According to the UN, Europes current overall population exceeds 747 million people. This number accounts for approximately 9.78 percent of the total world population. These individuals, however, are not evenly spread across the continent, ultimately creating areassometimes entire countriesthat are much more densely populated than others.

1. Monaco

A heavily populated area in Monaco. Image crdit: TheGlowingCarrot/Shutterstock.com

Moncao is a city-state and country located on the French Riviera with an overall population of 39,296 people, making it one of the countries in Europe with the least amount of residents. Regardless, it is the most densely populated country in the continent at 18,960 people per square kilometer. It is also considered the most densely populated sovereign state in the entire world.

2. Vatican City

An aerial view of the Vatican City. Image credit: S-F/Shutterstock.com

Located in a pocket in Rome, Vatican City is the worlds smallest independent nation-state; it covers only 0.49 square kilometers, making it significantly smaller than even Central Park in New York. It currently has the lowest population of any European country at just 801 people. Nonetheless, it is the second most densely populated country in Europe at 2,273 people per square kilometer.

3. Malta

An aerial view of Malta. Image credit: Martin Mecnarowski/Shutterstock.com

Malta is a European island country located in the Mediterranean Sea. It existed as a British colony for well over a century until it gained its independence in 1964. It measures 316 square kilometers and ranks third on this list with a population density of 1,505 people per square kilometer.

One quick glimpse at the top three and it becomes quite clear how they are similar: they are some of the smallest countries in all of Europe. It stands to reason that the smaller the space, the more people are forced to pack together. Generally speaking, a higher population density means that the populationregardless of what it isis high in comparison to the size of the country. For example, the Vatican has the lowest population of any country in Europe, but all the clergy and Swiss Guards must co-exist in such a small finite space. This rule also goes for other high-ranking countries on this list like San Marino.

Of course, there are several reasons to explain why these countries specifically rank in the top three. Monaco, for instance, attracts a lot of the worlds wealthy due to reduced income taxes and the luxury of living on the French Riviera. In fact, approximately 33 percent of all residents in Monaco are millionaires.

Three Least Densely Populated European Countries

1. Iceland

Vast parts of the landscape of Iceland remain uninhabited. Image credit: Marisa Estivill/Shutterstock.com

Iceland is an island country located in the North Atlantic. It measures 103,000 square kilometers. Known for its large glaciers and active volcanoes, it is the least densely populated country in Europe at 3.5 people per square kilometer.

2. Norway

Reine, Lofoten in Norway. Image credit: IM_photo/Shutterstock.com

Norway is a country located in Northern Europe with a total area of 385,207 square kilometers. It largely borders Sweden, but it also runs along Finland and Russia to the north-east. It is the least densely populated country in Europe after Iceland at 14 people per square kilometer.

3. Finland

Reini, Lofoten, Norway. Image credit: IM_Photo/Shutterstock.com

Finland is a country that is also located in the north. Even though it is slightly smaller than Norway, it is still the eighth-largest country in Europe. Nonetheless, it is the third least densely populated at 16 people per square kilometer. It also has the lowest population density in the entire European Union.

Again, analysing the bottom three, it becomes apparent what they share in common: all three are Nordic countriesplaces that exist geographically in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. There are several factors that influence their low population densities, which have all remained more or less unchanged over the past twenty years.

All three countries exist in relative isolation compared to the rest of EuropeIcelands remoteness is especially apparent. Furthermore, parts of each country are uninhabitable due to the natural environment, consequently lowering the population density merely based on the fact that there are areas where people simply cannot live. Taking into consideration the bigger size of each country, particularly in comparison to the top three, it is perhaps unsurprising why they rank so low on this list.

The Baltic States

It is also worthy to note that Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia have very low population densities, ranking in the bottom eight. Located along the western border of Russia, all three Baltic states have followed the same population trends throughout the 20th century. Each experienced tremendous loses during World War II, particularly Lithuania which lost fourteen percent of its entire population. All three rebounded after merging with the Soviet Union, but began to dwindle once again after Mikhail Gorbachev announced Baltic independence in September 1991.

Estonias population has since plateaued, but Lithuania and Latvias are expected to continue shrinking. One of the main factors causing this gradual decline is the rise in emigration among those of working age. As a result, both countries are expected to decrease by fifteen percent as early as 2050, ultimately contributing to lower population densities.

The Future Of Europes Population

Image credit: Willy Barton/Shutterstock.com

This decrease in population is not unique to the Baltic states, but is also projected to hit numerous other countries. According to recent findings, Europe will lose roughly thirty million people of working age by 2050. Also taking into consideration the aging population gradually passing on, these countries could find themselves with significantly lower population densities come the next thirty years. Some countries, however, are reportedly growing in population, such as Iceland, Norway, and San Marino. Unfortunately, there are no overarching patterns to determine which European countries can expect to follow similar trends.
The government is keen to "settle controversies" about the benefits of cow's milk and urine, and scientists have been directed to come up with verifiable findings, whether positive or negative.

By Ananth Krishnan: Environment Minister and Science and Technology Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has said India will demonstrate to the world the importance of the cow by carrying out verifiable scientific research into benefits derived from 'panchgavya' or five elements of the cow.

The government is keen to "settle controversies" about the benefits of cow's milk and urine, and scientists have been directed to come up with verifiable findings, whether positive or negative.

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He also said India would fulfill its climate change commitments under the Paris accord - and derive 40 per cent of its energy from non-fossil fuels by 2030 - regardless of the US decision to pull out of the Paris accord announced last week by Donald Trump.

In Beijing for a key clean energy ministerial meet, he said the Modi government wanted to use science to demonstrate to the world India's ancient achievements and traditional knowledge.

"If you say anything spoken by someone about importance of cow milk, or the panchgavya, you will be surprised very senior scientists in IIT Delhi and all across the country are working on this issue and the importance of cow is well established in our literature and well proven."

He added, "Our scientists are working to validate its power with science along with it. If you have to talk about it to the whole world, even for Ayurveda we know it is well defined and good and people can live for hundred years, but we have to scientifically validate it to prove it to the rest of the world. For Ayurveda also our laboratories in Jammu are doing this. When we established AYUSH we have put in Rs 5000 crore for the ministry and there is a lot of scope."

SETTLE ALL CONTROVERSIES

"We are thoroughly objective about it," he said. "The Science and Technology ministry follows principle of science. If a scientist gives a positive response, we cannot say its unscientific. That is why we want to once and for all settle these hypothetical controversies."

Similarly with yoga, he said that at a Japan summit he attended "one of the recommendations was that pathanjali yoga would be one of the biggest healers for mankind in the 21st century. But to be taken across to the whole world, we have to strenghten our scientific tools and that is what we are trying to do."

On the question of India's biotech regulator recommending to the Environment Ministry adopting genetically modified mustard, what would be India's first GM approval, he said a decision was yet to be made.

"Right now we are confronted with this issue. The scientists have made suggestions on GM mustard after some research and it is a burning issue. We will start looking at what the scientists have done, the evidence and then we will take a call on the issue. We will also take people's opinion into account."

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Albania is a relatively ethnically homogeneous country with a vast majority of the population speaking the Albanian language which is also the countrys official language. Minorities in the country speak their own native languages like Greek, Macedonian, Romani, and others. Italian and English are the most popular foreign languages spoken by the Albanians.

What Is The Official And Most Popular Language Of Albania?

According to the Albanian Constitution, the Albanian language is the official language of Albania. The language serves as the mother tongue of 98.76% of the population of the country. There are several distinct dialects of Albanian. The two most widely spoken ones are the Tosk which is spoken in the south and the Gheg which is spoken by people in the north of Albania. The River Shkumbin forms the traditional divide between populations of Albania speaking these two dialects of the Albanian language. Cham, Arbereshe, and Arvanitika are some other dialects of Albanian that are spoken outside the country in Italy and Greece.

Minority Languages Spoken In Albania

Greek

The most spoken minority language of Albania is Greek. The language is spoken by the Greeks living in the country as well as by Albanians who had immigrated to Greece in the past. The variant of Greek spoken in the country is known as the Northern Epirote Greek which uses not only some Albanian words but also some archaic Greek words which are no longer spoken by speakers of Standard Modern Greek. Slight variations in accent also exist between pockets of populations speaking Greece in Albania.

Aromanian

The Aromanian is a minority language of Albania spoken by the Aromanians living in the country. These people, numbering about 100,000 to 200,000 are classified as a cultural minority by the Albanian law.

Romani

About 10,000 members of the Romani cultural group living in Albania speak the Romani language and have managed to preserve their native language despite the absence of a formal education system teaching the language in Albania.

Macedonian

The Macedonian language is spoken by the Macedonian people of Albania. According to the 1989 census, there were only 5,000 speakers of this language in the country.

Serbo-Croatian

The Serbo-Croatian language is spoken by people residing near Albanias borders with Serbia and Montenegro in the northern part of the country.

Popular Foreign Languages Spoken In Albania

Italian

The Italian language is the most popular foreign language spoken in Albania. The popularity of the language traces its origins to when the country was a protectorate of Italy. During this period, Italian was an official language in Albania. Most of the Albanians who speak Italian in the country have learnt the language by watching Italian television on an extensive scale. The 19,000 ethnic Italians living in the country also speak this language.

English

Unlike Italian, English is widely taught in schools across Albania. Thus, English is the most popularly spoken foreign language among the youth of Albania. About 65% of the children of the country can speak English. The language was introduced in 1921 in Albania but suffered setbacks during the Communist rule in the country. Later, the language once more gained popularity in the country.

French, Russian, and Chinese are some other foreign languages spoken by small sections of the Albanian population.
Ethiopia has more than 80 languages spoken within the country and they include official languages, foreign languages, and other native languages. Oromo and Amharic are the two principal languages spoken in the country.

A Brief Overview Of The Languages Spoken In Ethiopia

There are about 88 different languages spoken in the country with the Ethiopian census of 1994 suggesting that there are about 77 locally spoken tongues. A huge percentage of the languages spoken in the country belong to the Afroasiatic family which comprises of Cushitic and Semitic languages. Even though their classification is uncertain, Omotic languages are also spoken. Besides, the Nilotic peoples who are a minority ethnic group in Ethiopia speak Nilo-Saharan languages. Of the 88 languages in the country, two are extinct while 86 are still living. Of the remaining 86 languages, five are almost extinct, eight are in danger of extinction, 14 are developing, 18 are vigorous, and 41 are institutional. In Ethiopia, English which is the medium of instruction in universities and secondary schools is the most widely spoken of the foreign languages. Initially, Amharic was the medium of instructions in primary schools, but that changed in many regions within the country and has so far been replaced by other local languages such as Tigrinya and Oromo.

The Most Widely Spoken Languages Of Ethiopia

According to the Ethiopian census of 2007, the first languages and the largest are the Oromo with about 24,930,424 of the population speaking the language which is equivalent to 33.8% and the Amharic with 21,634,396 users which is equivalent to 29.3% of the countrys population. Other widely spoken languages in Ethiopia include Somali with 4,609,274 of the total population which is equivalent to 6.25%, Tigrinya with 4,324,476 equivalent to 5.86%, Sidamo with 2,981,471 equivalent to 4.84%, Wolaytta with 1,627,784 equivalent to 2.21%, Gurage with 1,481,783 equivalent to 2.01%, and Afar with 1,281,278 equivalent to 1.74%. Amharic is the second most spoken language in Ethiopia, and it is the official language in which all federal laws are published.

The Endangered Languages Of Ethiopia

Languages, such as Mesmes, Gafat, and Weyto are victims of language death. Many of the languages have not been spoken in two generations making them prone to extinction. The Ongota language is the next in line at the brink of extinction. Language death is attributed to complex factors which are not as easy to determine or predict. Therefore, it is almost impossible to pinpoint which language exactly is most prone to go extinct. With the assumption that a language in Ethiopia with less than 10,000 speakers is most likely to become extinct or endangered, about 22 languages are on the list as endangered. However, the exact number of languages either facing extinction or endangered may be low or high.

Conservation Of Ethiopian Languages

Following the fall of the Derg in 1991, the Ethiopian Constitution of 1995 allowed all ethnic groups within the country the right to establish first language primary education systems and develop their various languages. The decision marked a change to language policies put in place by the country's previous governments. The Ge'ez script is the principal orthography used in Ethiopia in regards to writing systems. Despite other methods of writing being used by different communities in the country over the years, Ge'ez is the current liturgical language of both the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo and the Ethiopian Churches.
There are more than 150 different languages spoken in Finland. Finnish and Swedish are the two official languages of Finland In addition to the two official languages, the country has other languages that have their 'users' rights written down in law. The indigenous populations of Finland speak the Sami languages. Other autochthonous languages that have a long history in the country include Karelian, Finnish sign language, Finnish Romani, and Finland-Swedish sign language.

The Three Most Spoken Languages Of Finland

Finnish

With approximately 4,868,751 speakers which translate to 88.88% of Finland's population, the Finnish language is widely spoken by the majority in the country. The Finnish language dates back about 500 hundred years and is closely related to Estonian and a little less closely related to the Sami languages. Additionally, Finnic languages belong to the Uralic language family. Therefore Finnish is distantly related to various languages as diverse as the Ugric language of Hungary and the Siberian Samoyedic language known as Nenets.

Swedish

About 9 million people in the world speak Swedish as their mother tongue. In Finland, about 290,747 people speak the language which is equivalent to 5.31% of the country's total population. About 92.4% of Swedish speakers in the country hail from the autonomous province of Aland. During the start of the 20th century, the number of Swedish speakers represented an equivalent of 14% of the total population. However, their numbers have since gone down. About 44% of the country's citizens who registered a different primary language could converse in Swedish in 2012. Being considered as a sub-branch of Indo-European and a North Germanic language, Swedish is closely related to German, Danish, English, and Norwegian languages. Until the late 19th century, the country's language of administration was the Swedish language. Together with Finnish, they are the compulsory languages in Finland schools with the only exception being children with a third language as their native language. Vaasa, Helsinki, Porvoo, and Espoo are four of the largest Swedish-speaking communities in the country. Finland-Swedish are the leading Swedish dialects spoken in Finland.

Russian

Russian is the country's third most spoken language with approximately 69,614 speakers which is 1.27% of the total population. As a result of the former Soviet influence in Europe, the country's older generations is most likely to speak Russian either as a third or fourth language. However, the language is not so much popular among the younger generations since it is quickly being replaced by the English language. As a matter of fact, Finland is ranked among the world's top four countries that are fluent in English. Despite the language not having an official status in Finland; historically, Russian served as the third co-official language in the country. Together with the Swedish and Finnish languages, Russian was a co-official language for a brief moment between 1900 and 1917.

Other Languages Spoken In Finland

Besides Aland, all municipalities whose residents speak both official languages account for at least 3,000 people equivalent to about 8% of the population. There are several other languages spoken in Finland either as a native language or as a side language. The other languages include Estonian accounting for 0.84% of the population, English with 0.31%, Somali with 0.31%, Arabic with 0.27%, Kurdish with 0.20%, Chinese with 0.18%, Albanian with 0.16%, Persian with 0.15%, Thai with 0.15%, Vietnamese with 0.14%, Turkish with 0.12%, Spanish with 0.12%, and German with 0.11%. Other languages and Sami account for 1.34% and 0.04% of the total population respectively.
Tajikistan is a Central Asian landlocked country with a mountainous terrain. As of 2013, about 8 million people live in the country. For centuries, the region that is now Tajikistan was occupied and invaded by several kingdoms and their armies. People of different ethnicities have lived in the region over a period of centuries. The languages of Tajikistan thus reflect a great influence of the languages of the ethnically diverse population of Tajikistan. The use of Russian in Tajikistan became popular during the Soviet period. After the country gained independence following the break-down of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan became and independent country.

The Official Language Of Tajikistan

The Tajik language serves as the official language of Tajikistan. The language is used widely in government administration, education, business, courts, and daily lives of the people of Tajikistan. Many consider the Tajik to be a variety or dialect of Persian. However, others doubt this fact. In fact, there is great debate regarding the relation between the Tajik and Persian languages. The Tajik is believed to have evolved separately from Persian due to the geographical isolation and political barriers and also the influence of Russian and other languages. A number of archaic elements are still used in the Tajik language.

Russian, A Major Language Spoken In Tajikistan

Russian is another important language spoken in Tajikistan. It is a legacy of the Soviet rule in the country. It is widely used for formal and informal communication in the country. The Constitution of Tajikistan does not mention Russian as an official language but mentions that this language can be used for communication between people belonging to different ethnic communities (as a lingua franca). In 2009, it was believed that an amendment was made to the Constitution removing any mention of Russian. However, the language was again returned to its original status at a later time. The number of speakers who speak Russian as their first language has, however, fallen in the country in the past few decades due to the large-scale emigration of ethnic Russians from Tajikistan to their homeland in Russia.

Major Minority Languages In Tajikistan

Other than Russian, several other minority languages are spoken in Tajikistan. Uzbek, a Turkic language and Uzbekistans official language is spoken by about 900,000 people in Tajikistan. The official language of Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz language, is spoken by the Kyrgyz ethnic minority of Tajikistan. It is spoken by about 60,000 people in the country. Tajikistan also has about 50,000 Persian speakers as well Arabic and Pashto-speaking communities.

Other Minority And Regional Languages Of Tajikistan

Other minority languages or regional languages of Tajikistan which are lesser known and have few speakers include Yaghnobi, Parya, Shughni, Wakhi, etc. The Shugni language is the most widely spoken among these languages and is spoken by about 40,000 people in the country as a first language. Yaghnobi is spoken in Yaghnob valley of the country by about 12,000 speakers. Parts of the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan border hosts a community of Parya speakers.

Immigrant Languages Spoken In Tajikistan

The various immigrants to Tajikistan from the neighboring countries and beyond speak their own languages for intra-community communication. These languages have a few thousand to a few hundred speakers in the country. Examples of the immigrant languages spoken in Tajikistan include Armenian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Turkish, Western Balochi, Korean, Kazakh, etc.
Bahrain is located in the Middle East and gained independence from Britain in 1971. According to Bahrains 2002 Constitution, the country is a constitutional monarchy and the king is the head of state while the prime minister is the head of government. The king wields legislative, judicial and executive authority and is responsible for appointing of government officials.

The Constitution

The Constitution of Bahrain is the supreme law in the country. The kingdom has had two constitutions since independence from Britain. The first constitution in Bahrain was promulgated in 1973 following the independence in 1971 and provided for a unicameral parliament. The second and current constitution was adopted in 2002 and brought numerous reforms to the government including the change of the unicameral parliament to a bicameral parliament as well as the provision of voting rights for women.

Monarch

The ruling family in Bahrain comes from the House of Khalifa which has held monarch authority in the kingdom since independence in 1971. The head of the royal family is the ruler and King of Bahrain. The Crown Prince is next-in-line in the succession of the king and also serves as the Commander of the Bahrain Defense Forces.

The Legislature

According to the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the national assembly is defined as a bicameral parliament made up of two chambers; the Consultative Council as well as the Council of Representatives. The National Assembly is comprised of 80 members in total and 40 members seated in the Consultative Council and 40 members of the Council of Representatives. The Chair of the Consultative Council acts as the leader of the National Assembly, but the speaker of the Council of Representatives assumes leadership in the event of the absence of the Chair of the Consultative Council. The National Assembly is mandated to formulate laws except for royal decrees from the king.

The Consultative Council

The Consultative Council is a branch of the national assembly and is the Upper House of the Parliament of Bahrain. The Consultative Council is comprised of 40 members; all of whom are appointed by the King. Also known as the Shura Council, the Consultative Council is headed by the Chair who is also appointed by the king. Among the current members of the Consultative Council are a Christian woman and a Jewish man.

The Council of Representatives

The Council of Representatives is the Lower House of the Parliament of Bahrain. The Council of Representatives (also known as the Chamber of Deputies) is made up of 40 members who are all elected by universal suffrage. The speaker is the head of the Council of Representatives. The Council of Representatives has the power to vote against a royal decree.

The Judiciary

The Judiciary of Bahrain is the branch of government engaged in the administration of justice in the kingdom and is headed by the Chief Justice. The Judiciary is divided into two court systems; the Sharia Law Courts and the Civil Law Courts. The Sharia Law Courts are mandated to preside over cases involving the personal status of Bahraini Muslims. The Civil Law Courts have jurisdiction to preside over disputes involving non-Muslim citizens. The Court of Cassation is the final appeal court in Bahrain and is headed by the Chief Justice.
Taiwan is an island located off the east coast of mainland China, in the East China Sea, which forms a part of the North Pacific Ocean. Separating Taiwan from the Chinese mainland is the Taiwan Strait. As a political unit, Taiwan consists of the main island of Taiwan and several small islands that are situated to the west and south of the main island.

To the east of Taiwan is the Japanese island of Yonaguni, the southernmost island of Japan. To the south of it are the Batanes islands, which belong to the Philippines. Taiwan also controls some islands close to the Chinese mainland, including Kinmen County, the Wuqiu Islands, and the Matsu Islands, all of which lie close to the coast of the mainland Chinese province of Fujian.

The capital of Taiwan is the city of Taipei, located near the islands northern coast. The city is home to approximately 7.87 million people, making it the most populous city in Taiwan.

Map of Taiwan.

Contents:

Is Taiwan Part Of China? Is Taiwan A Country?

In a practical sense, Taiwan is not part of China. It has its own flag, government, and military. Thus, it is a de facto independent country. Taiwans official name, however, is not Taiwan, but the Republic of China. The story of Taiwans separation from the rest of China begins in 1949, when the Chinese Communists defeated the Nationalists in a civil war. The Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, retreated to the island of Taiwan and set up a rival government there. Ever since these events, Taiwan has been a de facto independent state, though it has not officially declared its independence.

The Chinese government in Beijing insists that there is only one China, and it includes Taiwan. In fact, China has repeatedly said that it reserves the right to use force to take control of the island and unify it with the rest of China, especially if Taiwan officially declares itself to be an independent country. Under pressure from the Chinese government, most of the international community does not recognize Taiwan as an independent state. This has not always been the case, however.

International Diplomacy

Flag of Taiwan.

Taiwan was formerly a member of the United Nations, and many countries preferred to maintain relations with it rather than with the communist government in Beijing. In 1971, however, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that the government of the Peoples Republic of China was the sole legitimate representative of China at the UN. Thus, Taiwan was effectively expelled from the organization.

In 1979, the United States established diplomatic relations with the Chinese government in Beijing for the first time. As part of the conditions for establishing ties with Communist China, the US broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Eventually, most of the international community established relations with Beijing and broke off relations with Taiwan. Today, only fifteen countries recognize the Taiwanese government, and no government maintains simultaneous relations with both China and Taiwan.

Taiwan does, however, maintain a certain level of international ties. It is a member of 40 international governmental organizations, including the Asian Development Bank, the Asia-Pacific Cooperation forum, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). The island also has observer status in other organizations. Arguably, Taiwans most important international ties are with the US. As previously stated, the US broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan when it recognized the Chinese government in Beijing in 1979. However, the US still maintains some ties with the island, and most importantly, provides Taiwan with substantial military aid. This aid and the support from the US for the continued existence of Taiwans separate government has, so far, effectively deterred Beijing from attempting to take the island by force.

Government Of Taiwan

Presidential Office Building, Taipei, Taiwan.

When Taiwan became effectively separate from the rest of China, it was a one-party state. The sole, legal party in Taiwan was the Nationalist Party, known as Kuomintang (KMT), under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, who was deposed as Chinas leader when communist forces won the countrys civil war in 1949. Upon moving to Taiwan, Chiang basically became the dictator of a one-party state. In 1975, he died, and power was passed to his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, who ruled until his own death in 1987. Shortly before he died, however, Chiang Ching-kuo lifted the islands state of martial law, and allowed a democratic government to take shape.

Today, Taiwan is a multiparty, democratic state with an executive branch headed by a president. The president is directly elected by Taiwanese voters for a four-year term. The president chooses a premier, officially known as the President of the Legislative Yuan, who then chooses a cabinet, known as the Executive Yuan. The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral chamber that serves as Taiwans legislature. It has 113 members, 73 of whom are elected in single-seat constituencies by a simple majority vote. Another 34 members are elected based on proportional representation. The remaining six members of the Legislative Yuan, who represent the islands aboriginal population, are directly elected by voters in multi-member constituencies, using proportional representation. All members of the Legislative Yuan serve four-year terms.

The judicial branch of Taiwans government, known officially as the Judicial Yuan, is headed by the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court. The judges of these courts are all appointed by the president, but subject to approval by the Legislative Yuan. Supreme Court justices serve for life, while Constitutional Court justices serve eight-year terms, and half of its membership is renewed every four years.

Demographics

Raohe Street Night Market, Taipei, Taiwan. Image credit: r.nagy/Shutterstock

Taiwan is home to approximately 23.85 million people, most of whom live in urban areas. It is estimated that the islands population will peak in 2029, at about 24.01 million, after which it will begin to decline. The islands population density is around 659 people per km2.

In terms of ethnicity, the Han Chinese make up around 98% of Taiwans total population. They can be divided into two groups. The first is the Hoklo Han Chinese, who migrated from mainland China to Taiwan in the 19th century before the Japanese took control of the island. The Hokkien dialect, which is the native dialect of the Hoklo Han Chinese, cannot be understood by speakers of other Chinese dialects. The Hoklo Han Chinese make up about 70% of Taiwans total population. The second Han Chinese group is the Hakka Han Chinese. These are people from mainland Chinese provinces in which the Hakka dialect is the main spoken dialect. They comprise about 14% of Taiwans population. Mainland Chinese, who migrated to Taiwan after the Nationalists lost the civil war, constitute another 14% of the islands population. The remaining 2% of Taiwans population are Taiwan Aborigines, who are descendants of Taiwans original Austronesian population, which dominated the island until the 17th century.

Mandarin Chinese is Taiwans official language, and is spoken by nearly all of the islands people. Mandarin spoken in Taiwan assumes two forms the Standard Mandarin and the Taiwanese Mandarin (Hokkien). Taiwanese Hokkien and Taiwanese Hakka are the main vernacular languages spoken in Taiwan. Japanese and English are spoken widely as foreign languages.

Official language : Standard Mandarin Chinese

: Standard Mandarin Chinese Indigenous languages : Formosan languages

: Formosan languages Vernaculars : Taiwanese Hokkien, Taiwanese Mandarin, Taiwanese Hakka

: Taiwanese Hokkien, Taiwanese Mandarin, Taiwanese Hakka Main foreign languages : English, Vietnamese,Japanese

: English, Vietnamese,Japanese Sign languages: Taiwanese Sign Language

Read MoreWhat Languages Are Spoken In Taiwan?

In terms of religion, there are 26 officially recognized religions in Taiwan, though the islands constitution guarantees religious freedom regardless of whether or not a religion has official recognition. According to government statistics, 35.1% of Taiwanese practice Buddhism, 33% Taoism, 3.9% Christianity, and 3.5% Yiguandao. About 18.7% of Taiwanese are listed as non-religious.

Other large cities besides Taipei include Kaohsiung, with a population of about 1.5 million, and Taichung, which has a population of just over 1 million people. Taiwans other major cities have populations of less than a million.

Economy

New Taiwan Dollars.

Taiwan is one of the so-called Asian Tiger economies, which means that it is an economy that has grown rapidly over a short period of time. In the 1950s, Taiwans economy was heavily dependent on American aid. In the late 1950s, however, the islands economy began expanding rapidly, largely due to its cheaply manufactured exports. It was in the late 20th century, however, that the real Taiwan economic miracle took place. Between 1965 and 1989, the islands GNP took off and grew by 360%. The islands exponential economic growth can largely be attributed to its business-friendly environment, in which the Taiwanese government enacted policies to protect the market. Taiwan also imported the latest technology from other countries in order to accelerate its own development. The islands business-friendly environment attracted many firms from mainland China, along with many intellectuals and elite business people. Labor costs in Taiwan were very cheap, which meant that production costs were low and profits high.

Today, Taiwans economy is that of a developed country. Its people are no longer uneducated, and labor costs on the island are no longer so cheap. Thus, Taiwan is unable to compete with the reduced labor costs that mainland China now offers. Nevertheless, the island still maintains a dynamic economy, which was able to weather the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 better than many other jurisdictions. Whereas the economies of Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, declined by 5% in 2020, Taiwans grew by 3%. The island is now home to the worlds leading semiconductor industry, which means that it produces advanced chips for things like 5G networks, automobiles, and smart devices. Taiwans currency is called the New Taiwan Dollar, which has the ISO currency code TWD.
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Updating with AAPs reaction)

New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) High drama unfolded outside Arvind Kejriwals residence here when sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra and his supporters, who attempted to meet the chief minister, were stopped by the police.

Flanked by the drum-beating supporters, Mishra said he wanted to meet the chief minister at his residence, where he was holding a janta darbar (public meeting), and raise the "corruption" charges against him and his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain.

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The former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and his supporters were stopped by the police when they tried to climb over the police barricade. Irked at being prevented from entering Kejriwals residence at Civil Lines, they raised slogans against the chief minister and staged a sit-in there.

Later, Mishra told reporters, "I had come here with only 15-20 people. What is a janta darbar when the janta itself is not welcome?

"I will come here again with more people. Today we had crossed the barricades, the next time, we will uproot them. Kejriwal has forgotten the power of the people."

Reacting to this, Delhi Labour Minister and AAPs city unit convenor Gopal Rai said, "Mishra has nothing else to do."

The party had earlier took a jibe at the sacked minister by describing his allegations as a "Kapil Mishra Show", in a reference to a popular comedy show on television.

Since Mishra had announced that he would attend the public meeting at the chief ministers residence, the police had barricaded the area to thwart any such attempt.

The sacked AAP leader also had a plan to present a copy of Swaraj, a book authored by Kejriwal during his activist days on how to decentralise governance, to the chief minister.

"We had come here with a demand for a special session of the Assembly at the Ram Lila Maidan to discuss the corruption charges against Kejriwal and Jain, but were not allowed to proceed," said the former Delhi water minister.

Claiming that Kejriwal and Jain had no "moral right" to continue in office, he sought their resignation.

Mishra was also accompanied by the mother of late AAP leader Santosh Koli, who demanded a CBI probe into the death of her daughter.

Koli, who was named as the AAP candidate from Seemapuri in the 2013 Delhi Assembly polls, was killed in a road accident in June of that year. The party had described her as a "martyr" who had taken on the ration mafia in the national capital. PTI PR/BUN RC

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Police brutally attacked protesters last week as they attempted to prevent the deportation of a student from Afghanistan studying at a training school in the city of Nuremberg.

Shortly after eight in the morning of May 31, police officers abducted 21-year-old Asef N. from the vocational school as he attended lessons. He was due to be flown to Kabul by plane with other Afghans whose applications for asylum had been rejected.

News of the abrupt deportation spread through the school like wildfire. The police car allocated for the young man was still in front of the school as Asefs classmates assembled to form a sit-down blockade. They occupied the street in front of and behind the car shouting, Nobody is illegal! The right to remain for everyone!

Facebook and Twitter rapidly spread the message about the deportation of the student. Students from other classes streamed outside and nearby residents also joined the blockade of the police car. Refugee organisations spread the news online, calling on people in the area to come to the school and protest. In total, about 300 people participated in the protest.

The police responded by escalating their intervention. As it became clear that the police car could not leave due to the blockade, Asef was dragged out of the vehicle by officers and taken to another vehicle. Some demonstrators tried to prevent this taking place.

The police, reinforced with heavily armoured members of the Support Command (USK), attacked the protesters with blows and kicks. Asef fell to the ground and was dragged by several police across the adjoining lawn. Other police cleared the way. All those attempting to help Asef were dragged away by police, who lashed at the crowd with batons and pepper spray.

The police then released a dog on the protesters who had formed the sit-down blockade. One of the protesters quit the scene with a blood-stained face due to blows from the police batons.

A police spokesman later declared absurdly that demonstrators had not been hurt, but that nine police had been injured. Five demonstrators were arrested and Asef N. is also due to be prosecuted for resisting arrest.

Many of the students were shocked by the brutal police action. This is a bit extreme, one student told TV reporters. They intervened in such a radical manner and injured people who were just trying to prevent someone from being deported. As you can see, quite a few were injured with pepper spray, or struck in the face.

Jorg Weissgerber, who was due to give a lecture on immigration to Asefs class and observed the police operation, told Spiegel Online: The violence clearly came from the police. Ive seen a lot of demos, but Ive never seen police use such disproportionate force against peaceful students. That shocked me.

In response to the police claim that no demonstrator had been injured, Weissgerber asked: How can you report an injury to someone who has just attacked you?

Asef N. was well integrated into the vocational school in Nuremberg. He has been living in Germany for four years and, according to school sources, had good chances of obtaining training as a carpenter. His knowledge of German was good and both pupils and teachers were shocked when he was seized for deportation. The school, which focuses on construction skills, is committed to the integration of young refugees and has received an award for its work.

There was a legally binding deportation order. This had to be done, because the plane was due to fly on the same evening from Frankfurt. That is why the Afghan concerned had to be taken into custody in Nuremberg and taken to Frankfurt for deportation, declared police officer Bert Rauenbusch, thereby seeking to play down the deportation as merely an administrative measure.

The trainee was one of several dozen Afghans who were due to be deported to Kabul in the coming months.

Following the massive suicide terror attack in Kabul on the same day, which resulted in 150 dead, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere cancelled the planned deportation flight. This, however, was by no means due to humanitarian reasons. On the contrary, the German Embassy in Kabul is currently unable to complete the bureaucratic formalities for the arrival of the flight due to the consequences of the attack. The flight would take place as soon as possible.

Despite the attack, de Maiziere declared that the government stuck to its position that Afghanistan is a safe country of origin. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) personally endorsed his statement.

On the evening of the day after the police action in Nuremberg, which led to an angry response nationwide, Merkel announced that she had agreed with Germanys state premiers to suspend deportations to Afghanistan until July. In the meantime the foreign office is to undertake a fresh assessment of the security situation in Afghanistan.

The halt to deportations, however, includes many exceptionsfor criminals, suspected terrorists and rejected asylum seekers who persistently refuse to provide evidence of their identity. Under conditions where resisting arrest or being unable to confirm identity is a criminal offence, this is a list which includes very many.

The police action in Nuremberg was not an isolated event. Last week, 14-year-old Bivsi R. was abducted from a high school classroom in Duisburg, according to a report in the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. The tearful ninth-grader was informed in the teachers study that she and her parents were to be deported to Nepal the same evening.

Bivsi was born in Germany and has spent her entire life in the country. Her shocked classmates had to be reassured by an emergency physician and a teacher of religion. The headmaster was also stunned by the police action. The family was subsequently deported from Frankfurt Airport.

The actions of the authorities and the police in Nuremberg and Duisburg reveal the hypocrisy of the criticisms made by German political parties of the right-wing policies of US President Donald Trump. Since Trump took office in January, officials from the US immigration authorities have apprehended and deported thousands of immigrants. Germanys parliamentary parties boast that, unlike the brutal methods used in the United States, Berlin pursues a humane deportation policy, examines each case individually and only deports to supposed safe countries of origin. The events of the last few days demonstrate that such claims are completely groundless.

It has since been announced that Asef N. will not be incarcerated in a deportation prison. The German Central Aliens Agency failed to convince a local court, which ruled there were no grounds for his detention. In front of the court building, Asef was welcomed by two dozen jubilant fellow students following his release.
After the defeat of Professor Jorg Baberowskis legal action against students in Bremen, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) has sent an open letter to Sabine Kunst, the president of Humboldt University of Berlin, demanding she retract her statement in defence of the right-wing radical professor.

Dear Professor Kunst,

On June 1 Professor Jorg Baberowski withdrew his legal action against the General Student Committee (ASTA) at the University of Bremen. He thereby avoided an imminent defeat in the Cologne Higher Regional Court (OLG), where the ASTA had appealed a March 15 decision by the Cologne District Court that banned them making certain statements about Baberowski.

During oral arguments, the higher regional court judges clearly indicated they would reverse the lower courts ruling. By withdrawing his action, Baberowski avoided having this confirmed in a written decision that would have been devastating for him. However, he will have to cover all court costs, and the Cologne District Courts March 15 ruling is no longer valid.

The Bremen ASTA can now declare without fear of reprisal that Baberowski spreads shockingly brutal theses which glorify violence, downplays the burning and besieging of refugee accommodation centres as a natural reaction of angry citizens, confronts people with pure hatred, and advocates racism and right-wing extremist positions, as the Frankfurter Rundschau and Der Tagesspiegel wrote.

In March, Humboldt Universitys presidium and the deans office of the Faculty of Philosophy gave their backing to Prof. Baberowski in a public statement. They portrayed him as a victim of an attack on the freedom of academic inquiry, declared criticism of him to be unacceptable and threatened his critics with criminal prosecution.

We expect you will respect the opinion of the Higher Regional Court by immediately repudiating this statement publicly and that you will remove it from Humboldt Universitys official web site. It is based on the lower court ruling, which, with the withdrawal of the complaint, has now been overturned. We also expect that you will not resort in future to the intimidation of or discrimination against students who criticise Jorg Baberowskis glorification of violence and right-wing extremist political opinions.

This is all the more necessary given that the Cologne Higher Regional Court explicitly confirmed that the ASTAs criticism was not an attack on the freedom of academic inquiry, but a legitimate dispute with Baberowskis right-wing extremist political views. The historian could not rely on the freedom of academic inquiry, because his statements were made in discussions about debatable issues of daily politics, wrote the Frankfurter Rundschau in summarising the courts opinion.

The chair of the 15th Civil Court Senate of the Higher Regional Court, Margarete Reske, stated during oral arguments that Baberowski had entered an area in which one had to be prepared to accept such sharp criticism in the name of public exchange of opinions. Baberowski must be protected against being cited incorrectly, she added, but not from criticism.

Prof. Andreas Fischer-Lescano, who leads the Centre of European Law and Policy at the University of Bremen, remarked in a guest commentary published in the Weser-Kurier newspaper, In the appeal proceedings, the court made clear that the students statements are self-evidently protected by the right to freedom of opinion.

The claims made in the Humboldt University presidiums March statement that Baberowski had been cited falsely and in a manner which distorted the meaning of what he wrote and had his personal rights violated by citations which were torn out of context and therefore inaccurate were explicitly rejected by the higher regional court. The court was of the opinion that the omitted passages would not have fundamentally altered the statements cited, a spokesman of the court told the Frankfurter Rundschau .

The court rejected the view that Baberowski distanced himself from the use of violent means when he said during a discussion panel in the German Historical Museum, if one is not willing to take hostages, burn villages, hang people and spread fear and terror, as the terrorists do, if one is not prepared to do such things, then one can never win such a conflict.

The court found that Baberowski advocated the idea that one would win the war on terror only by responding with terrorist methods. It also considered that the statement could not be interpreted in a different manner, because it could not see what other meaning the statement could have.

Following the outcome of the proceedings in Cologne, the presidium of the university can no longer sustain the assertion that it is protecting the freedom of academic inquiry and defending a scholar whose integrity is beyond doubt against groundless slanders. The higher regional court left no doubt that the criticism of Baberowski was justified and protected under the right to freedom of opinion. At stake was ensuring that racist prejudice and xenophobic gestures can be criticised at universities, commented professor Fischer-Lescano in the article already cited.

Under these conditions, the defence of Baberowski against criticism is equivalent to the defence of his right-wing extremist political views. We therefore expect that the presidium of the university will recognise the Cologne Higher Regional Court ruling and release a public statement repudiating its March statement.

We are sending this letter to every professor who signed the Humboldt University presidiums statement, calling upon all of them to withdraw their signatures. After Baberowskis defeat in the highest court of appeal, it is no longer possible to justify his defence with ill-informed collegial solidarity.

Yours sincerely,

Sven Wurm

Spokesman of the IYSSE club at Humboldt University and student at the Institute for Historical Sciences (IfG)
Another vocal critic of US President Donald Trump has been provided a high-profile stage in Australia to denounce Russia and campaign for the presidents removal. Last week, it was Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. This week, it was James Clapper, a former general, who was the national intelligence director from 2010 until Trumps inauguration in January.

Clapper is currently a visiting distinguished professor at the Australian National Universitys National Security College in Canberra, enabling him to spend the next month giving speeches and lectures around the country.

The National Press Clubwhich boasts it is an iconic institution with membership comprising the influencers and decision-makers of Australiahosted his first public address on June 7. His audience included prominent political, business and military figures, and leading journalists.

In his prepared remarks, and during an extensive question and answer session, Clapper denounced Trump for waging an assault on Americas institutions, having an inexplicably solicitous stance toward Russia and acting with ignorance or disrespect toward the US intelligence agencies such as the CIA.

He stated as fact the entirely unsubstantiated allegations that Russians hacked the Democratic Party National Committee, planted false information and orchestrated fake news during the US presidential election. He accused the Russian news service RT of being a regime-funded propaganda arm that waged a sophisticated campaign  against Hillary Clinton, and for Donald Trump.

As McCain did a week earlier, Clapper declared there was well-founded concern here [in Australia] about our current administration. He emphasised the importance of the alliance between Australia and the United States and the deep and pervasive foundation of our bilateral bond. He stressed the intimate relations between the countrys intelligence agencies and the bilateral economic engagement of $1.9 trillion in investment and trade.

Australia, Clapper insisted, was also under assault. Again providing no substantiation, he baldly asserted: [I]t is no secret that China is very active in intelligence activities against Australia, just as they are against us, and that China is increasingly aggressive in attempting to gain influence in your political processes, as Russia is in ours.

Over the days preceding his speech, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Fairfax newspapers renewed a McCarthyite-style witch-hunt implying that sections of the Australian political establishment are being shifted from support for the US alliance by donations organised on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party government (see: Australian media renews campaign against Chinese power and influence).

Clappers essential message was that the interests of the Australian ruling class are best served by maintaining its strategic, military and intelligence alignment with the US, despite any concerns it has about Trump. The current president, he implied, may not be there much longer. Pointing to the advanced stage of the political civil war in the American establishment, he referred to Trump as a transitory occupant of the White House.

Clapper contrasted the crisis surrounding Trump with the Watergate scandal that resulted in Richard Nixons resignation in 1974. He stated: I think, when you compare the two, that Watergate pales really, in my view, compared to what were confronting now.

The long-time intelligence chief insisted that the investigations underway in the US into purported links between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia would answer the question: Is there a smoking gun with all the smoke?

The response of the assembled media was an accurate reflection of the state of official Australian politics. Unlike in Europe and Asia, the dominant factions of the Australian establishment are not attempting to use the volatility and uncertainty generated by Trump as the pretext to shift their foreign policy away from the US alliance. Reactionary figures such as McCain and Clapper are able to posture in Australia as champions of democracy, present Trump as a temporary aberration and not face any critical questions as to the sinister, militarist motives behind their campaign against his administration.

Not one journalist asked Clapper the obvious question: why should any credibility be given to any claim he makes, on any subject? He has spent most of the past seven years presiding over agencies that carry out espionage and intrigue against governments and corporations internationally, including numerous illegal assassinations and regime-change operations.

In response to whistle-blower Edward Snowdens revelations of criminal spying on the American population, Clapper flagrantly lied to the US Congress. He only avoided prosecution because decisions were made at the top levels of American politics not to pursue him.

Far from putting Clapper under any scrutiny, however, journalists lined up to express their gratitude for his speech and ask loaded questions that allowed him to develop his anti-Russian and anti-Trump tirade, and advocate even greater state spying on personal communications.

None of his unsubstantiated assertions was challenged, including an ominous statement that Julian Assange and WikiLeaks were a hostile non-government intelligence service.

Clapper took the opportunity to elaborate on his advice to the Australian establishment. He stressed that while Trump was unreliable, there are people in the administration that I think can be trusted. Echoing McCain, he named the former generals in the cabinet: Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.

Clapper declared: So what I look to Australia, and other staunch allies like Australia, [to do] is perhaps to help fill whatever void is created by the absence of US leadership.

The most glaring questions not asked of Clapper relate to the central theme of his entire speech: the absurd claim that Trumps election victory was the result of Russian interference.

Hillary Clinton lost because large numbers of Democratic Party voters either abstainedin disgust with the right-wing, pro-Wall Street character of her campaignor voted for Trump.

Of the two big business candidates, it was Trump who made populist appeals, however fraudulent, to the broadly-felt social grievances of millions of workers. He declared he would bring back jobs and prosperity. The Democrats, in contrast, told suffering working-class voters that things had never been better. Clinton still won the popular vote, by a margin of over three million. Trump was elected due to the vagaries of the state-based electoral college system.

In one revealing answer, Clapper contradicted his own narrative that Trump won because of Russias nefarious hand. He stated: His election was a big shock... It was actually a personal shock to me about how disconnected apparently I was from what Ill call the flyover part of the United States. And theres still a very, very strong body of resentment and frustration in our country with Washington, writ large.

Clappers use of the term flyover part served only to underscore the contempt in ruling circles for the working class. It was a reference to the tens of millions of people across the US whose living standards have stagnated for decades and plummeted over the past 10 years. Barack Obamas administration imposed the full burden of the 20072008 financial collapse on the backs of the working people, while bailing out the banks and corporations. Clinton was viewed rightly as a figure who would continue Obamas anti-working class agenda, as well as escalate US wars and interventions in the Middle East and Asia.

The faction of the American establishment for whom Clapper speaks does not have the slightest concern for the conditions of the working class and makes no appeal to it. It does not oppose the devastating cuts the Trump administration is imposing to health, education, pensions and other social spending. Its opposition stems from a war-mongering insistence that Russia be dealt with as a hostile power, not, as figures around the incoming president had suggested, as a country that could be developed into a possible friend.

Pointing to the prospect of significant political unrest if Trump were impeached, Clapper noted with perplexity that the president still had support, despite the frenzied efforts to tarnish him as a Russian pawn.

The ex-spy chief complained: So far the coalition of people that elected President Trump are still there. Theyre still hanging in there. So, I dont know what it will take.
By Press Trust of India: Bhopal, Jun 9 (PTI) The farmers agitation in Madhya Pradesh reached the doorsteps of the state capital Bhopal today, with incidents of arson and stone-pelting in Fanda area.

Police baton-charged the protesters and arrested at least 27 of them in the area, some 20 km outside Bhopal.

"Some unidentified persons set a truck on fire near a spot where Congress workers were protesting. Then some men hurled stones at the policemen present there," deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Raman Singh Sikarwar told PTI.

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The arrested include 19 Congress workers.

Police also arrested eight others who were allegedly pelting stones.

"We also resorted to lathi-charge to disperse stone-pelters," the DIG said.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1, seeking loan waiver and higher prices for the farm produce among other things.

On June 6, five protesters were killed in police firing in Mandsaur district, the epicentre of agitation.

A 26-year-old farmer died in Badavan village of Mandsaur, with locals today alleging that he was beaten up by policemen. PTI LAL ADU KRK RT

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Under conditions of growing transatlantic tensions and the departure of Britain from the European Union, the 27 remaining EU member states are rapidly pushing ahead with the establishment of an independent military policy.

In Luxembourg on Thursday, the EU finally decided to establish a joint command centre for civilian and military operations. It will initially be used to direct EU missions without executive powers, such as training missions in Mali, Somalia and South Africa. In the medium term, executive EU military operations could also follow, i.e. comprehensive war operations such as in Syria or Iraq, which have hitherto been directed from headquarters in the respective member states.

The day before, the European Commission had initiated a European Defence Fund of 5.5 billion per year. This year, the EU will for the first time offer grants for collaborative research in innovative defence technologies and products, fully and directly funded from the EU budget, the official press release said. In 2018, the Commission will then propose a dedicated EU defence research programme with an estimated annual budget of 500 million, making the EU one of the biggest defence research investors in Europe.

The second level of the fund concerns the development and the acquisition of defence equipment and technology. Some 500 million will be spent directly in this area, for example, to jointly invest in developing drone technology or satellite communication, or bulk buy helicopters to reduce costs. After 2020, It could therefore generate a total investment in defence capability development of 5 billion per year.

The aim of the measures is the development of the EU as an aggressive great power, able to intervene militarily and conduct war independently of NATO and the United States.

In a Reflection Paper on the Future of European Defence, also published by the European Commission on Wednesday, the following is stated: The onus on improving European security lies first of all in European hands. The resources should be there: collectively European countries are the second largest military spender worldwide ... While acting together with our partners will remain the EUs norm and preference, we should be able to act alone when necessary.

The declared objective of the Commission is the massive rearmament of Europe in order to help keep pace with new trends and generate the technological and industrial capabilities Europe needs to ensure its strategic autonomy. In 2016, the defence budgets had already been increased, but the road ahead is still long, the paper warns. Moving towards Europes strategic autonomy requires spending more on our defences, as well as spending better and spending together.

The US, China and Russia are now the benchmarks for the EU: The United States already invests more than twice as much on defence than all Member States combined and will increase its budget by almost 10 percent in 2018. China has increased its budget by 150 percent over the past decade, with a further rise of 7 percent expected in 2017, while Russia invested 5.4 percent of its GDP on defence last year.

The message is unmistakable. Europe must also take part in the arms race in order to assert its global interests militarily against the other great powers. In the section Europe in 2025moving towards a Security and Defence Union, the paper gives an insight into three rearmament scenarios that are being prepared behind the backs of the European population, all of which aim to build a veritable military-police state.

In this scenario, Member States would deepen cooperation and integration further towards a common defence and security, the document states. As a result, the EU would be able to run high-end operations to better protect Europe, potentially including operations against terrorist groups, naval operations in hostile environments or cyber-defence actions.

The new defence fund would provide capabilities in areas such as space, air and maritime surveillance, communication, strategic airlift and cyber ... to ensure immediate responses. In addition, Europe would have detection and offensive cyber-capabilities, and a dedicated European Defence Research Agency would conduct forward-looking defence innovation and help translate it into the military capabilities of tomorrow.

The European elites know that a more independent and aggressive European war policy also requires the internal militarization of the continent. Security threats would be systematically monitored and assessed jointly, in close cooperation with national security and intelligence services, the Commission says. Contingency planning would be carried out at the European level, bringing internal and external security closer together. The interconnection of national security interests would lead to genuine European security interests.

As expected, the loudest applause for the European Commissions plans came from Berlin. The German government regards Brexit and disengagement from the USA as an opportunity to reorganize the EU as a military alliance under German leadership and the starting point of its own great power policy.

I expressly welcome the Commissions proposal on the future of European defence policy. It is ambitious and shows how far we have moved towards a security and defence union in the last twelve months, declared German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (Christian Democratic Union, CDU). We must now take advantage of the momentum to reach the next milestones, such as the European Defence Fund and PESCO [Permanent Structured Cooperation] with our European partners in the second half of the year.

Specifically, the German defence minister is working to establish the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) as a so-called anchor army for the European NATO states, to upgrade them and gradually subordinate them to the command structures of the Bundeswehr. One would have to think again in larger federations, wrote von der Leyen several weeks ago in a comment in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in which she explained her strategy.

In his new book, New Assessments, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (Social Democratic Party, SPD) leaves no doubt that the government is striving to build a European Army under German leadership. It is a question of more closely integrating the armaments industry in Europe and concentrating forces. It is about creating a common European security identity that opens the way to a European Army through increasingly integrated structures, he says in the chapter Foreign policy following the election of Trump.

As well as the SPD, the Left Party in particular is playing a key role in transforming the widespread disgust against the right-wing politics of President Donald Trump into support for an independent European and German great-power policy. On Thursday, the pro-Left Party newspaper Neues Deutschland ( ND ) published a comment backing the German Foreign Minister in his criticism of the Saudi Arabian offensive against Qatar, which is supported by Trump. His [Gabriels] perseverance is desired in this, ND wrote. What Germany needs the leastand Gabriel is perfectly right about thisis a Trump-isation of its foreign policy.

The attempt by the Left Party to market Gabriel and German imperialism as a more peaceful alternative to US imperialism and Trump is pure propaganda. In reality, the ruling elites in Germany and Europe have long since matched the right-wing billionaire in the White House. They are rearming and stepping up state powers at home, and preparing for war.

The Socialist Equality Party (SGP) and its sister parties in the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) are the only parties in Europe to reject the militarization of the continent and to advance a socialist programme. The SGP manifesto for the federal elections in September states, We reject all imperialist alliances and military blocs. We are for the dissolution of NATO and the European Union and fight instead for the United Socialist States of Europe. Our ally in the struggle against German militarism is the European, American and international working class.
Being poor in America is a clear predictor that the health care you receive will be far inferior to that of your wealthy counterparts. This reality, documented in a new study published in Health Affairs, will come as no surprise to workers and the poor who struggle daily to gain access to health care and pay for it.

At the other end of the income spectrum, the superior health care received by the super-rich directly correlates to their ability to pay out-of-pocket for the best care that money can buy.

The new study, The United States Leads Other Nations in Differences by Income in Perceptions of Health and Health Care, examines self-assessments of personal health and health care among income groups in the period of 2011-13 across 32 middle- and high-income countries.

The study period does not take into account the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in particular its expansion of Medicaid, the insurance program for the poor. However, contrary to the claims of the Democratic Party, Obamacare has not led to an increase in the quality of health care for most Americans, and in many cases has reduced quality and increased costs. The Trump administration is now escalating the attack on health care, with plans to cut $1.4 trillion over 10 years from Medicaid.

The US has among the largest income-related inequities in health care among rich and middle-income countries studied. Over half of those polled felt that income-based health care inequalities were unfair; those among this group were also significantly more likely than others to support major health system reform.

The study charted disparities in health care and attitudes between the top and bottom tertiles (thirds) of respondents by income. The first measure was on self-perception of health. The results showed that 38.2 percent of the bottom income tertile reported their health as fair or poor, compared to 21.4 percent in the middle tertile and 12.3 percent in the top tertile.

This means that there was a 25.9 percentage point difference in self-perceived health quality between those in the top and bottom income groups. The studys authors consider anything above 10 percent as a large disparity. Only Portugal (26.7 percent) and Chile (33 percent) showed wider disparities between the rich and poor in self-perceived health.

Although the researchers did not document the various health conditions afflicting the poor in America, rates of diabetes, obesity, asthma, heart disease, cancer, substance abuse, domestic violence, and myriad other afflictions occur at higher rates in the low-income population.

Almost a quarter of the lower-income tertile in the US reported not getting the medical treatment they needed due to costs, about 16.5 percentage points higher than the top tertile. Only in the Philippines, at 20.1 percent, was there a higher disparity between rich and poor receiving care due to cost.

Asked the question: In your opinion, how many people are there in the United States who do not have access to the health care they need? 68 percent of Americans answered many. Asked: Is it fair or unfair that people with higher incomes can afford better health care than people with lower incomes? 54 percent responded somewhat unfair or very unfair.

The lack of access to quality health care is contributing to declining health and life expectancy for millions of Americans, which is documented in the following chilling statistics:

* Deaths from drug overdoses in the US jumped by the largest margin ever in 2016, according to figures compiled by the New York Times. An estimated 59,000 people died from drug overdoses, a 19 percent increase over 2015.

* Overall life expectancy in the US fell between 2014 and 2015 for the first time since 1993, the Lancet reports. Wealthy Americans can now expect to live up to 15 years longer than their poorest counterparts.

* Research by Princeton University economists shows that the sharp rise in the mortality rate for white, middle-aged working class Americans is being driven by deaths of despairfrom drug overdoses, complications from alcohol abuse, and suicide.

* A study by the American Medical Association found a staggering 20.1-year gap between the lowest and highest life expectancy among all US counties.

* The maternal death rate in the US rose by 27 percent between 2004 and 2014, according to the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Reflecting the ongoing crisis of health care access, over a thousand people braved rain, fierce winds and cold temperatures last month to line up for the Remote Area Medical Clinic in Smyth County, Virginia to receive free treatment. People came from as far away as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Hampshire to receive medical and dental care they would otherwise be forced to go without.

On the other pole, in a growing number of cities across the US, a new crop of concierge medical practices now caters to the super-rich. The wealthy can pay as much as $40,000 to $80,000 per family annually to have immediate access without wait times to their primary care physician, the best specialists, the best hospital suiteswhether in their hometowns or across the country.

The health care crisis is set to dramatically worsen. The centerpiece of the Republicans American Health Care Act, passed in the US House last month, is the gutting of Medicaid. Trumps budget proposal incorporates the AHCAs cuts to Medicaid and calls for $1.4 trillion in cuts to the health program for the poor, along with other massive cuts to social programs.

Like Obamacare, the Republican plan takes as its point of departure a health care system based on the subordination of the health needs of the vast majority of the population to the profit requirements of the health care industry and Wall Street.

A socialist solution to the health care crisis, and the vast social inequities that underlie it, must take as its point of departure the needs of working people and society as a whole, not the financial interests of the giant insurance companies and the banks, as part of a reorganization of the economy along socialist lines.
The Six Day War ended on June 11, 1967, with Israels crushing defeat of the numerically superior forces of its Arab neighbours and the redrawing of Israels borders established in 1949.

It was a watershed moment in the evolution of Israel and the wider region.

The war stemmed from Israels inherent unviability as a small religious and capitalist state, established in 1948 through the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, surrounded by hostile neighbours, with few natural resources, little water and isolated from the wider regional economy.

The Israeli establishment had from the start refused to accept the 1949 armistice line known today as the Green Line or the June 4, 1967 borders. It prepared to take advantage of any opportunity provided by its Arab neighbours, to engage in war and expand its territory, or to provoke one itself, as numerous official papers, articles and books have documented.

In May 1967, Egypts nationalist ruler Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser unwittingly provided that opportunity. Nasser had led the coup that had overthrown Egypts pro-British monarchy in 1952. He had become the recognised leader of the Arab world and the anti-imperialist Non-Aligned Movement, thanks to his programme of economic and social reform at home and opposition to the reactionary Arab monarchies in Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. He promoted a pan-Arab movement using pseudo-socialist rhetoric, and led the opposition to Israel.

Israel had worked for more than a decade to overthrow him, including the joint operation with Britain and France to invade Egypt and seize control of the Suez Canal in 1956, which failed because of US imperialisms opposition to the re-entry of the former colonial powers into the Middle East, which it sought to dominate.

Numerous incidents between 1966 and 1967 on Israels border with Syria, arising out of raids by Palestinian guerrillas, culminated in Israeli attacks on six Syrian planes in April and threats to invade Syria, with which Egypt had a defence treaty. Nasser deployed Egyptian troops in the Sinai desert, demanded that United Nations peacekeepers leave the Sinai, and closed the Straits of Tiran at the entrance to the Red Sea, bottling up Israeli shipping at its port of Eilat.

Nasser, far from preparing for war, was simply grandstanding, to the point that he did nothing to protect his air force. All the evidence suggests that he did not want, much less expect, a war.

Nevertheless, Israel seized the opportunity. In the weeks leading up to the war, Tel Aviv whipped up a climate of hysteria, presenting the conflict as an existential crisis that prefigured Israels Jews being driven into the sea and invoked the biblical parallel of an Israeli David versus an Arab Goliath.

Nothing could have been further from than the truth. Such were Israels military preparations that in 1966, the CIA had predicted that in the event of war, which it viewed as highly likely, Israel would be able to destroy the Egyptian air force within days or weeks. It would be able occupy Sinai, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, albeit with heavy casualties.

The CIA forecast was only wrong to the extent that Israels dead numbered 776.

Just this week, the New York Times revealed the extraordinary levels that Israel was prepared to go. It reported that Israeli officials had even discussed setting off a nuclear device in the Sinai Desert as a warning to Egyptian and other Arab forces, if Israel should be in danger of losing the 1967 conflict. They believed it would deter Egypt and the allied Arab statesSyria, Iraq and Jordanfrom making a final push against Israel. In the event, Israel won the war so quickly that the plan, code-named Samson, was never put into operation.

On June 5,1967, after weeks of a frenzied media campaign and having secured Washingtons agreement, Israel mounted a first strike against Egypt. Its planes went in under the radar and wiped out almost the entire Egyptian air force on the ground.

Israel then sent in its ground forces against Egypt, taking the Suez Canal, and then swiftly moved against Jordan and Syria before it acceded to a ceasefire brokered by the UN. In the space of six days, Israeli troops defeated the Arab armies and seized the West Bank of the Jordan River, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Syrias Golan Heights, which it occupies to this day, and the Sinai desert up to the Suez Canal.

The victory enormously elevated Israels prestige and status. The generals were feted as heroes in Israel. Little was said about their war crimes. One of the most egregious was the armys treatment of Egyptian prisoners. Many were left to die of heat and thirst in the desert. Others were rounded up and killed en masse. In parliament, General Moshe Dayan denied that their deaths were caused maliciously, but he later acknowledged that some 16,000 Egyptian soldiers were killed most of them in retreat.

The Israeli air force also attacked a US spy vessel, the USS Liberty, in the final days of the war, killing 34 and injuring 171 crewmembers, supposedly in error. While the US and Israel have released some of the official documents relating to the affair, the incident still remains shrouded in secrecy. According to Body of Secrets by the investigative journalist James Bamford, this was because the Liberty had monitored communications traffic that would prove Israel had slaughtered 1,000 prisoners at El Arish in North Sinai.

The war, far from bringing a new period of peace and prosperity, brought oppression, further wars and social misery to working people in both Israel and the Palestinian territories. It created a wave of some 200,000-250,000 refugees in addition to those of 1947-49 who, with their descendants, now number some 8.5 million. It brought the Arab population in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Egypts Sinai Peninsula (returned to Egypts rule in 1981) and the Syrian Golan under direct Israeli rule.

Within days of the wars end, Israel illegally annexed East Jerusalem and within six months had built ten Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, including two in Sinai, in violation of international law. Since then, the 50-year-long occupation has spawned 126 settlements in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan, inhabited by nearly 800,000 settlers, many heavily armed, extreme nationalists and religious zealots. Almost 10 percent of Israels population now lives beyond the Green Line.

Such control and dispossession of the Arab population could only be maintained by imposing military dictatorship. This became ever more brutal as the Palestinians resisted, particularly during the intifadas that started in 1987 and 2000, culminating in the murderous assaults on the West Bank in 2002 and Gaza in 2008-9, 2012 and 2014.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 1967 war, and 800,000 imprisoned. Palestinians have been subjected to land seizures, expulsions, the demolition of their homes, detention without trial, shoot-to-kill policies, torture and targeted assassinations.

The brutal subjugation of the Occupied Territories in furtherance of the goal of creating a Greater Israel had a major impact on Israeli political, economic and social life.

Despite earlier differences that had driven the main political factionsthe Labour Zionists and the Revisionists, whose political heirs are Likud and subsequent split-offsto the point of civil war in the 1940s, they were both now committed to this expansionist policy. In government, each in turn further consolidated Israel as a military state and in so doing confirmed that democracy was incompatible with a state based upon religious exclusivity, and the expulsion and suppression of the Palestinians.

The settlements became a pole of attraction for right-wing religious fundamentalists, a thoroughly reactionary social layer with a direct vested interest in an expansionary policy. The settlers and ultra-religious groups played a key role in shifting society rightwards and providing a political base for the Likud party and its alliesnot only in the struggle against the Palestinians but also politically against liberal-minded secular Jews. In part, at least, this was because they found an important champion: General Ariel Sharon, who bore political responsibility of the massacre of around 3,000 Palestinians in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, in the suburbs of Beirut, in September 1982.

The end of the long post-war boom in the 1970s, the mounting cost of the wars, settlements, suppression of the Palestinians and the resultant budget and trade deficits precluded social policies to alleviate the worsening plight of Israels poor. As a result, Israel has become one of the most unequal societies of the advanced countries, riven with social, religious and ethnic divisions.

Successive governments, at the behest of the handful of billionaire families that sit atop Israels economy, introduced a raft of free-market reformsprivatisations, cuts in social expenditure, tax windfalls for the richthat have brought misery, unemployment, sky-high prices, particularly for housing, and poverty to increasing numbers of workers and their families.

Israels President Reuven Rivlin acknowledged the extent of the social deprivation in both West and East Jerusalem at the official ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Jerusalems reunification (the illegal Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem). He said, We cant sing the praises of a united Jerusalem in which 40 percent of the population live in what is the most impoverished urban area in Israel. We must not accept that 50 years after the reunification of Jerusalem, the situation of Jerusalem, capital of the State of Israel, has declined, so that it is now ranked among the lowest socioeconomic clusters in the country.

The success of the 1967 war turned Israel into the major military power in the Middle East, thanks to the backing of US imperialism, which began to provide it with ever more significant economic and military aid, now totalling about $3.8 billion a year, the highest per capita figure for any country in the world.

Washingtons purpose was to create a garrison state that would suppress the revolutionary strivings of the peoples of the region and a bridgehead for extending US influence in this strategic oil-producing region.

It enabled Israel to pursue an ever more aggressive and expansionist drive against the Palestinians and their supporters outside Israels own border: in Jordan in 1970, Lebanon in 1976-82 and 2006, as well as in the Occupied Territories.

It thus helped suppress the Arab working class, maintain decrepit regimes in power and kept the Stalinist bureaucracy in Moscow at bay during the Cold War. In 1967 and then in more protracted and bloody combat in 1973, Israel defeated Egypt and Syria, both of whom were armed and aided by the Soviet Union.

US aid increased after every military intervention and attack on the Palestinians. It increased after the 1993 Oslo peace talks, and again after they collapsed. It continues today when Israel faces no military threat because its purpose is to ensure military superiority.

The war signified the beginning of the end of Nassers pan-Arab project and of the Arab regimes goal of overthrowing Israelwhich was never pursued by his successor Anwar Sadat even at the time of the 1973 October/Yom Kippur War waged in alliance with Syria, which failed to retake most of the territory seized in 1967.

One by one, the Arab states all abandoned their anti-imperialist stance. Egypt was the first to make peace with Israel in 1977-78, ensuring the isolation and defeat of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation in Lebanon in 1982. Not one of the Arab states came to the defence of the PLO.

Establishing the state of Israel, the Zionist movement insisted, would provide not just a safe home but one guided by a progressive social and political vision for a people who had suffered the most terrible slaughter and persecution. Its evolution into a mechanism for the systematic repression and persecution of another people has been a bitter and tragic experience, particularly as sections of the Jewish people have had a long history in every progressive movement, including the international socialist movement.

The failure of the Zionist project is only one expression of the inability of bourgeois national movements and the struggle for self-determination to resolve fundamental social and political problems confronting the masses of working people, which are rooted in capitalist exploitation and imperialist subjugation.

The PLO emerged in the aftermath of the defeat of the Arab armies in 1967, as a genuinely popular movement seeking redress for terrible historic wrongs. But despite the heroism and sacrifice of its leaders and supporters, it could not overcome the fundamental problems confronting the Palestinian people.

Its programme represented the interests of the Palestinian bourgeoisie, which sought a national framework in which to exploit its own working classa programme that had already failed in the Middle East. Consequently, it could never overcome the political impasse created by the treachery of the Arab regimes.

In 1993, it too ultimately sought to come to terms with Israel and establish a mini-state for the Palestinian bourgeoisie via the US-brokered Oslo Accords. Today, the Palestinian Authority, led by a handful of millionaires who are widely reviled for their corruption, ineffectiveness and subservience to Israel, polices small patches of disconnected land and desperately impoverished cities, surrounded and cut off from the outside world by Israeli troops.

In 1948, the Fourth International issued a statement, Against the Stream, which insisted that Zionism was both utopian and reactionary. It denounced the 1947 UN decision to partition Palestine into two tiny states, saying:

By partition a wedge is driven between the Arab and Jewish worker. The Zionist state with its provocative lines of demarcation will bring about the blossoming forth of irredentist (revenge) movements on either side. There will be fighting for an Arab Palestine and for a Jewish state within the historic frontiers of Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel). As a result, the chauvinistic atmosphere thus created will poison the Arab world in the Middle East and throttle the anti-imperialist fight of the masses, while Zionists and Arab feudalists will vie for imperialist favours.

It warned, The Hebrew state can only infest the Arab East with anti-Semitism and may well turn outas Trotsky saida bloody trap for hundreds of thousands of Jews.

The Fourth International warned that that neither side in the Arab-Zionist conflict bore a progressive character, serving only to obscure the class antagonisms, fuel nationalistic excesses, divide the working class and strengthen imperialism. It called on the workers of both peoples to unite in a common front against imperialism and its agents. It warned Jewish workers that they would not be free and safe without doing away with religious discrimination, national isolation and subordination to imperialism.

The statement drew its remarkable prescience from Trotskys Theory of Permanent Revolution, which was confirmed in the experience of the Russian Revolution in 1917. The theory demonstrates that an oppressed people cannot achieve any of their most basic needsfreedom from imperialist oppression, democratic rights, jobs and social equalityby aligning with any section of the national bourgeoisie. In the imperialist epoch, the realisation of the basic democratic and national tasks in the oppressed nationstasks associated in the advanced countries in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with the rise of the bourgeoisieposes the taking of power by the working class.

This can only be achieved as part of the struggle for world socialist revolution, to place all the resources of the national and international economy under the control of the workers and oppressed masses.

Today the only way out of the terrible impasse into which Jewish and Arab workers have been driven is through a common struggle against capitalism and for the building of a socialist society that would erase all the artificial borders dividing the peoples and economies of the region. Only this way, and in alliance with the workers of the United States and other imperialist states, can workers in Israel and throughout the Middle East end the brutal oppression and bloody wars to which they have been subjected for decades.
Major political crises remorselessly reveal the class character and orientation of the various political tendencies.

The current situation, characterized by a growing rift between US and European imperialism following Donald Trumps election, Brexit and the collapse of Frances Socialist Party (PS) government, is rapidly exposing the petty-bourgeois orientation of the New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA). The organization is horrified by and angry at French workers growing radicalization and disillusionment with the political establishment.

This is what emerged from the NPAs meeting on the French legislative elections held Tuesday night in the Paris suburb of Villejuif, featuring Alain Krivine, the former student protest leader in May-June 1968 and long-time head of the NPA, the leading section of the international Pabloite, anti-Trotskyist movement. Krivine delivered an embittered tirade, during which he berated workers for not supporting the trade unions and the NPA and claimed there was a broad shift to the far right among the masses.

Krivines role lends his remarks particular significance. He is not merely a well-known politician in France, but the senior spokesman for all the NPAs middle-class Pabloite allies who broke with Trotskyism and developed as part of the student radicalization of the 1960s. These elements have long played a key role in what passes for the left. They not only helped build the PS in France and government parties such as Brazils Workers Party, Rifondazione Comunista in Italy and Podemos in Spain, but worked closely with Germanys Left Party and the International Socialist Organization (ISO) in the United States.

The class gulf separating these forces from the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) and its French section, the Parti de legalite socialiste (PES), becomes ever clearer. The ICFI anticipates a resurgence of revolutionary struggles in the working class and fights to build itself as the Trotskyist vanguard. The Pabloites, integrated decades ago into official politics and basing their work on postmodernist and anti-Marxist academia, prop up the ruling elite, pour scorn on the masses and insist that internationalist opposition to capitalism will find no support.

There is confusion everywhere in all countries among a great majority of the people, Krivine said in Villejuif, either because in most countries when the left was in power it carried out right-wing policies, or when the right was in power it carried out right-wing policies. The result is that everyone is clueless, clueless. Look at the elections, its impossible to predict anything  because people are not voting for a candidate, but against the others.

Krivine referred to the recent presidential election in France, which pitted Emmanuel Macron against Marine Le Pen of the neo-fascist National Front (FN), Jean-Luc Melenchon of Unsubmissive France (UF) and NPA candidate Philippe Poutou. He said, We saw it in France recently, people didnt vote for Macron or Melenchon. People didnt vote for Poutou, that is obvious. They tell us, youre nice, but youre not credible.

Krivine insisted that it was not the opponents of capitalism, but neo-fascists and the political right who would benefit: Who profits? Nuts like Trump in the United States, nationalists like the Brexit supporters in England, fascistic nationalists like the National Front in France, all-out Nazis like Golden Dawn in Greece. But everywhere, who is profiting from the crisis of capitalism? It is not the anti-capitalists, it is not us.

Krivine explicitly added that for the foreseeable future, there was no perspective for internationalist opposition to capitalismlet alone for socialist revolution, which he did not even mention.

He said, Here are some conclusions. One, unfortunately, we are perhaps the only internationalists today in an era when thats not good. Two, we are militant and anti-capitalists in a period when, provisionally I hope, we are very isolated, its no use denying it. Three, we had a presidential candidate who made enormous strides, Philippe Poutou  but people say we wont vote for you, youre not credible.

Krivine offered nothing but despair. Since the discrediting of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, the European Union (EU) and the PS government was followed by the election of Trump, Brexit, and disaffection with the NPA, Krivine concludes that the situation is hopeless and arrogantly dismisses the majority of the worlds population as clueless. This is false from top to bottom.

The election of Trump on a program of nationalism and war, along with the discrediting of EU austerity policy and now the latters call for an independent military policy from the United States are all signs of an enormous crisis of world capitalism with revolutionary implications. The international capitalist order that emerged from World War II and the Stalinist bureaucracys restoration of capitalism in the USSR in 1991 is collapsing. Various forces that long suppressed the class strugglein France, the union bureaucracy and the entire political periphery of the PSare losing their influence.

The ICFIs perspective has been confirmed: the Stalinist dissolution of the USSR, against which Leon Trotsky had warned, did not signify the end of the era of socialist revolution. The insoluble contradictions of capitalism have again led to a revolutionary crisis. Already in 2011, mass uprisings of workers in Egypt and Tunisia toppled two dictators.

Growing political disaffection and social anger after decades of austerity and economic crisis are signs of approaching revolutionary crises in America, Europe and internationally. The support Bernie Sanders evoked among millions of American workers and youth, claiming that he wanted socialism, the mass struggles of youth and workers in France against the PS labor law, and deep opposition to war and the draft in Europe are all signs of mounting opposition. Nearly ten years after the 2008 crash, the social and economic prerequisites for socialist revolution are being fulfilled.

Krivine could not and did not even try to explain why, in this explosive situation, the right has benefited. Above all, he was silent on the NPAs own role. His remarks brought to mind the response Trotsky gave, shortly before his assassination in 1940, to those who blamed the working class for the fascist victory in the Spanish Civil War.

The historical falsification consists in this, that the responsibility for the defeat of the Spanish masses is unloaded on the working masses and not those parties which paralyzed or simply crushed the revolutionary movement of the masses, Trotsky wrote, adding: This impotent philosophy, which seeks to reconcile defeats as a necessary link in the chain of cosmic developments, is completely incapable of posing and refuses to pose the question of such concrete factors as programs, parties, personalities that were the organizers of defeat. This philosophy of fatalism and prostration is diametrically opposed to Marxism as the theory of revolutionary action.

The role of the NPA has not been to advance a revolutionary policy, but to carry out petty-bourgeois policies blocking popular opposition to war, austerity and attacks on democratic rights. To justify his demoralized reading of the world situation, Krivine was compelled to pass over in silence the counter-revolutionary role of his own organization.

Undoubtedly, among the greatest dangers facing the working class are war and nationalism. Referring in indignant tones to those responsible for the terror attacks of the Islamic State (ISIS) militia, Krivine said: In the Arab peoples, religious fundamentalism is gaining ground, and in the Western population, it is organizations like Marine Le Pens  those who did Brexit are gaining ground, not us. So we have to face up to the question: who today allows nationalism to grow? And there well see that Macron, Hollande, Trump are all jointly responsible for the war that is developing.

Krivines outrage is rank hypocrisy. Responsibility for the ISIS terror attacks rests with the forces who promoted the NATO wars in Libya and Syria from which ISIS emergedthat is, not only the imperialist governments in France, the United States and other NATO powers, but with the Pabloites and their left co-thinkers. The NPA in particularly loud and enthusiastic tones demanded imperialist intervention to arm opposition militias dominated by right-wing Islamist forces.

In the run-up to the illegal US invasion of Iraq in 2003, millions of people in the United States, in European countries participating in the invasion and around the globe rallied against the war. A decade later, the Pabloites did not call protests, but demanded imperialist intervention, working with the CIA. NPA spokesman Olivier Besancenot demanded on television that France arm rebel forces, and Professor Gilbert Achcar demanded NATO bombings to save opposition forces in the Libyan city of Benghazi and then met with the CIA-linked Syrian National Council to plan war in Syria.

The CIA-backed Islamist networks that brought recruits and weapons to the wars in Libya and Syria not only spawned ISIS and similar Islamist terror groups. While they continued to enjoy the support of the NPA, who helped suppress opposition to war by presenting these reactionary networks as revolutionary fighters for democracy, the Islamists helped strengthen far-right forces in Europe by launching a series of terror attacks across the continent.

The ringleadersthe Kouachi brothers who attacked Charlie Hebdo, ISIS Facebook recruiter Abdelhamid Abaaoud who led the 13 November 2015 attacks in Paris, the Bakraoui brothers who led the March 22, 2016 bombing in Brussels, and Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abediwere all operatives well known to and closely followed by European intelligence. They could prepare their attacks under intelligence protection because, as tools of NATO policy, they were allowed to move about freely. This geopolitical reality, however, was hidden to masses of people.

The NPA joined the media and the political establishment in covering up the responsibility of imperialism for the attacks. This allowed the ruling elite to exploit popular fear of terror attacks, blame the attacks not on the war but on Muslims and demand stepped-up police state measures. In France, the PS imposed a state of emergency that Macron now intends to make permanent by lawallowing police to detain individuals, carry out searches and seizures and confine individuals to house arrest independently of any judicial process.

Predictably, the greatest political beneficiaries of these policies were far-right forces like Frances National Frontfor whose rise the NPA bears significant political responsibility.

Despite Krivines posturing as an internationalist and an anti-capitalist, the NPA is an upper middle class party pursuing pro-imperialist policies. Its demoralized and hysterical reaction to the collapse of the PS in France and the broader discrediting of the ruling elites internationally reflects the fact that the NPA is itself one wing of the collapsing political establishment.

Turning to French conditions on Tuesday night, Krivine made a summary survey of the crisis of the PS and its allies, including the Stalinist French Communist Party (PCF). The PCF is completely in a mess, it doesnt know where its going, its members dont know where its going. The Greens are completely divided, he said, continuing: As for the PS, lets not even mention it, they say that its a left party but lets not even mention it. Its so bad that every faction inside the PS is working to found its own party.

Krivine did not evince hostility toward the PSan attitude historically rooted in the close collaboration between various petty-bourgeois tendencies that broke with Trotskyism in the foundation of the PS in 1971. After the Pabloites broke with the ICFI in 1953, the OCI (Organisation communiste internationaliste) of Pierre Lambert broke with the ICFI and with Trotskyism in 1971 in order to join the Pabloites in helping build the PS. The OCI based itself on the false perspective that a Union of the Left between the PS and the PCF could build a workers government. As a result, the PS is staffed to a large extent with former Pabloites and OCI members.

Krivine referred jokingly to the Socialist Party as a place where many political tendencies can come together and maneuver. Referring to the current factional struggles in the PS, Krivine said that partys First Secretary Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, who came from the lambertistes, understands it very well. They all come from the lambertistes or from us, so that shows that its a place you can meet up. He drew no balance sheet of Hollandes presidency and said nothing about the dangers posed by Hollandes successor and former advisor, Macron, to the working class.

This is a dangerous falsification of the history and class role of the PS. It was formed from a section of petty-bourgeois renegades from Trotskyism, as well as a layer of social Catholics, ex-Stalinists, and former Nazi collaborationiststhe most prominent of whom was the partys first leader and first French president, Francois Mitterrand. The Socialist Party was from the start a reactionary party of finance capital, closely linked to the financial aristocracy and recruited largely from academia and the state machine.

The Pabloite and lambertiste elements who provided the PS with a left cover built a Frankenstein monster that turned viciously against the working class, carrying out policies of austerity and war, every time it was in power. In 2012-17, the PS under President Francois Hollande shifted French politics far to the right. By introducing the state of emergency and a labor law designed to eviscerate the labor courts and Frances Labor Code, while repeatedly inviting FN leader Le Pen to the Elysee, Hollande set the stage for a turn to dictatorial forms of rule by his successor, Macron.

Armed with the powers to arbitrarily ban protests and detain protesters under the state of emergency, Macron intends to impose sweeping social cuts in France by decree and reintroduce the draft in the face of mass opposition. As the old political order collapses, and in anticipation of an all-out confrontation with the working class, Macron is seeking to establish a dictatorship in France in all but name.

Krivines remarks in Villejuif must be taken as a warning: the NPA does not intend to mobilize the working class in revolutionary opposition to this agenda. It speaks for privileged social layers in France who have been integrated into the PS over the course of nearly a half-century, and who are largely insulated from the impact of its policies on the workers. For decades, it sought to promote and build relationships with the PS instead of building a revolutionary party.

Indeed, when the Pabloites re-founded their movement as the NPA in 2009, it explicitly insisted that it was seeking to recruit and develop ties with PS members. The political platform presented to the NPA founding congress stated: The NPA does not claim a specific relation to Trotskyism, but continuity with those who, over the last two centuries, have confronted the system all the way. The NPA is a pluralistic and democratic party. [There has been] participation of comrades from various components of the social movement, of the anti-globalization left, of political ecology, of comrades from the PS and the PCF, from the anarchist movement, from the revolutionary left. Without becoming bland, the NPA has everything to win by opening itself even further.

The Parti de legalite socialiste (PES), on the other hand, explains that the disaffection of the workers with the NPA and the trade union bureaucracies is itself the sign of coming revolutionary struggles, in France and internationally. Workers are seeking a way to fight austerity and social inequality and oppose the drive to war. However, as even Krivines report made clear, workers no longer believe that even the limited social demands contained in the NPAs election program can be won without a determined struggle against the PS and Macron. This means a break and a struggle against the NPA as well.

The conclusion of Krivines meeting was devoted to the difficulties the NPA has in mobilizing workers in its presidential campaign and for trade union activities. Krivine complained that workers tell Poutou, What the hell are you doing in these elections, you are ridiculous. You are not credible. Everything you propose is really good, but its not credible in the current situation.

The NPA is aware and deeply concerned by the disaffection in the working class with its policies. Krivine said that Poutou, a CGT delegate at the Ford factory in Blanquefort near Bordeaux, has a really hard time to get Ford workers to mobilize in solidarity with this or that struggle, and even to struggle at Ford, which is threatened with a plant shutdown.

After Krivines remarks, a WSWS reporter asked Krivine if he could explain why workers do not view the NPA as credible. Krivine did not answer the question, but instead allowed two other NPA members to answer in his place. Both of them pointed to the fact that trade union struggles supported by the NPA have failed to halt a wave of plant shutdowns and a staggering rise in unemployment in France since the 2008 crisis.

There were waves of mass layoffs since 2008 that went ahead, though sometimes there was violent resistance like at Continental [auto parts plant in Clairoix], but all of these struggles ended with the closure of the plants involved, one said.

The other NPA member suggested trying to reconcile striking workers with plant shutdowns by making clear to them, during the strike, that the plant faced economic problems: Defensive struggles often end with a defeat, but depending on how the struggle takes place, the results are not the same. If the workers are happy with the struggle, if they went all the way, they understood what was happening, they saw the problems and felt they were actors in the events, its still a defeat of course because the companies shut down, but its not the same thing.

Such answers, after trillions of euros were plunged into rescuing the banks, only show that the NPA has nothing to propose to workers and is a tool of forces hostile to the proletariat. As a revolutionary confrontation between the working class and the financial aristocracy draws nearer, the NPA is shifting ever further to the right, dismissing internationalism and opposition to capitalism as utopian and not credible.

In the coming struggles, the working class will need not a trade union or a political ally of the PS, but the leadership of a Trotskyist party, fighting for an international socialist revolution. Workers will find no other way to combat the offensive of Macron and imperialist governments across Europe. That party is not the NPA, which is a corrupt and demoralized tool of the ruling elites, but the PES in France and the sections of the ICFI around the world.
After the government of newly-elected President Emmanuel Macron announced last week its intention to extend the state of emergency until November, press reports yesterday confirmed that Macron intends to pass a law making the state of emergency permanent. This would signify the indefinite suspension of basic democratic rights in France, the effective ending of any oversight of police by the courts, and an attempt by the ruling class to turn France into a dictatorship.

A law to reinforce the struggle against terrorism and interior security was approved in the Defense Council on Wednesday. A copy was provided to Le Monde, which reported its contents yesterday: According to the bill, which Le Monde could access, the most severe measures of the state of emergency created in 1955 during the Algerian warnotably imposition of indefinite house arrest, the closing off of public areas, bans on public protests, and arbitrary searches and seizures during day and night timewill be inscribed in law with only marginal modifications.

The judicial branch would be reduced to impotence, and the police and intelligence services given unchecked powers, Le Monde explained: All these measures would be taken at the initiative of the Interior Ministry and the police prefects, without the intervention of a judge.

Another measure, titled surveillance and other individual obligations, lays out punishments that can be applied to anyone who gives serious reasons to think that his behavior constitutes a threat of particular gravity to security and public order. It would also allow the interior ministry, which reportedly wrote the law, to force people to wear electronic tagging devices. Remarkably, this measure was reintroduced into the law even after it was ruled unconstitutional following its application under the state of emergency in December 2015.

Macrons attempt to make permanent the provisions of the state of emergency is an illegitimate measure, based on political lies. It aims to shred basic democratic rights inscribed in the French constitution, including the right to strike and protest, as a result of the bitter experiences of the working class with fascist dictatorships in the 20th century. Without those rights, state-armed vast police powers can rapidly evolve into a criminal regime employing police terror against the working masses.

Until now, the state of emergency was imposed supposedly as a temporary measure, but constantly renewed, after the 13 November 2015 terror attacks in Paris. The media and the previous Socialist Party (PS) government justified it based on the claim that it was the only way to help the police deal with the existential threat of attacks by Islamist terror networks active in France. This claim is a reactionary lie.

These terror networks are closely monitored by Frances vast intelligence services and used as tools of the foreign policy of France and the other NATO powers. This is why all the organizers of major terrorist attacks in France were known, without exception, to the intelligence servicesincluding most prominently the Kouachi brothers who led the Charlie Hebdo attack and Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who led the 13 November 2015 attacks. They were allowed to travel freely and prepare their attacks, as these networks are intelligence assets operating under state protection.

Though thousands of people are active in France and across Europe in the Islamist networks recruiting fighters for the Syrian war, only a handful were detained on terror charges under the state of emergency. While they continued to operate and receive NATO armament and assistance in Syria, they were used as an excuse to push through drastic attacks on democratic rights that would previously have been unthinkable.

Yesterday, Macrons measure met with bitter denunciations from legal experts and organizations representing the judiciary branch. This is an unacceptable passage of the state of emergency into the law of the land, Professor Paul Cassia told AFP. He warned that punishments posing a particular threat to civil liberties could be imposed based on suspicion alone.

Both of Frances principal magistrates unions condemned the bill. The Trade Union of Magistrates (USM) called it scandalous and the Magistrates Union (SM) said it is a juridical monster.

Macrons moves to build a dictatorship in France must be taken as a warning by workers. Macron knows his plans for deep social austerity, a costly military build-up coordinated with Berlin, and the return to the draft are deeply unpopular and will rapidly face mass opposition. His target is not Islamist terrorists, but the working class, who face a confrontation with the Macron government with revolutionary implications.

Significantly, the day before the Macron government approved the bill for a permanent state of emergency, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe unveiled the explosive measures it intends to use to deregulate French labor law. These measures are to be imposed by the executive by decree, without a vote in either house of parliament, after an enabling act is voted handing over absolute power on social spending to the president.

This essentially dictatorial set-up is squarely aimed at the working class. In the name of boosting French corporate competitiveness, it aims to scrap the existing obstacles on corporations ability to hire and fire. Philippe called the cuts indispensable and urgent. The planned cuts also reportedly include new attacks on pensions and unemployment insurance.

By suppressing penalties for improper job termination, and allowing companies and trade unions to negotiate contracts violating industry-level agreements and the national Labor Code, the bill reintroduces all the measures removed from the labor law last year amid mass protests. Even without these measures, the law was opposed by 70 percent of the population. Now Macron intends to trample public opinion, forcibly reintroducing all the most unpopular measures and using them to attack social rights obtained in the 20th century by generations of struggle.

The government also plans to limit opposition from the trade unions by buying them off, resolving the problem of their illegal financing by the state and the employers by making this financing legal. Macron plans to install a so-called union cheque, a sum of money provided by the company to the workers, but that the workers are required to hand over to a trade union of their choice. While the money nominally transits through the hands of the workers, it comes not from the working class, but from corporate management, which intends to dictate the policy of the unions.

These policies are a political indictment of the policies of Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the Unsubmissive France (UF) movement. Yesterday, he criticized the measures as a social coup detat and endorsed the claim that the law signified a return to 19th century conditions for working people. He added that his movement was alone in presenting a humanist and Republican opposition to Macron.

In fact, the Macron governments plans expose Melenchons repeated attempts to stimulate illusions in Macron. After offering to serve as Macrons prime minister in order to offer Macron the trained hand of a wise man who knows where the happiness of the people lies, he also said he would meet with Macron government ministers to discuss their legislation. With these demagogic claims, Melenchon offered political support to Macron as he prepared the framework for a capitalist dictatorship in France.
Former FBI Director James Comeys testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday was broadcast live across all cable and network news channels and was promoted beforehand as a historic moment in the investigation of President Donald Trumps alleged ties to Russian involvement in the US elections of 2016.

The media has been full of comparisons to the Watergate hearings, with Comeyuntil recently a leading figure in an intelligence apparatus that spies on the population without restraintpresented as a champion of democracy and constitutional government.

Hours after Comeys testimony, the New York Times published an editorial titled Mr. Comey and All the Presidents Lies, a reference to the 1976 film based on Washington Post journalists Woodward and Bernsteins investigation of the Watergate scandal. The editorial concludes, The FBIs mission, Mr. Comey declared, is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. Lets hope that the principles he articulated, and those who hold them, guide this investigation in the days ahead.

The Times comparison to Watergate reflects the delusional and false character of the Democratic Partys anti-Russia campaign, which more closely resembles the Republicans antidemocratic attempts to apply pressure by making scandals of nonevents, from Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky to Benghazi, than it does the Watergate hearings of 1973.

The Watergate hearings exposed the fact that the president was directly implicated in a break-in and cover-up of the Democratic National Committee involving leading officials from Nixons Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP).

The break-in and subsequent cover-up took place in the midst of mass protests against the Vietnam War, revelations about illegal bombing of Cambodia and Laos, and reports of widespread surveillance of the presidents political enemies by the CIA and FBI. Each day, the hearings were broadcast to a daily audience of millions who were transfixed by evidence that Nixon was establishing an executive dictatorship where the actions of the president are beyond the reach of the law and attempted to cover his tracks by blocking any investigation. In June, Nixons former Chief of Staff John Dean gave 245 pages of testimony and detailed conversations in which he told Nixon there was a cancer on the presidency.

Fourteen years later, in May 1987, the House and Senate initiated hearings in a joint committee to uncover the Reagan administrations role in the Iran-Contra scandal. This was a scheme to secretly sell weapons to Iranthen under an arms embargo and at war with Iraqto skirt the Boland Amendments that barred the Reagan administration from funding right-wing death squads in Nicaragua responsible for torturing, kidnapping, raping and executing tens of thousands.

At issue in the Comey hearing is something entirely different: a bitter conflict within the ruling class fought out primarily over questions of foreign policy.

The Democratic Party is not calling for hearings on Trumps mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, nor on the reduction in life expectancy that will result from Trumps proposed cuts to health care and Medicaid. As for Trumps foreign policy, the Democrats loudly applauded the administrations decision to launch Tomahawk missiles against Syria and to drop the Massive Ordnance Air Blast on Afghanistan in April.

During the administration of President Barack Obama, no hearings were called over the assassination of US citizens without warrant or trial or over the mass surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden. The Senate Intelligence Committee did not even hold a public hearing when the CIA attempted to destroy the Senate torture report and threatened to jail Senate staffers for taking the report from CIA headquarters.

In full Joe McCarthy regalia, Senator Mark Warner, the committee vice chairman and its leading Democrat, declared yesterday, Were here because a foreign adversary attacked us here at home, plain and simple, not by guns or missiles, but by foreign operatives seeking to hijack our democratic process. He portrayed Comey as a hero who is willing to speak truth to power.

During his testimony, Comey denounced Trumps odd and unexplained affection for the Russian dictator while warning of the Russians: Theyll be back. But when pressed for evidence, Comey repeated the convenient claim that such evidence is confidential and cannot be given to the public.

There is nothing democratic in the Democratic Partys alliance with the intelligence agencies and their joint claims that Trump is blocking an investigation into unsubstantiated allegations that Russia is responsible for Hillary Clintons defeat last November.

Significantly, the Democratic senators failed to question Comey about his announcement on October 28, 2016, just days before the election, that the FBI had reopened its criminal investigation into Hillary Clintons emails. This act of electoral meddling, which the former Democratic candidate herself maintains was a central reason for her defeat, was far more damaging than the allegations levied against Russia and Trump.

The claim that Trump is blocking a legitimate investigation is based on the antidemocratic assumption that the FBI has the right to launch investigations against whomever it chooses while hiding the supposed factual basis from the population. In the 1990s, the Republican Party whipped up similarly baseless scandals out of Bill Clintons personal life in an effort to carry out a shift in administration policy. The central difference is that the Democrats are currently pressuring Trump to carry out a belligerent shift in foreign policy that threatens to bring the US to war with nuclear-armed Russia.

The comparison between the Watergate and Iran-Contra hearings and Comeys testimony yesterday is a measure of the political degeneration of the Democratic Party. Only an organization as bankrupt as the Democrats could develop a campaign opposing Donald Trump from the right.

The section of the ruling class associated with the Democratic Party, separated from the masses by a vast chasm of wealth, is not fundamentally opposed to Trumps reactionary social policies. They fear he is undermining the long-term interests of American imperialism and they will quickly warm up to Trump if he accedes to their foreign policy goals. They are equally aware that the election of Trump has only deepened social opposition, and they fear the prospects of a social explosion. Their anti-Russia campaign is in part aimed at directing this opposition along reactionary, nationalist lines.

The working class must conduct its opposition to Trump on an entirely different basis. Millions of workers in the US and worldwide will be devastated by the attacks on migrants, the proposals for massive cuts to social programs like Medicaid and food stamps, the tax breaks for the wealthy, the proposals to deregulate and privatize major industries, the ongoing mass surveillance, and the belligerent military actions worldwide.

A fight against this reactionary agenda must not be contaminated by alliances with the FBI, the CIA, the NSA and the Democratic Party. It must be based on uniting disparate struggles of the working class worldwide, drawing workers everywhere into a common fight for socialism.
Two weeks after the arrest of Francisco Duarte and Rosenda Perez outside their home in National City, a suburb south of San Diego, support for their release continues to grow.

Video of San Diego family torn apart by Border Patrol

A rally of 100 supporters was held Tuesday evening at Kimble Park in National City, where the four children and their lawyer, Mark Lane, called for the immediate release of their parents.

After the rally, supporters attended a City Council meeting to support legislation that would make National City a sanctuary city. Many were not able to sit in the meeting as the room was overfilled and many had to sit in the lobby or in an adjacent room.

Border Patrol initially claimed the parents were arrested for alleged involvement in human smuggling. The couple was later found to have no such involvement but are still being detained and denied any request to see their children.

While the family spoke eloquently at the rally and at the City Council, Democratic city council member, Mona Rios, and Christina Sotelo Vence, president of the National City Teachers Association, used the events as an opportunity to push SB 54, known as the California Values Act, which is being touted as a progressive bill which will protect immigrants. This is far from the truth.

The bill will put into place areas such as school and hospitals as safe places for immigrants, although Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can circumvent safe space laws by simply waiting outside schools and hospitals and arresting them there.

It will also continue to require local police to submit names of peoples arrested to federal databases and to notify ICE of any pending release of persons with a violent felony.

In an email interview with theaggie.org, Police Chief Darren Pytel in Davis stressed that the bill is not a radical change nor will it make California a sanctuary state, stating This proposed legislation does not represent a significant change in current law or how California agencies currently handle undocumented immigrants...It does not make California a Sanctuary State as defined by federal law nor does it prohibit communication with federal immigration officials. It does further codify constitutional prohibitions/limitations already in place.

World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to friends and supporters of the family at the rally.

Oscar, a San Diego State University student, came to show his support for the family. He mentioned that he was from National City, and coming from a family of immigrants he believed that the detention of the parents was wrong and unjust.

When asked about the current issues regarding immigration, Oscar noted that Mexican workers are stuck between having to immigrate to the US for jobs and living in fear of ICE agents once they arrive. He also supported the position that Mexican and American workers deserve to live and move freely across the border, which itself is a man-made construction.

Lauren, a teacher for the Sweetwater Union High School District in Chula Vista, a suburb south of San Diego, spoke out against the Trump administration: This is a result of the Trump administration, he speaks about terrorism and deporting those who committed crimes but this is completely contradictory to what he has said. We now have children who are forced to fend for themselves. WSWS reporters noted that in fact the Trump administration is a continuation of Obamas policies, a wholesale assault on immigrants and the working class.

The City Council meeting concluded without resolving the matter, they will take a vote on whether to support the state bill later this month.
The Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party is convening a Peoples Summit in Chicago on Friday through Sunday. Called under the banner of Building the political revolution, the three-day event, headlined by the US senator and former Democratic presidential primary candidate, is sponsored by unions that backed Sanders last year and several liberal and ostensibly left organizations that operate inside or within the orbit of the Democratic Party.

The summit is being held under conditions of unprecedented political crisis in the United States. Open political warfare has erupted in Washington, pitting the Trump administration against powerful factions of the military-intelligence apparatus and the Democratic Party, centered on issues of foreign policy. Alongside this internecine battle within the ruling class, a different and more far-reaching conflict is developing, between the working class on the one side, and the ruling class on the other.

The purpose of the Peoples Summit is to smother, contain and channel mass opposition to social inequality, unemployment, poverty and the Trump administrations assault on all the rights of the working class behind the Democratic Party. That is, it seeks to subordinate genuine social anger to the right-wing agenda of sections of the ruling class.

This is the second Peoples Summit. The first was held last year, as Sanders Democratic Party nomination campaign was winding down and as the Senator prepared to announce his support for Clinton. This he did less than a month later, repudiating the aspirations of 13 million workers and youth who voted for Sanders because he said he was building a movement against the economic and political domination of the billionaire class.

By backing Clinton, a tool of the billionaire class and military-intelligence apparatus, Sanders helped hand victory to Trump, who ran as the sole antiestablishment candidate in the race, while millions of working-class voters stayed away from the polls.

Now the political vaudeville act of the peoples summit is being reprised, with the same cast of characters, under new circumstances. After performing his assigned role in the 2016 elections, the independent Senator Sanders has been elevated to a central leadership role in the Democratic Party caucus of the US Senate, where he is doing everything he can to bolster support for the Democrats.

The faction of the Democratic Party represented by Sanders is acutely aware that, while there is enormous and growing popular hostility to the Trump administration, the Democrats are also broadly hated. Indeed, Democrats have lost popularity even more rapidly than the Republicans since Hillary Clintons electoral debacle last year. According to recent polls, 66 percent of respondents thought Democrats were out of touch with the population, compared to 62 percent for the Republicans.

To provide it with a left cover, the so-called Berniecrats are trying to convince the party establishment to adopt a program of mild reforms, including Medicare for All, $15 minimum wage, forgiveness of student loans, etc. Their hope is to rebrand this party of Wall Street and war as a peoples party, so that it can resume its traditional role of preventing the emergence of a mass working-class movement against American capitalism.

According to a statement on the Peoples Summit web site, the event is aimed at deepening the relationship between participating organizations rooted in principled anti-corporate politics, development of community leaders, direct action not based on partisan identification, and strategic organizing to build power.

To call this a farce would be too mild. The list of sponsors belies any claims of principled anti-corporate policies. The two most prominent union backers of the event, National Nurses United (NNU) and Communications Workers of America (CWA,) have long collaborated with the corporations and the Democratic Party with devastating consequences for nurses and telecom workers.

Last year, as they publicly campaigned for Sanders, the NNU and CWA carried out betrayals of striking Minnesota nurses and Verizon workers. Like the rest of the AFL-CIO, which reduced strike activity to the lowest level in history during the Obama years, the NNU and CWA shut down these struggles to prevent a potential political confrontation with the Democratic administration, which spearheaded the attack on health care, pensions and wages.

As for the participating organizations eschewing partisan identification, the fact is all the organizations and public figures gathering in Chicago identify with the Democratic Party, including the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which endorsed Kerry, Obama and Sanders over the last four presidential elections. The same goes for various liberal personalities attending the event, including actor Danny Glover, author Naomi Klein, filmmaker Michael Moore, Nation publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel, Democracy Now host Amy Goodman and CNN journalist and former Obama special advisor Van Jones.

Several current Democratic Party office holders are listed as speakers. Also making an appearance will be Black Lives Matter activist and social entrepreneur Shaun King and International Socialist Organization leader Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (who is listed without party affiliation), who promote the identity politics of an upper-middle-class social layer that constitutes a central base of the Democrats.

To one extent or another, they all promote the myth that the Democratic Partya capitalist party whose standard bearer Obama just oversaw eight years of war and a historic transfer of wealth from the working class to the financial aristocracycan be pushed to the left by mass pressure. This was summed up by Winnie Wong, the cofounder of People for Bernie, who told CNN, The Democrats will be forced to move left. Whether they will be effective in augmenting the strategic political work we do moving into 2018 remains to be seen. People will leave the summit with a sense of purpose. This is a promise.

There are significant divisions over the direction and electoral strategy of the Democratic Party. The Sanders wing of the party is concerned that the Democrats overt hostility to the concerns of the working class will produce another electoral disaster in the 2018 mid-term elections and beyond. The Obama-Clinton faction, represented by Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer, are fixated on attacking Trump from the right and using their anti-Russian campaign to push for a military confrontation with the nuclear-armed power.

There is no genuinely left faction within this debate, however. The concerns of both the Obama-Clinton and Sanders wings are over how best to market this party of Wall Street and American imperialism and to contain and strangle social opposition. It can be said with certainty that there will be no criticism from this weekends speakers about the right-wing, pro-war campaign being carried out by the Democrats in Washington.

The basic political conclusion that can and will be drawn by millions of workers is precisely the one that the organizers of the Peoples Summit are doing whatever they can to obscure: that opposition of the working class to the Trump administration must not be contaminated by any association with the Democratic Party and its various affiliates, that the working class must be organized independently on the basis of its own, socialist, program and strategy.
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson landed in New Zealand on June 6 for talks with Prime Minister Bill English, Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee and Defence Minister Mark Mitchell. They reportedly discussed the US wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, as well as North Korea and China.

The previous day, Tillerson and US Defence Secretary James Mattis held talks with their counterparts in Australia, where Tillerson denounced China for militarising islands in the South China Sea and failure to put appropriate pressure on North Korea to denuclearise. A joint US-Australian statement affirmed support for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where Washington has provocatively sent navy vessels into waters claimed by China.

In the past, New Zealands National Party government had been wary of alienating China, NZs largest trading partner. Wellington has claimed it does not take sides between the US and China. This has changed as Obamas administration, and now Trumps, became increasingly reckless in their threats against China and North Korea.

Tillerson told a press conference in Wellington that he and English were of one mind ... in conveying to China that these actions theyre taking to build islands and, more alarmingly, to militarise these islands threatens the stability of the region. He reiterated the Trump administrations threat to North Korea, calling on all nations to put pressure on the regime in Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program.

During a meeting last month with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, English emphasised New Zealands support for the 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on the South China Sea disputes. The ruling was heavily weighted in favour of a US-backed case brought by the Philippines against Chinese claims.

A spokesman for Chinas foreign ministry denounced the Japan-New Zealand statement as inappropriate and called on countries outside the region to treat the South China Sea issue objectively and rationally, [and] not allow themselves to be taken advantage by other countries.

The meetings with Abe and Tillerson underscore New Zealands increasing incorporation into the US build-up against China.

Despite its small size and remoteness, New Zealand is a valued US ally. Speaking to the National Press Club in Australia on June 7, former US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper emphasised that the restoration of New Zealand as full-fledged intelligence partners [during the 19992008 Labour Party government] demonstrably strengthened intelligence sharing among the Five Eyes nations, and has accrued to our great mutual benefit.

Whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed in 2015 that New Zealands Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) spies on China and other countries in Asia and the Pacific. Vast quantities of communications are intercepted by the GCSBs Waihopai satellite base in the South Island and passed directly to the US National Security Agency.

Tillerson and English also discussed a US request for New Zealand to send more troops to Afghanistan. New Zealand currently has 10 soldiers there and is likely send two more. Successive Labour and National governments have sent hundreds of troops to Afghanistan, including the elite Special Air Service, which has been implicated in war crimes against civilians.

There are more than 100 NZ troops in Iraq and English has indicated he would be willing to send troops to Syria if requested by the US.

Behind the backs of the working class, the ruling elite is preparing the country to join Washingtons war plans. Last year the government pledged to spend an extra $20 billion on the military to make it interoperable with US forces. The opposition Labour and Green Parties supported the massive spending, while NZ First called for even more funds and recruitment into the armed forces to counter Chinas presence in the Pacific.

The Greens and Labour made no criticism of US threats against China and North Korea or the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Labour leader Andrew Little, who had his own private meeting with Tillerson, told Newstalk ZB he wanted the US to maintain good relations with New Zealand, with Australia, with other South Pacific nations. Its very important for our sense of stability and peace.

Little, echoing much of the media commentary, expressed concern that Trumps America First policy could signal a withdrawal from the region. He warned that in the South Pacific, we know that there are other countries that are seeking to have an influence.

Since the end of World War II the ruling class has relied on its alliance with the US to support its own neo-colonial sphere of influence in the South Pacific. It is concerned about growing Chinese economic influence in countries like Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

Among the broader population, however, there is widespread hostility toward the military-intelligence alliance with the US. Thousands of people joined protests against Trumps inauguration.

Several reporters noted that members of the public held up their middle finger to Tillersons motorcade as it drove through Wellington. New York Times correspondent Gardiner Harris commented: Ive been in motorcades for a couple of years now... Ive never seen so many people flip the bird at an American motorcade as I saw today.

A survey of over 34,000 people by Fairfax Media and Massey University, published the day before Tillersons visit, found that when asked to choose between building closer bilateral relations with the US, the UK and China, only 15.6 percent chose the US. By contrast, China came out tops, with 42.5 percent backing, while 42 percent said the United Kingdom.

Another poll by TVNZ in April found overwhelming opposition to sending New Zealand troops to Syria.

These findings stand in stark contrast to the position of the opposition parties. Labour, New Zealand First and the Maori nationalist Mana Party have run a xenophobic, anti-Chinese campaign for the past five years, aimed at pressuring the government to align more explicitly with Washington against Beijing.

Labour and its allies have scapegoated immigrants, especially Chinese people, for the lack of affordable housing, unemployment and putting pressure on public infrastructure. They have attacked the government for allowing Chinese steel imports and investment in agriculture.

Whichever party or parties take office after the September 23 national election, the next government will continue to strengthen the alliance with the US, intensify nationalist and xenophobic propaganda and the preparations for war.

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After a coalition of Persian Gulf sheikdoms led by Saudi Arabia presented an ultimatum to Qatar on Monday and blockaded its economy, the Turkish parliament approved two military deals with Qatar, enabling deployments of the Turkish military to Qatar. Turkish forces will also train the Qatari gendarmerie.

As part of an agreement signed between Ankara and Doha in 2015, Ankara is already building a military base in Qatar, where between 500 and 600 Turkish troops are to be stationed. The facility is reportedly able to house up to 3,000 troops.

The bill was brought to the parliament by Turkeys ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), right after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the Saudi sanctions on Qatar. Speaking at an iftar dinner on Tuesday, June 6, Erdogan said, I want to say clearly that we disapprove of the sanctions on Qatar.

The bill passed with 240 votes in favor and 98 against, with support from deputies of the AKP and the fascistic Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

The pro-European Union (EU) Republican People's Party (CHP) criticised the bill for its timing, however. The CHP parliamentary group deputy chairman, Levent Gok, stated that his party was ready to support the government in every way its policies benefit the people. He asked, Was it, however, really necessary to bring the Qatari deal forward, from the rank number 100 to the first row?

The Turkish government has given a clear sign that it is siding with Qatar against diplomatic and trade sanctions and the threat of military intervention by five Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen. They have accused Doha of supporting terrorism and having a soft attitude toward Iran. The Gulf sheikdoms had previously recalled their ambassadors from Qatar in 2014, over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

As in 2011, when the Saudi armed forces invaded Bahrain to put down mass protests shortly after revolutionary struggles of the working class in Egypt toppled Hosni Mubarak, Saudi Arabia couldm if it had tacit support from Washington, ultimately intervene militarily in Qatar. The Turkish decision makes clear that such an intervention could involve Saudi Arabia in a direct military confrontation with Turkey, however.

Turkeys apparently good relations with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf sheikdoms have badly deteriorated since Washington and the European powers backed a military coup in Egypt that toppled President Mohamed Mursi. Mursi is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is backed by Turkey and Qatar.

The Saudi move against Qatar is an extension of US aggression against Iran, aiming to whip the small sheikdom, which has economic ties to Iran, into line with Trumps Mideast policy. On Tuesday, Trump wrote on Twitter, So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!

During his first foreign trip in May, Trump went to Riyadh and gave Saudi Arabia his full support, accusing Iran of supporting terrorism and adding that Arab states should not let "terrorists find any sanctuary on their soil.

Following Saudi Arabias aggressive move against Qatar, however, US Defense Secretary James Mattis called his Qatari counterpart Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah. Mattis reaffirmed that there was no change in military cooperation between the United States and Qatar, whose Al-Udeid airbase is home to the forward headquarters of US Central Command and some 10,000 American troops. Nonetheless, a conflict has clearly erupted over Persian Gulf policy between Turkey and the Trump administration.

The danger of a major regional war in the Middle East is rapidly growing, amid deep tensions between Washington and the European powers over Trumps policies, including in Iran, the NATO intervention in Syria, and the Saudi-Qatari dispute. As it moves to check Saudi Arabia, Ankara is relying on at least tacit consent from the European powers.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has already accused the US president of stirring up conflicts in the Middle East and risking a new spiral in arms sales, saying that isolating Qatar is the completely wrong policy and certainly not the policy of Germany.

It appears that Turkey is coordinating its policy with the newly-elected French president, Emmanuel Macron, who is a close ally of Berlin. Macron called Qatars leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the day after Saudi Arabia issued its threats and, according to press reports, said that France aimed to maintain stability in the Persian Gulf and speak to all parties involved. Macron also telephoned Erdogan on the same day in order to discuss the crisis in the Persian Gulf.

The European powers have repeatedly come into conflict with Washington as they seek to re-establish trading relations with Iran. Frances energy company Total wants to exploit the massive South Pars natural gas field, the worlds largest, which is shared between Iran and Qatar.

Turkey and Qatar were also reluctant to participate in the last international embargo imposed by Washington on Iran, in 2008, which Turkey repeatedly violated. For now at least, both Turkey and Qatar are opposed to severe sanctions or possible military action against Iran, which would have at a minimum a devastating impact on their own economies.

On Wednesday, the same day that twin attacks targeted the Iranian parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif visited Ankara to exchange views on the latest developments in the region. There are concerning developments in the region for us. We need to have a close exchange of ideas with Turkey regarding these incidents, Zarif told reporters, before meeting with his Turkish counterpart and Erdogan.

Irans Revolutionary Guards accused Saudi Arabia and the Trump administration in the terrorist attacks, stating, This terrorist attack happened only a week after the meeting between the U.S. president and the [Saudi] backward leaders who support terrorists. The fact that Islamic State has claimed responsibility proves that they were involved in the brutal attack.

On the same day, Reza Nourani, head of the National Union of Irans Agricultural Products, stated that Iran was prepared to provide Qatar with whatever food products the Arab country needs. Considering the outbreak of tension in Qatars relations with Arab states, it is possible [for Iran] to satisfy all demands of Qatar for agricultural products, he said.

According to the Iranian daily Tasnim, negotiations between Iran and Qatar are underway and a decision on food exports will be finalized by next week.
By Press Trust of India: origin MPs tally in UK to 12

From Aditi Khanna

London, Jun 9 (PTI) Britain today got its first female Sikh MP and first turban-wearing MP as the UK general election results threw up a small increase in the number of Indian- origin MPs in the House of Commons.

The latest tally indicates the Labour party has improved its record from five to seven MPs, with the Tories retaining their five Indian-origin MPs taking the total up from 10 in the 2015 general election to 12.

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Labours Preet Kaur Gill won her Birmingham Edgbaston seat by polling 24,124 votes, defeating her Conservative party rival by 6,917 votes.

"I am delighted I have been given the opportunity to become the next MP for Edgbastonwhere I was born and raised. I want to engage with the people of Edgbaston and with hard work, passion and determination I think we can achieve great things together," she said.

"Weve had a really strong campaign, a really good team of people here in Edgbaston and its just been phenomenal. Im really excited to learn more and really connect with communities,"Gill added.

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, known as Tan, won his Slough seat decisively polling 34,170 votes, to become Labours first turban-wearing MP. He defeated his Conservative party rival by a whopping 16,998 votes.

He said he was "humbled" and wanted to serve the town where he was born and raised.

"The size of the majority shows that the people have chosen hope over fear and progress over stagnation.On the doorstep we found that people dont want any more cuts, they need a Labour government," he said in his victory speech.

"Nationally nobody was predicting the results weve had in so far a month ago, we ran a good campaign and I will be seeking to serve the many not the few," he noted.

British Sikh groups which had been campaigning for the candidates celebrated their success.

"Credit to the Labour Party leadership for taking the bold step of giving Sikhs the opportunity to fight for winnable seats. Labour now needs to turn its attention to having visible Sikh representation in the House of Lords at the first opportunity so Sikhs are better represented and can bring fresh thinking and ideas," Sikh Federation UK said in a statement.

A second turban-wearing Sikh, Labours Kuldip Sahota, lost out narrowly to his Conservative party rival by just 720 votes.

Among some of the other Indian-origin contestant results, Conservative party?s Priti Patel has held on to her stronghold of Witham in Essex with a solid majority of 18,646.

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She is likely to remain a leading figure in the new Theresa May led Cabinet, having served as the international development minister in the previous government.

Alok Sharma, the minister in charge of India in the Foreign Office in Mays previous Cabinet, has held on to Reading West by 2,876 votes and Shailesh Vara has won in Cambridgeshire North West by 18,008 votes.

The 2015 general election first-timers for the Tories, Rishi Sunak and Suella Fernandes, have also held on to their seats decisively with a margin of 23,108 and 21,555 votes respectively.

For the Labour party, the longest serving Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz held on to his Leicester East seat attracting 35,116 votes, despite a scandal-hit 2016, and his sister Valerie Vaz also won solid 25,286 votes to hold on to her Walsall South seat.

Lisa Nandy won in Wigan for Labour with 29,575 votes, Seema Malhotra held on to Feltham & Heston with 32,462 votes and Virendra Sharma polled 31,720 in his safe seat of Ealing Southall.

The election marked an overall record for the number of black and minority (BME) MPs in the new House of Commons ? with 51 BME MPs elected compared to 41 in the last Parliament.

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Sunder Katwala, director of independent think-tank British Future, said: "The 2017 Parliament will be the most diverse ever, with 10 new ethnic minority MPs taking the total of non-white parliamentarians to 51. Thirty years on, that tells a positive story about integration since the breakthrough election of 1987.

"Most of the new minority MPs will sit on the Labour benches. The Conservatives had hoped to build on progress made under David Cameron and even to edge ahead of Labour on minority representation. But instead they are once again left behind, after a disappointing night for Theresa May and a failure to select enough BME candidates."

The election also marked a success in terms of the number of women elected to Parliament, at 207 ? up from 197 in the 2015 general election.

Overall 32 per cent of MPs are women but there are significant variations between parties.

For Labour the figure is 45 per cent, and 21 per cent for the Conservatives.

"After the success of Women2Win in addressing gender balance, there are now calls from within the Tory party for similar structures to ensure a strong supply of minority candidates in the future," Katwala noted.

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Among some of the prominent Indian-origin losses, Labour?s Dr Neeraj Patil ? theformer mayor of the London Borough of Lambeth ? lost to Justine Greening, the UK?s education minister. He lost by a margin of1,554 votes to Greening, who was defending her Conservative party stronghold.

Paul Uppal, who was expected to regain Wolverhampton South West for the Tories, also lost out to his Labour rival.

Other Tory Indian-origin hopefuls - Rahoul Bhansali, Samir Jassal, Ameet Jogia, Resham Kotecha, Reena Ranger, Meera Sonecha and Minesh Talati - all lost out to Labour, as was predicted.

Among the remaining Labour party hopefuls - Rohit Dasgupta, Hitesh Tailor, Navin Shah, Navendu Mishra and Manjinder Kang - were also unable to make a dent and in most cases lost out to popular sitting MPs.

The Labour Party had selected 14 and Conservative 13 Indian-origin politicians as their parliamentary candidates.

The Tories had come under attack for failing to put many in so-called winnable seats or in even in target seats, where the sitting MP had a small majority.

As the overall result of a hung Parliament in the UK polls becomes clear, the May led Conservative party looks set to end with 318 MPs as opposed to Jeremy Corbyn led Labour?s 262. PTI AK ZH

--- ENDS ---
Britain has a hung parliament after Conservative Prime Minister Theresa Mays decision to call a snap general election backfired.

May will form a government but only in coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland.

With one seat to declare, the Conservatives hold 318, down from 331 and not enough to form a majority. Labour has 261 (up from 232), Scottish National Party 35, Liberal Democrats 12, DUP 10, Sinn Fein 7, and six Others.

Mays argument for calling the snap election two years ahead of schedule was to secure a large majority to strengthen her position in negotiations with the European Union. These talks over the terms of Britains exit from the EU are set to begin in just ten days. But the Tories have lost their slim 17-seat majority. A coalition with the DUP just takes them over 322 seats required.

Mays strategy rested on winning the support of former UK Independent Party voters, and the constant media assertion that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was unelectable. When May first announced the poll, she was predicted to be on course for as much as a 150-seat majority and even on polling day, all the media were projecting a Tory win of between 50 to 120 seats. Instead, around half the UKIP vote went to Labour, while there was a surge of support for Corbyn amongst youth and in urban areas.

The undeclared seat is the prosperous London borough of Kensington, where there have been numerous recounts, amid reports that there are just 40 votes between Labour and the Tories. The Conservative stronghold was considered unassailable. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also saw his majority halved in Uxbridge.

Though the election result in part reflected concern over Mays hard Brexit strategy, the overwhelming issue was hostility to Tory austerity measures.

Labour is committed to Brexit but has said it will not sign a deal that involves leaving the Single European Market. It had also pledged to abolish tuition feescurrently at 9,000 per annum and rising.

London, which voted heavily to Remain in the Brexit referendum last year, saw the Tories lose five seats, three to Labour and two to the Liberal Democrats. Labour now holds 48 of the capitals 73 seats.

The vote amongst those aged under 25 was 72 percent compared with just 43 percent in 2015with record numbers signing up to vote for the first time, many of them students. This included more than 600,000 people registering on the final day before registrations closed, of which two-thirds were aged between 18 and 34.

The Tories one saving grace was in Scotland, thanks to the sharp fall in the vote for the Scottish National Party (SNP), which saw its massive majority slashed from 56 seats to 35. The main reason for this collapse was SNP leader Nicola Sturgeons threat to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence at the end of Brexit negotiations.

This produced the Tories best result in Scotland since 1983, winning 13 seats, including those of former SNP leader Alex Salmond and current deputy leader Angus Robertson. Labour also won seven seats, up from its disastrous one seat hold in Edinburgh South in 2015 where its majority increased by 15,000.

Tory hopes that it would even overturn Labour in Wales were dashed as Labour took its highest share of the vote for 20 years, with 28 out of 40 seats.

The alternative parliamentary arithmetic of a Progressive Alliance or a working relationship involving Labour, the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Green Partys one MP, does not appear possible at this point as it is still below the 322 seat threshold. That would only change if Sinn Fein decided to take its seats, but this has been ruled out by a party that refuses to recognise Westminster rule.

A DUP source said, We want there to be a government. We have worked well with May. The alternative is intolerable. For as long as Corbyn leads Labour, we will ensure theres a Tory PM.

This still leaves May in an impossible situation.

Although it supported a Leave vote in the EU referendum and is feigning a hard line against Sinn Fein, the DUP supports a soft Brexit that excludes Britain leaving the Single Market and opposes the restoration of a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic in the south. It also opposes large swathes of Tory social cuts, which will impact heavily on the Norths deprived population.

May herself is one of the political walking dead. Her reputation is in ruins and large sections of her party are baying for blood. Though it appears the Tories have ruled out an immediate leadership challenge, Mays days are numbered.

Hanging over everything is the beginning of Brexit negotiations. May will now head these as the lame duck leader of a government that is the very opposite of secure and stable. EU Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said that talks may have to be delayed, although this can only be done at the request of the UK and would need to be supported by all 27 member states and the European Parliament. Speaking to German radio, he said, We need a government that can act. With a weak negotiating partner, theres the danger that the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides... I expect more uncertainty now.

Big business is furious with the election outcome. The pound immediately fell by 2 percent and banking shares by 4 percent. Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said, This is a serious moment for the UK economy... Politicians must act responsibly, putting the interests of the country first and showing the world that the UK remains a safe destination for business.

Politically the big winner in the election is Corbyn, whose promises of social reform successfully channelled anti-Tory sentiment back behind Labour. This was despite the two terror attacks in Manchester and London, and the incessant right-wing media campaign that Corbyn was a threat to national security and a friend of terrorists.

Many workers and young people will be celebrating the result, despite the fact that Labour lost. They will be called on to support Corbyn as he positions himself as a responsible opposition to the government and Labour as the focus of a possible political realignment in the event of a second general election having to be called.

This would be a grave error. Even as the election campaign was underway, and despite his social rhetoric, Corbyn had abandoned many of his supposed political principlesas evidenced in his manifestos support for NATO, immigration controls, Trident and the European Single Market.

He has called once again for party unity with the Blairites and will likely include them once again in his shadow cabinet.

Corbyns refusal to wage a struggle against the right-wing is the real measure of his political role. Moreover, any attempt to form an agreement with the Liberal Democrats, SNP and others will inevitably be accompanied by a further shift to the right.

Numerous political experiencesabove all, that of the Syriza government in Greeceprovide a warning. The working class can only rely on its independent political action and social strength to oppose austerity and war. Everything depends on the systematic development of the class struggle in opposition to the incessant demands that workers and youth tie their fate to the personality of Corbyn and the right-wing, pro-business and pro-war party that he heads.
The Socialist Equality Party calls on all Victorian teachers, Education Support (ES) staff and principals to take a stand against the decades-long assault on public education by voting No to the latest sell-out Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA).

The deal, struck between the Australian Education Union (AEU) with the Andrews Labor government, was made behind the backs of the school communities it purports to represent. Since announcing it in the media, the AEU has done everything it possibly can to portray a Yes vote as a fait accompli, with the secret ballot of all teaching staff, to be held between June 13 and June 20, nothing but a formality.

Teachers and ES staff should not accept this. On the eve of the vote, the Fairfax Media has revealed that up to half of all Australian teachers are leaving the profession in the first five years. This is just one of many indices of the staggering crisis afflicting the public education system, not only in Victoria, but throughout Australia and, indeed, most of the world.

Of the 453 teachers surveyed across NSW, two-thirds identified time management and having too much work as their biggest challenge, and more than half said they wanted more time for collaboration, mentoring and planning. A NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) representative was quoted as saying that teachers should have support and more time within the school day for professional learning and collaboration with other teachers.

Fine words! But only last December, the NSWTF rammed through an agreement with the state Liberal government, which teachers were given no opportunity to read, and which formalised a regime of constant performance monitoring and ever-increasing workload demands, associated with standardised testing (NAPLAN) and the requirement that students achieve ever-higher results.

The NSWTFs Victorian counterparts in the AEU claim that the deal addresses crushing workload. But what is the reality? There will be four new Professional Practice Days per year. That means one per term! And they will be only at the principals discretion and in line with department and school priorities. Meanwhile, the EBA will step up the monitoring of teacher and school performance related to NAPLAN; make peer observations mandatory, and publish performance reviews online.

Teachers are already working, on average, 15 hours of unpaid overtime each week. The unions claims that 7.5 hours time-release each term will resolve the situation is a cynical and contemptuous joke.

Moreover, there will be no change to face-to-face teaching time or class sizes, no extra teachers, and contracts will continue to undermine permanent teaching jobs.

As for wages, under this agreement, Victorian teachers will remain at or near the bottom of the wage scale, compared with their counterparts in other states, while Victoria will continue to boast the lowest government funding for public schools per student$2,253 less than the national average.

Recent reports indicate that many secondary public school students are deciding to leave school before Years 11 and 12, because they cannot endure the mental health impacts of standardised testing, namely, record levels of stress, anxiety and depression.

It appears the same is true of public school teachersand one of the primary reasons for the growing rate of attrition. The chronic underfunding, under-resourcing and under-staffing of public schools is also driving many parents, including those who can ill-afford it, to send their children to private schools. This is not some unfortunate and unintended by-product of successive government-union deals, but a conscious agenda.

The outcome? Some 40 percent of secondary students now attend private schools, while 30 percent of primary students do likewise. There are private schools for the richor for those working class families who make major sacrifices to try to provide their children with a well-funded educationand public schools for the rest, the majority of which are dominated by lack of infrastructure, staff, resources and funding.

Teachers and ES staff should ask themselves why, for the first time, the AEU refused to organise mass meetings to report on this particular agreement. This is because the union wants to preventnot encouragediscussion about its contents and details, and to suppress dissent. Union officials are aware of the oppositional sentiment building up among teachers and ES staff, not to speak of parents and students. That is why, for example, the union eliminated from its Facebook page any postings critical of the current deal. Such an anti-democratic act is testimony to the fact that the AEUs EBA expresses, not the interests of teachers, but of state and federal governments and their austerity agenda.

This is not just an Australian, but an international phenomenon. Since the global financial crisis of 20072008, and the ensuing stagnation in the world economy, the corporate, financial and political establishment has been preoccupied with slashing federal and state budgets, while channelling a greater share of national income to corporate profits and the rich. The level of social inequality in Australia and globally is rising precipitously. Just eight billionaires own more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of the worlds population.

Last month the Trump administration announced budget cuts of $1.6 trillion to social programs, including health, aged care, alleviating poverty, and more than $10 billion in cuts to public education. An extra $500 million, however, was allocated to rapidly burgeoning charter schools, many of which are for-profit. The same privatisation process is underway in Britain and New Zealand and it is certainly occurring here.

The 2017 agreement commits the union to implement open-ended educational reform. While this remains unexplained in the deal, it is being driven by international bodies, such as the OECD, which established PISA [Program for International Students Assessment] in 2000 to rank country against country and drive high-stakes testing and a performance-based pay agenda. The 2017 deal thus follows from a number of measures, never explained to teachers, implemented by the union and successive state governments in EBAs over the past decade and a half.

These include:

* In 2001, a new teacher career structure, linking all promotions to improvements in student learning, monitored by state-wide testing of Maths and English in years 3 and 5the first step towards re-introducing a performance-based pay structure, previously abolished in 1902.

* In 2003, the hiring of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm and strategic business advisor, to develop a long-term workforce plan and series of education Blueprints to rationalise public education, target underperformance and impose a business model, aimed at cutting costs and developing a regime of continuous improvement.

The union endorsed the Blueprints which were embedded in the 2004, 2008, and 2013 agreements.

* In 2013, the inclusion of a new category: Unsatisfactory Performance, creating a mechanism for sacking public school teachers. Priority status for teachers named in excess was removed, requiring them to compete against graduates for their jobs, thus eliminating older and more experienced staff, generally on higher wages. Since 2013, more than 416 teachers have been named in excess, 363 of them older teachers.

The BCG education model has established Victoria as the national bench-mark for low-cost, autonomous schools. Every state government, whether Labor or Liberal, has seamlessly signed on to this process, which has dovetailed neatly with the Rudd/Gillard Labor governments mandatory NAPLAN standardised testing regime.

* The 2017 agreement introduces another new teacher category, Learning Specialists. These teachers will use data for whole school improvement, and develop protocols for peer observation into school long-term planning. They will be promoted, with a new salary of $100,000 or more, to implement the next stage of the government/union agenda. Peer observations will further drive the performance culture and likely pave the way for introducing the old inspection system, introduced into NSW public schools at the end of 2016.

The source of the 2017 educational reform agenda is the 2016 Bracks review, fully endorsed by the Andrews government. It will further tie school funding to student outcomes and teacher performance, stepping up so-called school regeneration, i.e., amalgamations and closures, as well as corporate partnerships, called Learning Partnerships.

The AEU is no passive bystander in this process. It supports the pro-market agenda and has enforced it from the outset. For services rendered, the 2017 agreement rewards AEU officials and representatives by embedding them into every school operation, including teacher inductions and extra time to attend union professional development courses.

Teachers need to carefully consider the AEUs history of betrayals before casting their vote on the 2017 agreement. If the union can railroad through a majority Yes vote, the assault on public schools, leading to further closures and privatisations, will only accelerate.

In calling for a No vote, the SEP emphasises that this is only the first step. What, then, is the way forward? Teachers cannot return to the past. The crisis in education is just one expression of the fundamental incompatibility of the social rights of the working class with the capitalist profit system itself. Capital now ruthlessly scours the globe, seeking ever more lucrative sources of profit from very area of social life. That is why teachers, and all workers, need to make a definitive political break from the pro-capitalist unions and the Labor Party, and begin to develop independent, democratic rank-and-file committees, which will actively fight to mobilise teachers, parents and students in a rebellion against NAPLAN testing and performance ranking, the substandard state of public school facilities and resources, and the unacceptable working hours, pay and conditions for teachers.

The struggle for the social right of all teachers, students and parents to a decent, well-funded public education system, must be based on a new, revolutionary socialist perspective, explicitly linked to the broader mobilisation of the entire working class to achieve all its social rightsincluding decent, well-paid jobs and working conditions, high quality health, housing and aged care. The resources to meet such social needs can be acquired only by placing the banks and financial institutions, as well as the major corporations, under public ownership and the democratic control of workers governments, as part of the overall socialist reorganisation of society to meet social need, not private profit.
MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- Periods of showers and thunderstorms through early this week resulted in slight drought relief across the state line region, according to the latest Drought Monitor released Thursday morning.

Data from the National Drought Mitigation Center shows a shrinking in the Severe Drought range over south Georgia, generally covering areas between U.S 84 and U.S. 82 and the Okefenokee region of southeast Georgia.

In northern Florida, Moderate Drought category covered the entire Suwannee River valley, west to Jefferson County. The Abnormally Dry category persisted in the central Big Bend, but retreated from the Apalachicola River.

The Drought Monitor considers rainfall for a week-long period ending June 6. Therefore, the bountiful rain event from Wednesday in many north Florida and a few south Georgia counties is not considered in this week's update. It is possible, with additional chances for showers and thunderstorms resuming Sunday, that a further reduction in drought intensity in the local area will be shown with next week's monitor readings.
GEORGIA (WTXL) - Employees of summer feeding programs in South Georgia say they are already seeing the benefits of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue's "food flexibility proclamation".

It was signed at the beginning of May.

The proclamation states that the U.S. Department of Agriculture would provide greater flexibility in nutrition requirements for school meal programs.

The goal is to make food choices both healthful and appealing to students. Eliza McCall with Second Harvest Food Bank says this flexibility is a good thing for South Georgia.

"One of the examples Sonny Pedue used himself was in the south for breakfast we serve grits and that wasn't allowed before so taking into account regional differences and giving us the flexibility to know what our population is more likely to eat," said McCall.

The proclamation signed by Perdue is aimed to begin the process of restoring local control of guidelines on whole grains, sodium, and milk.
Police said that a country made pistol and four live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

By Tanseem Haider: Delhi Police's Special Cell detained an aide of notorious gangster Chhota Shakeel from Bhagirathi Vihar in New Delhi.

Junaid Chowdhry was gangster Shakeel's shooter and was picked up from near Gagan Cinema in East Delhi on Wednesday.

Police said that a country made pistol and four live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

Junaid was earlier arrested last year on June 3 along with three others namely Roger Robinson, Yunush and Manish. The four were going to leave for Indirapuram for a final recon and a possible dry run of their attempt on Chakrapani's life.

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Chowdhry remained in jail for three-four months and was later released on bail. He contacted Shakeel again but after his bail was cancelled and he was sent to Tihar. Later, he was again released on bail and has finally, been detained now.

Junaid was in touch with Shakeel through various networks including internet chats.

The three men apart from Junaid are currently lodged in Tihar Jail.

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China's entertainment and media (E&M) industries, which have been growing at an enviable pace, have emerged as a significant driving force for the country's shift to a consumption- and services-powered economy.

Nearly seven in 10 Chinese-listed companies on China's NASDAQ-style board are poised to register hefty profits for the first half of this year, casting light on momentum in emerging sectors and the solid economic fundamentals of the country.
Tolerance Jackson smokes a cigarette while moving his belongings out of his tent, seen behind, at the former downtown homeless encampment in Yakima, Wash., on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. (SOFIA JARAMILLO/Yakima Herald-Republic file)
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Michelle Carter, 20, faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy. She has gone on trial for allegedly encouraging him to kill himself.

By India Today Web Desk: A 20-year-old girl has gone on trial for sending her 'vulnerable' boyfriend texts encouraging him to 'kill himself'.

Michelle Carter faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy who was battling depression and died by carbon monoxide poisoning in 2014. Conrad's body was found in a Kmart parking lot several miles outside Boston US.

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Cater and Roy have said to exchange at least 20,000 text messages and more than 1,000 were sent few days before Roy's death. Prosecutors say that Carter urged Roy to take his own life and at Taunton Trial Court, Massachusetts, they released transcripts of text messages which then 17-year-old Carter sent Roy.

Also read: Depression and taking one's own life: Suicide attempt is a cry for help, says senior psychiatrist

"The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it!", she wrote. "When are you going to do it? Stop ignoring the question?? You can't keep push [sic] it off," prosecutors claimed Carter texted Roy.

The prosecutors even claimed that Carter discouraged Roy for delaying it. "So I guess you aren't gonna do it then, all that for nothing...I'm just so confused like you were so ready and determined," she reportedly said.

Prosecutor Maryclare Flynn has accused Carer for encouraging her boyfriend to commit suicide so that she could play the "grieving girlfriend". However, Carter's defence lawyer said that she had urged him to get treatment but Roy was "on this path to take his own life for years", reported the Independent .

Also read: Mumbai: She wanted to live-stream her suicide. Cops talk her out of killing herself just in time

She suggested Roy that "now is the best time to do because everyone was still sleeping". "Just go somewhere in your truck. And no one's really out right now because it's an awkward time," she said.

She kept reminding him and told him that he wanted to do it.

Apparently, Roy was on the phone with Carter for 47 minutes before his death. He even told her that he was getting out of the truck because "it was not working". But she allegedly instructed him to get back in the car he had filled with carbon monoxide fumes.

However, Carter's lawyers argue that she did try to discourage him and only started supporting his decision to commit suicide when it became clear he would not change his mind.

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Also read: A lot like Romeo: 11-year-old kills self after girlfriend fakes suicide

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US President Donald Trumps statement in his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, that peace wont come where terror is rewarded, is nothing less than a historical and pivotal statement, as it touches the more exposed nerves of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump yearns to implement the moderate Arab-Sunni model in the territorieslike Egypt and Jordan, for example.

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The extent of anti-Israeli incitement in the two countries, which have peace agreements with us, is just as high as in the territories. The verbal attacks launched by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordans King Abdullah on Israels leaders, as a sort of tax they are paying oppositional elements in their countries, are pretty legitimate as well in the Middle East. Nevertheless, the Egyptian president and Jordanian kings commitment to a real war on terror is the model that the United States would like to see in the Palestinian Authority territories as well. Will this happen with Abbas?

The chances for that are not high. People argue that in spite of Trumps short time in office, he rushed to draw operative conclusions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It seems to me that in light of the current state of affairs across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, he was uncompelled to study the issue too intensively and thoroughly. Trump immediately realized that even if Abbas wears a suit, talks quietly and moderately and repeats again and again that he is extending a hand towards peace, the Palestinian leader is still committed to terror.

Trump is seeking to replace the Palestinian people, but may actually lead to the replacement of Abbas (Photo: EPA)

Abbas, Trump believes, is not mature enough yet for the changes the US is planning in the Middle East, which is why the American president raised the bar very high for Abbas in Bethlehem: He is willing to let the Palestinians keep the spots, as long as they bid farewell to the leopard traits.

What is this about? Its not just the high monthly salary paid to whoever sheds more Israeli blood, or the monuments and streets commemorating terrorists who murdered Israeli babies in their beds. Its not just the glorification, which the West has finally began detesting, of freedom fighters like terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who murdered at least 37 Israelis in the bus massacre in March 1978 with her accomplices. Its not just the kindergartens in the territories, which display suicide bombers explosive belts on the doll and puzzle shelves. Its also Abbas himself.

Abbas has a proven terrorist reputation. It has been claimed that he was one of the masterminds of our athletes murder in the 1972 Munich Olympics and stood by Yasser Arafat and Abu Jihad in the most difficult junctions of terror. Western leaders are eager to grant terrorists a sort of rehabilitation. Nevertheless, until today, not a single American leader has demanded that the Palestinians change, but really change. Neither Barack Obama nor Bill Clinton, and not even the George Bushes, held a gun to any Palestinian leaders head and demanded that he take a step which almost means political suicide. Abbas is required to give up the splendid idea which every Palestinian has been educated on since the day he was bornthe liberation of all of Palestine through an armed struggle and the Palestinians' return to Palestine.

Abbas is supposed to ignore the refugees in the camps, who are dreaming of returning to the occupied homeland. He is supposed to turn his back on the second and third generations of the people who marched with him on the paths of terror for years. In fact, Trump had demanded that Abbas betray the path and doctrine of Mufti Amin al-Husseini and Sheikh al-Qassam, and disconnect from the ideological basis that Fatah and the PLO were founded on. The meaning, without a doubt, is loss of control for the rais over the street, over the organization and over the Palestinian people.

Trump, therefore, is seeking to replace the Palestinian people He may actually, however, lead to the replacement of Abbas.
Years before becoming the supercouple of the American literary world, Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman embarked on a journey to connect to their Jewish roots. What began with occasional visits to the neighborhood synagogue continued with observing mitzvot and a search for their family's Diaspora past.

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It was shortly before Chabon won a Pulitzer Prize for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which established him as one of the most important writers of our generation. At the time, Waldman wasnt even considering writing as a profession, and it seems that something in the couples spirituality paved their way to the top.

Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon. I started going to Friday night services at various synagogues, and then I met Ayelet and she sort of joined me on this exploration (Photo: Oren Ziv, Activestills)

My entire childhood, she says, I grew up thinking that we would be returning to Israel the following year. My father would always say, Our residence in the United States is transient. Were not Americans. Were going back to Israel. And thats how I grew up till I reached university. And even then, I had an Israeli boyfriend, and I thought, okay, fine, well first of all take a trip to India and then well go back to a kibbutz. Even when I was studying at Harvard Law, I thought that at the end of law school we would return to Israel and I would do my internship in Israel. And up until I broke up with that boyfriend at the age of 26, I thought that I was about to return to Israel. And suddenly, at the age of 26, I realized that there is no return and there is no Israel for me, and Im American and I live here. Growing up like that affected me in so many ways, like in my lack of connection to the United States and my over-identification with Israel.

Synagogue rock

This complex is still there. Waldman remains deeply connected to Israel. Decades after she left, she speaks English and sneaks in sentences in Hebrew. Chabon listens and agrees that the journey has been deeper for her.

They are different, but they complement each other. He is the son of an assimilated Jewish family who was raised in a typical American environment, the kind that celebrated the Jewish euphoria after the Six-Day War. She is a lively Israeli who was born in Jerusalem before that war, and whose family immigrated to Montreal and from there to Rhode Island.

For a while we tried to find a Judaism that had to do with the actual religion, Waldman says. My parents raised me Zionist atheist, so I never went to synagogue. There was a hatred for all things Orthodox.

But then we went through a period where we embraced Judaism with our family. All of our kids have been bnei mitzvah and there were beautiful ceremonies and they were really meaningful to us as a family. And we celebrated Shabbat, and we even went to the synagogue for a little while, occasionally.

For a decade, Chabon notes.

Yeah, we tried, we did our best, Waldman says. And then at some point, we both looked at each other and we were like, Enough. It was the idea of: here we were trying to force these structures of Judaism into a sort of progressive spiritually meaningful rubric, when its like a joke. You know, you can rewrite the prayers over and over again. The real truth is this is a religion that is all about

Chauvinism, Chabon says.

Michael, in a way your process was different than Ayelet. Was there some moment in your life when you started to feel more connected to Judaism?

It started actually just before I met Ayelet. After the end of my first marriage, I decided to explore my Jewishness overall and try to find ways of reconnecting to it and see what those ways might be. And one of those ways seemed to be by trying to find some way of being observant that felt comfortable to me, that made sense to me, that was meaningful to me, which I had never experienced at all growing up. So I started going to Friday night services at various synagogues and so on, and then I met Ayelet and she sort of joined me on this exploration.

Oh, it was boring, Waldman says. Im telling you, all day in a synagogue on Yom Kippur.

No, it wasnt always boring, Chabon replies. Thats not true.

Sometimes it was very moving, Waldman agrees, but if it was shorter, you know, if the services had been an hour.

If it was a rabbi that was an incredibly inspiring intellectual speaker and thinker, then the music was really boring and dull and horrible, Waldman recalls. Or if the music was incredibly moving and powerful, the rabbi was hideous, you know. So we could never quite find the right home. But while that was happening, at the same time, almost coinciding with that period, we had the rise of fundamentalism of every kind around the world. Not just the rise, but the kind of consolidations of power.

Michael, cant you separate between both of those things, religion and radicalism?

No, in the end thats what I decided. Theres a spectrum that runs from a Berkley synagogue that has two lesbian rabbis and they play Grateful Dead songs to a synagogue in Mea Shearim with the men and the women separated. And even way over at this end of the spectrum, I felt the presence of the other end of the spectrum. And like Ayelet was saying, what I started to feel was we were speaking these reinterpreted prayers, translated into English, that was non-sexist, non-hierarchical, that if it says Hamelech in Hebrew, in English it would not say king, it would say ruler maybe. Or if it doesnt say ruler, it might say power. Something non-masculine, non-monarchical, non-patriarchal. You have to avoid all those kinds of things. So youre speaking this language that is attempting to soften all of the edges of the original Hebrew. And then you read these passages and its the slang of the firstborn of Egypt, lets say. Or even worse is what precedes it, with Moses coming to Pharaoh and saying: If you dont let us out, God is going to kill all of your firstborn sons. And then what does it say in the Torah? It says, Pharaoh was afraid, but God hardened his heart. So that its like God is intervening at that moment to say, Actually, I want to kill all these people.

So when we come to a passage like that, a very difficult passage like that, in our context we start to say: Well, I know it says this and God is killing all these babies, or God is telling the Israelites to go slaughter all the Amalekites and kill all of their babies. I know it says that, but were going to interpret that to mean that God wants us to challenge our internal enemy and to find all of the things in us that we project onto other people as the enemy, and thats what we have to try to kill. Youre always reinterpreting in this way that over time started to feel really objectionable and impossible. I would compare it to someone whos in an abusive marriage, and theyre like: I know it seems like he hates me, I know he hits me and he beats me, but he really loves me. Its just because he cares so much. Youre always apologizing for God, and I got tired of it.

Connecting to the Diaspora past

While Chabon turned away from religion, he did come out feeling much more deeply connected to his heritage as an Ashkenazi Jew in the Diaspora, and specifically the American Diaspora.

Over the course of the same period, thats what I became connected to, and thats where I did find meaning, and thats where I did find significancein Yiddish and Yiddishkeit and in American Jewish culture and in the immigrant experience of my grandparents and great grandparents and their families. And all of that, the Jewish-American story, is what I have always felt pretty connected to.

Did you ever feel connected to a kind of group? Im talking about the young generationPaul Auster, Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Jonathan Safran Foer, and many others?

Yeah, but only in a way as part of a larger group that I see myself as part of, which is in a way my entire generation of American Jews, the grandchildren or great grandchildren of the immigrants. Jonathan Safran Foer is15 years younger than me, something like that? In that area, we were the generation who heard Yiddish spoken by our old relatives, by the great grandparents and the great aunts, but we werent taught how to speak Yiddish. We heard the sound of it, but they didnt want us to learn how to speak it.

We were the generation that grew up sort of post-assimilation, because our parents were the assimilated Jews who grew up in the American suburbs and went to public schools and tried to be as American as they could and were able very successfully to assimilate and become doctors and lawyers and find lots of success, and who sort of prospered after the American universities lifted all the restrictions on Jews, and so Jews were able to go to all the great universities and get first-rate educations and really become part of the American mainstream. And as their children, we started to look around and say, well, we are the incredibly grateful beneficiaries of all of their hard work, of our grandparents hard work, of the incredible sacrifices that they made and the dangers that they faced in leaving their homes and coming to America and living in poverty and working really hard and saving money and moving out of the cities and raising our parents and giving our parents their incredible opportunities, and our parents took advantage of that.

But now, here we are. Were the beneficiaries of all that and were grateful, but with something lost along the way. What was sacrificed in order to accomplish that and is there anything in what was sacrificed that we might be able to reclaim for ourselves to keep or to bring back? And for some Jews, I think its religious practice generally. For others, its Yiddish and klezmer music and other aspects of Yiddish culture. And for Jewish writers of our generation, for a lot of us it has meant looking back at the narrative legacy and seeing what there is, whether its everything from Torah to Mishna to immigrant stories and the families histories or comic books and Marx Brothers movies, or whatever it might be that is part of that narrative that we can shape our own narratives when we sit down to write.

Chabon integrated the connection to his Jewish roots into his masterpieces, including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Final Solution and The Yiddish Policemen's Union, which suggests an alternative history in which the State of Israel loses the War of Independence and Jewish refugees settle in Alaska. These days, the novel is being adapted into a movie by the Coen brothers.

My family disregarded Yiddish, Waldman says, we disregarded the Diaspora, we disregarded everything that wasnt Israeli. And reaching a situation that I suddenly realized that my personal history is the history of Europe, the history of Russia, of Poland, of Ukraine, I had to overcome the great disdain I grew up with.

And that is an authentic Jewish story, Chabon adds, that I dont need to constantly be apologizing for and finding ways to excuse the misogyny and the chauvinism and the xenophobia and all of the things that are so deeply wired into religious Judaism. They are so deeply wired in it, that even two lesbian rabbis in Berkeley singing a Grateful Dead song cant get rid of them completely.

Where does Israel stand in all of this?

The Jewish community in America is probably the most consistently progressive white community, says Waldman, in terms of abortion rights, civil rights, the constitution, equal rights, feminism, everything from healthcare to foreign policy. And Israel is like for previous generationsmy parents generation, for examplethere was this kind of like carveout for Israel. So they would have these progressive politics at home, they would march with Martin Luther King, but they had like a carveout for Israel, which was, you know, Israel can do what it wants because theres that kind of anxiety, the Holocaust anxiety. But the youth of America, the young Jewish community, doesnt have that same sense of carveout. They cannot tolerate the contradiction of politics, of their expression of American politics, and Zionism.

So basically the American Jewish youth are disconnecting from Israel in a way.

The best-case scenario is organizations like J Street, because J Street is overtly Zionist for the State of Israel, and they believe in the two-state solution. The truth that most American Jews experience is a complete disconnect, even Jews who desperately want to have a relationship with Judaism. I always feel like Israel has made this terrible error in vilifying J Street, because J Street is the best-case scenario. The next level is kids like my children, who just dont want to hear about it. They dont care, theyre not interested. Their values as Democrats in America cannot be aligned with whats happening in the occupied territories, and thus they disconnect. Were bringing two of our younger kids to Israel for the first time. I offered my older kids. They were like, No. They would rather go anywhere else in the world. Completely disconnected. They dont want to hear about it, to think about it, nothing.

What about coming to see you working with Breaking the Silence?

Yeah, so theyre proud of that. They look at me and the work that Im doing with Breaking the Silence and the work that Im doing with Peace Now, and they think that Im moving deckchairs on the Titanic. But there are other kids, like the ones who are currently protesting at AIPAC. Israel should be embracing those kids, because those kids love Israel. They want there to be an Israel. My kids, honestly, they grew up with an Israeli mother and I raised them with this kind offor lack of a better wordZionism, for all that they wouldnt bat an eyelash if Israel was just shut down and everybody deported to North Dakota. Each of them has said to me, Hey, that would have been a better solution.

From my point of view, she adds with a half-smile, it should have been Berlin. Those are the people who murdered us. We are city people. Jews are urban in our souls. They should have just given us Berlin. Can you imagine? A wonderful Jewish city state.

'No longer feel comfortable in the US'

While their comfortable home in California is far away from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they still feel the need to get involved. A new book, Fifty, 1967-2017, which is being published these days, compiles essays by writers from around the world about the occupied territories. The writers include Nobel Prize laureate Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, Colum McCann, Geraldine Brooks, Colm Toibin and others. The Chabons also wrote about their experiences from a visit to the territories with Breaking the Silence. They were not happy with what they saw, but you wont see them supporting the BDS movement. They are in favor, however, of boycotting the occupied territories.

What do you think about the new anti-Semitism?

I actually think theres been an up-tick in anti-Semitism, Waldman says. I think what there has been is an empowerment of the Right, a specific fringe right thats very unusual. For example, I got a Twitter picture sent to me. It was like a Nazi caricaturesomeone spent a lot of time drawing itof me with like fangs and claws and horns.

Do you know who sent it?

Just some random right-wing crazy person. And I do think that before Trump, there was a feeling among people like that, that they had to be silent. I think there was a feeling that it was not acceptable to speak the way they speak. And Trump has given permission to a kind of racism and anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim (sentiments) that we havent seen before in modern times in this country. I think its like the viciousness that people kept between themselves, they now spill out to other people.

US President Donald Trump with his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. Theres always the Jew who will facilitate the agenda of the anti-Semite (Photo: AFP)

And you think that the fact that Jared Kushner is his son-in-law is not helping?

You know, Jared Kushner is Trumps pet Jew. Theres always been that character, like there were facilitators in the death camps and in the ghettos too. Theres always the Jew who will facilitate the agenda of the anti-Semite. I dont think that Trump has a coherent ideology. I think hes personally an anti-Semite, and you can see that with the things he says. Like when he says, You people and your moneyI mean, those are anti-Semitic tropes, right? I think he cares only about personal power, and you dont see anything wrong with striking a bargain with overtly anti-Semitic people. I think were lower on his list than Muslims, but I do think that that kind of vicious anti-Semitism now has permission to flourish. I feel safe in California, but I no longer feel comfortable in the United States.

Is Ivanka and Jared Kushners position actually damaging the Jewish community in the US?

Eventually I think it will. The vast majority of Jews voted for Hillary Clinton. They also voted for Obama in something like 76 percent.

So where do you see Judaism going now?

Fundamentalism is still on the rise, Chabon says. To me theyre all the same. Islamic fundamentalists are the same as Jewish fundamentalists are the same as Christian fundamentalists. Its just a matter of who hates who and whos more efficient at killing people and oppressing women.

When David Beeri runs over a child in the road , says Waldman, its exactly the same thing as an Islamic terrorist on a suicide bus. The only difference is hes not killing himself, hes only killing the children. When the government gives him the Israel Prize, its fundamentalism as sponsored by the state, and that is no different than ISIS.

Do you see yourself in some way writing prose about Israel?

Its funny, Waldman replied. Michael and I were just talking about this, and he said if his background had been my background, he would have already written about it, that hes focused on the past and on history and on family, that he would have written the stories that I have not written.

Its a goldmine, youre sitting on a goldmine, Chabon says.

Well, Jonathan Safran Foer just did it.

Yeah, and she could have done a lot better, Chabon jokes.

Despite not wanting to feel this way, despite rejecting its claim on me, in Israel I feel a sense of home that I dont necessarily feel anywhere else, Waldman says. Its curious to have that sensation. And I dont mean like the El Al flight is landing and everybodys crying and singing Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, but like its real.
US federal authorities said they've interrupted efforts to identify potential terrorism targets in New York City and Panama, including US and Israeli embassies, by arresting a man in Michigan and another in New York.

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Court papers unsealed Thursday charge the two men with providing support to a terrorist organization.

Samer El Debek of Dearborn, Michigan, was arrested June 1 in Livonia, Michigan, while Ali Kourani was arrested in the Bronx. Both men are being held in New York City.

Ali Kourani

In a statement, authorities said the men tried to provide support to Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad organization after receiving military training from the group.

They say El Debek looked for potential targets in Panama while Kourani surveilled American targets, including military and law enforcement facilities in New York City.

Acting Manhattan US Attorney Joon H. Kim said, "At the direction of his Hezbollah handlers, El Debek allegedly conducted missions in Panama to locate the US and Israeli Embassies and to assess the vulnerabilities of the Panama Canal and ships in the Canal.

"Kourani allegedly conducted surveillance of potential targets in America, including military and law enforcement facilities in New York City. Thanks to the outstanding work of the FBI and NYPD, the allegedly destructive designs of these two Hezbollah operatives have been thwarted, and they will now face justice in a Manhattan federal court.

Kourani was arrested in the Bronx and brought before a judge for the first time last Friday. It was reported that he was born in Lebanon and in 2000, when he was only 16, received weapons training funded by Hezbollah. He legally immigrated to the United States in 2003, received a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering six years later, and later on, an MBA. During the Second Lebanon War, a house owned by his family was destroyed. He would communicated with his operators in the organization via encrypted emails.

El Debek was arrested in the city of Livonia, Michigan, and brought before a judge for the first time last Monday. It was reported that he was recruited to Hezbollah for the first time in late 2007 or early 2008, and soon thereafter, began receiving a salary from the organization until 2015. During the Second Lebanon War, he distributed an email expressing his support for Nasrallah. El Debek was trained by Hezbollah members in Lebanon on several occasions between 2008 and 2014.

It was also reported that in May 2009, Al Debek was sent by Hezbollah on a mission to Thailand. He flew from Lebanon to Malaysia, and from there, to Bangkok, in order to hide explosives that other operatives of the organization left after they discovered they were being surveilled.
Electric shock

Seems like a power battle is on between West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Bimal Gurung's Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). As Didi took to the hills on June 5 along with her ministers, for some R&R and a cabinet meeting on June 8, the GJM, which runs the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, decided to switch off power for two hours every evening during her stay. It's meant to be a lesson for the CM who wanted Bengali to be made compulsory in school curriculums. Mamata's move made the GJM see red, agitating as it is for a separate Gorkha state. The CM did retract, making the subject optional, but the damage had been done.

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Political desiltation

Source: PTI

Nitish Kumar is clearly on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's list of favourite non-BJP chief ministers. Four days after the two met on May 27 to raise the "burning issue" of siltation in the Ganga, Union minister for water resources Uma Bharti came calling on Nitish in Patna on June 1. And a central team is visiting this week to examine the Ganga action plan. Nitish too is playing ball: before meeting the PM, he skipped a lunch hosted for Opposition leaders by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Removable feast

When it came to Navratri, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath held a phalahari feast for his ministers and MLAs. But come Ramzan, and he'll break from tradition by not hosting an iftaar party at his 5, Kalidas Marg residence like his predecessors did. Akhilesh Yadav's iftaar parties were an important event on the social calendar during his five-year tenure. Those wishing to partake of iftaar goodies will now have to head for the Raj Bhavan, where Governor Ram Naik will hold a roza iftaar on June 23.

Space oddity

China may have resolutely opposed India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group but is eager to have the country onboard in the BRICS space mechanism it is hosting. ISRO is among the space agencies that have been invited, others being from Russia, Brazil and South Africa, to Beijing in July in the lead-up to the BRICS summit, which China is hosting in September. China believes India has a lead in remote-sensing satellites, which it wants to learn more about.

-Sandeep Unnithan with Romita Datta, Amitabh Srivastava, Ashish Misra and Ananth Krishnan

--- ENDS ---
Israel recently sent a harsh message to Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Kemal Okem, for having hosted the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, at his home for an Iftar dinner at the end of the Ramadan fast last week.

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Salah is known for his positions that deny the legitimacy of the State of Israel and its rights to the Temple Mount. He was previously sentenced to imprisonment for rioting and inciting to violence and racism. He is also considered the main rabble-rouser in Israel that fans the flames on the Temple Mount and is responsible for quite a few provocations at the holy site.

Salah with the ambassador

Salah's invitation to the ambassador's residence comes about a month after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "Every day that Jerusalem is under occupation is an insult to us."

The Foreign Ministry decided not to officially reprimand the Turkish ambassador and to make do with sending a message of its anger.

The Turkish ambassador rejected the criticism, claiming that it was a routine meeting parallel to a Jewish Shabbat dinner. "The intention was to send a message of peace and brotherhood to all peoples. We sent an invitation to a series of Muslim leaders on the occasion of the Iftar, and Sheikh Salah accepted the invitation."

Sources in Israel fear that, despite the ambassador's explanation, there is a new line on the part of Ankara, aimed at warming relations with the Islamic Movement and Hamas. This is also how Israel views a video produced by Turkish national television TRT.

The TRT video (Credit: TRT World)

X

The video presents the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in English and, according to the Foreign Ministry, adopts the Palestinian-Hamas narrative and presents Israel as the bad side of the conflict, as the aggressor, the occupier and the colonialist. According to them, the video even legitimizes the use of terrorism against the occupation.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emanuel Nachshon tweeted a harsh response to the video: "(TRT World) at the service of deceitful Palestinian propaganda. Not really journalism."
The Tel Aviv Pride Parade is underway Friday under tight security, with hundreds of police, Border Police and volunteers deployed along the route of the parade to keep the peace.

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This year's parade focuses on the bisexual community, under the tagline Let it Be. Photo: Ido Erez

Photo: Motti Kimchi Photo: Ido Erez Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said the parade, while fun, "is an act of defiance in a society that still has a long way to go before all are equal. This is the essence of this march. More and more cities hold parades and address the needs of the (LGBT) community, but there is still a long way to go. We hope the lighthouse that is Tel Aviv will guide others towards recognition that all people are equal." Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, center, with parade attendees (Photo: Motti Kimchi) Photo: Ido Erez Photo: Asaf Kamar

Celebrations began with an event at Gan Meir, which included music and performances, LGBT community booths and stalls and a special area for children and teens.

Pride Parade begins in Gan Meir (:  ,    ) X

Photo: Guy Yehieli

Photo: Guy Yehieli

Photo: Motti Kimchi

The parade itself will left at around midday, not before attendees observed a minute of silence in memory of Shira Banki, who was stabbed to death by a Jewish extremist during the 2015 Jerusalem Pride Parade, and in solidarity with the LGBT community in Chechnya, where leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been accused of "gay purge."

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Tens of thousands have already joined the parade, with some 200,000 people expected to attend overall, including 30,000 tourists who came to Israel especially for the event.





Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Ido Erez

Photo: Motti Kimchi

The floats escorting the parade started rolling at 1pm along the promenade, eventually reaching Charles Clore Park, where several concerts will be held.

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Performers will include Army of Lovers, Julieta, Shimi Tavori and several interchanging DJs.

Roads in the area are expected to close throughout the parade.

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Police officers were instructed not to allow weapons, bicycle and electric bicycle into the parade route. In addition, sharp objects, dangerous toys, fireworks and animals (except for guide dogs) will also not be allowed into the parade area.

While police works to combat any crimes in the parade areas, marchers have been asked to closely guard their possessions and not leave any valuables in their cars.

Photo: Guy Yehieli

The head of the Israeli Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Association, Chen Arieli, said, "As I march in the parade, I will be particularly proud of the partners I have, people who work in these organizations every day to make the world a better place, and that is a good reason to be proud in my eyes."

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Photo: Motti Kimchi

Arieli noted, however, that the road to equality was still a long one. "The parade began as a protest march. On the one hand, we are celebrating having the freedom to be who we are, and on the other hand there are a lot of complexities. The original reasons for the parade have not yet been gone from the world."
Lecturers at academic institutions in Israel will be barred from expressing political opinions during class as part of a new ethical code.

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The ethical code on political activity in academia was written by Prof. Asa Kasherwho also wrote the ethical code for the IDFat the request of Education Minister Naftali Bennett.

Bennett, who also chairs the Council for Higher Education, plans on bringing the new ethical code for approval at the council so it could be implemented in all universities and colleges in Israel.

Education Minister Bennett speaking at Tel Aviv University (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

"This is not against any political sideit is sweeping across the political spectrum," he clarified. "No side has a reason to oppose this move regardless."

Despite Bennett's assertion, many lecturers have already declared they would not adhere to the new ethical code.

In December, after Bennett asked Prof. Kasher to write an ethical code, senior officials in academia called on Kasher to turn Bennett down.

At the time, hundreds of lecturers signed a petition saying, "We, lecturers in higher education, declare we intend to completely ignore the conclusions of the Kasher committee... the government has no authority to determine what expressions are appropriate in academia."

Prof. Asa Kasher (Photo: Haim Zach)

According to the new ethical code, lecturers would only be allowed to discuss political issues in class when it is relevant to the course, such as in political sciences.

In addition, the code forbids faculty members from participating in an academic boycott or calling on others to support such boycotts.

Academic departments are also barred from working with groups and organizations that have a political affiliation.

Each academic institute would be required to establish a unit to enforce the ethical code and supervise lecturers' political activity. Students would be able to file complaints with the unit as well.

The new ethical code also determines sanctions for those who break it. A lecturer who promotes his political views in class will be summoned to appear in front of the enforcement unit. If the unit determines the lecturer violated the ethical code, he will be reprimanded in his personal file. If the lecturer ignores this reprimand and continues breaking the ethical code, he could face disciplinary actions.

Bennett sought to introduce the new ethical code after receiving complaints over the past two years from right-wing NGOs who asked him to stop left-wing academics from promoting their political agendas during lectures. The Knesset's Committee on Education, Culture and Sport also held several discussions on the issue.

In Prof. Kasher's letter of appointment, Bennett wrote: "A situation must be prevented in which students or lecturers suffer rejection, silencing, exclusion or discrimination because of their identities or personal views, including their political positions. Academic freedom obligates any institution to strive to present to students a comprehensive a look as possible of data, theories, views and relevant arguments. We're all also obligated to protect the student's right to attend a higher education institution without having to listen to political preaching that has nothing to do with their particular field of studies."
Qatar says its foreign minister has spoken to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The energy rich country's Foreign Ministry made the announcement Friday. It said Tillerson and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani "discussed bilateral relations and means of enhancing them as well as the situation and the latest developments" in a crisis between it and Arab countries.

US President Donald Trump's administration has suggested Tillerson, who as Exxon Mobil's CEO had business with Qatar, as a possible mediator for the dispute. That comes after Trump, who tweeted Tuesday about Qatar funding extremists, called Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Wednesday and offered to host leaders at the White House to resolve the crisis.

Sheikh Mohammed told The Associated Press on Thursday that Sheikh Tamim "is not going to leave the country while the country is in blockade," in effect turning down the mediation offer.
Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas commander who was recently deported from Qatar, has moved to Lebanon and intends to launch terror attacks against Israel from there, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told the visiting US Ambassador to the US Nikki Haley on Friday.

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"Action must be taken to deport him from there," he told Haley.

He said Arouri was joined by two other Hamas members. "The three, led by Saleh al-Arouri, will continue trying to perpetrate terror attacks against Israel from Lebanon, while at the same time strengthen the ties between Hamas and Hezbollah. All of this will be done under Iranian auspicies and with aid from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and (IRGC command) Qasem Soleimani," Lieberman said.

Lieberman and Haley meet in Jerusalem (:  / )

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Arouri, the defense minister added, "is a dangerous terrorist who was responsibile for some deadly Hamas terror attacks against Israel, and he must not be allowed to continue with his actions."

"Lebanon is a sovereign country that maintains ties with the United States," he continued. "Israel views Lebanon as responsible for what's happening in its territory and the terror attacks launched from there. That is why it is important for the United States to work with the Lebanese government to deport the three Hamas members and prevent the establishment of another terror base in its territory."

Saleh al-Arouri

Arouri, who used to be in charge of Hamas prisoners in Israeli jail, has been operating from Turkey over the last few years and was the brains behind many terror attacks, mostly in the West Bank. He remained on Israel's watch list after moving to Qatar as well.

Contrary to Lieberman's claims, however, inside sources say Arouri moved to Malaysia, while other Hamas members headed to Lebanon and Turkey.

Lieberman and Haley, who met in Jerusalem, discussed several other security and diplomatic issues, including the fight against terrorism and combatting attempts to delegitimize Israel. They also discussed further cooperation between the US and Israel at the United Nations.

Lieberman also asked for Haley's help in returning to Israel the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who were killed during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza and whose remains are being held by Hamas, as well as of two living Israeli citizens, Abera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who entered the Gaza Strip of their own accord and are believed to be held captive by Hamas.

Lieberman, right, meets with Haley (Photo: Dana Shraga, Defense Ministry)

They further discussed the salaries the Palestinian Authority pays terrorists imprisoned in Israel and families of terrorists killed after attacking Israelis and Lieberman even presented Haley with a list of American citizens murdered in Israel by Palestinian terrorists.

Lieberman also gave Haley a unique gifta statuette of a high-heeled shoe, in reference to a comment Haley made when she was first appointed ambassador to the UN, saying "I wear high heels, its not for a fashion statement, its because if I see something wrong I will kick it every single time."

Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation headed by leader Ismail Haniyeh is expected to make a visit to Tehran in the near future, senior Hamas member Osama Hamdan said Friday. The delegation will also visit other countries.

Such a visit is unusual and indicates a warming of Hamas-Iran ties, which suffered when Hamas declared its support to the rebels trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, Tehran's ally.
The Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed a $10 million contract with the city of Shantou in Guangdong Province on Thursday to build a training center where Israeli teams will teach the Chinese to maintain passenger aircraft.

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The contract was signed as part of a conference for business cooperation between Israel and the Guangdong Province.

The company also signed an agreement with Gwangju Port in the province to build a robot that would increase the efficiency of container storage.

The C919 (Photo: EPA)

"This is an important breakthrough in light of the accelerated development of China's civil aviation," said Gadi Cohen, vice president and director of civil society at IAI.

The IAI has been providing maintenance services for airlines for years, and the company intends to continue expanding its civilian operations in China, which in the coming years is expected to become the largest aviation market in the world, requiring the training of thousands of technical personnel for the growing domestic fleet.

Boeing estimated last year that in the next 20 years, the Chinese market would need about 7,000 new passenger planes, which are estimated to cost more than a trillion dollars. Air traffic in the country is expected to grow by about six percent in light of the rising standard of living and the fact more Chinese citizens taking vacations abroad.

A few weeks ago, a first modern Chinese passenger plane, the narrow-bodied C919 that competed with the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320, took off for its maiden voyage. It is based on American and European technologies and is expected to enter into serial production in about two years.

(Translated & edited by Lior Mor)
LONDON - UK Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday she would form a new government with assistance from Northern Irish unionists to provide political certainty and lead Britain in talks with the European Union to secure a successful Brexit deal.

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May asked Britain's Queen Elizabeth for permission to form a new government on Friday after an election debacle that saw her Conservative Party lose its parliamentary majority days before talks on Britain's EU departure are due to begin.

On the doorstep of her official Downing Street residence, May said she could rely in parliament on the support of her "friends" in Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party after her governing Conservatives failed to win a majority.

British PM Theresa May (Photo: AP)

"We will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular," she said.

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."

The DUPwhich staunchly defends Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom, and takes a conservative approach to social issuesincreased its number of seats to 10 in Thursday's election.

"We will fulfil the promise of Brexit together and over the next five years build a country in which no one, and no community, is left behind," May said.

"This will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful Brexit deal that works for everyone in this country, securing a new partnership with the EU which guarantees our long term prosperity."

The DUP said earlier on Friday it would not comment on reports that it had agreed to back May's ruling Conservatives.

Some political analysts doubt a Conservative minority government with support from the DUP would last over the long term, and think a second election is likely.
Over the years, huge amounts of raw sewage from southeast Jerusalem and Palestinian communities has been channeled directly into the Dead Sea from the Kidron Valley. Repeated arguments between the various authorities in Israel and the lack of cooperation with the Palestinians led to an increase in pollution levels, reaching 36,000 cubic meters of sewage that flowed through the stream every day.

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Over the years, a solution has been formulated according to which the sewage will not be discharged into the river but into a wide pipe and through it to a central wastewater treatment facility. The problem was that the pipeline was supposed to pass through Palestinian areas as well, so it made the plan difficult to implement.

Environmental activists protesting pollution in Yarkon River (Photo courtesy of Zalul NGO)

Attempts to find other solutions have failed time after time due to disputes between the various authorities; the Water Authority, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the regional councils and the Jerusalem Municipality. The recent State Comptroller's report also states that this is an ongoing failure that causes considerable environmental damage.

In recent days there has been a breakthrough. After many discussions, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, succeeded in reaching agreements with the Palestinians so pipeline would be able to pass through their territory, and they are also supposed to finance their share of it.

According to the plan, Israel will build a pipeline in its territory and the Palestinian Authority will build a pipeline in its territoryand both pipes will be connected. The sewage will be piped instead of in the stream to the Almog area, where it will be treated at a wastewater treatment facility that is already operating there but will be significantly expanded in the future. The Palestinians also plan to build two new sewage treatment plants.

Planning officials in Israel say that if the Palestinians do indeed agree to the initiative, it will be possible to solve the severe pollution problem.

The Kidron Valley begins in the Old City of Jerusalem, descends through the Judean Desert and flows into the Dead Sea in the Kalia region. It is one of the most beautiful streams that flow across the desert. When it was still possible to walk there without suffering from the terrible stench and various other ailments, it was possible to enjoy the impressive canyons, cliffs and breathtaking desert scenery.

(Translated & edited by Lior Mor)
ANKARAThousands packed Tehran's streets on Friday to mourn the victims of two suicide bomb and gun attacks, and joined their supreme leader in accusing regional rival Saudi Arabia of involvement in the assaults.

People in the crowds, some crying, chanted "Death to Saudi Arabia" alongside the more customary "Death to America" and slogans against Israel, as they reached out to touch coffins wrapped in flags and covered in flowers.

Bombers and gunmen killed 17 people in Iran's parliament and near the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, on Wednesday, in rare strikes on the capital that exacerbated regional tensions.
When Alon Wald, the marketing manager of Jerusalem's Ammunition Hill National Memorial, decided to initiate a photography exhibit spotlighting the capital to mark 50 years to its reunification in the Six-Day War, there was a special personal resonancehis own father was killed just meters away from his office in one of the fiercest battles of that war.

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Photographers from 84 different countriesfrom Japan to Iraqrecently sent in some 14,500 photographs of Israel's capital to compete in The International Photography ChallengeJerusaLENS. Selected photos are now on display in a unique Jubilee Exhibition at Ammunition Hill National Memorial Site in Jerusalem running from June 6 to August 6.

"For this challenge, photographers were asked to capture their personal Jerusalem," Wald told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). "I initiated this contest because Jerusalem is important to the whole world. and I wanted people to be able to express their love of this city through their own personal lens."

Alon Wald at the JerusaLENSThe Jubilee Exhibition International Photography Challenge at Ammunition Hill (Photo:Aharon Krohn/TPS)

"We were looking for old and new photos of the Jerusalem," Wald. "People reacted amazingly. We had people from countries that don't have relations with Israel sending in their photos of Jerusalem."

The four-month long challenge attracted photographers from Arab countries including Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco.

"The overwhelming response to the photography challenge far exceeded our expectations," said Wald, who noted that the challenge amassed the largest collection of Jerusalem photographs on the web.

"There are photos of holy Jerusalem, secular Jerusalem, Jerusalem of different faiths and culturesit was inspiring to see the beauty that others find in our capital," said Wald.

About 50% of the photos sent captured religious activity in Jerusalem including that of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths, while 30% related to the Temple Mount. The Chords Bridge was one of the most photographed modern symbols of the city in the competition.

Curators of the photography challenge included Rina Castelnuovo, an Israeli photographer for the New York Times, Ziv Koren, an Israeli photojournalist, Gali Tibbon, a Jerusalem based award-winning photographer, Avi Ohayon, the head of the photography department at the Israeli Government Press Office, and the late David Rubinger, the Time-Life photographer for Israel for many years. It was Rubinger's last photography project before he died in March, and the challenge was dedicated to his memory.

Of the 400 leading photographs, the curators chose 100 photographs that were enlarged and printed by HP Israel, which are now being showcased in an exhibition on Ammunition Hill in partnership with KKL-JNF along with JNF USA; Ammunition Hill; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Tourism, Jerusalem and Heritage; and the GPO and with the support of HP (Scitex and Indigo) and Venture Partners PICO.

David Mor won the $5,000 prize for the Challenge Photographer for his photo of a bagel merchant pushing a large cart of bread in the Old City, while Dalia Rajwan won $2,225 in a photography prize chosen by the audience, of an ultra-Orthodox man walking in the Old City. Ariel Lebanon won $2,225 in the Guru category for his photo of teenagers sitting on top of the Old City walls.

For Wald, the photography challenge took root because of his own unique connection to Jerusalem and specifically, Ammunition Hill. "My office is literally a few feet from where my father died during the battle of Ammunition Hill during the Six-Day War," Wald said.

Wald's father, Capt. Rami Wald, was a paratrooper who was killed during the grueling battle for the reunification of Jerusalem at Ammunition Hill, a heavily fortified Jordanian military post whose capture was crucial to open up the way to the Old City. On the morning of June 6, 150 Israeli paratroopers attacked the hill, fighting against a similar sized Jordanian force as well as fortified bunkers and trenches. By the end of the battle, 37 paratroopers were killed including Wald's father and 90 were wounded; 71 Jordanian soldiers lost their lives in the fighting.

Wald was only 11 months old when his father died. "I tried to get to know my father through his friends. My father and his friends gave us a united Jerusalem with their blood and sweat and opened the path to this city in 1967. Today, I believe that it is our mission to share Jerusalem with the world through creative ways that go beyond politics and division."
By Press Trust of India: Tirupati, Jun 9 (PTI) Union Minister Piyush Goyal today hit out at the Congress, saying India had to import coal in a big way to produce power due to unwanted projects and miscalculations of the party-led regime.

Speaking to reporters here, the Union Coal and Power Minister said the Congress, which ruled for a decade, miserably failed to increase the power production capacity due to several unwanted projects based on "illogical" calculations.

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Though there was no need to import coal, the previous Congress government purchased imported coal by spending lakhs of crores of rupees, he said.

Replying to a question on farmers protest in Madhya Pradesh and killing of some farmers, Goyal said it was an unfortunate incident and a judicial inquiry has been ordered.

Hitting out at Rahul Gandhi, Goyal alleged that instead of caring for farmers, the Congress Vice President sought to derive political mileage by instigating farmers to create more disturbances in the area.

On demonetisation, the minister said it was the biggest reform that will be written in golden letters in the history of India, adding note ban had crushed all sorts of black money transactions, making the country economically stronger.

Earlier, after offering worship at the Lord Venkateswara shrine at Tirumala with members of his family, Goyal inaugurated an exhibition of Making of Developed India (MODI) at Indira Maidan near Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) office here. PTI CORR BN ABM

--- ENDS ---
Another incident in which ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem attacked a uniformed IDF soldier was reported Friday afternoon when several citizens telephoned the police.

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The crowd of Haredim was hurling stones at the soldier, who was walking in uniform in the Mea She'arim neighborhood. The Israel Police reported to the scene and located the soldier hiding in a shop with an ultra-Orthodox crowd outside shouting at him. The police retrieved the soldier unharmed.

The police commented that EMTs also arrived at the scene, but Haredim there tried to prevent the ambulance's reaching the soldier.

Police confronting Haredi attackers in Mea Shearim (File photo: Israel Police)

A police statement explained, "The police are investigating the incident and are working to collect evidence from the field. An initial investigation revealed that the soldier who went on Shabbat furlough to his home went to a neighborhood store with a relative. As soon as the ultra-Orthodox noticed him, they began to attack him."

The police emphasized that they continue "in the struggle against the trend that soldiers in uniform are attacked violently while walking in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods." Similar incidents have led the police to operate especially on days when soldiers are released home: mainly on Fridays in the afternoon, the police said.

It was also reported that the Israel Police "will not allow extremist elements to take the law into their own hands and harm people who chose to serve the country."
ANKARA When ISIS called on members of Iran's Sunni Muslim minority in March to wage a religious war on their Shiite rulers, few people took the threat seriously. And yet within three months, militants have breached security at the very heart of the nation, killing at least 17 people.

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This week's attacks at parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini have exposed shortcomings among the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) which was supposed to be protecting these potent symbols of Iran's revolution.

They have also undermined Tehran's belief that by backing offensives against ISIS across the Middle East, it can keep the militant Sunni group away from Iran.

Undaunted, officials say Iran will step up the strategy, which includes sending fighters to battle ISIS in Syria and Iraq alongside allied Shiite militia groups.

Attack at Khomeini's mausoleum

Wednesday's killings in Tehran by Iranian members of ISIS drew a shocked response similar to that in Western countries when they too have been attacked by locally-born jihadists. Now Iranians are worrying about how many others are out there, planning similar assaults.

One senior Iranian official told Reuters that ISIS had established a network of support in the country, and suggested that members' motivation was as much political and economic as to do with Sunni radicals' belief that Shiites are infidels.

"Sunni extremism is spreading in Iran like many other countries. And not all of these young people who join extremist groups are necessarily religious people," said the official, who asked not to be named. "But the establishment is well aware of the problem and is trying to tackle it."

Most Iranian Sunnis, who form up to 10 percent of the population, reject ISIS's ideology. But some young Sunnis seem to regard policies of Shiite-led Iran as oppressive at home or aggressive abroad, such as in Iraq and Syria, pushing more of them into the arms of jihadist groups.

Iran has been trying to stem the spread of radicalism into Sunni majority regions, which are usually less economically developed. Authorities said 1,500 young Iranians were prevented from joining ISIS in 2016.

Aftermath of the blast

Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to the Balouch minority and has long been a hotbed of Sunni insurgents.

Two Sunni groups, Jaish al-Adl and Jundallah, have been fighting the IRGC for over a decade. This has mostly been in remote areas but some say it was almost inevitable that violence would eventually spread to Tehran, as it did this week.

"It's not the attacks that are surprising. It's that Iran has been able to avoid one for so long. The attacks were a wake-up call for Iran's security apparatus," said senior Iran analyst Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group. "But so too will they probably serve as one for jihadists, who will be encouraged to exploit Iran's vulnerabilities."

'Strategic folly'

Since its creation shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, the IRGC has functioned as Iran's most powerful internal and external security force, with a sophisticated intelligence and surveillance network.

The IRGC has vowed revenge on ISISknown by its opponents under the Arab acronym of Daeshbut a top security official said this won't be easy.

"The attacks showed the vulnerability of our security system, at the borders and within Iran," the official said, asking not to be named. However, he added: "Many planned attacks by Daesh have been foiled by our security forces in the past years. Many terrorist cells were dismantled. Our Guards have been vigilant."

Syrian rebels and Iraqi forces are closing in on ISIS in those countries, and the official said the group appeared to have tried to strike back in Tehran.

"The attacks are the result of Daesh being weakened in the region. They blame Iran for that ... But Iran will not abandon its fight against terrorism," he added.

Police in Tehran (Photo: Reuters)

"Iranian officials have long justified their country's active military presence in Iraq and Syria as a way to keep the homeland safe," he said. "Wednesday's attacks expose the folly of that strategy."

Spiraling tensions

A senior official, who also asked not to be named, said the attacks would push Iran toward "a harsher regional policy".

Sanam Vakil, associate fellow with Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Program, dismissed any expectation that Tehran might try to ease spiraling tensions with Riyadh. "If we are expecting to see any change in Iran's regional policy or a retreat in any waythat is not going to happen," she said.

Newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani has said the attacks will make Iran more united. Analysts, however, believe they will exacerbate domestic tensions between Rouhani, a pragmatist, and his rivals among hard-line clergy and the IRGC.

They have repeatedly criticized Rouhani's attempts to improve relations with the outside world.

Rouhani has generally lost out to the hardliners, who through the IRGC's Al Quds forceexpeditionary units which are fighting in Iraq and Syria as well as organizing Shiite alliescontinue to call the shots. In the view of the hard-liners' critics, they are helping to drive alienated Sunnis towards militant groups.
UNITED NATIONSTHe United Nations has formally agreed to cooperate with the Community of Sant'Egidio, a Catholic lay group that works behind the scenes to prevent conflicts and bring warring parties to the peace table.

At a ceremony Friday at Italy's UN Mission, Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman and Sant'Egidio's President Marco Impagliazzo exchanged letters formalizing the relationship, which dates back 30 years to the war in Mozambique.

Feltman said the UN wanted to recognize "the incredible role that the Community of Sant'Egidio has been playing ... often very, very quietly and very discreetly" to promote peace.
Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinians who were throwing stones near the border fence in the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing one man and wounding four others, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

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The Islamic Jihad Palestinian militant group said the man killed was a member of their armed wing.

Clashes on Gaza border Friday

Soldiers on the Israeli side of the border opened fire after their calls to the Palestinians and warning shots were ignored, she said.

Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement which rules Gaza have fought three wars since 2008, though the border has been largely quiet in recent months.

On Friday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the main UN aid agency in Gaza, said it had discovered part of a tunnel running under two of its schools in a refugee camp in the enclave.

UNRWA said it had protested over the finding to Hamas, which in a 2014 war had used a network of cross-border tunnels to launch attacks inside Israel.

The UNRWA school beneath which a tunnel was found

"UNRWA condemns the existence of such tunnels in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way," a written statement said.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum denied the tunnel belonged to his or any other Gaza militant group.

Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005. The Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the enclave, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories that Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.

US-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed in 2014.

At least 249 Palestinians and one Jordanian citizen have been killed since a wave of sporadic violence began in 2015 in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Israel says at least 167 of those killed were carrying out stabbings, shootings or car-ramming attacks. Others died during clashes and protests.

Thirty-seven Israelis, two American tourists and a British student have been killed in the violence, which has slowed in recent months but not stopped.
WASHINGTONSecretary of State Rex Tillerson called on Arab nations on Friday to immediately ease their blockade on Qatar, warning that the Persian Gulf crisis is hindering US efforts to fight ISIS and other extremists in the Middle East.

Tillerson, who has been tapped by President Donald Trump to help mediate the crisis, also faulted Qatar for allowing funds to flow to extremist groups, echoing the complaint that Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have cited in cutting off ties to Qatar. Tillerson said the US was asking Qatar to "be responsive to the concerns of its neighbors."
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will chair the 16th meeting of the GST Council on Sunday, to review rates about which the industry has expressed displeasure, and amend draft rules.

By Press Trust of India: The all-powerful GST Council will meet on Sunday to review some of the rates on which industry has expressed displeasure, besides amending the draft rules.

This will be the 16th meeting of the Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, since it was set up in September 2016.

"Main agenda items include confirmation of the minutes of the 15th GST Council meeting held on June 3, approval of amendments to draft GST rules and rate adjustment, if any, based on the representations received from different trade and industry and their associations," a finance ministry statement said.

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The June 11 meeting would probably be the last one of the Council before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is rolled out from July 1.

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS SEEK REVIEW

Various industry associations have sought a review of the tax rates saying that the GST incidence is working out to be much higher than the present level of taxation.

The auto industry has been demanding a review of the GST rate on mid and large-sized hybrid cars which are proposed to be taxed at 43 per cent, higher than the current level of effective tax rate of 30.3 per cent.

Also, the telecom sector has been placed in the 18 per cent tax bracket and they are demanding that the rate should be lowered. COAI has written to Revenue Secretary to review the matter.

IT hardware firms are seeking an uniform GST rate of 18 per cent on IT products, like monitors and printers, instead of 28 per cent proposed for some items.

The GST Council has fitted almost all goods and services in tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. However, precious metals, gold coins and imitation jewellery have been fitted in the 3 per cent slab, and rough diamond at 0.25 per cent.

The GST, which will subsume a host of levies including excise, service tax and VAT, will be rolled out from July 1.

ALSO READ | Jammu and Kashmir to hold special Assembly session to pass GST

ALSO READ | GST rates: Fresh milk,vegetables, fruits under zero percent tax slab; branded items at 5 percent

WATCH VIDEO | GST rates finalised: What are the hits and misses for the common man?

--- ENDS ---
The NSW governments recently announced stamp duty concessions are reverse-engineering supply and demand, according to Douglas Driscoll, CEO of the real estate group Starr Partners.

Driscoll called for more justification around the NSW governments solution for housing affordability after it revealed that no concessions would be afforded to buyers making property purchases over $800,000.

The measures, which were taken to cabinet last week, proposed for stamp duty to be abolished on all homes valued up to $650,000, and relief for buyers of homes valued up to $800,000.

Driscoll said his offices are already experiencing vendors around the $650,000 and $800,000 price points asking agents to list their homes for slightly more, since first-home buyers will soon have more to spend.

When first-home buyer grants were introduced a few years ago, as a group, we saw the same thing. The market needs to find its natural level, as otherwise these measures could prove counter-productive and possibly even lead to an artificial increase in prices, he said.

While the new measures appear to be a step in the right direction, Driscoll wants performance to be critiqued. It is a complex matter, as the state government needs to protect the cash cow that is stamp duty, but also make an attempt at solving the affordability crisis. If the intention is to alleviate affordability woes amongst first-home buyers, how did it reach the figure of $650,000? This tells me the measure was designed to drive more first-home buyers into apartments. With far fewer investors as a result of the macro-prudential measures and tens of thousands of new apartments in the pipeline, who is going to buy them otherwise? he said.

According to CoreLogic, Sydneys median dwelling price is $872,300, which is two-thirds the figure proposed for abolishing stamp duty. Only 20% of Sydney Metro dwellings sold at a price of $650,000 or less over the past 12 months were houses. This increases to 34.4% when looking at dwellings that sold for a price of $800,000 or less.

In 2016, the apartment development boom in Sydney raised concerns about oversupply. Driscoll believes the stamp duty changes are designed to drive more first-home buyers into apartment purchases.

First-home buyers currently represent about four to five per cent of the market. We need to get this to double digits and this measure might not do that. When you really look at it against the market, less than 10 per cent of Sydneys suburbs would have homes with a median price below $650,000. If the government was serious about alleviating barriers, it would completely abolish stamp duty for first-home buyers or at the very least make the first $650,000 exempt, irrespective of the purchase price, and not cap it at a price that forces people into apartments to reverse engineer the cycle. he said.

Related Stories:

NSWs Housing Affordability Plan Tackles Supply

First-Home Buyer Activity To Surge In NSW
Shankersinh Vaghela has been throwing enough hints of his displeasure with the party leadership.

By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: Senior Gujarat Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela continues to sulk. AICC general secretary in-charge of Gujarat, Ashok Gehlot, met Vaghela in Ahmedabad today to placate Vaghela, who is the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.

Gehlot has been avoiding meeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi, attending party programmes and also the media. Reports said he wants to be declared the face of the forthcoming Assembly elections in the State. He has threatened to resign as the leader of opposition of his demand was not met.

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Gehlot was in Ahmedabad to attend Youth Congress convention organised by the state unit of the party. He also met Vaghela in order to mollify him. Vaghela apparently skipped the event as his name was missing from the pamphlets.

After the meeting, Gehlot said Vaghela was not upset and that he would remain in Congress. He also said Vaghela was not in touch with any other party. Regarding Vaghela's absence from party programmes, the party leader said he was too busy to attend them.

Gehlot also reiterated that Congress would give field all the 57 sitting MLAs. He said Vaghela would help Congress win the Assembly elections in October.

DISPLEASURE WITH PARTY LEADERSHIP

Vaghela has been throwing enough hints of his displeasure with the party leadership. Ahead of the Congress' state cyber meet in Ahmedabad on May 14, Vaghela unfollowed senior party leaders including Rahul and Ahmed Patel on Twitter.

He met Rahul along with Gehlot here on May 31. Apparently, he was not satisfied with the talks because within a couple of days of the meeting, he threatened to resign as the leader of opposition if he was not projected as the chief ministerial candidate of the party.

His displeasure with the party leadership was evident when he skipped a meeting with Rahul here on June 5. He was supposed to meet the party leader along with Gehlot and Gujarat Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki. He did not specify any reason either for having skipped the meeting.

However, Solanki called on Vaghela in Gandhinagar on June 7 in order to soothe him. He reiterated that Vaghela was with Congress and would remain with it.

LIKELY TO RETURN TO BJP

However, it seems Bapu, as Vaghela is fondly called in political circles, is still cut up with the Congress. The sources said Vaghela may return to BJP after two decades.

Bapu was reportedly planning to split the state unit of the party. However, Congress put paid to his plans by announcing that all the sitting MLAs would be fielded again for the October elections. In these circumstances, it would be difficult for Vaghela to split the party.

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The sources said now the chances are that Vaghela may harm Congress by remaining in the party. He is demanding about 50 tickets for his supporters in the Assembly of 182 seats. He wants to be in a commanding position if most of his candidates are victorious.

Also read:

Speculation of Vaghela leaving Congress as he skips meeting with Rahul

Gujarat Congress delegation to meet Rahul Gandhi today to end factionalism in state unit

WATCH | Ruckus in Gujarat Assembly after Congress asked reasons for farmers' suicide

--- ENDS ---
Mogadishu: Somalia`s president said late Thursday night the country`s army was in "hot pursuit" of Islamist group al Shabaab fighters after the insurgents` assault on a military base in the Puntland region that left at least 38 people dead.

In the early Thursday attack, the Islamists overran a military base in Af Urur, a town about 100 km (60 miles) south of Bosaso, the capital of Puntland, one of Somalia`s semi-autonomous regions.

Most of those killed were soldiers, a Puntland security official said, adding 18 others were wounded, with an unknown number also feared captured alive.

In a statement, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo promised the Somali military would retaliate and avenge al Shabaab`s attack.

"We must show no mercy in dealing with Alshabab, he said.

We promise that Alshabab wont get away with this. As of now, our troops are in hot pursuit of the enemy, they will pay for todays attack."

The al Qaeda-linked Islamist group cited a higher toll in the attack, saying it had killed 61 soldiers. Numbers given by officials and al Shabaab often differ.

Al Shabaab is fighting to topple Somalia`s central government and rule the country according to a strict version Islam`s sharia law. They also want to drive out the African Union peace keeping force AMISOM which is helping to defend the central government.

The group rarely carries out attacks in Puntland, where the security forces are relatively regularly paid and receive substantial U.S.
Juba: South Sudanese rebels on Friday claimed responsibility for an ambush that killed at least 15 people on the main road between the capital and the Ugandan border.



In a statement, Lam Paul Gabriel, spokesman for the SPLA-IO rebel group led by exiled former vice president Riek Machar, said; "The SPLA-IO would like to make it clear that the ambush on the Nimule-Juba highway was carried out by its forces."



He added that Thursday`s attack was "our response to the constant attacks on our bases" as well as the "false claim" that rebels had agreed to join national dialogue with the government of President Salva Kiir to end the more than three-year-long civil war.



Gabriel claimed the ambush destroyed four military vehicles and nine private ones and killed more than 40 people including civilians "caught in crossfire".



He said the SPLA-IO "regrets" the civilian deaths but added that people should not travel by road with military escorts.



South Sudan army spokesman Santo Domic called the ambush a "provocation" aimed at drawing government forces into a fresh offensive.



Police spokesman Daniel Justine said 15 people were killed in the attack, including 10 soldiers, one of whom was a colonel.



The convoy of as many as 30 vehicles including passenger buses was attacked while heading to Juba from the border town of Nimule. It was the second ambush this week on the same road, after an attack on Monday left one dead and four injured.



The dangerous highway is nevertheless a lifeline for South Sudan, which imports almost everything, and for people fleeing the more than three-year-long civil war for the safety of refugee camps in Uganda.



Since the government began deploying military escorts for convoys using the road in January there have been at least four separate deadly attacks, but this is the first time rebels have claimed responsibility.
As Sonam Kapoor turns 32 today, here are some lesser known facts about her.

By India Today Web Desk: Sonam Kapoor has come a long way from being the daughter of Anil Kapoor to a bona fide Bollywood actor. Even her harshest detractors were silenced by the release of Neerja, where Sonam proved that she has acting chops and even received a Special Mention for her role in the film at the 64th National Film Awards.

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Fierce, fashionable and with a mind of her own, Sonam has slowly become a force to contend with in Bollywood. Here are some lesser known facts about the actor:

1. Sonam's very first job was a waitress at a Mexican restaurant in Singapore. However, she was fired after just four days.

2. Sonam has always taken pride in being independent and revealed on a chat show that she has not taken a single penny from her parents since she turned 18 and started earning.

3. Sonam conquered her fear of heights by going skydiving in New Zealand.

4. Sonam has gone on record to say that she will never be in a live-in relationship because she feels that it never leads to commitment. "I believe in marriage. It's an easy way out, living with someone. If you want to be committed, go all out," she said on Simi Garewal's show.

5. Her parents have never bought her any designer items. She bought her first designer bag with her own money at Selfridges, London, after she did Saawariya.

6. She had a tongue piercing, which she had to remove before Saawariya because her character could not sport one.

7. Sonam may be a fashionista, but she is a nerd at heart and even writes poetry. She wrote a poem called Ambition at the age of 16, which she will give her soulmate.

8. Her first boyfriend was Dutch.

ALSO READ: Sonam Kapoor's boyfriend Anand Ahuja makes her birthday special

ALSO WATCH: I believe in ever afters and and soul mates, says Sonam Kapoor

--- ENDS ---
District of Columbia: President Donald Trump on Friday claimed "total and complete vindication" after ousted FBI director James Comey said he was not personally under investigation in a probe into Russian interference in last year`s US election.

The early morning tweet was Trump`s first response to Comey`s testimony Thursday before a Senate committee in which he accused the president of lies and defamation.

But Comey also confirmed that Trump was not being probed.

"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication... and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" Trump said.

Comey admitted in his sworn testimony that he had asked a friend to leak notes he kept detailing his meetings with Trump to a reporter.

"I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, Comey said.

The ploy worked. The Russia investigation is now being handled by a high-powered special prosecutor.

Comey painted a devastating picture of an untrustworthy president, who at best unknowingly shred the norms of office by pressing him on the Russia probe, and at worst may have criminally obstructed justice.

But Trump and his supporters focused instead on the confirmation that he was not a target of investigation, easing months of speculation.
Washington- U.S. President Donald Trump`s personal lawyer plans to file a complaint over memos shared by former FBI Director James Comey about his conversations with the president, CNN reported on Friday.



Lawyer Marc Kasowitz will file the complaint with the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Justice Department`s inspector general, CNN said, citing unidentified sources.
Caracas: Venezuela`s attorney general on Thursday mounted a fresh legal challenge against President Nicolas Maduro`s efforts to rewrite the constitution in a deadly political crisis.

"This appeal that I am attempting is to defend popular sovereignty, the constitution and participatory democracy," the attorney, Luisa Ortega, told reporters.

She is the most high profile official to defy Maduro in the crisis. Maduro retains the public backing of the military, however.

Clashes at daily protests by demonstrators calling for Maduro to quit over an economic crisis have left 66 people dead since April 1, prosecutors say.

In response to the protests, Maduro has launched moves to reform the constitution, but his opponents say that is a ploy to cling to power.

The Venezuelan president warned Thursday of a "conspiracy of traitors" against his constitutional reform efforts, calling on "the military civic union to defeat in the street the conspiracy, the plot and the coup that can be expected."

Ortega`s appeal argues that the means by which Maduro proposes to form a constitutional assembly to draft the reform are themselves unconstitutional.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said: "I applaud the fact that the prosecutor is acting constitutionally," while Freddy Guevara, a senior opposition lawmaker, called on "all of Venezuela to join the appeal".

The Supreme Court rejected an earlier challenge by Ortega. The opposition says the court is packed with Maduro`s allies.

Maduro also said Thursday he would take legal action against opposition leaders who blame the government for the violence.

"I have appointed a group of lawyers to file a lawsuit and make a historical trial with all these right-wing leaders who accuse and accuse, when they are the ones who generate violence," Maduro said during a function with education workers in Caracas.

Venezuelan Catholic church leaders were additionally received in the Vatican on Thursday by Pope Francis.

Their leader Diego Padron told reporters afterwards that Francis was following the crisis and expressed "full support" to them in trying to help resolve it.

Vatican-backed talks between Maduro`s government and the opposition broke down in December.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee launched a mobile application, `Selfie with Daughter`, aimed at spreading awareness about female foeticide at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.

The President appreciated Sunil Jaglan, former head of Bibipur village in Haryana`s Jind district for initiating the campaign in June 2015.

Sunil Jaglan has been working in the field of women empowerment and village development for a long time.

President Mukherjee stated that the App is an innovative concept and an act of gentle persuasion. He urged people to take photographs with their daughters and upload on the App to make the campaign a success.

He hoped that this would eventually help in dealing with the problems arising out of gender imbalance.
Champaran: Baba Ramdev is presiding over a three-day free yoga camp in Bihar`s Champaran to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi`s Champaran Satyagraha.

During the duration of the camp, free medicines and meditation classes will be on offer between 5 p.m. and 7:30 pm.

The camp began yesterday and will end on Saturday (June 10).The Champaran Satyagraha was a protest movement initiated by Mahatma Gandhi against India`s then British colonial rulers for forcing farmers to cultivate indigo.

The movement commenced in the Champaran district of Bihar in 1917.Keeping the significance of the event in mind, the Government of Bihar and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have decided to hold year round celebrations.

In April, a special train arrived at the Bapu Dham station in Motihari to re-enact the fight of farmers against forced indigo cultivation under the British rule.

Then, a man dressed as the Father of the Nation alighted from the train and was received by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Tara Gandhi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.The children also greeted the passengers with the tricolour and slogans of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Champaran Satyagraha Zindabad" at the station.
Patna:A panchayat in Bihar has ordered an 11-year-old rape victim not to file a complaint with the police and instead asked her to wait till she is 18, as the accused has confessed his crime and will marry her, police on Friday said.

A village panchayat under the Baisi Police Station in Purnea district ordered the rape victim to not approach the police or lodge an FIR against the accused.

"After the accused confessed his crime before the panchayat meeting held on Thursday, the panchayat took a decision that the rape victim would not lodge a complaint in the local police station and asked her to wait till she is 18 as the accused will marry her," a district police official said.

Unhappy with the panchayat`s decision, the rape victim`s family informed Purnea District Superintendent of Police Nishant Tiwari during his Janata Darbar on Thursday and sought his intervention.

Tiwary assured the rape victim`s grandmother and maternal uncle of justice and action against the accused.

According to police, the accused Mani Kumar Bosak raped the girl, a student of Class 6, when she was alone in her house.

This is not the first time that a panchayat in rural Bihar has given such a diktat to a rape victim.

Earlier, a panchayat in Muzaffarpur district had asked a 13-year-old rape victim to take the amount fixed by it and undergo abortion to resolve the issue.
Patna: Counting of votes is underway, Friday, in the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) to elect ward councillors.

Polling for PMC took place on June 04 and passed off peacefully, barring some stray incidents with around 46 percent voter turnout.

Out of the total 1,008 candidates in fray for 75 seats, 88 candidates are facing criminal cases.

Here is the list of winners announced so far:

- Chatiya Devi - Ward No 1

- Madhu Chaurasia - Ward No 2

- Prabha Devi - Ward No 3

- Dipa Rani Khan - Ward No 5

- Abhishek Kumar - Ward No 9

- Geeta Devi - Ward No 10

- Savita Sinha  Ward No 12

- Jeet Kumar  Ward No 13

- Pinki Kumari - Ward No 21

- Rani Sinha - Ward No 31

- Ashish Kumar Sinha - Ward No 38

- Bharti Devi - Ward No 39

- Kanchan Devi - Ward No 41

- Poonam Sharma - Ward No 46

- Satish Kumar - Ward No 47

- Indradeep Kumar Chandravanshi - Ward No 48

- Kanchan Kumar - Ward No 55

- Kismati Devi - Ward No 56

- Smita Rani - Ward No 57

- Sita Sahu - Ward No 58

On June 04, polling was also held in 17 wards of Barsoi Nagar Panchayat in Katihar district besides one ward (ward number 32) of Munger Municipal Corporation.

Voter turnout was 71 percent in Barsoi Nagar Panchayat while the turnout was 62 percent in ward number 32 of Munger Municipal Corporation.

Polling was conducted at 75 wards of PMC where 46 percent of 16,65,017 voters exercised their franchise at 1,512 polling stations.

Prominent among those who cast their votes included RJD chief Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, his minister son Tej Pratap Yadav, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi and others.

Chouhan, who was accompanied by Commission's Secretary Durgesh Nandan, said that the polling was hampered for a few minutes at some polling booths in the state capital due to EVMs developing some problems. Polling was conducted after replacing the EVMs.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Fresh on the heels of media reports that promoters of Wipro were selling stake which was later rebuffed, another news that has come to the fore is that of Infosys.

As per a report in the Times of India, Infosys promoters' group led by N R Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani may sell their stake in the company.

The much-celebrated co-founders of Infosys are exploring a sale of their entire 12.75% stake in the company worth about Rs 28,000 crore, a TOI report said.

The paper however said that Murthy has denied any such move while Nilekani offered no comments.

There had been a lot of buzz around some of the founders flagging concerns about governance lapses at Infosys and issues like hike in Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka's compensation to $11 million and huge severance pay doled out to former executives, Rajiv Bansal and David Kennedy.

Infact Infosys founders Murthy, Kris Gopalakrishnan and Nandan Nilekani had written to the board early this year expressing their concerns over pay hike.
Guwahati: National carrier Air India on Friday said it will not place any order for new aircraft till there is clarity on its future course, including possible privatisation.

The airline, however, said all the existing orders will be respected and new aircraft are being added to the fleet.

"Whatever has been ordered in the past, that is there," Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani told reporters here, adding that no fresh orders will be placed right now.

Ordering of new planes is a long-term process by Air India and it usually takes 6-9 months, he added.

Asked how long the company would go without placing fresh orders, Lohani said: "We do not know. We have to keep on running the airline. There is no decision on that."

He, however, denied reports that some old orders have been cancelled.

"No, not right. Whatever the orders, these were ordered before. These will be coming," Lohani said.

Giving details of Air India's order list, the CMD said: "We are adding 10 ATRs. We have placed order for 29 Airbus on lease. They have started coming now. But we are also grounding old aircraft. We have lot of old aircraft. So the net addition will be only about 15 Airbus."

Besides, the airline is procuring wide-bodied Boeing aircraft to its fleet to strengthen the international route.

"Also, seven more wide-bodies (Boeing) will be added in next 6-7 months. We are starting lots of international flights," Lohani said.

The state-owned carrier has a total of 103 planes, of which 42 are wide-bodied Boeing 777s, 747s and 787s, while 61 are narrow-bodied Airbus 319s, 320s and 321s.

Its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express has 23 Boeing 737s at present.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed privatisation of Air India and the Civil Aviation Ministry is looking at all options to make the airline strong and viable.

A Cabinet note in this regard is likely to be prepared shortly, according to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha.

The development came against the backdrop of NITI Aayog submitting its suggestions on the future course for the airline.

Air India has piled up over Rs 50,000 crore of debt, mainly because of high maintenance costs and lease rent.

Since the merger of Indian Airlines with itself, Air India has been in the red.

However, it posted an operational profit of Rs 105 crore on account of low fuel prices and increased passenger numbers in 2015-16.
Kolkata: Food and beverage major, PepsiCo India today launched India made Doritos-nacho chip brand from it's modern manufacturing line in West Bengal.

"We are currently producing Doritos from a new line set up in Kolkata plant. We have made significant investment for the country's largest nacho chip line," PepsiCo India VP supply chain and operations, Niteen Pradhan said here today at the launch but declined to divulge exact investment in the new production line.

PepsiCo introduced multi billion brand--Doritos in India through imports with few cities to test the growing segment of the snack market.

"Nachos is the fastest growing category in the Indian salty snacks segment and market size is pegged at Rs 200 crore and Doritos is well poised to address this robust demand," VP- snacks category, Jagrut Kotecha said.

In the next few days, this nacho chips will be made available in top 40 cities of the country before spreading further in future.

The company declined to divulge whether with Doritos, the company was focusing toward premium snacks for better margins.

Asked why the company preferred Kolkata plant for Doritos manufacturing, Pradhan said, Kolkata plant is the largest plant out 19 snacks facilities with highly capable manpower that can handle specialised snacks and geographical presence.

Doritos is made from corn sourced from Bihar but not through collaborative farming as of now. Present in over 55 countries globally, it will be the third master brand in PepsiCo India snacks portfolio introduced after Lay?s and Kurkure.

PepsiCo is engaged in collaborative farming involving 24,000 farmers and of which 12,000 is from Bengal.

The F&B major outsources potato from Bengal in a big way and uses some 80 per cent of it's requirement of Kolkata plant from local sourcing.

On GST, the Pepsico officials said it is not going to hurt company at least in snacks category and the company was poised for new taxation regime and business remains as usual in the transition period.
Mounting a strong defence of India's commitment to fighting climate change, Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said in China that it was India's "karma" to handle the challenge and that Prime Minister Modi was committed to doing so.

By Ananth Krishnan: Mounting a strong defence of India's commitment to fighting climate change, Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said in China that it was India's "karma" to handle the challenge and that Prime Minister Modi was committed to doing so.

The decision by US President Donald Trump on June 5 to withdraw from the Paris accord would not dilute India's commitment, he said.

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Asked to comment on this move of the United States, Dr Vardhan said, "We are committed to our karma. Our duty is clear. Our PM is interested in serving poor people of the country, farmers and labourers. He has tremendous faith in the abilities of Indians and the youth of this country. He formulates an action plan and starts implementing it and ensures he himself monitors the implementation process at a meticulous level. For us, serving mankind and our country is the prime thing."

HAVE TARGET OF GENERATING 175 GW RENEWABLE ENERGY BY 2022

"We have a [renewable energy] target of 175 GW by 2022 and we hope to have 40 per cent of our total contribution in energy through non-fossil sources by 2030. We are advancing quite well and right now, we have already got up to 52 GW. In areas like smart grids and sustainable bio fuels, we are progressing. In this meeting, we were the only country that could produce an action plan and distribute it to them."

Dr Harsh Vardhan said the that the Prime Minister was concerned about climate change long before the world mobilised in Paris with a global deal. "Today the world is talking about climate change and global warming. The Prime Minister wrote a book about this many years ago from his experience working on this in Gujarat," he said.

Also read | Harsh Vardhan in China: India will prove importance of cow through science

Also read | Killing of Chinese nationals in Pakistan a matter of grave concern, says Beijing

WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi: IT major Wipro Ltd has listed US President Donald Trump's policies as a risk factor that could impact its business, citing promotion of "greater restrictions on free trade" among key worrying points.

The Bengaluru-based firm which earned 52 per cent of its IT services revenue from the Americas, including the US, said significant developments stemming from the US presidential election could have a material adverse effect on its business.

As a candidate, Trump and his administration had expressed support for policies impacting existing trade agreements, like North America Free trade agreement (NAFTA), and proposed trade agreements, Wipro said in an SEC filing.

In its annual report for the fiscal ended March 31, 2017 filed with the market regulator, Wipro further said Trump administration has been "promoting greater restrictions on free trade generally and significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into the United States".

It added: "Changes in US social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories and countries where we currently operate could adversely affect our business."

The company had reported net sales of Rs 55,420.9 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2017.

After assuming office last year, Trump has taken several steps, including H1B visa restrictions, that raised concerns in the Indian IT sector.

This April he signed an executive order that called for a review of the H-1B visa programme, saying they should never be used to replace American workers and must be given only to the most skilled and highest paid applicants.

The US had also accused top Indian IT firms TCS and Infosys of 'unfairly' cornering the lion's share of the H-1B work visas by putting extra tickets in the lottery system.

Wipro had said in April that it expected locals to constitute more than half of its workforce in the US by June as it continues to make "significant" investments in the American market amid tightening of visa norms.

The company further said in the SEC filing that if the economy in the Americas or Europe continued to be volatile or uncertain or conditions in the global financial market deteriorate, pricing for its services may become less attractive.

Clients located in these geographies may reduce or postpone their technology spending significantly, it added.

The other factors, which the company said are "not within our control that could cause significant variations in our results in any particular quarter", include "political uncertainties or changes in regulations in India, the United States and other countries that we operate in".

Besides, it also said the duration of tax holidays or exemptions and availability of other Indian government incentives would be a factor.
New Delhi: An aide of gangster Chhota Shakeel was arrested on the intervening night of June 7-8 by the Delhi Police's Special Cell.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) PS Kushwah, Junaid Chowdhry was nabbed from Wazirabad road in north-east Delhi.

Though the DCP refused to divulge details of the target, a senior police officer, on the condition of anonymity, said Chowdhry was planning to target Pakistan-born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah.

Even though Fatah was not in Delhi, the aide was here to carry out a recce, he said.

Chowdhry was arrested in June last year along with three others with arms and hawala money sent by Shakeel, but was released on bail within four months. They had been planning to kill Hindu Sabha chief Swami Chakrapani at that time.

He contacted Shakeel again but after his bail was cancelled he was sent to Tihar. Later, he was again released on bail and once more got in touch with Shakeel.

Chowdhry then started carrying out the gangster's Delhi- based activities. He is currently being interrogated.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Amid high drama, sacked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Kapil Mishra and his close aides were on Friday stopped from entering Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence.

Mishra reportedly went there to attend the Delhi CM's 'Janata Durbar' along with his 25 close aides.

Mishra alleged that he wanted to meet Kejriwal to ask him "why he is not sacking corruption accused Health Minister Satyendar Jain".

After being denied permission to meet Kejriwal, Mishra and his supporters then staged a protest outside the Delhi CM's residence.

"Why isn`t Kejriwal allowing me to meet him in the Janata Darbar? If he is clean, then what is the problem in meeting me in the Janata Darbar?" asked Mishra, who has levelled a series of corruption charges against Kejriwal.

Mishra had arrived at the Chief Minister's residence along with the mother of AAP volunteer Santosh Koli, who died in a road accident in August 2013. He demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Koli`s death.

Mishra said he wanted to meet the Chief Minister and hand him a copy of the proposals passed at the India Against Corruption-2 convention on June 3.
New Delhi: A special court has dismissed an anticipatory bail plea of a businessman, who allegedly helped a 40-year-old woman to honeytrap and blackmail BJP MP from Gujarat K C Patel.

Special Judge Hemani Malhotra rejected the application of Ajay Kumar alias Ajay Pal Chauhan, against whom the court has already issued a non-bailable warrant (NWB), saying it appeared that he was an "active participant in a well thought out and a pre-planned conspiracy with the accused woman in their quest to earn money through illegal means".

The court noted that despite being asked to join the investigation, Kumar has not joined the probe and he is evading execution of NBW.

"I do not deem it fit to grant anticipatory bail. The present anticipatory bail application is accordingly rejected," the judge said.

According to the prosecution, the woman had allegedly filmed obscene videos of Valsad MP Patel after drugging him and had threatened to make them public if she was not paid Rs seven crore.

Kumar allegedly had helped the woman in execution of the offence.

The court had issued an NBW against Kumar on June 2 after the police informed it that he was untracable.

Kumar's counsel sought anticipatory bail, saying that he was neither named in the FIR nor there were any allegations against him in it.

He said Kumar, who was running a business in Noida, was ready to join the probe as and when directed.

Public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava, however, opposed the plea, saying Kumar was hand-in-glove with the prime accused, the woman, and he was instrumental in getting hidden video cameras fixed in her bedroom to ensnare prominent politicians.

He argued that despite service of notice and its affixation at his house, Kumar has failed to join investigation and the NBW has remained unexecuted due to his absence.

The court noted that as per the woman's statement, it was Kumar who had arranged the flat in which the alleged sex video was made and previously also, such videos were made involving two politicians and substantial amount of money was extorted.

The woman, along with Kumar and one Mitrapal, had gone to the flat of Patel to extort money threatening that they would expose him by making the sex video involving him go viral on social media, it noted.

The court had earlier dismissed the bail plea of the woman, also a lawyer, noting that she had earlier also lodged three FIRs against other persons for alleged offences of rape, molestation and criminal intimidation and that she had later either turned hostile or had resiled in her statement recorded before a magistrate.

The woman was arrested on May 2 by Delhi Police from her Ghaziabad house.

Patel had filed a police complaint alleging that he was drugged by the woman at her Ghaziabad house and obscene videos and photographs were taken by her.

The woman had also approached a Delhi court, claiming the police did not act on her rape complaint against the lawmaker. Her plea was dismissed.
New Delhi: Days after a Delhi University student was arrested and his juvenile accomplice detained for lynching an e-rickshaw driver near a metro station, police have arrested a third youth in the case.



Deputy Commissioner of Police Milind Mahadeo Dumbere told IANS that the third accused, Mehul Deda, 25, was arrested from north Delhi`s Timarpur area on Thursday night.



Dumbere said the police is still searching for around 10 to 11 persons involved in the May 27 lynching and is hopeful of arresting them soon.



The incident shot to national attention after Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the e-rickshaw driver, Ravinder Kumar, was promoting "Swachh Bharat". He was killed by the youths after he objected to two of them urinating near the GTB Metro station in north Delhi.



Many leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had condemned the lynching and urged the police to arrest the accused.



On May 29, Naidu visited the e-rickshaw driver`s house and gave a cheque of Rs 50,000 to his family.



Later the same day, Modi and the Delhi government announced compensations of Rs one lakh and Rs five lakh respectively to Kumar`s family.
New Delhi: The all powerful GST Council will meet on Sunday to review some of the rates on which industry has expressed displeasure, besides amending the draft rules.

This will be the 16th meeting of the Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, since it was set up in September 2016.

"Main agenda items include confirmation of the minutes of the 15th GST Council meeting held on June 3, approval of amendments to draft GST rules and rate adjustment, if any, based on the representations received from different trade and industry and their associations," a finance ministry statement said.

The June 11 meeting would probably be the last one of the Council before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is rolled out from July 1.

Various industry associations have sought a review of the tax rates saying that the GST incidence is working out to be much higher than the present level of taxation.

The auto industry has been demanding a review of the GST rate on mid and large-sized hybrid cars which are proposed to be taxed at 43 per cent, higher than the current level of effective tax rate of 30.3 per cent.

Also, the telecom sector has been placed in the 18 percent tax bracket and they are demanding that the rate should be lowered. COAI has written to Revenue Secretary to review the matter.

IT hardware firms are seeking an uniform GST rate of 18 percent on IT products, like monitors and printers, instead of 28 percent proposed for some items.

The GST Council has fitted almost all goods and services in tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent. However, precious metals, gold coins and imitation jewellery have been fitted in the 3 per cent slab, and rough diamond at 0.25 percent.

The GST, which will subsume a host of levies including excise, service tax and VAT, will be rolled out from July 1.
New Delhi: Government plans to auction countrys most prominent railway stations as part of its Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects that involves redeveloping these stations.

A report in the Patrika.com said that an online auction will take place on June 28 in which two stations of Uttar Pradesh  Kanpur Junction and Allahabad Junction will go under the hammer.

Interested companies can log on to the railway website and bid for the junction. While the base price of auction for Kanpur Junction has been fixed at Rs 200 crore, that of Allahabad has been fixed at Rs 150 crore, the website said.

The results of the auction will be announced on June 30, it further said.

Earlier an Economic Times report said that government wants to refurbish 25 major Railway stations. Among the list of stations the are Bengaluru, Lokmanya Tilak (T) in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Visakhapatnam, Howrah, Allahabad, Kamakhya, Faridabad, Jammu Tawi, Bangalore Cantonment, Bhopal, Mumbai Central (Main), Borivali, and Indore.

India plans to auction one of its largest Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects that entails redeveloping 25 of the countrys most prominent railway stations at a minimum investment of Rs 30,000 crore, Railway minister Suresh Prabhu had told ET last month.



As part of redevelopment, the bidders will be allowed to revamp infrastructure at the stations like platforms and lounges, building hotels, malls, multiplexes and other commercial units "at the land that will be earmarked by the railways," ET said
New Delhi: RBI governor Urjit Patel will on July 6 appear before a parliamentary panel which has called him for the fourth time to discuss the demonetisation move.

On the previous two occasions, the central bank governor sought exemption saying that he was occupied with the monetary policy.

The Standing Committee on Finance, headed by Congress MP Verappa Moily, had questioned Patel once -- on January 18 -- on the move to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes.

"Patel has been asked to appear again before the panel on July 6 to brief the members about demonetisation as discussion on it is yet to be concluded," a member in the panel said.

The Committee had also called top finance ministry and RBI officials in January to discuss the impact of demonetisation.

As members could not complete their questions, the committee had decided to call the RBI governor and ministry officials again on a later date, after the Budget session.

Sources said that the members in the panel are likely to ask Patel about how much money has come back into the system.

The members will also enquire on when bank operations will be "normal".
London: British Prime Minister Theresa May should step down after losses for her Conservative Party in the general election, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Friday.

May "has lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that`s enough to go," Corbyn said after being re-elected in his Islington North constituency in central London.

May`s Conservative party was poised to win the snap election on Friday but lose its parliamentary majority, according to a shock exit poll released as polling stations across Britain closed on Thursday evening.

It projected that May`s party could fall from 330 to 314 seats, short of a majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.

May surprised the country in April by calling the snap election, seeking to shore up her 17-seat majority ahead of two years of gruelling talks with the European Union over its departure from the bloc.

For Corbyn, the ruling party`s losses showed voters had "turned their backs on the politics of austerity".

"What`s happened is people have said they have had quite enough of austerity," he said, adding it was time for a government that is "truly representative of all the people of this country."

Earlier in the night, Corbyn said his campaign had upended the country`s political landscape.

"Whatever the final result, our positive campaign has changed politics for the better," he said in a tweet after the exit poll predicted unexpected gains for Labour.
By Press Trust of India: Srinagar, Jun 9 (PTI) A total of 66 medical camps with adequate number of doctors and para-medical staff from across the country would be set up along the Amarnath yatra route to provide round-the-clock medical facility to the pilgrims.

The annual pilgrimage is scheduled to begin later this month.

"A total of 66 medical camps will be setup by the state health department, the Army, central paramilitary forces, state police and NGOs at identified locations on the twin yatra routes (Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal)," Chief Executive Officer of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) Umang Narula said at a meeting here today.

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The meeting, chaired by Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra who is also the chairman of the SASB, discussed in detail the medical facilities provided to the pilgrims for the the yatra scheduled to begin on June 29.

An official spokesman said the health department would be setting up five base hospitals, nine medical aid centres and 14 emergency aid centres along the twin routes besides providing medical facilities at the Neelgrath helipad for the convenience of devotees travelling through helicopters.

The department of Indian system of medicines will be establishing eight medical camps and two mobile camps which will move along with the "Charri Mubarak", the spokesman said.

In addition, six medical camps would be set up by the Army, ten by BSF, seven by CRPF, two by SSB and one each by ITBP and the state police.

The state health authorities also recommended establishment of three medical camps by various NGOs enroute yatra track.

The spokesman said 107 doctors including specialists from super speciality hospitals and prestigious medical institutes and 146 para-medical staff have been nominated till now by Union health ministry and the governments of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra for duty during the yatra period.

The spokesman said the medical camps being set up by the health department are located at an average distance of 2 km from each other on the basis conditions on the ground as well as the availability of the required infrastructure like water, shelter sheds, tents and sanitation facilities.

The base camp hospitals would be equipped with hyperbaric oxygen chambers, portable oxygen concentrators, automated CPR machines, defibrillators and cardiac monitors among others.

Gas fired boilers will also be made available at medical camps on the route, the spokesman said. PTI MIJ ASV

--- ENDS ---
Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron`s party is poised to win nearly a third of the vote in the first round of a parliamentary election on Sunday, setting it up to secure a huge majority in a run-off vote a week later, a poll showed on Friday.



The Ipsos Sopra Steria poll projected Macron`s Republic On The Move (LREM) would win 31 percent of the vote in the first round of voting on June 11, up from 29.5 percent the last time the survey was conducted nearly a week ago.



The same poll forecast the centrist party that Macron launched in April 2016 was on course to win 397-427 out of 577 seats in the lower house of parliament, one of the biggest majorities in nearly fifty years.



Trailing well behind LREM, the conservative party The Republicans and their allies are seen becoming the main opposition force, winning 22 percent in the first round and 95-115 seats in the runoff.



The far right National Front was seen winning 17 percent in the first round, but securing only five to 15 seats in the second round.
Prague: European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday urged Britain not to delay the start of Brexit talks after Prime Minister Theresa May failed to win a majority in a general election.



"I hope that we will not experience a further delay in the conclusion of these negotiations," Juncker told reporters in Prague. "As far as the commission is concerned we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half past nine."
Bruxelles: The mayor of Brussels has resigned following revelations he drew a salary from a non-profit organisation for the homeless, his cabinet said.

Socialist Yvan Mayeur, who has served as mayor of the Belgian capital since 2013, was paid 18,900 euros last year for his role on the board of Samusocial, which provides emergency care for the homeless, public broadcaster RTBF said.

Almost all of the organisation`s budget comes from public funds but its legal status bars elected officials from overseeing its management.

Mayeur gathered fellow Socialists on Thursday night to announce he was stepping down, a member of his cabinet told AFP without providing further details.

Negotiations will continue into the night to decide his successor, local media reported.

Mayeur had seemed defiant in the face of criticism in an interview published by Belgian daily Le Soir earlier Thursday.

"I work for society, I am not in charity but in the professional sphere. Does that deserve some recompense I think it does," he said.

"After tax I took 700 euros a month (from Samusocial). There was and remains a justification for that when you look at all that was accomplished," he added.

The row began after an opposition politician revealed that Samusocial was paying its managers more than 60,000 euros a year.
Belfast: A party representing Northern Irish unionists said on Friday it will go into talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May about supporting her Conservative Party which fell short of securing a parliamentary majority in a national election on Thursday.



"The prime minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge," Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster told reporters.



The DUP - which defends Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom and takes a conservative approach to social issues - increased its number of seats to 10 in Thursday`s election.



Foster did not take any questions from reporters at the brief news conference.


Paris: Britain was plunged into political turmoil on Friday after Prime Minister Theresa May`s Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority in a snap election just days before negotiations on leaving the EU were set to kick off.



Here is a roundup of some of the reaction from across Europe to the shock election result: "Mrs May, who was supposed to emerge strengthened, lost her bet and is therefore in a less than clear situation because the truth is that we don`t really know what the governing situation is this morning," EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told French radio Europe 1.



"As far as the EU is concerned, we are ready to open negotiations" on Britain`s exit from the EU," he added.



Asked whether the Brexit talks could open as soon as the planned June 19 date, he said: "Let`s not rush things but either way, we are ready.""We need a government that is capable of action, which can negotiate Britain`s exit... the British need to negotiate their exit but with a weak negotiating partner, there is a danger that the talks are bad for both parties," EU budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger told German radio.



Oettinger said the EU "stands ready" for Brexit talks, "but the next few hours or days will indicate if the other negotiating party can even begin talks because without a government, there can be no negotiations.""The British have spoken, they have voted, and have given the Conservative party a majority, albeit a simple majority, which is something of a surprise," French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told Europe 1 radio.



But he added: "I don`t think we should read these results as calling into question the stance on Brexit which was clearly expressed by the British people."



He said the election "had relatively little to do with Brexit and far more to do with domestic issues, for example linked to security" following the terror attacks in Manchester and London.



"I don`t think we can read anything into this vote other than a desire expressed by the British to choose the Conservative Party, but with less intensity than we thought beforehand.""The British people have chosen. What the new set-up means for #Brexit we will have to wait and see," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a tweet.



"The Netherlands is ready for (mutual) cooperation.""I am happy @Jeremy Corbyn has managed to remarkably boost the Labour Party`s position. He is the actual winner of the early vote in Britain," Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, a Social Democrat, said on Twitter.



Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek, from the same party, tweeted: "The results confirm the ruling party has lost its backing, as opinion polls had suggested. Despite this, I believe it will be possible to put together a majority government fast and to finally start talks about Britain`s exit from the EU after many a postponement. The rest of the EU has been waiting for Britain in suspense for various reasons for a year."
Lower Saxony: German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Friday that the UK vote reflected popular discontent over Prime Minister Theresa May`s hard Brexit strategy, which he said should be reconsidered.

"The message from this vote is -- hold fair talks with the EU and think again whether it is really good for Britain to leave the EU in this manner," he told reporters.

He added that he hoped "a new government will be formed quickly with which we can hold serious negotiations".

A foreign ministry spokesman said that May had campaigned for "a strong majority for a hard Brexit" and that this "was not the outcome of the election", in which the British PM lost her majority.

A spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile declined to comment on the election until a new government is formed, while the German leader was a on a tour of Argentina and Mexico.
London: The leader of a right-wing political party in the UK that had Brexit at the heart of its manifesto announced on Friday that he would be resigning following the party`s plummeting support in the June 8 General Election.



Paul Nuttall said the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which for years had been the main proponent of the country leaving the EU, had been a victim of its own success, Efe news reported.



After UKIP failed to gain a single seat in Westminster, and with Nuttall coming third in Boston and Skegness, he opted to leave his position, saying: "A new era must begin with a new leader."



UKIP lost its only seat in Parliament in Thursday`s General Election and saw support for it drop to 1.8 per cent -- compared to the 12.6 per cent in the 2015 election.



Nuttall said UKIP would remain "the guard dogs of Brexit" but conceded that the party had failed badly. "If I am remembered as the UKIP leader who kept the party on the pitch for the good times that lay ahead, that will be good enough for me," he said.



"In politics sometimes the tide goes in and sometimes the tide goes out. But for us, although the tide might be out at the moment, I am convinced we will return," he said.



Asked about a future role for former leader Nigel Farage, Nuttall said: "If Nigel Farage wants to come back, I would be more than happy to do a job swap. I`ll take his slot on LBC and he can come back as leader of UKIP."



Earlier, Farage said he did not blame Nuttall for the party`s poor showing.
London: Prime Minister Theresa May`s Conservative Party will fail to win a parliamentary majority in Britain's election, according to an exit poll on Thursday, a shock result that would plunge domestic politics into turmoil and could delay Brexit talks.

The exit poll predicted the Conservatives would win 314 seats in the 650-seat parliament, short of the 326 needed to claim a majority. The opposition Labour Party were forecast to win 266 seats, with the Scottish National Party on 34 and the Liberal Democrats on 14.

Below are details on what she would need to win and what would happen if she failed to get a majority

WHO GETS POWER

For the election to produce a majority government, the biggest party theoretically must win at least 326 seats of the 650 United Kingdom constituencies. In practice, the threshold for a majority is around 323, because the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party takes up no seats that it wins in Northern Ireland.

Failure to win an outright Conservative majority would leave May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn scrambling to find partners to support a new government.

As incumbent, May has the right to make the first attempt to form a coalition, though her tough stance on Brexit is likely to make finding a suitable partner difficult.

Until a new government is formed, May and her team of ministers remain in charge and retain their full legal powers to act on behalf of the country, although by convention they would be expected to avoid taking major decisions.

MINORITY CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT

May could attempt to lead a government without commanding a majority, relying on her opponents for support in parliament on an issue-by-issue basis. This will test the cross-party support for her pre-election pledges.

While her hardline Brexit strategy is opposed by all other major parties, Britain has already started the clock ticking on leaving the bloc by triggering a two-year negotiation period with Brussels. It is unlikely she would agree to stopping the Brexit divorce.

Nevertheless, May`s plans still rely heavily on being able to pass legislation through parliament. Firstly to convert EU law into British law, and then to form new post-Brexit policy on issues like immigration and tax.

Delays or outright blockages on this legislation would place huge doubts over how Britain would control its borders and trade with the EU after Brexit.

May`s fiscal agenda, including plans to balance the budget by the middle of the next decade through a continuation of existing austerity policy, would also be opposed by rival parties.

Her domestic reforms on issues ranging from fox-hunting to cuts to social care and education funding would also meet substantial resistance and demands for change.

However, her plans to clamp down on executive pay, give workers a say on strategy and make it harder for foreign firms to take over British ones could win support in principle, although others would probably demand changes to the policies before agreeing to back them.

2010 REDUX: CONSERVATIVE-LED COALITION

The Conservatives formed a coalition in 2010 with the centrist, pro-EU Liberal Democrats as junior partner. They governed together until 2015.

The two parties are unlikely to be reunited in coalition without major compromises on the central principle of their election manifestos: Brexit.

The Conservatives are committed to a complete break with the EU regardless of whether a satisfactory exit deal can be reached. By contrast, the Liberal Democrats have promised voters a second referendum on whether to accept a deal with Brussels.

Electoral maths do not favour a second coalition. The Liberal Democrats tumbled to eight seats in 2015 from 57 in 2010 and are only forecast to rebound to 14, limiting their ability to take May`s support above the require threshold.

The party is led by Tim Farron, 47, who began his campaign by telling Britons they should have the option of rejecting Brexit in a second referendum and remaining within the EU.

The Conservatives` other coalition options are limited. They can traditionally rely on the support of Northern Ireland`s Democratic Unionist Party, who in 2015 won eight seats and are forecast to win the same number again.

The Scottish National Party (SNP), which won 56 seats at the last election, are at ideological loggerheads with the Conservatives.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and her London-based deputy Angus Robertson argue that Scotland, where a majority voted to remain in the EU last year, should not be bound by May`s plan to withdraw from the EU single market, and have the right to hold an independence referendum at the end of the Brexit process.

LABOUR-LED COALITION

A hung parliament could play in Labour`s favour even if it won less seats than the Conservatives because it is politically closer to smaller rivals on several issues. Labour has said it would try to form a minority government, and Corbyn has refused to discuss forming a coalition after June 8.

He is committed to heeding the results of Britain`s EU membership referendum a year ago in which 52 percent voted Leave against 48 percent in favour of Remain.

However, Labour has fought to water down May`s Brexit strategy which could make it easier to reach a compromise with either the Liberal Democrats, which has ruled out any coalition, or the pro-European SNP, which says it wants to stop another Conservative government.

Labour has said it would tear up May`s Brexit negotiating priorities, instead focusing the talks on retaining the benefits of the EU single market and customs union. It has also promised to consult parliament more closely throughout the negotiations.

Corbyn, who would be in charge of negotiating any coalition deal, has said he would ensure there is a deal agreed with the EU before Britain leaves, and give parliament a "meaningful vote" on whether to accept the terms of a final deal.

Labour have not defined what constitutes a meaningful vote, and this would likely be one area where pro-EU parties would demand the power for parliament to send the government back to Brussels to get a better deal - or even to halt the Brexit process altogether.

Beyond Brexit, Labour plan a radical change in Britain`s fiscal policy: raising taxes on large firms and the wealthy to pay for higher public spending on education, healthcare and police - an agenda that would fit with the anti-austerity SNP.

Labour`s finance spokesman and close Corbyn ally, John McDonnell, says he can achieve this while ensuring the national debt is reduced over the course of the next parliament.

However, Labour have also committed to creating a 250 billion pound fund for investment in infrastructure which will be spent over a 10-year period, indicating it will be funded by borrowing.

Economists expect a Labour-led government to substantially increase bond issuance, with the effect of increasing borrowing costs over the long term.

In what has been described as one of the most left-wing Labour manifestos for decades, Labour has also promised to take on multinational corporations and what Corbyn has called "wealth extractors".

Labour has pledged to raise corporation tax to 26 percent from 19 percent and impose higher taxes on the top 5 percent of earners.
Chandigarh: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) on Friday held a protest at few places in Haryana against the death of five farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur.

BKU activists protested in Hisar, Sirsa and Kurukshetra districts and demanded arrest of those responsible for the deaths of the farmers and adequate compensation for the injured.

The outfit's senior leader Gurnam Singh said it was unfortunate that the BJP had ignored its election promise of implementing the Swaminathan Commission report.

He said the BKU has raised four demands failing which they will intensify their protests in the coming days.

"First, we want President's rule to be imposed in Madhya Pradesh. Those responsible for firing on farmers be tried for murder, Swaminathan Commission report should be be implemented without any delay and crop loans of farmers across the country be waived," Singh said.

He said that various farmers' organisations will be meeting in Delhi soon, in which leaders from many states will participate.

Meanwhile, members of the youth Congress also protested in Panipat against over the Mandsaur incident.

Some other farmer outfits held demonstrations at various places in Haryana to protest the death of the farmers in Madhya Pradesh.

Yesterday, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said the farmer unrest in Mandsaur "should not be seen in isolation" as there is anger among cultivators because the BJP retracted on its poll promise to implement the Swaminathan Commission report.

The National Commission on Farmers, headed by eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan, in its final report had said, "The Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50 percent more than the weighted average cost of production.
Hyderabad: The Haryana government will soon sign a memorandum of understanding with the Telangana government to strengthen cultural ties between the states under the 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' programme.

Addressing a MODI (Making of Developed India) fest Programme organised here, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said Telangana was the partner of his state in the Surajkund Mela held in February this year.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had started 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat (One India, Great India) scheme wherein one state each year can choose and partner with other state to promote their culture and language.

"Haryana and Telangana have become partner states this year under 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat?. An MoU in this regard is pending. I will meet the Telangana Chief Minister very soon...We will sign an MoU whether it is here in Hyderabad, Chandigarh or Delhi. There will be tours of people of Haryana to Telangana and vice versa enabling the people understand each other," Khattar said.

There are several good things both Telangana and Haryana have and that will attract people of both the states to understand and learn and promote cultural exchange, he said.

Khattar further said a lot of people from Telangana also work in Haryana and "we are also thinking of starting Telugu course in any institute be it University or College in Haryana."
A 15-year-old girl was killed by a self-declared exorcist and raped her dead body in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj. The parents of the girl were told they would get 5kg gold if they allow him to perform the ritual.

Parents of a 15-year-old girl allowed a self-declared exorcist to kill, rape their daughter to appease god. (Photo for representation)

By India Today Web Desk: Mahaweer Prasad, a jeweller by profession in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj, was facing financial issues in his business. He wanted his woes to end as soon as possible.

What Mahaweer did would shock you to the core.

THE SHOCKING CASE OF HUMAN SACRIFICE

Mahaweer Prasad, 55, and his wife Pushpa, 50, were advised by one Krishna Sharma that their monetary issues would be resolved if they agree to do what he says.

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Sharma, who worked as part-time driver of Mahaweer, told the couple that they would have to sacrifice their 15-year-old daughter to appease the deity. If they do so they will get 5kg gold buried soon after they perform the ritual, a report in Hindustan Times said.

Mahaweer and Pushpa agreed to kill their daughter Kavita.

Kavita was apparently drugged by her parents and taken to a temple where they performed prayers on Tuesday night before she was taken away Krishna Sharma.

Krishna stripped, strangled Kavita infront of her parents. He then raped the dead body. After the act, he slit Kavita's throat to gather her blood to be offered to the deity.

Mahaweer approached the police only when he failed to find any gold even after 'sacrificing' her daughter. Krishna Sharma was later arrested from Thatiya village of Kannauj district.

Kavita's body was recovered from a nearby field the next day and sent for post mortem, Kannauj Additional Superintendent of Police, Keshav Goswami told Hindustan Times .

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WATCH: Bathinda shocker: Woman kills grandchildren in bid to ward off evil spirits

--- ENDS ---
Washington: America's relationship with India should not be a "one-for-one transactional arrangement" but more than that, a former US envoy to New Delhi has said ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit here.

"In the world economic situation, a strong India is good for us," Frank Wisner told a Washington audience.

"It should not be a one-for-one transactional arrangement because a strong India, as (former US president) George W Bush made it clear, a strong India is good for the United States. India's strength is good for us in maintaining the balance of power in Asia," the former US Ambassador to India said.

At an event organised by the Meridian International Center here, Wisner said when President Donald Trump meets Prime Minister Modi at the White House later this month, he should say that this is "a key relationship" with the US.

"It is of strategic significance. We're going to continue to build. We are going to make sure that the building is done in a manner that is even asymmetrical. That is, we may have to put more in before we get much out," he said.

Noting that the two countries have got a good pattern of defence cooperation, he said they have to sort out some trade issues.

"We need to get our heads together on China. The rise of Chinese power is as much an issue for India as it is for us," he said.

"Pakistan..., the kind of restraint we need to exercise on Pakistan to be a responsible player in the region. And there are needs from India and her dealings with Pakistan where we now have pressing interests. Afghanistan, these are all questions that we can tackle," the former American diplomat said.

"India is a rising power. At the same time, Americans have got to be very careful and not take our associates about what's good for the United States and then transfer them to India," he said.

"India has her own realities and as President Trump and all of us in this country sit down and think about where we're going in the future, we need to be very careful that we understand exactly, first of all, India is a rising power but it's not yet a great power. It's on its way but it has a lot of building to do," he said.
Mandsaur: A 26-year-old farmer died in Badavan village of violence-hit Mandsaur district, with locals alleging that was beaten up by policemen.



However, police said the circumstances of his death were unclear and they were investigating the matter.



Ghanashyam Dhakad was on his way to a temple last evening when some policemen stopped him and thrashed him with sticks, villagers claimed.



The farmer was taken to the MY hospital in Indore where he died, they said.



Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh and collector Swatantra Kumar Singh reached the spot today and talked to villagers there.



The collector said the cause of his death was being investigated.



Angry villagers in the area claimed that they were being beaten up and arrested by the police without cause. The SP assured them that their grievances would be looked into.



Former Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan, who is at the spot, said she would meet the SP to demand compensation for the deceased farmer.



Violence has rocked the district after five farmers were killed in police firing in the district on Tuesday.
Ankara: Bahrain`s foreign minister will visit Turkey on Saturday and meet with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to discuss recent developments in the region, the Turkish foreign ministry said.



Bahrain joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and several other countries on Monday when it cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing its fellow Gulf Arab state of backing terrorism and interfering in Bahrain`s internal affairs.



Bahrain Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa will meet with Erdogan on Saturday, the foreign ministry said, without giving other details.



Erdogan has said isolating Qatar would not resolve any problems. Erdogan, who has long tried to play the role of a regional power broker, said Ankara would do everything in its power to help end the regional crisis.



Late on Thursday, Erdogan`s office said he had approved legislation on deploying Turkish troops to Qatar, which hosts a Turkish military base, in an apparent sign of support for the its Arab ally facing isolation, and pledged to provide food and water supplies.



Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.



Qatar vowed on Thursday to ride out the isolation and said it would not compromise its sovereignty over foreign policy to resolve the region`s biggest diplomatic crisis in years.
New Delhi/Hyderabad: Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member from Telangana Palvai Govardhan Reddy died on Friday after suffering a cardiac arrest while travelling in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. He was 80.

According to family sources, Reddy, who was accompanied by his wife, was going by car to Kullu to attend a parliamentary committee meeting when he suffered a cardiac arrest.

He was rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

A five-time MLA in Andhra Pradesh before the bifurcation of the state, Reddy was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2012 was a member of several committees.

He is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter.

Reddy's body would be taken to his New Delhi residence and then brought to Hyderabad. The cremation will take place at his native Idikuda in Nalgonda district tomorrow.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed deep sorrow and grief at the death of the veteran Congress leader.

"He was a very seasoned parliamentarian and has richly contributed to the proceedings, both in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament, of which he remained member from time to time in his long political career. In his death, the Congress has lost a great parliamentarian and a leader," he said.



Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has expressed shock over the death of Reddy and conveyed his condolence to the members of the bereaved family.

The chief minister spoke to TRS MP Kotha Prabhakar Reddy who was with Govardhan Reddy in the Parliamentary standing committee, which met at Kullu to know the details of the incident.

"The chief minister has instructed Chief Secretary S P Singh and Delhi Resident Commissioner Arvind Kumar to arrange a charted flight to bring the mortal remains of Govardhan Reddy to Hyderabad.

"He has also asked MPs Keshav Rao and Jithender Reddy to oversee the arrangements for bringing the body and other elated things," the CM's office said.

Several leaders cutting across party lines expressed grief over Reddy's death.

Congress MP KVP Ramachandra Rao said he lost a very good friend, while the party's Rajya Sabha member Rapolu Anand Bhaskar said Reddy was like a "link between Pandit Nehru's generation and the youth of the country".

"His demise is loss to me, the Congress and Telangana. My humble prayers for eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to his bereaved wife and children," Bhaskar said.

Congress' Mohammed Ali Shabbir, the leader of opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council, said Reddy was a seasoned parliamentarian and his death is great loss to the Congress.

CPI's Telangana state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy said the Congress has lost an able leader.



BJP state president K Laxman expressed grief saying Reddy was active in the Telangana movement and his death is loss to the state.
New Delhi: Courts cannot question the wisdom of the legislature in enacting a particular law and the judiciary is required to act within the domain available to it, the Supreme Court today said.

It said that though the Supreme Court or the high courts, while exercising its power of judicial review of legislative action, can declare a law passed by Parliament or a state legislature as invalid, the power to strike down a primary legislation enacted by the Centre or a state was on limited grounds.

"Courts can strike down legislation either on the basis that it falls foul of federal distribution of powers or that it contravenes fundamental rights or other constitutional rights/provisions of the Constitution of India," a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said while upholding the validity of a law making Aadhaar mandatory for allotment of PAN and filing of income tax returns.

It, however, exempted those without it for now until the larger privacy issue is decided.

The court noted, "No doubt, since the Supreme Court and the high courts are treated as the ultimate arbiter in all matters involving interpretation of the Constitution, it is the courts which have a final say on questions relating to rights and whether such a right is violated or not."

It observed that in a democratic society governed by a constitution, the actions of a democratically elected government are judged in the light of the Constitution.

"In this context, the judiciary assumes the role of protector of the Constitution and democracy, being the ultimate arbiter in all matters involving the interpretation of the Constitution," it said.

The bench also dealt with the arguments that the Centre's move making Aadhaar mandatory for filing of income tax returns and for allotment of PAN would create a separate class among the citizens.

"No doubt, it is the right of a citizen to approach the court and question the constitutional validity of a particular law enacted by the Legislature. However, merely because a section of persons opposes the law, would not mean that it has become a separate class by itself," it said.

The apex court also said that all income tax asessees "constitute one class" and they were treated alike by the provision which was under challenge before it.

The court's observations came while upholding the validity of the law making Aadhaar mandatory for allotment of PAN and filing of income tax returns but exempted those without it for now until the larger privacy issue is decided.


New Delhi: Declaring the inviolable right of all countries to freedoms of overflights and navigation on high seas, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar has said that seas should not be turned into areas of conflict.

"Secure and open sea lanes are critical for peace, stability, prosperity and development," he said on Thursday at the UN Oceans Conference. "India reiterates the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight on the high seas, unimpeded lawful commerce."

"We cannot allow our seas to turn into zones of contention," he added, emphasising that all maritime disputes should be resolved peacefully in accordance with international law and the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Even though he did not name any country, the remarks appeared to be directed at China, which uses strong-arm tactics against Vietnam, the Philippines and other in their disputes in the South China Sea, a crucial maritime corridor for India.

Turning to the Indian Ocean, Akbar said it could become "the ocean of the 21st century, a free and secure pathway for trade and exchange of intellect, discourse, cuisine and culture that helps fashion a truly international harmony".

"We believe that Indian Ocean has been perhaps the most powerful force for good in the geo-economics of world history," he added.

He said that India is working with its maritime neighbours to expand cooperation on Blue Economy and maritime security and spoke of the first Maritime India Summit partnered with South Korea that was held in 2016 with more than 40 countries participating.
New Delhi: During a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Astana on Friday, Chinese President Xi Xinping expressed his views on how to settle the long-standing difference between India and China.

The two leaders meet in Astana in Kazakhstan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on Friday.

Here's what he said:

* Both sides should work to "appropriately" manage differences.

* The two countries should strengthen multilateral consultation, and manage sensitive issues.

* President Xi stressed on boosting trade and investment cooperation so that the two countries can reap "early stage profits" from large-scale projects.

* Favoured early completion of the China-India-Bangladesh-Myanmar connectivity project in order to boost trade between the four countries.

* Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India. He called for more high-level interactions, institutionalised exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries, Xinhua reported.



* China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large- scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said.



* The Chinese President said his country is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organisation.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday strongly pitched for coordinated efforts among SCO members to combat the menace of terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In his address at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Kazakhstan capital of Astana, where Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping were part of the audience, Modi without naming any country referred to Indias concerns about Pak-backed terror groups and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

"Coordinated efforts are needed to fight the menace of terrorism, including radicalisation, recruitment, training and financing of terrorists," Modi said in a veiled message to Pakistan.

"Terrorism is a major threat to humanity," Modi said, adding that there was a need for concerted efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.

"I have full confidence that the India-SCO cooperation will give a new direction and strength to the fight against terrorism," he said.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

"We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity," he said.

However, the Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif among others, asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such a cooperation.

While acknowledging that they have differences on issues like OBOR, NSG and Masood Azhar which have to be addressed seriously by them, PM Modi asserted that sovereignty and regional integrity should be respected on connectivity, in remarks that come against the backdrop of opposition to Beijing's One Belt, One Road initiative.

Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here and held discussions on a range of issues, including China`s reservations over India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group and UN sanctioning of Pak-based terrorist Masood Azhar.

"The sense of the meeting was that the two countries have great benefit, great interest in working with each other and we will have differences. But where we have differences, how do we work through those differences, find common ground where they are possible. And also a sense that wherever we have concerns, each side will look at it with a degree of seriousness," Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said while briefing the media about the talks between the two leaders.

He was asked about the various areas of differences between the two countries including India`s reservations on OBOR, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) forming part of it and Beijing's opposition to India`s membership of the NSG and UN sanctions on Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar.

Jaishankar said the broad thrust of the meeting was that at a time of global uncertainty, India-China relations are a factor of stability.

"I think there was also an understanding that where we have differences, it was important that these differences should not become disputes and, in fact, if they were handled well, they could even be opportunities," he said.

On India keeping away from the OBOR forum, the Foreign Secretary said these was discussion on connectivity and how the two countries could work together. In fact, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BCIM corridor came up for discussion, he said.

With Xi listening to him, Modi, in his speech at the summit, made oblique reference to India's concerns over OBOR and CPEC saying sovereignty and regional integrity should be respected while Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose country is partnering China, hailed the project.

"For connectivity initiatives and for success and approval of the projects, sovereignty and regional integrity must be respected while inclusivity and sustainability are essential," Modi said.

Avoiding any direct reference to OBOR and and CPEC, he said India joining the International North South Transport Corridor and the Chabahar port agreement and the decision to join the Ashgabat Agreement will bring India closer to these places.

Sharif said the Belt and Road initiative transforms the global economic landscape. "And in Pakistan we are diligently implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is the flagship of the BRI. What is more, these mega projects will benefit the entire SCO community," he said.

The issue of terror also figured at the summit. Amidst the ongoing India-Pakistan chill, Modi called for coordinated and strong efforts to fight terror and radicalisation, particularly recruitment, training and financing, giving a veiled message to Islamabad.

"Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values. The fight against terrorism is an important part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is not possible to find a solution," Modi said.

On Thursday night, Modi and Sharif exchanged pleasantries at a cultural function hosted by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The informal interaction came 17 months after Modi's surprise stop over in Lahore to greet Sharif on his birthday and attend a pre-marriage function at his residence on December 25, 2015.

Hailing the SCO's efforts in the fight against terror, Modi expressed the hope that the eight-member Eurasian bloc will give a new direction and strength to this fight.

Sharif, whose speech followed that of Modi, said, "We fully endorse the SCO's resolve to fight the twin evils of terrorism and extremism."

"Pakistan has fought its own fierce war in the fight against international terrorism and, with the grace of God, it has been able to achieve a turnaround in the security and economic situation in our country," Sharif said.

(With Agency inputs)
Chandigarh: The government has informed families of 39 Indians, believed to have been abducted by Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq in 2014, that they may be in Mosul in the north of the country, a family member said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the families the government had received information that some Indian men were in Mosul, from where the 39 men had gone missing three years ago.

The minister told the family in a meeting that lasted 45 minutes the Indians seen in Mosul were in all likelihood the missing men.

The families said they had last heard from the men on June 14, 2014, when they all called home to say they were being taken away by IS fighters.

Now that Mosul, earlier in the control of the IS, had been liberated, the Indian government discussed the issue of the stranded men with the Iraqi government, the family quoted Swaraj as saying.

"The Indian government has taken the matter up with the Iraqi government, which has assured it that once things become normal, they will be sent back," Gurpinder Kaur, sister of one of the missing men, Manjinder Singh, told PTI.

Kaur, a resident of Bhoewal village in Amritsar district, said this was the families' 11th meeting with the minister since the men's disappearance.

"Earlier, the government was silent on the issue. But now Swaraj has assured us that the missing people have been traced," she said.

The families asked the minister what the government was doing to bring them back.

"She told us that Iraqi forces had recaptured 90 per cent of the area and the Indian men were in the area that was yet to be freed from IS militants," Gurpinder said.

Amritsar's Seema Devi, whose husband Sonu Masih is among the missing men, said they were elated when they heard that the men were safe.
New Delhi: Iran has released 25 Indian fishermen, who had been detained with their Bahraini boats since March, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said.

The fishermen, hailing from Tamil Nadu, have been repatriated to Bahrain.

"I am happy to inform that 25 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were detained by Iranian Coast Guards since March 2017 with 5 Bahraini boats have been released and repatriated to Bahrain," Swaraj tweeted last night.

She also thanked the Indian Embassy in Tehran, appreciating their "relentless efforts" for facilitating the release.
By Press Trust of India: anti-terror pitch

(EDS: Updating with fresh quotes)

By Manash Pratim Bhuyan

Astana, Jun 9 (PTI) India and Pakistan today joined the SCO with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that unless strong and coordinated efforts are made, the issues of radicalisation and financing and training of terrorists would be impossible to address, in a veiled dig at Islamabad.

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"Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is impossible to find a solution," Modi said in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

In his address at the annual Summit of the SCO in the Kazakh capital, Modi said Indias entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism and other pressing challenges facing the region.

"Terrorism is a major threat to humanity," Modi said, adding that there was a need for concerted efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.

"I have full confidence that the India-SCO cooperation will give a new direction and strength to the fight against terrorism," Modi said.

Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values. The fight against terrorism is an important part of the SCO cooperation, he said.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

"We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity," he said.

The Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Pakistan Prime Minister among others, also asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such a cooperation.

"Connectivity with SCO member countries is a priority for India and we whole heartedly support it. We want connectivity to pave way for enhancing cooperation and confidence among the societies and young people. Respect to sovereignty and regional integrity is necessary. It is also important to ensure inclusivity and sustainability," the Prime Minister said.

His remarks assume significance as they come weeks after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the Summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of Xi, and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

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Earlier in the day, Modi met Xi on the sidelines of the Summit and underscored the need to respect each others "core concerns" and appropriately handle the disputes.

During the meeting, Modi said India and China should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each others core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

Following Modis address at the Summit, India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO, the first-ever expansion of the China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

"India and Pakistan are now members of the SCO. It is a very important moment for us," Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is the current chair of the SCO, said, making the announcement of the induction of India and Pakistan, capping a two-year-long accession process.

Modi, in his address, also thanked the SCO countries for granting membership to India.

The Prime Minister said Indias SCO membership will certainly take cooperation among member states to new heights.

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"The drivers of which will be energy, education, agriculture, defence, minerals, capacity building, development partnership, trade and investment," he said.

Modi said today marked a historic turn in the SCOs journey and India was ready for an active and positive participation in the grouping.

He said the development of the SCO will mean development of a huge section of the worlds population.

The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.

He said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war- torn Afghanistan.

Indias membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistans entry into the grouping was backed by China. With the first expansion of the grouping since its inception in 2001, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP.

The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 Astana Summit. The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the moratorium on new membership, paving the way for the expansion of the grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

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India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

As an SCO member, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region. PTI MPB ABH ASK AKJ ASK

--- ENDS ---
Agartala: Various tribal groups have urged the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh to protect the minority tribals and non-tribals in Bangladesh, an official said on Friday.

Chakma National Council of India (CNCI) and other tribal organisations have sent separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi Premier Sheikh Hasina to protect the tribals and other minorities residing in Bangladesh.

The tribal organisations have been holding protest rallies in Tripura and other north-eastern states since Wednesday to protest the recent attacks on tribals in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of southeast Bangladesh.

"At least seven aged tribal men were brutally killed by the Muslim settlers in Langadu Upazila in Rangamati Zilla on June 2. Bangladesh Army and police remained spectators when the Muslims attacked the innocent tribals," CNCI President Sobha Ranjan Chakma told reporters on Friday.

He said: "The Bengali Muslim settlers also set afire and vandalised several hundred houses and shops of the Chakma community following the death of a local Muslim youth leader."

The CNCI leader said that after the massive attacks, thousands of tribals, including women and children, fled to jungles to protect themselves from the attackers.

Chakma said, "We have urged both Indian and Bangladeshi Prime Ministers to take appropriate measures to rehabilitate the affected tribals and punish the culprits."

"We have also urged the Bangladesh Prime Minister to implement the 1997 Peace Accord signed with the Shanti Bahini. Many provisions of the peace accord are yet to be executed, leading to the sufferings of the tribals," CNCI Advisor Srota Ranjan Khisa told IANS.

The Shanti Bahini was the armed wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), a political organisation of the tribals in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

The PCJSS and the CNCI have been demanding withdrawal of the army from the CHT, where once the Buddhist tribals population formed the majority in the population.


Astana: Prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here.

"Taking forward #IndiaUzbekistan coop`n. PM @narendramodi meets President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on the sidelines of SCO Summit," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted with a picture of both leaders.

India and Pakistan were expected to be granted full membership of the SCO, which also includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, at the Summit here on Friday. India has been a observer to the Eurasian bloc since 2005.

Modi began his engagements on Friday with a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and thanked him for China`s support for India`s membership of the SCO.

On Thursday, soon after his arrival here, Modi held a bilateral meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during the course of which the two leaders discussed ways to expand bilateral ties, including development of the Chabahar port in Iran.

Later in the night, Modi exchanged pleasantries with Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif at the Leaders Lounge at the Astana Opera here. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after 17 months.

After participating in the SCO Summit on Friday, Modi will attend the World Exposition, which Kazakhstan is hosting this year, before returning to India.
Astana: The much-awaited bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here on Friday.

Prime Minister Modi expressed his happiness over meeting President Xi Jinping and thanked him for supporting India`s bid to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a consortium that focuses on security and trade.

On the concluding day of his two-day visit to Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Modi said "The youth of both the countries are having positive outlook and India has implemented several reforms and initiatives that are having impact on Indian `s economic growth and international arena.

"During his forthcoming address at the SCO Summit, Prime Minister Modi is likely to pitch for a concerted global action plan to contain terrorism.The summit is also being attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

On Thursday, the prime ministers of India and Pakistan after a gap of 17 months.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi is said to have enquired about Prime MInister Sharif`s health post his cardiac surgery.India and Pakistan will be formally inducted into the SCO as members today.
New Delhi: A Delhi-based businessman was today sent to four-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by a court here in connection with the note ban money laundering probe against lawyer Rohit Tandon and others.

Additional Sessions Judge R K Tripathi extended the ED custody of Yogesh Mittal, a resident of Model Town area, till June 13.

"The matter is pending investigation. Considering the submission of ED, the custody of the accused is granted for a further period of four days and he is to be produced in court on June 13," the court said.

Mittal was produced before the court on expiry of his three-day ED custody.

During the hearing, the ED sought 10 days custody of the accused, saying it has seized several mobiles, laptops and other electronic devices and needs time to examine them.

The investigating officer said he could confront only two suspicious account holders with Mittal due to paucity of time and several other such account holders are yet to be covered.

The defence counsel, however, opposed the agency's plea seeking more custody of the accused.

The agency had arrested Mittal on June 5 for his alleged role in illegal conversion of demonetised currency worth Rs 51 crore in "connivance" with Tandon, a suspended Kotak Mahindra bank manager and another person who acted as entry operator or illegal fund router.

He was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
New Delhi: The Congress Party on Friday condemned Thursday's detention of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh, dubbing the whole incident as 'undemocratic'.

Congress leader and former union minister A.K. Antony said that by apprehending Gandhi and other Congress leaders, the Madhya Pradesh Government had violated the fundamental rights apprised by the Constitution of India.

"The Madhya Pradesh Government's reaction of preventing Rahul Gandhi from visiting Mandsaur is totally undemocratic. It is against fundamental rights. Rahul Gandhi has the right as citizen of India to visit Madhya Pradesh and to express his solidarity with suffering farmers and those families who lost their loved ones," he added.

Antony sought the government's intervention and warned that the situation could take a turn for the worse and have an impact across the nation.

Another Congress leader Meem Afzal said, "This is very condemnable that the government is stalling Rahul Gandhi wherever he goes. Through such actions, the government is adding fuel to the incumbent situation. Such actions will aggravate farmers. Rahulji had gone to Madhya Pradesh to console the farmers. This should not have happened."

Gandhi was detained yesterday in Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch district under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which says that a detention order can be carried out if a person or persons is or are "Knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse."

The IPC section further states that, "Whoever knowingly joins or continues in any assembly of five or more persons (and is) likely to cause a disturbance of the public peace, after such assembly has been lawfully commanded to disperse, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both."

Gandhi was detained while heading towards Mandsaur to meet the families of the deceased farmers. He was later granted bail after which he met the family members of the deceased farmers and interacted with them.

Mandsaur district has been tense following a farmers protest over their demand for better remunerative prices for their produce and a farm loan waiver.

This unfortunately took an ugly turn earlier on Tuesday when five farmers were killed and eight others were injured in police firing.

Internet services in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain were also suspended following the farmers' protests, and a curfew was reportedly imposed.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a compensation of Rs. one crore each to the victims' families and Rs. five lakh for the injured.

In a video message, Chouhan also promised a government job to each of the victims' kin.
Astana: PM Narendra Modi on Friday said that every one will have to make coordinated efforts to counter the menace of terrorism, while addressing the SCO Summit in Astana, Kazhakstan. The Prime Minister earlier met Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties. SCO is a consortium of select Asian nations that focuses on security and trade. 

Here are the LIVE updates:-

-It's understood that where India-China have differences they shouldn't become disputes, if handled well can become opportunities: Foreign Secy

-At a time of global uncertainty, India-China relations are a factor of stability, important for India-China to work together: Foreign Secy

-Meeting with China cordial, positive. PM thanked President Xi Jinping for China's support which made possible India's accession to SCO: Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar

-We must leave a legacy of peace for future generations; not toxic harvest of conflict and animosity; let's create shared spaces for all: Nawaz Sharif.

-I congratulate India on joining The Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif

-Congratulate Prez Nazarbayev for successfully organising the Summit and conveys my good wishes to President Jinping for hosting the next summit: PM

-Cooperation in connectivity projects between SCO members a priority for India: PM

-Sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states should be the key factors: PM

-Impossible to reach a solution till all make concerted efforts, on radicalization, terrorist recruitment, training, financing issues: PM Modi

-All will have to make coordinated efforts to counter the menace of terrorism: PM

-After 12 years of 'observership', India will get membership of SCO. I want to thank all members for their support: PM Modi.

-PM Modi begins addressing the SCO Summit.

-During his meeting with Xi Jinping, PM Modi discussed ways to improve bilateral ties.

Met President Xi Jinping. We spoke about India-China relations and how to further improve ties. pic.twitter.com/67aPIi6GFF  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 9, 2017

- PM Narendra Modi meets President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Astana.

Kazakhstan: PM Narendra Modi meets President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Astana pic.twitter.com/gpQKvBVdDa  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

-News agency ANI posts a video of PM Modi's interaction with the Chinese delegation.

#WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana. pic.twitter.com/wQ8XnnVTfH  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

-MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweets pictures of PM Modi's meeting with Chinese President.

PM @narendramodi meets President of China #XiJinping on margins of SCO Summit in Astana pic.twitter.com/E0FO6au6uc  Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) June 9, 2017

-Got the opportunity to meet you again during SCO summit, grateful to you for your efforts and support for India's SCO membership: PM Modi

-Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana.

-PM Modi is supposed to meet dignitaries, attend a host of events today, here's his schedule for today: 9:30 am meet with Chinese President Xi Jingping of China. 10:10 am meeting with President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. 12:50 pm welcome ceremony and group photo at Summit Venue. 1:00 pm  3:00 pm extended format meeting and signing of documents. 7:00 pm  10:45 pm official inauguration of Astana Expo, joint visit of HODs to central exhibition pavilion. 11:05 pm boarding of aircraft for Delhi.

-Initially, the members were Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, China and Tajikistan. Uzbekistan was inducted in 2001.

-India had been a long-time observer of the group, which was formed in 1996.

-While Pakistan is becoming a member of the SCO, India has been pushing for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the United Nations and for terrorism to be formally defined.

-The eight nations will also work together to control terrorism in the Eurasia region.

-Becoming a full member of the SCO will help India establish better trade and economic ties with member countries. It will also strengthen India's strategic position in Central Asia.

-The resource-rich grouping of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation collaborates on trade, economy, connectivity, energy, transport and banking.

-After SCO membership, both India and Pakistan are expected to follow Tashkent-based Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure and join the other member nations to conduct joint military exercise.

-Ahead of the visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in a Facebook post: At this meeting, on completion of the process, India will become a full Member of the SCO upon which SCO will represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of global GDP."

-PM Modi is also expected to seek support for designating JEM chief Masood Azhar as a terrorist in the United Nations.

-Modi, Xi are also expected to discuss the fallout of President Donald Trump's announcement to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, something that experts believe leaves scope for India and China to take a leadership role.

-Among other issues, China's opposition to India's NSG membership, renaming of 6 locations in Arunachal Pradesh and the "artificial controversy" created by Beijing over Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh will also be discussed.

-During his meeting with President Xi, PM Modi is expected to discuss steps to ease the strain the ties between two nations have come lately over issues such as the One Belt, One Road or OBOR project that India had skipped.

-Later in the day, India and Pakistan will also be formally inducted into the SCO as members.

-This will be the first meeting of the two leaders to build on common interests in eight months.

-PM Modi will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana today.

-PM Modi had earlier greeted his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and exchanged pleasantries when they met at a cultural gala.

-PM Modi will address the SCO summit today.
Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, which has backed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the next president, on Friday called for installing a "Hindutva rubber stamp" at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Shiv Sena, which shares power with its ally BJP in Maharashtra, stated that the country needs a person who can seal its fate as a 'Hindu Rashtra' and who can resolve issues like the "Ram Mandir" and Article 370.

The party expressed its views regarding the upcoming presidential election in a fiery article published in its 'Saamana.'

"So far, rubber stamps with secular credentials resided at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Now, to resolve the issues of Ram Mandir, Uniform Civil Code and Article 370 of the Constitution, it is required that a Hindutva rubber stamp assumes the post of president," the article said.

Uddhav Thackeray's party has made a strong pitch in favour of incumbent RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the next president.

Bhagwat, 66, however, said that he is not interested in the president's post.

The Sena editorial comes nearly a month ahead of the presidential contest which is due to be held on July 17.

The BJP, however, is hopeful of securing the support of the Shiv Sena's contingent of 18 MPs and 63 MLAs.

Shiv Sena, which has been backing Bhagwat, calculated that 23 constituents of the NDA have 48 percent vote share for the president's post among themselves while the UPA, with its 17 constituents, has 26 percent vote, on paper.

Shiv Sena, which had embarrassed BJP in the last two presidential elections by backing rival candidates, yesterday said it may take an "independent" stand in the upcoming poll.

It had in the 2012 presidential poll backed UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee while the BJP supported P A Sangma for the post.

In 2007 as well, the Sena ignored NDA's presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and instead voted for UPA candidate Pratibha Patil, who hailed from Maharashtra.

Interestingly the Sena article heaped prise on President Pranab Mukherjee and said that people like him and Dr A P J Abdul Kalam have ensured that the honour of the post is maintained.

"Though Pranab Mukherjee hails from the Congress lineage, he has been an able and a strong president. His wide experience in various fields has proved immensely beneficial for the country," said the editorial.

With PTI inputs
New Delhi: A local Australian lad recently spotted a massive endangered python slithering across a road and then he did what most of us won't do  planked next to the snake.

Matthew Bager  the man in question spotted the giant python crawling on the Mof Road on Tuesday night.

Realising that the Pilbara Rick Olive Python is an endangered species, Matthew waited with the python until it got off the road safely.

A Facebook user Tracey Heimberger had posted a photo showing Matthew Bager planking - lying flat on his stomach - next to a Pilbara rock olive python slithering across a road in Western Australia.

Matthew Bager youre a legend!! Heimberger wrote.

For those of you who arent aware- the Pilbara Rick Olive Python is an endangered species. Matthew waited with the python until it got off the road safely. For those of you who arent from the local area- this road is very busy especially at shift changeover & during the day (with tourists & general public).
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has approved the draft of the state's new industrial policy aimed at promoting industries in the backward Purvanchal and Bundelkhand regions.



"The CM has approved the draft of the new industrial policy after some amendments. It will be uploaded on the website of the department today for suggestions and objections of people before finalising it and presenting it before the state cabinet," an official spokesman said here.



Adityanath had gone through the key points of the 'UP Industrial Investment and Employment Promotion Policy-2017' yesterday.



The new industrial policy is aimed at simplifying the procedure for development of fundamental infrastructure and promotion of establishment of industries in Purvanchal and Bundelkhand regions.



It also looks at time-bound approvals with special focus on IT start-ups, electronics, agriculture and food processing, dairy, handloom, film development and tourism sectors besides others.
New Delhi: The decision by the US to pull out of the Paris accord was "negative" but it would "not impact" European Union's commitment to fulfil the climate deal, EU's top envoy said here today, while praising India's commitment to the agreement.

"Climate change is a global challenge. We in good faith, the EU, the US under the previous (Barack Obama) administration, China, India and several other countries, subscribed to the Paris agreement.

"The way of thinking was that it would be our common interest to have this agreement and to implement it," Ambassador of the EU to India, Tomasz Kozlowski said.

Asked about America's decision to leave the 2015 climate accord, he said, "The decision by the US to pull out of the agreement was negative."

"But, it will not impact our commitment to fulfil the Paris agreement. Climate issues are global challenges. And, we, together with practically all the countries in the world signed an agreement. The withdrawal by the US was not a positive factor," he told PTI on the sidelines of a function.

"But, we are happy that India has declared its commitment to the Paris agreement," he said.

President Donald Trump had on June 2 declared that the US will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, saying the "draconian" deal unfairly punished America but benefited countries like India and China, drawing strong condemnation from across the world.

"It is time to exit the Paris Accord and time to pursue a new deal that protects the environment, our companies, our citizens, and our country," Trump had said while announcing the sweeping step that fulfils a campaign promise while acutely dampening global efforts to curb global warming.

India, on its side, has said that it was committed to tackling climate change, irrespective of the stand taken by any other country.

"We are committed to ensuring that we will do our best to address the issue related to climate change and global warming," Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan had said, hours after the US had announced its withdrawal.

The Paris agreement commits the US and other countries to keep rising global temperatures "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and "endeavour to limit" them to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

India, under its climate action plans, has pledged to curb its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 35 per cent from its 2005 level.

In the plans submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), India had also vowed that 40 per cent of its total electricity needs would be obtained from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

New Delhi also pledged to create an additional carbon sink -- which suck up and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere -- of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree covers by 2030.
By Press Trust of India: By K J M Varma

Beijing, Jun 9 (PTI) Tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir would pose the largest challenge to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and its anti-terrorism mechanisms, a Chinese daily said today.

"The inclusion of India and Pakistan will add to the political dimension of the SCO, whose members value systems, characteristics of national development and core concerns, will be more diversified," an editorial in the state-run Global Times said.

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The editorial came as the six-member grouping is set to admit India and Pakistan as full members.

The daily said the admission of India and Pakistan has created worry over whether their long-standing hostility would be brought to the SCO, instigating internal disputes.

While SCO can lay the foundations for solving divergences between the two, "it wont be an easy job. However, the organisation must face such tests as it expands", it said.

"How Indias participation in the SCO will influence the organisations internal leadership has been discussed a lot. Most of the discussion is framed by traditional thinking. The SCO is not a place for leadership competition. Some Indian media should free itself from outdated views, and embrace new patterns of regional cooperation," it said.

An article the same daily said "if India and Pakistan are unable to realise mutual understanding on their disputes, including the Kashmir issue, the possibility of conflict remains high between both nations."

"Under those circumstances, it would represent the largest challenge to the SCO, and China and Russia must make more diplomatic effort to alleviate and improve India-Pakistan relations," he said.

Furthermore, the pressure from non-traditional security threats involving India and Pakistan will increase the difficulty in combating terrorism by the SCO.

Pakistan is seen by the US as a major anti-terrorism partner as its northern areas are frequented by the Taliban. The ever-tense counter-terrorism situation in the region can be seen by the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 and suicide bombings at a Pakistani shrine in February of this year, it said.

"Although India and Pakistans admission as full members into the SCO will bring about convenience in information- sharing and mechanism advantages, ensuing pressure and difficulties in fighting against terrorism will also be increased," it said.

"Since the signing of the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism in June 2001, SCO member states have strengthened the crackdown on the three forces, of terrorism, extremism and separatism," it said.

"However, it is only restricted to China, Russia, and member states of Central Asia. At present, anti-terrorism actions have been expanded to South Asia, especially in India and Pakistan where the situation is relatively grave. Their inclusion will present a major test to the present anti- terrorism mechanisms of the SCO," it said

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"Finally, the inclusion of India and Pakistan into the SCO will examine the cohesiveness of the organisation...With the admission of more member states, problems began to be more visible," it said.

"From a realistic point of view, the addition of new member states will inevitably bring more problems to the organisation. China and Russia have controlled the development of the SCO in the past, the admission of two major powers in South Asia will require increasing efforts on their parts to continue exerting influence over it," it said.

The SCO is comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as full members.

Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status. Its 2015 summit in Ufa in Russia has formally adopted a resolution which started the procedures to admit India and Pakistan into the SCO.

Both the countries signed a Memorandum of Obligations to join the organisation in last year?s summit in Tashkent. PTI KJV NSA

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi: The allegations of human rights violation by Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, sentenced to death in a blast case, are false and fabricated, the Tihar jail administration has told a Delhi court.



In their reply to an application moved by Bhatkal before Additional Sessions Judge Siddharth Sharma seeking a CBI probe into the allegations, the jail administration said the accused was provided with all basic facilities similar to other prisoners.



"The allegations levelled in his application by the inmate are false and fabricated just to malign the jail administration with ulterior motives best known to him, whereas he has been provided all basic needs similar to other prisoners," a jail official told the court.



He said that the accused, facing trial in 50 cases, has been kept in the high security ward of the jail as there were inputs from various security agencies that the accused may escape from custody and there is also danger to his life.



"Thereby, he has been categorised under 'very very high risk prisoner' and kept under 24 hours CCTV surveillance and the watch of special guards," the officer said.

The court has posted the matter for July 20.



In his plea moved through advocate M S Khan, Bhatkal had alleged physical harassment in the prison, while urging the court to direct a probe by the CBI and the Anti Corruption Branch in this regard.



He had alleged that he had been kept in isolation for the last four months due to which he was suffering from mental and psychological problems.



He had also claimed that he was denied proper medical aid, food and water and was facing problems during the ongoing Ramzan.

Bhatkal was sentenced to death by an NIA court in December last year in the 2013 Dilsukhnagar twin blasts case in Hyderabad. He is at present lodged in Tihar.
Mumbai: Former IAF head Air Chief Marshal P V Naik has called for "ruthless measures" -- including the use of air power and special zones where intruders can be killed without a warning -- to combat militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian Air Force veteran, in an interview to PTI, suggested a slew of methods, which, he said, could be "better accomplished" under a few months of Governor?s Rule.

"Hard decisions will have to be taken...It (the situation) demands something which others feel we as a nation lack: Ruthlessness," he said.

Naik, who was the IAF chief from 2009 to 2011, said there had to be a "more effective use" of air power, so far "underutilised" in the valley.

The retired IAF chief's aggressive views on battling militancy followed Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's position that the Army faced a "dirty war" in the valley.

"This is a proxy war and proxy war is a dirty war. It is played in a dirty way," Rawat told PTI last month.

Fifty-nine Army personnel have been killed in counter- terror operations in J&K since 2016. Twenty-two infiltration attempts have been foiled so far this year and 34 armed intruders killed on the LoC, according to official figures.

Naik believed "Red Zones" should be declared in infiltration prone areas near the LOC.

"Each zone should be a bubble 10 km in depth and include airspace above. Any unauthorised movement in this zone should be treated as inimical," he said.

"We must start thinking along these lines if we are to control terrorism in the Kashmir valley," he added.

Special forces with a clear mandate needed to be deployed to "seek and destroy" foreign terrorists, said Naik, now leading a retired life in Pune.

"There are around 250 foreign terrorists in the valley. Use special forces with a clear mandate to seek and destroy. This would be possible only if the Army re-establishes the intelligence framework with locals. A few months of Governor?s Rule should facilitate this activity," he said.

Governor's rule should continue until the situation was conducive to the holding of fair elections, he added.

Naik also stressed the need for a single agency to "collate and manage" intelligence from disparate agencies.

A central data base, he added, was also needed, with face, DNA and fingerprint matching facilities.

"We need cutting-edge forms of communication, too," he said.

The former Navy chief suggested hardware for Kashmir: unmanned air vehicles (UAV), attack helicopters and fixed wing aircraft on the lines of the AC-130 of the US Air Force.

"The resources would be C-130s modified with radar controlled 20 mm gun and a 105 mm howitzer similar to the AC- 130 of the US Air Force. There would be HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) UAVs on station covering the Red Zones and troubled spots. Attack choppers would be on standby during the day. Special Forces teams would be ready along with Mi-17 choppers to move them," he said.

He explained that when UAV spotted targets, they would also appear on the screens of the C-130 which would "track and neutralise" them.

"In Red Zones, no clearance would be required except to ascertain that they are not our own troops. The same method could be used when large mobs gather," he added.

All this, he said, appeared "simplistic", but was not.

"It will take a lot of planning, lead time, training and practice.It will consume a lot of resources including manpower," he said.

Naik also said the Kashmir issued could not be resolved without improving governance.

"There is a need to streamline working of departments, ensure high efficiency and outreach to people," he said.

The government should check the media and ensure that "inflammatory programmes" were not aired, while developing its own narrative to combat anti-national propaganda, he said.

"I have mostly spoken of things military but the situation demands a strong political will and public support," he said.
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday questioned hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law, Altaf Ahmed Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, in connection with its investigation into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir.

A team of officials grilled Shah, who arrived at the NIA headquarters here this morning, regarding the alleged funding of the Geelani-led Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.

The NIA called Shah for questioning days after collecting "some material" from Shah's Srinagar residence during a raid. The sleuths scrutinised the material before calling Shah for questioning.

Apart from being the son-in-law of Geelani, Shah is perceived to be influential in the policies of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.

The NIA had carried out raids at 26 places on June 03 and seven places on June 04 across Srinagar, Delhi, and Haryana. Besides Shah, among those raided were separatists Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate'.

The raids were part of NIA's efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the Valley.

The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups including LeT and HM.

The NIA investigation also seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who threw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments.

Bank accounts and lockers revealed during the probe had been frozen.

Besides electronic gadgets, phone diaries and documents such as rough receipts and vouchers had been seized from alleged hawala operators, financiers and office bearers of separatist groups.

During the searches, a few thousand Pakistani rupees and currencies belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia were seized by the NIA.

The Agency has alleged that since cross-LoC trade at Uri in Kashmir and Chakan-da-bad in Jammu was based on a barter system, some businessmen "under- or over-invoiced" their bills, and the difference in payment was later used for promoting subversive activities in the Valley.

This is for the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding separatists.

In 2002, the Income Tax department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents.

However, no criminal case was registered then.

The NIA has also roped in the government's cyber security arm to analyse electronic evidence collected during its raids.

Twenty-two laptops and computers, 100 mobiles and nearly 200 pen drives and memory sticks had been sent to the Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-IN) for creating backup files. The CERT-IN will also provide other technical details related to the data, the sources said.

The CERT-IN has also been asked to look for deleted material in the electronic gadgets, they said.

The NIA action came in the wake of the case it registered against Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed and other terror organisations under the provisions of waging war against the country and criminal conspiracy, after it converted a May 19 preliminary enquiry against Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his close aide and Hurriyat provincial President Nayeem Khan, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leader Ghazi Javed Baba, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front leader Farooq Ahmed Dar aka Bitta Karate.

The NIA registered a case against Pakistan-based organisations after a news channel released videos of the separatist leaders who confessed to receiving funds from Pakistan to incite trouble in Kashmir.

The NIA raids were carried out following the questioning of three separatist leaders -- Nayeem Khan, who was seen on TV during a sting operation purportedly confessing to receiving money from Pakistan-based terror groups, 'Bitta Karate' and Gazi Javed Baba of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, in the national capital last month.

(With Agency inputs)
Banihal: Two persons were injured today after an petrol-tanker skidded off the road and fell into a gorge on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district, police said.

The incident took place near Shabanbass area when they were on their way to Srinagar from Jammu, a police officer said.

The victims had a narrow escape as the tanker burst into flames after falling, he said.

The driver and the conductor have been hospitalised.
Srinagar: Five terrorists were gunned down by security forces during an infiltration bid in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector on Friday.

Security agencies are on high alert, particularly along the Line of Control (LoC), following the incident.

The development comes a day after the Army killed at least seven "heavily armed" infiltrators in Kashmir.

The security forces had also thwarted at least four attempts by the Pakistan Army to infiltrate armed groups into Kashmir.

According to the Army, three terrorists were killed in Nowgam sector while four others were eliminated in Machhil sector.

A jawan was also killed during the encounter in Nowgam sector.

Infiltration bids were also foiled in Uri and Gurez sectors, the Army said in a statement.
Mandsaur/Neemuch: Curfew will be relaxed in the Mandsaur district and other areas of Madhya Pradesh as situation continues to improve, days after farmers' death due to police firing triggered violence in the region.

According to reports, the curfew will be relaxed from 10 am to 6 pm today.

MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had yesterday made an appeal for calm and assured farmers of full assistance even as Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi visited Mandasur defying ban orders, raising the political temperatures.

The Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was arrested by the authorities and charged under Section 151 when he tried to enter the state to meet agitating farmers.

Farmers set fire to a truck and four motorcycles and stoned police personnel in Shajapur district after which the authorities immediately passed orders banning the assembly of five or more people.

A Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Rajesh Yadav, was also attacked by some protesters. He was admitted to hospital with a leg fracture.

Another mob of farmers burnt a truck in Dewas district. Mandsaur, where police shot dead the five farmers on Tuesday, was however calm but tense.

Amid the simmering tension, the government transferred the District Magistrates of Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neemuch. The Mandsaur Police Superintendent was also shunted out. All three places had witnessed violence by farmers.

Gandhi was not allowed to visit Mandsaur and was arrested with 29 other leaders including Janata Dal-United's Sharad Yadav when they entered Madhya Pradesh. All of them were released on personal bonds.

Gandhi then met some farmers and expressed solidarity with them. Thursday was the eighth day of the farmers' agitation in Madhya Pradesh. They want their loans to be written off and their produce to be bought at a fair price.

Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rajkumar Yadav said farmers also staged protests in Harda and Raisen districts while Aam Kisan Union's Kedar Sirohi threatened to unleash road blockades in the state.

Rahul Gandhi used the opportunity to slam the Modi government.

"Modi waived off loans worth Rs 150,000 crore for the richest people in India," he said. "But they can't pay the right price to farmers for their produce, they can't give compensation. They can give only bullets."

Gandhi entered Madhya Pradesh by car from Rajasthan and switched over to a bike in a bid to reach Mandsaur after seeing police deployment. But he could not go too far.

Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Digvijaya Singh as well as Sharad Yadav were also stopped from meeting the families of the dead farmers.

He said Chouhan had promised farmers 1.5 times return on the yield of crops. "Why hasn't he implemented his own promise?"

The BJP accused the Congress of instigating the farmers' violence and said Gandhi's conduct was irresponsible.

"There is information that some people were involved in instigating violence," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said.
Bhopal: The move to promote digital payment, electricity crunch and ban on regulated sale of poppy husk are some of the reasons that led to the farmers' stir in Madhya Pradesh, a top government official said on Friday.

The state has been on the boil ever since the farmers launched an agitation last week seeking loan waiver and better crop prices.

"The Centre and the state government have forbidden the farmers to sell poppy husk since the last two years in Mandsaur and Neemuch districts and this has rendered hundreds of farmers, mostly members of the strong Patidar community, jobless," the official from western Madhya Pradesh told PTI.

According to him, the government used to regulate the sale and farming of poppy husk in the past, but now it was destroying the contraband, which was earlier permitted to be used for medicinal purposes.

The situation has been volatile in Mandsaur and Neemuch for the last couple of days. Five farmers were killed in police firing at Mandsaur on Tuesday, while six others were injured.

The official claimed all the deceased farmers belonged to the Patidar community.

"Besides, the state government's move to promote digital payment in place of cash for procuring produce from farmers in the mandis (markets) aggravated the woes of the cultivators," he said.

The farmers have run out of cash due to digital payment mode, which is still at a nascent stage in Madhya Pradesh, he said.

"The cost of farm produce has also gone up considerably due to two reasons -- shortage of electricity to farmers and black marketing of manure," the official said.

According to him, farmers were using diesel-run water pumps for irrigation due to lack of power.

"The electricity distribution company in the region has been snapping power supply to farmers if they fail to pay the monthly bills instantly," he said.

Besides, the farmers are forced to buy manure from the black market at a huge price due to rampant corruption in the state. This has increased the cost of production of agriculture produce, the official alleged.

Widespread violence, including several incidents of arson, have been reported from western Madhya Pradesh, especially in Mandsaur and Dewas districts, in the week-long agitation in the state.

Rattled by the violence, the Madhya Pradesh government has announced a crop loan settlement scheme, which proposes waiving of interests of the cultivators who have defaulted on repayment of their loans.

"It is the farmers' anger which has spilled onto the roads against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan due to widespread corruption in the farm sector," Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh national president Shivkumar Sharma told PTI.

"There is no electricity in rural areas of MP, so the farmers are using diesel-driven water pumps to irrigate their land. Secondly, they are forced to buy fertilisers from black market," he said.

"I had been saying that massive corruption is plaguing the farm sector under Chouhan since long. Now my stand is vindicated," he said.

"Due to these factors, the cost of production of farm produce has skyrocketed. For getting satisfactory price for their produce, the farmers are protesting," said Sharma, who had led a farmers' agitation in December 2010.

However, he disagreed that the ban of poppy husk business had ignited the farmers' stir.

If contraband is the reason, why are the farmers protesting in other parts of the state, he argued.

BJP MP from Mandsaur, Sudhir Gupta, blamed the Congress for the farmers' agitation.

"Congress is behind the violence during the farmers' stir," he alleged.

The state government has said that it was ready for an open dialogue with the protesting farmers.

"The stir has inflicted immense financial loss to my constituency," Gupta said.
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday reached out to protesting farmers inviting them for talks to iron out the differences as Madsaur reels under violent protest by farmers over demands for cost-based returns for their produce.

"The State Government is always ready for talks with farmers. I appeal to the farmers to maintain calm. Only talks can end the differences. The State Government is of farmers and public. I will continue to work for them," the Chief Minister said while addressing a press conference in Bhopal.

"From 11am tomorrow I'll sit at Dussehra Maidan. People may come and discuss things with me. I will fast to bring about peace," he said.

Under criticism over the death of five agitating farmers in the police firing in Mandsaur, CM Chouhan announced to sit on an indefinite fast from tomorrow till peace is restored.

"I have decided to sit on an indefinite fast from tomorrow. It will continue till the time peace is restored in MP," Chouhan told a press conference here. His fast at Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal will begin from 11 AM tomorrow where he will be holding an open 'durbar' for farmers to meet him.

"I request people to come up to me with their problems...We have always been open to discussion. S, I have decided from tomorrow I will be listening to grievances in-person," the chief minister said.

The Chief Minister said the state government has taken a slew of measures in farmers' interest like procuring one kg of onion for Rs 8. Negative elements will be dealt with strongly. Establishing law and order is our priority. Some people have handed over stones to youth," the CM added.

"Tur, Moong and Urad will be purchased from the same center. At least 80 centers have been set up by the government. From June 30 onwards, it will be possible to buy from one to 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of tur pulse," he said.

"The state government will buy onion at the rate of Rs 8 from the farmers and will provide it to the poor customers in PDS shops at rate of Rs 2. In the interest of farmers, the state government has decided not to import pulses so that farmers can get their full yield. Also, the price of pulses will not be allowed to fall in any aspect," the CM said.

"The Chief Minister has directed that the selection and placement of procurement centers for Kharif crops should be done in advance so that there is no delay in procurement," he said.

"On the demand of farmers, we have decided that they will not be given loan separately for Kharif and Rabi crops," the Chief Minister announced during the conference.

Appealing the protesting farmers to maintain calm, the Chief Minister said, "Instigators have put stones in hands of young people. We won't compromise on security. I appeal for peace. Let's sit and talk."

Meanwhile, the violence-hit Madhya Pradesh districts continued to be on the boil as the protesters blocked the Bhopal-Indore highway, burnt vehicles and clashed with the police today.

Farmers` groups started gathering at the Sehore toll plaza on the highway early today. They erected barricades and stopped the traffic, causing a severe jam and inconvenience to the hundreds of commuters.

The protesters damaged the toll plaza property and even set some vehicles on fire.

When the police tried to stop them, the unruly mob resorted to stone pelting, prompting the police to resort to lathicharge and burst teargas shells.

The call for the road blockade was given on Thursday by farmer leaders, who were later arrested by the police. This in turn angered the protesters further.

The farmers, who started their 10-day protest on June 1 to press the demand for loan waivers and fair prices for their produce, turned violent after five farmers were killed on June 6 in a police firing in Mandsaur.

The violent protest had spread to neighbouring districts of Neemuch, Indore, Khargone, Ujjain, Shahjanhanpur, Sehore, Raisen and Harda in the last few days.

"The situation is under control," said Bhopal (North) Police Superintendent Arvind Saxena.

The state government yesterday conveyed to the Centre that five farmers were killed in Mandsaur in police firing, ending the confusion on who had fired at the protesters.

In a report submitted to the Union Home Ministry, the State Government said the protesting farmers, demanding loan waiver, had allegedly set ablaze 25 trucks and two police vans along the Mhow-Neemuch highway on Tuesday; police tried to control the mob with a lathicharge and then by lobbing tear gas, it said.
New Delhi: Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga on Friday posted a video which shows a Congress lawmaker urging her supporters to burn a local police station in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress MLA in question is Shakuntala Khatik, who represents the Karera Constituency in the Shivpuri district.

In the video, she is surrounded by her supporters and local residents and can be seen instigating them to burn the local police station.

The MLA was leading a protest march during which his supporters burnt the effigy of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the recent killing of farmers in police firing in Mandsaur.

In a bid to douse the fire, local police party poured water on the effigy during which the MLA was partially drenched.

Irked with this, the lawmaker sat on a protest and clashed with the policemen.

With the incident getting media attention, the Congress lawmaker later denied any wrongdoing and even blamed the police for misbehaving with her.

Reacting to the incident, BJP leader Nitesh Bajpai said the incident shows the dirty politics of Congress in the state.

Bagga, who had posted the brief video, also termed the incident as ''shameful''.

This comes days after a controversial video surfaced showing Congress MLA Jeetu Patwari indulging in altercation with sub divisional magistrate Sandeep Soni in Indore.

In the video, Soni was seen telling Patwari that he had promised him peaceful protest.

Will you now take responsibility for the flared-up violence, Soni could be seen asking Patwari in the video.

All this comes at a time when the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh led by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is desperately trying to restore peace in the aftermath of tragic killing of five farmers in police firing in Mandsaur.

Watch the 11-seconds-long video here.
Reports said that Infosys management was looking to sell stakes worth about Rs 28,000 crore.

Infosys says it has not plan to sell stakes of the company. (File Photo)

By Press Trust of India: IT major Infosys today denied media reports suggesting that its co-founders, including N R Narayana Murthy, were planning to sell their entire stake in the company.

"We would like to clarify reports in media speculating on plans of stake sale by the promoters. This speculation has already been denied categorically by the promoters," the company said in a statement.

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The country' s second largest IT services firm was reacting to a media report that Murthy and other co-founders Nandan Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan, S D Shibulal and K Dinesh were looking to sell their entire stake in the company worth about Rs 28,000 crore.

"The company further reiterates that it has no information on any such development. We would like to appeal to the media not to fuel such speculative stories as they are likely to harm the interests of the company and all its stakeholders," the statement said.

The report published by an English daily said the promoters wanted to sell their entire stake as they were unhappy over the manner in which the company was being run since their exit three years ago.

The co-founders have had open confrontations with the present management over various issues, including corporate governance and salary to top executives.

They had also shot off a letter to the company board in February questioning several decisions such as the severance package given to former Chief Operating Officer Rajiv Bansal.

Earlier in 2014, the co-founders and their family had sold 2.84 per cent stake in Infosys for Rs 6,484 crore.

They had also raised questions over chief executive Vishal Sikkas US$ 11 million remuneration hike.

Murthy had also expressed displeasure over the likely layoffs at the company and suggested that senior executives should take a pay cut to accommodate more lower-rung staff.

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--- ENDS ---
Mandsaur: An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) team on Friday left for Madhya Pradesh`s Mandsaur to meet the families of the farmers who were killed in police firing, but authorities said nobody would be allowed to visit the violence-hit district.

AAP leaders Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Sadhu Singh and Somnath Bharti reached Indore in the afternoon on their way to the tense Mandsaur.

But Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Manoj Singh said the AAP leaders would not be allowed to visit Mandsaur town, where curfew was partially lifted on Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"We will not allow anybody to visit Mandsaur. It will create law and order situation for us," Manoj Singh told IANS.

Five farmers, according to the government, were killed in police firing on Tuesday when hundreds of farmers staged protests, demanding debt relief and price hike of their produce.

However, farmers` association said that at least eight protesters were killed when the police opened fire at them.

The AAP said its leaders would meet the families of the victims to express their solidarity with them.
Chandigarh: A couple and their teenage son were killed on Friday when their car hit a divider on the national highway near Pipli in Haryana's Kurukshetra district, police said.

"The couple, aged above 40, and their son, about 15 years old, were killed in the mishap. A girl who was also in the car was injured. It appears that the man who was at the wheel fell asleep and lost control over the vehicle," a police official said over the phone from Kurukshetra.

"However, investigations are on to ascertain the exact cause of the accident," he said.

He said the accident occurred near Pipli in Kurukshetra on the Ambala-Delhi national highway.

"The Maruti Alto car bore a Chandigarh registration number and appeared to be headed towards Delhi," he said.
Kohima: Chairman of Naga rebel group NSCN-K, S S Khaplang, who had engineered many attacks on the security forces including the killing of 18 Army soldiers in Manipur, died tonight at Takka in Kachin state of Myanmar at the age of 77.

Official sources said that the leader of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) who had been ailing for quite sometime, died following a cardiac arrest.

Shangwang Shangyung Khaplang was a Hemi Naga from Myanmar and was based mostly in that country where the outfit maintains several camps.

Since 1980s, the outfit has engaged in subversive activities, including attacks on security forces, extortion and looting.

The NSCN-K was involved in the killing of 18 Army soldiers in an ambush in Manipur on June 4, 2015.

Following the Manipur ambush in 2015, the Indian Army carried out cross-border raids on NSCN-K camps located inside Myanmar killing several militants.

The ambush on the Army convoy was carried out by the group despite it being involved in peace negotiations with an interlocutor of the central government.

Subsequently, the government has snapped the dialogue and in September 2015, the NSCN-K was declared as an unlawful organisation for five years.

Born in April 1940 in Waktham village, east of Myanmar's Pangsau Pass, Khaplang joined the Naga nationalist movement as early as 1964 and was one of the key people in the formation of the NSCN.

However, Khaplang split and formed his own group NSCN(K) in 1988.

He formed the group following differences with the NSCN (IM) leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah. Swu died in June 2016 in a Delhi hospital.

Khaplang also entered into a ceasefire with the central government in 1997 but abrogated it on March 28, 2015.

Meanwhile, Naga Peoples' Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) Secretary General Neingulo Krome said the news of Khaplang's sudden demise has come as a "rude shock".

This was so especially at a time when the Naga people are extremely in need of elderly and experienced wisdom of their national movement leaders, to set right the course of the Naga destiny, which is being misinterpreted and re-interpreted in the present day scenario of internal conflicts, he said.

"We will always treasure and cherish his commitment to do what the upcoming Naga generation wants as the Naga national movement is for the well being of future Naga generation who should live in dignity and peace," he said in his condolence message.

There was no immediate reaction from the rebel group or key tribal bodies including Naga Hoho and Naga Mothers' Association.
Mumbai: Actress Katrina Kaif says her way of avoiding social media trolls is to ignore the negatives and focus on the well wishes of her fans and supporters.

Recently actresses like Priyanka Chopra and Fatima Sana Shaikh were at the receiving end of trolls for their outfits.

"Dangal" fame Fatima Sana Shaikh was trolled for posting a picture in a swimsuit during Ramadan while Priyanka was criticised for wearing a dress for her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When asked about how she handles negative comments, Katrina said, "My take on social media is take the positivity and avoid the criticism and negativity."

The actress, who will be next seen in "Jagga Jasoos", says one should ignore the trolls.

"That is what you should do, it's the simplest way (to deal with it). Sometimes you get good feedback and response, you know you have well wishers and supporters and that's what you should pay attention to and not the negativity."
New Delhi: Desi girl Priyanka Chopra is a headline maker and that we all know. But lately, she found herself in a rather tricky situation when she posted a picture of hers after landing in Mumbai.

As soon as she shared her picture on Instagram, people lost their mind over her alleged 'nose job'. The talented diva got trolled for going under the knife and alleged nose surgery.

However, PeeCee remains unfazed by such criticism and has refrained from reacting to trolls. Earlier, Shruti Haasan too got trolled for her alleged plastic surgery and maintained that she is not answerable to anyone.

Check out the picture here and some of the reactions:
New Delhi: Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor's rumored boyfriend Anand Ahuja reportedly threw a little low-key birthday bash for her recently.

The 32-year-old fashionista has always remained quiet about her personal life but, lately, she has started sharing Instagram posts with Anand.

Sonam and Anand have been publically spotted together time and again, be it vacations or family events. The 'Neerja' star also promotes his business venture which is a clothing brand 'Bhane'.

Anand took to Instagram to share an adorable boomerang of him and Sonam, where you can see the birthday girl cutting the cake while he smiles away.

Check out the post:

A post shared by anand ahuja (@anandahuja) on Jun 8, 2017 at 11:55pm PDT

Aww, isn't this sweet? Anand is one doting boyfriend and we too wish Sonam a very Happy Birthday.


New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the validity of the law making Aadhaar mandatory for allotment of PAN and filing of Income Tax(IT) returns but exempted those without it for now until the larger privacy issue is decided.

In effect, those who possess an Aadhaar card must link it to their Permanent Account Number(PAN) card and those who have enrolled and not yet got their Aadhaar card are also exempted from mandatory linkage and the penalising invalidation of their PANs if they don't link it.

The apex court while upholding the validity of a fresh provision in the Income Tax (IT) law making Aadhaar compulsory for allotment of PAN and filing of IT returns imposed a partial stay on it till its constitution bench decides the right to privacy issue connected with it.

Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making application for allotment of PAN with effect from July 1 this year.

A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, which upheld the legislative competence of the Parliament in enacting the law to this effect, said there was no conflict between the impugned provision of the Income Tax Act and the Aadhaar Act.

It said that PAN card without Aadhaar number would not be treated invalid till the Constitution bench decides the larger issue of Right to Privacy.

The bench said that previous transactions won't be affected or nullified with partial stay on the new law till privacy issue linked to Aadhaar is decided.

Further, the bench also clarified that there would be no retrospective implementation of the provision to invalidate the PAN for non-compliance of unique identification number under the Aadhaar scheme.

While reading the operative portion of the judgement, the bench said, "we are of the opinion that till Article 21 (concerning right to privacy) of the Constitution is decided by the Constitution bench, a partial stay is required (on section 139 AA of IT Act)."

Upholding the validity of Section 139AA of the IT Act subject to the outcome of the batch of petitions before its Constitution bench which is examining if Aadhaar scheme infringes on the Right to Privacy and if there is threat of data leakage, the bench said PAN holders already having Aadhaar have to link both.

The bench clarified that it has not touched upon the issue of Right to Privacy and other aspects that the Aadhaar scheme also affects the human dignity which has to be decided by the Constitution bench.

However, the bench asked the government to take appropriate steps to ensure there was no leakage of data from the Aadhaar scheme as apprehensions have been expressed that there was a possibility of the data being compromised.

"The government to take proper and appropriate steps and the scheme in this regard has to be devised at the earliest till confidence among the citizens that the data would not be leaked," the bench said.

The bench rejected the contention that since the apex court has been passing orders time and again on the issue of Aadhaar, government should not have come out with a provision in the IT law to make UIDAI mandatory for the purpose of allotment of PAN and linking it with the ITR.

"We have rejected this (argument). We have also rejected that it violates Article 19 (1) (g) and Article 14 of the Constitution," the bench said.

The court had on May 4 reserved the verdict on a batch of petitions challenging section 139AA of the I-T Act, which was introduced through the latest budget and the Finance Act, 2017.

The Centre had earlier said that the programme of PAN had become suspect as it could be faked, while Aadhaar was a "secure and robust" system by which the identity of an individual could not be faked.

While opposing the government's move, the petitioners, including CPI leader Binoy Viswam, have contended before the bench that the Centre cannot "belittle" the apex court's 2015 order holding the unique identification number as voluntary.

They had argued that government should not have enacted section 139AA in the Act to make Aadhaar mandatory for PAN as the apex court's five-judge bench order was clear that Aadhaar was voluntary and not mandatory.

However, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had contended that Aadhaar was made mandatory for allotment of PAN to weed out fake cards which were used for terror financing and circulation of black money.

Rohatgi had said that with the implementation of Aadhaar, the government had saved over Rs 50,000 crore on various schemes to benefit the poor as well as pension schemes.

The Centre had also told the court that fake PAN cards were being used to "divert funds" to shell companies.

The Supreme Court had observed that it was yet to be "tested" whether Aadhaar violated protection of life and personal liberty granted under Article 21 of the Constitution, which was pending hearing for an authoritative pronouncement by a five-judge Constitution Bench.
New Delhi: Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member from Telangana Palvai Govardhan Reddy died early today after suffering a heart attack while travelling in Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. He was 80.

His body will be brought to his New Delhi residence, where it will kept today, and will be taken to Hyderabad, where he will be cremated tomorrow.

According to family sources, Reddy, who was accompanied by his wife, was going by car to Kullu to attend a parliamentary committee meeting when he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Reddy was five-time MLA from Andhra Pradesh.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed deep sorrow and grief at the untimely demise of the veteran Congress leader.

"He was a very seasoned parliamentarian and has richly contributed to the proceedings, both in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament, of which he remained member from time to time in his long span of political career. In his death, the Congress Party has lost a great parliamentarian and a leader," he said.

Azad also expressed his deepest condolences to the members of the bereaved family.
By Press Trust of India: By Sajjad Hussain and K J M Varma

Islamabad/Beijing, Jun 9 (PTI) The Islamic State terror group has claimed that it had killed two Chinese hostages, including a woman, who were abducted by armed gunmen from Pakistans restive Balochistan province recently.

The hostages were studying Urdu language at a local teaching center in the provincial capital of Quetta when they were forcibly kidnapped by unknown gunmen last month.

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Another Chinese woman had escaped the abduction.

The ISIS on its propaganda news agency Amaq uploaded a statement in Arabic yesterday, saying it had killed the two abducted Chinese nationals.

Confirming reports of the killing of its nationals, China today said the murders have not been connected to China- Pakistan Economic Corridor but asserted that such risks are unavoidable as its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) goes global.

China had worked closely with Pakistan to rescue them but "the two may have unfortunately been killed", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in Beijing, stating that Pakistan has informed China about their deaths.

This incident will not have any connection with the BRI, nor with the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting being held in Astana, Hua said.

China has deployed hundreds of its workers to work for the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is being opposed by the Baloch nationalists.

Hua said contrary to reports the two were not married and hailed from different provinces in China.

Pakistan pays great attention to the protection of Chinese citizens in the institutions there and made great efforts for their security, she said.

After this incident, the Pakistan side had made their utmost efforts to rescue the hostage. Pakistan has also pledged to continue to take necessity actions to protect the Chinese citizens and institutions in the country, she said.

She, however, said Chinese people should be prepared to take risks as the multi-billion BRI spreads to different parts of the country. "As per BRI we should be prepared for risks if want to go global," she said.

"The world today is far from tranquil. In the process of promoting BRI it is inevitable that we will counter all kind of security issues and it should be taken seriously all the countries promoting economic cooperation," she said.

The ISIS claim came a day after the Pakistan Army said that it had carried out an operation against ISIS in Balochistan, killing at least 12 militants.

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Local media had reported that the operation was launched after intelligence reports suggested that the militants were hiding there with the Chinese hostages.

Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist and nationalist insurgencies in Balochistan since 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

ISIS has been making inroads in Pakistan with the help of its ties with local militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. However, the government has largely downplayed the presence of the dreaded terror outfit. PTI SH MRJ ZH AKJ ZH

--- ENDS ---
Ahmedabad: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has been gifted a 125 kg, 16-feet-long soap by a newly-formed Dalit outfit in Gujarat.

In May, a news report had said that soaps, scents, and shampoos were distributed to the Musahar Dalit families in Mainpur Deenapatti village of Kushinagar district ahead of the UP CM's visit. The villagers had received two soaps and a sachet of shampoo and instructions to clean themselves before attending the public meeting.

Now, Dr Ambedkar Vechan Pratibandh Samiti said that with this 16-ft-long soap, the UP CM can bathe himself before meeting the Dalits, reported india.com.

The attitude of Yogi Adiyanath indicates his manuvadi (casteist) approach. He needs to cleanse himself of these impurities, Kirit Rahtod and Kantilal Parmar, the members of the outfit said.

The Rs 3,200 worth soap is embossed with an image of Gautam Buddha.

Meanwhile, Samiti member Martin Macwan told reporters that the idea was to mark the 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar who had embraced Buddhism with a view to fight casteism in the Indian society.

After attaining enlightenment 2,500 years ago, Buddha had taken Sunit, a scavenger, as his disciple at Kushinagar near Varanasi to protest the prevailing caste system. It is the same place, the UP chief minister recently chose to distribute soaps and shampoo before visiting the Dalits. It indicates that Yogi, under the influence of Manusmriti, wants to reverse what Buddha has done. We feel that Yogis casteist ideologies can be cleaned by Buddhas message. We can fight the ideologies of saffron groups and Yogi through the ideologies of Buddha, The Indian Express quoted the founder of NGO Navsarjan as saying.
Lucknow: Two members of Bhim Army were on Friday arrested in connection with the violence here on May 9 in which a police chowki and 20 vehicles were set ablaze, police said.

The accused, identified as Kamal Walia and Rohit Raj were arrested by a joint team of the crime branch and local police.

The duo were wanted in connection with violence and arson on May 9 when Bhim Army allegedly activists attacked a police party and mediapersons in Ramnagar village, according to police reports.

The district police had declared a cash reward of Rs 12,000 on them, the reports said, adding they were sent to jail.

On May 9, a police chowki was burnt, over 20 vehicles torched while several instances of stone-pelting and clashes were reported from across Saharanpur.

Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar, the main accused in the Saharanpur caste violence, was nabbed from Himachal Pradesh yesterday after having evaded arrest for nearly a month.
Lucknow: The UP High School Result, UP Board 10th Results 2017, UP Board High School Results 2017, UP Board 10th Class Results 2017 will be released on Friday at 12.30 pm.

The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) will release the declare UP 10th Result, UP Result, UP 10th Class Result 2017 on official wesbites upresults.nic.in or upmspresults.up.nic.in.

Around 34,04,571 students are waiting for the UP Board Results 2017, UP Board Website, Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad Results 2017.

How to check UP Board HSC Result, UP 10th High School Result:

- Open the above mentioned official website

- Click on UP 10th Result 2017 link

- Enter your roll number, date of birth, other details

- Result will be displayed on screen

- Take a print out for future reference
Darjeeling: Opposing Mamata Banerjee's policies, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters on Thursday indulged in violence and arson while attempting to march to the venue of a cabinet meeting presided by the West Bengal CM.

Accusing the All India Trinamool Congress government of trying to disrupt peace in Darjeeling by its "divide and rule policy", the GJM called a 12-hour shutdown in the hills on Friday.

In a bid to tackle the violence, the Army was yesterday deployed in the restive Darjeeling town, which is at present full of tourists.

Around 45,000 tourists are stranded in the northern West Bengal hills due to the violence.

Meanwhile, the protesters damaged police vehicles and set some of them ablaze, prompting the police to fire teargas and lathicharge the violent GJM supporters who are opposing "imposition" of Bengali language in schools in the hills.

The hill town had remained peaceful for several months as the GJM-spearheaded agitation for a separate state of Gorkhaland had taken a backseat.

Fresh violence erupted last afternoon with the Bimal Gurung-led party calling a protest march towards the Raj Bhavan, where the cabinet meeting was taking place.

The GJM supporters tried to break the barricades put up by the police and hurled bricks at them. They also damaged a number of police vehicles and set some of them on fire, police sources said, adding that some security personnel were injured.

An Army spokesperson said, "A requisition from the state government was received. Two Army columns (each consisting of around 80 personnel) based in Darjeeling have moved out."

The GJM supporters were protesting among other issues alleged "imposition of Bengali language in the schools in the hills".

This is the first time that the chief minister is holding a cabinet meeting in Darjeeling. Banerjee said the state government would set up a new secretariat here.

The GJM supporters staged a dharna and raised slogans against the chief minister.

Shopkeepers at some places, including the Mall, downed shutters while the traffic came to a halt, causing inconvenience to tourists.

The GJM has accused the TMC government of trying to disrupt peace in Darjeeling by its "divide and rule policy" and called a 12-hour shutdown in the hills on Friday.

"The TMC is systematically trying to use police and its goons to disrupt peace in the hills. Today (Thursday) the police resorted to unprovoked baton charge and firing of tear gas shells," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri told PTI.

"We condemn the state-sponsored violence. We have decided to call a 12-hour shutdown in the hills tomorrow (Friday). If the situation deteriorates further, then we may go for an indefinite shutdown," he said.

Giri said the GJM would never compromise on the fight for the identity of the people of the hills.

Asked about the GJM's agitation programme, the chief minister said, "They have the democratic right. Let them do it. They have no issue. Let there be competition for development."

On the GJM's opposition to the alleged "imposition of Bengali language" in schools in the hills, she said that Bengali was not made a compulsory subject.

"Rather, we gave recognition to Nepali language," she said.

"The people in the hill areas have been demanding development. Nothing had happened during the Left rule of 34 years, but things have changed after our government took over.

"We have done so many development works here. I am proud to say that I am the first chief minister to visit the hills for more than 100 times," she said.

CPI(M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra said, "The condition in the hills is a matter of grave concern. The Darjeeling policy of our chief minister is just a replica of the Kashmir policy adopted by our prime minister."

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Adbul Mannan, accused Banerjee of betraying the people of the hills through false promise.

"What the chief minister has been doing in the hills for the last two years is nothing but a political gimmick. The Gorkhas are our brothers, they fight for the nation and sacrifice their life. The CM is using a divide and rule policy in the hills," he alleged.

(With PTI inputs)
Darjeeling: A day after thousands of angry Gorkha Janmukti Morcha activists indulged in arson and pelted stones at police in Darjeeling, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday described the 12-hour-long shutdown by the GJM as "illegal", vowing to take legal action against those who participate in it.

The Army today staged a flag march in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, and Kurseong.

The strike, however, almost stalled life in the hills this morning with most of the shops, eateries and markets remaining closed and vehicles off the roads. However, there were no reports of fresh violence in the hills, where the situation continued to be tense.

"Strike, bandh cannot be called for every other issue. This cannot be a message of peace," said Banerjee, who decided to stay put in the hills after yesterday's clash between GJM supporters and police forcing the deployment of Army here.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung, meanwhile, projected himself as the "chief minister of the hills" and challenged Mamata Banerjee to stop the agitation in the area.

The GJM leader claimed that it was his writ that "ran in the hills".

"As the chief minister of West Bengal she is trying to show her strength. But she must not forget that I am an elected member of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). I am the chief minister of the hills, I challenge her to stop the agitation in the hills," Gurung said.

Gurung also said he will directly talk to the Centre about the deployment of Army and the alleged police atrocities in the hills.

"I will talk to the Centre, we are an ally of NDA. We will give them all the details of police atrocities on the innocent people of the hills," he said.

A Defence Ministry spokesperson said in Kolkata that six Army columns have been deployed -- three in Darjeeling, two in Kalimpong and one in Kurseong. Each column comprises of 43 personnel.

Three companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have also been deployed to ensure peace.

Thousands of tourists are facing a trying time in getting out of various pockets of the hills, with car and jeep owners fleecing them against the backdrop of the shutdown that started from 6 am on Friday.

The GJM has called the shutdown to protest "indiscriminate police action on the peaceful demonstration" by its workers.

The Chief Minister walked around the area early this morning and took stock of the situation.

"I have been roaming around the area since morning. I have seen the manner in which the vehicles have been set on fire. There was no issue or any incident. We want peace and development in the hills. The Army has already started route march. Law will take its own course," she said.

Assuring the tourists stranded in Darjeeling town that the government will help them in all possible ways to return to the plains, Banerjee said, "I will ask the tourists not to worry, the government is there for you. We have full support for tourists specially. There will be seven-eight buses which will take you to Siliguri."

GJM supporters during the clash yesterday tried to break the barricades put up by the police and hurled bricks at them following a police lathicharge. The GJM supporters damaged police vehicles and set some of them ablaze as the state government held a Cabinet meeting at the Raj Bhawan.

The GJM supporters were protesting among other issues alleged "imposition of Bengali language in the schools in the hills".

On what kind of action the government was planning against GJM chief Bimal Gurung, who led yesterday's protest march towards the Raj Bhavan, Banerjee said, "Police will do their work and law will take its own course. Nobody is above law. And government is very tough. They will take action against those who are doing this vandalism."

Last night, the government filed an FIR under non-bailable sections at Darjeeling Sadar Police Station against Gurung and GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.

"Situation is still good here.. This is happening only because of a few people... Government will take legal action against them."

She further said that the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) under Gurung has failed to carry out any development work in the Hills and now when their term is scheduled to be over next month, they have started "torturing the public".

"They (GJM) were in power since five years but have failed to do any development work for the people of the hills. Their term will be over by July and there is only one month left for the GTA elections. And because they have failed to do anything for the public they have started this torture," Banerjee charged.

"Government was soft and had given them all kind of support but now government will be very tough after what has happened yesterday. The government will not going to tolerate all these," she said.

Stating that the state government has full support for the people from the area, she urged them not to support Bimal Gurung on this issue.

The GJM in the name of their movement were scaring away tourists from the hills thus driving away income from the area, she added.

"They (GJM) are driving away 'Lakshmi' (Goddess of wealth) from the Hills. I cannot understand what kind of movement they are upto. We are with the brothers and sisters of the hills and will give them full help and ask them not to give support to Bimal Gurung," Banerjee said.

(With Agency inputs)
Darjeeling: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday came down heavily on the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and warned the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters of stern action even as the Left Front has demanded an all-party meet on the hill issue.

The CM said Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has failed to carry out any development work in the Hill and now when their term is scheduled to be over next month, they have started torturing the public.

"Government was soft and had given them all kind of support but now government will be very tough after what happened yesterday. The government will not tolerate all these," she said.

"What happened in Darjeeling yesterday is so abhorrent that it cannot be described in words. In spite of that, Darjeeling is peaceful; I wish the people of the hills remain happy and peaceful," said Banerjee.

Attacking those who were indulging in activities aiming to create chaos in the area, Mamata added that such incidents only crept up when elections are around the corner in the state.

"This year more than one lakh tourists have come to Darjeeling - both from other states and other countries. One can only stage such protests during this time, if one is bereft of good ideas. For this reason, people are very angry with such protests," she said.

Meanwhile, situation continued to be tense in the hills on Friday even as no fresh incident of violence was reported after GJM supporters clashed with police, damaged police vehicles and set some of them ablaze on Thursday.

The 12-hour strike called by the GJM on Friday has almost stalled life in the hills with most of the shops, eateries and markets remaining closed and vehicles off the roads.

The Army has staged a flag march in Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Kurseong after angry GJM activists demanding a separate Gorkhaland state indulged in arson and pelted stones at police, injuring 15, in Darjeeling, on Thursday.

A defence ministry spokesperson said in Kolkata that six Army columns have been deployed -- three in Darjeeling, two in Kalimpong and one in Kurseong. Each column comprises of 43 personnel.

Three companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have also been deployed to ensure peace.

The GJM supporters are protesting against the alleged imposition of Bengali in the schools of the hills. The agitation arose from an announcement made by Banerjee last week that Bengali would be taught compulsorily up to Class 10 in the state schools.
Baku: Azeri Energy Minister Natig Aliyev died on Friday, a day after being transferred to hospital in Istanbul for treatment for a heart complaint, Azeri news agency APA-Economics reported.

The 69-year-old veteran executive in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan`s energy sector was president of state energy company SOCAR and chaired the company`s board of directors between 1993 and 2005.

He was appointed energy and industry minister in 2005 and became energy minister in 2013.

Aliyev represented Azerbaijan in its negotiations with foreign companies over major energy contracts and took part in talks with OPEC members on global oil production cuts.
Beijing: Pakistan has told China that two Chinese teachers kidnapped by Islamic State militants in Pakistan are likely dead, a foreign ministry spokeswoman in Beijing said on Friday, adding the government was trying to get more details.

Islamic State has claimed that its fighters killed the two teachers, who were kidnapped on May 24 in Pakistan`s Baluchistan province, where China is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects. The two, a man and a woman, were kidnapped in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, by armed men pretending to be policemen.

"According to the most recent information Pakistan has provided, these two kidnapped Chinese citizens have probably already been murdered," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.

China is trying to verify this information and is also ascertaining details about the victims, she added.

"China resolutely opposes and strongly condemns all forms of terrorism, and supports Pakistan`s efforts to fight terrorism and maintain domestic security and stability," Hua said.

Pakistan had gone all out in its rescue efforts and had promised to continue to do its utmost to protect Chinese citizens, she added.

The kidnapping was a rare security incident involving Chinese nationals in Pakistan, where Beijing has pledged $57 billion under its massive "Belt and Road" initiative to build rail, road and power infrastructure.

China says Pakistan, a long-time political and military ally, is a major part of its plans to build a modern day "Silk Road" network of land and maritime routes to connect Asia with Africa and Europe. Key parts of the infrastructure will be in Baluchistan, including the new port of Gwadar, which will be linked to western China under current plans.

The killing of the teachers was claimed by Islamic State`s Amaq news agency on Thursday.

"Islamic State fighters killed two Chinese people they had been holding in Baluchistan province, southwest Pakistan," Amaq said.

A Baluchistan government spokesman said officials were in the process of confirming whether the report was correct.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan`s interior ministry or its foreign office.

GREATER CAUTION

Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times, published by the official People`s Daily, said in an editorial on Friday China would never bow in the face of terror, but also said Chinese people should exercise greater caution abroad, especially in more remote areas.

"They also need to raise their ability to protect themselves, and as much as possible put distance between themselves and real danger," it said.

The claim of the killings sparked anger on Chinese social media, with some strongly anti-Muslim comments.

Islamic State, which controls some territory in neighbouring Afghanistan, has struggled to establish a presence in Pakistan. However, it has claimed several major attacks, including one on the deputy chairman of the Senate last month in Baluchistan, in which 25 people were killed.

On Thursday, Pakistan`s military published details of a three-day raid on a militant hideout in a cave not far from Quetta, saying it had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists" from a banned local Islamist group and prevented Islamic State from gaining a "foothold" in Baluchistan.

China`s ambassador to Pakistan and other officials have often urged Islamabad to improve security, especially in Baluchistan.

The numbers of Pakistanis studying Mandarin has skyrocketed since 2014, when President Xi Jinping signed off on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Consequently, any attack on Chinese interests in Pakistan would come as an embarrassment to Islamabad, which greatly prizes its relationship with Beijing. The two refer to each other as "all weather friends".

Security in Baluchistan has improved in recent years, but separatists, who view infrastructure projects as a ruse to steal natural resources, killed 10 Pakistani workers building a road near Gwadar this month.

China has also expressed concern about militants in Pakistan linking up with what China views as separatists in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where hundreds have been killed in violence in recent years.
Madhyamanchal: A notorious French criminal who earned the nickname "bikini killer" for a string of murders throughout Asia in the 1970s, was in a Nepali hospital Friday, where he is expected to undergo open heart surgery, sources said.

Charles Sobhraj, 73, who is currently serving a life sentence, was taken to hospital for tests, his lawyer and mother-in-law Sakuntala Thapa told AFP.

The ageing conman -- who has been implicated in more than 20 killings -- needs to have one of the valves in his heart replaced, said Jyotendra Sharma, director of Sahid Gangalal National Heart Centre, where the surgery will take place.

It is not clear whether Sobhraj will remain in hospital until the surgery or be returned to the prison clinic.

Thapa said a decision would be made later on Friday.

"I have requested the jail authority to keep him in doctor`s observation for a week in hospital before the surgery," she said.

Sobhraj was taken to hospital in late May after suffering a heart attack and was diagnosed with a weak valve that needed to be corrected through surgery.

His lawyer said that Sobhraj wanted to return to France for the surgery -- a plea that he also made in a rare telephone interview with the Indian Express newspaper earlier this week.

But prison doctor Kedar Narshingh KC said he thought Sobhraj, who also earned the sobriquet "The Serpent" for his repeated identity thefts and escapes from justice, was angling to get released from jail early.

"He is spreading rumours despite our intensive care and treatment. It is suspicious and could be a ploy to get released from the jail," said the doctor.

The French embassy in Kathmandu told AFP there were "no ongoing discussions regarding the transfer of Sobhraj to France" for treatment or to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Sobhraj a French citizen of Vietnamese and Indian parentage -- was sentenced by a Nepal court in 2004 for the killing of US tourist Connie Joe Bronzich in 1975.

It was the first time he had been convicted of murder, despite being linked to string of poisonings, killings and robberies of backpackers across Asia, which earned him worldwide notoriety.

Two of his victims were found wearing only bikinis.

The law first caught up with him in India in 1976, when he was jailed for culpable homicide -- a lesser charge than murder -- for poisoning a French tourist and killing an Israeli man.

He spent 21 years in jail in India`s capital with a brief 22-day break in 1986 when he escaped by reportedly offering the guards cakes, cookies and grapes laced with sleeping pills.

In 2014, he was handed a second life sentence in Nepal for the killing of Canadian backpacker Laurent Carriere.
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Updating with Pak Foreign Offices statement)

By Sajjad Hussain and K J M Varma

Islamabad/Beijing, Jun 9 (PTI) The Islamic State terror group has claimed that it had killed two Chinese hostages, including a woman, who were abducted by armed gunmen from Pakistans restive Balochistan province recently.

The hostages were studying Urdu language at a local teaching center in the provincial capital of Quetta when they were forcibly kidnapped by unknown gunmen last month.

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Another Chinese woman had escaped the abduction.

The ISIS on its propaganda news agency Amaq uploaded a statement in Arabic yesterday, saying it had killed the two abducted Chinese nationals.

Confirming reports of the killing of its nationals, China today said the murders have not been connected to China- Pakistan Economic Corridor but asserted that such risks are unavoidable as its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) goes global.

China had worked closely with Pakistan to rescue them but "the two may have unfortunately been killed", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in Beijing, stating that Pakistan has informed China about their deaths.

This incident will not have any connection with the BRI, nor with the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting being held in Astana, Hua said.

China has deployed hundreds of its workers to work for the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is being opposed by the Baloch nationalists.

Hua said contrary to reports the two were not married and hailed from different provinces in China.

Pakistan pays great attention to the protection of Chinese citizens in the institutions there and made great efforts for their security, she said.

After this incident, the Pakistan side had made their utmost efforts to rescue the hostage. Pakistan has also pledged to continue to take necessity actions to protect the Chinese citizens and institutions in the country, she said.

She, however, said Chinese people should be prepared to take risks as the multi-billion BRI spreads to different parts of the country. "As per BRI we should be prepared for risks if want to go global," she said.

"The world today is far from tranquil. In the process of promoting BRI it is inevitable that we will counter all kind of security issues and it should be taken seriously all the countries promoting economic cooperation," she said.

Pakistan Foreign Office said the government is working to confirm authenticity of the reports of the killing of two Chinese nationals.

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"We are in constant contact with the Chinese Government. Pakistan remains committed to fight terrorism in all its forms. Dastardly acts of terrorism cannot weaken our resolve to eliminate this menace," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

It said Chinese living in Pakistan are "our honored guests and brothers, and we will continue to take all measures to ensure their safety."

The ISIS claim came a day after the Pakistan Army said that it had carried out an operation against ISIS in Balochistan, killing at least 12 militants.

Local media had reported that the operation was launched after intelligence reports suggested that the militants were hiding there with the Chinese hostages.

Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist and nationalist insurgencies in Balochistan since 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

ISIS has been making inroads in Pakistan with the help of its ties with local militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. However, the government has largely downplayed the presence of the dreaded terror outfit. PTI SH MRJ ZH AKJ PMS

--- ENDS ---
Wolfenbuettel: German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Friday called for increased diplomatic efforts to resolve the Qatar crisis, and said neighbouring Arab states should lift a land, sea and air blockade imposed on the small Gulf state this week.



"We are convinced that now is the hour of diplomacy and we must talk to each other," Gabriel told reporters after a meeting Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in Wolfenbuettel, Germany.



"Along with our American colleagues but above all our colleagues in the region, we must try to find solutions, especially lifting the sea and air blockades," he said.



Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar this week over its alleged support of terrorism, a charge Qatar dismissed on Friday as baseless.



Sheikh Mohammed said the blockade of Qatar broke international law and described the severing of land, air and sea links to his country as "collective punishment."



"These procedures that were taken (are) clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law. They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one," he told reporters.



Earlier on Friday, the four Arab nations issued a list of dozens of people designated as terrorists with alleged links to Qatar.



Sheikh Mohammed said that list included journalists and other individuals who had no relationship to Qatar, including some who had never visited the country.



"What is the crime that Qatar committed to deserve this collective punishment that violates all international laws?" he said.



Gabriel said he was optimistic that diplomatic efforts by the United States, Kuwait, the European Union and Germany could defuse the crisis, saying "it must not end in further escalations that include violence."



Turkey and Saudi Arabia were among countries in the region that had previously supported organisations viewed by Germany as dangerous, he said.



Germany would pursue its concerns about indirect support for militant groups by individuals living in Qatar via its intelligence services, Gabriel said, adding that he believed Doha would respect its agreements with Berlin.
Astana: India, along with Pakistan, was on Friday granted full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at the influential Eurasian political, economic and military bloc`s summit here.



Expressing his gratitude to the SCO for accepting India`s membership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the forum represented 42 per cent of the world`s population, 20 per cent of its GDP and 22 per cent of its territory.



"Though we have become a member of the SCO only today, our relations with the region have been historic," Modi said.



He said energy, education, transport, agriculture, security, development and trade would be the top drivers in India`s ties with the SCO.



According to Modi, the SCO will also be a powerful partner in the international fight against terrorism.



Speaking after Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated India on getting membership in the inter-governmental organisation.



The formation of the SCO was announced in June 2001. India has been an observer to the forum since 2005.



Besides India and Pakistan, other members of the regional bloc are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.


New Delhi: Iran's oil exports to the West surged in May to their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in early 2016 and almost caught up with volumes exported to Asia, a source familiar with Iranian oil exports said.

Iran, which used to be OPEC`s second biggest oil exporter, has been raising output since 2016 to recoup market share lost to regional rivals including Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

While many Asian nations continued to purchase oil from Iran during sanctions, Western nations halted imports, halving Iran`s overall exports to as little as one million barrels per day (bpd).

Last month, Iran exported about 1.1 million bpd to Europe including Turkey, almost reaching pre-sanction levels and only slightly below the 1.2 million bpd supplied to Asia, the source told Reuters.

Iran`s exports to Asia last month were the lowest since February 2016, Reuters` calculations showed.

Oil exports to Asia fell as South Korea and Japan stepped up oil condensate purchases and bought less oil, said the source, who asked not to be identified as the information is confidential.

"Iran`s condensate parked in floating storage has almost been exhausted because of higher purchases by Japan and Korea," the source said.

Exports to Asia were also hit by India`s decision to cut annual purchases from Iran by a fifth for the fiscal year to March 2018.

After the lifting of sanctions, Tehran added new clients such as Litasco and Lotos and won back customers such as Total, ENI, Tupras, Repsol, Cepsa and Hellenic Petroleum.

OPEC member Iran was allowed a small production increase under a December deal to limit output.

Iran`s overall May oil production totalled 3.9 million bpd, the source said.

Iran is currently producing about 200,000 bpd of West Karoun grade, which the nation blends with other Iranian heavy grades for export, he said.
Ankara: Iran`s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday attacks in Tehran by Islamic State that killed at least 17 people will increase hatred towards the United States and Saudi Arabia, state TV reported.



Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini`s mausoleum in Tehran on Wednesday. Scores of people were wounded.



"It will not damage our nation`s determination to fight terrorism ... but will only increase hatred for the governments of the United States and their stooges in the region like Saudis," Khamenei said in a message read at the funeral of victims of the attacks.



Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks and threatened more against Iran`s majority Shi`ite population, seen by the hardline Sunni militants as heretics.



Iranian authorities said on Thursday five of the attackers were Iranian nationals recruited by Islamic State to carry out the assaults inside the tightly controlled Shi`ite Iran.



Iran`s powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps blamed the assault on regional rival Saudi Arabia and has threatened revenge. Sunni Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the attacks.



The assaults have further fuelled tension between Riyadh and Tehran as they vie for control of the Gulf and influence in the wider Islamic world.



Iran is one of the powers leading the fight against Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria
Cairo: Islamic State has killed two Chinese teachers it kidnapped in Pakistan`s southwestern Baluchistan province last month, the militant group`s Amaq news agency said on Thursday, in a blow to Islamabad`s efforts to safeguard Chinese workers.

China`s Foreign Ministry said it was "gravely concerned" about the report and working to verify the information.

Armed men pretending to be policemen kidnapped the two language teachers in the provincial capital, Quetta, on May 24. The kidnapping was a rare security incident involving Chinese nationals in Pakistan, where Beijing has pledged $57 billion for its "Belt and Road" plan.

"Islamic State fighters killed two Chinese people they had been holding in Baluchistan province, southwest Pakistan," Amaq said.

A Baluchistan government spokesman said officials were in the process of confirming "whether the report is true".

China`s Foreign Ministry said it noted the report and expressed "grave concern".

"We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," the ministry said in a short statement.

"The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities," it said.

"The Chinese side is firmly opposed to the acts of kidnapping civilians in any form, as well as terrorism and extreme violence in any form."

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan`s interior ministry or its foreign office.

Islamic State, which controls some territory in neighbouring Afghanistan, has struggled to establish a presence in Pakistan. But it has claimed several major attacks, including one on the deputy chairman of the Senate last month in Baluchistan, in which 25 people were killed.

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan`s military published details of a three-day raid on a militant hideout in a cave not far from Quetta, saying it had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists" from a banned local Islamist group and prevented Islamic State from gaining a "foothold" in Baluchistan.

China`s ambassador to Pakistan and other officials have often urged Islamabad to improve security, especially in Baluchistan, where China is building a new port and funding roads to link its western regions with the Arabian Sea.

The numbers of Pakistanis studying Mandarin has skyrocketed since 2014, when President Xi Jinping signed off on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, pledging to invest $57 billion in Pakistani road, rail and power infrastructure.

Security in Baluchistan has improved in recent years.

However, separatists, who view the project as a ruse to steal natural resources, killed 10 Pakistani workers building a road near the new port of Gwadar this month, a key part of the economic corridor.

China has also expressed concern about militants in Pakistan linking up with what China views as separatists in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where hundreds have been killed in violence in recent years.
Dubai: Islamic State (IS) threatened attacks in Saudi Arabia after the militant group claimed responsibility for assaults in Tehran that killed at least 17 people, Site Intelligence monitoring group reported on Friday.

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini`s mausoleum in Tehran on Wednesday. Scores of people were also wounded.

IS claimed responsibility and threatened more attacks against Iran`s majority Shi`ite population, seen by the hardline Sunni militants as heretics.

In a video that appeared to have been recorded before the attack on Tehran, five masked fighters were shown threatening Shiites in Iran as well as the Saudi Arabian government saying their turn "will come".

"Allah permitting, this brigade will be the first of jihad in Iran, and we ask our brothers the Muslims to follow us, as the fire that was ignited will not be put out, Allah permitting," one of the masked fighters said, according to SITE.

At the end of the video, he sent a message to the Saudi government.

"Know that after Iran, your turn will come. By Allah, we will strike you in your own homes... We are the agents of nobody. We obey Allah and His Messenger, and we are fighting for the sake of this religion, not for the sake of Iran or the Arabian Peninsula."

IS, which controls territory in Syria and Iraq, had carried on attacks on Saudi security forces as well as deadly bombings and shootings that target the kingdom`s Shi`ites in the past.

Iranian authorities said five of the attackers were Iranian nationals recruited by IS, while Iran`s powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps blamed the assault on regional rival Saudi Arabia and has threatened revenge. Sunni Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the attacks.

Tensions have been high in the Middle East since Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the accusation.

On Friday, the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a security notice to U.S. citizens recommending that they "exercise caution in places frequented by foreigners due to the continuing risk of terrorist attacks... across the Kingdom."
Tokyo: Japan passed a law Friday that allows 83-year-old Emperor Akihito to step down, setting the stage for its first imperial abdication in more than two centuries.

Here are five things to know about Japan`s royals:

The Japanese imperial family is believed to be the world`s oldest, with a myth-filled history that dates back more than 2,600 years.

Akihito is the 125th emperor since Emperor Jimmu, said to be a descendant of the legendary sun goddess Amaterasu.

Emperors have played a crucial role in the country`s native Shinto religion, conducting various annual rites and prayers for the prosperity of the nation.

The greatest threat to the imperial family`s long history came with Japan`s defeat in World War II.

Some in the Allied camp wanted to end the monarchy in whose name Japanese armies marched through Asia-Pacific. But US General Douglas MacArthur, who led the post-war occupation, called for it to be retained, though its power was greatly curbed.

The current US-imposed constitution took away the emperor`s semidivine status and turned him into a national "symbol" as part of a radical democratisation.

Unlike in some countries with royal families, there is no republican movement in Japan and the emperor and royal family have won the admiration of the vast majority of the country.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko journey to sites of natural disasters to console victims, most notably after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Akihito -- the son of wartime emperor Hirohito -- has repeatedly warned that Japan must not downplay its 20th-century militarism and actions in World War II. His remarks have been seen as a rebuke to the nationalist stance of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and likeminded conservatives.

The family operates under hereditary, male-only succession rules, although there have been eight empresses in past centuries.

Upon the abdication of Akihito, his oldest son Crown Prince Naruhito will assume the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Naruhito`s younger brother, Prince Akishino, is next in line. The only other male heir, 10-year-old Prince Hisahito, Akishino`s son, is third in line to the throne.

If Hisahito only has daughters, the family is likely to face a succession crisis unless laws are changed.

The scarcity of young men in the family has prompted talk of alternatives, including letting women ascend the throne, though traditionalists abhor the idea.

Some have suggested that female members of the family who marry commoners should stop losing their royal status -- as will happen to Akihito`s granddaughter Princess Mako when she weds her college sweetheart.

Others advocate expanding the family to include distant relatives.

Parliament has called on the government to "consider" plans to allow female members to stay in the royal family even after their marriage with commoners.
Dawei: Heartbroken relatives gathered Friday for the funeral rites of the first victims of a military plane crash off Myanmar`s southern coast, as search teams battled heavy rains and churning waves to find scores more people presumed lost at sea.

Most of the 31 dead retrieved from the Andaman Sea so far have been women and children after a fraught search by navy ships, planes and helicopters hampered by sweeping rains.

A total of 122 people were on board the Chinese-made Shaanxi Y8 military aircraft when it crashed on Wednesday during a routine flight from the southern city of Myeik to Myanmar`s commercial hub of Yangon.

Hundreds gathered in a cemetery outside Dawei town on Friday afternoon to bid goodbye to loved ones whose bodies had been pulled from the water the previous day on San Hlan beach, a two hour drive away.

Chanting from Buddhist monks filled a hall used for the ceremonies as 10 flimsy wooden coffins were laid out.

One woman fainted and had to be carried out and many others broke down wailing as the service went on.

Mourners then moved outside and watched as black smoke from the cremated coffins poured out of nearby towers, drifting across the sky.

"My husband identified my nephew`s body. I`m so sorry," said a tearful Khine Zar Win, who lost her youngest brother, his wife and two-year-old nephew in the plane crash.

Another mourner, Aye Aye, said five members of her friend`s family were killed in the crash.

"I couldn`t sleep when I heard about them," she said. "We lived together like a family for 15 years in the military before my husband retired."

"I have no words," added one woman, whose daughter and grandson were on the plane. "We are so sad."

More than half of the passengers on the aircraft were from military families, including 15 children, according to the army. The rest were soldiers and flight crew.

The military said on Friday it had identified 16 of the dead so far.

There has been no official explanation for the cause of the crash, one of several deadly incidents involving Myanmar military aircraft in recent years.

Monsoon season brings heavy rains and strong winds every year, but there were no reports of major storms along the plane`s flight route when it went missing.Fishing boats helped navy vessels and military aircraft as they continued to hunt for the wreckage on Friday, despite tides reaching over 2.5 metres, the military said in a statement.

But by the afternoon officials had not announced the retrieval of any more bodies.

"We are having difficulty because of the strong winds and tide," Major Aung Win, police chief of Launglon township, told AFP.

The military said the aircraft was flying above 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) when it lost contact with air traffic control at 1:35 pm (07:05 GMT) on Wednesday.

The military has described the captain as a "seasoned" pilot with more than 3,000 hours flying experience.

Gerry Soejatman, an independent aviation expert based in Jakarta, said initial information indicated something went wrong "not long after or just before reaching cruising altitude".

Myanmar`s former junta bought several Y8s -- four-engine turboprop jets used for medium range flights -- during their 50 years of isolated rule, when they were squeezed by Western sanctions.

The plane`s maker, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation, has pledged to assist with investigations into the crash.

Several pieces of debris that appeared to be from the wreckage, including tyres, life jackets and some luggage, have also been salvaged.
Lahore: Pakistan has alleged that India has prevented some Sikh pilgrims from travelling to the country for the annual 'Jor Mela' as only 14 devotees have arrived so far.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had issued visas to 80 Sikh pilgrims but 66 of them couldn't reach Lahore as "India stopped them at Attari Railway Station citing technical reason," Pakistani authorities said.

"The Samjhauta Express train left for Attari on Thursday to bring 80 Sikhs for Jor Mela but when it reached there its staff was told by Indian authorities that the Sikh pilgrims couldn't board it as their visa only allow them to go to Pakistan on a special train," said Amir Hashmi, spokesman Evacuee Trust Property Board, which looks after the minority holy places in Pakistan.

Hashmi told PTI that the Pakistan Railways was willing to send a special train to India to ferry the pilgrims but the Indian authorities didn't allow.

"Fourteen of the total 80 pilgrims had a visa allowing them to enter Pakistan by road. They crossed Wagha Border by foot where the ETPB officials received them," Hashmi said.

'Jor Mela' is observed to mark the death anniversary of fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. The 10-day festival, which is also called Shaheedi Jor Mela, will be held at Panja Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore.

The 14 pilgrims were taken to Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal.

The Sikh pilgrims will return to India through the Wagah border on June 17, according to a report in Radio Pakistan.
Astana: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned that the Islamic State (IS) terror group is trying to expand its terror network in countries of Central Asia and southern Russia.

Putin, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhastan`s capital Astana, said that they have information that the IS has set up clandestine cells in Central Asia, some regions in southern Russia and SCO countries.

Putin called on SCO member countries to strengthen cooperation, especially among the secret services, and put up a common front against the IS threat, Efe news reported.

He underlined that a major priority of the SCO is to ensure security and stability at the borders of member countries amid a growing threat of terrorism and extremism.
By Rahul Kanwal: ISIS appears to be pursuing a nefarious gameplan to turn Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir into a caliphate, a blueprint prepared by its terror masterminds suggests.

Accessed exclusively by India Today, the wicked plot for the restive Valley -- already plagued by Pakistan's ISI-sponsored terror -- is documented in an Islamic State publication.

It calls for carnage in the Himalayan region, extolling jihad and the group's trademark narrative of hate against democratic rule.

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In a series of spiteful paragraphs, the ISIS has also tried to instigate a dangerous guerrilla warfare against the army.

"You are not fighting a strong army but idol worshippers, drinkers of cow urine," reads one of the passages from the Kashmir-centric article in the terror journal. "These are the weakest forces. You must attack them. You must surround them. Wherever you find them, kill them. Follow them to the skies, if you have to."

Alongside this dangerous incitement, the terror group also plans to eliminate any traces of liberal Islam, its moderate Sufi roots, from the Valley, the blueprint reveals.

"Kill bad clerics who are only rumour mongers. Commit yourself into massacring them," says ISIS in its characteristic rant for a caliphate based on eight-century Islam and the Sharia law.

ISIS PLAN

In a nutshell, the ISIS plan centres around annihilating various organs of a democratic state -- security forces, political and religious representatives and established rule of law -- by invoking fundamentalist Islam.

"Infidels have captured Kashmir for a long time, but Kashmiris have never been silent against infidels. They have always sought freedom," said the eight-page article. "But, unfortunately, they were not initiated in the right direction. Political parties and organisations took advantage of their sacrifices," it claimed.

The ISIS write-up then glorified Islamic State and its ballyhooed caliphate as the only representative of true Islam.

"The Islamic caliphate witnessed a renaissance, which diminished the influence of political parties and organisations. The Islamic caliphate provided the right direction and led Muslims to true faith. Just like the rest of the world, the people of Kashmir will witness the rise of the Islamic caliphate," the article claimed.

ISIS vs ISI

The group doesn't spare even Pakistan as part of its plot to build a base of its own terror forces in Kashmir.

"Kill the officials and spies of Indian RAW and Pakistan's ISI. Don't give them the benefit of the doubt," reads a passage. "These are the people who have sold off their religion and therefore quality for punishment by Allah. Their names may be Muslim, but they have discarded Sharia, just as an arrow escapes the bow."

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Loaded with its distinctive venom, the ISIS piece called upon potential terrorists to mount fatal attacks.

"The heads of these snakes must be crushed. Sharia must be dominant. Allah will help those who follow him. We pray to Allah to show Kashmiris the right direction. Islam must reside in their hearts.

"We pray to Allah to dispel their obstacles. That is how the path for a caliphate will be made," the article read.

Emboldened by the separatist-fuelled unrest, terrorists are attempting to plunge the entire Valley into a deeper crisis, with their own brand of radical Islam.

WHAT IS SEEN IN THE VIDEO

In a video, issued purportedly by militant commander Zakir Musa and his Taliban-e-Kashmir, masked militants could be seen holding guns with audio threatening youth for their western lifestyle and dresses.

"The youth of Kashmir are wearing jeans, and girls apply make-up. We are totally against it," says a voice in the footage. "We will murder your children and you will not see their future. We warn all of Kashmir in the name of Taliban and Zakir Musa."

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Zakir Musa has recently declared Sharia as his sole goal for Kashmir.

Formerly Hizbul Mujahideen, he recently announced a Taliban-e-Kashmir group. Musa is believed to have successfully poached more than a dozen cadres from Hizbul.

The terrorist leader has also been successful in developing a following among the Kashmiri youth following radical Islam over mystical Sufism, which highly-placed security sources say is losing appeal in the state.

"Musa has been able to break away 12 to 15 of his former Hizbul Mujahideen cadres and take them with him to the Taliban-e-Kashmir, which is an attempt to attract more youth and give a push to militancy," said a senior security official.

On May 10, Musa, an engineering dropout, delivered an audio address, declaring war on Hurriyat separatists and advocating the beheading of the separatist leaders at Lal Chowk. In the same address, he announced his allegiance to a pan-Islamic caliphate as parted ways with Hizbul Mujahideen.

WATCH VIDEO

Also read:

How ISIS lures youth with women, meat, chocolates to recruit in Kerala. An India Today exclusive

ISIS failed in India despite country's large Muslim population: Rajnath Singh

--- ENDS ---

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Dubai: Qatar`s foreign minister on Friday described Arab powers` "blockade" of his country as a violation of international law and said there was an attempt to mobilise international opinion against the Gulf emirate.



"These procedures that were taken have clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law. They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told a joint news conference with his German counterpart during a visit to Germany.
London: Scotland Yard on Friday made a new arrest as part of its investigation into the London Bridge attack carried out by three men including a Pakistani-origin terrorist last week.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, supported by the Territorial Support Group, arrested a 29-year-old man at a residential address in Newham, east London, the Met Police said in a statement.

"He was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He has been taken into custody at a south London police station and is detained under the Terrorism Act. Searches of the residential address in Newham are ongoing," the statement said.

Four other men remain in custody in connection with the attack on June 3 when three men ? Pakistan-born Khurram Shazad Butt, Moroccan-origin Rachid Redouane and Moroccon-Italian Yousef Zaghba ? rammed a high-speed van into pedestrians at London Bridge before proceeding on foot on a knife rampage in nearby Borough market.

They killed eight people in the attack before armed marksmen shot them dead at the scene.

The attack had brought London to a standstill just days before the general election and led to heightened security at polling booths up and down the UK yesterday as the UK's terror threat level remains at "severe", which means an attack is highly likely.

Twelve other men arrested in the early stages of the investigation have all been released without charge.

One man has been bailed to appear in court at a date in late June. He is a 33-year-old man arrested on a street in Ilford, east London, yesterday on suspicion of possession with intent to supply controlled drugs, and further arrested on suspicion of firearms offences.
Hilla: A woman detonated her explosive belt in a market east of the Shi`ite holy city of Kerbala on Friday, killing at least 30 and wounding 35, Iraqi security sources said.

Islamic State claimed the attack in the town of Musayab, south of Baghdad, in a statement on its Amaq news agency. It didn`t identify the bomber.

A security officer said the assailant was a woman who hid the bomb under the customary full-body veil.

The attack comes as Islamic State is about to lose Mosul, the de-facto capital of the hardline Sunni Muslim group in Iraq, to a US-backed Iraqi offensive launched in October.

The group is also on the backfoot in neighbouring Syria, retreating in the face of a US-backed Kurdish-led coalition attacking its capital there, Raqqa,.

Iranian-backed paramilitaries are taking part in the campaign fighting Islamic State in Iraq, attacking the group in the border region near Syria.

Islamic State declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Syria and Iraq three years ago.
Beirut: Syrian government troops and allied forces reached the Iraqi border for the first time since 2015 today, a monitor said, risking fresh tensions with US-led forces nearby.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said dozens of pro-regime forces had arrived at the point on the Syria-Iraq border around 70 kilometres north of At-Tanaf, which is on the Syria-Iraq border.

There was no immediate confirmation of the report in Syrian state media.

Forces from the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq are using a garrison in At-Tanaf to stage attacks against the jihadists and train Syrian rebels to fight them.

The area has been the scene of repeated incidents between US-led forces and pro-regime troops, including on Thursday when a US warplane shot down a pro-regime drone near the area.

The shoot-down came after another incident earlier yesterday in which coalition forces struck "technical vehicles" advancing toward At-Tanaf and threatening coalition and partner forces, the US Central Command said.

The incident was the third time US-led forces have struck pro-regime forces near At-Tanaf in less than a month.

The coalition said it shot down the drone after it fired at US-led forces in the area.

The coalition has established a "de-confliction" zone, extending 55 kilometres (34 miles) from the garrison, in which pro-regime and Russian forces are not supposed to operate.

Earlier in the week, coalition forces "destroyed" a pro- regime unit that was moving into the area with a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons and armed technical vehicles.

And on May 18, coalition planes struck a convoy that had apparently been headed toward At-Tanaf.

Syria's government has been eager to reach the eastern border after recapturing territory in central Homs province once held by the Islamic State group.

Damascus is hoping to lead the battle against the jihadist group in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and head off any attempts by the US-led coalition to do so.

"It's a question of refusing to allow the US and the forces it supports to occupy the country's east," Wadah Abed Rabbo, editor-in-chief of the Al-Watan daily which is close to Syria's government, told AFP last month.

Syria's government has not held positions on the border with Iraq since 2015, when IS fighters swept down from neighbouring Deir Ezzor and captured positions in Homs province, including the ancient city of Palmyra.

Regime troops have since recaptured large swathes of territory in central Syria from the jihadists.

The group is also under attack in the northern city of Raqa, its onetime bastion, with a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters leader the battle.
Bangkok: A Thai man was jailed for 35 years on Friday for Facebook posts deemed insulting to the royal family, a watchdog said, in one of the harshest sentences handed down for a crime that insulates Thailand`s ultra-rich monarchy from criticism.



A Bangkok military court convicted the 34-year-old of 10 counts of lese majeste for posting pictures, videos and comments concerning the royal family on a Facebook account that purported to belong to a different user.



Wichai, whose last name was withheld to protect his relatives from ostracisation, was accused of using the account to slander a former friend, said iLaw, a group that tracks royal defamation cases.



"The court punished him with seven years per count. Altogether he was given 70 years, but it was reduced in half because he confessed," said Yingcheep Atchanont from iLaw.



Use of the draconian defamation law has surged under the royalist junta that grabbed power in 2014, with more than 100 people charged since the coup.



Prosecutions have continued under Thailand`s new king Maha Vajiralongkorn, who took the throne in late 2016 after the death of his deeply revered father.



Observers have been closely watching how the new king approaches the controversial legislation, which effectively blocks scrutiny of Thailand`s opaque and powerful monarchy.



Lese majeste court cases are routinely shrouded in secrecy, with media forced to heavily self-censor the details to avoid breaching the broadly-interpreted law.



Reporters were barred from entering the military court where Wichai`s verdict was read.



Wichai, who was arrested in northern Chiang Mai in December 2015, initially denied the charges but later confessed after waiting for more than a year in jail for court proceedings to begin, iLaw said.



Lese majeste suspects are rarely acquitted or granted bail.



The UN`s human rights office said it was "appalled" by the sentencing and decried the increasing number of lese majeste cases under junta rule.



In a separate case on Friday a criminal court sentenced another lese majeste suspect to 2.5 years in jail for uploading an audio clip from an underground political radio show that allegedly insulted the monarchy.
Istanbul: President Tayyip Erdogan has approved legislation on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar, signalling support for the Gulf state as it faces isolation imposed by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism.

Turkey`s parliament pushed through the bill on Wednesday and Erdogan`s rapid approval of it, announced by his office late on Thursday, was followed by its publication in the Official Gazette on Friday, completing the legislative process.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and their arch-adversary Iran - charges Qatar calls baseless. Several countries followed suit.

Qatar vowed on Thursday to ride out the isolation and said it would not compromise its sovereignty over foreign policy to resolve the region`s biggest diplomatic crisis in years.

Erdogan also approved another accord between Turkey and Qatar on military training cooperation late on Thursday. Both bills were drawn up before the dispute erupted. Turkey has also pledged to provide food and water supplies to Qatar.

Erdogan has said isolating Qatar would not resolve any problems. Erdogan, who has long tried to play the role of a regional power broker, said Ankara would do everything in its power to help end the regional crisis.

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The bill did not specify how many troops would go nor when.
Washington: Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry used every word in his vocabulary to convince a Washington audience that there are no safe sanctuaries for terrorists in his country and that the Taliban leader, who reportedly died in a hospital in Karachi, never left Afghanistan.

However, he failed miserably in his attempt as the audience responded with a laughter.

"What is there funny about," a visibly irritated Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry told a Washington think-tank audience which burst into laughter when he repeatedly argued that there is no terrorist safe havens in Pakistan and that Mullah Omar never left Afghanistan to visit Pakistan.

The reality is, however, different, argued former US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as his country's ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the UN.

"We have very firm evidence of his (Mullah Omar) presence in Pakistan, where he went, lived, ..Hospital," he said, adding that for a long time there was the idea that bin Laden never left Afghanistan.

"There is an ample evidence that while the operation was going on Haqqani network was being evacuated to safer location," the former US Ambassador to Pakistan said during a panel discussion on 'Regional Perspectives on the US Strategy in Afghanistan', at the Atlantic Council`s South Asia Center.

Chaudhry appeared to be isolated as two other panelists - former Indian minister Manish Tewari and top American think-tank expert Ashley Tellis - joined Khalilzad to say that terrorist safe havens continues to exist in Pakistan and there is level of support from the Pakistani establishment.

"What sanctuaries you are talking about? If you want to live in the past, you cannot solve the present. Haqqani and the Taliban are not our friends. They are not our proxies. What Quetta Shura you are talking about? What Peshawar Shura?" the Pak Ambassador questioned to an amused Washington audience, who was witness to sharp debate between him and Khalilzad. The panel discussion had an abrupt end as the two exchanged words.

Tellis said while the safe havens continue to exist in Pakistan, a great deal of financial and personnel supply does come from Afghanistan. But there is no denying that the Taliban leadership are based in Pakistan, he said.

Tewari said it is time that Pakistan should introspect as to why Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who went to Rawalpindi to meet the Pakistan Army Chief, has turned against Pakistan. Ghani is actually constrained to say Pakistan is having an undeclared war with Afghanistan.

"Those are extremely strong statements coming from the head of state," he said.

During the question and answer session, Afghan diplomat Muhammad Asad and Afghan woman journalist Nazira Karimi of Ariana television joined the three other panelists to challenge Chaudhry's assertion about terrorist safe haven.

"Our allegation is evidence based," Asad said, adding that while the carrot formula has not worked, it is time for the US to look the other way around. Karimi referred to the allegations of US lawmakers about continued terrorist safe havens in Pakistan, which he dismissed.

The Pakistan Ambassador said his country wants a peaceful, stable, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan.

"Afghan soil should not be used against Pakistan. Other than that, we want to facilitate reconciliation. ..Just blaming Pakistan all the time will not help. What will help is recognise what Pakistan has done for Afghanistan," he said.

Chaudhry also accused India of being a part of a "double squeeze strategy".

Asserting that India has a "strategic" interest in Afghanistan, he alleged that this is part of the "double squeeze strategy" of New Delhi against Islamabad.

"India does have strategic interest in Afghanistan. It could be part of the double squeeze strategy against Pakistan. To that end an Afghanistan that is not stable would serve India's purpose and that's why India is opposing reconciliation with Taliban of any kind," Chaudhry told a Washington audience.

Participating in a panel discussion on "Regional Perspectives on the US Strategy in Afghanistan", at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, Chaudhry accused India of trying to be a "hegemonic" power in the region.

(With Agency inputs)
Hilla: A woman suicide bomber killed at least 31 people and wounded 35 in a crowded market in the town of Musayab, 80 km (50 miles) south of Baghdad, on Friday, security sources said.



Islamic State claimed the attack, 30 km east of the Shi`ite holy city of Kerbala, as well as a suicide attack at a bus station in central Kerbala around the same time. It did not identify either bomber, in a statement on its Amaq news agency.



Security sources said four people were wounded in the Kerbala bombing, and one security officer said the bomber was also a woman and had hidden the bomb under her full-body veil.



The hardline Sunni Muslim insurgents are on the brink of losing Mosul, their de-facto capital in Iraq, to a U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive launched in October.



The group is also on the backfoot in neighbouring Syria, retreating in the face of a U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led military coalition attacking Raqqa, its capital there.



Iranian-backed paramilitaries are taking part in the campaign against Islamic State in Iraq, attacking the group in the border region near Syria.



Islamic State declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Syria and Iraq three years ago.
YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. The Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ara Babloyan received the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski on June 7.

As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the parliament of Armenia, Ara Babloyan thanked the Ambassador for hisrole in the deepening of the Armenia-EU cooperation and noted that it will be possible to give a new impetus to bilateral relations with joint efforts.

The parliament Speaker noted: As a newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly I would like to stress that the European Union continues to remain one of the important partners of Armenia. The cooperation with the EU is based, first of all, on the system of common values, as we are resolute to continuously deepen and expand our relations with the EU.

Ara Babloyan expressed hope that the new legal document regulating the EU-Armenia relations, the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, will be signed soon and the existing relations will enter a new legal plane.

The Speaker of the parliament highlighted the role of the parliaments in the development of the Armenia-EU relations, as well as the significance of the joint programmes being implemented with the National Assembly.

The Head of the EU Delegation to the RA, Ambassador Piotr Switalski congratulated Ara Babloyan on assuming the post of the RA National Assembly Speaker and wished him fruitful work.

Piotr Switalski emphasized the role of the parliament in strengthening of the EU-Armenia relationship and expressed hope that the Standing Committees of the National Assembly will continue cooperating with the EU Delegation.

The Ambassador has noted that through many years being in touch with the Armenian society, he noticed that the Armenians are more Europeans than representatives of many EU member countries.

The interlocutors also touched upon the reforms being made in the protection of human rights, development of democracy and the anti-corruption spheres.

At the end of the meeting, Piotr Switalski expressed readiness to support the programmes and initiatives being implemented with the National Assembly of Armenia.
The identity of the couple was ascertained after the police recovered their Aadhar cards.

By Ashwini Kumar: A couple from Gujarat has committed suicide in Jammu and Kashmir's Katra on Friday. The deceased have been identified as Janvi Patel and Chintan Kumar.

The girl was a student of a private college in Nadiad, while the boy was resident of Kheda district of Gujarat.

Police said that the couple booked a room in the hotel in Katra a day ago. The couple hung themselves by the ceiling fans in the hotel room.

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The identity of the couple was ascertained after the police recovered their Aadhar cards.

Meanwhile, the Katra Police have informed the Gujarat Police about the incident. Police said that a case of abduction has been filed against the boy.

Also read:

Woman who 'encouraged' boyfriend to commit suicide on trial for involuntary manslaughter

Mumbai: She wanted to live-stream her suicide. Cops talk her out of killing herself just in time

--- ENDS ---
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Britain's Conservatives have lost their majority in a snap general that has resulted in a hung parliament, BBC reports.

With just a handful of seats left to declare, Thursday polls shows gains for the opposition Labour Party.

This is seen as a humiliation for PM Minister Theresa May, who chose to call the election to try to strengthen her hand in talks with the EU on Brexit.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged her to resign, but she said her party would "ensure" stability in the UK.

"At this time more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability," Mrs May said.

"And if, as the indications have shown and if this is correct that the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes, then it will be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability - and that is exactly what we will do."

Mr Corbyn earlier said: "If there is a message from tonight's results, it's this: the prime minister called this election because she wanted a mandate. Well, the mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence."

"I would have thought that's enough to go, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country," he added

Final election results are expected by Friday lunchtime.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Suren Karayan, Armenias minister of economic development and investments, held a meeting with executives of Betrancourt.

Betrancourt is a French company specializing in manufacturing personal protective gear and clothing, under the trademarks ALLMER, GUY LEROY, NORTHMEN.

The French company is planning to launch operations in Armenia and cooperate with light industry operators.

Earlier two representatives of Betrancourt visited Vanadzor and Gyumri, accompanied by an official of Armenias ministry of economic development and investments, where they reviewed the production of local plants and discussed opportunities of cooperation.

Meetings were held with seven different Armenia-based companies.

The minister was told that very soon cooperation will launch with an Armenian company, with test production.

The French businessmen said large investments and long term cooperation with another textile company is possible.

Light industry is under our spotlight. We are assisting businessmen with everything in order to expand operations and create new jobs, the minister said. I would like to mention that you have our full support and you wont face any obstacle in Armenia, he told the French businessmen.

Thank you for organizing the visit and hospitality. Your country has a good history in light industry, we would like to develop it and improve Armenian production, Michael Knockaert, Betrancourts representative said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. The exclusive project of ARMENPRESS entitled Yerevan Bestseller brings the top ten bestselling books of Yerevan every week.

Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray leads the bestselling list of the week. Dorian Gray is the subject of a full-length portrait in oil by Basil Hallward, an artist who is impressed and infatuated by Dorian's beauty; he believes that Dorian's beauty is responsible for the new mode in his art as a painter. Through Basil, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, and he soon is enthralled by the aristocrat's hedonistic worldview: that beauty and sensual fulfillment are the only things worth pursuing in life.

Edgar Harutyunyans Unfound Chamomiles collection comes next. This is the second book of the author. Unfound Chamomiles is about human relationship, love, friendship and betrayal.

Mark Arens Where Wild Roses Bloom is ranked 3rd in this weeks top bestselling book in the city.

The story describes the inner world of an Armenophobic Turkish former serviceman, when he, already an old man, suddenly hears a lullaby song that reminds him of his mother and later finds out that the song is in Armenian: realizing his parents were Armenians. He spends his remaining life searching the graves of his parents, without knowing that it was a misunderstanding.

Boys in Zinc by Belarusian writer and journalist Svetlana Alexievich is ranked 4th in this weeks bestselling list. Certain of her books won Nobel Prize. Hovhannes Ayvazyan translated the books into Armenia.

Milan Kunderas The Unbearable Lightness of Being this week is ranked 5th. It was published in 1984. The book chronicles the fragile nature of an individual's fate, theorizing that a single lifetime is insignificant in the scope of Nietzsche's concept of eternal return. In an infinite universe, everything is guaranteed to recur infinitely. In 1988, American director Philip Kaufman released a film adaptation.

Stefan Zweigs Collected Stories comes next. Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most popular writers in the world. The book was translated by Ara Arakelyan and Margarit Arakelyan.

Francis Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby is ranked 7th. It was first published in 1925, and is considered one of the typical works of American literature of the "jazz era".

Flowers for Algernon by David Keyes takes the 8th position in the list. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960.

Spencer Johnsons Who Moved My Cheese is 9th. Published on September 8, 1998, Who Moved My Cheese is a motivational business fable. The text describes change in one's work and life, and four typical reactions to those changes by two mice and two "little people," during their hunt for cheese. A New York Times business bestseller upon release, Who Moved My Cheese? remained on the list for almost five years and spent over 200 weeks on Publishers Weekly's hardcover nonfiction list. It has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide in 37 languages and remains one of the best-selling business books.

The Kite Runner by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini concludes the list. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his father's young Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan's monarchy through the Soviet military intervention, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.

Bookinist, Hay Girk, Edit Print and Zangak book stores were surveyed for the project.

YEREVAN BESTSELLER presented by Angela Hambardzumyan
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Despite the ongoing tension over Qatar, official Ankara announced its plans to send gunships and navy vessels to the military base which will be deployed in Qatar, Hurriyet reported.

According to news agency, although the main objective of the military base in Qatar is the training of the gendarmerie forces by Turkish professionals, the Turkish side will not be limited only by this. The Turkish air force and navy will also be sent to Doha.

It is expected to send a delegation consisting of 90 soldiers to Qatar which will examine the conditions of military base. 200-250 troops will be sent to Doha already in the upcoming two months.

Turkeys Parliament on June 7 approved a bill on deploying troops in Qatar and training the gendarmerie forces. The deployment of Turkish troops in Qatar will be carried out in accordance with the agreement signed between the two countries in 2015.

It is worth mentioning that the Turkish Parliaments such decision came after 7 countries (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen, Maldives) announced cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar. The countries said Qatar supports terrorist groups and destabilizes the situation in Arab countries.

After that Turkeys President Erdogan called on to go to dialogue, stating that Ankara will continue developing ties with Qatar. He said imposing sanctions against Qatar is not right.






YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. On June 8 Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited Kashatagh region and met in the Hochants village with the community leaders of the region's northern wing, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

President Sahakyan began the meeting handing in high state awards to a group of representatives of the region for the services rendered to the country.

Issues related to the activities carried out and the results registered in 2016, as well as the implementation of a range of ongoing projects were addressed thereafter.

Head of Kashatagh regional administration Suren Khachatryan, officials of the regional administration and community leaders presented corresponding reports.

President Sahakyan overall rated as satisfactory the 2016 socioeconomic indicators registered in Kashatagh region. Bako Sahakyan noted that the region had been maintaining leading positions in the agricultural sector for several years, adding that a range of new projects covering diverse spheres were scheduled there with consequent benefits for the development of the region.

Artsakh Premier Arayik Harutyunyan and other officials attended the meeting.
GYUMRI, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Proceedings are underway regarding the June 8 late evening incident in downtown Gyumri, Karen Gabrielyan, the prosecutor of Shirak province told ARMENPRESS.

In the evening of June 8, a fight broke out between two people in Gyumris Theatrical Square. Passersby noticed the fight and attempted to jump in and restore order.

ARMENPRESS asked the prosecutor whether or not media reports on gunfire during the incident are true, and prosecutor Gabrielyan said they have no information on shots being fired.

I am surprised as to where these media take this kind of information. We dont have information about gunfire. I am asking, if there are any citizens who have heard gunshots during this incident, please notify law enforcement agencies, the prosecutor said, adding that police have obtained surveillance footage of the fight.

The footage shows a brawl between 2-3 people, but nothing to indicate gunfire. The people involved have been identified, but since they are still at large, we cant disclose further information, Gabrielyan said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan hosted the delegation of annual meeting participants of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank subgroup countries chaired by Belgium and Netherlands on June 9, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

Welcoming the guests, the President said such annual meetings are good chance to exchange views with the sectors representatives and partners on the course of mutual partnership and development prospect, as well as on issues and challenges faced by world economy and their possible solutions.

Serzh Sargsyan highly appreciated Armenias cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, attaching importance to the joint programs implemented over the past 25 years since Armenias membership to the two international financial organizations thanks to which Armenia managed to ensure macro-economic and financial stability by running coordinated fiscal and monetary policy, as well as carrying out reforms in various fields and increasing the effectiveness of Armenias economy.

The President stated that Armenia launched significant reforms aimed at long-term development and expressed confidence that the close and productive cooperation will continue with the IMF and the World Bank within the frames of those reforms.

The meeting participants talked with satisfaction about the mutual partnership with Armenia which is already more than two decades, stating that they are ready to continue the joint work to record new achievements.




YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. The problems faced by people with disabilities and the existing issues in the field must be solved, Armenias Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Artem Asatryan said, reports Armenpress.

I attach great importance to exchange of international experience, especially with those countries who take steps, measures towards inclusive policy, and also have respective mechanisms installed. Its necessary to create equal conditions and opportunities for disabled people and take practical steps on that path. I highly appreciate the cooperation with the Ombudsmans Office, the Embassy of Argentina and a number of NGOs since the experience of the past years shows that results can only be achieved through a joint work. The goal of everyones work is the same, we all understand that the demands in that field now are greater and the problems must be solved without delay, the Minister said.

Argentinas Ambassador to Armenia H.E. Gonzalo Urriolabeitia said everything must be done for the society to be changed rather than just to help the disabled people.

Now we live in a new era, for instance, the President of Ecuador, one of Argentinas ministers are also people with disabilities. This shows that currently we live exclusively in another era. We all need to be changed, we should change the public in order to correctly perceive our difference and make life better for all of us, the Ambassador said.

Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan added that disabled people face problems which must be solved. He also attached importance to the role of NGOs in this regard. I have already been convinced for many times that without engagement of NGOs it is impossible to reach any significant result. In particular, the NGOs operating in this field enable to correctly understand the problems of the field and take measures on solving them. The scope of people with disabilities requires hard-work from all partners. We all have to do everything to ensure that disabled person will not face discrimination, and, of course, will be completely engaged in the public life, the Ombudsman said.

According to him, the international organizations play a key role, putting an emphasis on especially that of the Ambassadors of France and Argentina to Armenia with whom they cooperate in this field.






YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. The newly-elected Yerevan City Council convened the first session chaired by the oldest member Astghik Gevorgyan, reports Armenpress.

The session was attended by 60 members of the Council.

According to the May 21, 2017 decision of the CEC, the Yerevan City Council members of the Republican Partys electoral list are 46, that of Yelk blocs are 14, and 5 members are from Yerkir Tsirani party, Astghik Gevorgyan said.

She also introduced Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan.

Mayor Margaryan welcomed the members, stating that the Council sessions of the past years were held in a very collaborated manned. I expect from the Yerevan City Council members to be more active and constructive during the 3rd convocation, he said, adding that being a member of the Yerevan City Council is an honor.

The members of Yerkir Tsirani faction didnt attend the session. They were holding outdoor session outside the Yerevan Municipality.

The Yerevan City Council elections were held on May 14.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on June 9 departed for the Republic of Kazakhstan on a working visit to take part in the opening ceremony of Astana Expo-2017 international exhibition in Astana, which will be attended by 115 countries and 18 international organizations, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

Dedicated to alternative energy sources and green technologies and referred to as Future Energy, the exhibition will present the best energy saving technologies and the latest developments in the field of alternative energy.

On the sidelines of the Astana Expo-2017, President Serzh Sargsyan will visit the Armenian pavilion.
A joint statement, issued by the separatist leadership, called for a bandh and peaceful protests after Friday prayers.

A complete shutdown was reported in Kashmir valley for the second consecutive day today. (Photo: Reuters)

By Pooja Shali, Shuja-ul-Haq : A complete shutdown was reported in Kashmir valley for the second consecutive day today, after a youth was allegedly killed in firing by security forces on Tuesday evening. College student Adil Farooq Magrey was killed when security forces opened fire on protesters, who were trying to disrupt an anti-militancy operation in village.

A joint statement, issued by the separatist leadership, called for a bandh and peaceful protests after Friday prayers.

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Most business establishments and schools remained closed in Srinagar while public transport is also off the roads.

The government has already imposed restrictions on the high speed internet services and 4G and 3G data services have been shut down since Tuesday.

Restrictions have been imposed on movement of public and transport in Khanyar, MR Gunj, Safakadal, Rainawari, Kralkhud, Nowhatta and Maisuma police station areas in Srinagar. The downtown area is witnessing heavy deployment of state police and paramilitary forces. Most shops and schools will remain shut through the day.

The precautionary measure has been issued amidst fear of stone pelting incidents, after Friday prayers. In the last few days, south Kashmir has witnessed heavy violence and incidents of pelting.

Separatist leaders have been put under house arrest to foil any attempt in organising large scale protests in the city. Hurriyat had warned authorities against large scale protests since NIA started to raid the properties of their close aides with suspicious transactions.

Fridays are usually tense as crowd gathers post prayers near the Jamia mosque and on several occasions apart from pelting, flags resembling ISIS have been hoisted by masked men.

In south Kashmir's Pampore, even students wearing school uniform were seen at forefront of protests on Wednesday, throwing stones at paramilitary personnel. The forces are maintaining extreme professional restraint during the protests.

ALSO READ | Kashmir: Pulwama, Shopian districts tense after college student killed in firing

ALSO READ | Shopian: Student killed in clashes with security forces

ALSO WATCH | Stone pelting in Kashmir's Pulwama, Shopian amid shutdown over student's killing in encounter

--- ENDS ---
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Yerkir Tsirani faction members must have respected the votes received from the citizens and attended the first session of the Yerevan City Council, Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan said commenting on the non-participation of Yerkir Tsirani members at the Councils first session, reports Armenpress.

It would be more effective if the Council members participate in the sessions, defend their votes and present their programs and approaches for Yerevans governance of the upcoming 5 years. If Yerevan City Councils opposition forces will have good proposals, we are ready to discuss them for the sake of our city, the Mayor said.

He said the first session was held in a very calm atmosphere.

Yerkir Tsirani faction members led by Zaruhi Postanjyan boycotted the Yerevan City Councils first session and raised their voice of protest outside the Yerevan Municipality.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Justice Minister Davit Harutyunyan hosted Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Switalski on June 9, press service of the Ministry told Armenpress.

The Minister thanked the EU Ambassador for assisting key programs being implemented in Armenia and expressed hope the cooperation will be continuous and the result will be visible.

Ambassador Piotr Switalski said the ongoing reforms in Armenias justice field are among the EU priorities. In this context, the Ambassador attached importance to the effective implementation of actions aimed at strengthening fight against corruption, independence of judiciary and expressed EUs support on carrying out these steps.

Justice Minister Harutyunyan and the EU Ambassador also discussed the cooperation opportunities with the EU in works aimed at improving e-governance system, the Labor Code.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. President Serzh Sargsyan on June 9 sent a letter of condolences to Sarinyan family on the death of academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia Sergey Sarinyan, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

Distinguished scientist dedicated his entire activity to the study of Armenian classical and modern literature, literary methodology and theory. He has a great contribution in scientific publication of literature.

Sergey Sarinyan greatly contributed to education of pedagogy and upbringing of new generation of philologists. He deserved the respect and admiration of his colleagues and students, reads the Presidents condolence letter.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. The worlds longest zip-line will be opened in Yell Extreme Park in Yenokavan, Armenia during summer, Tigran Chibukhchyan  co-founder of the Park told reporters.

The architectural section of the zip-line is almost completed and only a few issues remain to be solved. Construction will begin from June 20. We have planned to finish it by August, Chibukhchyan said.

A crowd funding was held from May 4 to June 2 in the international co-financing platform Indiegogo for building the worlds longest zip-line in Armenia. 22,165 dollars was raised.

Yell Extreme Park offers also paragliding, paintball, horse riding, off-road driving tours and other active leisure services.

The worlds longest zipline in Tavush, Armenia will be 2680 meters long, with an altitude of 200-300 meters.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Speaker of Armenias Parliament Ms. Arpine Hovhannisyan declared that the opposition will participate in the operations of the anti-corruption commission  which will be formed soon, and the oppositions voice will be heard.

During a briefing with reporters in the Parliament, Hovhannisyan said this is important for increasing public trust and the accomplishment of the commission.

This means that the opposition will indeed have a wide participation in the process. I am very happy that this law was debated in a true cooperation environment. It was extremely important to organize the passing of this law in the parliament by this very format, she said.

Asked how the ruling Republican party is going to combat corruption, if it is out of competition, Hovhannisyan said: I wont touch upon the irony in your question, but the Republican Party is the majority, because the citizens of Armenia saw it this way. Therefore, how the ruling party will combat corruption, youll see when the laws come into effect. Thats when youll see, political will and commitment are already displayed on the highest level, she said.

Earlier the Parliament unanimously passed the bill on establishing a corruption prevention commission.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenia attaches importance to the signing of the new comprehensive and expanded partnership agreement with the European Union, assuring that it will continue its reforms in the political and human rights arenas, Armen Ashotyan  vice president of Armenias Republican Party said at the Political Assembly of the European Peoples Party (EPP).

We fully realize that reforms will contribute to Armenias progress towards a large-scale democracy and will enable to maximally benefit from positive changes, Ashotyan said.

He touched upon the closure of the OSCE Yerevan Office  as result of Azerbaijans veto  mentioning that although Armenia and OSCE will continue further constructive cooperation, this occurrence is yet another proof of Azerbaijans destructive policy.

As a new example of Azerbaijans human rights violations, Ashotyan mentioned the kidnapping of an Azerbaijani journalist from Tbilisi to Baku, where he has been arrested and is awaiting criminal punishment.

I would also like to emphasize the role and significance of the OSCE Minsk Group  as the only effective tool of maintaining stability and settlement of the conflict. In this context, I would like to underscore that for the first time the OSCE MG Co-Chairs made a targeted statement on May 18 in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement negotiation process  regarding the escalation in the line of contact during May 15-17, Ashotyan said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan visited the General Department of Civil Aviation, got acquainted with the ongoing developments and the upcoming plans in aviation field, press service of the Government told Armenpress.

The PM visited aerodrome and air traffic control centers where he was introduced on their activities.

The PM was reported that unprecedented figure of air passenger flow was recorded in 2016, it reached 2 million 117.000. In January-May, 2017 gradual increase of passenger and cargo transportation flows was registered: in particular, the passenger flow increased by 31%, and the volume of cargo transfers increased by 82%. The General Department of Civil Aviation took respective measures on launching regular cargo transportations from Armenia, talks are underway with airlines and investors.

In order to attract new airlines, increase the frequency of flights and the network of routes, works are being carried out to improve also the business environment. In particular, works are being done to simplify permissions provision process, reducing the number of required documents, installing online systems for selling tickets and submitting applications which will make the process more transparent and under control. In addition, the inter-state agreements are also being reviewed, talks are underway with the EU over the Comprehensive air transportations agreement.

PM Karapetyan attached importance to the implementation of ongoing works and tasked to submit concrete proposals for the development of aviation field to the Government.

It was also reported that at the moment the small aviation development program is being prepared, and the current situation of Armenias airports is being assessed for that purpose.

The PM said taking into account the demand for small aviation, its necessary to select the target points where it will be possible to operate flights. Its necessary to examine the trade transportations, the situation of public transport, the opportunities of tariff policy. I am convinced that sooner or later small aviation will become a necessity and the geography will be quite large. We must be ready to that and have a development vision, the PM said.

The PM also highlighted the need to increase the number of information provision services for tourists which will offer agents, translators, and transportation. We must provide alternative contemporary services, he said.




STEPANAKERT, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. On June 9 Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan sent a condolence letter to eminent literary scholar and academician Sergey Sarinyan's family, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

"I have learnt with deep sorrow about the death of eminent literary scholar and academician Sergey Sarinyan.

Sergey Sarinyan's contribution to the development of the Armenian literary criticism is noteworthy. He educated and brought up several generations who will pursue their master's cause with dignity.

In the native Artsakh we always remember and acknowledge the patriotic and devout activity of our famous countryman, dedicated patriot and citizen. He was an active participant of the Artsakh National-Liberation Movement, supporting his native people in every possible way, sharing their concerns and aspirations.

On behalf of the Artsakh people, the authorities and myself personally I offer condolences and support to all the relatives and friends of the deceased and wish them patience and tenacity", reads the Artsakh Presidents letter.
YEREVAN, 9 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 9 June, USD exchange rate down by 0.09 drams to 482.48 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.85 drams to 539.12 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 8.47 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 10.01 drams to 614.44 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 281.40 drams to 19748.44 drams. Silver price down by 0.05 drams to 273.01 drams. Platinum price down by 64.79 drams to 14658.93 drams.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Spring session of NATO Parliamentary Assembly was held in Tbilisi on May 27-29, attended by the delegation of the National Assembly of Armenia led by the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs Koryun Nahapetyan.

Armenpress reports the Armenian representatives participated in the works of the defense and security, political and financial committees, presented the positions of Armenia on regional and geopolitical developments.

During the Assembly the Armenian representatives also adequately responded to the provocative and misguiding announcements and speeches distorting the reality made by some Azerbaijani parliamentarians. This act of the Armenian delegation was approved and positively assessed by the international audience. Meanwhile, the attempts of anti-Armenian propaganda contradicting the nature and content of the Assembly were a failure becoming a self-discrediting action for the Azerbaijani side.
By Press Trust of India: Mumbai Jun 9 (PTI) Ranbir Kapoor is all praises for his former girlfriend Katrina Kaif as he said the actress is a machine of delivering superhit films.

Ranbir joked that Katrina would often say it was she who helped him deliver two superhit films- "Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahaani" and "Rajneeti".

"So, I thought when I become a producer I will be grateful and pay back and I will make a film for her. Dada (director Anurag Basu) and I have made Jagga Jasoos only for Katrina.

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"She is amazing in the film, she is unbelievable. This is going to be Katrina Kaifs best performance."

Ranbir, who is reuniting with Katrina for the third time in "Jagga Jasoos", said the actress achievements have been unbelievable.

"She is a machine of superhit films, every film she does is a superhit. We also used to joke that she should just touch our film so that it becomes superhit. I dont feel there has been a greater star than Katrina in the film industry."

Ranbir today launched the "Galti Se Mistake" song from the film.

On making mistakes in his life, the actor said, "I dont think there are any mistakes in life, there are only learnings in life as that is how you grow."

Talking about his character in the film, Ranbir said, "The film is more of a father-son relationship and how my character becomes a jasoos and he meets Shruti (Katrina)."

When asked about the qualities that he imbibes from his father, Ranbir joked, "not to drink".

"The kind of love and values that are family gives us is important. They have done lot of things for us and now I am their parent I am make sure I give them all the joy and happiness."

"Jagga Jasoos" also marks the reunion of Ranbir and Basu after "Barfi".

"I dont think he (Anurag Basu) can work with any other actor as I understand his process. I dont want him to work with another actor because he is the finest director of our country he has great knowledge about cinema, performance, music.

"When we had planned Jagga Jasoos we had also thought of a sequel. It has been an amazing experience working with him." PTI KKP SSN

--- ENDS ---
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. International specialized Astana Expo-2017 has kicked off in the capital of Kazakhstan held in a collective pavilion called Silk Road. Armenia is represented in a separate pavilion.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has departed for Kazakhstan to take part in the official opening ceremony of the international exhibition.

Armenpress reports the Armenian pavilion is located in the 411st section of the huge exhibition. The EXPO will last 3 months, from June 10 to September 10.

115 states and 18 international organizations will participate in the EXPO.

The event organizers hope the participating states will present the best energy saving technologies, the latest developments on the use of alternative energy sources. It is expected that 2 million tourists will visit the exhibition, and the total number of visits will be about 5 million. It is planned that 85% of the total number of visitors will be citizens of Kazakhstan, and 15% - foreign nationals, most of which will come from the CIS countries and China. A significant number of tourists is also expected to arrive from Europe, Turkey and the United States.

The Expo-2017 specialized exhibition initiated by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has been declared one of the priority projects of the country by the leadership of the country. In 2011 Kazakhstan had officially applied for organizing the exhibition.

9 thousand police officers and over 2 thousand cameras will ensure the safety of the visitors.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, who is on a working visit in Kazakhstan, has arrived at the Astana Expo-2017 exposition. Armenpress reports Serzh Sargsyan was met by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Armenia is represented in a separate pavilion at the exposition. The collective pavilion of the exposition is called Silk Road.

The Armenian pavilion is located in the 411st section of the huge exhibition. The EXPO will last 3 months, from June 10 to September 10.

115 states and 18 international organizations will participate in the EXPO.

The event organizers hope the participating states will present the best energy saving technologies, the latest developments on the use of alternative energy sources. It is expected that 2 million tourists will visit the exhibition, and the total number of visits will be about 5 million. It is planned that 85% of the total number of visitors will be citizens of Kazakhstan, and 15% - foreign nationals, most of which will come from the CIS countries and China. A significant number of tourists is also expected to arrive from Europe, Turkey and the United States.

The Expo-2017 specialized exhibition initiated by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has been declared one of the priority projects of the country by the leadership of the country. In 2011 Kazakhstan had officially applied for organizing the exhibition.

9 thousand police officers and over 2 thousand cameras will ensure the safety of the visitors.
YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, who is on a working visit in Kazakhstan, attended the official opening ceremony of Astana Expo-2017 themed Future Energy together with the heads of delegations of other countries and the President of the host country Nursultan Nazarbayev on June 9, Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office.

Before that the Armenian President had visited the exposition complex, after which he visited the architectural symbol of the Astana EXPO-2017 Nur Alem pavilion near which all the national pavilions are located in the same distance.

The participant countries present the best technologies of energy saving at the exposition on alternative energy sources and green technologies and the latest developments on the use of alternative energy sources.

A reception will be given in the evening on the occasion of the opening of the exposition.
Ryvita has announced a new flavour addition to its Thins range.

The new variant, Three Cheese, will be in stores in July and is a unique flavour in the market, according to the company.

Topped with mature cheddar, emmental and regato cheeses, Ryvita said in a statement that the new addition will be a kitchen cupboard staple across the nation thanks to its versatility and snacking appeal.

Launched in 2008, the Thins range comprises five flavours: Multi-Seed, Cheddar & Cracked Black Pepper, Sweet Chilli, Caramelised Onion, and Sundried Tomato & Herb.

The Three Cheese addition is designed to be enjoyed either on its own or accompanied by a dip.

Ryvita Thins has secured more than a 50% share of the market, according to the company  it said it aims for the new Three Cheese flavour to be one of the top three selling SKUs.

Estefania Boerr, senior brand manager at Ryvita, said: The Three Cheese variant features a moreish topping and is made with wholegrain rye flour, which is a natural source of fibre. It will be very different to anything else in the market and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Tom Eppes (Contributed photo)

East Carolina University Chancellor Cecil Staton announced the successful completion today of the institution's search for a chief communications officer to help ECU become better known as one of North Carolina's top national research universities.Tom Eppes, former chief communications officer at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and previously president and chief executive officer of long-time North Carolina agency leader PriceMcNabb, will lead a team of marketing and communications professionals focused on increasing awareness of the university's national leadership in academics, research and service.Eppes was a marketing and communications executive at two international corporations based in Atlanta, a journalist and a U.S. Senate campaign press secretary before joining PriceMcNabb, a Charlotte-based advertising and public relations agency that earned national and international recognition for its leadership in integrated marketing communications, public relations, advertising and graphic design. PriceMcNabb became an Adweek creative team of the year and won international awards including Cannes Lions, Clios, One Show pencils and Silver and Bronze Anvils from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). PriceMcNabb merged with New York agency Eric Mower and Associates in 2004.Staton said.Eppes earned his undergraduate degree in journalism and political science from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master's degree in strategic public relations from George Washington University. He was enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when he accepted the position at Ole Miss in 2012.Eppes, who is accredited in public relations (APR) and a PRSA Fellow, served on the national PRSA board and its executive committee, as the organization's national treasurer, and as chair of the organization's Board of Ethics and Professional Standards. He also served as a national assembly delegate and local board member for PRSA chapters in Charlotte and Memphis.Eppes said.Eppes and his wife, Jennie Spradling Eppes, are relocating from Oxford, Mississippi, to Greenville, with an expected start at ECU on June 19. They have three adult sons, Ben, Jared and Michael; two live and work in New York City and one in Charlotte.
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.
The rapper says his idea of gangsters changed with he saw two men having sex at Angola State Penitentiary.

By Desire Thompson

Boosie BadAzz isnt the person youd see at a pride march. Over the years, the rapper has made his views on the LGBTQ community abundantly clear with statements about his dislike for those who identify as gay. The rapper has continued to bash those who could care less about his views, this time with a recollection thats been buried deep in his amygdala.

In a video that has surfaced this week, the rapper recalls a moment he had at the Angola State Penitentiary that reminded him of his dislike for what he believes is the dark side of prison. While going to the restroom, the rapper walked in on two men shaking hands.

I remember I was in Angola I walked down on a n***a riding a n***a d*ck from the back, he said. N***a riding that d**k. I said man I want to go home. I got to calling lawyers for all kinds of bonds. That s**t f**ked my head up. Another n***a riding a n***a d*ck man. Taking that b***h. Im talking bout riding a n***a d**k. Deemed intense by the rapper, Boosie goes on to say that men who are interested in men cannot be seen as a gangsta because of what they like.

F***ing the s**t out that man in that b***h. I was like this aint no place for no human being. When I saw that s**t I was like these n****s sick man. You a nasty MF. Nasty a** n***a. The same n***a walking round that b***h talking like you a gangsta, you a punk.

The video has gone viral on social media with some finding the comical bliss in between his commentary. Considering its unknown if the incident was consensual or not, fans have taken up for the rapper and his reaction.

Boosie when he got back to his cell: pic.twitter.com/DOHrTwtc5q  L.A. (@LA_isOfficial) June 6, 2017

https://twitter.com/Glock__Lesnar/status/872146207627509762

Story continues

The fact that y'all are shocked and outraged about Boosie is hilarious to me. BOOSIE. I mean what did y'all really expect? pic.twitter.com/M2r9xZuUCQ   (@callmedollar) June 6, 2017

Lil Boosie in prison: pic.twitter.com/On8bMIm7lk  DERRICK INGRAM  (@IAMDWRECK) June 7, 2017

Boosie is a heterosexual man. who WALKED IN on 2 dudes having sex BY ACCIDENT. how was he supposed to react?!  Sturdy Diana. (@JLaCocaina) June 6, 2017

Boosie as he got closer to the shower room pic.twitter.com/jMB8iEvILq  Clifton Lannister (@seabethree) June 6, 2017

Boosie doesnt seem to be bothered by the noise. The rapper has gone on to enjoy vacationing with his family and prepping new shows.

This post Boosie Was Left Traumatized After Seeing Two Men Shake Hands In Prison first appeared on Vibe.
THURSDAY, June 8, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Women are routinely prescribed more opioid painkillers than they need after Cesarean sections, creating a high risk for misuse, a trio of new studies suggests.

C-sections are the most common inpatient surgery in the United States, with 1.3 million procedures performed a year, according to the researchers. But there is little data on how much medicine patients actually need to manage their pain. To that end, how many pills are prescribed varies from provider to provider, the researchers added.

More care is needed to limit the amount of leftover drugs that could wind up in the wrong hands, the studies concluded. Most people who use opioids for nonmedical reasons get them from friends and relatives who have unused medication. And patients may not lock their leftovers away, putting young children at risk.

"We are the source of these excess opioids, and we need to do more to restrain that, but we really need to tailor that so the individual gets what they need. Our take-home point is we don't want one-size-fits-all prescribing," said Dr. Sarah Osmundson, who led one of the three studies. She's an assistant professor of maternal-fetal medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Addiction to prescription opioids such as oxycodone (Oxycontin, Percocet) and hydrocodone (Vicoprofen) is a growing epidemic in the United States. The number of opioid overdose deaths has quadrupled in the past 15 years, according to one of the studies.

Though women are unlikely to get hooked on opioids after a C-section, an addiction expert said non-opioid pain relief should always be the first treatment of choice.

"We need to be conscious of what the consequences of routine opioid prescribing are -- not just for the patient but for anyone who might encounter her medicine cabinet," said Dr. Mishka Terplan. He's a member of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Opioid and Addiction Medicine Work Group.

The largest of the three new studies -- by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston -- involved 720 C-section patients at six U.S. medical centers. About 85 percent filled an opioid prescription when they left the hospital.

The study found women were prescribed roughly twice as many pills as they used. On average, each had 15 left over. With 1.3 million C-sections a year in the United States, that's an estimated 20 million opioids that could be diverted and misused.

The researchers found no difference in pain scores when they compared women by number of pills prescribed. But women who were prescribed more pills wound up using more pills, according to the study.

"This was especially interesting to us, because it suggests that we are setting patient expectations based on the number of pills that we prescribed," corresponding author Dr. Brian Bateman said in a hospital news release. Bateman is chief of obstetric anesthesia at Brigham and Women's.

The studies suggest that the remedy isn't as simple as dispensing fewer pills.

In the second study, Osmundson's team urged providers to peg quantity to how much pain medicine women actually use in the hospital -- more pills for those who need more pain relief as hospital patients, fewer for others.

Of the 179 C-section patients they studied, 165 were prescribed an opioid. Doses ranged from eight to 84 pills, with nurse-midwives prescribing fewer than doctors.

More than three-quarters of the patients had pills left over, and only seven women threw them away. Most kept leftovers in an unlocked cabinet, according to the study.

The findings suggest counseling patients is key.

Osmundson said women should be reminded to use opioids only when they really need them, to taper off as soon as they can and to dispose of leftovers properly. Unused pills can be mixed with coffee grounds or kitty litter and tossed in the trash or taken to an approved drug disposal site, she said. Some medical practices also dispose of them.

Terplan, associate director of addiction medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, said patients have a responsibility to ask questions and be sure they understand their treatment.

Convenience may be one reason for the opioid over prescriptions, he said.

A patient who needs more opioid painkillers has to get a written prescription -- a trip to the doctor that may be burdensome for a new mom who is recovering from surgery and caring for a newborn. So providers try to make sure she has enough.

So, what's the prescription for over-prescription?

A third study investigated a novel approach that reduced opioid use after C-sections by 50 percent.

It centered on a 10-minute meeting where a clinician spoke about post-operative pain and opioids while patients viewed a presentation on a tablet computer. Women were told how much pain to expect, risks and benefits of opioid and non-opioid painkillers, how to get refills and how to safely dispose of leftovers.

Then, patients chose how many 5-milligram oxycodone tablets to receive at discharge, up to the hospital's typical 40. The median number of pills they chose was 20. The average number of pills left over was four.

Nine out of 10 participants said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their pain management, and nearly as many called the shared decision-making helpful, according to the study.

"This is the path forward, I think," Terplan said. "It's not saying everybody gets 90 Oxycontins or seven Oxycontins, it's actually involving the patient in her own decision-making."

The studies were published online June 8 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

More information

The American Medicine Chest Challenge lists places across the United States where you can safely dispose of unused prescription drugs.
Negotiators at currently at the incident site trying to persuade the man to surrender and not harm the hostages.

By India Today Web Desk: A man armed with a knife is holding employees hostage at a job centre in Newcastle in northeast England.

Negotiators at currently at the incident site trying to persuade the man to surrender and not harm the hostages.

Nearby student accommodation has been evacuated, the police said, and Byker Metro station has been closed for people.

Byker Metro station is closed as we deal with an ongoing situation on Clifford Street. Some roads are also closed. It's an isolated incident pic.twitter.com/UluaZgtuPE- Northumbria Police (@northumbriapol) June 9, 2017

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--- ENDS ---
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New York, June 9, 2017Kyrgyz authorities should drop a criminal investigation into independent journalist Ulugbek Babakulov, allow him to work freely, and cease blocking access to a news website that published his writing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Security officials are investigating Babakulov on suspicion of inciting inter-ethnic hatred, Kyrgyz and regional media reported today.

The countrys State National Security Committee (GKNB) investigation into the journalist followed the publication of a May 23 article he wrote for the Moscow-based, regional news website Fergana, in which he analyzed Kyrgyz-language social media posts and concluded that they incited hatred against the countrys ethnic Uzbek minority, used ethnic slurs, and urged the slaughter of ethnic Uzbeks. Since then, Babakulov received death threats, members of parliament urged the government to strip him of his citizenship, and state and pro-government media labeled him an instigator of ethnic hatred and an enemy of Kyrgyzstan, CPJ documented at the time.

Fergana editor Daniil Kislov told CPJ that Kyrgyzstan blocked access to Fergana today. The news website was included on leading Kyrgyz internet service provider Megalines list of websites it blocks when CPJ accessed the list today. The company cited a district court order dated today as the justification for the censorship.

Investigating Ulugbek Babakulov for inciting ethnic hatred because he criticized those who he said incited ethnic hatred is an outrage, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. Lawmakers and pro-government media have tried to smear Babakulov as a traitor and villain for warning about the dangers of nationalism. We call on Kyrgyzstan to cease harassing the journalist immediately and to restore access to his outlet, the website Fergana.

Three days ago, the GKNB launched investigations into at least six social media users who posted negative comments about ethnic Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan. One of those social media users was arrested today, according to press reports.

Ulugbek is a journalist who reported about social media posts. He did not write them himself. Charging him with inciting hatred is absurd. He was doing his job and was doing it well, Ferganas Kislov told CPJ.

The authorities cannot solve the problem of nationalismand so they decided to make a scapegoat out of me, Babakulov told the independent news website Zanoza, to which he has contributed, in a June 1 interview.

The charge of inciting ethnic hatred carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, according to Kyrgyzstans criminal code.
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New York, June 9, 2017Turkish authorities should allow French photographer Mathias Depardon to live and work freely in Turkey, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Depardons lawyer, Emine Seker, told CPJ that the photographer was deported to France today.

French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter today that he was very happy to announce that Depardon would return to France tonight. Seker told CPJ she was still trying to clarify the conditions of her clients release, including whether his criminal investigation on charges of making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization would remain open. Police detained the photographer, who has lived in Istanbul for five years, in southeastern Turkey on May 8, according to his lawyer and press reports.

Mathias Depardons release is cause for celebration, but he should never have been detained in the first place, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. We call on Turkish authorities to allow Depardon to return to his adopted home in Istanbul should he desire, and to allow him to work without interference.
Robert Melson Robert Bryant Melson executed for 1994 triple slaying





Tonight Alabama death row inmate Robert Bryant Melson was executed by lethal injection for the 1994 slayings of 3 fast food restaurant workers in Gadsden. It was the 2nd execution for Alabama in 2 weeks.





The execution of Melson -- convicted of numerous counts of capital murder, attempted murder, and robbery in the shooting at Popeye's -- was delayed by federal and state appeal courts on his requests for a stay.





The execution was set for 6 p.m. at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, but did not begin until 9:55 p.m.





Commissioner Jeff Dunn made a statement at the media center following the execution. He read a statement from Tamika Collins' family, part of which said, "[Melson] feels that he should not suffer a little pain... what does he think those three people felt?... I see no feeling for anyone but himself."





A cousin of Tamika Collins also wrote a statement. It said, "The day has finally arrived... it does not change the acts he so violently carried out." The cousin, whose name was not given, also said of Collins' late father, "This was a day he waited for."





Collins mother and two sisters witnessed the execution.





No family members of Melson were present.





Dunn said he was not aware of any other executions planned, but the Department of Corrections has supplies of the lethal drugs if necessary.





Melson was officially pronounced dead at 10:27 p.m. When asked if he had any last words, Melson shook his head "no." His hands were shaking before the execution began at approximately 9:59 p.m.





For approximately 7 minutes, Melson appeared to have slightly labored breathing. His breathing then slowed, and he did not respond to a consciousness check by a corrections officer before the 2nd 2 drugs in the 3-drug execution method-- which stop the heart and breathing-- were administered.





Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall released the following statement Thursday night after Melson's execution: "Robert Melson's decades-long avoidance of justice is over. For 23 years, the families of the three young people whose lives he took, as well as a survivor, have waited for closure and healing. That process can finally begin tonight."





Melson becomes the 2nd condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Alabama and the 60th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1983.





Melson becomes the 13th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1455th overall since the nation resumed executions on January 17, 1977.



Temporary stay granted for death row inmate Robert Melson

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily halted the death of an Alabama inmate as it reviews his request to block his execution over questions regarding a sedatives effectiveness.





Justices issued the temporary stay Thursday evening about 15 minutes before 46-year-old Robert Bryant Melson was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection.





Melson was convicted of killing three people during a 1994 robbery of a fast food restaurant.





Melsons attorneys argued that Alabama plans to use an ineffective sedative that will not render Melson unconscious before other drugs stop his lungs and heart. They cited the December execution in which an Alabama man coughed and heaved for 13 minutes.





His attorneys argued the execution showed the horrific results of using midazolam in a way it was never intended as an anesthetic.





The Alabama attorney generals office had asked for the execution to proceed arguing the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld midazolams use and allowed other executions to proceed using it. Alabama has executed three inmates using midazolam.

There are more Robert Melsons than Tommy Arthurs

On May 26, minutes after midnight, Tommy Arthur was put to death by lethal injection . "His case," Gov. Kaye Ivey said, "was reviewed thoroughly at every level of both our state and federal courts, and the appellate process has ensured that the rights of the accused were protected."





Later the same day, Ivey signed into law the "Fair Justice Act," a law intended to speed up the death penalty appeals process.





Proponents of this law claim that death penalty appeals take too long, frustrating the interests of justice and prolonging the agony of victims' families. Arthur's case, which spanned more than 3 decades and involved, among other things, 2 retrials and 7 execution dates set aside at the last minute by dramatic claims of newly discovered evidence and questions about the constitutionality of Alabama's death penalty scheme and execution protocol, was often cited as a case in point.





Yet despite everything, questions remained even up to the moment of Arthur's death. His execution was immediately preceded by a strongly-worded dissent from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor, who contended that Alabama's refusal to allow his lawyer to bring a phone with her into the viewing room so that she could alert the court to irregularities in the execution meant that "when Thomas Arthur enters the execution chamber ... he will leave his constitutional rights at the door."





Arthur was lucky to have his constitutional rights honored that long. Robert Melson, an Alabama death row prisoner who is set to be executed on June 8, has not been so fortunate. While Arthur's post-conviction lawyers did battle on his behalf for years and stuck with him to the end, Melson's lawyers abandoned him long ago. Despite strenuous efforts by his current attorneys and a moment of hope in 2011, when the U.S. Supreme Court remanded his case for a hearing on the question of whether his previous attorneys' negligent behavior was irresponsible enough to merit an exception to the strict rules governing deadlines for post-conviction appeals, Melson, if he is executed on June 8, will go to his death without ever having had a hearing on the merits of his post-conviction case.





The difference between Arthur's trajectory and Melson's comes down to luck. While Arthur was blessed in post-conviction with a team of committed, competent, creative, and tenacious lawyers from a deep-pocketed and generous New York law firm - and helped also by the multitude of prosecutorial and judicial missteps that necessitated 2 retrials -- Melson was cursed when the out-of-state lawyer who took his case, and the inexperienced local counsel, turned out to be well-meaning but incompetent bumblers who doomed his case by missing a crucial deadline.





There are serious questions about the integrity of Melson's conviction. Arrested for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and for having skin the same color as the alleged shooter's, his death sentence rests on a pair of shoes that were a size and a half too small for him, 2 pebbles, a seed, and the self-serving statement of an intellectually disabled and emotionally disturbed teenager who has since recanted. No physical evidence at the scene connects Mr. Melson to this crime. Yet because his post-conviction counsel abandoned him, he has never had a chance to air evidence of his innocence in court.





Alabama is almost alone among death penalty states in declining to provide death-sentenced prisoners with attorneys to help them challenge their convictions during the state post-conviction phase, known as Rule 32. Except on the rarest of occasions, Rule 32 is the only opportunity most inmates have to put on evidence that innocence or other factors mean they are deserving of new trials. Alabama inmates must rely on the kindness of strangers to take their cases - and, as Melson's and many other cases prove (including that of Ron Smith, who was executed in December 2016 and whose Rule 32 lawyer also abandoned him) - kindness is not enough.





In a recent letter to his lawyer, Melson wrote, "I don't know much, I didn't even finish high school. But this I do know, I am scared and I need someone to see me, hear me! PLEASE."





The courts saw and heard Tommy Arthur. He was executed anyway, and questions remained, but at least he was lucky enough to have attorneys who fought for him every step of the way. Though Melson now has lawyers who have begged the courts to make an exception and allow him to put on evidence about the flaws in his conviction, the courts have ruled that they came too late in the day. Only the governor can save him now - and in living memory, only one Alabama governor has granted clemency to a death-sentenced prisoner.





The argument for the Fair Justice Act, like many arguments about the death penalty, is premised on the idea that some people somehow get too much justice. But there are many more Robert Melsons than Tommy Arthurs. In its rush to exact vengeance, the state must not neglect its duty to see and hear them all.





Source: Montgomery Advertiser , Jake Watson, June 7, 2017. The author is a Huntsville-based solo practitioner who represents clients in state and federal court. He has been honored by the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association for his work on capital cases, and serves as a board member of the Alabama Post-Conviction Relief Project ( alapcrp.org ).

Robert Melson attorney: Something 'was not right' with execution

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) The Latest on the execution of an Alabama inmate.





A lawyer for an Alabama inmate put to death by lethal injection Thursday says she is concerned his trembling limbs and labored breathing were an indication something "was not right" with the procedure.





Christine Freeman, the executive director of the Federal Defenders Program in Montgomery, said Friday that Robert Melson's arms shook against restraints at the start of the procedures in a manner not seen in other executions.





Melson's attorneys had unsuccessfully asked the appellate courts to block the execution, arguing there were unanswered questions about the effectiveness of the sedative midazolam that Alabama uses at the start of the execution.





State attorneys argued there is no evidence that inmates had suffered pain using midazolam.





Melson's hands and arms shook at the start of the procedure at 9:59 p.m. His breathing appeared to become quickly labored, with his chest moving up and down, before slowing until it was no longer perceptible by 10:09 p.m. The execution took 32 minutes from the time the death warrant was read until Melson was pronounced dead at 10:27 p.m. CDT.





Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said Thursday that Melson's execution went according to protocol.

 | 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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: al.com, Rick Halperin, June 8, 2017: Associated Press, June 8, 2017Source: The Associated Press, June 9, 2017
Nine Filipinos who were part of an armed group that invaded and occupied part of Malaysian Borneo in 2013, in an episode that left scores dead, have been sentenced to hang.





The bloody incursion by some 200 Islamic militants from the southern Philippines was inspired by a self-proclaimed Filipino sultanate's claims of historical dominion over the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo island.





The assault, Malaysia's most serious security crisis in years, led to a siege between the militants and the country's armed forces who were sent to root them out.





At least 70 people were killed, mostly militants, over the 6-week ordeal.





The episode eventually fizzled out when some of the militants fled the palm oil plantation where they had been holed up and returned to the Philippines.





The 9 had initially been handed life sentences last year but prosecutors appealed for a stiffer penalty.





"With this current sentence, I am satisfied," Deputy Public Prosector Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin told AFP.





"Hopefully this will deter other alien nations from intruding into Sabah and Malaysia."





He added that technically the 9 Filipinos were sentenced to death for "waging war against the King of Malaysia" and jail sentences of 13 to 18 years were handed out for "being a member of a terrorist group."





The Philippines said it would ask Malaysia to reconsider the death penalty.





Government official Raul Dado said Philippine officials in Malaysia are "meeting immediately with embassy lawyers".





A total of 800,000 Filipinos live in Sabah, making up about 1/4 of the population of the state, which is just a short boat ride from the southern Philippines.





The crisis at the time embarrassed both the Philippines and Malaysia, shining the spotlight on a porous border and locals' complaints of rampant illegal immigration and lawlessness.





The sentencing comes as Philippine troops continue an offensive to dislodge militants flying the Islamic State group flag who seized the southern city of Marawi more than 2 weeks ago.

 | 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



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

: Agence France-Presse, June 8, 2017
The escape from destitution and uncertainty of subsistence farming is one of the greatest accomplishments of the modern world. More people live longer, healthier, more peaceful lives today than anytime in the past. Recognizing the enormous, positive effect of this gradual transformation is an important tonic to the narrative of pervasive problems and pessimism.

Most people are unaware that extreme poverty has been declining over time, despite its drastic reduction. In a recent survey, only 5 percent of Americans knew that the global extreme poverty had almost halved in the past 20 years. Two-thirds of respondents incorrectly thought it had doubled over that period.

If Americans were more aware of the stunning progress in reducing global poverty, perhaps they would be less pessimistic about the current situation or the outlook for the future.

As the figure below from the Our World in Data project shows, the reduction in extreme poverty on a global scale is recent. The default mode for much of human history was poverty with its associated problems. Only since about 1970 has there been a rapid growth in the number of people living above the extreme poverty line and a drastic reduction in the number of people living under it. In 1970, about 60 percent of the 3.7 billion people living on this planet were still relegated to extreme poverty. Now, the figure is under 9 percent.

Source: Max Roser, Our World in Data.

Today, one person escapes extreme poverty every second, thanks to better economic systems, improved knowledge, and cheaper technology in most areas of the world. In just the past year, more than 32 million people have escaped poverty, bringing the percentage of the world population living under the international extreme poverty line from 9.2 percent to 8.7 percent. The United Nations projects that another 79 million people will climb above the extreme poverty line by 2020.

The World Data Lab's project, World Poverty Clock, gives a real-time count of how many people have escaped poverty today. The portal also lets people see the different rates of progress by country and which ones are on pace to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030.

The rates of improvement vary by country. Some developed nations have all but eliminated this form of extreme destitution, while other countries such as India and China are making rapid improvements. Africa remains an area with disappointing and unsteady progress. Some countries, such as Mauritania and Ethiopia, are on track to meet the goal of eliminating extreme poverty in by 2030. Unfortunately, many countries in Africa, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are moving in the wrong direction, with more people falling into extreme poverty each day.

The expansion of economic freedom has coincided with the impressive reduction in global extreme poverty, and nations that have embraced economic freedom have seen substantial reduction in the share of people living in destitution. As the Economic Freedom of the World report from the Cato Institute shows, the most free countries have the lowest levels of poverty, while in the least free countries high levels of poverty persist.

Source: Cato Institute et al., Economic Freedom of the World: 2016 Report.

Institutions and public policies matter. Fostering free markets and personal freedom allows people to attain levels of prosperity unheard of just a few short years ago.

In some ways this steady climb out of poverty is the most important story taking place anywhere, and represents the biggest net benefit to the largest number of people of any development in modern history.

Countries still have substantial room for improvement across a number of policy spheres and significant problems remain. Even with this progress, too many countries are moving in the wrong direction, reducing the scope of economic freedom and the resulting adverse consequences. At current rates more than five percent of the worlds population will still live in extreme poverty in 2030. That is a smaller share than today, but still far too many.

The drastic and rapid reduction in the world population of people in extreme poverty is something to be celebrated, and underscores how important it is to continue to spread policies that allow this great escape to occur.

Charles Hughes is a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on twitter @CharlesHHughes.

Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, E21 delivers a short email that includes E21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the E21 Morning Ebrief.
Sometimes gamblers lose. That is the case with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, whose Conservative Party did not win enough seats for an absolute majority in Parliament. She incorrectly believed that in preparation for two years of Brexit negotiations she could hold a snap election to increase the majority that the Conservatives won in 2015, after years of a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

May could have continued as Prime Minister with an absolute majority until 2020, when by law she would have had to call an election. Her party is no doubt furious at her poor judgment, and she may well lose her position as Prime Minister through an inability to form a government or a vote of no confidence.

Instead, the election has unexpectedly thrown British politics into flux. Last month the Conservatives held 330 seats. Although they won more seats than any other party on Thursday, 318 projected out of 650, they no longer have an absolute majority in Parliament. Hence, they will need the support of the other partiessuch as Labour or Liberal Democratin order to govern.

May has turned instead to the tiny Democratic Union Party of Northern Ireland, with its 10 seats in Parliament, for help in forming a government. But she will still have to deal with the other parties. The Labour Party is projected to hold 261 seats, the Liberal-Democrats 12 seats, and the Scottish National Party 35 seats.

One factor in the shift to Labor is the unusually high turnout of young voters. Sky News projected that 66 percent of those aged between 18 to 24 year olds voted, compared to 43 percent in the last election in 2015. An additional million young people registered since the election was announced.

The young were generally deeply disappointed with the Brexit vote and in favor of remaining in the European Union. They could not envisage having to produce a passport to travel to another European country. But they did not vote in large numbers during the Brexit referendum last year, and many blamed themselves for the outcome. Yesterday they were determined to make this up.

One young voter told me, Many of these results are a reaction to the hard Brexit. It serves Theresa May right for having taken such a big gamble and pandering to UKIP.

Mays position is similar to the situation in the United States, where the House is one party and the Senate the other and where negotiations are common.

But the British are not used to negotiations because coalition governments are the exception rather than the ruleeven though Conservatives also had a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats from 2010 to 2015. The Chancellor of the Exchequerthe equivalent of the American Secretary of the Treasurystands up on Budget Day and announces the tax rates for the year ahead, without consulting the opposition.

The checks and balances that are taken for granted in the United Statesbetween Congress and the President, and between the House and the Senateare generally not a facet of British politics. It is Winner Takes All.

Negotiations between the Conservatives and Labour will not be easy. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was not expected to gain broad support. Corbyn is one of the more Socialist Labour leaders in decades. He ran on a platform of higher taxes and more government spending. Last night he said, People have said they have had quite enough of austerity politics. In the foreign policy sphere, Corbyn has praised Irish Republican Army terrorists and Hamas and Hezbollah.

The biggest policy casualty of the election is Brexit. Until yesterday, Prime Minister May was promising a hard Brexit, with a definite end to ties to Europe such as immigration, trade, and the right to work. One interpretation of the election is that voters have rejected this hard Brexit, and want a softer touch on the negotiationsor no Brexit at all.

In its manifesto, Labour stated, We will end Theresa Mays reckless approach to Brexit, and seek to unite the country around a Brexit deal that works for every community in Britain. Labours Brexit deal means a continuation of the single EU market, equal rights for EU citizens living in Britain, and no change in regulations. That means practically no Brexit.

Elections have consequences and this election more than most. The Conservatives will be far more limited in what they can do. The pound sterling has fallen, the direction of the Brexit negotiations is uncertain, and the way forward for forming a new government is as yet unclear. Sometimes gambling does not pay off, even in politics.

Diana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Labor, is senior fellow and director of Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute.

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Iran has joined the list of countries targeted within its borders by ISIS.

On June 7, at least 17 people were killed and dozens wounded in twin attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers in Tehran. The first assault occurred at the parliament building; the second at the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Reportedly, at least four terrorists, some of whom were disguised as women, were killed by security forces or died by triggering suicide bombs.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks in Tehran, which follow a spate of attacks claimed by the group in recent weeks, including in Egypt and Great Britain.

In the aftermath of ISIS attacks in Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for unity to fight extremism, violence, and terrorism with regional and international cooperation  a sentiment that echoes President Donald Trumps call for all nations and communities to work together to drive out and defeat terrorists wherever they exist.

In March 2017, ISIS released a video in Farsi threatening Iran for the first time. Although the Iranian government remains a designated State Sponsor of Terrorism for its funding and training of such terror groups as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Palestinian Jihad, Iran has also been supporting the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. This was the first ISIS claimed terrorist attack in Iran to date.

State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert joined officials around the world in condemning the attacks.

We express our condolences to the victims and their families and send thoughts and prayers to the people of Iran, Ms. Nauert said in a statement. The depravity of terrorism has no place in a peaceful, civilized world.
KYODO NEWS - Jun 9, 2017 - 17:46 | World, All

A camera-equipped flying object suspected of being a North Korean drone has been found near the inter-Korean border, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday.

Authorities are investigating the small object that was found by a local resident at a mountain in Inje County of the northeastern province of Gangwon, it said.

The apparent drone is 1.8 meters long and 2.4 meters wide, a JCS official later told reporters, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The JCS said the object is similar in size and shape to a North Korean drone that crashed on Baengnyeong, a border island in the Yellow Sea, in March 2014.

That same year, other drones believed to have flown in from North Korea were found in areas near the border.
Kriti Sanon's outfit proves that she has a thing for mismatched ensembles.

By Shivani Chhabra: Kriti Sanon made her way into our hearts right from her maiden silver-screen appearance and has impressed us since.

While we absolutely love her on-screen presence, adorned by her gorgeous smile, her fashion sense hasn't really been exactly pleasant of late.

Kriti has been promoting Raabta, which hit the theatres today, along with co-star Sushant Singh Rajput, but we're extremely disappointed with the way the actress has been dressing up of late. Continuing with her streak of donning mismatched outfits, Kriti showed up in yet another style-deficient ensemble during a recent public appearance.

Photo: Yogen Shah

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The Dilwale actress wore a printed tee, which was quite sombre compared to what she chose to pair it with--one look at her leopard-print skirt and our favorite thing about the outfit ended up being the tee.

Also Read: Kriti Sanon's attire will make you question her 'raabta' with fashion

Animal prints are hot, but the one on Kriti's skirt was its total opposite, and clearly, a bad pick to team up with something as sporty as a muscle-tee.

Accepting a muscle-tee-leopard-print combination wouldn't have been this hard, had the actor given some thought to colour coordination.

Photo: Yogen Shah

Kriti's black belt wasn't as off as the rest of her attire, but it wasn't spectacular either.

Also Read: These 7 crazy outfits are proof that nobody does quirky like our birthday girl Sonam Kapoor

However, we really like the cool pair of studded, slide-ons she put on, even though it didn't exactly compliment the ensemble.

In an attempt to blend sporty, hot and cool, Kriti went a little overboard, and the result was pleasant.

All we have to say is, Kriti, we've seen you dress way better than this.

--- ENDS ---
Astronomers have used the sharp vision of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to repeat a century-old test of Einstein's general theory of relativity. The Hubble team measured the mass of a white dwarf, the burned-out remnant of a normal star, by seeing how much it deflects the light from a background star.

This observation represents the first time Hubble has witnessed this type of effect created by a star. The data provide a solid estimate of the white dwarf's mass and yield insights into theories of the structure and composition of the burned-out star.

First proposed in 1915, Einstein's general relativity theory describes how massive objects warp space, which we feel as gravity. The theory was experimentally verified four years later when a team led by British astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington measured how much the sun's gravity deflected the image of a background star as its light grazed the sun during a solar eclipse, an effect called gravitational microlensing.

Astronomers can use this effect to see magnified images of distant galaxies or, at closer range, to measure tiny shifts in a star's apparent position on the sky. Researchers had to wait a century, however, to build telescopes powerful enough to detect this gravitational warping phenomenon caused by a star outside our solar system. The amount of deflection is so small only the sharpness of Hubble could measure it.

Hubble observed the nearby white dwarf star Stein 2051B as it passed in front of a background star. During the close alignment, the white dwarf's gravity bent the light from the distant star, making it appear offset by about 2 milliarcseconds from its actual position. This deviation is so small that it is equivalent to observing an ant crawl across the surface of a quarter from 1,500 miles away.

Using the deflection measurement, the Hubble astronomers calculated that the white dwarf's mass is roughly 68 percent of the sun's mass. This result matches theoretical predictions.

The technique opens a window on a new method to determine a star's mass. Normally, if a star has a companion, astronomers can determine its mass by measuring the double-star system's orbital motion. Although Stein 2051B has a companion, a bright red dwarf, astronomers cannot accurately measure its mass because the stars are too far apart. The stars are at least 5 billion miles apart - almost twice Pluto's present distance from the sun.

"This microlensing method is a very independent and direct way to determine the mass of a star," explained lead researcher Kailash Sahu of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland. "It's like placing the star on a scale: the deflection is analogous to the movement of the needle on the scale."

Sahu will present his team's findings at 11:15 a.m. (EDT), June 7, at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas.

The Hubble analysis also helped the astronomers to independently verify the theory of how a white dwarf's radius is determined by its mass, an idea first proposed in 1935 by Indian American astronomer Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. "Our measurement is a nice confirmation of white-dwarf theory, and it even tells us the internal composition of a white dwarf," said team member Howard Bond of Pennsylvania State University in University Park.

Sahu's team identified Stein 2051B and its background star after combing through data of more than 5,000 stars in a catalog of nearby stars that appear to move quickly across the sky. Stars with a higher apparent motion across the sky have a greater chance of passing in front of a distant background star, where the deflection of light can be measured.

After identifying Stein 2051B and mapping the background star field, the researchers used Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 to observe the white dwarf seven different times over a two-year period as it moved past the selected background star.

The Hubble observations were challenging and time-consuming. The research team had to analyze the white dwarf's velocity and the direction it was moving in order to predict when it would arrive at a position to bend the starlight so the astronomers could observe the phenomenon with Hubble.

The astronomers also had to measure the tiny amount of deflected starlight. "Stein 2051B appears 400 times brighter than the distant background star," said team member Jay Anderson of STScI, who led the analysis to precisely measure the positions of stars in the Hubble images. "So measuring the extremely small deflection is like trying to see a firefly move next to a light bulb. The movement of the insect is very small, and the glow of the light bulb makes it difficult to see the insect moving." In fact, the slight movement is about 1,000 times smaller than the measurement made by Eddington in his 1919 experiment.

Stein 2051B is named for its discoverer, Dutch Roman Catholic priest and astronomer Johan Stein. It resides 17 light-years from Earth and is estimated to be about 2.7 billion years old. The background star is about 5,000 light-years away.

The researchers plan to use Hubble to conduct a similar microlensing study with Proxima Centauri, our solar system's closest stellar neighbor.

The team's result will appear in the journal Science on June 9.

###

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 (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C.

For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/hubble

Donna Weaver / Ray Villard

Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

410-338-4493 / 410-338-4514

dweaver@stsci.edu / villard@stsci.edu

Kailash Sahu

Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland

410-338-4930

ksahu@stsci.edu
Pearson VUE, the organising body for Infia, has released the result for the LSAT India 2017. The test is conducted for admission into 83 law schools in India.

By India Today Web Desk: Pearson VUE, the organising body for Infia, has released the result for the LSAT India 2017. All those candidates who had appeared for the same are required to check their respective results at the official website www.pearsonvueindia.com. The test is conducted for admission into 83 law schools in India.

The scores for LSAT India 2017 is published in the form of percentile.

Steps to download the score card:

Log on to the official website www.pearsonvueindia.com

Click on the link 'Download scorecard'

In the provided fields, enter your LSAT password and email address

Click on 'sign in'

Follow the instructions

Your score card will be displayed on the screen

Download the same and take a printout for future reference

About LSAT:

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LSAT-India is a standardised test of reading and verbal reasoning skills designed by the USA-based Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for use by law schools in India. It is developed by testing professionals with advanced degrees in psychometrics, English, linguistics, and logic.

The counselling process too will begin very soon now as the result has been released. The admissions will be given based on the rank of the candidates in the exam.

Read: Telangana Inter Supply Exam 2017: Result declared at results.cgg.gov.in

Read: Maharashtra Board SSC Results 2017 delayed, expected next week

For more updates, follow India Today Education or you can write to us at education.intoday@gmail.com

--- ENDS ---
President Donald Trump has lurched from self-created crisis to crisis, and his approval rating languishes in the latest polls between 35 percent and 40 percent, the lowest of any newly elected president since Gallup begin measuring it.

On Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey is providing testimony before the Senate on the circumstances surrounding his firing and allegations Trump tried to pressure him to lay off the Russia investigation. Right off the bat, Comey said the Trump administration made "lies plain and simple" about him and the FBI, and defamed both. Comey also said he kept records on Trump meetings because he thought the president might "lie" and he said conversations with the president were "disturbing." The former FBI chief said Trump wanted him to "drop" the Michael Flynn-Russia investigation, but he was not ordered to do so and Comey told the Senate it's not for him to determine obstruction of justice.

When the written Comey testimony was released on Wednesday, the markets seemed to take it in stride rather than reacting as if there were a "smoking gun." On Thursday, as Comey's testimony played out, the markets moved from being flat early to up modestly at mid-day with the Dow at a record level.

Ever since the former FBI director's firing, Wall Street has been ever so gingerly  with the caveat that the odds are long but it can't be entirely ruled out  asking the question, Would a President Mike Pence be any better for the economy and for markets?

For now, hopes of Pence moving up to the Oval Office  whether those hopes are held by Republicans or Democrats  are mostly wishful thinking.

There's no sign President Trump wants to step down  in fact, his gut instinct, and that of his chief strategist Steve Bannon, is always to fight. He is allowing Comey to provide testimony instead of trying to block the former FBI director by citing executive privilege, an option that he had. As president, Trump also had the power to fire Comey, for any reason. It was an outcome many Democrats had been pushing for  before it was Trump doing it. Comey told the Senate he believes that he was fired because of the Russia investigation.

Story continues

He named his pick for a new FBI director on Wednesday morning. And inquiries into Trump's 2016 campaign's dealings with Russia are at an early stage, making it unlikely that he would be impeached any time soon, even if Democrats won enough House seats next year to control the chamber and provide the majority needed for impeachment.

But it's not so unlikely as to not be worth exploring. A poll by Democratic pollster Public Policy Polling found 48 percent of Americans favor impeaching Trump. A Washington Post column by influential insider David Ignatius called next year's congressional election "The Impeachment Election."

On prediction trading site PredictIt, 23 percent of bettors think Trump will not be president at the end of 2017, while 18 percent think he will be impeached in 2017.

"People are definitely talking impeachment," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. "They're saying it would be better to get Trump out of the way. Pence is very much like Trump on issues about business and very different in terms of being able to get things done in Washington.''

More from ETF Strategist:

10 years after crisis, does booming mortgage market deserve more fans?

Elon Musk's energy agenda has been doing fine under Trump

The market rally has never been only about Trump

A review of the vice president's record suggests that President Pence's agenda would probably look more like that of a President Paul Ryan, now the GOP Speaker of the House, than like President Trump's. Trump's emphasis on dealmaking, which often causes him at least to flirt with ideological heterodoxy, would give way to more standard-issue GOP policies centered around libertarian-influenced deregulation and tax cutting.

The part of Trumpism that Pence would likely keep  tax cuts, and a push for deregulation that includes repeal of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law and the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare  is the part most closely associated with the post-election stock market rally for which Trump's agenda deserves at least some of the credit.

In Congress, Tea Party caucus member Pence voted against Dodd-Frank and also against the bank and auto bailouts that were another big part of the response by both President George W. Bush and his successor, President Barack Obama, to the 2008 financial crisis. He voted for legislation favored by very conservative skeptics of easy money to audit the Federal Reserve; for a bankruptcy-reform bill favored by credit card companies that made it harder for consumers to discharge debt; and against efforts to let homeowners reduce their mortgage principal through bankruptcy proceedings.

And he voted against Obamacare and pushed to repeal it dozens of times. As governor, though, Indiana accepted the law's Medicaid expansion, which Trump wants to defund.

That kind of voting record is consistent with the advisors Pence has surrounded himself with, said Jared Bernstein, top economic advisor to Vice President Joe Biden from 2009 to 2011 and now a senior fellow at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Pence chose libertarian economist Mark Calabria of the Cato Institute for Bernstein's old job.

"I think of Vice President Pence as being for standard-issue conservative economic policies, including tax cuts in the spirit of Ryan/Trump, smaller government, spending cuts everywhere, including entitlements, except defense, " Bernstein said. "On health care, however, he was one of a minority of [GOP] governors who took the ACA Medicaid expansion in his state, so that cuts against type a bit." He did, however, implement stricter eligibility standards as well as a requirement that Medicaid-expansion recipients, who make no more than 138 percent of the poverty line threshold, contribute to Health Savings Accounts.

The part of Trumpism that Pence would most likely abandon is Trump's skepticism about free trade, the part of the President's doctrine that economists had considered most likely to cause an economic slowdown or even a recession, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Pence voted in favor of every major trade deal put before him, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. Those votes were consistent with Indiana's economy, which is heavily dependent on auto-parts manufacturing, including parts exported to auto-assembly plants in Mexico.

"If you look at Indiana's economy, it makes sense that Pence would develop a pro-trade stance," Zandi said. "Slightly more than half of the state's metro areas have exports accounting for more than 10 percent of gross metro product. Moreover, Indiana's automotive industry, which helped power the state's strong recovery after the Great Recession, relies on a seamless North American supply chain, provided for under NAFTA. Therefore, I assume that he would hesitate to create any NAFTA-related uncertainty, based on his experience in Indiana."

There is little evidence in Pence's voting record in Congress, or in how he ran Indiana as governor, that he would favor a major program to rapidly build infrastructure, like roads and airports. Critics said Pence made a major proposal on infrastructure as governor only after a bridge on Interstate 65 in Indianapolis had to be closed for emergency repairs. Even then, the version that passed only authorized a fraction of the $1 billion of spending Pence called for.

All this is just hypothetical for now, says CFRA strategist Lindsey Bell.

"We don't see it as a highly likely event, but it's an interesting what-if, that's for sure," said Bell. "Crazier things have happened in the past year.''

By Tim Mullaney, special to CNBC.com

Story has been updated to include comments from former FBI chief James Comey during Senate testimony.



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Two of the worlds biggest soda companies are looking to serve up a fresher, healthier face to the public, and theyre betting one way to do that is by selling coconut water.

Pepsico is exploring a bid to acquire All Market, the owner of Vita Coco, the leading brand of coconut water. If an offer is accepted, the deal would push Pepsi past its rival, the Coca-Cola Company, which owns the Zico coconut water brand, to become the global leader in sales of the product.

That Pepsico is looking to scoop up a popular coconut water brand isnt surprising, given that soda companies have been and continue to be assailed for their role in the detrimental impact sugar has had on public health in the US. As the belief that sugar-heavy products have had an outsized effect on the American obesity epidemic has become more mainstream, food companies have faced mounting pressure to change their products and the ways they are marketed. Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi told investors in April that shes committed to reshaping the company into one that can deliver products that are lower in sugar and a lot of zero-sugar products and beverages with positive nutrition.

One way to achieve these goals is to diversify product offerings beyond soda and sugar-heavy fruit juices, and the 350% growth between 2011 and 2017 in volumic sales of US coconut water makes that product a natural target.

Beverage industry experts have said that Vita Coco represents about a quarter of total global coconut water salesa beverage category that some analysts expect to grow by about 20% a year for the next few years. In other words, if the Pepsico-Vita Coco deal goes through, it would put Pepsico at the top of a projected $2 billion coconut-water business within a few years.

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That smartphone in your pocket could hold the cure for malaria, dengue and the Zika virus, a noted Stanford University scientist says.



Manu Prakash has a history of using oddball materials for medical research. His latest project, Abuzz, uses sound. Specifically, he asks regular citizens to capture and record mosquitoes. There are 30 unique species, and each has a different wingbeat pattern.

The big idea is to use algorithms to match sample recordings with disease-carrying species, and then recommend strategies to control the population.

Weird science, sure, but dont knock it. In this age of massive amounts of compute and abundant sensors, dreamers are doing what should be impossible. They are replicating expensive research tools with inexpensive, makeshift solutions. Solutions that can, in many cases, save lives.

In this case, citizen-scientists capture a mosquito in a plastic bottle, poke a hole in the cap and record the buzzing with their phone. Then they send the digital file off to Prakash and his team.

Its not the first time the Indian-born professor of bioengineering has made something from almost nothing.

In 2013, he saw a centrifuge being used as a doorstop at a Ugandan clinic. The expensive medical device had been donated by well-meaning researchers. But the village had no electricity.

So, Prakash put on his problem-solving hat. He later developed the Paperfuge.

Inspired by a toy whirligig, the paper-and-string device can separate blood cells from plasma. At a cost of 20 cents, the instrument is perfect for diagnosis in the field, Prakash told a TED conference audience.

And thats just one example of how a little innovation can go a long way, for not a lot of money.

While visiting remote clinics in India and Thailand, he noticed expensive microscopes were collecting dust on shelves. They were too bulky to carry into the field. In 2014, his team showed off Foldscope, an inexpensive, lightweight microscope inspired by origami.

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This year, they hope to donate 1 million Foldscope devices. And Wired reports the gizmos have already been used to detect diseased crops, spot fake drugs and diagnose malaria.

The World Health Organization reports 3 billion people are at risk to contract an infectious disease like malaria from mosquitoes. In 2015, 212 million people were diagnosed, with an estimated 429,000 deaths.

For the sake of comparison, 2015 was a record year for worldwide shark attacks, with 98. There were 6 human fatalities.

What Prakash is proposing  inviting the public to help the fight against mosquito-borne illnesses  seems preposterous. However, crowdsourcing science and using algorithms to do the modelling is basic procedure in this data-driven age.

Google does it every day with its mobile traffic app, Waze. The stakes are simply higher for Abuzz.

The fact that this is possible is a testament to this era. And it is indicative of the opportunity.

Right now, dreamers like Prakash are out there, building new things and transforming business models. They are going to change what we think is possible. They are also going to build some terrific businesses. Stay tuned.

Click here to sign up for my free VIP newsletter on the intersection of business, technology and culture


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It's not every day that you have to give highly-anticipated testimony about your work experiences before a panel of 15 US senators.



It's even less common for one of these Senate Intelligence Committee members to compliment you on your note-taking ability during a discussion about the leader of the free world's alleged misconduct.

But that's exactly what happened to former FBI Director James Comey during his live testimony in Thursday's Senate hearing  and, despite its high-profile nature, it's a great example of why you, too, should take meticulous notes at work.

Sen. James Risch complimented Comey on his seven-page written testimony, where Comey details nine private encounters during a period of four months  dinners, phone calls, briefings, and meetings in the Oval Office  with President Trump.

"This is as good as it gets, and I really appreciate that, not only the conciseness and the clearness of it, but also the fact that you have things that were written down contemporaneously when they happened  and you actually put them in quotes, so we know exactly what happened and we're not getting some rendition of it that's in your mind  so you're to be complimented on that," Risch said.

Comey's response: "I had great parents and great teachers who beat that into me."

Comey later said that, given who he was dealing with and the weight of the discussions, he had a gut feeling that it would be important to document his meetings.

His gut steered him right.

It's such simple but effective advice to document everything when you have important meetings, and especially when you feel your job may be on the line, that it's often ignored. But any employee would be wise not to take this advice so lightly.

As Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job,"previously told Business Insider, it's a good idea to keep an electronic file of your work, correspondence, and kudos, regardless of your job status.

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"It can come in handy if you have a boss with no legitimate reason to fire you," she told Business Insider. "Also keep kudos that have accumulated from managers, clients, colleagues, business associates, and vendors. You will be well-prepared should you need to refute a poor evaluation." On the flip side, should you need to make a case for a raise or promotion, these notes will also come in handy.

Apart from helping you when your future is on the line, taking meticulous notes can also help you do a better job from the start. Having frank and frequent discussions with your boss and writing everything you discuss down should provide a clear roadmap for where and how you can improve.

Comey noted in his prepared testimony that it wasn't until after his first meeting with then President-Elect Trump that he began to practice creating written records immediately after one-on-one conversations with a US President  he had never done so with President Obama.

"I felt compelled to document my first conversation with the President-Elect in a memo. To ensure accuracy, I began to type it out on a laptop in an FBI vehicle outside Trump Tower the moment I walked out of the meeting," Comey wrote.

But his obsessive note-taking habit shouldn't come as a surprise.

Careers reporter Aine Cain points out that the former FBI director was a reporter for their alma mater's college newspaper, The Flat Hat, where he likely developed his note-taking skills. He was also a federal prosecutor and corporate counsel, both professions where documenting sensitive conversations is a reflex, The New York Times reports. And, as Lauren C. Anderson, a former FBI official, told the New York Times, it's standard for people who work in law enforcement to keep detailed phone and meeting logs.



In the cia, there is a sayin: if you didnt write it down it doesnt exist. in the fbi everything exists because everything is written down.

 Adam Goldman (@adamgoldmanNYT) May 17, 2017

"Memos give you the flexibility to report facts as well as atmospheric impressions," she told the New York Times.

We could all take note.

NOW WATCH: A former Google and Apple exec explains the key to politely firing an employee





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Former FBI director James Comey did not open his appearance with the prepared remarks released yesterday. Instead he focused on the lies the White House has spread about his interaction with President Donald Trump and how he found out he was fired.

It confused me, he said, because Trump repeatedly told me I was doing a great job and hoped I would stay. Comey says he repeatedly told Trump it was his intention to stay through his 10-year term.

Trump told him he had learned Comey was doing a great job and was extremely well liked by the FBI workforceSo it confused me when I saw on television that he had been fired and that Trump said he fired me because of the Russia investigation.

Comey said he learned from the media that Trump said the firing had relieved a great pressure on him in re the Russia investigation.

Comey said he also was confused because Trump publicly said he fired Comey because of decisions I had made during the election year..That did not make sense for me for a whole bunch of reasons, including that a whole bunch of time had gone by.

Trump, he said, Chose to defame me and the FBI saying the organization was in disarray and poorly led and that he had lost confidence in its leader.

Those were lies, plain and simple. Im so sorry the FBI workforce had to hear that, Comey said.

I want the American people to know this truth: The FBI is honest, the FBI is strong and the FBI is and always will be independent.

Then he addressed his former FBI colleagues: I am sorry I did not get the chance to say goodbye to you properly, he said, calling his service the honor of my life.

I will miss it for the rest of my life. Thank you for standing watch and thank you so much for doing so much good for this country.

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Donald Trump's Lawyer: James Comey A Leaking Liar
The White House proposal to overhaul the U.S. food stamp program  and the deep cuts it would make to benefits for the poorest households  has sparked public outrage on both sides of the aisle. But there's another change tucked into the proposal that businesses say caught them off guard  and could wind up costing them more than $2 billion.

That provision is a new fee that the White House wants to charge retailers that accept food stamps, which is now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The Office of Management and Budget said the fee would be assessed when stores sign up and would require renewal after five years. The budget office said the amount would depend on the size and type of retailer, but the president's budget estimates that the fee would generate $2.4 billion in revenue over the next decade.

An OMB official described the fee as "modest" and "reasonable," emphasizing that some large retailers redeem a billion dollars or more in food stamp benefits each year.

"Although a small number of stores may choose to leave the program rather than pay the fee, we do not expect that this will affect access to authorized stores," the official said.

The proposal surprised the grocery industry, which is already fighting to block the controversial border adjustment tax on Capitol Hill. That measure would lower the cost of exports but raise the price of imports and has been widely opposed by chain retailers. Trump's food stamp fee, however, would fall squarely on supermarkets.

Grocers oppose the "flawed policy of imposing fees on food retailers in order to reduce the cost of the federal government's nutrition assistance benefits to the most needy in our society," said Leslie G. Sarasin, president of the Food Marketing Institute, which represents the industry.

Changes hit congressional opposition

Beyond the new fee, the Trump administration is proposing $191 billion in cuts over the next decade to the food stamp program. The U.S. budget office said the reductions would come from tightening the work requirement to qualify for the benefits, but said the details would be left up to individual states. The administration also expects states to make up some of the lost funding.

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The existing system "is a formula for waste and growth rates and costs that are simply unsustainable," budget director Mick Mulvaney said during testimony on Capitol Hill last month. "The total spending should not go down. Or if it does, it goes down because of efficiencies and not because of reductions."

But the proposed changes are already running into obstacles on Capitol Hill  even among Republicans. Rep. Michael Conaway of Texas and Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, the chairmen of the House and Senate agriculture committees, have signaled they would fight the measure.

"We need to take a look at our nutrition assistance programs to ensure that they are helping the most vulnerable in our society," they said in a statement.

Food stamps accounted for about 5.8 percent of the estimated $669 billion in annual sales at grocery stores, according to the Food Marketing Institute. But for some retailers, it accounts for a much larger share of revenue. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is the largest supermarket in the country, and retail analyst Craig Johnson of Customer Growth Partners estimates it rings up $16 billion in food stamp sales each year. That accounts for about 23 percent of federal spending on food stamps.

Wal-Mart declined to comment. But after the government restricted food stamp benefits in 2013, the company reported a 0.9 percent hit to its quarterly grocery sales.

"They may be calling it out as an excuse for underperformance," Johnson said. "But it will be a small marginal impact."

Walmart is a massive retailer that can weather those small hits, but grocers overall operate on notoriously thin margins. Smaller stores  particularly the bodegas and independent retailers that serve poor neighborhoods  would likely feel more pain.

"Certainly, they would see it in their bottom line," said Brian Lang of The Food Trust, a Pennsylvania nonprofit. Lang directs a campaign to make healthy food more accessible. "Implementing cuts to that extent are going to have stark consequences for retailers, especially in low-income communities."





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Opposition from within Pakistan and economic interests are likely to prevent China from basing its Peoples Liberation Army in the country.

Pakistani lawmakers and analysts say opposition and disagreements regarding Chinese investments and Beijings economic and political interests are likely to prompt China to decide against a military foothold in Pakistan, which now hosts a key part of Chinas One Belt One Road initiative. This Chinese grand strategy is aimed at reshaping regional and global economic relations.

A Pentagon report this week predicted that Beijing will seek to build a base in Pakistan. "[China] is seeking to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan," the report said.

Senator Usman Kakar represents the southwestern province of Balochistan in the upper house of the Pakistani Parliament. He says the $50 billion in Chinese energy and infrastructure investments collectively called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is already controversial.

Kakar says the countrys most populated eastern province of Punjab has manipulated the investments by diverting a key route and most projects from the impoverished minority provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in western Pakistan.

The fact that China is not interested in developing the western route [through Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] raises suspicions about their military designs, he told Radio Mashaal. We say that no country, including China, has the right to build military bases in the Pashtun and Baluch regions [comprising these two provinces]. We need education, health care, and employment.

Kakars Pashtukkhwa Milli Awami Party is allied with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League in Balochistan and Islamabad. Other opposition parties are also likely to oppose a Chinese military presence more robustly.

For nearly a decade, militant Baluch separatist factions have attacked Chinas presence in Balochistans Makran region, where Kakar says the coastal towns and villages of Pasni, Ormara, and Gwadar are likely sites for hosting future Chinese military bases. Baluch militants have stepped up attacks on CPEC projects since 2014.

Gwadar still lacks clean drinking water and electricity, so we cannot expect great economic benefit from it, Kakar said of the port, where Beijing has already spent more than $150 million and which is seen as a lynchpin of the Chinese investments apparently aimed at linking its western Xingjian region to the Gulf. This whole belt including Pasni, Ormara, and Gwadar greatly benefits China as a location for a military base.

Gwadar is downstream from the strait of Hormoz, one of the busiest shipping lanes -- a key route for seaborne oil shipments and a major choking point.

Analysts, however, remain skeptical about the possibility of a Chinese military presence in the country.

Hassan Askari, a specialist on defense affairs, says Beijings interest appears to be primarily economic motivated by its interest in decreasing reliance on the South China Sea, a trade route and home to its most important ports that is riddled with territorial disputes and far from its western region.

He says that, for now, CPEC remains an alternative trade and energy corridor linking China to the Middle East and Africa through Pakistan.

There is no possibility of any [military] bases in Pakistan at the moment, Askari said. China might think about it after 15 years or so. But not for now.

Askari noted that Pakistan is not exclusively reliant on Chinese military hardware and purchases more arms from Western countries.

Former Lieutenant General Talat Masood, another security analyst, says Beijing is unlikely to pursue military bases in Pakistan because its main interests are economic.

While the bilateral relations between Islamabad and Beijing are strong, Pakistani public and political parties are likely to oppose Chinese military bases in their country, he said.

In its annual report to U.S. Congress on June 6, the Pentagon noted that yearly Chinese defense spending now surpasses $180 billion. It said Islamabad is already a main customer of the multibillion-dollar Chinese arms industry. Beijing signed an agreement to sell Islamabad eight submarines last year.

Maliha Amirzada is a correspondent for Radio Mashaal.

as/fg
Members of the Youth Congress on Friday protested briefly at Delhi's Tilak Bridge railway station to "wake up" the BJP administrations at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh, which continues to witness protests by farmers.

By Poulomi Saha: Youth Congress members on Friday staged a brief protest at Delhi's Tilak Bridge railway station to "wake up" the Narendra Modi government and the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led administration in Madhya Pradesh, seven of whose districts remain on the boil as farmers continue their agitation against the state and central governments.

The protestors jumped on the tracks, stopped an incoming train from Dehradun, raised slogans and clashed with police, who removed them after a quarter of an hour.

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The Modi and Chouhan-led BJP governments "have to apologise to the farmers," protestors told India Today.

The Congress has been under fire for allegedly trying to instigate farmers to indulge in vandalism and attack security personnel.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi himself was yesterday caught on camera manhandling a cop who tried to stop him from travelling towards strife-torn Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh.

ALSO READ | Farmer protests spread to new areas of MP; Rahul's attempt to enter Mandsaur scuttled

ALSO READ | Farmers protest: After Madhya Pradesh, UP's Ghaziabad to be Rahul Gandhi's next battleground

ALSO WATCH | Out on bail, Rahul Gandhi meets farmers, assures them of full support

--- ENDS ---
NEW YORK, June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tec CTL, Inc., a New York-based integrated oil & gas Company, announced today that it has signed a financing term sheet of up to $3 billion with Milost Global, Inc., an American Private Equity firm. This is a working capital facility for the company which is being provided as a combo of Debt and Equity, of which $2 billion will be an equity facility and $1 billion will be debt facility. Both the company and the investor are expected to sign a commitment letter as the transaction heads to closing.



Last week we announced the receiving of a commitment letter to off-take a total of 20,000 bpd from the government of Botswana through its subsidiary company Botswana Oil Limited. Tec CTL is currently negotiating other off-take agreements with other potential off-take partners that will see a total of 80,000 bpd being purchased from our 4 Botswana plants by 2019 and that will translate to a total of at least $1.4 billion in annual revenues.

Ogaisitse Khama, Vice-Executive Chairman of Tec CTL, commented: After receiving a commitment from Botswana Oil Limited last week, it is becoming rather evident that we are making headway towards becoming the first integrated Oil & Gas Company to develop a CTL project that will produce Synfuels in Botswana. This financing becomes a cornerstone to a build-up to our IPO that will help us trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

We welcome Milost Globals working capital facility as we are at a stage where we need to beef up our balance sheet since we seek to have our first phase in production within the next 18 to 24 months. We, along with our legal team will work with Milost Global and its counsel in order to swiftly close this transaction so as to ensure that our energies are directed to the same direction and we look forward to a very fruitful relationship with Milost Global, said Madhava Rao Mankal, the Chief Financial Officer of Tec CTL.

David Eastman, Chief Investment Officer of Milost Global, Inc. said, We are looking for companies with a compelling story and outstanding management like Tec CTL, this is where we feel comfortable not just to bring in our capital but also our other resources that will help to translate this progressive story into shareholder value for the company and good returns for our limited partners.

This is the genesis of our growth into Africa, this being the largest transaction in Africa where our capital resources will be deployed, we look to ensure that it becomes a foundation from which our African growth story will be written and more importantly so, we intend to ensure that Tec CTL is well supported in its plans to establish zero importation of fuels into Botswana. Given Botswanas political stability and its economic growth trajectory through Diamonds, now this will turn a new page to a country with a more diversified GDP, stated Egerton Forster, CEO of Milost Global.

About Tec CTL, INC.

Tec CTL is a New York-based, vertically integrated United States oil & gas corporation. The company explores, develops and produces oil, gas and chemicals. It owns four projects in Botswana and the same have the capacity to produce a total of 80,000 bpd and seeks to increase through inorganic growth within Africa and elsewhere. www.tecctl.com

About MILOST GLOBAL, INC.

Milost Global, Inc. is an American Private Equity firm that is headquartered in New York City, with more than $25 billion in committed capital, Milost is at the intersection of creative investing and value creation. Milost is also a provider of alternative capital, mezzanine finance and alternative lending to a broad range of industries across the globe including Technology, Transport, Cannabis, Education, Distribution, Mining, Oil & Gas, Financial Services, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, Real Estate, Alternative Energy and Infrastructure Development. www.milostglobal.com
However, USC fits better with my long term goals, which will require a strong network with deep pockets to tap into.

work

network

"With admits from both schools that I applied to, I have agonized over USC and UCLA all month. Their admit pre-MBA orientation falls on the same weekend, so I don't really have a chance to check out both schools in full. That said, I have already decided to withdraw my application at UCLA and have submitted my deposit for USC.Note that UCLA is higher ranked, has a better career center, arguably has better professors and a better MBA program, is in a prettier part of town, has better name recognition nationally and internationally, will probably have a smarter, more experienced incoming class, and will make me a better person.Also, I don't plan on leaving socal, so I don't need the UCLA brand. If I wanted to work in the Bay Area in tech or on the East Coast, I would have chosen Anderson without hesitation. USC has plenty of recognition in OC/LA, so that's enough for me.I also want to mention that USC weirdly has a lot of entrepreneurs. Frankly, USC doesn't strike me as an innovative school and it's been sliding in the rankings. Anderson is the one that's always "thinking in the next" and has TED talks and has the cool curriculum and all that, but somehow USC has billionaires (5 of them, see here , UCLA nowhere on the list) and a shark tank week and CEOs and executives crawling all over the place in socal. Maybe this is premature, but based on the people I've met and already know, I've come to the conclusion that UCLA makes innovators that can, while USC makes innovators that can. And if business has taught me anything, it's not what you know -- it's who you know.Thus, I've decided to move forward with Marshall. That and they also gave me a fellowship, so the money factor makes it a no-brainer. UCLA is still a fantastic, awesome school of dreams and I am so grateful for the opportunity. I've met students and alums that have become good friends and advisors. But Marshall is simply a better fit, and I am super excited to join the Trojan family."
mbaMissionKrista wrote:





VERY interesting question. Based on what I see listed on your profile, you already have a few of the schools I'd recommend...LBS, NUS. Maybe INSEAD? BUT...you said your plans are entrepreneurial in nature...entrepreneurship is a bit different than wanting to go into consulting or banking. (Consulting in particular might give you more flexibility on location. They have projects everywhere.)



In some ways, entrepreneurship gives you more options but in other ways, it also can make things a bit more challenging. Top b-schools will want to know that you have made some progress on this goal already and/or that you have had other successes in the past with entrepreneurship. Every school will have entrepreneurship classes but definitely take a look at this. The other thing I would suggest is looking at employment reports for each school and their job placement by region.



Hope that helps!

Krista Hi arhumsid VERY interesting question. Based on what I see listed on your profile, you already have a few of the schools I'd recommend...LBS, NUS. Maybe INSEAD? BUT...you said your plans are entrepreneurial in nature...entrepreneurship is a bit different than wanting to go into consulting or banking. (Consulting in particular might give you more flexibility on location. They have projects everywhere.)In some ways, entrepreneurship gives you more options but in other ways, it also can make things a bit more challenging. Top b-schools will want to know that you have made some progress on this goal already and/or that you have had other successes in the past with entrepreneurship. Every school will have entrepreneurship classes but definitely take a look at this. The other thing I would suggest is looking at employment reports for each school and their job placement by region.Hope that helps!Krista

Hi Krista, Thanks for your response!That consulting open up more options than entrepreneurship is a good point. So, in my case as far as college selection is concerned, i am keeping the criteria 'entrepreneurship training' lower than the 'location post MBA'. The plan is to get the basic training (especially in marketing, market research, entrepreneurship will be a value add etc) during the program and then getting into and working in the market to gain the final exposure and learning. To be specific, i am interested in learning about the lending markets in the middle east.So, though entrepreneurship training will be important, getting into the target geography, i believe would be more helpful. (Does this make sense?)Names you mentioned (LBS, INSEAD, NUS etc) were helpful. Any more names from the UK that you would recommend?Btw, does the Middle-east region not have any b-school that could be worth to consider?Thanks again!
It is funny how men turn their wives to punching bags until point of death because they are unable to give them male children. Some even label them witches.

Such is the case of a heavily pregnant woman in Abuja who was beaten to death by her husband for expecting another baby girl. The story was revealed by a human rights lawyer Emeka Ugwuonye.

Ugwuonye disclosed that: The incident occurred in Abuja early yesterday (Tuesday) morning. The woman was 8 months pregnant. She already had 3 daughters for the man. We believe the attack occurred when the man learned that the pregnancy was going to be another baby girl. He got mad because he had expected a baby boy. Neighbors heard the woman screaming in the early hours of the night, and some sound of a struggle. Apparently, he beat her to death.

Pregnant woman

READ ALSO: Adams Oshiomhole surprises blind 'daughter' on her birthday (photos)

At daybreak, the man went to the police station and reported that his wife suffered a sudden but natural death. But the story did not make sense. The police spoke to the neighbors and discovered he was beating the woman. Also the police spoke to their first daughter who told the police that their father beat their mum to death. Apparently, the young girls watched as their father killed their mother. They probably know why because it is bad to bear a girl instead of a boy.

PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App

The police arrested the man for murder and he is in detention. DPA is continuing its investigation into the matter. Our representative is heading back to the police station. We intend to have access to the suspect, to know what additional light he could shed on the incident. Also, we want to ascertain the conditions of the three girls to ensure they are safely with mothers relatives. DPA regrets that the neighbors who heard the screaming did not intervene to rescue the woman. They just listened. And nobody bothered to contact the police. A DPA member who is a neighbor to the couple described the woman as jovial and respectful. Expect more update please.

Watch Legit.ng related video below:

RIP!

Source: Legit.ng
Farming community and its dependents, who form over one-third of India's population, are an electoral force that no political party can dare to ignore.

By Santosh Chaubey: According to the 70th Round of the National Sample Survey (NSS), conducted during January-December 2013, India has 9 crore agricultural households.

If the average Indian family size is taken at five members each, it would mean that 45 crore Indians are dependent on farming for their survival.

The number of dependents on agriculture increases if we consider the Census 2011 figures which put the number of farmers in India at 26.32 crore--this includes nearly 11.86 crore cultivators and around 14.43 crore agricultural labourers.

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When the number of cultivators is multiplied with the average Indian family size, the number of those depending on farming for sustenance increases to 59.3 crore.

This is a huge number, especially when considered in terms of the voter turnout in the Lok Sabha Election of 2014.

HOW INDIA VOTES IN LOK SABHA ELECTION

In 2014, India had the 83,40,82,814 electors (83.4 crore) and of them 55,30,20,648 (55.3 crore) voted in the Lok Sabha Election, which comes to 66.3 per cent voter turnout.

With the total number of farmers far outweighing the vote share of the winning party in the 2014 Lok Sabha Election, it is easy to understand why farmers hold importance in Indian politics.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 282 of the 533 seats in the Lok Sabha. After the 1984 Lok Sabha Election, this was the first time a single party won majority on its own, and that too with just 31 per cent of the total vote share.

ALSO READ: Why PM Modi did not meet protesting Tamil Nadu farmers

In terms of number of votes, the BJP got 17,36,14,400 votes (17.36 crore)--this is a small number when seen in the context of the number of people dependent on farming in India.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha Election, the Congress had emerged as the single-largest party winning 206 seats with a vote share of 28.55 per cent and 11,90,98,974 votes (11.9 crore). The Congress continued its United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre by defeating the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

During the 2004 Lok Sabha Election, of the 67,14,87,930 electors (67.14 crore), 38,99,48,330 (38.99 crore) voted--the voter turnout stood at 58.07 per cent.

The Congress won 145 seats and a vote share of 26.53 per cent with 10,34,53,291 votes (10.34 crore). The Congress got seven seats more than the BJP but could stitch a political coalition and went on to form the government.

In 1999 Lok Sabha Election, the BJP won 182 seats and formed a coalition government at the Centre. The Congress could win only 114 seats despite registering a higher vote share of 28.3 per cent against the BJP's 23.75 per cent.

HOW FARMERS CAN SWING RESULTS

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Going by these numbers, it is evident that farmers, given their sheer population size, can swing electoral outcomes if they are mobilised.

The 2007 Nandigram and 2008 Singur land acquisition protests in West Bengal were mishandled by the Left Front government. Fourteen farmers were killed in police firing during the Nandigram agitation.

Mamata Banerjee sensed the opportunity and led the farmer agitations against the then Left government in West Bengal. In 2011, she led the Trinamool Congress to a stunning win that ended the 34-year rule of the Left Front-led government in the state.

Mamata Banerjee has since become stronger and won the 2016 Assembly election in West Bengal with a comfortable majority.

What happened in West Bengal can happen across the country.

ALSO WATCH: Why Yogi Adityanath's loan waiver for farmers isn't a good move

WHY GOVERNMENTS ARE IN PANIC MODE

In the last 15 years, more than 2.30 lakh farmers have committed suicide--two farmers commit suicide every hour. Either a drought year damages farmers' standing crop or a good rainfall leads to overproduction and a subsequent dip in price for their produce. In both scenarios, farmers are not able to recover their input costs.

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The violent protests in Mandsaur and other parts of Madhya Pradesh and the agitation in states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu show that farmers' patience is waning.

That has got state governments and the Central government worried.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan first announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the farmers killed in the Mandsaur firing, raised it to Rs 10 lakh and then finally to Rs 1 crore, all in a span of few hours.

The Central government led by Narendra Modi held an emergency meeting on farmers' agitation while Maharashtra Chief Minister decided to waive off farm loans worth Rs 30,000 crore.

The government, be it in the state or at the Centre, knows that losing the confidence of farmers means almost losing the next election. States like Madhya Pradesh are going to polls soon even as the Modi government is getting ready for the 2019 Lok Sabha Election.

Farming community and its dependents who form over one-third of India's population are an electoral force that no political party can dare to ignore.

Rahul Gandhi's visit to Mandsaur or politics over farm crisis and farmer suicides show that farmers, even if living in abject poverty, continue to dominate Indian politics.

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ALSO READ:

Tinderbox Mandsaur: Will loan waivers help plight of angry farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra?

Madhya Pradesh farmers protest: How Mandsaur is a repeat of Multai 19 years later

Before Mandsaur, Rahul visited these 7 places of violence and protests

ALSO WATCH: Farmers in Punjab commit suicide over mounting debts

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Finally, there seems to be some respite to break the farmers' agitation deadlock in Maharashtra as the state govt has formed a ministerial group to hold talks with the farmers.

By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: Finally, there seems to be some respite to break the farmers' agitation deadlock in Maharashtra as the state govt has formed a ministerial group to hold talks with the farmers.

On Thursday, the core committee group of the agitating farmers withdrew its strike, with a 48-hour deadline to the state govt to hold talks. After insisting that they will hold talks only with "real" farmers, the state govt too walked a step ahead and appointed a ministerial group and assigned it with the task of holding talks with the farmers.

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The ministerial group will be headed by Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil.

"We request everyone with folded hands to come forward and hold discussions. We will talk with every constituent involved. We will talk to political leaders from all the parties and everyone who understands about agriculture," Patil told reporters.

Apart from Patil, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar, Co-operatives Minister Subhash Deshmukh, Irrigation Minister Girish Mahajan will be part of the committee. Shiv Sena leader and Transport Minister Diwakar Raote too will be a part of the committee.

Interestingly, the Shiv Sena has not only been supporting, but also actively participating in the farmers' agitation.

Meanwhile, as the deadlock continues, yet another farmer committed suicide in Osmanabad district in Marathwada owing to debt. This has taken the number of suicides in last 7 days to 11.

Now, with the state govt appointing a committee, everyone is hoping that the deadlock comes to an end.

ALSO READ:

Farmers' protests: Shiv Sena ministers boycott Maharashtra Cabinet meet

Farmers' shutdown receives mix response in Maharashtra

ALSO WATCH:

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On 3-5 October 2017 Kyiv is going to host the Space and Future Forum to network international experts and youth, many of whom will also participate at the first CosmoHack in the world. Joinfo provides media coverage of the Forum, and some of its topics were already discussed ...
The reason Maharashtra govt is looking for this notification is because many petitions have been filed by liquor vendors and restaurant owners claiming that the excise dept is now not renewing their licenses to sell or serve liquor as the dept claims they are located on the highways.

By Press Trust of India: The Bombay High Court today was informed by the Maharashtra government pleader that it cannot find the notification classifying roads as state highways and other roads. The reason Maharashtra government is looking for this notification is because a bunch of petitions have been filed by liquor vendors and restaurant owners claiming that the excise department is now not renewing their licenses to sell or serve liquor as the department claims they are located on the highways.

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It was in December last year that the Supreme Court in its landmark judgment of State of Tamil Nadu V/s. K. Balu and others had directed for not issuing license to liquor shops and permit rooms within distance of 500 mtrs form the national and state highways. By the said judgment the apex court had also directed for not renewing license of existing shops and for not issuing new license for such shops after 31st March, 2017 along national and state highways.

The petitioners claim that the bars, restaurants and wine shops are neither situated on a national highway nor on a state highway, but is located in by-lanes of the city, more than 500 meters from the highways. For example, one of the petitioners is King Wines, which is located in the heart of Kolhapur city. The petitioner submits that recently, their licenses were renewed for this year on accepting requisite license fees by the district collector and superintendent of state excise in Kolhapur. However, the same authorities, after renewal, directed the wine shop owner to forthwith, stop all their business owing to Supreme Court's order.

Thus, during the last hearing on May 31st the division bench of Justice B P Colabawalla and Justice A M Badar had asked for the notification. Advocate Shrikrishna Ganbavale who is appearing for the petitioners explained, "There has to be a notification from state government that this road or that road is a national highway or a state highway. Without that the state government cannot arbitrarily close down business establishments. That is why they have been asked to show the notifications."

The court has granted the state government time till Monday to get these notifications and has even asked the advocate general of Maharashtra to appear before them.

ALSO READ:

Kerala changes liquor policy, 3-star and above hotels can now serve booze

Udta Bihar: Huge spike in substance abuse, alcohol bootlegging year after ban

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British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will stay in office although her party lost its parliamentary majority in elections. The voting was held Thursday.

May said Friday she will attempt to form a minority government with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party, or DUP. DUP leader Arlene Foster confirmed plans to hold talks with the Conservatives to discuss a way to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge.

Mays Conservative Party won the most seats overall in the House of Commons, but fell well short of a majority.

May called for the election last April, saying she hoped to expand her parliamentary majority. She said it would help her in negotiating Britains exit from the European Union.

At the time, she was considered a strong favorite against Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. But Corbyns party won many new seats Thursday.

A major campaign issue centered on Britains plan to leave the EU, also called Brexit. British citizens approved the plan in a vote last year.

May has said she favors a hard Brexit. This would mean Britains immediate and total withdrawal from the single market. The country would also gain full control over its borders. And, it would permit Britain to make its own trade deals and control the making of laws and enforcement in its territory.

Corbyn's Labour Party officially backs Brexit. However, many top party officials have called for a softer process. A soft Brexit would remove Britain as a member of the EU, but permit it to remain in the single market.

After the voting, Corbyn called on May to resign. He said voters had rejected her Brexit plan. "We are ready to do everything we can to put our program into operation," he said.

Political observers say the election results raise questions about the governments future Brexit policy.

Jack Straw, a former Labour foreign minister, said the result means there will now be a lot of pressure in parliament for a soft Brexit. The math and chemistry in the Commons will be pushing away from a hard Brexit, he said.

Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage said the result had put the whole future of Brexit at risk. If the Brexit Secretary is considering putting the single market back on the table then the whole process is now seriously damaged, he tweeted.

On Friday, European officials and lawmakers commented on the apparent political uncertainty in Britain. They said it could harm the Brexit talks, which are to begin in 10 days.

After a meeting with Britains Queen Elizabeth, May promised to keep pushing forward to fulfill the promise of Brexit.

National security was also a major issue of the election campaign following recent and deadly terror attacks in the country. Other issues included the future of the government-run National Health Service, immigration and the economy.

The Scottish National Party, or SNP, also suffered major election losses. The party has called for a second vote on whether Scotland should separate from the United Kingdom. Political observers said the latest losses mean a vote about independence is unlikely in the near future.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from VOA News, the Associated Press and Reuters. Caty Weaver was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

exit  n. the act of going out or away from something

uncertainty  adj. in doubt, not known

fulfill  v. complete what is expected or required to do


James Comey says he believes he lost his job as head of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation because of its investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 elections.

Comey served as the FBIs director until last month. Then President Donald Trump ordered his dismissal.

Comey met with a U.S. Senate committee Thursday. He accused Trump of not being truthful when he said he fired Comey because FBI agents no longer trusted his leadership and that the agency was in disarray.

"Those were lies, plain and simple."

Comey went further than he did in written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Those written statements were released on Wednesday.

In the earlier testimony, the former FBI director said he and the president spoke about Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Comey said Trump told him that he hoped he would drop an investigation into Flynns possible connections to Russian officials.

Comey remembered the president saying, I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go. He also said that Trump told him during a private White House dinner: I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.

That was troubling, Comey said, because the FBI is supposed to operate independently of the president.

Separately, Trumps personal lawyer, Mark Kasowitz, denied that the president ever demanded loyalty from Comey.

But he said Comeys testimony confirmed the president was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference with the 2016 elections.

After testifying for about 2 1/2 hours, Comey met in private with committee members. They said he would be asked about issues related to classified information that could not be discussed in public.

Is Hope the Same as an Order?

Idaho Senator James Risch is a member of the committee and, like Trump, belongs to the Republican Party. Risch asked Comey if hoping that something would be done is the same as ordering him to take action.

Comey said it is different when the U.S. president makes the request.

This is a president of the United States with me alone, saying I hope this. I took it as, this is what he wants me to do.

Comey said he was so concerned with one-on-one discussions with the president that he decided to follow up the meetings by writing reports on what was discussed.

I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself, but to protect the FBI, he said. Comey said he was honestly concerned" that the president "might lie about the nature of their meetings.

Comey said he had given his reports to Robert Mueller, a former FBI director who last month was appointed to lead an independent federal investigation. Mueller is exploring possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russian interference in the U.S. election.

Earlier, Comey had said the Russian interference with the vote was done to hurt the candidacy of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She was the Democratic Partys presidential candidate.

Asking a Friend to Release Information

Comey told the Senate committee about his actions after being fired. He said he asked a friend to give one of his reports about his meetings with Trump to a reporter. Comey said he hoped the information might lead to the appointment of a special prosecutor.

On May 17, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein did exactly that, appointing Mueller to the position of special counsel.

Trump Lawyer Criticizes Comeys Leaks

Kasowitz, Trumps lawyer, criticized Comeys statement that he had asked a friend to give information about his talks with Trump to a reporter. Kasowitz said there are people in government, in his words, attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications.

Comey has now admitted that he is one of the leakers, Kasowitz said.

Last month, Trump commented on his conversations with Comey. He tweeted that Comey better hope there are no tapes of their conversations.

Lordy, I hope there are tapes, Comey told the Intelligence Committee.

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, asked Comey a question that Republicans have been raising since his firing.

If he felt that Trumps requests were wrong, Feinstein asked, why didnt you stop and say, Mr. President, this is wrong?

Its a great question. Maybe, if I were stronger, I would have. I was so stunned by the conversation that I just took it in. The only thing I could think to say, because I was playing in my mind -- 'cause I could remember every word he said - I was playing in my mind what should my response be. Thats why I carefully chose the words.

The former FBI director would not say if he thought Trump could be charged with a crime. That's Bob Mueller's job to sort that out, he said.

At the White House, Trump administration official Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked about Comeys statement that Trump had lied about his firing.

No, I can definitively say the president is not a liar, she said. Its frankly insulting that that question would be asked.

President Trump has often taken to Twitter to criticize the Russian investigation. He did not do so during the hearing on Thursday. But his son, Donald Jr., did. He criticized Comey for saying his father was ordering him to stop investigating Flynn, when it was just a request.

Knowing my father for 39 years when he 'orders or tells' you to do something there is no ambiguity, Donald Trump Jr. said. You will know exactly what he means."

I'm Bruce Alpert

And I'm Anne Ball.

Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. His report was based on stories from VOANews.com, the Associated Press, Reuters and other sources. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

disarray - adj. a confused or messy condition

plain - adj. easy to see or understand

further - adv. to a greater degree or extent

testimony - n. something that someone says especially in a court of law while formally promising to tell the truth

probe - n. an investigation

classified - adv. information that is supposed to be kept secret from the public

leak - n. providing information that was not previously known to a reporter

privileged - adj. conversations that are supposed to remain private

sort that out - phrase, determine what the facts are

definitively - adv. not able to be argued about or changed: final and settled


The first album of music from Chuck Berry in thirty-eight years is released this week, three months after his death.

The album, called Chuck, has 10 songs, including eight written by Berry.

A family affair

The album has new songs that he had been writing since 1991. The sound is similar to the original style that first made Berry popular.

Berry told journalists in 2012, Its the same type of music Ive been playing. As soon as I can get someone to guide me in that, Im gonna come back and push em out, if you know what I mean.

Paul Roper is head of Dualtone Records which produced the album. He says the album is special for Chuck Berrys family.

Charles Berry Jr [his son] and Charles Berry III [his grandson] play guitar on multiple tracks and his daughter Ingrid sings on a few as well. Mrs. Berry had approval on mixes and the final master so everyone played a role.

Roper adds the album also shows a new dimension to Berry.

There's the highly emotive Darlin written for his oldest daughter Ingrid and the passing on of advice in Eyes of Man alongside of course traditional Chuck Berry classic sounding rockers like Big Boys and Wonderful Woman. It's a special body of work, especially considering how long it has been since the public has had new music from Chuck.

A life of success and controversy

Chuck Berry was born in 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri. He learned to play the guitar while in high school. In 1952, Berry formed a band and soon was performing regularly around St. Louis.

Berry is often considered one of the most important musicians in rock and roll music history. His first hit song was Maybellene. From 1955 through 1958, he released many others, including Roll over Beethoven, Sweet Little Sixteen, and Johnny B. Goode.

However, Berry faced legal problems throughout his career. As a teenager, Berry went to reform school after an attempted robbery. He spent two years in prison for bringing an under-aged girl across state lines for immoral purposes. He also served 100 days in prison after being charged with not paying tax.

Berrys last public performance was on October 15th, 2014, when he played in St. Louis.

He was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2000, U.S. President Bill Clinton presented him with the Kennedy Center Honors Award, calling him one of the 20th Centurys most influential musicians.

Chuck Berry died on March 18, 2017 at his home near Wentzille, Missouri. He was 90 years old.

Im Phil Dierking.

Phil Dierking wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

What do you think of Chuck Berrys music? IS it popular where you are from? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

dimension  n. a part of something

emotive  adj. causing strong emotions for or against something
A 21-year-old flight attendant has won the 2017 Miss Tibet pageant in India.

Tenzin Paldon competed against eight women. Pageant officials announced the winner on June 4.

My feet arent touching the ground at the moment, Paldon told VOAs Tibetan service after the win. I hope to inspire people to be a good role model for younger Tibetans.

Despite the pageants name, neither Paldon, nor any of the other women, live in Tibet. Tibet is a partly self-ruled Himalayan area of China.

The competition was held in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamsala, where the Tibetan government-in-exile is based. It is also home of the Dalai Lama, Tibets Buddhist spiritual leader.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 after a revolt against Chinese rule. China accuses him of trying to separate Tibet from China. The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said he seeks greater self-rule for Tibet, not full independence.

All the pageant competitors belong to the Tibetan diaspora and most of them live in India. Tenzin Paldon is from Kollegal, a Tibetan agricultural settlement in southern India. She currently works for the Indian-based air carrier Spice Jet Airlines.

The pageant was held in several parts over three days. Judges rated the women on their looks as they appeared in swimsuits, gowns and traditional Tibetan clothes. The competitors also had to demonstrate a skill, such as singing or dancing, and answer questions on a mix of issues.

The winner received a money prize and free travel award. She is expected to make event appearances and represent Tibet in international pageants. In the past, some winners withdrew from international competitions after Chinese officials demanded that they compete as Miss Tibet-China.

Paldon gave a statement to the Tibet Post she said was meant for the Chinese government. I wanted to say China, look at us, we are staying in another country, but we are intelligent and we are representing our country in this way, the statement said.

She also expressed her desire for females in Tibet to be able to show the harmony and peace that exists among people there. If the Chinese government would give us a chance to showcase our peaceful state, we would proudly do so."

The pageants website said the competition is a way for Tibetan women to show the many different skills and interests they possess. It is also meant to help publicize efforts by groups attempting to improve conditions for Tibets people.

The pageant did not escape criticism.

Some conservative Buddhists in the Tibetan community disapproved of the women wearing swimsuits. Critics also said the competition should center on inner beauty rather than body image.

The New York-based Tibetan Feminist Collective criticized the pageant for the way it chooses winners. A statement on the groups Facebook page said there should never be a single view of what is considered beautiful.

Holding up skinny women with fair skin and straight noses on a pedestal holds us back as a society, although it is not limited to our particular group, the statement said. The group added that since the physical features of Tibetans differ greatly, they should be celebrated and embraced.

Im Anne Ball.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on a report from VOA Tibetan and material from other sources. Caty Weaver was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

pageant  n. contest in which people judge a group of women or girls in areas such as beauty, talent and speaking skills

inspire  v. make someone want to do something

autonomous  adj. existing or acting separately from other things or people

contestant  n. person who takes part in a contest

diaspora  n. group of people who live outside the area in which they had lived for a long time or in which their ancestors lived

gown  n. formal dress usually worn at a special event

harmony  n. situation in which people are peaceful and agreeable

proudly  adv. acting in a happy, pleasing way

compatible  adj. able to exist together without problems or conflict

skinny  adj. very thin

pedestal  n. the base of a column or other tall object

embrace  v. gladly accept something
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has called on North Korea to stop testing missiles after the Norths latest missile launch.

Moon urged North Korea to immediately halt what he called its nuclear and missile provocations.

Early Thursday, North Korea launched missiles from an area near Wonsan, a city on its eastern coast. They traveled about 200 kilometers to the east and landed in the sea.

The office of South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said they appeared to be short-range cruise missiles.

A spokesman for the office said the launch seemed to be a test designed to answer recent United States naval exercises in the region.

However, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff noted that the test did not violate United Nations Security Council restrictions because the missiles did not travel high enough. Those restrictions ban high-altitude missile and nuclear weapons development.

Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said there was no reason for Council members to consider the latest test.

The government has dealt with actions of North Korea based on responses of the international community. However, we dont think this (missile launch) is something we need to protest against, he said.

The secretary said the missiles did not reach Japans exclusive economic zone, which extends about 370 kilometers from the Japanese coast.

Additional THAAD deployment delayed

The launches took place one day after the administration of President Moon Jae-in suspended additional deployment of an American anti-missile system.

A presidential aide said an environmental study was required by law before additional deployment could take place. The study could take two years.

Two rocket launchers have already been deployed to South Korea as part of the THAAD anti-missile system. The study delays the deployment of an additional four launchers.

The postponement comes after reports that the defense ministry failed to inform Moon of the additional deployments. He suspended a deputy defense minister for his part in bypassing the presidents office.

On Thursday, the Defense Ministry did not comment on the THAAD issue because of an investigation into the deployments approval.

During the South Korean election campaign, Moon called for a detailed study of the THAAD anti-missile system agreement with the United States. The deployment of the system went forward as then-President Park Geun-hye faced removal from office over accusations of corruption.

China has opposed the THAAD missile deployment on the Korean Peninsula. The Chinese government considers it a threat. The state-operated Global Times said Wednesday that the delay in the additional deployment could ease tensions between China and South Korea.

Chinese officials reportedly have cancelled tourist trips to South Korea and taken other economic measures against the South to show their displeasure.

Bruce Bennett is a defense expert with the RAND Corporation research group. He told VOA that the latest missile launch might show new capabilities for North Koreas missile program. However, he said they presented little threat to U.S. forces in East Asia.

Currently, the U.S. military has deployed two aircraft carrier strike groups to the area. The strike groups include the carriers USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan.

Im Mario Ritter.

Brian Padden reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted his report for Learning English. His story includes material from VOAs Chris Hannas, Kenneth Schwartz and Victor Beattie. George Grow was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

provocations  n. something done to cause an intense or angry reaction

region  n. a part of a country or the world separated in some way from others

exclusive  adj. not shared; available to only a few people

altitude  n. height; the highest point of something

bypass  v. to go around or avoid something

altitude  n. height above the earths surface

capability  n. the ability to do something

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
Chef Bruno Abate owns one of the best pizzerias in Chicago.

His restaurant makes thin pizzas, heated in an oven with a wood-burning fire. They come with toppings like mushrooms, onions, olives, tomatoes and Italian meats.

Each pizza sells for between $12 and $18 at Abates restaurant, Tocco.

But did you know you can get a similar pizza for half the price at the Cook County Jail in Chicago?

Abate leads a cooking school at the jail. He shows prisoners how to make pizza, pasta, and Italian ice cream, called gelato.

The cooking school is called Recipe for Change.

There, behind the jails barbed wires and security barriers, a number of students, including Shaquille Slater, are making pizzas. I like everything I do, he says.

Slater makes pizza dough, and then adds toppings to the dough. He makes sure the pizza and its toppings look just right before they come out of the oven.

Jonathan Scott says working with food makes him forget about being in jail.

[It brings up] memories of when you was free and when you was having a good time, he says.

Workers at the cooking school make about 200 pizzas every week. The pizzas are sold to other prisoners in the jail for about $7 each.

Scott says the eyes of the prisoners light up like its Christmas when their pizzas arrive. They love it, he says. They keep ordering every week.

Abate says he is teaching cooking skills to the prisoners, and how to use good, fresh ingredients. Many of the students did not know how to use basil or zucchini before taking the class.

When they finish the class, the students have skills they can use to find jobs when they are released from prison.

A website called Munchies published a long story about Abate and the program. It told the story of one former inmate, who now works in Toccos kitchen.

Abate says his program teaches more than how to make food.

Shaquille Slater says Abate helps his students learn that they need to have a plan for their future so they do not return to prison once they are released.

Through food, I try to teach, you know, how to change in life, Abate says.

Im Dan Friedell.

Deborah Block wrote this story for VOANews.com. Dan Friedell adapted her report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Would you try a pizza made by an inmate? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

recipe  adj. a set of directions for making food

barbed  adj. having sharp points or edges

dough  n. a mixture of flour, water, and other ingredients that is used to make bread or other baked goods

ingredient  n. something that is used when making a food product
Clearance of SnCs by GCV reduces the development of post-traumatic OA. Credit: UNIST

A recent study, led by an international team of researchers confirms that targeted removal of senescent cells (SnCs), accumulated in many vertebrate tissues as we age, contribute significantly in delaying the onset of age-related pathologies.

This breakthrough research has been led by Dr. Chaekyu Kim of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who is now at UNIST, and Dr. Ok Hee Jeon of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in collaborations with the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, the University Medical Center Groningen, Unity Biotechnology, Inc., and the University of California, Berkeley.

In the study, the research team presented a novel pharmacologic candidate that alleviates age-related degenerative joint conditions, such as osteoarthritis (OA) by selectively destroying SnCs. Their findings, published April 24th in Nature Medicine (Impact Factor: 30.357), suggest that the selective removal of old cells from joints could reduce the development of post-traumatic OA and allow new cartilage to grow and repair joints.

Senescent cells (SnCs) accumulate with age in many vertebrate tissues and are present at sites of age-related pathlogy. Although these cells play an essential role in wound healing and injury repair, they may also promote cancer incidence in tissues. For instance, in articular joints, such as the knee and cartilage tissue, SnCs often are not cleared from the area after injury, thereby contributing to OA development.

Professor Chaekyu Kim of Department of Chemistry at UNIST. Credit: UNIST

To test the idea that SnCs might play a causative role in OA, the research team took both younger and older mice and cut their anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) to minic injury. They, then, administered injections of an experimental drug, named UBX0101 to selectively remove SnCs after anterior cruciate ligament transection (ACLT) surgery.

Preclinical studies in mice and human cells suggested that the removal of SnCs significantly reduced the development of post-traumatic OA and related pain and created a prochondrogenic environment for new cartilage to grow and repair joints. Indeed, the research team reported that aged mice did not exhibit signs of cartilage regeneration after treatment with UBX0101 injections,

According to the research team, the relevance of their findings to human disease was validated using chondrocytes isolated from arthritic patients. The research team notes that their findings provide new insights into therapies targeting SnCs for the treatment of trauma and age-related degenerative joint disease.

Prior to this study, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures (JHTV) granted UNITY Biotechnology Inc. the right to use the intellectual property around the senescent cell technology. UNITY is a company aiming to develop therapeutics that address age-related diseases. Last October, the company announced $116 million in Series B funding from some of the big names in venture capital, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezo's venture fund Bezos Expeditions, Mayo Clinic Ventures, Venrock, and ARCH Venture Partners. UNITY has completed a rigorous screening and preclinical testing process of candidate drugs, discovered in this study, and is launching a new clinical trial to assess its first drug, for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee this year.

Adapted from Baker et al., (2016) Nature. Credit: Baker et al., (2016) Nature.

More information: Ok Hee Jeon et al, Local clearance of senescent cells attenuates the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis and creates a pro-regenerative environment, Nature Medicine (2017). Journal information: Nature Medicine , Nature Ok Hee Jeon et al, Local clearance of senescent cells attenuates the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis and creates a pro-regenerative environment,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/nm.4324
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study led by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis assistant professor of psychology Tamika Zapolski has found differing risks for binge drinking based on race, income and age.

Zapolski found that African-Americans and Hispanics in the lowest income bracket (annual incomes less than $20,000) have a lower risk of binge drinking during adolescence compared to whites, while African-Americansbut not Hispanicshave a higher risk for binge drinking compared to whites at age 50 and older.

At higher incomes, a comparable risk for binge drinking was found for both African-Americans and Hispanics at older ages.

According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, about 44,000 alcohol-related deaths annually stem from binge drinkingdefined as four or more drinks for females or five or more drinks for males in a two-hour period.

The IUPUI researchers analyzed data on binge drinking among 205,198 respondents age 12 and older surveyed in the 2010 to 2013 National Study on Drug Use and Health. They investigated risk for binge drinking as a function of race/ethnicity, gender, income and age.

After controlling for education and marital status, among those with annual incomes less than $20,000, the risk for binge drinking was lower for African-American males from ages 18 to 24, as well as females from ages 18 to 34, than for their white counterparts. But the risk for binge drinking was higher for both African-American men and women ages 50 to 64, compared to whites. Unlike African-Americans, no crossover from low risk to high risk for binge drinking was found for Hispanics.

Within each of the higher income brackets ($20,000 to $50,000, $50,000 to $75,000, and greater than $75,000), risk for binge drinking was generally lower for African-Americans in comparison to whites at younger ages, with similar risk of binge drinking at older ages. The risk for binge drinking for Hispanic respondents was fairly comparable across age groups.

"Although African-Americans are generally at low risk for binge drinking, we found that the risk for binge drinking increases disproportionately with age among African-Americans who are poor," said Zapolski, a clinical psychologist. "This may be linked to the impact of poverty, which is particularly detrimental for African-American populations."

The findings of increased risk for binge drinking in mid-adulthood to late adulthood for low-income African-Americans can inform clinical practice as well as advance research, Zapolski said. In future studies, she hopes to find out why older African-Americans are more likely to binge drink by looking at stresses prevalent in their communities, such as exposure to violence and housing insecurity. Zapolski's goal is to develop health prevention and intervention strategies that incorporate these social factors.

Zapolski directs PRISM, the Prevention Research In Substance Use & Minority Health Lab in IUPUI's School of Science. PRISM focuses on risk for substance use and other health behaviors among African-Americans.

Further work is required to investigate potential differences in drinking behaviors among Hispanic subgroups, according to Zapolski and study co-authors Patrick Baldwin, an IUPUI graduate student; Devin E. Banks, a former IUPUI graduate student now on the faculty of Chestnut Hill College; and Timothy Stump, an IU School of Medicine biostatistician.

"Does a Crossover Age Effect Exist for African American and Hispanic Binge Drinkers? Findings from the 2010 to 2013 National Study on Drug Use and Health" is published in the June print issue of in the peer-reviewed journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study was supported, in part, by the School of Science at IUPUI and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.

The School of Science at IUPUI is committed to excellence in teaching, research and service in the biological, physical, behavioral and mathematical sciences. The school is dedicated to being a leading resource for interdisciplinary research and science education in support of Indiana's effort to expand and diversify its economy.

More information: Tamika C.B. Zapolski et al. Does a Crossover Age Effect Exist for African American and Hispanic Binge Drinkers? Findings from the 2010 to 2013 National Study on Drug Use and Health, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (2017). Journal information: Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Tamika C.B. Zapolski et al. Does a Crossover Age Effect Exist for African American and Hispanic Binge Drinkers? Findings from the 2010 to 2013 National Study on Drug Use and Health,(2017). DOI: 10.1111/acer.13380
Mandsaur police said no outsiders including AAP leaders will be allowed to enter the district during the curfew relaxation period.

By India Today Web Desk: A day after Rahul Gandhi was arrested on way to Mandsaur, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) team was also denied entry to the epicentre of a violent farmers' agitation even as curfew was relaxed for eight hours by the administration.

Mandsaur police said no outsiders including AAP leaders will be allowed to enter the district during the curfew relaxation period. AAP leaders Bhagwant Mann, Ashutosh and Sanjay Singh were planning to visit the district where five farmers were shot dead in police firing.

Madhya Pradesh farmers' agitation: Curfew relaxed in #Mandsaur from 10 am to 6 pm. pic.twitter.com/VIYkqDyrxT ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

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Mandsaur has seen violent protests since Tuesday after five farmers were killed in a police firing.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Addressing a press conference in Mandsaur, SP Manoj Kumar Singh said the AAP leaders will be arrested if they try to enter the violence-hit district. The district administration relaxed curfew in Mandsaur from 10 am to 6 pm. Collector O P Srivastava said the situation has improved and no untoward incident has been reported. ATMs have started functioning and supplies of milk and vegetables have improved, he said. However, it would take time before Internet services are restored. The farmers in Madhya Pradesh were on strike since June 1 demanding loan waivers and fair prices for their produce. The agitating farmers resorted to violence on Tuesday, pelting stones at the police. In retaliation, the police opened fire, leaving five dead, according to official count. However, farmer leaders claim eight were killed. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who was arrested on way to Mandsaur on Thursday, has sought a comprehensive inquiry into the killing of five farmers and sought "martyr" status for them. Gandhi, who was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police and subsequently released, said the party would aggressively raise the issues concerning farmers in parliament and seek loan waiver for them. Gandhi was arrested along with 29 other leaders including Janata Dal-United's Sharad Yadav when they entered the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh but were later released on personal bonds. The BJP accused the Congress of instigating the violence and said Gandhi's conduct was irresponsible. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Modi government would not do anything that breaks the faith of farmers and the common man. Meanwhile, farmer protests have spilled over to new areas of Madhya Pradesh. Incidents of arson were reported from Shajapur and Dhar districts in western part of the state on Thursday. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged the farmers to maintain peace and vowed to resolve the crisis through talks.

Also read:

Rahul Gandhi's bike stunt at MP-Rajasthan border can land him in trouble

Rahul Gandhi released after bail, meets kin of farmers killed by police at MP-Rajasthan border

Rahul Gandhi likely to take over as Congress chief in October

Also watch:Out on bail, Rahul Gandhi meets farmers, assures them of full support

--- ENDS ---
Emily Keber-Goldrick remembers the moment she was told she needed a C-section.

The Bucktown mom initially hoped for a water birth, with a plan detailed down to lavender oil. But while pregnant with her son Rowan in 2014, she developed pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy complication. Doctors monitored her closely, she said, and after 28 hours of labor and with her son's heart rate dropping, a C-section was advised.

"I just burst into tears," said Keber-Goldrick, 32. She felt, she said, she had failed.

Not every woman feels troubled by her birth experience. But having a C-section - one in three births nationally - is one reason women seek mental health help following a delivery, say Chicago mental health professionals.

Mental health struggles after a C-section range from guilt and anxiety to trauma from feeling their life, or the life of their baby, was in danger.

"The emergency nature of C-sections leads them to feel out of control, as well as fear that there will be harm to the baby or themselves," said Dr. Sarah Allen, a Chicago psychologist and director of the Postpartum Depression Alliance of Illinois, which runs self-care workshops for women.

Many things lead to a C-section, and each experience is different. Those who counsel postpartum women say that for many, the memory lingers.

"They couldn't have that rite of passage that birth is supposed to be," Allen said. "Women start ruminating or questioning themselves - 'What did I do wrong? What could I have done to prevent this?'"

Allen has counseled postpartum women for two decades and said many report anxiety or depression, at least in part, because of their C-section. And she notes a difference between postpartum depression and a woman experiencing trauma rooted in a C-section alone.

"It's specifically around the birth experience," she said.

Women who previously have experienced anxiety or depression are most at risk for maternal mental health issues, said Dr. Katherine Wisner, who directs the Asher Center for the Study and Treatment of Depressive Disorders at Northwestern Medicine Feinberg School of Medicine.

About 1 in 7 new moms experience postpartum depression, and although symptoms can appear any time during the first year, they typically manifest within three months, according to the Asher Center. Markers include anger, irritability, crying, guilt, shame, sadness and lack of interest in the baby.

And about 70 to 80 percent of new mothers experience mild symptoms within two to four days, like crying or trouble sleeping and eating, often known as the "baby blues," according to the Asher Center.

Lauren Orchell, 35, didn't fully realize how much her C-section affected her until her doctor suggested she schedule another. She and her husband declined. During her first birth, in 2014, doctors had noticed high blood pressure at her 40-week appointment, she said, and induced her. Laboring for 10 hours ended with surgery.

Without much communicated about what was happening and why, Orchell said her husband felt helpless; she felt isolated. Right after her son was born, she asked to see him. No one heard her.

"We had no idea that both of us were so traumatized by the first experience," she said.

Women hesitate to voice negative feelings surrounding birth, said Dr. Marcela Almeida, a psychiatrist at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, where she directs the Women's Mental Health and Reproductive Psychiatry Service. They might feel shame or stigma around sharing anything but positive emotions surrounding new motherhood.

"It's much more common than we hear," she said. "It's underreported."

Almeida said her clients with post-traumatic stress disorder experience hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks, and they avoid places that trigger reminders of their C-section, like an appointment with the same doctor or at the same hospital. Some experience suicidal thoughts.

"And sometimes (symptoms) stay for a long time," she said. "Sometimes we're talking about months. We're talking about years."

Postpartum Support International, a Portland-based organization that aims to increase perinatal depression awareness, estimates 9 percent of women experience PTSD following childbirth, often because of a real or perceived trauma. This could include an unplanned C-section or the baby needing intensive care. It can also include a feeling of powerlessness or lack of support during delivery.

Almeida helps women find a support system and discuss their emotions. She tells clients, "There's so much more in motherhood than those few hours when you have no control, when things go in an unexpected way."

To help process her feelings, Keber-Goldrick interviewed other postpartum moms and photographed them for a project called "Memories of Joyful Birth." The conversations were therapeutic, she said. Many also felt they'd failed.

"That's your first duty as a mom," Keber-Goldrick said on a recent afternoon in an apartment filled with baby books and toy trucks. "It's one of the biggest days of your life, and it's traumatic. It's OK to want more."

Keber-Goldrick spent the years between her pregnancies plotting how to avoid another surgery. She trained as a doula, helping other women through birth, and she learned about vaginal delivery options. With her second pregnancy, she switched practices for a fresh start. But high blood pressure again signaled pre-eclampsia, she said, and in December she again delivered through a C-section.

This time, however, she felt armed with information. And speaking with other moms about her post-birth emotions had eased previous feelings of failure and guilt.

"I did a lot of soul-searching following my son's birth," she said. "I think it's important to remember, and I really had to come to peace with it, that cesarean birth is still birth. It's still important, and it's monumental, and it's life changing."

2017 Chicago Tribune

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study, published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, has shown that selling rewards programmes to participants entering a weight loss programme is a low cost strategy to increase both the magnitude and duration of weight loss. A team from the Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH) led the research, which has implications for insurance companies and employers looking for low cost strategies to improve population health.

Worldwide, overweight and obesity are increasingly prevalent conditions, which have led to the rise of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. They have also increased absenteeism among employees and raised private and public healthcare costs. However, they are largely preventable by making healthier food choices and engaging in regular physical activity. Yet, because people often succumb to temptation, they often fail to make healthier choices.

Professor Eric Finkelstein from Duke-NUS used insights from behavioural economics to develop a Rewards programme aimed to address the disconnect between long-term health and short-term temptation. He then teamed up with Dr Kwang Wei Tham from SGH to test it out among overweight or obese adults.

In the randomised eight month long Singapore-based Trial on Incentives for Obesity (TRIO), 161 participants paid S$234 to access a 16 week intensive weight loss programme. The programme required participants to attend weekly sessions at the Lifestyle Improvement and Fitness Enhancement (LIFE) Centre in SGH where they were taught skills to maintain a healthy lifestyle and encouraged to lose at least 5% of their body weight.

Participants also paid an additional S$165 for the Rewards programme. Participants in the intervention arm could earn monthly rewards either in cash or as a lottery ticket with a one in 10 chance of winning 10 times the cash amount if they met monthly weight loss and step goals. Additional rewards were offered for meeting 5% or 8% weight loss goals at months four and eight. The maximum possible reward value over the eight month period was S$660 if all weight loss and step goals were met. Those randomised to the control arm had their money returned and were ineligible for rewards.

At the end of month four, weight loss was more than twice as great in the Rewards arm compared with the control arm (average 3.4 kg versus 1.4 kg weight loss). At months eight and 12, weight loss remained greater (average 3.3 kg vs. 1.8 kg weight loss at month eight and 2.3 kg vs 0.8 kg weight loss at month 12). Moreover, more than three times as many Rewards arm participants achieved 5% or greater weight loss at month four, relative to control arm participants (40% vs. 12%). At month four more than twice as many hit the 5% threshold (41% vs. 21%) and the percentage with 5% or greater weight loss was still greater at month 12 (28% vs. 17%).

The average payout to participants in the Rewards arm was S$225.00. After subtracting the fee to access the rewards, third party costs were S$60.00 per participant. Moreover, although only 42% of participants earned more than they paid in, ~80% reported satisfaction with the rewards scheme.

"Our findings not only show the value of rewards to increase weight loss and weight loss maintenance, but they show it can be done in a manner that minimizes third party payments, such as those by employers or insurers. This should help to expand access to these types of programmes." said senior author Dr Finkelstein, a professor in the Duke-NUS Programme for Health Services and Systems Research.

"Even small amounts of weight loss, sustained over time, confer great health benefits and can help prevent chronic disease. This study shows that the enhancement and maintenance of weight loss is feasible through a rewards programme with participant ownership, coupled with an evidence-based, medical weight loss programme," said Dr Kwang Wei Tham, Director, LIFE Centre and Senior Consultant, Department of Endocrinology, SGH.

Provided by Duke-NUS Medical School
Credit: University of Michigan

A chemical currently being used to ward off mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus and a commonly used insecticide that was threatened with a ban in the United States have been associated with reduced motor function in Chinese infants, a University of Michigan study found.

Researchers at the U-M School of Public Health and U-M Center for Human Growth and Development tested children in China and found exposure to the chemical naled via their mothers during pregnancy was associated with 3-4 percent lower fine motor skills scores at age 9 months for those in the top 25 percent of naled exposure, compared to those in the lowest 25 percent of exposure. Infants exposed to chlorpyrifos scored 2-7 percent lower on a range of key gross and fine motor skills.

Girls appeared to be more sensitive to the negative effects of the chemicals than boys.

Naled is one of the chemicals being used in several U.S. states to combat the mosquito that transmits Zika. Chlorpyrifos, around since the 1960s, is used on vegetables, fruit and other crops to control pests.

Both are insecticides called organophosphates, a class of chemicals that includes nerve agents like sarin gas. They inhibit an enzyme involved in the nerve signaling process, paralyzing insects and triggering respiratory failure. However, they may adversely impact health through other mechanisms at lower exposure levels that are commonly encountered in the environment.

In the children studied, naled affected fine motor skills or the small movements of hands, fingers, face, mouth and feet. Chlorpyrifos was associated with lower scores for both gross (large movements of arms and legs) and fine motor skills.

"Motor delays in infancy may be predictive of developmental problems later in childhood," said first author Monica Silver, graduate student research assistant and research fellow in the School of Public Health Department of Environmental Health Sciences. "The findings may help inform policy as the debate over use of these chemicals continues."

The only studies to date on naled health impacts have taken place in occupational settings, not with exposure in the general population, Silver says. Previous chlorpyrifos research has found ties to delayed motor development in children and a host of health issues for those who handle the chemical, including nausea, dizziness and convulsions.

The U-M researchers examined the umbilical cord blood of about 240 mothers, looking for exposure to 30 different organophosphate insecticides, five of which showed up in at least 10 percent of the samples. In addition to naled and chlorpyrifos, they found methamidophos, trichlorfon and phorate.

The cord blood was gathered from 2008-11 as part of a cohort study designed by co-author Betsy Lozoff of the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development to investigate the relationships between iron deficiency and infant neurodevelopment.

The researchers followed the development of the babies using the well-known Peabody Developmental Motor Skill Assessment at 6 weeks and 9 months. No deficits were noted at 6 weeks.

The test provides gross, fine and total motor scores, and more specific subtest results including reflexes, stationary (body control), locomotion (movement), grasping and visual-motor integration (eyes and hands coordinated).

Use of the Peabody tool is unique to this study. Previous research in the environmental health field has primarily relied upon motor portions of larger developmental assessment tools, while this one focused strictly on motor skills, giving a more comprehensive view.

Chlorpyrifos has been banned for residential use in the U.S. since 2000, and for all use in some European countries. In 2015, the Obama Administration proposed a total ban in the U.S. but two months ago the head of the Environmental Protection Agency determined there was not enough scientific evidence to support the action.

While China is the world's largest user of pesticides, the researchers say exposure to the chemicals is a worldwide concern, especially as the U.S. and other countries brace for another season with the Zika virus.

"Zika is a very serious public health threat. This information helps to highlight that the way we go about combating Zika and other vector-borne diseases needs to be thought out more completely in order to minimize other unintended consequences," said John Meeker, U-M professor of environmental health sciences who was senior author and principal investigator on the project.

"For example, a focus on a more holistic integrated pest management approach may allow for the same or even improved effectiveness in reducing disease while using smaller amounts of these potentially harmful chemicals."

Integrated pest management uses education and a range of other tactics to avoid insect infestations (e.g., get rid of standing water near homes), and taking precautions against getting bitten (e.g., avoiding out-of-doors in early morning or after dusk, wearing long-sleeved clothing).

While exposure to chlorpyrifos and other pesticides used on crops is widespread and may be unavoidable in some situations, the research team said consuming organic produce when feasible, and thoroughly washing all fruits and vegetables before eating them can help to reduce exposure.
Patients notched a rare win over the pharmaceutical industry this week when the Nevada Legislature revived a bill requiring insulin makers to disclose the profits they make on the life-sustaining drug. In a handful of other states, bills addressing drug prices have stalled.

Many of the 1.25 million Americans who live with Type 1 diabetes cheered the legislative effort in Nevada as an important first step in their fight against skyrocketing costs of a drug on which their lives depend. The cost of insulin medications has steadily risen over the past decade by nearly 300 percent.

Prominent patient advocacy groups, such as the American Diabetes Association, have maintained stony silence while diabetes patients championed the bill and lobbied the Legislature during this debate - a silence that patients and experts say stems from financial ties.

"Normally all of the patient advocacy groups rally around causes and piggyback on each other in a productive way - that's what advocacy groups are good at - but that hasn't been the case here," said Thom Scher, chief operating officer of Beyond Type 1, which does not accept donations from the pharmaceutical industry. Beyond Type 1 has not issued a formal opinion on the Nevada bill.

Many of the dozens of U.S. diabetes advocacy organizations, large and small, garner significant portions of their funding from insulin manufacturers. The Nevada bill also requires such organizations operating in-state to disclose all contributions they receive from the pharmaceutical industry to discourage that sort of conflict.

In 2016, two of the "big three" insulin producers - Eli Lilly and Sanofi - contributed at least $4.7 million to such national patient advocacy groups as the American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (DPAC), JDRF International and the Diabetes Hands Foundation, according to company disclosures. The third major insulin manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, does not disclose its charitable contributions.

The advocacy groups have taken no position on the Nevada legislation. Generally speaking, their advocacy focuses on pressuring insurers to pay the price of insulin, not protesting price rises.

Local diabetes groups, hardly free from conflicts with the pharmaceutical industry, have also stayed on the sidelines.

The Nevada Diabetes Association for Children and Adults officially issued a neutral opinion.

"The Nevada Diabetes Association supports regulations on medications. The problem with SB 265 is that it is not just regulating medication but the industry," said Executive Director Sarah Gleich.

The nonprofit does not list its fiscal sponsors on its website or most recent 990 tax form.

"We disclose what we have received, and the IRS does not require that we publicly publish from whom," Gleich said. "No one is giving out their invitation list to the party."

Gleich said the Nevada Diabetes Association receives table sponsorships and supplies for camp programs from the pharmaceutical industry but "nothing that would make a dent on the budget." Auditing non-monetary donations in order to meet the bill's transparency requirement would be burdensome, Gleich said.

Membership dues accounted for only about $6,000 of the group's $320,000 in revenue last year, according to its latest tax form.

The American Diabetes Association - which operates a Nevada chapter - accepted at least $3.9 million from Eli Lilly and Sanofi last year.

"The American Diabetes Association believes that no individual in need of lifesaving medications such as insulin should ever go without due to prohibitive costs," Michelle Kirkwood, its director of strategic communications and media relations, said in a statement. She would not say whether the nonprofit supports the bill.

Former American Diabetes Association president Larry Hausner wrote an op-ed in the Nevada Appeal opposing the legislation. "Caring for people with diabetes involves more than what they pay for insulin or another medication," Hausner wrote. "As a lifelong patient advocate, I know Nevadans expect more out of their elected officials."

Hausner, now the president of a consulting and public affairs firm, serves on the board of directors of Research!America, a nonprofit promoting increased federal funding for public health research, alongside Sanofi's president of global research & development, Elias Zerhouni.

The Diabetes Hands Foundation expressed neutrality on the bill. "This state priority in Nevada is a good step towards a larger conversation about the costs of chronic care conditions like diabetes," said the foundation's director of advocacy, Mandy Jones. "But it's hard to know the particular outcome of this particular bill in the U.S. market."

JDRF International would not comment. DPAC deferred questions to the National Diabetes Volunteer Leadership Council.

Against the backdrop of silence from these patient advocacy groups, a community of diabetes patients on Twitter elevated the bill's profile around the hashtag #insulin4all, created by T1International, a group in the United Kingdom that does not accept pharmaceutical donations.

"People feel frustrated. At the federal level, we're not being seen because there's so much going on politically," said Erin Gilmer, a Colorado advocate with Type 1 diabetes. "It might have to be a state-by-state movement."

Sen. Yvanna Cancela, who sponsored the bill, said she believed requiring diabetes advocacy groups to reveal their sources of funding was key to understanding their positions and bringing prices down. "I believe there should be transparency across the health care system," Cancela said.

Gov. Brian Sandoval said Monday night that he intends to sign the bill, according to a Nevada Independent reporter. If the governor takes no action, the transparency rules become law. The bill, SB539, incorporates provisions of an earlier bill approved by the Legislature but vetoed by Sandoval. Sponsors stripped a controversial provision that would have required insulin manufacturers to warn patients 90 days before raising prices, which stoked concerns about drug stockpiling, The Associated Press reported Monday.

The Nevada bill "is definitely a step in the right direction," said Elizabeth Rowley, founder and director of T1International. "Almost anything requiring more transparency is incredibly important right now, especially at a time when almost all diabetes patient advocacy groups take funding from drug and device companies."

Laura Marston, an advocate in Washington, D.C., with Type 1 diabetes, said that there is plenty of grass-roots support for legislation on insulin prices but that advocacy organizations are not listening to the right people.

"There should be more focus on the one thing we need to survive. ... Without insulin, I die a horrendous death in 12 to 24 hours," Marston said. "No grass-roots support? There's desperation."

2017 Kaiser Health News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Adult male farmers in Malaysia are more than twice as likely to contract Plasmodium knowlesi malaria - an infection usually found only in monkeys - than other people in their communities, according to a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

The research team found that farmers in the country's Sabah region who work on plantations, clearing vegetation and taking part in forestry work were most at risk.

The study is the first comprehensive assessment of factors associated with contracting symptomatic P. knowlesi infection which is threatening efforts to eliminate malaria in South East Asia.

It was conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, and the Department of Health, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonotic malaria parasite which is common in forest-dwelling macaque monkeys and transmitted between hosts by mosquitoes. It has a rapid growth rate in the blood that can lead to high levels of parasites in a short time and can cause severe and fatal disease.

Recent deforestation in the Sabah region has brought humans into closer contact with the forest. P. knowlesi is now the most common form of human malaria in many areas of Malaysia, and has also been reported across South East Asia. In 2014, the Malaysian Health Ministry reported 2,584 out of the country's 3,923 malaria cases derived from P. knowlesi, and that proportion is known to have risen further.

The researchers conducted a large case control study of more than 1,000 people in the Sabah districts of Kudat and Kota Marudu. Individuals with P. knowlesi were compared with individuals with other types of human malaria and a control group without malaria. Detailed questionnaires collected information on daily activities, residence and the frequency with which participants saw monkeys.

Men were four times more likely to have P. knowlesi infection than women, but although male farmers were more likely to contract monkey malaria, they were not at higher risk of contracting other types of malaria. Indoor work such as shopkeeping, traditional female household duties, and studying were associated with a lower risk of P. knowlesi malaria in these communities.

Chris Drakeley, Professor of Infection & Immunity from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and principal collaborator on the study said: "P. knowlesi is a complex and potentially life threatening parasite. The rise in cases not only threatens the great gains Malaysia has made towards eradicating malaria, but is of concern for other countries in South East Asia. Conventional approaches used to tackle malaria such as drugs or bed nets can't be used to combat P. knowlesi as monkeys are the host and risk is associated with outdoor work. Our study offers important insight into where social interventions are likely to have the biggest impact.

"This is a unique interdisciplinary study which harnessed the expertise of a range of partners and organisations to help describe the risk of P. knowlesi infection. We will continue to work with our colleagues in the Malaysian Ministry of Health to improve awareness and education for local residents about areas of risk and how they can prevent mosquito bites."

The findings suggest that humans working on the fringes of the forest are at risk of contracting P. knowlesi, as well as in the forest itself when they carry out activities such as hunting.

The study also identified methods of housing construction and surrounding forest and agricultural land types which contributed to the increasing number of rural P. knowlesi cases. A number of cases in women and children were also found which, along with the characteristics of mosquito and macaque populations, need further investigation.

Dr Matthew Grigg, Menzies Research fellow and lead author of the study, said: "Malaysia's national malaria eradication plan is proving extremely effective in reducing case numbers of other types of malaria, however we have found cases of P. knowlesi are on the rise due to a number of human behavioural factors. Our research indicates adult males are most at risk of contracting this type of malaria including from activities such as farming, land clearing activities, working on palm oil plantations, and travelling or sleeping outside."

The authors acknowledge the limitations of the study including that participants infected with P. knowlesi who were aware of their diagnosis were potentially more likely to recall seeing monkeys or describe childhood malaria episodes.
Roll-your-own tobacco contains more additives than factory made cigarettes. So lets not kid ourselves its safer. Credit: www.shutterstock.com

My last column, reported on the huge growth of Australians using roll-your-own tobacco in the past few years. Because of a tobacco tax anomaly, which will end in September this year, many smokers have migrated to roll-your-own as a less expensive alternative to factory made cigarettes.

The shift to roll-your-own tobacco is certainly one factor that has slowed the decline in smoking in Australia in the past three years.

There is unanimous agreement in public health that price and high public acceptance of the harms of smoking are the two single most important factors that reduce tobacco use. This is why all industries, including Big Tobacco, engage in price discounting and lobbying to keep sales taxes low.

While the relative cheapness of roll-your-own tobacco is a major explanation of its rising popularity, several other factors are also relevant. Many people who use it like the ritual of rolling their cigarettes, feeling it is a creative and relaxing ritual.

One 25-year-old man, Sam, told an Otago University research group:

"There's something nice and relaxing about rolling your own as opposed to just pulling one out of the packet,  the sort've process of it is quite enjoyable  and also the whole sort've ritual just around smoking in general, like sit down and have a coffee, have a cigarette sorta thing  so it's ritualistic in that sense."

Many smokers believe roll-your-own tobacco is somehow less harmful than factory made cigarettes. The latter are seen as being pickled in artificial chemical additives that make the tobacco "unnatural" and to be avoided. Twenty-year-old woman Brenda told the same researchers:

"I just imagine that um, tailor made has more chemicals in it. But I don't know if that's true but it kind've tastes that way  I dunno, it's hard to explain it's just not as, like, clean  tasting."

Why use additives at all?

Tobacco products contain additives to:

make the smoking sensation "taste" or feel better (known as "mouth feel")

make the smoke less irritating to smokers' mouths and throats, particularly to novice smokers

increase the efficiency with which nicotine and artificial nicotine analogues reach the brain to maximise addiction

regulate the burn temperatureprevent the cigarette from going out when not being inhaled and to prevent the tobacco "sparking" and sending cinders onto smokers' clothing

reduce the smell of tobacco smoke

retain optimum moisture in the tobacco (using compounds known as humectants) to stop tobacco drying out when stored or exposed to air.

This last category of additives, humectants, are particularly important with roll-your-own tobacco. That's because it's exposed to air every time a smoker opens the tobacco pouch or does not seal it properly, making it more likely to dry out.

In 1990, the New Zealand government became the first to require the tobacco industry submit data on the volume of additives used in tobacco products. Most tobacco products sold in New Zealand at that time were imported from Australia.

The extract below from tobacco company WD & HO Wills' first report to the NZ government in 1991 makes interesting reading. The report, obtained under Freedom of Information, shows factory made cigarettes had just 0.2% of additives (by weight) out of total tobacco; roll-your-own cigarette tobacco had 22.5%; and pipe tobacco had a third by total weight in additives.

So much for the enduring myth that roll-your-own tobacco has less additives than cigarettes. Nearly a quarter of every lungful of smoke inhaled from a roll-your-own cigarette contains particles and gases from the thermal partial decomposition of chemical additives in the tobacco mix.

This document, obtained under Freedom of Information, shows levels of additives for different types of tobacco.

Why don't we know more about these additives?

Unlike every other product (food, drinks, medicines) intended to be taken into the body, cigarettes are immune from government quality and safety standards. Manufacturers can use any legal, natural or artificial ingredient they wish from a long list of approved additives.

These additives have been approved for use in foods, but the Australian government has not signed off on their safety when each smoker burns and inhales them many thousands of times a year.

Each year the three main tobacco companies operating in Australia voluntarily disclose the additives used in each brand of cigarettes. However, they do not disclose which "processing aids" they use in each brand, nor do they describe what "processing aids" are.

Instead, the industry reassures us:

"Processing aids and preservatives that are not significantly present in, and do not functionally affect, the finished product are grouped as 'processing aids' and/or 'preservatives' [my emphasis]."

What "functionally affect" means here is also anyone's guess. Significantly, manufacturers do not disclose the same information for roll-your-own tobacco.

'Extremely high' pesticide residues

In 1981, the National Health and Medical Research Council's Pesticides and Agricultural Chemicals Committee tabled information stating that average levels of the now banned organochlorine DDT in Australian samples of cigarettes were 43 times higher than found in US and UK cigarettes.

When I questioned in 1986 why this monitoring had been stopped, I was advised government policy was that all cigarette smoking was very dangerous, regardless of the levels of additives and pesticide residue they contained.

One official told me:

"Our view is that smoking in like being in health hell and the extra impact of additives is like turning the temperature up just another degree."

In this paper I published in 2003, internal industry documents made available after litigation in the USA, showed that tobacco used in Australian cigarettes contained alarming levels of pesticide residue, including organochlorines like DDT and dieldrin.

A 1978 Philip Morris report noted:

"Extremely high pesticide residue levels have been found in all samples submitted by PM-Australia, eg. DDT group, 300 ppm; HCH-group up to 100 ppm; dieldrin, up to 22 ppm."

PM-Australia refers to Philip Morris Australia, the HCH-group to hexachlorocyclohexane additives and ppm to parts per million.

These levels are astronomical compared with the 7.5 ppm maximum standard for DDT that had been recommended in a 1976 report of the Commission of the European Communities and adopted by the German government.

We have no more recent public data on pesticide residue in cigarettes sold in Australia. But all cigarette and hand-rolling tobacco sold in Australia is grown overseas, often in less developed nations where agricultural practices can be poorly regulated. It is possible, even likely, pesticide contamination continues today.

So as actor Yul Brynner famously advised as he was dying from lung cancer at just 65 years "whatever you do .. don't smoke". And don't kid yourself that it's only the additives that are the problem.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Owning a dog may help older adults to meet physical activity levels recommended by the World Health Organisation, according to a study published in the open access journal BMC Public Health. Health professionals could encourage dog ownership or shared care of a dog to motivate older adults to be more physically active, researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University and WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, UK suggest.

Dr Philippa Dall, senior research fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University and lead author said: "We found that dog owners aged 65 and over spent on average an additional 22 minutes walking, taking an extra 2,760 steps per day when compared to people who didn't own a dog. Over the course of a week this additional time spent walking may in itself be sufficient to meet WHO recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity."

The researchers also found that dog owners had fewer sedentary events - that is continuous periods of sitting down - than non-dog owners, although the total time spent sitting down did not differ between the two groups.

WALTHAM researcher Nancy Gee, a co-author of the study said: "Our results indicate that dog ownership may play an important role in encouraging older adults to walk more. Ultimately, our research will provide insights into how pet ownership may help older people achieve higher levels of physical activity or maintain their physical activity levels for a longer period of time, which could improve their prospects for a better quality of life, improved or maintained cognition, and perhaps, even overall longevity."

The study used data on patterns of physical activity and sedentary behavior in 43 dog owners and 43 controls from three regions in the U.K. (Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Cambridgeshire). Study participants were aged 65 years and over and wore an activity monitor continuously during three, one-week data collection periods between April 2013 and November 2014. The researchers monitored the time spent walking moderately, time spent standing, total time spent sitting, as well as the number of times people sat down and how long they sat down for. Dog owners and controls were matched on a range of variables such as gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status.

Dr Dall said: "Most of the research in this area has relied upon self-report measures of physical activity. The use of objectives measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour, collected by using activity monitors, provides opportunities to gain greater insight by providing objective data on both the intensity and patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour. This allows closer scrutiny of the potential relationship between changes in physical activity due to dog ownership and health."

As the study was observational, it could not establish cause and effect or allow for conclusions about whether more active people are likely to own dogs or whether dog ownership makes people more active. The researchers caution that all participants were volunteers and so may have been more physically active than the general population. All volunteers had white British ethnicity which limits the generalizability of the findings to wider contexts.

More information: Philippa Margaret Dall et al. The influence of dog ownership on objective measures of free-living physical activity and sedentary behaviour in community-dwelling older adults: a longitudinal case-controlled study, BMC Public Health (2017). Journal information: BMC Public Health Philippa Margaret Dall et al. The influence of dog ownership on objective measures of free-living physical activity and sedentary behaviour in community-dwelling older adults: a longitudinal case-controlled study,(2017). DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4422-5
Researchers at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center are helping to make strides in the treatment of metastatic melanoma that has spread to the brain.

At the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting 2017 in Chicago, researchers presented promising data for two different investigational drug regimens used to treat melanoma that has spread to the brain, a common and deadly complication of this cancer. The two trials, COMBI-MB and Checkmate 204, tested combinations of drugs that had been previously approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of metastatic melanoma. No studies have examined their impact in patients with untreated metastases to the brain.

UNC Lineberger's Stergios Moschos, MD, a clinical associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine and co-investigator in both of these international, multi-center studies, said the two strategies could represent a major shift in the first line treatment of metastatic melanoma that has spread to the brain, and could potentially spare some patients from requiring radiation or surgery right away.

"These findings mean that some people may have a durable response to these drugs, and therefore, they can potentially be spared radiation and surgery for some time," Moschos said. "Now, patients have a choice."

The trials were conducted through the UNC Brain Metastases Specialty Clinic at UNC Lineberger. The clinic combines the expertise of neuro-oncology, radiation oncology, and other disciplines to offer investigational therapeutic strategies for patients with cancer that has spread to the brain. In addition, physician-scientist are also working to understand the biology of brain metastases. A challenge that researchers face in identifying treatments for brain metastasis is the blood-brain barrier, which can prevent treatments from reaching high enough concentrations in order to be effective.

In the Checkmate 204 trial, which is an ongoing phase II trial sponsored by Bristol-Meyers Squibb, researchers tested a combination of immunotherapy treatments, nivolumab and ipilimumab, for a select group of patients. These "checkpoint inhibitors" release the brakes on the immune system, thereby helping the body's own defense system to attack the cancer. Patients on the trial did not have any neurologic symptoms or any history of steroid use, and had melanoma brain lesions limited to between 0.5 and 3 centimeters in size.

Researchers reported results for 75 patients from centers around the United States and Europe, including the N.C. Cancer Hospital, at the ASCO Annual Meeting. They found that 56 percent of patients had intracranial response, and 19 percent had a complete response to the treatment. At the time that physicians gathered the data, which was nine months after treatment, most patients were still responding, Moschos said. There were no serious neurologic toxicities observed, except for headaches. One patient died of myocarditis.

While most treatments typically must be able to cross the blood-brain barrier, Moschos said, to reach high enough concentrations in order to be effective, the Checkmate 204 trial showed that the treatments can activate the immune system outside of the brain. Moschos said this may be sufficient to induce responses in the brain without treatment actually reaching the brain site.

The responses to these immunotherapy treatments were impressive, said Carey Anders, MD, UNC Lineberger member, associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine, and co-director of Brain Metastases Specialty Clinic.

"I look forward to future studies evaluating this approach in breast cancer brain metastases as well," Anders added.

In the second multi-center phase II trial, researchers tested two targeted treatments for metastatic melanoma. The trial findings were presented at ASCO and published simultaneously in the journal Lancet Oncology. The study investigated the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib, which target BRAFV600 mutations that occur in a large share of melanoma patients.

Researchers reported statistically significant results for a group of 76 patients out of a total of 125 who participated in the trial. This subgroup had BRAFV600 mutations, no symptoms, and no prior local brain treatment. Of this group, 58 percent of patients had an intracranial response to the treatment. For the remaining patients, the findings were only considered hypothesis-generating due to their limited sample sizes. In the group overall, the preliminary overall survival result was more than 10 months. While the overall survival result was smaller than what had been reported in trials testing the same regimen in patients without brain metastases, Moschos said it was an improvement compared to historic outcomes for treatment of for patients with melanoma metastases to the brain. Similar to the Checkmate 204, there were no neurologic symptoms reported for patients.

The two strategies may offer the possibility that certain patients with melanoma metastases to the brain could get system-wide treatments prior to radiation or surgery. Moschos said this could help patients get treatment faster that attacks the cancer throughout their bodies. Patients may be able to delay potential long-term side effects seen with radiation treatment to the brain  an important factor since patients with both treatment types are now living longer.

"Clinicians should no longer be hesitant to depart from the standard paradigm of 'you have brain metastases, you have to see the radiation oncologist to do radiation before you do any systemic treatment,'" Moschos said. "However, the management of these patients remains challenging and discussion among the multidisciplinary team of radiation oncologists, experienced medical oncologists in the treatment of this disease, and neurosurgeons should always occur first. Local treatments such as radiation and surgery remain the main treatment in relapsed disease."

Moschos also was first author of two additional abstracts presented at ASCO. One study tested an investigational compound that could be paired with standard targeted treatments, dabrafenib and trametinib, that are used in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. The addition of the investigational compound, AMG23, was designed to activate a normal cell death program driven by p53 to kill cancer cells.

"This compound is designed to pair with targeted treatments that arrest growth, rather than kill cells, in order to kill cancer cells and prevent relapse," Moschos said.

The researchers reported that the compound was "tolerable" up to a dose of 180 milligrams, and had early antitumor activity.

More information: COMBI-MB: A phase II study of combination dabrafenib (D) and trametinib (T) in patients (pts) with BRAF V600mutant (mut) melanoma brain metastases (MBM). Journal information: Lancet Oncology COMBI-MB: A phase II study of combination dabrafenib (D) and trametinib (T) in patients (pts) with BRAF V600mutant (mut) melanoma brain metastases (MBM). abstracts.asco.org/199/AbstView_199_180699.html
A protein in the pathogen that causes cryptosporidiosis. The microbe can cause mild to severe diarrhea in people who accidentally swallow a mouthful of contaminated water. Credit: SSGCID

Garry Buchko and his colleagues are at the front line battling some of the most fearsome enemies that humanity has ever known: Tuberculosis. Pneumonia. Ebola. Plague. Botulism.

But he is not in a hospital or field tent, taking vital signs or administering medications. Instead, Buchko the biochemist is in the laboratory, where the front line is the world of proteins  the molecular workhorses that keep all organisms functioning properly and make life possible. Using some of the highest-tech approaches available, he works with scientists in the Pacific Northwest to uncover crucial information needed to develop better treatments or vaccines against a host of nasty agents that can cause body aches, nausea, fatigue, food poisoning, diarrhea, ulcers, difficulty breathing, and death.

Buchko does such work as part of the Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease, one of two centers funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases tasked with solving the structure of proteins that enable pathogens to live, thrive, and infect people. Scientists from four institutions partner in the effort: The Center for Infectious Disease Research, Beryllium Discovery Corp., the University of Washington, and the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where Buchko does his research.

The structure of a protein named thioredoxin. Garry Buchko and colleagues used NMR to solve the structure of the protein, which is found in an infection often conveyed by ticks. Credit: SSGCID

This week the team reached a milestone, announcing that its scientists have solved the 3-D structure of the 1,000th protein from more than 70 organisms that cause infectious disease in people. The proteins the team has studied come from microbes that cause several serious diseases, including tuberculosis, Listeria, Giardia, Ebola, anthrax, Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infection, Legionella, Lyme, chlamydia and the flu.

While the proteins isolated for study are not pathogenic, the structural information provides scientists the opportunity to design molecules that will knock out an essential process in such microbes.

It is challenging work. Protein shapes are very complex  many look a lot like convoluted roller coasters with multiple twists, turns, and loops, all squeezed into a tiny space just one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair. The arrangement and lengths of these features give each protein its specific biochemical properties  what other molecules they will interact with and precisely what they will do in the body. Knowing the precise shape of proteins provides a blueprint for scientists searching for new ways to disable the pathogens and stop the diseases they can cause.

Buchko and colleagues solved this structure of a protein found in the organism that causes malaria. Credit: SSGCID

Buchko's expertise is with nuclear magnetic resonance or NMR, which is very similar to the magnetic resonance imaging technique widely used by physicians to diagnose all manner of medical conditions. Buchko scrutinizes proteins from pathogens drawing upon the NMR technology at EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE Office of Science user facility at PNNL.

While the end result is an atomic-level picture, it's not as simple as snapping a photograph. Instead, Buchko places the protein inside an NMR spectrometer and records information about the orientation, energy and other properties of all the atomic nuclei in the molecule. Then he interprets the information and feeds the thousands of pieces of data into a computer program to calculate the position of every atom, resulting in a complete 3-D reconstruction of the protein. Data analysis is crucial to getting the structures correct.

Buchko has been an author on more than 20 of the team's studies in the last 10 years. Among his targets are pathogens that cause tuberculosis, malaria, cat scratch fever, and hemorrhagic fevers, as well as water-based parasites that cause severe diarrhea and abdominal pain.

A protein in the microbe that causes melioidosis, which occurs most often in people who live in tropical climates. Infection often starts in the lungs when contaminated dust or soil is inhaled. Credit: SSGCID

SSGCID scientists have published more than 100 manuscripts detailing their findings. In addition, all the structures are immediately shared with the scientific community through a public database called the Protein Data Bank. As a result, the structures have been used in nearly 600 scientific papers from other laboratories in academia, research institutes, and pharmaceutical companies around the world that are working on human pathogens. Sharing its findings so that scientists worldwide can make further discoveries is at the heart of SSGCID's mission.

The Seattle-based center is one of two centers funded by NIAID (contract # HHSN272201200025C). The other, based in Chicago, is the Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases and includes another DOE laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, among its participants. The SSGCID is led by Peter Myler, professor and director of core services at the Center for Infectious Disease Research.

"When the SSGCID solves protein structures, it lays the foundation for researchers at CID Research and around the world to find new drugs, therapies and vaccine candidates for diseases that kill thousands each year," said Myler. "I'm very proud of the hard work carried out by our team and our dedicated partners."

A protein in the micro-organism that causes giardiasis, which translates to nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue and other symptoms in hundreds of millions of people worldwide each year. Credit: SSGCID
Electron microscopy of influenza virus. Credit: CDC

Researchers at UC Berkeley have found unexpected effects of viral infections, a discovery that may explain why viruses can make people feel so lousy.

The UC Berkeley bioengineers found that viral infections turn down the intensity of a key cell-signaling pathway linked to healing and health of skeletal muscle and bone, mental well-being and prevention of obesity. The signaling pathway, called oxytocin receptor MAPK, or OXTR, has been well studied for its role in trust and bonding and more recently was found to be needed for muscle maintenance and regeneration, which declines with age.

"Our results suggest that viral infections in general may play a role in decreasing muscle health and regeneration, a decline in metabolic health and a lower sense of well-being, as these rely on effective OXTR signaling," said Irina Conboy, an associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering, whose lab performed the study.

The research was recently published online in the journal Skeletal Muscle. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, Packer Endowment and SENS Foundation.

The research team discovered these not-so-obvious effects of viral infection by studying a standard method for inserting genes inside cells and organisms, one that deploys viruses as tools of molecular biology.

Viral vectors are tools regularly used by researchers to insert pieces of genetic material into cells or animals for further testing. To ensure that any observed effects from this delivery are caused by the genetic material of interest, and not by the viral vector, a key experimental step is to test the effects of the viral vectors alone. This is called an experimental control, and the vectors tested are called control viral vectors, as they are not supposed to change anything in a cell or organism. Yet the study's results show that cells and animals exposed to control viral vectors differ from unexposed organisms in a number of ways.

The Berkeley researchers discovered that control viral vectors actually changed the intensity of OXTR signaling, which diminished the regenerative ability of any direct descendants of these cells or tissues, thus aging them rapidly.

In one experiment, OXTR declined by 70 percent in mouse and human muscle cells that were given the control viral vectors. The researchers saw a similar effect in live mice.

The researchers then tested how a downregulated OXTR pathway affected muscle cells, and found that control viral vectors decreased mouse muscle cell proliferation from 85 to 20 percent; and cells also lose a key marker of muscle stem cell proliferation.

"Our study further implies that viral infections may play a role in decreasing OXTR and thus broadly interfering with regeneration and maintenance of multiple tissues," Conboy said.

The researchers also examined a database of human studies and found that OXTR becomes severely diminished in humans after viral infections compared to healthy individuals.

The study's data suggest that in addition to known pathological manifestations, viral infection may play a less direct role in decreasing the health and regeneration of skeletal muscle, bone, brain-psychological well-being and inducing obesity by skewing key cell-signaling networks that regulate homeostatic tissue maintenance.

"We are now working on a therapeutic mix that should alleviate this collateral damage of viral infections and this work in progress is promising," Conboy said.
By Press Trust of India: Port Louis (Mauritius), Jun 9 (PTI) Mauritius is a home away for Indians, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said today as she met President of Mauritius Bibi Ameenah Gurib-Fakim here.

Mahajan, who is leading an Indian Parliamentary delegation to Mauritius, said the relationship between the two countries is "of hearts and sentiments" as the two countries are connected by strong cultural links and shared heritage.

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She noted that India and Mauritius have historically enjoyed excellent, unique and extra-ordinary relations and that the Strategic Partnership and co-operation between them in the international fora augurs well.

The Speaker said India has accorded special status to Mauritius in several areas like tax matters and OCI-related issues.

Blue economy, marine research and education, information technology and climate change are the areas where the two countries have common interests, she said.

She said that because of its strategic location, political and economic stability, Mauritius is ideally placed for development as an IT hub to act as a ?Gateway to Africa?.

The President of Mauritius appreciated the relationship with India and expressed the confidence that it will continue to flourish even further.

During the meeting, Mahajan presented a copy of the Constitution of India to the President of Mauritius.

The Speaker, along with the members of her delegation, also visited the Apravasi Ghat, one of the biggest attraction centres in Mauritius.

This is the place where about 183 years ago, the first group of 36 immigrant workers from India landed in Mauritius on-board the Atlas named ship.

After visiting the museum at the Apravasi Ghat, Mahajan said, "we have seen the museums of Raja, Maharajas and the winners, but this museum honours the hard work of the labourers and depicts the contribution of the people standing at the last rung of society in the nation-building of Mauritius," according to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat. PTI AKK AKK

--- ENDS ---
Dimension Datas parent, Japanese company Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT), is considering selling the companys African operations, Bloomberg reported.

This comes after Grant Bodley, CEO of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa, told MyBroadband that there is no truth to the rumours NTT is looking to offload the unit.

The report said a final decision about the sale has not been reached and a deal might not be concluded.

However, a source said one possibility is MTN buying Internet Solutions  a subsidiary of Dimension Data Middle East and Africa.

The report stated that Dimension Datas management is considering whether to make an offer to buy back the company and relist on a stock exchange.

Dimension Data was acquired by NTT for 2.1 billion in 2010, and was delisted from the JSE and London Stock Exchange.

The company provides IT products and services across the globe, and has an annual turnover of $7.4 billion.

Fresh news of the sale comes after a source told MyBroadband that any deals would only happen in late 2018 if negotiations were successful.

Now read: Internet Solutions gearing up for big ISP product launch in South Africa
Amazon becomes world's first public company to lose $1 trillion in market value

EU's odd couple: Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel can't stand each other

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Biden and Jinping meet on sidelines of G20 summit in Bali to be held on November 14

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State Duma deputy: Interparliamentary format Yerevan-Baku-Moscow will be included soon to solve issues

IMF sees growing risk of economic fragmentation

Armen Gevorgyan to visit Strasbourg, Brussels and Paris

State Duma deputy: Upper Lars border crossing capacity has increased fivefold

UK government freezes over 18 billion pounds worth of Russian assets

State Duma deputy on Zatulin's ban on entering Armenia: These issues must be resolved

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Alen Simonyan congratulates scientists on their professional holiday

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USAID official says she personally saw how democracy, economic development are progressing in Armenia (VIDEO)

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By Press Trust of India: origin Irish PM-designate

By Aditi Khanna

London, Jun 9 (PTI) Irelands first Indian-origin Prime Minister-designate Leo Varadkar today said the UK general election outcome indicates there is no strong mandate to proceed with a hard Brexit and that it represents an opportunity for Dublin.

Vardkar, a first openly gay prime minister in waiting who is the son of a Mumbai-born father and Irish mother, is due to be formally voted in as Taoiseach, or Irish prime minister, next week.

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UK Prime Minister Theresa Mays "failure to get a majority" showed there is no strong support for a hard Brexit, he said.

"The Irish government is ready to participate in negotiations on Brexit and to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland. We must ensure that the Brexit talks are handled in a smooth and coherent manner to secure the best possible outcome for Ireland, for Europe and the UK.

"The results of the UK election indicate to me that there is no strong mandate to proceed with a hard Brexit, which represents an opportunity for Ireland," Varadkar said.

He said another priority is the early restoration of the Stormont Executive in Northern Ireland, the devolved administration.

"There is now a strong opportunity for the parties in Northern Ireland to re-engage in discussions to form an executive," he said.

Varadkar became Irelands Taoiseach designate last week after winning the leadership of the ruling Fine Gael following Enda Kennys decision to step down after six years at the head of government in Dublin.

Mays gamble of calling snap polls spectacularly backfired today with the British electorate delivering a hung Parliament and forcing her to seek the support of a small Northern Irish party for staying in power, as the country braces for hard Brexit talks. PTI AK CPS AKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: By Manash Pratim Bhuyan

Astana, Jun 9 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today joined several global leaders at the inauguration of Kazakhstans World EXPO 2017 which showcases vital innovation and technological prowess of the resource-rich central Asian country.

Modi visited several parts of the expo and later attended its gala inauguration.

India is among over 100 countries which are presenting their pavilions at the expo which is expected to be visited by millions of visitors over the next three months.

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Modi was here to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation which inducted India and Pakistan as full members of the security grouping.

A series of high-decibel cultural events are also being organised as part of the Expo which is said to be the first world fair taking place in Central Asia in the last several decades.

The launch event of the expo was attended by leaders of almost all the SCO member countries. PTI MPB PMS

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: Itanagar, Jun 9 (PTI) The Congress in Arunachal Pradesh today hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was not a judge of some cooking show to decide what should be cooked in the households.

"Neither Modi nor his government has the right to decide what we eat and cook in our households. This is not how democracy functions," Indian Youth Congress Secretary in-charge for Northeast Sarifa Rehman said.

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The Arunachal Pradesh Youth Congress (APYC) held a rally here to protest against the Centres ban on sale of cattle for slaughter at livestock markets.

The rally started from Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan and culminated at Mithun Gate area in the state capital.

Slogans of "We will eat beef and its like vegetable to us" were chanted during the rally.

The Congress also submitted a memorandum to state governor PB Acharya demanding lifting of the ban with immediate effect.

"We have different cultures and traditional values in the Northeast and Arunachal in particular. Our food habits are different as we are scheduled tribes. Eating meat is associated with our culture. We cannot eat ghee (butter) and dal (pulses). So let us eat what we like," APYC president Jikke Tako said.

"Mithun, beef and pork meat have a ceremonial place in the economic, social and cultural life of various indigenous tribes in the Northeast," Tako said.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu had recently said that he consumes beef and sees no harm in others doing the same. PTI UPL AYP LNS

--- ENDS ---
AIHce Heading East in 2018

The year's best U.S. industrial hygiene event will take place May 21-23 in Philadelphia, with Professional Development Courses offered May 19, 20, and 24.

SEATTLE -- With this week's AIHce EXP conference and expo in the books, and a resounding success at that, the two professional associations that co-host it and also their members and exhibitors can look forward to AIHce 2018. That one, the 80th annual conference in the series, will take place May 21-23 in Philadelphia, with Professional Development Courses offered May 19, 20, and 24, 2018.

Philadelphia is a family-friendly city, rich in history and home to America's oldest farmers' market in the Reading Terminal Market. The Pennsylvania Convention Center is close by, a facility that opened in 1993 and underwent an expansion that was completed in 2011. It has more than 2 million square feet of space, including seven exhibit halls totaling 679,000 square feet of exhibit space.

The event will feature a similar program to this month's AIHce in Seattle, including the popular Ignite! sessions. Those rapid-fire, five-minute sessions took place in a ballroom at the Washington State Convention Center and did not disappoint, covering everything from brewing beer and the industry hygiene elements of NASA missions to mentoring and IH professionals' ethics.

"It keeps your attention, it doesn't matter what the topic is," one attendee from Boeing said after a colleague told him his team has begun giving its own Ignite presentations at the company.

Sept. 6, 2017, is the submission deadline for anyone interested in presenting an educational session, PDC course, or Ignite session at AIHce 2018. The deadline for posters at the conference is March 2018.
Map of Ireland, ten centuries ago. Credit: Utrecht University

A mediaeval Irish monk was able to switch effortlessly between Irish and Latin when writing a book. This phenomenon of code switching is common to all eras; we switch effortlessly between Dutch and English nowadays too. Nike Stam researched this phenomenon by studying mediaeval calendar texts. She concluded that the way in which these monks switched languages in their writings was akin to the way we switch languages in our conversations. She defended her PhD thesis at Utrecht University on Wednesday, 7 June. Her research was made possible by funding from the NWO Free Competition programme.

For her research, Stam examined the 9th-century calendar of saints, Felire Oengusso, a long poem in which each day of the year contains a list of the saints that died on that day. Monks used to add comments and notes in the margins of the calendar texts. Stam closely examined both the grammar and the function of the language switches in these comments.

Her research revealed that code switching was often functional: it was used, for example, to emphasise certain elements in the text, such as quotes or the end of an account. The following example shows how Latin was used to add a critical comment to the text about Saint Balbina:

baluina uirgo 7martir.  commad hi baluina .i. bicsech ochill bicsechi in huib maccuais mide. s non est uerum.

Balbina is a virgin and a martyr, or she is (a different) Balbina, in other words Bicsech from Cell Bicsech in Ui Macc Uais in Meath, but that is not true.

In addition, it seems as though code switches appear in the text accidentally, for instance when a monk was unconsciously prompted to think in  and subsequently continue to write in  a different language by a word borrowed from another language or a language-neutral word.

Broadcasting identity

Commentary in the margin of a Calendar of Saints. Credit: Utrecht University

The bilingual texts seem to broadcast the identity of the mediaeval monks, an identity that was formed at a young age by being taught in both Irish and Latin. Mediaeval monks used a mixture of the two languages, just as young people today use slang to create and broadcast their group identity. Stam: 'By writing a text in a mixture of Irish and Latin, they emphasised their joint erudition and status by means of a sort of technical jargon.'
China is working to clear up a badly polluted environment and has thrown its weight behind efforts to combat climate change. Beijing is happy to talk to US states that disagree with President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord

China treated a US state governor to a red carpet reception this week, while President Donald Trump's energy chief received a low-key greeting, a signal that Beijing is ready to go around the White House in the battle against climate change.

Since Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate deal, China has repeatedly vowed to uphold the accord and work with American states that share its determination.

Giving a warm welcome to California Governor Jerry Brown, an opposition Democrat and self-described "envoy for humanity", while cold shouldering US Energy Secretary Rick Perry signalled Beijing was happy to bypass Washington to make that happen.

"I think the message is that irrespective of the decision of Donald Trump, China is willing to work with individual states and cities in the United States," said Willy Lam, an expert on politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

'Losing ground'

Brown and Perry arrived in Beijing for a ministerial-level clean energy meeting just days after Trump's shock announcement.

While Perry maintained a relatively low profile during his visit, Brown, who had described Trump's move as "insane", went on a public relations offensive as he sought to fill the vacuum left by the US leader in the climate change fight.

California Governor Jerry Brown was treated to a red carpet welcome in Beijing, including meeting with President Xi Jinping, as China looks to forge relationships with US states on climate change

"We are losing ground. We are not moving at the pace needed to prevent catastrophe," Brown warned Thursday on the sidelines of the gathering.

Brown used several public appearances in Beijing to drum up Chinese support for California's aggressive efforts to curb climate-warming carbon emissionsincluding face-to-face talks with Xi in the Great Hall of the People, a venue normally reserved for meetings with visiting heads of state.

His efforts yielded results.

By the end of a week-long tour Brown said he had secured several preliminary agreements relating to clean energy and the establishment of a China-California climate institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

China is a "major economic engine that is investing in the low-carbon economy and California is doing things that are similar, on a smaller level of course," Brown told AFP.

Chinese officials have made it clear they want to work with the American stateand beyond.

California has forged ahead with environmental regulations that have helped clear up once-polluted skies over cities like Los Angeles

California has "a lot of experience that is beneficial to the rest of us", Xie Zhenhua, China's top climate negotiator, told a forum attended by Brown on Thursday.

"We will not only continue to strengthen cooperation with California, but also strengthen concrete cooperation with other US states, cities, enterprises and scientific research institutions in fields including clean energy."

Perry snubbed?

Trump's backsliding on the Paris deal is viewed as handing China the mantle in the battle against global warmingan opportunity Beijing welcomes as it seeks to become a world leader on everything from globalisation to the environment.

But it also fits with China's domestic political agenda of being seen to do more to clean up its polluted air and rivers and find new ways of spurring economic growth.

Perry called for Sino-US cooperation on clean energy, noting America was still keen to work with China despite Trump's decision to exit the global climate agreement.

While California Governor Jerry Brown was granted an audience with Chinese President Xi Jinping, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry met Vice Premier Zhang GaoliChina's number seven

"We have extraordinary opportunities to be partners to work on clean energy issues," said Perry, who was granted a meeting with China's number seven, Zhang Gaoli, in the central leadership compound.

Perry told reporters Friday he had received a "good" reception from Chinese leaders and no one had told him "America needs to get back into the Paris Accord".

"Now, did they think it? I don't know," Perry said.

But he added: "America is not stepping back from its role as a leader in clean energy, emission reductionboth of those are successes of the trip."

While Perry's meeting with Zhang could be interpreted as a diplomatic snub to the US official, analysts said it may also mean that China has not given up on Washington.

"It's probably trying to send some signal that China is still trying to cooperate," said Tom Rafferty, China regional manager for the Economist Intelligence Unit.

 2017 AFP
Credit: Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology

Some problems are so challenging to solve that even the most advanced computers need weeks, not seconds, to process them.

Now a team of researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Notre Dame has created a new computing system that aims to tackle one of computing's hardest problems in a fraction of the time.

"We wanted to find a way to solve a problem without using the normal binary representations that have been the backbone of computing for decades," said Arijit Raychowdhury, an associate professor in Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Their new system employs a network of electronic oscillators to solve graph coloring tasks  a type of problem that tends to choke modern computers.

Details of the study were published April 19 in the journal Scientific Reports. The research was conducted with support from the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the Semiconductor Research Corporation and the Center for Low Energy Systems Technology.

"Applications today are demanding faster and faster computers to help solve challenges like resource allocation, machine learning and protein structure analysis  problems which at their core are closely related to graph coloring," Raychowdhury said. "But for the most part, we've reached the limitations of modern digital computer processors. Some of these problems that are so computationally difficult to perform, it could take a computer several weeks to solve."

A graph coloring problem starts with a graph  a visual representation of a set of objects connected in some way. To solve the problem, each object must be assigned a color, but two objects directly connected cannot share the same color. Typically, the goal is to color all objects in the graph using the smallest number of different colors.

In designing a system different from traditional transistor-based computing, the researchers took their cues from the human brain, where processing is handled collectively, such as a neural oscillatory network, rather than with a central processor.

Credit: Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology

"It's the notion that there is tremendous power in collective computing," said Suman Datta, Chang Family professor in Notre Dame's College of Engineering and one of the study's co-authors. "In natural forms of computing, dynamical systems with complex interdependencies evolve rapidly and solve complex sets of equations in a massively parallel fashion."

The electronic oscillators, fabricated from vanadium dioxide, were found to have a natural ability that could be harnessed for graph coloring problems. When a group of oscillators were electrically connected via capacitive links, they automatically synchronized to the same frequency  oscillating at the same rate. Meanwhile, oscillators directly connected to one another would operate at different phases within the same frequency, and oscillators in the same group but not directly connected would sync in both frequency and phase.

"If you suppose that each phase represents a different color, this system was essentially mimicking naturally the solution to a graph coloring problem," Raychowdhury said.

The researchers were able to create a small network of oscillators to solve graph coloring problems with the same number of objects, which are also referred to as nodes or vertices. But even more significant, the new system theoretically proved that a connection existed between graph coloring and the natural dynamics of coupled oscillatory systems.

"This is a critical step because we can prove why this is happening and that it covers all possible instances of graphs," Raychowdhury said. "This opens up a new way of performative computation and constructing novel computational models. This is novel in that it's a physics-based computing approach, but it also presents tantalizing opportunities for building other customized analog systems for solving hard problems efficiently."

That could be valuable to a range of companies looking for computers to help optimize their resources, such as a power utility wanting to maximize efficiency and usage of a vast electrical grid under certain constraints.

The next step would be building a larger network of oscillators that could handle graph coloring problems with more objects at play.

"Our goal is to reach a system with hundreds of oscillators, which would put us in striking distance of developing a computing substrate that could solve graph coloring problems whose optimal solutions are not yet known to mankind," Datta said.

More information: Abhinav Parihar et al. Vertex coloring of graphs via phase dynamics of coupled oscillatory networks, Scientific Reports (2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-00825-1 Journal information: Scientific Reports
Dutch merchant with slaves, anonymous, 1700-1725, oil on canvas. Credit: Rijksmuseum

Individual traders should be at the forefront of the study of early modern world trade rather than institutions such as states and companies, argues Professor of Global Economic Networks Catia Antunes. Inaugural lecture on 9 June.

Flourishing illegal trade

Antunes warns against the common but one-sided assumption that European sovereigns and trading companies dictated the terms of the transatlantic slave trade in the early modern period. She claims that you miss a lot if you study history from the perspective of states, principalities or companies. These powerful institutions imposed many rules, but individual merchants and even the staff of the companies were often able to circumvent them. This led to a flourishing illegal global trade that cannot be found in the books of these institutions.

Zoom out to study history

Antunes takes a helicopter view in her study of global trade in the early modern period. This enables her to uncover complex global commodity chains. In one example, European traders purchased textiles in India and used them to buy African slaves. They paid for the textiles with silver that they purchased in Japan or Latin America, where the African slaves were put to work in the silver mines. 'If you only look at the trade in textiles or silver, you are unlikely to see the slave trade. Historians often do not zoom out far enough to understand the connections.'

Archive research in 13 countries

Antunes conducts large-scale international archive research to identify these commodity chains. Portuguese by origin, she speaks eight languages, including Hebrew, Arabic, Latin, Italian and Dutch. Together with her research team, Antunes studies the archives of port cities and individual traders in 13 countries. Their 'shopping lists' and financial transactions help her to reconstruct legal and illegal international trade flows.

Traders ventured beyond borders

A typical example is the sprawling empire of 18th-century merchant and banker Jean-Baptiste Cloots. Together with family members, this wealthy Amsterdammer established trading posts in cities such as Antwerp and Lisbon. The family used cunning constructions to trade illegally in slaves and diamonds, disregarding the monopoly of the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch West India Company. But the family was equally likely to work closely with sovereigns and trade companies if it suited them. Antunes: 'This case study illustrates that despite rules, traders often ventured beyond the borders of cultures and empires.'
Engineers at the Utah Water Research Lab constructed a 1:50 scale model of the Oroville Dam spillway. Credit: Matt Jensen/Utah State University

Engineers at Utah State University's Utah Water Research Laboratory have constructed a 1:50 scale model of the Oroville Dam spillway.

Chief engineers Dr. Michael Johnson and Dr. Zachary Sharp worked with a team of 15 engineers and technicians to construct the working model in just 40 days.

The approximately 100-foot-long, 60-foot-wide model replicates the spillway in its current state and features the terrain conditions that were formed following the damaging flow events in February. Johnson and his team are taking measurements on various sections of the model to determine depth of flows, wave action, pressures, velocity profiles and more.

Johnson, who specializes in fluid mechanics and experimental hydraulics, says the model will provide useful information about hydraulic conditions in and around the damaged spillway.

"Our goal is to assist the design team in California in making the best decisions moving forward with data from the model," said Johnson. "Data from the model will provide useful information that will help engineers make better-informed decisions about repair and replacement."

Engineers at the Utah Research Lab constructed 1:50 scale model of the Oroville Dam spillway. Credit: Matt Jensen/Utah State University

This is the second time a Utah Water Research Lab team has been involved with engineering efforts at Oroville Dam. Johnson helped design an engineering solution that improves the river valve outlet system in low-level reservoir conditions. His work helped alleviate the effects of drought from 2014-2016.

Dr. Zachary Sharp, left, and Dr. Michael Johnson are the chief engineers on the project. Johnson specializes in experimental hydraulics and has designed other engineering solutions for Oroville Dam. Credit: Matt Jensen/Utah State University
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Updating with fresh details)

By Manash Pratim Bhuyan

Astana, Jun 8 (PTI) India and Kazakhstan today decided to enhance cooperation in a wide range of areas, including hydrocarbons, trade and investment and the atomic energy.

During the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, it was also decided to start direct flight services between Astana and New Delhi.

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Indias Ambassador to Kazakhstan Harsh Kumar Jain said there will two flights per week from Astana to New Delhi from July.

He said it was also decided that Kazakhstan will increase supply of uranium to India.

In April last year, Kazakhstan supplied 1,000 tonnes of uranium to India while its second consignment has just reached the country.

As per the provisions, Kazakhstan will supply 5,000 tonnes of uranium to India.

Kazakhstan is now one of the biggest suppliers of uranium to India.

Both sides also agreed to deepen cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector.

In the meeting, Prime Minister Modi invited Kazakhstan to join international solar alliance to which Kazakh President Nazarbayev responded positively.

External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said the meeting lasted for 45 minutes and it produced specific outcomes.

India and Kazakhstan agreed to work closely on major connectivity projects and underlined that Chabahar port will significantly improve trade between the two countries.

They also decided to step up cooperation in textile, manufacturing and other areas.

Prime Minister Modi met Nazarbayev soon after arriving here on a two-day visit during which he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit where India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the bloc.

"Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, met PM @narendramodi and discussed ways to expand bilateral ties," the Prime Ministers Office tweeted.

"I look forward to deepening Indias association with the SCO which will help us in economic, connectivity and counter- terrorism cooperation, among other things," Prime Minister Modi had said ahead of his visit here.

The Prime Minister will address the SCO Summit tomorrow and is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping amid growing differences between the two countries over a host of issues. PTI MPB ASK AKJ PMS

--- ENDS ---
Nick DiCarlo began working at Samsung in 2007, when flip phones and swivel phones were all the rage. He helped Samsung develop and market its high-end Galaxy smartphones and tablets.

In the past three years, DiCarlo has focused on a very different use for smartphones: virtual reality. He's helped roll out the Gear VR, Samsung's virtual reality headset, and the Gear 360, a camera that records immersive video.

Dicarlo works in Richardson's Samsung office. He leads a five-person team as vice president of immersive products strategy and product marketing for Samsung Electronics America. In his role, DiCarlo helps launch and market new products and tries to predict future trends.

DiCarlo recently spoke about Samsung's virtual reality strategy at its Richardson office. His comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: What role do you and your team play at Samsung?

A: We try to represent the voice of the consumer, the voice of the market back into product development and product strategy. ... The most busy, day-to-day task is launching new products and talking to the market and explaining new features. Every product always has new technology, and it's really different than consumer packaged goods where you're only talking about needs people have, like soap or cereal or something. We are always explaining something to you that you maybe didn't know that you needed or you didn't know that you wanted, and we're trying to illustrate why that's useful to you.

With virtual reality, starting out, it was this really improbable product where you're strapping this phone to your face. And nobody was asking to strap a phone to their face. That's a really strange thing to propose, so how do we present this product in a way that makes it relevant to people and they can see how it fits in their life?

Q: When did you first hear about VR and have your first VR experience?

A: My co-worker showed me a (prototype) 3-D printed mask with a Galaxy S3 or S4 slipped in it with a very simple game scene. I said, 'That's a bad idea. We shouldn't do it.' ... It made me nauseous. It didn't have that smooth, low-latency motion. I was getting sick from this, and nobody wants to buy a product that makes them sick. That's the basic story of VR for the 20 years prior to 2014. It was 'VR makes you sick' and 'All we're doing is working on trying not to make you sick.'

That was basically the magic that Oculus and (the company's chief technology officer) John (Carmack) brought to the table was finding a way to make it so smooth that it doesn't make you sick, that almost everybody doesn't get sick wearing it. What happened between 2013 when I tried it and when we launched the product at the end of 2014 - almost two years - was that leap of getting it to run smooth enough and fast enough on a phone that it would be comfortable for almost everybody.

Q: Despite your hesitancy, what eventually sold you on VR as part of Samsung's future?

A: When you start thinking about it, the whole world is in rectangles: books, newspapers, photographs, phones, televisions, stages, musical performances. Everything is in a rectangle. So the whole world of media has been crammed into this rectangle. But the world is around us, right? And so there's never been a way to sort of digitally replicate the world around you, and it's hard to even really fathom 'Why is that different or why is that better?' until you actually see it (virtual reality) work.

I have given millions of product demos for 15 years in this industry, but you can give a VR demo and have people still be impressed.

Q: What potential or current uses of VR do you find the most intriguing?

A: I've been really encouraged by the education side of it, the health care side of it. It can help seniors who feel isolated, giving them really resonant, memorable experiences. There's a company out of Missouri called StoryUP Studios that's doing stuff for World War II veterans, for example.

Where we'll start to see the breakthrough - and you're starting to see the seeds of it planted now - is communicating in VR. Even in my career, we used to type a document in (Microsoft) Word, print it, put it into an envelope and FedEx it. Now we can transmit documents much faster than that by email. Then, you think about what VR can do. It can essentially transmit my physical presence over distance in a high enough fidelity and resolution that we feel like we are together.

Q: What's been a tech bet you've made that's flopped? And what did you learn from it?

A: A year before the Galaxy S (Samsung's touchscreen smartphone) was created, there was this concept out there that was internally called 'ticker tape.' It was a phone screen and had another display below it that showed tweets and status updates and RSS feeds.

It was a Verizon-exclusive device called Continuum. It was a total disaster. We'd spent two years developing it (the phone). It had all of these futuristic ideas. I had staked my personal reputation on it. And it was a total failure. We made lots and lots of them, and nobody bought them.

The product was too weird, too ahead of its time and it wasn't explained properly to the market. (After the flop,) we actually created whole functions within the team to better explain innovations. An innovation is not self-evident. You have to explain it properly. VR, even today, I think is weirder than Continuum was, but it's become much more successful because we - and the industry - have done a much better job at explaining it to people.

-

Nick DiCarlo

Age: 41

Hometown: Grew up in Glastonbury, Conn.; lives in East Dallas

Education: Bachelor's degree in engineering from Bucknell University; MBA from University of Texas

Family: Married with two young children

2017 The Dallas Morning News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The pathogen, Vibrio cholerae can colonize the surfaces, as well as the intestines of soft shelled turtles. This finding is strong evidence that soft shelled turtles in China, where they are grown for human consumption, are spreading cholera. The research is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Insertion of genes producing bioluminescent proteins into V. cholerae enabled the investigators to directly observe the pathogens colonizing the turtles. To infect the turtles, the investigators dipped them in a phosphate buffered saline solution containing the now bioluminescent bacteria, serogroup 0139.

Over the next four days, the researchers checked the turtles at 24 hour intervals. They first detected light signals at 24 hours. At 96 hours, the entire dorsal side of the turtles' shells was emitting bioluminescence. The latter was also easily detected on the dorsal side of the turtles' limbs and necks, and in the calipash, the gelatinous protoplasm, locally regarded as a delicacy, that lies directly beneath the shells' surface.

Determining intestinal colonization was more difficult. The turtles were inoculated intragastrically with the bioluminescent V. cholerae. Knowing that digestion takes roughly 34 to 56 hours in 150 gram turtles, the investigators euthanized and dissected the turtles at 72 hours, and checked all their internal organs. Bioluminscence could be detected only in the intestines.

The investigators also identified the different colonization factorsmolecular machinery on the surface of V. choleraethat enabled the bacteria to stick to the turtles' dorsal surfaces and intestines.

The motivation for the research was the discovery, through surveillance of the disease in China, that consumption of cholera-carrying soft shelled turtles had caused outbreaks of the disease, said corresponding author Biao Kan, PhD. "Cholera is a life-threatening diarrheal disease," said Kan, who is professor of pathogenic biology and infectious disease control, at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing.

Despite the fact that during the last decade, China has seen less than 200 cases, annually, according to Kan. But he said that of the 39 diseases surveilled under China's Law of Infectious Disease Control and Prevention, cholera is in the most dangerous category, along with plague. He also noted that the O139 serogroup, the major strain spread by the turtles, is an emerging disease in China.

Elsewhere in the world, as of last summer, the Haitian outbreak, which began in 2010, has infected nearly 800,000 people and has caused more than 9,000 deaths, according to National Geographic. In 2014, a total of 190,549 cases worldwide were reported to the World Health Organization, including 2,231 deaths. But the number of reported cases has varied widely year to year, with a post-millennium high of over 600,000 in 2011. But other sources have reported as many as 3 million cases annually this decade.

A side benefit of the study is that the soft shelled turtle could serve as a new animal model for studying how V. cholerae interacts with aquatic hosts. Unlike other aquatic models such as zebra fish, soft shelled turtles can be anesthetized and their surfaces sampled out of water for relatively long periods without killing them. Using aquatic models is particularly beneficial since cholera is a mostly waterborne disease.

Besides soft shelled turtles, aquatic hosts of V. cholerae include zooplankton, fish, shellfish, egg masses of midges, waterfowl, and crustaceans. Fish and shellfish are proven to spread this disease.
The gold hoard of Lienden. Credit: VU

Archaeologists of VU Amsterdam and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands unveiled a fascinating hoard of gold coins in Het Valkhof Museum in Nijmegen last week. The treasure must have been buried around AD 460, not long before the final fall of the West Roman Empire in 476. 'The find adds a key element to our knowledge of the final stages of Roman rule in the Netherlands and the transition to the Early Middle Ages', said archaeologist Nico Roymans.

The people who found the coins and the land owner have given the coins to the museum in the form of a long-term loan. The gold will be on display to the public. The find was reported to the reporting centre at PAN (Portable Antiquities of the Netherlands), which is partly funded by NWO. Private individuals with metal detectors report their archaeological finds to PAN.

In the summer of 2016, treasure hunters ('amateur archaeologists') found 23 Roman gold coins in an orchard in Lienden in the Dutch province of Gelderland. After reporting it through PAN, the archaeologists tracked down two other treasure hunters who had found eight gold coins in exactly the same spot four years earlier. Archival research revealed that similar coins  which had vanished in the meantime  had been found on the same plot of land in the 19th century. The coins are solidi, the standard Roman gold coin dating from the late 4th and 5th century.

Last coin minted by Majorian

'The Lienden gold hoard is very special for two reasons,' Roymans explains. 'It is the largest currently known hoard of solidi in the Netherlands. It also appears to be the very last Roman hoard of coins we know of in the Netherlands and adjoining regions. The latest of the coins bears the likeness of Emperor Majorian, who ruled from 457 to 461. This implies that the treasure must have been buried sometime around 460 or shortly after. The West Roman Empire ended in 476 when the last Emperor was deposed.

Picture of a solidus of emperor Majorian. Credit: VU

A total of 42 coins from this hoard have now been found. This is a minimum number since, according to the archaeologists, the treasure is undoubtedly incomplete. Although the researchers dug over more of the plot, no new coins were found. Neither were any fragments of earthenware or metal utensils found, which may mean that the treasure was originally hidden in a leather or textile pouch.

Because unburnt remains of human bones were found which date back to a much earlier period (1800 BC), the conclusion is that the hoard of coins was probably buried in an old, Middle Bronze Age burial mound, which was still visible at the time. 'The exact reason for this remains unclear. The most likely is that it was buried for reasons of security in times of crisis, and the choice of an old burial mound as its hiding place might have been prompted by religious considerations,' according to Roymans.

The arrival of a consignment of gold around 460 is probably connected to the activities of the West Roman Emperor Majorian and his general Aegidius in Gaul. The most plausible scenario is that Aegidius had asked for military aid from the Frankish kings in exchange for payments in gold.

The gold hoard of Lienden is a unique document of historical interest for the last stages of Roman rule in the Netherlands, giving us an insight into the political and military situation during the transitional phase to the Early Middle Ages. It is the last hoard of Roman gold in the Netherlands, which marks the end of the West Roman Empire in this country.
Indian soldiers killed five suspected rebels Friday in a shoot-out near the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir with Pakistan, the army said. Troops deployed along the heavily militarised frontier known as the Line of Control (LOC) shot and killed the suspected fighters when they tried to cross into Indian-administered Kashmir. An operation to counter the infiltration bid was still underway in Uri, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of the summer capital of Kashmir, the army said in a statement. The deaths came a day after Indian soldiers killed three suspected rebels in an exchange of fire, which also killed one soldier. Earlier in the week Indian troops killed three combatants as they tried to cross into the territory. India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming militants and pushing them across the LoC to launch attacks on its forces. Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only provides diplomatic support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in its entirety. Rebel groups have for decades been fighting the around 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the territory, demanding independence from India or a merger of the Himalayan region with Pakistan. Armed encounters between rebels fighting against Indian rule of Kashmir and soldiers have become more frequent since last July when security forces killed a popular rebel commander. Officials say dozens of youths have joined the ranks of the rebels, who enjoy renewed public support.
Photo: OtterWatch Facebook page

The patriarch of a family of otters in Singapore has died after an illness, said a community of otter enthusiasts on Thursday (8 June).

A post about the otter on the OtterWatch Facebook page garnered almost 200 shares after the news broke on Thursday night. Some members of the Facebook group suspected that the otter could have ingested poison.

The otter, believed to be about seven years old, is part of a group of otters known as the Marina family.

The Otter Working Group, a group of representatives concerned with otter welfare, told The Straits Times that the animal had appeared weak and ill since last Thursday (1 June). It was also seen struggling to eat and swim.

Tan Yong Lin, a photographer who regularly observes the otters, told Yahoo Singapore that the father otters health had declined quickly. Last week, Tan said he had just seen the otter family at the Marina Bay Sands area and the father otter appeared healthy. Last week he was perfectly fine, said Tan.

It was last seen at Jiak Kim Bridge on Wednesday (7 June). As of Friday, it had been missing for over 36 hours and has not been seen with its family.

Otter enthusiast Chun Kit Soo posted on Facebook on 6 June, Recently, Marina dad is looking very tired. Fresh blood has been observed from his poo these two days. We are concerned if he has been poisoned.

Anyone know of a way to ascertain whether he has been poisoned?

Soo also shared a post from someone who said that her dog was poisoned along the Singapore River when a pest control company left rodent poison along the river.

Singapore is home to about 60 smooth-coated otters.

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A Spanish man hailed as a "skateboard hero" after he died trying to defend a woman from one of the assailants in last weekend's London attack has been awarded a posthumous medal, Madrid said Friday. Ignacio Echeverria, an HSBC expert in fighting money-laundering who lived in London, was one of eight killed in Saturday's attack that saw three men mow down people in a van before going on a stabbing spree in the Borough market area. The 39-year-old had rushed over to help a woman being assaulted and tried to defend her with a skateboard he had with him, prompting British media to dub him the "skateboard hero." Spain's government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said Echeverria had been awarded the Great Cross of the Order of Civil Merit, which recognises "extraordinary services" by Spanish and foreign citizens. "He was a good man, an exemplary citizen who on this tragic evening had the courage to face the terrorists to try and save the life of a young woman who was being attacked," he told reporters. Echeverria was listed as missing for close to four days after the attack as British authorities identified the body, leading to an excruciating wait for his family members. Spain was highly critical of the sluggish pace of the identification process. Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis even intervened earlier this week when the family was told they would not be able to see Echeverria's body until Friday at the earliest, even after positive identification. This prompted British authorities to allow them to be with their son and brother earlier. His body will be repatriated on Saturday, a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP.
Ukraine's parliament on Thursday voted to back attempts by the crisis-torn ex-Soviet nation to seek NATO membership, a move set to heighten tensions with Russia. Ukrainian lawmakers by a vote of 276 to 25 approved legal amendments enshrining seeking membership in NATO as one of Kiev's foreign policy priorities. "The time has come for us to clearly declare Ukraine's desire to join NATO in Ukrainian legislation," speaker Andriy Parubiy, who authored the draft bill, told parliament before the vote. Ukraine has been fighting a Russian-backed insurgency in its eastern regions for more that three years and sees NATO accession as a key way of bolstering its defences against former master Moscow. Ukraine's pro-Western leadership pledged to push to join NATO after ties with Russia collapsed over its seizure of the Crimean region, but Kiev is yet to officially apply to start the lengthy process of joining the US-led military alliance. Russia rejects the accusations that it has been arming the rebels in Ukraine and sending its own troops across the border. The Kremlin has long been angered by NATO expansion into what Moscow views as its sphere of influence in the former Soviet region and lashed out at the Ukraine vote. "Moscow traditionally treats the process of NATO expansion towards our borders with distrust and concern," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. "We believe that this threatens our security and the balance of power in the Eurasian region." This week the Balkan country Montenegro became NATO's 29th member despite the bitter Russian opposition to the move.
A woman, who threw acid at her former boyfriend in Goregaon area of Mumbai, was arrested by the police on Friday.

By Saurabh Vaktania: A woman, who threw acid at her former boyfriend in Goregaon area of Mumbai, was arrested by the police on Friday.

She has been charged under Sections 326 A, 323, 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sent to police custody till June 14.

The couple had recently fought with each other, following which the man broke up with her.

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Upset over the incident, she threw acid at the man's face at the latter's workplace.

According to cops from the Goregaon police station, the victim has been identified as 26-year-old Om Solanki.

VICTIM WORKED WITH A PRIVATE FIRM IN GOREGAON

Solanki was working with a private company in Goregaon.

The girl is 25-year-old and a resident of Nalasopara. Their affair had started a year ago.

Of late, the couple had started having several heated arguments following which Solanki decided to break up with her.

The couple had fought two days ago after which Solanki ended the relationship.

Annoyed over the incident, the woman first brought acid and met the boy outside his workplace. After a heated argument, the woman threw acid on Solanki. Solanki suffered minor injuries on his face and hands as the acid was not too strong.

Also read | Benefits of Disability Act to cover 14 new categories, including acid attack victims

Also read | Uttar Pradesh woman attacked with acid over dowry demand dies in Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital

ALSO WATCH VIDEO

--- ENDS ---
Season 8 of Jeff Grossos Loveletters to Skateboarding continues with Lester Kasai and Christian Hosoi joining Grosso to talk Asian American skateboarders. With interludes from the Nuge, Lee Ralph, Tom Wally Inouye and more, this goes into detail and is only part one, so expect more soon!

Highlights include the origins (and actual, lesser known definition) of the benihana, as well as archival Hosoi footage that wouldnt look out of place in Blades of Glory.
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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.
Parker-Hannifin Corporation manufactures and sells motion and control technologies and systems for various mobile, industrial, and aerospace markets worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Diversified Industrial and Aerospace Systems. The Diversified Industrial segment offers sealing, shielding, thermal products and systems, adhesives, coatings, and noise vibration and harshness solutions; filters, systems, and diagnostics solutions to monitor and remove contaminants from fuel, air, oil, water, and other liquids and gases; connectors, which control, transmit, and contain fluid; control solutions for extreme corrosion resistance, temperatures, pressures, and precise flow; and hydraulic, pneumatic, and electromechanical components and systems for builders and users of mobile and industrial machinery and equipment. This segment sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and distributors who serve the replacement markets in manufacturing, packaging, processing, transportation, construction, refrigeration and air conditioning, agricultural, and military machinery and equipment industries. The Aerospace Systems segment offers products for use in commercial and military airframe and engine programs, such as control actuation systems and components, engine build-up ducting, engine exhaust nozzles and assemblies, engine systems and components, fluid conveyance systems and components, fuel systems and components, fuel tank inerting systems, hydraulic systems and components, lubrication components, pilot controls, pneumatic control components, thermal management products, and wheels and brakes, as well as fluid metering, delivery, and atomization devices. This segment markets its products directly to OEMs and end users. The company markets its products through direct-sales employees, independent distributors, and sales representatives. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.
Douglas Dynamics, Inc. operates as a manufacturer and upfitter of commercial work truck attachments and equipment in North America. It operates through two segments, Work Truck Attachments and Work Truck Solutions. The Work Truck Attachments segment manufactures and sells snow and ice control attachments, including snowplows, and sand and salt spreaders for light trucks and heavy duty trucks, as well as various related parts and accessories. The Work Truck Solutions segment primarily manufactures municipal snow and ice control products; provides truck and vehicle upfits where it attaches component pieces of equipment, truck bodies, racking, and storage solutions to a vehicle chassis for use by end users for work related purposes; and manufactures storage solutions for trucks and vans, and cable pulling equipment for trucks. This segment also offers up-fit and storage solutions. It also provides customized turnkey solutions to governmental agencies, such as Departments of Transportation and municipalities. The company sells its products under the BLIZZARD, FISHER, SNOWEX, WESTERN, TURFEX, SWEEPEX, HENDERSON, BRINEXTREME, and DEJANA brands. It distributes its products primarily to professional snowplowers who are contracted to remove snow and ice from commercial and residential areas. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The following companies are subsidiares of Tyson Foods: APF Legacy Subs LLC, Advance Food Company LLC, AdvancePierre Foods, AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc., AdvancePierre Foods Inc., Aidells Sausage Company Inc., Allied Specialty Foods Inc., American Proteins Inc, Artisan Bread Co. LLC, Australian Food Corporation Pty Limited, Australian Food Corporation Trust, BRF, Barber Foods LLC, Bosco's Pizza Co., Bryan Foods Inc., C.S. Grain LLC, C.V. Holdings Inc., CBFA Management Corp., Central Industries Inc., Chefs Pantry LLC, Clovervale Farms LLC, Cobb (Hubei) Breeding Co. Ltd., Cobb (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Cobb Ana Damizlik Tavukculuk Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Cobb Columbia S.A.S., Cobb Europe B.V., Cobb Europe Limited, Cobb Peru (Andina) S.A.C., Cobb-Heritage LLC, Cobb-Vantress Brasil Ltda, Cobb-Vantress Inc., Cobb-Vantress New Zealand Limited, Cobb-Vantress Philippines Inc., Coominya AFC Pty Limited, Coominya AFC Trust, DFG Foods Inc., DFG Foods L.L.C., Don Julio, Egbert LLC, Equity Group - Georgia Division LLC, Equity Group - Kentucky Division LLC, Equity Group Eufaula Division LLC, Equity Meat Corp., Flavor Corp., Flavor Holdings Inc., Foodbrands America Inc., Foodbrands Supply Chain Services Inc., Gallo Salame Inc., Global Employment Services Inc., Grow-Out Credit LLC, Grow-Out Holdings LLC, Haimen Tyson Poultry Development Co. Ltd, Hudson Foods Company, Hudson Midwest Foods Inc., Hybro Genetics Brasil Ltda, IBP Caribbean Inc., IBP Foodservice L.L.C., IBP Inc., International Affiliates & Investment LLC, Jiangsu Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Keydutch Finance B.V., Keydutch Holdings I LLC, Keydutch Holdings II LLC, Keydutch Investments B.V., Keystone CLJV Holdings Limited, Keystone County House Road LLC, Keystone Foods, Keystone Foods (AP) Limited, Keystone Foods Holdco LLC, Keystone Foods Intermediate LLC, Keystone Foods LLC, Keystone Foods Pty Limited, Keystone Management Inc., Keystone Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, LD Foods LLC, M & M Express LLC, M&M Restaurant Supply (MI/OH) LLC, MFG (USA) Holdings Inc., Mac Food Services (Malaysia) SDN. BHD., Madison Foods Inc., McKey Food Services (Hong Kong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Shandong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Thailand) Limited, McKey Food Services Limited, McKey Luxembourg Holdings APMEA S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg S.a.r.l., McKey VI Holdings Limited, Myung Seung Food Company Ltd., National Comp Care Inc., New Canada Holdings Inc., Oaklawn Capital Corporation, Oaklawn IT Solution Private Limited, Original Philly Holdings Inc., PBX inc., Pierre Holdco Inc., River Valley Ingredients LLC, Rizhao Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Rizhao Tyson Poultry Co. Ltd, Rural Energy Systems Inc., Sara Lee - Kiwi Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Diversified LLC, Sara Lee Foods LLC, Sara Lee Household & Body Care Malawi Ltd., Sara Lee International LLC, Sara Lee International TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Mexicana Holdings Investment L.L.C., Sara Lee TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Trademark Holdings Australasia LLC, Saramar L.L.C., Shandong Tyson-Da Long Food Company Limited, Smart Chicken, Southern Family Foods L.L.C., Southwest Products LLC, TF 20 B.V., TF 5201 B.V., TFA Leasing LLC, TFA Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, TFI of California Inc., Tecumseh Poultry LLC, Texas Transfer Inc., The Bruss Company, The Hillshire Brands Company, The IBP Foods Co., The Pork Group Inc., TyNet Corporation, Tyson (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Tyson Americas Holding Sarl, Tyson Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Tyson Breeders Inc., Tyson Chicken Inc., Tyson China Holding 2 Limited, Tyson China Holding 3 Limited, Tyson China Holding Limited, Tyson Deli Inc., Tyson Europe Holding Company, Tyson Farms Inc., Tyson Farms QOZB LLC, Tyson Foods Brasil Investimentos Ltda., Tyson Foods Canada Inc., Tyson Foods Europe (Netherlands) B.V., Tyson Foods Europe GmbH, Tyson Foods France S.A.R.L., Tyson Foods Germany GmbH, Tyson Foods Group Limited, Tyson Foods Holland B.V., Tyson Foods Huadong Development Co. Ltd, Tyson Foods Iberia Alimentos S.L.U., Tyson Foods Italia S.p.A., Tyson Foods Korea, Tyson Foods Netherlands B.V., Tyson Foods Products Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Europe Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Sales (Europe) Limited, Tyson Foods UK Limited, Tyson Foods Wrexham Limited, Tyson Foods oosterwolde B.V., Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats Sales and Distribution LLC, Tyson Global Holding Sarl, Tyson Hog Markets Inc., Tyson India Holdings Ltd., Tyson International APAC Ltd., Tyson International Company Ltd., Tyson International Holding Company, Tyson International Holding Sarl, Tyson International Service Center Inc., Tyson International Service Center Inc. Asia, Tyson International Service Center Inc. Europe, Tyson Mexican Original Inc., Tyson Mexico Trading Company S. de R.L. de CV., Tyson New Ventures LLC, Tyson Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, Tyson Pet Products Inc., Tyson Poultry Inc., Tyson Prepared Foods Inc., Tyson Processing Services Inc., Tyson Refrigerated Processed Meats Inc., Tyson Sales and Distribution Inc., Tyson Service Center Corp., Tyson Shared Services Inc., Tyson Storm Lake Holdings LLC, Tyson Warehousing Services LLC, Tyson of Wisconsin LLC, Uninex SA, Universal Meats (UK) Limited, WBA Analytical Laboratories Inc., Wilton Foods Inc., Xamol Consultores e Servicos, and Zemco Industries Inc..

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GameStop Corp. is a specialty retailer founded in 1999 and headquartered in Grapevine, Texas. The company was originally known as GSC Holdings Corp. but later changed its name following its IPO. Originally a brand of then dominant Babbages, Gamestop altered the way video games were distributed and it is now the world's largest retailer of video games and video game accessories. The company went public in 2004 and operated 4,573 stores at the start of 2022. Brands under the company umbrella include Gamestop, EB Games, and Micromania as well as 50 pop-culture-themed Zing Pop locations.

Gamestop Corp. provides video games and entertainment products through its global network of e-commerce properties and stores. The company sells new and pre-owned gaming platforms and accessories like controllers, headsets, memory cards, and gaming software as well as in-game products like digital currency, downloadable content, and games. The company also sells new and used memorabilia and collectibles. Genres include TV, movie, comic book, and game characters as well as many other items from pop culture. GameStop Corp. also operates Game Informer, a magazine and website dedicated to the gaming industry including reviews, updates, and new developments in technologies.

Game enthusiasts enjoy two primary benefits of using Gamestop. The first is access to the full range of games and gaming accessories. The second is the ability to sell or trade their old equipment and games for fair prices. All old equipment is refurbished to a like-new state before resale.

In 2021 Gamestop announced it was entering the world of cryptocurrency. The company revealed plans to build an NFT (non-fungible token) platform for listing, selling, and holding digital or digitized artwork and collectibles. The beta version launched in 2022 and has so far seen great success with an average daily volume exceeding $1 million. The NFT marketplace also featured Web3.0 games in which characters and in-game items are held forever on the blockchain. As of September 2022, the most successful retailer on the NFT marketplace was Gamestop Presents, a collaboration of cover art from Game Informer Magazine. Sales at the time were just under 168 ETH or about $221,500.00.

GameStop began a slide in 2016 following a series of bad investments that included a foray into the world of mobile phones. The slide came to an end in late 2021 when shareholders using the Reddit thread Wallstreet Bets orchestrated a short-squeeze and brought on the age of meme stocks.
The loans would be in the name of student loans, weekend loans or even mid-term loans for small amounts of money. Once these fake tele-callers provided the victims with their personal details about debts and liability, they were convinced that these were genuine callers from the banks and fell prey to the fraud.

By Divyesh Singh: A call center which had been duping thousands of US citizens in name of easy loans has been busted by the Thane crime branch in Ambernath near Mumbai during the intervening night of June 8 and 9. The raid started in the Anand Nagar MIDC area of Ambernath where a BPO named Rackon enterprises operated from an industrial building.

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The raid and search is still on after teams left for three different locations in and around Mumbai to apprehend the people involved. More than 25 callers including some women have been apprehended who offered loans at easy installments but on provisions that they would provide a commission.

The commission would be anything which could range between 20 to 30 per cent of the loan amount. These loans were of amounts ranging from USD 1,000 to 5,000 but sometimes the commission would go up to USD 10,000 as the customers were being lured in name of easy loans.

Sometimes the callers would also be asked to pose naked or send nude pictures and videos for providing the loans which were never sanctioned as the complete process was fraudulent. The call center had their associates in the US who helped them with the complete data for possible loan applicants and the callers from BPO posed as employees of some local banks.

The loans would be in the name of student loans, weekend loans or even mid-term loans for small amounts of money. Once these fake tele-callers provided the victims with their personal details about debts and liability, they were convinced that these were genuine callers from the banks and fell prey to the fraud.

This is the second biggest BPO fraud busted by the Thane police wherein US citizens were being targeted by illegal BPOs. The initial bust led to the arrest of more than 80 people. It is said that some of the employees working with the Ambernath based BPOs had earlier worked with the BPOs involved in the IRS fraud duping US citizen.

Thane crime branch officials have seized hard disks, computers, pen drives and servers from Rackon enterprises which was earlier named as Shakti Ramesh enterprises.

Acting on specific information, a trap was laid and the raid was conducted at the said premises by a team of Thane crime branch officials. The raid started at around 11:30 pm on Thursday and went on till wee hours on Friday.

The police team was also assisted by computer and digital forensic experts who scanned the data logs. The VOIP calling system used by the BPO itself was illegal in the first place and this was used to make calls to the US citizens and dupe them of thousands of dollars.

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The process was called payday and the callers got incentives for each successful call which could be around ten per cent of the total amount secured or grabbed from the victim. Some of the callers who were not even HSC pass made around Rs 1.5 lakh a month at this BPO set up which was running since more than four years at this location.

The accused will be booked under appropriate sections depending pong their interrogation which is underway and then produced in court.

The person who owns the place where the BPO was functioning is affiliated to a political party and his role is being ascertained in the scam. Thane police have called for technical experts to examine the hard disks and systems found in the call center to ascertain the amount of money that was being made by the staffers and the owners of the call center. A senior Thane crime branch official said that the people apprehended could be just tip of an iceberg.

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Also read:Noida-based fake BPO rakes in Rs 5 crore from customers, sends employees to Goa, all held Noida techies set up fake call centre, dupe customers in US

BPOs in Delhi, NCR will leave India: Centre's argument against ban on diesel cars

Be wary of fake call centres that can dupe you

1 billion Yahoo accounts hacked: Steps you need to take right now

Watch Video: Mumbai: Thane Police bust call centre running easy loan racket

--- ENDS ---
International Relations  June 9, 2017  Richard Greeman

The good news this May was that French voters rejected far-right Marine Le Pen by a two-to-one margin in the second round of the Presidential election. At least the French are not schmucks as the Americans! were the first words that passed the sweet lips of my Provencal partner Elyane when the radio announced Le Pens defeat. As the Borowitz Report headlined: French Annoyingly Retain Right to Claim Intellectual Superiority over Americans. Aside from this moral victory, the French people have little to be happy about.

The bad news was that France ended up electing Emmanuel Macron, an efficient technocrat who consciously incarnates French capitals need to eliminate the French exception and level the wages, rights and benefits of the French common people down to the average of the European Union (which includes Romania and Bulgaria).

Faced with Macrons calmly-worded, reasonable, deliberately transparent class war agenda, it should be obvious that France needs a united Left of parties, unions, social movements and local associations to oppose it  the June during the legislative

elections and later in the streets. Such a powerful coalition from below came together spontaneously against Macron/Hollandes pro-business Labour Law during the hot Spring of 2016, which included strikes, blockades, occupations and all-night discussions. Where is it now?

The Divided Left

Alas, more bad news: the French Left today is totally divided, splintered as never before. After May Day, the labour unions couldnt even agree to march together. This Sunday, June 11, French voters will face the first round in the legislative elections to the 577 seat National Assembly. These elections will decide whether President Macron will have a legislative majority with which to govern unopposed, a distinct possibility with the opposition parties so hopelessly divided.

Last week I watched a young, idealistic Parti communiste francais (PCF) candidate practically in tears at a Mediapart round-table as he told how at least four left parties were competing against each other in the first round in his popular Paris district. This Communist candidate was heartbroken because during the Presidential election, his Party had supported Jean-Luc Melenchons La France insoumise (Unbowed) coalition with all its strength, and now Melenchon had sent an Insoumise candidate into his district to compete with him in the legislative election. Why?

Historically, in multi-party systems, Left parties negotiate alliances and coalitions so as to agree on a single candidate, presumably a strong one, in each local district so as to maximise the chance of winning nationally. Each party in the alliance gets assigned a certain number of prospective seats in the National Assembly in proportion to its size  subject to much haggling and horse-trading. Some negotiations between Melenchon and the Communists were held last month, but apparently they broke down early. This, in spite of the fact that Melenchon had previously headed La front de gauche , a coalition including the Communists and his own Parti de gauche (a 2008 left split from the Socialists). As so often happens in party politics, control trumped goal. The Communists still have representatives in the Chamber and control local offices in many districts, and wanted to protect their turf. Melenchon wants to dominate the Left through his Insoumise movement.

Melenchons strategy is based on strength of the 20 per cent of the electorate that voted for him in the Presidential rounds, and is to run candidates in every possible district with the goal of winning an (unlikely) parliamentary majority. Under the Constitution of the Gaullist 5th French Republic, this would oblige President Macron to appoint Melenchon Prime Minister (an arrangement known as cohabitation) and share power. In Sundays first round Insoumise candidates who get 20 per cent of the votes would theoretically place into the second round in a field where the Right is also splintered. Along with Macrons handpicked new faces running for En Marche , there are also several traditional conservative parties and of course the far-right Front national that won a third of the votes in Mays Presidential election.

In one version of Melenchons strategy, the Insoumise candidates could conceivably beat the Macronistas and the Le Penites and end up with a majority in the second round, automatically making him Prime Minister. But the more the Left field is crowded, the greater the chance of a repeat of the Presidential voting: Macrons En Marche faces off against the Front national in the second round, giving Macron an easy majority and marginalizing the Left for the next five years. This would be the tragic consequence of Left disunity based on turf wars and the party politics of sustaining small groups.

In another view, even in the minority, Melenchons Insoumise would emerge as the hegemonic organization of the Left for the next five years, well-placed for the next elections in 2022. There is not much competition left. The electorate of PCF, despite its hold on office and ties to the CGT labour union, has shrunk to not much bigger than the Trotskyist Nouveau parti anti-capitaliste (part of which has joined the PCF in a coalition called Ensemble ).

The Parti socialiste has also shrunk, having disgraced itself in power. President Hollande, with only 4 per cent approval rating, didnt even dare run in the primaries, an historical first for an outgoing president. The Socialists right-wing has followed Macron in deserting the sinking ship. The SPs Presidential candidate, the young leftist Benoit Hamon who won the presidential primary, seems a refreshingly sincere and honest social-democrat. He is attractive to voters who consider Melenchon a dangerous demagogue and are suspicious of his apparent support of Putins annexation of the Crimea and his flirtation with the idea of a Frexit. A divided Left, indeed!

So Who is Macron?

A brilliant young graduate of Frances elite state graduate schools (founded by Napoleon to run his Empire) with a successful career in banking and public administration, Emmanuel Macron is well read on nearly every subject and totally confident of his competence and right to rule. He coolly showed himself a statesman last week castigating Trumps withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords. Speaking in elegant, charmingly accented English (a first for a French President), he famously concluded: Make our planet great again. Macrons government is made of neoliberal technocrats, half of them women. Unlike the usual political hacks, his ministers are younger, more dynamic, more diverse  fresh political faces recruited directly out of the economic establishment like Macron himself. This is a new broom eager to sweep clean, so watch out.

As a candidate Macron had made his program absolutely clear. He is pledged to strip French workers of what remains of their on-the-job rights and protections by further expanding the pro-business Labour Law  a reform he helped impose while Economics Minister in the neoliberal government of his predecessor, the unpopular Socialist Hollande. However, even if Macron does not win a majority on June 18 in the second round of the Legislatives, he is pledged to impose his neoliberal, class-war program by Decree. Thats how Hollandes Socialist government passed its pro-employer labour reform last summer after a very hot spring of strikes, blockades, mammoth demonstrations and opposition from many Socialists in the Chamber. (See my The French Stand up.)

Macron is also pledged to another anti-worker reform: the downgrading of Frances wonderful post-WWII Social Security system which includes healthcare, unemployment insurance, retirement, minimum survival income, housing subsidies and welfare for the poor. The Secu, as it is known, was created after WWII by workers organizations coming out of the Resistance, when the de Gaulle government depended on Communist support to stay in power and the French industrialists were in disgrace for their vile collaboration with the Nazis during the Occupation. The idea of the social wage  in addition to the salary  was enshrined in Frances post-war constitution.

The Secu remained a self-governing non-state national institution even after de Gaulle placed business representatives on the board to undermine it. Today, the government votes on its budget. As for unemployment insurance, which is governed, by a bi-part commission of unions and employers, Macron would put the state in charge, with budgetary powers. The impact of these reforms will be to break up the semi-autonmous Secu and turn its functions over to the state. These reforms will allegedly rationalize the system and reduce costs, but in fact they are designed to progressively shrink the social safety net that has made the French exception so popular. A grim prospect for average French people and lovers of Frances quality of life.

Last week, in researching for this article, I asked my neighbour, a poised, well-educated young mother from a good local family, to explain the intricacies of the French electoral system to me. When the truth finally dawned on me that with the Left divided there is very little hope left for Social Security and fair labour laws, I blurted out: Then what will the French people do? She calmly replied: We go down into the streets and throw the bastards out! Were good at that. Since Summer Vacation is the true God worshipped by the French, this battle may not take place until next September.

How to Kill Social Security

Macrons proposal to reform the Secu is a devilishly clever plan to exploit a conflict between Frances two most numerous and productive classes: the organized working class of historically left-wing waged and salaried workers and the independents: a large hard-working, petty-bourgeoisie of artisans, shop keepers, and farmers, whose organizations have historically leaned to the far-right.

Macron proposes to attack a very real and long neglected problem in the French single-payer social welfare system: it is not universal or equal. Independent workers are not covered by the Secu medical insurance and are forced to pay their dues into a variety of different funds in return for inferior retirements and benefits. In 1945, the independent farmers and shop-keepers who had made money during the war voted not to join the salaried workers in the single-payer health insurance system and set up their own private funds.

When their sector declined, they ended up screwed. Today some independents are even forced to pay into their funds at the beginning of the fiscal year, before they even get their business off the ground! They are jealous of salaried workers and hostile to unions, especially the railroad workers who get extra benefits. This petite bourgeoisie is a numerous, industrious and highly productive part of the French population. It has often been mistreated by the government and neglected by the Left. Its political anger has often been channeled into the far right  the Poujade movement in the 1950s and today Le Pens Front national .

The obvious solution would be to try to pull all these independents into the Secu and make it truly universal; or, alternately, to insure that the dues and benefits of artisans are comparable. In other words, leveling up the program. Macrons solution seems to be that his government takes over and levels down the benefits of the different groups to the lowest common denominator. His proposed successor institutions to the Secu will not be self-sustaining or self-governing. They will be funded by the government out of the general fund and the amount available will predictably decline from year to year as Macron rationalizes and reduces costs in the name of making France competitive again. 
From south-east Asia, the species belongs to the European saving programme.

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Bojnice Zoo has a new inhabitant - a female wrinkled hornbill. This bird will be the first of its species to be bred in Slovakia.

The female wrinkled hornbill already feels accustomed to the pavilion of birds. We brought her here from the Usti nad Labem Zoo in the Czech Republic, said zoo spokesperson Simona Kubickova, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

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This extremely precious species of bird belongs to the European saving programme of European zoos.

In nature it lives in the rainforest of south-east Asia, in Thailand, on the Malaysian peninsula and on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, Kubickova added for TASR.

The wrinkled hornbill is a medium-sized species with a height of about 70 centimetres. Its most favourite food is fruit, particularly berries.

In all of Europe, the wrinkled hornbill is bred in only about 20 zoos. We hope that we can find the right male for this young female soon, summed up Kubickova for TASR.
Parliament passes a constitutional change to protect agricultural land.

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Slovak agricultural land now enjoys constitutional protection after a constitutional change has termed it a non-renewable natural resource, worthy of the highest protection. The Slovak National Party (SNS) initiated the change to prevent speculative purchases, in accord with the goals of the current government concerning the protection of agricultural land.

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Agricultural land is the basic resource of farmers, said Jana Holeciova, spokesperson of the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPPK). Without it food producers cannot supply food security and self-sufficiency for Slovakia, she added.

The Slovak parliament passed the amendment to the constitution on May 16; President Andrej Kiska signed it into law on May 25.

The proposal opens the door to the option of addressing the acquisition of agricultural and forest land, its legislative protection and providing food self-sufficiency for the nation, Eva Antosova from SNS told the TASR newswire.

The Agriculture Ministry welcomed the change to the constitution and is already working on a revision to the law on acquisition of agricultural land that will be based on the adopted change in the constitution, said Vladimir Machalik, spokesperson of the ministry.

Without the foundations in the constitution, it would not be possible to implement further laws that will follow this constitutional change, stated Lucia Galova, president of the Slovak Rural Platform, one of the initiators of the change.

The Rural Platform did not agree with the legislative framework that viewed agricultural land only as ordinary goods. The change defines agricultural land as a non-renewable natural resource, which is subject to special protection from the state and society.

Read also:

Read also: Parliament approves constitutional safeguards for land Read more

Conflict with EU rules

Upon joining the EU in 2004, Slovakia applied a moratorium on the sale of agricultural land valid till 2011. Later it was extended to 2014, when new legislation on land acquisition came into effect.

In 2014, Slovakia, together with Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania adopted laws regulating the acquisition of agricultural land. However, these laws contained several provisions that restricted free movement of capital and freedom of establishment.

The European Commission (EC) reproached also the land acquisition law in Slovakia. They particularly did not agree with the condition that a potential buyer must have at least 10-year permanent residence in Slovakia, or in the case of a company it must have its headquarters in the country.

The EC understands that member countries want to provide agricultural land with particular protection, considering the various challenges in this aspect, such as concentration of land, speculations with the estates or the protection of rural environments, according to an official statement from the EC Representation in Slovakia.

However, the statement asserts that member states must adhere to certain regulations of the EU. Under the authority of these regulations, member countries can introduce certain restrictions in order to protect legitimate public interests but these must be in accord with the basic rights and principles of proportionality and legal security.

In May 2016, the EC warned that Slovakia should change the law on the acquisition of agricultural land, which it said was violating EU rules guaranteeing free movement of capital and freedom of establishment, adding that the case could end up at the European Court of Justice.

In 2013, Hungary enacted a law that excluded legal entities from acquiring land. The EC started a disciplinary hearing over violation of the EU regulation concerning the rights of foreign investors concerning agricultural land.

Certainly some changes should have to be made to the given law and, of course, as it is a problem of the Slovak Republic, I will negotiate this with all coalition partners, said Agriculture Minister Gabriela Matecna in May 2016. She promised the law would be further discussed by the coalition partners.

The initiative on the draft amendment was led by a group of deputies from the SNS party. The SPPK and the Rural Platform joined the process, pointing out gaps in the law.

We agree with the stance of the ministry of agriculture that the condition [on permanent residence and company headquarters] was restrictive and they are planning to leave it out, said Galova.

Read also:

Read also: Slovak agriculture faces changes Read more

More than ordinary goods

SPPK expects that society and business entities will approach agricultural land as a non-renewable resource and that it will not be the subject of speculative purchases in the future. The Rural Platform expects better protection of the land, mainly from the environmental point of view.

SPPK supported legislation that protected land against speculative purchases as it sees this as important for the countrys food self-sufficiency.

The SPPK supports all activities aimed at protection of our agricultural fund, Holeciova added.

Galova pointed out that the law from 2014 has not met its goal, as land could have been bought via third parties based in Slovakia.

The topic of land is complex and complicated and we have to consider multiple aspects, including agriculture, environment, forestry, economy, society, history, law and legislation, said Galova.

Foreign ownership

The most outstanding problems are purchases of land by a few economically strong players.

Foreign subjects buy the business as a whole, including the agricultural land administered by the business, explained Holeciova, adding that in this way, agricultural land comes under ownership of foreigners and Slovakia thus loses land that is critical for its agriculture and food self-sufficiency.

Our farmers and food producers fear that the agricultural land in Slovakia will continue to be of interest for some subjects whose main aim is different than developing the agricultural and food industry of Slovakia, said Milan Semancik, the chairman of SPPK.

Read also:

Read also: Ministry to harmonise land law with EU rules Read more

Official data are not available but according to the statistics of SPPK, foreign farmers utilise about 100-150 hectares of agricultural land in Slovakia, though this does not necessarily mean that they own the land.

It is mainly Danish or Dutch subsidiaries of Chinese companies, said Galova, adding that a lot of land is also owned by Austrians or Italians. It prevents diversification, which has a direct impact not only on direct production but also on the environment or the basic composition of farmers and thereby also on the employment and the development of the regions.

Speculative purchases are also enabled by gaps in other laws, in particular the law on rental of agricultural land and the law on land adjustments.

For this reason the Rural Platform is calling for a comprehensive look into the situation and is pursuing additional in-depth steps.

The law on land rental should soon go into interdepartmental review, while the land acquisition law will also be thoroughly amended.

We think, however, that solely a legislative solution is not enough, therefore we as an agricultural community will work on education and various campaigns and also work directly in the regions, Galova concluded.
Slovak ambassador to UK sees Brexit as an impetus for Slovaks living there to reconsider whether to stay or return to Slovakia.

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Brexit is definitely an opportunity for Slovaks, who came to live in Britain in good faith, to reconsider whether they want to stay there or return to Slovakia, Slovak Ambassador to the United Kingdom Lubomir Rehak told the TASR newswire.

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There is solid economic growth in Slovakia, as well as job opportunities, chiefly for people who have experience working abroad and who have adequate language skills. They would be welcomed in Slovakia, said Rehak.

He finds Slovaks living in London to be very flexible. They often take a job below their qualification because they prefer work to being unemployed. Rehak added that even though salaries in Slovakia are lower, the quality of life is comparable with that of Britain.

Based on official British statistics available to the embassy, some 85,000 Slovaks are currently living in Britain. However, Rehak does not believe this figure to be accurate, since there is no record-keeping on the population in the country.

We estimate the figure of Slovak citizens presence in Britain to be a little higher, somewhere around 100,000, while some estimates are even higher, said Rehak.

Slovaks in Britain chiefly work in the service sector, hotel and restaurants, the processing industry, or as seasonal workers in agriculture.

These are the main fields in which they work, said Rehak. About 5 percent of Slovaks work in top managerial posts, for example in banks, or they work as architects.

The ambassador said it is up to each individual to decide whether to stay in Britain or not.

Our recommendation is to actually look at job opportunities at home, partly because of the current atmosphere in Britain in connection with Brexit and maybe also because of the worsened security situation in the country, said Rehak.
Participants at the gathering created a new Slovak record.

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The economic university in Bratislava hosted 458 polyglots from more than 55 countries including Canada, Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand. The gathering is a non-formal, yearly event and was organized in Bratislava for the first time this year.

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Among the best-known polyglots was Richard Simcott who speaks more than 30 languages.

The organizers prepared different trips for the participants besides the main programme, such as visits to Bojnice, Trencin and different corners of Bratislava. The attendees could also sample Slovak gastronomy during the international dinner which included wine, mead, and a coffee tasting.



The main programme consisted of presentations by polyglots on various topics connected with linguistics and the learning of languages. Besides that, participants entertained themselves with a concert in many-languages, a play-zone, a no-English zone and many others. During the gathering, there was also one presentation for the public, including tips on how to learn languages most effectively.

At the closing ceremony, they gained the Slovak record for the number of languages used under one roof. Everyone said something about the usefulness of learning languages into the microphone. Altogether 125 languages including exotic ones such as Sami,Toki Pona and Navaho were heard.

We cant believe that we brought so many lovers of languages to Bratislava, reads a joint statement by Lydia Machova and Peter Balaz, the main organizers of the event.

Read also:

Read also: Slovakia remains unknown in convention business Read more

However, this was not the first linguistic event in Slovakia. Last year the 101st World congress of Esperanto took place in Nitra, attended by 1,300 people from 60 countries. Peter Balaz also organizes an Esperanto Summer school every year where participants come from all-around the world.
ISTE | Q & A

Principal Robert Furman Urges Teachers to Break Old Habits and Go Digital

The author, educator and lecturer will appear in three sessions at ISTE this month.

L. Robert Furman urges educators to break the cycle of wash, dry, rinse, repeat. In other words, get out of the rut of the habitual ways of doing things and try something different.

Robert Furman

Furman is principal at South Park Elementary Center in South Park, PA, 12 miles outside of downtown Pittsburgh. Hes also an ISTE author, a regular public speaker and presenter, and a champion of tech-infused education for the 21st century.

During the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference later this month, Furman will participate in three sessions: Leading for the Future: Harness Innovation, Embrace Change and Transform Learning from 10:15-11:15 a.m. Tuesday, June 27; Technology Tips, Tricks and Hacks from ISTE Authors, 2:45-3:45 p.m. June 27; and Relevance in the Revolutionized School, 4:45-5:45 p.m. June 27.

THE Journal spoke with Furman about his visions for 21st century students and educators.

THE Journal: What do you mean when you say we need a revolution in education? And why do you call your YouTube series The Seditionists?



Robert Furman: We need to make the changes necessary for the 21st century. [In American history] the seditionists talked of revolution; they talked of the need for change in a grand way.

We talk like were revolutionaries. We definitely want to be heard, in terms of the importance, of the need for change in education. We need to make the changes necessary so we fit with our mainstream society, and we give kids the skills they need  digital age skills: the need for collaboration and leadership and all those things we talk about in terms of digital age skills.

There are a lot of things educators do by accident. We need to be aware of what were doing, and the fact that these kids need these skills. You could be teaching facts and memorization and things [by rote]. We may have AI machines doing half that stuff for you. Having those digital age skills are going to be eternal.

Only 10 years ago, there was no iPad, iPhone or Netflix. Just in 10 short years, look at how much has changed. Were probably not going to have to learn how to drive.

To have these digital age skills  no matter what  [students are] going to be armed with these skills that are going to help them regardless.

THE Journal: What should we be doing differently on a policy level?

Furman: Its so unfortunate. From the federal government, down to the state government, the policymakers arent educators. Were still doing high stakes accountability testing.

There are schools [and administrators] that are mocking us on the international stage. Theyre laughing at us. We went back to accountability. [Schools from other countries] just proved that it doesnt work.

Policymakers need to be educators  true educators, true believers in what were trying to do here.

THE Journal: Why go through so much change? Is it really necessary?

Furman: We talk about digital immigrants and digital natives. The same thing is occurring in education. Were [the older, teaching generation] the educational/digital immigrants, and we think what we did is best.

On a national scale, education looks the same, and yet the world doesnt look anything the same. We need to get back to student-centered learning.

I talk about it in my book, The Future Ready Challenge. We need to start looking at what technology does for us.

THE Journal: What does technology do for us? What are some things that we may not need to do anymore because of technology?

Furman: We teach skills that are sort of silly. Like cursive handwriting. If your goal is to have your students communicate with you, you shouldnt teach that. Cursive handwriting in a very short period of time will be non-existent.

Printing is going to go away. We dont need to print and sign our signature. Typing is probably going to go away. Why would you want to type away things when you can just talk into a computer?

Maybe we need to start tailoring back  maybe cursive can go in the art department, as opposed to a primary content category.

Lets talk about spelling. We have spell check on our computers. Do students need to read and memorize half the dictionary? Absolutely not. Its a colossal waste of time.

Lets dump some of these things. Do we need the old-fashioned textbook?

[Presentation partner Keith Reeves and I] go through a host of those  six or seven different things. Then we debate it with the audience. Keith and I are not opposed to a good, old-fashioned debate. We love when people have opposing opinions. We want to hear what they have to say. Were always open to ideas.

THE Journal: Tell us more about your book, The Future Ready Challenge.

Furman: I want to get moving, I want to get future ready. Were preaching this, but really not telling people how to get ready.

I give tangible tips on how you can incorporate future-ready skills into your classroom. Some of it can be practical stuff. I want to get out of the WRDR cycle  wash, rinse, dry, repeat.

We give assigned homework, do bellwork. That gets monotonous. Very soon artificial intelligence and virtual reality  they can do that. If teachers want to be relevant, we have to bring things to the table that AI and VR cant  teaching compassion and love, dealing with constructive criticism. What teachers bring to it is the human element.
Khaplang is the mastermind of several attacks on the Army in the past few years in the North East.

By Manogya Loiwal : Militant leader SS Khaplang, who was the chief of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN)'s K faction died today.

Khaplang is the mastermind of several attacks on the Army in the past few years in the North East. He was in the core team of insurgency operations of NSCN since inception.

NSCN was started by Khizu demanding separation of Nagaland. The demand persisted but they parted ways. SS Khaplang started another faction and so did P Muivah.

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NSCN ( IM ), the Muivah faction, is presently in ceasefire with government of India, while Khaplang is the rebel faction. Khaplang was in Myanmar and will be cremated late in the night.

TRYST WITH INSURGENCY

Born in April 1940 in Waktham village just east of Myanmar's Pangsau Pass, Khaplang changed the face of insurgency in the North East.

Khaplang was instrumental in the attack on Assam Rifles personnel at Indira Gandhi Stadium, Kohima on 26 March 2015.

The group subsequently involved in series of attacks on armed forces including the attack on 6 Dogra Regiment Convoy in Chandel district of Manipur on June 4 killing 20 Army personnel.

Hailing from Hemi Naga tribe of Myanmar, Khaplang has two homes - one in China's Yunan province and one in Myanmar.

He was last seen inaugurating a rural stadium in Myanmar where they organised a football tournament under the banner of Western South East Asia.

With inputs from Indrajit Kundu

Also read | Nagaland: Army officer martyred, 3 militants killed near Myanmar border

WATCH | Territorial Army Major, 3 terrorists killed in encounter in Nagaland

--- ENDS ---
Men who stare at goats

Screenshot/"Men Who Stare At Goats" trailer

What if I told you that the Department of Defense and the CIA spent four decades researching extrasensory perception and psychokinesis  i.e., bending spoons with your mind?

From the 1950s to the 1990s, the military and intelligence communities investigated psychic phenomena, conducted clandestine missions that relied on subjects believed to have supernatural powers, and competed with the Soviet Union in a psychic arms race.

In Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Governments Investigations Into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis, published in March, investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen explores the bizarre world of government-funded research into the paranormal.

The responsibility of the Defense Department and CIA is to be aware of what the enemy is working on and to create programs to counter it, Jacobsen says. Is this the chicken and the egg scenario? Is this the military industrial complex?

Task & Purpose spoke to Jacobsen to discuss how it all started, and how it was allowed to get as far as it did. Here are five crazy but true stories about the governments research into psychic phenomena.

1. It started with the Nazis, some of whom were obsessed with black magic.

In 1945, with the Nazi regime defeated, members of an elite U.S. scientific intelligence initiative called Operation Alsos made their way to Berlin to scoop up as much intel as possible on German military projects. In the bombed-out remnants of a villa in an affluent neighborhood in southwestern Berlin, they uncovered a cache of documents and artifacts that were part of the Ahnenerbe, Heinrich Himmlers science organization, which was well-funded and vast. It even had an entire branch devoted to the Survey of the So-called Occult Sciences, Jacobsen writes in Phenomena.

ALSOS Members

Wikimedia Commons

The high-ranking Nazi leader was obsessed with the occult. On Himmlers orders, SS officers raided Germanys occupied territories for artifacts related to magic, even ransacking museums in Poland, Ukraine, and the Crimea for mystical texts. Nazi scientists at Ahnenerbe scoured the globe for items like the Holy Grail and the Lance of Destiny, the spear thought to have killed Christ.

Story continues

In that organization there was ESP, psychokinesis, map-dowsing, an element of what you could say was the supernatural, or the paranormal, Jacobsen says. In the villas basement, the researchers found remnants of teutonic symbols and rites, as well as a babys skull in a corner pit of ashes, according to Phenomena.

We later learned that the Soviets had captured an equal probe of information on this same subject and when we learned that they were working in this area, you could say that this is the origin story of the psychic arms race, Jacobsen says.

2. The Cold War arms race spilled over into psychic research.

The United States foray into the psychic research took off in the 1950s when it set about countering Soviet mind control  thought to be a legitimate concern at the time  and it was based, at least partially, off of Nazi research uncovered at Ahnenerbe. Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union relied on the caches of Nazi research they recovered, some of which detailed experiments conducted at concentration camps, where Nazi scientists pushed human physiology to extremes and monitored the results, Jacobsen writes in Phenomena.

Now the CIA and the KGB would conduct similar experiments, each side arguing that the other sides program required countermeasures to defend against them, Jacobsen writes.

This fear of Soviet mind control was reinforced by videos of American prisoners of war reciting communist propaganda, Jacobsen says.

Wolfram Sievers

Wikimedia Commons

We look back and say now, Thats ridiculous, you cant brainwash someone, but it certainly looked that way when you watched those old black-and-white images of those POWs, Jacobsen explains, adding that the governments exploration into psychic phenomena began as part of MK Ultra Program. The CIA-backed mind control program, MK Ultra, officially started in 1953, ran well into the 1960s, and involved dosing American citizens with biological and chemical agents, like LSD, or acid, often without the individuals knowledge.

While they were looking into mind research and how to input behavior, the MK Ultra subproject 58 became significant, which is the program to use drugs, which they call psychopharmacology, to enhance psychic functioning in psychic people, she says. Its a real jumping off point for understanding how and why this race against the Soviets began and why its legitimate in many ways.

Both the Soviet Union and the U.S. government pointed to the others research into mind control, counter mind control, and psychic phenomena in general, as justification for their research. There were stories of Americans putting telepaths on nuclear submarines, of Soviet mind control rays, and a Russian psychic so powerful she could stop the heart of a frog with only her mind. With each new rumor, some based on actual experiments, others little more than disinformation campaigns, the psychic arms race picked up speed.

3. That time a secretary with psychic powers found a downed Soviet bomber.

The governments research into psychic phenomena often jumped back and forth between the DoD or the CIA, with a program being shut down after inconclusive results, only to open up under a new name. In the 1970s, the remote viewing program was owned the Defense Department. Remote viewing is essentially the idea that someone can visualize details of distant people and objects through telekinesis.

A small operation was run out of Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, its chief employed a secretary, Rosemary Smith, who believed she had psychic powers.

It was a very small-budgeted program, because most people thought it was bananas, Jacobsen says. That changed in times of emergency, like in 1976, when the remote viewing team was given a whopper of a mission.

military paranormal remove-viewing

Little, Brown Publishing

A Soviet bomber had gone down in the jungles of Africa, and the CIA and military intelligence had used every intelligence collection means available to them, from satellite technology, to sig-int, to human intelligence, and they had absolutely nothing, Jacobsen says.

With nothing to lose, the military contacted the remote viewing operation at Patterson  and they put the secretary, Rosemary Smith, on the job, and she was able to draw maps that pinpointed where this aircraft was, within a few miles, Jacobsen says. The cable was sent to the CIA, and they sent a paramilitary team out to the jungle, and near the area where Rosemary Smith said it would be, they saw a villager carrying a piece of aircraft out of the jungle, and that led them to the [crash site.]

It was an earth-shattering event, Jacobsen says: A psychic was able to produce actionable intelligence that no one else could.

4. Then there were the men who stared at goats, among other things.

One Army unit detailed in Jacobsens book, known as Detachment G, was established by top-ranking officers who were leery about the idea of bringing on psychics for research, so they stocked the program from within the Armys ranks. One of the units taskings was remote viewing, and in September 1979, the National Security Council called on Detachment G to use their remote viewing powers to investigate a Soviet naval base.

While concentrating on a photo in a closed envelope, one of the units members described seeing a building on a shoreline, which smelled of gas and industrial products. Inside the building was a large coffin-like object  a weapon  with fins, like a shark.

A few months later the CIA received satellite imagery showing that the Soviets had constructed a new ballistic missile submarine. Later made famous by its NATO designation  the Typhoon class  the hulking nuclear sub was known in the USSR as the Akula. Russian for shark.

If this sounds like the basis of The Men Who Stare At Goats, thats because it is.

5. And guess what? We still havent given up on this research.

Noninvasive electroencephalography based brain-computer interface

US Army Research Laboratory

Presently, the Office of Naval Research calls this program Anomalous Mental Cognition, Jacobsen says, referring to a $3.9 million program founded by the ONR in 2014 to investigate the existence of precognition  which they refer to as a spidey sense. Yes, like in the comics.

In 2006, Army Staff Sgt. Martin Richburg sensed something odd about a man at a cafe in Iraq. After clearing out the patrons, he discovered an improvised explosive device that the man had left behind. Whether it was instinct, or something more, researchers are understandably curious to see if theres a way to trigger that kind of insight.

Because of the stigma surrounding ESP and, really, anything having to do with the supernatural, the nomenclature has changed. But Jacobsen argues that the research continues, and the underlying goal remains the same.

In essence you have this idea, which really became the core and theme of Phenomena which is: Is it fact, or is it fantasy? Jacobsen says. Or, will advanced technology, this remarkable system of systems of technology the government has developed  which includes computer technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology  will this rubric of advanced technology allow us to solve this age old mystery: Whether or not extrasensory perception exists biologically?

NOW WATCH: Terry Crews explains how intermittent fasting keeps him in shape

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi rightly decided to combine his Russia visit with those to three other major European countries: Germany (May 30), Spain (May 31) and France (June 3). These visits made sense for more than one reason. Relations between Russia and Europe remain strained, but we have the freedom to forge closer ties with both partners. Our cultivation of Russia and president Vladimir Putin, in fact, signals to Europe the ineffectuality of cornering Moscow. We have to navigate the developing strains between Trump's America and Europe. Trump's bullying of NATO members, his lashing out at Germany, the protectionism underlying his 'America First' rallying cry, and now his disavowal of the Paris Climate Change agreement calls for India and Europe to deepen their engagement to reduce the adverse impact of Trump's policies for the globe.

If, as Angela Merkel has stated, Europe must henceforth rely more on itself, it could well restore normal ties with Russia, which would be in our interest. On the other hand, if Europe becomes more open towards China, that would only bolster the latter's dominance of Asia. With Germany and France opposed to protectionism (a point of difference between the United States and others at the G-7 meeting in Sicily), we have to build on this convergence with them, as also on climate change issues.

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The prospects of an India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) more acceptable to us may have improved as a result of Europe's compulsion to broaden its international options in view of the challenges it faces from within and without. The next G-20 meeting in Hamburg on July 7-8 would have provided PM Modi the occasion to meet the German, French and Spanish leaders, but meetings on the margins of such multilateral conferences do not allow for any in-depth exchanges. A dialogue with Germany before it hosted the G-20 meeting, engaging the new French president at the earliest given our broad spectrum relationship with France, and reaching out to a Spain that is recovering economically was opportune. The prime minister, slated to visit Washington in late June, will be prepared better to handle G-20 discussions which will undoubtedly be contentious in view of the Trump factor.

Judging from the joint statements issued during the visits, bilateral understandings on several issues have grown. With Germany, the formulations on Afghanistan, terrorism, South China Sea issues, globalisation, cooperation on skill development and green energy, our NSG membership and resuming negotiations on the India-EU BTIA, are notable. With Spain, the formulation on terrorism was particularly elaborate and robust, calling for restrictive measures against states that provide sanctuary to terrorists and glorify terrorism. Spain too has supported our NSG membership and has hoped for solid progress on the India-EU BTIA. The opening of an Indian consulate in Barcelona was also announced. Modi got support from President Mariano Rajoy for his various economic and social initiatives.

But Spain, belonging to the Coffee Club, did not offer clear support for India's candidature for permanent membership of the Security Council. The formulation on the South China Sea in the joint statement is bold and implicitly criticises China's unlawful conduct there. Understandably, no joint statement was issued with France as the new president and his government have just assumed office. That, notwithstanding all his preoccupations, including the forthcoming parliamentary elections, President Emmanuel Macron agreed to receive Modi indicates the importance France attaches to its wide-spectrum ties with India.

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Modi's lavish support for the Paris Agreement on climate change was undoubtedly appreciated by Macron (Trump's repudiation of the accord has been perceived in the country as a blow to French diplomatic efforts to concluding it). The president has agreed to visit India at the year-end for a meeting of the International Solar Alliance. In sum, Modi's European journey was timely and signalled India's desire to bolster ties with its biggest trade and investment partner with which it has shared interests and concerns.

The author, a career diplomat, retired as foreign secretary

--- ENDS ---
Four hundred jobs and $17 million in private investment are good for our community and Bernalillo County. That is why the two of us and Commissioner Lonnie Talbert voted in favor of the West Side mixed-use development project, Village @ La Orilla. We know that it brings jobs, opportunity and new revenue streams into the county. Make no mistake: we need all of these things.

Village @ La Orilla is a huge endeavor requiring private investment of $17 million. The Industrial Revenue Bond for up to $4 million only applies to a particular section, and the county continues to collect taxes on the remaining $13 million. Its also important to note that both Albuquerque Public Schools and Central New Mexico Community College will continue to receive their full share of tax revenue.

Fortified by the IRB, here are just a few of the benefits that Village @ La Orilla will provide:

 343 temporary construction jobs with wages of more than $9.5 million;

 More than 285 diverse permanent positions; estimated annual payroll of $1.8 million;

 A job multiplier of 1.5  for every two people hired, an additional job is created, representing 147 jobs on top of the 285 cited above; and

 A movie theater/pub restaurant/brew house  the first in New Mexico (that is already up and running)  that will also develop canning and kegging capabilities for local and national distribution of its craft beer.

The Journal reported that this ordinance was rushed through. In point of fact, the original inducement resolution was approved by the commission in November of 2016  six months prior to final action.

After an inducement resolution is approved, the county is required to wait a minimum of 30 days before taking final action. Often, negotiations take a little bit longer, but generally the induced ordinance is taken up for final action within 60 days.

Due to the review of and subsequent changes to the countys Economic Development Policy, the La Orilla application was deferred for six months. If the commission had chosen to defer the project at the May 23 meeting, county ordinance would have required that another inducement resolution be introduced for approval followed by another 30-day waiting period. The result of a deferral would have been another 2-month delay for the applicant and the jobs to be created.

We did not believe that the applicant should have to delay the La Orilla project  yet again  due to county policy changes and county-imposed delays that were not the fault of the applicant.

The Economic Development Department works very hard to make sure that all of the information and analysis provided to the commission and the public is both timely and accurate. Unfortunately, a calculation error was discovered just prior to the May 23 commission meeting.

The error was corrected as soon as it was discovered and had no impact on the financial soundness of the application, nor did it make a substantive change to the previously published agenda item. Remember, were talking about more than 400 new jobs and $17 million in private investment  $13 million of which would be subject to taxation at the normal rate.

A healthy business economy positively influences a community. As commissioners, we are privileged to serve the people of Bernalillo County. Their well-being and the protection of their tax dollars are our priorities. Since 2012, the commission has approved 44 projects representing more than $600 million in private investment and the creation of more than 3,553 jobs. We think that these decisions lead to a better future for our residents and represent good business.
The Santa Fe City Councilor Signe Lindell put it best. I just want people who are speeding continuously all over town to slow down, she said at a committee meeting this week.

Lindell was speaking in favor of bringing back what are colloquially called speed vans: those SUVs parked along city streets that capture speeders and their license plate numbers on camera. The owners of violating vehicles then get a notice in the mail to pay a fine.

Santa Fe used to have a speed van program. But in what was a good move considering the circumstances, the euphemistically named Santa Fe Traffic Operations Program (STOP) was dropped in 2014 amid bribery charges prosecuted against executives at Redflex Traffic Systems, the Phoenix-based company that held the STOP contract.

Some members of the City Council are reluctant to bring back the program, but the reasons they give are weak. It will aggravate motorists, one says. Others say fines are too much for low-income people to pay or use the standard stalling tactic of suggesting Santa Fe take time to study what other cities are doing in this area.

Heres the deal. There would be no speed van fines unless a driver is going at least 11 miles per hour over the speed limit. Thats a huge amount of leeway for heavy-footed motorists, aggravated or otherwise. Anyone going 11 miles over the speed limit on neighborhood streets where speed limits are typically 25-35 mph shouldnt expect to be cut any slack. Bringing back the speed vans is a good idea.

Ask the residents who prevailed on the city to install speed bumps in various neighborhoods around town, which are way more annoying than a camera-equipped SUV. Lindell said it becomes a quality of life issue when people speed past at 60 mph or 70 mph  not to mention the safety issues raised by racing through areas where people walk, kids play and more safety-minded drivers are traveling.

During the programs previous tenure, speed vans were typically parked in school zones and on residential streets. And the city announced ahead of time each week where the vans would be stationed. The city wont put the vans on higher speed, state-owned thoroughfares like St. Francis, Cerrillos Road or St. Michaels.

The fines would be $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense and $150 for a violation in a school or construction zone.

It appears that no one has yet raised the elephant in the room  the Big Brother Is Watching You argument, which holds that speed vans are intrusive government violations of private life, personal choice and God-given privileges, which apparently also include turning four or five seconds after the left turn traffic light goes red (and giving a friendly wave to the driver who almost hits you as a result), ignoring the fact that your car even has a turn signal and choosing to go straight out of a turn lane no matter how many other drivers are inconvenienced, delayed or endangered.

The best argument against restarting STOP is Santa Fes chronic inability to collect traffic and parking fines. Thats an intractable problem that seems somehow beyond the capabilities of City Hall.

But speed vans might at least provide a deterrent to speeding well over the limit. Santa Fes tendency toward individuality and alternative ways of doing things can withstand this small curb on freedom behind the wheel to promote safety and peace of mind on the streets.
A page in the second standard Marathi book, which carried garbled text of the national anthem will now be re-printed. The erroneous printing on the page had cut off some lines of anthem leaving it incomplete.

By India Today Web Desk: A page in the second standard Marathi book, which carried garbled text of the national anthem, will now be re-printed by the Goa Education department. The mistake was brought to the notice by Congress party which had demanded that state government should fix the responsibility.

"It has been decided to re-print one page of the book which had errors and circulate it to all the schools," a senior official attached to the State Education department told PTI today.

Few lines of National Anthem cut

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The erroneous printing on the page had cut off some lines of anthem leaving it incomplete, he said. The State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has now ordered printing of 13,000 copies of a page which had the error, he said. The official said that it was difficult to print the books all over again, and hence it was decided to replace the page.

(Read: Goa students to study yoga soon, Parrikar government working out details)

"The Class 2 Marathi books, published by the state education department, carry incomplete national anthem. The state government should fix the responsibility over the error," demanded Goa Congress spokesman Sunil Kawathankar.

What else?

Also, as a part of the value education programme in the curriculum of the state board, the BJP-led government in Goa will soon be introducing yoga in schools. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said, "The syllabus of the Goa board of secondary and higher secondary education has become easy compared to CBSE. We will improve the syllabus by giving thrust on quality education in the curriculum.''

Read: NCERT to take the sole responsibility of publishing school textbooks from 2018

Read: First ever National Drone Competition to be hosted by Lucknow this month

For more updates, follow India Today Education or you can write to us at education.intoday@gmail.com

--- ENDS ---
Patty Hoenigman searched for years for where her great aunt, Elizabeth Crump Enders, was buried.

Enders, a Red Cross volunteer during World War I, died in 1961. She and her husband, Gordon Enders, met during the Great War and traveled the world, but Hoenigman, who lives near Austin, wanted to learn their whole story.

I didnt know them, and I wanted to understand why I didnt know them, Hoenigman said.

Eventually, Hoenigman, 62, found Elizabeths ashes at the home of the daughter of Gordon Enders second wife, in Albuquerque, about a year ago  and turned up the life stories of the couple that could be ripped from the pages of National Geographic or a pulp adventure novel.

Gordon and Elizabeth Enders met after a plane crash in France. Other real-life scenes in their biographies take place in India, Shanghai and Afghanistan. For good measure, the French Foreign Legion and Chiang Kai-shek have roles.

New Mexico is part of the final chapter. Gordon moved here after Elizabeth died and lived in the Duke City until his death in 1978. A veteran of three American wars, Gordon was buried at the Santa Fe National Cemetery with his fellow soldiers.

Now, nearly 40 years after Gordons death, Elizabeths ashes will be buried with Gordon at the national cemetery on June 30. Hoenigman said she and her husband would likely be the only ones in attendance since the world explorers Gordon and Elizabeth never had children.

In order to find out more about the Enderses, Hoenigman said she used the four books they wrote  two by Gordon and two by Elizabeth  as well as newspaper archives and genealogy websites, among other sources. She provided the Journal with some excerpts from those books.

Iowa birthplace

Gordon was born in Essex, Iowa, in May 1897. His parents, Presbyterian missionaries, moved the family to India and lived near the Tibetan border when he was young. Hoenigman said two men were like gurus to Enders while he was there, and taught him the ways of the world and several different languages. He also developed an interest in airplanes as a boy.

According to an excerpt from one of Gordons books, Foreign Devil: An American Kim in Modern Asia, Gordon left college in Ohio and became a pilot for the French Foreign Legion during World War I. He was transferred to U.S. forces once America joined the war.

On one wintry day in 1917, Gordon wrote, his plane fell 3,000 feet from the sky and landed near the French village of Savenay. The left side of the plane crumpled and I had no parachute, Gordon wrote. I was reported dead; but days later, in a small local hospital, Elizabeth Crump found me alive.

Elizabeth, born in May 1879 in Monclair, N.J., was a Gray Lady for the Red Cross who provided non-medical care for soldiers. She also wrote letters to family members of American soldiers who were wounded or killed in combat.

I fell in love with her, and we were married in the Hotel de Ville in La Rochelle (France) on April 22, 1919, Gordon wrote.

The couple moved to China after World War I and were based in Shanghai, Hoenigman said. They were both very adventurous spirits, Hoenigman said. They were very courageous people and were very interested in the world.

Gordon became a manager for Carnation Milk in China, and would travel through China and other countries for work, yet still managed to pursue his interest in aviation. He writes in Foreign Devil that he went to a military air base in China in August 1927 and came upon a group headed by Chang Wei-jung, who was the air marshal for Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek.

Gordon writes that he followed these men for two years and taught them how to fly while still working for Carnation. Chiang Kai-shek was in desperate need of American planes, so Gordon wrote that he was asked to purchase them, which put him in Chiangs good graces.

I resigned from the milk company, came back to the United States to make arrangements with an airplane manufacturer, and sold China the first large fleet of American airplanes ever to go to the Orient  . Gordon wrote. With the friendship and support of the air marshal, I then became a technical aviation adviser to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, a post I held for two years.

Elizabeth, for her part, wrote two books about her travels in China, Temple Bells and Silver Sails and Swinging Lanterns. She would later travel the U.S. giving lectures on the customs of Chinese women. They were rather amazing books when they came out because people just didnt know anything about inland China, Hoenigman said.

Return to U.S.

The Enderses came back to the United States after spending 16 years in China. Gordon got a job as a world history professor at Purdue University in Indiana, but he later re-enlisted in the Army. Being a professor wasnt as stimulating for him, Hoenigman said. He had an adventurous spirit. He didnt want to be in just one place.

Gordon was assigned as the first military attache in Afghanistan during World War II, Hoenigman said. Gordon also served in the Korean War and won the Legion of Merit for his work with the Republic of Korea.

The Enderses lived in Fort Meade, Md., in the late 1950s.

Maynard Creel lived next to them when he was a boy, but moved away in 1960, a year before Elizabeth died, when he was in fifth grade. In an interview this week, he said their quarters were full of Asian decorations and said Elizabeth would sometimes wear a kimono.

Creel said he visited with Elizabeth often and she would sometimes give him treats. She was a very nice lady, he said.

Creels father was a sergeant when Gordon was a colonel for the U.S. Army. Creel said he didnt see Gordon much, but he always thought he was an interesting man. Ive always been fascinated with the guy, he said.

Elizabeth died on Feb. 13, 1961, at 81. Gordon retired from the Army a few months later and moved to Albuquerque after that. Hoenigman said Gordon had visited the Duke City in the 1930s and said the Sandia Mountains reminded him of where he grew up in India. He had planned to move there with Elizabeth in retirement.

Gordon met Liz Garrahan in Albuquerque and was married to her for 16 years. He drove himself to the hospital one day with chest pain and never made it back home. He died Sept. 2, 1978, at 81. Hoenigman said she didnt know his exact cause of death.

Hoenigman said shes been researching the Enderses for four or five years now. The effort to find Elizabeths final resting place took off after she found a letter Elizabeth wrote to the president of Purdue University and saw that her address was in Marylands Fort Meade.

She said people there helped by checking local cemeteries for her grave, and several churches assisted, as well. There have been so many people who have helped me for this, Hoenigman said. She was also able to get Elizabeths death certificate from the state of Maryland, but she still had no idea where she was buried.

Finally, Hoenigman got a break when she found a family tree posted online by the grandson of Gordons second wife and contacted him. She later found out that Elizabeths ashes were at Liz Garrahan Enders daughters house. They were just sitting there, Hoenigman said with a laugh.

Hoenigman said she cant express how excited she is to have the Enders couple together and put a happy ending on a romance that began 100 years ago.

I feel like this is the purpose of my life, she said. Its something I really cant explain.
Something happens when animal-lovers first visit Walkin N Circles Ranch. Its like a conversion experience, says Lauri Michael, who had lived in Albuquerque for two decades before she even heard of the horse rescue group.

Its so decompressing, the marketing manager says of her volunteer time there. Im not able to own a horse at this point, but its a

great way to get my horse fix.

Located north of Edgewood, 45 minutes from Downtown Albuquerque, the 30-acre ranch is not as well known as animal rescues dealing with dogs, cats, rats and rabbits. Yet it was founded more than 15 years ago by a couple that started caring for abandoned horses on their property. They eventually sold the land to the nonprofit, which then purchased an additional 10 acres.

Today, Walkin N Circles houses 50 to 60 horses at a time that have been seized by the state Livestock Board as abandoned, neglected or abused, sometimes destined for slaughter.

Theyre found by the side of the road, extremely weak, starved, sometimes injured, says Michael, who now serves as the groups spokeswoman. Occasionally, the group also accepts horses surrendered by people who can no longer care for them.

With help from a team of veterinarians, farriers, horse trainers and some 100 volunteers, the horses are nourished back to health and trained to trust humans again so they can be put up for adoption. Its heartening to see that it doesnt always take that long to see some pretty great success stories, Michael says.

The highly organized operation is guided by a board of directors and managed day to day by two staff members, a couple who live on site, and multiple teams of dedicated volunteers who work in round-the-clock shifts. All funding is from donations and grants, plus the Hug A Horse Thrift Store operated by the ranch in Edgewood.

Ranch teams range from feeding, health, feet (farrier) and training to education, adoption and thrift store operations, Michael says. On any given day, theres usually 20 or 30 people working, most of them driving in from Albuquerque and Rio Rancho  plus more behind the scenes doing things like inspecting adopters paddocks and organizing fundraisers.

What leads busy working people to sacrifice their days off to drive for miles to muck out stalls?

Theres something about the rescue and the horses that really captures people, says Charlyn Hudson, who started out as such a volunteer four years ago. When people are there for orientation, they can see how beautiful the horses are and how horses deserve a second chance. We really try to communicate that.

Now a board member for Walkin N Circles, Hudson says working at the ranch has literally changed her life. Like many ranch volunteers, she came in with little experience of horses. A sales manager for a diagnostic health care company and single mother, she was mostly looking for an activity to share with her 7-year-old daughter Stella.

They started out cleaning stalls and paddocks for quite a while before joining the feed team and then the health team and then the education team. Hudson ended up adopting a rescued horse and joining the board, and both she and Stella learned to ride.

It was a phenomenal hands-on experience and really a sense of accomplishment contributing to something meaningful, she says of their weekends shoveling horse poop, lining up feed buckets, driving a tractor and learning to handle horses. Youre outside, using your body and getting sun, and no ones on a smartphone.

That first year, a half dozen underweight and neglected horses came in together from southern New Mexico, Hudson recalls. I had never seen a starving horse and my heart just broke. That was when I knew I could make a difference.

The horses turned out to be sweet and trusting, especially a gray mare that she learned to halter and lead. I never thought I would adopt her, but thats what happened, says Hudson, who named the mare Indigo and now saddles her up for a ride whenever she has a free moment.

The ranch trainers use techniques from natural horsemanship to bring the horses to a state of adoptability. Many of the horses cannot be ridden because of health or age, but end up adopted by people who want an animal buddy or a pasture pal for another horse.

All adoptions go through a rigorous inspection process beforehand and periodic visits afterward to ensure the horses new home is a happy one.

A lot of their histories are mysterious, Michael says of the animals they receive. You dont know the right way to proceed sometimes. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance.

Animal-lovers are invited to visit the ranch any time by scheduling a tour or attending the monthly volunteer orientation. On Saturday, Walkin N Circles opens its doors to the public for its annual fundraising jamboree, with tours, pony rides, parades and equine demonstrations, along with music, food trucks, a marketplace and a silent auction.

Its a great opportunity for the community to come out and meet the horses, says Michael, especially the ones ready for adoption  which is the happy ending that keeps volunteers coming back for more.

Walkin N Circles Ranch Jamboree

Meet the adoptable horses and tour the ranch; also, demonstrations, silent auction, pony rides, live entertainment and more.

WHEN: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WHERE: 198 Weimar Road North in Stanley, 9.3 miles north of Edgewood on NM 344

HOW MUCH: $2 donation suggested for adults over 16

For information about adoption, ranch visits and how to donate, go to wncr.org, call (505) 286-0779, email saveahorse@wncr.org or send mail to PO Box 626, Edgewood, 87015.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

Four thousand years of Spanish art, including major works by Goya, Velazquez and El Greco, are coming to the Albuquerque Museum next year.

Treasures From the Hispanic Society of America will open on Nov. 10, 2018, and hang through March 2019. Albuquerque will be the first U.S. city to host the traveling display of world-renowned works of art.

The 200 pieces, including sculpture, fiber, jewelry and documents, are currently on view at Madrids El Prado Museum. The Madrid show has drawn more than 150,000 spectators since April.

These important pieces of Spanish heritage are on loan from New Yorks Hispanic Society of America, which is currently undergoing a $16 million renovation.

Albuquerques showing of the exhibition will be funded by the combined efforts of the local museum and its foundation, said Andrew Connors, its curator of art.

Connors declined to identify the total cost.

The foundation will have to raise quite a bit for their part in this, he said, adding, The board is just thrilled.

The collection spans prehistoric times and includes Islamic, Jewish and Celto-Iberian art, as well as the familiar Old Masters.

It was amazing how all these cultures coexisted, Connors said.

It wasnt until 1492 that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled the Moors and Jews from Spain, he added.

The Islamic art includes textiles of silk and jacquard.

You can see great Islamic objects next to a Hebrew Bible, Connors said.

The documents include a 1559 signed decree from Englands Queen Elizabeth I to Spains King Phillip II.

Its basically an order saying, Dont you dare send your troops against us,  Connors said.

The exhibition features two paintings by Diego Velazquez, including a portrait of a little girl.

Its a spectacular, incredibly beautiful portrait, Connors said. We dont know who she is. Were so used to his big, huge statements, and to see this intimate portrait of this young woman is revealing.

The show also includes two large-format paintings by El Greco and two major paintings by Francisco Goya, as well as some of the latters ink washes and drawings.

Connors learned about the Prado show when he was attending a New York conference and ran into the Hispanic Societys curator, Marcus Burke, earlier this year.

He asked Burke where the exhibition would go after the Madrid show, and the curator said he hoped to tour it both nationally and internationally.

One alabaster sculpture could become a local favorite: its the funerary monument to the duchess of Alburquerque, ancestor to the duke who gave the city its name in 1706.
Halfway into the University of New Mexicos $1 million advertising blitz, the schools marketing department says it has generated about 125,000 website sessions and more than 3 million online video views.

The campaign, launched in November and targeting both high school juniors and seniors as well as their parents, has played out across a number of digital platforms like Facebook and the music streaming service Pandora. But it has also included some traditional media, including billboards, prominent shopping mall displays and a 30-second commercial that aired in the Albuquerque market during this years Super Bowl. That brings the total impressions to date to 31.6 million, according to new data presented to the UNM regents finance and facilities committee this week.

The advertising flows from the schools 2016 rebranding effort, one prompted by what UNMs chief marketing and communications officer Cinnamon Blair called years of research and data that showed nobody knew who we are and what we did.

The initiative includes a four-year agency contract worth $500,000 annually, plus a one-time $1 million media buy allotment the regents approved from their endowment fund in 2016. That money should keep the ad push  centered on the Each of us defines all of us theme  going through November.

UNMs digital advertising data shows that most web visitors come from the Albuquerque market, with Dallas and Chicago coming in second and third.

Blair said the focus so far has been to define UNMs identity and build awareness and that its too soon to tell how the ads have impacted enrollment. Traffic to the campaigns website, define.unm.edu, has resulted in 2,770 visits to a page with information on how to apply, Blair said. Application page visits were 15 percent higher during the first six months of the ad campaign than during the same period the previous year, she added.

Blair said her team will begin collaborating with enrollment officials to specifically aid student recruitment. Driving applications from within and outside of New Mexico was among the goals of the rebrand, as UNM has seen its head count drop each of the last four years.

It sounds like weve really achieved a lot of (the rebranding objectives), Regent Alex Romero said during this weeks meeting. Ultimately, obviously we want to get students here.
Police canceled the Amber Alert for 8-year-old Chelsea Boomgaarn early this afternoon after the girl was found safe, according to an email from New Mexico State Police.

Boomgaarn was reported missing from a Deming home by her grandmother. Police believe she was taken by her mom, 47-year-old Laurie Curtis, who does not have custody of the girl.

The pair had last been seen in a silver 2007 Kia minivan with a New Mexico license plate, number KXN 585. Authorities issued the Amber Alert around noon, but havent said when the abduction allegedly happened.

They announced it was canceled around 2 p.m. but didnt release any other details, including where Boomgaarn was found or whether Curtis will be facing charges.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Federal land managers have laid out their plans for weighing the effects of oil and gas development in northwestern New Mexico on everything from archaeological resources to light pollution.

The Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs released a final scoping report this week as work continues to revamp the management plan that guides development in one of the nations largest basins.

Environmentalists and Navajo Nation officials have voiced concerns in recent years about the uptick of drilling in the San Juan Basin and the proximity of wells and roads to Chaco Culture National Historical Park and other cultural sites.

There is hope that Greater Chaco and its communities are on the path to receiving the protections deserved, said Rebecca Sobel with the Santa Fe-based group WildEarth Guardians. The bureaus of Land Management and Indian Affairs are moving in the right direction by taking seriously their duty to protect the American public and American resources.

The scoping report will set the stage for the numerous factors that will be considered as federal officials push ahead with their review. The overall planning process is expected to be done by 2020.

While fossil fuel development in the region has long been a target of environmentalists, the campaign to curb drilling has shifted focus in recent years from pollution concerns to the cultural ties that Native American tribes have to Chaco and the archaeological sites that are scattered across the northwestern quadrant of the state.

Earlier this year, the Navajos sought a moratorium on drilling and lease sales while the All Pueblo Council of Governors raised their own concerns.

The Bureau of Land Management has established a 10-mile buffer around the Chaco national park and officials say they will continue to offer government-to-government consultations with tribes to help inform the agencys decisions while the planning process is underway.

Federal officials have acknowledged that the management plan is in need of an update due to changing technologies that are expected to result in more wells and surface disturbances than was planned for more than a decade ago.

The planning area encompasses more than 6,500 square miles of federal, state, tribal and private lands spanning three New Mexico counties.
Way before Obamacare, Daniel Sorrells became an active student of health care  and health insurance  as a Medicaid case worker in Oklahoma for teen parents needing medical assistance.

I had a 150 teen mom caseload, said Sorrells, who moved up to more progressively responsible roles during his career. I felt good about the work I was doing early on, said Sorrells.

Nearly 30 years later, as the newly named president of Molina Healthcare of New Mexico, Sorrells continues to look for ways to improve health insurance and the health care industry. After my family, its what Im most passionate about, Sorrells said.

Sorrells has led Molinas New Mexico division for the past two months as its interim president following the resignation of Patty Kehoe. He previously served as president of the insurers Oklahoma subsidiary.

In the Sooner State and in Colorado, Sorrells has experience developing and administering managed care and clinical service delivery systems for both public and private sector organizations.

Molina, part of an investor-owned company, serves approximately 270,000 members in New Mexico through Medicaid, Medicare and the state health insurance marketplace. Sorrells and his team have their work cut out for them with ACA replace-and-repeal efforts underway in Congress and concerns about the future of the Medicaid expansion, which has helped grow the companys market share in the state in recent years.

Sorrells now leads the states second-largest private company. Molina posted $1.3 billion in revenue in 2015 and employs about 1,200 people. It is the largest participant in the states insurance marketplace, with about 37 percent of the 55,000 New Mexicans who enrolled for 2016 coverage.

Sorrells recently weighed in on a several issues that will affect the companys business going forward.

Q: With state insurance marketplace rates due in just a week, what must be done to keep the exchange-based individual market viable in 2018?

A: There is a sense of urgency around the cost-sharing subsidy. Without those, its a problem for consumers, and its a problem for plans. That said, we are committed to New Mexico, and despite the funding uncertainties (from payers), we are finalizing our rates for the marketplace and submitting them to the state insurance commissioner for review.

Q: What areas of coverage do you see the most upside for 2-5 years out?

A: Id like to see us grow our Medicare Advantage product line, which is the private, managed care version of the federal health program for seniors. It will be the safest option for many insurers as the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress work on legislation dismantling the ACA. Id also like to see more of an emphasis on behavioral health on the outpatient side. There are huge gaps in mental health services in this state, and we have more than sufficient capacity and staff expertise to help manage care for these patients.

Q: Molina of New Mexico recently announced the layoffs of 81 employees in its health care services department. Are more job cuts planned?

A: There are no plans for future staff reductions, but we also have to make sure we are operating as efficiently as possible. In the case of the recent layoffs, these were driven by a state restructuring of its care coordination rules, and we were overstaffed. We look to optimize our local workforce by helping service other Molina plans. A good example is our New Mexico call center, which supports other plan members and our providers around the country.

Q: What do you think of New Mexico so far?

A: I love the state. I have a bunch of family who live here, so Ive been visiting for the better part of my life. I mountain bike and hike, so Im looking forward to hitting some trails real soon.

Q: Tell me about your family.

A: My wife and I have three grown daughters and two granddaughters. Weve both been Meals on Wheels drivers for years, and this is a volunteer activity we hope to continue in Albuquerque. Were looking to put down roots, which means were scoping out new homes.
We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain.
The Nokia 9 has been popping up on Geekbench like crazy recently, the 6GB and 4GB RAM variants of the device surfaced in the last week or so, and now yet another listing surfaced. If you take a look at the image down below, you will get to see the HMD Global TA-1012 smartphone, which, according to its specifications, suggests were looking at the Nokia 9, HMD Globals upcoming Nokia flagship.

The device managed to score 2,237 points in the single-core benchmark, while it reached 7,587 points in the multi-core benchmark. Qualcomms Snapdragon 835 64-bit octa-core processor will fuel this smartphone, along with the Adreno 540 GPU for graphics. This variant of the device packs in 4GB of RAM, and Android 7.1.1 Nougat will come pre-installed on the phone. This basically seems to be the same phone as the one that surfaced yesterday, but it comes with a different model number, TA-1012, while yesterdays handset sported the TA-1052 model number. Having said that, it is still unknown when will the Nokia 9 get announced by the company, but it is expected to launch in the coming weeks / months, and become the most powerful Android-powered Nokia smartphone out there. The device is rumored to sport a 5.5-inch (or larger) QHD display, 4GB / 6GB of RAM and chances are it will ship with a 13-megapixel shooter on the back. The device will probably come with a non-removable battery on the inside, though we still do not know what size will its battery pack be, but itll probably be larger than 3,000mAh.

Rumors are saying that the Nokia 9 will cost around 650  700, but it is possible that the phone will be slightly more affordable than that, well see. HMD Global had launched three Nokia-branded smartphones earlier this year, the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6, and all of them are global smartphones, not limited to a specific market. All we can do at this point is wait for more info when it comes to the Nokia 9, so stay tuned for that, the phone will probably launch in the near future, though nothing has been confirmed just yet, so well just have to wait for HMD Global to make its move.
ASUS is apparently looking to unveil the ZenFone 4 series of smartphones next month, which is later in the year than the ZenFone 3 was announced in 2016. According to a report from Digitimes, this is due to a design overhaul and efficiency upgrades, which the companys CEO Jerry Shen had cited. The ZenFone 4 is going to sport a 5.5-inch display, according to reports, and the company will only be releasing one smartphone at launch. Later on down the road, ASUS will debut more models for the ZenFone 4 lineup, like they have done in recent years. The 5.5-inch ZenFone 4 is rumored to be price around NT$15,000 in Taiwan, which converts to about $498 USD.

As its predecessors have done, the ZenFone 4 will launch with competitive prices. The company is hoping that itll help it turn around their smartphone business, which has been in the red lately. In fact, their smartphone operations will have a net operating loss for the first half of 2017, however the ZenFone 4 is likely to swing it to profit for the entire year, according to the companys CEO. Shen also revealed that the ZenFone 5 would be announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next year, which would give the ZenFone 4 only about 7 months on store shelves before it is outdated. Thats quite a small window, smaller than most upgrade cycles are these days.

ASUS typically launches a ton of smartphones in each ZenFone lineup, like the ZenFone AR that is launching this summer. These smartphones are usually staggered in releases, throughout the year. For example, the ASUS ZenFone 3 MAX only recently launched, and so did the ZenFone 3 Zoom, while the ZenFone 3 and ZenFone 3 Deluxe launched late last year. Its a way for the company to release products that fit basically every niche, and price point, so that everyone has an option when it comes to ASUS. However, not all of these models make it to every market. For example, the ZenFone 3 Deluxe made its way to the US, but the ZenFone 3 was cancelled after it was initially announced to be coming to the US. So itll be interesting to see how the ZenFone 4 is handled next month.
By Press Trust of India: Kathmandu, Jun 9 (PTI) Nepals new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today reiterated his commitment to amend the Constitution to address the demands of agitating Madhesis after the second phase of local-level polls on June 28, saying they should not doubt his words.

Deuba, while addressing lawmakers in Parliament, stressed on the need to broaden the ownership of the new Constitution promulgated in 2015.

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"It is unfortunate that we cant endorse the Constitution amendment bill at the moment as the second phase of local level polls is approaching," the prime minister was quoted as saying by Kathmandu Post.

He called on the Madhesi parties including the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) to participate in the second phase of elections on June 28 and urged them not to doubt his commitment on passing the Constitution amendment bill.

Deuba said there is a slim chance of increasing the number of local units as the Supreme Court has issued a stay order on the issue.

He hoped that the opposition parties will also cooperate with the government in addressing the demands of Madhesis.

Deuba, who was elected Nepal Prime Minister on Tuesday, took over at a crucial time in the politics of Nepal, which is holding the first local-level polls in 20 years, but one that is being resisted by the Madhesi people.

The inhabitants of the southern Terai region, who share cultural ties with Indians, have been demanding more political representation.

He played an important role in amending Nepals Constitution promulgated in September 2015 to address the demands of Madhes-based political parties. PTI CPS AKJ CPS

--- ENDS ---
Qualcomms acquisition of NXP Semiconductors is now under in-depth investigation by the the European Commission, following an earlier preliminary review. The European Commission announced the start of the investigating today, citing concerns that the acquisition could lead to various issues for European consumers, including higher prices, less choice and reduced innovation. Margrethe Vestager, who typically heads up such investigations on behalf of the European Commission noted that semiconductors are so integral to the daily usage of electronic devices, and that consumers have become so dependent on them, that this investigation was needed to ensure that consumers will continue to benefit from secure and innovative products at competitive prices.

According to the announcement by the European Commission, the results of its initial research highlighted that such an acquisition could lead to several issues in both the smartphone and automotive industries. In particular, the European Commission noted three key areas that will need to be looked at closer during the investigation. The first is what the merger would mean for baseband and NFC chips, and whether rival suppliers will be able to compete fairly. The second was whether the merger could result in Qualcomm bundling the NFC patents (owned by NXP) in with its own patent portfolio, and whether this in turn would lead to anticompetitive aspects, such as the lessened ability of rivals to compete with Qualcomm, and/or whether this would result in increased royalties. The third specific point of interest was whether this would remove competition in the automotive sector, at the semiconductor level.

Qualcomms other legal issues aside, it is probably not that surprising to see the European Commission taking a closer look at the Qualcomm/NXP deal. After all, when the deal was first announced, it immediately became clear that this is the largest ever acquisition to happen within the semiconductor industry. So there would likely be some who would prefer to rule out any issues that could arise from such a move within one market. Although it does only currently seem to be those in Europe who will be taking a closer look at the deal and its potential ramifications  as back in April of this year, US regulators approved the acquisition. In either case, the announcement does explain that the European Commission will make its decision by Oct. 17.

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Update:

A Qualcomm spokesperson has reached to offer a comment on the EUs Phase II investigation, stating that

Qualcomm confirms that the European Commission has initiated a Phase II review of the proposed acquisition of NXP. As stated previously, both companies expected a thorough review process and are working closely with relevant regulators, including the European Commission, to obtain the necessary approvals. Qualcomm has already received clearance from the United States Federal Trade Commission.

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This acquisition is complementary, and driven by the belief that the combined efforts of the two companies will produce even greater innovation than they would alone. This significant investment by Qualcomm will help our industry partners in the automotive, IoT and security sectors advance their digital transformation and further the digitization of industries worldwide.

Qualcomm is confident that it can address the concerns raised by the European Commission and intends to continue working with the Commission and other regulators to secure clearance. Qualcomm continues to expect this transaction to close by the end of 2017.
Yahoos long road to officially becoming part of Verizon seems to nearly be over, as the deal has officially gained preliminary approval from Yahoos stockholders and is set to close on June 13, if all goes well. Yahoo held a special meeting to discuss the proposed sale and the implications it would have on the firms operations, as well as to discuss possible compensation to Yahoos chief executives for successfully completing the transaction. The full list of decisions made during the meeting will be finalized and released in the form of a Current Report, using a specialized Form 8-K, in compliance with rules set by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

At this point, theres seemingly nothing left but for the $4.48 billion deal to move forward. Once it does, a few key things are going to happen. Yahoo is selling its core business to Verizon. Whats left, being some stake in e-commerce giant Alibaba and Yahoos Japan operations, will be changing its name to Altaba, and registering as a holdings company. Key figures such as current CEO Marissa Mayer will be leading diminished roles or stepping out of the picture entirely. Verizon, meanwhile, reportedly plans to cut about 2,100 jobs between AOL and Yahoo, and will be bringing the two brands together for its online advertising business. Verizon will not only take over advertising on all of the two brands products and portals, aside from Yahoo Japan, but will also begin using their data and data acquisition methods to more accurately target advertisements.

The upcoming deal bears a long history, including a number of events that caused Verizon to take a hard look at Yahoos value and liabilities. In the end, a price was settled on, and relevant regulatory authorities gave the deal a pass with a minimum of fuss. There do not appear to be any further roadblocks to the plans of everybody involved, so unless something big happens between now and June 13, the sale should go through as planned. Altaba will be formed, Verizon will cut down its acquisitions workforces, and the nations largest mobile carrier will become one of the nations largest digital advertising entities.
Lenovo Mobile Business Groups India executive director Sudhin Mathur has stated that the electronics company will increase its offline presence within the country over the next few months. This new effort of the Chinese electronics firm to improve its retail presence will also include Motorola-branded devices. Increase in Lenovos offline presence aims to improve the Indian consumers awareness of Lenovo and Motorola smartphones, which could then result in an increase in sales. In the coming months, smartphone shoppers in India will likely see Moto and Lenovo devices in brick-and-mortar gadget stores more often than they are used to. The increase in offline presence, according to Mathur, will supplement the companys internet-based retail presence in order for the manufacturer to benefit from a multi-channel retail opportunity.

The companys renewed focus in India is driven by several factors. The first reason is that India is set to overtake the United States as the second largest smartphone market by the end of the year. Mathur also emphasized that the Indian smartphone market is larger than the retail markets of Brazil, Japan, and Indonesia combined. The sheer market size is a testament to how important it is for a smartphone manufacturer to gain market share in India. Also, the Indian demand for premium smartphones, which is defined by Lenovo as the handsets that cost more than $400, is expected to rise substantially over the next few years. The manufacturer predicts that by the year 2021, the Indian market for premium smartphones will reach more than $5 billion dollars. Just gaining a substantial portion of the said market will result in a big boost for the revenues and profits of any smartphone manufacturer.

Last but not the least, Lenovo seeks to regain its lost market share in India. Within the past few years, there has been an intense competition in the Indian smartphone market between the dominant player Samsung, local Indian manufacturers and Chinese smartphone makers. To gain market share, other Chinese companies like OPPO employed an aggressive marketing strategy that included paying high commissions to retail outlets not only to sell its devices but also to place OPPO handsets in areas of increased visibility within the store. The increased competition resulted in the decreased market share of Lenovo and Motorola devices, which cornered a 9.5% share of Indian smartphone sales in first quarter of 2017. This percentage translates to a fourth-place finish for Lenovo, lower than the third-place it previously occupied.
A device bearing the model number TA-1004 made by HMD Global Oy has been certified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) in early May, as evidenced by a set of testing documentation published by the standards agency on Friday. The TA-1004 is widely believed to be one variant of the Nokia 9, an upcoming Nokia-branded flagship designed by the Finnish company and manufactured by Foxconns subsidiary FIH Mobile. This particular model already appeared on Geekbench in late May, with its listing in the database of the mobile benchmarking tool revealing a number of details about the upcoming handset.

The Nokia 9 (TA-1004) is expected to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, a 10nm system-on-chip (SoC) featuring the Adreno 540 GPU and eight cores clocked at 1.9GHz. The device is also said to feature 4GB of RAM and at least 32GB of internal flash memory that will likely be expandable via a microSD card slot. Both this and other suspected models of the Nokia 9 were running Android 7.1.1 Nougat at the time they were tested by various benchmarks, and the actual software builds present on the devices are likely extremely close to the stock Android experience. A number of HMD Globals representatives previously said that all of the upcoming Nokia devices will be running a clean version of Android as the company was unable to come up with a software suite that significantly enhances the overall user experience of Googles operating system and has therefore decided against encumbering Android with additional software that it deems unnecessary. This approach will likely allow the firm to deliver security and other system updates in a timely manner, something that the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) has already promised in the past.

While the TA-1004 seemingly features 4GB of RAM, other variants of the device that were previously spotted online were powered by 6GB and 8GB of RAM, suggesting that HMD Global is planning to release a number of different models across the world. Its currently unclear when the Nokia 9 may be hitting the market but given how the smartphone has now been certified by Bluetooth SIG, its U.S. release might not be far away. Likewise, it seems that the 4GB RAM model will be sold stateside, though it remains to be seen whether more premium variants of the handset will also make their way to the country.
Introduction

The HTC U11 is the latest flagship smartphone from the Taiwanese tech company, and today, just a day before its official launch in the U.S., we pit it against its predecessor, the HTC 10, to see if the differences between the two devices are enough to bring HTC back in the reckoning in the high-stakes premium smartphone market. While the HTC 10 was launched last year to mixed reviews in the media and a lukewarm response from consumers, its successor has already earned some positive feedback, so it will be interesting to see how the general public receives it in a market thats currently dominated by Samsung with its universally appreciated Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus.

As for HTC, the companys financial woes have been well-documented in the media over the past couple of years, and with its smartphone market-share declining by the day, the company has been badly in need of a hit for some time now. Whether the HTC U11 is the solution the company has been searching for all this while is anybodys guess, but it could potentially be a make-or-break device for the company. So how does it stack up against the smartphone its aiming to replace? Lets find out.

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Specifications

HTC U11

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The HTC U11 comes with high-end hardware components and some really neat software features, but the first thing that hits you when you take a look at it is the so-called Liquid Surface design that gives the latest HTC flagship a distinctive look. The device follows the design language of earlier HTC launches like the U Ultra and U Play that saw the company switch from a metallic exterior to glass panels on the back. Unlike its fellow Asian rivals Samsung and LG, HTC has stuck to a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio for the display panel on the U11, with the fingerprint scanner integrated into the physical Home button, as seen with earlier HTC handsets. What that means in essence, is that unlike the Galaxy S8, the HTC U11 is less of a revolution and more of an evolution in terms of its design, but that isnt necessarily a bad thing.

In terms of hardware, the device features a 5.5-inch WQHD (2560 x 1440) Super LCD5 capacitive touchscreen display thats protected by Cornings Gorilla Glass 5. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and ships with either 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, or 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage depending on the variant. Both versions support microSD cards of up to 256GB in capacity. In terms of optics, the HTC U11 comes with a 12-megapixel primary camera with the companys proprietary UltraPixel 3 and UltraSpeed Autofocus technologies. The camera has an f/1.7 aperture, a 1/2.55-inch sensor, phase detection autofocus (PDAF), optical image stabilization (OIS) and a dual tone LED flash. Software features include geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR and panorama. The camera can record 4K videos at 30fps and 1080p videos at up to 120fps. The front-facing selfie-cam on the HTC U11 is a 16-megapixel unit that can record 1080p videos at 30fps.

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HTCs latest premium smartphone comes with an USB Type-C port for charging and data syncing, but like many of its competitors, misses out on the 3.5mm audio port. The handset ships with a 3,000mAh Li-Ion battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0, while sensors include a front-mounted fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor and magnetometer (e-compass). The HTC U11 measures 153.9mm in length, 75.9mm in width and 7.9mm in thickness, while weighing in at 169 grams. The device is also waterproof and dust-resistant, as is evident from its IP67 certification.

While the hardware on the HTC U11 seems decent enough, the standout feature in the device has to be the much talked-about Edge Sense that allows users to squeeze the sides of the device to interact with the phone. The device supports both long and short squeezes, and users can customize exactly what can be done with each squeeze. The company is expected to enhance the functionality of the feature even further in the coming days by pushing through an update that will enable users to assign different functions to each squeeze, depending on the app theyre in. Whats more, Edge Sense wont really need any developer support for compatibility with 3rd-party apps, so just about all current apps will be compatible with the feature by default.

HTC 10

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The HTC 10 was launched last year as a successor to the HTC One M9 after the company decided to change the naming convention for its flagship smartphones and dropped the One M from the name of its 2016 flagship. The company would have been hoping that the change in the name would also bring about a change in its fortunes and bring its smartphone business back to profitability, but that, unfortunately, didnt happen. The HTC 10 a solid device in its own right, but it failed to shine through a glut of top-tier smartphones with similar hardware components and software features. The device never quite brought the glory days back to HTC with sales failing to match up with some of its more celebrated rivals, such as the Galaxy S7 Edge and the iPhone 7 Plus.

Of course, HTCs inability to strike distribution deals with major U.S. carriers like AT&T didnt help either, nor did the companys persistent refusal to take on the Samsungs and the Apples with aggressive pricing do anything to establish the device as a compelling alternative for those seeking to stand out from a sea of iPhones and Galaxys. However, as mentioned already, it is still a pretty good smartphone all things considered, so lets dive right in and take a closer look at what HTC offered as part of its premium smartphone last year.

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The HTC 10 was an upgrade on the HTC One M9 that was launched back in 2015. The device features a 5.2-inch Super LCD5 capacitive touchscreen that comes with a WQHD resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 820 MSM8996 chip with the Adreno 530 GPU and an integrated quad-core CPU clocked at a maximum of 2.16GHz. The HTC 10 shipped in two different storage options. While the base version comes with 32GB of internal storage, the more premium model has 64GB of internal storage. Both models offer 4GB of RAM. The device has a non-removable 3,000mAh Li-Ion battery and, originally shipped with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out-of-the-box, although, it has since received its Android Nougat update.

Optics on the HTC 10 include a 12-megapixel Ultrapixel camera with an f/1.8 aperture, a 26mm focal length, 1/2.3 sensor size, 1.55m pixel size, optical image stabilization (OIS), laser autofocus and a dual-tone LED flash. It can record 4K videos at 30fps and 720p videos at 120fps. The front-facing selfie-cam on the device is a 5-megapixel sensor with a similar f/1.8 aperture, a 23mm focal length, 1.34 m pixel size and optical image stabilization (OIS). It can also record 1080p videos at 30fps. Connectivity options on the handset include LTE, HSPA, GSM, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA and Bluetooth 4.2, while sensors include a front-mounted fingerprint scanner, an accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor and magnetometer (e-compass). The device measures 145.9mm in length, 71.9mm in width and 9mm in thickness while weighing in at 161 grams.

 And The Winner Is 

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The Final Word

This wasnt really a tough call to be perfectly honest, but then again, it wasnt meant to be. This head-to-head was an attempt to see if HTC has leared from its previous mistakes and done enough to warrant a serious consideration from smartphone buyers generally unwilling to look beyond Samsung and Apple for the most part. And while the jury is still out on the HTC U11, at first glance, it does look as if HTCs latest flagship is a decent enough device that ticks all the right boxes, although, it remains to be seen whether that will be enough to convince mainstream smartphone buyers to tread off the beaten path and pick up an HTC instead of an iPhone or a Galaxy.
Verizon Wireless is planning to cut approximately 15 percent of the combined workforce of AOL and Yahoo, industry sources said on Thursday, shortly after shareholders of the Sunnyvale, California-based company approved the sale of its core Internet business to the largest mobile service provider in the United States. Verizon previously announced its intentions to combine AOL and Yahoo into a new unit called Oath thats set to be officially established this summer. Yahoo and AOL currently number around 14,000 employees, meaning more than 2,100 may lose their jobs in the coming weeks as the Big Red will be looking to deal with redundancies that are said to exist in both companies.

AOL employees have reportedly been incentivized by Verizon to hit its new redundancy targets in recent months, though the wireless carrier has yet to detail voluntary redundancies in any official capacity. An update on the situation will likely follow shortly as Verizon is now ramping up its efforts to establish Oath and deal with all obstacles that are in the way of the company becoming fully operational. Oath is meant to operate in a similar manner to how AOL has been functioning since Verizon acquired it in mid-2015, albeit ennobled with Yahoos assets. Verizons executives previously stated that the newly formed company will be looking to compete with the likes of Google and Facebook in the digital advertising segment.

Verizons acquisition of Yahoo was originally set to be completed last year but turned into a drawn-out saga after Yahoo found itself in the center of a couple of hacking scandals that resulted in hundreds of millions of its user accounts being compromised by foreign hackers. The company subsequently made negative headlines after reports that it helped the U.S. government analyze the contents of its users emails, with Verizon later negotiating a price cut on its acquisition that reportedly cost it around $4.5 billion in the end. Its still unclear how Yahoos flagship assets like Yahoo Mail and Tumblr will be integrated into AOLs offerings or vice versa, but more details on the manner in which the companys Internet businesses will operate under the Oath moniker are likely to be available soon, no later than this summer.
The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will come with a very similar display design to the Galaxy S8, accordingly a new report. In particular, the Galaxy Note 8 will include the same 18.5:9 aspect ratio found on the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. This information comes from South Korean news outlet Newsis, and is reportedly based on information provided by a Samsung official. The report goes on to further detail that the screen size of the Galaxy Note 8 is 0.6-inches larger than that found on the Galaxy Note 7. Noting that Samsung was hesitant on increasing the width too much, as it would also require the height of the screen to be increased as well. With the suggestion being that the Galaxy Note 8s screen size is not that different to the Galaxy S8 Plus, and will place a degree of focus on being a device that can be easily used in a one-handed mode.

In addition, the report also looks to add further confirmation that the Galaxy Note 8 will come equipped with a dual rear camera setup. With the suggestion being that this will be the first Samsung smartphone to include dual rear cameras, barring the release of another Samsung device between now and then. The unnamed source was also noted as confirming that this is a decision that has only recently been made with the report quoting the official as saying the exterior design is changing slightly after several months, and the final version is being tuned. In terms of the release schedule, the report further confirms the Galaxy Note 8 will arrive sometime in August/September.

Interestingly, the report notes that in spite of the release date nearing, Samsung has yet to finally commit on where to place the fingerprint sensor. Specifically, whether or not to include the sensor underneath the display. Which is somewhat in tune with another report that came through within the last 24 hours, stating that a screen-embedded fingerprint sensor would not be included. Although the current report is not quite as definitive as the previous one. Stating that technical issues that need to be resolved in the short space of time are what is currently swaying the decision on whether to include the sensor in this way.
Samsung Electronics codenamed the AMOLED screen tech for the Galaxy S9 series as Sunflower, one industry insider said on Friday. The new technology is said to rely on entirely different materials to those used for the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus that Samsung released in late April. The exact specifics of the next-generation mobile AMOLED solution are currently unclear, though the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer is almost certainly looking to improve on the display fidelity of the Galaxy S8 lineup while simultaneously making the new tech more consistent and reliable.

The Infinity Display panels of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus have been touted as one of the main selling points of Samsungs latest flagship duo, though certain units exhibited a number of screen-related issues, including reddish displays that the Seoul-based company attributed to a color calibration error and issued an over-the-air (OTA) update to remedy the situation. The 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch panels of the new flagships feature an unconventional aspect ratio of 18.5:9, with some industry watchers expecting Samsung to continue pursuing that aesthetic in the future. Apart from a relatively tall screen, the Galaxy S8 series is also instantly recognizable due to its nearly bezel-less design, another characteristic that the Galaxy S9 lineup is likely to succeed.

According to recent reports, the Galaxy S9 devices will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip (SoC) in the United States, while the international variants of the handsets will likely feature a successor to the Exynos 8895, Samsungs proprietary piece of 10nm silicon present in the Galaxy S8 family thats also expected to be integrated into the upcoming Galaxy Note 8. The Galaxy S9 is reportedly codenamed Star and has been in development for several months now, though details on the upcoming Android flagship are still scarce, with the device being almost a year away from a commercial release. Still, with screens being one of the main selling points of Samsungs previously released premium mobile devices, whatever Sunflower ends up being, the technology will likely be advertised as a hallmark of the Galaxy S9 lineup. More information on Samsungs hardware efforts will likely follow in the coming months.
Rumored India prices have leaked for the Moto Z2 Force and a couple of other phones recently. According to the leak, the Moto Z2 Force will cost Rs 38999, which is bout $605 USD. For a flagship phone that seems like a logical price point, but its also important to keep in mind that these are just rumored prices, and even if the prices are correct theyre still for the Indian market, and actual US prices are likely to be slightly different than the converted amounts.

That said, the rumored prices were also leaked for two of Motos other devices. The Moto G5S Plus, and the Moto X4, or simply the latest version of the Moto X that is supposed to be launching later on this year. According to the rumor, the prices for each of these devices will be Rs 17999 and Rs 20999 respectively, which is about $280, and $326. Again, since these prices are based on the conversion from the Indian Rupee to the US Dollar, the prices are not likely to be exact matches of what the costs would be in the US, but they are likely to be close to that price point if the rumored costs for each of the phones in India is correct.

The Moto Z2 family of devices has only seen one device confirmation so far, the Moto Z2 Play, which was unveiled in India with pre-orders for that device having gone live as of yesterday. As for the Moto X4, for a while it wasnt clear if Motorola and Lenovo were going to put out a Moto X device this year, but then leaked images of the new Moto X surfaced online during an event, in which slides were being shown that detailed not only the design of the new Moto X model, but also some of the hardware specifications. Theres no mention just yet of when these new Moto devices will launch nor has it been mentioned what the official prices will be. Its possible that Motorola and Lenovo will hold a press conference later in the year to showcase the new phones, at which time the prices, or at least the launch dates, are a little more likely to be revealed.
The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) is reportedly being updated to Android 7.0 Nougat in Europe. The software package weighs roughly 948MB and is currently distributed for the Galaxy A3 (2016) bearing the model number SM-A310F. The update seems to only be available in Hungary as of right now, but it should reach other countries in the coming weeks.

Unsurprisingly, the Android 7.0 Nougat update for the Galaxy A3 (2016) is distributed over-the-air (OTA), meaning that the software package should be preceded by an update notification on eligible devices. Alternatively, Galaxy A3 (2016) owners can attempt to download and apply the software update manually by heading down to the phones settings menu under About Device and Software Updates. Before proceeding, however, ensure the smartphone is connected to an active Wi-Fi network and that it has at least 50 percent of battery life left. Once applied, Android 7.0 Nougat should bring along improvements to performance, system stability, and battery life, as well as various other additions including reworked user interface elements. The latest software update arrives on the Galaxy A3 (2016) roughly one month after its larger sibling  the Galaxy A5 (2016)  received Android 7.0 Nougat in Europe.

The Galaxy A3 (2016) was released in January 2016 running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop out of the box and was updated to Android Marshmallow after roughly one year of market availability. Last December, Samsung confirmed that the entire Galaxy A (2016) lineup will eventually be updated to Android 7.0 Nougat by the end of 2017, and in light of recent events, it appears that the company is keen on keeping its word. The Galaxy A3 (2016) fits in the lower-mid-range market and features a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 and a pixel density of roughly 312 pixels per inch. The European variant identified by the model number SM-A310F is powered by the Exynos 7578 system-on-chip (SoC) housing four ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores clocked at up to 1.5GHz, and the ARM Mali-T720 MP2 (dual-core) graphics processor. The handset relies on 1.5GB of RAM, has 16GB of onboard storage expandable via microSD by up to 256GB, and is powered by a 2,300mAh battery which will now be backed by an improved Doze mode in Android Nougat.
By Press Trust of India: By M Zulqernain

Lahore, Jun 9 (PTI) Pakistan has alleged that India has prevented some Sikh pilgrims from travelling to the country for the annual Jor Mela as only 14 devotees have arrived so far.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had issued visas to 80 Sikh pilgrims but 66 of them couldnt reach Lahore as "India stopped them at Attari Railway Station citing technical reason," Pakistani authorities said.

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"The Samjhauta Express train left for Attari on Thursday to bring 80 Sikhs for Jor Mela but when it reached there its staff was told by Indian authorities that the Sikh pilgrims couldnt board it as their visa only allow them to go to Pakistan on a special train," said Amir Hashmi, spokesman Evacuee Trust Property Board, which looks after the minority holy places in Pakistan.

Hashmi told PTI that the Pakistan Railways was willing to send a special train to India to ferry the pilgrims but the Indian authorities didnt allow.

"Fourteen of the total 80 pilgrims had a visa allowing them to enter Pakistan by road. They crossed Wagha Border by foot where the ETPB officials received them," Hashmi said.

Jor Mela is observed to mark the death anniversary of fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. The 10-day festival, which is also called Shaheedi Jor Mela, will be held at Panja Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore.

The 14 pilgrims were taken to Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal.

The Sikh pilgrims will return to India through the Wagah border on June 17, according to a report in Radio Pakistan. PTI MZ ABH

--- ENDS ---
A Samsung Electronics-made device bearing the model number SM-A450F  likely the Galaxy A4 (2017)  has been certified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) yesterday, with the Kirkland, Washington-based standards agency publishing a set of testing documentation detailing the product on Thursday. The same model number has already appeared in the database of the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) over the weekend, with some industry watchers believing that it denotes the Galaxy A4 (2017), an unannounced mid-range Android phone that Samsung may be looking to release at some point this year.

The handset was previously touted to run Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, likely enhanced with Samsungs proprietary user interface, and while its Bluetooth SIG listing doesnt confirm that possibility, it does reveal that the supposed Galaxy A4 (2017) supports Bluetooth 5.0, a new Bluetooth standard that the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer was first to commercialize earlier this year, with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus being the first commercially available handsets that supported it. If the Bluetooth SIG listing is accurate  and theres no reason to believe that it isnt  it indicates that Samsung is now looking to expand Bluetooth 5.0 support to a number of its other, more accessible models, starting with the upcoming addition to its mid-range Galaxy A series. Another Samsung-made device thats thought to support Bluetooth 5.0 is the Galaxy Note 8 that the Seoul-based original equipment manufacturer is reportedly looking to launch in late August.

Details on the Galaxy A4 (2017) have been relatively scarce so far and mostly consist of unverified rumors, with some insiders claiming that the phone will boast a 5-inch Super AMOLED display panel that will presumably be protected by 2.5D glass. Being a mid-range device, the Galaxy A4 (2017) is thought to sport a Full HD screen, with other rumors pointing at 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal flash memory, a micro SD card slot, and a 3,000mAh battery. While Samsung will likely equip the handset with one of its own Exynos chips, it remains to be seen which particular piece of silicon ends up powering the Galaxy A4 (2017). Finally, recent reports indicate that the smartphone will ship with a conventional primary camera setup consisting of a single 13-megapixel sensor and an LED flash unit. With the supposed Galaxy A4 (2017) having already been certified by both the Bluetooth SIG and WFA, the device will likely be launched later this year.
The US District Judge, that is overseeing the case between Waymo and Uber, has just ruled that Uber needs to hand over a document that would shed light on what the companys executives knew about the alleged theft of Waymos LiDAR files. The document that Judge William Alsup is requesting Uber to hand over is in regards to its purchase of Otto, the company that Anthony Levandowski created after leaving Waymo. Its a due diligence report that Uber had created during acquisition talks with Otto in 2016. Waymo had actually been trying to get a copy of this report before the trial, so it could prepare, but Uber had been refusing to turn it over. Now the judge has ordered Uber to do just that.

Levandowski worked for Alphabets Self-Driving Car Project before it spun off into Waymo, a few years ago. He allegedly downloaded more than 14,000 confidential files before leaving the company. Levandowski stated that he downloaded them so that he could work from home but after leaving the company, he never deleted or returned the files. In fact, it appeared he was using the files at Otto and then at Uber. Waymo decided to start the lawsuit in February, after one of its suppliers accidentally left a copy of Ubers LiDAR setup attached to an email sent to Waymo. Which, unsurprisingly, looked familiar to Waymo.

Throughout the case, Judge Alsup has told Uber to make the files that Levandowski took over to the company, appear. Ubers attorneys have stated that it has searched all of the servers at Uber but could not find them. Judge Alsup told them to look harder, or Uber would be slapped with an injunction that could become permanent. Meaning that its self-driving car program would be finished. Shortly after that, Uber fired Levandowski, their head of self-driving cars, due to this lawsuit. Waymo is actually suing both Uber and Levandowski individually, so even though Levandowski no longer works for Uber, hes not quite out of the dog house, as far as this lawsuit is concerned. Itll be interesting to see how the lawsuit ends, which likely wont be for a while.
Samsungs latest smartwatches are now available with 4G LTE connectivity at the largest wireless carrier in the US, Verizon Wireless. The Gear S3 Classic and Gear S3 Frontier launched today at Verizon, and also bring the companys NumberShare feature with it. What this means is that users will be able to use their phone number from their smartphone, onto their Gear S3 Classic or Gear S3 Frontier to make calls, answer text messages and such. Its similar to AT&Ts NumberSync, which was launched with the Gear S2 over a year ago.

The Gear S3 Classic and Gear S3 Frontier are largely the same. The only difference between the two is the color. The Gear S3 Classic has a silver casing, making it look more classic, while the Frontier is darker, and its actually better suited for the adventure types out there. Otherwise the two sport the exact same features. While the Gear S3 Classic and Frontier will work flawlessly with Samsung smartphones, both of them do also work with all Android smartphones. These do run on Tizen OS, so its not Android Wear, which means some of your favorite apps may not be available  but its highly likely that they are. Both smartwatches feature a rotating crown, for navigating through the OS, and multi-day battery life. Samsung quotes that both will get around 3-4 days of battery life, but in real life, most are getting around 2-3 days. Thats still quite good for a smartwatch.

Verizon is offering both smartwatches for $349 on a two-year contract, or $399 outright (it doesnt make much sense to pick them up on a contract with this pricing). However, Verizon is running a promotion right now for the Gear S3 Classic and Frontier. If you purchase the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge, you can get $100 off of the Gear S3 Classic or Frontier, if you pick it up on a new two-year agreement. Both smartwatches are available in-store and online at Verizons website right now. You can head to either link below and pick one up. Both are great smartwatches, and definitely worth being on your wrist.
Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi, is reported to be officially entering the South Korean market soon. This comes after a Korean version of the official Xiaomi website was launched at the end of May. Xiaomi products are being promoted on the site, and information regarding the companys smart home ecosystem products can be found on the said site. This includes popular products such as the Mi Band 2, Mi Air Purifier 2, Mi 5,000mAh Powerbank and many more. However, information regarding Xiaomis smartphones arent available at the moment.

According to a regional PR manager for Xiaomi, the website was launched at the end of May, and it was created to introduce Xiaomis smart home ecosystem products to the South Korean population. It will also serve as an official distributing channel for news regarding Xiaomi products. The official also stated that the South Korean market is valued by the company a lot, but no information regarding Xiaomis entry into the market is available at the moment. While Xiaomi may have plans to officially enter the market soon, it may have a hard time getting a foothold on the South Korean market, as local brands such as Samsung and LG are extremely popular in the country.

At the moment, the website is being dubbed Mi Korea and while products cannot be purchased directly through the website, items are available for purchase through offline channels. Xiaomi products are officially distributed by two local distributors, Nanjing Youmi Electronics Technology as well as Koma Trade. In fact, both companies have been selling Xiaomi products since last March. It has also been rumored that Xiaomi may set up a physical office in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, though this hasnt been confirmed by the company itself. The company is widely known for its smartphones as well as smart home products, both of which are of high quality and competitively priced. It mainly sells its devices in East Asia, but it has plans to expand its operations to other regions. Its products are mainly sold through online retailers or through its official website, but lately it has begun setting up physical stores throughout China and East Asia.
A Chinese spokesperson said that China always been advising its citizens to not visit highly risky regions but did not clarify if any prior warnings for Balochistan had been issued.

By Ananth Krishnan: China today said it was "highly concerned" after being informed by Pakistani authorities that two kidnapped Chinese teachers in Balochistan may have been killed, in an incident that has brought attention to the security situation in Pakistan just as the country joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) security grouping on Friday.

The kidnapping of two young teachers from a town in Balochistan last month has received wide attention in China, with authorities hoping for their release. Today , however, the Amaq news agency, affiliated to the ISIS terrorist group, said the terror outfit had claimed the kidnapping and had killed the two young Chinese nationals.

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The Chinese Foreign Ministry today said, "According to initial information from the Pakistani side, the two Chinese citizens kidnapped may have already unfortunately been killed." The Chinese Embassy had made "all out efforts" to secure their release, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"We are highly concerned," Hua added. The spokesperson said China had "always been advising Chinese citizens to not visit highly risky regions" but did not clarify if any prior warnings for Balochistan had been issued.

This comes just as Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is in Astana for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, which is also being attended by PM Modi and the Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Hua, however, said the incident "has no necessary connection" either with the BRI or the SCO gathering and that Pakistan "pays great attention to the protection of Chinese citizens and institutions and has made great efforts in this regard".

Also read:

China asks Pakistan to step up safety after its citizens were abducted in Balochistan

Xi congratulates PM Modi on SCO, says ready to 'properly address' sensitive issues

Killing of Chinese nationals in Pakistan a matter of grave concern, says Beijing

China's media says SOC won't back Pakistan's attempts to internationalise Kashmir

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: London, Jun 9 (PTI) Owning a dog may help older adults to meet World Health Organisations recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day, according to a new study.

Health professionals could encourage dog ownership or shared care of a dog to motivate older adults to be more physically active, researchers said.

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"We found that dog owners aged 65 and over spent on average an additional 22 minutes walking, taking an extra 2,760 steps per day when compared to people who did not own a dog," said Philippa Dall, senior research fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University in the UK.

"Over the course of a week this additional time spent walking may in itself be sufficient to meet WHO recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity," said Dall, lead author of the study published in the journal BMC Public Health.

The researchers also found that dog owners had fewer sedentary events - that is continuous periods of sitting down - than non-dog owners, although the total time spent sitting down did not differ between the two groups.

"Our results indicate that dog ownership may play an important role in encouraging older adults to walk more," said Nancy Gee from WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, UK.

"Our research will provide insights into how pet ownership may help older people achieve higher levels of physical activity or maintain their physical activity levels for a longer period of time, which could improve their prospects for a better quality of life, improved or maintained cognition, and perhaps, even overall longevity," said Gee, co-author of the study.

The study used data on patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in 43 dog owners and 43 controls from three regions in the UK.

Study participants were aged 65 years and over and wore an activity monitor continuously during three, one-week data collection periods between April 2013 and November 2014.

The researchers monitored the time spent walking moderately, time spent standing, total time spent sitting, as well as the number of times people sat down and how long they sat down for.

Dog owners and controls were matched on a range of variables such as gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status.

"Most of the research in this area has relied upon self- report measures of physical activity," Dall said.

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"The use of objectives measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour, collected by using activity monitors, provides opportunities to gain greater insight by providing objective data on both the intensity and patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

"This allows closer scrutiny of the potential relationship between changes in physical activity due to dog ownership and health," said Dall. PTI SAR SAR

--- ENDS ---
The meeting between top leaders of the neighbouring Asian countries is the first after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping today in Astana, Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a consortium that focuses on security and trade.

The meeting comes amid growing differences between the two countries over a host of issues, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and India's Nuclear Suppliers Group membership bid.

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The meeting between top leaders of the neighbouring Asian countries is the first after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the Summit to highlight its concerns over the US$ 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

#WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana. pic.twitter.com/wQ8XnnVTfH- ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

Later in the day, both India and Pakistan were inducted in SCO as member nations.

PM MODI GREETS NAWAZ SHARIF

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged greetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Both the leaders were at the leaders' lounge at an Opera in the evening before the concert and banquet hosted by Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

According to sources, Modi and Sharif exchanged greetings. Since it was the first occasion when the two leaders came across each other after Sharif's operation, Modi enquired about his health.

He also enquired about Sharif's mother and family. This was their first meeting since 2015 when PM Modi flied down to Lahore on a surprise visit.

ALSO READ:

Killing of Chinese nationals in Pakistan a matter of grave concern, says Beijing

PM Narendra Modi says hello to Nawaz Sharif in Astana. Meeting with Xi Jinping next

As PM Modi arrives in Astana, India is set for SCO entry. Here's what to expect from the Summit

Watch Video: PM Modi meets China's Jingping on sidelines of SCO summit is Astana

--- ENDS ---
Slater and Gordon says it has received a letter stating a new intention to commence proceedings against the company.The correspondence follows the launch of a class action suit against the law firm by Maurice Blackburn acting on behalf of shareholders in November 2016; and a separate intention by ACA Lawyers in Sydney also revealed in November.In a statement to the ASX, Slaters says the letter it received on 7th June 2017 from Johnson Winter & Slattery Lawyers does not provide full details of the claim but that it will be based on allegations that the Companys financial statements in each of the financial years ended 30 June 2013, 2014 and 2015 contained misleading representations.No claim has yet been filed against the company.Leading regulatory lawyer Thomas Jones has joined international firm Bird & Bird as a partner in the technology & communications department in Sydney.He joins from Corrs Chambers Westgarth where his practice had a particular focus on access to regulated infrastructure.I am looking forward to using my expertise to further develop the firm's Tech & Comms and Energy & Utilities groups not only in Australia but in Europe and Asia as well," Jones said. Herbert Smith Freehills partner Justin D'Agostino has been appointed as an alternate member of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.The Hong Kong-based partner is global head of the firms dispute resolution practice and regional partner for Australia and Asia and his appointment is from 1st July 2017."I am honoured to have been appointed as an alternate member for Hong Kong of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC, said DAgostino. The importance of arbitration to the fair and efficient resolution of disputes increases year on year. The ICC  the world's largest business organisation  plays a vital role internationally in relation to the promotion and use of dispute resolution and is one of a handful of world class institutions at the forefront of the development of arbitration."
If you're the kind of guy who thinks the law is just a vague directive and that rules are there to be broken, you're bound to want to make a withdrawal without the use of a credit card at some time. But the thing is even though they sit there unattended, ATMs are pretty tough nuts to crack. Not to mention to pick up and run away with.That's why this guy in Prince George, Maryland, thought about using a backhoe for the job. He actually came up with a pretty complex plan - much like the ones needed for the Grand Theft Auto V heists, where you first have to gather the necessary equipment, and only then execute the robbery.Much like Michael, Trevor, and Franklin, this guy also began by getting himself a backhoe . Obviously, he took the time to go through the tutorial, because once the ATM was in sight, he looked like he knew what he was doing. He reversed the vehicle into position, he deployed the stabilizers and lowered the front loader bucket and then started bashing the poor cash machine with the dipper arm.The CCTV footage released shows only about a minute of the massacre, but we would be surprised if the man gave up so fast after going to all this length to procure the machinery . In the end, though, he came out empty-handed. What's more, he also managed to inflict $10,000 worth of damage to the ATM and its surroundings.According to WTOP , the Prince George's County Police believes this is the same man that broke into a Marlboro Pike tobacco shop through the roof last March leaving with an ATM and 250 cartons of cigarettes. Well, if they don't manage to get him over the next two months or so, they needn't bother anymore as he'll probably die of lung cancer anyway.
While we've spied the open-air Huracan Performante on multiple occasions, this is the first time when the car loses the psychedelic wrap. And no, those... residue on the top section of the beast don't count, since the active aero bits on the Coupe means we already know what to expect from that side of the machine.The 670 hp hairstyling machine has been spotted in its home country, with this manufacturer vehicle having shown up in Gardon Riviera, Italy - we'll tip our lens to Autogespot for the pair of images showcasing the Raging Bull.Compared to the spied prototypes mentioned above, the vehicle seen here packs the same wheels as the fixed-roof Performante.The sheer idea of a melange involving the Performante and the Spyder badges is insane enough to make us weak in the kees. Sure, this isn't the first time when Sant'Agata Bolognese pulls such a stunt. But when you think about the fact that the Huracan Performante Coupe used to hold the Nurburgring record for production cars, adding weight and reducing torsional stiffness by chopping off the top seems crazy.Then again, with the cloth roof down, you'll be able to enjoy the full aural fury of the Raging Bull 's 640 hp V10 heart. And, in an age when naturally aspirated mills have become an endangered species, this is no small feat.The Italian automotive producer was expected to introduce the 2018 Huracan Performante Spyder in September, at the Frankfurt Motor Show. However, given the presence of this nearly naked machine, we might just get a summer unveiling for the velocity devil.
4WD

Anyway, you probably don't know what the Harrier is, to begin with. Lexus models were simultaneously being sold by Toyota under its brand (kind of, but not really) in Japan. The first two generations of the Harrier were just re-badged RX models , while the third, launched in 2013, rides on a stretched RAV4 body. It's got a 2,660 mm (104.7 in) wheelbase, identical to the NX but shorter than the 2,789 mm (109.8 in) one of the RX.And because the Harrier is four years old now, Toyota has given it some mild updates. Cosmetically speaking, not much has changed. The honeycomb grille at the bottom of the bumper is new, as is the stuff under that piece of perspex plastic. And under there, they've installed a radar system which together with the camera at the top of the windshield forms the Toyota Safety Sense P system.Updates also include an electric parking brake with auto hold, LED sequential turn signals and a door puddle light. Inside, premium Nappa leather is available in burgundy, tan and black.New to the Harrier is the same 2.0-liter turbo engine used by a bunch of Lexus models. In this application, it's rated at 231 PS from 5,200rpm and 350 Nm of torque between 1,650 to 4,000rpm. A 6-speed automatic takes care of the gears, and it's available with 2WD or selectable. The range continues to include a base 2-liter with 150 PS and a 2.5-liter hybrid drive with E-Four (rear wheels are only driven by electricity when you lose traction).Normally, we'd get very excited about a new Modellista body kit. But since you can't buy the Harrier anywhere outside Japan... forbidden tuned fruit tastes bitter. The aero treatment includes the biggest chin spoiler you've ever seen, along with side skirts and a diffuser. Everything is designed with a premium look, which is emphasized by the chrome trim and purple mica paint. For just 30,000 (about $250), you can even have a wood deck for the trunk. Take that, Mercedes CLS Shooting Brake!
Copying is never a good idea, but if you simply have to do it, then at least know what to use your carbon paper on. And in the world of urban, two-wheeled vehicles, you can't really do much better than the Italian classic.Electric powertrains have found it oddly difficult to enter the market for two-wheeled vehicles, and that's mostly due to the bulkiness of the battery pack and the extra weight it adds. The one place where the "e-" prefix does seem to have found a place for itself is the electric bicycles.Adding a small battery and a tiny motor to a vehicle that also uses another type of propulsion essentially turned e-bikes into veritable hybrids. The extra grunt provided by the motor makes accelerating to cruising speed a breeze, reducing the rider's effort and making commuting on a bicycle over longer distances a much less sweaty affair.However, there are bound to be those who don't like to move their feet even if they get some help from an electric motor. Those will have a few options to choose from, but none more stylish than the unu electric scooter.This German-designed and built scooter comes with a maximum range of 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) thanks to its 51V 29Ah Panasonic lithium-ion battery pack that weighs eight kilograms. The battery can be removed for easy recharging and is easily transportable thanks to an integrated strap. A full recharge will take up to five hours, and for those who need more than the standard 50 kilometers, the unu scooter has a second battery slot that can double the maximum range.Power is delivered by one of three Bosch electric motors - 1,000, 2,000 or 3,000 Watts - enabling a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph). Since the unu is intended as an urban commuting solution, that should be more than enough.The entire vehicle only weighs around 58 kg (128 lb) without the battery, and will take a payload of 150 kg (330 lb). The vehicle requires a driver's license, insurance, and registration to operate one on the street legally, but unu is willing to take of the latter two for its customers upon delivery.Now let's talk money. The base version with one battery pack and 1,000W motor will cost 1,799 (a little over $2,000), while the supplementary battery pack has a price of 700 (about $790). The most expensive unu will set those interested back 2,799 ($3,157). Considering there are e-bikes that sell for prices in the same region, the unu scooter does sound like an apt choice provided it ticks all the boxes of your daily commute
President Trump fielded questions on James Comey while giving a joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis at the White House Friday. Trump told reporters that he felt completely vindicated by Comey's testimony, stating that there was "no collusion, no obstruction, he's a leaker."

When asked whether he recorded the conversations he had with Comey, Trump said, "I'll tell you about that sometime in the near future." He also denied ever asking for Comey's loyalty or asking him to "let Flynn go." And he said he'd "100%" be willing to testify under oath to Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.

President Trump on Comey:

Trump on Comey tapes: "I'll tell you about that sometime in the near future." He later added, "you'll be very disappointed when you hear the answer."

"I'll tell you about that sometime in the near future." He later added, "you'll be very disappointed when you hear the answer." Why do you feel vindicated by Comey's testimony? "No collusion, no obstruction, he's a leaker... we are doing really well, that was an excuse by the Democrats who lost the election... we were very happy and frankly James Comey confirmed a lot of what I said, and some of the things just weren't true."

"No collusion, no obstruction, he's a leaker... we are doing really well, that was an excuse by the Democrats who lost the election... we were very happy and frankly James Comey confirmed a lot of what I said, and some of the things just weren't true." Did you ask Comey to "let Flynn go"? "I didn't say that .... and there'd be nothing wrong with that if I did say it, according to everybody that I read today."

"I didn't say that .... and there'd be nothing wrong with that if I did say it, according to everybody that I read today." Denies asking for Comey's loyalty: "I hardly know the man, who would do that, who would ask him to pledge allegiance under oath."

"I hardly know the man, who would do that, who would ask him to pledge allegiance under oath." Would you be willing to testify under oath to Special Counsel Robert Mueller? "100 percent."

President Trump on Foreign Affairs:

Article 5: "I am committing the U.S. to Article 5." Note: Trump failed to openly state he was committed to Article 5, the principle that all members are committed to collective defense and that an attack on one ally is considered as an attack against all allies, while in Brussels.

"I am committing the U.S. to Article 5." Note: Trump failed to openly state he was committed to Article 5, the principle that all members are committed to collective defense and that an attack on one ally is considered as an attack against all allies, while in Brussels. Qatar: "It is time to call on Qatar to end its funding of terrorism and extremist ideology... I want other countries to stop teaching people to kill other people... we ask Qatar and other nations in the region to do more, and do it faster."

"It is time to call on Qatar to end its funding of terrorism and extremist ideology... I want other countries to stop teaching people to kill other people... we ask Qatar and other nations in the region to do more, and do it faster." NATO: "Because of our actions, the money is starting to pour into NATO... other countries are starting to realize it is time to pay up, and I am very proud of that."

President Iohannis:
Exit polls just posted for the snap election in the U.K. and the surprise is that Prime Minister Theresa May might be at risk of losing her parliamentary majority. If that's the case, there could be a coalition government  or even a new election. With 326 needed for a majority, the exit polls put:

Conservatives at 314, Labour at 266, SNP at 34, Liberal Democrats at 14

Here are the ways the next government could be formed:

1. A majority government can form  that could happen next if May's Conservative party defies the odds and breaks above the majority threshold of 326.

If there's no majority...

2. A coalition government can form when two or more parties join together. This happened in 2010 with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, and it took five days to reach an agreement. May would continue to be Prime Minister while trying to form a majority, which she would have to do by June 13 when parliament is first set to meet  or resign, per the Cabinet Office. But, if it looks like Corbyn would be able to get a majority, he would take over as prime minister.

May has been warning against a "coalition of chaos," Jeremy Corbyn of Labour has said he would do no coalition, but also said to ask him about what to do about a coalition on June 9. The Liberal Democrat leader has said he wouldn't form a coalition this time.

3. A minority government can form and try leading the government without a majority. This is rare, although there have been minority governments, in 1974 and 1996 (although this was a rarer case). A minority government would also be unlikely to last very long.

If all of that fails..

The U.K. would be in for another election.

Why it matters: This was basically a test of May's handling of Brexit  she called the election in order to expand her mandate ahead of Brexit negotiations. If anything but a majority forms, this is a massive failure for the Conservatives and will likely mean someone else will be handling those vital negotiations.
Data: ClearView Energy Partners; Chart: Chris Canipe / Axios

Former President Obama's top international energy envoy has joined a natural-gas exporting company that's banking on swift federal reviews under the Trump administration and a booming export market in five years.

Amos Hochstein, who ran the State Department's energy bureau under Obama, is now a senior advisor and vice president at Tellurian Inc., a company founded last year that filed an application in April to the Trump administration to export liquefied natural gas.

Why it matters: Hochstein's hire shows how natural-gas exports are one of the only narrow policy areas where bipartisan support has endured the transition from Obama to Trump. Obama streamlined the federal review process from three steps to two, and Trump officials signaled last month it's a top priority for them too.

The backstory: Dozens of companies are seeking to export U.S. natural gas now that America is awash in cheap supplies of the fuel, but the U.S. doesn't have free trade deals with the countries that most want to import it. Approval to send gas to those countries requires a two-step federal review process. Beginning in 2012, the Obama administration approved roughly two dozen natural-gas export applications to countries the U.S. doesn't have free-trade agreements with, according to Energy Department data.

Quoted: Citing the shale natural gas boom over the last decade and advances in extraction technologies, Hochstein said the Obama administration was in a position to take advantage of the new resources for economic, environmental and geopolitical reasons.

"I think the Trump administration is recognizing the same and so far I can see it continuing the policy," Hochstein said. "It's an area where there has been a rather seamless transition."

Two levels deeper:

Tellurian was founded by industry executive Charif Souki after he was ousted from Cheniere Energy, considered a pioneer of the natural-gas exporting sector. Tellurian, which went public earlier this year, has poached other top Cheniere executives, including current CEO Meg Gentle and lobbyist Ankit Desai. Desai, who joined the company in March, also raised money for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Tellurian also just hired Anita Orban, who was the energy envoy for Hungary's foreign ministry. The combined hires of Orban and Hochstein, who focused much of his time at the State Department on helping European nations wean themselves from Russian gas, signals Tellurian wants to focus heavily on that European market.

What's next: Most analysts predict a glut of natural gas in global markets in the coming years, due largely to America revving up its export potential so much since 2012. Hochstein says Tellurian's application, planned to come online in 2022, could take advantage of what he predicts could actually be a shortage of gas, fueled by economies finding new ways to use natural gas, such as in shipping fuel.'

Correction: A chart previously published with this post was inaccurate and showed an incorrect interpretation of cumulative gas export volumes over time. We have updated the chart.
9 June 2017 16:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

For many men in Armenia the contractual military service has become one of the rare opportunities to somehow earn a living.

The reason is that Armenia, a country with the highest unemployment rate in the CIS area, cannot provide its citizens with enough jobs. On the other hand, those who have a job receive low salaries that are not enough to feed a family. Therefore, many Armenian men prefer working in the military rather than living in poverty.

However, contractual military service does not save them from all social problems and debts. Recently, Armenian media reported about another suicide in the Armenian army, a dead body of contract serviceman Melik Khachatryan was found on June 1 at the warehouse of a military unit.

Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper states that the serviceman wrote a suicidal letter for his family. The letter reads that Khachatryan had debts of several thousand dollars, which he could not pay off.

Now the deceased Khachatryans family, his wife and 10-year-old child are left without their breadwinner.

This tragedy once again demonstrates the depth of the crisis in which Armenia is. If a serviceman of an elite military unit commits suicide, then the situation of majority of Armenian citizens is much more doleful.

Every now and then Armenian media reports about new suicide cases. The poverty paired with unemployment and other socio-economic problems in the country force Armenians to commit suicides.

The official statistics show that about a third of Armenian population live in poverty. Due to the failure of the Armenian government to tackle the countrys problems, this figure is increasing every year, both in cities and villages of Armenia.

As for unemployment, the International Labour Organization predicts that in a couple of years the unemployment rate in Armenia will exceed 20 percent. Today this figure equals to 18 percent.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
This festival is integral to the Jagannath devotees and is celebrated prior to Ratha Yatra.

By Manogya Loiwal : Puri is busy beating the heat in its own style...by celebrating famous snan yatra.

This festival is integral to the Jagannath devotees and is celebrated prior to Ratha Yatra. The deities of Jagannath, brother Bhalbadra, sister Subhadra and Sudarshan are taken in a grand procession to the 'snan bedi' where they are bathed by the devotees publicly by holy water.

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This time, more than 3 lakh devotees have assembled to see the deity on this day because after this they won't get a glimpse of the deity till one day prior to Ratha Yatra. They believe that praying to this God shall wash away all their sins and they shall gain 'punya'.

For the safety of the pilgrims, 45 platoons of police forces have been deployed, 200 officers have been on field duty. Everything is under CCTV surveillance and the area of the procession and location of the deity has been barricaded.

Like every year, this year too Jagannath devotees are extremely enthusiastic and have travelled from across India to be a part of these celebrations in Puri.

Pradeep Jenna, temple chief administrator, said "Today is Snan Purnima, it is a special occasion with the deities will be shifted from 'Ratna Sthan' to 'Snana Sthan' , where the other rituals shall be conducted. There has been a special arrangement by the temple authorities for the devotees and security arrangements have also been made."

When asked Santilata Das, a devotee of Jagannath, she said, "I have come here, on the first day of Snan Purnima because it's said that the ritual of bathing god with water gives ''punya" to those who participate."

Manoj Das Mahapatra, a Dayapali Sevak, said, "Lord Jagannath is bathed with 108 pots of water, he is in the "Gajannan" avatar during these rituals. it is said that he suffers from fever for the next 15 days. The authorities and workers have made many preparations for this festival ."

The Jagannath culture expert, Pandit Surya Narayan Rath Sharma, said, "it seems as if this time Lord Indra has also been a part of Snan Purnima by blessing us with spells of shower after 15 continuous days of scorching heat. On this day, Lord Jagannath and the deities are bathed in their Gajannan avatar. it is said that devotees who come here are blessed by God."

With inputs from Soumitra

--- ENDS ---
9 June 2017 15:08 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

The National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support (NFES) under the Economy Ministry of Azerbaijan has begun accepting investment projects on priority development areas of the Sheki region.

Following the business forum in Sheki, the NFES found it advantageous to accept entrepreneurs' proposals for financing projects on creation of large farming and horticultural farms, livestock breeding farms and tobacco growing and beekeeping, storage for dried tobacco, tobacco and milk processing enterprises and the hotel.

Entrepreneurs can submit their projects to the authorized credit institutions of the Fund. Upon the request of entrepreneurs, small projects can be fully financed through concessional loans.

About 150 million manats ($88 million) will be issued for granting preferential loans to entrepreneurs in 2017.

The Fund, created in 1992, issues loans to entrepreneurs through authorized banks and non-bank lenders.

The main goal of the Fund is to provide preferential loans from the state budget for small and medium business, in order to develop entrepreneurship in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Allocation of funds by NFES is aimed at the mitigating of the impact of global economic crisis to the national economy and minimization of its dependence on the oil sector. The country takes steps in its bid to diversify the national economy and provide for the development of entrepreneurship in the country.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 June 2017 14:55 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Turkey, which is a brotherly country and strategic ally of Azerbaijan, will support the export of Nakhchivans products to the country.

The agreement was reached following a meeting of Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev with the Turkish delegation, the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry reported on June 8.

The parties discussed issues of export expansion from the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to Turkey, an agreement on preferential trade between Azerbaijan and Turkey and trade relations between the two countries.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey increased by 88 percent in the first four months of 2017, as compared to the same period of the previous year, according to Mustafayev. In particular, the exports increased four times and imports - by 18 percent.

In turn, the Turkish side expressed a will to support the expansion of exports of Nakhchivans products to Turkey, noted systematic work with entrepreneurs and relevant authorities in this direction and informed of the interest of Turkish entrepreneurs in investing in Nakhchivan.

Turkey was the first state to recognize Azerbaijan's independence in 1991 and has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity and realize its economic potential arising from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.

The contractual base of bilateral Turkish-Azerbaijani trade and economic relations includes more than 40 documents aimed at expanding economic cooperation between states.

Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey amounted to almost $553 million in the first quarter of 2017, $308.7 million of which was exported to this country, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 June 2017 17:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Azerbaijan Accreditation Center will become an associate member of the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA), said Sabig Abdullayev, the head of the Center during a roundtable on "The role of accreditation in the modern economy."

An appropriate decision will be made during the next meeting of the EA General Assembly, which will be held in Berlin in November.

"We applied for membership in the EA in January 2017. The delegation of the State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patent of Azerbaijan took part in the meeting of the EA General Assembly where it was decided to accept Azerbaijan Accreditation Center as an associate member of the EA, said Abdullayev.

The Center further plans to become a full member of EA, according to Abdullayev.

President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on additional measures to improve management in the areas of metrology, accreditation and protection of patent rights on February 11, 2017.

Under the decree, Azerbaijan Accreditation Center was established.

The center ensures compliance with the principles and rules of accreditation, accredit structures for conformity assessment (confirmation), and carry out representation in international structures in this field.

The EA is an association of national accreditation bodies in Europe that are officially recognized by their national Governments to assess and verifyagainst international standardsorganizations that carry out evaluation services such as certification, verification, inspection, testing and calibration.

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9 June 2017 16:42 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

The National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support (NFES) has provided concessional loans worth 40.6 million manats ($23.8 million) since early 2017, which contributes to the implementation of about 521 projects.

The Economy Ministry reported that these loans allow to create more than 1,500 new work places.

Within the framework of a business forum held in the Khagani village of the Goygol district, entrepreneurs received preferential loans in the amount of 709,000 manats ($416,000). These funds will be directed to the development of livestock, beekeeping, viticulture and other areas.

So far, entrepreneurs of the Ganja-Gazakh economic region has received preferential loans amounted to 233 million manats ($136.9 million) for the implementation of almost 6,300 investment projects, preferential loans granted to entrepreneurs from Goygol district have reached 13.6 million manats ($8 million).

Some 150 million manats ($88 million) will be issued for granting preferential loans to entrepreneurs in 2017.

The Fund was created in 1992 and grants loans to entrepreneurs through authorized banks and non-bank lenders.

The main goal of the Fund is to provide preferential loans from the state budget for small and medium business, in order to develop entrepreneurship in the Republic of Azerbaijan.

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9 June 2017 17:35 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Creation of a trade facilitation center at the Azerbaijan-Georgia border is an important issue, Deputy Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan Shahin Baghirov said during the EU-Azerbaijan Business Forum on June 8.

"Currently, we are creating a trade facilitation center on the border with Georgia. This center is very important in terms of increasing transit flow from neighboring countries. I think it would be reasonable for the EU to revise the amount of financial assistance for this project," Baghirov noted.

The project, which worth 3 million, is financed by the EU.

Diplomatic ties between Azerbaijan and Georgia were established on November 18, 1992.

The two countries broadly cooperate in regional energy development, transportation and economic partnership projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway, the TRACECA, the BSEC.

Georgian exports to Azerbaijan include cement, locomotives and other railway vehicles, mineral and chemical fertilizers, mineral waters, strong drinks, glass and glass wares, and pharmaceuticals, among other things.

Azerbaijani mainly exports to Georgia oil and petroleum products, natural gas, plastic wares, furniture and building constructions.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Georgia amounted to $153 million in 2016.

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9 June 2017 13:42 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Turkish musician Onder Focan has performed at jazz concert, co-organized by Premier LTD and the International Mugham Center with support of the Turkish embassy in Baku.

Being mainly self- taught, he has become a jazz musician most sought after as a guitarist, player, composer arranger and lyrics writer. The musician released 13 albums and participated in over 90 international festivals, as a performer and member of the jury. Together with two brothers Anl Sallel and Batuhan Sallel (Sallel Bros), he presented his new album "Funkbook" in Baku.

Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral, addressing the opening ceremony, said that the gala evening will contribute to further strengthening of the cultural relations between the two brotherly countries.

The diplomat noted that the performance of famous Turkish jazz musicians in Baku in the month of Ramadan has become a tradition.

During the concert, Onder Focan thrilled guests with jazz-funk music pieces, including Ilk yudum, ABS Dran, Salatanin suyu, Komsunun tavugu and others.

Note that Bakus International Mugham Center will bring together Romanian and Azerbaijani musicians on June 17.

Tickets are available at all ticket offices of the city, the centers of ASAN Service and website iticket.az.

Media partners of the event are Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az

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8 June 2017 13:04 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are planning to clarify the situation in the zone of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, during their visit to the region, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on June 8.

During the visit of the co-chairs to Yerevan on June 10, it is planned to discuss topical issues on settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including in the light of the results of recent meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia on April 28 in Moscow, noted Zakharova.

The spokeswoman added that a trip to Nagorno-Karabakh is also expected during the visit to the region, and a week later the co-chairs will visit Baku.

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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9 June 2017 15:42 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Regional Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the South Caucasus, Johannes Van Der Klaauw has praised the Azerbaijani government's attention to refugees and IDPs.

Accompanied by UNHCR Representative in Azerbaijan Furio De Angelis, Van Der Klaauw met with the Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, Ali Hasanov in Baku.

Klaauw said he familiarized himself with what the Azerbaijani government has done for refugees and IDPs under leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. He applauded First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva's laying a foundation stone for a new residential complex for IDPs in Garadagh district of Baku.

Ali Hasanov, in turn, hailed Azerbaijan's relations with UNHCR and emphasized that Azerbaijan attaches special importance to mutual cooperation with foreign countries and appropriate international organizations.

Due to the ethnic cleansing policy, which was carried out by Armenia, and the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, the number of refugees and internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan hit more than 1.2 million. With a population of over 9.8 million,

Azerbaijan is among the countries carrying the highest IDP caseload in the world in per capita terms.

However, with the growing economic and political situation of the country, the Azerbaijani government pays much attention to the most difficult problems once concerning the refugees and IDPs. The state improves the living conditions of refugees and IDPs and it has adopted relevant state programs and legislative acts.

The level of poverty among IDPs has decreased from 75 to 12 percent in Azerbaijan as a result of the measures taken over the past 13 years.

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9 June 2017 10:45 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to provide funding for the expansion of a seaside park and boulevard complex in the city of Astara. Under the presidential order, 3 million manats ($1.7 million) is allocated from the Presidential Contingency Fund to Astara District Executive Authority to this end, Azertac reported.

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9 June 2017 12:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The exemplary service and professionalism of the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces ensuring the security of the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) within the framework of the NATO Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan were highly appreciated.

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported on June 8 that the commander of the garrison of HKIA Brigadier-General Murat Selchuk Chol sent a letter of thanks to the Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov about the distinction of Azerbaijani peacekeepers in the performance of service duties.

I want to express my deep appreciation with the high level of exemplary service of Azerbaijani peacekeepers serving at the Hamid Karzai International Airport within the framework of the NATO Resolute Support mission held in Afghanistan, the letter said.

Chol expressed his gratitude on behalf of 5,000 military servicemen and civilian personnel from 52 countries serving in the military unit at the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

The letter also noted that the Azerbaijani military servicemen, with great efforts and high vigilance and discipline, have made a huge contribution to the security, as well as to the success achieved by the Force Protection Group.

Azerbaijani peacekeepers established friendly relations with Turkish and other international representatives on the basis of personal values and a sense of great responsibility. All the Azerbaijani peacekeepers represent their country at a high level, the letter said.

The peacekeeping contingent of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces has been serving under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan since November 20, 2002.

Azerbaijan, as a reliable partner of NATO and friend of brotherly Afghanistan, is committed to continue its significant contribution to the Resolute Support Mission by providing troops, multi-modal transit, training and financial assistance.

The country has several times made substantial donations to the Afghan National Army (ANA) Trust Fund. Moreover, Azerbaijan supports Afghanistan on its path of reforms towards integrating into regional and global economy.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan allowed the NATO planes carrying non-combat loads for a mission in Afghanistan to fly through Azerbaijan's airspace and to use the country's airports. About 40 percent of all cargo destined for the NATO mission in Afghanistan pass through Baku.

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Qatar vowed to ride out the isolation imposed on it by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism.

Qatar vowed to ride out the isolation imposed on it by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism. (Picture for representation. Photo | Reuters)

By Reuters: Qatar vowed on Thursday to ride out the isolation imposed on it by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism and said it would not compromise its sovereignty over foreign policy to resolve the region's biggest diplomatic crisis in years.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with the small Gulf Arab state on Monday, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and their arch-adversary Iran - charges Qatar calls baseless.

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Several other countries later followed suit.

Would-be mediators including US President Donald Trump and Kuwait's ruling emir have struggled to ease a crisis that Qataris say has led to a blockade of their nation.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said Qatar had not yet been presented with a list of demands by countries that cut off diplomatic and transport ties, but insisted the matter be solved peacefully.

"We have been isolated because we are successful and progressive. We are a platform for peace," he told reporters in Doha in a defiant tone.

"We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy," he said, warning that the dispute threatened the stability of the region.

Saudi Arabia's closure of Qatar's only land border sparked fears of major price hikes and food shortages for its population of 2.7 million people, with long queues forming as some supermarkets began running out of stock.

With supply chains disrupted and anxiety mounting about deepening economic turbulence, banks and firms in Gulf Arab states were trying to keep business links to Qatar open and avoid a costly firesale of assets.

"We're not worried about a food shortage, we're fine. We can live forever like this, we are well prepared," Sheikh Mohammed said.

He said Iran was ready to help with securing food supplies in the emirate, an investment powerhouse and supplier of natural gas to world markets but tiny and reliant on imports.

Turkey has meanwhile brought forward a planned troop deployment to Qatar and pledged to provide food and water supplies to its Arab ally, which hosts a Turkish military base.

A senior UAE official accused Qatar of escalating the row by seeking help from Turkey and Iran.

"The request for political protection from two non-Arab countries and military protection from one of them could be a new tragic and comic chapter," UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, wrote on Twitter.

MEDIATION EFFORTS FALTER

Trump initially took sides with the Saudi-led group before apparently being nudged into a more even-handed approach when U.S. defence officials renewed praise of Doha, mindful of the major US military base hosted by Qatar that serves, in part, as a launchpad for strikes on Islamic State insurgents.

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In his second intervention in as many days, Trump urged action against terrorism in a call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Wednesday and offered help in resolving the crisis, including through a meeting at the White House.

But a Qatari official said on Thursday the emir would not be accepting the invitation.

"The emir has no plans to leave Qatar while the country is under a blockade," the official told Reuters.

The White House said Trump was continuing to talk with all partners. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was also ready to support diplomatic efforts "if desired by all parties," his spokesman said.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who has said Gulf states could resolve the dispute among themselves without outside help, travelled to Muscat on Thursday to meet his Omani counterpart.

But there have been few signs of progress as officials from Qatar and its Arab neighbours in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) pursue shuttle diplomacy.

"The feeling here is that it is going to take a while to fix. It is more about preventing things from getting worse," said one diplomat in Kuwait, whose leader was in both the UAE and Qatar on Wednesday for consultations.

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"IT IS A BLOCKADE!"

The UAE's national postal group suspended services to Qatar and the UAE aviation authority said it had closed air space for traffic to and from Doha.

The Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Authority also reimposed a ban on oil tankers linked to Qatar calling at ports in the UAE, reversing a decision to ease restrictions and potentially creating a logjam of crude cargoes.

"It is a blockade! Like that of Berlin. A declaration of war. A political, economic and social aggression," a Qatari diplomat said. "We need the world to condemn the aggressors."

Authorities tried to calm nerves on Wednesday, releasing a video showing a shop with shelves brimming with food and reassuring Qataris - the wealthiest people in the world per capita - that their quality of life would not be hit.

The International Monetary Fund said it was too early to assess the economic impact. But in a sign of the damage, Standard & Poor's downgraded Qatar's debt on Wednesday as its riyal currency fell to an 11-year low.

AL JAZEERA CAUGHT IN ROW

Qatar has backed Islamist movements but strongly denies supporting terrorism. It provides a haven to anti-Western groups like the Afghan Taliban, Palestinian Hamas and Algeria's Islamic Salvation Front but says it does not accept its neighbours' view that any group with an Islamist background is terrorist.

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Egypt on Thursday called for the United Nations Security Council to launch an investigation into accusations, denied by Qatar, that it paid a ransom of up to $1 billion to "a terrorist group active in Iraq" to release kidnapped members of its royal family.

In an interview with BBC radio, UAE Ambassador to Russia Omar Saif Ghobash said Qatar had to choose between supporting extremism or supporting its neighbours.

"Qatar needs to decide: Do you want to be in the pocket of Turkey, Iran and Islamic extremists? They need to make a decision; they can't have it both ways," he said.

The Saudi newspaper al Watan published what it called a list of eight "extremist organisations" seen as working to destabilise the region from Qatar, including Qatar's Al Jazeera news channel, that were targeted by Gulf Arab states.

State-funded Al Jazeera's acting director general, Mostefa Souag, dismissed accusations that its reportage is pro-Islamist and amounts to meddling in the affairs of other Arab states. "We don't interfere in anybody's business, we just report," he told Reuters at Al Jazeera's Doha headquarters.

A company source later said the network was combatting a large-scale cyber attack but remained operational, and Qatar's official state TV said it had shut down its website temporarily after facing hacking attempts.

Qatar said last month its state news agency had been hacked and false statements attributed to its ruler posted, helping ignite this week's rift with other Arab states.

ALSO READ | How Saudi Arabia and allies strong-armed Qatar, blindsided US

ALSO READ | Qatar delegation reaches Islamabad amid increased tensions in the region

--- ENDS ---
9 June 2017 12:59 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has left for Kazakhstan to attend the official opening ceremony of the International Specialized Exhibition Astana EXPO-2017.

The Azerbaijani entrepreneurs will also join Astana EXPO-2017 International Exposition titled Energy of the Future, scheduled for June 10 to September 10, 2017. About 100 countries and 10 international organizations will be represented at the Exhibition, the Foreign Ministrys press service reported.

EXPO-2017 reflects the preoccupation of the international community with the problem of energy consumption, which is having an increasing impact on our planet. The main objective of the exhibition is to call for responsibility, to foster a discussion and to develop knowledge enabling people to plan and control energy consumption on our planet and to minimize damage to the environment.

Two million tourists are expected to visit the exhibition, and the total number of visits will be about 5 million. It is planned that 85 percent of the total number of visitors will be citizens of Kazakhstan, and 15 percent - foreign nationals, most of which will come from the CIS countries and China. A significant number of tourists is also expected to arrive from Europe, Turkey and the United States.

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9 June 2017 13:06 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

France will remain committed to its obligations as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group on finding a negotiated, fair, and lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a congratulatory letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the Republic Day of Azerbaijan.

France along with Russia and the U.S. is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group established to broker a peace to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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 his letter, Macron also extended to President Aliyev and the entire people of Azerbaijan his congratulations on the national holiday of Azerbaijan. He noted that the numerous high-level meetings which took place in the past period, especially the visit of President Aliyev to France on March 14, 2017, was indicative of the quality and vibrancy of bilateral relations between France and Azerbaijan.

Macron hoped that France and Azerbaijan will mutually benefit from the tremendous development potential of the bilateral relations in all areas in the future.

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9 June 2017 16:31 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Sustainable Development Goals: Women and Development conference kicked off in Baku on June 9.

The event was jointly organized by the UN Office in Azerbaijan and the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development (NCCSD).

Deputy Prime-Minister, Chairman of the NCCSD Ali Ahmadov, addressing the conference, highlighted the Azerbaijani government`s measures and projects to strengthen the institution of family and protect women`s and children`s rights.

Important documents have been endorsed to ensure gender equality, fight domestic violence, develop female entrepreneurship and improve social status of women, Ahmadov added.

Women play an important role in the life of Azerbaijan, but this role should grow, stressed the deputy prime-minister.

Ahmadov said that Azerbaijan pays special attention to gender issues, adding that ensuring gender equality creates the opportunity to use the potential of women in the development of society.

The more women are engaged in public affairs, the economy and other spheres, the faster the society develops, he added.

He went on to say that according to the estimates of international organizations, 70 percent of men and 46 percent of women are involved in public activity in the world. "But two third of all works in the world are performed by women. This also includes home economy," he said.

Ahmadov stressed that more women are represented in the spheres of education and healthcare. "Almost more than 70 percent of those working in these areas are women, which are an indicator of their education. Women represent more than 30 percent in municipalities. Women are active in other spheres of society, as well" he said.

UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Ghulam Isaczai also confirmed that Azerbaijan pays special attention to gender equality.

He noted that Azerbaijani women are more active in social areas. In many countries, women are represented in parliament and other state bodies. Unfortunately, there are still some countries where women face discrimination. In Azerbaijan, however, gender equality is developing and women are becoming more actively involved in social life. In 1918, Azerbaijan became the first country in the east to grant women suffrage, the resident coordinator added.

Highlighting the field of gender equality and womens empowerment in Azerbaijan as a priority area of the United Nations, Isaczai stated that this support would further continue.

UNDP and UN will continue to work with the Government, civil society and other partners to clear away any barriers to gender equality, he mentioned.

Chairperson of the State Committee of Azerbaijan for Family, Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova said that if the proportion of women among entrepreneurs was 17 percent in Azerbaijan in 2012, this figure reached 21 percent in early 2017.

The proportion of women in the Azerbaijani parliament is 188 percent. Deputy Heads in 71 executive powers out of the 78 are female. Azerbaijan is consistently working to prevent trafficking of women and violence against children, she said.

Huseynova stressed that the Azerbaijani government pays special attention to education of children and women.

Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Bahar Muradova underscored the importance of educating the public in order to achieve sustainable development.

She said that in Azerbaijan there are no problems with gender equality from the point of view of the legislative base and traditions.

The main objective of this event was to discuss the ways to increase active women participation in the social life and to deliberate the targets and indicators related to the fifth Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality and womens empowerment, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Azerbaijan.

Such panel discussion as well as the ones previously held with academia and civil society contributed to the development of the Voluntary National Review to be presented in the United Nation High-Level Political Forum in July 2017. These discussions created an inclusive conditions for the representatives of diverse segments of society to express their opinions.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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9 June 2017 17:55 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Members of a special commission created upon the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev to study the situation in the Guba Genocide Memorial Complex in connection with soil erosion in the area, intensification of landslides and rotting of human bones remaining in the open air, visited the area on June 9.

The mass graveyard was found on April 1, 2007 during excavation works. Later, workers of the Archeology and Ethnography Institute of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences held extensive researches, which revealed that the graveyard relates to the genocide committed in 1918 by Armenians against civilians of Azerbaijan.

The Complex was opened on September 18, 2013 by the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

Led by Ali Hasanov, the assistant to the President for Public and Political Issues, the commission members inspected the complex. After that, a meeting of the commission was held in the Guba Region Executive Authority, where the commission members made their proposals.

The Genocide Memorial Complex in Guba was erected in honor of the tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis, who were brutally massacred during a genocide carried out by Armenian militaries in 1918, Hasanov said after the meeting.

He noted that the historical documents, facts and expositions being displayed in the museum provides a vivid insight into the atrocities carried out against Azerbaijani civilians by Armenian nationalists and enables to convey these facts to the international community.

Hasanov voiced regret that human skeletons exposed to open air in the burial site of the Complex are beginning to rot, adding that the soil is also eroding and landslides get more intensified.

He noted that President Ilham Aliyev gave appropriate instructions to study the current situation and to prevent undesirable processes.

Under the presidents instructions, Azerbaijans Presidential Administration head Ramiz Mehdiyev signed an order on some issues regarding the Guba Genocide Memorial Complex. Under the order, a commission comprised of relevant bodies representatives and specialists was set up, Hasanov said.

He added that the proposals made at the meeting in Guba will soon be studied, systematized and presented to the President.

The genocide of 1918 against the civilian population was conducted almost on the entire territory of Azerbaijan. More than 50,000 of Azerbaijani citizens became victims of Armenian fascism in a matter of five months.

Azerbaijanis were exposed to genocide in Baku, the Guba province, Shamakhi, Gusar, Erivan, Nakhchivan, Zangezur, Karabakh, Lankaran and many other Azerbaijani lands.

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9 June 2017 11:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The OSCE organized trainings in Turkmenistan, dedicated to the fight against drug trafficking, the organization said in a message.

Three separate practical training courses, held at the International Customs Terminal in Ashgabat, brought together officers of the State Customs Service, the State Border Service and the Ministry of Interior, the OSCE said.

The first two training courses were attended by 36 officials from Ashgabat and the regions, while the third training event was held as a train-the-trainer course for 20 attendees from the same agencies, including participants in the two previous courses.

Transnational threats, particularly those related to drug trafficking, remain a significant issue on the security agenda of the entire OSCE region, said Natalya Drozd, Head of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat. Due to its broader social and economic context, drug trafficking is also considered to be one of the most complex problems affecting the well-being of modern societies.

The agenda of the training courses featured up-to-date methods of interdicting drugs and chemical, biological and radiological substances, case studies of cross-border crime and discussions on common challenges to open and secure borders. The officials also took part in practical exercises simulating examinations of personal effects as well as of commercial trucks and personal vehicles.

The train-the-trainer course introduced participants to training aids and methods of sharing knowledge on interdicting drugs with their colleagues and subordinates, as well as planning and conducting practical exercises.

The OSCE Center in Ashgabat acknowledges the efforts of the Government of Turkmenistan in countering illicit drug and chemical precursors trafficking and we firmly believe that such training activities will contribute to achieving sustainable results, Ambassador Drozd concluded.

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9 June 2017 11:28 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

A delegation of Turkmen companies will visit Tajikistan on June 12 to establish economic cooperation, the Tajik Foreign Ministry said June 8.

The delegation will include the representatives of Turkmenistan Airlines, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and tourism companies.

According to the Tajik Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the visit is aimed at strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation between Turkmenistan and Tajikistan in the economic and trade sectors, attracting investments and finding partners.

The chamber said the Turkmen delegation will include more than 70 entrepreneurs working in banking, food, agriculture, construction, energy, trade and other sectors.

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9 June 2017 11:37 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

The political consultations between Turkmenistan and Israel were held at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Jerusalem, the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said June 8.

Turkmen and Israeli deputy foreign ministers discussed the expansion of relations in the political, trade, economic, cultural, humanitarian spheres, the opportunities of developing cooperation in industry, high technologies, water management, health care and tourism.

"Stressing the high level of political and diplomatic cooperation, Turkmen and Israeli deputy foreign ministers discussed the possibilities for further expansion of cooperation in this area, the ministry said. In this context, the role of high level visits and the Turkmen and Israeli sides commitment to further implementation of the reached agreements were stressed."

Earlier it was reported that Israel, with its rich experience in agriculture and irrigation, is ready to share its experience with Turkmenistan.

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9 June 2017 11:20 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

OSCE regional activity on environmental security is being carried out in accordance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and others, Natalya Drozd, ambassador, head of the OSCE Center in Ashgabat, said in an interview with the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper.

The priority aspects include the management of natural resources, primarily, water resources, the development of measures to reduce the risks of natural disasters and the management of hazardous domestic waste.

Among several important projects which are being implemented are joint activity as part of Environment and Security Initiative (EnvSec) and security issues in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and South Caucasus.

The OSCE promotes initiatives on water resources management and cross-border cooperation in Central Asia, Drozd said. The OSCE Center plans to intensify activity to promote principles of balanced environmental management.

"We intend to put forward an initiative to open a scientific center for sustainable development at one of the Turkmen universities," she said.

Turkmenistan joined the OSCE on January 30, 1992. A number of the OSCE international forums have been recently held in Ashgabat.

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9 June 2017 11:56 (UTC+04:00)

By Rufiz Hafizoglu

Qatari authorities need to take several concrete steps to resume the fraternal relations with certain Arab states.

Expulsion of one of the leaders of the Palestinian Hamas militant group from Qatar should be the most important step by Doha. Qatar should also stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood organization, as well as severe too close relations with Iran, because, according to a number of Arab states, it is namely Tehran that supports terrorism in the region by using Hezbollah militant group and Yemens Houthi Ansarullah movement.

It is obvious that the Arab states, which regard the Muslim Brotherhood as their main enemy, dont mind that the authorities in Doha also expel Egyptian Islamic theologian Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who is considered one of the ideological mentors of the Muslim Brotherhood, from Qatar.

It is noteworthy that back in 2014, Egypt demanded that Qatar expel Yusuf al-Qaradawi, but Doha rejected such demand of the Cairo authorities at that time.

However, a completely different situation is emerging today. Probably, the Arab states were able to agree on something for the first time, and this agreement is aimed against the Arabs themselves.

In this regard, one can state that if Qatar expels Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas and its former political bureau chief, from Doha, it is quite realistic that the neighboring countries will restore diplomatic relations with Doha.

But the question arises: which country can receive Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Khaled Meshaal in case if Qatar decides to fulfill the conditions of its neighbors?

Today, the expulsion of Khaled Meshaal is not a very difficult task for Qatar, because Meshaal is no longer head of the Hamas political bureau since the end of May this year. Ismail Haniya was elected head of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip.

That is, in case if Qatar expels Meshaal, he can safely move to Iran, just like it was before the crisis in Syria.

As for Yusuf al-Qaradawi, his resettlement to Iran is excluded, although it should be noted that even the members of the Muslim Brotherhood are Sunnis, they had close ties with Iran before the Syrian crisis.

Given this, one can say that if Qatar decides to expel Yusuf al-Qaradawi, there is significant possibility that he will nevertheless move to Turkey, since this is the most optimal choice for him.

It turns out that the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas severed relations with Hezbollah militant group and Iran namely due to the military conflict in Syria.

There is no doubt that the Qatari crisis may play the role of a catalyst for the changes in the Syrian crisis with the Free Syrian Armys joining efforts with Hezbollah and the government troops of Syria against the common enemy, the so-called Islamic State (IS aka ISIS/ISIL).

The case is that no matter what global media outlets report about Qatars supporting the IS, in fact Qatar supports only the FSA, which fights against the IS, Hezbollah and the Syrian government troops.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 June 2017 10:53 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late on Thursday ratified two deals on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie, according to the presidency.

Turkeys parliament had earlier ratified the agreements on Wednesday. The votes came just days after five Arab countries cut ties with the Gulf state, Anadolu reported.

The deal on deploying troops on Qatari soil, aimed at improving the country's armed forces and boosting military cooperation, had been signed in April in Doha.

Under the bill, the two countries armies will also be able to carry out joint exercises. The move aims to contribute to regional and world peace.

In addition, Turkish gendarmes will be able to train Qatari forces, under another deal between the two countries interior ministries in December 2015.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen cut ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.

Qatar denied the accusations, calling the move "unjustified".

The escalation came two weeks after the website of Qatars official news agency was allegedly hacked by unknown individuals who reportedly published statements attributed to the countrys emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

The incident triggered a diplomatic row between Qatar and its neighbors.

---

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Raabta starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon is the big Bollywood release today. Should you get your tickets? Here is our Raabta movie review.

By Ananya Bhattacharya: Raabta starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon is the big Bollywood release today. Is it worth a watch? Here is our Raabta movie review.

Raabta Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarbh, Varun Sharma

Raabta Director: Dinesh V i jan

Raabta Rating: (2/5)

In August 1906, England was treated to a slice of the supernatural when Alfred Noyes's now-celebrated poem The Highwayman was published in Blackwood's Magazine. The Highwayman told the tale of a highwayman, Bess 'the landlord's daughter', Tim 'the ostler' and King George's men. For more than a century now The Highwayman has held Britain, and anyone who's read it, captive with its themes of the supernatural, the vivid imagery and the story of separation and death... and love after death.

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So in 2017 when you hear of a reincarnation drama from Bollywood, you are genuinely curious as to what new can be explored there. Director Dinesh Vijan picked up an oft-displayed story, of lovers for whom death is too puny a word. Raabta is the tale of Shiv (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Saira (Kriti Sanon), who meet in this life, but kuch toh hai raabta from the last one. Enter Zack (Jim Sarbh), the villain in this happy love story. But wait. Maybe Zack himself was wronged in their last birth? Raabta traces the story of Punjabi launda Shiv who meets Hungarian-desi kudi Saira in faraway Budapest and there's an instant connection. Raabta, duh.

Vijan's story meanders through this life and that with love being at the centre of it all through. The fact that Raabta doesn't lose its core message, that of love, is one of the few redeemable factors in this film. You will have to try really hard to love Raabta the film because you feel strangely out of touch with pretty much everything after a point.

There are well-choreographed, elaborate fight sequences set some eight hundred years ago. But despite the props used in Raabta, the film can hardly save itself from sinking into an abyss of boredom. Raabta feels strangely stretched. There's no spark in the story. Despite all the efforts of showing Budapest in all its glory (you know where your next holiday is going to be), and Shiv and Saira's chemistry, Raabta falls flat on its face. Every film that deals with the fantastical post Baahubali, is not Baahubali after all.

Sushant Singh Rajput gives himself in to his role. It is a delight to see him on screen. After MS Dhoni The Untold Story, Sushant plays both his characters in Raabta with elan. Shiv and Jilan are Sushant. Kriti Sanon too blends into her roles as Saira and Saiba. But it is Jim Sarbh who is the North Star in this firmament. Sarbh is menacing. He sends shivers down your spine. Raabta, thankfully, gives enough screen-time to this fabulous actor to prove his mettle yet again. Rajkummar Rao is completely unrecognisable in his cameo. Varun Sharma carries his Fukrey's Chucha to Raabta too, with hilarious consequences at times and bland at others.

But the biggest obstacle in the path of Raabta is the story. The subject is nothing that has not been done in Indian cinema earlier. The way the story is treated takes a toll on your patience. Seeing actors like Sushant and Jim being bulldozed by this sorry excuse of a film is plain painful.

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Songs like Ik Vaari Aa and the title track (with a smouldering Deepika Padukone) are hummable.

Watch Raabta for Sushant and Jim. This a story of love through ages and lives, but Vijan is no Alfred Noyes. And Raabta is no Highwayman.

(The writer tweets as @ananya116.)

ALSO READ | Raabta plagiarism row: Sushant-Kriti's film wins case against Magadheera

ALSO READ: Excited about Raabta? Watch these reincarnation dramas first

WATCH: Raabta Movie Review

--- ENDS ---
9 June 2017 14:09 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash has criticized Qatar's decision to ask Iran and Turkey for help, accusing the country of escalating a row with its Arab neighbors and destabilizing situation in the Middle East region.

Dohas intention to turn to Tehran and Ankara followed the diplomatic rift in the Persian Gulf when its two biggest suppliers, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, cut trade and diplomatic ties with the country actually blocking it from food and water supplies.

Earlier in the day, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani said that Turkey would deploy its troops to Qatar for regional security reasons.

"The demand for political protection from two non-Arab states and military protection from one of them looks like a new tragic and comic chapter," Gargash posted on his official Twitter page.

The minister added that Qatar's behavior was "strange" as it "demands to respect country's sovereignty but looks for help abroad."

Despite the accusations and radical steps taken by Arab countries, Qatar has been repeatedly declaring its readiness for a dialogue and promised not to take any measures against its neighbors which could aggravate the uneasy situation.

Meanwhile, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani Qatar will never surrender to the pressure being applied by its Arab neighbours and won't change its independent foreign policy to resolve disputes that have put the region on edge.

"We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman told Al Jazeera.

Turkey has declared its full support to Qatar by offering food supplies and adopting a bill on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on June 8 ratified two deals on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie

Meanwhile, Pakistan also decided to send military contingent to Qatar after a similar decision was made by Turkey.

Several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing the latter of supporting ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorists and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East. They were later joined by Libya, Yemen, the Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania, with Jordan and Djibouti announcing they would lower the level of diplomatic contacts with Qatar. Senegal and Chad recalled their ambassadors from Doha.

Qatar denied allegations over its support to terrorism and extremism adding that the diplomatic rift was based on "baseless fabricated claims."

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 June 2017 12:13 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

The mutual cooperation between Uzbekistan and Pakistan is increasing with each passing day.

Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who arrived in Astana on June 8 to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), met with Pakistans Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the Uzbek presidents press service said in a message.

During the meeting, special attention was paid to the current state and prospects of relations between the two states, as well as issues of strengthening regional security, according to the message.

Uzbekistan supported Pakistans admission to the SCO as a member state, paid particular attention to this issue during its chairmanship in the organization.

At the meeting, Mirziyoyev noted that Uzbekistan will further develop the multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation with Pakistan, according to the message.

Sharif, for his part, said that Pakistan is interested in expanding the partnership with Uzbekistan in all fields, particularly economic and energy cooperation, connectivity and human resource development.

He expressed the desire to take bilateral relations to new heights based on mutually beneficial cooperation.

He said Uzbekistans impressive annual economic growth and rich energy resources, and Pakistans large industrial and agricultural base provided an ideal environment for expansion of trade and commercial cooperation between the two countries.

Uzbekistan and Pakistan support each other on the international arena. As of today, about 50 interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents have been signed in the political, trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian and other spheres. There are 55 enterprises operating in Uzbekistan, organized jointly with Pakistan.

Within the framework of the Tashkent SCO Summit in Astana scheduled for June 8-9, the procedure for admission of India and Pakistan as member states to the organization will be completed.

The SCO was established in 2001. The SCO members now are China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia and Belarus are the SCO observer-countries, while Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Nepal and Armenia are dialogue partners.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 June 2017 14:23 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Tajikistan is exporting electricity to Afghanistan on average 7 million kWh daily, Avesta reported with reference to the energy department of the republic.

The volume of electricity supplies to Afghanistan has more than doubled compared to early April 2017, when the figure was 2.6 million kWh per day.

The ministry noted that neighboring Afghanistan remains the main buyer of Tajik electricity.

Afghanistans share amounts to 6.5 million kWh per day in the total volume of daily exports. The rest is exported to Kyrgyzstan. Only in May the total volume of exports of Tajik electricity amounted to more than 105.1 million kWh.

Previously, the energy sectors of both countries (Tajikistan and Afghanistan) signed relevant documents that determine the volume of supplies and prices for exported electricity.

At present, Tajikistan's available resources make it possible to significantly increase the amount of electricity supplied to Afghanistan. However, the Afghan side, for a number of objective reasons, does not accept more electricity.

The state energy holding Barki Tojik reported that last year Tajikistan exported electricity in the amount of over 1.3 billion kWh.

The volume of electricity exports in 2016 compared to the indicator of 2015 increased by 138.3 million kWh, according to the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic,.

Last year the cost of electricity for a neighboring country stood at 4.059 cents per kWh.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 June 2017 16:06 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

The Russian Defense Ministry announced that 24 ceasefire agreements have been signed with localities in Syria over the past 24 hours, RIA Novosti reported.

"Within 24 hours, 24 agreements on accession to the cessation of hostilities have been signed," the ministry said, listing one settlement in Damascus province and localities in Idlib province.

Four rounds of negotiations on the ongoing Syrian conflict were held in the Astana, on January 23-24, February 15-16, March 14-15 and May 3-4. During the most recent round, the guarantor countries of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime  Russia, Iran, and Turkey  agreed to establish four safety zones across the country.

"The number of settlements that joined the reconciliation process reached 1,571. Negotiations on joining the ceasefire regime are continuing with armed opposition forces in the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Damascus, Hama, Homs and El Quneitra. The number of armed formations that declared their adherence to the adoption and implementation of the conditions for the cessation of hostilities has not changed - 219," the report said.

Russian observers recorded nine shooting cases within a day in the provinces of Damascus, Deraa and Hama, while Turkish observers  eight violations in provinces of Homs, Hama, Damascus and Deraa, but the situation in de-escalation zones is estimated as stable.

The civil war in Syria between government and opposition with various terrorist groups involved, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), began back in March 2011.

Syrian President Bashar Assad managed to turn the tide of war in his favor after Russia started an air campaign in September 2015, while Iran is an uncompromising supporter of the Syrian leader.

According to a report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the countrys pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 June 2017 17:02 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Astana hosted the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on June 9.

The leaders of Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in the meeting.

In his welcoming speech, Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev noted that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has received international recognition and has become an effective platform, and todays meeting is held for the last time in six-sided format.

Today we agreed to sign a decision on the completion of the procedure for admission and granting the status of a SCO member state to the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Admission of new members for us is a new impulse in the development of the organization, and it will promote growth and international prestige," Nazarbayev said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, expressed confidence that the expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will contribute to the growth of its power and influence in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres, TASS reported.

"The expansion of the SCO will undoubtedly contribute to the fact that it will become more powerful and influential in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres," he said at the summit.

The president noted that the integration of economic projects into the entire SCO space will allow uniting the potentials of large multilateral projects in Eurasia.

"As for the economic aspects, I am sure that we should focus on consolidation of efforts, coordination of national strategies and multilateral projects throughout the SCO space," he said adding that "the goal is to unite the potentials of the EurAsEC, the SCO, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Chinese initiative  One Belt, One Way."

Following the meeting, the leaders of the SCO countries approved the membership of India and Pakistan in the organization.

The heads of state also signed the Astana Declaration and adopted the SCO Convention on Countering Extremism.

In addition, a joint action plan to implement the program of cooperation of the SCO member countries in the field of tourism for 2017-2018 and a memorandum of understanding between the SCO Secretariat and the International Committee of the Red Cross were also signed.

Nazarbayev, summarizing the results of the event, the participants discussed the current state of affairs, further steps to promote comprehensive cooperation, as well as current international issues related to the activities of the SCO

I am sure that the exchange of views, the initiatives and proposals put forward will find their application, practically taking into account the interests of all our states. Such an approach will strengthen relations within the SCO framework and contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the organization's activities," Nazarbayev noted.

During the summit, the SCO chairmanship was transferred from Kazakhstan to China. China will host the next meeting of the heads of the SCO member states in the summer of 2018.

The SCO, established in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, conducts multilateral cooperation between the member states on national security, military, economy and culture.

The SCO members now are China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and newly accepted India and Pakistan.

In addition to the eight member states, the SCO has four observer nations  Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan and Belarus  and six dialogue partners, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
9 June 2017 16:22 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

The Gobustan State Historical-Artistic Reserve will mark the 50th anniversary of its establishment and 10th anniversary of its inclusion into the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.

The conference "Petroglyphs of Gobustan is at the crossroads of cultures" will be held on June 13-14 as part of the event, Trend Life reported.

The opening ceremony will be held in the Palace of Happiness at 10:00.

The conference will host a presentation of "Gobustan. New look" research carried out by reserve staff with the support of Azerbaijans Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography.

The project involves 3D modeling for the first time in the study of the monuments. New discoveries have opened new opportunities to study the links between Gobustan petroglyphs and rock carvings of Lesser Caucasus.

The conference will be followed by event co-organized by the Ministry, ANAS and Executive power of Garadagh.

Sixty km south of Baku, on an area of 537 hectares, there is one of the world's largest ancient petroglyphs collections.

Settled since the 8th millennium BC, the area contains more than 600,000 distinct paintings, going as far back as 20,000 years to as recent as 5,000 years ago.

There are approximately 6000 drawings in Gobustan  petroglyphes - stone and iron-age figures carved thousands of years ago and now considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The pictures dating back to 8 millenniums reflect different hunting scenes, ceremonial and ritual processes of the habitants of these places.

Gobustan petroglyphs were repeatedly investigated by the famous Norwegian explorer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl, who recognized local boats petroglyphs as the oldest known images of pirogue in the world.

These vessels, similar to the old Scandinavian ships, prompted him to make sensational hypothesis statement about the connection between Norwegians and Azerbaijanis.

Thor Heyerdahl concluded that the ancestors of the Scandinavians were the migrants from Azerbaijan region.

Most of the rock engravings depict primitive men, animals, battle-pieces, ritual dances, bullfights, boats with armed oarsmen, warriors with lances in their hands, camel caravans, pictures of sun and stars.

Apart from petroglyphs, there is also this musical gemstone known as Gaval Dash. It makes a tambourine-like sound when it is hit in different points.

Another interesting touristy spot is a stone slab with a Latin inscription dated by the first century. The stone lab was left here by 12th Roman legion of the Emperor Domitian, which indicates that legion had stayed here.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
''Your iron chain was poor and rusty enough as it is, and now it has several links made not even of wood, but of clay and paper.''

Published in Pravda No. 67, June 9 (May 27), 1917

If an iron chain is needed to hold a weight, say, of 100 poods, what would happen if we replaced one of its links by a wooden one?

The chain would break.

No matter how strong and intact all the other links are, if the wooden link breaks the whole chain will burst.

The same is true in politics.

The Mensheviks and Narodniks, the ministerialist gentlemen of these petty-bourgeois parties, have joined forces with Plekhanovs Yedinstvo in the elections to the District Councils.

You have only yourselves to blame, gentlemen!

Your iron chain was poor and rusty enough as it is, and now it has several links made not even of wood, but of clay and paper.

You have only yourselves to blame!

Comrades, working men and working women, soldiers, toilers, do you realise that by voting for the Narodnik-Menshevik bloc you will be voting for Plekhanovs Yedinstvo?

You will be voting for that disgraceful Yedinstvo of Plekhanovs which even the Menshevik and Socialist-Revolutionary newspapers turn away from.

You will be voting for that disgraceful Yedinstvo of Plekhanovs which, to the capitalists delight, frankly advocates war to a victorious finish.

You will be voting for that disgraceful Yedinstvo of Plekhanovs which daily whitewashes the Russian capitalists by throwing all the blame on the German capitalists and tramples on the fraternal alliance of the workers of all countries in their struggle against the capitalists of all countries.

If you stand for the working people against the capitalists, if you wish to fight for bread, peace and libertythen do not give a single vote to the bloc of the Narodniks and Mensheviks, who are trying to hide the rotten Yedinstvo in their lists!

Vote only for the Bolshevik and internationalist Social Democrats!

Source: Marxist Internet Archive
History of Newar People from the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, says that, Woman is never widowed, can divorce man by placing Areca (Betel) Nut under his pillow.

Newar or Newah (/nwr/) are community of primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman ethnicities following Hinduism and Buddhism with Nepal Bhasa as their common language.

Their rich history dates back to more than 5000 years and are mentioned in Chronology of Nepal Kings.

Genealogy of nepal kings is recorded in a chronicle called Gopalarajavamsavali.

During the region of 7th Kirati King Jitedasti, Gautama Buddha visited the Nepal Valley along with his disciples (19th century BCE).

This community had a unique tradition of getting girls married twice before she choses a man to live with.

After growing up, she can pick any man to live with and if she decides to leave him (there is no official divorce), she places Areca (Betel) nut under his pillow before he wakes up and leaves his place.

Man, when he wakes up, discovers the nut and understands that she left him for good.

He has no rights to follow her or question her decision. If they had children, woman can leave them with the man for him to raise them.

Woman had freedom to find another man of her choice and live with him.

This tradition existed for thousands of years, but now has changed.



For the first time, girls of pre-adolescent age are married to the bael fruit (wood apple), which is a symbol of the god Vishnu, ensuring that the girl becomes and remains fertile. It is believed that if the girls husband dies later in her life, she is not considered a widow because she is married to Vishnu, and so already has a husband that is believed to be still alive.

This is known as Ihi or Ehee or Bel Bibaha (Bael Marriage).

In this Ihee, girl is married to a golden statue of lord Vishnu known as Suvarna Kumar and Bel fruit is given as its witness.

As bael fruit (wood apple) has a peculiar quality of not getting rotten and remaining fresh for many days, it is sometimes considered as Dibya Purush (divine male) or incarnation of the god.

This ceremony lasts for two days. All the rituals of a Hindu marriage are performed in this ceremony.

As they are done here, these ceremonies are not necessary when the girl choses to marry a man after growing up.



A second marriage, known as the Bahra ceremony or Sun marriage, is done before a girls first menstruation, which starts with a seclusion in a dark room for twelve days.

It is called Bahra tayegu or bahra chuyegu, where in Nepal Bhasa bahra means a cave and teyegu or chuyegu mean to put, thus Bahra tayegu is the ceremony where newari girls are put in a cave for 12 days. For the first 11 days the girl is kept in darkens away from sun light and any male contact. This is done to symbolize the purification of the girl before her marriage to the sun god on the 12th day.

Final day is marked with a bhwe (a traditional party) and celebrations.

This ceremony is conducted before the first menstruation and usually done at age of either 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 years.



Bahra ceremony marks the turning of girl to a fertile woman. In newar community the girls are married thrice; first to the never decaying bael fruit, second to the eternal sun and finally to a man. Thus even in a case of untimely death of her husband the woman is never widowed preventing her from the tortures of the society.

The tradition of woman divorcing a man by leaving a betel nut under his pillow might have changed, but the concept that a Newar woman never becomes widow, still exists.

Brahma Vivaah and Gandharva Vivaah were followed by Newar people.

Compared to the regressive society of today, where only Man can divorce a woman in few communities, Newars were much more progressive and their women enjoyed equal or better status than their men.
By Suhani Singh: Director: Dinesh Vijan

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarbh, Varun Sharma

Rating: (1/5)

Meet the comet-crossed lovers - Shiv (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Saira (Kriti Sanon). He is a banker who has to tell audiences that he is one because more than mathematics he is busy working on building and having a chemistry with the chocolateir heroine who is as dull as her shop's name which is "Love is Sweet". The setting is the picturesque Budapest which gives Shiv and filmmaker Dinesh Vijan enough reasons to ensure that he is never actually in office and only out to first flirt, then woo and finally romance Saira.

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Next to no effort is made to give Saira an identity or personality. All we can deduce after over two hours is that she is single girl in Budapest who has nightmares and whose go-to state of mind is #MaineAisaKabhiFeelNahiKiyaHai. She also has a long list of adjectives for her idea of it guy. When a gypsy oracle tells Saira that she is going to have a Prince walk into her life, you are relieved for it has been agonising to watch the lovesick couple just amble and jump about and talk nonsense. Enter Jim Sarbh, playing a liquor baron named Zac, to break this overload of mush and stop the antics of the overconfident Shiv. "Ladki main lekar jaaongaa, style tu maar le," says one man to another as Saira looks on dumbly. This is the most fun, you'll have watching Raabta. Sadly Zac and Shiv don't get much time to duel it out.

There is next to nothing new that Raabta tells you about romance. Instead one gets an insipid, been-there-done-that love story about instant connection, destined lovers and how the past catches up with you. Trouble with a quick love story is that its impact can be fleeting too. The reincarnation angle which brought Vijan, also the producer, legal trouble is also the messiest part of the film. It's through events in the past Vijan and writers Siddharth-Garima have to establish why Shiv and Saira are meant for each other. But the romantic arc of Jilaal and Saiba, earlier avatars of Shiv and Saira, is so sketchily and hastily construed that it fails to make you root for the lovers. Furthermore there is no sense of rivalry or conflict built between Jilaal and Sarbh's character in this period either.

If only Siddharth-Garima had presented a more compelling story and not spent screen time to trivial conversations and showboat the male lead, who is called "lady-killer" and "crowd puller", then Raabta could have been remotely interesting. All attempts at humour fall flat.

Rajput is uninhibited but his Shiv is hard to take a liking too with his flamboyant and no-nonsense demeanour that borders on annoying. For a hero who berates the villain for being too "intense", he himself could tone it down a bit. Rajput and Sanon make for an attractive, well-styled duo, but this is not a story or a script that will make them a loveable jodi. Sarbh starts off promising, making the hero look even more of a fool, until the writers turn him into a caricature - the deranged lover who wants the girl at any cost. It doesn't help that his character is made to turn "Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si" into the creepiest song ever and scream foolish lines, which only draw derisive laughs from the audience.

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Love aaj kal, flowers, chocolates, kisses, Pritam, Deepika. Vijan lays out all his trump cards and tried-and-tested elements of his ouevre, but nothing can save Raabta.

MOVIE REVIEW: Raabta

ALSO READ: Raabta wins case against Magadheera in plagiarism row

WATCH: Raabta Movie Review

--- ENDS ---
Modified On Jun 09, 2017 04:15 PM By Raunak for Honda New Accord

The tenth-generation Accord is expected to be based on the Civics modular platform and will feature a turbocharged petrol engine for the first time!

Hondas president and CEO, Takahiro Hachigo, has announced the unveiling of all-new Accord this year at the automakers annual meeting  Honda Meeting 2017.

As the new model is scheduled to go on sale first in the US, expect the world debut to happen there as well just like the fifth-gen CR-V and the tenth-gen Civic.

The 2018 Accord was first spied testing in the US in July 2016. It is believed to be based on Hondas new lightweight modular platform, which made its debut with the current Civic. The new Civic is reportedly being evaluated for a comeback in India.

(In Picture: Honda Civic)

The fifth-generation India-bound CR-V is also based on the same platform. The 2017 CR-V received a turbocharged petrol engine from Hondas new VTEC Turbo family, that made its debut with the previous-gen Civic Type R.

The Accord nameplate is said to drop its gas-guzzling V6 petrol offerings with the tenth-generation model altogether for a 2.0-litre VTEC Turbo motor from the Civic Type-R in a lower state of tune. The 2.4-litre i-VTEC naturally aspirated petrol is likely to be continued.

Speaking of its hybrid version, the 2018 model is expected to carry forward the current Accord Hybrids drivetrain, which was thoroughly updated with the ninth-gen facelift model. The Accord re-entered India in October 2016 in this same ninth-gen facelift avatar as a hybrid-only car.

The camouflaged test mule from last year hinted that the 2018 Accord will have a fastback-like silhouette similar to the Civic, which is touted as one of the prime reasons for its global popularity (check out the image below). Honda has also announced that it will introduce a brand new design language later this year and the Accord is likely to be based on the same.

Expect the tenth-generation Accord to make its debut as early as 2019 here, since the current model made its debut last year only after a hiatus of a few years. Honda could also locally assembly the new model to make it competitive in terms of pricing like the relatively popular, locally-assembled Toyota Camry Hybrid.

Must See: Toyota Camry vs Honda Accord: Hybrid Comparison Review

Read More on : Accord AMT
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has lashed out at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for politicising the incident of Mandsaur farmers' killing by trying to visit the strife-torn town on Thursday.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has lashed out at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for politicising the incident of Mandsaur farmers' killing by trying to visit the strife-torn town on Thursday. Criticising Rahul for trying to add fuel to the fire in the volatile situation in Mandsaur, Singh said that Rahul's ultimate goal in life was to destroy the Congress party completely.

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"Rahul was trying to further incite trouble in Mandsaur by trying to go there to meet the victim farmers' families. I feel he is hellbent on finishing the Congress party completely. His final goal in life is to end the Congress and until he does that, he will not sit silently", Radha Mohan Singh said.

The Union Minister went on to criticise the Congress vice-president after a few videos that emerged on Friday showed how Congress MLAs Shakultala Khatik and Jeetu Patwari were seen instigating the mob to torch police stations and worsen the situation in Mandsaur. He demanded that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan crack down on Congress leaders who added fuel to the fire in the volatile Madhya Pradesh town.

ALL ABOUT RADHA MOHAN SINGH

"The videos of Congress leaders inciting violence in Mandsaur have emerged and the country has seen this. I urge the Madhya Pradesh government to crack down on Congress leaders, who are seen inciting trouble in Mandsaur in the video. These Congress leaders have caused a lot of damage to the state. Those leaders, who are questioning me, should now introspect", said the Union Minister.

Singh has been scathingly criticised for participating in the yoga camp of Baba Ramdev in Motihari for the last two days even as Mandsaur burnt in the aftermath of the killing of six farmers. He defended himself, saying that he was simply doing his routine work.

"Doing yoga and going to RSS shakhas is my daily routine. I was simply doing that", Radha Mohan Singh said in his defence.

Singh also declined to visit Mandsaur in the days to come, claiming that he had no intention to politicise the issue further.

"What happened in Mandsaur is unfortunate and there should be no politics on this as it will do no good either to the farmers or the country", said Radha Mohan Singh.

Also read | Flashpoint Mandsaur: AAP leaders denied entry, curfew relaxed for 8 hours

Also read | Farmer protests spread to new areas of MP; Rahul's attempt to enter Mandsaur scuttled

WATCH | Mandsaur situation still tense as 1 more farmer dies from injuries

--- ENDS ---
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Analysis: Theresa May's power ebbs away as 'hard Brexit' becomes real victim of election

First, the personalities: the inevitable who's up and who's down.

After giving in to temptation and calling a snap election purely aimed, whatever she says, at enhancing the Conservative majority in the face of promising polls that once again have been proved redundant, Theresa May has failed on her own 'strong and stable' terms. She has instead plunged the country into yet another round of further instability  a probable Tory leadership election and possible further general election  just when, as she said while looking shell-shocked in Maidenhead early this morning, the UK above all needs 'a period of stability'.

May has made it clear that she has 'no intention' of resigning when she addresses the media and the country in Downing Street this morning.

Yet power is swiftly ebbing away from her, there is talk of the DUP calling for her head as a price of a deal, and the ruthless Conservative party does not share Labour's traditional sentimentality when it comes to keeping failed leaders.

May's advisers may be urging her to stay, and it is true that she has a constitutional role to play in trying to form a government but, in time, we can expect a challenge. Conventional wisdom, so badly wrong on pretty much everything in recent years, has it that Boris Johnson is favourite to succeed May. But he has the air of a busted flush and remains relatively unpopular in the Tory parliamentary party. Instead, the little mentioned former Brexit secretary David Davis, ambitious and able, is a good outside bet.

And yet, this brings us to what is, when the dust settles, the key issue in this general election. Like other front-runners, Davis backed a hard Brexit that has been decisively rejected by the electorate. With days to go until what was scheduled to be the start of Brexit negotiations, the Tories have lost their overall majority, their mandate from the point of view of Brussels, and this has been an election in which remain voters have answered back, flocking to Labour despite Jeremy Corbyn's party trying to have a foot in both camps when it comes to leaving the EU.

Corbyn has said this morning that Brexit talks will go ahead, which surely, for better or worse, means that they will. The Labour leader holds many cards, though he will have to do more to recognise the large Remain vote he has received. Corbyn himself, of course, is strengthened, and momentum is with him. He will doubtless lead his party into the next election, even if  unlikely  that is in years rather than months.

He may even form a government if, as seems likely, the Tories implode further. This would not be a full coalition but a minority government based on an informal 'progressive alliance' with the Liberal Democrats and the SNP.

Which brings us to Scotland, a crucial factor in British politics: the nationalists have lost 21 seats and a second independence referendum now looks a long way off, the Union strengthened with gains from both Labour and the Tories north of the border.

The latter are significant in another way, which again relates to Brexit: Conservatives who have won in Scotland are  like some moderate Tories south of the border led by the re-elected Kenneth Clarke  going to be opposed to a 'hard' departure from the EU.

Apart from Corbyn, there are many losers in this general election: May, the SNP, the rightwing media and conventional wisdom.

In the short term, May may is the prime loser, having received a blow from which she cannot realistically recover.

But in the final analysis, the real victim of this general election is hard Brexit.
Christians on the Left: Corbyn's Labour has opened a major national conversation

As Christians we know that bad roots bear bad fruit. The EU referendum was an act of political calculation to steal some votes, as was the calling of this snap election. Both of them have backfired spectacularly. The British people have shown that they are not prepared blindly to follow the lead of someone who has taken their vote for granted. The fundamentally flawed thinking of 'I need your vote to strengthen my hand because I know what is best for you' was exposed for the mind control attempt that it was.

The theory was that a stronger mandate would allow a better deal to be made for Britain. But people were not fooled. As I said in an article for Christians on the Left when the election was called seven weeks ago:

What this election should be is a discussion about what 'British interests' are. We talk about them as if everyone agrees what they are. We don't. Some people think securing our borders is more important than anything else. I don't. Some people think healthy employment practices that help family life can be sacrificed at the altar of the economy. I don't. Some people think we can ignore climate change. I don't. Some people think environmental regulations are bureaucratic red tape to be slashed. I don't...

Yes I do want the best deal for Britain. But not if it means a much worse deal for the EU. Not if it means Apple and Google don't pay their taxes. Not if it means sub-Saharan countries lose out on our help and expertise. And the further danger is that we shrink the 'best deal for Britain' to mean the 'best economic deal for Britain'. We then lose sight of what would be healthy for the wellbeing of our nation in terms of family life, in terms of community cohesion, in terms of the north-south divide, in terms of our environmental impact.

These metrics may be ignored by negotiators if they are emboldened by an electorate to just get the 'best economic deal for Britain'. As Christians we believe that we are more than mere economic units. We are people made in the image of God, whose worth cannot be measured just by our contribution to GDP.

The election has shown that rather than agreeing with Theresa May's definition of our national interest, that it is up for grabs. I think in fact perhaps the discussion is only just beginning. A new generation is realising that after the shock of Brexit that they need to grapple with the big issues, to fight for the things we believe in rather than expect them to always be there by default. Many new members have joined Christians on the Left and we want to welcome even more in now to be part of this crucial conversation.

Jeremy Corbyn has defied expectations and shown that people still have an appetite for getting beyond the superficial. His honest style has connected with people who have confessed their surprise at liking what they have heard. This throws into relief the lazy caricature that folks had previously been ingesting especially from the right-wing press. The partisan coverage of this election was fairly staggering, with negative articles about Labour coming at a ratio of 9:1 compared to the Conservatives.

What is most pleasing is that Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party has re-opened up a space for discussing how we organise our economy. It should be there to serve the people, not the other way around. The election result shows that that space is only going to enlarge, as the UK and the rest of the West work to find ways to tame the wild beast that capitalism has become.

It should also be noted that Labour did it with a raft of small donations and an army of foot soldiers having real conversations rather than huge mailouts and big donors.

As Christians on the Left we were proud to be part of trying to get people beyond the tabloid headlines with our 'geek files' to help people gen up on different issues. They are still worth a read and they may even be useful for the second election of 2017. We were especially pleased that amongst others, three of our prime campaigning issues were featured strongly in the manifesto; namely the Robin Hood Tax, HMRC changes to tackle corporate tax evasion, and action on international religious liberty.

Before Labour get too triumphalistic, however, we would do well to remember two things.

First, we are still some distance behind the Conservatives  politics cannot just be about protest. You create a manifesto to put it into practice, not just feel pious about your views being better.

Second, Labour cannot be content just maximising the cosmopolitan, urban, liberal, educated vote. That will never be enough to win again, but it also ignores the history of the party, and the contribution of those who reject a narrow progressivism.

This election provided even more evidence of the 'Americanisation' of British politics  sliding towards left of centre parties holding sway in cosmopolitan urban centres, while the right take hold in rural areas. Labour cannot become Democrats-lite. We cannot surely desire the polarisation of the USA to manifest itself here.

Many members of Christians on the Left are fighting for nuance, even thought it is hard to get nuance heard in the noise of tribal social media. Many are proudly left of centre on economic issues, but 'soft right' or 'central' on social issues, enabling them to connect with a much broader swathe of voters. But more importantly than that it is a worldview that rejects a rights-based narrow individualism in favour of family, community and roots that draw on deeper, ancient wisdom. The power of Labour paying more than lip service to its faith roots was also displayed last year by the election of overtly Christian mayor Marvin Rees in Bristol and Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan in London.

This ability has been shown by our 30 MP members who were all returned save for one and our three brand new members who were elected. Ray of light Fiona Onasanya defied all expectations to win in Peterborough, as did Marsha de Cordova in Battersea. David Drew in Stroud completes a wonderful trio of believers who wear their faith on their sleeve. To see the fruit of our training and mentoring is so satisfying. Many other of our 54 candidates came very close to causing upsets. They will be back. Chris Ostrowski in Watford and Gillian Troughton in Copeland deserve special mentions.

Please pray for all of them but more importantly, get involved  because the conversation is only just beginning.

Andy Flannagan is the Director of Christians on the Left.
'Crackpot bigotry'? Anti-gay pastor Scott Lively appeals against judge's 'prejudicial' comments

Anti-gay pastor Scott Lively, who was cleared of charges related to his campaign against gays in Uganda, is filing an appeal against the language used by the federal judge in his ruling.

In March 2012, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) sued Lively for his role in what it said was the persecution of LGBT people in Uganda.

The suit charged that Lively in his multiple visits to Uganda between 2009 and 2012 had preached that homosexuality was akin to a disease and spread to children by Western sadists. Lively had been accused of 'instigating and directing' the persecution of hundreds of gay people in that country, leading to people being subject to imprisonment, physical injury and death.

Although he won a victory in court last week, the US pastor still filed an appeal against District Court Judge Michael Ponsor, who had described his views as 'pathetic'.

While ruling that the suit lacked the jurisdiction for it to proceed, Ponsor had highly critical words for Lively, whose beliefs on gay people the judge said ranged from 'the ludicrous to the abhorrent'. Ponsor said he was advancing 'crackpot bigotry'. Further, Ponsor wrote that he believed Lively violated international law by 'aiding and abetting efforts to demonise, intimidate, and injure LGBT people in Uganda'.

Lively's attorneys said in a statement that Ponsor 'improperly littered his order with a prolonged tirade against Lively, badly distorting his Christian views and activism'. Liberty Counsel, a conservative pro-Christian legal group representing Lively, argues Ponsor had no right to make such claims.

In a statement, Liberty Counsel chair Mat Staver said that Ponsor's only job was to acknowledge the facts to reach a decision for the case.

'Judge Ponsor allowed his support for the LGBT agenda to enter an opinion and make prejudicial findings laced with defamatory statements that are both illegal and unbecoming,' he said.

'The statements are so far outside the norm that we have filed an appeal to ask that these prejudicial and unnecessary statements be stricken.'
Enter stage right: The conservative Christian DUP party, new kingmakers of Westminster?

The conservative Christian grouping the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has moved centre stage in British politics this afternoon, after Theresa May called on them this morning to form some kind of informal alliance in order to form a working Tory-led majority.

Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, this afternoon held a press conference with her nine other MPs, confirming that she has spoken to May and saying: 'In the days and weeks ahead it is the union that will go to the forefront of our minds. The union is our guiding star. We may represent Northern Ireland constituencies in the House of Commons, but we are as seized of the interests of the United Kingdom as a whole as we are for Northern Ireland...The prime minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge.'

The DUP is largely made up of socially conservative, Protestant Christians who have opposed the drift towards social liberalism at Westminster over the years.

Last year, Foster said she would make 'no apology' for saying that the DUP would continue to have 'very strong Christian values'.

In Northern Ireland, same-sex marriage remains illegal after the DUP used a controversial veto mechanism to block any change to legislation, and senior figures in the party have called the issue a 'red line' for power-sharing talks at Stormont.

Meanwhile, the DUP has fought hard against an extension of abortion rights in Northern Ireland.

Perhaps for these reasons, David Cameron ruled out entering into a deal with the DUP in 2010 and during his time as prime minister. And even John Major refused to do a deal with the DUP because he did not appear to be wanting to take sides in Northern Ireland.

But now the vicar's daughter has no choice but to reach out to politicians whose views on social issues are diametrically opposed to those of many liberal Tories.

Reports in Northern Ireland this afternoon stressed that no deal has yet been done between the two parties.

Meanwhile, May was attempting to make a string of appointments this afternoon, after losing a dozen ministers.

The possibility of some ministers refusing to serve under her remains.
Evangelical Alliance calls on Christians to pray for 'divided' UK following hung parliament

The Evangelical Alliance (EA) has warned that British society is divided 'on multiple levels' in the wake of the general election that has resulted in a hung parliament, adding that it is a reminder that the positions of politicians is 'temporary'.

Dave Landrum, director of advocacy for the EA, said: 'Elections are always a chance for people to remind politicians that their position is only ever temporary and we saw that last night. Our democracy is precious, but it is also messy. This election has once again shown us how divided our society is on multiple levels.'

Landrum called for prayer and reflection on what kind of country we want. 'With uncertainty over what comes next we need to come together and pray for all involved,' he said. 'As Theresa May and the Conservative Party seek to form a government without an overall majority this is a chance for us all to reflect once more on the kind of society we want.

'Across the UK the election has produced shocks, from the SNP losing 21 seats in Scotland to wafer thin winning margins, and the DUP in Northern Ireland now possibly playing the role of kingmakers.'

Landrum said that Christians hold special responsibility for four priorities at this time of uncertainty. 'The first is to pray for peace and unity in our society,' he said. 'The second is for the Church to witness peace and unity to our society, sharing our faith in Jesus as the hope of the nations. The third is to cast a vision for what kind of society we would like to see  a common good in which love, truth, freedom and justice can flourish. And the fourth is for Christians to step up to the plate and get more involved in leading change in our society, because opting out is not an option.'

He added: 'This morning we are praying for all those elected to serve in the House of Commons following the general election, for those who are not returning to parliament, and for those who have campaigned in the election  not just candidates but volunteers and supporters.'
Iraqi Christian girl kidnapped by ISIS returns home after 3 years missing

An Iraqi Christian girl kidnapped by ISIS has been returned to her family after being missing for three years.

Christina Abada, who is nearly six years old, was reunited with her parents this morning at Ashti refugee camp, near Erbil, Iraq, according to World Watch Monitor.

She was abducted by ISIS militants three years ago, and was reportedly returned to safety by Iraqi Special Forces.

'It is a very happy moment; everybody is dancing and clapping and singing,' said one Christian woman, a witness to the reunion.

'She looks OK, quite healthy. I believe she must have been in the house of a family who took good care of her. She was even wearing gold earrings, so it must have been a wealthy family,' she added.

The woman cautioned however: 'Although everybody was very happy, it was also sad to see that Christina herself is in shock about all the people around her. Everybody is asking questions and speaking to her, but she does not say anything back, really. She also seems to be overwhelmed by the huge crowd of people welcoming her.'

Christina was taken from her family in 2014, when ISIS entered and occupied Qaraqosh, the then predominantly Christian city and home to the Abadas family.

On 22 August, militants abruptly seized Christina from her mother Ayda, and walked away, forcing Ayda back at gunpoint. Since then, Christina had not been seen again. In several interviews, the Abadas family spoke about their longing to see their child again.

Rumours had circulated about Christina's survival, but especially in the last year, many feared the worst and had lost hope.

The clip below shows Christina reunited with her family, and her mother praising God for her return.
Is inequality a deadly sin?

There are certain words that get used in the media to convey a whole set of emotions and conclusions from readers, listeners and viewers. 'Fundamentalism' (bad, scary, evil) is one of them; 'iconic' (old, famous, revered) is another; 'robust' (reliable, trustworthy, strong) yet another.

One word which gets thrown around a little too easily is 'inequality.' It's seen as an automatic 'bad thing' and something which politicians, campaigners and economists should be 'solving.' Yet, as is often the case with these words, inequality is a complex issue and not something which can be easily solved. In fact, it's worth asking, can inequality be solved, and should we even be trying?

Today, the development charity Oxfam released research covering inequality not in the developing world, but in the UK. It presented the country as being riven by the consequences of inequality: "The UK is one of the richest countries in the world, but it's a nation divided into the 'haves' and have-nots'".

The media response was predictable. Left-leaning publications used it as an opportunity to critique the government, "Oxfam calls on Theresa May to tackle rising UK inequality," headlined the Guardian. Meanwhile, the right-leaning media jumped in as well. "Oxfam's Monstrous Idiocy About Inequality In The UK," screamed Forbes, histrionically.

We need to dig into the data and also into the meaning of the word 'inequality' to get a better idea of what's going on. First, it's important to note there are different kinds of economic inequality. There's pay inequality ("the difference between people's pay"), income inequality ("all the money received from employment, investments, savings, benefits and pensions") and wealth inequality ("the total amount of assets of an individual or household").

This matters because it's possible to be asset rich, yet still struggling. Think of an older person who owns a house in London. On paper, that person is doing well  but if she can't afford to heat it, pay bills or even eat properly because her income is too low, then there is a problem.

The perfect storm comes when someone is asset poor and also has a low income. The number of people and households at risk of this situation is very large indeed. The Oxfam report points out that, "the richest 10 percent of the UK population own over half of the country's total wealth (54 percent) and the richest 1 percent own nearly a quarter (23 percent), whilst the poorest 20 percent of the population  nearly 13 million people  share just 0.8 percent of the country's wealth between them."

These statistics are a stark and shocking reminder of the division of wealth in the UK. But hasn't this always been the case? And isn't it the price we pay for living in a 'free' market economy?

The Bible is clear that we are all equal before God. Proverbs 22:2 states that, "The rich and the poor have a common bond, The Lord is the maker of them all." But does this mean we should be striving for economic inequality for all as well? There's certainly some evidence for that.

Old Testament laws relating to economic activity are a rich source of inspiration even today. Leviticus 23:22 says, "When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien." This shows how there was a minimum standard below which the poor were not to be allowed to fall. Landowners had to ensure there was food available for the dispossessed.

The Hebrew Bible goes much further than this. The sabbatical years saw servants released from duties, while the Jubilee year (every 50 years) was even more radical  with all property to be given back to the family which had owned it originally. This meant that vast inequalities couldn't build up  because property would always have to be returned. Historians debate how often the Jubilee was actually enforced, but it is clear that this law would have an effect on inequality.

Although the Jubilee year wouldn't mean complete equality (property was returned to its original family owner, rather than distributed entirely equally) the Jubilee is an important plank of Christian teaching. It shows that ultimately, everything belongs to God.

This theme is taken on into the New Testament. Jesus' teaching doesn't imply that entrepreneurship is bad  far from it  the parable of the talents suggests, among other things, that wealth creation is praiseworthy. But Jesus also upsets our idea of what equality might mean. The parable of the workers in the vineyard isn't primarily about wages but instead about grace. However, Jesus' teaching that those who work a shorter day can still expect full payment is instructive  ultimate pay equality may not always be possible.

Having said that, the evidence presented by Oxfam is damning. The richest one per cent of the UK population owns more than 20 times the wealth of the poorest fifth. Not only does this flout the principle that God values us all equally, it is also demonstrably bad for our society  the Equality Trust notes that the impacts of such an unequal society range from increased crime rates to poorer health outcomes.

The Oxfam recommendations should all find support from Christian teaching too  more representation on companies' boards, encouraging benefit claimants to undergo training and education, pay ratios of 20:1 so that the best-paid person at a company can earn no more than 20 times the salary of the lowest-paid worker and tackling corporate tax avoidance all make a lot of sense.

Ultimately, perfect economic equality is difficult to achieve. Given the inherent dignity of every human made in the image of God, we should strive for a level of economic equality which ensures individuals have the chance to thrive, protects children against poverty and mitigates against the atomised and divided society that too much inequality produces. Oxfam's initiative is to be welcomed. The Church should be encouraging government, business and civil society to act to reduce the gross inequality we now suffer from.

Follow Andy Walton on Twitter @waltonandy
May on the ropes as election crushes Tory hopes

Prime Minister Theresa May was fighting to hold on to her job on Friday as British voters dealt her a punishing blow, denying her the stronger mandate she had sought to conduct Brexit talks and instead weakening her party's grip on power.

With no clear winner emerging from Thursday's parliamentary election, a wounded May signalled she would fight on, despite losing her majority in the House of Commons. Her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn said she should step down.

With 643 out of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 313 seats and were therefore no longer able to reach the 326-mark they would need to command a parliamentary majority. Labour had won 260 seats.

With talks of unprecedented complexity on Britain's departure from the European Union due to start in just 10 days' time, it was unclear who would form the next government and what the fundamental direction of Brexit would be.

'At this time, more than anything else this country needs a period of stability,' a grim-faced May said after winning her own parliamentary seat of Maidenhead, near London.

'If...the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do.'

After winning his own seat in north London, Corbyn said May's attempt to win a bigger mandate had backfired.

'The mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence,' he said.

'I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country.'

From the EU's perspective, the upset in London meant a possible delay in the start of the talks and an increased risk that negotiations would fail.

'We need a government that can act,' EU Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. 'With a weak negotiating partner, there's a danger that the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides.'

Conservative member of parliament Anna Soubry was the first in the party to disavow May in public, calling on the prime minister to 'consider her position'.

'I'm afraid we ran a pretty dreadful campaign,' Soubry said.

May had unexpectedly called the snap election seven weeks ago, even though no vote was due until 2020. At that point, polls predicted she would massively increase the slim majority she had inherited from predecessor David Cameron.

Instead, she risks an ignominious exit after just 11 months at Number 10 Downing Street, which would be the shortest tenure of any prime minister for almost a century.

'May is toast'

'Whatever happens, Theresa May is toast,' said Nigel Farage, former leader of the anti-EU party UKIP.

Sterling fell by more than two cents against the US dollar, hitting an eight-week low of $1.2690, but by 0609 it had recovered to $1.2721.

'A hung parliament is the worst outcome from a markets perspective as it creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations and chips away at what is already a short timeline to secure a deal for Britain,' said Craig Erlam, an analyst with brokerage Oanda in London.

May had spent the campaign denouncing Corbyn as the weak leader of a spendthrift party that would crash Britain's economy and flounder in Brexit talks, while she would provide 'strong and stable leadership' to clinch a good deal for Britain.

But her campaign unravelled after a major policy U-turn on care for the elderly, while Corbyn's old-school socialist platform and more impassioned campaigning style won wider support than anyone had foreseen.

In the late stages of the campaign, Britain was hit by two Islamist militant attacks in less than two weeks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London, temporarily shifting the focus onto security issues.

That did not help May, who in her previous role as interior minister for six years had overseen cuts in the number of police officers. She sought to deflect pressure on Corbyn, arguing that he had a weak record on security matters, but that did not stop questions about her own ministerial decisions.

With the smaller parties more closely aligned with Labour than with the Conservatives, the prospect of Corbyn becoming prime minister no longer seems fanciful.

That would make the course of Brexit even harder to predict. During his three decades on Labour's leftist fringe, Corbyn consistently opposed European integration and denounced the EU as a corporate, capitalist body.

As party leader, Corbyn unenthusiastically campaigned for Britain to remain in the bloc, but has said that Labour would deliver Brexit if in power, albeit with very different priorities from those stated by May.

'What tonight is about is the rejection of Theresa May's version of extreme Brexit,' said Keir Starmer, Labour's policy chief on Brexit, saying his party wanted to retain the benefits of the European single market and customs union.

On a nerve-racking night for the Conservatives, interior minister Amber Rudd held on to her seat by a whisker, while several junior ministers were swept away. In one of many striking moments, the party lost the seat of Canterbury for the first time in a century.

The Conservatives could potentially turn for support to Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a natural ally, projected to win 10 seats.

But Labour had potential allies too, not least the Scottish National Party (SNP) who suffered major setbacks but still won a majority of Scottish seats.

The pro-EU, centre-left Liberal Democrats were having a mixed night. Their former leader, Nick Clegg, who was deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, lost his seat. But former business minister Vince Cable won his back, and party leader Tim Farron held on.

In domestic policy, Labour proposes raising taxes for the richest five per cent of Britons, scrapping university tuition fees, investing 250 billion in infrastructure plans and re-nationalising the railways and postal service.

Analysis suggested that Labour had benefited from a strong turnout among young voters. UKIP saw a collapse in its support, shedding votes evenly to the two major parties instead of overwhelmingly to the Conservatives, as pundits had expected.

'UKIP voters wanted Brexit but they also want change,' Farage said.

'They are fundamentally anti-establishment in their attitudes and the vicar's daughter (May) is very pro-establishment. And I think she came across in the campaign as not only as wooden and robotic but actually pretty insincere.'

In Scotland, the pro-independence SNP were in retreat despite winning most seats. Having won all but three of Scotland's 59 seats in the British parliament in 2015, their share of the vote fell sharply and they lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

The campaign had played out differently in Scotland than elsewhere, the main faultline being the SNP's drive for a second referendum on independence from Britain, having lost a previous plebiscite in 2014.

SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it had been a disappointing night for her party, while Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said Sturgeon should take the prospect of a new independence referendum off the table.
The head of BJP's Kisan Morcha wrote to the Centre as well as the states about innovative ways to relieve farmers' stress.

Congress workers burning effigy of MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan over Rahul Gandhias detention on his way to Mandsaura the epicentre of violent farmersa protests on Thursday. (PTI Photo)

By Siddhartha Rai: While high drama ensued through the day as Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi tried to enter Madhya Pradesh (MP), the head of BJP's Kisan Morcha wrote to the Centre as well as the states about innovative ways to relieve farmers' stress. He also suggested that farm loans be waived in MP.

Lok Sabha MP and peasant leader Virendra Singh 'Mast' told Mail Today that while violence had no place in a democracy and invariably led to distraction away from real issues, farmers of the country had the right to wage peaceful movements based on Gandhi's philosophy of 'satyagraha' (asking for rights with non-violence).

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"I have written to the Prime Minister and the chief ministers of the states, including Shivraj Singh Chouhan of MP, that we need to find out newer avenues for the consumption of the farmers' produce. An example is Uttar Pradesh where the Yogi government acted on a suggestion of mine and now farmers are happy. I had suggested that potato be included in the mid-day meal scheme. The government declared that it would buy one lakh ton of potato from farmers and now the latter are a happy lot," said Singh.

THE LETTER

In the letter, which is with Mail Today, Singh has suggested such ways. "If we are able to ensure the consumption of the produce of the farmers, the converse effect is the lessening of the possibility of loss and also ensures a way to give the farmers the right price for their produce."

"Farmers' produce can be consumed in the so many canteens across India. The police and army canteens are another avenue where consumption can be guaranteed.

Farmers can be connected to the anganvaadis for selling their products," Singh said.

He cited that much of the produce that did not have a long shelf life such as fruits and vegetables could be channelised along these routes of sale and the farmers' distress could be ended.

SINGH LAMBASTS RAHUL GANDHI

Meanwhile, Singh also lambasted Gandhi for creating a media spectacle in the day. "It is being peddled that only he was stopped from going to Mandsaur. But, I too was told not to come.

The BJP chief of MP also was stopped from going," Singh said.

In yet another attack at Gandhi, UP health minister Sidharth Nath Singh said the Rahul was hungry for publicity and was in a habit of "political tourism".

On the other hand, anti-riot paramilitary forces moved into violence-hit areas of Mandsaur, but the situation appeared to be improving. Curfew, imposed on Wednesday after violence, was relaxed for two hours from 4 pm.

The police, however, said some areas were still tense.

In Naya Gaon Rahul Gandhi was detained by police when the opposition leaders tried to make their way from the Rajasthan border to Mandsaur, the ground zero of the farmer protests. Gandhi was released after over four hours of detention in the guest house of a cement company.

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Also Read:

Rahul Gandhi released after bail, meets kin of farmers killed by police at MP-Rajasthan border

How can you stop me? Rahul Gandhi pushes cop as he tries to enter violence-hit Mandsaur on a bike

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How can you stop me? Rahul Gandhi dares cops as he tries to enter violence-hit Mandsaur

--- ENDS ---
Surging tax revenues and the continued peace dividend from 20 years of vigorous Broken Windows policing have given Bill de Blasio a relatively easy first term in the mayors office. With plenty of money to spend on pet projects like free lunch for middle-schoolers, training to help people diagnose if their neighbors are depressed, and massive expansion of the municipal payroll, the mayor has not had to face the pain of real budgeting, which involves triage and painful cuts. Continued low crime keeps New York humming peaceably.

With few major crises afflicting the city, Mayor de Blasio has avoided public scrutiny of his skewed judgement and oddly tone-deaf political decisions. Repeatedly throughout his term, the mayor has made bizarre missteps that betray a kind of myopic hubris, and an impervious density to public sentiment more stubborn than principled.

For example, when council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito arranged for Puerto Rican separatist and convicted seditionist Oscar Lopez Rivera to be honored as the National Freedom Hero of the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade, de Blasio committed himself to supporting the choice after questions were raised about its appropriateness. Asked on May 17 about his plans to march in the parade, the mayor explained, all things considered, I understand why so many Puerto Ricansthats almost 700,000 people in this cityrespect that he fought for Puerto Rico in their eyes. I dont agree with the way he did it. But he did serve his time. He was pardoned appropriately. Lopez Rivera was not pardoned, of coursehe stands convicted of his crimesbut the mayor nevertheless sounded content to march in his honor.

On May 25, asked again why he would march to support a terrorist who had attacked New York City, the mayor responded, I believe he renounced terrorism. He was part of an organization that obviously did employ violence. He was not involved directly in that violence. He has renounced violence. Two presidents of the United States came to the conclusion that he was worthy of commutation of his sentencethats fine, thats all I need to know. Of course, it is meaningless to say that someone who has not committed violence has renounced violence: renunciation entails prior commitment. And de Blasio doubled the absurdity of his statement by praising Lopez Rivera for being found worthy of commutation by two presidents, as though commutation is a prize of merit, rather than an extension of mercy.

On June 1, after all major corporate sponsors, the media, many elected officials, and his own police commissioner had turned against the parade, and Oscar Lopez Rivera agreed to forgo the title of National Freedom Hero, the mayor said that the parade has always been about Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans, not any one participant. It is a celebration of a culture and community at the center of what makes New York City great. He retrofit his position on the parade to focus on the plight of Puerto Rico, which has been overshadowed by needless controversy.

Finally, on June 6, Mayor de Blasio announced that he had opposed honoring Lopez Rivera all alongand that he helped get the honor rescinded. Im very happy that Mr. Lopez Rivera has declined the honor. I dont think it should have been offered to him, said de Blasio, who explained that he had been diplomatic about not expressing his true feelings. I just made very clear that what was happening was not right, it wasnt working in any sense. I didnt think it was a smart idea to begin with.

In the case of Lopez Rivera, de Blasio was able eventually to register that he was heading in the wrong direction, swallow his pride, and change course. Its hard to believe that a seasoned professional politician, who surrounds himself with consultants and advisors so completely that he argues that his communications with them should be privileged, would not have understood that association with a convicted terrorist is toxic to political ambition. But de Blasio has shown odd errors of judgement before, as with his 2013 campaign vow to ban horse carriages from Central Park. Once it became clear that the horse carriage industry was supported by the media, the powerful midtown hotel industry, labor unions, and the public at large, it would have been easy for the mayor to step away from the fight and demonstrate that he was not beholden to a few donors who were fixated on the issue. Instead, the mayor forged ahead, even devising a scheme to give the carriage-owners prime Central Park land upon which the city would spend millions to build modern stables. Fortunately, this plan fizzled.

During the 2016 battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, de Blasio tried to position himself as a national kingmaker, refusing to endorse his former boss Hillary Clinton, saying that he needed time to familiarize himself with her positions. The mayor tried to organize a bipartisan panel on inequality in Iowa, in which the candidates would line up to present their progressive credentials for his inspection: everyone declined. Not invited to stump for Clinton in the Hawkeye State, de Blasio and his wife campaigned door to door on her behalf. Photos showed the couple walking wintry Des Moines streets clutching Clinton palm cards. As punishment for his tardy endorsement, de Blasio was given the worst speaking slot at the Democratic conventionlate afternoonfollowing the macabre in memoriam video of deceased Democrats.

Recently, the mayor has been asked to defend his strange practice of going most mornings to his old neighborhood of Park Slope to ride a stationary bike at the local YMCA, after which he likes to get a pastry and coffee at a favorite cafe. This morning ritual, which takes place around 10 a.m., requires a caravan of SUVs to accompany the mayor. Asked about the efficiency of this daily trip, when Gracie Mansion has adequate space for gym equipment, de Blasio, who has harped on climate change regularly and pushed aggressive Green initiatives, dismissed these objections as emotional appeals and bait. He explains that the issue is not cheap symbolism here, and also says that he never rides the subway because in the end people wanna make sure that Im getting things done for them all the time and so thats the first imperative here . . . the number one thing I owe the people is good use of my time.

The accusation of cheap symbolism rings hollow from a mayor who staged a recreation of the 1986 Mets World Series victory celebration at City Hall so that Doc Gooden could participate, at long last (he had missed the original event because he was high on drugs). Mayor de Blasio lives inside a cozy bubble of his own ego, where his odd idees fixes carry their own justifications. As long as New York City avoids fiscal or social crises, the mayor can float merrily along.

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
National Aids Trust, Aspire and FareShare were among the winners at last nights 18th annual Charity Awards.

Ten organisations were honoured with awards in ten categories covering all types of charitable activity in the UK, with The Clink Charity, winner of the education and training category, being chosen as the Overall Winner on the night.

The winners accepted their prizes before an audience of voluntary sector leaders, frontline charity works and celebrities at a ceremony hosted by TV journalist and BBC Breakfast host Louise Minchin in the Pavilion at the Tower of London.

The winners:

National Aids Trust won the campaigning and advocacy category for successfully campaigning the NHS England to commit to a three-year clinical trial of HIV prevention drug PrEP on the NHS for up to 10,000 at-risk people.

Create won the arts, culture and heritage category for its creative:connection programme, which gives disabled young people across the UK access to a tailored creative arts programme, as well as giving them access to mentoring and friendship-making opportunities.

The Lullaby Trust won the children and youth category for its work helping young families with parents under the age of 20 to prevent cot death, and overall infant mortality amongst infants.

Aspire won the disability category for establishing InstructAbility, which provides free, accessible training to unemployed, disabled people to help them pursue careers as fitness professionals and to exercise themselves.

Prospect Hospice won the healthcare and medical research category for its joint initiative with Swindon Clinical Commissioning Group to improve end of life support in care homes in the local area.

The Clink Charity won the education and training category for its vocational scheme which prepares prisoners for life after incarceration by giving them hands-on experience in prison restaurants, as well as helping them gain City & Guilds qualifications in food preparation, service and hygiene. For this work, the Clink Charity also won the Overall Award for Excellence.

The East End Community Foundation won the grantmaking and funding category for establishing a fund which helps unemployed people living in Londons East End. Bringing together multiple donors over many years, the fund secured 110,500 in 2016/16 and distributed it on to five different employment projects.

FareShare won the environment and conservation category for its work redistributing wasted food to those who need it. In 2016, FareShare doubled the number of community groups it supports through its network of producers and provided a record 25.8 million meals to the charity sector, and rolled out its FareShare FoodCloud app which it trialled with Tesco.

Pump Aid won the international aid and development category for its training programme in Malawi. The charity trained 25 entrepreneurs and provided them with equipment and marketing material to help set up small businesses distributing working water pumps to local communities. As a result, the total gave over 20,000 people access to safe drinking water.

Smart Works won the social care, advice and support category for its programme helping over 3,000 formerly unemployed women back into work. The charity worked alongside the prison and care services, homeless shelters and refuges to help women by growing their interview skills and providing them with professional clothes to boost their confidence.

Find out about all of the winning projects here.
Charity sector leaders responded to the election result, which has seen the Conservatives become the largest party in a hung parliament, by reminding the next government to listen to the sector and urging charities to look at ways they could influence the next government.

NCVO: Wilson was instrumental in fundraising changes

In a blog on NCVOs website, Sir Stuart Etherington said Rob Wilson, who lost his Reading East seat in the election, was instrumental in helping to achieve a sensible solution to the problems in fundraising that came to the fore in 2015. Through this, I believe his legacy will include helping to strengthen trust in charities.

He said he hoped we can continue his work with the next government, to make sure the expertise of charities, and smaller charities in particular, can be called on to strengthen our public services.

Etherington also said that: The work of the many charities which have used the election as an opportunity to raise the profile of their issues. We are among those who have concerns about the Lobbying Act and we will continue to push for the new government to implement the Lord Hodgson reform proposals. But as many strong campaigns from charities showed, it neednt be a barrier to making your voice heard.

Acevo: We have an opportunity to shape the future

Vicky Browning, chief executive of Acevo, said: Our politicians are facing some very hard decisions. But this election has shown that all groups of society are engaged, want to have a stake in our future and need to be considered.

Civil society is one of the key ways people engage with creating change. And civil society leaders now have an opportunity to help shape the future of our country. Charities should not shy away from speaking out as a new government forms.

When this election was called ACEVO asked all parties to commit to public services that consider social, as well as economic value, for significant reform of the Lobbying Act and for meaningful engagement with charities as we exit the European Union.

We stand by these requests. But, at present and above all, we call on all our leaders to remember the value of inclusion.

On the departure of Rob Wilson she added: We would like to thank Rob for all his important and diligent work as minister for civil society over the past three years. He has overseen a difficult period for charities, and his efforts to promote and support the sector have been appreciated. We wish Rob well with whatever he does in the future.

Once a new government is established, it should look to fill this brief as soon as possible. Charities and social enterprises are the backbone of our society and ought not to be left long without representation at the highest level of government. We look forward to working with the new minister for civil society once appointed.



CFG: We need a new vision for charity sector as a key partner

Caron Bradshaw, chief executive, Charity Finance Group said: If the recent past has taught us anything it is to expect the unexpected. It is important that all parties act responsibly and try to create a stable government to deal with the significant challenges that lay ahead.

None of the parties had a particularly compelling offer that focussed on charities. It is important in the wake of this result that all sides go back to the drawing board to develop a big, bold, positive vision for the country that has the charity sector as a key partner.

To charities we say: dont be paralysed by this result. A hung parliament will create uncertainty, but that is our prompt to step up and provide proposals to government. We know that charities will continue to be asked to meet the needs of our society and we should be bold in putting forward policies that break down the barriers to us being as effective as possible.

It is clear that there was a huge turnout of young people in this election. We know that young people are more interested in seeing social change and if politicians want to build bridges with this part of the electorate and meet their expectations, they need to back the charity sector and our work.

IoF: The next government should help small charities with fundraising

Peter Lewis, chief executive of The Institute of Fundraising, said: The British public know they can always rely on civil society at times of political turbulence, and fundraisers will continue to raise vital money to support its work.

It will take time before the shape of a new government becomes clear, but when it does, we believe that strengthening and supporting charity fundraising, especially smaller charities and support for legacy giving, should be at the heart of their approach to partnership with charities around the UK.

CAF: Charities have greater support than politicians

John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said: This astonishing election result shows how divided our country is on a huge range of issues. What is good is these tumultuous times have inspired more people to get involved in politics. More people are turning out to vote, and we know from our own research that more people are becoming engaged in campaigns and issues.

In such uncertain times, politicians and all of us should remember the huge forces that hold us together. Political parties should do what we in charities would do: bring people together and find ways to work together on behalf of the people they represent and everyone in our society.

It is worth remembering that charities continue to enjoy greater support than any political party. Its charities that are strong and stable, working for the many not the few. The MPs and ministers reeling from last nights results should remember that, and listen. Elections might be brutal, but whatever happens to politicians, charities still remain relevant the morning after.

On Rob Wilson losing his seat he added: I would also like to thank Rob Wilson for his hard work as minister for civil society. Robs commitment to the National Citizen Service has helped to create opportunities for thousands of young people to experience social action, and his support for the #givingtuesday campaign has helped it become established as the biggest international day of giving. We wish him and his family all the best for the future, and look forward to continuing our positive working relationship with his successor.

NPC: Charities need to harness the enthusiasm of young people

Patrick Murray, head of policy and external affairs at NPC, said: The British people have spoken and yet again the only certainty is uncertainty. The public's mood remains volatile, and one of the stories of the election appears to be mobilised young people demanding change in their communities. Charities will need to think through what this means for them, and how they can harness this enthusiasm.

A hung parliament means charities will have to see how events unfold over the next few days. But we do know that the sector will be dealing with new ministers after Rob Wilson and others across government lost their seats. We will also likely see a government that needs to reach out and build a broader base of support for its policies. The sector should face these challenges head on. As the next days, weeks and months progress, charities need to be bold and ensure their voices are heard in order to productively shape what comes next."

Small Charities Coalition: Its time to speak up

John Barrett, chief executive of SCC, said: Small charities are the lifeblood of our communities and we need to ensure that they are heard and responded to. Whilst the election result has increased political uncertainty, it is also an opportunity. This is a time for organisations speak up about the big issues they face and their vision for a better future.



"We encourage small charities to make contact with elected members, whether arranging a meeting or visit with their local MP or engaging with political parties as this new government is formed. We also encourage all MPs to engage with these admirable organisations.



"At Small Charities Coalition, we will continue to champion small charities voices, and the value of the voluntary sector, to ensure the systems they operate in let them get on with their vital work.

DSC: 'Government needs a strong voluntary sector'

Jay Kennedy, director of policy and research, said: "We could wind up with a minority government, a coalition government, or even another election! Whatever the outcome, its obviously vital that the country has a functioning national government that can tackle some big issues like social care, security, social cohesion, health, and of course Brexit  none of which can be effectively addressed without a strong and supported voluntary sector.



"Its vital that whatever government we eventually get looks to charities and wider civil society for answers. It needs to be a listening, engaging government. Such massive challenges simply cant be overcome with a government knows best approach. How quickly  and indeed whether  the charities minister post is replaced, and by whom, will signal how serious they are about doing this."


Lynne Berry has spent a lifetime as a leader in the charity sector, not just as a chief executive but as a campaigner and trustee. David Ainsworth met her.

Lynne Berry has held top jobs at quite a few of the sectors most recognised organisations. Most notably, she led the Charity Commission and Womens Royal Voluntary Service.

But Berrys most exceptional contribution to the sector is perhaps outside the workplace, in her formidable non-executive CV. She is the chair of the newly-formed Breast Cancer Now, vicechair of the Canal and River Trust, chair of the Commission of the Voluntary Sector and Ageing, a fellow at Lucy Cavendish College in Cambridge, an honorary fellow at Cardiff University, a professor at Cass Business School in London, and trustee of four other charities.

Berry describes herself as still a community worker at heart and says she has tried to contribute not just through her day job, but as a volunteer, an activist, a campaigner and of course as a trustee. She believes that movements and communities, not big organisations, are the real heart of the sector.

Charities, she says, must be inclusive and must speak out for the voiceless. They must do more to demonstrate and prove that they are effective, and that they continue to deserve public trust. Berry has always been involved in the sector, since fundraising as a child. The themes have stayed the same, she says. Social justice, inequality, and people who dont have a voice.

She qualified as a social worker, and worked in Wandsworth, then became a community worker in Camden. After work in academia and the civil service, her first chief executive job was at the Family Welfare Association, now known as Family Action.

I discovered a cash crisis and a leadership vacuum, she says. My time there was spent trying to find a focus for an organisation which had lost its way, but also lost its money. The approach quickly changed. I thought any sector that could change so rapidly had real energy and commitment.

Berry became involved in NCVO as a trustee, and worked on the Deakin Report, which drove thinking about the sector for many years.

For me, the thing that I found really attractive was the idea that our voices together were much bigger than any one organisation, she says. We had a powerful voice and we could speak together. We could challenge others and move the centre of power.

From there she moved to the Charity Commission, where she says she tried to shift the focus from a technical assessment of charity law to the broader one of public trust and confidence.

Berry worries about the Commission today. Its very underfunded, she says. People expect it to have the resources of a big economic regulator. It has the burden of phenomenal expectations, but less than phenomenal funding. Its a difficult sector to regulate. Everybody wants the Commission to come down hard and prevent wrongdoing, but this is a very independent sector. It needs space to operate.

The idea is to change the world

Since leaving the regulator, Berry has spent much of the rest of her time in campaigning roles, both inside and outside the sector, and she is keen for the sector to continue to advocate. I feel very optimistic about social activism, she says. Technology means our voices can be stronger.

The idea isnt to interpret the world. The idea is to change it. Before Shelter brought homelessness to peoples attention, for example, no one thought it was a big issue. Charities have a role in identifying social problems and putting them on the agenda.

As leader of the Equal Opportunities Commission she campaigned for the rights of women to equal pay.

What I learned was that you have to focus on the people who can make the difference, she says. In that case, it was business owners. Unless we could find leaders among employers, it wasnt going to make a difference.

In her next job at the General Social Care Council, she fought to have social care workers have the same recognition as healthcare workers  a battle which is still going on, a decade later.

And in her final full-time role as chief executive of WRVS, she spent her time seeking recognition for older people.

I got really cross with the ageism which says that older people dont make a social or an economic contribution, she says. Older people just werent getting taken seriously for the fundamental contribution they made.

The voluntary sector, she says, is as ageist as anyone else.

One of the most important things Ive done is the Commission on the Voluntary Sector and Ageing, she says. At WRVS I heard a lot about little old ladies but these were actually incredibly skilled people who were keeping the country and community functioning. The sector depends on the volunteering of the old.

The sector is focused on getting more young volunteers. Well, what about old volunteers? Dont assume the next generation is going to be as understanding at this one has been. She also questions the focus on reducing the age of charity boards.

Whats wrong with having a board of people in their 60s and 70s? They want to contribute. They have fundamental skill and expertise built up over a lifetime. And they have the time. Its much more important to have diversity of views and backgrounds than of ages.

Berry herself is emblematic of the volunteering generation. Since leaving WRVS, she has gone portfolio, with a bewildering array of trusteeships, memberships and academic posts.

One of her key themes is encouraging cross-sector collaboration.

You cant get things done by just prodding from the outside, she says.

You need to convince those with the real power that they need to make those changes happen. Thats whats happened at the Canal and River Trust  this extraordinary transfer of public assets into the voluntary sector.

Its shown the strength of the sector. As a charity it can grow profile and engage volunteers. Its far more effective now.

Her highest profile role, though, is at Breast Cancer Now, formed by the recent merger of Breast Cancer Campaign and Breakthrough Breast Cancer. She is sure the merger will be judged a success.

Some of the pink fog is already beginning to dissipate, she says.

Some things work and some dont

One of Berrys key messages to the sector is that it has to prove it is making a difference. Here she believes the focus of charity law is in the wrong place. While there are careful prescriptions for how charities must report the flow of money, there are few rules about how they must communicate their social impact  only boilerplate public benefit statements.

Its odd that there is nothing in law to require charities to demonstrate their impact, she says.

Berry is involved in the charity Pro Bono Economics, which offers free professional advice to charities to improve their impact and effectiveness and is developing reporting standards to help charities assess their work.

Some things work and some things dont, she says. You need to know which is which. What is worth continuing your investment in?

Dont always look to the state

So what has been the biggest change in charity since Berry began her career?

A sense of confidence, she says. Charity believes in itself. And when I started, there wasnt the same sense of a sector, just individual organisations.

But I think the sector has too often looked to the state for the solution. Too often weve wanted to identify the problem and ask government to fix it. We should be trying to solve things ourselves. We can do things government cant do. We can tap into peoples knowledge and expertise and skill. We should stop complaining and try to sort it out ourselves.

Also, weve been so focused on the state weve neglected other parts of society. We have other hearts and minds to win.

Could we be better?

Berry is keen to make the sector stronger.

Things are good in the world of charity, she says. Despite the recent issues with public trust, most peoples experience of charity is positive most of the time. The sector does some things incredibly well. But my question is, could we be better?

Charities, she feels, arent engaging as well as they could with the public.

Its about movements, not organisations, she says. Its about civil society, not charity.

We need a society in which people can contribute, in which they feel empowered and engaged, in which they feel they have a voice. There are an awful lot of people who just feel ignored. If wed succeeded in building a strong civil society, people in the UK wouldnt feel so marginalised.

I would like to see the sector do more about making sure that people have a voice. I would like charity to be less issue-based, and more about capacity-building.

At root, however, she remains proud of her sector, and her career in it. It makes me incredibly proud to win this award, she says. Because this is a sector Ive put my heart and life and energy into, and I hope Ive made a difference. I feel very proud thats been recognised and it sets me up to do even more.
Lynne Berry, chair of Breast Cancer Now and former chief executive of the Royal Voluntary Service, has won the Daniel Phelan Award for Outstanding Achievement at the Charity Awards.

The award recognises an individual who has contributed throughout their life to the sector, not just in their working life but by volunteering and making a contribution to the thinking of the sector. The award is given out by Civil Society Media in honour of its founder, Daniel Phelan.

Berry received the award last night from John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, the overall partner of the awards, at the Pavilion at the Tower of London.

In addition to her role as chief executive of the RVS, which was the Womens Royal Voluntary Service when she led it, Berry has also held several other leadership roles, including executive director of the Charity Commission. But she was given the award largely for her outstanding non-executive CV, which in addition to the role at Breast Cancer Now currently includes five other trustee positions and three academic positions.

Berry has been a proponent of doing more to measure effectiveness in the sector, and has also spoken out strongly to say that charities must focus much more on growing civil society, on campaigning, and on building the confidence and voice of those marginalised by society.

Im extraordinarily proud to have been honoured with this award, Berry said last night. I hope its a recognition of having succeeded, with many others, in giving voice to issues I care about deeply. Issues such as equality, social cohesion and building a just society.

Im glad too as its a recognition that there are many ways to contribute to civil society - not only as a chief executive of some fairly important organisations, but also as a volunteer, an activist, a campaigner and of course as a trustee.

Berry spoke about the power of charity to hold society together.

Civil society offers the opportunity to connect  to bring together the most unlikely partners to create something extraordinary, she said. It gives us the chance to use our expertise in creating networks, in building common purpose between different groups and different interests, in understanding other views, so that we can bridge the profound chasms in our society.

But she also issued a challenge to charities to do more, and do better.

Civil society has a privileged vantage point, she said. Our engagement with everything from education to opera, from the environment to health, from the consequences of the global refugee crisis, to the need for employment in small, forgotten communities, gives us an unrivalled access to whats working, and whats not working, in society and the economy.

We know stuff, and, as long as we have the evidence, as long as we know the difference we want to make and chose to do what really works, and stop wasting time and resources on things that dont  we have the most important opportunity there is: the chance to speak up and speak out. Speak, as they say, truth to power.

And the challenge I want to leave you with is that we also need to speak truth to ourselves. We cant expect standards of others that we dont meet ourselves. We need to be more accountable; we need to be more transparent. These standards really do apply as much to us as to those we find it easy to criticise.

If social cohesion matters, we need to be sure that we are not guilty of excluding swathes of society from our organisations. If empowerment and social justice are fundamental to our world vision, that may mean we need to give up power, or at least share it. If we want others to be accountable for their actions, we too must be accountable for ours.

An interview with Lynne Berry about her achievements is published here.
Fergus Burnett

The Charity Commission has contacted two charities about their campaigning activity during the election period.

A Hindu charity and a mosque have both been contacted by the Commission this week over statements appearing to be party political and have both withdrawn the content.

The National Council of Hindu Temples has been reported to the Commission for appearing to endorse the Conservative Party. A similar complaint about the charity appearing to endorse one party was made in 2015, when the Commission also issued the charity with guidance.

Sunal Hundal, a journalist and columnist at Hindustan Times, complained about a letter sent by the charity on Twitter.

The Commission responded to Hundal on Twitter to say it had urgently contacted the charity. It also issued a statement saying: The Commission was made aware of concerns regarding inappropriate political activity by the National Council of Hindu Temples (NCHTUK) and urgently contacted the charity. Charities must not encourage support for a particular political party or candidate. As a result of our intervention, NCHTUK issued a clarification at the end of its email to members dated 7 June.

We have made it clear that NCHTUK must comply with our guidance on campaigning and political activities by charities and our guidance on charities and elections.

The Commission has also contacted the Central Jamia Masjid Southall mosque after receiving a complaint about a YouTube video appeared to show the local Labour candidate being endorsed at a meeting.

A spokesman said: The Commission received a complaint in May 2017 regarding Central Jamia Masjid Southall breaching the Commissions guidance on campaigning and political activity. The Commission contacted the charity and requested that the charity immediately withdraw its endorsement of a political candidate.

The Commissions guidance is clear that charities must not and cannot endorse political candidates.

The Commissions case is ongoing.

The regulator was unable to say how many charities it has been in touch with since the general election was announced in April, however in the period running up to the 2015 election 17 charities were contacted by the Commission over their activity.

In December 2015 the regulator published a report summarising the 17 complaints and the action it took.


As the biggest shift in marijuana policy in a generation continues its steady roll-out, the 43-year-old magazine best known for its unabashedly pro-drug coverage is seeing a change in ownership that could alter the legalization movements direction, visibility, and panache.

High Times and its extremely profitable portfolio of Cannabis Cup events sold to a Los Angeles-based investment firm in a deal that valued the business at $70 million (no sales price was disclosed). It marks the magazines first change in ownership since 1974, and prompted the move of its remaining staff from midtown Manhattan to Los Angeles.

More importantly, the deal signifies a potential rebirth for the High Times brand, arguably the most recognizable in all of cannabisand one that has been neglected at times throughout the last decade. High Times was early to report on the misinformation so often peddled by police departments, state governments, and even presidents on the topic of marijuana. Once considered the pinnacle of activist-minded marijuana reporting, it has struggled in the last decade to find its voice as its favorite plant transitioned from Public Enemy No. 1 to a recreational substance treated like beer.

RELATED: Publisher defends controversial marijuana series

The magazine has never pretended to practice capital-J journalism. Instead its editors and writers have always owned their pro-drug, pro-legalization biasoften pointing to the magazines founder, Tom Forcade, himself a drug smuggler whose compelling (and legitimately insane) thrill-ride of a life will inevitably be subject to feature-film treatment someday.

Forcades creation has had an equally colorful history, including the cover profiles you would expect (Chong, Marley, Capote) as well as esteemed bylines that might surprise you (Bukowski, Burroughs, Robbins). While the Drug Enforcement Administration once raided the magazines advertisers and seized its customer lists in 1989, changes in public opinion and successful legal cannabis initiatives have ushered in a new era at the High Times HQ with talk of themed consumption lounges and even 420-friendly cruises.

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But in recent years High Times was so focused on its stable of successful events that the content of the magazine sometimes came off as something of an afterthought. That business strategy makes sense when you peek at the companys numbers, which show that Cannabis Cupsfestivals featuring live music, marijuana sampling, and vendor boothsrepresented 80 percent of revenues in 2015, according to The New York Times.

A brief aside: Cannabis journalism unexpectedly became a specialty of mine after editors at The Denver Post in 2013 surprised the world by appointing me as the papers first Marijuana Editor on the precipice of legalization. My team and I built The Cannabist, applying shoe-leather reporting tactics to the worlds first legal-marijuana beat.

As traditional media has thrived in discovering the marijuana beatnote the full-time cannabis-focused journalists at the Orange County Register and San Francisco ChronicleHigh Timess freelancer-rooted editorial operation has lagged in comparison. Much of the magazines news coverage in recent years has been based on aggregation; instead of leading the cannabis conversation, High Times has been followingand suffering the consequences from a digital readership that demands more.

RELATED: How drug reporting is changing

Given that High Times and I used to be competitors, lets make it clear that Im not the only one acknowledging its recent struggles. Heres what Adam Levin, the new chief executive of High Times Holding Co. who led the acquisition via his investment firm Oreva Capital, had to say:

I think most would agree (High Times) was not executing business at max potential under the legacy framework established by the founders, Levin said in a statement. We are going to build on the strong base they created to bring High Times from the authority in the counterculture movement to a modern media enterprise.

Levin understands High Timess very real business potential, and is eyeing a significant expansion in the event spacea plan that will inevitably use the Cannabis Cup platform as its foundation. The acquisition announcement notes Levin and his team plan to use a new influx of cash to expand collaborations in locations around the world to bring more events and bring new scale to sponsorship opportunities.

A man tosses out samples at a booth during the High Times Cannabis Cup in Denver, Colorado on April 19, 2015. Photo via Getty Images.

And this makes sense. High Times is the undisputed king of the lucrative cannabis event market, though the previous ownership often came under fire for attempting to throw boundary-pushing, not-always-legal Cannabis Cups in Nevada, Colorado, the Netherlands, Oregon, and elsewhere. Now Levin and his co-owners, including musician Damian Jr. Gong Marley and some notable entrepreneurs from the cannabis industry, can elevate High Timess event game and truly master the art of the 420-friendly (and government-compliant) marijuana consumption festival of the future.

But I know Im not alone in hoping Levin and his colleagues also plan to infuse the brands editorial operations with capital. Without the all-important content, there would be no High Times or Cannabis Cup. It is, after all, the content Marley remembers when he thinks back to his introduction to the brand.

When I was in high school I used to grow some herb. I learned to differentiate male from the female plant by reading High Times magazine, said Marley, who is part of the new ownership group, in a statement. High Times also had me daydreaming of so many beautiful strains that at the time I had not yet had the chance to experience.

When you think about it, the world needs that informed High Times voice now more than ever. Just think about our odd, difficult-to-digest legalization climate.

Marijuana is federally illegal in America, yet more and more states are choosing to legalize it medically and even recreationallyand soon Canada will join Uruguay in legalizing adult-use weed nationally. The US federal government also considers cannabis a Schedule I substance alongside the most dangerous drugs in the world, yet it also acknowledges that marijuana is a non-lethal, non-toxic substance in an era when another recreationally legal drug is killing 90,000 Americans annually.

Navigating these meandering cannabis jungles takes expertise, authority, and experience, and there has never been a better time for High Times to invest in its editorial operations to ensure that its most important legacythe written wordis not forgotten.

RELATED: A TV station taps viewers to help truth-test the news

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Ricardo Baca is a lifelong journalist and founder of The Cannabist. He currently writes the weekly Joint Ventures column on the cannabis industry for The Daily Beastand his new content agency Grasslands works primarily with marijuana and hemp businesses.
At a time when democratic values are under siege around the worldmost notably in the United StatesJapans leadership is vital. But Japan cant lead if press freedom, a central pillar of its democracy, continues to be eroded.

Japanese media organizations dont live for scoops. They value institutional loyalty and celebrate access. This structure had made it difficult for Japanese journalists to confront emerging threats, according to a new report from the UNs Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, David Kaye.

In normal circumstances, fractious media outlets will come together when the profession is attacked. But that has not happened in Japan, where increasing pressure from the conservative government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has only exacerbated rivalries.

Kayes report documents new pressures on the media, which have risen to such a level that journalists he spoke to were unwilling to be identified. (Kaye alleged in the report that a key source was spied on by the government. The government denies it.) A number of prominent journalistsincluding three outspoken news anchorshave been forced from their jobs in recent years.

ICYMI: Trump gets cozy with the jailers of journalists

Kaye also notes that the 2014 law known as the Specially Designated Secrets Act is vaguely worded and could ensnare journalists who reveal classified information. A regulatory body controlled by the elected government grants authority to shut down critical broadcasts, an authority the government has not used but that stands as a threat. The Japanese media, Kaye observes, lacks basic elements of confidence and unity, and has failed to respond to the growing challenge.

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Despite the reports well substantiated and careful criticism, the Abe government expressed fury when it was made public last week. In its official response, the government alleged that the conclusions were based on hearsay, and so full of inaccuracies that its publication degrades the authority of the UN Human Rights Council.

To me, it feels disproportionate, Kaye told me. He will formally present his findings to the UNs Human Rights Council in Geneva on June 12.

Japans extraordinary sensitivity to the criticism of its press freedom record is also indicated by the fact that the Japanese Foreign Ministry refused to meet with a delegation from the Committee to Protect Journalists when we visited Tokyo last week in conjunction with the release of the Kaye report.

The Abe administration plays hardball, notes Martin Fackler, a former New York Times Tokyo correspondent who has chronicled the Abe governments relentless campaign to undermine and delegitimize the media. Fackler points to the systematic pressure on the leading liberal weekly Asahi Shimbun as an example. In the face of a campaign waged by the Abe government, the paper in early 2014 retracted a critical report on the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear facility, later gutting the investigative unit that produced the story.

This action, according to Fackler, would be comparable to The New York Times and The Washington Post capitulating to bullying by the Trump administration. Still he concedes, Abes base is quite happy with the efforts he has taken against the media.

In the past, Japans democracy and free press tradition not only set an example for the region, they provided a counterweight to China, which is asserting its influence using direct investment and a more aggressive foreign policy. Kaye argues that Japans economy and even its security depend on its commitment to democracy. Japans allies and trading partners are in the democratic world, Kaye notes. If the country moves in an anti-democratic direction, all of that will be lost.

The sad reality is that based on the aggressive response to Kayes criticism, the Abe government is unlikely to address the press freedom challenges unless it comes under consistent pressure from the Japanese media. The question is: Can the Japanese overcome their historic divisions to defend this essential right?

The answer is unclear. Makoto Watanabe, who quit the Asahi Shimbun following the pullback in investigative reporting and is now editor of a new investigative Web site called The Waseda Chronicle, believes that if the Japanese media doesnt double down on accountability journalism and stand up for press freedom, it will lose trust and continue to bleed readers. In the end, he acknowledges, this might not be a bad thing,

The Japanese media needs to be disrupted, Watanabe argues. Maybe we need a big bang.

RELATED: Sinking a bold foray into watchdog journalism in Japan

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Joel Simon is a fellow at Tow Center for Digital Journalism. His next book is The Infodemic: How Censorship Made the World Sicker and Less Free co-authored with Robert Mahoney.
IN A TWIST ON THE BILLIONAIRE-OWNER business model of journalism, two Colorado news outletseach one committed to state politics coverage and owned by a different conservative billionaire are joining forces.

But the move is closer to a takeover than a merger, and marks a further consolidation of the media presence of Denver industrialist Phil Anschutz in the purple swing state.

On May 31, ColoradoPolitics.com, owned by Anschutzs Clarity Media Group, announced its acquisition of The Colorado Statesman, a subscription-based weekly print journal and website, and a stalwart of state politics coverage for more than 100 years.

Anschutz bought The Statesman from billionaire homebuilder Larry Mizel, who was co-chair of Donald Trumps Colorado campaign; the sale price was not disclosed. Last week, The Colorado Statesmans website began directing readers to ColoradoPolitics.com, which now hosts the Statesmans archives.

The deal means Coloradans can expect more day-to-day public affairs coverage in a bellwether state with an outsized role in national politics. Insiders, meanwhile, will have a new way to get their fix, from a for-profit state politics model that resembles Politicos presence in Washington, DC.

For years, media watchers in Colorado have speculated that Anschutzs strategy might be, If you cant buy em, beat em.

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THE STATESMANS NAME WILL EVENTUALLY be stripped from the papers masthead and replaced by ColoradoPolitics. The existing ColoradoPolitics staff, augmented by a full-time a reporter and temporary business-side manager of The Statesman, will report to Ryan McKibben, Clarity Medias CEO, who also serves as chairman of The Weekly Standard, a national conservative magazine and blog.

Since its launch, the site has covered granular politics with an insiders tone. ColoradoPolitics three-person staff dedicated to editorial will grow by one full-time staffer, ubiquitous Statesman reporter Ernest Luning, and a handful of potential contributors. Reporter Peter Marcus, who wrote for The Statesman as recently as four years ago, says he sees efforts to expand ColoradoPolitics as one to corner the political market in Colorado.

Lead writer Joey Bunch tells CJR an expanded ColoradoPolitics could yield a greater statewide strategy, in which the site provides its content to smaller papers. We could become the de facto wire service of the state, he told me. Thats my goal.

I will say our ownership really wants to be a statewide voice.

THE EDITOR OVERSEEING THE EXPANSION is Vince Bzdek, editor of the Clarity-owned Gazette in Colorado Springs, who came from The Washington Post last year. I asked him how much of the expansion strategy is coming from him and how much is coming from Anschutz, a publicity-shy Denver businessman and Republican donor who owns Clarity Media and has bankrolled conservative Christian causes, and who The New Yorker once dubbed The Man Who Owns LA.

He told me ColoradoPolitics was his own idea, not Anschutzs, but he found a warm reception. The idea to buy The Statesman, he said, came from Claritys CEO, McKibben.

Bzdek says the Statesman acquisition had been in the works for months. He describes the deal as a way for ColoradoPolitics, which launched without a revenue stream, to build on a financial base with The Statesmans subscribers.

I will say our ownership really wants to be a statewide voice, Bzdek told me. He has a budget for a statewide network of freelancers, and plans to add bill-tracking data and verticals for industries like energy, healthcare, and the environment, in a model similar to Politico Pro.

Capitol Watch, a subscription information and analysis website, already tracks bills and votes, and also provides data on lobbying. Theres also a separate legislation-tracking service called State Bill, which promises subscribers information on bill summaries, sponsors, committee calendars, voting records and much more.

I dont know if theres room for a third, says Paula Noonan, who runs Capitol Watch. But I dont know what their business model would be. Colorado is a small state.

THERE IS ALSO SOME GREATER MEDIA business context for the ColoradoPolitics deal: a public perception that Anschutz has designs on The Denver Post, owned by Digital First Media.

He tried to buy The Denver Postbut The Denver Post would not sell to him, Bzdek said, referring to Anschutz, during a talk last fall. If they would sell he would buy it tomorrow. Bzdek tells CJR he does not know of any current discussions on that matter.

For years, media watchers in Colorado have speculated that Anschutzs strategy might be, If you cant buy em, beat em. In 2014, he floated the idea of reviving the defunct Rocky Mountain News. After the paper folded in 2009, Anschutz purchased the papers URL and intellectual property, and his Clarity team created an online prototype of a print product. Nothing came of it, but Claritys control of the Rocky Mountain News brand gives it beaucoup institutional political memory.

Claritys acquisition of The Statesman makes it harder for The Denver Post, says Lynn Bartels, a longtime political reporter for The Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post who took a buyout in 2015. As Clarity Media and The Gazette have attracted attention for expanding ColoradoPolitics, the Post has made headlines with its plans to sell its building and move its newsroom into a neighboring county to cut costs.

In a recent meeting with staff, Denver Post publisher Mac Tully said he planned to invest more in the papers politics coverage. A late May memo to Post staff, obtained by CJR, laid out how that might look. Post editor Lee Ann Colacioppo wrote in the memo that the papers politics team is reimagining how it covers politics. The crew is focusing on who the Posts audience is and how to better serve it, while also setting aggressive online traffic goals. An email newsletter is in the works, wrote Colacioppo, along with a new vertical for the website.

Colacioppo declined to discuss the Posts plans in greater detail, but wrote in her memo that she has every confidence that this team has the variety of skills and ideas to push our politics coverage to a new level and make it the envy of metro dailies from coast to coast.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Corey Hutchins is CJRs correspondent based in Colorado, where he teaches journalism at Colorado College. A former alt-weekly reporter in South Carolina, he was twice named journalist of the year in the weekly division by the SC Press Association. Hutchins writes about politics and media for the Colorado Independent and worked on the State Integrity Investigation at the Center for Public Integrity; he has contributed to Slate, The Nation, the Washington Post, and others. Follow him on Twitter @coreyhutchins or email him at coreyhutchins@gmail.com.
The corporation had asked Khan to shift his vanity van from a ground next to St Xavier 's campus in Parel.

By Shivangi Thakur: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) today said that it will take action against Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan for illegal parking of his vanity van and installation of tents in Mumbai.

The corporation had asked Khan to shift his vanity van from a ground next to St Xavier 's campus in Parel.

Khan had taken permission from the Mumbai Police to conduct shooting of his upcoming film. However, he did not take permission from BMC and was shooting on a property under BMC jurisdiction.

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The corporation had asked the unit to clear the spot, however, despite the notification the shooting was held. On Friday, BMC went to the ground and removed the vanity van and a tent from the St Xavier's ground.

BMC today told Khan that he will be penalised for the offence.

Also read:

Chef first still: Saif Ali Khan to cook up a storm this October

Did you know Sara Ali Khan made Kareena-Saif break their no-kissing policy?

SEE PIC: Saif-Kareena's son Taimur is winning the internet with this new adorable photo

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Port Saint John released updated economic impact figures for the cruise sector in New Brunswick earlier this week, which according to a statement, show total annual impact from the cruise industry in New Brunswick has risen from $41.5 million per year to $49.9 million per year, an increase of 20 percent.

The total impact, according to the port, included direct spending by cruise lines, passengers, and crew in New Brunswick of $21.5 million, 298 direct jobs in the Province, and $12.5 million in personal income.

This economic impact study reinforces the importance of the cruise sector in the Province of New Brunswick, and, it highlights the fact that while the ships come to the Port, it is the entire region that make this destination successful for visitors, said Jim Quinn President & CEO of Port Saint John.

Our Board of Directors is pleased with the close relationships our Port management has established with the cruise industry and look forward to a continued strong presence in this important sector, said Philip Brewer, Chair of the Board for Port Saint John.
The winner of the 2017 Bacardi Legacy Cruise Competition Bartender of the Year, Wade Cleophas from Norwegian Cruise Line, went on to reach the semi-finals of the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition, according to a prepared statement.

Staged in Berlin in May, the 38 semi-finalists were drawn from thousands of entries from around the world for a two-day event that included each finalist taking to the main stage in front of a crowd, TV cameras and five judges to create two serves of their unique Legacy cocktails within a seven minute timeframe.

The second judging element was a private presentation to a separate panel of four judges where the finalists outlined their own promotional campaign, with Enrique Comas, a Bacardi family member and Bacardi Trade Advocacy Senior Manager for LATAM and Caribbean, among the expert judges.

For the first time in the competitions nine-year history, the Legacy competing bartenders were permitted to use Bacardi Ocho (8) Anos as well as Bacardi Carta Blanca and Bacardi Carta Oro rums. Wade seized this opportunity to use the unique the rum, as the base for his "Legend Reviver," inspired by classic cocktails of the past and using spices evoking the timeless spirit of travel to exotic places, according to a statement.

His recipe featured Bacardi Ocho (8) Anos mixed with star anise-infused sweet vermouth, caramel/cinnamon syrup with drops of whisky barrel-aged bitters and finished with a mist of Absinthe. The cocktail was completed with a garnish evoking the sails of a merchant ship and the wings of the Bacardi bat. Wades promotional campaign has included achieving a fleetwide cocktail listing with Norwegian Cruise Line.

Zachary Sulkes, International Key Account Manager (Cruise) of Bacardi Global Travel Retail commented: Wade can be so proud of his achievement in the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition, demonstrating that the ever-rising standards being achieved in cruise bar-tending can compete with the very best bartenders in the world. He not only created a perfectly executed and original cocktail but his presentation also blended the story of his personal journey with a powerfully resonant link to the legend of Don Facundo Bacardi.

Karl Muhlberger Vice President, Food and Beverage for Norwegian Cruise Line said: Everyone at Norwegian Cruise Line is incredibly proud of Wades achievement in beating more than 2,500 contenders in the 2017 Bacardi Legacy Cruise Competition Bartender of the Year and then reaching the semi-finals of the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition. Wade is diligent and passionate and has consistently shown great dedication not only to the Legacy competitions but also to the quality of bar experience he delivers for vacationers onboard Norwegian Cruise Line every day. His enthusiasticdemonstration on the craft cocktail scene ensures they will go back home and have a deeper appreciation not only for perfectly crafted cocktails, but also for the quality of the bar experience onboard Norwegian Cruise Lines fleet.

Cleophas added: The exceptional standard set by the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition was incredibly challenging but hugely satisfying and, both personally and professionally, the whole experience has been an exciting and amazing experience. Ive learnt even more from the semi-final event and have lots of ideas to take back to Norwegian Cruise Line and share with our guests!

The eventual winner of was Belgian barman Ran Van Ongevalle with his cocktail Clarita  comprising Bacardi Gran Reserva 8 Anos Rum, Amontillado Sherry, creme de cacao, absinthe and saline solution.


Acapulco has announced it will homeport the 1,400-passenger Magellan of Cruise and Maritime Voyages, starting in the winter of 2018. The roundtrip cruise will depart from Acapulco and make stops in Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas.

The start date has not yet been set or the number of cruises that will be offered. It is assumed that the cruise line and the port are talking about the winter of 2018-2019, because the Magellan has already published itineraries through October 2018.

Cruise and Maritime executives also announced that the first stage in the companys plan for expansion will focus on this route on the Mexican Pacific, while a second stage will include the Panama Canal and the Mexican Caribbean.

Acapulco has confirmed 28 cruise calls for 2017, up from 18 last year. According to tourism officials, the increase in cruise arrivals will positively impact the local economy, with a projected growth in international tourism.
As I prepare for NAFCUs 50th Annual Conference and Solutions Expo next week in Honolulu, I look forward to the many, many conversations Ill be having with the associations members and conference attendees.

But whether catching up with an old friend or meeting someone for the first time, guiding a comfortable yet memorable conversation is a skill. In a recent blog post, Inc.com contributor Jessica Stillman notes some habits that can spark a really great conversation. She takes her tips from public radio host Celeste Headlee. The lessons include:

Dont multitask. Dont pontificate. Use open-ended questions. Go with the flow. If you dont know, say you dont know.
The $5 billion Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union in Harrisburg worked with undercover police investigation that led to the arrest of three Philadelphia men who allegedly used Instagram to steal from financial institutions.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Tuesday that Shakour S. Smith, 26, Ikeem M. Starks, 25, and Quadir J. Burley, 18, were charged with multiple felonies following an investigation that is still under way by the AGs Organized Crime Section.

Smith, Starks, and Burley used Instagram to recruit people who allowed their accounts at banks in Philadelphia and Montgomery counties to be used to carry out the fraud. The suspects posted bank logos on Instagram and enticed people to like their posts. The criminals then obtained account information from the people who responded, promising them a cut of the money they planned to steal.

Pennsylvania authorities said the trio stole more than $50,000 from various financial institutions, including PSECU. However, the other financial institutions have not been identified yet because the investigation is ongoing and more charges are expected to be filed, Shapiro said.
Granite Construction Incorporated operates as an infrastructure contractor and a construction materials producer in the United States. It operates through two segments, Construction and Materials segments. The Construction segment engages in the construction and rehabilitation of roads, pavement preservation, bridges, rail lines, airports, marine ports, dams, reservoirs, aqueducts, infrastructure, and site development for use by the public. It also focuses on water-related construction for municipal agencies, commercial water suppliers, industrial facilities, and energy companies. The company also constructs various complex projects, including infrastructure/site development, mining, public safety, tunnel, solar, and power projects. The Materials segment is involved in the production of aggregates and asphalt for internal use, as well as for sale to third parties. In addition, it offers site preparation, mining, and infrastructure services for residential development, energy development, commercial and industrial sites, and other facilities; and provides construction management professional services. The company serves federal agencies, state departments of transportation, local transit authorities, county and city public works departments, school districts and developers, utilities, contractors, landscapers, manufacturers of products requiring aggregate materials, retailers, homeowners, farmers, brokers, and private owners of industrial, commercial, and residential sites. Granite Construction Incorporated was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Watsonville, California.
By India Today Web Desk: Speculation was rife that Salman Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali will collaborate for a film after 10 years. While many shunned it as a rumour, others waited with bated breath to see the duo reunite for another project. And after months of speculation, Bhansali finally let the cat out of the bag.

The filmmaker, who is currently busy shooting for Padmavati with Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor, took to Instagram to make the announcement that he will work with Salman again after the 2007 film Saawariya.

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We are back together #Reunion After 10 Years?? #SalmanKhan @beingsalmankhan A post shared by Sanjay Leela Bhansali (@bhansalisanjay) on Jun 7, 2017 at 9:06am PDT

Salman and Sanjay had a fallout when the filmmaker chose Shah Rukh Khan for his 2002 film Devdas. Later, Bhansali chose Hrithik Roshan over Salman in Guzaarish. The news did not go down too well with the Bajrangi Bhaijaan and the two did not speak for some time.

However, things changed when Bhansali paid a visit to Salman last year. It was then that the two decided to bury the hatchet. In fact, Salman was one of the first people to reach out to Bhansali when he was attacked in Jaipur during the shooting of Padmavati early this year.

Buzz has it that Salman's next with Bhansali is an intense love story with dark undertones. Reports suggest that film is based on the life of Sahir Ludhianvi. However, there is no official confirmation on the same.

ALSO READ: Salman Khan advises youth on road safety, gets trolled on Twitter

ALSO READ: Did you know Akshay Kumar was the first choice to play Salman's brother in Tubelight?

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Centrica plc operates as an integrated energy company in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, North America, and internationally. The company operates through British Gas Services & Solutions, British Gas Energy, Centrica Business Solutions, Bord Gais Energy, Energy Marketing & Trading, and Upstream segments. It supplies gas and electricity to residential customers, as well as offers energy-related services; and generates power from nuclear assets. The company also provides installation, repair, and maintenance services for domestic central heating, plumbing and drains, home electrical, and gas and kitchen appliances; and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning equipment, as well as offers breakdown services. In addition, it is involved in the procurement, trading, and optimization of energy; procurement and sale of LNG; and supplies energy efficiency solutions and technologies to residential customers. Further, the company produces and processes gas and oil; develops new fields to maintain reserves; constructs, owns, and exploits infrastructure; and engages in the social enterprise investment fund activities. Additionally, it provides vehicle leasing, commercial, and insurance services, as well as energy management products and services; and operates a gas storage and franchise network. The company was formerly known as Yieldtop plc and changed its name to Centrica plc in December 1996. Centrica plc was founded in 1812 and is based in Windsor, the United Kingdom.
Speaking at the the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a consortium that focuses on security and trade - PM Modi asked the member nations to combat the menace of terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

By India Today Web Desk: With Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the audience, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described terrorism as a threat to humanity while asking countries for better coordination to tackle the menace.

Speaking at the the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a consortium that focuses on security and trade - PM Modi asked the member nations to combat the menace of terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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"It is impossible to reach a solution till all make concerted efforts, on radicalization, terrorist recruitment, training and financing issues," PM Modi said.

India and Pakistan were officially included as member nations in the SCO today.

Speaking after PM Modi's speech, Nawaz Sharif congratulated India on joining SCO and said that international platform would work as a shared platform to fight terrorism.

"We must leave a legacy of peace for future generations, not toxic harvest of conflict and animosity. Let's create shared spaces for all," Sharif said.

LET'S ADDRESS SENSITIVE ISSUES: XI TO MODI

China and India should address "major and sensitive issues" dogging their bilateral ties, Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed to PM Modi during their meeting in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Meeting Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Astana, Xi also congratulated India on becoming a full member of the grouping.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, briefing newspersons on the meeting, said that Modi agreed that China and India should deal with the sensitive issues between them.

Hua said that Xi told Modi that both sides "should address major and sensitive issues."

ALSO READ

Killing of Chinese nationals in Pakistan a matter of grave concern, says Beijing

PM Modi says hello to Nawaz Sharif in Astana.

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By Press Trust of India: By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Jun 9 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to fly to Kuwait and Qatar in a bid to resolve the latest diplomatic row between the Gulf nations and Doha which has been accused of supporting "terrorism", a media report said today.

Pakistan shares "good" ties with all Gulf countries and has been asked by the countrys parliament to stay neutral in the crisis, while trying to resolve it.

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On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt announced that they were cutting diplomatic relations with Qatar, along with closure of travel links.

The Gulf nations accused Qatar of supporting "terrorism".

Sharif said that Pakistan will do all it can to amicably resolve the diplomatic crisis in the Arabian Gulf, The Express Tribune reported.

"Since Pakistan enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, we will try our best to resolve the differences between the Arab countries," Sharif said while speaking to journalists during a visit to Kazakhstan.

Sharif may also visit Qatar and Kuwait to help resolve the rift, the report said.

Sharif said the Muslim world should play its role in ending the diplomatic crisis in the Arabian Gulf.

Sharif flew to Kazakhstan yesterday to attend a two-day meeting of the Heads of State Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). PTI SH MRJ

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By Press Trust of India: Puri, Jun 9 (PTI) Amid tight security and imposition of a ban on touching the deities, the ceremonial bathing ritual of Lord Jagannath was celebrated at the Jagannath temple here in the presence of thousands of people.

The Snana Jatra ceremony of the three deities ? Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra ? was witnessed by people, drawn from across the state and outside, at the Snana Mandap (bathing altar) as priests poured 108 pitchers of sacred water on them.

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The bathing ritual is celebrated as a run-up to the annual Rath Jatra (car festival) of Lord Jagannath. The day, the full-moon day of the month of Jyestha, is considered to be the birthday of Lord Jagannath.

The legend from the Skanda Purana says that King Indradyumna, who installed the wooden deities of the Lords, bathed the deities before they were worshipped in the 12th century shrine. The Lords bathing also indicates arrival of monsoon in Odisha.

Earlier in the morning, the deities along with the image of Sudarshana were taken out from the sanctum sanatorium in a procession to the bathing altar, located in the temple premises.

After the bathing ritual, the deities were attired with Gajanana Vesha (elephant dress). Lord Jagannath takes the elephant attire to please his Maharastrian devotees who worship Lord Ganesh.

Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has made elaborate arrangement for the festival with a decision not to allow any person, except the servitors on duty, to touch the deities when they come out of the main temple as per the Orissa High Court direction.

When a section of priests have been demanding to touch the deities during the festival, SJTA Chief Pradeep Kumar Jena said that no unauthorised person was allowed to touch the deities except the servitors on duty. "We are implementing High Court order," Jena said.

Around 100 CCTV cameras have been installed to monitor the bathing ritual of the deities.

An arrangement has been made for public viewing of the ritual from behind barricades till late in the night.

As many as 45 platoons (one platoon comprise 30 personnel) of jawans and a large number of policemen were deployed for the safety and security of pilgrims and the deities.

Police patrolling has been beefed up with special focus on regulation of vehicular traffic, said Sarthak Sarangi, Superintendent of Police, Puri. PTI AAM PR IKA

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13 Reasons Why is based on the novel written by Jay Asher in which the protagonist Hannah Baker kills herself and leaves behind 13 tapes. A similar real-life incident has occurred in Peru.

By India Today Web Desk: Netflix web-series 13 Reasons Why has been in news since its first episode. While there are some who believe it romanticises and promotes suicide, others are glad that the issues like bullying, mental harassment, rape, depression and suicide are being addressed.

13 Reasons Why, based on the novel written by Jay Asher, shows protagonist Hannah Baker killing herself and leaving behind 13 tapes telling the story of why she had to take the extreme step.

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A similar real-life incident occurred in Peru. A 23-year-old man jumped from his apartment after shouting "I can't stand a heartbreak", and left behind recordings. Apparently, his mother was present when he jumped off the apartment.

Also read: 13 Reasons Why showrunner reveals how story will continue

Even though he survived falling from the fourth floor, he was declared dead at the San Juan Dios hospital, reported People Chica, citing a Peruvian news outlet Diario Clarin.

During the investigation, the police found two suicide notes. One of the notes listed the names of people who were to receive the tapes he had previously recorded on his computer. The second note was a goodbye note to a girl named Claudia in which the man wished her the best in life.

The names on the list are of those who triggered the suicide, apparently.

It has not been proved that the man's suicide was inspired by 13 Reasons Why but it does have uncanny similarities with the story.

--- ENDS ---
Bharti Airtel has approached Google to discuss the possibility of installing Wi-Fi hotspots across India to bolster its broadband coverage.

The current Indian market leader has expressed its interest in Google Station, a project launched by the US tech giant in 2016. The public Wi-Fi project secured Indian Railways and its communications unit RailTel as partners, and deployed hotspots in railway stations across the nation.

Google is now looking to extend this coverage to coffee shops, shopping malls and universities, and is seeking out more partners for the initiative in order to grow it. Google India country head Gulzar Azad said that the firm was holding discussions with all Indian service providers, including ISPs.

Airtel has not announced any concrete plans, but increasing its Wi-Fi resources would allow it to offload traffic from its cellular network and thereby drive down the amount of investment that would be needed for it to boost its base station capacity. This would help it compete against the 4G newcomer Reliance Jio, which has dramatically shaken up the market.

In May, Airtel and Facebook announced that they had partnered to launch the social media firms Express Wi-Fi service in India, which will see a further 20,000 hotspots deployed across the country. Facebook is also collaborating with Indian Railways to offer Wi-Fi access at stations in rural areas. RailTel, which holds an ISP licence, operates a fibre network that covers around 4000 railway stations throughout India. Google Station has thus far installed hotspots at over 100 stations.
MFS Africa and Paga have partnered to connect Paga users and Nigerian bank account holders to remittance senders from around the world.

Through the collaboration, anyone with a Paga wallet can receive transfers from millions of other mobile money users across Africa, or from any money transfer operator connected to the MFS Hub.

Nigeria received nearly $21 billion USD last year in remittances according to the World Bank. Over 30% of that amount was received from other countries in Africa, primarily neighbouring West and Central African countries. Intra-African money transfer is notoriously expensive, with costs averaging 20% of transfer amount, compared to global averages of 7%. Discouraged by high fees from the cumbersome formal banking and money transfer channels, many turn to informal channels that carry higher risk and uncertainty. Leveraging mobile wallet technology and vast agent networks, MFS Africa and Paga seek to bring these costs down while increasing accessibility and transparency.

Jay Alabraba, co-founder and Director of Business Development of Paga, said: People typically think of remittances into Nigeria in terms of flows from Europe and the Americas, but theres over $3 billion USD a year coming in just from the Nigerian communities in Benin, Niger and Cameroon  countries that are right next door to Nigeria. By joining the MFS Hub, we make it easier for Nigerians in the diaspora to send money back home and we also enable them to pay directly for utility bills, goods and services in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, unlike most African markets, mobile network operators are not permitted to offer financial services. Although banking penetration is over 20%, there is still a strong need for alternative, simpler payment services and financial inclusion. Paga today has over 6.4 million users and a network of nearly 12,000 agents across Nigeria. The Paga wallet is available to any Nigerian with a phone through Pagas USSD code, and it is integrated into the countrys financial services infrastructure so that users can instantly send to or receive money from other phone numbers or bank accounts.

For the last few years, everyone has been looking to the Nigerian market, wondering when and how mobile money would take off, said Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of MFS Africa. Theres an obvious opportunity here and Pagas commitment to the market and innovative approach to execution will guarantee we make the most of it.
IronRidge Resources announced on Friday that the joint venture earn-in arrangements with Enchi Proci for the Adzope license application was now unconditional.

The AIM-traded company also announcd that two of its wholly-owned applications had now been registered on the cadastral map.

This provides IronRidge with exclusive rights to a prospective lithium license portfolio covering 1,177 sq km in Ivory Coast, West Africa, complementing the company's exciting lithium portfolio in neighbouring Ghana, the board said in its statement.

The conditional agreement with Enchi was first announced on 13 September 2016, and the company's wholly-owned applications were first announced on 25 November.

IronRidge said the highlights of the arrangements included the satisfaction by Enchi of all earn-in agreement terms to successfully ratify the partnership with IronRidge.

Access rights had been secured to one application through the partnership covering 400 sq km, and access rights had been secured to two wholly owned applications covering a further 777 sq km for a total 1,177 sq km prospective lithium portfolio in Ivory Coast.

A technical due diligence programme including 54 rock chip samples had been completed across the project area, the board said, adding that the 1,177 sq km Ivory Coast exploration portfolio complemented the company's advanced and exciting 314k sq km high-grade lithium exploration portfolio in Ghana.

The project was said to be well-positioned within 75 kilometres of the capital Abidjan, with excellent infrastructure, logistics and services support for potential rapid development.
The president of the regional government of Catalonia said he will call for an independence referendum on 1 October.

Seventeen months after coming to power, president Carles Puigdemont said Catalans will be asked to vote whether they want their territory to become an independent country, with a republican form of government.

Speaking on Friday morning, Puigdemont accused Spanish president Mariano Rajoy of not wanting to help find "a real solution" to Catalans' aspirations.

Meanwhile, his vice-president Oriol Junqueras, who is also the head of the Republican Left of Catalonia party, recalled how the government in Madrid had refused to negotiate with his government on 18 occasions.

However, a formal call for a referendum is not expected until the second fortnight of August in order to deny the central government of any legal basis to annul the announcement.

Similarly, the regional government in Barcelona had reportedly launched public tenders for the supplies or urns and ballots needed for a vote but officially they are to be used for other purposes.
Markets in Asia finished mostly higher on Friday, as traders focussed their attentions on the UK election resulting in a hung parliament, and the corresponding drop in sterling against most of its currency peers.

Japans Nikkei 225 was up 0.52% at 20,013.26, as the yen weakened against the greenback to last sit 0.4% behind at JPY 110.46.

Telecommunications and technology giant SoftBank rocketed ahead by 7.43%, after news it had acquired two robotics companies from Google parent Alphabet - Boston Dynamics and Schaft.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite added 0.27% to 3,158.75, while the smaller Shenzhen Composite rose 0.23% to 1,857.17.

South Koreas Kospi finished 0.77% higher at 2,381.69, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 0.13% to 26,030.29.

Shares in furniture maker Man Wah resumed trading on Friday, regaining their losses from before being suspended on Wednesday when Carson Block announced he was targeting the firm for a short.

The company issued a statement calling Blocks accusations false and groundless.

At home, Theresa Mays Conservative Party failed to win a majority after the snap general election she called seven weeks ago, which raised concerns over the future of Brexit negotiations during the Asian session.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had called for her resignation and offered the prospect of forming a minority government with other opposition parties.

Since Asian markets went to bed, however, May had confirmed she would be attempting to form a minority government herself with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland.

The possibility of a reduced Conservative majority or event a minority government is unlikely to have a significant impact on broader global markets, noted CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner on the apparent shrugging off of the UK election result around the world.

Oil prices were lower during Asian trading, with Brent crude last down 0.21% at $47.76 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate off 0.22% at $45.54.

Australias S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.02% at 5,677.80, while New Zealands S&P/NZX 50 fell 0.3% to 7,436.10.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.2% at AUD 1.3278 and the Kiwi retreating 0.18% to NZD 1.3887.
European markets were still trading on a mixed note come midday amid reports that Britain's Conservatives will seek to form a coalition government, thus allowing the UK to see off the threat of new elections while allowing Brexit negotiations to commence on time.

Incoming results suggest a minority Conservative government. We expect greater political instability, with a near-term risk of a second election. Further out, we expect easier fiscal policy and a softer Brexit," Morgan Stanley's Jacob Nell said.

As of 1215 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was lower by 0.10% to 388.74, while Germany's Dax was up by 0.28% to 12,748.64, alongside gains of 0.13% to 5,271.10 for the French Cac-40.

Milan's FTSE Mibtel on the other hand was down by 0.37% to 20,965.16.

Over in foreign exchange markets, the single currency was paring some of its initial gains versus Sterling and was up by 1.11% to 0.8751.

Nonetheless, other analysts were less sanguine.

For Fabrice Montagne and Andrzej Szczepaniak at Barclays Research: "because a hung parliament leaves the Prime Minister vulnerable to small groups of MPs intent on influencing the Brexit negotiations, the risks of a No-Deal Brexit resulting from a small group of Conservative MPs blocking the ratification of the final agreement have increased."

Acting as a backdrop, markets were also watching whether Italy's main political parties would manage to thrash out a deal to reform the country's election laws, which might lead to snap elections being called later in the year.

Investors, wary of instability in the euro area's third largest economy, were hoping that would not happen. However, some were speculating that a deal, which fell through the day before, might be renegotiated after the municipal elections scheduled for the next weekend.

Over in Spain, the president of the regional government of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, announced he was planning to call for a referendum on independence on 1 October.

In economic news, Germany's trade surplus fell from 25.3bn in March to 18.1bn for April (consensus: 23.0bn).

French industrial production on the other hand shrank by 0.5% month-on-month (consensus: 0.3%).

On the corporate front, Spanish small-cap lender Liberbank was plummeting 28%, apparently on speculation that like Banco Popular it too was facing liquidity problems.

Airbus increased its projection for aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years to 34,899, with a value of $5.3trn.

Air France-KLM reported a 6.1% jump in traffic for the month of May amid a 1.6% percentage uplift in its passenger load factor to 85.7%.

Shares in the more domestic-facing UK-listed companies such as Tesco and Taylor Wimpey weakened on the heels of the surprise election result.
Iraqi security forces gather at the site of a bomb attack in the city of Kerbala (Image: Reuters)

By Reuters: A woman detonated her explosive belt in a market east of the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala in Iraq today, killing at least 30 and wounding 35, security sources said.

Islamic State claimed that the attack happened in Musayab, south of Baghdad, in a statement on its Amaq news agency.

A security officer said the assailant was a woman who hid the bomb under the customary full-body veil.

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The attack comes as Islamic State is about to lose Mosul, the de-facto capital of the hardline Sunni Muslim group in Iraq, to a U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive launched in October.

The group is also on the backfoot in neighbouring Syria, retreating in the face of a U.S.-backed Kurdish-led coalition attacking its capital there, Raqqa.

Iranian-backed paramilitaries are taking part in the campaign fighting Islamic State in Iraq, attacking the group in the border region near Syria.

Also watch:

33 Indians rescued from Iraq's ISIS zone reach New Delhi

--- ENDS ---
European markets began the session on the frontfoot as investors tried to determine whether Thursday night's surprise general election result in the UK would increase the chances of a softer Brexit or if it might even force the Prime Minister to step aside.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 was lower by 0.12% to 388.68 as of 08:59 BST, but aside from the FTSE 250 all the major national indices were in fact higher. Germany's Dax was up by 0.23% to 12,742.29, alongside gains of 0.20% to 5,275.02 for the French Cac-40 and an advance of 0.34% to 21,114.32 for the FTSE Mibtel.

Yet where the real action was taking place was in foreign exchange markets, with the single currency climbing by 1.63% to 0.8798 versus the pound.

"Britain's inconclusive election means it is a question of when, not if, the country heads to the polls again in the near future," said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

However, despite the higher uncertainty Tombs also believed a 'soft' Brexit was now the most likely outcome, meaning that sterling might rise sharply in the medium-term.

Overnight, and pending the definitive results, the Conservatives appeared to have lost their majority in parliament although they could manage a working majority if they reached an agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party.

On that point, Tombs believed it unlikely such a combination would last long given the tendency of governments to lose seats in by-elections.

Economic data out from the euro area on Friday morning was mixed.

On a positive note, Germany's trade surplus fell from 25.3bn in March to 18.1bn for April (consensus: 23.0bn).

French industrial production on the other hand sharnk by 0.5% month-on-month (consensus: 0.3%).

Air France-KLM reported a 6.1% jump in traffic for the month of May amid a 1.6% percentage uplift in its passenger load factor to 85.7%.

Shares in the more domestic-facing UK-listed companies such as Tesco and Taylor Wimpey weakened on the heels of the surprise election result.
Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday gained the Queen's approval to form a government with the Democratic Unionist Party, which is acting in its new role as kingmaker after the election produced a hung parliament.

May, who lost her parliamentary majority in spectacular fashion, agreed a pact with the Northern Irish pro-Brexit DUP, which won 10 seats in the new parliament.

That alliance would be enough to give the Tories room to pass legislation, provided there were no rebellions within her own ranks, with the DUP reported to be prepared form a minority government coalition on a "confidence and supply" basis, which is essentially a vote-to-vote deal in the House of Commons.

A DUP source was reported as saying: We want there to be a government. We have worked well with May. The alternative is intolerable. For as long as Corbyn leads Labour, we will ensure theres a Tory PM.

In a televised speech on Friday afternoon, DUP leader Arlene Foster confirmed: "The Prime Minister has spoken to me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge."

PRO-BREXIT, CHRISTIAN RIGHT

The DUP were seen for many years as the radical element of the unionist movement during the conflict in Northern Ireland and throughout the peace process, overtaking the Ulster Unionist Party as the biggest group in the years following the Good Friday Agreement.

The party was founded in the 1970s by Ian Paisley, a charismatic but controversial reverend, who led the party for decades and through the peace process, finally agreeing to form a government with arch enemy Martin McGuinness and Republican party Sinn Fein.

Under Northern Ireland's First Minister Foster, the DUP has maintained its core Christian values and right-wing policies in a power-sharing government at Stormont, although there had been gridlock in recent months as the parties could not reach an agreement following an inconclusive Assembly election.

Sinn Fein refused to form part of a government in which Foster was First Minister, after a botched heating scheme in which businesses were given 1.60 for every 1 they spent on heating their properties.

They now perhaps hold the keys to the Tories clinging on to power, and it appears a comfortable match considering the DUP's support for a hard Brexit, but they will certainly demand assurances that there will be no special status given to NI following negotiations with European leaders.

The DUP, which has blocked same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland and fought extensions to abortion rights, also campaigned for Brexit with a manifesto arguing for the maintenance of a seamless and frictionless border with Ireland, retaining the pensions triple lock that the Tories proposed to drop.

FULL TEXT OF ARLENE FOSTER'S STATEMEMENT

"Yesterday's general election was truly historic. The DUP recorded its best ever election result and I want to take this opportunity to thank our director of elections Simon Hamilton for the marvellous job he did and I do want to thank each and every one of the 292,316 people who returned 10 DU members of parliament to the house of commons to stand up and speak out for Northern Ireland.

"To secure over a third of all of the votes cast in Northern Ireland is truly humbling we do not take the people's support for granted and we make them all a simple promise to do everything we can to repay the trust that they have placed in the party.

"Yesterday also represented a great result for the union not just here in Northern Ireland but right across our UK. Those who want to tear apart the union that we cherish and benefit from so hugely have been sent a clear and resounding message and in the days and weeks ahead it is the union that will be to the forefront of our minds. The union is our guiding star.

"We may represent NI constituencies in the house of commons but we are as seized of the interest of the UK as a whole as we are for NI.

"Now I make no apology for saying that the DUP will also strive for the best deal for Northern Ireland and its people but equally we want the best for all of the UK.

"And these are challenging times. Our UK and indeed our very way of life are under threats from extremists.

"Negotiations on our exit from the EU are about to commence and we now face uncertainty at Westminster.

"The Prime Minister has spoken to me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge."

(additonal reporting by Conor Coyle)
Corbyn lifts Labour to better-than-expected result

Cloud over PM's future days before Brexit talks due to start

SNP suffers reverses in Scotland as Labour, Tories make gains

UK Prime Minister Theresa May was forced into a governing alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party on Friday after her gamble to crush Labour and deliver a hard Brexit backfired spectacularly when government lost its parliamentary majority.

With 649 of 650 seats counted, the Conservatives were the largest party, but short of the 326 needed to govern in their own right. It was also a far cry of the 100 seat majority predicted by some when May called the snap election seven weeks ago and pledged ad nauseam to bring a "strong and stable" government.

May spent the early hours of Friday talking terms with the DUP, who have 10 seats and will work with May on a vote-by-vote basis known as "confidence and supply".

"What the country needs now more than ever is certainty. Having secured the largest number of votes and greatest number of seats in the general election, it is clear the Conservative and Unionist party has the legitimacy to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons. As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular," she said outside her residence in Downing Street.

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."

CALLS FOR PM TO RESIGN

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party was "ready to serve this country". Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said May "should be ashamed" and resign "if she has an ounce of self respect".

"She called this election expecting a coronation, and took each and every one of us for granted in the most cynical way possible," Farron said., adding that May "put the future of the country at risk with arrogance and vanity".

A clearly shaken May on Thursday night said she would continue as prime minister. Her plan of a coronation crumbling before her, the prime minister has created the very opposite of what she promised. The blunder of calling an election that wasn't needed is compounded by the fact that the UK is meant to start Brexit talks with the EU in just 11 days.

"The country needs a period of stability and, whatever the results are, the Conservative party will fulfil our duty of ensuring that stability so we can all go forward together," she said, her voice audibly cracking.

Labour put in a stunning performance, gaining 30 seats from the 2015 election. Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said May should resign. In parliamentary terms the Tories will now have to rely on the 10 seats held by Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to get any legislation through.

"The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. Well the mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence," Corbyn said.

"I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country."

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would seek to form a minority government because the Conservatives were not "stable".

"I don't want to be derogatory but I think she's a lame duck prime minister, I can't see her surviving. And a number of Conservative MPs are already privately saying that her position is untenable," he told the BBC.

McDonnell said May's rivals such as Boris Johnson and David Davis were "on manoeuvres" for a leadership election.

"So I can't see them holding together. If they do seek to do a coalition with the DUP... well, pardon the expression but someone used it during the campaign, it is a coalition of chaos," he added, in a jibe at May's description of what a Labour win would bring.

REVERSES FOR SNP

In Scotland, the Scottish National Party suffered reverses from its spectacular achievement in 2015, losing its Westminster leader Angus Robertson and former leader Alex Salmond. The SNP looked set to finish with 34 seats, a loss of 22 but enough to combine with other opposition parties to make life difficult for the Tories.

However, in Scotland-specific terms the loss of seats also appeared to be a rejection of SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon's desire to hold a second referendum on independence.

May will also be hobbled in her efforts to deliver a tough exit from the European Union as "remainers", who have a majority across all parties within parliament, hold her feet to the fire during negotiations.

Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University said the movement of those in favour of staying in the EU and young voters towards Labour "explains why the Conservatives have lost their overall majority".

"The effect of this movement has been to counteract the clear evidence that the Conservative Party benefited most from the sharp decline in UKIP support from 13% to 2%," he told the BBC.

"Where UKIP was strongest in 2015 - and where consequently their vote fell most this time around - there was a small net swing to the Conservatives, whereas where UKIP were previously weakest there was a 7% swing to Labour."

May will now have to appear before the Conservative Party's right-wing 1922 Committee, a group of influential MPs, to explain how she miscalculated the mood of the country so badly. Her campaign adviser Lynton Crosby, famed for his "dog whistle" tactics, will also come under scrutiny.

Stage-managed campaign events, where small numbers of Tory supporters were transported in and photographed to look larger in number, a humiliating reverse on social care before the ink was even dry on the policy and a refusal to participate in public debate with other leaders all ultimately hurt May.

Several Conservative ministers lost their seats. Ben Gummer, who helped author the Tories costing-free manifesto, was defeated in Ipswich, housing minister Gavin Barwell lost in Croydon Central and a 10% swing to Labour saw off Treasury Secretary Jane Ellison's 8,000 majority in Battersea. Home Secretary Amber Rudd clung on by 326 votes in Hastings and Rye.

For the Liberal Democrats, former deputy prime minister and party leader Nick Clegg lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to Labour, completing his fall from Grace. However, former LibDem ministers Vince Cable and Jo Swinson made a return to Westminster after losing their seats in 2015.
Tritax Big Box has bought a distribution facility at Birch Coppice business park in Birmingham which is operated by Ocado and serves both Ocado's and Wm Morrison's online retail businesses, for 92.3m.

The purchase, the price of which reflects a net initial yield of 5.25% on the asset acquisition, is being funded from equity and Morrisons will act as guarantor. The investment has been acquired with an unexpired lease term of around 21 years, with no tenant break, subject to annual upward only rent reviews indexed to the consumer price index and capped at 3.5%.

Tritax said the facility is within the 'Golden Triangle' of logistics and is one of the UK's premier rail connected distribution parks, with direct access to the Birmingham Intermodal Freight Terminal, one of the UK's most efficient rail freight terminals. The property also has good airport and motorway connectivity with close proximity to the M6, M1, M69 and M6 as well as Birmingham International and East Midlands airports.

It has attracted a significant number of major occupiers, including Bunzl, HiB, Volkswagen Group and UPS, in addition to the company's distribution facility let to Euro Car Parts.

Tritax partner Colin Godfrey said: "The acquisition of this Morrisons distribution facility, operated by Ocado, builds upon our strong working relationship with both retailers. The property will provide long term income in one of the most sought after locations."

At 0933 BST, the shares were down 0.9% to 145.10p.
Thursday's UK general election saw a record number of black and minority ethnic candidates elected as members of parliament, with 10 new BME politicians being elected to the House of Commons.

According to political campaigning organisation Operation Black Vote, the increase in BME MPs is an important sign of how multiculturalism in Britain is working.

The number of MPs from BME backgrounds now stands at 51, after victories in areas such as Battersea, Birmingham and Peterborough.

Birmingham voted Parliament's first female Sikh MP in Labour's Preet Kaur Gill, while the first turbaned Sikh MP to appear in the House of Commons will be Tan Dhesi, who won in Slough.

Operation Black Vote said one of the main contributing factors to the rise was an increased turnout in areas which are more populated with BME citizens.

Simon Wooley, director of Operation Black Vote, said that it was a day to celebrate diversity in Britain.

"In many ways today's result is a great testament for multicultural Britain. More talented BME faces will help transform Parliament and inspire many more to believe that we all have a voice and a place in our society," Wooley said.

"Of course Im particularly delighted for OBV alumnus Tan and Marsha, but Im also thrilled for Bim Alofami and Kemi Badenoch in Saffron Waldon. Britain's diversity is one of its greatest strengths. Today we celebrate that."

Alofami won for the Conservatives in Hitchin and Harpenden, where he was voted in to replace long-serving Peter Lilley.

Fellow Tory Badenoch in Saffron Waldon became the constituency's first ever female MP, with the election also significant for female MPs on a wider scale as it saw the largest number of seats ever won by women in the lower chamber.

There are now 207 women in the Commons, up from 197 after 10 new female MPs were elected on Thursday.

A "global record" was also claimed for the number of 45 'out' lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) MPs elected to Parliament, according to Professor Andrew Reynolds, noting that 19 were in the Labour party, 19 Tories and 7 SNP.




A humiliated Theresa May called today for a period of stability as she was urged to resign after her gamble on a snap election backfired. A hung parliament was inevitable after the Tories failed to win in Labours heartlands and lost ground in the south as voters rejected her appeal for a personal mandate to negotiate Brexit. - The Times

Jeremy Corbyn said the face of British politics has changed and called on Theresa May to resign after her snap general election left Britain with a hung parliament 11 days before Brexit talks begin. Speaking as he was returned as MP for Islington North, the Labour leader declared: Politics has changed. Politics isnt going back into the box where it was before. Whats happened is people have said theyve had quite enough of austerity politics. - Guardian

Theresa May's future as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservatives was being openly questioned after her decision to hold a snap election disastrously backfired. With Britain facing a hung parliament, Mrs May pledged to offer "stability" if the Tories end up as the largest party with the most votes, as expected. But Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said she should "consider her position" and take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign and a "deeply flawed" manifesto after choosing to go to the country three years early in the hope of extending her majority. - Telegraph

Theresa Mays gamble on a snap election has dramatically backfired after her quest for a stronger mandate to deliver Brexit ended up in the humiliation of a hung parliament, leaving her future as prime minister in doubt. Mrs May vowed to offer a period of stability but senior Conservative figures said she might be forced to quit and Tory MP Anna Soubry said the prime minister should consider her position after running a disastrous campaign. - FT

Nervous investors will be watching the pound and Britains stock market today, spooked by the election result markets feared of a hung parliament. Sterling took a tumble last night as shock exit polls revealed that instead of being on course for a General Election victory in which they extended their parliamentary lead, the Conservatives would lose ground and have no overall majority. - Mail

Business headlines

Overnight, the US House of Representatives backed legislation to undo much of Barack Obamas landmark banking law created after the 2008 economic crisis. Republicans argued that rules designed to prevent another meltdown were making it harder for community banks to operate and hampering the economy. - Guardian

A top City investor has warned against bending the UKs listing rules to encourage Saudi Arabia to pick London for the 1 trillion-plus stock market flotation of Aramco, saying that to do so would be highly inappropriate. Royal London, which manages more than 100 billion on behalf of its customers, said that allowing Saudi Aramco to list only 5 per cent of its shares, despite rules insisting that companies must sell at least a quarter of them, would damage Londons reputation as a financial centre. - The Times

The UK economy was the worst performer in the European Union in the opening months of 2017 as the Brexit vote took its toll, according to official statistics that underscore the challenge facing the next British government. With economic growth of just 0.2% in the first three months of this year, the UK was well behind its European neighbours according to official EU figures. - Guardian

A former HSBC executive accused of foreign exchange market manipulation has been arrested and bailed in the UK ahead of a potential battle over his extradition to the US. Stuart Scott, the banks former head of cash trading for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, appeared in a London court earlier this week and was bailed for 100,000. - Telegraph

The European Union wants to give police new powers to obtain information from internet companies including Facebook and Google as part of new measures to fight terrorism. The European Commission has proposed multiple ways to make it easier for police to retrieve data stored in the cloud directly from technology companies after complaints of slow investigations. - Telegraph

BT has fired PWC as its auditor after the firm failed to spot a fraud at its Italian business, which is thought to have continued for up to ten years. PWC declined to comment yesterday, after the telecoms giant issued a brief statement confirming that the BT board had approved the proposed appointment of KPMG from next year. - The Times
2017 has brought fake news to the world and now sceptics can also add fake whisky to that list.

Scientists from Germany have developed an artificial tongue which can help novice drinkers determine the difference between a Scottish malt whisky and a Japanese blend. This so-called artificial tongue is a series of glowing dyes which have been engineered to react with a unique fluorescent signature when it encounters different trace flavours and chemicals used in whiskies.

In other words, a novice can literally possess the skills of a professional whisky taster without requiring years to develop their palette. Dr. Uwe Bunz at Heidelberg University, Germany who headed the study suggested to Newscientist that their magic glowing liquids could even detect fake whiskies.

If you buy a crate of expensive whiskies, you can test if they are actually what you think they are.

As a new technology the artificial tongue could potentially change the whisky industry which has seen a meteoric rise in recent years. The only downside? Whisky lovers will need to sacrifice a single drop of their prized liquid gold to determine if theyre counterfeit or not.

You need to mix a drop of whisky with each polymer separately to obtain a useful signal, he told the Daily Mail. That is not an issue as we only need three different polymers. This could be used to look for counterfeit whiskies both on the mass market end and also at the super-high end.

However, the reaction from professional tasters has been lukewarm. Leonardo Ciaccheri of the Italian National Research Council told Newscientist that the synthetic tongue needs to be exposed to many more whiskies in order to be reliable.

The results from researchers showed that the dyes could distinguish between a Bowmore from a Poit Dhubh, but that still isnt precise enough according to Ciaccheri.

One is a single malt and the other is blended, told the publication. Instead Ciaccheri believes that the researchers need to try both single malt and blended whiskies from the same distillery.

Bunz isnt slowing down for anyone though. Hes already onto developing a synthetic tongue for tasting red wine. In the mean time the need for counterfeit whisky measures will continue to grow as prices skyrocket to as high as US$600,000 for a Japanese collection that recently went to auction.
Interior Infrastructure Company Greenply Industries Gains 3 Percent

India's largest interior infrastructure company, Greenply Industries, rallied by nearly 3% during Fridays trading session as their overseas subsidiary in Gabon, West Africa started commercial production of Veneer.



Greenply Gabon SA has commenced commercial production of Veneer at its manufacturing unit at Nkok SEZ, Gabon, West Africa, the company informed in its BSE filing.



Greenply Industries is engaged in the business of manufacturing plywood, block board, decorative laminates, decorative veneers, medium density fiberboards (MDF) and allied products through its factories at various locations.

Delivering 17% returns in a period of one year, the stock on the NSE has underperformed the BSE Small Cap and BSE FMCG indices over the same time span.
Four Democratic senators sent a letter to Education Sec. Betsy DeVos this week calling out her support of President Trumps decision to pull out of Paris.

The letter points out that DeVos has not commented on any administration decisions or policies outside of the purview of the Department of Education except for Paris, which she praised in a statement last week.

The senators raised concerns over a Heartland Institute-funded campaign to distribute climate denier literature to every public school science teacher in the country, and questioned if DeVos or her staff had contact with the Heartland Institute on climate science issues.

Koch-Funded Group Tries to Persuade 200,000 Science Teachers That Climate Change Is Debatable https://t.co/Qd4qFk8hYL @ALECExposed @prwatch  EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) March 30, 2017

The senatorsSheldon Whitehouse, Brian Schatz, Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markeywrote in the letter:

It is our sincere hope that neither White House staff nor Department of Education officials have turned to the Heartland Institute on the issues of climate change and climate science, or had any roll in this mailing to educators.

The senators asked Education Sec. DeVos to answer the following four questions:

1. Have any staff members at the Department of Education had contact with individuals associated with the Heartland Institute on climate, science, or science education issues? If so, on what dates did these consultations occur and who did they involve?

2. If the answer to the previous question is yes, please provide copies of all relevant correspondence between you and any Department of Education staff and representatives of the Heartland Institute.

3. Are you or any members of your staff aware of discussions between White House staff members and individuals associated with the Heartland Institute? If so, what were the dates and topics of these conversations and who did they involve?

4. Are any informational resources currently provided through Department of Education )e.g. What Works Clearing House, Teaching Resources page, etc.) created in collaboration with, or reviewed by, anyone associated with the Heartland Institute?

For a deeper dive:

Washington Post $, PBS, The Hill

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
The petitioners had told the court that the provision mandating linking of Aadhaar number with the PAN would have extremely far-reaching consequences.

By India Today Web Desk: The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgement today on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of a provision in the Income Tax Act making Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and allotment of PAN.

The bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan had on May 4 reserved the order on the pleas by senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Binoy Visman, former Major General of Indian Army S.G. Vombatkere and Convenor of Safai Karamchari Andolan Bezwada Wilson, who had challenged the validity of Section 139AA.

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Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrollment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making application for allotment of PAN (Permanent Account Number) with effect from July 1 this year.

The petitioners had told the court that the provision mandating linking of Aadhaar number with the Permanent Account Number (PAN) would have "extremely far-reaching consequences not only for individuals but small businesses too".

The petitioners had told the court that the government had an agenda to push Aadhaar and pointed to the dichotomy between Aadhaar Act, 2016 that makes possessing Aadhaar optional and the Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act that makes its linking with PAN compulsory.

"A right that is voluntary under Aadhaar Act can't be made a penal provision under the Income Tax Act," petitioner CPI leader Visman had told the court.

The court was told that "slowly, step by step the government is making it compulsory by linking it with various things". "Is it not a contempt of court?"

While opposing the governments move, the petitioners, including Viswam, have contended before the bench that the Centre cannot "belittle" the apex courts 2015 order holding the unique identification number as voluntary.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had told the bench that the programme of PAN had become suspect as it could be faked, while Aadhaar is a "secure and robust" system by which the identity of an individual could not be faked.

Rohatgi had said that with the implementation of Aadhaar, the government had saved over Rs 50,000 crore on various schemes to benefit the poor as well as pension schemes.

The Centre had also told the court that fake PAN cards were being used to "divert funds" to shell companies.

During the hearing, the Supreme Court had observed that it was yet to be "tested" whether Aadhaar violated protection of life and personal liberty granted under Article 21 of the Constitution, which was pending hearing for an authoritative pronouncement by a five-judge Constitution Bench.

The top court by its earlier orders had said that the government could insist upon Aadhaar only for distribution of food grains, LPG and other schemes including MNREGA, old-age pension scheme, provident fund and Prime Minister's Jan-Dhan Yojana.

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Also Read:

No Aadhaar? Phone users to lose their numbers, Airtel and Idea start sending SMS

Aadhaar mandatory or voluntary? Ahead of Supreme Court hearing, 63 per cent concerned about data leakage

Also Watch:

My Take: Aadhaar card should not be linked to income tax returns

--- ENDS ---
By Alex Kotch

The Trump White House is going to be very, very Koch-y.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, billionaire industrialists and Republican mega-donors Charles and David Koch made headlines by refusing to endorse a candidate. But ads in U.S. Senate races paid for by Koch-linked independent political groups hurt the image of Donald Trumps foe, Hillary Clinton, whom they criticized while associating Democratic Senate candidates with her. And the massive ground game of the Kochs well-known political group, Americans for Prosperity, helped turn out thousands of Trump voters in battleground states.

From the time Trump picked his vice presidential running mate, Koch favorite Mike Pence, the brothers influence on Trump World has grown ever stronger.

From transition team staffers to his cabinet, Trump has brought numerous Koch lieutenants and allies into his inner circle. His taunting of Marco Rubio for being a puppet of the Koch brothers is long gone. Its very likely that Trump is eager to work with Charles and David Koch, who represent exactly what Trump values mostwealth and powerwhich is also reflected in his potential Cabinet of billionaire executives. And though the Kochs may object to Trumps Islamophobia or other select viewpoints, they stand to add to their combined $88 billion through Trumps planned environmental deregulation, privatization, corporate tax cuts and other policies favoring the wealthy to be carried out by his U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pick, who recently sued that agency; his secretary of state choice, the CEO of Exxon; his labor pick, a fast-food CEO who doesnt believe in the minimum wage; and others.

Heres What You Need to Know on Six of Trumps Cabinet Nominations https://t.co/fjKLBIfatV @Green_Europe @globalactplan  EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) January 7, 2017

David Koch attended Trumps election night victory party. Then on Dec. 21, Trump had an informal chat with Koch at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida (where Koch is a member) about preparations for his administration.

The Kochs allies have been helping shape the Trump administration for some time. The liberal Center for American Progresss political arm found that one-third of Trumps transition team, which recommends Cabinet nominees, ambassadors and advisers to the president-elect, has ties to the Koch brothers. These transition team members include Trump mega-donors who are also part of the Koch political network, such as Rebekah Mercer, and employees of Koch-funded think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the Institute for Energy Research.

Heres a look at some of the top Koch allies wholl be running the government very soon and what kinds of Koch-backed policies we can expect them to champion.

The Koch Brothers Darling

The Kochs must have popped champagne when Trump announced that Mike Pence, the conservative governor of Indiana, would be his running mate. Pence is adored by the Kochs and their vast political donor network; Ken Vogel and Maggie Haberman described him in Politico as among the best  messengers for this new Koch brand in a field of prospective [presidential] candidates who fit some portions of the brothers political bent but not others. Pence has addressed a gathering of Americans for Prosperity, the Kochs most well-known political group that spends millions on elections each cycle opposing liberal policies and helping elect conservative Republicans. This year he planned to speak at one of the Kochs donor seminars, where the brothers meet with uber-wealthy allies and pool their hundreds of millions of dollars for joint political spending, but canceled two weeks beforehand.

David Koch gave Pences two gubernatorial campaigns $300,000. Americans for Prosperity ran ads supporting Pence, and the Republican Governors Association, to which Koch and Koch Industries have donated a combined $10.8 million since 2003, spent $4.2 million in 2012 and 2016 backing Pence.

Pence, who may be an even more powerful vice president than Dick Cheney, will be in prime position to advocate for the issues about which the Kochs care most, including corporate tax cuts, which he instituted in Indiana, and opposition to bailouts and market regulation. According to Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr., Pence will be in charge of both domestic and foreign policy. And hell preside over the U.S. Senate, over which Republicans have a narrow majority.

Indiana is one big free market, [and] much like Koch Industries, Mike Pence  picks the right fights, said Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster whose company has worked for Pence and for Americans for Prosperity. Conway became Trumps campaign manager last August and was recently named a counselor to the president who will help effectively message and execute the Administrations legislative priorities and actions. Conway is also a board member of the Koch-aligned and Koch-funded Independent Womens Forum, which, The Nation reports, has pushed the Koch agenda.

Several of Pences former staffers have gone on to work in the Koch political network, including Marc Short, who went from being Pences chief of staff when Pence was a congressman to president of Freedom Partners, the Koch political operations central bank, which gives out enormous amounts of money to right-wing political spending groups. Short returned to advising Pence this summer when the governor joined Trumps campaign and will soon take a job in the West Wing, likely heading legislative affairs, according to the Washington Post.

A Grim Future for the Environment

Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general who recently sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, is, incredibly, Trumps pick to head that very agency. Pruitt has called the climate change debate far from settled.

Texas oil and gas investor Doug Deason, who, along with his billionaire father, Darwin, is a Republican political mega-donor and key figure in the Koch political network, pushed for his friend Pruitt to head the EPA. (Doug and his wife Holly wrote a tribute to the Koch brothers last year, supported by Freedom Partners.)

Its hard to imagine anyone whose anti-environmental policies would benefit Koch Industries profits more than Pruitt, who is bound to deregulate the environment and encourage fossil fuel production as much as possible, benefiting large fossil fuel corporations like Koch Industries, which operates oil refineries and gas pipelines, sells natural gas and owns tar sands land in Canada. As Oklahoma attorney general, he established a federalism unit to combat unwarranted regulation and overreach by the federal government. As the Chicago Tribute reported, Pruitt defended Exxon against allegations that it knew about climate change for decades and misled the public; fought to restrict clean water protections; and submitted a letter to the EPA that was actually written by Devon Energy, whose corporate PAC donated to his attorney general campaigns.

Sure enough, Koch Industries PAC also contributed $10,000 to Pruitts attorney general campaigns in 2010 and 2014. Other top contributors include Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy and ExxonMobil. Whats more, the independent Republican State Leadership Committee, to which Koch Industries has given nearly $1.3 million in the last decade, spent $150,000 supporting Pruitt in the 2010 race. In 2014, Freedom Partners even gave $175,000 the political nonprofit Pruitt directed.

Rick Perry is also in a curious position: Hes nominated to lead the Department of Energy, a department that he said he wanted to eliminate during the 2012 presidential campaign (and couldnt name in his famous whoops moment at a debate). Perry may not have been a Koch favorite for president, but Koch Industries has directly given $111,000 to his campaigns over the years, and David Koch has contributed $75,000. But perhaps Perrys biggest fan is Darwin Deason, who gave $5 million last election cycle to a super PAC supporting Perry.

As governor of Texas, Perry allowed the expansion of wind energy, but he supported new coal plants and has close ties to the oil and gas industry. The Department of Energy has a big focus on nuclear energy but also regulates the oil and gas industry and leads the governments fossil fuel development.

The Center for Media and Democracy got a sneak peak at Trumps likely energy policy by obtaining a memo sent by the head of his energy transition team, a former lobbyist for Koch Industries named Thomas Pyle. Included in Pyles account of Trumps energy plan is a withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, increasing federal oil and gas leasing and green-lighting pipelines such as the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

Intelligence

A Koch favorite has been tapped to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. Mike Pompeo, a U.S. representative from the Kochs home state of Kansas, was involved with the brothers long before his days as a politician; his private aerospace company used seed money from Koch Venture Capital and Pompeo was president of a company that worked with Koch Industries Brazilian distributor.

When he ran to represent the district thats home to the Koch Industries headquarters in 2010, Pompeo received more Koch-linked donations than any other candidate that cycle, and after winning, he hired a Koch Industries lawyer to be his chief of staff. In 2014, the Kochs funded his campaign again. The Koch Industries PAC is the single largest donor to Pompeos campaigns, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.

Pompeo is a vigorous supporter of the NSAs surveillance program, wants whistleblower Edward Snowden executed and opposes the U.S. deal with Iran. As CIA chief, its unclear how the Kochs influence will affect his decisions, but in the House he advocated for their causes, pushing the Americans for Prosperity-backed No Climate Tax Pledge and introducing a bill to quicken the natural gas pipeline approval process. If the Koch brothers want to weigh in, theyll have the ear of one of their closest political allies.

Education

Betsy DeVos, a billionaire and recent chair of the pro-school choice and politically active American Federation for Children, is Trumps pick to lead the Department of Education. Aside from donating $265,000 to sitting senators who will vote on her confirmation, her foundation has contributed millions to Americans for Prosperity and to other conservative political groups backed by the Kochs. DeVos has devoted her life to pushing for charter school expansion and private school vouchers, which use public funds to pay for kids to attend religious and other schools. There is no doubt that she will do all she can as secretary to divert traditional public school funding into under-regulated charters and private schools. Both Charles and David Koch have favored privatizing schools for decades, and many Koch-funded organizations team up on school-choice projects.

Corrupt Counsel to Defend Corrupt President

Donald McGahn, a lawyer who has worked for Freedom Partners and its affiliated super PAC, will be chief White House counsel. As a member of the Federal Election Commission from 2009 to 2013, he was known for hobbling the enforcement of campaign finance laws in favor of letting big money flood politics and transforming the commission into the ineffective, gridlocked body that it is today. McGahn, who defended Rep. Tom DeLay in a money laundering scandal and in a Russian pay-to-play scandal, will have to defend probably the most conflicts-of-interest-ridden president in history. In other words, McGahn is about the last person who will help Trump dissolve his conflicts of interest or critique a president set to make private profits all around the world while in office.

Trumps transition team has even reached outside of the team itself for additional advice from people deeply embedded in the Koch political operation. One of the Department of Veterans Affairs harshest critics, Florida GOP Rep. Jeff Miller, may become head of that department. Trump is considering Miller for the job and members of a closely Koch-linked social welfare nonprofit are advising his transition team on the matter; one employee of the group is actually on the transition team. Concerned Veterans for America, which spends millions every year, often on ads criticizing Democrats or praising Republicans, wants to privatize veterans health care and make firing workers easier. Trump hasnt yet named his selection for Veterans Affairs, but Pete Hegseth, president of Concerned Veterans for America, is also on the shortlist.

And its not just the transition team thats looking for help from Koch minionsits Trump himself. As Steve Horn reported in DeSmog, the only person Trump spoke to on the record about a big anti-regulatory act thats been on the Kochs agenda for years was Phil Kerpen, former vice president of policy for Americans for Prosperity. The REINS Act just passed the House on Jan. 5.

Another Koch ally, Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Bill Shuster, is hoping to privatize air traffic control under a corporate president who, despite winning several states with the help of union voters, is no fan of unions. Shuster has already met with Trump and the Transportation nominee, Elaine Chao, and indicated that Trump is open to privatization. The congressman, whos received $30,000 from the Koch Industries PAC since 2012, fought a federal wind energy tax credit, in line with the Kochs campaign targeting the program. In 2016, a Koch-funded outside political spending group, American Action Network, put $208,000 toward ads benefiting Shuster.

Shusters 2016 campaign manager was Andy Post, who previously worked in media relations for the Charles Koch Institute and was grassroots coordinator for Americans for Prosperity during the 2012 election cycle. Hes now communications coordinator with the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

This article merely scratches the surface of the Koch brothers influence on the incoming administration. With one-third of Trumps transition team reportedly linked to the Kochs, more unfilled positions will go to Koch-linked individuals. From environmental regulation to veterans health care, the Koch agenda will be well represented in the White House.

Reposted with permission from our media associate AlterNet.
Check out this powerful video from Vocativ featuring Pittsburghs green and thriving tech economy. The video and accompanying blog post is in response to President Donald Trumps statement, I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris, during his announcement pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement.

Vocativ found out, while visiting the Steel City, that many Pittsburghers did not appreciate the presidents shout-out. Watch above.
This past May, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt raised some eyebrows when he issued a memorandum insisting he be personally involved in decisions regarding Superfund cleanups that cost $50 million or more.

Now we might know why he made that move. As noted by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), one of Pruitts first acts under the memo was tabling an October 2016 EPA order that General Electric (GE) spend $613 million to remove PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) that the companys plant in Pittsfield dumped into the Housatonic River in western Massachusetts from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Before Pruitt was tapped to head the EPA, GE appealed the EPAs order last fall, criticizing it for being too costly, as it required the excavation of contaminated soils within a 10-mile stretch of the river from Pittsfield to Lenox. Officials with the company considered the governments 13-year Rest of River plan a violation of an earlier settlement, and noted that more than $500 million had been spent since the 1990s to clean two miles of the river closest to the plant.

But now, the Boston-based industrial giant might have a powerful, business-friendly ally in the Trump administration. The new EPA chief is inviting GE to negotiate a new compromise, PEER said.

Pruitt has positioned himself to hand out multi-million dollar favors to corporate polluters subject to almost no review, stated PEER New England Director Kyla Bennett, a former EPA scientist and attorney, adding that Superfund is Pruitts sole affirmative or non-rollback initiative. The main way to streamline these inherently contentious and costly cleanups is offer responsible industries sweetheart deals they cant refuse.

Although PCBs were banned in 1979 over its risks to human health and environmental injury, traces of the highly toxic and carcinogenic compounds remain pervasive in waterways and dumpsites around the world. As the New York Times reported, studies show that parts of the Housatonic had been so contaminated with PCBs that eating fish, ducks and other animals from the river would substantially increase the risk of getting cancer or other diseases.

Local environmentalists expressed concerns over the Trump administration protecting corporate polluters.

Looks like Massachusetts is about to become Exhibit A in the Trump administrations efforts to go easy on polluters, Matt Pawa, a lawyer who represents towns that support the EPAs plan for the Housatonic, told the Boston Globe.

Pruitt seems intent on undermining years of work by his own agency, added Julia Blatt, executive director of the Massachusetts River Alliance. This is incredibly disrespectful to the EPA staff who have worked for decades to get GE to clean up its pollution, and to the people who live and work in that area and deserve a clean Housatonic River.

GE declined to say if it lobbied the EPA to renegotiate the order, but it did acknowledge Pruitts memo to review costly cleanups.

Consistent with that initiative, we reaffirmed our previous support to EPA for settlement negotiations with the parties to explore the possibility of expediting a common-sense solution that meets our commitment to a comprehensive cleanup, GE spokesman Jeff Caywood told the Boston Globe. Negotiations are a part of any litigation.

The independent EPA Environmental Appeals Board heard arguments Thursday from attorneys representing GE, the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut, the EPA and other parties over the Housatonic River cleanup plan.
U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken issued an order Thursday denying motions filed by the Trump administration and the fossil fuel industry that sought to appeal her Nov. 10, 2016 order in Juliana v. United States to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The order follows the Trump administrations remarkable Tuesday night filing of a notice giving Judge Aiken a deadline of June 9 to issue her order.

In that notice, the Department of Justice threatened, In the absence of such resolution by this Court, the United States will seek  review and relief in the Court of Appeals. The Trump administration is alluding to an intention to seek a writ of mandamus, an extraordinary remedy that is rarely granted, from the higher court.

We are on our way to trial! said Julia Olson, co-lead counsel for plaintiffs and executive director of Our Childrens Trust. With industry walking away from the case and the Trump administrations effort at procedural delay firmly rejected, we can focus on the merits of these youths constitutional claims.

From Judge Aikens June 8 order:

Defendants threat to run directly to the Ninth Circuit if this Court does not abide by a unilaterally imposed deadline is another matter  belief that it is legally entitled to an immediate ruling on a motion it submitted three months ago is rather ironic given that it waited four months to file the request for interlocutory certification in the first place.

Judge Aikens order was an adoption of the May 1 findings and recommendation issued by Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin, who is overseeing the pretrial and discovery portion of the case. Judge Coffin has ruled that an interlocutory appeal would put the cart before the horse, and thus fail to satisfy the standards for interlocutory appeal.

The more evidence we gather for our case, the more I realize how decisively we can win at trial, said 20-year-old Alex Loznak of Roseburg, Oregon, one of 21 youth plaintiffs. Its no wonder the Trump administration wants to avoid the trial by seeking an unwarranted, premature appeal. Todays ruling brings us one step closer to trial and to winning our lawsuit.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority of the Supreme Court, has explained that mandamus is a drastic and extraordinary remedy reserved for only exceptional circumstances. Cheney v. U.S. Dist. Court for D.C., 542 U.S. 367, 380 (2004).

Last month, motions were filed by three fossil fuel industry intervenor-defendants: the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Petroleum Institute, and the American Fuel & and Petrochemical Manufacturers, requesting the courts permission to withdraw from the litigation. For any defendant to leave the litigation, U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin must grant permission. That matter is still pending.

Fossil Fuel Associations Scramble to Quit Kids Climate Lawsuit Before Discovery Deadline https://t.co/orBLBLnaZy @YaleClimateComm  EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) May 28, 2017

Juliana v. United States was brought by 21 young plaintiffs who argue that their constitutional and public trust rights are being violated by the governments creation of climate danger. The case is one of many related legal actions brought by youth in several states and countries, all supported by Our Childrens Trust, seeking science-based action by governments to stabilize the climate system.
Honda has announced a target date of 2025 to introduce cars that are capable of driving themselves in most situations.

The automaker said by that date it will produce vehicles that achieve SAE Level 4 automation, meaning they can operate without driver input under almost all road and traffic conditions. SAE defines this level is as "driving mode-specific performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task, even if a human driver does not respond appropriately to a request to intervene." In other words, even though a driver is present, if something goes wrong, the vehicle can handle itself.

Honda demonstrated its progress toward that goal in two driving scenarios at its research and development facility in Japan. In one demonstration, a test vehicle equipped with a suite of cameras and sensors autonomously negotiated a multilane freeway in the presence of other traffic. A second demo involved a self-driving car wending its way through a typical suburban environment, avoiding traffic, making turns, and responding to road signs with the help of camera sensors and artificial intelligence.

"We will strive to achieve the technological establishment of Level 4 automated driving for personal car use by around 2025," said Takahiro Hachigo, Honda's president and CEO, in a statement. "We are striving to provide our customers with a sense of confidence and trust by offering automated driving that will keep vehicles away from any dangerous situation and that will not make people around the vehicle feel unsafe."

Honda had previously stated that by 2020 it will introduce cars able to function at SAE Level 3, in which the vehicle handles all "safety critical" processes, with the driver intervening only as necessary. The automaker confirmed those plans and said that this latest goal builds on the earlier plan.

SAE Level 0 refers to no automation whatsoever. At Level 1, the driver is primarily in control, with the vehicle lending assistance, and at Level 2 the car is able to control steering and speed while the driver monitors road conditions and manages other functions. The final step is Level 5 automation, which refers to a fully autonomous vehicle, able to monitor road and traffic conditions and react accordingly in all situations.

Level 1 involves familiar technology, such as cruise control. Level 2 is becoming more common, with many automakers offering systems such as adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assist as either standard or optional equipment. So far, Level 3 vehicles exist only as test platforms since the big advancement in this category is that the car is able to "read" situations and make complex decisions. For example, rather than braking to avoid a slow-moving vehicle ahead, the car decides if it's safe to pass, then changes lanes and accelerates around it.

Level 4, where Honda says it's headed by 2025, is another big leap. At this point, the car is fully in charge, although generally within defined parameters, such as a well-mapped geographical area or an open highway. Level 5 is the holy grail of vehicle autonomy. As previously reported by Edmunds, some researchers, including those at Google, think cars at this level will operate so independently they won't even need steering wheels or emergency brakes. Needless to say, Level 4 and 5 vehicles are also still in the testing stages.
Washington, DC -- A team including several Carnegie scientists has developed a form of ultrastrong, lightweight carbon that is also elastic and electrically conductive. A material with such a unique combination of properties could serve a wide variety of applications from aerospace engineering to military armor.

Carbon is an element of seemingly infinite possibilities. This is because the configuration of its electrons allows for numerous self-bonding combinations that give rise to a range of materials with varying properties. For example, transparent, superhard diamonds, and opaque graphite, which is used for both pencils and industrial lubricant, are comprised solely of carbon.

In this international collaboration between Yanshan University and Carnegie -- which included Carnegie's Zhisheng Zhao, Timothy Strobel, Yoshio Kono, Jinfu Shu, Ho-kwang "Dave" Mao, Yingwei Fei, and Guoyin Shen -- scientists pressurized and heated a structurally disordered form of carbon called glassy carbon. The glassy carbon starting material was brought to about 250,000 times normal atmospheric pressure and heated to approximately 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit to create the new strong and elastic carbon. Their findings are published by Science Advances.

Scientists had previously tried subjecting glassy carbon to high pressures at both room temperature (referred to as cold compression) and extremely high temperatures. But the so-called cold-synthesized material could not maintain its structure when brought back to ambient pressure, and under the extremely hot conditions, nanocrystalline diamonds were formed.

The newly created carbon is comprised of both graphite-like and diamond-like bonding motifs, which gives rise to the unique combination of properties. Under the high-pressure synthesis conditions, disordered layers within the glassy carbon buckle, merge, and connect in various ways. This process creates an overall structure that lacks a long-range spatial order, but has a short-range spatial organization on the nanometer scale.

"Light materials with high strength and robust elasticity like this are very desirable for applications where weight savings are of the utmost importance, even more than material cost," explained Zhisheng Zhao a former Carnegie fellow, who is now a Yanshan University professor. "What's more, we believe that this synthesis method could be honed to create other extraordinary forms of carbon and entirely different classes of materials."

###

The other members of the team are: Meng Hu, Julong He, Wentao Hu, Dongli Yu, Hao Sun, Lingyu Liu, Zihe Li, Mengdong Ma, Jian Yu Huang, Zhongyuan Liu, Bo Xu, Yongjun Tian of the State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology; Yanbin Wang of the University of Chicago; and Stephen J. Juhl of Penn State University.

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, a grant for Distinguished Young Scholars of Hebei Province of China, the Postgraduate Innovation Project of Hebei Province of China, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, EFree -- funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, and the NSF. HPCAT is supported by DOE-NNSA and DOE-BES with partial instrument support from the NSF. APS. is supported by DOE-BES.

The Carnegie Institution for Science is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.
A new study, published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, has shown that selling rewards programmes to participants entering a weight loss programme is a low cost strategy to increase both the magnitude and duration of weight loss. A team from the Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS) and Singapore General Hospital (SGH) led the research, which has implications for insurance companies and employers looking for low cost strategies to improve population health.

Worldwide, overweight and obesity are increasingly prevalent conditions, which have led to the rise of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. They have also increased absenteeism among employees and raised private and public healthcare costs. However, they are largely preventable by making healthier food choices and engaging in regular physical activity. Yet, because people often succumb to temptation, they often fail to make healthier choices.

Professor Eric Finkelstein from Duke-NUS used insights from behavioural economics to develop a Rewards programme aimed to address the disconnect between long-term health and short-term temptation. He then teamed up with Dr Kwang Wei Tham from SGH to test it out among overweight or obese adults.

In the randomised eight month long Singapore-based Trial on Incentives for Obesity (TRIO), 161 participants paid S$234 to access a 16 week intensive weight loss programme. The programme required participants to attend weekly sessions at the Lifestyle Improvement and Fitness Enhancement (LIFE) Centre in SGH where they were taught skills to maintain a healthy lifestyle and encouraged to lose at least 5% of their body weight.

Participants also paid an additional S$165 for the Rewards programme. Participants in the intervention arm could earn monthly rewards either in cash or as a lottery ticket with a one in 10 chance of winning 10 times the cash amount if they met monthly weight loss and step goals. Additional rewards were offered for meeting 5% or 8% weight loss goals at months four and eight. The maximum possible reward value over the eight month period was S$660 if all weight loss and step goals were met. Those randomised to the control arm had their money returned and were ineligible for rewards.

At the end of month four, weight loss was more than twice as great in the Rewards arm compared with the control arm (average 3.4 kg versus 1.4 kg weight loss). At months eight and 12, weight loss remained greater (average 3.3 kg vs. 1.8 kg weight loss at month eight and 2.3 kg vs 0.8 kg weight loss at month 12). Moreover, more than three times as many Rewards arm participants achieved 5% or greater weight loss at month four, relative to control arm participants (40% vs. 12%). At month four more than twice as many hit the 5% threshold (41% vs. 21%) and the percentage with 5% or greater weight loss was still greater at month 12 (28% vs. 17%).

The average payout to participants in the Rewards arm was S$225.00. After subtracting the fee to access the rewards, third party costs were S$60.00 per participant. Moreover, although only 42% of participants earned more than they paid in, ~80% reported satisfaction with the rewards scheme.

"Our findings not only show the value of rewards to increase weight loss and weight loss maintenance, but they show it can be done in a manner that minimizes third party payments, such as those by employers or insurers. This should help to expand access to these types of programmes." said senior author Dr Finkelstein, a professor in the Duke-NUS Programme for Health Services and Systems Research.

"Even small amounts of weight loss, sustained over time, confer great health benefits and can help prevent chronic disease. This study shows that the enhancement and maintenance of weight loss is feasible through a rewards programme with participant ownership, coupled with an evidence-based, medical weight loss programme," said Dr Kwang Wei Tham, Director, LIFE Centre and Senior Consultant, Department of Endocrinology, SGH.

###

This research was supported by the NUS Initiative to Improve Health in Asia (NIHA-2011-1-002), coordinated by the Global Asia Institute of the National University of Singapore, and by the Glaxo Smith Kline-Economic Development Board (Singapore) Trust Fund.
INDIANAPOLIS -- A new study led by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis assistant professor of psychology Tamika Zapolski has found differing risks for binge drinking based on race, income and age.

Zapolski found that African-Americans and Hispanics in the lowest income bracket (annual incomes less than $20,000) have a lower risk of binge drinking during adolescence compared to whites, while African-Americans -- but not Hispanics -- have a higher risk for binge drinking compared to whites at age 50 and older.

At higher incomes, a comparable risk for binge drinking was found for both African-Americans and Hispanics at older ages.

According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, about 44,000 alcohol-related deaths annually stem from binge drinking -- defined as four or more drinks for females or five or more drinks for males in a two-hour period.

The IUPUI researchers analyzed data on binge drinking among 205,198 respondents age 12 and older surveyed in the 2010 to 2013 National Study on Drug Use and Health. They investigated risk for binge drinking as a function of race/ethnicity, gender, income and age.

After controlling for education and marital status, among those with annual incomes less than $20,000, the risk for binge drinking was lower for African-American males from ages 18 to 24, as well as females from ages 18 to 34, than for their white counterparts. But the risk for binge drinking was higher for both African-American men and women ages 50 to 64, compared to whites. Unlike African-Americans, no crossover from low risk to high risk for binge drinking was found for Hispanics.

Within each of the higher income brackets ($20,000 to $50,000, $50,000 to $75,000, and greater than $75,000), risk for binge drinking was generally lower for African-Americans in comparison to whites at younger ages, with similar risk of binge drinking at older ages. The risk for binge drinking for Hispanic respondents was fairly comparable across age groups.

"Although African-Americans are generally at low risk for binge drinking, we found that the risk for binge drinking increases disproportionately with age among African-Americans who are poor," said Zapolski, a clinical psychologist. "This may be linked to the impact of poverty, which is particularly detrimental for African-American populations."

The findings of increased risk for binge drinking in mid-adulthood to late adulthood for low-income African-Americans can inform clinical practice as well as advance research, Zapolski said. In future studies, she hopes to find out why older African-Americans are more likely to binge drink by looking at stresses prevalent in their communities, such as exposure to violence and housing insecurity. Zapolski's goal is to develop health prevention and intervention strategies that incorporate these social factors.

Zapolski directs PRISM, the Prevention Research In Substance Use & Minority Health Lab in IUPUI's School of Science. PRISM focuses on risk for substance use and other health behaviors among African-Americans.

Further work is required to investigate potential differences in drinking behaviors among Hispanic subgroups, according to Zapolski and study co-authors Patrick Baldwin, a former IUPUI graduate student now a graduate student at Chestnut Hill College; Devin E. Banks, an IUPUI graduate student now on the faculty of Chestnut Hill College; and Timothy Stump, an IU School of Medicine biostatistician.

"Does a Crossover Age Effect Exist for African American and Hispanic Binge Drinkers? Findings from the 2010 to 2013 National Study on Drug Use and Health" is published in the June print issue of in the peer-reviewed journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study was supported, in part, by the School of Science at IUPUI and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.

The School of Science at IUPUI is committed to excellence in teaching, research and service in the biological, physical, behavioral and mathematical sciences. The school is dedicated to being a leading resource for interdisciplinary research and science education in support of Indiana's effort to expand and diversify its economy.

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MAYWOOD, IL - Grateful for the life-saving care they received at Loyola Medicine, Peter and Heidi Huizenga have made a generous gift to further oncology research and to honor Kathy Albain, MD, FACP, FASCO.

The gift will fund the Huizenga Family Endowed Chair in Oncology Research at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Dr. Albain is the first professor to hold the chair.

"The appointment to a named and endowed chair is among the highest academic recognitions for a University faculty member. Dr. Albain is an accomplished clinician scientist who is dedicated to improving human health, and we are thrilled to be presenting her with this most deserving honor," said Margaret Faut Callahan, CRNA, PhD, FNAP, FAAN, provost, Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Division.

An investiture ceremony for Dr. Albain was held May 31 at Loyola University Chicago's Center for Translational Research and Education in Maywood.

The gift will enable Dr. Albain to devote more time to cancer research, said Larry M. Goldberg, president & CEO of Loyola University Health System. "This gift also is in recognition of the outstanding contributions Dr. Albain has made as a physician, researcher, teacher and mentor."

Mrs. Huizenga credits Dr. Albain for successfully treating her for cancer and twice saving her life. First, in 2003, Dr. Albain diagnosed and treated Mrs. Huizenga for breast cancer. In a follow-up exam two years later, Dr. Albain discovered tumors in Mrs. Huizenga's neck, which proved to be an indolent form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 2008, an inoperable tumor was found on the optic nerve of Mrs. Huizenga's eye. The tumor could not be biopsied, but Dr. Albain's earlier diagnosis helped identify the growth as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The cancer was treated successfully by Patrick Stiff, MD, director of Loyola's Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center.

Dr. Albain has become Mrs. Huizenga's close friend as well as her physician.

"Kathy treats the body and nurtures the human spirit," Mrs. Huizenga said. "She takes time with each patient, listens to their concerns and makes the correct diagnosis. Dr. Albain carries this dedication, thoroughness and work ethic into her research. Her strong Christian commitment also is very evident in her professional life."

Peter Huizenga added, "Heidi and I are very pleased to support Dr. Albain's contributions in research and medical services. The endowed chair provides her with the recognition and resources she so richly deserves. She has been a great help to me as well."

Dr. Albain said the therapies used to treat Mrs. Huizenga were made possible by the type of research the Huizenga endowed chair will fund.

"I'm extremely honored to be appointed to the first Huizenga endowed chair," Dr. Albain said. "I greatly appreciate the Huizenga family's support, both for my research and for that of faculty members who will hold this chair in the future."

Dr. Albain is a professor in the division of hematology/oncology in the department of medicine of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. She is director of Loyola's breast clinical research program, co-director of the multidisciplinary breast oncology center and director of the thoracic oncology program.

Dr. Albain is a leader in national clinical trials of new treatments for breast and lung cancer. She also studies cancer survivorship. She chaired the Committee on Special Populations for SWOG, a National Cancer Institute cooperative research group, since the committee's inception. Dr. Albain is a member of SWOG's working groups for breast and lung cancer, devoting her career to research in both diseases, and also sits on SWOG's Cancer Prevention and Control Executive Committee. She is a member of the international Early Breast Cancer Trialists' Collaborative Group and its Steering Committee. She served on the National Cancer Institute Concept Evaluation Panel for lung cancer. She was a charter member of the NIH Committee on Research on Women's Health and completed a four-year term on the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA, followed by service as a consultant to the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Dr. Albain is an author of nearly 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals and textbooks. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP) and a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO).

Dr. Albain was co-valedictorian of her high school and graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College. She earned her medical degree from University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Albain completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center and a fellowship in hematology/oncology at University of Chicago. She was granted tenure at Loyola in 2005 and appointed Dean's Scholar in 2011.

Dr. Albain is a member of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in River Forest, Illinois and enjoys travel, reading and fitness training.

Mrs. Huizenga is a graduate of DePauw University. She has served on the board of Loyola's president's advisory council and has volunteered with many Christian, civic and educational organizations, including Prison Fellowship, which was founded by Chuck Colson. The Huizengas live in Oak Brook, Illinois and have four children and 10 grandchildren.

Mr. Huizenga graduated from University of Illinois College of Law in 1963 and practiced law for eight years. During that time he became one of the founders of Waste Management, where he spent a career as vice president, secretary and member of the board of directors. In 1990, Mr. Huizenga retired from Waste Management and established Huizenga Capital Management, an Oak Brook-based financial services business. He also has chaired and served on many civic, educational and Christian organizations.

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The second daughter of Saravana Arul, the owner of the textiles chain - Saravana Stores, got married few days back.

The wedding of a textiles chain owner's daughter has raised eyebrows of many in Chennai. The second daughter of Saravana Arul, the owner of the textiles chain - Saravana Stores, got married few days back.

The grand wedding has gone viral. The bride Meenakshi's reception gown has gone viral with claims that it's made of gold and costs around Rs 13 crore. The owner Saravana Arul is already popular in Tamil Nadu for acting in the ads for his textiles showroom with stars like Tamannah and Hansika.

advertisement

Meanwhile, this extravagant wedding of his daughter took place in a star hotel in Chennai. There were various rounds of Sangeet, traditional Tamil wedding, princess welcome and a reception attended by celebrities.

There was a celebration where the bride and groom were dressed like prince and princess. As they came down the steps of a palace like set, there were dancers welcoming them with flowers. There was also a music orchestra by famous Laxman Sruthi.

The long gown in golden colour has now become famous with people making guesses on designer and amount of gold weaved on it.

When India Today contacted the secretary of Saravana Arul, he refused to comment on anything about the wedding.

ALSO READ:

Big fat Reddy wedding: Outrageously fancy arrangements, Rs 500 crore budget and the ancient city of Hampi

The big fat wedding bill

--- ENDS ---
The species-area relationship (SAC) is a long-time considered pattern in ecology and is discussed in most of academic Ecology books. Its implications are relevant for many ecological, evolutionary, conservation and biogeographic purposes. Conversely, the associated volume-species relation has been almost ignored. Nevertheless, according to a new study published in the journal Plant Ecology (Cazzolla Gatti R. , Di Paola A., Bombelli A., Noce S., Valentini R. Exploring the relationship between canopy height and terrestrial plant diversity. Plant Ecology, 2017 doi:10.1007/s11258-017-0738-6) this relationship may play a fundamental role in ecology and it is relevant for many different ecological applications, such as the estimation of minimum viable populations, species ranges, protected areas, etc. In this global-scale study, Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Biological Institute of the Tomsk State University (Russia) and his Italian colleagues from the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) in Viterbo, investigated such new perspective looking at canopy height as a proxy of ecosystem volume ("biospace"), which influences plant richness in forest ecosystems.

Some decades ago, the Italian forest ecologist Lucio Susmel developed the idea of "biospace" and stated that "the features of multi-aged forest are a function of the aboveground biospace, modified by plants and animals living in a physical environment". The Italian ecologist suggested that "[Biospace may be defined as a] protected space within which it is possible to play all physiological, biological and evolutionary processes of a community [...] the parameter most appropriate for assessing the biospace is the volume of the system that can be measured by the average height of the dominant trees".

Up to date, the difficulty to detect tree's height by ground and the lack of a comprehensive global flora census has impeded to define a general pattern of forest ecosystem volume and species diversity. Only the recent developments of new powerful technologies, such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), allowed to map forest vertical structure globally. Together with the availability of new accurate botanical data, such as the NASA Canopy Height Global Map, which is a novelty in satellite technology combined with field analyses, this opens incredible opportunities in ecology. "We investigated - explained Prof. Roberto Cazzolla Gatti - a possible global relation between species richness and canopy height by comparing the high resolution Global Map of Canopy Height provided by NASA with the Plant Diversity Map produced by Barthlott and colleagues in 2007".

Eventually, the results of this study show that higher canopies account for more plant species: there is a third dimension fully exploitable by the species. This is certainly because larger volumes can contain larger numbers of species, but it is not only a matter of the available space.

"I came across this idea - revealed Prof. Cazzolla Gatti - working for many years in tropical, temperate and boreal forests. I wondered why higher canopies are almost always positively associated with higher level of biodiversity. If the reason were only the climate, which is able to increase both trees height and biodiversity, we would have found within the same climatic strip around the world similar level of diversity in forests with different canopy heights. This wasn't the case: although climatic conditions are the same biodiversity increases when canopy rises up".

The study suggest that this positive correlation between biodiversity and canopy height is due to the increased biospace: the larger the volume of a forest ecosystem, the more layers and ecological conditions (light, humidity, food resources, water availability, climbing opportunity for lianas, presence of epiphytes, ferns, etc.) that diversify the environment. This is also offers an empirical proof to the hypotheses developed during the last years by Prof. Cazzolla Gatti about the emergence of new niches biodiversity-related, i.e. the idea that biodiversity begets biodiversity (Cazzolla Gatti 2011 in Theoretical Biology Forum; Cazzolla Gatti 2016 in Biologia; Cazzolla Gatti et al. 2017 in Ecological Modelling).

The relationship between biodiversity and canopy height is particularly evident in tropical regions. In fact, according to the latitudinal gradient theory, tropical rainforests are, on average, taller than temperate ones, and therefore offer more space for physiological, biological and evolutionary processes of the community. This feature allows species with distinct traits to coexist and begets the emergence of new niches that increases the richness of a more stratified ecosystem.

However, because both climatic and latitudinal gradients could veiled and correlate with forest height and diversity, Cazzolla Gatti and colleagues disentangled their hypothesis of a pure canopy height-diversity relation by analysing it within different macroclimate zones according to the Koppen-Geiger climate classification. This classification reflects a latitudinal zonation and allows to remove the climatic influence from the canopy height-diversity relationship. However, the relationship was observed in each of the three main climate zone and this confirmed that canopy height influences species diversity irrespective of other factors such as precipitation and temperature (i.e. climate).

Roberto Cazzolla Gatti commented: "The relation between canopy height and biodiversity has been poorly considered to date, even if it can play a significant role in ecology. Indeed, the vertical dimension of ecosystems, as a proxy of the biospace, should be considered together with the well-known species-area relationship. Moreover, the relation we discovered is fundamental for setting protected areas extensions, when the bi-dimensional available environment should not be considered alone, but associated with the three-dimensional ecological volume. In this era of climatic changes and anthropogenic pressures, high rates of species are exposed to an extinction risk. Under the urgent need of species conservation and climate mitigation, 3D is not only a fun or an innovative technological approach, but a new way to look at the natural dynamics to better plan the study and protection of ecosystems".

After this study, the true discover will be to read, finally, in the next Ecology books that biodiversity is 3D!

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Flowing particles in liquids act as a filter to suppress long-wavelength waves but allow short-wavelength ones to be supported, according to physicists at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).

Liquids are the least understood state of matter and for a long time it has been believed that they can sustain both gas-like waves with long wavelengths and solid-like waves with short wavelengths, but it wasn't clear just how solid-like waves propagate in liquids.

The researchers found that a gap emerges in the liquid wave spectrum. This gap implies that only short-wavelength solid-like waves can propagate. This understanding will allow researchers to develop the theory of the liquid state and opens new avenues of research into liquids.

Using the predictions from their recent theory, the researchers have performed an extensive modelling study to ascertain the gap and discuss its properties in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Lead author Dr Kostya Trachenko said: "This result is important for the fundamental understanding of liquids and gives us hope that we are getting close to constructing a consistent theory of this elusive third state of matter. We have good theories of waves in solids and gases but, surprisingly and despite many decades of research, not in liquids."

He added: "The difference between liquids and solids is that particles rearrange in liquids with a certain frequency - this enables liquids to flow. These rearrangements disrupt the propagating waves but they do so in an interesting way. You can think about these motions as microscopic demons living in the liquid which eat all long-wavelength solid-like waves but leave short-wavelength waves intact. In other words, flowing liquid particles act as wave filters which is an insight not hitherto anticipated."

The results are also important for widening and optimising industrial processes where supercritical fluids have started to be widely deployed including in cleaning, extracting and environmental applications.

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Rice University chemists can thank the mussel for putting the muscle into their new macroscale scaffold fibers.

The Rice lab of chemist Jeffrey Hartgerink had already figured out how to make biocompatible nanofibers out of synthetic peptides. In new work, the lab is using an amino acid found in the sticky feet of mussels to make those fibers line up into strong hydrogel strings.

Hartgerink and Rice graduate student I-Che Li introduced their room-temperature method this month in an open-access paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The hydrogel strings can be picked up and moved with tweezers, and Li said he expects they will help labs gain better control over the growth of cell cultures.

"Usually when cells grow on a surface, they spread randomly," he said. "There are a lot of biomaterials we want to grow in a specific direction. With the hydrogel scaffold aligned, we can expect cells to grow the way we want them to. One example would be neuron cells, which we want to grow head-to-tail to aid nerve regeneration.

"Basically, this could allow us to direct cell growth from here to there," he said. "That's why this material is so exciting."

In previous research Hartgerink's lab had developed synthetic hydrogels that could be injected into the body to serve as scaffolds for tissue growth. The hydrogels contained hydrophobic peptides that self-assembled into fibers about 6 nanometers wide and up to several microns long. However, because the fibers did not interact with one other, they generally appeared in microscope images as a tangled mass.

Experiments showed the fibers could be coaxed into alignment with the application of shear forces, in the same way that playing cards are aligned during shuffling by pushing on both the top and bottom of the deck.

Hartgerink and Li decided to try pushing the fibers through a needle to force them into alignment, a process that would be easier if the material was water soluble. So they added a chain of amino acids known as DOPA to the sides of the fibers to allow them to remain water-soluble in the syringe, Li said.

DOPA -- short for 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine -- is the compound that lets mussels stick to just about anything. Hartgerink and Li found that the combination of DOPA and shear stress from passing through the needle prompted the fibers to form visible, rope-like bundles.

They also found that DOPA promoted chemical cross-linking reactions that helped the bundles hold their shape. "DOPA is really sensitive to oxidizing agents," Li said. "Even exposing DOPA to air oxidizes it, and that aids in cross-linking the fibers."

As a bonus, the aligned fibers also proved to have a curious and useful optical property called "uniform birefringence," or double-refraction. Li said this could allow researchers to use polarized light to see exactly where the aligned fibers are, even if they're covered by cells.

"This will be an important technique for us to make sure of the long-range order of fiber alignment when we are testing directed cell growth," he said.

The researchers expect the aligned fibers can be used for macroscale medical applications but with nanoscale control over the structures.

"Self-assembly is basically the ability of a molecule to make ordered structure from chaos, and what I-Che has done is push this organization to a new level with his aligned strings," said Hartgerink, a professor of chemistry and of bioengineering. "With this material, we are excited to see if we can impose this organization onto the growth of cells that interact with it."

###

The Robert A. Welch Foundation and the National Institutes of Health supported the research.

Read the paper at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jacs.7b04655

This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2017/06/08/mussels-add-muscle-to-biocompatible-fibers/

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews

Related materials:

Hartgerink Research Group: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~jdh/

Hydrogels deliver on blood-vessel growth: http://news.rice.edu/2015/01/20/hydrogels-deliver-on-blood-vessel-growth-2/

Smart scaffolding aims to rebuild tissue from the inside:

http://news.rice.edu/2012/11/12/smart-scaffolding-aims-to-rebuild-tissue-from-the-inside-2/

Rice Department of Chemistry: https://chemistry.rice.edu

Rice Department of Bioengineering: http://bioe.rice.edu

BioScience Research Collaborative: http://www.brc.rice.edu/home/

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,879 undergraduates and 2,861 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for happiest students and for lots of race/class interaction by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview.
A recent study, affiliated with UNIST has introduced a method for the remote detection of hazardous radioactive substances. With the help of this newly-developed detection device, the detection of various types of radioactive materials can be done from a remote distance.

In their study, published in the May issue of the prestigious journal, Nature Communications, Professor Eunmi Choi of Natural Science and her team demonstrated a method with higher sensitivity that uses high-power pulsed electromagnetic-waves to detect a radioactive source.

A substance is said to be radioactive if it contains atoms with unstable nuclei and gives out nuclear radiation in the form of alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. Uranium-235 (U-235) is an isotope of uranium widely used for nuclear power generation and, like all other radioactive isotopes used in medicine, it has been also employed for diagnosis and treatment of diseased organs and tumors. They are essential to mankind, but can have fatal consequences if it is accidentally leaked or used as a weapon.

Remote detection of radioactive materials is impossible when the measurement location is far from its source. Indeed, a typical radiation detectors, like Geiger-Muller counters have technical limitations in the remote detection of sources. For instance, they can detect 1 milli Curie (mCi) of Cobalt-60 (60Co) at a maximum distance of 3.5 metres, but are inefficient at measuring lower levels of radioactivity or at longer distances.

In the study, Professor Choi and her research team described the experimental demonstration of real-time radioactive material detection using a high-power pulsed millimetre-wave source. They demontrated the detection of 0.5 g of cobalt-60 from 120 cm away, the maximum distance allowed by the laboratory setup.

"With the existing technologies, remote detection of radioactive materials is impossible when the measurement location is far from the radioactive source," says Dongsung Kim (Combined M.S./Ph.D. student of Physics), the first author of the study. "The detection sensitivity has been increased to 4,800 times, compared to the conventional theoretical sensitivity, enabling the detection of very small amounts of radiation."

"Depending on the equipment used, this method could scale to detect radioactivity at distances of at least tens of kilometers and possibly as far as 100 km," says Professor Choi.

###

This research has been supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), the Korean Ministry of Education, and the Global Ph.D. Fellowship (GPF).

Journal Reference

Kim, D. et al., "Remote detection of radioactive material using high-power pulsed electromagnetic radiation", Nat. Commun. 8, (2017).
A new study from the University of Iowa shows that a pair of common chemicals that manufacturers use to make plastic food containers, water bottles, and other consumer products do not contribute to obesity to the extent of the chemical it's replacing.

The chemicals -- bisphenol F and bisphenol S (known as BPF and BPS) -- are being used increasingly by food packaging manufacturers as substitutes for bisphenol A (BPA), which studies have found disrupts endocrine systems and causes numerous health problems. BPA is used in many kinds of packaging for snacks and drinks, canned foods, and water bottles. The chemical is absorbed into the body mainly through the food or water it contacts in the container.

But concern was raised several years ago when numerous studies found BPA increases the risk of various health issues, in particular obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. A consumer backlash erupted after the studies received media attention so manufacturers started reducing the use of BPA in some consumer products or even eliminating it in so-called "BPA-free" products by replacing it with such alternatives as BPF and BPS.

However, little is known on the potential impact of BPF and BPS exposure in humans. The new University of Iowa College of Public Health study is the first to determine the health impacts of BPF and BPS exposure on obesity in humans. Using data from a nationwide population-based study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the researchers confirm that BPA is associated with increased obesity in humans. But the study found no links between obesity and either BPF or BPS at the current exposure levels.

However, the researchers warn that fewer products currently use BPF and BPS--BPA still has more than half the global market share for the chemicals, and the average concentration of BPF and BPS is about one-fourth that of BPA in the US population. Whether BPF and BPS pose an increased risk of obesity at the same population exposure levels as BPA remains unknown. Future studies will be needed to confirm the results, as BPF and BPS are likely to replace BPA in more consumer products.

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The study, "Bisphenol A substitutes and obesity in US adults; analysis of a population-based cross-sectional study," is published in the June 2017 issue of the Lancet Planetary Health.

The research team included lead author Buyun Liu, along with Yangbo Sun, Guifeng Xu, Robert B. Wallace, and Wei Bao (corresponding author) from the Department of Epidemiology and Hans-Joachim Lehmler from the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health in the University of Iowa College of Public Health. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health through the University of Iowa Environmental Health Sciences Research Center (NIEHS/NIH P30 ES005605).
Hospitals and all the other centres devoted to healthcare accumulate numerous databases with all the records of a whole host of physiological variables of the patients they treat. The processing and analysis of these data can enable healthcare staff to anticipate and spot those patients at greater risk of deterioration. Asier Garmendia, a researcher in the GIC (Computational Intelligence Group) at the UPV/EHU, has developed a system based on computational intelligence for this purpose.

In his study and subsequent development of the algorithms needed for the system, he used two databases, each from one of two hospitals in Santiago de Chile. One of the databases chosen for this study was on paediatric patients who had been admitted at some point to the intensive care units owing to respiratory problems, and the other on patients who having gone to A&E were discharged but who returned after a few days and were subsequently admitted to hospital. These two databases coincide "with two of the biggest problems in healthcare associated with large cities like Santiago de Chile, which are respiratory diseases caused by pollution and the management of the attention and care of the patients who come in search of medical attention," said Garmendia.

Early detection, better care

In the first of the cases, by using the records of the variables taken from each patient every so often during hospitalisation, the aim was to specify the degree of triage, which is the variable that classifies patients according to seriousness on the basis of the rest of the variables measured such as temperature, oxygen saturation, breathing rate, etc. "By means of computational intelligence algorithms an attempt is made to predict what the triage should be," said the researcher. The final aim of this system would be "to automatically monitor the patients and that an alarm should be sounded whenever the triage worsens". This study has also revealed that the variable that best predicts the triage level is breathing rate. "This is strange, as the doctors say that in their opinion the variable that best predicts this triage is the oxygen saturation in the blood," he added.

In the second of the cases, what they sought was to try and spot the destination that should be given to the patients going to the A&E service, in other words, whether to discharge them or admit them to hospital. "The problem that exists in this aspect is that a proportion of the patients who are discharged during the first consultation return to the A&E service after a few days and then they are in fact hospitalised. Approximately 14% of paediatric cases returning to consultation within a period of time of between 3 and 7 days are admitted to hospital. In the case of adult patients, they are 1 in 3," explained Garmendia.

"Having a system to solve this problem would lead to better care of the patients of course, but it would also signify considerable economic savings. Firstly, the resources of the healthcare services would be better managed, and secondly, a situation that currently arises with insurance would be avoided: insurance companies do not cover the costs arising out of hospitalisation in these cases, as they regard having discharged the patient during the first consultation as hospital negligence", he added. The result given by these algorithms developed for this purpose was a degree of precision of 60%; in other words, "our system was capable of spotting seriousness in six out of every ten patients who, in principle, did not appear to be likely candidates for hospital admission immediately".

The prediction systems developed "could be extended to and applied in any hospital in any country," said Garmendia. But one thing is clear and it is that before that "it is necessary to go on working on the design of the system, expand the number of data, and make the necessary adjustments," he concluded.

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Additional information

Asier Garmendia-Mujika (Lazkao, 1969) conducted this study as part of his PhD thesis written up in the Computational Intelligence Group of the Department of Computation Science and Artificial Intelligence of the UPV/EHU's Faculty of Informatics. The thesis is entitled Contributions from computational intelligence to healthcare data processing and was supervised by Manuel Grana-Romay, the group's lead researcher. Garmendia also had the collaboration of the CEINE research group of the University of Chile where he obtained the data for developing the system.

Bibliographical reference

A. Garmendia, M. Grana, J. M. Lopez-Guede, S. Rios. 2017. Predicting Patient Hospitalization after Emergency Readmission. Cybernetics and Systems-An International Journal 48, Issue 3: 182-192 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01969722.2016.1276772
Lead engineers Dr. Michael Johnson and Dr. Zachary Sharp worked with a team of 15 engineers and technicians to construct the working model in just 40 days.

The approximately 100-foot-long, 60-foot-wide model replicates the spillway in its current state and features the terrain conditions that were formed following the damaging flow events in February. Johnson and his team are taking measurements on various sections of the model to determine depth of flows, wave action, pressures, velocity profiles and more.

Johnson, who specializes in fluid mechanics and experimental hydraulics, says the model will provide useful information about hydraulic conditions in and around the damaged spillway.

"Our goal is to assist the design team in California in making the best decisions moving forward with data from the model," said Johnson. "Data from the model will provide useful information that will help engineers make better-informed decisions about repair and replacement."

This is the second time a Utah Water Research Lab team has been involved with engineering efforts at Oroville Dam. Johnson helped design an engineering solution that improves the river valve outlet system in low-level reservoir conditions. His work helped alleviate the effects of drought from 2014-2016.

###

About the Utah Water Research Lab: The Utah Water Research Laboratory at Utah State University conducts practical research in Utah, the nation and the world, directed at solving water-related problems, informing water policy and management, and training the next generation of water experts.

Utah Water Research Lab Quick facts:

Oldest and largest of the 54 university-based US water centers

Annual research expenditures between $8 and $12 million

Faculty + staff + students, about 200 people work at the UWRL

113,000 square-feet of floor space

World-class hydraulics and environmental quality lab facilities

Between 250 and 300 active contracts and grants at any time

Research/training activities in all 29 Utah counties, approximately 10 other states, and typically in one or more foreign countries

Link to media library: https://usu.box.com/s/x8aimhfnk6fzvh78bhxnh0nf8eo046c6

Media Advisory - LOGAN, UTAH, June 8, 2017 - Engineers at Utah State University's Utah Water Research Laboratory have constructed a 1:50 scale model of the Oroville Dam spillway.

Media professionals are invited to participate in a press conference and demonstration of the model at 10 a.m. on June 16 at the Utah Water Research Lab, 1600 Canyon Road, Logan, Utah.

Oroville Model Media Day

A team of USU engineering researchers and students constructed a 1:50 scale model of the Oroville Dam spillway. The model is housed at the Utah Water Research Lab in Logan, Utah.

Media are invited to a press tour of the model at 10 a.m. on June 16 at the Utah Water Research Lab, 1600 Canyon Road, Logan, Utah.

Chief engineer Dr. Michael Johnson will be available for interviews.

Media Contacts:

Dr. Michael Johnson: michael.johnson@usu.edu | Phone: 435-797-3176

Dr. Zachary Sharp: zac.sharp@aggiemail.usu.edu | Phone: 435-797-3167

Matt Jensen: Public Relations Specialist, USU College of Engineering | matthew.jensen@usu.edu | office: 435-797-8170 | cell: 801-362-0830 | @EngineeringUSU | engineering.usu.edu
From: American Public Transportation Association Washington , DC Thursday, June 8, 2017

Baltimore to Host 2017 APTA Rail Conference and International Rail Rodeo



The 2017 Rail Conference and International Rail Rodeo will take place June 10-14 in Baltimore, MD. Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), this conference is North America's largest and most comprehensive conference for the passenger rail industry. Conference sessions will encompass all facets of the rail industry including: technology; operations; maintenance; safety & security; planning; capital projects; and more. Rail professionals from throughout the industry will share best practices, lessons learned, and effective and timely solutions. Participants will hear from industry leaders, as well as Mayor of Baltimore, Catherine E. Pugh; Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Executive Director, Matthew Welbes; Federal Railroad Administration Executive Director, Patrick T. Warren. On Monday, June 12, top U.S. transit leaders will participate in a press briefing to discuss the impact of the Administration's proposed FY18 budget cuts to the federal Capital Investment Grants (CIG). Hosted by APTA, the press briefing will be held at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards and is part of the annual APTA Rail Conference. For more details on the press briefing click here. In addition, this marks the 25th year for the International Rail Rodeo Competition, which highlights the best rail operators and maintenance teams from across North America. Competitors, selected from local and state competitions, will compete to be crowned champion. What: 2017 Rail Conference What: International Rail Rodeo Competition Where: Hilton Baltimore Where: Cromwell Station When: June 12-14 When: June 10 Time: 7 a.m.  4:00 p.m. *** Registration for the media is FREE and available onsite! Be sure to bring your media credentials. *** Events: Some conference events are highlighted below. For a complete listing of sessions, visit: http://www.apta.com/mc/rail/program/Pages/default.a Monday, June 12 8:30  10:15 a.m. East Building Holiday Ballroom Second Floor OPENING GENERAL SESSION: Where Public Transportation Goes, Community Grows Presiding: -Doran J. Barnes, Chair, APTA; Executive Director, Foothill Transit, West Covina, CA



Remarks: -Richard A. White, Acting President & CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC



Host Welcomes: -Catherine E. Pugh, Mayor, City of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD -R. Earl Lewis, Jr., Deputy Secretary of Transportation, Maryland Department of Transportation, Hanover, MD -Kevin Quinn, Acting CEO/Administrator, Maryland Transit Administration, Baltimore, MD 2017 Rail Safety & Security Excellence Awards Ceremony: -Doran J. Barnes 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. West Building Latrobe First Floor HOST FORUM: The Four Cornerstones of Transit: The MTA Story Learn how the MTA is transforming operations, planning, and service by focusing on the fundamental principles of Transit. Hear from the agency's top leadership about: - BaltimoreLink (The Complete Overhaul & Rebranding of Baltimore's Transit System) - The Agency's Latest Capital Projects - Baltimore's Stellar Safety & Security Record - Cutting-Edge Customer Communications 10:30 a.m.  12 p.m. East Building Johnson First Floor Positive Train Control Implementation and Operation Hear panelists discuss the challenges commuter railroads face with the implementation and operation of Positive Train Control. 12:15  1:15 p.m. Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards Public Transit Reaction to Administration Budget and Pending Infrastructure Proposal Public transit leaders from around the nation will describe their programs that are at risk and what this means for the communities they serve. APTA President and CEO Richard White will give a national perspective on this critical issue that will negatively affect many communities nationwide.



Speakers at the Event: -Doran J. Barnes, Chair, American Public Transportation Association and Executive Director, Foothill Transit, West Covina, CA -Richard A. White, Acting President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC -Peter Rogoff, CEO, Sound Transit, Seattle, WA -Nuria Fernandez, General Manager/CEO, Valley Transportation Authority, San Jose, CA -Mark Fuhrmann, Deputy General Manager, Metro Transit, Minneapolis, MN -John D. Porcari, Interim Executive Director, Gateway Development Corporation -Gary Thomas, President/Executive Director, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Dallas, TX -Sharon Green, Senior Vice President, Director, Finance Market Sector, HDR, Irvine, CA 12 - 3 p.m. Key Ballroom Second Floor Rail Products and Services Showcase This session will showcase new rail products and services in the world of rail equipment. Information relating to the products will be on display for registrants to view. 2:30  3:30 p.m. East Building Holiday Ballroom Second Floor GENERAL SESSION: Federal Partners Perspectives Cover a robust discussion with the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Railroad Administration to discuss the future of rail transit in America. They will provide insight for next steps in dealing with aging infrastructure and growing demand, investing in workforce development, and new technologies. 3:45  5:15 p.m. Tubman Third Floor Transit-Oriented Development and Transit-Oriented Communities Agencies around the country have often sought to foster transit-oriented development (TOD) efforts that aim to concentrate housing and jobs around high-capacity transit stations. Recent initiatives, however, are beginning to focus on TOD as a method for community-building through the concept of transit-oriented communities. Topics of discussion will involve the partnerships and coordination necessary to plan for TOD, planning in station areas, and other challenges associated with ensuring a TOD's success from day one. Tuesday, June 13 8:30 - 10 a.m. Key Ballroom 6 Second Floor Technology & Safety Safety in the workplace and operating environments is based on effective practices. Evolving technology, however, is an extremely valuable tool and resource to mitigate the safety risk exposures that are always present. Please join us in this most interesting session to learn how technology innovations can enhance safety at your transit agency. 8:30  10 a.m. East Building Johnson First Floor Making the Case for Rail in the Region Operating in a regional planning context, public transportation agencies must demonstrate the value of rail against other transportation mode and initiatives. Hear from practitioners on how they make the case for high-capacity public transportation investments in their regions. 10:30 a.m.  12 p.m. East Building Peale First Floor Progress in U.S. High-Speed and Intercity Corridors Passenger rail projects continue to move forward in regions across the United States. Four projects profiled in this session provide a glimpse of some of the activity that is underway as America seeks to bolster its passenger rail network. 12  2:15 p.m. Valley of the Sun Ballroom Second Level GENERAL LUNCHEON: Nearing the Breaking Point - Investment Needs at America's Rail Systems Public transit agencies have long struggled with the revenue gaps that result when identified investment requirements outpace available funding. The cumulative effect is a quantified state-of-good repair backlog exceeding $86 billion, and becoming greater each year. A panel of transit system leaders will speak to the urgent need for federal and other investments in the rehabilitation and maintenance of America's urban transit and passenger rail systems, and the vital need to keep these systems reliable, efficient, safe, and secure. 12:15  2:15 p.m. East Building Holiday Ballroom Third Floor GENERAL LUNCHEON: Appealing Directly to the Voters: How 2016 Became a Record Year for Transit Ballot Measures Voters approved over $170 billion in public transportation investments in 2016 in local elections around the country. This is a clear sign that the public understands the importance of boosting public transportation choices and service levels. Hear from campaign champions in this roundtable discussion about messages that resonated, and the campaign tactics and strategies that made the difference. 2:30  4 p.m. Key Ballroom 9&10 Second Floor Streetcars: New Systems with New Technologies Several new streetcar lines have been placed into operation in the period since the last Rail Conference in Phoenix in June, 2016. Not only are these systems in cities which have not had rail lines for many years, but they employ a variety of new technologies as well as unique system organization structures. This panel will look at four different lines in four different cites, that have begun operation in the past year, and which have featured new technologies, new suppliers, and new financing and organization structures. 2:30  4 p.m. Key Ballroom 8 Second Floor Enhancing Rail Accessibility The public transit industry is experiencing the continuing expansion of and/or maintenance of the range of fixed guideway systems, including heavy, rapid, light, commuter, intercity, and high-speed rail. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the planning, design, operation, and other factors play a key role in assuring accessibility on vehicles and facilities. Learn how the industry is addressing the greater use of level-boarding, reducing gaps between vehicles and station platforms, and rail facilities. 4:15  5:45 p.m. Key Ballroom 11&12 Second Floor Mobile Applications In the wireless world, mobile apps are king. Traveler information, system operations, security systems, fare collection and more are rapidly being deployed. The trick is how do you effectively manage this essential resource and take advantage of the benefits without getting lost in the shuffle. Wednesday, June 14 9  10:30 a.m. Key Ballroom 9&10 Second Floor Maintenance - Consequences of Not Planning Transit agencies are constantly working on imaginative and innovative ways to lower maintenance costs and yet be effective in maintaining service delivery. Maintaining rolling stock and track work and other infrastructure are major components of a rail transit system is vulnerable to extreme weather conditions - such as snow and excessive heat. Hear what presenters have to say where one size does not fit all. 10:45 a.m.  12 p.m. East Building Holiday Ballroom 4-6 Second Floor CLOSING GENERAL SESSION: GM's Vision for the Future of Mobility There are many technological and service developments that have the potential to greatly change mobility as we know it. General Motors Corporation, Executive Director of Emerging Technologies Policy, Harry Lightsey, III will discuss the coming transformational changes in transportation, how new mobility services might connect with rail transportation, how they may impact the future of transit operations and community planning, and how this emerging mobility ecosystem could enhance our quality of life. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of more than 1,400 public and private sector organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA is the only association in North America that represents all modes of public transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products.


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Hurt Sentiments I

Many Indians are known for being touchy on social media, quick to respond to any perceived slight. So when a dim CNN anchor appeared to assume that the latest winner of the American national spelling bee, a winner of Indian origin, of course, like 17 of the last 21, was "probably used to using" Sanskrit, there was a collective howl of indignation. That's racist, tweeted scores of the easily offended. The anchor was joking, ham-fistedly, about the Sanskrit roots of the Trump coinage 'covfefe' when she made her incoherent remarks to the 12-year-old champion. Did the anchor think the little Californian girl's parents speak Sanskrit at home? Was she referring to the 'word origin' question that bee contestants ask to help them spell obscure words? And why do we care so much? Sometimes clumsiness is just clumsiness.

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Hurt Sentiments II

Another dim American TV journalist, Megyn Kelly, was on the receiving end of the collective howl of indignation because she did not know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a social media superstar. He was savvy enough to tell her he'd seen a picture she'd posted to which she responded: "Are you on Twitter?" From the outrage, you'd never have guessed that big countries, India included, can be insular, or that celebrities, Indians included, can be vacuous and self-obsessed. Isn't it more important to ask why world leaders will so readily take part in a celebrity charade?

Hurt Sentiments III

Apart from her ignorance of Modi's humongous Twitter following, Kelly was also trolled for wearing a party dress to a dinner party. Both Indians and Americans criticised her choice of dress, proving that the urge to police what women wear is universal. Indians were also quick to turn their ire on Priyanka Chopra for daring to show her knees when meeting Modi in Berlin. Chopra was unfazed. But for some of us, the pitch of that collective howl of indignation is so shrill as to be intolerable.

--- ENDS ---
A breakthrough study has looked to alleviate the antibiotics 'time bomb' in the farming industry.

The study has looked into using 'bacteriophages', which are a range of viruses, as an alternative to antibiotics to treat common infections in livestock.

The study, by the University of Leicester and funded by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB Pork), has determined that phage could accompany or replace the use of antibiotics across all livestock following a detailed research project which has focussed on pigs.

It has isolated 20 bacteriophages that combat 72 multi antibiotic resistant strains of the most important causes of gut problems in pigs.

Importantly, the scientists were able to dry out the phages to form a powder which could be orally administered to the animals via their feed.

These strains were isolated from clinical cases from the field and provided by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

When used in combination, the bacteriophage cause a 4 log reduction in two hours.

'Change the way we treat infection'

Bacteriophages or phages are viruses that infect and kill bacteria.

They are much more specific than antibiotics and are used outside of the West to treat a whole range of bacterial infections, many of which do not respond to conventional antibiotics.

Professor Clokie, from the Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, has spent the last decade applying an environmental and ecological framework attempting to understand the ecological roles or viruses in many bacteria that cause human disease.

In the UK, 40% of all antibiotics are used to treat animals. They are the same as those used to treat people.

Professor Clokie said: "There are many infections that we just can't treat with antibiotics because they have become resistant to them. So using the phage therapy for specific diseases could change the way we treat infection."

She added that early results indicated that phage therapy could be "completely transformative for human health" and that if trials in pigs work, the new therapy could be extended to treat people.

A review published last year by Lord Jim O'Neil called for reductions in the unnecessary use of antibiotics in agriculture, especially those that were "highly critical" to human health.
The Conservative Party have failed to win a majority of seats in the House of Commons, leaving a hung parliament.

For Prime Minister Theresa May, who demanded an election in order to win a mandate for Brexit negotiations, she now finds herself in a position she did not anticipate.

Theresa May will now seek to form a minority Government propped up by the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). She has refused to resign.

She has now met with the Queen at 12:30pm today (9 June).

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, speaking after being re-elected in Islington North, said it was time for Theresa May to go and "make way" for a government that would be "truly representative of the people of this country".

The Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour is ready to form a government, branding any Conservative-DUP arrangement a coalition of chaos.

The farming industry has started to react to the news, which has created worry due to the prospect of further uncertainty.

'Understand and value'

National Farmers' Union (NFU) said the union is committed to start working with whoever forms the new government to ensure all areas of Whitehall 'understand' and 'value' the importance of British food and farming.

NFU President Meurig Raymond said: The NFU has a good relationship with all parties and, as ever, will work with whoever is in power to promote the interests of British farming.

British farming underpins the countrys largest manufacturing sector and with farming arguably the sector most impacted by Brexit, NFU members need clarity and certainty as soon as possible over who will govern the country and how they plan to support profitable, productive and progressive agriculture and horticulture in the future.

May refused to resign in a speech she gave after retaining her seat in Maidenhead

The NFU will be seeking early meetings with Ministers. It is important for our industry to have clarity and see certainty from a functioning administration as soon as possible.

If the formal Brexit negotiations begin as planned on June 19 we will continue to push for the right post-Brexit trade deal, regulatory framework, a domestic agricultural policy suited to Britain and access to a competent, reliable workforce.

The Government should be proud to promote British food at home and abroad and champion British food and farming through its public procurement policy.

'Further uncertainty'

Rural organisation the CLA, which represents farmers and landowners, said the result adds 'further uncertainty to a period of significant upheaval'.

CLA President Ross Murray said: The CLAs top priority is the interests of the tens of thousands of farmers and other rural business owners that are getting on with their jobs today, while politicians manoeuvre and negotiate.

We are ready to work with the new Government to influence the big decisions that will shape the rural economy and rural communities.

Immediate attention will inevitably be on the implications of this result for securing a Brexit deal that will work in the long-term interests of agriculture and the wider economy. We remain confident that the right deal can be done.

However, the priorities extend well beyond Brexit. Our leaders have responsibility to work together to provide rural businesses the economic stability and confidence to grow and create jobs, as well as build the homes and infrastructure that rural communities need.

Achieving positive outcomes on these issues remains the CLAs single minded focus and we will work with all sides in this parliament to achieve these things.

Today is a time for calm heads and careful consideration of immediate questions, especially the timetable for Brexit negotiations. We are ready to work for our members whatever developments there are in coming days.

'Volatile political environment'

The uncertainty created by the shock General Election result, particularly over the direction of Brexit negotiations, will be felt within the farming sector, the National Pig Association (NPA) has warned.

NPA chief executive Zoe Davies said: In an already volatile political environment, this result only adds to the uncertainty and instability surrounding the Brexit negotiations - and that could be very damaging for the farming sector.

The industry needs clarity on Brexit as some of the big decisions to be made, for example on access to the EU market, new trade deals and the future availability of labour, will have profound implications for our sector.

We will continue to deliver strong leadership for the pig sector and, whoever is in power, we will carry on making the case for a fair deal for the British pig industry.

'Dimension of uncertainty'

Commenting on the results of the general election, Dr Judith Bryans, chief executive of Dairy UK, said the British dairy industry must be recognised and given prominence in Brexit negotiations.

She said: The general election result has added a further dimension of uncertainty to the situation, however, regardless of the political situation, it is imperative that the importance of dairy is recognised when negotiations begin.

The UK dairy sector is already internationally competitive, but the UK industry has considerable potential for growth. Brexit will likely herald a range of challenges and opportunities in the UK and internationally.

We are an industry that employs 80,000 people throughout the UK. We are an integral part of the nations food chain, providing safe, nutritious and value for money foods that are consumed in 98% of UK households.

The industry is already resilient. As we approach Brexit, it has never been more important to recognise the significance of dairy and the sector stands ready to assist the Government in anyway during the negotiating process.

'Lifeblood of rural economies'

Simon Gooderham, joint managing partner at rural firm Cheffins said the political landscape for the UK continues to be unclear.

He said: It is essential that the government works together to support farming which is the lifeblood of rural economies.

Farmers need security when it comes to farm support payments and trade deals with other countries. All of the main parties have pledged to secure trade deals across the EU and other countries but the exact detail of these needs to scrutinised.

They need to ensure that these will be of a profitable nature for the UKs farmers and not allow uncontrolled import of cheap food and produce which would then undercut our own industry.

Proper engagement with key industry bodies such as the Country Landowners & Business Association and the National Farmers Union will be paramount to ensure that the government has a clear understanding of the issues affecting food and farming so that we secure the best possible Brexit deal for our industry.
A Welsh 'super' dairy farm has been fined 36,000 after cattle slurry waste polluted a nearby stream.

Howell and Susan Richards, who have 1,800 cows with a turnover of 6.3 million, had pleaded guilty to five counts of polluting Fernhill Brook with slurry.

The court heard that tests were carried out by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) downstream from Cwrt Malle farm, where the stream was 'discoloured and foaming, with a strong odour present'.

At Llanelli Magistrates, Aled Owen, representing the firm, said it would now plead guilty to a further charge at Cwrt Malle, which had previously been denied at a hearing on April 28.

Prosecutor John Tarrant told the court that Cwrt Malle had previously been fined 5,000 for a similar offence in 2013.

'Strong smell of slurry'

"I believe this is one of, if not the largest dairy farm in Wales," he told the court.

"On December 27, NRW have attended in a response to a call because Fernhill was discoloured and there was a large amount of foaming," he said.

"There was a strong smell of slurry."

But Mr Owen blamed extremely heavy rainfall: "It had been the highest rainfall recorded in 100 years," he said.

"This is a very well run and modern farm."

District Judge David Parsons fined the farm a total of 36,000 and ordered the firm to pay costs of 8,500 and a victim surcharge of 120.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) will be working with the Conservative Party to form a government, following the shock general election which left a hung parliament.

The pro-Union and pro-Brexit party, based in Northern Ireland and led by Arlene Foster, is the fifth largest party in Westminster with 10 seats.

The only way the Conservatives will be able to govern effectively is with DUP support  which will likely take the form of an informal confidence and supply arrangement rather than a formal coalition.

But what are their views on farming and rural matters?

Firstly, the party backs Brexit. However, the party are not keen on a hard Brexit because of the border with the Republic of Ireland.

The movement of goods and access to labour across the Irish border after Brexit are 'key concerns' for farmers on the island of Ireland, according to the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU).

The DUP manifesto says the party wants a "comprehensive free trade and customs agreement with the European Union."

The DUP say they are a 'friend of the farmer and of natural heritage'.

Its manifesto states a wish for local input into new UK agriculture and fisheries policies which can offer sustainability and new growth opportunities.

It pays particular importance to the agri-food sector to Northern Ireland economy, wishing it to be 'recognised and reflected'.

The party wishes for strong protections for the agri-food industry to guard against vulnerabilities to cheap inferior imports.

Lastly, the DUP want an 'appropriate support programme' for Northern Irish farmers after the UK leaves the EU.
Farmers are cautious about signing up to new schemes, survey shows
(ASX:MCA)

Murray Cod Australiais a result of three businesses coming together. A hatchery, a nursery and a grow out farm that operate as an integrated operation to produce high-quality Murray cod, which is Australias premium native fish.Murray cods a unique eating fish in that its a freshwater fish with a very high albumin content. It has a creamy white flesh with a firm texture that makes it an ideal and versatile fish for chefs to use, across a variety of dishes. Its quite interesting, were finding that the top end restaurants in Sydney are taking virtually all of the supply, were sending into Sydney. Its not reaching any end consumers at all. Whereas in the Melbourne markets, it tends to be completely soaked up by Chinese and Vietnamese retailers.The financial model of the business is actually really simple. It costs us about $10 to get a kilo of fish to market and we wholesale that fish, for sort of $18 to $22 depending on where its going. Its really just of matter of how many kilos weve produce over the next decade, itll remain a premium fish in the world and we expect the margins to remain high. We recently announced that weve got productive capacity of 300,000 kilos at the moment, as compared to 90,000 we forecast in our prospectus.Our contract growers are at 150,000 kilos capacity. Well be moving in excess of a million kilos by the year 2021 and well be pushing towards 10 million kilos, by the year 2030.Our long-term ambition is to have this at a billion dollar market cap, with a company thats producing between 10,000 and 20,000 tonnes of Murray cod, on a per annum basis. Over the next 12 months, weve just got to continue to do what were doing right now. Building our production, maximising the efficiency of our systems and continually improving our processes.
Warren Buffett invested 25% of his company's assets into Coca-Cola (KO 3.59%) 30 years ago. He rode that investment to market-beating returns with a very long time horizon, cementing his legacy as a legend of money management.

It's nearly impossible to match or beat Buffett's success story with Coca-Cola, but that shouldn't stop you from trying. To get you started, we asked three of The Motley Fool's top contributors to share their best ideas on how to learn from the Oracle of Omaha's soft-drink legacy. Read on to see why they selected Under Armour (UA 10.70%) (UAA 12.05%), Skechers (SKX 6.19%), and Red Hat (RHT).

Red Hat: They even share a color scheme

Anders Bylund (Red Hat): In 1988, Coca-Cola was already an established world leader, with annual shipments of over 200 billion soda servings. Buffett still saw tons of growth developing in the years and decades ahead, and he was proved absolutely right. Coke's share prices and annual free cash flows have grown more than tenfold in three decades.

It's a tough act to follow, but Red Hat might be up to that Sisyphean task.

This is already the largest Linux vendor and open-source software business on the planet. Red Hat boasts a dominant market share in the Linux space, as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (a.k.a. RHEL) serves as the software platform for roughly two-thirds of all Linux-based enterprise server systems. That's very much in line with Coca-Cola's branding power, just in a different market.

Here's the best part: Red Hat is staring down some massive growth opportunities, both in the enterprise platform market and in several ancillary sectors. You know, just as Coke did three decades ago.

RHEL holds just a 1.2% share of the total market for on-premise server systems, while various versions of Microsoft Windows add up to a huge 87% slice of that market. The picture changes a bit in the cloud computing segment, but Red Hat has a lot of greenfield opportunity in front of it either way.

That's just the server opportunity, which leaves plenty of additional growth to explore in emerging markets, including the Internet of Things and enterprise storage.

So I wouldn't be surprised to see Red Hat digging deeper into all of these expansion vectors over the next couple of decades, making the most of its established market leadership along the way. Looking back from the year 2047, Red Hat should look a lot like the Coca-Cola you see in the rearview mirror today.

Now's the time to buy Under Armour

Steve Symington (Under Armour): You'd be forgiven for thinking you might have missed the boat investing in Under Armour. Up until the third quarter of 2016, the performance apparel and footwear specialist had maintained an incredible 26-quarter streak of at least 20% revenue growth and delivered stellar gains for investors since its IPO in late 2005.

But amid a recent slowdown in growth caused by bankruptcies of several of Under Armour's prominent retail partners in North America last year, I think investors today enjoy an unprecedented opportunity to buy Under Armour while it's still early in its global growth story. More specifically, revenue last quarter climbed just 7% year over year to $1.1 billion, including a 1% decline in North America. But Under Armour is working hard to make up the difference, through new retail partnerships with companies such as Kohl's and DSW, as well as building its own new direct-to-consumer retail outlets and e-commerce sites.

Meanwhile, it's easy to ignore the fact that Under Armour's international revenue simultaneously climbed 52% (57% at constant currency) last quarter. But international sales still made up just 20% of total revenue, showing that Under Armour is only just getting started overseas.

On a segment basis, Under Armour also just launched Under Armour Sportswear last fall, marking its entry into the $12.5 billion fashion-driven sportswear market, which currently comprises around 25% of overall sales for larger competitors such as Adidas and Nike. In addition, Under Armour's footwear business is still in its infancy, generating sales of $270 million last quarter -- by comparison, Nike brand footwear achieved Revenue of over $5.3 billion last quarter alone -- leaving plenty of room to expand there.

With Under Armour shares down more than 50% from their 52-week high right now, I think it provides investors today with a fantastic chance to enjoy decades of market-beating growth.

An opportunity overseas

Tim Green (Skechers): It may seem like a monumental stretch to claim that Skechers feels like Coca-Cola 30 years ago. Skechers lacks the global, unmatched distribution system that puts Coca-Cola products in every corner of the globe, and its brand is nothing compared with that of the mighty soft-drink giant. But there is one key similarity -- the potential for international growth. In 1991, per capita consumption of Coca-Cola products in China was 1. In 2011, it was 38. Explosive growth in consumption in many countries helped fuel Coca-Cola's success over the past 30 years.

Skechers' domestic business is no longer growing very quickly, but its international business could grow much larger in the coming years. During the latest quarter, both the international distributor business and the subsidiary/joint-venture business produced double-digit sales increases. International sales accounted for 46% of revenue in 2016, and it's on the path to overtake U.S. sales soon.

Skechers will never be as successful as Coca-Cola -- few companies will. But like Coca-Cola, the international business will help fuel Skechers' growth in the coming years. With shares of Skechers trading for just 15 times expected earnings in 2017, now is a good time to consider buying the stock.
Ferrari Ferrari had a very satisfactory day, apart from early spins by each driver when conditions were at their coldest at the start of FP1. The SF70Hs looked very composed, had great traction, and were at their best in the first two sectors. They look like being a major threat in qualifying and the race. Kimi Raikkonen - FP1: 1:14.230, P4; FP2: 1:12.935, P1 It was a good day. Things worked out smoothly and the car felt ok both on high and low fuel; thats the main thing. So far so good, but its still Friday and obviously theres always things to improve. The nature of the circuit is quite tricky because of the low-downforce configuration; in some corners, like in the chicanes, you have to use the kerbs a lot to go fast, but because of the low downforce the car is bouncing and it always feels very slippery. But at this track, given the long straights, to achieve pure lap time you have to drive in that configuration. Today we started pretty well, we keep on doing our usual work, trying to improve for tomorrow. Sebastian Vettel - FP1: 1:14.007, P2; FP2: 1:13.200, P3 Today I was fighting with the car at the beginning, but in the end I understood what we needed and what we had to do. Tomorrow should be a better day. It was an interesting session. The track was slippery and very dirty this morning. We try to do our best, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. But in the end we found the right direction. So well see what tomorrow brings, but I am confident it will be better. We focus on what we have to do. We could have had a better session today, but hopefully well have it tomorrow.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari SF70-H at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Sebastian Vettel (GER) Ferrari SF70-H at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Images Info Close

Mercedes Intensive analysis of Mercedes Monaco shortcomings resulted in some revised settings which seemed to have done the trick. Both drivers said they were happy that their cars were back on form, and see no reason why that wont carry over into the rest of the weekend. The Silver Arrows were at their best in sector three. Lewis Hamilton - FP1: 1:13.809, P1; FP2: 1:13.150, P2 Its been a pretty good first day for the team. The Ferraris are looking fast here and as the times show, its super close at the top right now. I feel like we are still just a little bit behind the red cars at this early stage of the weekend, but well be pushing as hard as we can to close the gap ahead of qualifying on Saturday. After a tough weekend in Monaco, the main thing is that our car is already feeling a lot better around Montreal. It should be game on for the rest of the weekend. Valtteri Bottas - FP1: 1:14.046, P3; FP2: 1:13.310, P4 After Monaco it was really nice to start this weekend with a positive feeling from the car. I think that we are looking quite competitive here, but its only practice. After practice two, its clear we still have a bit more work to do with the ultrasoft tyre to get more lap time out of those. But the car felt good on the soft tyres that I tried. Well focus on finding that edge of extra performance from the ultrasoft and fine-tuning the set-up overnight. Otherwise I really enjoyed it and had good fun out there, but its the next two days that count. James Allison, Technical Director We had a trouble-free day with both cars which allowed us to get through our planned practice programme. As always on the first day in Canada, conditions were tricky owing to the low grip levels and the circuit seemed particularly dirty today. That factor, plus the number of cars on a short lap, made it difficult to put together consistent and meaningful running. Nevertheless, what we have seen so far suggests that we will have another ding-dong battle on our hands, like at the first six races  and it is very hard to predict who will come up with the goods on Sunday.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes-Benz F1 W08 Hybrid at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Images Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes-Benz F1 W08 Hybrid at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

Red Bull Red Bull had a tough day, especially in FP2 when Ricciardo complained of power loss and sat out much of the session, and then Verstappen stopped with smoke coming out the rear of his RB13 towards the end. However, the Dutchmans best lap of 1m 13.388s was impressively close to the second Mercedes. Max Verstappen - FP1: 1:14.861, P7; FP2: 1:13.388, P5 It wasnt the cleanest of days but in terms of performance I think we were OK. Before the stoppage in P2 it was a positive session, we felt like we had good pace and werent far off the top four. This is nice to see at this track as it usually is not one of our favourites, we can be pleased with that I guess. The short runs were good and the updates seem to have given us something a little extra, with such long straights here it is always going to be difficult for us. We are not yet fast enough to beat the top two teams so we do our best to finish fifth and optimise what we have. We still need to investigate what the issue with the car was but Im sure the boys will have it ready to go again tomorrow. Daniel Ricciardo - FP1: 1:15.441, P9; FP2: 1:15.072, P15 A bit of an uneventful day to be honest as I didnt get a whole lot of running. We had a bit going on this morning and then had an engine issue this afternoon. The positive is that Maxs pace on the ultra softs looked pretty good, so hopefully well learn a bit more from their set up tonight and then push on for tomorrow. I doubt we got a lot of long run data today but at least Max did some good short runs. For me, well take a little bit from today but we obviously didnt get too many uninterrupted flying laps. But thats okay, because Ive driven this track before so Ill just get into it tomorrow morning.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Max Verstappen (NED) Red Bull Racing RB13 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) Red Bull Racing RB13 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

Williams Massa said he was very happy with the feel of his FW40 on all of the tyres, as he tested some new aerodynamic and mechanical components. Stroll, who curiously had never raced here despite being Canadian, spent his day learning the track and did not run on the ultrasoft tyre. Altogether, a productive day for the Grove team. Felipe Massa - FP1: 1:15.106, P8; FP2: 1:36.261, P7 I think weve had a very good day. The car felt good on both new and used tyres. I was very happy with the feeling I had in the car. Everything we tried on set-up seemed to improve it even more. We just need to keep everything under control for tomorrow, and hopefully we can be as competitive as we were today. Lance Stroll - FP1: 1:16.313, P13; FP2: 1:37.747, P19 Its a great track, I really like the rhythm and its just good to be home. It was a good day getting used to the track, but I have to treat it as just another race at the end of the day as everything stays the same. However, its great to have those Canadian flags in the grandstands. On the out lap I looked at the fans and saw them waving and cheering and that is really cool. I didnt get a chance to put on the ultrasofts, so we will see what they are like tomorrow. We were focused on some other things, so it was just part of the plan. Its still quite close in the midfield, as it has been all year, and everyone has been doing different programmes, so we will see how it is in qualifying. Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer It was a good day. We did all of the things that we wanted to do and we had no problems with either car. We have some new aerodynamic and mechanical parts here, and we were able to do all of the relevant testing for those, while completing our tyre programmes with Felipe and Lance. Felipe did a solid job all day, and showed really competitive pace on both high and low fuel. Lances main job, having never driven here before, was to learn the circuit; which hes done very quickly. Hes shown reasonable pace for this stage of the weekend, and he hasnt used the ultrasoft yet. Theres still a lot of work to do overnight to keep finding extra performance, but were hopeful we can have a good day tomorrow and score some points on Sunday.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Felipe Massa (BRA) Williams at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Lance Stroll (CDN) Williams FW40 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

McLaren Alonso lost much of the first session when his car developed a gearbox problem and he was told not to nurse it back to the pits. That also led to the loss of much of the second, but he got going with 20 minutes left, and right at the end boosted morale hugely with seventh fastest time on a power track that should not have suited the MCL32, whose promised Honda engine upgrade had not materialised. Vandoorne had a troubled day, spinning before completing his qualifying simulation on the afternoon. Fernando Alonso - FP1: 1:16.521, P16; FP2: 1:14.245, P7 Its not been an easy Friday. We lost FP1 and most of FP2 owing to a hydraulic leak issue. Due to the lack of track time, the car isnt yet perfectly tuned and theres certainly room for improvement with regard to the set-up. Nevertheless, I think we know this circuit, weve raced here for many years, and we should understand how to attack qualifying and the race, so our time loss should hopefully not translate into too much of a handicap. Our expectations here are probably to be on the fringes of the top 10, but Im glad we managed to put in some good laps at the end of the session, as we did in Barcelona, and we duly made it to P7 at the end. Tomorrow our priority is to push to get into Q3, but for that we need to do a good job. Stoffel Vandoorne - FP1: 1:15.943, P11; FP2: 1:15.624, P19 Today has been a bit of a tricky day for the team. On my side, the first practice session went pretty well, and I was able to spend time getting to grips with the track as its my first time driving here. First off, the asphalt was quite dusty, but it improved quite a lot through the session. In the end, I was feeling quite positive and had a reasonable feeling in the car. In FP2 I started well and felt that the set-up changes wed made between the sessions had gone in the right direction. Unfortunately, on the ultrasoft I had a spin towards the end  and then, shortly after, we discovered an issue with the MGU-H, which finished our afternoons running. All in all, it hasnt been a trouble-free day, which is a shame, but hopefully tomorrow everything will fall into place again and we should be able to improve our position. Eric Boullier, Racing Director Today was yet another frustrating day for us, marred by a hydraulic failure for Fernando and an MGU-H problem for Stoffel. Nonetheless, both drivers were happy enough with the balance and feel of their cars, Fernando posting a particularly impressive lap towards the end of FP2. Tomorrow is a new day  and, as long as we have PU reliability, we should be in a position to make satisfactory preparations for qualifying. Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co. Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer We faced a challenging opening day to the Canadian Grand Prix. Despite the smooth start we had with both drivers, Fernando had to stop the car during the final part of FP1 due to a hydraulic issue. Although the issue itself was not a big one, it was disappointing Fernando lost some of his session time in FP2 to fix the issue. Stoffel went through the session plan almost as scheduled this morning, but this afternoon we made a call to stop his car as we detected an issue with his MGU-H at the end of the FP2 session. Although we had a tough start today, we expect higher temperatures in tomorrow's qualifying. That means well have different conditions to today, which could level out the playing field from FP3, and we think that will give us greater opportunity to catch up to our rivals in terms of set-up despite the loss of time this afternoon. We'll fully utilise our time in FP3 to prepare for qualifying, and we hope to have a smooth session.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Fernando Alonso (ESP) McLaren MCL32 waves to the fans at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL) McLaren MCL32 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

Force India The Silverstone-based pink cars were back on the pace here, with Ocon in particular looking very impressive on his first acquaintance with the track. Their chances of getting back on the points-scoring trail look promising. Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:14.578, P5; FP2: 1:14.501, P10 A positive day. We are right up there where we expect to be in the top ten and Im feeling comfortable with the balance and set-up changes we made during the day. We saw a lot of cars spinning, but thats what happens with these cars and tyre compounds when you push to the limit. Also, the track was quite dirty and the windy conditions made things more difficult. A strong qualifying performance tomorrow is going to be very important because overtaking here is not easy and I think the strategy options on Sunday will be quite limited. Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:14.785, P6; FP2: 1:14.299, P8 Im feeling pretty happy after my first experience of this circuit. The first job was to learn the track and that was pretty straightforward with no real dramas for me. I stayed out of trouble and away from the walls with just a little spin in the first session. The team is happy with what we learned today because we evaluated all the different test items and collected a huge amount of information. The car feels good at the moment, but I know there are some areas we can improve this evening. Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal A straightforward day of practice, which allowed us to evaluate all our updates and adapt the car to this pretty unique track layout. Both drivers were happy with the baseline balance and worked through a busy programme of set-up changes and tyre data collection. We split the job list between the two cars so its now a case of understanding which direction to take for tomorrow. Theres definitely more performance to come ahead of qualifying and we must make sure we deliver clean and tidy laps because the margins between the teams are small and we expect a tight grid. Theres a chance of hotter weather conditions tomorrow and if thats the case we need to make sure we can adapt quickly to higher track temperatures.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Sergio Perez (MEX) Force India VJM10 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Images Esteban Ocon (FRA) Force India VJM10 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

Toro Rosso There was good and bad news for Toro Rosso. The engine in Sainzs car developed a problem immediately FP1 began, compromising his day. But Kvyat was on the pace in both sessions, putting them in the hunt for more points. Sainz was also reprimanded by the stewards for impeding Magnussen. Daniil Kvyat - FP1: 1:15.658, P10; FP2: 1:14.461, P9 Im happy because we were able to complete many useful laps today and we will now try to learn from it all overnight in order to make further steps forward. Overall, I think both of todays practice sessions were beneficial for us and hopefully we can capitalise on all of this tomorrow. Carlos Sainz - FP1: No time, P20; FP2: 1:14.621, P19 FP2 was all about catching up after unfortunately missing out on FP1  obviously, this isnt the ideal track for this to happen, so we needed to do a lot of laps and build it up nicely this afternoon. The catch-up will continue tomorrow in FP3 because one session is not enough to fully recover. We will now keep pushing and get ready for tomorrow! Jody Egginton, Head of Vehicle Performance Overall, we can be pleased with what weve achieved today. We completed the programmes with Daniil and the engineers and mechanics have done a good job to help Carlos catch-up after suffering a hydraulic issue this morning, which meant he couldnt run in FP1. Weve ticked all the boxes regarding the tyres and the car balance seems reasonable, so we feel that were not in a bad position for tomorrow. We now have a lot of work to do overnight to make sure were prepared for qualifying in what could be slightly warmer conditions. Were on the edge of Q3 and will be fighting for those positions.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Daniil Kvyat (RUS) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR12 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Carlos Sainz jr (ESP) Scuderia Toro Rosso sits on the pit wall gantry after stopping on track in FP1 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

Haas Grosjean was extremely unhappy in FP2, spinning twice in Turn 6 and once in Turn 1, but he eventually pulled out a decent lap just ahead of Magnussen, who was impeded by Sainz. Romain Grosjean - FP1: 1:16.345, P14; FP2: 1:14.566, P11 It was a decent day. Weve tried a few set-up items. It was good that it stayed dry. I enjoy driving the track here. Its always a big challenge, but pretty good fun. Were working on the set-up of the cars  trying to get a bit more performance. It looks like there are some pretty tight lap times, not at the front, but from, I would say, Force India, ourselves, Toro Rosso and Renault are up there. Its going to be key to find the last few tenths. Im happy with the car. The long run wasnt too bad. Im looking forward to tomorrow. Kevin Magnussen - FP1: 1:16.233, P12; FP2: 1:14.676, P14 It was a good day for us. I really enjoyed driving on the track. The car felt good, initially. There are a few places we can improve, which were working on for tomorrow, so lets see how we go. It should be warmer tomorrow, with less clouds, so the track should be warmer and the tires easier to get working. Im happy with the day. Guenther Steiner, Team Principal Not a bad FP1 and FP2 for us. We struggled a little bit with a new set of brakes in the second part of FP1, but the guys got it back on track for FP2. There we got a good session in. We did all our testing. The car is where it always is  in the midfield. Its a very tight midfield again. It seems to be quite slippery out there. Everybodys a little bit spinning around between the wind and the dirty track. I think were in a good place and ready for tomorrow.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Romain Grosjean (FRA) Haas VF-17 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Kevin Magnussen (DEN) Haas VF-17 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

Renault Hulkenberg spun in Turn 6/7 in FP1, and brushed the wall in Turn 9 in FP2, but was reasonably happy with his R.S.17s progress. Palmer, however, continued his struggles with his car. Nico Hulkenberg - FP1: 1:16.473, P15; FP2: 1:14.604, P12 That was a standard Friday for us and we did everything we needed to do. As ever, I think we can make some more improvements to the car ahead of qualifying tomorrow and Im confident theres a bit more pace to come from me too. It was great to get out on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in this car, as its one of my very favourite circuits. Jolyon Palmer - FP1: 1:17.004, P18; FP2: 1:15.127, P16 We had to chase balance a bit at the start of the day, but thats normal on a green, temporary circuit. We made good progress through the sessions and we learnt a decent amount about both set-up and the tyres. Theres certainly a better feeling from the ultrasoft tyres, which youd expect. Theres more to come and Im really looking forward to qualifying.



Nick Chester, Technical Director We completed full programs with both cars covering set-up and aerodynamic comparisons. As expected, the track was dirty at the start of the day, which meant a struggle for grip and balance. We made progress on set-up for the afternoon and these, in conjunction with the track improvement, leave us reasonably happy with our days work. Theres a bit more to come in terms of pace from both car and drivers, so the top ten is certainly our target for tomorrow.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Jolyon Palmer (GBR) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close

Sauber Both drivers struggled to get the best out of their cars on the ultrasoft tyres, and Wehrlein in particular wasnt happy with the balance of his. Ericsson clipped the Wall of Champions with his right rear. Marcus Ericsson - FP1: 1:16.805, P17; FP2: 1:15.611, P18 We had a decent day, especially on the supersoft tryes in both FP1 and FP2. We werent able to reach our full potential on the ultrasofts, so we have to work on understanding the reasons for that. In the afternoon we focused on race preparation on supersoft tyres. Pascal Wehrlein - FP1: 1:17.606, P19; FP2: 1:16.308, P20 Today was a challenging day  we collected lots of data on the soft tyres in FP1, but in my opinion they were just a bit too hard for this track. In the afternoon we focused on short-runs and a long-run on ultrasoft tyres. We made a change to the aerodynamic configurations, which was not ideal because I did not feel comfortable with the balance of the car. I am confident that we can sort this out for tomorrow.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Marcus Ericsson (SWE) Sauber at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Pascal Wehrlein (GER) Sauber C36 at Formula One World Championship, Rd7, Canadian Grand Prix, Practice, Montreal, Canada, Friday 9 June 2017.  Sutton Motorsport Images Info Close
As incumbent, May has the right to make the first attempt to form a coalition, though her tough stance on Brexit is likely to make finding a suitable partner difficult.

Ballot boxes are emptied to be counted for the general election, at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday June 8, 2017.

By Reuters: Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party failed to win a parliamentary majority in Britain's election today, a shock result that plunges domestic politics into turmoil and could delay Brexit talks.

Reuters calculations based on partial election results showed May could no longer win an outright majority, leaving Britain with a 'hung parliament'.

Below are details of what happens next:

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WHO GETS POWER?

For the election to produce a majority government, the biggest party theoretically must win at least 326 seats of the 650 United Kingdom constituencies. In practice, the threshold for a majority is around 323, because the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party takes up no seats that it wins in Northern Ireland.

As incumbent, May has the right to make the first attempt to form a coalition, though her tough stance on Brexit is likely to make finding a suitable partner difficult.

Until a new government is formed, May and her team of ministers remain in charge and retain their full legal powers to act on behalf of the country, although by convention they would be expected to avoid taking major decisions.

MINORITY CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT

May signalled she could attempt to lead a government without commanding a majority, relying on her opponents for support in parliament on an issue-by-issue basis.

Speaking as results were still being counted, she said Britain needed a period of stability and that she would take responsibility for delivering it if, as forecast, she won the most seats.

This will test the cross-party support for her pre-election pledges.

While her hardline Brexit strategy is opposed by all other major parties, Britain has already started the clock ticking on leaving the bloc by triggering a two-year negotiation period with Brussels. It is unlikely she would agree to stopping the Brexit divorce.

Nevertheless, May's plans still rely heavily on being able to pass legislation through parliament. Firstly to convert EU law into British law, and then to form new post-Brexit policy on issues like immigration and tax.

Delays or outright blockages on this legislation would place doubts over how Britain would control its borders and trade with the EU after Brexit.

May's fiscal agenda, including plans to balance the budget by the middle of the next decade through a continuation of existing austerity policy, would also be opposed by rival parties.

Her domestic reforms on issues ranging from fox-hunting to cuts to social care and education funding would also meet substantial resistance and demands for change.

However, her plans to clamp down on executive pay, give workers a say on strategy and make it harder for foreign firms to take over British ones could win support in principle, although others would probably demand changes to the policies before agreeing to back them.

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2010 REDUX: CONSERVATIVE-LED COALITION

The Conservatives formed a coalition in 2010 with the centrist, pro-EU Liberal Democrats as junior partner. They governed together until 2015.

The two parties are unlikely to be reunited in coalition without major compromises on the central principle of their election manifestos: Brexit.

The Conservatives are committed to a complete break with the EU regardless of whether a satisfactory exit deal can be reached. By contrast, the Liberal Democrats have promised voters a second referendum on whether to accept a deal with Brussels.

Electoral maths do not favour a second coalition. The Liberal Democrats were expected to hold around 16 seats, down from 57 in 2010. This limits their ability to take May's support above the require threshold.

The party is led by Tim Farron, 47, who began his campaign by telling Britons they should have the option of rejecting Brexit in a second referendum and remaining within the EU.

The Conservatives' other coalition options are limited. They can traditionally rely on the support of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which holds 10 seats.

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The Scottish National Party (SNP), which was forecast by media commentators to win 35 seats, are at ideological loggerheads with the Conservatives.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has argued that Scotland, where a majority voted to remain in the EU last year, should not be bound by May's plan to withdraw from the EU single market, and have the right to hold an independence referendum at the end of the Brexit process.

LABOUR-LED COALITION

A hung parliament could play in Labour's favour even if it won less seats than the Conservatives because it is politically closer to smaller rivals on several issues. Labour has said it would try to form a minority government, and Corbyn has refused to discuss forming a coalition after June 8.

He is committed to heeding the results of Britain's EU membership referendum a year ago in which 52 percent voted Leave against 48 percent in favour of Remain.

However, Labour has fought to water down May's Brexit strategy which could make it easier to reach a compromise with either the Liberal Democrats, which has ruled out any coalition, or the pro-European SNP, which says it wants to stop another Conservative government.

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Labour has said it will tear up May's Brexit negotiating priorities, instead focusing the talks on retaining the benefits of the EU single market and customs union. It has also promised to consult parliament more closely throughout the negotiations.

Corbyn, who would be in charge of negotiating any coalition deal, has said he will ensure there is a deal agreed with the EU before Britain leaves, and give parliament a "meaningful vote" on whether to accept the terms of a final deal.

Labour has not defined what constitutes a meaningful vote, and this would likely be one area where pro-EU parties would demand the power for parliament to send the government back to Brussels to get a better deal - or even to halt the Brexit process altogether.

Beyond Brexit, Labour plans a radical change in Britain's fiscal policy: raising taxes on large firms and the wealthy to pay for higher public spending on education, healthcare and police - an agenda that would fit with the anti-austerity SNP.

Labour's finance spokesman and close Corbyn ally, John McDonnell, says he can achieve this while ensuring the national debt is reduced over the course of the next parliament.

However, Labour has also committed to creating a 250 billion pound fund for investment in infrastructure which will be spent over a 10-year period, indicating it will be funded by borrowing.

Economists expect a Labour-led government to substantially increase bond issuance, with the effect of increasing borrowing costs over the long term.

In what has been described as one of the most left-wing Labour manifestos for decades, Labour has also promised to take on multinational corporations and what Corbyn has called "wealth extractors".

Labour has pledged to raise corporation tax to 26 percent from 19 percent and impose higher taxes on the top 5 percent of earners.

Also Read:

UK election results 2017: British PM Theresa May falls short of majority as Brexit talks loom

UK election 2017: PM Theresa May's election gamble appears to backfire

UK general election 2017: PM Theresa May predicted to increase majority

Enough is enough: Full text of PM Theresa May's statement on London terror attack

--- ENDS ---
With 633 out of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 308 seats and were therefore no longer able to reach the 326-mark they would need to command a parliamentary majority. Labour had won 258 seats.

By Reuters: Prime Minister Theresa May was fighting to hold on to her job today as British voters dealt her a punishing blow, denying her the stronger mandate she had sought to conduct Brexit talks and instead weakening her party's grip on power.

With no clear winner emerging from Thursday's parliamentary election, a wounded May signalled she would fight on, despite being on course to lose her majority in the House of Commons. Her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn said she should step down.

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With 633 out of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 308 seats and were therefore no longer able to reach the 326-mark they would need to command a parliamentary majority. Labour had won 258 seats.

With talks of unprecedented complexity on Britain's departure from the European Union due to start in just 10 days' time, the pound sterling was hit by uncertainty over who would form the next government and over the fundamental direction Brexit would take.

"At this time, more than anything else this country needs a period of stability," a grim-faced May said after winning her own parliamentary seat of Maidenhead, near London.

"If ... the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do."

After winning his own seat in north London, Corbyn said May's attempt to win a bigger mandate had backfired.

"The mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence," he said.

"I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country."

Conservative member of parliament Anna Soubry was the first in the party to break cover, calling on May to "consider her position".

"I'm afraid we ran a pretty dreadful campaign," Soubry said.

May had unexpectedly called the snap election seven weeks ago, even though no vote was due until 2020. At that point, polls predicted she would massively increase the slim majority she had inherited from predecessor David Cameron.

Instead, she risks an ignominious exit after just 11 months at Number 10 Downing Street, which would be the shortest tenure of any prime minister for almost a century.

"Perhaps the most obvious conclusion is that the likelihood of the UK needing to request a delay in the Brexit process has risen substantially," JPMorgan said in a note.

"MAY IS TOAST"

"Whatever happens, Theresa May is toast," said Nigel Farage, former leader of the anti-EU party UKIP.

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May had spent the campaign denouncing Corbyn as the weak leader of a spendthrift party that would crash Britain's economy and flounder in Brexit talks, while she would provide "strong and stable leadership" to clinch a good deal for Britain.

But her campaign unravelled after a major policy u-turn on care for the elderly, while Corbyn's old-school socialist platform and more impassioned campaigning style won wider support than anyone had foreseen.

Political turmoil in Britain is the worst-case scenario for EU leaders who want to press ahead quickly with Brexit talks. These are due to start on June 19 but now risk being delayed - narrowing the window of time available to clinch a deal before a March 2019 deadline.

"Could be messy for the United Kingdom in the years ahead. One mess risks following another. Price to be paid for lack of true leadership," tweeted former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, one of the EU's elder statesmen.

Sterling fell by more than two cents against the U.S. dollar after an exit poll showed May losing her majority, though it later recovered some of its losses.

"A hung parliament is the worst outcome from a markets perspective as it creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations and chips away at what is already a short timeline to secure a deal for Britain," said Craig Erlam, an analyst with brokerage Oanda in London.

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With the smaller parties more closely aligned with Labour than with the Conservatives, the prospect of Corbyn becoming prime minister no longer seems fanciful.

That would make the course of Brexit even harder to predict. During his three decades on Labour's leftist fringe, Corbyn consistently opposed European integration and denounced the EU as a corporate, capitalist body.

As party leader, Corbyn unenthusiastically campaigned for Britain to remain in the bloc, but has said that Labour would deliver Brexit if in power, albeit with very different priorities from those stated by May.

"What tonight is about is the rejection of Theresa May's version of extreme Brexit," said Keir Starmer, Labour's policy chief on Brexit, saying his party wanted to retain the benefits of the European single market and customs union.

POTENTIAL ALLIANCES

On a nerve-racking night for the Conservatives, interior minister Amber Rudd held on to her seat by a whisker, while several junior ministers were swept away. In one of many striking moments, the party lost the seat of Canterbury for the first time in a century.

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The Conservatives could potentially turn for support to Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a natural ally, projected to win 10 seats.

But Labour had potential allies too, not least the Scottish National Party (SNP) who suffered major setbacks but still won a majority of Scottish seats.

The pro-EU, centre-left Liberal Democrats were having a mixed night. Their former leader, Nick Clegg, who was deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, lost his seat. But former business minister Vince Cable won his back, and party leader Tim Farron held on.

In domestic policy, Labour proposes raising taxes for the richest 5 percent of Britons, scrapping university tuition fees, investing 250 billion pounds ($315 billion) in infrastructure plans and re-nationalising the railways and postal service.

Analysis suggested that Labour had benefited from a strong turnout among young voters. UKIP saw a collapse in its support, shedding votes evenly to the two major parties instead of overwhelmingly to the Conservatives, as pundits had expected.

"UKIP voters wanted Brexit but they also want change," Farage said.

"They are fundamentally anti-establishment in their attitudes and the vicar's daughter (May) is very pro-establishment. And I think she came across in the campaign as not only as wooden and robotic but actually pretty insincere."

In Scotland, the pro-independence SNP were in retreat despite winning most seats. Having won all but three of Scotland's 59 seats in the British parliament in 2015, their share of the vote fell sharply and they lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

The campaign had played out differently in Scotland than elsewhere, the main faultline being the SNP's drive for a second referendum on independence from Britain, having lost a previous plebiscite in 2014.

SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it had been a disappointing night for her party, while Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said Sturgeon should take the prospect of a new independence referendum off the table.

Also Read:

UK election 2017: PM Theresa May's election gamble appears to backfire

UK general election 2017: PM Theresa May predicted to increase majority

Enough is enough: Full text of PM Theresa May's statement on London terror attack

--- ENDS ---
The Labour Party has asked Theresa May to step down and said it will put itself forward to lead a minority government after the Conservatives failed to win a majority.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives for the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017.

By India Today Web Desk: British Prime Minister Theresa May does not plan to resign after losing her parliamentary majority in a snap election she had called in pursuit of a stronger mandate for Brexit talks. Meanwhile, the Labour Party has said it will try to form a minority government.

"Theresa May has no intention of announcing her resignation later today," BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg told BBC radio, adding, however: "It's not clear to me whether they're trying to kill the rumours off before she truly makes her mind up."

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The opposition Labour Party has asked May to step down and said it will put itself forward to lead a minority government after the Conservatives failed to win a majority in the national election.

TOP 10 DEVELOPMENTS SO FAR PM Theresa May was fighting to hold on to her job on Friday as British voters dealt her a punishing blow, denying her the stronger mandate she had sought to conduct Brexit talks and instead weakening her party's grip on power. With 643 out of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 315 seats. Though the biggest single winner, they failed to reach the 326-mark they would need to command a parliamentary majority. Labour had won 261 seats. May has signalled she will use her right as incumbent to make the first attempt to form a government, but it is unclear whether she will have the necessary support to do so. "At this time, more than anything else this country needs a period of stability," a grim-faced May said after winning her own parliamentary seat of Maidenhead, near London. After winning his own seat in north London, May's rival Jeremy Corbyn said May's attempt to win a bigger mandate had backfired. "The mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence," he said. Meanwhile, the Labour Party's finance spokesman John McDonnell told BBC Radio, "We'll put ourselves forward to serve the country and form a minority government and the reason for that is I don't think the Conservative Party is stable, I don't think the prime minister is stable. I don't want to be derogatory but I think she is a lame duck prime minister." He also said Labour would not do a coalition deal with any other party. In the aftermath of one of the most sensational nights in British electoral history, politicians and commentators called May's decision to hold the election a colossal mistake and derided her performance on the campaign trail. With talks of unprecedented complexity on Britain's departure from the European Union due to start in just 10 days' time, it was unclear who would form the next government and what the fundamental direction of Brexit would be. May had unexpectedly called the snap election seven weeks ago, even though no vote was due until 2020. At that point, polls predicted she would massively increase the slim majority she had inherited from predecessor David Cameron. Instead, she risks an ignominious exit after just 11 months at Number 10 Downing Street, which would be the shortest tenure of any prime minister for almost a century. May had spent the campaign denouncing Corbyn as the weak leader of a spendthrift party that would crash Britain's economy and flounder in Brexit talks, while she would provide "strong and stable leadership" to clinch a good deal for Britain. But her campaign unravelled after a major policy u-turn on care for the elderly, while Corbyn's old-school socialist platform and more impassioned campaigning style won wider support than anyone had foreseen. "Whatever happens, Theresa May is toast," said Nigel Farage, former leader of the anti-EU party UKIP.

Also Read:

UK election 2017: PM Theresa May's election gamble appears to backfire

UK general election 2017: PM Theresa May predicted to increase majority

Enough is enough: Full text of PM Theresa May's statement on London terror attack

SEE PICS | UK Election result 2017: Hung parliament in Britain, what's next for Theresa May?

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Whether its precision machinery, tips on optimum crop choice or expert advice to produce a more efficient business strategy, there is plenty on offer at the UKs top arable event.

Stretching more than 64ha on a working farm and attracting more than 24,000 visitors every year, Cereals is being held on 14 and 15 June at Boothby Graffoe, near Lincoln. Here are five things not to miss.

See also: Video: The must-sees at Cereals 2017

1. The Soil Pit

This year visitors will see the return of the Soil Pit  larger than ever before  where farmers will have the chance to view crops underground in the soil profile. Experts will be on hand to offer tips and advice on soil health, including cultivation techniques and rooting habits of different cover crops.

See also: Cereals 2017: Claim your free ticket

2. Working demonstrations

There are 5ha of working demonstrations, with tractors, cultivators, drills and subsoilers being put to the test. This year will also see the Drone Zone, with an onsite flying cage for short flights as well as a nearby crop field set up for longer flights.

3. The Arable Conference

For those wanting to keep up with the latest industry research and news, the Arable Conference will cover a breadth of topics  from Brexit to glyphosate. Farmers Weekly is also chairing a seminar on turning data and technology into farm profit at 1.15pm on the first day.

4. Knowledge Trails

This year sees the introduction of six Knowledge Trails, where visitors can seek advice on six hot topics:

Managing blackgrass

Precision and efficiency

Adding value and managing costs

Brexit-proof your business

Weeds, disease and nutrition

Getting the most from oilseed rape

5. Fields of the Future

Fields of the Future display will bring together innovations and research from some of the countrys leading universities and businesses to showcase exactly what is in the pipeline, such as robotic weeders.

Buy your tickets online from the Cereals website.
Farmers are bracing themselves for months of further uncertainty over Brexit after the UK voted for a hung parliament in the general election.

The Conservatives won the most seats, as expected, but not enough to form an overall majority. Tories sources said leader Theresa May would fight on despite facing calls from some in her party and opposition leaders to step down as PM.

It is widely expected that the Conservatives will attempt to form a minority government with the Democratic Unionist Party, which is closely aligned to Tory ideology.

See also: What farmers want from the next government

But shadow chancellor John McDonnell told Radio 4 that Labour would also be seeking to form a minority government with the Scottish Nationalist Party and others.

With Brexit negotiations due to start with the EU in 10 days, former Ukip leader Nigel Farage warned that the country could see a significant backslide on Brexit.

Farage: May is toast

He told ITV News: Theresa May is toast, its just a matter of time. Quite frankly, I dont know whats going to happen here. Mr Farage also warned the turmoil could end in another election this autumn. He also raised the spectre of a second vote on the EU referendum.

The pound plunged in value 2% against the US dollar and 2.3% against the euro as financial markets reacted to the election uncertainty.

Farmers Weekly has gauged some early reaction from farmers to the shock election result, with many urging whoever wins power to press on and secure a good Brexit deal for the UK agricultural industry.




Haiti - Diplomacy : 3 new ambassadors accredited





Wednesday at the National Palace, the President of the Republic, Jovenel Moise received the credentials of three new Ambassadors accredited to Haiti. They are Alberto Emilio Despradel Cabral (Dominican Republic), Cheng-Hao Hu (Republic of China - Taiwan) and Bader Almatrooshi (United Arab Emirates).



These new ambassadors renewed the commitment of their respective countries to maintain close ties of friendship and strengthen cooperation between Haiti and their countries.



President Moise also reassured these ambassadors of his willingness to work by common agreement to the harmonious development of relations between Haiti and these three friendly countries.



to the Museum of the Haitian National Pantheon (MUPANAH). Following the floral offering, in memory of the Heroes of Independence of Haiti, the Director General of the Museum Michele Frisch accompanied the Ambassadors on a guided tour of the museum's permanent and temporary exhibition rooms so taht they can discover the history and art of Haiti.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Conservative stars to join rally supporting Meadows

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A rally in support of U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows will feature Wall Street Journal columnist and Trump adviser Stephen Moore and FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon, the Asheville Tea Party announced.

The two conservative policy stars will join Meadows supporters for the rally at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, June 15, at the Golden Corral at 2535 Chimney Rock Road. At 2:30 the supporters plan to rally outside Meadows' 11th District office at the Grove Street Courthouse.

Moore, who served as senior economic adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Project for Economic Growth for the Heritage Foundation, a former president of the Club for Growth and a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. In addition to authoring many New York Times best-selling books, Moore served as a Fox News analyst, is a present senior economics analyst for CNN and serves as senior economic contributor for Freedomworks.

Brandon previously served as the executive vice president of FreedomWorks and vice president of communications for the organization. Before joining FreedomWorks, Brandon served as a program director at the Junior Statesmen Foundation in Washington, DC, and was campaign manager for Ohio State Rep. Bryan Williams bid to become mayor of Akron, Ohio. Adam was a press assistant on Sen. John McCains 2000 presidential campaign. He also taught American History, Government and International Relations at Emerson Preparatory School in Washington, DC.

For information and to RSVP contact Asheville Tea Party Chair Jane Bilello at 828-692-3117 or Jane@AshevilleTeaParty.org.
The Last Kraus: One family, 10 HHS grads over 22 years

Meredith Kraus, right, shown at sister Judith's wedding, graduates from Hendersonville High School on June 9.

On a Tuesday afternoon in late May, Meredith Kraus walks into Walt Cottinghams human geography class in a corner room on the third floor of Hendersonville High School.



The students had taken the Advanced Placement test the week before so Mr. Cottingham has planned a different lesson for today, Saving the Best for Last. Students have to present funny profiles of their classmates. Harper Swing drew Merediths name. Her slide show opens with a photograph of Meredith as a baby, which sends her classmates into gales of laughter. It continues with Merediths head Photoshopped onto a dancer, Rosie the Riveter and a Wall Street executive.

The end of the year is near for the seniors. You can feel it in the hallways of the beloved building that will soon be replaced. Graduation is 17 days away.

On that Friday, June 9, Meredith Hope Kraus will cross the stage in the sweltering Jim Pardue Gymnasium to receive her diploma. She will shake hands with principal Bobby Wilkins and  in another of the many HHS senior traditions  hand him a small token, a trinket of some kind. She will step down from the the left side. High school will be over. She will be one senior among 138.

Meredith makes 10 Kraus children to graduate from Hendersonville High School. The end of an era.

She doesnt remember it but Meredith was first in this building, on the ground floor in another corner room 18 years ago. She was an infant, a prop really.

Her oldest sister, Ellen, sang in chorus.

I was a sophomore in high school when she was born, Ellen said. Leslie Zarnowski was our chorus teacher at the time and we did this song called Jennie Rebecca. Its about a baby.

The chorus teacher told the students to think about a baby when they sang the lullaby. Ellen thought immediately of little Meredith, the youngest of her nine siblings.

Im like, Hey, I have a baby. I mean, most people thought she was my baby. She looked like me. I held her all the time. I was 15 when she was born. They just automatically assumed she was mine. I loved showing her off to my friends.

So my mom brought her in and we sang to her. I still remember that song. Its so crazy. I forget what I ate for lunch yesterday but I can remember that. And now shes way taller than me and graduating high school. Oh my gosh, my baby.

Next Friday night, the Kraus family will congregate at Hendersonville High School graduation for the last time  at least for this generation. They plan to hoot and holler. Yet their story starts years before this final high school celebration. It begins with an unplanned pregnancy. It comes full circle with Merediths graduation day next Friday. In between, theres noise, music, love, laughter and challenges.

Part 1: Kathleen Spratt: Independence Days

To illustrate the lack of supervision that characterized her upbringing, Kathleen Kraus described the day her 12-year-old brother nearly ran over her with the family car. She was 8 years old.

I was sitting behind the car until the bumper hit me and Im under the car and I see daylight and go out between the left front and rear tire, she said. So Im crawling out, on my belly, getting scraped as the car is pushing down  I dont understand how I didnt get run over. He didnt actually go over me but I got severely scraped by all the movement because it was a gravel driveway. And Im screaming, trying to get out of this, as the tire is pushing against my back. I can feel it, and Im horribly frightened and my mother, finally, yells at my brother, comes out and she pulls me out.

Kathleen still vividly recalls her mothers reaction.

She didnt even take me to the doctor, Kathleen said. She took me down to the bathroom and shes checking me out. Is anything broken? No, I dont think so. She took me down to the drugstore and we got bandages and I got a toy and I got to ride in the front seat in between mom and pop. That was the biggest event.

Seeing her daughter narrowly escape death in the driveway didnt improve the relationship between mother and daughter. Her mothers special attention in that moment soon gave way to her usual pattern of parenting, which was characterized by emotional absenteeism.

Both my parents were social drinkers, Kathleen said. They were functioning alcoholics. They went to work, came home and once they came home they would start drinking. Of course that was the only time I saw them because I was at school. I learned to be extremely independent.

Kathleens parents, Florence Hill and Frank Spratt, met in Germany after World War II. Florence, born and raised in Scotland, issued the paperwork for journalists who were allowed into Germany after the war. Frank was a G.I. working in the press office. The two married and had a son, James, before moving to North Carolina in 1952.

My mother left Scotland, left her country, left her people, moved to Saluda, to a summer home, in the middle of winter, with very little heat and no contact with anyone except my older brother, Kathleen said. My father went to work (at a supermarket) in Spartanburg and drove down the (Highway) 176 grade every day.

The family soon moved to Mountain Home, where they opened Spratts Book Exchange next to their home on Asheville Highway near Prison Camp Road. They had another son, David, and then Kathleen. She was born on June 4, 1957.

My mother said to me when I was little, I didnt name you Kathy. I named you Kathleen. Dont let anybody call you anything but Kathleen.

Yes, Mama.

Kathleen took to heart her mothers aversion to nicknames. Other maternal modeling, not so much.

I was independent of authority because there was no authority, she said. Nobody told me what to do. If they did, it meant nothing because they didnt have anything to back it up with. I took care of myself, which severely damaged me as an adult because I didnt recognize anybodys authority.

Nothing in her raising taught her even the basics.

I remember opening candy in the Winn Dixie and just eating it because it was there and I wanted it, she said, and I remember just being horrified that the manager would come over and take me to my mother and make her pay for it.

Little Kathleen realized that if she needed something, shed have to make it, not steal it. I learned to make my own clothes because her mother checked out, through the alcohol. I dont hold that against her.  I really managed to get beyond it, with a lot of inner healing, a lot of spiritual healing. I would say (it was) just a direct touch from God to get over some of the damage that was done, and to become a good parent. That was always my goal. I had that example with my upbringing, that I would not do.

* * * * *

Searching for playmates her age, Kathleen found her way to Mountain Home Bible Church, an easy walk to from her house. She walked through a patch of woods, then crossed a neighbors yard to come out on Prison Camp Road (now Mountain Road) to reach the little brick church with the white steeple.

I was always going with somebody to church, she said. To me it was more of a social thing because I like being with people. My whole entire life, my mother was very against it.

She remembers sitting on her bed crying at age 12. She was thinking: Why am I the only one in my family that goes to church? Why am I the only one thats interested in this?

When Kathleen was 21, her mother became ill and had to be hospitalized. She dried out at Pardee Hospital for four weeks and came home. Her mothers sobriety would open a new chapter in their relationship, better in some ways but challenging just for being so different.

She was a raw nerve, Kathleen said. All of a sudden she wants to know where Im going and what Im doing. Im 21 years old. Ive been going and doing the whole entire time up to that point  doing anything I wanted to do, wherever I wanted to go. I had my own car, I drove and now she wants to be a mom. It put a big strain on us. Theres a lot of codependency in alcohol so whenever someone breaks that mold it ripples out and affects everybody.

* * * * *







Kathleen's story of what she was thankful for won a Charlotte Observer Thanksgiving contesKathleens life would change forever on Jan. 14, 1980, when a public health nurse confirmed that she was pregnant. Unmarried and 22 years old, she was terrified.

Three times I decided to have an abortion, trying to convince myself that it would be the best thing for everybody all the way around, she said in an article for a Charlotte Observer contest that asked readers to describe what they were thankful for before Thanksgiving 1980. (One of three winners, Kathleen received $25.) But somehow there was no peace in making the decision. There was nothing but emptiness in my heart  a void that could not be filled.

I cried out to God and begged him to show me what to do, she wrote. In an instant He showed me how important this tiny life is to Him and how empty I would be if I terminated it.

Her parents were hurt and angry and I hurt because I knew I brought them disappointment. When a commercial came on TV about baby products, she walked out of the room to avoid any comments. In department stores, she steered her mother away from the baby aisle.

The anxiety, pain and heartache melted away at 15 minutes before midnight on Sept. 10, when she held her baby.

When I was allowed to hold him for the first time, I felt like I had been awarded one of the greatest privileges on earth, she wrote. I was so proud I thought Id burst wide open!  God has given me so much joy with my little one that he is truly worth every tear and all the pain and obstacles I met while carrying him. I am so thankful that God wouldnt let me abort him because He had something better in mind for me.
Fletcher man charged in $1.6 million bank fraud

A federal grand jury in Asheville returned a criminal bill of indictment Tuesday against charging a 52-year-old Asheville attorney with multiple counts of bank fraud and making false statements to a bank, Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced.

Related Stories



According to allegations contained in the eight-count indictment, on multiple occasions throughout 2009, David R. Payne executed a scheme to defraud three Pisgah Community Bank, Mountain First Bank & Trust and Bank of Asheville of at least $1.6 million by making false statements and material misrepresentations about his financial condition on a series of loan applications he submitted.

Payne, of Fletcher, applied for the fraudulent loans in his personal capacity and through other corporate entities he controlled, including Provision 08 LLC, and Shire Properties LLC, the Justice Department said.

According to allegations in the indictment, in February 2007 Payne executed two promissory notes to NC Four Cs, LLC (NC4Cs), a North Carolina limited liability company, in exchange for NC4Css disbursement of two loans totaling $800,000. In 2009, Payne ceased making payments to NC4Cs, when he allegedly began to have serious financial problems. The indictment further alleges that in December 2008, Payne, through Provision 08, LLC, entered into a transfer agreement with a victim identified in the indictment as J.E. Payne had previously acted as an attorney for J.E. and for J.Es charitable and business enterprises. The indictment alleges that, according to the terms of the transfer agreement, Payne agreed to pay to J.E. and J.E.s heirs $4.38 million in exchange for the transfer of four properties to Payne (collectively the Properties).

The indictment also alleges that J.E. never received a single payment from Payne or Provision 08, LLC.

According to allegations in the indictment, upon acquiring the Properties from J.E., Payne began using the Properties to obtain bank loans from PCB, MFBT, and BOA, to benefit himself and his corporate entities. To secure the bank loans, Payne allegedly made numerous misrepresentations, false statements, and omissions, all with intent to defraud the Banks. For example, in December 2008, Payne used the acquisition of the Properties to secure a $735,000 bank loan from PCB. During the loan application process, Payne lied to a PCB loan officer who inquired about Paynes acquisition of the Properties, telling the loan officer that J.E. had gifted Payne the Properties in recognition of previous services provided to J.E. The indictment also alleges that Payne failed to disclose to PCB his personal liabilities, including the $800,000 personal debt to NC4Cs.

The indictment went on to allege that Payne continued to use the Properties as collateral in subsequent loan applications throughout 2009, and was able secure loans from two additional banks, MFBT and BOA, based on similar misrepresentations and omissions. In at least one of those instances, the indictment alleges that Paynes own law firm served as the closing attorney for the loans, and that Payne was able to hide information from the bank regarding existing encumbrances on the property, which he used as collateral for the loan. As a result of Paynes conduct, MFBT and BOA disbursed to Payne two loans in the amount of $250,000 and $522,000, respectively.

In making todays announcement, U.S. Attorney Rose stated, Payne allegedly went on a bank fraud spree, and, using his law license as a conduit to the fraud, he caused substantial financial harm to individuals and to financial institutions. I want to thank the FBI and the FDIC- OIG for leading this complex financial investigation that led to the federal charges, said U.S. Attorney Rose.

Payne had his initial appearance Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dennis Howell. The charges of bank fraud and making false statements on a loan and credit application each carry a maximum prison term of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine per count.

John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Jay N. Lerner, Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Inspector General (FDIC-OIG) join U.S. Attorney Rose in making todays announcement.

All the charges contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The investigation was led by the FBI and FDIC-OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Don Gast and Daniel Bradley of the U.S. Attorneys Office in Asheville are in charge of the prosecution.
Hindus in Spain are reportedly coming together to form a united platform to work on issues of common interest and be a voice for the community.

A Federacion Hindu de Espana (FHE) has reportedly been formed in Spain to unite all Hindus, defend-preserve-promote Hinduism, challenge-correct academic misrepresentation of Hinduism, advise local-regional-national governments on Hinduism and make Hindu representation, promote authentic yoga, claim equal standing with other religions, etc.

FHE reportedly intends to approach and enroll/affiliate other Hindu temples-organizations-groups all over Spain who are not members yet. In future, it also plans to conduct educational programs; train Hindu priests; create directory of Hindu temples- institutions-associations-grou ps of Spain; etc.

According to reports, founding Hindu groups included Veda Dharma (Madrid), Sudha Satva (Valencia), Arsha Vidya (Madrid) and Advaita Vidya (Barcelona); while Centro Vedico Dharma (Alicante) and Om Shiva Shakti (Barcelona) joined later. FHE is expecting three other Hindu groups to join.

Meanwhile, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, commended efforts of Hindu groups and community in Spain to unite in order to give Hinduism a voice.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this Hindu federation would help in this direction in Spain. Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism. Zed also urged the federation to actively indulge in interfaith dialogue with other religions to help promote harmony in the Spanish society.

Per a rough estimate, there are about 50,000 Hindus in Spain, including Hindus of India-descent and Spanish followers of Hinduism. They are spread all over the country but Canary Islands have a large concentration of them. There are various Hindu groups in Spain; some of which are reportedly officially registered, while many are not registered yet. There are about 40 Hindu temples/worship-places/worship -groups in Spain, including temples in Valencia, Malaga, Melilla and Madrid; Hare Krishna temples in Madrid, Barcelona, Tenerife, Malaga, besides an institute and a farm; followers/groups/movements of Brahma-Kumaris, Mata Amritanandamayi Amma, Sathya Sai Baba, Siddha Yoga, Sahaja Yoga, etc. Various Hindu festivals, including Rath-Yatra, are celebrated. There is a Hindu temple in neighboring Gibraltar.

Juan Carlos Ramchandani (Krishna Kripa Dasa) is the President of FHE. Other office-bearers include: Vice-President Swami Satyananda Sarasvati, Secretary Hari Das, Treasurer Pedro Soto, Public Relations Naren Herrero, Academic Relations Javier Ruiz Calderon Shankara, and India Representative (Varanasi) Alvaro Enterria; reports suggest.

Source : From Our Correspondent
Hindus have commended Pos Malaysia Berhad for featuring Kuil Sri Kandaswamy Hindu temple of Brickfields area of Kuala Lumpur on a postal stamp.

This 60 sen (cents) stamp shows the majestic Sri Kandaswamy Temple, which was inaugurated in 1902. This Temple features huge golden Kodimaram, Vasantha Mandapam, Yagasalai Peedam, sacred pond Skandapuspakarani, sacred Kadambam tree, etc.

Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, pointed out that Hinduism was very rich in architecture and design and its architectural texts went back to pre-BCE Sulvasutra, which dealt with the geometric layout of altars. Visvakarman was regarded as the universal architect/builder who presided over Sthapatyaveda, Hindu treatise on architecture. Ancient Silpasastras gave direction on the symbolic meaning and ritual significance of the buildings.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated that as most of the counties now housed traditionally designed Hindu temples where area Hindus regularly worshipped, postal services of these countries should step forward and issue postal stamps depicting these temples. Besides honoring these places of worship, these stamps on Hindu temples would also raise awareness of their citizens about Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought.

Sri Kandaswamy Kovil, which opens daily at 05-30 am, performs various services, including 1008 Sangga Abishegam for RM 1981. K. Aruljothi is the President and Parameswara Kurukkal is the Chief Priest.

Pos Malaysia Berhad is the postal delivery service in Malaysia whose history goes back to early 1800s. Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh is the CEO.

Source : From Our Correspondent
Preet Kaur Gill won the Edgbaston seat for the Labour Party in the snap elections by 6,917 votes. She has become the first female Sikh MP in the House of Commons. Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, another Labour Party candidate won to become the first turban-wearing MP.

By India Today Web Desk: Results of the snap election show that Britain has elected its first female Sikh MP in the House of Commons. Preet Kaur Gill, a councillor from Sandwell, won the Edgbaston seat for the Labour Party.

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi aka Tan won the Slough seat. The Labour Party candidate won the seat by polling 34,170 votes and defeated Conservative Party candidate by nearly 17,000 votes.

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Born and brought up in Edgbaston, 44-year-old Preet has served as a board member of the Sikh Network, an open collective of Sikh activists and professionals in UK from all backgrounds.

The Sikh Network according to her has provided her with a unique platform to raise her political profile in the last two years. She is Sandwell's cabinet member for public health and protection.

Also read: UK election result 2017: Exit poll predicts tough test for Theresa May

Preet was selected to replace colleague Gisela Stuart, the sitting MP in Birmingham Edgbaston, by the Labour National Executive Committee's interview panel on April 28. Stuart had chaired the "leave" campaign to take UK out of the European Union.

She won the seat by defeating ruling Conservative Party's Caronline Squire by 6,917 votes. Preet is expected to work on issues related to the Sikh community and the Sikh Federation too campaigned for her.

Also read: UK election 2017: PM Theresa May's election gamble appears to backfire

"I am delighted I have been given the opportunity to become the next MP for Edgbaston where I was born and raised. I want to engage with the people of Edgbaston and with hard work, passion and determination I think we can achieve great things together," she told PTI.

The United Kingdom went to polls on June 8 after PM Theresa May called for snap elections to increase her majority.

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MKDA, a Miami-based architecture and interior design firm, today announced that its distinguished hospitality studio is the lead architect on the $12.5 million redevelopment of Jamaica"s long-shuttered Breezes Montego Bay Hotel into the 120,000-square-foot The Spanish Court Hotel Montego Bay.

Located on the beachfront along Gloucester Avenue in St. James, popularly called the Hip Strip, the resort hotel is an expansion of The Spanish Court brand in Kingston, and also a departure for the brand, whose popular Kingston location established in 2010 is primarily a destination for business travelers.

By introducing to the Caribbean a minimal architectural style similar to that found in Miami"s famed South Beach neighborhood, MKDA hopes The Spanish Court Hotel Montego Bay will redefine and elevate the concept of a Jamaican resort.

To achieve this architectural elegance, the exterior was stripped of its Mediterranean-inspired decorative elements in favor of clean, contemporary lines. A beautiful porte-cochere at the entrance features a large grey granite slab that creates a contrast to the stark white lines of structural elements, such as columns, slabs and walls, all of which frame full-height glazing walls. The architectural team is also reinforcing the structure in order to add two floors.

Most of the beautifully appointed 120 guest rooms will have views of Doctors Cave Beach, renowned in Jamaica for its clear turquoise waters, white sand and calm waters. Each will feature plush beds and spa-like bathrooms with roman tubs and sauna showers. Some will also comprise exterior balconies, and on the ground level, private plunge pools.

One of the most exciting details of the resort is the open-air lobby that framesin beautiful wooden slatsthe resort"s crystal blue infinity pool that melds flawlessly into the ocean. MKDA also designed a world-class restaurant and spa on either side of the lobby, as well as a pool and rooftop bar, cafe and gym.

MKDA is a corporate planning and interior design firm that was established in New York, NY in 1959. The firm also has a Stamford, CT studio that provides corporate interior design services, and a Miami, FL studio that provides architecture and interior design services. MKDA has been named one of Interior Design magazine"s Top 100 Interior Design Giants, has been an Interior Design Best of the Year Honoree, and has received numerous other accolades and recognition. Client brands have included Snapchat, SoundCloud, Guggenheim Partners, Design Within Reach and Heineken USA, as well as leading building owners Silverstein Properties, George Comfort & Sons, Vornado Realty Trust, Blackstone, ClearRock Properties and Boston Properties.

Hotel website
Northridge Capital, LLC, owner of the Sky Hotel in Aspen, Colorado, in partnership with local developer Sarpa Development, is pleased to announce that it closed last month on construction financing for its redevelopment of the property, prominently located at the base of Aspen Mountain in the heart of town, obtained construction permits from the City of Aspen, and broke ground on the project on Friday, May 26. Northridge selected Marriott International's W Hotels as operator for the new hotel and residences last year. An entity owned by one or more funds managed, directly or indirectly, by Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) is providing construction financing, and Haselden Construction of Denver is the general contractor.

W Aspen and The Sky Residences at W Aspen, which is slated to open for the 2018-19 winter ski season, will be the first alpine escape in North America from W Hotels Worldwide.

W Aspen is being designed by the award-winning firms of Rowland+Broughton Architecture of Aspen and Nemaworkshop of New York City, in partnership with W's in-house design team. Locally inspired, this modern-day mountain chalet will celebrate the spirit of Aspen, offering 88 guestrooms, including six suites, and 11 W-branded fractional residences. An oversized split-level Living Room, the brand's alternative to the staid hotel lobby, reimagines the traditional hotel dining scene with a modern approach to dynamic cocktails and cuisine. To complete the experience of this incomparable location, the hotel will feature a 1,600 square foot outdoor patio and a 12,000 square foot rooftop bar and pool, overlooking Aspen Mountain and creating the ultimate experience for apres-ski and warm-weather events.

A full-service ski shop will provide guests with equipment rentals and storage capabilities, while an 1,100 square foot FIT, the W brand's modern gym concept, will aid travellers in staying in shape on and off the slopes. With more than 1,600 square feet of event and meeting space, W Aspen is sure to become an attraction for spectacular events and high energy meetings at the base of Aspen Mountain.

Hotel website
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and CENFOTUR, the official training center of the Ministry of Tourism in Peru have signed a cooperation agreement to develop a report 'Talent Development  Key for Destination Competitiveness." The report will offer an extensive analysis of the importance of capacity building as a determining factor in the success of tourism destinations, with a special focus on Latin America and Peru.

Created in 1978, CENFOTUR is a UNWTO Affiliate Member. The extensive research conducted by CENFOTUR will include an assessment of the diverse educational models, the challenges faced in the labor market as well as the needs expressed by the private sector.

The publication will also incorporate a number of best practices in talent development in tourism, providing a useful set of guidelines for tourism leaders interested in implementing policies to foster talent development and, accordingly, increase the competiveness of their destinations.

The joint initiative is part of the UNWTO Knowledge Network that aims at advancing knowledge in talent development in the tourism sector.

About CENFOTUR

As part of the Ministry of Tourism, CENFOTUR is the official training center of the tourism and hospitality sector in Peru. Created in 1978, it counts with national and international recognition in the education, training and continuing education through effective programs and short and medium term demand-driven training courses. CENFOTUR offers four Educational Programs, which are: Hospitality Management, Tourism Management, Official Tourism Guides and Peruvian Cuisine. In addition to these educational programs, CENFOTUR works very closely with all public organizations and Ministries in Peru, designing and executing training and counseling on labor certification (In collaboration with the Ministry of Labour) and quality programs in tourism in the frame of the National Strategic Tourism Plan. CENFOTUR also takes part in projects sponsored by the European Union and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Useful links:

About The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency fostering tourism as a vehicle for equal, inclusive and sustainable development. Working with its Member States, international organizations and the private sector, UNWTO promotes safe and seamless travel for all. UNWTO also works to make tourism the foundation of trust and international cooperation and a central pillar of recovery. As part of the wider UN system, UNWTO is at the forefront of global efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including through its ability to create decent jobs, promote equality and preserve natural and cultural heritage.

Follow UNWTO on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin.
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Japan Travel and Tourism Association (JTTA) and Gurunavi Inc. have undersigned an agreement to develop a "UNWTO Affiliate Members Report on Gastronomy Tourism: Japan." The report will contribute to capitalize the potential of this segment in the Nippon country and add to the existing UNWTO research on gastronomy tourism.

Japanese cuisine has become a world reference and at present, Japan is the country with the highest number of restaurants awarded with 3 Michelin stars. In addition, Japanese gastronomy has been officially designated as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

The Report will provide a global overview of gastronomy tourism in Japan and explores the potential of this segment as an instrument for inclusive development in the country. The publication will primarily deliver the findings of the extensive research conducted by two UNWTO Affiliate Members, the Japan Travel and Tourism Association (JTTA) and Gurunavi.

Data compilation will include interviews, surveys, research and field work conducted with stakeholders from both the private and public sectors. The publication will also include case studies and best practices in gastronomy tourism in Japan.

JAPAN TRAVEL AND TOURISM ASSOCIATION

The Japan Travel and Tourism Association, serving as a national center for Japanese tourism, is engaged in supporting travel and tourism to promote Japan as a tourism-oriented country. The Association contributes to promoting the growth of regional economies and the tourism industry, enriching Japanese citizen's lives and culture, and encouraging international goodwill by creating attractive domestic sightseeing destinations, organizing wide-area tourism routes and energizing exchanges through tourism. The Association's goal is to effectively promote tourism by supporting regionally based tourism promotion activities and through broad coordination between the regions and the tourism industry. The Association has 650 members nationwide engaged in tourism-related activities. They include local governments, tourism associations, tourism industry bodies, railways, airlines and tourism-related companies. Official Website

GURUNAVI INC.

Gurunavi, Inc. is an Internet search service provider, focusing on the provision of information for restaurants and the service of restaurants through personal computers, cellular phones and smart phones. They also offer marketing promotion services for restaurant operators. In addition, Gurunavi is involved in the sale of food products, the home delivery catering, wedding information and the travel-related businesses. As of April 1, 2016, the site had grown into a major website, with more than half a million restaurant profiles and listings, and 13.97 million members. Official Website

Useful links
An interview with Irving "Bulla" Eastman, Senior Director Safety and Security for Aqua-Aston Hospitality. While most of us in hospitality focus our efforts on finding ways to enhance our guests' comfort (and make more revenues!), we can only do so in an environment where both safety and security are assured. We often take the role of our security department for granted. After all, this is a department where reports stating 'nothing has happened' are considered the norm, and management tends to respond to incidents versus the status quo.

While most of us in hospitality focus our efforts on finding ways to enhance our guests' comfort (and make more revenues!), we can only do so in an environment where both safety and security are assured. We often take the role of our security department for granted. After all, this is a department where reports stating 'nothing has happened' are considered the norm, and management tends to respond to incidents versus the status quo.

It is also hard to measure the performance of the security department when assessments are largely binary. How do you know if team members are meeting your needs when the expectation is that 'nothing has happened'?

Irving "Bulla" Eastman knows. As Senior Director Safety and Security for Aqua-Aston Hospitality, he works to ensure the safety and security for the group's nearly 50 hotels and resorts across the Hawaiian Islands and on the US mainland. I had an opportunity to meet with Bulla at a tourism conference in Hawaii to ask him a few questions. It is rare to find a security director willing to talk so effusively, so I was eager to proceed.

How has the role of safety and security personnel changed in the wake of modern terrorism?

Both the management team and its security officers have had to adjust policies and procedures to be prepared for today's challenges. This includes training, implementation and coordination of information provided by the Department of Homeland Security.

What sort of ongoing training do you provide for staff?

Security officers are now required by law in the State of Hawaii to be licensed. As licensed security officers, individuals are required to successfully complete a minimum of 8 hours of classroom instruction before they start service, and a minimum of 4 hours of classroom instruction biennially covering topics such as the legal limitations on the actions of guards, access control, safety, fire detection, emergency response, homeland security issues and procedures, techniques of observation and reporting of incidents, the fundamentals of patrolling, professional ethics, and professional image and aloha training.

What are the fundamentals that every hotel should employ in this department?

An understanding that the safety of our guests and employees is the primary responsibility of everyone. This principle extends to every aspect of operations, including not only the obvious threats, such as robberies, fire, assaults and the like, but also the prevention of 'slip and falls', minding youngsters around the pool or even the storage of cleaning chemicals. Next, add onto this planning for potential situations, such as natural disasters or external threats.

How do you balance security with guests who just want to have fun on vacation?

The easiest way we explain this to our guests, especially in a resort climate, is that we welcome them to 'our home' and hope they enjoy their stay as if it were 'their home'. We want them to feel comfortable, relaxed, safe and secure. In the same breath, we ask them to treat our home like they would their own home and to be mindful of others. Anything that compromises the safety and the security of the property or guests should not be tolerated.

How do you ensure safety is the first rule in management of a hotel or resort?

The buy-in has to start at the top with your CEO, then down to the property GM, and ultimately with all of the staff. Additionally, you need a 'Safety Champion' or a person who is genuinely focused on the documentation of all of the policies and procedures. We also have risk management consultants who act as 'mystery shoppers'. They do walkthroughs of each property twice a year, during which they ask employees a variety of questions regarding safety. As examples, we may ask if they know what PPE (personal protective equipment) is, or where the location of the eye wash stations and SDS (safety data sheets) are at their property.

How can a hotel or resort be prepared for a crisis?

Management companies must have a written manual with detailed procedures for each specific property, covering everything from a theft or a fire to a bomb threat, tsunami or hurricane.

Do you think hotels understand crisis communications versus crisis management?

There is a fine line, but a correlative one, between the two. To successfully manage a crisis, preparation before a situation arises is necessary. Crisis communication is managing the flow of information leading up to, during and after a crisis from the management company to its guests, vendors, employees and the general public.

(Article published by Larry Mogelonsky in eHotelier on December 8, 2016).

Larry Mogelonsky

Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited

View source
Samestore Sales Increase 14.9 Percent

Deutsche Bank Mexico, S.A., Banking institution, Trust Division F/1616 or Fibra Inn (BMV: FINN13, ADR OTC: DFBRY), a Mexican real estate investment trust internally managed and specialized in the hotel industry serving the business traveler, today announced its operating results for its hotel indicators of May 2017.

MONTHLY SAME-STORE SALES 41 hotels May 2017 May 2016 Change % Room Revenue (Ps. millions) 158.9 138.4 14.9% Occupancy exc. addition of rooms 64.6% 61.0% 3.6 pp Occupancy 64.7% 61.0% 3.7 pp ADR (Ps.) 1,207.6 1,113.3 8.5% RevPar exc. addition of rooms 780.2 679.2 14.9% RevPar (Ps.) 781.6 679.2 15.1%

The 14.9% increase in Revenue per Available Room was the net effect of the 8.5% rate increase and the 3.6 percentage points increase in occupancy.

Total Sales for May 2017 were:

MONTHLY TOTAL SALES May 2017 May 2016 Change % Number of hotels 42 41 Room Revenue (Ps. millions) 163.7 138.7 18.0% Occupancy 64.5% 60.6% 3.9 pp ADR (Ps.) 1,219.9 1,109.1 10.0% RevPar 786.6 672.5 17.0%

The same-store sales calculation considers 41 comparable properties, as the criterion is to include hotels, which have been in Fibra Inns portfolio for at least half of the period. In this report, two hotels were excluded in total. These were: the Courtyard by Marriott Chihuahua hotel, which is recently built and has no operational history; and the Arriva Express Hotel Guadalajara, which is temporarily closed due to its conversion to the AC by Marriott brand.

To date, Fibra Inn has a total portfolio of 43 properties, of which 42 are under operation; the Arriva Express Guadalajara hotel is temporarily closed due to its conversion to the AC by Marriott brand, which will add 180 rooms to the portfolio. This represents a total of 7,115 rooms, of which 222 are under construction and 180 are being renovated. Additionally, Fibra Inn has a minority interest in two properties, currently being externally developed under the Strategic Hotel Acquisition Pipeline model, representing 430 rooms.
Crowne Plaza Barranquilla Hotel Opens in Colombia

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) today announced the opening of the Crowne Plaza Barranquilla hotel marking the Crowne Plaza brand's return to Colombia. The 76-room new-build hotel is located within the Torres del Atlantico business complex, a modern and contemporary set of two identical towers that provide stunning city and Caribbean sea views.

Ideal for both business and leisure travelers, the Crowne Plaza Barranquilla features modern and spacious rooms with high-quality amenities, evoking the perfect balance for both work and relaxation. The 13-floor hotel allows guests a range of experiences  from tasting Colombian flavors and international cuisine at the San Blas restaurant, to enjoying the views from the top floor's Skybar and infinite swimming pool, keeping up with a workout regimen at the fitness center, or relaxing and unwinding with a spa treatment.

The Crowne Plaza Barranquilla also features a 24-hour on-site business center. Its three meeting rooms, the largest of which can accommodate up to 150 attendees, provide the latest technological equipment to ensure a successful meeting. Complimentary outdoor parking is also available to hotel guests.

Gerardo Murray, Regional Vice President of Brands & Marketing, Mexico, Latin America and Caribbean, IHG, said: "Crowne Plaza has a commitment to guests to create stays that allow them to make the most out of their business trip but also enjoy their free time. This hotel is a great example of the Crowne Plaza brand's refreshed look and offerings to guests on the heels of the Crowne Plaza Accelerate plan."

Owned and managed by Hoteles Cacique Internacional S.A.S., the Crowne Plaza Barranquilla hotel is franchised by an affiliate of IHG and is part of IHG's diverse family of brands in nearly 100 countries and territories.

Rafael Marin Valencia, Hoteles Cacique Internacional S.A.S, said: "We are very excited to be opening this hotel in Barranquilla and our second property with IHG and are confident in the brand's continued prosperity. We selected the Crowne Plaza brand as it is enjoying tremendous growth and success with modern-day travelers."

Hoteles Cacique Internacional S.A.S also owns Holiday Inn Bucaramanga Cacique hotel, which opened in the northeastern Colombian city of Bucaramanga in 2013.

The Crowne Plaza Barranquilla is located in the Buenavista neighborhood, one block away from the Buenavista Mall and its casual restaurants, local and international stores, and cinema. The nearby Buenavista Park is a fitting location for a peaceful and relaxing walk or some fresh air.

The hotel is IHG's fourteenth property in Colombia and second property in the city, the first being the Holiday Inn Express Barranquilla Buenavista that opened last year.

IHG announced its $200 million investment in 2017 for the Crowne Plaza brand as well as its Crowne Plaza Accelerate Plan last year, and recently launched its "We're All Business, Mostly" campaign. Most recently, some of the brand's most iconic properties in Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean announced a series of multi-million dollar renovations.

Crowne Plaza is a full-service hotel brand focused on business travelers as well as meetings and conventions. IHG has more than 400 Crowne Plaza branded hotels worldwide, 22 of which are located throughout Latin America, with five additional properties in the pipeline. In Colombia, IHG has 14 properties and is represented by four of its 11 brands, including: InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

IHG has hotels in nearly 100 countries, with 223 hotels and 37,846 rooms throughout Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. With roots in Latin America, IHG's first InterContinental hotel opened in Belem, Brazil in 1946.
TRANSWESTERN NAMED ONE OF THE BEST WORKPLACES IN CHICAGO BY FORTUNE AND GREAT PLACE TO WORK

Posted by Press Releases on Friday, 06-09-2017 10:28 am

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Commercial Real Estate Firm Ranked No. 19 out of 100 CompaniesTranswestern today announces it has been recognized as one of the Best Workplaces in Chicago by Fortune magazine and research and consulting firm Great Place to Work. The commercial real estate firm was ranked no. 19 out of 100 companies from various industries across the entire Chicago metro area. The honor follows a series of triumphs for Transwestern, including being named one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Women" by Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine for the second consecutive year.Being an excellent workplace begins with our people, said Mike Watts, Transwesterns Midwest President. We have created an environment where our team members are empowered to succeed professionally and personally. Transwestern is committed to promoting a healthy work/life balance by creating opportunities for our team members to volunteer, improve their physical health and well-being, and continuously hone their skills throu...

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By Press Trust of India: envoy to India

New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) The decision by the US to pull out of the Paris accord was "negative" but it would "not impact" European Unions commitment to fulfil the climate deal, EUs top envoy said here today, while praising Indias commitment to the agreement.

"Climate change is a global challenge. We in good faith, the EU, the US under the previous (Barack Obama) administration, China, India and several other countries, subscribed to the Paris agreement.

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"The way of thinking was that it would be our common interest to have this agreement and to implement it," Ambassador of the EU to India, Tomasz Kozlowski said.

Asked about Americas decision to leave the 2015 climate accord, he said, "The decision by the US to pull out of the agreement was negative."

"But, it will not impact our commitment to fulfil the Paris agreement. Climate issues are global challenges. And, we, together with practically all the countries in the world signed an agreement. The withdrawal by the US was not a positive factor," he told PTI on the sidelines of a function.

"But, we are happy that India has declared its commitment to the Paris agreement," he said.

President Donald Trump had on June 2 declared that the US will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, saying the "draconian" deal unfairly punished America but benefited countries like India and China, drawing strong condemnation from across the world.

"It is time to exit the Paris Accord and time to pursue a new deal that protects the environment, our companies, our citizens, and our country," Trump had said while announcing the sweeping step that fulfils a campaign promise while acutely dampening global efforts to curb global warming.

India, on its side, has said that it was committed to tackling climate change, irrespective of the stand taken by any other country.

"We are committed to ensuring that we will do our best to address the issue related to climate change and global warming," Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan had said, hours after the US had announced its withdrawal.

The Paris agreement commits the US and other countries to keep rising global temperatures "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and "endeavour to limit" them to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

India, under its climate action plans, has pledged to curb its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 35 per cent from its 2005 level.

In the plans submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), India had also vowed that 40 per cent of its total electricity needs would be obtained from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

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New Delhi also pledged to create an additional carbon sink -- which suck up and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere -- of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree covers by 2030. PTI KND IKA

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KPFA WorkWeek radio looks at the response of labor and the AFL-CIO to Trump's plan to renegotiate NAFTA. AFL-CIO's Celeste Drake and FLOC President Baldemar Valasquez as well as Al Rojas of LCLAA Sacramento are interviewed. Also WorkWeek looks at the ICE arrests of National City school kids parents and the affects on the children and teachers as well as the action of the teachers union.

KPFA WorkWeek Radio looks at the position of labor on Trump's renegotiation of NAFTA. We first interview Celeste Drake who is the Trade Policy Specialist with the AFL-CIO. Next we talk with Baldemar Valasquez who is the president of the Farmworkers Labor Organizing Committee FLOC and Al Rojas who is one of the founders of the UFWA and with the Labor Council For Latin American Advancement LCLAA Sacramento chapter.WorkWeek also talks with Christina Benson who is the president of the National City Elementary Teachers Association about the affect of ICE raids on the the school children and their parents who are being arrested and deported. The union has also passed a resolution calling for an end to the ICE raids.This program was recorded on June 6, 2017.Additional information:Production of WorkWeek RadioICE Raids Near National City Schools, Parents Arrested, Children Left UnattendedMAY 26, 2017 BY BARBARA ZARAGOZA 9 COMMENTSMay 31 UPDATE: SDFPs Barbara Zaragoza has posted a comprehensive follow-up to this story.ICE Raids National CityMedia Advisory from the National City Elementary Teachers Association.By Barbara ZaragozaUPDATE 2/29/2017: The family strongly denies the charges brought by Border Patrol. A spokesperson maintains the allegations are a smear campaign.UPDATE 5/27/2017: Protestors gathered at 2pm on Friday, May 26th at Otay Mesa Detention Center. Several media outlets covered the protests and uncovered additional information. According to two reports, the Duarte parents were apprehended near their home, not near a National City school.In addition, 10 News reported: Duarte says undercover federal immigration agents, in unmarked cars, showed up outside their home in National City Tuesday and arrested his parents. ICE denies that claim to 10 News.The report also says the parents have not been charged with any crime. They had no previous criminal record.7 News San Diego reported a different story, explaining that Duarte and Perez have been charged with immigration violations, and are being processed for removal proceedings. According to U.S. Border Patrol, Duarte and Perez were suspected to have been working as stash house operators for a transnational human smuggling operation. They were both under investigation for their alleged involvement.This story continues to develop.________________________[NEW UPDATE: The NCETA President on behalf of NCETA, issued the following statement as of Saturday, 5/27/2017. (The National City Elementary Teachers Association consists of a group of full-time teachers.)CORRECTION to our press release on 5/24/17:Initial reports indicated that ICE detained NSD parents while they walked their children to Las Palmas school. NCETA has learned that the parents were arrested by Border Patrol at the home, in front of students.Regardless of the location of the arrests, NCETA believes that our students will be most successful when their families are kept together. There is another confirmed case in our school district of a mother who was deported within the last two weeks to Tijuana, leaving her son behind.NCETA calls on the National City community to support vulnerable families, and continues to demand that ICE or the Border Patrol cease and desist targeting families because of immigration status._______________________The National City Elementary Teachers Association issued a disturbing media advisory on Wednesday, May 24th. With a total population of approximately 60,000 in National City, 63% of National City residents identify on census records as Hispanic and another 18% as Asian. The median household income is $38,849. (See these Fast Facts) The text is so important that I would like to print it in full and verbatim [my bold]:National City educators condemn recent ICE raids near local schoolsStudents must know that schools are a safe spaceNational City Elementary Teachers Association (NCETA) demands that immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents immediately cease and desist their activities targeting and detaining National School District (NSD) parents as they walk their children to and from school. These sweeps and raids are having a chilling effect on NSD students rights to access their local public school. Those rights to access are codified in precinct-setting U.S. Supreme Court cases such as Westminster vs. Mendez and Brown vs. Board of Education.On 5/23/17, both a mother and father were detained by ICE while dropping their students off at Las Palmas Elementary School. The two children were left unattended as ICE arrested the parents. No attempts were made to contact a guardian or school official to ensure the children were safe.NCETA reaffirms our recently passed Resolution of Unity, Resolve and Resilience, explaining our commitment to supporting all students and families, regardless of immigration status. The resolution calls on educators to take proactive steps to support vulnerable students by helping create schools that are safe-havens that reflect the diversity and cultural richness immigrants bring to National School District.NCETA has been active in engaging with the immigrant families by distributing ACLU Know Your Rights pamphlets in close proximity to schools. NCETA President, and 5th grade teacher at Central Elementary School, Christina Benson explains, Our teachers know that learning is compromised when students are fearful and anxious. Students should not have to worry that their parents risk deportation because they choose to walk their children safely to school. Parents should not have to choose between their childs education and their ability to keep their family safe and secure.In the coming weeks, NCETA members will conduct a local outreach campaign, brainstorming with families to develop a comprehensive plan in the event ICE agents continue targeting parents.Rancho de la Nation teacher Molly Sterner explains that engagement with the community is critical to ensure that students remain in school. This is not about the politics surrounding immigration as much as it is about common sense. The entire community benefits when kids receive an education. If parents are afraid to send their children to school, student education suffers. Our hope is that by helping educate parents about their rights, and ensuring they have a plan inlace will help them feel more secure and empowered to continue their childs education.At least one other parents has been arrested and detained by ICE while transporting their child to a National City school. Amid community outrage, the National City Mayor and City Council refused to adopt a resolution declaring it a sanctuary city earlier this spring.Ambushed By Undercover ICE AgentsIn addition, as reported by citizen journalist and community activist, Mark Lane, on Facebook:On Tuesday, May 24th in National City Francisco and Rosenda Duarte were ambushed by undercover ICE agents in unmarked cars as their children were getting ready for school. They have been in the United States for 21 years and have no criminal records, not even speeding tickets. They are volunteers in the community. Yet they were taken.Children were left at home crying. Francisco Jr. a 19 year old college student was suddenly thrust into taking care of his 3 younger brothers and sisters. These children need help with their day to day needs. We will be representing their legal needs and working on getting the parents out of detention. The family has set up a gofundme account to try and earn money for their rent, utilities, food, court fees, bail costs, etc.Please help if you can.Francisco Duarte is being held at the Chula Vista Detention Center and Rosenda Perez is being held at the Otay Detention Facility. There will be an action planned at the Chula Vista facility tomorrow to demand their return to their children.The four children speak about their experience in this video:
The story so far: Theresa May has announced her intention to form a government with the support of the DUP, after the UK election resulted in a hung parliament in which no single party secured a majority of seats.

Mrs May's party had 42.45% of the vote while Labour's share had increased by almost 10 points from its 2015 level to 39.99;

The Conservatives 318 seats leave them eight seats short of a (326) majority and with 13 fewer than before Theresa May called the election;

Theresa May has said she will form a government with the support of the DUP, which secured 10 seats. The form of that agreement (formal coalition / confidence and supply agreement) is as yet unclear;

Update 11.11pm: Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said she has received assurances from British Prime Minister over gay rights should the Tories do a deal with Democratic Unionist Party.

Ms Davidson, who is gay, spoke out after Theresa May outlined a plan to seek a deal with the socially hardline party, which has 10 seats in the Commons, to prop up her minority administration.

In an apparent criticism of the plan, Ms Davidson today tweeted a link to a speech she made in favour of marriage equality, with the message: "As a Protestant Unionist about to marry an Irish Catholic, here's the Amnesty Pride lecture I gave in Belfast."

Ms Davidson, who became engaged to partner Jen Wilson in May 2016, later told the BBC: "I was fairly straightforward with her (Mrs May) and I told her that there were a number of things that count to me more than the party.

"One of them is country, one of the others is LGBTI rights.

"I asked for a categoric assurance that if any deal or scoping deal was done with the DUP there would be absolutely no rescission of LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK, in Great Britain, and that we would use any influence that we had to advance LGBTI rights in Northern Ireland

"It's an issue very close to my heart and one that I wanted categoric assurances from the prime minister on, and I received (them)."

Northern Ireland is the only part of the British Isles where same-sex marriage remains outlawed.

The DUP has repeatedly used a controversial Stormont voting mechanism - the petition of concern - to prevent the legalisation of same-sex marriage, despite a majority of MLAs supporting the move at the last vote.

Update 7.10pm: Labour staged a major upset to take the London seat of Kensington by a hair's breadth to end the 2017 British General Election almost 24 hours after the polls closed.

Emma Dent Coad saw off Tory incumbent Victoria Borwick, overturning the former city deputy mayor's 7,000 majority from 2015 by just 20 votes in a large swing to the opposition.

It took a third recount to get the result this evening, with a break having been taken after two early-hours counts to allow staff to rest.

The west London seat, which has had its boundaries redrawn several times, had been in the hands of the Conservatives since its establishment in 1974.

It means that the Tories end the campaign with 318 seats to Labour's 262, eight shy of an overall majority.

Update 7.25pm: British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to head a minority Conservative government - propped up by the Democratic Unionists - after her General Election gamble backfired disastrously.

She announced she was leaving the most senior members of her Cabinet team - including Philip Hammond and Boris Johnson - in place as she began forming a new administration.

There had been speculation Mr Hammond, the Chancellor, would be vulnerable in a post-election re-shuffle and the decision to leave him in the Treasury was being seen as a sign of her weakness after her Commons majority was wiped out.

The result was a personal humiliation for Mrs May who called the election three years before she had to bolster her position in Parliament as she embarked on the negotiations on Britain's withdrawal from the EU.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said she had lost all legitimacy and called on her to stand aside and allow him to form an alternative administration, declaring: "We are ready to serve".

However, Mrs May insisted that, as the leader of the largest party in the new parliament, she had a duty to act in the "national interest" and lead the country through the Brexit negotiations starting in ten days' time.

"That is why I think at this critical time for our country it is important to form a government in the national interest," she said.

"As we are the party that won most seats and most votes, we are the only party that is in a position to form a government that can do that."

I have spoken with the PM. We will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how we can help bring stability to our nation. pic.twitter.com/sTjTwJDbKU  Arlene Foster DBE PC #ProudofNI. (@ArleneFosterUK) June 9, 2017

Update 4.30pm: British Prime Minister Theresa May has apologised to the Tory candidates who lost their seats in the general election, adding: "I will reflect on what we need to do in the future to take the party forward."

Update 1.30pm: Speaking of her relationship with the DUP, Theresa May said: "We will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular. Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom.

"This will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful Brexit deal that works for everyone in this country, securing a new partnership with the EU which guarantees our long-term prosperity.

"That's what people voted for last June. That's what we will deliver. Now let's get to work."

Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street. Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

It is not thought that the PM has offered a full coalition with the DUP, which was catapulted into the role of kingmaker after increasing its representation at Westminster by two to 10 MPs.

Shortly before Mrs May's statement, senior Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson said it was "much too early" to talk of a formal agreement with a minority Conservative government.

In a humiliating night for the Prime Minister, Mrs May saw Tory ranks at Westminster reduced from 330 to 318 - with one constituency left to declare - while eight ministers were culled from the Government's front benches.

Meanwhile, Labour - which had been written off by critics as all but unelectable - surged to 261 seats, up 29 from its tally in the 2015 election.

Liberal Democrats gained four seats to amass 12 MPs, but lost their former leader and ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in perhaps the highest-profile casualty in a night of stunning results.

Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party retained just 35 of the 56 seats it secured two years ago, and lost its Westminster leader, Angus Robertson, and former first minister, Alex Salmond.

And Ukip leader Paul Nuttall fell on his sword after just six months in the job, after slumping to a distant third place in Skegness & Boston on a woeful night for the Eurosceptic party, which shed swathes of voters to Labour and Conservatives.

Mr Corbyn said it was clear Labour had won the election and indicated he was ready to put forward a programme for government in an alternative Queen's Speech.

"I think it's pretty clear who won this election," he said at Labour's headquarters in central London.

Update 12.55pm: Theresa May has said she intends to form a government that will provide "certainty" and guide the country through Brexit talks.

Following an audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, the British Prime Minister said she was confident that she would be able to work with the North's Democratic Unionist Party at Westminster in a new administration.

"I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen and I will now form a Government," she said, "a government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country.

"This Government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union.

"It will work to keep our nation safe and secure by delivering the change that I set out following the appalling attacks in Manchester and London."

Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Downing Street. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

She said despite losing a dozen MPs in the election, she intended to press ahead with her plans to take the UK out of the European Union and forge a new trade deal with its former partners.

Mrs May faced calls from within her own party to consider her own position after the election, which she brought forward by three years in the hope it would deliver her a comfortable Commons majority, ended with Labour making significant advances.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged her to resign and allow him to form a minority administration, declaring: "We are ready to serve this country."

But, after intensive talks with the DUP as the final election results came in, the PM instead drove the short distance to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen for permission to form a new government.

She is expected to announce ministerial appointments later today.

Update 12.30pm: Theresa May has gone to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen for permission to form a government.

It comes in the wake of the disastrous snap election which has robbed Conservatives of their overall majority in the House of Commons.

The PM set off from 10 Downing Street with husband Philip to make the short journey to the palace in a chauffeur driven Government car.

The move came after it was made clear that Mrs May has no intention of standing down as Conservative leader, despite calls from among her own MPs for her to consider her position.

It is thought that she is hopeful of striking some sort of deal with the Democratic Unionist Party to allow Tories to continue in government despite failing to achieve an absolute majority in the House of Commons.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has urged her to resign and allow him to form a minority administration, declaring: "We are ready to serve this country."

Mrs May and her husband were driven through the north centre gate and across the quadrangle to the King's door entrance of the monarch's London residence.

Mrs May, wearing Conservative blue, was greeted by the Queen's equerry Wing Commander Sam Fletcher as she stepped out of the silver car. They shook hands before quickly proceeding up the stairs into the palace, shortly before 12.30pm.

The Queen was meeting Mr and Mrs May in her private audience room.

Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Downing Street to travel to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II. Photo: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

Update 10.45am: Paul Nuttall has resigned as Ukip leader after his party's woeful showing at the General Election.

The Eurosceptic party had been hoping to make gains in Thursday's poll, with Mr Nuttall running a campaign pledging to "ensure there is no backsliding on Brexit".

But after Ukip failed to gain a single seat in Westminster - and with Mr Nuttall coming third in Boston and Skegness - he opted to leave his position, telling reporters: "A new era must begin with a new leader."

He said he had left the foundations for the new leader to build on and ensured that the party was "still on the pitch".

And he insisted Ukip was "more relevant than ever" and would play the role in the coming months of the "guard dogs of Brexit".

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall announcing that he is standing down as party leader. Photo: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

Update 10.20am: Theresa May is to ask the Queen for permission to form a government in the wake of the snap election which has robbed Conservatives of their overall majority in the House of Commons.

The DUP has said it will support her government. The DUP won 10 seats, and its support would allow Mrs May to form a government with a razor-thin majority or two or three seats (Kensington has yet to declare).

A Downing Street spokesman said Mrs May will visit Buckingham Palace at 12.30pm today to speak to the Queen.

The precise form the DUP support will take is unclear as yet. Commentary suggests it will be a confidence and supply deal, and not a formal coalition.

The move came after it was made clear that Mrs May has no intention of standing down as Conservative leader, despite calls from among her own MPs for her to consider her position.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has urged her to resign and allow him to form a minority administration, declaring: "We are ready to serve this country."

Theresa May looks on after she held her seat. Picture: PA

Update 9am: The Conservatives have lost the British election and should stand aside for a Labour minority government, Jeremy Corbyn has said.

The Labour leader reiterated his call for Theresa May to resign as Prime Minister and said his party had achieved an "incredible result", putting on more than three million votes and gaining seats all over the UK.

"I think it's pretty clear who won this election," he said at Labour's headquarters in central London.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by hiis Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

"We are ready to do everything we can to put our programme into operation. There isn't a parliamentary majority for anybody at the present time, the party that has lost in this election is the Conservative Party, the arguments the Conservative Party put forward in this election have lost.

"I think we need a change."

He added: "We are ready to serve this country."

Mr Corbyn said Labour was "ready to serve" as the Government and would not make any coalition deals or pacts.

"We have done no deals and no pacts with anybody, we're there as the Labour Party with our points of view, everybody knows what they are and everyone can see the huge increase in our support because of the way we conducted the election and the comprehensive nature of the programme we put forward."

Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Conservative Party HQ in Westminster. Photo: Rick Findler/PA Wire

Mr Corbyn mocked Mrs May's election campaign slogan that she would provide "strong and stable" leadership.

"She fought the election on the basis that it was her campaign, it was her decision to call the election, it was her name out there, and she was saying she was doing it to bring about strong and stable government.

"Well this morning it doesn't look like a strong government, it doesn't look like a stable government, it doesn't look like a government that has any programme whatsoever."

Asked if there would now be another election, Mr Corbyn said: "Parliament must meet and Parliament will have to take a decision on what happens. When a government puts forward the Queen's Speech, we will put forward our point of view, we are of course ready to serve."

Mr Corbyn said Labour has won a "huge mandate" to challenge austerity.

Asked if the uncertainty created by a hung parliament was good for Britain, he replied: "A hung parliament is what we've been given, it's up to MPs to deal with that.

"We have a huge mandate from a huge increase in our support to carry forward a programme that challenges austerity, that challenges poverty and challenges inequality and gives opportunities for young people, for people in the middle, and gives protection for older people.

"That surely is a very important message that the people in this country, in every part of this country, have given us all today."

Update 7.40am: Theresa May will seek to stay on as Prime Minister and Tory leader despite failing to win a majority after her decision to hold a snap election backfired spectacularly.

As the June 8 poll ended in a hung parliament, with no party holding an absolute majority in the House of Commons, Mrs May pledged the Tories would offer "stability" as the largest party with the most votes.

But Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said she should "consider her position" and take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign and a "deeply flawed" manifesto after choosing to go to the country three years early in the hope of extending her majority.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

But Tory sources indicated she would continue in Number 10.

"Certainly that's what's expected," a source said.

The Prime Minister is expected to make a statement this morning.

Update 6am: Theresa May's future as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservatives was being openly questioned after her decision to hold a snap election disastrously backfired.

As the June 8 poll ended in a hung parliament, with no party holding an absolute majority in the House of Commons, Mrs May pledged to offer "stability" if the Tories end up as the largest party with the most votes.

Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said she should "consider her position" and take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign and a "deeply flawed" manifesto after choosing to go to the country three years early in the hope of extending her majority.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

Former chancellor George Osborne, sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May and now editor of the Evening Standard, told ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

Update 5.30am: SNP plans for a second independence referendum have suffered a major setback as the party saw dramatic losses in the General Election, with former first minister Alex Salmond and depute leader Angus Robertson amongst those ousted.

After making stunning gains in the 2015 election, Nicola Sturgeon's party lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

Ruth Davidson, whose Scottish Conservatives ejected Mr Salmond from Gordon and Mr Robertson from Moray, said her party is enjoying an "historic night".

She told BBC Scotland: "Indyref2 is dead, that's what we have seen tonight."

Ms Sturgeon, who succeeded Mr Salmond as SNP leader and First Minister in 2014, admitted she was "disappointed" by the results, but said she would not make any "rash decisions" on her plan for another independence vote.

The Tory success in Scotland is in stark contrast to the situation south of the border, with Theresa May facing the prospect of losing her majority in the Commons.

The First Minister told BBC Scotland: ''This has been a disaster for Theresa May. She called an election clearly very arrogantly thinking she was going to crush the opposition, sweep everybody aside and cruise to a landslide majority.

''Her position I think is very, very difficult. We have to wait and see how things shake out. I've always said the SNP would want to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government.

''I'm disappointed at the SNP losses but I'm pleased that we've won the election.''

That was echoed by Mr Salmond, who said the SNP would seek to "build a progressive alliance to take this country forward and to avoid the calamity of hard Brexit".

The former nationalist leader, who was first elected as an MP 30 years ago in 1987, was defeated by Tory Colin Clark.

In his victory speech, Mr Clark said: "The silent majority have spoken. We're proud to be part of the United Kingdom."

Mr Salmond blamed a late surge in support for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour for the SNP's defeat in many seats, with the nationalists also losing John Nicolson, Mike Weir and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.

Pete Wishart, who was the chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee in the last parliament, held on to his Perth and North Perthshire seat by just 21 votes, with Tory MEP Ian Duncan coming close to ousting him.

Labour gained a number of seats back from the SNP - with the party making a return to winning ways in Scotland's largest city, taking the seat of Glasgow North East from Anne McLaughlin.

Ian Murray, who had been the only Labour MP in 2015, retained his Edinburgh South seat with a massively increased majority.

The Liberal Democrats also enjoyed success in East Dunbartonshire, where former UK government minister Jo Swinson won back the seat she had lost in 2015.

Mr Salmond said: "The Scottish National Party have lost many fine parliamentarians this evening, and that is a grievous blow to the SNP.

"But overall the results in Scotland show the SNP will have won a majority of seats in this country and a majority of the vote - something which I suspect the Prime Minister would like to be able to claim in the early hours of this morning but may not be able to do so.

"So the SNP might well find itself in reduced numbers in the House of Commons, but in a position of very substantial influence indeed.

"And I know that my colleagues will seek to use that influence to keep the Conservative Party from power and to build a progressive alliance to take this country forward and to avoid the calamity of hard Brexit."

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said her party is seeing some "really encouraging results".

She told BBC Scotland: "Jeremy Corbyn's anti-austerity message has focused on radically changing our country and who it works for, so it actually delivers right across this country.

"The SNP vote is crumbling in their heartlands. Look at what's happening in Glasgow; look at what's happening across the west. It's a very bad night for the SNP."

Liberal Democrat former Scottish secretary Alistair Carmichael held on to his Orkney and Shetland seat.

As he was re-elected, he said the vote across Scotland shows "there's no appetite for a second independence referendum".

He added: "That is an idea that should be taken off the table."

Update 5am: Theresa May has said Conservatives will act to ensure "stability" if the Tories are the largest party with the biggest number of votes, as expected.

Mrs May's comments appeared to indicate she is preparing for the possibility of a hung parliament, after her massive gamble on a snap election backfired sensationally.

After going into the June 8 poll on the back of opinion polls suggesting she was heading for a substantially increased majority, Mrs May has lost two ministers, including the author of her manifesto, among a string of Conservative casualties.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

Theresa May was awaiting the real results after an exit poll suggested she was in for a bruising night

After 325 constituencies had declared, a Press Association forecast had the Tories set to win 325 seats, exactly half of the 650 MPs in the Commons but enough to maintain a working majority if Sinn Fein continues with its practice of not taking any seats they win.

A BBC analysis, which also took into account the exit poll which first revealed the shocking scale of the Tories' difficulties, suggested Mrs May was heading for 318 seats.

Accepting victory in Islington North, Mr Corbyn said voters had opted for hope and "turned their backs on the politics of austerity".

The pound plummeted more than 1.5% against the US dollar and 1% against the euro as the shock figures set the scene for political turmoil at Westminster, disruption to upcoming Brexit negotiations and the possibility of a second election later in the year.

Speaking as she was re-elected MP for Maidenhead, Mrs May said: "At this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability.

"If, as the indications have shown and if this is correct, the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes, then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do."

The humiliating result facing Mrs May sparked questions about her future as PM and Conservative leader, after she took the fateful decision to bring forward the election date by three years in the hope of extending her Commons majority to bolster her position in Brexit talks.

Former chancellor George Osborne, sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May when she took office last July, told ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said the party would hold Mrs May to her campaign statement that if she lost six or more seats she would no longer be Prime Minister.

"Theresa May's authority has been undermined by this election," said Mr Watson.

"She is a damaged Prime Minister whose reputation may never recover."

Mr Osborne said there would be "a very big post mortem coming" in the party after the loss of Treasury minister Jane Ellison in Battersea.

Her defeat was followed by the loss of Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer in Ipswich.

Mr Gummer was the author of the manifesto which was blamed for driving away older voters furious at its plans to sell elderly people's homes after their deaths to pay for social care.

Labour took Canterbury, a seat which had been held by Conservatives since 1918.

Other prominent departures from the House of Commons included former deputy prime minister and ex-Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who lost Sheffield Hallam to Labour after 12 years, and the Scottish National Party's Westminster leader Angus Robertson, whose Moray seat was taken by Tories.

Liberal Democrats were celebrating the return of former ministers Sir Vince Cable, Sir Ed Davey and Jo Swinson two years after they lost their parliamentary seats.

And Tim Farron's party took Bath back from Conservatives.

Mr Farron held on to his Westmorland and Lonsdale seat in Cumbria on a much-reduced majority, down from 8,949 in 2015 to just 777 now.

Ukip suffered a collapse in its support across the country following its best ever showing two years ago, with former voters switching to both Labour and the Tories.

Leader Paul Nuttall came a distant third in Boston & Skegness, taking little more than 3,000 votes.

With just 10 days to go before talks on Britain's EU withdrawal are due to begin in Brussels, Mr Nuttall said Mrs May had put Brexit "in jeopardy" by her decision to call a snap election.

"I said at the start this election was wrong. Hubris," he said.

Mr Nuttall's predecessor Nigel Farage said the Brexit project would be "in some trouble" if a Corbyn-led administration took office, and suggested he might return to frontline politics if doubts were raised about the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

He questioned Mrs May's position, saying: "Whatever the true result, the Conservative party needs a leader that believes in Brexit."

Mr Corbyn's party claimed Tory scalps in Stockton South and Vale of Clwyd and took Rutherglen & Hamilton West from the SNP, one of a series of reversals for the nationalists following their historic tally of 56 out of 59 seats north of the border in 2015.

Education Secretary Justine Greening scraped home in Putney, but saw her 2015 majority of more than 10,000 shrink to little more than 1,500.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said Labour "could form the next government" and would attempt to do so as a minority government if results allowed, rather than seeking to form a coalition with other progressive parties like the Lib Dems.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, often tipped as a potential successor to Mrs May as Tory leader, said: "We've got to listen to our constituents and listen to their concerns."

Mrs May suffered another ministerial casualty as Gavin Barwell lost his Croydon Central seat to Labour.

Mr Barwell, who was housing minister, lost by 5,652 votes to Labour's Sarah Jones.

The SNP's woes increased as former leader and ex-first minister Alex Salmond lost his Westminster seat of Gordon to the Conservatives.

Brexit Secretary David Davis dismissed suggestions that he was a potential future leader, telling the Press Association: "That is behind me, I didn't run last time for a reason - I thought it's for other people now.

"The simple truth is we have a Prime Minister, she is a very good leader, I'm a big supporter of hers. I'll fight tooth and nail to keep her in place."

Tories lost economic secretary to the Treasury Simon Kirby in Brighton Kemptown.

Conservative former minister and prominent Remain campaigner Anna Soubry said that Mrs May must "consider her position".

Asked if Mrs May could remain as Tory leader, Ms Soubry told the BBC: "That is a matter for her. It is bad. She is in a very difficult place.

"She's a remarkable and very talented woman and she doesn't shy away from difficult decisions, but she now has to obviously consider her position."

Ms Soubry made clear that Mrs May must take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" election campaign and a "deeply flawed" manifesto.

"Theresa did put her mark on this campaign," said Ms Soubry. "She takes responsibility, she always does and I know she will, for the running of the campaign.

"It was a tightly knit group, it was her group that ran this campaign and look where we are, for God's sake.

"This is a very bad moment for the Conservative Party. We have to take stock and our leader needs to stake stock as well."
Culture Three Years On, Kin Maung Yins Work is Still Alive and Vivid

Kin Maung Yin prior to his death in 2014. / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  Three years have passed since artist Kin Maung Yin left his colorful world behind, but his creations are still intensely alive among his friends and fans.

An art exhibition to commemorate the third anniversary of his death will be held on June 10-12 displaying 60 of his many works20 on each day of the three-day exhibitionat the Peace Gallery on Maha Bandula Street in Rangoons Kyauktada Township.

Widely acclaimed as one of the leaders in the second generation of Burmas modern art movement together with Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet, Kin Maung Yin was known for his bohemian lifestyle and daringly abstract sketches.

He was also an illustrious architect and a director. Kin Maung Yin is at the top of the list of rare artists in Burma, Win Pe said in praise of his friend.

He created thousands of paintings during his lifetime. Art is about creating what you want freely. If it is not free, how can it be art? asked Kin Maung Yin.

The legendary artist passed away at the age of 76. He lived a hermetic life of solitude in a one-room wooden house in northern Rangoon.

Less is more. I have everything I need here, the legendary artist told The Irrawaddy in an interview in 2013.

Kin Maung Yin never named prices for his paintings. In many cases, he sold his paintings for notional sums. But some of his paintings have sold for thousands of US dollars among his fans.

I hold commemorative art exhibitions so that younger generations understand the value of Kin Maung Yin. I want them to know that there was a world-class artist in Burma. I also organized this with an eye for development of the art industry, said event organizer Ko Tin Maung Lwin.

In the 1960s, Kin Maung Yin, Win Pe and Paw Oo Thet stepped on and relentlessly pursued their dream of modern art.

He was a man of great value to our country, and had international-level skills. He lived a life of ease. He knew how to live a life of ease, said Win Pe.

Kin Maung Yin was born to British-Burmese Frank Sewell and Daw Mya Thi in 1938. His grandfather John Sewell was a British Army officer during the British colonization of Burma.

He studied architecture at Rangoon Institute of Technology (now Yangon Technological University), and devoted his whole life to art.

Burma was too busy with civil war and power struggles at that time to appreciate an architect and artist like him with such a creative mind, said Win Pe.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko
Burma China and Burma: Not Only Pauk-Phaw

(Feat pic) Chinese President Xi Jinping, center right, and Burmas President Htin Kyaw, center left, attend a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of People in Beijing, China on April 10, 2017. / Yohei Kanasashi/Pool/ / Reuters

Part 5 of a 5-part series.

Recovering Influence and Checking Rivals

The developing friendship between Burma and the United States prompted China to start searching for new ways to shore up the relationship. In 2012, academic-style journals in China ran several articles analyzing what went wrong with Beijings Burma policy and what could and should be done to rectify it. One proposed measure was to launch a public relations campaign in Burma aimed at overhauling Chinas current negative image in the country. Beijing also began furiously reaching out to other elements of Burmese societyincluding the NLD and other democratsutilizing the CPCs government-to-government, party-to-party, and people-to-people strategy that lies beyond the CPCs previous limited circle of regime leaders and their business cronies.

In addition to these soft power tools, Beijing also has access to a range of more kinetic options as well as an ability to either facilitate or frustrate any efforts by Burmese leaders to assert control over and establish a durable peace in the totality of Burmese territory. Since 2011, China has been carefully implementing this mix of hard and soft power tools to regain a position of leverage with both the Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi governments.

To strengthen its position vis-a-vis China, Burma has also turned to its partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which it chaired in 2014. Even more significantly, when Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who was appointed commander-in-chief of Burmas military in March 2011, went on his first foreign trip in mid-November, he did not go to Chinabut instead to Chinas traditional enemy, Vietnam. Burma and Vietnam share the same fear of their common, powerful northern neighbor, so it is reasonable to assume that Min Aung Hlaing had a lot to discuss with his Vietnamese hosts.

While the Burmese government seeks to build deeper relations with other nations in the region, stark domestic challenges continue to hinder meaningful economic or political developments at home. As history has shown, Chinas dual-track policy has maintained distinct leverage and influence over Burmas rebel groups and government, further complicating Burmas peace process, an initiative taken by Thein Sein shortly after he assumed the presidency in early 2011. The Chinese government consistently denies reports of interfering in the peace process but Beijings tacit support for the largest non-state armed group in Burma tells a different story.

In May 1989, the CPBs successor, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government, which suited Chinas new commercial interests. But it was also imperative for Beijing to find ways to strengthen the UWSA, and by extension its leverage over the Burmese government. After all, the Chinese had had a long-standing relationship with most of the leaders of the UWSA, dating back to their CPB days. Thus, the UWSA was able to purchase vast quantities of weapons from China and, according to the April 26, 2013 issue of the prestigious military affairs journal Janes Defense Weekly, these purchases included armed transport helicopters which: [The acquisition of helicopters] marks the latest step in a significant upgrade for the UWSA, which has emerged as the largest and best-equipped non-state military force in Asia and, arguably, the world, the journal wrote.

In the second half of 2012, the UWSA had acquired armored vehicles for the first time. These included both Chinese PTL-02 66 wheeled tank destroyers and an armored combat vehicle that IHS Janes identified as the Chinese 44 ZFB-05. Furthermore, the UWSA has obtained from China huge quantities of small-arms and ammunitionand around 100 HN-5 series man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), a Chinese version of the first-generation Russian Strela-2 (SA-7 Grail) system.

Thus, today the UWSA has become better armed than the CPB ever was. It can field at least 20,000 well-equipped troops apart from thousands of village militiamen and other supportive forces. Moreover, the top leaders of the UWSA are usually accompanied by Chinese intelligence officers who provide advice and guidance. So what is China up to? Why the arming and continued support of a non-state military force, while at the same time, Beijing has had cordial relations with the Burmese government since it abandoned its policy of supporting communist insurrections in the region?

Beijings policies are no doubt a way of putting pressure on Burma at a time when its relations with the United States are improving. China feels it cannot afford to lose Burma to the West, and seems to define Burmas foreign relations with other regional actors in zero-sum terms. A strong UWSA provides China with a strategic advantage and is also a bargaining chip in negotiations with Naypyidaw. Significantly, when the Presidents Office Minister U Aung Min visited Monywa in November 2012 to meet local people protesting a controversial Chinese-backed copper mining project, he openly admitted: We are afraid of China we dont dare to have a row with [them]. If they feel annoyed with the shutdown of their projects and resume their support to the communists, the economy in border areas would backslide.

By the communists he clearly meant the UWSA and its allies, among them the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Kokang, another former CPB force, which returned to armed struggle in February 2015. China, predictably, has denied any involvement in that conflict, but the fact remains that most of the MNDAAs weaponry and vast quantities of ammunition have been supplied by the UWSA. The Chinese have always denied giving any material support to the UWSA. But recent arms shipments to the UWSA that have included man-portable air-defense systems, armored fighting vehicles, heavy artillery and other sophisticated military equipment, which are not the kind of equipment that falls off the back of a truck, or could be sent to the UWSA by some local officials in Yunnan. The deliveries were almost certainly directed from the highest level of Chinas intelligence and military authorities in Beijing.

According to one well-placed source, China is indirectly teaching the Burmese government a lesson in Kokang: move too much to the West, and this can happen. At the same time, Beijing is playing another softer card by inviting Burmese politicians and journalists on all-paid for study trips to China and being actively involved in so-called peace talks between the Burmese government and the countrys multitude of ethnic rebel armies. Whether China wants to export revolution or expand and protect commercial interests, it apparently feels the need to have a solid foothold inside Burma. There is no better and more loyal ally in this regard than the UWSA and its affiliates.

Sun Guoxiang, Chinas special envoy for Asian affairs (foreign ministry), has repeatedly expressed public support for Burmas peace process. According to the transcript of a meeting Sun held in February 2017 with representatives from two of Burmas ethnic armed ceasefire groups, Sun said: China has a unique foreign policy towards Myanmar [Burma] and respects the sovereignty of Myanmarwe are only doing our duty as a friendly neighbor. Suns cordial tone cuts a sharp contrast with the China-backed UWSAs militant message delivered with seven ethnic armed groups around the same time against the Burmese governments national ceasefire agreementa joint salvo which caught many observers off-guard raised new questions about Chinas true position toward Aung San Suu Kyis peace initiative, which she inherited from Thein Sein. The seven groups rejected the governments national ceasefire agreement and called for a more direct, political approach to solving Burmas decades-long civil war.

Sun is right in stating that Chinas multi-layered policies towards Burma are indeed uniqueand, to many outsiders, they often seem contradictory. But under examination, Chinas foreign policies have their own logic. Envoy Suns positive message is the first surface layer of Chinas diplomacy, which is almost always publicly characterized as amicable and friendly with regional countries it engages.

The second layer consists of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (ILD/CPC). The body was originally set up in the 1950s to develop contacts with other communist parties and support revolutionary movements across the globe. These days, however, ILD/CPC representatives are often seen at conferences and for hob-knobbing with political parties of all ideological stripes. The ILD/CPC also supports various non-state groups, including armed resistance organizations, like the UWSA, which serve Chinas long-term strategic and economic interests.

The third layer is the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), which maintains links with other militaries across the world. Along with selling weapons to foreign governmental and nongovernmental clients, directly or through front companies, it has provided beneficiaries such as the UWSA with a wide variety of weaponry. Some of those armaments are then shared with other ethnic armed groups actively fighting against the government.

China may have transformed its economic system from rigid socialism to free-wheeling capitalism, but politically it remains an authoritarian one-party state where the CPC is above the government with the PLA serving as the armed-wing of the Party. The old policy of maintaining government-to-government as well as party-to-party relations has not changed.

Consequently, Chinas main man in dealing with Burmas many political actors is not Sun but rather Song Tao, head of the ILD/CPC. Song, a senior politician and diplomat, was educated at Monash University in Australia and served as an assistant to the Chinese ambassador to India in the early 2000s before becoming ambassador to Guyana and the Philippines.

In October 2015, Song took part in a high-profile visit to North Korea and the following month took over the post as ILD/CPC chief from Wang Jiarui, a CPC veteran who was in charge of maintaining contacts with communist members in countries like North Korea, Cuba and Vietnam. While Song is not a high-profile figure like Sun, he is known to work actively in the background and apparently prefers to meeting with Burmese politicians and top soldiers in Beijing rather than Naypyidaw. Song did meet with Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw August 2016, just weeks before the launch of her peace process. The differentiation between government-to-government relations maintained by Chinas foreign ministry and the CPCs party-to-party links with groups such as the UWSAand with the CPCs positioned above the government in Beijingexplains why China can publicly praise Burmas peace process while quietly providing the UWSA with heavy weaponry.

Unlike Western democracies, Chinas foreign ministry is not necessarily the lead actor in shaping policy, rather the Party is ever-present within the three different levels of engagement. The foreign ministry is the public face and its policies are always characterized as amicable and friendly with regional countries it engages with. However, to paint a more comprehensive picture of the PRCs relations with the Burmese government and ethnic rebel groups, the other two levels of Chinese engagement (dominated by the CPC) must also be examined. The massive upsurge in outreach to Aung San Suu Kyi, pro-democracy activists, and even journalistsincluding innumerable study trips to China since 2012as well as Chinese support for the UWSA essentially serves the same strategic purpose: Put pressure on the military, who really pulls the strings in Naypyidaw, and force it to keep its options open for the future, with the aim of securing the vital Burma corridor.

Conclusion

Seen from this perspective, pauk-phaw is little more than empty rhetoric. Beijing is not going to give up the secure position it has cultivated inside Burma since the late 1960s. Likewise, China will not easily give up its hard-won access to the Indian Ocean and Burmas strategic importance to Beijing cannot be overestimated. More than 60 per cent of the worlds oil shipments pass through the Indian Ocean, from the Middle Easts oil fields to China, Japan and other strong economies in the region, as does 70 percent of all container traffic to and from the Asian industrial countries and the rest of the world. While traffic across the Atlantic has diminished and that which crosses the Pacific is static, trade across the Indian Ocean is increasing. Parts of the ocean, especially in the west around the Horn of Africa and next to the Strait of Malacca in the east, are areas where pirates are active and terrorists have been shipping arms to various conflict zones in the region. This has prompted tighter regional cooperation between the United States, Australia, India and Japan. Burma is in the middle of this imbroglioand China is attempting its utmost to preserve its influence over the country.

Realities on the ground will not change. China is there, just across the northeastern border. Western countries, with which Burma would prefer to deal, are far away, lack the depth and subtlety of Chinas relationships inside Burma, and have their own relationships and equities with Beijing. The West may be able to counter Chinas influence in Burma, which would be welcome by most domestic stakeholders in the countrybut that would require a sophisticated approach based on a better understanding of how China exerts its influence in the region as well as a willingness to devote real resources to a serious strategy toward that end. Given this mismatch in both interests and capabilities, it seems likely that Chinas long-game will continue to be the more persistent challenge for Burma and its neighbors.

This concludes the 5-part series, China and Burma: Not Only Pauk-Phaw. Read part 4 of the series here.

This article was originally published here by The Project 2049 Institute, a policy group based in the US.
Burma Chinas $10 billion Strategic Project in Burma Sparks Local Ire

Chinese port terminal seen in Made island outside Kyaukphyu, Burma on May 18, 2017. / Soe Zayar Tun / Reuters

KYAUKPHYU TOWNSHIP, Arakan State Days before the first supertanker carrying 140,000 tons of Chinese-bound crude oil arrived in Burmas Kyaukphyu

port, local officials confiscated Nyein Ayes fishing nets.

The 36-year-old fisherman was among hundreds banned from fishing a stretch of water near the entry point for a pipeline that pumps oil 770 kilometers (480 miles) across Burma to southwest China and forms a crucial part of Beijings Belt and Road project to deepen its economic links with Asia and beyond.

How can we make a living if were not allowed to catch fish? said Nyein Aye, who bought a bigger boat just four months ago but now says his income has dropped by two-thirds due to a decreased catch resulting from restrictions on when and where he can fish. Last month he joined more than 100 people in a protest demanding compensation from pipeline operator Petrochina.

The pipeline is part of the nearly US$10 billion Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone, a scheme at the heart of fast-warming Burma-China relations and whose success is crucial for the Southeast Asian nations leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Embattled Daw Aung San Suu Kyi needs a big economic win to stem criticism that her first year in office has seen little progress on reform. Chinas support is also key to stabilizing their shared border, where a spike in fighting with ethnic armed groups threatens the peace process Daw Aung San Suu Kyi says is her top priority.

Chinas state-run CITIC Group, the main developer of the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone, says it will create 100,000 jobs in the northwestern state of Arakan, one of Burmas poorest regions.

But many local people say the project is being rushed through without consultation or regard for their way of life.

Suspicion of China runs deep in Burma, and public hostility due to environmental and other concerns has delayed or derailed Chinese mega-projects in the country in the past.

China says the Kyaukphyu development is based on win-win co-operation between the two countries.

Avoiding Panic

Since Beijing signaled it may abandon the huge Myitsone Dam hydroelectric project in Burma earlier this year, it has pushed for concessions on other strategic undertakingsincluding the Bay of Bengal port at Kyaukphyuwhich gives it an alternative route for energy imports from the Middle East.

Internal planning documents reviewed by Reuters and more than two dozen interviews with officials show work on contracts and land acquisition has already begun before the completion of studies on the impact on local people and the environment, which legal experts said could breach development laws.

The Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone will cover more than 4,200 acres (17 sq kilometers). It includes the $7.3 billion deep sea port and a $2.3 billion industrial park, with plans to attract industries such as textiles and oil refining.

A Reuters tally based on internal planning documents and census data suggests 20,000 villagers, most of whom now depend on agriculture and fishing, are at risk of being relocated to make way for the project.

There will be a huge project in the zone and many buildings will be built, so people who live in the area will be relocated, said Than Htut Oo, administrator of Kyaukphyu, who also sits on the management committee of the economic zone.

He said the government has not publicly announced the plan, because it didnt want to create panic while it was still negotiating with the Chinese developer.

Ambitious Deadline

In April, Burmas President Htin Kyaw signed two agreements on the pipeline and the Kyaukphyu port with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as Beijing pushed to revive a project that had stalled since its inception in 2009.

The agreements call for environmental and social assessments to be carried out as soon as possible.

While the studies are expected to take up to 15 months and have not yet started, CITIC has asked Burma to finalize contract terms by the end of this year so that the construction can start in 2018, said Soe Win, who leads the Burma management committee of the zone.

Such a schedule has alarmed experts who fear the project is being rushed.

The environmental and social preparations for a project of these dimensions take years to complete and not months, said Vicky Bowman, head of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business and a former British ambassador to the country.

CITIC said in an email to Reuters it would engage a world-renowned consulting firm to carry out assessments.

Although large-scale land demarcation for the project has not yet started, 26 families have been displaced from farmland due to acquisitions that took place in 2014 for the construction of two dams, according to land documents and the land owners. Experts say this violates Burmas environmental laws.

Carrying out land acquisition before completing environmental impact assessments and resettlement plans is incompatible with national law, said Sean Bain, Burma-based legal consultant for human rights watchdog International Commission of Jurists.

Job Opportunities?

CITIC says it will build a vocational school to provide training for skills needed by companies in the economic zone. It has given $1.5 million to local villages to develop businesses.

Reuters spoke to several villagers who had borrowed small sums from the village funds set up with this money.

The CITIC money was very useful for us because most people in the village need money, said fisherman Thar Sai Aung, who borrowed $66 to buy new nets.

Chinese investors say they also plan to spend $1 million during the first five years of the development, and $500,000 per year thereafter to improve local living standards.

But villagers in Kyaukphyu say they fear the project would not contribute to the development of the area because the operating companies employ mostly Chinese workers.

From more than 3,000 people living on the Maday island, the entry point for the oil pipeline, only 47 have landed a job with the Petrochina, while the number of Chinese workers stood at more than double that number, data from labor authorities showed.

Petrochina did not respond to requests for comment. In a recent report it said Burma citizens made up 72 percent of its workforce in the country overall and it would continue to hire locally.

I dont think theres hope for me to get a job at the zone, said fisherman Nyein Aye. He had been turned down 12 times for job applications with the pipeline operator.

Chinese companies said they would develop our village and improve our livelihoods, but it turned out we are suffering every day.
Burma Displaced to Tanai by Fighting, Kachin IDPs Are Told to Leave Once Again

Women and children seek refuge in Tanai town after being displaced by fighting. / Doi Bu / Facebook

Township authorities have reportedly forced those seeking refuge from fighting in Tanai town to Kawng Ra village, some ten miles away, despite continued clashes between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the vicinity.

About 300 displaced villagers are currently taking shelter temporarily at churches and monasteries in Tanai town, but were told by the township administrative office that they must move to Kawng Ra by Thursday, June 8, according to relief workers.

On the evening of June 6, more than 400 people arrived in Tanai from NGa Ga and Nam Byu villages to seek shelter. Around a quarterdomestic migrants who came to work in amber and gold mineshave already returned to their homes. But villagers residing in the area have had no place to go back to. There are also reports of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of villagers being halted from onward travel to Tanai, and are stuck at jetties along the Tanai tributary.

U Naw Tar from the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) in Tanai said that the refugees do not want to move once again, so KBC has presented their wishes to local officials and requested that they be allowed to remain in the town.

They fled to the town as there is no safety for them in their villages. They say they wont go to Kawng Ra village, and that they are still afraid, as three villagers were recently wounded by an artillery shell, U Naw Tar said.

Kachin State parliamentarians have urged the Union parliamentarians representing the state to raise an urgent proposal about the issue in the legislature so that action can be taken.

However, there is no discussion at the Union parliament until Friday, and some lawmakers say that it is not easy to immediately put forward such an issue. Whatever issue we raise related to the Kachin war has been rejected, said a legislator from the state, who spoke under the condition of anonymity.

U Nawng Na Ja Tan, an upper house lawmaker from Kachin State Constituency (4), which includes Tanai, said the villagers are facing great difficulties regarding movement, as he is in communication with people on the ground.

They have not been able to leave their villages, particularly those working in amber and gold mines, using the short route, the lawmaker said.

The easiest waterway to Tanai is forbidden to travel on, and they have to go around, using a longer alternative route to get there, which requires a payment of about 40,000 kyats. There are many who could not afford to pay, so they are stuck, U Nawng Na Ja Tan said.

And they are told to go to Kawng Ra, where the fighting is happening, even today, he said, adding that Kawng Ra villagers are scared to continue staying in their village, as fighting happened between Kawng Ra and Nam Hpat Yan villages at around 2 p.m. on Friday.

Fighting continued on the sixth anniversary of the resumption of armed conflict in Kachin State, which has been ongoing since June 9, 2011 between the Tatmadaw and the KIA in northern Burma.

Despite a lack of freedom of movement in Tanai Township, around ten villages where the amber and gold mines are located have been warned by the Tatamdaw to evacuate no later than June 15.

At the time of publication, Tanai township administrators could not be reached for comments on villagers restricted freedom of movement or issues surrounding temporary resettlement.
Burma Former KNU Vice Chairperson Rejects 37-Point Agreement

KNU general secretary Saw Kwe Htoo Win speaks at the Congress in Lay Wah, Hpa-an Township, Karen State. / Supplied

RANGOON  The KNU-Concerned Group headed by Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein, the former vice chairperson of the Karen National Union (KNU), dismissed the 37 basic federal principles agreed upon in the second round of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference in a statement on June 8.

Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein said the points agreed to by stakeholder representatives from the government, Parliament, the Burma Army, political parties, and ethnic armed groups who were signatories to the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) at the conference at the end of May were not right for Burmas ethnic people.

Some points were similar to the 2008 Constitution, she told The Irrawaddy. Even then those did not mention our ethnic rights, which is why we were worried about it.

The points were not inclusive for all people at the conference, the statement said, particularly people from Arakan and Shan states, who were not allowed to hold national level political dialogues with their ethnicities before the conference.

If the government does not allow more discussions [on ethnic rights], this will lose rights for other ethnic groups, she said.

All people in the country want peace and political change, according to the statement, and it is for the government and Burma Army to move forward for peace. The statement emphasized that the Burma Army should make more space for other ethnic groups to participate in the peace process.

If they used their armed forces to pressure other ethnic armed groups to sign the NCA, it will lose trust and damage hopes for building peace in the country, said Padoh Naw Zipporah Sein.

The peace process would not live up to expectations if the army pressures ethnic groups, she added.

She said the governments continuation of the peace process without including other ethnic armed groups would cause more problems.

Our concern is if the basis for peace is on the 37 points, then building peace and a genuine federal country will be difficult, said the statement.

The 37 points were not agreed to by all political parties and not discussed thoroughly, while some participants were pressured in to signing them, the statement read.
Vijender Gupta, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, has urged Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to order a CBI probe into CM Kejriwal's claim of disappearance of more than half of the potable water, causing a significant loss of revenue to the government.

By Vivek Chandra Shukla: Vijender Gupta, Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly, has urged Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to order a CBI probe into the chief minister's claim of disappearance of more than half of the potable water in the distribution channel itself causing a significant loss of revenue to the government. During the financial year 2016-17, the loss in revenue was Rs 1,161.45 crore.

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"It is surprising how with a revenue loss of 50 per cent, the government claims that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is running in profit of Rs 178 crore in the last year. This despite the fact that they gave away a subsidy of Rs 400 crore. The secret of profit is the jugglery of figures", Gupta said. He added that going by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's admission, out of Delhi's daily supply of 900 million gallons per day of treated water, only 450 to 500 million gallons per day (MGD) reached the consumers.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Vijender Gupta regretted the heavy revenue loss that the government exchequer had to incur. He demanded that the chief minister of Delhi apologise to the citizens, especially from the residents of 1,105 unauthorised colonies for his fake claim of supplying potable water. The Delhi Assembly Opposition leader alleged that the Kejriwal government had totally failed in providing potable water to the nearly 60 per cent population of the national capital and even failed to add a single MGD of potable water during more than two years of its tenure. The actual daily available quantity of potable water is less than the quantity available at the time of formation of the Aam Aadmi Party government because no additional source of generating extra quantity of potable water has been added since then. According to the DJB budget, the actual revenue income for the year 2014-15 was Rs 1,628.22 crore, for the year 2015-16 Rs 1,853.57 crore and for 2016-17 was Rs 2,322.90 crore. It shows that an estimated theft of potable water of nearly Rs 814 crore, Rs 927 crore and Rs 1,161 crore respectively during the three years under review is occurring annually. Considering the fact that this theft is in the knowledge of the DJB officers and the government, the water mafia responsible for the theft is being patronised by the authority. Otherwise, there would not have been an open theft of water, involving such a huge revenue. "It also proves that the theft of potable water has been in connivance with the administration and incompetent political management", Gupta said.

Also read | Delhi BJP stages protest against Kejriwal government over water, power crisis

Also read | Arvind Kejriwal promised free water in Delhi, DJB sends inflated bill of Rs 8,642 to this family

--- ENDS ---
Burma Lawyer Imprisoned for Allegedly Submitting Fake Documents

Lawyer U Zaw Win at a protest in Mandalay supporting farmers land rights. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy

MANDALAY  A court in Madaya Township, Mandalay Division, sentenced a lawyer to 18 months imprisonment with hard labor on Friday for submitting a fake medical document.

Lawyer U Zaw Win was accused of submitting a fake medical document in 2011 to bail out a client. He was arrested on May 30.

The court found U Zaw Win guilty without giving him chance to testify, said lawyer U Han Shin Win, who is a friend of U Zaw Win.

According to his family and friends, the court did not allow public access to the trial and sent the detained lawyer to Mandalays Obo Prison immediately following the verdict.

In 2011, a contractor hired lawyer U Zaw Win to take a client to court for money owed. The client later sued both the lawyer and contractor, which is when the contractor was detained.

The contractor presented a medical document as evidence of sickness to the court.

After the contractor was released from detention on bail, a complaint was submitted by the contractors former client alleging that the medical document was fake.

On May 30, the court did not allow U Zaw Win to testify. He then threw his slipper at the judge, at which point the judge stopped the trial and the lawyer was arrested and sent to prison.

Lawyer and friend of the accused, U Kyaw Kyaw Oo, said the document was submitted by the contractor and not by U Zaw Win. He said U Zaw Win planned to explain this at the trial but was refused.

Even if he [Lawyer U Zaw Win] did fake the documents, the court must give him chance to defend himself according to court procedure, he added.

Lawyer U Zaw Win, supporter and lawyer to dozens of farmers who had their land confiscated, is a former political prisoner who spent several months in prison under the Peaceful Assembly Act for staging a protest against the injustice of the court in Pyin Oo Lwin in 2012.

He will have to stand trial again for disrespecting the court for throwing his slipper at the judge. The trial date has not been set.
Burma Military Will Cooperate With Chinese Manufacturer to Investigate Cause of Crashed Plane

Military soldiers carry dead bodies from a crashed military plane outside Launglon Township, Burma, June 8, 2017. / Reuters

RANGOON  The Burmese military has announced that it will cooperate with the Chinese manufacturer of the military plane that crashed into the Andaman Sea on Wednesday for an investigation.

As of Thursday afternoon, only 31 bodies had been found. The fate of the rest remains unknown. However, given the altitude and nature of the crash site, survivors are unlikely. The death of all 122 passengers would mark this as the most tragic aviation accident in the country in the past decade.

The Office of the Commander-in-Chief released a statement on Thursday afternoon that said: Officials from the company [Shannxi Aircraft Corporation] that produced the aircraft will also cooperate in the investigation.

It did not mention when the investigation would begin.

A plane wheel has been retrieved but the fuselage and other debris from the Y-8 remain missing. The recovered bodies were sent to a military hospital in Dawei for autopsy and identification. Ten of the identified bodies were cremated on Friday afternoon in Dawei.

On Friday, search and rescue missions were still underway in the Andaman Sea despite severe weather in the area. Eight Burma Navy vessels and 20 local fishing trawlers searched for bodies and debris using divers and sonar systems.

The aircraft, a Y-8 200F, was flying at 18,000 feet over the Andaman Sea when it lost contact with Dawei Airport at 1:35 p.m. en route from Tanintharyi Divisions Myeik to Rangoon on Wednesday.

According to the flights passenger manifest released by the military, those on board were not only servicemen. There were family members and children on board who were returning home and others who were undergoing hospital transfer.
Burma Too Much Has Been Lost: Kachin Women Reflect on Six Years of Conflict

Women stand as State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi talks to people during a brief visit to an IDP camp outside Myitkyina, Kachin State, on March 28, 2017. / Soe Zayar Tun / Reuters

Only women know what womens needs are, say those who have now been displaced by conflict in Kachin State for six years.

Life on Hold, a joint report launched by aid agencies Trocaire and Oxfam on Thursday in Rangoon, consolidates interviews with more than 100 women who fled their homes for internally displaced persons (IDP) camps after fighting between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) re-ignited after a 17-year ceasefire broke down in June 2011.

The title is a reference to the disruption to daily life for those in the camps, where access to healthcare is limited, food shortages are common, and domestic violence is prevalent, said a statement from the reports sponsoring organizations.

Most of the 100,000-plus civilians in the Kachin IDP camps are women and children, the UN has reported, leading to advocacy for a policy shift that more closely considers their needs. This includes better access to health, education and social services; an establishment of gender-sensitive mechanisms to confront violence against women; and the creation of further opportunities for women to participate in peacebuilding in decision-making roles, from the community level upward.

Too much has been lost in Kachin [State] and the situation must not deteriorate further, Birke Herzbruch, Trocaires country director for Burma, told The Irrawaddy. A cessation of hostilities can and must happen immediately. This must be matched with gender-just, inclusivefrom the local to the nationalpeace processes that include reconciliation, justice and rehabilitation.

The majority of the women interviewed for the report said that during the armed conflict, they had experienced or witnessed physical violence, rape, forced labor, or arbitrary detention of a family member. This, they stated, was perpetrated mostly by military soldiers, but also by soldiers of ethnic armed organizations.

Whenever we met [with uniformed soldiers] we were tortured, said one interviewee from Bhamo, in December 2015. Women, she said, including those who were pregnant, were drowned in a big clay pot with water and asked many questionsthey filled the pot with water and pushed their heads into it during questioning.

Trocaire and Oxfams research frequently refers to uniformed soldiers when describing the perpetrators of acts of violence, avoiding the identification of a specific organization.

Herzbruch explained that this terminology was intended to encourage readers to consider broader conflict dynamics. She said that after meeting in focus groups, the women from different sides of the conflict identified similarities in their suffering, and concluded that it would be best to talk about fighting parties or uniformed soldiers instead of blaming the Armed Forces of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar or the Kachin Independence Army, noting that all perpetrators must be brought to account.

It has long been reported that the Tatmadaw perpetrates a disproportionate number of such abuses. In the Kachin Global Action Statement published on Fridaythe sixth anniversary of renewed fightingKachin representatives in eight countries accused Burmas military of engaging in systematic, widespread acts of violence against civilians. Among other actions, they also called for international support for a UN fact-finding mission on war crimes in northern Burma, and for a meaningful peace agreement to be forged between ethnic armed organizations, the Burma Army, and the current National League for Democracy (NLD) government.

The statement described the NLD administration as having proved inept at pushing Burmese army leadership to adhere to the international conventions of war.

Moon Nay Li, signatory to the Kachin Global Action Statement and general secretary of the Kachin Womens Association Thailand (KWAT), told The Irrawaddy that there was a need to highlight the ongoing impunity afforded to the Tatmadaw, for the sake of accountability and future processes of transitional justice.

When documenting repeated cases of physical and sexual violence against ethnic nationality women and men, community-based rights groups have named and implicated the Burma Army, often at great risk. In 2016, KWAT provided evidence of what was said to amount to a cover up of the rape and murder of two ethnic Kachin schoolteachers one year earlier in northern Shan State. The crime was widely suspected of having been carried out by Burma Army soldiers stationed in the area; no one has yet been held accountable in the womens deaths.

Even though we are scared or afraid, we should say what is happening on the ground, Moon Nay Li said. We dont want a recurrence of these cases in Kachin State, or in other ethnic areas. We dont want any more anniversaries. We want genuine peace in our country. The time is now, to change.

Those interviewed for Trocaire and Oxfams report emphasized the importance of forming and participating in collective womens groups, in order to disseminate information concerning peace and conflict and jointly raise their voices and share their needs with leadership, added Trocaires Herzbruch.

They recommended that the countrys peace process expand negotiations and political dialogue to specifically confront issues of gender-based violence, and to implement international standards outlined in relevant UN frameworks, including Security Council Resolution 1325 and CEDAW.

Last month, the Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process (AGIPP) initially estimated that only 20 percent of participants in the second session of Burmas Union Peace Conference were womenthe government later released its own figures, which placed the number of women at around 17 percent. Both are well below the goal of 30 percent female participation set by the AGIPP. The countrys peace process has been decried as lacking inclusivity: of women, and of the ethnic armed groups not signatory to the countrys controversial nationwide ceasefire agreement. It has also progressed parallel to intensified military operations and offensives in Kachin, northern Shan, and Arakan states.

In the first year of its administration, Daw Aung San Suu Kyis NLD government has also faced criticism regarding the deterioration of access to humanitarian aid for displaced communities, particularly those in KIA-controlled territory. The Irrawaddy reported at this time last year that IDPs in these areas had been forced to survive on an allowance of just $0.25 per day.

There are currently many barriers, such as approval processes and unpassable checkpoints, to delivering humanitarian assistance in many parts of Kachin [State], Herzbruch said, noting that Trocaire and Oxfam have called for unimpeded access to displaced communities, a demand that has not yet been granted.

Without greater support from aid agencies, displaced individuals who participated in the research for Life on Hold said they fear they will be unable to escape poverty or return to their villages, many of which remain under military occupationtheir homes, livestock, crops, and possessions since destroyed.
Burma Police: No New Leads in Locating Fugitive in U Ko Ni Murder Investigation

The funeral of prominent lawyer U Ko Ni at Yayway Cemetery in Rangoon's North Okkalapa Township on Jan. 30, 2017. / Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  Police told Rangoons northern district court on Friday that there are no new leads in locating the fugitive Aung Win Khaing so that he might stand trial for the murder of National League for Democracy legal adviser U Ko Ni.

Two weeks ago, the district court ordered that the search for Aung Win Khaing be carried out again more thoroughly, after a ruling to do so was passed in higher courts. Police stated that they did a second search of two locations in Naypyidawthe National Herbal Park and the Zeya Phyo Co. compoundon May 30, but did not find him. The initial search had taken place on Feb. 12, they explained.

We have no new information about the fugitive and wont be able to arrest him very soon, the police official said.

Aung Win Khaing is suspected of involvement in the murder but remains at large. He was last seen in Naypyidaw, according to a police statement.

Along with police officials, two Naypyidaw ward administrators also testified at the Friday court hearing regarding the search.

U Myint Naing, the Shwe Kyar Pin ward administrator who accompanied the police on their search for the fugitive at the Zeya Phyo Co. in February, told the court that an employee and a security guard of the company had claimed to have seen Aung Win Khaing for about two hours on Feb. 10, several days after the January murder.

Lawyer U Nay La, who represents the family of the assassinated U Ko Ni, told the media after the Friday court hearing that the testimony of the ward administrator is so far a new and significant piece of information for the trial.

If necessary, we will have to request that the court call on the company employee and the security guard as witnesses to testify, U Nay La said.

Its been more than four months since the prominent Muslim lawyer U Ko Ni was shot by gunman Kyi Lin outside Rangoon International Airport on the afternoon of Jan. 29. Police have detained four suspects: Kyi Lin, and alleged co-conspirators Zeya Phyo, Aung Win Zaw and Aung Win Tun.

The next court hearing will be held at the northern district court on June 16, where the court will again examine six police officials regarding the search for the fugitive.

Shooter Kyi Lin and the three alleged co-perpetrators are being charged under Article 302 of Burmas Penal Code for murder.

Zeya Phyo, a former military intelligence officer, is also charged under Article 67 of the Telecommunications Law for the possession of restricted telecommunications equipment and Article 468 of the Penal Code for the forgery of national identity cards.

Two of the suspectsKyi Lin and Aung Win Zaware also being charged under Article 19(d) and (f) of the countrys 1878 Arms Act for possession and transportation of illegal arms, in addition to the murder charge.
Burma Report: Pro-ISIS Groups Lure Burma Refugees

Armoured personnel carriers ride along the main street during the ongoing assault of government troops on insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over large parts of Marawi City, Philippines on June 1, 2017. / Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

RANGOON  Pro-ISIS groups in Southeast Asia are trying to recruit Rohingya migrants in Malaysiawho have fled persecution in Arakan Stateto join Islamic militants fighting Philippine security forces, according to a recent report from a Jakarta-based research firm.

The Institution for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), which focuses on conflicts in Indonesia and the Philippines, stated the recent attacks in the southern Philippines city of Marawi indicates growing radical movements fueled by ISIS and population movements across the region.

In its report titled How Southeast Asia and Bangladeshi Extremism Intersect, published in May, IPAC states that developments in Syria, Bangladesh, and Burma, put the relationship of South and Southeast Asian extremists on a much more dangerous footing.

Syria has been in civil war since 2011. In Arakan, there has been a long-running denial of rights to the Muslim Rohingya, topped with an army crackdown in late 2016 that killed and displaced thousands.

The persecution of Muslims in Burma adds to the potential for radicalization in diaspora communities and to the perception in extremist circles in Southeast Asia that Rohingya are ripe for recruitment, read the report.

IPAC director Sidney Jones said, Its possible that ISIS could find support within a fringe of the diaspora Rohingya community, but the angry young Rohingya inside Myanmar are far more likely to join an ethno-nationalist insurgency than a movement linked to the global jihad.

Some 70,000 people have fled Arakan State to Bangladesh since Burmas military began a security operation last October in response to an attack on border posts in which nine police officers were killed.

A group calling itself Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), previously named the Faith Movement, or Harakah al-Yaqin, claimed the attack, according to a report released in December by the International Crisis Group, but the group has denied links with any international terrorist group.

The IPAC report, however, said ARSA leaders have turned to some South Asian extremist groups for help with training.

A UN body agreed in March to send a fact-finding mission to Burma over claims of killings, rape, and torture by security forces against Rohingya Muslims in the troubled state.

There are an estimated 1 million Muslims in the region who self-identify as Rohingya and who are today largely stateless. Many in the Buddhist Arakanese community and Burmas government describe the Rohingya as Bengali, implying that they are migrants from Bangladesh.

As of early 2017, UNHCR had registered some 800 Rohingya in Indonesia and nearly 56,500 in Malaysia, many of whom have lived there for decades.

It also stated that Indonesians, Malaysians and other sympathizers are seeking to assist the Rohingya in Burma through contacts with Bangladesh-based Rohingya groups.

By and large, Myanmar has more to worry about from a Rohingya armed rebellion in the name of achieving basic political rights than from ISIS, and in a way thats good news because it means theres a real prospect for a political solution, if only the authorities in Yangon had the guts to act, said Jones.

There are other entry points to ISIS: one or two youths from the Rohingya boat people who ended up in radical Islamic schools in Indonesia or a few among the Rohingya community in Malaysia attracted by online appeals from Syria and Mindanao, she added.

Some Bangladeshi students from middle-class families studying at Malaysian universities develop pro-ISIS sympathies, stated the report, either at home or while in Malaysia. Some use Kuala Lumpur as the take-off point for travel to Syria, and some meet each other as ISIS fighters in Syria or Iraq.

The existence of an armed group on the border mounting attacks on Myanmar security forces could inspire pro-ISIS groups in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia to do more systematic recruiting among their respective Rohingya communities and individuals willing to carry out attacks on their own, read the report.

Extremism is becoming increasingly intertwined, making the traditional distinction between South and Southeast Asia obsolete, in terms of counter-terrorism, according to the report.

Historically, the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), which operated out of southeastern Bangladesh, reportedly had ties with Southeast Asian extremists in the late 1980s and 1990s, but is now thought to be defunct.
Burma Six-Year Battle With No End in Sight

Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers at an internally displaced persons camp in 2016. / J Paing / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  Since September 2011 to date, fighting has been on and off in Kachin Independence Army (KIA)-controlled areas in northern and northeastern Burma, particularly in Waingmaw, Mansi, Tanai, and Hpakant areas near Laiza and northern Shan State. Reports of residents being killed or injured have been frequent.Over 100,000 people have been displaced and lived in the IDP camps for six years. They still do not know when they will be able to return home.

Airstrikes against the KIA started at the end of 2011despite former president U Thein Sein instructing the Burma Army on Dec. 10, 2011 to cease offensives against the KIA and only act in self-defense.

Tensions escalated in the northernmost part of Burma as Burma Army helicopters reportedly shelled several KIA bases in May 2012.

In August of that year, an estimated 6,000 residents from more than 20 villages in Hpakant Township were displaced. Airstrikes were repeated in December; the Burma Army claimed they were in response to attacks by the KIA.

In February and May 2013, the government and the KIA held peace talks in Ruili, China and in state capital Myitkyina respectively but did not reach agreement on signing a ceasefire. In late 2013, the KIA hosted an ethnic armed group conference in Laiza and decided to form the nationwide ceasefire coordination team (NCCT) to communicate with the government in order to draft the text for the governments nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA). The NCCT was later dissolved in late 2015.

In late 2013, another 2,000 villagers were displaced in Mansi Township due to clashes between the Burma Army and the KIA. The KIA was engaged not only with the Burma Army, but also with the Burma Army-aligned Kachin Border Guard Force (BGF) by the middle of the year.

At least six civilians were killed and twelve injured in 2012 and 2013 and some 178 Burma Army soldiers were killed in 2014, according to close KIA ally the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA).

In 2014, more than 5,000 civilians were displaced in eastern Kachin State and neighboring Shan State, due to a week of clashes in April. In May that year, the government and the KIAs political wing the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) set up a peace monitoring commission, which was halted after the new National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government took office in March 2016.

Peace talks through the NCCT were ongoing well until August 2014, when in a NCA drafting meeting the Burma Army raised its six-point stance on the peace process, which included pursuing democracy in accordance with the 2008 Constitution and strictly abiding by the countrys existing laws.

Peace talks nearly broke down after the Burma Army shelled a KIA training ground in Hka Bhum base on Nov. 19, 2014, killing 22 ethnic cadets, and injuring 15 others.

KIO/KIA leaders led by then-secretary Dr. La Ja and then-deputy commander-in-chief Gen Gun Maw visited the capital Naypyidaw and met the previous government and commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing for the first time in mid-March 2015. The 16-member NCCT signed a deed of commitment, supporting the NCA accord in March 2015.

The KIA decided against signing the NCA in October that year alongside the Shan State Army-North, New Mon State Party, and the Karenni National Progressive Party, who all stood for the all-inclusion of ethnic armed groups.

Fighting intensified again for three weeks in May 2015 in KIA controlled areas, near a village abandoned in 2012 named Nam Lin Pawith the Burma Army launching airstrikes and artillery shells.

The KIA and an ethnic bloc of which it is a member the United Nationalities Federal Council joined Daw Aung San Suu Kyis 21st Century Panglong peace conference in Naypyidaw in August and September 2016, despite military engagement in the run up to the conference.

Nearly a week of fighting between the KIA and the Burma Army near Shahtu Zup village in Tanai Township led to school closures and around 1,000 civilians fleeing along the Tanai-Hpakant highway in mid Aug 2016.

In Myitkyina, Kachin man Lungjung Tu Raw was charged with violating Burmas Peaceful Assembly Law for organizing a protest calling for an end to Burma Army offensives in the region, despite receiving permission from authorities. Police said not all of the slogans were pre-approved and thus he violated the law.

In November 2016, the Northern Alliance, of which the KIA is a member, attacked and occupied the Muse border trading zone in northern Shan State. Because of the attack, the Burma Army used the term insurgents against the KIA and its alliesa further obstacle to peace negotiations.

Since Sept. 2016, the Burma Army heavily attacked KIA outposts surrounding Laiza and the KIA lost four strategic outposts in December after four months of Burma Army offensives.

On Oct. 3, 2016 a two-year-old girl was killed and her two brothers, aged five and six, were severely injured in Puwang village in Muse Township, northern Shan State, due to artilery shelling. Neither the Burma Army nor the KIA has taken responsibility for the incident.

In early 2017, the KIA joined the United Wa State Army (UWSA)-led alliance and planned to leave the UNFC, which it was chairing. In February and April, the seven-member alliance met in Panghsang, the capital of the Wa self-administered region and proposed an alternative peace process, calling the current NCA flawed.

In late May, members of the UWSA alliance, including the KIA, attended the opening of the second session of the 21st Panglong union peace conference in Naypyidaw and joined a dinner hosted by State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

The KIOs vice chairman General NBan La and his wife also met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on May 26, after the KIO representative told the Irrawaddy that the meeting had opened the future negotiation path.

Fighting between the KIA battalion 14 and Burma Army troops at the Maisa outpost started on June 3, 2017 near Nambyu and NGa Ga villages in Tanai Township, which led around 1,000 villagers to flee. Authorities stopped more than half of those from moving.

The Long Lead Up to the Current War: Timeline of Key Events from 1947  2011

February 1947Kachin leaders signed the Panglong Agreement with the Burmese government, which laid the foundation for the creation of a fully autonomous Kachin State.

February 1949Naw Seng, a Kachin military officer in the Burmese army, defected to the Karen rebels along with his battalion. He then led the first Kachin rebel army in the fight for Kachin independence.

February 1961Parliament under then Burmese Prime Minister U Nu declared Buddhism as the state religion, infuriating the mostly Christian Kachin population.

February 1961A group of educated young Kachin men founded the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and pledged to fight for a free Kachin republic. Intense fighting with the Burmese army ensued.

August 1963Burmese Gen Ne Win, who came to power after staging a military coup, held peace talks with ethnic armed forces, including the Kachin. However, negotiations broke down after the ethnic representatives rejected Ne Wins demands, which included a condition that their armed forces must be concentrated in designated zones and their activities must be disclosed to his regime.

October 1980Brang Seng, the chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the KIAs political wing, went to Rangoon and met with Ne Win for peace talks. He asked the Burmese government for Kachin State autonomy with self-determination.

December 1980The Burmese government rejected the KIOs demand for the inclusion of autonomous rights in the Constitution, saying the demands had not been accepted by a vote of the people. Peace efforts broke down and fighting resumed.

July 1993KIO delegates negotiated with Burmese military leaders over a ceasefire in KIA-controlled areas in Kachin State and Shan State. The KIOs major demand was regional development.

February 1994The KIO signed a ceasefire agreement with the ruling military regime of the State Law and Order Restoration Council.

September 2010The KIO formally rejected the Burmese governments plan to accept the Border Guard Force plan, which would subjugate the KIA under Burmese military command. The KIO called for the emergence of a genuine federal state. Naypyidaw subsequently forced the closure of KIA liaison offices in Kachin State.

September 2010Burmas Election Commission rejected the registration of three Kachin political parties from running in the countrys first national elections in 20 years, saying the party leaders were linked with the KIA.

May 2011The KIO sent a letter to the Chinese government to withdraw its investment from a massive hydropower dam project in Kachin State, warning that local resentment against this project could spark a civil war.

June 9, 2011 Fighting erupted between KIO and Burma Army troops on, when government forces broke the ceasefire and attacked KIA positions along the Taping River east of Bhamo, Kachin State, near the Ta-pein hydropower plant.

Timeline of key events from 1947-2011 was researched by Ba Kaung.
Women Burmas Gender Gap: Only Four Women Ministers in Nearly a Century

(L-R) Mrs. Ba Maung Chain, Daw Myat Myat Ohn Khin, Daw Khin San Yi, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  From 1920 to the present day, only four women have been appointed as the heads of government ministries in Burma.

The sobering fact was evident in a recently published book, A Dictionary of Biographies in Myanmar Chronological Order, by researcher Than Htun (Mawlamyine), which documented brief profiles of Burmas presidents, vice-presidents, prime ministers, and Union ministers from the 1920s to 1988.

The book covered Burmas periods from British colonial rule through the parliamentary democracy to the Burma Socialist Program Party.

Out of more than 200 cabinet ministers spanning nearly 70 years, only one has been female: Mrs. Ba Maung Chain (Claribel Irene Po), an ethnic Karen woman who was among the lawmakers elected to Parliament in the 1952 elections, four years after Burma gained independence.

She became Burmas first female Union minister, with her appointment as the Karen State minister, serving from March 16, 1952 to 1953, March 4. But her term was followed by an absence of women in ministerial roles that spanned nearly half a century after the 1962 military coup.

Ruled by the military generals for decades, the role of women in Burmas political offices had diminished, despite womens efforts to combat oppression and boost their involvement in top-tier politics.

Ma May Sabe Phyu, director of the Gender Equality Network (GEN), said the fact that Burma has had only four Union-level female ministers in a century highlights the countrys gender disparity.

The juntas rule was the main reason why women were absent from politics, she said, as positions of power were reserved for generals.

There was no fair play for qualified women, she said. If ministerial roles were elected instead of appointed, she added, more women would take seats.

Some political reforms took place in 2011 when the military regime handed over power to a quasi-civilian government led by then President Thein Sein. Female ministers were chosen to fill two of the 36 Union ministerial positions, picking up the mantle left almost 60 years before by Mrs. Ba Maung Chain.

Daw Myat Myat Ohn Khin, an Upper House representative and then a deputy minister for health, was appointed as the minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement in 2012. Daw Khin San Yi, formerly a deputy minister for national planning and economic development, headed two ministries: education in 2014, and science and technology in 2015, but she was appointed to these roles after the deaths of her male predecessors in each.

The government of former President Thein Sein also appointed five women as deputy ministers.

Despite the appointments, Burma remained one of the lowest countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the number of women in government. Some nations in the region have had at least a dozen female ministers, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

But Burma is among only a handful of countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, that have had a woman leading the country. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the countrys most famous pro-democracy leader, and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in the 2015 general election, defeating ex-generals led by the then ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Many expected an increase in the number of women in cabinet positions with the advent of the NLD, but the only woman appointed to the Union government was the countrys de facto leader herself.

As a constitutional clause prevents anyone with a foreign spouse or children from becoming President, voters did not get see their leader hold executive office. But she did take the roles of State Counselor, and two ministerial postsforeign affairs and the presidents officeout of 22 government ministries, which were cut down from 36 ministries under the previous government.

Having only one woman in government was an unexpected and disheartening development for womens rights activists, who have continued petitioning for a minimum of 30 percent of women to be included at the decision-making levels in all government sectors.

Yet unlike previous administrations, Burma now has two female chief ministers for the first time: Dr. Lei Lei Maw in Tenasserim Division and Nang Khin Htwe Myint in Karen State.

NLD lawmaker Ma Zin Mar Aung took the disappointing statisticjust four women ministers in nearly a centuryas a signal for her and other women to work even harder. By doing this, she said, women would eventually be represented more fairly.

It could be because of political systems or social norms. But as a woman, it encourages me to work more in society, NLD lawmaker Ma Zin Mar Aung said.

The number of women lawmakers has risen almost threefold, so that the countrys legislative chambers are made up of 13 percent women compared with less than 5 percent of seats in the previous government.

NLD lawmaker Ma Pyone Kaythi Naing from Shan State said the low representation of women at the decision-making level in Burma was a driving factor in her run for election.

The fact shouldnt be discouraging. It wouldnt work out, she said. Instead, I take it as motivation to work more for gender equality in legislative matters, she added.
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TeleSur |  

Even the limited environmental reforms of the Paris Agreements were too much for the United States.

Hawaii has broken from the White Houses abrupt exit from the Paris Agreement, becoming the first U.S. state to legislatively bring its environmental standards in line with the global deal, officials said Wednesday.

The move by state Governor David Ige comes less than a week after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the United States withdrawal, drawing ire from Washingtons counterparts in capitals across the world.

People come to Hawaii to enjoy its environment, the governors environmental adviser Scott Glenn said. When climate change is threatening our reefs and threatening our weather  then its threatening our economy, too.

An overwhelming majority of scientists say human activity  including the burning of oil, gas and coal  is the main driver of rising global temperatures. However, nonrenewable fossil fuels remain the basis of the world capitalist economys agriculture, transportation, profit-based economic growth and ever-expanding material consumption.

Ige signed a bill Tuesday requiring officials to plan climate change responses aligning the state with the standards and goals of the Paris Agreement, primarily through the expansion of strategies and mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions statewide and by finding ways to better capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide to mitigate climate change.

Hawaii is committed to environmental stewardship, and we look forward to working with other states to fight global climate change, Ige said.

Along with setting climate change as a state priority, the bill entails the creation of a state commission devoted to researching climate change and recommending plans for responding to sea-level rise and climate change as a whole.

The celebrity billionaire-turned-president of the United States said Thursday that the landmark 2015 climate agreement threatened millions of jobs in the U.S. and that he would start a multi-year process to withdraw from the deal, breaking from attempts by his global counterparts to strike a small compromise on economic growth for the sake of the environment.

The governors of Washington, California and New York on the same day announced the creation of a climate alliance of states that would remain committed to the Paris goals. Hawaii joined the next day. Nearly 250 mayors and eight more states likewise joined alliances promising to proceed with fulfilling the terms of the accord.

California Governor Jerry Brown has been extremely vocal in his criticism of Trump, accusing the former reality television star of taking a misguided and insane course of action and pledging that his state is ready for battle.

Scientists at the University of Hawaii said in April that sea-level rise driven by global warming will cause flooding of low-lying areas in the state dozens of times per year by 2050, and increase the risk of dangerous interactions between tropical storms and seasonal high tides.

However, some critics claim that limited environmental reforms such as constraints on greenhouse gas emissions are far from sufficient in terms of achieving ecological sustainability while private markets strive to achieve perpetual economic growth, including the industrialization of the Global South and electrification of undeveloped regions, thus ensuring climate-related catastrophes.

Via TeleSur



Related video added by Juan Cole:

KHON2 News: Hawaii becomes first state to enact law aligning with Paris agreement
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

As of very early Friday morning, it looks as though the election in the UK has produced a hung parliament, with the Conservative Party of prime minister Theresa May failing to win a majority. Whether this outcome will prevent the Tories from forming a government depends very much on whether Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn can find enough coalition partners to form a simple majority himself.

Any election in a country of 65 million is extremely complex, and Labours good showing had several major ingredients. For one thing, the Conservative policy of offloading the cost of university education onto middle class families produced a substantial backlash in college towns. In general, youthful voters rebelled against austerity and the paring back of services, and such voters came out in strength.

The collapse of the far right, nationalist currents in British politics, which was supposed to benefit Conservatives, turns out to have been a mixed picture, with many ex-nationalists voting Labour or Liberal Democrats (LibDems).

But you have to wonder about a Trump factor.

Theresa May was famously buddy-buddy with Trump, who is deeply unpopular in the UK. When the American president attacked (under false pretenses) the Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, May took a long time to reply, and then tepidly.

Mays past may have caught up to her. She had been Home secretary in recent years, before becoming prime minister. Jeremy Corbyn accused her of cutting 20,000 police jobs, which would have been nice to have back given the ISIL attacks in Manchester and London.

This meme was genius on Corbyns part, since it slammed austerity and so appealed to younger voters, at the same time that it took away from the Tories any presumption that they were better on security issues.

It should be remembered that Trump gave the nod to French Neofascist Marine Le Pen in that countrys recent presidential election. She lost by a wide margin.

At the very least, the British public in swinging to the Left, repudiated Trump and Trumpism in a European context.



Related video:

Theresa May Offers Limp Rebuke After President Trumps Tirade At London Mayor Sadiq Khan | TIME
By Nomi Prins | ( Tomdispatch.com

Donald, listen, whatever youve done so far, whatever youve messed up, theres one thing you could do that would make up for a lot. It would be huge! Terrific! It could change our world for the better in a big-league way! It could save us all from economic disaster! And it isnt even hard to grasp or complicated to do. Its simple, in fact. Reinstitute the Glass-Steagall Act. Let me explain.

In the world of romance, if you break up with someone, its pretty simple (emotional complications aside). Youre just not together anymore. In the world of financial regulation, it used to be as simple as that, too. It was like installing a traffic light at a dangerous intersection to avoid deaths. In 1933, when the Glass-Steagall Act was passed, it helped break up the biggest banks of the day and for good reason: they had had a major hand in triggering the most disastrous economic depression our country ever experienced.

Certain divisions of those banks were no longer allowed to coexist with others. The law split the parts of banks that placed bets by creating and trading certain risky securities and those that took deposits and provided loans. In other words, it ensured that the investment bank and the commercial bank would no longer cohabit. Put another way, it separated bankers with a heinous gambling habit from those who only wanted a secure nest egg. It was simplicity itself.

After 1933, the gamblers and savers went their separate ways, which proved a boon for the economy and the financial system for nearly seven decades. Then legislators, lobbyists, bankers, and regulators started to chisel away at the wall separating those two kinds of banks. By November 1999, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that repealed the Glass-Steagall Act totally. The abusive marriages of gamblers and savers could once again be consummated.

And who doesnt remember the result: the financial crisis of 2007-2008 that led to taxpayer-funded bailouts, subsidies, loans, and sweetheart fraud-settlement deals. Just as the Crash of 1929 had been catalyzed by the manufacturing of shady trusts stuffed with shady securities, this crisis was enabled by the big banks that engineered complex assets stuffed with subprime mortgages and other loans that were sold around the world.

Under President Obama, the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act was signed into law. The Act sought to limit the ability of big banks to trade the riskiest types of securities. Through inclusion of something called the Volcker Rule, Dodd-Frank prohibited the trading of securities (even if with many loopholes). What it didnt do was actually break up the big banks again. That meant another 1933 still awaited its moment.

Then along came the bizarre 2016 presidential election campaign during which, strangely enough, Democrats and Republicans found one issue on which they had some common ground: the banking system. Key figures in both parties agreed that it was time to stop the investment bank and the commercial bank from commingling. Bernie Sanders ran on a campaign to break up the banks  and so did Donald Trump. At at an October campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, Trump even stated, Its time for a twenty-first-century Glass-Steagall.

The Democratic National Committee platform offered a similar message. Banks, it said, should not be able to gamble with taxpayers deposits or pose an undue risk to Main Street. Democrats support a variety of ways to stop this from happening, including an updated and modernized version of Glass-Steagall as well as breaking up too-big-to-fail financial institutions that pose a systemic risk to the stability of our economy.

The Republican National Committee wasted even fewer words making the point in their platform: We support reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 which prohibits commercial banks from engaging in high-risk investment. And it didnt even suggest that the act should be modernized or mention a twenty-first-century version that didnt do what the twentieth century one had done.

For the first time since its repeal, in other words, a return to the Glass-Steagall Act had bipartisan support. It couldnt have been simpler, right? Two parties, one idea: split banks into two pieces. But then, as if you hadnt already guessed, it got complicated.

Breaking-up, Republican-Style

In the new administration, two key figures are now offering quite different and conflicting views of what a resurrection of the Glass-Steagall Act might mean. At his Senate confirmation hearings, Steven Mnuchin, former Goldman Sachs partner and Trumps nominee to be secretary of the Treasury, faced Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) as she bluntly asked Do you support returning to Glass-Steagall?

He replied, I dont support going back to Glass-Steagall as is. What weve talked about with the president-elect is perhaps we need a twenty-first-century Glass-Steagall. But, no, I dont support taking a very old law and say we should adhere to it as is.

Cantwell then pressed him further: And so, is that the position of what the Republican platform was? Because I thought it was Glass-Steagall?

To this, Mnuchin responded, Again, the Republican platform did pass at the convention Glass-Steagall and [when] we talked about policy with the president-elect, our view is we need a twenty-first-century Glass-Steagall.

The skepticism in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Here, after all, was a man who had made windfall profits on the fallout from the 2007-2008 too big to fail financial crisis by organizing a cadre of hedge-fund billionaires to buy the collapsed IndyMac Bank at a discount. He then proceeded to foreclose on some of its mortgages and resell it for a $2.5 billion profit. Why should such a man want to restrict banking activity, Glass-Steagall-style, when his loan practices had allowed him to make a fortune off the taxpayer bailouts that were the result of not doing so? What would the point be when a crisis, as history had just shown, forced the federal government to subsidize risk and failure?

The only problem he faced: the Republican platform said he should.

Last month, testifying before the Senate Banking Committee and under questioning from Senator Elizabeth Warren, he backtracked even further: The president said we do support a twenty-first-century Glass-Steagall, that means there are aspects of it that we think may make sense. But we never said before we support a full separation of banks and investment banking.

Warren responded incredulously, Tell me what twenty-first-century Glass-Steagall means if it doesnt mean breaking up those two parts. Its an easy question.

Mnuchin replied, Its actually a complicated question We never said we were in favor of Glass-Steagall. We said we were in favor of a twenty-first-century Glass-Steagall. It couldnt be clearer. Which, of course, couldnt have been murkier.

And then theres that other former Goldman Sachs man, Gary Cohn, Trumps director of the National Economic Council. He had quite a different Glass-Steagall tale to tell Senator Warren. According to Bloomberg News, he insisted that he generally favors banking going back to how it was when firms like Goldman focused on trading and underwriting securities, and companies such as Citigroup Inc. primarily issued loans. That sounds a lot like breaking up the banks.

This division and the as-yet unresolved nature of the Trump administration response to the Glass-Steagall question could, in the face of another financial crisis, come back to haunt us all, if it translates into more bailouts and systemic failures.

The Democrats Dilemma

As with the proverbial difficulty of chewing gum and walking at the same time, certain Democrats seem to find the very idea of supporting both Dodd-Frank and a new Glass-Steagall Act perplexing. Many of them have promoted the idea that no big bank actually failed in the Great Recession moment (which was true only because those banks got huge infusions of federal aid to remain solvent). As a result, they avoided all responsibility for the way the repeal of Glass-Steagall allowed too-big-to-fail banks to come into existence in the first place.

In the process, they also conveniently ignored the way the big banks lent money to, or funded, the investment banks that did fail like both of my former employers, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. Without those loans or that funding, those outfits couldnt have purchased the overload of toxic assets that, in the end, imploded the whole system.

President Obama summed up this position when he told Rolling Stone in 2012, Ive looked at some of Rolling Stones articles that say, This didnt go far enough, we didnt institute Glass-Steagall and so forth, and I pushed my economic team very hard on some of those questions. But there is not evidence that having Glass-Steagall in place would somehow change the dynamic. Lehman Brothers wasnt a commercial bank; it was an investment bank. AIG wasnt an FDIC-insured bank; it was an insurance institution. So the problem in todays financial sector cant be solved simply by re-imposing models that were created in the 1930s. He needed a more astute team.

Hillary Clinton took a similar tack in her campaign and it may have contributed to her devastating election loss. The continued promotion of such fallacies does not bode well for the future of the party if it continues to adopt that view. A return to a safer system on the other hand, would be more populist  and far more popular.

Glass-Steagalls Bipartisan Past

Fortunately, current legislation is circulating in Congress that would promote the long-term stability of the financial system by restoring Glass-Steagall for real. H.R. 790 (Return to the Prudent Banking Act of 2017) is one of two reinstatement bills in the House of Representatives. It has 50 co-sponsors from both parties and its passage is being spearheaded by Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.). The second bill, H.R. 2585, sponsored by Mike Capuano (D-Mass.), bears a close relationship to Senate bill S.881 (the Twenty-First-Century Glass-Steagall Act of 2017), sponsored by Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and nine cosponsors including John McCain (R-Ariz.), Maria Cantwell, and Angus King (I-Maine). Either of the bills, if enacted, would do the same thing: break up the banks.

In order to understand just why passage is so crucial, a little history is in order. Glass-Steagall, or the Banking Act of 1933, was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt. It represented a bipartisan effort and was even  perhaps not surprisingly given the devastating nature of the collapse of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed  actively promoted by some of Wall Streets most powerful bankers. In its 66 years as law, it effectively prevented systemic banking and economic collapse.

Even before Roosevelt began his first term, congressional Republicans had initiated an investigation into bankers practices. In early 1933, as Roosevelt was preparing to take office with an incoming Democratic Senate, outgoing Senate Banking and Currency Committee chairman Peter Norbeck, a Republican from South Dakota, hired former New York Deputy District Attorney Ferdinand Pecora to lead the Senate Banking Committee in a new investigation.

Later known as the Pecora hearings, they would shed light on the kinds of financial manipulations by unscrupulous bankers that had led to the crash of 1929. They would also provide the new president with the necessary populist political capital to enact Americas most sweeping financial reforms. No less crucial was the way banking leaders aligned themselves with Roosevelts new program. Duty to country over balance sheets seemed then to be the order of the day, even on Wall Street. (Its not an attitude that lasted into the twenty-first century.)

Two days after his inauguration, for instance, Roosevelt invited incoming National City Bank Chairman James Perkins to the White House for a secret meeting. The next day, under Perkins direction, his bank board passed a resolution splitting apart its trading and deposit-taking divisions. Chase National Bank chairman Winthrop Aldrich, a major financial power player, lent a hand as well. Both Perkins and he would back the new Glass-Steagall bill. (Lest you think that all was sweetness and light, they were also convinced that it would diminish the strength of their main competitor, the Morgan Bank.)

Three days after Roosevelt called Perkins to the White House, Aldrichs views on breaking up the banks hit the front page of the New York Times when he announced that Chase National Bank and Chase Securities Corporation would become separate entities, effectively enforcing the bill before it even became law. It wasnt simple  the Chase Securities Corporation was the biggest of its kind in the world  but it happened.

Aldrich then took part in a series of private meetings with the president at the White House about the pending legislation. Without the support of Aldrich and Perkins, its possible that the bill wouldnt have passed. After all, a far weaker version proposed during the previous administration of Herbert Hoover hadnt.

The Glass-Steagall Act also created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to insure citizens bank deposits. This left commercial banks with a choice to make. If they took deposits and made loans, they could not speculate with depositors money. If they wanted to create and speculate, they were on their own. Theres much to be said for protecting hard-working Americans in this fashion.

How the Walls Came Tumbling Down

In the 1980s, the walls between investment and commercial banking first began to crumble. The deregulation of the financial sector that followed would prove to be as bipartisan as the passage of Glass-Steagall had been. In 1982, as the Republican presidency of Ronald Reagan began, Congress passed the Garn-St. Germain Act, deregulating the kinds of investments that savings and loan banks could make to include riskier real estate loans. This had the effect of exacerbating the savings and loan debacle, which hit its pinnacle in the late 1980s. By 1989, more than 1,000 S&L banks in the U.S. would crash and burn. In total, the crisis wound up costing about $160 billion, $132 billion of which was footed by taxpayers. And the suppliers of risky S&L securities tended to be the big banks.

In 1987, still in the age of Reagan, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, a past board member of JPMorgan, said that non-bank subsidiaries of bank holding companies could sell or hold bank ineligible securities  that is, securities prohibited by Glass-Steagall, including mortgage securities, asset-backed securities, junk bonds, and other derivative products. The move exacerbated the S&L crisis, but it also offered an avenue for commercial banks to stock up on some of the securities at the heart of that crisis.

And so commercial banks began investing in hedge funds, whose very purpose in life is to gamble on securities, stocks, and commodities. In 1998, in an early warning of what the future might hold, one of them, Long Term Capital Management, crashed and nearly brought down the whole financial system with it. Fifty-five commercial banks had invested in it using depositors money to back their bets. Only an emergency meeting of the presidents of the major banks at the Federal Reserve averted a larger economic meltdown, but because Glass-Steagall was still in place, they had to figure out how to save themselves. No government bailouts were forthcoming.

Having narrowly avoided disaster, Wall Street only plunged deeper into financial deregulation. In 1999, Glass-Steagall itself was repealed. On December 21, 2000, Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act deregulating derivatives trading. The big commercial banks then merged with investment banks, insurance companies, and brokerage firms. By 2007, the assets of those big banks had tripled. The four largest  Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo  by then controlled (and still control) more than half the assets of the banking system.

In the fall of 2007, that system finally started buckling because of the problems of Citigroup, not because of the investment banks, which would not have been covered by Glass-Steagall. The catastrophe that hit Citigroup makes it clear just how crucial the repeal of that act was to the financial meltdown to come. Citigroup would require a taxpayer-financed bailout of $45 billion, $340 billion in asset guarantees, and $2 trillion in near-0% Federal Reserve loans between the fall of 2007 and 2010. That in itself was staggering and Citigroup wasnt alone. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke would later testify that, by 2008, 11 out of the 12 biggest commercial banks were insolvent and had to be bailed out. The entire banking system was rotten to the core and the massive buildup of bad paper, high leverage, and speculative bets (derivatives) that made disaster inevitable can be traced directly back to the repeal of Glass-Steagall.

Today, a fresh bubble is inflating. This time, its not U.S. subprime mortgages at the heart of a budding banking crisis, but $51 trillion in corporate debt in the form of bonds, loans, and related derivatives. The credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings has predicted that such debt could rise to $75 trillion by 2020 and the defaults on it are starting to increase in pace. Banks have profited by the short-term creation and trading of this corporate debt, propagating even greater risk. Should that bubble burst, it could make the subprime mortgage bubble of 2007 look like a relatively small-scale event.

What Will the President Do?

On the positive side, theres a growing bipartisan alliance in Congress and outside it on restoring Glass-Steagall. This increasingly wide-ranging consensus reaches from the AFL-CIO to the libertarian Mises Institute, in the Senate from John McCain to Elizabeth Warren and Maria Cantwell, and in the House of Representatives from Republicans Walter Jones and Mike Coffman to Democrats Marcy Kaptur, Bernie Sanders, and Tulsi Gabbard. In fact, just this week, Kaptur and Jones announced an amendment to the pending Financial Choice Act in the House of Representives, that would represent the first genuine attempt to bring to a vote the possibility of resurrecting the Glass-Steagall Act since its repeal.

So, Donald, heres the question: Where do you  the man who, in the course of a few weeks, embraced Middle Eastern autocrats, turned relations with key NATO allies upside down, and to the astonishment of much of the world, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement  stand? In just a few months in office, youve turned the White House into an outpost for your family business, but when it comes to the financial well-being of the rest of us, what will you do? Will you, in fact, protect us from another future meltdown of the financial system? It wouldnt be that hard and you were clear enough on this issue in your election campaign, but does that even matter to you today? I noticed that recently, in an Oval Office interview with Bloomberg News, when asked about breaking up the banks, you said, Im looking at that right now. Theres some people that want to go back to the old system, right? So were going to look at that.

Your party and your own appointees are split on the subject. Where will you fall? You could still commit yourself to securing the financial well-being of our nation for generations to come. You could commit yourself to Glass-Steagall. The question is: Will you?

Nomi Prins, a TomDispatch regular, is the author of six books. Her most recent is All the Presidents Bankers: The Hidden Alliances That Drive American Power (Nation Books). She is a former Wall Street executive. Special thanks go to researcher Craig Wilson for his superb work on this piece.

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, John Dowers The Violent American Century: War and Terror Since World War II, as well as John Feffers dystopian novel Splinterlands, Nick Turses Next Time Theyll Come to Count the Dead, and Tom Engelhardts Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

Copyright 2017 Nomi Prins

Via Tomdispatch.com
By Press Trust of India: By Harshwardhan Prakash

Mandsaur/Bhopal, Jun 9 (PTI) The monsoon is just days away and all should be in readiness for sowing. But a deafening silence echoes through the farmlands of Madhya Pradeshs Malwa region as farmers, reeling under debt and falling prices for their produce, get busy in protests instead.

The meteorological departments prediction that the monsoon will arrive between June 20 and 22 should normally be cause for excitement and action. But this year, the fields are deserted as farmers cope with anger, despair and crippling losses.

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Their seething discontent found expression on June 1 when protests began against low prices for their crops. The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from the state capital Bhopal where five farmers were killed on June 6, became the nerve centre of the gathering storm of farmer distress.

Kamlesh Khajuria, 33, is one of those demanding that the government give farmers in the area a minimum support price (MSP) for their produce.

"I had sown kalonji (nigella seeds) in my three bighas of land. But due to unfavourable weather, my crop failed. After this, the price of kalonji also came down, which added to my troubles. We only request our government to give us the right value for our crops."

Kalonji prices plummeted from Rs 25,000 a quintal last year to about Rs 5,000-7,000 this year, said sources from the business community.

Last year, when prices escalated, many farmers switched to kalonji.

According to sources, the reason for the fall in prices is due to two reasons -- first, the harvest was good in many parts of the country, including West Bengal; second, demand in the international market came down.

Farmers in the region who depend on soyabean and onion are also suffering because they are not getting the right price.

Madhya Pradesh, the largest producer of soyabean, is selling the crop at less than the MSP of Rs 2,775 per quintal set by the central government for the year 2016-17.

As analysis continues on why events in Mandsaur took such a violent turn, a top government official said the move to promote digital payment, electricity crunch and the ban on regulated sale of poppy husk were some of the reasons that led to the stir.

The government used to regulate the sale and farming of poppy husk in the past, but now it was destroying the contraband that could earlier be used for medicinal purposes.

"The Centre and the state government have forbidden farmers to sell poppy husk for the last two years in Mandsaur and Neemuch districts and this has rendered hundreds of farmers, mostly members of the strong Patidar community, jobless," the official told PTI.

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"Besides, the state governments move to promote digital payment in place of hard cash for procuring produce from farmers in the mandis (markets) aggravated the woes of the cultivators," he said.

The cost of farm produce, he added, had also gone up due to shortage of power and black marketing of manure.

Rattled by the violence, the Madhya Pradesh government has announced a crop-loan settlement scheme, which proposes waiving of interests of the cultivators who have defaulted.

According to Bhagatram Paatidaar, a farmer from Neemuch, those growing fenugreek and coriander are also suffering.

Farmers put their blood, sweat and tears into their land but are helpless when prices crash. The government should increase MSP and also help farmers export agricultural products, he said.

Paatidar also pointed to the shortage of cold storage facilities in the Mandsaur-Neemuch region, which also forces farmers to sell crops at any rate they get.

He added that the farmers were furious at the killing of their colleagues and the increasing interference of politicians. "The politicians only want to take advantage of the situation. Where were these politicians when farmers were suffering?"

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As anger peaked after the deaths of the five farmers and politicians across the spectrum took up the issue, the situation continued to be volatile. A sixth farmer died in the district with locals today alleging that he was beaten up by policemen. However, police said the circumstances of his death were unclear and investigations continued.

Though curfew was relaxed, the administration decided that no outsiders, including AAP leaders, would be allowed to enter the district. According to the collector, O P Srivastava, the situation was under control and there were no reports of anything untoward today. ATMs were working and milk and vegetable supplies had improved. But the internet service will take time to be restored.

BJP MP from Mandsaur, Sudhir Gupta, blamed the Congress for the farmers agitation. "Congress is behind the violence in the farmers stir," he alleged. PTI LAL NM NP GK HWP NKS BDS MIN

--- ENDS ---
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bluestone Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BSR) ("Bluestone" or the "Company") today announced the appointment of Mr. Darren Klinck as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective 1 August 2017. The Company will also complete a non-brokered private placement of 500,000 common shares at $1.50 for gross proceeds of $750,000 and issue 5,000,000 stock options to certain directors, officers and consultants.

Appointment of CEO

Mr. Klinck is a graduate of the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary and is a highly regarded mining executive with a broad range of international experience.

Mr. Klinck was most recently Executive Vice President & Head of Corporate Development for OceanaGold Corporation responsible for overseeing the capital markets as well as the mergers and acquisitions strategy. Over the past ten years at OceanaGold, Mr. Klincks various responsibilities have also included oversight of project teams managing exploration, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and community engagement programs as well as extensive government relations activities.

"We are very fortunate to have Darren join our team as Bluestone transitions towards becoming Central America's next high grade gold producer," stated John Robins, Chairman and interim CEO. "During his tenure at OceanaGold, Mr. Klinck was part of the executive leadership team that successfully grew the company from a single asset producer to one of the mining industrys most respected mid-tier gold producers, operating in multiple jurisdictions with one of the lowest cost structures today. Mr. Klinck's broad experience in a development and operating environment covering areas in corporate strategy, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and corporate development will be a strong asset to Bluestone as we continue to build out our development team.

Private Placement

The Company intends to complete a non-brokered private placement of 500,000 common shares at a price of $1.50 per share for gross proceeds of $750,000. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the private placement for general working capital purposes. The private placement forms part of the Companys executive compensation plan for the new management team. All securities will be subject to a four-month hold period. No finders fees will be paid with respect to the private placement. The private placement is subject to TSXV acceptance.

Option Grants

Subject to the TSXV acceptance and the Companys stock option plan, the Company intends to grant an aggregate of 5,000,000 stock options to certain directors, officers and consultants at an exercise price of $1.50 valid for terms ranging from three to five years from the date of grant. The option grant will be effective on the date the Companys previously issued subscription receipts are converted into common shares, which is expected to be in mid-June, 2017.

The Company has also filed an amended preliminary economic assessment (PEA) and an amended and restated Annual Information Form on Sedar. The amendments address certain minor nontechnical deficiencies in the previous PEA, and do not affect the conclusions in the PEA. The Company has also filed its preliminary prospectus to qualify the issuance of common shares upon the conversion of the previously issued subscription receipts and convertible notes.

About Bluestone Resources

Bluestone owns a 100% interest in the Cerro Blanco Gold and Mita Geothermal Projects located 160 km southeast of Guatemala City in Guatemala. Cerro Blanco is one of the world's highest grade undeveloped gold projects that is fully permitted for production. The Cerro Blanco Project economics as disclosed in the Company's press release dated February 7, 2017 announcing the results of its Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) and updated mineral resource estimate for Cerro Blanco indicate a rapid pay-back, high margin, underground mining project with robust economics in the current gold price environment. At a gold price of US$1,250/oz, the Cerro Blanco base case estimate generates an after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate of US$317 million and an internal rate of return of 43.9%. The proposed mine is expected to operate over a nine year mine-life with total gold and silver production of approximately 952,000 ounces and 3,141,000 ounces, respectively. Initial capital expenditures to fund construction and commissioning is estimated at US$170.8 million. The all-in sustaining cash costs (as defined per World Gold Council guidelines, less corporate general and administration costs) is estimated to be US$490 per ounce of gold produced.

Cautionary Language

The PEA is preliminary in nature, 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, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

The scientific and technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed by John Robins, CEO of the Company, who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 9, 2017) - Austral Gold Limited (ASX: AGD) (TSXV: AGLD) ("Austral" or the "Company") is pleased to provide additional information to support positive and robust pre-feasibility results. This information is to supplement the mineral resource and reserve estimate for the Amancaya Project and Guanaco Mine, Chile, disclosed in the Company's announcement dated June 8, 2017.

Highlights:

After-Tax Net Present Value (NPV) at 7.5% discount rate is US$66.6 million for the Project.

All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC): US$831/oz Au.

The mine life is five years, based on Mineral Reserves.

Combined estimated annual average production of 53,000 ounces of gold and 370,000 ounces of silver.

Mine life capital totals $48.1 million, including reclamation and closure.

Average operating cost over the mine life is $112 per tonne milled.

Metallurgical recovery is estimated at 92% for gold and 80% for silver.

Gold and silver at refinery 99.9% and 99.0% payable, respectively.

Metal prices: Life of Mine ("LOM") average of US$18.88/oz silver and US$1,284/oz gold, based on consensus of independent forecasts for annual prices.

Net Smelter Return includes dore refining, transport, and insurance costs. Royalties of 3% for Guanaco and 2.25% for Amancaya are deducted.

Income taxes are 25% in 2017, 25.5% in 2018, and 27% for the remaining years in the LOM.

Stabro Kasaneva, CEO of Austral Gold stated, "We are very pleased that the results of the pre-feasibility study show robust project economics justifying the investments we have made in pushing forward with construction of the Amancaya operation and the investment in the new agitation leach processing plant. The combination of the two operations provides us with a very robust operation for the next five years. The very high conversion of the Amancaya resource to reserves underlies the consistent nature of the vein."

All Resources reported are inclusive of Reserves. A full description of assumptions shall be provided in a Technical Report in accordance with CIM Definitions 2014, National Instrument 43-101 and JORC code, to be filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR and ASX by July 24, 2017.

Summary of the Combined Operation

The Guanaco Project (the Project) comprises the operating Guanaco Underground Mine and the Amancaya Open Pit and Underground Project (open pit mining at Guanaco was completed in 2013). Amancaya is a satellite deposit with similar characteristics to Guanaco and will be processed at the Guanaco Mine and Mill Complex. The Mineral Reserves at Amancaya are based on the conversion of Mineral Resources using modifying factors (mining, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social, and governmental) which were determined based on the current mining operations at Guanaco.

The underground operations at Guanaco currently produce approximately 1,000 tpd. The open pit at Amancaya is expected to produce 400 tpd, followed by underground production of approximately 800 tpd. Each operation will overlap to produce an average mill feed of approximately 1,000 tpd during peak production in 2017 and 2018. Ore from Amancaya will be hauled by contractor via a 75 km road to the new mill located at the Guanaco mining complex. The mill, which was commissioned in March 2017, is designed to process up to 1,500 tpd using crushing, grinding, cyanide leaching, and Merrill Crowe to produce a dore. The Guanaco mine has produced approximately 50 koz per year for the last four years and the Company expects to continue at this rate for the remaining five years of the life of mine (LOM) plan. Guanaco is a mature operation with established infrastructure to support mining at Guanaco and Amancaya.

Capital costs for the new plant and most of the Amancaya infrastructure were incurred in 2016, and as such costs for combined operation of both projects are considered as sustaining capital, and included in the capital cost projection of $48.1m. As the Company has already built the Amancaya infrastructure there is no additional expected capital funding requirement. This, however, remains uncertain and the Company will assess any funding needs.

Environmental studies and environmental permits have been issued to support mining at Guanaco and Amancaya.

QUALIFIED PERSONS

The Amancaya and Guanaco Reserve and Resource Estimate was prepared in accordance with CIM Definitions 2014 in National Instrument 43-101 and a Technical Report will be filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR and ASX within 45 days of this press release. The RPA Qualified Persons (QPs) for the Amancaya and Guanaco Reserve and Resource Estimate include:

Kathleen Ann Altman, P.E., Ph.D. (Metallurgy)

Jason J. Cox, P.Eng. (Mineral Reserves)

Ian Weir, P.Eng. (Mineral Reserves)

Chester M. Moore, P.Eng., (Mineral Resources)

This press release has been reviewed and approved by the RPA Qualified Persons.

About Austral Gold

Austral Gold Limited is a growing precious metals mining, development and exploration company building a portfolio of quality assets in Chile and Argentina. The Company's flagship Guanaco project in Chile is a low-cost gold and silver producing mine with further exploration upside. The Company is also operator of the underground silver-gold Casposo mine in San Juan, Argentina, where it has 70% ownership. With an experienced local technical team and highly regarded major shareholder, Austral's goal is to continue to strengthen its asset base through acquisition and discovery. Austral Gold Limited is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV:AGLD), and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: AGD). For more information, please consult the company's website www.australgold.com
THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 7, 2016) - Source Exploration Corp. (the "Company" or "Source") (TSX VENTURE:SOP)(FRANKFURT:4QW) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent (the " Letter of Intent ") which sets forth the basic terms upon which an... Read More
Visitors walk along Seoullo 7017 sky park, May 21. / Korea Times photo by Sohn Yong-seok



By Baek Byung-yeul

Having opened about three weeks ago, the Seoullo 7017 urban sky park seems to have already been an iconic spot for city dwellers in Seoul.

To make the megalopolis more pedestrian friendly, the Seoul city government planned to make its own version of the High Line park of New York. The Seoullo project cost 59.7 billion won ($53 million) and took about a year and a half after closing down the outdated Seoul Station Overpass on Dec. 13, 2015.

Seoullo means "Seoul Road" or "going to Seoul," and the number 7017 comes from the years 1970 when the overpass was first constructed and 2017 when it was reborn as a public park. The 1,023-meter-long and 17-meter-high walkway is decorated with more than 24,000 trees and plants, plus benches, rest areas and eateries.

Though there has been a backlash for shutting down the overpass that carried 40,000 vehicles daily, it has been received well since its opening on May 20 as it took only 14 days to surpass the 1 million visitors mark.

The city government said the public park averages 40,000 to 70,000 visitors on weekdays and 100,000 to 120,000 during weekends. The number peaked at 151,000 on the opening day, followed by 131,230 on May 27, 112,678 on May 28 and 104,440 on May 21.





Visitors soak their feet in a foot bath fountain at Seoullo 7017, May 21. / Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki

Given that the city-run Seoul Institute expected the annual number of visitors to the elevated public park would be 4.37 million, Seoullo 7017 has established itself as the city's top attraction.

Taking an hour-by-hour look, it appears to see the most visitors during the lunch hour between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. in the 14 days since its opening and the majority of them are office workers. The park's popularity also peaked in the closing hours between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

An office employee working nearby said strolling along Seoullo 7017 has become part of his daily routine. "Though it is still crowded with visitors who are curious to see it firsthand, it is nice to have this place in the midst of the bustling city."

A pedestrian in her 60s said she likes the idea of making the city friendlier for walking.

"As I live in southern Seoul, I rarely visit the downtown area, but I came here to take a walk from Namdaemun Market to Seoul Station. At first, I was against the idea of building another big pedestrian overpass, but after walking through downtown on Seoullo in the sunshine, I feel okay with the idea," she said.

Another pedestrian in his 70s also expressed his hope that the city can garner more overseas tourists with the overpass-turned-park. "I thought Seoul needs more attraction for overseas tourists. Like Cheonggye Stream, I hope this place could be a landmark for them." The city government said 60,000 overseas tourists have visited Seoullo 7017 in the 14 days since its opening.





Children jump on trampoline installed at Seoullo 7017, June 2. / Korea Times photo by Kwon Do-hyeon



Safety concerns

Though the new public park is still fresh, a safety issue arose as a Kazakhstani man jumped off it and died on May 29, just 10 days after its opening.

According to the city government, the man in his 30s climbed over a 1.4-meter glass barrier at a point in front of Seoul Station and fell onto Cheongpa Road at around 11 p.m. Sustaining an injury to his head, he was hospitalized but died the following day at around 7:50 a.m. After the deadly accident, the city government promised to install more safety guards to prevent further accidents.

An expert in construction site safety said the height of the glass panel is already 20 centimeter higher than regulation and having more safeguards would be best at this point, adding that raising the height more could cause other safety issues.

"If we raise the height more, the wind-exposed panels would be breakable. If the panels are pushed over by the strong winds, it would cause another safety issue. Thus, assigning more guards would be proper to prevent future accidents," the expert said.




Osstem Japan CEO Kim Hae-gon poses during an interview at its headquarters in Tokyo, Wednesday, introducing its vision to raise its market share in the dental equipment market in Japan. / Courtesy of Osstem Japan

Korean firm makes inroads in dental equipment market



By Lee Min-hyung



TOKYO  Osstem Japan is making gradual inroads into the country's dental implants market with a view to taking away some of the market share from leading players  such as Nobel Biocare and Straumann.



For dental equipment manufacturers, Japan is seen as a key revenue area, as the artificial tooth roots industry has yet to saturate here, compared to other developed countries.



The Japanese affiliate of the Seoul-based implants giant holds only a 3 percent share of the Japanese implants market, but the branch head remains optimistic about its growth potential.



"Unlike Korea and other European and American nations, the Japanese implants industry is growing at a very slow rate," Osstem Japan CEO Kim Hae-gon said in an interview, Wednesday. "Osstem's materials and product quality never fall behind those of the market leaders, but our products are more price-competitive."



Osstem was founded in 1997 in Korea as a dental equipment maker. At first, it failed to compete with implants giants from overseas. But it slowly expanded its presence and won the fierce rivalry with them in the home market.



Back in the early 2000s, the leading players took up more than 85 percent in the Korean implants market, he said. But Osstem succeeded in competing with them and is currently a business bellwether with more than 50 percent share of the market in Korea.



"The key behind our success in Korea is our strategy of not taking excessive royalty profits, but instead, investing more in research and development (R&D) to enhance product quality," he said.



Kim believes the same strategy will work in Japan, even if its dental industry has striking differences from other developed countries.



"Demand for implants is not that high in Japan, but is gradually growing especially among young dentists," he said.

Osstem established its first Japanese branch in Tokyo in 2006, aiming to duplicate its Korean success. The subsidiary has slowly expanded its footing, operating 12 branches as of the end of 2016. Osstem Japan plans to almost double the figure to 22 by 2019.



The company is also reporting eye-catching growth in terms of sales.



"Osstem Japan generated 600 million yen ($5.48 million) in sales last year, growing more than 150 percent, compared with 232 million yen in 2012," he said.



"Given its rapid growth, Osstem Japan will likely accomplish its annual sales goal of 3 billion yen by 2023."





Main driver for rapid rise: R&D



Osstem has become one of the world's top-tier implants manufacturers, even if its history started later than the conventional powerhouses.



The Japan branch head attributed its rapid rise to the firm's aggressive investments in R&D.



"Under the corporate motto of good is the enemy of better,' we put top priority on the research drive," he said. "As of May last year, about 8 percent of our 2,069 employees work in our R&D departments, and the ratio is much higher than that of existing rival players."



The R&D investment has enabled Osstem to produce quality implants and other dental equipment, he said.



Osstem's advanced implant education seminar is also in line with the corporate-wide research drive.



"We are running the special education courses for dentists who seek to learn surgical procedures for implants. This is part of our efforts to raise the awareness of implants in Japan, which will also improve our brand image in the country."



"It is true it will not be an overnight thing for us to make tons of profits in Japan in the next few years, but we are confident that the implants industry here will definitely take more concrete shape as time goes on. Our price-competitive and quality products will then pose serious threats to market leaders, as we had done with our products in Korea."
Musa is trying to take advantage of this rising fanaticism and has been releasing video and audio messages to the youth on social media for joining his cause for Islam in the trouble-torn state.

By Ajit Kumar Dubey: In violence-racked Kashmir, Zakir Musa has emerged as a thorn in the side of his former organisation Hizbul Mujahideen.

The militant commander severed ties with the outfit last month after it denounced his statement that separatist leaders from the Hurriyat Conference would be beheaded if they became a hurdle in the road to the Valley becoming an Islamic state.

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After setting up Taliban-e-Kashmir, Musa has been successful in poaching 12-15 cadres from Hizbul with his hardline Islamic appeal of waging jihad against India and using religion to attract more youth into his fold.

FOLLOWING AMONG KASHMIRI YOUTH

The terrorist leader has also been successful in developing a following among the Kashmiri youth who are in the process of following more radical versions of Islam than mystical Sufism, which is losing influence in the state, sources in security forces in Kashmir said.

'Musa has been able to break away 12 to 15 of his former Hizbul Mujahideen cadres and take them with him to the Taliban-e-Kashmir, which is an attempt to attract more youth and give a push to militancy in the state,' they said.

On the Hizbul terrorists who have now joined Musa, sources said most of the jihadis are from Tral area, which is the breeding ground for local militants in the south Kashmir region.

Musa, who is an engineering dropout from a college in Chandigarh, also belongs to the same area and his father is an executive engineer posted there in the state government.

MUSA TAKING ADVANTAGE OF FANATICISM

Musa is trying to take advantage of this rising fanaticism in the state and has been releasing video and audio messages to the youth on social media for joining his cause for Islam in the trouble-torn state, the sources said.

The messages spread on social media by the supporters of this new group are talking about the implementation of Shariah and other Islamic laws in Kashmir and reducing the status of women as was done by the original Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan after they conquered that country.

Sources said for a long time in the history of militancy in the state, the religious fanatic terrorists coming from Afghanistan and Punjab were more radical and were tough to tackle due to their indoctrination and waging a war in the name of their god.

However, in recent times, it has been seen that the local terrorists have also become radicalised due to the rising influence of the Wahabi mosques in the state run by the Ahl al-Hadith and other fundamentalist groups.

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'In one or two encounters, the terrorists could be seen offering their Islamic prayers in the middle of the action and before dying at the hands of the security forces,' sources said.

MUSA USED FAKE REPORT OF RAPE OF WOMAN

Following the propaganda machinery of the Pakistani ISI, Musa recently used a fake report about the rape of a Muslim woman in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district, saying, 'It is shameful that Indian Muslims are spineless and don't act against the perpetrators of such crimes.'

He also quoted religious scriptures of Muslims, talking about the call for Conquest of Hind (Gazwa-e-Hind). 'Our beloved prophet has assured jannat (heaven) to those who participate in the conquest of Hind,' he said.

Sources said due to his religious hardline and brutality against own people, he is not liked much by locals and is known for his violent ways of dealing with people who don't offer help in their actions against security forces.

Musa is also high on the hit list of the Army and other security forces who have now adopted a very aggressive approach against the jihadis, especially the terror leadership in the state, with all major leaders getting killed in a few months of their taking over.

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Also Read:

Zakir Musa slams 'spineless Indian Muslims' in audio clip

Those who oppose Zakir Musa will meet Sabzar Bhatt's fate: Factional war erupts in Hizbul Mujahideen

Also Watch:

Burhan Wani's Hizbul successor Zakir Musa threatens to chop off heads of Hurriyat leaders

--- ENDS ---
Earth is home to gobs of species, from tiny to gargantuan, and ordinary to downright weird. Take this whimsical octopus spotted by NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer's remotely operated vehicle near Shallop in the Atlantic Ocean.

Octopuses are ocean creatures that are most famous for having eight arms and bulbous heads. Some other fun facts: They have three hearts and blue blood; they squirt ink to deter predators; and being boneless, they can squeeze into (or out of) tight spaces. They are quite intelligent and have been observed using tools.

And sadly, for them, sex is a death sentence.

Description

The order Octopoda includes 289 species, according to the World Animal Foundation. The word also refers specifically to animals in the genus Octopus. The word octopus comes from the Greek, oktopus, which means "eight foot," according to a Smithsonian magazine article that summarized facts in Katherine Harmon Courage's book, "Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea (opens in new tab)."

Some people call their appendages tentacles, but that is incorrect; they are arms. Most octopus species have suction cups on the bottom of each arm. The arms seem to have a mind of their own. In fact, two-thirds of an octopus' neurons are in its arms rather than its head, according to the article. That means that an octopus can focus on exploring a cave for food with one arm while another arm tries to crack open a shellfish.

Some octopuses even have warts. Two deep-sea octopuses in the Graneledone genus  G. pacifica and G. verrucosa  have skin bumps dotting their pink-hued mantles. These warty protrusions, it turns out, can be used to distinguish the two species, which have been incredibly difficult to tell apart. Scientists reporting June 7, 2017 in the journal Marine Biology Research catalogued the distribution of warts on both species, pinpointing two variables that were consistent across the individuals within a given species: distance between the warts and the tip of the mantle and the extent to which the skin bumps spread down the creature's arms.

Octopuses have an excellent sense of touch, according to the World Animal Foundation. Their suckers have receptors that enable an octopus to taste what it is touching.

Most octopuses  those in the suborder Incirrata (or Incirrina)  have no internal skeletons or protective shells. Their bodies are soft, enabling them to squeeze into small cracks and crevices, according to National Geographic (opens in new tab). In April 2016, an octopus at the National Aquarium of New Zealand squeezed out of its tank and made an eight-armed dash for a drainpipe that  luckily for him  led directly to the sea.

A bulbous sack-like body, or mantle, is perched on top of an octopus' head. The only hard part of their bodies is a sharp, parrot-like beak that is on the underside, where the arms converge. Octopuses have powerful jaws and venomous saliva, according to National Geographic.

Octopuses weren't always squishy creatures. The ancestors of octopuses and squid sported hard shells. A study published online March 1, 2017 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences revealed these marine animals lost their hard "mobile homes" in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. This shell loss likely helped the ancient relatives of today's octopus, squid and cuttlefish become more agile to evade predators and nab prey, the researchers said.

Three hearts

An octopus has three hearts. One pumps blood through its organs; the two others pump blood through its gills, according to the World Animal Foundation. Octopus blood is blue because it has a copper-based protein called hemocyanin.

When an octopus is swimming, the organ that delivers blood to the organs stops beating. This exhausts the octopus, which is likely the reason they prefer to crawl than swim, according to the Smithsonian article.

Size

Octopuses come in many different sizes. The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is 12 to 36 inches (30.5 to 91.4 centimeters) long and weighs 6.6 to 22 lbs. (3 to 10 kilograms).

The giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is the largest octopus. They typically grow to 16 feet (5 meters) long and weight around 110 lbs. (50 kg), but one was recorded to weigh more than 600 lbs. (272 kg) and measure 30 feet (9.1 m) across, according to National Geographic (opens in new tab).

The smallest octopus is the Octopus wolfi. It is smaller than an inch (2.5 cm) long and weighs less than a gram.

This tiny pink octopus could one day be named Opisthoteuthis adorabilis. (Image credit: Screenshot, Science Friday )

Habitat

Octopuses live in oceans all over the world. Most are pelagic, meaning they live near the water's surface in shells, reefs and crevices. Some species live on the floor of the ocean, making their homes out of caves.

Habits

Octopuses tend to be solitary, though they do interact with other octopuses at times. Some species of octopuses hunt at night, while others only hunt at dusk and dawn.

When scared, octopuses will shoot a dark liquid, sometimes called ink, at the thing that scared them. This will temporarily blind and confuse a potential attacker, giving the octopus time to swim away. The ink can also dull the attackers smelling and tasting abilities, according to the Smithsonian article.

Octopuses can also change color to hide and match their surroundings. They can turn blue, gray, pink, brown or green. The mimic octopus can also flex its body to resemble more dangerous animals, such as eels and lionfish, according to the World Animal Foundation.

If an octopus does get caught  no problem. They can lose arms and regrow them, according to National Geographic.

Octopuses are fast swimmers but they prefer to slowly crawl along the sea bottom. To swim, octopuses suck water into their bodies and shoot it out a tube called a siphon, according to the World Animal Foundation. This lets the octopus blast off, away from attackers.

Diet

Octopuses are carnivores, which means they eat meat. Meals can include clams, shrimp, lobsters, fish, sharks and even birds. Octopuses typically drop down on their prey, envelop it with their arms and pull the animal into their mouth.

(Image credit: Sailorr Shutterstock.com)

Offspring

Octopuses have short life spans. Some species only live for around six months. Other species, like the North Pacific giant octopus can live as long as five years. Typically, the larger the octopus, the longer it lives, according to the World Animal Foundation.

No matter what, when octopuses mate, they die soon after. During reproduction, a male delivers sperm by inserting a specialized arm (usually the third right arm) into the female's mantle cavity, according to the World Animal Foundation. Sometimes he literally hands her the sperm, however, according to the Smithsonian article.

Females usually lay 200,000 to 400,000 eggs, though it varies depending on species. She obsessively guards the eggs until they hatch. She even stops eating. After the eggs hatch, her body turns on her, according to the Smithsonian article. It goes through cellular suicide, which rips through her tissues and organs until she dies. Meanwhile, the male has swum away and dies in a few months.

When they hatch, baby octopuses are called larvae. They drift in plankton clouds and eat other animal larvae until they mature. As part of the plankton cloud, they are also in danger of being eaten by plankton eaters, according to the World Animal Foundation.

Classification/Taxonomy

The order Octopoda has two suborders: the more familiar Incirrina (or Incirrata) and the lesser-known Cirrina (or Cirrata). Cirrata octopods have two fins and an internal shell (which makes it harder for them to squeeze into small spaces).

Here is the classification of Incirrata octopuses in the Octopus genus, according to Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS):

Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Bilateria Infrakingdom: Protostomia Superphylum: Lophozoa Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Subclass: Coleoidea Subclass: Nautiloidea Superorder: Octobrachia Order: Octopoda Suborder: Incirrina Family: Octopodidae Subfamily: Octopodinae Genus: Octopus

Conservation status

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species, most octopus species are not endangered. Most are either listed as least concern or as data deficient, which means there isnt enough data about the species to make a determination on their endangered status.

Cirroctopus hochbergi, a species found off New Zealand, is endangered because its population size is low and its habitat has been damaged by trawling.

Other facts

The standard plural in English of octopus is octopuses, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. As a word that comes from Greek, it follows Greek rules for plurals. The word "octopi," which follows Latin rules for plurals, is incorrect.

Not all octopuses have long arms. The Opisthoteuthis adorabilis arms are very short and have webbing in between each one. This gives the tiny octopus the look of an orange ghost.

Octopuses are about as smart as house cats.

The oldest octopus fossil is from an animal that lived 296 million years ago  millions of years before the dinosaurs lived.

Additional resources

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in July 2016 and was then updated with new octopus discoveries on June 8, 2017.
The ship was found more than 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) underwater along the Malta Escarpment, a fault zone offshore of eastern Sicily.

Nearly 77 years after it sank during World War II, the wreck of an Italian naval ship has been discovered in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

The naval destroyer, dubbed IT Artigliere, was damaged during the Battle of Cape Passero in 1940. The ship was found more than 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) underwater along the Malta Escarpment, a fault zone offshore of eastern Sicily.

The finding was announced yesterday (June 5) by Vulcan Inc., a company created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Vulcan's research vessel (R/V) Petrel made the discovery in March, according to the company. [In Photos: WWII Ship Discovered 77 Years After Sinking]

The war grave site was left undisturbed, according to the R/V Petrel team.

"The Artigliere is in amazingly good condition other than the fact she was sunk in a war," David Reams, senior director for Paul Allen's maritime operations, said in a statement. "She's upright and easy to identify. At 3,700 meters down, the water is very cold and has little oxygen, so there was very little corrosion or encrustation."

After the R/V Petrel team uncovered the shipwreck, a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) captured images of the wreck, which showed the letters "AR" on the hull, according to a post on Allen's website. This documentation, along with the location of the wreck, enabled Italian naval authorities to confirm the sunken destroyer's identity.

The R/V Petrel uses underwater technology for a host of missions, ranging from locating shipwrecks to exploring ocean ecosystems, according to Vulcan researchers. Previous discoveries made by the vessel include the wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi in March 2015. The R/V Petrel also provides an underwater tour of the sunken Musashi.

Original article on Live Science.
If scientists could resurrect extinct animals  such as the dodo, Columbian mammoth or Tasmanian tiger  should these animals have different names that distinguish them from the original species?

In a new opinion paper, a group of scientists said yes, arguing that a modified name would give de-extinct animals an appropriate distinction from the natural species, as well as a conservation status that could help protect them legally.

In practice, researchers could take the original scientific name, but add "recr," an abbreviation of "recrearis," the Latin word for "revived." This addition, for instance, would change the Columbian mammoth's scientific name from Mammuthus columbi to Mammuthus recr. columbi, said the paper's lead author, Axel Hochkirch, lab manager in the Department of Biogeography at the University of Trier in Germany. [10 Extinct Giants That Once Roamed North America]

"If the DNA amount of [a resurrected] Mammuthus columbi is not high enough [compared with the original mammoth], one could even create a new species name, [such as] Mammuthus recr. americanus," Hochkirch told Live Science in an email. "If each resurrected species is marked with "recr.," it is very clear to all that we speak about something artificial, something that differs from the real mammoth."

De-extinction techniques

There are many hurdles to bringing back an extinct species. The first animal brought back from extinction  a wild goat called a bucardo, also known as a Pyrenean ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica)  died a few minutes after its birth because of a lung defect, according to a 2009 study published in the journal Theriogenology. Likewise, efforts to bring back the extinct Australian gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus) "were not viable," the researchers wrote in the new opinion paper.

In essence, researchers need a full copy of an extinct animal's DNA to revive that species, a difficult thing to obtain, because DNA begins to degrade the instant an animal dies. This occurs largely from exposure to bacteria, oxygen, water, ultraviolet light, and enzymes from both the animal itself and the environment, Live Science reported previously.

But de-extinction techniques are constantly improving. These methods include back breeding (breeding an existing animal to have traits of a closely related, extinct species), cloning (putting reproductive material of an extinct species into the womb of a closely related, living species) and genomic engineering (filling in missing DNA information from an extinct species with the DNA of a closely related animal).

Because of these advances, the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published de-extinction guidelines in 2014. While the guidelines highlight the uncertainties in classifying de-extinct animal species, the new opinion piece goes a step further, Hochkirch said.

For starters, any animal that's resurrected will likely be a hybrid of the original animal and another species, or a "proxy," for the original, he said. These differences will partly be genetic and partly due to other factors: the animal's epigenetics (environmental forces that can change gene expression), microbiome (the bacteria in the body) and learned behavior, he said.

A modified name would remind people that the resurrected animal isn't an exact copy of the original, Hochkirch said. Moreover, a revised name would remind government officials that the revived species would need extra protections, which may be different than protections that were provided to the original species, Hochkirch said. [6 Extinct Animals That Could Be Brought Back to Life]

No to "recr."

However, the new naming proposal appears to simplify how evolution works and raises questions about how the system would be implemented, said Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who was not involved with the editorial.

"How much of the genome has to be modified in order to earn the [recr] 'tag'?" Shapiro asked. "Would an elephant with two mammoth genes be considered sufficiently de-extinct? Who gets to decide?"

In an email to Live Science, Shapiro wrote, "I think 'recr' is probably inappropriate, as they are not revived copies of something, but instead hybrids. Adding this to their name will foster more misunderstanding and mistrust of the true intentions of this work, which is to facilitate the survival of species that are under threat of extinction."

The opinion piece will be published online Friday (June 9) in the journal Science.

Original article on Live Science.
The zoo brought in human doctors to assist when the mother showed signs of a distressed labor, and succesfully delivered the as-yet-unnamed baby gorilla, a healthy 5-pound (2 kilograms) boy.

It's a boy! The Philadelphia Zoo recently welcomed a new addition to its gorilla family, with the help of doctors who normally treat humans.

A gorilla labor is typically quick and does not cause distress to the mother, according to zoo officials. However, zookeepers noticed that first-time mom Kira's labor was not progressing in normal fashion. When the 17-year-old western lowland gorilla grew tired and showed symptoms of feeling unwell, the zoo brought in veterinarians and other medical professionals to assist in the delivery using tools and procedures that are standard in human births. (Human and gorilla physiology is very similar.)

The team succesfully delivered the as-yet-unnamed baby gorilla, a healthy 5-pound (2 kilograms) boy, on Friday, June 2. [Photos: World's Cutest Baby Wild Animals]

"Our veterinary team had an advance plan in place that had us prepared for scenarios like this  and in this case that plan, and the skill of our keeper team, enabled a safe delivery for both Kira and her baby," Andy Baker, the Philadelphia Zoo's chief operating officer, said in a statement. "It was an anxious and dramatic day at the Zoo, but in the end a tremendously rewarding one."

The baby gorilla's birth is also cause for celebration for the critically endangered western lowland gorilla population. Poaching, disease and habitat loss led the global populations in the wild to drop of more than 80 percent over three generations, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Numerous conservation efforts in the wild and in captivity are underway to protect the gorillas from going extinct. For instance, the Philadelphia Zoo is part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP) program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The SSP's goal is to protect and sustain populations of endangered species.

Another baby gorilla, Amani, was born to a different mother (the father of Amani is also the father of Kira's baby) at the Philadelphia Zoo last summer, which zoo officials said has helped Kira prepare for motherhood.

"Though Kira is a first time mom, were not surprised shes acting like an expert already," Baker said. "She was a great older sister to younger siblings and has been very attentive while our other female gorilla Honi has raised baby Amani."

Original article on Live Science.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today (June 8) that it has requested that Endo Pharmaceuticals, a drug company, remove the opioid painkiller Opana ER from the drug market.

This is the first time that the federal agency has requested that a drug company voluntarily stop selling a medication because of the risk of abuse that the drug carries, the FDA said in a statement. If the company does not choose to do so voluntarily, the FDA will force the issue by withdrawing its approval for the drug.

The request was made after the FDA determined that injecting the drug, which is one way of abusing it, was linked to outbreaks of disease, including HIV and hepatitis C. [America's Opioid-Use Epidemic: 5 Startling Facts]

"The abuse and manipulation of reformulated Opana ER by injection has resulted in a serious disease outbreak," Dr. Janet Woodcock, the director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

In March, an advisory committee of independent experts voted 18 to eight that the benefits of the drug no longer outweighed its risks.

"When we determined that the product had dangerous and unintended consequences, we made a decision to request its withdrawal from the market," Woodcock said. "This action will protect the public from further potential for misuse and abuse of this product."

Opana ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride) was first approved by the FDA in 2006 for use by people with moderate or severe chronic pain. The extended-release formulation of the medication allowed for a continuous release of the drug into the body.

The drug was reformulated in 2012 in an attempt to make the medication more difficult for people to abuse; specifically, the drug makers sought to make it difficult for users to snort or inject the drug. Although the reformulated drug was approved, the FDA later determined that this change did not "meaningfully reduce abuse." The agency said that it would not allow the company to label the drug with language describing its potentially abuse-deterring properties, the statement said.

An FDA review of available data on the drug found that the way people abuse the medication had shifted significantly after its reformulation, changing from snorting to injection. The increase in injection of Opana ER has been linked to outbreaks of HIV and hepatitis C, two viruses that can be transmitted through syringes. There have also been cases of a serious blood disorder called thrombotic microangiogpathy linked to the abuse of the drug.

The FDA has previously requested that companies remove opioid painkillers from the market; however, in those cases it was not because of the risk of abuse that the drug carried. In 2010, for example, the FDA recommended that drug companies stop selling the opioid pain reliever propoxyphene, but this was done because the agency determined that the drug was dangerous for heart health.

In addition, the FDA said it will continue to look at the risks versus the benefits of all other opioid painkillers on the market and take further action if needed.

"We are facing an opioid epidemic  a public health crisis, and we must take all necessary steps to reduce the scope of opioid misuse and abuse," FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in the statement. "We will continue to take regulatory steps when we see situations where an opioid product's risks outweigh its benefits, not only for its intended patient population but also in regard to its potential for misuse and abuse."

Originally published on Live Science.
And now, visitors to the Starmus Festival  an annual celebration of science, art and culture that will be held June 17 to 23 in Trondheim, Norway, this year  will be able to breathe deeply and compare city smells, thanks to the creators of a large-scale art installation.

In a network of geodesic domes dubbed Pollution Pods, curious visitors will be able to sample reproductions of the air from cities in six different countries: Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cairo, Egypt; Beijing, China; New Delhi, India; London, England; and Trondheim, Norway. [Gallery: 5 Times Science Inspired Art]

Each pod measures about 20 feet (6 meters) in diameter, and consists of a hemisphere framework constructed from connected triangles of short wooden sticks and covered by a transparent plastic skin, according to a description on the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) website. Short corridors connect the pods, which are arranged in a large circle.

The Pollution Pods emerged from a research project called Climart, which launched in 2014 at NTNU. Climart explores the effectiveness of art installations in communicating climate messages to the public. To that end, project team members have launched climate art installations and investigated the public's response to them, analyzing a total of 37 installations thus far, NTNU representatives said in a statement.

The Pollution Pods project is the result of a collaboration between Climart and artist Michael Pinsky, who uses a range of media to visualize climate change and topics of social importance, according to the statement.

A visualization of the Pollution Pods installation shows the ring of domes, connected by tunnels. (Image credit: Michael Pinsky)

The air, the air is everywhere

Visitors to the domes won't be breathing actual polluted air. Rather, they will be inhaling "harmless ingredients and fragrances" that approximate the smell of pollution that is particular to a given city, Climart project leader Christian A. Klockner, a professor in social psychology at NTNU, said in the statement.

"The Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) is contributing its expertise to create the right air mixtures for each dome, so that the smell and feel of breathing in the air is realistic," Klockner said.

And what does the air smell like, in the cities represented in the installation?

"London is primarily diesel fumes," Pinsky told Live Science in an email.

"Delhi is a cocktail of almost everything imaginable  crop burning, diesel, rubbish burning (plastic) and dust," he added. "Beijing is a combination of industrial smells (sulfur), coal and wood burning, which is used for heating. And Sao Paulo has a smell like vinegar, since they use ethanol for transportation," Pinsky said.

The Trondheim dome, on the other hand, is a less-polluted coastal location, represented by the refreshing aroma of sea air mixed with forest pines, Pinsky said.

Original article on Live Science.
James Hunter, an archaeologist with the Australian National Maritime Museum, records an anchor from one of the wrecks at Kenn Reefs with a photogrammetry camera.

Time and the tides have washed away the last traces of a famous 19th-century shipwreck from a coral reef in the South Pacific, the scene of extraordinary tales of survival during the "Age of Sail," according to archaeologists who visited the site earlier this year.

A team of 11 maritime archaeologists and divers from Australia journeyed earlier this year to Kenn Reefs, a submerged atoll among the Coral Sea Islands, located more than 300 miles (500 kilometers) northeast of their port of departure at Bundaberg on the Queensland coast.

The researchers  from the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) and the Silentworld Foundation, a private maritime archaeology group  had hoped to find the wreck of the Jenny Lind, a small sailing ship that sank after it struck the reef during the night of Sept. 21, 1850. [See Photos of the Shipwrecks Found Around Kenn Reefs]

The Jenny Lind was sailing from Melbourne to Singapore, with 28 crewmembers and passengers on board, including three children, according to a news report in the Moreton Bay Courier from Nov. 9, 1850.

All 28 people escaped from the sinking ship and survived for 37 days on a quay of sand behind the reef wall while they built a boat from the wreckage. They then sailed more than 370 miles (600 km) to Moreton Bay on the Australian mainland  an ordeal celebrated in newspaper reports at the time.

A maritime survey in 1987 reported that the remains of the ship were still visible in shallow water beside the reef wall, but the latest expedition, in January of this year, found that the sea has now claimed the last traces of the Jenny Lind.

However, the researchers found and documented four previously uncharted wrecks of sailing ships of about the same age  a testament to the dangerous reputation of the reefs, said James Hunter, a maritime archaeologist at the ANMM who took part in the February expedition.

"Strewn with wrecks"

The new finds include cannons, anchors and ballast stones from four unidentified ships, which the researchers think sank on the reef before the ridge began to appear on navigation charts in the 1850s.

One of the earliest charts, from 1857, recorded that the southern end of the reef was already "strewn with wrecks."

Hunter told Live Science that the reef lay along a major trade route between Australia and the French and Dutch Pacific colonies, and at least eight sailing ships were known to have been wrecked on Kenn Reefs during the 1800s. [Sunken Treasures: The Curious Science of 7 Famous Shipwrecks]

Maritime archaeologist Pete Illidge examines one of three large Admiralty-pattern anchors in the water at Kenn Reefs. (Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation)

The "highly dynamic" ocean environment around the reefs, caused by powerful tidal currents and tropical weather, has reduced the 150-year-old shipwrecks mainly to their metallic parts, Hunter said. Some wood from the wrecks may remain beneath the surface of the seafloor, but so far, the divers have made no excavations, he added.

The researchers explored the entire atoll above and below the waterline, using a marine magnetometer towed by the expedition vessel to locate magnetic anomalies created by metal items such as anchors or cannons, Hunter said.

Hidden danger

Hunter explained that the Kenn Reefs atoll is above the peak of an extinct undersea volcano that rises sharply for more than 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) from the seafloor, and covers an area that spans more than 15 square miles (40 square kilometers) on the surface.

The southern edge of the reef, where most of the ships were wrecked, is a vast wall of limestone and coral, but it is almost completely submerged at high tide, Hunter said.

"When you're there, [the reef] seems massive, but it's just a little speck in a very big sea," he said. "So, you can imagine these poor guys are out there, sailing the vast ocean, throwing a lead line for the seafloor. And there's nothing, no indication that there's a sea bottom anywhere out there, and they don't see this reef. And boom  they just smack right into it."

Even after the reef was recorded on official navigation charts in 1859, "during that period, it was very easy to make a miscalculation, either when you are plotting a position at sea to try and get the reef on a chart, or when you're at sea and you are trying to avoid it," Hunter said.

The researchers also tried to find traces of another famous shipwreck at Kenn Reefs  that of the Bona Vista, which sank in 1828. The crewmembers had to survive for weeks on top of the reef before the crew of a passing ship spotted and rescued them.

But, like the remains of the Jenny Lind, the wreck of the Bona Vista that was seen by the 1987 survey team could not be found, Hunter said.

Beneath the waves

The expedition to Kenn Reefs is the latest in a series of maritime expeditions in search of historic Australian shipwrecks. A team of researchers from the ANMM and the Silentworld Foundation are conducting the expeditions. The foundation, which funds the expeditions, is backed by the Silentworld transport group, which operates a shipping and logistics network between Australia and the Solomon Islands in the eastern Pacific, Hunter said.

In 2009, the same team of researchers found the remains of the Mermaid, a colonial schooner that was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef near Cairns in 1829. And in 2012, they found theRoyal Charlotte, a sailing ship wrecked on Frederick Reef in the Coral Sea in 1825.

Paul Hundley, director of the Silentworld Foundation Museum and one of the expedition leaders, said the data from the newly discovered wrecks would be carefully checked against colonial shipping records from the time on an effort to identify the ships.

"That's going to be quite a detective story, Hundley told Live Science. "It's going to take a bit of work to line up the remains that we've got with the ships that we know were wrecked there."

Many of the ships known to have been wrecked on the Kenn Reefs were leaving from Sydney without cargo after delivering supplies to the colony: So there's very little cargo which would help identify the individual vessel, or even a nationality.

Identifying the ships would help historians better understand the historic trade between early European colonies in the eastern Pacific region, Hundley said.

Hunter said precise physical data from the sites and detailed underwater photographs would be used to create three-dimensional digital models of the wrecks and the surrounding undersea landscape for further study.

"One of the things we are hoping to do with that data when it has been processed is to put it online, so people can virtually dive on one of these wreck sites," Hunter said.

Original article on Live Science.
Buried no more

(Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation)

An Australian expedition to a remote ocean reef notorious for sinking ships in the 19th century has discovered several previously unidentified wrecks at the site.



The expedition to the Kenn Reefs atoll, located about 310 miles (500 kilometers) from the Queensland coast of Australia, aimed to search for the remains of shipwrecks reported by a maritime survey of the atoll that was conducted more than 30 years ago.



Although the remains of some of the wrecks they hoped to relocate have now been buried or washed away, the researchers found anchors, cannon and other items from shipwrecks at four sites around the reefs that had not been explored before. [Read full story about the newly discovered shipwrecks]

Kenn Reefs atoll

(Image credit: Google Earth/Landsat Copernicus)

At least eight ships are known to have been wrecked on Kenn Reefs in the 1800s, most of them before the atoll was first recorded on official navigation charts in the late 1850s.



The coral and limestone atoll is situated on the peak of an extinct undersea volcano that rises sharply from the seafloor, and the reefs around it spread over more than 15 square miles (40 square kilometers).



The reefs are almost completely submerged at high tide, except for Observatory Quay, a small islet of sand inside the outer reef wall with a maximum height of 6 feet (2 meters) above sea-level.



On several occasions, the sand quay was home to the survivors from shipwrecks on the reef, sometimes for weeks or months, until they were rescued or they made their own way off the atoll in makeshift boats.

New wrecks

(Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation)

The expedition to Kenn Reefs in January 2017 was made up of 11 archaeologists and divers from the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Silentworld Foundation, a private maritime research museum.



The researchers explored the atoll for more than a week, documenting several previously known wrecks and locating four "new" wrecks of 19th-century sailing ships.

Surface finds

(Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation)

The team also searched the exposed tops of the reefs for artifacts and mapped the wreck sites using an aerial drone.



In this image from Observatory Quay, inside the outer reef wall, diver Paul Mullen watches archaeologist Paul Hundley, director of the Silentworld Foundation Museum, pilot the drone over one of the wreck sites.

150-year-old metal

(Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation)

After 150 years, only metal parts and ballast stones remain from the many wrecks that sank around Kenn Reefs.



Storms and high tides have carried some artifacts on to the top of the reef wall, including anchors and this section from a ship's iron mast.

Working together

(Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation)

The expedition to Kenn Reefs was a collaboration between the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Silentworld Foundation, which funds the research and supplies the expedition vessels.



The researchers have worked together on several major expeditions since 2009, and have already discovered more than half a dozen historic shipwrecks.



Here, James Hunter from the ANMM watches the readout from the towed marine magnetometer that was used to locate metal items underwater, while Paul Hundley of the Silentworld Foundation pilots their dive boat, the Maggie III.

Visualizing the bottom

(Image credit: James Hunter, ANMM)

As well as a magnetometer, the researchers used towed sidescan sonar equipment to create visual images of the seafloor from reflected pulses of sound.

A ship's bell

(Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation)

The magnetometer can detect very faint anomalies in the local magnetic field caused by underwater metal artifacts, such as anchors.



In this image, James Hunter inspects a ship's bell at one of the new wreck sites shortly after it was discovered.

Measuring history

(Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation)

The magnetometer also allowed the researchers to locate several cannons at one of the new wreck sites, dubbed KR12.



Here, archaeologist Pete Illidge measures one the cannons at site KR12, while researcher Renee Malliaros records information on an underwater slate.

Anchors away

(Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation)

Archaeologist Peter Illidge inspects a small anchor at one of the new wreck sites, known as KR12. The arm of the anchor is locked against the shank, suggesting it was stowed onboard when it was lost, and was not deliberately deployed.
A true-color image taken by an instrument aboard the Landsat-8 satellite shows a plume of sediment and a puff of steam coming from the Bogoslof Volcano in Alaska.

A plume of ash and sediment turns the Bering Sea an eerie shade of green in a new image of an erupting Alaskan volcano.

The snapshot was taken by the Operational Land Imager on the Landsat-8 satellite on June 5, as Bogoslof Volcano in the Aleutian Islands belched steam. The volcano has been erupting since December 2016, according to NASA Earth Observatory, which released the image.

Bogoslof Island is a tiny protuberance in the Bering Sea. According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, it rises about 300 feet (100 meters) above sea level. The rest of the volcano's bulk  6,000 feet (1,800 m) of elevation  is hidden beneath the surface of the sea. The portions of Bogoslof that are visible are ever-changing as eruptions reshape the volcano. In 1992, for example, a new chunk of land just 500 feet by 900 feet (150 m by 275 m) popped up on the north end of the island. [Images: New Volcanoes Discovered in Alaska]

Bogoslof is currently at an "orange" level of alert for aviation, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. That means the volcano is active, with small explosions and ejections of ash and steam. On June 5, when Landsat 8 swooped over the volcano, it had recently shot volcanic ash 20,000 feet (6,096 m) into the air. Later that day, the volcano steamed and let out a seismic shiver. A small puff of steam can be seen in the Landsat-8 image, which was taken at 2 p.m. local time.

These rumblings were nothing compared to the volcano's unrest on May 28, when the aviation color code shot up to red. During a 50-minute eruption, Bogoslof emitted a cloud of ash that reached between 35,000 feet and 45,000 feet (nearly 11,000 m to 14,000 m), cruising altitude for passenger planes.

The Aleutian arc stretches like a tail from the Alaskan mainland toward the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia. According to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Project, Alaska has produced nearly 70 percent of all historical eruptions in the United States, with the vast majority of those happening in the Aleutians. The state of Alaska is home to 42 of the 65 historically active volcanoes in the United States, according to Smithsonian.

The Aleutians are largely unpopulated, so eruptions on the island chain rarely affect people on the ground. Ash spewed from the volcanoes can impact airline traffic, though. Currently, the Alaska Volcano Observatory is monitoring three restless volcanoes in the state, including Bogoslof. Both are on the Aleutian island arc. One, Mount Cleveland, is displaying elevated surface temperatures as measured by satellite and has prompted an aviation warning level of orange. The other, Mount Pavlof, is exhibiting unrest at slightly lower levels, with increased seismic activity, suggesting that eruptions could be imminent.

Original article on Live Science.
It's been a week since President Trump announced he was pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. In that time, a remarkable transformation has taken place.

As the federal government abdicates its responsibility to address climate change, a groundswell of support has sprung up at the state, city and corporate levels. Those sub-national actors are making the case on the international stage that the U.S. will meet its Paris Agreement commitment.

That includes a first-of-its-kind effort called America's Pledge, spearheaded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, that's been dubbed a "societally nationally determined contribution." States, cities and other groups can sign on to meet the U.S. pledge to the Paris Agreement of reducing carbon pollution 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

David Hart, a political scientist at George Mason University, said that the new initiative bears some similarity to the 1980s anti-nuclear movement when cities and states declared themselves "nuclear-free" zones, but it's the only time he can recall sub-national action in the U.S. being linked to an international treaty.

Trump Broke With 194 Countries on the Paris Climate Pact Trump's Base the Big Winner from Paris Withdrawal State and Corporate Climate Action Just Got Serious

"It's astonishing, I've never seen anything like it," Carl Pope, a senior advisor to Michael Bloomberg and former head of the Sierra Club, said. "Donald Trump has created a new American climate movement. What we were trying to send is a message that it's not up to the federal government. It's up to all of us."

The pledge can't take the place of the federal government's commitment, but it's part of a huge shift in the climate landscape. The speed with which the shift has happened has put the movement in uncharted territory on the international stage and legally. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is responsible for tracking countries' pledges and is working to figure out how to incorporate the sudden surge of local action in the U.S.

"We welcome this initiative because it illuminates just how much support there is for the Paris Climate Change Agreement across so many sectors of society in the U.S. and across the globe," Nicholas Nuttall, a spokesman for UNFCCC, said.

The current actions by states, cities and corporations have a high upside internationally. The U.S. is the world's biggest historical climate polluter, and getting it on board was crucial for the Paris Agreement to come to fruition. Having it leave the pact could jeopardize the agreement even though big players like Europe and China have reaffirmed their commitments.

America's Pledge sends a strong signal to any wavering countries that the U.S. may formally be leaving the agreement, but it's not going away.

"It's really important to the international community that the perception of the U.S. stepping out of agreement needs to be dispelled," Hart said. "India is a country you might want to look at. They have huge challenges and huge coal reserves so it's not easy to commit to the type of things they did. If they perceive society is in for this, and we're going to have an Congressional election next year, maybe they can wait and see if the U.S. is completely reneging."

While Bloomberg Philanthropies is hosting America's Pledge, Pope said it's not alone in recognizing the need for non-federal leaders to step into the power vacuum left behind by the Trump administration.

A coalition of more than 1,200 local governments, corporations and universities wrote an open letter to the world about their commitment to the pact; the mayors of Paris and Pittsburgh penned an op-ed in solidarity; and Hawaii is now the first state to sign a law to commit to meet the U.S. Paris pledge.

"People understand that if there wasn't some response to what Trump did, American leadership would be badly compromised," Pope said.

States and cities have a lot of avenues to reduce emissions. There are already a number of ways local governments can address their carbon pollution, some that could yield unexpectedly large benefits and that are vastly different than what the federal government can do to reduce emissions.

"Our building blocks will be different," Pope said of America's Pledge. "We'll commit to do what our stakeholders can do (to reduce emissions)."

California, for example, has a waiver to set car pollution standards that are stricter than federal ones. A number of other states have adopted those standards, and automakers have had to respond by producing cars to meet them.

Residential and commercial buildings account for nearly 40 percent of all U.S. energy consumption and represent another huge opportunity to cut emissions at the city level.

"Building codes are a completely unsexy area, but they're starting to shift," Lara Fowler, an energy lawyer at Penn State, said.

Fowler cited the Bullitt Center, the first net-zero building in Seattle, as an example that "paved the regulatory way" for future low or no emissions buildings. Green infrastructure and other building codes to reduce energy consumption can be used to further lower building emissions.

The actions could face federal resistance. The UNFCCC accounts for non-national climate commitments through something called the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action, but it's more of a showcase for those commitments than a formal mechanism.

Nuttall said the United Nations is looking at ways to assess local climate action pledges more formally, including ways to measure how successful cities and states are at meeting their commitments.

How states and cities proceed is crucial to determining the legality of their actions. Constitutionally, only the federal government can enter into treaties.

"The day Trump announced his decision, (California Gov.) Jerry Brown says he's going to China and then strikes an agreement," Fowler said. "Well what kind of agreement is that? Is it a treaty? Is it an alliance? Thats an international gray area."

States can set more stringent carbon pollution standards than the federal government, but those also come with risks. California, for example, has a waiver to set more strict auto pollution standards, which could be key in forcing automakers to sell more fuel efficient cars. The Trump administration has hinted that they could pull that waiver, taking away a key tool to reduce transportation emissions, which account for 27 percent of all U.S. carbon pollution.

The Trump administration could also put up roadblocks to state and city action by threatening to withhold funding for infrastructure, environmental cleanup or other projects. That's something the administration has already threatened to do with sanctuary cities that don't cooperate with immigration authorities, though Fowler said if that happens, states would likely sue the federal government in response.

In the background of all this is the reality that clean energy is becoming cheaper. That's reflected in commitments by corporations to going renewable and a number of states led by Republicans pushing hard for wind and solar power. Hart said getting those states on board with America's Pledge or committed in other ways would only reinforce to the world that the U.S. is still all-in on climate action even in today's currently polarized political climate.

"If we can help Republican governors to talk about clean energy and build around that, it could be powerful," he said.

You May Also Like: India's Punishing Heat Waves More Deadly With Warming West Coast Waters on Acid Trip; Fishing Industry in Peril Protecting Ocean Waters Will Aid Climate Adaptation State and Corporate Climate Action Just Got Serious

Originally published on ClimateCentral.
Much of the body of a wee Cretaceous-era chick was preserved in incredible detail in a piece of Burmese amber, and bears "unusual plumage," according to the researchers who described the unique find in a new study.

Excavated from a mine in what is now northern Myanmar, the precious lump of fossilized tree sap is estimated to be about 98 million years old, and holds the most complete specimen to date representing a group of extinct toothed birds called enantiornithines (eh-nan-tee-or-NITH'-eh-neez), which died out at the end of the Cretaceous period (about 145 million to 65.5 million years ago).

Body proportions and plumage development in the tiny specimen indicated that it was very young, while details in the feathers' structures and distribution highlighted some of the key differences between these ancient avians and modern-day birds, the scientists wrote in the study. [See Stunning Photos of the Cretaceous Chick in Amber]

Though scientists had previously found specimens of this bird group in amber, the new find included features never seen before, such as the ear opening, the eyelid and skin on the feet.

Its body measured about 2.4 inches (6 centimeters) in length, from the tip of its beak to the end of the truncated tail. The scientists used micro-CT scans and digital 3D reconstruction to further analyze the specimen  processes that took nearly a year to complete, study co-author Jingmai O'Connor, a professor with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Live Science in an email.

In a small lump of amber, a tiny, taloned foot is the most visible part of a hatchling that was entombed nearly 100 million years ago. (Image credit: Lida Xing)

The amber chunk  which measured around 3.4 inches (8.6 cm) long, 1.2 inches (3 cm) wide and 2.2 inches (5.7 cm) thick had been divided down the middle into two pieces. Unfortunately, this cut sliced through the specimen's skull, damaging some of the bones and relegating the chick's beak to one amber fragment and the braincase and neck to the other, the researchers reported.

Even so, the body was near-complete, with the amber containing the tiny bird's head and neck, part of its wings, feet and tail; and plenty of soft tissue and attached feathers. The bird was undergoing its first molt when it became caught in the sticky tree sap; there was only a light covering of plumage on its body. But it already had a full set of flight feathers on its wings, suggesting that birds in this group were highly independent from an early age, the study authors wrote.

CT data revealed the avian fledgling trapped in the amber, here pictured next to a reconstruction showing how the animal may have looked in life. (Image credit: Reconstruction by Cheung Chung Tat)

In recent years, amber fossils have revealed fascinating glimpses of life from many millions of years ago  from ant-termite warfare and a daddy longlegs' long-lasting erection to a spider attacking prey in its web and a bug that jumped out of its skin.

And when it comes to birds, fossils' exceptional preservation of plumage helps paleontologists understand the diversity of feathers and the role they played for early avians, O'Connor said in the email.

"Feathers can never be well understood in normal fossils," O'Connor said. "But in amber, we get crystal-clear views of what primitive feathers were like, and they reveal all sorts of bizarre morphologies," she said.

The findings were published online June 6 in the journal Gondwana Research.

Original article on Live Science.
The Large Hadron Collider could help to solve some of the universe's deepest mysteries, such as how it came into existence.

Don Lincoln is a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermilab, America's largest Large Hadron Collider research institution. He also writes about science for the public, including "The Large Hadron Collider: The Extraordinary Story of the Higgs Boson and Other Things That Will Blow Your Mind (opens in new tab)" (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014). You can follow him onFacebook. Lincoln contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Deep beneath the Swiss and French countrysides, a giant is awakening. No, this isn't the beginnings of this summer's latest blockbuster movie. The awakening is very real, if perhaps a bit metaphorical.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), located at the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) laboratory just outside Geneva, is an enormous particle accelerator. It is the largest scientific facility ever constructed by humanity, with a circumference of more than 16 miles (27 kilometers). And after being shut down for about half a year, it resumed operations in May with significantly improved capabilities. [Photos: The World's Largest Atom Smasher (LHC)]

The LHC is most famous for its measurements that led to the 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson particle, the last missing piece of the Standard Model of particle physics. The Higgs boson, along with the associated Higgs field, is the origin of the mass of all subatomic fundamental particles. Its discovery was a scientific triumph that took nearly half a century to accomplish. Indeed, after its discovery, in 2013, two scientists who predicted the Higgs boson's existence won the Nobel Prize in physics.

But with that success under its belt, why is the LHC still operating?

The search for the Higgs boson was not the only reason this facility was built. More broadly, the LHC was built to study deep scientific questions. For example, why are the laws of nature the way they are? How did the universe come into existence? And does the universe have to be the way it is?

These aren't new questions. After all, we find musings about these same questions in some of our most ancient writings, whether it be in the Bible (e.g. Ecclesiastes 12:13) or the Hindu Katha Upanishad . What's changed in the past century, however, is that the scientific method can now definitively answer some questions.

The Standard Model is the name for our modern understanding of matter. Using two classes of subatomic particles (called quarks and leptons) and three subatomic forces (strong force, weak force and electromagnetic force), scientists can use the Standard Model to weave together an explanation for the tapestry of much of the cosmos.

But the Standard Model doesn't answer everything. For instance, we don't know answers to simple questions such as, why are there two classes of subatomic particles, and why are there three forces? Is there a deeper and more fundamental principle that unifies these pieces?

At an even broader level, scientists are now pretty sure that all matter on Earth (including what makes up you and me) constitutes a mere 5 percent of the matter and energy of the universe. The remainder is thought to be made of two proposed substances, called dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter appears to experience only the force of gravity and seems to make up about 25 percent of the mass of the universe. The remaining 70 percent of the universe's mass is dark energy, a pervasive energy throughout the universe that causes the expansion of the universe to accelerate.

Even though we can't directly see dark matter, we see its effect because galaxies rotate more quickly than can be explained given the laws of gravity and the observed matter. The evidence for dark energy is more obscure, but still compelling. The expansion of the universe is speeding up. Ordinary gravity says it should slow down and a repulsive form of gravity is needed to explain the accelerating expansion. The name for that repulsive gravity is dark energy. There is still much to learn about the nature of dark energy. [18 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics]

In the future, the LHC could possibly make dark matter in the laboratory. The LHC accelerates two beams of protons to unprecedented energies and smashes them together. Using Albert Einstein's famous equation showing that energy is mass, E = mc^2, scientists hope to convert the enormous amount of energy that's released during collisions into matter  dark matter, that is.

The LHC can also re-create the conditions that were present in the universe shortly after the Big Bang. When beams of protons collide, temperatures inside the collider shoot up to 100,000 times hotter than the center of the sun, re-creating the conditions less than a trillionth of a second after the universe began. Essentially, the LHC has allowed physicists to create the Big Bang in the laboratory, to better understand the rules of the universe that allow us to exist at all.

Even more broadly, the LHC is an instrumentation of intellectual exploration. It generates conditions never before seen by humanity. My colleagues and I already have gobs of data from previous runs of the machine. Now, we need only dig through that data, hoping for discoveries and surprises that will divulge a few more of nature's secrets.

In essence, although the LHC has been an astounding success thus far  it's generated more than 1,000 scientific papers  it's really just getting started. By the end of 2018, it will have delivered only about 3 percent of the data it is expected to produce over its lifetime.

We cannot possibly know what discoveries lie before us. After all, if we knew what the answer was going to be, it wouldn't be called research. But we can be completely certain that the journey will be fascinating, and we can hope that this amazing scientific work, performed by scientists from across the globe, will reveal answers to some of the universe's deepest mysteries. And, stepping back and remembering the ultimate goal, eventually, and digging deeply enough, well finally figure out why anything exists at all.

Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates  and become part of the discussion  on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Live Science.
A 4-year-old boy in Texas died recently, nearly a week after he went swimming, from what his parents were told was "dry drowning." But what exactly does this mean?

The boy, Frankie Delgado, was playing in the waters of the Galveston Bay when he was knocked down by a wave, according to CNN. Initially, the boy seemed all right. But the next day, he began vomiting and having diarrhea. Nearly a week later, the boy said he had shoulder pain, and later, during a nap, he stopped breathing. Although he was rushed to the hospital, doctors were unable to resuscitate him, CNN reported. [5 Tips for Safe Summer Swimming]

Doctors said they found fluid in Frankie's lungs and around his heart, and they told his parents that he died of "dry drowning," according to CBS affiliate KHOU-TV. However, the official cause of his death has not been released by the county coroner.

Dry drowning occurs when, after being submerged in water, a person's vocal cords experience a spasm and close, making it difficult to breathe, said Dr. Mike Patrick, an emergency-medicine physician at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who was not involved in the boy's care. When this happens, the body's response is to send fluid to the lungs to try to open up the vocal cords. But this can lead to excess fluid in the lungs  a condition called pulmonary edema. Symptoms of dry drowning usually start within an hour after a person is submerged in water, Patrick said.

Another uncommon way people can drown some time after being submerged in water is called "secondary drowning." In this case, water dilutes or washes out the lungs' surfactant, a slippery substance that's needed to prevent lung sacs from sticking together and collapsing, Patrick told Live Science. Without the surfactant, the lung sacs start to stick together, and the body can't properly exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen, Patrick said. This causes the same shock response as dry drowning  the body sending fluid to the lungs  resulting in pulmonary edema. Symptoms of secondary drowning usually start within 24 hours after a person is submerged in water, he said.

Both dry drowning and secondary drowning are rare, Patrick said, affecting only about 5 percent of kids who have a "near-drowning" experience, in which they are submerged in water and have trouble breathing but are revived.

Doctors recommend that, if a child is submerged in water, parents should keep a close eye on the child for 24 hours following the submersion. If the child experiences respiratory symptoms such as difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing or chest discomfort, they should get the child medical attention right away, said Patrick, who also hosts the parent-advice podcast PediaCast.

Delgado's family has set up a GoFundMe account to help with expenses for his funeral. "There are no words to describe how heartbroken we are over the passing of Baby Frankie," the page says. "He was loved by so many people  the world lost a beautiful soul."

Original article on Live Science.
When providers transition amongst coverage networks, the results can be unexpected out-of-network bills to patients and an administrative burden on healthcare businesses managing coverage. Representing an important step forward in the trend towards increased transparency in healthcare, today, Vericred, based in New York City, is releasing a new offering in the form of provider-network notifications. Vericred, a healthcare data services company begun in 2014, made the announcement at this years AHIP Institute and EXPO event in Texas. The new capability provides value throughout the lifecycle of a members enrollment in a health plan. When members are looking for coverage, the service can help identify which providers are in-network or help a member find a plan for which their preferred provider is already in-network. Once on a plan, notifications can alert members if their provider leaves the network and help find a new one before the next time they need medical assistance.

Members are not the only ones who may benefit from the new service. HR and benefits administration systems, private and public exchanges, health and wellness apps, and health insurance carriers are just some examples of insurtech companies and services that may benefit from Vericreds new service. Any organization using the service can register patients or members and tie those individuals to a list of providers. Anytime there is a change in Vericreds provider-network data, alerts are sent to the organization, which can then take action such as sending a push notification or other alerts to individuals affected by the change.

Patients, providers and plans all benefit from proactive provider-network alerts. Creating a smart notification service is another step in our overarching mission to drive innovation in healthcare through data, said Michael W. Levin, CEO of Vericred in a published announcement.

Medgadget had a chance to get a few more thoughts from Michael on the new service.

Medgadget, Mike Batista: What are the pain points creating a need for provider-network notifications and how did Vericred identify them?

Michael W. Levin: There is substantial churn in provider networks meaning that with great frequency providers join while others will leave. When a healthcare provider leaves a health plans network, patients who have been seeing that provider under the coverage of their plan are likely to be surprised the next time they visit that doctor. Imagine getting to the pediatrician with a sick child only to find out that the is doctor no longer accepting your insurance. The choices are grim: find a new doctor, which takes time or leads to an ER visit, or pay out-of-network costs which can be devastating. This problem is endemic throughout the industry.

Vericred identified the problem as a result of its work with provider-networks and speaking with clients who use Vericreds data to power provider-centric search. Provider-centric search is the ability to enter your preferred doctors and facilities as part of your health plan search or shopping experience and immediately see whos in and whos out of each plan. What we heard from our clients was what happens if the doctor drops out of the network mid-plan year? While we cannot affect whether or not a doctor joins or leaves a network, we can bring transparency to the changes in these networks. And thus, the development of provider-network notifications.

Importantly, these notifications can be delivered to the individual through the platform from which they purchased the insurance as well as through apps that help them make better use of their insurance or benefits. That may be a public exchange, a digital broker, or an employer benefits administration system. Our goal is to make our solution as ubiquitous as the problem so that never again is someone surprised about whether or not their doctor takes their insurance.

Medgadget: There are a number of businesses and technologies that can take advantage of this new data. Can you summarize the benefits to patients, providers, payers, and employers as a result of the new notification capability?

Levin: By proactively notifying individuals that their preferred providers no longer accept their insurance, the element of surprise is eliminated, benefiting all parties. With alerts, the individual can find a new provider before an emergent need leaves them with few good options. Notifications can also be used to alert an individual when a provider they identify enters their plans network. This would come into play if an individual enrolled in a plan that didnt cover one or more of their doctors (perhaps for cost reasons) and later that doctor joins the network. Wouldnt it be great to get a text or an email saying Dr. Jones just joined your plans network? In the absence of alerts that individual would likely not revisit the doctors participation in the network and therefore not get the benefit of knowing that she can now go to that doctor.

Providers dont have the awkward exchange with their patient indicating that they no longer accept that insurance. Payers create a better member experience by eliminating surprise and they can reduce costs through avoidance of the administrative burden of dealing with a member who is surprised and upset, and higher costs when ERs are used as a fallback. For employers, notifications are a feature that leads to a better employee benefit experience.



Medgadget: Vericreds new offering takes an important step forward towards more provider network transparency. What is another challenge with transparency in healthcare that still concerns you today? Is anything being done to address that challenge?

Levin: Transparency around the cost of healthcare services and drugs remains elusive. With more individuals being covered by high deductible health plans, there is a need to understand healthcare costs and be able to make informed decisions around cost, quality and availability. Good work is being done in this area through all payer-claims databases, but using such databases is like trying to see intro a room through a pinhole in the door.

Link: Vericred
by Tobi Elkin @tobielkin, June 9, 2017

Google on Thursday said it has moved beyond a closed beta of its its entry into header bidding, adding more than 100 publishers to the program.

In March, rival Facebook said it would expand its header bidding effort via the Facebook Audience Network to include more publishers.

Googles expansion means that buyers will be able to choose among seven third-party exchanges that will enable simultaneous competition for ad auctions against campaigns sold through the DoubleClick Ad Exchange .

Googles DoubleClick prioritized speed during the closed beta test, with the company claiming that header bidding offers as much as 15 times faster bidding than is typically the case. Publishers that participated in the beta test have seen double-digit revenue increases in programmatic ad sales -- some as high as 40% revenue increases, according to Google.
Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

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Workday, Inc. provides enterprise cloud applications in the United States and internationally. The company's applications help its customers to plan, execute, analyze, and extend to other applications and environments, and to manage their business and operations. It offers a suite of financial management applications, which enable chief financial officers to maintain accounting information in the general ledger; manage financial processes; identify real-time financial, operational, and management insights; enhance financial consolidation; reduce time-to-close; promote internal control and auditability; and achieve consistency across finance operations. The company also provides cloud spend management solutions that helps organizations to streamline supplier selection and contracts, manage indirect spend, and build and execute sourcing events, such as requests for proposals; Human Capital Management (HCM) solution, a suite of human capital management applications that allows organizations to manage the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment to retirement, and enables HR teams to hire, onboard, pay, develop, reskill, and provide employee experiences; Workday applications for planning; and applications for analytics and reporting, including augmented analytics to surface insights to the line of business in simple-to-understand stories, machine learning to drive efficiency and automation, and benchmarks to compare performance against other companies. It serves professional and business services, financial services, healthcare, education, government, technology, media, retail, and hospitality industries. The company was formerly known as North Tahoe Power Tools, Inc. and changed its name to Workday, Inc. in July 2005. Workday, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
The following companies are subsidiares of Novartis: 1 A Pharma GmbH, Abadia Retuerta S.A, Admune Therapeutics, Advanced Accelerator Applications, Advanced Accelerator Applications, Advanced Accelerator Applications International SA, Advanced Accelerator Applications S.A., Advanced Accelerator Applications S.r.l., Advanced Accelerator Applications USA Inc., Aeropharm GmbH, Alcon, Alcon  Couvreur NV, Amblyotech, Amblyotech Inc., Arctos Medical, Arctos Medical AG, Australia Pty Ltd, Beijing Novartis Pharma Co. Ltd., BioMedical Research Co. Ltd., CELLforCURE, Cadent Therapeutics, Cadent Therapeutics Cambridge, Cellerys, Cellerys AG, CellforCure, Chiron Corporation, Ciba-Geigy Japan Limited, Co. Ltd, CoStim Pharmaceuticals, CoStim Pharmaceuticals Inc., Coalesce Product Development Limited, Corthera, Development Co. Ltd., EBEWE Pharma Ges.m.b.H Nfg. KG, Encore Vision, Endocyte, Endocyte Inc., Eon Labs Inc., Farmanova Saglik Hizmetleri Ltd, Fougera Pharmaceuticals, Fougera Pharmaceuticals Inc, Gyroscope Therapeutics, HEXAL AG, Hexal, IDB Holland BV, Iberica S.L.U., Ilaclari Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S, JSC Sandoz, Japat AG, Kedalion Therapeutics Inc., Lek Pharmaceuticals d.d., Lek S.A., Manufacturing Pte Ltd , Navigate BioPharma Services Inc, Neutec Pharma Limited, Novartis (Hellas) S.A.C.I., Novartis (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Novartis (Taiwan) Co. Ltd, Novartis (Thailand) Limited, Novartis Argentina S.A., Novartis Australia Pty Ltd, Novartis Austria GmbH, Novartis Biociencias S.A., Novartis Biosciences Peru S.A., Novartis Bioventures AG, Novartis Business Services GmbH, Novartis Capital Corporation, Novartis Chile S.A., Novartis Corporation, Novartis Corporation Sdn. Bhd., Novartis Deutschland GmbH, Novartis Ecuador S.A., Novartis Farma S.p.A., Novartis Farma  Produtos Farmaceuticos S.A., Novartis Farmaceutica S.A, Novartis Farmaceutica S.A. de C.V., Novartis Finance Corporation, Novartis Finance S.A., Novartis Finance Services Ltd, Novartis Finland Oy Espoo, Novartis Gene Therapies, Novartis Gene Therapies EU Limited, Novartis Gene Therapies Inc., Novartis Grimsby Limited, Novartis Groupe France S.A., Novartis Healthcare A/S, Novartis Healthcare Philippines Inc., Novartis Healthcare Private Limited, Novartis Holding AG, Novartis Hungary Healthcare Limited Liability Company, Novartis India Limited, Novartis Inflammasome Research, Novartis Integrated Services Limited, Novartis International AG, Novartis International Pharmaceutical Investment AG, Novartis Investment Ltd, Novartis Investments S.a r.l., Novartis Ireland Limited, Novartis Israel Ltd, Novartis Korea Ltd., Novartis Middle East FZE, Novartis Netherlands B.V., Novartis Neva LLC, Novartis New Zealand Ltd, Novartis Norge AS, Novartis Ophthalmics AG, Novartis Optogenetics Research Inc., Novartis Overseas Investments AG, Novartis Pharma (Logistics) Inc., Novartis Pharma (Pakistan) Limited, Novartis Pharma AG, Novartis Pharma B.V. , Novartis Pharma GmbH, Novartis Pharma GmbH, Novartis Pharma K.K., Novartis Pharma LLC, Novartis Pharma Maroc SA, Novartis Pharma NV, Novartis Pharma Produktions GmbH, Novartis Pharma S.A.E., Novartis Pharma S.A.S., Novartis Pharma Schweiz AG, Novartis Pharma Schweizerhalle AG, Novartis Pharma Services AG, Novartis Pharma Services Romania S.R.L., Novartis Pharma Stein AG, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Limited, Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited, Novartis Poland Sp. z o.o., Novartis Portugal S.G.P.S. Lda., Novartis Ringaskiddy Limited, Novartis Saglik Gida ve Tarim Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S, Novartis Saudi Ltd., Novartis Securities Investment Ltd, Novartis Services Inc., Novartis Slovakia s.r.o., Novartis South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Novartis Sverige AB, Novartis UK Limited, Novartis US Foundation, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Inc, Novartis Vietnam Company Limited, Novartis de Colombia S.A., Novartis de Venezuela S.A., Novartis s.r.o., Oriel Therapeutics Inc., PT. Novartis Indonesia, Protez Pharmaceuticals, Pte Ltd, Research Inc, Salutas Pharma GmbH, Sandoz A/S, Sandoz AG, Sandoz B.V., Sandoz Canada Inc., Sandoz Egypt Pharma S.A.E., Sandoz Farmaceutica S.A., Sandoz Farmaceutica Lda., Sandoz GmbH, Sandoz Hungary Limited Liability Company, Sandoz Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Sandoz Inc, Sandoz Industrial Products S.A, Sandoz International GmbH, Sandoz K.K., Sandoz Limited, Sandoz Manufacturing Inc., Sandoz NV, Sandoz Pharma K.K, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals AG, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals d.d., Sandoz Philippines Corporation, Sandoz Polska Sp. z o.o. , Sandoz Private Limited, Sandoz Pty Ltd, Sandoz S.A. de C.V, Sandoz S.A.S., Sandoz S.R.L., Sandoz S.p.A., Sandoz South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Sandoz Ukraine LLC, Sandoz d.o.o. farmaceutska industrija, Sandoz do Brasil Industria Farmaceutica Ltda, Sandoz s.r.o., Selexys Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Shanghai Novartis Trading Ltd., Societe par actions SANDOZ, Spinifex Pharmaceuticals, The Medicines Company, The Medicines Company, Triangle International Reinsurance Limited, Trinity River Insurance Co Ltd, Vedere Bio, Vedere Bio ll, Xiidra, Ziarco, and Ziarco Group Limited.

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Real Matters Inc. provides technology and network management solutions to mortgage lending and insurance industries in Canada and the United States. It offers residential mortgage appraisals for purchase, refinance, and home equity and default transactions under the Solidifi brand to the mortgage lending industry; and insurance inspection services to property and casualty insurers under the iv3 brand. The company also provides residential and commercial real estate title and closing services for refinance, purchase, short sale, and real estate owned transactions to financial institutions under the Solidifi brand; and offers services required to close a mortgage transaction, including title search, curative, closing and escrow services, and title policy issuance, as well as other title services, such as capital markets services. In addition, it provides access to its software platforms to other title insurance agencies and mortgage lenders for a subscription fee. The company was formerly known as Solidifi Inc. and changed its name to Real Matters Inc. in July 2010. Real Matters Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Markham, Canada.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, a pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines, specialty medicines, and biopharmaceutical products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs, and cytotoxic substances in various dosage forms, including tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments, and creams. It also develops, manufactures, and sells active pharmaceutical ingredients. In addition, it focuses on the central nervous system, pain, respiratory, and oncology areas. Its products in the central nervous system include Copaxone for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis; AJOVY for the preventive treatment of migraine; and AUSTEDO for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia and chorea associated with Huntington disease. The company's products in the respiratory market comprise ProAir, QVAR, ProAir Digihaler, AirDuo Digihaler, and ArmonAir Digihaler, BRALTUS, CINQAIR/CINQAERO, DuoResp Spiromax, and AirDuo RespiClick/ArmonAir RespiClick for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Its products in the oncology market include Bendeka, Treanda, Granix, Trisenox, Lonquex, and Tevagrastim/Ratiograstim. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited has a collaboration MedinCell for the development and commercialization of multiple long-acting injectable products, a risperidone suspension for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
The Vikings have a formidable military reputation. But much of this, argues Martyn Whittock, is hype. We need some serious analysis.

In AD 866 there were four independent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England. By 874, there was just one. A blitzkrieg of Viking attacks had obliterated three kingdoms. In eight short years, the Vikings had eclipsed 300 years of Anglo-Saxon history.

The political landscape of England had been changed forever. And the remaining kingdom  Wessex  was itself facing destruction. In 878, King Alfred was driven into the Somerset marshes, and his kingdom was overrun by a Scandinavian army. How was such devastation possible?

The speed of this destruction leaves us with the image of invincible Vikings who outclassed their Anglo-Saxon opponents. Even the eventual Anglo-Saxon resurgence under Alfred and his son Edward the Elder cannot eradicate the impression of Viking enemies who, for a significant period of time, seem to have possessed overwhelming advantages.

Attacks

The Vikings first exploded onto the record in 789. In that year a shipload landed on Portland (Dorset) and killed the kings reeve (the local royal agent). He made the mistake of ordering them to his base (in Dorchester) to sort out their credentials for entering Wessex. Vikings did not take well to being ordered anywhere! It was a taste of things to come.

In the years after 789, Viking raids on England escalated. They targeted coastal monasteries and trading settlements. In either case they were attracted by portable loot and civilian populations who could be enslaved. In 793 another group of Viking raiders shocked western Christendom by sacking the famous Northumbrian monastery of Lindisfarne. The home of the Lindisfarne Gospels had been trashed.

Far away in Aachen (in what is now Germany), at the court of the Frankish ruler Charlemagne, the Northumbrian monk Alcuin provides us with the only significant contemporary account of this attack: Never before has such a terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race, nor was it thought that such an inroad from the sea could be made.

The number of attacks accelerated particularly after 830. In 842, three major trading centres were raided. According to The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, these were London, Rochester in Kent, and Quentovic on the Continent. London was attacked again in 851. That same year Canterbury was also sacked.

In the past, raids had been seasonal, but this changed in 851, when, for the first time, a Viking force overwintered on English soil, on Thanet in Kent. Now there was no respite. Areas close to this base were stripped of provisions during the winter. And the following years campaigning season started earlier than ever. Worse was to come.

In 866, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the arrival in East Anglia of the micel hen here (the great heathen army). Having occupied East Anglia, they took horses and became a mobile force on land. In 867 they moved north and defeated the Northumbrians. In 868 they moved south to Nottingham, their target this time the Midlands kingdom of Mercia.

For a while the Mercians held them at bay, with help from neighbouring Wessex, and in 870 the Vikings returned to East Anglia. Here they killed its king. Then, in 871, they attacked Wessex and occupied Reading.

Despite the occasional setback, their successes mounted. In 874 they drove the king of Mercia from his throne. In 876 and 877 the hammer fell again on Wessex. In January 878, Viking raiders narrowly missed capturing Alfred of Wessex at Chippenham in Wiltshire. He was forced to flee into the Somerset marshes, and the Vikings overran the Kingdom of Wessex.

Viking armies were clearly phenomenally successful. But their Anglo-Saxon opponents were skilful and experienced in warfare. Both sides were fairly evenly matched in terms of weaponry and battlefield tactics.

Invincible Vikings?

The Viking combination of seaborne attacks, transportation of horses (or seizure of horses), and loosely allied raiding bands produced an offensive force that was fast, flexible, unpredictable, and versatile.

The use of horses gave the Vikings speed and reach difficult to match in the absence of an Anglo-Saxon rapid-reaction force or protected bases from which defenders could operate and in which the civilian population could shelter. This would seem to have been the key to early Viking successes. As a result, they devastated England in the 860s and 870s. What is interesting is that, when the Anglo-Saxons rethought their defensive strategies from the 880s onwards, the Viking blitzkrieg faltered in England. As Alfred and his successors began building or extending the system of burhs (defended settlements) across their territory, Viking victories rapidly tailed off. This was accompanied, in 893, by a reorganisation of West Saxon armies in order to ensure that some troops were always in the field. As a consequence, many Vikings shifted their operations to the Continent, and there deployed the tactics that had earlier been so effective in England. Far from being invincible, the Vikings enjoyed a 20-year period of advantage, in the 860s and 870s, because the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were geared up to fight a different kind of war. It was a period of advantage that soon faded, a window of opportunity that closed. The Vikings had enjoyed the natural advantage of an aggressive attacker whose own communities and non-combatants were safely out of harms way and secure from retaliation. But Viking communities themselves became vulnerable once the initial phase of raiding turned to settlement in England. The shift occurred in the 890s. It is then that we first hear both of Viking armies having to defend their own families from Anglo-Saxon aggression, and of the capture of Viking non-combatants by AngloSaxon forces. During the 10th century, the West Saxons steadily reconquered all the Viking settlements of the east and north of England. Where then was the Viking invincibility? The playing-field had been levelled, and the Scandinavian communities in England were unable to resist the military offensives launched against them. The same was true in the Viking homelands where, in the late 11th century, Danes found themselves suffering significant losses as a result of raids by the Wends. These were a Slav tribe of the southern Baltic coast. The Danes were no more able to defeat them than the Anglo-Saxons had been when facing similar Viking attacks two centuries earlier.

Martyn Whittock is co-author (with his eldest daughter Hannah) of The Viking Blitzkrieg, AD 789-1098. This is an edited extract from an article that appeared in issue 66 of Military History Monthly. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.
Dusty Baker wants to continue managing the Nationals beyond the 2017 season, but ownership has yet to make him an extension offer, reports Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. According to Janes, GM Mike Rizzo made a strong recommendation to ownership that the team extend its relationship with Baker, but nothing has materialized. Janes spoke to Rizzo, Ryan Zimmerman and Max Scherzer about Baker, with each offering praise and voicing a hope that hell remain beyond the current season. Scherzer, in particular, spoke on behalf of keeping Baker at the teams helm. We love him, said the two-time Cy Young winner. We want him here. They [ownership] want to be patient, but I hope they dont mess with this clubhouse. Janes notes that the Nats have a history of underpaying managers, which may have cost them a chance at Bud Black two offseasons ago. Baker acknowledged that he knew what he was getting into, financially speaking, when joining the Nationals but also suggested that he feels his current two-year, $4MM contract is a bit light. I think Ive earned more than Im being paid, he said.

More from the NL East
The Foreign Language Oscars Committee would on Saturday June 10 present a one day submission workshop in Accra.

The workshop would be at the National Film & Television Institute (NAFTI) Preview Theater and is aimed, among other objectives, to educate stakeholders in Ghana's film industry about the process of submitting their work for consideration for the Oscars.

There will be a screening of an Academy Award nominated film, panel discussions as well as a session for questions and answers.

Registration is free and interested stakeholders are to find more information on Facebook at Ghana Film Hub- Cinema Ghana.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, months ago, approved a 14-member committee to select a film to represent Ghana at the 90th Oscars which will run in 2018.

Following the guidelines of the Academy, the committee is tasked to select from open submissions one film to be the official film from Ghana at the awards.

The committee, temporarily headed by award winning filmmaker Leila Djansi is made of up members of the various guilds in the Ghana film industry, journalists, actors, film professionals, government and the academia.

The basic rule of the foreign language Oscar category is that the film must be in a Ghanaian language, meet laid down technical specifications and capture the true essence of Ghana as well as meet world filmmaking standards.

Foreign Oscars are awarded to the country, not the individual and as such, the committee hopes the various film guilds, government organizations and corporate bodies in Ghana will support filmmakers and filmmaking in Ghana.The workshop is being supported by Geodrill Diamond and Capital Bank.




Top-ranking Ghanaian dancehall artiste, Stonebwoy, will be going to Belgium in July to perform at a musical event dubbed, Bomboclat Festival.

Stonebwoy, who is the headline artiste for the event, will share the stage with some international musicians who will ensure back-to-back performances all night.

The festival will witness performances by Konshens, Charly Black, Anthony B, Agent Sasco (Assassin), Etana, Randy Valentine, among others, who will share the same stage with Stonebwoy and his BhimNation crew.

Celebrated Congolese musician, Fally Ipupa, will also share the stage with them. Also performing are guest artistes from America and Europe.

Scheduled for July 21 to 23, 2017, the organizers are stopping at nothing to ensure that they deliver a one-of-its-kind music festival.

Stonebwoy, the Reggae/Dancehall Artiste of the Year, who has been nominated for this year's BET awards, has promised nothing but historic stage performance.

The Ghanaian dancehall icon, who has performed on a number of local and international platforms, recently rocked the stage in Gambia alongside Jamaican dancehall artiste, Mavado.

He has collaborations with international musicians such as Jah Vinci, Trey Songz, Gappy Ranks, Randy Valentine, Wayne Wonder, Laza Morgan, General Pype Stylogee, Burna Boy, Morgan Heritage and a host of others.

Born Livingstone Etse Satekla , Stonebwoy is the CEO of Burniton Music Group. In 2015, he won Best International Act Africa, at the 2015 BET Awards and Artiste of the Year at the 2015 Ghana Music Awards .

By George Cliford Owusu


The organizers of 'Corporate Wednesday' has honoured the outgoing Country Director for UNAIDS, Girmay Haile, as Corporate Wednesday CEO of the Month of May.

May edition of the event, which happened to be the second edition, brought together individuals from at least 200 companies in Ghana to party and establish networks.

It witnessed performances by the members of the highlife duo, Wutah, who put up an impressive performance to the satisfaction of the patrons.

They used the event to re-launch themselves and their musical career after a long break on the music scene.

They treated the excited patrons with their various hit and danceable songs on stage. They really gave a good account of themselves at the event.

The outgoing country director of UNAID was honoured with a citation at the event held at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra.

Girmay was awarded for his dedicated fight against HIV and its prevention, especially concerning the youth of Ghana.

The managing director of Phoenix Insurance Limited, Sony Heward-Mills, who has been in the insurance industry for the past three decades, was also honoured for his immense contribution to the growth of the insurance industry in the country.

According to the General Manager for 'Corporate Wednesday,' Gladys Osei Owiredu, these honourings are purposed to inspire persons in the corporate community towards positivity and hard work which will strengthen and enhance the Ghana business network in nation building and ensure a strong economy.

The next event is scheduled for 28th June, 2017.
09.06.2017 LISTEN

Actor James Gardiner has expressed his condolence to the family of late Major Maxwell Mahama. The actor has also shared sympathies with the family for their loss.

The late Captain Mahama met his untimely death when he was mistaken for an armed robber and was lynched by the youth of Denkyira Obuasi a week ago.

The movie icon shared the post on his Instagram account.

James Gardiner, who felt saddened and devastated by Major Maxwell Mahamas death, paid his last respect.

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the spirit, "they'll rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them," Rev. 14:13. Rest In Peace Captain Mahama!! Damrifa due!! He wrote.

Major Mahama will be buried on Friday after which there will be a family meeting and thanksgiving service in Accra on Saturday and Sunday respectively before the funeral in Bole and Tumu.
09.06.2017 LISTEN

The lady at the party said You are blessed!

She could not have known what she was talking about. But it was true all the same.

For within less than 24 hours, Id sat at the same table as the elected President of Ghana, on two separate occasions.

First, the President was gracious enough to accept  at extremely short notice  my invitation to very kindly grace my 80th birthday celebration, at the Pozzo Restaurant, next door to the Polo Club in Accra.

He arrived without fanfare. And absolutely on time, although he had just returned to an onerous visit to Mali.

Such generosity of spirit. Such an exhibition of sheer graciousness.

Presdent Akufo-Addo immediately showed us why he is such a popular President: almost everyone who wanted to, could take a selfie with him; he showed none of the hauteur that film stars and celebrities exhibit when people who have seen them on-screen spot them in the flesh and want to get near them.

The amazing thing was that he showed no fatigue whatsoever, although, as I've mentioned already, he'd  just few hours before he showed up  been carrying out the tiresome and boring functions associated with a state visit.

Before Mali, hed been to Liberia, and there too, of course, speeches, the inspection of a guard of honour, and closed-door discussions, state dinners and other events of welcome would have taken their toll on his mental and physical energies.

I do not think even President Kwame Nkrumah, in his fervent quest for African unity, covered so much ground in

travelling to so many African countries in such a short time as Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has done. In the past few weeks, African countries hes visited include Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Togo, the Ivory Coast and Mali, .

The good thing about these trips is that they help to establish personal relations at a deep level, with the leaders of other African countries. To be able to pick up the phone and chat over a problem with someone with whom one has lunched or dined  as against met on a cursory basis at, say, an African Union meeting  makes all the difference in the world between being able to contribute to the solution of a problem that has arisen in Africa, and watching the problem get worse by the day.

Ghana, in the recent past, has sometimes retreated into itself, or as the late President John Atta Mills put it, been guided by the Akan maxim, Dzi wo fie asem! [Occupy yourself with your home matters]. So our contributions to the resolution of African problems has sometimes been limited to talking at, instead of taking to, those involved in disputes. Read the speech and go! is how one diplomat described our recent contributions.

When the President was invited to say a few words to mark the occasion of the birthday of my humble self, he was both witty and ingratiating. He remarked that your columnist  who hed known for a long time  never left anyone in doubt as to what he thought of a subject he chose to write about. He said a few other things which modesty deters me from quoting  at this time!

While his words at a private party may be considered privileged, mine cannot. I happily recalled that I was editor of the Daily Graphic when his late father, Edward, became President. After Parliament had voted for him, Edward Akufo-Addos wife, Adeline, invited me to Peduase Lodge, at Aburi, where she personally served me tea and thanked me for the part the paper I had edited had played in getting her husband elected.

Now, how many Ghanaian top people, whether men or women, would take the trouble to do such a thing? It comes with grooming, doesnt it? Mrs. Adeline Akufo-Addo came from an ahenfie (palace) where the subtle art of making people eat out of ones hand can be learnt by those willing to do so. For she was the daughter of Nana Sir Ofori Atta The First, King of Akyem Abuakwa, who was knighted by the British, and yet managed to retain, to a large part, the respect and affections of his own people. Nana Addos graciousness in office can be directly attributed to the upbringing he too underwent as a child; passed from generation to generation in the Akyem Abuakwa royal household.. Long may it continue, (I said.)

I recalled telling his mother that I supported her husbands election to the presidency because I was certain he would help to use the powers of government  which are enormous  to do good. I expressed the hope that Nana Addo would use his own power to do the same.

In particular, I confessed, I hoped he would slay the galamsey serpent thats spewing poison all over Ghanas fair land and her inimitable Green Forest waters.

I reminded Nana Addo that our elders warned us that it was not enough just to kill a snake, but to be sure to cut off its head. Otherwise, our myths contend, the snake could wake up again and continue injecting deadly poison into people!

My entire family tried to be present at the occasion but not all of them made it. Most of them were caught up in the British Airways mother-of-all-public-relations-horrors that grounded all BA flights throughout the world that weekend of 27-28 May 2017.

My grand-daughter lost her baggage on a flight that never took off. Ever heard such a thing? As for British Airways! It should be renamed Bungling Airways!

One part of the family were lucky enough to obtain seats on an Emirates fight and arrived just a few hours before the party began. How their persistence was rewarded. They all took photographs with the President to go home with: to augment their bragging rights! How I envied them! To get near a President at age five, seven, nine or even eleven. They were all gob-smacked  as the Brits would say.

Many of the guests made speeches, some of which brought tears to my eyes. Things I thought they had not noticed  or filed away into oblivion  were brought out. I do not exaggerate when I say that I have hardly ever been so moved as on the occasion of my 80th birthday celebration.

Sitting at the Presidents side was his younger brother Edward, known to all and sundry as Bumpty. Quiet and efficient, Edward bats with amazing skill on behalf of his brother, and I am yet to find the googly situation that he cannot coax, or drive straight across the covers, for four. He invited me to the birthday celebration of his beautiful wife, Irene, the next day.

On arriving, I thought I was going to be just a member of the huge crowd that had descended upon their house and made traffic in the vicinity absolutely choked full. But Irene led me straight to the Presidents table, where I also greeted his sister, Goldie, whom I hadn't seen for many years.

Again, getting into the presidential presence and table was no big deal. Security was around but like the best, it was invisible. I was welcomed with an unusually delightful drink  coconut milk, poured straight out of the coconut shell!

I had to leave the party early to file this report. And I can conclude it by saying that the Akufo-Addo regime will be remembered, long after its gone past its sell-by date, for its style and sheer panache. Ghana is blessed to be experiencing such an enlightened and low-key way of governing, once again.
09.06.2017 LISTEN

Initially, this feature article was to have heralded the first one hundred (100) days of the four-year term of His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces and the First Gentleman of the land into office as the fifth president of the 4th Republic of Ghana, but due to some force majeure, this author could not make it happen. Now that the dust has settled down, he has been compelled to come out with the same write up that could probably, barring politics and very mindful of patriotism, pass the litmus test and help solve the myriad of problems associated with this self-inflicted cancerous disease known and called in the Ghanaian parlance as galamsey. To be able to deal with this ignominious problem and nail the coffin once and for all, the dubious business to its logical conclusion, before you finish reading this piece, some remedial clues would have been provided to halt the rot outright if not to curtail it and damn the human rights consequences.

Fellow compatriots and cherished readers, to quote the first president of the Republic of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who declared on the eve of Ghanas independence at the Old Polo Grounds, now the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum as thus - The independence of Ghana is meaningless unless it was linked with the total liberation of the African Continent. Soon after this novelty declaration that Wednesday night, Ghana emerged very fast as the Star of Africa. So many factories and industries in their numbers sprang up all over the country with majority of them situated in the Tema metropolis.

The new seaport became a mini-city and it grew so fast to become the beacon in African nautical mercantile business. Ghana, then as an independent sovereign state, became the genuine gateway to Africa. The country had so many vast lands held in trust for us as forest reserves for the younger generation. Even though the colonial masters as governors of the Gold Coast were not indigenes, yet because they were generational thinkers, ensured that they left us in good hands and gave us a good start  good economy, administrative set up, triangular railways system from Accra to Kumasi in the central part of the country and then back to the western part of Ghana to Sekondi-Takoradi.

The health delivery system was no exception - good hospitals like the Korle Bu and the Ridge in Accra; on the Takoradi harbour; in education, the Achimota School and a host of others were provided for us; on internal security the police force was established as well as the West African Frontier Force was established to curb any external aggression.

This meant that Ghanaians were ready to govern themselves. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah took the mantle from there and then. Soon after, subsequent leaders mostly the military, inexperienced as they were, and political adventurers as they wanted to exhibit under the guise as liberators, redeemers, provisional defence councilors and what have you, rather put the countrys economic forward march to the reverse gear for years to amass wealth for themselves. Some of these military amateurs and mad adventurers in their anxious mood foolishly killed, crushed bones, heads and skulls, allegedly dropping others tied to military helicopters on the high seas and maimed many Ghanaians for nothing but to show their powers as barbaric leaders of the country. For about two decades, the country was let in the hands of these mad revolutionaries at the mercy of providence to grind the national economy to decay.

That was the period most people often referred to as the two decades that witnessed economic decay. And not until the advent of HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, on Saturday, January 7, 2017, most of them reneged their nerves and kept the economic development afloat to deteriorate. The latter day saints; greedy and corrupt as they were as depicted by their natural puerile spineless features, were unable to call a spade a spade instead of a digging instrument and decided to tread foolishly on dangerous grounds at the expense of the majority.

Truly, that was the era foolish and arrogant, bunch of youth with sharp evil dwarf teeth directed the affairs of this nation. In desperation, they unashamedly invited every Tom, Dick and Harry with their much touted and trumpeted free zone chorus to lure many undesirables including the cheap labour Far Eastern nationals who have become dangerous albatross hanging on our necks. These abrofo pete (white vultures) people have resorted to kill us left, right and centre on the pretext of self-defence anytime they faced protesters on site. The effect of this notorious galamsey business has recently brought untold hardships than ever before to Ghanaians. Only last weekend in Kumasi, i.e. April 1, HE Nana Akufo Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, was quoted as saying that the Galamsey menace was of a complex nature.

The complexity of this menace is something that the author is yet to comprehend. Meanwhile, do we as a nation have a corrupted parliament or vice versa, courtesy Hon. Mahama Ayariga? Or do we expect to have a very vibrant parliament after the within-named embittered and embroiled self-inflicted Mahama Ayariga-led Gh3,000.00 bribery saga now known to be a fallacy, has expunged him from parliament to sort of allow a bye-election before our parliament could be seen and respected as an effective arm of government in Ghana? Again, do we as a nation have priorities at all? Can any Ghanaian who arrives in China be allowed straightaway to enter the galamsey business/operation? Will their laws recommend an alien allow this nuisance at all? Do we in our right thinking minds have cause to behave the way we have behaved? For Gods sake, HE Nana Akufo Addo, not until the numerous Chinese galamsey operators most of which arrived here under bizarre circumstances and very often assisted by their greedy Ghanaian counterparts who were given visas on arrival, were flushed out of Ghana to give us a breather, we will not be at peace with ourselves.

Furthermore, the Fulani menace should also not be an exception as it is also a serious headache. Does Ghana have more cattle than Brazil and/or more sheep than Australia? Are we insane or sane as a country at all? Instead of preserving and protecting our heritage won for us for our childrens children that is the fourth generation from our time, some of our leaders bereft of generational thinking, allowed themselves to be bought at the expense of all Ghanaians and aimlessly collateralized our God-given natural and mineral resources and destiny to foreigners for pittance and selfish interest.

Have we as a nation taken into consideration the cost benefit or effect of one dollar ($1.00) of gold compared with the enormous devastation of the lands and its attendant cancerous diseases that will affect our people? Does Ghana have generational thinkers at all? Did our recent past leaders think about our future generation and their destiny or just came to woefully destroy our wealth for us? To quote the celebrated Pastor Mensa Otabil of the ICGC and the Central University fame, can Ghana now boast of any single individual, chief, clergy, academia or professional as a generational thinker like Tetteh Quarshie whose brain-child the cocoa has been our economic backbone since 1910? It is on record that the first bag of cocoa was exported to Europe from Ghana.

Are we privileged with two balls in-between our thighs as human beings only to insult, tell lies and invent bribery allegations against ourselves? The current situation makes me sick and wonder whether there was indeed any bold person who could take some drastic policy or decision to halt this canker once and for all. For how long can we tolerate this nonsense that has suddenly reared its ugly head without the will-power to halt it? Why do we allow ourselves to be hypnotized and acquiesce to the spoiling of all our water bodies and water life  fishes, crabs, frogs, crocodiles, and such other living organisms that make our rivers natural? The few statistics chanced upon by this author clearly shows that it could take as long as 100 years for the devastated galamsey areas to come back to its normal natural habitat. Do we know that if care was not taken, it will not be long that we will import ordinary water from our neighbours for use here? Shall we emulate their examples to curtail the ever-growing unpleasantness in relation to the rampant confrontations with the Fulanis who have also become uncontrollable albatross on our necks in society?

GENERAL FRANCO

My short advice to this gullible and sordid episode is quite simple and it is this From oral traditions, post-World War II era, Spain had a hard-fisted strongman called General Franco. General Franco, according to historical facts, emerged as leader and was faced with similar anti-social phenomena and herculean task such as has bedeviled us now. Water is life and life is water. In his era, the Spanish people or some aliens or foreigners who had chance to be living in and around Spain and its littered islands, ensured that their livelihood depended largely on armed robberies, pick-pocketing, prostitution, thievery, thuggery et cetera.

In order to solve the illegal operations, General Franco had to ensure that the victims and culprits bit the bullet. Spain, by its geographical location, has many holiday resort centres, nice beaches, beautiful hotels, tourist attractions and what have you including Palma de Mallorca as well as Las Palmas, off the north-western coast of Africa which have for ages been the leading resort points in the Atlantic Ocean. Most Europeans and others from around the globe never plan their summer holidays without giving preference to these two leading spots in southern Europe.

The evils of wrong doing there and then brought the name of Spain on its knees economically and the General proved that he was really a strongman and up to the task. He quickly devised a very useful and strategic plan to remedy the situation to crush all the miscreants in their tracks to allow sanity to prevail. One day he called all his lieutenants to a round-table conference to deliberate on the high agenda issue.

The positive remedy was to shoot anybody found engaged in any of the evils mentioned earlier and thereafter, sanity became the order of the day. Anybody caught in any of the shameful act was sent to the beach and the eventual action was the shout of ra ta ta ta ta! ra ta ta ta ta!! When news spread across the country about the indiscriminate shooting of all the bad nuts amongst them, fear and panic gripped the entire nation and that was the best deterrent to end the nefarious and infamous acts to make Spain once more the best holiday resort in Europe. Since that time any tourist could intentionally or inadvertently leave his or her handbag or briefcase anywhere in Spain whether along the beach or in the hotel room, in a shop, at the airport or train station untouched till the next day or even many days only to return to find out that it was still safe. Currently, it is on record that any thief caught in Saudi Arabia had his hands amputated and it has worked perfectly for them.

STATE OF EMERGENCY?

To me, Ghana is under the threat of war. Ghana is under siege by foreign aggressors and the Chinese take the majority of the blame. Ghana is sitting on a time bomb ready to explode under HE Nana Akufo Addo if care is not taken to avert the horrific incident. And it would not augur well for him and his Administration to see to the ruins of Ghana under his nose. I strongly suggest that Nana Addo heeds to the General Francos example and takes a cue. Ghana is gradually being unceremoniously surrendered to the Chinese on a silver platter for pittance otherwise, their official known agent, HE the Ambassador to Ghana would not have had the guts to make a donation of some fifty thousand Ghana Cedis (Gh50,000.00) to the Ghana Police for the purchase of equipment to fight crime in society.

What is more criminal in Ghana now than the fight against illegal mining called galamsey that is more than 80% patronized by the same Chinese? Do we ourselves allow the Chinese to support us to damage our own water bodies and other water life and turn back to import water from China or elsewhere? My candid advice to the IGP is to return the ill-gotten money from their supposedly galamsey operations so that they could be chased out and punished in their tracks. Have we noticed that as a result of the mismanagement of the economy in the last 8 years and the fragile and sexual weakness and nature of some of our young women, far-eastern nationals have contributed so many half-caste babies to our population? Now back to General Francos quick-action solution. General Franco, sensing danger that his country had carved a bad name in the European circles, authorized his high-ranking military officers i.e. the search and kill squadron to move to all sites of criminality to enforce his directives were adhered to.

And every person caught in the act was shot on sight. Nobody was allowed to have the option to defend him/herself at the law courts. With time the canker died a swift natural death. As you read this article, almost all the rivers and streams in Ghana have become main targets of galamsey by the Chinese. It is estimated that about 80% of them allegedly arrived here under mysterious circumstances let alone to have work permits. As a result of the porous borders and unpatriotic behaviour of some immigration officials, tried to pay their way with bribes to some unscrupulous officers and all who matter in the system to be able to walk about with chest out in Ghana.

HE the President, Nana Akufo Addo, with full powers conferred on him by the 1992 Constitution as the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, should not hesitate and drag his feet but to summon his national security capos for a State of Emergency drill at the Jubilee House with one simple instruction  At the Jubilee House conference room the following personalities no doubt could be found surrounding HE the President at the head of the table. On the right flank  the Chief of Staff, the Senior Minister, Ministers of National Security, Defence and Interior; immediately on the other side could be found the CDS, the Army, Air and Navy Commanders; whilst the Security Co-ordinator, the BNI director and the IGP will find their proper places to seat themselves. It is expected that the Excellency will commence his speech at mid-morning with  Good morning my Security Chiefs. I see Ghana is at war and we have to wage this war with those nation-wreckers. Foreign invaders have seemingly attacked our country. This dear Nation of ours is under siege by enemies of the State. All of us must either swim or die collectively before it is too late. Such people and their allies must pay the bitter price for this unpatriotic cruelty and human degradation.

The wicked people want to derail our democratic dispensation that we have chosen for ourselves. Fellow countrymen, I do not know whether there are some battle-ready reinforcement of these aggressors at the countrys borders in waiting for the final onslaught. But as a well-rehearsed and fine soldier worth your pinch of salt, I am conversant that you can stand up to the occasion without a push. As C-in-C of the Ghana Armed Forces, you have my full powers and instruction to search and kill. I charge you to work tirelessly and assiduously with the Air Force Commander to be up to the task in the air. The Navy Commander should also rally his combat-ready force to stand by as the country is geared up for war should the invaders have foreign assistance coming by sea. The Army Commander should also line up the deadly infantry to comb all the forest areas for the kill. The battle line is now drawn. There should be no retreat whatsoever.

Ensure that you minimize your casualty rate as the saboteurs numbering about 3 million inexperienced unprofessional civilians have beaten the war-drums and we should equally face them and play their tune to crush them. To remedy this wicked dilemma and save the situation and bring about normalcy for our future generation and to forestall peace, I hereby charge you that when you leave here right now, I expect you the CDS, Major-General or yet to be promoted Lt.-General Obed Akwa (with the right forefinger pointing towards his nose) to order for the swift movement of crack troops say, one battalion drawn from all the various barracks in broad daylight with military precision for everybody to be a witness, preferably and ostensibly the ruthless 64 battalion to all identified mining centres believed to be galamsey areas.

Give the operatives only 48 hours to move all their equipment to safety and avoid being shot on sight. All the machinery that are stuck in the mud and rendered immovable in the hinterlands should be towed to the regional capitals for final transport to Accra. This is not a simulator training, it is a real war with the code name  Operation Eagle  search, rescue and kill if they prove stubborn. After the 48-hour moratorium, no life should be spared at all because everywhere you locate the galamsey team, be they Ghanaians or foreigners, regard them as your bitterest enemies as they are well equipped and armed to the teeth so your troops should never treat them with kid gloves. We should not let our compatriots down no matter the odds. If we fail in this national duty, our future generation and childrens children will never forgive and forget about the harm done to them. Even though we would be dead and gone, our generation will be known as the era whose leaders wilfully behaved as political nincompoops to rule this nation. And as such, any movable object you see anywhere should be eliminated without mercy. After your shoot and kill operation, it is expected that the water bodies and other creatures found in them would regain their former glory after sometime.

The Ghana Police should not be involved at all because many people in Ghana have the perception of bias in cases such as this and more especially and importantly, the fact that their boss has recently been gifted with a Gh50,000.00 from the same Chinese that all of us were trying to fight against. Once they have ill motives to kill any intruder around their operational sites, that means that they arm themselves to do evil and so they should also return fire for fire. Soon after, they should set fire to all the machinery on site  be it bulldozers, caterpillars, camp houses and anything that enhances their operations. Most Ghanaians know too well that the former no-nonsense Gbevlo-Lartey-led 64 battalion troops could stand up to the occasion to fight this criminal menace with ease. Long Live Ghana, Long live Africa. God bless us all. Recently, some four young Bangladeshi persons abducted a certain girl and doped her. Later, all the four recalcitrant youthful rascals ensured that they raped her in succession until she became unconscious and helpless. Sensing danger and knowing that they would be arrested and arraigned before the law courts because the girl would tell her own story about her sordid ordeal to the world. They therefore decided to slaughter their poor victim into pieces. When news filtered through about this high-profile crime, the Bangladeshi authorities did not waste time but quickly arrested and hanged these criminals to serve as deterrent.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Did I hear that the Chinese have warned the Ghanaian media to be circumspect and keep off from their affairs vis-a-vis the unpalatable reportage about them? All the Chinese here in Ghana should be law abiding and note well that they cannot entrench themselves on us as they forcibly and shamefully rushed to the Philippines and plundered every available wealth by scrambling for mineral resources to spoil almost everything there until they took up arms against them to free themselves. If they think in their own estimation they supported the former ruling party in one way or the other to come to power, they should give us a break and stop with their bluff. If ever there was any deal like that they should let us know immediately and pay them off and stop ruining our water bodies that serve as source of drinking water for about 90% of the population so as to prolong our life expectancy.

Now that the people of Denkyira Obuasi, near Dunkwa-on-Offin, have shamefully, bestially and openly murdered their victim, the late Capt. Maxwell Adams Mahama, who has just been post-humously promoted to the rank of a Major in cold blood, the government should not leave any stone unturned and waver in the sordid galamsey business by applying the rule of law to its logical conclusion and henceforth to kill on sight any hardened and recalcitrant person be it a Ghanaian or a foreigner who flatly rubbishes the serious government directive to stop this nefarious business. Let the vociferous advocates or crusaders of human rights do their worst to raise alarm in connection with the General Franco style of dealing with criminals; at least majority of Ghanaians in the rural communities would have gotten their fair share of good drinking water for survival for their lifetime as most of them cannot afford the demineralized bottled water as what obtains in the urban areas and the big towns.

HUMOUR

Is it a truism that former president John Mahama really forced and tied the hands of both the former finance minister, Seth Terkpeh, Esquire, and the Controller & Accountant-General at their back to back-date his tax-free salary of Gh12,000.00 per month to take retrospective effect from January 7, 2009, to mid-2012 when in fact he was the vice president until he mysteriously assumed office as the president on the demise of his boss the late president John Mills on Tuesday, July 24, 2012? If there is an atom of truth in this matter, then I would therefore not hesitate to urge the authorities to look into the seriousness or criminality aspect of it and request him to refund the difference of this economic malfeasance to government chest. Where is Contractor Kanazoures bullet-proof Ford gift? Still with JDMs private fleet? I leave the rest to the authorities to take it up from where my liberties end.

By: [email protected]

I would be most grateful if do the necessary editing and corrections to suit your editorial standards before you publish the article. Once again, my sincere thanks.
09.06.2017 LISTEN

For some tertiary institutions, second semester is over and guess what that means? Long vac is here again. Many a student will start  or has indeed already started  flying internship letters around to big companies like some diligent postman. Why do our students want to intern at big organisations only? In essence, why should SMEs be considered?

First off, you stand a relatively high chance of being accepted when you apply to an SME. Lets be real: you usually wouldnt get an internship slot in a big company unless you know someone there. Also, a number of big firms contact only applicants who have been picked and, consequently, some applicants might still be home and keeping their fingers crossed even when they would have been bounced. Dont be that guy or girl who wouldnt work during the vac because no company called him/ her. After my third year in the University of Ghana Business School, for instance, I wanted to test  and improve upon  my French (since I had been studying it right from my first year). All I had to do was contact some language institute, schedule an appointment and, after having my CV and cover letter scrutinised on the D-day, bam, I got the job. (That doesnt sound like rocket science, does it?)

Another reason I would advise students to consider SMEs is that, therein, youre likely to perform diverse roles rather than the monotonous task(s) youre likely to carry out in a large-scale organisation. Many interns have complained that when they end up in these already established organisations, they seemingly do nothing besides running photocopies and/ or buying waakye and Kofi Brokeman. I doubt that this would be the lot of an intern in an SME. My interactions with others on this subject tell me that interns in SMEs usually learn more than the average intern in a big Ghanaian firm. At the language institute where I worked, for instance, I learnt about terms used in the hospitality industry, the field of medicine and so on. Sharing internship-related experiences with some of my colleagues the next semester made it clear that I so hadnt wasted my time by working in a not-so-popular institution.

Get some quality experience from some good SMEs and by the time you turn up for that interview at Ecobank or Barclays, youd have that two- to five-year work experience that our HR people love to ask for.

Nonetheless, there is this hard truth that would-be interns should note: you might not get any substantial amount as your monthly allowance, and I have firsthand experiences in this regard. Even at a renowned  and profitable  media house where I worked after my second year, my allowance for a month was not enough to cover even my transportation alone for two weeks. That being said, I still did it for the experience. So heres my advice for you, internship-seeker; if you can afford it, look beyond the money and intern with a firm thats into something you love. If you cant foot your own transport to and from the place you have in mind, consider another nearby organisation. Whatever it is, dont just stay at home  just WhatsApping and Snapping; you can do better. You should do better.

By Hamilton K. Blankson ( [email protected] )

(The writer, Hamilton Blankson, is a graduand of the University of Ghana Business School. Despite his major in Banking and Finance, he takes delight in languages  especially Romance ones. He also writes songs and fictional stories and, as such, prefers to call himself a communicator. Hamilton admits that one of the things that make him smile in bed at night is helping people to become better versions of themselves.)
09.06.2017 LISTEN

Friends,

Professor Lawrence Mukiibi's death was as bizarre as his life. Diabetes may have contributed (though it certainly doesn't seem to have interfered with his productivity!), but it wasn't the proximate cause.There is much food for discussion and thought here,but with difficulty I will restrain myself to his promiscuity(with his students, some minors) which resulted into over reportedly100 kids (now orphans). Some of my friends have compared him to UK's Jimmy Savile, who after his death, police found that he feasted on a lot of young women sexually.

I don't usually write negatively about the dead who were not in politics, but, I am still human. It is difficult to not judge when I see someone do something that harms another.In no way i'm I going to judge late Mukiibi for sleeping with so many women because most men have fascinations with female bodies,but I don't think it was right for him to take advantage of his students. I'm sure there are many in the "upper echelons" of his schools that knew of this but decided to keep quiet, and that was very unfortunate. I would think that most people would consider it their civic duty to report witnessing an adult molesting a child, but Uganda is a weird country now.

What really interests me in this matter is something that so far, in some 20 related Facebook posts and news reporting,no one has even considered. What do this man's sexual transgressions have done to Uganda's educational system in general, and the girls he slept with? Every human being needs structure or else dysfunction occurs-just read any good book on parent-alienation syndrome. If nothing is done, kids may actually seek out an abusive relationship because no one was willing to say "this is wrong", or to protect them.

Imagine, for a moment, that a certain Mr. Pedophile was appointed a headmaster of one of Uganda's major schools; that, in the course of time, as he consolidates his base of power - with no small help from powerful people in government-- overconfidence allows him to become less than circumspect in his pursuit of illegal sexual fantasies in school.What measures are in place to stop that from happening?

If you ask me right now, I would say none. It looks like there are no measures in place to protect kids in schools against vampire-teachers.Experience shows that most people don't care. I remember when I was in primary school in Bugerere, there was a teacher who slept with one of the pupils, who also happened to be his daughter. When he was summoned, his defence was, 'Namunswa alya kunswaaze', which literally means 'the queen bee eats the little bees to survive'. Basically, the habit of teachers sleeping with students is standard operating procedure in most schools in Uganda.All this boils down to the leaders we have in the country at the moment, who have done almost nothing to change this situation.

Even in the face of such definitive proof and public outcry(a teacher that has been shagging his students), I strongly believe that nothing is going to be done about it. Our Parliament is a sellout and a peddlebum as nobody has raised the Mukiibi issue so far. I have only seen my sister, Hon. Nabilah Naggayi Sempala , that has raised a discussion on it on Facebook. Cabinet ministers (curse 'em) have no spine or cojones; Religious leaders (bless 'em!) have no spine and cojones, as the catholic leaders have already come out in defense of the late's behaviour. Police isn't afraid to go after the peccadillos of Facebookers, such as Dr.Stella Nyanzi, but they have not done anything yet to investigate the behaviour of late Mukiibi.

A similar situation exists almost the whole country. Almost everybody with power is misusing it to take advantage of the powerless, weak and vulnerable: husbands are shagging unwilling housemaids; bosses at work are shagging their unwilling workers; the president is 'shagging' most Ugandans;e.t.c.

Every country bases its laws on some moral code. Ours is the Judeo-Christian-Islamic code. Has been since we invited Arabs and missionaries in the country before independence.The moral decay of our country is more telling than anything else.One needs neither to have morals which after all are common sense, to realise that having sex with a minor is totally unacceptable. The standards expected of an academic are greater.

*Abbey Kibirige Semuwemba*

Stalk my blog at: http://semuwemba.com/

"My journey is long and my preparation is so little, and weakness has gripped me and death is chasing me!"
The Ada Songor Salt Womens Association (ASSWA), an association of salt winners from the Ada traditional area, has renewed calls for the ban of mini dams or dykes around the Songor Lagoon popularly referred to as Atsiakpor.

Atsiakpor is a system where rich private individuals acquire portions of the area around the Songor lagoon for wining salt and employ the women to win the salt at one Ghana cedi (Ghc 1) per a big pan of salt won.

It is not only private rich people but also the chiefs and foreign individuals have acquired and shared the lagoon as their private enterprise.

So, the Songor lagoon which before the introduction of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) in April 1983, was a free gift of nature for all the communities living in and around the Songor lagoon, providing a source of livelihood and income to cater for the women and their children, has now become a private property of a few privileged persons.

ASSWA explains that whilst Atsiakpor restrains the production of salt in an environmentally friendly manner, it also subverts the communal values that recognise the collective ownership of the resource.

They made the call for the ban of Atsiakpor at a ceremony to mark the 32nd anniversary of death of Margaret Kuwornu, a salt winner who was shot dead by a stray bullet in a police raid on salt winners in the Songor Lagoon at Bonikope in Ada on Friday 17th May 1985.

Pictorial evidence from the area reveal huge hectares of land around the Songor lagoon have been forcefully grabbed by both local and private businessmen in collusion with some chiefs of the area.

Edith Osabutey Akumo, Secretary to the association explains that with the aid of sophisticated pumping machines, these private businessmen draw brine or sea water out of the lagoon to produce salt privately. Water levels in the lagoon have dropped and the communities cannot fish in it or win salt from it as they used to do.

According to her, this method of salt production impacted adversely on the natural salt producing character of the lagoon and lead to the marginalization and enslavement of many women who are left without an option but to work in these small dams for the owners for paltry sums of Ghc 1 per pan. Cases of sexual abuse have also been reported by the women. It is alleged that unless a woman sleeps with a private businessman or agent, she cannot have access to even work at salt winning.

INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY

Questions about how to use the fruits of the lagoon in a manner that benefits future generations have been raised by ASSWA. According to the association, large scale salt producing companies exploiting the lagoon are not interested in the buildup of social and capital infrastructure to support future generations.

ASSWA contends that if the current approach to the exploitation of the resource does not change, Ghana will lose control over salt as a resource.

Salt is a required product in the oil and chemical industry and Ghana will be forced to buy salt with its scarce foreign exchange from outside the country.

LIVELIHOOD FOR ALL

ASSWA is taking the bull by the horns with the launch of a Songor Plan for Livelihood for All.

The process advocates a return to equitable communal access to the Songor lagoon and a right to use the lagoon as a communal resource. It also demands participation in decision making affecting the communal rights of the people.

Edith pointed out that although We are non-literate because of poverty and cultural barriers we are deeply knowledgeable about the developments, laws and agreement on the Songor

ASSWA is calling for a return to the communal values that recognised that the lagoon must be for the benefit of all through the rigorous implementation of a Master Plan for salt production prepared in 1991 referred to as PNDC Law 287.

According to ASSWA, twenty five years after the passage of the law, it only remained a model of how to undertake community-inclusive development planning.

As members of the contiguous communities of the Songor and as women who nurture all aspects of life in the Songor, said Edith, we have a right to be part of every decision on or about the Songor adding that this principle is drawn from the heart of the Sustainable Development Goal that calls on the Ghanaian government to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision making at all levels of society.

SALT IMPORT COMPOUNDS PROBLEMS

Mary Akuteye, President of ASSWA is deeply worried over the huge volumes of imported salt into the country. According to her, local production by artisanal salt miners suffered a double agony when it had to deal with Atsiakpor and compete with the huge volumes of imported salt.

According to her, the local salt winners at the Keta and Songor lagoons can produce enough salt for industrial and domestic use but are affected by government policy that fails to create a conducive environment for the growth of their industry.

ASSWA believes that the lagoon hold the key to the socio-economic challenges the bedeviled communities around the lagoon. It called on the youths and members of the contiguous communities to take a keen interest in the protection, sustainability and the development of the lagoon.

The Songor lagoon is an avenue for employment. It can also provide the funds needed to provide infrastructure and aquaculture development. It can also serve as a tourist attraction given the long history of the lagoon and the role it has played in many Western African economies, said Ms Akuteye.
Accra, June 8, GNA - Dr Nii Kotei Dzani, the President of Groupe Ideal, has been adjudged the Most Influential Economist at GUBA 2017 in the UK for his outstanding contribution to the financial sector through his entrepreneurial achievements and job creation.

The Influential Economist Award is given to an outstanding individual with unique insight in their line of profession and contributes to the financial sector as well as overall sustainable development in the financial business prototypes.

Dr Nii Kotei Dzani is an outstanding Entrepreneur with proven record of success. He is the founder and President of Groupe Ideal, one of the fastest growing business group's in Ghana.

Born in Lolonya in the Ada District of the Greater Accra Region, Dr Dzani holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, an MBA in Corporate Governance and Finance from University of Hull, UK, and an Honorary Doctorate from Oral Roberts University, Oklahoma.

Dr Dzani's economic contribution and financial knowledge to corporate institutions, SMEs and banking establishments cannot be underestimated.

With a strong passion for the growth of the brand, Dr Dzani has been instrumental in the development and implementation of strategies as well as innovative products and services which had been very much part of the group's success story in the market.

Dr Dzani has won many awards, including overall best entrepreneur at the entrepreneur foundation of Ghana awards 2016, Emerging Man of the year 2014 by an Accra based VIASAT1 Television, Banking and Finance Entrepreneur for the year 2015 by Entrepreneur Foundation Ghana.

Other awards are Most Outstanding Finance/SME Entrepreneur in West Africa 2015 at the Security Watch Awards in South Africa.

He also led the team through his leadership skills for Ideal Finance, the flagship of the group to win Emerging Brand of the Year 2015 at the CIMG Marketing performance awards under.

In 2016, under his able leadership, Groupe Ideal acquired majority shares in TV Africa, which has consequently been rebranded, equally saving the jobs of over 150 Ghanaians while giving them hope of continental excellence.

Again he took over EZI savings and loan in 2014 and rejuvenated it to now FirsTrust savings and loans.

Dr Dzani's firmness and intelligence in business has led to the success of Groupe Ideal, which currently has 13 subsidiaries.

The highly esteemed 'GUBA Black Star Award' scheme this year awarded 13 outstanding members of the Ghanaian, UK and African community, exalted them for their consistency, dedication to excellence and longstanding contributions to society.

Some prominent Ghanaian personalities who won award on the night include Dr Papa Kwasi Nduom; Excellence in business award, Anas Aremeyaw Anas GUBA Exceptional Journalist Award, Maidie Elizabeth Arkutu-Vice President Unilever Francophone Africa also took home the Female Influential Leader award.

The Innovative Pioneer Award went to Dr Apostle Kwadwo Sarfo, Kweku Oteng CEO Angel Herbal Products won GUBA Outstanding industrialist.

Established in 2009 by UK based Ghanaian TV personality Dentaa, the GUBA award scheme is to award excellence to the "hugely significant" contribution that British Ghanaian make to society.

GNA
Washington (AFP) - Arrivals in the United States from the six mostly Muslim countries in President Donald Trump's travel ban have plunged despite a legal freeze on the ban's implementation.

Government data received Thursday showed that arrivals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen were down by nearly half in March and April from a year ago -- 6,372 for the two months compared to 12,100 in 2016.

Arrivals were little changed in the first month after the rollout of the original January 27 travel ban, which also included Iraq.

That ban was quickly blocked in a legal challenge by immigration rights advocates that was supported on appeal. The courts ruled that in its focus on Muslim-majority countries, the Trump administration was violating the Constitution's ban on religious discrimination.

At the time, however, many in those countries with legal US travel documents rushed to travel or return to the US in fear that a revised ban would pass the courts and they would be locked out.

The result was 4,277 arrivals from the six countries in February, slightly slower than a year before, according to the Customs and Border Patrol data. Iraq data was not immediately available.

On March 6 a new version of the travel ban was announced, with Iraq removed. Again implementation was blocked by two court orders, which the Trump administration last week said it will appeal to the Supreme Court.

But in the meantime visa processing in the six countries has slowed and arrivals have fallen sharply: 3,462 in March and just 2,910 in April, mostly from Iran and Syria.
09.06.2017 LISTEN

International Relations expert and MP for Gushegu in the Northern Region of Ghana, Dr Ziblim Iddi, predicts the United Kingdom faces difficult times after the snap general elections that started on Thursday.

Results trickling in shows the Conservative party, led by Prime Minister Theresa May, have lost their majority and has resulted in a hung parliament.

With just a handful of seats left to declare, polls, however, shows gains for the opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn.

This is seen as a humiliation for Theresa May, who called the election to try to strengthen her hand in talks with the EU on Brexit.

Commenting on elections, Dr. Iddi said an imminent coalition government is a harbinger of troubled times for Ghanas former colonial master.

He said if neither party gets a clear majority they would have to form a coalition with other small parties, but this will prove to be really bad for the UK especially domestically.

From the way things are going, it looks like even if Corbyn is to be the Prime Minister there will be a coalition government. Coalition governments are always not active in pushing things because they are being pulled back by members of the coalition and so it will be very difficult times for the UK, he said on PM Express, a current affairs programme on the Joy News channel (Multi TV).

Either way you look at it, the outcome of this election will weaken the United Kingdom, at least as far as the Brexit negotiation is concerned, Dr Iddi surmised.

[A Prime Minister] will need a clear mandate to go out there and negotiate, he reiterates.

Why the election matters - it's all about Brexit

The election will largely determine the UK's negotiation policies in upcoming negotiations with the EU on Brexit.

Theresa May was against Brexit before last year's referendum - but now says there can be no turning back and that "Brexit means Brexit".

The reason the prime minister gave for calling the election was to strengthen her hand during the negotiations.

The Conservatives' priorities were set out in a 12-point plan published in January and the letter formally invoking Brexit in March.

The key elements include:

- No longer being bound by EU law and European Court of Justice rulings

- Quitting the EU single market and seeking a "comprehensive" free trade deal in its place

- Striking trade deals with other countries around the world

The Labour Party campaigned against Brexit in the referendum but now says the result must be honoured, and is aiming for a "close new relationship with the EU" with workers' rights protected.

The party has set out several demands and tests it says Brexit must meet.

These include:

- Aiming for "tariff-free access" to the EU single market, while accepting "unchanged access" is impossible

- Leaving the option of the customs union on the table

- Refusing to accept a "no deal" scenario

When the election exit poll was revealed, the pound immediately dropped by 2% as investors took a position that a hung parliament was a possible outcome, reports the BBC.

Watch the full episode of the PM Express show in the video link below.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | George Nyavor | [email protected] (additional reporting by BBC)
Accra, June 8, GNA - Mr Abdulfatah A. K. Alsattari, the Palestinian Ambassador to Ghana, on Thursday, paid a working visit to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to explore the opportunity of a partnership with the Ma'an News Agency in Palistine.

Mr Rex Annan, the Acting General Manager of the Ghana News Agency, who welcomed the Ambassador, said Ghana in particular, and the world, had over the past 60 years benefited tremendously from the unbiased publications of the institution.

He explained that due to the vision of ensuring the peaceful co-existence of the nation Ghana, GNA's stories were often devoid of sensationalism and were accorded high professionalism, compared to others, which made the Agency's bulletin an authentic source for almost all the press houses who subscribed to it.

The Agency, he said, had since, helped in maintaining and promoting national peace, unity and national cohesion and welcomed the Palestinian interest in partnering it to provide an added opportunity for the exchange of news between both countries, as little information and news were often obtained from Palestine and its surrounding regions.

He said the GNA's doors were opened for any form of discussions that would be beneficial to the development of both countries.

Mr Alsattari, expressed his appreciation to the GNA for the warm reception, and the interest shown in partnership proposal with the Ma'an News Agency.

He also commended the Agency for maintaining its credibility over the years amidst the numerous challenges which included dwindling State funding, but said the citizenry and the world, looked up to the GNA for constant update on its civilisation as well as news from other areas globally.

Mr Alsattari said the role of the media in consolidating the peaceful transition of government through the ballot box was highly especially in the 2016 elections was commendable and must be echoed for emulation by other countries that had also opted for, or considering the practice of democracy as their system of governance.

He also commended the rich Ghanaian culture, which he said, was worthy of emulation, adding that most African countries were currently stable compared to those in the Palestinian territories because of various reasons.

Mr Alsattari said the Ma'an News Agency was one of the largest wire services in the Palestinian territories, with its headquarters in Bethlehem, in addition the one in Gaza.

He said the Agency publishes news 24 hours a day in Arabic, Hebrew and in English, including features, analysis and opinion from both private and public divide.

Mrs Yaa Oforiwah Asare-Peasah, the Head of Editorial at GNA, said the Agency had maintained its core mandate of news gathering, processing and distribution, focusing on the presentation of truthful, unbiased and accurate information about the country and the African continent in general, to inform and educate its readers on issues, contrary to the western media which used to focus on the negatives.

Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the country's first President, in establishing the Agency wanted us to report from the African perspective, with an African eye and having the African culture in mind, Mrs Asare-Peasah added.

She explained that the Agency had partnerships with a few foreign media organisations including the Xinhua News Agency of China and expressed the hope that others would come on board to help strengthen the working relationship with others.

GNA

By Christabel Addo - GNA
Robert Anane, GNA

Accra, June 8, GNA - Perseus Mining Ghana Limited (PMGL), has donated 130,000 Ghana cedis, to the Save a Child, Save a Mother Fund, of the Rebecca Foundation in Accra.

The donation is to support the completion of the maternity block of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

Mr Ahunabobrim Prah Agyensaim, Chairman, Board of Directors, PMGL, made the presentation and said through the Edikan fund, they had been able to support the development of some communities in its catchment area.

The Edikan fund is a trust, set up by PMGL. The fund recently commissioned a Community-based Health Planning Service (CHIPS) Compound that it constructed for the people of the Fobinso community.

The fund has also constructed schools, teachers' quarters, equipped an ICT centre, and provided scholarships to students.

The First Lady urged others to emulate the gesture, and to contribute to the fund.

She thanked the company for the support and said government alone could not fund the project, and therefore needed the support of all Ghanaians, as well as other partners.

The construction of the maternity block of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, started more than three decades ago, but came to a standstill, due to lack of funds.

As a result, pregnant women who visited the unit, suffered challenges such as; lack of beds and other facilities.

Through media reports, the First Lady, decided to raise funds for the completion of the block.

GNA
Sunyani, June 8, GNA - Residents in Sunyani have appealed to the police to facilitate speedy prosecution of suspects to end the emerging recurrence of instant justice being meted out to innocent citizens.

In a random interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) the residents observed that it required thorough investigations and impartial prosecution of suspects for the police to win and maintain public confidence.

That notwithstanding, the residents condemned especially the gruesome murder of the late Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama, describing the late army officer's murder as barbaric.

Mr Evans Adu Boahen, a Tutor said "proper investigations must be conducted to bring the perpetrators to face the full rigours of the law".

"There should not be any room whereby the citizenry will lose confidence and trust in the police because that will be dangerous for all of us", he added.

This is very dangerous in a peaceful nation of ours" he added.

Madam Victoria Asantiwaah, a National Service Personnel expressed discomfort because of the uncontrolled recurrence of instant justice meted out to innocent people in the country as they lived in fear and panic.

She urged government to adequately resource the police and strengthen it to enable the service to perform well.

Mr Mark Boadi Mensah, a banker noted that the state of lawlessness in the country could partly be attributed to unfairness and level of unprofessionalism exhibited by some police personnel.

He said the stipulated six month training period for the passing out of police personnel was not enough saying the service required high sense of discipline, loyalty and professionalism.

The police service must not be seen as a venture to acquire wealth and power but to protect people's life and property, Mr Mensah added.

GNA

By Dennis Peprah/Daniel A Ashietey, GNA
Accra, June 8, GNA - Sulu Investments Limited, Producers of Nero Natural Mineral Water has presented assorted water to the Ministry of Defence in support of the funeral of the late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama in Accra.

The late Major Mahama, who was killed in the line of duty, would be given a state burial with full military honours on Friday.

The assorted water comprised of 500 sachet water and 500 shrink bottled water.

Mr Dominic Nitiwul, Minister for Defence, receiving the items expressed gratitude to the management of the Company for the support.

He described the fallen hero as a young man, who was serving his motherland in line of duty, adding that the late Major was the third commander to be detached to the areas. Who only stayed in the town for 20 days before his death.

'The nature of his death is unacceptable,' he added.

The Minister said the late Major Mahama was posted to the area on May 9, 2017 and was killed on May 29.

He said government, through the Ministry has commenced the legal processes for the establishment of the Fund, which was mentioned by the President and appealed to benevolent institutions to support the Fund.

He said government was determined to fight and stop the activities of illegal mining in the country and they would continue to intensify the enforcement measures

Mr Ram Randvan, the Managing Director, Sulu Investments Limited told the Ghana News Agency that the support was part of their corporate social responsibility.

He said when management read and saw pictures of the late Major, they were shock and surprised and decided to support in that regard.

'We will contribute to the fund once the legal structures are done to take care of the children's education,' he added.

The burial service of the late Major comes off at the Forecourt of State House in Accra, on Friday, 09, 2017, after which he will be buried at the Osu Military Cemetery.

According to a statement issued from the office of the Director of State Protocol, Nana Enoch Osei Mensah, Chairman of the Planning Committee said a vigil would be held at the Arakan Officers' Mess at Burma Camp on Thursday, June 8, at 7p.m.

It said on Friday, June 9, the body of the deceased would be moved from the 37 Military Hospital to the Forecourt of State House at 6a.m for filing past.

The Burial Service will commence at 9.10 am after which there will be a procession to the Osu Military Cemetery for interment.

Immediately after the burial, the final funeral rites will come off at the Forecourt of the State House.

The Captain who was posthumously promoted to a Major on Monday was killed on May 29, after some residents of Denkyira Obuasi claimed they mistook him for an armed robber.

He had a weapon on him, which incensed the residents to lynch him, it has been reported.

He left behind a wife and two children.

GNA

By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA
Successful Brazilian footwear mission to Russia

Russia

The Brazilian Footwear programme organised by Abicalcados, the Brazilian Shoe Manufacturers Association, has reported positive results for its 5th commercial mission to Russia.

A total of 34 Brazilian footwear brands took part in the commercial mission held on June 5-7 in Moscow. According to Abicalcados, the Brazilian Footwear Manufacturers Association, around 300 business contacts were made with international buyers, of which many new. The trade mission expects to generate around US$4.12 million in business over the next few months.

This 5th mission has exceeded our expectations in terms of numbers of participating brands and local visitors. It was an unprecedented partnership between Apex-Brasil (the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) office in Moscow, the Brazilian Embassy and Abicalcados, said Renata Ramos, Project Manager, Abicalcados, adding that a Russian company helped organise matchmaking meetings.

A showroom was organised at the Courtyard Marriot Hotel in the Russian capital, where over 70 retailers and wholesalers expressed their interest in working with Brazilian brands.
Accra, June 8, GNA - Africa's largest airline group, Ethiopian Airlines, has won the African Aviation 'African Airline of the Year' Award for 2017, for the second year in a row, during the 26th Annual Air Finance Africa Conference & Exhibition held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A statement issued in Accra by Mrs Hanna Atnafu, Manager Corporate Communications, and Ethiopian Airlines said the award was presented to Airline in recognition of its continued rapid growth, increased profitability and its outstanding contribution to aviation development in Africa.

Mr Meseret Bitew, Acting Chief Financial Officer, Ethiopian Airlines, said: 'We are pleased to win the 'African Airline of the Year' Award for the second time in a row; a testimony of our commitment to serve our beloved continent Africa.'

He said the commendable success of Ethiopian Airlines attributed to the visionary leadership of management and the hard work of thousands of employees, who work hard around the clock with unity of purpose.

'Mobility and air connectivity being the economic engine of growth and development, we shall continue to play vital roles in connecting African countries with their major trading partners around the world and realize an economically liberal Africa,' he added.

Mr Nick Fadugba, the African Aviation CEO, announcing the Award said:

'In the past 12 months, Ethiopian Airlines has further expanded its route network, modernized its fleet, inaugurated three new aircraft maintenance hangars, as well as a new world-class in-flight catering facility and has strengthened its airline joint ventures in Africa.'

He said the Airline had in addition achieved a record financial turnover and profitability in spite of various industry challenges.

Currently, the airline is well on track to exceed the goals of its Vision 2025 Strategy.

Ethiopian is a multi-award winning airline: Airline of the Year Award, for the fifth consecutive year, by African Airlines Association (AFRAA), SkyTrax World Airline Award for Best Airline Staff in Africa, Best African Cargo Airline of the Year Award, and Passenger Choice Award for Best Airline in Africa are few to mention.

GNA
09.06.2017 LISTEN

Sunyani, June 8, GNA - Mr Evans Opoku-Bobie, the Deputy Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, has said the Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) needs more customers to be able to contribute significantly to nation building.

He said as a wholly state owned energy company, GOIL could make meaningful contributions and give back to society there is an increase in the company's revenue inflows and profit margin.

The company, the Deputy Regional Minister said, could achieve success if the demand for its products increase as well.

Mr Opoku-Bobie advised Ghanaians and all stakeholders in the transport sector to develop interest and buy products from GOIL for the oil company to grow and compete in the petroleum market.

The Deputy Regional Minister said this when the oil company presented 100 hospital beds to the regional hospital in Sunyani.

Mr Opoku-Bobie commended the management of GOIL for the items and entreated other indigenous Ghanaian companies to emulate and contribute to national development.

Mr Martin Olu Davies, the Health, Safety, Security and Environment Manager of GOIL, said the company supplied the Ministry of Health with 1,000 hospital beds worth GHE1.6 million.

He said the company was following up to ensure that the beds were fairly distributed among the various regional hospitals for onward distribution to needy health facilities.

Mr Davies expressed optimism that with the provision of the beds, pregnant mothers would feel comfortable before and after delivery.

Dr Jacob Yaw Abebrese, the Medical Superintendent at the Hospital, expressed appreciation to the company saying the beds would be distributed accordingly.

He said the regional hospital needed incubators and patient monitors as well as other medical equipment and appealed to the company for support.

GNA

By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Winneba C/R, June 8, GNA-The Ghana Statistical Services on Thursday launched the 2017 Maternal Health Survey (MHS) at Winneba to determine the level of maternal mortality and causes of maternal deaths in the country.

This year's survey is the second in series with the first carried out in 2007 and was on the theme: 'Safe Motherhood, Reducing Maternal Morbidity and Mortality'.

Launching the survey, Mr Baah Wadieh, the Acting Government Statistician said the survey had been planned within the scope of Millennium Development Goals Acceleration Framework (MAF) operational plan, which was launched in 2010.

Mr Wadieh said the Ghana Statistical Service and Ghana Health Service would implement the survey, which spanned from June to October, this year, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ghana Health Service with Technical Assistance from the Demographic and Health Survey Programme of ICF, USA.

He said the survey, developed by the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service in collaboration with the United Nations Country Team would determine the burden of the maternal mortality and morbidity in the country.

Mr Wadieh said MAF, which formed part of the government's strategy to reduce maternal mortality had the aim of 'enhancing efforts to overcome bottlenecks in the scale-up of the interventions in order to reduce the maternal mortality ratio in Ghana'.

He said the 2017 MHS, funded by the European Union, USAID, MOH and the United Nations Population Fund would help the generation of relevant information for strategic and operational planning of the post-2015 maternal, reproductive and neonatal health programming.

According to him, the survey would also aid the collection of data on women's perceptions and experience with antennal, maternal and emergency obstetrical care with special emphasis on care received before, during as following the termination of a pregnancy.

Mr Wadieh said: 'The Survey will collect information from a nationally-representative sample of households and women of the reproductive age of 15-49 years'.

He said the survey would measure indicators related to the utilisation of maternal health services with special emphasis on post-abortion care services in Ghana.

Mr Wadieh said the questionnaire to be administered had been translated into Akan, Ewe and Ga languages to facilitate easy data collection by interviewers.

He said verbal autopsy would be conducted in all households where death of women between ages 10-52 years was recorded in five years before the survey.

Mr Wadieh called on all stakeholders to corporate with the filed interviewers to help them in generating the data to assist in the reduction of maternal morbidity and mortality nationwide.

GNA

By Julius K Satsi, GNA
Accra, June 8, GNA - Mr Saladin Mahama, the National Disaster Coordinator of the Ghana Red Cross Society (GRCS), has urged the National Blood Service of Ghana (NBSG), to motivate the public in diverse ways to woo them for voluntary blood donation.

Mr Mahama blamed the low turn-out in national blood donation exercises on the low motivation given to the public to encourage them to donate blood freely to help combat high mortality emanating from inadequate blood supply.

The GRCS National Coordinator was presenting a lecture on the theme: 'Blood Donation in Emergencies', at a public lecture held in Accra on Wednesday, as part of the activities outlined by the NBSG to mark the 2017 World Blood Donor Day. He called for a robust motivational strategic plan that would ensure that blood donors got special treatment when they go to hospital, especially when they were in need of blood for themselves or their patients.

Mr Mahama also called on the NBSG to intensify advocacy programmes on the benefit of blood donation as he believed that the Ghanaian populace had no sufficient information about the benefits of blood donation 'especially to their health.'

'Donating blood does not kill, it rather saves you from complications like heart attack, strokes, high blood pressure just to mention a few.'

He expressed regret that the GRCS had groups in some regions and districts that mobilised people to donate blood voluntarily to hospitals, but the NBSG had failed to give the group members recognition in the form of certification.

Mr Mahama bemoaned that, the development de-motivated the group and therefore called on the NBSG to 'at least give them the necessary recognition.'

He implored the media to rally the advocacy programmes championed by the NBSG, so as to increase awareness and propel the vision of the organisation to accrue more blood to save the lives of people.

Dr Justina K Ansah, the Director of the NBSG, said the organisation was advocating the passage of a National Blood Service Bill which was lying in cabinet.

The Bill, when passed, Dr Ansah said, would give the NBSG an appropriate legal backing to enforce blood donation policies in pursuit of its mandate.

She assured that the NBSG would ensure the drafting and implementation of a Disaster Management Plan for blood donation which would be incorporated in both the National Health Disaster Plan and the general National Disaster Plan.

This, she explained, would provide guidelines for dealing with health issues in times of disasters, particularly when there was the need of blood for victims involved.

'If this is not done, we will have problems when there are disasters. Even in non-disaster state, we are not self-sufficient in the availability of blood,' she added. GNA

By Kwamina Tandoh/ Gideon Ahenkorah GNA
Accra, June 8 GNA - Parliamentarians from both sides of the House has praised the retiring Chief Justice (CJ), Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood for her immerse contribution to the country's justice delivery system.

According to them, Mrs Wood's enviable success in Ghana's judicial reform over the past 10 years cannot be over emphasized.

Mr Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, Majority Leader in a statement on the floor of Parliament noted that Mrs Wood as first female Chief Justice ensured that judicial independence was underpinned with the core values of integrity, transparency and impartiality.

He said in a bid to decongest the courts and to encourage settlement of cases out of court, she vigorously championed and promoted Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

This improved access to justice and made ADR one of the pillars of qualitative justice in the country.

He said the retiring CJ also steered the review of Procedural Codes and Court Rules, which led to transparency and efficiency on the part of judges whose role have been varied with the establishment of specialised courts such as the Financial Crime, Commercial, Human Rights and Electoral courts among other.

Mr Mensah Bonsu also stated that her dynamism as the Head of the Third Arm of government is demonstrated in her responsiveness to issues of concern to society.

Her contribution towards the fight against illegal mining, in which 14 courts have been mandated to deal with the issue as well as some special courts assigned to deal with Social Security and National Insurance Trust and National Lottery Authority issues.

He said as a human right champion, she played a key role in the 'Justice for All Programme', which brought about a situation where individuals on remand, whose cases have not been heard, were investigated and appropriately remedies applied.

He said Mrs Wood cannot be forgotten for her aggressive policy of expanding court infrastructure, which led to the refurbishment of court houses and the construction of new court structures throughout the country.

Mr Mensah Bonsu said Mrs Wood's dint of hard work was recognised both nationally and internationally.

Her contribution to national development earned her Ghana's highest national award: the 'Order of the Star of Ghana' for meritorious public service in 2007 and in August, 2008 was awarded Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree (Honoris Causa) from the University of Ghana.

He said on the international level, Mrs Wood served on the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Panel of Kenya having been appointed in August, 2011 by the then Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and the then Prime Minister Raila Odinga with full approval of the Kenyan Parliament.

Mr Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament for Bawku Central in his contribution praised Mrs Wood for helping to in the development of the rule of law, expansion of the infrastructure, the modernisation of the courtrooms and the processes in the system.

He said her contribution helped in consolidating democracy and strengthen the rule of law in the country.

Mr Alexander Afenyo Markin, MP for Effutu in his contribution stated the retiring CJ was an inspiration not only to lawyers but women across the country.

He said today there were many justices of the Court of Appeal who were women due to her inspiration and encouragement.

He also expressed delight at the President's appointment of Mrs Wood to the Council of State and in order for her contribute to the development of the country.

Sarah Adwoa Safo, Deputy Majority Leader also stated the House was celebrating one great woman who was an epitome of Ghanaian Womanhood.

She said the retiring CJ had also been an inspiration to many women not only in the legal fraternity by women in other spheres of other profession.

GNA
09.06.2017 LISTEN

Summary

(a). A state burial is being held at the State House in Accra to lay the soldier to eternal rest

(b). The senior military officer was slayed Monday, May 29, 2017, while on national assignment at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region

(c). At least 43 suspects are currently standing trial in connection with the murder.

(d). Hundreds of mourners including military personnel have lined the streets from the Flagstaff House to Parliament House to pay their last respect to the fallen hero.

(e). Major Mahama left behind his wife Barbara Mahama and two sons, Jaden and Jerry.

Late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama

A state burial to lay to perpetual rest slain soldier Major Maxwell Adam Mahama is underway at the State House in Accra.

The funeral is expected to be attended by Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and senior government officials. Also the religious community as well as other Ghanaians are expected to attend.

Major Maxwell Adam Mahama was murdered at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region while on national assignment, the military hierarchy has said.

He was lynched in a case of mistaken identity after residents found a weapon on him. His death has roundly been condemned by Ghanaians.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has pledged his governments commitment to bring the perpetrators to face the law.

The President promoted the soldier posthumously from Captain to Major following a recommendation by the military hierarchy on Tuesday.

He has become a big national hero, President Akufo-Addo said of the soldier who was killed at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region.

Wife of slain soldier, Barbara Mahama

The deceased wife, Barbara Mahama did not regret the brief stay of the Major thanking him for sharing his life with her.

In an emotionally filled tribute, Barbara said: you wanted us to enjoy life and be happy.

I love you and I always told you. I always reminded you of what you mean to me. You meant the world to me, my everything.

Videos and pictures depicting the horror-struck hour Major Mahama was murdered circulated on social media especially on Facebook hours several hours after the tragedy.

Barbara Mahama with her mother

But marshalling the strength of Esther in the Bible, Barbara said although her husband had passed on she is happy he left fond memories behind.

When I think about you, I only smile because you are more than a piece of flesh circulating on social media. You were full of life, energy, and vigour so I choose to remember you in that sense.

The family of the late Major had made only one request of government, to erect a monument in the name of the slain soldier.

They want the name of the soldier to continue to convict the conscience of Ghanaians to reject mob injustice which is responsible for the death of scores of Ghanaians.

Late Major Mahama with wife and two sons

The hour President Akufo-Addo announced the promotion of then Captain Mahama, he said Cabinet has given the approval for a monument to be named after the soldier.

Major Mahama was not known by many Ghanaians but his death has served as a bridge through which many people have come to share in his lifes story.

A caring husband and daddy joked about poverty being a disease since it restricts the ambition of people.

Major Mahamas funeral is expected to attract hundreds of mourners including senior government officials, the religious community and Ghanaians.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers |
President Akufo-Addo was greeted with cheers on Wednesday when he laid down his strategy to make gender and youth the business of the private sector.

This was when he delivered a speech at the opening of this year's European Development Day Conference held in Brussels, Belgium, under the theme, 'Making Gender and the Youth the Private Sector's Business,' as part of measures to combat global poverty.

While he appreciated the fact that number 5 of the United Nation's (UN's) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) talks about achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, he indicated that number 9 also aims at building resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialisation and fostering innovation.

He therefore stressed the belief that these two Goals have specific demographics of women and the youth in mind.

As leader of a country [Ghana] with 51% of its population being females and about 73% below the age of 35, President Akufo-Addo said, The empowerment of our women and youth constitute fundamental challenges for our development.

To this end, he was of the conviction that the empowerment of women and the youth is the surest way of rooting out poverty and guaranteeing the progress and prosperity of our country and continent, whiles noting with emphasis that this so-called youth bulge provides immense opportunities for rapid economic development.

Bane

Like most economies of Africa, President Akufo-Addo indicated that Ghana's economy has remained structurally rigid since the colonial days, depending largely on the exports of primary commodities such as gold, cocoa, bauxite and timber.

There can be no future prosperity in the short, medium or long term, if we continue to maintain this economic structure. Unless we industrialise, with the goal of adding significant value to our primary products, we cannot create the necessary numbers of high-paying jobs that will enhance the living standards of the masses of our country  our women and youth, he stated.

Decision

According to the president, It is for this reason that government's priority is to build the most business-friendly and people-friendly economy in Africa which will create jobs and prosperity for Ghanaians; and this we intend to do through private sector empowerment.

Since assuming power five months ago, President Akufo-Addo said, We have introduced measures to stimulate the private sector, through the introduction of a monetary policy that will stabilise the currency and reduce significantly the cost of borrowing, in addition to a raft of tax cuts to bring relief to and encourage businesses.

These interventions, he indicated, would shift the focus of Ghana's economy from taxation to production, and hopefully, make Ghanaian businesses very competitive in West Africa, Africa and beyond.

Conviction

President Akufo-Addo underscored, It is the competitiveness of our enterprises, in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, that will determine our capacity to create wealth for our youth and women, and wealth in our society. The competitiveness of Ghana's private sector is key to addressing issues of inclusion, economic development and growth of Ghana.

For him, That is the only way we can build a Ghana beyond aid; that is, freeing our people from a mindset of dependence, aid, charity and handouts and building a self-reliant economy which will mobilise the immense resources of Ghana, material and human, with women and youth in the forefront, to resolve Ghana's problems.

While empowering the private sector to create jobs and wealth, he stated, My government, recognizing the benefits of the digital revolution, has instituted measures to keep the youth in touch with global trends and also equip them with the skills, which, together with their sense of enterprise and innovation, will be necessary in Ghana's economic transformation. That is the focus of my government.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Brussels, Belgium
09.06.2017 LISTEN

We, the members of the Iran Ghana University Students Association join the rest of the world to commensurate with the spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the government and good people of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the the dastardly terror attacks in Tehran this Wednesday. The entire world is saddled by this barbaric and Savage action by these enemies of humanity and the world. Our thoughts and prayers are with the good people of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this times.

The world woke up on Wednesday, to news of the barbaric and inhumane attacks on the Parliament and the Khomeini mausoleum of the Islamic Republic of Iran, leading to the loss of 12 Innocent lives and the injury of several others.

We, the Students of the Iran-Ghana University Students Association even as we commensurate with the people of Iran, condemn in no uncertain terms this barbaric and Savage action visited upon the world. The perpetrators of this dastardly attacks and all those behind them, do not have a place, and ought not to have a place in our modern civilized world, where the sanctity of every human life must be upheld and respected.

Terrorism in all its forms anywhere in the world, remains a threat to world peace and humanity, and requires the full force of all well meaning people of the world to combat same.

We, the students of the Iran-Ghana University Students Association are by this statement, calling on the international community and civil society to collaborate in the fight to rid our world of these terrorist, who pose a great threat to the very peace of the world.

Thank you.

IGUSA- TOGETHER, WE DEVELOP.

.......Signed.......

ANANPANSAH SOLOMON

(Coordinator, IGUSA)

EBENEEZER ACHEAPONG

(Coordinator, IGUSA)

FUSEINI ATANGA

(President, IGUSA)

HAJARA MASOUD

(GENERAL SECRETARY, IGUSA)

UMMU UMMAR

(PRO, IGUSA)
ARABIA, EASTERN AND WESTERN POWER RIVALRY BIRTHED THE TERRORIST GROUPS.

The media have consistently, for far too long, maintained shallow, hollow and horrific reportage on the terror perpetrated by miscreants who claim to be fighting for the sake of Islam. The stock-in-trade of the media has been the broadcast of grievious sights of killings, maimings, bombings and mass destructions with these very people alluding to the Quran to justify their wicked acts.

This unfortunate phenomenon by the media has fuelled a warped perception and bigotry against many innocent muslims. If the media had delved into the ideologies around which these terrorists sprung, it would have laid bare to their audience a picture of people fighting for their own political, economical and social freedom and not for the sake of Islam. I crave the indulgence of my readership as I go down the memory lane to reveal the tissues of the issues at hand.

First off, the Arabians are, by cultural orientation conservationist- always fighting against mordenisation. It therefore took a lot of struggle for Islam to permeate into the Arabian peninsula in the 6th century. The Arabs were at their conservationist best when a whole Arabian king (King Faisal) was assasinated in the 1970's whose crime was nothing but the introduction of television. So conservatism for the Arab is non-negotiable .

Birth of Terrorist Groups.

Sayyid Qutb, an Egyptian, is the father of what has today become terrorist groups. He founded a brotherhood of muslims (similar to liberation movements in the Gold Coast) to fight against political oppression, economic exploitation and for freedom from the oppressors ( the british) for the Egyptian people. The authoritarian government of Gamel Abdel Nassr cracked down on the Muslim brotherhood and Sayyid Qutb was executed and several hundreds fled into exile in the Arab world. The ideologies of Qutb began to spread by these political fugitives.

Osama Bin Laden, a student by then, came into contact with Sayyid Qutb's brother(Mohammed Qutb) and Zawahiri ( an Eyptian, who later became a Second-Commander-in-Chief of Al Qaeda) and was indocrinated.

In 1979, the ideologies of Qutb coupled with Arabian Conservatism exploded on the streets of Iran toppling a goverment who was more leaned towards Russia ( the east). The Red Army of Russia on the eve of Christmas invaded Afghanistan to protect the governments from similar fate. The U.S.A which was at cold war with the Soviets launched a covert attack on the Russians by chanelling money and sophiscated weapons to the civilians to counter the Russians to withdraw. These armed militias morphed into Taliban and turn the heat on innocent civilians. But, the U.S.A at the time never mind since the weapons are getting to those who are eager to kill Russians.

The Taliban through Islamic propaganda and Quranic misintrepretation, recruited fighters (including Osama Bin Laden) from Arabia, Africa and other parts of the world.

In 1988, the Russians retreated and withdrew absolutely from Afghanistan but Talibans were still thirsty for blood. The Taliban fighters whose countries faced the same oppression exported these terrorist ideologies to their home countries. There and then,extremism began to spread through out Arabia, Africa and the Middle East.

Al - Turabi took the cue to Sudan and succeeded in ousting the government. Osama bin laden took it to Saudi Arabia and Al- Qaeda was born. Mohammed Yusuf took it to Nigeria to fight the economic disparity between the north and south and Boko Haram was born. Islamic Court Union morphed into Al - shabab in Somalia.

It is more than clear now that those monsters were not created on the approbation of Islam. These are people fighting for their well-being and not for the sake of Islam. Mission accomplished.

ABDALLAH ABDUL MATIN,

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON.
09.06.2017 LISTEN

Known for showcasing her cultures in graphics, leather, weaving, sculptures, jewelry, decorative and applied arts and inter alia, Odimegwu Onwumere writes that Kazakhstan, a nomadic society surrounded by lakes and high mountains which Wikipedia describes as officially a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage is set to further expose her cultures at the energy dialogue christened Astana Expo 2017

Acknowledged as central Asias first worlds fair, the Astana EXPO 2017 is where energy chats and culture display will be rife, no doubt.

Expectations are sky-scraping in Kazakhstan  this country that shares borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, and also adjoins a large part of the Caspian Sea  as the world looks up to her for the showcase, says the deputy head of the Department of Culture of Almaty city, Nailya Mulyukova.

The world is beaming its searchlight in this old cultural community that did not exist as a state previously which was influenced by the cultures of Mongolian and Turkic people and, with the elements of Islamic and Persian lifestyles, in the past recent times.

But before this time, the country had already formed a unique cultural attitude no matter that the term Kazakh, which translates to free, came up after in the 14th  15th centuries.

The Astana Expo 2017 is an International Exposition taking place on a site covering 25 hectares and slated for June 10 through September 10, 2017.

The Bureau International des Expositions, an Intergovernmental Organisation that says it is in charge of overseeing and regulating all international exhibitions that last more than three weeks and are of non-commercial nature ("Expos") has this to say, "Kazakhstan was elected by BIE Member States as the host of Expo 2017 during the General Assembly of 22 November 2012, and Expo 2017 Astana was formally recognised by the General Assembly on 11 June 2014.

In a message of May 31, 2017, to CNN, Yerbolat Uatkhanov, Director of the English Language at Astana Times, said, Astana has been the fastest growing capital in the world for many years. If you live here or visit the city often, you will be at amazed how everything is being changed so quickly. EXPO became another keystone in its development."

A senior executive partner at Foster + Partners, Nigel Dancey also told the informer, "There is a unique energy and character to the city, which is growing as new buildings emerge. Astana's growth is driven by a dual environmental agenda, unified by the shared aims of providing shelter from the extremes of the climate and reducing energy use.

We are currently designing a new mixed-use office and retail complex close to the 2017 Expo site that will bring together the public and private worlds of the shopping mall and office tower, while making a positive contribution to Astana's urban fabric."

The CNN believed that another illustration for Astana visitors is the blue-and-white marble National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The museum's Golden Hall houses thousands of Bronze Age artifacts, including the "Golden Man  a symbol of national pride.

Checks reveal that it was Discovered in 1969 about 70 kilometers from former capital Almaty in a burial mound, this third-century warrior  thought to be a tribal prince, remains clad in strands of gold.

For a deeper dive into Astana's culture and diversity, there's the Presidential Center of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan  also called the Presidential Cultural Center.

Many countries and organisations have shown their interest in the Astana Expo 2017. For one, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has expressed keenness to participate in the EXPO 2017 within what is expressed as "a joint pavilion shared with other international organisations."

In a statement found on a website by UNESCO, "Nowadays, the world is facing a shortage of energy with a threat of environmental crisis, which raises a real challenge in conserving traditional energies and finding alternative energies.

The statement went further, "As oil production is declining and its value increases gradually, in the near future, a large amount of population will have to shift to alternative energy.

The EXPO will serve as a platform for exchanging experiences all over the world in the field of alternative energy, a sector that is growing rapidly these years."

At the event themed Future Energy  for a talk on the future of energy, innovation and roadmap to their impression, Turkey is expected to exhibit renewable energy achievements at the event, reports Daily Sahah Energy, a Turkuvaz Media Group corporation.

In the pact, "Expo 2017 is being organised under the theme Future Energy. This, along with the three subthemes  Reducing CO2 Emissions, Living Energy Efficiency, and Energy for All  will allow the Expo to present the state of energy today and to showcase sustainable solutions and innovative technologies.

At this occasion that organisers expect over 5 million visits and hope to gather over 100 official participants, Turkey is now ready for Expo 2017 Astana where the country will highlight its significant position in energy security and sustainable energy projects; and to increase its visibility at international fairs by exhibiting local achievements."

In the same vein, UAE Pavilion for Astana Expo 2017 is complete, reports The National, the UAE's premier news source. According to the source, "Expecting 7,000 visitors per day at the pavilion, the UAE stand is the biggest at the expo and also has a virtual host who will guide visitors through the experience."

In the words of Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of NMCs Board of Directors, "The UAE Pavilion at Expo 2017 Astana is a reflection of the UAEs successful development, whereby the country has utilised its core expertise and competencies to develop the strategic sectors in society.

The pavilion provides the opportunity to effectively showcase the UAEs future-oriented innovative approach, which integrates human capacity and modern technology to improve peoples lives."

This could have formed the opinion by Sankha Guha, an international journalist, Sunday 21 May 2017, saying, Thinking big is a prerequisite. The organisers say they are expecting 5 million visits; a figure that is widely met with skepticism in a country of just 17 million. But in this city, a sense of reality is on permanent hold.

Just as people are flabbergasting over what Astana has become today in term of edifices for the Expo 2017, in 1992, an American art collector Richard Spooner had also expressed shock when he came for the countrys arts in Almaty, the then capital of Kazakhstan.

As according to the "Eyes on Kazakhstan's art" a November 15, 2010 report by correspondent Richard Orange, said of Spooner thus, "They were doing all sorts of stuff: they were painting realism, they were painting impressionism and expressionism. The control over artists was never as strict here as it was in Moscow or Leningrad."

However, opinion leaders say that Astana is not good to be toured on foot to avert snow. They say that the glaring city is often covered by snow for over half of the year, covering the enthralling citys eight-lane superhighways. Many say that the sophisticated nature in Astana is widespread with countries that were in the former Soviet capitals.

But aside Astana Expo 2017, this country moreover preserves parts of its cultures in museum. Recently, the State Museum of Arts of Republic of Kazakhstan in Almaty was named after A. Kasteev Museum, something leaders of thought say that the Expo visitors will enjoy.

Those who have gone to the museum say that going through Auezov Theatre Metro station known for a 10 minute walk is the best way to get to the museum. This 75 years old museum with foundational mission to storing cultures of the country has been said, earns major supports from the UNESCO.

A general statistics says, Thus, the museum strictly follows the Cultural Values Storage Instruction. The A. Kasteev collection in the State Museum of Arts is the largest archive of decorative and graphic art works in the Republic of Kazakhstan; it includes 23005 exhibits and is considered one of the best collections in the CIS.

Museum funds are subject to strict governmental accounting. All arriving exhibit items are duly registered in the accounting department with corresponding documents and given serial numbers.

In a nutshell, in this country so rich with cultures and traditions, those who know better say that Kazakhstan extravaganza Expo 2017 is one that has never happened. Astounding architecture was put up in the countrys capital for the event. Although, as a music-loving people with a pedigree in ancient and modern musical instruments and groups, troupes like the Almaty Circus, founded in 1967, heralds the epochal event.

It's also expected that Ancient Kazakh musical instruments which include the dombra, kobyz, saz-syrnai and others are expected to be present. There is a general school of thought saying, "The Kazakhs have treasured in their hearts, the heroic epics such as Koblandy-batyr, Yer Targyn, Kambar Batyr as well as lyrical and epic legends Kyz Zhybek, Kozy-Korpesh and Bayan Sulu and Yenlik-Kebek.

People have always been delighted with aityses and akyns (Suyunbay, 19th century, Zhambyl, 20th century) poetic competitions. Against this influence, it is expected that during the Astana Expo 2017, visitors will sleep in yurts (most sensible movable house); learn handicrafts(harnesses, felt mats  tekemets, articles made of wood, bone and metal).

Others are, dress in the Kazakh national dress(Kazakh national dressthat varies by regions); play music and musical instruments(as the Kazakhs love the art of words and their akyns  poets); play national games (usually performed on horse-back); eat Kazakh food(cuisinethat reflects essence of the nation, its history, culture and traditions); and many others.

Therefore, a source that would not want the name in print, says, Today, the culture of Kazakhstan represents a complex of aesthetic values of the Kazakh people, conveyed in original and different spiritual and material forms and they would be relived at the Astana Expo 2017.

Odimegwu Onwumere is an award-winning journalist based in Rivers State, Nigeria. He contributed this piece via: [email protected]
Our Revolution Texas is in the process of creating the infrastructure to challenge the established state party. It has divided the state into 11 regions, and the regional chapters will recruit and train candidates to run in local, state and congressional elections next year. Our Revolution Texas is also encouraging progressives to become precinct chairs in their local Democratic Party chapters. The party is so hollowed out in the state that taking it over is mainly a matter of showing up.

In probably half of the precincts in Texas, theres no precinct chair, Hightower says. So were going to fill as many of those as we can. The precinct chairs elect the county chairs, who in turn choose the state party chair.

In January, Our Revolution Texas became the national organizations first state affiliate. Hightower says its filling a vacuum in the state left by the Democratic Partys reliance on corporate donors and top-down party decision making. Democrats gave up on door-to-door and precinct-to-precinct organizing, he says. And we surrendered our populist voice.

In Texas, the corrosive influence of corporate money on the Democratic Party is especially clear in its relationship to oil and gas interests. Henry Cuellar, who represents a U.S. House district in the oil-rich southern part of the state, took in upwards of $165,000 from that industry in the 2015-16 election cyclemore than any other Democratic member of Congress. The League of Conservation Voters gave Cuellar a score of 26 out of 100 for his environmental voting record in the 2015-16 cycle.

Hightower cites fracking as an example of a progressive issue that could revitalize the party and help it win in rural areas the GOP has come to dominate. The digging of fracking wells creates only temporary jobs, sometimes filled by non-locals, he says, and, Were left with the noise, the pollution, the methane, the illnesses, the destruction of the roads, the total usurpation of the water. If Democrats took it on as an issue, then people would say, All right. Theres somebody standing up. 

In the 2014 congressional election, Texas had the third-lowest voter turnout in the nation: just 28 percent of eligible voters. Its not that Democrats turned right-wing, Hightower says. They quit voting. If they hear candidates and political organizations talking about the things they care about, theyll respond.

On June 3, Bernie Sanders backers in Massachusetts helped pass one of the most progressive state party platform in U.S. history. (Photo: Rand Wilson)

If the weakness of the Democratic Party in Texas and across much of the West makes the state chapters ripe for a takeover, its a different story in the East, especially the Northeast, where the party is strong and has a reputation for being relatively progressive. As in California, though, there is an entrenched establishment that resists reform.

Its very clearly an insiders club, and there are all sorts of hoops to jump through, says Matt Miller, an activist based in Somerville, Mass., and a member of Our Revolution Massachusetts, whichalong with Progressive Democrats of America, Progressive Massachusetts and other groupsset its sights on injecting a strong progressive presence into the Massachusetts Democratic Party convention on June 3 (read an update here).

Just getting basic information about when caucuses are held and what you have to do to be elected was a struggle, Miller says. Nevertheless, he and other progressives persisted.

For months, they carried out a methodical plan. First, get progressives to show up at the caucus meetingsheld in February, March and Aprilto elect progressive convention delegates. They succeeded in electing about 700 of 4,529 total delegates. Second, organize strong turnout at a series of platform committee hearings in April and May. The resultant draft platform, released in late May, contained many of their demands, including single-payer healthcare, a $15 minimum wage and paid family leave.

The final step is to get delegates to attend the convention, where, with 200 signatures on a petition, they can force a vote on an amendment to the platformto prohibit gerrymandering, for example, or to implement ranked-choice voting. In early May, more than 150 of the 700 Our Revolution delegates attended a special training session to make a game plan. In addition to pushing the partys platform further left, they will call for the democratic election of superdelegates to the Democratic National Conventioncurrently selected by the DNC and approved by the state party chairalong with the restriction or elimination of donations from corporate PACs.

In Massachusetts, as in California, there is a sense that corporate money and top-down control have warped the partys priorities and created a disconnect between ideals and actions.

The party is at a real fork in the road, says Rand Wilson, a labor organizer for SEIU Local 888 and a member of both Our Revolution Massachusetts and Labor for Our Revolution. We have to choose between building a party for the working class or for the 1%. The lines are being pretty starkly drawn.

At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Wilson says, he attended a breakfast for the Massachusetts delegation that, unbeknownst to him, was sponsored by a charter school organization. Charters were a divisive issue in the state at the time. The state Senate, controlled by Democrats, had recently passed a bill designed to lift the cap on the number of charter schools. It eventually became a ballot measure and was defeated by Massachusetts voters that November. Support for the charter school expansion came from corporations and the financial industry, while teachers unions fiercely opposed it.

I jumped up and said, Charter schools suck! and I walked out, Wilson says. I left there going, Wow, theres really something wrong with a party that would invite and accept funding for a breakfast from the charter school people. It was emblematic of a Democratic Party that is clearly for sale.

California Democratic Party convention delegate Gilbert Feliciano, 36, calls for a recount after Kimberly Ellis narrow loss in the May 20 election for state party chair. Im supporting Kimberly Ellis because shes been working with the organizers, says Feliciano, who wants Democrats to ensure a more socialist society where people have a safety net for basic issues: water, healthcare, education. (Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Like many progressives, Wilson has a skeptical stance toward the Democratic Party. He was a lifelong Independent until he registered as a Democrat in 2015, primarily because he wanted to go to the national convention and support Sanders.

Were essentially a one-party state; its all these so-called progressive Democrats, he says. Yet they are all talk and no action when it comes to labor issues. So I think we are excited about changing the Democratic Party.

If there is broad agreement on that goal, much of the energy is being channeled into a different strategy for achieving it. Instead of seeking control of the party, groups like Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress are putting forward progressives to run against centrist, corporate Democrats.

The party structure and democratizing itthats all noble, but I wonder if it would be better to just shift the actual power, says Matt Miller, who worked on a Democratic primary race in 2015. We knocked out a crappy Democrat and replaced him with a former Occupy guy. So I wonder if thats not a better strategy. But Im going to try this for as long as it makes sense.

For many progressives, rather than racking up immediate wins, experimenting with the nature of the resistancefiguring out what works over the long run, where to invest resources, and how to relate to and transform the Democratic Partyseems to be what this moment is about.

For her part, Karen Bernals experience with the California Democratic State Convention left her feeling not optimistic about reforming the CDP, yet more hopeful about the progressive movement generally.

Were going from a mentality of protest to learning what it means to seize political power, she says. The new people who have come intheyre getting a boot camp. And that is the lesson. No matter what happens with the Democratic Party, were going to have people who are much more savvy about how to resist politically.

That isnt to say the fight for the CDP is a lost cause. As with the resistance broadly, the path ahead is uncertain. For many in California, the recent loss felt more like the beginning of a journey than its end.

This is a womb, not a tomb, says Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto, a nurse and convention delegate who supported Kimberly Ellis. Its the rebirth of the Democratic Party. We just have to keep pushing. We all felt bloodied and bruised by this battle, but we cant give up. Were changing things.

Winona Dimeo-Ediger contributed reporting from California.

This piece has been updated to correct the chronology of events at the conference. Ellis supporters ringed the event hall on Saturday, not Friday.


GHANAIAN MUSLIM pilgrims that will travel to Mecca to perform Hajj this year will have to go through a health screening exercise.

This was to determine the current medical status of all the pilgrims so that they can be properly taken care of during the Hajj.

Head of the Medical Team of the Hajj Board, Dr. Seidu Zakari, made this known during a stakeholders meeting in Kumasi on Wednesday.

According to him, the pilgrims' blood pressure, sugar level, blood group would be checked and they would also be vaccinated before they leave.

Dr. Zakari noted that knowing the medial status of the pilgrims is very important as it would give the medical team an idea about the pilgrims.

He said the findings of the screening exercise would enable the medical team determine the type of drugs and equipment to travel with to Mecca.

Dr. Zakari indicated that an emergency health team would be set up at Mecca, who would quickly attend to the Ghanaian pilgrims, when the need arise.

He admonished the potential pilgrims to patronize the health screening exercise so that they would not face any health challenges whilst in Mecca.

Dr. Zakari was speaking when the Hajj Board, led by its chairman, Sheikh I.C. Quaye, stormed Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti Region on Wednesday.

They were in the city to freely interact with stakeholders including Imams and agents, with regards to making the upcoming Hajj a huge success.

Sheikh I.C. Quaye said plush-looking hotels had been secured to house Ghanaian pilgrims in Mecca, adding that internal transportation had also been catered for.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi




Two military personnel allegedly assaulted an unidentified policeman in public at the Uaddarra Barracks in Kumasi on Monday.

The soldiers, according to eye witnesses, launched an unprovoked attack on the victim and surprisingly humiliated him in public.

The cop was said to be passing through the barracks in a car with other people, and a certain military man ordered him to stop the vehicle.

He stopped for a while and a military man, who was wielding a shovel, approached him in the vehicle, Mark Owusu, an eyewitness said.

In an angry tone, the military man questioned the cop as to why he was passing through the barracks.

Speaking on Nhyira FM in Kumasi, he said the victim told the soldier that he was a policeman.

Owusu said the military man called one of his colleagues to the scene and they (soldiers) allegedly manhandled the innocent cop.

According to him, the car's keys were seized by the soldiers, who also deflated the tyres of the vehicle.

Police Commander

But the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ken Yeboah, stated that some people are exaggerating with regards to the matter on social media.

Yes, I have a report of soldiers attacking a policeman on Monday but the case is not as serious as we were initially made to believe, he said on Nhyira FM.

He stated emphatically that the information that the policeman was brutally beaten so he is currently on admission at the hospital is not true.

According to him, the cop was reportedly passing through a restricted area in the barracks where army officers reside.

DCOP Ken Yeboah said some soldiers stopped the car, seized the ignition keys and deflated the tyres so that the car cannot move.

He said the military and police chiefs in the region were investigating the case, adding that any person found culpable in the case would be punished.

DCOP Yeboah stated that there is peace and harmony between the military and police in the region, noting that the isolated case cannot destroy the relationship between the two institutions.

From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Energy Bank Ghana, Christiana Olaoye, has urged women executives to mentor and inspire young females to help shape society.

According to the astute and versatile banker, women need support and continuous training programmes at the workplace, as well as personal networking to move into executive positions in the corporate hierarchy.

Speaking as one of the panelists at the just-ended CEO Summit on 'Growth, Inclusion and Women Empowerment', Mrs. Olaoye said women executives must visit schools-university, secondary and primary- to mentor and repose confidence in female students to have the belief that they can do what men could do.

We need to educate young women as to what is feasible for them and if they take that particular route, then they grow up wanting more for themselves.

Right from childhood, the girl child must be developed and encouraged to go the extra mile in life to become a better person.

She added that female talents within organizations must be identified, taken through skills training such as decision-making in a bid to retain higher number of executive women in the organization.

She also advised young female students to always believe in their dreams, adding that if you want the board room to change, the company to change, you must change your attitude and be a determined girl and woman.

CEO of Airtel Ghana, Lucy Quist, who was also on the panel, called for the creation of an environment where women would be valued and considered for bigger roles in society.

The CEO Network brought together smart and high profile Chief Executive Officers (CEOS) from the banking, telecommunications, ICT, consultancy and public sector.

Mrs. Olaoye recently won an award for her contributions to the welfare of females in Africa.

A business desk report


Fidelity Bank, Ghana's largest privately owned bank, yesterday launched its '10 Richer' promotion in Accra to reward its loyal customers.

Jim Baiden, Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, who launched the promotion, called on Ghanaians to save to ensure financial security in case of an emergency.

In the past, he said the bank rewarded hundreds of its customers through innovative promotions such as 'Reach for Gold', 'Go for Gold', 'Big Fat Zero' and 'Save for Gold'.

Today, we have gathered here to launch the Fidelity 10x richer promotion. We are 10 years old and we are giving our customers the opportunity to be 10X richer.

For every GH500 or multiples of it that a customer deposits and maintains in their account for a least a month, the customer will get an electronic coupon which will be entered into a draw at the end of the month.

The more they deposit, the better their chances of winning. At the end of each month, five lucky customers will each have their coupon balance multiplied by 10.

There will be five monthly draws and a grand draw at the end of the promotion. In the grand draw, three lucky customers will have their coupon balance multiplied by 10X10. GH150, 000 is up for grabs in the grand draw. In all, we are rewarding customers with cash prizes of almost GHS300, 000.

New customers will be required to open a current or savings account with a minimum deposit of GH500 or multiples of GH500. Existing customers will be required to top up existing account balances with GH500 or multiples of GH500. The new funds must also stay in the account for a minimum of one month or more to qualify.

The 10 Richer promotion is expected to run for a period of six months from June, 2017 and end in November 2017.

Lucky customers will receive rewards to the tune of GH275,000.

In each month, 5 lucky customers will win a total of GH25, 000 (5,000 each) while three lucky customers stand the chance of winning 50,000 each in the grand draw in December.

A business desk report




Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SIC Life, Aaron Issa Anafure, has been honoured for transforming the company and bringing insurance closer to the people.

Mr. Issa Anafure was recognized at a ceremony organised in Accra by The Humanity Magazine International, a medium which campaigns for the promotion of corporate investments and businesses for employment creation to benefit the citizenry.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Country Director of the magazine, Abdallah Musah, described Mr. Issa Anafure as a role model, who many northerners are looking up to for inspiration.

He said with respect to the success story of the SIC Life Company and enviable stake, which is very rare in a public enterprise in this era, The Humanity Magazine International would like to present this award to you (CEO) and SIC Life as a whole.

He disclosed that the SIC Life's exemplary success is an indelible achievement of a state managed public enterprise being a beacon of the arguments that state-owned enterprises can succeed in this current economic dispensation.

Mr. Abdallah Musah called on other public enterprises to emulate the shining example of SIC Life to benefit of the country.

On his part, Mr. Issa Anafure expressed his appreciation for the award and revealed that the company had put investment plans in place to create employment for the youth.

A business desk report


The National Chairman of the Peoples National Convention (PNC), Bernard Mornah, has urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to use money from the Maxwell Mahama endowment fund to purchase a house for the wife and children of the murdered soldier.

According to him, in no time, the Ghana Armed Forces will be evicting the wife of the lynched soldier from his official bungalow, a situation that can make life for her and the children unbearable.

Speaking on Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM on Friday June 9, Mr Mornah said: Now we must all think of where the wife and children will be living. In the next three months the Ghana Armed Forces will be writing to the wife that she should vacate the bungalow and so we need to find a place where the wife and children can stay.

I would suggest that President Akufo-Addo use the endowment fund to purchase a house for the wife and the children to live in.

President Akufo-Addo announced a GHS500,000 trustee fund to be set up for the Mahama family.

The president personally pledged to donate seed capital of GHS50,000 for the fund when he spoke at the residence of the bereaved family in Accra on Monday, June 5.

The late Major Maxwell Mahama will be buried today, Friday June 9, at the Osu Military Cemetery with full military honours after a vigil was held in his honour on Thursday night.

As part of the burial ceremony, some roads in the capital have now been closed to motorists.
The Director of Training, Testing and Licensing at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Cheyuo Wienaa Musah, has assured Ghanaians that the new biometric drivers licences will be affordable.

According to him, the cost will hover between GHS90 and GHS100.

The DVLA has indicated that beginning July 18, 2017, it will start issuing new biometric drivers licences.

The introduction of this new licence, according to DVLA boss Kwesi Agyeman Busia, is aimed at eliminating fake licences and middlemen from the system.

He explained that the new card would have enhanced security features which would make it difficult for miscreants to issue fake ones.

The new licence will contain a chip loaded with the holders biometric details.

This will ensure that people who have made duplication an industry will have it extra difficult to duplicate the licences. It will be practically impossible as it will have enhanced security, Mr Busia told reporters.

Speaking on the matter in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom, on Accra100.5FM on Friday June 9, Mr Musah said: This new licence is not going to be anywhere near GHS500, it is not going to be near that... It will certainly be less than GHS500. We have done our calculations and I can assure Ghanaians that it is going to be just a little above what we are currently paying.

This is just a little top-up, not even up to GHS100. So I am confident that Ghanaians will love it, they will see that we have given them value for money.

He added: We will be meeting drivers on the 14th to discuss this new licence with them before the official launch.
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has stated that President Akufo-Addo cannot win the fight against corruption as pledged during and after the 2016 elections.

Akufo-Addo on various platforms declared his readiness to fight the menacethe latest was at the CEOs Summit in Accra on May 22.

Speaking Thursday June 8 in a media interview Mr. Bagbin described the presidents declaration as usual mantra.

I listened to Nana. He says that he is going to contain corruption. He fought three wars all funded by people. He thinks all the people are Father Christmas? It is not possible, this is not possible, he stated.

He added: He is my friend. Weve been together for many years and he is very senior to me in both age and in profession and politics and everything, but I know a bit of him, its not possible; its just the usual mantra. Until we do what Im saying, you cant stamp out corruption.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Asunafo South, Mr Osei Bonsu Snr., has called for an urgent establishment of a District Reconciliation Committee to bring all parties on board for effective decentralisation process to take off.

This decision, according to the DCE, would help established the actual cause of reprisal attacks between the two main political parties, the NDC and the NPP which has retard development in the area.

"Nananom it will interest you to know that, the Assembly spends over billions of Ghana cedis on Soldiers and Police Officer who are sent to protect us rather than carrying out developmental projects in the area", he said.

The DCE made these remarks when addressing the chiefs and people of Siana and Noberkaw at separate mini durbars as part of his familiarization tour of the District.

Mr. Osei Bonsu further advised the youth not to allow partisan politics to divide them, so that unity they could join hands to initiate development programmes that would improved their living standards.

He pledge to operate an open administration and welcome constructive criticisms from all manner of persons irrespective of their political and religious affiliation.

Mr Osei Bonsu further urged the people to support the NPP government to achieve her developmental agenda, now that the elections were over and gave an assurance that the government would work hard to bring an improvement in their lives.

In his welcome address, the chief of Siana Nana Kwadwo Boadi II appealed to the DCE for an extension of electricity to a newly developed area and rehabilitate the two bore holes which has been their major source of water supply in the community.

The chief of Noberkaw, Nana Bassua Kumanini III complained bitterly about an irrigation project that was started by the Kufour administration and abandoned by the 8 years of NDC administration and appealed to the DCE to reconstruct it.

He also urged the District Assembly to provide a place of convenience and teachers bungalow to save teachers in the community the hustle of commuting daily from Noberkaw.
09.06.2017 LISTEN

The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board, Joseph Boahen Aidoo has tasked staff of the board to work assiduously to change the bad image the institution has gained in the recent past.

According to him, the very negative stories which have been published in the media about COCOBOD and the narrative within the political circles is not the least pleasant.

Mr Boahen Aidoo who was speaking when he met with staff in Sunyani as part of his tour in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions tasked the workers to work hard to turn the fortunes on the cocoa industry around, as the low level of cocoa production is worrying.

He revealed that his administration inherited a deficit of about GHC 10 billion which he must deal with, a situation he considers a hindrance to providing improved service for staff.

He also urged workers to champion the new initiatives to increase production of which they will be beneficiaries.

The Chief Executive cautioned managers and directors to be prepared at all times as they could be summoned to the head office to account for what he has done in a month.
His Lordship explains that the patent was

granted in a country far away ...

(correctly named in full to avoid any possible confusion with Mrs Justice (Sue) Carr), which is given in admirably clear terms despite its complex subject matter. The Japanese pharmaceutical company Chugai was looking for a declaration that it did not have to continue paying royalties to UCB under a patent licence. So far so simple, except that the licence was originally for a portfolio of patents relating to an antibody known as tocilizumab. Over time those patents had expired, save for one US patent ("the 771 Patent"). Some of its tocilizumab products are manufactured and sold in the USA, so Chugai wanted the court to rule that those products fall outside the scope of the claims of the 771 Patent, meaning that it would no longer have to pay for them.UCB said that although the case was put as a claim for a declaration relating to a contract, the proceedings required the court to look into the validity of the 771 Patent, not just the scope of its claims. That would be outside the jurisdiction of the English court, which has no power to determine the validity of a foreign patent. Chugai, on the other hand, said that its case was based on a contractual question that the English court did have jurisdiction to determine. It did not say that the 771 Patent was invalid, nor seek any relief as to invalidity, which was only relied on incidentally to support Chugai's construction.The judge accepted that Chugai was not claiming that the 771 Patent was invalid, but was asking the court to see, as a guide to construction, what would be the hypothetical consequences for validity of rival interpretations of its claims. This is the type of argument known to patent folks as a "squeeze", in which a particular claim construction in favour of infringement might have consequences for validity, and, thus requiring the court to give thought to validity in that context. Chugai was therefore raising a dispute about the scope of the claims of a US patent before an English court, but not seeking to invalidate the patent. A subtle but intelligible distinction, at least in the view of this GuestKat.The position was similar to that in [2004] EWHC 1522 ; [2004] EWCA Civ 1331, where the courts (Jacob LJ upholding Laddie J) held that the parties had bargained to give jurisdiction to the English court concerning the scope of the licensed patents. That was notwithstanding that a party might advance a "squeeze" argument. Laddie J had pointed out at first instance inthat for parties to agree that all issues of infringement should be determined by one court might make good sense from a commercial point of view, giving a greater chance of consistency. It may also reduce the amount of litigation involved and might mean that only one court, and in some cases only one judge, would need be educated in the patented technology.In the present case, the judge also rejected a submission that it should decline jurisdiction under the rule in[1893] AC 602 (an ancient case deciding that an English court has no jurisdiction to entertain an action about matters to do with foreign land, extended to claims about foreign IP rights as a matter of general principle). The current dispute was clearly not principally concerned with the question of validity, and it was correctly characterised as a contractual claim in which the parties had agreed that the scope of the patent should be determined by the English court; it was not an affront to comity to give effect to that agreement. This case was therefore within the longstanding contractual exception to therule.Nor would the adjudication of the matters before the court be contrary to the doctrine of "act of state", because the court was not being asked to challenge the validity of foreign legislation or government acts. Anyone can challenge a patent in court proceedings, so the act of state doctrine was not an impediment, even if validity were in issue.Finally, whilst not needing to decide the point in view of the conclusions he had reached, the judge confirmed that in his view direct challenges to the validity of foreign patents should not be justiciable in the English courts. That should be left to judges of the country in which the patent was granted, as held in[2009] EWCA Civ 1328 ; [2010] Ch 503 at [175] per Jacob LJ.
Travelling doesnt have to be such an expensive and somewhat inconvenient endeavor. It doesnt have to be an endeavor thats hard on your finances and lifestyle.

There are ways to make the most of your travelling experience and reduce its pressure on your finances and lifestyle. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, shares 4 ways to travel smartly in Nigeria.

Choose Your Means of Transport Wisely

Constantly check for the fares of different legitimate airlines and transport companies; check for their specific discount periods and discount schemes that will be of benefit to you in budgeting and planning for your travel with your decided mode of transportation. This can help maximize your travel experience. Registering on travel and hotel booking portals like Jumia Travel can help with this. You can take advantage of special travel smart deals to save yourself some more money.

Organize Your Travel Documents Well

Ensure all your travel documents are in place and are easily accessible, so you dont have to waste time trying to find them at crucial times. This sort of oversight can end up either delaying your journey or making it entirely impossible. Besides, youll save yourself the stress of having to deal with officials that might get hostile or even embarrassing when this happens.

Pack Lightly

This can help you avoid excess luggage charges and save you from spending extra money on your travel. Just pack necessary items that can make your travel more convenient and leave behind the rest. Packing with purpose can go a long way in helping you achieve this. Pack with your location in mind and avoid packing things that arent versatile.

Plan Your Trips

Regardless of its a business trip or vacation, you should always endeavor to plan for your travel. From budgeting your travel expenses before and during the trip to the exact kind of hotel or accommodation you intend to stay in, and the means of transport you intent to use at your travel destination. If its an Uber you intend to use, plan for it; if taking the bus will be cheaper, plan for it. Plan every little detail of your trip to the best of your ability. Yes things happen, and you might ultimately not be able to execute your entire plan but it will at least keep you relatively in control of your travel experience and help you reduce and very possibly avoid excess and unexpected costs.
09.06.2017 LISTEN

Credible information reaching Ultimate1069.com indicates that the District Chief Executive of Upper Denkyira West in the Central Region, Ambrose Amoashia, has vehemently rejected farming implements donated to the assembly by Persus Mining Company Limited.

Persus Mining Company Limited attempted to donate items such as cutlasses, Wellington boots and knapsack sprays to be distributed to farmers during the just ended farmers day, but the DCE for the area sent them packing.

Speaking to Ultimate1069.com, the General Manager, Cooperate Affairs, Mr. Edwin Allotey Acquaye explained that the DCE for the area blatantly told them to send the items back to the company.

When the items were sent to Upper Denkyira West District Assembly, the items were rejected by the DCE who asked us to send the items back to the office and that he was not going to receive the items. It was explained to him that the items were meant for the noble and hard working farmers but he didnt barge, he disclosed.

He attributed Mr. Amoashias conduct to illegal mining dispute that occurred between the youth and the mining company some time ago.

We dont have any problem with the DCE, just that there was some illegal mining operation on the companys concession, they basically invaded the companys concession. We decided to get the security agencies to get them out, but we did not receive the cooperation of the DCE, I think he was not happy that the company has commenced mining in an area he wanted to encourage illegal mining. We believe that is the reason behind his rejection of the items, he disclosed.

He expressed disappointment that such a gesture that supports farmers was turned down.

Its very disappointing, farming is a very noble profession, we are alive because of the hardworking of these farmers, and if an individual or organisation comes to support in your district, it should be encouraged, because government cannot do it alone. However, the company is not deterred by this action, we will continue to donate for the benefits of our farmers, he indicated.

He noted that the items did not go waste as farmers indentified by the Planning committee of the National Farmers day celebration in the district were given the items.

Every year on farmers day our farmers are honoured for their hard work, we at Persus since 2010 have been donating to district assemblies within our operational area to support national farmers day activities. This year we made two donations to two districts, we had items such as cutlasses, Wellington boots and knapsack sprays, we split the items into two, we sent some to Wassa Amanfie district in the Western Region and the DCE accepted the items and thanked us for once again supporting farmers. However, the Upper West district DCE rejected the items, he said.

All efforts to reach the DCE proved futile.
Lusaka (AFP) - Zambia's opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, facing treason charges, said Friday he had been moved from a prison in the capital Lusaka to a maximum security jail in a small town.

Hichilema was arrested in April for allegedly failing to give way to President Edgar Lungu's motorcade and has so far been held in detention for two months.

A magistrate court on Thursday ruled that he should face trial for treason in the High Court, dismissing requests by his lawyers to throw out the charge.

"We can confirm that we have been moved to Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe. We arrived a few minutes ago," he said in a Facebook post.

"We don't know what is happening but we are not bothered by processes," he added.

Armed police officers at the Lusaka prison had earlier bundled Hichilema and five co-accused into a van and drove them to the city airport, according to his lawyer Jack Mwiimbu.

Mwiimbu described his transfer to Kabwe, 150 kilometres north of Lusaka, as illegal.

"There was a court order that they should be at Lusaka prison but they have gone against it. He was forcibly removed from Lusaka prison," Mwiimbu told reporters outside Lusaka Central prison where Hichilema had been detained since April 11.

The treason case against the wealthy self-made businessman who turned 55 on Sunday comes after Hichilema made a fifth unsuccessful bid for the presidency last year.

He refused to recognise Lungu as president and has challenged the narrow poll defeat in court.

Home Affairs minister Stephen Kampyongo did not answer his phone when called for a comment.
Airtel Premier, Airtel Ghanas bespoke sub brand that provides unparalleled telecom and lifestyle solutions for high value customers is taking its exceptional customer service to the doorstep of customers through service clinics across the country.

The team recently setup up a bespoke mobile service clinic at the Suame post-office in Kumasi, to engage and interact with customers who work and reside around the area.

The service clinics, held every quarter, are aimed at bringing world class customer service to the homes and localities of customers. They provide a unique opportunity for customers to have access to the full suite of telecom and lifestyle services that Airtel Premier provides and to have their challenges resolved in real time.

The service clinic attracted hundreds of customers who praised Airtel Ghana for bringing service excellence to their doorsteps. They interacted with the customer experience team from the company and had their queries and challenges resolved. Many customers signed up for Airtel Money services and business customers signed up for Airtel Business end-to-end communication, connectivity and collaborative solutions for SMEs.

Customers who visited the service clinics were rewarded with amazing branded items and discount offers from Airtel Premiers benefit partners.

Speaking about the initiative, Airtel Ghanas Head of Customer Experience, Frank Djan said We are delighted to have this opportunity to engage our customers through our service clinics. Although we have two customer experience centers in Kumasi  one in Suame  we know that some of our high value customers in the Suame Maakro area, due to the nature of their work, are unable to visit our Experience centers for enquiries and to have their issues resolved. For this group of customers, we decided to bring our exceptional customer service to their residences and places of work through these service clinics which we organise every quarter.

He continued We relish every opportunity to engage with and build long lasting relationships with our customers. I want to take this opportunity to remind our customers that our Suame shop has been moved to the Suame round-about to bring our matchless services closer to them. The experience at this shop is now better than ever.

Airtel Premier is a sub brand of Airtel Ghana, created to cater to the unique needs of high value customers by going beyond their telecoms needs and providing additional benefits such as discounts on hotel accommodation, grocery shopping, airline tickets, car purchases and servicing as well as free access to the Adinkra lounge at the Kotoka International airport.

About Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed home broadband, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 372 million customers across its operations at the end of March 2017. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com

About Airtel in Africa

Airtel is driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all. Airtel has 17 operations in Africa: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel International is a Bharti Airtel company. For more information, please visit www.airtel.com, or like the Airtel Ghana Facebook page via www.facebook.com/airtelgh or follow us on Twitter via the handle @airtelghana.
The family of slain Major Maxwell Adam Mahama wants a monument of the late military man erected at the Tema roundabout on the Accra-Tema motorway in memory of their kinsman.

They also want the roundabout named after him.

The request is the first the bereaved family has made since the soldier was gruesomely murdered at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central region where the late Major was leading a team to fight galamsey.

Uncle of the late Major, Emmanuel Bamford disclosed this to JoyNews Latif Iddris at last nights vigil for the late military man.

I have spoken to the elders of the family and everybody agrees with it, he said.

When he was asked if the family will be disappointed if the Roundabout is not named after their son, he said I wouldnt jump into conclusion. I will wait for the government. We have proposed that to them, he stated.

He was particularly disappointed with what he described as the backward cowardice shown by the miscreants who killed their son.

Emmanuel Bamford said any of the residents had the opportunity to be a hero by standing up against the lynching and would have been celebrated but they all missed it.

The late Captain Mahama who was posthumously given a rank of Major was buried on Friday in a fitting state burial that saw the countrys top echelons in politics and the military all attending.

One by one, tributes were read for the fallen hero by the vice president Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, the wife Barbra Mahama and parents of the deceased person.

Each one of them sung the chorus of a man who lived so others can live and died so others who may likely be killed in the same manner he died may perhaps be spared from the pain and humiliation.

He was killed by residents of Denkyira-Obuasi on May 29, 2017, where he was commanding army personnel to fight illegal mining.

Mistaken for an armed robber because he had a pistol on him while going on jogging, the army officer was lynched by men, women and children.

He was burnt and stripped in addition, the worse form of death anyone can suffer.

The news about his death spread fast on social media and was met with national indignation.

Some 42 persons have so far been arrested and remanded pending further investigations and possible prosecutions.

The president Nana Akufo-Addo announced a GHS500,000 memorial fund in honour of the wife and kids.

He also pledged a personal contribution of GHS50,000 and said cabinet is still considering a request for a monument to be built in honour of the fallen hero.

Major Mahama was finally laid to rest on Friday.

Story by Ghana|Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
Wa, June 9, GNA - Dr Nurah Gyiele, Minister of State responsible for Food and Agriculture, has appealed to communities along the nation's borders to form volunteer committees to monitor and help check smuggling activities.

He said government's subsidised fertilizer policy is to help reduce the burden on farmers and help them expand farm acreages with improved crop yields.

Dr Gyiele said some are, however, abusing the policy by smuggling the subsidized commodities to the detriment of the small scale farmers.

He said currently the subsidised fertilizers cost GHC 57.50 a bag and it is considered the lowest price in the entire sub region hence the need for all to guard against the smuggling of the commodity to neighbouring countries.

Dr Gyiele said this during a meeting with District Directors and Agricultural Extension Officers at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Wa.

He said government's policies and investment in agriculture would be wasteful and meaningless if stringent measures are not introduced at the regional and district levels to curb smuggling of farm inputs.

Dr Gyiele was in the Upper West Region to have first-hand information about the progress of work on the 'Planting for Food and Jobs' programme and the distribution patterns of government's subsidised fertilizers.

He was also there to find out about the emergence of the fall army worm in the region and efforts being made to control the worm which has destroyed about 100 acres of sorghum at Busa in the Wa Municipality.

Dr Gyiele said government's programmes on agriculture favoured the northern farmers where arable land abound and urged agricultural extension officers to make more effort to register the many small scale farmers in the region.

He said the 'Planting for Food and Jobs' programme is expected to register 130,000 farmers this year and out of the figure, the Northern Region has registered 14,302 farmers, Upper West Region recorded 17,063 farmers while the Upper East Region has registered 23, 000 farmers.

Dr Gyiele also called on the media to help in the sensitisation efforts to ensure that more farmers are registered on the programme.

'Agriculture has no colour, we want to solve the food insecurity in Ghana and put sufficient food on the table of Ghanaians. This, however, depends on the agricultural extension officers to ensure that farm inputs and machinery provided got to the right farmers and at the appropriate time', he said.

On the issue of missing fertilizers in Upper West Region, Dr Gyiele said it was not possible for fertilizers to get missing because any fertilizers which has not been delivered to officials of the Food and Agriculture for distribution to farmers, such fertilizers still remained the company's property and not that of government.

Mr Seth Osei Akoto, Director of Crop Services, who was in the region with Dr Gyiele, said government had procured sufficient chemicals to fight the fall army worm and efforts are being made in this regard.

He announced rice, sorghum, soyabeans and maize seeds as well as pepper, tomato and onion seeds have arrived in the region under the 'Planting for Food and Jobs programme'.

GNA

By Bajin D. Pobia, GNA
Juaso (Ash), June 08, GNA - The Juaso District Manager of the Forest Services Division of the Forestry Commission (FC), Mrs. Rebecca Baning Opan, has encouraged everybody to join the fight to protect the forest and its resources.

They should take responsibility and boldly give out those plundering these through illegal timber operation, gold mining and farming.

Making the call through the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Juaso, she said all must have a part to play in the effort towards ensuring the sustainable management of this vital resource.

Mrs. Opan expressed deep worry about the destructive activities of illegal chainsaw operators and invasion of reserves in the area by Fulani herdsmen and their cattle.

That, she said, must not be allowed to continue, it should not be business as usual and needed to be confronted head-on.

She called for strong support for the FSD to rein in those out there degrading the forest.

She also urged the people to go into the establishment of tree-plantations - to replant denuded forests to restore the forest cover.

Mrs. Opan said this was in the interest of all, adding that, the benefits were enormous.

She suggested that every child was encouraged to plant and nurture a tree as a way of helping them to appreciate the need to safeguard the environment.

GNA

By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA
Accra, June 9, GNA - Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in a tribute on behalf of Government and people of Ghana for the late Major Maxwell Adam Bawumia described the deceased as a soldier's soldier.

The Vice President said the Government and Ghanaians would immortalise and celebrate the courage of the late soldier and that his death should herald the end of impunity and indiscipline in the country.

He said a soldier was the one who was committed to die so that the nation would live and enjoy peace and tranquillity.

He noted: 'There are names that are given to various categories of special soldiers: 'Seals', 'rangers', 'commandos', and such other epithets as that depict valour, honour, commitment and bravery, and if we were to confer all these titles on you, they would not be enough to describe that which you embody'

He said the late Major Mahama lived the creed of the Ghana Armed Forces to its letter and the late soldier exemplified the inscription on the gate of the Military Academy and Training School which states 'Who pass through that gate commit to defend the Nation on land, in the air, and on the seas, even at the peril of their lives'.

Vice President Bawumia said the late soldier lived the commitment as a religious duty because he was legitimately armed, and could legitimately have shot at his attackers but restrained himself and sought to take his life to protect others.

He said: 'How we explain this to his children that their father died on the hands of fellow Ghanaians while protecting our environment and our future, adding: 'If ever there was a person who did not deserve to die, it was Major Maxwell Adam Mahama'.

He said although the government had announced a package for the maintenance of the late soldier's family, it was not enough compensation for his demise, adding, 'We are truly sorry that your fellow Ghanaians did this to you.

'We shall try within our human capacity to make restitution no matter how inadequate it may be'.

The late Major Maxwel Adam Mahama was born on 1st November, 1985 to Captain Deniis Adam Mahama and Madam Veronica Bamford.

He was commissioned into the Ghana Armed Forces on the 7th September 2007, and by dint of hard work rose through the ranks as a Captain at the time of his demise.

However, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces promoted him posthumously to the rank of a Major with effect from May 29, 2017.

The deceased met his untimely death on Monday, May 29 at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Upper Denkyira District in the Central Region when he was mistaken as armed robber and lynched by a mob while jogging along Diaso,Dominase-Anyanfuri road.

The state honoured him with a state burial and funeral service which was organised at the Forecourt of the State House.

The event attracted high level dignitaries including; former Presidents John Agyekum Kufuor and John Dramani Mahama and Speaker of Parliament Right Honourable Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, and a cross section of the public.

GNA

GRB

By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA
A retired army officer is advocating for eye-for-an-eye as the surest way to bring justice to the family of slain soldier, Major Maxwell Adam Mahama.

Captain Budu Koomson (retired), disgusted by the killing of the young army officer, said the life of perpetrators of the heinous crime should not be spared when they are found guilty.

If the death penalty is still in the statute books it should be applied, the retired army officer told Joy News Friday.

Barbara Mahama at the funeral of her husband

The ice of shock on the country following the murder of Major Mahama on May 29, has not melted two weeks on.

The late army officer was on national assignment when he was lynched by some residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region. He was clobbered, stoned and burnt despite a consistent plea that he was an officer of the Ghana Army.

The murder has been widely condemned by Ghanaians and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.

At least 43 suspects are standing trial at the Accra High Court in connection with the murder. They include the Assemblyman of Denkyira West, William Baah who is alleged to have instigated the mob attack.

Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and wife Samira Bawumia

At a state burial held at the State House in Accra Friday, mourners among them Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, senior government officials, Members of Parliament (MPs), and relatives of the deceased, were united in their condemnation of all forms of mob attacks.

The late Major was laid to rest at the Military Cemetery at Osu in Accra with his colleagues, juniors and seniors of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) calling for justice.

Former President John Dramani Mahama

Captain Koomson (retired) said the immediate thing the state has to do is to ensure that a swift investigation is instituted into the barbaric nature of the injustice.

"Punishments must be applied," the former army officer said, adding the perpetrators should be put to death by firing squad to indicate to all Ghanaians that mob injustice carries the maximum penalty of death.

There should be advocacy and a law passed to address specifically mob injustice, he said.

Captain Koomson (retired) also charged the police to exhibit professionalism in their prosecutorial and law enforcement duties.

They should stop begging, he said, adding Ghanaians will be satisfied if proper justice is given the family of the deceased.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com |
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has strongly advocated for enhanced international co-operation for effective monitoring, and a severe sanctions regime to address the problem of illegal and unregulated fishing.

With West Africa having one of the world's most productive fishing grounds, which attract commercial vessels that supply the markets of Europe and Asia, President Akufo-Addo noted that Ghana has experienced a major decline in its fish stocks due to activities linked to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing methods by foreign-owned vessels.

The growing incidence of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is, therefore, of significant concern to Ghana, as it contributes to overexploitation and the depletion of fish stocks in our waters, as well as globally, the President said, adding that his government intends to devote greater national resources to combat this menace to our marine resources.

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Thursday, 8th June, 2017, when he delivered a speech at the United Nations Oceans Conference on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development), which is taking place in New York, USA.

Additional measures to combat the illegal fishing menace, according to the President, have led to government, with assistance from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, developing an elaborated Plan of Action consisting of a 20-point action plan to address issues ranging from regional fisheries management and market mechanisms, to the use of port and flag state controls.

He thus, urged, member countries of the United Nations to ratify the Fish Stock Agreement and the Agreement on Port State Measures to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, stressing that Ghana has ratified both instruments.

President Akufo-Addo also decried unfair competition, in the form of fish subsidies and non-tariff measures, which, he said, is having a negative impact on trade in fish.

Ghana calls for the swift conclusion of WTO negotiations in addressing this issue, and hopes that, in the interest of the health of our oceans and the sustainability of the global fishing industry, subsidies that encourage overcapacity and overfishing will be prohibited sooner rather than later, he said.

The President continued, The speed, with which the world community concludes such an agreement, will be a truer reflection of the sincerity of the commitment to the preservation of the health of our oceans, than any amount of words and official declarations in this regard.

Climate change having adverse effect on oceans

President Akufo-Addo noted that the health of our planet and our peoples is inextricably linked to the health of our oceans, as the oceans cover more than 70 per cent of Earth's surface, and account for the very origins of life.

The world's oceans provide food and sustenance, mineral resources, energy, employment and livelihoods, transport and recreation. The wealth of resources, that oceans provide, forms an important part of the common heritage of mankind, and we owe it to ourselves and to succeeding generations to conserve this natural heritage, he said.

It is for this reason that the President bemoaned the impact of climate change on the oceans, describing it as alarming, and likely to exacerbate the existing impacts of anthropogenic activities in the marine environment.

The gradual warming of our oceans and increasing acidification, and their effects on the marine environment and resources, he said, need to be addressed through the speedy implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which many Member States have signed and ratified, including Ghana, and which represents the blue print for global action to reverse this trend.

President Akufo-Addo, thus, described the recent announcement of the withdrawal of the USA from the agreement as a disturbing development, which Ghana believes, like the majority of the global community, requires urgent reconsideration by the new US administration. We have to work together to protect our planet.

Implement SDG 14

Ghana, according to President Akufo-Addo, believes that implementation of SDG 14 must also encompass continental approaches, and build on continental arrangements and initiatives, such as the AU's 2050 Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy (2050 AIM Strategy) and the declaration of the Decade of Africa's Seas and Oceans.

In support of this, President Akufo-Addo indicated that Ghana has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which has at its core the integration of the environmental, social and economic dimensions of ocean activities.

We believe that the Convention provides a good legal framework, within which our efforts towards the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources can be situated. We urge speedy implementation of the 35 year old Convention and assistance to states parties to that end, he said.

President Akufo-Addo announced that his government, on behalf of the people of Ghana, is able to pledge two commitments towards the implementation of SDG 14.

Eliminating pollution along the country's coast and significantly reduce pollution in the marine ecosystem by 2025, by tackling the current challenges posed by use of plastics and indiscriminate disposal of waste, he said, will be done.

We will complete the assessment of ecologically sensitive areas along the Ghana coast, and designate Ghana's first marine protected area by 2025, to safeguard coastal and marine biodiversity, he added.

-Starrfmonline
* PermaKat Eleonora Rosati received the 2022 Adepi Award

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* IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014.

* Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013.

* Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011.

2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100.

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* Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll.

Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008.
The cost of renewable energy keeps dropping over the past ten years and there is quick learning curve which is making engineers build better renewable energy systems, thus making it flexible and reliable to use, says Bill McKibben, an international environmentalist and co-founder of 350.org, USA, the first planet-wide, grassroots climate change movement.

For instance, the price of solar panel has gone down by 80 percent in the last ten years, non-comparable to anything globally in terms of price dropping, he explains at a meeting with civil society organisations to share perspectives on climate change in Accra, organised by 350 Ghana Reducing Our Carbon (G ROC).

The country through the Energy Ministry in 2014 signed an agreement with China's Shenzhen Energy Group, parent company of Sunon Asogli Ghana Ltd., intends to develop a 2350MW supercritical coal-fired generating units (including affiliated coal handling terminal), to generate 700 megawatts of electricity at Ekumfi within the coastal areas of the Ekumfi District in the Central Region of Ghana.

Coal-fired power is one of the most polluting forms of energy available, particularly when compared to renewable energy alternatives such as wind, solar and geothermal power. The use of coal to produce energy is regarded globally as dangerous to the activities of mankind and the society in general. Several research conducted by many organisations such as the World Health Organisation shows that coal particulates pollution cause approximately one million deaths annually across the world.

"That is why it is a mistake for countries to walk themselves into fossil fuels plants now. If you build a coal power plant now, you are still going to be using that plant in 2060. By 2040, the whole rest of the world are going to be using solar energy for everything because it would be so cheap," McKibben emphasises.

President Akufo-Addo's administration and Paris Agreement

The administration of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), led by President Nana Akufo-Addo looks set to focus more on the application of renewable energy to generate electricity. The manifesto of the NPP intends to rapidly move to the adoption of a distributed solar energy solution for all government and public buildings and work within the framework of Ghanas obligations under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Conference of Parties 2015 (COP21).

Under this framework, the NPP will ensure that least cost environmentally friendly technologies are prioritized in the expansion of the countrys thermal generation portfolio. In particular the Renewable Energy law will be reviewed to regulate and incentivise investments in renewable technologies.

"Everybody is very grateful that Ghana seem set to live up to the Paris agreement and is now backing away from coal fire power plant," he mentions.

According to him the new administration has the chance to be one of the world leaders in leapfrogging away from fossil fuel technology.

He believes that Africa can be one of the places in the world first to use renewable technologies on a huge scale and Ghana is blessed with many things-but sunlight and wind are clearly two of the things most blessed with.

"And you don't have to dig anything up to get that. We look at pictures in the media on what mining does to the places mining goes on that does not happen with the sun. The sun is shining on us every day and we are either wasting it or doing something with it," McKibben adds.

Coal importation cost benefit analysis

Under the erstwhile administration of the NDC, the VRA and its partners intended to import coal from South Africa and even Colombia at a cost, which is more expensive and if you add cost of climate change then it is prohibitively expensive.

"Think of the money that a country like Ghana have to spend to try and defend against drought and flood as they become more common. These are the greatest problems that the world has ever faced-climate change and so anything that keeps it from getting worse is in everybody's economic interests as well as moral interest," he stresses.

Renewable energy and political will

He states that the only to get leaders promote renewable energy is to keep running campaigns. "We call politicians leaders-but in truth they are more often followers of what the public will is and so the crucial thing is education and campaigning and pushing, that makes it easier for good politicians to do the things they want to do anyway and makes it harder for politicians to do corrupt things," he says.

Investment in solar energy

Change in energy is coming very fast and it harder for older people including political leaders to adapt to those changes to understand that the world is shifting around, he said.

"It is important for countries especially poor ones not to lock themselves in obsolete technologies. If Ghana has lots of money to waste then I guess it could build some coal fire power plant but my guess is Ghana does not have money to waste," he indicates.

Pushing the renewable agenda by youth

Young people have to be listened to because they are the ones who are going to live with the results, he notes, adding, "People should pay more attention to young people than old people."

Chibeze Ezekiel, the National Coordinator of 350 G ROC says the Meeting was organised to have dialogue with csos who are supporting the G ROC campaign against coal and generally reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change to share perspectives with Bill, who is co-founder of 350.org.

"At the country level we have the Ghana energy policy in place, and we are seeing how best we can help government to implement the policy which touches on renewable energy as alternative source of energy generation."

According to him Ghana is in energy crisis, where demand is more than supply, so obviously we are seeing government making efforts to meet demand accordingly.

"As a youth network we are trying to support government to ensure we have reliable energy supply and not a short term energy supply. Renewable energy has proven to be best alternative, and coal power generation is unsustainable."

"The Government's 100 days achievement said they have established a policy which mandates major government institutions like the police and military, ministries to move into solar energy and we believe it is a good call and willing to support government to find ways to make it operational and have the ability to generate more energy to meet demand," he said.

"Renewable energy have systems that users can build at the domestic level in their own house with solar panels that can be fixed for any user therefore it is not a huge plant once there is a major problem a whole community have to suffer, so it is very flexible and reliable," Ezekiel notes.
Police in Chereponi in the Northern Region, with support from information provided by an MTN Vehicle and Asset Tracking device, have arrested two men for stealing an MTN Nissan hardbody pick-up from Tamale.

According to the driver of the vehicle who is an MTN Key Account Controller based in Tamale, he woke up about 2:00am on to realize his Nissan pick-up had been stolen. Using information from the MTN vehicle tracking device which had been installed in the vehicle, MTN traced the stolen pick-up to a footpath along the Ghana-Togo border in the Northern Region.

Chereponi police and the chief of Wenchiki, a village close to the Togo border, were alerted. The police contacted Togolese Security who helped with the arrest of the thieves in Togo and by 12 noon, the stolen pick-up had been retrieved from Togo and handed over to MTN officials.

The use of digital innovation to track down and apprehend car thieves is yet another demonstration of MTNs commitment to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world.

Commenting on the incident, General Manager for MTN Business, Mr. Sam Addo, said, In todays digital age, it is important for individuals and businesses to embrace digital solutions to manage, optimize and secure their operations. In this instance a technology solution was used to address a security situation. In the past it would have been difficult to reclaim our lost vehicle within 24 hours but as a result of MTN vehicle tracking technology, in less than 24 hours the vehicle was tracked and recovered.

When the culprits were arrested in Togo, MTN branding on the vehicle had been ripped off but the MTN tracker showed it was the same vehicle. Technology provides speed of processes and makes many things possible, he added.

The MTN Vehicle and Asset Tracking service includes a set of devices for securing, monitoring and tracking valuable assets. The service uses real-time Global Positioning systems (GPS) satellite mapping to show the location of the tracking devices. The GPS devices transmit information so that users can track asset locations at all times.

To brighten the lives of the customers through innovative products and services such as the vehicle tracker, MTN will continue to make significant investments in its network to enhance coverage, optimise customer experience and drive digital inclusiveness by creating unlimited opportunities.

About MTN Ghana

MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go Services. The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghanas telecommunications market.

Since its entry into Ghana in 2006, MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network in order to offer superior services to a broad expanse of the nation. Total network investments from 2006-2016 are about US$3.472 billion. MTN has the widest network coverage across Ghana. With the recent commercial launch of 4G LTE services, MTN became the only mobile operator providing 4G services in all regional capitals and large cities. The company has also built three modern switch and data centres to deliver stable, reliable, efficient and robust Telecom and Data Services to customers.
Our attention has been drawn to a publication in The Chronicle newspaper of Monday, 27th May, 2017 under the above headline. In that publication, you put out a number of inaccuracies making it necessary for us to publish this rejoinder.

Your story is about a pipeline connection with Sunon Asogli Power Plant Ltd., For that matter Chase Petroleum, which is a licenced bulk distribution company, should not have featured in your publication. Our company, Chase Logistics Ltd., is the appropriate entity that should engage your attention.

In 2006, the Government of Ghana (GoG) gave Trafigura a concession to construct a 36-inch pipeline from the SBM mooring facility offshore Tema to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR). The concession was operated and maintained by Kpone Marine Services Limited (KMSL), a subsidiary of Trafigura. KMSL was responsible for facilitating the receipt of crude oil and other petroleum products on behalf of TOR and other importers. The Concession Agreement was originally scheduled to end in August, 2016 but was extended to February 2017.

Since then, the GoG acting through the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has entered into a Joint Venture (JV) Agreement with Oiltanking, which company now operates the facility.

During the pendency of the now expired Trafigura Agreement, Chase Logistics Ltd., constructed a 24-inch pipeline at its own cost to connect the Tema Tank Farm (TTF) depot to the 36-inch crude oil pipeline to facilitate receipt and export of crude oil.

Thus, while TORs bigger 36-inch pipeline runs from the offshore facility to the refinery, the smaller 24-inch pipeline belonging to Adinkra Storage Ltd., runs from the booster station to the Chase Logistics terminal.

The claim in your story that, the pipeline in dispute is reportedly owned by TOR and Oiltanking is incorrect. To begin with, there is no dispute. Secondly, the 24-inch crude oil pipeline and the tank farm it feeds belong to Adinkra Storage Ltd., which is a joint venture between Chase Logistics Ltd., and Vitol Energy.

On Sunon Asogli, we are reliably informed that the company applied to TOR to tie in its own pipeline to TORs 36-inch crude oil pipeline. TOR approved the request. We have further information that upon further studies, TOR discovered that that plan was constrained by certain factors.

Consequently, it was deemed that Sunon Asogli would perhaps be better off performing the tie in to Adinkras pipeline, which, as we have indicated, was privately constructed by Chase Logistics Ltd., at its own cost.

Indeed, we are involved in discussions with TOR to find reasonable and mutually beneficial means of helping to execute the said tie in project.

We remain committed to engaging TOR and the representatives of Sunon Asogli in fruitful discussions to enable the Sunon Asogli project to come on stream to aid the process of industrialisation and to inch Ghana closer to the realization of the GoGs industrialization drive.

It is trite knowledge that we do not have any control over any pipelines belonging to TOR. Neither do we have the power to exercise any of the authorization functions of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) over Sunon Asogli.

Issued by the Board and Management of Chase Logistics Ltd.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
Libreville (AFP) - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres voiced concern Friday over the "widespread instability" and attacks on UN troops in the Central African Republic, which has been wracked by renewed sectarian violence since last month.

One of the world's poorest nations, the Central African Republic has been struggling to recover from a three-year civil war between the Muslim and Christian militias that started after the 2013 overthrow of leader Francois Bozize.

A new flare-up of sectarian violence since the beginning of May has forced tens of thousands to flee conflict-ravaged areas.

"I am concerned by the widespread instability and repeated violations of human rights in the Central African Republic, as well as by the attacks targeting United Nations peacekeeping forces in the southeast of the country," Guterres wrote in a report detailing UN activities in CAR.

Six UN peacekeepers were killed last month in the border city of Bangassou near the Democratic Republic of Congo and the surrounding region, and violence has spread to other nearby towns.

The United Nations has 10,000 troops and 2,000 civilians serving in its MINUSCA mission there.

"The current trend of unrest is of the highest concern to the humanitarian community," the UN's humanitarian coordination agency OCHA said in its monthly bulletin in May.

OCHA said "clashes have taken an increasingly religious and ethnic connotation," which it called "alarming".

It said that the number of internally displaced people is now over half a million for the first time since August 2014, while a further 400,000, out of a population of 4.5 million, are in neighbouring countries.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also expressed concern over the renewed violence, fearing it could spread to the central city of Bambari, about 250 kilometres (150 miles) northeast of the capital Bangui.

Internally displaced people "represent already 60 percent of the population and residents worry that the violence engulfing the cities of Bangassou and Bria since early May in the form of brutal massacres could soon spread to Bambari," MSF said in a statement.
09.06.2017 LISTEN

We took off from KETA on that fateful day filled with vigour and exuberance to JELOKOPE (where is Jelokope?) in a rickety Peugeot car, which I believed belonged to HON. Kujo Fiano (who was he then?)

From Keta we got to "first junction" known as Atiavi, where we were assigned to a temporal booth at "CINEMA KPONO" a video cinema) in Jelokope for temporal comfort. Unfortnately, the driver was the only native among us at our transient station in Atiavi considering that we had stopped to find our lost way, a phenomenon that rarely happens to the driver.

Perhaps, this was how the driver could relay to us an imminent incident which was later to become unforgettable in our innocent hearts and minds.

Low and behold, the incident sudenly came upon us. One could easily describe it as our first mock researsals for death, if at least such things indeed existed---it was indescribable! Indeed, political propaganda-coated news from JUBILEE FM in KETA had gone viral to our dismay suggesting that some criminals had snatched some ballot boxes at various polling stations from accross the Volta Region, the heartbeat and the epicenter of our political opponents.

In fact, while the response to this viral news was shocking, it rather also revealved the hidden unison and the social synergy among the Voltarians and their love for our opponents' political colours: the crowd was really thick around a very tiny radio station soaked with their dislike for our agenda in the region - I suppose you have gotten a mental picture of it! They simply wanted to know what we had stopped to do.

Expectedly, they started interrogating our driver in a language that sounded gibberish, but clearly, one could tell from their gestures that all wasn't well looking. But it was also a ground for learning. However, being a prat as I was then, the only word I managed to keep in my upper chamber is "fiafitor", which according to the driver means "the people mistook the red seals in our car for ballot boxes. So to proactively save our lives, the driver quickly put in the reverse gear in other to escape the mob.

Unfortunately our car had already been blocked with logs from behind us. Yet again, unfortunately, while the driver showed his highest spritual enthusiam to protect us, his body was not strong enough to defend us against his own people.

Consequently, we were severely hurt by their mob justice with the logs, stones, sand and the mighty powers of their bare hands. The injuries sustained ranged from very mild to severe - albeit, it is not worth recounting any more!

Nonetheless, the worst of it all was inflicted on our de facto captain, Awal, known largely amongst his peers as Biggy, who also lost his mobile phone and some GHC200 together. The whole scenario soon faded into memory unexpectedly.

Thus far, I may have sounded very political - forgive me for my lengthy political regurgitation. But very truly, it saddens me when incidents such as the above in addition to what is currently tearing out the rivers in our lovely and caring eyes accross the whole country happen, there comes a sudden installation of fear, panic, politcal action and, herhaps, religious prayer. But, after the first moments of these feelings and actions, we go back to our normal way of doing things where nobody takes the concern of the consequneces of their actions. Really very appalling for my liking.

This is not the first time such incident is happening. The only significant difference this time is that it happened to a person who swore to protect his country, and it it was only appropriate that he died only in a war. But it particularly provokes me when I see the seamless aura of political feelings associated with it.

What I can only say is that, it is as though it is safe enough to conclude that the Ghanaian way of life is now indoctrinated by external factors which can be called the western mentality.....we still need to stand firm and together so that we can fight against all actions of evil unanimously.

To be continued.....

FUSHEINI IDDRISU (June Yendi)

MATHS TEACHER RHEMA INT.JHS

YENDI .
Accra, June 9, GNA - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on Friday donated five Land Cruiser Prados to the Ministry of Education to support the USAID Ghana Partnership for Education: Learning Activity (PELA).

The vehicles would be used in monitoring the programme, which aims at enhancing teaching and learning in Ghanaian schools.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Madam Cynthia Bosumtwi-Sam, Director, Basic Education Division, Ghana Education Service said the vehicles would be given to officials of the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, the National Council for Curriculum Assessment and the National Teaching council.

'It will enable them to engage in effective monitoring and evaluation process in all the 100 districts that have been selected to benefit from the programme,' she said.

It would also aid the Ministry's aim of strengthening and supporting human and institutional capacities to improve academic excellence in early grade reading as well as improve, expand and sustain reading outcomes,' she said.

Madam Bosumtwi-Sam said, learning especially reading was key in the life of every child and a priority to government hence the need for the Ministry to work with all contracted partners to ensure the effective implementation of PELA.

She said aside PELA, the Ministry had also initiated a reading festival as a strategy to encourage and stimulate children's interest in reading and had also procured 4.3 million supplementary readers in Ghanaian and English languages for all public primary schools.

On the programme, Madam Bosumtwe-Sam said it was a collaboration between the USAID, the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service.

'It is aimed at supporting Ghana's educational institutions with the goal of improving, expanding and sustaining learning outcomes for kindergarten through to grade three,' she said.

She said the programme was started in 2013 and is expected to end in the 2019.

Madam Bosumtwi-sam stated that 100 districts excluding deprived districts were selected to participate in the programme based on their performance and enhancement in the educational sector.

She said measures were being put in place to take care of those in the deprived districts as well.

GNA

By Agnes Ansah, GNA
09.06.2017 LISTEN

Accra, June 9, GNA - Major Derrick Oduro (Rtd), the Deputy Minister for Defence has applauded the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) for designing and implementing the Peace Operations Course and Combined Joint African Exercise 2017.

He also commended the course director and all resource persons, who availed themselves to facilitate the programme.

Major Oduro (Rtd) gave this applause in a speech read on his behalf by Rear Admiral Seth Amoama, the Commandant of the GAFCSC at the closing ceremony of the Peace Operations Course and the Combined Joint African Exercise 2017.

The Course was to provide the military officers of the College Senior Course 38, officers from other security agencies and middle level directors of selected institutions with the knowledge of planning, coordination and conduct of peace operations at the strategic, operational and tactical levels.

He said in the wake of the very recent Gambian crisis, the importance of a capacity for crisis intervention to African Nations, sub-regional organisations and the African Union could not be overemphasised.

He said considering the multi-dimensional nature of peace operations and the rate at which the bouquet of associated considerations had changed over the past few years, the importance of realistic practical training as part of the overall capacity building strategy must be recognised.

Major Oduro (Rtd) said participants should endeavor to continue updating their knowledge and stay in touch and exchange information on a regular basis and apply what they learnt to every relevant situation.

He also commended the GAFCSC for adding innovative programmes to its curricular and for bringing agencies of the State together to seek common ways to address important national and regional issues.

He said this initiative was lauded and urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies to render the necessary support to sustain such programmes.

Colonel Lawrence K. Gbetanu, Chief Instructor, Army Faculty told the Ghana News Agency that the objective of the course was to develop participant's understanding of the nature of conflicts in Africa, the concept of peace operations, military component planning process, diplomacy and mediation in peace operations.

The rest are integrated mission support, the ASF and ESF concepts.

It is also to develop a platform for participants to tap experience from professionals and key personalities with diverse peace operations exposure, develop the participant's knowledge of the integrated mission planning process.

He said in all over 100 participants took part in the course coming from various countries namely; Botswana, Liberia, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.

They consist of 64 military officers and 37 civilians coming from various agencies.

Mr Kofi Agra, a Participant said the course exposed them to the operations of peace keeping and its processes.

'The knowledge we gained will also take us through our working environment and also sharpen our understanding of issues,' he added

GNA

By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA
Late Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama, promoted by Prez. Akufo-Addo to the rank of Major this week, has also received a seed funding of GHC 500.000, a memorial statue to be erected in his honour and state funeral on Friday 09.06.2017, besides endless Media coverage due to the murder of the 32-year-old man with 27-year-old wife and 2 and 4-year-old children on 29.05.2017 in the Central Region of Ghana lynched by an angry mob, is on the mind of all Ghanaians right now.

Police and Military Forces have moved into the town the sad incident had occurred and arrested over 40 people suspected to have been involved in the incident to guarantee a swift prosecution to bring closure to the bereaved family.

The same day the Military Officer died a woman was lynched in the Upper East Region of Ghana suspected by an angry mob to be a witchthat was all. Media Houses and Politicians keep silence about the case, no President Visit, no money given, no investigation forced to find the mob members involved. This is not the first time that in Ghana people get killed and the noise around it is small. Any life lost, regardless of the status a human has in a country, is of the same value; but Ghana seems to make a difference and place value on citizens in different waysso sad to observe over and over again.

Truly, as much as we Whites see Ghana from the outside with no details from the inside, we judge the country in a different manner, see Ghanaians as nice and peaceful people. Only when someone lives in the country among the people, such a person can experience on daily basis the wicked mind and spirit that is poisoning the society of Ghana. This is due, as some Men of God claim, to the curse Dr. Kwame Nkrumah had spelled over the country, and Africa as a whole, after the Ghanaians had overthrown him in 1966 and forced him into exile in Guinea.

The question that pops up is why are all Politicians and Media Houses so concerned and nervous about this case of lynching, but relaxed on the many other cases of chieftaincy clashes with people left dead behind on nearly daily basis in Ghana?

As Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi, Glorious Wave Church Int., Sakumono, on Sunday, 04.06.2017 stated in his sermon, another case of lynching will occur this year stimulating young soldiers to rebel against the old guard which would lead the Security Forces to enter Flagstaff House and take over the power in the country. Listening to the Police and Army Force Press conferences and seeing the faces of the Officers, it becomes obvious, the anger among the Security Personnel is increasing, more so in the light that most of them cannot identify in Prez. Akufo-Addos policy a step into the righty direction to help Ghana out of misery but in fact to worsen the problems; while his age this year will see his Vice President, a Muslim in a Christian dominated country that is not very popular among his own religious grouping, taking over.

As Prez. J.J. Rawlings in Wa, Upper West Region, proclaimed in his speech at the June 4th celebration of his Coup 38 years ago, when he had taken over the power of the country, corrupt Generals and other Officials got executed by his people to end a standing history of mismanagement of Ghana. Today in the democratic setting, he lamented angrily, the level of corruption is 1000 times higher. The voices stating that Democracy is the constitutional right of the Political and Economic Elite to exploit the country of its assets and profit are getting louder and angrier. The call for another J.J. Rawlings among the Security Personnel is obviously getting stronger momentum, while even many people in the streets asking for the White Man to take charge again.

Whatever the outcome in a long run will be, the atmosphere in Ghana at this point of history is electric and ready to burst at any time with an uncertain outcome as nobody in the Military is prepared for a substantial alternative with a new vision that can work. Arab Spring of 2011 teaches us, as long as a country is taking its anger to the streets to oust an old regime without an exact detailed plan outlining the way forward, is to cause casualties, displaced people, and lost future.

As Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi convincingly further stated, until the end of this year powerful people and companies will collapse to bring new people and ideas to lightnothing is forever, everything is on the move.

Author: Dipl.-Pol. Karl-Heinz Heerde, Sakumono, Tema West, Ghana, phone +233(0)265078287, [email protected] , 06.06.2017
H. Res. 188 notes that the majority of the victims, including teenagers and pregnant women, were imprisoned for merely taking part in a peaceful protest or making statements against the brutality of the Regime.

Amnesty International has stated that the main victims of the massacre were those affiliated with the main opposition group, the Peoples Mojahehin of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

Prisoners, who had long been subject to abuse and torture, were blindfolded and interrogated by a committee, known as the Death Commission. They were asked their political affiliation and if they did not give the right answer, they were sentenced to death.

The resolution also highlights the particularly barbarous actions of the Regime when they attempted to cover up the massacre.

It read: The families of the executed were denied information about their loved ones and were prohibited from mourning them in public.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, a political scientist and an expert on the Iranian Regime, wrote: Many argue that like most instances of brutal carnage by autocratic, dictatorial or theocratic governments, the massacre was carried out in such a way that word of the executions spread to all corners of the country, terrorizing the populace and paralyzing thousands of families, neighbourhoods, and communities with grief.

Despite attempts to silence the families of the victims, several mass graves containing the remains of the prisoners have been uncovered and the Regime has attempted to desecrate them and destroy any evidence.

The House was incentivised to pass the bill following Iranian President Hassan Rouhanis reappointment of Mostafa Pourmohammadi as Justice Minister.

Pourmohammadi has previously claimed to be proud of his role on the Death Commission that sent thousands to their deaths. He has claimed that he was doing Gods will.

As mentioned above, the Iranian Regime does not seek to punish those who have committed crimes against humanity, but reward them with high-ranking positions.

Amnesty International, wrote in a report on the massacre that the perpetrators should be brought to justice.

The report said: There should be no impunity for human rights violations, no matter where or when they took place. The 1988 executions should be subject to an independent impartial investigation, and all those responsible should be brought to justice, and receive appropriate penalties.
Summerville Bears logo View Photos

Summerville High School and Connections Visual and Performing Arts Academy will hold their Graduation Ceremony tonight for the Class of 2017.

Diana Harford, Principal for both of the schools was Fridays KVML Newsmaker of the Day.

The Class of 2017 will graduate tonight @ 8 PM at Thorsted Field. This evenings ceremony will conclude with a fireworks show.

Harford urges the public to arrive early as the parking spots and seats will fill up quickly. There will be shuttle service from the Westside parking lot beginning at 6:30 PM and the shuttle will transport people back to the Westside parking lot after the ceremony.

Connections is a Charter School that shares the campus with Summerville Public High School. Any student from seventh through the twelfth grade is eligible to apply to attend regardless of where they live in Tuolumne County.

A Charter School is a public high school that is funded by attendance, just like every other public school. Connections Academy students are public school students.

According to Harford, this type of shared and integrated campus experience is so rare that there may only be two or three other high schools in the state of California with a similar situation.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 AM.
Sonora, CA  By mid-June a local water district anticipates releasing for public review an environmental document supporting its multi-million dollar preservation and restoration plans for Phoenix Lake.

The opening of the public comment period is expected to pave the way for a public hearing by late July and trigger more meetings with members of the homeowners associations around the lake.

Although the project, if it moves forward as scheduled, is not slated to begin until next spring, it will involve extensive work over a two-year period. While no impacts to local drinking water supplies are expected, related activities will effectively take the lake out of recreational play for two summers.

Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD) District Engineer Erik Johnson, interviewed by Clarke Broadcasting to provide an overview of the project, traces Phoenix Lakes roots back to 1852, when its purpose was to support local mining operations. Like so much of our water system with the ditchesand flumes, it was for the gold, he recounts. Over time, it became a recreational asset.

A Primary Though Murky Water Supply

Subsequent development around it and upstream on the 25-mile area watershed led Phoenix Lakes conversion to become the primary water supply for Sonora, Jamestown and areas like Mono Village and East Sonora. It also begat a sediment inflow increase and buildups within the lake from erosive soils and decomposed granites that now exceeds more than 20 times of what it was before all the development.

Among the set goals are to increase water storage in the reservoir by roughly a third to 850 acre-feet and to improve water quality. Johnson points to invasive aquatic growths such as Eurasian milfoil. Native to Europe, Asia, Europe, North Africa, it covers portions of the lake like a carpet, choking off oxygen levels and contributing to off tastes and odors in the drinking water. We can chlorinate it and it is safe to drink but when the water temperature is high you can taste it, he confides.

Too, he comments, The circulation in the lake is bad. Water from Sullivan or Power creeks through the lake to the pipeline into the water treatment plant does not circulate well, creating stagnant areas such as at the side of the lake near Phoenix Lake Road.

While watershed was dredged twice in the 1980s  once by PG&E and once by the county  those operations were done by sucking and scooping sediments while leaving the lake water in the basin. Outlining the districts plans, Johnson explains, We are hoping to actually drain portions of the lake in two phasesliterally drain half the lake and then literally get equipment into the lake bed and dredge  excavate  all that sediment, and then remove it So we know exactly what we are removinghow muchand how deep [the lake] is going to be in certain areas.

Sandbars For Improved Circulation

Following that, he says, We will reestablish sandbars in a very specific pattern so that the water, as it comes in from Power and Sullivan creeks, goes into what I call the the south side of the lake where Phoenix Lake Road is, and then doubles back and heads towards the pipeline that goes over to the water treatment plant.

The resulting circulation pattern is expected to help keep water temperatures down and facilitate a deeper lake where sunlight will not permeate, which will help discourage invasive aquatic growth and improve dissolved oxygen levels. In another step within the project, TUD has slated to abate excessive lake reed root mats, timed with TUDs Division of Safety of Dams permit requirement to lower the lake levels in November by about six feet, enabling room for winter storm flows. During the drought one reedy area actually caught fire, showing that these overgrowths are a potential fire hazard.

Addressing concerns of those who might think that the dredging will have to be completely redone at some later time, Johnson explains that TUD will be installing a large sediment capture basin at the inlet where Sullivan, Chicken and Power creeks come together. That will be where all of this material settles outso we will be able to lower the lake in that area every five years or so and clean it out [there] and not have that sediment scattered throughout the whole lake, which makes for a really expensive project. Cleaning out the sediment forebay when it comes time he says, will likely create only nominal impacts.

Tapping Cost Savings From Indigeny Reserve

Overall funding for the project includes $5 million from two separate grant allocations through Prop 84 administered through the obviously supportive Integrated Regional Water Management Agency (IRWRMA) and a contribution of $1.1 million from the district. Design and permitting costs at $770,000 will leave the balance for construction.

Johnson shares while it is possible those costs might not allow the district to accomplish quite everything it wants, the district is encouraged by some major cost savings obtained through an agreement with Cedar Ridge Apple Ranch/Indigeny Reserve to accommodate the sediment deposits  which have tested out as not presenting a health hazard  on their ranch land adjacent to the lake for a fraction of the cost it would be to haul it out and deposit some distance away.

Come next April, if the project initiates without any delays, Johnson says that residents around the Phoenix Lake will not see it begin to rise as it typically does that time of year. Instead of the reservoir going up by six feet when we put the boards in at the dam and raise the level, we will actually initiate a lowering of the reservoir and it will look very different than people have ever seen the lakeand it will be that way throughout the summer next year, he explains.

Addressing Customer Impacts

Those living around the lake will notice because they will not have recreational lake access. There will be some noise, but the equipment will not be located next door to houses and we are going to protect peoples docks, Johnson maintains. Although the bulk of the work will be done over next summer, he allows that current plans call for the reservoir to be lowered again in 2019 to complete the project.

Johnson emphasizes that when construction is underway part of the lake will continue being maintained as a drinking supply and a fish refuge, so Sonora residents and businesses might not even notice anything is going on. As an aside however, he notes, Our treatment plant operators are going to have to keep a really close eye on water quality and they will need to change the way they filter and chlorinate the water.

As far as anticipation of public comments ahead go, Johnson replies, I imagine once the [environmental] document is out there will be some comments  I have not heard a whole lot of concern about recreation.

By and large, he says, the community has been very supportive and the people living around the lake realize it needs to be improved. Anyone who has a dock and that lake is in their backyard is going to see a much improved lake, he states. Admittedly he adds, But it is going to come at the cost of two summers. So we are hoping that people will stomach it and work with us through the project.

Benefits Include Preserving Emergency Provisions

Summarizing, Johnson opines, I think it is a great project that incorporates a lot of benefitsrecreationally, environmentally, drinking water, water supply. Too, he points out, If a big fire came through the area and wiped out the flume below Lyons Dam, it would be Phoenix Reservoir that keeps the business communityeverybody in town in water for 30 days or more while a repair is made on the upstream system  so it is really an emergency water supply as well.

While the overall project provides some major fixes, he says the district realizes that it needs to be coupled down the line with other improvements in the watershed, such as road culvert repairs and the construction of smaller upstream basins to collect some of sediment down-flow.

Johnson remarks this will require coordinating with potentially hundreds of property owners and the county. So, for now, he chuckles, Our game plan is to address the lakeand phase in  over time  repairing the scars that are throughout the watershed upstream.

To view historic and current images of Phoenix Lake as well as project-related illustrations, click into the image box slideshow. For more project details, click here.
Governor Jerry Brown View Photos

Sacramento, CA  California lawmakers must pass a new state budget by Thursday, June 15, in order to keep receiving a paycheck.

Last month Governor Jerry Brown proposed a $125-billion spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1st. A state legislative panel approved portions of the budget on Thursday. It includes expanding a tax credit for the working poor, boosting spending on social services. Negotiations with Brown and party leaders will kick into high gear today, as the governor returned late Thursday from a week-long trip in China in which he promoted Californias climate policies.

Browns Deputy Finance Director, Amy Costa, told the Associated Press that a key item of disagreement still lurking is how to spend new tobacco tax revenue. Some lawmakers are arguing that more money should be used to increase the reimbursements for the Denti-Cal and Medi-Cal programs. California will receive an estimated $1.2 billion in additional revenue from a $2-per-pack increase in tobacco taxes approved by voters.

There is a state rule requiring lawmakers to pass a budget by June 15 in order to still receive pay. The final document must also be translated to formal legislative language, and published online, three days before the vote.
One of the famous actors in Nigeria, Richard Mofe Damijo (also known as RMD), recently shared some photos of his family. He is the happiest husband, father, and grandfather in the world. According to him, his family is his source of strength and support. What is more, it usually brings him inspiration.

Richard Mofe Damijo background

So, Richard Mofe Damijo was born on the 6th of July, 1961. His native land is the Aladja commune of the Udu Kingdom, which is located near Warri, Delta State. He received his primary and secondary educations at the Anglican Grammar School, where he became a devoted member of the Drama Group.

It is a well-known fact that after this, Richard Mofe Damijo attended Midwest College. Then he got admission into the University of Benin where he studied Theatre Arts. In 1997 Richard decided to go to the University of Lagos to study law, and in 2004 he graduated the University.

Richard Mofe Damijo career

It is important to mention that after graduating from the University of Lagos, Mofe-Damijo kicked off his career as a reporter in for Concord Newspapers and Metro Magazine. Also, in the late 80's he acted in a television soap opera called "Ripples".

By the way, he is not just one of the most famous actors in Nigeria, but he also used to be the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State.

READ ALSO: The 10 best moments of Richard Mofe-Damijo's life

Speaking about his filmography career, it is important to mention that he acted in many different movies. The first film he took part in was "Out of Bounds" in 1997. After this, his acting career blossomed

At the African Movie Academy Awards, Richard Mofe Damijo got the award for the Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2005.

Richard Mofe Damijo family

Richard Mofe Damijo was born into a family of 18. He said that love, support, understanding, and honesty are the main conditions for a happy family life.

He was first married to one of the famous journalists and publishers of Nigeria, May Ellen-Ezekiel. They were happy together, and had a son named Oghenekome Mofe Damijo. But in 1996 May Ellen-Ezekiel's passed away. Soon after, Richard married another woman.

His current wife, Jumobi Adegbesan, was a TV presenter, who later left TV for the corporate world. Now they have four children, two sons, and two daughters. They are really happy together. Richard Mofe Damijo loves his family so much, and he tries to be the best role model for his children.

Richard Mofe Damijo and daughters

Richard Mofe Damijo children are very happy to have such a great mom and dad because they will always get parental support and advice

To tell the truth, such a family should be an example for everyone. They really love each other and are ready to offer assistance at any moment. By the way, not so long ago, Richard Mofe Damijo became a grandfather. His older son, Oghenekome Mofe Damijo, and his wife, gave birth to their daughter, and later to a son. So, that made him the happiest grandpa as well!

Richard Mofe Damijo and his granddaughter

READ ALSO: Richard Mofe Damijo shares the joy of being grandpa a second time

Source: Legit.ng
Editor's note: In this Ramadan lecture,we look at the tricky question of whether Muslims are allowed to either take injection or blood transfusion during Ramadan.

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

The month of Ramadan is nearly getting to the middle and Muslims across the world are getting used to waking up before sunrise to offer supplication to Allah and engage in Sahur while also abstaining from eating or drinking before sunset.

The core aspect of Ramadan is the abstinence from eating or drinking during the day which is why when a person deliberately breaks the fast, the individual is expected to pay back by fasting for 60 consecutive days or feeding a poor person for 60 days.

READ ALSO: Obasanjo knocks President Buhari over increased insecurity in Nigeria

Can a person who is fasting during Ramadan take injection?

Taking injection during Ramadan for medical reasons in permissible in Islam in that the essence is to address a particular medical need. It is however not permissible to take injection if its essence is for nourishment as that is also akin to eating or drinking.

It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daaimah (10/252):

It is permissible to be given medicine via injection into the muscles or veins when fasting during the day in Ramadaan. But it is not permissible for the fasting person to be given nutrients during the day in Ramadaan, because that comes under the same rulings as consuming food and drink, and this injection is regarded as a means of breaking the fast in Ramadaan. If it is possible to give the injection into a muscle or vein during the night, that is preferable.

As long as the injection is not a substitute for food, it does not invalidate the fast

READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda

Blood transfusion

As blood is the ultimate form of nourishment, it invalidates the fast. AMuslims who is very ill up to the point where he requires blood transfusion is excuse from fasting and he should pay it back after Ramadan.

Allah knows best

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better Market Survey:

How Ramadan is affecting prices of fruits in the market - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
The current president, Hassan Rouhani, won a surprise victory in 2013 amidst promises of domestic reform, the release of political prisoners, and reduction in tensions with the international community. But although Rouhani spearheaded the 2015 nuclear agreement with the US and five other world powers, he has failed to take any noticeable action on his other promises, and has in fact overseen accelerated crackdowns on dissent and executions of non-violent criminals. Nevertheless, the controversial nuclear agreement has apparently been sufficient to spur Khamenei toward repeated public criticisms of the presidential administration in the run-up to Rouhanis May reelection bid.

In this context, Khameneis remarks can be seen as a preemptive rebuttal to suggestions that the regime may be positioning itself to install a hardline challenger to the current president. Government-backed manipulation of the vote is reportedly commonplace in the Islamic Republic. In previous years, the exiled opposition coalition known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran has revealed reports alleging that members of the Basij civilian militia had been seen voting at multiple polling places and that state media coverage of electoral turnout had been highly manipulated.

In any event, the hardline Guardian Council is empowered to block the candidacy of anyone it deems to be undesirable  a fact that arguably goes a long way toward explaining Rouhanis apparent disinterest in actively pursuing domestic reforms. Khameneis relative lack of confidence in the current president seems to stem from a dispute over foreign policy tactics and the perceived impact of the nuclear agreement. The supreme leader has criticized the Rouhani administration for failing to deliver the promised economic improvements to a country where the official government statistics put the unemployment rate at at least 12.4 percent.

Khameneis proposed solution to this has been the renewal of a resistance economy focused on domestic development at the expense of foreign trade. Agence France-Presse reports that this has been a main theme in his speeches for months, and that he has recently called for a ban on some foreign imports. This sort of protectionism promises to mostly benefit businesses owned, in whole or in part, by Khamenei himself and by the similarly hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran released a detailed report earlier this month on the rise of the Revolutionary Guards financial empire. It alleges that the IRGC and the supreme leader control well over half of Irans gross domestic product. The NCRI and other critics of the Iranian regime have also been regularly charting the overall increase in the IRGCs power over Irans domestic and foreign policies. This is something that is arguably reflected in the difficult race that Rouhani seems to be facing in spite of the fact that a specific hardline challenger has not yet been named.

Without speculating on this particular topic, a recent piece in Commentary Magazine looked ahead to the 2021 presidential election and suggested that Qassem Suleimani, the commander of the IRGCs foreign special operations Quds Force may be positioning himself to take over the presidency at that point, following a possible second term for Rouhani. The article was quick to connect Suleimanis rising celebrity status to the IRGCs rising political and diplomatic profile.

The article highlights Iranian state medias keen interest in covering Suleimanis commentary on political topics, and it concludes that there is a clear message in this: Any diplomat  in Washington, in Brussels, or elsewhere  who believes they can strike effective deals with Iranian diplomats while ignoring the Qods Force and the levers of power it controls is profoundly ignorant of how the Islamic Republic operates. Ordinary politicians and cabinet officials do not hold sway over the Revolutionary Guards; if anything it is the opposite.

Khameneis Nowruz remarks can be interpreted as extending this message to a domestic audience and reinforcing the message that the voting population cannot seriously challenge the will of the IRGC. After all, those remarks were delivered in the midst of multiple reports from human rights advocates and global media, stating that the IRGC and the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence had both been expanding their crackdown on political dissent and independent journalism in the run-up to the election.

Earlier this week, for instance, it was reported that Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, had been sentenced to six months in prison on the charges of spreading lies against the judiciary. And last week the Center for Human Rights in Iran pointed out that the prominent activist Hengameh Shahidi had released letters composed before her arrest, in which she anticipated that the regime would take her and other activists into custody as part of an effort to manipulate the political situation ahead of the May elections.
- Ossai Ovie has stated that the people of Delta state do not subscribe to the agitation for Biafra

- The governors aide stated that the south south state is not a part of the south east region

- According to Ovie, including Delta on the map is a wrong judgement as the state was never a part of Biafra

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have been told to remove Delta state from the map of Biafra.

According to reports, the directive was given by Mr. Ossai Ovie, a special assistant to the governor of Delta state, Ifeanyi Okowa.

READ ALSO: Nigeria's police chiefs meet amid tension over quit notice to Igbos in north (photos)

Ovie made his comments while addressing newsmen at the state capital, Asaba on Thursday, June 8.

According to Ovie, Delta has never been part of Biafra; and so, including the state on the map of Biafra, was an error.

He said: Delta is not part of the South-East region and does not subscribe to the renewed agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra and others.

We are from the South South part of Nigeria and we are proud Nigerians.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has assured Igbos in the North that President Muhammadu Buhari will ensure that those behind the three-month eviction notice will be arrested and prosecuted.

APC spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi made the disclosure while assuring Igbos that the Buhari-led Federal Government will ensure their safety in the region.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video of a man saying those who don't believe in Biafra are Monkeys

Source: Legit.ng
The repressive forces of the IRGC Intelligence and plainclothes agents gathered in Sepah Square, in Tehran at 9:30 that morning to prevent the demonstrators from marching to the regimes parliament (Majlis).

Reports say that IRGC Intelligence agents threatened many of the personnel and faculty of the Education Ministry the day before, in a attempt to dissuade them from taking part in the demonstration.

Internet service was also disrupted in the central and western parts of the capital to to disrupt organizing efforts and mass mobilization for the demonstration.

In spite of these efforts, large numbers of faculty and retired personnel managed protest at the Majlis and display their placards which read, Earning a decent living is our inalienable right.

Hundreds of retired personnel of the staged a gathering outside their former employer, the Department of Education, in Shiraz.

A group of the retired personnel of the Education Department also staged a gathering in Mashhad. Their placards read, Motto of the International Teachers Day: Respect the status of teachers, and improve their dignity and status.

Teachers and the faculty of the Education Department in the north Iranian Province of Gilan, issued a statement on International Teachers Day, as well. They demanded abolition of discrimination in salaries, benefits, and provision of the minimum living, removal of security, political and social pressures on teachers, removal of the obstacles for the teachers organized activities and their affiliated media, provision of social and health insurances, balancing the salaries and benefits of the working and retired personnel of the Education Department with other educational facilities, and improvement of classroom conditions to match international standards.

Retired teachers and faculty of the Education Ministry do not enjoy dignified living conditions under the rule of the clerical regime in Iran. They are deprived of many of their rights. They live in terrible conditions. This is while the Iranian peoples assets are spent on warlike efforts and export of terrorism to other countries, particularly in the Middle East, on missile projects, or are plundered by the regimes leaders. Parts of such astronomical embezzlements are revealed in the course of the regimes internal feuding, says the NCRI, who add, The Iranian Resistance hails all the freedom-loving teachers and education faculty of Iran and calls on the nation, particularly on women and youths, to rise in solidarity with the teachers protest movement.
- A bomb explosion has forced residents of Hong local government area in Adamawa state to flee their homes

- A local vigilante says the bomb was delivered to some children who were playing by a yet to be identified driver in a starlet

- The bomb incident has been confirmed by the state police spokesperson Othman Abubakar

Two children have been confirmed dead and three others injured following a bomb explosion in Fadaman Rake area of Hong local government in Adamawa state.

READ ALSO: UN reacts to quit notice issued to igbos in north

Premium Times, citing the account of residents, reports that the incident occurred at about 7pm local time on Thursday, June 8, while residents were about to break their Ramadan fast.

The explosion reportedly forced hundreds of residents of the area to flee their homes.

A local vigilante said the bomb was delivered in a polythene bag to some children who were playing by a yet to be identified driver in a starlet.

The man just stopped his starlet as if he is looking for help. He gave one of the boys playing a polythene bag that he should take it to his father as it contained money and valuables.The boys didnt know and in the process of taking it to home, we just heard the blast.

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Two kids lost their lives instantly, while the remaining two and one passerby were seriously injured and rushed to nearby hospital unconscious, the vigilante, Baba Yerima, said.

Confirming the incident, the state police spokesperson, Othman Abubakar, also corroborated the account by the local vigilante that the bomb was delivered by an unknown starlet driver.

Abubakar said: It was one unknown starlet driver that approached some children at Fadaman Rake holding a polythene bag and there he delivered it to one of the kids with a pretence that it was money and other valuables meant for their father.

Unknowingly the children collected it and while in the process of taking it to their home, the bomb exploded.

Two children were confirmed died instantly as three others including a passerby injured and were rushed to hospital in Hong.

The blast in Adamawa comes a day after coordinated by Boko Haram on Maiduguri caused over a dozen deaths.

The police said the jihadists killed 14 people in the capital of Borno state.

The fighters had attacked the city's suburbs on Wednesday night with anti-aircraft guns, said Damian Chukwu, police commissioner of Borno state.

In the video below, Nigerian Air Force gives an update on operations against Boko Haram in 2017.

Source: Legit.ng
- Two federal high court judges are facing corruption charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

- The judges were recently recalled by the National Judicial Council (NJC)

- The anti-graft agency filed all the charges at the Lagos state high court

A report by The Cable indicates that the EFCC has filed corruption charges against two Federal High Court judges recalled recently by the NJC.

Last week, the NJC announced the recall of six out of eight judges accused of corruption by the federal government.

According to the council, its decision was based on the fact that the government failed to file charges against five of the judges months after their arrest and suspension.

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In response, the government had criticised the decision, and vowed to take action against the judges.

On Thursday, June 8, the EFCC filed 14-count charges of unlawful enrichment against Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, a judge in the Federal High Court, Lagos.

The anti-graft commission alleged that the judge had a significant increase in his assets that he could not reasonably explain in relation to his lawful income.

The EFCC also filed four-count charges of corruption and attempting to pervert the course of justice against Mohammed Yunusa, a judge in the Federal High Court, Lagos.

All the charges were filed at the Lagos state high court.

Meanwhile, Adeniyi Ademola, one of the judges prosecuted by the federal government, was discharged and acquitted of all charges against him by an Abuja high court recently.

Justice Ademola has since resumed sitting.

But the federal government said it would appeal against the judgment of the court.

READ ALSO: Nigeria's police chiefs meet amid tension over quit notice to Igbos in north (photos)

Watch the Legit.ng TV video report of the anti-corruption walk of the EFCC held recently in Abuja.

Source: Legit.ng
- Igbos have begun fleeing northern states such as Kaduna, Kano following the eviction order given by northern youths

- Those fleeing the north do not trust the government to protect them

- They fear for their lives because as some noted, none of the people who gave the quit notice has been arrested yet

Some Igbos resident in the north have already begun relocating to other parts of Nigeria, following the quit notice issued by the Coalition of Northern Youths.

Though the directive has now been rescinded, barely a week ago, the Coalition of Northern Youths had given all Igbos resident in the north a three month directive to vacate the region, and also asked Hausas in the east to return back to their places of origin.

READ ALSO: Deltans are proud Nigerians - Okowa aide

According to a report by Daily Post, during a visit to the God is Good Motor Park in Mando, Kaduna State on Thursday, June 8, the park was brimming with Igbos returning back to the east.

One of the fleeing Igbos identified himself as Ifeanyi Odozie, an electric appliance dealer.

Some Igbos leaving the North

According to Odozie, he was leaving because he didnt want to put his family at risk.

He further disclosed that he did not trust the government to protect him and his family.

Odozie stated: I have been in this place for thirty years but I think I have overstayed my welcome here. I will take my family to the village and return by next week to sell off some of my belongings here.

The federal government wont be there to save us when problem starts.

Since they (the northern youths) gave their order, who has been arrested?

I also have my village, it is high time I returned home.

Another Igbo who was interviewed identified herself as Chioma Okoye, a trader of second hand clothes at the Kaduna Central market in Kaduna.

In her words: I want to go and rest for a while. I really dont know what these people are up to. I will come back when they are ready to accommodate us.

In Kano state, the situation was the same.

An angry Igbo man who identified himself as Mazi Obiekwe angrily scolded a reporter saying, go and ask Buhari and his kinsmen why they want us to leave their land.

Nigerians have however started reacting to Igbos leaving the North. Below is a few reactions gathered by Legit.ng:

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the federal government has formally reacted to the quit notice issued by northern youths to Igbos living in the north saying the Igbos are free to live anywhere in the country.

The youths had stirred nationwide uproar when they issued a statement giving a 90-day ultimatum to Igbos in the north to leave.

The minister of interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, in a statement issued on Wednesday, June 7, urged Igbos and other Nigerians to go about their business without fear.

Watch this Legit.ng TV video asking if Biafra is achievable.

Source: Legit.ng
- Justice Mustapha Akanbi, the former chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has cautioned the federal government against borrowing more money

- Ex-ICPC, who is also a retired chairman of the Court of Appeal, said the federal government should stop borrowing but rather utilize the recovered loot to finance national expenditure

- Akanbi stressed that the government has to innovate new revenue generation strategies instead of borrowing more

The Debt Management Office has said that Nigerian under President Muhammadu Buharis administration is presently owing foreign and local creditors sum of N19.16tn.

It also said that the country had spent $127.93m to service foreign debts and N474.06bn to service domestic debts in the first quarter of the year, 2017.

In is reaction, the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has written to the two chambers of the National Assembly, requesting them to separate the $1.49bn meant for projects in 10 states.

READ ALSO: Adams Oshiomhole surprises blind 'daughter' on her birthday (photos, video)

Osinbajo said that the money is different from the 2016 - 2018 External Borrowing (Rolling) plan of the federal government.

Reports have it that Justice Mustapha Akanbi, a former chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has however cautioned the federal government against borrowing more money.

Akanbi emphasised that Nigerias rising debt burden might cause the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (ERGP) of the Government to become counter-productive.

He has therefore enjoined the government to rather be more creative in revenue generation and more prudent in the management of the nations resources.

He made this known on Thursday, June 8, in a summit organized by the Home and Street Kids Welfare Initiative in Ilorin, Kwara state.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

He said: From my childhood, I have maintained that he who goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing. I do not believe in borrowing. I believe that, however, difficult the time is, the government must work hard to find resources to build a nation.

So personally, I do not support the idea of borrowing, because we borrowed money some years ago and we had to beg for debt forgiveness, and we had it.

Funmi Omisope, executive director of the HSKI said it was compostry to assist Nigerians to become job and wealth creators.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigerias total debt profile has hit N19.16 trillion after the country incurred a N7.1 trillion in the last two years, according to the countrys Debt Management Office (DMO).

The total debt profile, according to the DMO, was incurred both internally and externally.

The DMO, as reported by Premium Times, explained that the nations indebtedness to both local and foreign creditors rose from the N17.36 trillion recorded at the end of December 2016.

Watch this Legit.ng TV Video of a woman crying over the current economic situation and saying because of President Buhari's mismanagement, the market is filled with fake palm oil:

Source: Legit.ng
Meanwhile, inside Iran, unrest grows. The last four years of moderate or reformist Iranian President Hassan Rowhani failed to yield any solutions to the demands raised by the people, despite claiming to hold the key to all problems.

In southwest Iran, the city of Ahwaz has been the scene of continuous unrest. Locals are protesting a slate of plans to reroute the Karoon River, a vital source of water for the area. These plans also include diverting water from Karkhe River, and excessive dam construction. The water is to be used by the oil ministry for inexpensive oil extraction methods.

This practice, mainly implemented by the Revolutionary Guards, has fruited a long list of dried local lakes and ponds, writes Heshmat Alavi, political and rights activist focusing on Iran, in his article for Al-Arabiya, adding, The result has been nothing but increasing air pollution and water and power being frequently cut off. To this end, the peoples very health is in danger as clean air to breath is literally hard to find.

In nearly a dozen Khuzestan Province cities banks, administrative offices, schools and universities have been closed. Oil production has even suffered, with a 770,000-barrel reduction.

Whats quite concerning to the regime are the street protests that began on February 12th and have gone on for at least a week, in spite of warnings issued by state security. Despite security measures to prevent escalation of the rallies, crowds gathered in Tehrans Vanak Square, and protesters expressed solidarity with their fellow countrymen and chanted against the regime.

According to Alavi, While demonstrators were protesting the lack of vital daily services, the atmosphere quickly grew political with the crowd beginning to chant Death to tyranny, Death to repression, We the people of Ahvaz will not accept oppression, Expel incompetent officials, Ahwaz is our city, clean air is our right, and Shame on state police.

Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi praised the people of Khuzestan, chiefly Ahvaz, and called on all Iranians for their support of people of Khuzestan, most especially the ill and vulnerable. Rajavi called the regime the source of major and minor dilemmas in Iran, saying, One cannot expect the mullahs, the regimes leaders and officials to provide any solutions.

Although the province is rich in oil, the locals enjoy few benefits. The city of Ahvaz has a population of nearly one million, and is surrounded by a large number of petrochemical factories, emitting a vast amount of pollutants. Locals face extreme environmental challenges. In fact, the World Health Organization ranked Ahwaz as the worlds most polluted city in 2015.

Activists and locals call the situation terrible and extremely complex, and protest that the regime wants only to make money from their lands. The regimes response to the unrest was issuing a statement warning people to refrain from illegal gatherings, and that serious action would be taken against any and all violators.

Riot police units have also been dispatched to Ahwaz, in addition to additional forces from neighboring provinces. Authorities banned many Western reporters from visiting the city, raising even more concerns about the regimes true intentions, reports Alavi.

As the regime fails to respond to the peoples demands, it escalates their frustration with much of the countrys budget being allocated to Irans involvement in Syria, the regimes nuclear and ballistic missile program and crackdowns on dissent, as well as human rights violations. Meaning the protests in Ahvaz may be just the beginning, and in the future, more intense rallies in cities across the country will follow.
- Two US senators have written to the secretary of state not to sell fighter jets to Nigeria

- They claimed issue of human rights concern was a reason for this blockade

- Nigeria was accused of not following court orders in the detention of El-Zakzaky

The Nigerian government has suffered a setback in its fight against terrorism as the United States has been urged not to sell fighter jets to Nigeria over human rights concern.

Legit.ng had reported in May that the Donald Trump-led administration had promised to sell 12 weaponised aircraft to Nigeria worth $600 million but this might have suffered a dip as senators Cory Booker and Rand Paul in a joint letter on Tuesday, June 8, said Nigeria must display concern for human rights first.

The duo in the letter to the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, cited the killing of Shiites by the army in early 2015 and the accidental bombing of an IDP camp as reasons why the aircrafts should not be sold to Nigeria.

They noted that although the country was facing Boko Haram insurgency, failure to comply with human rights directives shows the country should not be in custody of these fighter jets.

READ ALSO: UN reacts to quit notice issued to igbos in north

Read the letter below:

Dear Secretary Tillerson:

"We are writing to convey our concerns regarding reports that you intend to proceed with plans to sell A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircrafts, with mounted machine guns and related parts and logistical support, to help the Nigerian government combat Boko Haram. We request that before you approve this sale, you brief us on the steps Nigeria has taken to investigate and hold accountable those that have committed human rights abuses. We believe the security threats Nigeria is facing are very real but that a sale of this nature, and at this time, is ill-advised. Boko Haram  a 5,000 to 10,000 strong insurgent force with ties to the Islamic State  will not be defeated through expanded air power alone.

"Despite your comments that values will not impact national security policies, we believe proceeding without any clear indications of progress from the Nigerian government on the protection of human rights and enforcement of accountability would run contrary to our national security objectives.

"With proper training of pilots, the sale of more sophisticated aircraft could lead to more accurate targeting of insurgents by the Nigerian Air Force and potentially a reduction of civilian casualties. But there is evidence that the Nigerian military routinely flouts the laws of war and there remains an absence of adequate safeguards and accountability mechanisms. This means that the Tucano aircraft could be used in a manner inconsistent with international human rights and humanitarian law  and that ultimately helps to strengthen Boko Haram.

"Given that the Nigerian military still lacks the ability to mount a sophisticated counterinsurgency cooperation combining group and air assets, and the A-29 airframes will not be ready for delivery for at least another year at the earliest, we see no rush to complete the sale. Because this sale is an important point of leverage to encourage critical reforms necessary to defeat Boko Haram, we recommend that you require the Nigerian government to complete these steps before proceeding with the sale. Some of the important and specific benchmarks that would show progress include:

"Progress from the authorities in Abuja on the Kaduna governments investigation into the December 2015 alleged massacre on Shiite Muslims in the northeastern town of Zaria, where at least 347 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a Shia Muslim group, were killed by army soldiers. Credible organizations found that the armys attack was unjustified. An investigation launched by the local Kaduna government found the General Officer in command of the army to have authorized the massacre and recommended prosecution. Nearly a year after this report was published, there has been no follow-up from the federal government in Abuja. Authorities also failed to comply with a court order for the release of the movements leader, Ibraheem El Zakzaky, and his wife who remain in detention without charges since December 2015.

"Completion of the investigation into the January 2017 attack on a displaced persons camp in Rann, northeastern Nigeria, by the Nigerian Air Force, which killed at least 236 people and injured thousands more. The government was quick to acknowledge the attack, which officials said was an accident, and agreed to undertake an investigation but it has yet to be finalized and then made available to the public. Even if it was accidental, the Rann incident demonstrates the urgent need for safeguards and accountability.

"Progress on a fair investigation into the 2014 killing by the Nigerian security forces of over 600 people, on the heels of Boko Harams attack on Giwa army barracks. Hundreds of mostly unarmed detainees, including children, were killed in extrajudicial executions and likely buried in mass graves around the city.

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"At the same time, there continues to be additional allegations of corruption, abuse, and misconduct throughout the Nigerian military. While some soldiers have been released or retired, there has yet to be any real or meaningful accountability for the systemic challenges that have plagued Nigerias security forces for decades. Without addressing these problems at an institutional level, reform is merely cosmetic and will only perpetuate longstanding patterns of abuse, which could serve as propaganda for Boko Haram and other insurgent groups seeking to discredit the Nigerian government.

"We are concerned that the decision to proceed with this sale will empower the government to backtrack even further on its commitments to human rights, accountability, and upholding international humanitarian law, which in turn could spur greater unrest and violence, particularly in the northeastern part of the country. Accordingly, we strongly urge you to reconsider your decision to sell A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircrafts to Nigeria without any meaningful reform or any clear safeguards in place. Instead we recommend you make clear to Abuja that the sale of these aircraft can proceed only if there is positive and measurable progress on reforming the security institutions.".

This development is coming at a time Igbos living in the north have started to relocate back to the south east over fear of being attacked after a coalition of northern youths gave them a 90-day quit notice.

Though the directive has now been rescinded, barely a week ago, the Coalition of Northern Youths had given all Igbos resident in the north a three month directive to vacate the region, and also asked Hausas in the east to return back to their places of origin.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below about the operation of the Nigeria Air Force in the north east

Source: Legit.ng
No Nigerian university made the list of the top 7 universities in Africa and while this will not come as a surprise to many people, it is quite sad.

This new list released by QS has very little surprises with the University of Cape Town, at the top and at rank 191 in the world ranking of universities.

Stellenbosch University is the second best university in Africa and ranks at number 361 in the world, while the American University in Cairo is at number 4 in Africa.

The ranking by QS is based on factors such as academic reputation, citations per faculty, employer reputation and other factors. Below is the list of the 7 top universities in Africa:

1. University of Cape Town

University of Cape Town

The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

2. Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch University

Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in South Africa.

Stellenbosch is jointly the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa alongside the University of Cape Town which received full university status on the same day in 1918.

READ ALSO: SEE the Nigerian student helping universities around the world (photos)

3. University of the Witwatersrand

University of the Witwatersrand

The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University.

4. The American University in Cairo

The American University in Cairo

The American University in Cairo is an independent, English language, research university located in Cairo, Egypt.

5. Cairo University

Cairo University

Cairo University is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo.

READ ALSO: Parents be warned! See NUC list of FAKE universities in Nigeria

6. University of Pretoria

University of Pretoria

The University of Pretoria is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa.

7. University of Johannesburg

University of Johannesburg

The University of Johannesburg, known colloquially as UJ is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Technikon Witwatersrand (TWR) and the Soweto and East Rand campuses of Vista University.

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Legit.ng earlier reported that this new list released by QS has very little surprises with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) maintaining its position at the very top.

The University of Chicago improved to the ninth position while Princeton University did not make the new top 10 list.

Watch this Legit.ng video on Nigerian students and the hassles they go through to register for entrance examination into universities in the country:

Source: Legit.ng
Reno Omokri, the spokesperson to former President Goodluck Jonathan has once again shared his 'nuggets of wisdom' with Nigerian youths.

The very vocal Omokri who is known for constantly airing his opinion and sharing #RenosNuggets took to his Twitter handle to hand out relationship advice once again.

Legit.ng came across a tweet he shared, where he mentioned the importance of being in a relationship based on love instead of money.

Sharing the tweet, he wrote:

"Girlfriends shouldn't cost anything other than love. If yours routinely demands money, you have a prostitute, not a girlfriend #RenosNuggets."

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See the actual tweet below:

He also took to Facebook to talk about men who marry 'slay queens', also stating that it's only a foolish man that keeps multiple girlfriends:

Do you agree with him? Let us know in the comment section.

Meanwhile, see what Nigerians had to say about a woman earning more than her man:

Source: Legit.ng
Shockingly, while reporting the incidents, some of the regimes sources tried to justify the massacre of political prisoners in 1988. This led to justifiable social outrage and international condemnation, especially following the revelations of an audio tape earlier this year by Hossein Ali Montazeri, who was formerly designated as the successor to the revolutions Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, but who instead lived under house arrest until his death in 2009.

The PMOI rejects these lies and calls for an international investigation into these incidents. According to an article published by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), The regimes Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and its Ministry of Intelligence have a notorious record of staging similar incidents by deploying their terrorist proxy groups and attributing attacks to the Iranian peoples just resistance movement.

During the presidential election the demand for justice for the victims of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners turned into a social protest movement. Those affiliated to the PMOI comprised a majority of the victims of that massacre.

When addressing a ceremony on the anniversary of Khomeinis death on June 4, Khamenei supported the mass executions of the 1980s and expressed his concern about the spread of the protest movement.

Following the unexpected attacks in Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani claimed that the incident was not unexpected and Khamenei downplayed these firework displays as insignificant and ineffective.

In another article published by the NCRI, they say, The terrorist rivalry between the claimants of a Sunni Caliphate and the so-called Shiite Caliphate dubbed the velayat-e faqih in Iran, even if not tailor-made or staged, is the source of jubilation and elation for mullahs Caliph Khamenei.

The NCRIs President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, condemned the shedding of innocent peoples blood under any pretext. ISISs conduct clearly benefits the Iranian regimes Supreme Leader Khamenei, who wholeheartedly welcomes it as an opportunity to overcome his regimes regional and international impasse and isolation. The founder and the number one state sponsor of terror is thus trying to switch the place of murderer and the victim and portray the central banker of terrorism as a victim, Mrs. Rajavi said. She also recalled: The Iranian Resistance has always maintained that the Iranian people and Resistance have the responsibility to overthrow the religious, dictatorship ruling Iran and to dismantle all institutions and symbols of suppression and repression. We, therefore, call for an end to the policy of appeasing the mullahs regime and recognizing the just resistance of the Iranian people.

Mrs. Rajavi outlined the ways to uproot terrorism in the region:

 The IRGC must be designated as a terrorist entity.

 The IRGC and paramilitary proxies of the Khamenei caliphate must be removed from Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.

 The Organization of Islamic Cooperation must expel the mullahs regime and recognize the Iranian Resistance for ending religious fascism.

The people of Iran wont be satisfied by anything less than freedom, democracy, and popular sovereignty, after 38 years of enduring suppression, executions and incarcerations.
- The army general court martial in Borno state passes a death sentence on Lance Corporal Hillary Joel for killing a Boko Haram suspect

- Hillary Joel reportedly set the suspect ablaze during a cordon and search operation leading to his death

- Other soldiers who faced the court martial with him got different sanctions

A soldier, Lance Corporal Hillary Joel, has been sentenced to death by the Nigerian Army for killing a suspected Boko Haram terrorist.

READ ALSO: Igbos begin fleeing from north following quit notice

The sentence was delivered by the General Court Martial (GCM) sitting at 7 Division, Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Borno state during the trial of 5 soldiers accused on violation of human rights and other operational offences in Operation LAFIYA DOLE.

Lance Corporal Hillary Joel was reported to have set the suspect ablaze during a cordon and search operation by the army in Damboa local government area of Borno state, Vanguard reports.

General Court Martial (GCM) sitting at 7 Division, Nigerian Army in Maiduguri, Borno state

The suspect was said to have died following the incident.

Other soldiers who faced the court martial with him were handed different sanctions, including jail terms and demotions.

According to a statement on Friday, June 9, by the deputy director army public relations 7 division, Lieutenant Colonel Kingsley Samuel, the judgements were announced by the president of the court , Brigadier General Olusegun Adeniyi.

Highlighting the conclusion of the court on the cases of the 5 soldiers, the statement read: "The court sentenced of reduction in rank to Private in 2 count charges for Sergaent Samuel Balanga who is convicted for desertion and miscellaneous offences.

"Similarly, the court sentenced Private Chima Samuel who was convicted for aiding and abetting murder of a minor Yakubu Isah in Maiduguri to 15 years imprisonment. Lance Corporal Hilary Joel who was convicted for murder of a suspected Boko Haram terrorist in Damboa was sentenced to death. Also Corporal Aliu Audu who was charged for assault was reduced to the rank of Private.

"Trooper Sunday Ogwuche who was convicted for stealing and unlawful possession of 641 rounds of 7.62mm Special was sentenced to 2 years and 5 years imprisonment."

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The representative of the National Human Rights Commission present in court, Barrister Jumai Usman Mshelia, commended the Nigerian Army for the transparency in the trial of the a accused soldiers.

Barrister Mshelia who is the commission acting zonal coordinator in Borno state expressed delight that the Nigerian Army has shown that it is a discipline organisation and airing personnel are tried for wrong doing.

She said she was happy that justice had been served.

Meanwhile, two children have been confirmed dead and three others injured following a bomb explosion in Fadaman Rake area of Hong local government in Adamawa state.

Legit.ng learnt that the incident occurred at about 7pm local time on Thursday, June 8, while residents were about to break their Ramadan fast.

The explosion reportedly forced hundreds of residents of the area to flee their homes.

A local vigilante said the bomb was delivered in a polythene bag to some children who were playing by a yet to be identified driver in a starlet.

The blast in Adamawa comes a day after coordinated by Boko Haram on Maiduguri caused over a dozen deaths.

The police said the jihadists killed 14 people in the capital of Borno state.

The fighters had attacked the city's suburbs on Wednesday night with anti-aircraft guns, said Damian Chukwu, police commissioner of Borno state.

In the video below, Nigerian Air Force gives an update on operations against Boko Haram in 2017.

Source: Legit.ng
- Three people have been reportedly killed following a rift between soldiers and civilians in Kaduna

- The fracas emerged after a soldier reportedly killed a young boy in the the state

- It is said that the victim committed no crime and was killed unjustly

- There are fears that the situation may degenerate into further religious violence

Emerging reports suggest that no fewer than three persons have been killed and several others injured after a soldier allegedly killed a civilian in Kaduna state.

Legit.ng had earlier reported that a soldier has just shot a boy to death in front of Command Secondary School in Command Junction By Sabo Express Road, Kaduna.

The incident happened around Television junction in the volatile state.

According to an eye witness, Joshua Ayo, the boy was packing sand in front of the Military Secondary School called Command Secondary School when the soldier ordered him to stop.

The boy however, pleaded with the soldier to allow him pack the sand since the gutter belonged to nobody. The soldier got angry and shot the boy.

Legit.ng gathered that some angry youths in the area took to the street in protest of the killing. A resident, who gave his name as Oseni, said some angry youths took the corpse to the front of Command and blocked the road.

Things went awry as soldiers reportedly opened fire on the protesters, killing two on the spot.

READ ALSO: Kaduna government orders arrest of Northern Youths for issuing quit notice to Igbos

Crisis in Southern Kaduna as soldier shoots boy

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All efforts to get the story from the side of the military was abortive as youths have gathered massively in front of the gate of the Command Secondary School and barricaded the entrance demanding that the soldier who murdered the boy in cold blood should be brought out for jungle justice.

Crisis in Southern Kaduna as soldier shoots boy

When contacted, the Kaduna state police command PPRO, DSP Aliyu Usman confirmed the incident, but failed to give details of what really happened.

Watch below, a Legit.ng video the recent killings in Southern Kaduna was documented.

Source: Legit.ng
According to Ottolenghi and Zilberman, anti-tank missile components, reportedly the AT-4 Spigot, destined for Iran were seized by the Ukrainian State Border Guard on January 19. These weapons were concealed in the cargo hold of a UM Airlines flight from Kiev to Tehran. While Ukraine captured this illicit cargo, Kiev continues to allow Iran to evade a U.N.- implemented sanctioned international arms embargo and Western sanctions.

Iranian carriers like Caspian Airlines and Mahan Air are banned, but close cooperation with Ukrainian airlines, and Kievs failure to enforce U.S. sanctions against Iran, lets them continue to benefit, and should become an important part of the Trump administrations review of its foreign policy options toward Ukraine.

The Iranian aviation sectors reliance on Kiev is not new. Publicly available data from commercial flight trackers show that Dart Airlines is currently leasing aircraft to Irans privately owned Kish Air. Darts fleet is also frequently chartered for Iran and Lebanon routes by unknown operators. Iran Air Tours, ATA Airlines and Zagros Airlines, among others, also lease aircraft from Ukrainian operators, write Ottolenghi and Zilberman.

These private companies are not under U.S. sanctions, but Ukraines fleet caters to sanctioned entities. One of Air Khorss aircraft is currently leased to the Iraqi Al-Naser Airlines, which the U.S. Treasury sanctioned in May 2015 when the company fronted for Mahan Air, data shows.

Air Khors leased a Boeing 737 to Naft Airlines, which is being operated by U.S. sanctioned Caspian Airlines.

Treasury has also slapped sanctions on two other Ukrainian airlines for assisting Mahan Air, Bukovyna Airlines, as well as UM Airlines, which was carrying the missile parts seized last week.

Lebanese businessman Rodrigue Merhej, UM airlines chairman, is also under U.S. Treasury sanctions since 2013 for their support of Mahan Air. The January 19 flight was a scheduled flight.

Ottolenghi and Silberman say that, Since last year, there are daily flights between Kiev and Tehran, including a weekly Mahan flight that commenced last March, when Mahan and UM announced an expanded partnership. Their cooperation connects Kiev to Mahans Asian destinations through Tehran, giving Ukrainian passengers a convenient connecting hub to Asia. They add, It also enables Mahan to officially enter the Ukrainian market.

This partnership, that Washington has sanctioned since 2013, was announced by Kiev and Tehran, with the inaugural Mahan flight to Kiev welcomed by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, and senior member of the Ukrainian parliament and ally of current President Petro Poroshenko, Oleh Barna. Eugene Dykhne, acting head of Kievs Boryspil International Airport; the Iranian ambassador to Kiev; and Mahan Airs managing director for international relations, also attended.

The lack of U.S. sanctions enforcement under the Obama administration undermined U.S. credibility and deterrence.

Although the current government is requesting more U.S. military assistance and a tougher Western stance in its current struggle against Russia in Eastern Ukraine, it sees no contradiction between its desire for Western support and its partnership with Irans sanctioned aviation sector.

This past summer, Merhej boasted about the popularity of the Kiev-Tehran route. He said, The occupancy is increasing every day. We have about 75 passengers per flight today. Two months ago, it was 55 passengers. I am confident that we will reach 100 passengers by the end of June.

What Merhej failed to address is that UM Airlines, via its support of Mahan Airlines, has been involved in moving illicit cargo for the Syrian regime and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps external arm, the Qods Force. The U.S. Treasury confirmed in 2013 that UM Airlines has trained Mahan Air pilots and engineers, and transferred airplanes to Mahan Air. UM has now been caught transferring weapons as well, write Ottolenghi and Zilberman.

The seizure of weapons last week shows that UM Airlines has not stopped its illicit activity with Mahan Airlines, and that this activity has increased since the initial designations by Treasury. This is a major red flag.

Was last weeks weapons seizure was just the tip of the iceberg in illicit activity facilitated by UM and Mahan Airlines? Ottolenghi and Zilberman say that since conflict erupted in 2014, Ukraine has become a supermarket for the illicit arms trade, one that Iran can easily exploit through its direct air connection to Kiev.

Authorities in Ukraine should be commended for seizing the weapons shipment, but when Kiev asks the United States for economic and military assistance, the least it can do is prevent sanctioned entities such as UM and Mahan Airlines to operate from its soil, conclude Ottolenghi and Zilberman.
- The menace of Fulani herdsmen across Nigeria has been a recurring issue

- The marauding herdsmen and their cows have become a nuisance in the society

- An accident in Sapele, Delta state today, Friday, June 8 was caused by cows grazing along the road

An accident in Sapele, Delta state today, Friday, June 8 was caused by cows grazing along the road.

The accident which happened around Sapele road in Ikea was reported on social media by a concerned Nigerian named Aimua Oghahbon.

Oghagbon went on to share pictures of the accident scene which were filled with the blood of the animals.

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See some of the pictures below:

A truck was involved in the accident

Delta state has witnessed some ugly incidents involving Fulani herdsmen in recent times.

One injured, 15 grazing cows die in Sapele road accident

The accident caught the attention of passers-by who stopped to see the extent of damage done due to the accident.

One of the lucky cows that survived

Some of the cows were lucky to be alive as they were not directly involved in the accident.

Blood from the scene of the accident

READ ALSO: Crisis in Southern Kaduna as soldier shoots boy dead

In another development, the Kano state Hisbah Board has 96 beggars in May for allegedly violating the law banning street begging in the state capital.

Malam Dahiru Muhammed, an official of the boards anti-begging unit, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Thursday, June 1 that 27 out of the 96 beggars were children, while 69 were adult.

Watch Legit.ng TV video reports of the violence in southern Kaduna fueled by clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers.

Source: Legit.ng
The Public Relations Manager of the Aviation Organization, Reza Jafarzadeh on June 6 in response to the statements of the U.S. Department of the Treasury stated, these remarks are not only a threat to Iran. The Airbus and Boeing companies are also concerned. The U.S. equations, on the other hand, do not also work out.

Reza Jafarzadeh added, We all acknowledge that the license of selling Boeing and Airbus has been issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury after Iran Deal and the contracts have been signed through detailed negotiations. Any ambiguity and doubt will discredit and question the stand of negotiators. In addition, any restriction on the sale of aircraft to Iran is regarded as a violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by the U.S. government.

The Public Relations Manager of the Aviation Organization claimed, Since the aircraft manufacturers and sellers are aware of the high potentials of Irans market, therefore, the officials of the Ministry of Urban Development and the airlines have taken serious decisions to enter the competition. The authorities certainly intend to renovate and fulfill their demands in the aviation sector. Consequently, they will not only suffice to these two contracts (Airbus and Boeing); rather, they will also negotiate with other aircraft manufacturers because the country needs more fleets.
- Igbos of the eastern extraction have less than 90 days according to the ultimatum given by northern youth groups to vacate the north for good

- Although the Kaduna declaration has been condemned by all Nigerians from all sectors of society, the northern youths have remained resolute on eviction of Igbos from the north

- However, there are grave implications should the northern youths eventually have their way

In the past few days, specifically from Tuesday June 6, the Nigeria nation has been experiencing tension of the highest magnitude. The tension followed the declaration of the Northern youth coalition which called for the eviction of Nigerian Igbos from the north.

The statement made by the coalition has been the major cause of this high tension enveloping the nation. Though the agitation for the actualization of Biafra by the eastern groups has been given the nation headache, the northern youths declaration fueled the tension and added more fire to the already tensed system. The declaration heated the polity beyond measure, causing massive and wide reaction from vast majority of Nigerians.

The reactions cut across all the ethnic groups, calling for the retraction of the declaration and arrest of the youths who made the infamous statement. They insisted that irrespective of the pressure from the Biafra protagonists, Nigeria remains an indissoluble nation. Some others called for the arrest of the youths and get them prosecuted for heating up the fragile political system.

Biafra: As the countdown to 90 days ultimatum for Igbos to leave the north begins

While many see the declaration as an indirect call for warfare between the groups, Nigerians who witnessed the Nigerian civil war that lasted from 1967 to 1970 barely six years after independence, are not in a hurry to see a repeat of that traumatic experience. This, it is believed, may have led to the massive reactions against the action of the dissident northern youths.

READ ALSO: Igbos begin fleeing from north following quit notice

The statement which was read by president of Northern Emancipation Network, Abdul-azzez Suleiman stated that sequel to the shutting down of major towns in the South east on May 30, 2017 as part of the campaign by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) for the actualisation of Biafra republic, the Northerners could no longer tolerate being a part of a political marriage which included the Igbos.

Following the declaration, they gave the Igbos up till October 1, 2017, the day Nigeria will celebrate independence from British rule, to vacate the entire northern region and return to their ethnic heartland in order to achieve the secessionist agitation for the republic they have been clamouring for. In the same vein, the groups had urged all Northerners living in the Southeast to return to the North by the same deadline.

The statement was co-signed by heads of 16 northern youth groups in Kaduna, the capital city of Kaduna state. The signatories include youths from Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, Arewa Students Forum and Northern Emancipation Network after a joint meeting in Kaduna, leading to the statement becoming tagged the Kaduna declaration.

The statement helped to canvass for the restructuring of the country as they said that the confrontational conducts of the Biafrans was trampling on the rights of other Nigerians, especially the northerners. They described the Igbos with many unsavory words including unruly, ungrateful, confrontational uncultured reckless, insatiable and even termed their attitude as lacking in remorse for the carnage they wrought on the nation in the 1960s as they are still actively agitating for the very thing that led to the civil war in Nigeria.

The declaration read in part: It is on record that since the inception of the current democratic dispensation, the Igbos have shown and maintained open contempt and resentment for the collective decision expressed by majority of Nigerians at various stages via generally acceptable democratic processes.

Biafra: As the countdown to 90 days ultimatum for Igbos to leave the north begins

While these provocative acts of aggression persist and grow in dimension with each new move, leaders of the North whose people are at the receiving end of the threats, appear helplessly unperturbed. Without pursuing a resolute action-plan, these northern leaders have adopted and have been dragging their people into a pitifully pacifist position in order to sustain an elusive national cohesion that has long been ridiculed by the Igbos.

From today, June 6, 2017, when this proclamation is signed, the North, a critical player in the Nigerian project, hereby declares that it will no longer be disposed to co-existing with the Igbo and shall take definite steps to end the partnership by pulling out of the current federal arrangement.

The Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), speaking through the leader Uchenna Madu, received the quit notice with gladness and urged the Igbos to return home immediately to avoid being killed violently alongside their children and wives.

READ ALSO: Jonathan sends powerful message to Nigerians after north issues quit notice to Igbos

However, the very touchy issue which most appear to many as very delicate is that the Igbos known to be extremely industrious have landed properties in every state of the federation, hence their take on the landed properties belonging to Igbos in the north was unacceptable and has consequently attracted its own reactions.

That part of the statement reads: As a first step, since the Igbos have clearly abused the unreciprocated hospitality that gave them unrestricted access to, and ownership of landed properties all over the North, our first major move shall be to reclaim, assume and assert sole ownership and control of these landed resources currently owned, rented or in any way enjoyed by the ingrate Igbos in any part of Northern Nigeria.

Consequently, officials of the signatory groups to this declaration are already mandated to commence immediate inventory of all properties, spaces or activity in the north currently occupied by the Igbos for forfeiture at the expiration of the ultimatum contained in this declaration.

The founder of Igbo Youth Movement, IYM, Evang. Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko stated in his reaction that such a statement was an indication of the fact the Northerners had always had their eyes on the landed properties belonging to the Igbos, else they should have asked for a referendum to make the secession and restructuring peaceful, and in order to be taken serious by the world leaders and international bodies.

He stated that Igbo property in the North have always been used to blackmailing them into remaining in a union where the mindless oppression continues. He further described the statement as a blind and unintelligent attempt to sustain the clearly unworkable status quo by blackmailing them.

The 9 Northern governors when they took a resolution to condemn the Kaduna declaration

In its reactionary statement, the Igbo youths under the aegis of Ohanaeze Youth Council (OYC), urged the Igbo to remain wherever they are and defend themselves if pushed to the wall. Although this is a contradiction to the stand of the federal government that the Igbos should not panic as their lives and properties would be well protected.

Investigations by Legit.ng revealed that the statement of peace from the federal government has never worked. The government has always failed in its responsibility to the average Nigerian in matter of protecting lives and property. This was especially pronounced in the days when Boko Haram ruled the north, especially Abuja, the federal seat of power.

At the blast of one explosion, the federal government would say we will make sure nothing like that happens again, lives of Nigerians will be protected but it has always failed. Within a few days bombs would go off ripping buildings and killing as many people on its part.

READ ALSO: Kaduna government orders arrest of Northern Youths for issuing quit notice to Igbos

The 19 Northern governors on their own part, not only distanced themselves from the declaration but came out clearly to state that those bodies did not speak for the entire north. Borno Governor and chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Kashim Shettima, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues in Maiduguri, stated unequivocally that the governors were in touch with heads of security agencies and had taken measures that will guarantee the rights of all Nigerians to live in the 19 states in the three geo-political zones, within the north, and encouraged the Igbos to go about their legitimate businesses as usual.

Shettima said: On behalf of the governors of the 19 Northern states, we totally condemn such irresponsible pronouncements by those groups, we condemn, we disown, and we are totally distancing ourselves from those faceless groups who dont have the mandate of the people of Northern Nigeria to make such loud pronouncements.

Section 41, subsection 1 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very explicit in safeguarding the rights of all Nigerians to reside in any part of the country with no hindrance whatsoever.

He, however, called for investigations and probing as the act could really smoke indicating something bigger coming as there has been recent illegal importation of arms intercepted at the ports and rumours of a coup detat.

Similarly, Kaduna state government condemned the speech which it described as hateful and inciting. Governor Nasir El-Rufai described the signatories to the statement as self-appointed northern youths seeking to target and violate the rights of our citizens of Igbo extraction and went as far as calling for their arrest, investigation and prosecution as their actions went against the laws of Kaduna state.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state

This government has been consistent in taking action to punish hate speech and incitement. People who may feel unhappy about irresponsible comments or actions that have taken place in other states must know that two wrongs cannot make a right, and they cannot use our state to do or say things that threaten the peace, Mr. Aruwan, press secretary to the Kaduna state governor said, adding that the state government has therefore ordered the arrest of the signatories to the statement.

But in a follow up statement issued, the coalition of Northern youth groups pushed back against critics of their position, accusing Governors El-Rufai and Kashim Shettima of Borno state of attacking their position based on their political ambitions for the vice presidency, and stating that they were sorely disappointed in them.

The coalition claimed that they never advocated the use of violence to achieve their goals, and described the critics as being mischievous.

The latest statement by the Northern youth group contended that their coalition primarily called on the authorities and the international community to step in to formalize the actualization of the dream of a people who say in words and action, and the whole nation appears to concur, that they are Biafrans not Nigerians.

They added: We restate our determination and commitment to ensuring that the North will never partake in any contrived arrangement that would still have the Biafran Igbo as a component. We restate our call on Nigerian authorities and recognized international bodies such as the ECOWAS, AU and UN to hasten the initiation of the process for the final actualization of the Biafran nation and with it the excision of the Igbos out of the present federation.

Prior to this, the federal government speaking through Minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, assured Nigerians that security agencies are on top of the matter, as this is not the first time such a thing would happen. Alhaji Lai Mohammed, assured Nigerians that security agencies are on top of the matter, as this is not the first time such a thing would happen. What I want to assure you is that security organisations are very very much on top of this matter, Lai Mohammed was quoted as saying.

But Nigerians are yet to accept the statement of El-Rufai, the Kaduna state governor. They described El-Rufai as being insincere with his statements, noting that the governor has never being well disposed to the Christians in the North, especially Kaduna state. They argue that since the pronouncement of arrest, none of the dissident northern youths has been arrested nor prosecuted.

READ ALSO: Let us leave Nigeria now - Igbos thank northern youths for quit notice

Even the police are alleged not to be sincere with their comments over the arrest and prosecution of the signatories to the inflammatory statement that is capable of setting the nation on fire. Nigerians argue that the police are playing the ostrich game with the prosecution of the youths.

The police force headquarters spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, had said that the police were looking for the youths who signed the statement. He said: They are not sitting in the market waiting to be picked up.

According to Sahara Reporters, when asked how long it would take to nab the youth leaders, Moshood said he was issuing a statement that would address the issues. The Kaduna police command spokesman, Aliyu Usman, said there was no update on the matter.

We have no statement to make, if there is any development, I will tell you. No arrest yet, he said. When asked if the police were reluctant to arrest the youths, Usman simply said he would speak when there was an update.

Also, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, while responding to questions from journalists at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Thursday, said the police had yet to arrest the northern youths.

Inspector General of police, Ibrahim Idris

Reacting to the controversial situation on ground, former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, said the development would go a long way in defining the kind of politics that hold sway in Nigeria at the moment.

Reno Omokri took to his Facebook account saying: "The press conference where Igbos were asked to quit the north was held at Arewa House. To those who do not know what Arewa House is, go and research it. It is almost impossible to hold a press conference at Arewa House without the knowledge of the Kaduna state government.

"Is someone flying a kite? That being said, in 2015, Nnamdi Kanu was jailed by the Muhammadu Buhari administration for two years and charged with treason because he called for an independent state of Biafra. In 2005, Asari Dokubo was jailed for two years by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration and charged with treason because he called for self-determination of the Niger-Delta.

"In 1993 and 1996 the Abacha administration jailed Gani Fawehinmi for months and charged him with treasonable offenses for holding a political rally against the government. Nigerians are waiting to see if the same treatment will be meted out to Alhaji Yerima Shettima, President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, who has also committed an act of treason by declaring war on Nigerian citizens of Southeast origin when he and his group ordered them to leave Northern Nigeria.

"If he is treated with kid gloves then we will know that President Buhari meant what he said about treating 97 percentage differently from five. However, findings show that the Igbos in the North have started leaving in droves from Kaduna state.

PAY ATTENTION: install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

As it is now, both Nigerians resident in the north and outside the north are feeling uneasy over the declaration, added to the lackadaisical attitude of the Nigerian police and the lack of trust for the Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

The tone of updates emanating from the north is adding tension to the already tensed atmosphere. People are already calling for brotherly support from their brothers and some are even going as far as asking the Biafrans not to betray each other but to stand for one another even if any eventuality happens.

One of such post reads: In Nigeria, we know what it means when the security agencies say they are on top of the situation. They actually mean that they have no idea how to go about it.

For many, the only thing that can be done now is to watch and countdown to the eviction date, at which point Nigeria is supposed to be celebrating 57 years of independence. For the other group, it is a clarion call for the Igbos to return to their homeland to avoid an incident that one may term had I know.

Meanwhile, watch this Legit.ng video and examine the possibility of achieving the Biafra republic after 50 years

Source: Legit.ng
Press Release

Maypro Industries recently acquired distribution rights for a unique new ingredientRealOrganic Curcumin. This certified organic curcumin is made from organically grown turmeric roots, extracted only with ethyl alcohol and produced in an ISO 9000 Facility. Unlike regular curcumin, RealOrganic Curcumin is free of pesticides and chemicals, thus promising a product free from fertilizers and genetically modified organisms.

BioActives, LLC, working with an Indian producer with whom they have had a fifteen-year relationship, developed a highly-efficient production process to bring RealOrganic Curcumin to the growing organic market. Having seen wide quality variations in standards and loose interpretations of organic, BioActives set out to resolve this confusion with RealOrganic Curcumin. This ingredient consistently meets the quality standards necessary for value-added advanced formulations.

Although whole dried, fresh turmeric is typically free from contamination, turmeric powder can be adulterated with chemical powders that are used as substitutes for curcumin and can be harmful to human health. For example, some adulterants used to color turmeric can lead to serious neurological issues or weaken resistance to some forms of cancer.

The raw materials, production process, and final ingredient are all certified by Lacon India, a subsidiary of Lacon GmbH. RealOrganic Curcumin is USDA approved, Kosher certified, and has received multiple other certifications.

We are delighted to develop the start of an organic line of products with our partner in India who we have worked with for the past 15 years, said Dan Kagan, Managing Partner at BioActives. We believe that Maypro is the perfect company to assist in the marketing of and to handle the distribution for this high-quality product.
GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us.
DC's Batman spotlight is expanding to his sidekicks more and more

Members of Batman's family will seemingly play huge roles in the DCU in 2023
The sources say that its unclear whether top officials at the State Department negotiating the Iran deal knew about the hack, or even if their personal or professional email accounts were compromised.

A State Department spokesman asked about the September 2015 cyber-attack said, For security reasons we cannot confirm whether any hacking incident took place.

According to an email dated September 24, 2015, and multiple interviews with sources familiar with the attack, at least four State Department officials in the Bureau of Near East Affairs and a senior State Department adviser on digital media and cyber-security were involved in trying to contain the hack.

In the week leading up to the deadline, Senate Democrats blocked several attempts to pass a GOP-led resolution to disapprove of the nuclear deal. The resolution of disapproval needed 60 votes to pass but received only 58.

Crabtree writes, State Department officials in the Office of Iranian Affairs on Sept. 24, 2015 sent an email to dozens of outside contractors. The email alerted the contractors that a cyber-attack had occurred and urged them not to open any email from a group of five State Department officials that did not come directly from their official state.gov accounts. She states that the email read, We have received evidence that social media and email accounts are being compromised or subject to phishing messages. Please be advised that you should not open any link, download or open an attachment from any e-mail message that uses our names but is not directly from one of our official state.gov accounts. We appreciate learning of any attempts to use our names or affiliations in this way.

Shervin Hadjilou, the public diplomacy officer in the Office of Iranian Affairs, sent the email and ccd four other State Department officials who deal with Iran issues, including one cyber-security expert, according to Crabtree. She adds, Two sources familiar with the details of the hack said the State Department and outside contractors determined that Iranian officials were the perpetrators. The hack, which began Sept. 21, had compromised at least two State Department officials government email accounts before they regained control of them, as well as private email addresses and Facebook and other social media accounts, the source said.

They had access to everything in those email accounts, the source continued, Everyone in the [State Department Iranian Affairs] community was very upsetit was a major problem.

Cyber-warfare between Iran and the United States had cooled considerably in 2015 during the nuclear negotiations, but after Iran discovered the Stuxnet virusa cyber-worm the United States and Israel planted to degrade Irans nuclear capabilities the countries have been engaged in escalating cyber warfare as Tehrans cyber capabilities become increasingly sophisticated.

Crabtree writes, Since 2011 Iran has attacked U.S. banks and Israels electric grid. In 2012, Iranian hackers brought down Saudi-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, erasing information on nearly 30,000 of the companys work stations and replacing it with a burning American flag. She adds, Cyber-security experts have long believed that Russia helped Iran quickly build up its cyberweaponry in response to Stuxnet. A team of computer-security experts at TrapX, a Silicon Valley security firm that helps protect top military contractors from hackers, said in April they officially confirmed that Iranians were using a cyber tool set developed by Russians.

TrapX investor who served on a commission advising the Obama administration on cyber-security, Tom Kellerman, said Iranian cyber warfare has dramatically improved over the last few years, partly with Russian technical assistance. Much like you see the alliance between Syria, Iran, and Russia, the alliance doesnt just relate to the distribution of kinetic weapons, he said, but extends into cyberwarfare.

According to Crabtree, the 2015 hack involved at least two State Department officials and a handful of outside contractors, who lost control of access to their email and social media accounts, which were automatically forwarding emails to work and personal contacts, spreading it to a wide network of victims.

Approximately 40 private firms who were privately contracting for State Department Iran program were outraged by the infiltration. They were saying Were madwere angry,' the source recalled. We all got compromised.

Eric Novotny, one of the four government officials copied on Hadjilous Sept. 24 email, and who served as a senior adviser for digital media and cyber security at the State Department at the time, was involved in trying to shut down the hack and help affected officials and private contractors regain control of their accounts.

Michael Pregent, a senior Middle East analyst at the Hudson Institute said, Within hours of the Iran deal being greenlighted, Iran was already conducting cyberattacks against the very State Department that ensured passage of the [nuclear deal]. Acknowledging a cyberattack after the [nuclear deal] was greenlighted would be something that would immediately signal that it is a bad dealthat these are nefarious actors.

The CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Mark Dubowitz said Irans hacking of State Department personnel at such a critical period is just one of many of Irans malign activities that continued and the State Department essentially ignored while the Obama administration was working out the fine points of the nuclear deal.

The Wall Street Journal reported in early November 2015, that the Irans hardline Revolutionary Guard military had hacked email and social-media accounts of Obama administration officials. Crabtree writes, Yet that report wrongly tied the beginning of the uptick in Iranian cyberattacks to the arrest October 29, 2015 of Siamak Namazi, a businessman and Iranian-American scholar who has pushed for democratic reforms. Namazi and his elderly father remain imprisoned in Iran and face a 10-year sentence on espionage charges.

Crabtree alleges that the Sept. 24 email shows the Iranian hacking of State Department officials occurred on the weekend after Republicans in Congress failed to push through a resolution disapproving the Iran nuclear pact.

According to David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, infiltrating State Department emails and internal communications about where the United States stood on a number of sensitive issues could have given the Iranians an important negotiating advantage, The [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] had a lot of loose language at the time and the question was whether the U.S. was going to accept it, he stated, and added, It would be to Irans great benefit to know where the U.S. would be on a number of these issues dealing with the possible military dimensions of the Iran nuclear program, he said. If they could tell the U.S. was going to punt, they could jerk around the [International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA] a bit. Thats essentially what happened with the IAEA. The IAEA is charged with verifying and monitoring Irans commitments under the nuclear agreement.

Albright goes on to say that the IAEA accepted far less access to nuclear sites than it originally desired. The United States and other world powers also accepted other concessions involving loopholes allowing Iran to exceed uranium enrichment and heavy water limits for a certain time period in order for Iran to meet implementation deadlines. The IAEA didnt know much at all and had to write a report [in December 2015] that it was content in knowing so little, he said.

Sources said the hackers sent spear-phishing messages, which impersonate close contacts, to gain access to the compromised accounts. Co-founder of Casaba, a cyber-security firm that conducts test-hacking for Fortune 500 companies, Samuel Bucholtz, said, If its a phishing account that installs malware on your machine, then they have access to all the information on your machine, he said. Then they start using that foothold to start exploring access throughout the entire organization.
DARPA is funding a non-von-Neumann processor called a HIVE  Hierarchical Identify Verify Exploit with $80 million.

HIVE is not von Neumann because of the sparseness of its data and its ability to simultaneously perform different processes on different areas of memory simultaneously, Trung said. This non-von-Neumann approach allows one big map that can be accessed by many processors at the same time, each using its own local scratch-pad memory while simultaneously performing scatter-and-gather operations across global memory.

DARPAs new arithmetic-processing-unit (APU) optimized for graph analytics plus the new memory architecture chips are specified to use 1,000-times less power than using todays supercomputers. The participants, especially Intel and Qualcomm, will also have the rights to commercialize the processor and memory architectures they invent to create a HIVE.

The graph analytics processor is needed, according to DARPA, for Big Data problems, which typically involve many-to-many rather than many-to-one or one-to-one relationships for which todays processors are optimized. A military example, according to DARPA, might be the the first digital missives of a cyberattack. A civilian example, according to Intel, might be all the people buying from Amazon mapped to all the items each of them bought (clearly delineating the many-to-many relationships as people-to-products).

The Hierarchical Identify Verify Exploit (HIVE) program has signed on five performers to carry out HIVEs mandate: to develop a powerful new data-handling and computing platform specialized for analyzing and interpreting huge amounts of data with unprecedented deftness. 

HIVE is developing a new category of server processors specifically designed to handle the data workloads of today and tomorrow.

The quintet of performers includes a mix of large commercial electronics firms, a national laboratory, a university, and a veteran defense-industry company: Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, California), Qualcomm Intelligent Solutions (San Diego, California), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, Washington), Georgia Tech (Atlanta, Georgia), and Northrop Grumman (Falls Church, Virginia).

Central to HIVE is the creation of a graph analytics processor, which incorporates the power of graphical representations of relationships in a network more efficiently than traditional data formats and processing techniques. Examples of these relationships among data elements and categories include person-to-person interactions as well as seemingly disparate links between, say, geography and changes in doctor visit trends or social media and regional strife. In combination with emerging machine learning and other artificial intelligence techniques that can categorize raw data elements, and by updating the elements in the graph as new data becomes available, a powerful graph analytics processor could discern otherwise hidden causal relationships and stories among the data elements in the graph representations.

If HIVE is successful, it could deliver a graph analytics processor that achieves a thousandfold improvement in processing efficiency over todays best processors, enabling the real-time identification of strategically important relationships as they unfold in the field rather than relying on after-the-fact analyses in data centers. This should empower data scientists to make associations previously thought impractical due to the amount of processing required, said Tran. These could include the ability to spot, for example, early signs of an Ebola outbreak, the first digital missives of a cyberattack, or even the plans to carry out such an attack before it happens.

There is $75 million in funding for DARPA in support of a new, public-private electronics resurgence initiative. The initiative seeks to undergird a new era of electronics in which advances in performance will be catalyzed not just by continued component miniaturization but also by radically new microsystem materials, designs, and architectures. The new funds will supplement the Agencys FY 2018 R&D portfolio in electronics, photonics, and related systems to create a coordinated effort valued at more than $200 million, to be further supplemented by significant commercial sector investments.
The Spacex Falcon Heavy will be the most powerful rocket in the world that will be currently flying. There have been more powerful rockets but they are no longer flying. The Falcon heavy will be capable of launching 64 metric tons into Low Earth Orbit. This was relatively recent improvement from improved design and improved engines.

Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit than Falcon Heavy. The Russian Energia rocket had the capacity to launch 100 tons into low earth but only had two launches which did not launch large payloads.

The Falcon Heavy has 27 first stage engines.

The Falcon Heavy will be used to launch two civilians on a lunar orbital mission Moon in 2018.

See more @elonmusk Please Elon, please tell us when the Falcon Heavy will launch.  Johnny Grinter (@JohnnyZenith) June 8, 2017

See more All Falcon Heavy cores should be at the Cape in two to three months, so launch should happen a month after that  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 8, 2017
The continuing successful tests of Hypersonic missiles and anti-missiles by Russia, China and the United States will see a few dozen mostly short range hypersonic missiles and anti-missiles deployed by 2020. These will mainly be mach 5 to mach 10 missiles with ranges of 250 to 600 miles. Longer ranges and larger numbers of hypersonic missiles will appear throughout the 2022-2030 timeframe.

* 2020-2024 initial hypersonic missiles by China, Russia and USA (maybe India and some European countries), a few dozen and mainly 600 mile or less ranges. Rocket boosted hypersonic missiles.

* 2025-2030 a few hundred hypersonic missiles with ranges up to 1500 miles with more efficient hypersonic engines.

* Some hypersonic unmanned drones like the the SR-72. Each hypersonic unmanned drone would cost about $1 billion. This could appear as early as 2019. These will be mainly rare advanced spy planes.

* Better engines like the Uk Skylon system and better materials should be developed in the 2030s. The hypersonic systems will be more advanced and capable. There will be one and two stage spaceplanes and some costly hypersonic bombers

Low volumes of hypersonic missiles and anti missiles would mean that the new weapons would make some military targets more vulnerable.



This was a US military roadmap of hypersonic weapons

The US Navy is accelerating developmental testing of its high-tech, long-range Electro-Magnetic Rail Gun (EMRG) Hyper Velocity Projectile (HVP)  such that it can fire from existing weapons platforms such as an Army Howitzer.

The hypervelocity projectiles do not actually reach the definition of hypersonic which is mach 5 or faster. They will reach about mach 3.



The hypervelocity projectile (HVP) will cost about $25,000 per round.

Making ten thousand of the HVP would still cost $2.5 billion just for the large bullets and not for any other costs. Ten thousand HVP rounds would be ten shots per big 5 inch and 155mm gun.

It seems likely that the testing of hypervelocity rounds should be relatively simple in 2018. The US has one thousand 5 inch and 155 mm guns on navy ships and some ground vehicles. The production of tens of thousands of these projectiles should allow for first wide deployment in 2020-2022.

By 2024-2028, the hypervelocity rounds should be common for the militaries of all countries.

Railguns will be able to shoot at about mach 7.

Current railgun tests are at mach 5.8. Current test firing is at a few shots per hour as they work out the bugs, and by the end of the year they expect to reach the goal of 10 shots per minute. For comparison, a standard 5-inch deck gun can fire 20 rounds a minute, albeit only for a single minute before its quick-reload drum runs empty; the 16-inch guns on battleships fired about twice a minute.

It will then likely take 3 to 4 years for the rail gun barrel last for 1000 shots.

The current railguns fire a 16 kg slug at 2,000 meters per second (Mach 5.8), which takes 32 megajoules of energy per shot. 10 shots minute would need 20 megawatts of power. Only 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and three Zumwalt-class destroyers currently have the power for a railgun.

Navy strategist Bryan Clark has proposed adding cargo containers full of batteries to convert EFP transports into expedient railgun platforms to shoot down incoming missiles. The batteries in one container could power about ten shots.

Early versions of the railguns will have deployment issues because of the power and cooling and other requirements. The first deployed systems should appear about 2025 and by 2030 there could be one to three dozen on ships and few more land based systems of the United States.

There could be a longer lag for other countries to deploy railguns as the US seems to be leading in this area.
William Krisel, who designed captivating but economical tract housing that enabled real estate developers in the Sun Belt to market modern architecture to the masses in the 1950s and 60s, died on Monday in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 92.

His son, William E. Krisel, confirmed the death.

What William Levitt did on Long Island after World War II to fulfill that cherished American dream of homeownership building uniform, prefabricated, saltbox-style homes in a former potato field  the developers who hired Mr. Krisels architectural firm did in the California desert and elsewhere.

Except, by following Mr. Krisels blueprints, they created homes that were not only affordable and mass produced, but also architecturally appealing. They had elegant glass walls to accentuate the outdoor vistas, high clerestory windows for light, post-and-beam construction to allow for fewer walls, breezeways and brick fireplaces, and angular roof lines that in some models soared like butterfly wings.

Mr. Krisel (pronounced CRY-sell) was never inclined to desert living himself, but his designs were used in the construction of tens of thousands of houses and apartments in Southern California  in Palm Springs, San Diego and Los Angeles  as well as in Las Vegas, Arizona and Florida, many of them bought as second homes.
It is highly unusual in Washington circles for powerful officials to admit to being the source of a leak. But the reality, veteran journalists say, is that such leaks are a day-to-day occurrence  perhaps even more so during the Trump administration, as revelatory details about the White House have led to a series of blockbuster stories over the last several months.

In blunt, almost matter-of-fact fashion, Mr. Comey described how he had written a memo about a one-on-one meeting with the president and given it to a friend, a professor at Columbia Law School, with the express purpose of having it passed on to a journalist. The Times reported on the memo last month.

The Times also drew scrutiny as a result of another of Mr. Comeys statements: He challenged the veracity of an article that described links between Mr. Trumps associates and Russian intelligence.

In the main, it was not true, Mr. Comey said of the article, but he did not specify what he thought was wrong with it. In a statement, a spokeswoman for The Times said the paper had found no evidence that any prior reporting was inaccurate. The Times published an article on Thursday discussing its reporting.

News organizations friendly to Mr. Trump, who often attacks The Times, found fresh material in Mr. Comeys assertion.

Breitbart News, in its reporting on the comment, evoked a frequent presidential phrase: fake news.

Mr. Comeys testimony was carried live on numerous broadcast and cable networks, and anchors on multiple networks expressed their astonishment at the political developments on Thursday. On NBC, Savannah Guthrie described the remarkable scene of a former F.B.I. director calling the sitting president a liar, on more than one occasion. Chuck Todd said that leading Democrats were looking for a smoking gun and didnt get it.

Many commentators noted that Mr. Comey had stopped short of accusing the president of obstructing justice. Fox Newss anchors, immediately after the testimony, offered a mixed analysis. Dana Perino, a former aide to President George W. Bush, said, If the Democrats were going to be thinking this is going to be a home run for them today, they got a surprise.
On Thursday, for the first time in its history, the Food and Drug Administration asked a drug company to take an opioid medication off the market because of concerns about drug abuse.

The drug, Opana ER  a form of the painkiller oxymorphone hydrochloride  has been heavily abused and linked to outbreaks of H.I.V., hepatitis C and a serious blood disorder among people who crush the pills into powder and inject it.

The move by the F.D.A. may signal a more aggressive approach against prescription opioids that are found to be widely abused.

We are facing an opioid epidemic  a public health crisis, and we must take all necessary steps to reduce the scope of opioid misuse and abuse, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the F.D.A. commissioner, said in a statement released by the agency. He added that the F.D.A. would continue to take regulatory steps against products fueling the epidemic.
Airline Seats, Now With Even Less Room

1. I work in the airline industry. I know this sounds outrageous, but the traveling public deserves a share of the blame. When passengers get on a website looking for travel, they inevitably gravitate to the lowest fare. In doing so, they are telling the airlines that, above all, they care about price. The airlines are giving the traveling public what they want, the cheapest possible fares. It is the Walmart-ization of our nation; a race to the bottom.

 DGreiner in New Hampshire, reacting to an article about the plan by American Airlines to add seats to new planes, which would reduce the space between rows
Mayor Bill de Blasio has taken pleasure in noting his stark differences with President Trump, but on Thursday he admitted that they had at least one thing in common: They have both ridden between the cars on the subway.

There is just one problem: What the mayor did is against the rules in New York City.

Regular riders take note of signs on trains warning that moving between cars is prohibited, but Mr. de Blasio is not exactly a subway aficionado. He has been heavily criticized for favoring a chauffeured ride over mingling with New Yorkers on a system that is becoming increasingly unreliable.

Asked about riders who were stuck on a steamy F train this week, Mr. de Blasio said he had taken the subway for many years and always as a rider preferred to go between cars.

I dont like that car, its crowded, its hot and the next one is air-conditioned, whatever, he said. I think riders prefer the ability to move between cars.
A Bronx man conducted surveillance of military and intelligence outposts in New York City as well as Kennedy International Airport in support of anticipated terrorist attacks by Hezbollah, the federal authorities said in a criminal complaint released in Manhattan on Thursday.

The man, Ali Kourani, a 32-year-old naturalized citizen from Lebanon, told the F.B.I. in a series of interviews that he believed he had been recruited to join Hezbollahs Islamic Jihad Organization as part of an effort to develop sleepers who lived ostensibly normal lives but could be activated and tasked with conducting operations, the complaint said.

Islamic Jihad Organization is a Hezbollah group that is responsible for the planning and coordination of intelligence, counterintelligence and terrorist activities outside Lebanon, the office of Joon H. Kim, the acting United States attorney in Manhattan, said in the complaint.

Prosecutors said that a second man, Samer El Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Mich., had also been charged with working on behalf of Hezbollah. Mr. El Debek had traveled on missions for the group, including a 2011 trip to Panama where he surveilled security procedures at the Israeli Embassy and the Panama Canal, the authorities said.
Speaking at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday, not far from her presidential campaign headquarters, Hillary Clinton did not beat around the bush.

I wish I had flown in from the White House, she told graduates of Medgar Evers College, a Brooklyn school that is part of the City University of New York. But Im just as happy to be here anyway.

It was the only explicit reference to Washington in her 20-minute address, though the commencement coincided with dramatic events unfolding there that day: James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, was testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Her speech, however, was still pointedly political. Acknowledging the diversity of the Medgar Evers student body and of Brooklyn, Mrs. Clinton called on graduates to uphold the legacy of figures like the slain civil rights leader for whom the school is named, by fighting for voting rights and standing up against the rise of hate crimes.
The allegations in the transcript about Mr. Rechnitzs apparent involvement in the Ponzi scheme, long after he had begun cooperating with the government, could prove damaging to his credibility as a star witness in one of the most explosive municipal corruption cases in decades. Three police officers, a former hedge fund manager and the onetime president of the city correction officers union are awaiting trial.

Laura Birger, a lawyer for Mr. Rechnitz, declined to comment.

A spokesman for the United States attorneys office in Manhattan, which is prosecuting both Mr. Nissen and the municipal corruption cases, declined to comment on whether officials in the office had known about Mr. Rechnitzs involvement in the ticket business. If that involvement were eventually proved to be criminal, and Mr. Rechnitz had not disclosed it to the government, it could invalidate his cooperation agreement and expose him to further charges.

It does appear, however, that federal prosecutors knew about the transcript of the conversation between Mr. Nissen and his investors, one of whom was Paul Rapps, a Manhattan-based diamond seller. After all, the criminal complaint used to arrest Mr. Nissen quotes from the transcript, but only selectively. It does not contain any reference to Mr. Rechnitz or his involvement in the ticket scheme.

According to court records, Mr. Rapps, known as Effy, and other investors met with Mr. Nissen on May 8, the morning after Mr. Nissen confessed to one investor that he was running a Ponzi scheme, using investors money to pay off debts instead of to buy tickets to resell.

At one point, the investors pressed Mr. Nissen as to where their money had gone and if anyone had profited from his scheme. In the last two years, Mr. Nissen said, Jona probably made out five, six million dollars.
Among the leafy blocks of what is known as brownstone Brooklyn, two bright, cheery salons recently opened on quiet side streets. A curious passer-by might notice plaintive children in styling chairs, sucking on lollipops, while young women comb their hair. But the salons have no signage, and the parents watch the proceedings with brows furrowed. Thats because their children are not getting haircuts. They are being deloused.

Lice, as any parent knows, are common and a pain to treat. Parents must take time off from work to remove the children from school. Plans for summer camp can be upended, with some children sent home on the first day. For the six million to 12 million children who are infested with lice each year, the American Association of Pediatrics recommends over-the-counter shampoos that contain pediculicides (lice killers), followed by a careful comb-out, but do-it-yourself treatments dont always work.

For over three decades, Orthodox Jewish women in Brooklyn neighborhoods like Borough Park, Midwood and Kensington have used a decidedly low-tech approach involving a fine-toothed metal comb, drugstore hair conditioner and plenty of paper towels, onto which they smear the nauseating results of their labors.

Nit-picking has become a branded enterprise. In addition to the two newish salons serving Park Slope and environs, there are no less than eight delousing boutiques throughout New York City, in addition to dozens of mobile treatment companies. What was once a homey  if disgusting  therapeutic rite of passage is a multimillion-dollar industry, right alongside parent-baby music classes and tutoring centers.
King Henrys contemporaries likewise assumed that a rulers wish constituted a command: Although he denied any intention of inciting murder, Henry was widely held responsible for Beckets death. The pope issued an order prohibiting Henry from attending church services or participating in the sacraments, and the king was eventually forced to do penance for the violence perpetrated in his name.

There are even more instructive parallels. Although the administration offered various reasons for the firing of Mr. Comey, it is clear that Mr. Trump considered his allegiance to F.B.I. protocol over presidential preference to be a form of disloyalty. Likewise, the main issues at stake in 1170 were divided loyalty and institutional independence.

Before Becket had been elected archbishop, he had been a close friend and faithful servant to the king. Henry had engineered Beckets election in the expectation that, as archbishop, Becket would continue to serve royal interests. This was not an unreasonable assumption; for centuries bishops had performed dual roles, acting as temporal as well as spiritual lords. They commanded armies, enforced royal decrees, and took it for granted that the rulers who appointed them could claim their loyalty.

It was not until the 1070s that secular control over bishops began to be challenged by a series of reformist popes who sought to free clerics from secular influence and insisted that bishops first allegiance was to the church. This goal was rarely fully realized  kings were generally closer than the pope and more able to dispense both patronage and punishment. But to Henrys fury, Becket unexpectedly embraced reform, becoming a vigorous defender of church privileges and critic of royal interference. Henry felt intensely betrayed. Becket died not because he was meddlesome, but because, in the kings view, he was disloyal.

The Becket episode may likewise help explain why Mr. Trumps advisers did not prevent him from firing Mr. Comey. King Henry expected all his officials to share his fury at Becket and saw any failure to do so as a betrayal as well. The phrase meddlesome priest was a later invention, made famous by Hollywood in the 1964 film Becket. Henrys actual exclamation  or at least the cry attributed to him in the medieval sources  was What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a lowborn clerk!
A Texas sheriffs deputy and her husband were indicted Thursday on murder charges in the choking death of a man outside a restaurant last month.

The deputy, Chauna Thompson of the Harris County Sheriffs Office, and her husband, Terry Thompson, face charges in the death of John Hernandez, a 24-year-old they encountered outside a Dennys restaurant near Houston on May 28. A bystander recorded the confrontation on a cellphone, which shows Mr. Hernandez kicking, grunting and gasping for air as Mr. Thompson lies on top of him, pins him to the sidewalk and holds him in a chokehold.

Mr. Hernandez lost consciousness before paramedics arrived and took his motionless body to a hospital. He died three days later. A medical examiner ruled that Mr. Hernandez died from strangulation and chest compression.
WASHINGTON  James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, said on Thursday that President Barack Obamas attorney general sought in 2015 to play down the significance of an investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server.

In his wide-ranging testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mr. Comey said the request by that attorney general, Loretta E. Lynch, led him to question her independence.

Last summer, Mr. Comey said the F.B.I. was completing its investigation into Mrs. Clinton, and he took it upon himself to announce that no reasonable prosecutor would bring charges against her, after concluding that Ms. Lynch might be perceived as politically compromised. One of the incidents he cited was a request by Ms. Lynch to use a blander term to publicly describe the investigation in the midst of a presidential election.

The attorney general had directed me not to call it an investigation, but instead to call it a matter, which confused me and concerned me, Mr. Comey said in response to questions during testimony, which focused mainly on President Trumps decision to fire him last month. That was one of the bricks in the load that led me to conclude, I have to step away from the department if were to close this case credibly.
The House impeached Mr. Clinton in 1998 for lying under oath and obstructing justice to cover up his affair with Monica Lewinsky, a former White House intern, during a sexual harassment lawsuit. The obstruction alleged in Mr. Clintons case was persuading Ms. Lewinsky to give false testimony, advising her to hide gifts he had given her to avoid any subpoena and trying to find her a job to keep her happy. After a trial, the Senate acquitted him.

As a political matter, both Mr. Nixon and Mr. Clinton faced a House under control of the opposition party, while Mr. Trump has the benefit of a Republican House that would be far less eager to open an impeachment inquiry. And for all of the fireworks on Thursday, the reaction in Congress still broke down largely along partisan lines, with Democrats in attack mode and Republicans either defending Mr. Trump or remaining silent. That may leave the question to Mr. Mueller.

The polarization seems even worse than during the Lewinsky investigation, which I hadnt thought possible, said Stephen Bates, an associate independent counsel during the investigation into Mr. Clinton. Everyone gets judged in terms of helping or hurting Trump. Whatever Mueller does, half of the country will call him courageous and half will call him contemptible. We just dont know which half is which.

The defense on Thursday was left to Mr. Trumps personal lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, who selectively used Mr. Comeys testimony, disputing the damaging parts while citing the parts he considered helpful. He denied that the president had ever asked Mr. Comey for loyalty or to let go of the investigation into Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser. But he cited Mr. Comeys statement that the president himself was not under investigation at the time the F.B.I. director was fired.

He also assailed Mr. Comey for leaking details of his conversations with the president to prompt the appointment of a special counsel, although they were not classified. It is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications, he said. Mr. Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers.

Tellingly, the Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee paid no heed to the talking points distributed in advance by the Republican National Committee at the behest of the White House. Instead of attacking Mr. Comeys credibility, as the R.N.C. and Donald Trump Jr. did, the Republican senators praised him as a patriot and dedicated public servant. They largely accepted his version of events, while trying to elicit testimony that would cast Mr. Trumps actions in the most innocent light possible.
The federal government spends $7 billion a year on the subsidies. The money goes directly to insurers, which are required to provide discounts to low-income people regardless of whether the companies are reimbursed by the government.

House Republican leaders had refused to provide money for the subsidies in their bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which was approved by the House last month. The White House balked at including the money in a sprawling spending bill to finance the government through September. And Mr. Trump has threatened to withhold the subsidies as a way to force Democrats to negotiate with him on a replacement for the 2010 health care law.

But Mr. Brady said the payments were needed to help consumers.

Obamacares design flaws were not the fault of the American people, Mr. Brady said. The people now trapped in Obamacare did what the government mandated them to do  they complied with the law. They should not be left out to dry.

House Republicans filed a lawsuit in 2014 asserting that the Obama administration was paying the subsidies illegally because Congress had never appropriated money for them, and a Federal District Court judge agreed last year. She ordered a halt to the payments, but suspended her order to allow the government to appeal. That appeal is still in progress, though it is unclear how far the Trump administration will take the fight.

At separate hearings of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees on Thursday, Tom Price, the secretary of health and human services, got a tongue-lashing from Democrats who said he and Mr. Trump were pursuing policies that could deprive millions of Americans of health care and coverage.

Representative Suzan DelBene, Democrat of Washington, said the administration was causing chaos, confusion and instability in the market.

In response to similar criticism from senators, Mr. Price said: Nobody is interested in sabotaging the system. Nobody is cheering the challenges that we have in the system.
WASHINGTON  As James B. Comey was testifying that President Trump was a liar, Senator John Hoeven held two meetings about health care, and pondered ideas about infrastructure.

Were working, said Mr. Hoeven, Republican of North Dakota, though he conceded that the presidents travails make it tougher.

For their part, his Republicans colleagues on the Senate Intelligence Committee made it clear at Mr. Comeys hearing that they had no appetite to confront the president, saving their criticism for Hillary Clinton and spending much of their time focused on the fact that Mr. Trump himself was not under investigation.

As they have traveled through the various stages of grief over the unpredictability of their president and the realization that Mr. Trump is unlikely to change, congressional Republicans appear to have landed at acceptance, basically hoping that the president does not get in their way.
WASHINGTON  During a dramatic two and a half hours of testimony on Thursday, the former F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, gave new insight into his tense relationship with President Trump.

Mr. Comey said he was distrustful of the president from their first meeting, in early January, and said he believed that Mr. Trump was trying to get him to end the F.B.I. investigation into his former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. Mr. Comey also described how Mr. Trump antagonized him on Twitter after firing him. Here are the biggest takeaways from the hearing:

1. Trumps Words Cost Him

Mr. Trumps Twitter account undermined him once again.

Days after Mr. Comey was ousted, The New York Times reported that the two men had dined one-on-one at the White House in January and that Mr. Trump had asked Mr. Comey for his loyalty. On the morning the story was published in the newspaper, the president tweeted, James Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! A flurry of questions ensued, but the White House would not confirm whether Mr. Trump had recorded their discussions.

Nevertheless, the tweet set off a series of events, some engineered by Mr. Comey, that helped prompt the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russian election interference and possible ties to Mr. Trumps associates, a blow to a White House that has tried to shake off the investigation.

Mr. Comey said that three days after Mr. Trumps tweet, he woke up in the middle of the night and realized that any possible tapes could corroborate his conversations with Mr. Trump  particularly one in February in which the president asked him to end the investigation into Mr. Flynn.
WASHINGTON  If one believes James B. Comeys account of his encounters with President Trump, it could present a prosecutable case of obstruction of justice, several former prosecutors said Thursday.

But they also cautioned that little is normal about this situation. The Justice Department has long argued that the Constitution does not permit prosecuting a sitting president. And even if Mr. Trump left office first  through impeachment, or simply by losing re-election in 2020  there is no guiding precedent in which any former president has been indicted on a charge of ordering a criminal investigation closed for improper reasons.

Usually as a lawyer you look at the precedent and it makes it easy, but it hasnt come up before, said Samuel W. Buell, a former federal prosecutor who led the Enron task force and now teaches white-collar criminal law at Duke University. We are way outside the realm of normal executive branch behavior.

Federal law criminalizes actions that impede official investigations and can include actions that would otherwise be lawful if prosecutors can prove the defendant had corrupt intentions. Mr. Trumps critics have been raising the specter of obstruction of justice since he fired the F.B.I. director, Mr. Comey, last month, then admitted on television that when he made that decision, he had been thinking about the F.B.I.s investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election and possible coordination by Trump campaign associates.
The president was uncharacteristically disciplined, leaving for his speech at the Faith and Freedom Coalition event sharply at noon, even while Mr. Comeys hearing had 30 more minutes to go. Mr. Trump breezed out of the Oval Office without any expression of interest in lingering.

There was pleasure among White House aides with how Republican senators  who largely avoided taking on the president  performed in the hearing. The president, who is prone to murmuring while watching television, said at least once that he had been right about the Hillary Clinton email investigation  Mr. Comey said he had been uncomfortable when Ms. Lynch asked him to refer to the criminal inquiry as a matter  as well as that Mr. Comey was a self-promoter.

His top advisers, especially his chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, were worried that the president would defy Mr. Kasowitz and take to Twitter to vent his pique with Mr. Comey, who he believes is on a personal mission to destroy his presidency. West Wing staff members expressed relief when the presidents Twitter feed remained quiet even after Mr. Comey accused him of telling lies, plain and simple, in an effort to smear his reputation and that of the bureau.

The relief, they fear, might be short-lived. Aides were bracing for some kind of Twitter eruption on Thursday night or early Friday. Aides expected the president to either watch the full hearing later in the day on TiVo, or  potentially worse  simply skip to coverage on Fox News or CNN, where Mr. Comeys most damaging comments were playing on a loop.

The mood in the West Wing, which has taken on an increasingly apprehensive edge as the Russia investigation has intensified, was especially tense on Thursday as Mr. Comey spoke, despite a claim by a Trump spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, in an off-camera briefing at midday that its a regular Thursday at the White House.

Staff members gathered around TV sets and winced at Mr. Comeys statements, but shifted immediately when Mr. Comey, to their surprise, revealed that he had fed a memo to The New York Times through an intermediary to prompt the appointment of a special counsel.
AUGUSTA, Ga.  A federal prosecutor said on Thursday that Reality Leigh Winner, the National Security Agency contractor accused of leaking a highly classified report, might have stolen or exposed other secrets before her arrest last week.

This was not the first time the defendant mishandled classified information, Jennifer G. Solari, an assistant United States attorney, said during a detention hearing, in which she described a recorded jailhouse telephone call and referred to an episode last year in which Ms. Winner placed a portable storage device into a sensitive computer.

It was not clear, either in Courtroom No. 1 or even to federal investigators, whether Ms. Winner had distributed classified information beyond a single N.S.A. report related to Russian hacking activities. But Ms. Solari said the authorities were concerned because Ms. Winner referred to documents during a telephone call with her mother.

I screwed up, Ms. Winner, 25, the first person to face prosecution by the Trump administration in connection with a leak of sensitive information, said during the call, according to Ms. Solari.
Samuel DuBois Cook, a lifelong educator who was widely saluted as the first tenure-track black professor appointed by a predominantly white university in the South since Reconstruction, died on May 29 at his home in Atlanta. A boyhood friend of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he was 88.

His death was announced by Duke University, where he taught political science from 1966 to 1974 before serving 22 years as president of Dillard University, a historically black institution in New Orleans. No cause of death was given.

If there were any doubts about how the first full-time black professor would fare at a Southern university whose student body had only just been integrated, they were quickly dispelled. By Dr. Cooks second year of teaching at Duke, in Durham, N.C., his students presented him with their outstanding professor award.

In 1973, he also became the first black president of the Southern Political Science Association. President Jimmy Carter later named him to the National Council on the Humanities.
TOKYO  Japans Parliament opened the door to modernizing the Chrysanthemum Throne on Friday, unanimously passing a special law allowing the ailing Emperor Akihito to retire, and proposing that the government consider letting the royal bloodline pass through the women of the imperial family.

At a time when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is promoting a political message of womens empowerment, the rules of succession governing the worlds oldest monarchy do not permit women to be put in line for the throne.

But with public pressure mounting to allow women to reign, the shrinking size of the imperial household  and the dwindling number of male heirs  has pushed the question of the role of royal women to the forefront of the abdication debate.

Ever since Emperor Akihito, 83, announced his desire to abdicate on television last August, the Parliament has deliberated over whether to grant his request. With the passage of the special bill by the upper house on Friday, the stage is now set for the emperor to step down and pass the throne to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. The lower house passed the legislation last week.
When it comes to implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, managers often believe that the most important part of the process is choosing the vendor and software suite that best fits their needs. This is extremely important, of course, but the argument can be made that even the best ERP software is borderline useless if the end user doesnt understand how to operate it. Training your staff how to not only use but get the most out of ERP solutions should be a central focus, as only then will you be able to unlock your new ERPs potential.

Fortunately, there are a handful of ways in which you can teach the finer points of ERP software utilization to your staff, across all departmentshere are a few to get you started.

Start with a Thorough Explanation of Why

No matter what capacity someone works in at your company, you can rest assured that they dont want to simply take orders without knowing why. Yet, scenarios like this play out in the business world all the time. Chances are your employees have been using whatever outdated systems youre replacing for many years and have grown quite comfortable as a result. Theyre probably not going to be thrilled about switching things up, so be sure to start the transition process with a thorough overview of why the company is switching to a cloud-based ERP and what the benefitsfor everyonewill be. If you start early enough, you may even be able to empower your employees by involving them in the software search process.

Appoint a Designated Instructor

The old adage that a ship without its captain cannot set sail is undeniably true when it comes to implementing a new software suite. The lazy route to training employees how to use a new ERP is to send out a lengthy instructional memo, which will do nothing but cause increased dissent and confusion. Rather, you need to appoint a designated instructor who can work with your software vendor to develop a clear and actionable training plan, which can be held either in small group settings, one-on-one trainings or both. Be sure that the person tasked with this has taken the time to become a true expert on the ins and outs of your new ERP, as the only thing worse than a lack of education among your employees is miseducation.

Tailor/Mix-up Your Training Styles

While it would certainly be convenient if all of your employees learned at the same pace and in the same ways, this is asking for something that isnt a reality. Some staffers will do extremely well with nothing more than a simple lecture, while others learn visually and can benefit from something like a slide-show tutorial. You may even have employees on staff that learn best when working and communicating with each another, which is where something like a discussion forum or chat box can come into play. In the end, your goal should be to get everyone on the same page about how to best utilize your companys ERPgetting there may require a bit of creativity in terms of how you approach the training process.

Train Based on Specific Roles

Another important element of the training process that begs your attention is the fact that not everyones role with an ERP is going to be the same. A single training course can be helpful for outlining the basic functionality of your ERP at a high level, but when it comes to specific, deeper features, theres no use in training someone on functionality theyre not likely to ever encounter. Training modules should be developed that are relevant to the needs and roles of your employees, which may come down to specific groups within departments.

Implementing ERP software can be a smooth process, but the end result will depend largely on how you train your staff. With a robust training plan in mind, you can find success without spinning your wheels.
SPRINGFIELD (JG-TC) -- The Mattoon Journal Gazette/Charleston Times-Courier was honored Friday in the state capital at the Illinois Press Association's annual convention.

More than 100 daily and non-daily newspapers competed in 36 editorial categories.

The JG-TC won first place in the following categories in its division:

Best investigative/enterprise reporting.

The newspaper won this award, dubbed the University of Illinois Department of Journalism Knight Chair Award, for its "Dopesick: The Heroin Epidemic" story series.

Special section, "Farm Focus."

The judges said of this section, published each January: "Nice, newsy look at farming."

News reporting -- series, for "Dopesick."

Judges said, in part: "Good storytelling of the family's pain and honesty and getting the family to open up. Good raw emotions from the mother and her mission going forward."

The JG-TC won second place in these categories:

Lifestyle section.

Sports section.

The JG-TC won third place in these categories:

Community service, for its "Dopesick" series.

Local editorial.

Newspaper design.

The newspaper won honorable mention in these categories:

Best website.

Editorial page.

In competition for the division Sweepstakes Trophy, the JG-TC earned third place. The trophy is awarded to the newspaper earning the most points in its division, with points awarded for first place through honorable mention in most contest categories, including general excellence, photography, newswriting, opinion writing, design, community service and editorial page.

JG-TC Associate Publisher and Editor Penny Weaver earned a second-place win with the IPA for columns. The judge stated: "I doubt readers are ever confused about where Penny Weaver stands. Direct, forceful writing about community issues that matter, with clear calls to action."

On Thursday, Weaver earned a third-place award for columns in the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors contest, held in conjunction with the IPA convention.
MADRID  Catalonia will hold a referendum on independence on Oct. 1, the president of the region said on Friday, defying the Spanish courts and the conservative government in Madrid.

Longstanding objections to the referendum, which was announced by the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, mean that it is unclear how the vote could be held and whether it would be considered binding. But the decision nonetheless raises the stakes in a separatist dispute that has been at the heart of Spanish politics for five years.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, with the support of the Spanish judiciary, has promised to block efforts to hold a referendum, and vowed to maintain Spanish unity and resist the secessionist push from Catalonia.

Spain has a monarchy, and Mr. Puigdemont said that Catalan voters would be asked if they wanted a Catalan state in the form of a republic. It is time for Catalans to decide their future, Mr. Puigdemont said on Friday. Over the years, we have always offered suggestions, and they have always been rejected.
Only a year ago, the vote on European Union membership had seemingly divided the country along clear lines between Leave and Remain. The vote on Thursday erased such clarity, delivering mixed messages, even as Britain remained deeply split  by region, by class and by generation.

For the past year, the extent of the debate about the exit from the European Union in Britain has been limited to vague promises of repatriating British funds from the European budget, controlling immigration and negotiating a favorable trade deal. Britons have heard little about the cost of leaving the worlds biggest free-trade bloc  not least the tens of billions of pounds owed to Brussels for existing liabilities such as pension obligations and investment commitments in the current European Union budget.

The British public have not at all been prepared for having to pay a large check to Brussels to settle our debts in this divorce, said Peter Ricketts, a former ambassador to France and now an independent lawmaker in the House of Lords, Britains upper chamber.

Mrs. May had told voters that she wanted to start negotiating a trade deal straight away  something that has been categorically ruled out by the 27 countries on the other side of the table. They have been clear that they want to talk about a divorce settlement first: about the rights of European Union citizens in Britain, and of Britons in Europe (doable, officials say); about the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which remains a member of the bloc (trickier); and about the most contentious issue in any divorce: the money.

Only when sufficient progress has been made on these issues, the European Union says, can the talks move on to hammering out a framework for a future trade deal and to designing a transitional agreement that would bridge the end of British membership in the bloc  due to formally expire in March 2019  until a final deal is ratified by all 27 remaining member states.

Even before talks have started, the trust level is at rock bottom. A dinner Mrs. May had with the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, was leaked in astonishing detail to a German newspaper by Mr. Junckers team. The leaks were widely condemned by officials  but their content was described as accurate.
Right Now: Prime Minister Theresa May will try to form a minority government, after her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority.

 Mrs. Mays decision to call an early election in the hopes of expanding the Conservative Partys majority in the House of Commons disastrously backfired.

 Mrs. May, who became prime minister after the Brexit referendum on June 23, batted away calls to resign. After meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, she said she would try to form a government with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

 With votes in nearly all of the 650 House of Commons constituencies counted, the Conservatives won 318 seats  short of the 326 needed for a majority. The Labour Party had 261 seats, the Scottish National Party 35 and the Liberal Democrats 12, with the remainder held by small parties.
The Democratic Unionists are the harder-line, mainly Protestant party in Northern Ireland and support Brexit. And they are particularly committed to keeping Mr. Corbyn out of power because of his history of sympathy with Irish Republicans, including Sinn Fein, which was the political wing of the Irish Republican Army.

Arlene Foster, leader of the D.U.P., said that she had spoken to Mrs. May, but I think it is too soon to talk about what were going to do. She said she would explore with Mrs. May how we can help bring stability to our nation.

But earlier Friday, Mrs. Foster was not optimistic about the tenure of Mrs. May, saying, It will be difficult for her to survive given that she was presumed at the start of the campaign, which seems an awfully long time ago, to come back with maybe a hundred, maybe more, in terms of her majority.

Mrs. May is certain to face demands from lawmakers in her own party that she change her leadership style and consult more widely. Nigel Evans, a senior Conservative lawmaker, blamed the partys manifesto, which had been prepared by a small group and hit traditional Tory supporters. We didnt shoot ourselves in the foot; we shot ourselves in the head, he told the BBC.

For the past year, the debate about the exit from the European Union in Britain has been limited to vague promises of repatriating British funds from the European budget, controlling immigration and negotiating a favorable trade deal. Britons have heard little about the cost of leaving the worlds biggest free-trade bloc  not least the tens of billions of pounds owed to Brussels for existing liabilities such as pension obligations and investment commitments in the current European Union budget.

The British public have not at all been prepared for having to pay a large check to Brussels to settle our debts in this divorce, Mr. Ricketts said.
TEHRAN  The Iranian authorities arrested 41 people Friday in connection with the twin terrorist attacks in Tehran this week, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reported, as evidence mounted that Iranian Kurds affiliated with the Islamic State had carried out the assault.

The men who made their way through the Parliament building on Wednesday, shooting assault rifles, throwing grenades and searching for a way into the main hall, were probably Iranian Kurds, security sources say, though only one has been identified. One of the two assailants at a shrine is understood to be an Iranian Kurd, the security sources said.

The Ministry of Intelligence identified one gunman, Serias Sadeghi, as an Iranian Kurd from the city of Paveh in the countrys west near the Iraqi border. In 2014, the Democratic Party of Kurdistan Iran, an opposition party, published a report about increasing Islamic State activities in Iranian Kurdistan that singled him out as a prominent recruiter who, at times, held sessions in a local mosque.

One website, KhabarDena.Ir, on Friday quoted Mamusta Molla Ghader Ghaderi, a community leader from Paveh, as saying that some of the attackers were from there.
WASHINGTON  President Trump scrambled American diplomacy on two fronts on Friday, delivering a stinging rebuke of Qatar at the very moment his secretary of state was trying to mend fences in the Persian Gulf, while at the same time reaffirming support for NATO two weeks after he had declined to do so.

Unpredictable as always, Mr. Trumps comments cut in two directions: He appeared to undermine Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, who has thrown himself into an effort to mediate a resolution to the bitter dispute between Qatar and several of its neighbors, chiefly Saudi Arabia.

But he also soothed NATO allies by explicitly reaffirming Article 5, the clause that commits members to defend any ally under attack. Mr. Trump conspicuously avoided making that pledge at a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels two weeks ago, opening a rift with allies that widened after he pulled the United States out of the Paris climate accord.

Yet the pattern of sudden reversals in the Trump administrations diplomacy was most pronounced in the Middle East.
DOHA, Qatar  Escalating a feud among Persian Gulf monarchs, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Friday listed 59 people and a dozen organizations said to have links to Qatar, including prominent Qatari businessmen, politicians and royalty, as aiding terrorism.

The move came on the same day the United States sent mixed messages about the deepening crisis: Just minutes after Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson urged calm and an easing of the embargo on Qatar, President Trump again publicly accused the country of funding terrorism.

Qatari officials have repeatedly denied supporting terrorist groups and said the emirate works closely with Western security agencies to crack down on terrorist financing.

The decision of the Saudis and Emiratis to release the list deepened a five-day standoff that has already included a cutoff of all diplomatic relations, travel and trade with Qatar, forcing it to import critical food supplies by air from Turkey and elsewhere.
By the end of the 1990s, however, there was trouble. The three monks had never asked the public for financial support, and they didnt take money from the Catholic Church either, as they wished to maintain their independence.

But poverty had turned out to be a relative term. The monks needed cars and new tires and health insurance, and they lived in a house that came with expenses. They took others on religious retreats and made trips to Rome themselves. Both older monks had brought debt to the relationship that Mr. Lynam did not know about until years into their brotherhood.

Eventually, they were so far in the hole that personal bankruptcy for all three of them was the best option for keeping the monastery intact. While Mr. Lynam did not ultimately appear before a judge in his robe, the irony and embarrassment were no fun nonetheless. It was emotionally gut-wrenching, said Mr. Lynam, who didnt know much about personal finance at the time. One of the worst things that has ever happened to me.

But it also awakened something in him. The stream of visitors to his monastery would arrive with many purported reasons. As the junior monk, he did not give much religious counsel. But he soon recognized a pattern: Every person who arrived with a spiritual issue had a financial problem lurking somewhere beneath it.

So I would say, Ill pray for you, but lets make a budget, he said. Lets start paying off student loans. Lets get the child support you deserve. Prayer and contemplation can help you take more mindful action, but action is the outcome of contemplation.

As a math, astronomy, economics and, eventually, personal finance teacher at Santa Fe Preparatory School, Brother Doug, as the students knew him, also became the person many colleagues turned to when they had questions about their financial lives. And when one lifelong teacher showed him her $16,000 retirement account, he was aghast.

While she cried in front of him, his head exploded with questions that he did not know how to answer. Who was in charge of this plan? How did they not know that she had so little money saved? Why didnt they tell her? And how do I fix this?
I just came to get checked because something  I felt something was wrong, and I did end up finding out what it was.

Congressman Ryan, we realize that you may not have spent much time in Planned Parenthood clinics, so these patients wanted to fill you in on what happens in these clinics. Initially, some patients were embarrassed to speak on video, for these are deeply personal medical issues and some feared that their parents (or children!) might judge them promiscuous or immoral. Yet they stepped up as a public service: As Adriana Numo put it, referring to the trauma of a sexually transmitted infection: I dont want anyone else to go through it.

They are being responsible, and they want Congress and the Trump administration to be as well  by providing medical care that is critically needed. Mr. Ryan, you and other Republicans say that other clinics could provide family planning services, but just look at the Planned Parenthood clinics in your own district! For two of them, theres no other general provider of family planning or womens health services for Medicaid patients in the entire county. There is no alternative, not even in your own district!

I hope youll listen to Jenna Bardwell, 20, who found out that she is pregnant and plans to keep the baby. Im nervous to expose my identity, she told me, but I think supporting such an organization, especially when its under threat, is very important because it helps scared 20-year-olds like me.

Speaker Ryan, you and I may disagree about abortion, but we agree that cervical cancer and breast cancer shouldnt kill young women, that family planning should be available, that sexually transmitted infections should be treated. Look around your own district, and its Planned Parenthood that is providing those desperately needed services.

What these patients are trying to tell you, Congressman Ryan, is that Planned Parenthood is their lifeline, sometimes literally saving their lives  and yet youre trying to close those clinics!

Please, Speaker Ryan, reconsider your position, and listen to your own constituents. Thanks for hearing them out.
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There doesn't seem to be a lot that Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) can't do these days. The dot-com darling is on top of the world, padding its lead in online retail and now with a $13.7 billion deal in place to have a significant bricks-and-mortar presence.
From Smirking Chimp

This week's political coverage -- probably next week's too -- will likely be dominated by deposed FBI director James Comey's incendiary testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. However, Trump's "lies, pure and simple" are limited neither to the president's claim that Comey's FBI was "in disarray, that it was poorly led" nor his litany of falsehoods -- most recently, that the mayor of London doesn't care about terrorism and that Trump's First 100 Days were the most productive of any president in history.

Comey's lucid, Hemingway-tight testimony feels like the beginning of the end for this administration. Anything could happen, of course. But it feels overly optimistic to imagine this circus lasting another year.

If and when the obituary for Trump's political career is written, his admirers will record his historic, meteoric rise. Indeed, Donald Trump was the most effective presidential campaigner of my lifetime: repeated what lines worked, ditched the ones that didn't, mastered social media, ignored outdated dogma, tapped into voters' long-ignored resentments, nailed the electoral college map, and did it all for pennies on the Hillary Clinton donor dollar.

True, the brilliant campaigner can't govern. But that's a story for another time.

His critics' postmortems will emphasize that Trump's brightly burning campaign rallies were fueled by lies: Obama was Muslim, Obama wasn't born here, global warming is a Chinese hoax, illegal immigrants are streaming across the border (years ago they were, no longer), police officers are the real victims (as opposed to the numerous black men they shoot).

These lies are scandalous. They ought to be remembered. But we shouldn't let them overshadow Trump's biggest lie of all: that he would be different, outside the ideological box of the two parties.

"Trump meets the textbook definition of an ideological moderate," Doug Ahler and David Broockman wrote in the Washington Post last December. "Trump has the exact 'moderate' qualities that many pundits and political reformers yearn for in politicians: Many of Trump's positions spurn party orthodoxy, yet are popular among voters. And like most voters -- but unlike most party politicians -- his positions don't consistently hew to a familiar left-right philosophy."

Whiff!

Trump promised a hodgepodge ideology, a "pick one from column D, pick one from column R" Chinese menu that appealed to many voters whose own values don't neatly adhere to either major party platform. Who cares about doctrine? Let's do what works.

As president, however, that turned out to be a lie.

Trump has governed to the far right. In fact, on just about every issue you can think of, Donald Trump has governed as the most extreme far-right politician of our lifetimes, and possibly in the history of the Republican Party.

Candidate Trump criticized North Carolina's "bathroom law" and said Caitlyn Jenner could use whichever bathroom she wanted in Trump Tower. President Trump rescinded the right of transgender students to use the school restroom of their choice.

Flip, flop, from somewhat to right-wing conservative, over and over and over again.

Candidate Trump lit up the GOP (and relieved not a few Democrats) by criticizing the stupid Iraq War and promising to put America First. President Trump's cabinet of generals is bombing the crap out of Syria and asking Congress for a 10% increase in Pentagon spending.

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Reprinted from www.counterpunch.org by Chris Floyd

Well, it was nice while it lasted. Like many others, I rejoiced through the night at the astounding UK election results, which seemed to presage a much needed, much longed-for paradigm shift in the poisonous bipartisan neoliberal consensus that has imprisoned the politics of the UK (and US) for so many years.

But this morning finds us in what might be an even worse situation, as a wounded -- and woefully incompetent -- Theresa May limps to the palace to form a government that will be utterly at the mercy of the right-wing sectarian cranks of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

And since the government-forming deal won't be a formal coalition, the DUP will be able to extract whatever concessions they please from May, who will obviously do anything to cling to power. They have already made clear to May that their price for keeping her in office will be a "hard Brexit" in Northern Ireland: no special concessions for the unique situation there -- the only place where an EU nation will have a land border with Brexit Britain.

This will almost certainly mean that armed border controls will have to be set up. And this in turn will almost certainly mean a renewal of strife and division in Northern Ireland after a generation of relative peace and easy flow back and forth between the UK-controlled counties and Ireland proper. The DUP fears that any special arrangement will pull Northern Ireland even closer to Ireland -- which would, of course, threaten their own little power base.

We can still hope that the Parliamentary Labour Party will now embrace the paradigm shift that millions of people made yesterday in voting for a bold Labour manifesto aimed at the greater common good, not the harsh, inhumane dogmas of the failed neoliberal consensus.

If they do that, if they build on the momentum and enthusiasm generated by the remarkable campaign and its renewed focus on, yes, the many not the few, then they will be able to thwart or at least hinder the worst depredations of what will be an even more right-wing government.

May will now be the weakest UK leader in decades, at risk of falling at any moment if the DUP withdraws its support. She and her hideous policies will be susceptible to pressure at every single step -- if Labour hangs together, if the PLP will stop viewing the leadership, the party membership -- and millions of Labour voters -- as enemies to be undermined and overthrown.

So despite the euphoria of the long night, we should remember that we are still in murky waters, with a rickety, right-wing Tory-DUP alliance in government.

If Labour can maintain its campaign for the common good with unity and energy, then the election can still be what we all thought it was during the night: a new beginning.

If not, if Labour falls into internal strife, if its inveterate, neoliberal die-hards continue to put their failed ideology ahead of the interests of the country and the world, then we will have seen a false dawn, with much darkness yet to come.

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More articles by:Chris Floyd
" Their message to us was 'We've created this movement, and we can control it.' It's not that we don't want the Salafis to throw bombs; it's who they throw them at--Hezbollah, Moqtada al-Sadr, Iran, and at the Syrians, if they continue to work with Hezbollah and Iran."

-Seymour Hersh, The Redirection , 2007

We live in an invisible empire, and so the mechanics of the empire are never openly discussed with the rabble. Americans don't comprehend how power actually works across the planet that their country seeks to control. They live from momentary headline to headline without any honest, in-depth analysis of why events like the Manchester bombing occur and keep occurring.

When it comes to terrorism it is dire, urgent, and desperate that the public understand, if anything is to change. But it certainly appears that Americans never will. Perhaps Britons may, and then lead the effort to stop it.

In the United States, a bigoted faction demonizes all Muslims. That faction calls for more weapons and for their own wanton terror to be perpetrated everywhere. An opposing faction absolves all Muslims and calls for peace and reconciliation... with suicide bombers? The two sides mindlessly shout cliche' s back and forth at one another in a cacophony, and they drown out the larger global issues that have transpired for many years. The public is thus rendered impotent, irrelevant and ignored: divided and conquered.

Gross historical ignorance leads to this inability to see what should be glaringly obvious: the deep state--covert intelligence agencies operating in secret--play a "double game." They are in bed with terrorists, whom they see as useful proxies. The terrorists do their dirty work for them in places like Libya, Syria, Chechnya and Dagestan.

Americans are largely incapable of comprehending what a proxy is. It's one level too abstract. Ask people on the street about such matters, and the results would be akin to the 64% who cannot even find North Korea on a map . Korea's location is in no way a secret, and the government doesn't officially deny its existence.

The corporate media has been criminal in distracting the public from the role of western allied intelligence agencies in these terror games. Despite the decade-long Afghanistan Jihad against the Soviets, the similarities of multiple current conflicts do not make it onto the evening news shows. This default censorship extends into so-called "alternative" media too. There is an unspoken air of collusion with intelligence in the United States. Some matters, for example Operation Gladio , are simply never, ever brought up. That chapter has been tossed down Orwell's Memory Hole.

Just what is a "proxy" and "proxy war?"

The Cambridge Dictionary says:

" a war fought between groups or smaller countries that each represent the interests of other larger powers, and may have help and support from these."

Al Qaeda has been a proxy for US, Saudi and Pakistani interests since at least 1979, when Jimmy Carter's CIA began aiding them and setting up the largest logistical support network in its history: Operation Cyclone . While official government claims mislead the public into assuming that the relationship ended in the late 1980s, it did not.

Al Qaeda maintains relationships with US allies, notably Saudi Arabia and Pakistan (where bin Laden lived for a decade and Ayman Zawahiri is assumed to be right now). Other states in the Persian Gulf region such as Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey are also implicated. These nations receive US arms and US protection. Although they are repeatedly exposed for aiding and abetting Al Qaeda and associated groups operating under various names, these countries are tolerated and rewarded by US administrations and other Western powers .

This absurdity can only continue because of the gross ignorance and the distractibility of western populations.

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Here's a message from your government: Congratulations to you the people of America for your acquiescence, passiveness, and continued silence; your subservient behavior has been exemplary, it shows that your absolute, unconditional loyalty to your government is still in full force.

That's not just a contrived cynical observation on my part. What that message really means is that mind conditioning, aka, mind control, an agenda that has been pursued by this government and the national media for some time, has been successful beyond all expectations.

The last time that Americans rose up all across this country to vent their rage and extreme dissension with regard to what their government was doing was during the latter years of the Vietnam War. Their massive protests and demonstrations were a major factor in bringing an end to that misguided, illegal, and immoral war. .

In examining this matter in more depth it's important to make clear that the primary method or vehicle for implementing the process of mind conditioning has been the TV networks, newspapers, radio, i.e., the mainstream media; and in recent times the internet. Without the direct involvement of these means of communication there would be no such thing in America.

Remember how this media twisted the facts to support the Bush administration's lies about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? This was an attempt to plant the notion that this war was entirely justifiable into the minds of the American people and it, most certainly, was highly successful.

The media acted as cheerleaders in that war in Iraq as well as the one in Afghanistan, both of which saw many thousands of our troops and innocent civilians die for no justifiable reason. And large parts of this media continued to vigorously support those wars when it became very evident that they both were colossal military mistakes. And far too many Americans believed the propaganda and bought in to the government's attempted justifications.

Talk about mental conditioning, how about the non-stop extremely pervasive political commercials that flood the airwaves during our elections when hundreds of millions and billions of Corporate America's dollars are spent to promote specific candidates who have sworn allegiance to that entity.

Has there been any political entity in the history of this nation that has had such a massive impact on our electoral process; one that relentlessly hammers these biased political messages into the American mind?

There are many things happening in America today that should be setting off alarm bells all over this country and awakening the people to the dangers that currently threaten our democracy and our way of life. But the people remain largely silent. It's like "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

Since 9/11 a constant message of fear has been planted in the American mind; a message that we should be afraid, be very afraid of terror. The more that Americans feel that fear, the more justification this government has for its agenda of endless war. The powers that run the Military-Industrial Complex thrive on this fear since it paves the way for continuous funding of the machinery of war and the ongoing expansion of the worldwide military empire.

The people see the deceitful financial Wall Street manipulators devise one scheme after another to increase profits through various highly questionable financial practices. But they allow themselves to be fleeced by these robber barons and say nothing. They watch as Corporate America destroys the nation's manufacturing plants along with good paying jobs, and then creates lower level jobs for the minimum wage; and what do the people do? A very large portion of them simply absorbs what's going on, saying nothing.

Most Americans love their country, a wondrous country indeed. But many of them have been conditioned by this government and the mainstream media to believe that love for our country and our government are one in the same; they are not. When I hear the patriotic song "America the Beautiful" I think of this beautiful country, not the largely polluted and corrupted Congress headquartered in Washington D.C.

There must be a distinct separation between love for our country and respect for our government. It's up to the government and the politicians who we have elected to earn our respect. We, who live in this country need to follow its laws, support it with our taxes and defend our country when that is an absolute necessity. But the people must not blindly follow the dictates of their government when it becomes evident that what it is doing is far too often not in the best interests of the people.

What is the profile of a typical American who has become mentally conditioned? Here are some of the signs indicating that a person may possess that condition:

It's a person who fully accepted, condoned and supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan believing that they were totally justified; who, thereafter, supported the attack on Libya, the current relentless bombing campaign in Syria, and the continued use of drones against the nations of Yemen and Somalia; it's those individuals who feel entirely comfortable with contributing tax dollars to be used for the agenda of endless war.

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Reprinted from www.afsa.org

The militarization of U.S. foreign policy certainly didn't start with President Donald J. Trump; in fact, it goes back several decades. However, if Trump's first 100 days in office are any indication, he has no intention of slowing down the trend.

During a single week in April, the Trump administration fired 59 Tomahawk missiles into a Syrian airfield, and dropped the largest bomb in the U.S. arsenal on suspected ISIS tunnels in Afghanistan. This 21,600-pound incendiary percussion device that had never been used in combat--the Massive Ordinance Air Blast or MOAB, colloquially known as the "Mother of All Bombs"--was used in the Achin district of Afghanistan, where Special Forces Staff Sergeant Mark De Alencar had been killed a week earlier. (The bomb was tested only twice, at Elgin Air Base, Florida, in 2003.)

To underscore the new administration's preference for force over diplomacy, the decision to experiment with the explosive power of the mega-bomb was taken unilaterally by General John Nicholson, the commanding general of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In praising that decision, Pres. Trump declared that he had given "total authorization" to the U.S. military to conduct whatever missions they wanted, anywhere in the world--which presumably means without consulting the interagency national security committee.

It is also telling that Pres. Trump chose generals for two key national security positions traditionally filled by civilians: the Secretary of Defense and the National Security Advisor. Yet three months into his administration, he has left unfilled hundreds of senior civilian governmental positions at State, Defense and elsewhere.

Back in 1976, however, President Gerald Ford set a very different example when he issued his Executive Order 11095. This proclaimed that "No employee of the United States government shall engage in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination."While Pres. Trump has not yet enunciated a policy on the subject of political assassinations, there has so far been no indication that he plans to change the practice of relying on drone killings established by his recent predecessors.

He instituted this prohibition after investigations by the Church Committee (the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, chaired by Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho) and the Pike Committee (its House counterpart, chaired by Rep. Otis G. Pike, D-N.Y.) had revealed the extent of the Central Intelligence Agency's assassination operations against foreign leaders in the 1960s and 1970s.

With a few exceptions, the next several presidents upheld the ban. But in 1986, President Ronald Reagan ordered an attack on Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi's home in Tripoli, in retaliation for the bombing of a nightclub in Berlin that killed a U.S. serviceman and two German citizens and injured 229. In just 12 minutes, American planes dropped 60 tons of U.S. bombs on the house, though they failed to kill Gaddafi.

Twelve years later, in 1998, President Bill Clinton ordered the firing of 80 cruise missiles on al-Qaida facilities in Afghanistan and Sudan, in retaliation for the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The Clinton administration justified the action by asserting that the proscription against assassination did not cover individuals whom the U.S. government had determined were connected to terrorism.

Days after al-Qaida carried out its Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, President George W. Bush signed an intelligence "finding" allowing the Central Intelligence Agency to engage in "lethal covert operations" to kill Osama bin Laden and destroy his terrorist network. White House and CIA lawyers argued that this order was constitutional on two grounds. First, they embraced the Clinton administration's position that E.O. 11905 did not preclude the United States' taking action against terrorists. More sweepingly, they declared that the ban on political assassination did not apply during wartime.

The Bush administration's wholesale rejection of the ban on targeted killing or political assassinations reversed a quarter-century of bipartisan U.S. foreign policy. It also opened the door to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct targeted killings (a euphemism for assassinations).

The U.S. Air Force had been flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), since the 1960s, but only as unmanned surveillance platforms. Following 9/11, however, the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency weaponized "drones" (as they were quickly dubbed) to kill both leaders and foot soldiers of al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The United States set up bases in Afghanistan and Pakistan for that purpose, but after a series of drone attacks that killed civilians, including a large group gathered for a wedding, the Pakistani government ordered in 2011 that the U.S. drones and U.S. military personnel be removed from its Shamsi Air Base. However, targeted assassinations continued to be conducted in Pakistan by drones based outside the country.

In 2009, President Barack Obama picked up where his predecessor had left off. As public and congressional concern increased about the use of aircraft controlled by CIA and military operators located 10,000 miles away from the people they were ordered to kill, the White House was forced to officially acknowledge the targeted killing program and to describe how persons became targets of the program.

Instead of scaling the program back, however, the Obama administration doubled down. It essentially designated all military-age males in a foreign strike zone as combatants, and therefore potential targets of what it termed "signature strikes." Even more disturbing, it declared that strikes aimed at specific, high-value terrorists, known as "personality strikes," could include American citizens.

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Fifty years after the June 5-10, 1967, Six Day War, Israel's occupation of the Palestinian people offers a business opportunity for some, and massive oppression for others.

We will begin with the business opportunity, as it is seen from the perspective of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. We will get to the oppression part a bit later from B'Tselem.

Alex Kane, writing in the alternative publication, Indypendent, sets the stage: "On March 5, Gov. Andrew Cuomo flew to Israel to show solidarity with Jews amidst an uptick in anti-Semitism in New York. But the trip also doubled as the kick-off for a new project meant to bring Israel and New York closer together."

Smart man, that Cuomo; he does business that helps his city, while he makes nice, very nice, with his voters and donors.

After Cuomo arrived in Israel, he was driven on a secure, well-maintained Israeli highway, to Jerusalem's King David Hotel where he held a press conference to announce "the creation of the New York-Israel Commission, an initiative to strengthen the already-robust ties between Israel and the state with the largest number of Jews in the United States."

Among its assignments, the commission "will focus on connecting New York law enforcement with Israeli security forces."

An hour later, "the New York governor stood outside Jerusalem's Old City police headquarters alongside Gilad Erdan, Israel's Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs, marveling at Israel's ability to keep Jerusalem safe".

Cuomo praised Israeli security forces for its use of technology as "something that we can learn from," and also said that he wanted New York law enforcement to learn from Israel about combating "lone wolf" terror threats.

The New York Times offered its political rational for the trip:

"The Jewish community, that is still very important in New York electoral politics," said Gerald Benjamin, a professor of political science at the State University at New Paltz, "and in the financing of them and national campaigns." Professor Benjamin was referring to speculation surrounding Mr. Cuomo (left), whose name has come up as a possible Democratic candidate for president in 2020.

Stand at a window in the King David Hotel, where Cuomo held his press conference, and look eastward. Out there is the Hinnom Valley, the Gehenna of the New Testament, which the ancients associated with fire, judgment, the Lake of Fire, eternal fire and Hell. The valley was also the place where earlier pagan groups practiced child sacrifice.

Also out there is East Jerusalem and the West Bank, territory Israel captured fifty years ago this week, now occupied land on which's Israel's vaunted security forces are testing technology which it uses to keep "its people safe".

Cuomo's New York police department is just one of many American departments whose police officers have flown to Israel, usually, as Alex Kane writes "on the dime of pro-Israel groups to tour the country and speak with Israeli security forces about how they keep their country safe".

Israel has a world-wide reputation as a leader in utilizing Israeli-build weapons, and developing successful surveillance companies. Security is "a core part of the Israeli economy", exporting "billions of dollars worth of armaments and spy tools to virtually every region in the world".

Why is Israel so esteemed for its security equipment and techniques?

Shir Hever, an Israeli researcher and author of the book The Political Economy of the Occu pa tion, knows why . He says: "All of the Israeli companies would immediately answer the question: We have actual experience, and we have tested these weapons on human beings."

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Washington, DC Poet Michael Whelan

(Image by John Whitman) Details DMCA



According to Washington, DC veteran poet Michael Whelan, steeped in the muses of Ireland's glorious verse tradition, the above line, quoted from his poem/biography A fter God, was inspired by an ancient legend:

"Alexander the Great came to visit the Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope. Alexander wanted to fulfill a wish for Diogenes and asked him what he desired. . . . According to the version recounted by Diogenes Laertius, Diogenes replied "Stand out of my light." [quotation from Wikipedia]

This tall, wirey, blue-eyed poet, who calls Washington, DC home, loves to explore his own contradictions:

Come home. / Just for tonight. / Tomorrow I will unbelieve you again. / But tonight come / fill / the hole / in / my soul.

and

Still, I'd love to talk again / like way back / when you / were my / Imaginary Friend. / Or was it I / who was / Yours?

He "forgets he has blue eyes sometimes," though he loves quoting Bob Dylan's words to Frank Sinatra, "We have blue eyes; we can see into the stars."

The son of Irish Catholics who immigrated to Morningside Heights in New York City, where his father became a grocer and poet [with a sign "Blarney Spoken Here" in front of his cash register], Whelan is one of those few fortunate people who have written their life stories in a compact and portable form. In his case, it is a book of sequential poetry, Aft er God, narrating his life as a De La Salle Christian Brother--not to be confused with the militants depicted in James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man--who left the order of educators ["no priests, no mass"] to rejoin secular society in the sixties. There was a rushed exodus from Catholic asceticism and celibacy in the late sixties, he said, in the venue of the Vatican Council, the Vietnam war, the Summer of Love, and the encyclical of Pope Paul VI opposing birth control--a major upheaval.

He describes After God as a "spiritual memoir in verse," presenting events from his inner life in chronological sequence. He began his book of life at a writers' retreat in the Loire valley in France, spending three summers there to complete it.

He has found fulfillment in all of his work, he said. He loved monastic life, which he celebrated in his poem "A Genesis of Yes."

Go inside our classrooms: The zeitgeist / of the neighborhood seeps into the teaching. / This is a school where . . . your favorite English teacher is called / Brother Aelred. / I love the name sound. . . .

But deeper than rationalizing whys, I feel a strange, alluring / irrational why. . . .

Now secularized, he still loves to return to monastic settings to write poetry in seclusion.

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From Global Research



If you were going to arrange a political assassination in an indoor crowded setting, would you have one of your operatives (not the assassin) at the murder site be a strikingly curvaceous young woman in a conspicuous white dress with black polka-dots, and then have her flee the scene, yelling, "We've shot him, we've shot him," so that multiple witnesses would see and hear her as she made her escape?

Would you have the same woman earlier in the day pick up a salesman in the hotel where the assassination was planned, spend the day with him driving around and having dinner together, while repeatedly inviting (i.e. luring) him to join her later that night at a big public event where they will shoot their famous victim, whom she names?

Would you have your operative tell this man that, although she wasn't staying at the hotel, and although she had been in town only three days, having flown from NYC where she had arrived from overseas, that she knew the hotel stair routes very well, including an unobtrusive one that she shows the man?

Would you have this woman tell this man that a few days earlier she had met with a very famous political operative (whom she names), diametrically opposed to your victim's political philosophy, and that she would need to flee the country after the assassination and would like the man's help?

Would you have your operative in the tight dress so conspicuously lay down a trail of breadcrumbs from morning until night, until she made her escape, never to be found despite having been seen by more than a dozen credible witnesses at the shooting site?

I think you would agree that you would have to be extremely stupid to plan an assassination in this manner, except if you were extremely devious, and the voluptuous stand-out girl was part of your intricate plot to create a false lead to someone other than the assassins.

This is exactly what happened when Senator Robert Kennedy, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, was shot shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, after celebrating his victory in the California Democratic Primary. The woman in question came to be known as "the girl in the polka-dot dress," but unlike the ways we associate girls with innocence, this woman was a key player in hideous evil.

While many people are aware that President John Kennedy was killed five years earlier in a conspiracy organized by U.S. intelligence operatives and that Lee Harvey Oswald was the "patsy" that he said he was, far fewer realize that Robert Kennedy was also killed as a result of a conspiracy and that the convicted assassin Sirhan Sirhan did not kill RFK. In fact, not one bullet from his gun struck the senator. Sirhan was standing in front of Kennedy when, as the autopsy definitively showed, RFK was shot from the rear at point-blank range, three bullets entering his body, with the fatal head-shot coming upward at a 45-degree angle from 1-3 inches behind his right ear. In addition, an audio recording shows that many more bullets than the eight in Sirhan's gun were fired in the hotel pantry that night. It was impossible for Sirhan to have killed RFK.

While Sirhan still sits in prison to this day, the real killers of Senator Kennedy went free that night. For anyone who studies the case with an impartial eye (see this, this, this, this, and this), the evidence is overwhelming that there was a very sophisticated conspiracy at work, one that continued long after as police, FBI, intelligence agencies, and the legal system covered up the true nature of the crime. That Sirhan was hypnotized to play his part as seeming assassin is also abundantly clear.

But it is not my intention here to detail all the facts of the case that still scream out for justice, as do the linked assassinations of JFK and MLK. In fact, referring to the Kennedy assassination is a misnomer; we should speak of the Kennedy assassinations, since JFK wasn't the only one.

I would like to focus on the so-called "girl in the polka-dot dress," and ask you to think along with me as we explore why she was so conspicuous that day and night, and what function she may have served. I know you will agree that it is counterintuitive for her to have behaved the way she did. Counterintuitive for the general public, that is.

The best detailed day-to-day account of this mysterious girl is in the book linked to above by Fernando Faura, The Polka-Dot File: on the Robert F. Kennedy Killing (see my review here). Faura writes, "Seconds after the shooting stopped, a young woman in a polka-dot dress ran out of the kitchen, past Sandra Serrano [see video], a Kennedy campaign worker. The woman shouted, 'We shot him, we shot him.' Asked who they shot, the woman replied, 'Kennedy,' and ran into the morning darkness, never to be found." Although Serrano was interviewed by Sandy Vanocur of NBC News on live TV at 1:30 AM shortly after the shooting, she -- as well as other eyewitnesses to this girl -- was browbeaten by the police to retract her story, yet she never did. The police shut down its pursuit of this girl, despite all the witnesses. The LAPD officer in charge of the investigation, Lt. Manny Pena, was CIA connected, having worked for U.S. AID and been recently brought back to control the investigation. So too was the brutal interrogator, Sgt. Hank Hernandez, CIA affiliated.

It is obvious that this girl was part of a conspiracy to kill Robert Kennedy and that it is equally obvious that she was meant to stand out, be seen, and to be heard shouting what she did. Why?

Logically it follows that she was meant to create false leads, and generate mystery when there was none. Writing of the JFK assassination, Vince Salandria, the eminent and early critic of the government's false conspiracy story, has recently said something quite appropriate to the RFK case and this girl: "The Kennedy assassination is a false mystery. It was conceived by the conspirators to be a false mystery, which was designed to cause interminable debate. The purpose of the protracted debate was to obscure what was quite clearly and plainly a coup d'e'tat". President Kennedy was assassinated by our national-security state." While far fewer people have yet to question the false narrative in the RFK case, when or if they do they will find that the polka-dot girl's actions and her disappearance could keep them guessing for a long time, and that that guessing will lead away from the obvious and essential truth.

The investigative journalist Robert Parry has written about how Richard Nixon sabotaged a possible peace accord in Vietnam in the summer/fall of 1968. This he did through an intermediary, right-wing Republican Chinese e'migre' Anna Chennault, wife of General Claire Chennault, legendary founder of the Flying Tigers. Parry explains, "Nixon's gambit was to have Chennault pass on word to South Vietnamese President Thieu that if he boycotted Johnson's Paris peace talks -- thus derailing the negotiations -- Nixon would assure Thieu continued U.S. military support for the war." This treachery has been confirmed. Having stumbled on Parry's work in 2014, the reporter Fernando Faura was startled to find himself connecting the girl in the polka-dot dress to Anna Chennault and to Nixon. This was because he remembered that the man, John Fahey, who had spent all day with the girl on June 4, 1968, and dropped her off in the evening at the Ambassador Hotel, had told him that the political operative she had met with three days before the assassination was Anna Chennault. Faura speculates that perhaps Nixon was therefore connected to RFK's assassination because he feared that, if Robert Kennedy were to become the Democratic presidential nominee, he would push to end the Vietnam War and would be more likely that anyone else to defeat him in the general election. He speculates that the "peace talks" conspiracy might have been the origin of the Kennedy killing; that the two conspiracies were connected.

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From Common Dreams

Progressive leader has turned around the electoral fortunes of his party more than anyone in 70 years

Watching the BBC's coverage of the election, you could be excused for taking away two main impressions of Thursday night's results of the UK election. First, that Theresa May had a terrible, self-sabotaging campaign; and second that, while Jeremy Corbyn may be celebrating, he decisively lost the election.

Those are the conclusions we would expect a pundit class to draw that has spent two years slandering Corbyn, calling him "unelectable," warning that he appealed to little more than a niche group of radical leftists, and claiming that Labour was about to face the worst electoral defeat in living memory -- if not ever. Corbyn's social justice message was supposedly alienating the heartlands of the UK. So let's stand back, look at the voting figures and see how a Corbyn-led Labour party actually did.

Corbyn received 41 percent of the vote, against May's 44 percent. Given the UK's inherently flawed, first-past-the-post electoral system, he won some 50 fewer seats than the Conservatives, but that was still a big improvement on Labour's share of seats in the last election, under Ed Miliband. There is now a hung parliament, and to survive May will need to depend on the MPs of a small group of Northern Irish extremist Loyalists, creating a deeply unstable government.

But how did Corbyn do in terms of the Labour vote compared to his recent predecessors? He won many more votes than Ed Miliband, Gordon Brown and Neil Kinnock, who were among those that, sometimes noisily, opposed his leadership of the party.

They lost their elections. But what about Corbyn's share of the vote compared to Tony Blair, his most high-profile critic, whose many allies in the parliamentary Labour party sought relentlessly to subvert Corbyn's leadership over the past two years and tried to bring him down, including by staging a leadership challenge last year.

Here are the figures for Blair's three wins. He got a 36 percent share of the vote in 2005 -- much less than Corbyn. He received a 41 percent of the vote -- about the same as Corbyn -- in 2001. And Blair's landslide victory in 1997 was secured on 43 percent of the vote, just two percentage points ahead of Corbyn last night.

In short, Corbyn has proved himself the most popular Labour leader with the electorate in more than 40 years, apart from Blair's landslide victory in 1997. But let's recall the price Blair paid for that very small margin of improvement over Corbyn's vote. Behind the scenes, he sold Labour's soul to the City, the corporations and their lobbyists. That Faustian pact secured Blair the backing of most of the British media, including Rupert Murdoch's stable of papers and TV channels. The corporations mobilized their entire propaganda machine to get Blair into power. And yet he managed it with only 2 percentage points more than Corbyn, who had that same propaganda machine railing against him.

Also, unlike Corbyn, Blair did not have to endure a large section of his own party trying to destroy him from within.

And in addition, Blair was able to rely on a strong Scottish vote for the party that no longer existed by the time Corbyn became leader. Most of that vote now goes to the Scottish National Party (SNP) over the issue of independence for Scotland.

All of this indicates the extent of Corbyn's achievement.

Another point. Blair's 1997 landslide was the peak of his success. As Labour members realized what he had done to achieve victory, support ebbed away relentlessly until he was forced to step down and hand over a profoundly damaged party to Gordon Brown.

With Corbyn, the election campaign proved that there is a huge appetite for his honesty, his passion, his commitment to social justice -- at least when audiences got a chance to hear from him directly, rather than having his policies and personality mediated and distorted by a biased and self-serving corporate media. Unlike Blair, who destroyed Labour to turn it into a Thatcher-lite party, Corbyn is rebuilding Labour into a social movement for progressive politics.

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We will never bow to anyone but ourselves and the rulers we have legitimately designated; we reminded the world of this fact when we voted for Brexit, as Brussel's creeping meddling into our affairs showed they had forgotten who we were. But as cash slowly disappears from our everyday transactions, it is both a symbol of our pride and a not-so-little bit of our freedom which is being chipped away.

There is more and more cash in China and in India. The reason for this is simple: both these countries have booming economies and contain more wealth every year. But in the Western world, the trend is going the other way. Across our own civilizational block, the share of cash transaction is slowly dwindling , while electronic payments are on the rise, to the extent that several countries are expecting cash to go under 50% of all payments made. When this threshold is passed, cash will be a minority payment in volume (most cash payments are small) and in market shares. So, of course, the next step should be getting rid of cash altogether, which many consider we don't really need anymore, since we all have smartphones. Some countries, such as Denmark and Sweden, have even come dangerously close to making the leap. But there are three main reasons why the UK would make a grave mistake by following that path, even if our pound can expect a little turbulence after the Brexit shock.

It is a symbol of our independence. Throughout history, thousands of groups have attempted to form a nation. Some succeeded, often at the cost of sweat and blood, many others failed. And one of the first things nations produce is their money: it is a symbol of their unity, of the fact that one people lives, strives and thrives together. This is the reason why so much attention is paid to the representation on banknotes: our own notes feature the most prominent characters our nation has produced ( currently Queen Elizabeth, Charles Darwin, Adam Smith, James Watt, and Matthew Boulton). They blend into our history, or character. Going all virtual would certainly make a few things more practical -- no more finding ruined banknotes in pockets when the laundry exits the washer! -- but it is completely beside the point for anyone who knows anything about the British.

When Brussels starting getting a little pushy with us and forgot about our independence and our pride as a nation, we slammed the door. Hard currency is part of our national pride -- which is one of the reasons why we never gave it up for the euro.

Banks will have complete control of our lives. Of course, anyone in Britain is aware that we have Europe's leading banking system, and is probably rather satisfied of it, when they're not busy bashing bankers around a pint. But no more than the average Britain wants to be subjected blindly to Brussel's power, does he want to stand under a banker's thumb . But that's what will happen if cash goes away. Cash is the only form of transaction which doesn't involve the bank, all others do. This is the main reason why banks are so much in favor of killing cash : it earns them little and costs them a lot in management and security. With no cash, they could prevent bank-runs because Britons would have no way of withdrawing in case of a banking disaster: the money would be locked in the bank. And by making the economy exclusively virtual, banks will have total and absolute power over our finances and our economy. It's a safe bet Britons don't want that.

Finally, we pride ourselves in the care we give the most vulnerable citizens in our society. The United Kingdom has near 200 000 charities , with various donors -- most of whom private individual citizens -- funding them to the tally of 80 billion pounds. "The UK has a long and proud tradition of being one of the world's most generous countries, and it is great to see that this spirit of generosity continues to grow," John Low, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said in an article to the Independent in 2015 .

Even the NHS disaster is a token of the fact we care about each other: the NHS wouldn't take such poundings in the press if people weren't interested in the matter. Now, if we get rid of cash, we will actively hurt precisely those who are in the most need of financial help: the most senior citizens and the destitute. The former, for lack of technological skills and generational obliviousness will be unable to manage their finances; the latter will lose the little finances they have today. Both these categories of people mainly resort to cash, either for generational reasons or because they have no alternative; they would be financially crushed by the disappearance of cash.

Cash is a national emblem. It is the symbol of our becoming men and women, the first day we got paid at the beginning of our careers. It is a symbol of our unity as a people, when we draw the queen's face on the bills. It's a reminder of our resolve facing all sorts of pressures, harsh blows and creeping influence, because still today, we don't buy our groceries with euros, or reichsmarks, we pay in pounds. It's our printed pride.
From Reader Supported News

The arrest this week of NSA contractor Reality Winner on Espionage Act charges of providing national defense information to The Intercept is the clearest evidence to date that President Donald Trump intends to continue former president Barack Obama's war on whistleblowers and transparency. It also calls into question the professionalism of The Intercept's journalists, as well as the professional integrity of reporters Richard Esposito and Matthew Cole.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have a history with both Esposito and Cole. Esposito and I were friends for many years, and we worked together at ABC News from 2008 to 2009 and again from 2011 to 2012. My history with Cole is far more sordid. Cole approached me in 2008 to say that he was writing a book on the CIA's rendition program. He sent me a list of a dozen names and asked if I could introduce him to anybody on the list. I told him truthfully that I was not involved in renditions and that I did not know anybody on the list. He followed up with a second list, and then a third. I finally said that he obviously knew the issue far better than I did and that I just couldn't be helpful. Finally, he said, "What about the guy you mentioned in your [first] book? I think his name was 'John.'" I said, "You're talking about John Doe. He must be retired by now and living somewhere in Virginia." That conversation was a crime. I confirmed the name of a former colleague to Cole. Even though I had no idea that colleague was still undercover, it was still a felony.

But the story gets much worse. As it turned out, Cole was never working on any book. Instead, he was secretly acting as an investigator for the Guantanamo defense attorneys. He took John Doe's name, sent it to a fellow investigator, John Sifton, and Sifton sent it to the attorneys. The attorneys then put the name in a sealed, classified motion asking the judge for permission to interview Doe. The Guantanamo judge immediately recognized that the name was classified and he called the FBI. The FBI subpoenaed the defense attorneys' emails and traced one back to Sifton. Sifton either cooperated with the FBI (he later testified against me in the grand jury) or the FBI subpoenaed his emails, and traced the information back to Cole.

The next step is still a mystery. The FBI either subpoenaed Cole's emails -- those of a working journalist -- or Cole ratted me out to the FBI. Neither Cole nor the FBI have ever said what happened.

And it wasn't just me who Cole manipulated. In the course of my case, my investigators found 10 pages of handwritten notes from Cole, provided to us by a friendly attorney, wherein Cole had spoken with a disgruntled former CIA employee who had eventually given him the names of 10 different undercover CIA officers. Cole also passed these names to the Guantanamo defense attorneys, whose investigators then photographed these officers at a secret CIA site so that the Guantanamo detainees they represented could identify them. That's not journalism. It's activism. It's also highly unethical.

Fast-forward seven years. The Intercept promotes itself as the go-to place for national security whistleblowers. The outlet even has its PGP encryption keys on its website, where it encourages national security professionals to send in classified documents. That's a great idea and one that I support fully. Apparently, that's what Reality Winner did. She sent The Intercept an NSA analysis of Russian involvement in hacking related to the 2016 presidential election. Esposito and Cole, however, in an ill-advised attempt to "authenticate" the document, sent it to one of their "NSA contacts," who immediately alerted authorities. Winner was arrested mere hours after the Esposito/Cole article was published.

How did the FBI zero in on Winner so quickly? Admittedly, she made mistakes. She initially contacted The Intercept from a work computer. And when she finally sent the document in, she left identifying information on it. More importantly -- and this is something that every journalist who purports to be a specialist in national security ought to know -- NSA marks every single document with microscopic tags. When an NSA employee prints a document, there are tiny markings indicating that that specific employee has printed it. When Esposito and Cole showed a copy of the original document. to their NSA contact, they had sealed Winner's fate.

And now Winner faces charges under the Espionage Act, a 1917 law designed to combat spies and saboteurs. It's like using an iron fist to kill a fly. As recently as the Clinton administration, such revelations of classified information were dealt with administratively and internally. When I was at the CIA, I worked with a woman who was accused of providing classified information on Iran to a CNN reporter with whom she was having an affair. The leak was traced to her, she admitted passing the information, and she was suspended without pay for six weeks and barred from promotion for three years. Her career eventually recovered, and she was promoted into the Senior Intelligence Service. There was no Espionage Act prosecution for her.

We now know where Trump stands on whistleblower issues. He stands with Obama. He stands as an enemy of transparency. Let me be clear: Reality Winner is a whistleblower. I don't care what her motivation for disclosing the document was. It's irrelevant. What is relevant is that the American people have a right to know what she revealed. Why is it a secret that the Russians were working to elect Donald Trump? There is a public interest in disseminating that information.

Winner faces the possibility of many years in prison. But what she did was heroic. The American people will come to recognize that. And in the meantime, she's going to take her place in a long line of truth-tellers. Esposito and Cole, meanwhile, should see the unemployment line.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
Look, you know that shits getting pretty dire when international bands are having to come into your country and make a statement about your equality issues.





In the lead up to their Australian tour next month, Sigur Ros have announced that theyre going to be selling limited edition shirts to support the fight for marriage equality, following the controversy around Margaret Court.

The Icelandic sweethearts are due to play Margaret Court Arena for their Melbourne show next month, and are going use their presence in the hotly-debated venue to make a stand for marriage equality, and raise funds for Australian Marriage Equality.

We know Margaret Courts opinions are not shared by the majority of Australians. We want to add our voice to the call for marriage equality in Australia right here on Margaret Court Arena itself, the band said in a statement. Australia should be a country that celebrates positivity and inclusion, as well as achievement on the sporting field. Weve decided to commission a special tee-shirt for this Melbourne show, which well also sell at our Sydney show and at Splendour in The Grass, proceeds from which will go towards support of Australian Marriage Equality.

The band also talked about the state of equality in Iceland  where same-sex partnerships have been legal since 1996, marriage equality passed in 2010, and the country has been led by an openly-gay prime minister, Johanna Sigurardottir.

Lets make July 27th Margaret Court Arenas most inclusive night ever and call for every Australian to have the same dignity and respect right here on centre court.

Game, set, match, Sigur Ros.

Photo: Getty / David Wolff  Patrick.
Leatt's DBX

DBX 3.0 All Mountain details:

 Use: trail riding and all-mountain

 Polycarbonate shell, in-molded EPS liner, 18 vents

 360 Armourgel Turbine Technology

 Reduces up to 30% of head impact at concussion level

 Reduces up to 40% of rotational acceleration

 Dri-Lex moisture-wicking, anti-odor, washable liner

 Breakaway visor

 Fidlock magnetic closure system

 Certified to EN1078; CPSC 1203

 Weight: from 360g (0.79 lbs)

 Three sizes: Small (51 to 55cm), Medium (55 to 59cm) Large (59 to 63cm)

 Colors: Orange, blue, black, gray and green

 MSRP: $169.99 USD

 Contact:

 Use: trail riding and all-mountain Polycarbonate shell, in-molded EPS liner, 18 vents 360 Armourgel Turbine Technology Reduces up to 30% of head impact at concussion level Reduces up to 40% of rotational acceleration Dri-Lex moisture-wicking, anti-odor, washable liner Breakaway visor Fidlock magnetic closure system Certified to EN1078; CPSC 1203 Weight: from 360g (0.79 lbs) Three sizes: Small (51 to 55cm), Medium (55 to 59cm) Large (59 to 63cm) Colors: Orange, blue, black, gray and green MSRP: $169.99 USD Contact: Leatt

Highlights

Ventilation channel design keeps eyewear sweat free.

Molded inserts reinforce large vent ports. Goggle-friendly profile and large exit ports.

Head-band angle adjustment is easy to use.

360 Armourgel Turbine Technology

Turbines, turbines everywhere: The wagon-wheel shape of Leatt's Armourgell Turbines allows the helmet to move around the skull in any direction in the event of an angular impact.

Trail Report



Leatt's designers gave their DBX 3.0 helmet a decidedly European profile, with angular lines, contrasting plastic inserts and large vents. I'm not a huge fan of that style, but it works well in this case. The low back gave me concern that it would contact my neck and rock the helmet forward on my head while I was descending, however, that was not an issue. There is a four-position angle adjustment above the dial adjustment to address that issue.



My head is just right for small/medium sizes from Kali, Giro, and Troy Lee, and the medium Leatt popped onto my head like it was used as a form for the mold. Some of that good fit, however, can be attributed to the way the DBX 3.0's adjustable band pushes the head forward into a comfortable pocket created by the shape of the padding and shell. I assume that most wearers will have some free space behind their skull where the slack is taken up. How that affects impact protection is anyone's guess - the bottom line is that Leatt's trail bike lid feels snug, comfortable and well ventilated.

- Laurence Crossman-Emms photo

Fidlock magnetic buckle closed... ...And opened, exposing its sliding latch.

Pinkbike's Take:

If you like the looks of Leatt's DBX 3.0 All Mountain helmet, you will definitely enjoy its fit and performance. Top notch construction and the potential benefits of Leatt's Armourgel turbines are the kind of technology we have come to expect from Leatt's range of safety products. At $169.99, the DBX 3.0 faces stiff competition from established helmet makers, but measured by its performance, it stands shoulder to shoulder with the best.  RC

3.0 All Mountain helmet is a latecomer to the full coverage half-shell party, which means they had to work extra hard to make an impression. The South African firm comes to the show as the king of neck protection, so their designers couldn't get away with a "better than brand X helmet." Leatt's half shell had to move the needle in the areas of innovation, protection and construction, and it had to look great too. PB editor AJ Barlas gave us an informative first look of the DBX All Mountain helmet at the Sea Otter Classic this year, which indicated that Leatt had risen to the occasion.The 2017 DBX 3.0 All Mountain manages to check all of those boxes. Its good-looking polycarbonate shell is integrally molded with its EPS liner to protect the head at the moment of impact. Inside, rotational trauma is minimized by ten circular "Turbines" molded from "Armourgel" and strategically placed inside the shell to caress the skull and help isolate it from lateral movement. Further protection from rotational trauma is afforded by a break-away visor, and on the comfort side, three shell sizes are offered, with 18 vents and a plush, antimicrobial liner that is both removable and machine washable. Retention is via a conventional ratchet dial in the rear and chin-strap webbing, secured by an easy-to-use magnetic Fidlock buckle. DBX All Mountain helmets are certified and tested to EN1078 and CPSC 1203 standards. Colors available are blue, orange, green, gray and black, and Leatt's three shell sizes fit heads from 51 through 63 centimeters. Weight is pegged at 360 grams, and the MSRP is $169.99 USDArmourgel is a shock absorbing plastic material that was designed primarily for military and police body protection, but Leatt uses it because of its shock damping ability and molds it into a round shape that resembles a spoked turbine wheel. The "hub" of the wheels is fixed to the EPS foam liner, while the rider's skull is supported by the outer rim of the turbines. The intention is that, if there is an off-angle impact, the flexible spokes will allow the helmet to freely rotate around the skull for a millisecond or two  reportedly, enough to isolate up to 40-percent of the impact energy.I have become a fan of the magnetic Fidlock buckle because I can cinch it up with one hand when I'm feeling lucky, and it's literally a snap with gloved hands. Those who have big ears may find the helmet's webbing configuration to be a little close for comfort. Two of the three riders who had worn the DBX mentioned that the triangle formed by the web cramped their ears when the helmet's fit was otherwise perfect. I managed to find harmony, with just enough clearance to avoid the issue.Get going and the DBX 3.0 stays put with the chin strap set comfortably around the jaw. The adjustable visor ("peak" for the Brits) sits low enough to bock out the late afternoon sun, and adjusts high enough to earn DH style points and to get a full range of vision. I had the opportunity to wear the helmet for extended climbing during the heat of the day and found its ventilation to be better than the new Troy Lee A2, and on par with the Kali Maya (two of my favorites). Where both the Kali and TLD helmets tend to channel sweat towards the center of the brow, the Leatt helmet remained much drier and did not tend to foul my glasses after the climbs ended and the fun began. I attribute that to the split channel vents in the forward section of the DBX 3.0 shell.
Thomas Pomponio Wins WSOP Event #5: THE COLOSSUS III for $1,000,000

June 07, 2017 Jan Kores

Thomas Pomponio outlasted a giant field of 18,054 to reach the poker pinnacle in Event #5: THE COLOSSUS III - $565 No-Limit Hold'em. Pomponio took home $1,000,000 for his outstanding performance, along with his first WSOP bracelet.

"It feels... just surreal," the champion said. Pomponio's live tournament cashes had totaled less than $140,000 before he entered this tournament. Earning a seven-figure score is certainly an amazing feeling for anyone who makes their breakthrough in poker, but for Pomponio, the bracelet is even more meaningful.

"Ever since I was a kid, I was dreaming about sitting there and holding that gold," said Pomponio, who hails from New Jersey.

THE COLOSSUS Final Table Results

Position Player Country Prize 1 Thomas Pomponio United States $1,000,000 2 Taylor Black United States $545,480 3 John Hanna United States $406,474 4 Mark Babekov United States $305,294 5 Kent Coppock United States $230,564 6 Erkut Yilmaz United States $175,208 7 Ralph Massey United States $133,975 8 Matt Affleck United States $103,090 9 Luke Vrabel United States $79,827

Pomponio came back for the final table fourth in chips. There were only about 180 big blinds in play, and all of the finalists played at a high tempo. Most of the decisions were made within just a few seconds, and the fast-paced action brought the casualties early.

The eventual champion was involved in the pot that saw the first player lose his stack. He held ace-king and so did Erkut Yilmaz, who also joined the contest against Luke Vrabel, whose ace-deuce didn't find any help on the board.

Eleven hands into the final day, the field was reduced to seven players as Matt Affleck, the biggest star on the final table, sent his short stack to Kent Coppock.

Just like Affleck, Ralph Massey couldn't get much going, and he never bounced back from the ten big blinds he maneuvered. He hit the rail in seventh place.

Taylor Black's tournament was on the line when he shoved with nine-seven of clubs, running into the ace-queen of diamonds of Kent Coppock. Black, however, flopped a flush to soar into the chip lead.

Coppock's stack took a massive hit, but he laddered one more pay jump. Yilmaz clashed with pocket fours against John Hanna's aces and walked away in sixth place. With that knockout, Hanna suddenly guarded more than third of all the chips in play.

Hanna, however, wasn't among the dominant players on the final table; Pomponio and Black were the ones who kept things rolling. Pomponio knocked out Coppock in fifth, holding Big Slick against a weaker ace.

Then it was Black's turn, tangling with start-of-day chip leader Mark Babekov in a brutal cooler. Babekov's queens couldn't hold versus Black's ace-king as the king of diamonds landed on the turn. Black took over the lead and finished Babekov off the following hand.

Black held more than 50 percent of the tournament chips to begin three-handed play, and his railbirds were ecstatic. Pomponio was the shortest stack among the three remaining players, but the meat cutter from the east coast was relentless. Pomponio shoved on Black several times and always took the pot without contest.

The final duel was set when Pomponio's ace-high held strong in a preflop war against Hanna's queen-ten of clubs. Hanna's hand improved to a flush draw on the flop, but the rest of the board bricked.

Playing for a pay difference of close to $500,000, Black started the heads-up match with about a five-to-three chip lead. That dramatically changed after four hands, though. The two were both dealt a strong hand for heads-up play, which resulted in Black's five-bet shove with ace-ten. Unfortunately for him, Pomponio had ace-king.

Black first thought he got there when he saw a ten hitting the felt, but the flop also included a king, and the better starting hand stayed firmly ahead. Pomponio earned a huge lead and he never relinquished it. After 142 hands played on the final table, he remained the last man standing, with all the chips of all 18,054 entrants.

As the story unfolded, Pomponio became this year's second WSOP winner to collect a seven-figure prize, following the One Drop High Roller champion, Doug Polk.
Unit J lineup includes Belle-Skinner, All Types of Kinds and Mizuna.

Tomorrow (June 7), the annual Northside Festival kicks off with a wide-ranging, genre-bending lineup. Now in its ninth year, the event promises major performances from such acts as Dirty Projectors, Miguel, Girlpool and many others. Unit J, a collaboration of six creatives who turned their Bushwick loft into a makeshift screening theatre and concert space, is also expected to be a must-see vision of the five-day festival, which also includes an innovation conference and has drawn 100,000 each and every year since its inception. "There's no place like Northside to develop your professional network and connect with colleagues who will transform your career or your business. Northside Innovation will feature talks on emerging tech, media innovations, the future of original video content, startup pitch competitions, talks on design, tactical workshops for entrepreneurs, and cultural discussions with Brooklyn influencers," reads the event's mission statement.

This year's keynote speakers and interviews include Rebecca and Uri Minkoff, Uber's Travis Kalanick, Samsung CMO Marc Mathieu, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman, Amazon CTO Werner Vogels, GE CMO Beth Comstock, Gretchen Rubin, and Debbie Millman, Ryan Leslie and Mondelez's B. Bonin Bough, New York Times' Seb Tomich. The general lineup also features Craig Leon and Martin Rev, Downtown Boys, Elvis Depressedly, Elysia Crampton, The Explosion, Foodman, Happyness, Hoops, The Hotelier and Jay Som, among many more.

Get more information about the festival here. Admission for the Unit J-hosted events (outlined below) run a meager $5. So, you have no reason not to enjoy the heat and some good tunes.

Check out an event teaser below:

Last summer, the record label extension of Unit J launched to much fanfare. "You'll feel an overwhelming amount of creative energy and support from the musicians. We're building a scene based on collaboration and community rather than cut-throat competition. We've pulled together our 10 favorite bands and 10 favorite short films and put them all on one bill. This is our (Unit J) family, one of the founder's Dru Cutler spoke to AXS.

Funny enough, Cutler had never met his five other collaborators before he moved into the loft. "My girlfriend moved to the Midwest, and I had only one week to find a new home. I stumbled across this empty warehouse that was looking for another roomie," he told Indie Band Guru. "We all moved in on day one and met each other. We were rolling the roommate dice, really. We had five dirty couches, a giant pile of unopened boxes and an LED TV sitting on the floor playing Game of Thrones on loop. Our hot water constantly turned off and strangers were regularly sleeping on our floor. It was a miserable place."

Check out this year's Unit J lineup below:



Lantern Hall to feature folk and acoustic-based acts.

5:00pm - Belle-Skinner

5:30pm - Niall Connolly

6:00pm - All Types of Kinds

7:00pm - Mizuna

8:00pm - B.R.Mackie

9:00pm - Maria Colores

10:00pm - Hayes Peebles

11:00pm - Megg Farrell & Friends

12:00am - Mama Juke

1:00am - Unit J family jam

Pine Box Rock Shop to feature rock acts

6:30pm - Dirty Bird

7:30pm - Ghostly Times

8:30pm - Gold Stars For Everyone

9:30pm - Inalukt

10:30pm -Dru Cutler Music

11:30pm - Echo Moth

12:30am -Tongues Unknown

Venues are located, as noted below:

Lantern Hall: 52 Harrison Place, Brooklyn, NY 1123

Pine Box Rock Shop: 12 Grattan St, Brooklyn, New York

Unit J

READ MORE ABOUT MUSIC...

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PREMIERE | Brit Daniels haunts with her new single, "Shadows"
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 09:30:12

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Banyan Gold Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Calgary, Alberta (FSCWire) - Banyan Gold Corp. (TSX Venture:BYN). has issued a press release with the following headline:Banyan Gold Announces $1 Million 2017 Exploration Program for the Companys Flagship Hyland Gold ProjectTo 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 Banyan 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/Banyan Gold Corp.Source: Banyan Gold Corp. (TSX Venture: BYN)Date: June 09, 2017Time: 3:30 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Banyan 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.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 09:13:37

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TOKYO, June 9, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - JCB International Co., Ltd. (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB, is pleased to announce that CardPay, a global player and a European leader in e-commerce and transactional services, has signed a direct License Agreement to acquire JCB's e-commerce card transactions across the SEPA region. With this agreement in place, JCB and CardPay will develop connectivity during Q3'17 and target to go live during Q4'17.JCBI's acquiring strategy is to aggressively increase its acceptance footprint across the SEPA region by expanding its merchant acceptance network, including the e-commerce channel. Currently JCB cards are accepted at merchants worldwide. This important partnership between JCB and CardPay will give CardPay's clients the potential to attract over 100 million JCB cardmembers to their businesses creating new customers and sales at their websites. CardPay is a European leader in the e-commerce payment and transactional services industry and is active in e-commerce merchant acquiring and card issuing services. As a European leading payment service provider, CardPay delivers bespoke simplified and secure online card payment solutions via a state of the art secure platform to its customers.Mr. Tsuyoshi Notani, Managing Director of JCB International (Europe) Ltd, said, "We are delighted to sign this License Agreement for JCB e-commerce acquiring with CardPay. We are both aiming to capture the growth in crossborder e-commerce generated by Asian consumers. This is a great opportunity to give JCB cardmembers greater freedom to spend in more e-commerce retailers across Europe than ever before." Mr. Stanislav Podolyanchuk, Head of Acquiring and Issuing of CardPay, said, "We at CardPay are proud to join the JCB scheme and offer their payment solutions to our e-commerce clients. There is a constantly growing demand for JCB acceptance by European merchants and our cooperation with JCB will provide e-commerce merchants with a bespoke instrument for increasing online sales and expanding our clients' base".ABOUT JCBJCB is a major global payment brand and a leading payment card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and card member base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/ or www.jcbeurope.eu Note: Statistics in About JCB are as of March 2017.ABOUT CARDPAYCardPay is an e-commerce company established in 2009 to boost and develop Internet businesses, as well as to address and overcome any issues encountered in an ever-changing online and regulatory environment. CardPay is a fully licensed and regulated European financial institution and a Principal Member of other payment schemes. The core services CardPay offer include the acceptance and processing of online payments, the acquisition and issuing of payment cards. For more information, please visit: www.cardpay.com ContactJCB International Co., Ltd.Kae MitsudaGlobal Business PlanningTel: 81-3-5778-7963Email: jcbinternational-pr@ info.jcb.co.jp
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 17:02:01

Navitas Life Sciences will consolidate capabilities of legacy brands Ecron Acunova, Navitas and Intelent

Ecron Acunova to offer end-to-end capabilities as Navitas Life Sciences

Navitas Life Sciences

Birgit Mund

+49 69 6680 300

birgit.mund@navitaslifesciences.com



Ecron Acunova (EA), a fully owned subsidiary of TAKE Solutions and a globally recognized full service CRO with Clinical and BA/BE expertise, announced that it would be consolidating its capabilities with TAKEs niche Life Sciences brand Navitas and Intelent to form a unified go-to-market entity  Navitas Life Sciences.

EAs significant Clinical capabilities, having conducted over 1300 studies including BA/BE, NIS, and phase II  IV in its state-of-the-art and audited facilities, will be augmented by legacy brands Navitass technology led solutions across Clinical, Regulatory and Safety, and Intelents big data and analytics expertise to form the 360 degree service provider Navitas Life Sciences. The unified Navitas Life Sciences will serve as an end-to-end strategic partner for Life Sciences companies to help them address their critical challenges and achieve their desired outcomes.

Marty Boom, Managing Director, Ecron Acunova, said, Capitalizing on the phenomenal growth opportunities in the Life Sciences industry calls for diverse capabilities. The unification of Ecron Acunova, Navitas and Intelent will enable a seamless consolidation of capabilities in the form of Navitas Life Sciences, which will enable us to offer clients a full-service coverage of the Pharma and Biotech R&D market.

Ram Yeleswarapu, President & CEO, TAKE Solutions, said, We are proud to bring together our substantial and niche capabilities under the unified ambit of Navitas Life Sciences to present our client with truly transformational, flexible and adaptable end-to-end offerings. In addition to our technology driven offerings and insights derived from our world-class proprietary industry networks, our clients now also be able to benefit from the consolidated brands proven clinical capabilities and trial experiences.

About Navitas Life Sciences

Navitas Life Sciences, a wholly owned subsidiary of TAKE Solutions, works as a strategic partner for large and mid-sized Life Sciences organizations to address critical challenges and achieve desired outcomes in Clinical, Regulatory and Safety. Navitas technology-led Life Sciences services are augmented with the full-service CRO with Clinical & BA/BE capabilities, and Life Sciences data analytics expertise of legacy brands Ecron Acunova and Intelent to deliver flexible, scalable and innovative solutions for its global clients.

Navitas Life Sciences expertise spans more than 1300 studies including BA/BE, NIS, and phase II  IV, and 70,000 regulatory submissions. The companys unique proprietary network forums that include 300+ professionals from 100+ life sciences companies generate insights that help members prepare for the future of the industry. Navitas Life Sciences seamlessly combining best-in-class processes, meaningful and unique industry insight, innovative technology, exacting analytics and a customer-centric culture. For more information, visit www.navitaslifesciences.com

About TAKE Solutions

TAKE Solutions is a globally recognized knowledge intensive player, delivering comprehensive and niche solutions in Life Sciences (LS). TAKE offers IP-based software and extensive knowledge-based solutions to enable efficient Clinical, Regulatory, Safety outcomes for global clients. TAKE encompasses specialized capabilities under its Life Sciences business Navitas, whose technology-led Life Sciences services across Clinical, Regulatory and Safety are augmented by full-service CRO with Clinical & BA/BE capabilities and Big Data analytics expertise of its legacy brands Ecron Acunova and Intelent. Navitas Life Sciences delivers flexible and scalable solutions by seamlessly combining best-in-class processes, meaningful and unique industry insight, innovative technology, exacting analytics and a customer-centric culture.

TAKEs significant recognitions include a patent win from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its Method for Optimizing Clinical Data Standardization, a Leader certification in Drug Safety Services & Life Sciences R&D IT Outsourcing from IDC, recognition as the Dream Employer of the Year at the World HRD Congress, the title of Most Admired Brand IT from the Asian Customer Engagement Forum and a Special Commendation for excellence in Corporate Governance from the Golden Peacock Awards. With its global headquarters in Chennai, India, TAKE has a proven track record of delivering world-class solutions to more than 400 customers worldwide, including 9 of the top 10 global Pharma companies. For more information, please visit www.takesolutions.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201706090054
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 10:41:37

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# 370 Words

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

Global demand for friction modifiers additives will reach about 174 thousand tonnes in 2016, up from 167 thousand tonnes in 2015. This will represent a market value of US$ 1,027 Mn, an increase of US$ 62 Mn from 2015. While wide-ranging applications, most prominently as lubricants in automotive sector, will continue to fuel demand, availability of affordable alternatives, such as dispersant additives, corrosion inhibitors and detergent additives will continue to pose challenges.By product type, inorganic friction modifier additives will continue to outsell organic, reaching about 597 thousand tonnes in 2016. Among the inorganic friction modifier additives, MoDTC will continue to account for the highest demand, reaching 275 thousand tonnes in 2016. Among the three types of organic friction modifier additives-polymers, fatty acids, and esters & amides-polymers are witnessing high demand from the automotive sector in North America and Western Europe. This trend is expected to gain further momentum in 2016, propelling the growth of the overall market.Request For Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1656 Automotive lubricants will continue to be the largest application segment for friction modifier additives in 2016, witnessing a growth rate of about 6% over 2015, representing a market value worth US$272 Mn.Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will maintain its numero uno position in 2016, with total demand expected to reach around 48 thousand tonnes. Demand will be supported by the regions expansive automotive sector, especially in the populous countries of China and India. These two countries will remain key to the growth of the global friction modifiers additives market in 2016 and beyond, as consumers in these countries put a lot of emphasis on the fuel efficiency of a vehicle while making buying decisions. In addition to the regions behemoth automotive industry, strong demand from the plethora of end-use industries in the region will continue to support demand. North America will continue to remain the second largest market for friction modifiers additives, representing a 22.5% share of global revenues.Key players operating in the global friction modifiers additives market are Chemtura Corporation, Multisol, Archoil, International Lubricants, Inc., Afton Chemical Corporation, and Wynns.Send An Enquiry@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-1656 Long-term Outlook: The long-term outlook on the friction modifiers additives market remains positive with global volume witnessing a CAGR of 5.1% through 2026, whereas global revenues expanding at 6.9% through 2026.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 19:13:01

Medable's next generation disease management solution seeks to significantly improve health outcomes through provider and patient directed apps that track and trend patient health in real-time

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medable Inc.--the leading app and analytics platform for healthcare--today announced the release of Synapse, the first cloud solution to enable Apple's new CareKit Bridge APIs for real time health management on iOS.

Synapse enables healthcare organizations to seamlessly launch CareKit apps for not only their patients but now for their care teams. Synapse allows providers and patients to track and trend health in real-time, addressing the massive cost issues from poor communication, including preventable readmissions. In addition to app creation, Synapse provides user and data management, HIPAA compliance, EMR interoperability, and outcomes analytics. Early use cases include clinical trials, chronic disease management, and post-op care. For example, a post-operative care app for hip replacement that enables a patient to track pain medication usage, monitor for surgical site infection, track mobility metrics, and communicate with the care team, all from the comfort of the patient's own home.

"Too often the care delivered within the walls of hospitals is undermined by a lack of clear guidance for patients after visits," said Dr. Michelle Longmire, Medable CEO. "Medable's platform, built using CareKit, allows healthcare organizations to open the door for clear and continuous care, anytime, anywhere."

Longmire said Medable is working with leading healthcare institutions to bring its advanced technology to the forefront of patient management.

"CareKit is a powerful tool for improving health outcomes and is a practical solution for harnessing innovation to address huge, long standing problems in healthcare," said Longmire. "As an industry, healthcare is realizing the power of mobile as a conduit for better healthcare."

For more information about Synapse: www.medable.com/synapse

ABOUT MEDABLE

Privately-held Palo Alto, California-based Medable provides a comprehensive, secure HIPAA-compliant cloud-based platform purpose-built for healthcare. Medable's Synapse is a clinical care app solution for providers and patients. Medable's award-winning Cortex is the fastest way for developers to create scalable, EHR interoperable, HIPAA compliant applications. Medable's Axon is a "no coding required" solution enabling researchers to deliver smartphone clinical studies on a secure, HIPAA compliant technology stack. Medable's Cerebrum is the first cloud-based machine learning solution created specifically for healthcare apps. For more information visit: www.medable.com

Follow Medable on Twitter: @medableinc

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Medable via Globenewswire









# 634 Words



Gary Poole, PR Directorgary@medable.com
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 10:02:01

Orange Belgium adds the Orange Dive72 to its wide smartphone portfolio. This Orange branded 4G smartphone offers innovative functionalities at a very affordable price and will simplify the day to day usage thanks to unique smart Orange features.

The Orange Dive72 is a very affordable 4G smartphone that has the latest features and innovations on the market, such as: calling or texting favorite contacts or launching favorite apps with 1 simple gesture, quick access to essential settings, favorite Orange app's pre-embarked and many more. The Orange Dive72 is easy and enjoyable to use without compromising on the quality a customer expects from a 4G smartphone.

The Orange experience

Moreover Belgian customers can enjoy the ultimate Orange experience with the Orange Dive72:

the 'Orange Assistance' will guide you and provide you with lots of info on your Orange phone and applications.

'Apps Orange' provides you with the best Orange applications and other highlighted apps. Both aim to simplify the customer's life.

The 'Orange Experience' software personalizes the phone, it has been customized and developed by Orange to support, entertain and guide Orange customers on their own personal journey to stay connected to what's essential to them.

Cristina Zanchi, Chief Consumer Officer, explains: "Innovation is not just for the premium device market. We want to offer our customers the best device at the best possible price with no compromise on quality. Our phones are rigorously tested and constantly refined, ensuring permanent reliability and quality. We aim to offer our customers an unmatched customer experience. It is the second phone in the Orange branded device portfolio available in Belgium (Orange already launched the ruggedized feature phone Hapi 50) and we expect to broaden the range progressively."

Innovation at an affordable price

The Orange Dive72 is the perfect first smartphone for people who need some help and guidance as the menu is intuitive and they quickly get access to the function they need. The Orange Dive72 offers innovative services and technology for a very affordable price as Belgians spend an average of 280 when purchasing a 4G smartphone.

The Orange Dive72 is available in black and as of June 12 for sale online and in Orange shops at 139.99 or 29.00 with a Hummingbird smartphone tariff plan or 9.00 with a Dolphin smartphone tariff plan. In a LOVE offer a customer only pays 57 per month if he combines this Hummingbird subscription with Orange Internet + TV.

The Orange Dive72 smartphone in a nutshell:

2G/3G/4G

5" HD display

First class fingerprint function

Near Field Communication

13MP rear and 5MP front camera

Good battery life

16GB memory

About Orange Belgium

Orange Belgium is one of the leading telecommunication operators on the Belgian market, with over 3 million customers, and in Luxembourg through its subsidiary Orange Communications Luxembourg.

As a convergent actor, we provide mobile telecommunication services, internet and TV to private clients, as well as innovative mobile and fixed line services to businesses. Our high-performance mobile network supports 2G, 3G, 4G and 4G+ technology and is the subject of ongoing investments.

Orange Belgium is a subsidiary of the Orange Group, one of the leading European and African operators for mobile telephony and internet access, as well as one of the world leaders for telecommunication services to enterprises.

Orange Belgium is listed on the Brussels Stock Exchange (OBEL).

More information on: corporate.orange.be, www.orange.be or follow us on Twitter : @pressOrangeBe.

Press contact

Annelore Marynissen - annelore.marynissen@orange.com - +32 (0) 479 01 60 58

Jean-Pascal Bouillon - jean-pascal.bouillon@orange.com - +32 (0) 473 94 87 31

press@orange.be

Contact investors

Siddy Jobe - ir@orange.be - +32(0)2 745 80 92





This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Orange Belgium via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 15:20:12

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# 403 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Preferred Dental Technologies Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, BC (FSCWire) - Preferred Dental Technologies Inc. (CSE:PDT). has issued a press release with the following headline:Preferred Dental Technologies Inc. (Company) (CSE: PDT): Closing of $450,000 Offering (Offering) and Fundamental Change (RTO) with Preferred Dental Implant Corp. (PDIC)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 Preferred Dental Technologies Inc., 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/Preferred Dental Technologies Inc.Source: Preferred Dental Technologies Inc. (CSE: PDT)Date: June 09, 2017Time: 9:20 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Preferred Dental Technologies Inc. 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 Bamboos Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015-2025" report to their offering.

Bamboos Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 08:50:25

Press Information

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# 322 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

Bamboo is a flowering perennial evergreen plant which belongs to the grass family. Among the grass family, giant bamboo is said to be the largest member of the family. Bamboos are known to be one of the fastest growing plants globally, owing to the rhizome-dependent system. It is considered to be one of the most valuable non-timber forest resources in the world. The products of bamboo have great potential to thrive in the American and European markets. They are notable cultural and economic significance in South East Asia, South Asia and East Asia, as bamboos are used as a food source, as a building material and as a versatile raw product. Good quality bamboo is stronger than steel and hence, it is used as weaponry and building material.Bamboo has wide range of applications that include non-residential, housing, pulp, rural usage, packing including basket, furniture, transport and other wood working industries.The major factors that drive the global bamboo market include growing end use industries such as the paper, building and construction,textile and wood. Additionally, the medical industry contributes to the growing demand for bamboo due to various medicinal uses. Bamboos are used in the manufacture of pulp and paper, scaffolding bridges, mat, baskets and brooms, home furnishing, fuel and packaging among others. Medicinal uses of bamboo include Acetylcholine which is found in bamboo in high levels acts as a neurotransmitter in humans and animals.Request For Sample@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-347 The key regional segments for the market include North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and Rest of the World (RoW). Asia Pacific and China is expected to be the fastest and largest growing economies for the global bamboo market owing to the growing demand from the building and construction industry in the region.The key players of the bamboo industry include: Native KONBAC, TENBRO and VEDHA among others.Request For TOC@ http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-347
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 14:30:12

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# 402 Words

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for South American Gold Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Las Vegas, NV (FSCWire) - South American Gold Corp. (OTC Pink:SAGD). has issued a press release with the following headline:South American Gold Set To Acquire Medical Device Company RehabaTo 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 South American 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/South American Gold Corp.Source: South American Gold Corp. (OTC Pink: SAGD, ISIN: US8363011011, WKN: A1H89U)Date: June 09, 2017Time: 8:30 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of South American 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.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 09:04:01

PARIS, NEW YORK, LONDON, AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, and PUNE, India, June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Synechron, a global financial services consulting and technology service provider, today announced that it will join the Misys InFusion Partner Program. Synechron will develop two Centres of Excellence focused on Capital Markets and Corporate Banking to support clients across the United States, Europe, Middle-East and India.

The Capital Markets sites will cover the Misys FusionCapital suite of products for Treasury and Capital Markets. Corporate Banking will include the Misys FusionBanking solutions in Lending and Transaction Banking. This will complement Synechron's prominent track record in these markets and its long-standing systems integration capability.

Brian Gibson, Vice President, Partners and Ecosystem at Misys states: "Synechron has a very strong capacity to innovate with robust digital expertise and its leading-edge Accelerators for Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence developed in its global Financial Innovation Labs (FinLabs). We were impressed with their deep knowledge in digital, business consulting and technology and are thrilled to work on combined solutions in Transaction Banking, Lending and Capital Markets."

Faisal Husain, Synechron CEO and Co-founder adds: "Misys is a leading global financial software company, and we are impressed by its ability to offer the broadest and deepest portfolio of financial software on the market. We have worked on several projects using FusionCapital technologies and have been inspired by the company's open and componentised software. Synechron is eager to grow its experience with integrating Misys solutions across our shared clients. We are sure that this partnership will be beneficial not only for both companies, but for our clients."

About Misys

We provide the broadest, deepest portfolio of financial services software on the market. Our solutions cover retail and corporate banking, lending, treasury, capital markets, investment management and enterprise risk. With more than 2,000 customers across 125 countries our team of domain experts and partners has an unparalleled ability to address industry requirements at both a global and local level. We deliver market leading solutions by putting customer needs at the centre of everything we do. We offer a unique componentised, open architecture to enable our clients to innovate, connect and expand their existing services and increase value faster. To learn more about how our Fusion software portfolio can deliver a holistic view of your operations, and help you to solve your most complex challenges, please visit www.misys.com and follow @MisysFS on Twitter.

About Synechron

Synechron is a global consulting and technology organization providing innovative solutions to the financial services industry through its three main business focus areas: digital, business consulting, and technology. Based in New York, the company has 18 offices around the globe, with over 7,500 employees producing over $450m in annual revenue. For more information on the company please visit the website or our LinkedIn community.

Misys:

Caroline Duff

Senior PR Manager, Misys

T: +44 (0)20 3320 5892

E: caroline.duff@misys.com

www.misys.com



Synechron

Diana Kearns-Manolatos

Communications Director

Diana.kearns@synechron.com

m: +1 347-721-8223

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Synechron via Globenewswire


With Raksha Bandhan coming up on 7th August, Gifts by Meeta has introduced a range of new products to gift brothers and sisters. With an introduction of over hundreds of new items, goodie and hampers specially handpicked for the occasions, everyone is going to have something of their choice.

Rakhi Gifts for Brother and Sister

PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-09 09:25:05

Press Information

Gifts by Meeta

Gifts By Meeta 10MG Road, 1st Floor, New Delhi Opp. Metro Pillar No. 47, Near to Sultanpur Metro Station, New Delhi



Subhash Yadav

SEO Expert

9555695556

email

https://www.giftsbymeeta.com/





# 518 Words

Gifts By Meeta 10MG Road, 1st Floor, New Delhi Opp. Metro Pillar No. 47, Near to Sultanpur Metro Station, New DelhiSEO Expert9555695556

GiftsbyMeeta, New Delhi, 9th June: Since its start in 2013, the online gift portal has updated gifts under different categories according to the trends and liking according to diverse customer preferences, Rakhi collection this year is no different. The catalog offers a mix of traditional and contemporary gift options to please even the discerning of siblings. The website is filled with inspirational gifts that range from leather hampers, home decor items, makeup essentials, personalized gifts, delightful rakhi thalis and of course, not to miss out on designer rakhis.Some of the favorites that we found are mentioned below and visit Gifts by Meeta to explore more from the collection.Personalized frames and mugs: Dedicated to the bond that siblings share, this collection has words and ideas that match their relation. Wooden frames with hanging pictures, creative prints for mugs and a scope to personalize it with their name keeps the gift interesting. As sending just rakhi sometimes feel incomplete, these little gestures add fun to the gift boxes.Elegant rakhis and wholesome rakhi thalis: Rakhis form a major part of Raksha Bandhan collection and with beautifully done fashionable rakhis and creative kids rakhi, the portal keeps the fun intact. Along with these fresh pieces, combos and thalis with sweets have been brought to complete the festive wishes. No celebration should go without some familiar flavors from home so, we have brought the typical tastes to wish the brothers ( https://www.giftsbymeeta.com/rakhi-gifts-for-brother) and sisters who cannot personally be there, says the official spokesperson.Desk organizers and decor: Filling the space with relatable items is a definite way to remind them of the good times. Antiques like a compass, gramophone, a yacht in a bottle and magnifying glass are some of the highlights to fill the study table and living room. These gifts are certainly different form the regular picks and are specifically as per the interest.Leather Essentials: Sisters can go for the exclusive rakhi wishes with leather hampers that include belts, wallets, tie cases, card holders and journals for the professional brothers. As one do not send gifts quite often, why not make the most out of this occasion by sending grand surprises?Spa hampers and accessories: Handpicked jewelry and spa products have been lined up to help out the brothers in picking something that sisters ( https://www.giftsbymeeta.com/rakhi-gifts-for-sister) will love to own.The managing Director at GiftsbyMeeta.com , Ms Meeta Gutgutia says, We understand the culture and tradition involved with each festival and also, the transformation that has come over years. So, with this collection, we have tried to keep a balance been the age old and current trends. Apart from the online rakhi collection, we have several other categories that cater to the celebrations that keep coming up with seasonal additions.About the company:Gifts by Meeta is an online portal that delivers gifts for birthday, anniversaries, festivals and special days. With PAN India presence, the online portal provides free shipping of gifts across India. With special rakhi collection, the portal covers diverse tastes and interests of siblings across the country.
The Mall of Switzerland welcomes Terranova, an Italian clothing company, part of the Teddy Group and an ideal addition to the mall's international fashion area that already includes H&M and Mango. The Terranova store in the Mall of Switzerland is the brand's first flagship in the country. The Mall

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According to a Vienne City Report by Knight Frank, Viennas strong level of take-up in 2016 was driven mainly by occupiers focussing on workplace optimisation. Despite 2016 being a lean year in terms of new supply, the next two years will see a stronger development pipeline. Prime rents have remained

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The Nebraska Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by ACI Worldwide of the $43.8 million judgment won by rival software firm Baldwin Hackett & Meeks.

Baldwin Hackett had accused ACI of violating antitrust laws and interfering with Baldwin's business relationships when ACI sued Baldwin, alleging software pirating. ACI lost. Omaha-based Baldwin said in its countersuit that ACI's lawsuit cost Baldwin a multimillion-dollar contract. In September 2015 a jury sided with Baldwin, awarding the company $43.8 million.

Naples, Florida-based ACI appealed. It said Baldwin hadn't presented competent evidence upon which the jury could conclude that Baldwin sustained an antitrust injury. It also said Baldwin founder Jack Baldwin was not qualified to opine in court about lost profits.

The high court rejected both assertions in its ruling Friday.
Books of Wonder Expands; Providence to get a new indie; finalists for Australia's booksellers of the year announced; and more.

NYC Kids Store to Open Second Location: Books of Wonder in Manhattan is opening a new store on the Upper West Side at 94th Street.

Publishing Vets to Open Rhode Island Bookstore: Tom Roberge and Emma Ramadan, both with extensive publishing experience, are opening Riffraff, a new indie bookstore and bar in Providence later this year.

Australia Booksellers of the Year Shortlist: The finalists for the 2017 Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) Booksellers of the Year awards have been announced.

New York's The Strand Turns 90: The Gothamist website offers a brief history of the iconic bookstore.

Embezzling from a Bookstore: A woman has pleaded guilty to guilty to embezzling $10,000 from the Easter Shore Community College Bookstore in Virginia.
As a federal crackdown on undocumented immigrants spreads across the country, California publishers have responded with literary projects that breach the borders of traditional publishing.

In San Francisco, City Lights Books and Moving Parts Press have teamed up to publish a trade paperback called Doc/Undoc Documentado/Undocumented Ars Shamanica Performatica. The paperback captures the essence of DOC/UNDOC, an elaborate collaboration between Mexican performance artist (and MacArthur fellow) Guillermo Gomez-Pena and artist Felicia Rice.

At the heart of the mixed-media DOC/UNDOC art project is a book that unfolds like an accordion when opened. Rice crafted the connected pages by mixing traditional printing press and digital print techniques. The pages illustrate Gomez-Pena's scripts and poems about the political, geographic, social and psychological borders separating the United States and Mexico. When displayed in a gallery, the unfolded book is accompanied by video and sound art from Gomez-Pena's performance art. In the performance pieces, the artist dresses in different costumes, delivering monologues and performing surreal activities. The art project also features props focused on immigrant identity in America, including a Mexican wrestling mask, a mirror, and small religious icons. The book and props are stored in a brushed aluminum case with electronic buttons that play additional "sound art" when pressed by the viewer.

Moving Parts Press produced 15 copies of the complete project, a package containing Rice's book, the props, and the interactive carrying case. These extremely limited editions have toured museums and galleries around the world. The website for the Museo Eduardo Carrillo in Santa Cruz, California has a digital presentation about the exhibit, capturing some of the audio and video that viewers experience at the DOC/UNDOC exhibit.

City Lights' trade paperback edition of DOC/UNDOC will come out in November with reproductions of the original artwork and explanatory essays, but City Lights created its first ever Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a multimedia addition to the trade paperback. The campaign aims to replicate the interactivity of the original project with a mini-USB containing video and sound that museum-goers experience. The Kickstarter campaign successfully concluded this week with 203 backers pledging more than $13,800 to the campaign, exceeding the bookseller and publisher's original funding goal.

The [immigrant] experience informs a lot of these [Gomez-Pena] scripts, says City Lights publisher and executive director Elaine Katzenberger. The trade paperback celebrates immigrant identity at a moment when undocumented newcomers face demonization and prosecution. Katzenberger explains: Stories are about being able to have empathy and understand [other people]. You cant demonize people that you actually have empathy for.

The immigration crackdown will also affect the writers and publishing team at the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education. For the last 10 years, the center has published a series of books written by undocumented college students, sharing the stories of these underground undergrads. These UCLA students collected, transcribed, edited, published, and publicized the series.

So far, the center has published three books about the experience: Underground Undergrads: UCLA Undocumented Immigrant Students Speak Out (2008), Dreams Deported: Undocumented and Unafraid (2012), and Immigrant Youth and Families Resist Deportation (2015).

In 2017, the series expanded with a multimedia exhibit called Undocumented Stories, a collection of photographs, oral histories, posters, art, videos, and artifacts about the undocumented community. The exhibit has toured the country, starting its journey at the National Education Association (NEA) in Washington, D.C., where it will be showing for the coming weeks. On June 28, the exhibit will move to Boston for the NEAs Conference on Racial and Social Justice.

UCLA Labor Center director Kent Wong founded the book series in 2008, after noticing a spike in the number of undocumented students in his courses. (The spike came after the California legislature passed laws allowing undocumented students to pay dramatically reduced in-state tuition for college. By 2015, 18 states had passed similar laws.) Through his courses, students started collecting the stories of undocumented students and their families.

When asked if the Trump Administrations immigration crackdown would have a chilling effect on the project, Wong remained resolute: Not at all, he said. If anything, theres more urgency on the importance of letting people know about the policies of mass deportation. How its harming not only immigrant communities, but its [also] harming society at large.

City Lights publisher Katzenberger agreed. The language that Trump and his team uses around immigrant people and the criminalization of all thiseveryone needs to understand how frightening and toxic that is, she says, encouraging empathy for immigrants in this new political climate.
Atlanta-based pastor and author Louie Giglio makes his debut on PWs Religion Nonfiction Bestsellers list with his May release, Goliath Must Falla reinterpretation of the story of David and Goliath that likens the giant in the story to threats such as rejection, fear, and anger, according to the W Publishing Group. Marketing and publicity for the book included a partnership with the Bible reading app, YouVersion, to create a seven-day reading plan for users based on content from Goliath Must Fall, which attracted 200,000 initial subscribers, the publisher told PW. Additionally, pre-order and launch promotions took place at retail outlets including Christian Book Distributors, Barnes & Noble, and Lifeway Christian Stores that featured special pricing, a free video message from Giglio, and instant access to free digital chapters from the book.

Shauna Niequist returned to the Religion Nonfiction list at #7 with Present Over Perfect after slipping off the charts in April. A publicity push for the 2016 book surrounding Mothers Day included top placement in Target as well as a promotional videos featuring Niequist which played in stores. Further, Niequist recently appeared in the first issue of the Magnolia Journal, HGTV star Joanna Gaines new quarterly lifestyle magazine.

Rob Bell, author of 2011s controversial Love Wins (in which he argues that hell does not exist), also debuted on the Religion Nonfiction chart at #8 with his latest, What Is the Bible? A pre-order campaign included free bonus materials including content that was cut from the final version of the book. Promotional excerpts, quotes, reviews, and book trailers were posted to Facebook First Reads, Facebook Live, and more. Ads were also placed in Relevant magazine, Sojourners, and Progressive Christianity, and Bell attended bookstore events in eight cities, including two ticketed, sold-out events at Andersons Bookshop in Chicago and Powerhouse Books in Brooklyn.

Novelist Richard Paul Evans topped the list in Religion Fiction with The Broken Road, the first book in a new trilogy that explores redemption, grace, and second chances, according to the publisher Simon & Schuster. Promotion for the book included digital ad placement on Hallmark.com and Pandora, regional radio and television advertising in the authors home market of Salt Lake City, a five-city book tour, and coverage in print and digital media.
Carefully researched and a pleasure to read, historian David S. Browns Paradise Lost: A Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald is a persuasive, original biography that will entice Fitzgerald fans and cultural historians alike. Brown shares a few little-known facts from the biography.

Everyone knows F. Scott Fitzgerald. He is variously remembered as the Great American Dreamer, the author of The Great Gatsby, and the man who coined the phrase Jazz Age. Fitzgerald was a literary celebrity in that dubious industrys infancy and little that he--or his wife Zelda Sayre--did was off-limits. Still, he kept a few secrets to himself. Here are some facts from my biography, Paradise Lost: A Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald, that you might not know:

1. Fitzgerald wrote the great American novel in Europe. In May 1924, Scott Fitzgerald, his wife Zelda, and their two-year-old daughter, Scottie, boarded the SS Minnewaska in New York bound for Cherbourg France. Over the next several months, while in Paris, the Riviera, and Italy, Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, regarded as a quintessentially American story that raises serious questions about the countrys self-help mythology. The twilight mood of the novel might have been suggested by its authors European stay. The Continent was only slowly emerging from the horrors of the First World War.

2. Fitzgerald wanted to be a poet. While at Princeton Fitzgerald wrote a number of poems. He was inspired by Keats, encouraged by his classmate John Peale Bishop, and wanted to become the American Rupert Brooke, the young British poet who died in 1915 while on his way to the landing at Gallipoli. In 1917, while in the army, Fitzgerald presumed he might meet a glorious death in battle and wished to leave behind a definitive generational statement. But he found it impossible to build upon his collegiate poems in an army atmosphere and turned instead to a novel that, after much reworking, was published in 1920 as This Side of Paradise.

3. Fitzgerald wrote a play that bombed. In the early 1920s Fitzgerald worked on The Vegetable, a play that lampooned Americas get-ahead mania. The Vegetable in question, Jerry Frost, pines to be a postman. He gets tight one night and dreams that he is president. In fact he no more wants to be president than he wants to be a poodle--he just thinks he should want to be president in a culture obsessed with power, money, and mobility. Fitzgeralds skeptical look at the American Dream in this play did not endear him to audiences. The play opened in Atlantic Citys Apollo Theater in November 1923 and died in a single, dispiriting performance.

4. Jay Gatsby bears a resemblance to Fitzgeralds maternal grandfather. Philip Francis McQuillan emigrated at eight from County Fermanagh, Ireland in 1842, settling with his family in Galena, Illinois. Like Gatsby, McQuillan uprooted and reinvented himself. He moved in 1857 to St. Paul, capital city of the Minnesota Territory, where he kept accounts for Beaupre & Temple, a wholesale grocery establishment. At 38, he took over the business and quickly amassed a fortune. Having gone from immigrant poverty to industrial age prosperity he died young (just a week past his 43 birthday), suffering from chronic nephritis compounded by tuberculosis. He left a legacy of $270,000, some $6 million in current dollars.

5. Fitzgerald attended but never graduated from Princeton. Following two years in a New Jersey prep school, Fitzgerald wanted to attend college in the East. Princeton, with its poised and privileged Ivy mien, attracted him immensely. He took--and failed--its entrance exams twice before meeting with the Colleges Admissions Committee on what happened to be his 17th birthday and talked himself into the school. Over the next four years he neglected his studies, devoting his best energies to writing for a number of campus publications and drafting the lyrics for a musical put on by the Princeton University Triangle Club. In the winter of 1917, on the verge of failing out of the school, Fitzgerald left college to join the Army.

6. Fitzgeralds father aided Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Edward Fitzgerald grew up in the Rockville/Montgomery County area of Maryland, which, due to its tobacco and slave economy, favored the Confederacy during the Civil War. At the age of nine Edward rowed Confederate spies across the Potomac River. He later helped a member of Mosbys Raiders avoid arrest, and he cheered on Jubal Earlys army as it drove off Union forces at the Battle of Monocracy just outside of nearby Frederick. Scotts distant connection to Francis Scott Key, writer of The Star-Spangled Banner is often noted, though his less-distant Confederate connection also played a powerful role in shaping his sense of American history.

7. Scott and Zelda were married just days after his first novel was published. On the first Saturday of April 1920, just eight days after the publication of his first novel, This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald married Zelda Sayre from Montgomery, Alabama. It was a small, rushed ceremony in the Rectory of St. Patricks Cathedral in New York. Three of Zeldas sisters attended but no parents were present and no party or reception followed the service. The Fitzgeralds honeymooned at the Biltmore Hotel and Zelda proceeded to invest in a new and more chic wardrobe.

8. Zelda came from a notable southern family. Like Fitzgerald, Zelda Sayre (named by her mother for a fictional gypsy queen) could point to direct family ties to the old Confederacy. Her great-uncle, Jon Tyler Morgan, had been a Confederate general and later sat in the U.S. Senate; her maternal grandfather, Willis Benson Machen of Kentucky, served in the first and second Confederate Congresses and, briefly, the United States Senate. Zeldas father, Anthony Dickinson Sayre, was an associate justice on the Alabama Supreme Court from 1909 to 1931. Zeldas family kept a small domestic staff and lived in the fashionable west side of Montgomery.

9. Fitzgerald wanted to write a matricide. Following The Great Gatsbys publication, Fitzgerald hoped to write a weighty social novel; at its center was to be a murder--a matricide. The famous Leopold and Loeb case (1924) involving the Chicago murder of a little boy by two adolescents perhaps suggested the plot. Variously called The Boy Who Killed His Mother, The Worlds Fair, and Our Type, Fitzgerald could write only four chapters. Persistent financial needs kept him churning out short stories while Zeldas breakdown in 1930 led him in a different artistic direction.

10. Fitzgeralds last royalty check was for $13.13. In August 1940, Fitzgerald received a royalty check for a double-unlucky $13.13; four months later he died of heart failure at the age of 44. For the entire year, only about 15copies of The Great Gatsby had sold. Within a decade, however, a revival of Fitzgeralds work began to influence both scholars and readers, and Fitzgerald moved into the American literary canon. In 2013 his publisher, Scribner's, estimated that some 25 million copies of Gatsby have been sold worldwide--a far cry from the fewer than 25,000 moved during its authors life.
The Japanese government has officially completed a withdrawal of Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) personnel from a peacekeeping operation in South Sudan, ending Tokyo's longest and largest UN peacekeeping mission. At a time when tensions around the world are rising, dependable allies committed to contributing to international security are in high demand. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to withdraw the GSDF from South Sudan is an unfortunate choice. Not only does it deprive the SDF of crucial operational experience, it also sends a confusing message to the United States and the international community.

Japan has dispatched a total of 4,000 SDF personnel to South Sudan since the mission began in January 2012. During this time, the SDF repaired more than 200 kilometers of road and turned about 500,000 square meters of land into usable plots. These efforts greatly improved the lives of the people of South Sudan through their stabilizing effects.

The mission was never related to combat; Japanese missions never are. As a legacy of World War II, Japan adopted a constitution that forbade the use of force to settle international disputes. Until 1991, SDF personnel were never dispatched overseas. International society's overwhelming criticism of Tokyo's reliance on checkbook diplomacy to deal with the Gulf War shocked Japanese decision-makers to change.

Over the subsequent two decades, different governments passed laws that slowly gave new authorities to the SDF to act overseas, but always within tight legal constraints. With a motivation to be an actively contributing member of international society, successive Japanese governments deployed the SDF on a variety of non-combat missions to places like Cambodia, Rwanda, Golan Heights, Timor-Leste, and even Iraq, shortly following the U.S. invasion in 2003. The South Sudan mission was simply another such mission.

Unlike other countries' troops, however, until 2015 the SDF were only authorized to use weapons to protect themselves and those under their supervision. If others came under attack, they legally could not assist. In 2015, the Abe administration changed that by passing landmark legislation that included a small relaxation on the limits on force.

Armed with this new authority, in November the Abe government assigned new responsibilities to a GSDF unit preparing to deploy to South Sudan, allowing them to use their weapons to play a bigger role in joint protection of UN peacekeepers' camps and to come to the rescue of UN staff or nongovernmental organizations who come under attack. This historic change led to expectations that Japan was serious about international security and willing to take on greater responsibilities as a security provider.

Despite these new assignments becoming active on December 12, in March the Abe administration announced it was withdrawing these troops and ending the mission. Questions swirled about the motivation behind Abe's decision, as no actor requested that Japan withdraw. Was he worried about the deteriorating security conditions in South Sudan, which might necessitate the SDF to actually exercise their new rights? Or was it because the security conditions made it difficult for the SDF to perform their main task of reconstruction? Publicly, the government said the SDF's mission was complete. Regardless of the motivation, announcing the GSDF's withdrawal only three months into this new mission comes at significant cost for Japan.

More than anything else, withdrawal deprives the GSDF of critical operational experience. There are now no Japanese troops engaged in UN peacekeeping missions anywhere in the world. With increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and between China and other regional states, the GSDF may one day be asked to perform a rescue operation of Japanese nationals overseas. Building a system that can cope with emergencies in an expeditious manner requires more than peacetime training in Japan. It requires real-world experience. Gathering and analyzing information on transport routes and capabilities of opponents, extracting people from a threatening environment, and securing transport routes are areas in which the GSDF has no experience. The South Sudan mission had the potential to provide them with critical aspects of this.

Abe's decision also carries reputational cost. Since becoming prime minister in 2012, Abe has emphasized the need for Japan to play a more proactive role in contributing to international peace, recognizing Japan's responsibilities as a major power. Abe's 2015 legislation was seen as an indication that Japan was finally willing to accept risk. It was never expected that Japan would become a Britain of Asia that was capable of marching into combat, but it was hoped Japan would become more of a security provider, ushering in a new era of Japanese security contributions. The South Sudan mission was seen as the first operationalization of that 2015 framework. But with only five full months of implementation  never actually exercising the new rights  evidence of Japan's seriousness about proactive contributions to peace remains elusive.

Japan is a major international player with global interests. Being a proactive contributor to peace inherently involves risk if the country is serious about gaining real-world operational experience. With its own regional security environment becoming more challenging, it behooves Japan to engage risk now to enhance its reputation as a reliable security provider and boost its capabilities to deal with various future crises. Withdrawing from South Sudan is not the means to achieve that end.

Jeffrey Hornung is a political scientist at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.

This commentary originally appeared on The Diplomat on June 7, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Though no longer making the headlines, Venezuelas pay-TV sector is still going through a tough time.





The countrys Comision Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Conatel) has had several meetings with pay-TV providers to try and find a solution to the falling quality of services, which has led to customer complaints.So far, the telecom authority has heard from the two public companies, Cantv and Movilnet, as well as cable TV provider Supercable. The next meeting with Conatels technicians will be with Intercable.According to Conatel, users have been increasingly complaining about the quality of pay-TV services, especially after the increase in cost experienced last year. This price rise has been also cited as one of the main drivers of subscriber losses Speaking to Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo , Ronald Rodriguez, president of Cavetesu, the countrys organisation of pay-TV operators, said that lack of foreign currency and the depreciation of the Bolivar, continues to hit the industry.According to Rodriguez, its very difficult to replace failing equipment if theres no money to pay for imported technology. How do we pay? We really want people to be satisfied with the service, but its not that easy, said Rodriguez.
Hong Kongs TVB has gone live with production equipment from the UKs Snell Advanced Media (SAM) for its first Ultra HD (UHD) outside broadcast (OB) vehicle.





SAMs Kahuna multi-format live production switcher and IQ Modular infrastructure is now being used in the OB truck to support a mix of HD and UHD broadcasts, particularly for international events.The switcher can handle any combination of SD, HD, 1080p, 4K, IP and HDR with SAMs FormatFusion3 and recently introduced FormatFusion4 technology, eliminating the need for external conversion, saving time with set up.We chose SAM not only for the power and functionality of the products, but for their dedication in working closely with us to deliver solutions that best fit our requirements. The SAM team also demonstrated impressive skills, technical know-how and unbeatable pre- and post -sales support, which was critical in such a tight turnaround project, said B L Cheung, supervising engineer at TVB.The broadcaster began planning and designing the UHD truck in 2013, but waited until 2016 to select 4K production equipment. Along with the SAM infrastructure , it opted for UHD 4K HDR cameras from Ikegami and lenses from Fujinon. All the systems were delivered by the end of last year, and the OB vehicle went live in April 2017.Felix Sheh, general manager of SAM (Hong Kong) said the company is very proud to have delivered our Kahuna and IQ Modular systems for TVBs first UHD truck.
The Nebraska Department of Labor has won two national awards for its re-employment program and the system it uses for unemployment insurance.

The American Institute for Full Employment has given the state its 2016 Full Employment Best Practices Award. The award recognizes Nebraska for frequent interaction with the unemployed and using new technological tools to help people find jobs.

Gov. Pete Ricketts says the re-employment program is helping employers expand opportunities for residents. The state's most recent unemployment rate was 3 percent, lower than the national average of 4.4 percent.

The National Association of State Workforce Agencies has recognized Nebraska and four other states for efficiently communicating with employers to process unemployment insurance benefit claims.
Belarusian authorities have sent a man who is wanted in Chechnya back to Russia despite desperate pleas from his family and warnings from human rights activists that he could be tortured or killed by Chechen law-enforcement authorities.

The Chechnya branch of the Russian Interior Ministry said on June 9 that Murad Amriyev was being escorted to the region by security forces for questioning in connection with a false-documents allegation that his lawyers and relatives say is a farce.

Amriyev, a former mixed martial arts champion from Chechnya who says he was tortured by police there in 2013, had fled to Belarus on June 7 after evading Chechen police who were trying to take him into custody following his detention in western Russia's Bryansk region earlier this week.

A lawyer for Amriyev, Hanna Paulyuk, told RFE/RL late on June 8 that police in the Belarusian town of Dobrush, where he was detained shortly after crossing from Russia, had informed her that he had been sent to Russia.

An RFE/RL correspondent saw five vehicles with tinted windows leave the police headquarters in Dobrush and drive away toward the Russian border.

Amriyev's return to Chechnya would deepen concerns about the reach and methods of the region's Kremlin-backed strongman leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who rights activists say has sent forces under his control to locations across Russia and abroad to arrest or attack foes and critics they say have been falsely accused of crimes.

It would also lead to criticism of the Belarusian government and redouble questions about Russian President Vladimir Putin's support for Kadyrov, who critics say has created a climate of fear and impunity over a decade in power in the region in southern Russia.

"The destiny of an innocent man is being crushed while all of Russia is watching," Amriyev's sister Madina said in a video message entreating Russian authorities to ensure his safety.

"We beg you, please help us, we do not know what to do," she said, sitting beside their mother in the video.

Amriyev told the Russian-based Committee for the Prevention of Torture in 2013 that he had been kidnapped by police in Chechnya who tortured him for two days, hanging him in handcuffs and applying electric shocks to his body.

He said at the time that the aim of the police was to force his older brother to return to Russia from Germany, where he had lived for years. A high-ranking Chechen police official claimed that Amriyev's brother was involved in an alleged plot to kill him.

'Wholly Bogus Charges'

After Amriyev was released, he fled to Ukraine. However, he remains a Russian citizen and had returned to collect papers needed to prolong his visa in a foreign country when he was pulled off a train in the Bryansk region while on his way to Moscow on June 4.

Chechen law-enforcement officials were waiting when he was released from custody in Bryansk on June 6, but he jumped into a car and sped off, later crossing into Belarus.

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture has warned that he could face abuse, torture, or even death if he is returned to Chechnya, where he is wanted on suspicion of using forged documents.

"The Russian authorities must immediately release Chechen torture survivor Murad Amriyev, and under no circumstances place his life at further risk by handing him over to the Chechen authorities," Amnesty International said on June 9.

Freedom House had also urged Belarus not to hand Amriyev over to Russia.

"The government of Belarus should recognize that Chechnyas request to extradite Amriyev is based on wholly bogus charges of forgery, and that he risks being murdered," Robert Herman, vice president for international programs at Freedom House, said in a June 8 statement.

In her video message, Amriyev's sister pleaded with the federal Russian authorities to intervene, saying relatives "are asking for the justice that is guaranteed to us by the constitution."

"We are urging Russia's Interior Ministry to sort out what looks complicated but in fact is a simple case....A group of men armed to the teeth men has been chasing an innocent man," she said.

She told Russian television channel Dozhd that his relatives have left Chechnya, fearing for their safety.

Family members have not received threats but have left Chechnya "just in case," she said.

Rights activists say that Kadyrov, who was appointed to head Chechnya by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2007, rules through repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the province in the North Caucasus.

They claim that he bears responsibility for abuses including kidnappings, disappearances, torture, and killings of political opponents.

Kremlin critics contend that Putin has given Kadyrov free rein because he relies on him to keep a lid on separatism and insurgent violence after two devastating post-Soviet wars in the region.


A court in St. Petersburg on June 8 ordered the spiritual leader of the city's branch of the Church of Scientology held in detention for two months.

Ivan Matsitsky, the church leader, was among five members of the church arrested on June 6 during a raid on the organization's offices in St. Petersburg.

Also detained were the church's chief accountant Sahib Aliyev, the chief of the official relations department Anastasia Terentieva, and church members Galina Shurinova and Konstantsia Yesaulkova.

They have been charged with participation in an "extremist" community, incitement of hatred, and illegal business activities.

A Federal Security Service (FSB) investigator told the court that the church's business activities, including offering commercial courses and scientology programs, had netted 276 million rubles ($4.84 million), which he called "a massive scale."

In 2015, a court ordered the Church of Scientology's Moscow operation to be dissolved, saying it could not be considered a religious organization.

Based on reporting by AP, TASS, and Interfax


The trial of Crimean Tatar leader Ilmi Umerov, which opened this week in Simferopol, is a farce and a travesty.



That much is clear.



But it is also more than that.



It's part of an elaborate Kremlin PR campaign -- a campaign with a human victim.



It's a macabre exercise in guerrilla marketing.



It's part of a mind game and a psy-op designed to legitimize and normalize Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.



Umerov was arrested by the FSB in May 2016 and charged with "separatism," because in a televised interview he spoke out against Russia's armed seizure of his homeland.



In August 2016, he was forcibly sent to a psychiatric clinic for a month of tests.

Now let's get something straight here. Something that should be patently obvious.



Umerov is a Ukrainian citizen. And according to international law he is located on Ukrainian territory -- territory that is being illegally occupied by Russia.



He wasn't calling for the violation of Russia's territorial integrity, as Moscow charges.



He was calling for the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity.



If there are any separatists here, they're in the Kremlin.



The separatism charge against Umerov is designed to send the message that Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea is a fait accompli.



And anybody who questions this will be treated either as a criminal -- or as insane.



It's crude. It's brutal. And for the Crimean Tatars, it's the new normal.

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
Snap elections in the United Kingdom have cost the Conservative government its majority and raised more questions than answers among Britain's international counterparts.

Whither Brexit negotiations? Is the so-called hard Brexit that British Prime Minister Theresa May championed now a less likely option? And how should other EU members interpret the outcome?

RFE/RL Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak spoke with two close observers of the European scene for their views on the topic. Steven Blockmans is a senior research fellow and head of the EU Foreign Policy Unit at the Center For European Policy Studies (CEPS). Richard Youngs is a senior fellow at the Brussels-based think tank Carnegie Europe.

RFE/RL: Is hard Brexit really dead now, with the uncertain result of the U.K. election?

Richard Youngs: I think it is too early to say that definitively. I think the standard, the most common interpretation now, is that the result probably makes it more necessary for the [British] government to take into consideration a wider range of views that would include a rather more cooperative set of negotiating aims.

But there are other people who at the moment are reaching the opposite conclusion; namely, that the prime minister, if she is able to stay in power, will actually have far narrower room for maneuver vis-a-vis the hard Brexiteers in her own Parliament and it will make it more difficult for her to make concessions in the negotiations in Brussels. So I think at the moment it is too early to say exactly which way this very uncertain and difficult result will push the negotiations.

Steven Blockmans: That really depends on the line that the future British government may take, either with a minority government or a coalition government. (Editor's note: Soon after these interviews on June 9, May was given approval by the queen to form a minority government.)

It is less likely that hard Brexit will materialize because of the concession that will have to be made in the upcoming consultations and negotiations on the formation of a new British government. But we should not forget that Labour itself during the campaign has also been advocating on the harder side of Brexit and may support that line even if its leaders may not support Theresa May as the future head of government.

RFE/RL: Can the Brexit negotiations really start on June 19 as envisaged?

Blockmans: That depends again on the consultations and the time needed to form a British government. Given the election outcome and going by European continental standards, which are well accustomed to coalition talks [and] even with formations of minority governments which need to be condoned, if you will, by another party propping it up from other seats in parliament, it may take longer -- and, indeed, Michel Barnier [the EU's chief negotiator in Brexit talks] has already come out stating that -- not his words, though -- but he is not hung up on the date of June 19, when Brexit negotiations were supposed to start. Indeed, if there is no government, there is no negotiating partner to start these talks with anyway, so it is only realistic to expect that that date of June 19 is not carved in stone and could be delayed.

Youngs: Well, there are already people saying in the U.K. that the most logical thing would be for there to be some kind of pause or timeout. But whether that is legally possible, I think, is highly doubtful. The result is likely to be that the effective start of the talks, at least the high political level, will now have to be delayed -- [and] that will reduce time available for the two sides to actually conclude all the necessary elements of the deal. So what was already a very, very onerous task, I think, has just become much, much more difficult. And I think that is likely to be to the U.K.'s disadvantage.

RFE/RL: How do you think the EU interprets the election result, and will it strengthen Brussels' hand in the talks?

Youngs: The logical interpretation is that it gives rather power and negotiating strength to the European side -- at least assuming that there are no big shocks in the German elections [in September]. Once that election is out of the way and talks were planned to start in earnest, one would think it tilts the negotiation power to the EU side.

Having said that, if the political situation in the U.K. becomes so unstable that we get a situation where the risk of there being no deal agreed at all becomes a real possibility, that is far more damaging for the U.K. side than it appears to [be for] the EU side. But European states would not want that eventuality either. The result might be that there are new, more acute dangers ahead for both sides, in fact.

Blockmans: I think European citizens and the leaders of the EU-27 [all members but the U.K.] as well as the EU institutions look with a certain dismay at what has been happening with the general elections... [and] with the gamble [by] Theresa May, the second Conservative prime minister to take a gamble and lose and weaken its own hand in its stance towards the European Union. That in itself is astounding, of course. But it does not translate into glee on the side of continental Europeans for the simple fact that they realize full well that a weaker and wobblier U.K. government will be less able to translate its compromise solutions made in negotiations with the European Commission into political backing at home.

So the sustainability of the outcome of the negotiations may be at further risk, and that is not in the EU's interest. The EU interest collectively was to control the damage done by what is essentially a lose-lose situation triggered by the Brexit referendum in the first place.

RFE/RL: How do you think the EU sees the electoral collapse of support for the Euroskeptic U.K. Independence Party (UKIP)?

Blockmans: I think there is a wide acknowledgement in fact that the hard line that Theresa May has followed has usurped some of the political support that has gone away from UKIP, so there was a tendency to create that hard Tory line towards Brexit talks as the line that UKIP used to support.

Youngs: I think actually it is almost paradoxically what we thought would be the case in 2017 -- a new surge in populist ideas that so many people have been talking about across Europe. In the end, it looks to be the year where we see a fairly strong push back against populist parties. So this is another part of the trend we saw starting with [anti-immigration Party For Freedom leader Geert] Wilders failing to win in the Netherlands, the Front Nationale failing to win in France, and now the decimation of UKIP in the U.K.

However, I think one cautionary word that we need to bear in mind is that the struggling fate of these populist parties doesn't mean that the kinds of issues they have been putting on the agenda in recent years have actually been sufficiently resolved.
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.
My Cousin Rachel is a romantic mystery, a dark melodrama of love, foolishness and manipulation that never fully reveals its secrets, to the audience or the characters on screen.

It comes from director Roger Michell, who writes his version of the 1951 novel by Daphne Du Maurier. That makes it somewhat different than the 1952 film that starred Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton, but the heart of the tale remains the same.

Rachel this time is played by Rachel Weisz. While shes the titular character, shes also the heart of the mystery -- and isnt seen until about a third of the movie has transpired.

The film, you see, centers on Philip, played by Sam Claflin, who we hear as the picture opens recounting the early years of his life.

An orphan, Philip was adopted by his cousin Ambrose (Claflin plays him as well), growing up in a giant English estate with no women in a house full of dogs. Returning from school in his early 20s, Philip finds an ill Ambrose, who is sent by doctors to Florence, Italy, leaving the young man to run the estate.

There, unseen on screen and revealed through a letter, Ambrose marries Rachel, a distant cousin. He again becomes ill, his letters pleading with Philip to come to Italy and rescue him from the doctors and Rachel, who Ambrose believes is trying to kill him.

By the time Philip arrives in Italy, Ambrose is dead and Rachel long gone. But she has no claims on his estate, leaving everything to Philip -- when he turns 25.

Back in England, Philip establishes himself as the head of the house. Then Rachel shows up. Philip has convinced himself that shes a nefarious character and wants to make her suffer and regret. She says she is at the estate to see the places Ambrose talked about and reconnect in a way with her late husband.

Soon an attraction develops, at least on the part of Philip, and the romance begins -- a dance of infatuation and cool distance perfectly played by the two actors.

Claflin, best known for his work in The Hunger Games pictures, demonstrates that hes a multi-faceted actor, playing the well-written Philip as naive, passionate, confused and not exactly heroic.

Weiszs performance is a study in masking, never fully revealing Rachel, who can be charming and subtly seductive, placid, then off-putting. That ambiguity provides the basis of the mystery at the heart of the film.

The picture, rooted in the 19th century, looks like the period -- from candles that illuminate the interior night scenes and authentic costumes to gorgeous fields, forests and seasides that provide an ideal romantic setting.

Like Rachel, My Cousin Rachel reveals itself slowly and never is fully explained -- even as it escalates to its tense, heartrending conclusion. But it is that ambiguity that makes the film captivate and, in the most positive of ways, sets it apart from a standard period romance.
YEREVAN -- Armenia has proposed creating a demilitarized zone with international guarantees around Azerbaijan's mostly Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Speaking at a weekly session of his government on November 10, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said he voiced this proposal, originally put forth by Nagorno-Karabakhs de facto authorities, at a meeting on October 31 with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan in Sochi, Russia.

"It is proposed to create a demilitarized zone around Nagorno-Karabakh with international guarantees, as a result of which Nagorno-Karabakh may not need a defense army of that scale. This proposal is still valid, I think," Pashinian said.

Pashinian also said an updated proposal on the demilitarization of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border zone was proposed to Azerbaijan, suggesting it withdraw its troops from the border line confirmed in 1991 when both nations gained independence, creating a three-kilometer demilitarized zone on either side.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of cease-fire violations along the border in recent days.

A spokesman for Armenia's Defense Ministry said one of its soldiers had been shot and wounded on November 10 along the border in what Yerevan says was a fresh cease-fire violation by Baku.

Aram Torosian said the Armenian soldier was wounded by "an enemy shot" and was in severe condition.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry issued a statement denying the report.

"Azerbaijani units did not open fire in the mentioned direction," the statement said, calling the report a "lie."

Baku on November 9 accused ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh of firing at Azerbaijani military positions in the east of the region the previous night. De facto Armenian authorities in Stepanakert denied the accusation.

Reports of shootings along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and in Karabakh come days after the latest round of talks focused on a peace deal between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, that was hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington on November 7.

In a statement issued on the results of the talks the Armenian and Azerbaijani ministers said they agreed to expedite negotiations and organize another meeting in the coming weeks.

During the October 31 meeting hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pashinian and Aliyev pledged not to use force to resolve the conflict.

Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of invading and occupying parts of its territory in the border zone during several incursions since May 2021. Azerbaijan denies any occupation, referring to the fact of the absence of delimitation and demarcation of the nearly 500-kilometer border between the two South Caucasus nations.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for years. Some 30,000 people were killed in a war in the early 1990s that left ethnic Armenians in control of the breakaway region and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan proper.

The two sides fought another war in 2020 that lasted six weeks and killed thousands of people on both sides before a Russia-brokered cease-fire, resulting in Armenians' losing control over parts of the region and the adjacent districts.

Under the cease-fire agreement Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops in the region to serve as peacekeepers.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

With reporting by AFP and RFE/RL's Armenian Service
PRAGUE -- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says European Union members must increase their military cooperation and rely less on the United States because the protection of Europe "can no longer be outsourced."

Speaking at a defense conference in Prague on June 9, Juncker said the United States is "no longer interested in guaranteeing Europe's security in our place."

"Our deference to NATO can no longer be used as a convenient alibi to argue against greater European efforts," he told conference delegates.

Only five of NATO's 29 members have reached the 2 percent of economic output military spending target.

"The protection of Europe can no longer be outsourced," he said.

Juncker's remarks echoed the words of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said last month that Europe could no longer "completely depend" on the United States and Britain following the election of President Donald Trump and the triggering of the Brexit process.

'No Other Choice'

"We have no other choice than to defend our own interests in the Middle East, in climate change, in our trade agreements, Juncker said.

The way forward starts with making sure that we spend what is needed on our defense," he said, adding that the EU and NATO were not competitors.

During a meeting with EU leaders in Brussels on May 26, Trump sharply criticized many NATO members for failing to meet military spending targets.

Trump also caused concern among NATO members at that Brussels meeting by giving a speech in which he did not specifically endorse Article 5, the keystone NATO principle that an attack on one alliance member is an attack against all.

Trump and the EU also are split on trade issues and the question of refugees.

On June 1, Trump announced the United States would pull out of the Paris climate accord, at treaty in which countries around the world agreed on emissions cuts aimed at fighting climate change.

NATO Deputy Secretary-General Rose Gottemoeller welcomed Junkers call for greater cooperation on defense by EU countries, saying at the June 9 defense conference in Prague that a "stronger European defense means a stronger NATO and a stronger NATO means a stronger European defense."

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP


PRISTINA -- Amid months of political turmoil across the Balkans, Kosovo's parliamentary elections on June 11 are a chance for the country to confirm its path toward stability and deeper European integration.

The country's voters head to the polls for the third time since unilaterally declaring independence from Serbia in 2008, and a year earlier than planned after Prime Minister Isa Mustafa's government lost a no-confidence vote in parliament last month.

While there have been some rumblings of electoral dirty tricks, the campaign has been devoid of any major scandals or incidents, in a marked departure from other recent elections in the Balkans.

"Now is the time for the region to move forward, to seize the momentum and deliver a European future," Finance Minister Avdullah Hoti, a candidate for the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), said. "Kosovo can lead this transformation."

Same Old Politics In New Boxes?

When Mustafa's government collapsed, concern swelled that the kind of political upheaval that dotted the region -- fueled by nationalist sentiment that sparked fears of an outbreak of violence -- would engulf Kosovo, which as Europe's newest country has struggled to establish a stable democracy.

But political rivalries were quickly put aside -- if only for the moment -- as major parties banded together in coalitions.

The Kosovo Democratic Party (PDK), which President Hashim Thaci used to lead before resigning to become head of state, joined forces with former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj's Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Fatmir Limaj's Initiative for Kosovo (NISM). Each has its foundation in the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) that fought a separatist war against Serbia in 1998-99.

On the other side, Mustafa's LDK and the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) of Behgjet Pacolli have come together along with a new political group, Alternative, to form a coalition running in the vote.

While the coalitions comprise many of the same political players and may discourage some younger voters, their presence may aid forming a government afterward and help avoid the kind of six-month stalemate that followed 2014 elections as parties battled to form a government.

"Almost all of the political parties have a clear orientation and narration, just as in Western countries," said Burim Ramadani, direction of the Research Center for Security Policy.

To be sure, a smoother campaign trail doesn't mean the country won't face a bumpy road after the vote.

Jobs, health care, and education remain pressing issues for one of Europe's poorest countries, and a nation where about one-third of its 1.8 million citizens are under the age of 15.

"There's nothing new in the program of the candidates. I feel like we have been in the election campaign for quite some time now and that this is just the continuation," political analyst Imer Mushkolaj says. "We have to wait for the results and see how are they going to clear up their ideas on these issues."

Uncertainty Awaits

The early elections also derailed the process of ratifying the demarcation of Kosovo's border with Montenegro, which became a member of NATO earlier this month, a condition for Kosovo obtaining visa-free travel in the European Union.

With borderlines often the front lines of conflicts across the Balkans, the two countries had struggled to agree on a deal to finally define the frontier.

An accord was reached in 2015, but the result was unacceptable to the opposition, which felt Kosovo would lose about 82 square kilometers of valuable farmland even though an independent commission of experts ruled the area in question was legitimately part of Montenegro.

The issue sparked a no-confidence vote in parliament in May, which the government lost, triggering the early elections.

Kosovo's leaders and institutions "mustn't lose sight of great challenges Kosovo faces," EU Commissioner for Enlargement Johannes Hahn said after the fall of the government.

Kosovo analyst Ismail Hasani tells RFE/RL that that series of events was a step backward for a country that is already failing to address several important issues.

"Whoever takes power afterwards, whoever forms a government, they will have to deal with the harsh realities that lie ahead for the future leadership -- a special court for war crimes, the border demarcation with Montenegro, the creation of a Serb-majority community, the fight against the corruption, and other problems that have been waiting to be solved," Hasani says.

Kosovo remains the only Western Balkan country whose citizens still require visas to travel to the EU's passport-free Schengen area.

In the meantime, many Kosovars hope the mostly peaceful election campaign -- in recent days, EU and U.S. officials have expressed concern over reports of interference and intimidation of voters in some areas -- is a sign of things to come for their country.

"I hope we turn to peace, prosperity, to a better life. I hope the people who support these things will win the elections," says Sandra Milekovic from Mitrovica, in the northern part of the country.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels
MOSCOW -- Police have detained at least three people as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Russian parliament during a vote on a controversial plan to raze thousands of Soviet-era apartment blocs in Moscow.

Deputies in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, passed the bill in the second of three readings on June 9.

The lawmakers introduced an amendment to the bill saying that if residents' councils officially disagree with the planned demolitions before the bill is adopted and signed into law, their buildings will be spared from demolition.

While lawmakers were voting, hundreds of protesters rallied in front of the State Duma, holding antidemolition posters and chanting "Shame," and "Put the renovators on trial."

Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodyn said the third and final reading will take place on June 14.

The chief of the opposition Yabloko party's Moscow branch, Sergei Mitrokhin, was among the three people arrested.

The plan calls for the demolition of 4,500 buildings erected in the 1950s and 1960s -- many of the five-story apartment buildings known as "Khrushchyovki" after Soviet-leader Nikita Khrushchev -- to be demolished and replaced with high-rise apartment buildings.

Moscow authorities say the buildings are dilapidated and outdated, but many residents and activists see the plans as an excuse for the construction of high rises in some of Moscow's leafiest neighborhoods.

A similar protest was held outside the Duma on June 6, after thousands of people protested against the plan on May 14.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview excerpt released on June 8 said his longtime critic U.S. Senator John McCain is living in the "Old World" but he admires the former Republican presidential candidate's patriotism.

McCain, 80, last week called Putin a bigger threat to global security than the Islamic State, and warned the Senate would push for tougher sanctions against Moscow for its alleged interference in the U.S. election last year.

But Putin dismissed such criticism as "Old World" in an interview with U.S. film director Oliver Stone to be aired on U.S. television next week, while offering a bit of praise to one of the Kremlin's fiercest foes in Congress.

"I like Senator McCain to a certain extent. And I'm not joking. I like him because of his patriotism, and I can relate to his consistency in fighting for the interests of his own country," Putin said.

Putin likened McCain to the ancient Roman senator Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder, who always finished his speeches using the same words: "Carthage must be destroyed."

"People with such convictions like the Senator you mentioned, they still live in the Old World. And theyre reluctant to look into the future, they are unwilling to recognize how fast the world is changing," Putin said.

"They do not see the real threat, and they cannot leave behind the past which is always dragging them back."

Putin said the United States should work with Russia on global problems.

"Right now there are common threats we are both facing, like international terrorism. We've got to fight poverty across the world," Putin said.

"After all, we've piled up so many nuclear weapons that it has become a threat to the whole world as well. And it would be good for us to give it some thought. There are many issues to address."

With reporting by AP and TASS


A U.S.-backed Syrian Arab-Kurdish coalition has captured territory on the western edge of Raqqa, the extremist group Islamic State's (IS) stronghold and self-declared capital in Syria, a monitoring group says.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on June 9 that fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were also advancing on the eastern part of the city.

The group said SDF forces took parts of the district of Jazra, west of Raqqa, backed by U.S.-led air support. Heavy clashes were reportedly continuing in the neighborhood.

The Syrian Observatory said at least 15 civilians were killed on June 8 after an air strike hit an Internet cafe.

It added that at least seven other civilians were killed in air strikes late on June 8 and early on June 9.

Meanwhile, the United Nations children's agency estimated that 40,000 children "remain trapped in extremely dangerous conditions in Raqqa."

"Many are caught in the crossfire," UNICEF official Geert Cappelaere said, urging all parties to give safe passage to those who want to leave.

Separately, the Russian military accused the U.S.-led coalition of providing safe corridors for IS fighters to leave the area around Raqqa in an effort to prevent Syrian government forces taking territory.

Russian Colonel General Sergei Surovikin, the commander of Russian forces in Syria, said IS made a deal earlier this month with the Kurdish forces to leave two villages southwest of Raqqa and move toward Palmyra.

Surovikin said the U.S.-led coalition forces "collude with the leaders of the IS, who surrender the areas under their control and head to provinces where Syrian government forces operate."

There was no immediate reaction from the United States to Surovikin's allegations.

Russia supports the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States backs rebel groups fighting Assad's government in the six-year civil war. Both sides oppose the IS fighters.

The offensive on Raqqa comes at a time when U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces say they are close to fully liberating Mosul, the final significant IS stronghold in Iraq.

IS militants seized large swaths of Syria and Iraq in an offensive in June 2014.

With reporting by AFP and AP
I couldn't think of a better headline for this one.

For years now, the Turkmen government has spent state funds on projects that have little, if any, value for the general population.

The Turkmen capital, Ashgabat, is a white-marble wonder with a giant equestrian statue in the city center of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, covered in gold-leaf, and a golden statue of his predecessor, Saparmurat Niyazov, on the outskirts of town. (Yes, that's the one that rotated so Niyazov always faced the direction of the sun.)

There are five-star hotels at the Awaza Caspian coastal resort area, reportedly rarely more than 20- or 30-percent occupied and, for the most part, off limits to the country's citizens.

The list of vanity projects goes on and on.

Which is why I couldn't help but notice a June 2 report about plans to build two water-purification plants on the Caspian coast in the western Balkan Province.

The Turkmen state information agency's website said a plant with the capacity to produce 50,000 cubic meters of potable water daily would be built at the town of Ekerem, and another with the capacity to produce 5,000 cubic meters daily would be built at Hazar (formerly Chekelen).

The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources has already announced an international tender for the project, and is taking bids until July 14.

Until then, we don't know what the cost is, but I'm betting it will be less than one of those five-star hotels up the coast at Awaza.

Good News For A Change?

Since many of the things the Turkmen government spends money on don't seem to make sense, it is refreshing, and certainly worth noting, when the authorities there engage in a project that benefits the country's citizens.

Qishloq Ovozi has already noted that the purification of water from the Caspian Sea seems to be a perfect solution to the water problems in western Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Of course, all we have now are intentions.

The state information agency report mentioned there were other water-purification plants operating along Turkmenistan's Caspian coast, one at Turkmenbashi City and another at Awaza.

The Turkmen opposition website Khronika Turkmenistan noted that there is another purification plant in northern Dashoguz Province. According to the report, that plant was opened several years ago but never really started operations.

I hope the two plants will be built and operate as planned. I rather enjoyed writing this article about the Turkmen government doing something good for the country's people; I'd be happy to write about a happy ending when/if the freshwater starts flowing in Ereken and Hazar.

Authors Note: This was written before June 7 when President Berdymukhammedov announced the cancellation of social benefits -- to citizens
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that he is "absolutely" committed to NATO's Article 5, the keystone principle of the North Atlantic alliance that an attack on one alliance member is an attack against all.

Trump made the statement on June 9 at a news conference in Washington with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in response to a question about the U.S. commitment to respecting Article 5 in case of military aggression on NATO's eastern flank.

"I'm committing the United States and have committed the United States to Article 5, and certainly, we are there to protect, and that's one of the reasons why I want people to make sure that we have a very, very strong force by paying the kind of money necessary to have that force. But yes, absolutely, I'd be committed to Article 5," Trump said.

When Trump spoke at the alliance's gathering in Belgium last month, he did not make reference to Article 5.

Trump's omission in Brussels raised concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. White House aides said that the president's support was implied even though he deliberately did not utter the words.

According to Politico, Trump's defense and security advisers had included in his prepared speech a clear endorsement of the mutual-defense pledge, but Trump himself struck it out just before speaking.

Doubts have remained since then despite U.S. diplomats and military leaders themselves restating the pledge to Article 5.

The only time that Article 5 was invoked was after the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001.

Praise For Romania

Trump earlier praised NATO member Romania for boosting its defense spending to 2 percent of its GDP, as required for all NATO members, and for its contribution to the fight against terrorism.

Trump thanked the "Romanian people for everything they contribute to our common defense and to the fight against the evil menace of terrorism."

"They have their own difficulties with it, and they've come a long way, and they're doing a lot," he added.

"Romania has been a valuable member of the coalition to fight [Islamic State] and it's the fourth-largest contributor of troops in Afghanistan."

He mentioned that 23 Romanian soldiers had paid the "ultimate price" in Afghanistan and that "America honors their sacrifice."

He praised Romania for committing this year to increase its defense spending from 1.4 percent of GDP to "over 2 percent," a level which Trump has urged all NATO members to reach.

"We hope our other NATO allies will follow Romania's lead," he added.

Iohannis, speaking in English, said the partnership with the United States over the past 20 years had helped shape the Romania of today, calling his country a "solid democracy" with "solid, sustainable economic growth."

"I think this partnership not only has to continue, the partnership has to become stronger," he said.

Iohannis, who assumed the presidency in 2014, has supported a pro-Western foreign policy.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa
A new study in the INFORMS journal Management Science shows that the U.S. economy is strengthened by H-1B visa holders who fill key roles in enhancing organizations and supplementing the work of their U.S. peers. This is particularly true for trades like the U.S. audit industry that employ a large number of individuals who hold H-1B visas, and who recruit highly skilled foreign workers for specialty occupations.

The study authors, Daniel Aobdia of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Anup Srivastava of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University, and Erqiu Wang, examined the hiring practices -- primarily as they pertain to assurance or risk assessment services -- of U.S. audit firms, an industry that consistently recruits individuals from outside the U.S. At any given time, 83 percent of audit offices employ individuals who hold H-1B visas.

The study, "Are Immigrants Complements or Substitutes? Evidence from the Audit Industry," focused on the six largest public accounting firms in the U.S.: BDO, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton, KPMG, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Between 2001-2012, these firms hired 55,000 H-1B visa holders, 18,000 of which were hired for assurance roles. The authors found that these employees appear to perform two distinct, but not necessarily mutually exclusive roles: gap fillers and specialists.

"The first role -- an immigrants' greater likelihood of employment in jobs considered less desirable to their U.S. counterparts -- arguably reflects their lower bargaining power," said Aobdia. "The second role -- the greater likelihood of immigrants' performing specialized assignments -- is consistent with an audit firm's ability to hire the most talented among these individuals, given their restricted employment options."

The authors found that skilled foreign employees serve as a significant asset to human capital growth within the audit industry. In 2012 alone, employees with H-1B visas contributed 28 percent to the growth of assurance business human capital for the six audit firms in the study. Given their significant role in audit industry growth and the complimentary role they play for their American counterparts, the authors warned of the potential negative implications of further restrictions limiting the hiring of skilled employees from outside the U.S.

"Our findings reaffirm that the H-1B visa program contributes greatly to the health of organizations such as U.S. audit firms, and more generally suggests H-1B visa holders provide valuable and more widespread economic contributions," said Aobdia.
There is so much riding on The Mummy, far more than its skeletal shoulders should have to withstand. The studio behind the summer horror-adventure flick, Universal, is kicking off its Dark Universe, with the film, its answer to the Marvel or DC cinematic universes. So theyre dusting off the familiar names that have graced cinemas for nearly a century now, like Bride of Frankenstein and Creature from the Black Lagoon. Those, and other monsters, were popularized in the 1930s with the Val Lewton gothic monster flicks, effectively inventing horror filmmaking as we know it. Universal is hoping audiences might still have an appetite for these titles.

Therefore, The Mummy director and co-writer Alex Kurtzman is saddled with several enormous tasks to achieve in one film. It has to reboot the popular older series of Mummy films from the 90s and early 2000s, it has to (hopefully) launch a new franchise, as well as the Dark Universe, and it has to be a Tom Cruise vehicle.

The first half of The Mummy shows tremendous promise. Its the kind of rollicking, goofy, perfect summer fun to be found at the movies. After the legends are established, of crusading English knights and vengeful Egyptian princesses unleashing evil curses, we drop in with Nick Morton (Cruise) and Chris Vail (Jake Johnson), a pair of special-ops types who like to spend their time in Iraq antiquity hunting rather than insurgent stalking.

One of their escapades involving a hasty airstrike unearths a secret tomb, and British archaeologist Jenny Halsey (Annabelle Wallis) is on the scene to excavate the sarcophagus within; its confined in a pool of mercury, imprisoned in a series of traps and chains. As we have been informed, liberating this soul from its resting place could have deadly repercussions, and our protagonists soon discover this as well, as the mummy princess Ahmanet (Sofia Boutella) lays waste to their cargo plane and sets off to repossess her sacred dagger from the knights who looted it a few centuries ago. She needs it to turn her chosen into a god, and you can imagine on whom shes set her sights as the perfect immortal mate.

While consummate movie star Cruise is always a joy to watch onscreen (he might be immortal, as he seems to be aging in reverse), theres something that isnt quite right here. It seems to be a problem with both casting and writing. The role demands that Cruise be a rakish, lady-killing bounty hunter, but also perform a kind of befuddled banter with buddy Vail and love interest Jenny. Cruises persona doesnt quite jibe with that, though Wallis is perfectly cast as the intelligent and saucy academic.

The Mummy falls apart at the end, rattling its bones through a series of shockingly violent clashes with Ahmanet and her army of undead. Ultimately, despite her awesome powers, this goddess is reduced to participating in a love triangle with mere mortals. How pedestrian. The bright spot proves to be Russell Crowe, turning in a fully committed and campy, scenery-demolishing performance as Dr. Henry Jekyll (and his troublesome alter-ego). He steals the show in a role designed simply to establish the character for a spin-off film. There may be hope for this Dark Universe yet.
The regulatory approaches to marijuana and tobacco in the United States are on decidedly different paths and, according to researchers from the U.S. and Australia, neither side appears interested in learning from the other.

"The two policy communities have shown very little interest in each other's policy debates," Wayne Hall and Lynn Kozlowski write in a new paper published in the journal Addiction.

Hall, the lead author, is a professor at the Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research at the University of Queensland, Australia, and is an expert on marijuana and other drug use issues. Kozlowski is professor of community health and health behavior in the University at Buffalo's School of Public Health and Health Professions and an expert on tobacco use and control.

Their paper takes a look at the diverging trajectories of cannabis and tobacco policies in the United States and attempts to explain some of the reasoning behind the different paths, while discussing possible implications.

For tobacco control, the push is toward what Kozlowski calls "a kind of prohibition," mandating that only very low nicotine cigarettes are sold. The cannabis policy community, however, is advocating for quite the opposite -- legal recreational use of marijuana.

Why are the approaches so different?

"One group perceives the downside of banning products and accepts an inevitability of some recreational use," Kozlowski said, referring to marijuana advocates, "and the other does not accept recreational use and seeks a kind of prohibition."

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The differences can also be explained by examining who's part of each group. The tobacco control community includes tobacco researchers, public health advocates, non-governmental organizations and government officials. The cannabis community is more diverse, Hall and Kozlowski point out, noting that it comprises civil liberties lawyers, civil rights advocates and supporters of reforming drug laws.

The cannabis community has another thing going for it: the fact that the legalization of recreational marijuana was preceded by legalizing the drug for medical use. In a way, that has softened the response to legalizing marijuana for recreational use, Hall and Kozlowski say.

"If you think the product is able to cure some ills, then that can justify use. The fun of it becomes a kind of bonus," Kozlowski said.

Despite the differences, the two policy communities could learn a few lessons from each other. "For cannabis, assume that 'big cannabis' -- large legal cannabis businesses -- will behave with the same limited sense of corporate responsibility as has 'big tobacco,'" Kozlowski said. "For tobacco, give up on moving toward a prohibition of traditional cigarettes -- an endgame -- and use public health tools to minimize the use of the most dangerous tobacco products, cigarettes."

The paper also points out that the challenge for public policy makers in regulating marijuana is in applying what has worked in alcohol and tobacco control. That includes such policies as taxes based on potency to mitigate heavy use and dependence, limiting availability through trading hours and the number of outlets that sell the product, and restricting promotional activities.

"Lessons can be drawn from cannabis policy that are relevant to tobacco, and vice versa. Neither a focus on 'endgames' nor on burgeoning, legal retail markets should be approached uncritically," Kozlowski said.

In the end, Kozlowski added, "The proper regulation of recreational drug products that have some adverse effects should be to restrict youth access, promote cessation of use in those who desire to quit, promote less-harmful modes of use by providing accurate and useful information to consumers."
Paleontologists investigating the sea bed off the coast of southern California have discovered a lost ecosystem that for thousands of years had nurtured communities of scallops and shelled marine organisms called brachiopods.

These brachiopods and scallops had thrived along a section of coast stretching approximately 250 miles from San Diego to Santa Barbara for at least 4,000 years. But they had died off by the early 20th century, replaced by the mud-dwellling burrowing clams that inhabit this seabed today. Paleontologists Adam Tomasovych of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Susan Kidwell of the University of Chicago examine the lost ecosystem in a study published online June 7 in the Royal Society Proceedings B.

Evidence indicates that the brachiopod and scallop die-off occurred in less than a century. Because this community disappeared before biologists started sampling the seafloor, its existence was unknown and unsuspected. Only dead shells remain, permitting analysis by paleontologists.

"This loss unfolded during the 19th century, thus well before urbanization and climate warming," said Kidwell, the William Rainey Harper Professor in Geophysical Sciences. "The disappearance of these abundant filter-feeding animals coincided with the rise of lifestock and cultivation in coastal lands, which increased silt deposition on the continental shelf, far beyond the lake and nearshore settings where we would expect this stress to have an impact."

Continental shelves, the submerged shoulders of the continents, are a worldwide phenomenon. They form a distinct environment separated by a steep slope from the much deeper and vaster expanse of ocean floor beyond, and provide key habitats for biodiversity and fisheries.

The seabed off southern California is one of the most thoroughly studied in the world, but in applying geologic methods to modern biological samples of the sea floor, Kidwell and Tomasovych encountered unsuspected results. Today that seabed consists of soft sediments, where creatures such as segmented worms, crustaceans, molluscs, crabs and urchins feed on organic matter.

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This is a fundamentally different ecosystem than the one that preceded it not so long ago, said Tomasovych, who heads the Department of Paleoecology and Organismal Evolution at the Slovak Academy.

"The methods applied here provide crucial information on ecosystem response to natural and human pressures over otherwise inaccessible timescales," he said.

In pioneering these methods since the 2000s, Kidwell and her associates have fostered the field of conservation paleobiology. Their work has shown that misfits between live populations and the shells they leave behind on modern sea floors do not signal poor preservation. The differences instead indicate a recent ecological shift -- one usually driven by human activities such as pollution or sea-floor dredging.

Tomasovych and Kidwell based their new study on the analysis of samples and data collected from multiple sources. They have conducted their own research on the sea floor off southern California, but they've also benefited from samples and monitoring data that other scientists have collected from the area since 1954.

Brachiopods and scallops, which prefer cold waters and a gravelly environment, range from the U.S.-Mexico border to the Gulf of Alaska. Tomasovych and Kidwell eliminated climate warming as a likely culprit in their ecosystem collapse, given that large populations of brachiopods persist near Catalina Island, where water temperatures are similar to those of southern California's mainland coastal waters.

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The paleontologists instead pointed to the dramatic changes that southern California's watersheds have undergone since 1769, after Spanish missionaries introduced cattle, horses and sheep to the area.

The researchers established the age of the brachiopods using a molecular dating technique called amino acid racemization. All of the 190 shells analyzed were more than 100 years old, and most were older than 200 years, indicating that the start of the population die-off coincided with the rise of livestock and cultivation on the nearby mainland.

Brachiopods and scallops have low tolerance for high levels of suspended sediment, leaving them vulnerable to the side effects of a regional economy that focused on cattle production from 1769 to the 1860s. During this time, much of modern-day Los Angeles and Orange counties were subject to unmanaged, open-range grazing. The economy shifted to agriculture in the late 19th century, but in the absence of soil conservation methods, the side effects on the coastal ocean would have continued unabated into the early 20th century.

The researchers concluded that siltation associated with this prolonged period of unmanaged land use probably drove the collapse of the brachiopod-scallop populations.

"Extirpation was complete by the start of 21st-century urbanization, warming, bottom fishing and scientific surveys," Tomasovych and Kidwell reported, emphasizing the value of combining many lines of historical evidence, especially the application of paleobiological methods to present-day ecosystems, to gain a fuller picture of recent biotic changes.

They further concluded that siltation derived from coastal land-use practices is an under-recognized ecological factor on continental shelves around the globe.
A new study led by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis assistant professor of psychology Tamika Zapolski has found differing risks for binge drinking based on race, income and age.

Zapolski found that African-Americans and Hispanics in the lowest income bracket (annual incomes less than $20,000) have a lower risk of binge drinking during adolescence compared to whites, while African-Americans -- but not Hispanics -- have a higher risk for binge drinking compared to whites at age 50 and older.

At higher incomes, a comparable risk for binge drinking was found for both African-Americans and Hispanics at older ages.

According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, about 44,000 alcohol-related deaths annually stem from binge drinking -- defined as four or more drinks for females or five or more drinks for males in a two-hour period.

The IUPUI researchers analyzed data on binge drinking among 205,198 respondents age 12 and older surveyed in the 2010 to 2013 National Study on Drug Use and Health. They investigated risk for binge drinking as a function of race/ethnicity, gender, income and age.

After controlling for education and marital status, among those with annual incomes less than $20,000, the risk for binge drinking was lower for African-American males from ages 18 to 24, as well as females from ages 18 to 34, than for their white counterparts. But the risk for binge drinking was higher for both African-American men and women ages 50 to 64, compared to whites. Unlike African-Americans, no crossover from low risk to high risk for binge drinking was found for Hispanics.

Within each of the higher income brackets ($20,000 to $50,000, $50,000 to $75,000, and greater than $75,000), risk for binge drinking was generally lower for African-Americans in comparison to whites at younger ages, with similar risk of binge drinking at older ages. The risk for binge drinking for Hispanic respondents was fairly comparable across age groups.

"Although African-Americans are generally at low risk for binge drinking, we found that the risk for binge drinking increases disproportionately with age among African-Americans who are poor," said Zapolski, a clinical psychologist. "This may be linked to the impact of poverty, which is particularly detrimental for African-American populations."

The findings of increased risk for binge drinking in mid-adulthood to late adulthood for low-income African-Americans can inform clinical practice as well as advance research, Zapolski said. In future studies, she hopes to find out why older African-Americans are more likely to binge drink by looking at stresses prevalent in their communities, such as exposure to violence and housing insecurity. Zapolski's goal is to develop health prevention and intervention strategies that incorporate these social factors.

Zapolski directs PRISM, the Prevention Research In Substance Use & Minority Health Lab in IUPUI's School of Science. PRISM focuses on risk for substance use and other health behaviors among African-Americans.

Further work is required to investigate potential differences in drinking behaviors among Hispanic subgroups, according to Zapolski and study co-authors Patrick Baldwin, an IUPUI graduate student; Devin E. Banks, a former IUPUI graduate student now on the faculty of Chestnut Hill College; and Timothy Stump, an IU School of Medicine biostatistician.

"Does a Crossover Age Effect Exist for African American and Hispanic Binge Drinkers? Findings from the 2010 to 2013 National Study on Drug Use and Health" is published in the June print issue of in the peer-reviewed journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
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)

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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.
A partially 3D-printed motor created by an engineering team at Carleton University in Ottawa. The team is trying to make self-replicating 3D printers from materials that can be found on the moon.

A 3D printer that could re-create itself from lunar material is in development at a university in Canada.

The technology could one day enable humans to 3D-print lunar bases, as well as conduct in-space manufacturing of satellites and solar shields on the moon that could help fight global warming, according to Alex Ellery, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa, who is leading the project.

"I believe that self-replicating machines will be transformative for space exploration because it effectively bypasses launch costs," Ellery told Space.com. [How Moon Bases and Lunar Colonies Work (Infographic)]

The engineer envisions a single 3D printer could be delivered to the moon, where it would make thousands of its copies from surrounding lunar material. Once there would be enough 3D printers, the self-replicating factory would focus on building all other equipment and infrastructure needed for human exploration.

Ellery said he and his colleagues are close to being able to 3D-print a fully functioning electric motor from material similar to what can be sourced on the moon. Although some commercially available 3D printers can reprint some of their own parts, none of those printers can produce motors and electronics, according to Ellery.

An early attempt to 3D-print wires made of aluminium alloy on silicone plastic substrate. The 3D-printer prototype is being developed at Carleton University. (Image credit: Alex Ellery)

"Our starting point is the RepRap 3D printer, which can print many of its own plastic parts," Ellery told Space.com, referring to the open-source device originally developed by the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. "In order to fully self-replicate itself, it needs to print its metal bars, its electric motors, its electronics and software, and self-assemble."

Ellery and his team, who described the project in an article published in the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets last year, are using a mixture of a plastic material and iron filings to 3D-print two parts of the motor, the stator and the rotor.

"We need to maximize magnetic threading through the rotor, which requires more iron, but minimize eddy currents in the stator, which requires less iron," Ellery said. "So we have been varying the amount of iron in the plastic matrix."

Ellery said that elements needed for creating a similar mixture could be extracted from the lunar regolith. The lunar 3D-printer, fitted with a robotic arm, would scoop up the regolith and heat it to about 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit (900 degrees Celsius) using a so-called frensel lens to focus sunlight into a beam. The process would first remove volatile gases from the lunar soil. Subsequently, a component called ilmenite would be separated and used for extraction of iron, according to Ellery.

"Although we are using [polylactic acid] plastic [to 3D-print components], I envisage replacing this with silicone plastic  this can be manufactured from lunar volatile carbon compounds and lunar water," Ellery explained.

As a next step toward 3D-printing the motor, the researchers are aiming to replace the motor's wire coils with aluminum coils printed onto a polylactic acid plastic substrate (the latter is a common material used for 3D printing). On the moon, the aluminum would be replaced with fernico (iron-nickel-cobalt alloy) and the plastic would be replaced with a ceramic substrate made from melted lunar soil.

The magnetic field produced by the aluminum coils printed on the plastic substrate is "actually quite weak, so we are trying figure out ways to add more layers to increase the amount of current that goes through them," Ellery said. "But eventually, what we will do is that we will integrate that into the motor so that will give us a complete core, which is 3D-printed."

Ellery believes that he will have a fully functioning 3D-printed motor in a few months. The other prerequisite for a fully self-replicating machine  the electronics  is a problem that will probably take much longer to solve, he said.

This small motor was made using some 3D-printed parts. Researchers at Carleton University are working to make the entire motor 3D-printable. Credit: Alex Ellery via GIPHY

"We have looked at vacuum tubes because trying to create solid-state electronics would be virtually impossible on the moon," Ellery said. "If you use vacuum tubes, the only materials you need are nickel, tungsten, glass, essentially, and Kovar, all of which you can make on the moon."

Ellery says that the self-replicating machine would use a neural network  a computing system modeled after the human brain  because it would be smaller and easier to 3D-print than a typical computing system. The Carleton team has built a trial neural network and used it to control a small rover.

"Once motors and electronic controllers can be 3D-printed, we can print any kind of robot, including a 3D printer, as well as milling machines, drills, lathes, excavating machines and so on," Ellery said. "If you have a robotic self-replicating machine, you can grow an enormous manufacturing infrastructure on the moon robotically."

Such a machine could build habitats for astronauts before they arrive at a deep- space location. It could also be used to cheaply enable space-based solar power, in which satellites equipped with solar panels turn sunlight into energy, and send that energy down to Earth. Humans could also build space shields to protect the Earth against solar radiation, which could further combat the planet's warming trend Ellery said.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Among the 12 candidates NASA has selected for the astronaut class of 2017 is one adventurous SpaceX employee who's eager to fly to the moon, Mars and beyond.

Robb Kulin is a 33-year-old engineer from Anchorage, Alaska, who has spent the past 6 and a half years working as the senior manager for flight reliability at the private spaceflight company SpaceX. Before that, he worked as an ice driller in Antarctica.

Now, Kulin is ready to take on the final frontier as part of NASA's newest group of astronauts, who will be selected to fly to the International Space Station and eventually on deep-space missions with NASA's new Orion spacecraft, which is slated to launch as soon as 2019 on the new Space Launch System rocket. But first, the astronauts will complete two years of training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. [What It's Like to Become an Astronaut: 10 Surprising Facts]

Space.com spoke with Kulin about his journey to becoming an astronaut and all of the cool adventures that await.

While many kids dream of becoming astronauts one day, Kulin said he didn't become interested in trying out a career in spaceflight until he was in graduate school, when he and his friend watched NASA's space shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"While we were at one of the launches, a friend of a friend said, 'Hey, let's go check out the launchpad that my company, SpaceX, is building out at Launch Complex 40,'" located nearby at Cape Canaveral, Kulin said.

"When I went there, I really wasn't interested in SpaceX at all," he said. "I'd kind of laughed at some of the Falcon 1 anomalies and didn't really understand what they were trying to accomplish. But once I went there and met some of the other engineers working on building this pad  how energetic they were, the great responsibility that they were given and the hands-on work that they got to do  they really inspired me to want to fly."

NASA astronaut candidate Robb Kulin (Image credit: NASA)

After applying several times, Kulin finally got hired by SpaceX. Then, about five years later, Kulin applied to NASA's astronaut corps, along with a record-breaking 18,300 other applicants. Defying great odds, Kulin and 11 others were selected for the new group of astronaut candidates.

While he said that going to the moon would be "really cool," Kulin thinks that it's important for humanity to push for bigger goals, like landing on Mars and becoming an interplanetary species. "I think it would be pretty radical to see humanity colonize Mars someday," he said.

"There's a lot to be learned even about our own planet here on Earth by going out and exploring other places and having that kind of ability to reflect back," Kulin added. "But I actually think Mars will be kind of the most incredible next journey for the human exploration side."

Back when he was a kid, Kulin may not have aspired to become an astronaut, but he does have some words of advice for any ambitious kids who hope to blast off into space one day. "You've got to be into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, of course," he said. "But at the end of the day, find something you're really passionate about  jump on it, enjoy it.

"Find the thing that you're superpsyched on, go do it, do it with enthusiasm and have a blast," Kulin added. "Because that's how you're going to enjoy life the most  whether or not you become an astronaut  and you're going to be the most successful."

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
SpaceX rolled a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket first stage into the hangar at Kennedy Space Centers famed pad 39A on June 3, 2017. The booster is scheduled to help launch the BulgariaSat-1 communications satellite on June 17.

SpaceX is getting ready to launch a used Falcon 9 rocket for the second time ever.

The California-based company rolled a preflown Falcon 9 first stage into a hangar at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Saturday (June 3)  the same day that a (completely new) Falcon 9 launched a used SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule toward the International Space Station.

The used booster will help launch the BulgariaSat-1 communications satellite, which is scheduled to lift off June 17 from KSC's historic Launch Complex 39A. (Pad 39A was the jumping-off point for most of NASA's space shuttle and Apollo moon missions.)

This particular Falcon 9 first stage has flown once before. On Jan. 14, the booster helped haul 10 communications satellites to low Earth orbit for the company Iridium. That mission, which lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, was SpaceX's first since a Falcon 9 exploded during a routine prelaunch test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, KSC's next-door neighbor, on Sept. 1, 2016.

SpaceX has employed a preflown Falcon 9 first stage once before, using one March 30 during the successful launch of the SES-10 communications satellite. The company has landed boosters 11 times during orbital missions to date.

Such activities  and the reflight of Dragon cargo capsules  are part of SpaceX's effort to develop fully and rapidly reusable spaceflight systems. Such technology could open the heavens to exploration by slashing costs, company founder and CEO Elon Musk has said.

The Dragon that launched from Pad 39A on June 3 arrived at the International Space Station Monday (June 5), delivering about 6,000 lbs. (2,700 kilograms) of scientific experiments, hardware and other supplies to crewmembers aboard the orbiting lab.

The robotic capsule is scheduled to return to Earth for a soft ocean splashdown early next month.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Most certainly William Shakespeares The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy  robust, ribald and rife with double-entendre. And depending upon the directors interpretation, it can become a farce.

Under the direction of Becky Boesen, the Flatwater Shakespeare production of the play is most decidedly farcical  greatly exaggerated with one-dimensional characters.

Taking the step from comedy to farce is a decision that is neither right nor wrong. It might be a decision based on the cast a director has, or it might have been the directors intent before the casting of the play.

Boesens decision to set Merry Wives on the 1867 prairie of Nebraska seemingly was her decision early on in preproduction planning and while it is a satisfactory enough choice, ultimately it yields only superficial trappings.

The nearly three-hour Flatwater effort is generally fast and funny, but sometimes the comedy comes in fits and spurts as the weighty, buffoonish Falstaff (Brad Boesen) attempts to woo a pair of married women to gain access to their husbands' wealth.

With the simplicity of characterization in a farce, plus the rapid and often hasty stage action, the production at times suffers from some disjointedness resulting in lack of continuity for the audience.

That being said, the production offers up some pleasing performances. Brad Boesens bleary-eyed and bombastic Falstaff and Tyler Hales Ford (the husband of one of Falstaffs attempted seductions) are quite effective. Especially notable is the pairs interplay as Ford in disguise attempts to maneuver Falstaff into a compromising situation.

Strong support comes from Rich Sibley as the intense Justice Swallow and Juanita Pat Rice as the capering and entrepreneurial Mistress Quickly.

Nicely satisfying efforts are produced by several minor players, with Ian McKercher (Simple), Sasha Dobson (Sir Hugh Evans), Katie Hoppe (John Rugby) and Scott Shomaker (Fenton) delivering performances that are capsulized and concise.

Flatwaters Merry Wives is not perfect. At times it can be rather featureless. But there also are the times that it can be quite amusing. And the cast does work hard.
SpaceX's Dragon cargo craft is pictured in the grips of the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm on June 5, 2017. A Chinese DNA experiment rode to the station aboard the Dragon.

A Chinese experiment is now on the International Space Station (ISS), having reached the orbiting lab Monday (June 5) aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft.

NanoRacks, a Houston-based company that helps other companies and institutions make use of the ISS, worked with the Beijing Institute of Technology to fly Chinese DNA research to the orbiting outpost.

No commercial Chinese payload had ever flown to the orbiting lab before.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported Sunday (June 4) that the 8-lb. (3.5 kilograms) experiment is designed to answer questions such as: Do "space radiation and microgravity cause mutations among antibody-encoding genes, and how does it happen?"

The experiment will be installed on the U.S. side of the ISS. Xinhua noted that astronauts there will conduct studies using the device in about two weeks, and data from their studies will be sent back to the Chinese researchers on Earth.

Wolf trap

"There is a U.S. law in place, known as the Wolf amendment, that bans cooperation between the U.S. space agency NASA and Chinese government entities, but this [DNA experiment] deal is purely commercial and therefore considered legal," Xinhua said.

Deng Yulin, who is leading the Chinese research, said that this is the first time an ISS experiment has been independently designed and fabricated in China.

"This cooperation does not violate any laws and regulations, including the Wolf amendment. We do it in an open and visible way," Deng told Xinhua. "This is a new model of cooperation that we can follow in the future."

Spirit of the concerns

"We were careful to honor not only the Wolf Amendment, but [also] the spirit of the concerns of some towards working with the Chinese," NanoRacks CEO Jeff Manber told Inside Outer Space. "But via the commercial pathway, we are able to craft a world-class research project that demonstrates the leadership of NASA and the space station in low-Earth orbit."

Manber said he was pleased to have this first commercial project from China underway and that he "looks forward to carefully building a program that enhances the commercial competitiveness of American companies in space. I also look forward to one day soon working on board the Chinese space station," he added.

Leonard David is author of "Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet," published by National Geographic. The book is a companion to the National Geographic Channel series "Mars." A longtime writer for Space.com, David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. This version of this story was posted on Space.com.
Artist's illustration of a fusion-driven rocket powering a spacecraft to Mars. The company Princeton Satellite Systems is working to develop small fusion drives that could make such missions a reality.

Fusion-powered rockets that are only the size of a few refrigerators could one day help propel spacecraft at high speeds to nearby planets or even other stars, a NASA-funded spaceflight company says.

Another use for such fusion rockets is to deflect asteroids that might strike Earth and to build manned bases on the moon and Mars, the researchers say.

Rockets fly by hurling materials known as propellants away from them. Conventional rockets that rely on chemical reactions are not very efficient when it comes to how much thrust they generate, given the amount of propellant they carry, which has led rocket scientists to explore a variety of alternatives over the years. [Superfast Spacecraft Propulsion Concepts (Images)]

An option now used in spacecraft is the ion drive, which generates thrust by using electricity to accelerate electrically charged ion propellants. Ion drives are far more efficient than chemical rockets, but are limited by the amount of electricity they can harvest via solar panels or generate using radioactive materials.

Instead of chemical rockets or ion drives, scientists have also suggested using fusion rockets propelled by the same nuclear reactions that power stars. These rockets would not only be efficient, but also generate vast amounts of electricity.

However, so far, no one has built a fusion reactor that generates more energy than it consumes. Moreover, the fusion reactors that are under development are huge, making them difficult to hoist into space.

But now, researchers funded by NASA are developing small fusion rockets.

"It's technology that enables really interesting robotic and human missions to Mars and Pluto, and it is also potentially a way of getting into interstellar space," said Michael Paluszek, president of Princeton Satellite Systems in Plainsboro, New Jersey.

The large fusion reactors under development today, such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), usually strive to generate hundreds of megawatts of power. In contrast, Paluszek and his colleagues at Princeton Satellite Systems are designing reactors meant to produce only a dozen megawatts or so. This humbler goal results in a smaller, lighter reactor that is easier to build and launch into space "for practical robotic and human missions," Paluszek said.

In addition, these small fusion reactors are much cheaper than larger devices. Paluszek noted that, whereas modern fusion experiments might cost $20 billion, a prototype fusion rocket the researchers plan to develop should cost just $20 million. So far, they have received three NASA grants to fund the project, he said.

The aim for the fusion drives is to get about 1 kilowatt of power per 2.2 lbs. (1 kilogram) of mass. A 10-megawatt fusion rocket would therefore weigh about 11 tons (10 metric tons).

"It would probably be 1.5 meters [4.9 feet] in diameter and 4 to 8 meters [13 to 26 feet] long," Paluszek said.

Nuclear fusion requires extremely high temperatures and pressures to force atoms to fuse, a process that converts some of the mass of the atoms into energy. The fusion reactors that Princeton Satellite Systems is developing uses low-frequency radio waves to heat a mix of deuterium and helium-3, and magnetic fields to confine the resulting plasma in a ring. (Deuterium is made of hydrogen atoms that each have an extra neutron; helium-3 is made of helium atoms, each of which is missing a neutron; and plasma is the state of matter found in stars, lightning bolts and neon lights.)

As this plasma rotates in a ring, some of it can spiral out and get directed from the fusion rocket's nozzle for thrust. "We can get very high exhaust velocities of up to about 25,000 kilometers per second [55.9 million mph]," Paluszek said.

The large amounts of thrust this fusion rocket may deliver compared to its mass could enable very fast spacecraft. For instance, whereas round-trip crewed missions to Mars are estimated to take more than two years using current technology, the researchers estimated that six 5-megawatt fusion rockets could accomplish such missions in 310 days. This extra speed would reduce the risks of radiation that astronauts might experience from the sun or deep space, as well as dramatically cut the amount of food, water and other supplies they would need to bring with them.

In addition, the fusion reactors could also help generate ample electricity for scientific instruments and communications devices. For instance, whereas NASA's New Horizons mission took more than nine years to get to Pluto and had little more than 200 watts of power to work with once it arrived, broadcasting about 1,000 bits of data back per second, a 1-megawatt fusion rocket could get a robotic mission to Pluto in four years, supply 500 kilowatts of power and broadcast more than 1 million bits of data back per second, Paluszek said. Such a mission could also carry a lander to Pluto and power it by beaming down energy, he added.

"With the amount of power fusion rockets can provide, you can think of science that can't be done now with other technologies, such as powering a lander to drill through the ice on Jupiter's moon Europa," Paluszek said.

A 10-megawatt fusion rocket could also deflect an asteroid about 525 feet (160 m) in diameter coming at Earth, spending about 200 days to travel there and 23 days nudging it off course, Paluszek said. Fusion rockets could even enable an interstellar voyage to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, although the trip might take 500 to 700 years, he said. (Alpha Centauri lies about 4.3 light-years from the sun.) [Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel]

Previous research suggested this kind of fusion rocket in the 1960s, but the designs proposed for them would not stably confine the plasmas, Paluszek said. About 10 years ago, reactor designer Sam Cohen figured out a magnetic-field design "that could make stable plasmas," Paluszek explained.

One drawback of the kind of nuclear reactor that Princeton Satellite Systems is developing is that radio waves do not penetrate deeply into plasma. "We're limited to something like 1 meter [3.3 feet] in diameter," Paluszek said. To generate large amounts of power with this strategy, the researchers have to rely on multiple reactors.

Another pitfall is that, while this fusion reactor generates less deadly neutron radiation than most fusion reactors under development, it still does produce some neutrons, as well as X-rays. "Radiation shielding is key," Paluszek said.

In addition, helium-3 is rare on Earth. Still, it is possible to generate helium-3 using nuclear reactors, Paluszek said.

Princeton Satellite Systems is not alone in pursuing small fusion reactors. For instance, Paluszek noted that Helion Energy in Redmond, Washington, also intends to fuse deuterium and helium-3, while Tri Alpha Energy in Foothill Ranch, California, aims to fuse boron and protons.

"Fusion can enable new and exciting science missions that are too expensive and difficult to do with today's technology," Paluszek said.

The researchers have not yet demonstrated fusion with their device, but aim to do so by 2019 to 2020. Paluszek detailed his company's research June 3 at The Dawn of Private Space Science Symposium in New York.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article stated that each fusion reactor could be up to 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter, and that a 1-megawatt reactor could supply 2 milllion watts of electric power. The actual maximum diameter is about 1 meter (3.3 feet), and a 1-MW reactor could provide 500 kilowatts.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article Space.com.
An artist's concept of NASA's planned "deep-space gateway" in orbit around the moon. This astronaut-tended outpost could help get material from Mars and other celestial bodies back to Earth, agency officials say.

The outpost that NASA plans to build in lunar orbit could serve as a stopover point for extraterrestrial samples headed to Earth for analysis, agency officials said.

This crew-tended "deep-space gateway," which NASA aims to have up and running in the 2020s, will enable a variety of missions in Earth-moon space and serve as a stepping-stone to Mars. But it also may help get dirt and rocks collected on the Red Planet and other celestial bodies down to Earth, acting NASA chief Robert Lightfoot told Congress Thursday (June 8).

"That's what we think," Lightfoot said during a hearing with the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee of the House of Representatives' Committee on Appropriations. [Red Planet or Bust: 5 Crewed Mars Mission Ideas]

"You basically have a system that gets you from [the] moon to Earth, and then you have one that can go anywhere, and it becomes the hub that you go back to," Lightfoot added.

Sample-return projects offer a chance to study extraterrestrial material in greater detail than "standard" planetary missions allow. Robotic rovers and landers can accommodate only a small number of onboard instruments, and they must be controlled from afar, meaning there's a time lag.

NASA astronauts famously brought back hundreds of pounds of moon rocks and soil during the Apollo era, and study of this material in labs around the world continues to this day.

The agency is working to snag extraterrestrial samples from other bodies as well. Last September, for example, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission (short for "Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer") launched toward the potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu.

If all goes according to plan, the probe will reach the 1,640-foot-wide (500 meters) Bennu in 2018 and will return a sample of the space rock to Earth in 2023. This material will travel straight home in a specially designed capsule, landing with the aid of parachutes in the Utah desert.

And NASA's 2020 Mars rover  which will launch in 2020, as its name suggests  will cache Red Planet samples for future delivery to Earth. (The six-wheeled robot will also hunt for signs of Mars life, test gear that can generate oxygen from atmospheric carbon dioxide and perform a number of other duties.)

Currently, there is no concrete plan for getting this material home, so a layover at the deep-space gateway could be a possibility for Mars 2020 samples.

The gateway will be much smaller than the $100 billion International Space Station; the maneuverable outpost's core will consist of a crew habitat, a propulsion module and an airlock, Lightfoot said. The deep-space gateway will be occupied intermittently, rather than continuously as the space station is, he added.

"Imagine it just as a node that's out there around the moon. You can go there; you can dock; you can do tele-robotic operations at the moon," Lightfoot said during Thursday's hearing.

The gateway can also connect with "the vehicle you're going to go to Mars in, and you can use that as the node where you leave from there to go out," he added.

NASA aims to send astronauts to Mars sometime in the 2030s. To make that happen, the agency is developing a capsule called Orion and a huge rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS).

Orion has flown once, on an uncrewed trip to Earth orbit in December 2014. SLS is currently scheduled to launch for the first time in 2019, on a flight called Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) that will send an uncrewed Orion on a three-week journey around the moon.

The first crewed SLS-Orion flight, Exploration Mission 2 (EM-2), is slated for no later than 2023. If all goes according to plan, EM-2 will loft the first piece of the deep-space gateway, Lightfoot said.

"When we take the first crew, we'd like to take the power propulsion module in the trunk when we go," he said.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
A grinning Jeremy Corbyn made his way out to greet voters as the race for Number 10 grew ever-closer tonight.

The Labour leader refused to be drawn on the outcome of the election as he arrived for the declaration in Islington North.

Mr Corbyn was mobbed by the media on his way into the Sobell Leisure Centre, where he was eventually greeted by Islington South and Finsbury candidate, and shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry.

His party ousted Tory minister Jane Ellison in a shock result in Battersea, making her the first Tory minister to lost her seat on a night that looks set to be full of surprises.

Election night: Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn with fans at a count / Reuters

Labour sources told the Standard that cheers erupted from Labour leader's Jeremy Corbyn's office in north London when the exit poll was announced shortly after 10pm.

Election night: Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip arrive at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead / PA

Meanwhile Theresa May arrived smiling at her count in Maidenhead as senior Tories insisted that polls have been "wrong in the past" and that it was still early in the night.

Votes are counted for Hampstead and Kilburn and Holborn and St Pancras / Nigel Howard

The poll predicted the Tories will win 314 seats which would not be enough to form a majority government and is a far cry from Mrs Mays hoped-for landslide.

Battersea Election Reactions

Following the announcement, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said Mrs May should "consider her position" as she will have "manifestly failed" if the exit poll turns out to be correct.

Election: Counting underway at Methodist Central Hall / Pete Maclaine

And Evening Standard editor, George Osborne, described the night as potentially "catastrophic" for Mrs May.

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Mr Osborne said, if right, the figures would put Mrs May's future as Conservative leader in doubt, saying on ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

Mrs Thornberry told Sky News that it was still early in the evening but said: [The exit polls] have been right for the last 20 years or so, 30 years, so I think we're on the verge of a great result.

"Just think only seven weeks ago the hubris of the Prime Minister who was 20 points ahead, who wanted to have a blank cheque, she wanted to do whatever she wanted with the country with Brexit, with the economy, with our National Health Service and we said no and we meant it.

"And we put forward a popular manifesto with a leader of the party who has withstood the most extraordinary personal attacks, and has actually shown if anybody was strong and stable it was him.

Emily Thornberry: The shadow foreign secretary said Mrs May should 'reconsider her position' / Bloomberg via Getty Images

"And this is a great result, if it's true."

Speaking on what Labour would do, she added: "We will see what happens next but if the Labour Party is called on to provide the next government, we will do so and do it in a unified way under a popular manifesto... with a leader who is strong."

The count at Croydon Central / Chris Gorman

Former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said of the exit poll: "I'm not a number cruncher but I have seen a real uptick, possibly a surge in the Labour vote.

Count rivals: The poll was released after voting ended / Getty Images

"The Conservatives were treating it [this election] like something close to a coronation but it's now going to be a much more closely fought contest."

He added: "Tim Farron has been very clear [there will be no coalition]. The approach of hard brexit taken by Theresa May means there is no meeting point between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats."

"There is absolutely no way the Lib Dems will dignify that headlong rush."

Meanwhile speaking at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Holloway, Council leader Richard Watts spoke of a "huge cheer" from Corbyn's office following the results.

It felt like the best mood on the ground in an election Ive ever experienced," he said. The support that Jeremys had on the doorstep and the activism levels have been enormous."

Other Conservative and Labour figures reacted cautiously the poll, with Tory Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon saying: "This is a projection, it's not a result. These exit polls have been wrong in the past."

Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell also warned against reading too much into the prediction, saying: "We have to have some scepticism about all polls at the moment."

General Election Exit Poll reaction

And Sir Craig Oliver, former director of communications at Downing Street for David Cameron, told Sky News: "If this is true, if this is accurate in CCHQ there will be deep and lasting shock.

"It was the biggest gamble a politician has taken for a long time and if that exit poll is right, it's failed."

The poll, which surveyed thousands of people at polling stations across the UK, suggest the Conservative party will win 314 seats in Parliament.

What is a hung parliament?

This is short of the 326 needed for a Commons majority and suggests Mrs May will need to enter into a coalition in order to lead.

The results indicate Labour will win 266 seats.

Liberal Democrats are predicted to win 14 seats. The SNP are set to see a huge drop in the number of seats they hold, falling from 54 to 34.

Ukip are not predicted to win any seats.

Poll: Mrs May is facing criticism over her future as leader / PA

In 2015 the exit poll correctly predicted the majority win for David Camerons Conservative party and the poll is usually a correct measure of the final result in an election.

The only example of genuine exit polls being wrong came in 1992, when all three broadcasters put the Conservatives and Labour on about 300 seats each, well short of an overall majority.

If the predictions are correct, a hung parliament could cast serious doubt over Brexit negotiations, due to being in earnest in just 10 days.

General Election Polling Day 2017 - In pictures 1 /37 General Election Polling Day 2017 - In pictures Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip leave after casting their votes in the General Election at a polling station in the village of Sonning, Berkshire Jonathan Brady/PA Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn gestures as he arrives to vote in the general election at a polling station in London Frank Augstein/AP Diane Abbott casts her vote Alex Huckle/SilverHub/Rex Policer officers arrive to enter a polling station in London ahead of the arrival of Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn who will vote in the general election Frank Augstein/AP Lolly the dog at Sonning today Jeremy Selwyn First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives to cast her vote in the General Election at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall in Glasgow Andrew Milligan/PA The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Paul Nuttall leaves after voting at a polling station in Congleton, Britain Paul Childs/Reuters Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron arrives to cast his vote in the General Election at a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria Danny Lawson/PA A polling station is seen in London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Nuns from Tyburn Convent leave a polling station at St John's Parish Hall, central London Isabel Infantes/PA Theresa May voting today in Sonning today Jeremy Selwyn Police and a man dressed as Elmo outside a polling station in the village of Sonning, Berkshire, where Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip are expected to cast their votes later. Stefan Rousseau/PA Sophie Allison on Splash leaves the stables at the private residence Three Oaks in Bramshill, Hampshire, which is being used a polling station Andrew Matthews/PA A caravan which is being used as a polling station on Grange Farm in Garthorpe, Leicestershire Joe Giddens/PA Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson poses with her partner Jen Wilson and their dog Mister Wilson, at a cafe set up as a Polling Station, in Edinburg Lesley Martin/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale outside the polling station at Wilson Memorial Church in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Police on patrol whilst a voter leaves a polling station in Sonning, Britain Toby Melville/Reuters Alliance candidate for West Belfast Sorcha Eastwood casts her vote in her wedding dress after marrying Dale Shirlow earlier in the day PA Workers prepare signs outside their polling station on general election day in London Neil Hall/Reuters A presiding officer and poll clerk wait for early morning voters at a Polling Station set up in a launderette and nail bar in Headington outside Oxford Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images A voter arrives at a polling station in London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Sinn Fein leader in Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill arrives at a polling station at St Patrick's primary school in Annaghmore, Clonoe to cast her vote in the General Election Liam McBurney/PA Tory candidate for Croydon Central Gavin Barwell in Addington Village Alex Lentati First Minister Nicola Sturgeon casts her vote in the General Election at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall in Glasgow Andrew Milligan/PA A general view of a polling station at the White Horse Inn in Priors Dean, Hampshire, also known as the 'Pub with no name' Andrew Matthews/PA Chelsea pensioners leave a polling station after voting Markus Schreiber/AP Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip, arrive at a Polling Station to cast their ballot paper and vote in Sonning, west of London Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Diane Abbott casts her vote Alex Huckle/SilverHub/Rex

Possible negotiations over the formation of a new government could set back formal talks, squeezing the limited time available to forge a complex withdrawal agreement and a separate deal on future trade arrangements.

Theresa May repeatedly urged voters to hand her a large majority so that she could go into talks in Brussels with the firm backing of the country and the House of Commons behind her.

She warned that if she lost just six seats, she would no longer be Prime Minister, and an unprepared Jeremy Corbyn would go "naked and alone" to the negotiating table.
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Attorney General Doug Peterson has hired a state forensic nursing coordinator, as directed by state law.

Registered nurse Anne Boatright, who is a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, will serve within the criminal bureau of the attorney general's office, Peterson announced Friday in a news release.

The Legislature created a new state program last year, which goes into effect July 1, to improve sexual assault examinations and payment for the costs incurred by health care providers for such examinations.

The bill (LB1097), introduced by Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld, ensures that victims of sexual assault and local law enforcement agencies do not have to pay for costs associated with rape exams. It will also ensure the exams are done uniformly, in accordance with established best practices throughout Nebraska. Reimbursement for exams will be done through the Nebraska Crime Commission using federal funds.

The administration of the program is funded through the state.

Other states have nurse examiner administrators in the offices of their attorneys general and are an integral part of the offices ability to investigate, prosecute and assist victims of sexual assault, assault, trafficking and other serious crimes, Peterson said. Boatright will also be a leader in statewide process improvement for rape exams, evidence collection and prosecution.

She has treated sexual assault victims, trained other forensic nurses, and developed Omaha Methodist Hospital's Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner treatment program. She has also served as an expert witness in criminal cases, assisted in Nebraska Human Trafficking Task Force training across the state, and led a team on the updating of the sexual assault evidence kits that will be used in the new state program.

"She brings valuable experience, which will provide critical statewide training, Peterson said.
When the Cold War ended in 1991 and Russian archives were opened for a while a lot of mysteries were revealed. Some revelations still cause problems, not because so many myths were disproved but because about the same time the Internet came along and made it much more difficult keep secrets or create false realities and maintain them in the future. Thus Russia and China, as well as traditionally the more open societies in the West, could not revive the useful (for all governments) secrecy and control of information that reached a peak in the 20th century. It was the reach and control of pre-Internet mass media that made so many corrupt and murderous dictatorships possible. A few are still trying to hang on, but that proves difficult in an age of instant worldwide communications that cannot to controlled.by a few.

The opening of the Soviet archives documented how crucial it was for a tyrant to declare any military information a state secret and enforce those rules. This was especially true when it came to revealing how ineffective their armed forces actually were, past and present and future. Thus until the Cold War ended the true extent of the World War II casualties Russia suffered (nearly 30 million dead) was considered a state secret and the number admitted to was less than half the real one. The extent to which corruption and government incompetence played a major role in causing Russian economic failure and military defeats also became known in excruciating detail. For example the archives revealed that the Russians, not the Chinese, ordered and enabled North Korea to invade the south in 1950. Chinese sources confirmed this once the Internet and mass access reached China. It made it clear the Chinese had always resented being dragged into a costly Russian war. This version of the Korean War undermines the authority of the current Kim dynasty that has ruled the north since 1945 and desperately clings to power in an age where tyrants cant hide their misdeeds. The Kims tried to keep cell phones and Internet out and were relatively successful. But like a small breach in a massive dam the details of their misdeeds got in and caused the police state to crumble from top to bottom. For example by 2016 more and more North Korean university students were bribing their way out of mandatory participation in major patriotic holiday celebrations. This came as a shock to the government because eventually these university students would run the police state but if they dont believe in the Kim version of history will the Kims still be in charge? China doubts it and most Chinese have already made clear to their own communist (but no longer socialist) rulers that this applies to everyone. The current Chinese rulers are trying to deal with reality while the Kims are trying to ignore it. And anyone with access to the Internet (which have the world population now has) can follow the drama in real time.

Other revelations from the Moscow archives revealed that the Soviets had already created schemes that were indeed stranger than fiction. These included a plan to move saboteurs from Nicaragua across the Mexican border and into the U.S. disguised as illegal aliens. Radar stations, pipelines and power towers were all targeted in great detail as were port facilities in places like New York City. Other archive documents, available to researchers for a few years in the early 1990s (when a fistful of hundred dollar bills could work wonders) delivered all manner of disturbing and now well documented proofs. The Rosenbergs were indeed Russian spies, Alger Hiss was mixed up in Russian espionage efforts and the American Communist Party was in the pay of the Soviet Union and served as a tool for espionage, subversion and propaganda. Many left wing writers and politicians were either on the Soviet payroll, or eager to assist Soviet espionage activities.

With all this information it became possible to more accurately assess the nature, extent and effectiveness of communist era espionage. The Soviets didn't really invent anything new but they energetically improved upon ancient techniques and thus made the 20th century a golden age for spying. Basically, the Russians realized that successful spying was all about developing a lot of personal relationships, and then exploiting as many as possible. Early on, in the 1920s and 30s, the Soviets had a lot of capable and eager agents. And there were many communist sympathizers worldwide. Thousands of these pro-Communists were turned into valuable Soviet agents. Those that got caught were declared "martyrs" or, if possible, persecuted patriots of their home countries. Nothing was wasted.

Also revealed was proof that Stalin's purges in the late 1930s brought this golden age to an end. Most of the excellent Soviet agents were executed. Many of the foreign spies began to have second thoughts about working for the Soviet Union. But then World War II came along and made recruiting spies easier for a time. This continued for a while after World War II. But without the large number of skilled and loyal true believers some new enticements were used. The most frequently used ploy was to threaten the safety of relatives behind the Iron Curtain. Western counterintelligence soon caught on to this, and having relatives back in the old country kept a lot of people from getting security clearances or sensitive jobs.

But the Soviets had many more techniques they could use. Sex and blackmail (often used together) were very successful. Attractive men and women were recruited, trained and sent forth to be romantic for the revolution. This worked particularly well in West Germany, where East German spy studs recruited a number of key female staff in NATO and West German organizations. By the 1970s, the Soviets were frequently using the most basic of all enticements; money. This worked quite well, and until the end of the Cold War Western nations refused to realize how successful this approach could be. We also underestimated how many secrets could be uncovered by simply collecting all the information freely available in a democracy. In the last two decades of the Soviet Union its spies were increasingly successful in obtaining valuable information this way, but telling their bosses it was really from well-placed spies. The spymasters in Moscow never caught on to this little deception or didn't care as long as the good stuff kept coming back to Moscow.

Other nations have since developed new angles that are, in some ways, superior to the Soviet innovations and refinements. China, for example, has had large overseas populations for centuries. These "overseas Chinese" usually did not assimilate completely and retained considerable loyalty, and family connections, with the homeland. For many decades after World War II, most overseas Chinese were either anti-communist or reluctant to get involved with Chinese politics. But once China began economic reforms in the 1970s this changed. It was OK to visit China, and to receive Chinese officials in America. This was China's espionage opportunity.

While the Russians had few agents who could pass for Americans, and operate freely in the U.S., China's spies could get away with just being Chinese. They used the soft sell, realizing that by collecting small bits of information from many people, most of whom did not even consider themselves spies, they would be very difficult to stop. From time to time, the Chinese received large, and obviously illegal, amounts of information. But the most important aspect of this technique is that it is difficult to stop, and you don't even have many indictable spies to catch. Picking up small pieces of information from many sources is an ancient technique. The Chinese also make good use of the old Soviet "open source" opportunities. But combining this with the many minor bits of data gleaned from unsuspecting overseas Chinese scientists and engineers provided a constant supply of useful foreign secrets.

China and Russia were also quick to take advantage of espionage via the Internet. The West had more to steal and was more vulnerable, especially military and government organizations that could not afford to recruit the best Internet security talent to protect their networks. Corporations were another matter although it may be years before we discover just how vulnerable the defense firms actually were. In any event the Russians soon learned that having the tech was not as important as being able to build it, which they still could not do. Moreover the Russian economy never reformed like the Chinese did. When Russia got involved in places like Ukraine and Syria and used the best tech they had they discovered that not only was their new stuff exposed to Western scrutiny but that smaller, but Internet savvy nations like Ukraine and the Baltic States were able to scrutinize and weaken the Russian electronic weapons using a combination of some unclassified Western tech and their own local Internet talent. Syria was particularly embarrassing because the Russians found themselves watched carefully by an adversary, Israel, they had long known to be formidable. Allies like Iran, Syria and Turkey proved to be more liability than asset.

China found it could build a lot of the new military tech, because of several decades of economic (market economy) reform. But China was still hobbled by its lack of a Western style professional military and long traditions of military corruption.

The revelations of the Russian archives proved disturbing, and disruptive, in China as well. The Internet made it impossible to simply suppress all this. To their credit the Chinese leaders tried to use this to their advantage. For example in 2015 the Chinese government allowed some retired generals to publish articles pointing out that most of Chinas past military defeats had been because of corrupt officers. All this has been recognized since the 1990s, but the problem persists and the Chinese rulers were admitting the obvious; that this ancient practice was still thriving in 21st century China. New laws had been passed to deal with it and some were energetically enforced, for a while at least, but the rot survived.

The biggest problem for many senior officials was not the corruption but the inability to keep it quiet. Thanks to the spread of cell phone and Internet use since the 1990s there were ample opportunities for Chinese, in or out of the military, to get more incidences of corruption recorded and exposed. Eventually most senior government officials realized that all their ambitious plans for regaining lost (over the last two centuries) territory meant little if the military was crippled by corruption. Now many more Chinese and foreigners were reconsidering actual Chinese military capabilities. This made it clear that the critics (Chinese and foreign) and historians (the Chinese believe in the lessons of history) were right and that the traditional corruption in the Chinese military was very much alive, very difficult to control and not likely to be eliminated without extraordinary efforts. The Soviets also recognized these historical facts and the role it was playing in weakening the communist hold on power. The archives showed how despite that awareness the Soviet empire died for lack of a solution to known problems.

Recent Chinese investigations, including many speak freely without fear of prosecution interviews with old soldiers discovered that the Chinese corruption didnt even disappear, as many were led to believe, in the early years (late 1940s to 1960s) of communist rule in China. This was particularly demoralizing, as it was thought that there was some kind of Mao Magic in the 1950s when the leading founder of communist China, Mao seemed capable of doing anything. That included, it was later revealed, crippling the Chinese economy in a major way and causing a massive famine that killed over ten million Chinese. For the current corruption problem passing laws doesnt seem to help much. For example in 2010 China enacted new laws that put additional pressure on the military to maintain quality standards in the construction and use of military equipment. At the time many were alarmed at why something like this was thought necessary. It's all because many Chinese assumed that if you got a government job, you had a license to steal. In the military, this meant weapons were built in substandard ways and equipment was not properly maintained. Military corruption is an ancient Chinese custom and accounts for most of the poor military performance in the past.

A more recent problem involves building a seagoing fleet, something China had never bothered with in the past. The details of how difficult this is are eagerly sought by many Chinese, captured with cell phone video and illegal Internet postings. The government still punishes some of these illegal journalists but has learned to make the most of it by using these truths to encourage Chinese who agree that a new Chinese empire is a good thing (and many Chinese do) to play their part and keep the heat on the corrupt naval commanders. This sort of peacetime reality check for officers is something new but it is making it possible for the Chinese to actually make some progress in training competent crews and maintaining warships far from China, something never done before. This sort of thing is essential if their new aircraft carrier force is to succeed and the government has to admit the obvious; that it will take decades to match Western levels of expertise.

Back in a non-communist Russia the new government tried various forms of democracy and by 1999 the country run by former KGB (secret police) officers who now admitted some of the past mistakes but have been unable to create anything that solves a lot of the old problems. The current Russian participation in the Syrian war and efforts to regain parts of the lost empire in the Caucasus and Ukraine are carried out by people who know of past errors but feel helpless to avoid repeating them. For example, by now many Russians know about how Russia got into a messy war in Afghanistan during the 1980s. At the time Russian military staffs proved they were quite good at calculating the correlation of forces for an operation and predicting the probability of success and that math did not look good when it comes to invading Ukraine. The Russians Stavka (general staff) famously warned against going into Afghanistan in 1979 on the grounds that the lack of roads and railroads there prevented Russia from putting enough troops (the correlation of forces) into Afghanistan to quickly crush opposition. Russian political leaders ignored this and less than a decade later withdrew from Afghanistan because the general staff had been right.

But there is one aspect of the new Cold War that is very deja vu. That is the way American military commanders are responding to all the military theatrics by solemnly declaring that the enemy (Chinese, Russian, North Korean, Iranian) military threat may be more than the United States can handle. This sort of thing is reminiscent of the Cold War exaggerations of Soviet (Russian) military power. Even during the Cold War, many civilian analysts pointed out the tendency to overestimate the effectiveness of Soviet weapons, equipment, leadership and training. This distortion became pretty obvious after the Cold War, when much was revealed.

The puffery is back now with regard to China and Russia. It's no secret that China and Russia have long found it impossible to create effective military forces in peacetime. Not to underestimate them, but both nations have a long history of spectacular failure in this area. The Soviets proved that the historical lessons still apply and the Chinese make some serious efforts to deal with it openly.

But there were still a lot of military secrets and untried weapons (and troops) that make it an easy matter to report the other side's weapons as being, if only potentially, more lethal than they actually are. This culture of exaggeration, even during the Cold War, was often just called "professional courtesy." The Russian intelligence agencies also exaggerated the capabilities of American weapons. Thus the generals on both sides of the Iron Curtain had a better chance of getting more money out of their respective governments. Now its become clear that post-Cold War Russian and Chinese military capabilities are not as fearsome as Cold War era puffery would have it.

Despite that we have the Cold War attitudes returning and with that the return of professional courtesy when it comes to evaluating the state of the Chinese and Russian armed forces. North Korea and Iran suffer from the same form of self-deception. The goal of this self-serving spin (to get a larger defense budget and less criticism over corruption) appears to be the same as it always was and resistant to change.
France reported that its counter-terror operations in northern Mali had killed or captured over twenty Islamic terrorists in the last ten days. Much of the activity was near the Burkina Faso border and also involved troops from Mali and Burkina Faso. The main goal was collecting information on Islamic terrorist strength and operations in the region.

Encouraged by the EU (European Union) commitment the UN recently agreed to extend the peacekeeping mandate for Mali. This provides cash and authority to pay for African peacekeepers and monitors. One big problem the UN still has is getting the northern rebels and Mali government to fully comply with the terms of the peace treaty they agreed on in 2015. Earlier in the year the EU agreed to continue peacekeeping operations in Mali for another two years (until 2019). That commitment means finding enough EU member nations to volunteer troops and aircraft for service in Mali. That is proving difficult in part because of the harsh operating conditions and generally dangerous area to operate in.

Its no secret that casualty rate among peacekeepers in Mali has been very high. UN peacekeepers in Mali suffered 26 dead during 2016, the highest number of any UN peacekeeping operation and 90 percent of the UN peacekeeper deaths in 2016, even though the Mali force comprises less than 15 percent of all UN peacekeepers. The Mali peacekeepers have been in this situation for three years in a row. Over a hundred peacekeepers (mostly UN, but some French) have died in Mali since they arrived in 2013. This is the highest casualty rate of all current UN peacekeeping operations. The peacekeeper death rate seems to be falling in Mali this year but it is still a violent place with about 200 Islamic terror related deaths so far this year, over 70 percent of them civilians.

Ancient Animosities Resist Solutions

Since 2012 a consistently effective French-led counter-terror efforts in Mali and adjacent areas (Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso) kept Islamic terrorists weak and disorganized but has not eliminated this threat. Thats largely the fault of local governments. This is especially the case in Mali where local officials have been particularly inept in dealing with Islamic terrorist groups and became dependent on foreign help. This is largely because Mali has worse corruption and ethnic disputes than the neighbors. For example the dry (desert and semi-desert) north contains more than half of the territory but only about 12 percent of Mali's 15 million people. In the southern third of Mali, where 88 percent of Malians live the population is quite different from the northerners.

While most Malians are Moslem there are some sharp ethnic and tribal differences. The Tuareg are the majority in the north and are North African while over 80 percent of Malians are various black African tribes. Most Malians live south of the Niger River (the Nile of West Africa) in areas that are more prosperous because they have more water. The hostility between the army (almost entirely composed of black Africans from the south) and the Tuareg (a lighter skinned group related to Arabs and ancient Egyptians) goes back a long time. Before 2012 the rebellious Tuareg around Timbuktu tried something different and adopted Islamic terrorism as a promising tool to help their fight for autonomy or a separate Tuareg state. Tuareg rebellions failed in the past because the Tuareg have been unable to unite. Islamic radicalism has not solved that problem either. Islamic radicalism didnt work but it did encourage more violence than usual.

The problems of Mali are not unknown to the outside world. Until the French arrived in the 19th century and over the next 68 years created (for administrative purposes) a united "Mali", the black Africans in the south (along the Niger River) prospered and generally ignored the Tuareg in the desert north. But after the French left in 1960, and Mali became independent, the more populous south was forced to deal with the Tuareg dominated north they now owned and were not willing to give up. This has not worked out well for either side and generated persistent unrest and now Islamic terrorism.

Even among the black majority there are some fatal divisions. In central Mali (near the junction of the Niger and Bani rivers) violence between Peul (Fulani) and Bambara tribesmen has gotten worse in 2017. This tribal feuding has been going on for years but got worse since 2015 when the Peul became widely known as a source of recruits for Islamic terrorist groups and for generally supporting al Qaeda. The more numerous Bambara (who tend to be pro-government) live north of the Niger and are about a third of the Mali population. The Fulani (who tend to be more rebellious) are largely from south of the Niger.

June 5, 2017: The EU (European Union) approved $56 million to establish support operations for the G5 counter-terrorism force of troops from members. The G5 alliance of Mali, Chad, Niger, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso was formed at the end of 2015 but was slow to get organized and equipped for their task. The G5 forces will be small (500-2,000 personnel) and consist largely of special operations troops. Many of these troops have already worked with their French counterparts or been trained by French or American special operations advisors. The EU said earlier in 2017 it would help G5 get prepared to work in cooperation with the similar (but larger and better equipped) French force that has been operating in the Sahel (the semi-desert area south of the desert that stretches across northern Africa) since 2014. Back then the French concluded that the Sahel was still troubled by thousands of Islamic terrorists and that this situation could not be taken care of quickly. In order to maintain pressure on the Islamic terrorists France established a special force of 3,000 troops to fight Islamic terrorists throughout the Sahel (actually just Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso). Since then the French force has grown to some 4,000 troops equipped with hundreds of armored vehicles, 20 transport and attack helicopters, six jet fighters and three large UAVs. There are also two twin engine C-160 air transports available for use within the Sahel. Supplies and reinforcements are regularly flown in using long-range transports (like the C-17) belonging to NATO allies (especially the U.S. and Britain). From the beginning the French force included a thousand French troops in Mali and the rest dispersed to other Sahel bases and ready to quickly move anywhere in the region that Islamic terrorist activity had been detected. The G5 nations already cooperated by sharing intelligence and providing quick access to their territory by the French force. In addition the Americans provided satellite and UAV surveillance and other intel services (especially analysis and access to nearly all American data on Islamic terrorist activities in the region).

All this was meant to keep the Islamic terrorists in the Sahel weak and disorganized. So far that has worked, but these groups have been around since 2007, are still in business (as gangsters smuggling drugs and illegal migrants north) and getting support from Islamic terrorists in Europe and the Persian Gulf. Islamic terrorists continue to carry out attacks in Mali (mainly the north) and in the G5 states to let the world know that Islamic terrorists were still present in the area.

June 1, 2017: In the north (near Timbuktu) Islamic terrorists fired mortar shells into a peacekeeper camp wounding three French soldiers. AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) claimed responsibility for that and an ambush yesterday that killed three Mali soldiers.

May 31, 2017: In the northeast, just across the border in Niger Islamic terrorists attacked a police station near the Mali border, killing four soldiers and two policemen. Because of the heavy French presence in Mali a lot of Islamic terrorists have moved to neighboring countries like Niger and Burkina Faso.

May 23, 2017: In the north (near Kidal) two peacekeepers were killed and one wounded during an ambush.

May 16, 2017: In the north (near Kidal) a local group of Islamic terrorists briefly (for a few days) took control of a remote village and before they left executed a local couple who were living together without being married. The two were buried up to their necks and then four men stoned them until they were dead. This sort of thing has not happened since 2012 and was believed to have been done on purpose to gain some media attention before the new French president visited the area.

May 15, 2017: In central Mali (Mopti province) four foreign aid workers were kidnapped by local Islamic terrorists but were released the next day because the four were local men hired to help with the distribution of aid. Tribal leaders pressured the kidnappers, who were also local, to let their neighbors go or be declared unwelcome by many of the locals who now support or tolerate them. The Islamic terrorists in the region have been trying to improve their image. The local Islamic terror groups consolidated earlier this year by forming JNIM (Jamaah Nusrah al Islam wal Muslimin, or Group for the support of Islam and Moslems). In part this is a reaction to the growing threat from ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) which is hostile to everyone who is not ISIL and will attack or recruit from the JNIM members AQIM, Ansar Dine, FLM (Macina Liberation Front), and al Mourabitoun. Another reason for merging is to make it easier to pool resources (including information and advice) and make it easier to coordinate with other Islamic terror groups in the area.
Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility, banking, and renewable/sustainable infrastructure investment businesses in the state of Hawaii. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. Its renewable energy sources and potential sources include wind, solar, photovoltaic, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, municipal waste, and other biofuels. This segment serves suburban communities, resorts, the United States armed forces installations, and agricultural operations. The Bank segment operates a community bank that offers banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses, including savings and checking accounts; and loans comprising residential and commercial real estate, residential mortgage, construction and development, multifamily residential and commercial real estate, consumer, and commercial loans. This segment operates 42 branches, including 29 branches in Oahu, 6 branches in Maui, 4 branches in Hawaii, 2 branches in Kauai, and 1 branch in Molokai. The Other segment invests in non-regulated renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in the State of Hawaii. Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. was incorporated in 1891 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.
AbbVie Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals in the worldwide. The company offers HUMIRA, a therapy administered as an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behcet's diseases; SKYRIZI to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults; RINVOQ, a JAK inhibitor for the treatment of moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis in adult patients; IMBRUVICA to treat adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and VENCLEXTA, a BCL-2 inhibitor used to treat adults with CLL or SLL; and MAVYRET to treat patients with chronic HCV genotype 1-6 infection. It also provides CREON, a pancreatic enzyme therapy for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency; Synthroid used in the treatment of hypothyroidism; Linzess/Constella to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation; Lupron for the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and patients with anemia caused by uterine fibroids; and Botox therapeutic. In addition, the company offers ORILISSA, a nonpeptide small molecule gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist for women with moderate to severe endometriosis pain; Duopa and Duodopa, a levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel to treat Parkinson's disease; Lumigan/Ganfort, a bimatoprost ophthalmic solution for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open angle glaucoma (OAG) or ocular hypertension; Ubrelvy to treat migraine with or without aura in adults; Alphagan/ Combigan, an alpha-adrenergic receptor agonist for the reduction of IOP in patients with OAG; and Restasis, a calcineurin inhibitor immunosuppressant to increase tear production, as well as other eye care products. AbbVie Inc. has a research collaboration with Dragonfly Therapeutics, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois.
The following companies are subsidiares of Rite Aid: 1515 West State Street Boise Idaho LLC, 1740 Associates LLC, 4042 Warrensville Center RoadWarrensville Ohio Inc., 5277 Associates Inc., 5600 Superior Properties Inc., Advance Benefits LLC, Apex Drug Stores Inc., Ascend Health Technology LLC, Bartell Drugs, Broadview and WallingsBroadview Heights Ohio Inc., Design Rx Holdings LLC, Design Rx LLC, Design Rxclusives LLC, Drug Palace Inc., EDC Drug Stores Inc., Eckerd Corporation, Edgehill Drugs, Elixir Holdings LLC, Elixir Insurance Company, Elixir Pharmacy LLC, Elixir Puerto Rico Inc., Elixir Rx Options LLC, Elixir Rx Solutions LLC, Elixir Rx Solutions LLC, Elixir Rx Solutions of Nevada LLC, Elixir Savings LLC, Envision Pharmaceutical, First Florida Insurers of Tampa LLC, GDF Inc., Genovese Drug Stores Inc., Gettysburg and Hoover-Dayton Ohio LLC, Grand River & Fenkell LLC, Harco, Harco Inc., Health Dialog, Health Dialog Services Corporation, Hunter Lane LLC, ILG  90 B Avenue Lake Oswego LLC, JCG Holdings USA Inc., JCG PJC USA LLC, K&B Alabama Corporation, K&B Incorporated, K&B Industries, K&B Louisiana Corporation, K&B Mississippi Corporation, K&B Services Incorporated, K&B Tennessee Corporation, K&B Texas Corporation, LMW  90B Avenue Lake Oswego Inc., Lakehurst and Broadway Corporation, Laker Software LLC, Maxi Drug Inc., Maxi Drug North Inc., Maxi Drug South L.P., Maxi Green Inc., Munson & Andrews LLC, Name Rite LLC, P.J.C. Distribution Inc., P.J.C. Realty Co. Inc., PCS Health Systems, PDS-1 Michigan Inc., PJC Lease Holdings Inc., PJC Manchester Realty LLC, PJC Peterborough Realty LLC, PJC Realty MA Inc., PJC Revere Realty LLC, PJC Special Realty Holdings Inc., PJC of Massachusetts Inc., PJC of Rhode Island Inc., PJC of Vermont Inc., Perry Distributors Inc., Perry Drug Stores Inc., RCMH LLC, RDS Detroit Inc., READs Inc., RediClinic, RediClinic Associates Inc., RediClinic LLC, RediClinic US LLC, RediClinic of DC LLC, RediClinic of DE LLC, RediClinic of Dallas Forth-Worth LLC, RediClinic of MD LLC, RediClinic of PA LLC, RediClinic of VA LLC, Richfield Road  Flint Michigan LLC, Rite Aid Drug Palace Inc., Rite Aid Hdqtrs. Corp., Rite Aid Hdqtrs. Funding Inc., Rite Aid Lease Management Company, Rite Aid Online Store Inc., Rite Aid Payroll Management Inc., Rite Aid Realty Corp., Rite Aid Rome Distribution Center Inc., Rite Aid Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Rite Aid Transport Inc., Rite Aid of Connecticut Inc., Rite Aid of Delaware Inc., Rite Aid of Georgia Inc., Rite Aid of Indiana Inc., Rite Aid of Kentucky Inc., Rite Aid of Maine Inc., Rite Aid of Maryland Inc., Rite Aid of Michigan Inc., Rite Aid of New Hampshire Inc., Rite Aid of New Jersey Inc., Rite Aid of New York Inc., Rite Aid of North Carolina Inc., Rite Aid of Ohio Inc., Rite Aid of Pennsylvania LLC, Rite Aid of South Carolina Inc., Rite Aid of Tennessee Inc., Rite Aid of Vermont Inc., Rite Aid of Virginia Inc., Rite Aid of Washington D.C. Inc., Rite Aid of West Virginia Inc., Rite Investments Corp., Rite Investments Corp. LLC, Rx Choice Inc., Rx Initiatives LLC, Rx USA Inc., The Bartell Drug Company, The Jean Coutu Group PJC USA Inc., The Lane Drug Company, Thrift Drug Inc., Thrifty Corporation, Thrifty PayLess Inc., and Tonic Procurement Solutions LLC.

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This is a current list of the top 250 companies by market capitalization on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Learn more .

Many investors understand the reasons for having a diversified portfolio. One way to accomplish this is to diversify within an asset class. For equity investors in the United States this can mean investing in both growth and value stocks.

It can also mean investing in international stocks. And when investors want to do this, they need look no further than our neighbor to the north. Canada has a range of stocks for investors to consider. This article will focus on strategies that investors can use when looking to invest in Canadian stocks.

Why Buy Canadian Stocks?

There are a few reasons for investors to consider Canadian stocks as part of their diversification strategy:

A Large Natural Resources Sector  The sheer size of the country and its location lets investors know that it is an area rich in natural resources. This also means that the country has a source of current and future wealth.

An Advanced Skills-Based Economy  In this regard, Canada is similar to other western nations. The difference is that it is not as common to find these skill-based professions in a country with so many natural resources.

Stability  Canada is not exempt from any problems that impact the global economy. However, the country is known for stable financial and business policies that have kept the economy relatively stable. This Goldilocks economy has meant that many Canadian stocks havent enjoyed the outsized growth of some U.S. equities. However, it also comes with a bit of protection against downside risk.

How Have Canadian Stocks Performed?

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, there was a time when U.S. stocks and Canadian stocks performed nearly identically. Heres a graph that shows the performance of the S&P 500 Index vs. the TSX Index



Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

You can see that with a couple of exceptions, the two indexes performed remarkably similar. That all changed around 2012 and Canadian stocks became less attractive.

Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence

This disparity is widely due to one sector, technology. However, Canadian technology stocks have been on the rise. And in 2022, the country is benefiting from renewed interest in materials stocks as well as a spike in commodity prices.

What Are the Best Sectors of Canadian Stocks?

For different reasons finance, materials, and energy stocks are among the best performing stocks as of September 2022. Heres a brief overview of each sector and some of the top names for investors to consider.

Financial  Similar to the United States, Canada has a strong banking industry. Many Canadian banks have a track record of solid performance that can provide long-term value to a portfolio. And several of these stocks pay dividends with attractive yields for investors.

This sector makes up the largest percentage of the TSX at roughly 30%. And the Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)is the top-weighted constituent in the TSX. Beyond the Royal Bank of Canada some of the other top-performing Canadian financial stocks include:

Materials and Mining  Canadian stocks can be an ideal choice for investors looking to diversify into gold and precious metals without owning the physical metal. Canada has a large natural resources sector. So, its not surprising that there are a number of gold mining companies with Canadian origins. This sector also gives investors exposure to other components in the mining and agriculture sectors. This sector makes up approximately 11.5% of the TSX. Some of the top Canadian materials and mining stocks include:

Energy  Canadian stocks offer both traditional fossil fuel-based energy stocks as well as some renewable energy stocks. This sector makes up approximately 18.5% of the TSX. Some of the top Canadian energy stocks include:

Technology  As mentioned earlier, technology stocks have largely been the domain of the United States. As evidence of this, information technology stocks make up only about 5.5% of the TSX. However, there are a few Canadian companies that have become stars in the new economy being created. Some of the more popular names include:

What Are the Risks of Investing in Canadian Stocks?

One concern about investing in Canadian stocks is that they can be heavily weighted towards cyclical industries. For example, as of February 2022 financials (33.5%), energy (14.8%) and industrials (11.7%) made up nearly 60% of the index. That may be too much for some investors particularly because those sectors all tend to correlate roughly the same way as the economic cycle. But as a long-term play, Canadian stocks are worth considering with a small part of your portfolio.

How to Buy Canadian Stocks

Buy Individual Stocks on a Stock Exchange

Hundreds of Canadian stocks have dual listings on either the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the NASDAQ. This is the most convenient way to get exposure to Canadian stocks because there are no barriers to stock ownership. These shares can be purchased in U.S. dollars directly from the exchange just like purchasing a U.S. stock.

However, for a full list of the best Canadian stocks, investors should look at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The TSX is one of the oldest stock exchanges having been founded in 1852. Its also the third largest stock exchange in North America in terms of market capitalization.

The Toronto Stock Exchange includes approximately 1,500 companies. It allows investors to trade stocks, investment trusts, exchange-traded products, bonds, commodities, futures, options, and other derivative products. All transactions on the TSX are executed in Canadian dollars.

Invest in a Mutual Fund or ETF

There are many mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that supply exposure to Canadian stocks. Some funds supply exposure to both U.S. and Canadian stocks. Other funds hold just Canadian stocks. Some examples of those include:

BMO S&P/TSX Capped Composite Index ETF

Horizons S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF

Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap ETF

As with investing in any asset class, investors need to consider their investment objective, time horizon and risk tolerance before choosing a fund that fits their needs. Investors will also want to pay attention to the funds fee structure to ensure youre making the most efficient use of your capital.

The Final Word on Investing in Canadian Stocks

Investing in Canadian stocks is one way for investors to add diversification to their portfolio. MarketBeat provides a list of the top Canadian stocks that trade on the TSX. This is Canadas version of the NYSE or NASDAQ in the United States and includes many of the same stocks.

Thats one advantage of investing in Canadian stocks is that many have a dual listing which removes many of the obstacles that can come with investing in international stocks.

However, investors should be aware that many of the best Canadian stocks are in highly cyclical industries which can lead to underperformance when those sectors are out of favor. Still, due to their relative stability and in some cases an impressive dividend, Canadian stocks may have a place in an investors portfolio.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates regulated exchanges, clearing houses, and listings venues for commodity, financial, fixed income, and equity markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, Israel, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Exchanges, Fixed Income and Data Services, and Mortgage Technology. The company operates marketplaces for listing, trading, and clearing an array of derivatives contracts and financial securities, such as commodities, interest rates, foreign exchange, and equities, as well as corporate and exchange-traded funds; trading venues, including 13 regulated exchanges and 6 clearing houses; and offers futures and options products for energy, agricultural and metals, financial, cash equities and equity, over-the-counter, and other markets, as well as listings and data and connectivity services. It also provides fixed income data and analytic, fixed income execution, CDS clearing, and other multi-asset class data and network services. In addition, the company offers proprietary and comprehensive mortgage origination platform, which serves residential mortgage loans; closing solutions that provides customers connectivity to the mortgage supply chain and facilitates the secure exchange of information; data and analytics services; and Data as a Service for lenders to access data and origination information. Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
The First Daughter reportedly said her current plan is a placeholder. Photo: 2017 Getty Images

In mid-May, President Trump released a budget request that called for deep cuts across many departments. But the classically conservative plan also included something Democrats had long been lobbying for: paid family leave. Spearheaded by Ivanka Trump, the $25 billion plan allowed for six weeks of paid leave for mothers and fathers after the birth or adoption of a child (an update of a previous version that only included birth mothers). But a new report from the Associated Press suggests the First Daughter is flexible on both the contents and funding of the plan.

She said that [the current plan] was just a placeholder or a stake in the ground and theyre open to other ideas, Isabel Sawhill, a Brookings Institution scholar who presented an alternative plan to the White House alongside an American Enterprise Institute representative, told the AP. Sawhill was part of a bipartisan group of scholars the First Daughter reportedly met with this week.

One of the main differences between the two plans  the one the White House has put forward and the one the Brookings Institution proposed  is funding. The former would require states to finance the paid-leave benefit through unemployment insurance programs; theyd be expected to adjust their tax structures if they dont have enough money. According to the AP, that adjustment would likely lead to higher taxes for businesses. The White House argued that a state-based program lets states set benefits that make sense for them, but others have expressed concern: We cant take any more unfunded mandates from the federal government, said Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.

The AEI-Brookings plan, on the other hand, would be financed through a federal payroll tax on employees, as well as other budget savings. It also reportedly calls for eight weeks of paid leave at 70 percent of a persons wages, capped at $600 a week.

Abby McCloskey, a Republican economist who worked on the AEI-Brookings plan, called Ivankas initial proposal a great start, but conceded that paid family leave was a tough sell for both sides. Its not as generous as Democrats would like, and its an unfunded program, which Republicans dont like, she said. But she added that Ivanka seems very open to input and advice.

Of course, as the New York Times pointed out last month, even a revised paid-leave plan has to be approved by Congress, and both Democrats and Republicans seem skeptical. And in the end, as hes done with at least one of his daughters priorities in recent weeks, Ivankas dad might simply decide paid leave isnt that important.
Verizon plans to lay off 2,100 people once it completes its acquisition of Yahoos internet business on Tuesday.

The sting will be soothed a bit for some of the Yahoo employees who lose their jobs: A 10 per cent surge in the companys share price on Thursday enhanced the value of their accumulated stock compensation.

The layoffs, which were described by a person briefed on Verizons plans, represent about 15 per cent of the workforce at Yahoo and AOL, the Verizon unit with which it is to be combined.

Yahoo, which had 8,600 full-time employees as of March 31, has already endured many rounds of cuts. During the five years that Marissa Mayer, the chief executive, has led the company, its workforce dropped by 46 per cent. AOL has also gone through repeated layoffs, most recently in November, when it cut 500 jobs.

Both companies declined to comment on the layoff plans. But the steady shrinking of Yahoo and AOL underscores the major challenges faced by both companies as they compete against the two behemoths of the internet, Google and Facebook, for advertising dollars.

On Thursday, Yahoo shareholders approved the sale of the business to Verizon and the related compensation arrangements. After the deals close on Tuesday, the remainder of Yahoo will be renamed Altaba and will hold the cash from the sale as well as Yahoos significant stock holdings in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan.

Yahoos share price rose by $5.16 after the vote on Thursday, to close at $55.71. That will raise the payouts to Yahoo employees who are terminated.

Based on the increased stock price, Mayer will depart with $264 million for her five years of work at Yahoo, up from $239 million last Friday.

Other senior Yahoo executives who are laid off will also get big severance packages, including up to two years of pay and accelerated vesting of all stock compensation. For example, Lisa Utzschneider, the chief revenue officer, will receive about $22 million, and Ken Goldman, the chief financial officer, will get about $12 million, based on the current stock price and securities filings by the company.

Lower-level Yahoo employees will also receive enhanced severance benefits that were established before the Verizon deal was struck last summer.

The layoff plans were first reported by the technology sites Recode and TechCrunch.

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LOS ANGELESIn the cutthroat technology industry where companies go to great lengths to attract and retain talent, employers have offered workers high salaries, company stock and unlimited vacation time. Theyve done free breakfasts, free lunches, free dinners and free booze. Theres kombucha on tap, ping pong and pool, nap rooms, yoga rooms and on-site gyms.

Once considered lavish perks, they have now become the norm. Which is why tech firms eager to keep their employees engaged are turning to Loqules (pronounced locals), a Los Angeles startup with $200,000 (U.S.) in angel funding, to offer what a growing number of young employees crave: ways to have fun and do good.

Millennials make up around 45 per cent of the workforce, and theyd rather spend their money doing something cool and having an experience than buying or having material things, said Jai Al-Attas, the 33-year-old founder of Loqules. Theyre a lot more socially aware, and they want to be part of companies or groups that give back to the community in some way.

Some of the perks offered by Loqules five-person team are just that, perks. Think: a cooking class with noted chef Louis Tikaram. Or a day of surfing with pro-surfer Taylor Knox. Or a master class in mural-making with street artist KidWiseman.

Loqules charges anywhere from $80 per person for basic experiences, such as a night out with a local musician, to $10,000 for a small team to have an intimate recording tutorial with music producer John Feldmann, who has produced for the likes of Avicii, Good Charlotte and Ashlee Simpson. The median cost of an experience is $200 to $500 per person, and options span categories such as art, music, surfing, skating, food, fitness and fashion. A portion of the fee goes to the person offering the experience; Loqules keeps the rest.

But companies also have the option of sharing the experience with people in need by partnering with a non-profit such as Safe Place for Youth, a homeless youth organization; A New Way of Life, which works with formerly incarcerated women; or the Salvation Army.

Through these partnerships, companies often foot the bill so those in need can participate in workshops and experiences alongside employees.

Of the dozen or so experiences Loqules has done with firms such as Salesforce, Uber, AdColony, Citibank and Facebook, nearly every company has chosen to partner with a non-profit, and most have used Loqules more than once.

This comes as little surprise to researchers and human-resource experts, who in recent years have noticed a shift in how employees want to be engaged and rewarded at work. Research from the Brookings Institute estimates that by 2025, millennials will make up 75 per cent of the workforce. (It defines the generation as those born in 1982 to 2003.)

And it says that as this demographic of workers continues to grow, millennial values, which Brookings describes as an emphasis on corporate social responsibility, a higher worth placed on experiences over material things and community building, will come to shape the workplace.

Years ago, you never had a 25-year-old kid making $150,000, said Karen Ross, chief executive of tech firm Sharp Decisions, who has seen her own employees increasingly express interest in doing more for the communities in which they operate. Now theyre making good money. Nobody cares about free food or free beer. Theyre more interested in making a difference.

Companies are responding in kind. In 2014, Airbnb started offering employees four hours of paid time off every month to volunteer for local causes. Last year, it launched a dedicated volunteering week to allow employees to devote a larger chunk of time to local projects. Dropbox offers employees 32 paid hours a year to volunteer at non-profit of their choosing, and it regularly hosts company-sponsored events where employees can serve meals at local charities. NetApp, a data management company in Silicon Valley, offers employees paid time off to volunteer, and it also works with non-profit Rise Against Hunger to package meals.

The response from employees has been extraordinarily positive, said Matt Fawcett, general counsel at NetApp. We sent a note to my team in Sunnyvale asking who wanted to get involved, and within 60 seconds there was a flood of replies.

For a segment of the workforce who have the means to buy anything they want, an experiential perk gives them something money cant necessarily buy, according to corporate culture experts.

When you give someone an award, its a short-term thing  you have it, you enjoy it at the time, but theres no memory beyond that, said Tina Figueroa, the vice-president of human resources at AdColony, which has used Loqules twice to reward high performers and plans to offer its experiences as a perk every quarter. An experience is emotional. You can relive it over and over again. Its really good for retention because people feel good when they tell those stories. It adds stickiness and it bonds people.

Ubers Los Angeles management teams have used Loqules service three times in partnership with local charities.

Its not your off-the-shelf team-building exercises, said Chris Ballard, Ubers Southern California general manager.

Last year, instead of relying on team dinners and happy hours to bring together its Los Angeles managers, Uber used Loqules to organize a cooking class with Tikaram, the chef; arranged a photography lesson with skateboard photographer Atiba Jefferson; and did a DJing workshop with DJ Ducky. By partnering with non-profit, Uber sent extra food from the cooking class to A New Way of Life and invited teens from Safe Place for Youth to join them during the workshops.

These are experiences our youth would never have the opportunity to do if it werent for this relationship with Loqules, said Rachel Stich, the deputy director of development and administration at A Safe Place for Youth.

Although many non-profit need money more than they need one-off volunteers, Stich said partnerships like the ones Loqules is fostering are still valuable because they help build relationships between non-profit and neighbouring corporations. Independent of Loqules, Uber now gives a Safe Place for Youth 32 free rides a month to help transport users of the service to doctor appointments and job interviews. Employees who have experienced a Loqules perk have expressed interest in getting more involved in their communities. And companies are putting their money where their employees want them to, with Dropbox matching up to $1,000 of each employees charity donation.

The closest thing Loqules has to a competitor is Airbnb, which launched social impact experiences on its platform in November. Unlike Loqules, which caters to businesses, Airbnbs offering is consumer-focused, and the company has not signalled intentions to create a version specifically for businesses.

But even if it did, that would just be validation for Loqules, Al-Attas said.

People want to feel like theyve had an impact, he said. Were not just saying, Hey, we gave some money to a charity and then everyone pats themselves on the back. We get people from the charity into a room with employees so they can share stories and change their perspectives. Thats where this is going.

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I posted a picture in March of the New York Times headquarters looking serene before a snowstorm to my Instagram account. The photo attracted 11 comments, all from strangers. Very nice! a monthly cocktail delivery company in San Francisco wrote. A cosmetic tattoo artist in Vancouver posted three fire symbol emojis and a vintage furniture seller in San Jose, Calif., left an emoji of a heart with a bow around it.

I like to leave my apartment for cocktails, I dont have any tattoos and Ive never been to San Jose. So, what was up?

The answer, as with so many things online, came down to marketing. Many people with public accounts on Instagram may not realize that when random users follow them or like or comment on their posts, it is often the work of a cottage industry of websites that, for as little as $10 a month, send their clients accounts on automated liking, following and commenting sprees. Its a rogue marketing tactic meant to catch the attention of other Instagram users in hopes that they will follow or like the automated accounts in return.

The fake activity has long violated Instagrams rules but has proliferated nonetheless. In the past seven weeks, however, Instagram, the Facebook-owned app with 700 million users per month, has been cracking down on such businesses. Its led to the shuttering of anonymously run sites with names like Instagress, PeerBoost, InstaPlus, Mass Planner and Fan Harvest, though others remain.

Racking up followers and likes on photos gives a sheen of legitimacy to small businesses or aspiring social-media influencers. If 10,000 people are following them, someone quickly scanning through Instagram might think, Maybe I should start paying attention to them, too. And popular accounts also tend to attract advertisers.

But marketers have started to wake up to how the system can be gamed.

The follower count is really completely meaningless, said Bob Gilbreath, chief executive of Ahalogy, a marketing technology company in Cincinnati. Its untrustworthy for the true following, and its certainly untrustworthy for the quality of the creative work.

Instagram has been tight-lipped about why it is just now going after such sites but said that fostering authentic community activity is a priority and our policies reflect that. A spokesperson for the company said it views any service that allows people to create bots to gain inauthentic followers as spam, and pointed to guidelines that prohibit users from artificially collecting likes and followers and posting repetitive comments. Several of the shuttered sites posted notices online saying they closed at Instagrams request but did not elaborate or respond to requests for comment.

Grappling with inauthentic activity from actual users is a distinct challenge from dealing with accounts that are manufactured altogether. Those remain a problem for social platforms including Instagram, which notably deleted millions of fake users in 2014 in what was known as the Instagram Rapture. The automation services, which log into customers accounts directly and run at speeds that evade detection, say they simply mimic what people do to build their accounts, at prices cheaper than paid ads.

But some see them as fuelling a disconnect from real human effort and interest on Instagram, even cheapening the platform. Calder Wilson, a professional photographer, wrote a post on PetaPixel, an industry blog, in April that described his two-year experiment with running an Instagram account that relied on Instagress to attract followers and likes. With only $10 a month and five minutes of his time per week, it quickly beat his carefully curated personal account on both measures.

Instagress enabled his username @canon_bw to target users based on a long list of hashtags like #blackandwhite or #IGdaily, commenting on some with Nice! or strings of emojis. (These services can also target followers of large accounts like their competitors or, say, @nytimes.) In one 30-day period this year, the @canon_bw account liked more than 27,000 photos and left almost 7,000 comments, some of which led to enthusiastic responses. Wilson, 28, found it unethical, comparing botting to steroid use by athletes and lamenting the broader impact on Instagrams culture.

If youre a photographer trying to build a following or anyone trying to get your work out there and meet new people, when you get a genuine interaction, that feels good, Wilson said. When you have Instagress coming in there and leaving fake comments like stunning photo and stunning gallery and theres no one behind it and then the likes  its as if they hijacked that personal neuropathway in your brain.

Read more: Fake profiles taint the reality of dating pools: Papamarko

Sara Melotti, another photographer, wrote a confessional blog post recently that outlined other methods influencers use to increase their numbers so brands will work with them. She said the practice accelerated after Instagram stopped showing posts chronologically last year and started ranking them by what its data said people wanted to see or click on. Many panicked after seeing their engagement drop after that, she said.

In addition to automation, she described buying followers, joining pods of 10 to 15 people who commit to liking and commenting on photos as soon as they are posted, and participating in bigger groups that co-ordinate posts and comments for the same time in hopes of appearing on Instagrams Explore tab, where they will reach even more people.

It doesnt make sense what were doing for these numbers, Melotti, 29, said. She decided to reveal the tactics and stop using them, she said, because the focus on so-called Instafame stopped rewarding original work and seemed to be having a toxic effect on other artists self-esteem and perception of reality.

These discussions have not been lost on marketers, which spent more than $570 million on influencer marketing on Instagram last year, according to estimates from eMarketer.

Gilbreath of Ahalogy recently introduced a service for agencies and brands to verify quality, traffic and other metrics around influencer marketing campaigns. He recommended identifying powerful creative work through such users and paying Instagram to promote sponsored posts from them, rather than relying on endorsements to their accounts based on their numbers.

To be sure, the bot-enabled activity might well be the Internets most pleasant form of spam, particularly compared with the nefarious Twitter bots designed to spread propaganda. But it can be annoying and intrusive.

Even as many automated services have closed, others appear ready to take their place. Ads for two, named Gramista and Robogram, appeared recently after searching Google for Instagress. Gramistas website said that for $1.79 a day, it would automate liking, following and unfollowing just like a human being would. Another, named Archie.co, which bills itself as a liking application, said it works with both Twitter and Instagram and would help users find real eyeballs in a much cheaper way than paid advertising.

Closing such businesses is like playing whack-a-mole, in part because they are working directly through individual accounts, avoiding any approval process with Instagram, said Alex Taub, the co-founder of SocialRank, which helps marketers find and analyze followers on Twitter and Instagram.

This is a little extreme, but I think the way you stop this is you start banning all the accounts that use it, Taub said. He is skeptical about the types of followers the services attract anyway and pointed out the strangeness of accounts using bots to engage with other accounts using bots.

Wilson said he was questioning how many of his new fans on the @canon_bw account were real. The top five cities that his followers on his personal account came from were all in the United States, while on the experimental one, four of the five top cities  including Istanbul; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Mexico City  were outside the country.

People use this stuff because it makes your life a little easier short term because your audience is growing, Taub said. But your audience is probably growing by bots, and its probably bots talking to bots.

Its like hot air, he added. Its not real.

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If you havent yet come across the work of David Grann, consider yourself lucky: you have much to look forward to. This includes his latest and third book, Killers of the Flower Moon, a resplendent and gripping true-crime tale about a string of murders nearly 100 years old.

These killings, beginning in the early 1920s, involved the Osage Indians in Oklahoma, who at the time were some of the richest people in the U.S.: Their land sat atop an ocean of oil earning them millions each year, which was dispersed among those in the tribe holding headrights. A headright  essentially a share of the oil money  was the equivalent of a winning lottery ticket, though it could neither be bought nor sold. You could only inherit one, which naturally meant someone had to die. This began happening with alarming frequency in May, 1921, and continued for five years, either by bullet, bombing, car crash or the slow death of poison.

It was called the Reign of Terror and there were plenty of suspects. Many Osage werent seen fit to handle their own money, so a white guardian was assigned to manage their finances. Needless to say, not all had their wards best interest in mind  even when they were also their husband. (As one love-struck husband put it, I dont work. I married an Osage.) A logical place to begin looking for a suspect or two, but given the level of corruption among officials and the racist ideas of the day, little was done.

Grann spends about a third of the book teasing out the story of the murders, largely focusing on Mollie Burkhart and her dwindling family. He then switches over to FBI Special Agent Tom White, who is sent by J. Edgar Hoover to get involved. It is 1925, the FBI is in its infancy, and the mercurial Hoover is determined to showcase his organization. Whites story is fascinating, and he proves to be a doggedly single-minded pursuer of the truth. As it turns out though, neither White nor the FBI got everything right, or even every one of their men; Grann ends up making a few discoveries of his own.

This is not surprising. Grann, who has been a staff writer at the New Yorker since 2003, is an obsessive reporter who has made a stellar career of chasing down the strange and rendering the results in page-turning stories brimming with novelistic touches. As with his previous book, The Lost City of Z, this one provoked fierce Hollywood interest, eventually earning him a $5 million advance. It is a tale expertly told but one that is soaked in Indigenous blood.

James Macgowan is a frequent contributor to The Stars book section.

David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon.





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CBC-TV is airing new episodes of Canada: A Peoples History as part of Canada 150 celebrations.

The broadcaster also announced programming for National Aboriginal History Month, including the true-crime series Taken about missing and murdered Indigenous women.

The original 17-episode Peoples History delved into the history of Canada from 15,000 BC up to 1990. It aired in 2000 and 2001, and was both critically acclaimed and a huge hit with viewers.

This time around, two episodes will air June 15 and 22 at 8 p.m., covering events between 2001 and 2015, including the Lac-Megantic disaster and the Maher Arar case.

Among those telling firsthand stories are a Newfoundland fisherman adjusting to the closing of the cod fishery, an Inuit scientist trying to understand the impact of climate change, a residential school survivor trying to save a dying language, Arars wife Monia Mazigh and former Lac-Megantic Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche.

By their actions, determination and commitment, these people have helped to shape the face of Canada as it is today, CBC says in a news release.

Mark Starowicz, the mastermind of the original series, is a consultant on these episodes, which are executive-produced by Arnie Gelbart and produced by Natalie Dubois of Montreals Galafilm Productions.

Also airing for Canada 150, beginning June 26 at 8 p.m., is a new factual series, Becoming Canadian, that tells the stories of immigrants becoming Canadian citizens. Its narrated by rapper and producer Kardinal Offishall.

As part of National Aboriginal History Month, Taken debuts Friday at 9 p.m. Over eight episodes, it examines the cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, including Tina Fontaine, Marie Jeanne Kreiser, Emily Osmond, Claudette Osborne-Tyo, Tanya Nepinak, Sandra Johnson, Tanya Brooks, and Alberta Williams and Ramona Wilson.

CBC is also broadcasting a two-part documentary special, Through Our Eyes: Indigenous Short Docs, featuring stories of Indigenous Canadians made by Indigenous filmmakers. It airs June 15 and 22 at 9 p.m.

See cbc.ca for more information.

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OTTAWAPrime Minister Justin Trudeaus government says it is open to more Chinese investment in Albertas oilsands, a declaration that marks a reversal of the previous governments decision to fence off vast oil reserves in the West from foreign state-owned enterprises.

Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr told reporters on a teleconference from China that, We would welcome more investment from any nation thats interested in the oilsands.

In 2012, the previous Conservative government allowed Chinas CNOOC Ltd. to buy Calgary-based Nexen but put a halt to further acquisitions by foreign state-owned firms of Canadian natural resources except in exceptional circumstances.

Carr, near the end of a five-day trade mission to China, was asked if the Chinese-controlled firms of Sinopec and CNOOC had urged him to ease restrictions on investment.

Carr replied by noting that capital investment in Canadas oilsands (where production costs are high) has shifted, with international investors deciding to spread out their risks whereas the Canadian investors have stepped up. So the Canadian industry is now more Canadian-controlled than it was.

As you know, were interested in looking at these cases one by one. Our minds are open. And weve found generally that Chinese investors are no different than investors from anywhere else. They look at costs, they look at prices and they make their investment decisions. But, he added, the Chinese take the long view on the energy sector, including liquid natural gas, and oil and gas more broadly.

We think that there is opportunity and we laid out, along with experts from the industry, what we believe to be Canadian opportunities for them.

In Ottawa, neither Carrs department nor the office of Navdeep Bains, the minister of innovation, science and economic development, could immediately clarify what investment opportunities in the sector he was referring to.

Carr denied it was a policy shift, saying it was a logical extension of the fact that Ottawa is in the midst of exploratory talks with Beijing toward a possible free trade agreement.

The Canadian government is prepared to talk to the Chinese government about investments in most sectors of our economy. I dont think that represents a change in public policy as a general expression of our willingness to talk. Were talking with the Chinese more seriously in exploratory talks towards a trade agreement so that would be consistent, said Carr.

A spokesperson for Carr later reiterated that it is not a change in public policy.

As is the case with any significant investment from state-owned enterprises, the rules and security reviews of the Investment Canada Act would apply, said Alexandre Deslongchamps.

China did not figure at all in a major speech this week by Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland that set out a reorientation of the Liberal governments foreign policy priorities in the face of a U.S. retreat from its role as a global leader in free trade, the environment and security.

However, it is becoming increasingly clear Ottawa wants to deepen ties to Beijing.

Carr praised Chinas rapid advances in renewable sources of energy and its commitment to a low carbon economy.

I believe that no partnership holds more potential than the one we share with China. Our mutual interests are closely aligned. We are in a rare moment on the world stage to come together as leaders. We can break new ground . . . and leave a cleaner planet for our children and our grandchildren.

Carrs comments came on a day when the opposition slammed the Liberals for allowing Chinese investment in another sensitive Canadian sector.

The Conservatives and the NDP criticized the Trudeau government for allowing a Chinese firm, Hytera Communications, to purchase Vancouver-based Norsat International Inc.  a company with military customers, including several among Canadas allies  without a formal national security review, as reported in the Globe and Mail.

I think its important to look at the big picture. How can we trust this government to properly evaluate foreign investment when, once again, they are allowing the sale of advanced defence technology, Norsat, to China, with little or no scrutiny? said Saro Khatchadourian, a spokesperson for Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer.

In the Commons, Bains defended the decision, saying the government gave the green light after a preliminary screening that took account of national security.

All transactions under the Investment Canada Act are subject to a national security review. We have followed the process. We have done our due diligence. We have consulted the national security agencies, and we will make sure that we never have and never will compromise our national security. And at the same time, we are committed to growing our economy by making sure that we are open to investment, trade and people.

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Well, Hillary Clinton isn't going gently. That may be understandable, but it's not smart -- not for Clinton, not for her party and not for other female candidates.

Clinton has emerged in recent weeks, and this version is Hillary unbound, no words minced, no target spared -- except, for the most part, herself. So there was Clinton at a Recode conference, not merely relitigating the 2016 election but relitigating it like the relentless trial lawyer she once was.

For her Electoral College loss, Clinton variously blamed:

* the Russians, probably in cahoots with the Trump campaign,

* the media, for turning her use of a private email server -- "the biggest nothing-burger ever" -- into "Pearl Harbor,"

* the James Comey letter,

* misogyny, as in the "unfairly used" fact of her six-figure speeches to Goldman Sachs when "men got paid for the speeches they made,"

* voter suppression,

* "unaccountable money flowing in against me,"

* inheriting a "bankrupt" Democratic National Committee, whose "data was mediocre to poor, nonexistent, wrong,"

* being "the victim of a very broad assumption I was going to win,"

* misogyny, again, as in people who are "much more skeptical and critical of somebody who doesn't look like and talk like and sound like everybody else who's been president."

Clinton incanted the ritual words of taking responsibility, if without much conviction. The private server "was a mistake," even though it was "something that others had done before." She "never said I was a perfect candidate, and I certainly have never said I ran perfect campaigns, but I don't know who is or did." In other words, sorry, not sorry.

Much of Clinton's critique is well-founded -- when it comes to Russia, alarming. Most complicated is the matter of misogyny. Yes, it played some role, but it's difficult to tweeze apart voters' hostility toward Clinton as a person and the degree to which that dislike was fueled by gender stereotypes.

And if, as Clinton argues, she was on track to win the election on Oct. 27, before Comey issued his fateful letter, then maybe misogyny isn't such a pernicious force after all.

Still, some venting is justifiable. Believing that the presidency was unfairly, even illegally, wrested from you is an unfathomable injury, a wound that takes years to heal, if ever. Al Gore experienced this with the Supreme Court's intervention in 2000; John Kerry with the Swift Boaters and suspicions about the Ohio vote. Imagine how much harder to deal with the blow of losing to Donald Trump -- after winning the popular vote.

And yet, Gore and Kerry demonstrated little appetite for rehashing their loss in public. Gore, The Washington Post reported in August 2001, "has been practically invisible since conceding the election" to George W. Bush. Four years later, Kerry annoyed his Democratic Senate colleagues by twice canceling plans to examine lessons learned. "That's going backwards," he told The New York Times.

Yet Clinton can't seem to stop looking in the rearview mirror and publicly narrating what she sees, much to the dismay of some advisers. Not that she should stay silent. Speaking out against the actions of the Trump administration is warranted, even imperative. She should sound the alarm about the dangers of Russian intervention in future elections.

But enough, already, with the seemingly never-ending, ever-expanding postmortem. Sure, Clinton was responding to questions, but if anyone knows how to duck a line of inquiry, it's her. Meanwhile, the excuses -- really, bringing up the DNC? -- make her look smaller.

Clinton is always at her best when she perseveres, not when she lashes out. It's essential to understand what went wrong in 2016 and to call out the bad actors. Clinton is just the wrong messenger.

What Democrats crave most is not wallowing in theories about the defeat -- it's a template for resisting Trump now and a vision for 2018 and 2020. Clinton's obsessive summoning of 2016 gives Trump an excuse to change the subject from his missteps. "Crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody but herself," he tweeted after the Recode interview.

And Clinton's behavior doesn't help would-be glass ceiling-crackers. Publicly calling out misogyny is probably not the best strategy for combating it, or for encouraging other women to run for office.

The day after her defeat, Clinton rose to the terrible occasion, reassuring "all the little girls who are watching" and predicting a female president, "hopefully sooner than we might think right now."

At the darkest moment, Clinton sounded a note of grace and optimism. It ennobled her then and would serve her better now.
HALIFAXA Halifax-area navy sailor has been jailed three years for sexually assaulting a woman he met over Facebook.

Leading Seaman Paul Simpson, 43, assaulted the woman on their second date, on Feb. 23, 2014, according to a provincial court ruling released Thursday.

Judge Theodore Tax said they had some consensual activity on both dates, but she told him she would not have intercourse that night, and repeatedly told him no before he forced himself on her.

While there is no doubt that the evening had started as an enjoyable date which progressed to some consensual sexual activity at Mr. Simpsons house, I have found that Mr. Simpson imposed his will and much larger physical stature on (her), despite her protestations not to do so, for his selfish gratification, Tax said.

The two had never met before Simpson invited her to a 2013 New Years Eve party at his house over Facebook.

They had one date in late December, and he asked her to dinner about two months later. She agreed to go back to his Middle Sackville, N.S., house afterwards, but told him there would be no sex.

After some consensual activity in his bedroom, she told him she did not want him to touch her, but he ignored her, Tax said.

Simpson insisted she never told him no, but acknowledged she was visibly upset afterwards.

You just raped me and I dont know what you might have, she told him, according to the judges ruling.

A cab driver who drove her home testified she was crying and told him shed been raped, and he took her to hospital.

The woman has since been diagnosed with PTSD, suffers from social anxiety and has been self-mutilating, Tax said.

Over the past three years, her life has changed and been turned inside out, filled with despair and depression on a daily basis, he said.

He is married and has a daughter, and his naval colleagues  Simpson is a sonar technician  described him as reliable and focused, the ruling said.

Mr. Simpsons wife describes him as a gentle, calm and patient person who is a dedicated family man and that everyone speaks of him very highly, said the judge. Mr. Simpsons brother, who is a correctional officer in Ontario, stated that his brother is a family man, and would never be abusive to a woman.

The Crown had sought a three-year jail term, while Simpsons lawyers suggested 15 to 18 months.

The judge sided with the Crown.

I find that this was a serious sexual assault which was a very significant violation of (her) physical and psychological integrity as well as her self-esteem ... the gravity of the offence is at the higher end of a continuum of sexual assaults.

He ordered that Simpson surrender a DNA sample, and that his name be added to the Sex Offender Registry.

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An Ontario court has ruled that a provincial mental health facility ran therapeutic programs for years that amounted to torture for the patients involved.

Justice Paul Perells ruling came in the midst of a lengthy lawsuit filed by past and present residents of the Oak Ridge division of the Penetang Psychiatric Hospital in Penetanguishene that alleges patients were gravely mistreated.

Perell says three programs at the hospital that involved the forced administration of drugs, physical restraint and sleep deprivation, amounted to both physical and mental torture.

Two doctors and the province of Ontario, who are defendants in the suit, argued that the programs at the heart of the lawsuit fell outside the statute of limitations and could not be the subject of a court proceeding.

Perell dismissed that claim in his June 1 ruling, but said the plaintiffs now need to establish whether they were harmed by programs run at Oak Ridge between 1966 and 1983.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs say they will proceed with the case. Lawyers representing the defendants did not immediately respond to request for comment.

In his ruling, Perell outlined the various premises of the three programs used to treat many patients who had been accused of serious crimes such as rape and murder.

They were developed at Oak Ridge and administered in part by Dr. Elliott Thompson Barker and Dr. Gary Maier, the two psychiatrists named as plaintiffs in the suit, the ruling said.

Defence Disruptive Therapy (DDT) involved forcibly giving patients hallucinogenic and delirium-producing drugs in order to break down the patients defence mechanisms and force them to confront their abnormal behaviour, Perell wrote.

The Motivation, Attitude, Participation Program (MAPP) involved forcing patients to complete 14 days of perfect behaviour, including adhering to rules about unauthorized talking or movement, he wrote.

One component of that program involved forcing patients to sit on a bare floor with hands cuffed and allowing them to move only four times within four hours in a confined space of three-square-feet. Failure to comply could result in forced sedation or being placed in solitary confinement, Perell noted.

The third initiative, called the Capsule Program, involved chaining up to seven people together in a room, stripping them naked, and keeping them in that state for days at a time, Perell said.

The room was continuously lit and featured holes in the walls through which occupants were fed only liquid foods through straws. Patients were kept under constant surveillance and often given hallucinogenic drugs against their will, Perell said.

The three programs designed by Dr. Barker and implemented by the doctors and other employees of Oak Ridge  even if designed and implemented in good faith and even if the programs could be proven to be in some way therapeutic  were torture and a degradation of human dignity, Perell wrote in his decision.

It is an inexcusable breach of fiduciary duty for a physician to torture a patient.

Plaintiffs alleged a breach of fiduciary duty when they first launched the suit in 2000, and Perell said that particular claim was not beyond the statute of limitations at that time.

As a result, Perell dismissed the defences position that the plaintiffs claims fell outside of the statute of limitations.

He did, however, order a trial or other motions to prove victimization, harm, causation of harm and to quantify the individual plaintiffs damages, if any for the 31 plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

No date has yet been set for this next step, and it is not known whether the defendants plan to appeal Perells ruling.

Perell conceded that the doctors were likely running programs based on accepted medical practices of the day, but said that argument still could not excuse what was done to Oak Ridge patients.

I appreciate that apart from professional renown and advancement, there was no self-serving gratification for the defendant physicians at the expense of the plaintiffs, he wrote.

But, in my opinion, that does not negate the circumstance that it is a breach of a physicians ethical duty to physically and mentally torture his patients even if the physicians decisions are based on what the medical profession at the time counts for treatment for the mentally ill.

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If you live in the United States, you can easily find out if your doctor receives payments from drug companies. Ditto if you live in Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and many other European countries.

But not Canada.

This country is seen as an international laggard when it comes to transparency about financial ties between the pharmaceutical industry and physicians.

But there is a growing chorus of voices demanding change in the name of quelling concerns about conflicts of interest in the marketing, prescription and study of drugs.

A new national campaign is being launched calling on the federal government to mandate public disclosure of all payments and transfers of value  for example, gifts and meals  from drug makers to doctors.

The Open Pharma campaign  spearheaded by resident physician Dr. Andrew Boozary and backed by some big names from the world of health care and academia  is seeking to build public awareness and momentum for federal action.

The interaction with industry is everywhere and a lot of progress has come from collaborating, Boozary said. But if we continue to keep relationships in the dark, we will undermine trust.

Payments from drug companies can be in the form of funding for research, fees for speeches or participation on advisory committees, and coverage of travel expenses for participation in international functions.

Organizations, including hospitals, universities and private medical clinics, are also beneficiaries of funding, some of it philanthropic.

There have been numerous controversies in Canada over perceived conflicts of interest because of payment relationships.

The most recent was three weeks ago when federal Health Minister Jane Philpott ordered an independent review of Canadas new prescription guidelines for opioids because of revelations that a doctor  who was part of a committee of medical experts who voted on whether to accept the guidelines  had received financial compensation from companies that make and market opioids.

In recent years, Toronto Star investigations have exposed a number of questionable relationships between big pharma and doctors. Stories detailed industry funding of pricey dinners, alleged altering of studies, and physician endorsements of drugs.

Boozary emphasizes that the Open Pharma campaign is not anti-pharma, nor does it aim to ban industry involvement with the medical profession. Its about being open about relationships in the interest of upholding public confidence.

The campaign is being launched on the eve of an initiative by the Canadian branches of 10 multinational drug companies to publish aggregate data on payments to health-care practitioners and organizations.

But the voluntary initiative has been criticized for not going far enough. Data to be released June 20 will not be broken down into payments to individual doctors and organizations. Instead, each drug company will release on its website only three numbers: total payments to health-care professionals and organizations, and payments to cover expenses related to travel to international meetings.

Even one participating drug company said the initiative falls short.

This is good but not good enough, said Paul Lirette, president of GSK Canada, adding that the industry would be wise to voluntarily take more action rather than risk being forced to by government.

Lirette said he would like to see disclosure of more detailed data. As well, he wants broader participation, including from the other 35 brand-name drug companies under the umbrella of Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC), 10 generic drug companies and 148 medical-device manufacturers and related companies.

The Open Pharma campaign also calls on Ottawa to mandate drug companies to be more transparent by:

Publicly disclosing clinical information on safety and efficacy of drugs and medical devices.

Making industry funded research open access so that it is available for reanalysis in academic journals and other platforms.

Withholding data can mislead doctors and patients who need to make decisions based on best available evidence, Boozary said. And by ensuring data from patient trials are open and accessible, we can be more certain about the state of science when deciding treatment options.

Andrew MacKendrick, press secretary to Philpott, said their office has asked Health Canada officials to look at what Ottawa can do to facilitate more transparency, given that provincial governments and health regulatory colleges also have some jurisdiction in the area.

In addition, MacKendrick points out that Health Canada recently issued a white paper for public consultation on the idea of disclosing clinical information on drugs and medical devices under consideration for government approval.

Members of the Open Pharmas campaigns advisory board include: Dr. Andreas Laupacis, executive director of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michaels Hospital; Adalsteinn Brown from the University of Toronto, where he serves as director of the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and the Dalla Lana Chair in Public Health Policy; Dr. Danielle Martin, a vice-president at Womens College Hospital and a founder and a past chair of Canadian Doctors for Medicare; Toronto doctors David Juurlink and Nav Persaud, both of whom study the relationship between pharma and the medical profession and have raised questions about undeclared conflicts; and Dr. Ahmed Bayoumi, professor of medicine at U of T.

Health systems larger and more complex than ours are already requiring disclosure of payments to physicians. . . . Conflict of interest is real, but the point is not to stop the payment to physicians, it is to make sure that these conflicts are identified and managed in the interests of patients, Brown said.

The campaign is also supported by Joel Lexchin, a Toronto ER doctor and author of the newly released book Doctors in Denial: Why big pharma and the Canadian medical profession are too close for comfort.

Doctors are often unaware of how they are influenced by taking gifts or money from industry, Lexchin said.

Five years ago, the Canadian Medical Association passed a resolution, calling on the industry to make payment information publicly available. Dr. Jeff Blackmer, CMA vice-president of medical professionalism, is pleased to finally see some movement:

I think there is definitely public interest in knowing which physicians are involved in these relationships. Its not to say that these relationships are inherently evil or bad, its to say that we want to make sure that people understand the context.

Blackmer points out that public funding of research is on the decline and drug companies are filling a void.

The U.S. Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires pharmaceutical companies to release details of payments to doctors and hospitals.

I think over time people have come to understand that conflicts of interest are real and are of concern. In a world of greater transparency, it was no longer a viable option not to reveal what the payments were, said Dr. Howard Bauchner, editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association, which has devoted many editorials to the issue.

ProPublica took the payment data and put it on an easily searchable database. The independent, non-profit news organization also cross-referenced it with prescriber data and found that doctors who receive payments as a group prescribe a higher percentage of brand-name drugs.

Canada at the moment seems like its a laggard in this regard, says ProPublic senior reporter Charles Ornstein. The world is moving in the direction of providing patients with context about interactions between the pharmaceutical industry and doctors.

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MONTREALAlmost two years into her mandate heritage minister Melanie Joly has clocked more time on her feet in the House of Commons defending the indefensible appointment of a close member of the Liberal family to the office of commissioner of official languages than advancing transformative policies.

For the past three weeks the heritage minister has been the public face of a fiasco of her governments own making. On Wednesday former Ontario cabinet minister Madeleine Meilleur withdrew her name from contention for languages watchdog, probably just in time to avoid having her appointment quashed in the Senate.

Once Joly has wiped the egg off her face she will have to go back to the drawing board, under intense media and opposition scrutiny and under a cloud of doubts as to her judgment.

Joly was appointed to cabinet before she had served a day in the Commons. Like many of her colleagues she was a political rookie. It would be tempting to put the episode down to ministerial inexperience and/or incompetence.

Except that if she is walking wounded today, it is, in no small part, the result of the nonchalance of the prime minister.

For when it comes to parliamentary watchdogs the buck has always stopped with prime ministers. If you dont remember what Stephen Harpers heritage minister had to say about the appointment of journalist Graham Fraser as official languages commissioner in 2006 it is because no one was interested in Bev Odas opinion.

Five of Trudeaus predecessors managed to come up with nominees whose independence the opposition had no cause to question. By appointing a just-retired Ontario Liberal to a job that, by definition, calls for independence from the government the prime minister was breaking with tradition.

Knowing that, Trudeau could have sounded out his opposition vis-a-vis to get a sense of the lay of the land. He did not. He could have anticipated that  absent consent from the other parties  Senate approval for a non-consensual candidate would not be a done deal. He is, after all, the prime minister who gave the upper house its independence.

If its any consolation to minister Joly she has companions in misery.

Earlier this year Bardish Chagger was appointed House leader. She is the first woman to occupy this strategic government position. She also brings to the role less hands-on experience in the Commons than any of her predecessors.

To be able to read the mood of the House is an essential skill for one in Chaggers position. It is also a skill usually acquired over time.

As parliamentary neophyte, Chagger would have had her hands full just keeping the governments legislative agenda on track. Yet, shortly after her appointment she was tasked with implementing a controversial set of parliamentary reforms. Included in the governments unilateral wish list were measures that would have curtailed some of the few procedural tools at the disposal of an opposition minority.

Chagger might as well have set out for a stroll across a minefield. She pressed on with the plan until a predictable procedural war threatened to bring the House to a grinding halt. At that point she beat back in retreat  at cost to her credibility.

As it happens, the prime minister poisoned the well of his rookie House leader. When Trudeau summarily pulled the plug on his promise to change the voting system, he squandered a serious amount of opposition goodwill.

In the process, he also damaged not one but two other rookie ministers. Trudeau sent Maryam Monsef, his first democratic institutions minister, on a trip to nowhere that had her and the opposition parties running around in circles for months.

Then he shuffled Monsef out of the portfolio and dispatched successor Karina Gould to announce  as one of her first acts as a minister  that the promise of a new voting system was off the table.

That left Gould with a minimalist electoral reform agenda to implement. Despite the lighter load, she has yet to find her way to appoint a permanent chief electoral officer. That, too, is a decision that must bear the imprimatur of the prime minister.

Joly, Chagger, Monsef and Gould are part of the younger female tier of Trudeaus cabinet and of a new promising wave of Canadian politicians. Had they served under a prime minister less committed to gender parity, they might have been left to learn the ropes on the backbenches of the government. In hindsight, that might have been a preferable alternative to serving as cannon fodder on missions programmed to fail.

Chantal Hebert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

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By helping women, well be helping everyone.

This is the bold new vision for Canadas foreign aid, which is being recast as unapologetically feminist by laying out a path to eradicate poverty that focuses on helping women in the worlds poorest countries.

Canada is adopting a feminist international assistance policy to promote gender equality and empower all women and girls. For Canada, this is the most effective approach to reducing poverty and building a more inclusive, peaceful and prosperous world, said international development minister Marie-Claude Bibeau in announcing the new foreign aid policy.

When women and girls are given equal opportunities to succeed, they can be powerful agents of change  driving stronger economic growth, encouraging greater peace and co-operation, and improving the quality of life for their families and their communities.

In five years, 95 per cent of Canadas overseas development assistance will be devoted to programs that target gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Fifty per cent of the development budget will go to sub-Saharan Africa and the amount of funding going to health and reproductive rights will double.

While theres no international precedent for focusing all foreign aid on women, Sweden pioneered a feminist approach to its entire foreign policy agenda  including diplomacy, aid and the military  back in 2015.

Aid groups, which have been focusing both fundraising and programming around women and girls for years, welcomed the shift of tone in Ottawa.

There needs to be a focus on girls, not because of a philosophical idea but because of what an evidence-based approach shows us, said Caroline Riseboro, president and CEO of Plan International Canada.

The research shows beyond a doubt that investment in a girls education is the most effective investment we can make in international assistance.

Unlike the previous governments focus on maternal and child health that refused to fund abortions, access to contraceptives and abortion is a key plank in the new foreign aid policy that seeks to delay early marriage and childbirth and prolong girls education in order to improve family incomes.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has kept one controversial feature of development aid policy started by his predecessor: private sector partnerships to leverage additional funding for international aid programs.

The policy release was the latest salvo in a week of announcements laying out a re-imagined role for Canada in the world. But while those in the aid community applauded the bold women-centred vision, they also asked why there was no new funding announced for aid, when military spending received a $14 billion annual hike.

Whats the message were sending to the world? Are we saying that were going to invest in our military, but the development side, the soft side of peace and security isnt important? That we dont feel we need to do our fair share on that front as well? said Julia Sanchez, President of Canadian Council for International Co-operation, an association of aid groups.

At just under $5 billion, Canadas international assistance budget has been flat for the last few years, even as the economy grew. At an estimated 0.26 per cent of gross domestic product, Canadas development spending is near an all-time low and ranks 18th in the world, according to the Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development.

The new aid policy is very high level, and aid groups say it lacked detailed discussion of how particular development projects would be funded. But the feminist vision is a good way to get Canadians involved in thinking about foreign aid.

The challenge with international development is always helping Canadians see the connection with their lives, said Sanchez.

The focus on womens empowerment overseas, at a time when that conversation is very much alive in Canada  closing the pay gap, the missing and murdered Indigenous women inquiry  can get people who are excited about the feminist agenda in Canada to also get excited about doing this overseas, Sanchez said.

The logic for adopting a feminist stance for international development is well founded.

Because girls are disproportionately poor, less well educated and more vulnerable to illness and disease, helping them will help the worlds most vulnerable people. But studies have also shown that once women take up leadership roles  in peace building, business and politics  outcomes are better, meaning empowering women ends up benefitting men as well.

When women are at the centre of economic initiatives, whether its in a boardroom or in the community, they make a difference. Businesses are more profitable, loans get paid back. Earnings and the familys well being improve, said Sanchez.

Peace is also an exciting area. Theres a lot of evidence that women involved in peace making efforts, theyre more successful, they arrive faster. Theres a huge amount of opportunity for Canada and the world by focusing in on women.

Recognizing that foreign aid does more than alleviate poverty, Ottawa is using the new policy to highlight the ways that development assistance can help accomplish the goals set out in multiple international initiatives, from the UNs sustainable development goals to the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Pledging Canadas commitment to these principles is significant, especially after the U.S. has started to question them.

The global agenda around gender equality is really at risk of getting off track right now, said Plan Canadas Riseboro. Canada has stepped forward and said now is our time to play a leadership role globally.

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Everyone wants to build a park over the railway. But how should it be built and who should do it?

A showdown is brewing at city hall over two competing plans: one a 21-acre park pitched by the mayor and local councillors; and another, a 12-acre park bordered by eight office and condo towers, pitched by a group of developers who say they will soon own the air rights to build on the space above the rail tracks south of Front St., between Bathurst St. and Blue Jays Way.

Mayor John Tory, local councillors and senior city officials pitched their legacy project last August, but there is currently no funding for the early estimated cost of $1.05 billion.

The developers, not major players in the downtown sphere, have just pitched their biggest project ever and one of the largest in the whole city.

The two proposals are now about to go head-to-head at city hall where officials say the developers bid to build towers on top of the deck is out of step with the citys goal of protecting the space solely for parkland as the downtown core continues to see booming population and employment growth. For that reason, the local city councillor has called the developers proposal dead on arrival.

But the developers insist they hold the rights to build over the rail corridor.

On June 13, the Toronto and East York Community Council will consider the city-initiated proposal to rezone the corridor for parkland in an area that is currently deficient in park space.

Tory first announced, with much fanfare last August, that the city would officially pursue a Rail Deck Park.

City planning staff have considered the possibility of decking over the rail corridor to build a park as part of a major review of services in the downtown core, which they reported on in 2015. A later report spelled out the preliminary estimate on cost is more than $1 billion.

Carmine Nigro, a principal at Craft Group of Companies, was standing on the southern edge of the rail corridor for the August announcement. He said for more than a year, he and his business partners at Kingsmen Group and Tawse Realco had been discussing their own proposal they call the ORCA or Over Rail Corridor Area project, with city staff.

In 2015, the developers said they showed planners an early drawing for the deck, complete with a mix of buildings.

The current proposal is more modest but still a massive build. It includes eight towers ranging in height from 13 to 45 storeys, including 2,750 condos, 79,800 square metres of office space, parking for 1,225 cars below the deck, a potential connection to a future GO station and up to 60,700 square metres of retail space.

It also includes 12 acres of park space.

The developers, in an interview with the Star, said they believed they were working collaboratively towards an application to the city they could agree with.

They provided a letter from Gregg Lintern, the director of community planning for the Toronto and East York district, as what they say is evidence of that. In the March 2016 letter, Lintern outlined a number of considerations with a proposal of that size in the middle of the downtown core and welcomed the developers to participate in a planned city study of the area.

The development of a balanced, clear, rational, precinct plan for the rail corridor will ensure that we can move forward in a co-ordinated and orderly fashion, Lintern wrote.

Lintern explained to the Star in an email: Staff did not take a position on any development scheme for the corridor and advised that the city process must precede any applications.

The developers got a call from the mayors office, Nigro said, to be at the August announcement.

That day was the first they heard that the city had plans of its own, he said.

I couldnt believe it, Nigro said in the boardroom of their Queensway-area office in Etobicoke. I was stunned ... We were caught by surprise.

The developers, who have formed a consortium called P.I.T.S. Developments Inc., have now officially submitted their application. City staff say they are reviewing it, which is the normal process. They have yet to comment on any of the specifics of the proposal.

A new city staff report on the table at community council next week calls the citys own plans for a park a transformative city-building opportunity.

The Rail Corridor Site is the last significant undeveloped area that can accommodate a major new park and open space ... in downtown Toronto, the report says.

Of the developers competing proposal, staff wrote: The proposal will be assessed in relation to a wide range of city-building objectives for complete communities ensuring a healthy and livable downtown is maintained and strengthened, considering the substantial growth that has been occurring and that is projected to occur in the future.

Approval of residential and/or non-residential uses in the Rail Corridor Site would potentially limit the unique opportunity it affords for a high-profile, public use such as a major park and open space.

The area around the rail corridor  from Dufferin St. to Yonge St. and Queen St. to the waterfront  has seen its population balloon in the last decade, from 16,690 residents in 1996 to 90,810 in 2016. That number is expected to grow to 137,430 by 2041  at a much faster rate of 51 per cent compared to the projected city-wide growth rate of 18 per cent.

Employment growth is also expected to accelerate at a faster than average rate, with projected jobs in the area totaling 329,970 by 2041.

Tory  speaking to the Star by phone Thursday from Chicago where he had toured the well-visited Millennium Park, decked partly over railways and a busway  said the developers plan in Toronto runs counter to what weve said we want to do as a city council, not just me.

I just say to them, well, were building a park here, he said. I just wont run an administration that sort of says, well, were just going to sort of throw up our hands and say, well, we cant afford to do anything about it ... We will find a way to pay for these things.

Councillor Joe Cressy, who represents the area as part of Ward 20 (Trinity-Spadina) told the Star simply: We dont build towers on parks.

The city receives outlandish and ridiculous proposals all the time, Cressy said.

The developers say their proposal provides adequate park space at 12 acres and resolves the problem of funding the deck with a private partnership.

But the entire 12 acres wont come without a cost to the city, the developers say.

As a result of building eight towers, the developers are legislatively obligated to provide the city with four acres of parkland. The remaining proposed park space would be built at an undisclosed cost to the city.

And there remain questions over the right to building over the railway.

Whats known as air rights are a complicated matter in land-use planning.

Various railway companies own the rail lands and everything eight metres above it. They also own the air rights above that eight-metre mark, which the development group has an agreement to purchase  confirmed by lawyers letters sent to the city in September.

What is unclear are the conditions on that sale which has yet to close. Asked if there are any conditions that the land be rezoned to allow for condos and other development, the developers unequivocally said: No.

That could mean that if the developers application is refused  there could be an appeal to the controversial Ontario Municipal Board, which is soon to be undergoing reforms  the city could then be forced to negotiate with the developers for those rights to build their own rail deck park vision.

A staff report examining those issues is expected at the end of the year.

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WARNING: Contains graphic content

What a succubus, a sexual demon, an insatiable skank.

The libidinous floozy of a young mans  or old mans  dreams.

She wanted it. She asked for it. She made it happen.

Not that theres anything wrong with any of that, except when the woman afterwards cries rape.

Which is what defense lawyer Harry Black posited six ways from Sunday on Thursday, with a sexual assault complainant in the stand.

It was the alleged victim who orchestrated events in a hotel room in the early morning hours of January 16, 2015, in this version of events.

From the moment she reached out and attempted to undo one mans shirt-button  I did not  to going up into the pre-booked room and unzipping his pants  I did not  to demanding Are you going to f--- me?  I did not  it was all down to her, the menage a quatre that ensued. The three police constables merely did a wanton womans bidding: first one, then the other, then one and the other together, then the other-other.

Leslie Nyznik, Joshua Cabero and Sameer Kara have each pleaded not guilty to a charge of sexual assault against a female parking enforcement officer at the judge-alone trial which yesterday moved into what will doubtless be a prolonged cross-examination stage.

Unlike the defendants, the complainant doesnt have a choice about testifying.

It is shocking what a defense lawyer can ask of a sexual assault complainant in a Canadian courtroom.

But the prosecution made no objection and perhaps the reasons for staying silent will become clear at some point.

The complainant, her identify protected by a publication ban, recounted her tale of violation earlier in the week, insisting shed never consented to sex with any of those men after a pub-crawl night and was too weirdly incapacitated  the implication that shed been drugged, on top of eight alcoholic drinks consumed  to make them stop.

Lets start small, Blacks accusation that the complainant had a crush on Kara, the cop with whom she was most friendly from working together at 51 Division. The cop shed spoken to briefly earlier that afternoon, telling him: Im going to be wearing a really short skirt for easy access.

Complainant: Its not something I did.

But look at what she was wearing when she joined the Rookie Buy Night at 8:45 p.m., at the CC Whiskey Lounge & Bar: A corset under a low-cut top.

I suggest that you were wearing that to draw the attention of men to you, said Black.

Complainant: I disagree with you.

I suggest that you went to that party with the hope, with the anticipation that, by the end of the night, you would be in that hotel room having sex with Mr. Kara or Mr. Nyznik or both.

Complainant: Absolutely not.

Moving on to the nearby Pravda Vodka Bar, the woman accompanied Kara outside when he went for a smoke. Thats when he vomited on himself, and purportedly got sick thrice more. So smashed and unsteady that a colleague drove him to the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel. Nyznik had secured a room because the three defendants didnt want to drive home drunk.

She agreed that she liked Kara, in a friendly way. Black suggested she liked him in another way, the way a man and a woman like each other.

No.

As for Nyznik, the alleged victim had some time previously told a friend, he was cute, Black put to the witness.

What I said was hes cute until he opens his mouth.

It was Nyznik, Black claimed, that the woman cozied up to after Kara left, touching him, until he playfully swatted away her hand. That was before the group had moved on to the Brass Rail. You were flirting with him.

I disagree.

At the peeler bar, Black proposed that it was the complainant who, well, complained when Nyznik, pretending the group was an adult film crew up from Miami, suggested to a stripper that she join them at the hotel where they could all have sex together and the complainant could videotape them. Black claimed the alleged victim had whined: Why do I have to be the one who videotapes. Why cant I join in?

Witness: I know thats not what I said. At no point in time did I say I wanted to participate.

While at times Black appeared to be reading his version of events from a transcript, he never made clear who was being quoted as raconteur. Presumably his client, or maybe all three.

In any event, Black contended that the complainant invited herself back to the hotel room. She has testified she agreed to go there with Nyznik and Cabero, but only to rouse Kara so they could venture out on the town again. It was during the cab ride to the Harbour Castle that, the complainant testified, she began to feel strange  an intense headache and blurry vision.

You knew (Kara) was in no condition to go out, said Black. The witness countered that the idea of waking Kara was not hers.

Nor, continued Black, was she feeling ill. Im suggesting there was nothing wrong with you. You were not under the influence of alcohol and you werent under the influence of anything else.

Went willingly and eagerly toward a date for multiple-partner sex, Black indicated.

You say you were drugged by somebody putting a drug in your drink.

Witness: I dont know . . . . I did not see somebody put something in my drink. So I have no knowledge how it was done.

But Black was only working himself up to the climax.

Whilst still at the Brass Rail, the complainant, said Black, leaned into Nyznik and said: I love giving blow-jobs and I am the best . . . . Im a 10 but because Ive been drinking, Id be a 9.5.

The witness adamantly denied saying any such thing.

Then, according to Black, the woman added she wanted to perform a sexual act with two men simultaneously involving fellatio and intercourse. And it had to be performed over the sleeping Karas body. I absolutely didnt say that.

Black continued with his narrative: How, when they got to the room, the woman climbed onto the bed where Kara was flaked out, began rubbing his face and chest. She agreed shed been on the bed, on all fours, but was calling Karas name to wake him.

The witness earlier testified that, as she lay back on the bed, Nyznik dropped his trousers and inserted his penis into her mouth.

In Blacks version, it was the witness who took Nyzniks penis and put it in her mouth. You opened the zipper and you took him in your hand and began to perform oral sex, while reaching behind with your hand and rubbing Mr. Karas body.

Witness: I was not.

At that juncture, Black hammered on, Cabero emerged from the bathroom and said: Looks like youre having a party.

Black: You took Mr. Nyznik out of your mouth and smiled.

Cabero alleged asked: Do you mind if I join in?

Black: You beckoned (Cabero) closer. You grabbed his pants. You took Mr. Cabero in your mouth and began to perform oral sex on him. Then, Mr. Cabero said, can I f--- you?

No, responded the witness. He said, shall I f--- you in the a--? 

In total, Black claimed, the complained performed oral sex on Nyznik four times, before he was ready to ejaculate.

Black: Mr. Cabero had vaginal intercourse with you while you were performing fellatio on Mr. Nyznik.

Witness: I was being penetrated orally by one person while being penetrated (vaginally) by another person.

Kara woke up. According to the witness testimony, he told the other two to stop, shes out guys, stop.

But not long afterwards, Kara wanted some, too. He got on top and started to have sex with you in the missionary position.

Throughout the cross-examination, the witness remained composed, her facial expression blank. She did not joust with Black. She would not be provoked into tears or anger. She did not look to the Crowns for help.

The trial continues.

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Torontonians will no longer be able to keep penguins, flamingos or cranes, if a city staff report is approved.

The exotic birds are a recommended addition to the citys list of banned animals, which already includes the likes of tigers, kangaroos, and non-human primates.

City spokesperson Tammy Robinson told Metro, The keeping of these birds as companion pets is unlikely, but if they were to be kept as pets, it would raise significant concerns that animal care and welfare needs would not be met.

The staff report comes as part of a regular review of prohibited animals.

From 2012 to 2016 the city received 662 complaints about prohibited animals, the most common of which relate to chickens, snakes and birds, according to the report. The city has only received 22 complaints in 2017, as of May 10.

Robinson added that there were no specific cases that led to the policy on penguins, flamingos or cranes, and their recommended restriction was a result of the review process.

Exceptions are made for special premises like the Toronto Zoo, Ripleys Aquarium and Toronto Wildlife Centre.

Additional exceptions are made for police service animals, animals used for research and animals that appear in professionally produced films and television shows.

A public survey also indicated that respondents would like to see chickens removed from the list of prohibited animals. But city staff chose not to recommend that action, citing health, safety and nuisance concerns.

This runs counter to some major North American cities. Chickens are allowed without a permit in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Victoria. Permits are required in Vancouver, Fredericton and Las Vegas. Toronto city council most recently affirmed its existing backyard chicken prohibition in January 2012.

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Pay hikes for top executives at colleges, hospitals, school boards and other broader public sector employers in Ontario will now have to pass a political sniff test.

In the wake of a public relations fiasco that saw the Metrolinx transit agency propose a maximum raise of $118,000 a year for its chief executive and some college presidents making similar gains, cabinet ministers will now get the final say on increases, as a five-year public sector pay freeze is lifted.

The new rules for 360 broader public sector agencies came in a two-page directive Friday from Treasury Board President Liz Sandals, the cabinet minister in charge of the governments finances.

From now on, ministers will have to sign off on the proposed maximum increases for executive teams at agencies under their control as well approve of the other organizations used as comparators for setting wage ranges in compensation reviews. The executive compensation plans, detailing the pay hikes, must be posted prominently on each public sector employer's web site.

Under this process a hospital, for example, could set a maximum level of increase for its executive team as a whole, but retain the flexibility to decide which executives get the biggest raises.

The goal is to find a balance between the careful management of public dollars and the need for broader public sector entities to recruit and retain talented executives, Sandals said.

Premier Kathleen Wynne slammed the door on big raises for public sector executives in February after days of controversy when a number of agencies proposed hikes that she said were just too high and out of whack.

At some colleges, presidents were in line for raises of 50 per cent, prompting Wynne to accuse public-sector organizations of gaming the system as the government balances the budget and ends the pay freezes.

The premier then issued an order that any raises be modest with low annual percentage increases as part of damage control efforts to manage the political fallout.

A threshold on what percentage increase is acceptable will not be set, officials said Friday.

The furore over the proposed raises in January and February fuelled criticism from opposition parties that the Liberal government is out of touch with ordinary citizens concerned about how their hard-earned tax dollars are spent.

With a year until the next election, the Liberals who are struggling in most public opinion polls behind the Progressive Conservatives, are keen to show they are paying attention to pocketbook issues. They have proposed a raise in the minimum wage to $15 by 2019 and free pharmacare for everyone under 25.

The government recently passed a law to reduce hydro rates by an average of 25 per cent, including the 8 per cent provincial HST cut on electricity bills in January.

But the Conservatives and NDP have warned the long-term interest costs of that cut, by spreading the costs of hydro system improvements over 30 years, will cost $25 billion in interest.

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LONDONA year after their stunning referendum to leave the European Union, British voters tossed another political grenade at their system Thursday with a shocking general election result that may place the future of Brexit itself in doubt.

Britain appears headed toward the drama and uncertainty of a weak Conservative minority government in one of the most surprising upsets in U.K. political history.

It was a stunning rebuke of Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May and an astonishing outcome for her left-wing Labour Party rival, Jeremy Corbyn.

With 649 of 650 seats in the House of Commons declared, Mays bruised Conservatives had 318 seats  short of the 326 they needed for an outright majority and well down from the 330 seats they had before Mays roll of the electoral dice. Labour has 261.

There is already considerable speculation that Prime Minister May will be pressured to resign by Conservative party colleagues angry at her performance.

Read more:British PM Theresa Mays majority slipping away, exit polls show

In remarks to her constituency early Friday morning, May indicated she intended to stay on  the country needs a period of stability, she said  although there is a real possibility of another election if the Conservatives dont get the support of the House of Commons. For his part, Labours Corbyn told his supporters that it is time for Theresa May to go. On Friday, May arrived at Buckingham Palace for a meeting with Queen to seek permission to form a government.

In this election, the Labour Party gained more than 30 seats. Not unlike U.S. politician Bernie Sanders during last years presidential campaign, Labours leader Jeremy Corbyn brought his populist, anti-establishment message to enormous crowds every day, many of them filled with young and passionate supporters.

Early indications are that the enthusiasm of young voters for Corbyn was one of the major breakthroughs in this campaign. Voter registration for young people was at an all-time high and it seemed they turned out.

It was the fourth election in four years for British voters, and one that neednt have happened. Theresa May was selected by her party last year to replace David Cameron as prime minister after Britains unexpected Brexit vote to leave the European Union. Repeatedly, she promised there would no election again until the next scheduled vote in 2020.

But the polls in April showed the Conservatives 20 points ahead of the fractured Labour Party led by Corbyn. And the temptation to call a sudden election, it seems, was too great.

They wanted to exploit the apparent weakness of Corbyn and even imagined Theresa May emerging from this election with a landslide victory  as a 21st century Margaret Thatcher ushering in a generation of Tory rule.

The Conservative majority inherited by Prime Minister May from David Cameron was very slim, and she argued that Britain needed strong and stable leadership to confront the Europeans and shape a future outside of Europe.

But voters didnt share that enthusiasm. In terms of seats and popular vote, the Conservative lead over Labour this time was cut in half.

In her first campaign as party leader, Prime Minister May faltered badly. Her biggest stumble was around the release of the Conservative party manifesto. It included a scheme that suggested senior citizens would have to pay for a portion of their social care, which critics called a dementia tax. After several days of ridicule, she announced it would be ditched as a pledge, but the outrage among elderly voters continued.

For the Conservative side, this was an uninspiring campaign, marred by two terrorist incidents in three weeks that killed 30 people. It revealed the prime minister to be a weak campaigner, uncomfortable in unscripted settings, and a leader who never appeared to connect with voters.

More ominously, it also seemed to reflect in stark terms a population still divided about the United Kingdoms challenging road ahead.

The election outcome will undoubtedly have consequences for the countrys divided politics as well as its uncertain role in the wider world.

In ten days, Britain is scheduled to begin its crucial negotiations with Europe that are intended to work out the terms of Britains exit from the European Union. These talks are now in jeopardy because of the political chaos created by these election results.

Nigel Farage, one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign that won last Junes referendum, told the BBC that he believed that Brexit is in some trouble now. We may very well be looking down the barrel of a second referendum.

Farage expressed the view that the talks may be delayed. He also indicated that he may decide to reenter politics once again to help ensure that Brexit actually goes ahead.

The wider British approach to the European Union in light of this election will take some time to work out. The differing demands of splinter parties regarding this issue will undoubtedly become a factor in minority government negotiations.

 With files from the Associated Press

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Chelsea Manning, the army private who spent seven years behind bars and was convicted of disclosing classified government information to WikiLeaks, said she felt compelled to leak information because of a responsibility to the public.

Manning, 29, left prison last month after her 35-year sentence was commuted by former U.S. president Barack Obama earlier this year.

In her first televised interview since walking out of the barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Manning told ABC News that she takes responsibility for her decisions.

Read more:

Chelsea Manning tweets first steps of freedom after being released from prison

Obama shortens Chelsea Mannings prison sentence, grants clemency to hundreds

Obama's Chelsea Manning commutation a mistake: DiManno

No one told me to do this, nobody directed me to do this, Manning told the network in the interview, a portion of which aired Friday on Good Morning America. This is me. Its on me.

While serving as an army intelligence analyst, Manning was arrested in May 2010 after sending to WikiLeaks a collection of materials that included scores of documents, video of a U.S. Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed two journalists, about 250,000 State Department cables and other information. In 2013, Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy but was found guilty of espionage, resulting in the sentence of 35 years in prison.

Manning said she did not believe her leaks would threaten national security.

Youre getting all this information and its just death, destruction, mayhem, she told ABC News. And eventually you just stop, I stopped seeing just statistics and information, and I started seeing people.

She added, I have a responsibility to the public. We all have a responsibility.

The new interview with Manning arrives days after the Trump administration, which has railed against leaks, announced its first public criminal charges in a leak case, arresting Reality Leigh Winner, a government contractor in Georgia, and accusing her of sending classified information to a news organization.

Manning entered federal custody as a male army private named Bradley. Not long after being sentenced, Manning  who was held at an all-male prison  announced that she was a transgender woman and planned to seek hormone therapy.

I had to be who I am, she said in the new interview. Manning said the treatment is literally what keeps me alive, what keeps me from feeling like Im in the wrong body. Before the treatment began, she recalled, she felt as if she wanted to rip my body apart.

In January, Manning was among those granted commutations during Obamas final days in office. Obamas administration was particularly tough on government leakers, but he had also advocated for overall reforms to the countrys sentencing practices. Obama commuted Mannings sentence in January, saying that she would be freed in May, rather than in 2045. A day after the commutation was announced, Obama defended the decision during a White House news conference.

Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence, he said, adding later: It has been my view that given she went to trial, that due process was carried out, that she took responsibility for her crime . . . I feel very comfortable that justice has been served.

President Donald Trump was critical of Obamas decision, calling Manning an ungrateful traitor in a tweet days after taking office, an apparent reference to a Guardian column Manning wrote arguing for a strong and apologetic progressive to lead us and saying that Obama, in seeking compromise, ultimately left behind very few permanent accomplishments.

In the ABC News interview, Manning quickly grew emotional when asked what she would say to Obama.

Thank you, she said. Another chance, its all I wanted . . . thats all I asked for, was a chance. Thats it. And this is my chance.

Asked about critics, including Trump, who call her a traitor, Manning had a plain response.

Im just me, Manning said. Its as simple as that.

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WASHINGTONPunching back a day after his fired FBI directors damaging testimony, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday accused James Comey of lying to Congress and said he was 100 per cent willing to testify under oath about their conversations.

Trump cryptically refused to say whether those private exchanges were taped  a matter at the heart of the conflicting accounts of what passed between them at a time when Comey was leading an FBI investigation into Russias interference in the presidential election and its ties to the Trump campaign.

He asserted that nothing in Comeys testimony to the Senate pointed to collusion with Russia or obstruction of justice. Yesterday showed no collusion, no obstruction, Trump said.

He further denied ever asking Comey for his loyalty, contradicting Comeys detailed sworn testimony about a private dinner the two men had in the White House.

No I didnt say that, Trump stated abruptly, taking questions at a joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in the Rose Garden. Asked if he would make that denial under oath, he said, 100 per cent.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

Trumps aides have dodged questions about whether conversations relevant to the Russia investigation have been recorded, and so did the president, in series of teases.

Well, Ill tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future, Trump said. Pressed on the issue, he insisted he wasnt hinting anything, before adding, Oh youre going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer, dont worry.

The House intelligence committee sent a letter Friday asking White House counsel Don McGahn whether any tape recordings or memos of Comeys conversations with the president exist now or had existed in the past. The committee also sent a letter to Comey asking for any notes or memos in his possession about the discussions he had with Trump before being abruptly fired last month. The committee is seeking the materials by June 23.

Comey told the Senate intelligence committee Thursday about several one-on-one interactions with the president, during which he said Trump pressed him to show loyalty, to back off on the FBI investigation of his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and to disclose that Trump himself was not under investigation.

Comey said he refused on all points, told senators of the detailed memos he had written after his conversations with Trump and said he hoped those conversations were taped because he is confident of their veracity.

Read more:

Trump lied, told me to stop the Flynn investigation and fired me over Russia, Comey testifies

Lordy, I hope there are tapes, Comey accuses Trump of lying

McCain says his confusing questions during Comey hearing the result of tiredness

Standing with the president of Romania, a NATO partner, Trump at last confirmed his commitment to the alliances mutual defence pact, Article 5, uttering words he deliberately did not say when he spoke at NATOs gathering in Belgium last month. On Friday he said he was committing the United States to Article 5.

He also accused Qatar, a key U.S. military partner, of funding terrorism at a very high level, and said solving the problem in the tiny Persian Gulf nation could be the beginning of the end of terrorism. It was a forceful endorsement of this weeks move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to cut off ties to Qatar, but a very different message from the one delivered just an hour before by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Tillerson had called on the Arab nations to immediately ease their blockade on Qatar.

Trump also saluted the United States relationship with Romania and praised its contribution to the global fight against terror.

The president had previewed his attacks against Comey in an early-morning tweet that broke his previous days silence on his favourite social media megaphone.

Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication, Trump wrote. It was a stunning accusation, suggesting that the former FBI director had lied to Congress, while under oath.

He also seized on Comeys revelation that he had directed a friend to release contents of memos hed written documenting his conversations with the president to a reporter.

...and WOW, Comey is a leaker! Trump wrote at 6:10 a.m. He derisively repeated the leaker moniker when speaking to reporters in the Rose Garden.

Trumps private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, seized on Comeys admission that he had orchestrated the public release of the information. Kasowitz is expected to file a complaint with the Justice Department inspector general next week, according to a person close to the legal team who agreed to speak before the filing on condition that the persons name is not used.

Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, and Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the committee, both said Thursday they believed Comeys account of the events.

And I think you saw today the overwhelming majority of the intel members, Democrats and Republicans, feel that Jim Comey is credible. Even folks who have been his critics dont question his integrity, his commitment to the rule of law and his intelligence, Warner said.

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ST. PAUL, MINN.A Minnesota police officer charged in the death of a black motorist testified Friday that he was scared to death and fired because the man was pulling out his gun and ignoring commands to stop.

Officer Jeronimo Yanez, facing a manslaughter charge in the death of Philando Castile, said he could clearly see the gun that Castile had just told the officer he was carrying.

I was scared to death. I thought I was going to die. My familys faces popped up in my mind, my wife and baby girl, Yanez said, his voice choked with emotion.

Closing arguments were expected Monday.

Prosecutors say Yanezs actions were unreasonable. Yanez had pulled the 32-year-old cafeteria worker over because of a faulty brake light. Castile had a permit for his gun, and prosecutors have sought to portray him as being co-operative when he volunteered to Yanez, Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me.

Read more:

Minnesota officer in Castile shooting said he didnt know where the gun was

Castiles gun permit evidence should be omitted in trial, officers lawyer says

The shooting last July drew widespread attention in part because Castiles girlfriend  who was a passenger in the car along with her then-4-year-old daughter  streamed the aftermath on Facebook.

A central question at trial has been what Yanez saw before firing seven times, barely a minute after he approached the car and just seconds after Castile said he had a gun. Squad car video recorded him telling a supervisor after the shooting that he did not know where the gun was, although it also recorded him saying he told Castile to take his hand off it. Witnesses testified that the gun was in a pocket of Castiles shorts when paramedics removed him from his vehicle.

Asked to explain the recording, Yanez said: What I meant by that was I didnt know where the gun was up until I saw it in his right thigh area.

Prosecutor Rick Dusterhoft asked Yanez about a statement to investigators that he saw the barrel of the gun before he fired. Dusterhoft said that was significant because it would have meant Castile had the gun all the way out of his pocket when he was shot.

Yanez said he meant to tell investigators that he saw the top of the slide, on the back part of the gun, rather than the barrel. Elliot Erdman, a fellow officer who described Yanez as a close friend, testified that Yanez told him about the misstatement the day after the shooting.

He recounted Yanez as saying: Crap, I told them barrel. I meant the slide.

Prosecutors have argued that Yanez could have taken lesser steps when Castile told him he was carrying a gun, such as asking to see Castiles hands or asking where the gun was. After Castile told the officer he had the gun, Yanez told Castile, OK, dont reach for it then, and, Dont pull it out.

On the squad car video, Castile can be heard saying, Im not pulling it out, as Yanez opened fire. Castiles last words were, I wasnt reaching for it.

Yanez said he felt he had no choice but to shoot. Castile had total disregard for my commands, he said.

Did I want to shoot Mr. Castile at all? Those were not my intentions, he said, taking off his glasses at one point and wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.

Yanez said he pulled Castiles car over because the driver gave him a deer in the headlights look when he drove past. The officer said he was on alert for a pair of suspects in a convenience store robbery and thought Castile resembled one of the suspects.

Earlier Friday, a use-of-force expert, Emanuel Kapelsohn, testified for the defence that Yanez was justified to shoot if he believed he saw a gun or that Castile was pulling one.

Prosecutor Jeff Paulsen, on cross-examination, asserted that the ultimate question in the case was whether Yanez saw a gun. Kapelsohn disagreed, saying the central question to him was whether Yanez reasonably believed that Castile was pulling out a firearm.

Paulsen also displayed autopsy photos that showed a graze wound to Castiles trigger finger. Paulsen noted the absence of a bullet hole in Castiles shorts or bullet damage to his gun  evidence, the prosecutor said, that showed he wasnt reaching for the gun when shot.

Kapelsohn said it was possible Castile didnt have his hand in or near his pocket at that point.

Defence attorneys argue that Castile was stoned at the time of the traffic stop and it influenced his response to the officer.

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LONDONThe aftershocks from Britains stunning election result are only beginning to be felt  in the U.K., the rest of Europe and the United States  but they will be far-reaching.

A humiliated Theresa May, clinging to her job as prime minister in a weak minority government, will likely be forced to resign by her Conservative party within months, triggering another election within a year.

A chastened British government, up to now determined to steam ahead with potentially disastrous Brexit negotiations with Europe, will be forced to reassess.

And an isolated Donald Trump, already alienated from most leaders in Europe except for May, is certain to see his planned state visit to Britain this summer delayed and ultimately cancelled.

It was one of the most surprising upsets in U.K. political history  a rebuke of May and an astonishing outcome for her left-wing Labour party rival, Jeremy Corbyn.

A year after their stunning referendum to leave the European Union, British voters set off another political earthquake with an election result that might even place the future of Brexit in doubt.

It was the fourth election in four years for British voters, and one that neednt have happened. The voters hit back. May was selected by her party last year to replace David Cameron as prime minister after the unexpected Brexit vote. But she repeatedly promised there would no election again until the next scheduled vote in 2020.

However, the polls in April showed the Conservatives 20 points ahead of the fractured Labour party led by Corbyn. And the temptation to call a sudden election, it seems, was too great.

Conservative bosses imagined a scenario whereby May emerged from this election with a landslide victory  as a 21st century Margaret Thatcher ushering in a generation of Tory rule.

But it backfired in a colossal way. Voters didnt share their enthusiasm. In terms of seats and popular vote, the Conservative lead over Labour was cut in half.

On Friday May turned to Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party, which won just 10 seats, to back a tenuous minority government. That party  which is pro-Brexit but wants to maintain an open border with the Republic of Ireland  did not immediately commit to a formal coalition and will likely seek concessions from May, or whoever replaces her as Conservative leader in the months to come.

I certainly think that there will be contact made over the weekend but I think it is too soon to talk about what were going to do, DUP Leader Arlene Foster told The Associated Press Friday, adding that it would be difficult for May to keep her job.

In her first campaign as party leader, May faltered badly. Her biggest stumble was around the release of the Conservative party manifesto. It included a scheme that suggested some senior citizens would have to pay for a portion of their social care, which critics called it a dementia tax. After several days of ridicule, she announced it would be ditched as a pledge but the outrage among elderly voters continued.

For the Conservative side, this was an uninspiring campaign, rocked by two terrorist incidents in three weeks that killed 29 people. It revealed the prime minister to be a weak campaigner who refused to debate her rivals and never appeared to connect with voters.

More ominously, it reflected in stark terms a population still divided about the United Kingdoms perilous road ahead.

There were at least three lessons from this campaign that shocked Britains political establishment:

1. Crowds matter, and so do young voters

Not unlike U.S. politician Bernie Sanders during last years presidential campaign, Corbyn brought his upbeat, populist, anti-austerity message to enormous crowds every day, many of them filled with young and passionate supporters. The enthusiasm of young voters for Corbyn was one of the major breakthroughs in this campaign. Voter registration for young people was at an all-time high and it seems they turned out.

2. Brexit is not yet a done deal

Nigel Farage, one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign that won last Junes referendum, said he believed that Brexit is in some trouble now. We may very well be looking down the barrel of a second referendum. He thought that talks may be delayed, and indicated he may re-enter politics because of this.

3. Even in Britain, Donald Trump is toxic

Many Britons were outraged after Trump criticized Londons popular Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, over his handling of the London Bridge terrorist attack. Trump distorted remarks made by Khan and never apologized. The incident added to the growing public feeling that Mays invitation to the U.S. president for a state dinner should be cancelled.

In this new era of Trump, the global political landscape is changing  both in Britain and in the rest of Europe.

In France this weekend, newly elected President Emmanuel Macron is facing crucial parliamentary elections. But his popularity seems to be soaring in the wake of his rebuke of Trump over the issues of climate change and NATO.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also facing re-election and she, too, is benefiting politically by trying to detach Europe from the wrecking machine that Trumps administration in Washington has turned into.

In terms of potential allies, these European leaders had written off May and Britain in light of the Brexit vote last year, and Mays apparent connection with Trump.

But Thursdays U.K. election result was a reminder to them and to the rest of us that nothing in this crazy 21st century world should be taken for granted.

Tony Burman is former head of Al Jazeera English and CBC News. Reach him @TonyBurman or at tony.burman@gmail.com .

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Many years ago, just before I left home for the first day of my first job, I touched my parents feet as I sought their blessings in customary Hindu tradition.

When I was upright again, my father gave me this advice: Your first loyalty is to your profession. Your second loyalty is to your company. Your third loyalty is to your boss.

Then he tempered that bit of idealism with a jolt of reality. This will upset people.

He was right, of course. Toadyism rules corporate culture, where too many leaders demand personal loyalty above all, and too many employees feel they must give it.

The kindest thing one can say about U.S. President Donald Trump is that he is, by experience, a CEO first. Perhaps he felt entitled to a loyalty pledge from his then FBI chief James Comey in January this year.

For Comey, a veteran who has handled two previous presidents, that was stunning impropriety, as were the later pressures concerning investigations into retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and into Russias role in the U.S. election.

Here was the situation from Comeys point of view: He found himself dining with his bosss boss, alone. The Presidents nature did not inspire confidence. The subject matter was inappropriate. And Comey had a gut feeling about it all.

He said No, and got turfed.

Sound familiar?

One of the most formidable men in the world had found himself on the receiving end of a hostile power dynamic.

Imagine now, a woman or a person of colour facing that dynamic in a workplace, specifically in the form of sexual harassment and/or racial abuse.

When the former FBI director agreed to testify in a public hearing, he delivered masterful testimony that humanized him, ensuring that he emerged as the composed voice of reason against his superiors erratic temperament.

Viewing Comeys extraordinary hearing through the lens of workplace abuse offers many lessons:

1. Take notes. Everybody knows this but nobody does it. Keep a log of uncomfortable situations even if you dont plan to complain. Comey kept careful notes  nine, he thinks  of his dealings with Trump, something he never did with previous presidents. I knew there might come a day when I would need a record of what had happened, he said.

A memo doesnt have to be a formal log; some of Comeys memos were emails sent to his chief of staff.

2. Do blab. Tell somebody what happened. Not everybody has powerful lawyer friends as Comey did. He shared his memo with a close friend who is a professor at Columbia law school. But telling people outside and inside the company is good practice. Not having a ready network is challenging for new immigrants, its true, but find someone you can trust.

3. Tell your boss they are wrong, maybe. This is first thing people are often asked to do in a sexual harassment or a racially charged situation. As Comeys testimony showed, thats easier said than done.

Did you say something to the president about, that is not an appropriate request, or did you tell the White House counsel, its not an appropriate request? asked Senator Marco Rubio.

I didnt, no, Comey responded.

Why? asked Rubio.

Watch how Comey turns vulnerability into defence.

I was a bit stunned, said Comey. I dont know if I would have said to the president with the presence of mind, Sir, thats wrong. In the moment, it didnt come to my mind. What came to my mind is be careful what you say.

4. Tell someone high up your boss is wrong. Senator Susan Collins pressed Comey further on this point later on.

Upon reflection, did you go to anyone at the Department of Justice and ask them to call the White House counsels office and explain that the president had to have a far better understanding and appreciation of his role vis-a-vis the FBI?

In general, I did, Comey said. I spoke to the attorney general and spoke to the new deputy attorney general, Mr. Rosenstein, when he took office and explained my serious concern about the way in which the president is interacting, especially with the FBI.

5. Expect victim-blaming. You said (you told) the attorney general, I dont want to be in the room with him alone again, but you continued to talk to him on the phone, Senator Roy Blunt said.

I reported the calls, Comey said, to my superior, who was the acting deputy attorney general.

6. Be really, overly transparent about how you are communicating. Did you ever call the president? Senator Angus King asked Comey,

No, I might, said Comey, then paused a bit. The only reason Im hesitating is, I think there was at least one conversation where I was asked to call the White House switchboard to be connected to him. I never initiated a communication with the president.

Finally, take heart. If the long-standing head of a secretive agency that can manipulate laws to spy on you can testify and emerge credible and authentic, you can, too.

Shree Paradkar tackles issues of race and gender. You can follow her @shreeparadkar

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We all know child labour exists. Whether youve glanced at clothing labels and wondered who made your clothes or travelled to places where youve seen children at work, each of us knows that in many places around the world, children are working  often in dangerous conditions.

Its a complex issue, and the context kids find themselves working in are wide ranging, with varying implications on their health and future development. While some work on farms to help their parents, others are forced into jobs in dangerous industries, such as the mining of smartphone metals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the shrimp industry in Thailand or the clothing industry in Bangladesh, where I recently visited.

It can also feel like a distant issue. Most people think that child labour isnt connected to Canada. But actually, theyre wrong. After visiting children around the world, I can say with conviction that child labour is indeed a Canadian problem.

In Bangladesh, I met girls, such as 13-year-old Koli, who spends her day gluing tiny beads onto fabric instead of going to school  for less than $1 a day. Other girls our team met told us they started full-time factory work at 11 and spend 12-hour days sewing pockets onto jeans in a factory that makes 1,600 pairs a day.

They shared stories of psychological and physical abuse, how they arent allowed to take bathroom breaks or to stay home if theyre sick. And if they make a mistake on one pair of jeans, they dont get paid for their day of work. These girls are caught in this situation, despite improved local laws  the child labour just becomes more hidden.

Products made by children in developing countries are coming to Canada through a giant network of supply chains with little transparency of the child labour that lurks deep within them. Each year our country imports $1.4 billion worth of garments from Bangladesh, which is home to 1.3 million working children in all industries. From coffee in Central America to sugar in the Philippines, Canada imports products we use every day that have a high risk of child labour attached to them.

World Vision research backs this up and shows that there are at least 1,200 Canadian companies importing $34-billion in goods into Canada that may have been made by child labourers overseas. Out of sight, and, unfortunately, out of mind.

This is why child labour still works. Child labour thrives on the belief that it isnt our problem to deal with. While we put pressure on other governments to eliminate child labour from their own countries, we put little pressure on the Canadian companies that source from these places to try to ensure kids arent part of their supply chains.

Canadian companies currently disclose very little about what  if anything  they are doing to address child labour. World Vision is calling on the Canadian government to change that. Our country needs federal legislation that requires companies to publicly report their efforts to monitor, address and prevent child labour in their global supply chains.

This legislation is not a new idea Similar laws have been passed in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and California. Australia is currently holding an inquiry to see if it should follow suit.

These laws are making a difference and there has been significant corporate change. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the Modern Slavery Acts 2015 provisions about transparency in the supply chain have already been driving corporate change in this area. One study indicated 39 per cent of companies subsequently implemented new policies and systems, while 58 per cent dramatically increased communication with suppliers  all to help prevent forced and child labour.

Child labour wont disappear because of Canadian supply chain legislation, but I believe legislation is a vital step in the right direction.

Poverty is a root cause of child labour, and must be addressed, but Canada can show global leadership on the demand side of the equation. And its not burdensome regulation. Legislation will simply hold Canadian companies accountable and give Canadians the peace of mind they want when making purchases.

We can join other nations in putting in place minimum requirements that prompt real action for children. Girls and boys should learn, play and grow up with every opportunity to thrive. Thats what Canadians expect for our children, and we must do our part to make it a reality for all children.

Michael Messenger is president and CEO of World Vision Canada.

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Storytellers will gather in one of Nebraska's most picturesque parks later this summer to celebrate the state's sesquicentennial.

More than 15 literary figures with ties to the state will headline a three-day conference at Ponca State Park in early August. The general public is invited  and encouraged  to attend.

"It's just going to be really relaxing and fun," said Nebraska State Poet Twyla Hansen, who will hold a poetry workshop, deliver the keynote address and read some of her own work during the event.

"We're going to be in a beautiful place. ... It's just a gorgeous area of our state."

Ponca State Park is nestled in the bluffs along a scenic, unchannelized stretch of the Missouri River in northeast Nebraska. The conference will include boat tours, a guided hike and a campfire storytelling session, along with other literary readings, workshops and live music.

Hansen said everyone who attends will be encouraged to participate in storytelling workshops.

"Everyone really knows at least one good story, or they know another person's story," she said. "They should be told."

The event, "150 Years of Nebraska Storytelling: A Conference Celebrating Nebraska History Through Literature," is hosted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and runs Aug. 6-8.

Registration is required. The $85 conference fee includes meals. Discounts for lodging and the conference itself are available to students and educators.

For more information, or to reserve a space, call 402-755-2284.

Ponca State Park is a just north of Ponca, about 3 hours from Lincoln.
President Donald Trump plans to appoint SkyBridge Capital founder and campaign fundraiser Anthony Scaramucci as ambassador to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a report Thursday from Bloomberg.

Daniel Yohannes, appointed as President Barack Obama as the previous ambassador to the OECD, resigned the post on Jan. 20.

Scaramucci, 53, has long been lobbying for a job in the Trump administration.

He told reporters in January that he would be joining the White House as a liaison to the business community, though the Trump administration never made an official announcement on the matter. He ultimately did not get the job. Scaramucci in January agreed to sell his approximately 45% stake in SkyBridge to an investor group including a subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group -- a deal that might have hindered his job prospects under Trump.

"I was slated for one role, and I think there was an urgency to fill that role," Scaramucci told journalist Michael Wolff at an event hosted by TheStreet in Manhattan in March.

Scaramucci is one of Trump's fiercest backers, despite not being hired by the administration right away. He said in March that Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus told him that he would be given a job once his business deal closed.

"I honestly don't know what that role will be, but hopefully it will be something where I can have a meaningful impact," he said at the time.

White House representatives did not immediately return a request for comment on Bloomberg's report of Scaramucci's appointment to the OECD, a Paris-based, 35-country organization that promotes economic progress and trade worldwide.

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L'Oreal (LRLCY) shares were one of the top gainers in Paris Friday after the luxury goods maker said it was in talks with Brazil's Natura Cosmeticos that could lead to a sale of its Body Shop franchise for around 1 billion ($1.12 billion).

L'Oreal has been searching for a Body Shop buyer since February, when it announced a strategic review of its brands in order to give it "the best opportunities and full ability to continue its development."

L'Oreal shares gained 1.6% in the opening 45 minutes of trading in Paris to change hands at 191.20 each at 9:22 CET, outpacing the 0.82% gain for the benchmark CAC-40 and extending the stock's three-month gain of almost 8%.

Clichy, France-based L'Oreal bought Body Shop, an ethical cosmetics chain that was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick in Brighton, England, for 652.3 million ($815.8 million) in 2006.

But sales at the unit have been lackluster since it was incorporated into the French cosmetics giant's balance sheet, peaking with like-for-like sales of 4.9% in 2012. The Body Shop accounts for just a small portion of L'Oreal's overall earnings.

In 2016, it generated retail sales of around 1.5 billion and net sales of 921 million.

Natura is the Brazilian manufacturer and marketer of sustainable beauty and household products. Sustainable development It sells products through representatives.

"I am very pleased to announce Natura as the potential new "home" for The Body Shop. It is the best new owner we could imagine to nurture the brand DNA around naturality and ethics," L'Oreal Chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Agon said in a statement. "Natura will support The Body Shop development in the long-term and enable."

The proposed deal will be submitted to L'Oreal's employee representative body and is subject to regulatory approval notably in Brazil and in the United States. The proposed transaction is expected to close during 2017.

The lengthy auction process had seen second round bids submitted by private equity group CVC, previously seen as a strong contender, and China's Fosun. The deadline for bids was on Monday this week.
Catalonia, Spain's biggest economic region, will hold a referendum on independence later this year, its President said Friday, defying the federal government in Madrid's verdict that such a vote is illegal.

Carles Puigdemont said the vote, which was scheduled for October 1, will ask citizens of northeast Spain: "Do you want Catalonia to be an independent country as a Republic?". Even calling for such a decision risks opening a renewed spat with Madrid, which has consistently argued that it is unconstitutional.

The euro traded marginally lower against the U.S. dollar on the news, despite the weakness of the pound in the wake of Britain's electoral crisis, to at 1.1177 by 11:00 CET.

Catalonia's independence movement has a long history, but was given new life in the wake of Europe's financial crisis in 2012 when the federal government imposed severe cuts in spending in order to partly support its decision to pump 40 billion into its failing banking system. Much of the austerity drive, however, was ordered to be carried out among Spain's 17 Autonomous Regions, a burden which Catalonia -- which contributes the highest of Spain's GDP -- considered unfair.

However, recent polls suggest only 44.3% of Catalans back a split from Madrid, with 48.5% supporting the idea of a regional capital in Barcelona that continues to work within the country's federal system.

What's Hot

After a monster run in its stock on the heels of a bullish investor day, Alibaba (BABA) - Get Free Report founder Jack Ma saw his net wealth rise $8.5 billion to $41.8 billion. He is Asia's richest man, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) - Get Free Report is the best-performing S&P 500 component this quarter. The stock is up a robust 54% in June as Wall Street has become even more bullish on the company's prospects.

Apple (AAPL) - Get Free Report CEO Tim Cook will deliver the commencement address at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday. He has big shoes to fill after a well-received speech by Facebook (FB) - Get Free Report founder Mark Zuckerberg at his alma mater Haravrd.

Apple and Facebook are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells FB and AAPL? Learn more now.

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France will vote this weekend (yes again), this time to elect its legislative assembly, with polls suggest the party of new President Emmanuel Macron will win a landslide and secure a mandate to liberalize the nation's highly-regulated labor market and supercharge the European Union.

Macron's "Republic En Marche", or REM, party is projected to win as many as 400 of the 577 seats up for grabs in the National Assembly, giving it the second largest majority since the creation of France's Fifth Republic in the years after World War II.

Macron's party is likely to win between 370 and 400 seats, according to a poll published Thursday by OpinionWay and Orpi for business daily Les Echos and Radio Classique. A party needs 289 seats to form a government in France, suggesting there is little prospect that Macron's party won't take up power later this month. The second placed Le Republicans party is projected to win about 100 seats, down from its current 189.

A big win for Macron, 39, will be well received by French markets and Europe, which could do with some good news following Britain's vote on Thursday, which failed to deliver a majority for any party and in doing so threw its exit negotiations into chaos.

"There is no better electoral force than optimism," wrote Cecile Cornudet in a column for Les Echos on Friday. "Between (France's) presidential and legislative elections, the climate of the country has changed completely."

Macron has promised an overtly pro-European platform. In his first meeting as President he stood alongside Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and pledged "an historic rebuilding" of Europe including collaborative "investment mechanisms."

On the domestic front, and assuming the polls are right, it will fall to Macron's Prime Minister Edouard Philippe to push through labor market and social security reforms promised by the President.

Philippe, 46, this week warned France's traditionally intransigent unions that changes to labor laws and France's onerous pensions system were "indispensable and urgent." Macron plans to use Presidential decree to push through laws that will allow companies to negotiate contracts directly with workers and stream line labor tribunals and cap dismissal awards, making it cheaper and easier to fire workers in the hope that it will encourage companies to hire them.

Markets appear to have already factored in REM's victory and are expressing support for Macron's economically liberal, pro-European policies. The spread between French 10-year bonds and German 10-year bonds, considered a key indicator of confidence in France's economy, has more than halved since Macron's win in the first round of the presidential elections in April. The yield on French bonds has fallen to 0.633, and was down almost 2% on Friday, compared to a German yield of 0.26, leaving the spread at just under 37 basis points and well below its April level of nearly 80 basis points.

A word of caution though: Polling of France's legislative elections is famously complicated due to the electoral system, which is conducted over two weekends. France will vote on June 11 and then again on June 18.

The first round of voting eliminates any party with less than 12.5% of registered voters for any seat, leaving the remaining parties to face off in a second round. With France's political landscape fractured by the rise of Macron's party the country faces the prospect of numerous three-way contests in the second round, making this years legislative election more unpredictable than usual.

Visit here for the latest business headlines.
JD.com (JD) - Get Free Report has plans to invest in Thailand by the end of this year, which will expand its presence beyond Indonesia, which at the moment accounts for almost all of the company's overseas business, Reuters reports.

JD.com is the second largest eCommerce company in China.

JD is looking to use Thailand as a hub to service other Southeast Asian countries, company CEO Richard Liu told Reuters. The CEO did not disclose how much of an investment it would be making in Thailand.

Comcast (CMCSA) - Get Free Report , Netflix (NFLX) - Get Free Report and Alphabet (GOOGL) - Get Free Report are just some of the tech names in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS portfolio. Get his insights on the biggest names in tech here.
Shares of Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) - Get Free Report and Fred's Inc. undefined are falling sharply on a new report that the Federal Trade Commission is preparing to file a lawsuit seeking to block Walgreen's $15 billion purchase of Rite Aid. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) - Get Free Report shares also had fallen slightly.

To address antitrust concerns, Walgreens has offered to sell as many as 1,200 Rite Aid stores to Fred's. But the FTC, burned previously by retail merger divestitures that didn't work out, is concerned that Fred's doesn't have the market presence or financial strength to replace the competition that would be lost with the removal of Rite Aid from the pharmacy chain sector. TheStreet on June 6 reported that Rite Aid and Walgreens have acknowledged the deal's long odds and a report by Capitol Forum Friday reiterates the FTC's concerns.

Rite Aid shares were down 15%, or 52 cents, to $3 by Friday's close. Walgreens dropped 48 cents to $80.99 and Fred's was down 0.5%, or 6 cents, to $11.28.

Walgreens has given the FTC until July 7 to reach a decision on their pending merger, after which the companies are free to merge unless the commission files a lawsuit challenging the deal before that date.

Walgreens agreed to acquire Rite Aid for about $9.7 billion back in October 2015. In January Walgreens and Rite Aid cut the price after it became apparent the FTC would require way more stores to be divested for antitrust approval than the companies originally expected. The new agreement obligates Walgreens to divest up to 1,200 Rite Aid stores and certain additional related assets if required for FTC approval. The original merger agreement capped Walgreens' divestiture obligation at 1,000 stores.

If the FTC approves the merger conditioned upon a sale of stores to Fred's, the exact per share of Walgreen's offer will be determined based on the number of required store divestitures. If 1,000 stores or fewer are required for divestiture, Rite Aid shareholders will receive $7 per share. They will get $6.50 per share if 1,200 stores are required for divestiture. If the required divestitures fall between 1,000 and 1,200 stores, the per share price will be set according to pro-rata adjustment.

A big issue for the FTC has been whether Fred's will be strong enough to operate the huge number of stores it would be acquiring. If 1,200 outlets are ordered spun off that would be be nearly twice Fred's current 650-store footprint, which is mainly in small and mid-size towns across southeastern states. The purchase would give Fred's a larger footprint in urban areas, which Walgreens has contended would build it up as a viable competitor to a combine Walgreens-Rite Aid or even Woonsocket, R.I.-based pharmacy giant CVS Health (CVS)

.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Qatar's emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to do more to fight extremism, but also urged Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to ease the blockade that they placed on the country.

President Donald Trump spoke with the emir of embattled Qatar to offer assistance in settling the differences between the country and its neighbors, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

"The President emphasized the importance of all countries in the region working together to prevent the financing of terrorist organizations and stop the promotion of extremist ideology" the White House said, noting what Trump said during his call with the emir.

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.
L'Oreal (LRLCY) has owned The Body Shop brand since 2006 and is currently in talks to sell the cosmetics and skincare company to Brazilian beauty company Natura, CNN Money reports.

Natura is valuing The Body Shop deal at $1.12 billion.The deal is subject to regulatory approval and if approved will close later this year.

The Body Shop is a 40-year-old British cosmetics company. L'Oreal is a Clichy, France-based cosmetics giant that owns a number of other brands including Lancome, Clarisonic, Garnier, Maybelline, and Essie.

Retail's downturn giving you the blues? Jim Cramer has a list of retailers that are currently oversold, giving investors a leg up one of the market's most volatile sectors.
A Nebraska village board member has agreed to pay a $500 civil penalty for violating state disclosure laws.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission announced the settlement Friday with South Bend village board member Patrick Cunningham.

The violations stem from a contract between the village and Cunningham's wife, Deb Cunningham. Deb Cunningham performed the duties of a village clerk as an independent contractor.

Commissioners said Patrick Cunningham failed to list the contract on the village board's agenda, which he should have done because of his interest in the contract. He also was accused of not properly disclosing his interest in the contract.

Cunningham said he didn't intend to violate the law, but acknowledges there was sufficient evidence to show that he did.

The commission voted 8-0 to approve the fine.
Navigant Consulting, Inc. provides professional services worldwide. It operates through three segments: Healthcare, Energy, and Financial Services Advisory and Compliance. The Healthcare segment offers consulting and business process management services to healthcare providers, payers, and life sciences companies. This segment helps clients respond to market legislative changes, such as the shift to an outcome and value-based reimbursements model, ongoing industry consolidation and reorganization, Medicaid expansion, the implementation of a electronic health records system, and product planning and commercialization expertise. The Energy segment provides life-cycle solutions that help clients businesses in changing energy environment, manage complexity, accelerate operational performance, and meet compliance requirements, as well as transform its organizations and systems; and various benchmarking, and data and market research services. This segment serves utility and energy companies, government and nongovernmental organizations, large corporations, product manufacturers, and investors. The Financial Services Advisory and Compliance segment provides strategic, operational, valuation, risk management, investigative, and compliance advisory services to financial services industry, including financial and insurance institutions. This segment also offers anti-corruption solutions and anti-money laundering consulting, litigation support, and tax compliance services. Navigant Consulting, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Rockwell Automation, Inc. provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products, and services. The Intelligent Devices segment offers drives, motion, safety, sensing, industrial components, and configured-to-order products. The Software & Control segment provides control and visualization software and hardware, information software, digital twin and simulation software, and network and security infrastructure solutions. The Lifecycle Services segment provides consulting, professional services and solutions, and connected and maintenance services. The company sells its solutions primarily through independent distributors in relation with its direct sales force. It serves discrete end markets, including automotive, semiconductor, warehousing and logistics, and other discrete markets, as well as general industries comprising printing and publishing, marine, glass, fiber and textiles, airports, and aerospace; hybrid end markets, such as food and beverage, life sciences, household and personal care, and tire, as well as eco industrial, including water/wastewater, waste management, mass transit, and renewable energy; and process end markets comprising oil and gas, mining, metals, chemicals, pulp and paper, and others. Rockwell Automation, Inc. was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
RACINE  The before and after pictures of Racines lakefront, which underwent a transformation from 1984-87, could hardly be starker.

People like former Racine County Executive Jean Jacobson remember well the lakefront before 1987. And she knows the sweeping changes wrought by the creation of Reefpoint Marina and Festival Park, which was recently renamed Paul P. Harris Rotary Park.

Asked to describe Racines Downtown lakefront before the harbor and marina were built, she said bluntly, It was a crummy lakefront. There was no reason for anybody to go down and look at the lake. There was a used-car dealership, oil tanks  and we ended up with a gem of a lakefront.

We have a generation that thinks weve always had that, Jacobson commented.

Downtown Racine Corp. Executive Director Devin Sutherland has a 1987 aerial photograph, taken from the lake looking over the newly built Reefpoint Marina, hanging in his office. Whats notable about it, he pointed out, are all the things that did not yet exist in that photo, including Lakeshore Towers, the Gaslight Pointe development, the hotel that is now a Doubletree Inn and the adjacent parking structure.

The investment in the county was huge, and it was risky, Sutherland said. But Im confident those things would not be there without the citys and countys lakefront investments. Hundreds of millions of dollars of investment followed, he said.

Jacobson had a ringside seat to the lakefronts transformation, having been one of the decision-makers as a county supervisor and chairman of the Racine County Boards Public Works Committee then.

And Jim Rooney, now 82, was County Board chairman. Jim Rooney was the cog in the wheel of how all of this was built, Jacobson said.  Jim was the kingpin here.

Jacobson still marvels at Rooneys political skills, both locally and in Madison as a state legislator at the time, in helping to convince county supervisors to work with city aldermen to reshape what was on and offshore Downtown in the early- to mid-1980s.

Racines unemployment rate was 22 percent, Jacobson said. And to think of us building a marina for people of means, what possibly were we thinking?

A better harbor

Rooney, a longtime boater, thought like a boater when he looked at Racines harbor in the years leading up to the early 1980s. It was always a fair-weather harbor, he said about the area north of the river and over to North Pier. Strong winds out of the southeast would cause havoc for people who moored their boats there.

In 1967, when Rooney was Racine Yacht Club commodore, the club assessed each of its members a one-time fee of $100  causing part of the membership to leave. But enough stayed for the club to try building itself a breakwater.

Rooney and a couple of other members flew to Chattanooga, Tenn., and bought three inland grain barges for $3,000 each, including shipping to Chicago. The club brought the barges  each one 175 feet long, 20 feet wide and 15 feet deep  to Racines harbor, lined them up parallel to the shoreline, and had the sides blown out so they sank in place atop a stone bed.

But the workers ran out of time and hadnt pinned the barges in place. That same night a storm blew in, scattering the barges off their careful placements, Rooney continued.

The next day as they surveyed the damage, Rooney said, One of our older members said, Hey Jim, that looks like Pearl Harbor out there!

The club had to have the barges refloated, moved back in place and sunk again to form the skeleton of the new breakwater. The club put large rocks, armor stone, along the east side of the barges to protect them from the battering waves.

So when we talk about the Racine harbor, Rooney said, that was the first time something like that had been tried.

As for the barges, he said, Today theyre still there.

Planning a new marina

South of the rivers mouth, Rooney said, It was even less of a fair-weather area than the north harbor. Where we now see all of Reefpoint Marina, he said, There was nothing there, no slips. It was just open water over there.

Asked who had the original idea for building a marina there, Rooney admitted, Well, I was the daydreamer all the time about this kind of stuff. I always had a pencil out and a board to work on and was always looking at different things.

In the mid-1970s a Chicago company wanted to build a marina there, he said, But it never materialized.

When Rooney was elected to the Wisconsin Legislature in 1972, one of his first efforts was to create a Wisconsin Waterways Commission similar to Michigans. It took him six years to get it to a vote, but it passed. He is still chairman of the commission, which funneled a little more than $3 million into building Reefpoint Marina.

Rooney was always trying to grow support for his big ideas. And then the late Sam Johnson came aboard, wanting to help spark a renaissance of Downtown, and he started the Downtown Racine Development Corp.

DRDC sponsored a gathering of county supervisors and city aldermen at SC Johnsons Council House to talk about what could be done. Committees were formed and consultants were hired, and those consultants devised the idea for Festival Park. Rooney was then County Board chairman.

They all liked the idea of a marina and park, he said, but nobody was sure how to start. So eventually, Rooney suggested the city take responsibility for everything on land, and the county take the water. Thats what they did.

With Rooneys persuasion and persistence, the County Boards vote to create a new, $21 million to $22 million marina was 27-4 in favor.

The breakwater and marina

In December 1984, and from 1985-7, came the massive building the stone breakwater for the future Reefpoint marina, involving an army of trucks, tugboats, skows, barges and cranes.

It was like an armada came into Racine, Rooney said.  Like Normandy or something.

Dredging of the harbor created a 17-acre park that is part of Reefpoint Marinas land area.

Meanwhile, the city built Festival Park for about $5.5 million to $6 million. Rooney and other politicians found places, such as the Waterways Commission, to get money to help pay for the marina and park.

It didnt take long to pay off those bonds, Jacobson said. Look what (the area) is today.

Rooney said he thinks the overall project was the catalyst for bringing Racine back to life and attracting additional investment by the likes of Johnson, Case IH and others.

The real credit in my eyes, Jacobson said, goes back to the elected officials, city and county, who had the foresight to look ahead at what it would do.

It was a perfect example of how municipalities can work together for the good of the entire region  despite the fact that it was the most controversial project the county entered into.
The most complete bird found in amber so far, the baby bird is around 99 million years old.

We can't time travel to the Cretaceous Period, we don't have photos, we don't even have paintings or cave drawings  but thanks to the persevering preservative qualities of amber, we are nonetheless offered exquisite glimpses of some of the organisms that called planet Earth their home millions of years ago.

There have been bits and pieces of feathered things found in amber before, but now half of a hatchling has been found and described in a new paper. With most of the skull and neck of the bird, along with part of a wing, hindlimb, and tail all beautifully preserved, it is the most complete bird found in amber so far.

 Xing Lida

National Geographic explains how the spectacular specimen was discovered:

The fossilized specimen was purchased in Myanmar in 2014 by Guang Chen, director of the Hupoge Amber Museum in Tengchong City, China, after he had heard about an amber sample with a strange "lizard claw" inclusion. Chen brought the sample to research team co-leader Lida Xingof the China University of Geosciences, who identified the claw as an enantiornithine foot. Additional imaging of the specimen revealed the remarkable extent of preservation obscured behind thick layers of amber, carbonized plant remains, and clay-filled bubbles.



Its the most complete and detailed view weve ever had, says Ryan McKellar of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, Regina, in Canada, one of the researchers who described the find. Seeing something this complete is amazing. Its just stunning.

The team, who nicknamed the babe Belone, after the Burmese name for an amber colored skylark, were exceedingly surprised by what they were seeing. "[I thought we had] just a pair of feet and some feathers before it underwent CT imaging. It was a big, big, big surprise after that," says Lida Xing of the China University of Geosciences.

"The surprise continued when we started examining the distribution of feathers and and realized that there were translucent sheets of skin that connected many of the body regions appearing in the CT scan data," adds McKellar.

Based on the preserved parts, the team identified the hatchling as a member of the extinct avian clade Enantiornithes, of which an artist reconstruction is shown below.

 Cheung Chung Tat

New Scientist notes that the "unfortunate youngster" (because there's nothing like falling into a puddle of sticky pine sap that you can't get out of, ever; then again, talk about legacy!) belonged to a group of birds known as "opposite birds"  creatures that lived along with the ancestors of modern birds. Even though opposite birds had cool things like claws on their wings, and jaws and teeth rather in place beaks, they nonetheless bit the dust with the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago.

From looking at its molting pattern, researchers determined that the little guy (or gal) was only in its first days or weeks of life before succumbing to the resin. Its feathers appear as an array of subtle tones ranging from white and brown to dark grey.

 Ming Bai

For a more detailed description, head to National Geographic, whose Expeditions Council helped fund the discovery. And if you happen to be near the Shanghai Museum of Natural History this summer, you can see the 99-million year old bird in the flesh, so to speak ... and travel back in time, if only for a moment.
Aren't we supposed to avoid putting plastics into our beautiful freshwater lakes?

When the Ontario government announced that it would mark Canadas 150th anniversary celebration this July by renting the worlds largest rubber duck for $71,000 and parading it around six provincial harbors, many Ontarians were outraged. Since when did a gigantic rubber duck become a meaningful symbol of this proud northern nation?

Politician Rick Nicholls called it an absurd waste of taxpayers dollars... an absolute cluster duck during question period in Parliament. Tourism minister Eleanor McMahon disagreed: Its an important contribution... and just another example of the fun that people are going to have this summer.

Opinions are deeply divided on the topic of the rubber duck, which is why I was pleased to hear it debated earlier this week on CBC Radios call-in program, Ontario Today. The more I listened to callers opposing opinions, as well as the explanations provided by the ducks co-owner, Ryan Whaley, the more repulsion I felt for this enormous duck that is scheduled to land near my house within a few weeks.

There are a lot of practical reasons why I think paying thousands of dollars for a huge rubber duck is stupid, but my biggest issue with it is symbolic. The idea of floating an enormous piece of plastic in the Great Lakes as a way of expressing celebration makes me sick. We are supposed to be getting plastic out of our rivers, lakes, and oceans, not putting it in. Even the UN has declared war on plastics as part of its Clean Seas campaign.

I understand that the duck is not garbage (yet), and presumably would not be leaving bits of itself behind, but theres a cultural intimacy with plastic that must be shattered in order for environmental progress to be made. We need to stop using plastic in frivolous ways  and I cannot think of anything more frivolous than a six-storey rubber duck, even if it already exists. Renting it is a vote of support for its existence.

And yet, the province of Ontario, whose Liberal government likes to sound progressive on environmental protection and moving away from fossil fuels, would fork out tens of thousands to elevate to celebrity status a giant, off-gassing vinyl toy by floating it in the worlds most famous freshwater lakes? Its riduckulous, er, ridiculous.

Its not just the plastic material used to make the duck (in China, no less!), but also the tremendous amount of energy required to operate it that ruffles my feathers. Owner Ryan Whaley, from Ohio, told CBC rather proudly:

Its a very big operation to move the duck around. It travels on a semi truck. It is attached to a 10-ton pontoon barge that has to be assembled and disassembled every time, using a crane and eight to 10 guys. It takes almost a day to get it inflated. While inflated, it must be maintained by a crew to make sure its retaining air.



Even Whaleys ownership is being questioned. Dutch designer Florentin Hofman, who came up with the original giant rubber duck (pictured below) as an environmental statement ten years ago, claims the design was stolen from him -- a suggestion that Whaley protested vigorously on air.

 Florentijn Hofman

The Ontario government has missed a fabulous opportunity to make a big statement here. Theyve settled for the immediate gratification of a few novelty Instagram shots, without taking into consideration the long-term implications of such a choice.

So many other possibilities come to mind. Imagine if they had at least chosen a Canadian animal, like a beaver or a loon, and made it out of biodegradable materials, like wood or birch bark? Or they could have employed Canadian artists to create a beautiful creature that would remain on permanent display in the province to remind us of this special time -- not return to its home in a foreign country.

A floating animal could have been turned into a powerful environmental statement by using recycled materials or even plastic trash collected from the Great Lakes. After all, if we love the material so much, why not put our obsession with it on full display? No doubt it will be our archaeological legacy someday.
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So in the UK, Theresa May took her Conservative party into a snap election thinking that the opposition Labour party was in tatters, and she won the most seats. But she did not win a majority of the seats, resulting in what is called a hung Parliament.

According to the Guardian, one of the reasons that Labour did so well was the huge turnout of young people;

The youthquake was a key component of Corbyns 10-point advance in Labours share of the vote  exceeding even Blairs nine-point gain in his first 1997 landslide. No official data exists for the scale of the youth vote but an NME-led exit poll suggests turnout among under-35s rose by 12 points compared with 2015, to 56%. The survey said nearly two-thirds of younger voters backed Labour, with Brexit being their main concern.

This was an issue we covered on MNN just before the American election where I wrote that Grumpy boomers may have won it, but millennials failed to show up. They didn't in the American election either, but the lesson has finally gotten through; you don't win if you don't vote.

Unlike the American system, where one votes separately for president, senator and congressman, in the Parliamentary system followed by Britain, Canada and Australia, citizens only vote for their Member of Parliament; only her constituents voted for Theresa May. (Lord Buckethead ran against her and did not do well.) The party that gets the most seats then puts together a government and the leader of the party becomes the Prime Minister.

If they have a clear majority of seats, then it is easy; if they dont then they have to make deals with other parties to get enough seats, and then go to the Queen and ask to form the government. She doesnt usually say no, although there have been crises in Canada and Australia where her representatives did.

In order to get enough seats to form a government, Theresa May has struck a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which was founded by Rev. Ian Paisley to preserve Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. They have ties to right-wing paramilitary groups and despise Jeremey Corbyn, leader of the Labour party, considering him to be an IRA Cheerleader. They are described as the anti-abortion pro Brexit party of climate change deniers who don't believe in LGBT rights.

According to Business Green,

There will be particular concern amongst green groups about the DUP's record on environmental issues and climate change....

The party once appointed a climate sceptic as environment minister in Northern Ireland's Assembly and this year's manifesto made no mention of climate change or clean energy. It was also at the heart of the recent scandal over flaws in the design of the country's Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, which led to a breakdown in the Northern Ireland assembly.

"The perception of the DUP is not a pretty one for renewables and climate change," one industry source told BusinessGreen.

However they may not have influence for long; the knives are out for Theresa May and she might be turfed as leader of the Conservative Party. There is no term of office like there is for an American President; if the party turns against her she is gone. According to the Guardian:

Despite Mays business-as-usual tone, some senior Conservative figures were openly questioning how long she could remain as party leader. Nicky Morgan, who was sacked by May as education secretary last summer, said: Im reeling. I think were all reeling. I think theres real fury against the campaign, and the buck stops at the top.

However it should be noted that minority governments can be a very good thing; they tend to force the government into positions of compromise and moderation.

But nothing is certain. It will probably slow down and soften Brexit, and soften some of the harshest economic austerity plans. It may also lead to another election or even a Labour government. Thats the fun of a Parliamentary system; when nobody gets a majority, anything can happen.

I personally wish Lord Buckethead had won in his campaign in Theresa May's riding:
Kalonzo Musyoka Says Kenyans Are Hurting after Raila Odinga's Loss: "Watu Wana Hasira"

Kalonzo Musyoka said majority of Kenyans are mourning the loss of Raila Odinga in the August 9 General Election, he welcomed William Ruto to Ukambani on Sunday
- Deputy President William Ruto took his campaigns to Narok county on Friday, June 9

- Ruto surprised everyone after holding three rallies in one day

- Kenyans, both from opposition and Jubilee terrain have now weighed in on the issue

Deputy President William Ruto has ignited an online debate after sensationally holding three rallies in different in a single day.

Ruto, on Friday, June 9, took his campaigns to Narok county, one of the regions highly associated with the ruling Jubilee.

READ ALSO: After scarce cheap Unga, government to unveil an ambitious cooking solution to poor Kenyans

In another day of heated campaigns, the deputy President astonishingly toured three areas in one day.

READ ALSO: Hope for Wavinya Ndeti as the highcourt makes crucial ruling on her appeal

He started out with residents of Oloroppil, before proceeding to Emurua Dikkir, and ended his day at Loita  all in Narok county.

Kenyans, on seeing the Deputys feat, had mixed feelings, and they took to social media to make their opinions known.

At the same time, Raila and his NASA team took their campaigns to Taveta, where they sold their agenda to a massive crowd. Kenyans were however concerned about their mode of campaigning, after learning of DP Ruto's agenda for the day:

READ ALSO: Raila Odinga modifies Uhurus free education promise with a more ambitious one

Some were, however, not convinced by the Deputy's efforts, and attempted to make some sense out of the situation:

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

Watch the video of Kabogo speaking on Waititu below:

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Militants launched 45 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in ATO area in Donbas over the past day.

This is reported by the ATO press center.

In Mariupol direction, militants used 120mm mortars to shell Ukrainian positions near Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) and Vodiane. The enemy also fired at ATO troops outside Marinka (35 km south-west of Donetsk), Hnutove (19km north-west of Mariupol), Talakivka (20km north-west of Mariupol), using grenade launchers and small arms.

In Donetsk direction, the tensest situation was observed in suburbs of Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk), where militants shelled Ukrainian troops, using 120mm and 82mm mortars, antiaircraft mounts and infantry weapons. In addition, illegal armed formations used 82mm mortars, small arms and grenade launchers to fire at Zaitseve (67km north-north-east of Donetsk), Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk).

In Luhansk direction, militants used 120mm mortars to shell Ukrainian positions near Trokhizbenka (33km north-west of Luhansk). ATO troops came under artillery fire outside Katerynivka (64km west of Luhansk).

As a result of hostilities over the past day, one soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was killed, six servicemen were injured.

ish
The Cabinet of Ministers intends to redistribute UAH 15 billion to finance benefit and subsidy programs.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said this during Government Question Hour meeting held in Parliament today, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

Government this month will ask for Ukrainian Parliaments support, it will submit a proposal to redistribute UAH 15 billion for benefits, subsidies for all enterprises of the fuel and energy complex, Groysman said.

According to him, these funds have been already projected and only parliaments approval is needed.

iy
Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna Ihor Prokopchuk delivered a statement at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on Russias ongoing aggression against Ukraine and persecution of Ukrainian journalists Mykola Semena and Roman Sushchenko by Russia.

This has been reported on the official website of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna.

"Ukrainian journalist Mykola Semena remains incarcerated in the temporarily occupied Crimea under fabricated charges while the Russian occupation court in Simferopol continues its show trial. Ukrainian journalist Roman Sushchenko continues to be held in illegal detention in Moscow. We urge Russia to immediately release these journalists and other Ukrainian citizens, held in Russias detention as political prisoners," Prokopchuk said in his speech.

He called on the OSCE Chairmanship and relevant OSCE Institutions to use all instruments to monitor those cases and many other abuses of basic human rights and OSCE commitments taking place in the temporarily occupied Crimea and in Russia itself.

The diplomat expressed strong protest in connection with the recent visit of a group of Russian high-level officials headed by Chairperson of the Council of the Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko to Crimea.

"We urge Russia to stop its aggression against Ukraine, to implement in good faith its commitments under the Minsk agreements, to reverse the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, which remains an integral part of Ukraine," Prokopchuk said.

ish
On Friday, June 9, President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite will make a working visit to Kharkiv, where she will meet with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

This has been posted on the official website of the President of the Republic of Lithuania.

"At the meeting, Grybauskaite and Poroshenko will discuss the security situation in Ukraine, the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the coming into effect of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. The Heads of States will discuss the necessity to continue the implementation of vital reforms, including fight against corruption, restructuring in the Office of the Prosecutor General, the judiciary and the public sector, as well as ensuring transparent environment for business," the report reads.

According to the press service of Grybauskaite, the presidents will also meet with ATO fighters who received medical treatment in Lithuania.

In the afternoon, the President will launch the Days of Lithuania in Kharkiv. This is a traditional event, organized by the Lithuanian Embassy in Ukraine in different cities. "This year, it will be held in Kharkiv and Odesa and will include a bilateral business forum and a presentation of study and tourism opportunities in our country. Lithuanian culture will be represented by old crafts, traditional cuisine, folklore ensembles, and the Lithuanian rock group Biplan which has already earned popularity among Ukrainians," the statement said.

ish
Ukraines integration with NATO in the future can play an important role for Crimeas de-occupation, says Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, MP Refat Chubarov.

In all our aspirations, in all plans and expectations for Crimeas de-occupation, we put our hopes on our western partners, and our western partners are the countries that play a special role in international politics, they are all NATO members. And so, our further integration with NATO is only a plus, and it's a pity that we havent [started to] integrate with NATO earlier, which could have prevented and avoided Russias occupation of Crimea, Chubarov said, Krym.Realii reports.

At the same, Deputy Director of the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies, Mykhailo Samus, suggested that Russia would eventually respond to Ukraine's statements and actions on integration with NATO, but this would not change the situation in Crimea.

As earlier reported, on June 8, the Verkhovna Rada defined membership in NATO as a top priority for the country.

One of the bills authors, Speaker Andriy Parubiy stated before that the document would consolidate "Ukraine's main security course - membership in NATO."

iy
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman states that there is no minister with dual citizenship in the Ukrainian government.

He said this during Government Question Hour meeting held in Parliament today, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

As to the citizenship, as far as I know, there is no violations of current legislation among members of Government. If you know that somebody has dual citizenship and violates the law, then please provide this information to me, Groysman said, when MP Dmytro Dobrodomov asked him this question.

iy
President Petro Poroshenko will sign the Law enshrining Ukraine's course towards NATO membership as a strategic foreign policy priority of the state. The document was adopted by the Parliament on June 8.

President Poroshenko said this during a joint press conference with President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite in Kharkiv, the press service of the Head of State reported.

Of course, I will sign it, because this legislative initiative has been coordinated with me, the Head of State answered the question of journalists.

The President added that the parliamentary coalition has taken active part in the adoption of this law. I would like to remind you that it is not an innovation, but a return to the situation when in 2003 the Law on National Security considered NATO membership the key goal, the Head of State said.

The President emphasized that Ukraine has already done a lot. It is confirmed by international organizations and our partners. In particular, the President of Lithuania noted today that over the past 2.5-3 years our state had achieved much more than over the previous 20 years. However, much work is still to be done, Petro Poroshenko added.

In her turn, President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite told that during the recent meeting of the leadership of NATO countries, the attendees discussed the issue of opening the door for Ukraine and Georgia.

ish
RACINE  The Belle Urban System is undergoing a rebrand that will be unveiled Monday at 11 a.m. at the Transit Center Depot, according to a press release sent out Thursday morning.

Touted as the future of Racines public transportation, the redesign is planned to offer new services to Racine residents.

Racine Mayor John Dickert is set to make an appearance alongside Racine Transit System representatives as they unveil the new brand.

Changes coming include: updating all current buses with new decals, promotions for the business community and service to the Metra train in Kenosha so riders can more easily visit Chicago, the release said.

This comes after a 2013 to 2017 plan to reinvigorate the BUS system. The plan revised certain under-performing routes in an attempt to increase ridership, as well as reduce layover times and equalize route lengths.

The improvements were projected to increase ridership by 1 percent yearly, but no data is available to see if that panned out.

As it stands, the revised system saved $340,000 in operating costs per year, according to the plan document.

In January, Mike Maierle, the citys transit and parking system manager, said the city was working with 2 Story, a Milwaukee-based marketing firm, on a project to more creatively present the Belle Urban System. He initially presented rebrand ideas last December.

Willie McDonald, the general manager of the BUS, also said in January the redesign will hopefully help change perceptions and lessen any negative stigmas about the BUS.

Were looking at attracting new riders, McDonald said. There will be a new focus on improved service.

Maierle said the transit system has its own marketing budget, and that the state and Federal Transit Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation, have advised cities to market their transit systems.
The global prevalence of testosterone deficiency (TD) ranges from 10-40%. The actual diagnosis of TD is controversial, as a wide range of total testosterone (TT) thresholds are used for diagnosis (200-400 ng/dL), and physicians differ in their emphasis placed on clinical symptoms. There are also significant global differences in the prescription patterns of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). In the United States, prescription of TRT is significantly higher than the rest of the world, increasing 3-fold over the last 10 years and more so in eugonadal men. The majority of treating physicians emphasizes clinical symptomology of TD over laboratory values, and up to one-fourth of their patients do not even have serum testosterone levels. There are significant inter-physician differences in willingness to prescribe TRT in the setting of prostate cancer. Data is scarce on testosterone prescribing patterns in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. More literature is needed to better characterize how physicians from different regions diagnose TD.

Translational andrology and urology. 2017 Apr [Epub]

James Anaissie, Kent J DeLay, William Wang, Georgios Hatzichristodoulou, Wayne J Hellstrom

Department of Urology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA., Department of Urology, Technical University of Munich, University Hospital, Munich, Germany.

PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28540225
A Phnom Penh garment factory has refused to reinstate 10 workers it suspended over a strike held to protest the companys refusal to allow workers time off to vote in the recent commune elections.

The Southland factory suspended 10 members of the Collective Union of Movement of Workers (CUMW) after they protested the decision, according to an industry association.

Phorn Mai, an official at the labor ministry's intervention office, said the government had sought a solution to the dispute, but the factory had declined to negotiate with the workers.

If I continued to try, I would be wasting your time, he said.

Mai told union representatives and workers that he would make another attempt to bring the sides together in a letter to the factory on Monday.

He added that if the factory refused to pay the workers their salaries in the meantime they could file a complaint to the ministry. Please take a rest and wait for Monday, he said.

Workers on Friday protested at the factory and said they would not return to work unless their colleagues were reinstated.

Lanh Phirum, CUMW representative at the Southland factory, told reporters that its members would continue to resist and backing down was not an option.

Southland representatives could not be reached for comment.

The Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) issued a statement accusing the suspended workers of having committed a serious mistake by turning off the electricity and instigating workers to stop working.

It claimed that the CUMW chapter at the Southland factory was not registered with the government and therefore their actions were illegal.

However, Pav Sina, CUMW president, denied the claim, saying GMAC had a poor history of supporting workers rights.

When factories close or employers run away without paying workers, why doesnt GMAC tell its members to follow the law then?
The president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, Kem Sokha, on Wednesday called on the partys more than 400 newly elected commune chiefs to serve their constituencies in a transparent manner.

Speaking to officials in Kandal province, Sokha, whose party took seats in Sundays election from the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party in several provinces, thanked voters for choosing to support the CNRP.

He said the party would implement a monitoring mechanism to ensure corruption would be kept to a minimum.

The CNRP will create a mechanism to monitor the work implementation of our commune chiefs. Before we spot their mistakes, we will provide phone numbers, so that the people can call when the commune chiefs do something unusual, he said.

He added that the party would provide anti-corruption training to the newly elected officials.

[We] will train them with expertise in order to equip them with knowledge relating to administrative law and general skills to control the communes professionally, he said.

Sokha went on to appeal to supporters to vote for the party at the general election in 2018.

Both parties claimed victory in the commune elections, with the CPP winning more than 1,100 of the 1,646 seats around the country and the CNRP increasing their minority share from 40 to more than 500, according to unofficial results.

The opposition has pledged to increase funding to local communes by as much as $1 million if elected in 2018, drawing criticism from the CPP. But Sokha dismissed the criticism, without explaining where the money would come from.

Sok Eysan, CPP spokesman, could not be reached for comment, but he said on his Facebook account that the CPP respected the results.
Local residents joined forces with Afghan Taliban militants to repel an Islamic State attack in a remote district in eastern Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden once took refuge, according to local tribesmen.

Late Friday, after about three days of fierce fighting in the mountains, IS fighters reportedly retreated to scattered villages after suffering dozens of casualties.

The battles began Tuesday when IS fighters attacked Taliban positions in the Tora Bora mountains in the Pachiragam district of eastern Nangarhar province that borders Pakistan. Locals, who see IS militants as a threat to their region, came to the aid of the Taliban with militias to push out IS.



Taliban gains control

Tora Bora, known for its complex set of mountain caves, was the site of a U.S. military offensive in December 2001, where al-Qaida's leader, Osama bin Laden, was reportedly hiding before he managed to cross into neighboring Pakistan. The Taliban has gained control of much of Tora Bora in recent years as it gains ground in rural areas against Afghan troops, which have largely retreated.

Lacking an Afghan government military presence in the area, locals have taken up arms to fight IS to defend their lands, Nangarhar government spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told VOA.The fighting displaced about 500 families, he added.

Pachiragam, neighboring districts

IS militants have repeatedly stormed villages in the Pachiragam and neighboring districts, killing and abducting hundreds of people, setting homes and markets on fire, keeping local schools shuttered, and displacing thousands of people. A provincial government source told VOA the central government will supply weapons to the villagers.

Based in southern parts of eastern Nangarhar province, IS's self-styled Khorasan Province branch (ISIS-K) emerged in early 2015 in the mountainous areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last year, it had a presence in at least 12 Nangarhar districts.

IS and the Taliban have engaged in frequent clashes in Nangarhar and some areas in northern Jouzjan province, where IS is attempting to establish a footprint.

Civilians caught in crossfire

Fierce clashes between the two rival groups in the Chaparhar district of Nangarhar last month left 21 Taliban fighters and seven IS militants dead, spokesman Khogyani said. At least three civilians who were caught in the crossfire were killed and five others wounded.

IS has expanded its presence and activities to neighboring Kunar province.

Provincial police chief Juma Gul Hemat told VOA's Afghan service that up to 2,000 IS fighters are active in several districts. He added that the terror group has established a training base in the Patash valley, where foreign fighters, including Arabs and Pakistanis, train recruits.

VOA's Zabihullah Ghazi contributed to this report from Nangarhar.
Inside a mosque in the college town of Eugene, a half-dozen men prostrated themselves on a carpet while another man led the midday prayers. Over their melodic recitation came a tapping sound as a locksmith installed higher-grade locks on the front door.

The worshippers at the Eugene Islamic Center are worried about their security. A man recently appeared outside the mosque and threatened to kill Muslims.

Barely two weeks later, an assailant stabbed two men to death and wounded a third on a commuter train in Portland, 110 miles (180 kilometers) to the north. The victims were trying to protect two teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, as the man shouted anti-Islamic slurs.

Looking ahead, Muslim leaders and others are concerned about anti-Sharia, or Islamic law, marches planned for Saturday in Seattle and about two-dozen other U.S. cities, saying the marches are actually anti-Muslim. They consider the incidents in Portland and Eugene, and other recent anti-Muslim crimes in America, part of an alarming trend that came to the forefront in last year's presidential election with far-right activists portraying Islam  and all Muslims  as a threat.

"Our Muslim community is feeling a tremendous amount of stress and pressure," said former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, who plans to attend a counter-rally on Saturday. "It's important for local leaders to express solidarity and make clear we stand against bigotry, against racism, and with our Muslim neighbors in the state and beyond."

The group organizing the rallies, ACT for America, has chapters around the country and says it is focused on fighting terrorism and promoting national security. It says it condemns bias against religious groups and is "proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with peaceful Western Muslims as well as peaceful Muslims worldwide."

Yet many Muslims and others say the group promotes a distorted and prejudiced view of Islam.

ACT for America activists portray Sharia as largely incompatible with American democracy and often warn of a stealth effort to replace U.S. law with Islamic law. Muslims call the claims ludicrous and say Islamic law plays a role similar to Jewish law, as a guide to religious life rooted in the Quran.

Countering hate

Aneelah Afzali, who heads a Seattle-area group that works against discrimination and hate crimes, said she will be putting up an "ask a Muslim booth" near Seattle's anti-Sharia rally, "so people can ask questions directly about Islam, and we can counter conspiracy theories, accusations and lies that come from that hate rally."

She said she has noticed increased hostility to Muslims, evidenced by the destruction of a granite sign in front of the mosque she attends in Everett, Washington, by someone apparently wielding a sledgehammer. A temporary sign was destroyed a few weeks later.

"What was so beautiful was the outpouring of community support," she said, explaining that many community and business leaders showed up for a ceremony and left their handprints in the concrete base that holds the new sign.

Two far-right groups, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, are to provide security at some of the rallies, apparently the first simultaneous anti-Sharia rallies in the U.S. Members of a third group also confirmed they'll attend, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups.

"With the recruitment of anti-government groups and the Proud Boys, the potential for violence increases," the center said.

Rise of hate crime reports

The marches come amid a rise in reports of anti-Muslim incidents in the U.S., including arson attacks and vandalism at mosques, harassment of women wearing Muslim head-coverings and bullying of Muslim schoolchildren.

"Things happen so fast, it's so hard to keep up," said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on Islamic-American Relations.

Muslim leaders hear echoes of the views of groups like ACT for America in President Donald Trump's temporary ban on entry into the U.S. from six Muslim-majority countries  a measure currently blocked by federal courts  and in his claims of dangers posed by immigrants and Muslim refugees. Trump has said his policies are critical for protecting national security.

Those who attend the Eugene Islamic Center, in an off-white building in a lower-income neighborhood, are still coming to grips with the May 10 threat from a man who was arrested the next day while carrying a knife.

Mosque member Drew Williams said the man claimed to have killed Muslims while serving in the military in Iraq and told witnesses, "I have no problem killing you."

"Many people are worried and saddened and very shocked, but we still hope to be able to practice and to be part of the Eugene community," Williams said as the locksmith worked next to him.

Besides installing stronger locks, the mosque is raising funds to erect a fence around the building and possibly hire a security guard for Friday prayers, when the number of worshippers peaks.
RACINE  A Racine man is facing an attempted murder charge after he allegedly shot a man who had reportedly had a relationship with his wife while he was in jail.

Trent Funderburg, 35, of the 1400 block of Geneva Street, was charged Friday with felony attempted first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon.

According to the criminal complaint:

At 11:49 a.m. Saturday, June 3, police responded to Ascension All Saints Hospital regarding an assault and attempted homicide. The gunshot victim, who had been arrested due to an alleged assault in the 1400 block of Geneva, had arrived at the hospital and was being treated for a gunshot wound to the back of his thigh.

While being interviewed at the Racine County Jail on Monday night, the gunshot victim said he had been walking with a friend when he was confronted by Funderburg about allegedly having a relationship with his wife while Funderburg was in jail.

The gunshot victim allegedly hit Funderburg for getting in his face and, as he was walking away, felt a gunshot hit him in the back of the leg, causing him to fall. He was then taken to the hospital by his cousin.

When officers spoke with Funderburgs wife on Tuesday, she admitted that while her husband was in jail, she had a relationship with the gunshot victim and corroborated the gunshot victims story. She also said she had observed Funderburg shoot the gunshot victim four times before accompanying the gunshot victim to the hospital.

Officers reportedly found three shell casings at the end of the driveway in the 1400 block of Geneva Street shortly after the incident.

Funderburg, who remained in custody at the County Jail as of Friday afternoon, has been assigned a June 15 preliminary hearing in Racine County Circuit Court.
Shining their flashlights into the darkest corners of Singapore, a small group of ant hunters searches for an elusive winged insect.

With luck, they will find a queen ant to lay eggs and start a colony under the watchful eye of a collector.

"You can search for a few hours without finding anything at all. So, it's really luck," Leland Tan, 14, said after he hit the jackpot, and found two queen ants in one night.

Singapore, a tropical city-state home to more than 40 ant species, has a small but growing community of ant collectors.

Ants Singapore, a Facebook group that has grown to 380 members since last December, aims to connect "ant lovers and even those who are interested in keeping ants."

Followers share tips on catching and breeding ants, do-it-yourself ant farms and links to videos such as the giant killer ants in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

While most ants in Singapore are harmless, the insects are often regarded as a nuisance. That is something Chris Chan is hoping to change.

"I want people to look at ants differently," said Chan, a 29-year-old Uber driver and member of Ants Singapore.

"Now, a lot of people still think that ants are pests, but with enough education, I can educate them that keeping ants can be safe," he told Reuters Television.

Chan lives across the border in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bahru with his girlfriend, her family and up to 30 ant colonies living in 10 formicariums, or ant farms.

Helen Teh, the mother of Chan's girlfriend, said she was curious why the couple needed so much sand and wood in their home.

"He said, 'Oh Auntie, I'm keeping ants,'" Teh said, recalling her initial surprise.

"Later, when I knew it is something that he loves ... I said, 'It's no harm done,'" she said.

Chan has turned to social media to promote his hobby.

He has started a YouTube channel for new collectors and answers questions about ant care on the group's Facebook page.

Chan also organizes ant-hunting trips to teach people how to find and catch the tiny insects that he says can hold his attention for hours.

"Some people can stare at an aquarium for hours. Same, just like my ants," Chan said.
Australian police were carrying out "counterterrorism" raids in Melbourne early on Friday, just days after a deadly siege by a lone gunman in the country's second-biggest city.

Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the raids were linked to the siege earlier this week that was claimed by the Islamic State group.

"I've been briefed very early this morning, a number of warrants are being executed in Melbourne as we speak," Andrews told Sky News. "We're obviously limited in what we can say, we don't want to put any of our operational staff in harm's way by speaking about these matters, but they are in connection with terrible tragic events of Monday in Brighton."

Police fatally shot gunman Yacqub Khayre, who they said had a long criminal history, on Monday night after he killed a man in an apartment block in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton, and held a woman hostage for several hours.

Victoria Police confirmed they were "conducting a police operation in the northern suburbs" of Melbourne, but declined to comment further.

The Australian government has signaled a drive to reform parole laws as a result of the incident, including a ban on parole for violent offenders who have any links to extremism, as Khayre was on parole for a violent home invasion.

Andrews said parole reform will be at the top of the agenda at a meeting of state and federal governments on Friday, including having decisions made by state attorneys general rather than parole boards in cases involving extremism.

"This meeting today presents us with the opportunity not simply to talk about these matters but to recognize that terror is not half a world away," Andrews said. "There are very real threats in communities right across our nation and there are some practical things, some common sense things, that we can do and that we need to do."

Senior officials said Khayre had been acquitted of a plot to attack a Sydney army base in 2009. He was also accused of traveling to Somalia, where he was born, to seek a religious ruling in support of the planned 2009 attack.

Australia passed laws last year allowing the indefinite detention of anyone convicted of terror-related offenses if authorities believed that person posed a threat after their release.
Big automakers are rushing to launch self-driving cars as early as 2021, but the industry's major players are moving slowly when it comes to widespread deployment of a less expensive crash prevention technology that regulators say could prevent thousands of deaths and injuries every year.

Nissan said on Thursday it would make automatic braking systems standard on an estimated 1 million 2018 model cars and light trucks sold in the United States, compact sport utility vehicles, the Altima sedan, Murano and Pathfinder SUVs, Leaf electric car, Maxima sedan and Sentra small car.

Nissan sold about 1.6 million vehicles in the United States last year.

Rival Toyota has said it will make automatic emergency braking standard on nearly all its U.S. models by the end of this year.

No rush

Overall, however, most automakers are not rushing to make automatic brake systems part of the base cost of mainstream vehicles sold in the competitive U.S. market. The industry has come under pressure from regulators, lawmakers and safety advocates to adopt the technology, which can slow or stop a vehicle even if the driver fails to act.

So far, only about 17 percent of models tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety offered standard collision-avoiding braking. Many of the models with standard collision-avoiding brake systems are luxury vehicles made by European or Japanese manufacturers.

The systems require more sensors and software than conventional brakes, and automakers said they need time to engineer the systems into vehicles as part of more comprehensive makeovers.

Last year, 20 automakers reached a voluntary agreement with U.S. auto safety regulators to make collision-avoiding braking systems standard equipment by 2022.

Safety advocates have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin a regulatory process to require the technologies, but the agency has said the voluntary agreement will result in faster deployment than a formal rule-making process. NHTSA says the technology could eliminate one-fifth of crashes.

Mark Rosekind, who then was NHTSA's administrator, told Reuters last year that with 5 million crashes occurring per year, a "20 percent reduction means 1 million less. Those are big numbers."

Investment possibilities

But customers would most likely experience the benefits of the technology infrequently. The technology to enable a car to drive itself is far more costly, but industry executives foresee autonomous vehicles driving revenue-generating transportation services that could be attractive to investors.

General Motors offers automatic braking as optional equipment on about two-thirds of its models. The company did not say Thursday how many vehicles have the technology as standard equipment. GM has not made public its plans to make the technology standard across its lineup.

"Any time you have a voluntary agreement you have a spectrum of implementation," Jeff Boyer, GM's vice president for safety, told Reuters this week. Asked when GM would roll out standard automatic braking, Boyer said, "Let's just say we honor the voluntary commitment."

Ford "has a plan to standardize over time," the company said in a statement Thursday. Currently, automatic braking systems are optional on several 2017 Ford and Lincoln models, and will be offered on certain 2018 models, including the best-selling F-150 pickup truck.

Fiat Chrysler offers automatic braking as optional equipment in seven model lines, using cameras and radar to detect hazards ahead. The company has said it will meet the 2022 target for making the systems standard.

More expected

As 2018 models roll out during the second half of this year, more vehicles will offer automatic braking, said Dean McConnell, an executive with Continental AG's North American business.

Continental's automatic braking technology systems will be on certain Nissan models.

"We see it accelerating," he said. "It varies. There are some [automakers] that are being aggressive" and others that are waiting.

Nissan did not disclose how much prices for vehicles would rise to offset the cost of standard automatic emergency braking.

Currently, Nissan, like most carmakers, offers automatic braking as part of a bundle of optional safety and technology features.

A 2017 Nissan Sentra compact sedan has a starting price of $17,875. To buy the car equipped with automatic braking requires spending another $6,820 for a Sentra SR with a premium technology package.

German auto technology suppliers Continental and Robert Bosch GmbH will supply the systems, Nissan said.
Benin is hiring scores of extra park rangers and bringing in conservation scientists to rehabilitate a part of West Africa's largest wildlife reserve, which contains big cats and thousands of elephants that have largely died out elsewhere in the region.

The W-Arli-Pendjari (WAP) complex is the region's biggest remaining expanse of savannah, covering more than 30,000 sq km of Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso.

The tiny nation has partnered with NGO African Parks for the 10-year project centred on the 4,800 sq km Pendjari National Park, part of WAP and seen as the most viable tourist hub for the area, officials involved told Reuters last week.

The complex contains by far the largest elephant population in the region, several thousand, and is thought to house most of the few hundred remaining West African lions, as well as some cheetahs and hippos.

As with other parks in Africa, they face grave threats from poachers and encroachment by a surging human population.

"Pendjari is an opportunity for Benin and the region," Jose Pliya, director of Benin's national tourism agency, told Reuters by telephone. "This partnership ... will help us make it a sustainable tourism destination [and] a lever for development and employment for the Beninoise."

But boosting ecotourism faces challenges, not least because jihadists are thought to have infiltrated parts of the wider reserve. France, former colonial master of the three nations that straddle the park, has advised it citizens against all travel to the Burkina Faso side of the expanse.

A tourism ministry spokeswoman, when asked about the jihadist threat, said only that Benin had never been attacked and "security measures are being put in place," to prevent one.

To better police the park, the project will recruit 10 officers or specialists, train 90 guards, set up a satellite communications network and put a 190 km fence around it, a joint statement from African Parks and Benin said.

A spokesman for the presidency said there were as of yet no plans to work with Benin's neighbors, although experts say cross border cooperation is key to conserving large wildernesses.

"Regional cooperation always makes sense [for] ... better management of the larger landscape and the species that move within it," African Parks spokeswoman Fran Read said in an emailed response to questions. "But equally ... Pendjari National Park is a sufficiently large ecosystem to successfully conserve all its key species."
Comedian Bill Cosby acknowledged in 2005 that he offered to pay for graduate school for the woman who has accused him of sexual assault after her mother confronted him, jurors at his trial were told on Friday.

Jurors in a Norristown, Pennsylvania, courtroom read excerpts from a deposition Cosby gave under oath more than a decade ago, as prosecutors sought to use the comedian's own words against him.

But Cosby's defense lawyer, Brian McMonagle, noted that throughout the deposition that Cosby described the encounter with his accuser, Andrea Constand, as consensual.

Constand, a former administrator at Cosby's alma mater, Temple University, has accused him of drugging and then sexually assaulting her at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004.

Dozens of women have leveled similar accusations against the 79-year-old entertainer, whose starring role in the 1980's television comedy The Cosby Show made him a household name.

All the accusations but Constand's are too old to support criminal charges under the state's statute of limitations.

In the deposition, given in response to a civil lawsuit that Constand brought in 2005, Cosby said he gave her 1-1/2 Benadryl pills to help her relax before they engaged in what he called consensual sexual activity.

But Constand testified earlier this week the pills left her semi-conscious and unable to stop Cosby from sexually assaulting her.

Cosby also said in the deposition that he refused to tell Constand or her mother what type of pills he gave her during a phone call in 2005 because he did not trust their intentions.

"The mother is coming at me for being a dirty old man, which is bad also, but then, 'What did you give my daughter?'" Cosby said. "What are they going to say if I tell them about it? And also to be perfectly frank, I'm thinking and praying that nobody is recording me."

Cosby offered to pay for Constand to go to graduate school, but indicated in the deposition that he did so because she and her mother were upset, not to compensate her for anything he did wrong.

The testimony came after both sides tussled over whether the defense should be allowed to introduce evidence that Constand is gay. Judge Steven O'Neill sided with the prosecution, which called it "unfairly prejudicial and completely irrelevant" and said it would violate Pennsylvania's rape shield law that bars defendants from referring to a victim's sexual past.

Cosby's deposition was unsealed in 2015 by a federal judge, prompting prosecutors in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, to reopen the case and later bring criminal charges before the statute of limitations expired.

Constand settled the civil lawsuit in 2006 for an undisclosed sum.
Britain was thrown into political uncertainty Friday after Labour, the main opposition party, made an extraordinary electoral comeback, denying Prime Minister Theresa May and the ruling Conservatives a majority in the House of Commons, largely due to a surge in youth voters.



In what will rank as one of the most remarkable elections in modern British history, May's gamble to expand her party's parliamentary majority failed spectacularly, raising doubts that she will be able to lead a minority government with the support of Northern Ireland's Unionists.

Calls mounted from the Labour Party, the leaders of third parties and some Conservatives for the prime minister to step down.



The embattled prime minister announced from the steps of Downing Street after seeing the queen that she would start forming a government. The speech - with just a mention of the Unionists and the support they would provide her minority government - offered little recognition of the rebuff she had hours earlier received at the polls. It was a speech May could have given had she scored a big win.



"What the country needs more than ever is certainty," she said. May claimed that as the biggest party in the House of Commons, Conservatives could provide that certainty. May said she would form a government that will take Britain out of the EU. She said her government would crack down on Islamic extremism.



May will likely face a vote of confidence in the House of Commons next week.



Despite their anger at her decision to call a snap post-Brexit referendum election and her conduct of the party's campaign, Conservative lawmakers appeared ready in the short term to back her.



If May were to lose the Commons confidence vote, it would give Labour a chance to form a coalition of its own, or seek to govern as a minority government, although it is unclear if Labour would be able to do so.

Calls for May to step down

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was all but written off at the start of the election campaign seven weeks ago, called on the prime minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country." He said Labour had denied her a hard Brexit' mandate.



"We are ready to do everything we can to put our program into operation," he added.



Former Conservative finance minister George Osborne, removed from the Cabinet by May and now editor of the Evening Standard newspaper, told ITV, "I doubt she will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."



Former Conservative minister Anna Soubry said May should take responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign.



Among Conservatives there was clear fury at the result, a seismic political shock that could trigger a second election within months. Few commentators appeared to believe that a minority Conservative government is sustainable for more than a few months. "Does she really think she can blunder on?" said Lord Ashcroft, a former Liberal Democrat leader.

Brexit not the only issue

Exit polls late Thursday, suggesting Britain was heading for a hung parliament, prompted gasps at Conservative Party headquarters in London.



May focused her party's election campaign on Brexit, saying she would be able to bring the strength necessary to get the best deal for Britain with the European Union.



At the start of the campaign it looked as if she might pull off a landslide victory, but opinion polls showed the race tightening, and May came under criticism for running an aloof campaign that took voters for granted.



A turning point appeared to come when the parties unveiled their election manifestos. The Conservatives had to backtrack on plans to make the elderly pay more for residential and social care.



May spent more than half of the election campaign in Labour-held seats, demonstrating how confident she was of making gains from a Labour Party led by the most left-wing leader in its history, a man the press sees as a throwback to the militant 1970's.



With more than a week to go before Brexit negotiations, it remains unclear whether Britain will have a government in place to take on the formal talks  or whether the government that starts the talks will be the one that finalizes them.



European officials and lawmakers warn that a hung parliament could be a "disaster" that hugely increases the chance of Brexit talks failing. They said political uncertainty would likely delay talks, with Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, questioning whether he would have someone to really negotiate with about Brexit.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament's Brexit representative, described the result as "yet another own goal" for Britain.



Some analysts compared the political situation to 1923, when Conservative Stanley Baldwin failed to win a parliamentary majority, struggled on for a few months as prime minister and then lost a confidence vote in the House of Commons. The king then had to ask Labour to form a minority government.



The election result also throws into doubt whether Britain will now seek the hard Brexit that May and the right-wing of her party have been advocating. There is now likely a majority across the parties in the new House of Commons for a softer Brexit, one that might see Britain remain in the single market.



"What it means is we will have pressure in the House of Commons for a soft Brexit," said Jack Straw, a former Labour foreign minister. "The math and chemistry in the Commons will be pushing away from a hard Brexit," he added.

Leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage complained about the election result in a tweet, saying May's failure had put Brexit in jeopardy. Some commentators argued the election could be seen as a second referendum on Brexit, a vote about a hard' or soft Brexit,' certainly when it came to the youth vote.



Hundreds of thousands of people ages 18 to 34 registered to vote before last month's closing date, including more than 450,000 on the final day. Voters ages 18 to 24 appear to have voted heavily in favor of Labour.
When former FBI Director James Comey revealed Thursday that he orchestrated a disclosure of damaging details about his conversations with President Donald Trump, he demonstrated his savvy use of media and his skills as a Washington operator. He also kicked up a hornet's nest of questions about the legal and ethical implications of the move.

Trump's personal lawyer made Comey's secret gambit a central piece of his defense of the president against the fired lawman's testimony. Attorney Marc Kasowitz claimed Comey made unauthorized disclosures of privileged communications. He said he would leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether Comey's plan should be investigated along with the leaks of material that have infuriated Trump.

But Comey seemed unconcerned about that prospect when he acknowledged the move Thursday before a throng of cameras and a packed Senate intelligence committee hearing room.

With vivid detail, he told the panel when the idea dawned on him  in the middle of the night  and what moved him to act. He said he was reacting to Trump's cryptic tweet saying Comey better hope there are no tapes of their disputed conversations about the Russia investigation into election-season hacking. Comey said the president's message convinced him he needed to get his account, detailed in contemporaneous memos, out quickly.



My judgment was, I needed to get that out into the public square. And so I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter, Comey testified. I asked him to, because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.

Timeline doesnt match

The friend, who was later identified as Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, read part of the memo to a reporter from The New York Times, according to the newspaper. The paper reported Trump had asked Comey to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.



Kasowitz has denied that account, but he also argued that Comey's move unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president. He claimed that The New York Times quoted from the memo before Trump's tweet, although that is not born out by the timeline. Trump issued his warning online on May 12, three days after Comey was fired and four days before the newspaper reported on the information in the memo, which was recounted by Comey associates. A special counsel was appointed the following week.

Comey contended that the material was not classified or protected.

Still, experts debated the legality of Comey's secret back channel. Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, suggested it was at minimum unprofessional and possibly unethical or even illegal.

Are memos government property?

Turley contended that the memos were written in the style of the standardized forms agents use to summarize interviews, documents known as 302s, and were likely typed on an FBI computer and, therefore, could be considered government property. That would make stealing, selling or conveying it a crime, Turley said.

This doesn't strike me as a daily diary, Turley said. You don't keep your diary on an FBI computer and write passages during work hours about a work-related meeting. He knew he was preparing something that was evidentiary in nature.

Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy, disagreed. It's hard to view the memo as government property, and it was shared, not lost or stolen, so it would not likely qualify as a crime, he said. And Comey discussed the contents of the memo in an open congressional hearing, which means the material he shared with his friend would not have been classified, Aftergood said.

At this point, Comey is not a government employee, and he is not under the direction of the president, and so I don't see a legal or procedural bar, Aftergood said. He's being totally above board about it, and if anybody wants to say that's wrong, he is standing by his actions. If anybody wants to pursue him, he has made himself available, and that's the most anyone can ask for.

Finds the spotlight

Comey's confirmation that he was behind the disclosure was not a shock to many in Washington. The lawman is known for understanding how to find the spotlight.



He defied FBI norms by making public pronouncements about the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, including during the campaign's final days, drawing the ire of those who believe he tipped the electoral scales to Trump.

That came nearly a decade after Comey, whom Trump recently derided as a showboat, first stepped onto the national stage with testimony about his hospital visit with the attorney general to prevent the reauthorization of a domestic surveillance program.

That he would have another star turn came with little surprise, according to Tobe Berkovitz, a political media consultant who now teaches at Boston University.

He absolutely knows what levers to pull, when to pull them, how things are going to play, said Berkovitz. He's very clear about his own image and persona and clearly revels in the media spotlight.
When former FBI Director James Comey revealed that he orchestrated a disclosure of damaging details about his conversations with President Donald Trump, he demonstrated his savvy use of media and his skills as a Washington operator. He also kicked up a hornet's nest of questions about the legal and ethical implications of the move.

Trump's personal lawyer on Thursday made Comey's secret gambit a central piece of his defense of the president against the fired lawman's testimony. Attorney Marc Kasowitz claimed Comey made "unauthorized disclosures" of privileged communications. He said he would leave it to the "appropriate authorities" to determine whether Comey's plan should be investigated along with the leaks of material that have infuriated Trump.



But Comey seemed unconcerned about that prospect when he acknowledged the move earlier Thursday before a throng of cameras and a packed Senate intelligence committee hearing room.



With vivid detail, he told the panel when the idea dawned on him - in the middle of the night" - and what moved him to act. He said he was reacting to Trump's cryptic tweet saying Comey better hope there are no tapes of their disputed conversations about the Russia investigation into election-season hacking. Comey said the president's message convinced him he needed to get his account, detailed in contemporaneous memos, out quickly.



"My judgment was, I needed to get that out into the public square. And so I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter," Comey testified. "I asked him to, because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel."



WATCH: Comey explains why he memorialized Trump meetings



The friend, who was later identified as Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman, read part of the memo to a reporter from The New York Times, according to the newspaper. The paper reported Trump had asked Comey to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.



Kasowitz has denied that account, but he also argued that Comey's move "unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president."

WATCH: Kasowitz on Comey's testimony

He claimed that The New York Times quoted from the memo before Trump's tweet, although that is not born out by the timeline. Trump issued his warning online on May 12, three days after Comey was fired and four days before the newspaper reported on the information in the memo, which was recounted by Comey associates. A special counsel was appointed the following week.



Comey contended that the material was not classified or protected.



Still, experts debated the legality of Comey's secret back channel. Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, suggested it was at minimum unprofessional and possibly unethical or even illegal.



Turley contended that the memos were written in the style of the standardized forms agents use to summarize interviews, documents known as 302s, and were likely typed on an FBI computer and, therefore, could be considered government property. That would make stealing, selling or conveying it a crime, Turley said.



"This doesn't strike me as a daily diary," Turley said. "You don't keep your diary on an FBI computer and write passages during work hours about a work-related meeting. He knew he was preparing something that was evidentiary in nature."



Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy, disagreed. It's hard to view the memo as government property, and it was shared, not lost or stolen, so it would not likely qualify as a crime, he said. And Comey discussed the contents of the memo in an open congressional hearing, which means the material he shared with his friend would not have been classified, Aftergood said.



"At this point, Comey is not a government employee, and he is not under the direction of the president, and so I don't see a legal or procedural bar," Aftergood said. "He's being totally above board about it, and if anybody wants to say that's wrong, he is standing by his actions. If anybody wants to pursue him, he has made himself available, and that's the most anyone can ask for."



Comey's confirmation that he was behind the disclosure was not a shock to many in Washington. The lawman is known for understanding how to find the spotlight.



He defied FBI norms by making public pronouncements about the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, including during the campaign's final days, drawing the ire of those who believe he tipped the electoral scales to Trump.



That came nearly a decade after Comey, whom Trump recently derided as "a showboat," first stepped onto the national stage with testimony about his hospital visit with the attorney general to prevent the reauthorization of a domestic surveillance program.



That he would have another star turn came with little surprise, according to Tobe Berkovitz, a political media consultant who now teaches at Boston University.



"He absolutely knows what levers to pull, when to pull them, how things are going to play," said Berkovitz. "He's very clear about his own image and persona and clearly revels in the media spotlight."






Chinas toughest rivals in a maritime sovereignty dispute are defying an extra-strict fishing moratorium declared by Beijing this year in the contested South China Sea, putting their own trawling fleets at risk of arrest.

Beijing declared the moratorium on its own from May 1 for three months, 30 days longer than in previous years and restricting more types of fishing operations. It covers the South China Sea above the 12th parallel north of the equator. Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines claim waters inside the moratorium zone but did not agree with China to pause fishing.

Vietnam has condemned the moratorium while the Philippines, which held upbeat talks with China on their maritime disputes last month, has kept quiet, analysts believe, to avoid legitimizing the ban. Taiwan gives awards to fishing boat operators who impose their own moratorium and will help anyone caught by China.

Our fisheries agency in the past has sought fishing parties to warn them about safety matters involved with mainland Chinas moratorium, Chiu Chui-cheng, spokesman for the Taiwan governments Mainland Affairs Council said. Taiwanese boats are known for following blue-fish tuna in the South China Sea.

When operators encounter life safety or boat safety matter at sea, our government will immediately react and enact rescue measures to protect the safety of fishing crews and their vessels, Chiu said. So we ask that our Taiwanese friends in the fishing industry relax.

The moratorium, after a world court tribunal ruled last year against Beijings claims much of the sea, casts new disdain on China around Asia while reminding other countries of the strength of Chinese de facto control.

Its no use protesting (the moratorium), because youre acknowledging that theyre imposing the ban, but on the ground fishermen know where to avoid, said Termsak Chalermpalanupap, a fellow with the ISEAS Yusof Ihsak Institute in Singapore.

Earlier fishing curbs

Beijing has enforced previous seasonal South China Sea fishing curbs, the first of which it declared in 1995, by arresting foreign fishing boats. After so many years, veteran boat operators know where they can safely go, analysts say.

China will check boats that it finds illegal and arrest any without a license, vessel name or port of registration, Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council says.

But neither silence nor protests imply acceptance of a single countrys rule over the high seas, said Douglas Guilfoyle, associate international law professor at Monash University in Australia. High seas refers to waters outside the exclusive economic zones extending from the shores of coastal states.

You are not obliged to contest claims without legal foundation, Guilfoyle said. International law requires not just that a state assert a new rule, but that other states accept it, and acceptance by acquiescence or silence isnt a usual method of rule-making in international law. You normally need positive assent.

China's claims

China claims most of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea, citing historic records as a basis. It has alarmed the other claimants by letting coast guard vessels operate in disputed waters and by building artificial islands, some for military deployments.

The fishing moratorium violates a July world arbitration court ruling in The Hague against the legal basis for Chinas claim over more than 90 percent of the South China Sea, analysts say.

China has gone easy on Philippine fishing boats over the past year as the two governments try to settle their dispute. Negotiators met last month for what the Philippine side described as a productive first meeting, according to media reports from Manila.

But Beijing routinely keeps Filipinos out of Scarborough Shoal, a prime fishing spot in Manilas west coast exclusive economic zone, and boat operators know they cant access it.

Vietnam, which despite a year of stepped-up dialogue with Beijing, still resents China over historical sovereignty disputes, said in March it would send ships to protect its fishing vessels from action taken under the moratorium.

The fishing boats will probably be detained, arrested or sunk as China sends its coast guard and maritime police, said Murray Hiebert, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.

Some Vietnamese fishing boats will continue going out to fish and risk harassment or arrest, Hiebert said. Others are likely to hang back to avoid trouble.

China would arrest Vietnamese boats anyway, said Zhang Hongzhou, research fellow with the China Program at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

This is not only during the moratorium, Zhang said. During the fishing season as well, if they trespass into the Chinese-controlled areas, the Chinese coast guard and other law enforcement vessels will take action against them.

Countries dissatisfied with arrests can seek international arbitration at least to get a boat released, Guilfoyle said.

The sea yields 16.6 million tons of fish every year and the fishing industry employs about 3.7 million people, a National Geographic report said last year, but fish stocks are declining. Claimant countries also prize the sea for its marine shipping lanes and reserves of gas and oil.
A New York state appeals court unanimously ruled Thursday that chimpanzees do not have the same legal rights as humans.

Writing for the five-judge panel, Justice Troy Weber wrote that even though chimps and humans share some of the same capabilities, it does not mean they can be legally accountable for their actions.

The animal advocacy group, The Nonhuman Rights Project, says it will take its case to a higher court.

The group is suing to move two chimps, Tommy and Kiko, from their captivity at a trailer park and a primate sanctuary in New York state to a bigger single facility in Florida.

The court said the group was not arguing against the chimps captivity, but asking that they be moved somewhere else.
UNION GROVE  Union Grove High Schools potential referendum, already extensively discussed, should take the form of a concrete proposal by the end of June. But one thing District Administrator Alan Mollerskov already promises is that there will be no tax increase.

The referendum officials are discussing seeks to update various facilities at the high school, 3433 S. Colony Ave. (Highway 45) and is currently estimated to cost between $6 million to $8 million. Despite the cost, Mollerskov predicts residents will see no tax rate increase because the debt from a 1999 referendum that funded construction of the schools performance center is set to expire.

The school has also decided on Plunkett Raysich Architects and Burlington-based Scherrer Construction to do the renovation and expansion work, Mollerskov said.

While expansion is part of the plan  this comes after the school purchased a 14.6 acre parcel of land last December  it is not the primary focus of the referendum.

A good portion will go to refurbishing the Technical Education Department, Mollerskov said. The department is in dire need of an update, he said, because it currently operates with 43-year-old equipment.

The survey says

In a parent and student survey in 2015, technical education improvements came in as the most requested area for improvement, Mollerskov said. Planned improvements include a prototyping area and robotics lab, as well as purchasing industry-standard modern equipment.

Among other plans are adding an additional academy to the schools lineup: computer science. Mollerskov said the school plans to renovate one or two classrooms and convert them into computer labs for the addition.

Provided the referendum passes, the school would also open a public wellness center as an expansion to the existing gym.

Our current area is just so small, Mollerskov said.

Because the wellness center would be open to the public, the school would charge a very inexpensive membership fee to help pay for it, Mollerskov added.

As part of the referendum, the land the school purchased in December would host new areas for agricultural classes. The agricultural program will be partnered with the FFA (Future Farmers of America) program.

There are so many jobs based on agriculture, Mollerskov said. I think that will be a program that will really grow for us.

Residents should expect a full outline of the referendum at a July School Board meeting. Mollerskov said everything should be finalized during a planned board retreat June 21.

Mollerskov said he would like to vote on the proposed referendum as soon as possible. However, residents may have to wait to vote until 2018 due to proposed state restrictions that say referendums must be voted on during general elections.

It would be more convenient to vote in November to have more time to plan the renovations for summer 2018, Mollerskov said.

The Union Grove High School District includes Union Grove, Yorkville and portions of Dover and Raymond.
Thirty-one bodies have been found by rescue searchers, along with plane debris believed to be from a Burmese military aircraft that went missing Wednesday with 122 people on board, according to a government statement Friday.



Officials said the victims include 21 women, eight children, and two men. Pieces of luggage, life jackets and a plane wheel have been found in the waters about 35 kilometers from the southern city of Launglon.



Search efforts may be hampered in the next few days as bad weather approaches. A low pressure system over the Bay of Bengal is bringing storms and reduced visibility to the area.



The cause of the crash remains a mystery.



Nine naval ships and a group of airplanes and helicopters were sent out Thursday to search for the Chinese-made Y-8-200F plane, which Myanmar bought in March of last year and which the military said had 809 flying hours.



The plane, carrying mostly family members of military personnel, was traveling from the city of Myeik, also known as Mergui, in southeastern Myanmar on the Andaman coast. Most of the journey to Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, would have been over the Andaman Sea.



"We found debris around Horseshoe Bay," Tanintharyi Division Border Affairs and Security Minister Colonel Kyaw Zeya said in a Thursday interview with VOA's Burmese service.



"Our rescue team includes police officers, a fire brigade team, and local Samaritans. First aid and paramedics teams also have set up a makeshift hospital at the nearest beach to take care of survivors," he added.
The recent WannaCry computer virus infected more than 230,000 computers in more than 150 countries. It is not yet clear who was behind the ransomware attack that affected organizations, hospitals and telecom companies worldwide, but it was hardly unexpected.

Months earlier, filmmaker Alex Gibney released his documentary Zero Days, in which he warns of massive-scale cyberattacks and their devastating effect on modern life.

He documents a cyberweapon found lurking in computers around the world in 2010.

Stuxnet

Recruiting the help of computer experts and NSA insiders, Gibney analyzes the Stuxnet computer virus that was developed in the United States in cooperation with Israel to infect and destroy Irans nuclear program.

Eric Chien, technical director of security response at the global cybersecurity company Symantec, told VOA the United States developed the virus as leverage against Iran, to ensure that Irans nuclear program remains exclusively peaceful.

Certainly the Iran deal is connected to this story, Chien said.

He tells VOA the Stuxnet worm and its more dangerous sister virus Nitro Zeus were designed to do a lot of harm, such as, shutting down huge portions of the Iranian grid; and this was a subject we know, of some debate inside the government, because it would involve not just military targets but also civilian targets like hospitals.

He says diplomacy achieved an agreement with Iran, but says an unstated aspect of that agreement is the United States had a big stick to use if Iran violated the treaty.

Pandora's Box

Thats a very interesting thing because a lot of the legality around Stuxnet is very much in doubt, Chien said. In point of fact, the United States and Israel attacked Irans critical infrastructure in peace time.

Though the Stuxnet operation was originally successful, the film asserts, the virus was eventually discovered and fell into the wrong hands, which could enhance it and turn it against its creator.

It became much clearer to us that this was no longer sort of evolution of some piece of malware but a revolution that became the first sort of cyber sabotage malware that could actually cause physical destruction. And it did open Pandoras Box, Chien said.

Thats where we are today. Now, what we see is many likely nation states conducting attacks all over the world, we see staging, so that potentially one day if they need flip the switch they could cause some additional sabotage to occur.

Many attacks, targets

The Symantec security expert says the number of cyberattacks has greatly increased over the years. He says Symantec is now tracking close to maybe a hundred different attacks on a daily basis.

Gibney says cyberwarfare is dangerous because it has no borders or rules. It can strike anywhere, anyone, at any time.

People depend on trains, people depend on airplanes, and people depend on their electricity. This is modern life. So, what were saying in this film is these weapons threaten modern life as we know it, Gibney said.

Chien says there is always a need for mitigation when viruses sabotage our computer-controlled infrastructures.

We actually saw recently in Ukraine that their power grid was attacked through a cyber piece of malware, he said, and they were able to bring back the power within a few hours. And were able to do so because actually their infrastructure is frankly a little bit more behind and they had the ability to go a manual mode. And literally just flip the switch and put things back on.

Though there doesnt seem to be a correlation between the recent ransomware WannaCry and Stuxnet, experts such as Chien say they are both launched from remote, often undetected locations by unknown groups who are either allegiant to rogue nation states launching undercover attacks or are mercenary hackers paid by the highest bidder to conduct cyberterrorism.

Gibney says his goal in making Zero Days was to make the public aware of the extent and danger of cyberwarfare and allow us to ask questions and demand transparency from our governments.

At the very least, we can all demand that our leaders start talking about it more openly and stop pretending that this stuff is not going on when it is, because its affecting all of us at a most basic level, the filmmaker said.
Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila has elevated a controversial former police chief, General John Numbi, to the rank of "national hero.



Numbi, one of 17 Congolese officials targeted by U.S. and EU sanctions, is widely considered the principal suspect in the 2010 murder of a leading Congolese rights activist.



The Congolese human rights group Voice of the Voiceless expressed outrage. The group believes General Numbi played a key role in the 2010 murder of the its founder, Floribert Chebeya.

Chebeya disappeared shortly after being summoned to a meeting with General Numbi, who was then the chief of police. Chebeyas body was later found while his driver, Fidele Bazana, is still missing.



Numbi was suspended as Congos chief of police after Chebeyas disappearance, but two years later a military court declined to examine his alleged role in the murder.



Outrage



Rostin Manketa, the current executive director of Voice of the Voiceless told VOA he was shocked and very disappointed to learn that Numbi has been made a national hero. He said Numbi is considered by all defenders of human rights, as well as the families of Chebeya and Bazana, to be the number one suspect in their murders, which Manketa described as a targeted and planned state crime.



Another leading rights group, the Congolese Association for Access to Justice, said it is deeply concerned by the presidents decision and urged an independent, impartial and exhaustive investigation into the allegations that continue to surround Numbi.



Government spokesman Lambert Mende defended Numbis elevation to "national hero" status, telling VOA Numbi has not been charged with any crime and has only been accused of wrongdoing by private individuals and organizations.

But Numbi is also one of 16 senior Congolese officials that the United States and the European Union have hit with targeted sanctions since last September for their roles in violating human rights and undermining the electoral process.



The United States and EU claim that Numbi remains an influential adviser to the president despite having no official function and that he led a campaign of violent intimidation to get pro-Kabila provincial governors elected last year. Numbi has not responded publicly to the allegations behind the sanctions.



Defiance



Manketa says honoring Numbi is further evidence the Kabila administration intends to defy international pressure. He added that Numbis elevation as a national hero proves the Congolese state is not prepared to take into account all the allegations made about the general, both nationally and internationally.



The targeted sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans within the United States and EU.



Donatella Rostagno, director of the European Network for Central Africa, a coalition of European civil society groups, believes the measures will have a dissuasive impact on other senior Congolese officials.

They still have bank accounts. Their families live in Europe. They come to Europe to get medical treatment  They have a life, most of them, in Europe  These sanctions mean that these people will be forbidden to travel here and to have that kind of life that they used to have. It will impact their daily lives.



Polls were supposed to be held last November but were postponed and no new date has been fixed.



The government has not yet formally responded to the latest raft of sanctions against nine government officials and military chiefs, which were announced in the past two weeks. But last month in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, Kabila described the measures as actions that perpetuate  neo-colonialism.


The new film "Beatriz at Dinner" puts immigration squarely on the table.

Director Miguel Arteta and actress Salma Hayek do the same on a press tour promoting the dark comedy, which opens in the United States on Friday.

"The problems are there. This is a movie about how we are divided and [about] being an immigrant  and how difficult it is to be able to understand us," says Arteta, sitting beside Hayek in a boutique hotel here earlier in the week. Over their shoulders, in the distance, palm trees sway and the turquoise Atlantic Ocean blurs into gray skies.

"Beatriz" is set on the opposite coast, in greater Los Angeles, with Hayek cast in the title role as a Mexican-born healer and masseuse. She drives to a gated estate to give a massage to Cathy (Connie Britton), one of her regular clients.

Later, when Beatrizs car wont start, Cathy invites her to stay for a dinner party for business associates. One is a boorish billionaire real estate developer (John Lithgow) who mistakes Beatriz for a maid. That leads to biting insights about race, privilege and what it means to be an American.

"When you say America  who is America?" Hayek asks rhetorically in an interview with VOA.

Art mirrors life

Like her character, Hayek, 50, was born in Mexico  but into a well-off family.

She moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to study acting and, she has previously acknowledged, for a small period of time was in the country illegally. She found work as an actress and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen. She is married to French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault, and they have a young daughter.

Arteta and Hayek both take issue with President Donald Trumps promotion of "America first" and of a bigger barrier at the U.S. southern border.

"Everything that is happening in the world is going to affect us all," Arteta says, "and we have to help ourselves not to be, in a way, America first  me first."

"All the talk about this wall thing, its not realistic, its not serious," Hayek says. She urges more focus on immigration reform  and "not just about the border. What about the millions of people who already live here?"

Hayek suggests that issuing more work permits for Mexican laborers might discourage illegal stays.

"Let me tell you something, theres a lot of Mexicans  they dont want to live here," she says. "They wish they could come, they could work when we are needed, and go back. But they cant be coming and going, so they stay."

"We need to start the dialogue," the actress says earlier, in Spanish. "We have to concentrate on finding the solution instead of talking about this wall that is ridiculous and that will never happen ... we are wasting a lot of time."

Arteta and Hayek say they hope "Beatriz" will enrich the conversation.

Carol Guensburg contributed to this VOA Spanish Service report from Washington, D.C.
China may appear set to seize the global leadership on climate change due to the U.S. pull out of the Paris agreement, but it will have to pay a heavy cost for such a move as Washingtons withdrawal would result in a sharp reduction of available funds for environmental projects, and Beijing may have to fill some of the gap.

Shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, China reiterated its commitment to the deal and issued a joint statement with the European Union saying the pursuit of clean energy will become a main pillar of their bilateral partnership." That prompted widespread speculation that China could replace the United States as the world leader in reducing harmful carbon emissions.

But some environmental activists say China will find it difficult to establish global leadership in a situation where Chinese companies are investing in polluting mines and industries under the Belt and Road program.



The challenge for Beijing is to revamp its program of shifting industrial overcapacity to other countries and stop Chinese companies from exporting polluting factories to less developed countries that have lax environmental laws.

Our concern is that those investments that China is making abroad are in line with both the local environmental regulations, but also the Paris agreement, said Greenpeace Global Policy Advisor Li Shuo. What is indeed part of the concern, we are talking about exporting, for example, coal power plants, then it is almost unavoidable that the pollution that is associated with such a project will be translated into other countries as well.

Concerns about the financial challenge thrown up by the Trump administration's decision was also voiced by the Chinese foreign ministry. "Developed countries should fulfill their obligations under the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework on Climate Change) and Paris agreement to offer financial support to developing countries through the green climate fund and mechanism," said ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

Li praised China for its remarkable success in stalling the rise in carbon emissions for three successive years. But said emerging as a global leader may be difficult.

This is not a black or white situation. I think (on the issue of) Chinese advancing on international climate action, there are indeed a lot of setbacks in other fields, he said.

He pointed out that Chinese cities still suffered from heavy smog, and Chinese companies were investing in polluting businesses abroad.

The Chinese economy is held down by tremendous overcapacity in traditional sectors like coal, steel, and cement, and most of them are extremely polluting. China faces the prospects of laying off millions of workers to reduce overcapacity. Transferring overcapacity to other countries was one reason why the Belt and Road program was formulated.

But Beijing may be forced to sacrifice a part of the ambitious program if it wants to take moral leadership on the climate change issue, analysts said.

The only gain for Chinese President Xi Jinping from the Trump decision will be in the form of rhetoric, Simon Baptist, chief economist, Asia at The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU) said.

This gives Xi Jinping an opportunity to pursue his agenda of increasing China's soft power. I mean he will certainly give some rhetoric about being a leader on climate change, Baptist told VOA. (But) China is far from being an environmental leader in a way a country like, maybe Denmark or Sweden could be considered to be. I mean it is quite a carbon intensive economy.

China's environmental activists are extremely uneasy because they fear a sharp reduction in funds for green projects. They also fear U.S.-based companies may cut their investments in emission reduction programs. American companies like Apple and Coca-Cola have emerged as role models in the task of establishing environmentally friendly production and distribution systems.

Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs in Beijing, said there was some uncertainty about whether the Trump administration's decision would mean less fund allocation by World Bank and Asian Development Bank on green projects.

That is part of the uncertainties. We all know that they (World Bank and Asian Development Bank) can be much impacted by America. ...I hope that they will continue to support the fight against climate change, Ma told VOA. I (also) heard from some of the American NGO partners that they are having difficulty to get the government (funds).

Ma even appealed to U.S. states and multinational companies to differ from Washington and express their commitment to climate change goals.

Several states and large corporations have said they intend to move forward with U.S. commitments to the Paris agreement.

Governor Jerry Brown, who heads the largest state of California, was in Beijing this week to sign an agreement with the Chinese president on reducing emissions.

One day before the decision, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told his German counterpart, Angela Merkel, that his government will remain committed to the Paris deal, and "with tremendous efforts, China will move towards the 2030 goal step-by-step steadfastly."
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Friday that the White House social media director broke the law when he used his Twitter account for campaign purposes.

The office said Dan Scavino, one of Trump's longest-serving aides, violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits most federal employees from using their government positions to try to influence elections. It said in a letter that it had issued a warning to Scavino.

Scavino used an official-looking Twitter account in April to urge voters to defeat Republican Representative Justin Amash in a GOP primary. Scavino's personal Twitter account at the time listed his official White House position and included pictures of him standing in the Oval Office.

"@realDonaldTrump is bringing auto plants & jobs back to Michigan. @justinamash is a big liability. #TrumpTrain, defeat him in primary," Scavino tweeted.

The tweet was flagged in a complaint by the good-government group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

"Mr. Scavino has been advised that if in the future he engages in prohibited political activity while employed in a position covered by the Hatch Act, we will consider such activity to be a willful and knowing violation of the law," Ana Galindo-Marrone, chief of the Office of Special Counsel's Hatch Act Unit, wrote in a letter to CREW.

She said Scavino had recently been briefed about the Hatch Act and noted that he had not tweeted anything similar since that time.

The Office of Special Counsel is an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency within the U.S. government. Its main mission is safeguarding the merit system in federal employment by protecting employees and applicants from prohibited practices, such as reprisals for whistle-blowing.
The International Organization for Migration is appealing for $60 million to provide lifesaving assistance to millions of victims of the worst drought to hit East Africa in decades.

An estimated 16 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti are affected by drought. The appeal by the IOM aims to provide emergency and early recovery aid to six million people through the end of the year.

The Horn of Africa is suffering severe food and water shortages brought on by two previous years of drought, exacerbated by the El Nino phenomenon.

A recent sprinkling of rain is bringing some relief to the region, but the IOM regional director for East and Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Labovitz, says the rain has come too late and is not abundant enough to reach the level needed to mitigate the vulnerable condition of millions of people.

"We're happy that rains are happening, but it does not mean that the needs are fully addressed," he said. "And, in fact, there is a lot of consideration that we will have to look at a much longer term of urgent humanitarian assistance."

The IOM reports more than one million people within Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya have become internally displaced over the past six months because of severe drought conditions.

Labovitz tells VOA that warnings of famine so far have not materialized because of timely interventions by aid agencies; but, he notes, the crisis is far from over.

"In fact, we are adding millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance over the course of the last month," he said. "When we talk about Ethiopia, it is a rapid increase. The last figure we heard was 5.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance about a month ago. Now, it is 7.8. We have just added almost two million people. And we think it is going to go much higher than that."

Between 50,000 and 100,000 people in Somalia leave their homes every week in search of drought relief, according to Labovitz.
Iran's leadership on Friday accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of supporting the attacks on Tehran that killed 17 people this week.

As thousands of Iranians attended a funeral for the victims, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday's attacks would only increase hate for the U.S. and Saudi governments, according to state media.

The ayatollah made the statement in remarks of condolence for the victims. He said the twin attacks on parliament and the tomb of former leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini "will not damage the Iranian nation's determination."

Extremist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Yet, at the funeral following Friday prayers, mourners chanted, "Down with the U.S.," and they called for death for members of the Saudi royal family.

Also Friday, Iranian officials continued a crackdown that followed the attacks. Officials said they had detained 41 suspects in the capital and the country's western Kurdish provinces in raids on suspected safe houses.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry said Thursday that five of the men involved in the attacks were Iranians who had joined IS. The ministry said the men had fought for IS in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria, before returning to Iran last August.

Iranian security officials late Wednesday confirmed IS involvement, saying the attackers, many disguised as women, were Iranians who had joined the terror group.

U.S. intelligence called the incident the worst domestic terror attack in Tehran since the 1980s, but an official said there had been signs IS was at least hoping to strike.
Ivanka Trump's fashion brand sought to distance itself from a Chinese manufacturer that has come under scrutiny after activists investigating labor conditions there were detained, saying the company last made its products three months ago.

In a statement released Wednesday, the brand's president, Abigail Klem, said Ivanka Trump shoes, which are made by licensing partner Mark Fisher, have not been produced since March at the Huajian Group factory where alleged labor abuses occurred. She added our licensee works with many footwear production factories and all factories are required to operate within strict social compliance regulations.

But it is unclear whether that was really the end of the relationship.

Undercover workers



China Labor Watch, a New York nonprofit, began scrutinizing Ivanka Trump supply chains more than a year ago, according to Li Qiang, the group's executive director. Three China Labor Watch investigators went into Huajian Group factories undercover posing as workers in March, April and May of this year and found Ivanka Trump merchandise inside, Li said.



He said the investigators also found evidence of planned production, namely an April production schedule indicating pending orders for nearly 1,000 pairs of Ivanka Trump shoes due by the end of last month.



Now all three men are in jail, accused of using illegal recording devices to disrupt Huajian's business. The U.S. State Department and Amnesty International have spoken out against the arrests. So far, Ivanka Trump and her brand have not.

Two days off a month?



China Labor Watch laid out its initial allegations in an April letter to Ivanka Trump. It said workers regularly put in more than 15 hours a day, with just two days off a month. It said most were paid by the piece, taking home just $363 a month for 300 hours of work, and that managers verbally abuse workers.

China Labor Watch expects you, as an assistant to the president and an advocate for women's rights, to urge your brand's supplier factories to improve their conditions, Li wrote in the letter. Your words and deeds can make a difference in these factory workers' lives.

The Huajian Group says the undercover activists were out to steal trade secrets and denies the allegations of poor working conditions.

Global companies take a hit

Some argue that the arrest of independent monitors threatens to hamper the ability of global companies to adequately monitor their Chinese suppliers. China has rebuffed the State Department's request to release the activists, saying the men will be dealt with under China's own sovereign laws.

China has swept up hundreds of human rights lawyers and labor activists in recent years and has scrutinized groups with foreign ties, like China Labor Watch, much more closely.

Alicia Edwards, a State Department spokeswoman, said this week that the U.S. is concerned by the pattern of arrests and detentions. Labor activists, she added, are instrumental in helping American companies understand conditions in their supply chains and holding Chinese manufacturers accountable under Chinese law.


Japans parliament passed a law Friday to allow Emperor Akihito to abdicate and be succeeded by his elder son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 57.

Akihito, 83, who has had heart surgery and treatment for prostate cancer, last summer indicated his desire to abdicate after nearly three decade on the Chrysanthemum Throne, reviving a longstanding debate in Japan over the issue of Imperial succession in the 2,000-year-old monarchy.

The abdication would be Japans first in 200 years. Akihito was 56 when he ascended the throne in January 1989 after the death of his father, Emperor Hirohito.

Media reports have said officials are considering the end of 2018, when Akihito turns 85, for the abdication.

In a vote televised live on NHK public television, the upper house of parliament passed the bill unanimously Friday, after the lower chamber gave its approval last week.

The abdication must take place within three years of the new law taking effect or it expires, and it only applies to Akihito.

The last Japanese emperor to abdicate was Kokaku in 1817.


Developments in Washington, D.C., on Thursday include fired FBI Director James Comey testifying before a Senate committee about his conversations with President Donald Trump; several Washington bars opening early for viewing parties of the Senate hearing; the president keeping a full schedule including speaking to his evangelical supporters, and some U.S. cities and states saying they were still abiding by the Paris climate agreement, from which Trump withdrew the U.S. last week.

WATCH: Highlights of Comey testimony

Fired FBI Director: Trump Wanted Loyalty, Halt to Flynn Probe -- Fired FBI Director James Comey says President Donald Trump expected him to pledge his loyalty and urged him to drop the investigation into links between Trump's aides and Russian officials. Comey's nearly three-hour appearance Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee marked his first public comments about nine conversations he said he had with the president in the months before he was fired. The event was covered live by the major U.S. television networks, and seen around the world.

WATCH: Trump's attorney comments after Comey testimony

Fired FBI Chief Testifies About His Conversations With Trump -- Comey told U.S. lawmakers Thursday that Trump expected him to pledge his loyalty and urged him to drop the investigation into links between his aides and Russian officials. Trump ousted Comey last month, saying he was thinking of "this Russia thing" when he decided to dismiss the chief of the country's top criminal investigative agency while he was leading its Russia probe. Comey's appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee marked his first public comments about the nine conversations he said he had with the president in the months before he was fired  three face-to-face meetings and six phone calls.

DC Bars to Open Early for Comey Viewing Parties -- While its unclear how much the rest of the country is eagerly awaiting Thursdays testimony from Comey, for Washingtonians, the event is must-see TV, prompting some bars to open as early to host viewing parties.

WATCH: Trump speaks to evangelical supporters

Trump Uncharacteristically Quiet on Day of Historic Testimony -- Trump has uncharacteristically refrained from making comments about Thursday's congressional testimony by the FBI director he fired a month ago. The president, in a speech a few kilometers from the White House and on his favorite social media platform, made no reference to Comey, who accused Trump of removing him from his job to undermine the FBI's investigation into suspected collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign team and Russia.

Some US States, Cities Say We Are Still In Paris Agreement -- Many U.S. states, cities and businesses say they will forge ahead with the U.S. commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, even though President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal. The U.S. under President Barack Obama pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

WATCH: Farmers ponder new farm bill

With Republicans, Trump in Charge, Farmers Ponder New Farm Bill -- Illinois farmer Gerald Thompson says he is not upset with Trump, the candidate he voted for in the 2016 general election. I think Trump is a good businessman and hell see the value in what agriculture has to offer, he said. But Thompson is among a majority of Americans who disapprove of the performance of the U.S. Congress. Until we get rid of 90 percent of the politicians, put in term limits and put people there that actually go to work for the right reasons, were going to have problems, he told VOA.

US Lawmakers Agree Fixes Needed in Health Service for Native Americans -- The U.S. government is obligated to provide free health care to federally recognized tribes in exchange for the millions of hectares of land they ceded to the government. The Indian Health Service (IHS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the agency that provides that care. But the service has been plagued with scandal and accusations of mismanagement since it was formed more than 60 years ago, including the forced sterilization of Native American women in the 1960s and 1970s. Lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives have heeded calls for reform and in May introduced parallel bills calling for a complete overhaul of the IHS.

WATCH: NATO chief on discussions with Russia

NATO Chief: 'Have to be Strong' in Response to Russia But Dialogue Important -- The head of NATO says members of the alliance are united in their stance toward Russia in a way they have not been for many years. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday in an interview with VOA's Serbian Service that NATO is committed to stepping up its defense while at the same time continuing dialogue with Russia.

House Votes to Roll Back Post-2008 Financial Rules -- The Republican-led House approved sweeping legislation Thursday to undo much of former President Barack Obama's landmark banking law created after the 2008 economic crisis that caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs and homes. The largely party-line vote was 233-186, as Republicans argued the rules designed to prevent another meltdown were making it harder for community banks to lend and hampered the economy.

Clinton to Graduates: 'Never Let Anyone Silence Your Voice' -- Losing the 2016 presidential election was pretty devastating, especially considering who I lost to, Hillary Clinton told graduates of Medgar Evers College on Thursday. But Clinton said that setback pales in comparison to the heartbreak endured by Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of the slain black civil rights leader for whom the Brooklyn college is named.

Germany's Merkel: EU Must Compromise to Get Trade Deal with Mercosur -- The European Union must compromise if it wants to reach a trade accord with South American trade bloc Mercosur, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference on Thursday after a meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri. Merkel said German agriculture had its own interests, but Germany supported Argentina's push to reach a trade deal with the EU quickly. She said "great progress" had already been made.

Diplomats: US Wary of French Push for UN to Back Sahel Force -- The United States is wary of a French push for the U.N. Security Council to authorize a West African force to combat terrorism and trafficking in the Sahel region because it does not want the world body to help fund it, diplomats said on Thursday.
Poaching and wildlife trafficking have left some of Africas most iconic species endangered. The loss of the animals has cost African countries critical tourism revenue. But what if those national parks could get a second chance? The nonprofit African Parks has been trying to give just that. Lameck Masina reports for VOA from Liwonde National Park in southern Malawi which just welcomed some new inhabitants  four cheetahs relocated there by African Parks from South Africa.
Britain has been plunged into political chaos after a shock result in Thursday's general election that saw the ruling Conservative Party's majority wiped out.

Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap poll hoping to boost her mandate for talks on Britain's exit from the European Union, due to start next week. But the Brexit timetable has been thrown into jeopardy as the opposition Labor Party saw its vote share soar.

May on Friday resisted calls to quit  calls that came even from senior figures in her party.

After visiting Queen Elizabeth II on Friday, a part of electoral procedure, May announced she would try to form a minority government supported by the Democratic Unionist Party, or DUP, from Northern Ireland.

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom," May said.

Solid majority seen vital

The prime minister maintained that the Brexit talks would begin as planned next week, but with her party's loss of 13 seats and its parliamentary majority, May will rely on the support of the DUP vote by vote. That is simply unsustainable, said political analyst Ian Dunt, author of the book Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now?

Minority governments in Britain "have very bad track records  they always get torn apart. The system doesn't like it. When you're doing that going into Brexit negotiations  some of the most brutal, arduous negotiations this country has ever faced  you don't have a chance going up against it without really a strong majority."

So is Britain's EU exit now in doubt? No, Dunt said, but May's vision of a so-called "hard Brexit"  in which the U.K. would most likely leave the single European Union market, take full control over its borders, strike new trade deals and apply laws within its own borders  has been rejected.

"She said, 'Give me a mandate.' And the answer was, 'No.' And that means we have to rethink everything, the entirety of the way we're doing Brexit," Dunt said.

The Conservatives' losses were largely gains for the Labor opposition, which defied polls and predictions to gain 29 seats  a vindication for leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose grip on the party appears to have strengthened.

"We put forward our policies  strong and hopeful policies  and they've gained an amazing response and traction," he said.

Youth vote energized

Among those was scrapping university tuition fees, which energized the youth vote. As one teaching student at the University of London told VOA, "I think most of us here were against Brexit last year. And I don't feel like the current prime minister or, indeed, the Tory party, has any idea about what to do with Brexit at the moment."

Elation in the Corbyn camp is tempered by electoral reality, said Dunt, making a comparison to last year's U.S. presidential campaign.

"In a sort of Bernie Sanders way, he just created this sort of idealistic momentum around young people," Dunt said. "He's done something extraordinary. But he still doesn't have that many seats."

A year after the Brexit vote, Britain appears as divided as ever  between young and old, left and right, pro- and anti-Europe.

May's campaign catchphrase of a "strong and stable government" has backfired. Britain looks set for months of political chaos.
U.S. Representative-elect Greg Gianforte, a Montana Republican, is expected next week to enter a plea of no contest or guilty to misdemeanor assault after he was accused of attacking a reporter on the eve of his election, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Gianforte will appear in court in Bozeman on Monday and is scheduled to be sentenced the same day, after he enters his plea, Gallatin County Attorney Marty Lambert said by phone.

The altercation has been portrayed as an illustration of the new toxicity of American politics. Critics of President Donald Trump say his strident criticism of the media has encouraged violence against journalists, while his supporters say many reporters are overly aggressive and disrespectful.

Under Montana law, a conviction for misdemeanor assault carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail. Lambert declined to say whether his office would recommend jail time.

An attorney for Gianforte declined to comment.

Gianforte, a technology executive, pledged in a letter Wednesday to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists and apologized to reporter Ben Jacobs, who accused Gianforte of assaulting him May 24.

Gianforte won Montana's lone seat in the House of Representatives in a special election the next day.

'Body-slammed'

Jacobs, a political correspondent for the U.S. edition of The Guardian newspaper, said Gianforte "body-slammed" him, breaking his eyeglasses, when the reporter posed a question about health care during a campaign event in Bozeman.

Gianforte was heard shouting: "Get the hell out of here!" and "I'm sick and tired of you guys!" in an audio recording of the incident played repeatedly on news broadcasts.

Gianforte's campaign initially suggested Jacobs instigated the incident by barging into the candidate's office and shoving a recording device into his face as he was preparing for a TV interview.

But in a letter of apology to Jacobs issued Wednesday, Gianforte said his "physical response to your legitimate question was unprofessional, unacceptable and unlawful."

In return for Gianforte's apology and his charitable donation, Jacobs agreed not to bring a civil action against the congressman-elect.

Jacobs, at Gianforte's request, also sent an email to Lambert, saying he would not object to Gianforte's pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault, according to a release-of-liability document signed by Jacobs.

Lambert said his office could still insist that Gianforte plead guilty instead of no contest. In either event, the plea would trigger Gianforte's sentencing.

Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist to fill the House seat vacated when Trump appointed Ryan Zinke as interior secretary. He is expected to be sworn in later this month.
Winning the French presidency was step one for Emmanuel Macron. Step two is nailing down the parliamentary majority France's youngest-ever president needs to be effective. That happens in legislative elections that promise a monumental shake-up of the National Assembly and the consolidation of Macron's grip on France's levers of power.

Not only is the two-round vote, this Sunday and next, expected to install hundreds of new faces in the 577-seat lower house, but many will likely be first-time lawmakers, making good on Macron's campaign promises to take a broom to established, old-style politics.

Half of the candidates for Macron's fledgling Republic on the Move! party have, like him, never previously held elected office. They include an award-winning mathematician, a former female bullfighter and the ex-head of an elite French police unit that took down an Islamic State cell, among others.

With pollsters projecting a possibly dominant majority for Macron's camp, the election could add real clout to the measured and studied air of authority the 39-year-old has cultivated in his presidential role since the very first minutes of his May 7 victory.

Much of Macron's early muscle-flexing has been symbolic, most notably his knuckle-whitening handshake with U.S. President Donald Trump  aimed, the French leader later said, at showing that he is no pushover.

But a large, compliant majority in parliament would arm Macron with the actual power to quickly start legislating and launch his promised program of remedies for the persistent, chronic unemployment and other economic difficulties that have sapped France's weight in Europe. He intends to speedily reform France's labor codes, aiming to create work by injecting greater flexibility into the labor market and by boosting job-training.

Battered by the electorate that gave Macron a comfortable winning margin over far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the presidential vote, his weakened political rivals fear that another surge of support for the president's candidates in the legislative ballot could make him almost untouchable and limit their tools and abilities to keep his ambitions and legislative program in check.

Political scientist Dominique Moisi says the legislative election is a "decisive piece" in the consolidation of Macron's presidency. When the former banker and economy minister launched his wild-card bid for the presidential Elysee Palace in 2016, challenging the monopoly on power of France's established parties on the left and right, his chances of winning the succession of presidential and legislative votes looked remote-to-nil. Now, Macron's gamble is close to paying out in full, and the mainstream parties are in disarray.

"He's on course to be a new De Gaulle if he makes the reforms he wants to," Moisi said, referring to the hugely respected founding father of modern France, wartime hero Gen. Charles de Gaulle. "There is a risk that he will have too much authority given the fact that he has some sort of authoritarian personality in him. But that is what France needs right now."

For Macron's rivals, the election is their last best chance to clip his wings for the next five years until the next electoral cycle. Le Pen is hoping the record support for her National Front in the presidential vote will translate into more seats in parliament than the two held by the party in the last legislature. Similarly, far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon also is banking that his strong fourth place in the presidential ballot will help secure legislative seats for himself and his candidates.

The left and right mainstream parties, the Socialists and conservative Republicans, are hoping to limit their losses, having been spectacularly sanctioned by voters in the presidential vote. For the first time, neither of them made the decisive May runoff vote that was contested between Macron and Le Pen.

To win in the first round Sunday, candidates must win an absolute majority of votes cast and the support of at least 25 percent of registered voters in their constituency. Otherwise, the contest moves to the second-round vote the following Sunday.
The Justice Department has declined to prosecute two Veterans Affairs Department executives after lawmakers accused them of misleading Congress about massive cost overruns at a Denver-area VA hospital.



The House Veterans Affairs Committee asked for a perjury investigation last fall, claiming the executives repeatedly gave false testimony that masked serious problems with the hospital construction project.



The Justice Department told lawmakers in a May 19 letter that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado released the letter to The Associated Press Thursday.

The decision means no one has yet been fired or charged since the cost of the hospital ballooned to nearly $1.7 billion, almost triple earlier estimates.



The VA has said everyone involved in the problems has retired or was transferred or demoted.



The hospital is still under construction in the Denver suburb of Aurora and is expected to be finished next year.



The VA executives targeted by lawmakers were Glenn Haggstrom, then the top official in charge of construction projects, and Stella Fiotes, director of the VAs Office of Construction and Facilities Management.



Neither returned phone messages seeking comment Thursday. VA spokesman Paul Sherbo said the agency had no comment.



Multiple investigations concluded that the VA bungled the project, providing insufficient oversight, approving lavish design elements, failing to get the designers and builders to agree, and trying to use a complicated form of construction contract that agency executives didnt fully understand.



The VAs inspector general, an internal watchdog, said last year that Haggstrom knew the project was veering toward huge cost overruns but didnt tell lawmakers when he testified before Congress in 2013 and 2014. That prompted lawmakers to call for the perjury investigation of Haggstrom and Fiotes.
North Korea successfully tested a new "ground-to-sea cruise rocket" that is capable of striking enemy battleships staging a military attack, the country's KCNA news agency said Friday.

Pyongyang launched several land-to-sea missiles early Thursday, under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un, KCNA said.

The missiles "accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea," it reported.

The missile test was North Korea's fourth in the span of a month, and comes after the United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions on Kim's government last week.

The three previous tests were of ballistic missiles, with North Korea appearing determined to develop a missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon and reaching the U.S. mainland.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Thursday the resumption of talks with North Korea on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is made more difficult by Pyongyang's increasingly frequent missile tests.

"We hope, at some point, the talks could resume, but we are nowhere near that point," Nauert said.

The latest missile firing came just one day after South Korea suspended the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system.

Nauert said the suspension of THAAD deployment is "part of the conversations" that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had with President Donald Trump at an Oval Office meeting on Thursday.

"This is a conversation that's taken place at the highest level. We are committed to our South Korean ally. That commitment remains ironclad. We are aware, certainly, of the situation and the suspension of additional launchers," Nauert said.

Seoul said it would delay the installation of remaining components of the THAAD anti-missile system until it completes an assessment of the system's environmental impact.

Under Secretary of State Tom Shannon "affirmed the strength of the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance" and "the need to sustain close coordination in addressing the threat from North Korea," during his meeting with South Korea's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong on June 1, a spokesperson told VOA.

Trump has called on China to use its relationship as North Korea's chief ally to exert pressure on Kim to rein in his nuclear ambitions.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that North Korea "should immediately halt its nuclear and missile provocations," following a test launch of suspected anti-ship missiles earlier in the day.

"Our government, as I have already clarified multiple times, will not back off at all or compromise regarding national security and people's safety," Moon said. "The government will unwaveringly make efforts for complete denuclearization of North Korea's nuclear weapons through both sanctions and dialogue.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea launched the missiles early Thursday from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan, and that they flew about 200 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan.

Rand Corporation defense analyst Bruce Bennett told VOA that the missiles in Thursday's test were probably too small to be able to carry a nuclear warhead.

"These are to demonstrate new capabilities, to suggest that they are advancing and covering new areas, but also to give Kim Jong Un some internal cover from the hits he's taking from the Security Council and elsewhere, from China in particular on their coal import cutoff, trying to demonstrate that Kim Jong Un is still a god, he's still very powerful and capable of doing important things," Bennett said.
After a wave of attacks on security forces in northeastern Kenya, local officials are threatening to arm civilians.

The officials blame the national government for failing to protect them, and say they are losing essential services after teachers and health workers stopped coming to work.

Barre Shill, a member of parliament from Garissa County, says locals are tired of terror attacks and concerned about the future of their children.

You cannot always be killed and maimed by armed terrorists, and yet we are not being protected," Shill said. "We have lost teachers, we have lost medical staff. Now we are not getting those basics services. So why should we be suffering for the last almost four years?

Shill and other four legislators from northeastern Kenya have called on the government to arm the community to defend themselves against al-Shabab militants who have claimed responsibility for the recent attacks.

Kenya police spokesman Charles Owino told VOA the request cannot be implemented, but the government will recruit and provide more security forces to guard the population.

Richard Tuta, a homeland security expert, says the population can be armed, but the right procedures have to be followed.

Arming the community is not a bad concept," said Tuta, who adds that a key concern is how to arm people. "Like, for instance, there is a law as far as police reservists are concerned that there is a systematic way on how it should be done right from recruiting, vetting those who have been recruited, training them, giving them equipment, and having a structure of operation. If it's one that way, then it will be OK.

In the last three weeks, al-Shabab has killed 17 security officers. Some of them were killed when their vehicles hit roadside bombs.



Civilians have died as well, including a teacher killed last week in the Fafi area of Garissa County.

Attending a memorial service held for the slain security officers Thursday, Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said the government will hunt down the terrorists behind the attacks.

Criminals and terrorists whose despicable action caused the loss of these lives," Nkaissery said. "We have one message for you: you can run, but you cannot hide. One way or the other, we shall get you and when we get you, you will pay the price.

George Musumali, director of the Center for Risk Management in Africa, says some parts of the country are getting dangerous even for the police.

You talk to the police on the ground they are saying that there are certain areas they cannot go to patrol because those areas are dominated by the al-Shabab," he said, "and unless we take drastic action to stop this, then definitely, we are seeing al-Shabab will be gaining more ground in northern Kenya and this is not going to augur well for the country.

The attacks come less than two months before Kenya holds presidential and parliamentary elections.
Islamic State has released a video showing the bloodied body of a captive Chinese national the terrorist group claimed to have killed along with his female partner in southwestern Pakistan.

A provincial government official confirmed to VOA that the man who seems to be taking his last breaths in the video is one of the two Chinese kidnapped last month from Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he said that authorities have not yet found the bodies of the Chinese nationals, and he would like to abstain from making any official assertions on the fate of the two foreigners.

China briefed by Pakistan

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing Friday that Beijing has been told by Islamabad the two abductees are probably dead.

"Pakistan's relevant side has provided China with some information and said these two kidnapped Chinese citizens have likely already been murdered. We are gravely concerned about this," she said.

Chunying added that Beijing is in contact with the Pakistani side and trying to learn more about and verify the situation by all means.

Islamic States global media outlet, the Amaq News Agency, announced Thursday the group had executed the two captives in Mastung, a district about 50 kilometers south of Quetta.

Would-be headquarters destroyed

The Syria-based terrorist group issued the claim hours after Pakistani authorities announced a major military operation had destroyed a would-be IS headquarters in a rugged mountain range near Mastung.

The raid killed 12 hardcore militants while five security personnel were also wounded during clashes, an army spokesman said.

He added that the multi-cave complex spread across 10 kilometers was occupied by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami, a Sunni extremist organization known for deadly attacks against minority Shiite Muslims in Pakistan.

The group used to be an al-Qaida loyalist, but Pakistani officials believe it has lately been working to help IS establish a foothold in Pakistan.

IS has taken credit for several recent deadly suicide bombings in Baluchistan and elsewhere in Pakistan. The latest such attack took place last month in Mastung, killing 25 people.

The military said the suicide bomber had been sent from the IS base security forces neutralized last week. Pakistani officials have long insisted IS has no organized presence in the country.

But a string of attacks and a major base the army destroyed in Mastung contradict officials claims, critics say.

The army also released video footage of the IS base it raided. A bomb-making facility was also destroyed, and security forces seized 50 kilograms of explosives, suicide vests, grenades, machine guns, sniper rifles and communication systems, according to an official statement.

Belt and Road

Baluchistan, particularly its newly expanded deep-water port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, is at the heart of a $60 billion Chinese-funded Belt and Road trade and development initiative.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) consists of a network of roads, rail links and power plants. It will ultimately link Chinas western Xinjiang region to Gwadar, giving Beijing the shortest trade access to the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

But as the work on CPEC-related projects has picked up, the Pakistani province is encountering an uptick in militant and separatist violence.

Thursdays announcement by IS, if confirmed, would increase worries among Chinese experts and workers associated with CPEC-related projects.

Pakistani officials acknowledge that the gruesome killings of the two Chinese will have a psychological impact on the joint economic activity but said the two nations are determined not to be deterred by such terrorist acts.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated the resolve while addressing a regional cooperation summit Friday in Kazakhstan.

We are diligently implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is a flagship of the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), Sharif told the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCOA), which is jointly led by China and Russia.
Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that the United States supported peace talks on Cyprus aimed at reunifying the divided island.

Pence hosted Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades at the White House on Thursday. The White House said Pence expressed hope that Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders "will agree to a settlement that would reunify Cyprus as a bizonal, bicommunal federation to the benefit of all Cypriots."

Pence also thanked Cyprus for its support for the Middle East peace talks and the fight against Islamic State.

Anastasiades said that he invited Pence to visit the island and that "what satisfied me most is that the U.S. acknowledged the role Cyprus plays as a result of its excellent relations with all its neighboring nations."

Cyprus has been split between a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north since 1974, when Turkey invaded in response to a military coup aimed at unifying the island with Greece.

The south is recognized as the sole Cypriot government, while only Turkey recognizes a separate Turkish Cypriot north.

U.N.-sponsored reunification talks have been slow because of several sensitive issues, including Turkish demands that Turkish forces be allowed to stay on the island. The Greek Cypriots want them to leave.
Six years ago, after months of often contentious debate, the state Legislature approved a concealed-carry law for the citizens of Wisconsin and Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law.

Part of the sell for the concealed-carry law were the assurances that law-abiding citizens would be required to have a background check to prove they arent felons and to undergo some basic firearms training as a safety measure.

But now, in a classic example of bait and switch, a pair of Republican legislators  Sen. David Craig, R-Town of Vernon (who represents the Waterford area of Racine County), and Rep. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, want to renege on that commitment and eliminate permit and training requirements.

Thats a bad idea.

And were not the only ones who think so.

Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, recently told The Wisconsin State Journal his group, which represents some 10,000 law enforcement officers in the state, opposes the legislation.

We arent against concealed carry, Palmer said, We just think maintaining a minimum requirement for training is a good thing for officer safety and for public safety.

The proposed bills would also undo the states ban against bringing guns onto school grounds and would allow those with a concealed-carry permit to do so  unless a school posts itself as a gun-free zone.

That, too, has raised objections from educators in the state. At a recent hearing on the proposed law changes, Dan Rossmiller, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, testified, The majority of my members believe that guns and children are not a good mix.

We agree with that as well.

As usual the legislative hearing brought out some overwrought hyperbole. A Madison School Board member told legislators, You are taking one of the few safe places we have and turning it into a war zone.

Um, no, we dont think so.

And some of the hyperbole came from one of the legislative sponsors, Felzkowski, who argued for parity with those who openly carry firearms but are not subject to the registration or training requirements.

Right now I can go to Gander Mountain and buy (a handgun) and strap it to my hip  what I cannot legally do is throw a sweater on, Felzkowski said. Thats what we change.

We certainly dont want to impede Rep. Felzkowskis constitutional right to wear a sweater. Frankly, we would guess that security personnel would be more concerned that a bulky sweater was concealing something like unpaid-for merchandise.

But, again, thats hyperbole.

The issue here is whether a citizen who wants to carry a firearm for self-protection should be required to have basic training in the use and safe operation of that weapon. On that, we side with Jim Palmer.

For evidence to support that, we would cite the state Department of Natural Resources hunter safety education program, which was first adopted in 1967 and then made mandatory for hunters born after Jan. 1, 1973. And, yes, completion of those courses do fulfill the firearms training requirement for concealed carry.

Those courses, along with things like requiring the wearing of blaze orange, have lead to a continuing downward trend in hunting accidents across Wisconsin. In the states annual gun deer season last year, there were five non-fatal hunting incidents and zero fatalities. Five of the past 10 deer seasons were fatality free and the numbers of injury incidents has plummeted from as many as 45 as recently as 1987 down to single digits in nine of the last 10 years.

Thats testament to the value of firearm training and safety for hunters and we would suggest that training has equal application for citizens who desire to carry a firearm for personal protection.
Roman Polanski wont take his chances and return to court to resolve his sexual assault case, so his victim is going to stand up for him.

Samantha Geimer, who was 13 at the time of the crime, is going to appeal directly to a judge Friday to end the long-running case, the fugitive directors lawyer said.

Geimer, 54, has long supported Polanskis efforts to end the legal saga that limits his freedom, but Friday will be the first time shes appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court on his behalf, attorney Harland Braun said.

Shes tired of this case, Braun said. The judge is just playing games with him.

The Oscar-winner has been a fugitive since he fled to France in 1978 on the eve of sentencing for having unlawful sex with a minor. Prosecutors dropped charges that he drugged, raped and sodomized the girl.

Polanski feared the judge was going to renege on a plea agreement and send him away for more time than the six weeks he served in prison during a psychiatric evaluation prior to sentencing.

Polanski, 83, is trying to get the Interpol warrant lifted so he can move freely among most of the 190 countries in the global policing network. If that happened, the California warrant would remain valid.

The hearing Friday is an effort by Braun to get the court to unseal testimony by the now-deceased prosecutor in the case, who is believed to have testified in a closed session about backroom sentencing discussions.

Braun wants to use the transcript to show Polanski has served his time so the international warrant is dropped.

Geimer has previously said she forgives Polanski for the assault that happened at Jack Nicholsons compound in the Hollywood Hills during a March 1977 photo shoot.

Geimer sued Polanski and reached a settlement in 1993 for $500,000 that included over $100,000 in interest payments. Her longtime lawyer Lawrence Silver did not return phone and email messages seeking comment.

The Associated Press doesnt typically name victims of sex abuse, but Geimer went public years ago.
Asia Pacific nations are facing rising challenges posed by cybercrime and security breaches amid escalating economic costs from cyber attacks.

Regional businesses and governments say policy reforms are needed against a backdrop of a fast changing technological landscape and mounting vulnerabilities to cyber crime.

Singapore has taken the regional lead to boost cyber security within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as promoting the island states technical resources.

In October 2016, Singapore hosted the inaugural ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity, announcing new initiatives to boost ASEANs capacity to deal with cyber threats.

U.S.-based Honeywell, backed by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), is to set up a new industrial cybersecurity center of excellence for Asia Pacific. It will also feature development laboratories and advanced training in security services.



Multilateral effort



In June, Singapore and Australia signed a cooperation agreement to stem cybercrime, with Australia also signing pacts to boost cooperation with Thailand and China.

Australias Ambassador for Cybercrime, Tobias Feakin, in Bangkok for official talks with the Thai Government, said regional cooperation was vital in the face of growing challenges posed by cybercriminal networks in Asia.

Criminals and nefarious actors can adapt and absorb all [this information] so much quicker than governments. So if were not talking about it, sharing best practice and keeping on the move as well then we will soon find ourselves behind by a quite a margin, Feakin told VOA.

A 2016 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warned cybercrime was growing in the Asia Pacific region, and evolving from an emerging threat to a criminal enterprise.

The UNODC said cybercrime  or internet-related crime  includes identity theft, crime, scams facilitated through email and social networking sites, sex offenses and fraud, and can ensnare victims through social media websites and mobile phones as well as standard internet sites.

UNODC Bangkok-based cyber technology analyst, Alexandru Caciuloiu said transnational crime accounts for the largest segment in cyber crime.

We have all types  we have the criminal element  which I say is the biggest part. Of course we have the corporate to corporate [hacking]  there is also the nation state  there are many players in this area. So in terms of the criminal element of course, theyre always trying to leverage with the new technology, Caciuloiu said.

Cyberattacks



High profile cyberattacks have raised the awareness for the need for improved safety and security. The May unleashing by computer hackers of the WannaCry ransom malware affected 200,000 organizations in 150 countries, including Thailand.

An executive with cybersecurity company, Trend Micro, was reported saying online extortion attacks had increased dramatically, with criminal elements causing millions of dollars in losses.

In the Philippines, security analysts said businesses needed to step up security measures against cyber crimes and increasing global threats.

In late May, reports said Vietnam-linked hackers had been targeting Philippines government agencies to gather intelligence related to the maritime dispute in the South China Sea.

Australia, in pressing for an agreement with China, had accused China-based businesses of on-line intellectual property theft.

China is a huge economic partner [with Australia], said Ambassador Feakin. There are some areas  there is some differences and the fact that we got to a point of signing an agreement, which said we agree to not conduct cyber enabled intellectual property that, I think thats a good point.

UNODCs Caciuloiu said the challenge for South East Asia lies in the economic disparities in wealth and capacities to address the cybersecurity problems.

There are some countries where I will say they are very focused on cybersecurity, but some others theres a pretty big lack of awareness within the government(s), he said.

International consultants PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), in its 2017 Global State of Information Security Survey, called for a unified front against cybercriminals including collaboration and information sharing to enable organizations to understand risks with effective methods of response.

Exponential increase in mobile phone use and tablet devices have added to the risks.

Cyber risk now encompasses more than our traditional view of computers a more than our traditional view of computers, including increased attacks involving the so-called Internet of Things from cars to household devices.

Over the next decade, both the motivation and opportunity for malicious attacks on business and government will soar, PwC said.

Australias Feakin said there was a need to ensure development and increased connectivity are not hamstrung by a lack of international collaboration at all levels.

In this region we need more of that. Our concern would always be if we dont make sure that the threats a managed, then thats the danger we miss out on that golden opportunity, he said.

In a recent commentary, Brad Glosserman, executive director of the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum at the Center for Security Studies, said the 2015 cost estimates of cybercrimes in the Asia Pacific stood at $81 billion, with the number of incidents growing.
U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer plans to file a complaint early next week about former FBI Director James Comey's disclosure of conversations with the president, a person close to the legal team said on Friday.

Lawyer Marc Kasowitz will file the complaint with the Justice Department's inspector general and will also make a "submission" to the Senate Judiciary and Senate Intelligence committees about Comey's testimony, said the source, who declined to be identified because the matter was not public.



Comey, in U.S. Senate intelligence committee testimony on Thursday, accused Trump of firing him to try to undermine the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.



Comey said Trump pressured him to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and told Comey that he needed his loyalty, even though FBI directors are supposed to work independently from the White House.



Kasowitz disputed those points and attacked Comey for leaking "privileged communications" to the media.



Legal experts have questioned Kasowitz's contention that Trump's private encounters with Comey should be considered privileged communications.


President Donald Trump says that, thanks to him, U.S. infrastructure will "once again be the envy of the world."

Trump is visiting the Department of Transportation's headquarters to highlight his goal of curbing regulations on infrastructure projects.



Trump says at a round table discussion with White House and state transportation officials that his administration is working to streamline the permitting process.



He claims that, right now, the country's infrastructure is being "laughed" and "scoffed" at and complains that highways take too long to build.



WATCH: Trump on state of US infrastructure



Trump has been promoting vague plans to bolster the country's roads, bridges and waterways in what his aides have dubbed "infrastructure week."



But former FBI Director James Comey's testimony about his interactions with Trump and Russian interference in the U.S. election has dominated the news.
In September 2014, Gilberto Velasquez, a 38-year-old house painter from El Salvador, received life-changing news: The U.S. government had decided to shelve its deportation action against him.

The move was part of a policy change initiated by then-President Barack Obama in 2011 to pull back from deporting immigrants who had formed deep ties in the United States and whom the government considered no threat to public safety.

Instead, the administration would prioritize illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes.

Last month, things changed again for the painter, who has lived in the United States illegally since 2005 and has a U.S.-born child. He received news that the government wanted to put his deportation case back on the court calendar, citing another shift in priorities, this time by President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration has moved to reopen the cases of hundreds of illegal immigrants who, like Velasquez, had been given a reprieve from deportation, according to government data and court documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with immigration lawyers.

Trump signaled in January that he planned to dramatically widen the net of illegal immigrants targeted for deportation, but his administration has not publicized its efforts to reopen immigration cases.

It represents one of the first concrete examples of the crackdown promised by Trump and is likely to stir fears among tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who thought they were safe from deportation.

Jump in reopenings

While cases were reopened during the Obama administration as well, it was generally only if an immigrant had committed a serious crime, immigration attorneys say. The Trump administration has sharply increased the number of cases it is asking the courts to reopen, and its targets appear to include at least some people who have not committed any crimes since their cases were closed.

Between March 1 and May 31, prosecutors moved to reopen 1,329 cases, according to a Reuters analysis of data from the Executive Office of Immigration Review, or EOIR. The Obama administration filed 430 similar motions during the same period in 2016.

Jennifer Elzea, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed the agency was now filing motions with immigration courts to reopen cases where illegal immigrants had "since been arrested for or convicted of a crime."

It is not possible to tell from the EOIR data how many of the cases the Trump administration is seeking to reopen involve immigrants who committed crimes after their cases were closed.

Attorneys interviewed by Reuters say indeed some of the cases being reopened are because immigrants were arrested for serious crimes, but they are also seeing cases involving people who haven't committed crimes or who were cited for minor violations, like traffic tickets.

"This is a sea change," said attorney David Leopold, former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "Before, if someone did something after the case was closed out that showed that person was a threat, then it would be reopened.

"Now they are opening cases just because they want to deport people."

Elzea said the agency reviews cases "to see if the basis for prosecutorial discretion is still appropriate."

Shifts in policy

After Obama announced his shift toward targeting illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes, prosecutors embraced their new discretion to close cases.

Between January 2012 and Trump's inauguration on January 20, the government shelved 81,000 cases, according to Reuters' data analysis. These so-called "administrative closures" did not extend full legal status to those whose cases were closed, but they did remove the threat of imminent deportation.

Trump signed an executive order overturning the Obama-era policy on January 25. Under the new guidelines, while criminals remain the highest priority for deportation, anyone in the country illegally is a potential target.

In cases reviewed by Reuters (an excerpt can be found here), the administration explicitly cited Trump's executive order in 30 separate motions as a reason to put the immigrant back on the court docket.

Since immigration cases aren't generally public, Reuters was able to review only cases made available by attorneys. In the 32 reopened cases examined by Reuters:

 22 involved immigrants who, according to their attorneys, had not been in trouble with the law since their cases were closed.

 Two of the cases involved serious crimes committed after their cases were closed: domestic violence and driving under the influence.

 At least six of the cases involved minor infractions, including speeding after having unpaid traffic tickets, or driving without a valid license, according to the attorneys. In Velasquez's case, for example, he was cited for driving without a license in Tennessee, where illegal immigrants cannot get licenses, he said.

"I respect the law and just dedicate myself to my work," he said. "I don't understand why this is happening."

Motions to reopen closed cases have been filed in 32 states, with the highest numbers in California, Florida and Virginia, according to Reuters' review of EOIR data. The bulk of the examples reviewed by Reuters were two dozen motions sent over the span of a couple days by the New Orleans ICE office.

Pumpkin seed vendor

Sally Joyner, an immigration attorney in Memphis, Tennessee, said one of her Central American clients, who crossed the border with her children in 2013, was allowed to stay in the United States after the government filed a motion to close her case in December 2015.

Since crossing the border, the woman has not been arrested or had trouble with law enforcement, said Joyner, who asked that her client's name not be used because of the pending legal action.

Nevertheless, on March 29, ICE filed a two-page motion to reopen the case against the woman and her children. When Joyner queried ICE, an official said the agency had been notified that her client had a criminal history in El Salvador, according to documents seen by Reuters.

The woman had been arrested for selling pumpkin seeds as an unauthorized street vendor. Government documents show U.S. authorities knew about the arrest before her case was closed.

Dana Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said that revisiting previously closed matters would add to a record backlog of 580,000 pending immigration cases.

"If we have to go back and review all of those decisions that were already made, it clearly generates more work," she said. "It's a judicial do-over."
U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter Friday to claim "total and complete vindication," one day after fired FBI director James Comey told lawmakers that Trump was not a target in the bureau's investigation into Russia.

Trump fired Comey in May, saying "this Russia thing" was on his mind when he decided to dismiss the head of the nation's top law enforcement agency while Comey was leading its probe into Russia's alleged meddling in last year's election. In his tweet Friday, the president described Comey as "a leaker."



Comey testified Thursday on Capitol Hill that he believed Trump was trying to get him to drop an investigation of Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and that White House officials spread "lies, plain and simple" to cover up the reason behind Comey's dismissal.



"There's no doubt that I was fired because of the Russia investigation," Comey told lawmakers, referring to the widening probe of Russian influence on last year's U.S. presidential election, which American intelligence agencies have said was an effort by the Kremlin to help Trump defeat his Democratic opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

WATCH: Comey on why he was fired

Comey's nearly three-hour testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee was his first chance to speak in public about the meetings and conversations he had with Trump during the months before being fired.

The Russia probe

Comey said it was and still is the "high confident judgment" of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 campaign. "It's not a close call," he added.



The president's personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, told reporters immediately after the hearing that Trump "never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone."



After Comey's abrupt and stunning dismissal last month, Trump and his aides at first said the action was necessary because the FBI was in disarray, and its director had lost the trust of his agents. Comey said Trump lied and defamed him by that story, and the president himself subsequently admitted the ongoing investigation of Russian influence on U.S. politics was his primary motivation for the firing.

WATCH: Kasowitz on Trump's response to Comey testimony

Comey's notes

Comey told how he made meticulous efforts to document his interactions with Trump, whose insistence on private meetings aroused the veteran prosecutor's suspicions. The FBI chief wrote detailed memoranda immediately after each of his talks with Trump, a measure Comey had never felt obligated to do with previous presidents, and kept those documents in government files.



Comey said he did not distribute his private notes to the attorney general -- the U.S. government's top legal official, who supervises the FBI -- because Trump's appointee to that post, former Senator Jeff Sessions, was about to recuse himself from the Russian investigation due to his own unpublicized meetings with senior Russian officials.

WATCH: Comey on memorializing his meetings with Trump

The Justice Department later issued a statement saying that Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe only because he was involved in President Trump's campaign.



The president floated the notion that there was a recording of his most sensitive conversation with Comey, and that it would embarrass the FBI chief.

"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said, because he felt his contemporaneous notes accurately reflected what happened. In fact, no tapes have surfaced.

American University professor of government Chris Edelson told VOA the president's remarks about a recording could be problematic for the president.



"Trump, after he fired Comey, tweeted, 'Comey better hope there aren't tapes' and that could be seen as an effort to intimidate a witness," Edelson said.

High-level 'leak' made headlines

Comey testified he realized that a special counsel would have to be appointed to pursue the widening investigation of Russian influences on U.S. officials, so he took the extraordinary step of "leaking" some of his private notes -- passing them to a confidant at a university in New York, who relayed the information to a reporter for The New York Times.



Comey's highly unorthodox tactic worked, however, because a respected former FBI director, Robert Mueller, was named to head the probe of Russian influence on U.S. politics. Mueller's team has been given Comey's private notes, the ex-director said.



Asked whether he felt Trump had obstructed justice by his actions since taking office this year, Comey deflected those queries, saying such questions should go to Mueller, the special counsel.



Obstruction of justice is a federal criminal and impeachable offense.

In his opening written statement, Comey recounted how at a White House dinner in January, shortly after Trump assumed power, the president told him, "'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.' I didnt move, speak or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence."

Immediately after the hearing, Kasowitz, Trump's lawyer, denied Trump ever "directed or suggested" that Comey end any investigation and cast Comey as one of the "leakers" determined to undermine the Trump administration.

Facing the press



Trump may face questions from the media for the first time when he holds a White House news conference Friday after meeting with the president of Romania.



Trump and President Klaus Iohannis are expected to discuss a variety of issues, including trade and defense. At a Washington event hosted Wednesday by the conservative Heritage Foundation, Iohannis said, "Security and defense remain a key component of the U.S.-Romanian strategic partnership."



Iohannis said Romania is "a dependable ally" that is "doing its share" to fulfill its obligations to NATO by spending at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense, as Trump has demanded of all member countries.



In a speech Friday at the Department of Transportation, Trump announced the establishment of a new council "to help project managers navigate the bureaucratic maze," capping what the White House has promoted as "infrastructure week," a series of events that began Monday in Ohio when he announced plans to privatize the federal government's air traffic control system.



The council, Trump said, would improve transparency with a new online dashboard allowing the public to track the progress major infrastructure projects. The council would also impose "tough, new penalties" on federal agencies that miss deadlines.



The White House hopes the nation's infrastructure will be overhauled primarily through public-private partnerships. It has proposed funding the overhaul with $200 billion in tax breaks over nine years that would theoretically result in $1 trillion worth of construction.



Rebuilding the nation's infrastructure initially was believed to have been supported by Republican and Democratic lawmakers. But many Democrats are opposed to Trump's plans for financing the overhaul, arguing they would result in taxpayer-funded corporate profits, with the costs absorbed by consumers.



The president is scheduled to depart Washington Friday afternoon for Bedminster, New Jersey, where he will spend the weekend at the Trump National Golf Club.
Turkey's prime minister says Iraqi Kurds' plans to hold a referendum on independence are "irresponsible" and will create new problems for the region.



Earlier this week, Iraqi Kurds announced they will hold a referendum on September 25 to decide whether to split with the rest of Iraq and form an independent region.



Binali Yildirim told reporters Friday in Ankara that Turkey supports Iraq's territorial integrity.



"There are sufficient problem areas in our region and we don't think it is right to create new problem areas," Yildirim said.



Turkey's foreign ministry also has weighed in on the issue, calling the vote "a grave mistake."



Kurds have been called the world's largest group of stateless people. They are spread among Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.



In Turkey, the Kurdish minority has been engaged in an armed conflict with the Turkish government for decades. Ankara fears Iraqi Kurds' independence could fuel the violence within Turkish borders.



On Thursday, though, former U.S. ambassador James Jeffrey, an expert on the region, said this week's announcement about the referendum has been expected for weeks. He also said even with a vote for independence, Iraqi Kurds are expected to remain inside Iraq and not try to become a separate country.
A U.S. intelligence contractor pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a charge of leaking a classified report on Russian election interference to a media outlet.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, who was ordered to remain held without bond, is accused of leaking a National Security Agency report to The Intercept, according to officials.

The NSA document provided technical details on what it said were Russian attempts to hack election officials in the United States and a voting-machine firm before the U.S. presidential election in November.

Winner became the first person charged with leaking classified information to the media under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Trump, who has repeatedly vowed to crack down on leakers, believes anyone found guilty of unlawfully disclosing government secrets should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said at a press briefing ahead of the detention hearing for Winner.

First Amendment advocates have said they are concerned the Trump administration may use Winner's case to chill what they view as legitimate government whistleblowing. They were also critical of the Obama administration's approach to leaks, including its pursuit of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
A U.S. military aircraft shot down an armed, pro-Syrian government drone Thursday after it fired upon U.S.-led coalition members on patrol in southern Syria, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said.

The incident was the first time that pro-regime forces attempted to strike coalition forces in the area surrounding al-Tanf, an army base where members of the coalition are training Syrians to fight Islamic State, U.S. Army Colonel Ryan Dillon told reporters at the Pentagon by video call from Baghdad.

Local counter-Islamic State fighters were patrolling with coalition troops about 60 kilometers east of al-Tanf base when the drone, similar in size to an MQ-1 Predator, launched a munition that failed to detonate, multiple officials told VOA.

"It hit dirt; it didn't hit any coalition forces," Dillon said, adding that the munition caused no casualties and no damage to equipment, but was "clearly meant as an attack."

Another U.S. military official told VOA that American troops were part of the targeted patrol.

About 40 pro-regime forces have set up camp overlooking a major road northwest of al-Tanf, in an area inside an established deconfliction zone that reaches about 55 kilometers around the base, according to officials. A larger contingency of pro-regime forces is patrolling northwest of the base outside of the established deconfliction zone.

"Our patrols were in the opposite direction of where the regime forces were," Dillon said.

Earlier in the day, the U.S.-led coalition said it also destroyed two pro-regime armed technical vehicles  essentially trucks with guns attached  that were advancing toward coalition forces within the deconfliction zone.

The coalition has said its mission is to defeat Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, but its forces always reserve the right to defend themselves against any threat.

A statement from U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, stressed that "the coalition does not seek to fight the Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces partnered with them."

Thursday marks the third time coalition forces have struck pro-Syrian government forces in less than one month, forces that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said are believed to be "Iranian directed."

In all three instances  May 18, Tuesday and Thursday  the coalition targeted armed vehicles, tanks and construction vehicles that could be used to establish defensive positions. None of the strikes so far has targeted the pro-regime forces who are stationed along a major road inside the deconfliction zone, but coalition forces continue to urge those forces to leave.

"They have not presented a threat. They have not continued to move toward our forces in al-Tanf garrison, but we will continue to attempt to get them to vacate the area," Dillon said.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior defense fellow at the Brookings Institution, told VOA on Thursday that the U.S. and Iran are now in "direct competition for certain access points inside eastern Syria."

"We don't necessarily want that for ourselves, but we don't want it for Iran," O'Hanlon said.

He said the U.S.-led coalition doesn't feel the need to concede territory there due to the lack of Iranian constituencies in the Sunni-majority area and the need to continue developing assets there to defeat Islamic State.

Meanwhile, Iranians sense an opportunity from the instability in Syria to create a continuous land bridge from Iran to the Mediterranean, according to O'Hanlon.

Raqqa

The attempted pro-regime drone attack comes as Syrian Democratic Forces entered their third day on the operation to defeat Islamic State forces in the terror group's de-facto capital, Raqqa.

Dillon told reporters the SDF already have a "foothold into the eastern part of Raqqa city center."

"Our forces are making swift advances," Zagros Qamishlo, a commander of SDF Kurdish element People's Protection Units, told VOA. She added that her team had pushed one kilometer into the eastern city limits.

U.S. officials estimate that there are about 2,500 Islamic State fighters inside the city and its suburbs. Those on the front lines say Islamic State militants are fighting back with a barrage of suicide car bombs and suicide fighters.

"A group of IS thugs tried to reverse our advances but coalition airplanes came to our support," Siwar Rozh, an SDF fighter, told VOA.

VOA footage of the scene shows thick smoke has covered the skyline over the city as SDF members are trying to push down into the IS neighborhoods.

A VOA reporter who visited areas captured by SDF Thursday said engineers have started clearing mines and booby traps to fully secure the buildings.

SDF commanders told VOA they have made arrangements to open safety corridors for civilians as they expect thousands to flee the fighting.

The International Rescue Committee estimates 200,000 people are trapped in the city and are at risk of being killed by IS if they attempt to flee or being used as human shields if they remain.

According to the anti-IS Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently group, civilians also face the risk of heavy coalition airstrikes as IS tries to hide among them. It said IS has confiscated most civilian houses that contain shelter spaces or basements.
President Nicolas Maduro's plan for a new popular congress to rewrite Venezuela's constitution threatens to destroy the political legacy of former leader Hugo Chavez, the chief state prosecutor said on Thursday.

Maduro, 54, who calls himself the "son" of Chavez and guarantor of his late mentor's socialist ideals, has cast the constituent assembly plan as the way to restore peace after two months of anti-government unrest that has killed 67 people.

Critics, including some traditional government supporters, have said there is no need to rewrite the constitution reformed by Chavez in 1999, and insist that a referendum should be held to determine if the country wants such an assembly.

I think with this (assembly) we are destroying President Chavezs legacy, Luisa Ortega, the prosecutor who broke with Maduro several weeks ago, said outside the Supreme Court.

Call for general election

Chavez ruled Venezuela from 1999-2013, winning a plethora of elections due to his oil-fueled social welfare policies, charisma, and connection with the poor.

He is still revered by many, though critics argue that his populist policies are the base for the current economic meltdown.

Opposition leaders are calling for a general election to settle Venezuela's crisis. They have said that the assembly plan is a sham with skewed rules to ensure the socialists remain in power.

A constituent (assembly) behind the backs of the people cannot be, Ortega added, also denouncing the ferocious repression of anti-Maduro protests.

Those opposed to the assembly are called traitors, fascists, terrorists  we cannot live in a country like that, Ortega said.

The pro-government Supreme Court has already shot down one appeal against the constituent process lodged by Ortega, the highest-profile dissenter from within government since the protests started in April.

Two months of protests

On Thursday, she asked the court to block the constituent process put in place by Maduro and the national election board.

Opposition protesters have been on the streets near-daily for more than two months demanding elections, foreign humanitarian aid, freedom for hundreds of jailed activists, and autonomy for the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

They call Maduro a dictator who has wrecked the OPEC nation's economy. The 54-year-old president says they are right-wing fascists seeking a coup.

The latest fatality from the unrest was 17-year-old protester Neomar Lander, who died during clashes with security forces in Caracas on Wednesday.
A scaled-down version of a long-awaited renovation of the Dane County Jail could be done for $75.2 million, less than half the cost of more comprehensive proposals released in December, consultants said Friday.

The new plan forgoes some space for programming, youth inmate housing and in-person visitation in the previous plans  which cost $152.1 million to $164.5 million  and puts a Sheriffs Office relocation at a separate cost of $23.9 million.

But the trimmed plan includes what officials have said is the main reason for revamping the jail  replacing jail space on the upper floors of the City-County Building, one of three jail locations. The facility, built in the 1950s, is unsafe and inhumane, requiring many inmates with mental illness to be kept in solitary confinement, according to Sheriff Dave Mahoney.

The new plan addresses a number of my concerns with earlier proposals, County Executive Joe Parisi said in a statement. Its half the original estimated price tag, allows for more mental health treatment and programming space (than exists today), eliminates solitary confinement and reduces the number of jail beds, making it easier to address the root causes of why people end up in jail in the first place.

Dane County Supervisor Paul Rusk, chairman of the County Boards public protection and judiciary committee, said he hopes the plan leads to approval this year and the beginning of construction next year. His committee will discuss it Tuesday, with the full County Board to review it Thursday. Action isnt expected until later.

A jail renovation, discussed for more than a decade, has involved $2 million in studies, Rusk said.

We need to have a path forward now or something terrible is going to happen up there (in the City-County Building) and the loss of life and the lawsuits that come after that is a phenomenal risk to the county, he said.

Call for crisis center

Mental health advocates, who agree with the plan to replace the City-County Building portion of the jail, say, however, that the proposed project doesnt go far enough in preventing people with mental illness from landing in jail. Theyre calling for a separate center where police could bring people with mental health crises day or night, saying it could be paid for by scaling back the jails capacity.

What we strongly disagree on is the need to plan for as many inmates in the jail as our current system incarcerates and using the jail as a de-facto psychiatric unit, Lindsay Wallace, executive director of NAMI Dane County, told Rusks committee this week.

The new plan calls for 922 beds, 91 fewer than exist today and down from 944 beds in the main proposal from December. But Wallace noted that the average daily population of the jail, according to the consultants, is 757. That includes some people with mental illness who shouldnt be there, she said.

In a report Friday, consultants Mead and Hunt, who are working with Potter Lawson and Pulitzer/Bogard and Associates, outlined a pruned-down version of the least expensive of two jail remodeling options they proposed in December.

The new plan, like both of the earlier ones, would consolidate jail operations at the Public Safety Building in Downtown Madison by closing the nearby City-County Building jail and the Ferris Center for work-release inmates on Rimrock Road.

Like one of the earlier options, which cost $152.1 million, the new plan would add four floors to the Public Safety Building. But it wouldnt expand into a parking lot as the costlier proposal did.

The second previous option, which cost $164.5 million, appears to be off the table. It would build an addition to the Public Safety Building on two adjacent properties.

$75.2 million plan

The $75.2 million plan would provide more programming and mental health treatment space than currently exists, but less than under the costlier proposals, Rusk said.

It would include space for youth inmates from Dane County but not additional space for youth inmates from elsewhere, and it would replace in-person visitation space with at-home visitation through Skype-like technology.

By reducing total beds by 9 percent, in a county with a growing population, the plan would encourage the continuation of reforms to divert people from jail, Rusk said. However, if more beds were needed, the Sheriffs Office could be moved out of the Public Safely Building as part of an additional $23.9 million project.

A group called MOSES  Madison Organizing in Strength, Equality and Solidarity  is calling for a mental health urgent care center, sometimes called a restoration center, to keep people with mental health crises who commit minor offenses out of jail.

Individuals can be assessed, stabilized and immediately connected to community services in such a center, said Paul Saeman, a member of the group.

Kathleen Fullin, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Dane County, said, If we dont spend time and resources on approaches that offer a chance to save money and better serve our citizens, we will surely spend extra millions of dollars building extra cells and incarcerating people who should be getting treatment instead.

Rusk said restoration centers, found in some other states, are costly and not always secure, which can raise liability concerns.
Venezuela's attorney general Luisa Ortega Diaz distanced herself further from President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government on Thursday by filing a legal challenge to his call for a new constitution.



Diaz filed an appeal to nullify the constituent assembly, scheduled to convene later this summer to rewrite the constitution, as unconstitutional and unrepresentative of Venezuelans. At a news conference, she called the presidential decree illegal "because it is the sovereign people who have the power" to demand a revision.



The prosecutor, close to the late President Hugo Chavez throughout his administration, said she considers "Chavismo as a philosophy of life" and that his legacy is "being destroyed."



Maduro on Thursday spoke of threats to his planned constituent assembly and called for a "military-civic union to defeat in the street the conspiracy, the plot and the coup that can be expected."



More than two months of almost-daily street protests, primarily against the socialist government, have led to at least 65 deaths among pro-government and opposition demonstrators, bystanders and security forces. The president has grown increasingly unpopular, as the country suffers crippling shortages of basic goods, but he retains control of the military.

Maduro's political rivals cheered Ortega's move. "I applaud the fact that the prosecutor is acting constitutionally," opposition leader Henrique Capriles said, according to the AFP news agency.



Freddy Guevara, vice president of the opposition-led National Assembly, wrote on Twitter urging "hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans" to show their support for Ortega's appeal.



Constitutional lawyer Juan Manuel Raffalli, asked by VOA whether Ortega might lose her job over her stance, said removing the attorney general "must be done by the National Assembly and also with the approval of the Supreme Court."



But Raffalli noted that a "spurious" constitutional assembly could "dictate any act that they want and can try to eliminate the assembly, the prosecutor and everyone."
A White House official has confirmed to VOA that President Donald Trump, the secretary of state and the secretary of defense discussed South Korea's suspension of deployment of a U.S. anti-ballistic-missile defense system in South Korea.

South Korea announced Wednesday that it would delay the installation of the remaining components of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system while it was assessing the system's environmental impact.

The official said U.S. officials had been "in close contact with our ally South Korea" on the matter. The official added that the South Korean government had assured the U.S. that it would not revert from its previous commitments regarding the missile defense system, and that the United States had given South Korea the same assurances.

The future of the program has been uncertain since South Korea announced the suspension.

New test

On Thursday, North Korea reported it had successfully tested a new "ground-to-sea cruise rocket" capable of striking enemy battleships staging an attack.

The official North Korean news agency KCNA said Pyongyang launched several land-to-sea missiles early Thursday, under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un. The missiles "accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea," it reported.

The missile test was North Korea's fourth in a month and came after the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions on Kim's government last week.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Thursday that the suspension of THAAD deployment was "part of the conversations" that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had with Trump at an Oval Office meeting on Thursday.

"This is a conversation that's taken place at the highest level. We are committed to our South Korean ally. That commitment remains ironclad. We are aware, certainly, of the situation and the suspension of additional launchers," Nauert said.
Fired FBI Director James Comey says President Donald Trump expected him to pledge his loyalty and urged him to drop the investigation into links between Trump's aides and Russian officials.

Comey's nearly three-hour appearance Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee marked his first public comments about nine conversations he said he had with the president in the months before he was fired. The event was covered live by the major U.S. television networks, and seen around the world.

Trump ousted Comey last month, saying he was thinking of "this Russia thing" when he decided to dismiss the chief of the country's top criminal investigative agency while he was leading its Russia probe.

Comey said it was and still is the "high confident judgment" of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 campaign. "It's not a close call," he said.

The former FBI director and prosecutor told lawmakers he was confused by various explanations that Trump and his aides gave for the dismissal and said they "chose to defame me" for his performance as the FBI chief by claiming - wrongly, in Comey's view - that the agency was in disarray.

'Plain and simple,' Comey says, White House lied



"Those were lies, plain and simple," Comey said of the White House contention that he had lost the confidence of the FBI.

Ultimately, Comey said of Trump, "I take him at his word," that he was fired because of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's ongoing Russia investigation.

In his written opening statement, Comey recounted how at a White House dinner in January shortly after Trump assumed power, the president told him, "'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.' I didnt move, speak or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence."

WATCH: Comey on president's request for loyalty

The committee's top Democrat, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, called Trump's comments, as recounted by Comey, "very disturbing."

More testimony in secret

Later Thursday the Senate Intelligence Committee reconvened in closed session to continue to hear Comey, who had said he was willing to discuss several matters that should not be made public. Senators met in a portion of the U.S. Capitol configured as a "secure compartmented information facility," built to resist eavesdropping.

Despite his well-known preference for posting quick messages on Twitter, Trump was silent during the Senate hearing Thursday. The president's son, Donald Trump Junior, instead sent out a series of notes criticizing Comey's comments. At the White House, the deputy press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said: " I can definitively say the president is not a liar."



WATCH: Trump lawyer on Comey testimony, investigation

Trump's personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, told reporters the president never discussed "loyalty" with Comey, "in any form or substance," and never "directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone."

'I hope you can let this go' - an order?

During the portion of his testimony that was open to the public, Comey testified that Trump asked him on February 14 to "let go" of the investigation into Michael Flynn, who had been fired as Trump's national security adviser the previous day, reputedly for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about conversations Flynn had had with Russia's ambassador to Washington. I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. Comey quoted Trump as saying, He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.

WATCH: Comey on request to drop Flynn investigation

Comey acknowledged under questioning that Trump did not order him to stop the investigation of Flynn's connections with Russia, but said, "I took it as direction. This is what he wanted to me to do."

Comey, who did not cut short the FBI probe, said he was "so stunned" by Trump's request to "let go" of the investigation of Flynn that he did not think at the time to tell Trump, "Mr. President, that's wrong."

He said FBI colleagues were as "shocked and troubled as I was" by Trump's comments urging an end to the probe of Flynn.

Lift the cloud

Comey said that in a March 30 phone call, Trump "described the Russia investigation as 'a cloud' that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country. ... He asked what we could do to 'lift the cloud.' I responded that we were investigating the matter as quickly as we could, and that there would be great benefit, if we didn't find anything, to having done the work well. He agreed, but then re-emphasized the problem this was causing him."

Comey acknowledged that Trump never explicitly ordered him to end the Russia investigation.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller, another former FBI director, has now taken over a criminal probe of Russia's interference in the election, including whether Trump obstructed justice in urging that the Flynn probe be dropped.

Some opposition Democrats said Trump's request about Flynn amounts to obstruction of justice, an impeachable offense similar to that leading to the 1974 resignation of former President Richard Nixon. Comey said he found Trump's comments to him about the FBI's investigation "very disturbing," but that it was not up to him to decide whether they constituted obstruction of justice.

Within days of Comey's firing, Trump's Justice Department, over the president's opposition, named Mueller to lead the investigation into all aspects of Russia's meddling in the election.

Trump said at the time he thought Mueller's appointment "hurts our country terribly, because it shows we're a divided, mixed-up, not-unified country."

Trump has been dismissive of the Russia probes, calling them "a witch hunt" and saying they are an excuse by Democrats to explain candidate Hillary Clinton's loss in the November election. He has denied any collusion with Russian officials.



WATCH: Washington DC resident on Comey testimony

WATCH: Tourist visiting Washington on why he wanted to attend hearing
President Robert Mugabe has fired prosecutor general, Johannes Tomana, who was accused of obstructing justice over the handling of an alleged bomb plot case linked to the first family and a lawmaker aligned to the ruling Zanu PF party.

A general notice issued Friday in the government gazette indicated that Tomana, who was suspended early this year, has been removed from office with immediate effect.

 In terms of section 187 (8) of the Constitution (of Zimbabwe), the prosecutor general is removed from office with effect from the date of publication of this notice, read part of the notice, signed by Mrs. V. Mabiza, secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.

It also read in part, It is hereby notified that His Excellency the president has received the report of the tribunal appointed under section 187(3) as read with section 259(7) of the Constitution to inquire into the question of removing the prosecutor general Johannes Tomana, from office for incompetence and misconduct.

In that report, the tribunal has advised His Excellency the president that the prosecutor general ought to be removed from office for incompetence.

Tomanas lawyer, Thabani Mpofu, and state officials were not available for comment.

Tomana was accused of allegedly releasing from police custody Owen Kuchata (34), leader of the Zimbabwe Peoples Front, a fringe political party, Silas Pfupa (37), army corporal Borman Ngwenya (40) and former intelligence officer Solomon Makumbe (29) who were accused of allegedly planning to bomb First Lady Grace Mugabes Alpha Omega Dairy in Mazowe.

The four are said to have been allegedly angered by the presidents failure to properly run Zimbabwe.

Critics dismissed the case as a hatchet job by state security agents said to be aligned to some factions of the ruling party trying to succeed 93 year-old President Mugabe.

Tomana was also accused of covering up a rape case of former Bikita West Member of Parliament, Munyaradzi Kereke, who was jailed for 10 years for raping a minor.

His case was handled through private prosecution.
Many U.S. states, cities and businesses say they will forge ahead with the U.S. commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, even though President Donald Trump pulled out of the deal. They say want to meet the pledge made by the Obama administration to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28%.
Mike Hove

Tatenda Mapfumo, the founder of Tipster, a media outlet promoting the relationship between trained journalists and citizen journalists, is among 60 young Zimbabweans selected to be part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship.

Mapfumo, who is a trained journalist, is ecstatic about the opportunity of experiencing life in a foreign country, creating business relations with fellow Africans and studying at the University of Indiana in Bloomington.

Due to the fact that America is the billboard of human rights such as freedom of speech, and freedom of the press among several different human rights, as a practicing journalist coming from Zimbabwe, you can only be excited to experience that on a first hand basis, said Mapfumo.

Mapfumo further said she is looking forward to witnessing how traditional American news outlets cover their news and how they have formed a relationship between traditional journalism and citizen journalism.

Considering the fact that we are going to America among 960 fellow Africans, I am looking forward to hearing the stories of those in my line of work as I will get to learn more about their societal situations and how they carry out their media coverage. I would love to see if we can collectively come up with means to which the everyday person can contribute to journalism.

Mapfumo expects that after the six-week program, she will be able to increase the impact of democratized content in Zimbabwean media outlets through interfacing with her fellow African fellows and the US community, which in her opinion will boost the number of Tipster followers.

Tipster, is a news sharing startup media outlet.
Dozens of public transit projects around the country are in danger of stalling as the White Houses plan to boost U.S. infrastructure fails to gain momentum  with thousands of jobs at risk.

The uncertainty over these projects has worsened in recent days as President Trump  who had vowed to make the weeks focus infrastructure  faced a series of distractions, including a congressional hearing featuring former FBI director James B. Comey.

The president, who had called for $1 trillion in new infrastructure programs to create millions of jobs, now faces an increasing probability that not only will his proposal fail in Congress but that existing infrastructure efforts will also stumble.

The situation has emerged because the Trump administration has signaled it wants to take an approach to infrastructure spending that is different from the previous administrations. Instead of funding many of the existing projects that depend on federal money  a practice that officials say they worry is wasteful  the administration says it wants to move toward a version of financing projects that is based far more on private funding.

The sudden uncertainty has left local officials who had long anticipated federal support for their projects worrying whether they will get it.

In previously unreported letters, officials at the Department of Transportation last week told project managers for a bus corridor in Pittsburgh and rail projects in Phoenix and New York that the administrations budget plan for next year proposes no funding for new projects under an existing federal program known as the Capital Investment Grant.

Robert Rubinstein, who received the letter as executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, said the proposed cancellation of funding would effectively kill the project, which has been in the works for 10 years.

We dont have enough resources locally to undertake the larger project, Rubinstein said. He said officials had sought roughly $80 million in federal money to go toward the $224 million project. He said the several million dollars already spent on studies and engineering reviews could be lost.

CIG funding allocates $2.3 billion each year to various projects and was recently authorized by lawmakers from both parties. Its projects include public transportation projects such as rail, streetcars and rapid bus systems. The White Houses most recent budget has proposed phasing out CIG funding, and the White House can block any new CIG projects even if there is congressional support.

Andrew Brady, senior director of government affairs at the American Public Transportation Association, said that more than 50 public transit projects are at risk of being denied federal funding because of Trumps planned cuts to infrastructure spending.

Hes saying a lot of good things on infrastructure, but what hes done is implement very real cuts to infrastructure programs, Brady said.

Capitol Hill aides closely tracking infrastructure funding say that uncertainty over the administrations infrastructure plans is particularly threatening to programs that are far along and are dependent on federal funding for completion.

The projects that are most at risk, they said, include some that have moved through the funding pipeline for years but are just short of final approval. Many are in states that Trump won last year, and they include a light-rail platform-lengthening project in Texas, a streetcar line in Arizona, and a bus rapid-transit line in Indiana.

Bryan Luellen, a spokesman for IndyGo, said the agency is concerned about long-term funding stability as it embarks on a major expansion of its system. The agency is expecting the CIG program to cover $75 million of the $96 million project and plans to seek federal funding for two other rapid-transit projects in coming years.

Obviously, the less federal support we have, the less we can do overall, he said.

Besides the transit program, Trumps budget proposes ending the Department of Transportations TIGER grant program, which was created under the Obama administration in the 2009 stimulus bill and has since funded $5 billion worth of road, rail, port and bicycle projects.

Trumps budget request said the program funds projects with localized benefits that often do not rise to the level of national or regional significance.

Those projects, it said, would be better funded through another DOT grant program, Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects, that is focused on roads and freight rail.

Speaking at the DOT on Friday, Trump focused on his efforts to dismantle regulations that he says stand in the way of new building.

The excruciating wait time for permitting has inflicted enormous financial pain to cities and states all throughout our nation and has blocked many important projects from ever getting off the ground, Trump said. Many, many projects are long gone because they couldnt get permits and there was no reason for it.

Trump had originally held out hope that infrastructure spending could be a rare source of bipartisan action this year, given Democrats support over time for the policy. But those hopes have dissipated in recent months as controversies enveloped the White House and Democrats grew skeptical of Trumps plans to provide large tax credits to private companies to finance much of the construction.

We offered to work together. We offered our own infrastructure plan to the [White House] to spark discussion. Months passed. We heard nothing back, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) tweeted Friday. Now the few details we have of [Trumps] plan show its private-sector driven, has minimal investment & ignores huge sectors of infrastructure.

White House officials have said they are undertaking an expansive review of infrastructure spending but argue that, in the meantime, any promise of federal spending could delay projects as local officials await word. The White House has proposed spending just $5 billion toward its $1 trillion infrastructure project next year.

In a statement, White House assistant press secretary Natalie Strom said of the CIG program in particular that theres always been a great deal of uncertainty around the funding of that program and as a matter of fact uncertainty is one of the most significant impediments to infrastructure, whether its funded by the public or private sector.

Thats why the President is committed to simplifying and streamlining the process so that there is less uncertainty all around, she said.

Trump was supposed to spend all this week promoting his infrastructure package, but he and top aides have been beset by distractions, staffing shortages and confusion over where money for the infrastructure program would originate.

Trump has suggested that the entire $1 trillion might come from the federal government, but aides have recently said $200 billion would come from the federal government and $800 billion from private investors, states and cities.

My feeling is unless you have a pretty serious broad-based debate about funding, youre never going to get to the numbers that the president has talked about, said Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman who served as transportation secretary for President Barack Obama.

So far, Trumps advisers have publicly identified projects to cut at a faster pace than theyve identified projects to fund, leading to widespread confusion about the administrations intent.

Dan Slane, an Ohio developer who worked on the infrastructure plan during Trumps transition, said he is still receiving calls from state and local governments, frustrated with the slow pace of planning and asking him for details.

They dont want to pay for anything, Slane said of the administration. They want all infrastructure to be privately financed or privately owned.

White House officials say they are taking their time because they want to create more accountability for how money is spent.

Trump also went this week to Cincinnati to tout his infrastructure plans, but it quickly became apparent how difficult it would be for the White House to stay focused on infrastructure alone.

If theres not something out there for the Congress to really look at by the fall, we may have wasted a lot of time, LaHood said.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly indicated that the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Oakland is a city separate from Pittsburgh. The story has been updated to remove the reference.


Kristen Lasko, 31, covers the ears of her son, Max, age 3 , while speaking about his illness and life expectancy at their home in Derwood, Md. (Astrid Riecken/For The Washington Post)

Kristen Lasko cried tears of relief in late December when she read online that an experimental drug that could help her 3 1/2-year-old son, Max, had finally been approved. Kristen and her husband, Jonathan, quickly pivoted to getting their cheerful, blond boy access to the only approved medicine for a devastating, muscle-wasting disease. The drug, Spinraza, would carry a staggering price: $750,000 for the first year.

Maxs rare, life-threatening disease, spinal muscular atrophy, required him to use a wheelchair and robbed him of muscles he needs to smile and swallow. Spinraza, developed by the Massachusetts biotech company Biogen, had helped other children with the disease sit, stand or even walk.

In the final week of 2016, the Laskos sat down with Maxs medical team and were told that Biogen was offering patients financial assistance and guidance  if they signed a sweeping authorization that gave the company access to private health information for patient support services and marketing/other communications.

The Laskos signed the form, and in walked a Biogen representative who was waiting at the hospital, to personally usher families into the program.

Any of us who have been through an insurance battle know, when you get a denial your options are very limited. You can write back on your own, you can have medical practitioners write back  best-case scenario, find a lawyer, pro bono. At that point youre a little bit charging at windmills, Jonathan said. These are pros. They should be able to get this through the system faster than us.

The Laskos had seen tremendous medical bills before and appreciated more than most people the necessity of health insurance. As a baby, Max had been transported between hospitals by helicopter, a single bill that added up to $50,000.

Spinrazas price was almost impossibly high: $750,000 for the first year and $375,000 annually after that. But the Laskos know it is expensive and risky for a company to develop a drug for a disease that affects one in 10,000 babies born each year. Drugs for tiny patient populations  called orphan diseases  are an increasingly attractive niche of drug development in part because of the high prices companies can charge.

The Laskos focus was on getting Max the drug. They arent calling for the price to be lowered. They saw that as a problem to be worked out between two giant industries that both say they work on behalf of patients: health insurers and drug companies.

After all, almost no person could actually afford to pay for such a drug.

From the patient perspective, I dont care who eats [the cost], but I dont think the patient should eat it, Jonathan said. I dont think the person whose life could be substantially improved by this drug should suffer because the other parties couldnt decide who was going to be more magnanimous and pay for it.



Jonathan Lasko, 31, carefully lifts Max, who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, from his activity bench in the kitchen area at their home. (Astrid Riecken/For The Washington Post)

How drug companies help patients  and themselves

When pharmaceutical companies come under fire for the prices of their products, they almost inevitably point to the financial help they provide patients. Thats true not only for innovative companies like Biogen that create new drugs but also for those that jack up the price of older drugs. For instance, Mylan beefed up its coupons and assistance programs after it came under attack for boosting the price of the EpiPen.

Such programs have real benefits for families, but the alliance between drug companies and patients is a complex one that can make ethicists and health-policy specialists uneasy. In the rare disease space, where patients battle conditions many people have never heard of, patients depend critically on companies to develop treatments. But when diseases are rare and drug prices are sky-high, each individual patient becomes valuable to the company financially.

Wall Street analysts trying to project Biogens financial performance earlier this year paid close attention to individual patients experiences as it rolled out the drug. In a slide deck sent out to investors in March, Umer Raffat of Evercore ISI included a list of 29 unnamed patients who were taking the drug, including their start dates, what kind of insurance coverage they were thought to have and where they lived.

Brian OSullivan, a physician who sees patients who take extremely expensive drugs for cystic fibrosis  another rare disease with ultraexpensive treatments  sees the pros and cons. He knows patients of his might not be able to afford to cover their copays without help from the drug company. Still, he has reservations.

I know the ulterior motive is not just to get the patient the medicine, OSullivan said. Id like to think thats a big piece of it, but theres no question this is a moneymaking proposition for the drug company.

Whatever drug companies do to help patients get access to the drug may help families  and companies bottom line. Because patient copays are typically a fraction of the cost of the drug, with the lions share paid by insurance (which means everyone pays through higher premiums), the companies can still make money and insulate their prices from the most potent critics.

The best thing you can say for them is theyre plugging a hole the drug company created themselves with outrageous pricing, said Ezekiel Emanuel, chairman of the department of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Its a Band-Aid.

And Biogens assistance program had another twist: It asked the Laskos to sign a privacy authorization that handed over Maxs health information for a decade. In addition to saying the information could be used for patient support, Biogen also advises families that it could be used for market research and other internal business activities.

Parents must agree that any information that I provide may be used by Biogen to help develop new products, services and programs, according to the form.

Todd Cooper, a spokesman for Biogen, stressed that the program is optional and that patients health, insurance and financial information is used by Biogen staff to help get the drug covered.

But health-policy specialists questioned the marketing provision, the high price of the drug that may not make the program feel optional and the length of the agreement, especially considering the disease often affects vulnerable infants.

These drugs are necessary to someones health and well-being, perhaps to someones life. Almost no one can afford them at these prices, so people who need these drugs have little choice, said Bonnie Kaplan, a bioethicist at the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. Their consent really cannot be given freely.

Cooper said the company settled on the 10-year time frame so that patients wouldnt have to sign the form each year for a drug they would be taking long-term. The authorization allows the company to provide information to families who often feel isolated and learn from them.

None of us can know what its like to have a child or to be an adult with this disease, Cooper said, and its really important for us to be close to this community.

Kenneth Hobby, president of the patient advocacy group Cure SMA, which receives financial support from pharmaceutical companies including Biogen, said he hadnt heard any concerns or questions from the families about the program or its privacy authorizations.

Still ethicists are wary.

Its not clear if I might see my kids data presented in a meeting or in an ad campaign or a testimonial, said Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at the New York University Langone Medical Center. Im not saying they would, I just cant tell.

Maxs strength

The Laskos have thought long and hard about the privacy that Max deserves. As new parents, Kristen and Jonathan heard a lot from friends that they were just lucky, they had a very calm baby. But they knew something was wrong soon after their son was born: Max didnt lift his head off the floor during tummy time. Hed gurgle and have trouble clearing his throat. When he was 2  months, they heard for the first time the words spinal muscular atrophy.

The doctor told the Laskos that their son would be in a wheelchair all his life. Okay, they thought. We can do this. Then, the doctor said he would need a machine to breathe. That he wouldnt be able to eat on his own. That half of the children with this disease died before their second birthday.

Kristen and Jonathan looked at each other through tears. Their world was spinning.

A month later, the Laskos learned about a clinical trial of an experimental drug and signed up.

Then, Max got his first cold. For most babies, it would be an inconvenience, but Max landed in the intensive care unit for seven weeks.

The Laskos had to make a heartbreaking choice: They could give their son a breathing tube to help him get better, but it would disqualify him from the trial.

He was 5 months old, Jonathan said. We gave ourselves time to grieve this missed opportunity.

For a child with progressive neuromuscular weakness, even a routine sneeze can be an emergency. On a recent evening, Kristen and Jonathan were typical doting parents one moment, joking around with their son, helping him draw a picture. But his cheek twitched almost imperceptibly, and they transformed into an urgent, preternaturally calm medical team: Jonathan swiveled to switch on a machine to suction mucus out of Maxs nose. Kristen detached a ventilator tube at the base of his neck and hooked up yet another tube that provides a cough assist  an extra whoosh of air that helps Max clear out his lungs. Jonathan silenced an alarm on one of the stack of lunch-box-size devices that helps keep Max alive. They went back to playing with Max, as if nothing happened.

Kristen said that sometimes her job as a mom is to do something really mundane like make a mess with Max.

You have to think, what would a typical 3-year-old do  and help him do it, she said.

The Laskos watched through Facebook as families in the patient community benefited from Biogens experimental drug. It was profoundly encouraging to see others progress but crushing to feel Max was missing out.

Instead, they enjoyed every moment with Max and shared the joys and challenges of his life on a blog they call Max Strength. They wanted to let other families know what was possible. Max hasnt had the facial muscles to smile since he was a baby, but he does a kind of full-body bob when hes happy  or to say yes. He shows what he wants with his gaze and by fluttering his eyelids. He cant form words with his mouth, but he makes a singsong, syllabic vocalization that his parents understand, conversing about music, a camera and his favorite cellist, Yo-Yo Ma, on a recent visit. He attends preschool through a telepresence robot.

He deserves the right to privacy, Jonathan said. The flip side is, if we privately enjoyed our wonderful life with Max, many families would not even know that was possible.

So when the Laskos finally had a chance to get access to the drug with some company help and they read the privacy authorization on the form, they didnt hesitate.

We made it our business to share what we learned, Kristen said. Why should people start from zero?



Max Lasko has started taking a new drug called Spinraza, which was approved in December and has a staggering price tag: $750,000 for the first year. (Astrid Riecken/For The Washington Post)

The drug, at last

On Tuesday, Max received his fourth dose of Spinraza. The sticker price for one treatment, which is administered through an injection into the fluid around the spinal cord, is $125,000.

The insurance company has covered the drug, and the Laskos were accepted into Biogens zero-dollar co-pay program.

Thats not to say things went seamlessly. Systems never move fast enough when a child faces a life-threatening disease, and the Laskos faced their share of delays and frustration this winter. Initially, the insurance company denied coverage. A treatment they thought would begin in February didnt start until April.

Their experience  even having signed up for help  shows why patients often feel few qualms about signing away a little medical privacy if it can clear the logjam of obstacles that they can barely keep track of, between the hospital, the drug company and the insurer.

The Laskos are optimistic, but realistic. They know that Spinraza isnt a miracle cure. But a little more strength in their sons neck could help him control his head. Additional strength and dexterity in his hands and fingers could help him to steer his power wheelchair by himself. A bit more control of his jaw might help him communicate and vocalize.

Its too soon to tell whether the drug is working or how, but a flicker of movement near the corner of Maxs mouth that means he is smiling seems to have become more frequent.

Jonathan and Kristen are thoughtful when asked about the privacy they signed away. Their greatest hope is that in the future, theyll be explaining their decisions to their son. Weve erred on the side of being more open, Jonathan said. One day, well have to answer to Max.
A group of Chinese tourists explore near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Hotel companies, airlines and others have expressed concern that President Trumps restrictive travel policies could amount to billions of dollars in lost business. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Hours after President Trump fired off a series of tweets defending his travel ban on Monday, hundreds of representatives from the U.S. tourism industry convened in Washington for an annual gathering that this year was an exercise in damage control.

I know many of you are saying, I wonder if the U.S. even welcomes me anymore,  Roger Dow, chief executive of the U.S. Travel Association, said to more than 1,300 foreign travel writers, tour operators and wholesale travel providers. And on behalf of the U.S. travel industry, Id like to give you an answer: We want you here. We want you to send your friends here. We all welcome you.

One big welcome, Dow reiterated multiple times Monday, and again Tuesday, at IPW, a yearly trade show meant to market American attractions, cities and states to international travelers.

Ever since Trump announced his first executive order in January restricting travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, the travel industry has been on high alert. Travel from a number of countries, including Mexico and Britain, is down, and hotel companies, airlines and others have expressed concern that restrictive policies could amount to billions of dollars in lost business.

The hospitality industry, once optimistic that a hotelier would be leading the country, has in recent months slipped into quiet desperation at the prospect of dwindling revenue.

Tourists visit the Lincoln Memorial during a heavy rain. (Oliver Contreras/For The Washington Post)

We think its about two-and-a-half million jobs in the U.S. [that are] directly dependent on foreign tourists arriving to the United States, Arne Sorenson, the chief executive of Marriott International, said on CNBC last week.

All of us need to help correct the notion that the United States of America does not want international travelers, Geoff Ballotti, chief executive of Wyndham Hotel Group, said at the trade show. Advocacy has never mattered more.

But now came the difficult part: Encouraging foreigners to visit the United States at a time when the countrys president seemed to be doing the opposite. (The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to [the Supreme Court], Trump tweeted Monday. Minutes later, he added: In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe.)

None of us doubts the feelings of Americans in general, said Jen Savedra, editor of Travel Industry Today, an online publication based in Toronto. But when the president is tweeting about how people arent welcome in the country, a lot of people are saying, Why? Well go to Mexico or the Dominican Republic instead. 

[Even Canadians are skipping trips to the U.S. after Trump travel ban]

At least one friend, she said, had sold her winter home in the United States after Trump took office, and Savedra said she had contemplated doing the same with her home in Gulfport, Fla. Well give it another year and see how it goes, she said.

On the convention center floor, hundreds of booths touted the merits of U.S. travel. Orlando  where Kayak.com says online searches for flights from Britain have fallen 58 percent since Trumps election  promised never-ending laughs. South Dakota, one of a handful of states marketing itself as the real America, played up Mount Rushmore. And at the Virginia booth, representatives handed out fresh oysters and glasses of sparkling wine. A sign urged attendees to tweet photos with the hashtag #VAwelcomesall. (The Trump Hotels table, meanwhile, offered chocolate shaped like bars of gold and stamped Trump.)

We just dont want the view to be, Dont come,  said Demea Metcalf, who was representing Irvine, Calif. Right now, people are wavering. Theyre second-guessing their plans.

International travel to Southern California had grown 20 percent last year, she added. Lets not put the brakes on that just yet.

Earlier in the day, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had come to the conference to tout the administrations dual mission of national security and tourism promotion.

This administration recognizes the power of travel as a bridge to bring people together, he said. If theres one message for you to take away today, it is this: We are taking every measure to ensure that the U.S. remains competitive for providing a quality visitor experience while also ensuring the safety of both our citizens and our guests.

The crowd applauded, but the next day, many said they still had their doubts.

Have you accepted the fact that youve got at least three and a half years of problems with the Trump administration? a man asked Dow during a news conference.

I keep saying to our people, this is a long game, Dow said, adding that Trump had been in office for fewer than 150 days of a roughly 1,460-day term.

[Trapped in Trumpland: Washingtonians say politics follows them everywhere, even to the strip club]

This president, he has a tendency to talk real fast, he continued. Were concerned about the rhetoric. But were going to work with the president. Hes a hotelier. Hes a businessman. Hes smart, and we are going to help bring him around.

Dow toed a delicate line between reassurance  international travel to the United States grew 4 percent in April, he said, at about the same rate as the year before  and alarm. Were very concerned that the America brand is troubled, he said, adding that he was more worried about incremental hits over many months than one big blow.

He also pointed to the commerce secretarys comments as a sign that the Trump administration valued international visitors: Let me assure you: His remarks were reviewed by the White House and they knew what he was saying, Dow said. He wasnt just doing a one-off Wilbur Ross.

But back on the convention floor, the mood was less celebratory. Junnette Brinas, senior sales manager for Hotel Edison in New Yorks Times Square, said she worried about trepidation among travelers. After Trumps recent Twitter tirade against Germany, a German group of 40 had canceled their plans to stay at the hotel. Brinas said she had spent weeks pursuing that booking, which she finalized during a trip to Berlin.

It was gone, just like that, she said. Right after that weekend, they pulled out.

In the next booth, Stan Kravitz, director of sales for the NYC Airporter bus service, said politics had become the focus of nearly every industry conversation. And he said he believes Trump could help steer the talk in a better way.

Wouldnt it be nice if the president would just say, Welcome? he asked. That one word is all it would take.

Read more:

D.C. sues company for allegedly treating rent-control apartments like hotel rooms

Even Canadians are skipping trips to the U.S. after Trump travel ban

A Trump voters message to retailers: Keep your mouths shut about our president
Has there ever been a better time to eat in Washington? Theres so much fantastic food to try that it can be hard to know where to start.

Thats where our annual 40 Eats come in. This year, Weekend and Going Out Guide editors polled readers, diners, industry insiders and fellow Washington Post staff to find the areas most essential dishes. The hardest part: narrowing down the more than 400 submissions.

To land a spot on the list, each nomination had to pass a taste test. Then it was pitted against other contenders as we curated a selection that could cater to meat-eaters and vegetarians, sweets lovers and fried-food fans, suburban dwellers and urbanites without cars.

All these eats are delicious. But they also represent a snapshot of what its like to be a diner in this ever-evolving city, where you can find a hearty Eritrean breakfast just steps from the perfect bar snack to go with a glass of Kentucky bourbon. So grab our checklist and get eating.

 Bonnie S. Benwick, Matt Brooks, Tim Carman, Emily Codik, Kara Elder, Fritz Hahn, Gabe Hiatt, Maura Judkis, Becky Krystal, Tom Sietsema, Holley Simmons, Harrison Smith



WASHINGTON, DC - May 9: Butterscotch Cremeux as served at Mirabelle in D.C. (Photo by Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post) (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

Butterscotch cremeux at Mirabelle

You may be puzzled by the teeny serving size  just four ounces  of this dessert by pastry chef Aggie Chin. And then you take a bite. The silky pudding is so devilishly decadent that anything more than a nibble feels naughty. The unctuous, egg-based mixture is flavored with caramelized brown sugar and a hint of Bastille 1789 French whiskey and then topped with a thin-but-powerful layer of caramel, whipped cream and chunks of Maldon sea salt. The kitchen offers only about 20 per day, so get there early.

900 16th St. NW. 202-506-3833. mirabelledc.com. Available only at lunch, $9.

Peking duck at Peking Gourmet Inn

One thing above all has drawn hordes of diners to Peking Gourmet since it opened, in 1978, and its not the photos of politicians and celebrities on the walls. Its the duck. Plump, glistening and carved into thin slices tableside, the birds steal the show here, and for good reason. Julienned cucumbers and spicy jumbo spring onions (grown at the restaurants farm in Purcellville, Va.) add crunch, while the skin  oh, that delightfully crispy, crackly and golden-brown skin  is the essential sidekick to the dark breast meat. Sweet hoisin sauce and house-made pancakes bring it all together into a package that delivers even after all these years.

6029 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church. 703-671-8088. pekinggourmet.com. $43 ($22.50 half-duck).



KENSINGTON, MD -- The Hot Mess pizza at Frankly ... Pizza! in Kensington has three kinds of cheese, onions, jalapeno peppers and bacon. (Holley Simmons/For The Washington Post)

Hot Mess at Frankly . . . Pizza!

Chef and founder Frank Linn has a soft spot for white pies. I think theyre sleepers, he says. One bite of the Hot Mess, and youll probably agree. The sauceless, gooey, wood-fired pie is topped with three kinds of cheese, candylike caramelized onions  Linn tells his team to think kettle corn when theyre making them  roasted and pickled jalapeno peppers and thick-cut bacon made in-house. The unlikely combination translates into a harmonious blend of salty, sweet and smoky. Marinara who?

10417 Armory Ave., Kensington. 301-832-1065. franklypizza.com. $16.75.

Tacos de canasta

at Mezcalero Cocina Mexicana

Tacos de canasta, or basket tacos, get their name from the Mexico City bicycle vendors who stack the snacks in a large container (i.e., baskets), slipped between layers of plastic wrap, cloth or butcher paper. As the vendors pedal to their destinations, the tacos steam on themselves, saturating the tortillas with the flavors trapped inside the masa wraps. Mezcalero chef and owner Alfredo Solis doesnt have time to bike around the city waiting for his tacos to achieve peak flavor, so hes devised a kitchen shortcut that mimics the steaming process. Soft in the center, crisp around the edges and soaked end to end in guajillo sauce, these bites are a whole new experience in taco eating.

3714 14th St. NW. 202-803-2114. mezcalerodc.com. $7.



WASHINGTON, DC -- The Jersey-style eggplant parm at All-Purpose in Shaw. For 40 Eats 2017. (Becky Krystal/TWP) (Becky Krystal/TWP)

Eggplant parm at All-Purpose

This hearty, Jersey-style homage to chef Michael Friedmans childhood has been on the Shaw pizzerias menu from Day One. Friedman follows his mothers lead by not breading or frying the eggplant. Instead, its roasted in a lot of olive oil, rendering it silky and tender. Also key: the house-made, long-simmered tomato sauce thats just the right amount of acidic and sweet. Layered with mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and bread crumbs, the appetizer is rich enough to feed a group, but not so much that itll stop you from going back for forkful after forkful.

1250 Ninth St. NW. 202-849-6174. allpurposedc.com. $15.



HYATTSVILLE, MD Yassa chicken in a sour, caramelized onion sauce at Chez Dior, a Sengalese restaurant photographed in Hyattsville, MD. (Photo by Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post). (Deb Lindsey/For The Washington Post)

Yassa chicken at Chez Dior

Yes, the chicken is excellent, its flavorful, charbroiled legs served with a side of spicy Jamaican hot-pepper sauce. But the best thing about this dish is what comes on the side: a bowl of caramelized onions cooked with a generous helping of lemon juice. Yassa poulet, as its called in Senegal, is traditionally marinated in this lemon-onion sauce, but Chez Diors genius is in separating the two, allowing you to mix and savor the dishs smoky, spicy and sour flavors. Dip your chicken in the onion, dip your rice in the onion, or leave the rest behind and take a spoon straight to that saucer.

5124 Baltimore Ave., Hyattsville. 240-696-5907. chezdior.com. $14.99.



WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 29, 2017: The ham croquetas at Colada Shop. (Emily Codik/TWP)



Ham croquetas at Colada Shop

If your happy hour at Colada Shop turns into happy hours  easy to do when the $8 drinks are so good  youll need something savory to help you carry on. To the rescue: jamon croquetas. A fixture of Cuban cuisine, theyre a study in comfort-food textures: soft little pillows of deliciousness stuffed with ham and bechamel on the inside, with an exterior thats been deep-fried to a golden crisp. Perfectly snackable, they play well with any of the restaurants beachy drinks, and the price is bite size, too: $3.50 for two.

1405 T St. NW. 202-332-8800; Sterling, 21430 Epicerie Plaza. 703-429-1362. coladashop.com. $3.50.



LEESBURG, VA - JANUARY 30: The regular cheeseburger with American cheese is photographed at Melt Gourmet Cheeseburgers January 30, 2017 in Leesburg, VA. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post) (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

Cheeseburger

at Melt Gourmet Cheeseburger

Is there such a thing as a destination hamburger? If so, its found at Melt Gourmet Cheeseburger in Leesburg, a solid hours drive northwest of Washington. The standard cheeseburger here is a statuesque beauty, a half-pound patty formed with an Angus blend of short rib, brisket, chuck and other trimmings. Tucked inside a house-made sourdough bun, the patty comes draped with a melted, semi-translucent blanket of American cheese, as surreal as a Dali painting. One bite, and the burger drips its juices all over the place, suggesting that Melt not only knows how to buy and hand-form good ground beef, but also how to grill it.

525 E. Market St., Leesburg. 703-443-2105. meltgourmetcheeseburgers.com. $7.95.



WASHINGTON DC - May 16TH: Happy Campers from Buttercream Bakeshop on a white board shot on May 16th, 2017 in Washington DC. (Photo by Goran Kosanovic for The Washington Post) (Goran Kosanovic/For The Washington Post)

Happy Camper at Buttercream Bakeshop

Tiffany MacIsaacs bakery does well by nostalgia, and this bar is no exception. The Happy Camper is the pastry chefs riff on smores, made with a graham cracker crust, chocolate ganache and honey-vanilla marshmallow fluff. If it sounds overly sweet, its not, thanks to the dark chocolate and torched marshmallows slightly bitter edge. And unlike the campout versions that are apt to fall apart at first bite, this dessert eats like a dream  smooth and sophisticated, but recognizable and satisfying to your inner child.

1250 Ninth St. NW. 202-735-0102. buttercreamdc.com. $3.50.



ANNANDALE, VA -- Strawberry and Thai tea "sno" topped with mango jellies, mochi and a white chocolate drizzle from SnoCream Company at the Block food hall in Annandale. (Becky Krystal/TWP) (Becky Krystal/TWP)

SnoCream at SnoCream Company

This Asian-inspired dessert, available at the relatively new Block food hall in the Virginia suburbs, has a lot going for it. Looks, for one. A mixture of milk and water is frozen into a cylinder, then shaved into ribbons that pile up like the folds of a wedding gown. Add in a slew of customizable toppings  mochi, boba, Fruity Pebbles among them  to such colorful flavors as Thai tea and mango, and youve got a highly photogenic and multi-texture treat that also happens to be delicious. Its lighter than traditional ice cream, too, which means you can eat a lot more in one sitting and feel refreshed rather than, well, guilty.

4221 John Marr Dr., Annandale. 202-656-6144. snocreamcompany.com. From $6.



WASHINGTON, DC - May 3: General Tso's Cauliflower at Junction Bakery in Alexandria. (Photo by Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post) (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

General Tsos cauliflower

at Junction Bakery & Bistro

Nathan Hatfield decided to make a meatless spin on the Chinese-American restaurant staple in part because he always wished the dish came with cauliflower rather than broccoli. At Junction Bakery, he coats the trendy brassica in a light batter, fries it and then tosses it in a delightfully sticky sauce made with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Scallions and black and white sesame seeds cap off the enticing dish, a sweet and sour treat with a gentle heat from arbol chiles.

1508 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. 703-436-0025. junctionbakery.com. $7.



WASHINGTON, DC -Steamed Clams with Aji Amarillo, Potatoes, Grilled Corn, House-smoked Pork Belly and Cilantro at Ruta del Vino photographed in Washington, DC. (Photo by Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post). (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Steamed clams at Ruta del Vino

Is that a cube of potato or a chunk of pork belly? Theres only one way to find out, and youll be pleased either way. Those and other nuggets  littleneck clams, cilantro, grilled corn and onions  come swimming in a broth made of white wine, clam juice and lime in the steamed clam dish at this Petworth wine bar. The aji amarillo, a South American chile pepper, lends a subtle heat and a bright yellow hue, while the acid from the wine leaves a tart sting on your tongue.

800 Upshur St. NW. 202-248-4469. rutadelvinodc.com. $12.

Carolina on My Mind at Federalist Pig

Served on a paper-lined jellyroll tray, this pork sandwich has a sculptural grace. The coarsely chopped pork and coleslaw are stacked impossibly high inside a soft sesame bun. How it manages to keep its shape  this Mayan-head sculpture of meat and vegetable  is beyond us. One bite, though, and the form collapses. The meat, the juices, the slaw  they tumble and drip from the bun, as they do with all great sandwiches. Youre left to focus on the flavors and textures: the puckery bite of pork, the crackle of fried skin, the fearsome heat. This is art.

1654 Columbia Rd. NW. 202-827-4400. federalistpig.com. $9.50.



WASHINGTON, DC -- Crispy Chicken Skins at Jack Rose Dining Saloon for the 2017 40 Eats issue. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) (Fritz Hahn/TWP)

Crispy chicken skins

at Jack Rose Dining Saloon

At Jack Rose, the perfect pairing for your drink  whether its a small-batch Kentucky bourbon or a local IPA  is a bowl of fried chicken skins. These hot shards of crackling skin, zesty with paprika, salt and sugar, are the kind of moreish bar food that works as a starter or a late-night snack. No matter when you order them, they always disappear faster than you think. Although theyre served with a lime and a bowl of tangy Green Goddess sauce, the crunchy bits are flavorful enough to devour on their own.

2007 18th St. NW. 202-588-7388.

jackrosediningsaloon.com. $7.



WASHINGTON, DC - The pandan cheesecake at Kyirisan features the tropical plant common in Southeast Asian cuisine. (Holley Simmons/For The Washington Post)

Cheesecake at Kyirisan

Dont let the garish hue throw you off: This neon-green cheesecake isnt overpowered by mint. Rather, pastry chef Mollie Bird uses pandan extract in the decadent dessert. A cross in flavor between coconut and hazelnut, the tropical plant, common in Southeast Asian cuisine, peps up the Italian-style cheesecake, which is lighter than its flour-laced New York brethren. Served atop a custardlike pandan anglaise and sprinklings of crushed hazelnuts that draw out the nutty hints, the dome is coated in a chocolate mirror glaze and topped with Szechuan pepper whipped cream.

1924 Eighth St. NW. 202-525-2383. kyirisandc.com. $11.



WASHINGTON, DC -The Messy at the new fast casual restaurant Smoked and Stacked photographed in Washington, DC. (Photo by Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post). (Deb Lindsey/For The Washington Post)

The Messy at Smoked and Stacked

Does Marjorie Meek-Bradley make the best pastrami in the District? The Messy might turn you into a believer. Smoky slices of meat  pungent with coriander and pepper  are the star of the Messy, the Top Chef alums fantastic take on a Reuben, topped with sauerkraut, Comte cheese and Thousand Island dressing, on warm rye bread. The name is appropriate  have napkins handy for when the dressing gushes out. This sandwich is so flavorful and balanced that you wont mind a little bit of a mess.

1239 Ninth St. NW. 202-465-4822.

smokedandstacked.com. $13.



WASHINGTON DC -- The "G" Man Italian sub at Mangialardo's on Capitol Hill, served "hot and hard" with hot peppers and on a hard roll. The family-owned deli opened in the 1950s. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) (Fritz Hahn/TWP)

The G Man at Mangialardos

Head to the tiny Mangialardos for lunch, and there will probably be a police officer or firefighter in line. Theres a good reason: The subs at the family-owned sandwich shop, which has been on Capitol Hill for more than six decades, are some of the best in town. The most iconic is the G Man, a foot-long feast packed with slices of ham, salami, pepperoni and mortadella; fontina and provolone cheeses; and vinegar, lettuce, tomato and mustard. Order it hot and hard  with hot peppers on a hard roll from the Districts Catania Bakery  and youve got a spicy, flavorful Italian sub that could easily serve two.

1317 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-543-6212. mangialardos.com. $8.50.



WASHINGTON DC - May 16TH: Shouk Burger, from Shouk on a black board shot on May 16th, 2017 in Washington DC. (Photo by Goran Kosanovic for The Washington Post) (Goran Kosanovic/For The Washington Post)

Shouk burger at Shouk

Throw out every bad cliche you may have heard about veggie burgers  they fall apart, theyre too hippie, they have no flavor. This patty from plant-focused fast-casual Shouk will make you a believer. Its chock full of good-for-you ingredients, including chickpeas, black beans, lentils, mushrooms, cauliflower and beets. But lively condiments, such as tahini, pickled turnips, arugula, roasted tomatoes and charred onions, make for a substantial, complex burger. A fluffy pita to hold it all in ensures you can savor every last bite.

655 K St. NW. 202-652-1464. shouk.com. $9.75.



OXON HILL, MD - DECEMBER 10: Lobster jambalaya at Fish by Jose Andres in the MGM Casino on Oxon Hill, Maryland on December 10, 2016 (Photo by Jennifer Chase for The Washington Post) (Jennifer Chase/For The Washington Post)

Lobster jambalaya at Fish

When a Spanish chef opens an American seafood restaurant, there is perhaps no better showcase of his skills than jambalaya. At Fish, Jose Andress waterfront restaurant in the MGM National Harbor casino, the chef brings a paella-masters touch to the Louisianan dish, made with Carolina Gold rice and built to be shared by two to four people. Your server will present the enormous platter of okra-studded rice tableside for everyone to ooh and aah over that gorgeous lobster (and gram it) before its dished out individually  a nice touch.

101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill. 301-971-6050. mgmnationalharbor.com. $62.



WASHINGTON, DC - May 3: The Not So Classic Fried Chicken Biscuit at Stomping Ground in Alexandria. (Photo by Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post) (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

Not So Classic-style fried chicken biscuit

at Stomping Ground

At her Del Ray restaurant, Nicole Jones puts a Middle Eastern twist on a Southern favorite. The best-selling Not So Classic fried chicken biscuit packs zaatar, honey, hot sauce, red onion and benne-seed (the Souths version of sesame) tahini into a single bite. Its spicy, bitter and sour, plus buttery and rich, thanks to the massive, delicate biscuit. It also doesnt hurt that the 24-hour marinated, flour-dredged chicken breasts are fried in lard.

2309 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. 703-364-8912. stompdelray.com. $9.



WASHINGTON, DC - May 9: Boudin Blanc as prepared by chef, Paul Steadman at Marcel's in D.C. (Photo by Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post) (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

Boudin blanc at Marcels

Chef and owner Robert Wiedmaier estimates that Marcels has served close to 160,000 boudin blancs since the restaurant opened almost 19 years ago. On the menu since Day One, the sausage is shockingly fluffy despite the fact that its laced with pheasant, chicken and four ounces of foie gras. The secret: a nuanced whipping preparation that breaks down muscle proteins  that Wiedmaier says can take a chef six months to perfect. In case it wasnt rich enough, the small-but-mighty link is placed atop a black-truffle puree and served with a seasonal touch, perhaps caramelized pearl onions in the summer or cannellini beans in the winter.

2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-296-1166. marcelsdc.com. Available a la carte for $24.



WASHINGTON, DC -- The pao bhaji at Bindaas in Cleveland Park, one of the 40 Eats dishes for 2017. (Becky Krystal/TWP) (Becky Krystal/TWP)

Pao bhaji at Bindaas

Vikram Sunderam describes this Indian street food as a vegetarian sloppy Joe because of its appearance, but that doesnt do this lively dish justice. The chef cooks a changing mix of vegetables  which might include cauliflower, carrots, peas and potatoes  with onions, tomatoes and a special blend of spices. (Think cumin, black pepper, red chile and black salt.) A potato masher transforms it into a pulpy kind of stew, served with buttered, griddled Parker House rolls that you can use to scoop up the veggies or form open-face sandwiches. Believe us, it tastes better than it looks.

3309 Connecticut Ave. NW. 202-244-6550. bindaasdc.com. $10.



WASHINGTON, DC: The ful at Keren is a bean dip with chopped onions, jalapeno peppers and yogurt. (Holley Simmons for the Washington Post) (Holley Simmons/for the Washington Post)

Ful at Keren

This Eritrean dishs name pretty much sums up how youll feel after eating a bowl. The thick mixture, commonly served for breakfast, is reminiscent of a bean dip, made with tomato sauce, cumin and crushed fava beans. Its topped with chopped onions, jalapeno peppers, yogurt and a blend of spices (chile peppers, garlic, ginger) known as berbere powder. Youd be wise to mix everything up before using the crusty bread as a utensil  and be sure to ask for a pat of butter to deepen the flavors.

1780 Florida Ave. NW. 202-265-5764. $5.99.



WASHINGTON, DC - May 3: The Schwarma Sandwich at Max's Kosher in Wheaton. (Photo by Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post) (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

Shawarma at Maxs Kosher Cafe

Momi Houmran, an Arab Israeli from Haifa, doesnt want to hear that the shawarma at Maxs Kosher Cafe is close to the real thing served back home. He knows its better. Houmran crafts the meat cone, sizzling on a vertical spit, from turkey thighs and a hint of lamb. The condiments are made in-house, too: pickled cabbage, cauliflower, turnips and eggplant; fried eggplant; and hot and sweet peppers. Mixed with tahini sauce, this symphonic blend of flavors and textures, served inside a Wheaton strip mall, goes toe-to-toe with any in the land of milk and honey.

2319 University Blvd. W., Wheaton. 301-949-6297. theshalomgroup.com. Shawarma: whole ($7.95) or half ($5.75).





ARLINGTON, VA - FEBRUARY 27: Big Plate Chicken - Chicken with potato and homemade noodles with spicy sauce at Queen Amannisa. (Photo by Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)

Big Plate Chicken at Queen Amannisa

Uyghur is a relatively new cuisine to the Washington area, and if youre trying it for the first time, you ought to start with the Big Plate Chicken at Queen Amannisa. The simple name belies a complex and hearty dish, emblematic of the hospitable culture of the Uyghurs, an ethnic group from western China whose crossroads cuisine has elements of both Chinese and Middle Eastern food. True to its title, Big Plate Chicken is an enormous platter of bone-in bird, slathered in a mouth-numbingly peppery sauce, sopped up by potatoes and vegetables. Best of all are the hand-stretched, made-to-order noodles underneath. A hallmark of Uyghur cuisine.

320 23rd St. S., Suite 150, Arlington. 703-414-7888. queenamannisa.com. $29.99.



WASHINGTON DC - FEBRUARY 7TH: Kunefe in a silver plate and on a white wooden board shot on February 7th, 2017 in Washington DC. (Photo by Goran Kosanovic for The Washington Post) (Goran Kosanovic/For The Washington Post)

Kunefe at Ottoman Taverna

To make this kunefe, pastry pieces are packed around an unsalted cows milk cheese imported from Turkey, then baked in a wood-burning oven. Once it emerges, crispy golden on the outside and perfectly melty inside, the dish is soaked in a sugar syrup infused with anise and lemon and topped with ground pistachios. Despite the soak, the sweetness is restrained. Sure, you could share one  rich and indulgent as it is  but were prone to keep it all to ourselves.

425 I St. NW. 202-847-0395. ottomantaverna.com. $9.25.







HANDOUT IMAGE: Chef Rob Rubba's gnocchi bokki, an Italian-Korean mashup at the new Hazel. (Rey Lopez) (Rey Lopez/Under a Bushel.com)

Gnocchi Bokki at Hazel

Like so many epic culinary creations, this mash-up owes its origin to a pantry raid during a snowstorm. Hazel chef Rob Rubba had a hankering for gnocchi, but the only sauces at his disposal featured Korean flavors. Thank goodness for that. This refined version features pillowy pasta bathed in a ragu of tomato paste, onion, carrot, garlic, ginger and pork butt, braised for eight hours and emulsified into a delightfully smooth, spicy sauce. Rubba wanted funky flavors and he got them, but its the subtle touches that make this dish a star. Fresh kimchi delivers an acidic bite and much-needed crunch, while shaved pecorino adds depth and smoke to an umami-packed plate.

808 V St. NW. 202-847-4980. hazelrestaurant.com. $15.



WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 24: Avgolemono Soup, $5.25 is pictured with an order of bread at Greek Deli at 1120 19th St. NW. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post) (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

Avgolemono soup at Greek Deli

Avgolemono is not a soup, although you could be forgiven for thinking so, given how often the term is used to describe the dish. Avgolemono is a sauce, whose components are announced every time you say the Greek word: Avgo is egg, and lemono refers to lemon. Greek cooks use the sauce in a variety of dishes, whether in stuffed grape leaves or meaty lamb entrees, but Kostas Fostieris, owner and chef of Greek Deli, is an old pro at incorporating the sauce into his rich and rewarding chicken soup. The lemon is treated so delicately that it comes across more like candied fruit than tart citrus. A soup worthy of the lofty name.

1120 19th St. NW. 202-296-2111. $5.25.



Bun bo Hue  noodle beef soup Hue-style  from Mi La Cay in Wheaton (Photo by Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post). (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Bun bo Hue at Mi La Cay

This soup has it all  a rich pork and beef broth infused with lemongrass and made funky with fermented shrimp paste, thick rice noodles, slices of brisket and Vietnamese ham, meaty ham hock and congealed pigs blood. (Just try it. Its like a savory, firm tofu.) Fresh garnishes tame all that meatiness. Youll get bean sprouts, lime, Vietnamese coriander, sliced jalapeno, onion, scallion and shredded lettuce and red cabbage, plus the particularly intriguing shaved banana blossom, whose strands add a welcome crunch. Happy slurping.

2409 University Blvd. W., Wheaton. 301-929-2822. $8.95.



WASHINGTON, DC - May 9: Crab Risotto with Uni at Conosci in D.C. (Photo by Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post) (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

Crab risotto with uni at Conosci

See the burnt-orange swath of uni, a delicacy from the innards of West Coast sea urchin. Its waiting for you to mix it into the risotto underneath. There, its briny richness will melt into the creamy arborio rice, stirred with Maryland jumbo-lump crabmeat, butter, white miso, white shoyu, the Japanese spice blend togarashi and yuzu juice. And all that lovely complexity is why the dish has been on the menu since the restaurant opened last year.

465 K St. NW. 202-629-4662. conoscidc.com. Included in $85 and $135 tasting menus;

can be added to the $45 tasting menu for $10.



WASHINGTON, DC - May 5: The Stuffed Waffle Salmon at Et Voila in D.C. (Photo by Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post) (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

Stuffed salmon waffle at Et Voila!

Although this brunch plate looks simple, it represents a feat of culinary engineering. A chilled block of veloute sauce with leeks and Norwegian salmon is enveloped in brioche dough. Its cooked on one of the kitchens two imported waffle irons designed especially for making the stuffed waffles from Belgium, the chefs native country. An immediate injection of mild red curry enhances the saucy center within, and wide ribbons of Scottish salmon with dots of chopped chives grace the top.

5120 MacArthur Blvd. NW. etvoiladc.com.

202-237-2300. $12.



SPRINGFIELD, VA -- Chicken karahi at Afghan Bistro. (Becky Krystal/TWP) (Becky Krystal/TWP)

Chicken karahi at Afghan Bistro

At this small suburban gem, what started out as an occasional special has turned into a menu staple. There are two main components of the chicken karahi: tender chicken thighs and roasted eggplant. After being cooked in an aromatic tomato sauce, the eggplant is combined with the meat, which almost melts into the stew, then gets a hit of yogurt-and-garlic puree before serving. Another last-minute addition: Thai chile peppers, which contribute an electric heat. Sopped up with basmati rice and Afghan flatbread, this is a hearty, well-rounded meal you wont soon forget.

8081-D Alban Rd., Springfield. 703-337-4722. afghanbistro.com. $13.95-$15.95.



WASHINGTON, DC - May 5: Prawn Vindaloo as served at Jewel of India in Silver Spring. (Photo by Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post) (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

Prawn vindaloo at Jewel of India

The menu description for this oft-ordered dish  popular throughout India, particularly in Goa  states that its hot. But wed argue that its more sharp than spicy. Thats most likely due to the addition of white vinegar, which speaks volumes over the chile notes. The creamy sauce, flavored with garlic, ginger, cumin and coriander, glides over slightly soft potato hunks and plump rounds of prawn, their natural sweetness complementing the touch of sugar that goes into this ruddy red curry.

10151 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring. 301-408-2200. jewelofindiamd.com. $20.



ANNA DALE, VA OCTOBER 16, 2016-Haemul pajeon (seafood and scallion pancake) at the To Sok Jip in Annandale, Va. on October 16, 2016.(Photo by Joanne Lee/For The Washington Post) (Joanne Lee/For The Washington Post)

Seafood pancake at To Sok Jip

If you order only one dish at To Sok Jip, a bustling, perpetually crowded Korean restaurant in Annandale, let it be the seafood pancake, or haemul pajeon. You might be tempted by the build-it-yourself bo ssam or the fire-red bubbling stews, but this meal  a giant golden orb cut into hefty wedges like a pie  achieves a fantastic balance of flavors and textures: sweet and savory, crisp and tender. Crammed with squid, green chiles and scallions, its big enough to feed two. Then again, To Sok Jip is affordable enough  and delicious enough  that its often hard to stop at this one dish.

7211 Columbia Pike, Annandale. 703-333-2861. $14.99.



WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 18: Linguine with spicy XO sauce, olive oil, garlic. (Photo by Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)

Linguini with spicy XO sauce at Masseria

You know the story: Boy meets sauce. Boy falls in love with sauce. Boy figures out a way to serve sauce to the masses. So it goes at Masseria, where chef Nick Stefanelli says he Italianized an XO sauce  a thick, spicy condiment flavored with fish  he encountered during a trip to Shanghai. To make Masserias version, which he mixes into a tangle of linguine and tops with crunchy bread crumbs, Stefanelli cooks prosciutto and dried shrimp in olive oil and garlic until it forms a piquant paste. On the menu since opening day, its one of his most lauded dishes.

1340 Fourth St. NE. 202-608-1330. masseria-dc.com.

Prix fixe: $84-$125.



GAITHERSBURG MD - MAY 25: The tocino pork dish served at Matthew's Grill in Gaithersburg, Maryland on May 25, 2017. (Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post) (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Tocino pork at Matthews Grill

For every soul who thinks Filipino food is too pungent, too funky or too whatever, we steer them straight to tocino pork, a sweet-and-savory dish often consumed for breakfast in the Philippines, not unlike maple-glazed bacon is in the States. The Spanish word tocino, in fact, translates into bacon. The tocino pork at Matthews Grill are bite-size pieces of pork butt cured in a mixture of brown sugar, sugar-cane vinegar and soy sauce. After their cure, the pieces are boiled in a little water until the liquids reduce into a candied glaze. Those pork nuggets go down faster than popcorn at the movies.

213 Muddy Branch Rd., Gaithersburg. 301-990-8858. matthewsgrill.com . $10.



ROCKVILLE MD - MAY 23: Thai Cuisine's Tom Yum Noodle Soup is featured in the Weekend section's annual 40 Eats roundup. in Rockville, Maryland on May 23, 2017. (Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post) (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Tom yum noodle soup at Thai Cuisine

The menu warns  in uppercase letters, no less  that this is not lemongrass soup, the Thai bowl perhaps more familiar to Western diners. No, this bowl provides more complexity than lemongrass soups adrenaline shot of heat and acid. This soup finds willowy rice noodles submerged in a vegetable broth swimming with so many other ingredients that your palate wont know which way to turn. Among them: ground pork, fish balls, dried squid, fish sauce, crushed peanuts, pickled jalapenos and chili powder. As a final grace note, its garnished with fried wontons, adding a counterintuitive crunch to your bowl of Thai soup.

757 Hungerford Dr., Rockville. 301-838-4480. thethaicuisinerockville.com. $9.95.



WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 7: The fried fish sandwich with whiting is the biggest draw at Horace & Dickie's in northeast, on February, 07, 2013 in Washington, DC. This dish features four fish filets' on a choice of white or wheat bread with various sauces. (Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) (Bill O'Leary/WASHINGTON POST)

Fried whiting sandwich at Horace and Dickies Carryout

Horace and Dickies calls its signature menu item a sandwich, which is true  in the way that you might also describe D.C. summers as a bit warm. Four or five immense breaded-and-fried fish fillets fill a takeout container, dwarfing two slices of white or wheat bread, which are tucked under a piece of wax paper. The best way to eat the hot-and-crispy fish, doused in a tangy, peppery hot sauce, is to stack half of the fish between the bread, and save the rest for lunch the next day, unless youre splitting it with a hungry friend or two. Words of warning: These are old-school fillets, fried whole with bones. Exercise caution when chowing down after an H Street bar crawl.

809 12th St. NE. 202-397-6040. Get sit-down service in Takoma, 6912 Fourth St. NW., 202-248-4265, and Suitland, 5601 Allentown Rd., 301-909-1030. horaceanddickiessuitland.com. $7.



WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 21: Karaage - buttermilk fried chicken thigh with korean gochujang glaze and house sweet pickles at Himitsu. (Photo by Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)

Karaage and biscuits at Himitsu

Buttermilk-brined fried chicken, a hit from the start at tiny Himitsu in Petworth, has survived every menu purge and pretty much flocks to every table every night, says Kevin Tien, the chef behind the juicy, crunchy sensation. Its sting comes by way of Korean chile pepper paste, its richness from a dollop of creamy Kewpie mayonnaise, its sweet note from homemade pickles. Recently, Tien added warm biscuits to the equation, making the dish even more of a draw. Warning: Get it while you can. The chef plans to remove the fried chicken this summer, but only with something that will make diners forget about it, Tien promises. Fat chance, chef!

828 Upshur St. NW. himitsudc.com. $24.



WASHINGTON, DC -- Tacos Camarones at Taqueria Habanero in 16th Street Heights. The dish was selected for the 2017 issue of 40 Eats. (Photo by Fritz Hahn/The Washington Post) (Fritz Hahn/TWP)

Tacos de camarones

at Taqueria Habanero

The secret to any good taco starts with the tortilla. The corn shells at Columbia Heights Taqueria Habanero are made-to-order, leaving them soft, a bit puffy and still comfortingly warm when they get to the table. The best filling of the bunch is the shrimp (camarones), which arrive with a bed of salsa, chunks of tomato, a slice of avocado and a smooth, zippy chipotle crema. The lush combination is wonderfully balanced, never overwhelming the shrimp, which remain the stars of the show. Habanero offers a range of salsas, from citrusy to tongue-scorching, but you wont need them  the brightness of lime juice is about as much as this taco needs.

3710 14th St. NW. 202-722-7700. habanerodc.com. $3.


Josef Haders performance as Zweig is mannered and steadfast, evoking a man who trusts that humanity will survive fascism. (First Run Features)

Writer Stefan Zweig was one of the most respected intellectuals of the early 20th century. His work, once widely read in the United States, had a minor resurgence after filmmaker Wes Anderson used it as the inspiration for The Grand Budapest Hotel. The new docudrama Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe is not as rosy as that 2014 film, taking a grim, uncompromising look at the writers legacy.

Director Maria Schrader and her co-screenwriter, Jan Schomburg, divide the action into vignettes, beginning with a sumptuous reception for Zweig (Josef Hader) in Rio de Janeiro. (The writer, an Austrian Jew, left his homeland in 1934, ultimately settling in the Brazilian town of Petropolis in 1940.) His life in exile amounts to a lengthy speaking tour, one that relies on the largesse of foreign governments and private patrons. Another scene, set in 1936, shows Zweig at an international literary gathering in Buenos Aires, where the author argues that a writers place is not to comment on politics. With exacting precision, Schrader looks at the cost of such a point of view, following Zweig until his 1942 suicide, at age 60.

Each vignette begins with an abstracted image, one that serves as a metaphor for the crisp, increasingly hopeless dialogue. In an early scene, Schrader focuses her camera on an expansive floral arrangement, but later in New York, where Zweig also briefly lived, she lingers on an icy window pane. In Rio, where journalists and fans hang on his every word, Zweigs celebrity blossoms. Later conversations, concerning the countless Sisyphean attempts to rescue Europes Jewish intelligentsia from the Nazis, are more practical, and more dour. As Zweig, Hader never offers a note of regret or terror. Instead, his performance is mannered and steadfast, evoking a man who trusts that humanity will survive fascism.

The Zweig of Farewell to Europe does not want to make anyone uncomfortable. He wants to make friends, even when asserting philosophical principles  an attitude of deference that Schrader suggests is ultimately a moral failure. It is unclear what any exiled intellectual could have done to sway public opinion, yet Zweig, at the start of the film, is a global celebrity with the worlds ear.

Farewell to Europe is a little like Zweig himself: smart, overly fastidious and remote to a fault. By avoiding Zweigs inner life, his eventual collapse seems all the more perfunctory.


Avocado and Coconut Ice Cream; see recipe link, below. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Iced Avocado and Coffee Drink (Es Alpukat); see recipe link, below. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Ask cookbook author Pat Tanumihardja about some of her favorite food memories growing up in Indonesia, and avocados will figure prominently in her response.

Half an avocado, drizzled with palm sugar syrup, she says with a happy sigh.

In many cultures, from Indonesia to Brazil to Sri Lanka, the avocado is treated as the fruit it actually is, sometimes topped off with a squirt of chocolate syrup or sweetened condensed milk, and, more often, incorporated into sweet drinks. The frosty avocado-based shake known in Vietnam as sinh to bo is a simple combination of avocado, condensed milk, ice cubes and sugar syrup that is replicated variously around the world: Indonesians add coffee or chocolate syrup, calling it Es Alpukat, while Brazilians enliven the same shake with a squirt of tart lime juice, and a Moroccan version sweetens the mix with confectioners sugar and a hint of orange flower water.

[Make the recipes: Avocado and Coconut Ice Cream; Iced Avocado and Coffee Drink ]

Known across Asia as butter fruit, the avocado has a mild flavor and creamy texture that makes it a remarkably adaptable ingredient for many recipes, including desserts. While avocados are normally consumed raw, and can become bitter if cooked over direct heat, they can be mashed or pureed in baking, and they are increasingly being found whipped into smoothies and bubble teas as Americans discover that avocados can go far beyond standard chip-and-dip fare.

Using avocados for something besides guacamole or other savory dishes was a tough sell for Pati Jinich, host of the PBS television series Patis Mexican Table, who grew up in Mexico City.



Avocado plays well with many other ingredients. (Nadia C.)

[How to make the most out of every avocado you buy]

The first time I ever heard of using avocados in something sweet was from my sister, Sharon, who is a vegan, Jinich says. She made this avocado chocolate mousse, and I was totally disgusted by the thought of it.

But because of its thick, buttery consistency, avocado does seem to particularly shine when paired with chocolate, notes Tanumihardja. Chocolate mousse is a great way to introduce someone to avocado as a dessert, because you really dont know theres avocado in it, she said.

Indeed, Jinichs sister had the last laugh, because that mousse turned out to be delicious, claiming another convert to the avocado-as-dessert movement. Inspired by her sisters mousse, Jinich began experimenting with avocados in smoothies, pancakes and popsicles, leading her to create desserts such as Avocado and Coconut Ice Cream, a surprisingly rich dairy-free confection with a velvety mouthfeel reminiscent of gelato.

I found that avocados could be one of the most luscious, sensuous, silky, exuberant ingredients ever, says Jinich. In my house, we use avocados as a savory ingredient 65 percent of the time. We throw it on top of everything. But these days, Im also putting it in cakes.



Avocado Key Lime Pie; see recipe link, below. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

[Make the recipe: Avocado Key Lime Pie]

The creamy texture of ripe avocados makes it a natural ingredient for rich desserts that are deceptively healthful, because, although theres up to 28 grams of fat in a medium-size fruit, it is largely monounsaturated fat, which can lower LDL cholesterol. A tablespoon of avocado has 25 calories, compared to 100 calories in the same amount of butter, and just over two grams of fat, primarily unsaturated, in contrast to 12 grams of mostly saturated fat in butter. Substitute mashed avocado 1-to-1 for at least some of the butter in baked goods and suddenly that brownie seems like less of a no-no.

When Lara Ferroni set out to research avocado recipes for her book An Avocado a Day (Sasquatch Books, 2017), she wasnt necessarily a fan of the dessert avocado, either. Four months and 300 avocados later, she has seen the light.

Avocados dont really have a savory flavor, Ferroni says, but they have an umami quality. Once I got over that mental hump of Its just for guacamole, it was really easy to take avocados in a sweet direction.

It was a trip to Australia and New Zealand in December 2015, that got Ferroni, who typically writes single-subject cookbooks on such topics as doughnuts and eggs, thinking about exploring avocados: Youll find avocados in so many applications there  pickled or mixed with other types of fruit or mashed on toast with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar.



Chocolate-Dipped Avocado Cookies; see recipe link, below. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

[Make the recipe: Chocolate-Dipped Avocado Cookies]

Indeed, avocado can play as well with mango, pineapple and citrus as it does with chocolate, coffee and vanilla. If youre having trouble embracing avocado as a fruit, both Jinich and Ferroni recommend tossing chunks of it into smoothies, which Jinich called a perfect gateway for avocados  or even margaritas.

Once youve done that, its easier to take the plunge for adding it to cookies and cakes, Jinich says.

Ferronis Cado-ritas blend just a smidgen of avocado with lime juice, sugar, tequila and orange liqueur to add a touch of creaminess to a traditional margarita. Once I started to explore avocado-based beverages, I really became interested in how to achieve different degrees of creaminess without using dairy, she says.

Her Avocado Key Lime Pie combines many of the same ingredients as her cocktail into a cool green custard inside a graham cracker crust. Its deliciously tart and creamy, she says. Best of all, the no-bake filling makes it a standout summer recipe with a handful of ingredients and a minimum of prep.

With avocado prices rising this year due to a smaller harvest, the good news is that a little avocado can actually go a long way  although, for some, that may lead to concerns about how to store any fruit that didnt make it into that pie or ice cream.

[Avocado prices are at a record high]

Ferroni thinks she has found the solution: freezing avocado, either in cubes or lightly mashed, then defrosting it for later use in baked goods or smoothies  but not in guacamole or any other applications where fresh is best.

Im pretty sure there was a period of time that I was the countrys largest avocado purchaser as a home cook, says Ferroni. I had to figure out what to do with all those leftovers.

Hartke is a Washington writer.


The lobster roll and fries at the Salt Line on the Southeast waterfront. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Maine just got a little closer to Washington.

I say this having recently eaten a lobster roll  sweet, boiled seafood tucked into a buttery, house-baked bun  at the Salt Line across from Nationals Park on the Southeast waterfront. The new restaurant, from Long Shot Hospitality, finds Kyle Bailey in the kitchen and a view of the Anacostia River from the dining rooms.

[The 2017 Spring Dining Guide]

Expect a crowd. Restaurants with postcard vistas, outdoor patios and serious drinks dont come along every day, and this one is a beaut. Without beating diners over the head with a New England theme, the creators have dressed the space with some choice details  cedar shingles, a few old ships prows, a custom-made bar shared by oyster shuckers and drink mixers  to send diners on a beach vacation for the duration of their meal. White subway tile and trim, sea-green booths foster a tidy and timeless look at the Salt Line, whose investors include Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman.



Chef Kyle Baileys menu is focused on fresh, seasonal seafood, which explains why crab cakes arent on it just yet. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Oysters? You bet, and not just the usual suspects. Heres a chance to explore neatly opened Rochambeau from Virginia and Moonrise from Rhode Island. You order bivalves here as you would sushi elsewhere, by checking off choices from a list (look in the oyster tin on the table).

[Dock to Dish brings seafood directly to the restaurant door]

Youll have to wait for crab cakes. While soft-shell crabs are in season, Bailey, culinary director for Long Shot Hospitality (the Dubliner, Sixth Engine, Town Hall), says he wants to show them off. And that the chef-partner does, seasoning them Nashville hot with cayenne and balancing the heat with honey and black garlic before displaying the plump main event on white bread with pickled green tomatoes. Delish. Poised to become the next pork belly, uni stars in a pleasing plate of bucatini that mimics carbonara with egg yolk and bacon and picks up some crunch from toasted bread crumbs Any order is better when it includes onion rings or french fries, simple pleasures made in-house.



The fluffernutter milkshake is an Instagram-worthy spectacle. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

The outside bar area overlooks the Anacostia River and is sure to be a popular destination this summer. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

The Salt Line seems like a natural for co-owner Jeremy Carman, who was born in Ipswich, Mass., home of the revered clam, and moved when he was 12 to Lubec, Maine, where his family ran a bed-and-breakfast and a seafood distribution company. The Salt Line has a relationship with Old Line Fish Company in Annapolis that operates as if it were a CSA, supplying the restaurant with whatever fishermen catch as opposed to what they might be asked to bring in.

[A soulful taste of Spain, including the citys best sangria, comes to Capitol Hill]

Not every dish makes a splash. A riff on trout almondine has too much almond flour on brined fish, although the accompanying vegetables were a little shout out to spring. Fried clam bellies, delivered in a metal pan with coleslaw and tartar sauce, have more breading than optimal, too.



Nashville hot soft-shell crab with griddled white bread, pickled green tomatoes and black-garlic honey. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Uni carbonara features bucatini, egg yolks, bacon, garlic scapes, black pepper and Grana Padano cheese. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post)

Alls forgotten when the fluffernutter milkshake arrives. A boardwalk fantasy, the confection is an eye-popping high-rise constructed with ice cream from local Ice Cream Jubilee, a chocolate-covered doughnut, fresh marshmallow, jimmies, nuts and (how could it not?) a piece of saltwater taffy waving from on high. A metal straw makes for even cooler eating. Thank Baileys wife, Tiffany MacIsaac of Buttercream Bakeshop for the bliss.

Brass dolphins grace the archways between dining rooms. Carman says fishermen believe the ocean mammal brings them luck. Already, the totems seem to be working their magic at the Salt Line.

79 Potomac Ave. SE. 202-506-2368. thesaltline.com . Entrees, $17 to $42.
Britain's top political leader, Theresa May, remains in office as prime minister. But Thursdays elections weakened her power as the country prepares to negotiate its exit from the European Union. (Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

Britains general elections ended in a shock for Prime Minister Theresa May, the countrys top political leader. Her Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament days before the country begins negotiating its departure from the European Union.

The post of prime minister is held by the leader of the largest party (or group of parties) in Parliament, which functions as the British equivalent to the U.S. Congress. May said she would remain in office, in part by joining forces with a small party based in the British region of Northern Ireland.

Conservatives were expected to win handily, but May now risks renewed opposition from within and outside her party. Some colleagues may be lining up to replace her.

Under current rules, Britain holds general elections every five years. But the prime minister can schedule a snap election early, as May did seven weeks ago. She had been confident of securing a sweeping victory and strengthening her hand in the talks to leave the European Union.

The Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, threw a wrench in her plans by denying the Conservative Party an outright win. With 649 of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 318 seats and Labour 261, with smaller parties taking the rest.

Corbyn said that May should resign as prime minister and that he wanted to form a minority government, uniting the smaller parties.

The mandate shes got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence, he said. I would have thought thats enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country.

But May was determined to hang on. Just after noon, she was driven the short distance from the prime ministers offices on Downing Street to Buckingham Palace, where she asked Queen Elizabeth II for permission to form a government  a formality under the British system.


Artist Megan Geckler, at the headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign, checks out her piece titled "49" to commemorate the first anniversary of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

It began to take shape early this week beneath a heavy gray sky, a bright cone of pure white ribbon streaming from the top of the eight-story building to the ground-floor canopy below.

Passersby on the sidewalk below the Human Rights Campaign headquarters in Dupont Circle paused and stared, raising their iPhones to snap photos of the gleaming fabric strips fluttering in the breeze  49 in all, one for every life lost in the June 12, 2016, mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

By Thursday afternoon, the artwork was complete, as 12 larger panels of fabric in the deconstructed colors of the rainbow flag were added in a larger semicircle, surrounding the white ones. Artist Megan Gecklers installation  titled simply 49  is meant to reflect the delicate juxtaposition this weekend has come to represent.



The layered cascade of ribbons that make up Megan Gecklers "49" installation at the Human Rights Campaign offices at 17th Street and Rhode Island Avenue Northwest. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

On Friday, Washington officially kicks off its 42nd annual Capital Pride festival, a vibrant and storied celebration of the LGBTQ community. And Monday marks the first anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in American history  a horror that unfolded in a popular Florida gay bar that had been a cherished place of safety and acceptance for a marginalized community.

[Watch these 49 celebrities pay powerful tribute to victims of the Orlando shooting]

In the days after the shooting, the staff of the Human Rights Campaign  the nations largest civil rights organization advocating for LGBTQ equality  commemorated the victims by posting their large-scale portraits in the buildings floor-to-ceiling windows along 17th Street Northwest. It became a vigil spot where visitors took photographs, wept and left red Post-it notes scrawled with lines of poetry, prayers and promises on a large whiteboard outside the building:

Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love.

Porque amor queer es amor valiente.

I refuse to be afraid.

This year, amid a political climate that feels particularly fraught for the LGBTQ community  President Trump was notably silent when Pride month began on June 1, breaking with President Barack Obamas tradition of issuing a formal proclamation  the advocacy group resolved to do something bold. It contracted with Geckler, a Los Angeles-based artist known for her complex, large-scale installations composed of colorful strips of construction tape.

I want this to be a beacon of strength and hope, Geckler said. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

We have Pride, and then we have the anniversary of this horrific event, so balancing those two concepts and those two aesthetics was the really big challenge, Geckler said. I want this to be a beacon of strength and hope.

HRC President Chad Griffin came to check on the installations progress on Wednesday afternoon.

Artists have always been at the forefront of our movement, and often theyve been the leaders, he told Geckler. What I hope, in part, this will do  in addition to being a celebration and a memorial  is inspire other artists.

The HRC headquarters will be open for visitors during Capital Pride, with an exhibit on hate crimes, a rainbow-hued backdrop to pose for Instagram portraits, and stations where people can send Love Trumps Hate postcards to the president, petition their elected leaders or write handwritten messages that will be tied to a lattice panel on the grounds with brightly colored ribbon.

At a twilight ceremony Friday, the names of the Pulse victims will be read aloud: Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, the cancer survivor who died shielding her son from a hailstorm of bullets on a crowded dance floor; Akyra Murray, the 18-year-old star student who became the youngest victim of the shooting; Christopher Drew Leinonen and his boyfriend, Juan Ramon Guerrero, who shared a pure, unconditional love, as one of their friends said at Leinonens funeral. And so many others.

[Gay Orlando grapples with first Saturday after Pulse: I feel like I have to be out]

The vivid installation will transform into a more solemn memorial at dusk, Geckler explained  as darkness dims the bright rainbow panels, soft lights will illuminate the white strips, setting the piece aglow from within. The crowds gathered outside will watch and remember in a moment of silence.

Megan Gecklers 49 is on display through June at the Human Rights Campaign at 17th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW.
There was some kind of diabolical kismet at work this week when, in between the release of former FBI director James Comeys six-page written testimony recounting his tense encounters with President Trump and his actual appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Oliver Stones upcoming documentary The Putin Interviews, landed in my inbox.

Im old enough to remember a time when the prospect of Stone, as rightfully revered for his command of film language and emotionally immersive storytelling as he is reviled for historical revisionism and provocation, going toe-to-toe with the Russian leader would have been considered a cant-miss cinematic event. Who better than Stone, whose films have so boldly challenged American military hegemony, capitalist greed and shadowy abuses of power, to bring his singular brand of the American paranoid style to bear on the opaque authoritarian leader of a Russian government that itself stands accused of corruption, bellicose adventurism and, most recently, cyberwarfare on a global scale?

But what might have once promised to be an explosive on-screen matching-of-wits instead arrives just in time to be colossally irrelevant: an erstwhile scoop made instantly negligible by the breaking news its been engulfed by, and the imaginative and ideological limits of its director.

Showtime, the cable network that will begin showing The Putin Interviews on Monday, only made two episodes of the four-hour series available for viewing; perhaps Stone ends with some bona fide confrontational bombshells. But that prospect seems dim, judging from the first two installments, in which Stone never brings up Russias involvement in Syria, media censorship in Russia or the mysterious murders of dissidents and journalists. After a benign review of Putins political career, he engages the poker-faced leader in a collection of interviews  which started in 2015 and continued through February of this year  that dont challenge Putin but allow him to have his say, whether hes calling for the dissolution of NATO, portraying Russia as a nascent but robust democracy, accusing the United States of aiding terrorists in the Caucasus and, in the second episodes breathtaking final moment, stating that Russia never interferes within the domestic affairs of other countries.

That last whopper  which Stone seems to accept at face value  strikes a particularly preposterous note coming in the light of Comey offering persuasive testimony that Russia indeed did hack the U.S. election last year. There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever, he told the committee in a Thursday hearing that spanned 2 hours. The Russians interfered in our election during the 2016 cycle. They did it with purpose. They did it with sophistication. They did it with overwhelming technical efforts.

That moment and many others made for far more riveting cinema than the alternately static and stagy visual and narrative design of The Putin Interviews, which consists mostly of talking-head shots of Stone lobbing softballs (Do you ever have a bad day?) and Putin dutifully, dispassionately hitting them back. Despite Showtimes best efforts to hype Stones access, the film feels startlingly inert, not only compared with the filmmakers better work (including last years Snowden) but also to the screenplay-like world-building of Comeys written testimony, written with such dramatic thrust and detail that it couldnt help but conjure a taut political thriller in the imagination of anyone who read it.

To be fair: Theres a useful, even necessary place for revisionism in the cinematic canon. As Stone himself proved with JFK, a brazen, self-consciously stylized reframing of consensus history can be great art even at its most outrageous, inviting viewers to question official verities and their own most precious assumptions. And documentary filmmakers have allowed subjects to run the table before with riveting results, most notably in The Fog of War, when Errol Morris filmed former defense secretary Robert McNamara engaging in a rambling, unintentionally revealing recollection of how he prosecuted the Vietnam War. Even in South of the Border, Stones admiring portrait of South American leaders opposing U.S. neo-liberal economic policies, his credulity made room for genuinely enlightening observations about the vexed legacies of Western colonialism and economic exploitation.

Early in The Putin Interviews, Stone announces there will be no rules during their times together. But it becomes clear that Putin didnt see the need for any, as the filmmaker continually declines to probe or push back on even the most dubious of his subjects assertions. As this column was being written, Comey was conducting classified testimony before his congressional interlocutors, with the various investigations of Russian malfeasance continuing apace. And The Putin Interviews, which in tougher hands might have provided valuable insights alongside those processes, instead has relegated itself to the sidelines. What might have been the cinematic event of its time has been quickly outpaced by time and events themselves.

The Putin Interviews airs in one-hour installments Monday-Thursday at 9 p.m. on Showtime.
THE DISTRICT

Fire death of man, 66,

is ruled a homicide

The D.C. medical examiners office has ruled the death of a 66-year-old man a homicide, months after the man was found dead in a Northeast apartment fire that authorities said was intentionally set.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Awlachew Ayele of Northeast Washington died of smoke and soot inhalation in addition to other significant conditions, namely multiple blunt-force injuries, according to a police statement.

 Clarence Williams

MARYLAND

County council leader

enters executive race

Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner on Wednesday became the third council incumbent to enter the 2018 county executives race. Berliner, 66, said he would work to bridge disparities between the east and west regions of the county and expand access to mass transit, education and economic opportunity in Marylands most populous jurisdiction.

Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda) said Wednesday that he would not participate in the countys new taxpayer-funded campaign finance system. Council members Marc Elrich (D-At Large) and George Leventhal (D-At Large) are also running in next Junes Democratic primary, and will seek public matching funds.

 Bill Turque

Man is charged in

death of teenager

A man has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a teenager last week in Prince Georges County, police said Thursday.

Officers responded on the evening of June 1 to a report of a shooting in the 1800 block of Fox Street in Adelphi. Officers found William Canales, 19, of Adelphi with a gunshot wound, Prince Georges police said in a statement. He later died at a hospital.

Rolando Juarez-Vasquez, 22, of Langley Park was arrested Wednesday on a charge of second-degree murder. Police say the suspect was involved in a dispute over a woman.

 Justin Wm. Moyer

VIRGINIA

3-year-old boy dies

in fall from window

A 3-year-old boy died after he fell from an upstairs window at a home in Falls Church.

The incident happened about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday when the boy was playing in an upstairs room. Police in Fairfax County said a window was open and a screen was in place, but the child leaned on the screen and it buckled, causing him to fall through it.

Officials said they believe the death was an accident. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the exact cause and manner of death, police said.

 Dana Hedgpeth

Teen says he shot,

injured cabdriver

A teenager admitted Thursday that he shot and nearly killed a cabdriver last year in an attempted robbery.

Troy Vann, 17, of Fairfax County pleaded guilty in Alexandria Circuit Court to two felonies and a misdemeanor connected with the attack on Izedin Ahmed, 48.

On Sept. 22, at Duke Street and Holmes Run, Vann got into Ahmeds cab and demanded money. He then shot Ahmed several times, prosecutors said, and Ahmed almost died.
When Fatmata Mansaray and Hajah Bah cross the stage Saturday for their high school graduation, they plan to do so proudly wearing headscarves of black and gold tucked beneath their graduation caps. Those are the Freedom High colors.

But last month their hijabs drew sharp questions from administrators at the Northern Virginia school  in what the two observant Muslims described as an embarrassing level of scrutiny. School officials threatened them with discipline, the students said, demanding that they remove the scarves and pressing them to get permission slips from their parents to prove they were Muslim. The young women, both 18, said the principal suggested the scarves might simply be a cover for an unfinished hairdo.

Mansaray said an assistant principal threatened to write her up for being disrespectful when she explained they were wearing hijab for a religious observance.

I interjected, Its religious. Were fasting for Ramadan. You guys are constantly harassing us,  Mansaray recalled.

Mansarays account of her discussions with administrators at the Prince William County school, which she shared on Twitter on June 1, drew condemnation from civil rights activists and, ultimately, apologies from school officials. The schools handbook was amended to ensure that principals know students need not prove their religion to wear hijabs.

County Schools Superintendent Steven Walts, along with Freedom High Principal Inez Bryant and Assistant Principal Christi Feemster, have personally apologized to the pair and their parents, the students said. Walts remained contrite at a school board meeting this week, when he reaffirmed that the district  one of the states most diverse  welcomes all religions.

We have fixed this issue and we have made it crystal clear throughout our school division that if you are wearing something that has to do with your religious beliefs, we certainly accept that and honor you for your religious beliefs, Walts said Wednesday.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned how administrators treated the students, saying officials should receive training in religious-freedom issues.

Asking the women for permission slips is a very ignorant request and also unconstitutional, said Debra Katz, a D.C.-based civil rights attorney. The suggestion that somehow you have to prove the sincerity of your religious background or belief is completely inappropriate.

After Mansarays tweet, school officials sought to quickly rectify the policy that led Freedom High administrators to press the students for permission slips. Schools spokesman Phil Kavits said the districts code of behavior generally prohibits hats and other head coverings, except those worn for religious reasons. Freedom Highs student handbook was worded differently. It said the exception was only for documented religious reasons. Kavits said officials revised the schools handbook to remove that word, and took steps to ensure principals countywide know that no student needs to prove their religion to wear a head covering.

Feemster did not respond to a phone call seeking comment. Bryant referred questions about the incident to the districts communications staff, who said Walts spoke on behalf of the administrators.

Like many women in her family, Mansaray said she wears a headscarf sporadically. But covers her head consistently during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Nearly every time she wore the scarf in the past school year, she said, administrators told her to remove it, sometimes questioning its purpose. When she protested that she wore it for religious reasons, she said, they frequently told her she needed a note.

In January, Mansaray said, Bryant approached her in front of the cafeteria and told her she needed permission to wear the headscarf. That happened within earshot of her peers.

Thats when I got a note, because I was just so embarrassed, Mansaray said. After her mother wrote a note, another assistant principal, Robert Schraml, then drafted a corroborating one which she was required to carry in case she was stopped. The letter read: Fatmata Mansaray is authorized to wear a head wrap (hijab) in school as she is wearing it for religious reasons. Schraml did not return a phone call for comment.

Bah said she began wearing the headscarf at the end of May in observance of Ramadan, which began May 26. Feemster approached her early in the week, Bah said, telling her she needed a note to wear the scarf. Feemster approached her again June 1 in an outdoor courtyard at the school, Bah said, threatening to send her home if she did not remove her head covering.

At that point, Mansaray said she jumped in to defend Bah, explaining to the administrator that they were wearing hijabs for Ramadan. The two students said Feemster summoned a security guard and sent them to the main office, where she threatened to write the pair up for being disrespectful.

Im like, Why do I need a note for my religion?  Bah said. Why should you need to prove your religion?

Mansaray and Bah said Bryant, the principal, joined the meeting, explaining that she required the notes because some women wrapped their hair simply because they had not finished fixing it.

She said, Some of you women come into school with your head wrapped because you havent finished taking your tracks out and your edges arent laid,  Mansaray recalled.

Both were let go without being disciplined, but left the school in tears. Mansaray posted information about her encounters with administrators on Snapchat and Twitter. Classmates rallied around a hashtag on social media  #justice4hijabis  and organized a protest. One day last week, Mansaray said, about 40 non-Muslim classmates covered their heads in solidarity, including a couple of boys.
Maryland Del. Christian J. Miele (R) speaks as Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and Mieles wife listen at the lawmakers campaign kickoff event on June 8. (Josh Hicks/The Washington Post)

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has made his first endorsement of the 2018 election, backing a young Baltimore County lawmaker for one of six state Senate seats his party is targeting in an effort to break the Democratic supermajority in that chamber.

Hogan announced his support for Del. Christian J. Miele (R) at a campaign kickoff event Thursday night, helping the candidate raise at least $34,000 to challenge Sen. Katherine A. Klausmeier (D-Baltimore County) in the eastern part of the county. Mieles campaign had about $45,000 cash on hand before the rally.

Were just getting started on our effort to turn Maryland around and change Maryland for the better, but I cant do it without good members of the Senate like the gentleman were here to support, the popular first-term governor said. Theres no question in my mind that he will do an excellent job as your next senator.

Hogan also used the occasion to publicly reveal the sex of the baby that the 36-year-old lawmaker and his wife are expecting later this year, tearing open a bag of blue balloons to indicate that the child will be a boy.

Miele, one of two sons of an Italian American father, said hes happy someone will be able to carry on his familys name. Miele lives on! he yelled to supporters.

Hogan is hoping Miele can take over a seat in a critical battleground district, potentially expanding the governors influence over negotiations in the legislature, where Democrats hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers.

Klausmeiers district is part of the state Republican Partys Drive for Five, an effort to flip enough Senate seats next year to deny Democrats the 29 votes they need in that chamber to override vetoes.

This is not the first time theyve targeted me, she said after visiting an elementary school with other members of her districts delegation on Friday. I just have to keep doing what I do. I try to be in as many places as I can be and help as many people as I can.

The senator, a four-term incumbent serving as her chambers deputy majority leader, won reelection in 2014 with 61 percent of the vote. She also served two terms in the House of Delegates.

But Hogan won 68 percent in her district, and his statewide approval rating was 65 percent in March. Miele is banking in part on being able to ride those coattails.

The first-term lawmaker, who serves on the House Health and Government Operations Committee, said his focus in the Senate would be helping small businesses, providing tax relief for seniors, bolstering public safety, securing state funding for new schools in the county and ending partisan gerrymandering of the states voting map.

Im firmly committed to being one of you and never being one of them, he said, referring to the political establishment in Annapolis.

More than 300 people attended the event at a small reception hall in Nottingham, with most paying $50 for general admission and between $100 and $1,000 for special tickets.

Angie Thuman, a 38-year-old Parkville resident who does administrative work for a bank, said Miele helped secure state funding to renovate a park in her neighborhood. She and her husband, who were among the constituents Miele invited to attend the kickoff at no charge, want him to push for a new high school in the district.

He came into our community and literally went door to door meeting people, she said. He won me over with his personality and his willingness just to do for people. Hes a listener, and then he goes out and makes it happen.

Republican leaders see a potential star in Miele, whose pastor helped introduce him at the event. Many describe him as a moderate lawmaker who is willing to work across the aisle with Democrats  as opposed to more hard-line Republicans such as Del. Patrick L. McDonough (R-Baltimore County).

Hes the kind of thing were looking for in a candidate as Republicans, said Tim Robinson, president of the Reagan Republican Club of Baltimore County. We have to speak to the majority of Maryland voters, who are socially moderate and fiscally conservative.

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Del. Christian J. Miele is the only son of an Italian American father. He is one of two sons.
Michael AHearn, the chief architect and director of an intentional space collision of a comet and spacecraft to advance the eternal human search for the secrets of the solar system, died May 29 at his home in University Park, Md. He was 76.

The cause was pancreatic cancer, said his wife, Maxine AHearn.

An astronomer and professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, Dr. AHearn was the chief scientist for the NASA mission known as Deep Impact, in which an impactor spacecraft was launched directly into the path of a speeding comet.

Nothing like it had ever been attempted before, Jim Green, NASAs director of planetary science, said in an interview. What Dr. AHearn was proposing, Green said, was to blow a hole in the comet to see what was inside.

At 1:52 a.m. on July 4, 2005, the 23,000 mph collision occurred 83 million miles from Earth. It made headlines and led news broadcasts around the world. To achieve the symbolic Fourth of July date, the spacecraft had been launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 12, 2005.

Dr. A'Hearn at a blackboard. (Courtesy of University of Maryland)

The machinery consisted of two parts: a flyby craft equipped with sophisticated recording equipment, and a detachable impactor, an 820-pound, refrigerator-size craft for the comet to strike. The comet, known as Tempel 1, was about 9 miles long and 3.7 miles wide and moved around the Sun in a 5 -year elliptical orbit between Jupiter and Mars.

There was a blinding shower of light and a giant plume of gas and icy debris when the comet and the impactor spacecraft collided with the force of what was said to have been the equivalent of 4 tons of dynamite.

Scientists had long believed that comets contain remnants of matter left over from the formation of the solar system. They wanted to look inside Tempel 1 to see if an interior view might yield more information.

From the Tempel 1 collision and later flyby observations of other comets, the scientific community gained a complete rethinking of our understanding of the formation of comets and of how they work, Dr. AHearn said in a 2013 announcement of the formal end of the Deep Impact mission.

These small, icy remnants of the formation of our solar system are much more varied, both one from another and even from one part to another of a single comet, than we ever had anticipated, he said.

Michael Francis AHearn was born in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 17, 1940, and grew up in Boston. He graduated from Boston College and then received a doctorate in astronomy from the University of Wisconsin in 1966. That year he joined the faculty at the University of Maryland. In 2000, he was named a distinguished university professor. He took emeritus status in 2011 but had continued doing research at the university.

Survivors include his wife, Maxine Ramold AHearn, whom he married in 1963, of University Park; three sons, Brian J. AHearn of Oxford, England, Kevin P. AHearn of Vienna, Va., and Patrick N. AHearn of Seattle; and five grandchildren.

Dr. A'Hearn speaks to the media with an image, behind him, of the collision of the Deep Impact impactor and the Tempel 1 comet. (Brendan McDermid/European Pressphoto AGency)

Outside the lab and classroom, Dr. AHearn was an avid sailor. He told friends that if he had not become an astronomer, he would most liked to have been a ships captain. He once combined his vocation and avocation by teaching a course on navigation by the stars. He favored casual dress, and it was sometimes said that for him, formal attire meant shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

On Monday, he was honored posthumously with NASAs Exceptional Public Service Medal.

After the collision with Tempel 1, the Deep Impact flyby craft continued moving through space. In November 2010 and again in January 2012 it passed close enough to other astronomical bodies to record valuable scientific data.

Scientists at NASA and at the University of Maryland remained in touch with the craft and tracked its movements. But in August 2013, they lost contact, never to regain it. They formally ended the mission a month later.

As for the comet Tempel 1, it continues on its elliptical orbit as if little or nothing ever happened.
Two men were arrested Thursday in connection with a shooting last week in Prince Georges County, authorities said.

At about 10:50 p.m. June 2, officers responded to the 8200 block of 14th Avenue in Langley Park for a reported shooting, the Prince Georges County Police Department said in a statement. They found Carlos Sanchez-Cabrera, 22, of Langley Park with gunshot wounds. He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the statement said.

Police arrested Oscar Choc, 27, and Julio Murillo, 34, both of Langley Park, according to the statement. Both were charged with first- and second-degree murder in the shooting, which was related to an ongoing dispute, and they were held without bond, police said.

Police ask that anyone with information about the shooting contact them at 301-772-4925.
Concerned that its family-friendly beaches would become a destination for bare-breasted sunbathers this summer, the Ocean City Council held an emergency meeting Saturday to pass a public nudity ban.

We will not allow women to be topless on our beach or on any public property within city limits, Mayor Rick Meehan said on his Facebook page after the council unanimously approved the ordinance.

Topless sunbathing has never been a feature of Marylands popular vacation spot. But it suddenly became an issue when authorities in Ocean City directed the beach patrol not to confront bare-chested women or ask them to cover up.

The edict was the result of a legal challenge filed by a beachgoer. She argued that if men can go sans tops, then women can, too.

The newly approved ordinance makes public nudity a municipal infraction punishable by a fine of $1,000 and once again enforceable by the local beach patrol. A ruling by the Maryland Attorney Generals Office on the states indecent-exposure laws is still pending.

Chelsea Covington, a self-described topfreedom advocate who argued that Maryland law allows women to go bare-chested in public, could not be reached immediately on Saturday. But in a recent interview she said she was advocating for equality under the law.

Its about equality, its about positivity, and its against body shaming and the forced sexualization of the female form, she said.

The legal dust-up has rankled the resort town along the Eastern Shore. Jessica Waters, a spokeswoman for the city, said the council and the mayor wanted to provide clarity and to respond to a wave of concern from visitors that Ocean City would become a topless beach.

We have thousands of families that visit Ocean City each year, and we take very seriously the responsibility of providing an atmosphere where they feel that they can bring their children to relax and enjoy the beach and boardwalk without exposure to any female toplessness.

Maryland law is not entirely clear when it comes to the question of whether women are expressly prohibited from baring their breasts in public.

Beach patrol employees in Ocean City had been directed to document complaints about topless bathers by filling out minor incident forms, but were specifically told not to approach the topless woman, even if requested to do so by the complainant or other beach patrons.

It is not just Ocean City where the topless issue is kicking up sand.

Legal challenges to local policies are percolating through courts nationwide, with varying results.

Marylands criminal code addressing indecent exposure says only that a person convicted of indecent exposure is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both. But the code does not clearly say being a woman with a bare chest is indecent, Covington said, and common law surrounding indecent exposure typically references the display of genitals.

Covington, who runs a blog called Breasts Are Healthy, wrote her legal argument after asking police and city officials about two years ago for clarity and training that would allow women to sunbathe topless without interference. She argued that prohibiting women but not men from doing so violates equal protection laws.

We need some official declaration so that people arent harassed and so the police know what to do, said Covington, 29. Officers can only do what theyre trained, and if they arent given proper training, they could make false arrests or false fines.

Raquel Coombs, a spokeswoman for Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D), said the office was asked by the Worcester County states attorney, Beau Oglesby, to clarify Maryland law in a formal opinion.

We will be drafting one, and I expect it to be released soon, Coombs said Thursday.

Female breast baring has caught the attention of courts across the country.

In February, a federal judge in Colorado blocked the city of Fort Collins from enforcing its ordinance that prohibits women, but not men, from exposing their chests in public.

The policy, the judge found, violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment that generally prohibits the government from discriminating between the sexes. The city has appealed the decision in the case, which was brought by Free the Nipple, a gender-equity advocacy group.

In Illinois, however, a federal judge last year dismissed a lawsuit against Chicago filed after police charged a topless protester with indecent exposure. The woman was participating in a GoTopless Day event organized by a nonprofit group that advocates for the right of women to appear bare-chested in public, and she said the citys policy violated her freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment. In dismissing the case, the judge noted that the Supreme Court has held that public nudity is not inherently expressive.

But it is rarely an issue and typically occurs among foreign visitors who are more accustomed to nude beaches, said Lindsay Richard, a spokeswoman for the Ocean City Police Department. In most cases, people put their tops back on when asked, she said. Were very much looking forward to more clarity on the indecent-exposure law from the Maryland Attorney Generals Office just so our officers have a more clear and concise direction on how to move forward with certain incidents.
A U.S. Agency for International Development deputy director pleaded guilty Friday to steering a $22,480 consultant contract to a close friend and to falsely stating to investigators that she had repaid a $7,100 loan from the friend, prosecutors said.

BethAnne Moskov, 53, of Silver Spring, faces up to a year and a day in prison at sentencing Aug. 28 before U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Casey Cooper of the District under a nonbinding plea deal.

By engaging in cronyism and contract-steering, this defendant chose to reward a friend with federal money instead of actively seeking the most qualified and cost-effective bidder, U.S. attorney Channing D. Phillips of the District said in a statement.

Moskov was deputy director for the USAID office of health, infectious disease and nutrition from 2012 to 2016 when she did the transaction with the unnamed friend, a travel partner and man of honor at her wedding, according to court filings.

Prosecutors say she gave the friend internal government templates needed for the consultant contract and in an email said we need to jump thru a few hoops and will go through the motions but that the friend would be selected.
A small fire from a playground bench caused minor damage to the exterior of Minor Elementary School. No injuries were reported. (Vito Maggiolo/D.C. Fire and EMS Department)

D.C. fire officials are investigating the cause of a small fire that burned on the playground of Miner Elementary School in Northeast Thursday evening.

Firefighters from Engine Co. 10 quickly extinguished a burning bench, which was ablaze next to the brick exterior wall of the school, located near 15th and F streets about 8 p.m., said Vito Maggiolo, a fire department spokesman. No injuries were reported.

This bench was burned outside a District Elementary school Thursday evening and threatened to damage the school, officials said. (Vito Maggiolo/D.C. Fire and EMS Department)

Maggiolo said the fire threatened the schools wall as heat melted and cracked a first-floor window, and smoke damage reached the second floor.

It was not immediately clear how the bench ignited.
For nearly five years, James Spellman has been fighting with D.C. courts to get his same-sex marriage affirmed by the court as part of a dispute over his deceased partners estate. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

They met working out at the Rhode Island Avenue YMCA downtown in 1993. James Spellman, a financial services consultant, saw Michael Kelly and invited him for coffee. By the next year, their friendship had grown into a romance.

Kelly moved into Spellmans spacious three-story rowhouse just off Logan Circle and, for nearly 19 years, they lived as a couple. They vacationed together at Kellys house in Rehoboth Beach, Del. They hosted parties together, accompanied each other to family events and jointly sent out hundreds of Christmas cards each year.

After Kellys death from cancer in 2013, the nature of their relationship became the subject of a long-running court case. Kelly, a mortgage banker, had written a will before he met Spellman, leaving his nearly $1 million estate to his four siblings. Spellman, arguing that he had spousal rights to the estate, petitioned the court to recognize his partnership with Kelly as a common-law marriage.

Last month, after Kellys siblings dropped their opposition, a D.C. Superior Court judge ruled that Spellman and Kelly had been legally married.

I wanted my rights respected in the estate, Spellman, 59, said recently from his Northwest Washington home. I had to fight for 20 years of my life. This case was about honoring and respecting our relationship.

A photograph of Michael Kelly (left) and James Spellman. (FAMILY PHOTO)

[The changing landscape of same-sex marriage]

The case is among the first involving the validation of common-law same-sex marriage, legal experts said.

There hasnt been a case like this before, said Spellmans attorney, Ugo Colella. We had to prove they, like any couple, even a homosexual couple, are the same. They are not different from heterosexual couples.

Eileen Boland, Kellys sister, said that for the siblings, the court battle was about what they think their brother wanted: to use his estate to help take care of her, their other siblings and their children.

This is not one of those cases when someone dies, family members come out of the woodwork seeking money, she said.

Colella said the case should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone  in a marriage, common-law marriage or even single  who doesnt have a will or any legal document at the time of their death. In this case, Spellman unwittingly emerged as an advocate for same-sex common-law marriages.

At the heart of the issue was that Kelly prepared his last will and testament in 1990 and did not update it. He filed it in Delaware, where he lived at the time and which, unlike the District, does not recognize common-law marriage but does recognize same-sex marriage.

The way Spellman saw it, it was clear to those around them that he and Kelly considered themselves married. Sitting near a dining room table stacked with books and papers, Spellman jokingly refers to himself as the Oscar Madison of The Odd Couple while Kelly, who liked things neat and in order, was the Felix Unger.

Everyone knew we were a couple. Michaels family knew we were a committed, married couple, Spellman said.

Kellys family argued that Spellman wasnt in a close enough relationship with their brother to qualify as a widower. Kellys brother-in-law was named executor and initially denied Spellmans claim to the estate. Spellman received an email from Kellys executor that said, You are not recognized as a spouse.

Boland said her brother never referred to Spellman as his husband or spouse.

I never heard my brother say he was married. Ever, she said. Boland referred to her brothers Facebook profile, where he listed himself as in a relationship but never married, she said. She noted that her brothers monthly retirement statements until his death listed his siblings as his beneficiaries, not Spellman.

This is not about being against homosexuals or gay marriage, she said. We are far from that. We are just trying to honor my brothers wishes upon his death.

As part of their claim, the Bolands argued that the District had no jurisdiction in the case and that the case should be settled only by a court in Delaware, because that is where the will was filed. In 2014, a D.C. Superior Court judge agreed with the Bolands and determined that the District did not have jurisdiction over the case.

But last year, the D.C. Court of Appeals overturned that decision and determined that Kelly was indeed a resident of the District based on his job in the city, a second home he bought in Washington and the house he shared with Spellman for 19 years. The court reinstated Spellmans lawsuit.

This year, Kellys family agreed to settle with Spellman. That led to the judges ruling last month confirming Spellman and Kelly as legally married.

We just couldnt afford the legal bills to keep going. Its been difficult, Boland said.

As part of the settlement, the Bolands agreed to transfer $625,000 to Spellman and to allow Spellman to be buried with Kellys remains and his name added to the plot deed upon his death.

Spellman and Boland do agree on one thing: The past four years have taken a toll on them.

This has been a very hard and long battle that leaves you with open sores that are going to take time to heal, Spellman said. But I have a wonderful support network. I will be fine.
One person was stabbed to death in Southeast Washington and several others were shot or stabbed Thursday night and early Friday in several areas around the District, according to police.

The violence appeared scattered and unrelated, according to authorities, and occurred over more than a 12-hour stretch from about 6:45 p.m. Thursday to 11 a.m. Friday.

The fatal stabbing occurred about 1:30 a.m. in the 800 block of Chesapeake Street SE, near Washington Highlands. Police said Dominic Brooks, 29, of Southeast was attacked and stabbed in the chest in front of a house.

Brooks died at a hospital, police said. No arrests have been made.

The violence began about 6:45 p.m. in the 2300 block of Alabama Avenue SE, just off Savannah Place. Police initially said three people had been shot but a report lists two victims. Both told police they heard gunshots and ran but were struck. Their injuries were described as not life-threatening.

About 8:10 p.m., police said, a woman was stabbed in the abdomen in the 1300 block of Congress Street SE. No arrests were made, and police did not describe a motive. The woman is expected to survive, police said.

Three people were shot about 12:20 a.m. Friday in the 1500 block of F Street NE, near Miner Elementary School and three blocks south of the interchange of H Street, Bladensburg Road, Florida Avenue, Maryland Avenue and Benning Road.

A police report says the victims had been in an alley when a gunman opened fire, striking one person in the lower back, another in the hip and a third in the arm. All injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening.

About 1:20 a.m., police said a woman was stabbed during a fight that spilled from a nightclub in the 1200 block of U Street NW. About 1:35 p.m., police said a man was shot in the shoulder during a robbery attempt in the 5200 block of Clay Street NE.

And about 10:50 a.m., there was a shooting reported in the 2300 block of Hartford Street SE, where a man suffering from a gunshot wound was found conscious and breathing and a woman suffering from a graze wound was found conscious and breathing.


Abu Khattala, photographed shortly after his apprehension by U.S. Special Operations forces near a villa south of Benghazi, Libya, on the evening of June 15, 2014. (U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia)

Under a nearly full moon, a small boat pulled away from the Libyan coastline.

A bearded man sat on board, masked, handcuffed and gagged until out of shouting range of land. After 20 minutes, armed guards lowered him into a shallow pit in the deck of a second vessel to guard against his falling overboard on the final choppy, 100-minute sprint to their destination: a U.S. warship waiting in the Mediterranean Sea.

There, Ahmed Abu Khattala began a 13-day trip crossing the Atlantic Ocean that would end in a U.S. courtroom.

The suspected ringleader of the Benghazi terrorist attacks was taken to a specially constructed brig aboard the USS New York on June 16, 2014, at 4:19 a.m. Libya time, according to the log for the ships detention center.

Interrogations began four minutes later, at 4:23 a.m.

The daily detention log showing first time in cell. (U.S. Attorneys Office for the District)

The events surrounding the capture of Abu Khattala, accused as the mastermind of the lethal attacks in Benghazi that killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, are emerging with rare detail in testimony and records in an ongoing federal court case in Washington.

Abu Khattalas lawyers want his statements to FBI investigators thrown out, arguing that his capture and detention in a windowless room below deck were coercive and render meaningless the many waivers he signed giving up his right to an attorney and his right to not incriminate himself.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder.

Prosecutors contend that Abu Khattala never explicitly asked for a lawyer and implicated himself as a conspirator when he cooperated.

The case could mark the first time a federal judge rules on the constitutionality of interrogation practices developed in recent years for terrorism suspects captured overseas.

The judges scrutiny will go to the heart of a question that has not been settled since the rise of the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: Can the government successfully flip a legal switch during interrogations and move from military tactics to the safeguards needed for a speedy and fair trial in civilian court?

The case also arises as the Trump administration pledges to step up actions against foreign terrorists, including Islamic State fighters, raising the prospect that a ruling on Abu Khattalas questioning could affect the handling of future detainee issues.

U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Casey Cooper is due to rule on Abu Khattalas statements before the Libyans trial, scheduled for September.

[U.S. captured Benghazi suspect in secret raid]

Brian Egan, a senior White House and State Department legal adviser during the Obama administration, called the Abu Khattala matter a real test case in which the government consciously designed the capture and interrogation around being able to withstand legal challenges.

Abu Khattala, who is being held in the Alexandria, Va., city jail, has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges in the Sept. 11 and 12, 2012, attacks in Benghazi.

The final plans for Abu Khattalas capture had been set for nearly a year, according to a timeline described in court by an FBI agent who was told in late 2013 to get ready to join what became an eight-man, military-led capture team that grabbed Abu Khattala from his southern Benghazi villa.

The agent, who testified only under the last name Johnson, said the team expected violent resistance from Abu Khattala, an auto mechanic nearly 6 feet tall and 230 pounds who was known to carry a handgun and possibly a grenade.

File photo of the USS New York in the Hudson River. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the District)

They seized him at about midnight June 16 in Libya in a struggle that left him with a two-inch cut to his head and evidence of blows around his eyes and a wrist.

About three hours later, after rides in small boats that were special, somewhat expensive and delicate, a crane hoisted Abu Khattala onto the warship, still shackled, masked and with headphones that cut sounds.

The mask came off in the detention center, a row of four identical 8-by-7-foot cells plus a latrine linked by a corridor. A plywood barrier and black, noise-blocking tarp encased the detention center to hide tipoffs that the holding cells were on a ship.

Army guards in camouflage uniforms stripped of name tapes and identifying patches told Abu Khattala that he could address them with only two words  bathroom or water, said Army Staff Sgt. Dylan Peterson, the sergeant of the guard.

Abu Khattala was read and shown a copy of his Geneva Conventions rights in English and Arabic and was seen by an Army doctor who was part of the mission, government witnesses said. They said he was told to report any abuse and directed to change into an orange shirt and pants and sneakers.

He was given a Koran and a blanket and could sit or sleep on a bare floor. And he was told that a rough, hand-drawn compass on the wall pointed to Mecca for his prayers.

He was masked for any movement outside the cell, even to the latrine or an adjacent room, so he could not see guards faces.

And in his cell, the lights were on round-the-clock, the room was a steady 72 degrees, and he was roused or moved at least every two hours, FBI and Army witnesses testified. The detention rooms were monitored by closed-circuit television, but video was not recorded, the FBI said.

[Meet Ahmed Abu Khattala, an alleged ringleader of the Benghazi attack]



Abu Khattala was held in an 8-by-7-foot ventilated cell between interviews, lighted around the clock at a controlled temperature of about 72 degrees, and subject to checks every two hours. For the first 3 days, the cell contained a Koran, a blanket and a box to keep the objects off the floor. (U.S. Attorneys Office for the District)

Upon reaching the USS New York, Abu Khattala was given an orange detention suit in this cell, checked by a military doctor, and told to provide DNA and biometric samples. Abu Khattala was apprehended by U.S. Special Operations forces near a villa south of Benghazi, Libya, during the evening of June 15, 2014. (U.S. Attorneys Office for the District)

His questioning was done in two phases, the government said in court.

For 26 hours over three days, a High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group of military, intelligence and law enforcement officials questioned him for intelligence-gathering purposes.

How that work was done was classified and discussed in a closed courtroom.

As the USS New York exited the Mediterranean near the Strait of Gibraltar, the intelligence-gathering unit left the ship by plane. About the same time, a second team of FBI investigators flew in.

The switch was meant to preserve the ability of the incoming clean team to collect evidence for civilian court without a taint from the intelligence unit.

The second FBI team did not meet with the first team or discuss its work, and a shipwide ban on Skype and video-conferencing took effect, FBI counterterrorism official C. Bryan Paarmann testified. Members of the second team were directed to limit email, and they and their New York field office were cut off from email circulation of FBI intelligence reports, he said.

The changeover was made obvious to Abu Khattala, according to the FBIs lead Benghazi agent, Michael M. Clarke.



With the arrival of a clean team to question him and gather the evidence for a criminal trial, Abu Khattalas living quarters were provided with a mattress, a prayer rug, a sweatshirt, a Koran and writing materials, prosecutors said. (U.S. Attorneys Office for the District)

For two days, Abu Khattala faced no questioners, Clarke said in court, and his living conditions improved: He got a mattress, pillow, prayer rug and writing materials. He went from two meals a day to three, was allowed to shower and got a Champion tracksuit as a change of clothes.

[Accused Benghazi ringleader Abu Khattala challenges U.S. evidence]

His interview sessions went on for another 28 hours but in shorter installments, and he received small items: a sweatshirt on June 21 when he said he was cold, a watch from the FBI interpreter on June 22 when he said he did not know the time of day for prayer.

Clarke testified that Abu Khattala was told of the criminal investigation into the Benghazi attacks and that he was being taken to the United States. He was told that the new FBI team was starting afresh and knew no specifics of his earlier interrogation, Clarke said. And Abu Khattala signed forms waiving his constitutional rights on each day of questioning, six in all, testimony showed.

The interview room used by the first team of intelligence investigators. Video cameras sent a live feed to shipboard monitors but did not record. (Interview room/U.S. Attorneys Office for the District)

The two-step process was not done to undermine Abu Khattalas constitutional rights, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Crabb argued in court Tuesday, but instead was employed for legal, intelligence purposes [after] one of the most infamous terrorist attacks in recent history.

Defense lawyers contend that U.S. authorities were deliberate when they planned the Abu Khattala operation as a slow-boat procedure to allow nearly two weeks of continuous, unrecorded interrogation.

Although Abu Khattalas captors told him he had a right to a lawyer, when he asked if one was present, he was told no, Clarke said. He asked, Is there a lawyer here? In my mind, I thought that meant on the ship, and I replied no, there was not, Clarke said.

For all the cost and intrigue of the operation, the government spent no time or effort to make sure that Mr. Khattala could meaningfully exercise his right to counsel, even as it was dangled before him, defense attorney Eric L. Lewis said.

Government witnesses acknowledged under cross-examination that a lawyer could have been flown aboard with medics or investigators or provided by video conference. But they said that Abu Khattala never specifically asked for one and that he had signed the waivers.

Abu Khattala had spent 10 years as a political prisoner under Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafis regime and could have feared a return to harsher or indefinite detention if he failed to cooperate, a defense expert testified. He knew only that he was being interrogated, then held for two days in isolation, then given better treatment once he cooperated and signed statements, his lawyers said.

Prosecutors challenged the characterization of Abu Khattala as an unsophisticated victim, noting that despite a ninth-grade education, he led the Benghazi branch of Ansar al-Sharia, an armed militia that seeks to establish sharia law in Libya. The United States designated the group as a terrorist organization for its role in the attacks.

He was taken to the USS New York because U.S. officials thought it too risky to fly him out of Libya using a desert airstrip, government witnesses said.

As the ship headed west, he was not transferred to land  for a quicker flight to the United States  because of diplomatic hurdles, government witnesses said. European Union countries that oppose capital punishment might not have helped because Abu Khattala faced a possible death sentence once in the United States.

FBI and Justice Department witnesses said other countries in Europe and the Middle East were not approached  except one unnamed country, whose head of state refused  because participation in the U.S. capture could stir internal political opposition or unrest.

On the 12th of his 13 days on the USS New York, before they reached U.S. soil, FBI agent Clarke told Abu Khattala that he had been indicted on conspiracy charges.

Clarke said Abu Khattala had acknowledged knowing about 70 of 120 individuals whose photos he was shown, as investigators pieced together communications, associates and coordination of the attack.

Abu Khattala asked, What is conspiracy? and if that was a Western law, Clarke said. We replied it was a U.S. law, a Western law.

He said Abu Khattala responded, Thats unjust.

On the 13th day, a final entry went into the log for the ships detention center: detainee leaves facility at 3:30 a.m. June 28.
A person driving a white pickup truck struck and injured two D.C. police bicycle officers and a third person Thursday night along the busiest street in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Northwest Washington, police said.

The incident happened in the 2400 block of 18th Street just before 9 p.m., said Officer Hugh Carew, a police spokesman. One D.C. police officer was reportedly in critical condition at a hospital.

At a news conference outside the hospital, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said the officers were struck by a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed.

The second officer was in serious condition, police said. And a woman who works for DDOT as a traffic control aide was struck by the pickup truck and was in serious condition. Both suffered injuries were believed to be nonlife threatening, Newsham said.

The chief said police arrested two people from the truck and were interviewing them Thursday night.

The scene in Adams Morgan on Thursday after two officers were struck. (Clarence Williams/The Washington Post)

A questioner at the media conference asked whether terrorism might have been a motive for the pickup truck driver. Newsham said police did not have a motive for the incident, and that the department was not ruling anything out.

We have to look at that very closely. We do not have a motive at this time, Newsham said. I feel horrible. I have two of my officers in there, unnecessarily in hospital.

Police recovered a weapon from the pickup truck, Newsham said. He declined to identify the type of weapon it was.

A male driver of the white pickup truck, and a passenger, was also transported to a hospital.

He hit [a garbage truck] hard enough to drive it up on the sidewalk, D.C. fire department spokesman Vito Maggiolo said of the pickup driver.

Katie Vincentz, 23, was with friends inside the Tryst coffee house when the sound of the crash sent her rushing into the street to see what happened.

It was a horrifying screech. The entire street went quiet it was so loud, Vincentz said.

As she ran to the street, she said she saw a white pickup speeding north after hitting the two bicycle officers. One of the three was dragged about 30 feet, she said.

Passersby told her that the truck sped past a Metro bus, which had stopped at a bus stop, and the officers were hit in the street.

Al Jirikowic, 65, was crossing Calvert Street when he heard screeching and then saw a white pickup truck barreling around a curve and smashing into a garbage truck parked outside Philz Coffee.

This guy was going at an accelerated speed  70 or 80 mph. He couldnt negotiate the curve so he plowed his right front into the truck, Jirikowic said. Everything exploded  bumper came off, broken glass. He hit it really hard.

Jirikowic ran toward the truck, and had to yank the door open. The driver appeared to be unconscious. Then two people in hospital scrubs  he thinks they were passing by  came up from behind and shoved him out the way to attend to the driver. There was a second person on the passenger side, he said, who ran out.

Police found the pickup that hit two bicycle police officers and the woman, and they apprehended the driver and a passenger, Carew said. But police were still trying to determine what happened during the incident.

Ashley Maiorana, 24, lives on Calvert about 50 feet from where the white truck crashed into the garbage truck. She heard a bang just before 9 p.m.  it was really loud.

She came outside and saw one man sitting on the ground. Another man was standing. Cops were putting him in handcuffs and then he sat down on the ground, she said.

Around 10 p.m., two D.C. police bicycles were seen, damaged and crunched together in the middle of 18th Street Northwest. Police roped off the sidewalk on both sides of the street, but patrons were still inside nearby bars and restaurants.
In a substitution that was not unexpected, Jessie K. Liu would replace Channing D. Phillips, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. (Andre Chung/For The Washington Post)

The White House has selected Jessie K. Liu, a former Justice Department deputy assistant attorney general, to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, according to two people with direct knowledge of the choice.

As the Districts top prosecutor, Liu, 44, would oversee the nations largest U.S. attorneys office, which has more than 300 prosecutors.

The Districts office, unlike other U.S. attorneys offices across the nation, handles local and federal cases, a breadth that takes in street-level crimes in the District and high-level national security prosecutions as well as corruption cases against federal officials.

Liu would need Senate confirmation to take over the post held by Channing D. Phillips, who was nominated in 2015 by President Barack Obama.

Phillipss removal from the Districts top law enforcement job was not unexpected. When President Trump took office, he announced that he would be replacing U.S. attorneys across the country.

[Channing Phillips nominated as U.S. attorney]

In the weeks before the presidential election, Liu signed up to serve as a member of Trumps Justice Department transition team.

Liu did not return calls Friday seeking comment. She is deputy general counsel at the Treasury Department while awaiting a formal nomination announcement and confirmation proceedings.

A Justice Department spokesman and the White House press office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Liu, a Yale Law School graduate, would be making a return to the D.C. office where she worked as a prosecutor from 2002 to 2006, a period that overlapped with Phillipss time as a front-line prosecutor.

She left in 2006 to join the Department of Justices national security division, then served from 2007 to 2009 as a deputy assistant attorney general supervising the civil rights divisions appellate, employment litigation and housing and civil rights enforcement sections.

Roscoe C. Howard Jr., U.S. attorney for the District from 2001 to 2004, when Liu was an assistant prosecutor, called her smart, hard-working, very capable and a terrific pick.

Howard added that Liu would be helped by her background in Washington in the Justice Department as well as in private practice, where her focus was on white-collar crime litigation.

She knows the office and the office knows her, Howard said.

Last April, Liu was hired as a partner at the District law firm of Morrison & Foerster but left after about a year. Previously, Liu worked at the law firm Jenner & Block, where she focused on white-collar criminal defense, advising and defending government contractors facing investigations or enforcement actions, according to Jenner & Blocks website.

Liu would be taking up her post under a White House directive that federal prosecutors charge criminal defendants with the most serious provable crimes carrying the heaviest penalties.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has set out the directive, which overturns the criminal charging policy of former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr.

As head of the U.S. attorneys office, Liu would oversee the prosecution of cases including the scheduled September trial in federal court of Benghazi terrorism suspect Ahmed Abu Khattala.

Khattala is charged in the deaths of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and fellow Americans Sean Smith, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty in attacks on U.S. compounds in the Libyan city in 2012.

Liu also would be coming to the office as it prepares for the 2018 murder trial of a Maryland man charged with the 2015 slayings in Northwest Washington of Savvas and Amy Savopoulos, their son Philip, 10, and the familys housekeeper, Veralicia Figueroa.

Liu clerked in the late 1990s for Judge Carolyn Dineen King of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. King, a 1979 Jimmy Carter appointee and former chief circuit judge, said Liu is an excellent, excellent lawyer, and she has a very pleasant demeanor, and I would say not a partisan.

Shes someone I think of as a lawyer of the highest caliber who has a reputation from anyone whos worked with her as a hard-working, diligent attorney whose work product is trusted and of the highest caliber, said John P. Carlin, assistant attorney general in the Justice Departments National Security Division from 2013 until last October. Carlin is now a partner at Morrison & Foerster and has known Liu since both were assistant U.S. attorneys.

This year, the office of Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) sent a letter to the White House asking Trump to allow the delegate to have some input in the nomination, said Norton spokesman Benjamin Fritsch.

Fritsch said the White House did not respond to the letter, and on Friday he reiterated a statement Nortons office had made earlier about the selection process.

Once again, the Trump administration has left the District of Columbia out of the process in selecting a particularly important federal official, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, who uniquely prosecutes nearly all of our local adult crimes here, the statement said.

Ann E. Marimow and Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
After a day dominated by James B. Comeys testimony and a week of persistent Democratic opposition to President Trumps approach to infrastructure, Trump on Friday appeared before a friendly audience at the U.S. Department of Transportation to try to build some momentum for a signature campaign promise.

Standing in a sunlit atrium, flanked by American flags and convoluted charts illustrating the permitting process, Trump said his administration will drastically speed up project approvals as part of his infrastructure initiative. He met earlier with state transportation officials.

With members of Congress and his administration, federal workers, business leaders and workers in hard hats seated before him, the president flipped through a thick white binder that he said was from an environmental report for a Maryland highway costing $24,000 per page  then dropped it to the floor with a dramatic thud that drew laughs and applause.

These binders on the stage could be replaced by just a few simple pages, Trump said, gesturing to what he said was a $29 million report. These binders also make you do unnecessary things that cost millions and millions of dollars, and they actually make it worse.

Trump said his administration is setting up a new council that will help project managers make it through the bureaucratic maze, including by creating a new online dashboard to easily track progress. Agencies that consistently cause delays will face tough new penalties, Trump said.

I was not elected to continue a failed system, he said. I was elected to change it.

Infrastructure was seen as an opportunity for bipartisan action. But the criticism of the administrations reliance on private funds to pay for new infrastructure projects and other issues have complicated the presidents effort and tested goodwill in Congress.

Critics also say the president has used inaccurate figures in describing delays.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-M.), who teamed up on a 2015 law that created a federal permitting improvement council, said in a statement that it was perplexing that the Administration has not taken full advantage of the powerful tools Congress gave it.

They also said a Trump administration executive order speeding environmental reviews for key projects is confusing and makes the permitting process even more complex.

Details of the new penalties for delays remain unclear but would be a major change.

A White House spokeswoman, Natalie M. Strom, said President Obama failed to realize the potential of the council, and the Trump administration will take existing tools and give them real teeth by increasing accountability.

The Trump administration has proposed investing $200 billion in direct federal investment as part of an effort to leverage private, state and local funds totaling $1 trillion over 10 years. The administration, however, has yet to reveal the specifics of this plan, which would have to be approved by Congress.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) repeatedly warned this week of Trump tolls from coast to coast under the presidents private-sector-heavy plan. He also slammed far-reaching cuts in infrastructure spending outlined in the presidents proposed budget.

Still, there is hunger to improve U.S. infrastructure that crosses party and ideological lines.

We may not see eye-to-eye on other issues, said Orlando Bonilla, a laborer who immigrated from Nicaragua and built grocery stores before becoming a rep with the Laborers International Union of North America and attending Trumps speech Friday. But despite a personal disagreement over immigration, this is something we can support.

Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete K. Rahn said he told Trump of the arduous history of the 18-mile Intercounty Connector, which connects Montgomery and Prince Georges counties. In addition to the costly 1,200-page environmental impact statement Trump referenced, another $370 million went to environmental mitigation, he said, calling that an overreach.

When youre dealing with federal agencies, its not even one department in one place you have to work with, Rahn said.

The White House said Trump aims to cut permitting time from 10 years to two years.

Kevin DeGood, an infrastructure specialist at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, said the presidents time frames were not even remotely accurate.

The government-wide average for completing a full environmental impact statement . . . is just 4.6 years. This average includes things like new nuclear reactors, DeGood said. The highway figure has fallen to 3.6 years, he said, though only 4 percent of such projects need such detailed reviews.
Barbershop manager William Lyons, in red, discusses the coming primary as he cuts Eugene Kirklands hair Wednesday in Richmond at Flemings Barber Shop. At left is barber Jerome Robinson, who is waiting for his next customer. Customer Arthur Edwards, in the gray shirt, chats with his barber, Walter Jaratt, after a haircut. (Timothy C. Wright for The Washington Post )

As Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam reached the exit after speaking to the congregation at New Hope Baptist Church, greeter Erwin Jones reached out and opened the door.

Northam shook his hand. I need your support, he said, mentioning the June 13 primary for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Well, youve got it, Jones replied.

This was the second largely African American church that Northam had addressed Sunday morning, and Rep. Robert C. Bobby Scott, Virginias first black congressman since Reconstruction, was speaking at a third on his behalf.

Days away from the primary, no voters are more coveted by Northam and his Democratic opponent, former congressman Tom Perriello, than African Americans.

View Graphic Meet the candidates running to become Virginias next governor

[Northam has edge over Perriello heading into races final weeks]

Northam, the establishment favorite, is banking on help from pastors, black community leaders in his native Hampton Roads and every African American state lawmaker to turn out voters.

Perriello, the insurgent, has tapped into the national energy of the Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) movement to attract young black voters who typically dont come out for primaries. He has touted his close ties to former president Barack Obama and toured black-owned businesses, including a day this week making the rounds of Richmond barbershops.

The prevailing approach could unlock the nomination.

Math alone tells the story: The overall Virginia electorate is roughly 20 percent black, and those voters have overwhelmingly favored Democrats. If the white vote is split between the Republican and Democratic primaries, African Americans could easily account for a third of the Democratic turnout.

Winning the black vote by a healthy margin is likely to be an advantage that would be very difficult to surmount, said longtime Virginia political scientist Bob Holsworth. Ive thought from the very beginning that the African American community was going to be a very key player in this nomination.

[Perriello, Northam debate feasibility of ideas with Post editorial board]

Many African American voters, like the rest of the electorate, are only now beginning to focus on next weeks primary, which is sneaking up in a late spring otherwise dominated by dramatic political news out of the Trump administration in Washington. Among some community leaders, there is real division about the best way to approach what all see as a crucial vote.

I think we are seeing more engagement probably than usual, said JerMykeal McCoy, political engagement chair of the Urban League of Greater Richmond. But the $5 million question is, will anti-Trump sentiment turn to anti-Trump votes in the ballot box?

His group, which is nonpartisan and does not endorse, has hosted a flurry of voter education events leading up to the primaries, including a forum that all five candidates running for governor from both parties were invited to attend. Only the two Democrats showed up.

Perriello and Northam share similar views on many issues, and both have slammed President Trump for running a campaign that they call racist and divisive. But they approach black voters differently.

A policy wonk, Perriello can describe governments role in a legacy of discrimination in the 20th century that shut black Virginians out of the federal workforce, higher education benefits for soldiers and housing loans. He says that history has left Virginias average white family with 11 times more wealth than the average black family, and hes proposing a slew of policy changes to help close the gap.

After a group of torch-bearing protesters convened in May to defend a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in a downtown Charlottesville park, Perriello returned to that park to call for an end to Lee-Jackson Day as a state holiday recognizing the Confederate leaders. He proposed a statewide commission on racial healing and transformation. And he said his privilege as a white person kept him from understanding the pain the statue caused as he walked by it growing up in Charlottesville.

Northam tends to talk about race in broader terms, emphasizing a sense of inclusiveness and overall social justice. He preaches growing the economy so that all have access to good jobs, and he notes that all families want good schools and neighborhoods free of gun violence.

He puts heavy emphasis on the actions Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has taken to restore voting rights for felons who have served their time, pledging to keep up an effort that has already added more than 156,000 people  many of them African American  to voter rolls.

[McAuliffe says he has broken record with restoring voting rights]

And he, like Perriello, decries the school to prison pipeline that disproportionately traps young African American males in a spiral of punishment.

But where Perriello spouts policy and statistics, Northam, a pediatrician, takes a relational approach, emphasizing his work with children, his membership in a predominately African American church on the Eastern Shore and his endorsements by black politicians.

The contrast suggests drastically different choices to some community leaders.

Tom takes the bull by the horns, but Ralph dances around the issue, said JaPharii Jones, president of a Black Lives Matter group in Hampton Roads. People are conscious and woke, and if you sit and talk with Tom, its easy.

Urgent times demand a break with tradition, said Duron Chavis, 37, who is well known in Richmond for his work in urban agriculture. With the Trump administration undermining environmental protection efforts, threatening immigrant communities and inflaming racial tensions, he said, this is not the time to expect minority voters to make a safe choice.

Every election cycle, we get into a conversation of whats it going to take to get out the black vote. But I think we need a conversation about what its going to take to get white America to stand up and stand against some of these egregious acts taking place in our government, he said.

[To shake up Democratic Party, progressives turn to race in Virginia]

Chavis said he understands that Perriello would face a steep challenge in working with Virginias Republican-controlled legislature, but he said that just puts the onus back on voters to hold lawmakers accountable and create a strong tide of change.

Thats a gamble that Roderyck Bullock, a 43-year-old disabled former educator from Richmond, is not willing to take. As an active Democrat, Bullock said the idea that a new wave of progressives inspired by Sanders can succeed in Virginia is dangerous.

I dont want anybody or anything to do with Bernie Sanders. Hes trying to divide the Democratic Party. Hes trying to divide the black community, Bullock said.

What Perriello says may sound good, he said, but its empty because of the reality of governing with Republicans. Hes not going to be able to get done any of the things hes saying hell get done, Bullock said. We dont have time for games. We got peoples lives at stake. The black community is crumbling at the very core.

Northam has been working with the black community for years, Bullock said. But Perriello, with those campaign ads featuring images of himself with Obama in 2010, seems to be pandering to the black community and pandering to the progressives and millennials, he said.

Obama campaigned with Perriello in his unsuccessful bid for reelection after a single term in Congress, and the association carries power among many black voters. So much so that Northam called former U.S. attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. and appealed to him to prevent Obama from endorsing in the primary, according to a Democrat with knowledge of the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss it. The call was first reported by the New York Times.

Northams campaign acknowledged only that he spoke with Holder about the campaign and his long-standing support for President Obama. Messages left for Holder were not returned. So far, the former president has stayed out of the race, although 30 officials from his administration and campaign are backing Perriello.

Perriello often name-drops Obama, just as Northam invokes McAuliffes restoration of voting rights for felons as he makes the rounds of black churches.

Voters seem to be savvy about both. After Perriello barnstormed a string of black barbershops in Richmonds north side this week, at least one set of barbers seemed glad of the attention but wary.

The Obama ads? A stretch, said Flemings Barber Shop employee Jerome Robinson, 46. Of course thats what hes leaning on.

Its what I would do, too. . . . A lot of us automatically assume that since Obama worked with him, hes got our best interest at hand, Robinson said.

Similarly, Northams talk of voting rights may be claiming a little more credit than is due, said fellow barber William Lyons, 65.

You know, McDonnell did that, Lyons said, referring to former Republican governor Robert F. McDonnell, who also restored rights to felons but in far smaller numbers.

McAuliffe just carried it on.

So even though the barbers agreed to let Perriello put a campaign sign out front, they havent made up their minds.

Here at the barbershop, weve got to be impartial. We cut everybody, Lyons said. Im going to vote, but were going to do some research first.
Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie solicited and received the endorsement of a Virginia Beach Republican who works for a group that is sponsoring anti-Islam protests around the country this weekend. (Steve Helber/AP)

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie sought and received the endorsement of a Virginia Beach Republican who is organizing dozens of protests on Saturday around the country for a group that says Islam threatens America.

Scott Ryan Presler works for ACT for America, which has been labeled an extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and is sponsoring marches in more than 20 cities this weekend to protest sharia law.

Presler is also the vice chairman of the Virginia Beach Young Republicans, and Gillespie called him earlier this year to ask for his support in the three-way fight he faces for the GOP nomination in Tuesdays primary.

His spokesman said Gillespie did not know Presley was affiliated with ACT when he asked for his endorsement.

View Graphic Meet the candidates running to become Virginias next governor

Gillespies campaign confirmed that Presler is a supporter  and a Gillespie campaign volunteer  but did not respond when asked if Gillespie would denounce Preslers support.

Gillespies spokesman, David Abrams, said the candidate does not agree with every supporter on every issue. Ed does not condone hatred or discrimination under any circumstance or in any form, Abrams said in a statement.

Presler also backs Jill Vogel, who is running for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor, and John Adams, who is the partys nominee for attorney general.

Brian W. Schoeneman, editor-in-chief of the conservative Bearing Drift blog and a former head of the Fairfax County Electoral Board, said he was surprised to learn of Preslers work with ACT.

We have a large vibrant Islamic community in Northern Virginia, he said. And I dont want to turn these voters off, because we want them to vote Republican. You win elections by addition, not subtraction.

Presler, 29, became well known to Virginia Republican activists after the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting.

I decided enough is enough, he said in an interview Friday. Im going to stand up to extremism, and Im going to come out as a gay Republican.

Presler, who was also a regional field director for the state GOP for about a year in 2015 and 2016, said he was inspired to join the group after hearing ACT founder and president Brigitte Gabriel, who frequently speaks about the need to preserve the countrys Judeo-Christian culture.

Presler said he has been volunteering with ACT for about three months and was hired about three weeks ago.

[This group believes Islam threatens America: Its a spiritual battle of good and evil.]

ACT for America is a nonprofit organization that bills itself as the NRA of national security. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists ACT for America as an extremist group and the largest grass-roots anti-Muslim group in America, claiming 280,000 members and over 1,000 chapters.

Presler strongly disagreed with that characterization and said the group works to help young women and girls impacted by sharia.

I want to completely shut that down, he said. Plenty groups that have that rhetoric  we want to tell them about the Muslims who are marching with us in solidarity.

Presler is listed as the host on Facebook event pages for nearly 30 protests, including one at Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia Beach.

While counterprotests are planned in cities such as Lansing, Mich., Rajeeb Islam, chairman-elect for the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission, said he was wary of legitimizing ACTs message with a coordinated response and that the group had a right to march.

I dont like when any group imposes their wishes on another group, Islam said. Everyone has the right to freedom of speech.

Jimmy Wood, chairman of the Virginia Beach Young Republicans, said he is troubled by the protests, especially in the holy month of Ramadan, but there are no plans to strip Presler of his leadership position in the group.

[We're following Virginias governors race on Facebook. Join our Facebook group dedicated to the latest reporting around this election.]
The escalating cost of construction and dramatic changes in how affordable housing is financed are leading Alexandria officials to consider modifying a requirement to replace any of its 1,150 public housing units that are redeveloped with equally priced apartments.

A change is necessary, proponents say, because local housing authorities such as the Alexandria Redevelopment Housing Authority can no longer afford to simply replace an apartment priced for the poorest residents  those who make less than 30 percent of the areas median income, or $26,500 for a two-person household  with another unit priced for the same income level.

Instead, ARHA proposes to either build more housing for people higher on the income ladder to subsidize the rents of the poorest tenants or to get substantial additional financial support from local, state or federal governments.

We need a broader spread of [household incomes] if we are to do the job without deep subsidies, Roy Priest, ARHAs chief executive, told the City Council last week.

Priest, who is retiring at the end of this month, said the long erosion of federal housing subsidies, which is expected to worsen under President Trumps administration, as well as the emergence of independent affordable housing organizations, has boosted competition for scarce federal tax credits, which support almost all affordable housing development in the nation.

View Graphic Meet the candidates running to become Virginias next governor

Changing Alexandrias 36-year-old promise to preserve the number of housing units for its poorest families at affordable rents would break a social compact, affordable housing advocates say.

At the time this law was passed, it was never envisioned that public housing authorities would be losing their funding from the federal government, said Michelle Krocker, executive director of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance. We need to be sure any solution provides housing in perpetuity for these extremely low-income people, because we know these are the hardest populations to serve.

While existing tenants would be protected from losing their housing even if the policy is changed, the supply of housing for the poorest residents would undoubtedly dwindle, even as population growth and income trends in the region guarantee that the need will increase.

Krocker said the proof will be in the details of whatever is proposed and whether the cash-strapped city can persuade other entities  and offer subsidies  to build housing thats needed when the existing 1,150 units are not enough.

Alexandria and the greater Washington region are not alone in grappling with the increasing cost and declining federal support for affordable housing.

It is going on all over the country, particularly in urban and suburban markets experiencing growth, said Stephen Glaude, president and chief executive of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development.

A low-income housing project requires five to seven different types of subsidies to get off the ground or the math doesnt work, Glaude said.

Unique to Alexandria, the local law known as Resolution 830 has guaranteed that this small city would always replace, on a one-for-one basis, any of its lowest-income apartments lost through decay or demolition. Far larger Fairfax County, the only other Northern Virginia community with a public housing authority, provides 1,060 low-income rentals and makes no promise similar to Alexandrias.

Most communities in the region, including Alexandria and Fairfax, support affordable housing projects with grants or loans. Those projects are usually financed in the expectation of having tenants whose incomes range from 40 to 80 percent of the areas median income, or up to $88,300 for a two-person household. Apartments at the high end of that range are often called workforce housing, because tenants with full-time jobs can qualify.

Much rarer are the developments that offer apartments for those who make less. The federal government provides housing vouchers, previously known as Section 8 vouchers, but they are hard to get, and its up to tenants to find landlords willing to take them  an exceedingly difficult hunt in an area where rental costs are rising.

While it will be at least the end of the year before any changes are proposed for Resolution 830, Alexandria Housing Director Helen McIlvaine said the issue is coming up now because officials are trying to avoid the tempest that erupted in late 2015 and early 2016, when ARHAs plan to redevelop the 15-unit Ramsey Homes public housing project ran into a buzz saw of neighborhood and political opposition.

That brouhaha delayed the agencys application for federal tax credits by a year. After multiple meetings, the city and the housing authority agreed to a no surprises rule in the future.

ARHA wants the City Council in the fall to approve a redevelopment of the 48-year-old Andrew Adkins apartments just east of the Braddock Road Metro station. The housing authority plans to sell the two blocks of land beneath the apartments to a private developer, who wants to build 500 market-rate units in seven-story buildings, with ground-level retail.

The developer would also build a new public housing tower, to be run by ARHA, but only 60 of the current 90 units would be replaced. ARHA officials said they would use the money they earned from the land sale to buy or rent housing elsewhere for the remaining 30 tenants.

The East Braddock area is rapidly gentrifying and has acquired the nickname of Old Town West. New apartment and condominium towers have gone up amid older, low-income apartments, and several middle-to-high-end restaurants have opened nearby.

While public housing residents sat outside one recent evening barbecuing on a tiny grill, with laundry drying on their clotheslines, more affluent neighbors two blocks away played bocce ball and outdoor ping-pong under strings of lights.

That idea of modifying Resolution 830 did not go over well with City Council members who were briefed on it at a workshop last week.

Mayor Allison Silberberg (D) objected to both the possible abandonment of the resolution and to the reduction of public housing units at Andrew Adkins. Council member Willie Bailey (D) said the four plots of green space at the site should be sacrificed to add more housing.

Theyre going to build 500-plus homes, and all were getting out of it is 60 units? Bailey asked. I know we like to talk about open space, but people cant live in open space.

Canek Aguirre, president of the board of Tenant and Workers United, said his organization opposes the proposal for Andrew Adkins but has a wait-and-see attitude toward the idea of changing Resolution 830, because its still in preliminary stages and community reaction will be solicited before anything happens.

Vice Mayor Justin Wilson (D) told the council that if it wants to retain the one-for-one replacement of the lowest-income apartments, someone . . . has to show up with a lot of money.

This is our choice. This is our decision, Wilson warned. We could have [fewer] units with deeper affordability or more units with less affordability. . . . That is the brutal math.
The FDA said it has asked Endo Pharmaceuticals to stop selling its reformulated, extended-release painkiller, Opana ER. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday asked a drug company to remove its opioid pain medication from the market, the first time the agency has made such a request because of the public health consequences of abuse.

The agency concluded after an extensive review of Endo Pharmaceuticals Opana ER that the benefits of the drug may no longer outweigh its risks. The company reformulated the drug in 2012 to make it more difficult to snort, but the FDA said that move actually led to more injections  and a major HIV outbreak.

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who has pledged to take more forceful steps to curb the nations opioid epidemic, said the agencys action reflects its increased focus on the risks posed by the illicit use of opioids. The FDA is looking broadly at the whole policy framework used for the painkillers, he said Thursday.

The medication was approved in 2006 for moderate to severe pain when a round-the-clock painkiller is needed.

During the drugs reformulation, Endo introduced a coating designed to deter people from crushing and snorting the medication.

(Monica Akhtar,Erin Patrick O'Connor/The Washington Post)

But the FDA declined to give it an abuse deterrent label, saying the data didnt support such a designation.

The FDA said Thursday that subsequent data showed a significant shift in the route of abuse from nasal to injection after the reformulation.

Increased needle-sharing of the drug has since been linked to serious blood disorder cases in Tennessee in 2012 and a 2015 outbreak of HIV and hepatitis C in Indiana, officials said.

[Health officials vow to develop drugs to curb the opioid crisis]

In March, an FDA advisory committee voted, in an 18-to-8 decision, that the benefits of the reformulated Opana ER no longer outweighed the risks it posed.

The abuse and manipulation of reformulated Opana ER by injection has resulted in a serious disease outbreak, Janet Woodcock, the director of the FDAs Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement Thursday. When we determined that the product had dangerous unintended consequences, we made a decision to request its withdrawal from the market.

If the company declines to remove the product, the FDA will take steps to formally require its removal by withdrawing agency approval.

Increased needle-sharing of opioid has been linked to serious blood disorder cases a outbreak of HIV and hepatitis C, officials said. (AP)

In a statement, the company said it was reviewing the FDAs request but that it remains confident in the body of evidence established through clinical research demonstrating that Opana ER has a favorable risk-benefit profile when used as intended in appropriate patients.

Michael Botticelli, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy for nearly three years under President Barack Obama, said the FDA action is a real encouraging step. It sounds as if the FDA is using expanded criteria in the way they look at opioids.

[House panel probes drug distributors and DEA amid national opioid problem]

The agency has been criticized in the past for examining the safety and effectiveness of individual opioid painkillers without considering the wider effects each could have on the nations epidemic.

This falls in line, I think, with their recently released guidance on how they were going to think of drugs and drug approval, Botticelli said.

From 2000 to 2015, nearly 180,000 Americans died of overdoses of prescription opioids, and tens of thousands more have succumbed to heroin and fentanyl overdoses as the crisis has evolved.

Opana ER brought in $158 million in sales last year for Endo, a 10 percent drop from 2015 because of generic competition, according to FiercePharma, a trade site. The company, which is based in Dublin and has its U.S. headquarters in Malvern, Pa., recently announced two rounds of job cuts.
Abducted boy, 7, freed from India, 3 arrested

Police made public three people who were involved in abduction of seven-year-old boy of Barhathawa Municipality-6 in Sarlahi district on Thursday.
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Ashley Barnes was 35 years old when doctors told her she would never walk again. A botched spinal procedure in 2014 paralyzed her from the waist down. The Tyler, Tex., resident had been an avid runner, clocking six miles daily when not home with her then-9-year-old autistic son, whom she raised alone. Life in a wheelchair was not an option.

I needed to be the best mom I could be, Barnes said. I needed to be up and moving.

So she threw herself into physical therapy, convinced she would one day run again. Soon she realized that wasnt a reality.

Although she wore a brave face, I would save my moments of crying for my room, she said.

About a year later, hope resurfaced when she learned of the ReWalk system, a battery-powered robotic exoskeleton that attaches to the legs and lower back. It contains motors at the knee and hip joints and sensors to help it adjust with each footfall. While wearing the device and holding two forearm crutches, someone with complete lower-limb paralysis can walk.

Rehabilitation centers often employ such devices in physical therapy, which is how Barnes first encountered one at the Baylor Tom Landry Center, a rehab clinic in Dallas. After seven months without being able to stand, she did. Then she took a step as she began to learn how to walk again.

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In 2014, the ReWalk system became the first personal robotic exoskeleton approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The following year, the Department of Veterans Affairs agreed to cover the exoskeletons for qualifying vets. Meanwhile, several companies began touting similar devices. For example, Ekso makes units used to rehabilitate people after spinal cord injury or stroke.

Health insurers, however, generally dont cover the expensive equipment.

After working with the ReWalk system at her rehab center, Barnes, who uses a wheelchair at home to get around, decided she wanted one of her own. But Tricare, her insurer, denied the request.

In a statement, Tricare said it does not cover these devices for use on a personal basis due to concerns with their safety and efficacy. This is particularly important due to the vulnerability of paralyzed users in the event of a fall.

Two years and countless nos later, Barnes still doesnt have one because, according to Tricare, it isnt medically necessary.

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Barnes strongly disagrees.

This is medically necessary, she said. If she had one of the devices, Id be able to go to the bathroom. I would be able to walk around, exercise in it. I would love to be able to stand up and cook things in my microwave or on my stove.

She paused before adding, I would no longer have to look up at my son.

High prices, low incomes

About 28 percent of the more than 5.2 million Americans living with paralysis survive on an annual household income of less than $15,000, according to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The basic expenses of living with paraplegia are, on average, $519,520 in the first year and $68,821 each subsequent year, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. Furthermore, only 34.3 percent of people are employed 20 years after a paralysis-causing injury.

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To date, ReWalk has sold only 118 personal devices in the United States.

Some people do get devices covered by insurance, but it can be an onerous process, as evidenced by Mark Delamere Jr. The Boston native, 19, was paralyzed in a car accident in 2013, on the third day of his freshman year of high school.

Like Barnes, he thought he would never walk again. Like Barnes, with the help of a robotic exoskeleton, he did. Unlike Barnes, though, he has an exoskeleton at home.

But for two of his teenage years, he sat in a wheelchair while his family filed claims and appealed denials.

They dont really classify these things with the purpose of you getting better, because they think the injury is never going to change, his father, Mark Sr., said.

Eventually, though, Mark Jr. got approved by his insurance company and received the ReWalk, which he uses for at-home therapy and just to walk around the house and the neighborhood, up and down the street. Asked to describe the feeling, he was at a loss for words.

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More hospitals are putting patient comfort and wellbeing at the forefront of their operations  from staff hires to building design to team structure.

Its kind of crazy, he said. It just feels kind of  I dont really know. It feels so different.

They dont always work

But his story is rare. People are paying out of pocket or fundraising for exoskeletons, said Dan Kara, research director for robotics at ABI Research, a technology analysis and consultant company.

The price of the devices exceeds their value in the eyes of insurers, which want to be able to prove they actually improve quality of life and utility, said Howard Forman, a Yale professor of diagnostic radiology and public health. Utility means that an exoskeleton would provide a medical benefit beyond simply helping people move around and complete daily tasks.

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Virginia Tech researchers found that these devices, by getting otherwise immobilized people to move around, can help them manage spasticity  a continuous contraction of muscles, which can be quite painful  and improve bowel function. Barnes said when she was training with the exoskeleton, tending to her bowels took about 20 minutes each day, not the customary hour.

One major concern is how relatively untested the technology is outside the controlled environment of a rehabilitation facility. Indeed, they dont always work as planned.

Stacey Kozal, a 42-year-old Ohio resident, was paralyzed from the waist down after what she said was a devastating flare-up of lupus. For more than a year, she fought with her insurance provider, Anthem, in hopes of obtaining Ottobock C-Braces. These devices have bendable knee joints equipped with sensors that measure the current position of the joint every .02 seconds, according to Ottobocks website. A built-in microprocessor adjusts ankle pressure while a hydraulic system moves the knee to help the user place her foot down in the right place.

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Eventually, Anthem agreed to cover a C-Brace for each leg, which Kozal used to hike the Appalachian Trail, where limitations revealed themselves. The battery required constant recharging. Rain was problematic because the C-Brace isnt waterproof.

While she plans to wear her C-Braces around the house, shes now hiking the Pacific Crest Trail using old-fashioned braces that lock her legs in place. She uses her core, hips and upper body to swing her legs forward, and she keeps her balance with the aid of forearm crutches. C-Braces are heavier than traditional devices, so when their batteries died on the Appalachian Trail, they made it more difficult for her to move around.

Another major issue for insurers, though, is the price. But Forman said, Though these technologies are incredibly expensive now, we have all kinds of evidence that eventually . . . they can become affordable to anyone.

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Indeed, some entrepreneurs are working on cheaper solutions. Silicon Valley start-up SuitX created a lightweight model called the Phoenix. While most exoskeletons have motors powering each joint, the Phoenix simply uses two hip motors. Even so, if approved by the FDA, the device would cost $40,000, according to SuitX.

The rehabilitation marketplace is limited by the number of people who have these conditions, Kara said. The exoskeletons are basically handcrafted, which is expensive. If you could up the volume, you could lower the price.

The key would be expanding the user base. One way to do that, he noted, is to sell the devices for purposes other than rehabilitation. Warehouse workers might wear them to assist with lifting heavy loads. Some companies are already testing this idea: Lowes, for example, recently outfitted several of employees with exoskeletons as part of a pilot program.

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The worldwide market for exoskeletons  $97 million now  is expected to grow to $1.9 billion by 2025, according to ABI Research.

Kara compared the prospects for exoskeletons to the growth of LiDAR, which uses pulsed lasers to record topographic features. For years, researchers used LiDAR to create 3-D maps of the Earth, but it was expensive. However, the rise of self-driving cars, which use the technology to navigate roadways, fostered improvements in the technology. As a result, Kara said, the price of LiDAR systems has begun to fall and is expected to drop dramatically, from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of dollars or less.

Waiting for exoskeleton prices to drop is tremendously frustrating, Barnes said. We take so much for granted when we dont have physical problems, she said. Like just being able to reach up and grab something in my laundry cabinet without having to break my neck to get it.

She isnt ready to just accept that she  and others who will face these issues  might never get a sense of greater normalcy.

My biggest reason for standing up tall to them is I want to do it for all those behind me, she said. The more it gets approved, the more it cant get denied.

More from Morning Mix

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The opioid epidemic that has ravaged life expectancy among economically stressed white Americans is taking a rising toll among blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans, driving up the overall rate of death among Americans in the prime of their lives.

Since the beginning of this decade, death rates have risen among people between the ages of 25 and 44 in virtually every racial and ethnic group and almost all states, according to a Washington Post analysis. The death rate among African Americans is up 4 percent, Hispanics 7 percent, whites 12 percent and Native Americans 18 percent. The rate for Asian Americans also has increased, but at a level that is not statistically significant.

After a century of decreases, the overall death rate for Americans in these prime years rose 8 percent between 2010 and 2015.

(Monica Akhtar,Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

The jump in death rates has been driven in large measure by drug overdoses and alcohol abuse, according to The Posts analysis of mortality data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What it reflects is an out-of-control epidemic right now, said Josh Sharfstein, director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative at Johns Hopkins. Its affecting the economy. Its affecting the entire community. This is an absolute call to action for public health.

Ashish Jha, a health policy professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, added, These are people who are in the most productive years of their lives  the years where theyre supposed to be raising kids and becoming leaders of the next generation.

The Post confirmed the contours of the rise in death rates with CDC officials. The rate is adjusted for the nations changing age profile, and every five-year age group (for example, 35 to 39, or 40 to 44) showed an increase in mortality.

Preliminary data from the first half of 2016 suggests that the trend is continuing, said Robert Anderson, chief of mortality statistics for the CDC.

I think were in for another steep increase in the drug overdose deaths overall, Anderson said.





The rash of deaths is a statistical echo of the 1980s and early 1990s, when the combination of the crack cocaine and HIV epidemics took a heavy toll on young Americans.

Many factors are likely contributing to the current spike, but opioids stand out. The widespread abuse of prescription drugs has become a national crisis, with addicts overdosing on prescription opioids, their illegal cousin heroin, and, increasingly, synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and carfentanil, which are far more powerful and deadly.

Alcohol-related deaths also have increased among whites, blacks and Hispanics, the data show. Meanwhile, homicide, the leading cause of death among young blacks, also has risen since the beginning of this decade.

The new mortality spike is occurring in almost every state. The breadth of the nations deteriorating health has not been widely appreciated. Academic researchers and the news media in recent years have focused on the most intensely affected regions, such as Appalachia and rural New England, and on premature deaths among white Americans, a trend that began around 1999 and continues unabated.

For more than a century, Americans lived much longer lives because of improvements in medicine, sanitation, control of contagious diseases, nutrition and individual health care. But American mortality appears to have reached an inflection point around 2010, in the immediate aftermath of the Great Recession. Generally positive mortality trends among blacks and Hispanics flattened out, then gradually worsened.

For blacks and Hispanics, the biggest increase in deaths came in 2015, data for which was released earlier this year.

[Sharp rise in African American opioid overdoses has Cleveland officials worried]

The geography of the epidemic also expanded dramatically. From 1999 to 2010, only seven states showed an increase of more than 10 percent in the death rates of people ages 25 to 44: West Virginia, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. All have predominantly white populations and few if any big cities.

The data from 2010 to 2015 tell a different story. During that period, 33 states showed death rates rising by at least 10 deaths per 100,000 people in the 25-44 age bracket, including all of New England and the Midwest Rust Belt. The death rate in Indiana rose by 31 per 100,000. Only in Hawaii and the District of Columbia has the death rate continued to decline since 2010.

Moreover, a phenomenon most pronounced among whites in small cities and rural areas appears to be spreading to the nations suburbs and biggest cities. Before 2010, death rates had been declining for whites, blacks and Hispanics in metropolitan areas of at least 1 million people. Since 2010, the rates are up everywhere.





The data is very concerning, said Leandris Liburd, director of the CDCs Office of Minority Health and Health Equity. We do not want to see death rates going up for any age, or any ethnic or racial group. The rise in mortality is likely due to multiple factors, and opioids are certainly a part of the problem.

One clear distinction remains: education level. The only 25-44 group whose death rate is not climbing is people with four-year college degrees.

People with four-year degrees overall are doing fine in this economy, and everybody else overall is doing pretty poorly, said Joan C. Williams, a University of California law professor, author and scholar on work and class. This whole large segment of society is seeing their grip on the American Dream slipping away.

Deaths from drug overdoses among whites are still more than double the rate for blacks, and are rising rapidly. But the data suggest that this is a contagion that will not recognize boundaries of race or ethnicity.

In Cuyahoga County, which encompasses Cleveland, coroner Thomas Gilson testified in the Senate last month that he has seen deaths double in one year among African Americans from fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, often taken in combination with cocaine.

With seemingly purposeful intent, cocaine is now being mixed with fentanyl and its analogues in an effort to introduce these drugs into the African American population, Gilson testified.

Fentanyl is playing a major driving force in increasing overdose deaths, said Michael Botticelli, director of the Grayken Center for Addiction Medicine at Boston Medical Center and the former head, under President Barack Obama, of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Fentanyl is much more powerful than heroin or morphine. Often drug users dont know its in their supply. Its increasingly fast acting. We know that the window of our opportunity to respond and resuscitate people is dramatically shortened.

Botticelli said dealers make a risk calculation when selling fentanyl or fentanyl-laced drugs: Addicts want the strongest drugs available, even if they are potentially fatal. He said a dealer arrested in Massachusetts had sent a text message to a colleague: We dont want to kill them, we just want to bring them to that point.

The country is beginning to recognize the scale of the crisis, said Sharfstein, and turning to the question of how to fix it. But, he said, a criminal, judgmental or moral approach will block effective solutions.

A really important barrier is to set aside ideology and say, This is killing our children. What can we do to make a real difference?, he said. In many parts of the country, there is not access to treatment that is effective for people, and in fact there is opposition to treatment that is effective for people. They say people should be put in jail.

A report in March, the 2017 County Health Rankings, produced by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, also highlighted a rise between 2014 and 2015 in premature deaths among people ages 15 to 44 and the broad geographic and demographic spread of those deaths.

In modern times, increases in mortality have been rare. One of the most dramatic occurred during and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, when the economy went into free-fall and anti-alcohol campaigns were abandoned. Life expectancy for men dropped precipitously.

National attention to rising death rates in the United States flared following a November 2015 study by Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton, who noted that whites in their midlife years (45 to 54) have been dying at surprisingly high rates since the end of the 20th century. Case and Deaton earlier this year said the deaths of despair from drug overdoses, alcohol abuse and suicide appear to be associated with the deteriorating labor market since the 1970s among people without a college degree.

Deaton, a Nobel laureate, said the bigger picture for the United States is catastrophic. Death rates are supposed to go down, not up, he said. A society where this is going the wrong way, theres something very, very seriously wrong with it.
IRAQ

Suicide bomber kills at least 31 in market

A female suicide bomber killed at least 31 people Friday and wounded 35 in a crowded market in Musayib, 50 miles south of Baghdad, security sources said.

The Islamic State asserted responsibility for the attack, as well as one at the main bus station in the holy Shiite city of Karbala, just west of Musayib, which killed three people and wounded 15.

A security officer said the bomber in Musayib was a woman and had hidden the bomb under her full-body veil.

The attacks came during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting and prayer.

 Reuters

ISRAEL

Palestinian fatally shot in Gaza clash

Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinians who were throwing stones near the border fence in the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing one man and wounding four others, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said the man killed was a member of its armed wing.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said hundreds of Palestinians had gathered along the fence and were throwing stones and burning tires. Israeli soldiers on the other side opened fire after their calls to the Palestinians and warning shots were ignored, she said.

Also on Friday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the main U.N. aid agency in Gaza for Palestinian refugees, said it had discovered part of a tunnel running under two of its schools in a refugee camp in the enclave.

UNRWA said it had protested the finding to Hamas, which in a 2014 war had used a network of cross-border tunnels to launch attacks inside Israel.

 Reuters

MALI

3 U.N. peacekeepers are killed in attack

Islamist militants launched an attack on a United Nations camp in northern Mali, killing three peacekeepers from the West African nation of Guinea and wounding several others, officials said Friday.

Al-Qaedas affiliate in Mali asserted responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terrorist groups. The extremist group said it struck Guinean forces east of Kidal city after attacking the camp with intensive rocket and mortar fire.

It resulted in killing and wounding a number of Guinean soldiers participating in this Crusader alliance that invades this good land, the statement said. The U.N. peacekeeping mission confirmed the attack and deaths.

 Associated Press

Nigerian soldier receives death sentence: A Nigerian military court has sentenced to death a soldier accused in the killing of an arrested Boko Haram suspect. Brig. Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi, the court-martial president, ruled that the soldier had breached army laws in the killing of the suspect, who was in the custody of his unit in Damboa. The court-martial in Maiduguri was set up last year by Nigerias army after several allegations of extrajudicial killings by soldiers fighting the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast.

Greek austerity protesters pelt police with fish: Protesters outside Greeces Parliament threw boxes of fish at police ahead of a vote that approved new austerity measures. Members of a communist-backed labor union hurled the crates of sardines at police as lawmakers debated the cuts, which were added to draft legislation on fishing regulations in an attempt to speed up their passage. Opposition parties called the maneuver unconstitutional. Greeces left-wing government is trying to reach a deal on reforms with international bailout lenders. Without an agreement, the country would risk default next month.

Electric vehicle rally sets off in Switzerland: Drivers in scores of electric vehicles, some in superhero or other quirky get-ups, have embarked on a week-long trek around Switzerland as part of a green, grass-roots movement to draw attention to the fight against global warming. The World Advanced Vehicle Expedition, now in its seventh edition, is the brainchild of a Swiss former teacher who wants to promote plug-in vehicles.

 From news services
Rachel Newcomb is an anthropologist and the Diane and Michael Maher Distinguished Professor of Teaching and Learning at Rollins College. She is the author of Everyday Life in Global Morocco, due out in October.

A 9-year-old boy stumbles upon a 2 million-year-old hominin clavicle while exploring in a field in South Africa. A paleoanthropologist, kayaking with his family on the Pacific island of Palau, finds a burial chamber full of ancient remains that he suspects might be a previously undocumented race of tiny people. A swashbuckling former diamond hunter discovers a treasure trove of humanlike fossils in a network of caves accessible only to people small enough to slither through an 18-centimeter opening.

In Almost Human, the search for hominin fossils reads like an extreme sport. Written by Lee Berger with fellow paleoanthropologist John Hawks, the book documents with riveting intensity Bergers lifelong fascination with fossil hunting and the contributions he has made to our understanding of human origins.

[Lucy, our hominid cousin, may have died in a tragic fall from a tree]

In contemporary paleoanthropological circles, Berger, who grew up in the United States and is based in South Africa, is considered something of a maverick. He invites National Geographic to document his expeditions for social media, puts out calls on Facebook to invite scientists to join his teams and, rather than hoarding his finds so he alone can analyze them, makes replicas and photos of fossils available for other scientists to study. Traditionally, the journey from fossil discovery to publication has been a slow and laborious one, but Berger is known for speeding everything up. Critical of establishment paleoanthropologists, he views them as an exclusive club that refuses to share with others. I represented a generation that didnt just want the keys to the club, Berger writes, we wanted to open the doors to everyone. We were impatient for a faster pace of discovery and science, and sought collaborations with larger and larger groups of experts outside the traditional schools of thought.

"Almost Human: The Astonishing Tale of Homo naledi and the Discovery That Changed Our Human Story," by Lee Berger and John Hawks (National Geographic)

Other scientists have sharply criticized Berger for being a relentless self-promoter, too quick to announce to the world that his fossils are rewriting human history. Paleoanthropologist Tim White of the University of California at Berkeley has accused Berger of engaging in selfie science and suggested that he is more interested in telling a good story than in sharing scientifically validated facts.

Criticisms of Berger aside, Almost Human is a fascinating and dramatically paced book that translates for a lay audience the excitement of paleoanthropology, its debates and its scandals. Berger provides a crash course in the fields often rocky history, shares his own tales of discovery and offers his version of feuds he has had with other paleoanthropologists. The hominin clavicle, found by Bergers son, who was only 9 at the time, turned out to be part of several skeletons that were later dated as 2 million years old, representing a previously undiscovered variant of a hominin species that Berger named Australopithecus sediba. Australopiths, first discovered in 1925 in South Africa, lived roughly between 4.2 million and 1.5 million years ago and are believed to be an intermediate species between apes and humans, sharing a bone structure similar to modern humans but a brain that was one-third the size of ours. Although Berger asserted that sediba may have been a direct ancestor to modern humans, other anthropologists have disputed this, suggesting that sediba lived contemporaneously with the earliest species of Homo or perhaps was a variant of Homo. Nonetheless, there is little doubt in the paleoanthropological community that sediba was highly significant. Finding skeletons this old yet this complete in itself is astonishing, and Berger has consistently been open about allowing others to study sediba and draw their own conclusions.

[Book review: TThe Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal, by Jared Diamond]

Sediba alone would have been a sufficiently exciting discovery for one career, but more was to come. In 2013, Pedro Boshoff, a former student of Bergers who had gone off to hunt for diamonds and never finished his degree, showed up at Bergers office looking for work. Knowing that Boshoff was a skilled caver, Berger hired him to explore some promising fossil sites in the area. After several weeks of working with a team of cavers, Boshoff came to Bergers home late one evening with photos of a mandible and a tiny skull that appeared humanlike but did not resemble anything Berger had seen before. The bones came from a nearly inaccessible chamber in a network of caves known locally as Rising Star, and Berger immediately contacted National Geographic about funding an expedition. He then put out a call on Facebook recruiting paleoanthropologists small enough to slip through the 18-centimeter-wide hole leading into the fossil chamber to come to South Africa. National Geographic covered the entire expedition on social media. After collecting more than 1,300 fossil fragments in 21 days, Berger assembled another team of scholars to collectively analyze them and quickly write papers publicizing their finds.

Here the story grows more controversial. Dating the fossils proved challenging, because they were not found with surrounding geological evidence to help determine their age. What, then, were they? A previously undiscovered form of human, or a type of australopith? Why was it so urgent for Berger to publish his findings so quickly? And how had these ancient hominins ended up in such an out-of-the-way cave? Berger had his theories, but as usual, not everyone would agree with him. To say more would be to give away much of the suspense of this entertaining read. While many in the paleoanthropological community dispute Bergers theories and methods, there is no doubt that his books lively prose will win new fans for paleoanthropology. And in an era when funding for scientific research is constantly under threat, could more advocates in the general public be such a bad thing?
We are facing one of the worst humanitarian crises since World War II. As the looming threat and tragic reality of famine spread across South Sudan, northern Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen, 20 million people are in urgent need of food and other assistance. But even with grim reports from the United Nations relief agencies and images of starving children, there is widespread confusion about what famine is and what we can do to help.

Myth No. 1

Famine is caused by drought or overpopulation.

These explanations are common. For instance, CNN accounted for Somalias situation by noting, The country has been hit by a severe drought that has affected more than 6.2 million people who are currently facing food insecurity and lack of clean water because of rivers that are drying up and recent years with little rain. Others see famine as vindication for 18th-century British philosopher Thomas Malthus, who predicted that population growth would outstrip the food supply.

But the Horn of Africa has seen many droughts, and not all have resulted in famine. And the countries at greatest risk of famine today are hardly the most densely populated.

Famine strikes countries and regions when poverty and vulnerability go untended because of government neglect, under-investment in development and, sometimes, willful obstruction.

The United Nations and famine experts agree that the four crises we are witnessing now, for example, are man-made and made worse by chronic conflicts. Poor communities in northern Nigeria are the playing fields of the terrorist group Boko Haram. The presence of al-Shabab in Somalia constrains commerce and the operations of a new and still weak government. The government and opposition in South Sudan continue to wage a bloody war, not over any principle but out of rivalry, showing absolutely no regard for the rapid descent of the majority of the population into a hell on earth. And in Yemen, a devastating war between coalition forces and Houthi rebels has pounded that countrys economy into the Stone Age and impeded international relief efforts.

What the U.N. humanitarian chief told the Security Council last month about Yemen could be said of all of these countries: If there was no conflict..., there would be no descent into famine.

Myth No. 2

To prevent famine, we need better ways to predict it.

You may have read about how new apps or satellites or social networks finally will allow us to predict famine and prevent it once and for all.

But, in fact, we already have reliable early-warning systems that can provide a trigger for global action. Failure to prevent famine does not stem from a lack of information.

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), created by the U.S. Agency for International Development , analyzes weather conditions, food prices, nutrition data, population displacement and other indicators, pooling information and comparing assessments with other countries and the United Nations to collectively determine the level of risk. FEWS NET and most aid agencies rank situations on a five-point scale, going from minimal food insecurity to stressed, crisis, emergency and finally famine.

When this information is acted upon by governments and international partners, particularly in the early stages, famine can be and often is prevented. The specificity of the available data and analysis not only allows the global community to intervene but helps inform the kinds of intervention that are needed.

The challenge arises when governments refuse to act or combatants prevent action.

Myth No. 3

A country on the brink of famine is on the verge of a crisis.

African crisis looming over threat of famine, a typical headline declares. And yet, a crisis is well underway by the time conditions merit the famine label. At Level 5, there are two deaths per 10,000 people, or four child deaths per 10,000 children, happening every day from a lack of food; at least 1 in 5 households is experiencing an extreme lack of food; and acute malnutrition exceeds 30 percent in a given area. As Arif Husain, the chief economist for the World Food Program, put it: When you declare a famine, bad things have already happened. People have already died.

So far this year, only parts of South Sudan have qualified as experiencing active famine. But the other at-risk countries are in crisis or emergency conditions. In Yemen, 60 percent of the population is food insecure, while a quarter is on the brink of famine; according to the World Health Organization, there have been more than 100,000 cases of cholera and nearly 800 deaths from that disease. Similarly, a substantial share of the people in northeast Nigeria and in Somalia are nearing Level 5, or famine.

Myth No. 4

During famine, the greatest risk is starving to death.

Thats a phrase often associated with famine, as in the recent Vox headline 20 million starving to death. People experiencing famine conditions do starve, but starvation is typically not the primary cause of death.

The process of starving weakens the immune system, leaving people susceptible to diseases, such as malaria or cholera, that are not always killers in other contexts but can be fatal to people whose bodies are compromised by starvation. In Somalia, for example, prevailing pre-famine conditions and undernutrition have accelerated a measles outbreak. Famine emergencies can also aggravate noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer. Diarrhea, too, is extremely common. Because of the lack of healthy food, clean water and medical care, treatable diseases and conditions rapidly turn into deadly ones.

Moreover, famine can inflict irreparable harm on those who survive. Children are most vulnerable in these settings, and those under 5 who survive measles commonly suffer from blindness, brain swelling and severe respiratory infections that can permanently impair a child before he or she starves. Inadequate nutrition and repeated infections during the first 1,000 days of a childs life can also cause stunting, which has irreversible long-term effects on their physical and mental development. In 2015, according to the World Health Organization, there were 156 million stunted children under 5.

Myth No. 5

Famine relief and other aid enables corrupt officials and doesnt help people in need.

This is a common criticism of U.S. aid in general. With so much corruption in Africa, how much of our funding is stolen? the incoming Trump administration asked the State Department. In the case of famine relief, the concern is that recipient governments will divert money and food to enrich themselves, or rely on it to feed their people while they avoid addressing the famines causes.

True, some self-described leaders care so little for their people that they loot international relief aid or abandon their citizens to the international community, as the government in South Sudan has done. And corruption is often rife in poor countries. But local and international humanitarian workers have proved time again that they can reach people in need, often at great personal risk.

The sweeping assertion that we are wasting our money also discounts potential and positive trends that could prove far more potent over time. A growing number of developing countries are investing in the agricultural sector, upon which millions depend, and generating real and lasting results by combining policy reforms, money from their own budgets and donor assistance. Through Feed the Future, an initiative launched by President Barack Obama, investments in this progress have paid off.

According to Feed the Futures 2016 progress report, poverty has fallen between 7 and 36 percent in 11 focus countries since 2011. Child stunting has been reduced by more than 20 percent among 604,000 participating households. In areas of Ethiopia where Feed the Future works, poverty is down 12 percent. And support for countries own policy reforms has opened up opportunities, as in Senegal, where a new law requiring that local seed certification standards be in line with regional standards is providing breeders with access to regional markets and reducing transaction costs.

President Trump, when meeting with the pope last month, promised $300 million in famine relief for Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria. That was a good gesture, but the real statement is in his budget proposal, which slashes disaster relief, zeroes out funding for FEWS NET and doesnt even reference Feed the Future. Without these tools, we risk losing our ability to prevent a scourge that can kill millions.

Twitter: @GayleSmith

Five myths is a weekly feature challenging everything you think you know. You can check out previous myths, read more from Outlook or follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.
A visitor views works by Mark Rothko at the Phillips Collection in January. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

I could easily have pulled off the greatest art heist in history.

Millions and millions of dollars worth of paintings were mine for the taking.

No alarm sounded. No cops. No witnesses.

Today, the original of Pierre-Auguste Renoirs Luncheon of the Boating Party could be hanging above the mantel in the living room of my townhouse in suburban Toronto, instead of my photo of a flying wood stork.

And Raoul Dufys The Artists Studio would look good in my home office.

Such treasures would be mine if only Id had a proclivity for thievery 45 years ago.

On Memorial Day 1972, I was in Washington with my Swiss wife, Anita, who schlepped this kid from Queens through the art museums of two continents during our short-lived marriage.

So, on this hot, sunny Monday in the mecca of American history, instead of paying respects to Abraham Lincoln or Thomas Jefferson, we went to see the Phillips Collection of modern (mostly European) art.

I parked my dark blue Fiat 124 sedan on the street right in front of the gallery. We walked to the front door, opened it and went inside. There was no one there.

In the entranceway, we admired a small Georges Braque work. We walked up a staircase and stood before that large Renoir canvas of the boating party in its gilded frame.

Not another breathing soul around. Just the two of us and those Parisian partygoers, Renoirs chums from the 1880s, drinking and gabbing on a restaurant balcony overlooking the Seine.

We moseyed on, dawdled in front of paintings by Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cezanne, Georges-Pierre Seurat.

This is weird, I finally said to Anita. We could just take any of these paintings and walk out the door.

What should we do? she asked.

Since we were leaving Washington the next day and didnt know when we might return, we decided to spend a little more time with the paintings.

After about a half-hour or so, we headed out. Lets see if we can call someone, I said.

We went back to the entranceway and found the reception desk, where I found a list of phone numbers.

There was a number for a Mrs. Phillips. I dialed it on the phone atop the desk.

A woman answered.

Mrs. Phillips? I asked.

Yes.

My name is Ken Becker, and Im inside your gallery right now but no one else is here.

Yes, she said, were closed today.

But my wife and I just walked in. The doors were unlocked.

Thats odd, she said.

Yes it is, I said. What would you like us to do?

No reply for a moment. Well, Ill call our security company. If you wouldnt mind waiting there until they arrive . . .

No problem, I said, and hung up.

Anita and I stood inside the front door and guarded the Braque. When we saw a couple of rent-a-cops pull up and rush up the walkway, we met them outside.

Howd you get in there? one snapped.

We just walked in, I said, turning to demonstrate how Id grabbed each handle of the double doors and pulled. The doors opened.

Youre not supposed to do it that way, said the uniformed security man. He closed the doors, grasped only one handle and pulled, and the doors stayed locked.

I laughed. You mean anybody with two hands can get in but youre counting on them to only pull one handle?

He and his partner nodded. Dumbfounded. But not amused.

They looked us over, apparently checking to see whether I had a Degas in my pants or Anita had a Klee in her purse, before dismissing us with a wave.

All these years later, I still envision filling my Fiat with great Impressionist works, driving up the Jersey Turnpike with the Renoir strapped to the roof.

When Anita and I split up later that year, she took the Beatles albums; I got the Sinatra and Simon & Garfunkel.

But I imagined us sitting around the living room of our apartment in Queens with priceless canvases strewn about.

I want the Picasso.

Fine, but Ill take the Matisse.

No, I want the Matisse.

Ill trade you two Cezannes for the Matisse.

Deal.

Lets divvy up the Van Goghs.

Okay, but who gets the Renoir?

Considering all the places Ive lived since then  Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Maine, Northern Ontario, Mississauga  I would have had to hire a Brinks truck to haul my stash of paintings from house to house.

And now Id have that Renoir above the mantel.

Or maybe Gauguins The Ham in the kitchen?

And Picassos The Blue Room in the john?
The newly elected French president is attempting a feat that the newly elected American president wouldnt dare: leadership.

Emmanuel Macron, the youngest French head of state since Napoleon, has stolen many American hearts thanks to his moving defense of the Paris climate accord, gutsy news conference with Vladimir Putin and, of course, the fact that he married a much older woman.

But here in France, his primary public contribution is expected to be on a different front: the economy.

For decades, France has struggled with stagnant labor markets and intractably high unemployment. The jobless rate stands at 9.6 percent, which  believe it or not  is a five-year low.

(Emmanuel Macron)

Also for decades, French politicians have tried to reform the system. Macrons predecessor, Francois Hollande, suffered recordlow approval ratings, partly due to the violent strikes and chaos that erupted when he worked to reform labor laws last year.

Rather than shying away from this hot-button issue  which Macron had overseen as Hollandes economy minister  Macron made it a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. And after this Sundays first-round parliamentary elections, which his brand-new political party is projected to win in a landslide, his government will likely claim a public mandate to finally fix the system.

So what exactly is wrong with the job market in France?

The problem isnt generous health-care benefits or onerous environmental protections or the usual job-killing regulations that American politicians so often vilify  and that the French love.

Its that its virtually impossible, or at the very least prohibitively expensive, to fire employees. Which makes hiring employees unattractive, too.

In France, firings and layoffs can generally happen under very limited circumstances, including gross negligence and economic reasons. Laid-off employees can then challenge their dismissals in court, where judges are seen as somewhat hostile to employers.

Judges, for example, have wide latitude in deciding what counts as a justifiable economic reason for a layoff. They may decide that multinational firms that are losing money in France are not allowed to pare back their French workforce if they are collectively profitable in other countries, according to Jean-Charles Simon, an economist and former manager of the countrys main employer organization, Mouvement des Entreprises de France, or MEDEF.

A layoff in such a case could be deemed unfair. Furthermore, there is no cap on the damages that judges can award for unfair dismissal, meaning employers potential risks are essentially limitless. The whole process can take years to resolve, too.

Unsurprisingly, employers turn whenever possible to temporary, short-term contract workers, who enjoy fewer protections. This has led to a two-tier labor market with ironclad job security for some and virtually none for the rest.

In fact, about two-thirds of job contracts signed each year are fixed-term arrangements lasting less than a month, according to Francis Kramarz, director of CREST (the Center for Research in Economics and Statistics) and professor at Ecole Polytechnique and ENSAE. Young workers often find themselves doomed to an endless series of short-term gigs, with no opportunities for upward mobility.

In addition to job protections, other rigid policies have made France a difficult place to run a business, particularly for smaller firms.

Only about 8 percent of French workers belong to unions, but thanks to French labor law, 98 percent of workers are covered by national, industry-wide union-negotiated contracts. These can set generous and inflexible pay scales, overtime rates and severance packages, regardless of firm size, resources or whether any of its employees actually belong to a union.

Arguably this is one reason larger firms have not pushed harder for market reforms. They know how to work the system, have lawyers on staff and can absorb many of the steep costs that smaller firms cannot.

This is a system for insiders, and insiders collude to keep it in place, complains Pierre Cahuc, an economics professor at CREST and Ecole Polytechnique.

Nor are trade unions terribly keen on revamping the broken system, because they fear that their hard-won worker protections will disappear.

Macron has framed his agenda  which includes making it easier to ax workers, capping damages in unfair-dismissal cases and decentralizing collective bargaining  as both pro-business and pro-worker, given that it would grant additional opportunities to job-seekers. In some ways he plans to expand worker protections by making entrepreneurs and those who voluntarily quit their jobs newly eligible for unemployment benefits. The goal would be to encourage risk-taking.

Macron plans to transform labor laws by summers end. That certainly seems ambitious, given that the unions that organized last years tumultuous strikes and protests have threatened a repeat performance.

Nonetheless, its hard not to admire, and perhaps even envy, Macrons political impulses here. In the face of divisive economic challenges, he is choosing not to pander and scapegoat but to restructure and reinvent.
Bhutanese refugees urge PM Deuba for their repatriation

The Bhutanese refugees living in different camps in Jhapa and Morang have extended congratulations and best wishes to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on his election.
David Gordon was director of policy planning at the State Department and is a senior adviser to the Eurasia Group. Michael OHanlon is a senior fellow and director of research for the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution.

President Trumps foreign policy has been taking a shellacking lately. With his insensitive tweets after the terrible June 3 attacks in London, ongoing allegations of improper ties between his presidential campaign and the Russians, and ill-advised intelligence disclosures, the new presidents second 100 days in office are not going any easier than the first 100. Of course, much of the brouhaha is Trump-induced. And there is perhaps an element of poetic justice in seeing a man who insulted his way to the presidency paid back in kind. But the nations politics will be further dragged down  and Trumps critics will be less likely to influence his future policies  if things become so poisoned that every debate ends up in a zero-sum shouting match between the White House and its critics.

Although there is certainly a lot to worry about in Trumps approach to the world (leaving aside his domestic policies, a separate and equally serious subject), there are several hopeful signs. His critics (including us) need to remember these facts, and support his good decisions, even as we continue our strong critiques when he goes astray.

First is the quality of his national security team  which Trump handpicked, to his credit. The top advisers appear collectively as good as any in modern U.S. history. But the widespread sighs of relief that were almost audible when Jim Mattis, Nikki Haley, H.R. McMaster, John F. Kelly and Rex Tillerson joined the administration have stopped. Indeed, some critics have even called for their resignations (which would be deeply counterproductive). An inner circle of White House advisers with extreme views complicates things, of course. But national security adviser McMaster has successfully persuaded the president not to include the firebrand Stephen K. Bannon on the National Security Council, among other encouraging steps.

Trumps national security team has already walked back many of candidate Trumps controversial, even dangerous, ideas. In his first week in office, Defense Secretary Mattis reassured the Asian region about the United States continued commitment to its allies and interests there  a message that he and Secretary of State Tillerson reiterated this week and that Vice President Pence has conveyed as well.

The cruise missile strike in Syria in April was a proportionate response to an abominable action by the government of President Bashar al-Assad. In Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, Trump has built on President Barack Obamas policies, gradually and modestly escalating U.S. involvement in most of those places.

Trump has wisely chosen not to use military force in response to North Korean provocations, attempting instead to work with China to apply economic pressure. And he dropped his campaign promise to designate China a currency manipulator and has not pushed his proposed 45 percent tariffs on all trade with China  actions that would have risked a trade war and recession.

Yet Trump has not turned a blind eye to Chinas behavior when it has been troublesome. Notably, the U.S. Navy recently conducted freedom-of-navigation exercises in the South China Sea, designed to push back against Chinas assertive claims there. These were done in matter-of-fact style, without tweets or other histrionics.

Then there is the NATO Article 5 question. To be sure, Trump insults allies in ways we find off-putting at best, and often disturbing. But the recent outcry over his supposed abandonment of NATO has been badly overdone. In his speech in Brussels in May, Trump explicitly said that the United States would not leave allies in the lurch, even if he failed to voice commitment to the alliances formal mutual-defense pledge as codified in Article 5 of the 1949 treaty.

Paying lip service to that article would not have settled any issue over European security. Its language is intentionally ambiguous: The way NATO should respond to one scenario is necessarily different from how it should respond to another.

Also, in this business, actions speak at least as loudly as words  and we still have thousands of U.S. troops undergirding our commitment to Poland and the Baltic States . Trump hasnt suggested pulling these forces back. Nor has he unconditionally lifted sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, as some feared he might.

This president is not exactly our cup of tea when it comes to foreign policy. But he has shown some openness to advice, rationality and dialogue  and his critics should be careful about closing off all avenues of communication with an administration that is still feeling its way.
There will be much for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to unpack after this last weeks momentous testimony of James B. Comey: Did President Trumps actions amount to obstruction of justice? Did Attorney General Jeff Sessions violate his recusal from the Russia probe? Should Comey have acted sooner?

But such legal considerations, though important, miss the real significance of Comeys testimony heard round the world. In the three hours I sat transfixed in Room 216 of the Hart Building, 15 feet behind the fired FBI director, the line that chilled me more than any other was Comeys account of why he wrote extensive, real-time notes of his conversations with Trump. The nature of the person, Comey explained in part. I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document.

The nature of the person.

This was the essence of Comeys testimony: that the president of the United States is at his core a dishonest and untrustworthy man. It was judgment on character, not a legal opinion, and even Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee made no real attempt to dispel it.

[The latest Republican defense of Trump is built on a massive lie]

(Kate Woodsome,Monica Akhtar,Dana Milbank/The Washington Post)

By itself, its neither a high crime nor a misdemeanor for a president to be dishonorable. But its a stain on the country, and it defines this moment. This is why Trump cant get legislation through Congress and cant get allies to cooperate, and why so many worry that he will disregard constitutional restraints. The president is not to be trusted.

The Founders did not anticipate this, a defect not just of private misconduct (which weve seen before) but of public character. The process of election affords a moral certainty, Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 68, that the office of president will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications. Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single state; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of president of the United States. It will not be too strong to say, that there will be a constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue.

But the moral certainty of the Enlightenment broke down with the election of something more medieval. When Sen. Angus King, the Maine independent, asked Comey whether he took as a directive Trumps expressed hope that Comey drop the FBIs probe of ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn, Comey reached back to the words of 12th-century autocrat Henry II that led to the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket. Yes, Comey said, it rings in my ear as kind of Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest? 

[Comeys testimony changed everything  and not in Trumps favor]

The former FBI chief and top official in the George W. Bush Justice Department was unsparing in his challenge to Trumps character, saying that Trumps administration chose to defame me and the FBI with lies, plain and simple. Comey noted that he never felt the need to document his conversations with Presidents George W. Bush or Barack Obama, telling Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), again, that he got a gut feeling about Trump and the nature of the person that I was interacting with and my read of that person.

Republicans on and off the panel largely accept Comeys assessment of Trumps character. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) suggested that the presidents new at this and probably wasnt steeped in the long-running protocols. But, he added, Im not saying its an acceptable excuse.

Republicans on the committee defended Trump on some technical points but not on matters of integrity. Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho) called Comeys testimony as good as it gets for legal writing and accepted that we know exactly what happened between him and Trump. Collins said Trump never should have cleared the room, and he never should have asked you, as you reported, to let it go  to let the investigation go.

Trump is growing lonely in his protestations of his own probity. Friday morning he inexplicably claimed total and complete vindication. Trumps spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders vouched that the president is not a liar. I think its frankly insulting that that question would be asked.

No, whats insulting  to America  is that the question didnt need to be asked. Comey, until last month the nations top lawman, confirmed what we already knew.

Twitter: @Milbank

Read more from Dana Milbanks archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
PRESIDENT TRUMPS nationalistic America first inaugural address included this declaration: We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow. In fact, for decades the United States has been championing democracy and market capitalism, relying on our own example but also promoting these values as superior to the miseries of tyranny. This was at the heart of the Cold War competition with communism, and it was a worthy cause.

Does Mr. Trump intend to abandon this quest? His early months in office certainly have suggested the answer is yes. He has hardly said a word to authoritarian bosses about repression of their people and has made no secret of his affinity for strongmen such as Presidents Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Mr. Trumps admiration for autocrats comes at a time when illiberalism seems to be on the march around the world. No doubt, many of these leaders were smiling when the new secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, did not even attend the March 3 release of the State Departments annual human rights report.

Yet this week, there was a glimmer of hope that the department, at least, has not thrown in the towel. The State Department issued a statement in defense of Taner Kilic, the chairman of Amnesty International Turkey, who was detained in recent days on suspicion of links with the movement of Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who lives in Pennsylvania. Mr. Erdogan, the Turkish president who was the target of a failed coup last July, has since carried out a wave of arbitrary punishments and imprisonments of thousands of journalists, academics, bureaucrats, lawyers and human rights defenders he suspects of affiliation with Mr. Gulen and his movement. This cruel frenzy is just the latest step in Mr. Erdogans march toward authoritarianism in a nation that was once hailed as a model majority-Muslim democracy.

The State Department statement, saying it is deeply concerned about the detention, stopped short of mentioning Mr. Erdogan by name. But it accurately declared that the detentions in Turkey, often with little evidence or transparency, are an alarming trend and that they undermine Turkeys democracy. We would add that there are hundreds of other cases worth speaking out about in Turkey as well, including that of French photographer Mathias Depardon, who has been detained since May for committing acts of journalism while on assignment for National Geographic.

No one should harbor any illusions that Mr. Trump has changed his views overnight, but it is promising that Mr. Tillersons department has seen fit to issue the statement. More such statements ought to be forthcoming. The United States must not only lead by example, as Mr. Trump suggested on taking office. It must also lead by speaking out forcefully on behalf of people whose rights are shackled in dark corners of the globe.
Julie Klams fifth book The Stars in Our Eyes: The Famous, the Infamous, and Why We Care Way Too Much will be published in July.

When I first picked up Deborah Tannens Youre the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Womens Friendships, my thought was, Who would want to read this? (I thought this with a mean-girl snarled lip and bitchy head flip, while up-talking.)

As someone whos written a book and an advice column on womens friendships, I feel like I pretty much know all I want to know about the topic. Something about the idea of this book made me feel very tired. I guess I see my friendships as fine, and the thought of putting more work into them makes me want to curl up into a fetal position with a bottle of sauvignon blanc. Like many women, I have a partner, a kid, pets and a busy job, and I am all done making new friends. As one friend and I have said, No new friends unless somebody dies. In other words, Im too tired to work on my friendships.

But after starting to read it, I realized I had it exactly backward. It isnt the number of friends thats exhausting but the way we relate to them. All the dances we perform in our relationships, all the work  that is exhausting. The further I read, the more I realized that actually knowing what I was doing could make it less challenging and maybe even more enjoyable. See? Self-awareness isnt just for the kids.

"You're the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Women's Friendships," by Deborah Tannen (Ballantine)

[Old but not cold: Four very longtime friends anticipate turning 100 this year]

Tannen, the author of the mega-blockbuster You Just Dont Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, interviewed 80 women from nine to ninety-seven and from backgrounds that included African-Americans, Asian-Americans, European-Americans, and Hispanic-Americans and many different ethnic, geographic, economic, and religious backgrounds as well as sexual orientations and gender identities to determine patterns and explore conversational styles. She also uses anecdotes from some of her students in the interactional sociolinguistics classes she teaches at Georgetown University. In addition, she draws on essays and novels by such writers as Rosie Schaap, Cynthia Ozick and Elliott Holt.

In one of the early chapters, Thats Not What I Meant!: The Invisible Influence of Conversational Styles, Tannen relays a story of four roommates who shared an apartment where the positioning of the refrigerator and stove meant everyone needed to take extra care to make sure the freezer door was closed. One roommate was particularly careless, and another was really bugged by it. The one who was irked approached a third roommate to discuss how to go about addressing this without hurting the offenders feelings. They decided that instead of confronting the guilty roommate, the unhappy roommate would send a group text, making it seem like everyone was at fault. So she wrote: Hey guys! I dont wanna come off as a bitch, but if every one (including me), could really make sure that were closing the freezer, I would really appreciate it. It was cracked open when I got home and everything in the door was completely defrosted. RIP Gyoza. According to Tannen, the sender started with a disclaimer and ended with humor. She believed she had figured out a way to resolve the issue considerately. Unfortunately, the other two roommates who were in on the plan rushed in to respond and diffuse, and blurred the message. One wrote Aye Aye and sent a picture of her cute baby nephew; the second sent a Bitmoji of herself saying Will Do! and responding that the photo of the baby was totes ADORBS. The fourth roommate, the delinquent, then started chatting about dinner plans and commenting on the baby. The next day she did the same thing with the freezer door. Message not received! Gyoza DOA!

[Women, stop worrying about being liked  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies advice for living boldly]

This example of the way women communicate made my head spin off my body and into outer space. Why? Because I do this all the time and never realized it. A few days later I was talking to a friend about something she had done that wasnt okay with me; the minute she started apologizing I was backpedalling into 2010. If the book delivered just this one lesson, it would be worth it.

But there is more. Tannen uses a story of French and American women to point out how friends from different cultures can get all tangled up by not knowing the other cultures norms. When a French woman complained that she was tired, another French friend offered to take her children for an afternoon to give her time to rest  and the tired woman complained that her American friend didnt offer to help. Conversely, when the American friend complained that she was tired, and the French woman offered to take her children, she took offense  As if I were incapable of taking care of my daughter and my work at the same time. Trouble abounds! Tannen also writes about the conversational differences and nuances with a friend who uses American Sign Language.

Tannens book comes at a time when our friendships are challenged daily in new and ghastly ways, thanks in large part to the use of various social media and texting. (In the old days, you would sit and wonder if you were being left out; now you can watch in real time as your friends go to the ice cream parlor and post it on Instagram.)

At a time when the messages we give and get have so many more ways to be misconstrued and potentially damaging, a book that takes apart our language becomes almost vital to our survival as friends.
The May 28 Business article about Cecil Exum, Marriotts top omelet man, was great. During 1957 and 1958 college vacations, I worked as a waiter at the Marriott familys Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington. I dont remember Exum  or any other employee, for that matter. I do remember serving Bill Marriott and his brother. Drinks from the right and food from the left. The drinks were nonalcoholic, involuntarily because of Virginia law and voluntarily because of the Marriotts Mormon faith. A trip down memory lane might have added that, because of segregation, Exum would not have been served. I had to turn away a New York state judge and his family, complying with Virginia law.

Thomas Cummings, Annandale
Having coined Bush Derangement Syndrome more than a decade ago, I feel authorized to weigh in on its most recent offshoot. What distinguishes Trump Derangement Syndrome is not just general hysteria about the subject, but additionally the inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences on the one hand and signs of psychic pathology on the other.

Take President Trumps climate-change decision. The hyperbole that met his withdrawal from the Paris agreement  a traitorous act of war against the American people, America just resigned as leader of the free world, etc.  was astonishing, though hardly unusual, this being Trump.

What the critics dont seem to recognize is that the Paris agreement itself was a huge failure. It contained no uniform commitments and no enforcement provisions. Sure, the whole world signed. But onto what? A voluntary set of vaporous promises. China pledged to achieve the peaking of [carbon dioxide] emissions around 2030. Meaning that they rise for another 13 years.

The rationale, I suppose, is that developing countries like India and China should be given a pass because the West had a two-century head start on industrialization.

I dont think the West needs to apologize  or pay  for having invented the steam engine. In fact, Ive long favored a real climate-change pact, strong and enforceable, that would impose relatively uniform demands on China, India, the United States, the European Union and any others willing to join.

(Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)

Paris was nothing but hot air. Withdrawing was a perfectly plausible policy choice (the other being remaining but trying to reduce our carbon dioxide-cutting commitments). The subsequent attacks on Trump were all the more unhinged because the presidents other behavior over the past several weeks provided ample opportunity for shock and dismay.

Its the tweets, of course. Trump sees them as a direct, unfiltered conduit to the public. What he doesnt quite understand is that for him  indeed, for anyone  they are a direct conduit from the unfiltered id. They erase whatever membrane normally exists between ones internal disturbances and their external manifestations.

For most people, who cares? For the president of the United States, there are consequences. When the presidents id speaks, the world listens.

Consider his tweets mocking the mayor of London after the most recent terrorist attack. They were appalling. This is a time when a president expresses sympathy and solidarity  and stops there. Trump cant stop, ever. He used the atrocity to renew an old feud with a minor official of another country. Petty in the extreme.

As was his using London to support his misbegotten travel ban, to attack his own Justice Department for having watered down the original executive order (ignoring the fact that Trump himself signed it) and to undermine the case for it just as it goes to the Supreme Court.

As when he boasted by tweet that the administration was already doing extreme vetting. But that explodes the whole rationale for the travel ban  that a 90-day moratorium on entry was needed while new vetting procedures were developed. If the vetting is already in place, the ban has no purpose. The rationale evaporates.

And if that wasnt mischief enough, he then credited his own interventions in Saudi Arabia for the sudden squeeze that the Saudis, the UAE, Egypt and other Sunni-run states are putting on Qatar for its long-running dirty game of supporting and arming terrorists (such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas) and playing footsie with Iran.

Its good to see our Sunni allies confront Qatar and try to bring it into line. But why make it personal  other than to feed the presidential id? Gratuitously injecting the U.S. into the crisis taints the endeavor by making it seem an American rather than an Arab initiative and turns our allies into instruments of American designs rather than defenders of their own region from a double agent in their midst.

And this is just four days worth of tweets, all vainglorious and self-injurious. Where does it end?

The economist Herb Stein once quipped that if something cannot go on forever, it will stop. This really cant go on, can it? But its hard to see what, short of a smoking gun produced by the Russia inquiry, actually does stop him.

Trump was elected to do politically incorrect  and needed  things like withdrawing from Paris. He was not elected to do crazy things, starting with his tweets. If he cannot distinguish between the two, Trump Derangement Syndrome will only become epidemic.

Read more from Charles Krauthammers archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
The world waited nearly a day before the tweet finally came.

All day Thursday, many people expected President Trump to weigh in but he had nothing to say  on his preferred medium of Twitter or anywhere else. He let others do his talking.

During James B. Comeys extraordinary Senate testimony, it was Donald Trump Jr., the presidents 39-year-old son, who played his fathers usual role of Twitter foil, firing off snarky put-downs.

Is this a joke? Trump Jr. asked at one point.

It then fell to Marc Kasowitz, the presidents personal lawyer, to deliver Trumps formal response: a scathing, pugnacious rebuttal declaring the presidents innocence, implying that Comey lied under oath and labeling the former FBI director a leaker.

Trump let Kasowitz have the last word  at least for the moment.

Friday morning he finally took to Twitter, posting, Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!

Earlier in the week the president had been spoiling for a fight with Comey, but he was convinced by Kasowitz and his senior aides to stay cool and lie low, according to about a dozen White House officials and other Republicans close to Trump, some of whom spoke only on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy.

The best thing said on this is nothing, said former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a Trump friend and former Justice Department official. Kasowitz, who is a fine lawyer, answered it  and I know from personal experience that he has the presidents trust.

Kasowitz and White House advisers, including Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Counsel Donald F. McGahn, argued to Trump that they had a rapid-response operation in place Thursday to defend him as vociferously as he would defend himself, according to people familiar with the discussions.

[Trump, furious and frustrated, gears up to punch back at Comey testimony]

Trump agreed Wednesday not to directly engage on Comey, and by the time the ousted FBI director took the witness stand, tweeting was not something he was considering, one senior White House official said.

1 of 28 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The scene in Washington during former FBI director James B. Comeys testimony View Photos Fired FBI director James B. Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on President Trump and the FBIs Russia probe. Caption Fired FBI director James B. Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on President Trump and the FBIs Russia probe. June 8, 2017 People walk past the Capitol the morning before former FBI director James B. Comey appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington. Matt McClain/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Kasowitz was able to persuade the president that he would not give a Washington-style, tepid defense, said a top Republican figure who is close to the White House. Trumps big charge with his staff is that they dont defend him aggressively. And Kasowitz convinced him that not only will I defend you, but I will attack Comey where theres room to.

Kasowitz, a New Yorker who most recently defended Bill OReilly against allegations of sexual harassment at Fox News Channel, has counted Trump as a client on and off for many years. His combative presentation was on full display Thursday as he read from a statement that contained two typos. (He misspelled president as predisent, and the surname of Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats as Coates.)

Trump watched some of Comeys testimony in the morning with legal and political advisers in a small dining room off the Oval Office outfitted with a 60-inch television, but his aides also scheduled counterprogramming in the form of meetings and public events.

Later in the morning, for instance, as Comey was stilltestifying, Trump met with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster about foreign policy issues.

Trump sent no tweets, ignored questions about Comey called out by reporters and stuck largely to his script by not mentioning the issue in a speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition. The one potential exception came in a line he delivered in the context of religious liberty that could also be interpreted as an indirect reference to the Russia probe.

We are under siege, you understand that, he said.

Trumps advisers and allies  some of whom consider the presidents Twitter presence self-destructive  celebrated the restraint he displayed during the day and kept their fingers crossed as the sun started to set. Its not mission accomplished yet, one ally said Thursday evening.

Trump, who is known to record major congressional hearings and other cable news shows on his TiVo device, was almost certain to flip on the television after retiring to his private living quarters after dinner, one White House official said. That may explain his delay in reacting. Sometimes Trump takes hours or even days before launching tweetstorms, taking time to absorb and stew over how an event is being covered in the media before responding.

[James Comey testifies: Former FBI director says he could not trust Trump to tell the truth]

Throughout the day Thursday, the White House sought to project an air of calm.

In terms of the mood in the White House, I would say that its a regular Thursday at the White House, said principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Were carrying on.

Lara Trump, one of the presidents daughters-in-law and a former campaign aide, entered the White House press room Thursday afternoon and told reporters that she had just met privately with Trump and he looks very relaxed and is doing as well as anyone could do under the circumstances.

Trump considers himself to be his most effective spokesman and advocate  something his actual spokesman, White House press secretary Sean Spicer, is quick to remind reporters.

Several people close to the president pointed to Kasowitz as the most obvious explanation for Trumps sudden restraint, recalling that Trump has often spoken of the attorney as a killer in the positive sense.

Marc is one of the few people who can speak as if he was Trump himself, said Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media, a conservative media organization, and a longtime Trump associate. His reputation as a tough, no-nonsense New York litigator fits well with the presidents view that the best defense is a strong offense.

Trumps frequently impulsive and incendiary tweets may galvanize his base of supporters, but they create political headaches in Washington for him and his staff. Trumps advisers have conceded that his comments about Comey and the Russia investigations have sometimes been unhelpful to the presidents cause and only expanded the cloud over them, using one of Trumps phrases for the controversies that surround the White House.

It shows the president understands the possible legal ramifications, said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign adviser. Everybody was waiting for the tweets, but there was nothing to gain. Its important that Kasowitz, who is rough around the edges, was guiding him. Trump trusts hes not trying to settle, so he will listen.

Veteran Washington lawyers described Trumps restraint as surprising based on his history of lashing out at critics, but fitting for how a president should behave during thorny legal moments.

Its a really good thing that the presidents not tweeting, and its a good thing that hes letting his lawyer talk, said Jack Quinn, a former White House counsel under President Bill Clinton. So much of the difficulty that the White House now faces is the product of the presidents own words, which have simply provided ammunition to those who want to rev up this investigation.

With an ongoing federal probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election  being led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, after Comeys May 9 firing  they said caution was the wisest course of action.

I dont think he needs to be in front of the cameras. Its fine for his lawyer to make a statement, said C. Boyden Gray, who served as White House counsel for George H.W. Bush. It was appropriate, as well as pretty routine.

[Balz: Comey testimony shifts focus to Trump]

The discretion inside the West Wing did not extend to the Republican Party or to members of the Trump family.

At the Republican National Committee, dozens of staffers issued a barrage of tweets and barbed statements. One RNC email sent to reporters Thursday morning criticized Comey as being against leaks before he was for them and said he was forced to admit that he leaked his own memo.

The RNCs Twitter account used the hashtag #BigLeagueTruth  a reference to Trumps frequent use of the phrase big league  to mock the witness as James I could be wrong Comey.

Donald Trump Jr. and other high-profile Trump supporters also took to social media and television with rebukes. During the Comey hearing, the Drudge Report, a conservative website, made sure to link to Donald Trump Jr.s Twitter account with the headline DONALD JR: LIVE.

Typing out live reactions to his more than 1.6 million followers, Donald Trump Jr. cast his father as vindicated by Comeys testimony and responded to Comeys uncertainty about whether he was pressured to back down.

Knowing my father for 39 years when he orders or tells you to do something there is no ambiguity, you will know exactly what he means, Trump Jr. wrote.

When a conservative operative wrote that Donald Trump Jr. was the best follow of the day, the presidential son replied: Thanks. That was fun.

On Capitol Hill, Republican allies were relieved by Trumps relative calm.

He avoided any temptation to respond to what the Democrats were saying, Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) said. I think they convinced him there was no reason for him to say anything, to not get bogged down in the swamp. Be presidential, go out and do the job, and dont take the bait.

Abby Phillip contributed to this report.
A defiant President Trump on Friday accused former FBI director James B. Comey of committing perjury in his blockbuster Senate testimony and said he was willing to share his version of events under oath with the special counsel overseeing the expanding Russia investigation.

Trump emphatically declared his innocence yet refused to solve a mystery of his own making by stating whether he has tapes of his one-on-one conversations with Comey. Any such recordings could prove which mans account is accurate, but the president played coy, saying he would wait a fairly short period of time to tell the public whether tapes exist, as he first suggested they might in May.

Oh, youre going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer, he told reporters. Dont worry.

During a combative news conference in the White House Rose Garden, the president said Comeys testimony Thursday was politically motivated, contained falsehoods, and failed to establish that Trump had colluded with Russians to win last years election or had obstructed justice in seeking to end the federal governments probe.

No collusion. No obstruction. Hes a leaker, Trump said of Comey, adding: We were very, very happy, and, frankly, James Comey confirmed a lot of what I said. And some of the things that he said just werent true.

(The Washington Post)

[Analysis: Trump thinks he got total vindication from Comey. Except he didnt.]

Comeys testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee painted a damning portrait of Trumps character, and the president waited until Friday morning to break his silence  first in a 6:10 a.m. tweet declaring total and complete vindication and then in more detail at the afternoon news conference.

Comey  who testified that he had taken contemporaneous notes on all his conversations with Trump  said he believed that the president had fired him because of the Russia probe, told lies about Comeys record at the bureau and sought to redirect the probe away from former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Trump and his aides and allies followed a two-pronged rebuttal strategy: They hung onto snippets of Comeys testimony as categorical evidence of Trumps innocence while using other elements to try to impugn the former FBI directors credibility.

The president, who had followed the advice of his lawyers to refrain from commenting Thursday, was characteristically pugnacious in his presentation Friday and opted mostly to deliver broadsides rather than address the details of Comeys testimony.

Jonathan Karl of ABC News drilled down on a couple of key facts, however, beginning with Comeys statement that Trump had told him that he hoped Comey would let the Flynn investigation go. Trump replied three times, I didnt say that.

Regarding Comeys assertion that Trump had asked him during a one-on-one dinner in the White House to pledge his loyalty, the president said: I hardly know the man. Im not going to say, I want you to pledge allegiance. Who would do that?

1 of 28 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  The scene in Washington during former FBI director James B. Comeys testimony View Photos Fired FBI director James B. Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on President Trump and the FBIs Russia probe. Caption Fired FBI director James B. Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on President Trump and the FBIs Russia probe. June 8, 2017 People walk past the Capitol the morning before former FBI director James B. Comey appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington. Matt McClain/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Karl pointed out to Trump that Comey had made these statements under oath and asked the president  who has a long and well-documented history of telling falsehoods  whether he would be willing to provide his version of events under oath.

One hundred percent, Trump said.

Karl also asked if he was willing to speak about the issue with Robert S. Mueller III, the former FBI director who is now leading the Russia investigation as special counsel. Trump said he would.

I would be glad to tell him exactly what I just told you, Trump said.

Just as his personal lawyer and surrogates had Thursday, the president branded Comey a leaker Friday for revealing in his testimony that he had asked a friend to pass along Comeys personal notes of his conversations with Trump to a reporter, with the aim of prompting the appointment of a special counsel. The Justice Department later appointed Mueller to that role.

Trump wrote in his Friday morning tweet, WOW, Comey is a leaker! And he repeated the charge at the Rose Garden news conference, telling reporters, Hes a leaker.

The term leaker is typically used to refer to a government employee who gives classified documents or state secrets to the news media. The case is different with Comey, a former government employee who shared personal notes and recollections that are not classified.

[James Comey admitted to authorizing a leak. Thats extraordinary.]

Still, Marc Kasowitz, Trumps personal lawyer, was preparing to file a complaint early next week over Comeys testimony with the Justice Departments inspector generals office and the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to a person close to the legal team.

A spokesman for the Justice Department inspector general declined to comment.

On Thursday, Kasowitz alleged in a statement to reporters that Comey unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president.

Trumps surrogates fanned out on television news shows to echo the presidents charge that Comey improperly leaked information.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi (R) said on Fox News Channel: I think were going to have to look at his, basically, employment contract with the FBI as to what he would keep confidential and what he would reveal. So, I think there has to be an investigation. Am I ready to say he committed a crime? No, not until we look into all this.

Despite Trumps declaration of no obstruction, Democrats on Capitol Hill raised the prospect that he may have obstructed justice, based on Comeys testimony, and called for additional investigations.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a senior member of both the Intelligence and Judiciary committees, said in a statement: I see firsthand the distinction between the legal and counterintelligence aspects presented by Director Comeys testimony this week. It is my strong recommendation that the Judiciary Committee investigate all issues that raise a question of obstruction of justice.

Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) and K. Michael Conaway (R-Tex.), who are investigating the Russia issue on the House Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to White House counsel Donald McGahn asking whether the White House has any recordings or memoranda of Trumps conversations with Comey or whether any have existed in the past. They asked the White House to produce them to the committee by June 23.

Schiff and Conaway also sent a letter to Comey requesting that he share any notes or memoranda in his possession about his talks with Trump.

[Behind Trumps temporary silence: Why the counterpuncher let others do the punching]

Trump held his news conference alongside the visiting president of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, who lavished praise on his American host.

The visit came after Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son, who is helping run the familys real estate companies while his father is in office, reportedly traveled to Romania in mid-May for a hunting and sightseeing trip. A Trump Organization spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment about Trump Jr.s travels to Romania.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded definitively that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to try to influence its outcome in Trumps favor. But in his Rose Garden remarks, the president repeated his claim that the probe into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia is merely a creation of his political opponents.

That was an excuse by the Democrats, who lost an election that some people think they shouldnt have lost, because its almost impossible for the Democrats to lose the electoral college, as you know, Trump said. You have to run up the whole East Coast and you have to win everything as a Republican, and thats just what we did.

In fact, Trump lost most of the states on the Eastern Seaboard (he carried Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and a portion of Maine). He won his electoral college majority by carrying a number of hotly contested states in the industrial Midwest and elsewhere, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), on the dais at an Intelligence Committee hearing with former FBI director James B. Comey on Capitol Hill June 8, 2017. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

Former FBI director James B. Comeys testimony Thursday about possible obstruction of justice by President Trump prompted calls from Democrats and Republicans for an expansion of ongoing probes examining the actions of other senior administration officials.

Democrats said theyre especially eager to examine the roles played in Comeys firing by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein. Members of both parties said they want copies of memos and other documents Comey said he has turned over to Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III, detailing his interactions with the president.

Nearly three hours of testimony by Comey  in which he detailed his interactions with Trump before his May 9 firing  raised the prospect of new lines of inquiry for at least four Senate and House committees looking into various aspects of the matter. It also suggested that principal characters in the drama, like Sessions, are likely to face pointed questions from Democrats when they come to Capitol Hill for other business.

Sessions is scheduled to appear Tuesday before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee to discuss the Justice Departments budget.

Comeys testimony left some lawmakers wanting more.

(Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Every good movie has a sequel, quipped Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who first came to national attention as a House lawmaker involved in President Bill Clintons impeachment trial.

Some Democratic senators reacted to Comeys testimony, saying they believe there is credible evidence that Trump may have obstructed justice in trying to persuade Comey to drop the FBI probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. But they cautioned that it will be up to Mueller to present such charges to Congress.

Everybody wants to jump to a conclusion  were nowhere near a conclusion, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.).

[Comey testimony shifts focus to Trump]

Precedent dictates that a sitting president wont be indicted on obstruction-of-justice charges, according to legal experts. Congress must ultimately determine if matters raise the specter of impeachment.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

The evidence just keeps piling up that there has been a very real presidential abuse of power, said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Intelligence Committee.

But when asked whether Trumps actions amounted to obstruction of justice, Wyden deferred to Mueller and his legal team.

Ill leave the lawyers to make those decisions, added Sen. Mark R. Warner (Va.), the Intelligence Committees top Democrat.

Comey did not say that he believed Trumps conversations with him were an effort to obstruct justice. But his narrative of events  that Trump made a point of speaking with him alone and pressured him to drop the Flynn investigation  suggested that if they didnt amount to obstruction of justice, they certainly came close.

There is certainly a building, mounting, unfolding case of obstruction of justice against the president, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

[Republicans close ranks around Trump during Comey testimony]

Republican leaders would only pledge to take what we heard, and figure out how that moves our investigation forward, according to Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who said later that he didnt hear Comey answer questions in a way that alluded to anybody obstructing justice.

Other Republicans said they believe they have to learn more about how Trump tried to shape the FBI investigation.

Whether it rises to criminality . . . Im not prepared to reach a conclusion on that because were not done with all the other pieces that are missing, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), an Intelligence Committee member, said after the hearing.

Rubio said that the committee had yet to hear a full accounting from Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats or Adm. Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, about whether Trump also asked them to pressure Comey to drop the FBIs probe. Coats and Rogers appeared before the intelligence panel on Wednesday, but they refused to answer questions about their conversations with Trump or Comey  leading Burr to warn them that at no time should you be in a position where you come to Congress without an answer to questions.

Neither had been told not to speak about those conversations by the president or by Mueller.

Rubio said it is important to understand what Trumps advisers had and had not told him, to understand whether people are dealing with a concerted orchestrated effort to impede justice, or is this an unconventional non-politician who, because he has not worked in government before, either doesnt understand or, quite frankly, is not interested in convention.

That line of argument  that Trump is a first-time politician worthy of leeway and understanding  was repeated across Capitol Hill on Thursday by senior Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that Comeys comments raise serious questions about Attorney General Sessions that he and the Justice Department must answer immediately.

Democrats warned that Sessions will face questions about his involvement in the Russia investigation during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday.

Blumenthal and Graham are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has pushed to have Comey appear to answer more questions about his interactions with Trump and other senior officials.

But aides and senators said it may be difficult to compel Comey, now a private citizen, to return for more questions  this time from a panel packed with former federal prosecutors and state attorneys general whose queries may be more pointed.

A spokesman for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) didnt return requests for comment.

The future work of the Senate Intelligence Committee, regarded across Capitol Hill as the most studious and advanced congressional probe, may be determined in large part by a meeting leaders are having with Mueller next week.

The committee is also sorting through some documents that Flynn provided in response to subpoenas for his business and personal records.

Flynn has also provided some documents to the House Intelligence Committee in response to a subpoena, according to that panels ranking Democrat, Adam B. Schiff (Calif.)

Burr and Schiff have indicated that more subpoenas may be coming in their respective probes.

Burr also said earlier this week that the committee will soon issue more subpoenas for witnesses documents. In the House, members are still waiting on a response to subpoenas issued for documents and testimony from Flynn and Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

In the House, aides to the chairmen of the Intelligence, Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform committees said they had nothing to say about whether Comeys testimony might reshape their investigations. Jared Kushner, White House senior adviser, also will be meeting with the Intelligence Committee later this month, according to aides familiar with the plans not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the intelligence panel, also said on CNN late Thursday that the meeting is scheduled for next week.

But people familiar with those conversations pushed back early Friday, saying that discussions are still ongoing about a date for Kushner to meet with the committee. The people familiar with those discussions asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing talks.

The House Judiciary Committee has said it will conduct oversight of Muellers probe but has no plans to launch a fresh inquiry.

Graham warned that any expansion of the controversies swirling around Trump will probably lead to more political fallout. He recalled how initial investigations of Clintons involvement in the Whitewater land deal led to revelations of his extramarital affair with a former White House intern.

You start with Whitewater and you end up with the blue dress? This is going to happen here, Graham said.

Read more at PowerPost
Charles Sobhraj to undergo open heart surgery

The infamous Charles Sobhraj, also known as Bikini Killer, will undergo an open heart surgery at the Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre, Bansbari after doctors diagnosed leakage in a valve.
For his performance of a lifetime, James B. Comey, finally free to speak his mind about the president who sacked him, decided to play two roles at once: The prototypical G-man, always on the straight and narrow, dedicated only to truth and justice, and the aggrieved victim of an undisciplined, line-crossing president.

In both roles, the play ends with Comey, the deposed FBI director, in a new and uncomfortable place  as the whistleblower, warning the nation about a president who schemes, lies and seeks to corrupt public servants under the guise of loyalty.

For more than 2  hours before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Comey, stern and unsmiling, rocked back and forth between stirring paeans to the men and women of the bureau (Thank you for standing watch) and a righteous role as the one person with sufficient standing and spine to call out President Trump (I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting).

Comey was alternately searingly blunt and tepidly cautious. He was folksy, entertaining the senators with the story of how he had to cancel a dinner date with his wife to accept a last-minute invitation to dine with the president. And he was melodramatic, wrapping his account of his encounters with the president in rhetoric about duty. He even tossed in a dark reference to a classic play about King Henry II and the meddlesome priest he wanted removed from this mortal coil.

Comey was a little bit Jimmy Stewart, sprinkling his answers with aw-shucks modesty, even exclaiming Lordy! at one point. And he was a little bit John Dean, not quite declaring a cancer on the presidency but pronouncing himself very much shocked and troubled by what he perceived as Trumps repeated efforts to get him to ease off the FBIs investigation into Russias role in the 2016 election.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

When Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked why Comey hadnt stopped Trump cold and refused to listen to any entreaties to back off the investigation, Comey said, Maybe if I were stronger, I would have.

As in the legendary Saturday Night Live bit about the miracle product Shimmer, which turns out to be both a floor wax and a dessert topping, Comey decided to play both roles.

This was an unusually explicit example of someone in public life walking a tightrope between roles, said Derek Goldman, a theater director and founder of the Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics at Georgetown University. Comey was trying to get across that Im trustworthy and I acted with integrity, on behalf of the greater good. That requires both his aw, shucks dignity and a capacity to speak truth to power, to blow the whistle.

Comey undertook that tightrope act without a net  although with plenty of preparation. He delivered his opening statement without notes. He was pointedly more forthcoming in a public session than the director of national intelligence, Daniel Coats, and the National Security Agency chief, Adm. Mike Rogers, had been before the same committee the previous day.

Comey delivered his central message with rare bluntness, saying that the White House chose to defame him. As a man who regularly refers to how political events sour his stomach, Comey used words that had to give the president indigestion. Here was the nations former chief law enforcement officer saying five times that Trump does not tell the truth, accusing the president of lies, plain and simple.

Yet for every accusation he leveled, Comey again and again stepped back, serving up large doses of modesty: Again, I could be wrong. . . . Again, its my impression . . . .

He balanced all that hemming and hawing about how hes just a public servant with words that could end up atop a list of particulars in any legal case against Trump: I mean, this is the president of the United States, with me alone, saying I hope . . . you can let this go. . . . I took it as, This is what he wants me to do. 

(Kate Woodsome,Monica Akhtar,Dana Milbank/The Washington Post)

Comey repeatedly asserted that he interpreted the presidents words to him to mean that he should back off the investigation into connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. Yet Comey also again and again conceded that he had not pushed back directly against the president during their meetings.

I was a bit stunned and didnt have the presence of mind, Comey told Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). The FBI director was not, he said, Captain Courageous.

Was that a frank admission of how even the chief of the FBI could be cowed by the awesomeness of the Oval Office, or was it a calculated attempt to present himself to the committee and the American people as a flawed but honorable servant, a martyr who has sacrificed his career-pinnacle job in service of telling the truth?

Dramatically, hes a complex character, said Ifa Bayeza, a playwright and director now working on a trilogy about Emmett Till, the black teen who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. He tried to thread the needle and play both the consummate FBI guy and the lordy, gosh, gee character. Bayeza noted that very tall people  Comey is 6-foot-8  develop ways to go through life without seeming intimidating.

Comey seemed aware that he had some persuading to do. A Washington Post-ABC News poll earlier this week found that 36 percent of Americans said they had a good or great level of trust in what Comey said about Russia and the election, while 55 percent said they trusted him little or not at all. The skepticism was spread across party lines, an artifact of the anger that swept the nation last year after Comeys surprise announcements that the investigation into Hillary Clintons misuse of email servers was on again and then off again.

Comeys eagerness to prove his honesty and goodwill came through in his folksy manner and old-fashioned language. Weve suffered an assault on our baseline of public decorum, Bayeza said. Comey is responding to the crassness of language that has invaded the public space.

Comey also sought to persuade with an unusual dose of frankness. He broke a Washington code by admitting that he was the original source behind news stories about a memo he had written detailing his conversations with Trump. I needed to get that out into the public square, he told the committee, describing how hed shared the memo with a friend who is a law professor at Columbia.

And as if to prove that he was constitutionally incapable of playing favorites, Comey focused his criticism not only on Trump but also on a list of others whose behavior he had found lacking. The former attorney general, Loretta E. Lynch, left him feeling queasy. Comey said he informed the new deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, about Trumps line-crossing, but nothing seemed to happen. And Comey called out a New York Times article as inaccurate. Lynch, Rosenstein and the Times were not amused.

Comeys purpose in all this seemed to be some blend of setting the record straight, pushing back against the presidents norm-shattering ways, and, perhaps, helping to build a case against Trump.

Asked directly whether the presidents actions constituted obstruction of justice, Comey demurred. But later, he explained that he had kept detailed notes of his moments with Trump because if I write it in such a way that I dont include anything that would trigger a classification, thatll make it easier for us to discuss, within the FBI and the government, and to hold on to it in a way that makes it accessible to us.

Comey was, he made clear, conducting his own investigation, and now, even though hes no longer chief of the FBI, hes pushing it forward. He wrote an elegant summation of his case and put it out the day before his testimony, buying a second news cycle of national attention and setting the terms for his appearance in the Senate. Then, in a performance that won praise from Democrats and Republicans alike, he added new fuel to an investigation that has nearly paralyzed the president who promised that now arrives the hour of action.

A quarter century ago, the future president said of his relentless focus on personal branding that the show is Trump, and it is sold-out performances everywhere. On Thursday, an unscripted character added himself to the show.

Read more at PowerPost
Around the time former FBI director James B. Comey finished his blockbuster hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill, President Trump got his eighth standing ovation at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Road to Majority conference.

Were under siege, he told a rapt audience of religious voters across town from the Capitol at the Omni Shoreham hotel.

And they believed him. For what were these convoluted accusations of collusion with the Russians or obstruction of justice, if not an attempt from the left to delegitimize the president?

Nearby, citizens of the swamp sat glued to C-SPAN  in neighborhood bars that opened early, in conference rooms with co-workers, or in a Starbucks line watching on iPhones  but here, the spectacle didnt rank.

[Trump accuses Comey of lying to Congress, says hed talk to special counsel]

When they see Washington consumed with something that they dont believe ultimately that theres anything there, they really just discount it, Ralph Reed, the events organizer and a longtime leader of the religious right, said at a lunch briefing for journalists Friday.

The world may feel like chaos to even the casual reader of the news, but Reed looked sharp in a tight suit, pocket square perfectly ironed, hair gelled to the side. Like the last happy man in Washington, he spent most of the day smiling.

Trumps overall approval ratings are at 34 percent, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, but he is still wildly popular among white evangelicals. A Pew Research Center survey taken to mark Trumps first 100 days in office found that three-fourths of that group (which gave him 80 percent of their vote in 2016) approved of his performance as president.

As strong as this vote was for him in 2016, Reed said, I think if he keeps on the track hes going it will be even bigger in 2020.

What, exactly, are they seeing that others are missing? Perhaps its an opportunity.

Trump never has been the most devout person. Hes never stuck to an ideology, or shown the character that religious voters seemed to care so much about during President Bill Clintons impeachment trial.

But maybe none of that matters.

It took a Manhattan billionaire male, who for most of his life was pro-choice, to deliver the most impassioned defense of life Ive ever heard from a presidential candidate, Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to the president, said on stage Thursday.

For much of the 1990s, leaders of the religious right, including Reed, repeated the phrase character counts as if it were a mantra. He still believes this to be true, he said, but all things considered, a tape of the president bragging about sexually assaulting women might now rank low on the hierarchy of concerns.

[Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005]

Trump is fighting to defund Planned Parenthood, move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, get out of the Iran nuclear deal and repeal Obamacare. The Access Hollywood tape was totally inappropriate, Reed said at lunch, but its not the Trump hes gotten to know. That Trump will also pick properly conservative justices to the Supreme Court  like Neil M. Gorsuch, who sailed onto the court earlier this year.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who helped orchestrate Gorsuchs nomination, helped promote the narrative that Trump was a friend to those at the conference, echoing from the stage Friday the siege narrative that the president had used the day before.

In some ways the threat seems to have grown even more dangerous, even with Republicans in control of Congress and the White House, McConnell said. Americans should not have to live in fear because they donated to the quote-unquote wrong candidate.

Reed acknowledged that he couldnt say for sure whether Trump has changed since his comments on the tape. But hes sure of something else.

Ive known every Republican nominee since Reagan, he said at lunch. In terms of telling me they were going to do something and doing it, and being a person I could trust and believe in as a person of their word, Donald Trump is the top of that list.

Reed, like many religious voters, said he had reservations about Trump as a candidate early on. But then he picked Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as a running mate, attacked Hillary Clinton for wanting to rip babies out of the womb and picked Gorsuch. Hes got Conway, a real-deal social conservative, as a right-hand woman, and perhaps most important, he realizes just how important Reeds constituency is to his presidency.

He believes that he would not be president today without the strong support he received from evangelicals, Reed said. Even if it werent true, Im happy he thinks that.

These were the kind of moves that made his shortcomings seem small.

Now, when you ask Reed whether he has any concerns about the presidents character, this is what he says: I dont have any reservations at all.

Read more at PowerPost
Congressional investigators demanded Friday that the president turn over within two weeks any recordings he made of his conversations with former FBI director James B. Comey, as President Trump refused to answer questions about whether such recordings exist.

The House Intelligence Committees letter comes just one day after Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee about notes and memos he kept to document interactions with the president that made him uncomfortable  memos he slipped to the press, using a friend as intermediary, after Trump suggested via Twitter that he might have taped their discussions. Comey said he hoped their contents would compel the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate the administration over possible links to Russia.

The House Intelligence Committee also sent a second letter Friday to Comey, asking him to turn over his memos. The committee gave Comey and White House Counsel Don McGahn until June 23 to produce the requested memos and tapes.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also has requested a copy of Comeys memos  but from the intermediary, Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman. The committee sent a letter Thursday night insisting that Richman turn the memos over to the committee by Friday in the format in which he received them.

Richman has been in touch with the committees through Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is handling the issue, said a person familiar with the matter. Richman declined to comment.

(Reuters)

Trump spent Friday claiming vindication after Comeys testimony, while still accusing the former FBI director of lying about their interactions . At a news conference, Trump said that some of the stuff [Comey] said just wasnt true.

But during his testimony, Comey invited Trump to release all the tapes he may have made, a sign that he believed they would corroborate his rendition of events, if such tapes exist.

Comey recalled many details of his memos in written and spoken statements he gave to the Senate Intelligence Committee, testifying as part of their investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The president has instead remained cagey about the existence of the tapes  he referred to them in quotes in his initial tweet  that he hinted at just days after he fired Comey.

Ill tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future, Trump said Friday, in response to a reporters question about whether the tapes exist.

When pressed by reporters to better specify when he intended to address the issue, Trump added: Im not hinting anything about it; Ill tell you about it over a fairly short period of time.

And then noted: Oh, youre going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer, dont worry.

The continued mystery surrounding any tapes is fueling confusion as well as Richard Nixon comparisons, as Trump rejects calls to set the record straight swiftly. Its not just the media, however, that are wondering whether these tapes exist.

Across Capitol Hill, congressional leaders and committee members of both parties are clamoring for the president to pony up the tapes of his Feb. 14 conversation with Comey in the Oval Office, if he even made them.

The most vocal demands are being raised by Democratic leaders, such as Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), all of whom have called for issuing the White House a subpoena to procure the tapes, if the administration doesnt provide them freely  or tell the public they simply dont exist.

Republicans have not yet joined the chorus of leading Democrats demanding stringent legal measures to unearth any recordings. But they, too, have been issuing formal and increasingly insistent requests for the recordings.

Before the House Intelligence Committees Friday letter giving the White House a deadline of June 23, the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote to the FBI and the White House in May, demanding documents and records related to Comey and Trumps interactions  including any tapes or memos. The FBI and White House informed the committee recently that they would need more time to work on the request, according to a spokesman for the panel.

The House Oversight Committee also sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus in March requesting all documents and all other components relating to former national security adviser Michael Flynns contacts with Russian officials after last years election. A Democratic committee aide said Friday that request also would apply to any tapes of Comey and Trumps Oval Office conversation, given that the conversations focused on Flynn. A spokeswoman for the House panel chairman, Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), did not return a request for comment.

Whether these requests for materials are eventually enforced, however, depends on a more committed bipartisan effort to force the presidents hand  something that to date, most leading Republican lawmakers have been loath to do.

A spokesman for Judiciary committee chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) stressed that the panels effort to procure more information about the recordings was bipartisan, adding that the senator still had no knowledge about whether the tapes existed.

A spokeswoman for Senate Intelligence Committee Richard Burr (R-N.C.), however, would not say Friday whether Burr knew that the tapes exist  or whether he felt the committee should have access to that information.

Ellen Nakashima contributed to this report.

[Analysis: Did Trump just acknowledge that he told Comey to back off Michael Flynn?]

[Analysis: It sounds like James B. Comey may be disappointed about those tapes]

Read more at PowerPost
As former FBI director James B. Comey held the political world in thrall Thursday from inside a packed Senate hearing room, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan walked into an unusually empty press briefing across the Capitol.

Before Comeys testimony about his private interactions with President Trump had even concluded, Ryan joined an effort already underway among GOP lawmakers to place it in the best possible light for Trump.

Of course there needs to be a degree of independence between federal law enforcement and the White House, Ryan said. But he added, The presidents new at this. Hes new to government, and so he probably wasnt steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between [the Justice Department], FBI and White House. Hes just new to this.

Ryan later made clear that he was not saying its an acceptable excuse and that his remark was just my observation. But he was one of many GOP lawmakers willing to minimize Trumps alleged meddling and demands for loyalty as the fumblings of a political tyro  or the behavior of a real estate mogul accustomed to having his orders followed.

It has to still be legal and right and all that, but I think a lot of it is  hes used to being the CEO, Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), an early Trump endorser, said Wednesday after Comeys preliminary statement was published.

(Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

While playing up Trumps naivete is currently one strain of his political defense, legal analysts said it could also be a kernel of a criminal defense. It could be at least a somewhat viable defense to suggest that Trump, who has no direct experience in government or law enforcement, merely didnt know any better when he was interacting with Comey.

To substantiate an obstruction of justice case under criminal law, a prosecutor has to prove a person acted corruptly. If Trump was merely acting foolishly, he would be legally okay.

Its just another way of saying that maybe he had innocent intent, just didnt appreciate how inappropriate or wrongful it would appear to people who have been around law enforcement, said Kelly Kramer, a white-collar criminal defense attorney at the Mayer Brown law firm.

Some analysts said the defense could ring hollow  particularly given that, according to Comey, Trump isolated him, ordering everyone else out of the Oval Office before making the request about dropping the Michael Flynn investigation. Trumps own lawyer, meanwhile, outright disputed Comeys version of the facts, rather than suggesting that the president was merely naive to the ways of government and investigations. For his part, Comey testified, I hope theres tapes to corroborate his version of events.

On Capitol Hill, at least one lawmaker said ignorance of the law and Washington norms are not excuses.

Thats why you have a chief of staff. Thats why you have legal counsel, said Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who endured a scandal over an extramarital affair when he was governor of his state in 2009. The idea of Im new probably doesnt pass muster in the corporate world, the nonprofit world, much less the body politic.

Most Capitol Hill Republicans have tended to view Trump fundamentally as a businessman, a man preoccupied with forging deals using all of the tools he developed in his business career  charm, showmanship, coercion, threats.

Those traits have marked Trumps relations with lawmakers  particularly as he embarked on his first congressional sales job: persuading House Republicans to pass a hugely controversial health-care bill.

In one episode, he confronted the leader of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus inside a private meeting of Republicans. If the bloc didnt back the health-care bill, Im gonna come after you, Trump said to Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), adding: But I know I wont have to, because I know youll vote yes. 

Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), a Freedom Caucus member, recalled being lobbied personally by Trump on the bill and suggested a line could be drawn from that experience to Trumps entreaties to Comey.

Its like a real estate deal closing  just a transaction: Lets get this thing done. Lets win on it,  Brat recalled. In the new role, hes got everyone jumping on every sentence he says, so thats the tricky part. . . . Hes a business guy. He just wants results.

Comeys statement and Thursdays testimony paint a more damning picture  including a dramatic Feb. 14 meeting in the Oval Office where Comey said Trump asked him to stay behind after a meeting with other officials. Then, he said, Trump raised the subject of the criminal investigation into Flynn, his former national security adviser, and whether Comey could let this go.

Comey testified Thursday that he interpreted that remark as a direction to end the probe into Flynn.

While the Republican National Committee blasted out attacks on Comeys credibility this week, Trumps Republican defenders on Capitol Hill have largely stayed away from trying to attack the former FBI directors veracity, instead trying to reframe what he said. That has served to reinforce an emerging GOP view that Trumps behavior was ham-handed and inappropriate, but not illegal or impeachable.

Ryan said in an MSNBC interview Wednesday that it was obviously not appropriate for Trump to ask Comey for a personal pledge of loyalty.

At the hearing, Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho) sought to challenge Comeys interpretations of Trumps remarks, questioning Comey about whether Trumps exact words as he reported  I hope you can let this go  would support the inference.

You dont know of anyone thats ever been charged for hoping something. Is that a fair statement? Risch asked.

I dont, as I sit here, Comey replied, prompting Risch to yield his questioning.

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), an early and fervent Trump backer, called the presidents intervention on Flynns behalf  a day after his firing  a normal human reaction.

I think hes a human being first, he said. I have absolutely no problem with what the president of the United States said. It is clearly not anywhere close to touching something called obstruction of justice, and Im frankly proud of him for standing for someone who was as loyal as Mike Flynn was throughout the campaign.

Collins said of course Trump ought to be given deference because of his inexperience in political office. But the press isnt going to give him any slack, he said. It isnt going to happen.

Ryan also took a sympathetic tack, pointing to Comeys statement that he had told Trump he was not personally subject to a criminal probe  backing up an assertion in Trumps letter firing Comey that had been widely questioned.

People now realize why the president is so frustrated when the FBI director tells him on three different occasions he is not under investigation, yet the speculation swirls around the political system that he is, Ryan said.

Brat echoed several of his colleagues in arguing that the essence of Trumps appeal to voters was his bull-in-a-china-shop sensibility and that it would be silly to expect anything else.

This citys just full of carefully crafted nonsense, he said. The whole nations crashing. They hired a businessman  give him a chance.

Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost
In their effort to revamp the nations health-care system, Senate Republicans are considering preserving or more gradually eliminating key elements of the Affordable Care Act that the House voted to discard, creating an uncomfortable political situation for the party after years of promises to fully repeal the law.

Senate GOP leadership told rank-and-file Republican senators during private talks this week that they favor keeping guaranteed protections for people with preexisting medical conditions  a departure from the House approach of allowing states to opt out of a regulation ensuring such individuals are not charged more for coverage.

Senate Republicans have also been mulling options to more slowly roll back the expansion of Medicaid that most states accepted under Obamacare, and they are also openly talking about keeping many of the taxes the law imposed. The goal is to find a sweet spot of at least 50 votes in a sharply divided group of 52 Republican senators, many of whom are from states where coverage levels increased under President Barack Obamas signature health-care law.

But Senate GOP leaders run the risk of alienating an influential trio of conservative senators  Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah)  who previously demanded that the party follow through on promises to completely gut the law.

Im still pushing to try to make it better and make it more acceptable, Paul said Thursday. He said Republicans might reach an impasse, in which case, maybe well just do a smaller repeal bill. That would pass. Theres a lot of stuff we dont like about Obamacare that we agree on.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), shown in May, has proposed keeping the Affordable Care Acts protections for patients with preexisting conditions. (Oliver Contreras for The Washington Post)

Even some less aggressive critics of the law are uncomfortable with bluntly describing what the talks have largely become: a negotiation about how much of Obamacare to leave in place and for how long.

Ah, well, said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) before pausing to consider what to say next. Depends how you phrase it, I guess. I mean, obviously, its there. We have to deal with it. Were doing the best we can.

Other Republican senators sought to play down any controversy about the parts of the law they are contemplating keeping in place.

We think were repealing the most obnoxious parts of Obamacare, said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who argued that there are some parts of Obamacare that are completely nonpartisan, almost.

But that nuanced posture stands in contrast to the way Republicans vilified the law in consecutive elections after it was enacted in 2010. They slammed Democrats who voted for it and campaigned repeatedly on the promise of repealing the law entirely if voters gave them control of Congress and the White House.

I think were all adjusting to the reality of the current debate and what it takes to get across the finish line, said Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).

As he entered a Senate Republican health-care meeting on Thursday, Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) said he believed the talks are indeed moving in a direction of preserving more of the law. Heller, who is up for reelection in a state that expanded Medicaid, said he supports a seven-year reduction of federal payments for people now covered under Medicaid.

Other Republicans from Medicaid expansion states, including Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), said they favor the seven-year timeline. They envision gradually reducing the payments from 2020 to 2027, rather than the more abrupt rollback that would occur in 2020 under the House bill.

McConnell has proposed to senators the possibility of a three-year phaseout, according to a GOP senator familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity. McConnell has also personally proposed not including the House provision allowing states to opt out of the coverage cost protection for patients with preexisting conditions.

It could be difficult, though, to get conservatives to accept any of these provisions, since they have demanded that Obamacare regulations be slashed. Cruz, Lee and Paul have been coy in recent days about their position.

The conversations are continuing, Cruz said Thursday. We still have a lot of work to do. What is most critical is that we honor our promise to repeal Obamacare and that we enact meaningful reforms to lower premiums.

In February, the threesome launched a coordinated Twitter campaign to demand that the Senate fully repeal the law. 2 yrs ago, GOP Congress voted to repeal #Obamacare. That 2015 repeal language should be the minimum. #FullRepeal @SenTedCruz @SenRandPauI, Lee wrote at the time.

They have sounded more open to compromise in recent months, particularly after the formation of a working group that Cruz helped create. But their history of bucking leadership at critical times has left lots of uncertainty about what they will ultimately do.

Still, some GOP staffers are cautiously optimistic about the chances of an agreement, even as the talks appear to be leaning toward keeping or delaying portions of the health-care law, including several tax provisions.

Some taxes will probably stay in, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said Wednesday. We still need to have some way to fund whatever is going to happen.

Senate GOP leaders have not yet identified which taxes they plan to keep to pay for things such as a longer Medicaid timeline and expanded tax credits.

But Lankford is one of many Republican senators who have already begun to openly embrace tax provisions the GOP once called some of the most onerous parts of the law.

Many GOP senators now view these taxes as a necessary evil in their quest to rewrite the health-care law while maintaining the deficit savings required by Senate budget rules. They are bound by strict requirements that the legislation reduce the deficit to take advantage of a procedure that would allow them to pass the bill with a simple majority of 51 votes, rather than the 60 needed to pass most legislation. This tactic, known as reconciliation, has also limited how much of Obamacare they can realistically undo.

Republican senators have been attempting to work out their differences in private meetings, and they are largely working without much input from the White House.



Theyre engaged, said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of Senate GOP leadership. I think theyll get more engaged when we have a bill.

Thune and other leaders have said Trump played a crucial role in publicly selling the need to get rid of Obamacare.

But continuing questions about Trumps interactions with top intelligence officials  including former FBI director James B. Comey, who testified at an attention-grabbing hearing on Thursday amid investigations into Russian meddling in the election  have also become a distraction.

Senate Democrats, who strongly oppose the emerging GOP bill, said that even if Republicans try to take less severe swipes at Obamacare than the House did, they will still be doing immense damage to peoples health-care options.

No matter how they want to put lipstick on a pig, it is going to be a plan that devastates health care for millions of Americans, said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

Even some Republican senators who are expected to back any eventual health-care overhaul arent pleased with the compromises they find themselves forced to make. An unusually dour Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) registered his frustration Thursday when asked whether the proposals emerging from the discussions amount to the repeal and replace of Obamacare he had hoped to achieve.

I think its not repeal and replace, Graham said. I dont think its repeal and replace.

Read more at PowerPost
My wife, two teenagers and I have rented a nice house near the high school for many years. We have religiously paid the rent on a timely basis. We just learned that our landlords bank is about to foreclose on the house. Where does that leave us? Will we be thrown out?  Pete

Pete, this unfortunately has become a common problem in the past few years. There is always the possibility that you will be asked to leave, but there are some things you should do  and do immediately.

You received a letter from the lenders attorney advising you about the pending foreclosure. You should call that lawyer, and ask several questions:

 When and where will the foreclosure sale take place?

 Can you start making your rent payment to the lender, or putting it in escrow? I suspect your landlord has been collecting your monthly rent, but not paying the mortgage with those funds.

 If the lender purchases the property at the foreclosure sale, will they allow you to stay in the property? If so, for how long? At a foreclosure sale, it often happens that no one will purchase the property. Thus, the lender actually buys back the property and will own it. However, most lenders do not want to be in the real estate ownership business and will want to get rid of the property as soon as possible.

[Why more millennials are finally getting into the real estate market]

Additionally, are you interested in purchasing the property? At foreclosure sales, it is possible to get a good deal if you are the successful bidder. However, before you go down this path, talk with your own attorney. You want to have a title search performed  before the sale takes place. You want to know all about foreclosure sales, and what your rights and obligations will be. Too many people mistakenly believe they can get a super deal by buying properties at foreclosure sales. This aint necessarily so.

Finally, you should find out what your state law provides in these circumstances. In some jurisdictions, such as the District, if a lender forecloses on property, the owner must vacate the property. However, tenants have (or may have) stronger rights, and will be permitted to stay in the property for a period of time. Additionally, in most states, a tenant just cannot be thrown out on the street without a court order. This means that the new landlord  the successful purchaser at the foreclosure sale  will have to go to court to seek an eviction order. This will give you some more time before you have to move.

As an ounce of precaution, however, you may want to start looking for another rental property. And I do not recommend you pay any more rent to your landlord. You should put your rent in escrow with your attorney. I strongly suspect that if your landlord is having financial problems, you probably will not get your security deposit back when you vacate. Thus, you want to protect yourself as soon as possible.

[Low inventory and rising prices are forcing many home buyers to become less picky]

Regarding your recent column on deed in lieu being faster than a foreclosure in the case of a reverse mortgage: You dodged the implied issue of the owner no longer wanting to handle the cost of ownership for a property that is underwater while not opining on the moral implications of defaulting and walking away.

I can assure you from my observation of the last financial crisis that the bank is in no rush to assume ownership and the related costs. Does the owner have any realistic options other than abandonment if the bank will not accept the property? If they sell it for less than the loan amount, they still need a bank payoff and release of lien, which may be very hard to get if they cannot get a deed in lieu. Thus continuing their cash out for a losing property.  Howard

Point well taken. You are absolutely correct that banks are not in a hurry to take over any property  especially those underwater. Yes, I did dodge the moral and ethical implications of just walking away.

I know it happens all the time; we read about zombie houses all over the country. Many states are now enacting legislation putting the requirement on lenders to maintain those properties where the owner has just locked the door and walked away. In fact, in many cases, they dont even lock the door.

I cannot recommend anyone to walk way. My concern has nothing to do with the lenders; I have no compassion for lenders that refuse to foreclose on a timely basis. My concern is for the neighborhood and the neighbors who are faced with decaying homes next door, grass not being cut, vagrants camping out, etc. One neglected home in a community drags down the property values of surrounding homes, and unfortunately a downward spiral occurs.

Read more Kass:

When it comes to a real estate contract, be sure you understand what youre signing

Seniors looking to downsize their homes may want to consider this reverse mortgage option

A prequalification letter is not a binding loan commitment

Benny L. Kass is a Washington and Maryland lawyer. This column is not legal advice and should not be acted upon without obtaining legal counsel. Send questions to blkass@kmklawyers.com.
First, there was Brexit, arguably the greatest blow to the European Union in its six decades of existence.

Then came nearly a year of uncertainty and waffling, of British leaders making promises and retracting them, as European officials sat ready to start divorce proceedings. Then, after months of deliberation, there was Article 50, when, in late March, Britain finally began its withdrawal from the multi-state bloc.

Then there was Britains snap election on Thursday, called by Prime Minister Theresa May in a botched effort to strengthen her mandate before Brexit talks formally begin later this month.

Now, reaction in Europe is sheer exasperation: The Europeans are ready to bid the island nation farewell.

At the highest echelons of E.U. leadership, the prevailing sentiment is that enough is enough, and that June 19  when Brexit talks are still scheduled to begin  cannot come soon enough.

[Theresa May vows to lead Britain forward despite staggering election blow]

Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, in a letter of congratulations to May, who remains, for the moment, Britains prime minister, reiterated the need to move quickly on Brexit talks before the March 2019 deadline. The timeframe set by Article 50 of the Treaty leaves us with no time to lose, Tusk wrote.

Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which outlines the E.U.s constitutional basis, is the provision by which member states can withdraw from the union. Once triggered, member states then have two years to work out an exit deal with Brussels. When May triggered Article 50 in late March, Britain became the first nation ever to utilize the provision in the history of the E.U.

Earlier Friday, Tusk also urged Britain not to let its current political landscape impede its ability to make a deal on its way out the door. Do your best to avoid a no deal as a result of no negotiations,  he wrote on Twitter.

The sentiment was shared particularly by European officials and leaders from a French background.

First, lets not confuse these results with a new Brexit referendum  thats already done, said Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs and a former French finance minister, in an interview.

It changes the force of the negotiations, to be sure, Moscovici added. The push for a hard Brexit is weakened. But all is less clear  the political situation in Britain in general, the new minority government and its leadership.

With Mays failure to secure an absolute majority in Parliament  and thus the strong mandate polls had predicted she would win  some in Europe were speculating whether the hard Brexit that May had promised could now be recast into a softer one and, possibly, abandoned altogether.

[What Theresa Mays tepid win means for Britain]

That notion was perhaps most pronounced in Ireland, where the reality of a future Brexit has threatened to reignite strife over the future of Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom but voted last year to stay in the European Union. A further complication is that May will probably try to form a coalition government with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

The results of the UK election indicate to me that there is no strong mandate to proceed with a hard Brexit, which represents an opportunity for Ireland, Leo Varadkar, Irelands prime minister-designate, said in a statement.

A similar line emerged in Germany. The British citizens have shown that they dont want to let themselves be played with, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters. The message of the election is: Have fair talks with the European Union and think again whether its actually a good thing for Great Britain to exit the European Union in this way.

Along those lines, Michel Barnier, the E.U.s principal Brexit negotiator, even seemed willing to play ball with a Britain thrust into internal turmoil. Brexit negotiations should start when UK is ready; timetable and EU positions are clear, he tweeted Friday. Lets put our minds together on striking a deal.

But there was widespread concern throughout the E.U.s political establishment that Britain, given its present political climate, might not even be able to engage with the complex negotiations that lie ahead. Almost unanimously, calls for the United Kingdom to quickly form a government were ultimately calls for beginning Brexit talks as soon as possible.

We need a government that can act, said Gunther Oettinger, speaking on Deutschlandfunk, a German public radio station, Friday morning. With a weak negotiating partner, theres the danger that the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides.

The clock is ticking for Brexit, wrote Manfred Weber, a conservative member of the European Parliament, on Twitter. Therefore the UK needs a government soon.

Given the magnitude of Brexit  and the lingering uncertainty as to what, exactly, the departure will mean  May called Thursdays snap election as a means of strengthening her negotiating position beforehand. Every vote for me and my team on 8 June will strengthen my hand in those negotiations, she said during the campaign.

But with just 10 days to go before the talks are due to start, Mays hand has been anything but strengthened.

[What Britains next government could look like after May loses the majority]

With the loss of an absolute Conservative majority in Parliament, on Friday morning the only foreseeable way her party could form a governing coalition was in partnership with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionists, a faction deeply skeptical of the hard Brexit May and her Conservative allies have defended for months.

While many political analysts agreed that a hard Brexit, given the weakened position of Britains Conservative party, seemed less likely, some said it was too early to tell in which direction the negotiations would shift.

The standard feeling at the moment is that it probably tilts the balance of power in the talks toward the E.U., given that the U.K. side is not going to be particularly well organized, said Richard Youngs, a professor of international relations at the University of Warwick. It would probably force the government away from the hard-Brexit goals laid out during the campaign and the very confrontational line the prime minister has taken throughout.

He added, though, that the election losses could leave May more beholden to the hard-line elements of the party.

For others, it was more a case of how much more turbulent Brexit would be, whenever the talks do begin.

The big question is whether the story will end in a planned, organized way, with a deal that both sides can live with, or whether it ends chaotically with the U.K. falling out of Europe, said Fabian Zuleeg, an economist and chief executive of the European Policy Center, a Brussels think tank. Even though we know there will be Brexit, the nature of one versus the other is totally different.

But for some E.U. lawmakers, the real objective was that those Brexit talks start  and fast.

EU ready to negotiate since last year. UK not ready even now, tweeted Siegfried Muresan, a spokesman for the European Peoples Party, the largest party in the E.U. parliament. Start of negotiations can be delayed, end very hard to delay.

Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin contributed to this report.

Read more:

May wants Britain to follow European lead emphasizing cybersecurity

Trumps tangle with Europe leads the continent to find partners elsewhere

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Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Britain has had a decisive vote every year for the past three years. The frequency of general elections and referendums may have led to voting fatigue among some Britons, but certainly not among the youth.

In fact, it looks like they are just getting started.

Early polls suggested that youth turnout in Thursdays general election had vastly increased compared with previous ones. Although official data will not be available for days, several estimates put the turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds at more than 20 percentage points higher than in the previous four elections since 2001, in which only around 40 percent of that age group cast ballots.

Polling experts also noted that many of the constituencies with significantly higher turnout were student towns. Overall turnout remained largely the same, suggesting that there were fewer older voters than anticipated.

Several contentious issues might have attracted younger Britons to the voting booths, including Prime Minister Theresa Mays willingness to change European human rights laws to combat terrorism, or accusations that she failed to react to students fears over their loans.

(Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

But the single most decisive issue for younger Britons in this election might date back one year. To some, the early numbers suggest that younger Britons wanted to revisit their countrys decision last year to leave the European Union.

After the June 2016 referendum, there was widespread sentiment among British youth that older voters had in some ways betrayed the countrys younger generation. Young, urban Britons especially rely on the E.U. for study or work abroad, and they overwhelmingly voted to remain.

[ May vows to stay the course on Brexit, but resignation pressure builds after stunning loss ]

One of the reasons why youth turnout was so high this time is that young people recognized how important the decision to leave the European Union really was, said Rhammel Afflick, a representative for the British Youth Council. And young people finally also realized that they could really influence the outcome of the election.

Only the Liberal Democrats have said that they are willing to reverse the referendum decision to leave the European Union, but younger voters may have hoped that voting for the much bigger Labour opposition party would have more impact and at least lead to a softer exit.

Early polls suggested that Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn did particularly well among young voters Thursday. In contrast, May is perceived as pursuing a much clearer separation from the European Union.

Young people are really starting to get behind politics, said Alex Cairns, a 21-year-old who was sipping coffee after staying up much of Thursday night to watch the results stream in.

Cairns, who recently graduated from college, launched a campaign called the Youth Vote U.K. to engage 18- to 24-year-olds. He said that a lot of young people were fired up about Corbyn  sometimes described as Britains Bernie Sanders, a reference to the Vermont senator who ran last year for the Democratic presidential nomination  whom they view as an authentic, decent leader who stands apart from other politicians.

Hes honest; people like him. He doesnt wear expensive suits. He goes to local cafes, said Cairns. He said that Corbyns lackluster support for the pro- E.U. side in last years referendum did not mesh with the views of many young people. But the policies that Labour laid out in its manifesto, such as abolishing university tuition fees, were welcomed by many of them.

Young Britons arent convinced Brexit can be reversed, but they definitely want a much softer Brexit than the hard one May wanted a mandate for, said Felix Marquardt, the founder of the Youthonomics think tank and the movement Get Gone, which encourages young Britons to temporarily study and work in other E.U. countries.

Brexit is the absolute hijacking of a generation by their elders, so it played a big role  but this is a vote against Theresa May above all, said Marquardt.

[What Britains next government could look like after May loses the majority]

But Stephen Fisher, a professor focusing on electoral behavior at the University of Oxford, cautioned that the impact of Brexit on Thursdays election should not be overstated. Both leading parties are in favor of Brexit  what they disagree on is the kind of exit from the European Union they want to pursue, he said.

Higher youth turnout also has not necessarily translated into more parliamentary seats, he said. The Liberal Democrats, for instance, gained only three seats despite appealing mainly to younger, urban voters. Polling experts had predicted a similar challenge for the Labour Party ahead of the election, saying that most constituencies where younger voters could have made a difference were located in areas where Labour was predicted to win seats anyway.

Activists who have worked on mobilizing younger voters for years nevertheless say that 2017 could become a watershed moment in British politics.

There are no more excuses now that politicians do not need to care about the youth because They dont vote anyway,  said Afflick, of the British Youth Council.

Read more:

The center in British politics has all but disappeared, leaving the country as polarized as the U.S.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on a Saudi Arabia-led bloc of Arab nations Friday to immediately ease their blockade of Qatar and urged all involved in the week-long Persian Gulf dispute to quickly resolve their differences, remarks that President Trump seemed to undercut less than an hour later.

Trump began a Rose Garden news conference with the visiting president of Romania by saying that the Saudi-led action against Qatar was hard but necessary. He said he had been consulted in advance by nations that spoke to me about confronting Qatar, a country he said historically has been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.

He said he had decided, along with Tillerson and our great generals and military people, the time had come to call on Qatar to end that funding . . . and its extremist ideology.

Earlier, in a brief, formal statement at the State Department, Tillerson had called on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to ease their blockade, warning that it was causing humanitarian hardship in Qatar, harming U.S. and international business, and hindering U.S. military actions against the Islamic State.

A senior administration official, speaking after Trumps comments, acknowledged a difference in tone with Tillerson. But I think the policy is consistent, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to explain the apparent discrepancy.

Trump does not oppose easing the blockade  although he did not mention it  but he does believe that [Qatar] deserves it, the official said. If the Persian Gulf states and Egypt want to keep the pressure on in terms of canceling flights with Qatar and pulling ambassadors . . . [Trump] is okay with that.

Tillerson may initially have had a view, then the president has his view, and obviously the presidents view prevails, the official said. He said that the two had spoken immediately before Tillersons State Department remarks, which the secretary read over the telephone to the president. Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also met with Trump on Thursday at the White House.

The fast-escalating crisis in the Persian Gulf began Monday when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar, expelled its diplomats and nationals, and closed ports, airspace and borders to the small, energy-rich nation surrounded on three sides by the Persian Gulf. Its only land border is with Saudi Arabia.

Trump, in a series of Monday postings on Twitter, quickly congratulated the Saudis and claimed credit for encouraging the move. He said that while he was meeting with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia last month and calling for them to unify against extremism, they had pointed at Qatar as a terrorism funder.

Although Trump delivered a speech to dozens of leaders of Muslim-majority countries called to Riyadh for the occasion, the focus of the visit was the bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia, with which the administration said it had concluded more than half a trillion dollars of military sales and commercial deals, and U.S. defense coordination with the Gulf Cooperation Council, the six-member regional body that includes the Saudis, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.

The group has always been less than cohesive, with the Saudis claiming leadership and Qatar challenging its dominance and differing on issues such as forming a working relationship with Iran, which Qatar favors. As they did with President Barack Obama, the members signed a communique with Trump pledging unity. The Saudis took action against Qatar less than 24 hours after Trump left Riyadh.

Even as Trump was tweeting his approval, Tillerson and Mattis, traveling together in Australia, called for calm and mediation. The Pentagons air operations for the Middle East, and the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are headquartered at a large air base in Qatar, home to at least 10,000 U.S. service members.

Throughout the week, the Pentagon has emphasized that the dispute has not affected its operations. Asked about Tillersons comment regarding hindered operations at Qatars Al-Udeid air base, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the situation had not changed, but that the Defense Logistics Agency was drawing up contingency plans in case the U.S. militarys use of the Qatar base becomes a problem.

Qatar, the worlds largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, has long been an influential regional player. In addition to its dialogue with Iran, it has raised the ire of its gulf neighbors over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, viewed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other authoritarian countries as extremist and a threat to their existence. Qatar has used its wealth to also support groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Saudi Arabia, too, has come under scrutiny for indirectly supporting extremist networks that promote the kingdoms archconservative Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

In his statement, Tillerson said the U.S. expectation was that these countries will immediately take steps to deescalate the situation. He said that the United States supported regional mediation efforts and that it is clear to me . . . that the elements of a solution are available.

He called on Qatar to be responsive to the concerns of its neighbors. Qatar has a history of supporting groups that have spanned the spectrum of political expression, from activism to violence, Tillerson said. While the emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country . . . he must do more and he must do it quickly.

In comments apparently addressed to Saudi Arabia and its partners, however, he said: Others must also continue to eliminate . . . support for violent extremism within their own borders. At the same time, he said, we expect to see progress . . . in the Arab world toward greater political expression and allowing more opportunities for marginalized voices.

Trump, on the same theme, said, For Qatar, we want you back among the unity of responsible nations. We ask Qatar and other nations in the region to do more and do it faster.

Trump also appeared to issue a more generalized call for changed behavior in the region, although he did not mention political reforms. I want to call on all of the nations to stop immediately supporting terrorism, stop teaching people to kill other people, stop filling their minds with hate and intolerance, he said. I wont name other countries, but we are not done solving the problem.

Hours before the U.S. statements on Friday, the four Arab nations that cut ties with Qatar placed dozens of people and groups with suspected links to the nation on a terrorism blacklist, deepening the dispute.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt designated 59 individuals and 12 charities as terrorists in a joint statement published by the Saudi news agency. The list included the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as several Qatari-funded charities.

[Bahrain and UAE criminalize sympathy for Qatar]

In a joint statement, the Saudis and their partners said they had created the list because of the continuous and ongoing violations of the authorities in Doha of Qatars commitments and obligations.

It included 18 Qatari citizens accused of financing terrorism, well-known business executives, politicians and top members of Qatars ruling family. In addition to the Muslim Brotherhoods leader, Egyptian-born cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi, 25 other Egyptian nationals were included on the list. Shiite Muslim groups in Bahrain, allegedly linked to Iran, were also on the list, as were citizens of Libya, Kuwait, the UAE and Yemen.

In its own statement, the Qatari government said that the list reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact. Qatar, it said, leads the region in attacking the roots of terrorism by providing hope to youth through jobs, educating hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and funding local community programs to challenge extremist agendas.

The Government of the State of Qatar strongly condemns terrorism in all its forms. We do not, have not and will not support terrorist groups, said the statement. Indeed, our position on countering terrorism is stronger than many of the signatories of the joint statement  a fact that has been conveniently ignored by the authors.

The terror list came a day after Bahrain and the UAE declared it a crime, punishable by multi-year prison sentences, to show sympathy or favoritism to Qatar or criticize both governments actions toward Qatar through social media or other ways.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera, the Qatari-funded television network, said on Thursday that its website and digital platforms were under cyberattack and facing systematic and continual hacking attempts.

Other regional players have come out in support of Qatar.

Late Thursday, Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, approved legislation passed by parliament to deploy Turkish troops in Qatar, expediting a previously agreed pact on military cooperation between the two countries.

Turkey has also promised to send food and water supplies to Qatar, if needed. The diplomatic dispute has led to closures of Qatars borders and access to neighboring airspace, threatening Qatars regional trade relationships as well as the air routes of its national carrier, Qatar Airways.

At the State Department, Tillerson called on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt to ease the blockage against Qatar, saying there were humanitarian consequences including shortages of food, and families being forceably separated. Children pulled out of school.

We believe these are unintended consequences, especially during this holy month of Ramadan, he said, but they cant be underestimated. The blockade is also impairing U.S. and other international business activities and is hindering U.S. military actions and the campaign against ISIS, an acronym for the Islamic State.

Stressing the importance of GCC unity, Tillerson said the United States had spoken to all the leaders involved and said to all of them, we know you are stronger together.

Raghavan reported from Doha. Thomas Gibbons-Neff in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more

Trump jumps into worsening dispute between Qatar and powerful Arab bloc

Three maps show how the Qatar crisis means trouble for Qatar Airways

For Qataris, a U.S. air base is best defense against Trump attacks

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
China to rebuild Nuwakot Durbar from next fiscal year

The reconstruction works on historical Nuwakot Durbar will start from the next fiscal year, according to an official of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA).
Missile launched. It appears a missile has been launched. Please evacuate to a sturdy building or underground, the loudspeaker blared over the town, silencing the children who had been playing in the schoolyard and drowning out the sound of the water trickling alongside the rice paddies.

Older residents streamed into the concrete community center, while the children at the neighboring elementary school hit the ground outside where they were playing, some covering their heads.

Sakata, a sleepy city of 100,000 on Japans northwestern coast, sits just 665 miles across the sea from North Korea, and many of the missiles that Kim Jong Uns regime has been launching have landed not far from this coast, within Japans exclusive economic zone.

While Kim has repeatedly stated that he wants an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, and while he has made observable progress toward that goal, his rocket scientists are not there yet.

North Korea is, however, able to hit Japan. One of the new missiles that North Korea fired last month had a technical range of 2,800 miles, easily putting all of Japan and even the U.S. territory of Guam within reach. (North Korea fired a missile over Japan in 1998 and again in 2009.)

Elementary school students practice taking cover from a North Korean missile during a drill in Sakata, Japan, on June 9. (Shiho Fukada/For The Washington Post)

That has residents here worrying for the squid fishermen who ply this coast  and for themselves.

Sakata faces the Sea of Japan, so its important to think about how to protect ourselves in case of an incoming North Korean missile, Itaru Maruyama, the mayor of Sakata, said after the city held its first missile preparedness drill Friday. Weve trained for various disasters but not for a missile.

[North Koreas latest ballistic missile launch lands in Japans economic zone]

Japanese are used to drills for earthquakes and tsunamis, but the prime ministers office issued new actions to protect yourself guidelines in April, including instructions on how to respond if a North Korean ballistic missile is heading toward Japan. It marked the first time since the end of World War II that the Japanese government has instructed citizens on what to do if they come under enemy attack.

The advice is limited to basically going inside or underground  theres not much else people can do, especially because they would have only minutes to do it.

In Tokyo, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presented the prime minister with a plan Thursday to protect people from North Korean missiles. Among other things, it called for building shelters and evacuating Japanese citizens living in South Korea.

With North Korea continuing to ignore the international community and launching missiles, we must do everything we can to protect the public, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in response.

A police officer stands in front of a warning siren at the Nishiarase community center during a missile drill in Sakata, Japan, on June 9. (Shiho Fukada/For The Washington Post)

As if to underline the threat, North Korea launched another salvo of missiles Thursday, although they were only cruise missiles rather than the usual ballistic ones.

The threat of North Korea feels very real on this coast, and several regional authorities have organized similar drills.

About 400 residents took part in Fridays exercise in Sakata, practicing what to do if satellites detect a ballistic missile launched toward Japan from Country X. In addition to triggering cellphone alarms, alerts will blare from loudspeakers already used for earthquake and tsunami warnings.

[After North Korea fires another missile, Kim Jong Un approves it for action]

Residents would have only minutes to evacuate to safety because the missile would take only about 10 minutes to reach Japan, and some of that time would be spent alerting local authorities.

After a siren initiated the drill Friday, a group of senior citizens began walking quickly toward the community center, cautioning one another to be careful not to fall. The children playing on the school field followed their teachers instructions and ducked down. In the rice paddies and fields around the area, people sheltered in place.

I feel fortunate that this is happening here so we will be prepared if a missile is coming toward us, said Mitsuharu Suzuki, a 67-year-old company worker who remembers when three North Korean spies came ashore in the area in 1973. We face North Korea across the Sea of Japan, so we always feel tense.

Sachiko Kaneko, a 69-year-old housewife who also took part, agreed. The missiles come so often, so I feel very worried, she said.

After the exercise was over, Maruyama congratulated everyone.

Kids, you did a great job at escaping. It made you nervous, right? he said to the rows of children lined up in the school gym. Remember this experience.

The local fire chief came on next to describe what a missile would look like. He invited a girl who was 53 inches tall to stand up to show everyone the width of the missile and the length of the warhead  and the children started to look frightened. I hope a missile doesnt come here, one said to her friends afterward.

[Here are the missiles North Korea just showed off, one by one.]

At Sakatas port, fishermen who did not take part in the drill said they were also worried.

Its really scary because we have no idea where missiles might fall, said Kiyoshi Sugimoto, who works on a squid fishing boat based farther up the coast. He was once out on this sea when he heard that a North Korean missile had landed within Japans economic zone.

They can tell us that a missile has been launched, but what are we supposed to do about it? We cant run away, he said. He asked whether more missiles would be coming.

Shizuka Yamashina, a 75-year-old retired farmer, said the tensions with North Korea were the worst he could remember.

I heard that North Korea wants Japan to go up in flames, because we are allies of America, Yamashina said as he and a friend fished on a dock, pulling in a bunch of minnows that they fed to the seagulls. I want the United States to restrain North Korea.

Residents on the coast feel so vulnerable, he said.

I hope that we can have talks with North Korea and calm down the situation rather than use military force, Yamashina said, because right now we have no idea what they might do.

Read more:

What does Kim Jong Un want with all these missile tests? Talks, perhaps?

In Japan, prime minister pushes ahead with controversial anti-conspiracy bill

Japans government takes first step toward allowing emperor to abdicate

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party, speaks during a news conference at Bute House in Edinburgh on June 9. (Russell Cheyne/AFP/Getty Images)

The British election results announced Friday were a severe setback for Prime Minister Theresa May and her plans for tough Brexit negotiations. But there may have been another casualty from the vote: Scotlands bid for independence.

The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), led by Nicola Sturgeon, lost about a third of its parliamentary seats in the general election. The party will now have 35 seats, compared with the 56 it held before.

Sturgeon, who also leads the Scottish government, had repeatedly called for a new vote on independence. Scottish voters had rejected such a move in a 2014 referendum.

Following the setback in Thursdays election, Sturgeon acknowledged that she was disappointed but did not completely rule out pursuing a second referendum. She said she would not make rash decisions.

But her opponents say she will have no choice but to drop the demand for a new vote, at least for the foreseeable future.

Sturgeons party scored a landslide victory in Scotland in the 2015 general election, taking 56 of 59 seats. Many of the votes her party lost on Thursday went to the Scottish Conservatives, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, all of whom have indicated an unwillingness to support another referendum.

One of the SNP politicians who lost his seat to the Conservatives was Alex Salmond, who served as Scotlands first minister  or government leader  until 2014 and led the pro-

independence party for more than 20 years. His defeat was seen as an indication of how much support the SNP had lost in some of its core strongholds.

[Theresa May vows to lead Britain forward despite staggering election blow]

Speaking of a historic night, the leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Ruth Davidson, told the BBC that plans for a second independence vote were now dead.

Thats what we have seen tonight, she said.

We had a very clear message in this campaign, and there wouldnt have been so many SNP losses tonight if Nicola Sturgeon hadnt tried to force through an unwanted second independence referendum, said Davidson.

While the Conservative Party suffered losses in much of Britain, its Scottish branch led by Davidson had its best result in more than three decades.

Despite attempts by parts of the SNP not to frame the general election as a de facto vote on a second independence referendum, many Scots perceived it to be the defining issue of the campaign.

The SNPs last attempt to separate Scotland from the United Kingdom failed by 10 points. Although pro-independence activists celebrated the partys sudden rise at the time, there was also a sentiment that Scotlands nationalists had just missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Both Mays decision to announce snap elections two months ago and Sturgeons demand last summer for a second referendum were driven by the hope that Brexit would realign the political landscape in their favor. Scotland had voted overwhelmingly against withdrawal from the European Union, so Sturgeon believed voter support for independence would increase.

But both May and Sturgeon appear to have miscalculated their odds of winning.

[Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party may be No. 2 but still won big in British elections]

May likely overestimated Britons support for her plans to make a sharp break from the E.U., a move that would leave few of its membership privileges intact. Sturgeon likely overestimated voters desire to break away from Britain. Polls show around 40 percent of voters in Scotland back independence.

Preserving Scotlands E.U. membership has been the key driving force in her campaign for a new independence vote. Much had changed since the last referendum in 2014, when British government officials helped to persuade Scottish voters to remain part of the United Kingdom by promising them that it was the only way to stay in the E.U.

At the time, a referendum on Britain leaving the E.U. still seemed unthinkable. In the Brexit referendum, Scots voted to remain part of the E.U. by a margin of 24 percentage points.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misstated Nicola Sturgeons estimation of voters desire for independence.

Read more

Scottish Parliament passes motion in favor of referendum on independence

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Jeremy Corbyns opposition Labour Party may have come in second in the British election on Thursday, but the results amount to a stunning triumph for a far-left leader who many believed was headed for political oblivion.

Official results showed Labour gaining seats as the Conservatives fought to maintain a majority. The outcome was a testament to Corbyns remarkable campaign, which turned around expectations that Theresa May, the Conservative prime minister, would demolish his party.

[British election exit poll points to unexpected trouble for May that could test her hold on power]

As of 5 a.m., a projection based on official results for the majority of districts put the Conservatives in first place, with 318 seats in the 650-member Parliament, but indicated that Mays party would fail to win a majority. Labour was forecast to win 262 seats, a gain of dozens of seats.

Speaking early Friday in north London, Corbyn proclaimed a sea change in British politics, saying people were voting for hope for the future and turning their backs on austerity.

(Amber Ferguson,Sarah Parnass,Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

May, he said, called the election to assert her authority but found only lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

I would have thought thats enough to go, actually, Corbyn said. May, however, showed no sign she intended to step down.

Because Labour was preparing for a crushing defeat, the outcome suggested by early returns will be cast by Corbyns supporters as a clear victory for the embattled leader and the leftist ideas he champions. The election result may paradoxically be seen as Labours death knell by those who want a new direction for a party that has not won a general election in 12 years.

What the early results mean is that Corbyn has got more life in him than anybody might have thought, said Steven Fielding, a political historian at the University of Nottingham and an expert on the Labour Party.

Hes lost, but it means that hes probably safe from an immediate effort to get rid of him. Its Theresa May who now has no capital with her party.

James Morris, a pollster who used to work for Labour, said after the results of an early exit poll was announced that the partys performance was a result of Corbyns disciplined populism.

Labour went into the campaign 20 points behind and, if this exit poll is borne out, [will] finish it gaining ground on the last election and with a chance of forming the government, Morris said.

[What Britains next government could look like if exit polls turn out to be correct]

Before he won an upset leadership victory two years ago, Corbyn, 68, had spent three decades as a rebellious rank-and-file lawmaker. His political roots lie in the labor movement and the national campaign against nuclear weapons.

He promised to deliver socialism of the 21st century, including such goals as nationalizing the rail service, pumping billions into the National Health Service and raising taxes on the rich.

Corbyns vision is a far cry from that of past leaders like Tony Blair, who won three general elections but ultimately moved the party away from its working-class base and in a more moderate direction.

In the mold of Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who mounted an insurgent bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, Corbyn sought to harness the forces of populism from the left.

He also capitalized on fresh doubts about May, who seemed untouchable seven weeks ago when she called the election in a bid to strengthen her majority ahead of negotiations over Britains departure from the European Union. She faltered as the race came to a close this week, her poll numbers dropping as Britain suffered its third serious terrorist attack in as many months.

Meanwhile, Corbyn began the campaign with historically low favorability numbers. A punching bag of the British tabloids, the far-left firebrand has been dogged by charges that he is sympathetic to militant groups, such as the Irish Republican Army, which played into widespread unease about his steadiness and judgment.

But he rose in the polls as May was forced to reverse herself on central campaign promises, such as a plan to make major changes to how the elderly pay for their social benefits. Meanwhile, Corbyn proved effective on the stump, and tapped into the enthusiasm of youth.

[London attack spawns political controversy as May and Corbyn trade barbs ahead of vote]

People thought he was useless, incompetent and extremist, said John Curtice, a leading British pollster. He ends up turning out a better manifesto than the Conservatives, and he can campaign well enough. Those who are not unsympathetic to the Labour Party have said hes not so bad after all.

Still, many voters were wary about handing him the premiership in a singular moment for Britain, as it prepares to cut itself loose from Europe.

During a stop in Watford, a commuter town north of London, on the final day of campaigning, Corbyn hardly mentioned Brexit, instead casting the election as a choice about whether the state would lift up the vulnerable.

What would this country look like with another five years of Tory government? he said, describing longer lines at hospitals and larger groups of people shut out of housing.

He jeered at predictions that the campaign would be a walkover, saying, People underestimate the common sense of ordinary people in this country.

Sue Utting, 70, labeled herself a Blairite, and admitted her concerns about Corbyns electability, but said he had won her over.

[The U.K. election, explained: How to make sense of Britains latest vote]

Corbyn was not just teeing off against May. He was just as much seeking to quiet voices of dissent within his own party, which has been torn by parliamentary infighting.

After the Brexit campaign last year, in which Corbyn mounted a lackluster defense of European integration, party members passed a vote of no confidence in him. About two-thirds of his party cabinet resigned, as the leader aimed to stamp out a coup. Names of alternative leaders circulated.

Corbyn was later reelected as leader with the support of the partys broader membership, reflecting a split between party officials and the base.

Whereas the election once seem destined to be Corbyns wake-up call, it instead may force his critics to regroup.

I would be pessimistic about anybodys chances of getting rid of Jeremy Corbyn, said a former senior Labour aide, who asked not to be identified to speak candidly about internal party matters.

And analysts said Corbyns opponents, as much as they quietly insist they could have won the election with a different leader, do not have a clear strategy to replace him, making such an outcome unlikely.

Because Labours manifesto energized its voters  the young in particular  the party is not likely to change course on a policy level, said James Tilley, a political sociologist at the University of Oxford and a co-author of The New Politics of Class: The Political Exclusion of the British Working Class. Many of Labours progressive promises are indeed popular, he said, and the opposition party is poised to make up ground if the Conservatives stumble in Brexit negotiations.

Still, he said, there are longer-term challenges, foremost in maintaining the partys unruly coalition  ethnic minorities, young people, pockets of the working class and educated, middle-class professionals.

Read more

A British election campaign that few expected ends in a way that no one predicted

The center in British politics has all but disappeared, leaving the country as polarized as the U.S.

For Britains populist right, Brexit success comes with a poisoned pill

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
A man in London holds up a painting in protest of British Prime Minister Theresa May and her cabinet on Friday. May lost her partys majority in Britains election Thursday, but the Conservative leader is resisting calls to step down. (Gerry Penny/European Pressphoto Agency)

Theresa May has been a politician for over two decades, working her way up from local council member to British prime minister. But in a crucial bid to expand her parliamentary majority, the Conservative leader seemed to abandon the first rule of politics  you have to persuade voters to support you.

May led her Conservatives to an electoral drubbing on Thursday, losing the partys majority in a snap election she had chosen to call. The result was as unexpected as Britains decision last year to leave the European Union.

As was the case with the spectacular fall of David Cameron, her Conservative predecessor who resigned after losing the Brexit vote he had initiated, Mays wound is self-inflicted. She emerges from the election gravely diminished, failing in her objective of strengthening her hand ahead of divorce negotiations with the European Union.

Buoyed by early polls that suggested she would eviscerate the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn, May did not campaign vigorously. She skipped debates and spoke in sound bites when she addressed voters, whom she promised strong and stable leadership.

Britain responded by dealing a devastating blow to her leadership. The Conservatives won 319 seats in Parliament, seven shy of a working majority in the 650-member body.

(Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

[Europe ponders the fate of Brexit negotiations]

The disappointing result immediately prompted calls for May to step down. Corbyn said early Friday it was time for her to go. Tim Farron, leader of the center-left Liberal Democrats, said that if she has an ounce of self-respect, she will resign.

Even as many in her own party appeared to rally around her  or at least hold their tongues  some acknowledged that May had stumbled.

Conservative lawmaker Heidi Allen said the Brexit negotiations, which are set to begin in just over a week, could give May a lifeline. But she predicted that the partys leader would soon be forced out.

I dont see any more than six months, she told a British radio station.

Sarah Wollaston, another Conservative member of Parliament, criticized the election campaign and called for Mays inner circle of advisers to be removed.

Hope we never again have such a negative campaign. The public just dont want US-style attack politics, she tweeted.

But May resisted calls to step down, saying that she would form a new government by working with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

[Theresa May says she will form a government to lead the country through Brexit]

The prime ministers supporters were left wishing she had remained steadfast in her repeated vows that there would be no early election. But in April, May changed her mind, calling a vote three years before the end of her term.

At first, the idea seemed sensible enough, as opinion surveys suggested she would sail back to Downing Street with a hefty majority. She adopted a hard line on immigration and globalization, arguing that only she was in a position to secure Britains future outside Europe.

What was difficult, however, was convincing voters that she stood for anything but staying the course, a future rejected by those hostile to Brexit, hostile to the governments record of budget cuts or simply hostile to a leader who seemed unwilling to roll up her sleeves and work for her majority.

One district near her own, in Reading, offered a window into the damage done to the Conservatives. Its incumbent, Rob Wilson, who was in office since 2005 and had been minister for civil society under May, lost his seat to a local Labour council member.

A rail and commercial hub that is home to a major university, Reading revealed that Mays embrace of a severe version of Brexit, designed to win over supporters of the far-right U.K. Independence Party, or UKIP, carried costs.

Simon Round, a 44-year-old Labour voter here, said political moods have shifted as people, many of them young and pro-Europe, have moved south from London to Reading.

Im a remain voter; I dont want a hard Brexit, said Jo Purdey, 46, who has voted for different parties in the past but saw Labour as the main force of opposition to Mays government.

Conservative voters expected the result, having observed an enthusiasm gap. Dawn Harvey, 49, said Labour signs decorated her neighborhood  mainly, she said, because of anger about Brexit.

Wilson said the inclusion of controversial changes to the countrys pension system in the Conservative manifesto cost him the support of older voters, whose support he needed given the large number of left-leaning students in the district.

Im sure no one intentionally set out to lose me my seat, he said, declining to point a finger directly at May, but he said changes in how her inner circle works were necessary to ensure broader party consultation on contentious policy.

Mays steep fall stunned Britain, casting doubt on her credibility in negotiations over the terms of Britains exit from the E.U.

A few months ago, Theresa May looked the most authoritative prime minister in more than a decade, said Matthew Francis, a political historian at the University of Birmingham. This morning, she looks like the biggest political failure in the Conservative Partys recent history.

Mays troubles mounted as the campaign wore on, the 20-point lead she initially enjoyed evaporating. One flash point was a Conservative pledge to rewrite the way elderly people pay for their social care, a centerpiece of the Conservative platform from which May had to backpedal. And following a deadly terrorist attack five days before the vote, she also faced criticism over her six-year tenure as home secretary. Her critics argued that she had been responsible for national defense at a time when the Conservative government oversaw cuts to the police.

Labours broadside against austerity struck a chord, particularly with younger voters.

Timothy Heppell, a political scientist at the University of Leeds, said the Conservative campaign was held back by Mays focus on Brexit and her neglect of other issues that relate to standards of living.

Even on Brexit, however, the Conservatives miscalculated, analysts said.

The Conservatives anticipated that many of those who voted UKIP in 2015 and then for Brexit in 2016 would switch to Conservative, especially in the Labour-held marginals, said Ron Johnston, an expert on the political geography of Britain at the University of Bristol, referring to districts where the Labour incumbent was vulnerable.

They got it wrong, he said. In the Labour-held marginals, many former UKIP voters went back to Labour rather than switch to the Tories. Brexit didn't matter to them  and many of them, especially the old, were put off the Tories by their policies on social care and pensions.

isaac.stanley-becker@washpost.com



Read more

Prime ministers gamble on snap election backfires as her party loses its majority

Center all but disappears from British politics, leaving the country as polarized as the U.S.

Mays disastrous bet on the future of Europe

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Iranian leaders accused the United States and Saudi Arabia on Friday of supporting the dual Islamic State-claimed attacks that killed 17 people in Tehran this week, as thousands of Iranians attended a funeral ceremony for the victims.

The countrys supreme leader said the attacks will add to the hatred Iranians harbor toward the United States and Saudi Arabia.

In a condolence message before the funeral, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the attack will not damage the Iranian nations determination, and the obvious result is nothing except an increase in hate for the governments of the United States and their stooges in the region like Saudi [Arabia], state media reported.

On Thursday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said investigators were working to determine whether Saudi Arabia had a role in Wednesdays attacks but said it was too soon to say whether that was the case.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The terrorist groups media arm, Amaq, released a video Thursday evening with what it claimed was a message from the Tehran attackers. The four-minute video shows three masked men sitting on a floor holding automatic rifles. One of the men speaks in the Sorani dialect common among Kurds in northeastern Iraq and northwestern Iran.

The speaker claims to represent the first battalion of the Islamic State formed inside Iran. He speaks at length against Shiites and promises further attacks. He concludes by threatening the royal family of Saudi Arabia and promises, After Iran, it will be your turn.

During the funeral, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani called the United States the international version of the Islamic State and said Washington had exchanged democracy for money, a reference to a recent huge arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

He said anti-Iranian remarks by Saudi Arabias foreign minister and President Trump are a matter of disgrace for them.

Larijani also criticized a decision by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday to move forward on new sanctions against Iran, including its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps, a move that came on the same day as the Tehran attacks.

During the massive funeral ceremony in Tehran after Friday prayers, thousands chanted Down with the U.S. and Death to Al-Saud, the Saudi royal family, while carrying the coffins of victims.

The Vatican sent a message of condolence Friday for the victims of the attack. Pope Francis laments this senseless and grave act of violence and assures the people of Iran of his prayers for peace, the message read.
People walk past the Capitol the morning before former FBI director James B. Comey appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington.

June 8, 2017 People walk past the Capitol the morning before former FBI director James B. Comey appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington. Matt McClain/The Washington Post

Former FBI director James B. Comey said that the bureau had information about Attorney General Jeff Sessions  before he recused himself from overseeing the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election  that would have made it problematic for him to be involved in the probe.

In his testimony Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey would not provide details of what information the FBI had, except to say that he could only discuss it privately with the senators.

He was . . . inevitably going to recuse himself for a variety of reasons, Comey said. We also were aware of facts that I cant discuss in an open setting that would make [Sessionss] continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic.

Sessions has acknowledged meeting twice with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the United States, during the 2016 presidential campaign  once on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in July and a second time in his Senate office. But lawmakers have asked the FBI to investigate whether Sessions had a third, undisclosed encounter in April with Kislyak at a hotel in Washington, where Trump gave a major foreign policy address. The Justice Department denies the hotel meeting occurred.

As the Russia investigation proceeded, Comey became increasingly uncomfortable about Trumps interactions with him and took his concerns to Sessions and other senior Justice Department officials. But, Comey said, Sessionss body language gave him the feeling that there was nothing he could do.

[Comey lays out case that Trump obstructed justice]

Comey also told the new deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, who had just been confirmed by the Senate, about his conversations with the president.

I spoke to the attorney general, and I spoke to the new deputy attorney general, Mr. Rosenstein, when he took office, and explained my serious concern about the way in which the president is interacting, especially with the FBI, Comey testified.

It is unclear what, if anything, Rosenstein did in response to Comey.

About two weeks later, Sessions and Rosenstein were both involved with the abrupt firing of Comey. Trump summoned them to the White House and said he wanted to fire Comey and instructed Rosenstein to write a memo about the FBI director, officials have said. The following day, White House officials said that Trump fired Comey because of Rosensteins memo, which was critical of Comeys handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

But Trump contradicted those officials in a television interview and said he had actually decided to fire Comey on his own and it was because of the Russia investigation.

Comey made clear that he told Jeff Sessions he was uncomfortable about the meeting he had with the president and asked Sessions to protect him from being in such conversations again, and Sessions did nothing about that, said Matthew Miller, a former spokesman for the Justice Department during the Obama administration. He also told Rod Rosenstein about his concern of inappropriate meetings with the president. And we dont know if Rod Rosenstein did anything about it other than write a memo, which was used in Comeys firing.

Comey also turned for help to Dana Boente, who was acting as deputy attorney general before Rosenstein was confirmed, after Trump called the FBI director about the Russia investigation and said it was a cloud that was impairing his ability as president. Comey then told Boente about the conversation.

I did not hear back from him before the president called me again two weeks later, Comey said in his written testimony.

I found the whole thing a bit creepy, said Nick Akerman, a former prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and an assistant special Watergate prosecutor.

Here are people high up in the Justice Department, and they didnt feel enough institutional strength and feeling for the Department of Justice to do something about it, Akerman said. It seems like they were more afraid of Trump than actually doing the right thing and trying to rectify the situation.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asked Comey how Sessions could be involved in his firing over the Russia investigation when Sessions had recused himself from any involvement in that case in March.

Thats a question I cant answer, Comey said. I think its a reasonable question. If, as the president said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation, why was the attorney general involved in that chain? I dont know, and so I dont have an answer for the question.

Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior released a statement late Thursday saying that Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation only because of his participation in Trumps campaign.

It was for that reason, and that reason alone, the attorney general made the decision on March 2, 2017 to recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States, Prior said. Since that date, Sessions has not been briefed on or participated in any investigation within the scope of his recusal, Prior said.

In his testimony, Comey said that he contacted Sessions after a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office where Sessions and Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, were asked to leave and Comey was alone with the president.

My sense was the attorney general knew he shouldnt be leaving, which is why he was lingering, Comey said. And I dont know Mr. Kushner well, but I think he picked up on the same thing. And so I knew something was about to happen that I needed to pay very close attention to.

That was the day after former national security adviser Michael Flynn had been forced to resign, and Trump wanted to talk about Flynn.

I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go, Comey quoted Trump as saying. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.

Comey said he understood him to be saying that what he wanted me to do was drop any investigation connected to Flynns account of his conversations with the Russians.

Trumps personal lawyer challenged that account, saying the president never asked for the investigation to be dropped.

After that meeting, Comey told Sessions that he did not want to be alone anymore with Trump and it cant happen that you get kicked out of the room and the president talks to me.

Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) asked Comey how the attorney general responded.

What did he do, if anything? Harris asked. Did he just look at you? Was there a pause for a moment? What happened?

I have a recollection of him just kind of looking at me, Comey replied. I kind of got  his body language gave me the sense like, What am I going to do? . . . He didnt say anything.

Prior, the Justice Department spokesman, disputed that account and said that Comey told Sessions that he wanted to ensure that he and his FBI staff were following proper communications protocol with the White House.

The attorney general was not silent, Prior said. He responded to this comment by saying that the FBI and the Department of Justice needed to be careful about following appropriate policies regarding contacts with the White House.

Julie Tate, Adam Entous and Ellen Nakashima contributed to this report.

Read more:

Sessions offered in recent months to resign as attorney general

Attorney General Jeff Sessions will recuse himself from any probe related to 2016 presidential campaign

Inside Trumps anger and impatience  and his sudden decision to fire Comey
People walk past the Capitol the morning before former FBI director James B. Comey appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington.

June 8, 2017 People walk past the Capitol the morning before former FBI director James B. Comey appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington. Matt McClain/The Washington Post

President Trump lambasted former FBI director James B. Comey on Friday as a leaker for engineering the release of details of their conversations to a news reporter.

The unflattering moniker might fit: Comey has conceded to Congress that he told a friend to give a reporter information about his recollection of the presidents request that he shut down the bureaus probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

But that does not make Comey a criminal, legal analysts said.

[Analysis: Were James Comeys leaks lawful?]

He can fairly be criticized for whether that was the best way for him to address his discomfort with his conversation with the president, said Barry J. Pollack, a white-collar criminal-defense attorney at Miller & Chevalier who has been involved in leak cases. But thats all a matter of how he conducts his job, and what his relationship is with the president is not a legal question.

(Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

Prosecutors who bring charges against people for sharing information with the public can do so only when classified or other national security material is at issue. Material cannot be classified to conceal legal violations or prevent embarrassment, according to an executive order from President Barack Obama. Telling a reporter nonclassified information of public interest is not only legal, but its often the right thing to do.

I think, on balance, this is one of these extraordinary circumstances where the issues are so important, that what Comey did and his acknowledgment that he did it is understandable and in his mind necessary, and he did something that I think is courageous, said Jeffrey H. Smith, a former CIA general counsel now in private practice at Arnold & Porter.

Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee he did not share classified material.

By Comeys account, Trump  after a meeting in the Oval Office  cleared the room of other officials, isolating the two of them, and said of Flynn: He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.

At the time, the FBI was investigating Flynn for his contacts with Russians and possibly lying to government investigators about them. Trump and his lawyer have disputed that the interaction occurred as Comey described.

Comey said that he meticulously documented his interactions with the president, and he asked a friend to share the content of his memo about Flynn with a reporter, because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel in the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. He said he did not reveal the information personally because I was worried the media was camping at the end of my driveway at that point . . . and I worried it would be like feeding sea gulls at the beach if it was I who gave it to the media.

The maneuver was one of a veteran Washington power player  shielding Comey, at least temporarily, from any personal scrutiny about the information. Pollack said that, while not illegal, Comeys action belied his public persona.

I think Mr. Comey had publicly always presented himself as somebody who does things by the book, and I think its pretty hard to argue that leaking something to the New York Times through an intermediary so you dont leave any fingerprints on it is what most people would consider by the book, Pollack said.

[Trumps lawyer says Comey violated executive privilege. Hes wrong.]

But it achieved Comeys goal. The day after the New York Times published an article about Trumps request on Flynn, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein appointed former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III to serve as special counsel overseeing the Russia probe.

Trumps lawyer, his supporters and even the president himself have hammered Comey for his admission. The lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz, said in a statement that Comeys talks with Trump were privileged communications with the President and referred to their release as unauthorized disclosures.

A person close to the presidents legal team said they were preparing to file a complaint early next week with the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Justice Department Office of the Inspector General  which can investigate criminal matters and also prepare public reports on current or former employees suspected of misconduct. A spokesman for the office declined to comment.

Trump has previously suggested on Twitter that he might have tapes of his encounter with Comey, and he told reporters who asked about them Friday, Ill tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future. He offered later, Youre going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer, dont worry.

Meanwhile, legislators continued their push to access Comeys memos. Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday that he had turned over his copy to Mueller, although he said that his friend, Columbia Law School Professor Daniel C. Richman, might still have the memos and that he would encourage him to release them.

Richman declined to provide the materials or comment to The Washington Post on Friday. The FBI declined to say whether they have copies of the memos at all, and a spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.

Federal records law prevents the removal or destruction of government documents  but that is generally meant to protect the documents, and analysts said they doubt Comey ran afoul of that rule.

Im not suggesting its a good thing to leak. I think its abhorrent conduct, said Shannen W. Coffin, a former Justice Department official and counsel to Vice President Richard B. Cheney. But in terms of a criminal prosecution, I find that hard to imagine in this context.

At the same hearing in which Comey admitted engineering a leak, he said the importance of aggressively pursuing leaks of classified information was a goal I share.

The context of his leak, of course, is different: By his account, none of the information he shared was classified. But legal analysts noted that those who leak often claim a pure motive  and prosecutors often discount them.

To me, the guy who oversaw the most leak investigations and prosecutions of any administration in American history decides to become a leaker when it suits his own interests? said defense attorney Edward B. MacMahon Jr., who represented a former CIA officer convicted in a leak case. The irony is quite rich.

David Nakamura contributed to this report.
Darjeeling language dispute: Army mobilised to contain protests

The West Bengal (WB) state government of India has deployed Army in Darjeeling district on Thursday after protests against the forced imposition of Bengali language in state schools turned violent, reported The Indian Express.
The picture from the key battlegrounds of the UK election shows that the Conservatives increased their vote everywhere. The problem for Theresa May? Labour did too.

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London

Why it is important: Taken as a whole, the British capital is younger and more diverse than any other region in the country. As a result it is strong ground for the left-wing party Labour, who generally performed better with younger voters and ethnic minorities. London is not simple though: many of the constituencies in the wealthier south east of the capital such as Richmond and Twickenham are a fight between the centrist Liberal Democrat and Conservative candidates with noise pollution from Heathrow airport one of the major issues. Meanwhile, the right-wing nationalists Ukip had strong support in the last election in former industrial constituencies in the east of the capital such as Dagenham North and Rainham.

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What happened: The Conservatives will be looking at their result in London thinking it could have been way worse. The party managed to hold onto most of its seats in the capital despite significant rises in the Labour vote creating quite a few close contests. In the end Labour won three Conservative seats (maybe four if, as has been reported, Kensington switches hands). The Liberal Democrats also won two Conservative seats in the city's south west, but very narrowly lost Richmond back to former London Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith.

Wales

Why it is important: Labour have won more votes and seats in Wales than any other party in every election since 1922. Left-wing politics have long been strong in both the former coal-mining heartlands as well as the urban centres in the south. However, there were signs that this might be about to change with both Ukip and the Conservatives making progress in recent elections. In the 2015 election Labour lost Gower, a seat which it had held since 1910 to the Conservatives, and a poll in April this year suggested that Theresa Mays party were on track to win the most seats in Wales, ruining Labours streak. The Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru, though not as strong as their equivalents in Scotland, are an important party too.

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What happened: Labour was supported by nearly half (48.9%) of Welsh voters, winning it three seats from the Conservatives. The Welsh nationalists Plaid Cymru will also be celebrating an extra seat, which they won from the Liberal Democrats.

Midlands

Why it is important: The middle of England is a mixture of rural, traditionally Conservative seats and large, diverse urban centres such as Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent and Derby that Labour generally have more of a chance with. The problem Labour has here is that many of those cities voted to leave the European Union and the Conservatives are generally seen as stronger on Brexit, according to opinion polling.

What happened: Just under half of voters backed the Conservative in middle England, which would usually mean a landslide. Unfortunately for Theresa May, Labour managed to increase their vote share by around ten percentage points. Eight seats did change hands, but they did not change the big picture - four went from Labour to the Conservatives and four went from the Conservatives to Labour.

North East

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Why it is important: The idea of the Conservatives making big gains in Labours north-east heartlands would probably have been dismissed as a joke as recently as two years ago. In many parts of the region the idea of voting Conservative has been taboo since Margaret Thatchers government and the regions miners clashed during strikes in the mid-1980s. However, the anti-immigration and anti-EU stance of Nigel Farages Ukip built up significant support in the region. After last years referendum and Farages resignation as leader, Ukip have collapsed in the polls with signs suggesting that most of those voters are now backing Theresa May. The prime minister was seen making campaigning stops in areas such as Hartlepool, where Labour has been in power since the 1960s.

What happened: After all the hype and despite the Conservatives attracting over a third of voters (nearly 10 percentage points up on their result in 2015), the final score was 1-1. Labour lost one seat to the Conservatives and the Conservatives lost one back to Labour.

Scotland

Why it is important: The referendum on Scottish independence had a huge effect on politics in the country. Despite the majority of voters backing remaining in the UK, the Scottish National Party saw a huge increase in support. At the 2015 election the SNP won 56 out of the 59 seats in Scotland and 50% of the vote share. The big loser that year was Labour, who previously held 40 of the seats that went to the SNP. Scotland voted strongly to remain in the EU and first minister Nicola Sturgeon signalled earlier this year that she wanted to hold another independence referendum before Brexit happens. However, polls suggest that many voters do not want to vote again on a subject they dealt with two years ago and the Conservative party were hoping to make gains here with their strong support for unionism.

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What happened: The Scottish National Party had a bad night, with a big rise in support for Conservatives north of the border. The nationalists lost 21 of their seats: 12 to the Conservatives, six to Labour and 3 to the Lib Dems. The SNP's vote share of 36.9% was down 13.1 percentage points from 2015.

Northern Ireland

Why it is important: The constitutional question of a united Ireland has been brought to the forefront in Northern Ireland ahead of this election. There have been questions about whether people will be able to travel freely through the border to the south, an arrangement set up after the Good Friday agreement, when Brexit happens. Sinn Fein, which supports a united Ireland, performed well in Marchs elections to the Northern Irish assembly. However, the Democratic Unionist Party, who want to remain part of the United Kingdom, was hoping to remain the largest party.

What happened: This election yielded a fascinating result for Northern Ireland. The Democratic Unionist Party won ten seats out of the eighteen available in the region, with their vote share of 36% up 10 percentage points on the last election. The party has struck a deal with Theresa May's Conservatives to form a new coalition government. Sinn Fein, whose MPs refuse to take part in the Westminster Parliament, won three more seats to take their total to seven.
It was March 2020, and the world was closing down as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. At first, the news of...
VMware, Inc. provides software solutions in the areas of modern applications, cloud management and infrastructure, networking, security, and digital workspaces in the United States and internationally. It offers VMware multi-cloud solutions, including VMware vSphere, a data center infrastructure that provides the fundamental compute layer; vSAN and VxRail, which offers holistic data storage and protection options to applications running on vSphere; and vRealize Cloud Management solutions that manages hybrid and multi-cloud environments running in virtual machines and containers, as well as VMware Cloud Foundation, a cloud platform that combines its vSphere, vSAN, and NSX with vRealize Cloud Management into an integrated stack and delivers enterprise-ready cloud infrastructure for private and public clouds. The company also provides networking solutions, such as VMware NSX, NSX Distributed and Gateway Firewalls, NSX Network Detection and Response Engine, NSX Advanced Load Balancer, Tanzu Service Mesh, and VMware SASE; security solutions consisting of VMware Carbon Black Endpoint, Workload, and Container; and digital workspace solutions comprising Workspace ONE Unified Endpoint Management, Access, Intelligent Hub, and Horizon. In addition, it offers application modernization solutions, such as Tanzu Application and Operations Platform, Tanzu Application Service Platform, Tanzu Observability, Tanzu Community Edition, and Tanzu Labs; and cloud management solutions, including vRealize Cloud Management, vCloud Suite, and CloudHealth by VMware Suite. The company sells its products through distributors, resellers, system vendors, and systems integrators. VMware, Inc. has a strategic alliance with Amazon Web Services to build and deliver an integrated hybrid solution. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
Delay in fixing post-graduate fees to hit IoM table

Failure on the part of the Executive Council of Tribhuvan University (TU) to set fees for post-graduate (PG) courses is likely to affect the academic calendar of the Institute of Medicine (IoM).
Citigroup Inc. is one of the worlds largest financial institutions. It is the 13th largest bank globally by assets and 8th by market cap with operations in consumer and institutional banking. In the US, Citigroup is the 3rd largest bank by assets and one of the Big Four deemed systemically important and too big to fail.

Citigroup Inc. was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York. The bank was run by Samuel Osgood who led the company with success for many years, even throughout the War of 1812. The bank was later renamed the National City Bank of New York in 1865 and by 1895 is the largest bank in the US. In 1913 it was the first contributor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a few years later it began to expand into overseas territories.

The bank became the First National City Bank of New York after another merger in 1955 and then later, the New York part was dropped off as part of the 150th-anniversary celebration. By 1974 the company is known as Citicorp which is still the operational branch of the business and a global banking powerhouse. A merger with Travelers insurance group in 1998 resulted in the name Citigroup but the joint venture did not last. By 2002 Travelers was publicly traded once again but Citigroup retained the new name.

Today, the company is headquartered in New York, New York but boasts more than 200 million customer accounts in 160 countries worldwide. As of mid-2022, it operated 2,649 branches in the United States, Mexico, and Asia. The company reports nearly 725 branches in the US and 1499 in Mexico with the rest scattered throughout its territory. Total annual revenue topped $75 billion in 2022.

Citigroup is a diversified financial services holding company that owns Citicorp among other assets. The companys mission is to serve as a trusted partner providing responsible financial solutions to its clients. Citigroup provides financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions. The company operates in two segments, Global Consumer Banking (GCB) and Institutional Clients Group (ICG).

The GCB segment offers traditional banking services including deposit and saving accounts, credit cards, personal loans, home loans, and investment services. This segment operates through local branches and digital means. The ICG segment offers wholesale banking products and services to corporate, institutional, public sector, and high-net-worth clients.
General Mills, Inc. manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates in five segments: North America Retail; Convenience Stores & Foodservice; Europe & Australia; Asia & Latin America; and Pet. It offers ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and salty snacks, ice cream, nutrition bars, wellness beverages, and savory and grain snacks, as well as various organic products, including frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. It also supplies branded and unbranded food products to the North American foodservice and commercial baking industries; and manufactures and markets pet food products, including dog and cat food. The company markets its products under the Annie's, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Blue Basics, Blue Freedom, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, EPIC, Fiber One, Food Should Taste Good, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto's, Go-Gurt, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Haagen-Dazs, Helpers, Jus-Rol, Kitano, Kix, Larabar, Latina, Liberte, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Oui, Pillsbury, Progresso, Raisin Nut Bran, Total, Totino's, Trix, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, Yoki, and Yoplait trademarks. It sells its products directly, as well as through broker and distribution arrangements to grocery stores, mass merchandisers, membership stores, natural food chains, e-commerce retailers, commercial and noncommercial foodservice distributors and operators, restaurants, convenience stores, and pet specialty stores, as well as drug, dollar, and discount chains. The company operates 466 leased and 392 franchise ice cream parlors. General Mills, Inc. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The following companies are subsidiares of Caterpillar: Advanced Tri-Gen Power Systems LLC, Anchor Coupling Inc., Asia Power Systems (Tianjin) Ltd., AsiaTrak (Tianjin) Ltd., Banco Caterpillar S.A., Berg Propulsion International Pte Ltd., Bucyrus, Bucyrus Australia Surface Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Holdings Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Limited, Bucyrus International (Chile) Limitada, Bucyrus International (Peru) S.A., Bucyrus Mining Australia Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Mining China LLC, Bucyrus UK Limited, Cat Rental Kyushu LLC, Caterpillar (Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar (China) Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (China) Machinery Components Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (HK) Limited, Caterpillar (Huainan) Machinery Service Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Langfang) Mining Equipment Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Luxembourg) Investment Co. S.a r.l., Caterpillar (NI) Limited, Caterpillar (Newberry) LLC, Caterpillar (Qingzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Suzhou) Logistics Co. Ltd., Caterpillar (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar (U.K.) Limited, Caterpillar (Wujiang) Ltd., Caterpillar (Xuzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar (Zhengzhou) Ltd., Caterpillar Acquisition Holding Corp., Caterpillar Americas C.V., Caterpillar Americas Co., Caterpillar Americas Funding Inc., Caterpillar Americas Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Asia Limited, Caterpillar Asia Pacific L.P., Caterpillar Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Asset Intelligence LLC, Caterpillar Belgium S.A., Caterpillar Brasil Comercio de Maquinas e Pecas Ltda., Caterpillar Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Brazil LLC, Caterpillar Castings Kiel GmbH, Caterpillar Centro de Formacion S.L., Caterpillar China Limited, Caterpillar Commercial Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Commercial LLC, Caterpillar Commercial Northern Europe Limited, Caterpillar Commercial S.A., Caterpillar Commercial S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Commercial Services S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Communications LLC, Caterpillar Corporativo Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Cote DIvoire, Caterpillar Credito S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., Caterpillar DC Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Digital Services & Solutions SARL, Caterpillar Distribution International LLC, Caterpillar Distribution Services Europe B.V.B.A., Caterpillar East Real Estate Holding Ltd., Caterpillar Emissions Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH, Caterpillar Energy Solutions Inc., Caterpillar Energy Solutions S.A., Caterpillar Energy System Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Engine Systems Inc., Caterpillar Equipos Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Eurasia LLC, Caterpillar FS (QFC) LLC, Caterpillar Finance France S.A., Caterpillar Finance Kabushiki Kaisha, Caterpillar Financial Acquisition Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Aftermarket Solutions Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Australia Leasing Pty Limited, Caterpillar Financial Australia Limited, Caterpillar Financial Commercial Account Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Corporacion Financiera S.A. E.F.C., Caterpillar Financial Dealer Funding LLC, Caterpillar Financial Funding Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Caterpillar Financial Leasing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial New Zealand Limited, Caterpillar Financial Nordic Services AB, Caterpillar Financial Nova Scotia Corporation, Caterpillar Financial OOO, Caterpillar Financial Receivables Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Renting S.A., Caterpillar Financial SARL, Caterpillar Financial Services (Dubai) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services (Ireland) plc, Caterpillar Financial Services (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Argentina S.A., Caterpillar Financial Services Asia Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Financial Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Financial Services CR s.r.o., Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, Caterpillar Financial Services GmbH, Caterpillar Financial Services India Private Limited, Caterpillar Financial Services Leasing ULC, Caterpillar Financial Services Limited Les Services Financiers Caterpillar Limitee, Caterpillar Financial Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Caterpillar Financial Services Netherlands B.V., Caterpillar Financial Services Norway AS, Caterpillar Financial Services Philippines Inc., Caterpillar Financial Services Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Limited, Caterpillar Financial UK Acquisition Funding Partners, Caterpillar Financial Ukraine LLC, Caterpillar Fluid Systems S.r.l., Caterpillar Fomento Comercial Ltda., Caterpillar Forest Products Inc., Caterpillar France S.A.S., Caterpillar GB L.L.C., Caterpillar Global Investments S.a r.l., Caterpillar Global Mining America LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Equipamentos De Mineracao do Brasil Ltda., Caterpillar Global Mining Equipment LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Expanded Products Pty Ltd, Caterpillar Global Mining Germany Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining HMS GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Holdings GmbH, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong AFC Manufacturing Holding Co. Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining Hong Kong Limited, Caterpillar Global Mining LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Global Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Global Mining SARL, Caterpillar Global Mining U.S. Parts LLC, Caterpillar Global Services LLC, Caterpillar Group Services S.A., Caterpillar Holding (France) S.A.S., Caterpillar Holding Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Holdings Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Hungary Components Manufacturing Ltd., Caterpillar Hydraulics Italia S.r.l., Caterpillar IPX LLC, Caterpillar IRB LLC, Caterpillar Impact Products Limited, Caterpillar India Private Limited, Caterpillar Industrial Inc., Caterpillar Industrias Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Industries (Pty) Ltd, Caterpillar Insurance Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Insurance Company, Caterpillar Insurance Holdings Inc., Caterpillar Insurance Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Finance Designated Activity Company, Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Finance Luxembourg S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Holding S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg I S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Luxembourg II S. a r.l., Caterpillar International Product SARL, Caterpillar International Services Corporation, Caterpillar International Services del Peru S.A., Caterpillar Investment Limited, Caterpillar Investment One SARL, Caterpillar Investment Two SARL, Caterpillar Investments, Caterpillar Japan LLC, Caterpillar Latin America Services S.R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Latin America Services de Panama S. de R.L., Caterpillar Latin America Servicios de Chile Limitada, Caterpillar Latin America Support Services S. DE R.L., Caterpillar Leasing (Thailand) Limited, Caterpillar Leasing Chile S.A., Caterpillar Leasing GmbH (Leipzig), Caterpillar Leasing Operativo Limitada, Caterpillar Life Insurance Company, Caterpillar Logistics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Logistics (UK) Limited, Caterpillar Logistics Inc., Caterpillar Logistics ML Services France S.A.S., Caterpillar Logistics Services China Limited, Caterpillar Luxembourg Group S.ar.l., Caterpillar Luxembourg LLC, Caterpillar Luxembourg S.a r.l., Caterpillar Machinery Nantong Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Marine Asset Intelligence, Caterpillar Marine Power UK Limited, Caterpillar Marine Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Maroc SARL, Caterpillar Materiels Routiers SAS, Caterpillar Mexico LLC, Caterpillar Mexico S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Mining Canada ULC, Caterpillar Mining Chile Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Motoren (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Motoren GmbH & Co. KG, Caterpillar Motoren Henstedt-Ulzburg GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Rostock GmbH, Caterpillar Motoren Verwaltungs-GmbH, Caterpillar Netherlands Holding B.V., Caterpillar North America C.V., Caterpillar Operator Training Ltd., Caterpillar Overseas Credit Corporation SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Investment Holding SARL, Caterpillar Overseas Limited, Caterpillar Overseas SARL, Caterpillar Panama Services S.A., Caterpillar Paving Products Inc., Caterpillar Paving Products Xuzhou Ltd., Caterpillar Pension Trust Limited, Caterpillar Poland Sp. z o.o., Caterpillar Power Generation Systems (Bangladesh) Limited, Caterpillar Power Generation Systems L.L.C., Caterpillar Power Systems Inc., Caterpillar Power Ventures International Ltd., Caterpillar Precision Seals Korea, Caterpillar Prodotti Stradali S.r.l., Caterpillar Product Services Corporation, Caterpillar Propulsion AB, Caterpillar Propulsion International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Italy S.R.L., Caterpillar Propulsion Namibia (Proprietary) Limited, Caterpillar Propulsion Production AB, Caterpillar Propulsion Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar Propulsion Singapore Pte. Ltd., Caterpillar R&D Center (China) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe LLC, Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Ramos Arizpe Servicios S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar Reman Powertrain Indiana LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Drivetrain LLC, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Renting France S.A.S., Caterpillar Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Caterpillar SARL, Caterpillar Services Germany GmbH, Caterpillar Servicios Limitada, Caterpillar Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Servizi Italia Srl, Caterpillar Shrewsbury Limited, Caterpillar Skinningrove Limited, Caterpillar Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd., Caterpillar Special Services Belgium S.P.R.L., Caterpillar Switchgear Americas LLC, Caterpillar Switchgear Holding Inc., Caterpillar Tianjin Ltd., Caterpillar Torreon S. de R.L. de C.V., Caterpillar Tosno L.L.C., Caterpillar Transmissions France S.A.R.L., Caterpillar Tunneling Canada Holdings Ltd., Caterpillar Tunnelling Canada Corporation, Caterpillar Tunnelling Europe Limited, Caterpillar UK Employee Trust Limited, Caterpillar UK Engines Company Limited, Caterpillar UK Group Limited, Caterpillar UK Holdings Limited, Caterpillar Undercarriage (Xuzhou) Co. Ltd., Caterpillar Underground Mining Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar Used Equipment Services Inc., Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc., Caterpillar Work Tools B.V., Caterpillar Work Tools Inc., Caterpillar World Trading Corporation, Caterpillar Xuzhou, Caterpillar of Australia Pty. Ltd., Caterpillar of Canada Corporation, Caterpillar of Delaware Inc., Centre de Distribution de Wallonie SPRL, CleanAir Systems, Downer Freight Rail, ECM Railway Evolution Romania s.r.l., ECM S.p.A., EDC European Excavator Design Center GmbH, EMC Holding Corp., EMD International Holdings Inc., ERA Information & Entertainment (BVI) Limited, ERA Mining Machinery Limited, Electro-Motive Diesel Limited, Electro-Motive Locomotive Technologies LLC, Electro-Motive Technical Consulting Co. (Beijing) Ltd., Energy Services International Limited, Equipos de Acuna S.A. de C.V., Eurenov S.A.S., F. G. Wilson (Proprietary) Limited, F. Perkins Limited, FG Wilson (Engineering) Limited, GB Holdco (China) Inc., GFCM Comercial Mexico S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.N.R., GFCM Servicios S.A. de C.V., Gremada Industries - Assets, Hong Kong Siwei Holdings Limited, Inmobiliaria Conek S.A. de C.V., JCS Co., Kemper Valve & Fittings Corp., Leo Inc., Locomotive Demand Power Pty Ltd., Locomotoras Progress Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Lovat, M2M Data Corporation, MGE Equipamentos & Servicos Ferroviarios, MWM, MWM Austria GmbH, MWM Benelux B.V., MWM Energy Australia Pty Ltd, MWM France S.A.S, MWM Real Estate GmbH, MaK Americas Inc., MaK Americas Inc. (Canada), Magnum Power Products LLC, Marble, Maschinenbau Kiel GmbH, Mec-Track S.r.l., Metalmark Financial Services Limited, Motoren Steffens GmbH, Nippon Caterpillar LLC, P. T. Solar Services Indonesia, PT Caterpillar Finance Indonesia, PT. Bucyrus Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia, PT. Caterpillar Indonesia Batam, PT. Caterpillar Remanufacturing Indonesia, Perkins Engines, Perkins Engines (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, Perkins Engines Group Limited, Perkins Engines Inc., Perkins Group Limited, Perkins Holdings Limited LLC, Perkins India Private Limited, Perkins International Inc., Perkins Japan LLC, Perkins Limited, Perkins Machinery (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Perkins Motores do Brasil Ltda., Perkins Power Systems Technology (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Perkins Small Engines LLC, Perkins Small Engines Limited, Perkins Technology Inc., Progress Metal Reclamation Company, Progress Rail Arabia Limited Company, Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd, Progress Rail Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Equipamentos e Servicos Ferroviarios do Brasil Ltda., Progress Rail Equipment Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Holdings Inc., Progress Rail Innovations Private Limited, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems GmbH, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems S.r.l., Progress Rail International Corp., Progress Rail Leasing Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Progress Rail Locomotivas (do Brasil) Ltda., Progress Rail Locomotive Canada Co., Progress Rail Locomotive Chile SpA, Progress Rail Locomotive Inc., Progress Rail Maintenance de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Progress Rail Manufacturing Corporation, Progress Rail Raceland Corporation, Progress Rail Rocklin Corporation, Progress Rail SA Proprietary Limited, Progress Rail Services Corporation, Progress Rail Services Holdings Corp., Progress Rail Services LLC, Progress Rail Services UK Limited, Progress Rail Switching Services LLC, Progress Rail Transcanada Corporation, Progress Rail Welding Corporation, Progress Rail Wildwood LLC, Progress Rail de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pyroban Group, Pyroban Group, Pyrrha Investments B.V., Pyrrha Investments Limited, S&L Railroad LLC, SCM Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., SPL Software Alliance LLC, Sabre Engines, Servicios de Turbinas Solar S. de R.L. de C.V., Shandong SEM Machinery Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines (Beijing) Trading Services Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines (Thailand) Ltd., Solar Turbines CIS Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Canada Ltd./Ltee., Solar Turbines Central Asia Limited Liability Partnership, Solar Turbines EAME s.r.o., Solar Turbines Egypt Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Europe S.A., Solar Turbines India Private Limited, Solar Turbines International Company, Solar Turbines Italy S.R.L., Solar Turbines Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Solar Turbines Middle East Limited, Solar Turbines New Zealand Limited, Solar Turbines Saudi Arabia Limited, Solar Turbines Services Company, Solar Turbines Services Nigeria Limited, Solar Turbines Services of Argentina S.R.L., Solar Turbines Switzerland Sagl, Solar Turbines Trinidad & Tobago Limited, Solar Turbines West-Africa SARL, Tangshan DBT Machinery Co. Ltd., Tecnologia Modificada S.A. de C.V., Towmotor Corporation, Traction & Mining Motor Repairs Pty Ltd, Turbinas Solar S.A. de C.V., Turbinas Solar de Colombia S.A., Turbinas Solar de Venezuela C.A., Turbo Tecnologia de Reparaciones S.A. de C.V., Turbomach, Turbomach Endustriyel Gaz Turbinleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited, Turbomach France SARL, Turbomach GmbH, Turbomach Netherlands B.V., Turbomach Pakistan (Private) Limited, Turbomach S.A. Unipersonal, Turbomach Sp. Z o.o., Turner Powertrain Systems Limited, UK Hose Assembly Limited, Underground Imaging Technologies Inc, United Industries LLC, VALA Inc., Vasky Energy Ltd., Wealdstone Engineering, Weir - Oil & Gas Division, West Virginia Auto Shredding Inc., Western Gear Machinery LLC, Wetland Sustainability Fund I LLC, Williams Technologies, Yard Club, Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Sales Co. Ltd., and okyo Rental Ltd..

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House amends Local Level Election Act

Parliament on Thursday endorsed a Bill to amend the Local Level Election Act-2017 in a bid to ease the process for the agitating Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal to participate in the second phase of elections scheduled for June 28.
Risk jumped to nearly one in 13 when mothers had virus in first trimester

Study comes as US prepares for mosquito season

The Zika virus is still spreading locally in some areas, including Puerto Rico. Photograph: Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

As many as one in 20 babies born to mothers infected by Zika have birth defects, a new report from by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

The risk jumped to nearly one in 13 when mothers were found to have Zika in the first trimester, the CDC stated.

The report on more than 2,500 pregnancies across five US territories found 122 babies, or 5%, were born with birth defects from 1 January 2016 to 25 April 2017. It is the largest study of the impact of Zika in America to date.

The bottom line for women is Zika virus infection diagnosed during any trimester can lead to severe birth defects, said Anne Schuchat, acting director of the CDC. This is a very dangerous virus in the context of the pregnancy setting.

The report comes as Americans in Gulf Coast states and US territories prepare for a summer mosquito season with the virus still spreading locally in some areas, including Puerto Rico.

We cant predict exactly how much Zika will be spreading these next several months, or in fact the next several years, but we know the vector is there, said Schuchat, referring to territories such as Puerto Rico.

In the same report, the CDC changed how it reports cases of birth defects related to Zika in the US territories. After a reported dispute with Puerto Rico, the CDC will now release data all Zika-related birth defects collectively among five US territories. Officials refused to say how many birth defects were found in Puerto Rico specifically.

The US territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are heavily dependent on tourism. Island officials blamed a major slump in the industry on news of the Zika virus. The head of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, Jose Izquierdo II, told local news outlet Primera Hora that the island lost an estimated $254m in tourism in 2016.

Earlier this week, the territorial government of Puerto Rico declared the Zika epidemic ended, after new infections dropped from 8,000 to 10 per week. The CDC is still warning women who are pregnant not to travel to Puerto Rico.

Story continues

A June report by Stat News indicated 38 cases of Zika-related birth defects on the island, despite known infections among 3,300 women. The Guardian attempted to confirm this number with the Puerto Rico department of health, but a spokesman said he did not have a current count of the number of Zika-related birth defects on the island.

By comparison, in the 50 states and Washington, 1,579 Zika-infected women gave birth to 72 children with defects.

Zika hasnt gone away and while the number of new cases has decreased the virus remains a concern for pregnant women living in the US territories, said Shuchat. We must continue preparing for another mosquito season while researchers seek more definitive prevention through vaccine development.
The Sopranos series finale. (Photo: HBO)

Saturday, June 10, will mark the 10th anniversary of the final episode of HBOs The Sopranos, the hour that was titled Made in America, written and directed by show creator David Chase. Its famous for having one of the most controversial endings in television history: Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and his family are in a restaurant when suddenly, an abrupt, prolonged shot of blank blackness fills the TV screen. After a beat, the final credits come up. Millions of viewers were left asking, Is that it? Did my cable just cut out, or what? I decided to look at the episode once again  I hadnt rewatched it since it aired  to see if it held up and if it still had the power to provoke.

For most of its length, Made in America plays like any other (excellent) episode of the series. Tony has business to do, he makes the rounds, checking in on people, including Silvio (Steven Van Zandt), whos in a coma, in the hospital. Tonys lawyer tells him that he, Tony, might be indicted on a weapons charge. He visits his sister, Janice (Aida Turturro). He visits his Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese). These scenes are entertaining but also a little dutiful, as though Chase needed to check off certain boxes and let the audience get last glimpses of certain key characters, before wrapping up his phenomenal, groundbreaking TV series.

The immediate-family stuff is the most interesting. Tonys son, A.J. (Robert Iler), is going through a rough patch and has decided to join the Army to become a helicopter pilot: My ultimate goal is to go to work for Trump or somebody, be their personal pilot. A decade ago, Donald Trumps name was shorthand for a rich guy with a lot of expensive toys. The Army prospect bothers both Tony and Carmela (Edie Falco), who fear for the kids life. A bit later, A.J., who always had trouble deciding on a career goal and sticking to it, mentions hed also like to join the CIA. Tony shoots back a sarcastic joke: What, you gonna ask The Donald for time off from your helicopter duties to go on CIA missions? The Sopranos other child, Meadow (Jamie Lynn-Sigler), is well on her way to a good life: She announces shes engaged, and shes building a law career  she just got a job offer from a firm.

Story continues

In the final scene, the Soprano family is going to have dinner at a restaurant  the real-life Holstens, in New Jersey. Tony arrives first, settles into a booth, pops a few quarters in the tabletop jukebox, selecting Journeys Dont Stop Believing. Carmela and A.J. arrive next; Tony has ordered onion rings for the table; they munch and make small talk. Meadow is running late; we see her trying to parallel park in a tight space across the street from the restaurant. In the context of a thriller like this, a concentration on car parking raises a red flag to a viewer: Is she going to get whacked before entering the joint?

The way Chase constructed the final scene, there are shots of a grim-faced man entering and sitting at the counter, glancing over at Tony, who picks up the guys glance. Two more men enter and stand around momentarily, as though looking for someone. The grim-faced guy walks past the Soprano family on the way to the restroom. Then the voice of Steve Perry rises to its awful crescendo, yowling the words, Dont stop  the camera focuses on Tony, and then everything goes black.

When the show first aired, viewers were baffled and upset. Social media wasnt as prominent as it is now, but you knew the country was in a minor uproar. Critics reviews ran the gamut from Brilliant! to Is that all there is? Some felt it was too pretentious  too arty  an exit. Or that it demonstrated Chases failure to commit to a decisive ending. Others simply resented the idea that David Chase was yanking our chain with a conclusion that was so eternally ambiguous. The most common interpretation seems to have been that the blackness meant a sudden death for Tony, that someone in the restaurant killed him (and, possibly, his family). But there were others who thought Tonys life went on, that the show was just abruptly cutting us off from our weekly fix of The Sopranos.

Chase gave an interview to the Directors Guild in 2015 in which he came as close as he ever has to explaining his intention: The biggest feeling I was going for, honestly, was dont stop believing. It was very simple and much more on the nose than people think. Thats what I wanted people to believe. That life ends and death comes, but dont stop believing. I have to say I hate the idea that David Chase ended one of the greatest shows on television with a salute to one of the corniest hit songs ever. Thank goodness theres no law that says you have to adopt the interpretation the artist imposes on his piece of art  indeed, its always good to remember that, very often, the person who created the art is the person least likely to have the distance or objectivity to interpret his or her work definitively.

Rewatching Made In America, I was struck by how quickly the blank-black-moment passes. It was over in just a few seconds; I thought it had stretched on for at least a minute. Not so. The screen became a black hole briefly, just time enough to allow all our dreams and nightmares about a Tony Soprano future to slip down that black hole forever. For me, Im willing, 10 years on, to enjoy the mystery of it  to enjoy the journey, if not Journey. I stopped believing in tidy endings a long time ago.

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The great news about Denise Richards joining OnlyFans is that shes been cranking out the content to keep her subscribers happy. Shes been teasing some of the super sexy photos on her Instagram account to perhaps entice more of her followers to join her on the other platform. This time around she shows off stunning []
Over 30 members of a New York City-based Russian crime group have been charged with racketeering, murder for hire and crimes including trafficking thousands of pounds of stolen chocolate, sources told WNBC on Wednesday.

Suspects could also be charged for their attempts to operate an illegal poker business in Brighton Beach, defraud casinos with a hacking device that predicted the behavior of slot machines, and stealing shipments from cargo ships. Another plan involved women seducing men and drugging them with chloroform in order to rob them.

chocolate

Photo: Getty Images

Two of the defendants were overheard discussing a 10,000-pound shipment of stolen chocolate on a court-ordered wiretap in March, according to the indictment.

Early Wednesday the FBIs Joint Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force arrested members of the group, known as the Shulaya Enterprise, according to law enforcement sources. Seven other suspects were still on the loose. The leaders of the organization, Razhden Shulaya, 40, of Edgewater, New Jersey, and Zurab Dzhanashvili, 37, of Brooklyn, New York, were among those arrested.

Read: What Is La Cosa Nostra, Infamous New York Mafia? FBI Arrests 40 Members Of Five Families Organization

Shulaya was referred to in the indictment as a vor v zakonei or vor, which were Russian phrases that roughly translate to thief-in-law and refer to an order of elite criminals from the former Soviet Union.

As a vor, Shulaya had substantial influence in the criminal underworld and offered assistance to and protection of the members and associates, the indictment said.

The group planned several crimes including trafficking stolen cigarettes and chocolate as well as illegal gambling, federal authorities say. Many of the group members were based in New York City, but others were located in Florida, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania and abroad, according to the indictment. They were predominantly from the former Soviet Union, and many of them had ties to Russia, Georgia and Ukraine.

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The case showed how Russian and other Eurasian crime groups have branched out into new areas of crime, according to Mark Galeotti, a Russian crime specialist at the Institute of International Relations Prague in the Czech Republic.

russian mob

Photo: Getty Images

What surprises me actually is they were still involved in the traditional types of crime, he said to the New York Times in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Joon H. Kim, the acting United States attorney in Manhattan, stated the case was one of the first federal racketeering charges to ever be brought against a Russian vor. The authorities revealed three indictments and one criminal complaint.

Read: Did Russia Hack The US Election? Senator Warns Russian Cyberattack Worse Than Reported

When people hear about Russian organized crime, they picture a stereotypical Russian thug, said Galeotti, the Russian crime expert.

Yes there are tattooed thugs around, he said.

The kind of Russian gangster one sees in America is more likely to be a fraudster, a hacker or semi-criminal businessman.

Suspects arrested on Wednesday were expected in federal court.

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Photo credit: Hero Images - Getty Images



Hearst Magazines and Verizon Media may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.

Even though it's one of the most difficult jobs around, being a teacher also means that you have guaranteed summer and winter breaks every year, no matter what. The difficult part of this benefit, though, is that teachers don't have an income during that time. That's why finding a satisfying summer job if you're a teacher is a great way to make some extra cash in addition to your yearly salary.

Even for those who know how to budget really well, earning some extra money during the summer for family vacations or your own rainy day fund is never a bad idea. If you're wondering how to make some cash during the summer time or if you really just want to do something with your time and keep working, summer jobs can range from teaching to camp counseling to getting into the gig economy (driving for Uber, etc.).

So whether you're interested in landing an online job, a remote position, part-time work, or full-time as a summer school teacher, these summer jobs for teachers will put your classroom experience and education degree to good use.

Here are the best summer jobs for teachers you should consider:

ESL Teacher

According to Teacher.Org, an ESL teacher is responsible for assessing the English skills of each student, who can be from different countries and with varying proficiency skills, and helping them better those skills. Their main goal is to work with students to reach a high level of proficiency in English in a short amount of time.

College Instructor

Universities, colleges, and community colleges are always looking for educators to lead online courses, fill adjunct instructor positions, and work as teaching assistants. During the summer, you can either teach groups of high school students who are taking college-level classes and/or college students who want to simply repeat a class or graduate quicker.

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Writing Tutor

As a writing tutor, you get the chance to work with all education levels, from children and teenagers to college students and grown-ups. You can choose your own hours and pick between teaching one-on-one or a small group of students within the same age group.

Photo credit: Cultura RM Exclusive/Hybrid Images - Getty Images

Exam Prep Instructor

You'll prep lessons and provide one-on-one tutoring sessions to students preparing for the SAT, GMAT, GRE, and MCAT exams. Depending on where you apply to work, you could teach at a university campus or within the company's facilities. Some of these openings even require employees to work weekend or evening hours, making it easier for you to run other errands or take care of your own kids during the day.

English Conversation Tutors

In this unique form of tutoring, you'll get paid to converse with students from around the world and help them improve their speaking skills. It's similar to ESL teaching, but you don't necessarily focus on their writing, just on their speaking skills.

Camp Counselor

As a camp counselor, you'll be able to work with younger students and coordinate, conduct, and supervise their activities. Although the main idea behind a summer camp is to have fun, according to Neuvoo, you'll also get to teach them fun hobbies, like arts and crafts, swimming, and technology skills on the computer.

Photo credit: Hero Images - Getty Images

Babysitter

Another way to put your education degree to good use is to become a babysitter. Not only will you be in charge of taking care of a young child while their parents are at work, you could even help them develop their motor and creative skills.

Summer School Teacher

If you have the opportunity to stay at your school and give summer classes to some familiar faces, do it. There won't be a period of adaption and you'll get to teach your favorite subjects to some of your old students.

Uber and Lyft Driver

For a job that has nothing to do with teaching, you can try being an Uber or Lyft driver. Not only will you be able to work on your own schedule, but you'll get to save yourself from burning out as a teacher. All you'll need to drive is a registered license and car, and proof of your residence in that state.

Copywriter

Love to write? Have some experience working online? Joining a site like Fiverr that allows you to advertise your services and handpick the projects you want to work on is a great way to make extra money this summer in a way that still gives you the flexibility of working from home.

Sports Coach

Love sports? Then coaching an intramural team or a kids' sports team over the summer can be a great way to combine your passion for competition with your teaching skills. If you can volunteer with one of your children's teams, even better  this will save you money since you'll all be going to the same practices and games at the same time.

Pet Sitter or House Sitter

If there's one thing you can guarantee almost every summer, it's that people will be going out of town at some point. This means that people are going to need people to watch their beloved pets, plants, and houses. If you love animals (or are just really good at watering plants), advertising these services around can be a good way to earn some extra cash. Want to make sure you're setting a good rate? When it comes to pet sitting, find out the nightly rate at your local boarding facility and then subtract a percentage from that. That way, you won't be pricing yourself too low but will still be a better option for people than another service. Apps like Rover allow you to advertise your services as well.

Tour Guide

Are you passionate about the history of your town? Do you consider yourself a local at a museum? Do you teach a subject that would coincide with a local gallery or exhibit? Use your expertise and work as a guide at any of the above locations. It'll get you out of the house, making money, and meeting people who are interested in the same things you are.

Market and sell your teaching tools

If you find that fellow teachers are asking you for your lesson plans and other teaching tools, why not make money selling them? Sites like Canva and Amazon make it surprisingly easy to streamline, market, and make money off of your lesson plans and teaching tools. This is also a gig that will allow you to keep yourself in a teaching mindset throughout the summer so you feel fresh when you get back to work in the fall.

Proofreader

As the site Tried and True Mom Jobs suggests, making money by proofreading other people's work is a very real thing.

"This is a great summer part-time job for teachers because I interviewed Caitlin Pyle who earned $43,000 per year part-time while studying abroad," writes Whitney Bond in the Tried and True Mom Jobs article.

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Czerlonka (Pologne) (AFP) - Activists chained themselves to logging equipment in Poland's ancient Bialowieza forest on Thursday to stop authorities from felling trees in Europe's last primeval woodland.

Starting at dawn, several of the 30 activists present attached themselves to wood-cutting equipment to stop it from leaving a nearby car park.

Others from Greenpeace and fellow environmental group Dzika Polska (Wild Poland) also held up banners that read "Stop logging" and "Save Bialowieza Forest" in the eastern village of Czerlonka.

Police intervened a few hours in and forced activists to unblock one of the machines but they continued to surround the other one.

Hours later, officers equipped with climbing gear forced the last of the activists to step down from a platform suspended above the machine, marking the end of the protest.

The Bialowieza forest is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is home to unique plant and animal life, including some 800 European bison, the continent's largest mammal.

The giant woodland straddles the border with Belarus and includes one of the largest surviving parts of primeval forest that covered Europe ten thousand years ago.

The Polish government says it authorised the logging, which began in May last year, to contain damage caused by a spruce bark beetle infestation and to fight the risk of forest fires.

Scientists, ecologists and the European Union protested and activists have alleged the logging is a cover for the commercial cutting down of protected old-growth forests.

In late April, the EU's executive branch -- the European Commission -- sent Warsaw a "final warning" saying it could take legal action to halt the large-scale logging.

The EU is concerned it could cause irreparable damage to the biodiversity of the woodland, that belongs to the EU's Natura 2000 network of protected areas.

Greenpeace Polska said in a statement that Thursday's action intended to "buy time to collect evidence regarding actions that go against EU rules and the UNESCO agreement."
From Popular Mechanics

The Air Force has selected SpaceX to launch the secretive X-37B unmanned spaceplane on its fifth mission to orbit, according to Spaceflight Now. The announcement was made by Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday.

"This is the model of the X-37, which will be going up again," Wilson said. "It's a reusable vehicle and will be going up again on top of a SpaceX launcher in August."

The X-37B spaceplane, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is similar in shape to NASA's space shuttle but about a fourth of the size. The craft had launched on all four of its previous missions atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The switch to an upgraded version of the Falcon 9 demonstrates the increased trust the Pentagon puts in SpaceX to deliver important payloads to orbit. The Falcon 9 Upgrade or Full Thrust that will be used is taller and more powerful than previous versions of SpaceX's primary launch vehicle. The Full Thrust has been launched before, carrying large payloads such as one of the Inmarsat-5 satellites.

Photo credit: SpaceX

The Air Force has two X-37Bs, and these reusable, uncrewed orbital vehicles generally spend hundreds of days in orbit at a time. During the craft's fourth and most recent mission, it orbited the planet for 718 days before landing on a runway used by the space shuttle program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida last month. The spaceplane had operated out of Vandenberg AFB in California previously, but the Air Force recently moved its X-37B facilities to Cape Canaveral, so the X-37B may be using the Cape as its primary hub from here on out.

The X-37B's missions are classified, though the Air Force did say that the fifth mission will carry its Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader (ASETS-11) experiment. Details on the ASETS-11 payload are scarce, and the Air Force Research Laboratory simply told Aviation Week that the long orbit would "test experimental electronics and oscillating heat pipes."

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Photo credit: U.S. Air Force

In addition to testing new equipment on extended missions in space, the X-37B is thought to perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions for the Air Force, monitoring nations that pose a potential threat to the U.S. such as North Korea. The spaceplane weighs about 11,000 pounds and typically orbits at an altitude between 200 and 250 miles, according to Spaceflight Now. It launches inside the payload fairing on top of a rocket and then deploys once the payload bay doors are opened. The craft is equipped with solar panels to power its instruments and a propellant-driven rocket engine to maneuver in space.

The Air Force did not disclose which of the two X-37Bs will be launched, but we do know come August, the USAF is going to launch their spaceplane to orbit, and the SpaceX Falcon 9 will have the privilege of lofting the craft back to space.

Source: Spaceflight Now

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Where did we come from? is one of those questions that are often asked by both philosophers and scientists, even if they approach the possible answers very differently. The search for the signs or possibility of life in places other than Earth in the universe is one of the ways scientists go about their approach.

That makes it exciting when an organic compound, long associated with life as we know it, is found around a star that is similar to the sun. Exactly such an observation has been made by two separate research teams who were using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Chile, and discovered the existence of methyl isocyanate  a chemical building block of life  in a multiple star system called IRAS 16293-2422.

This star system seems to keep on giving! Following the discovery of sugars, weve now found methyl isocyanate. This family of organic molecules is involved in the synthesis of peptides and amino acids, which, in the form of proteins, are the biological basis for life as we know it, Niels Ligterink from Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands and Audrey Coutens from University College London, who led one of the research teams, explained in a statement issued by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which operates the ALMA radio telescope.

Read: ALMA Sees Ring Of Icy Debris Around A Young Star System

IRAS 16293-2422 is about 400 light-years away and has many young stars, and the unique chemical sign of methyl isocyanate was found surrounding every one of those stars. The two teams of researchers made their observations at several different wavelengths across the radio spectrum, using various receiving bands of ALMA. The organic molecules, existing as a gas, were located in the warm, dense inner regions of the cocoon of dust and gas surrounding young stars in their earliest stages of evolution, according to the ESO statement.

MethylIsocyanate

Photo: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2/L. Calcada

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Methyl isocyanate is one of the family of prebiotic molecules, which are considered the precursors to the formation of more complex compounds, like amino acids and peptides, that are eventually linked to the existence of life as we know it. However, it is also very toxic and was the substance that killed thousands of people when it leaked from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, in 1984. But its discovery 400 light-years away is good news for scientists.

Rafael Martin-Domenech from Centro de Astrobiologia, Spain, and Victor M. Rivilla of INAF/Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Italy, leaders of the second research team, said in the statement: We are particularly excited about the result because these protostars are very similar to the Sun at the beginning of its lifetime, with the sort of conditions that are well suited for Earth-sized planets to form. By finding prebiotic molecules in this study, we may now have another piece of the puzzle in understanding how life came about on our planet.

Read: Life May Have Originated On Mars And Traveled To Earth: NASA Rover Engineer

The findings suggest that organic molecules and compounds, necessary for the evolution of life, could have been formed during the early stages of our solar system. It also suggests that planets around other stars similar to the sun could also take the same route and therefore harbor life.

The research was presented in two papers, both published Thursday in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Martin-Domenech and Rivilla were lead authors on a paper titled First Detection of Methyl Isocyanate (CH3NCO) in a solar-type Protostar. The other paper, The ALMA-PILS survey: Detection of CH3NCO toward the low-mass protostar IRAS 16293-2422 and laboratory constraints on its formation, had Ligterink and Coutens as lead authors.

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Near Raqa (Syria) (AFP) - Chorche was like a kid in a candy store in front of crates packed with US weapons to help an Arab-Kurdish alliance take the Islamic State group's Syria bastion Raqa.

"We're going to rain these sophisticated weapons down on Daesh (IS)," said the member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters.

The SDF entered Raqa on Tuesday after seven months of fighting to cut off the jihadist stronghold in northern Syria.

Since then, fierce fighting has rocked parts of the city, where an AFP correspondent saw SDF fighters armed mostly with light weapons and mortars battle the jihadists.

In May, US President Donald Trump approved the arming of the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), who dominate the alliance, to support the assault on Raqa.

In the village of Shanine, seven kilometres (four miles) northeast of Raqa, young fighters wearing camouflage with a yellow badge and the red YPG star as shoulder patches emptied a truck laden with green crates.

The boxes, packed with mortar rounds and other equipment, were then stored in a warehouse where one fighter inspected them carefully "to make sure nothing is missing".

Soldiers from the US-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and neighbouring Iraq sat in armoured vehicles in an olive grove in Shanine.

Their vehicles were covered in camouflage tarp, and the soldiers shielded their eyes behind sunglasses.

- Tough battle ahead -

Another group of coalition soldiers was positioned on the rooftop of a nearby house to monitor the combat in Raqa using binoculars.

On Wednesday, an AFP journalist entered the city with the SDF and saw heavy clashes in the Al-Meshleb neighbourhood in the east of the city.

Some 500 US military personnel, not all of them special forces, are believed to be participating in the battle for Raqa.

"We send our fighters to train with the (US-led) coalition and once they are done they will be able to use the arms we have received in the battle for Raqa," said SDF female commander Engizek Khalil.

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"They also supplied us individual weapons and other types of weapons," she said, adding that more is expected to be delivered.

The battle for Raqa is expected to be tough.

The jihadists have dug in since they captured the city in 2014.

If they lose Raqa, their dream of a "caliphate" straddling the border with neighbouring Iraq will disappear.

Ever since the SDF launched their offensive on Raqa, they have learned to master the methods that their enemies use.

"Their methods are always the same in every battle. They lay mines and use snipers and drones equipped with explosives," Engizek said.

- 'A good weapon' -

SDF fighter Jekdar Kobani proudly held up a 60 mm mortar round.

"It's a good weapon. The American forces trained us," he said.

"It was tough at first because these are modern and sophisticated weapons, but now we know how to use them and they are very useful in combat."

Heavy clubs are also prized on the battlefront, and several were piled up against the wall of a house.

Fighters use the clubs to knock through the interior walls of houses so they can advance through buildings without being spotted by snipers or drones.

Closer to the battlefield of Raqa, the scene is one of destruction.

Bridges have been knocked out by US-led coalition air raids to prevent IS from using them as a way of sending suicide bombers.

Two kilometres from Raqa, the SDF occupied a house to use as a staging point for fighters going up the line or returning from combat, as well as a weapons distribution centre.

One man who had been hit by a shrapnel in the leg was being treated there by a fellow fighter.

"Our comrades move slowly, step by step," said female commander Zaghros Qamishlo.

"The main difficulties we face are walls and other obstacles that our enemy has built. They also use mortar fire to stop our vehicles from advancing.

"But coalition aircraft help us and hit them relentlessly. Since Tuesday they've carried out 50 air strikes on their positions," she added.

The SDF took a group of journalists inside Al-Meshleb aboard a pick-up truck.

"Hurry! Get inside the house! There's incoming," shouted one fighter, after hearing a projectile being fired.

Seconds later the mortar round hit near the building.
Indian External Affairs Minister congratulates DPM Mahara

Minister for External Affairs of India Sushma Swaraj on Friday made a telephone call to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara and congratulated him on his appointment.
A gay, pro-Donald Trump group in North Carolina might take legal action after they were denied participation May 16 to attend the Charlotte Pride festival and parade, which takes place Aug. 26-27.

The organization reserves the right to refuse applications from groups that do not reflect the mission, vision and values of our organization, WJZY reported on Wednesday.

gays for trump

Photo: Getty Images

I am very proud of my country, proud of my president and was once proud of my community, said Brian Talbert, a member of Gays for Trump. I will vote for Donald Trump again. Im proud of my president. I dont think I should be vilified because Im proud of a U.S. president as an American.

Read: Gay Pride 2017: Trump Slammed By LGBT Leader For Failing To Acknowledge Pride Month

The Gays for Trump where Talbert is a member is not affiliated with the Gays for Trump that is based in Greensboro, North Carolina. Talbert said he and another gay Trump supporter sent an application to Charlotte Pride so they could have a float in the Pride Parade. Charlotte Pride rejected his application through an email. For Gays for Trump, the float in the parade was a chance to show they are not racist, bigoted or misogynistic as well as a chance to celebrate gay pride, said Talbert.

pride

Photo: Getty Images

For a group of people to claim to want tolerance, for them to sit back and judge me for exercising my right as an American to choose my leader without judgment is hypocritical, he said. I believe men and women died to give us that right to choose our own leader. They dont extend the same courtesy to me for being a gay Republican.

Talbert is planning to file a lawsuit against Charlotte Pride on the grounds of discrimination. He created a GoFundMe page on Tuesday to raise money for lawyers fees. Since it was created, the page has raised $3,115.

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We as a minority within a minority know discrimination first hand, reads the statement describing Deplorable Pride, the name of the fundraising page. We need all the help we can get in order to fight the majority within the minority.

Read: Gay Pride 2017: Why Won't President Trump Acknowledge Pride Month?

An official written statement released by a spokesperson for Charlotte Pride reads: Charlotte Pride envisions a world in which LGBTQ people are affirmed, respected and included in the full social and civic life of their local communities, free from fear of any discrimination, rejection, and prejudice. Charlotte Pride invites all individuals, groups, organizations and causes which share our values to join our communitys celebration of the LGBTQ community during the Charlotte Pride Festival and Parade.

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There are plenty of people who dream of one day braving the final frontier of space as an astronaut, but only the best and brightest are selected by NASA. The last time NASA started recruiting, December 2015, the space agency received applications from more than 18,000 people dreaming of one day leaving Earth.

NASA plans to announce who made the cut at a Wednesday event to be attended by Vice President Mike Pence at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The number of astronauts NASA has chosen, as well as any details about the individuals, has been kept under wraps. After Wednesdays announcement, the astronauts will have a few months before they head back to the JSC in August as NASA employees to begin their two years of training. While they train, theyll be employed at the centers Astronaut Office.

Read: Apollo 13 Story: Jim Lovell On How Mission Changes From Moon Landing To Survival

astronaut training

Photo: NASA

After receiving the astronaut applications, NASA starts weeding out those that dont meet the minimum requirements, JSC spokesperson Brandi Dean told International Business Times.

Those minimum requirements are U.S. citizenship, an undergraduate degree in a STEM field, at least 1,000 hours as pilot-in-command of a jet (for astronaut pilots only) and the ability to pass a basic astronaut physical. JSC has to bring in human resources workers from other NASA centers around the country to help go through the thousands of applications, Dean said.

2013 astronaut class

Photo: NASA

From there, the group of hopefuls is narrowed to about 500 of the most qualified applicants by the Astronaut Review Panel, which is made up of current astronauts. NASA checks references on these applicants before choosing 120 to bring in for a first round of interviews and some light testing. It takes the agency about six weeks to interview everyone. From that we narrow it down to about 50. Those come back for a second round of interviews and more testing, and those are the ones we pick the final astronauts from, Dean said.

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Read: How To Spot The International Space Station: When It Will Fly Over

While the job requirements for a future NASA astronaut varies a bit from a traditional job on Earth, the selection process is pretty similar. Its kind of like any other job interview, Dean said. NASA looks for similar traits in the astronauts that most bosses would want in an employee.

Someone thats demonstrated teamwork, someone with the right kind of scientific or engineering expertise  you want a good range of expertise, she said. In addition to these skills NASA also looks for someone with good expeditionary skills, Dean said, someone who could manage and excel at teamwork, could balance taking care of a team and themselves and someone who communicates extremely well.

astronaut robotics training

Photo: NASA

The astronaut class of 2017 is going to be made up of anywhere from eight to 14 total individuals with various backgrounds. Once they finish their two years of training, theyll be eligible for their first flight assignments. It doesnt usually happen right away, Dean said, noting the class of 2013 is just starting to get its assignments now.

Theres no set schedule for how frequently NASA puts out a call for applicants. Since 2000 it has announced classes in 2004, 2009, 2013 and now 2017, Dean said. So if youve been dreaming of space, you may have to wait a few more years to get your next shot at the stars.

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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders rose to political fame after railing against the nation's wealthy and promoting Democratic socialism, but the senator has officially become one of the moneyed elite himself. Sanders raked in more than $1 million in 2016, according to Senate financial disclosure forms, putting him in the top one percent of Americans, a group hes often denounced.

While Sanders annual Senate income alone wouldnt put him among the ultra-wealthy, the royalties and advance from his book Our Revolution did. The senator received a $795,000 advance in addition to the 200,000 copies hes sold so far.

Read: Ten Republican Senators Poorer Than Bernie Sanders

But Sanders has made a career of criticizing the moneyed elites.

How many yachts do billionaires need? Sanders tweeted in April. How many cars do they need? Give us a break. You cant have it all.

GettyImages-688308668

Photo: Getty Images

Social media users, however, were quick to point out that he himself owns three separate homes, including a summer house on Lake Champlain. And while such spending habits dont make him a billionaire, they certainly dont jive with the lifestyle of those he championed.

Our job is to take on the moneyed interests, Sanders said during an April speech in Kentucky. And the only way I know as to how we do that is by bringing millions of people into the political process, with a newborn understanding that we have got to get involved.

The top one percent of the nation earns 25.3 times as much as the bottom 99 percent, according to the Economic Policy Institute. While the top one percent earns an average income of $1.15 million per year, the rest of the country earns an average of $45,567 per year. Sanders, however, has maintained that he is not among the wealthy elite.

I remain one of the poorer members of the United States Senate, he said during a presidential debate last year.

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Without his book deal, that claim was true. However, even with just his Senate income alone, 18 senators, including 10 Republicans, had a net worth less than Sanders in 2014, according to PolitiFact.

Sanders, 75, recently toured the country to rally his base in an effort to revamp the Democratic Party. The senator has repeatedly voiced his opposition to President Donald Trump. He railed against Trumps proposed budget in May, calling the proposal grotesquely immoral and horrific.

Read: What Is Bernie Sanders Doing Now?

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 during an appearance on NBC. 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.

Sanders has made it his mission to revamp the Democratic Party after failing to clinch the nomination for president in 2016.

We need to transform the Democratic Party, he said during a speech in April in Kentucky. We need to open the doors of the Democratic Party to working people and to young people.

GettyImages-688228918

Photo: Getty Images

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Retirement brings many changes, not the least of which is a significant shift in how most people get paid. Rather than weekly or biweekly checks, retirees may find they get a single Social Security or pension payment that is intended to last them the entire month.

Financial planners say adjusting to a monthly income shouldn't be too difficult for many seniors. "It's a mental shift; it's budgeting; its proper allocation," says Patrick Meyer, director of wealth management client services for Unified Trust Company in Lexington, Kentucky.

[Read: 12 Ways Retirees Pay Their Bills.]

Potential bumps in the road can be smoothed by taking the following five steps.

Plan early for a smooth transition. Planning is important for all pre-retirees, but particularly for those living paycheck to paycheck. Jared Snider, senior wealth advisor for Exencial Wealth Advisors in Oklahoma City, says starting early can identify where there might be problems in a budget and how best to address shortfalls. "Do expenses need to get dialed back when you hit retirement?" he asks. "Or do you need to dial back now?"

Create a cushion. As part of the planning process, pre-retirees should create a financial cushion to fill any gaps during the transition period from biweekly to monthly payments. Keith Bernhardt, vice president of retirement and college products for Fidelity, recommends all seniors head into retirement with a buffer in their bank account that will cover at least two to three weeks worth of expenses. "Think of that buffer as a bill to yourself," he says, noting that people may need to budget for this cushion well in advance if they are living paycheck to paycheck.

Meyer recommends people continue to maintain a buffer even into retirement. "You hate to see people have to sell when the market is at a low point," he says. By keeping extra cash in a liquid bank account, retirees can use that money rather than making withdrawals from retirement funds during a down market.

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[See: 10 Costs You Can Eliminate in Retirement.]

Consider your new income and taxes. For many people, switching to a monthly income is less of a problem than adjusting to a reduced income. Even more affluent people may find they need to budget for considerably less money once they reach their retirement years. To address this problem, "Take a real critical look at what's mandatory spending and what's nice to have," Bernhardt says.

Taxes can also be different in retirement. Ryan Moore, a principle in the firm Ryan the IRA Guy in Corpus Christie, Texas, notes that retirees may no longer be eligible for certain write-offs such as college tuition or mortgage interest . That doesn't mean seniors are destined to pay high taxes though. Many retirees become eligible for new types of tax breaks. However, Moore says retirees need to be careful about when and how they pull money from retirement funds.

Align bills to income. While many forms of retirement income come only once a month, many retirees get payments from multiple sources. "Most people don't get [only one] once-a-month check," Moore says. That can make budgeting around monthly income significantly easier. The key, financial planners say, is to line up your bills so they are due around the same time the income arrives. This can be achieved by asking creditors to change due dates, if necessary. Some retirement funds will allow account holders to name their withdraw dates as well.

Even those who are living solely on Social Security or a pension can replicate the experience of being paid biweekly or weekly. Retirement checks can be deposited into a savings account and then automatic transfers can be set up to send money to checking at regular intervals. "If someone likes seeing that money moving into their account on a weekly basis, by all means do that," Snider says.

[See: 10 Ways to Increase Your Social Security Payments.]

Limit fixed expenses to guaranteed income. To ensure a smooth transition to monthly income in retirement, make sure your mandatory expenses don't exceed guaranteed income. "You can't rely on rental income," Moore says. "You can't rely on a percentage gain in the market."

Social Security and pension benefits, as well as annuity payments, are reliable sources of income. Moore and others recommend seniors keep fixed expenses such as mortgage or rental payments, utilities and insurance within the amount received through these guaranteed sources. Then, money from IRAs, dividends, interest and similar types of income can be used for discretionary spending such as travel, dining and gifts.

Transitioning from the workforce to retirement can be challenging, but making the switch to monthly income doesn't have to be difficult if you prepare for it.
State Sen. Bryce Reeves, center, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, right, and Virginia secretary of public safety Brian Moran, left, at a press conference in 2016. (Photo: Steve Helber/AP)

The already contentious Republican primary race for lieutenant governor in Virginia continued to escalate this week when State Sen. Bryce Reeves attacked a rival in the race for supporting the states first openly gay judge.

The flier sent by Reeves campaign tells voters that if they support President Trump, they should not vote for State Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, because she voted to approve the nomination of District Court Judge Tracy Thorne-Begland and was the only Republican to vote for special rights for gays and transgenders, referencing a 2016 antidiscrimination bill.

The controversial mailer also accuses Holtzman Vogel of opposing Trump priorities and killing a bill that would have required women to have an ultrasound before getting an abortion, causing her to be cheered by liberal news anchor Rachel Maddow.

In an email to the Washington Post, the Reeves campaign did not apologize for sending the mailer. Nor has Reeves himself backed down. In response to Yahoo News request for comment, the candidate said:

As a former Army Ranger, police officer, and a Christian, my life is centered around fighting for the dignity of the human person and their God-given talents and rights. My criticism of Ms. Vogel is that she voted to put a liberal on the court, which is consistent with her liberal positions on the Second Amendment and illegal immigration.

Despite the attacks from Reeves, Holtzman Vogels campaign manager, Pat Trueman, told Yahoo News that the senator will not change her position on Judge Thorne-Beglands appointment.

Jill Vogel believes discrimination is wrong and violates the Republican Creeds call for equal justice for all,' Trueman said in an email. Senator Vogel based her vote on Judge Thorne-Beglunds legal background.

In addition to bringing national attention to the race, Reeves mailer also brought criticism from within his own party. State Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, Virginia attorney general candidate John Adams and Rep. Scott Taylor all spoke out against the mailer.

Story continues

I am very upset by the mailer I saw, Taylor told the Washington Post. Gay bashing and discrimination is unacceptable and the wrong message for the people of our party, the people of Virginia, and the people of America.

State Delegate Glenn Davis, who is running in the primary, also attacked the mailer in a video on his campaign website.

If you cant win on policy and you have to win on stuff like this, you just shouldnt be running, Davis said.

Additionally, the mailer cost Reeves the support of popular conservative blogger Jim Hoeft of Bearing Drift.com.

But, as conservatives, our mindset regarding who is selected as a judge or a bureaucrat is based on finding the most capable, qualified, talented, and overall exceptional people to do the necessary job of limited governance, Hoeft wrote on his blog on Wednesday. As a public, we should care less about their sexual orientation and more about them doing the job well.

Virginia voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to choose among candidates for governor and lieutenant governor.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Chelsea Manning said if given the chance to speak with former President Barack Obama, she would say thank you.

In her first interview since her May 17 release from prison, Manning was in tears when asked by ABC News journalist Juju Chang what she would say to the president.

Thank you for giving the chance, thats all I wanted, said Manning. Thats all I asked for was a chance. Thats it, and now this is my chance.

Manning, a transgender U.S. Army private, was arrested in 2010 for releasing over 700,000 documents to WikiLeaks. As Bradley Manning, she was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but came out as transgender during her time at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. During a fight with the military for hormone treatments, Manning attempted suicide, which resulted in solitary confinement. Obama granted her clemency in the final days of his presidency, commuting her sentence after seven years served.

It has been my view that given she went to trial, that due process was carried out, that she took responsibility for her crime, that the sentence that she received was very disproportionate relative to what other leakers had received, and that she had served a significant amount of time, that it made sense to commute and not pardon her sentence, Obama said in his final press conference as president.

A Pentagon review of the documents leaked by Manning determined that they did not result in the deaths of any U.S. personnel.

When asked if she owed an apology to the American people, Manning took responsibility for her actions.

I accept the responsibility. Manning said. No one told me to do this, no one directed me to do this, this is me, its on me.

The full interview will air on an upcoming Nightline special on ABC.
China has installed a massive field of solar panels on a particularly poignant site: a lake formed by the collapse of abandoned coal mines.

The world's largest floating solar project can produce enough power to light up a nearby city in China's eastern Anhui province. The local government wants to expand the initiative to more than a dozen sites, which together would generate the same amount of electricity as a full-size nuclear reactor, the New York Times reported this week.

SEE ALSO: Prince's secret energy investment could help solar startups under Trump

The 40-megawatt project, which was connected to the grid in mid-May, provides a powerful example of China's broader ambition to lead the world in clean energy development and the fight against climate change  goals that, until recently, were shared by the U.S. government.

With President Donald Trump moving to step back from America's leading role in global climate efforts, the Chinese government is moving in to fill that void.

A coal barge on the Ohio River is (deliberately) visible behind President Donald Trump in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 7, 2017.

Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

In Beijing this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted his country's clean energy efforts at a meeting of global energy ministers, just days after Trump announced his decision to withdraw America from the Paris Climate Agreement. U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who attended the meeting, told reporters he welcomes China taking "the mantle of leadership on the climate."

That's not to say China has totally bucked fossil fuels. Far from it. The world's most populous country is also the planet's top emitter of greenhouse gases, and it still accounts for about half the total coal consumed worldwide.

But Chinese leaders have said they're committed to steering their economy toward cleaner energy sources, not just for environmental reasons but also to secure investments and jobs in growing industries like solar and wind power and electric vehicles.

Image: IRENA

Green jobs are expected to reach 24 million in 2030, up from 9.8 million in 2016, as more countries work to combat climate change, the International Renewable Energy Agency said in its annual report on May 24.

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In January, the Chinese government canceled plans to build more than 100 coal-fired power plants, in an effort to limit carbon emissions and curb the dangerous smog choking its cities. Chinas energy agency has said it would spend 2.5 trillion yuan, or $361 billion, on clean energy projects by 2020 to help shift the nation away from fossil fuels.

China's floating solar project, which boasts 166,000 waterproof panels, is similar to smaller facilities in Japan, Singapore, the U.K. and Israel.

A one-megawatt floating solar test project in Singapore.

Image: ABB

Delegations from Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, and beyond have visited the lake regularly to study the project while Sungrow, the project's developer, prepares to develop the solar technology to sell abroad, the Times reported.

"China is a real driver in the money they invest in the diligence of their innovation, California Gov. Jerry Brown told Bloomberg Television this week. Brown met with President Xi this week in Beijing, signaling California's growing leadership role on climate as the Trump administration retreats.

"I want California to partner with China in that endeavor. Otherwise we wont achieve our climate goals," Brown said.
The Republican reaction to the testimony was as great a curiosity to behold as Trumps infatuation with Putins Russia  and spoke volumes

James Comey

James Comey wants you to know a few things. First and foremost, that Donald Trump is a liar. Second, that Russia attacked the United States during the 2016 election, and will do so again. Third, that you really shouldnt trash the reputation of James Comey and the FBI without expecting some payback.

Trumps Russian web may be a complicated contraption, but the firing of Comey is a much simpler matter.

In a devastating opening statement, delivered without notes, Comey explained how confused he was. After all, Trump had told him he was doing a great job and wanted him to stay. Then Trump fired him, either for the Russia investigation (as Trump said), or for the Clinton emails (as the Justice department said), or simply for bad management.

It was that last smack to the face that gave Comey all the motive he needed to go public. Those were lies, plain and simple, he told the senators and the world. And I am so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them, and Im so sorry that the American people were told them.

More in sorrow and confusion, Comey proceeded to eviscerate his former boss.

Why did he write his now historic memos documenting each interaction with Trump? I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting so I thought it important to document, he explained. I knew there might come a day when I would need a record of what had happened, not just to defend myself, but to defend the FBI and our integrity as an institution, and the independence of our investigative function.

Were talking about the president of the United States here. In front of a bunch of Republican senators whose heads exploded when they heard that former president Bill Clinton had even met with then attorney general Loretta Lynch. Somehow they seemed much more relaxed hearing about Trump bullying and firing an FBI director who was investigating everyone around him.

Story continues

Comey wasnt just talking about obstruction of justice. He was talking about the rule of law and national security under a president who considers all this Russia stuff to be a fabrication of disappointed Democrats and the mainstream media.

There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever, Comey explained. The Russians interfered in our election during the 2016 cycle. They did it with purpose. They did it with sophistication. They did it with overwhelming technical efforts  Thats about as unfake as you can possible get. It is very, very serious, which is why its so refreshing to see a bipartisan focus on that. This is about America, not about a particular party.

Its hard to think of one mans testimony that has brimmed with more blockbuster material than the former FBI directors calm demolition of the sitting president of the United States.

Yes, there have been more dramatic hearings  when McCarthy hunted Commies, and Fulbright questioned the war in Vietnam. But theres only one precedent for what Comey did before the Senate intelligence committee, and thats Watergate.

Make no mistake: Comeys testimony was effectively the first hearing into what will surely become the impeachment of Donald J Trump. Such proceedings must ultimately take place in the House, but Comey has laid the foundations of the next several years of Trumps Russian saga.

How can you tell the impeachment machine is warming up? By watching the Republican senators in action.

When faced with the news that their country was under Russian attack, these august members of the worlds greatest deliberative body rushed to defend their most precious possession: not American values, but their very own Donald Trump.

Most of them were primarily concerned to get Comey to say that he wasnt investigating Trump himself. Some of them insisted that Trumps obstruction of justice was no big deal because the FBI was such an awesome institution it couldnt be swayed by a few casual words from a former real estate developer.

Except for the fact that Comey was sitting in front of them as an unemployed civilian, recently fired by Trump for that same Russian saga.

Then there were a handful of Republicans who wanted to talk about Hillary Clintons emails. Yes, were looking at you, John McCain, the Senate maverick who hates Vladimir Putin but somehow hates Hillary more.

The Republican reaction was as great a curiosity to behold as Trumps infatuation with Putins Russia. As James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, told the Australian press this week: I have had a very hard time reconciling the threat the Russians pose to the United States with the inexplicably solicitous stance President Trump has taken with respect to Russia.

We all have had a really hard time with this one. No wonder Clapper also said that Watergate pales in comparison to Trumps collusion with Russia and the firing of Comey.

And thats where Trump made his biggest mistake. Because James Comey is an elite athlete of Washington and Donald Trump, well, isnt.

Comey paces himself, warming up a day early with the release of his written testimony. Then he opens the proceedings with an off-the-cuff slam dunk on Trumps head.

He uses his team to leak his landmark memos about all those freakish meetings with Trump, knowing they will lead to a special counsel. He can play offense by assassinating Trumps character. He can play defense by staying safely behind classified information and the integrity of FBI investigations.

And he can fake his opponents far better than they can. Look, Ive seen the tweet about tapes, he told the good senators in his best boy scout voice. Lordy, I hope there are tapes.

Lordy, we all hope there are tapes and memos between now and the end of the Trump era. In the meantime, there are dozens of lines of inquiry to keep Comeys former FBI employees busy forevermore.

What, for instance, is the point of a back channel using Russian communications, like the one Jared Kushner apparently wanted to set up?

Im not going to comment on whether that happened in an open setting, Comey began rather coyly. But the primary risk is obvious. You spare the Russians the cost and effort to break into our communications channels by using theirs. You make it a whole lot easier for them to capture all of your conversations. Then to use those to the benefit of Russia against the United States.

And now, with the firing of Comey, Trump has made it a whole lot easier to get himself impeached.

Back in the day, as the 2016 election drew to a close, Hillary Clinton warned the nation about Donald Trump, calling him Putins puppet. No puppet. No puppet, Trump sputtered. Youre the puppet.

As James Comey likes to say, thats about as unfake as you can possibly get.
A friend and confidant of James Comey told Yahoo News Friday that the proper response to the charge that the former FBI director broke the law by leaking a personal memo to the press was laughter.

Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of the Lawfare blog and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told Yahoo News during an interview Friday that the suggestion by President Trumps lawyer Marc Kasowitz that Comey should be investigated did not hold merit.

Related slideshow: Lies to Lordy: How the worlds front pages covered the Comey testimony >>>

Any complaint on what Jim testified yesterday, in my opinion, would be frivolous for the following reason, said Wittes in an interview with Yahoo News Deputy Editor Daniel Klaidman. First of all, Comey was very clear that the memo that he wrote was intentionally written in unclassified form so that it would not be bound up in classification rules. So if the claim is that hes admitted to leaking classified information, thats simply factually false.

President Trumps attorney Marc Kasowitz speaks at the National Press Club in Washington on June 8, 2017, about the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

During his testimony Thursday, Comey said that he had leaked a personal memo about conversations with Trump to the press via a friend, Daniel Richman. A refrain from Trump supporters, surrogates and staffers in the wake of the fired FBI heads testimony is that Comey should be charged for releasing the memo. The timeline of events offered by Kasowitz, however, is questionable.

Comeys description of the document is that it was a personal sort of memo to file, said Wittes, and by the way, there is no general law that says you are bound to protect unclassified material, so the real question here is not legal  and by the way, executive privilege assumes that there is some proceeding in which somebody is trying to compel you to produce something. Its not about whether you as an individual are entitled to disclose your own notes of a conversation voluntarily, thats just not what its about.

The real issue is whether the president has a reasonable expectation of confidentiality when he fires somebody and then lies about the circumstances in which he did that, and that strikes me as a matter in which to ask that question is also to answer it, said Wittes. The proper answer to Mr. Kasowitzs complaint is laughter.

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Former FBI Director Comey testifies before a Senate intelligence committee hearing on Russias alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election on June 8, 2017. (Photo: Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters)

Theres nothing, in my opinion, unethical, let alone illegal or inappropriate about what Jim reported that he and Dan [Richman] did, added Wittes.

Wittes said he doesnt know why Comey leaked a memo to the media through Richman, but suspected it was because he was relying on his friends in a time when he was quite busy and quite overwhelmed and there might have been some reluctance about jumping on a phone with a reporter days after he was fired. Comey said during his testimony that he was reluctant to share the memo with the press directly because with the media camped out in his driveway it would be like feeding seagulls at the beach.

Related slideshow: Comey and cocktails: People in bars and restaurants watch ex-FBI directors testimony >>>

Wittes relationship with Comey was highlighted last month when he went to the New York Times with a story about how his friend had attempted to hide in the curtains during a White House event to avoid being recognized by the president. At that time, Comey had concerns that Trump was attempting to build a personal relationship that he felt was improper.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Washington (AFP) - Fired FBI director James Comey confirmed in a statement Wednesday that US President Donald Trump urged him to drop an investigation into his former national security advisor Michael Flynn, then under scrutiny for his Russia contacts.

"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy," Comey quoted Trump as telling him on February 14 as they sat alone together in the Oval Office.

"I had understood the president to be requesting that we drop any investigation of Flynn in connection with his false statements about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in December," Comey said in a statement released ahead of his appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

Comey also described a one-on-one dinner he had with the president at the White House on January 27 in which Trump asked him if he wanted to stay in his job.

Made uneasy by the set-up, Comey said he told Trump he was not "'reliable' in the way politicians use that word, but he could always count on me to tell him the truth."

"The president said, 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.' I didn't move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed," Comey said.
Man Arrested with fake notes and printer

Police has arrested a 21-year-old man in possession of counterfeit currency notes of 1,000 denomination with a face value of Rs 100,000 and a printing machine in Butwal.
Actress Olivia Munn reportedly swears by one particular food to keep the wrinkles away. But does evidence suggest that eating this can improve your skin?

Her secret: Dining on Japanese sweet potatoes. Olivia has claimed on social media that the purple tubers are rich in hyaluronic acid, explains ER Physician Dr. Travis Stork. Whats the real deal on these things? he asks.

Watch: Is Your Cell Phone Damaging Your Skin?

Dr. Stork says, Sadly, itll probably have minimal anti-aging effect on the skin. But dont pass up these sweet potatoes! Theyre a healthy food full of anti-oxidants.

Plastic Surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon notes that hyaluronic acid is the same substance he injects as a facial filler and explains that it wont survive a trip through the digestive tract when eaten, But by eating the amino acids, you are going to get the precursors so you can form your own HA.

Watch: Crystal Therapy for Anti-Aging?

It gets back to eating food that is packed with nutrition, Concludes Dr. Stork. Its great for your skin.
President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Rivertowne Marina: AP

Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to a record low, according to a new opinion poll.

Conducted by Quinnipiac University, the survey found just 34 per cent of US citizens approve of their leader, while 57 per cent disapprove.

It also found that 68 per cent of respondents believe Mr Trump is not level-headed.

The previous low in a Quinnipiac survey came in April when Mr Trump registered a 35 per cent positive rating and 57 per cent negative.

Those who participated in the poll were also quizzed on their opinion on Mr Trumps connections with Russia.

In total 31 per cent of people believed the President did something illegal with Russia, 29 per cent said Mr Trump did something unethical but not necessarily illegal and 32 per cent think he did nothing wrong.

Quinnipiac Unversity surveyed 1,361 voters from 31 May to 6 June and the margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.2 per cent.

The news come as a pair of Democrats in Congress are drafting up articles of impeachment against Mr Trump, claiming that the presidents decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey constitutes an obstruction of justice.

Texas Representative Al Green, who has been one of the most outspoken proponents of impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump, was joined by California Representative Brad Sherman in announcing the attempt.

But their efforts do not appear likely to succeed because of the current makeup of Congress. Mr Trump's Republican Party control the House of Representatives that would be tasked with formally indicting the president.
Mr Trump is headed to Ohio to talk to 'Obamacare victims': Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Donald Trump will meet with what he calls Obamacare victims on an official visit to Ohio, where he will also discuss his infrastructure initiatives ban.

The White House hasnt released too much information on who those victims may be, but Republicans including the president have railed on rising premiums in states across the country. Those same politicians also tend to point to major healthcare insurers pulling out of Affordable Care Act marketplaces, potentially leaving thousands without primary insurance providers in their counties.

Rate hikes and insurer abandonment of markets  Anthem recently announced that it would drop out of the Ohio market, for instance  dont necessarily paint as pure of a failure of Obamacare as Republicans say, however. While Anthem pulling out of Ohio will leave more than 10,000 customers in the lurch (67,000 will also need to choose a new plan in 2018) in counties where the insurance provider was the only marketplace provider (or one of two), other factors point to a more successful program.

Expanded Medicaid allowances in the state serves 691,000 citizens, for example. Beyond that, the high rate hikes are estimated on the presumption that customers wouldnt shop around during open enrollment to find cheaper rates (the average rate increase approved in Ohio for 2017 was 17.33 percent, but benchmark rates only increased by 2 percent for the year, according to healthinsurance.org). Between 2010 and 2015, the Affordable Care Act led to 664,000 more Ohio residents signing up for insurance.

Anthem cited Republican efforts in Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act as one of the reasons it decided to pull out of Ohio, as the company is unsure whether new legislation would still pay reimbursements to insurers that Obamacare subsidies for low-income out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Anthem also cited existing volatility in the individual health plan market as a reason for pulling out.

A repeal of Obamacare in the state would result in an estimated 945,000 people losing their health insurance, and local Republicans have expressed concern that legislation might include a pull back on Medicaid funding in the state. Ohio's Governor John Kasich, a vocal critic of Mr Trump and a former Republican presidential candidate, has met with the president to discuss those concerns.
Since assuming office on Jan. 20, Donald Trumps presidency has been marred by controversies and petitions. People filed several petitions to impeach the president, urged him to drop the plans to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and save the Environmental Protection Agency under his administration. He also had a petition against him in the U.K. over his state visit slated later this year.

Now the latest one is to investigate the Trump administration for its possible ties to Russia. Started by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-New York), the petition received nearly four million signatures from people across the country to form a bipartisan and independent commission to probe the president and his administrations foreign business conflicts of interest, and violations of federal ethics laws.

Read: Muslim Ban, Border Wall Spark Petitions To Charge President With Constitutional Violations

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) said the GOP has more members willing to cover up instead of to open up...and thats where the role of these petitions becomes so very important.

The Trump administration will try to hide behind the bushes or behind the tweets, but the cover-up will be uncovered by people across this country who demand change. Together we can continue to resist, Doggett said, according to Newsweek.

However, can petitions actually result into Trumps removal or impeachment? Is he legally obligated to resign after Americans sign petitions for him to do so? The answer is, no. Petitions are only to grab the governments attention and push it to work on peoples demands. There are no legal consequences due to the petitions.

It is obvious Trump has no plans, for now, to step down from presidency. But, in a bid to oust Trump, members of the House of Representatives are required to vote on one or more articles of impeachment. The U.S. constitution allows a president to be impeached for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

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On Wednesday, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-California) said they are drafting articles of impeachment over the presidents decision to dismiss James Comey as FBI Director James.

If at least one of the articles gets a majority vote, Trump will be impeached  meaning indicted. Following this, the proceedings will head to the Senate, which will hold a trial supervised by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. A team comprised of lawmakers from House will serve as prosecutors and the president will have defense lawyers. The Senate will act as the jury. At least two-thirds of the senators should find Trump guilty. If that happens, the president will be ousted and Vice President Mike Pence will take over his place.

Till now, there has never been an impeachment by both the House and Senate. But, some presidents came close to getting impeached. Richard Nixon resigned from his office, making way for Gerald Ford to take office in 1974. And in 1998, Bill Clinton was impeached by the House but not the Senate.

Related Articles
Study finds one-bedroom rentals are affordable in a dozen mostly rural counties in the west, and two-bedrooms are entirely out of reach for low-income workers

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The report also notes that some of the occupations predicted to add the most positions in the coming years all currently earn too little to be able to pay for a one-bedroom apartment. Photograph: sturti/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A person working a full-time minimum-wage job will find it virtually impossible to rent an affordable home anywhere in the US, according to a study that sheds new light the countrys housing crisis.

The report reveals that there is not a single county or metropolitan area in which a minimum-wage worker can afford a modest two-bedroom home, which the federal government defines as paying less than 30% of a households income for rent and utilities. And in only 12 counties in the country is a modest one-bedroom home affordable, according to the report, published Thursday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

This applies even in places that have raised their minimum wage higher than the baseline federal level of $7.25, which equates to around $15,000 a year. In Los Angeles County the minimum wage is rising to $15 for all employers by 2021, but the current wage required for a one-bedroom there is $22.98. In New York City the minimum wage is rising to $15 for all employers by 2019, but the wage needed for a one-bedroom soars above this, at $27.29.

Less-overheated real estate markets present difficulties to low-income workers as well. Averaging rents across Alabama and Montana, someone earning minimum wage would have to work approximately one-and-a-half full-time jobs to be able to afford a one-bedroom home.

Americans earning minimum wage do not need a study to know how difficult things are.

Alicia Hamiel, 23, a mother of two children in Philadelphia, earns $7.75 an hour at McDonalds and works 26-38 hours a week, based on what the scheduler allots her. She and her family are currently living in a single room that rents for $400 a month.

I feel like Im failing as a mom, she said. If I cant make sure they have a roof over their heads, what am I doing? I feel like Im doing the best that I can.

Story continues

She was once so desperate that looked into staying at a homeless shelter, but there was no room. I apply for other jobs, I call, I go to interviews. And its just like, either Im not qualified or they just tell me, you know, they dont want to hire me.

The study is well-executed, said David Bieri, an associate professor of public policy at Virginia Tech, who was not involved with the project. We learn from it that housing in the coastal US is exceedingly expensive, he said, and that in cities, wages are not really moving in line with increased pressures.

The most expensive counties and metropolitan areas in the US are indeed maritime, or thereabouts: in the San Francisco bay area and in the Honolulu, New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC areas. San Francisco renters must earn $58.04 an hour to afford a two-bed home. The 12 counties where a one-bedroom is affordable are in Arizona, Oregon and Washington  as the report notes, these are states with their own, higher minimum wages  and are mostly rural.

While numerous localities and states have boosted the minimum wage, they may need to be more ambitious. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the minimum wage is about $8.50, but housing costs for a one-bedroom would require a wage of $13.77 an hour. In Saint Louis, Missouri, the minimum wage is $10 but $13.27 is needed; in Tacoma, Washington, the minimum wage is $11.15, lagging the one-bed cost of $17.02.

Raising the minimum wage definitely is something that would increase quality of life for low-wage workers and is important, said Andrew Aurand, the principal author of the study, but it still does not raise the minimum wage to a level that would allow a minimum wage worker to afford a home.

He suggested that the government could offer increased rental assistance and boost programs such as the National Housing Trust Fund, which invests in affordable homes. The Trump administration has signaled it is moving in the opposite direction, proposing cutting funding for the federal housing agency by almost 15% and indicating it would like to ax the trust fund.

Elsewhere in the report, the authors note that some of the occupations predicted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics to add the most positions in coming years  such as nursing assistants, retail salespersons and home health aides  all currently earn too little to be able to pay for a one-bedroom apartment, as calculated on a national basis.



Those opposed to raising the minimum wage contend that it could cause job losses and does not help to reduce poverty levels, and their arguments seem to have won out in around two dozen states that have passed laws preempting cities from raising the minimum wage.

Yet this is bad for workers and its bad for the economy because its stifling consumer spending, said Tsedeye Gebreselassie, a senior staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project. Extensive research, she pointed out, finds a positive effect.

Marco Ascencio, 21, who lives with his mother and two sisters in a two-bedroom house in Inglewood, in Los Angeles County, has no doubt that it should be higher.

He works around 37 hours a week cleaning aircraft for American Airlines and 15 hours making pizza dough at Little Caesars, earning $10.55 an hour for both; his mother also has a full-time minimum wage job cleaning planes, and a sister has just started in a new position. How is it that three people are working, he said, and were still struggling?

Their home rents for around $2,000 a month, and in addition to paying for housing, Ascencio is saving for college tuition. He feels as though the family lives on a knife edge: if his mother became injured and lost her job, or if they were evicted and had to move into a more expensive place, he fears their financial net would break.

I dont want to be a 25-year-old still working, earning $10 an hour, and still living in my moms house, in the living room  its kind of scary.

Do you have an experience of homelessness to share with the Guardian? Get in touch
Paris (AFP) - The Eiffel Tower will turn its lights out on Thursday as a mark of respect for the victims of deadly twin attacks in Tehran, which were claimed by the Islamic State group.

"Tonight, at midnight, the Eiffel Tower will turn off its lights in homage to the victims of the attacks in Tehran. Paris and Parisians stand in solidarity" with the victims, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said on Twitter.

Wednesday's attacks at Tehran's parliament complex and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini killed 17 people and wounded more than 50.

They were later claimed by IS, the first the group has claimed inside Iran.

Iran said earlier Thursday that the five Iranians who carried out the killings had spent time in IS strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

The Eiffel Tower has turned out its lights, an iconic feature of Paris' nocturnal skyline, for several previous attacks, notably the Orlando shootings as well as last Saturday's attack in London which killed eight and for which IS also claimed responsibility.

The lights also went off last December in solidarity with besieged residents of the Syrian city of Aleppo, as well as in a show of respect for victims of the March 2016 Brussels bombings and the November 2015 Paris attacks.
During an August 2016 earnings conference for SolarCity, a company for which Elon Musk served on the board, he asked, What if we can offer you a roof that looks way better than a normal roof? That lasts far longer than a normal roof? The business magnate added, Different ball game. But the kind of solar tiles he was speaking of that resembled real roof tiles were nowhere close to being ready, according to a Fast Company piece detailing the merger between Tesla and SolarCity.

SolarCity was a company started by brothers Peter and Lyndon Rive in 2006. The brothers started the solar company with help from their cousin Elon Musk in the form of a ten million dollar investment. The company sold solar panel systems using an innovative lease system. They would sell the roofs as leases, taking on a lot of the upfront cost, and use government solar tax credits to help defray the cost.

Read: Elon Musk And Leonardo DiCaprio Stand By Climate Change After Trump Ditches Paris Agreement

The company did well at first, growing exponentially before finally going public in 2012. Their stocks grew through 2014 before a few factors led to trouble.

The solar company started to feel that it had grown too fast and was publically spread thin. The solar market wasnt as bullish as before, and SolarCitys stocks fell 77 percent from their 2014 high. According to Fast Company, thats when Musk stepped in.

Because of conflicts of interest, the companies had to operate separately and distanced from each other. But Musk wanted Tesla to acquire SolarCity. Musk said a solar roof company with installation services would fit in perfectly with what Tesla was doing. In 2015 Tesla developed a battery called the Powerall, designed for storing energy to power homes.

Musk sold the idea of the future, pushing solar tiles that looked like regular house tiles to shareholders and analysts before the tiles were ready to be manufactured. Musk wasnt even thrilled with some of the initial solar tile products SolarCity were making.

Story continues

The merger happened in late 2016, Tesla acquired the solar company for just under three billion dollars. Currently, SolarCity has not quite reached its projections for tile outputs, and one of its founders, Lyndon Rives, has left the company.

Read: Elon Musk On Twitter: SpaceX, Tesla CEO 'Cautiously Optimistic' Paris Agreement Is Safe Under Trump

Tesla is underway preparing for the release of its newest car, the Model Three, which is set to begin rolling out in 2018. The company took 373,000 reservations for the car, each made with a $1,000 deposit.

Musk has continued to push his idea for an environmentally friendly future, regardless of the what the motivation of the SolarCity deal was. Just last week he made a statement by publically announcing he would leave the White House advisory council he was on. This was in reaction to President Donald Trumps decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accords, breaking with former President Obamas environmentally friendly agenda.

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Canadian-American entrepreneur Elon Musk is filled with joy to learn that SpaceX, his rocket startup company, conquered a $6 million California lawsuit Wednesday against a former employee. According to Law360, the employee claimed to be "wrongfully fired" in the lawsuit.

On Twitter, a user tweeted at Musk to congratulate him for winning this "hard thought piece of litigation."

"Thanks :) Such an outrageous lawsuit," Musk responded on Twitter Wednesday. "People sometimes underestimate strength of US judiciary. Lot of respect for the judge & jury system."

Thanks :) Such an outrageous lawsuit. People sometimes underestimate strength of US judiciary. Lot of respect for the judge & jury system.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 7, 2017

The lawsuit Musk was referring to was settled Wednesday by a group of Los Angeles jurors. In the case, former employee Jason Blasdell sued the Hawthorne, California-based space-tech company because of a disagreement regarding his performance on the job. Blasdell asserted that he only lost the job "in retaliation for his taking his concern about improper testing procedures," according to Bloomberg.

These concerns were apparently voiced to Blasdell's supervisors, the chief operating officer, and Musk.

Read: Elon Musk And Leonardo DiCaprio Stand By Climate Change After Trump Ditches Paris Agreement

Carney Shegerian, Blasdell's attorney, made a final argument to the jury on Tuesday regarding her client's desire for SpaceX to follow the law. She claimed that Blasdell was someone who "tried to do the right thing" and it ultimately cost him his "dream job," Law360 noted.

According to Bloomberg, Blasdell never openly voiced his concerns of improper testing procedures with any of the company's higher-ups. Instead, he was eventually terminated since "he had become disruptive and his co-workers were concerned about their safety."

Story continues

Read: Elon Musk On Twitter: SpaceX, Tesla CEO 'Cautiously Optimistic' Paris Agreement Is Safe Under Trump

To help Musk celebrate this major milestone for SpaceX, Twitter naturally chimed in to discuss the news.

As you've said before, it's not what they know but who they are when it comes to choosing folks to hire. You dropped the ball on this one!  Just A. Tinker (@John_Gardi) June 7, 2017

Who they are isnt always apparent.Sometimes the truth of character is only revealed w/time when left 2their own intent&self serving intrest  Phoenix Rosa (@ThePhoenixFlare) June 7, 2017

In Musk we trust!  tree hugger (@hugtree911) June 7, 2017

See @realDonaldTrump ? That's how you deal with the judicial system.  Adam Robertson (@RobboAdam) June 7, 2017

I think people when they lose there jobs are willing to do anything to hurt a company they previously worked for. Even if its dishonest.  James P. Potter Jr. (@JahPaddy) June 7, 2017

I'm glad it went your way Elon, i have tremendous respect for the work you are doing  Duncan Frazier (@DuncanFrazier3) June 7, 2017

Now that the past is behind Musk, he can continue to work alongside SpaceX on more important tasks, including a newly acquired contract to create a secret Air Force plane for space.

On Wednesday, it was announced that SpaceX would launch the unmanned space plane in late 2017. According to CNN, the Air Force's decision to go with SpaceX created a transition in power within the industry because it "edged out United Launch Alliance." ULA initially had control over a majority of the US' military launches.

Nonetheless, SpaceX continues to soar on.

Elon Musk

Photo: Reuters

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NAC to hike pilot pay to stem turnover rate

The Tourism Ministry has resubmitted to the Finance Ministry a proposal by Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to increase the salaries and allowances of cockpit and cabin crews in a bid to prevent them from quitting as the national flag carrier has been plagued by high turnover.
Former U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis, R-S.C., receives the 2015 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, May 3, 2015 in Boston. (Photo: Paul Marotta/Getty Images)

Former South Carolina Rep. Bob Inglis fired off a series of tweets Friday challenging a claim by House Speaker Paul Ryan that Republicans wouldnt try to impeach a Democratic president accused of the same actions as President Trump.

Inglis, who served on the House judiciary committee that impeached former President Bill Clinton, wrote to Ryan: You know that you would be inquiring into impeachment if this were a D.

.@SpeakerRyan you know this isn't true. You know that you would be inquiring into impeachment if this were a D. https://t.co/mBFn4aCGi4  Bob Inglis (@bobinglis) June 9, 2017

Inglis told Yahoo News on Friday that he hoped that Ryan and his party would put country over party and take the investigation seriously.

We just need to be honest and  call it like it is, Inglis said, describing the allegations against Trump far more serious than those against Nixon or Clinton. Its beyond a break-in at the Watergate. Its beyond sex with a White House intern. It is the substance matter is really serious.  This investigation deals with the interference of an American election by a hostile foreign power.

Inglis tweets followed former FBI chief James Comeys testimony Thursday that included a number of explosive allegations, including that Trump fired him because of his agencys probe into whether any Trump campaign associates colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

During a press conference, Ryan said after the testimony that Republicans wouldnt point to impeachment if Comey had been testifying about a Democratic president. Meanwhile, some Democrats have already called for Trumps impeachment, claiming that Trump obstructed justice.

Ryan, who called Trumps alleged request for Comeys loyalty obviously inappropriate Wednesday, had told reporters Thursday, No. I dont think we would [pursue impeachment], actually. I dont think thats at all the case.

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Trumps lawyer denied that Trump sought to influence any FBI probe and claimed that the president never demanded Comeys loyalty.

But Clinton was sent to trial in the Senate in 1998 for matters less serious than the ones before us now, Inglis tweeted.

Inglis, who had voted in favor of all four articles of impeachment against Clinton, which included allegations of perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of power, nevertheless said on Twitter that Ryan should focus on the Russia probe rather than draft articles of impeachment.

Its not yet clear whether Trump obstructed justice and should be impeached, Inglis said.

[The investigation] should sound like very serious lawmakers who are looking into very serious allegations at the heart of our republic. Thats not what Im hearing yet [from my party], Inglis told Yahoo News. Inglis now runs RepublicEN.org, a group that pushes conservative policy solutions to climate change.

Inglis concluded his tweets with a final message to Ryan and the rest of his party: Put the country first.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Yahoo Finance ran a story recently on labor shortages in various parts of the country, and the difficulty some companies have finding qualified workers. One business owner, Nathan Scherer of SEI Manufacturing in Cromwell, Ind., even told us business opportunities in Indiana would allow him to double revenue if he were able to hire all the employees he needs.

That story prompted a lot of vigorous feedback. If companies need more workers, why dont they just pay more? If they cant find people with the right skills, why dont they train them? What does it take to get a good job, anyway?

We decided to put those questions to Scherer himself. Heres an edited Q&A:

Yahoo Finance: First, why dont you describe your company.

Nathan Scherer: My company is a small mom-and-pop style business, not a Fortune 500 business. We make low-volume components, mostly for the marine industry. I have about 35 employees.

And youve had a hard time finding workers lately?

The unemployment rate in my area is about 2%. [Indianas unemployment rate is 3.6%, lower than the national rate, now at 4.3%.] Weve struggled to hire office staff, entry-level, skilled and highly skilled employees. Almost every business owner around here is struggling to find help. Help wanted signs are posted throughout the community. We have three key positions open right now, which amounts to almost 10% of our workforce.

[Please take our survey: Do you trust American companies? The results will appear in future Yahoo Finance stories.]

Are you paying more these days?

We have been paying more. Starting wages have gone up 20% to 30% in the last three years. At the entry-level, weve had to raise starting pay from $11 per hour to over $13 per hour. Thats for somebody with little to no applicable skills, in need of significant training. For skilled workers, pay has gone from $14 or $15 to $18 to $20, and highly skilled, even higher.

Are you losing business because you cant find enough workers to fill orders?

Story continues

Were not turning down orders. We can handle the customers we have. My concern is that we will have to reevaluate that at some point. Its a tough decision to say no to opportunities. One of the fears is that you will not get a second chance at the opportunities if you pass them up. I have heard of some businesses turning down orders or even firing customers.

Our readers raise a reasonable question: Why dont you pay even more to get the people you need?

We will as long as it makes sense. If there was a direct correlation between the amount you pay somebody and the amount youre able to get as an output, including loyalty and dedication, simply paying more would be a no brainer, but business isnt just binary. Some businesses have price inelasticity, high fixed expenses and tight margins, and raising wages too quickly could greatly affect the companys ability to turn a profit. You cant just say, Im going to raise labor costs without considering all the other variables that impact the business.

I was recently recruiting an engineer from an auto parts manufacturer. I gave the candidate an offer that was better than what she was making, and she admitted she wasnt happy at her job, and was concerned about the future of that company. When she put in her notice, the company came back to her with an $18,000 increase and she backed out of the job with us. Simply paying someone more money doesnt ensure loyalty or guarantee they will take the job.

What kind of workers are hard to find?

Right now in our area, all kinds, at all wages. We have struggled to find people from the front to the back of the business. Office workers, service workers, trades people, general labor, engineers, sales people.

Do you have trouble getting dedicated workers?

Getting people to show up is as important as getting people with skills. If youre absent, chronically missing work or always late, you are not protecting your job or concerned with your future at the company. Its hard to want to help those people. When the unemployment rate is under 2%, the people who are responsible, really good, valuable, are taken, so you have to figure out how to attract good workers from other companies. Many business owners and HR folks I have talked to feel there is a lack of dedication in the available workforce. I do see where some workers could say the same thing about employers. I know using temp agencies for extended lengths of time is rather popular right now.

What do you do when you need skilled workers you cant find? Do you train them yourself?

We do a fair amount of on-the-job training because for a fair portion of what we do, people are not going to have the exact skills or experience required. This is why our pay scale may be initially lower than other jobs in the area. But we try to move people up in pay as they become proficient. There are good training resources in our area as well and we have looked into using them in the future.

Some people are willing to move in order to find a better job. But a lot of people also say they dont want to move because they dont trust employers. They worry theyll just get laid off again in six months or a year, after going to the trouble and expense of moving. Would you ever offer some kind of job guarantee to somebody who moved to work for you?

Unless youre a pro athlete, I dont know of too many positions that have guarantees. I do empathize with people who are in that situation you describe, and I feel for businesses who have moved someone and they quit abruptly as well. I do think the relationship between employees and workers has been damaged by both sides in the last several decades. Companies have been known to pull up stakes and move or have sweeping layoffs and workers are more frequently only committing themselves to a company or even a career for a short period of time. I would never say never and sometimes you have to take a risk, especially if it is the right hire.

Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com

Read more:

Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman
Former FBI director James Comeys testimony that President Trump asked him to go easy on former national security adviser Michael Flynn has prompted some calls for a criminal investigation into possible obstruction of justice by the president.

Much of what Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee has already been leaked to the press: Trumps demand for loyalty, his request that the FBI let go of its investigation into Flynns contacts with foreign agents and his plea for Comey to lift the cloud of the Russia inquiry hanging over his administration.

In todays fractured political climate, ones interpretation of the entire Comey-Trump interaction and whether or not Comeys account of the commander in chiefs actions, if true, would constitute obstruction of justice appears to depend as much on political affiliation as the facts at hand.

At the outset, even assuming for the sake of argument that Trump had obstructed justice  i.e. committed a federal crime  it seems most likely that a sitting U.S. president cannot even be indicted.

Related slideshow: Lies to Lordy: How the worlds front pages covered the Comey testimony >>>

Neither the Constitution nor the Supreme Court has provided a conclusive answer, but the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel decided on its own in 1973 (amid the Watergate scandal) that a sitting president cannot be indicted because it would interfere with his or ability to perform the actions required of the office. The department reaffirmed this belief in a memorandum for the attorney general in 2000.

Jonathan Turley, a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School, said most law scholars and academics agree that a sitting U.S. president cannot be indicted.

He said theres some support for this in the litigation over Paula Jones lawsuit against former President Bill Clinton for alleged sexual harassment, which was one of the issues that precipitated his impeachment.

Story continues

The Constitution provides a mechanism for removing a president by impeachment. Does that also preclude the possibility of indictment? Its unclear, but Turley points out theres a school of thought that presidents are in a similar category as federal judges  who are also subject to impeachment, and have been indicted in the past.

President Trump speaking at the Department of Transportation, June 9, 2017, in Washington. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

Now its true the president is a different constitutional creature, but the process is largely the same, he said. What is clear is that we all agree the best practice is to impeach and remove a president before you prosecute.

Impeachment is a high hurdle, especially when the presidents own party controls Congress. On the other hand, the impeachment process does not include the due process protections afforded in the criminal justice system. The presidents lawyers have to be aware that evidence collected during impeachment can later be used during the prosecution.

Though Comeys testimony hurt Trump politically, Turley does not think it pushed the needle any closer toward a criminal charge and quite possibly undermined Comeys potential role as witness by acknowledging that he leaked the infamous Comey memo to the press via a friend who teaches at Columbia Law School).

His suggestion that those memos were his private property is difficult to square with FBI policy and written guidelines, Turley said. I doubt seriously that the FBI would support his view that agents can remove these documents and leak them to the media. At the minimum, I think it raises serious professional and ethical questions.

Related slideshow: Comey and cocktails: People in bars and restaurants watch ex-FBI directors testimony >>>

He pointed out that Comey reportedly prepared the memo on an FBI computer, in the course of his duty as an FBI director, referring to a matter under FBI investigation, in the style of a Field 302 form filed in by agents at the bureau.

Mark Harkins, a senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute of Georgetown University, said the issue really isnt whether or not the president can be criminally tried or not  even though Democrats might be happy for prosecutors to file a charge against him  because the courts would probably just sit on it.

The real question is, do 218 members of the House of Representatives believe that he committed obstruction of justice? For a president to be impeached, the House of Representatives has to have articles of impeachment, which are basically the same as an indictment, Harkins told Yahoo News.

In the presidents case, Harkins explained, the House of Representatives would act as a grand jury by filing charges (the actual impeachment) and the Senate (where those charges are tried) would perform the role of a jury.

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., June 8, 2017. (Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Thats how our political system works, he said. In essence, thats it. Regardless of whether the president gets tried in a court of law, the real court is the court of politics and a majority party has never impeached a president of their own party.

Republicans currently hold a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Turley, who was the last lead counsel in the impeachment trial of U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous in 2010 and testified during Clintons impeachment trial, said Trumps actions are not even close to an impeachable offense and that people who think otherwise have never tried an impeachment case.

Related slideshow: James Comey testifies at Senate hearing >>>

The analogies to Nixon or Clinton are just legally and historically unfounded, Turley said. The obstruction case against Nixon was grounded in clear and very serious criminal conduct, like the break in at the Watergate, the use of slush funds, the procurement of false testimony. That is what constitutes an impeachable obstruction claim.

The articles of impeachment against former President Richard Nixon demonstrate why Trumps alleged actions would not be impeachable, according to Turley. Article I accuses Nixon of obstruction and lists nine very serious crimes.

Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of Lawfare and a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, told Yahoo News Deputy Editor Dan Klaidman that whether a sitting president can be indicted is one of the great unanswered structural separation of powers questions in American constitutional law.

It is unanswered, at least in any authoritative judicial context, Wittes said. The Justice Department has long taken the position that the president  while hes sitting as president  is not amenable to criminal indictment.

He added that Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, might be bound by Justice Department policy in a way that an independent counsel would not be.

We should take as a given not merely that any obstruction of justice case would be quite difficult to bring and prove but that the special counsel may not feel he is allowed to bring one in the first place, he said.

Read more from Yahoo News:
In one of the major terror attacks in Iran, suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in Tehran on Wednesday, which killed at least 13 people. The twin attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group, media reports said.

A statement, as reported by Financial Times, from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) linked the attacks to U.S. President Donald Trump's visit last month to Saudi Arabia where he spoke of isolating Iran for fueling "the fires of sectarian conflict and terror."

Read: Twin Terror Attacks Strike Iran's Capital

This terrorist act took place a week after a joint meeting between the U.S. president and head of a reactionary regional country [Saudi Arabia] which has been a constant supporter of terrorism, the statement said. The fact ISIS claimed responsibility proves that they [Saudi Arabia] were involved in the brutal attack.

The Iranian nation sees this terrorist action that happened a week after the joint meeting of the U.S. president with the heads of one of the reactionary regional states that has constantly been supporting Takfiri terrorists as to be very meaningful, and believes that [Islamic States] acknowledging the responsibility indicates their complicity in this wild move, the Washington Times reported citing the IRGC statement.

Hours after the attacks, a condolence statement was issued by the Trump administration, which called Iran the leading state sponsor of terrorism.

The State Department too issued a statement: The United States condemns the terrorist attacks in Tehran today. The depravity of terrorism has no place in a peaceful, civilized world.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Minister Of Iran, tweeted late Wednesday, stating he found the White House Statement in response to the Iran terror attacks repugnant and that the people of his nation reject a fake show of friendship.

Soon after the attacks when Iran blamed Saudi Arabia for it, the Sunni nation denied doing so. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, speaking in Germany, said he did not know who was responsible and that "we condemn terrorist attacks anywhere they occur," the New York Times reported.

Story continues

The attacks have further strained the relations between Riyadh and Tehran amid their struggle to control the Gulf and influence the wider Islamic world. Additionally, the attacks came days after Riyadh and other Muslim nations cut off ties with Qatar, blaming it for backing Iran and militant groups, Reuters reported.

In Wednesday's strikes, the assailants targeted guards, cleaners, and employees of the administrative and finance sections, but could not get near the Parliament chamber itself, The Tehran Times editor Mohammad Ali Saki told the New York Times in a phone interview.

He also said the attackers were armed with AK-47s and hand grenades and wore what appeared to be explosive vests.

Another witness, Mohammed Abasi, who is a photographer and had arrived at the scene at the time of the attacks said he saw security forces firing at assailants from outside. There were some reporters and photographers covering the Parliament session stuck inside, waiting to get rescued, Abasi told the Times.

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Former FBI director James Comey has said he took as a direction President Donald Trumps remark that he hoped he would drop an investigation into his fired national security advisor Michael Flynn.

I took it as a direction. Its the President of the United States we me along, saying this is what he is hoping Im going to do, said Mr Comey. I did not obey that. But that the way I took it.

Testifying on Capitol Hill in what had been one of the most highly anticipated appearances in years, Mr Comey said that when he took on the role of FBI Director in 2013, he understand he served at the pleasure of the president and could be fired at any time.

I understood that I could be fired by a president for any reason or for no reason at all. And on May the 9th when I learned I had been fired, for that reason, I came home as a private citizen, he said.

But then the explanations, the shifting explanations, confused me and increasingly concerned me. They confused me because the president and I had had multiple conversations about my job, both before and after he took office. And he had repeatedly told me I was doing a great job and he hoped I would stay.

Testifying a day after the publication of a statement from Mr Comey in which he said Mr Trump had repeatedly sought his loyalty and had asked him to drop a probe into his former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, the 56-year-old said he was told by the President he was doing well and was surprised to then see him on television giving a different reason for his firing.

It confused me, when I saw on television that the president was saying that he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation, Mr Comey said

Mr Comey also accused the White House of trying to defame both him and the FBI, saying it was poorly led, that it had lost confidence in its leader.

Those were lies, plain and simple, Mr Comey said. Im so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them, and that the American people were told them.

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Mr Comey also said that while Mr Trump asked him to drop his investigation of Mr Flynn, he never asked him to terminate the broader probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russias alleged effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

Did anyone ever ask you to stop the Russia investigation, Intelligence Committee chairman, Richard Burr, asked Mr Comey. Not to my understanding, no, Mr Comey replied.

Mr Comey also said it was not up to him to determine whether Mr Trumps behaviour amounted to an obstruction of justice. He said that determination should be left up to the Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, who was appointed to head the federal investigation after Mr Comey was fired.
Solving a murder mystery is tough, but in Wind River, it cant hurt that the two individuals out to investigate a homicide are both members of the Avengers. Were talking about Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), who play an inexperienced FBI agent and a rugged local tracker, respectively, in Wind River. Theyre assigned to look into a slaying on a Native American reservation in Wyoming. In Yahoo Movies exclusive clip from the upcoming film (watch it above), Renners wilderness expert gives a stern lesson to his doting, if somewhat reckless, young son.

Written and directed by Sicario and Hell or High Water scribe Taylor Sheridan (in his behind-the-camera debut), Wind River looks to be a grim, austere sort of genre film. In the above scene, we get a pretty good idea about Renners U.S. Fish and Wildlife agent Cory Lambert. Stopping by the house of his ex-wife, who tells him to be careful when visiting the nearby Wind River reservation, Lambert does his best to dispel her concerns while also picking up his son Casey (Teo Briones)  whose eagerness for a trip with his dad overwhelms his attention to basic safety precautions with a BB gun.

In addition, heres your first look at the teaser poster for Wind River, featuring Jeremy Renner and the tagline Danger Comes With the Territory:

'Wind River' poster

Co-starring Jon Bernthal and Kelsey Chow, Wind River will look to build upon Sheridans recent, impressive crime-cinema streak when it arrives in theaters on August 4.

Wind River: Watch a trailer:

Read more from Yahoo Movies:
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican nationally known for championing strict voter ID laws, launched a 2018 gubernatorial campaign Thursday.

My goal is for Kansas to lead the nation in every way possible. Let's make it happen. Let's lead again. #LeadAgain #ksleg #TeamKobach pic.twitter.com/PRxCJdXZiv  Kris W. Kobach (@KrisKobach1787) June 8, 2017

His announcement came just two days after the state legislature voted to override Republican Gov. Sam Brownbacks veto of legislation rolling back drastic tax cuts the state implemented in 2012. Kobach criticized the vote, tweeting that it is time to drain the swamp in Topeka, the states capital.

Kansas term-limit law prevents Brownback, 60, from seeking a third consecutive term.

Kobach, 51, has served as Kansas secretary of state since 2011. Hes gained prominence for his hardline stance on immigration as well as his support for strict voting regulations. The American Civil Liberties Union dubbed him the king of voter suppression.

During his first year in his current post, his office drafted the Secure and Fair Elections Act, later adopted by the state legislature. It requires voters to present a photo ID when casting a ballot in person and submit proof of citizenship when registering to vote, making it one of the nations toughest such laws.

The act was met with strong opposition from voting rights advocates, and has faced legal challenges since its adoption. Last year, a federal judge ruled that that the proof-of-citizenship requirement likely violates the National Voter Registration Act and ordered the state to re-register thousands of voters. The state has appealed the ruling.

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In February, a civil rights advisory panel declared that the law may discriminate against voters of color.

In 2015, Brownback signed a bill that gave Kobach authority to prosecute voter fraud. Since then, Kobach has convicted nine people under the law, including one non-citizen. In promoting stricter voting ID laws, Kobach has said millions of non-citizens may be registered to vote in the U.S., while failing to prove his claim.

In May, President Donald Trump named Kobach vice chairman of a commission to investigate voter fraud in the 2016 election. No evidence has surfaced to back up Trumps claim that between three million and five million people voted illegally in the election.

Kobach has also advised Trump on immigration issues, such as the proposed construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and the creation of a national registry of Muslim immigrants.

Democrats immediately sought to tie Kobach to Brownback, whose popularity has sagged. (A Morning Consult poll conducted earlier this year found 66 percent of Kansas voters disapproving of Brownbacks performance.)

Kris Kobach would reinstate the disastrous Brownback tax policy that dragged Kansas into fiscal ruin, Jared Leopold, communications director for the Democratic Governors Association, said. He added that Kobach has aggressively chased the national spotlight pushing outlandish voter fraud conspiracy theories when he should have been doing his job for the people of Kansas.

Kansas Democratic Party chairman John Gibson sounded a similar note, saying that by nominating Kobach, the states GOP would continue to endorse the failures of Brownback.

Businessman Wink Hartman has also announced hell seek the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side, former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer and former state Secretary of Agriculture Josh Svaty are running.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
It was a historic day Thursday as James Comey testified before the Senate intelligence committee on the Trump-Flynn-Russia saga. Late night hosts couldnt help but notice just how little he actually said about Russia. Trevor Noah on The Daily Show compared it to a clean version of a hip-hop song with all the good stuff being erased. Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert of The Late Show jumped right into interrogating Comey himself in a bit in which he asked the former FBI director if there was any evidence that President Trump colluded with Russia. Comeys reply, taken from the actual hearing, was that it wasnt a question he could answer in an open setting. So Colbert asked him, What if we made a pillow fort? Would you tell me in there?

Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show took a different approach and pointed out the high drama with a video cutting between Comey and soap opera stars reacting to the things he said.

But it wasnt just the hearing that offered high drama. Seth Meyers on Late Night noted that during the testimony, White House staffers were frantically trying to keep Trump busy to avoid a tweetstorm. Its a sad state of affairs when the White House staff has to handle the president like a toddler on a road trip, Meyers said.

Check out Vladimir Putin talking about Trumps election on the premiere of Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly:

Read more from Yahoo TV:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
National security

Nepal needs to identify ways to counter domesticand regional challenges and threats
The ex-husband of Mary Kay Letourneau issued a statement after her student-turned-husband Vili Fualaau filed for separation last month. Mary Kay notoriously cheated on her husband, whom she shared four children with, to have a fling with a 12-year-old sixth grader when she was 34 years old.

Steven filed for divorce in 1999, three years after the forbidden affair started. They had been married for 15 years. Steven was granted custody of all four children by the courts.

Mary Kay admitted to two counts of child rape. She served her full sentence, seven-and-a-half years behind bars.

READ: Mary Kay Letourneau Always Wanted Vili Fualaau To Man Up, Source Says

Letourneaus oldest four children did not comment on her split from their step-father, but Steven issued an exclusive statement to People Magazine. Ive moved on, he told the magazine Thursday, and I have nothing to say.

He remarried and had more children, just like Mary Kay. Now hes lives in Alaska and rarely gives interviews about his ex-wife.

The former teacher did not issue a statement about her split from Fualaau, however, he claimed to still be in love with Mary Kay. The breakup was only a business move.

Its not necessarily what you think, Fualaau, now 33, told Radar Online in an exclusive interview last month. Everything is fine between us.

Mary Kay Letourneau

Photo: Reuters

All the rumors that you hear between us. Its fine, he said. Of course [we are still in love]. A piece of paper doesnt break someones feelings!

Fualaau aspires to start a Cigaweed business to he could sell marijuana cigarettes, but he cant do that with Mary Kay as his wife since shes a convicted felon.

When you want to get licensed, they do background checks on both parties, Fualaau told Radar Online. If I decide to be a part of it I have to be licensed and I have to be vetted and so does a spouse. She has a past. She has a history.

Story continues

While Fualaau claimed the split was only for financial gain, an insider said there were some problems.

He said she nagged a lot. She always wanted him to man up and take responsibility, an insider told People Magazine in an exclusive interview Wednesday. He complained about her sometimes, but all guys complain about their wives.

READ: Vili Fualaau Is Dumping Mary Kay Letourneau So He Can Make Money Off Marijuana, He Says

Letourneau helped around the house the most. She handled everything  like the money, the chores, all of it, the anonymous person explained.

[Vili] said that she would be pissed off that he wasnt doing as much around the house as she was, the source dished. She was making the money, and he was trying to get his career as a DJ to take off, so he would spend a lot of time working on that.

But they didnt always have problems. He complained like guys complain about their wives, but he loved her, the insider said. They usually got along. He didnt complain when shed show up to the clubs. He seemed happy to see her.

Mary Kay LeTourneau

Photo: Getty Images/Stringer

Follow me on Twitter @mariamzzarella

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WASHINGTON  While the nation was transfixed Thursday by the ongoing battle between former FBI director James Comey and President Trump, it was not the days only political sparring in the nations capital.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., blasted Senate Finance Committee Chair Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on Capitol Hill at which Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price testified.

Will we have a hearing on the health care proposal? McCaskill asked Hatch, concerned about Republican plans to fast-track the Senates version of the Obamacare repeal bill without Democratic involvement or public hearings. Will we?

I think weve already had one, Hatch replied.

No, I mean on the proposal that you are planning to bring to the Senate floor for a vote? Will there be a hearing? she pressed him again.

Hatch conferred with an aide. Well, I dont know that theres going to be another hearing, he said, but weve invited you to participate.

At that response, McCaskill unloaded.

When you say that youre inviting us  and I heard you, Mr. Secretary, you said youd love our support. For what? We dont even know, she replied. We have no idea whats being proposed. Theres a group of guys in a back room somewhere that are making these decisions. There were no hearings in the House. I mean, listen, this is hard to take.

You couldnt have a more partisan exercise than what youre engaged in right now. Were not even going to have a hearing on a bill that impacts one-sixth of our economy. Were not going to have an opportunity to offer a single amendment, McCaskill continued. It is all being done with an eye to try and get it by with 50 votes and the vice president.

That wasnt the case in 2010 for the Affordable Care Act, she said. Even though the vote wound up being partisan, the amendment process wasnt, she said, noting that Republicans were able to offer amendments and contribute to a bill that they ultimately chose not to vote for. I want that opportunity. Give me that opportunity. Give me an opportunity to work with you.

Story continues

McCaskills remarks come as Democratic activists are frantically trying to mobilize opposition to a Senate bill they have yet to see and the prospect that the upper chamber will follow the path of the House and vote to repeal Obamacare. A number of observers had predicted, in part based on statements from key GOP senators themselves, that the matter might not even come up for a vote this year, or else would be deliberated slowly.

But while public comments from senators signaled a lengthy process with little chance of success, behind the scenes the parliamentary machinery has been put in place by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to fast-track the health care bill for a vote by the end of June.

A Quinnipiac poll in late May and early June found that only 17 percent of those surveyed approve of the House bill, while 68 percent disapproved of it.

Read more from Yahoo News:
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. (Photo: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

Melania Trump and 11-year-old son Barron are moving to the White House on Wednesday  also President Trumps birthday  and the first lady wants the occasion to be one hell never forget.

In advance of Trumps 71st birthday on June 14, Melania reportedly sent a mass email to his supporters that read, I need your help to make it a birthday my husband will never forget. Our celebrations always include family and close friends. You have certainly proven yourself to be a loyal friend of my husband through your support of his positive vision to Make America Great Again and your unwavering commitment to the Republican Party.

She added, Friend, Donald will be glad to hear from friends like you who have meant so much to his and our Partys success.

The gesture is reminiscent of one made by former first lady Michelle Obama, who in 2010 collected millions of electronic signatures on a surprise birthday card for then-President Barack Obamas 49th birthday.

Melania and Barrons White House reception will undoubtedly be a warm one. Sam Nunberg, a former Trump aide, told Politico on Thursday, Im very happy shes moving here. Shes a strong influence and personality, and I think she comforts him.

Melanias parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, who live in Trump Tower in New York City, will also be around more, according to Politico, but they wont officially move into the White House.

Its unknown how the first family will celebrate the presidents birthday, but Trump is accustomed to lavish celebrations.

Ivana Trump and Donald Trump attend his 42nd birthday party in 1988. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

According to the Washington Post, when he turned 42 (and was married to first wife Ivana Trump), Donald kicked off his birthday with a 15-foot spaceship, magicians, a telegram from then-President Ronald Reagan, and a marquee sign with 1,500 lights that spelled his name in his Atlantic City casino-hotel.

Donald marked his 50th birthday alongside second wife Marla Maples with a white-glove ball in Trump Tower that included a star-studded 400-person guest list, a red carpet, and a special roped-off area for the paparazzi.

Story continues

Donald Trump and Marla Maples attend his 50th birthday party in 1996. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.
Combination photo shows graduates mortar board hats This combination photo shows graduates mortar board hats emblazoned with decorations and sayings during a commencement for Medgar Evers College in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, June 8, 2017. (Photo: Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Losing the 2016 presidential election was pretty devastating, especially considering who I lost to, Hillary Clinton told graduates of Medgar Evers College on Thursday, June 8.

But Clinton said that setback pales in comparison to the heartbreak endured by Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of the slain black civil rights leader for whom the Brooklyn college is named.

Clinton urged the graduates to follow the example of Evers, who was assassinated in 1963, and of Evers-Williams, who has continued to fight for civil rights for more than 50 years.

Never let anyone silence your voice, Clinton said. Medgar Evers faced constant threats because of his work. His house was firebombed by white supremacists. But he refused to back down.

Medgar Evers College is part of the public City University of New York system, the largest urban university in the United States. (AP)

Heres a look at mortar boards decorated and worn by the class of 2017 on graduation day.

Photography by Carlo Allegri/Reuters

See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Tumblr.
The trial for Michelle Carter, a young woman who allegedly urged her boyfriend to kill himself in a series of text messages spanning months, continued Friday as her defense team said she was not criminally responsible for the suicide of Conrad Roy III. Roy, her boyfriend, killed himself at the age of 18 in 2014 after repeated encouragement from Carter.

Its insufficient to say that she caused him to die, Carters defense attorney, Joseph P. Cataldo, said in court Friday.

Read: Michelle Carters Text Messages To Her Boyfriend Repeatedly Encouraged Him To Kill Himself

Carter was charged with involuntary manslaughter and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors in the case presented new text messages from Carter to Roy as evidence in the case Thursday.

Hang yourself, jump off a building, stab yourself, idk theres a lot of ways, Carter, then 17, wrote to Roy on Jul. 6, 2014.

Seven days later, Roys body was found inside his truck in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Roy committed suicide by poisoning himself with carbon monoxide from a portable generator he attached to the truck.

In another text presented in court, Carter urged him to end it.

You have to do something quick that will end it without having to worry about the pain, she wrote July 5, 2014.

You said you wanted this bad, I knew you werent gonna try hard, Carter sent to Roy Jul. 4, 2014.

In another series of text messages read on the stand by Massachusetts State Police Trooper Michael Bates, Roy told Carter, I keep regretting the past, its getting me upset.

Take your life? Carter responded.

Prosecutors argued Carter wanted to be the grieving girlfriend and intended to draw attention to herself after Roys death.

The defendant needed something to get their attention, Assistant District Attorney Maryclare Flynn said in opening statements Tuesday. She used Conrad as a pawn in her sick game of life and death.

Story continues

Throughout the week, prosecutors presented numerous jarring text message conversations between Carter and Roy in which Carter appeared to repeatedly encourage Roy to take his own life despite his apparent hesitation. At one point, she expressed annoyance that Roy hadn't yet killed himself.

I guess [that Im frustrated], just because you always say you are gonna do it but you dont, but last night I know you really wanted to do it and Im not mad. Well, I mean kind of, I guess, just because you always say youre gonna do it but you dont, but last night I knew you really wanted to and Im not mad, Carter texted Roy.

Carter and Roy were also on the phone at the time of his suicide, according to testimony. Flynn said at one point during the conversation, Roy attempted to get out of his truck.

Conrad got out of his truck as he was being poisoned and he got scared, said Flynn. The defendant [expletive] told him to get back in.

Read: Hazing Death Of Timothy Piazza At Penn State Was Murder And Torture, Family Says

According to another series of text messages presented, Carter pretended to friends and family in the immediate aftermath of Roys suicide that she had no idea what had occurred.

She never admitted to anyone in the Roy family that she had helped Conrad for weeks to devise a suicide plan or that she was on the phone with Conrad and knew he committed suicide in the Kmart parking lot, said Flynn.

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Nepal Army man killed in Bardiya bike accident

A Nepal Army man died in a bike accident at Khairi in Thakurbaba-6 of Bardiya along the East-West Highway on Friday.
A 25-year-old Florida man has been arrested many times, and his mugshots show an ever-progressing series of tattoos that now cover his face and neck.

His most recent run-in with the law came in St. Augustine, where he was taken into custody after officers observed him getting into a stolen car, police said.

Read: Watch This 76-Year-Old Man Get a Tattoo of His Wife on Their 59th Anniversary

Robert Hardister told the officers he knew the vehicle was stolen, but that he had accepted it as payment in a meth drug deal, police said.

He was arrested for auto theft and is being held without bail, authorities said.

His mugshot shows ink covering his face and neck. A star tattoo is below one eye, his nose is covered in dark dye, and a fence wraps around his neck, with graffiti tattooed on it.

His first arrest occurred in 2009, when Hardister was 18. His Palm Beach County Sheriffs mug shows a clean-faced, smiling young man.

Read: Mom Arrested for Allowing Sex Offender to Tattoo Her 3 Young Children

Over the next eight years, he was arrested eight more times, mostly on vehicle theft charges, and in each booking photo, his tattoos get bigger and denser.

Johnston County Sheriff's Office (2014) / Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (2016)

By 2014, he has a letter F on his cheek, a chin tattoo, floral designs climbing up his forehead and a Nazi SS tattooed between his eyebrows.

In 2016, he was arrested in Palm Beach, where authorities said they found him asleep behind the wheel of a stolen truck.

His mug shot from that arrest shows him with dyed yellow hair and blocks of solid ink covering his forehead, the bridge of his nose and one side of his face.

Johnston County Sheriff's Office (2014) / Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (2016)

I really dont know what he has going on, Florida tattoo artist told the Palm Beach Post last year. Hes got a lot of everything.

Watch: Man With Face Tattoos That Mimic The Joker Is Arrested Again

Story continues

Related Articles:
Photo credit: Miguel Villagran / Getty

From Road & Track

Yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced details on the electric automaker's upcoming Model Y small crossover during the company's annual shareholder's meeting in Mountain View, California. In addition to the teaser image shown below, Musk revealed that the Model Y will be built on its own platform, rather than share a platform with the entry-level Model 3 sedan.

Photo credit: Tesla Motors / Reddit

A Tesla crossover to slot below the Model X was first announced back in October of 2015, when Musk tweeted about how the more affordable model would not feature the tricky falcon-wing doors of the Model X. Up until now, it was assumed the Model Y would share a platform with the Model 3 sedan.

I am really excited about Model Y," Musk said in the shareholder's meeting, as transcribed by InsideEVs. "Theres been some criticism, like we should sort of derive it from the Model 3 platform. But I think actually we made a mistake in trying to derive the Model X from the Model S platform.



Musk told shareholders that the Model Y would be built "in a way that a car has never been built before." According to InsideEVs, that means not only a unique platform, but also a dedicated factory separate from Tesla's current manufacturing plant. All of which seems ambitious for an automaker that has recently faced delays, quality control challenges, and factory employee safety issues as it has worked to expand production capability - challenges many industry observers attribute to Tesla's relative lack of experience in the complex processes of mass producing automobiles.

"It wouldve been better to just design an SUV the way an SUV should be designed," Musk continued. "Design a sedan - the way a sedan should be designed. Otherwise youd just try to shoehorn something that doesnt make sense."



Musk went onto say deliveries for the Model Y will happen sometime in 2019, with demand for the small crossover expected to exceed that of the Model 3.

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Seoul (AFP) - Pyongyang on Friday hailed the successful test of a new type of surface-to-ship cruise missile, which it said was designed to hit "any enemy group of battleships" that threatened North Korea.

The launch Thursday -- the North's fifth weapons test in a month -- was overseen by leader Kim Jong-Un, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported, and came less than a week after the United Nations tightened sanctions against the Stalinist regime.

"The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea," KCNA said, referring to the Sea of Japan -- where two US aircraft carriers were on naval manoeuvres last week.

The USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan led the three-day exercises that ended on June 3, with a total of a dozen US ships participating along with two Japanese vessels, in a show of force directed at North Korea.

The US has stepped up its muscle-flexing in the region, with a US nuclear submarine, the 6,900-ton USS Cheyenne, whose home port is Pearl Harbor, also arriving in the South Korean port of Busan Tuesday.

North Korea's top newspaper Rodong Sinmun ran a front-page photo of a beaming Kim surrounded by smiling generals in uniform, with further pictures inside apparently showing the cruise missiles being launched from the back of a tank-like vehicle, and hitting ships at sea.

North Korea has ordered three ballistic missile launches, a surface-to-air missile, and now Thursday's cruise missile tests since South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in took power in early May.

Thursday's short-range missiles flew some 200 kilometres (124 miles), which is an improvement on a 2015 test, when a surface-to-ship cruise missile flew only 100 kilometres, said Korea Defence Forum analyst Shin Jong-Woo.

"This is another sign of meaningful progress in the North's efforts to diversify its missiles. It will pose a considerable threat to US and South Korean navies," he told AFP.

Story continues

The new cruise missile represents a "a step forward in terms of accuracy and range", analyst Kim Dong-Yub of the Kyungnam University Institute for Far Eastern Studies told AFP.

KCNA said the weapon tested Thursday had been part of the military parade in Pyongyang on April 15 to mark the birthday of the North's founding father Kim Il-Sung.

All of the weapons on display at the extravagant military parade have been tested in the past month, except for one that analysts said appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, Yonhap news agency reported.

- EU sanctions -

Moon advocated reconciliation with Seoul's isolated, unpredictable neighbour but has taken a more stern position in the wake of the missile tests, which pose a policy challenge to the new left-leaning leader.

The launches come less than a week after the United Nations expanded sanctions against Kim Jong-Un's regime in response to the recent ballistic missile tests.

Diplomats at the United Nations denounced Thursday's cruise missile launches as another provocation, though no immediate meeting of the Security Council is planned.

Cruise missile tests do not contravene UN regulations, Korea Defence Network analyst Lee Il-Woo told AFP, adding they were "much slower than ballistic missiles and can be shot down by anti-aircraft guns".

Any North Korean tests using ballistic missile technology are banned by UN resolutions.

However, the European Union on Thursday broadened its sanctions against North Korea over its work on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

The EU said it would freeze the assets of 14 more people and ban their travel to Europe in line with a UN Security Council resolution last week for more sanctions over Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests.

The North has carried out two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the beginning of last year in its quest to develop a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States -- something President Donald Trump has vowed "won't happen".
Paris (AFP) - An "obsession" with the lower jaw of a long-dead human, unearthed in the 1960s at a prehistoric Moroccan campsite, led palaeoanthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin to the discovery of a lifetime.

After decades of work to identify the jawbone's owner, Hublin was able to announce Wednesday that it belonged to the earliest known member of our species.

His efforts revealed that Homo sapiens is 100,000 years older than previously assumed -- ageing our species by a whole third and dislodging East Africa as the cradle of humankind.

It was in 1961 that mining activity at the site called Jebel Irhoud, not far from Marrakesh, first brought an ancient human skull to the surface, followed by more fragments over subsequent years of excavation.

Initially, the pieces were dated to about 40,000 years ago, later pushed back to 160,000 years ago.

At the time, the notion that humans originated in Africa did not exist, so the remains were not in the running for Homo sapiens status.

Some hypothesised the remains belonged to a type of African Neanderthal -- the species then considered to have been the forerunner of modern humans.

Others proposed it was a kind of Neanderthal-human hybrid, yet others an archaic group of far-flung human relatives.

"I was never convinced by these ideas," said Hublin.

As a young researcher, he recalled, a colleague confided him with the study of a mandible, or lower jaw, from the fossil trove.

The "mystery of Jebel Irhoud" became the subject of his first-ever scientific publication on human fossils, in 1981, and a career "obsession," Hublin told journalists ahead of Wednesday's unveiling.

- Great reward -

"The reason why we were so interested in the site... (is that) we had a mozaic of morphological features that did not make much sense," he said.

The specimens displayed a combination of physical traits, particularly the face, that closely resembled those of modern, living human beings, and other "more primitive" aspects such as a flatter, elongated skull.

Story continues

Hublin said he visited the site several times in the 1980s and 1990s seeking to resume research, "but that was a difficult project to undertake mostly because the place became a sort of quarry."

Finally, in 2004, Hublin and a team could start cleaning the site and preparing it for archaeological excavation.

Soon they started adding to the fossil fragment collection -- now known to have belonged to five early Homo sapiens.

They also collected stone tool artefacts which had been burnt in the humans' cooking pit.

These could be dated with a special technique called thermoluminescence, which measures exposure to radiation generated by heat.

"Very early in the process we realised that the site was much older than anything anyone could imagine," said Hublin.

"We were rewarded beyond our expectations!"
(Photo: Christopher Aluka Berry / Reuters)

Democrat Jon Ossoff may have the upper hand over Republican Karen Handel in the closely watched runoff to fill the seat for Georgias 6th District, according to two newly released surveys.

Ossoff holds a 7-point edge, 51 percent to 44 percent, in a live-caller Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll conducted by Abt Associates and released Friday. Ossoff also holds a 10-point edge in favorability over Handel, the survey finds, and has more crossover appeal, taking 13 percent of the GOP vote to Handels 3 percent among the districts Democrats.

President Donald Trump isnt popular in the district  just 35 percent rate him positively, according to the results  but voters were more likely than not to say their choice wasnt intended as a message to the president. Health care looms larger, with more than 80 percent naming it as a very important or extremely important priority. Just a quarter of voters said they had a favorable impression of the House GOP bill to replace Obamacare.

The AJC results, along with a recent SurveyUSA poll, are among the most positive to date for Ossoff, with most showing a closer race.

A survey released Thursday by WSB-TV and Landmark Communications gives Ossoff a smaller 3-point edge over Handel, 50 percent to 47 percent  a result the pollsters described as too close to call. Several other recent polls have also given Ossoff an edge of between 1 and 3 percentage points. (HuffPost Pollsters charts dont include surveys that reach only landline telephones, which make up a significant fraction of polling on the race.)

Its still definitely a dead heat, Landmark pollster Mark Rountree told WSB. Nothing has changed in the scheme of the whole campaign. Nothing has changed in the sense that this really does come down to getting out the vote.

Determining whos actually likely to vote, always an issue for pollsters, is especially challenging in special elections, which often see relatively low turnout.

But the latest survey results, coupled with the current political climate and Ossoffs record-breaking fundraising, seemingly leave the Democrat in a stronger position. Ossoffs campaign has raised $23 million in what has become the most expensive U.S. House race to date, far outpacing Handel.

Story continues

[A] Handel win would now seem like a coup for Republicans and a huge disappointment for House Democrats, political analyst Dave Wasserman wrote before the release of the AJC poll.

The runoff is scheduled to be held June 20.

The AJC poll surveyed 745 likely voters between June 5 and June 8, using live interviewers to reach both landlines and cellphones. The WSB-TV poll surveyed 420 likely voters between June 6 and 7, using a mixed automated and digital method.

MORE OF THE LATEST POLLING NEWS:

HOW DID POLLS FARE IN THE U.K. ELECTION? - Harry Enten and Nate Silver: Despite betting markets and expert forecasts that predicted Theresa Mays Conservatives to win a large majority in the U.K. parliamentary elections, the Tories instead lost ground on Thursday, resulting in a hung parliament... On average in U.K. elections since World War II, the final set of polls have missed the Conservative-Labour margin by 3.9 percentage points, almost exactly in line with this years error... Polls in the lead-up to this election showed a wide range of outcomes, with final polls showing margins that ranged from Labour +3 to Conservatives +13. There were a number of pollsters who had results very close to the final outcome, including Survation, Kantar Public, Norstat and SurveyMonkey... The pollsters apparently did a good enough job of weighting the raw samples properly, which got them fairly close to the right outcome. Then on top of that, some of them gave extra weight to the Conservatives through their turnout models. As a result, they discounted signs of a youth-driven Labour turnout surge. [FiveThirtyEight; more takeaways from The Washington Posts Monkey Cage]

AMERICANS ARE SPLIT ON TRUMPS HANDLING OF TERRORISM - HuffPollster: Americans are closely divided on the way President Donald Trump has reacted to the threat of terrorism, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll, and give him mixed reviews for his tweets responding to the recent terrorist attack in London. Forty-one percent approve of Trumps handling of the threat of terrorism, while 44 percent disapprove. The remainder are unsure... A majority of the public, 55 percent, says it was inappropriate for Trump to blast the London mayor, who said there was no reason to be alarmed by the increased police presence in London. Trump tried to portray the remark as downplaying the threat of terrorism. Just 26 percent of Americans say Trumps criticism was appropriate... Americans are divided more broadly on the proper tone for a politician to take in the aftermath of a terror attack. While 41 percent say its worse for a politician not to react strongly enough and to risk appearing weak, 33 percent say its worse to react too strongly and risk stoking fear. [HuffPost]

MORE PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF JARED KUSHNER, BUT THATS NOT NECESSARILY GOOD FOR HIM - HuffPollster: The number of people who say they dont know who Jared Kushner is has decreased, and the number of people who dislike him has increased since April, according to a new poll... In April, a Morning Consult/Politico poll found that 47 percent of respondents had never heard of Kushner or didnt have an opinion about him. Only 30 percent said they had an unfavorable opinion of him. But in a new Morning Consult/Politico poll released Wednesday, 37 percent said they have an unfavorable opinion of Kushner, and 38 percent said they either havent heard of him or dont have any opinion about him. Only 26 percent of voters reported a favorable opinion of him. The poll found that 51 percent of respondents viewed the president unfavorably with 45 percent responding favorably. HuffPost Pollsters average of polls shows Trump with a rating of 54 percent unfavorable and 40 percent favorable. Although Kushner is relatively unknown compared with his father-in-law, quite a few people dislike him. [HuffPost]

OUTLIERS - Links to the best of news at the intersection of polling, politics and political data:

- Most Americans think Trump is interfering with Russia investigations. [The Washington Post]

- Americans views on abortion have remained largely stable. [Gallup]

- Fewer than half of American voters view Trump as the leader of the free world. [Quinnipiac]

- Geoffrey Skelley previews the upcoming Virginia gubernatorial primary. [Sabatos Crystal Ball]

- Nate Cohn sees reasons for Democrats to be optimistic, despite their recent losses. [The New York Times]

- Jack Brewster offers a skeptical take on polls asking about impeachment. [Time]

- Dante Chinni shows that Trumps approval rating is declining in military communities and exurbs. [The Wall Street Journal]

- Steven Shepard reports on a new turnout model being used by the Democratic Governors Association. [Politico]

- Daniel Cox and Harmeet Kamboj examine how social contact with the LGBT community has affected Americans policy attitudes. [PRRI]

- Nik DeCosta-Klipa writes on a study that finds most Americans dont think ESPN has any political bias. [Boston.com]

- Derek Thompson investigates the disappearance of the summer job. [The Atlantic]

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
A pregnant mother died in a freak accident after her 6-year-old son mistakenly put their minivan in gear and backed up over her in a Washington state parking lot, authorities said.

Emergency responders used their equipment to lift the vehicle off of Shannon MacLeod, 35, after finding her trapped underneath in a parking lot near Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom at about 4:15 p.m. Monday, The News Tribune reported.

Investigators are still investigating the incident, but said MacLeod, who was eight months pregnant, was loading her minivans trunk to leave the beach when the vehicle rolled back and pinned her, the newspaper reported.

Read: Mother of Three Killed In Freak Accident While Waiting In Line at Drive-Thru

Her 6-year-old son and the other children in the van were not injured.

MacLeod died on the way to a nearby hospital. Miraculously, doctors were able to perform an emergency C-section to save the baby, who was rushed to Seattle Childrens Hospital.

Her baby is alive and in the hospital, wrote one of her sons, Nathan MacLeod, on a GoFundMe page created to help bury his mother and care for his siblings. We need all the help and support we can get.

Read: Mother Dies After Being Impaled By Beach Umbrella In Freak Accident

MacLeod was the mother of five children and was going to become a grandmother in September.

My mom loved her kids more than anything, Nathan MacLeod wrote on the GoFundMe. All she cared about was her kids. [She] did everything to take care of them no matter what.

As of Wednesday, the page had raised $5,475 of its $10,000 goal.

Watch: 14-Year-Old Girl Killed By Log In Freak Accident While Taking Photos at Beach

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Rafael Nadal hits a forehand against Dominic Thiem in the mens semifinals of the French Open. (Getty Images)

The two mens French Open semifinal matches on Friday couldnt have been more different.

In the first contest, 2015 French Open champion and reigning US Open champion Stan Wawrinka pulled out a win against No. 1 Andy Murray after five sets and 4 hours of tennis.

The two veterans battled back and forth, with Murray winning the first and third sets and Wawrinka taking the second, fourth and critical fifth sets for a 6-7 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-1 win.

Just one year ago, Wawrinka lost to Murray in the semifinals of this same tournament, but the Swiss player reversed his fate this year to become the oldest French Open finalist since 1973 at 32 years old.

Its incredible to be back to the finals here again. Im just going to try my best, Wawrinka said after his win. After this, I want to celebrate and then I want to recover for Sunday. I think Ill have another chance to win.

No. 3 Wawrinka will now face Rafael Nadal, who holds a 78-2 record in this tournament, in the finals.

Nadal cruised to the last round of the French Open with a three-set victory over Dominic Thiem in his semifinal match. With a 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 win, Nadal put himself in position to battle towards a 10th French Open title. Wawrinka is standing in his way.

Nadal has lost only once on clay this season, falling to Thiem last month in the Rome quarterfinals. Nadal easily reclaimed his turf in France.

What can you say about the King of Clay that hasn't been said 1k times before? Nadal d. Thiem 63 64 60 & returns to the RG final!

?: #USOpen pic.twitter.com/gcXsBDM2DZ  US Open Tennis (@usopen) June 9, 2017

The day off on Saturday provides both Nadal and Wawrinka a chance to rest and refuel, but Murray, whose hopes for the French Open title were crushed by Wawrinka, will take the time to start focusing on Wimbledon. The Scottish star hopes to clinch his second title in as many years, and, despite his loss, Murray remains optimistic about the future.

He said the challenging, lengthy match against Wawrinka will better prepare him for matches on grass, and he looks forward to continuing to compete.

I do feel like having an event like this can give me a boost, and hopefully have a strong grass-court season and try to understand what worked well this event and what worked well in the sort of 10 days in the buildup and the practices, Murray said. I have to make sure I continue to do that throughout the year, not make any mistakes with my preparation or my training, and hopefully finish the year strong.
Built by the French to fix trains for their fast-developing Vietnamese colony, the Gia Lam factory later churned out weapons to fuel the country's independence fight, and then survived the onslaught of American bombers during the war.

But the storied Hanoi plant is now in decline, a victim of the rising consumer power of Vietnam's middle classes as passengers turn from trains to planes.

"In the past, I was proud to work here because this factory was the biggest in Indochina," repairman Au Duy Hien told AFP.

Opened in 1905, Gia Lam was the first train factory in the then-French territory, which spanned modern-day Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Mechanics used the base to first fix and then assemble the engines and carriages that served the region's rapid push toward industrialisation.

The factory was taken over by the Vietnamese in the 1940s, expanding production to make bazookas and grenades for revolutionaries fighting the colonial rulers who were finally thrown out in 1954.

And then it continued to make weapons during the Vietnam War -- even as it was bombed by US planes targeting Communist-backed revolutionaries in northern Vietnam.

- Running out of steam -

But today, output is down more than 90 percent since its 1990s heyday.

It is now mostly used to repair old trains, with little demand for new carriages on the country's vast but outdated rail network.

The industry is struggling to keep pace with the lure of low-cost air travel.

For many, the choice between a clanging, slow-moving train or a quick -- and cheap -- plane is a no-brainer.

In 2015, 31 million people travelled by air, more than double the number in 2010, according to official statistics.

Train use remained steady at 11 million for the year.

Today, some companies are seeking to revive the colonial romance of rail travel, offering first-class trips, wood-lined cabins with restaurant car.

"If rail transportation isn't developed, then the railway industry cannot be revived," union boss Nguyen Anh Tuan told AFP.

Some lawmakers recently called for private investment into the state-controlled sector, and the country's parliament is currently considering revising the law.

But unless the industry sees a major upturn in fortunes, Gia Lam employees fear it will soon run out of steam.
Kigali (AFP) - A conservationist who was training rangers to track and protect black rhinos in Rwanda has been killed by one of the animals, the organisation he worked for has said in a statement.

Information about the exact circumstances of Hungarian Krisztian Gyongyi's death on Wednesday morning in Akagera National Park is "still being gathered", said Peter Fearnhead, the chief executive of Africa Parks.

"(This is) a huge loss for all who knew Kris and for rhino conservation across the continent," said Fearnhead, who sent condolences to Gyongyi's family.

Gyongyi, a married father of one, had been helping reintroduce the black rhino into Akagera National Park while also working on a PhD on the conservation of the animals in Liwonde National Park in Malawi since 2012, the park said.

Black rhinos disappeared from Rwanda in 2007 due to poaching but were reintroduced into the country in May after 20 animals were sent from South Africa to Akagera National Park.

Only about 1,000 East African black rhinos live in the wild, out of a total population of less than 5,000, according to African Parks.

"This is a tremendous loss for all of us, especially for rhino conservation efforts in Africa" said Fearnhead, paying tribute to Gyongyi.

Gyongyi's wife and daughter have been informed of his death.
With Adam Rawnsley

Shooting war. Is this what the start of a war looks like? Near At Tanf, two strikes destroyed two tactical vehicles and a UAS. The line comes from the tally of airstrikes the U.S. Central Command emails to reporters each morning, blandly listing each days strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. Only in Fridays note, the targets were Iranian-backed Shiite militias fighting in support of the regime of Syrias Bashar al Assad.

An American F-15 shot down a pro-regime drone that dropped a munition on U.S.-backed forces near the U.S. garrison at al Tanf on Thursday, narrowly missing the patrol which was accompanied by U.S. forces. The armed drone, which was likely an Iranian-made Shahed-129, was wiped out only hours after other U.S. jets bombed two vehicles which had strayed too close to the base. The Daily Beast has a good run down on the Iranian drone, and its operations in Syria.

New threat for U.S. troops in Syria. The attack, which U.S. military officials say caused no casualties or damage to equipment, was the first time U.S.-backed forces had been targeted by a drone in Syria, and indicates that the Bashar al Assad regime and his Iranian backers are willing to target American and coalition troops directly, FPs Paul McLeary writes. It also came just after American warplanes struck Shiite militias, backed by Iran, for the third time in as many weeks near the U.S. garrison at al Tanf.

A U.S. Defense official said Thursday the drone strike came outside of a 55-mile buffer zone the U.S. enforces around al Tanf, but that U.S.-backed forces, along with their American and international advisors, regularly patrol outside of the area. More here from FPs Dan De Luce and Paul McLeary on where this emerging conflict between Washington and Tehran in Syria might be headed.

More trouble for Qatar. Arab countries put 12 organizations and 59 people on a terror sanctions list early Friday they described as being associated with Qatar, the AP reports Friday morning, the latest in a growing diplomatic dispute thats seen the energy rich nation isolated by Saudi Arabia and others. As of Thursday, Pentagon officials were telling SitRep that operations at the massive Al Udeid air base in Qatar  the operational hub of the war in Iraq and Syria  were proceeding as normal, though there were some worries about keeping the 11,000 troops on the base supplied in the long term if the blockade by Gulf countries continues.

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The Wall Street Journal notes, Qatar may be tiny, but thats where all the major fault lines in the Middle East are converging these days. The sudden cutoff of ties with Qatar by several Saudi-led Arab states has already turned into a proxy fight between supporters and opponents of political Islam and between partners and enemies of Iran.

Its awful lonely out there on the Qatar Peninsula, according to a new batch of satellite imagery posted by Bellingcat. The open source investigative outlet published photos showing that the Saudis have completely cut off vehicle traffic to Qatars As Salwa border crossing. Qatar is dependent on goods delivered across its land border with Saudi Arabia for much of its imports.

Kurds going for it. Iraqi Kurds have finally set a date for their long-discussed referendum on independence from the rest of Iraq, with the Kurdistan Regional Government calling for a vote on Sept. 25, FPs Keith Johnson and Emily Tamkin write.

The decision, announced by KRG president Masoud Barzani on Twitter, is sure to spark a showdown with Baghdad, which has for years sought to keep the restive Kurds inside a barely functioning Iraqi state. The U.S. State Department says it is concerned the referendum will distract Baghdad from the fight against the Islamic State. Turkey, unsurprisingly, thinks the move is a terrible mistake.

ISIS has killed hundreds in Mosul. Meanwhile, Islamic State fighters have shot and killed hundreds of civilians in Mosul over the past two weeks, as the Iraqi army tightens the circle around the last remaining holdouts the United Nations said on Thursday. It is estimated that as many as 200,000 civilians remain trapped by the fighters in their dwindling pocket of control in the western half of Mosul.

Welcome to SitRep. Send any tips, thoughts or national security events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or via Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley.

Arms bazaar. Want to know whats in the reportedly $110 billion arms package the U.S. just offered to the Saudis? Defense News got it hands on a list of the specific items involved, which includes seven THAAD batteries, Patriot anti-missile systems, surveillance planes and fighter jets, as well as tens of thousands of munitions and other assorted arms. While the Trump administration has touted the $110 billion figure, theres still plenty of hurdles before that figure becomes a reality. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia still need to sign letters of agreement for a number of systems and both the Defense Security Cooperation Agency and Congress need to sign off on the sales. Congressional approval could be especially tricky given an emerging opposition to Saudi arms sales in the Senate.

Hack the Casbah. FPs Emily Tamkin reports that Qatars state-supported Al Jazeera news outlet is now under attack online. Al Jazeera officials say the entire Doha-based network is suffering from constant hacking attempts. The statement comes amidst a squabble between Qatar and its Sunni Gulf neighbors over Dohas alleged support of militant groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Iran. The rift has been widened by another incident of cyber intrigue involving what Qatar and the FBI say was the hack into the state-run Qatar News Agency. Officials say an op-ed purportedly written by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani expressing fondness for Iran and Israel was a fake planted by hackers.

For hire. The New York Times also gets a scoop that the culprits responsible for posting that allegedly fake article were Russian mercenary hackers, according to the FBI. Nor are the Qataris the only Gulf country on the receiving end of hackers for hire. One group of cybersecurity researchers is set to publish a report claiming that the hackers responsible for stealing and publishing emails from the Emirati ambassador to the U.S. were part of a mercenary group dubbed Bahamut.

Busted. The Department of Justice announced the arrest of two alleged Hezbollah operatives inside the U.S., charging the men with training with the U.S.-designated terrorist group and scouting out potential American and Israeli targets inside the U.S. and Panama. Prosecutors say Samer El Debek and Ali Kourani, both naturalized U.S. citizens, received military training from Hezbollah in Lebanon, including a course in manufacturing improvised explosive devices for El Debek. Kourani is accused of scouting targets for Hezbollah in New York and searching for weapons suppliers for the group. El Debek allegedly surveilled the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Panama for Hezbollah and helped the group clean out a bomb factory in Thailand after operatives there fell under surveillance.

Shots fired. Russian President Vladimir Putin took aim at Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), his greatest nemesis in the U.S. Congress, on Thursday. In an interview with director and fan Oliver Stone, Putin admitted a grudging fondness for McCain to a certain extent on account of his patriotism. But Putin called out the Arizona senator for liv[ing] in the Old World, saying that his hardline stance on Russia fails to take into account the importance of cooperation between the U.S. and Russia on issues ranging from terrorism, global poverty, and nuclear weapons.

Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force
No-bid contract award draws flak

Former prime minister and coordinator of Naya Shakti Party Nepal Baburam Bhattarai on Thursday criticised the governments recent decision to award the construction contract for themassive Budhi Gandaki Hydroelectric Project to a Chinese company without a competitive bidding process.
cameronabadi

SpaceX celebrated a successful rocket launch on Saturday, sending a reused cargo spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station in orbit approximately 250 miles above the earth. But Elon Musks California-based company kept quiet about the spacecrafts stowaway  a Chinese science experiment now installed in the Space Station. Its a sign that aerospaces swiftly-advancing private sector may have found yet another innovation: A way to evade the years-long ban on official cooperation in space between the United States and China.

The Chinese experiment carried aloft by SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket will test how space radiation effects gene mutation, with potential ramifications for extended human space travel. It was designed by the Beijing Institute of Technology, who partnered with NanoRacks, paying the U.S. company approximately $200,000 to assist with transportation and data collection. It marks the first time a Chinese experiment has been conducted in the Space Stations U.S. section, according to tech news site ARS Technica.

International space cooperation these days, if not in the early years of the space race, is common, as it helps offset the extraordinarily high costs of technology and space travel. Russia and the United States jointly operate the Space Station, and NASA has signed a deal shelling out $490 million for Russias Soyuz space modules to deliver six U.S. astronauts to the space station.

But cooperation has its limits: Congress banned bilateral cooperation between NASA and Chinese state-owned enterprises and Chinese citizens in 2011, citing national security risks. Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) upheld the ban after he became chair of the House subcommittee that funds NASA in 2014.

Chinas space program is owned and controlled entirely by the Peoples Liberation Army and the Chinese government have proven to be the worlds most aggressive in cyber-espionage, Culberson said in an October 2015 statement. I intend to vigorously enforce the longstanding prohibitions designed to protect Americas space program.

Story continues

Chinas space program, as with many state-owned Chinese firms from energy outfits to port developers, has close ties to its military. But the extent of such ties and even basic information about Chinese space programs, such as how much funding they receive, is uncertain due to lack of transparency.

An even greater concern is technology transfer and theft. In 1998, a congressional investigation discovered that China had developed intercontinental ballistic missile systems incorporating U.S. technology originally offered to Chinese companies for commercial use. As a result, Congress shifted licensing requirements for all satellites and related technology to the State Department, which is in charge of approving commercial arms exports. For this launch, however, no State Department license was required, according to a person involved.

SpaceX declined to comment on the licensing aspects of the launch.

Chinas space program is highly advanced and extremely ambitious. In 2013, China became the third country after the United States and Russia to land on the moon; the Jade Rabbit rover spent 31 months gathering data before shutting down. China has put two space laboratory modules into orbit and hopes to have its own full-size space station within the next decade. In January, the China National Space Administration announced plans to land a probe on Mars by 2020.

NanoRacks took steps to prevent any technology transfer during the course of its partnership with the Chinese institute, according to the company, including isolating its research platforms to guarantee there was no interface between external researchers and the Space Station system. NanoRacks spokesperson Abby Dickes says these measures meant that the company did not need permission from the State Department for its partnership with Beijing Institute of Technology. Dan Huot, a NASA spokesperson, confirmed that no part of the project connected into the Space Stations IT system, and that NASA properly notified Congress of the project.

Commercial partnerships have no flags, NanoRacks CEO Jeffrey Manber told Chinese state news agency Xinhua. I believe commercial is the pathway forward for greater cooperation with Chinese companies and educational organizations.

Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Yahoo Finance is tracking Hudsons Bay, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Nvidia and Citigroup in intraday trading on Friday.

Hudsons Bay (HBC)  The parent company of retail giants Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor is planning to slash jobs in an effort to cut costs. Hudsons Bay announced that it will layoff about 2,000 workers, which accounts for about 3% of its workforce, after posting a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly sales. The job cuts are expected to save the company about $259 million per year.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Barclays (BCS)  US-listed shares of British banks are under pressure following a surprising UK election result. The UKs ruling Conservative Party failed to win a majority, which triggered uncertainty in the regions economy on concerns that the outcome could threaten to derail Britains planned exit from the European Union.

Nvidia (NVDA)  Yahoo Finances 2016 company of the year got another bullish call. Bank of America upped its price target on the stock to $185, the highest level on the Street. This comes after Citi lifted its price target hike on Nvidia to $180 on Thursday. Shares hit record highs in intraday trading on Friday before reversing their gains after Citron Research poured cold water on Nvidias recent rise. The well-known short-seller firm tweeted that the stock would likely fall by nearly 20% before climbing to $180. Nvidia is up about 226% over the past year.

Citigroup (C)  Shares jumped to their highest level in more than eight years after UBS upgraded the bank to neutral from sell and lifted its price target to $64 from $58. Citigroups stock is up about 8% since the start of the year.

For more on Fridays big stock movers, check out the Final Round, live at 4 p.m. ET, right here on Yahoo Finance.
WASHINGTON  President Trump said Friday he would 100 percent be willing to testify under oath about allegations that he asked former FBI Director James Comey to ease up an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

At a joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Trump reiterated that he felt vindicated by Comeys testimony before a Senate committee yesterday but also said that Comey lied in characterizing conversations between the two.

Among his disagreements with Comey, Trump said he never asked Comey for an oath of loyalty.

I didnt say that, Trump said Friday. Im going to tell you, I didnt say that. And there would be nothing wrong with it if I did say that, according to everybody that Ive talked to today. But I didnt say that.

Comey testified Thursday that Trump told him I need loyalty, I expect loyalty during a White House dinner, before saying that Flynn is a good guy and that Comey should let this go.

Standing next to the Romanian president, Trump argued that it wouldnt have made sense to demand Comeys loyalty.

I hardly know the man, Im not going to say, I want you to pledge allegiance, Trump said. Who would do that? Who would ask a man to pledge allegiance under oath. Think of it, I hardly know the man. It doesnt make sense.

Trump also said Friday he would be glad to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller to tell his version of the conversations with Comey. After Trump fired Comey, the Justice Department appointed Mueller, also a former FBI director, to oversee the investigation into whether Russia coordinated with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 election.

Earlier in the press conference, however, Trump said that Comeys testimony supported his assertion that he did not act improperly.

Comey confirmed a lot of what I said even though some of the things that he said just werent true. In his caustic testimony, Comey accused the Trump administration of spreading lies, though he acknowledged telling Trump that he wasnt personally under investigation.

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No collusion. No obstruction, Trump said Friday. Hes a leaker, but we want to get back to running our great country.  Yesterday showed no collusion, no obstruction.

Trump also appeared to deny the existence of tapes of his conversations with Comey, saying the media would be very disappointed, but that the administration would be discussing the issue soon.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump's private lawyer denied bombshell allegations made by the sacked FBI director James Comey on Thursday, suggesting the ousted lawman should be prosecuted for leaking "privileged information."

The president "never told Mr Comey 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty' in form or substance," attorney Marc Kasowitz said, rejecting a key allegation made by the former FBI director before a Senate panel.

Dismissing key parts of Comey's damning testimony while claiming others as a win for the president, Kasowitz also suggested Comey may face prosecution.

"Today, Mr Comey admitted that he leaked to friends his purported memos of these privileged conversations, one of which he testified was classified," the lawyer said.

"We will leave it the appropriate authorities to determine whether this leak should be investigated along with all those others being investigated."

Legal experts disagreed about whether Comey crossed any legal or ethical lines by leaking his memo of the conversations through a "friend," who was identified as a Columbia University law professor.

University of Texas constitutional and national security law professor Stephen Vladeck said Comey was within his rights.

"Did #Comey's orchestration of the memo leak break the law? In a word, no," Vladeck wrote on Twitter.

"Unless memo includes 'information relating to the national defense' (& no indication it did), then leak doesn't violate Espionage Act."

Vladeck added there is no law against "leaks" that the only potential legal violation was of a "federal conversion-of-property statute," and that prosecuting under that law would be only a remote possibility.

However, Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor, said Comey's decision to leak the memo was "deeply troubling from a professional and ethical standpoint."

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Comey's memos were "arguably government documents," he said in a blog post, adding that "the admission of leaking the memos is problematic given the overall controversy involving leakers undermining the administration."

That led to "a curious scene of a former director leaking material against the president after the president repeatedly asked him to crack down on leakers."

Turley said that a federal law makes it a crime "to steal, sell, or convey "any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof."

However, Vladeck argued that Comey's leak could not fall under that law because "the memo has no pecuniary value."

"There may be ethical issues (which I'll leave to the ethics experts)," he added. "But any legal argument is a real stretch."
Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump tapped respected lawyer Christopher Wray to be his new FBI director Wednesday, on the eve of potentially explosive testimony on alleged Russian election interference by the agency's ousted chief James Comey.

The former federal prosecutor was nominated to fill the post left vacant one month ago by Comey, who is set to be grilled by lawmakers Thursday over allegations the president sought to interfere with the FBI's Russia probe before sacking him.

"I will be nominating Christopher A. Wray, a man of impeccable credentials, to be the new Director of the FBI. Details to follow," Trump tweeted.

Wray served as assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's criminal division under president George W. Bush, from 2003 to 2005, working closely with the FBI.

He will have limited power to influence the agency's Russia investigation, which was placed in the hands of an independent prosecutor -- former FBI director Robert Mueller -- following Comey's dismissal.

Trump's announcement was timed a day ahead of Comey's highly-anticipated testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US elections and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.

Comey is expected to dispute Trump's claim that the then-FBI chief told him multiple times that he was not under investigation, CNN reported, citing sources familiar with Comey's thinking.

But Comey will also be pressed over reports, citing private notes he wrote, that in three meetings and phone calls in January and February, Trump urged him to halt or ease up on the Russia probe's focus on his former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

In addition, media reports say he pressured several top officials, including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, to intervene in the investigation on Flynn's behalf.

Coats is one of three officials coming under the spotlight in hearings taking place Wednesday, along with National Security Agency head Mike Rogers and interim FBI Director Andrew McCabe.

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In a statement late Tuesday, a spokesman for Coats said he "has never felt pressured by the president or anyone else in the administration to influence any intelligence matters or ongoing investigations."

- Fears of politicization -

No definitive evidence of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia has yet come to light, and there have not been any formal accusations that Trump sought to obstruct the investigation.

But the allegations have drawn comparison to the 1970s Watergate scandal, in which president Richard Nixon, facing possible impeachment over obstruction of justice charges, was forced to resign.

If his nomination is approved by the Senate, Wray will take hold of an agency generally dismayed at Trump's treatment of Comey and concerned about the possible politicization of the Russia investigation.

The FBI Agents Association had urged Trump to nominate someone who has worked in their ranks.

Wray will also be partnered with Attorney General Jeff Sessions in carrying out Trump's call for a crackdown on violent crime and immigration, and taking a hard line against people who leak classified information.

On Monday the Justice Department announced the arrest of 25-year-old intelligence contractor Reality Winner on charges she violated the espionage act by leaking a top secret report from the National Security Agency on Russian election meddling.

- Represented Trump ally -

Since leaving the Justice Department, Wray has worked on mostly white collar civil and criminal cases as a partner at King & Spalding law firm in Washington and Atlanta.

He most notably represented New Jersey Governor and Trump ally Chris Christie in the 2013 scandal over the closure of a key bridge to hurt Christie's political rivals.

At King & Spalding, the Yale Law School graduate chairs a unit representing entities and individuals in white collar criminal and regulatory enforcement issues, civil litigation and internal corporate investigations, according to the law firm's website.

At the Justice Department, he helped handle corporate fraud scandals, served on Bush's Corporate Fraud Task Force and oversaw major fraud investigations including that of energy giant Enron.

He also helped coordinate the agency's response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
A gay North Carolina dad is pursuing legal action against United Airlines, claiming he was detained after a mid-May flight by attendants and crew who wrongfully accused him of sexually abusing his son. Henry Amador-Batten, 53, says he and his five-year-old son were returning from Puerto Rico, where they visited his ailing father. After landing in Raleigh-Durham, Amador-Batten says he was detained by officers upon exiting the plane.

Thered been an accusation made in flight and a report filed by the captain that I was seen with my hands too close to the childs genitals, he told Yahoo Finance. After nearly an hour spent speaking with police officers and showing multiple documents to prove that Ben is his son, Amador-Batten was released. However, he says his son was traumatized by the incident and is having trouble sleeping.

Trouble for United?

The incident is the latest public relations turbulence for United Airlines, which received public backlash earlier this year when images of the forcible removal of passenger David Dao went viral. Dao and his attorneys settled with United for an undisclosed amount. (The incident barely made a blip in Uniteds stock, which is up nearly 10% over the past six months.) Amador-Batten is also taking legal action and has retained Florida-based criminal attorney Ken Padowitz.

Padowitz told Yahoo Finance that a settlement is the least the airline could do. Its slander, and its false imprisonment for a five-year-old, he said. United has to be held accountable for its actions. In addition, Amador-Batten resents the implication of abuse because he was a gay dad traveling alone with his child. For many gay men, their worst fear is being seen as a pedophile or a molesterbecause thats what people assume, he said.

Via a statement, United told Yahoo Finance, Our customers should always be treated with the utmost respect and we have followed up with our customer to apologize for the misunderstanding. The airline declined an interview request and wouldnt elaborate.

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Amador, however, wasnt impressed. He says someone who only identified herself as Pat called and asked him to keep the incident low key for United. Weve been going through so much bad press, and Id really like to keep my job, Amador-Batten said Pat told him. He went on to say that the representative then finished by nervously making sure he wasnt recording the conversation.



Uniteds support of LGBTQ community

Despite this incident, United is unlikely to see a major boycott that would threaten its share of the nearly $1 trillion in buying power held by the LGBTQ community. The airline is a sponsoring partner for multiple LGBTQ-focused organizations and has an LGBTQ employee resource group, EQUAL, which told Yahoo Finance that United supports the LGBT community both internally and externally. United has also scored a perfect 100 for the past six years on Human Rights Campaigns corporate equality index, which judges employers on criteria such as gender identity discrimination protections. The Human Rights Campaign didnt respond to repeated requests for comment.

International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) CEO John Tanzella said that United is a silver partner with the IGLTA, which promotes LGBTQ-friendly travel options and events. He told Yahoo Finance the incident could potentially hurt the airlines standing with LGBTQ travelers, but he doesnt see it as a reflection of the company as a whole. Im sure United will end up doing the right thing once they figure it out, he said. The flight attendant obviously made a horrible mistake.

Its a mistake that Amador-Batten and Padowitz want the beleaguered airline to pay for. Batten said hes not looking to start a movement, but wants the airline to take some responsibility. Padowitz however, was more aggressive in his reprisal. They have to be held accountable for their actions, he said. You cant just do this and walk away because you say Im sorry.

Rob Smith is a writer and producer at Yahoo Finance.
No injuries but US military says drone posed a threat to our forces

Spokesman says such strikes will take focus away from fighting Isis

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters unload boxes of ammunition supplied by the US-led coalition. Photograph: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images

The United States has shot down a pro-Syrian government drone that opened fire on US-led coalition forces in Syria, a military spokesman said, in a major escalation of tensions between Washington and troops supporting Damascus.

No one was hurt in the incident, which occurred near the coalitions At-Tanaf garrison, coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon told Pentagon reporters.

It was armed and still had weapons on it when it was fired upon by US forces from an aircraft, Dillon said.

The drone was about the same size as a US MQ-1 Predator. Dillon declined to say who owned or operated the drone, but other officials said it was likely Iranian or Hezbollah.

It was something that showed a hostile intent, a hostile action and posed a threat to our forces because this drone still had munitions that were still on it, Dillon said.

At-Tanaf, on the key highway connecting Damascus with Baghdad, has been menaced by a surge of Iran-backed troops loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The area, also just north-east of the Jordanian border, is used by coalition forces as a training and staging area for attacks against Isis.

The coalition has established a de-confliction zone, extending 34 miles from the garrison, in which pro-regime and Russian forces are not supposed to operate.

Dillon said the drone had fired on coalition forces patrolling outside the zone.

It was the third such strike in as many weeks, and the second this week, by the Pentagon, which has sought to stay out of Syrias civil war to focus firepower instead on Isis in Syria and Iraq.

Dillon said the United States had earlier in the day carried out a strike against two pro-Syrian government pickup trucks with weapons that had moved against US-backed fighters near At-Tanaf.

The concern is that such strikes could take away attention from the fight against Isis militants.

Story continues

Unfortunately, there have been [these] incidents that have taken our focus away from fighting Isis, Dillon said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

On Wednesday Kurdish and Arab forces backed by the United States entered Islamic States de facto capital of Raqqa, setting the stage for what could be a months-long campaign to reclaim the militants largest stronghold in Syria.

For months, air strikes and special forces from the US-led coalition have helped them encircle Raqqa, which Islamic State seized in 2014 and has used as a base to plan attacks abroad.
PM calls on agitating parties to participate in polls, assures of amending constitution after elections

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has called on the Madhes-based political parties including the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) to participate in the second phase of local level elections slated for June 28, reiterating his commitment to amend the constitution after the polls.
Stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) are rallying at the midday mark. The financial (XLF) sector is leading the way up, and utilities (XLU) and tech (XLT) are the only sectors in the red. Alan Valdes, director of floor operations at Silverbear, joins us from the New York Stock Exchange. To discuss the other big stories of the day, Alexis Christoforous is joined by Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer and Yahoo Finances Seana Smith.

Todays Midday Movers Topics:
Alan Valdes, director of floor operations for Silverbear, joins Alexis Christoforous from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to discuss (OC) Alan, we were talking about the British vote just yesterday, and you said US markets wouldn't care much. That seems to be the case. Where do you see them going from here? (OC) I want to talk about American banks now, as financials are soaring today, as they were yesterday. Is this all about rolling back Dodd Frank? FOLO: How much is the Fed and expectations for next week's rate raise playing into expectations?
The Warp + Weft Plus JFK Skinny in Azure, $98. (Photo: Warp + Weft)

Did you know that 67% of women in the USA are size 14 and above? Did you know that clothing companies design the majority of their products for the size 2-8 market?

Meet Sarah Ahmed, the CEO and founder of Warp + Weft, the new jeans brand dedicated to serving the entire population  even that oft-ignored 67%. Ahmed grew up around fabrics, her family operated one of the largest textile mills one which was responsible for making much of the denim used to make the worlds most expensive jeans. With denim in her blood and that 67% on her mind, Ahmed realized that something was missing in the denim world: inclusive sizing. Why should women who are size 14 or above not be able to get their hands on good quality jeans, and why should jeans cost so much money?

After finishing her studies at Parsons the New School for Design, Ahmed decided to start a jeans collection with the promise of bringing a large range of sizes and fair pricing. Launched in May, Warp + Weft is a denim brand where every pair of jeans is under $100 and every fit goes up to size 24 for women and size 40 for men.

Warp + Weft CDG Cigarette in Sandrine, $98. (Photo: Warp + Weft)

The womens collection has four different styles to choose from  skinny, bootcut, straight and shorts. The mens collection boasts four styles as well  skinny, tailored, straight and slim. Prices start at $64 for the shorts and go up to $98 for the full-length pants.

Warp + Weft JFK Skinny in White, $98. (Photo: Warp + Weft)

With the size and price taken care of, the last most important thing was the fit  and Ahmed made sure the fit was right on target too. Warp + Weft uses a cotton wrapping technique that Ahmeds family developed for premium quality fabrics. It has incredible retention and lift (no jean sag) and gives wearers a great fit. The cherry on top of all of this is that Ahmeds family factory, based in Pakistan, is committed to sustainable practices in order to reduce productions impact on the environment. Great fit, fair pricing, large sizing, and care for the planet? What more does one need?

Warp + Weft Mens HDN Skinny in Black, $98. (Photo: Warp + Weft)

Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:

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Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and@YahooBeauty.




Former Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, April 29, 2017. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Former FBI director James Comey strengthened his credibility with his blockbuster Thursday testimony before the Senate intelligence committee, Watergate reporter Bob Woodward said in an interview on CBS News Friday morning.

Woodward, now an associate editor at the Washington Post, said that Comeys admission about asking a friend to leak memos containing detailed records of the ex-FBI chiefs one-on-one interactions with President Trump benefited Comeys reputation for honesty  even though Trump himself and his allies have slammed Comey for the leaks. As a Washington Post reporter in the 1970s, Woodward helped break the story that led to former President Nixons resignation.

Related slideshow: Lies to Lordy: How the worlds front pages covered the Comey testimony

I think it actually was enhanced. Because [Comey] was honest about it, Woodward said, comparing Comey to his Watergate source Deep Throat, who was also a top FBI official.

Comey has come and said look, I wanted to get this out, I think we need a special counsel to investigate that, Woodward said.

Following Comeys testimony, Trumps lawyer Marc Kasowitz read a prepared statement Thursday that suggested the ousted FBI chief should be investigated for sharing his detailed memos, which he called an unauthorized disclosure of privileged information that appears to be entirely retaliatory.

Related slideshow: Comey and cocktails: People in bars and restaurants watch ex-FBI directors testimony

Kasowitz plans to file a complaint against Comey with the Justice Department and Senate judiciary committee over the leaked memos, CNN reports.

Woodward also called Comeys testimony about a conversation in which Trump allegedly said he hoped Comey would let go of the Flynn investigation very damaging, but he stopped short of calling Trumps actions an obstruction of justice.

Only about 5 to 10 percent of questions in the Russia probe have been answered, the Watergate reporter said.

Story continues

Whats missing here at this point is a clear crime, Woodward said. What Russia did in the election last year, it was a classic espionage operation.  Youve got to find out who did that, was it somebody in the Trump campaign, or Trump himself somehow involved?

Read more from Yahoo News:
For more than a millennium, scholars have noticed a curious correlation: Atheists tend to be more intelligent than religious people.

It's unclear why this trend persists, but researchers of a new study have an idea: Religion is an instinct, they say, and people who can rise above instincts are more intelligent than those who rely on them.

"Intelligence  in rationally solving problems  can be understood as involving overcoming instinct and being intellectually curious and thus open to non-instinctive possibilities," study lead author Edward Dutton, a research fellow at the Ulster Institute for Social Research in the United Kingdom, said in a statement. [Saint or Spiritual Slacker? Test Your Religious Knowledge]

Smart cookie

In classical Greece and Rome, it was widely remarked that "fools" tended to be religious, while the "wise" were often skeptics, Dutton and his co-author, Dimitri Van der Linden, an assistant professor of psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, wrote in the study.

The ancients weren't the only ones to notice this association. Scientists ran a meta-analysis of 63 studies and found that religious people tend to be less intelligent than nonreligious people. The association was stronger among college students and the general public than for those younger than college age, they found. The association was also stronger for religious beliefs, rather than religious behavior, according to the meta-analysis, published in 2013 in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Review.

But why does this association exist? Dutton set out to find answer, thinking that perhaps it was because nonreligious people were more rational than their religious brethren, and thus better able to reason that there was no God, he wrote.

But "more recently, I started to wonder if I'd got it wrong, actually," Dutton told Live Science. "I found evidence that intelligence is positively associated with certain kinds of bias."

Story continues

For instance, a 2012 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showed that college students often get logical answers wrong but don't realize it. This so-called "bias blind spot" happens when people cannot detect bias, or flaws, within their own thinking. "If anything, a larger bias blind spot was associated with higher cognitive ability," the researchers of the 2012 study wrote in the abstract.

One question, for example, asked the students: "A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?" The problem isn't intuitive (the answer is not 10 cents), but rather requires students to suppress or evaluate the first solution that springs into their mind, the researchers wrote in the study. If they do this, they might find the right answer: The ball costs 5 cents, and the bat costs $1.05.

If intelligent people are less likely to perceive their own bias, that means they're less rational in some respects, Dutton said. So why is intelligence associated with atheism? The answer, he and his colleague suggest, is that religion is an instinct, and it takes intelligence to overcome an instinct, Dutton said. [8 Ways Religion Impacts Your Life]

Basic instinct

The religion-is-an-instinct theory is a modified version of an idea developed by Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics, who was not involved in the new study.

Called the Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis, Kanazawa's theory attempts to explain the differences in the behavior and attitudes between intelligent and less intelligent people, said Nathan Cofnas, who is pursuing a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom this fall. Cofnas, who specializes in the philosophy of science, was not involved with the new study.

The hypothesis is based on two assumptions, Cofnas told Live Science in an email.

"First, that we are psychologically adapted to solve recurrent problems faced by our hunter-gatherer ancestors in the African savanna," Cofnas said. "Second, that 'general intelligence' (what is measured by IQ tests) evolved to help us deal with nonrecurrent problems for which we had no evolved psychological adaptations."

The assumptions imply that "intelligent people should be better than unintelligent people at dealing with 'evolutionary novelty'  situations and entities that did not exist in the ancestral environment," Cofnas said.

Dutton and Van der Linden modified this theory, suggesting that evolutionary novelty is something that opposes evolved instincts.

Philosophical take

The approach is an interesting one, but might have firmer standing if the researchers explained exactly what they mean by "religious instinct," Cofnas said.

"Dutton and Van der Linden propose that, if religion has an instinctual basis, intelligent people will be better able to overcome it and adopt atheism," Cofnas said. "But without knowing the precise nature of the 'religious instinct,' we can't rule out the possibility that atheism, or at least some forms of atheism, harness the same instinct(s)."

For instance, author Christopher Hitchens thought that communism was a religion; secular movements, such as veganism, appeal to many of the same impulses  and possibly 'instincts'  that traditional religions do, Cofnas said. Religious and nonreligious movements both rely on faith, identifying with a community of believers and zealotry, he said.

"I think it's misleading to use the term 'religion' as a slur for whatever you don't like," Cofnas said.

Religion and stress

The researchers also examined the link between instinct and stress, emphasizing that people tend to operate on instinct during stressful times, for instance, turning to religion during a near-death experience.

The researchers argue that intelligence helps people rise above these instincts during times of stress. [11 Tips to Lower Stress]

"If religion is indeed an evolved domain  an instinct  then it will become heightened at times of stress, when people are inclined to act instinctively, and there is clear evidence for this," Dutton said. "It also means that intelligence allows us to be able to pause and reason through the situation and the possible consequences of our actions."

People who are able to rise above their instincts are likely better problem-solvers, Dutton noted.

"Let's say someone had a go at you. Your instinct would be to punch them in the face," Dutton told Live Science. "A more intelligent person will be able to stop themselves from doing that, reason it through and better solve the problem, according to what they want."

The study was published May 16 in the journal Evolutionary Psychological Science.

Original article on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
Photo credit: Getty

From Redbook

It's easy to dismiss freckles or small marks on your skin as sun spots that aren't worth worrying about - especially in the summer time. But one Georgia mom learned the hard way that a group of spots she initially dismissed were much more than signs of too much sun exposure.

Rebecca Hockaday noticed her first mark at the end of the summer, and didn't think much of it. When more of these spots popped up over the following months, though, she worried it was something else and decided to go to her dermatologist.

"Honestly, I thought they were sun spots. I thought they were going to say, 'just your skin aging,'" Hockaday told TODAY.

After a biopsy, doctors told her those "freckles" were actually skin cancer. Hockaday was only 35 when she was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), which is a rare but aggressive form of the disease. By the time she went to her doctor, it had already spread to her lymph nodes.

"You just do not think that something [that looks] so innocent can turn out this way. I had no pain, I had no symptoms," she said.

Although IBC is rare, making up only two percent of breast cancer cases, this isn't the first time this canc has made headlines this year. Just last month, the story of a Texas mom who mistook her stage 4 cancer for a sunburn went viral.

In both cases, the women involved thought their cancer was a negligible skin issue, an easy mistake to make with IBC. While most instances of breast cancer show up with a lump and can be diagnosed with a mammogram, both of these women had mammograms that came back clean.

"Half the time there's no lump or anything like that," Jean Wright of the Johns Hopkins Breast Cancer Program told TODAY. "It's just the kind of skin changes, and so it can relatively easily be mistaken for an infection, mastitis, or something like that."

Redness and swelling are trademark signs of IBC, which explain both the sunburn and freckle misdiagnoses. The most characteristic sign of IBC, though, is that it happens very quickly, Wright said. The changes are usually noticeable within a month.

Story continues

Hockaday went through chemotherapy and eventually chose to remove her breasts. It was an intense process, with twice daily radiation treatments, broken bones, and infections afterward, but she has been in remission since 2013.

Even though the threat of IBC is a scary one, there are things women can do to be vigilant about their health. Dermatologist Cameron Rokhsar told TODAY that when it comes to rashes or marks, seeing a dermatologist is sometimes better than a primary care physician because they're trained to detect problems with the skin more quickly.

"If women see a rash on their breast that doesn't go away within one to two weeks, especially after the use of a cortisone cream, then they should see their dermatologist," Rokhsar, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital, said.

Rashes are not trivial, and Hockaday hopes her story can help other women pay more attention to their individual health.

"If I can keep anybody else from going through what I went through, it would mean the world to me," she said. "I hope that myself or anybody else who has gone through this can educate and raise awareness because moms tend to put ourselves last and we really need to put ourselves first."

Again, the most important part is paying attention to your body and knowing the signs of different kinds of breast cancer. Don't look just for bumps, but for any irregularities. Being overly cautious is always better than knowing you could have caught something earlier.

Follow Redbook on Facebook.

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President Trump took to Twitter early Friday to declare victory in his war of words with James Comey, denouncing the FBI director he fired as a liar and a leaker based on Comeys damaging testimony about their interactions.

But, in a leap of logic that left observers puzzled, he also claimed vindication on the basis of the same testimony.

Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindicationand WOW, Comey is a leaker! Trump tweeted.

Trumps claim of vindication contrasts sharply with most legal analysts takeaway from the testimony. Both the New York Times and Washington Post ran front-page stories Friday raising the prospect of an obstruction of justice investigation.

Related slideshow: James Comey testifies at Senate hearing >>>

Comey said during his testimony to the Senate that as FBI director he drafted  and shared with his senior staff  memos about his interactions with Trump that left him uneasy. According to Comey, the president asked him to go easy in his investigation of fired national security adviser Michael Flynn, an unprecedented request from a president to the head of the FBI. Last month after he was fired, Comey said a threatening Trump tweet prompted him to ask a friend to share the content of the memos with the press  presumably the basis for Trumps charge that he was a leaker.

It wasnt clear from Trumps tweet what he was accusing Comey of lying about, but the presidents personal lawyer issued a statement following the testimony disputing several key points. His lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, denied that Trump pressured the FBI regarding the Flynn investigation or demanded loyalty from Comey.

The president never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone, Kasowitz said.

President Trump; James Comey (Photos: Evan Vucci/AP; Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

For his part, Comey was much clearer during his testimony on what he accused Trumps administration of spreading lies about.

Although the law required no reason at all to fire an FBI director, the administration then chose to defame me, and more importantly, the FBI, by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader, Comey said Thursday. Those were lies, plain and simple. And I am so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them, and I am so sorry that the American people were told them.

Story continues

After Trump abruptly fired Comey last month, the White House released a bewildering and continually evolving explanation for the dismissal. The administration initially accused Comeys FBI of being mismanaged and said he was fired for publicly bungling his investigation into Hillary Clintons email server.

Related slideshow: Comey and cocktails: People in bars and restaurants watch ex-FBI directors testimony >>>

Trump himself quickly dismissed that explanation, however, saying Comey was terminated for being a showboat. He reportedly told top Russian diplomats that the firing relieved pressure from the FBIs investigation into whether any Trump campaign associates colluded with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 election.

During his testimony, Comey said Trump pushed him to lift the cloud of the Russia probe. As for his firing, he said he took the presidents word that it was prompted by the investigation.

Comey said he was confident that the Justice Departments special counsel on the Russia investigation, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, would uncover the truth.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Photo credit: Lockheed Martin

From Popular Mechanics

Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works recently divulged some information about the SR-72 program to build a successor to the iconic SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. The advanced aircraft development division of Lockheed Martin told Aviation Week that hypersonic technologies, including a combined cycle propulsion system that merges a supersonic jet engine with a rocket engine, have advanced to the point that work on the planned SR-72 can begin in earnest. On paper, the SR-72 will be a strike and reconnaissance aircraft capable of topping Mach 6.

"We've been saying hypersonics is two years away for the last 20 years, but all I can say is the technology is mature and we, along with DARPA and the services, are working hard to get that capability into the hands of our warfighters as soon as possible," Rob Weiss, Lockheed Martin's executive vice president and general manager for Skunk Works, told Aviation Week.

Photo credit: U.S. Air Force

The Air Force and DARPA have been working on the early development of a hypersonic successor to the SR-71 since the early 2000s. In 2013, the USAF announced that it had begun design work on a scaled demonstrator of the SR-72. Since then, however, almost no details about the program have been released.

Now Skunk Works has confirmed that ground tests on a combined cycle engine with elements of a scramjet and rocket engine were conducted from 2013 to 2017. Lockheed Martin partnered with Aerojet Rocketdyne to began work modifying an off-the-shelf turbine to build a combined cycle engine back in 2006. The advanced aircraft division also said that it was getting close to starting full scale development of a flight research vehicle (FRV) that could be piloted or operated remotely. This FRV is expected to be about the size of an F-22 and use a full combined cycle propulsion system, according to Aviation Week.

Lockheed Martin optimistically plans to fly an FRV in the early 2020s. Following demonstrator flight testing, a full-scale twin-engine SR-72, about the same size as the SR-71, could achieve first flight before 2030.

Story continues

The SR-72 program has been under the hood for years, and details are still tantalizingly lacking. In the 2020s, however, we could finally see what Skunk Works has been up to for the past two decades.

Source: Aviation Week

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Louie Tan Vital, whose Facebook post has gone viral, in D.C. (Photo: Facebook/Louie Tan Vital)

The call for women to get involved in politics has grown increasingly loud since the start of Donald Trumps presidency. And one young woman who has heeded that call has shared a powerful, painfully honest Facebook post about what its been like to work in Washington D.C. these days.

I broke down at work yesterday, slumped against a hallway in Congress weeping. I could hear my sobs bouncing off the high ceiling. Is this business as usual? Im overwhelmed; its hard to breathe here. Working for Congress is like always being in crisis mode. Im forgetting how to eat, sleep, or relax, began the account by Louie Tan Vital, 22, a staff assistant who has been working in U.S. Congress for a Washington state Democrat for just one month now.

Vital went on to share both the pains and joys of being a congressional worker, posting it this week to both to her own Facebook page and to the private Pantsuit Nation group. There, since Wednesday, it has received 41,000 reactions and more than 7,300 comments, many of them thanking the young woman and cheering on her empathy and tenacity, telling her, keep fighting, thank you for not giving up, and you give me hope for our future.

Vital in the Philippines. (Photo: Facebook/Louie Tan Vital)

Vital, the daughter of immigrants from the Philippines, shared that she is the only Filipino she knows in Congress. She described the difficulties of her job: Constituents from around the country call everyday to share their hopes, fears, and anger. Its beautiful and painful and I cant help but absorb every word. Yesterday I sorted through a barrage of racist hate mail; people have said unspeakable things to me thinking Im not a person of color. These words follow me into my dreams The hardest part is not having time to mourn or process whats happening in the world Im exhausted and shaken. Im expected to have answers to questions Im too scared to ask myself

She added, I asked my colleagues here how to handle these daily beatings. They told me I will become numb to it all. That frightened me even more. Even if I could turn off my emotions, I wouldnt. My deep love and desire for community, and hatred for injustice is what brought me here in the first place.

Story continues

Speaking with Yahoo Beauty, Vital, who grew up in Hawaii before moving to Washington, explains that while she was student body president in high school, it wasnt until college that she was fully aware of becoming politicized. Thats because, as she explains it, As a young woman of color, my identity is inherently political I realized I cant go anywhere else but into politics.

Photo: Facebook/Louie Tan Vital

Having immigrant parents and being part of the Asian Pacific Islander community has also inspired her career choice. She studied abroad in the Philippines, she explains, noting, It was powerful to see what my life couldve been like there, where there is a history of dictatorship, marshal law, and corruption I can see and understand why the Filipino people [here] are scared of government. Plus, she says, many Filipino immigrants see America as the promised land and think America is perfect and so they dont need to get involved. Its part of why Vital hopes to set an example.

Being a woman in politics, and particularly a small, young-looking woman, brings further challenges. When she was working for Congress in the state of Washington, before arriving in D.C., she recalls, They would always think I was the intern. No, I was a legislative assistant! Vital frequently wonders if she should change her image in an attempt to be taken more seriously. Should I wear heels? More makeup? Its absolutely exhausting, she says. We are held to a double standard.

Then there is the daily reality of being in crisis mode, as she explained it in her post. When we are in session, our phones are ringing off the hook, plus Im answering emails and regular mail and faxes, and [greeting] lobbyists and constituents, she elaborates. I feel guilty trying to take a break, because theres always someone who wants to be heard. And I value civic engagement so much.

Sometimes people call with upsetting personal stories of poverty, healthcare, or disability woes, and everyone feels scared that theyre rights are being taken away and theyre not being heard. Calls can get abusive, she says. Theyll be screaming at me, they can tell Im a young woman so they can be kind of degrading, either angry about a vote [the Congressman cast], or just the country. I get a lot of people swearing at me, she says, some in regional insults which can sometimes, at least, make her giggle.

Many Facebook readers have made suggestions to Vital about how she can practice self-care  something shes still trying to figure out  when the stress gets overwhelming. Ive been reading through some of the gracious answers on the Pantsuit Nation post, like take a walk, do yoga, get Reiki  which is something I want to look into, she says.

But Vital says its an overwhelming sense of responsibility and privilege that keeps her fighting and determined. My family did not come from a province in the Philippines for me to give up. They came here just so I can be here in this hallway, she says. She also wants to be a visible force for other Filipino youth who may see themselves in her, and realize that government doesnt have to be for old white men in suits only. Maybe me just being here can be an act of resistance and rebellion to what the structure currently is, she says.

The earnest young womans parents met in Hawaii after her mother, now in real estate, became the first person in her village to come to the U.S. on a student visa, and her father, now an architect, was sponsored by his parents. I think theyre proud and also worried, Vital says of her parents. I shared the post and he told me he was crying, and said, Thats why I named you Louie. It can be man or womans name in Philippines. But here its definitely a mans name.

And shes not going to give up, noting in her Facebook post, If I dont fight my way into politics as a young woman, who else is going to do it?? We need a political pipeline to get young folks of color into these inaccessible places of power. I am the only Filipino I know in the United States House of Representatives, but Im looking forward to the day where I wont be.

Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style:

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Right of way

Huge infrastructural shortfalls make the Capital difficult for pedestrians to navigate
Three China Labor Watch investigators went into Huajian Group factories undercover posing as workers in March, April and May

(SHANGHAI)  Ivanka Trumps fashion brand sought to distance itself from a Chinese manufacturer that has come under scrutiny after activists investigating labor conditions there were detained, saying the company last made its products three months ago.

In a statement released Wednesday, the brands president, Abigail Klem, said Ivanka Trump shoes, which are made by licensing partner Mark Fisher, have not been produced since March at the Huajian Group factory where alleged labor abuses occurred. She added our licensee works with many footwear production factories and all factories are required to operate within strict social compliance regulations.

But it is unclear whether that was really the end of the relationship.

China Labor Watch, a New York nonprofit, began scrutinizing Ivanka Trump supply chains more than a year ago, according to Li Qiang, the groups executive director. Three China Labor Watch investigators went into Huajian Group factories undercover posing as workers in March, April and May of this year and found Ivanka Trump merchandise inside, Li said.

He said the investigators also found evidence of planned production, namely an April production schedule indicating pending orders for nearly 1,000 pairs of Ivanka Trump shoes due by the end of last month.

Now all three men are in jail, accused of using illegal recording devices to disrupt Huajians business. The U.S. State Department and Amnesty International have spoken out against the arrests. So far, Ivanka Trump and her brand have not.

China Labor Watch laid out its initial allegations in an April letter to Ivanka Trump. It said workers regularly put in more than 15 hours a day, with just two days off a month. It said most were paid by the piece, taking home just $363 a month for 300 hours of work, and that managers verbally abuse workers.

China Labor Watch expects you, as an assistant to the president and an advocate for womens rights, to urge your brands supplier factories to improve their conditions, Li wrote in the letter. Your words and deeds can make a difference in these factory workers lives.

Story continues

The Huajian Group says the undercover activists were out to steal trade secrets and denies the allegations of poor working conditions.

Some argue that the arrest of independent monitors threatens to hamper the ability of global companies to adequately monitor their Chinese suppliers. China has rebuffed the State Departments request to release the activists, saying the men will be dealt with under Chinas own sovereign laws.

China has swept up hundreds of human rights lawyers and labor activists in recent years and has scrutinized groups with foreign ties, like China Labor Watch, much more closely.

Alicia Edwards, a State Department spokeswoman, said this week that the U.S. is concerned by the pattern of arrests and detentions. Labor activists, she added, are instrumental in helping American companies understand conditions in their supply chains and holding Chinese manufacturers accountable under Chinese law.

Associated Press researcher Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed.
Samsung's next big smartphone release could come with some desired features -- but lack another many had hoped for.

The Galaxy Note is expected to sport a 6.3-inch screen. Credit: Concept Creator/YouTube

The Galaxy Note is expected to sport a 6.3-inch screen. Credit: Concept Creator/YouTube

First up, the good news. According to reports from South Korean media outlet Newsis, Samsung is planning to bundle a dual-lens camera in the Galaxy Note 8, making it the first high-end handset from the company to offer the feature. According to the report, Samsung will also keep the same 18.5:9 aspect ratio that it has in the Galaxy S8 line. However, the Galaxy Note 8 will come with a 6.3-inch display rather than the 6.2-inch screen offered by the Galaxy S8+, the report says.

While the report, which was earlier reported on by ZDNet, didn't say what the Galaxy Note 8 might look like, the site's sources said that Samsung has removed the physical home button from the handset. That decision, coupled with the other feature rumors, suggest Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 will look strikingly similar to the Galaxy S8+. However, unlike the big handset Samsung released earlier this year, the Galaxy Note 8 would support the S Pen stylus.

MORE: Galaxy Note 8 Will Have Galaxy S8's Big Missing Feature

There has been some hope that Samsung's decision to remove the physical home button in the Galaxy Note 8 would prompt the company to offer a fingerprint sensor baked into the screen. Samsung had reportedly considered the feature in the Galaxy S8, but it wasn't working well enough at the time of production, prompting the company to move the fingerprint sensor to an inconvenient spot next to the rear-facing camera.

A separate report from Naver, which was earlier discovered by SamMobile, cited a Samsung official, who said that the company "made every effort" to offer a screen-based fingerprint sensor. However, the company discovered that security concerns, among other technical problems, ultimately forced it to decide on a physical sensor.

Story continues

The Samsung official didn't say where the fingerprint sensor might be located on the Galaxy Note 8, but given the rash of complaints about its location in the Galaxy S8, Samsung might be wise to find a more central location on the rear of its upcoming handset.

Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy Note 8 towards the end of August, or as late as early September.

See also : Most Anticipated Phones of 2017
Lets not beat around the bush here: its been one heck of a week. Between Apples WWDC announcements, the continued rumor flood of future OnePlus and Samsung devices, and the little matter of the former FBI director testifying in front of Congress regarding potential wrongdoing by the President of the United States, you might just want to kind of get away. Southwest Airlines is offering a deal that will help you do just that, and for a ridiculously low price of just $49.

Don't Miss: Lets talk about the iPhone 8, which might make one of the worst design compromises weve ever seen

Southwests current promotion  which ends today, June 8th  includes flights to and from select cities for as cheap as just $49. Want to fly from El Paso, TX, to Los Angeles? Or from Houston to Memphis? How about Minneapolis to St. Louis? Those are just a few of the dozens and dozens of flights you can score for less than a fifty-spot.

There are lots of other discounted flights on offer, both to and from over 100 US cities, with most of the fares going for well under $100. All of these ultra-cheap flights booked via Southwest today can be taken from August 22nd through December 13th, so if you have any trips planned between now and the end of the year, this could help you save some serious cash.

Of course, theres a bit of fine print with these discounted flights, including that the prices arent valid on Fridays or Sundays, which is a bit of a bummer. Still, its hard to turn your nose up a $49 flights.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
Rivalry in high places

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Telia says it has no tax liability on Ncell deal

Days after tax authorities asked Sweden-based Telia to clear its tax liability on the Ncell buyout deal, the European telecommunications giant said that it wasnt required to pay taxes in Nepal.
US ambassador calls on PM Deuba

US Ambassador Alaina B Teplitz called on Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba at the latters office and congratulated him.
Woman horrifically attacked by hubby

A woman has suffered serious burn injuries in her face after her husband poured boiling oil on her in an appalling domestic violence incident in Dolakha.
Yadav urges RJP-Nepal tocontest polls together

Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal (SSF-N) Chairman Upendra Yadav has urged the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) to take part in the second phase of local level elections slatedfor June 28.
By Benjamin Jumbe

President Museveni has sounded a caution against any illegal land evictions.

Speaking at the 28th heroes day celebrations in Zirobwe,Luwero district, President Museveni said no land lord has a right to evict a bonafide occupant noting that they are protected by the law.

He also said no one should force anyone to get a land title, noting that it should be done by choice.

Meanwhile he encouraged the residents to embrace commercial farming arguing that it will create jobs in addition to manufacturing.

President Museveni hailed residents of Luwero triangle area for the support to the liberation struggle in which he says 300,000 people were lost.

He has pledged to set up a fruit factory in the area
A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Wednesday against a proposed Trempealeau County frac sand operation, finding that counties have the right to regulate conditional uses.

The case was brought by AllEnergy Corp. and its subsidiary, AllEnergy Silica, Arcadia, which had sought to operate a 265-acre frac sand mine and processing plant in the town of Arcadia.

In 2013, the Trempealeau County Environment and Land Use Committee voted 5-3 to deny the permit, saying AllEnergys application was rushed and incomplete; the proposed mine raised environmental concerns and would have adverse effects on the landscape, wildlife and recreation and posed risks to health, culture and social conditions.

AllEnergy challenged the decision in court, but La Crosse County Circuit Judge Elliott Levine found that evidence supported the committees decision. An appeals court later agreed, saying the court could not substitute its view for the committees and that the company has no intrinsic right to operate a frac sand mine since that is a conditional use subject to local government approval.

AllEnergy asked the Supreme Court to review, arguing its application met the legal requirements and that the committee didnt have the authority to judge its completeness.

They were answering the question should we have mines? said Gary Van Cleve, the attorney representing AllEnergy. That should be addressed to the board. The zoning committee doesnt have legislative authority.

The company also argued that the committee essentially approved the permit when it previously adopted 37 potential conditions before ultimately voting to deny the permit months after the county enacted a one-year moratorium on new frac mines.

The county denied the CUP for legislative reasons based on the public health, safety and welfare, and for reasons of public opposition that amounted to nothing more than uncorroborated hearsay, according to AllEnergys brief. In short, the CUP was denied because it sought approval of a sand mine and the people of the county wanted no more sand mines.

In a decision released Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the county acted within its jurisdiction and that there is evidence to support its denial of the permit.

The court denied what it called the new legal doctrine urged by AllEnergy, namely that an applicant for a conditional-use permit is entitled to the permit for a conditional use when it meets the specific conditions set forth in the ordinance and any additional conditions set forth, and that an applicant cannot be required to meet other conditions and standards in the ordinance.

Justices Daniel Kelly, Michael Gableman and Rebecca Bradley disagreed, saying the committee acted arbitrarily.

The Committee exceeded its jurisdiction when it took upon itself the task of determining whether a sand mine, as a general proposition, is an appropriate use of the AllEnergy Property. This is a determination already answered by the Trempealeau County Board, and the Committee had no authority to second-guess the wisdom of its decision, Kelly wrote in the dissent.

While concurring with the decision, Justice Annette Ziegler and Chief Justice Patience Roggensack said the court improperly waded into the constitutionality of Trempealeau County ordinances, making the decision potentially more far-reaching in effect than it should be.

Groups representing Wisconsin county and town governments, as well as the Wisconsin Realtors Association and Wisconsin Builders Association, argued in support of the countys right to limit land use. CSI Sands Ltd., which operates several mining companies including Superior Silica Sands, argued that a ruling in favor of AllEnergy would promote regulatory consistency.

Van Cleve said the decision was disappointing, in part because the justices differing opinions failed to establish a precedent.

The county issued a written statement praising the court for leaving such decisions in the hands of local bodies and recognizing the importance of giving a voice to local citizens who provide well-founded concerns instead of adopting AllEnergys argument which would have largely silenced the local citizens which zoning is meant to protect.

County Corporation Counsel Rian Radtke declined to answer questions, citing a separate pending civil rights lawsuit in which AllEnergy is seeking damages from the county for alleged due process violations. La Crosse County Circuit Judge Scott Horne has yet to rule on the countys effort to have that 2014 case thrown out.

Jackson County landowners look to courts to block frac sand mining MERRILLAN, Wis.  Ron Baerbock had never heard of frac sand when he moved to Jackson County 

AllEnergy is also seeking to open a 750-acre mine and processing facility in Jackson County, where some neighbors have sought to block the $130 million project on the grounds that the dust, noise, lights and blasting will create a nuisance. Horne is expected to decide this summer whether that case can proceed to trial.

Tom Lister, an attorney representing the Jackson County plaintiffs, said he didnt think the decision would have any bearing on his case.

Im just glad the Supreme Court is recognizing local control, Lister said.
The La Crosse Common Council voted 9-2 Thursday night to reduce the speed limit on Losey Boulevard to 25 mph from 30 mph.

At the same time, council members generally supported adding traffic calming measures when the roadway is repaved as a more effective way to improve safety and mitigate damage. Funding questions still need answers when it comes to Losey roadway repair and improvements.

Voting against dropping the speed limit were council members Jacqueline Marcou and Phillip Ostrem.

Marcou said her research, which involved speaking with the citys planning and engineering expert, led her to conclude that it makes the most sense to make any decision about the speed limit in coordination with roadway improvements.

She added that she has been accused of being anti-neighborhood, but that is not true. She said she wants to keep residents and kids safe, and that the city needs to look at what else it can do to improve the situation.

Although Ostrem was inclined to support reducing the speed limit, I have to be honest with you, I dont see any strong benefit, he said. The accident statistics that have been mentioned, they do matter, but even at 25 mph crossing Losey Boulevard is going to be a serious challenge. Were going to have to deal with that.

When we finally come up with the money to actually repair Losey Boulevard and if we do in fact narrow Losey Boulevard, we could revisit this speed limit change. I think (the speed limit would) more likely to be obeyed if the street is narrower than it is.

Council member Gary Padesky, who sponsored the change, urged the council to resist lowering the speed limit for a limited number of years. Such a limit could mean that someone years down the road would need to take up the cause if Losey remains unchanged, and he does not want to see anyone else go through the abuse he has received.

He referred to personal insults hurled his way over the radio.

Council President Martin Gaul urged the council to approve the lower speed limit for safety reasons, saying if they err, they should do it on the side of the families and the neighborhood.

Council member David Marshall presented statistics demonstrating significant risk of severe injury or death to pedestrians is lower with just a 5 mph drop.

He also talked about being shaken by seeing a near accident a few weeks ago involving a couple of children trying to cross Losey. The situation is a tragedy waiting to happen, he said.

Council member Patrick Brever supported lowering the speed limit despite voicing concern about the cost of changing the signs. He said the Street Department told him it would cost about $650. Spending that to improve pedestrian safety would not be wasteful, he said Thursday.

Council member Barb Jansen supported 25 mph as a short-term measure.

We want a long-term solution, she said, adding that as well as traffic calming measures, they need to make people understand that there are children close to the road and that its a neighborhood.

Council member Andrea Richmond asked whether it would be appropriate to reinstate the 30 mph limit after the boulevard is improved.

A number of council members noted that future councils are not bound by their decision Thursday. They could change the speed limit a year down the line or whenever desired.

Also Thursday:

The Rev. Corey Sateren of Bethany Church delivered the invocation to begin Thursdays meeting.

Cudahy, Wis., native Ryan Scheels time as a probationary firefighter for La Crosse has successfully come to an end. His fiancee, Taylan Johnson, pinned on him his badge lifting him to the status of La Crosse firefighter. The 24-year-old joined the department on May 2, 2016.

In May, 74 percent of property owners complied with orders to correct various ordinance problems issued by the La Crosse Fire Department Division of Fire Prevention and Building Safety, according to its monthly report. The lowest compliance rate (56 percent) was with orders to repair buildings. The highest compliance rate (97 percent) was for orders regarding open storage. The city has issued 1,870 orders this year through May.

The Fire Department Division of Fire Prevention and Building Safety collected $67,671 in fees in May. Building permits ($28,459) led the way. Followed by electrical permits ($10,985) and plumbing permits ($10,981) There are 18 fee categories listed in the May report.

Mayor Tim Kabat made these appointments to the Alcohol Working Committee: Roger Christians, Jacqueline Marcou, Patrick Brever, Richard Swantz and Michael Brown.
Elementary school students didnt have many STEM options, so Marisa Canizales and her classmates created one.

Marisa, a 12-year-old student at Rym Fire Elementary School in Palm Coast, Fla., was one of more than 2,000 students participating in the Future Problem Solving Program International Conference held at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse this week. Marisas group was one of two sent by her school to compete in the community problem-solving portion of the conference Thursday afternoon where she and her classmates had an hour to put together a display highlighting their project.

Called The Hammock, Marisa and her classmates came up with the idea of a science, technology, engineering and mathematics maker space geared toward students in kindergarten through second grade. Filled with toys, resources and materials, the space allows the kids to explore and build, helping them develop creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

In order to get their project off the ground, the group of fifth- and sixth-grade students from Rym Fire spent the past school year meeting together, writing grants and deciding how to use the funds. They decided what kind of furniture would be best for the maker space, as well as toys, equipment and even the paintings and photographs they hung in the space to inspire students.

The maker space is important to us, fellow group member Bryce Willis said. Kids get to learn more than they could in classrooms.

These kinds of ideas are what the Future Problems Solvers program is all about, community problem-solving coordinator Brenda Porter said. Along with solving problems at the community level, the conference includes competitions where students tackle global problems, as well as tackle this years scenario which focuses on the issue of biosecurity.

Founded in 1974 by creativity pioneer, Dr. E. Paul Torrance, the problem solvers program stimulates critical and creative thinking skills and encourages students to develop their ideas about the future. Students in grades four through 12 and representing more than 15 countries competed at the conference which opened on Thursday and runs through Sunday morning with an awards ceremony at 8:45 a.m.

The students are grouped into three divisions: junior, middle and senior, with each division being evaluated and scored by conference judges.

For the community problem-solving competition, students had to submit a six-page report and another six-page addendum highlighting the research and what went into their projects.

Projects ranged the gamut from an elementary school that researched local watersheds in Georgia and worked to improve the creek and watershed located on their campus. Another student from Australia invented a mobile app and awareness campaign on the threat humans pose to sharks, which are killed in massive numbers by human actions.

Nadine Lee and Kyumin Lee from Raffles Girls School in Singapore were part of an all-girl group that created an awareness campaign and education materials on the threat of sexual grooming of minors by abusers. The students spent more than a year researching the topic and generating resources that teachers and parents can use and were excited to be able to share their project and meet with students from other countries such as India, Turkey and others.

It is very crucial for students like us (to come together), Kyumin said. We have been given the opportunity to come up with solutions in our communities. We will be our communitys future leaders and we will be the ones to handle these issues in the future.

One group or individual in each division in the community problem-solving competition will be named a grand champion. There is also an optional award, titled the Beyonder, which is given out at the judges discretion for projects that are so far beyond their peers and deserve special recognition. In past years, groups were given the award for projects such as a device for hearing impaired students that can be tied into a schools bell and/or fire alarm system and which has been fielded interest from tech companies, Porter said.

The real impact of the conference is that it gets kids from all over the world to come together to solve problems, she said. They can do things and think of solutions we as adults would think are impossible.

The real impact of the conference is that it gets kids from all over the world to come together to solve problems. They can do things and think of solutions we as adults would think are impossible. Brenda Porter, community problem-solving coordinator
True story: Uncle Daves son is Dave. Cousin Daves sister marries a Dave. Naturally, Cousin Daves dog is named, you guessed it  Harvey.

Enter Mt Katahdin, the highest point in Maine. For years, Uncle Dave (Doc) and Cousin Dave served on the Mt Katahdin rescue team.

Late one afternoon, the park ranger calls Doc at home. A hiker took a wrong turn and is glued to a cliffside. Doc says the Daves dont do night rescues and its 4 p.m. The ranger says a helicopter is enroute.

While Doc holds the ropes, Dave scales the cliff and instructs the stricken hiker how to rappel to the ground. Non-fake mission accomplished.

On the return, the helicopter lands at a remote airport to refuel. The pilot and the gas guy begin shouting. The gas guy will accept Visa, MasterCard and even S&H Green Stamps, but he wont accept a Maine State credit card.

As the helicopter flies home on fumes, Doc does the math: The Daves survive a perilous landing at Katahdin; survive peeling a casual climber off a cliff; and now theyre gonna die because the helicopter runs out of gas over a lousy credit card.

The ending? Happy but barely.
The deadline to sign up for this free community event that is open to all is Nov. 16.

Kennebunk Post

"We need to invest in our kids," said resident Brenda Robinson. "That's how we keep graffiti out of Waterhouse Center and mischief out of the downtown on Saturday night."
Yang Chongwei, the current deputy head of the Office for Personal Data Protection (GPDP), was confirmed yesterday as the next coordinator of the privacy watchdog. The Government Spokesperson Office issued a statement indicating that the Chief Executive has received Vasco Fongs letter of resignation. Vasco Fong is set to return to the Court of Second Instance on July 1. From then on Yang Chongwei will lead the GPDP.

New wholesale market in September

The president of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM), Jose Tavares, announced that the citys new wholesale market is expected to commence operations in September. Currently, 150 applicants are waiting to start running their businesses in the new market, and it is planned that all 150 will eventually enter the market. A few government departments, such as the citys food safety center and IACMs hygiene supervision department, will be stationed in the market to conduct direct hygiene supervisions and quarantines. The new market occupies an area of 40,000 square meters, consisting of a seven-story building with three basement floors, with the whole space doubling that of the current wholesale market.

Woman manipulates grandson to steal

A local woman aged around 50 has been arrested after manipulating her one-year-old grandson to steal items from clothing shops. Last month, the toddler took one necklace and one pair of earrings from a shop located at Mercado de S. Lourenco, having later given the products to his grandmother. Without making any payments, the woman left the shop with her grandson, resulting in the shop losing MOP500 worth of goods. On Wednesday, the Public Security Police Force arrested the woman, who confessed to the crime.

Chow Tai Fook reports slight revenue increase

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd posted a 4 percent rise in net profit for the year ending March 2017 as retail spending improved amidst the recovery in tourist arrivals in Hong Kong and Macau. The full-year net profit of the company rose to HKD3.06 billion from HKD2.94 billion in the previous year. The results were slightly lower than the HKD3.11 billion forecast of 14 analysts polled by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Full-year revenue dropped 9.4 percent to HKD51.25 billion from HKD56.59 billion a year ago, the retailer said. Revenue in the second half rose 4.4 percent from the previous year.

UM student receives award for research paper

A masters student from the University of Macau (UM) Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, Li Pengpeng, was the sole first prize recipient at the First National Academic Forum for Postgraduates of Pharmacy, for her paper titled Pharmaceutical Co-innovation Network: Global Patterns and the Role of China.

The forum received 340 submissions from 61 well-known universities, including China Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University and Peking University. Using a complex system approach to visualize the evolution of the global pharmaceutical co-innovation network, Lis study provides a detailed analysis of the locations of pharmaceutical innovation and cross-regional collaboration, as cited in a statement issued by UM.
The mastermind behind Singapores counterfeit chip scam was jailed on Wednesday, after being convicted of 13 counts of engaging in a conspiracy to exchange fake chips for cash at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino.

With the assistance of Malaysian police, along with Macaus Judiciary Police, Toh Hock Thiam was arrested in Malaysia on December 31, 2015.

Toh created SGD1,000 worth of fake chips that, according to Singapores Casino Regulatory Authority, looked authentic, and were the best quality that the bureau had examined.

The perpetrator had already exchanged 1,291 counterfeit chips, before a cashier recognized a slight discoloration in one of them, a week after.

MBS suffered a loss of almost SGD1.3 million.

Toh, 55, underwent a 14-day trial and was convicted of 13 counts of engaging in a plot that is aimed at exchanging fake chips for cash. The court heard 161 similar charges involving the chips and one count of an immigration offence was also taken into consideration during sentencing, the Straits Times reported.

Prosecutor Asoka Markandu said Toh was directly responsible for 420 counterfeit chips, but the court heard he could be indirectly held accountable for the total losses MBS sustained.

As the counterfeit cash chips were all the same, an inference can be drawn that Toh was either involved in the manufacture and distribution of all the counterfeit cash chips, or he had liaised with an unknown syndicate member who had manufactured and delivered the counterfeit cash chips to him and others involved in the scam, said the prosecutor.

The MBS casino also confirmed that the chips did not possess all the security features found in a genuine ones. However, the features the fake chips did not replicate are not visible to the naked eye and can only be detected with special equipment at the cashiers cage.

Further, Toh was also responsible for recruiting two accomplices who helped him distribute the chips, collect money and recruit runners.
First they took her husband. Then they tried to silence her. But Deng Guilian, wife of one of three China Labor Watch activists arrested while investigating labor conditions in Ivanka Trumps supply chain, has a lot to say about what life is like in China when you disobey the ruling Communist Party.

Deng, 36, has joined the swelling ranks of families on the wrong side of Chinas economic and political miracle. In recent years, Beijing has detained hundreds of human rights lawyers and labor activists in a sweeping crackdown on perceived threats to the Communist Party. In many cases, families lose their primary  or only  source of income. But their struggles are more than just financial. The Chinese government wields great power over the lives of its citizens, which it can use to make things better, or infinitely worse.

Deng has faced multiple police interrogations, near daily phone calls or visits from local police and party officials, pressure from family members, shame before her neighbors, and repeated admonitions not to speak with the foreign media.

Do not let your husbands crime turn into something like leaking state secrets, Deng said she was told. They spoke so seriously. Anyway, I dont understand, but it was just terrifying.

Still, she has kept talking, speaking with The Associated Press for hours about her familys plight. Chinese authorities have alternated between threats and sweet enticements, offering to help her sick mother, connect her house to the municipal water supply, and support her financially, spilling out a vision of how good life could be if she would just stop talking and come back into the fold.

But she wont.

She said she cant understand what is so threatening about her story, or what her husband, who was only trying to make society better for everyone, had done wrong.

I have an unknown tenacity, she said.

Her husband, Hua Haifeng, and his colleagues, Li Zhao and Su Heng, worked with a New York nonprofit called China Labor Watch. They are being detained in Ganzhou, a city in southeastern Chinas Jiangxi province, for allegedly using illegal recording devices and cameras to disrupt operations of the Huajian Group, which has made shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands. When they were arrested, the men were finishing a report alleging low pay, excessive overtime, crude verbal abuse and possible misuse of student labor at Huajian factories.

Huajian denies those allegations. Ivanka Trumps brand says no merchandise has been made there since March and that all suppliers must meet strict social compliance regulations.

Ivanka Trump herself, who stepped back from day-to-day operations of the brand but still retains ownership, has said nothing.

Deng wishes she would, and believes she could help.

As a wife and mother of two children, I ask Ivanka Trump to release my husband, she said.

Dengs life as a wife and mother changed radically after police called her May 30 and said her husband had been arrested. He had disappeared two days earlier.

She was interrogated for more than three hours one night by four men who pulled their chairs in a tight circle around her. Each one was like a wolf, she said.

A second interrogation left Deng in tears, but also determined to help her husband. She got standing-room-only tickets for herself, her sister-in-law and her son on the next train to Ganzhou, a 12-hour ride from her home in Hubei province.

Huajian is a big commercial player in Ganzhou, a city better known for its oranges than its factories. The shoe factory sits in a complex of Huajian buildings, all painted the same pale blue, including rows of Huajian apartment towers, a Huajian innovation park and a Huajian school.

Deng was not allowed to see her husband but she found him a lawyer and bought meal cards and clothes for all three investigators, burning through half the money in her modest rainy-day fund.

She was living off loans from relatives, which she found humiliating. She wished she had never quit her job to take care of the family.

But she was unafraid as she boarded the train home Wednesday. China is a country of laws, she believed, and as long as she didnt break them, nothing bad would happen.

Then again, there was her husband, who she thought had done nothing wrong and was at that very moment in jail, eating bad food and sleeping by a plastic bucket used as a toilet by 20 men who had been ordered not to speak to him. At least he hadnt been beaten.

At 1:12 p.m., the green train to Xiangyang city eased forward, carrying Deng and her son off to an uncertain future. Erika Kinetz, Ganzhou, AP
Holding a doctorate in Public International Law from the University of Leuven (Belgium), Ana Sofia Barros has returned to Macau, a region where she lived for 12 years during her childhood, to speak about hazardous industries and the protection of environmental rights.

Her presentation was held this week during an event organized by the European Union Academic Programme in Macau (EUAP-M) at the Rui Cunha Foundation, where the expert said that Macau could benefit from Chinas role in the recently signed Paris Agreement.

With the Paris Agreement and with the intervention of China that will reinforce its commitment on the fight against climate change, I think this creates an interesting momentum because it implies a lot of effort [will be undertaken] against the number of vehicles in circulation and in the building of means to recover and store energy.

There will be a series of measures that from now on will be taken to prevent the goals [established and agreed] from being overrun by the emissions of greenhouse gases, she added, and invariably this will interfere with what is happening in Macau.

The academic clarified that she has very positive feelings about recent events.

As Barros explained during the talk, the current trend in Europe and in parts of the American and African continents is that environmental protection is connected to human rights and to the right of people to demand a good living environment. This concept involves the interpretation of the Human Rights Declaration and its relation to other human rights documents, she said.

Where the Asian continent is concerned, the expert said that although there some people requesting improved environmental conditions, there arent exactly any case logs [in the courts]. She noted that this may be due to the fact that human rights are not yet widely discussed in many Asian countries. However, Barros feels this is a fact that is likely to change soon.

Questioned on the sidelines of the event, Barros noted that the main inspiration that can be drawn for Macau and Asian countries from those in Europe is the example of the recognition that individuals have environmental rights and participation rights and that people are fundamental in the decision-

making process and that their voices and interests need to be taken into account when [governments or private organizations] take decisions that carry environmental impact.

Regarding specifically the SAR, she mentioned that, although there is not a clear pollutant industry, there is an overload of vehicles that are pollutant.

There arent really electric vehicles [being operated in large numbers] and there is also a problem with waste treatment, she said, adding that there are quite a few environmental issues to be addressed in Macau.

As for the biggest challenge for the region, Barros believes it is the lack of operationalization of the existing law, noting that, although environmental protection is safeguarded by the Basic Law, an operationalization into a real environmental law has never been realized.

Commenting on the decision of the USA to abandon the Paris Agreement, the specialist said: It is not yet possible to acknowledge the real impact of such a decision.

Inside the country [the US], there are many mayors and companies that are willing to compromise directly with the United Nations to respect the maximum ceiling that was agreed, concluding that the power exercised at a local level can be a very important balance to Trumps decision.
Wong Kin Mou, the director of the Department of Research and Educational Resources of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ), said that the DSEJ does not fully endorse the widespread adoption of Mandarin as the medium of instruction for Chinese language courses.

Wong, during a TDM radio show on Wednesday, claimed that DSEJ regards Cantonese and Mandarin as equally important.

Recently, DSEJ Director Leong Lei mentioned that Macau would work to improve the Mandarin skills of lecturers of Chinese subjects. Leis statement triggered a discussion among Chinese parents.

Some parents support the idea of using Mandarin to teach Chinese because they believe that an additional language offers advantages to the future development of students.

On the contrary, the president of the Macau Yue Dialects Association, Tong Choi Lan, who also attended the show, indicated that Mandarin does not help in improving the students Chinese ability.

Tong emphasized that Cantonese should not be suppressed by Mandarin just because the latter is the national language.

A member of the audience who identified only as Chan, said he loves the country and loves Macau, but, did not agree with using Mandarin to teach Chinese. Despite the Chief Executive Chuis Mandarin not being standard, and being mocked by other people, he has still managed to touch state leaders with his sincere oath-taking, said Chan. He went on to note that to make the students speak fluent Mandarin, they might need to speak Mandarin even at home.

Would it become the society we want to see? Portuguese people did not do it, regardless of how bad they were, said Chan.

Meanwhile, other people are worried about other parties trying to transfer mainland culture to Macau and expedite the SARs assimilation. JZ
The operators of Resorts World Manila (RWM) are being accused of failing to employ appropriate security measures at the casinos entrance during a fatal attack on June 2.

Speaking at a House of Representatives inquiry, Chairman and CEO of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), Andrea Domingo slammed the security system at the gambling resort.

From our assessment, there was a real lack of security at the entrance and parking lots of Resorts World Manila, because theres hardly any presence in the area of adequate and competent and properly equipped personnel, Domingo said, cited by the Philippines Inquirer. Even inside the elevator, this person [the attacker] is already putting on his mask, already putting on his bonnet. And they were able to monitor that. I think there are no ifs and buts about it. The hotels security is really lacking.

Thirty-seven patrons and employees died during the attack. Most of the casualties were due to smoke inhalation when the victims were hiding in one of the casinos VIP rooms on the second floor. The attacker was a heavily indebted Filipino gambling addict who set fire to gaming tables in an attempt to steal money from the casino, according to police. His name was Jessie Carlos  a married father of three and former Finance Department employee who owed more than USD80,000  and he was later found dead on the fifth floor of a hotel connected to the complex. According to the police, he shot himself after having set fire to the empty room he had burst into.

The RWM management seems to have different views on the attack. The resorts chief operating officer, Stephen Reilly, admitted shortcomings. I say theres lapses in security. When we played the first videos, I pointed out there should have been security personnel posted at certain points and they were not present, he said.

RWM president Kingson Sian directed focus elsewhere, pointing out that 12,100 guests were evacuated successfully. Sian said that heat and smoke from the burning gaming tables had caused CCTV cameras to fail, making it impossible to locate the victims. Sian said that many of those who passed away hid in a very small pantry and died from suffocation and smoke inhalation while hiding from the gunman.

According to the inquiry, Carlos entered the resort after overpowering a lone female security guard, who was working for RWMs security agency, NC Lanting Security Specialist Agency.
Fishermen joined navy and air force personnel yesterday in recovering bodies and aircraft parts from the sea off Myanmar, where a military plane carrying 122 people including 15 children crashed a day earlier, officials said.

The four-engine Chinese-

made Y-8 turboprop aircraft had left Myeik, also known as Mergui, heading for Yangon on a route over the Andaman Sea. It was raining, but not heavily, at the time contact was lost with it at 1:35 p.m. Wednesday, when it was southwest of the city of Dawei, formerly known as Tavoy.

The military announced that the bodies of 29 people had been recovered by late yesterday afternoon  20 women, eight children and one man. In many cases, the bodies were not recovered whole, said a military officer involved in the recovery operation.

More than 1,000 people, including volunteers from dozens of community mutual aid societies with their vehicles, gathered on the beach at San Hlan village in Laung Lone township, which served as a landing point for recovery operations.

The bodies, fetched from the sea and taken aboard large fishing vessels and navy ships, had been transferred to smaller boats which hauled them into shallow water at the beach, where soldiers put the body bags on stretchers and carried them to waiting trucks. The process had been delayed for several hours by heavy rain and choppy seas.

Local fishermen joined nine navy ships, five military aircraft and three helicopters in the search, military spokesman Gen. Myat Min Oo said. One of the first finds by the searchers was of two life jackets, bodies and an aircraft wheel in the sea west of Laung Lone, he announced earlier.

The plane carried 108 passengers  mostly military personnel and their families  and 14 crew members, according to an announcement on the Facebook page of military Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, which originally gave slightly lower numbers. Fifteen of the passengers were children. It is not unusual for such flights to carry civilians to offset transportation costs for military families stationed in the somewhat remote south.

The Facebook page, the main source of official information about the crash, said the plane, carrying about 2.4 tons of cargo in addition to the 122 people aboard, was received in March last year and since then had logged 809 flying hours. It said the pilot and co-pilot both had more than 3,100 hours of flying experience.

The area is about 700 kilometers north of the last primary radar contact with Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished on a flight from Malaysia to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board. That plane is believed to have flown far off course and crashed into a remote area of the southern Indian Ocean. Esther Htusan, San Hlan, AP
North Koreas latest launches of several suspected anti-ship missiles were short-range and landed well short of past efforts, but they still served as a defiant message for its enemies that Pyongyang will continue to pursue a weapons program that has rattled its neighbors and Washington.

The projectiles were fired yesterday from the North Korean eastern coastal town of Wonsan and likely flew about 200 kilometers, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said. They landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, where U.S. aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan participated in joint exercises with the South Korean navy that ended earlier this week.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, a liberal who has expressed a desire to reach out to Pyongyang, said during a National Security Council meeting he wont back off even a single step and make any compromise on the issue of national security. He warned that North Korea could only face further international isolation and more economic difficulties.

The Norths missile tests present a difficult challenge to Moon. North Korea, which could have a working nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile in the next several years, may also be the most urgent foreign policy concern for the Trump administration, which has been distracted by domestic political turmoil and has insisted China do more to rein in the Norths weapons activities.

South Korean military spokesman Roh Jae-cheon said the launch was intended to show off Pyongyangs widening arrange of missiles and also its precision strike capabilities on ships in response to the joint drills.

North Koreas weapons tests are meant to build a nuclear and missile program that can stand up to what it sees as U.S. and South Korean hostility, but they are also considered by outside analysts as ways to make its political demands clear to leaders in Washington and Seoul. Analysts say the latest test appeared to be aimed at keeping up pressures on Moon to wrest concessions.

Moon has sought to expand cross-border civilian exchanges as a way to improve ties, but North Korea on Monday rejected a Seoul civic groups offer to provide anti-malaria supplies to protest South Koreas support of fresh U.N. sanctions adopted last week.

In what will likely become another source of animosities, Moons government said yesterday that it will let two of the four North Korean fishermen recently rescued at sea resettle in the South in accordance with their wishes. The two other fishermen who want to return home will be repatriated.

Pyongyang is expected to demand the return of all four fishermen by accusing Seoul of enticing them to defect to the South.

The launches yesterday were North Koreas fourth missile test since Moons inauguration on May 10.

Analyst Kim Dong-yub at Seouls Institute for Far Eastern Studies said the projectiles, which showed longer range than North Koreas previously known KN-01 anti-ship cruise missiles, were likely from a new cruise missile system the North displayed during a massive April 15 military parade. The improved range indicates North Korea is pursuing weapons capable of reaching U.S. aircraft carriers that operate from deeper positions, he said.

Last month, North Korea premiered a powerful new midrange missile that outside experts said flew higher than any other missile previously tested by North Korea.

The North in following weeks launched a solid-fuel midrange missile that can be fired on shorter notice than liquid fuel missiles, and also what it descried a new precision-guided missile, which experts say is designed with a maneuverable terminal stage meant to frustrate missile defense systems like the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense that is being deployed in South Korea. Hyung-Jin Kim & Kim Tong-Hyung, Seoul
Consul General of the United States to Hong Kong and Macau, Kurt Tong, says he will aggressively push for visa-free entry to the US for Hong Kong and Macau residents, noting that one of his priorities is to encourage more people to travel to the US.

However, it is still up to the United States Congress to pass a bill on the matter. A relevant bill has been languishing in legislative limbo for three years, as cited in a report issued by the South China Morning Post.

Tong told the media outlet that it is simpler to acquire a 10-year visa.

Its not impossible that Congress would pass legislation that would allow us to not have the visa process for bearers of Hong Kong passports, Tong said. And if Congress were to pass that rule, then there would be no one more aggressive than myself and the consulate in trying to implement that possibility as quickly as possible.

Macau and Hong Kong are not included among the 38 countries or regions in the waiver program that permits individuals to travel to America for tourism or business for up to 90 days without requiring a visa.

Back in 2013, a democrat from Hawaii, Senator Mazie Hirono, made an attempt to include Hong Kong in the program, but the House of Representatives refused to take up the bill, even after it was passed in the Senate.

The democrat introduced the same amendment again in 2014, but received no further response after it was referred to the Senates judicial committee.

Data showed that refusal rate for business or tourist visa applications for Hong Kong SAR passport holders was 4.61 percent last year.

The number of non-immigrant visas issued to Hong Kong SAR passport holders increased in 2016 with a total of 68,834 visas approved, compared to 61,288 in the previous year.
Yahoo! Inc. shareholders approved the USD4.48 billion sale of the companys main web properties to Verizon Communications Inc., clearing the last major hurdle for a deal announced almost a year ago.

The company said it expects to hand over its web assets to the telecommunications giant on June 13, according to a statement yesterday. The transaction had earlier been delayed by revelations of massive privacy breaches and a reduction in the price from $4.8 billion.

Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer agreed to the sale last year after a four-year turnaround effort failed to stem a slide in advertising revenue. Verizon will seek to use Yahoos web audience to push deeper into content and expand beyond its central business of connecting people to the internet, cable channels and their smartphones. Yahoo will become part of a new Verizon unit called Oath that will include media content and digital services like email. The division will also incorporate businesses Verizon added when it bought AOL, another faded internet pioneer, for $4.4 billion in 2015.

In addition to the vote on the transaction, shareholders also approved the advisory vote on compensation for top executives in connection with the Verizon deal. Mayers golden parachute, worth about $30 million, includes a $3.02 million severance and $25,081 in benefits. The remainder is about 491,000 shares that will pay out ahead of schedule. They were valued at roughly $26.9 million after Yahoos shares rose to $54.76 by 12:11 p.m. in New York.

Late last year, the deal was thrown into question after the Sunnyvale, California-

based web portal revealed widespread cyberattacks during Mayers tenure that exposed hundreds of millions of users online information. In September, Yahoo disclosed a 2014 breach that affected at least 500 million customer accounts. Then, the company said in December that hackers in 2013 siphoned information including users email addresses, scrambled account passwords and dates of birth. In February, Yahoo and New York-based Verizon agreed to drop the purchase price by $350 million.

What remains of Yahoo after the sale, when the will be renamed Altaba Inc., will be the most valuable parts of the current company: stakes in Chinas Alibaba Group Holding Inc. and Yahoo Japan that are worth more than $40 billion. Altaba, which will be led by current Yahoo director Thomas McInerney, will share ongoing legal responsibilities related to the security breaches. Brian Womack, Bloomberg
IDAHO FALLS (AP)  Officials are concerned cellphone communications could be obstructed when massive crowds of people flock to eastern Idaho to witness the upcoming eclipse.

The eclipse coming in August is expected to bring up to 500,000 people to the area, the Post Register reported. Emergency managers have been working to develop plans to deal with outages, as well as the host of other situations that could arise with such a large influx of visitors.

Youre looking at something really big, so cell towers are going to be jammed, said Andi Anderson, manager of the Bonneville County Dispatch Center.

In 2013, authorities experienced communication issues when somebody drowned in the Snake River during the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration, where about 50,000 people were gathered.

Emergency responders have radios that arent tied to cell coverage, and they are even working to use ham radios as a backup.

For emergency responders, we are building a communication plan for our region, Idaho Falls Fire Chief Hanneman said. We are aware of the potential for cellphone coverage going out. What weve been told is especially during the totality part, if people try video streaming it will probably shut the system down.

Multi-county exercises are planned for next month, where emergency responders will test their ability to handle a variety of scenarios, including situations where communication is impaired, Hanneman said.

Representatives of AT&T said theyre working on putting more infrastructure in place ahead of the eclipse, including a mobile cell tower referred to as a Cell on Wheels, COW for short.
TWIN FALLS  This film gives an inside look at the lives of refugees in camps.

The community is invited to the screening of the film Warehoused at 7 p.m. June 23 in the KMVT Community Room, 1100 Blue Lakes Blvd. N. in Twin Falls. Admission is free but seats are limited. Tickets are available by calling 208-736-2166.

The College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center is showing the film to help the local community understand the lives of refugees living in camps before arriving in towns like Twin Falls.

Warehoused gives an intimate look at the plight long-term refugees face worldwide, says a statement from the CSI Refugee Center. The term warehoused refers to people who have been restricted to camps or segregated settlements for more than five years. These refugees are deemed unfit to reside in regular society  either for their protection or because there is no other place for them.

The film looks at this global phenomenon by exploring life in Dadaab, Kenya, one of the largest refugee camps in the world. The story follows one mans journey to provide for his family at all costs.

The number of refugees in the world has reached the highest level ever recorded at 65 million people, according to figures published by the United Nations in 2016.

However, this film and the characters in it are not unique, says a statement from the CSI Refugee Center. They rather magnify the much larger problems that long-term refugees have faced for centuries. Warehoused tells the story of these courageous refugees and accentuates how vital the role that nations and organizations have in the lives of millions of people who are simply in search of home.
BOISE  Idaho Republicans are pleased with the Interior Departments planned review of federal sage grouse conservation efforts, but environmental groups worry it would hurt protections for the birds.

Im encouraged by Secretary (Ryan) Zinkes commitment to review the Obama administrations draconian sage grouse plans, Gov. C.L. Butch Otter said in a statement. The secretarial order appropriately recognizes the states as being full and equal partners in the management and conservation of greater sage grouse in the West. I look forward to working with the secretary and his agency to address our concerns and bring about meaningful and necessary changes to the federal plan in Idaho.

But John Robison, public lands director at the Idaho Conservation League, worried changing the plans could make it more likely that sage grouse will be listed as endangered down the road and increase uncertainty for the rural communities most affected by regulations protecting the birds habitat.

While the (Bureau of Land Managements) plans arent perfect from anyones perspective, they are a huge step forward in protecting Idahos wildlife heritage, not just for sage grouse but for other species, and for providing certainty for Idahoans who use these landscapes, he said. Any efforts to undo these plans brings a lot of risk with it for both sage grouse and for Idahoans who helped craft them.

Sage grouse range across 11 Western states, including southern Idahos sagebrush steppes, and their numbers have fallen sharply as fires, invasive grasses and human activity and development have encroached on their habitat. The Obama administration announced in 2015 that the birds would not be listed as endangered while also seeking to protect their habitat through increased land-use restrictions.

Idaho sued, saying the federal government had wrongly ignored the states conservation efforts. The suit was dismissed in January on the grounds that the state lacked standing; an appeal is pending. Interior Secretary Zinke, though, on Wednesday announced a review of the 2015 plans.

While the federal government has a responsibility under the Endangered Species Act to responsibly manage wildlife, but destroying local communities and levying onerous regulations on the public lands that they rely on is no way to be a good neighbor, Zinke said.

Republican governors in Idaho, Utah and Nevada all would prefer the plan give them more flexibility and rely less on habitat preservation and more on numbers of birds in a state, Zinke said in a conference call with reporters. But Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Republican Gov. Matt Mead of Wyoming have both said they oppose such an approach.

Secretary Zinke has found a new way to imperil the threatened sage grouse: through executive action, said Bobby McEnaney, deputy director of the Western Renewable Energy Project of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Forget climate change, expanding land developments, or ongoing impacts from the fossil fuel industry. By single-handedly upending this agreement, Secretary Zinke might just have landed the decisive blow to the sage grouse, and the unique sagebrush habitat of the American West.

Idahos two Republican congressmen praised Zinkes announcement. U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, whose district covers the Magic Valley, called it a positive first step.

Given the impact these plans have in Idaho, it is imperative that we get this right, Simpson said. I heard concerns from Idahoans that they were ignored in what was supposed to be a collaborative process between the states and federal government. I look forward to the Department of Interior working hand in hand with states to make meaningful reforms to the management plans that reflect the input of local and state officials.

I strongly opposed the Obama administrations restrictions on land use because of their potentially disastrous impact on Idahos economy, and Im pleased the Trump administration has taken a new approach that will better incorporate the concerns of Western stakeholders, said U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador. When it comes to responsible land use, the best decisions are made by those closest to the ground, and thats especially true in Idaho.

U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, are co-sponsors of a bill introduced in February to let states implement their own land management plans. Both said they were pleased with Zinke's review.

"This will give sage grouse management a new direction whereby we can gain more collaboration from those affected," Risch said in an email. "Ultimately, this will be better for the landscape because the local stewards of sage grouse habitat will have more input this process.

"We heard from many Idahoans that the prior administration may not have been taking into account the on-the-ground measures taken in Idaho to protect the grouse," said Crapo spokesman Lindsay Nothern. "We trust those actions will be part of the new review going forward."

Robison expressed concerns about proposals to raise sage grouse in captivity, or on focusing on predators as the cause of declining numbers  habitat loss, he said, is the real threat. What good would it be, he asked, to raise and release birds without enough habitat for them?

Sage grouse numbers naturally fluctuate over time, he said. And that is as a result of natural conditions and weather patterns, and as long as we protect the habitat that sage grouse and other wildlife depend on, we feel very confident that Idahos sage grouse will continue into the future. We know that artificially inflating populations isnt a practical way to address the real issue.
BURLEY  Plans are underway for a new Mini-Cassia airport, but it could be years before a single plane takes off.

Were approximately seven years out from having a new airport, Burley City Administrator Mark Mitton said. I hope we can keep this one open long enough.

The next step is an environmental study at a site chosen by the task force overseeing the project. Officials have announced plans to close the Burley airport because it no longer meets safety guidelines. The site for the new airport, where the environmental study will begin, is south of Interstate 84 near Exit 216.

Costs to build the airport at the preferred site chosen by the airport task force last year are estimated at $30 million, with the Federal Aviation Administration picking up 90 percent and the state chipping in up to 5 percent.

Final cost estimates are subject to change, Mitton said during a Mini-Cassia Chamber of Commerce luncheon held Thursday in Burley.

There may be updated costs presented at the meeting next week, he said.

Its not going to be a large amount of money, Mitton said about the local share. If you were going to buy a new car and someone was going to pay 90 percent of it, you would buy the new car.

The airport is a transportation system that needs to be replaced and it helps drive the economy, he said.

The last public meeting for the Burley airports master plan study will be held at 6:30 p.m. on June 14 at Burley City Hall council chambers, 1401 Overland Ave.

As a board we do support the progress in our community, said Amy Christopherson, chairwoman of the Mini-Cassia Chamber of Commerce board. And we support the fact that this is a reality that will help all levels and all sectors. I think it is a great opportunity for 13 communities to come together and to see why an updated airport is a safety and security issue along with a business decision.

The city began the first airport study to determine if it needed to be moved in 1998. The airport runways are too short for the aircraft that use them and they lack safety buffer zones at the ends.

The airport is surrounded by a highway, Snake River, railroad tracks, grain elevators, factories and trees. Studies show the airport is one of the most dangerous in the state, Mitton said.

The FAA has said for two decades that the airport is unsafe and has told the city unless the safety issues are resolved it will not continue to fund the airport. There is no way to resolve the safety issues at the airports current location, and without FAA funding the city cannot afford to keep the airport open.

Sites for a new airport were chosen twice before and were shot down by land-use issues.

Meanwhile, officials continue to pursue plans for a new taxing district that would fund the airport long-term.

A request is before the Idaho Legislature to put laws in place allowing government bodies to create an airport district, which would provide the legal mechanism for a taxing district. If thats approved, Mitton said the task force concluded the airport should be paid for by both Minidoka County and Cassia County and a measure to create a taxing district would be put to the voters in both counties.

Mitton said the FAA would require that financial commitment from the community prior to beginning the project.

Dennis Byington, a Burley resident, asked what the new airport will look like.

Mitton said the proposed general aviation airport would have one runway about 6,000 feet long with safety buffer zones at the ends. The new runway will accommodate the air traffic that uses the current airport.

Mitton said it will take up to a year and a half to complete an environmental study. It would take another six months for Minidoka County and Cassia County officials to put together an election for a taxing district to pay for the airport and up to five years to build.
We learned a few things from former FBI Director James Comeys testimony on Thursday morning before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

 Earlier reports about Comeys memos about his interactions with President Donald Trump left open the possibility that he had made such notes throughout his career. This morning, he said that he did not write the memos as a matter of course but as a preemptive defense against the possibility that Trump would lie about those interactions.

 We got an on-the-record confirmation by Comey that Trump had indeed asked for his loyalty  something that was promptly disputed by a source who spoke off the record to the Associated Press. Comey also stood by the claim that Trump had suggested that Comey abandon the FBIs investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. When asked whether he had done that in any way, shape, or form, Trump has previously said no.

 Trumps former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is under criminal investigation, Comey confirmed.

 Comey said that he expected Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian intervention in the 2016 elections, and that Comey could not explain in open hearings all the reasons he expected that recusal. Thats a major blow to Sessionss credibility, and a spur to further investigations by Congress and journalists.

 Everything Comey has said is consistent with one theory of the case: Trump believes that he is guiltless of any collusion with Russia and was frustrated that Comey wouldnt say there was no evidence he had done anything wrong.

 Comey reported that Trump had encouraged him to find out if anyone in his orbit had acted improperly with the Russians.

 We can infer from Comeys refusal to comment in open session about the Steele dossier that he does not (and that the FBI at the time Comey departed did not) consider it entirely discredited.

 Comey doesnt have good answers to some questions: If he felt it was necessary to issue a public statement that Clinton had not knowingly broken any laws by setting up and using her server, why couldnt he issue a public statement saying Trump was not under a criminal investigation? Why didnt he push back more vigorously if he felt Trump was trying to corrupt the FBI? After he was fired, why did he have a friend leak Comeys memo recounting a meeting with Trump instead of just releasing it himself? Why cant he make the memo public now?

 Comey confirmed reports that Loretta Lynch, the attorney general at the tail end of the Obama administration, had told him to refer to the FBIs inquiry into Clintons private server as a matter rather than as an investigation.

What we didnt get from the public part of these hearings is anything that will cause pro-Trump or anti-Trump partisans to reconsider their basic positions. Republican defenders are still able to make four accurate points in Trumps defense: 1) The president has the legal authority to order the FBI to shut down an investigation. 2) What the president actually said was more ambiguous than Shut down this investigation. 3) We are nowhere close to having proof of the elements of the crime of obstruction of justice. 4) Trump may not have been aware of how unusual it is for a president to exert pressure on the FBI about its investigations.

Granting all of those points, could Trumps interference nonetheless add up to a high crime and misdemeanor that warrants impeachment? The Constitution doesnt spell out the criteria, leaving open the possibility that a presidential act (or acts) can warrant his removal without violating any provision of statutory law or the Constitution. It does, however, explicitly provide the procedures for removing a president, and those procedures require a very high degree of political consensus before they can be used.

We are very far from having any such consensus. But theres also no consensus for the White House position that theres nothing to see here and we should all just move on. The Comey hearing was an episode in a show that isnt going to be canceled for a good long while.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Matt Every, Scott Brown, Stewart Cink and Sebastian Munoz each shot 6-under 64s on Thursday to share the lead after one round at the St. Jude Classic.

Charl Schwartzel and Matt Jones were each one stroke back at the final tuneup before the U.S. Open.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and Chez Reavie each shot a 66 on the par-70 TPC Southwind course.

The 33-year-old Every has two wins on the PGA Tour, but none since 2014. He's only made two cuts this year and hasn't finished better than a tie for 62nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.

"I haven't played real well in a couple years, and I've been out here for like seven or eight, so I kind of know the drill," Every said. "Like one round is not that big a deal. It is nice to play well, but yeah, they don't hand out trophies after the first round."

Every had four birdies during his round and an eagle on the par-5 16th, sticking his second shot about 10 feet from the flagstick before sinking the putt. He closed his round by making a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th.

"Middle of the round got a little away from me, but I saved some shots and I haven't been doing that lately," Every said. "Then I played pretty solid the last few holes. So it was just a good day. I was kind of due for one."

Cink, Brown and Munoz joined him by making afternoon charges up the leaderboard.

Brown, a 34-year-old who finished second at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and tied for second at the Genesis Open, followed a bogey on the 14th with consecutive birdies, holing a pair of putts from inside of 10 feet to pull even with Every. He missed a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 18 that would have given him sole possession of the lead.

"I've been striking it nicely now for a few months and just the putter's kind of been a little inconsistent," Brown said. "Hot some days, cold some days. ... If I can keep the putter rolling, should be kind of in the mix for the week."

Cink, a 44-year-old, six-time winner on tour and 2009 British Open winner, birdied three straight holes late in his round, including one from about 10 feet on the par-4 5th. He bogeyed the next hole, then closed his round with a birdie on No. 9 to catch Brown and Every.

"The key to my round today was the key to anyone's round who plays well here and that is you've got to keep the ball in front of you," Cink said. "Meaning, you don't have to hit every fairway, but you can't really be off too much."

Munoz, a 24-year-old, third-year pro from Colombia who's chasing his first victory on tour, was bogey-free during the best round of his career. He had six birdies, including two in a row on Nos. 15-16.

DIVOTS: Billy Horschel used a fairway wood to putt on his final hole after he broke his putter a hole earlier. After missing a 2-foot putt on No. 8, he flipped his putter in the air and the head snapped off when it struck the ground. According to PGA rules, he wasn't allowed to use a new putter because it didn't break during the course of play. He finished with a 72.
This is the third of four columns serializing Justice Antonio Carpios e-book, The South China Sea Dispute: Philippine Sovereign Rights and Jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea. In this article, I summarize and share Carpios analysis of Chinas historic claim to the areas that the Philippines has sovereignty over.

Justice Carpio emphasizes the fallacy of Chinas historic claims by advancing a number of assertions.

Historical facts is not a valid basis whatsoever in the resolution of maritime disputes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He presents as an example Spain and Portugal which cannot reclaim their colonial territories despite the 1481 Papal Bull confirming the division of the then undiscovered territories between the two countries. Moreover, the South China Sea was not even named by the Chinese but by European cartographers.

Neither can conquest be the basis for ownership under international law. On this argument he cites Greeces conquest by Alexander the Great of Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and the land stretching up to Pakistan. Same goes with Chinas claim over Mongolia or Italy as to the land conquered and ruled by the Roman Empire from 27 BCE to 476 CE, stretching from Europe to the Middle East.

Citing the case the Island of Palmas Case (The United States of America v. The Netherlands), Carpio argues that in international law a state cannot maintain title to territory based on discovery alone where subsequent to such discovery another state has shown continuous and peaceful display of territorial sovereignty over the same territory. Since the 19th century, the rule in international law has been that discovery alone.

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This argument is buttressed by UNCLOS which states that a state can only invoke historic rights to claim a territorial sea or internal waters in deeply indented bays or gulfs along the coast of the mainland, like in the Gulf of Fonseca89 (Article 10, UNCLOS). Historic rights or historic title cannot be invoked to claim EEZs or ECSs. The creation of the EEZ under Article 56 of UNCLOS with sovereign rights, which means supreme rights, accorded to the adjacent coastal state, extinguished all historic rights or claims by other states to the EEZ of a coastal state. The word exclusive in the term EEZ means the economic exploitation of the zone is exclusive to the adjacent coastal state. No one may exploit the natural resources in the EEZ without the express consent of the coastal state [Article 77(3), UNCLOS].

As noted by Justice Carpio, China was an active participant in the negotiations of UNCLOS from 1973 to 1982. China even sided with the developing coastal countries in demanding a 200 NM EEZ where the coastal state has exclusive sovereign rights to exploit the EEZ. Now contradicting its previous actions, China is now claiming that historic rights as an exception to the exclusive sovereign rights of coastal states in their EEZs. In fact, in the UNCLOS negotiations the participants agreed that the 200 NM EEZ proceeds on the assumption that all historic claims of other states in the EEZ of a coastal state were deemed extinguished.

The author points out that even assuming, quod non, historic rights can be claimed beyond the territorial sea, the following sine qua non requisites must first be complied with for historic rights to be valid under international law: First, the state actually exercised authority over the area where it claims historic rights; Second, the state exercised that authority continuously and for a long period of time; and third, other states either acquiesced in or failed to oppose the exercise of such authority.

Chinas nine-dash line claim fails to satisfy these requisite conditions. Yet, despite the baselessness of its claims, China invokes historical facts as basis for its nine-dashed line claim without specifying what these historical facts are.

China anchors its claim of sovereignty over the islands on supposed abundant historical evidence. Yet the author observes these are in fact non-existent and the evidence mostly fabricated. The author cites a noted French geographer, Francois-Xavier Bonnet, who has extensively researched on the South China Sea dispute, who asserts that China actually planted its so-called abundant historical evidence, at least in the Paracels and the Spratlys. Francois Xavier Bonnet writes:

Several authors writing about the Chinese claim to the Paracel Islands have dated to 1902 the first official Chinese expedition to these islands. However, none of these writers has been able to show any records of this 1902 expedition taking place. In fact, Chinese records show that the expedition never happened. Instead, a secret expedition took place decades later to plant false archeological evidence on the islands to bolster Chinas territorial claim. The same strategy has been applied in the Spratly Islands: the sovereignty markers of 1946 had been placed, in fact, ten years later, in 1956. The author likewise cites as annexes documents purporting to antedate markers in certain disputed Islands including the Paracels and the Spratlys.

Finally, Justice Carpio notes that while China points to ancient Chinese maps as historical facts to claim the islands, rocks, reefs, and waters within the nine-dashed line in the South China Sea, it, however, refuses to produce these supposed ancient maps. Noting further that under international law, a map per se does not constitute a territorial title or a legal document to establish territorial rights.

There should be no doubt who has the legal upper hand on this dispute. In the final column of this series, I will summarize the arbitral award the Philippines won against China as interpreted by Justice Carpio. I will also share his thoughts on how this award could be enforced.

Facebook: Dean Tony La Vina Twitter: tonylavs

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@Getty

Just the other day, North Korea again fired what is said to be land-to-ship missiles off its east coast, the latest in a series of missile tests defying cries from all over the world to stop its horror show. President Rodrigo Duterte's advise to US President Donald Trump is "just to be prudent and patient" and to not play into the hands of Kim Jong Un because "my region will suffer immensely".





We know that we are playing with somebody who relishes letting go of his missiles" - Duterte to Trump.





Kim's ballistic missiles this time are designed to defend against threats such as enemy warships. He wants to show his ability to target a large warship like his enemies' aircraft carriers.





Sumer suffered a great catastrophe, a huge hurricane, who came from somewhere unknown, dared the city, and then a fiery wind rose. The sun did not shine during the day, but the moon did not shine at night, no stars were visible. The air became poisoned, the plants did not grow, the cities became deserted.  - Sumerian clay tablet





But the use of nuclear weapons is really more ancient than we thought. According to texts written down especially by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia as culled by Zechariah Sitchin in his The Earth Chronicles based on clay tablets, the Bible, clay tablets, ancient myths and archaeological discoveries, that was, in fact, the case.





In those days. visitors from another planet came to Earth in search of gold and created man to mine. After the Deluge that we Christians know of that catastrophically swept over the Earth the visitors became gods, granting Mankind civilization and teaching it to worship. Then all that had been achieved were wiped out in a nuclear calamity caused by rivalries and wars that caused the end of Sumeri an civilization. Same thing happening on Earth today.





They used to make formidable galleons in Marinduque, PH

To think that once upon a time, like some 500 years ago Earth's warships merely grappled with each other so that soldiers could board the enemy ship, then later inventing cannonballs to batter the wooden hulls of enemy vessels to sink them. Those were the days of the Spanish armada and the English or Dutch fleets, first making use of round shots from dressed stone then from iron by the 17th century.



That's because when fired directly into an advancing column in land battles, a cannonball of iron was capable of passing straight through up to forty men enough to kill them or cause gruesome injury.

Not wipe out humanity that nuclear warfare can do. The bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki exploded with a yield of 15 and 20 kilotons of TNT, whereas In contrast, tests of a thermonuclear weapon, or hydrogen bomb in the United States in November 1952 yielded an explosion on the order of 10,000 kilotons of TNT.

Spanish galleon interior





During the Spanish period more than a hundred galleons were built in the Philippines, in shipyards located in Cavite, Pangasinan, Albay, Mindoro, Sorsogon, Iloilo, Masbate, Camarines and Marinduque. Task forces of as many as 8,000 men, it is written, were organized by the Spaniards to cut down the trees, convert them to timber and haul them to the shipyards.





Polo



Our able-bodied men were forced to work in shipbuilding under a compulsory system called polos y servicios, or forced labor, just like in the far ancient days. But with some improvement. Men from 16 to 60 were mandated to work for 40 days for the goals of Spain such as building churches and galleons. Usually the 40 days rule was not followed and the forced labor would continue for months and months.





Spanish galleon

According to history, in Marinduque were built the Spanish almiranta San Marcos and the galleon San Juan Bautista. What timber did they use for these galleons?

"T heir breastwork were of Philippine hardwood that could not be pierced by cannonballs, such that Philippine-made galleons earned a reputation as formidable sea vessels, one British commander (Rogers), during the war with Spain noted: These large ships are built with excellent timber that will not splinter; they have very thick sides, much stronger than we build in Europe.

Another account from The Manila-Acapulco Galleons (Fish) reads:

In 1619, Captain Sebastian de Pineda, wrote a letter to the Council of Indies in Spain in which he described the shipbuilding activities he witnessed in the Philippines. The letter is an important document as it was an eyewitness account of how the galleons and other vessels were constructed at Cavite, as well as the types of woods, iron, sails, provisions used in the process"

Impenetrable Palo Maria

"In those islands is found a wood called maria (palo maria), which is used to make the futtock timbers of all the galleons, galleys, and pataches and all the knees and compass timbers of all sizes required. There is much of this timber from which to select, although, because of the ships built by Don Juan de Silva, the suppy of it is now obtained from a distance. That wood is used only for this purpose, for the tree is short and not straight."

According to Fish, some scholars have asserted that the main hardwoods used by the Spanish shipbuilders were "palo maria, banaba and dangan.





A viking ship of a cloud hovers above the once forest-clad Marinduque mountains.





Marinduque forests were destroyed, men got sick

There are no historical records indicating how many trees were felled during the colonial period for the construction of galleons but it was estimated that at least two thousand trees were needed for the construction of one galleon alone. We could only imagine, then, how many forest-clad Marinduque mountains were wantonly denuded during the Spanish period for the building of galleons and the repair of many more.

Marinduque was indeed an important shipyard. We find another account stating that five vessels sailed to Marinduque from Cavite for repairs in that year, 1619. It was so decided because it was less expensive to provide the repair and careening services in Marinduque than transporting timber to Cavite for the same purpose.
Following the announcement by Masoud Barzani, President of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in Iraq, of plans to hold a referendum on September 25 to decide on their independence, neighboring Turkey released a statement this Friday warning that going ahead as stated will constitute a grave mistake.

The statement released by the Turkish foreign ministry stressed that the announcement made earlier this week will jeopardize Iraqs stability. Ankara is also worried about the advances by a Syrian Kurdish militia in northern Syria, fearing that could embolden the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey.

Analysts observed that Turkeys reaction is in relation to its own concerns due to fears of a domino effect. Ankara has been battling with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for decades due to calls for independence. The southeastern part of the country is dominated by Kurds who have been claiming that they are sidelined by Ankara. The idea of Iraqi Kurdish independence has been historically opposed by Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria, as they all fear separatism spreading to their own Kurdish populations.

Baghdad has not reacted to its autonomous regional governments plans for a referendum even though it is not expected to welcome it. The Federal government has often been at odds with the government in Erbil over oil revenue, budget allocations and development projects.

Ankara underlined that Iraqs territorial integrity is a precondition for the countrys lasting stability and urged the Kurds to work towards the countrys political unity.
Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni of the Tobruk-based government has issued strict instructions for the security forces to arrest and detain cabinet members of the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) who set foot on the territory under their control.

The instructions also affect individuals who cooperate with them.

Al-Thinni took the decision following news that the GNA is planning to expand its authority over areas controlled by other political factions that have been reluctant to recognize its legitimacy. He demanded that immediate measures be taken at all land, sea and air portals.

It is unclear if the information is also linked to the appointment of General Mohamed Al-Madani Al-Fakhri as head of Military Investment and Public Works Authority of the Libyan National Army under the command of Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar. The newly created post to be occupied by Al-Fakhri will make him in charge of the development of armed forces projects such as new bases. Al-Fakhri used to serve as interior minister before a row with Al-Thinni sparked his sacking.

The Tobruk-based government considers the GNA as being an unconstitutional and illegitimate body. The UN-backed GNA has been based outside Libya before moving into Tripoli but its influence has been limited on the ground.

In another development, Germanys foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel met on Thursday with Prime Minister-designate Fayez Serraj in Tripoli to discuss issues of common concern.

The visiting minister said Germanys goal is to work with the Libyans against this cycle of instability that is born out of a lack of solid infrastructure. Serraj said that Gabriels visit reflects Germanys great concern in resolving the Libyan crisis and achieve stability throughout the country.

The German official announced that his country will provide an additional $3.9 million to help Libya improve living conditions of refugees in the North African country. The pledge comes in response to a call from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
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.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Wednesday released the report on foreign direct investment (FDI) around the world.

According to the report, FDI flows to developing countries fell by 14% to $646 billion. However, this sharp decline has not overshadowed the interest of Asian and Asian investors in these countries, which account for half of the top 10 destinations in 2016.

In the whole of Central Africa, for example, there is a 15% drop in FDI to $5.1 billion.

Due to falling prices of mining products on the world market, the DRC was hit hard with a 28% collapse of FDI flows. Investors injected only $1.2 billion into the country.

The report also indicated that mineral-rich Congo, is recovering with an increase of 8% to $2 billion, due to the offensive of Chinese enterprises in various fields of the economy.

In Sub-Saharan Africa in general, the decline in commodity prices is the reason for the caution observed by large groups in this destination, the report said,

Only $59.4 billion was invested in the region throughout the year, a decrease of 3.5% from fiscal year 2015.

Despite predicting a recovery in global FDI this year with flows expected to reach almost $1.8 trillion, UNCTAD said they would remain well below their 2007 peak.

It cautioned that geopolitical risks, possible changes to cross-border taxes and policy uncertainty could hamper the recovery in FDI flows.

The report also described how digitization was a huge opportunity for poorer and middle-income countries, but often required considerable investments from abroad.

Global fragility, corruption and poor governance are some of the threats facing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to the African continent.
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Posted on: June 09, 2017



Kab loge khabar more Ram



A prayer for acceptance

Dr Shamika Ghaisas

The author, Dr Shamika Ghaisas, as of June 2017, is a second year DNB Resident at the Department of Ophthalmology, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram (SSSIHMS-PG). She hails from Mumbai from where she completed her MBBS. She was drawn to Swami in 2011 when she was pursuing her MBBS. Deeply inspired by Swamis message of Love and Service, she began participating in the medical activities of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, Maharashtra.





This is the story of my DNB admission (Diplomate of National Board) Post-Graduation course at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram (SSSIHMS-PG). For me it is not just a series of incidents or events but the love story of a devotee and the Lord that was fulfilled by intense yearning. Its a story of how the Lord in His infinite compassion taught His child that if God is all that you desire, then God is all that you need!



It was February 2015 while my post MBBS internship was still going on and I just started studying for the post graduate entrance exam which I would soon be appearing for. After a long standing dilemma about which specialty to select for my future post graduate education, I chose ophthalmology as my future branch. Internship ended in March and was followed by our convocation. It was only at the end of March that I started studying regularly. For the knowledge of those unaware, PG entrance exams are dreaded because of the cut throat competition there is for the meagre number of seats. Students usually take anything between 6 months to a few years to clear these.



An Aspiration Becomes a Prayer

I had visited Swamis Super Specialty Hospital once before, but never thought of working here. One day I called my friend to ask her about ophthalmology as a subject as she was specialising in it, in SSSIHMS-PG. And soon I began thinking of SSSIHMS for my PG studies. I had assumed that the seats in SSSIHMS are open in the December session of the exam and I had 9 months to prepare. So I was studying slowly but steadily. It was in the month of May that I got to know from my friend that the seats were open in the June session of the exam itself!!! I was shattered!! I thought I had lost the chance to be a part of this dream institute! Because there was no way I could clear the exam with just two months of preparation. I was really broken!



The forms were out, and the exam was in July this year instead of the usual June. I did not plan to write the exam as I felt there was no chance at all, and so did not even fill the form till the end. But eventually I did fill the form half-heartedly with the idea of appearing for the exam just for practice. My friend told me that to get a seat in ophthalmology in Parthi I needed an all India rank of at least 1400. Something inside me kept telling me to give one sincere attempt for Parthi. Simply because it was worth it. So I kept for myself a margin of safety and decided rank 1000 would be my target. and I began studying (and even more, praying). I set SSSIHMS hospital photo as my mobile wallpaper. And started visiting the hospital website again and again (till I knew most of the details there by heart). Thus began a beautiful period of pining. I struck a deal with Swami - that I will no more say my morning prayers or do any other sadhana till my exam, and that studying alone will be my sadhana. As Swami was the real goal, studying slowly became a pleasure. I began loving the entire process and developed keen interest in all the subjects. I would start studying early in the morning and would go on for most of the day.



As the days passed, my studies continued in full steam and my yearning kept increasing with each passing day. Prayers intensified too. It was for me, a most beautiful period of yearning. I almost felt like a Gopika pining for her Krishna. In the last 20-25 days Swami provided me so much energy that I put myself on house arrest and studied for more than 12 hours a day. I learnt then that if we consider every work as Gods work, even the smallest of tasks becomes a sadhana and gives immense pleasure.



Then a Blessing Leads to a Dilemma

On the day of the exam I invoked the presence of Swami and began. To my surprise I was able to answer more than 90% of the questions with ease. A month after the exam, it was a Thursday evening and I was chanting the Sai Gayatri as part of a group activity in Mumbai (the mantra is chanted 21 times for world peace). A friend called me then and told me that the DNB entrance results had been declared! The chanting of the Sai Gayatri became more intense (of course not for world peace anymore), and with it my limbs began trembling too. I then set out to see my results. I was expecting an All India rank between 2000-3000. I couldnt believe the rank I was seeing displayed against my name. It was 292! It was incredible. With just three to four months of preparation? I knew deep inside me that it was purely Swamis grace being showered so abundantly on me.

And then began a new dilemma. With this rank, I could even get into Aravind Eye Hospital (one of the leading institutions in the country for ophthalmology) or even get into Radiology in one of the hospitals in and around Mumbai (which is the most sought after branch now). Now began a 24/7-debate inside my head - whether to opt for Aravind (which is the best) or for Parthi (for which I prayed so hard). I knew Swami was really testing me. Would I be selfish in choosing Aravind or would I be foolish in choosing Parthi. I felt two voices constantly debate in my head I had to do something! So I closed my eyes and thought of a solution, that if Swami were to come before me physically and I got a chance to ask him this question, what would Swami say? The answer I got was - Swami would want His child to go and study in the best place. And he would want me to be in Aravind as I would be in Parthi. Ohh!!! Swami was testing me a lot! Finally in the battle between heart and mind my heart won and I decided that I will opt for Parthi. And this time my decision was final.



Just when I thought that my path was clear, in came a new twist. On the day of the counselling which was in Delhi, I learnt that the Ophthalmology DNB seat at SSSIHMS-PG, Puttaparthi, was under the periodic renewal process and that the current seat was only provisional. Which meant that I would have to sign an undertaking stating that I am taking the seat at my own risk and if the accreditation doesnt happen within a stipulated time I will be left with no seat at all (and most probably would have to give the exam all over again). Ultimately I was to take the final call. And that too all alone (inside the final counselling room even mobile phones are not allowed). I still vividly remember the scene as if I am living it all over again. I was sitting on the hot seat in front of two officers who would allot me my seat within the next few minutes.

When the World Tempts You, the Lord Tests You

Before me on the screen were all the seats available to me.



1. Aravind (the best)

2. Another hospital in Pune (so close to home)

3. Parthi (provisional - so at your own risk).



I took a deep breath and in a flash came these lines narrated by a friend in a study circle - Krishna had told Arjuna that if you instil your absolute faith in Me and surrender completely, I will take care of your smallest needs. This was to be one such moment of surrender! I said in my mind, Lord I surrender, and signed the paper writing, SSSIHMS-PG.



Swami was still in a mood to teach me some more I guess. While all the others who attended counselling with me joined within a week, I was left waiting for the accreditation to happen. I began to get extremely worried as days passed. I felt like I have been foolish in choosing Parthi amongst the more obvious and practical choices that were available to me. I would wake up every morning with my heart pounding loudly. I would check my emails every few hours for a mail from the DNB board. Each morning I would wake up with palpitations and look at Swami smiling at me through a photo. I would automatically go into prayer mode every morning and ask my Lord from the depth of my heart - kab loge khabar more Ram? (when will you take notice of me, my beloved Ram?) My anxiety grew and finally after almost 15 days of waiting I started studying for the next exam (in case that was Swamis wish).

And then there was another twist in the story. In Maharashtra, Ganesh Chaturthi is a major festival. We bring idols of Ganesha home and worship. Not only worship, we feel and believe deep within our hearts that the Lord really comes to our house for those 2 days and gives us immeasurable joy. Since childhood Ganesh Chaturthi is very special. My grandmother was secretly wishing and praying that I be at home during the festival. If my admission was to happen immediately, I would not be a part of the festival at home. It was past 25 days and I did not receive any letter yet. It was high time and I was not able to bear the rising stress anymore. And one night I looked at Swami's photo, looking directly into His eyes I made a firm resolve, a sankalpa. I told Swami that this has to end! It was not my arrogance but a very firm resolve (of something that was not in my hands). I told Swami that before Swami leaves our house in the form of Ganesha (the day after Ganesh chaturthi), He has to give me a clear cut answer. Even if it means that I have lost the seat and have to repeat the exam. But it has to be decided once and for all!



Swami Plants the Desire, Fulfils it Too; But All in His Time



I realise now that as humans we are too short-sighted. But Swami has to answer the prayers of so many devotees. So He answered mine and my grandmothers prayer too. On the auspicious evening of Ganesh Chaturthi, I finally received the letter from the DNB board stating that the seats have been accredited and I should join within four days! As I offered arathi to my Sai Ganesha at home that evening, my human mind was numbed as I tried to understand the ways Swami chooses to teach us! Finally all said and done, I left for Parthi the day after Lord Ganesha left our home, with only gratitude filled in my heart.



I am so grateful to Swami for those beautiful days! It was during those days that my heart was purified in so many ways. The intense yearning that Swami allowed me to go through, was like the flame from which arises pure gold washed away from all impurities. Out of all the lessons I learnt, I learnt for sure that, if God is all you seek, then God is all you need!

Dr Shamika Ghaisas at the Dept. of Ophthalmology, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram



Today, having completed over a year in SSSIHMS-PG and my love for the place increases with each passing day. Although Swami may have allowed me to play a role like that the squirrel played in Ramayana, I know that it is actually SSSIHMS that is playing a lions role in transforming me every day. I pray to Swami that may I always be connected to Him and never forget that His relation with us is indeed very personal. My heart is filled with immense gratitude to Swami for His grace. I am filled with love and gratitude as I hear the bhajan - kab loge khabar more Ram, mujhe apna bana lo Ghanshyam

- Radio Sai Team

(in association with SSSIHMS-PG)






BUILDING THE LA RAZA 'The Race' WELFARE STATE ON MIDDLE AMERICAS' BACKS: Months ago, the Biden administration publicly defended their proposal to begin providing federal identification cards to border crossers and illegal aliens who they plan to release into American communities. The goal of the proposal is to make securing public benefits easier.
@alextdaugherty

U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo could soon get a Democratic challenger.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged Republican state Sen. Anitere Flores in 2016, was in Washington on Thursday to meet with party leaders and members of Congress.

Mucarsel-Powell confirmed in an interview with the Miami Herald that she is taking a hard look at Curbelo's seat in 2018.

"I met with various members of Congress who are extremely concerned about the direction our country is in, they are encouraging me to take a serious look at it," Mucarsel-Powell said. "One of the reasons I'm considering it is that I'm fully committed to the people in the district. The horrible healthcare vote that Curbelo took a few weeks ago shows that they don't have a member in Congress. He doesn't represent the district."

Mucarsel-Powell met with Florida Reps. Stephanie Murphy, Ted Deutch and Lois Frankel along with Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell and Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark. She also took meetings with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the group tasked with getting Democrats elected to the House nationwide, and EMILY's List, a group that aims to elect female politicians.

"Im leaving extremely impressed with the members I met," Mucarsel-Powell said. "It gives me hope we can stop Trump's agenda."

Curbelo, a second-term Republican, has yet to draw a Democratic opponent despite a district that has voted for Democrats at the presidential level. A host of Miami-area Democrats are weighing a bid for Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's seat after she announced her plans to retire.

"I know we're going to be okay in that district," Mucarsel-Powell said, adding that her main priorities are education and healthcare.

Mucarsel-Powell wants to consult with her family and friends before making a definitive decision, she said and acknowledged that a run against Curbelo, who ranks among the GOP's top fundraisers, will be challenging. Mucarsel-Powell captured 45.8 percent of the vote against the well-funded Flores, a moderate Republican, in 2016.

"The Democratic Party and EMILYs List have to make sure that someones viable, candidates have to raise a significant amount of money first," she said.

Curbelo's district extends from Central Miami-Dade County down to Key West.
@ByKristenMClark

Some House Democrats on Friday criticized a new K-12 schools budget for 2017-18 that would boost spending by $100 per student over this school year  calling the additional dollars a hollow victory and not enough to truly address public education.

I believe the increase is helpful but more is needed, said Rep. Cynthia Stafford, D-Miami. Florida is the third largest state in the nation, yet our per-pupil funding is still $3,000 below the national average.

Were underfunding public education, agreed Rep. Joe Geller, D-Aventura. Thats a mistake. That sells short the future of our state.

Public education has been the great leveler in this country; its been the main means of advancement for people of modest means, Geller added, before making reference to a $419 million, charter school-friendly bill (HB 7069) lawmakers passed last month: Were putting way too much money into non-public education at the expense of public education.

RELATED FROM POLITIFACT: Florida House speaker touts record education spending, but theres more to grade

The increased funding  addressed in a contentious three-day special session this week  was a compromise between Gov. Rick Scott and House and Senate leaders after Scott a week ago vetoed the Legislatures initial K-12 budget, deeming it insufficient.

In calling lawmakers back to Tallahassee, Scott asked for $215 million more in state money for K-12 in order to raise the per-pupil level by $100, an increase of 1.4 percent.

Full details here.

Photo credit: AP
@MichaelAuslen

Senators are poised to vote today to roll back $260 million in cuts to Medicaid that they passed during the regular session, bringing hospital funding yet again into a political stalemate between the House and Senate.

During regular session, lawmakers agreed to $521 million in cuts to hospital payments, with about $92 million coming from Tampa Bay.

The cuts were part of the budget deal that led to the end of regular session in May.

But Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, says the Senate wasn't happy with that level of cuts, even though the final number was less than what the House or Gov. Rick Scott wanted.

"If we're going to be up here trying to fix the budget, then let's fix the budget," said Flores, the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations chairwoman, on Thursday.

Senators have proposed spending another $100 million in state money to shore up the cuts for one year. With federal matching funds, that's a reduction of roughly $260 million from what is in the budget Scott signed last week.

House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, says it isn't going to happen, though.

For one thing, it's not formally on the agenda for special session, he told reporters Thursday. But for another, he views hospitals as profitable enterprises and has equated increased spending to a handout for hospital CEOs.

"We're very happy with where we are with the funding for hospitals that we did," Corcoran said. "I think they'll be fine."

With the clock ticking toward a scheduled Friday end of the special session and no resolution in sight on the two issues that originally brought lawmakers back to Tallahassee -- education spending and economic development -- Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, has made demands if Corcoran and Scott want his suppport of a deal on those other issues. Among the demands: more hospital spending.

It makes Flores think Corcoran's opposition to restoring the cuts may change.

"There will be at some point an endgame, be it on Friday, or be it two Fridays from now," Flores said. "There will be an endgame beyond what just the speaker and the governor agreed to."

Photo: Sens. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, and Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, share a laugh on the Senate floor. (Scott Keeler | Tampa Bay Times)
@maryellenklas and @stevebousquet

Facing a 6 p.m. deadline, Florida legislative leaders struck a last-minute agreement with the governor to resolve their differences and avoid an embarrassing override of the governor's budget vetoes Friday.

House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land OLakes, and Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, agreed to the Senate's demand that they to restore $60 million of the $114 million cut from higher education projects, $215 million into K-12 education, and pass the House's version of an economic development bill that restores $75 million to Visit Florida and creates a new economic development grant fund of $85 million.

But, in a surprise move, lawmakers also agreed to add $50 million to pay for repairs the the Herbert Hoover dike, a small contribution to a $2 billion federal government project that is scheduled for completion in 2025.

The governor then issued a proclamation to add the dike and higher education to the session. The dike project was initially sought by Gov. Rick Scott when he agreed to back a bill sought by Negron to build a water storage reservoir near Lake Okeechobee to avoid another year of toxic algae discharges into nearby estuaries.

The Senate agreed to pass the House economic bill 1-A by a vote of 34-2, restoring the $160 million and adding a new provision that allows small county tourism organizations to use local bed tax revenue as matching money to draw state tourism dollars.

The deal, negotiated behind closed doors, ground the session to a standstill as staff worked to draft the language but it also avoided an override of 15 higher education projects, which Negron insisted was necessary in order for the House and govenror to get their priorities.

The special session, called by Scott a week ago, nearly collapsed Thursday night after Negron lashed out at what he called a "fake narrative" that he had reneged on a deal with Corcoran and Scott.

Talks resumed late Thursday night involving both leaders, their top staffers and Jackie Schutz Zeckman, Scotts chief of staff.

After spending the regular session bashing the governor for ushering in "corporate welfare," Corcoran addressed a letter to the governor that began: "Thank you for your leadership." Corcoran, who opposed the governors call for dike repairs in the regular session, also took credit for asking to have the dike repairs added to the session.

Corcoran, who refused to go along with the Senates plan to override Scotts vetoes of college and university construction projects, instead agreed to shave off a portion of each of the projects and revive them in another spending bill.

They include new renovations and programs at Miami-Dade College, the University of Florida, Florida International University, Florida State and other institutions will be part of a bill that Scott is eager to sign that also restores the budget of VISIT Florida at $76 million and creates a new $85 million infrastructure fund.
via @learyreports

WASHINTON - Gov. Rick Scott celebrated a "great discussion" at the White House Thursday afternoon.

Great discussion at the White House today about the future of infrastructure. @VP pic.twitter.com/5vgDHRAwrl
Does $85 million directed to a new economic grant program qualify as a slush fund for the governor?

The head of the agency that will manage the newly-developed grant fund, the Department of Economic Opportunity Secretary Cissy Proctor, wouldn't embrace the loaded language but, in meetings before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday she didn't correct legislators who said the money gives the governor unfettered ability to steer money to hand-picked programs without transparency.

"Sometimes we take different paths to get to the goal,'' she said, when asked how the program morphed from incentives to grants. She rejected claims that the program offers no transparency.

Also taking different paths are the House and the Senate which are poised to pass different approaches to how far much oversight to impose on the governor, a rift that needs to be resolved before session ends on Friday. Each chamber gave their respective proposals preliminary approval on Thursday.

The legislation is a priority for Gov. Rick Scott, who called lawmakers into special session and, after conversations with the Senate president and House speaker, asked them to pass legislation to restore $75 million in Visit Florida, the state's tourism marketing agency, and create the $85 million grant fund managed by the Department of Economic Opportunity and controlled by the governor.

"This is obviously the main reason we are back here,'' said Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, the Senate Appropriations Committee chair in opening debate on the measures on Thursday.

Under the proposals, the state will no longer use taxpayer money to attract specific companies to Florida. Instead, the newly-created Florida Jobs Growth Grant Fund, a creation of House Speaker Richard Corcoran, gives the governor power to approve state and local infrastructure projects that diversify the economy or target specific areas, but money can't be steered to specific companies.

Although both the House and Senate establish a new framework for the grant fund, only the Senate imposes restrictions on the governor's latitude.

"We've heard a lot of about accountability about Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida from the House of Representatives in the last several months,'' Latvala said as the full Senate adopted the amendments. "The bill that they're passing creates this grant program with virtually not accountability in them. This structure is a good structure."

Corcoran dismisses the criticism and declared that the House bill, HB2A, makes sure that "corporate welfare is dead in the state of Florida. Picking winners and losers is dead in the state of Florida."

"We're giving a fund for the governor to do across the board infrastructure in the state of Florida,'' he said. The oversight exists because the governor is elected, he said. "But they're broad-based benefits to the entire state."

He compared the grants to special projects sought by legislators that impose few hurdles, audits or applications.

"It was just a line-item in the budget that went to an entity with zero oversight,'' he said. "Now we we can do that but the governor can't do that with projects he thinks are beneficial?"

But Latvala was adamant that the Senate approach supports more transparency.

"The way the House bill is written, an individual citizen, a campaign contributor, could call up the governor's office and ask him for this project and there is no due diligence anywhere, and the governor could approve it. Yes or no?'' Latvala asked Proctor during a meeting of Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday.

Proctor didn't deny it but said "the process is set up to allow projects to come in from many different sources."

To underscore that oversight, the Senate on Thursday adopted a series of amendments to the economic development bill, by Latvala, Sen. Audrey Gibbons, D-Jacksonville Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, that expand the list of entities eligible to receive grant funding.

Among the changes, they require that the grants have a positive economic benefit, supported by the local community and abide by performance metrics established by the department.

Brandes' proposal also requires that any project valued at more than $2 million must get approval from the Legislative Budget Commission and sunsets the program on June 30, 2019.

Without the amendment, Brandes argued, "it's virtually a blank check with no accountability."

Gibbons' amendment would require Visit Florida and Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency, to post on their websites on all proposals and applications for grants, including scoring criteria the amount of the award, project start and completion dates, and the final contract and agreement.

The Senate prohibits grants from going to retail businesses to reimburse them for trainee wages, it allows certain non-profits -- such as libraries,, correctional facilities, state colleges and technical centers -- to apply for the workforce training grants as long as all expenses are documented.

In the House, Rep. Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast defended the House's economic development bill, HB1A, against complaints from Democrats that the money allows the governor and his staff control over spending without legislative oversight.

He said the program takes money out of the hands of unelected officials at Enterprise Florida and puts it "where the buck stops."

"Only we in the Legislature appropriate money and the governor is involved in spending and in doing so we offer some level of discretion,'' he said.
@MichaelAuslen

Lawmakers look to be on track to pass sweeping medical marijuana legislation this afternoon.

The Senate okayed the bill, negotiated between leaders of both chambers after they failed to reach agreement during their regular session, by a vote of 28-8 Friday afternoon.

The legislation (SB 8A) passed Friday sets in motion a plan to license 10 new growers by October, bringing the statewide total to 17. It allows patients to use cannabis pills, oils, edibles and vape pens with a doctors approval but bans smoking.

"Now is the time to do this," Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said, saying the bill will increase access for patients who need access to the drug.

A House vote is expected this afternoon, but because the bill was negotiated by leaderhsip, it is expected to pass.

In last-minute maneuvers, senators added new language to require growers and production sites have training in food safety standards.

The bill, which implements a constitutional amendment passed with 71 percent of the vote, has broad, bipartisan support.

Still, some within the Legislature oppose it. They come from two camps: Those who oppose medical marijuana to begin with, and others who say the policy negotiated privately by the House and Senate doesnt go far enough to implement what the voters wanted. In particular, they called out the ban on smoking and the limitations on who can get licenses.



I dont believe that this bill implements the will of the constitutional amendment that the people of Florida voted for, said Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth. Ive heard a lot of friends and colleagues say that weve got to do something, but thats not how I feel about this bill. I think weve got to do the right thing, not just something."

Photo: Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, listens to debate on the medical marijuana bill he sponsored Friday. (AP)
President Donald Trump will travel to Miami next Friday to announce his administrations changes to U.S.-Cuba policy, a source with knowledge of the presidents plans told the Miami Herald.

The location for the event is still in the works. But scheduling the trip indicates the Cuba policy, which has been undergoing drafts for several weeks, will be imminently finalized. And deciding to unveil the policy in Miami suggests it will please the hardline Cuban exiles whose support Trump considered significant to winning Florida, and the presidency.

Vice President Mike Pence is also expected to attend. He will already be in town for a Central America conference to be held next Thursday and Friday at Florida International University. Three Cabinet secretaries  Rex Tillerson of State, John Kelly of Homeland Security and Steven Mnuchin of Treasury  will take part in the conference, but its not clear that theyll take part in the Cuba policy event.

Several local venues have symbolism for Cuban Americans, including the Bay of Pigs Museum in Little Havana and the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami.

A mid-June Trump visit has been rumored since Memorial Day, when word of the Cuba policy rewrite began trickling from alarmed backers of former President Barack Obamas reengagement approach toward the communist island. Trump is preparing to tighten at least some of Obamas changes, including restricting business with the Cuban military and U.S. travel that resembles tourism.

More here.

Photo credit: Al Diaz, Miami Herald staff
"Object, Manner, Means," a new exhibition at the Radius Gallery, showcases how local and regional artists find relevant ways to portray the human figure in their work. Here are three of the artists in the show, discussing their work.

HOLLY ANDRES

City: Portland, Oregon. Originally from Missoula.

Medium: Photography

The political intrudes on the personal in a series by Holly Andres, a photographer whose work often feels more like stills from a film.

The narratives, with meticulously designed costumes, sets and lighting, often concern young or adolescent girls and the filter of memory.

In her nightmarish latest series, "Monster," it's a tanned, blonde male who plays the lead. In the pictures, President Donald Trump is seen ransacking a woman's bedroom, emptying the drawers and eventually fleeing the wrecked room in his boxers and an undershirt.

The concept originated early on Election Day, when polls indicated that Hillary Clinton had a lead. Andres recalls crying "because I felt like I was going to experience in my lifetime the magnitude of having a woman in the White House," she said in a phone interview.

She soon realized there was more to the reaction.

"I realized I was weeping in relief because this uninvited intruder who had been occupying my mind for the last year was going to exit the situation," she said.

The election didn't turn out the way she expected. Those lingering feels came to fruition when she was invited for the Radius show.

"I decided to use my bedroom as this personal, intimate space as a proxy for my subconscious mind, thinking about the daily onslaught of having this figure, the ever presence of Trump in my life. And that feels really new, and it feels really inescapable, and it feels as an artist impossible not to confront. So I guess it's a way that the politics of the era and the election have really impacted my process as an artist. I'm not sure if it's a new direction for me, or something that I had to make. I think it's been cathartic," she said.

Andres, who grew up in Missoula and recently had a large solo exhibition at the Missoula Art Museum, has lately branched into editorial photography and has frequently been featured in the New York Times Magazine. A group show on figurative art was an opportunity for smaller series.

"While my work is narrative-based, and generally has a protagonist and sometimes an antagonist, whether they're in the frame or not, I don't generally think of myself as a figurative artist in the same sense as a painter identifies themself figurative or landscape or still life," she said. While mulling that over, she looked back through the canon. Her pictures have a "light reference" to photographer Jeff Wall's "The Destroyed Bedroom," a 1978 life-size transparency of a wrecked woman's room. Wall was in turn referencing an 1827 Delacroix, "The Death of Sardanapalus," in which a king has his concubines killed as an opposing army draws near.

They share a dramatic sense of lighting, with shadows cast, and the clothing, books with titles like "Psychoanalysis and Feminism" and "The Woman's Eye," provide a rich sense of color, conjuring a thoughtful interior space under assault.

To play her "Trump," she recruited the employee of a longtime Portland photo print shop that had closed several years ago. They bleached his hair, added extensions, rented him a tuxedo. It was shot using Andres' bedroom as a set.

"He's not a performer and he's pretty shy and honestly, I think he did it because he feels really outraged about what's happening," she said. "I know it was a cathartic experience for him."

Outside of her gallery and editorial work, Andres has been shooting pro bono around Portland and photographing marches and rallies.

"I feel like as a photographer, that's one of the things I can contribute to resistance movement: documenting and disseminating the images out in the world," she said. We know from history that there have been a handful of really powerful images  photographic images  that have been so persuasive in mobilizing enough people to take action to end the Vietnam war, for example."

BEN PEASE

City: Bozeman, grew up on the Crow Reservation.

Medium: Mixed media

Ben Pease grew up near Billings on the Crow Indian Reservation and is enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne. The human figure has been a part of his work since the very beginning. Other tribal members saw his work and "asked if I could do their namesakes, their dignitaries, their tribal history, their family history, because they saw that I was doing mine."

"From the first painting as a junior in high school, I could say anything I wanted and people would listen with open ears," he said. It "snowballed from there," he said. The 28-year-old now shows his art around the West and recently returned from about a month-long residency at the Abu Dhabi Art Hub.

In the Radius show, viewers can see the way he uses mixed-media, including historical photographs and digital effects, to produce his work.

"As a whole and individually, each piece speaks to its own issue and speaks in its own right," he said, but as a whole they address social, political or historical issues, or the "literal beauty of culture, especially my own culture that I was raised in."

For "Hello Patriarchy," he began with a circa 1930s photograph of a young Crow woman riding a horse. (It's his sister's husband's grandmother.)

"It's a basic representation of the literal fact that the Crows were and are a matriarchal tribe" in "every facet of the culture," he said. "The Crows say that the women are the most sacred beings."

Behind the photograph, altered with a half-tone effect, are old newspapers and 1980s mining certificates. "I use those as a cultural contrast" with the "incoming culture, the newcomers, were not a matriarchal society."

The semi-abstract, painted background includes upside-down scribbled lettering that says "Hello Patriarchy."

The color half-tone dots allude to "color, creed, race and questions surrounding those in the past."

In another picture, "Biiluuke," he used a photograph of a Crow warrior chief named Spies On His Enemy, set on a background of power and electricity supply receipts from the Bozeman area circa 1896.

He altered the photo of Spies On His Enemy for an effect of diagonal lines. "That's another question: talking about boundaries and who draws the line and why, and how far those go, speaking of questions of race and questions of individualism or community." The title is a Crow word, preserved for tribal members, to refer to themselves, amongst themselves, he said.

MEGAN MOORE

City: Missoula

Medium: Oil

The human face doesn't feature in the new paintings at the show by Megan Moore, an oil painter with classical technique who is known for her evocative portraits.

Instead, one of her pieces contemplates the psychologist Carl Jung's thoughts on the Crucifixion. The title is taken from one of his letters to a friend who felt torn by her obligations: "The seemingly unendurable conflict reveals the rightness of your life." (It's written on the painting itself in German script by calligrapher Amity Parks.)

Moore, who isn't religious and didn't have a religious upbringing, had never been touched by images of the Crucifixion. The painting originated after she read Jung's thinking about European archetypes and their roots in the Bible.

"The Crucifixion is the symbol for the human experience of being alive  that we are actively and ongoingly torn between our shadow selves and our conscious selves  the things we are ashamed to bring into the light, and the things that make us feel like how we want to present to the world," she said.

The painting, a deep horizontal, features a detailed rendering of the torso in the right half of the painting, cropped at the chin and the lower stomach, with part of the right arm visible. Neither his face, or any blood, is seen in the picture.

The framing was symbolically important. She wants viewers to see it and not think of another being, but their own struggles. The positioning of the body, too, has meaning to her.

"The veritable Crucifixion that we live, is with the arms way open. And the chest exposed and the throat exposed. And our extreme vulnerability, and ultimately, that posture can imply not only vulnerability but extreme openness to experience," she said.

***

Moore's other picture in the show is a portrait of a 9-year-old dog. Moore shot pictures of it and later learned that it was at the pound, and likely would be put down.

The script, and title in Park's script, read "Baruch Hashem," a Hebrew blessing. She said it could loosely translate to "blessed be the name," and in Hebrew "the name" is a substitute for the name of god, which is forbidden from being spoken aloud.

To her, "the name" in the title refers to the "creative force," including all of the creatures around us, that dog included, who deserve to be honored no matter how lowly they may seem.

In Moore's life, the concepts "happen in the art because that's what I'm living every day. It's a translation into physical form of what occupies me, of what occupies my heart and mind every day," she said.

To her, paintings are a more accurate medium to express those feelings or ideas. Words "don't really get to the heart, for me, of the experience as well as painting does."
U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen has denied a request by former Vanns CEO George Manlove to remain out of custody as he appeals his 170 federal convictions for defrauding the defunct Montana appliances and electronics retailer.

On May 19, following a six-hour sentencing hearing, Christensen imposed a federal prison sentence of five years and three months on Manlove. At sentencing, the judge gave Manlove permission to delay reporting for custody until June 20, the day after another court hearing that will determine how much, if any, restitution he owes.

The former Vanns executive, who has maintained he did nothing wrong, was found guilty after a three-week trial in February.

Before sentencing, his attorney filed a motion asking the judge to not make Manlove go into custody at all until he had exhausted all the appeal options available. In his order issued June 2, Christensen denied the request, noting Manloves lack of contrition and acceptance of any form of responsibility, that could be a reflection of a lack of respect for the jury verdict in this case.

Manlove has already filed a notice to appeal his conviction to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, saying in the motion he will be challenging all of the judges orders before and during trial that went against him.

Christensen wrote in his order denying the release pending appeal that Manloves appeal issues do not rise to the statute that governs his request to remain free.

This Court would never presume what the outcome might be on appeal. But to suggest, as Manlove does, that his conviction on all 170 counts will be reversed, stretches the bounds of possibility, the judge wrote.
A Flathead Valley entrepreneur is in the process of completely renovating a downtown Missoula business and transforming it into a new Asian cuisine restaurant and bar with what he says will be a unique ambiance.

Drake Doepke, the owner of Saketome Sushi in Bigfork, has hired Jackson Contractors and Paradigm V2 Architects to redesign and expand the entire interior of the old MacKenzie River Pizza Co. building at 137 W. Front Street.

When its finished at the end of this year or early next year, the upstairs will be a sit-down sushi restaurant with a glass-enclosed indoor patio space in the back. The downstairs will be a completely different concept, with dishes inspired by street food in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Burma with a full liquor license for cocktails.

The idea is it will be like a social space, he said. It will be a bit contemporary with a little bit more of an open floor plan and a completely open kitchen. Ive toured a few restaurants, and this has kind of more of a city-scape feel with exposed wood, exposed equipment and a lighter, cleaner, airier feel with a lot of glass. I guess that would be the visual.

Doepke said hes wanted to expand his business to Missoula for a long time but couldnt find the right building.

Weve been, honestly, like the last close to four years looking at coming down there, he said. Our original reason to go to Missoula was, I just think its ripe for it. People are definitely keen on it. We kept getting feedback from people that came up to the valley that were from Missoula saying, You have to come down, you have to come down. It was really just in response to that, to be honest with you. We kept hearing it. It piqued our interest.

He was at the point of thinking it was never going to happen when they finally came across an ideal downtown location. However, they have to gut the entire thing to modernize the heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical.

Were going to extend the building out kind of to meet with the edge of that back street at Caras Park, he explained. Well extend the back out another 40 feet, so it will be a year-round patio space. It will be mainly glass on the back side. Its going to be cool.

He said the back room will have more of a date night feel, but in the summer the vibe will change.

The front will have a dining feel, he continued. Itll be like the one in Bigfork, kind of more to hang out with friends in larger groups and have a drink and eat eel rolls. It will be a little bit more of a party atmosphere in front.

The downstairs portion will actually have a different name and a large bar.

It will be quite a different in concept and ambiance, he explained. It will be very dark, a little more quiet, but it might be a little more riotous later in the night. The hope is that itll be kind of a quiet, very cool place to hang out with friends.

The menu promises to be eclectic.

"Well have dim sum, which would be obviously street foods like dumplings, Doepke said. Then you would have like, rafute, which is slow-cooked pork belly from Okinawa, and shabu-shabu (a Japanese hotpot dish with thin-sliced meats and boiled vegetables) and a bunch of different ingredients that you share with people and dip with a hot broth. Well have Burmese-style dumplings, pork and shrimp wrapped in Asian aromatic leaves and things like that. There will be an elevated fresh-cut Thai salad and things that you can share.

Doepke said the Bigfork restaurant has been very successful, and hes hoping to gain the same loyal customer base in Missoula.

We spent a lot of time in Japan, and Ive learned you have to try to basically cater to every kind of sushi eater, he said. I would say 10 percent of our clientele are serious sushi eaters, and the other 90 percent are people who are discovering it for the first time or who have been in and had a roll and want the fusion realm. You have to cater to both those diners and have an authentic style.

Doepke said that he was able to get a full liquor license  the one owned by the old Lucky Strike Casino. He said the project is a huge investment, but he's excited for the opportunity.

"We're hoping that the people of Missoula are into it," he said.
DEER LODGE  A former Montana State Prison correctional officer pleaded guilty in Deer Lodge district court this week to felony charges of transfer of illegal items.

Brett Bernard Lombardi, 36, of Deer Lodge entered a plea of no contest to the charge of the transfer of alcohol to inmates, admitting there was likelihood that a jury would find him guilty of the offense, and guilty to three charges of illegal transfer of tobacco. In the plea agreement, four other charges were dismissed.

A pre-sentence investigation was ordered by Judge Ray Dayton. Lombardi could be sentenced to up to 13 months in jail and fined $1,500 on each of the charges.

According to court records, Lombardi was accused of operating an illicit business between December 2013 and July 2014 of transferring illegal items to inmates in exchange for money.

Lombardi is free on his own recognizance with conditions, pending sentencing.

In other court proceedings:

DRUNKEN RAMPAGE

Mary Clark, 50, of Deer Lodge was given a two-year deferred sentence and ordered to pay $1,501 restitution, a $200 fine, and $80 in court fees for felony criminal mischief. Probation conditions include she complete a chemical dependency evaluation and follow recommendations and continue in her mental health program.

Previously Clark pleaded no contest to breaking into Ronnie Barks home and taking a jacket that belonged to her mother, but said she was intoxicated and didnt remember trashing the house and destroying property.

PARTNER CHOKED

James Aaron Whittington, 39, of Deer Lodge was sentenced to five years at Montana State Prison with all suspended for felony family/partner assault, third offense or more. During that time he will be under the supervision of the Adult Probation and Parole Bureau.

According to court records, Whittington was accused of assaulting his partner on Jan. 22 or 23, 2016, at which time he choked and hit her, causing bruising and swelling on her face and head. He is also charged with attacking her on Aug. 26, at which time her tooth was knocked out and she was bruised and bleeding.

NOT GUILTY PLEA

Tawnee A. Felde, 26, of Deer Lodge pleaded not guilty to felony possession of dangerous drugs-methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. If guilty, she could be sentenced to five years in prison and fined up to $50,000.

According to court records, on April 11, Felde was given a three-year deferred sentence for possession of methamphetamine. Allegedly, she tested positive for meth three times between April 11 and May 18. At 8 a.m. on May 18, probation officers performed a search of a vehicle belonging to Felde during which they allegedly found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

She is free on $10,000 bond with conditions pending further court proceedings.
Nine blows of the original Granite Mountain whistle sounded Thursday night to break a moment of silence for the lives lost in the 1917 fire at the Granite Mountain and Speculator mines.

Nine whistles meant that an uncontrollable fire was burning in the mine.

Some in the crowd at the memorial site wore T-shirts commemorating the anniversary of the Granite Mountain-Speculator Mine fire of June 8, 1917, which remains the worst disaster in hard-rock mining history 100 years later.

Hard-rock miners Larry Hoffman and Matt Krattiger wore helmets with carbide lamps, their open flames jumping and flickering in the breeze. A hand-held carbide lamp started the 1917 fire when a miner accidentally touched the flame to exposed paraffin paper deep in a well-ventilated shaft.

The evening of remembrance began with a pledge of allegiance led by the VFW Color Guard, after which Gerry Walter, who led the campaign to build the memorial in the 1990s, opened with a prayer.

We count among our blessings our U.S. citizenship, our Montana roots, our sheltering mountains, our expansive living space -- and most of all, our shared love for and pride in Butte, America," she read.

Humor suffused the memorial along with solemnity, sermons on courage and occasional tears. Referring to the hike some attendees had to make from their parked cars, memorial board member Sara Sparks joked, "Just remember that a hundred years ago, everyone walked, and it was snowing."

Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive Dave Palmer presented Walters with a resolution of gratitude for her work on the memorial engraved on a plaque, which attendees affirmed with a standing ovation.

Accepting the award, Walters declared, "I now claim that I'm from Butte!"

Montana Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney spoke in recognition of the enduring power of Butte's labor history, especially the "years of tumultuous disaster" following the fire, which were fueled by bottomless wartime demand and workers' growing insistence on safety and fair working conditions.

Staffers from the offices of Jon Tester and Steve Daines read proclamations that the senators gave on the floor of the Senate Thursday. Daines' words honored the miners' sacrifice and the courage they showed. Tester's speech celebrated the legacy of the labor movement in Montana and in the country, including laws that remain in effect today.

Meghan Farren, a great-great-granddaughter of fire victim Manus Duggan, found the event surprisingly moving. "I didn't expect it to be so touching -- it's been 100 years," she said. But growing up in the shadow of the disaster left its mark on her family. Her grandmother, named Manus after her father, was born four weeks after his death.

Parish Priest Fr. Patrick Beretta pointed out that the ancient Greeks believed Pluto to be the god of death, wealth and mining -- and that on the night of June 8, 1917, "death, wealth and mining were neighbors caught in an inferno."

But, Beretta said, "we don't heal from grief by forgetting; we heal from grief by remembering." Through song, prayer and stories, the gathered community recalled the grief of the disaster and the citys resilience.

In the distance, Our Lady of the Rockies stood sentinel as the crowd recited the Lord's Prayer, holding hands with loved ones.

The evening ended with the VFW performing a 21-gun salute and Pete Godtland, a Butte resident and a World War II veteran, playing taps. Attendees opened boxes containing butterflies, which Walter called a symbol of re-birth. The butterflies emerged tentatively at first, and then all in a rush. The promised rain held off. By the time the crowd dispersed, the setting sun was breaking through the clouds, stray butterflies flapping around the flagpoles.
President Donald Trump said on Friday what he would not at NATO headquarters last month: He is committed to NATO's principle of common defense.

"I am committing the United States to Article 5," Trump said at Friday's press conference, referring to the alliance's principle that an attack on one NATO nation is an attack on them all.

"And certainly we are there to protect," Trump added, saying this is why the US is "paying the kind of money necessary to have that force."

"Yes, absolutely I would be committed to Article 5," he concluded.

But Trump declined to make the same statement during his speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels last month, when he scolded NATO leaders for failing to meet the alliance's defense spending guideline of 2% of GDP.

Appearing with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Friday, Trump also reiterated his call for NATO members to meet the guideline  along with his claim that NATO members should repay what he regards as underpayments from previous years.

That didn't seem to bother Iohannis, who noted that Romania was the first country under Trump's administration to "step up to 2 percent of GDP for defense spending."

"I'm very glad that due to your strong leadership NATO decided to go against terrorism," the Romanian president said. "Your involvement made so many nations conscious of the fact that we have to share the burden inside NATO."

CNN's Dan Merica contributed to this report.
For a moment, let's just pretend that as the United States exits the Paris Climate Accord, the coal economy is going to come rushing back.

And while we're at it, let's welcome back the telegraphers, lithographers and scriveners.

What happened to those jobs of the previous century was not a function of government overreach, but the inevitable change in markets and technology. Those now-extinct professions became that way precisely because of the free-market system which we hold so dear. Technology and innovation came along and rendered those jobs obsolete. We bet that was little comfort to those whose entire work had been wiped out by, say, the telephone.

The point is that the lament was momentary but the progress endured.

So, too, we might imagine with coal.

The Billings Gazette Editorial Board has discussed coal plenty on these pages. Today, it's time to make the truly American case for remaining in the Paris agreement, along with most of the rest of the world. The decision to remain should be seen as an issue that reaches far beyond a discussion of energy.

We now join a rogue's gallery of countries which do not participate in Paris, including Syria, Iraq, Yemen and North Korea. That alone should give us pause. Are those the countries with whom we want to be associated?

Keep in mind that participation in Paris not mandatory, and the terms, if we had truly believed needed changing could have been negotiated.

And yet we continue to debate climate change and the human impact as part of that.

Looking around in Montana, we can see something is changing. Our forests are burning up and the Yellowstone River last year ran shallow, hot and stressed.

We owe it to the next generation of Montanans to leave the state at least as good --if not better -- than when we inherited from our parents and grandparents. That means we have an obligation to do our part when it comes to climate change.

Exiting Paris means much more to America than simply pulling out of a deal we don't like, or curbing carbon emissions.

Exiting Paris is an abdication of our long-standing and proud leadership role in the world.

As a superpower, if we don't commit to change, why should other countries? If America -- the greatest country on earth -- exits then surely others cannot be blamed for doing whatever they want. Meanwhile the global temperatures will continue to increase.

The changes to Paris indeed may only work to effect 0.2 degrees Celsius of change. But that 0.2 degrees Celsius is part of a larger 2 degrees that will be captured as part of worldwide carbon reduction. That translates to nearly four degrees Fahrenheit. Point-two degrees doesn't sound like much, but four degrees is a much bigger deal, especially when we're talking about melting ice caps, flooding and the world burning up.

Whether it's World War II, a humanitarian aid after a disaster, or fighting against terrorism, America hasn't just asked the question: Is something a good deal for us? Instead, it's framed its decisions on whether we had an obligation to use our power and status for the benefit of the entire globe.

President Donald J. Trump has railed against the Paris provisions in which we've given money to other countries. But of the nearly $3 billion that is committed to aid, only $1 billion has been spent. Of that money, $1 billion went to other poorer countries to help them develop cleaner energy so that by improving their conditions they could do it without terrible pollution.

Speaking of that, we continue to hear Republicans cheer because exiting Paris will mean a coal renaissance. But ask most coal industry experts and they'll tell you what continues to kill coal is natural gas, which has a much smaller carbon footprint. Coal is also impacted by a host of other newer technologies, some less reliable, like solar and wind.

The economic viability of large-scale "clean coal" technology hasn't quite panned out, either. Looking through the pages of just The Billings Gazette, you can see decades of reporting about clean coal technology or techniques to make it better, but innovations have lagged far behind the hopeful talk.

As much as conservatives love to tout the benefits and strengths of a free market, they must also be chagrined because that is exactly what has happened to coal. The free market has determined that coal cannot currently compete with other cheaper forms of energy nor can innovation be done cheap enough to make it economically viable.

What's equally shocking is that those same conservatives can't get on board with Paris.

Many business leaders have been shocked by Trump's exit, despite calls from some Republicans to stay in. That's because businesses know that thriving and prospering is difficult in a times of uncertainly and catastrophe.

Paris was important because it set standards and goals, and those gave the U.S. some modicum of certainty about the future. That, in turn, led to some stability. In other words, businesses could plan, budget and predict.

The exit has thrown the situation back into disarray. Who knows what the worldwide impact on American businesses will be?

For those who point out that other developing nations like India or China have it easier than we do in the climate agreement, go take a deep breath in one of India's hyperpolluted cities and then breath ours in Montana. And don't forget, China is ahead of meeting its goals set out by Paris.

The best kind of leadership the United States can display is the quiet strength of doing something for the right reasons, not just the profitable ones.

-- The Billings Gazette


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  ,        , -     28         .
HELENA (AP)  The Montana Supreme Court has appointed former U.S. Attorney Michael Cotter as head of the office that investigates and prosecutes misconduct cases against lawyers in the state.

Cotter will replace current Chief Disciplinary Counsel Shaun Thompson, who is retiring after 12 years in the post.

Cotter was one of 45 U.S. attorneys who were forced to resign in March by President Donald because they were Obama administration appointees. Cotter had been the state's top federal prosecutor since 2009.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel handles complaints against lawyers before the state Commission on Practice.

Chief Justice Mike McGrath said in a statement Friday that Cotter's experience is an ideal fit for the position.

Cotter is scheduled to take office on July 3.
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MUSCATINE  Drivers hoping to successfully navigate construction detours in downtown Muscatine now have a new tool.

Mark Warren, from the Muscatine Area Geographic Information Consortium, or MAGIC, showed city council members Thursday a new tool on the city's website. At the bottom of the webpage, visitors will be directed to an interactive map showing all ongoing construction projects and detours.

Warren said the group is taking advantage of internet servers at Muscatine Power and Water to run the program, and the map will be updated weekly with new routes and information.

Warren said the city has also developed a back-up to the interactive map by partnering with the mobile traffic and navigation application Waze. The city can update the app with road closure and other detour information.

He said the Iowa DOT was the first organization in the state to partner with Waze, and Muscatine was the second, putting the city ahead of other local jurisdictions when it comes to digital mapping.

"A lot of younger people use Waze," Warren said. "And it's a quick way for people coming into town to see road closures and things to look at."

Also at Thursday's in-depth council meeting, aldermen discussed sidewalk repairs, parking issues and a potential grant to pay for fuel efficient, clean burning city buses.

Sidewalk Repairs

City Planner Andrew Fangman presented council members with this year's plans to repair sidewalks in two different areas. The city allocated $100,000 for the sidewalk repair program.

Fangman said this year's work will continue sidewalk construction done last year. About 1,400 feet of sidewalk would be built around the west side of Madison Elementary School, leading to the Mad Creek Greenbelt.

The estimated cost of the sidewalk is $87,500, which would allow the city to also construct a sidewalk along the north side of Tanglefoot Lane for $26,000.

Alderman Philip Fitzgerald said he believes a sidewalk is most needed at Tanglefoot Lane because more people walk in the area, but city officials also emphasized the importance of having a safe sidewalk for Madison students to use.

Alderman Santos Saucedo requested a study to be done on the cost of constructing a sidewalk to allow residents to reach Deep Lakes Park, because currently walkers and cyclists use the roadway.

City staff will consider the recommendations and should propose a bid letting date later this month.

No parking issue at Sunset Circle

Public Works Director Brian Stineman presented the council with plans to restrict parking on both sides of Sunset Circle. Currently, there are no parking signs on the north side of the street, which the council decided to put up to test the impact on the area.

Stineman said having cars parked on the street is a safety hazard and makes it difficult for drivers to have a clear line of vision.

Jeff Schmitt, a resident who lives on Sunrise Circle, said "it's not a convenience issue, it's a slow down traffic issue."

He said several children walk to the area from Grant Elementary School, and he fears if nothing changes, someone will be injured.

"Delaying it further isn't going to change the situation," he said. "It's not going to change the safety issue."

City Administrator Gregg Mandsager said if there is no parking on both sides of the street, the city could increase the speed limit at Sunset Circle.

Residents also said the speed hump leading to Sunset Circle is a safety hazard, because most drivers do not notice it and continue to speed.

Mandsager said the speed hump will be removed this year. The council could vote on adding no parking signs on both sides of Sunset Circle at its meeting next week.

Low-No Emissions Program Grant

Muscatine Transit Supervisor Kristy Korpi updated aldermen on plans to apply for a grant through the Federal Transit Authority, which would allow the city to purchase six compressed natural gas, or CNG, buses, plus fueling and maintenance facilities.

"It'll be clean burning fuel," she said. "No more diesel engines, no more replacement of diesel engines, which have been huge chunks taken out of the budget."

Korpi said the buses have the same mileage as the city's gas buses, would have a longer lifespan and would cut gas prices.

She said the city has been visiting with MetroLINK in Rock Island and Moline, because both cities already use CNG buses.

The grant would pay for up to 90 percent of the cost to purchase the buses and build a fueling station.

Korpi said while the grant might be competitive, Muscatine has an advantage because the city is designing a High Strength Waste Receiving Station, that will convert organic waste into renewable natural gas to fuel the buses.

She said few cities around the country can say its vehicles run on local waste, and this project could garner national attention for Muscatine.

Korpi said the grant will likely be awarded in September.
MUSCATINE  Mark Mitchell, owner Contrary Brewing Company, told city officials he mounted an aggressive marketing campaign to combat the effects of Mississippi Drive construction on his business. So far, its working, he said. Customers are coming in and profits remain about the same as before.

He has been spending more money on advertising, however, marketing the brewery on Facebook, creating a map to show people the best route to his establishment, and signing up for a text messaging service that allows him to send route updates to his regulars.

Were still here and were still open, he said. And were going to keep plugging away at it.

City officials are meeting with business owners in the area as part of an ongoing effort to keep lines of communication open during the construction work. Mississippi Drive business owners met with the city Thursday morning.

This is their opportunity to hear whats going on with the project, how that impacts their business, and what can we do to accommodate them as best as we possibly can, said Randy Hill, project manager.

He said city officials met with business owners for the first time last week, and the city will continue these meeting on an ongoing basis. Thursdays meeting focused specifically on Mississippi Drive businesses, but Hill said he will meet separately with business owners on Second Street and on Carver Corner if the need arises.

Hill said the city chose to meet with each group separately because concerns are slightly different. Though he had not gotten direct complaints from business owners on Second Street, Hill said he is aware of the effect of limited parking on these establishments.

We can try to work with them as best we can, but parking is finite so theres only so much (we can do), he said.

Another group of businesses near Carver Corner, he said, also are affected because of the positioning of the barricades for the project.

(Thursdays meeting) worked out well because we can stay focused on their particular issue and yes, we have every intention of doing it with all the groups as we go through, he said.

When construction on the project began May 8, the city closed Mississippi Drive between Cedar and Pine Streets. The city closed an additional section, with the hard close ending on Broadway because of rising water levels.

Lucas Kluever, general contractor for the project, attended the meeting. He said river levels have not decreased enough to continue sewer work in the area.

Were hoping in a week and a half, the river will be down to a stage of 10 foot and we can start doing sanitary and sewer, he said.

The hard close, he said, will likely move back to Pine Street in a week and a half or so, depending on river levels.

Since work began, Kluever said, construction crews tried to work with business owners as much as possible, allowing delivery trucks to go through as needed.

We want to minimize the effect on (business owners) so we do give the most amount of area so they can still get to the front of their doors and get deliveries and stuff, he said. Thats always been the plan for the city and us.

Mitchell worked with the city when he received a delivery, removing barricades so a truck can get through.
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 []
Police on Wednesday nabbed 40 illegal immigrants in Mana estate, Kayole.

Confirming the arrests, Njiru sub-county commander Patrick Mwamba said they received a tip-off from members of the public that there were suspicious men crammed in a small house.

The Ethiopian immigrants, aged between 10 and 25 years, could neither speak English nor Kiswahili but told police through a translator that they were headed for South Africa.

They told police that they arrived in the country on Monday, having paid an agent who was organizing the trip.

Police are looking for the agent as investigations continue.
NASA presidential candidate Raila Odingas request for a revamped security detail has been turned down by the government.

The Opposition leader wanted 34 new bodyguards in addition to the 16 police officers he currently enjoys.

In a letter to the Inspector General of Police, Joseph Boinnet, dated May 23, Raila, through his Spokesman Dennis Onyango, also asked the government to provide him with 11 new vehicles.

The new security detail was to include one officer in the rank of Superintendent, one Chief Inspector, two Inspectors, two Sergeants, four Corporals, and 24 Police Constables(8 of whom were to be drivers).

The chase cars include one Mercedes-Benz, four four-wheel-drive vehicles, and six saloon cars.

An audit of the current strength of the personnel and vehicles provided for Hon Odingas security against the fact that he is now a presidential candidate indicates serious inadequacy, hence the purpose of this letter asking for the review and revamp of the number of both personnel and vehicles assigned to Hon Odingas security, said Railas team in the letter.

Below are screengrabs of the said letter

Of the six saloon cars, two will be assigned to chase cars (one front and one rear), two will be in the advance team, one will be in Nairobi for use in the deployment of officers and the other to remain in Nairobi for escort on his return when he flies out.

Of the four 4WD vehicles, one will be in the convoy for Hon Odingas use, one in the advance team and one to wait in Nairobi to receive him on return when he flies, the letter further reads.

But IG Boinnet on May 28, five days after receiving the request, wrote back and rejected the request. informing Raila that his request for additional security and vehicles could not be

According to the Star, Boinnet told Raila that he already has more policemen than what he is entitled to.

He reportedly asked the NASA flagbearer to refer to the Retirement Benefits (Deputy President and Designated State Officers) Act, No 8 of 2015 which spells out seven benefits that the former PM and his running mate are entitled to, including three vehicles each.

Raila and Kalonzo Musyoka are entitled to two armed security officers.

Raila is currently guarded by 10 GSU officers, two regular police officers, two AP officers and two drivers from the Prisons Department.

Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery has also echoed Boinnets sentiments saying Raila is only entitled to three security guards.

Speaking to journalists yesterday, Nkaissery said that the government will not bend the law in assigning police officers to politicians ahead of the August 8 poll.

But he noted all presidential candidates will get security
The trial of a Kenyan woman accused of plotting to kill her German husband started on Wednesday

Details emerging from the investigations reveal how Armina A, 32, planned with her lover, identified as Jan D, and helped in executing the cold-blooded murder of 58-year-old Ekkehart H.

According to German news outlets, the state prosecutor believes that Armina was the brain behind the plot.

On the day of the incident, September 2016, Armina is said to have allowed her lover into the house and led him into the basement where she had a machete.

Jan D then wore a mask and gloves and waited for his love rival to arrive home.

When Ekkehart arrived home, Armina initiated sexual relations and as the couple romped away, Jan D came from behind and slit Ekkeharts throat.

He then attempted to slice Ekkeharts shin but missed and ended up slashing Arminas Achilles tendon.

Jan D then fled the scene as Armina rushed outside seeking help from neighbors saying that they had been attacked by three masked men.

A week after the attack, Armina told German newspaper Bild that someone had been threatening her husband and had promised to kill him. She went further to even mention her immediate ex-lover, father to the

She went further to implicate Jan D, her immediate ex-lover and father to their five-month-old old daughter.

The police would arrest Arminas ex-boyfriend Jan D who confessed even before being taken into custody.

When Jan D was arrested, he reportedly confessed even before he was taken into custody.

Armina has since been nicknamed Die Schwarze Witwe von Ebersdorf (the black widow of Ebersdorf) by shocked residents.

The trial which started a day before Armina and Ekkeharts would be 10th wedding anniversary will run for eleven days and will see 62 witnesses and seven experts weigh in on the matter.

Armina and Ekkehart got married in 2007 after they met in Kenya while Ekkehart was on holiday.
The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2016 which contains stringent regulations aimed at enhancing safety in Kenyan school buses.

According to the Bill, all school buses will be required to be painted yellow with institution names written in black.

Under the new regulations, school buses will not be allowed to operate between 10 pm and 5 am.

The Bill also states that a motor vehicle designated to transport children to or from school, or for any non-school related activity, when they are in a group, shall be fitted with safety belts designed to be used by children.

The lawmakers, however, rejected a proposal to have the speed limit of vehicles approaching learning institutions fixed at 30km per hour and instead had it fixed at 50km per hour.

The Bill, sponsored by Laisamis MP Joseph Lekuton, also stipulates that any person who contravenes its provisions will be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh30,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months, or to both.

Other vehicles that regularly transport school children but are not schools buses will be exempted from the stringent rules but will be required to adhere to other traffic rules.

According to the NTSA school bus safety rules, school driver recruitment should involve both the Parents Teachers Association representation (PTA) and school administration due to the important responsibility that is entrusted those persons.

School bus drivers are also required to successfully complete a written and oral test covering driver duties, bus operating procedures, traffic and school bus regulations, road emergency and crash related procedures such as first aid, basic appreciation of the development stages and needs of pre-school and school age child supervision, responsibilities and transportation of passengers with special needs.

The bill is awaiting presidential assent.
On Tuesday, May 23, the St. Helena City Council rejected the Culinary Institute of America's appeal for expansion. The area of contention is the proposed incremental student housing on the property owned by the CIA on Pratt Avenue. But I wonder how many of us truly appreciate what the CIA Greystone means to the city of St. Helena.

In 2016, participants in CIA conferences and events booked more than 8,000 hotel room nights. During that same year, the CIA participated in more than 15 community events providing food, personnel and venues for groups ranging from the St. Helena Fire Department to Auction Napa Valley. The CIA also provides much-needed culinary workers to support our vital hospitality industry.

I am certainly sympathetic to concerns of the residents on Pratt Avenue and the immediate neighborhood, but many of their concerns have been addressed by the CIA with plans to provide shuttle buses and bike lanes to minimize parking and traffic issues. It is unfortunate that the timing of the CIA's proposal followed so closely behind the opening of Los Alcobas, which has impacted many of the same local residents, but hopefully these issues are being resolved as the hotel completes its construction and furnishings. The CIA proposal should be judged on its own merit and not be penalized because of the hotel's hopefully short-lived problems.

As a resident of St. Helena, and an active volunteer in many local organizations, I applaud the work of the CIA, and want to keep this esteemed institution and their talented students here in St. Helena.

Both the managing director of the CIA Napa Valley and the St. Helena Planning and Community Improvement Director have expressed a desire to find a solution. I encourage my friends and neighbors to support the CIA's proposed expansion and urge the Planning Commission and City Council to work with the CIA to quickly approve a plan that will meet their needs.

Stacey Bressler

St. Helena
A leading journal of political philosophy took up the Black Lives Matter movement in its June issue without a single contribution from a black academic, triggering an outcry from African-American scholars.

Many black scholars said they felt insulted and ignored, and some took to social media to express their indignation. Two wrote open letters to the Journal of Political Philosophy.

The journal's editors were apologetic for what they conceded was an "especially grave oversight" and vowed to increase diversity on its editorial board and in its pages.

The episode highlights what some intellectuals say is a lack of diverse voices in the influential research journals where getting a paper accepted is often vital to getting ahead in the publish-or-perish world of academia.

The omission left many wondering: Do black minds matter?

"This is not an abstract philosophical question. There are real goods at stake when we talk about which voices count," said Yale University philosopher Chris Lebron, who recently wrote a book on Black Lives Matter and wrote one of the letters to the journal.

The journal is a peer-reviewed academic quarterly that explores topics such as sociology, history, economics and race. It devoted part of its latest issue to a "symposium" on Black Lives Matter, inviting three white scholars to contribute articles on racial bias, law enforcement and the right to personal security.

UCLA political scientist Melvin Rogers, one of the black scholars who raised objections with the journal, called the lack of black voices "especially egregious" in this case.

"You have a major social movement that comes about because of police violence and a failure of the state to respond effectively," Rogers said. "You put together a symposium ... and construct it in such a way that replicates the very problem the movement is trying to respond to. The signal this sends to scholars of color that care about this is that they, too, are invisible."

The journal editors responded: "We accept the point eloquently and forcefully made by our colleagues that this is an especially grave oversight in light of the specific focus of Black Lives Matter on the extent to which African-Americans have been erased and marginalized from public life."

In April, the American Historical Review apologized after allowing a professor with views seen as supporting white supremacy to review a book on school segregation.

Rogers said he sees a dearth of minority scholars in major journals. But he added that because of the common practice of blind peer review  where articles considered for publication are submitted and critiqued anonymously, something that was not done in this case  there is no clear way to know whether bias is to blame.

Some scholars suggested that journals are reflecting and compounding a larger problem in academia: the small number of black scholars. Two percent of faculty members at the nation's top institutions are black, according to Ivory A. Toldson, editor of the Journal of Negro Education.

Toldson said black scholars also must contend with the long-held belief among some whites that blacks cannot write about race with objectivity.

"We're taught that you're supposed to separate yourself subjectively from the matter you're researching to prevent bias," he said. But that belief "can really become a tool of oppression itself. What sense does it make for someone to tell us that we're less qualified to speak to matters that we have a personal connection with?"

Megan Ming Francis, a black political scientist at the University of Washington, said she has been asked to do peer reviews, especially in her area of expertise  black social movements during the lynching era. She complained that black scholarship is sometimes seen as less rigorous.

On topics such as black history or politics, Francis said, "we have to make our case a bit more than others."

Toldson said the journal incident has exposed "a huge racial blind spot" that goes beyond one publication.

"It's pervasive throughout the academy," said Toldson, a psychology professor at Howard University. Journal editors "are gatekeepers. They can make or break someone's career. And they're making decisions they don't want to admit are loaded with racial biases."
The NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ms. Rose Gottemoeller will travel to Turku, Finland on Saturday, 10 June and Sunday, 11 June 2017.

On 11 June, the Deputy Secretary General will participate in a panel on Foreign and Security policy at the Kultaranta Talks hosted by the President of the Republic, H.E. Mr. Sauli Niinisto.

During her visit, the Deputy Secretary General will meet with the President, H.E. Mr. Sauli Niinisto, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr.Timo Soini, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Mr. Jukka Juusti and other officials.

Media Advisory

11 June

16:00 (Local) Deputy Secretary General joint press conference with the President of the Republic of Finland, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy  Kultaranta Castle

The joint press conference will be live streamed here: https://presidentti.videosync.fi/live

Still images of the event will be available on the NATO website (www.nato.int) after the event.

More details on the Conference can be found at http://bit.ly/2s6KQQe

Follow the Deputy Secretary General on Twitter (@Gottemoeller). Also follow us at (@NATOPress).
Thank you for that kind introduction. It is an honour to share the same platform with Prime Minister Sobotka, President Juncker and High Representative Mogherini. It is also a pleasure to be here in the city of the Prague Initiative, an initiative that has been central to nuclear disarmament policy in recent years. And in my current capacity, I would like to underscore NATOs enduring commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is at the heart of the global rules-based order to control and reduce nuclear weapons.

Prague is also a city I associate with the struggle for freedom. Last month I was at the GLOBSEC security conference in Bratislava. There I saw the great freedom fighter, Lubos Dobrovsky, receive the Czech and Slovak Transatlantic Award for his contribution to making the transatlantic bond stronger throughout his career.

Dobrovsky started as a journalist, broadcasting illegally during the Soviet invasion of 1968. Then, much later, with the Velvet Revolution, he became a leading figure in the movement for change in Czechoslovakia. As part of the new government, he negotiated the removal of Soviet troops and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact.

It was people like Dobrovsky who moved the countries of central and Eastern Europe from tyranny to freedom, opening them up to the transatlantic community and to membership of the two great institutions, NATO and the European Union. They are two institutions that differ in many ways, but which at their core share the same mission - to ensure our security, our prosperity, and our liberty.

This is harder today than it has been for a generation. We face a range of complex, long-term challenges: a more assertive Russia that has seized Crimea, the sovereign territory of Ukraine, by force and that attempts to undermine our democracies through propaganda and cyber-attacks.

Another challenge is the rise of a particularly barbarous breed of terrorist, whose objective is to claim as many innocent lives as possible, as we saw once more last Saturday in London. And there are other challenges, such as the increasing threat from ballistic missiles and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

These challenges demand a broad, multi-faceted approach by the international community. NATOs political-military alliance plays an important role in every facet. In the last few years, we have implemented the biggest increase in our collective defence since the Cold War, and we are just days from completing the deployment of troops from across the Alliance to the Baltic countries, Poland and Romania.

But while NATO must be part of any solution, it cannot do it all. No institution, no individual country  not even the most powerful in the world  can do this alone. That is why NATO places so much emphasis on close cooperation with the European Union. The EU has been playing an enormously important role through its diplomacy, sanctions policy and development cooperation, bringing us sustainable security.

I agree with High Representative Mogherini who said, "Military might can be necessary. But it's never sufficient because of the complexity of the crises that we have in front of us." I very much welcome recent EU initiatives to strengthen European defence, such as the Global Strategy and its related decisions, and the European Defence Action Plan. The reflection paper that just appeared is a good contribution to the debate about the future of European Defence.

Of course, NATO welcomes the proposal for a European Defence Fund to increase the effectiveness of European spending on defence. As President Juncker and Prime Minister Sobotka said in their joint OpEd in the Wall Street Journal this week, there is a great deal that the EU can do to coordinate the efforts of member states. At the moment, too many resources are wasted through duplication and a lack of coordination. This is an area where the EU can make a big difference and we strongly support their efforts to do so. A stronger European defence means a stronger NATO; and a stronger NATO means stronger European defence

In this context, let me say a few words about the unique nature of NATOs contribution to Europes security. NATO leaders have, for almost seventy years, constantly reaffirmed NATOs commitment to defending each other.

NATO remains the Transatlantic framework for strong collective defence and the essential forum for security consultations and decisions among Allies. Deterrence and defence is at the heart of the Alliances mission and purpose. Allies are committed to ensure that NATO has the full range of capabilities necessary to fulfil all Alliance missions. As a means to prevent conflict and war, credible deterrence and defence are essential.

The US is making a unique contribution to deterrence and defence by providing for extended deterrence in Europe. Extended deterrence is not only about nuclear weapons, it is about all the considerable military capabilities that the United States deploys in defence of its allies. It is about the very considerable conventional forces that the United States has forward deployed for Europes defence.

We see this in the US-led battlegroup in Poland; in the US heavy brigade that forms part of the European Reassurance Initiative for Eastern Europe; and in the $1.4 billion in new money that President Trump has just put forward in his fiscal year 2018 budget.

Moreover, the fact that Canada has come back to Europe with forces to support NATO enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltics is another strategic signal of the importance of the trans-Atlantic bond for Europes security. The battlegroup that Canada is leading in Latviawith Latvia providing the framework but with many other NATO Allies participatingis a tangible expression of this fact.

NATO and the EU share 22 of the same member countries. We must stand together, and work together, if we are to continue to protect the interests and security of our people.

Last summer in Warsaw, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg signed a joint declaration with Presidents Juncker and Tusk, to set out our determination to move forward together; to increase our cooperation in a range of areas; and to do so in a spirit of collaboration, and not competition. It is vital that we make the most of the means at our disposal, and not waste them through duplication.

Last December, we agreed to turn that joint declaration into a concrete plan, agreeing on 42 practical measures across a wide range of areas, including maritime issues, exercises, defence industry and research, defence capabilities, and cyber-defence. We have succeeded in implementing these measures and look forward to taking our cooperation further, looking into new areas.

But even more important is the change to the culture of our relationship. Cooperation is now the norm, and not the exception. This is a vitally important step forward and Im glad to be able to reinforce that cooperation by appearing on the same platform as President Junker and High Representative Mogherini today.

This sort of close cooperation is an essential part of our adaptation to a new, more dangerous security environment. That adaptation is ongoing. On 25 May, we held a meeting of NATO leaders in Brussels. We discussed burden sharing and the bond that links our two continents  Europe and North America  and what more we can do in the fight against terrorism.

When it comes to further enhancing NATO-EU cooperation, working together to combat terrorism must be an important part of our future work.

Neither NATO nor the EU can tackle the challenges we face in our shared neighbourhood alone. Neither of us has all the tools to deal with the security situation around our borders. But, together, we have the full array of tools and we can be a formidable force for peace and stability.
Prime Minister Sobotka, President Junker its an honour to share a platform with you here in Prague. Prime Minister I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the Czech Republic for being a strong member of NATO. You have made a strong commitment to the Alliance and President Junker I welcome the continued cooperation between the European Union and NATO. I cant agree more with your words a few moments ago.

Prime Minister, your armed forced are well known for their professionalism and dedication and we truly appreciate it in the NATO Alliance. Czech troops serve with distinction in Afghanistan with our Resolute Support Mission. They also contribute to NATOs KFOR peacekeeping operation in Kosovo.

Last month in Brussels NATO leaders took important decisions on improving burden sharing in the Alliance and on stepping up the fight against terrorism. NATO is now a formal member of the global coalition to defeat ISIS. Allied leaders also decided to report annually on national plans setting out how allies intend to meet the defense investment pledge that we all made together in 2014. And I welcome that the Czech Republic plans to increase its investments in defense.

President Junker, NATO and the E.U. are indeed stepping up their cooperation. NATO and the E.U. have jointly endorsed 42 specific measures to do more and they are being implemented. Working together can help us to face threats in the hybrid arena, cyber threats, many of the newer types of threats and problems that we are grappling with today. NATO welcomes plans for greater E.U. investment in defense. A European defense fund will help to develop new military capabilities, improve cooperation and reduce duplication. Stronger European defense means a stronger NATO. NATO is ultimately the guarantor of Europes collective defense and the Trans-Atlantic bond remains the bedrock of European security. Allies from North America and Europe now have troops serving together in battle groups across the Baltic States and Poland. Two of these battle groups are led by the United States and by Canada. They demonstrate the enduring strength of the Trans-Atlantic bond. And I welcome the recent U.S. budget proposal to significantly increase their presence in Europe with more troops, infrastructure and exercises. Its a strong signal of Americas continued commitment to NATO and to European security. And from Norway and Iceland in the north, to Turkey in the southeast Europeans rely on non-E.U. States to keep them safe.

Stronger E.U. efforts in defense are to be welcomed but anything the E.U. does must complement and not compete with what NATO does. And as we face a more uncertain world close partnership between NATO and the E.U. is essential. So, gentlemen I thank you very much and I look forward to your questions.

ROSE GOTTEMOELLER (NATO Deputy Secretary General): Perhaps if I could add a word on this matter as well. I think that the Presidents mention just now of 2014, that is a watershed year for a number of reasons. Its the year that Russia seized Crimea, its also the year that we saw the rise of ISIL and their seizure of Mosul. And it was in that very year that NATO at the Wales Summit adapted the, adopted rather the defense investment pledge. So, I too want to stress that this matter of raising the commitment to national defense expenditure and to coherent and prioritized defense acquisitions is a matter that was really embraced by the NATO Alliance in 2014 as well and is absolutely nothing new that can be dated to November of 2016.

Q: If I may, another question for Mrs. Gottemoeller if this cooperation, if this appears this close cooperation of certain member States of the E.U. how does that go together with, or where does NATO stand on this? Thank you.

ROSE GOTTEMOELLER: So, I always like to remind everyone that 22 members of the E.U. are also at the same time member States of NATO, so I like President Junkers mention of the same family. There is sometimes some strife among families, we have to take that into account but there are also great opportunities for cooperation and necessary collaboration for the success and in this case, mutual defense of us all. So, truly we are quite positive and very, very supportive of the efforts that are being undertaken now in the European Union to develop more efficient and effective means to really strengthen mutual defense and security.
(Natural News) A botched measles vaccination campaign has left 15 young children dead and dozens more sickened in the rural town of Kapoeta in South Sudan early last month. Government inquiry found that unsanitary and unsafe vaccination practice, which saw children as young as 12 years old administering the vaccines, caused the deaths of children under the age of five. Another 32 children were sickened with fever, diarrhea, and vomiting following the vaccination. The campaign, which vaccinated about 300 people, was carried out by the countrys Ministry of Health. The vaccines were provided by UNICEF, while funding and technical advice came from the World Health Organization (WHO).

A investigation carried out by the National Adverse Events Following Immunization Committee (AEFI) revealed that severe sepsis and toxicity resulting from contaminated vaccine were the main causes of deaths in children. The AEFI report found that the vaccination team did not adhere to the WHOs immunization safety standards. According to the report, the team that vaccinated the children were neither qualified nor trained for the campaign. The report also revealed that a single reconstitution syringe was used for multiple vaccine vials for the entire duration of the campaign instead of discarding it after single use. This lead to the contamination of the vials and the subsequent infection in children.

In addition, the report found that the vaccination team did not follow the WHOs cold chain protocols as specified in the Measles Supplementary Immunization Activities guidelines. According to the report, the vaccines were stored in a building with no cold chain facility for four days, thus affecting the quality of the vaccines. A WHO spokesperson said the organization released a field book that underscored the importance of training and hygienic practices in immunization. The spokesperson also said that the WHO will take measures to prevent the same crisis in the future.

The WHO role in vaccination training extends only to training the county or hub supervisor. The training protocols that are used for training the county or hub supervisor are expected to be used to train at the lower levelsIn particular, WHO will be examining how we select, supervise and manage the training of all those involved in vaccination campaigns in South Sudan to prevent or mitigate this type of tragedy in the future, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic was quoted in saying in LATimes.com.

Ministry of Health, WHO and UNICEF express our deep regret and sadness at the passing of the children. This tragic event could have been prevented by adhering to WHO immunization safety standardsVaccination is one of the most basic and critical health needs in emergencies to protect populations from the risk of contracting deadly but preventable diseases. The risk of measles and other Vaccine Preventable Diseases in South Sudan remains extremely high because of the challenges being faced by the health system. The country has experienced significant measles outbreaks among unprotected population caused by a backlog of unvaccinated children in areas of insecurity, a joint statement by the WHO and UNICEF read.

The Ministry of Health has tapped a multi-agency administrative committee to assess the AEFI report and provide appropriate recommendations for further actions to improve immunization service delivery.

Measles remains to be a huge challenge in South Sudan

Measles continues to be a huge public health burden in South Sudan. In fact, United Nations (U.N.) data showed that nearly 3,000 people contracted the disease and 28 people died of the infection in 2016 alone. The data also found that 665 people have already been infected and at least one person died of measles so far this year. According to the U.N., the risk of measles infection in South Sudan remains extremely high.

Sources include:

Afro.WHO.int

CTVNews.ca

LATimes.com

NPR.org
(Natural News) Google could be facing a hefty fine if the European Commission finds the search engine giant guilty of breaching antitrust rules. Following a seven-year investigation that was triggered by several complaints form Googles U.S. and European rivals, the company could be slapped with a whopping $7 billion fine.

The antitrust investigation against Google began in 2010. This stemmed from accusations that the interest search giant abused its dominant position to skew search engine results to favor its own shopping services. After a five-year investigation, The EU watchdog competition filed a complaint against the company. Google has previously rejected the charges, saying that the regulators ignored competition from other online retailers like eBay Inc. and Amazon.

The punishment for antitrust breach can go up to 10 percent of the companys annual turnover, which is the amount of revenue in a particular period. In Googles case, that fine can reach up to $7 billion. If found guilty, the search engine giant will also be asked to stop manipulating the online search results in their favor and to cease other alleged anti-competitive practices to even out the playing field for everyone. Its still not certain, however, what exact measures the company would need to implement to ensure rival companies get equal treatment in online shopping results.

Search engine results are important in determining which businesses get customers. Customers go online to look for products and/or services using specific keywords, which when typed on to the search engine, pulls up a list of businesses. The first page of the search engine is crucial because customers are most likely to order from companies that appear here. Additionally, appearing at the top of the list increases the chances of getting customers.

According to a report from Reuters, Google previously made attempts to settle the case with former European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia to avoid having to pay a possible fine. All attempts were unsuccessful. The current commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, has expressed an unwillingness to settle with the company.

This isnt the first time Google has been involved in very expensive complaints. In 2016, the commission said that the company broke antitrust rules by abusing its position by imposing restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators. Vestager said that the company denied customers a wider choice of mobile apps and services and that it stands in the way of innovation from the other players in the market.

Earlier this year, Google agreed to pay 306 million Euros in back taxes to Italy and Ireland to finally put an end to a series of disputes for the tax years 2002-2006 and 2014-2015.

Google also lost an antitrust appeal in Russia over pre-loading Android apps in 2016. According to a report by ZDNet.com, the Federal Antimonopoly Service found Google using its dominance to force its own apps and services on users, which significantly diminished competition. It also paid the U.K. government 130 million British Pounds in back taxes that span 10 years. Another country that seeks to get paid for back taxes worth $1.76 billion is France. The countrys finance minister, Michel Sapin, expressed that they would pursue legal action and that a settlement is off the table. Meanwhile, Google is in hot waters after Germany passed its ancillary-copyright law, which grants publishers the right to content instead of the article author.

Aside from the possible multi-million dollar fine, the European Union also instructed Google and other internet giants to put a stop on hate speech. European laws does not allow incitement to violence or hatred directed against people based on descent, religion, race and color, or ethnic origin.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

ZDNet.com

Reuters.com
Thursday, June 08, 2017 by: Earl Garcia Tags: Colorado , hemp , Nevada , Oregon , Vermont This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has recently signed into law Senate Bill 396, which will allow the cultivation of industrial hemp for commercial purposes. The bill would also authorize the production of agricultural hemp seed in the state. The laws approval meant that Nevada has nullified a federal prohibition in hemp products in practice and effect within the state. The federal government currently bans hemp seed acquisition.

The bill was introduced in March by a bipartisan group of 12 legislators. The bills recent approval will expand current law passed in 2015 that allows only institutions of higher education or the Nevada Department of Agriculture to grow industrial hemp for research purposes through an agricultural program or for other agricultural or academic research. The new law will enable Nevada to develop separate licensing initiatives for hemp seed handlers, producers, and growers. Russell Wilhelm, manager of the state industrial hemp program, noted that there are currently 19 Nevada producers that grow about 500 acres of hemp for research purposes in the state.

The legislations provisions to promote hemp seed development within the state is slated to boost the hemp market. However, the new law will also give the Department of Agriculture greater leverage on its rule-making powers, which will decide how the program will operate in practice.

The State Senate passed the bill by a 20-0 vote. On the other hand, the Assembly passed the bill last month by a 34-5 vote. The bill is set to take effect on July 1, 2017. Some of the bills provisions are listed below.

The bill requires a person who wishes to grow or handle industrial hemp or produce agricultural hemp seed to register with the Department of Agriculture.

The bill requires the testing of commodities or products made using industrial hemp by an independent testing laboratory.

The bill allows a facility for the production of edible marijuana products or marijuana-infused products and a medical marijuana dispensary to acquire industrial hemp from a registered grower or handler.

The bill allows a facility for the production of edible marijuana products or marijuana-infused products to use industrial hemp to manufacture edible marijuana products and marijuana-infused product.

The bill allows a medical marijuana dispensary to dispense industrial hemp and edible marijuana products and marijuana-infused products containing industrial hemp.

The bill sets forth the amount of usable marijuana that a medical 4 marijuana dispensary may dispense to a person who holds a valid 5 registry identification card, including, without limitation, a 6 designated primary caregiver, in any one 14-day period.

The bill requires the Division of Public and Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services to adopt regulations setting forth minimum requirements for industrial hemp which is used by a facility for the production of edible marijuana products or marijuana-infused products to manufacture such products or which is dispensed by a medical marijuana dispensary

Nevada, other states defy federal hemp ban

Nevada is not the only state to defy the federal prohibition against hemp production. Other states  such as Colorado, Oregon, Maine, Massachusetts, California, and Vermont  have also chosen to ignore the government ban and carry on with legalizing the cultivation of industrial hemp within their respective borders. In approving this new bill, Nevada has eliminated a big road block in commercial hemp cultivation.

Some states have already adopted the practice in the previous years. Colorado farmers began harvesting industrial hemp in 2013, while Vermont farmers started harvesting the plant the following year. Oregon officially launched its industrial hemp market in 2015.

Experts have touted that the hemp industry may have a market value of around $600 million annually. Hemp can also be used in as many as 25,000 application including food, cosmetics, plastics, and bio-fuel.

Sources include:

ActivistPost.com

TheDailyChronic.net

Leg.State.NV.us
(Natural News) Youll never hear it from the majority of the talking heads or liberal columnists that make up the mainstream media, but in America today, reverse discrimination is becoming more and more common. While no one could or should compare the modern day discrimination against whites to the days of slavery and Jim Crow laws, it is still something that needs to be addressed, because any society that perpetuates hatred towards a particular race is a society that cant properly function.

As it turns out, though, reverse discrimination is something that is not unique to the United States. In an article published in the UKs The Guardian titled Why Theres Nothing Racist About Black-Only Spaces, writer Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff argues that excluding whites from a space is a sign of progress.

In contrast to Nyansapo, self-organized white spaces  think far-right groups  are almost always layered with prejudice and the flawed notion of ethnic superiority, the article says. They are made in opposition to diversity and multiculturalism  and that, coupled with the uniquely powerful positions white people hold in society, is why they are unacceptable and reek of segregation. Black-only spaces rarely exist for the same purpose; instead, they are founded on the basis of the true lived experiences of struggle. By denying white people entry to them we are not reflecting existing power structures, we are trying to subvert them.

The author of this article is talking about the same myths that you hear leftists perpetuating all the time in the United States  that somehow, there exists this structural barrier that prevents minorities from rising up and pursuing their interests. Radical progressives like Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders tell us that white racism is still embedded deep within the DNA of our country, and for that reason, minorities experience discrimination in essentially everything they do (RELATED: Racism RIGGED by A&E: KKK documentary was entirely scripted; A&E provided Nazi flags and wooden crosses to burn; actors paid cash to say [email protected]@er on camera).

What The Guardian is basically saying is that racism only works one way. According to the author, if whites were to hold an event that excluded black people, then that would be considered racist. However, if blacks were to hold an event that whites werent allowed to attend, that wouldnt be racist because black-only spaces rarely exist for the purpose of spreading prejudice and the notion of ethnic superiority. This is ridiculous for a number of reasons, but whats most striking is the fact that the author doesnt understand the true definition of racism, which is the discrimination of anyone based on skin pigmentation. Is it not fair to say that black-only spaces are discriminating against whites for the sheer reason that they are, in fact, white?

Furthermore, the idea that there arent any black organizations that are layered with prejudice and the flawed notion of ethnic superiority, as the author says, is nonsense. For proof, all one has to do is look at the Black Lives Matter movement, which has sparked controversy numerous times over the past few years.

For example, Yusra Khogali, the co-founder of Torontos Black Lives Matter chapter, is on record as saying that white people are recessive genetic defects who should be wiped out. In a Facebook post from December of 2015, Khogali argued that white people need white supremacy in order to defend the existence of the white race, but that black people could wipe out the white race if we had the power to.

In November of last year, The Daily Caller reported that Black Lives Matter and other groups were planning to block white-owned stores, preventing customers from entering, in Chicago to draw attention to police shootings, economic issues and racism.

If calling white people recessive genetic defects and blocking whites from being able to enter shopping areas are not blatant examples of racism, then what are?

Sources:

PJMedia.com

TheBlaze.com

DailyCaller.com
MERRITT ISLAND, Florida  A Florida man is in jail after he allegedly threatened another man with a machete to make him to steal beer from a Walmart in Merritt Island, Florida

The victim was inside his friends boat in a wooded area near Kiwanis Island park that is just west of the Walmart Supercenter located at 1500 East Merritt Island Causeway.



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According to Brevard County Sheriffs deputies, 51-year-old Michael Richard Laplante approached the boat around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday and pulled a long metal machete with a serrated edge from a duffel bag. Laplante then allegedly demanded that the victim give him a bicycle that was inside the boat and ordered the victim to take the bicycle from the wooded area to Merritt Island Causeway.

After the two men had cleared the woods, Laplante ordered the victim to go inside the nearby Walmart and steal two six packs of beer, according to the arrest affidavit.

The victim then walked towards the Walmart but went inside Mollys Seafood Shack, a restaurant adjacent to the Walmart parking lot, and called law enforcement.

The responding deputies were able to locate Laplante and also recovered the machete.

Laplante was charged with kidnapping and robbery with a weapon. He was booked into the Brevard County Jail under a no bond status.
As a high school student in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Jalyn Radziminski-Smith 18C was already taking college classes and preparing to apply to a list of Ivy League schools.

When she was accepted to Emory, she envisioned a bright future where she could pursue all the opportunities offered by a high-profile private university.

In her first few weeks on campus, however, the first-generation college student was homesick and a little overwhelmed by the social, academic, and pragmatic realities of college life. Then she received an invitation to participate in the first cohort of 1915 Scholars.

Launched in fall 2013, the 1915 Scholars Program is designed to provide a support network for first-generation college students who might struggle with the transition. Admission requirements include a family income of $100,000 or less and the inability to go to college without scholarship support.

Each student is placed in a family unit made up of alumni, students, staff, and retired faculty. The students meet regularly with members of this family group  individually and as a unit  during the academic year.

Each student is part of a family cluster that serves as their family away from home, says Adrienne Slaughter, director of Student Success Programs and Services in the Division of Campus Life. These students often need a support system here beyond what is available to all students. Each year the family grows, like a real family.

View Full Story in Emory Magazine 
"Where are you from?"

Those are words that Bradley Carthon inevitably asks each patient he treats. To Carthon, it's a question that invites connection. In his work, connection matters.

A sense of connection is one reason he came to Winship Cancer Insitute. A Georgia native, Carthon grew up in Fort Valley, a community of about 10,000 south of Macon. His mother taught at a small college; his father worked for the railroad.

Carthon would be the first in his family to pursue medicinesomething he felt drawn to by the age of 12. Growing up, he'd already begun to notice disparities in health care, especially for minorities.

Carthon and father at college graduation

Although he was accepted to Harvard as a pre-med undergraduate, Carthon chose the smaller, supportive environment at Hampton University, one of the nation's oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities. A scholarship from Norfolk Southern Railway, where his dad worked, helped pave the way for him.

When he was 19, his mother was diagnosed with gastric cancer. A surgeon flatly announced that they'd found a large tumor with lymph node involvement and that his mother likely had six months to live. "I realized the process and conversation could have been done better. I felt I could help others in times like that," Carthon says.

Her death left him with "an abundance of questions, in some cases, unanswerable."

Increasingly, his academic and research focus pivoted toward cancer. "I had an interest in helping people who may not have all the resources that are available," he says. "In my own community, I saw people pass away from cancer or have to make choices between paying for the basics of living and cancer treatment."

When Jocelyn Spragg, a Harvard professor who ran a program in medical research for under-represented students, invited him to a summer honors program, he was sold. Carthon was later accepted into the school's MD/PhD program. Between research, residency, and fellowships, he would spend the next 12 years in Boston.

All the while, Georgia beckoneda call to serve the needs of the people and communities he knew so well. After a fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, he joined the genitourinary oncology team at Winship, working with patients with prostate, bladder, testicular, and renal cancers.

Within his busy practice, Carthon sees patients ranging in age from 17 to those well into their 90s. He enjoys the challenge of translating complex cancer terminology

into something meaningful.

"I put some thought into how I relay the message," he explains. "In Boston, people just wouldn't get certain analogies. In the South, I can say, 'This thing is aggressive. It's growing rapidly like kudzu, we need to do something,' and that message is understood. We find many creative ways to get the point across, no matter the patient."

Knowing that prostate cancer has a higher-than-average rate of occurrence within the African-American community, Carthon goes where he is needed, speaking about prevention, treatment, and lifestyle issues in local churches and church conventions. He's helped mentor local high school students and attended career days at elementary schools.

To Carthon, those are exactly the kind of connections that matter.

"For me, cancer poses a challenge that simply isn't staticthere is always something higher to shoot for."
Ken Bro, assistant instructor, SIU Carbondale Department of Aviation Management and Flight. (Photo by Russell Bailey)

Analytics will help student pilots make better decisions

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Instructors in Southern Illinois University Carbondales aviation program are using analytics to track student pilot errors on approaches and landings, research they also hope can become another tool pilots use in determining whether it is safe to land.

For the last year, Ken Bro, an assistant instructor in the aviation management and flight program, has been meshing variables from student landings, including engine performance, wind, altitude, speed and a planes bank, to examine safety.

The aviation programs safety committee is using the findings from approximately 4,000 landings at the Southern Illinois Airport over the last four years to make recommendations to training instructors who work with students. The data is limited for now to information gleaned from five aircraft with Garmin G-1000 avionics glass cockpits.

The data shows landing approaches from about 200 feet above the ground. By looking at variables of air speed, pitch and descent rate, the data can indicate whether the pilot had a good landing, bad landing or should have gone around and tried another approach.

We can let people know that these things are happening and address them in training, Michael Robertson, associate professor and program safety officer, said. Its use is really unlimited in trying to determine things we could address that we normally would not know about. We can address these things before something bad happens.

Bro and Robertson emphasize that students, many of whom have instructors with them, are flying safely, but that there is always room for improvement in performance. The data shows very, very few incidents at all, Bro said.

You see things where there is a landing where they should have gone around, but we dont have accidents  or really bad approaches or landings, Bro said.

The safety management systems goal is identifying any risks before accidents occur, Robertson said.

Everything we have looked at in the data indicates that students are out there flying safely, Robertson said. I dont believe people are out there doing anything intentionally. Now we can see what people are doing. This is not to be used as punitive  but to identify trends within the data to help everybody.

The No. 1 cause of accidents is loss of control on landings and many stem from bad approaches. Bro is looking to extend the data collection into research that can help general aviation pilots determine whether to land or try another approach based on inflight data. He is hoping to get more landing data nationally and perfect the model. Bro said the goal is to get software that could work from a cellphone app to assist pilots in their decisions.

There is nothing in any aircraft that tells you dont land right now, he said. This is getting there. It says based on historic data on whether people should have or should not have landed, this is what the historic approach looks like.

Robertson agrees.

Ultimately, its not going to replace a pilots judgment. This will be another tool they use to make better decisions, especially for those pilots with less experience, he said. It gives them more information to help them make better decisions.
UF to hire 500 new faculty in major initiative

Updated 11/3/2017.

The University of Florida will hire 500 new faculty to further enhance teaching and research and to continue to be one of the very best research universities in the nation, UF President Kent Fuchs announced today. UFs Board of Trustees unanimously approved a resolution in support of the announcement.

Funding for the new hires and compensation increases will come from state allocations, alumni and friends, as well as university resources.

We know what we need to do and we are laser-focused on several areas that will have the greatest impact on our educational and research missions while giving UF an edge to compete successfully with the nations other top institutions for talented faculty, students and staff, Fuchs said. UF ranks among the top 10 public research universities and we have our eye on being among the top five.

The 500 new faculty hires represent a number over and above the 300 to 400 faculty that UF hires annually to replace those who retire or leave the university, UF Provost Joe Glover said.

Funding for new hires and compensation increases will come initially from a $52 million allocation to UF that the Legislature approved earlier this year and from reallocated internal resources, Glover said. The university will also seek additional funding from a variety of sources for future years.

The hiring plan was created to address two primary university goals: reaching top-ranked status by strengthening various research disciplines, and improving the universitys student-faculty ratio, a widely recognized metric in determining an institutions excellence and stature.

UFs current student-faculty ratio is 20 to 1; the 500 new hires ultimately will result in a student-faculty ratio of 16 to 1. By comparison, the ratio at the University of Michigan, is 15 to 1. (Michigan, like UF, belongs to the Association of American Universities and is considered a peer institution to UF; others include the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of California, Berkeley.)

The new faculty will be hired in a variety of fields, Glover said, but certainly a good portion will be in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and health. We will also give priority to areas focused on new business start-ups, tech transfer and economic development.

The new hires will be in addition to the growth of 115 faculty hired in the past three years with funding the Legislature has provided as part of UFs designation as a preeminent university.

The announcement of the new hiring initiative follows Wednesdays news that UF faculty achieved a new high of nearly $800 million in research expenditures for the year. UF also announced an expected new record in annual fundraising topping $440 million. Additionally, five faculty became members of the National Academies during the year.

Fuchs said that UF has already made tremendous progress  and the new initiatives and records will propel UF to the highest ranks.

In the vast majority of university rankings, the University of Florida is among the top 10 public research universities in the nation, Fuchs said. Our goal now is to be among the top five.

Update 11/3/2017: This summer, 200 authorizations were issued and the university expects this first group of new faculty to begin employment by next Fall.
The areas include Nowhatta, Rainawari, Khanyar, M.R.Gunj, Kralkhud, Maisuma and Safa Kadal police stations.

Restrictions under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was also imposed in the district headquarters of Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam, Baramulla, Badgam, Ganderbal, Bandipora and Kupwara.

The separatists have called for general shutdown and protests against the killing of Adil Farooq Magrey of Zanawpora village, who was killed when a stone-pelting mob clashed with the security forces to disrupt an anti-militancy operation in the village on Tuesday.

All educational institutions, including colleges and schools have also been closed across the Kashmir Valley to prevent protests by students.

Examinations scheduled for Friday have been postponed.

Train services between Baramulla and Bannihal town have been suspended.

While senior separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani continued to remain under house arrest, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was placed under house arrest on Friday.

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Yasin Malik has gone underground as he plans to lead the protest in Lal Chowk.

Heavy deployments have also been made in places where restrictions have not been imposed.

Authorities have already suspended 3G and 4G mobile internet services in the valley and reduced the speed of fixed landline broadband facilities.

--IANS sq/in

( 246 Words)

2017-06-09-09:26:11 (IANS)
He said the corporation would run ferry services from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala to Kanyakumari and Chennai in Tamil Nadu.

Gadkari said his ministry would invest Rs 200 crore as equity and also provide Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to private players to participate in the ferry service project.

According to him, the central government is interested in promoting waterways transport.

Gadkari urged the Tamil Nadu government to support the building of a new port in Enayam near Kolachal.

He was here to inaugurate various projects involving an outlay of Rs 1,492 crore at the Kamarajar Port that includes the Adani group's Rs 1,270 crore container terminal; Rs 151 crore multi-cargo terminal operated by Chettinad Group; Rs 60 crore railway line for the container and multi-cargo terminals and Rs 11.82 crore radio-frequency identification system.

--IANS vj/pgh/dg

( 178 Words)

2017-06-09-15:58:33 (IANS)
Actress Rani Mukerji surprised her "Hichki" team with goodies from luxury designer labels as a gesture of gratitude. A source from the film's unit said: "'Hichki' is a very special film to Rani as it is her first project after she became a mom. Given that she signed up for this film after her daughter Adira's birth, the fantastic work by the film's team made the experience very special." The source added that Rani gave out these gifts as a gesture of recognition for all the hard work that they have put in collectively. "It's very generous of her and everyone has adored the gifts," said the source. The film is built on a positive premise, and is directed by Siddharth P Malhotra. -*- Sana Khan 'religiously' enjoying family time in Medina Actress Sana Khan of "Bigg Boss" fame is in Medina with her family during the holy month of Ramadan. The "Wajah Tum Ho" actress left India earlier this month and will be in Medina for about a month with her mother and cousins. It is her fourth year to the Saudi city of Medina, read a statement from the actress, who likes to visit the historic places there to gather more knowledge about Islam. During her stay, Sana is also looking forward to some different types of Arabic food. -*- Bajrang Bali heard 'Arre deewano...' on loop before 'Sarkar 3' Actor Bajrang Bali Singh, who essayed the role of Deven Gandhi in Amitabh Bachchan starrer "Sarkar 3", says he listened to the megastar's hit song "Arre deewano mujhe pehchaano" on loop before shooting for his scenes. Bajrang says he was nervous as he had to act in front of Amitabh. "I was really nervous as I had to confront the biggest icon of Indian cinema in the very first scene. So to psyche myself up, a night before the shoot, I was listening to the song 'Arre deewano mujhe pehchaano' from the movie 'Don' on loop," Bajrang told IANS. "That song somehow gives me an adrenaline rush and that's what I needed to get rid of my nerves. Overall, it was a wonderful experience to share screen space with the legend. It was definitely a dream come true," he added. The actor, who has worked in the TV series "Dharmakshetra" for Epic Channel and is a voiceover artist for Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, says "Sarkar 3" director Ram Gopal Varma put "immense faith" in him. "Ram Gopal Varma gave me a lot of freedom to enact and improvise my scenes as per the character's demand. I really had no idea about the story till the time I saw the movie. And to my surprise, my character turned out to be one of the really important ones in the movie," said Bajrang, who began his career in films with director Zaid Ali Khan's movie "Khwaabb" in 2014. "Sarkar 3", which released last month, was third installment of the "Sarkar" franchise which also featured Ronit Roy, Jackie Shroff, Manoj Bajpayee, Amit Sadh and Yami Gautam. --IANS dc-ks-nn/rb/vt ( 520 Words) 2017-06-09-13:20:20 (IANS)
Swaraj tweeted saying, "The victim Mubeen Ahmed is now out of danger. He is admitted in the Eden Medical Centre, California. We are following up the case with the Police."

"The victim Mubeen Ahmed works at a gas station. A gunman demanded money from Mubeen and then fired at him," Swaraj said in her tweet.

The victim, Mubeen Ahmed, went to the U.S. to pursue his masters in engineering in February 2015 after completing B. Tech in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the state's Royal Institute of Technology and Science.

After completing his course two months ago, he has been working at a departmental store near California.

Victim's uncle Mufti Aslam Osman said Mubeen was about to finish his duty at the store and return to his apartment in Fremont, when a few black persons stormed his place and demanded of him money and his mobile phone.

Attacks against people of Indian origin have of late increased in the US.

In February a 26-year-old youth from the state's Warangal district was shot dead at Milpitas city in Santa Clara Country of California by a man suspected to be a carjacker. (ANI)
No injury or casualty has been reported so far.

Further details are awaited.

Last month, a joint search operation by the Indian Army and the SOG in Shopian had concluded and the cordon had also been lifted off from the villages.

Shopian's two villages - Heff and Shirmal - were on lock down as security forces swept through the area for untoward elements.

Around 1,000 Army personnel and the police force were deployed for the operation.

Meanwhile, repetitive ceasefire violations by Pakistan still continue.

The Pakistan Army initiated ceasefire violation in Balakot sector here. The Indian troops gave a befitting reply to Islamabad's attack.

Pakistan Army earlier initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Pakistan Army, instigated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics, 82 mm and 120 mm mortars along the Line of Control (LoC) in Chiti Bakri area of Rajouri sector in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army also retaliated to the unprovoked act strongly and effectively.

At least two civilians including a minor girl were killed and nine people, including four soldiers were injured in the unprovoked firing by Pakistan in Rajouri district.

Two civilians were killed as Pakistan Army continued its unprovoked firing in the state's Nowshera sector. (ANI)
During the duration of the camp, free medicines and meditation classes will be on offer between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The camp began yesterday and will end on Saturday (June 10).

The Champaran Satyagraha was a protest movement initiated by Mahatma Gandhi against India's then British colonial rulers for forcing farmers to cultivate indigo. The movement commenced in the Champaran district of Bihar in 1917.

Keeping the significance of the event in mind, the Government of Bihar and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have decided to hold year round celebrations.

In April, a special train arrived at the Bapu Dham station in Motihari to re-enact the fight of farmers against forced indigo cultivation under the British rule.

Then, a man dressed as the Father of the Nation alighted from the train and was received by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Tara Gandhi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.

The children also greeted the passengers with the tricolour and slogans of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Champaran Satyagraha Zindabad" at the station. (ANI)
Themed on 'Making Of Developed India', the exhibition will showcase NDA Government's achievements in last three years under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Shah arrived in Raipur yesterday on a three-day visit to Chhattisgarh.

During his visit, Shah would hold a total of 22 meetings with the BJP MPs, MLAs, office-bearers and workers in order to guide them on ways to strengthen the party's agenda ahead of next year's assembly polls and for the 2019 general elections.

A road map for the forthcoming elections is expected to be drafted at the end of Shah's visit. (ANI)
For the last US-based manufacturer of the red and white striped candy cane that is a ubiquitous North American holiday season treat, the sugar supply deal struck between Mexico and Washington is anything but sweet.The competitors of Ohio-based Spangler Candy Co have, over the years, moved their plants south to Mexico and beyond to gain unfettered access to the cheaper sugar supplies there. That was part of a shift in manufacturing out of the United States that President Donald Trump has vowed to reverse.Spangler's Chief Executive Officer Kirk Vashaw has kept the candy cane industry alive in the United States at his plant in Ohio, where his firm churns out 200 million candy canes a year.But the new sugar supply deal will make things tougher still for Spangler, as an agreed rise in the minimum price for Mexican sugar will drive up Spangler's raw material cost."To be honest, I'm just very disappointed that the Trump administration didn't do more to level the playing field, which is something they promised over and over again to do for the American worker," Vashaw said in a phone interview with Reuters."This was an opportunity to do that, and they didn't."The firm is one of a wide range of food producers, drinks makers and cereal manufacturers across the country that will see sugar input costs higher by about $1 billion above government support prices, according to the Sweetener Users Association.Many of those companies, who oppose the government's support for the sugar industry, will have to consider whether to pass that rise in costs on to consumers. The additional cost is a fraction of the value of the packaged food industry, estimated at around $373 billion in 2016, according to data provider Euromonitor International.Food and beverage firms such as Hershey Co, General Mills Inc, J.M. Smucker Co, Mondelez International Inc will be impacted because they are all companies for which sugar is a key raw material.Hershey said in a statement that it was aware the agreement had the potential to increase sugar prices in the long term. Both Hershey and Mondelez referred Reuters to the Sweeteners Users Association, which in a statement described the pact as a "stealth price increase."General Mills and Coca-Cola Co declined to comment. PepsiCo Inc, Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc and Mars Inc did not respond to request for comment."This is putting America second," said Jeanne Shaheen, a Democratic senator from New Hampshire, where Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Sprngli has its U.S. headquarters. "It's a bad deal for American families and businesses that will raise costs for consumers and threaten jobs in sugar-using industries."Shaheen is a long-time critic of the sugar program and has pushed for changes.U.S. sugar companies - which process beet and cane before selling it to food and beverage industries - got better terms out of the deal and yet will not be impacted by the price rise.Refiners were insulated from the impact of the higher raw sugar price by a greater increase in the minimum prices for refined sugar in this week's agreement, so will simply charge the companies and consumers that buy their sugar more.The U.S. sugar industry had asked for better terms after complaining the previous deal with Mexico squeezed refinery margins and starved them of supplies.COZY DEALThe new deal revised the previous 2014 pact and aimed to end years of dispute between the two countries. Larger sugar refiners will benefit the most, as the new terms make it harder for smaller competitors to import sugar from Mexico, which is the top foreign sugar supplier to the United States.That means the smaller sugar buyers will have to pay more for their supplies.Access to the 11 million-tonne annual U.S. sugar market is coveted by sugar exporters as price of the sweetener in the world's largest economy is higher than elsewhere. The market is protected by the government, prices are guaranteed and imports are rationed.The combined impact of those measures means that U.S. sugar buyers will pay about 60 percent more than global benchmark prices.For Spangler, which makes Dum Dum lollipops as well, the rise in prices for Mexican sugar will translate to an around 8 percent rise in what it pays, estimates Vashaw.Spangler opened a plant in Juarez, Mexico, in the early 2000s and now produces a little over half its candy canes there."If it was all about money, we'd do it all in Mexico," said Vashaw. "When your main cost driver just went up 8 percent and in Mexico it didn't go up at all, it just makes any foreign confectionary supplier more cost competitive. That's why a lot of companies moved out of the United States."REUTERS SV 1042 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-927451.Xml
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday criticized Mamata Banerjee for holding a state cabinet meeting in Darjeeling during the tourist season, and blamed her for not stopping the ongoing unrest in West Bengal. BJP leader Rahul Sinha questioned Banerjee's decision of holding a meeting at a tourist spot and sought an explanation for what he thought was a frivolous decision. "The state government and its police are useless. It could not revive a city out of trouble. The chief minister has no sense, this is tourist season, who calls for a meeting in this season at a tourist spot. She did not realise that this will affect tourists and tourism," said Sinha. Asserting that the situation has worsened now, Sinha sought Mamata's explanation over the same. "The situation has worsened because of the wrong policies of the chief minister," he added. Echoing similar sentiments, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) called for swift measures to end the unrest. "This is a very dangerous situation. We all are tensed. The Situation there should be brought under control. There are lot of tourist which are stranded there. The government should make sure that they get out of there safely," said CPI (M) leader Mohammad Salim. Following the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's (GJM) 12-hour strike against proposal to make Bengali language compulsory in government schools, the North Bengal State Transport Corporation will now run buses from Siliguri to Kolkata, every two hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two army columns have been deployed in the town on the request of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to maintain law and order situation. Each column consists an officer, two JCOs and 40 jawans. The chief minister took the decision to seek Centre's help in an emergency meeting held at the Raj Bhawan in which 30 ministers and delegates, including Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee, participated. The meeting was convened following the violent protests across Darjeeling after Mamata announced that Bengali would be compulsorily taught to students up to class 10 in schools. Police vehicles and a government bus were set afire and the police were attacked with stones and bottles by the GJM protesters. A protest rally was taken out by the protesters only 100 metres away from the venue of the meeting. The protesters shouted slogans and burnt effigies of the chief minister. The GJM has announced 12-hour bandh against the State government's move. The GJM has been demanding Nepali as a language instead of Bengali or can accept Hindi, but is strictly against the making of Bengali mandatory in all schools across the state. (ANI)
Nearly 4000 people today thronged at Bagdogra airport in this commercial town of north Bengal after coming from Darjeeling Hills in the wake bloody violence and subsequent 12-hour shut sponsored by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha. The airport, after a special request from the state government has been kept open sinceearly this morning to facilitate the air passengers. " But we never thought such rush at a time for flights to Kolkata, Delhi and other places of the country," an airport official said. Bagdogra airport director Rakesh Ranjan Sahay said exactly 3906 passengers have been reported for catching flights for different routes.UNI XC-PC BM -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0214-927586.Xml
Chairman of the moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq and several other separatist leaders have again been put under house arrest since last evening, ahead of the general strike today, in protest against the killing of a youth allegedly in security force firing on June 6 in Shopian. Meanwhile, there was no relief for chairman of hardline HC Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who remained under house arrest during the past one year.Both the factions of HC and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) had called for a strike and protest after Friday prayers in the valley, against the killing of Adil Farooq Magray in security force firing on demonstrators, who tried to disrupt the anti-militant operation in Shopian on June 6.The Mirwaiz was put under house arrest last night, a spokesman of the HC said. He said a large number of security forces and state police personnel had been deployed outside the Nigeen residence of Mirwaiz, who was scheduled to address the Friday congregation at the historic Jamia Masjid today. However, authorities had imposed restrictions in the downtown and Shehar-e-Khas (SeK), including Nowhatta, where the Jamia Masjid is located.Media advisor to HC Advocate Shahidul Islam was not available as his phone remained off since his house was raided by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) recently. The NIA conducted raids at the residence of several separatist leaders and businessmen, in connection with terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir. There was no change in the situation around the residence of Mr Geelani, who remained under house arrest since over a year, Spokesman of the amalgam, Aiyaz Akbar told UNI. He said a large number of security forces and state police personnel remained deployed outside his Hyderpora residence to prevent him from moving out. Aiyaz said he too, besides a number of other leaders, including Peer Saifullah, Raja Mehrajuddin and Mohammad Ashraf Laya, remained under house arrest. ''I was put under house arrest last evening,'' said Aiyaz, who was also questioned by the NIA after his house was raided by the NIA recently. They seized press release of HC issued in the past besides SIM cards of my mobile phone, he added. The NIA conducted searches at the residences of separatist leaders and businessmen, including National Front (NF) chairman Nayeem Ahmad Khan, who was seen admitting in a sting operation that separatists were receiving money from Pakistan for subversive activities in Kashmir. However, Khan, who was suspended from hardline HC, challenged the sting operation and said it was manipulated.UNI BAS RJ 1310 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-927497.Xml
Curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in many areas in Kashmir valley, where separatists had called for a strike today against the death of a civilian in alleged security force firing on Wednesday. A youth Adil Farooq died when security forces allegedly opened fire to disperse demonstrators, who were trying to enter the area where a search operation against militants was launched in south Kashmir district of Shopian on June 6. The authorities have already ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Official sources told UNI that restrictions under section 144 CrPc have been imposed within the areas falling under seven police stations of Srinagar district, including Khanyar, Nowhatta, Safakadal, MR Gunj, Rainawari in downtown and Kralkhud in the old town, Maisuma in civil lines. They said restrictions have also been imposed in main towns of Shopian in south and Ganderbal in central Kashmir. Authorities have also suspended class work in all educational institutions today in view of the strike called by separatists in Kashmir valley, where train service has also been suspended as a precautionary measure. Hundreds of state police and paramilitary forces, wearing bullet proof jackets, have been deployed in the restriction bound areas in the city to prevent protests. All main roads, including Nallahmar from Khanyar to Chattabal, have been closed with barbed wire. Meanwhile, people living on both sides of the Nallahmar road alleged that they were not being allowed to move out of their houses. A large number of security forces have also been deployed around the historic Jamia Masjid, stronghold of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) chairman Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, who addresses congregation every Friday there. All gates leading to the mosque have been closed and people were not allowed to go inside. All roads leading to Maisuma, the stronghold of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) in the city, have been closed with barbed wire. Security forces remained deployed in strength to prevent any law and order problem. However, JKLF chief Mohammad Yaseen Malik has given slip to police and was hiding at unknown place to surface and lead a protest after Friday prayers in protest against death of civilian and National Investigation Agency (NIA) raid on separatists and businessmen recently.MORE UNI ABS SV RJ 1252 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-927548.Xml
One person was killed and 15 were injuredwhen a bus collided with a speeding truck under Salimpur policestation in Patna district today. Police said a bus coming from Jharkhand collided with a truck near Majhauli village under Salimpur police station area, leaving one passenger of the bus dead while 15 others sustained injuries. " All the injured had been admitted to Patna Medical College andHospital (PMCH)", police said adding that drivers of both the truckand bus managed to escape leaving their vehicles on the spot. The deceased had not been identified so far, police further saidadding that both the vehicles had been seized.UNI KKS KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-927973.Xml
Alert troops foiled three infiltration bids from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in north Kashmir since Wednesday, killing seven militants near the Line of Control (LoC).

The soldier, Rifleman Tara Bahadur Roka, was martyred and two others were injured in the exchange of fire during the counter infiltrator operation yesterday in which they took the life of three armed intruders.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia said the MoS Defence joined Army in paying a befitting tributes with full military honour to the martyred soldier.

Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen JS Sandhu and all ranks also paid homage to the martyr in a solemn ceremony, which was also attended by officials from the other security agencies, including Director General of Police (DGP) Dr S P Vaid, at the headquarter of 15 Corps at Badami Bagh Cantonment here, he said.

Laying wreath on behalf of a proud nation, the Minister saluted the hero's sacrifice and expressed his condolences to the bereaved family of the martyr, who is survived by his parents.

Col Kalia said born on January 1, 1994, the young braveheart from Dang, Nepal with barely two years of service was a very motivated soldier.

He had impressed one and all with his vigour, courage and devotion to duty.

"The mortal remains of the martyr will be taken to Subathu in Himachal Pradesh for last rites with full military honours," he added.UNI ABS AD ADG 1630

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-927852.Xml
According to official from Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited, theteam, led by Edward Flint of the World Bank, inspected the firstphase of renovation taken up.

The team had discussion with Nigam officials yesterday on thesecond phase of works, which will began shortly. The team membersobtained information on the condition of the sluice gates of the damand directed the officials to complete the remaining works before theinflow begins,

Flint expressed satisfaction over the quality of works, ShivaPrasad, Member of Committee said that the renovation of two moredams in the State are on the anvil and will be taken up soon.

The renovation works began at KRS in July 2016 with an estimatedcost of Rs 36 crore and is scheduled to end in July 2018, world bankis funding the project up to 90 per cent and the remaining tenpercent is funded by the state government.

The central water commission has approved the project and the damrestoration has been handed over to Ferro Concrete Construction(India) Bhagirthpur in Indore, MP.

The CWC has appointed Water Resource Development organization asa nodal agency to supervise and implement the project.

The team also visited the Harangi and Kabini reservoirs. UNI BSP MSP CS 1800

-- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0284-928253.Xml
An alleged drug peddler died after being attacked with sharp edged weapons by irate villagers of Bhagi Bander in Talwandi Sabo sub-division of the district.The victim, identified as Vinod Kumar, who was facing three cases under the NDPS Act, hailed from the same village. His father Vijay is also in jail in a drugs case.Talwandi Sabo DSP Barinder Singh said that Vinod had gone to the village, where he was attacked. No drugs were recovered from him, he added.Vinod was rushed to the Talwandi Sabo civil hospital with injuries from where he was referred to the Bathinda civil hospital. He was shifted to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, in critical condition where he succumbed to his injuries.A case of murder has been registered against unidentified persons at Talwandi Sabo police station.Meanwhile, Sarpanch Charanjit Kaur and Akali leader Mandeep Kaur Brar claimed that villagers had recently informed the police that Vinod had been supplying drugs in the village, but no action was taken against him.Vinod reportedly confronted the villagers when they were on their way to meet the DSP on Thursday, which led to heated arguments between them.However, Jaspreet Kaur, sister-in-law of Vinod, alleged that Vinod was kidnapped by sarpanch's son Raju when he was going to lodge a complaint about his stolen scooter. Raju attacked him with a sharp edged weapon.She alleged that Raju wanted to take revenge on them as he was booked in a case registered based on her complaint.UNI DB AD ADG 1716 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-927971.Xml
Three members of a family were killed and another was seriously injured in a road mishap Near Khanpur Kolian village on the National Highway-1 in the district today.The victims have been identified as Neeraj Singhal (50), his wife Tanu (45) and son Naval (20), residents of Chandigarh. Nipun, another son of the couple, was rushed to PGI, Chandigarh, with multiple injuries.The accident occurred when the car in which they were travelling crashed on to the median on the National Highway, killing three family members on the spot. The family was going to their native place in Shamli (Uttar Pradesh).Police suspect Neeraj, who was driving the car at high speed, lost control over the vehicle.The police pressed a crane to rescue Nipun and take out the bodies from the mangled car.UNI DB AD 1729 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0292-928070.Xml
NDTV founder Prannoy Roy on Friday said the CBI case against him was "ridiculous and a concocted set of facts" and asserted that he and his wife Radhika Roy "never touched black money and never bribed even a single person" in their lives. He was speaking at a protest meet organised at the Press Club of India which was attended by a number of senior journalists including Kuldip Nayar, S. Nihal Singh, Arun Shourie, H.K. Dua, Shekhar Gupta, Om Thanvi and Raj Chengappa as well as noted constitutional expert Fali S. Nariman. Roy vowed to fight the charges openly and transparently and called for a time-bound inquiry. "This is not about NDTV, this is a signal for all of us. And the fact that there is no case, but a flimsy, ridiculous, concocted set of facts. "They are trying to tell us - 'We can suppress you even if you have done nothing wrong'. They are telling us 'We will fix you even if you are innocent'. Remember that signal and fight it. We must... Be clear it's a signal for the entire free press of India," he said, adding that freedom of press was precious and should be guarded staunchly. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) earlier this week searched the houses of Roy for allegedly causing "loss of Rs 48 crore" to the ICICI Bank. Amid protest by journalists, NDTV had said the CBI had "stepped up the concerted harassment of NDTV and its promoters based on the same old endless false accusations" and the raid was "a blatant political attack on the freedom of the press". Roy said journalists should stand up to all pressures. "Their (government's) basic idea is crawl or we will come and get you. So stand up, they will never come for you. Mark my words," he said, stressing that his fight was not against investigative agencies but against politicians "who are manipulating and want to eviscerate these institutions. They want to disembowel them". He also said the petitioner in the case, Sanjay Dutt, was being used as a tool. "I commit to you we will answer every one of these false charges openly and transparently. All I ask is please make it a time-bound process. We would just love that," he said. Renowned journalist and former Union Minister Arun Shourie urged journalists to boycott ministers in the battle for media freedom. Calling the CBI raids an attempt by the government to exert "overt pressure" on the media, he said 'boycott' of ministers was essential to fight for freedom of the press as it was wrong to assume one could buy peace with the government by publishing ministers' articles or running their interviews on TV. "Do not call them (ministers) to your functions," said the former BJP leader who was part of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He recalled that when the Rajiv Gandhi government brought the defamation bill, journalists decided to ask every minister at press conferences whether they supported the legislation. If the answer was 'yes' or supportive of the bill, the reporters would walk out. Shourie also urged journalists to redouble work that annoys the government. "News is what the government wants to hide. You should excavate that." Nariman said that while no one was immune from prosecution for a crime, the justification given by the CBI made him believe that this was an assault on the press and media freedom. He noted that the FIR was filed by the CBI on the basis of a single complaint and not based on any discovery. "It should have told the complainant to file a complaint in a criminal court but rather the raids took place...." Nayar said that the current circumstances and the way media organisations were being attacked reminded him of the "Emergency". "We know press is the foundation of democracy. This commitment is now needed that we would never allow the press to be muzzled," Nayar said. --IANS am/vd/dg ( 676 Words) 2017-06-09-22:28:33 (IANS)
Demanding pay revision and implementation of Seventh Pay Commission, Uttar Pradesh power employees are preparing for state-wide agitation. Power employee's joint action committee has given a call for indefinite strike from July 6. The employees of the 400 KV sub stations of UP power Transmission Corporation will, however, not join the strike. The power employees would stage state wide protest on June 29. The implementation of the recommendation of the seventh pay commission for the state employees with effect from January 2016, has prompted the power employees to demand pay revision. The last pay revision for the power employees was done in 2009. Earlier, in 1998, the power employees of all categories had gone on indefinite strike demanding pay revision. The strike was called off after eight days after their demand for pay revision was accepted by the state government. The convener of the joint action committee Shailendra Dubey said here today that on June 29 , the power employees at all project site and all districts will stage a day-long Satyagrah in support of their demands. Seeking the intervention of the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Energy Minister Srikant Sharma, the convener of the committee said the CM should intervene in the matter to prevent confrontation and industrial unrest. He said for the central and state government employees the recommendations of the seventh pay commission have been implemented and they were drawing the benefits of the hike in pay, perks and other facilities while the same benefits have been denied to the power employees. He said deep resentment prevails among the power employees and their salaries should be revised with effect from January 1, 2016.He said all the power employees entering in service on and after January 2000 was given the benefit of the old pension scheme. For the contract basis employees, the committee was demanding the payment of salary be made to them directly by the power corporation instead of the contractor. Shailendra Dube said the power employees would agitate until their demands were met.UNI MB PS SB 2250 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-928667.Xml
With farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Haryana up in arms against state governments demanding crop loan waiver, resentment among farmers was brewing in Uttar Pradesh and they have threatened to block supply of vegetable and milk in cities of demand of CBI probe into killing of six farmers in Mandsaur. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) spokesman Alok Verma said here today that BKU would be holding its national executive from June 16-18 in Haridwar where it can take a decision about protest but till then an appeal has been issued to farmers not to send their produce to the cities. "We will not hold any blockade. We will only ask the villagers not to send their vegetables and milk to the cities. This is a token protest in support of our brothers who are on a war path in MP and Maharshtra," Mr Verma said. He said that farmers are always on the receiving end. "It was a peaceful agitation but police opened fire at villagers for reasons best known to them. Six innocent farmers were killed. Madhya Pradesh government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore as ex-gratia, we welcome that but no amount of money can bring back life," BKU spokesperson said. "Our agitation will be in solidarity with the agitating farmers of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra," he said and added that BKU's national executive will be very crucial. Meanwhile, farmers staged protest in Bahraich and Lucknow in support of MP farmers with president of of Rashtriya Kisan Manch Shekhar Dixit threatened Mandsaur like threat if farmers' problems are not addressed. The ministers in Yogi Government however said that they are doing their best to extend help to the farmers. "The crop loan of Rs 1 lakh would be waived of the day government passes budget. The Wheat Purchase centres are doing brisk business as over 32 lakh meteric tonnes of wheat has been purchased and cane due of over Rs 22,190 crore has been cleared, he said.UNI MB PS 2319 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-928745.Xml
A Delhi court today sent sent gangster Chhota Shakeel's aid Junaid Chowdhry to a three-day police custody. It is submitted by police that 21-year-old Chaudhary was arrested along with a pistol and four live cartridges on the intervening night of June 7 and 8 from Wazirabad road in North East Delhi. It is submitted before the court that he was planning to target the Pakistan born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah who was known for his controversial remarks. It was further submitted that the accused was here to carry out a recce of Fatah even though he was not in Delhi. It is submitted on behalf of the police that Chaudhary was also arrested in last June along with three others allegedly with hawala money but was released on bail within four months. It was alleged that they were planning to kill Hindu Mahasabha chief Swami Chakrapani at that time. His bail was cancelled and he was sent to Tihar Jail. But after some time he was again released on bail. It is alleged by police that Chaudhary then started carrying out the Delhi based activities with Shakeel.Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass, after hearing argument on behalf of prosecution and Defence Counsel, passed an order to three-day police custody of Chaudhary till June 12.UNI XC SB 2350 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-928738.Xml
The Crime Branch of city police has arrested a Nigerian national and seized cocaine worth Rs 1.60 lakh from his possession. The Nigerian has been identified as Okoyo Nanamud Emanulu (38). Acting on a tip off, a team of the crime unit raided a ground near the Ganesh Kripa building in Diva village lastevening and nabbed the Nigerian with cocaine, police said today. Police said that the arrested Nigerian was living in the locality since last three months and stated that he had came to India on a tourist visa.UNI XR SS HK SDR -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-928729.Xml
Doha [Qatar], June 9 (NI):As many as 59 individuals and 12 organisations - either Qatar based or funded by Qatar - on a "terror list," a joint statement by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE has said. "This list is connected to Qatar and serves suspect agendas, in an indication of two-faced Qatari policies, which announce that they are fighting terrorism on one hand, while funding, supporting and sheltering various terrorist groups on the other," the statement read. "These four states renew their commitment to their role in strengthening their efforts to combat all forms of terrorism and laying down the pillars of security and stability in the region," it added. The 18 Qataris named on the list includes businessmen, politicians and senior members of the ruling family including a former interior minister. Earlier, following a similar move by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, Yemen also broke off its ties with Qatar for working with its enemies of the Iran-aligned Houthi militia, local media reports said. The Yemen Government also extended its support to decision by a Saudi-led coalition fighting for more than two years to overthrow the Houthis from Sanaa. "Qatar's practices of dealing with the ( Houthi ) coup militias and supporting extremist groups became clear," Al- Arabiya quoted the government as saying in a statement. Meanwhile, Qatar's Foreign Ministry said that the country regrets the decision of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates' and Egypt to cut off diplomatic ties with it. "The measures are unjustified and are based on claims and allegations that have no basis in fact," Al-Jazeera quoted the Qatar Foreign Ministry, as saying, in a statement. The ministry added that the decision taken by the four Gulf nations would not affect the normal lives of its citizens and residents. This comes after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain broke off their diplomatic ties and all land sea and air contacts with fellow Gulf Arab state Qatar over allegations that the latter is encouraging terrorism and extremism. Riyadh has accused Qatar of backing terrorism and extremism, while Bahrain has charged Qatar with interfering in it internal affairs. Saudi Arabia said the move was necessary to protect the kingdom from what it described as terrorism and extremism. Bahrain's Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement that it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period. The ministry's statement said Qatari citizens needed to leave Bahrain within two weeks and that air and sea traffic between the two countries would be halted. It wasn't immediately clear how that would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers. Egypt also announced the closure of its airspace and seaports for all Qatari transportation to protect its national security. (ANI)
They reportedly exchanged greetings even as it was the first occasion when the two leaders came across each other after Sharif's operation. Prime Minister Modi, hence, enquired about Sharif's health and also asked about his mother and family.

Prime Minister Modi is in the Kazakh capital to attend the two-day summit of SCO, which is a consortium focussing on security and trade.

India and Pakistan, which so far have had an observer status till now, will be formally inducted in the six-nation bloc that includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Prime Minister Modi is also set to hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The chance meeting of Prime Minister Modi and PM Sharif comes amidst a highly-strained atmosphere between the two neighbouring nations following the death sentence awarded to former Indian Naval Officer Kulbhushan Jadhav.

India moved the ICJ against the death penalty awarded to Jadhav by a Pakistan military court on May 8 for espionage.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

During the last trial on May 18, the ICJ had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav. (ANI)
The bill became a law after members of the approval of the Upper House earlier on Friday. It had already passed the Lower House last week, reports public broadcaster NHK.

The law will allow the 83-year-old Emperor to hand over the Chrysanthemum Throne to his 57-year old son, Crown Prince Naruhito.

The government will carefully determine the timing of the abdication.

According to the law, it will happen within three years.

Akihito, who has had heart surgery and was treated for prostate cancer, has been on the throne since the death of his father, Hirohito, in 1989, reports the BBC.

In a rare address to the nation last year, he said he was beginning to feel "constraints" on his health which were making it hard for him to fulfil his official duties.

The Emperor is constitutionally barred from making any political statements, so he could not say explicitly that he wanted to stand down as that would be considered comment on the law.

--IANS ksk

( 199 Words)

2017-06-09-09:26:09 (IANS)
ABC/Randy HolmesRoyal Blood has premiered another cut from their forthcoming sophomore album, How Did We Get So Dark? The riff-heavy new track is called "I Only Lie When I Love You," and it's available for download now on iTunes.

"I Only Lie When I Love You" also comes with a black-and-white video reminiscent of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" clip. You can watch that now on YouTube.

In other Royal Blood happenings, the British duo will perform on tonight's episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, airing at 12:35 a.m. ET on NBC.

How Did We Get So Dark?, which features the lead single "Lights Out," will arrive June 16. Royal Blood is currently on a U.S. tour in support of the album, and they'll play Bonnaroo this weekend.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Russia has called for a strengthening of the cease-fire arrangement in Syria's de-escalation zones with the objective of accelerating peace talks during a meeting with a UN special envoy in Moscow on Thursday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu met UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura in Moscow and stressed the importance of consolidating the positive results achieved during the intra-Syrian consultations in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations, including with regard to constitutional reform. "I think the main goal is to make sure that all efforts by everyone involved, both inside and outside Syria, are well-orchestrated and aimed at ensuring the sovereignty of the Syrian state," Anadolu quoted Foreign Minister Lavrov, as saying. De Mistura praised Russia's actions aimed at maintaining the ceasefire regime in Syria, including under the memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones signed on May 4 by Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Defence Minister Shoigu acknowledged that there had been some cease-fire violations from both the opposition and regime forces, but do not require a serious response from the forces that are engaged in monitoring and observing" the cease-fire regime. The minister said he would like to discuss a number of issues on further steps to strengthen the cease-fire regime in the areas of de-escalation, according to a statement released on the Russian Defense Ministry's website. UN Envoy Staffan de Mistura said violence in de-escalation zones in Syria had decreased "significantly" over the past month. De Mistura said they both agreed on carrying out demining activities and humanitarian assistance in the de-escalation zones, the statement added. About the postponement of peace talks over Syria, the envoy said: "Of course, we hope that the process of the talks in Astana will continue. I know that the next meeting in Astana was postponed, but I hope it will take place and this process will continue." The fifth round of Syria peace talks was supposed to start in the Kazah capital Astana on Monday has been postponed.(ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping here.The talks were held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.The Prime Minister thanked the Chinese leadership for its cooperation in helping India get entry into the SCO."India is grateful to your leadership and support for entry into the SCO. The Indian population, especially the youth, keep a positive view of emerging developments in the relations between two countries," Mr Modi said.The founding members of the SCO are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India has been an 'observer' to the SCO, since 2005. China will assume the SCO Presidentship after the Astana summit and will host the next year's summit in 2018.Later, the Prime Minister also held talks Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev here.Yesterday, Prime Minister Modi discussed with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, on various ways to expand the bilateral India-Kazakh ties.UNI XC DEVN RJ 1058 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0103-927457.Xml
"Taking forward #IndiaUzbekistan coop'n. PM @narendramodi meets President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on the sidelines of SCO Summit," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted with a picture of both leaders.

India and Pakistan were expected to be granted full membership of the SCO, which also includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, at the Summit here on Friday. India has been a observer to the Eurasian bloc since 2005.

Modi began his engagements on Friday with a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and thanked him for China's support for India's membership of the SCO.

On Thursday, soon after his arrival here, Modi held a bilateral meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during the course of which the two leaders discussed ways to expand bilateral ties, including development of the Chabahar port in Iran.

Later in the night, Modi exchanged pleasantries with Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif at the Leaders Lounge at the Astana Opera here. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after 17 months.

After participating in the SCO Summit on Friday, Modi will attend the World Exposition, which Kazakhstan is hosting this year, before returning to India.

--IANS ab/vt

( 227 Words)

2017-06-09-11:34:11 (IANS)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping here in a first meeting with the Chinese leader this year that follows the boycott by India of OBOR conference, held in Beijing last month. The Prime Minister thanked the Chinese leadership for its cooperation in helping India get entry into the SCO. "India is grateful to your leadership and support for entry into the SCO. The Indian population, especially the youth, keeps a positive view of emerging developments in the relations between two countries," Mr Modi said. The talks were held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, which came amidst sharpening differences between the two countries over China hindering India's NSG membership and concerns over the ongoing work on the China-Pakistan economic corridor which passes through Pak occupied Kashmir. The founding members of the SCO are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India has been an 'observer' to the SCO, since 2005. China will assume the SCO Presidentship after the Astana summit and will host the next year's summit in 2018. Later, the Prime Minister also held talks Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev here. Yesterday, Prime Minister Modi discussed with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, on various ways to expand the bilateral India-Kazakh ties.UNI NAZ-DEVN RJ 1125 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0091-927481.Xml
Prime Minister Theresa May was fighting to hold on to her job today as British voters dealt her a punishing blow, denying her the stronger mandate she had sought to conduct Brexit talks and instead weakening her party's grip on power.With no clear winner emerging from Thursday's parliamentary election, a wounded May signalled she would fight on, despite losing her majority in the House of Commons. Her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn said she should step down.With 643 out of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 313 seats and were therefore no longer able to reach the 326-mark they would need to command a parliamentary majority. Labour had won 260 seats.With talks of unprecedented complexity on Britain's departure from the European Union due to start in just 10 days' time, it was unclear who would form the next government and what the fundamental direction of Brexit would be."At this time, more than anything else this country needs a period of stability," a grim-faced May said after winning her own parliamentary seat of Maidenhead, near London."If ... the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do."After winning his own seat in north London, Corbyn said May's attempt to win a bigger mandate had backfired."The mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence," he said."I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country."From the EU's perspective, the upset in London meant a possible delay in the start of the talks and an increased risk that negotiations would fail."We need a government that can act," EU Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. "With a weak negotiating partner, there's a danger that the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides."Conservative member of parliament Anna Soubry was the first in the party to disavow May in public, calling on the prime minister to "consider her position"."I'm afraid we ran a pretty dreadful campaign," Soubry said.May had unexpectedly called the snap election seven weeks ago, even though no vote was due until 2020. At that point, polls predicted she would massively increase the slim majority she had inherited from predecessor David Cameron.Instead, she risks an ignominious exit after just 11 months at Number 10 Downing Street, which would be the shortest tenure of any prime minister for almost a century."MAY IS TOAST""Whatever happens, Theresa May is toast," said Nigel Farage, former leader of the anti-EU party UKIP.Sterling fell by more than two cents against the U.S. dollar, hitting an eight-week low of $1.2690, but by 0609 GMT it had recovered to $1.2721."A hung parliament is the worst outcome from a markets perspective as it creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations and chips away at what is already a short timeline to secure a deal for Britain," said Craig Erlam, an analyst with brokerage Oanda in London.May had spent the campaign denouncing Corbyn as the weak leader of a spendthrift party that would crash Britain's economy and flounder in Brexit talks, while she would provide "strong and stable leadership" to clinch a good deal for Britain.But her campaign unravelled after a major policy u-turn on care for the elderly, while Corbyn's old-school socialist platform and more impassioned campaigning style won wider support than anyone had foreseen.In the late stages of the campaign, Britain was hit by two Islamist militant attacks in less than two weeks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London, temporarily shifting the focus onto security issues.That did not help May, who in her previous role as interior minister for six years had overseen cuts in the number of police officers. She sought to deflect pressure on Corbyn, arguing that he had a weak record on security matters, but that did not stop questions about her own ministerial decisions.With the smaller parties more closely aligned with Labour than with the Conservatives, the prospect of Corbyn becoming prime minister no longer seems fanciful.That would make the course of Brexit even harder to predict. During his three decades on Labour's leftist fringe, Corbyn consistently opposed European integration and denounced the EU as a corporate, capitalist body.As party leader, Corbyn unenthusiastically campaigned for Britain to remain in the bloc, but has said that Labour would deliver Brexit if in power, albeit with very different priorities from those stated by May."What tonight is about is the rejection of Theresa May's version of extreme Brexit," said Keir Starmer, Labour's policy chief on Brexit, saying his party wanted to retain the benefits of the European single market and customs union.POTENTIAL ALLIANCESOn a nerve-racking night for the Conservatives, interior minister Amber Rudd held on to her seat by a whisker, while several junior ministers were swept away. In one of many striking moments, the party lost the seat of Canterbury for the first time in a century.The Conservatives could potentially turn for support to Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a natural ally, projected to win 10 seats.But Labour had potential allies too, not least the Scottish National Party (SNP) who suffered major setbacks but still won a majority of Scottish seats.The pro-EU, centre-left Liberal Democrats were having a mixed night. Their former leader, Nick Clegg, who was deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, lost his seat. But former business minister Vince Cable won his back, and party leader Tim Farron held on.In domestic policy, Labour proposes raising taxes for the richest 5 percent of Britons, scrapping university tuition fees, investing 250 billion pounds ($315 billion) in infrastructure plans and re-nationalising the railways and postal service.Analysis suggested that Labour had benefited from a strong turnout among young voters. UKIP saw a collapse in its support, shedding votes evenly to the two major parties instead of overwhelmingly to the Conservatives, as pundits had expected."UKIP voters wanted Brexit but they also want change," Farage said."They are fundamentally anti-establishment in their attitudes and the vicar's daughter (May) is very pro-establishment. And I think she came across in the campaign as not only as wooden and robotic but actually pretty insincere."In Scotland, the pro-independence SNP were in retreat despite winning most seats. Having won all but three of Scotland's 59 seats in the British parliament in 2015, their share of the vote fell sharply and they lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.The campaign had played out differently in Scotland than elsewhere, the main faultline being the SNP's drive for a second referendum on independence from Britain, having lost a previous plebiscite in 2014.SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it had been a disappointing night for her party, while Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said Sturgeon should take the prospect of a new independence referendum off the table.REUTERS SV 1148 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-927525.Xml
European Union leaders fear Prime Minister Theresa May's shock loss of her majority in the snap British election will delay Brexit talks due to start this month and raise the risk of negotiations failing.Guenther Oettinger, the German member of the European Commission, said it was unclear if negotiations could be launched on Monday, June 19, as planned. The talks, which the EU wants to ensure a legally smooth British departure in March 2019, would be more uncertain without a strong negotiatng partner, he said."We need a government that can act," Oettinger told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. "With a weak negotiating partner, there's the danger than the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides...I expect more more uncertainty now."His French colleague Pierre Moscovici said the result would affect the negotiations but declined to be drawn on whether the EU executive hoped Britain might ask to stay. He told Europe 1 radio that Brexit was supported by most of the last parliament following the referendum a year ago and that the timetable for leaving in 2019 was not "optional" but fixed in treaty law.Former Finnish premier Alexander Stubb was a rare senior commentator. He tweeted: "Looks like we might need a time-out in the Brexit negotiations. Time for everyone to regroup."May, who had campaigned against Brexit last year but took over the Conservative party after David Cameron lost last June's Brexit referendum, delivered her terms for withdrawal in March.These include a clean break from the EU's single market and customs union. May then called a snap election hoping for a bigger majority to strengthen her hand in negotiations.That was also the broadly desired outcome in Brussels, where leaders believed that a stronger May would be better able to cut compromise deals with the EU and resist pressure from hardline pro-Brexit factions in her party which have called for Britain to reject EU terms and, possibly, walk out without a deal.Elmar Brok, a prominent German conservative member of the EU parliament, said Europeans would be disappointed May had failed to gain the majority that could have helped her override her party hardliners: "Now no prime minister will have that room for manoeuvre," he said. "Which is what makes things so difficult."European leaders have largely given up considering the possibility that Britain might change its mind and ask to stay. Most now appear to prefer that the bloc's second-biggest economy leave smoothly and quickly. To halt the Brexit process now would require the consent of the other member states.FEAR OF COLLAPSEThe other 27 governments are particularly concerned that a breakdown in negotiations could lead to Britain ceasing to be a member on March 30, 2019, as laid out in Article 50 of the EU treaty, without negotiating the kind of divorce terms that would avoid a chaotic legal limbo for people and businesses. That would also make it improbable that Britain could secure the rapid free trade agreement it wants with the EU after it leaves.In a note to clients, UBS wrote that the relative strength of hardline pro-Brexit groups in a weak Conservative government could make a breakdown in talks more likely and make it harder to reach a trade deal: "A tighter political balance could make it easier for Eurosceptics ... to prevent the government from offering the compromises needed to secure a trade deal."Talk in Britain that a different ruling coalition could seek a "softer" Brexit than May has proposed, possibly seeking to remain in the single market, is also problematic for the EU.While the 27 would quite possibly be willing to extend to Britain the same kind of access to EU markets that they offer to Norway or Switzerland, they have made clear that that would mean Britain continuing to pay into the EU budget and obey EU rules, including on free migration across the bloc, while no longer having any say in how the Union's policies are set.EU leaders question how any British government could persuade voters to accept such an outcome and so would be wary of starting down the path of negotiating it for fear of ending up without a deal that both sides could ratify in 2019.Siegfried Muresan, spokesman for the European centre-right party whose dominant leader is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, was scathing, saying on Twitter that May had followed Cameron in risking the "future of the country for personal political gain".She had, he said, "played with fire" in binding Britain to the two-year deadline for Brexit talks and had now "got burned".REUTERS SV 1155 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-927532.Xml
On his second and final day of his visit to Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit here on Friday. Stressing about the need to deepen cooperation between India and Uzbekistan, Modi said "India and Uzbekistan has foundations in the historical contacts and cultural links and there is a lot of scope for enhancing ties between both the countries. We will work together to take our bilateral ties to next level that includes political, economic, trade, transportation, military exchanges technological ties. " Modi congratulated President Mirziyoyev for winning the December 2016 presidential election. Mentioning about his previous meeting with the President, Modi said,"I still remember our meeting in Tashkent which was very fruitful." Modi said there is a lot of potential in expanding ties between the countries. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi met Chinese President Jinping and thanked him for supporting India's bid to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a consortium that focuses on security and trade. " I am grateful to you for your efforts and support for India's SCO membership", PM Modi told Chinese president. As the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a consortium that focuses on security and trade, Modi is likely to pitch for a concerted global action plan to contain terrorism at the summit which is also being attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. On Thursday, PM Modi met Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and exchanged pleasantries when they met at a cultural gala. This was the first time that they have spoken in a year. (ANI)
Addressing the SCO Summit, he said, India would be very keen to "deepen" the focus on connectivity in the region.

He said there are extensive potentials for cooperation among the SCO nations in multiple sectors like education, agriculture, energy, development and counter terror measures.

The founding members of the SCO are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India has been an ''observer'' to the SCO, since 2005.

Mr Modi said that the development of SCO would mark the development of 42 per cent of the global population.

India''s entry into the SCO is seen as significant step in terms of ensuring cooperation among themember nations to give a boost to connectivity and fight against terrorism.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Modi also extended good wishes to the China asBeijing will assume the SCO Presidentship after the Astana summit.

China will host the next year''s summit in 2018.

He also said that SCO can also devote attention towards climate change.

Earlier in the morning hours, PM Modi held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping onthe sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

Last evening, PM Modi also spoke to Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif and exchanged pleasantries.

UNI DEVN ADG 1434

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Sirens blared in the streets of a Japanese city today, the latest community to conduct evacuation drills in a region wary of the threat of North Korean missiles.School children in Sakata, a city on Japan's northeast coast, crouched down with their hands over their heads and then ran into their gymnasium for shelter.Residents who could not make it to a designated evacuation centre knelt or lay down in the middle of rice fields."In the past, I felt like these had nothing to do with me," college student Makoto Nanba, 20, said of North Korea's missile launches, as she gathered with others at the school gym."But because their frequency has gone up, it doesn't feel like a distant problem anymore."Japan has stepped up evacuation drills in recent months as North Korea tests missiles in defiance of international pressure to halt its weapons programme.Japanese authorities estimate that it would take only 10 minutes for a North Korean missile to reach Japan.North Korea has launched 16 missiles in 10 tests this year, the latest yesterday when four surface-to-ship cruise missiles travelled about 200 km (124 miles) from Wonsan in the east of the reclusive country. REUTERS AKC 1516 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-927766.Xml
Brexit minister David Davis said results so far from election pointed to a transformation taking place in Britain, but it was too soon to call the result."This is a much more disruptive election - all sorts of changes are going on geographically in Scotland, in the north of England," Davis told ITV yesterday. "It's rather early to make rash predictions."Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives were forecast to win 322 seats, the BBC said, more than the 314 predicted by an initial exit poll and closer to the 326 threshold needed to form a majority.REUTERS SDR 0740 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0431-927357.Xml
A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that May would meet the British head of state at Buckingham Palace, reports Efe news.

May's party took the most parliamentary seats -- 318 -- in the UK's snap election that she called in April, but it failed to secure enough support to form a majority government, falling short of the required 326 parliamentary seats.

To form a functioning government, the Prime Minister is expected to rely on the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, an ideologically similar right-wing faction from Northern Ireland, which secured 10 of the 18 parliamentary seats representing that region in the British Parliament.

May met stiff competition from her rival Jeremy Corbyn of the opposition Labour Party, who garnered 261 seats in the election, a gain of 29.

When May called the snap election, the Conservatives had a 20 point polling average lead over Labour.

The Conservative leader sought to create a "strong and stable government" ahead of the Brexit negotiations slated to begin on June 19.

However, May's decision to call a snap vote backfired, casting uncertainty on the approach taken in those negotiations.

Corbyn's party gathered momentum during the campaign, offering a policy programme based funding public services and tackling social issues such as poverty and inequality.

May took the reins of the Conservatives from former Prime Minister David Cameron, who resigned following the UK's vote in a JUne 2016 referendum to leave the European Union.

--IANS ksk/vt

( 287 Words)

2017-06-09-16:26:20 (IANS)
Philippine exports expanded for a fifth straight month in April, in line with strength in shipments elsewhere in Asia and giving an extra boost to one of the world's fastest-growing economies.Improving global trade could complement robust domestic demand as the government aims to lift growth to as much as 7.5 percent this year from 6.9 percent in 2016.April exports rose 12.1 percent from a year earlier to $4.81 billion, while imports dropped 0.1 percent, the first fall in 14 months, data showed on Friday.That produced a trade deficit of $2.05 billion, narrower than a year ago.Demand for eight of the country's top export items remained firm.Shipments of electronics products, which accounted for 51 percent of total exports in April, rose 6.8 percent from last year, slower than the previous month's 19 percent annual climb.But economists were unfazed by the apparent slowdown, saying that an electronics "super-cycle" which has boosted global hi-tech companies this year still has legs."I am not too worried about fading in electronics demand this year," said Vaninder Singh, economist at NatWest Markets, as several important consumer and business devices have been launched and announced in the last few months.South Korea's exports grew at a double-digit pace in May, expanding for the seventh consecutive month on strong world demand, while Taiwan's exports in May expanded for the eighth straight month as factories churned out supplies for Apple Inc's new iPhone.China's exports expanded by a better-than-expected 8.7 percent, data showed on Thursday."For electronics, the cycle is still going strong," Singh said.Philippine exports to Japan and the United States, its two biggest markets, shrank 16.6 percent and 6.7 percent from a year earlier, respectively. But shipments to Hong Kong and China rose 36.8 percent and 26.4 percent, respectively.Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's economic managers are hopeful that the government's efforts to expand trade relations with other markets, such as China and Russia, would eventually give the export sector a further boost.The government's economic and fiscal targets were largely maintained after a review by economic managers on Friday, but revisions were made to trade assumptions.The country's 2017 growth target for exports was raised to 5 percent from 2 percent, and next year's goal was increased to 7 percent from 5 percent.For imports, the government pencilled in growth of 10 percent this year until 2019 and 11 percent for 2020 to 2022.REUTERS AKC 1747 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0387-927963.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping marking the first major interaction between two sides after India had stayed away from the OBOR conference hosted by China and also on the backdrop of Beijing stalling India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)."Both sides made broad assessment of relations between the two countries and both sides also assured to address each other's concerns," the Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar told reporters here after the meeting between PM Modi and the Chinese leader.He said, both India and China also agreed that: "In the time of global uncertainty, India and China are the factors of stability"."As the world becomes more multi-polar, India and China should work together," he said."It's also understood that where India-China have differences they shouldn't become disputes and if handled well these can become opportunities," Dr Jaishankar said.During the meet, Prime Minister told the Chinese President that India is grateful for China's support to ensure India's admission into the SCO.The Foreign Secretary said the talks were under cordial atmosphere."We spoke about India-China relations and how to further improve ties," Prime Minister Modi said in a tweet.The meeting between the two leaders came amid growing differences between the two countries over a host of issues including Beijing's reservation on India's entry into the NSG.China has been also stalling India's move to list Jaishe-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN.Last month, India had abstained from the conference on the One Belt and One Road, a Chinese initiative as the proposed trans-national link would pass through Gilgit and Baltistan, both falling in Jammu and Kashmir and is allegedly forcefully occupied by Pakistan.In his brief remarks at the SCO Summit, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also referred to theChina-Pakistan Economic Corridor and describing it as "a flag of the OBOR", said Islamabad is "diligently implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor".After Astana meet, PM Modi and President Xi Jinping are also expected to be at another multi-nation platform, the G20 summit, to be held in July in Hamburg, Germany.China will also host the BRICS summit in September later this year.For its part, China has been also unhappy after India allowed the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to travel to Arunachal Pradesh earlier this year.UNI XC DEVN SHK 1659 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0443-928021.Xml
The ostracism of Qatar by other powerful Arab states is deepening divisions between their respective allies vying for influence in wars and political struggles from Libya to Yemen.The feud complicates efforts to stabilise countries reeling from years of turmoil and undermines the notion of a Sunni Muslim Arab world united against terrorism and Iran, proclaimed by US President Donald Trump in his visit last month.The quarrel is the latest chapter in the battle of wills between political Islamists and traditional Arab autocrats which has buffeted Muslim societies for decades.Since the 2011 "Arab Spring" protests, which aspired to democratic reform but in several countries collapsed into warfare, Egypt and especially the United Arab Emirates emerged as main foes of an ascendant Muslim Brotherhood backed by Qatar.After Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE cut ties to Doha on Monday, accusing it of supporting militants and Iran, regional allies followed suit and denounced domestic foes as Qatari stooges, undermining reconciliation efforts by foreign powers."The whole situation has become very awkward. Qatar and its big rivals are fighting each other, but indirectly and on other people's territory," said Yemeni analyst Farea al-Muslimi."Having internal Arab messes like this escalate and get more complicated makes it pretty clear that the Arab world is far away from solving other issues like Palestine or Iraq or even the relationship with Iran."In Libya, the UAE and Qatar, which both played key roles in backing rebels in the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, have emerged as rivals on the battlefield with conflicting interests and visions.The UAE, along with Egypt, has backed anti-Islamist former army commander Khalifa Haftar, appointed by a government and parliament based in the east. Qatar and Turkey have supported rival Islamist-leaning factions in western Libya.In Yemen -- mired in conflict since Saudi Arabia launched an air war in 2015 against the Houthi movement that controls the capital -- a southern Yemeni secessionist council armed by the UAE opposes the internationally recognised government because it includes the Qatar-backed Muslim Brotherhood.The council and Yemen's Saudi-backed government, despite years of Qatar ties, cut diplomatic relations with Doha.The eastern-based Libyan government and parliament aligned with anti-Islamist Haftar did the same."We are certain that the concerned states in the Gulf and Egypt will put pressure so as to drastically shift Qatar's outrageous policies," Mohamed Dayri, the foreign minister of the eastern government, told Reuters.Today Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain designated as terrorists five Libyans including Tripoli Grand Mufti Sadiq al-Ghariani, an influential figure for anti-Haftar militias in western Libya. They also listed the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), a group that has tried to revive armed opposition to Haftar since last year.TIME TO WITHDRAW?Qatar has for years punched well above its weight in world affairs by parleying its vast gas wealth into influence across the region, irking the UAE and dominant Gulf Arab power Saudi Arabia with its maverick stances and support for Islamists.Now, Qatar's powerful neighbours appear to be demanding a retreat from those conflicts."The message now is that it's time for Qatar to withdraw from the region and essentially not have an independent foreign policy," said Peter Salisbury, an analyst at Chatham House."It looks like Saudi Arabia and the UAE won't be satisfied until Qatar is pushed to stop funding the groups they don't like, the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas."But these demands come while Qatar's allies have for the most part been forced onto the back foot.Blessed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, former Egyptian army chief and now president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted the Qatar-aligned elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in a 2013 military takeover.Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, some of its leaders based in Doha, is no closer to leading the Palestinian people then when it fell out with secular rivals in the Fatah party in 2007.The Gulf spat is likely to further fuel inter-rebel conflicts in Syria, where rivalries between Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been showcased since the earliest days of the crisis."EXTREMIST DIVIDENDS"Qatar's friends who retain a plausible chance at national leadership, in Libya and Yemen, may have the most to lose from the row.Haftar styles himself as a bane of extremism, and has become the dominant figure in eastern Libya since launching a campaign against Islamist groups and former rebels in Benghazi three years ago. Many suspect he seeks national rule.His supporters believe the Qatar spat vindicates their anti-Islamist stance, as Haftar has gained ground and the UN-backed Tripoli government that he has rejected has been floundering.Any hardening of the Haftar camp's stance could complicate mediation efforts by Libya's neighbours to the west, Algeria and Tunisia, which have been pushing for an inclusive, negotiated solution."Qatar being made an example out of ... means that Haftar, Egypt and the UAE will experience much less diplomatic pushback as they ramp up their military campaign inside Libya itself," said Jalel Harchaoui, a researcher at Paris 8 University. REUTERS AKC 1806 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0386-928155.Xml
South Africa's ultra-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party filed a criminal complaint against Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and the state rail company today over what it says is evidence of corruption in a lucrative government tender.A flurry of new allegations of inappropriate collusion between state-owned companies and business interests close to President Jacob Zuma this week have piled pressure on the scandal-plagued leader and emboldened opposition parties.Some of more than 100,000 emails leaked to media show a company owned by the Gupta family, friends of Zuma, allegedly earned 5.3 billion rand (410 million dollars) by acting as an intermediary in a tender to build locomotives for state rail firm Transnet."We are here because we want to protect the South African purse, which Zuma and his friends have turned into a personal purse," EFF head Julius Malema said after filing the complaint at Johannesburg's central police station.Gigaba has said he has done nothing wrong.A Gupta family spokesman has said the emails are "fake news". Zuma has not addressed the new allegations but has previously said his relationship with the Guptas does not represent a conflict of interest.The African National Congress (ANC) has become increasingly divided over Zuma's leadership in recent months due to a string of corruption scandals, diminishing public support and economic turbulence caused partly by a cabinet reshuffle in March.Zuma, who has survived calls to resign from sections of the ANC and its political allies in recent months, said today the party must put a stop to public spats and unite to avoid handing the advantage to its opponents."We must unite and close ranks and find solutions to the challenges we face," Zuma told veterans of the ANC's military wing. "We cannot afford anymore self-inflicted pain."REUTERS AKC 1949 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-928582.Xml
A statement on jointly fighting international terrorism by top leaders of SCO members was released after the conclusion of the 17th SCO summit in Astana.

The SCO leaders stressed the core coordination role of the United Nations and its Security Council in the fight against international terrorism and in international anti-terrorism cooperation, saying the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, as well as norms of international laws, should be strictly observed.

The SCO members stand firmly against linking terrorism with any religion, and condemn all intolerant, discriminatory and violent activities against Christian, Islamic and other religious people, said the document.

The leaders warned against the propaganda and instigation of terrorism and extremism through the Internet, as well as the recruitment activity for such purposes, calling for comprehensive measures to combat the spread of terrorist and extremist thoughts.

They emphasized the importance of taking joint actions against armed terrorists who have participated in international terrorist groups' activities and returned to the SCO countries.

The SCO leaders held that global security threats are rising, as activities of terrorist organisations are becoming more rampant, adding that the SCO region is facing more severe situation.

The SCO leaders reiterated the prohibition against undermining state sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity, the prohibition against intervening in domestic affairs, saying that there is no tolerance for using terrorist or extremist groups for political or geopolitical purposes.

The SCO leaders reiterated to jointly fight all types of terrorist and extremist organisations listed by any SCO member.

--IANS ahm/

( 286 Words)

2017-06-10-00:54:20 (IANS)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 16:34:14|Editor: MJ

An Afghan policeman checks a vehicle during a military operation in Saripul province, Afghanistan, June 8, 2017. Three militants including a Taliban group commander were killed and two others injured after their explosive device went off prematurely in the northern Saripul province on Wednesday, said a statement of Interior Ministry released here.(Xinhua/Mohammad Jan Aria)

KABUL, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Three militants including a Taliban group commander were killed and two others injured after their explosive device went off prematurely in the northern Saripul province on Wednesday, said a statement of Interior Ministry.

According to the statement, a group of Taliban militants was busy in planting a mine on a road in Sozma Qala district in the morning when the device exploded accidentally, killing three rebels on the spot including their commander Qari Zukrullah alias Talha and injuring two others.

Taliban militants who are active in parts of Saripul province and largely relying on suicide and roadside bombings haven't commented on the subject.
Buildings are seen on a coast line in Doha, Qatar June 5, 2017. (REUTERS photo)

ANKARA, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's Grand National Assembly on Wednesday approved draft bill allowing the deployment of troop to a Turkish military base in Qatar.

According to local media, the bill includes two pieces of legislation: allowing Turkish troops to be deployed in Qatar and approving an accord between the two countries on military officer training cooperation.

The parliamentary approval comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday expressed disapproval of the sanctions imposed on Qatar by several Arab countries.

"I hope that all sanctions against Qatar will be lifted as soon as possible," Erdogan said.

The bill, drafted before the rift, passed with 240 votes in favor, largely with support from the ruling AKP Party and nationalist opposition MHP.

The new move appears to support Qatar as it faces diplomatic and trade isolation from some of the biggest Middle Eastern powers.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and the Maldives cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, claiming it of "terrorism support."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-08 22:08:28|Editor: xuxin

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HARARE, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's 2017 maize output increased four-fold to 2.1 million tonnes in 2017 from 511,000 tonnes last year due to favorable rains and increased support to farmers, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

"In total, about 1,770,389 hectares were put under maize during the 2016/17 farming season, with anticipated maize yields of over 2 million tones," the Ministry said in its 2017 first quarter treasury bulletin.

It said the 2.1 million tonnes of maize, together with small grains, should give over 2.7 million tonnes of grain this year, well above the national requirements of 1.8 million tonnes.

The increased yields are despite flooding and outbreak of armyworm as well as various diseases which affected crops and livestock in some parts of the country during the farming season.

Chinamasa said there was increased support from government, private players and development partners towards agriculture, the mainstay of Zimbabwe's economy.

The support targeted farmer programs, which included the Presidential Input Support Scheme, Cotton Input Scheme and the Special Maize Program for Import Substitution commonly known as command agriculture.

"These schemes were complemented by contract farming arrangements as well as own-farmer financing initiatives," he said.

According to Chinamasa, government supported the Presidential Inputs Scheme to the tune of 30 million U.S. dollars while 42 million dollars was channeled towards cotton production.

Treasury also contributed 80 million dollars towards agriculture while the private sector put in 264 million dollars, he said.

The bumper maize harvest comes after Zimbabwe in 2016 experienced one of its worst droughts in recent years, which left a quarter of the rural population in need of food aid.

The Ministry of finance said following the success of the special maize command agriculture scheme during the 2016/17 agriculture season, government had embarked on command winter wheat production in an endeavor to reduce wheat imports.

The program is targeting 70,000 hectares at average yields of 5 tonnes per hectare and already 881 farmers with hectarage of more than 56,000 ha had been registered, the ministry said.

Cotton production was also expected to increase to 100,000 tonnes, up from 32, 000 tonnes last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 01:41:43|Editor: yan

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NAIROBI, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency said Thursday it has repatriated some 66,807 Somali refugees from Kenya since the voluntary return exercise begun in December 2014.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its bi-weekly Update released in Nairobi that some 65,470 refugees were supported to return to their home in Somalia from the Dadaab refugee camp in northeast Kenya.

"During the period under review (May 16-31), 1,620 refugees were supported to return to Somalia," UNHCR said, adding that some 26,156 were supported from Dadaab in 2017 alone.

According to the refugee agency, currently, 19,515 refugees are registered for voluntary repatriation, noting that there has been reduction in the number of persons repatriated for the last four weeks under review.

"This reduction could be attributed to drought and the cholera outbreak that has impacted several parts of Somalia, the suspension of road convoys as a result of heavy rains in Dadaab area of operation and some parts of Somalia, as well as the ongoing Ramadhan," UNHCR said.

More than 2 million Somalis have been displaced in one of the world's most protracted humanitarian crises that have now entered its third decade.

An estimated 1.1 million people are internally displaced (IDPs) within Somalia and nearly 900,000 are refugees in the region.

Experts say continuing political and security stabilization progress in Somalia, along with growing pressures in hosting countries, makes this a critical moment to renew efforts to find durable solutions for Somali refugees.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 03:33:13|Editor: MJ

Rwandan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete receives an interview with Xinhua in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, June 8, 2017. The newly inaugurated standard gauge railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi is very important to the integration of eastern Africa, Rwandan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete said here Thursday. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

KIGALI, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The newly inaugurated standard gauge railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi is very important to the integration of eastern Africa, Rwandan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete said here Thursday.

"It was a very successful project, thanks to China's support for Kenya," Gatete told Xinhua in an interview at his office in downtown Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

The new railway, known as the Kenyan SGR, started cargo and passenger services a week ago in ceremonies attended by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong, the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Gatete said leaders of the region have attached great importance to the construction of standard gauge rail lines as part of the Northern Corridor, which links Kenya with Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, and the Central Corridor, which starts from Tanzania, through Rwanda and then lead to Burundi, to reduce the cost of doing business, the cost of movement of people and goods.

"The one in Kenya is really something to be proud of," he said. "We are working to make sure that we discuss at the regional level how we can also benefit."

The 480 km 3.8-billion-U.S.-dollar Mombasa-Nairobi SGR was constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation, with 90 percent of the funding coming from China.

Gatete said much has been done to advance east African integration, with the removal of non-tariff barriers, cutting the time needed for cargo shipment from Mombasa to Kigali from the original 21 days to about five days. The facilitation of free movement of people, including easier access to work permits and the introduction of common visas, the removal of voice and data roaming fees, and the harmonization of the electricity grid all helped consolidate the integration.

The minister described the relationship between Rwanda and China as "excellent."

"We are very happy about that cooperation in all areas... at the technical level, development level," he said.

"At the international cooperation level, the relationship between Rwanda and China can be a very good example for the rest of the world," Gatete said.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame met Chinese President Xi last March during his visit to Beijing, where the two leaders agreed to upgrade bilateral strategic cooperation..

Over the past decades, Rwanda managed to achieve an average growth of 8.0 percent, cutting the poverty level from 79 percent in 1995 to 39 percent in 2014. Gatete attributed the success to the leadership and vision of President Kagame, the importance the country attaches to free universal primary and secondary education and the focus on science, technology, research and innovation, as well as technical and vocational training.

Known as one of the world's cleanest governments, Rwanda practices a policy of zero tolerance toward corruption.

Gatate said for leaders and people in responsible positions, everybody, from the president to anyone else, has to declare his or her wealth at the end of each June to the ombudsman.

"Corruption... if you do it, you know the consequences," he said. "You cannot reduce it to zero, but at least people know the consequences."

The minister also talked about Rwanda's efforts in coping with the aftermath of the 1994 genocide, which left more than 1 million Tutsis and some moderate Hutus dead, and the measures taken to lift the country from the dark past.

Wreaths can still be seen outside the main entrance to the five-story building. They were laid there in a memorial ceremony last Friday for 104 former Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning employees who perished in 1994.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 03:38:15|Editor: An

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- China condemns terrorist attacks in Tehran and firmly opposes all forms of terrorism, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Thursday.

The comment came after suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in Tehran on Wednesday,killing at least 17 people and wounding 52 others.

During a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in the Kazakh capital of Astana, Wang extended his condolences over the attacks and urged the international community to enhance anti-terrorism cooperation.

China appreciates Iran for being one of the first countries to support and participate in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. China-Iran cooperation on the initiative will not only benefit the two countries' development but also contribute to regional peace, stability and prosperity, Wang said.

Zarif thanked China's support to the Iranian government and its people, saying Iran is satisfied with the current development of bilateral ties and that Iran is willing to have closer high-level exchanges and promote trade cooperation with China.

Both sides exchanged views on the situation in the Gulf. Wang said peace and stability of the region is in the shared interests of regional members and the international community, and that China holds that relevant countries need to properly resolve their differences.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and the Maldives cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting "terrorism and extremism," but Qatar rejected such accusations.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 04:08:31|Editor: yan

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MOSCOW, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Thursday agreed that consultation over the Syrian issue should be accelerated.

The parties had a routine meeting in Moscow and exchanged views on a whole range of issues related to the settlement of the Syrian crisis, according to a statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The special envoy praised Russia's actions aimed at maintaining the ceasefire regime in Syria, including under the memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones signed on May 4.

Lavrov and de Mistura stressed the importance of consolidating the positive results achieved during the intra-Syrian consultations in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations, including with regard to constitutional reform.

In this context, they underlined the need to keep up and speed up the course of negotiations with their comprehensive nature, as well as the need to focus on the fight against terrorism.
United Nations special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (1st R) and Syria's opposition delegation members hold a meeting during intra-Syrian negotiations at Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 16, 2017. (Xinhua/POOL/Salvatore Di Noli)

MOSCOW, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on Thursday agreed that consultation over the Syrian issue should be accelerated.

The parties had a routine meeting in Moscow and exchanged views on a whole range of issues related to the settlement of the Syrian crisis, according to a statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The special envoy praised Russia's actions aimed at maintaining the ceasefire regime in Syria, including under the memorandum on the creation of de-escalation zones signed on May 4.

Lavrov and de Mistura stressed the importance of consolidating the positive results achieved during the intra-Syrian consultations in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations, including with regard to constitutional reform.

In this context, they underlined the need to keep up and speed up the course of negotiations with their comprehensive nature, as well as the need to focus on the fight against terrorism.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 04:43:47|Editor: yan

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KHARTOUM, June 8 (Xinhua) -- In a move indicating the escalating differences among the major rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector, the Nuba Mountains Liberation Council (NMLC) has decided to remove the movement's Secretary-General Malik Agar and replace him by his former deputy Abdel Aziz al-Hilu.

The move is likely to constitute a barrier before the efforts of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), led by Thabo Mbeki, which is seeking to find a peaceful settlement between Khartoum and the SPLM/northern sector.

The decisions came following a meeting for the NMLC, the parliament of of the SPLM/northern sector, which began Wednesday and was called for by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu who was formerly the deputy Secretary-General of the movement.

The SPLM/northern sector has been fighting Khartoum government at South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas since 2011.

The NMLC decisions stipulated the removal of Agar from his post as chairman of the Movement and general commander of its Army.

The council also decided to prevent Agar and Yasir Arman's entry to the SPLM/northern sector's controlled areas in South Kordofan State.

The council justified its decisions on removing Agar and Arman, saying that the two refused to include the right of self-determination for the Nuba Mountains in negotiations with the government and that Agar caused internal confrontations among the movement's groups in Blue Nile.

The decisions indicate spilt of the SPLM/northern sector into two factions on ethnic and geographic bases, whereas the NMLC appointed a chairman who belongs to the Nuba Mountains area.

Definitely the other part of the SPLM/northern sector in Blue Nile would not accept the removal of Agar who belongs to the Blue Nile region, which confirms the spilt of the movement into two factions, one fighting in South Kordofan and the other in Blue Nile.

Recently, the movement have experienced differences among its leaders that, in last May, developed into clashes in Blue Nile between forces loyal to Agar and others earlier split from the movement and decided to remove Agar from the command of the movement's army.

The clashes then moved to the refugees' camps in Blue Nile taking the form of tribal tension where each party was instigating particular tribes against the others, which led to the killing and injuring of dozens from both parties.

Meanwhile, the movement's removed chairman Agar has accused his former deputy al-Hilu of seeking to divide the Movement and its Army and install himself as chairman of the SPLM/northern sector.

To this end, Sudan tribune published an internal message by Agar to the leaders of the SPLM/northern sector in which he described the NMLC meeting as "illegal."

"In addition to being illegal, this call will aggravate the situation and won't lead to solutions. We are aware of all the decisions he intends to make, including the appointment of a new chairman and new leadership and assistance," said Agar in his message.

"As chairman of the Movement, and with me the current secretary general, we decided not to run for any executive office at any future SPLM-N conference and to support a new generation of leaders and the unity of the SPLM-N," he added.

In the meantime, Agar defended his vision rejecting including the call for self-determination for South Kordofan in the negotiations with the government, saying " the call for self-determination in the Nuba Mountain is not part of the New Sudan project... it would work against the interests of the residents of the Two Areas."

"The call for self-determination became no longer attractive after the secession of the South Sudan. It would isolate the SPLM-N from the national and democratic forces and will divide the Movement into two parts," he added.

Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Front Alliance, which brings together the Darfur armed movements and the SPLM/northern sector, urged the leaders of the movement to adhere to unity.

"Any division within the SPLM/northern sector will weaken the opposition and pours into the interest of the regime," said the front in a statement.

The Sudanese government has not yet comment on the division among the SPLM/northern sector which has been fighting it at South Kordofan and Blue Nile since 2011.

However, the issue of the movements spilt has been present as a key issue in talks held Thursday in Khartoum between Sudan's Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, who is also head of the government negotiating team, and United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Nicholas Haysom.

"During the talks we have clearly expressed our concerns over the divisions among the SPLM/northern sector," Haysom told reporters following his talks with Hamid.

He added that it is premature at this stage to predict the outcome of the divisions inside the movement, noting that they would closely follow the results of those developments.

According to analysts, the rift within the SPLM/northern sector may cast new complications on the negotiation file with Khartoum, where the movement would need time to rearrange its matters and form a new team to negotiate in its name.

To this end, Ayoub Abdul-Hafeez, a Sudanese political analyst, told Xinhua that "This division will constitute a new barrier and may delay convocation of the coming round of peace talks."

"It is not in the interest of the negotiations to see two negotiating teams for the SPLM/northern sector. Previous experiences have proved that it is better to negotiate as one body instead of fragmented entities," he added.

More than ten rounds of peace talks have been held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa between the Sudanese government and the SPLM/northern, under the patronage of the African Union, but have failed to reach a peace deal regarding South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 05:24:16|Editor: Lu Hui

Former Director of Federal Bureau of Investigations James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 8, 2017. James Comey said Thursday during a Senate hearing that Trump in his words did not order the FBI to drop the investigation on former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Former Director of Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) James Comey said Thursday that he was confused over the circumstances under which he was fired.

Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee in a hearing that the Trump administration had offered "shifting explanations" for his firing, which was confusing and concerning.

"It confused me when I saw on television the president saying that he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation," he said.

"I was also confused by the initial explanation that was offered publicly, that I was fired because of the decisions I had made during the election year," Comey said.

"The administration then chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray," Comey said.

Comey also touched on his exchanges with President Donald Trump regarding the FBI investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Comey said Trump had asked him during a meeting on February 14 to go easy on an ongoing investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

Comey testified that even though Trump's words were not "an order", he nevertheless "took it as a direction."

Whether Trump ordered Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn may carry significant importance as some lawmakers are contemplating whether Trump's action constitutes obstruction of justice.

The high profile hearing is scheduled to find out the circumstances under which Comey was fired and if Trump had interfered with FBI investigations.

Comey was fired on May 9.

Related:

News Analysis: Former FBI chief's hearing latest in major distractions for Trump
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 07:05:05|Editor: xuxin

People watch the news about the ground-to-sea cruise missile in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, on June 9, 2017. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) confirmed early Friday it test fired a new type of ground-to-sea cruise missile on Thursday, the fourth missile test by Pyongyang in one month. (Xinhua/Zhu Longchuan)

PYONGYANG, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) confirmed early Friday it test fired a new type of ground-to-sea cruise missile on Thursday, the fourth missile test by Pyongyang in one month.

The Korean Central News Agency said DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un guided the test fire of the missile, which was "a powerful attack means capable of striking any enemy group of battleships."

A number of cruise missiles were launched from caterpillar self-propelled launching pad vehicles capable of staging strikes "at will," it said.

"The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea (Sea of Japan) after making circular flights," said the report.

Earlier media reports said the test fire was made from DPRK's eastern coast city of Wonson, a major naval base near the military demarcation line.

The United States lately sent two aircraft carrier task groups to the Sea of Japan to hold joint military exercises with South Korea.
Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 30, 2017 shows the test-firing of a ballistic missile.(Xinhua/KCNA)

PYONGYANG, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) confirmed early Friday it test fired a new type of ground-to-sea cruise missile on Thursday, the fourth missile test by Pyongyang in one month.

The Korean Central News Agency said DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un guided the test fire of the missile, which was "a powerful attack means capable of striking any enemy group of battleships."

A number of cruise missiles were launched from caterpillar self-propelled launching pad vehicles capable of staging strikes "at will," it said.

"The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea (Sea of Japan) after making circular flights," said the report.

Earlier media reports said the test fire was made from DPRK's eastern coast city of Wonson, a major naval base near the military demarcation line.

The United States lately sent two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Sea of Japan to hold joint military exercises with South Korea.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 07:35:12|Editor: MJ

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HOUSTON, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Governor of the U.S. state of Texas, Greg Abbott, spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, reaffirming Texas' strong support for Israel.

The phone conversation followed Abbott's trip to Israel last year, where he promised Netanyahu that he would seek legislation that strengthens Texas' relationship with Israel, according to the news release from the governor's office.

A number of pro-Israel bills have been signed into law recently by Abbott, including the anti-DBS (Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions) bill.

During the conversation, Netanyahu thanked Abbott for his strong support of the Texas-Israel alliance, and for solidifying the bond and values that both Texas and Israel share.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 09:40:55|Editor: An

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DALIAN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese court in the northeastern city of Dalian on Friday opened a trial on suspected crimes of the company Beijing Pangu Investment as well as its three executives.

They are accused of charges including frauds in obtaining loans and foreign exchange.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 09:40:57|Editor: An

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BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The China-proposed Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative is adding a vigorous economic dimension to the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as the two international cooperation mechanisms overlap in an area critical to both -- the vast Eurasian inland.

B&R cooperation is aimed at building an infrastructure and trade network to improve the interconnectivity of Asia, Africa and Europe along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes, of which the Eurasian landmass is a vital part.

The SCO members -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- are all stakeholders in the Eurasian region, and economic development in the area has become increasingly decisive in maintaining regional peace and stability, which is a major concern to the SCO.

Experts have pointed out that specific projects under the B&R Initiative and the existing economic cooperation structure of the SCO will complement each other and jointly bring more benefits to the Eurasian region.

STRONG SYNERGY

The B&R Initiative generates a series of individual projects in the absence of an overall program, where the SCO can be complementary as "an institutionalized structure," noted Alexey Maslov, head of the Oriental Studies Department at National Research University Higher School of Economics, a leading Russian university.

He suggested integrating related B&R projects into the SCO's existing economic cooperation framework, believing that this would be useful to make the implementation of those projects more effective.

"I think that what is the most beneficial for the Belt and Road Initiative is making use of the existing structure, the SCO," he told Xinhua.

In his eyes, the free movement of goods, creation of joint ventures, construction of joint high-tech zones, elimination of non-tariff trade barriers, and building of a free trade area should be the major directions for SCO economic cooperation. Those priorities fall in line with the aspirations of B&R cooperation.

Among the various B&R cooperation projects, rail freight transportation stands out as one prominent sector. A railway linking China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan that is being planned is expected to become part of the China-Europe rail transit system to bring more development opportunities to SCO member states.

For example, Manzhouli, a city in China's northeast that is one of the three departure ports for China-Europe freight trains now in operation, saw 1,036 freight trains -- 774 outbound and 262 inbound -- carry goods worth 3.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 alone, almost double the amount of the year before.

GREAT POTENTIAL

On Eurasian development, Evgeny Vinokurov, director of the Center for Integration Studies of the Eurasian Development Bank, said he believes bilateral free trade agreements should be the focus.

"I consider the conclusion of bilateral free trade agreements as a priority. For example, an agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and China," he said.

China and the EEU, which groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, have agreed to align the B&R Initiative with the development of the EEU, and talks are under way for them to establish a partnership for economic cooperation.

Dmitry Mezentsev, SCO secretary general between 2013 and 2015, noted that bilateral strategic partnerships and free trade areas are among the forms of cooperation for economies to support each other in order to stay competitive in the international markets in the era of globalization.

Given that, he described the pairing of the B&R Initiative and the EEU's development as "very significant and important," pointing out that the SCO will help facilitate the process.

As the economic agenda is growing increasingly important within the SCO, he said, "I, in fact, believe that many points of contact for the benefit of people's interests can and should be found."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 10:06:26|Editor: An

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by Zhang Jianhua, Luo Zhengguang

XIENG KHUANG, Laos, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Amid the green palm and pine trees, representatives of Chinese and Lao governments as well as martyrs' relatives once again paid homage to Gao Yunpeng, Lyv Weihan, Li Zhixue, Gong Shuli, Fan Changyun, the five Chinese martyrs who sacrificed their lives to support Laos during wartime.

After six months of construction, a ceremony was held Wednesday to mark the completion of the upgrading project of the Chinese martyrs' cemetery in the northern Lao Xieng Khuang province.

In the 1960s and 1970s, hundreds of Chinese martyrs sacrificed their lives for a sacred internationalist mission. As many as 215 Chinese martyrs were laid to rest at three cemeteries in Lao's northern Oudomxay and Xieng Khuang provinces.

"The Chinese martyrs' cemeteries in Laos are important embodiments that pay witness to the inherited friendship between the two countries," Wang Jianjun, standing deputy director of the National Working Committee on Aging and a party committee member of China's Civil Affairs Ministry said at the ceremony.

Xieng Khuang Chinese martyrs' cemetery was built in 1996. After upgrading, the Xiengkhuang cemetery covers an area of 3,475 square meters, an expansion of 2,561 square meters. In the middle of the cemetery stands a 12-meter monument carved with the words "Chinese revolutionary martyrs in Laos stay immortal" in golden Chinese and Lao characters.

In September 2016, the governments of the two countries signed an agreement on the maintenance and upgrading of the Chinese cemeteries in Laos, marking the start of the project on cemetery renovation.

In late April 2017, the upgrading of the Chinese cemetery in Xieng Khuang was completed, while the work in Na Mor and Muang Xay cemeteries is still undergoing.

"On behalf of the Chinese embassy and counsellor in Laos, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the long-time, careful maintenance and management of the cemetery by the Lao side," Zhao Chenggang, Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Laos, said at the ceremony.

"First bow! Second bow! Third bow!" All representatives of the delegation took off their hats, performing these solemn actions to pay tribute to the martyrs.

"Rest in peace, our good comrades, good brothers! You will always live in the hearts of the peoples of both countries!" An Weiliang, a Chinese veteran who supported Laos during the wartime said with his eyes filled with tears while standing in front of Lyv Weihan's grave.

At another corner, while offering a bouquet of chrysanthemums to the grave of Gao Yunpeng, veteran Wang Jun, of the Anti-Aircraft Division of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force, said "A country cannot be without heroes. A nation cannot be without heroes. Good construction and maintenance of the Chinese martyrs' cemeteries are good ways to memorialize and take care of them."

"It is hoped that both sides will endeavor to promote the protection and management of the commemorative facilities in the Chinese martyrs' cemeteries, effectively build an immortal monument to cherish the heroes and maintain peace in the hearts of the hundreds of millions of Lao and Chinese people, as well as to set up a friendship bridge to enhance mutual understanding and cooperation between the two nations," Wang Jianjun emphasized.

Lao Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Baikham Khattiya said at the ceremony that "we have a great responsibility to make the martyrs' cemetery a historical education base, and a historical tourist destination to deepen the friendship between the two countries in the future."

The ceremony to mark the completion of the upgrading of the Chinese martyrs' cemetery in Xieng Khuang ended after more than an hour, while the ribbon with the words "Chinese revolutionary martyrs in Laos stay immortal" written on the wreath continued flying in the wind.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 10:31:46|Editor: MJ

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TOKYO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's parliament enacted on Friday a law to allow Japan's Emperor Akihito to step down and pass his duties over to Crown Prince Naruhito.

The law, designed specially for the current emperor, would allow Emperor Akihito to be the first Japanese emperor that has relinquished the throne in around 200 years.

The timing of the abdication, according to the law, will be decided under a government ordinance within three years of the law's promulgation after consulting with the Imperial House Council.

Local media reported that the government eyes allowing the emperor to abdicate in December 2018, with the emperor's 85th birthday in mind.

The government is also set to speed up its efforts to pick a name for the new era once Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum throne, said the reports.

Japanese Emperor Akihito indicated his wish to relinquish and hand over the throne to the crown prince in a rare video message last August, citing his age.

A six-member government panel was set up last September to hear opinions of experts on the constitution and other fields and to hold discussions on necessary legal changes to enable the emperor to abdicate and on the status of and treatment given to the retired emperor.

One of the major disputed points had been whether to create a permanent abdication system for every emperor, or just a mechanism to enable only the current emperor to abdicate.

With the enactment of the new law, debate is expected to ensue in parliament regarding the recognition of the branches of female members of the imperial family who marry commoners.

A committee of the upper house of Japan's parliament on Wednesday adopted a special resolution which was attached to the abdication law, and though not binding, said that the government will "consider various issues to secure stable imperial succession, including creating female branches."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 10:41:56|Editor: An

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BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organizations from BRICS countries will discuss ways to cement cooperation at a forum, to be held from Saturday to Monday in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province.

The forum aims to build consensus and boost stronger BRICS cooperation through in-depth exchanges, to offer proposals and create a sound environment for the Ninth BRICS Summit scheduled for September in Xiamen, Fujian Province.

The forum will draw over 400 participants from BRICS and other developing countries. It is sponsored by the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 11:02:10|Editor: An

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UNITED NATIONS, June 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Thursday called on the international community to adapt to the new trends and features of terrorist groups and enhance cooperation in fighting terrorism.

Recently, multiple terrorist attacks occurred in Egypt, Afghanistan, Britain, France, Iran and other places, causing severe casualties and property losses, said Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, at a Security Council meeting which focused on the threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

Terrorism is the common enemy of mankind and its impact goes beyond borders, he stressed. "No country can address terrorism by itself or keep itself from terrorism."

At the meeting, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman offered a briefing on the threat posed by the Islamic State (IS), saying that the group, also known as ISIL, continues to resist, particularly in Mosul of Iraq, and Raqqa of Syria.

"Although ISIL's financial situation has steadily declined over the past 16 months, it continues to rely chiefly on the same two revenue streams -- sales of hydrocarbons and extortion/taxation, which may amount to tens of millions of dollars per month," Feltman said.

The threat from IS has been intensified by its use of the Internet and social media to disseminate propaganda online to a wide international audience, Feltman added.

Wu called for measures to reach international consensus, deal with the root causes of terrorism, stem the transnational movement of terrorists, cut off their financing channels and fight against their propaganda.

"The international community should put solving regional hot-spot issues as a top priority, and work to promote political dialogues to address regional conflicts and maintain regional peace, stability and development, so as to eradicate the root cause of terrorism," said Wu.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 11:32:29|Editor: Lu Hui

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SAN JOSE, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Costa Rican police Thursday arrested five members of a criminal gang dedicated to producing child pornography in a joint operation with Mexican counterparts, the country's judicial research bureau OIJ announced.

According to Walter Espinoza, OIJ director, the operation was carried in the Costa Rican cities of Heredia and San Jose.

The gang conducted illegal activities by advertising "promotions related to modelling, directed mainly at minors." It took videos and photographs of minors through "threats, intimidation or physical violence" and posted the contents on both the regular and the deep web.

Espinoza said viewers paid a membership fee between 500 to 600 U.S. dollars to access the photographs and videos.

In Costa Rica, 26 victims have been identified, but the number may rise as operations continue.

Espinoza stressed that Thursday's operation was carried out very well and boosted by close cooperation with the Mexican authorities and the International Criminal Police Organization.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 11:32:31|Editor: Lu Hui

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QUITO, June 8 (Xinhua) -- A delegation from Colombia's guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), insisted Thursday that it wanted a "bilateral ceasefire" with the government, as violence flared up in the northwestern Choco region.

The ELN is currently engaged in peace talks with the Colombian government in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito.

"We insist on our proposal for a bilateral ceasefire and a humanitarian agreement concerning Choco," the delegation said in a statement published on Twitter.

"Faced with such a complex reality Colombia is going through, humanitarian actions...are a needed priority to lower the intensity of the conflict and the impacts on the population," it added

ELN's reaction came after Human Rights Watch (HRW), a U.S.-based non-governmental organization, published a report Wednesday, blaming the guerrilla group for the violence in Choco and accusing them of violating the human rights of Afro-Colombians and indigenous communities in the area.

The report called on the Colombian government to demand that the ELN cease all attacks against civilians at once.

The HRW said that it was of great importance that President Juan Manuel Santos make the situation in Choco a priority for discussion during the ongoing negotiation.

The ELN delegation blamed the violence on an alleged increase in military actions, for which it said the government is responsible.

The ELN is the last active rebel group in Colombia after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the country's oldest and once largest rebel group, signed a peace deal with the government last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 11:42:38|Editor: Lu Hui

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TOKYO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to enhance cooperation on scientific studies on the Arctic Ocean at a trilateral high-level talks.

A joint statement issued after the talks citing environmental and climate changes in the Arctic region, said these changes have presented the international community with both challenges and opportunities and it is necessary for the three countries to enhance cooperation under international frameworks including the Arctic Council.

The second trilateral high-level talks held here on Thursday were attended by Special Representative for Arctic Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Gao Feng, Japanese Ambassador in Charge of Arctic Affairs Kazuko Shiraishi and the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Ambassador for Arctic Affairs Kim Young-jun, as well as employees of other concerned agencies and research centers in the three countries.

The three sides also reaffirmed scientific research as the most promising area for their joint activities and trilateral cooperative activities, and encouraged their scientists to enhance cooperation in observation and research projects on the Arctic under international frameworks while continuing to explore cooperative projects in other areas.

The three sides also decided to report their discussions to the Arctic Council.

The three Asian countries held their first trilateral talks on the Arctic issues in April last year in Seoul, in an effort to implement the fruits reached at the Sixth China-Japan-South Korea Trilateral Summit in 2015.

China is to host the Third Trilateral High-Level Dialogue on the Arctic in 2018.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 12:07:46|Editor: Lu Hui

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WASHINGTON, June 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to replace the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act established after the 2008 financial crisis to prevent another meltdown.

The House passed the Financial Choice Act along party lines by a vote of 233 to 186. The bill isn't expected to receive sufficient support in the Senate in its current form since Democrats have universally opposed it.

The bill would allow banks with a simple leverage ratio of 10 percent or higher to be exempted from a number of regulatory requirements, including Dodd-Frank's heightened standards for larger lenders.

It would restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, repeal the Volcker rule that restricts banks from speculative trading, and remove the so-called orderly liquidation authority, which provides regulators with a process for winding down large financial institutions in distress.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would reduce federal deficits by 24.1 billion U.S. dollars over the 2017-2027 period.

"Of all the regulations that were imposed on our economy in the Obama era, Dodd-Frank was the worst. In the House, we just threw it off," said Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and the lead author of the bill.

Republican lawmakers considered the bill as a job creator, because they believe the numerous requirements in Dodd-Frank Act have restrained the lending ability of banks, community banks in particular, which hurt small businesses.

However, Democrats said the bill would bring about an economic catastrophe by eliminating vital regulations on the financial system.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 12:32:56|Editor: Lu Hui

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MACAO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland and Macao were negotiating on comprehensively upgrading Closer Economic Partnership Arrangements (CEPA), which is expected to complete at the end of this year, a senior official confirmed here at a recent symposium.

Wang Bingnan, assistant minister of commerce of China, made the announcement at the opening ceremony of International symposium on Belt and Road and Macao's development, starting on Thursday.

A meeting has been held between representatives from China's Ministry of Commerce and Economy and Finance of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government to negotiate on terms and contents of CEPA, especially those concerning guaranteeing investment, and deepening of economic and technical cooperation, according to a press release on Friday.

The sectors beneficial to Macao's industrial diversification were highlighted during the negociation, the press release said.

The mainland and Macao signed CEPA in 2003 to forge closer ties. In 2014 and 2015, two new agreements were signed respectively under the framework of CEPA between them to further liberalizing trade in services.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 12:48:08|Editor: An

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NEW DELHI, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Authorities deployed army in Darjeeling town of India's eastern state of West Bengal to contain spiralling violence, officials said Friday.

"Two columns of army were deployed in the restive Darjeeling town of West Bengal yesterday evening after Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters indulged in violence and arson," an official said.

"The protesters set ablaze several police vehicles and tried to march to the venue where West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was chairing a cabinet meeting."

On Thursday, supporters of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha indulged in violence and arson in the town to oppose imposition of Bengali language in schools.

The young protesters threw stones and brickbats at government forces and torched security vehicles.

Reports said at least nine public vehicles, including six police vehicles and a state bus, were torched, besides a traffic outpost.

Dozens of people including policemen were injured in the clashes, reports said.

Last month, the local government in West Bengal made Bengali compulsory in all its schools, including privately-run English medium schools of the state.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha had upped its ante against the state government's decision over the past few days with rallies and street-corner meetings.

Banerjee reportedly clarified on Tuesday that Bengali would not be mandatory at schools in the hills and certain parts in Terai and the Dooars, but Gorkha Janmukti Morcha demands a formal cabinet announcement.

Reports said violence has broke out at a time when more than 10,000 tourists are holidaying in Darjeeling.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha youth wing has called a 12-hour strike on Friday. Shops and business establishments are closed and streets wear a deserted look.

Local media reports quoting government official said all local channels had been asked to go off the air indefinitely from Thursday evening in wake of violence.

The Bhartiya Janta Party has criticized the West Bengal government for failing to contain violence in the Darjeeling hills and demanded that a peace committee be formed to restore peace.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 13:03:14|Editor: An

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DALIAN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A court in the northeast China city of Dalian Friday opened a trial into the suspected crimes of Beijing Pangu Investment Co. Ltd, controlled by fugitive Guo Wengui, as well as three of its employees.

They are accused of fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange.

The three individuals are the company's vice general manager, Lu Tao, deputy financial director, Xie Honglin, and the chief financial officer of China Minzu Securities, Yang Ying.

According to the indictment, Guo had applied for loans from the Agricultural Bank of China under the company's name and directed the three individuals to apply for loans for the company's construction fund. The three individuals asked others to produce fake construction contracts and stamps and submitted the forged documents to the bank for the loans.

The bank issued loans totalling 3.2 billion yuan (470 million U.S. dollars) to Pangu. The company then presented fabricated invoices and used the loans for other purposes.

Prosecutors also charged Lu and Xie with involvement in fraudulently obtaining foreign exchange totalling 13.5 million U.S. dollars. Fugitive criminal suspect Guo Wengui and his son, Guo Qiang, are implicated in the case.

An audience of over 40 people, including legislators, political advisors, lawyers and journalists from domestic and overseas media outlets as well as members of the public, attended the hearing.

The trial is being broadcast via the court's official Weibo microblogging account.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 13:03:16|Editor: MJ

Former Director of Federal Bureau of Investigations James Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington D.C., theUnited States, on June 8, 2017. James Comey said Thursday during a Senate hearing that Trump in his words did not order the FBI to drop the investigation on former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Former Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) James Comey on Thursday told Congress the contents of his interactions with U.S. President Donald Trump since election day, amid concerns that Trump tried to interfere with an ongoing probe on Russia.

Comey, who was sacked by Trump last month, was questioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee as well as Senators John McCain and Jack Reed in a two-and-half-an-hour open session, during which he said Trump had lied about himself and the FBI, but stopped short of accusing Trump of interfering with FBI investigations.

Comey, speaking under oath, said the administration had offered "shifting explanations" about why he was fired.

"It confused me when I saw on television the president saying that he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation," he said, adding that the initial explanation that was offered publicly was "that I was fired because of the decisions I had made during the election year."

"The administration then chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray," Comey said. "Those were lies, plain and simple."

According to a written statement from Comey which the Senate released Wednesday, Trump had three main requests for Comey during their dialogues.

During a dinner on Jan. 27, Trump said he wanted loyalty from Comey, to which Comey offered honesty. The two men later agreed that Comey would give his "honest loyalty."

Comey said during his testament that he had never been asked for loyalty from others, and did not know whether Trump had asked other cabinet members for loyalty.

Comey said he was for the first and last time asked by Trump to drop the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia in a meeting on Feb. 14.

"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go," Comey quoted Trump as saying.

Comey said he had conceded that Flynn was a "good guy" but did not commit to freezing any investigations.

Comey said neither Trump nor anyone from the White House or the Justice Department brought up the matter again, and that Trump's remarks did not impede any investigations.

Senator James Risch of Idaho, a staunch Trump supporter, said wordings in the conversation indicated that Trump did not direct nor order Comey to drop the case, to which Comey agreed but insisted that he "took it as a direction."

Comey said he did not know any cases in which anyone has been charged for "hoping something."

Another reoccurring theme in the Comey-Trump meetings was whether the FBI should make public the fact that Trump was not subject to investigations, which Comey had voluntarily told Trump in private settings.

"He described the Russia investigation as a cloud that was impairing his ability to act on behalf of the country," Comey said of Trump in a phone call on March 30, adding that Trump had asked how to "lift the cloud."

To this Comey said the FBI was investigating as fast as possible but believed it to be a bad idea to make public statements primarily because "it would create a duty to correct, should that change."

"Why, of all the things in this investigation, the only thing that's never been leaked is the fact that the president was not personally under investigation?" Florida Senator Marco Rubio asked.

Comey said he didn't know.

Comey said all of the contents of each conversation with Trump were recorded right after each conversation based on memory, because he was concerned that the president may "lie about the nature of our meeting."

Comey said he had never felt the necessity to record the contents of conversations with former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.

After his firing, Comey released some of the records to the public through a friend, saying it was his right as a private citizen to feed media unclassified information.

Comey also said a New York Times report published in February titled "Trump campaign aides had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence" was false, but the FBI was not in a place to publicly deny the reporting.

After the release of Comey's written statement Wednesday, Trump's attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said the president felt "completely and totally vindicated," but he denied that Trump had told Comey "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty."

The White House on Thursday also refuted Comey's testimony, saying the president had not lied.

"I can definitively say the president is not a liar. I think it is frankly insulting that question would be asked," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told an off-camera briefing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 13:08:17|Editor: xuxin

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home for the count center in Islington, London, Britain on June 9, 2017. Britain will have a hung parliament, with no party winning majority in the snap general election, according to official results announced Friday morning. (Xinhua)

LONDON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Britain will have a hung parliament, with no party winning majority in the snap general election, according to official results announced Friday morning.

With more than 631 of the 650 results declared, the Conservatives got 306 seats against 258 seats for main rival Labour. No party has won 326 seats required for becoming a majority party.

Early morning editions of the London daily newspapers headlined Friday that prime minister Theresa May's gamble in calling a snap general election had backfired.

Former government minister Anna Soubry in an interview around 5 a.m. local time said May must consider her position following the results in the election.

May appeared defiant, insisting that the country needs stability and the Conservatives will deliver that stability.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, commenting after being re-elected in the London Islington North constituency, said it was time for May to go and make way for a government that would be "truly representative of the people of this country".

Corbyn said: "The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate, but she has lost seats, lost votes and lost confidence and that is enough for her to go."

The London Times headline read "May's election nightmare", while the Daily Mail's headline was "Gamble That Backfired" with a sub-heading stating "Corbyn surge puts Britain on a knife edge" and another saying "Fears of Brexit chaos".

Just 24 hours earlier most of the London newspapers had urged readers to back Theresa May and her government.

The Conservative Party is predicted by BBC and Sky News to finish the election with between 315 and 321 seats, and with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) making gains in Northern Ireland, May could, with their support, form a government.

The DUP made two gains, taking their total to ten, with counting continuing in other constituencies. Their support will be seen as crucial to keep the Conservatives in power.

Labour were predicted to suffer a landslide of losses, but with almost 100 results still awaited, Labour had made so far 28 gains and the Conservatives had lost 11 seats.

Under election convention the party with the highest number of members of parliament would have the first opportunity of forming a government.

Despite that Emily Thornberry, Labour's shadow foreign secretary said Corbyn could end up as prime minister under a Labour-led progressive alliance.

Political commentators are already posing the question of whether the expected result will make it impossible for Theresa May to continue as prime minister.

May started the campaign with a majority of 17, with expectations of seeing it rise in the election.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 13:33:26|Editor: MJ

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CARACAS, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's attorney-general on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to suspend the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) called by President Nicolas Maduro to draft a new constitution, saying that it did not meet legal procedures.

Outside the Supreme Court building, Luisa Ortega said the National Election Council "committed violations of the principles of human rights, violations of the right to suffrage, and especially, violations of the principle of constitutional sovereignty" in approving Maduro's request to convene the ANC.

Venezuela has in the past few months seen its economic crisis worsening and social order deteriorating, with dozens killed in violent street protests as the government and the opposition continue their bitter power struggle.

According to Ortega, the process of drafting a new constitution will "accelerate" the crisis currently facing Venezuela, and all Venezuelans should reject the initiatives toward a new constitution, she added.

The Maduro government has said that the new constitution will "guarantee peace and coexistence among all Venezuelans," but the leading opposition coalition, known by its Spanish acronym MUD, has refused to take part in the process.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 13:38:29|Editor: An

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HANOI, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy to Vietnam has made donations to a rural school in the Vietnamese Northeast Cao Bang province.

"The non-refundable aid, worth 1 million Chinese yuan (some 150,000 U.S. dollars), is part of our initiatives to help Vietnam better its educational infrastructure, which will eventually support poverty eradication in the country," said Zhang Lianyou, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam at the donation ceremony held in Hanoi Friday.

Cao Bang is Vietnam's neighboring province to China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The secondary school receiving the donation is situated in Son Lap Commune, Bao Lac District.

"Thank you for your meaningful and precious present to Cao Bang," said Cao Bang's Department Head of Foreign Affairs Nong Van Chan, pledging that the province will properly use the donation to benefit its people.

The school improvement will significantly help provide better education to ethnic minorities people, who account for the majority of the district's population, and promote Cao Bang's economic and social development, said Chan.

Construction shall be started immediately and completed within this year, Chan promised.

Earlier, the Chinese Embassy to Vietnam donated some 221,000 dollars and 120,000 dollars to schools in Vietnam's central province Quang Tri and northern province Lai Chau, respectively in 2014 and 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 13:53:39|Editor: MJ

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PHNOM PENH, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian court on Friday charged Australian filmmaker James Ricketson, who was arrested in Phnom Penh on June 3, with espionage which could face up to 10 years in prison, a court spokesman said.

"After launching an investigation, Prosecutor Seang Sok charged James Ricketson of collecting information which may undermine national defense under the article 446 of the Criminal Code and sent him to the Investigating Judge for next legal procedure," Phnom Penh Municipal Court's spokesman Ly Sophana told reporters.

According to the article 446, the act of receiving or collecting with a view to delivering power to a foreign state or its agents the information, processes, objects, documents, data, information technologies or memorandum slip which may undermine national defense is punishable by an imprisonment from five years to 10 years.

The Australian filmmaker was arrested on Saturday in Phnom Penh by local authorities when he was flying a camera-toting drone without authorization at the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party rally near the Royal Palace.

At the time of arrest, the authorities accused him of collecting information to relay abroad without permission.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 14:03:44|Editor: An

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XI'AN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- In order to attend a "Belt and Road" expo, Serbian businessman Alexander Stankovic spent over 25 hours traveling from his Belgrade home to the Chinese city of Xi'an.

The general manager of a winery said he had to transfer flights in Moscow and Beijing, before reaching Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province -- the easternmost point of the ancient Silk Road.

At the 2017 Silk Road International Expo from June 3 to 7, Alexander's display area attracted plenty of visitors and many Chinese clients are considering cooperation with the winery.

The expo was a chance for Serbia to introduce Chinese people to its traditional culture, tourism resources and products, according to Rasim Ljajic, deputy prime minister of Serbia.

In Almaty, Kazakhstan, a China-Kazakhstan agricultural demonstration park is catching the attention of local people.

"We planted 24 kinds of agricultural products here including wheat, corn and beans in 2016. Our new wheat is over 82 percent higher in yield than the local ones," said official with Shaanxi Yangling agricultural demonstration zone Ma Jing.

The park was put together by Yangling, the cradle of Chinese agriculture and home to a hi-tech agricultural industrial demonstration zone since 1997. Yangling has eight agricultural cooperation zones worldwide.

On May 31, a 480 km railway connecting Mombasa to Nairobi in Kenya opened. Local train driver Alice Mugure Gitau was among seven female drivers who received training in Baoji, Shaanxi. She was the driver of the first passenger train on the railway. The railway created 46,000 jobs for local people.

In China, a 2,300 km high speed railway line linking Baoji to Lanzhou city in Gansu Province is about to open. It connects some important cities along the ancient Silk Road, and is ready to connect to railways in central and western Asia and Europe, said Guo Junqi, engineer with China Railway Group.

Under the Belt and Road Initiative, various international cooperation platforms have been set up. On May 31, a world apple industry center was launched in Shaanxi, a famous production base of the fruit in China.

A growing enthusiasm for cooperation between nations has created new opportunities for the young.

According to a January circular issued by Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Education, foreign students with a postgraduate degree or higher from Chinese or well-known foreign universities can be offered employment within a year of graduation.

Vasichenko Kristina is a Russian student studying for a doctorate degree in Northwest A&F University in Shaanxi. She has registered a foreign trade company, hoping to bring more Russian products to China.

Her school mate Nontipa Klangam, from Thailand, is about to graduate this year, and she plans to open a Thai restaurant in Yangling after graduation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 14:23:48|Editor: MJ

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SEOUL, June 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's opposition parties on Friday opposed the nomination of the country's first female foreign minister amid controversy over her daughters.

The parliamentary confirmation hearing for Kang Kyung-wha was held earlier this week in the National Assembly, but three major opposition parties refused to agree to the appointment.

By local law, a cabinet member is subject to the confirmation hearing, but no member is required to be approved by the parliament except for the prime minister.

Kang was embroiled in a set of controversies including the false address registration for one of her two daughters.

Supporters for Kang said it was aimed to help her daughter, who had stayed abroad for long, enter a high school that she can more conveniently be accustomed to, while opponents claimed it was the violation of law.

In the past, the false address registration was used to make a speculative investment in real estate.

One of Kang's daughters was also criticized for having a dual nationality, but the daughter decided to give up her U.S. citizenship. Kang had lived for long in the United States as she worked for the United Nations.

Kang's two daughters were blamed for the belated payment of gift taxes.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party, with which ousted former President Park Geun-hye was affiliated, held a party meeting, deciding to oppose the nomination of the foreign minister nominee.

Despite the objection from the opposition parties, President Moon Jae-in can ratify the appointment.

The ruling Democratic Party asked its rival parties to accept the nomination to fill the diplomatic vacuum as early as possible.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 15:03:57|Editor: xuxin

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PHNOM PENH, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia on Friday donated 100,000 U.S. dollars to flood-hit Sri Lanka.

In a message to his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen extended his condolences to the families of the victims and said the donation was an emergency relief for them.

"On behalf of the Royal Government and the people of Cambodia, I would like to express my deepest sympathy to Your Excellency and the people of Sri Lanka, especially to the family members of the victims for this great loss," he said in the message.

At least 211 people have been killed; many are still missing and half a million people have been displaced since severe rains from May 26 caused floods and landslides in many districts in western and central provinces of Sri Lanka.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 15:03:57|Editor: xuxin

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MANILA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Unemployment rate in the Philippines dropped to 5.7 percent in April 2017 from 6.1 percent of the same period last year, a government agency said on Friday.

Based on the April 2017 Labor Force Survey (LFS) of the Philippines Statistics Authority, an attached agency of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the country's unemployment rate went down to 5.7 percent from 6.1 percent in April 2016.

The survey also showed that underemployment rate, or the proportion of employed persons wanting additional work, reached its lowest in more than 10 years at 16.1 percent in April 2017.

"This is lower by 962,000 workers, or 12.9 percent, compared with underemployed workers recorded in April 2016," NEDA said in a statement.

The need to sustain employment figures, while improving related services, is crucial to meeting the government's key targets in the Philippines Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, the NEDA stressed.

In particular, NEDA said the decreasing underemployment rate must be sustained together with higher job creation to reduce unemployment to around 3 percent by 2022.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 15:44:13|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met here Friday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for closer cooperation between the two countries.

Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, so as to instill more momentum into each other's development and contribute to world peace, stability and common development, said the Chinese president.

The two leaders are in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, to attend the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India and stands ready to work with the Indian side to enhance political mutual trust, link their development strategies, deepen practical cooperation and maintain coordination and collaboration in international and regional affairs, so as to advance their strategic cooperative partnership in a sustained, healthy and stable way.

The Chinese president called for more high-level interactions, institutionalized exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries.

China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large-scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said.

Xi said the two countries should make joint efforts to promote regional connectivity and shared development, align their development initiatives, advance the building of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor with a view to substantial progress at an early date, and boost cooperation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The president said the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems.

He also called for more sub-national, cultural and tourism exchanges, among others, between the two neighbors.

Noting that India is about to become a full member of the SCO at the Astana summit, Xi offered congratulations to the Indian side, adding that China is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organization.

Hailing the long-lasting friendship between the two countries with ancient civilizations, Modi said a sound India-China relationship will help stabilize the volatile international situation.

The prime minister said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

The Indian side is grateful for China's support for India's accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organization, Modi said.

The SCO, established in 2001, is a regional political, economic and security organization that groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as full members.

In 2016, India and Pakistan, two SCO observers, signed the SCO Memorandum of Obligations, thereby kick-starting the formal process of joining the SCO as full members.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 15:44:15|Editor: xuxin

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ANKARA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on late Thursday ratified two deals allowing Turkish troops deploying to Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie, according to the presidency.

The two military deals were ratified by Turkish National Assembly in a fast-track procedure on Wednesday.

The first deal, signed in Doha in April 2016, allows Turkish troops to improve Qatar's army and boost military cooperation, while the second deal, signed in December 2015 between the two interior ministries, allows the Turkish gendarmerie to train Qatari gendarmerie forces.

The move came after Erdogan expressed Tuesday disapproval of the sanctions imposed on Qatar by several Arab countries.

Erdogan also said that Turkey "will continue and develop" ties with Qatar.

Earlier the week, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and the Maldives cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting "terrorism and extremism," the official Saudi news agency SPA said in a statement on Monday.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 15:49:20|Editor: xuxin

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TEHRAN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that the recent terrorist attacks in Iran will result in hatred towards the United States and Saudi Arabia.

"The definite result of these (terrorist) acts will lead to an increase in the hatred towards the U.S. governments and its regional elements like Saudi Arabia," Khamenei said in a condolence message to the nation over Wednesday's twin deadly attacks by the Islamic State in Iran.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 16:19:30|Editor: xuxin

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BANGKOK, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A Thai man allegedly smuggling 2,068 pills of methamphetamine was arrested by Mekong patrol navy officers and police in northeastern Thailand, local media reported Friday.

The arrest was carried out in Nakhon Phanom on Thursday evening when the man picked up some unknown stuffs from the bank of Mekong river and sneaked into a village nearby, police disclosed.

The man, aged 37, run away when spotted by the joint security team acting on tip-off but was finally arrested with 10 pack of 2,068 pills of methamphetamine, Bangkok Biznews reported.

The man admitted that he has successfully delivered speed pills from Laos to Thailand for three times and was paid 5,000 to 10,000 baht (142 to 284 U.S. dollars) each time, according to local reports.

Statistics from police show that drug smuggling in Nakhon Phanom has increased since 2015. 2016 saw a total of 3.5 tons of methamphetamine smuggled through the province while 2017 saw four tons of marijuana and three tons of speed pills seized.

Nakhon Phanom adjoins Laos to the east over Mekong River. The river run through Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, a region engulfed by waves of drug producing and trafficking for years.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 16:24:36|Editor: xuxin

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TEHRAN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Friday that the recent terrorist attacks in Iran will result in hatred towards the United States and Saudi Arabia, the leader's official website reported.

The terrorist acts which led to the "martyrdom and injury" of the Iranians is "a clear sign of enmity" of the mercenaries of global arrogance against the Iranian nation, Khamenei said in a condolence message to the nation over Wednesday's twin deadly attacks by the Islamic State (IS) militants in Iran.

"The definite result of these (terrorist) acts will lead to an increase in the hatred towards the U.S. governments and its regional elements like Saudi Arabia," he said.

Such crimes will not shatter the will of the Iranians, and the nation will move ahead "unified and even with stronger determination," Khamenei stressed.

On Friday, Iranians participated in the mourning ceremony of the 17 people who were killed in the twin attacks against Iran's parliament and Imam Khomeini mausoleum in the capital Tehran.
Staff members count votes at a polling station in Sunderland, Britain on June 8, 2017.(Xinhua)

LONDON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Britain will have a hung parliament, with no party winning majority in the snap general election, according to official results announced Friday morning.

With more than 631 of the 650 results declared, the Conservatives got 306 seats against 258 seats for main rival Labour. No party has won 326 seats required for becoming a majority party.

Early morning editions of the London daily newspapers headlined Friday that prime minister Theresa May's gamble in calling a snap general election had backfired.

Former government minister Anna Soubry in an interview around 5 a.m. local time said May must consider her position following the results in the election.

May appeared defiant, insisting that the country needs stability and the Conservatives will deliver that stability.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, commenting after being re-elected in the London Islington North constituency, said it was time for May to go and make way for a government that would be "truly representative of the people of this country".

Corbyn said: "The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate, but she has lost seats, lost votes and lost confidence and that is enough for her to go."

The London Times headline read "May's election nightmare", while the Daily Mail's headline was "Gamble That Backfired" with a sub-heading stating "Corbyn surge puts Britain on a knife edge" and another saying "Fears of Brexit chaos".

Just 24 hours earlier most of the London newspapers had urged readers to back May and her government.

The Conservative Party is predicted by BBC and Sky News to finish the election with between 315 and 321 seats, and with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) making gains in Northern Ireland, May could, with their support, form a government.

The DUP made two gains, taking their total to ten, with counting continuing in other constituencies. Their support will be seen as crucial to keep the Conservatives in power.

Labour were predicted to suffer a landslide of losses, but with almost 100 results still awaited, Labour had made so far 28 gains and the Conservatives had lost 11 seats.

Under election convention the party with the highest number of members of parliament would have the first opportunity of forming a government.

Despite that Emily Thornberry, Labour's shadow foreign secretary said Corbyn could end up as prime minister under a Labour-led progressive alliance.

Political commentators are already posing the question of whether the expected result will make it impossible for May to continue as prime minister.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 16:34:39|Editor: xuxin

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MANILA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Philippines' National Economic and Development Authority said on Friday that total Philippine trade grew to 11.7 billion U.S. dollars in April 2017, with 12.1 percent growth in exports offsetting the 0.1 percent decline in imports.

The agency said it is optimistic of the country's trade performance for the rest of the year, considering thriving exports and trade linkages, especially with Europe and East Asia.

"For exports, East Asia and the EU remain the top destinations of our products, accounting for 62.3 percent of total export receipts," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.

Pernia said exports to EU and East Asia grew by 36 percent and 10 percent in April 2017, respectively.

Despite global uncertainties, Pernia said the NEDA is "upbeat that the country will sustain the strong performance of export and trade growth recorded in the first quarter."

"We aim to deepen our engagement with our neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region to enhance trade and investment links," Pernia said.

Pernia recognized the positive contributions of trade connections and cited China as an example.

"Also worth noting is the tripling of exports to the United Arab Emirates and India in April. This was the third month that receipts to UAE tripled, and the second month for India," Pernia said.
Palestinian men look at the damage after suspected Jewish extremists torched a tractor in the village Burin, south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 19, 2017. (AFP PHOTO)

JERUSALEM, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian cars were vandalized and racist slogans were spray-painted in Jerusalem on Friday, in a second hate attack over the past week, the police said.

The police suspect that the attack, in the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Safafa, was perpetrated by Israeli ultra-nationalists.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that the perpetrators punched the tires of at least nine cars early in the morning.

They also sprayed graffiti, reading: "Price Tag" and "Kahana was right," referring to the Rabbi Meir Kahana, whose extreme ultra-nationalist Kach movement was outlawed in 1994 before he was assassinated by a Muslim in 1990 in New York.

According to Samri, the police launched an investigation but has yet to apprehend any suspects.

On Monday, also in Jerusalem, Palestinian cars were vandalized and racist slogans were spray-painted in two separated hate attacks.

Far-right Israelis have carried out thousands of the so-called "price tag" attacks over the past years. The attacks include violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel and vandalism of mosques, churches, cemeteries, and personal property. Most of the incidents remain unsolved as the law enforcement authorities usually fail to arrest and charge any suspects.

Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and had controlled it ever since, a move denounced by the international community.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 17:09:57|Editor: xuxin

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TOKYO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Education Minister Hirokazu Matsuno said Friday his ministry will reinvestigate the existence of documents central to an ongoing scandal possibly implicating Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the government in providing a close friend of Abe's with favorable treatment to open a new school.

Matsuno told a press conference on the matter that an initial probe by the ministry had been deemed insubstantial and the public is calling for a more comprehensive probe to be launched.

"We sincerely accept the people's voice and will conduct an additional investigation over the internal documents," Matsuno said.

The documents, according to the opposition camp, could prove that the prime minister used his position to influence the government's approval for Kake Educational Institution, run by a close friend of Abe's, to open a new veterinary school at a location highly deregulated by the government.

Matsuno said that the prime minister himself had called for the fresh probe to be launched and to be conducted quickly and thoroughly.

The original probe launched by Matsuno lasted just two days and it was concluded that the potentially damaging documents' existence could not be confirmed.

A former vice education minister at the beginning of the month, however, released a statement backing up his previous assertions that senior government advisors had pressurized him to accelerate procedures to open up a new school with close links to Abe.

Kihei Maekawa said in a statement that last year in August, Isao Kiso, an advisor to the Cabinet at the time, visited his office and requested that he accelerate procedures for the opening of a new veterinary school.

Okayama University of Science was handpicked by the government to open the new veterinary medicine school, in Ehime Prefecture, one of Japan's national strategic special economic zones, which has far more relaxed regulations to boost growth in the area, as part of Abe's overall growth strategy.

Kake Educational Institution, which operates the university and, controversially, is chaired by Abe's close friend, was selected for the project in a meeting held between the central and local governments in the special strategic zone in January.

The local city assembly provided the land to the institution to build the new department for free and in addition they provided 9.6 billion yen (86.24 million U.S. dollars) as a subsidy for the school's construction costs.

Maekawa stated that Kiso asked him to speed up the procedures for opening the veterinary school and that it was his understanding that Kiso was specifically referring to the government's plan involving Kake Educational Institution, because he was a senior official of the institution at that time.

Maekawa also said that Kiso told him that his ministry need to do nothing except follow the decision made by the Council on National Strategic Special Zones, which is chaired by Abe.

The former vice education minister has offered to give testimony in parliament over the scandal.

He also said he met Hiroto Izumi, an assistant to Abe, at the prime minister's office, when the selection of the strategic zone was underway and was also pressurized to speed up procedures for the new school at that time.

The government so far has refused to summon Maekawa or Izumi to give testimony in parliament as sworn witnesses, despite the opposition camp vociferously calling for it to do so.

It also came to light recently that Abe had been on Kake's payroll and had received a salary apparently for duties carried out there for a couple of years after he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1993.

Abe, when quizzed on his financial connections to the institution, said it was a long time ago and that he was fuzzy on the details.

Along with Maekawa, the opposition camp believe that an education ministry advisory panel was currently assessing an application to open the new veterinary school and the ministry had prepared a document stating that the Cabinet Office said that "Abe backs the plan."

The document also reportedly suggests that the education ministry was told by the Cabinet Office that the choice for the new department "was heard to have been the prime minister's wish."

The main opposition Democratic Party also maintains that one of the documents in question shows that negotiations had taken place between the ministry and the Cabinet Office regarding the set timeframe for opening the new department at the university.

As for the timing for opening of the new department, which was scheduled for April 2018, one document reportedly states, "This is what the highest level of the prime minister's office has said."

Another document mentioned that opening the department at an early juncture was "in line with the prime minister's wishes."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 17:25:06|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon met here Friday on carrying forward bilateral cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and deepening their strategic partnership.

China and Tajikistan are neighbors with close relations and strategic partners with high-level mutual trust, said Xi.

The two countries have maintained close high-level contacts, achieved fruitful results in cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, agriculture, infrastructure construction, energy and security, and coordinated closely under the frameworks of the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), said the Chinese president.

Noting that the two countries have made important achievements in jointly building the Belt and Road, Xi said the next step is to promote such cooperation towards a high-end, innovative and diversified direction.

He urged the two sides to strengthen economic policy coordination and development strategy alignment, strive for new progress in connectivity construction, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and boost cooperation in such fields as production capacity, equipment manufacturing, disaster relief, defense, law enforcement and security.

China is willing to work with Tajikistan to carry forward the spirit of good neighborliness, strengthen strategic coordination and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to lift the China-Tajikistan strategic partnership to a new height, Xi said.

For his part, Rahmon called the two countries "good neighbors, good friends and good partners," saying the Tajik side cherishes the Tajikistan-China friendship, values the important role of China in international affairs, and dedicates itself to deepening bilateral strategic partnership.

Summing up the two countries' fruitful cooperation since they forged diplomatic relations 25 years ago, Rahmon told Xi that his country stands ready to synergize its development strategy with the historic Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China, and boost bilateral cooperation in areas like connectivity, electricity, agriculture and security.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Xi 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 the ancient trade routes.

Xi arrived here Wednesday for a state visit to Kazakhstan and the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 17:35:13|Editor: xuxin

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BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday that China would continue to use various channels to gain and verify information about the reported killing of two Chinese nationals kidnapped in Pakistan last month.

According to spokesperson Hua Chunying, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan had launched immediate emergency procedures and cooperated with the Pakistani side to rescue the two nationals.

However, Hua said the Pakistani side had provided China information that the two Chinese nationals were probably dead.

Stressing that China opposes terrorism in any form, Hua said China will continue to support Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism and safeguard national stability.

"China will cooperate more with the international community, including Pakistan, to fight terrorism and maintain global and regional peace," Hua said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 17:45:21|Editor: xuxin

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LUSAKA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Zambia and Madagascar on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change because of the adverse effects climate change has on African countries.

Zambian President Edgar Lungu and visiting Madagascar President Hery Rajaonarinampianina reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement during talks in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, according to a statement issued after the talks.

The two leaders expressed profound concern over the adverse effects climate change has had not only in the two countries but other African countries, adding that the problem was real which require serious commitment to address its challenges.

The Zambian leader said his government believes in collective response to challenges presented by climate change and the promotion of a harmonized approach in the region on climate change issues.

Zambia, he said, has not been spared from the effects of climate change and cited a serious power deficit the country has been grappling with in the last two years due to reduced water levels in the country's reservoirs.

On his part, the Madagascar leader expressed concern over the adverse effects of climate change posed on his country as well as other African nations, adding that his country has been hit by cyclones and drought every year.

He said his government will stick to the Paris Agreement because it provided the best platform to tackle the challenges of climate change.

The two leaders also pledged commitments towards efforts aimed at maintaining peace and security in Africa.

The Madagascar leader arrived in Zambia on Wednesday for a two-day state visit.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 17:50:24|Editor: xuxin

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CAIRO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Four Arab countries which cut ties with Qatar over its support of terrorism on Friday issued a list of individuals and entities they say are linked to Qatar over "terrorism," Egyptian state-run Ahram newspaper reported.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain named in a joint statement early Friday 59 people and 12 entities that financed terrorist organizations and previously received support from Qatar.

It is the first joint statement issued by the four since Monday, when they severed ties with Qatar over an allegation of aiding terrorist groups and shaking national stability of those countries.

The four countries released the names saying "this comes in light of our commitment to fighting terrorism, drying up their sources of funding, combating extremist ideology and its dissemination and working together to eradicate it and immunize communities."

"This list is connected to the members and entities that serve suspicious agendas of Qatar and in an indication of the duality of Qatar policies that announced fighting terrorism from one side, and funds and shelters different terrorist organizations from another side," the four Arab powers said.

The statement added that the four countries "won't be lenient in pursuing such persons and groups, or updating the list when required."

The statement also added that the decision is a result of Doha authorities' violations of the Arab approved obligations and agreements which stipulated not sheltering members or organizations that threatening the national security of other countries.

According to Saudi-run Arabiya TV, along with Qataris, many on the list are individuals and groups from Egypt, Bahrain and Libya.

Among the 18 Qataris named on the list are prominent businessmen, politicians and senior members of Qatar's ruling family including a former interior minister, Arabiya TV reported.

The listed Libyan names included Abdel Hakim Belhadj, a former Libyan Islamist commander, while 26 Egyptian nationals were mentioned including famous Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yousef al-Qaradawi and Salafi preacher Wagdi Ghoneim.

The list includes Shi'ite militant groups in Bahrain as linked to Iran, including Saraya Ashtar, Saraya Mukhtar, and February 14 movement.

The list further outlawed three Kuwaiti nationals, two Jordanians, two Bahrainis, an Emirati, a Saudi and a Yemeni.

Additionally, the joint statement also listed Qatari-funded charities Qatar Charity and Eid Charity among 12 entities as having terrorist links.

On Monday six Arab countries, including Saudi, Egypt, Bahrain, UAE, Libya and Yemen, cut relations with Qatar accusing the Gulf oil-rich state of supporting and financing "terrorism" as well as interfering in their internal affairs and supporting the Gulf states' main adversary Iran. Several other countries later followed suit.

Qatar dismissed the latest move by its neighbors as "baseless allegations that has no foundation in ground."

Kuwait's ruling Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited Saudi on Tuesday to ease a crisis that Qataris said would lead to their isolation.

Qatari's foreign minister said on Tuesday "Doha was ready for mediation efforts."

The United States, which has a major military base in Qatar, also said offered mediation and urged the Arab Gulf countries to remain united.

Qatar's ambassador to Washington Meshal bin Hamad al-Thani told the Financial Times on Thursday that "his government trusted in Trump's ability to resolve the dispute and to bring this crisis to an end."

But so far there is no sign of progress.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 17:55:27|Editor: xuxin

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NAIROBI, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The construction of the second phase of the 120 km Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) will not affect the wildlife habitat, the wildlife agency said late on Thursday.

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director General Kitili Mbathi told a media briefing in Nairobi that only six kilometres of the SGR will pass through the Nairobi National park.

"We have taken appropriate mitigation efforts to ensure that the Nairobi-Naivasha railway has minimal environmental impact," Mbathi said.

"We are going to use bridges across the park to ensure that wildlife migratory paths are not obstructed," he added.

The Director General said that SGR will enter the Nairobi National Park eight meters above the ground via a bridge and exit at 41 meters above the ground. The railway line will sit on pillars that will be 32 meters apart.

Phase one of the SGR which has already been completed, runs from Mombasa to Nairobi and has a 140 km section through the Tsavo National Park.

"We have collared some of the elephants to track their movements and so far it appears that they have adapted positively to the SGR," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 17:55:30|Editor: xuxin

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SEOUL, June 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in saw his approval rating stay above 80 percent despite controversy over the appointment of cabinet members.

According to a Gallup Korea survey released Friday, Moon garnered 82 percent of support scores. It was down 2 percentage points from the previous week, but it still remained at a relatively high level.

The result was based on a poll of 1,011 voters conducted from Wednesday to Thursday. It has 3.1 percentage points in margin of error with a 95 percent confidence level.

The slight fall in Moon's approval scores came amid controversy over the nomination of cabinet members.

Three major opposition parties objected to Moon's nominations of foreign minister, anti-trust watchdog chief and chief justice of the constitutional court.

The Gallup Korea said Moon's approval rating hovered at a record-high level in early presidency compared with his predecessors.

Moon's ruling Democratic Party gained 48 percent support, down 2 percentage points from the previous week.

It was much higher than 10 percent tallied by the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and 8 percent garnered by the centrist People's Party.

Both the minor conservative Righteous Party and the minor progressive Justice Party won 7 percent support.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 18:00:36|Editor: xuxin

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NAIROBI, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The number of Chinese tourists visiting Kenya is set to double in 2017, the tourism marketing agency said late on Thursday.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) CEO Betty Radier told Xinhua in Nairobi that approximately 69,000 Chinese tourists arrived in the country in 2016.

"We have experienced a spike in the number of Chinese visitors in Kenya for the first six months of 2017 and we are confident we could double last year's number," Radier said when KTB and the Kenya Wildlife Service signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

Radier said that if the current trajectory for Chinese visitors continues, the Asian nation will be largest source market in three years. Currently, the number one source market is the U.S., followed by Britain, India and China.

Government data indicates in 2016, the number of international tourists via air hit 874,385. Kenya has classified the tourist sources markets and China is in the number one tier.

The East African nation will also deploy different techniques to lure Chinese tourists.

"We have found out that we can't treat the Chinese market, the same way we handle our traditional markets of the U.S. and Europe," the CEO said.

The tourist marketing agency plans to increase its presence on the Chinese social media sites.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 18:15:45|Editor: xuxin

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MOGADISHU, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Thursday night vowed to pursue Al-Shabaab militants after the insurgents raided a military base in Puntland region and killed over 30 soldiers.

Mohamed who also sent his condolences to the families and the people of Puntland following Thursday's ambush on a military camp in Af-Urur, about 100km from the port city of Bosaso pledged not to relent in the war against terrorism.

In a statement issued in Mogadishu, the president termed the fallen soldiers as the true martyrs since they died while protecting their people and their country.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a number of our gallant soldiers in Thursday's attack in Af-Urur, Puntland. They fought hard and bravely for their country, to keep their people safe during this holy month of Ramadan. We will forever remember them, they are the real martyrs," he said.

The president promised Al-Shabaab would be pursued and would pay for Thursday's heinous attack.

"We promise that Al-Shabaab won't get away with this. As of now, our troops are in hot pursuit of the enemy; they will pay for today's attack. I am confident our forces would defeat this abhorrent enemy," he vowed.

Heavily armed militants stormed a military base in Somalia's semiautonomous state of Puntland, killing over 30 people and wounding dozens more.

The assault began with a blast at the remote Af-Urur camp, about 100km west of the commercial hub of Bossaso, before the fighters overran the base and killed Puntalnd Dervish Army soldiers at close range.

However, Puntland's interior minister, Abdi Hersi Ali said troops suffered casualties but he declined to give further details.

The minister said the militants killed fasting civilians, including elders before attacking the troops stationed at the base and dismissed the death toll figure given by the Al-Shabaab who had claimed they killed 61 soldiers, terming it "baseless".

"The group suffered most casualties. The militants killed elders and innocent civilians, before attacking a remote outpost manned by Puntland troops, where they encountered a stiff resistance and lost many combatants," Ali said.

In his statement President Farmaajo assured Somalis that his administration would not show mercy in dealing with Al-Shabaab terrorists who have no regard for the sanctity of life and the holy month of Ramadan.

"This once again proves that the enemy we are facing is dangerous, is bent on causing harm to the peace loving people of this country and must be fought with by all means. We must show no mercy in dealing with Al-Shabaab," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 18:25:55|Editor: xuxin

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NAIROBI, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's health ministry said it is focusing on using ICTs as envisioned in the e-Health Strategy 2011 - 2017 to enhance service delivery.

Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu said the strategic vision is to develop efficient, accessible, equitable, secure and consumer friendly healthcare services enabled by ICTs.

"We have seen innovation sprouting up at the government, corporate and non-governmental level, using technology to ease the burden of access to healthcare and medication across the country," Mailu said on Thursday evening in a speech read on his behalf by the Head of Curative and Rehabilitative Services Dr Izaq Odongo in his speech at the launch of mobile app that will empower Kenyans to buy medicine and personal care items via a mobile app.

The application called Livia developed by Neotech Kenya, is available on the Google Playstore and Apple Appstore.

It will allow users to get the best possible price on medicine and personal care items from a wide selection of chemists on the app.

Livia is designed to benefit both the partner chemist and the end-user. Chemists that offer competitive pricing are able to liquidate their stock through the app, while customers who use the app access quality drugs affordably and conveniently.

Neotech CEO Samier Muravvej said Livia ensures its partner chemists go through a rigorous vetting process to ascertain that they can supply safe drugs. The app has also secured the endorsement of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya.

"We have signed up reputable chemists in Nairobi and Mombasa as Livia Partner Chemists. As partners, they receive an instant alert when a customer makes an order for medicine or personal care items via the app and are invited to submit quotations. Chemists that offer the most competitive price are then linked with the customers," he said.

Mailu said all ministry agencies and departments are focused on using ICTs for service delivery and commended the Pharmacy and Poisons Board for actively participating in the implementation of the wider Government of Kenya development policies that embrace the implementation of the Vision 2030 Strategy.

He said the Board has set up robust systems that ensure the increase in efficiency of service delivery in-line with the regulatory framework guidelines. These systems are widely accessible via any device that is convenient to the user and have been simplified to enhance user experience.

Livia app is a promising technology that will enable patients to conveniently have access to affordable medicines at the touch of a button.

"The app is convenient for the sick and price conscious patients. For patients that suffer from chronic illnesses and need to take monthly medication, using Livia app will offer them significant savings on their monthly refills," he added.

Chemists, who partner with Livia, are expected to get online digital presence and have access to over 12 million tech savvy Kenyans.

"As a Kenyan technology, we are proud of this new invention and will provide the regulatory framework to ensure its success," said Mailu.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 18:41:02|Editor: xuxin

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PARIS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- French Constitutional Council on Friday said it censured a ban of protests, a measure that authorities have imposed in a context of state of emergency.

The council considered, in a statement, that the prefects' measure to "prohibit the stay" in certain places of individuals "seeking to hinder the action of the public authorities" was too extensive.

"(It) has ruled that this measure does not ensure a balanced reconciliation between the constitutional objective of safeguarding public order and on the other hand, the freedom to come and go, and the right to lead normal ...life," it said.

France's highest constitutional body noted that "the latitude granted to the prefects is not organized," adding that "the law should be accompanied by more guarantees."

In 2016, a young man had been banned by police to stay in some streets of French capital while he participated in a protest against labor reform. He refereed the case to the Constitutional Council.

"It's a remarkable decision. In a democracy, we must be able to demonstrate and legally impede the action of the public authorities," his lawyer Raphael Kempf was quoted as saying by local media.

In the wake of the bloody wave of explosions and shootings which left 130 people dead on Nov. 13, France imposed state of emergency rules that empower police and prevent rallies to preserve security amid high terror alert.

Earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron said the government was going to ask parliament for a three-month extension of the state of emergency, beyond its normal term in July 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 18:41:07|Editor: xuxin

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by Ronald Ssekandi

ADJUMANI, Uganda, June 9 (Xinhua) -- In a wooden structure in Adjumani district in remote northwestern Uganda, Doreen Dribareo struggles to get the attention of over 100 children crowded in one classroom.

Dribareo is teaching the children the English alphabet. More than half the number of the children are South Sudan refugees.

As the bell rings, indicating that it is break time, the children rush out of the classroom to go and play.

As the children play in the dusty school compound, Dribareo told Xinhua on Thursday that while refugee children put on smiling faces, many are hurting and depressed. Some of the children, when fighting erupted back home, fled to Uganda without their parents. Others witnessed their parents being killed by armed men.

The unaccompanied children, those without parents, have been placed under the care of other families. Cases of children being violent are common, according to Dribareo. Others sulk and do not want to talk to anyone.

"When they came from South Sudan, they were traumatized. They cry a lot, some can seat alone, they refuse to talk to anybody. When we see a child is lonely, we carry him or her," said Dribareo.

Counsellors attribute this to the trauma they faced as a result of the fighting back in South Sudan.

After the 30 minutes break, the bell rings again and the children dash to class.

From the beautiful smiles and energies showed by the children, it indicates that they have got a new lease of life, far from the suffering back home.

"The turn up of children is okay, they are now well versed with us, whenever we move in the settlement, they are happy with us," said Dribareo.

As the bell rings again for the children to go home, Dribareo's worry is the increasing number of South Sudan refugee children crossing into Uganda.

UN figures show that of the more than 900,000 South Sudanese who have crossed into Uganda since fighting broke out in December 2013, 59 percent are children.

These high numbers are putting pressure on the schools' meagre resources in this part of the country.

UN agencies and their partners are helping put up child education centers in the different refugee settlements.

In Bidibidi, the largest refugee settlement in the world, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and partners have completed the construction of three Early Child Development centers. Two others are still under construction. Thirteen schools were selected to receive 2,000 desks.

In Adjumani, over 30 teachers in the Maaji settlement have been trained on psychosocial support and child protection. The main intention for the training was to identify and address psychosocial needs of children.

As these relief efforts continue, the UN relief agencies say they are operating on a thin budget and soon their resources will dry out if there is no increased international assistance.

UNHCR argues that there is an urgent need to scale up construction of classroom blocks, provision of scholastic materials among others to improve the learning environment.

Uganda and the UN from June 22-23 are scheduled to hold an international refugee conference dubbed 'Solidarity Conference'. The meeting that will be attended by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and other leaders aims at raising funds to cater for the increasing number of South Sudanese refugees.

Uganda and the UN argue that they need over eight billion U.S. dollars to cater for the refugees over the next four years.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 18:46:09|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao

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ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Top leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members said Friday that the political and diplomatic means are the "only choice" to settle regional conflicts.
U.S. President Donald Trump leaves after delivering a speech at the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, on June 1, 2017. He says to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark global pact to fight climate change. (Xinhua/Mike Theiler)

JOHANNESBURG, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The withdrawal by the United States from the Paris Agreement "will not change anything" on the efficiency of the climate change multi-lateral agreement, a climate justice campaigner has said.

The U.S. has never been a "climate leader" and its departure will pave to new dynamics, Samuel Chademana, Groundwork's Climate and Energy Justice Campaign Manager, said in an interview with Xinhua earlier this week.

Groundwork is a non-profit environmental justice service and developmental organization working primarily in Southern Africa in the areas of climate & energy justice, coal, environmental health, global green and healthy hospitals, and waste.

Chademana said that if history is anything to go by, the U.S. is the biggest greenhouse gas emitter and source of almost a third of the global carbon emissions.

Furthermore, Washington was very effective in weakening the Kyoto Protocol consistently using its political influence and its power in the climate negotiations, although it was not a party to the protocol, Chademana said.

"So the departure of USA does not really change anything in as far as the effectiveness of the climate change multi-lateral agreement is concerned," Chademana said.

"The world now needs new leaders, both at the international and local levels and have no doubt that the departure of the U.S. will give room to a whole new set of dynamics but the work will proceed," he added.

Like other African countries, South Africa's response to its United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) commitments are not directly influenced by the departure of the U.S., Chademana said.

"These are set determinants which are not affected by the departure of the U.S., so South Africa remains bound by these requirements," he said.

South Africa will not change its policies towards climate change, he added.

Chademana urged local governments, non-governmental organizations and the whole society to work together at a local level to make sure that technology for renewable energy is owned at a local level so that the renewable energy process does not end up as another privatized venture for corporate capital.

Energy production and distribution systems should be decentralized and ownership made feasible for the poor in the country, and this is a role that the NGO sector can play, he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last Thursday that he has decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark global pact to fight climate change.
The first train of Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) arrives at Nairobi Terminus in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, May 31, 2017. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)

NAIROBI, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 12,000 passengers had traveled on the newly launched Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) linking Kenya's port city Mombasa with its capital Nairobi in the week ending Wednesday, operator said on Thursday.

The railway, a 480 km line which kicked off passenger service on June 1, is currently operating with scheduled passenger trains from Nairobi and Mombasa running on a daily basis.

According to the operator, which is affiliated with the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), about 14,000 tickets were sold in total actually, only that 2,000 of them were bought by customers including construction workers and local residents as souvenirs to commemorate the launching of the railway.

Aerial photo taken on May 12, 2017 shows the Mazeras Bridge of the Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway in Kenya. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)

Huang Jincan, general manager of the operator of the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR, told a press briefing that tickets were sold out on June 4 for the train running from Mombasa to Nairobi, with hundreds of people saying that they were unable to secure a ticket that day.

Noting the high demand, the operator said it plans to increase train services starting on July 1, when passenger trains are expected to commute between the terminals in the two cities each day.

The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) and the CRBC signed on May 30 an operations, maintenance and service agreement for the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR.

Under the deal, CRBC took over as operator of the 480 km SGR on May 31, when a ceremony was held in Kenya to mark the completion of the railway, the flagship project of China-Kenya practical cooperation. The agreement will run for a period of 10 years.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 19:11:31|Editor: Song Lifang

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CHANGSHA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- China has explored numerous means, including information disclosure and lawmaking, to tackle the increasing commercialization in places of worship across the country.

New forms of infringement of religious rights and interests have sprung up, making it more urgent to protect and promote these rights, said Jiang Jianyong, deputy head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs.

Jiang made the remarks at a meeting of the Buddhist Association of China (BAC) held in the city of Changsha in central China's Hunan Province this week, with delegates from 14 provinces and municipalities in attendance.

According to some delegates, companies and individuals in some regions are increasingly exploiting Buddhism for commercial interests under the guise of Buddhist cultural parks or theme parks, and even eliciting donations to support false applications for world heritage status.

Some religious figures have illegally accumulated wealth using Buddhism as a cover to rent out temples for commercial use.

A prominent monk in the Hunan city of Hengyang arbitrarily approved a 5-million-yuan (730,000 U.S. dollars) procurement of 18 pine trees from Japan, said Huai Hui, secretary-general of the provincial Buddhist association.

Another monk in the city of Loudi, also in Hunan, raised over 8 million yuan in the name of temple construction, which was actually for personal use, he added.

"Some ancient temples have been encompassed by so-called 'cultural parks', with non-religious buildings constructed around them for commercial use," said Sheng Hui, deputy director of the BAC.

A number of "fake Buddhists" have been carrying out illegal religious activities, extorting money and luring followers, harming the reputation of the religion.

A living-Buddha authentication database was launched last year to confirm the identity of living Buddhas. With roots traceable to the 13th century AD, the reincarnation of Buddhas is a unique inheritance system within Tibetan Buddhism. The BAC has issued certificates to living Buddhas since 2010.

"To protect religious rights and uphold dignity, Buddhist associations across China have been asked to tighten their management of personnel and strictly prohibit any commercial activities," Sheng said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 19:26:42|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao

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He Ping (R, front), editor-in-chief of China's Xinhua News Agency, meets with Indian ABP News Network (TV) Chairman Aveek Sarkar in Beijing, capital of China, June 9, 2017. Sarkar attended the BRICS Media Forum in Beijing. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Editor-in-chief of Xinhua News Agency He Ping met with Aveek Sarkar, chairman of India's ABP News Network (TV), on Friday, calling for more cooperation with Indian media.

Aveek Sarkar is in Beijing to attend the BRICS Media Forum held Wednesday and Thursday.

China and India are not only neighbors, but also ancient countries with brilliant civilizations and members of the BRICS bloc, said He.

Noting that the two countries have a lot in common, He voiced hope that media from both countries could play a constructive role in bilateral cooperation.

As the state news agency, Xinhua will work with Indian media groups including ABP to enhance exchanges and cooperation to advance bilateral ties and promote mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, said He.

Sarkar said India and China coming closer will send a good message to the world. The ABP Group is committed to the development of bilateral ties and is ready to expand cooperation with Xinhua.

The forum, with the theme ""Deepening BRICS Media Cooperation, Promoting Fair and Just International Public Opinion," was proposed by Xinhua News Agency and jointly initiated with Brazil's CMA Group, Russia's Sputnik News Agency and Radio, the Hindu Group of India and South Africa's Independent Media.

It attracted leaders of 27 media organizations from BRICS countries, which also include Brazil, Russia and South Africa.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 19:26:43|Editor: xuxin

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ISTANBUL, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev died of a heart attack on Friday in Istanbul at the age of 69, local media reported.

The minister was transferred to a hospital in the city on Thursday over heart problems, the Haberturk daily said.

Aliyev headed Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR between 1993 and 2005 and was appointed as minister of industry and energy in 2005. He assumed his current post in 2013, press reports said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 19:31:49|Editor: Song Lifang

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DALIAN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A court in the northeast China city of Dalian Friday opened a trial into the suspected crimes of Beijing Pangu Investment Co. Ltd, controlled by fugitive Guo Wengui, as well as three of its employees.

The company and its employees Lyu Tao, Xie Honglin and Yang Ying are accused of fraudulently obtaining loans. Lyu Tao and Xie Honglin are also accused of fraudulently obtaining foreign exchange.

According to the indictment, Guo applied for loans from the Agricultural Bank of China under the company's name and directed the three individuals to apply for loans allegedly for the company's construction project in early 2010. The three then asked others to produce fake construction contracts and stamps, before submitting the forged documents to the bank to apply for the loans.

The bank issued loans totalling 3.2 billion yuan (470 million U.S. dollars) to Pangu. The company then presented fabricated invoices and used the loans for other purposes, later having to repay the loan after being found of misusing the money.

Prosecutors also charged Lyu and Xie with fraudulently obtaining foreign exchange totalling 13.5 million U.S. dollars from the Bank of Communications by using falsified furniture import contracts and invoices in 2012. A company controlled by Guo Qiang, the son of Guo Wengui, was used in the fraud.

The money was later transferred to a Hong Kong company for Guo Wengui to buy private aircraft.

The indictment said Guo Wengui and Guo Qiang would be dealt with in separate cases.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in April that Interpol had issued a "red notice" for Guo Wengui.

During Friday's trial, evidence including witness statements and expert opinion were presented. The defendants did not object to any criminal facts and charges from prosecutors. They expressed regret, pleaded guilty and thanked judicial organs for the lawful handling of their cases.

The defendants asked for leniency, saying their actions were made at the instruction or suggestion of Guo Wengui.

Xie told the court that he felt his acts might "violate some rules." However, he said he did not refuse as "my boss told me to do it, so I just followed."

To safeguard the defendants' rights and interests, a pre-trial conference was held, attended by the prosecution team, defendants and their lawyers.

Over 40 people, including families of the defendants, legislators, political advisors and journalists from domestic and overseas media, as well as members of the public, attended the hearing.

Transcripts and footage of the hearing were broadcast by the official microblog of the Dalian Xigang District People's Court. The verdict will be announced at a later date.

Friday's trial is the first court proceeding on a series of cases involving the Beijing Pangu Investment and Beijing Zenith Holdings.

Other cases involving offering bribes, forced transactions, duty-related encroachment, embezzlement, destroying accounting documents and unlawful detention are being handled according to the law.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 19:36:51|Editor: ZD

File photo taken on April 18, 2017 shows British Prime Minister Theresa May speaking to media outside 10 Downing Street as she calls a snap general election in London, Britain. Prime Minister Theresa May is on course to lose her overall majority in the British general election, according to an exit poll released as soon as voting finished on June 8, 2017. The poll, commissioned by Britain's main broadcasters, showed May's Conservatives would have 314 seats and Labour is projected to come second with 266 seats. (Xinhua)

LONDON, Jun 9 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May is to stay on at 10 Downing Street despite suffering major losses in the general election, her aides announced Friday.

Although May's Conservatives have won more seats than any other party, she did not cross the line that would have given her a majority government.

May and her advisors have spent the morning talking with leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland. The two parties are closely allied.

With one result to be declared, the Conservatives have won 318 seats, gaining 20, losing 32 giving them an overall loss of 12. The DUP won two seats, giving them 10 in the House of Commons.

Those 10 seats, added to the Conservative total, would give May more than the 326 votes she needs to guarantee her policies are approved.

It would give May a narrower margin than the 17 margin she had before the election. Ironically, May will also be helped by the success in Northern Ireland of the pro-republican Sinn Fein Party. They won seven seats, an increase of three, but as Sinn Fein MPs never take up their seats in Westminster that will provide a cushion for May.

Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, arrived at the Labour Party headquarters in London where he was applauded and cheered by a large crowd.

Labour have won 261 seats, gaining 36, losing 5, giving them an overall increase of 31.

Even Owen Smith, the Labour MP who challenged Corbyn for the leadership last year accepted that he had run a successful campaign. Instead of masses losses predicted ahead of the election, Corbyn was hailed by supporters as a conquering hero for increasing the Labour vote.

Some of his supporters flirted with the idea of Corbyn forming a minority government with the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) but that would not give Labour the numbers it needs to be effective. Had the SNP hung on to its more than 50 Westminster MPs, a Lab-SNP coalition could have worked, but in the event Nicola Sturgeon's SNP lost 19 of its seats in the House of Commons.

Around 12:30 pm local time May was heading to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth to ask for permission to form a government.

Later Friday May is expected to outline her proposals outside 10 Downing Street.

The first casualty of the results is Paul Nuttall, leader of UKIP, the party set up to campaign for Britain to leave the European Union. The party did not win a single seat in the election, with poor results across the country. It seemed many UKIP supporters deserted the party and voted instead for Conservatives or Labour.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 19:36:53|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao

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NANNING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang has called for efforts to contain the spread of smuggling while protecting market order and national security.

Wang made the remarks during his inspection of southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Thursday to Friday.

Wang visited China-Vietnam border regions where he learned about trade, anti-smuggling work and the construction of a cross-border economic cooperation zone.

Noting that China still faces a grave situation in anti-smuggling, Wang asked local authorities to primarily target the smuggling of grain, frozen products, guns and drugs, among others.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 20:17:31|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Spanish King Felipe VI in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Spanish King Felipe VI on Friday, saying China welcomes Spain's participation in the building of the Belt and Road.

Xi said China and Spain should make full use of the China-Europe freight train from the eastern Chinese city of Yiwu to the Spanish capital of Madrid.

Noting that China attaches great importance to the China-Spain relations, Xi voiced appreciation for the Spanish royal family's long-standing, firm support to the development of ties between the two countries.

China is willing to work with Spain to elevate the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership to a higher level, so as to better benefit the two peoples, he said, adding that the two sides should have closer high-level contacts and firmly support each other on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns.

He stressed the alignment of the two countries' development strategies, saying China and Spain should deepen cooperation in such fields as finance, telecommunications, renewable energy, agriculture, biomedicine, aerospace and aviation.

The two countries should strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, boost interactions at local levels, expand cooperation in areas like education, tourism and sports, said Xi.

The Chinese president also called on the two countries to maintain consultation and cooperation on international and regional hot-button issues, saying they should advance the economic globalization toward a more open, inclusive, universally beneficial and balanced direction.

China firmly supports the European integration process, said Xi, urging further development of the four partnerships of peace, growth, reform and civilization between China and Europe.

Xi expressed his hope that Spain would continually play an active role within the European Union and make positive contributions to the long-term, healthy and stable development of the China-Europe relations.

For his part, King Felipe VI hailed the time-honored bilateral friendship, saying the two countries have made achievements in exchanges and cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, politics and culture on the basis of mutual respect.

Spain is willing to work with China to consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen high-level interactions, and deepen practical cooperation in various fields, said the king.

He said the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative will boost the global economy, adding that Spain is ready to participate in cooperation in such areas as energy and infrastructure within the framework of the Belt and Road.

Xi arrived here Wednesday for a state visit to Kazakhstan and the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). He will also attend the opening ceremony of Expo 2017 in Astana.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 20:22:34|Editor: ZD

British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) gives a speech after a 15-minute audience at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth in London, Britain on June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Friday afternoon she will form a Westminster government, helped by members of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). (Xinhua/Han Yan)

LONDON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Friday afternoon she will form a Westminster government, helped by members of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Speaking minutes after a 15-minute audience at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth, May announced her plan outside 10 Downing Street.

She said May she will form a government that will provide certainty and work to keep Britain safe and secure. She also reaffirmed her commitment to leaving the European Union.

May also repeated the pledge she made during the general election campaign "to build a country in which no one is left behind".

In a brief statement, May said "What the country needs more than anything is certainty. Only the Conservative and Unionist party can provide this. Now lets get to work," she said.

She said the Conservatives and the DUP will work together "having enjoyed a strong relationship over many years".

The 318 seats won by the Conservatives in the election on Thursday, plus the 10 DUP seats will give May the majority she needs in the House of Commons.

In the election the Conservatives won most seats, but short of winning enough for an overall majority.

One result remains to be declared that will go to either the Conservatives or Labour.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 21:03:02|Editor: xuxin

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NAIROBI, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The UN migration agency on Friday appealed for 60 million U.S. dollars to help displaced people and the communities hosting them in four of the worst affected countries -- Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Somalia.

IOM said in a statement issued in Nairobi it intends to target six million drought-affected individuals from April to December across the four countries with a combination of lifesaving and early recovery interventions.

Jeffrey Labovitz, IOM Regional Director for East and Horn of Africa said IOM's response will provide immediate humanitarian aid, as well as solutions and long-term recovery options to people in each of these four countries, building their capacity to recover.

"Although the impressive efforts from communities, governments and international actors have so far managed to prevent the current drought escalating to famine, we are still in the midst of a major life-saving intervention and there is need for sustained funding and international support to mitigate what could still deteriorate," said Labovitz.

The East and Horn of Africa is experiencing the worst drought the region has seen in decades.

Since 2016, repeated failed rains have led to severe food insecurity and to increasing numbers of internal and cross border displacement.

The number of people in dire need of humanitarian intervention in the region continues to grow, estimated at 16 million people in May.

"In the coming months, we are likely to see many more needing humanitarian aid and being displaced, due to the poor rains. In the long run, the need to address root causes and scale up prevention mechanisms will be imperative to support affected communities to fully recover," added Labovitz.

According to IOM, impacts of this severe drought include food and water shortage, health and nutrition deterioration, significant livestock deaths and crop production losses.

It said the drought is affecting the region's main source of water -- the river basins. Over the past six months, severe drought conditions have contributed to the displacement of more than 700,000 people within Somalia.

"While in Ethiopia, 316,128 have been newly displaced since the beginning of 2017 and over 41,000 in Kenya due to the impact of the drought," the IOM said.

The UN migration agency said the drought has also triggered cross border movements, particularly between Somalia-Ethiopia and Somalia-Kenya.

"Due to increased access to beneficiaries and an early response, the numbers of cross border displacements, so far, have been less than in 2011, when the last severe drought occurred," it said.

However, cross border movements may increase if humanitarian support is not sustained, especially considering expected below-average rainfall.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 21:08:10|Editor: xuxin

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NAIROBI, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Friday appointed Marietje Schaake, Member of the European Parliament as its head of the observer mission which is due to arrive in Kenya on Monday.

A statement from the EU offices in Nairobi said the European bloc has decided to deploy an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to Kenya to observe the general elections scheduled for Aug. 8 in response to an invitation by the Kenyan authorities.

Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission said the EU and Kenya are long standing partners, with 2017 marking 40 years of their cooperation.

"This is the fourth time that the EU observes general elections in Kenya, reflecting our common work to credible, transparent and inclusive elections in the country, since our political dialogue and cooperation strategy focuses on supporting good governance," Mogherini said.

She said this year's general elections are foreseen to be very competitive, noting that the EU is committed to giving an important contribution to the electoral process through the Electoral Observation Mission led by Chief Observer Schaake.

"We expect the rule of law will prevail with all parties resolving any possible election disputes through dialogue and available legal remedies," Mogherini said.

Speaking ahead of her arrival in Nairobi, Schaake said the forthcoming general elections will be another defining moment in Kenya's democratic development.

She said Kenya has already achieved impressive progress in terms of democratization and good governance.

"I trust the Kenyan people will express their political choices in a peaceful and calm environment, thus confirming the significance of democratic institutions," Schaake said.

She said the August polls can further consolidate the democratic record through well-run, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections, with all sides refraining from any actions or statements that may incite violence.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 21:38:25|Editor: xuxin

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DAMASCUS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Friday they have captured two neighborhoods east and west of the northern city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS.

The group said they completely captured the Mashlab neighborhood, the first in the eastern part of Raqqa city. They also said they captured the Jazra west of Raqqa city.

Following capturing those area, the SDF will be clearing the areas of the IS leftovers and explosives.

The SDF posted a photo, showing its fighters tossing an IS flag from atop a building in Jazra, pledging to fully liberate Raqqa city from IS.

Earlier in the day, pro-government Sham FM radio said 12 SDF fighters were killed when targeted by an IS suicide bomber in Mashlab.

This comes days after the Kurdish-led SDF, with the backing of the U.S.-led coalition, announced the commencement of the four stage of their offensive on IS in Raqqa, which marked the first attack to storm the city itself.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, meanwhile, said the Syrian army captured 500 km of areas in the western countryside of Raqqa after entering the administrative borders of that province 48 hours ago.

The Observatory, which says it relies on a network of activists on ground, said the aim of the Syrian army progress in the countryside of Raqqa is to proceed to take areas from IS in the southern countryside of Raqqa to reach a triangle of areas between Raqqa, the northern province of Aleppo and the central province of Hama.

This will enable the army to isolate IS in the remaining areas under its control in the southern countryside of Aleppo, which will leave IS between two options either to withdraw or to fight to death.

But in terms of the cooperation between the Syrian army and the SDF, none of them declared any possible cooperation in the battle against IS, but observers believe that there is a possible coordination for now.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 21:43:27|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao

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ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Top leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries said Friday that political and diplomatic means are the "only choice" to settle regional conflicts.

The presidents of six countries, namely China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, made the remarks in a joint communique issued after their annual summit in Kazakhstan.

The leaders supported Afghanistan's efforts to combat terrorism, extremism and drug-related crimes, saying the United Nations should play a core role in coordinating international cooperation to secure peace and stability in the Asian country.

The six presidents urged extensive dialogues inside Syria to settle the current conflict through political means based on the UN Security Council resolutions, adding that the Astana Process will create necessary conditions to pursue a political solution to the Syria crisis within the framework of the UN-led Geneva talks that is acceptable for all parties concerned.

The top leaders affirmed the efforts made by all relevant parties to implement the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue reached between Iran and six other countries with the participation of the European Union.

They also eyed the full implementation of the Minsk agreement signed on Feb. 12, 2015 to solve the Ukraine crisis as early as possible.
Smoke rises from the al-Mishlab district at Raqqa's southeastern outskirts, Syria June 7, 2017. (REUTERS photo)

DAMASCUS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led anti-terror coalition has carried out 25 airstrikes on the city of Raqqa in northern Syria over the past 24 hours, killing at least 17 civilians, state news agency SANA reported on Friday.

The airstrikes targeted residential areas in Raqqa, and in some of them the U.S. strikes used white phosphorus that is internationally prohibited, said SANA.

It said the strikes were focused on areas in the western and eastern parts of Raqqa, adding that 12 of the airstrikes targeted an internet cafe in the Jazra area near the Euphrates River.

The U.S. has upped the airstrikes on Raqqa recently, as part of a wide-scale military campaign to clean the city of the Islamic State (IS) group, which declared the city of Raqqa as its de facto capital in 2014.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the heavy backing of the U.S. coalition, announced on Tuesday the commencement of the fourth stage of the attack on Raqqa, which includes taking Raqqa from IS this time.

The SDF said Friday they have captured two neighborhoods east and west of of Raqqa, namely the Mashlab neighborhood, the first in the eastern part of Raqqa city, and the neighborhood of Jazra west of Raqqa.

Following capturing those area, the SDF will clear the areas of the IS leftovers and explosives.

The SDF posted a photo, showing its fighters tossing an IS flag from atop a building in Jazra, pledging to fully liberate Raqqa city from IS.

Earlier in the day, pro-government Sham FM radio said 12 SDF fighters were killed when targeted by an IS suicide bomber in Mashlab.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, meanwhile, said the Syrian army captured 500 km of areas in the western countryside of Raqqa after entering the administrative borders of that province 48 hours ago.

The Observatory, which says it relies on a network of activists on ground, said the aim of the Syrian army progress in the countryside of Raqqa is to proceed to take areas from IS in the southern countryside of Raqqa to reach a triangle of areas between Raqqa, the northern province of Aleppo and the central province of Hama.

This will enable the army to isolate IS in the remaining areas under its control in the southern countryside of Aleppo, which will leave IS between two options either to withdraw or to fight to death.

But in terms of the cooperation between the Syrian army and the SDF, none of them declared any possible cooperation in the battle against IS, but observers believe that there is a possible coordination for now.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 22:08:37|Editor: xuxin

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TOKYO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's parliament enacted on Friday a law allowing Japan's Emperor Akihito to step down and pass his duties over to Crown Prince Naruhito.

The law, designed specially for the reigning emperor, will make Emperor Akihito the first Japanese emperor who would relinquish the throne in around 200 years.

The timing of the abdication, according to the law, will be decided under a government ordinance within three years of the law's promulgation after consulting with the Imperial House Council.

Local media reported that the government eyes allowing the emperor to abdicate in December 2018 around the emperor's 85th birthday.

The nation's era name (gengo) which lasts for as long as the emperor is on the throne, will possibly change at the beginning of 2019, said the reports.

Japan's top government spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, however, refrained from disclosing the likely timing of the abdication as well as the announcement of the new era's name at a press conference on Friday.

According to the new legislation, the emperor and his wife Empress Michiko would keep the honorific title of "heika" which means "Your Majesty," but the emperor will not be entitled to ascend the throne again or become a regent after the abdication.

The Emperor's Birthday holiday on Dec. 23 will be changed to Feb. 23, the birthday of Crown Prince Naruhito, said the legislation.

The legislation will also triple the annual budget allocation for the private expenses of Prince Akishino, who will become the first in line after his older brother ascend the throne.

Japanese Emperor Akihito ascended to the throne after the death in 1989 of his father Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa.

He indicated his wish to relinquish and hand over the throne to the crown prince in a rare video message last August, citing his age.

A six-member government panel was set up last September to hear opinions of experts on the constitution and to hold discussions on necessary legal changes to enable the emperor to abdicate and on the status of and treatment given to the retired emperor.

One of the major disputed points had been whether to create a permanent abdication system for every emperor, or just a mechanism to enable only the current emperor to abdicate.

The new legislation enacted on Friday allows Emperor Akihito to abdicate and Crown Prince Naruhito to ascend the throne as an exception to the 1947 Imperial House Law which lacks a provision on abdication.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Friday that it was "difficult" to create a permanent abdication system, citing unforeseeable situations of the society, politics, and people's minds on the issue in the future.

With the enactment of the new law, debate is expected to ensue in parliament regarding the recognition of the branches of female members of the imperial family who marry commoners.

A committee of the upper house of Japan's parliament on Wednesday adopted a special resolution which was attached to the abdication law, and though non-binding, said that the government will "consider various issues to secure stable imperial succession, including creating female branches."

According to the 1947 Imperial House Law, females cannot ascend to the throne and must leave the imperial family when they marry commoners.

The number of Japanese imperial family members will drop to 18 upon the marriage of Princess Mako, the eldest grandchild of Emperor Akihito, who is expected to be engaged to a commoner this year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 22:18:41|Editor: huaxia

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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, June 9 (Xinhua) -- At least five militants were killed Friday in a gunfight near Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir, officials said.

The gunfight, according to Indian army officials, broke out in Uri sector of frontier Baramulla district, about 110 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Indian military spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the militants were trying to infiltrate deep inside Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Today our alert troops foiled another infiltration bid in Uri sector," Kalia told Xinhua. "While foiling the bid, five militants were killed."

According to the spokesman, the operation was going on in the area.

"The suspicious movement was witnessed in the sector yesterday and today the contact was established, which resulted in an exchange of fire between our troops and the infiltrators," Kalia said.

Reports said army has rushed additional reinforcements to the area and intensified search operations.

In the last two days, the army has killed seven militants - four in Machil and three in Nowgam of frontier Kupwara. A trooper was also killed in Nowgam sector fighting militants, the officials said.

Last month six militants were killed in Rampur sector of frontier Uri in adjacent Baramulla district.

Indian army said since the beginning of this year, 22 infiltration attempts were foiled and 34 armed intruders eliminated on the LoC.

The situation along LoC is tense since the beginning of May. Troops of India and Pakistan are currently at loggerheads with each other, especially along LoC and international border (IB) in Kashmir. Several ceasefire violations were reported on both the sides of LoC.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 22:18:42|Editor: xuxin

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TEHRAN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Intelligence Ministry announced on Friday that the security forces have arrested 41 individuals linked to the Islamic States (IS), official IRNA news agency reported.

In a chain of complicated intelligence operations, 41 IS-linked individuals were arrested in Tehran, Kermanshah, Kurdistan and West Azarbaijan provinces, the Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier on the day, the Intelligence Ministry said that it has identified a number of IS terrorists' hideout in the northwest of Iran and has seized sizable amount of ammunition.

It also said that the Islamic republic is hunting the commandment centers of the terrorists beyond the borders.

In two separate attacks by the IS members against Iran's Majlis (parliament) and the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic republic on Wednesday, at least 17 people were killed and over 50 were injured.

The six assailants were also killed by Iran's security forces.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 22:38:53|Editor: yan

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BERLIN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The leader of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) Martin Schulz has described the failure of conservative Prime Minister Theresa May to defend her party's outright majority in the British parliamentary election as a "catastrophic defeat" on Friday.

At the same time, he praised the leader of the opposition Labour party Jeremy Corbyn for his unexpectedly strong performance which resulted in a hung parliament (in which no party has sufficient members of parliament to govern on its own).

Schulz stated on Twitter that he had already spoken to Corbyn on the phone and scheduled a brief meeting.

The German politician further echoed arguments made by Labour during their campaign by accusing Theresa May of being responsible for cutting thousands of jobs in the British police force as Home Secretary and said the British Prime Minister had "disqualified herself" by recently stating that human rights must be curtailed to combat terrorism.

Concerning the impact of the British electoral result on the upcoming "Brexit" negotiations, Schulz voiced the hope that the United Kingdom would depart from the hard line adopted by the last Conservative government.

"Even if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, we need cooperation instead of confrontation. After all, Britain will always remain a part of Europe," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 22:48:55|Editor: An

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NANCHANG, June 9 (Xinhua) -- During her three years in the village of Jinkeng, Huang Wei has made it her business to ensure that the preservation of history becomes part of every villager's daily routine.

When Huang, 35, arrived in Jinkeng in 2014, she brought with her a brilliant innovation: full-time farmer/part-time preservationist.

Jinkeng lies about eight km to the east of Jingdezhen, China's porcelain capital, in east China's Jiangxi Province.

A thousand years ago, Jinkeng supplied Jingdezhen with the quality china clay that was so crucial to the production of Qingbai ware, the bluish-white porcelain considered the ebodiment of excellence in the annals of China's ceramics.

If Jingdezhen was the birthplace of Chinese porcelain, Huang said, Jinkeng was the cradle of Jingdezhen.

Huang, who lectures at the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute, has worked with other archeologists to discover 15 sites of porcelain kilns in Jinkeng, dating back to the Song Dynasty 1,000 years ago. She has also worked out the route along which the clay was transported, found several mines and various pieces of mining equipment.

Farming is a highly seasonal activity. More than 1,000 years ago, when Jinkeng was at its peak, villagers worked mainly in the fields during the busy season and for the rest of the time, brought clay down from the mountains in wheelbarrows and made porcelain.

Traces of the entire porcelain-making process can be found in Jinkeng, making preservation of the village's historical heritage all the more significant, Huang said.

Porcelain may be Hunag's area of expertise, but her talent lies in organizing people.

"Little will be achieved if you fail to engage local people. Incentives are needed for them to play their part," Huang said.

She has set up an eco-agriculture cooperative called "The Porcelain Farmer," which is all-organic. Villagers grow organic rice, vegetables, lotus and chrysanthemums. This year, she oversaw the construction of a traditional winery, making organic rice wine that is sold nationwide.

Sustainable agriculture means villagers earn more without damaging the environment and, perhaps more importantly, the historical relics, Huang said.

All round the village, signboards display the "10 rules" Huang and the villagers have agreed on. These include bans on collecting fragments of ceramic at kiln sites, chopping down trees, throwing trash into the local river, hunting and excavation of ancient tombs.

Not content with setting up an organic farming cooperative and making wine, Huang established the Dongjiao Center soon after moving to Jinkeng. The center is a private non-profit organization, which organizes monthly lectures and small exhibitions, among other activities. One of these other activities is revitalizing folk customs and traditions.

In 2015, Huang and the villagers revived the tradition of making rice cake with a water-powered trip-hammer, a device which was also essential to the china-making process.

Later this year, when the chrysanthemums bloom, Huang plans to organize a gathering for local artists to paint the flowers or make chrysanthemum-themed ceramics, just as the ancient Chinese did.

"I hope that one day, the village will be a national historical park and an center of ceramic education," she said.

"For our experiment here to succeed, cultural relics should not just be preserved, but should also be properly used. They must be brought back to life. We need to conserve and inherit not only the tangible -- the porcelain itself, the sites and equipment -- but the intangible, the traditional ways of life."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 22:53:59|Editor: yan

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LUSAKA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Friday sent a message of condolences to Zimbabwe following a bus accident which claimed over 40 lives.

Zimbabwe police said the bus, which was traveling to Zambia, crashed on Wednesday night, killing 43 people on the spot while another two died of their injuries on Thursday.

The accident happened after the driver failed to negotiate a curve.

Chief Government Spokesperson Kampamba Mulenga said the Zambian government learnt with shock and horror the demise of the passengers who were traveling to Lusaka, the Zambian capital.

"We would like to express our sincere sympathies with families of the victims. Our prayers and thoughts are with them in this difficult period," she said in a statement.

She however could not confirm whether they were Zambian passengers in the bus.

Many Zimbabweans travel to Zambia by bus daily for business.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 22:54:02|Editor: An

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KOLKATA, India, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese diplomat on Friday called for more efforts to increase economic interactions between China and East India.

State governments in East India are expected to take more pro-business attitude and policies to attract investment from China, Chinese Consul General in Kolkata Ma Zhanwu said during a release ceremony of a report on investment environment in East India.

The report, titled the Sustainable Investment Possibilities: A Comparison of the Five Eastern Indian States, is completed by the Observer Research Foundation Kolkata in cooperation with the Chinese Consulate in Kolkata.

The report covers the five states in East India - West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, all within the consular district of the Chinese Consulate in Kolkata.

China will continue to support the development of Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor, which covers East Asia and work closely with the Eastern states, Ma said.

In the coming 5 years, China is expected to invest 750 billion U.S. dollars abroad and will import 8 trillion U.S. dollars of goods and services from other countries and regions, said Ma Zhanwu, noting that more Chinese will come to East India to invest and do business in the years to come.

"The report will further contribute to growth of economic ties between China and India," he said.

The consul general urged the business people, the society and the governments in East India to make joint efforts to create success stories of business to attract more investment from China.

"China-India relations are not the work of giants only," said Ma. "They depend on the goodwill and action of everyone."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 23:19:08|Editor: yan

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SINGAPORE, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Friday that two locally transmitted Zika virus infection cases have been confirmed at Parry Avenue.

The Zika cluster was notified on Tuesday, and vector control operations are being carried out, according to the NEA.

Residents and stakeholders are urged to maintain vigilance and continue to eliminate mosquito breeding habitats, as there could still be asymptomatic or mild, undiagnosed cases which might result in further transmission of the virus if there are mosquitoes in the vicinity.

The NEA has been conducting preventive inspections in the vicinity before the cluster at Parry Avenue was notified to detect and destroy any potential mosquito breeding habitats.

Residents are requested to allow NEA officers to carry out inspections and indoor spraying of their homes. The NEA urges all residents and stakeholders to maintain vigilance and take immediate steps to eliminate mosquito breeding habitats.

Zika is a virus transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which could cause birth defects for pregnant women.

As of Friday afternoon, Singapore has recorded 37 reported Zika cases in 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-09 23:59:44|Editor: ying

British Prime Minister Theresa May gives a speech at 10 Downing Street after meeting with the Queen in London, Britain on June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Friday afternoon she will form a Westminster government, helped by members of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). (Xinhua/Richard Washbrooke)

LONDON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Political commentators Friday called it the gamble that went spectacularly wrong for Prime Minister Theresa May.

May called a snap general election in April, being convinced the British public would give her a strong mandate as she prepares for a battle with the European Union over Britain's post-Brexit relationship with the bloc.

She wanted the security of a bigger margin than the narrow 17-strong working majority she held in the British House of Commons.

Instead, as the final election results came in Friday, it confirmed what a Thursday night exit poll had predicted, the loss of her majority.

To make matters worse for May, her main rivals in the Commons, Jeremy Corbyn's Labor Party, did spectacularly well, increasing the size of their numbers to 261 MPs.

May ended up with 315 MPs, the largest group, and enough to form a minority government, but 11 short of the number she needed to make a majority.

She turned to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland, close allies of the Conservatives. They had gained two seats, taking their total to 10. A deal with the DUP would break through the 326 barrier May desperately needed to form a government.

May held talks Friday with Arlene Foster, leader of the DUP, ahead of making the short car journey to Buckingham Palace to outline her plan to Queen Elizabeth.

Shortly after, May told an assembled press corps in Downing Street that having seen the Queen, she would form a government, adding: "a government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country".

Her new government, added May, will guide Britain through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days, and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the UK out of the European Union.

She added: "What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the general election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons.

"As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular. Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."

With the DUP hailed as the "kingmakers" in a deal to enable May to remain as Prime Minister, questions arose as to what kind of arrangement had been made by the DUP.

Foster called a press conference in Belfast to clarify the situation, saying: "I make no apology for saying that the DUP will always strive for the best deal for Northern Ireland and its people.

"The Prime Minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge."

She left without taking any questions from the assembled media, or without explaining the extent of the discussions with May.

Professor Jon Tonge, an expert in Irish politics at the University of Liverpool, told Xinhua: "Theresa May had no choice, as the DUP is the Conservative's only ally.

"Both the Conservatives and the DUP are Brexiteers, and that will help with the negotiations with Brussels, as well as the vexed issue of the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland.

"The link will enrage other parties in Northern Ireland, and the DUP will exact a high price for their support, which may not be visible, but will be there. They will want their goodies from May's government.

"The one thing about the DUP is they are loyal enough to stick with their promise, and as long as it holds May's government should survive. The last thing the Conservatives need now is another election, particularly after the disastrous results of the general election," Tonge said.

Commentators in Northern Ireland say Foster and the leaders of the pro-republican Sinn Fein party have already been set an end of June deadline to come up with power-sharing arrangements to rescue the devolved Northern Ireland assembly which is currently dissolved.

The fear in Belfast is that a close working relationship between May's government and the DUP could affect the devolution crisis.

Meanwhile in Scotland, Conservative leader Ruth Davidson Friday called on Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) to scrap her call for a second independence referendum.

Davidson's call in Edinburgh came after an election night that saw the SNP lose 19 of its Westminster MPs.

She said: "Nobody will condemn the first minister (Sturgeon) if she now decides to re-set her course. This is her opportunity to do so and I urge her to take it immediately. She must take it (the referendum) off the table."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 00:14:48|Editor: yan

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DAMASCUS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army and allied fighters reached the Syrian-Iraqi borders in eastern Syria on Friday as the Iraqi forces reached the Iraqi side of the borders at the same time, the military media of the Syrian army reported.

The Syrian army and its allies of the Hezbollah group reached the Syrian-Iraqi borders northeast of Tanf border crossing, said the report.

It added that the Syrian army reached the Syrian side of the borders at the same time as the Iraqi forces reached the other side of the frontier.

The progress is part of the Syrian army's wide-scale offensive in the Syrian Desert to liberate it from the Islamic State (IS) and other rebel groups.

The Great Dawn operation by the Syrian army aims to clear a triangle of border areas between Iraq, Syria and Jordan of the terror groups.

Reaching the Iraqi borders was a primary target for the operation, despite the repeated attacks by the U.S. on Syrian army units advancing toward Tanf, where British and American military positions are located.

Despite two strikes on Syrian military positions, the army stressed resolve to continue the battle in the desert.

The military report said the Syrian army has taken control of 20,000 square km of the Syrian desert since its operation in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, a well-informed source familiar with the situation told Xinhua that the Syrian army and its allies are skirting around Tanf to avert confrontation with the United States, after the recent two strikes on Syrian units.

The U.S. said its strikes was intended to keep the Syrian army from advancing into an area included in the de-escalation zones deal.

This time, the Syrian army roared its advance toward the Iraqi borders, keeping a distance of 55 km from Tanf.

Still, the Syrian army and the Iraqi forces of Hashid Shaabi, or the Popular Mobilization Forces, are yet to come into contact with each other.

Faleh al-Fayad, Iraq's national security advisor, visited Syria on May 18, during which he discussed with President Bashar al-Assad ways to commence joint military operations on the Iraqi-Syrian borders.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 00:14:51|Editor: yan

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BRUSSELS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- European Council President Donald Tusk on Friday congratulated British Prime Minister Theresa May on her reappointment, underscoring that Brussels and London should press ahead with the Brexit talks.

"Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome for our citizens, businesses and countries after March 2019," Tusk said in his congratulation letter to May.

"The time frame set by Article 50 of the Treaty leaves us with no time to lose. I am fully committed to maintaining regular and close contact at our level to facilitate the work of our negotiators," he added.

European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker, also said earlier on Friday in Prague that the EU "can open negotiation tomorrow morning at 09:30."

"We are waiting for visitors coming from London. I hope that we will not experience a further delay in the conclusion of these negotiations," Juncker said at a joint press conference together with Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and Rose Gottemoeller, NATO Deputy Secretary-General, following a high-level conference on defence and security.

"First, we have to agree on the divorce and exit modalities and then we have to envisage the architecture of our future relations. I do hope that the result of the elections will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for," he said.

May confirmed Friday afternoon she will form a Westminster government, helped by members of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Speaking minutes after a 15-minute audience at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth, May announced her plan outside 10 Downing Street.

She said the Conservatives and the DUP, "having enjoyed a strong relationship over many years", will work together.

The 318 seats won by the Conservatives in the election on Thursday, plus the 10 DUP seats will give May the majority she needs in the House of Commons.

In the election the Conservatives won most seats, but short of winning enough for an overall majority.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 00:30:08|Editor: An

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MADRID, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The use of renewable energy sources throughout the world is gathering pace with 2016, seeing a 9-percent rise in the capacity to generate clean energy, according to a latest study published by the Spanish "Fundacion Renovables".

According to the foundation, 2016 saw the capacity to generate electricity from renewable energy sources increased by 161 gigawatts to a total of just over two billion gigawatts, of which of which 47 percent is produced by sunlight, 34 by the wind and 15.5 percent by water.

Speaking to Xinhua, Laura Martin-Murillo, Director of the Fundacion Renovables (Renewable Energy Foundation), which pressures for increased generation of clean energy sources in Spain, was optimistic this trend will continue.

"Last year showed the growth of renewables is unstoppable," she said, adding that renewables now produce "9 percent of the world's energy and 2016 saw a 9 percent increase in capacity".

Once the infrastructure is in place, renewable energy becomes much cheaper, with the Fundacion Renovables calculating the cost of just 0.05 U.S. dollar per kilowatt per hour -- less than the equivalent cost of producing energy with fossil fuel or nuclear energy.

"(In 2016) we did more with less; there was more renewable energy in the world, but with less investment. Renewable energy is getting cheaper all the time," Martin-Murillo said.

The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw his country from the Paris Agreement on climate change has been met with frustration and anger.

But Martin-Murillo told Xinhua that although it was clearly bad news in the battle against global warming, it offered opportunities to other regions to take the lead and eventually the big loser will be Trump's own nation.

"China and the EU are obliged to lead the world in what the U.S. is not going to do in the fight against climate change," she said, highlighting the economic and not just the ecological effects of the decision.

"President Trump's policies see the U.S. lose a huge opportunity to compete in the expanding renewable energy industry. So the EU and China have a lot of important economic reasons to lead the change," she explained.

While the U.S. risks lagging behind in the fight against climate change and the introduction of renewable energy, developing nations such as China and India are taking up the baton to halt the release of greenhouse gasses.

It was "great news for the world" that "China and India are accelerating the development of renewables as they are the most populated nations on earth", she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 00:35:13|Editor: An

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BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The housing authority of the Chinese mainland will grant employees from Taiwan equal rights to the housing provident fund.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said Friday that it will soon make a nationwide policy without giving a concrete timetable.

The policies will support the deposits into and withdrawals from the public provident fund by employees from Taiwan to make it easier for them to buy or rent homes.

With more and more people from Taiwan working on the mainland, several local authorities, including those of Fujian Province, Shanghai Municipality and the city of Yangzhou, have taken measures to grant them access to the fund.

The number of employees from Taiwan on the mainland rose from 290,000 in 2005 to 420,000 in 2015, the island's statistics authority said earlier this year.

Under current regulations, urban residents on the mainland, together with their employers, pay a portion of their incomes into the housing provident fund to be eligible for low-interest housing loans. The fund can also be used for rents, renovations and major illnesses.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 00:55:30|Editor: yan

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DAR ES SALAAM, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A new report released on Friday rated Tanzania's tourism industry as one of the fastest growing sectors in the east African country with figures showing a surge on tourist arrivals.

Alloyce Nzuki, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, said the 2016 International Visitors' Exit Survey Report indicated that the number of tourists who visited the country, east Africa's second largest economy, continued to rise.

Nzuki said the report was jointly compiled by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, the Bank of Tanzania (BOT), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Immigration Department and the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT).

He said the report showed that Tanzania hosted at least 1,284,279 tourists in 2016, compared to 1,137,156 in 2015, which was an increase of 12 percent.

"The report shows revenues from the tourism industry have been increasing year after year with 2.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 against 1.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2015," Nziku told a news conference in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam at the launch of the report.

Nziku said in Zanzibar revenue from tourism increased by 30.4 percent to 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 from 2.9 billion U.S. dollars earned in 2015.

He named top five source of tourism markets as the United Kingdom, Kenya, the United States, Germany and Italy.

He said 75 percent of the tourists departed through airports and 25 percent through land border posts.

However, Nziku said about 41.2 percent of the tourists who visited the country expressed concerns over poor conditions of roads and airport facilities.

Nzuki said that the government was committed to developing and promoting sustainable growth on the travel and tourism sector in the country in order to preserve its natural and cultural resources.

He said the government now focused on heavy investments in marketing, hospitality and infrastructure to boost tourism in the country, especially the southern and western tourist circuits.

"The government will also put emphasis on investments in heritage sites to attract more tourists visiting historical areas," said Nzuki.

Tourism is Tanzania's largest foreign exchange earner since 2012, contributing an average of 2 billion U.S. dollars annually, which is equivalent to 25 percent of all exchange earnings, according to government data.

Tourism also contributes to more than 17 percent of the national gross domestic product (GPD), creating more than 1.5 million jobs.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 01:05:41|Editor: An

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ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday sent a message of condolences to his Myanmar counterpart U Htin Kyaw over a military plane crash off the country's southern coast.

In the message, Xi mourned the dead and extended sincere sympathy to the government and people of Myanmar, especially the families of the victims.

As a friendly neighbor, China shares the sorrow of the Myanmar government and people, and will offer strong support and assistance to Myanmar's follow-up work according to Myanmar's needs, Xi said.

A military plane, with 122 people on board, including 108 military personnel and their family members and 14 crew members, crashed off the country's southern coast.

The aircraft reportedly lost contact with the ground after taking off from Myeik Wednesday afternoon during its flight to Yangon.

A total of 31 bodies from the crashed plane have so far been recovered at sea off the southern coast of Myanmar.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 01:20:50|Editor: An

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British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) gives a speech after a 15-minute audience at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth in London, Britain on June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed Friday afternoon she will form a Westminster government, helped by members of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). (Xinhua/Han Yan)

by Alessandra Cardone

ROME, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The general election in Britain delivered results none of the country's major parties expected, results showed on Friday.

Aimed at boosting the parliamentary majority of Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party, the snap election ended with a hung parliament.

The Conservatives registered a consistent loss of seats. The Labor Party, which had started the campaign far behind its main rival in opinion polls, gained votes and ground in parliament.

Yet, neither Brexit nor the direct terrorism threat that has hit Britain since March played a major role in driving British citizens' political choice, according to Italian analysts.

"Welfare, economy, pensions, and health care were the issues influencing the campaign the most, with the Brexit as background," Antonio Villafranca, research coordinator and head of the European Program with Italy's Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), told Xinhua.

"May did use the Brexit topic in the early stages of the campaign to tell voters: we need a strong government and cohesive parliament to deal with the EU. Yet, domestic issues prevailed during the campaign, and this caused May a headache," the scholar added.

At the opening of the campaign, some opinion polls had put May's Conservatives more than 20 points in front of Jeremy Corbyn's Labor. In the end, the gap dropped to about seven to eight points.

That showed the leftist leader felt more comfortable, and performed better than the PM on socio-economic issues, gaining much support among young voters especially, according to Villafranca.

May made some crucial political mistakes as well, for example, proposing to introduce what was dubbed "dementia-tax" -- namely, having elderly citizens receiving social care to pay in full for the costs of the assistance -- and refusing to engage in public, open debates with political rivals.

Riccardo Alcaro, senior research fellow with Rome-based Institute for International Affairs (IAI) quite agreed.

"Although both Brexit and terrorism are important issues for the British people, I did not have the sense that one or the other had the magnitude to be decisive for a relevant number of voters," Alcaro told Xinhua.

"In fact, the most discussed topics were also the most traditional ones: social justice, inequalities, economy, taxes ... the British campaign was mainly about this," he added.

Indeed, Brexit will be the most important issue for the British government in the years to come, but not decisive for the current balances, the analyst pointed out.

"It is an issue so big that most of the next government's political energies will be focused on it in the next five years," Alcaro said.

"However, it is not the issue 'number one' for the British public opinion at this moment. Neither any true debate about Brexit nor about where Britain's national interests would lie in the negotiations with EU has taken place in the campaign," he explained.

Nonetheless, Brexit and terrorism did constitute a "framework" in which the electoral race unfolded, and two terrorist attacks took place on British soil meanwhile.

Was it possible for voters not to think about it, while mulling over their choice? "A terrorist attack usually creates a sense of national unity, and especially in countries such as Britain," Villafranca explained, "This may have played in favor of the establishment, in terms of supporting a strong government in difficult times."

At the same time, the expert noted the security issue could as well have partially favored Corbyn, who could put the blame on May for the cuts on police forces she implemented while serving as Home Secretary in the previous cabinet.

In this perspective, it was hard to say whether it benefited more one or the other party in electoral terms, Villafranca said.

Furthermore, no clear connection seemed to emerge between the terrorist attacks and the political trend in the campaign, according to IAI's Alcaro. "I studied a possible correlation between the two most recent attacks and opinion polls in the campaign," he said.

After the suicide bombing in Manchester on May 22 -- particularly cruel and shocking, for it mostly targeted very young people -- opinion polls did not reveal an increase in support for Conservatives, as it might be expected, the analyst explained.

"On the contrary, the gap between Conservatives and Labour kept decreasing," noted Alcaro. Then came the London Bridge attack on June 3, but opinion polls showed an opposite trend, with Conservatives gaining some ground against Labor.

"As such, I would conclude the security issue was indeed important, but not as much as to move stacks of votes towards one party or the other," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 01:25:54|Editor: yan

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CHICAGO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- American experts have warned that U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord will pose a big threat to public health.

"I find it unconscionable that the world's number one historic greenhouse gas emitter is withdrawing from the Paris climate accord," said Jonathan Patz, director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"Make no mistake, climate change is a huge threat to public health," local channel Wisc-TV on Friday quoted him as saying.

Respiratory problems caused by air pollution and diseases spread by insects are among the threats to public health, Patz said.

He explained that with an increase in temperature, the mosquito-borne disease like malaria will creep up in altitude.

Moreover, ticks that carry ehrlichiosis in the Midwest will be moving northward, thus spread the disease, Patz added.

"So the shift from dirty energy to clean energy, low carbon energy has an immediate health benefit," he pointed out.

Earlier this month, American Lung Association President Harold P. Wimmer said that climate change was already harming the health of people in the United States and worldwide through degraded air quality, heat waves, droughts, extreme storms and disease outbreaks.

"Unchecked climate change is a global health crisis that threatens to reverse decades of health gains worldwide, with serious consequences for our children and generations to come," he warned in response to President Trump's announcement to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate accord.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 01:36:00|Editor: yan

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KIEV, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his visiting Lithuanian counterpart Dalia Grybauskaite met on Friday to discuss progress in Ukraine's European integration.

While speaking at the news briefing after the bilateral talks in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkov, Poroshenko appreciated Grybauskaite's support on Ukraine's path towards closer ties with the European Union (EU). Lithuania, a former Soviet bloc nation like Ukraine, joined the EU in 2004.

"I am confident that our strategic partnership with Lithuania has enormous potential and we are willing to fully implement this potential for Ukraine's further promotion in the EU," Poroshenko told reporters.

For her part, Grybauskaite congratulated Ukraine for establishing a free-trade area with the EU and obtaining a visa-free regime with the political bloc, noting that Kiev has made a good progress in recent time in implementing political and economic reforms.

"Over the past years you've done much more than that of the previous 20 years," she said.

Grybauskaite arrived in Kharkov earlier Friday for a one-day working visit to greet the upcoming visa-free regime between Ukraine and the EU, which comes into force on June 11.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 01:36:02|Editor: yan

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BEIRUT, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Friday hailed the role Lebanon has played in hosting Syrian refugees.

Szijjarto's remarks came at a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Gebran Bassil following a meeting at Bustros Palace.

"Lebanon plays an extremely important role when it comes to the safety and security of Europe since you have been hosting more than 2 million Syrian refugees," he said.

"We urge the European Union to double the financial assistance to Lebanon by another 400 million euros because we are interested in keeping your stability and keeping your ability to take care of the refugees in your country," Szijjarto added.

The Hugarian minister also expressed his solidarity with the Syrian people, expressing hope that "the Syrian refugees can go home soon, and that the Syrian crisis will be solved."

According to UN Refugee Agency, more than 1 million Syrian refugees are registered in Lebanon, but the government estimates that the number is close to 1.5 million.

Peter Szijjarto arrived in Beirut on Friday and met with Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss bilateral relations as well as the current developments in Lebanon and the Middle East.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 01:36:03|Editor: yan

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LONDON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May's office announced on Friday that the top five cabinet ministers will stay in their jobs.

The list confirmed by the office include Philip Hammond continuing as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Amber Rudd continuing as Secretary of State for the Home Department, Boris Johnson continuing as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, David Davis continuing as Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and Michael Fallon continuing as Secretary of State for Defense.

Further appointments will be added to this list as they are announced, according to May's office.

These posts were confirmed after the outcome of the general election showed that Britain has a hung parliament as no party has the 326 seats needed for an absolute majority.

Theresa May has said that she will begin to form her government, with the support of the DUP (Democratic Unionists Party).
Liu Qibao (C), member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the committee's Publicity Department, poses for a group photo with guests and delegates before the opening ceremony of the BRICS Media Forum in Beijing, capital of China, June 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

MOSCOW, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The prime task of the media of the BRICS countries is to pool efforts to restore the balance in the global information space, said Oleg Osipov, first deputy editor-in-chief of Russia's Sputnik International News Agency.

Currently one-sided pictures of the world mainstream media still prevail, and the support of the emerging unified information space and opportunities for its innovative development is needed to achieve information balance globally, Osipov said after the latest BRICS Media Forum held in Beijing from Tuesday to Thursday.

From this perspective, the BRICS Media Forum made a great contribution, as it proved to be an "effective platform for dialogue" among the leading media of the BRICS countries, he said.

"Many colleagues once again confirmed their interest in the regular exchange of content for the implementation of joint information projects," Osipov said.

Initiated by China's Xinhua News Agency and mainstream media outlets in Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, the BRICS Media Forum, gathered leaders of 27 major media organizations from the BRICS countries, who discussed opportunities and challenges facing them as well as approaches to strengthen dialogue and cooperation.

Despite the active development of BRICS over recent years, there are still negative aspects in the coverage of its activities in the international information field, Osipov said, especially in light of the long-existing dominance by Western media.

Osipov noted the importance of creating a qualitative and strong information environment within the borders of the BRICS countries, saying that it is a necessary step to eliminate negative influence of Western media and strengthen the BRICS' positions in the international information field.

"I am convinced that only by joining our forces can it be possible to build a media space based on pluralism of points of view and deny manipulative information impact on the population of other countries," he said.

Calling new media an "indisputable trend" of recent years, Osipov said that the challenges of the digital age of social development and the constantly changing preferences of the audience cannot be overlooked, either.

"Therefore, it is especially important for media of the BRICS countries to share with each other the experience and ideas of the development of online trends based on classic media, as well as methods of preventing cyberthreats," he added.

In view of various old problems and new challenges, enhancing cooperation among media of the BRICS countries is of great importance, which the BRICS Media Forum has been contributing to for years, Osipov said.

"If we talk about joint projects, we should say that the number of ideas, both implemented and those in work, is great. These include the exchange of content, participation in press tours, video bridges and intelligent online tournaments, as well as the organization of joint expert events and media training," he said.

As an example, Sputnik currently has 16 existing cooperation agreements with media of the BRICS countries, including 10 with China, said Osipov.

During the Beijing forum, the Action Plan to Strengthen Cooperation among BRICS Media was launched, which is aimed at making joint efforts to balance international opinions, enhance the social responsibility of media, and deepen understanding among the people of the BRICS countries.
On Monday six Arab countries, including Saudi, Egypt, Bahrain, UAE, Libya and Yemen, cut relations with Qatar accusing the Gulf oil-rich state of supporting and financing "terrorism". (Reuters photo)

CAIRO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Four Arab countries which cut ties with Qatar over its support of terrorism on Friday issued a list of individuals and entities they say are linked to Qatar over "terrorism," Egyptian state-run Ahram newspaper reported.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain named in a joint statement early Friday 59 people and 12 entities that financed terrorist organizations and previously received support from Qatar.

It is the first joint statement issued by the four since Monday, when they severed ties with Qatar over an allegation of aiding terrorist groups and shaking national stability of those countries.

The four countries released the names saying "this comes in light of our commitment to fighting terrorism, drying up their sources of funding, combating extremist ideology and its dissemination and working together to eradicate it and immunize communities."

"This list is connected to the members and entities that serve suspicious agendas of Qatar and in an indication of the duality of Qatar policies that announced fighting terrorism from one side, and funds and shelters different terrorist organizations from another side," the four Arab powers said.

The statement added that the four countries "won't be lenient in pursuing such persons and groups, or updating the list when required."

The statement also added that the decision is a result of Doha authorities' violations of the Arab approved obligations and agreements which stipulated not sheltering members or organizations that threatening the national security of other countries.

According to Saudi-run Arabiya TV, along with Qataris, many on the list are individuals and groups from Egypt, Bahrain and Libya.

Among the 18 Qataris named on the list are prominent businessmen, politicians and senior members of Qatar's ruling family including a former interior minister, Arabiya TV reported.

The listed Libyan names included Abdel Hakim Belhadj, a former Libyan Islamist commander, while 26 Egyptian nationals were mentioned including famous Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yousef al-Qaradawi and Salafi preacher Wagdi Ghoneim.

The list includes Shi'ite militant groups in Bahrain as linked to Iran, including Saraya Ashtar, Saraya Mukhtar, and February 14 movement.

The list further outlawed three Kuwaiti nationals, two Jordanians, two Bahrainis, an Emirati, a Saudi and a Yemeni.

Additionally, the joint statement also listed Qatari-funded charities Qatar Charity and Eid Charity among 12 entities as having terrorist links.

On Monday six Arab countries, including Saudi, Egypt, Bahrain, UAE, Libya and Yemen, cut relations with Qatar accusing the Gulf oil-rich state of supporting and financing "terrorism" as well as interfering in their internal affairs and supporting the Gulf states' main adversary Iran. Several other countries later followed suit.

Qatar dismissed the latest move by its neighbors as "baseless allegations that has no foundation in ground."

Kuwait's ruling Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited Saudi on Tuesday to ease a crisis that Qataris said would lead to their isolation.

Qatari's foreign minister said on Tuesday "Doha was ready for mediation efforts."

The United States, which has a major military base in Qatar, also said offered mediation and urged the Arab Gulf countries to remain united.

Qatar's ambassador to Washington Meshal bin Hamad al-Thani told the Financial Times on Thursday that "his government trusted in Trump's ability to resolve the dispute and to bring this crisis to an end."

But so far there is no sign of progress.
A Boeing employee is seen silihouetted at Boeing's production facilities in North Charleston, South Carolina, April 27, 2012. (Xinhua/AFP)

GENEVA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) upheld on Friday its decision that Washington provided illegal tax breaks to aircraft maker Boeing in a trade ruling that favors European Union rival Airbus.

WTO ruled in its compliance panel report that "the European Union established that the effects of the Washington State tax rate reduction are a genuine and substantial cause of significant lost sales of A320neo and A320ceo families".

The U.S. tax break is also "a threat of impedance of imports of the A320ceo to the United States" and a threat of impedance of exports to the United Arab Emirates, the report said.

However, WTO rejected the EU's claims that certain aeronautics R&D subsidies and other subsidies cause significant loss to Airbus.

It also rejected the claims that the original adverse effects of the pre-2007 aeronautics R&D subsidies in respect of the A330 and Original A350 continue in the post-implementation period as significant price suppression for Airbus.

Since more than a decade ago, Boeing and its European rival Airbus have been in a trade battle, in which each company accuses the other of taking billions of illegal state aid.

The EU requested the WTO to establish a panel to probe into alleged U.S. subsidies of up to 19.1 billion U.S. dollars through tax and non-tax incentives by various municipalities to its largest aircraft maker Boeing in January 2006.

The panel report over the case came out in March 2011. Both of them later on decided to appeal to the appellate body, which released its final report in March, 2012.

The U.S. said afterwards that it intended to implement the recommendations and rulings in the Boeing case within six months.

However, in October 2012, the EU requested the establishment of a compliance panel, after reviewing U.S. measures to comply with the rulings and considering that it maintained a series of subsidies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R front) and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev (L front) inspect via videolink two key hubs of the cross-border transportation at the Chinese national pavilion of the Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Kazakh enterprises and financial institutions have signed at least 24 deals worth more than 8 billion U.S. dollars during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Kazakhstan, Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan said Friday.

Both sides agreed to push for the progress in cooperation in energy, mining, chemical industry, mechanical manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure, said Zhong.

China signed an agreement with Kazakhstan to supply the latter with super computer equipment, and the two countries are discussing the signing of a renewed investment protection deal, he said.

They also inked a protocol to approve the entry of Kazakhstan's frozen mutton to China.

Zhong said both sides will continue measures to facilitate bilateral trade, expand cooperation in economy and trade, customs and quality inspection, and cement the rebounding momentum in bilateral trade.

China and Kazakhstan agreed to quicken the implementation of plans to align the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the Kazakh "Bright Path" new economic policy.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Xi 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 the ancient trade routes.

Kazakhstan's "Bright Path" policy is aimed at revitalizing the country's economy.

Kazakhstan is a comprehensive strategic partner of China and an important member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Xi is currently paying a state visit to Kazakhstan.

During his trip, the two countries reached a broad range of consensuses on trade, investment, energy and financial cooperation, and achieved positive results.

Meanwhile at the Astana summit of the SCO, Xi put forward a series of economic and trade proposals.

To implement these proposals, Zhong said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce will work to advance the mechanism arrangement for regional economic cooperation.

The ministry will actively promote cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises and local governments from SCO member countries.

China will also work for the establishment of a union of economic think tanks and strengthen capability building by promoting people-to-people exchanges.
Photo taken on Oct. 15, 2015 shows the construction site of the rehabilitating project of Pulaski Skyway carried out by China Construction America in New Jersey, the United States. China Construction America, a Chinese construction company, started its business in the United States in 2000 with only 12 employees and less than 10 million dollars of annual revenue.(Xinhua/China Construction America)

by Xinhua writers Yang Shilong, Wang Wen

NEW YORK, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. government should open its door wider to Chinese investments and Chinese companies have to further their understanding of U.S. law and regulatory compliance as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) between the world's top two economies has been on a rapid rise, experts said on Thursday.

BE MORE OPEN, INCLUSIVE TO CHINESE INVESTMENT

"The U.S. government should be more open and inclusive to Chinese investments, as Chinese companies come to the U.S. with high expectations for an open and inclusive market. That is one of the major factors that makes U.S. attractive to foreign companies," Xu Chen, chairman of China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) and president & CEO of Bank of China U.S.A., told Xinhua after launching a new survey on Chinese enterprises in the United States.

Over half of Chinese enterprises are concerned with U.S. regulatory oversight of foreign companies despite their growing presence in the world's largest economy, according to CGCC's 2017 Annual Business Survey Report on Chinese Enterprises in the United States.

Some 53 percent of the Chinese companies with businesses in the United States believe that the current U.S. administration will "tighten its general oversight of foreign companies," the survey said. In addition, reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)remain a concern for Chinese companies. A quarter of the companies surveyed consider CFIUS reviews to be "politicized and opaque."

"There is much distrust and misunderstanding about Chinese investments and of China in the U.S. market," Xu said.

Private Chinese firms account for 70 percent of the current Chinese direct investment in the United States and the trend will continue as Chinese state-owned enterprises "have been unfairly treated here," he said.

The cumulative value of U.S. FDI transactions in China reached over 240 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2016, while the cumulative Chinese FDI in the United States totaled 110 billion dollars by the end of last year, said a joint report released in May by the Rhodium Group and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (NCUSCR).

In 2016, Chinese companies invested a record 46 billion dollars in the United States, tripling the amount in 2015 and representing a tenfold increase compared to just five years ago, said the report, which also found that about 79 percent of the total Chinese investments in the United States were made by private companies.

"Chinese investments in the U.S. will increase even faster and further benefit the U.S. economy and job creation if misapprehensions about Chinese state-owned enterprises -- the driving force of the rising Asian power -- are corrected here in the United States," Xu said.

In the last seven years, employment by Chinese-owned firms in the United States had jumped ninefold to 140,000 jobs last year. By the end of 2016, all 50 states and 98 percent of congressional districts hosted operations of Chinese companies, according to the Rhodium Group and NCUSCR report.

Some U.S. politicians tend to think Chinese state-owned enterprises coming to America for "some political purpose rather than simply to make money," Xu said.

"I sincerely hope these friends get to know more about the massive changes in China over the years in terms of economic management and overseas investment," Xu said. "In contrast, the U.S. academia knows China so well and supports opening doors wider to Chinese investors."

Xu Chen, chairman of China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) and president & CEO of Bank of China U.S.A., talks about Chinese investment in the U.S. after launching a survey report on the Thursday. Xu told Xinhua that the U.S. government should be more open and inclusive to Chinese investments, as Chinese companies come to the U.S. with high expectations for an open and inclusive market.(Xinhua/Zhang Zhihuan)

U.S., CHINESE ECONOMIES HIGHLY COMPLEMENTARY

The U.S. and Chinese "economies are highly complementary to each other, and the bilateral ties have been proven mutually beneficial," Xu said.

He believes that despite the distrust and suspicion about Chinese investments in the United States, the two governments will make every effort to wrap up the negotiations for the long-awaited U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), which will create more transparent rules for approving investments in both countries.

According to the CGCC survey, despite challenges, 87 percent of Chinese companies will reinvest all or most of their U.S. profits in U.S. operations, as they are committed to long-term investment. Eighty-six percent of companies expect their U.S. revenue to grow in the next three to five years.

Ji Li, an associate professor of law from the Rutgers University Newark, elaborates on the CGCC's 2017 Annual Business Survey Report on Chinese Enterprises in the U.S., at Bank of China U.S.A headquarters in New York City on Thursday. (Xinhua/Zhang Zhihuan)

Chinese companies are making long-term investments in the United States and they are unlikely to change their policies and strategies in the face of temporary uncertainties and difficulties, Ji Li, an associate professor of law from the Rutgers University Newark, and co-author of the survey, explained to Xinhua.

"Yet Chinese banks and companies have to further their understanding of U.S. law and regulatory compliance, seeking advice from local consulting companies including law firms and accounting firms in making deals, and resorting to lobby groups for persuading politicians to support related deals."

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do," Li said when asked how Chinese companies navigate the complex U.S. legal and regulatory systems.

The CGCC's survey is based on responses collected in March from 213 Chinese firms operating in the United States across various business lines. It is the fourth year in a row that the CGCC and CGCC Foundation have conducted such a survey on Chinese companies' assessment of the U.S. market, their business performance, corporate management, and strategic development. Enditem

(Xinhua correspondents Wang Naishui, Zhang Zhihuan contributed to the story)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 04:32:29|Editor: Yurou Liang

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COPENHAGEN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen on Friday met his Polish counterpart Beata Szydlo who is on an official visit to Denmark.

The meeting is part of the ongoing dialogue between Denmark and Poland on common challenges and interests, including security policy and European policy issues, energy cooperation and trade, according to a statement issued by Rasmussen's office ahead of the meeting.

"Poland is our neighbor in the Baltic region, our ninth largest export market and an important partner in the EU and NATO," Rasmussen said in the statement.

During their meeting, the two prime ministers talked about issues regarding a proposed gas pipeline between Denmark and Poland and a memorandum for the supply of gas to Poland from the North Sea has since been signed.

EU after Brexit is also on the agenda of the meeting.

"It is important that all 27 countries stick together, so we can provide solutions to the concrete problems Europeans are experiencing," Rasmussen said in the statement.

While in Denmark, Szydlo also attended an investment seminar where she met executives from the Danish food, IT, energy and health sectors.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 05:02:50|Editor: yan

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UNITED NATIONS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) are taking forceful measures to address cholera outbreak in Yemen, a UN spokesperson said Friday.

UNICEF, WHO, and their partners have reached nearly 3.5 million people across the country by disinfecting water tanker filling stations, chlorinating drinking water, restoring water treatment plants, rehabilitating water supply systems, and providing household water treatments and distributing hygiene kits, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric at a daily news briefing.

"The World Health Organization and UNICEF are honing in on areas reporting the highest number of cases to stop the disease from spreading further," said Dujarric.

There have been nearly 102,000 suspected cholera cases in Yemen, half of them in children, said the spokesman, citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Yemen's heath system has been nearly destroyed after more than two years of intense conflict, with fewer than half of the country's health centers being fully functional.

Medical supplies are entering the country at one third the rate they were before March 2015, and heath and sanitation workers have not been paid in more than eight months, said Dujarric.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, Jamie McGoldrick, has appealed for international support and increased funding to stem the outbreak.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 05:02:53|Editor: yan

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OSLO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Norway's mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik has changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen, local newspaper Verdens Gang reported Friday.

Breivik, who killed 77 people in attacks in 2011, is now known as Fjotolf Hansen in the National Registry and his lawyer, Oystein Storrvik, has confirmed the change, according to Verdens Gang.

But Storrvik said he did not want to disclose why and when the name was changed.

On Thursday, Norway's Supreme Court announced it will not process Breivik's appeal on his prison conditions, saying no parts of his appeal have opportunities to give different outcome than what the appeals court came to.

Storrvik said he would appeal the case as soon as possible to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

The appeals court ruled in March that the Norwegian government had not violated the human rights of the convicted mass murderer by holding him in isolation in prison.

Last year, Oslo district court supported the mass killer's claim that his prison conditions violated his human rights as he was subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment according to the European Convention on Human Rights.

On July 22, 2011, Breivik set off a car bomb that killed eight people outside the government headquarters in Oslo before killing 69 others in a shooting rampage on Utoya Island, where young members of the governing Labor Party had gathered for their annual summer camp.

Breivik was sentenced to 21 years in prison in 2012 at Oslo district court.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 05:28:03|Editor: yan

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PRAGUE, June 9 (Xinhua) - At the DESCOP Defence and Security Conference here on Friday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU needs an common security and defence policy, only the soft power is not enough to ensure security in the present world.

Juncker stressed that it is not the question of whether the EU should strengthen its ability to face threats, but how fast it would do it. The key to security on the continent is cooperation with NATO, but European countries should play a stronger role and be able to act independently.

In today's world, a strong NATO, a strong European Union and a strong relationship between the two, are more important than they ever have been before, said Juncker. Current threats - whether war conflicts, cyber attacks, or terrorism - demand that EU member countries convert the idea of defense cooperation into reality.

Juncker said the soft power in itself is not powerful enough in an increasingly militarised world, there is the need of a credible EU defence policy. He said a European Security and Defence Union will help protect the EU, of which three quarters of Europeans are in favour. In the 1950s, attempts to move towards common defence have been part of the European project, said Juncker.

For the defence of EU, Juncker said it is important to make sure that EU spend what is needed on its defence. The EU spends half as much as the United States on the defence but even only achieve 15 percent of their efficiency. That is both inefficient and costly.

Juncker said the EU needs to invest more, and invest in a more efficient way. The European Commission proposed a European Defence Fund for making the European Union the biggest investor in collective defence research and technology in Europe.

At the DESCOP conference, Juncker, EU diplomacy chief Federica Mogherini and NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller agreed that the need for deeper defence cooperation stems from the increasing threat. They said Europe must take care of its own defence more than before and strengthen its own capabilities as it cannot keep relying exclusively on NATO forces.

Juncker arrived in Prague on Thursday to attend the DESCOP conference which was attended by representatives of NATO and the EU.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 05:58:14|Editor: yan

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CHICAGO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Pork producers from all over the world gathered in the past three days at 2017 World Pork Expo in the U.S. Midwest State of Iowa.

From June 7 to 9, nearly 450 companies from North America, Europe and Asia displayed their latest products, services and technologies for pork businesses during the expo held in Des Moines, the capital of Iowa.

Organized by the U.S. National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), World Pork Expo features the world's largest pork-specific trade show, along with educational seminars, youth and open swine shows and market outlook sessions.

Swine shows attracted exhibitors of all ages. This year's junior show again set a record for the number of registrants, with 1,350 youth from 32 states, said organizers.

Business seminars this year covered topics ranging from piglet care to nutrition management and from better understanding consumers to mastering data collection.

Free trade was also one of this year's hot topics. U.S. pork industry leaders underlined the need to continue the successes of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for U.S. Pork.

As the U.S. exports 23 to 24 percent of its pork production, any disruption to current trade levels would dramatically overfill its pork supplies and pressure domestic hog prices, Steve Meyer, a pork trade analyst told a press conference during the expo.

The Trump administration formally notified Congress in May of its intent to renegotiate NAFTA, a step forward on a campaign promise.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 06:03:18|Editor: yan

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ALGIERS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika held Thursday a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron to discuss security situation in Libya and Mali, President Office said in a statement on Friday.

The two leaders "vowed their commitment and determination to boost security cooperation, in a bid to chase away terrorism from the Sahel region," said the statement.

Bouteflika and Macron also discussed bilateral cooperation and agreed to work further to develop it, the statement added.

Macron will pay a state visit to Algeria in the next few weeks, it said, without giving a specific date.

Algeria and France, which exchange intelligence information over terrorist groups active in the Sahel region, hold regular meetings as part of their security cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

Macron visited Algeria on Feb. 13, as part of his election campaign.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 06:08:20|Editor: Liu

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LONDON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Brexit negotiations will be more difficult for British Prime Minister Theresa May following the general election results, a think-tank expert said Friday.

Dr Robin Niblett, director of Chatham House in London, said May's Conservative party still contains fierce Brexiteers who will challenge every concession, but the proportion of her MPs who voted to Remain and who want a pragmatic Brexit is higher than expected.

"The net effect of these conflicting pressures is likely to be the search for a pragmatic deal with the EU that can pass the threshold of a significant majority across the whole parliament and not just in the Conservative Party," added Niblett.

He said May was chosen by the Conservative Party last autumn to be the safe pair of hands that would navigate Britain through the difficult waters of Brexit.

"In the end, the Conservative Party has lost its outright majority, and has had to rely on gains in Scotland to secure a working majority in a hung parliament," he said.

Niblett said: "Having made Brexit the rationale for the election, she nevertheless made no effort during the campaign to explain how she would manage the negotiation or what a successful deal would look like."

May has said that she will begin to form her government, with the support of the DUP (Democratic Unionists Party).

"But she now has to turn her focus immediately back to the Brexit negotiations while presiding over an angry and restive party and with serious doubts as to whether she will lead the party into the next election, whenever it takes place," he said.

"To be acceptable domestically, this deal must minimize the economic risks inherent in Brexit and not put parliament in a position where it is forced to test Theresa May's proposition that 'no deal is better than a bad deal'."

Niblett said if it came to such an outcome, there is now a chance that the British parliament would hand the deal back to the electorate in a second referendum.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, on June 1, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark global pact to fight climate change. (Xinhua/Mike Theiler)

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday for the first time that he was committed to the NATO charter's Article 5 on mutual defense.

"I'm committing the United States and have committed, but I'm committing the United States to Article 5," said Trump here at a joint press conference with visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

"And certainly we are there to protect, and that's one of the reasons that I want people to make sure we have a very, very strong force by paying the kind of money necessary to have that force," said Trump.

However, Trump ignored the question when asked whether the United States saw Russia as a threat to regional security and peace.

It was the first time that Trump, who once called NATO "obsolete" and hinted that the United States may not defend its members unless they lived up to their financial obligations, had publicly affirmed his commitment to Article 5.

During the NATO summit last month, Trump did not personally affirmed his commitment to Article 5, raising widespread concerns across U.S. allies in Europe.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-10 06:23:29|Editor: Yurou Liang

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ISTANBUL, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday evening called for lifting the blockade against Qatar, reaffirming Turkey's support for the Arab country.

"I call on the leaders and citizens of the Gulf states, there will be no winner in this fight and slanders will get us nowhere," the president said at a fasting-break dinner in Istanbul.

He urged Saudi Arabia to end all restrictions on Qatar and resolve the ongoing dispute through talks.

Early this week, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed sanctions on it on the grounds that Doha supports terrorism, with Libya, Yemen and the Maldives following suit.

Qatar has rejected the accusations as "unjustified" and "baseless."

"We will not abandon our Qatari brothers," Erdogan said. "There is no such thing. Until now I have not seen Qatar give support to terror."

On Thursday night, Erdogan ratified two deals on deploying Turkish troops to Qatar and training its gendarmerie after they were passed by Turkey's parliament a day earlier.
Business Insights platform launched

Business Insights will provide learning webinar series as well as material on busi ness issues, trends and topics geared toward business and national development. Introducing the initiative at the Chambers Westmoorings headquarters, its Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Faria, said the business body could not make the Business Insights project work without academia, without the business community or without the skills of those who would help to create the content.

He said while the Chamber could be the catalyst for the project, it could not create the content and would have to rely on its sponsors for that. He said the content would not remain static but would change as the feedback came in from the business sector as to their specific needs.

Faria added that in discussing the project with various business incubators their response was that they did not need money but capacity building.

He said the Chamber had held discussions with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Economic Development Advisory Board which are helping to identify the areas in which this capacity building is needed.

He said that as the areas of need are identified the Chambers job would be to work with the sponsors, academia and the business community to create content which would strengthen local businesses.

He said one of the countrys large conglomerates had readily promised to provide specialists in areas identified by the Chamber as resource persons for the Business Insights series.

He gave the audience a demonstration of accessing Business Insights (BI), saying it will provide training for business by business, although observing that this information was not just for small and medium sized enterprises because there were also large businesses which needed help.

Clients can select from a library of free and paid material, some of which is already online and ready for viewing.

Companies which want to offer themselves as mentors will be vetted by the Chamber to ensure they have the skills they are offering and that these skills will meet the needs of the companies seeking mentorship. Faria said the site is certified as being safe to handle e-commerce transactions and in response to a question assured that ICT specialists at the Chamber are working to secure the site from Ransomware, the latest threat. He said educational institutions will also have free access.
Teen confesses to illegal relationship

The teenager reportedly confessed to her mother on Wednesday that she had been involved with the 21-year-old man and had been having sex with him.

The teenager went to the police station accompanied by her daughter at about 3.25 pm and reported the matter.

Officers of the Child Protection Unit were alerted and took a statement from the teenager.

She was also taken to a doctor who examined the teen and confirmed she was sexually active.

A warrant has since been issued for the arrest of the suspect.
Grenada team is Republics talent champs

The Spice Isle contingent wowed the audience with their presentation of Blue-rella  a banking twist to the Anne Anderson classic, Cinderella.

The teams humorous presentation included dance pieces and a monologue which won the challenge trophy and the prize at last Saturdays show. The event was in tribute to the banks 180th anniversary celebrated on May 15.

Coming in second was 2015 winner, Republic Bank Barbados, with their presentation of Lewis Carolls masterpiece Alice in Wonderland  Down the Rabbit Hole. Avalene Harris of Republic Bank Trinidads Group Marketing and Communications Department placed third with her emotional rendition of Dionne Warricks Ill Never Love This Way Again  a soulful classic dedicated to her late grandfather. Fourth place went to Tekesha Davis of Ellerslie Court Branch who performed Singing Sandras Voices from the Ghetto. Melinda Deonarine-Sohan of the Gulf View branch placed fifth performing Puccinis Gianni Schicchis O Mio Babbino Caro.

The competition which takes place bi-annually gives the banks staff from across the region an opportunity to display their performing abilities on one stage. The participants attend auditions and a series of rehearsals in preparation for the competition.

The show was judged by Dominic Kalipersad, Glenda Collens, Abeo Jackson, Lylah Persad and Bernadette Laughlin- Scott. Emcees were Nikki Crosby and Jason JW Williams while Nigel Rojas and the band accompanied the performers.

Ill Never Love This Way Again which earned her third spot.
Mechanic killed while repairing truck

Balkaran, 35, of Poui Trace, St Marys Village in Moruga, died shortly before midday on Wednesday at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH), relatives said.

He worked at Alpha Transport located at Cumuto Road, Barrackpore.

Balkaran was repairing the truck in the presence of co-workers shortly after 9 am, when the truck part unexpectedly flew out and struck him on the head. Reports are that on impact, Balkaran was knocked unconscious. The mechanic, who lived with his mother, Seeratie Balkaran, 54, was taken to hospital where he later died.

The bereaved mother of two yesterday recalled the last moments she had with her only son.

Jerry drank a cup of tea and told me he was going to work. That was around 7 am. My sister-in-law came here at about 10.30 am yesterday (Wednesday) and took me to the hospital. Someone had called to tell her that Jerry got in an accident on work, Seeratie said.

Relatives arrived at the hospital shortly before 12 when doctors ushered them into a room and announced Balkaran had died.

They brought out the body and the head was bandaged up. My son was a very nice person, very hard working. He did everything, he planted the crops around the yard, he was a mechanic, he was a truck driver, the mother said.

She added that seven years ago, her husband Doodnath died of natural causes. Since then, Balkaran became the sole breadwinner and he took care of her. He was neither married nor had any children.

Relatives estimate that he had been working for the company for the past 17 years.

Police said that an autopsy performed at the mortuary of the SFGH yesterday stated his death with consistent with an accident.

Barrackpore police are continuing investigations.
Corporation files case against dog owner

Shahida Baksh, 49, of Rushworth Street, San Fernando, failed to show up before Magistrate Indira Misir-Gosine whilst four health Inspectors from the San Fernando City Corporation were present to give evidence about unkept premises and undernourished dogs.

The corporation had been making vain efforts to get the woman to clean the garage which, according to the complaint, is filthy and unhealthy. The coporations health inspectors visited the premises on March 7, 2013 and again on July 16, 2014. On July 30, a Statutory notice was prepared and sent by registered mail to Baksh.

On October 2, 2014, a complaint was laid in the magistrates court, San Fernando, against Baksh, claiming that she had confined, a number of undernourished and dirty dogs in an unsanitary garage. According to court records, the case was called on several occasions between October 2014 and March 16, 2017.

Yesterday, when the case was called, Baksh did not appear but, her attorney Jeevan Andrew Rampersad represented her and explained to Misir-Gosine that Baksh was unable to attend on the grounds of a medical condition. Attorney Rondell Donawa, appearing with attorney Prakash Maharaj for the corporation, objected, saying that the matter had been pending since 2013 and it was set for trial. The magistrate noted that there had been a string of medical notes on record as to why she had not been attending the court. Attorney Rampersad, however, said that if there were still any issues regarding the state of the property and care of the animals, he would convey to Baksh the need to comply.

Misir-Gosine postponed the matter until next week Tuesday.
Cheap electricity causes $325M loss

NGC President, Mark Loquan, revealed the significant sum while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Energy Chambers Clean Energy Conference, held yesterday at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, Mt Hope.

The low-price advantage for electricity assumed a supply of royalty gas to the Government; that was stopped in September 2016.

While there has been no change in supply for power generation, NGC has had to fund the subsidy.

The estimated value of lost revenue to NGC is US$50 million/TT$325 million per annum. Loquan warned, In the absence of new commercial arrangements, by 2020, the cumulative value foregone could be as much as TT $2 billion.

Making indirect reference to TTs current fiscal shortfall, he asked, Is this the best use of our resources? Would the country not benefit more if our gas was sold for commercial use, with the real value captured as dividends, taxes and re-invested funds?

Unlike their regional counterparts, some industries in TT pay as little as US $0.02 per kilowatt of electricity. This, Loquan reminded, comes in no small part from a fairly reliable supply of very cheap electricity.

In addition to there being no real incentive to switch from the clean energy of natural gas to renewable energy such as solar and wind power, Loquan said many consumers are unaware of the true economic cost of electricity and the commercial arrangements that allow our power generators an unlimited supply of gas; at no direct expense to them, (so) there is even less incentive to pursue energy efficiency in a meaningful way.

Government has set a target of ten percent renewable power generation by 2021. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, addressing business groups in Chile last week, said, This will require the development of around 150 MW of renewable energy resources.

Loquan argued that if TT is to resolve this issue of seeming inertia regarding the switch to renewables, peoples mindset has to change.
Scarlet Ibis under siege

The FFOS says this threatens the status of National Bird, the Scarlet Ibis. FFOS explained via a media release that recent development in the El Socorro South wetlands has resulted in the clearance of large portions of mangroves and accused the EMA of sleeping on the job.

Today habitat removal is affecting the interconnected mangrove/ sea-grass/lagoon wetland ecosystems and the EMA are once again sleeping on themselves. This is clearly observed in the El Socorro South Extension Wetlands, off the Uriah Butler Highway (with the suspected 15,000 acres missing Caroni lands) and in lesser known but critically important Scarlet Ibis nesting areas such as the Aripero Wetlands in Rousillac. The release went on to state that for the past nine months construction teams and bulldozers have continued to degrade the landscape in an around the Rousillac wetlands and questioned why such blatant violations of the National Environmental Environmental Plan and the Environmental Management Act have gone unpunished.

Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) are again doing our EMA/Governments work and asking publicly why have there not been any investigations or arrest? Newsday understands that natural passageways for the overflow of water from the Aripero pond and the remainder of the water drained and redirected. The Aripero pond is a nationally recognized freshwater marsh and a nesting ground for the Scarlet Ibis. The FFOS warned that unless the EMA intervenes in the matter, the effect of continued development along the Aripero pond in Rousillac could result in disastrous consequences for the environment.
Implement good law

It is the TTCAS position that recent reports; via the media, related to Special Purpose Government Agencies that are awarding construction contracts, would have had different outcomes if the procurement processes were governed by the proposed procurement legislation. Although the TTCA made no specific mention of State agencies, the most recent allegation of misuse of funds involves the Education Facilities Company Limited (EFCL). Former education minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh, in a statement issued on June 3, called on the remaining board members to follow the example of their now-former chairman, Arnold Piggott, and resign.

Gopeesingh said Piggotts resignation followed serious allegations of corruption, big rigging, abuse of office, squander and worker victimisation.

Details of these include the fixing of million-dollar contracts to favour cronies of the PNM; disbarring certain previous contractors, re-opening closed tenders, misuse of funds, awarding a deal in excess of $50 million to a contractor who scored the lowest in the evaluation process and overall abuse of the publics trust, Gopeesingh claimed.

He argued that the remaining EFCL director had no moral authority to continue to cling onto public office in the face of these extensive and shocking revelations which, if substantiated by the audit that is currently being undertaken by the Ministry of Finance and Attorney General, point to misconduct, illegal activities and gross misbehaviour in public life. Meanwhile the TTCA reiterated its commitment to ensuring that value for money is obtained across all State-funded projects. The association also offered to partner with all stakeholders to support the implementation of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property Act (2015).
Tim blames Minister Garcia

At a Joint Select Committee meeting of Parliament on Wednesday, UWI, St Augustine campus clinical psychology masters programme head Dr Katija Khan described suicide as a Public health crisis, which had, Extended to the very young and very vulnerable students as well. In a telephone interview yesterday, Gopeesingh said while the statistics had to be verified, this was nevertheless an indictment on Minister Garcia. He should focus some attention on the issues relating to student behaviour in schools. The Ministry has reversed a tremendous amount of programmes which we implemented aimed at helping students who were not moving forward, Gopeesingh said.

We increased the amount of student support services division with guidance officers, guidance counsellors, behavioural psychologists and clinical psychologists, most of whom have been removed. So obviously, troubled students have not been getting the professional support from within the school system which was there before, Gopeesingh said.

In addition, we had a number of homework centres where students would get some extra counselling and support on evenings. We had over 300 educational workshops and over 20,000 parents participated...

that too has been eliminated as well, he said.

Policies and programmes, Gopeesingh claimed, were removed by the ministry which is overseen by Minister Garcia, And this is obviously leading to increased student deviant behaviour and the problems we are witnessing now within the education system, Gopeesingh added.

Asked whether suicidal tendencies among students could be linked to violence and bulling in schools, Gopeesingh said, Yes, there are a lot of students who feel bullied and become depressed. Im not a psychologist but these are some of the issues that can lead to depression.

Some come from very poor homes and they find it difficult (to cope in school), some students come from homes where there is incest and it affects them. We implemented over 23 programmes to help this type of situation but most have been removed.
Minister upset at questions

He was faced with these questions from reporters during a news conference yesterday at the Ministrys St Vincent Street, Port of Spain offices, where he announced the appointment of a new head for the Education Facilities Company Limited (FCL). (See Page 9) I know the Chief Education Officer (Harrilal Seecharan) and our School Supervision Department have been looking at students who show signs of some kind of instability. I dont want to say mental illness because I am not an expert, Garcia said. He added there is a programme that has been put in place to identify students who are at risk, to work with the Students Support Services (SSS) Division to bring comfort to these students.

Im saying the problems would not go away, but at least you can attend to them and deal with the concerns these students are expressing, he said. It was put to him that it would seem the issue was more than what he is proposing, but Garcia again reiterated that he is not an expert in the field of psychology.

The Chief Education Officer who drives that service together with the SSS Division is dealing with it. All I know is that is being attended to and those students who are at risk are receiving the necessary attention, he said. Asked what exactly does this intervention programme entail, Garcia said he could not answer that right now.

Asked to comment on the fact that social workers are not trained to identify mental illnesses, he responded: This is one of the problems we face, when we have media conferences like these, we like to stick to the issue. I have called this media conference to discuss the issue of the EFCL...let us stick to the issue.

I am not prepared to discuss any other issue. The media conference was called to discuss EFCL issues.

Do we have another question please? Anything that affects our children we will attend to it, Garcia stated.
Trial by judge...for the rich

The judge alone trial is attractive to people with money, he said adding, All should be equal when we appear before the courts. Contributing to debate on The Miscellaneous (Trial by Judge Alone) Bill in the Senate yesterday, Mahabir supported the suggestion by some of his colleagues that due to corruption, judges (like elected public officers) should reveal their assets because of the possibility of the trial by judge alone has the possibility of corrupting the Judiciary.

He expressed concern too that many individuals threaten judges who work with a jury. Without a jury, he said, there is the potential for heightened threats to judges.

His colleague Senator David Small said that he supported the bill because it forms a part of a package of bills to improve the current criminal justice system. Small said it provides an opportunity for an option in a system where the backlog of cases dates back to 15 years.

While it may not fix the backlog in the system, he said, We have to start to plan for the future. He said that the trial by judge alone should be done on legal advice and in a pressure-free manner.

One of the benefits of trial by judge alone, he said, is that the judge on delivering a verdict has to give reasons for decision while a jury does not. Judges are accountable.

Juries are not, he said. This is in keeping with his calrion call, he said, for transparency. Another benefit, Small said is that a jury is made up of people with little or no legal background while judges have legal training.

Judges were less likely to be swayed by emotional histrionics and skillful advocacy meant for jurors, he said.

Having served as a juror himself, he said that jury duties could be frustrating especially when trial takes longer and was an expensive process. (See Page 10A)
Trial by judge alone, is racist

I prefer to stay with the United States and the United Kingdom.

With the exception of jury tampering and serious cases of fraud, Mark said, That is the only time they have introduced trial by judge alone. Every thing else is trial by jury. Contributing to the debate on the Miscellaneous Provisions (Trial by Judge Alone) Bill in the Senate yesterday, Mark said, I do not want to be part or seek to become part of those countries. He said it was in a judge alone trial that, The iconic Nelson Mandela was sentenced for life in the cells of Robben Island.

South Africa, under an apartheid regime, he said, established the trial by judge alone for racist reasons.

We dont want to be part of that experience, he said registering his opposition to the bill.

As lawmakers, he said, their first duty as lawmakers is to safeguard the majority against terror, aggression and tyranny of the minority, especially against corrupt governments where they exist.

Mark did not agree with Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, other Government and Independent senators who said the new piece of legislation was providing for an option to the trial by jury.

He said that the bill seeks to amend trial by jury in the Criminal procedures Act in relation to mentally ill persons, to trial by judge alone. His colleagues, including Attorney General Faris Al Rawi who piloted the bill and who spoke before him, Mark said, have quoted extensively Chief Justice Ivor Archie who favours the abolition of trail by jury. Back in June 2012, he said, Al Rawi was against abolishing trial by jury.

Mark said, Al Rawi at the time claimed that trial by judge alone was infringing on citizens constitutional rights, that it was dangerous and that he had a difficulty with it in the criminal justice system.

In 2012, the then Peoples Partnership Government, he said, had brought something (in the Parliament) to abolish trial by jury and we pulled it back because when we went out there the people were against it. The former Senator, now Attorney General, he said, is singing a different tune by advocating for trial by judge alone.
Moses: Police trained to deal with mentally ill

The Police Service Academys induction programme offer training to recruits with respect to treating with mentally ill persons, Moses said. On Monday, police shot and killed a mentally ill man identified as Daniel Paul-O Paul, 23, of Ste Madeleine after he threw stones at them near his home.

The standing orders of the Police Service, Moses said, defines who is a mentally ill person as well as officers designated to deal with them.

Moses, also a Minister in the Ministry of National Security, said that guidelines to handle mentally ill persons who have breached the law and have been detained by the police, and the process for detention by the police, are in place.

In light of the recent fatal shooting, the TTPS, he said, is in the process of reviewing its training programmes. Training continues apace. On another matter, asked what Government was doing in relation to a recent statement made by Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries that the Caroni Swamp was being used for human trafficking, and the smuggling of illegal drugs and weapons, Moses said, The Ministry of National Security exercises ongoing vigilance. The security services, he said, conducts operations countrywide with focus on particular locales to safeguard the national security interests as necessary.
Deyalsingh: No shortage of chemical reagents

As of yesterday, he said, all routine tests are being provided. During his visit on Tuesday, he said that apart from the decision taken to increase the supply of chemical reagents from three to six months, decisions were taken to expedite the delivery of reagents, and if services were not available in-house the services will be outsourced. No one is disadvantaged or goes without treatment, he said.
Faris: No right to jury trial

He said the TT Constitution gives the right to a fair trial but not trial by jury, saying that earlier every Opposition Senator had wrongly argued the latter point.

He scoffed at Opposition Senator Wayne Sturges argument that Lord Diplocks remarks declaring no right to a jury trial (in the case of R v Trevor Stone) had merely been obiter dicta or other things said apart from the main ruling.

By contrast the AG said Diplocks remarks were central to that case which itself was fully about whether there is a right to trial by jury.

Likewise, Al-Rawi said a Maltese case similarly said that nations constitution did not guarantee any right to jury trial.

At 6 pm, as the Senate went into committee stage Opposition Senator Wade Mark complained that he had only just received four pages of proposed amendments to the bill, and he urged a one hour adjournment for senators to mull the proposals.

Al-Rawi said no such a length of time was needed, and Senate President Christine Kangaloo agreed to adjourn for just 30 minutes.
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Germany pledged Thursday to provide an additional $3.9 million to help Libya improve living conditions of refugees in the North African country. The pledge comes in response to a call from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

The German assistance was announced during the visit Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel paid to Tripoli. He said Germany is paying the lions share of a 100-million-euro regional program run by the International Organization for Migration.

The additional money will be used to improve living conditions at refugee centres in Libya. Many refugees fleeing the Mideast and Africa transit through Libya before attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe.

Following a visit paid lately to Libya, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi said he was shocked at the harsh conditions in which refugees and migrants are held in Libya, a situation due to lack of resources

Children, women and men who have suffered so much already should not have to endure such hardship, he added, announcing that UNHCR has decided to step up its presence in Libya in response to the worsening humanitarian crisis resulting from conflict, insecurity, political instability and a collapsing economy in the North African country.

Amid the increasing complexity of refugee and migrant movements through and from Libya, Grandi visited Tripoli wherein he met refugees and migrants in some of Libyas many detention centres.

Some 300,000 Libyans have been displaced by ongoing conflict. In all, more than 1.3 million people  including internally displaced people (IDPs), as well as vulnerable Libyans, host communities, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers  are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
France has asked the UN Security Council to authorize the deployment by five African countries- Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger  of a special counterterrorism force of 5,000 troops for the Sahel region.

Presidents of the five countries  Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania  agreed in February to set up a joint force. Initially, it is expected to comprise up to 5,000 military, civilian and police personnel, with headquarters in Mali.

France circulated this week a Security Council draft resolution that would authorize the military action by the five African countries, a move that is also backed by the African Union.

The draft resolution stresses the urgent need of countering the surge of terrorism in the Sahel and warns of the challenges posed by trans-border crime organizations in the region, including arms and drug trafficking, the smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons, and its increasing links, in some cases, with terrorism.

Under the resolution, the Mali-based force will be authorized to deploy for a year a mandate to combat terrorism, drug trafficking and trafficking in persons.

The draft resolution also stresses the need for restoring state authority and helping the return of displaced people and refugees, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The force will be under the command of the UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA, which has been deployed in Mali since 2013.

Speaking to the press French Ambassador to the UN Francois Delattre said that the draft resolution- which falls under chapter 7 of the UN Charter- aims at curbing the surge of terrorist activity in the Sahel.

The terrorist threat in the Sahel region threatens not only the region itself but  international peace and security, he said. We cannot afford to let the Sahel region become a new safe haven for terrorists from across the world.

France launched the Serval Operation in 2013 to oust Jihadists affiliated to Al Qaeda from Northern Malian cities. The operation ended on 15 July 2014, and was replaced by Operation Barkhane, launched on 1 August 2014 to fight Islamist fighters in the Sahel.
Moroccos flag carrier, Royal Air Maroc, said that it maintains its five weekly flights to Doha although it cancelled flights transiting through Doha Airport to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

The announcement was made on the backdrop of an unfolding crisis after several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt cut off ties with Qatar which they accuse of funding terrorism. These countries have also banned Qatar Airways and closed their borders to air, sea and lad traffic with Doha.

In this context, Royal Air Maroc explained in a statement that it will continue serving its customers connection flights in Doha in partnership with Qatar Airways to the exception of four countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt.

The Moroccan airline requested its customers who bought tickets to the four cancelled destinations to contact the companys call centre to get information on necessary measures.

Morocco opted for neutrality in the Gulf crisis involving Qatar. So far 7 Arab countries severed ties with Doha-Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Yemen and Mauritania- over accusations of supporting terrorism and sidelining with Iran.

Morocco is closely following the unfolding of events in the Gulf countries and the Moroccan diplomacy, known for restraint and wisdom, is in contact with all countries to understand what happened, Moroccos Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita told the local press.

Despite geographic distance, Morocco maintains strong ties with GCC countries, notably Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In April 2016, a GCC-Morocco summit stressed the importance of the strategic partnership binding the two parties.

The severance of diplomatic ties with Qatar is snowballing as other countries close to Riyadh are either condemning or downgrading ties with Qatar, such as Gabon and Jordan.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, and Yemen- banned commercial relations with Doha, leaving the tiny Gulf emirate physically and politically isolated from the rest of the region.

The six Arab nations also suspended Qatar from the military coalition that is fighting in Yemens civil war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The countries decided to halt all land, air and sea traffic with Qatar, eject its diplomats and ordered Qatari citizens to leave the Gulf states within 14 days.
Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron will pay an official visit to Morocco on June 14-15, the Elysee announced.

The visit to Morocco will be the first for the French President to the Maghreb after his election last May.

This first visit to Morocco and to the Maghreb by President Macron, who will be accompanied by his wife Brigitte, will strengthen the relations and the ties between our two countries, the Elysee added.

The visit will add momentum to the excellent partnership between Morocco and France. During his stay in Morocco, the French President will hold talks with King Mohammed VI on issues of mutual concern, notably the situation in the Maghreb, the Sahel and the Middle East.

President Macron will also meet the Head of Government and the Speakers of the two chambers of the Parliament.

The French President is expected to give a press conference on June 15 at the end of his visit to Morocco.

The fact that President Macron chose Morocco for his first trip in the region mirrors the excellent political, economic, and cultural ties binding the two countries and evidences the continuity marking French-Moroccan partnership.

It also materializes some of the electoral promises made by Emmanuel Macron who ambitions to foster further his countrys relations with the Maghreb and with Africa that he described in an interview during his presidential campaign as the continent of the future, which witnessed unprecedented transformation and steady growth since 2000. And precisely, in Morocco, seen in France as a showcase of successful Africa, President Macron and his team would not find it difficult to find partners for economic initiatives in West Africa or political initiatives in the Sahel region.

Mirroring the excellence of political relations between the two countries, bilateral economic ties have also been bolstered in recent years. In 2015, 17% of Frances foreign direct investments, i.e. 484 million of the total net foreign direct investment were received by Morocco, mainly in industry.

With some 750 subsidiaries of French companies, Morocco is the leading destination of French investment on the African continent.

Analysts therefore expect Macrons first visit in Morocco will have a particular sparkle.
Egypt Thursday called for an UN Security Council inquiry into accusations that Qatar allegedly paid around $1 billion as ransom to a terrorist group in Iraq to secure the release of 26 Qatari hostages, including members of the royal family, egyptindependent.com reports.

Egypts call came on the backdrop of the rift in relations between Qatar and a number of Gulf and Arab countries, namely Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen, and Egypt over charges that Doha supports terrorism and destabilizes these countries national security.

During an UNSC session Thursday, Egyptian delegates said that if news of the ransom prove to be correct; this would be a violation of UNSC resolutions that call on countries not to pay off terrorists to secure the release of hostages.

This violation of Security Council resolutions, if proved correct, shall definitely have a negative bearing on counterterrorism efforts on the ground, senior Egyptian U.N. diplomat Ihab Moustafa Awad Moustafa told the council.

According to some reports, the ransom payment is the main reason of the rift between the tiny gas-rich Gulf country and its neighbors.

The Financial Times indicated a ransom payment of up to $1 billion to Iranian and Al Qaeda-linked forces in Syria may have been the tipping point for the Qatari-Gulf crisis.

In the wake of the unprecedented Arab diplomatic boycott imposed on it, Qatar condemned the move by Arab Gulf countries, saying that charges of supporting terrorism are unfounded.

The Qatari government repeatedly denied that it paid a ransom to a militant and terrorist group in Iraq to secure the release of 26 Qataris, among them members of the Qatari ruler family.

The incident dates back to April when 26 Qatari nationals were released after being subjected to a hijacking operation south of Iraq while they were participating in a hunting trip, according to numerous international media outlets.

While several countries, including Kuwait, Russia and the US, have offered their mediation, the rift is seemingly getting wider as Saudi Arabia, other allied countries have jointly drawn a blacklist of people, and organizations, allegedly financed by Qatar.

On Friday, the Qatari government has tossed away the blacklist, saying, The recent joint statement issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE regarding a terror finance watch list once again reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact.

The countrys Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani Thursday rejected the accusation of alleged support for terrorism and indicated that Qatar will never give up its independence in front of the blockade.

We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy, he said.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, and Yemen banned commercial relations with Doha, leaving the tiny Gulf emirate physically and politically isolated from the rest of the region.

The six Arab nations also suspended Qatar from the military coalition that is fighting in Yemens civil war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

The countries decided to halt all land, air and sea traffic with Qatar, eject its diplomats and ordered Qatari citizens to leave the Gulf States within 14 days.

Several other Arab and African countries have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in solidarity with their Gulf allies.
Algeria came under harsh criticism at the Tobruk-based Parliament for its role in spreading chaos in the country and its meddling in Libyas internal strife.

In an address before MPs in Tobruk, Ahmed Al Mismari, Spokesperson for the Libyan National Army (LNA) Commanded by renegade General Khalifa Haftar, blamed Algeria for contributing to the worsening security conditions in the country.

This new condemnation for Algerias interference in Libyas crisis comes after a statement by the Tobruk Parliament last month in which it vented frustration at Algerias lack of neutrality.

The Tobruk Parliament accused Algeria of violating Libyas sovereignty after Algerian Minister for Maghreban and African Affairs Abdelkader Messahel undertook a second tour in Libyas south without informing Libyan authorities. This act has been viewed by Libyan officials as disregarding their national sovereignty and a meddling in their countrys internal crisis.

The statement denounced the visit by the Algerian minister to cities in southern Libya without receiving an authorization as if he was on a tour in a southern Algerian province.

Algerias shift towards an unconditional support for the Tripoli-based Government gives little credence to Algiers endeavor to show itself as a regional power capable of mediating in the Libya crisis.

Algiers is mostly concerned with having a footprint in Libya and manipulating terrorism by pushing the terrorist groups operating in its vast desert and eastern mountains outside its borders to neighboring countries, notably Libya and Mali where most of the Algerian-born terrorists now operate.
The Algerian-backed Polisario separatists suffered a severe legal setback in Panama where a maritime affairs court refused to hold a vessel carrying Moroccan Sahara phosphates bound to Canada.

In a comment on the Panamanian legal decision, Abdellah Saaf, Director of the Centre for Studies and Research in Social Sciences (CERSS), said by rejecting the Polisarios resort to justice as a manoeuvre to undermine Moroccos economic interests, the Panamanian judiciary rendered justice and gave a major legal victory to Morocco.

The Panamanian court verdict is in line with international law and represents a setback for the Polisairo, which schemed in vain to set a precedent in their propaganda campaign against Moroccos economic interests, Saaf told Moroccan website le360.

He explained that the Polisario is not eligible to plea on such matters, and is not entitled to claim representation of the Sahrawi people who have their own elected representatives.

The Panamanian court was aware of the political nature of the case and the maneuvres by the Polisario to deviate the Sahara issue from its UN framework.

Late May, Panamanian authorities let the ship continue sailing to its Canadian destination carrying 55,000 tons of phosphate after it had been previously held for few days upon a complaint filed by the Polisario challenging the legality of the transaction.

The Polisario had nurtured a false hope of reproducing the hostile procedures undertaken by South Africa where a New Zealand-bound ship carrying 50,000 of Moroccan phosphate rock has been detained in Port Elizabeth since the beginning of May pending a court verdict due on mid-June.

The Polisario, a separatist entity based in the authoritarian Algerian state, is not eligible to plea or claim to represent the population in the Sahara who have their own legitimate elected bodies. This has been stressed by a European Court of Justice ruling that stressed that the Polisario is not eligible to challenge the Moroccan-EU agricultural agreement.

International law experts, including the ECJs Chief Advocate General Melchior Wathelet, had explained that the Polisario front is not a legitimate organization and that it unqualified to plea at international courts.

Chief Advocate General of the European Court had expounded that the Polisario is not recognized by the International community as a representative of the commercial interests of the population of the Sahara, although it is considered as a party in the political process to find a solution to the conflict over the Saharan provinces.

Phosphate production and related industries are an area of excellence for Morocco. The substance has been key in Moroccos African foreign policy. The state-owned phosphate company has been investing in African states and signed two landmark agreements with Nigeria and Ethiopia, Africas most populous countries, to build fertilizer production plants.

Phosphate revenues have also contributed to the development of the southern provinces where Morocco spends seven times more than its revenues from the region.
Reality Winner exits the Augusta Courthouse on June 8, 2017. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Reality Winner, the 25-year-old intelligence contractor accused of leaking a classified document to the press, pleaded not guilty to one count of willful retention and transmission of national defense information during a detention hearing in Augusta, Georgia, on Thursday. She was denied bail.

Details suggest that the document in question was the basis for a report from the Intercept on Monday about cyberattacks carried out by Russian government hackers against a U.S. voting software supplier before the presidential election. The Justice Department announced that Winner had been arrested about an hour before the story was published on Monday.

The criminal complaint said Winner admitted to FBI agents that she printed out a classified report and mailed it to an online media outlet. At the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Solari elaborated, saying Winner admitted to sending the report to a particular news agency she admired,and had expressed that she was underwhelmed with what Wikileaks had to offer.

She couldnt understand why this document hadnt been leaked already, Solari added, according to NBC News.

Prosecutors also said that during a phone conversation with her mother while in custody, which was recorded, Winner said, Mom, those documents. I screwed up.

Solari argued that Winners use of the word documents suggests she may have taken more classified information.

Authorities are searching a number of electronic devices seized from Winners home, including two laptops, a tablet, and four cellphones  as well as two spiral-bound notebooks. Prosecutors claim that Winner wrote, I want to burn the White House down in one of the books, and also listed the names of several Taliban and al Qaeda leaders, including Osama Bin Laden.

Before becoming an intelligence contractor, Winner spent six years in the Air Force, providing real-time translation to Americans conducting field missions. She speaks Farsi, Dari, and Pashto, and was assigned to the NSA at Fort Meade, Maryland, for four years.

Prosecutors claim that while she was still in the Air Force, she searched for the phrase Do top secret computers detect when flash drives are inserted? on her work computer.

Winners parents have emphasized that her service to the country should be taken into account, even if its proven that she leaked classified documents. If she made this mistake, said her stepfather Gary Davis, it needs to be balanced against what she has done in the past and how she has served this country.

If convicted, Winner faces a sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Sessions. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

In a closed hearing Thursday afternoon, former FBI director James Comey told senators that Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have had a third, undisclosed meeting last year with Sergey Kislyak, Russiaa ambassador to the U.S., CNN is reporting. Sessions, who said during his January confirmation hearing that he had no meetings with Russians during the campaign, later amended his testimony and admitted to two conversations with Kislyak. He also recused himself from the FBIs investigation into Russias election meddling.

Information about a potential third meeting has been floating around for months. In early March, a week after Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe, the Huffington Post reported on a likely third meeting between Sessions and Kislyak at the Mayflower Hotel near the White House.

Last week, CNN reported that congressional investigators are looking into the possibility that this meeting took place. The Justice Department denied the meeting to CNN, saying, The facts havent changed; the then-Senator did not have any private or side conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel. But Comeys revelation that the FBI learned of a third meeting through its monitoring of Russian communications appears to confirm this reporting.

Now, Washington Democrats are out for blood. Senator Richard Blumenthal said Thursday that Sessions could be guilty of perjury if he failed to disclose a third meeting with Kislyak, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called for on him to resign.

Meanwhile, Republican senator Susan Collins said the attorney general will soon have a chance to explain himself. The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked him for an interview.
Jeb Hensarling. Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images

With the former FBI director openly calling the president a lawless liar, it would be easy for liberals to forget to save some contempt for the rest of the Republican Party.

Fortunately, the House GOP has offered voters a timely reminder: On Thursday afternoon, Paul Ryans caucus passed a bill that would gut Dodd-Franks financial reforms, allowing banks to escape regulations that limit their capacity to make risky investments, along with requirements to undergo annual stress tests.

The bill would also neuter the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, stripping the agency of the power to regulate both payday lenders and arbitration clauses that financial institutions use to keep consumers from being able to hold them legally liable for malfeasance in court.

The legislation is the brainchild of Texas congressman Jeb Hensarling. A prolific consumer of finance-industry donations, Hensarling had previously lobbied the president to roll back two Obama-era financial regulations through executive action: one that barred retirement advisers from putting their own financial interests above those of their clients, and another limiting how much interest payday lenders could charge the working poor.

The Choice Act passed on a near-party-line vote. House Democrats assessments of the bill were predictably caustic, with Maxine Waters calling it one of the worst bills I have seen in my time in Congress.

Even experts on financial regulation who were critical of Dodd-Frank found little to applaud in Hensarlings bill.

Dodd-Frank is just overly complex and burdensome. For the purpose of making the financial system safer, you can do a lot more of that with less complex and less burdensome regulation, Kim Schoenholtz, director of the Center for Global Economy and Business at NYUs Stern School of Business, told CNBC. But the Choice Act, while reducing the burden, actually makes the system less safe, and thats not an attractive choice.

Happily, this thing is dead on arrival in the Senate  so long as Mitch McConnell doesnt take the presidents advice and abolish the filibuster for legislation, anyway. Unlike the GOPs health-care and tax bills, theres no way to pass regulatory reform through budget reconciliation. So Republicans will need eight Democratic votes to get this into law. And this bill will not get eight Democratic votes.
Their two debates have been wonky, but the Handel/Ossoff contest is characterized by a savage air-and-ground war. Photo: PBA30

Even as Comey-mania broke out in Washington this week, the most expensive U.S. House race in history chugged toward its June 20 climax with fresh signs that Jon Ossoff is in a good position to finally give Democrats the special-election win they crave.

Ossoff has led Republican Karen Handel in all four public polls released since the April 18 first round. The latest, from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, shows the Democrat up 51 percent to 44 among likely voters.

Early voting in the district is looking significantly stronger than it was in the first round, with nearly 70,000 votes cast already, and a trajectory of perhaps 100,000. Ossoff handily won among the 55,000 early voters in the primary, when the total vote was only 159,000. So this could be another good sign for him, although, as Cook Political Reports David Wasserman says: The extraordinary pace has Republicans optimistic theyve awoken their dormant base.

Lord knows they are trying. Earlier pro-Handel ads from national GOP groups focused on linking Ossoff to Nancy Pelosi, depicting the whole Ossoff campaign as a stealth effort to give San Francisco another congressman. The idea was to remind sixth-district Republicans that the mild-mannered, bipartisan-sounding young man was in fact a Democrat. But now anti-Ossoff ads have taken on a frantic urgency and some of the most over-the-top mischaracterizations of an opponent in living memory. The fake-Trump-beheading Kathy Griffin (who offered an unsolicited endorsement of Ossoff in a tweet not long ago but otherwise has no connection to the campaign or to the candidate) has replaced Pelosi as the demon-figure, as in this new ad from the National Republican Congressional Committee:

The message, which is about as subtle as a 5 a.m. jackhammer, is that any Republican who doesnt bother to vote against Ossoff will be enabling childish radicals (an allusion to Ossoffs youth, which apparently makes him suspiciously similar to the window-smashing anarchists in the ad) to destroy the country. The ad even mentions President Trump, which Team Handel has generally avoided in this district he only won by a single point last year. The capper is a quick, grainy image of Griffin high-fiving a young man. Its actually fake-Trump-beheading photographer Tyler Shields, but in the flash of a moment he could sure pass for Jon Ossoff. It should be reasonably clear Republicans are counting on older voters to win this thing.

The two candidate debates (there could be more, though none have been confirmed) have been largely wonky affairs punctuated by Handel stressing Ossoffs inexperience and residency outside the district and Ossoff calling Handel a career politician. Handel did make one gaffe in the first debate, saying she didnt support a livable wage, but that was probably not a game changer in this wealthy, conservative district.

With the airwaves super-saturated from now until June 20, the outcome of this election probably depends on the ground game. One theory about why early voting is so high is simply that voters want to get off the campaigns contact lists and stop the constant phone calls and knocks on the door, which are occurring at levels Georgians have never before experienced. The silence after June 20 will be deafening.
A critique of poor reasoning. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Donald Trump would like you to know that James Comey is a shameless liar whose testimony cannot be trusted  and, also, a reliable source whose testimony totally and completely vindicates the president.

Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2017

The presidents personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, lays out this case with a bit more eloquence. First, Kasowitz explains that the part of Comeys testimony that Trump liked is definitely true.

Contrary to numerous false press accounts leading up to todays hearing, Mr. Comey has now finally confirmed publicly what he repeatedly told the President privately: The President was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference. He also admitted that there is no evidence that a single vote changed as a result of any Russian interference.

The second claim here is a bit curious. Its true that Comey ruled out the possibility that Russian agents hacked voting machines and directly manipulated ballot counts. But the idea that Russias myriad (alleged) efforts to undermine the Clinton campaign did not change a single vote is both intuitively dubious, and impossible for anyone to validate. (Furthermore, its a tad odd for Kasowitz to insist on the perfect legitimacy of Novembers vote, given that the presidents official position is that 3 to 5 million votes were cast illegally.)

To be fair to team Trump, however, Kasowitzs first claim is sound. When Trump penciled the bizarre caveat, while I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, into his letter terminating the FBI director, many observers thought he was bluffing. Comey just made it clear that they thought wrong.

That said, even on this count, Trumps vindication is far from complete. For one thing, Comeys testimony stipulates that he never ruled out the possibility that Trump could become a target of the Russia inquiry  the former FBI director refused to publicly state that the president wasnt under investigation because it would create a duty to correct, should that change.

More significantly, Comeys testimony strongly suggested that the president is now under federal investigation. On Thursday, the former FBI director was asked, repeatedly, whether he believed Trump had committed obstruction of justice. Comey refused to directly opine on that matter. But he did say that he believed the special counsel will work toward a conclusion on that question, and that it was  [special counsel] Bob Muellers job to sort that out.

In other words: He thinks that Trumps conduct toward him came close enough to constituting obstruction of justice that special prosector Robert Mueller will at least consider such a charge. Given Comeys long working relationship with Mueller, it seems reasonable to trust his judgment on that.

At Thursdays hearing, several Republican senators assumed the role of Trumps defense attorney. But none felt comfortable accusing the former G-man of perjury. Instead, they opted to search for exonerating details within Comeys own narrative.

Senator James Risch, for one, put great emphasis on the fact that Trump never literally ordered Comey to drop the FBIs investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Rather, Risch noted, Trump had merely said that he hoped Comey would drop the investigation (after demanding that the FBI director pledge personal loyalty to him, and ordering everyone else in the Oval Office that day  including the attorney general  to leave the room so that he could express his fondest wishes to Comey, one on one).

It is a testament to the weakness of Rischs argument that Trumps actual defense attorney felt compelled to reject Comeys story outright:

[T]he President never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone, including suggesting that that Mr. Comey let Flynn go. As he publicly stated the next day, he did say to Mr. Comey, General Flynn is a good guy, he has been through a lot and also asked how is General Flynn is doing. The President also never told Mr. Comey, I need loyalty, I expect loyalty in form or substance.

So, again: The story is, James Comey is a man who is comfortable telling profoundly consequential lies about the president, under oath  but, also, is a reliable source for the claim that Trump was never under investigation during Comeys time at the bureau.

This type of dissonance haunts Kasowitzs stronger arguments. On Thursday, Comey admitted to leaking memos on his interactions with Trump to the press, with the aim of triggering the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Legal experts who spoke with the Los Angeles Times said that executive privilege did not bar Comey from discussing his private conversations with the president. After all, Comey is no longer an administration official, and Trump has publicly discussed his contacts with Comey, thereby waiving any claim to privilege.

But Kasowitz observes that, according to press accounts, Comey shared information about his interactions with Trump while he was still in government:

The leaks of this privileged information began no later than March 2017 when friends of Mr. Comey have stated he disclosed to them the conversations he had with the President during their January 27, 2017 dinner and February 14, 2017 White House meeting.

This argument would be more compelling if Kasowitz hadnt previously claimed that Comeys accounts of both that dinner and White House meeting were fabrications. If Trump never asked the FBI director to pledge loyalty to him  or to drop the investigation into Flynn  then Comey wasnt discussing privileged information, but merely regaling friends with fictional stories.

Words the president never said cant be confidential.

Kasowitz is on stronger ground in noting an apparent contradiction in Comeys narrative about why and when he decided to leak the memos, themselves.

Although Mr. Comey testified he only leaked the memos in response to a tweet, the public record reveals that the New York Times was quoting from these memos the day before the referenced tweet, which belies Mr. Comeys excuse for this unauthorized disclosure of privileged information and appears to entirely retaliatory.

Two days after Comey was fired, the Times ran a story on his awkward dinner date with the president, which matched the account in the FBI directors memos nearly verbatim. That article was the ostensible impetus for Trumps threat to release secret recordings of his conversations with Comey, which the president tweeted the following morning.

James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017

The Times story was sourced to friends of Comey, rather than to the memos themselves. But the precision of the reports details suggests that the former FBI director decided to disseminate the substance of his memos before Trumps tweet.

This odd timeline combined with the plausible claim that Comeys memos were FBI documents  and, thus, potentially classified, albeit at a low level  give team Trump a shiny object to try and deflect attention to.

And deflect, they shall: CNN reports that Kasowitz is preparing to file a complaint against Comey with the Justice Department Inspector General and the Senate Judiciary Committee. The most such complaints could accomplish, legally, would be to bar Comey from seeking employment at the Justice Department again. But politically, theyll give Trumps supporters cause for shouting Lock him up about someone other than their champion.

Regardless, theres little question that Comey is within his rights to discuss his private conversations with the president. The concern here appears purely legalistic: Once fired, Comey could have paraphrased his memos to the New York Times without prompting concerns about confidentiality, according to most legal analysts, anyway. But handing over the documents themselves could, potentially, be construed as a leak of FBI materials.

Why anyone who isnt invested, financially or emotionally, in defending Donald Trump should care about this distinction is difficult to say.

Ultimately, team Trumps response shows that they have no sound defense against Comeys allegations. The former FBI directors story is too damning to accept and spin, as Risch tried to do on Thursday. And Trumps history of mendacity is far too long to win a he-said-he-said dispute with James Comey.

Or so Capitol Hill Republicans seem to think, according to Politico:

Forget what the White House thinks of yesterdays testimony. We spent the day in the Capitol, talking to Republican members of Congress  the ones that have to vote on President Donald Trumps agenda  and they were absolutely shocked at how poorly yesterday went for the president. Publicly they say that the president is a political neophyte who is still learning the presidency. But privately, they said James Comey was extraordinarily convincing and Trumps team absolutely botched their response. Theyre all afraid of more shoes dropping.

Trump may not be guilty of obstruction of justice. But he is doubtlessly guilty of an abuse of power that a more adversarial Congress could impeach him for.

The president can neither admit this, nor credibly dispute it. So, instead, he is spewing lies  paired with mutually exclusive half-truths  that undermine his supporters tolerance for rational thought, and reassure them that Donald Trump is the arbiter of all truth. And his truth is marching on.
Cruzin. Photo: C-Span

After a long day of congressional testimony and parsing of said testimony, we could all use a palate cleanser before heading home from the office. And, boy, do we have one, from the unlikeliest of sources. Speaking today at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference in Washington, Senator Ted Cruz was played off the stage like a bad ventriloquist on The Gong Show. After throwing up his hands in protest, he slunk away.

Theres a chance this was a gag, but were hesitant to give Cruz that much credit. More likely, Cruzs repeated shouts of thank you and the crowds applause made the emcee think the senator was finished speaking. So the hero grabbed the mic, announced the Faith and Freedom Coalitions southern regional director, Virginia Galloway, and started playing Cruzs favorite song.
Things seemed rosier for both May and Trump when they met at the White House in January. Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Just a few months ago, its worth remembering, we seemed to be careening to a new and possibly long-lived right-populist era in Anglo-American politics. In the U.S., Donald Trump had stunned the world and his own party Establishment by seizing the nomination of the GOP, and then defeating the overwhelming favorite, Hillary Clinton, to win the presidency. In Britain, a referendum on Brexit had shocked and overturned the British and European Establishments, and dispatched Prime Minister David Cameron to the bucolic shires whence he came.

The uninspiring but dogged Theresa May emerged as Camerons successor, after her Tory male rivals had out-machoed and out-plotted each other into mutual destruction. And both Trump and May seemed to have captured a restless, rightist mood in the American and British publics, as Reagan and Thatcher had before them. Trump had endorsed Brexit and May, in turn, had been the first foreign visitor to the White House, desperate for a new U.S.-U.K. trade deal. Although many of us believed that Brexit was understandable but irrational and that Trump was a catastrophe just waiting to unfold, the people of the two countries begged to differ.

Except they didnt entirely, did they? Trump, its always worth recalling, lost the popular vote 4648 percent. Brexit passed only narrowly, 5248 percent. Both countries, despite the top-line results, remained deeply divided  riven by the cleavages of globalization and its discontents. And now, its clear, the divisions have not evaporated and the opposition has revived, with increasingly robust energy. This week, Trump slumped to the lowest approval ratings of his term  in the upper-to-mid-30s  while being called a liar by the former head of the FBI. And May was humiliated  there is no other word for it  by the British voters in a snap election. In the wake of Brexit and Trump, the forces of reaction in Europe have also seemed to recede. The far right gained but didnt triumph in the Netherlands; Le Pen, while winning a historic level of support, faded in the home stretch. And now the British have actually made it conceivable that Jeremy Corbyn  the most left-wing leader in the history of the Labour Party, a sympathizer with Hamas and the IRA, and an old-school unelectable hard-line socialist  could be prime minister in the not-so-distant future.

Maybe Bernie could have done it, after all? And maybe this result, just as Brexit foretold Trump, could presage a Democratic swing in the House next year? After this British turbulence, anything is surely possible. But there were some specific American parallels to Mays defeat that are worth noting. She ran an Establishment campaign shockingly like Hillary Clintons in an era when populism can swing in all sorts of unlikely directions. She began with the presumption that she would coast to victory because her opponent was simply unelectable, extremist, and obviously deplorable in every way. She decided to run a campaign about her, rather than about the country. She kept her public appearances to small, controlled settings, while Corbyn drew increasingly large crowds at outdoor rallies. She robotically repeated her core argument that she represented strong, stable leadership, with little else to motivate or inspire voters. She chose to run solely on Brexit  and the hardest of Brexits on offer  while Labour unveiled a whole set of big-spending, big-borrowing, big-government policies that drew a million new younger voters to the polls. It was Clinton 2016 all over again  with the same dismal result.

Mays campaign compensated for her weakness by mercilessly trashing Corbyns record and politics, and was amplified by a chorus of near-hysterical tabloid anti-Corbyn excess. After a while, the Brits felt it was overkill, and the underdog Corbyn, always mild-mannered and never personal in his attacks, gained unlikely sympathy. And then she simply screwed up. She put herself forward as strong and consistent, and yet she had promised for months that she would not hold an early, snap election, only to break her word. She then swiftly reversed herself on a core policy idea  that seniors would have to reimburse the government for home care from their own estates  upsetting her elderly base, and then stupidly refused to admit shed performed a U-turn. She decided to skip the televised debates, and thereby looked defensive and weak. She came across as less authentic than Corbyn, and much less comfortable in herself. When you look at the polling, its no surprise to see the biggest shift in voting intentions in any election campaign in British history. From almost the moment the election was announced, Labour soared. The 20-point gap narrowed to a few within a little over a month. Hers might have been the worst campaign in modern British history  just as Clintons was on this side of the pond.

And on the critical issue of Brexit, she underestimated the ambivalence in the country as a whole. She mistook 52 percent for a national consensus. In London and the Southeast in particular, those who voted Remain in the referendum  or who intended to but didnt  came out in force to oppose a hard Brexit. The millennials actually turned up this time. In a student town like Cambridge, for example, the Labour majority went from 599 to more than 12,000  a staggering leap. Labour, moreover, shrewdly didnt run to reverse Brexit, and were thereby able to siphon off some pro-Brexit working-class voters from the swiftly collapsing UKIP.

What all this means now that Article 50 has been triggered to kick off the Brexit process is anyones guess. But among those celebrating last night were surely Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, and the EU elite. This could put Brexit back in play, and certainly destroys Mays credibility in the looming negotiations. Its therefore a near certainty now that she will be gone in short order. The tabloid press this morning is already after her, and the ruthless Tories will follow. A possible replacement: the young lesbian leader of the Tories in Scotland, Ruth Davidson, whose success north of the border may well have kept the Tories from an even worse result. And that, indeed, was another surprise: the parties in Scotland that favor keeping the union with England won twice as many votes as the Scottish Nationalist Party. This was a vote for keeping the entire country together and for less of a rush to get out of the EU (and even perhaps a second referendum). It was a populist wave  for the recent past.

The populism weve seen bolster the right, in other words, is a fickle beast. What this election shows in Britain is that after years of austerity and neoliberal economics, there is also an opening for a left-populism, at least in Europe. Whether it can win outright is another question. But what it has been able to do is to tip Britain into an unexpected political impasse, to give it a parliament where the Tories will not be able to sustain a reliably pro-Brexit majority for very long, and to make it all but certain that another election will at some point have to be called, possibly in the fall. What the result of that will be is something I will not safely predict until the morning after  except that Corbyn will be running, and May wont.

And there was a lovely resonance, dont you think, that this shocking reversal for right-populism came on the very same day that President Trump was definitively shown to be more than worthy of impeachment. Ive long been a skeptic of some of the darkest claims about his campaigns alleged involvement with the Russian government  and possible evidence thereof  but Im not skeptical at all of the idea that he has clearly committed a categorical abuse of his presidential power in his attempt to cover it up.

This sobering reality was not advanced by the Comey hearings yesterday, riveting though they were. We have long known that Trump colluded with the Russian government to tilt the election against his opponent  because he did so on national television during the campaign, urging the Kremlin to release more hacked Clinton emails to help him win. We also know that he fired FBI Director James Comey in order to remove the cloud of the Russian investigation from his presidency  because Trump said so on national television himself and then boasted about it to two close Putin lackeys in the Oval Office!

But the details to buttress this picture add weight and texture to all of it. Comey credibly asserted that the president asked for personal loyalty to him, and not to the Constitution; that Trump sought leverage over Comey in a highly inappropriate private dinner for two; that he cleared the Oval Office of everyone else so that he could ask Comey alone to drop the inquiry into former national security adviser Michael Flynns contacts with Russia; that when Comey refused to obey, the president fired him; that when asked why he fired him, the president openly cited the investigation into Russia; and that he then brazenly threatened the FBI director if he spoke the truth about their interactions in hearings or the press.

What else do we really need to know?

Or look at it this way: We now have a witness of long public service, clear integrity, with contemporaneous memoranda and witnesses, who just testified under oath to the presidents clear attempt to obstruct justice. Any other president of any party who had been found guilty of these things would be impeached under any other circumstances. Lying under oath about sexual misconduct is trivial in comparison. So, for that matter, is covering up a domestic crime. Watergate did not, after all, involve covering up the attempt of the Kremlin to undermine and corrode the very core of our democratic system  free and fair elections. Even conservative commentators have conceded that if this were a Democrat in power, almighty hell would have already been unleashed. We wouldnt be mulling impeachment. It would already be well under way.

The defenses of the president are telling. Republican senators were attempting to parse the words I hope yesterday in a manner that made Trumps aspiration to get Flynn off seem like an innocent musing directed at no one in particular  when it was directed alone in private to the man running that investigation. Please.

The Speaker of the House then tried this one on: The presidents new at this. Hes new to government and so he probably wasnt steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between DOJ, FBI, and White Houses. Hes just new to this. Excuse me? Someone who assumes the office of the presidency without knowing that we live under the rule of law, and who believes that the president can rig the legal and investigative system to his own benefit, has no business being president at all. This should not be part of some learning curve. Not knowing this basic fact about our constitutional democracy  something taught in every high school  is ipso facto disqualifying. If the president doesnt know this, he doesnt know anything. And if he can violate this clear, bright line, he can violate anything.

What chills me even more is how Comey of all people was clearly intimidated. He didnt threaten to resign; he didnt immediately cry foul; he appealed only to Sessions, who rolled his eyes. This cowardice  to use Comeys own term  is from a man who stood up to a previous president under great duress in the emergency of wartime. Imagine how many other functionaries, less established and far weaker and less pliable than Comey, will acquiesce to abuse of this kind, if it is ignored, enabled, or allowed to continue.

And yet Trump remains in office, hoping that our outrage will somehow be dimmed by his shameless relentlessness and constant distractions. In classic Roy Cohn fashion, he is now, through his thuggish lawyer, calling for an investigation into (yes) Comey for his leak of his (unclassified) memoranda as a private citizen. He will say or do anything  and yes, lie through his teeth repeatedly  to obscure the reality in front of our eyes. But we need to be clear about something. If we let an abuse of power of this magnitude go unchallenged, we have begun the formal task of dismantling our system of government. This is not a legal matter  dependent on whether you can convict someone of a specific crime. This is a political matter  and of the gravest kind  about whether we wish to sustain our liberal democratic norms.

Do we Americans have sufficient integrity to do this, and to reverse the drastic error we all so recently made? Maybe the British have just showed us that, yes, we can.
Theresa May exits Conservative Party campaign headquarters after an incredibly tough night. Photo: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In one of the most spectacular miscalculations in recent political memory, British Prime Minister Theresa May cost her Conservative Party its parliamentary majority by calling an election three years early. Despite predictions that May would score the biggest Tory landslide since the days of Margaret Thatcher, May now finds herself facing calls for her resignation. Plus, shes thrown plans for the U.K.s withdrawal from the European Union into further disarray just 11 days before the start of Brexit talks.

The nights first shock came when an exit poll projected that Conservatives would win 314 seats in Parliament  significantly short of a 326-seat majority  while Labour would make gains to finish with 266 seats.

It took all night for the final tallies to come in (as of 8:30 a.m. local time four districts were still counting), but by Friday morning there was no way Conservatives could pick up a majority. While the Tories still came in first with 315 seats, they lost 12. Labour scored a huge win, gaining 31 seats to finish second with 261 seats. They were followed by the Scottish National Party, which finished with 35 seats, and the Liberal Democrats with 12 seats.

Hours before the magnitude of the Tories loss was clear, far-left Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn called on May to step down. She wanted a mandate, he said. Well the mandate shes got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought thats enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country.

A short time later, May spoke in her district, where she managed to beat out Lord Buckethead and Elmo.

"Lord Buckethead" and "Elmo" took votes away from the current Prime Minister of the UK pic.twitter.com/FEjvhKxIy4  Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 9, 2017

At this time, more than anything else this country needs a period of stability, May said. If, as the indications have shown, and if this is correct that the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do.

Many found the call for a period of stability deeply ironic, as May unsettled the political landscape by calling the snap election just to shore up her majority ahead of Brexit negotiations. Plus, May came to power because her predecessor, David Cameron, gambled on putting Brexit to a vote last year, only to be shocked when it actually passed.

The unspeakable chutzpah of May to talk about stability. You did this. And you did after starting the countdown on Article 50.  Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) June 9, 2017

Technically, May could remain prime minister. Northern Irelands right-of-center Democratic Unionist Party, which has ten seats, said it would be willing to negotiate with the Conservatives to form a government. But Corbyn may also be able to cobble together a Labour-led progressive alliance with the Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh nationalists, and others. Its unclear what alliances will emerge, and as the BBC explains, theres no official time limit for forming a government.

Politically, Mays future is far less certain, even if the Tories form a government. Early on Friday morning Anna Soubry, a Tory member of parliament, said May should consider her position.

It was a dreadful campaign  and thats me being generous, Soubry told the BBC. When asked if May should resign, Soubry said, Its bad. Shes in a very difficult place.

Other Tories avoided the media as they huddled in private, but reports emerged that theyre considering foreign secretary Boris Johnson to be the next prime minister.

Some really wonderful front pages in tomorrows newspapers. pic.twitter.com/XUnNOI4gGC  Matthew McGregor (@mcgregormt) June 9, 2017

Regardless of what happens next, the election was a big win for Corbyn. A year ago he was facing a revolt from his own MPs, and now hes proven he can run a successful campaign. In an interview on Friday morning, Corbyn refused to speculate about potential pacts with other parties, but he reiterated his call for May to resign, saying its pretty clear who won this election. He added that he is ready to serve the country.

This post has been updated throughout.
President Trump takes a break from rigorous tweeting schedule. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

In times of trouble, President Trump tends to comfort himself by opening up his Twitter account and shooting himself in the foot. For instance, several days into the scandal over James Comeys firing, Trump tweeted that the FBI director better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press! This sparked a new round of Nixon comparisons and congressional requests for any secret White House recordings. Just this week, Trump prepared for the Supreme Court to rule on his travel restrictions by tweeting that it is indeed a travel ban, undermining his own case.

There was every reason to expect an epic Twitter meltdown on Thursday, when Comey appeared before Congress to describe Trumps potential attempts to obstruct justice during their private interactions. White House sources admitted that they were worried, saying they were purposely trying to keep the president occupied, But if he wants to watch it, its not like we can say, oh, the TV doesnt work.

Hes not going to take an attack by James Comey laying down, teased Roger Stone, Trumps former political adviser. Trump is a fighter, hes a brawler and hes the best counter puncher in American politics.

Then Trump remained quiet  for him, at least. As Comey was testifying, Trump told a ballroom full of conservative Christian evangelicals, We are under siege, but would wind up better than ever. We know how to fight better than anybody and we never give up, he said. We are winners and we are going to fight.

Trump left the counter-punching mostly to his personal attorney Marc Kasowitz. He read a scathing statement to the press in which he gloated about Comeys confirmation that he told Trump he wasnt personally under investigation and branded Comey as a leaker, suggesting he may have lied under oath.

According to the Washington Post, the presidents uncharacteristic restraint was the work of Kasowitz and several top White House advisers, including Chief of Staff Reince Preibus and Counsel Donald McGahn. Sources say they successfully argued that Kasowitz and the hastily assembled RNC war room would defend the president as vigorously as hed defend himself.

Kasowitz was able to persuade the president that he would not give a Washington-style, tepid defense, said one top Republican whos close to the White House. Trumps big charge with his staff is that they dont defend him aggressively. And Kasowitz convinced him that not only will I defend you, but I will attack Comey where theres room to.

Trump went along with his staffs efforts to keep him distracted from the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. The New York Times reports that he only watched about 45 minutes of Comeys testimony, mostly in the presence of Kasowitz and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Several Trump supporters praised him for not unleashing a string of self-destructive tweets.

It shows the president understands the possible legal ramifications, Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign adviser, told the Post. Everybody was waiting for the tweets, but there was nothing to gain. Its important that Kasowitz, who is rough around the edges, was guiding him. Trump trusts hes not trying to settle, so he will listen.

He avoided any temptation to respond to what the Democrats were saying, added Republican representative Peter King. I think they convinced him there was no reason for him to say anything, to not get bogged down in the swamp. Be presidential, go out and do the job, and dont take the bait.

By early on Friday morning, Trumps Twitter account had been silent since Wednesday at 8 a.m. According to the Posts Philip Bump, this is the third-longest stretch without a Trump tweet since he declared his candidacy, and the longest since the inauguration.

But some aides doubt that the leader of the free world can control himself for an entire weekend. Per the Times:

The relief, they fear, might be short-lived. Aides were bracing for some kind of Twitter eruption on Thursday night or early Friday. Aides expected the president to either watch the full hearing later in the day on TiVo, or  potentially worse  simply skip to coverage on Fox News or CNN, where Mr. Comeys most damaging comments were playing on a loop.

The Post noted, Sometimes Trump takes hours or even days before launching tweetstorms, taking time to absorb and stew over how an event is being covered in the media before responding.

So either Kasowitz has finally managed to rein in Trumps Twitter habit, or this is just the calm before the tweetstorm.
Trump and Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani met in Riyadh in May, which the president possibly didnt recall earlier this week. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump fired off a series of strange tweets. No, not those  these:

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

His statements were apparently in response to the action of Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab nations, which abruptly cut diplomatic ties with Qatar this week. Led by Riyadh, the countries have accused Qatar of simultaneously supporting terrorist organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS, and of keeping too-close ties with Iran. But the United States itself relies on Qatars Al Udeid base to conduct air operations in Syria and other parts of the region; Trumps statements  if not directly jeopardizing that relationship  certainly made things extremely awkward, leaving the Pentagon and the State Department, led by Secretary Rex Tillerson, scrambling to smooth things over, reports the New York Times. And its especially troublesome because Trump might not have even been aware the U.S. and its allies staged anti-ISIS operations from Qatar:

MSNBC reporting White House sources says Trump "may not have known" the US has troops based in Qatar.  Simon Marks (@SimonMarksFSN) June 8, 2017

On Wednesday, Tillerson helped mediate a call between Trump and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, where the president reportedly urged the Qataris to give up its financing of Sunni extremist groups. The president also reportedly offered to broker a deal between Qatar and the protesting nations at the White House  an offer the emir rejected as long as what the Qataris are characterizing as a blockade by their neighbors continues, a source told Reuters. Trump also emphasized unity in the Gulf during a phone call with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and did the same with the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates, one of the countries that also isolated Qatar.

And as of Thursday, the standoff continues  despite Trumps (belated) attempts at intervention. Instead, Qatar appears to be digging in its heels, refusing to give in to the pressure to change its foreign policy, and rejecting accusations that it funds terror groups. Iran and Turkey have also bolstered the tiny Gulf state in the dispute. Both offered to supply food, initially a major concern as the the blockade closed off land, sea, and air access to the import-dependent Qatar. Turkey also approved a measure to send more troops its army base there, and another to conduct joint military exercises with Qatar.
Trumps personal attorney Marc Kasowitz. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

When James Comey gave a friend memos detailing his interactions with President Trump and asked that friend to give the memo to reporters, he was making unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president, President Trumps personal lawyer said Thursday.

Now, lawyer Marc Kasowitz is preparing to file an official complaint against Comey to the Justice Departments inspector general, according to CNN and NBC News.

It remains unclear whether Comey did anything wrong with the memos since the leak occurred after he was fired and the information in question was unclassified. Still, at least one legal expert is not so sure Comeys in the clear.

Writing on his personal blog, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley says:

Besides being subject to Nondisclosure Agreements, Comey falls under federal laws governing the disclosure of classified and unclassified information. Assuming that the memos were not classified (though it seems odd that it would not be classified even on the confidential level), there is 18 U.S.C.  641 which makes it a crime to steal, sell, or convey any record, voucher, money, or thing of value of the United States or of any department or agency thereof.

Kasowitzs complaint, even if it has merit, appears more about branding Comey a leaker than getting him punished. As CNN notes, even if Comeys found to have broken protocol, the most the Justice Department could do is make a note in Comeys file should he ever seek to be employed by the DOJ again. Given his recent experience, that seems pretty unlikely.
In todays U.K. elections, Theresa May was expected to strengthen her grip on power while Jeremy Corbyn lost face. The results are looking very much like the opposite. Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP; Carl Court/Getty Images

In a considerable surprise (although polls were more than a little erratic and have a recent record of inaccuracy), the semi-official exit poll of British voters released just as the polls closed Thursday showed the governing Conservative Party losing its slim majority in the House of Commons. If the results hold up, Britain would be entering a period of profound uncertainty when either of the two big parties could, in theory, form a coalition government (the situation is generally referred to as a hung parliament).

Votes were still being counted at 4 a.m. local time, but the Washington Post reported that a projection based on the exit poll and partial official results gave Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative (a.k.a Tory) party 318 seats, eight short of a majority. Two years ago, Conservatives won 331 seats. The forecast showed the Labour Party winning 267 seats, which would be a gain of roughly 35 seats.

The exit poll is hardly infallible, but has been increasingly accurate in recent general elections. It nailed the seat totals in 2005 and 2010, though it did underestimate Tory seats by 22 in 2015.

Given the consensus expectation of a huge Tory victory in the popular vote, and of at least modest gains in the governments parliamentary majority, the exit poll and early results were a nasty shock to the conventional wisdom (currency markets are already showing a drop in the value of the pound). They confirm the folly of Mays request for a snap election aimed at giving her a stronger hand in Brexit negotiations, and perhaps provoking a big split within Labour, where Jeremy Corbyn has been a controversial left-wing leader without a lot of support among his own MPs.

It should be emphasized that the exit poll results would still leave the Conservatives as the largest party (with 314 seats to Labours 266), presumably giving it first shot at forming a coalition government. If the Tories get close to the 326 needed for a majority, they might get over the line with support from Northern Ireland parties that wont make too many demands for their votes. Another option would be a renewal of David Camerons coalition with the Liberal Democrats, though (1) that coalition nearly destroyed the LibDems, and (2) that party is fully committed to a second Brexit referendum seeking to reverse last years results  which would be highly problematic for many pro-Brexit Tory backbenchers and voters.

Labours narrow path to power would almost certainly involve a coalition with the Scottish National Party and smaller Welsh and left-wing parties. On many domestic issues the SNP is close to, or even to the left of, Labour. But Corbyn would almost definitely have to grant the SNP a second shot an independence vote, which will be controversial in England.

Theres also the possibility of a minority Tory government (one with the votes to overcome a motion of no confidence, but without minor parties formally joining a coalition) or even an agreement to hold a second election.

All these scenarios will depend on the exact seat count, as individual constituencies report (there are many the exit poll shows as very close). However it turns out, the election represents a real vindication for Corbyn, who did not turn out to be the electioneering disaster many even in his own party expected, and a big setback for May, who was cruising along until her party embraced a sort of post-death clawback system for recouping public money spent on old folks living at home, known colloquially as the dementia tax.

It is also clear that the widespread conventional wisdom that terrorist attacks invariably benefit parties of the right was not true in this case. That bit of information will be internalized in many, many places. And Corbyn also struck a blow against the common assumption that parties must move to the center to win.

Beyond that, the meaning of this election will await further events.
Thanks to the Ulster-based Democratic Unionist Party and its leader Arlene Foster, Tory prime minister Theresa May gets a new lease at 10 Downing Street. Photo: Leon Neal; Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Despite what the whole world recognizes as a horrific performance in yesterdays general election, which she called to strengthen her government, it seems Theresa May will hang onto 10 Downing Street for the time being thanks to the support of the ten parliamentary representatives of Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party. The DUP, long the political vehicle for Ulster Protestants, seems to be making a point of helping May in order to punish Labour for Jeremy Corbyns long-ago expressions of sympathy for the Irish Republican Army. According to The Guardian:

The two parties [Labour and DUP] have worked well together for two years. Theres no reason to suppose they wont continue to do so in future. But the point made time after time to Labour MPs remains: for as long as you allow yourselves to be led by an IRA cheerleader, you exclude yourselves from entering No 10, said a DUP source.

The DUP will not, apparently, join in a formal coalition with the Tories, but will support it on key votes in Commons  its ten MPs along with the Conservatives 318 creates a bare majority of the 650 members. Its principal demand in exchange for propping up May is that in Brexit negotiations, scheduled to begin next week, the U.K. refuse to consider some special status for Northern Ireland (due to its long border with EU member Ireland) that might tend to detach the embattled region from the rest of the country.

While the Tory/DUP deal decisively blocks any move by Labour to form its own coalition, the long-range prospects for May are iffy. Some Tories are publicly  and undoubtedly many privately  suggesting her days as prime minister and party leader are numbered. Theres already speculation that foreign minister and former London mayor Boris Johnson could mount a challenge to May or succeed her in the event she resigns. In the current atmosphere of instability, theres also talk of another general election, perhaps as early as this autumn.

From a much broader perspective, Conservatives can take some solace in the returns as suggesting that with stronger leadership they still are the U.K.s natural governing party. Aside from emerging as the party with a near majority of MPs, the Tories won the popular vote by about 2 percent. And their 42.4 percent of the popular vote was actually the highest percentage the party has won in 30 years (they won an identical percentage in their last Thatcher-led campaign in 1987).

Its also true that this was the first British election since 1970  thats right, 1970  in which both the major parties won over 40 percent of the popular vote. And that points to an underlying dynamic of the election that helps explain it: the collapse of minor parties. The poor performance of the Scottish Nationalists yesterday is the most obvious example: Surprise losses to the Tories in Scotland probably saved Mays bacon as much as anything else, and the SNP is acknowledging it may have to shelve plans for a second independence referendum given its signs of weakness. Less noticed was the failure of the largest nationwide third party, the Liberal Democrats, to recover from its catastrophic performance in 2015. Yes, the LibDems regained a few seats in Parliament, but their share of the popular vote, at 7.2 percent, was its worst since its predecessor the Liberal Party took 5.9 percent in 1959.

The one sure thing going forward is that the long-simmering revolt against Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader is going to subside for now. His campaign appeared to mobilize young voters quite successfully, and Labour made sizable gains in London and the Tories onetime southern English stronghold. In a campaign in which the eventual (for the time being) winner talked endlessly of stability, the British political scene remains anything but stable.
OP, I'll let you know I after I listen to this. The Suburbs changed my life so I'll always give them the benefit of doubt.

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have you listened to their earlier work?

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Yeah I have, I don't mind a sound change for most bands. Just heard Everything Now and don't ready care for it.

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I don't looooove the new stuff yet, but I am gonna give it a chance, since I like "Everything Now" well enough.



I didn't get tickets for the tour yet, though. I figure that I will give myself some time to listen to the new stuff and decide whether or not I want to go see it live. If it's sold out, fine, I will buy last minute tickets the day of from someone who can't go or wait til the next go-round.

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yay my first post!!!



also my opinion as a huge fan who has probably listened to each ot their songs 500+ times (...): they've been slowly regressing since the suburbs but this is the bottom. all of the songs suck musically, the lyrics for creature comfort made me cry but they're still pretty awkward ngl, as for signs of life...i can't believe they copied their own lyrics, inserted like ten cliches and fucking recited the days of the week rebecca black style. so disappointed. i feel like they've lost it.



Edited at 2017-06-09 07:24 pm (UTC)

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The album isn't even out yet, sis



And they're still tops live.

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after the refkletor tapes my expectations have been nothing but low

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I love this disco-esque direction they're taking. I normally find their music too grandiose for my tastes, although I do love "Keep the Car Running" and "Wake Up". But "Everything Now" is a solid ass BOP and I've been playing it every day since I heard it.



However, I think "Winter for a Year" will always be my favorite of theirs and it's probably their most subdued song ever lol. It's so old, I think I heard this song for the first time like 12 years ago holy shit.





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Excited

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I've always had a really weird connection with them because I love certain songs of theirs but have never really enjoyed an album of theirs from start to finish. They're an amazing live band, though.

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whatever, i think EN is a bop



saw them twice last week at primavera and they still play a good mix of songs from all their albums - i was super buzzed b/c they played 3 fairly-rare tracks off neon bible (title track, intervention, windowsill) at the headline show, rather than heavy loading on reflektor/new stuff.

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intervention 

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omg i think i'd die if i hear intervention live

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I'm going to lose it when they play Intervention this tour. Ahhhhhhhhhh

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Neon Bible has slowly become my favorite album of theirs <3

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everything now is one of the best songs of the year already, my stan card remains shiny and strong as ever

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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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on my first post! when will your faves?

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I've had EN on repeat, but the video version is better than the regular track

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are you talking about intro? bc if so, the intro is the first song in the album (the tracklist leaked)

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Ohh ok that makes sense

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LOVES OF MY LIFE



Unapologetically love it all, can't wait to dance the fuck out of this album live.

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and on top of this they've spoken against big labels many times, are one of the many tidal owners and the new album seems to be focused on anti-consumerism?? maybe they want that coldplay-like exposure.

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I am STOKED! There's so many great albums dropping this year that I just can't keep up.

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Love their new song!

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The buddy-buddy vibe of Gulf countries working together in OPEC has served as a band-aid that has covered up friction between the monarchies for the past couple of years, but Qatars estrangement from five of its Arab allies has now brought regional tensions to a boiland the fate of the South Pars gas field is now very much up in the air.

Its all about Iran, on the surface. And timing is everything. On Wednesday night, two terrorist attacks in Tehran targeted the Iranian parliament and the tomb of its revolutionary leader, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 40 others.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, which represent the first such attack by the terrorist group in Iran.

Two days earlier, on Monday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Yemen, and Bahrain all joined Saudi Arabia in its condemnation of Qatar as a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Iran.

All in all, Dohas politics has harbored a multitude of terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to create instability in the region, read a statement by the Saudi Press Agency, which also encouraged all brotherly countries and companies to join the Kingdom in cutting all traffic to and from Qatar, and withdrawing its citizens. Qatar was also kicked out of the anti-Houthi coalition fighting in Yemen.

The Maldives and Libyas anti-United Nations regime in Benghaziitself considered to be a terrorist organization by somejoined the battle cry against Qatars legacy as a middleman between Iran and the Arab Middle East. The Qatari outlet Al Jazeera has taken to defending its home countrys ambitious diplomacy. An Iranian analyst of Gulf relations said in the article that the KSA and the UAE plan to reign Qatar in, forcing it to become another Bahrain if you will, in regard to its foreign policy efforts.

Qatar can only be so mean to Iran, and the Saudis know this. The two nations share the South Pars gas field  the largest in the world  in the Persian Gulf. Too much hostility could jeopardize the success of the massive project by discouraging foreign investment due to the volatility of the political climate.

Bahrain, a majority Shiite country with a Sunni leadership, has been bitter towards Qatar since Doha supported Iran-backed Arab Spring protestors who sought to topple the monarchy.

The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Qatar runs deep, with Saudi Arabia and two of its Gulf sidekicks cutting ties with Qatar in March 2014 for its relationship with Egypts Muslim Brotherhood, after the UAE jailed a Qatari citizen for leading what officials considered to be a wing of the terrorist organization. Related: OPEC Production Spikes  Has The Cheating Begun?

Sometimes a news article is all takes: an Al-Jazeera piece from 2002 that quoted dissidents to Riyadhs absolute monarchy caused the Saudis to withdraw their diplomat.

The newest reports say Washington is ready to play a role in mediating the fraught ties. Analysts say President Donald Trumps recent visit to Saudi Arabia, during which the leader condemned Iran as the worlds most prolific state-sponsor of terrorism, fueled an increase in political capital for the hardline anti-Tehran factions in Riyadh.

For Saudi Arabia, the moment Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al Thani called Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to congratulate him on his re-election late last month, shots had been fired.

But this whole shindig could just be a ruse to strengthen U.S.-Saudi ties. If the Gulf nations could give Trump the satisfaction of resolving a faux dispute, he might be disposed to increase American imports of fuel from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations.

The abandonment of Qatar has not led to ground-breaking developments in energy markets. Oil prices have continued their downward trend this week as Gulf nations accuse each of other of sponsoring terrorists.

This isnt good news for Saudi Arabia a country gearing up to sell part of its $1 trillion oil company to fund a full-scale economic upheaval. A quick resolution to the regional spat would be a good way to keep Trumps interest in Saudi oil, which would excite investors looking for a juicy return.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Iraq is planning to triple its refining capacity as the third-largest oil exporter increases crude oil production, Bloomberg reported, based on an interview with an official in the country.

Worlds top 20 oil exporters according to CIA data.

Iraqs current production is 4.5 MMBOPD, way beyond in-country refining capacity

Currently, Iraq is capable of processing about 500 MBOPD, far below the ~4.5 MMBOPD the country produced in 2016. Iraq exports much of this surplus crude, making it the third-largest exporter of crude oil according to Bloomberg.

The small amount of refining capacity means that one of the worlds largest oil producers actually has to import gasoline and other refined products. The country spends more than $2 billion each year importing various refined products.

Multiple projects planned

A group of planned projects, if they are completed, would go a long way to fixing this problem.

The biggest project is a second refinery in Basra, which would be capable of processing 300 MBOPD. The bidding deadline for the plant has been deferred by three months as more companies expressed interest in the project.

Bloomberg reports that two Chinese companies are considering a proposed 150 MBOPD facility in Nasiriya. Bidding recently closed on a 70 MBOPD refinery in Kirkuk, and the government will announce results later this month. Related: JP Morgan Slashes Its 2018 Oil Price Forecast By $11

According to Bloomberg, Iraq is looking to further boost its refining capacity by investing overseas. This would have a side benefit of opening up markets for Iraqi crude oil. Bloomberg reports that the Iraqi government is currently discussing investment in refineries and depots with China and Oman, and will soon begin similar discussions with Singapore and Indonesia.

Karbala refinery encounters problems; govt. paying the contractor in crude oil

However, not everything is good news for expansion projects. The 140 MBO refinery in Karbala has encountered significant delays, and the government is currently paying the contractor in crude oil while it attempts to secure further funding.

Iraqs OPEC deal compliance low, additional production growth on the horizon

A recent survey by S&P Global Platts reported that Iraqi production increased by 70 MBOPD to 4.43 MMBOPD in May. According to Platts, Iraqi cut compliance is only 70 percent, one of the lowest among OPEC members.

In March, the countrys oil minister announced plans to increase output to 5 MMBOPD by the end of the year. At the time, the government was in talks with Exxon to develop two oil fields. These two fields could produce a combined 500 MBOPD, according to the minister. Bids to develop three fields in southeastern Iraq will be open in late 2017. It is not clear if the governments position on increasing production has changed, as OPEC has agreed to a cut extension since these comments were made. Related: Texas Oil And Gas Exports Are Booming

The country changed its laws in 2007 in order to make international investment into downstream operations more attractive. Iraq loosened the control of the state oil company by allowing foreign companies to build refineries and operate them over a 40-year period.

ISIS aggression shuts in refining capacity in 2016

The need for increased refining capacity became salient last fall as ISIS targeted oil and gas operations around the country. In mid-2014, Iraq lost 310 MBOPD of refining from the Baiji facility, while attacks at the end of July took the 175 MBOPD Bai Hassan facility offline temporarily. Bai Hassan later resumed operations at 100 MBOPD, but continued tensions between the central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, which now controls the area around the facility, had left its potential output in limbo.

Iraq has a number of projects in the works to help recoup the lost capacity, including a 140 MBOPD facility at Karbala, which is slated for completion in 2019. So far, it is the only grassroots facility to reach the construction phase, and already it is behind schedule due to funding shortfalls from lower oil prices.

By Oil & Gas 360

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Oil has fallen lower this week, with a particularly bearish EIA report combining with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East to push prices downwards. Another increase in the rig count is unlikely to improve sentiment.

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Friday, June 9, 2017

Oil prices got crushed mid-week after the EIA reported a surprising increase in both crude oil and gasoline inventories, a terrible sign that points to ongoing problems with oversupply. WTI and Brent dropped by 5 percent, with WTI sinking back into the mid-$40s. The selloff slowed at the end of the week, but oil traders seem to be looking for some direction.

What happens next for prices? The OPEC cuts probably put a floor beneath prices, with few analysts predicting substantial price losses from here, but there is also not a lot of confidence that a rally is imminent. Unless data are released that make the latest inventory build appear an anomaly, oil prices are hardly likely to make any lasting recovery, Commerzbank wrote in a note. PVM Oil Associates strategist Tamas Varga also sounded downbeat. I've been quite bullish for the second half of this year, based on supply and demand balances and I would still not give up on that idea, that rebalancing is going to start in the second half, Varga said this week. But if Nigerian and Libyan production is picking up as well as they are now, then slowly, I am probably going to have to start changing my mind.

Lower prices could put a dent in U.S. shale. "If the market's telling you anything, it's saying, 'E&P guys, slow down,'" said David Pursell, an analyst at investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. "Investors are more worried about whether the market can absorb this slug of growth from U.S. shale." The investment bank says that shale is probably on its way to strong growth this year, but if prices stay between $40 and $45 then it could derail the production growth in 2018. "That $10 makes a big difference," Pursell said.

Shell lifts force majeure in Nigeria. Royal Dutch Shell lifted its force majeure on its Forcados oil stream in Nigeria, a source of exports that have been offline for more than a year. The resumption of Forcados exports could see 200,000 to 250,000 bpd of additional supplies coming from Nigeria, a headache for OPEC as it tries to balance the market. Higher output from Nigeria this year will come on top of expected gains from the U.S., Canada and Brazil, among others.

Exxon and Shell say no interruptions in Qatar. The severing of ties by several Gulf States with Qatar raised concerns about supply interruptions. But Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) said that exports of LNG from Qatar have not been affected. The row between Qatar and its neighbors over the alleged support of terrorism, at this point, does not appear to be a major risk to the oil and gas market. Related: Texas Oil And Gas Exports Are Booming

U.S. considers Venezuela sanctions. The U.S. government is mulling a series of sanctions that would target Venezuelas oil sector over the governments crackdown on protestors, a move that could be highly damaging to a country on the brink of collapse. It is not certain that the Trump administration will move forward, knowing that it would exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in the country.

BP steps up gas investments. A series of recent moves by BP (NYSE: BP) highlight the oil majors shift towards natural gas. BP announced some natural gas investments in Trinidad & Tobago as well as a deal with Rosneft to explore, produce and sell gas in Europe. BP executives say their shift towards gas is intentional, eyeing a future in which they are forced to pay some sort of price on carbon. Gas and renewables, the oil major believes, will see their market share grow over time.

Moodys upgrades BP. Moodys upgraded BPs (NYSE: BP) credit rating for the first time in 19 years this week, pointing to a strong performance recently and clarity around the size and timing of remaining cash payments linked to the Deep Water Horizon incident. Moodys hiked BPs rating up one notch to A1.

UK election leads to uncertainty. The British pound plunged immediately after the June 8 election in the UK, which resulted in a loss of the majority for the Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May. The weakened PM will still try to form a government, but has faced calls to step down. The uncertainty didnt register in the oil market, however, and will likely only have a temporary effect on the pound. Related: Is Russia Running Out Of Patience With OPEC?

Kurdistan announces independence bid. Kurdistan says that it will hold a referendum on its independence on September 25. The semi-autonomous region of northern Iraq has been angling for independence for quite some time, but deteriorating relations with the Iraqi government in Baghdad has led the Kurdish government to gamble on a vote. But it is not clear if a yes vote will lead to formal independence. Needless to say, there are huge implications for the countrys oil sector. Kurdistan produces several hundred thousand barrels per day, hosting a range of international companies. There are also oil fields in disputed territory in and around Kirkuk, which Kurdish forces have occupied since ISIS started seizing land in 2014.

California signs climate deal with China. In the wake of President Trumps withdrawal from the Paris Climate accord, several U.S. states are accelerating their efforts at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. California is the most important, and Californias Governor Jerry Brown just signed a deal with China to cooperate on clean tech, emissions trading and other climate-positive initiatives, according to Reuters. Some of the details are preliminary, but under discussion is a possible scheme to link emissions trading programs between China and California.

By Tom Kool of Oilprice.com:

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Sean Rayford/Getty Images(AUGUSTA, Ga.) -- Reality Leigh Winner, a 25-year-old National Security Agency contractor accused of leaking classified information about Russian hacking to the media, wrote that she wanted to "burn the White House down" in notes confiscated from her home during a raid, federal prosecutors said in court on Thursday.



Winner pleaded not guilty to a charge of willful retention and transmission of national defense information in federal court in Augusta, Georgia. She was arrested at her Georgia home on June 3 and charged with removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet.



Winner was a contractor with top-secret clearance when she allegedly leaked a classified report about Russian election interference to the online publication The Intercept. The Department of Justice said she printed and improperly removed the classified information on May 9 and then mailed it a few days later.



At the time, Winner was working at an NSA outpost while technically employed by a government contractor called Pluribus International Corp.



In court, federal prosecutors said Winner told a federal agent on Saturday that she purposely accessed the information, hoping that someone would have leaked it already, ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV reported.



Prosecutors said they seized handwritten notes -- written in several languages -- from her home during a raid, including one that said "I want to burn the White House down." Other notes detailed how to get a burner email account and phones, and travel details for a trip to Afghanistan Winner allegedly planned to make in the summer.



Winner's mother, Billie Winner-Davis; stepfather, Gary Davis; and a friend testified in court.

Winner allegedly told her mother that she needed to "go nuclear with the press" if she didn't get bond because that's how Chelsea Manning got out.



When prosecutors questioned Winner-Davis about her daughter telling her to "play that angle," she said it was true.



A federal judge denied Winners request for bond.

Winner's attorney, Titus Nichols, told ABC News prior to Thursday's hearing that his client planned to plead not guilty. He did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment following Winner's court appearance.

Here's the shot: Alleged NSA leaker Reality Winner headed back to prison after judge denies bond. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/iEoCoSxqdJ  Nicole Carr (@NicoleCarrWSB) June 8, 2017

Winner was the first person to be jailed by the Trump administration after being accused of leaking classified information.



Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nations security and undermines public faith in government," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement after Winner was arrested. "People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation.



Winner's mother and stepfather told ABC affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta earlier this week that Winner, an Air Force veteran, is a patriot.



"There's so many ugly things out there. She doesn't deserve that," Winners mother told WSB-TV. "I just want her to be treated fairly."



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Azerbaijans Energy Minister Natig Aliyev died on Friday in Turkey, and his body will be flown to Azerbaijans capital Baku on Saturday, Upstream Online reports, quoting the Azeri Energy Ministry as saying.

Oil and gas industry veteran Aliyev, 69, suffered a cardiac arrest last weekend in Baku, according to the ministry. Earlier this week, Azeri media reported that Aliyev was hospitalized in Baku due to heart problems, and was in a serious but stable condition.

Aliyev was later flown to an Istanbul hospital, where he died on Friday.

Aliyev had served as Azerbaijans energy minister since 2005.

Before that, he was chairman of state energy company SOCAR, and took active part in the negotiations for Azerbaijans first offshore Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with western majors.

Azerbaijan and a consortium of foreign oil companies signed back in 1994 a 30-year PSA for the Azeri-Chirag-Deepwater Guneshli (ACG) field. Foreign partners in the venturealongside SOCARs 11.6 percent interestinclude BP, Chevron, INPEX, Statoil, ExxonMobil, TPAO, ITOCHU, and ONGC. BP, which holds a 35.8 percent stake in the venture, is operator of the field.

In the first quarter of this year, total production at Chirag was on average 55,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to BP.

Azerbaijan, which is part of the OPEC/non-OPEC production cut deal, continues to stick to its commitment to cut 35,000 bpd of its output, the energy ministry said earlier this week. Azerbaijan has submitted its output and exports figures for May to OPECs Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, with data showing production at 785,300 bpd in May, including 55,000 bpd of condensate. Azerbaijan exported 596,500 bpd of crude oil, 55,000 bpd of condensate, and 12,200 bpd of oil products last month, according to its energy ministry.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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A court of first instance in Brussels has ruled that Russian assets in Belgiumfrozen at the request of former Yukos shareholders as part of their legal battle against Russiabe unfrozen, the General Director of the International Legal Protection Center, Andrey Kondakov, told Russian news agency TASS on Friday.

The Brussels court also removed the block on accounts of the news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti, Kondakov said.

An hour ago, I got a call from lawyers representing the Russian side in court and they said that a first instance court in Brussels has lifted all attachments from Russias assets in Belgium and also assets of Russian federal state unitary enterprises - ITAR-TASS and RIA Novosti, Kondakov told TASS, adding that the Russian assets were seized in June and July 2015.

Early this year, former shareholders of the now-defunct oil giant Yukos and Russian government lawyers began procedures for an appeal over US$50 billion that Moscow and ex-Yukos shareholders have been dragging through the courts since 2005.

Former Yukos owner and critic of the Kremlin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was arrested in 2003 and convicted of theft and tax evasion two years later. Yukos was broken up and sold off to state companies, including Rosneft. Khodorkovsky was released from jail in 2013 after Vladimir Putin pardoned him.

In the meantime, former Yukos shareholders sued for compensation for the assets they lost, which they claim were expropriated by the Russian government. In 2014, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Russia must pay US$50 billion to the ex-Yukos shareholders.

Russia has refused to pay up, and two years later, in April 2016, The Hague District Court reversed the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction to arbitrate in the case.

With the arbitration awards quashed, the Russian Federation is no longer liable for paying compensation to these parties, The Hague District Court said back then.

Last month, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that Russia unlawfully bankrupted Yukos. The court said that the Russian authorities not only violated the Russian [tax] rules, but also that this was done with the apparent intent to make Yukos insolvent and ultimately bankrupt Yukos, Yukos Foundation, which protects Yukos assets outside Russia, said in a statement on May 9.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Two Qatari LNG tankers carrying a combined 524,000 cu m of the fuel suddenly changed course in the Gulf of Aden on their way to the Suez Canal yesterday, energy intelligence data provider Kpler reported, quoted by media. The vessels, each carrying 262,000 cu m of LNG, were believed to have been bound for the UK.

There has been no information about a closing of the Suez Canal to Qatari vessels, despite Egypt severing diplomatic relations with Qatar. The CNBC quoted RBCs commodities chief Helima Croft as saying that 13 percent of global LNG shipments go through the Suez Canal.

Later in the day, Kpler told Oilprice that the tankers were likely heading down the African coast, to go around the Cape of Good Hope. Though the two tankers are moving in different directions, it might be because the second one, Zarga, has opted to avoid dangerous Somali waters. Both cargos are set for delays, Zarga by five days and Mafyar by 10 days. Neither has given updates about its new destination.

As Kuwait and the U.S. try to defuse the crisis in the oil-rich Gulf, Qatar is standing its ground. In a news conference yesterday, the countrys Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told media that We have been isolated because we are successful and progressive. We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy.

The minister added that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and the Maldives have not yet made any formal demands on the Qatari government, but cautioned that the solution to the situation had to be peaceful. The seven countries cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism and Iran.

The accusations followed an interview with the Qatari Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in which the ruler made critical remarks about Saudi Arabia and the U.S. and spoke in favor of better Arab-Iranian relations. Saudi Arabia has demanded that Doha cut its relations with Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas. The news site where the interview appeared later said it had been hacked, and that the remarks were fake news, but this has so far had no effect on developments.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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The militants who wagered a war against Nigerian oil output in 2016 are banding together once again to threaten the African nations energy sector.

Corporal Oleum Belum, spokesman for the New Delta Avengers (NDA), sounded a battle-cry against the Delta Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) and other oil agencies on Monday.

We hereby declare Operation Cripple Oil and Gas Production by any means available to us, he said. The Federal Government and oil companies  local and multinationals  operating in Delta State are hereby put on notice that effective from midnight, June 30, this year of upheavals 2017, there should be no more oil and gas operations in Delta State.

Attacks against the oil facilities held by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and foreign oil majors have for the most part stopped since the beginning of the year. President Muhammadu Buharis administration has made diplomatic efforts to ease the grievances of the residents of the Niger Delta and their Niger Delta Avengers. One proposed solution is to legalize the makeshift refineries in the area, which process stolen oil for local consumption. Abuja would offer a limited volume of crude to the residents at a discounted price to refine at the small refineries in exchange for peace.

But the diplomacy and proposed solutions are not enough for the New Delta Avengers.

Those who try our resolve shall be made a canon folder and used to show our determination. All members of the Joint Action Committee are hereby authorized to return to the trenches, the group says.

On May 23rd, militants attacked a pipeline operated by the Nigerian Gas Company Ltd., a subsidiary of the NNPC, Nigeria Gas Company spokesman Violin Antaih told AFP at the time.

It has been confirmed, even by the community people, that it was a third-party sabotage, Antaih said. Analysts say the attack served as a warning, that the destruction could return, should talks fail.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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India been cautioned against any strategic miscalculation: FO

ISLAMABAD: India could be seeking conflict with Pakistan, warned Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria at his weekly media briefing on Thursday. The spokesmans statement has come amid escalating tension along the Line of Control (LoC), which is witnessing a sharp increase in ceasefire violations. Mr Zakaria said India had been cautioned against any strategic miscalculation. The operations chiefs of Pakistani and Indian armies had, during an unscheduled hotline conversation earlier this week, traded threats of retaliatory actions. India, it is said, has intensified shelling along the LoC to distract world attention from aggravating human rights situation in held Kashmir. Some nine people, including students, were killed in the valley last week by Indian security agencies. Spokesman expresses concern over Saudi-Qatar rift, calls for unity among Muslim countries India is said to have breached ceasefire along the LoC some 400 times this year, which is more than the total tally of violations last year  382. The number of violations of the 2003 ceasefire accord by India has steeply increased over the past few years. For the first time in 13 years, India used artillery on the LoC last year in what was seen as an indication of its desire to escalate tension. The deteriorating situation has been noted with concern by the international community. The FO spokesman said: We have no desire to escalate the situation. Pakistani armed forces would respond effectively to any unprovoked violations. He said: The Indian belligerence is a threat to regional peace and security. A Voice of America report had last week pointed to the probability of Indian troops picking up at least two civilians from Pakistani territory and killing them as intruders. The report had noted denial by Pakistani officials of the claim by the son of a man killed by the Indian army that his father had been taken away from this side of the LoC. Meanwhile, Pakistan has raised the issue of human rights violations in India-held Kashmir at the Council of Human Rights in Geneva at its 35th session. Both Pakistan and India are joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at its 17th summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, which began on Thursday. The spokesman said: Pakistan abides by SCO charter and will fulfil its obligations as per the Shanghai spirit. We believe that all countries have an important and positive role to play to establish peace in the region and resolve disputes through peaceful means. Pakistan fully supports every effort in this direction. Breaking its studied silence on the widening rift between Qatar and Saudi Arabia plus its allies, the spokesman said Pakistan was concerned over the developments. Pakistan believes in unity among Muslim countries. We have made consistent efforts for its promotion. The situation, therefore, is a matter of concern, he said. The government had been avoiding commenting on the crisis in the Middle East. The spokesman, however, avoided commenting on the visit of a Qatari delegation. Abdul Hadi Al-Hajri, a special emissary of Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has visited Pakistan while leading a six-member delegation, according to a diplomatic source. During his two-day stay in Pakistan ending on Thursday, Mr Hajri, a frequent visitor to Pakistan and a close friend of the Sharifs, met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore. The delegation reportedly carried a message of Qatars emir about his countrys diplomatic crisis. The Qatari delegation returned to Doha from Islamabad on Thursday afternoon.
Is it time to get rid of voting on school budgets?

Practically all spending plans  county, town and village are voted on by elected officials, who are elected by residents to serve their interests.

Yet, school budgets are still put up for vote every third Tuesday in May. Nearly all of them pass without much opposition. An overwhelmingly majority of the districts stayed under the cap and 99.3 percent of budgets were approved, according to the New York State School Boards Association. In this area, only Putnam Central School narrowly failed by a vote of 92-90.

Turnout for the school elections remains abysmally low. An estimated 561,833 people cast ballots in school elections in 2017 compared with more than 987,000 in 2010, according to the New York State Council of School Superintendents  the lowest since 2003.

The article in the New York State School Boards Association On Board magazine actually quotes the president of the Elmira school board President Sara Lattin, who said it was a good sign that turnout was low compared to five years ago when there was a budget that contained layoffs and highly contested school board races.

Robert Lowry, deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, is quoted as saying that some people vote by not voting.

A low turnout can help school budgets pass. People who come out to vote no on something are often very motivated to cast that ballot.

I have blogged about this before. With the imposition of the tax cap, a lot of the decision-making power has been out of the hands of school boards. They are constrained by state aid, state and federal mandates and the tax cap.

Maybe it is time to just vote on school board candidates and entrust those people to develop the budget. Perhaps the election could be moved to coincide with the regular election in November. That way, people elected to the school board would be able to weigh in on next years budget process, which begins in earnest in January.
President Trumps budget proposal to privatize air traffic control is moving us in the right direction, said U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, without taking a definitive position.

I think that it is a proposal that is moving us in the right direction. Were soliciting feedback from the various stakeholders in our district, Stefanik said in a telephone interview on Thursday.

Trump, in his federal budget blueprint, backed a proposal House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., has long supported to shift federal air traffic control from the Federal Aviation Administration to an independent, non-profit private entity, a move supporters of the change say would increase efficiency and enable the FAA to focus on safety.

For too long, the federal government has been the impediment in updating our air traffic control operation to a world class, state-of-the-art system, Shuster said in a press release. We still rely on World War II-era technology to navigate the most used air space in the world.

Opponents, including many House Democrats, have said it is unwise to remove air traffic control from congressional oversight.

Aviation unions have been major campaign contributors to Stefanik.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association contributed $5,500 to Stefaniks campaign in the first quarter of this year, and $7,000 in the 2016 election cycle.

The Airline Pilots Association contributed $7,000 in the 2016 election cycle and $5,000 in the 2014 election cycles.

Both unions issued statement on Monday that they are reviewing President Trumps budget proposal.

Neither union had taken a definitive position, as of Thursday afternoon.

A third union, the Professional Aviation Specialists Association, contributed $1,000 in the 2016 election cycle.

Stefanik said she is networking with Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, about the proposal.

I havent been involved in crafting the House legislation, she said. I think it is an important conversation that we need to have as part of a broader discussion on an infrastructure package in this Congress.
GLENS FALLS  Standing in the center of the new Feibes & Schmitt Gallery at The Hyde Collection is like breathing in a lifetime of stories and the art that tattooed such moments onto the hearts of the two men who discovered the pieces in their shared life.

These are like family, said Werner Feibes, pointing to the pieces in the gallerys inaugural exhibition that he and his partner donated to The Hyde. And to have such a loving family adopting my kids 

The 1,500-square-foot Feibes & Schmitt Gallery in The Hyde opened privately on Friday at noon with the inaugural exhibition, To Distribute and Multiply: The Feibes & Schmidt Gift. The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday with a free Community Day starting at noon.

This is a great day for the city, said Dan Bruno, chairman of the Glens Falls Planning Board, at the Friday event.

Feibes and his late partner, James Schmitt, who spent 60 years together collecting pieces of art that spoke to them, donated 160 of the storied works that hang in their Schenectady home to the Glens Falls museum with the stipulation they build a gallery to house the collection. In addition to the works of art, they donated $1 million for the gallerys construction.

We said that they had to have a gallery with the work of our time, Feibes said in an interview on Friday.

As she welcomed a small group of guests, Erin Coe, the museums director, said that Friday marked the next incarnation of The Hyde.

Werner Feibes and James Schmitt are renowned in Schenectady and they had a major architectural firm. I knew them as collectors in the mid-90s while I was in graduate school, Coe said in an interview earlier this week. They amassed the most significant collection, 160 pieces. This is truly a gift of a lifetime and their collection found a home here in Glens Falls.

The way Coe explained it, the Feibes & Schmitt gift is the largest to the museum since Charlotte Hyde started the gallery in the 1950s.

It is a historic moment for the Hyde. It is such a poignant moment in our history, she said. It humbles one in the face of such generosity.

Because the gift stipulates that all works displayed in the gallery must be the art of the day, it adds a new arm to The Hyde, Coe said.

The museum is publicly embracing contemporary art, she said. Were talking about 20th-century, post-war, non-objective art. With this gift, we have become a regional hub for post-war (after World War II) art. It is rare for a museum to have modern art alongside of the Old Masters. You would have to go to New York City.

Non-objective art means abstract, not representing something.

Werner said, non-objective art is freed from the conception it needs to look like something, it doesnt have to have a story, a narrative, the art speaks to you, Coe said at the opening. The Feibes & Schmitt Collection is about the many friendships between the art and the collector and Werner is sharing and giving you the opportunity to let it speak to you.

According to Coe, with the opening of the new gallery, there is regional access to collections previously available only in much larger urban centers.

On Saturday, the public is invited from noon to 7 p.m. to visit the collection, take part in art activities on the front lawn, like creating a large Spirograph with plotted points marked on the grass and experiencing the art of others.

And in keeping with the weekend, the museum has extended an invitation to bikers visiting the area for Americade. Ride to the Hyde, said Karl Seitz, board of trustees chairman.

Mr. Feibes, like Charlotte Hyde, believes art is to be shared, Seitz said.

The name of the gallerys first exhibition, To Distribute and Multiply: The Feibes & Schmitt Gift, came from the words of contemporary artist, Josef Albers: To distribute material possessions is to divide them, to distribute spiritual possessions is to multiply them.

The exhibit includes more than 40 works from the Feibes & Schmitt collection, representing some of the 20th centurys most influential artists, such as Jean (Hans) Arp, Josef Albers, Ilya Bolotowsky, Keith Haring, Grace Hartigan, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol LeWitt, Man Ray, Louise Nevelson, Pablo Picasso, George Rickey, Bridget Riley and Andy Warhol among others.
A Warren County grand jury has decided that a registered nurse who was arrested earlier this year for allegedly roughing up a mentally ill patient should not face criminal charges.

The grand jurys action dismissed felony and misdemeanor charges against Stephanie L. Maybury-Caruso, 39, of Johnstown.

She was arrested in March after an investigation into an incident weeks earlier at Glens Falls Hospital. Police were told by hospital staff that Maybury-Caruso had choked a woman in the hospitals behavioral health unit.

An investigation by the New York State Justice Center and Glens Falls Police led to a felony count of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person and misdemeanor charge of criminal obstruction of breathing.

Maybury-Caruso was trying to administer medication to the mentally disabled woman when she allegedly put her hands around the womans throat and squeezed, police said. The patient was not injured, but at least one other staff member witnessed the incident, and it was captured on surveillance video that did not have audio, according to police.

Her lawyer, Tucker Stanclift, said that Maybury-Carusos version of events had been consistent, and the defense believed she should let the grand jury know what happened.

She was defending herself and the scuffle lasted 3 to 4 seconds, Stanclift said.

She was in the process of trying to get the medication cup back and a struggle occurred, Stanclift said.

The case was prosecuted by the Warren County District Attorneys Office and the state Justice Center. District Attorney Kate Hogan referred comment to the Justice Center, which was the lead agency, and a spokeswoman for the agency said she had no comment.

Maybury-Caruso worked for Glens Falls Hospital and resigned after the incident, weeks before she was charged. Stanclift said she has been unemployed since.

The state Office of Professions website shows her nurse license is still active.

This has dramatically affected her life, he said. She just wants to go back to work.

A second nurse who hospital staff said in a statement was involved in the incident but not charged was fired.
FORT EDWARD  A Cambridge man who was convicted of involvement in a massive Albany-area drug ring two years ago has been sent to prison for violating probation.

David J. Alpy, 23, was found to have violated probation for a charge of felony attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance. He pleaded guilty in connection with a 2014 bust in Albany County that landed 25 people in custody for selling illegal drugs and prescription drugs.

He lived in Mechanicville at the time, but his probation was transferred to Washington County when he moved to Cambridge. He was re-arrested in Albany last summer and charged with violating probation.

Washington County Judge Kelly McKeighan sentenced him to 3 years in state prison to be followed by 2 years on parole.
QUEENSBURY  Eighteen months ago, the state sent Queensbury a chilling message.

The Department of State was going to subject the town to an increased level of monitoring for all grants, because the town had responded so poorly to a critical audit.

But it appears the town never got the message. Town records included the critical draft audit, but not the final version, issued five days after Supervisor John Strough responded to the draft.

The final audit is part of the criminal investigation of Lake George Watershed Coalition contractor Dave Decker, who is accused of siphoning grant money to his own bank account. He has not been charged with stealing in relation to grants that Queensbury sponsored, but law enforcement officials said more charges may be coming after a grand jury considers the case.

The state audit warned Queensbury, Bolton and the village of Lake George to stop trusting Decker so much. Officials were not conducting sufficient reviews of Deckers work and did not perform even periodic oversight of his expense claims, according to the audit.

Strough responded to the draft by saying that the state had approved the setup in which Decker was both grant administrator and project manager for the Lake George Watershed Coalition. Strough said the town had limited resources to review and oversee Decker.

Strough maintained that the state accepted that argument. He said the town had worked it out with state officials. He even went along with Decker at a public meeting when Decker said the town had passed the audit.

But the final audit report makes it clear that the state did not consider the situation resolved.

As no additional measures have currently been implemented, an increased level of contract monitoring will continue until it has been demonstrated that the observations and recommendations related to DOS grants have been addressed, the state officials wrote.

No one apparently knew about the states criticism until this April  nearly a year and a half later  when it came up in the Decker case after his March arrest.

Town Board member Doug Irish demanded to know why Strough hadnt given the audit report to the board. Strough argued that all he had was the draft.

Neither side actually asked the state for the final audit until this month. Strough asked on June 1, he said. Irish asked on Wednesday. The state provided it to both of them on Wednesday.

Officials from the state said they would try to find proof that they had sent it to the town when it was completed in 2015. But Strough said the town didnt get it until Wednesday.

It was the first time that we had seen it. Budget Officer Barbara Tierney and I re-searched our records, both hard copy and electronic, to make sure we had not overlook(ed) its delivery. Not there, Supervisor John Strough said in an email.

Irish isnt convinced.

I thought it interesting that it took me about four hours to get the audit, he said.

He added that he didnt think Strough was at fault for Deckers alleged crimes.

I dont think John is guilty of anything but a cover-up, he said.

He wants to focus on the issues in the audit, rather than criticizing Strough, he said. The main issue, as he sees it, is that Deckers alleged theft could not have happened if town officials had followed the existing procurement policy. That would have included having someone other than Decker attest to receiving materials and doing various jobs.

How do we fix it so it doesnt happen again? he said.

Right now, hes not confident the procurement policies are being followed consistently. He wants the entire board to make it clear to town employees that they must be sticklers.

Well have to revisit that and make sure everyone is requiring whats required, he said.

If he had seen the audit in 2015, he said, he would have proposed ceasing all work with Decker on grants, and pulling out of the Lake George Watershed Coalition. He still wants to accomplish the second task.

The mission is good, but it shouldnt be up to three townships, he said. It should be up to the three counties that make up the Lake George basin.

Strough said he would have given the audit to the board if he had gotten a final version.

Other than that, he said, I would do just what I did.

He called for a meeting with the state, as well as Decker and officials from Bolton and Lake George, to work out a solution. The town also hired a consultant to review Deckers grant administration.

End of day  all was successful, he said, noting that the state eventually paid out each grant. That showed that any, and all, DOS concerns have been satisfactorily addressed, he said.
SOUTH GLENS FALLS  At first, Village Hall workers thought it was a scam.

They got a letter with bold print from National Grid, claiming a payment was delinquent. It included the boilerplate phrase, shutoff notice. They checked with National Grid; the village power bill was paid on time.

Then a second notice came.

Only then did they figure out that the bill had nothing to do with their electrical usage.

Last September, a village worker who was picking up leaves backed a payloader into a pole on Hamilton Street and broke it, Mayor Harry Gutheil said.

National Grid wanted $16,000, in an itemized bill that included the cost of all work, the pole itself and even 20 cents for each washer and bolt.

But the villages insurance denied the claim, citing a state Court of Appeals case that determined municipalities could not be sued for property damage during normal duties. Claimants would have to prove the damage was caused by reckless behavior.

Theyre not going to prove recklessness in that case, village attorney Mike Muller said. Youre good.

National Grid didnt think so. The company never heard from the villages insurance, New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal, said company spokesman Patrick Stella. Thats why the company began billing the village with increasingly threatening letters.

Gutheil thought, until he spoke with Muller, that the village had to pay.

He was crafting a plan to negotiate, based on a similar situation he once dealt with while supervisor of Moreau.

I said, If thats what these poles are worth, Im going to talk to the assessor and get those poles revalued, he said. And the case went away.

Public Works Supervisor Richard Daley tried to offer a positive spin on it.

Well get even with them when they hit a water line, he said.

Then Muller told them not to pay the bill.

A municipality is not liable for mere negligence, he said, adding that the village insurance company, NYMIR, also promised to defend the village in court if needed.

Gutheil hesitated.

Do you think theyll sue? he asked.

Muller shrugged.

If they do, the village gets a defense, he said. And its going to be an excellent defense because its going to rely on that Court of Appeals case.

Stella made no threat of a lawsuit. He said the fight was an error of miscommunication.

The unusual part in this case is we had no prior communication with the insurance company, he said. We will proactively reach out to their insurance company now.
As growing numbers of schools move to limit student access to cellphones, many are navigating pushback from parents. They want to be able to connect with their children at a moments notice. Bans on the devices were on the rise before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since schools reopened, struggles with student behavior and mental health have given some schools even more reason to restrict access. But parents and caregivers who had constant access to their children during remote learning have been reluctant to give that up. Some fear losing touch with their kids during a school shooting. In some cases, parent pushback has led to a change in policy.
The Warren County public works employee who was injured when a load of hot asphalt was dumped on the cab of the truck she was driving in an asphalt plant has returned to work.

The woman is on light duty for the time being, assisting in the office, county Public Works Superintendent Jeff Tennyson said. She suffered burns May 16 when she was picking up a load of asphalt for a paving job at the Peckham Industries plant in Chester, and the asphalt was dumped on the cab of the truck instead of in the dump box.

Public Works Superintendent Jeff Tennyson said the circumstances of the incident are still under investigation, but Peckham has been cooperative and is still the countys asphalt supplier. The 2007 truck will likely not be salvageable, but it was unclear who will pay for the truck.

He said the paving industry across the country had taken notice of the incident.

I think what you will see come out of this is a much safer process, Tennyson said.

 Don Lehman

Sheriff promotions

The Washington County Sheriffs Office has shuffled some of its administration.

Tony LeClaire has been promoted to captain, to replace the retiring Bryn Reynolds. The captain supervises the law enforcement division.

LeClaire was a senior investigator, and a replacement will be sought from among the investigative staff, Sheriff Jeff Murphy said. Another lieutenant position has been added, to work alongside Lt. Jeff Tucker.

 Don Lehman

Restaurant Week set

Lake George Region Restaurant Week will take place from June 11-17.

A dozen restaurants in Queensbury, Lake Luzerne, Lake George and Bolton are offering special three-course menus for $20.17.

This is the 11th year of the event, which is being facilitated by the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce and Convention Visitors Bureau. The chamber also coordinates a restaurant week in September, which will take place from Sept. 10-16.

Among the participating restaurants are Adirondack Bar & Grill, Adirondack Pub & Brewery, The Algonquin Restaurant, The Barnsider Restaurant, The Boathouse Restaurant, Ciros at Rocky Ridge, The View at Dunhams Bay Resort, The Lobster Pot, The Log Jam Restaurant, Mama Risos Restaurant, Marios Restaurant and Giovannas on the Lake at The Georgian Lakeside Resort, according to a news release.

The special price applies to specific menu choices from the restaurant and some restaurants do exclude certain days. Tax or tip is not included.

For more information, visit www.lakegeorgechamber.com/restaurant-week or call the chamber at 668-5755

 Michael Goot

No Place for Hate

South Glens Falls Central School District schools were recognized on May 18 by the Anti-Defamation League as No Place for hate for their efforts to create inclusive learning environments that are free of bias and bullying.

More than 350 students and educators attended a recognition ceremony at the University at Albanys Performing Arts Center.

No Place for Hate was a wonderful collaboration between the school district and the ADL to promote character education and leadership development that will empower our students to be advocates of a positive school culture and climate, said Superintendent Michael Patton in a news release. We appreciate the support of Education Project Director Beth Martinez, who helped us at one of our Parent University sessions and at each of our six buildings throughout the year.

 Michael Goot

Week with owls

Queensbury High School science teacher Susan Pienta has been awarded a fellowship through EarthWatch Institute to spend a week at the end of June collecting data on owls in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona.

Pienta is one of eight teachers across the country who will be participating as part of Project Kindle Fellowship, which provides teachers with resources to participate in hands-on scientific field expeditions, according to a news release.

Pienta would like students to join her on a future expedition in 2018. She will be collecting data on nocturnal insects and owls to determine how changes in climate and forest may affect owls and their habitat.

Students can follow her trip online via Instagram by following @MsPienta and the hashtag #QnitedOwls.

 Michael Goot
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Finding Peace of Mind: Discover These Five Places in Europe to Unwind
Admittedly, it was the email tagline that grabbed my attention: College Hunks Hauling Junk are coming to the Quad-Cities.

Yes, that is a company, and its eyeing the Quad-Cities as part of expansion nationwide. The 12-year-old company, founded by a pair of then-college students, is looking for a local franchisee to join the Tampa, Florida-based College Hunks.

Were trying to fill out our Midwest footprint, said Nick Friedman, who co-founded the junk removal/moving service with friend Omar Soliman. Their goal is to add about two dozen franchises a year with half in the Midwest.

Friedman said College Hunks Hauling Junk began when the pair were in college and Solimans mom had a beat-up van and said, Why dont you do something with it.

At first, the two did as the name suggests: hauled out junk for people.

We realized people had a need for the service and appreciated the notion of having friendly collegiate guys doing the work, Friedman said.

After graduating college and short stints in corporate America, they returned to their startup.

We realized we needed to learn how to grow our business and not just run it, he said.

Today, College Hunks is about 100 franchises strong and employs more than 1,000 people  not all college hunks, but many are. For more information, visit collegehunksfranchise.com.

One of our core values is building leaders, Friedman said. "We want to just prepare them to be successful in their future endeavors, no matter what that path might be."

Not bad for a pair of friends who met in 10th-grade detention.

Augustana students prove business acumen

Three teams of Augustana College students have shown they have the types of ideas that can make it in the business world.

In the college's Rogers Business Plan Competition, a Shark Tank-like competition, the teams were selected as winners after presenting their plans to a panel of business professionals.

They include: first place, Connor Woolf and Janice Wu for their JobPlug, a new type of job-hunting website, $7,000; second place, Dana Goggin, Katie Le and Trisha Piekarczyk for PEAK, a smartphone app to help roommates split bills, buy household supplies and divide chores, $4,500; and third place, Camilo Duarte for 2Improve, an improv comedy club.

Each business plan had to identify a problem that people or businesses have and propose a solution in the form of a product or service an entrepreneur wants to offer. Winners were announced last month after the best five plans presented their ideas to the business professionals.

The competition is supported and funded by the Howard and Helen Rogers Entrepreneurship Endowment.

DeWitt student essay wins Culver's contest

For Skylar Bloom, an incoming senior at DeWitt Central High School, the future of agriculture is bright.

In fact, her thoughts on the subject helped Skylar earn the top prize in Culver's 3rd annual FFA Essay Contest. For her prize, she was presented a $7,500 check in a special ceremony June 1 with Culver's CEO Joe Koss. He presented her the check at the Culver's of Clinton.

The prize money will fund her FFA chapter's trip in October to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.

The students were asked: "As a future ag leader, what do you want people to know about the agricultural industry? How will you help to educate them on this subject?"

Skylar's answer to the essay question rose to the top of more than 650 entries. She wrote, "The agriculture industry is not just farming. It's engineering and sales, it's leadership and public speaking, it's wildlife conservation and fisheries, and so much more. It's a wide range of career possibilities  some of which haven't even been discovered today but will be available in the near future. The landscape of our agricultural world is changing, and the future possibilities are endless."

The essay contest is part of Culver's Thank You Farmers initiative, which supports the education of tomorrow's ag leaders.
MUSCATINE  The Muscatine City Council was presented with the findings of a study determining the feasibility of a container terminal and port district on the Mississippi River Thursday night.

The container port facility would be located just south of the Muscatine municipal boundary, on a property owned by Kent Corporation. The 100-acre site would be used as a terminal by Kent Corp., and allow other regional and national shippers to send, receive and load container freight and various types of cargo.

Community Development Director Dave Gobin said the city and Kent Corp. applied for a grant in October 2015 to study the feasibility of the port facility, which was awarded in early 2016. The study, prepared by HDR, Inc., of Kansas City, found the site has "the right attributes for the development of a river terminal and port district."

HDR Vice President Kevin Keller said the site has access to the highway, is adjacent to an active rail line that serves industrial users and is near the industrial park. The site also has utility access and room for storage and other potential warehouse buildings.

Keller said the location is also ideal because the area has deeper waters than other parts of the river, which would accommodate larger barges, making the port more competitive.

Gobin said it is important to locate the port in Muscatine, "since there are no other ports of this kind north of St. Louis," and it could be a half-way point for ships traveling from west to east coast.

He said shippers and Muscatine residents will see economic benefits from the development of the terminal.

Shippers will see reduced costs associated with moving their commodities from one market to another while residents will see benefits from increased employment opportunities, housing options, more businesses, and more money spent in the community, he said.

When staff announced the city is studying the potential port, some residents voiced concerns about the potential environmental impact, such as lower air and water quality. HDR said no environmental analysis was done during this phase of the study.

When Alderman Michael Rehwaldt asked how long a study from the EPA and other environmental agencies could take, Keller said the process could be as quick as six months, it could be as long as five years.

Most commodities moving through Muscatine include farm and food products, coal, petroleum products, chemicals, crude materials and manufactured goods. The study showed these commodities are most cost effective when shipped by water because of their lower value per ton, plus lower labor requirements and costs.

HDR wrote cargo will require additional services at the terminal, which generate revenue for the terminal operator, such as processing, cargo inspections, equipment supply and distribution.

Keller estimates the total cost of planning the site, expanding the roadway, installing utilities and equipment, and other construction costs is between $22 million and $40 million.

Next steps in the project include designating a port zone, that would include all existing industrial activities in the city, developing a public-private partnership to govern the site, developing a site plan and business plan, and then preparing for construction.

Keller said Kent Corp. is 100 percent interested in being involved in the new port district, and the Canadian Pacific Railway has also shown interest in the project.

Gobin said there is concern about how well the container port will serve shippers in the winter months when the river freezes, but a partnership with the Canadian Pacific Railway could maintain a flow of product around those scenarios.

The feasibility study cost $100,000, with $80,000 provided by the state and $20,000 paid by Kent Corp.
The body of Malik A. Williams, the Galesburg man who jumped into the Mississippi River in Moline after his young son fell in, has been recovered.

Moline Police Detective Scott Williams said the body was found around 10 a.m. Friday by a Rock Island Arsenal Fire Department rescue boat in the area from which he was last seen.

The Rock Island County Coroners Office also responded to the scene to take possession of the body. No autopsy will be conducted, but toxicology is pending, Coroner Brian Gustafson said.

Police were called about 8:32 p.m. Tuesday to Ben Butterworth Parkway in the 5400 block of River Drive for a report of people who had fallen into the river.

They discovered that Williams and his 6-year-old son had been fishing when the boy fell into the water. Williams, in an attempt to save the boy, went into the water and fell under the surface, according to police.

Williams' brother, Timothy Bell, was not at the scene that night but said Williams fiancee and 2-week-old son were there with Williams and his older son.

He said he learned from family that Williams had jumped into the water and held up his son.

An uninvolved party, Van Thang, who was driving near the scene, heard screams from the riverbank and got out of his car and into the water, according to police.

Thang was able to bring the boy to shore and handed him over to a group gathered there, according to police.

Moline Police, Moline Fire, East Moline Police and the Rock Island Arsenal all had crews assisting Tuesday night. Boats from Moline, Rock Island Arsenal and Bettendorf searched all day Wednesday and suspended the search around 4:30 p.m.

Bell, 29, of Galesburg, said Wednesday said he was surprised to learn that his brother could not swim but was not surprised that he had jumped into the water after his son.

No matter what it took, he was going to save him, even if it took his last breath, which it seemed like it did, Bell said.

Bell said Williams, his 6-year-old son, 2-week-old son and fiancee had gone to the river to fish on Tuesday night and was preparing to leave when the 6-year-old fell in.

Gustafson said Friday that he was "so grateful for the family and friends" of Williams and that he hopes that they are able to find closure.

"This river doesn't always return its dead," he said. "Thankful today that she did."

A gofundme page has been set up to help Williams' fiancee and his two children at gofundme.com/help-support-heather-and-kids.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday, June 16, in Rock Island County Circuit Court for an Andalusia man charged in connection with a 2013 fatal crash that left two people dead.

Mitchell A. Gayer, 27, entered an Alford plea Jan. 25 to aggravated driving under the influence, a Class 2 felony. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but agrees the prosecution likely could prove the charge at trial. The sentencing will be in Rock Island County Circuit Court.

According to prior court testimony, Gayer lost control of his 1999 Chevrolet S10 on a curve on 51st Street West near Milan and swerved off the road and into a ditch and hit a tree on Nov. 27, 2013.

Passengers Jamie Sedam, 22, of Port Byron and Clayton Carver, 24, of Taylor Ridge were killed in the crash.

Prosecutors say Gayer's blood alcohol content was 0.146, nearly twice the legal limit to drive. At the time of the crash, Gayer was driving 61 mph in a 55-mph zone, according to prior court testimony.

Gayer has maintained that he has no memory of the crash itself or the events leading up to it.

In January 2015, Gayer entered an Alford plea to one count of aggravated driving under the influence and was sentenced in May 2015 to 18 years in prison.

He later filed a motion to take back the plea and argued that his former attorney, William Schick, was ineffective.

On Dec. 30, 2015, Associate Judge Thomas Berglund granted his request to take back his plea and vacated his prison sentence.
The latest audit report for the Bettendorf Community School District contains no major surprises, following a tumultuous few years.

Dallon Christensen, chief financial officer at Bettendorf, said the audit cost $19,000 for the year ending June 30, 2016, and "has nothing that really sounds alarm bells."

Christensen was hired in February as the finance officer after former finance director, Maxine McEnany, resigned early this year. McEnany was the district official who took issue with previous audits, in 2013-14, concerning travel policies and other matters.

The fall-out included a re-audit process conducted by the Iowa State Auditor's office.

Questions were raised about outside activities of Jimmy Casas, who formerly was principal of Bettendorf High School. Casas resigned in August 2016 and received $50,000 from the district after he accepted a job in New York state.

For her part, McEnany received a separation agreement from Bettendorf in January that included a one-time payment of $367,000 and monthly payments for two decades.

Christensen was not part of the district when the recent audit was conducted by Nolte, Cornman & Johnson, P.C.

Nolte, Cornman & Johnson is located in Newton, Iowa, and Christensen said Bettendorf went to a firm in central Iowa because not many auditing firms that specialize in school audits exist anymore. The firm has several clients in eastern Iowa, he said.

Last summer, Bettendorf's audit was delayed by five months, in part because the district could not find a firm to do the work. Three firms either quit or submitted bids to do the audit and then withdrew. The Iowa Auditor's office finally handled the 2014-15 audit at twice the budgeted cost.

This year's audit points out a few items that need to be corrected. The most prominent is an apparent conflict of interest by School Board member Scott Tinsman, who is affiliated with the Twin State Technical Services firm.

More than two years ago, the firm handled specialty work for the district's finance department under McEnany and charged $6,488.

The independent auditor said that "appears to offer a conflict of interest" and recommended that in the future the board should conduct a competitive bid process for services that cost more than $2,500. In addition, board member Tinsman is asked to recuse himself from any school business that involves Twin State.

The Twin State firm handles several types of technical and internet services.

Other relationships, including one between Jimmy Casas and a $350 payment to his brother, David Casas, did not appear to represent a conflict of interest, the audit report shows.

These type of situations, finance officer Christensen said, may be found in close-knit communities, such as Bettendorf.

Other findings: The use of gift cards as a prize for an after-prom event and paying an employee for toll-road expenses out of petty cash. Bettendorf has corrected the issues, which Christensen termed "very minor items."

In general, the Nolte, Cornman & Johnson numbers show:

 Revenues totaled $58,415,605, up 3 percent from the previous year. This included: $19,280,650 in property taxes; $3,619,925 for the state sales, services and use tax; $7,933,456 in charges for services; $5,660,108 in operating grants, contributions and restricted interest; $526,740 for capital grants, contributions and restricted interest; $21,239,213 for unrestricted state grants; $20,474 for unrestricted interest; and $135,039 in other general revenues.

 Expenses totaled $53,707,002, up 3.99 percent from the previous year. This included: $23,082,819 for regular instruction; $6,206,926 for administration support services; and $5,380,043 for special instruction.
The Rock Island Arsenal-based U.S. Army Sustainment Command has awarded a contract for up to $1.9 million to design and rebrand key parts of two buildings on the island, a move that officials say will better connect employees and visitors to the impact the command has around the world.

The improvements will include an assessment of the buildings, coming up with a design plan and putting into place changes to meet Army branding guidelines and convey what the command does. Included will be a redesign of the entryway inside the command headquarters, which is located on the main road through the island, Rodman Avenue.

The improvements contemplated include visual display monitors along with four museum-quality display cases that will accommodate historic memorabilia along with replicas of mannequins, such as a kneeling soldier.

"That's for all the community, employees and any visitors that come through the organization, so we can walk them through so they can see what we're doing for global operations around the world," said Richard Troendle, a deputy director for the command who is involved in the effort.

Also, officials say the idea is to install new display monitors throughout certain parts of the two buildings to convey to workers information that's now displayed on old-fashioned cork boards on the walls and install wraps around concrete pillars. The idea with the wraps, officials say, is to communicate visually the command's mission and reach to employees, some of whom now work in rather drab offices with low ceilings and no windows.

Officials say they do not have a precise estimate yet on what the effort will cost and have not approved any work yet. The contract was awarded to Manassas, Virginia-based Janson Communications Inc. The contract estimates maximum labor costs at about $763,000 and other direct costs, which include material, at up to $1.1 million. The contractor's plans still will need to be submitted to the command and given approval. The contract is for a year, with an option for an additional year.

The two buildings where the improvements are to be made house about 730 employees. The improvements also would include changes to how security announcements are made to the workforce, officials say. There was no estimate on how much of the contract's cost would be for that, but Troendel said it is a small part of the overall spending amount.

Its a small part, but its of big interest to us, he said.

The Army Sustainment Command has been seeking to better communicate the logistics mission it fulfills. The command has a $3 billion budget and 7,000 employees worldwide, according to its website. Under its umbrella are seven field support brigades and 78 logistical readiness centers. It oversees more than 30,000 contractors, according to its website.

"It is a broad, robust mission," said Rhys Fullerlove, a congressional affairs official for the command.

Some of what will be done with this project is aimed at replacing work that was completed at the command headquarters six years ago. Those upgrades, which also included work in the entryway to the building, are now obsolete, officials say. They note the command has changed processes, making parts of the work out of date. In addition, equipment installed then no longer meets Army guidelines. Video displays, for example, cannot accommodate current software.

In 2011, the Army oversaw work for improvements at ASC's headquarters, which at the time was valued at about $1.7 million. Most of the funds were for work inside the building, which also was intended to convey the command's mission, although it also included structural and security improvements.

That work, which also entailed the construction of a semi-circular driveway at the headquarters, drew criticism from one of the unions that represents some workers on the island.

Steve Beck, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 15, said Wednesday he wasnt aware of the current project.

Officials at the Army Sustainment Command say there are other military units engaged in such rebranding efforts. They note that the headquarters for the Army Materiel Command, at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, also underwent a rebranding effort. The Materiel Command is the higher headquarters of the Sustainment Command.

Troendel also said the improvements planned for the Sustainment Command are part of the organization's "human capital strategy," which he said is an effort to enhance the workplace environment.
After more discussions with Timothy's House of Hope, the city of Davenport has determined the ministry will not need a zoning change to operate its property in the 4th Ward.

City Attorney Tom Warner said that after speaking with Pastor Jim Swope, the intended uses for the property at 1602 Washington St. fit within its current C-2, General Commercial District, zoning.

Their intended operations on Washington Street are to move their Sunday worship services once they sell their other property, and as far as the daytime feeding, that is Scripture reading/Bible study/prayer service in which food is there, Warner said. That is a typical activity for a church.

The city became embroiled in a dispute with Timothy's House of Hope, a ministry within Compassion Church, after it issued a cease-and-desist order on April 19 in which it found that its morning meal service required a zoning change to Planned Institutional DistrictHousing and Supporting Services.

Before moving to 1602 Washington St., the ministry operated a property on 1407 W. 4th St., which also is zoned C-2, but in 2012, the city amended its zoning ordinance and that property was grandfathered in, causing confusion about why the city was within its rights to issue the cease-and-desist order.

The ministry also clashed with the neighborhood businesses and residents, who became concerned about an increase in crime and negative effects on the area.

Residents of the 4th Ward have attended City Council meetings each week to express concerns about loitering, littering, public urination among other crimes.

Rick Piatt, president of the Historic Washington Street Association, said he has been in contact with businesses in the area that have reported their fears coming true.

"Things are impacting businesses just not on Washington Street," Piatt said. "This is trickling down the neighborhood as well."

With the council seeking to amend its current zoning law to prevent other support services from encountering the same problems, the city elected to allow the ministry to operate as a zoning change was sought.

Mike Meloy, the attorney representing Compassion Church, issued a statement after learning that the city would no longer require the zoning change.

"The church was lawfully operating at 1602 Washington Street in a C-2 general commercial district when the shut down order was made," Meloy said. "There was no compelling reason for city hall to shut down the church other than because of the urging by the ward alderman. We believe that Compassion Church was treated unfairly in this religious freedom matter."

Now that the zoning change is no longer required, the city also has abandoned amending its zoning law.

"What brought it up in this particular case is now moot," Community Planning and Economic Development Director Bruce Berger said. "My guess is until something becomes a major problem, it's not worth the time and money to go through the process."

Complaints will be handled on a case-by-case basis through the city's Neighborhood Services Department.

What well first focus on is if there are secondary effects, if loitering, littering, public urination and those types of things, Warner said. Well work on those, and well see where theyre coming from.

Although the neighborhood was disappointed with the city's actions, Piatt has requested the city ask Timothy's House of Hope to provide its services in writing, having thought the ministry was deceptive in its dealings and did not have to go through the proper zoning process as neighboring businesses did.

"If they deviate from that, then we can go after them for the zoning requirements that are needed to be met," Piatt said. "It's not fair to us as businesses owners what they have done."
Davenport Alderman Jeff Justin's decision to resign before the end of this term caught many on the City Council by surprise, but the city has laid out its options to fill the soon-to-be announced vacancy for the 6th Ward.

Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz has recommended the City Council fill the vacancy through appointment instead of a special election, citing the need for the 6th Ward to maintain representation through the development process of a proposed Costco Wholesale store and the desire to avoid confusion among voters with other elections coming up.

"I am a strong believer in someone being able to go to the polls and vote for their fair representation by casting a vote," Moritz said. "I'm supporting an appointment process this time with the understanding that whoever fills this position, if appointed, would then just sit until the general election of 2017."

Justin announced Tuesday that he intends to resign from the City Council after he accepted a job with Lee County Electric Co-op in Florida.

Per Iowa Code, the City Council is given the option of making an appointment or calling for a special election. An appointment must be made within 60 days of the occurrence of the vacancy.

During a media briefing Friday, Mayor Frank Klipsch said the council would discuss its options over the next few days as the decision sits in its hands.

"The council and I remain committed to ensuring a continuity of leadership at a time when a major development is happening in the 6th Ward along 53rd Street," Klipsch said. "Making a temporary appointment versus the cost and confusion of running another special election so close to the general election must be weighed."

Alderman Rick Dunn, 1st Ward, attended the briefing and agreed with Moritz's recommendation.

With Justin's resignation set to be effective July 5, Moritz said the Auditor's Office was capable of holding a special election, which can be forced through a petition of 246 signatures.

The earliest dates for a primary and regular election are Aug. 22 and Sept. 19, respectively.

The latest dates for a primary and regular election are Oct. 10 and Nov. 7, respectively.

Between those dates are the 3rd Ward primary and general election, the School Board election and the Davenport primary and general election.

"There's only two months time in there, and I feel that it's in the best interest of the city's timeliness, and as far as the citizens go in regards to taxpayers' money, that this happen by appointment," Moritz said.

The winner of the regular election on Nov. 7 would take the seat following the voter canvass on Nov. 15.

As he did during Tuesday's management meeting, Klipsch offered Justin thanks for this 10 years of service on the City Council.

"He is a stalwart of our community and has provided strong, effective leadership and guidance on numerous issues and projects, and he has held key roles such as mayor pro-tem and finance committee chairman," Klipsch said. "His presence will be sorely missed."
Federal crop insurance payments have long been a target for budget cutters, but the proposed reductions in the Trump administration's 2018 budget exceed what came previously.

Midwest lawmakers say they don't think the cuts have much, if any, chance of becoming law. But some groups say this will be a place to watch when a new farm bill is written next year.

The Trump administration's blueprint calls for $29 billion in cuts to crop insurance over the next 10 years.

Currently, the government subsidizes, on average, 62 percent of premium payments.

The bulk of the cuts, $16 billion, would come from limiting the size of premium subsidies to $40,000. That would affect relatively few farmers, the administration says.

However, another $11 billion in cuts comes from jettisoning the subsidy for a widely used insurance option that helps farmers hedge their risk. The Harvest Price Option lets farmers insure their crops based on the higher of the price at harvest or at planting. Farmers say this type of insurance allows them to make better decisions and takes some of the risk off the table.

The administration says farmers can find other ways to hedge risk, or they can do it without a subsidy.

The proposed cuts come at a time when things are more difficult in rural America. The Agriculture Department projected in February that net income would fall 8.7 percent this year, to about half what it was at record highs in 2013.

Cuts in crop insurance would exacerbate those pressures.

"This would continue to tighten the situation in agriculture-driven rural communities," said Chad Hart, an Iowa State University extension economist.

Hart notes that the Obama administration also proposed cutting subsidies. But these would be steeper, such as for the Harvest Price Option.

"These would be some larger cuts," he said.

Critics of the program applauded the Trump administration's proposal. They say the subsidies are too generous and the government shoulders too much of the risk for farmers.

In 2016, payments to Iowa farmers from crop insurance amounted to $54 million, according to federal data. Farmers paid $280 million in premiums, which doesn't include the government's share. But for the drought year of 2012, government payments to farmers exceeded $2 billion in Iowa. Producers paid $382 million in premiums that year.

In Illinois, payments amounted to $91 million in 2016 on producer premiums of $272 million. In 2012, the government paid $3.5 billion to farmers on premiums of $333 million.

Midwest lawmakers don't give the proposed cuts much chance in Congress. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said most presidential budgets are dead on arrival.

Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., a member of the House Agriculture Committee, also gave the cuts little chance. Still, she said that with lower prices and income projections, "this is not a fight we should have to be taking on."

She said the proposal sends a "terrible message" to rural America.

Hart said Trump's budget is only the first step.

"I describe this as the first volley in what will be several rounds of negotiations," he said. "This is the beginning of the policy process."

Even if crop insurance subsidies aren't at risk of substantial cuts for this budget year, the Trump administration proposal comes just a year before expiration of the current farm bill. Next year, a multi-year farm bill will reauthorize programs, and targets will be set for spending.

Crop insurance subsidies are a large target in a fiscal environment in which the White House is pushing for increases in defense spending and countering it with non-defense cuts. That could present some risk to programs such as crop insurance, some analysts say.

"There will be a number of budgetary pressures as we go into the 2018 farm bill that are of concern," said Dave Miller, director of research and commodities services at the Iowa Farm Bureau.
Corvette lovers enjoyed the day walking along the levee, Saturday, August 29, 2015, looking at the cars during the Vettes on the River car sho
1. Heat is on this weekend

A good Friday to all. Here's the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.

Today there's a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3 p.m. with mostly sunny skies with a high near 87 degrees.

Tonight skies will be mostly clear with a low around 65 degrees.

Saturday will be sunny and breezy with a high near 92 degrees and a low around 71 degrees. Winds gusting as high as 30 mph are possible.

Sunday will be sunny and breezy with a high near 94 degrees and a low around 71 degrees.

Don't forget the sunscreen if you go outdoors this weekend. And drink plenty of water.

2. Davenport firefighters have busy night

It was a busy shift for Davenport's B Shift firefighters who battled their second house fire of the night that broke out late Thursday.

 The first fire was at 1013 E. 13th St. Read more.

 The second fire was at 1008 Grand Ave. Read more.

3. Meet the contestants in Saturday's Food Truck Fight

From gyros, tacos and Cuban sandwiches, to burgers, hot dogs and ice cream, Saturday's Food Truck Fight in LeClaire promises to satisfy most cravings.

Nine Iowa-based mobile vendors will be competing for votes during the event, which runs from noon to 10 p.m. on the levee in LeClaire, 117 S. Front St. Read more.

4. Lunardis Italian Restaurant to reopen next week

Lunardis Italian Restaurant is set to reopen after it was heavily damaged by fire shortly after Christmas.

The restaurant will officially be opened to the public on June 15 with a soft opening at 4:30 p.m., June 14. There will be a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m., June 14.

Lunardis is located at 102 E. Kimberly Road in Davenport.

5. 40 things to do this summer

Here's your guide to summer fun  40 events to check out now through September around the Quad-Cities (and beyond). Read more.

6. Cars of the Quad-Cities

They are colorful. They are powerful. Their curves are a thing of beauty. They are... the cars of the Quad-Cities. See photos.
WASHINGTON -- What does the FBI director do when he suspects the president is a manipulative liar? The answer in James Comey's case is that he writes memos, tries to evade demands for loyalty -- and anguishes about protecting himself and the FBI.

But by Comey's own admission, perhaps he should have done more.

The big news had already surfaced before Comey's appearance Thursday at the Senate Intelligence Committee, with the release of his prepared testimony. What we got at the hearing was the raw morality play, told in Comey's words, about his dealings with a president whose behavior frightened him.

"I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document," Comey said about his Jan. 6 meeting with Donald Trump. Comey had just briefed the president-elect, alone, about salacious, unverified details of a dossier alleging various Trump escapades in Moscow.

What troubled Comey, he said, was "the circumstances, the subject matter and the person I was interacting with." As he left Trump Tower, he began writing a self-protective memo describing the encounter.

Comey was a compelling witness to the bullying behavior of this president. But Trump supporters can argue that the president's hand was strengthened by Thursday's "Super Bowl" hearing. Even as Comey chronicled his disturbing encounters with Trump, he also affirmed some important strands of the White House narrative.

Comey said that as of May, when he was fired, Trump was not personally under FBI investigation -- offering, finally, the public acknowledgment Trump had been requesting so assiduously. Comey also said Trump had never ordered him to halt the overall FBI investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

And on the sensitive subject of leaks, Comey revealed that to "prompt the appointment of a special counsel," he had used a cut-out to share with The New York Times details of a memo recounting Trump's Feb. 14 request, "I hope you can let this go," referring to the FBI investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Thursday's hearing offered a haunting portrait of a moralist confronting a dealmaker. Comey conveyed his fastidious attention to ethics, and to his own reputation. He spoke of his "personal pain" in dealing with the Hillary Clinton investigation, his concern for morale if FBI agents heard that Trump "wants [the Flynn investigation] to go away."

He wrote memos after his encounters and briefed his closest aides. But he didn't take the evidence of what he saw as Trump's wrongdoing to Justice Department superiors or congressional oversight committees.

It was "Pilgrim's Progress" meets "House of Cards" when Comey arrived for a one-on-one dinner at the White House Jan. 27. Comey described his fear that Trump wanted to create a "patronage" debt by making Comey ask for his FBI job. He said Trump might have similarly hoped to induce an obligation in a March 30 phone call suggesting that he hadn't questioned the Democratic political ties of the wife of Comey's deputy. As Trump stressed so baldly, in Comey's telling, he wanted loyalty -- much as a feudal lord might seek allegiance from his barons.

Comey imagined that by offering Trump only "honest loyalty" during the dinner, he had diluted his demand. But in their last phone call, on April 11, Trump protested: "I have been very loyal to you, very loyal; we had that thing you know." Comey didn't push back. He wrote another memo.

The most poignant moments in Thursday's hearing were Comey's reflections on what he might have done differently. When Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked why he hadn't rejected outright Trump's "hope" that he close the Flynn investigation, Comey answered: "Maybe other people would be stronger in that circumstance. ... Maybe if I did it again, I would do it better."

Later Comey was pressed about why he accommodatingly told Trump in the March 30 call that he "would see what we could do" to lift the "cloud" of the Russia investigation. He conceded that his response was "a slightly cowardly way ... of getting off the phone, frankly."

What is it about being FBI director that makes people so concerned about image, yet unable to be entirely independent of the politicians they serve? That's been part of the bureau's history, ever since J. Edgar Hoover. Comey couldn't escape it.

Comey's personal ethical dilemmas are now interwoven with the nation's political history. It's the stuff of high drama -- the temporizing ethicist meets the amoral bulldozer. The story didn't have a happy ending for Comey -- or, it seems, for the country.
Congratulations, Kim Reynolds, on becoming governor of Iowa.

Now, about these issues with the state budget and the human services department ...

Reynolds recently was elevated after serving for more than six years as Terry Branstads lieutenant, and in true be-careful-what-you-wish-for fashion, she was promptly greeted by a pair of critical issues facing the state.

The state budget is hanging by a thread as revenue continues to come in lighter than anticipated.

And the death of a teenage girl who had been adopted and home-schooled  the second such death within the past year  has the states human services department under the microscope.

How Reynolds addresses these issues could have a significant role in defining her early tenure as governor.

And while secondary to the real-life effects of Reynolds actions, they also could play a political role in 2018 if she chooses to run for election. How Reynolds addresses these situations could be tied to her candidacy.

It has been a rough year for Iowas state budget. Three times, the panel that estimates state revenues had to lower its forecasts. Because the panels predictions are used to build state spending, legislators and Branstad were forced to cut $88 million from multiple departments budgets for the current fiscal year, transfer $25 million from various funds and borrow $131 million from the states cash reserves.

The revenue situation has not improved. The latest tracking continues to show sluggish revenue, and the state may again not have enough money to pay its bills at the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30.

Reynolds last week said she plans to meet with her state budget team to discuss how they might address a possible shortage. One potential option would be to call legislators back to the Capitol for a special session to address the budget issue.

Weve not made any decisions at this point on what were going to do, Reynolds said. "Were going to look at all the options."

Reynolds also must name a director to the state Department of Human Services. Director Chuck Palmer, who had served throughout Branstads second tenure as governor and part of his first, announced his retirement shortly after Reynolds was sworn in. His last day is Friday.

The appointment comes at a time of great consternation for the department. This past week, legislators conducted an oversight hearing regarding the recent deaths of two adopted teenage girls who had been in the departments system.

According to authorities, 16-year-old Sabrina Ray of Perry was found unresponsive in her home on May 12 and died from severe malnutrition, weighing 56 pounds at the time of death. The state had been monitoring her home because of earlier complaints, authorities said.

Rays parents have been arrested and charged with neglect. The circumstances of her death are similar to another 16-year-old girl, Natalie Finn of West Des Moines, who died last year of starvation. Finns parents also were arrested and charged.

Reynolds must name a new director to the human services department, and that nomination will be subject to the approval of the Iowa Senate.

That nomination and the decision of how to address the budget are two huge decisions on the plate of a new governor.

Reynolds actions almost certainly will have a significant impact on the state and very well could help shape the debate during the 2018 campaign.

Kansas rolls back tax cuts

Reynolds will have another big decision to make next year when state legislators convene for the 2018 legislative session.

Reynolds and Republican lawmakers have made tax reform a top priority for the session, but the state budget has left no wiggle room for further reductions in revenue. And that very well could be the case next year as well if the budget picture does not improve.

And a cautionary tale was told just to the southwest in Kansas, where the Republican-controlled state Legislature rolled back deep tax cuts implemented by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, overriding the governors veto in order to reverse the tax cuts.

Brownback enacted deep tax cuts shortly after his election in 2011. Instead of the economic growth Brownback promised, the tax cuts have created gaping holes in Kansas budget, leading to significant spending cuts, particularly in education.

Republicans in Iowa have been asked about the Kansas experiment, and many have said the Kansas GOP went too far in its tax reform effort.

Iowa Republicans still want to pass a state tax reduction. Will they find enough room in the budget? And will they keep Kansas in mind? We will see next year when legislators return to the Capitol.
PIERRE  Attorney General Marty Jackley has announced that South Dakota has joined with other states and the federal government to settle allegations of fraud against Omnicare Inc., the nations largest provider of pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services to nursing homes.

Omnicare, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, was acquired by CVS Health Corporation in August 2015. The total value of the settlement is $23,000,000. The total portion of the settlement amount recovered by South Dakota is $63,954.00, of which $42,869.10 will be retained by the federal government as the federal Medicaid share. The remaining $21,084.90 will go to the state general fund to offset alleged Medicaid damages in this case.

The settlement resolves allegations that Omnicare entered into contracts with drug company Organon USA Inc., and agreed to recommend the prescription of antidepressant drugs Remeron and Remeron Sol Tab in exchange for monetary payments disguised as rebates. The government resolved similar allegations against Organon in 2014.

The government alleges that Omnicares conduct violated the Federal False Claims Act and resulted in the submission of false claims to the South Dakota Medicaid program. Omnicare has previously entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) with the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).

The South Dakota Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the South Dakota Department of Social Services assisted in recovering the settlement money.
PIERRE | Attorney General Marty Jackley is asking South Dakotans to join in recognizing World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15.

The Attorney Generals Elder Abuse & Financial Exploitation Subdivision has been in service for one year. The Elder Abuse & Financial Exploitation Subdivision was created by the Legislature during the 2016 legislative session and is comprised of one full-time investigator and one full-time prosecutor.

Elder abuse and financial exploitation can occur in any community in South Dakota, said Jackley. Protecting our seniors is a strong priority in South Dakota. To learn how you can make a difference please visit http://atg.sd.gov/Victim/Seniors/default.aspx to explore the information available on Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation.

In recognition of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the Elder Abuse & Financial Exploitation Subdivision will be conducting a presentation on June 8, 2017 at 7 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Short Grass Art Councils Tales on the River, and it will be located at the Moose Lodge in Fort Pierre.

The Elder Abuse & Financial Exploitation Subdivision primarily investigates and prosecutes cases involving theft of assets from the elderly in South Dakota. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit primarily investigates and prosecutes cases where an elder is abused or exploited by an employee of a facility.

If you would like a presentation on preventing Elder Abuse & Financial Exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the Office of Attorney General at (605) 773-3215. If you have a concern that an elder or disabled adult is being abused or exploited, please contact your local law enforcement.

The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations began dedicating this annual event on June 15, 2006.
Why wouldn't Sully County officials want every tool available in the battle against drugs?

Sully County commissioners have been refusing to let the local sheriff use a trained drug-sniffing dog because they believe the resulting arrests could end up costing the county too much money.

Officials have made a silly decision that sends a terrible message to their residents: We have a problem, but we give up.

Sully County Sheriff Bill Stahl wants to use Reggie, a black Labrador retriever, to help find drugs and drug offenders. In February, Sully County commissioners voted to block Stahl from using the dog. The anti-drug dog resolution noted "property taxes are too high in Sully County, and 'enforcing drug crime laws on state highways' would make matters worse."

"We might put away a Chicago drug dealer once in a while, but that just helps Chicago at our expense," Commissioner Bill Floyd said.

Floyd argues that the drug-sniffing dog would likely catch more people traveling through Onida on U.S. Highway 83 than townspeople. He says that would lead to expensive cases that would have to be tried in Sully County, population 1,373.

Secondly, the commission's argument seems to be that a drug-sniffing dog would work too well, that too many bad guys would be caught. And that could be expensive.

Commissioners are acknowledging a problem, but lack the fortitude to actually try to solve it.

According to published reports, Stahl said Reggie "helped make a meth arrest in his first few weeks on the job. That arrest and three other drug felonies cost the county $8,500 last month in housing fees at the Hughes County Jail in Pierre."

Despite concerns, a more realistic use of Reggie by Stahl and his small team would be on site at suspected drug homes or vehicles. In most cases, police would be acting on tips or search warrants  these are not likely to be out-of-towners stopping in Onida.

It is disappointing to hear this argument from those charged with keeping our communities safe and drug free. We understand commissioners are being frugal. On its own, that's not a bad thing.

We, however, would much rather see a compromise worked out or data that shows that Sully County is somehow immune to the scourge of meth, for instance.

Or, more immediately, that the residents of the county stand up and let commissioners know they are willing to chip in to put Reggie to work.

Hats off to Stahl for his community-focused idea. Too bad community leaders don't see it that way.
In 1928, in the old railroad town of Kadoka, my Dad and his sister, Emmaline, boarded a train in the late September dusk. My dad was 6, Aunt Emmaline, several years older. Sometime after midnight, a tall man in a large black car picked them up at the downtown Rapid City station. They rode in silence until, mounting a hill, the tall stranger deposited them before a large brick building.

It was the Rapid City Indian School. Brother and sister were separated: she to the girls dorm, he to the boys. There he lay, awake in the open bay, till night lifted. Fear seized his throat. He could not speak for several days.

Stark and implacable times. I returned to them a few weeks back, ferried by three remarkable Rapid City women: Karen Mortimer, Heather Dawn Thompson and Kibbe Conti, founding members of the Mniluzahan Okolakiciyapi Ambassadors. Anderson and Conti have tirelessly researched the history of the Indian School and the west Rapid City lands apportioned to it. Redolent of my father, the truth seems barely speakable.

The old school buildings currently house the Indian Health Services Sioux San Hospital. Nearly 1,400 acres went with the school. West Rapid, my present home, is as serene and beautiful a place as can be found in the Black Hills. Early on, to be near their children Native parents and family members camped nearby along the Mniluzahan  now called Rapid Creek.

Pretty as a postcard, this could not, and would not, last.

In a packed conference room in the Ramkota Inn, a second presentation on the sordid facts of the case was presented. The encore made necessary when the first presentation at The Journey Museum in early May was so heavily attended well over a 100 people were turned away. At the museum, Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender and Police Chief Karl Jegeris were in front-row attendance. The topic hit a nerve.

For those with a passing knowledge of U.S. history, vis-a-vis Indigenous contacts with European refugees from 1492 to the present, the tale of west Rapid City is that in microcosm. To wit: Indians can have whatever is theirs so long as the grass grows, river flows, and wind blows  or until the white man decides he wants it. Whichever comes first.

I say this without animus. You get used to things.

Point by meticulous point, Ms. Thompson and Ms. Conti retailed the details in chronological order. Thompson, a lawyer, made an irrefutable closing argument  save for a subtle but salient tone: she spoke only in notes of healing. The facts were the facts: however legally decided and divided, the land was stolen. But her review was presented  not as an indictment  but as the beginning of a civil conversation.

To my mind, it worked. In one or two places, trauma and grief did surface. Given the subject, this was unavoidable. West Rapids history and wounds are relatively fresh. There are those still alive who lived it. And it is a great gift and mercy that these three women, Mortimer, Thompson and Conti, now come to cleanse the wound, and suture it.

A side note: Yes, for better or worse, Ill be regularly back on the Journals Thursday editorial page. Many thanks to Editors Bart Pfankuch and Patrick Butler for making it possible.
Finance Ministry ordered to pay $3,500 to Russian citizen for unlawful prosecution

MOSCOW, June 9 (RAPSI, Diana Gutsul) - A court in Kazan on Friday recovered 200,000 rubles ($3,500) from the Russian Finance Ministry in favor of Sergey Senin acquitted of double homicide for unlawful prosecution, lawyer Igor Sholokhov told RAPSI.

The defendant did not admit Senins claim during the hearing. A prosecutor in turn asked the court to grant the lawsuit in part.

The ruling will be appealed, Sholokhov said.

The plaintiff has demanded 1 million rubles ($17,500) in damages for unwarranted prosecution. Senin was detained within 8 months and 22 days. He was subjected to moral and physical suffering, the attorney told RAPSI earlier.

According to case papers, on July 13, 2003, unknown persons broke into premises of a businessman in the Tatarstan Republics town of Tetyushi to steal an iron safe with money. Two security staffs were shot dead.

Senin, who was charged with the crime, pleaded not guilty. In 2006, charges against Senin were dropped. He exercised the right to rehabilitation and recovered compensation from the Russian authorities. However, 10 years later, in 2016, he was arrested again and charged with double murder, illegal possession of weapons and robbery, Sholokhov told RAPSI earlier.

Jurors in the Supreme Court of Tatarstan have acquitted the man. In February 2017, Russias Supreme Court upheld the ruling.

In late May, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan collected 399,716 rubles (nearly $7,000) from the Finance Ministry in favor of Senin for wage loss indemnity.
These days, we hear a lot about so-called fake news, particularly when it comes to politics. This must be a relatively recent development, right? Actually, no. While fake news has been around a long time, after Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1439, it became a lot easier to spread false stories. Just like today, readers in those times had to pay close attention to the facts.

And, just like today, verifying the legitimacy of the news was no easy task.

In the 16th century, as printing became much more commonplace, wild stories of sea monsters and witches were widely disseminated (and believed). In fact, the Catholic Church and other authorities blamed the great Lisbon earthquake of 1755 on divine retribution against sinners. Large quantities of pamphlets were distributed after the quake claiming that survivors owed their very lives to an apparition of the Virgin Mary.

Even our Founding Fathers were not above spreading false stories to spur revolutionary zeal. One such example was a concocted story about murderous Indians working in collusion with the British. This bit of fake news was produced by none other than Ben Franklin.

By the 1800s, fake news was still alive and well in America. One such incredulous story that appeared stated that African Americans were spontaneously turning white. Other fake news included reports about non-existent slave uprisings or of crimes committed by slaves. Because of stories like these, many African-Americans suffered vicious attacks.

In 1874, the New York Herald published a fanciful story that animals, which had escaped from the Central Park, were rampaging throughout the city, killing dozens of innocent bystanders. Even though there was a disclaimer at the bottom that the story was not true, it still caused widespread panic. Many people attempted to flee the city while others tried to hunt down the escaped animals with loaded rifles.

In the 1890s, yellow journalists like William Randolph Hearst and his New York City Morning Journal made use of wild exaggerations that helped spark the Spanish-American War. In one such incident, Hearst published fake drawings of Cuban officials strip-searching American women that led to outrage in the country.

Even the venerable New York Times has had its problems with phony news stories. During 1932-33, the paper relied on its correspondent in Moscow for news about the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, the papers reporter engaged in numerous false stories such as denying that Stalin was starving millions of his own citizens and falsely reporting that the country was a workers paradise.

The New York Times now admits that these stories were among the worst instances of improper reporting in its history.

Over time, people began to demand more substance and proof from news organizations. Magazines and newspapers began hiring beat reporters and required that they back up their stories with reliable sources.

Objective reporting was generally the norm until the advent of web-based news. That was when anyone could publish anything about any subject with very little need for accuracy or objectivity. Along side this has been the rise of the 24-hour news networks whose actions often times appeared to be based more on sensationalism and editorializing than on hard facts. As an example, news networks like to herald breaking news when in fact, the actual story is no more noteworthy than typical news stories of the day.

So, news-seekers of the world  caveat lector.




Trevor Thomas

After the recent attack on Manchester by Islamic terrorists, British author andjournalist Douglas Murray provided a simple two-word suggestion for what might help prevent future such violence in Great Britain: "less Islam." To bolster his point, Murray pointed out that, "countries like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have very little Islam and very little Islamic terror. By contrast, France has a great amount of Islam and a great amount of Islamic terror." Of course, Islamic apologists "promptly went bananas" (Murray's words).

As we have seen for years now, and as recent events again demonstrate, "Islamic apologists" include not only those deceived by Islam, but also those deceived by liberalism. I say again, there are few greater threats to life, limb, and liberty in the world today than liberalism and Islam. Radical Islamists drive the vans, pull the triggers, slash the knives, strap on the bombs, cut off the heads, and so on, while radical liberals in the media and the state houses provide the political cover for the slaughter to continue.

Despite the obvious differences in their worldviews -- the "Do What Thou Wilt" godless philosophy that dominates in modern liberalism vs. a rigid, uncompromising (and man-designed) religious code that dominates radical Islam -- both share a common trait that deceives one (liberals) into thinking that the other (radical Islam) can be "tolerated:" a disdain for Christianity.

Millions of Christians and other such "apostates" (tens of millions by some estimates) continue to die at the hands of Islamists. For one of the worst examples (one the media often ignores), according to Africa: The Holocausts of Rwanda and Sudan,

Well over two million southern black Christians, Muslims, and animists in the Sudan have died, the great majority civilians, in a genocide that few in the world have heard about. Since 1983, ethnic cleansing and a religious holy jihad (since 1992) have created a holocaust that rival the two great genocides in Europe (the Holocaust and Stalin's Gulag) In the Nuba Mountains the Arab Muslim fundamentalists practiced an age-old custom of taking blacks into slavery, forcing conversion of many to Islam, and then decided to wipe out the fifty tribes by genocide, similar to the situation in Darfur in the west.

Tragically, modern liberals are so desperate to rid the world of Christians and Christianity that they will tolerate almost anything, except authentic Christianity. What's more, as the violence from radical Islamists rages on (and on, and on), time and again, liberal pundits and politicians, as they are forced to address the bloodshed -- and after even their own are murdered -- go to absurd lengths to avoid even the hint of a mention of Islam. As Daniel Greenfield put it after knife-wielding Muslims rampaged London, "Islamic terrorism has no religion even when it's shouting, 'This is for Islam.'"

Of course, after yet another round of killing in the name of Islam, godless liberals also give us the obligatory -- and lazily idiotic assertion that -- when it comes to "violence in the name of religion" the "Christians did it too!" To liberals, all religious extremists are equal; however, when one honestly compares radical Christianity with radical Islam, nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, when it comes to killing the innocent, violent religious extremists of any flavor could learn a thing or two from the violent anti-religious extremists that dominate the modern left. The greatest murderers in the history of humanity were the godless socialists and communists of the 20th century. As renowned scholar, educator, and author Walter E. Williams notes:

Between 1917 and 1987, Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin and their successors murdered and were otherwise responsible for the deaths of 62 million of their own people. Between 1949 and 1987, China's communists, led by Mao Zedong and his successors, murdered and were otherwise responsible for the deaths of 76 million Chinese. The most authoritative tally of history's most murderous regimes is documented on University of Hawaii professor Rudolph J. Rummel's websiteand in his book "Death by Government."

Multiple sources, including professor Rummel, conclude that, in the past century, atheistic regimes worldwide have led to the deaths of tens of millions, with some sound estimates putting the total number of deaths at more than 250,000,000!

Very often, the drive to kill was an effort to purge religion -- especially Christianity -- from the state. Even Wikipedia notes that the slaughter in the Soviet Union started with multiple "anti-religious" campaigns that began in the early 1920s, when "new legislation severely prohibited religious activities and called for a heightened attack on religion in order to further disseminate atheism." In 1937 alone, more than 85,000 Russian Orthodox priests were executed.

Though there are certainly distinctions between the godless socialists and communists of the 20th century and the European and North American liberals of today, there are also very scary similarities. In his mid-19th century Critique of Socialism, Alexis de Tocqueville summarized well the ideology of socialism when he wrote,

They unceasingly attempt to mutilate, to curtail, to obstruct personal freedom in any and all ways. They hold that the State must not only act as the director of society, but must further be master of each man, and not only master, but keeper and trainer. For fear of allowing him to err, the State must place itself forever by his side, above him, around him, better to guide him, to maintain him, in a word, to confine him. They call, in fact, for the forfeiture, to a greater or less degree, of human liberty, to the point where, were I to attempt to sum up what socialism is, I would say that it was simply a new system of serfdom.

Sounds much like the efforts of modern liberals, doesn't it? And even when they claim to be champions of "personal freedom" -- as is often their cry when it comes to everything to do with matters in the sexual realm -- modern liberalism, like Islam, is still filled with violence and bondage. With nearly 60 million unborn children killed since 1973, U.S. abortion-supporting liberals must be the envy of genocidal maniacs the world over. American abortionists have managed to turn what should be one of the safest places in the universe -- a mother's womb --into a killing field. Worldwide, since 1980, a staggering 1.5 billion children have been aborted.

Furthermore, the most dangerous places in America are run by liberals (i.e., Democrats). According to FBI data, and as Mark Alexander recently noted, "the 10 most dangerous cities in America with populations above 200,000 are all managed, top to bottom, by Democrats. They are: Detroit, Oakland, Memphis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Birmingham, Newark and Kansas City." According to CDC data, nearly 60% of gun homicides in the U.S. occur in the 62 cities of the country's 50 largest metro areas. Again, these areas are dominated by liberal politics and policies.

In addition, guided by the false belief that "Do What Thou Wilt" (especially in the sexual realm) frees us from the shackles of the "antiquated" ideas on morality and personal ethical behavior, liberalism has set about to discredit and abandon many of the eternal and inescapable absolute truths set down by our Creator that should be the cornerstones of all good government. Thus, almost any sexual perversion imaginable is, in the U.S. today, a "right." And instead of being free, tens of millions of Americans are now slaves to their sexual desires. As a result, STD rates in the U.S. have reachedrecord epidemic rates.

Of course, just as there are many Muslims who are not terrorists, there are many liberals who are not Christian-hating, terrorist-tolerating, sex-crazed abortionists. However, just as the world's greatest problem with violent terrorism lies within Islam, the world's biggest problem with godless, pleasure-peddling, big government statists lies within liberalism.

Trevor Grant Thomas

At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.

www.trevorgrantthomas.com

Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America

tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com
Guwahati : A day of gloom had set over Shillong who had lost their favourite son Major David Manlun, 164 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) (PU-2 Naga Regt) who got martyred while battling the dreaded ULFA (I) and NSCN (K) insurgents at Mon District (Nagaland) on Wednesday.

The funeral of Major David was carried out by Assam Regimental Centre at Regimental Cemetery on Thursday.

The martyred officer was laid to rest with full military honour.

Kohima based Defence PRO Colonel Chiranjeet Konwer said that, Meghalaya governor Banwari Lal Purohit laid the wreath at the residence of Major David at Happy Valley in Shillong.

The final journey from his house till the burial ground was witnessed by thousands of civilians who thronged the streets to bid final adieu to their favourite son.

The National Flag which was draped over the martyred officer was handed over by Brigadier Sudhir Kumar Jha, YSM, Commandant ARC to Subedar Major (Retired) Khan Zhalan (Ex 5 ASSAM), father of the martyred officer.

The funeral was attended by various dignitaries that included Major General SK Dutta, Officiating General Officer Commanding 101 Area Brigadier Amrit Lal, Station Commander and Brigadier RS Thakur, Commandant 58 Gorkha Training Centre.

Major David Manlun was martyred during gun battle with a militant group of ULFA (I) and NSCN (K) at Lapa Lempong hilltop in Oting village near Tizit in Nagaland's Mon district, about 25 kms from Indo-Myanmar border.

Three ULFA (I) militants and a civilian were killed during the gun fight with 12 Para Commandos of the Army and Naga Territorial Army.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati : Assam police headquarter has directed the all districts police to collect about information of missing youths of the state, who were went to South India and gulf nations for working purpose.

Assam police has directed it following Intelligence Bureau (IB) input that, some youths of the state are in touch with ISIS and other jihadi organizations.

IB also warned Assam police that, some youths of the state are trying to contact with jihadi organizations.

'We have directed all districts police, specially the lower and middle Assam districts to collect information about the missing youths. In every year, over thousand youths of the state went to South India and gulf nations for working purpose. But the families of over 100 youths would not able to contact with their sons in past two years. It is a very concerning matter and we have taken it very seriously,' Assam police ADGP (SB) Pallav Bhattacharya said.

The top Assam cops further said that, Assam police has already contacted with the counterpart of Kerala.

Meanwhile, a recent report of IB submitted to the Union Home ministry revealed that, ISIS relevant searching through internet from Assam has gradually increased and several youths from the north eastern Indian state are trying to contact with the leaders of jihadi organizations.

A top IB official said that, ISIS has been trying to establish its base in India by creating sleeper cells.

The Union Home ministry worried about uprising jihadi activities in north eastern part and West Bengal.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
LONDON: Drinking even moderate amounts of alcohol is linked to changes in brain structure and an increased risk of worsening brain function, scientists said on Tuesday.

In a 30-year study that looked at the brains of 550 middle-aged heavy drinkers, moderate drinkers and teetotallers, the researchers found people drank more alcohol had a greater risk of hippocampal atrophy  a form of brain damage that affects memory and spatial navigation.

People who drank more than 30 units a week on average had the highest risk, but even those who drank moderately  between 14 and 21 units a week  were far more likely than abstainers to have hippocampal atrophy, the scientists said.

And we found no support for a protective effect of light consumption on brain structure, they added.

The research team  from the University of Oxford and University College London  said their results supported a recent lowering of drinking limit guidelines in Britain, but posed questions about limits recommended in the United States.

US guidelines suggest that up to 24.5 units of alcohol a week is safe for men, but the study found increased risk of brain structure changes at just 14 to 21 units a week.

A unit is defined as 10 milliliters (ml) of pure alcohol. There are roughly two in a large beer, nine in a bottle of wine and one in a 25 ml spirit shot.

Killian Welch, a Royal Edinburgh Hospital neuropsychiatrist who was not directly involved in the study, said the results, published in the BMJ British Medical Journal, underlined the argument that drinking habits many regard as normal have adverse consequences for health.

We all use rationalizations to justify persistence with behaviors not in our long term interest. With (these results) justification of moderate drinking on the grounds of brain health becomes a little harder, he said.

The study analyzed data on weekly alcohol intake and cognitive performance measured repeatedly over 30 years between 1985 and 2015 for 550 healthy men and women with an average age of 43 at the start of the study. Brain function tests were carried out at regular intervals, and at the end of the study participants were given a MRI brain scan.

After adjusting for several important potential confounders such as gender, education, social class, physical and social activity, smoking, stroke risk and medical history, the scientists found that higher alcohol consumption was associated with increased risk of brain function decline.

Drinking more was also linked to poorer white matter integrity  a factor they described as critical when it comes to cognitive functioning.

The researchers noted that with an observational study like this, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. They added, however, that the findings could have important public health implications for a large sector of the population.
PARSA, June 9: Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Chapter in Parsa today took out a demonstration in Birgunj calling for action against those misbehaving with journalists on the pretext of writing news stories.

The journalists were protesting the attack on FNJ Parsa Vice President, Anup Tiwari, and demanding justice.

The rally taken out from Ghantahgar intersection in Birgunj went around Maisthan, Mahavirsthan, Aadarshanagar and Mina Bazaar before returning to Ghantaghar where it converged into a corner meeting.

Addressing the meeting, FNJ Parsa Chapter's President, Shyam Banjara, said the attack on journalist Tiwari for writing news was condemnable. He said the journalists were forced to head out into the streets for defense of right to expression after the police administration did not address their written and verbal appeals for investigation into the attack and action against the guilty.

On June 5, journalist Tiwari was attacked while having a lunch at Chapkaiya in Birgunj. A written application had been written for action against Sujit Giri, Ejaj Babu Ranki and Krishna Charasiya accused of thrashing the journalist.

Banjara said the FNJ, Press Chautari Nepal and Press Union among other organizations were planning to come up with different agitation programmes including hunger strike against the police administration as the perpetrators were not being brought to justice four days after the incident. RSS
KATHMANDU, June 9: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said making the constitution all-accepted and successfully holding the second-phase of local-level election were the immediate plans of the government.

Taking a special time at the Legislature-Parliament session today, the Prime Minister pledged to commence the constitution amendment process also on the consent of the main opposition after the completion of local-level election.

In his view about the dispute over the Bharatpur Metropolitan City vote count, he said this was not the first time when ballot papers were torn and all political parties would take and understand the Bharatpur incident in line with the decision of the Election Commission on the issue, and side by side should realise that that matter was subjudice at the Supreme Court.

He went on to say that he was always in favour of the inclusive proportional representation and was incessantly struggling towards that end.

The Prime Minister further added that he was clear about the subjects guaranteed by the constitution and constantly believed on national consensus and collaboration and would move ahead accordingly.

Recalling the party support to CPN (UML) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal to become the prime minister in the past, the newly-elected Prime Minister said the main opposition was also the state organ and it would be given appropriate responsibility and role in his government.

The PM underscored the need of amending the constitution as per the aspirations of the Madhesis, reiterating the commitment to amend the constitution after the second phase local level election.

"There was no situation of passing the constitution amendment proposal in the past. We are making consistent efforts to that end. The Madhes-centric parties should take part in the election and I am confident that they will do so," he said.

Noting that he would not allow the national integration and sense of nationality to weaken, the Prime Minister shared that the government would move forward by giving appropriate respect to the aspirations of all sections and sides.

He stated that Nepal has adopted an inclusive proportional representation system nowhere to be found in the world, stressing on the need of moving ahead towards securing more rights while institutionalising the rights that have been already established.

"The government remains unwavering to going ahead with conducting the three tiers of elections as per the constitutional provision," PM Deuba reiterated.

The Legislature-Parliament will next convene at 13.00 Hrs on Sunday, June 11. RSS
President Bidya Devi Bhandari certifies the bill of local level election endorsed by the Parliament, on Friday, June 9, 2917. Courtesy: Presidentas Office

Kathmandu, Nepal: President Bidya Devi Bhandari has on Friday certified the bill of local level election. The bill was endorsed by the Legislature-Parliament on June 8.

The Presidents Office has informed about the endorsement of the bill through a press statement. The enactment was in accordance with the Article 113.2 of the Constitution, states the press release.

With the endorsement of the bill, the way is paved to the agitating Rastriya Janata Party Nepal to participate in the second phase of local level election by registering the party in the Election Commission.
iStock/Thinkstock(TULSA, Okla.) -- A 29-year-old man armed with knives was killed Friday after three law enforcement officers fired at him as he was entering a convenience store, police said.



Police had earlier confronted Joshua Barre at his home, according to Leland Ashley, public information officer for the Tulsa Police Department. He was armed with two knives at the time he was shot.



The man's mother, Etta Jones Barre, told ABC affiliate KTUL-TV in Tulsa that her son was probably "frightened for his life."



"He didn't have a violent bone in his body," she said, adding later that police "didn't have to kill him."



A small crowd gathered at the scene of the shooting, KTUL-TV reported. Neighbors described the man as troubled.



Police in riot gear were on the scene as well, but the situation remained peaceful, according to KTUL-TV.



The Tulsa Police Department did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Dawn, 6 June 2017

THERE are not too many media houses left in India that will stand up to Prime Minister Modias insidious dismantling of freedoms. Universities are being destroyed by pseudo nationalist bigots, the judiciary is being subverted a how else would a high court judge feel emboldened to pontificate that peacocks are Indiaas national birds because they live a celibate life and have asexual reproduction? Parliament is being undermined and ordinary people are getting pitted against each other in the name of religion and caste, where Dalits are being torn away from each other to be co-opted as Hindutvaas useful fodder against their own.

It is not surprising, therefore, that raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been launched against NDTV founder Prannoy Roy and cases have been filed for alleged defaulting on loans his company took from a private bank. NDTV is one of a handful of channels that has the potential to help stall a Hindutva victory in 2019, not unlike the mobile phone-wielding journalist who helped Turkeyas Erdogan avert a military coup.

There is no reason to disbelieve Royas claim that the raids are politically motivated. CBI a which was conceived as a neutral investigating body like the FBI a is being unleashed on Modias most potent political adversaries, not least being Lalu Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati, several southern parties and, of course, Arvind Kejriwal.

A strong signal has gone from several Indian states against Modias tightening noose around their freedoms.

The CBIas knock on Royas residence in Delhi and raids on his properties in Mussourie came after a widely applauded snub delivered last week to Modias Bharatiya Janata Party by NDTVas ace anchor Nidhi Razdan. BJPas TV face Sambit Patra had claimed in a programme that her channel nurtured an anti-BJP agenda. Razdan denied the charge, but when Patra persisted with his accusation she asked him to leave the discussion. That was sensational and unusual. No one had trifled with a spokesperson of the BJP on Modias watch. Just that one act of defiance by NDTV won it heart-warming applause from far and near.

Hearteningly, there is also a daily programme of eye-opening detail about Modias growing authoritarianism aired by NDTVas popular Hindi channel. Ravish Kumar, its main anchor, has become a cult hero by standing his ground on issues that other channels are reluctant to touch.

Another good memory from some time ago: senior TV anchor Karan Thapar was posing straight questions to Modi about his culpability in the Gujarat massacres. Modi walked out of the interview, and now meets only trusted and vetted journalists.

The behaviour of the media in India is determined largely by the ownership of news outlets and not so much by journalists. BJPas Lal Kishan Advani remembers how when Indira Gandhi aasked the media to bend, they preferred to crawla . That phenomenon too reflected the policies of the traders who mostly owned the newspapers, as they run TV channels today. Now they have veered close to the Modi regime.

The tradersa proclivity to religious revivalism is explained in some detail in a major work of journalism. Akshaya Mukulas work a Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India a is an intensively researched book that explores how trader-owned publishing presses helped shape the evolution of pre-Independence Indiaas religious right. That endeavour seems to have now intensified.

The Hindutva strategy includes muzzling not just the press alone but all other avenues of free thinking that Nehruas India has inherited as a way of life. It would be a neglect to not see a connection between the assault on NDTV today and the pulping of Wendy Donigeras book on Hinduism, for example, at the behest of the new rule-makers. It links up also with the physical assault on university campuses and schools, where an anti-intellectual atmosphere is being foisted to help the advance of Hindutva.

A strong signal has gone from several Indian states against Modias tightening noose around their freedoms, the right to food, for example. Arbitrary restrictions on cattle trade have adversely hit a majority of Indians who rely on meat as a source of cheap protein, and have sparked nationwide resistance. Kerala and Bengal are leading the protests. However, while they face a common challenge from the Modi government they are at loggerheads with each other politically. It is up to NDTV and other sections of the media, including those running amazingly erudite news and views portals, together with other public intellectuals, to bring everyone together for their own sake.

A helpful lesson can be gleaned from the way the brave people of Manchester and London have shown the way to fight the enemies of secularism and democracy. Terrorism has a common purpose and intent with other violent forms of religious bigotry regardless of the faith involved.

State-backed religious vigilantes in India want to rob people of their core liberties. Like the criminals of Manchester and London they too want to divide people in a religious face-off. Previous Indian governments had spotted this malignancy in their midst. They had, for instance, resolved with Pakistan never to allow terrorism to derail their peace efforts. That resolve has been sidelined today, giving terrorists and pseudo nationalists a dangerous leverage in the affairs between two nuclear-armed neighbours.

A couple of years back, Romila Thapar, among Indiaas most respected historians, exhorted the countryas public intellectuals to stir from their apparent slumber. They took the message momentarily, and the result was a handy victory for Kejriwal against Modi in Delhi. Bihar and Punjab followed in putting up a strong resistance to religious fascism.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan praised the people for their resolve to fight the assault on their freedoms. He also asked them not to be alarmed by the task at hand. People in London and Manchester responded with humour, music and a firm anoa to hatemongers. Indians need to take to the streets, calmly, resolutely, to protect their liberties, NDTV and cattle trade included.

The writer is Dawnas correspondent in Delhi.
Khedut Samaj a Gujarat Khet Bhavan, Opp. Cargo Motors, Near Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad Phone: 9409307693

7 June, 2017

PRESS STATEMENT

aConspiracy against Agriculturea no more; it is open war against farmers and agriculture;

Farmers across Gujarat express shock and grief over police brutality on farmers in Madhya Pradesh; Resolve to strengthen farmersa movement here and nationally;

Yesterdayas news of police firing on agitating farmers in Madhya Pradesh has shocked all of us. In an act of defiance the police, acting on political orders, have unleashed violence against farmers agitating about their perilous condition and neglect by the government of their long-standing demands. Their action has resulted in the death of 6 farmers, as per news reports of various national dailies. Farmers and farmer organisations across Gujarat express their shock and horror at this brutality of the Madhya Pradesh government and condemn this action in the strongest terms. From condoning the criminal acts of anon-statea actors (vigilantes and mobs who lynch people) to state sanctioned violence was but a small step, waiting to happen

The pro-capitalist policies of the government are the main cause of farmersa distress in the country. While land, water, forests and coasts can be diverted for industrial purposes without even the mandatory clearances and NPAs and loans and revenue foregone running into thousands of crores of rupees can be ignored, the farmersa demands for water for irrigation, electricity, fair and remunerative prices for their produce and loan waiver to tide over lean years are met with bullets. Declining agriculture export and increasing import of agro-produce and higher rates on agro value addition under GST regime are examples of the Governmentas intentions to compel farmers to abandon agriculture and hand over natural resources like water and land to big pro government corporate houses. There are rising instances of the state machinery increasingly resorting to violence and use of fatal force against farmers, this being the latest instance. This is no longer a conspiracy against farmers and agriculture; it is open war against them by the state through its various arms.

Khedut Samaj-Gujarat condemns the government and police of Madhya Pradesh in the strongest terms. They will continue to stand by the agitating farmers of Madhya Pradesh and all and any other states of India. The farmers of the 68 villages merged into AUDA, under the leadership of Khedut Samaj-Gujarat, were to take out a vehicle a tractor, car, motorcycle a rally. In view of the atrocity on their fellow farmers in Madhya Pradesh and in solidarity with them and their struggle, this programme was altered to include a 2-minute silence to pay homage to the martyrs in Madhya Pradesh. However, and not surprisingly, permission has been denied, yet again, by the authorities.

We request all the farmersa organizations and other CBOs and NGOs to organize statewide programmes across India to show solidarity with the farmers. Day after tomorrow, 9 June, the farmers will hold a day-long demonstration and shraddhanjali sabha for the martyrs of the movement in Madhya Pradesh at all the district collector offices across Gujarat after handing over a memorandum demanding justice for the farmers.

Khedut Samaj-Gujarat appeals to all people concerned at the deteriorating state of democracy in the country today and the increasing suppression of peopleas voice to join these programmes in large numbers. This is not a political programme or a programme of any particular political party and so people joining are requested to do so without their partyas banners.

Jayesh Patel (President)

Sagar Rabari (Secretary)
SAHMAT Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust 29, Feroze Shah Road,New Delhi-110001 Telephone- 23381276/ 23070787 e-mail-sahmat8[at]yahoo.com

6.6.2017

SAHMAT unequivocally condemns the totally unwarranted CBI raids on the media group NDTV. While maintaining that all due procedures should be followed in cases of private complaints, we are of the opinion that searches even without a preliminary enquiry, as stated by NDTV, is nothing but an intimidatory tactic. By attacking the media, the present government is undermining freedom of the press, so essential for a democratic polity.
Accomplishments, recognition and praise was the scene at Pioneer Valleys 2017 Commencement Ceremony Thursday afternoon. The 581 graduating Panthers in a sea of black and teal caps and gowns at the high schools stadium Thursday represented success across multiple platforms  individually, as a team and as a campus family. I am so proud of the accomplishments of the Class of 2017, said Pioneer Valleys principal Shanda Herrera. The students have shown so much growth over the past four years and they have been wonderful to work with. We have students attending Berkley, Stanford, UCLA, and colleges across California.

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" " The Western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) nests in the open, making it vulnerable to a changing climate. Michael L. Baird/Flickr

Bird couples are famous for sticking together. Monogamy is tough for any animal, but for most bird species, solo parenting would be practically impossible. After all, it involves keeping a clutch of eggs constantly incubated and protected while feeding themselves, and later a nest full of squawking, wriggling babies. Because making baby birds is such a hassle, around 90 percent of birds raise their chicks with a mate.

That's great, because these days it's taking a lot more parental vigilance to be a bird. A new study published in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography finds that as climate change makes weather patterns less reliable, the survival rates of bird babies increases when both bird parents bring their cooperation A-game.

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" " The plover often makes its nest on sandy beaches; rising sea levels and beachgoers pose threats, and now the nesting bird has been seen adapting to increasingly volatile temperatures. Ted Soqui/Corbis/Getty Images

The international team of researchers studied plovers, a type of shore bird. Many plover species lay their eggs on in the ground, out in the open, where the nest receives direct sunlight and affords the parents a view of any incoming predators. In order for the eggs to incubate properly, they need their parents to keep them at a constant temperature of around 95-102 degrees F (35-39 degrees C). As average temperatures at some plover nesting grounds have been inching up in recent years, the researchers found the mother and father bird have to switch off incubation duties more frequently than usual.

"In many bird species where both mates participate in incubation, one sex, generally the female, incubates by day, while the other (the male) does it by night," said Juan A. Amat, a researcher at the Donana Biological Station of the Spanish Council for Biological Research, in a press release.

The research team studied 36 populations of 12 different plover species over six continents, and found that over the course of 31 breeding seasons, the male plovers have begun more often participating in the daytime incubation more when the temperatures rise, probably in order to give his mate a break  remember, plovers have to sit on their eggs in the open, experiencing direct sunlight  and protect the eggs from extreme temperatures.

"This flexibility of parental cooperation would facilitate responses to the impact of climate change on populations' reproductive biology," said Amat.

Pull out your notebook and add plovers to the list of animals that have had to adapt their behavior in the face of climate change.

Now That's Distressing Climate change is expected to seriously alter the range of many bird species by the end of this century.
" " It's hard not to be a little disappointed that a comet seems to have been behind the Wow! signal. Wikimedia Commons/Art Montes De Oca/Getty

It looks like one of the most famous signals in the history of searches for intelligent extraterrestrials wasn't triggered by chatty aliens after all  it was likely caused by a mischievous comet that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

On Aug. 15, 1977, Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope was fixed on three star systems called Chi Sagittarii in the constellation of Sagittarius as part of a SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) project when it detected something weird.

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For 72 seconds, a powerful burst of radio waves erupted from deep space. On reviewing the computer printout from that observing session a few days later, astronomer Jerry Ehman noticed the strange clump of letters and numbers. To the untrained eye, the digits are nothing more than a random computer burp. But to Ehman, the message was clear: An unprecedented narrowband radio signal had been received from deep space, and it looked artificial. Excited by the find, Ehman circled the cluster of letters and numbers, writing an exuberant "Wow!" on the printout.

"I mean, without thinking, I wrote "Wow!"" Ehman recalled during a 1994 interview. "It was the most significant thing we had seen."

As time went on, Ehman became skeptical that Big Ear had detected an alien transmission, saying: "Even if it were intelligent beings sending a signal, they'd do it far more than once." After dozens of investigations into that same region, he had settled on the idea that the signal was more likely a radio signal bouncing off space debris, like a defunct satellite, than anything SETI related.

Astronomers exhaustively continued to seek out natural explanations, but the popular view of the signal always tended toward the improbable (yet possible). Nearly four decades later, the "Wow!" signal has remained the most captivating pieces of evidence that alien life  an intelligent, transmitting alien civilization, no less  might exist in our galaxy.

But over the years, SETI astronomers have been frustrated by the lack of replication. Science is a stickler for replicating results, so while the Wow! signal was certainly interesting, until more Wow! signals are found, the 1977 detection was nothing more than an anomaly and a mysterious addition to the SETI annals.

Last year, however, Antonio Paris, an adjunct professor at Florida's St. Petersburg College and a former analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense, had an idea that would assess the Wow! signal's cause and, from November 2016 to February 2017, he tested his hypothesis.

Paris had been trying to find alternatives to the "alien explanation" of the Wow! radio burst, and he realized that the explanation might be a little closer to home.

Big Ear was tuned to a very specific radio frequency for good reason. The universe is filled with neutral hydrogen and, in this natural state, radiates radio waves at a frequency of 1420 megahertz. Any self-respecting alien astronomer would know this. By SETI logic, if we know 1420 megahertz is the most abundant radio emission in the known universe and they also know it, perhaps it is the perfect frequency to transmit on as there is some guarantee that other intelligent beings are observing at that frequency. There's an entire electromagnetic spectrum to transmit from, why not narrow down the odds from the get-go?

However, Paris pondered another possible emitter of 1420 megahertz radiation: comets. Comets contain large quantities of water ice and therefore release neutral hydrogen gas into space as they orbit the sun. At the time of the Big Ear observation, there were no known comets in the Chi Sagittarii observing region. But many comets have been discovered since then  might an undiscovered comet have "photobombed" the Big Ear 1977 observations?

Paris identified two cometary candidates, comets 266P/Christensen and 335P/Gibbs, which were discovered in 2006 and 2008 respectively that, after historic orbital analysis, would have placed them in the general vicinity of Chi Sagittarii on Aug. 15, 1977. And it just so happened that 266P/Christensen was soon making a return visit to the same patch of sky. So, between November 2016 and February 2017 an exhaustive observing campaign was carried out. This time, the detection was replicated, and it appears that aliens had nothing to do with the infamous Wow! signal.

"The investigation discovered that comet 266/P Christensen emitted a radio signal at 1420.25MHz," Paris writes in a study published in the Journal for the Washington Academy of Science. "All radio emissions detected were within 1 (60 arcminutes) of the known celestial coordinates of the comet as it transited the neighborhood of the "Wow!" Signal."

As part of the study, Paris also studied the emissions from a random selection of three other comets  P/2013 EW90 (Tenagra), P/2016 J1-A (PANSTARRS), and 237P/LINEAR  and found that, yes, they also produced a strong 1420 megahertz radio signal.

In short, this could be the last nail in the coffin for the alien explanation of the Wow! signal.

"The results of this investigation, therefore, conclude that cometary spectra are detectable at 1420 MHz and, more importantly, that the 1977 "Wow!" Signal was a natural phenomenon from a solar system body," Paris concludes, bluntly.

Now That's Interesting Big Ear made it into the Guinness Book of Records for its long-running, full-scale SETI project, which began in 1973 and ended in 1997.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
 "Neither Justice Nor Treatment: Drug Courts in the United States" | Main | Alabama carries out second execution in as many weeks using midazolam as first lethal injection drug 

June 8, 2017

Noticing that the Trump DOJ budget predicts a 2% growth in the federal prison population in fiscal year 2018

The Wall Street Journal has this new article noting that the Trump Administration is already making plans for an increased federal prison population. The article is headlined "Federal Prison Population Expected to Grow Under Trump: Increase is anticipated in prosecutions of illegal immigrants, drug offenders." Here is how it gets started:

The federal prison population is expected to grow next year by 4,171 to a total of 191,493 as the Trump administration steps up prosecutions of illegal immigrants and drug offenders, reversing the trend toward a smaller prison population under former President Barack Obama. That estimate of 2% growth in fiscal 2018 was tucked into in a Justice Department budget proposal posted online after the Trump administration's broader spending plan was released two weeks ago. The proposed budget also calls for 300 new federal prosecutors and 75 new immigration judges.

June 8, 2017 at 10:45 PM | Permalink

Comments

But Trump hasnt replaced the multitude that hes fired, so for now this is more hot air.

Posted by: MidWestGuy | Jun 8, 2017 11:54:22 PM

This states that it is just the Dept of Justice. There will be additional growth of incarceration within Homeland Security as ICE also detains more immigrants.

While the rhetoric has been about focusing on violent criminal immigrants, the US recently deported someone whose crime was a DUI 14 years ago. He's a business owner, lets the USDA do some experiments om his land and is supporting his three kids. He has paperwork in to get legal status, but ICE is deporting him - and under the rules he cannot reenter the country for 10 years.

A Judge who agreed the court did not have the power to spot the deportation nevertheless wrote to explain the injustice of the situation

https://takecareblog.com/blog/a-deportation-that-diminishes-not-only-our-country-but-our-courts

"We are unable to prevent Magana Ortizs removal, yet it is contrary to the values of this nation and its legal system. Indeed, the governments decision to remove Magana Ortiz diminishes not only our country but our courts, which are supposedly dedicated to the pursuit of justice. Magana Ortiz and his family are in truth not the only victims. Among the others are judges who, forced to participate in such inhumane acts, suffer a loss of dignity and humanity as well. I concur as a judge, but as a citizen I do not."

Posted by: Paul | Jun 9, 2017 10:12:35 AM

The obvious assumption is this is about drugs, but it would be interesting if DOJ started seeking longer sentences for illegal reentry offenders. I doubt judges would go along for the most part, but it seems like the administration should at least discontinue fast track if it wants to put its money where its mouth is.

Posted by: Jay | Jun 9, 2017 1:58:44 PM

Post a comment
 "Measuring the Creative Plea Bargain" | Main | Is adequate due process for capital cases "arguably impossible"? 

June 9, 2017

Reviewing Prez Trump's judicial nomination success so far (and noting Prez Obama's early relative failings)

The New Republic has this notable and important article which highlights one big reason why notable and important members of the GOP are unlikely to defect from Team Trump anytime soon. The full headline of the article accounts in part for my post title (with my emphasis added): "Trumps Judicial Picks Are Keeping Republicans Happy  and Quiet: In a rare show of competency, he's tapped five times as many judges as Obama had at this point  and conservatives are delighted." Here are excerpts:

The most critical government document released on Wednesday  the one thatll have the most wide-ranging impact in the future  was not James Comeys prepared testimony for the Senate Intelligence Committee about his interactions with Donald Trump. It was a simple press release, issued by the White House, announcing a fourth wave of judicial nominations since the Trump inauguration. The eleven nominations included four district court judgeships, three for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, three for the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and one for the Court of Federal Claims. Conservatives were uniformly delighted. All told, Trump has nominated 22 judges to fill vacancies across the federal bench. Thus far, only two  Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Sixth Circuit Court Judge Amul Thapar  have been confirmed. But the prospect of filling vacancies over time explains a lot about why congressional Republicans have stood by Trump, despite the erratic and stormy start to his presidency. As long as Trump keeps funneling a steady supply of conservative jurists to the Senate, in a bid to dramatically reshape the federal courts, Republicans can go to bed happy that theyre fulfilling at least one major element of their political project. Judicial nominations are the one area where the Trump administration is running like a fine-tuned machine, as the president boasted in February. In fact, Trumps team has far outstripped the efforts of his predecessor. By this date eight years ago, President Obama had made just four judicial nominations: Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and three nominations for the Court of Appeals. It is true that Trump was blessed  thanks mostly to a virtual freeze on judicial confirmations in the last two years of the Obama presidency  with more opportunities than Obama. According to the American Bar Association, at the beginning of June 2009 there were 72 judicial vacancies; today there are 132. But even given that, if you want to do this by percentages, President Trump, at this point in his presidency, has nominated replacements for 16.7 percent of all judicial vacancies; President Obama by this time had nominated replacements for just 5.6 percent. What accounts for this rare outburst of competency from the Trump White House? Certainly, judicial nominations are a lighter lift than legislation; thanks to changes to the Senate filibuster made by both parties, judges at all levels now need only 50 votes for passage, meaning Republicans can confirm them without Democratic support. Those rules were still in place in 2009, and throughout Obamas first term. He did have a filibuster-proof majority for brief periods, from JulyAugust 2009 and September 2009February 2010. But the former president certainly had less margin for error.... In the judicial arena, at least, Trump is fulfilling the duty laid out by Grover Norquist when he said that conservatives just need a president with enough working digits to handle a pen. His unpopularity and the overarching Russia investigation aside, hes signing off on the nominations that conservatives want. If Republicans in Congress manage to get their act together on legislation, hell sign those bills into law as well. The GOP wont abandon him because hes giving them what they want.

I have left out some of the political spin that this article adds to this discussion largely because I think it most worth stressing how relatively successful Prez Trump has been in this arena despite difficulties elsewhere especially in contrast to where the Obama Administration was at this point. The particular irony, of course, is that Prez Trump was a businessman before getting into politics while Prez Obama was a lawyer and law professor. But this point may provide an explanation rather than an irony: Prez Trump may be much more willing to accept and move forward with judicial recommendations from others than Prez Obama might have been. (Also, the Trump team gave themselves a kind of running start by putting together a SCOTUS possibilities list during the 2016 campaign.)

June 9, 2017 at 02:02 PM | Permalink

Comments

Your general sense of the matter is the same as mine, Doug. Trump doesn't care about judges so much...given that his sister is a judge and given his temperament I suspect he sees judging as woman's work. He is perfectly happy to do exactly what others tell him to do when it comes to nominations.

Posted by: Daniel | Jun 9, 2017 2:38:21 PM

Just love to bash Obama.

Posted by: whatever | Jun 9, 2017 3:06:49 PM

Republicans could filibuster lower court judges.

Obama easily enough got Sotomayor on the Court after Souter resigned in 2009.

Obama also had various other things to do early in his presidency. Singling out one thing Trump is doing is misleading. But, this blog is specifically concerned about a narrow number of things, so yes, it would tend to do that.

Yes, Trump appears quite willing to delegate this thing and since his party controls the Senate w/o a filibuster in place to have to deal with, the Administration apparently is more speedy. McConnell very well might be working behind the scenes to help there.

The "failings" and "successes" of both side is "relative," yes.

Posted by: Joe | Jun 9, 2017 3:31:05 PM

"The particular irony, of course, is that Prez Trump was a businessman before getting into politics while Prez Obama was a lawyer and law professor."

I don't know really how particularly relevant this is. Obama was probably in general likely to be more hands on. And, conservatives were particularly concerned about judicial nominees, the Scalia seat alone a significant factor in various Republican victories.

As to his short list, I'm sure there were various "lists" behind the scenes.

I'm not saying that Republicans aren't more concerned and ahead of the curve in some fashion here, but there are lots of factors involved. Simply not having to worry about a filibuster is a major difference. Obama could have put people up faster, but he knew there was a great chance they would simply be blocked repeatedly. This changes the weighing of limited political capital and resources.

Posted by: Joe | Jun 9, 2017 3:40:14 PM

"Obama also had various other things to do early in his presidency."

Lamest excuse ever.

Posted by: justme | Jun 9, 2017 5:04:18 PM

Keep in mind that two nominees that will be confirmed this month are former Obama nominees . . . .

Posted by: federalist | Jun 9, 2017 5:37:16 PM

"Obama also had various other things to do early in his presidency."

There was a little financial crisis. Bush efforts to deal with via a 2 page bill that allowed $700 billion to be deployed needed some work.

Posted by: Paul | Jun 9, 2017 5:58:29 PM

No doubt inherited big problems. He ticked of the Gop when he shoved Obamacare down their throats. But, he still managed to remain articulate and handle himself well.

Trump needs to stop tweets, trying to over turn anything with Obamas name on it, stop being overly concerned about his popularity.

Posted by: MidWestGuy | Jun 9, 2017 10:12:01 PM

I look forward to the day when lawyers will never be nominated to any bench, and banned from all benches. All lawyers are totally disqualified. We need professional judges. Until they are educated and produced, any random member of the jury pool would do a much better job.

Posted by: David Behar | Jun 9, 2017 10:46:57 PM

Buchenwald is coming to a city near you.

Posted by: Liberty1st | Jun 10, 2017 11:24:34 AM

Lib. All German judges collaborated with the Nazis, save one. He was offered retirement or a bullet. Judges, there is almost nothing lower in morals.

Posted by: David Behar | Jun 10, 2017 5:48:28 PM

I would add that big picture also gives me mixed at best support of how Trump is using his executive power. There were some problems with how Obama handled things there. But, you take the bitter and the sweet there. It's easier with Republicans in control of the Senate etc., but there is value in skillful delegation. It is a lesson for future Democratic Presidents, including the value of having a basic plan in place, though events might interfere with it. Again, it helps if you have the legislature on your side with the minority not having as much power over a certain area.

Posted by: Joe | Jun 11, 2017 11:09:47 AM

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Cameras ready to capture reaction at the Derick Almena arraignment. Families of Ghostship fire victims are in court as well. #GhostShip pic.twitter.com/IQjcY5bsz4  Jodi Hernandez (@JodiHernandezTV) June 8, 2017

Following Monday's bombshell news that Ghost Ship warehouse proprietor and master tenant Derick Almena, as well as another tenant, Max Harris, were being charged with manslaughter in the deaths of 36 people in a fire last December, it was unclear how soon the two suspects would be arraigned in Alameda County. Today, Almena made his first appearance in an Oakland court, as the Examiner reports, wearing a red jail jumpsuit, and not saying a word during the aborted arraignment.

Harris, who was arrested Monday in Los Angeles, was expected to be arraigned tomorrow in Oakland, but Judge Thomas Nixon decided to delay both Almena's arraignment and Harris's so that both men could appear in court together and so their attorneys could coordinate. That will happen a week from today, at 9 a.m. on June 15.

Both are expected to be arraigned on 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter, and Almena's defense team has already signaled that they will delay his entering a plea, and they are seeking a reduction in his $1.08 million bail amount.

Per the East Bay Times, about a dozen family members of the fire victims filled the courtroom alongside a throng of reporters, and they spoke to David Gregory, the father of 20-year-old Michela Gregory who died in the blaze with her 22-year-old boyfriend Alex Vega, outside the courtroom. "I just wanted to see his face, Gregory said to the paper. "I wanted to see if he had any remorse."

While the family members of the victims and many in the local community are satisfied to see Almena about to be prosecuted in this case, others continue to argue that Almena and Harris are scapegoats for a greedy, absentee landlord and a broken municipal system that has failed residents, especially artists, who can't afford market-rate housing.

60-year-old Ghost Ship resident Darold Leite appeared in court to support Almena on Thursday, and he tells the East Bay Times, "I believe the system is broken and the system is corrupt, and the people who should have been held responsible arent. Derick was doing something to the best of his ability." He further referred to landlord Chor Ng, who so far faces no charges, as a "slumlord."

One of Almena's defense attorneys, Jeffrey Krasnoff, spoke to the Examiner outside the courtroom today and announced that he and co-counsels Tony Serra and Kyndra Miller would be holding a press conference Friday to discuss the legal theories they believe will render Almena innocent. Krasnoff referred to the manslaughter charges as a "distraction" from the bigger issue of holding city agencies responsible for the blaze.

Below, some brief remarks Krasnoff made to reporters.

Derick Almena's attorney calls #ghostship fire one of most profound cases in Bay Area history says public good not served by prosecuting him pic.twitter.com/zuB2rpeiCV  Jodi Hernandez (@JodiHernandezTV) June 8, 2017



Previously: [Update] Ghost Ship Proprietor And Second Tenant Charged With Manslaughter In Deadly Oakland Fire


According to an announcement by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Thursday, automobiles from these two markets have been applied special preferential tax rates within the framework of free trade agreements which Vietnam has implemented.



Customs divisions have been asked to strengthen origin inspection over CBU (completely built unit) cars from ASEAN and India in line with the Ministry of Finances Circular 38, the Ministry of Industry and Trades circulars on Certificate of Origin to enjoy the tax incentive.

The inspection should also accord with the General Customs Departments Decision 4286 on origin inspection process and writing guidelines by the Ministry of Finance.

By LAC PHONG  Translated by Hai Mien
Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep spoke to the press yesterday after meeting with enterprises that have sent workers to Qatar. He said that Vietnamese workers in Qatar are mostly in the construction, welding, home electrical and refrigerator industries. The ministrys Department of Overseas Labour has requested enterprises sending workers to Qatar to check and report the number of workers, their information, and their contractors so that support and protection measures can be taken if necessary.

The current situation is not worrisome. Vietnamese workers all work for prestigious contractors.

However, in the worst case scenario, the ministry will withdraw all workers and bring them back to Viet Nam to ensure their safety. The cost for this will be covered by the Fund for supporting overseas jobs after receiving the Prime Ministers approval, Diep said.

The ministry has also directed enterprises to temporarily suspend new worker contracts to Qatar and has ordered relevant agencies to keep a close watch on developments in the Middle East and prepare necessary measures to support Vietnamese workers.

If there are any requests for support, Qatar-based Vietnamese workers can contact the Vietnamese Embassy in Qatar at +974 4412 8480, +974 4412 8365 or contact the hotline of the Department of Overseas Labour at + 84 98 7476 466, +84 90 4240 467, or +84 4 393666633.

The Qatar crisis broke out after several Arab Gulf and African countries on Monday cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and suspended all Qatar-bound flights, accusing the country of supporting extremism.

VNS
 Expand Selena Milewski and Eric Scherrer in the original one act IMMORTAL written/directed by Bill Jackson

The unexpected. Its one of the best things about a program of original theatrical shorts. You dont know what to expect. The show begins. You dont know what to expect. Then theres a change in scenery. Then theres another show where anything could happen. Nothings passed through a group of producers who were concerned about the complex intricacies of marketing art. Its just an audience and a group of live performers. Theres the overall feel that anything could happen.

This month Cooperative Performance Milwaukee presents a program of 7 short narratives that make for a generally fun and novel evening of programming that closes at mid-month. Of course, its really hard to talk about a show without taking away the magic of the unexpected. So at the risk of spoiling some of the unexpected for anyone interested in seeing the show, heres a look:

Stephen F. Murrays Nesting Dolls kind of an abstract fantasy to open the show on. Hesper Juhnke is reasonably charming as an evidently homeless woman looking for something in a messy mass of refuse. Kind of an engaging opening. The deeper aspirations of the narrative seem to be searching for something as well. We dont have to live the way we do. We all have a choice. The script never quite makes contact with the deeper theme it seems to be searching for, though. Still--Matthew M. Collie is charming as a mystical man in a jesters hat who gives her a choice.

Posy Knight and Kirk Thomsens Grass is Greener is a dramatic glance into the nature of human tragedy that feels ver wistful. Its abstraction searching for the heart of human emotion a bit more effectively than the opening piece. Two pieces like this right at the top of the program make it feel a bit like its beginning to swim into abstraction. Thankfully the third piece grounds the program in a very concrete conversation between characters.

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Bill Jacksons Immortal has Selena Milewski playing someone who is accusing her fiancee of being immortal. Eric Scherrer plays the accused. A lot of the themes in Jacksons script have been explored from a million different angles in fantasy fiction. (My favorite dramatic presentation of this had Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod in a certain cult hit film from 1986.) Jacksons script is a tight, little communication between two characters which may or may not involve actual immortality and its fascinating to watch the exchange as a possible casual fantasy role play between two particularly dramatic fiancees. Taken at face value, though, Scherrers possible immortality isnt quite as compelling as Lamberts was onscreen 31 years ago. To be fair, its really, really difficult to make earthbound immortality feel authentic-especially live onstage. (It was difficult enough for Lambert in 86.) Whats REALLY fascinating to watch is Milewskis portrayal of someone trying to understand a fiancee who would keep such important personal details from her. Much of the focus both in the script and the direction seems to be on her. Its kind of novel to see the entire thrust of a fantasy focussed on the mortal who is trying to understand it and not the fantastic individual himself. Its a clever mutation of popular fantasy.

Joel Kopischkes Role Perversal rounds out the first act. Amie Lynn Losi plays a flat sitcom stereotype of liberal wife to Bill Molitors flat sitcom stereotype of a liberal husband. Theyre trying to play against gender normative stereotypes, much to the general horror of Sara Laney as a flat sitcom stereotype of an exasperated young adult child of said parents who has more practical wisdom in the matter than either of them. Its cute to see this sort of thing played-up as a light sitcom. I guess I was personally missing the laugh track. I think a cheesy laugh track in the background could have given the short a more appropriate feel.

The program returns after Role Perversal and a 15-minute intermission with Zach Schorschs wisdom teeth--a somewhat fearless autobiographical piece involving singing, spoken word, dance and more. Its about as clear and apparently comprehensive a distillation of one persons life as a short dramatic presentation can manage. Theres a real gravity and density to Schorschs performance.

Lillian Schleys Vows is a conversation between a holy man and his atheist fiancee as they both get out of bed in the morning. Anna Murray and Matthew M. Collies charisma and chemistry go a really long way here considering so much of the script seems to be rotating through so much about spiritual life and religion. Its exceptionally difficult to find genuine insight in a religious dialogue in the post-modern era, but Schley does a pretty good job of providing a compelling picture of two people waking-up in the morning. Murray and Collie bring that compelling interaction to the stage with a very organic feeling of emotion and human connection.

Matthew Konkels Kate the Ultimate and Jane the Invincible: Earths Last Inhabitants walks through a casual dialogue between a couple of superheroes at the end of the world. Konkel likely wasnt constructing the plot the way it came across to me, but it really feels like a Golden Age superhero with a Silver Age sidekick in a Modern Age situation. (The description works even if this wasnt the intention.) Pam Scheferman plays a hero who has been circling the globe looking for any survivors. Wearing what appears to be a second-hand Amazon tiara, shes got that Golden Age sense of righteousness and dedication. Zoe Schwartz is charming as a former hero unwilling to consider herself a sidekick. Shes got a Silver Age sense of angst and resignation as she tries her best to get on with her life. Echoing the overall feel of the end of Moores original Modern Age graphic novel Watchmen , heroes arent needed anymore. In this case its because theres no one left to save. Its an interesting construction with lots of interesting opportunities. Konkel and company deliver on some of this potential with a somewhat satisfying conversation at the end of the world.

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The 2017 Cooperative Performance Milwaukee One Act Festival runs through Jun. 17 at the Underground Collaborative on 161 W. Wisconsin Ave. For ticket requests and more, visit CPM online.
When the Tony Awards are presented Sunday night, nominee Lucas Steele will have been with Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 five years and one month.

From workshops for a handful of people to performing eight times a week for thousands in the revamped Imperial Theatre, it has been a gratifying and humbling journey.

When youre developing a lot of new material, you learn to keep a bit of distance and not put too much hope in it, he says. When you start, you dont know what will happen.

From small theaters to tents to, now, Broadway, The Great Comet, based on a small subplot of War and Peace, has had a long gestation.

Despite that journey, Steele says, he still finds the musical as exciting as it was in its embryonic stage. When you have people just feet away from you who have never seen it before, you can feel their energy and play off it. The audience of The Great Comet is like a third scene partner.

Staged in a revamped theater (with seats on the stage and enough staircases and ramps to make a fitness instructor wince), the Broadway Comet requires Steele to run 80 flights of stairs each performance. Theres a cumulative effect on your body that can break you down faster, just doing the same motion over and over. As a result, he and the other actors require physical therapy and workouts on a regular basis.

No one prepares you for the constant state of maintenance and preparation and work you need to do the show. You have to stay very focused.

As the shows catalyst  hes Anatole, the impetuous rogue who attracts the young Natasha away from her intended  Steele also has to be aware of audience reaction. Because The Great Comet is staged with theatergoers sometimes inches away, he has to be ready for anything. I can sort of rip it out of their hands and bring it back to the story if anyone tries to add to the show.

Toss in singing and playing the violin and its a role few others could attempt. Its emotionally as well as physically draining, Steele says. A major part of the job is making sure your mind and body are in the right place each night.

A veteran of workshops, the Pennsylvania native had an inkling The Great Comet was destined for bigger things when its pre-Broadway run sold out in three minutes.

When Josh Groban got on board (as Pierre, the middle-aged aristocrat going through a personal crisis) for the Broadway edition, Steele knew the stakes had gotten higher. In commercial theater, its very much a challenge to sell a new (concept) to large amounts of people. Josh is actually one of the few very well-known artists who could handle the requirements of the role. In addition to singing and acting, Groban plays the piano and the accordion and conducts the orchestra. Its the perfect alignment of performer and role, Steele says.

Before the show opened on Broadway, Steele took his mother (and biggest supporter) to Radio City Music Hall, where the Tony Awards are held. I wanted her to know what the room was. I said to her, I want you to experience what this is on the off chance that The Great Comet might be vying for Tony Awards.

Now, mom (who comes from a town so small you could fit two-and-one-half of the population in one performance) is set to attend the ceremony to see if her son wins Best Featured Actor in a Musical  a heady thought considering hes only one of two performers who have been with the show since its inception.

"After so many years, it's a little weird. It's both gratifying and humbling," he says of the experience.

Following his run in the show, Steele says he looks forward to igniting his writing career. Before that, though, he has another plan.

Id like to go on vacation, he explains. After nightly runs on The Great Comets obstacle course of a set, Im going to avoid as many stairs as possible and take the elevator whenever I can.
Rummage sale at Immanuel Lutheran

SIOUX CITY | Immanuel Lutheran Church, 315 Hamilton Blvd., will hold its Annual Rummage from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday in the Fellowship Hall. The food stand will be open during the sale. Handicapped accessible.

Catholic Daughters meeting

SIOUX CITY | Catholic Daughters Court Ave Maria #269 will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Holy Spirit Retirement Home. Mass will be held in the Chapel at 5:30 p.m. A meeting and potluck dinner, served by the M-Z members, will follow.

Birthdays of members who reside at Holy Spirit will be celebrated.

Vacation Bible School

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. | Hope Lutheran Church, 218 W. 18th St., invites all children, age 4 through sixth grade, to join their annual Vacation Bible School from 9-11:30 a.m. June 19-23.

This year's theme is "Mighty Fortress- In Jesus, the Victory Is Won." To register, contact the church at 402-494-1847 or stop by the church office.

Patriotic concert

SIOUX CITY | The New Horizon Band of Sioux City will present a patriotic concert at 2 p.m. Sunday inside the Redeemer Lutheran Church gym, 3204 S. Lakeport. Free-will offerings will be given to the Sioux City Gospel Mission.
SIOUX CITY | Representatives and pastors from 129 ELCA congregations in western Iowa will gather at the Sioux City Convention Center this weekend for the annual assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Western Iowa Synod held Friday through Sunday.

The theme "We are Lutherans: Opening Doors," reflects the convention's mission of "looking backward, while moving forward," says the Rev. David Halaas of St. Mark Lutheran Church ELCA in Sioux City. This year's convention coincides with the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the historic event which gave birth to Protestant traditions.

"The doors refer to looking backward to the Reformation, but they also refer to opening doors to a new chapter in Christianity," Halaas explained. "We are a church that opens doors to all people."

The annual assembly sets ministry priorities and conducts business for ELCA churches of western Iowa, but Halaas is just as eager to welcome ELCA neighbors into Siouxland on behalf of the nine ELCA congregations in Sioux City.

"We all care deeply about this community."

Convention guest speakers include: Linda Hartke of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services of Baltimore; the Rev. John Scheck of Global Health Ministries of Minneapolis; and Kenneth Inskeep representing the office of the presiding bishop of the ELCA.

The Reformation will be celebrated with guest preacher Father Tim Friedrichsen, pastor at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Storm Lake, Iowa, at 4 p.m. Friday at the Convention Center. Additional ELCA Western Iowa leaders, Bishop Rodger Prois of Storm Lake, the Rev. Lorna Halaas of Sioux City, and the Rev. Jeff Ungs of Storm Lake, will participate in worship.

A concluding morning worship service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the Convention Center.

Both worship services are free and open to the public.

For additional information on the Western Iowa Synod ELCA assembly, visit wisynod.org.
DES MOINES, Iowa | A divided Iowa Supreme Court has ruled the city of Sioux City was within its rights to terminate a longtime firefighter who violated the terms of a "last-chance agreement" in 2013.

In a 5-2 decision filed Friday, the state's highest court reversed a 2015 decision by Woodbury District Court Judge Jeffrey Neary that had ordered the city to reinstate former Master Firefighter Larry Whitwer and pay him lost wages since his termination, plus court costs.

Whitwer, a 20-year veteran of Sioux City Fire Rescue, pleaded guilty in 2012 to domestic abuse assault. He signed a "last-chance agreement" with the city that allowed him to keep his job unless he violated the law or a no-contact order against the victim. The agreement, which is similar to employee probation, is used as a last-ditch effort to avoid firing an employee.

On Nov. 18, 2013, 13 months after signing the agreement, Whitwer was arrested for violating the court order by sending a text message to the victim. He was subsequently fired.

Since Whitwer's position is a civil service position, his firing normally would have required approval from the city Civil Service Commission. The commission refused to hear his appeal, however, ruling that Whitwer waived his right to appeal any termination when he signed the last-chance agreement.

The major question in Whitwer's case thus revolved around whether a last-chance agreement could exempt him from a commission vote.

Neary had ruled in 2015 that such an agreement does not have effect until the commission has reviewed and approved it, which did not take place. The city appealed that decision, which would have required it to both reinstate Whitwer and provide him with about $100,000 in back wages.

On Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court, citing numerous precedents, stated in a majority opinion penned by Justice Edward M. Mansfield, that "a civil service employee may enter into a valid last-chance agreement" and that Whitwer had done so knowingly and willingly. Mansfield wrote that the district court's decision "bends the duties and responsibilities of the Commission too far."

"No provision in Chapter 400 authorizes the Commission to review and approve such agreements or provides it with standards for doing so," Mansfield wrote.

Justices Brent R. Appel and Daryl L. Hecht dissented from the court's opinion, saying their reading of Iowa's statutes does not allow for the dismissal of an employee without a majority vote from the commission.

Sioux City assistant city attorney Justin Vondrak said he saw the decision as not only beneficial to Sioux City, but also to other city governments across the state.

"I think its a good thing for the state to be able to use last-chance agreements for employees who may have made a mistake or otherwise be disciplined," he said. "It gives us an opportunity to retain their employment and their talents."

Jay E. Denne, an attorney representing Whitwer, did not immediately comment on the decision.
SIOUX CITY | A portion of the Riverfront Trail is back open after closing in mid-May due to construction in the area.

The trail had closed between Riverside and Hamilton boulevards for the installation of pipe culverts along Interstate 29 by the Iowa Department of Transportation.
ELK POINT, S.D. | A public health expert defended Beef Products Inc.'s food safety record Thursday as a lawyer for ABC highlighted past reports of potentially harmful bacteria found in beef produced at BPI's South Sioux City plant.

During his cross-examination of BPI witness Mindy Brashears, ABC attorney Dane Butswinkas attempted to cast uncertainty on Brashears' contention that BPI's Lean Finely Textured Beef is safe, wholesome beef. Brashears, a food safety and public health professor at Texas Tech University, repeatedly maintained there was never any serious problem with the company's signature product, which critics derided as "pink slime."

Dakota Dunes-based BPI, which is suing ABC for up to $5.6 billion in damages, claims a series of March 2012 stories defamed BPI and LFTB, causing widespread public distaste for the product.

After Butswinkas brought up E. coli and salmonella detected at the BPI plant in 2009-2010, Brashears pointed out the amount of bacteria was small, consistent with findings at other plants, and the company quickly dealt with the issue properly.

Butswinkas asked Brashears whether food safety notices the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued to BPI in that time period were problematic.

"In early 2010, the USDA gave 'notices of enforcement' to BPI, is that correct?" Butswinkas asked.

"I am aware that those existed," Brashears replied.

Such warnings, Brashears asserted, are sent to meat industry players regularly, to warn about practices that need to be changed. The notices indicate that, unless corrective action is taken, the USDA will withhold its marks of inspection, effectively keeping the product off the market.

The notices, four of which were sent to BPI in 2010, didn't necessarily indicate anything is seriously wrong at a plant, Brashears said.

"This is something that happens very commonly in the beef industry," she said.

BPI never had its USDA marks of inspection withheld, she added.

During the cross-examination, which lasted throughout the morning and afternoon Thursday, BPI's production process also came under scrutiny. After separating small bits of beef from packing house trimmings, the company treated its meat with small puffs of ammonia gas to kill bacteria.

Between 2005 and 2011, some customers complained about LFTB having a strong ammonia odor, Butswinkas said. The complaints include reports of nausea and headaches.

"I am aware of complaints," Brashears replied.

The smell of ammonia itself, she said, should not be surprising, given the ammonia gas is part of the production process.

"That's something we just expect," she said.

BPI attorney Erik Connolly questioned Brashears about the way the ABC reports portrayed LFTB during production, and whether it was fair to show the meat before the process was complete.

He brought up common food products, such as bread and orange juice, that might look unappetizing during production.

"Have you ever heard of someone calling bread 'White Slime'?" Connolly asked Brashears, referring to dough.

"I have not," Brashears replied.

BPI claims ABC's reports on LFTB, which was mixed and sold in ground beef across the nation, caused a backlash against the product, costing the business millions of dollars in sales and leading to the closure of three of its four plants. The company aims to prove that ABC knowingly used false information in its stories about LFTB and interfered with its business relationships with its customers.

If BPI wins at trial, its $1.9 billion claim could be tripled to $5.7 billion under provisions of South Dakota's Agricultural Food Product Disparagement Act. The company also plans to request punitive damages.
MOVILLE, Iowa | An 18-year old Sioux City man is charged with indecent contact with a child after allegedly touching the 13-year-old girl in Moville.

Court documents show that Charles Sands was arrested Friday morning after spending the night at a home in Moville.

In the morning, Sands got up to use the bathroom and found the victim asleep. He then proceeded to touch the girl inappropriately, according to court documents. The victim woke up and made eye contact with Sands.

Later in the morning, Sands was stopped by police on his way home. During the stop he told police that he may have broken the law and he was taken into custody, explaining later during questioning what he had done, according to documents.

Sands was being held in the Woodbury County Jail on $3,000 bond.
Few, not least Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, expected the UK's prospects to have changed so dramatically overnight.

But Friday, supporters of the country's leading Conservative Party were coming to terms with a parliamentary minority.

The weaker mandate couldn't come at a worst time for May, as she prepares to negotiate the "best possible deal" for the UK's departure from the European Union.

Here's what comes next.

Blow to Brexit talks?

The tone of Brexit talks, expected to begin in just 10 days, are now up in the air.

Thursday's vote produced what's known in the UK as "hung parliament," forcing May to seek a minority partner.

With a hung parliament, the so-called "hard Brexit" that May had been pushing for seems less and less likely to pass.

Within hours of the results being announced, reports suggest May had teamed up with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Despite only holding 10 seats in the United Kingdom's 650-seat parliament, the party will now assume the role of powerbroker in propping up a minority government.

According to its election manifesto, the DUP supports the UK leaving the European Union, but on the provison that the border with its neighbor, EU member Ireland, remains "frictionless."

This is likely to pose an obstacle to the types of strict border controls advocated by sections of the Conservative party.

EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, tweeted early Friday that negotiations should start "when the UK is ready."

However, Siegfried Muresan, spokesman for the European Parliament's largest party the EEP underscored that "Article 50 is ticking" and Theresa May "should have used time for negotiations, not for elections."

Upheaval for ruling Conservative Party?

May's failure to strengthen her grip on power is a huge embarrassment for the leader.

She called the election early with the aim of shoring up support for the Conservatives ahead of the country's crucial Brexit negotiations, but the move has clearly backfired.

As a leader of a minority government, May will be forced to adopt a more consensus based approach, and this could lead her vulnerable to rivals within the party, should Brexit negotiations run into difficulty.

Already UK bookmakers are slashing the odds of a possible leadership challenge, with Boris Johnson once again emerging as a potential front runner.

Siegfried Muresan, the spokesperson for the European Parliament's largest party the EEP, tweeted some harsh words for May Friday.

Referencing a campaign trail comment she made, he wrote: "'I will be a bloody difficult woman to Junker' said May 5 weeks ago. Fact, is this morning she looks bloody weak."

After the vote, May said what the UK needed now "more than anything else, is period of stability," suggesting she doesn't intend to heed calls from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn -- and others within her party -- for her to step down.

Certainly her position on Brexit talks seems to have been compromised, and this could be sound the death knell for her Prime Ministership.

Scotland's not going anywhere

Voters in Scotland made their views clear at the polls, sending a resounding message to the Scottish National Party, which lost more than 20 seats.

Leader Nicola Sturgeon has pushed hard for a second referendum on Scotland's independence from the United Kingdom, which voters rejected in 2014.

Her campaign was energized by a resounding win in the 2015 election, and gained even more urgency after Scotland overwhelmingly sided with the European Union in the Brexit vote of 2016.

In March, Scottish lawmakers voted 69-59 in favor of an independence referendum, giving Sturgeon the green light to ask the UK Parliament for a referendum.

However, it set Scotland on a collision course with the government, with May making it clear that "now is not the time" for a potential split in the UK.

After Thursday's stunning seat loss, Sturgeon told the BBC that a "post-Brexit uncertainty" was a factor in people's voting choices and "certainly the independence referendum is part of that."

She said that the poor showing meant that she would need to "reflect" on voters' appetite for a new referendum. Based on that, it looks like Scotland won't be going anywhere soon.

Northern Ireland's MPs: Kingmakers

The other big winners on the night were MPs from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP)s.

The conservative, pro-union party only gained two seats to take their Westminster tally to 10, but with the Tories short of a majority, the DUP has become disproportionately important.

The DUP's influence might have been at least in part checked by the pro-independence Sinn Fein party, which gained three seats for a total of seven.

However, as their MPs don't sit in parliament -- they refuse to pledge allegiance to the Queen -- their votes are worthless during potential coalition talks.

Founded by arch unionist Ian Paisley in 1971, the party is firmly behind Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom, and maintains a broadly conservative platform, opposing both same-sex marriage and attempts to introduce liberal abortion laws.

Natural bedfellows in a Conservative-led coalition, perhaps, but with their staunch commitment to an open border with neighboring southern Ireland, they could yet prove a decisive and outsized force in Brexit negotiations -- and by virtue, the success or failure of the Conservative Party's key manifesto pledge.

Democracy was the real winner

Once again, voters succeeding in confounding expectations, delivering surprise victories and resounding losses.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn started this campaign with a deficit in the polls of around 20 points, and his chances written off by most experts, political commentators and the press.

He ended it with more than 30 extra seats and the UK's political system disrupted.

The result represents "an earthquake in Labour politics," political analyst Robin Oakley told CNN.

Ahead of the election, Corbyn offered UK voters the most left-wing, big government policy agenda for nearly 40 years -- and crucially an end to seven years of Conservative "austerity" policies and campaigning on promises to push for better funding for health and education.

The politicians who've felt the wrath of voters include Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who clings to her seat by just 300 votes. SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson and former party leader and SNP heavyweight Alex Salmond were among those booted out, as was former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who lost his seat for the Liberal Democrats.

journalist Jane Merrick contributed to this report.
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
MECHANICSVILLE, Md. (June 08, 2017)Investigators from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office were requested to respond for a reported burn injury at 41340 Riverview Road in Mechanicsville, in St. Mary's County, earlier this evening. The investigation revealed Joseph L. Williams, age 70, suffered burns to over 60 percent of his body after the improper use of smoking materials ignited his clothing. Neighbors witnessed Williams on fire on his front porch and rushed to extinguish the fire and contacted 911.



The fire originally occurred at 4:23 pm and brought 10 firefighters from Mechanicsville and Hollywood Volunteer Fire Departments to the scene. The fire was extinguished prior to their arrival and there was minimal to no damage to the dwelling.



The victim was flown to Washington Hospital Center Burn Unit by Maryland State Police Trooper 2.



Anyone with information into this incident is asked to call the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office, Southern Region at 443-550-6820.
Immediately after the mass-shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the comic book industry came together to raise money for victims. One year later, their work raised over $200,000  and growing.

The morning after it happened, I felt horrible about what I saw. So I just posted on Facebook that as the comics community we should do something, we should do a fundraiser and Ill organize it, said Marc Andreyko, Love is Love comic anthology creator. It was sort of a reflexive reaction. So many people said they wanted to be in it. The Tuesday after it happened, we had DC comics and IDW on board. Six months later we have New York Times best-selling book and we raised a ton of money.

Andreyko joined together with some of the biggest names in comics, like writer/illustrator George Perez and comic artist Cat Staggs, to contribute to the 144-page Love is Love anthology in December of last year. It was created as a joint effort between DC Comics and IDW Publishing  known for publishing big-name titles including Star Trek and Doctor Who. Writers, artists and creators from around the globe created the comic book to celebrate love and honor the victims, survivors and their families.

All proceeds from the anthology go to Equality Florida, an organization that focuses on bringing equality and justice to Floridas LGBT community.

The book has taken a life of its own and every penny generated will go towards different LGBT charities over the years, he said.

According to Andreyko, a new charity will be designated every year following the fifth printing of the book. The next will be The Trevor Project, a hotline for LGBT adolescents who may not have an outlet to help them, as he explained.

Since the comics launch last year, survivors and victims families have approached Andreyko to thank him for his contributions.

Its kind of overwhelming to hear from parents who have lost children or from people who have lost siblings. Having them thank me feels  I don't know how to respond because of the losses they have suffered. I did this as an instinctive reaction. To be able to have given people who suffered horrifying awful losses any sort of modicum of piece of peace, even if its momentary from this book, is a real privilege.

For those dealing with the tragedy one year later, Andreyko offered some advice.

This first anniversary is going to be the toughest for a lot of the people who were affected by it, he said. When you come to the first anniversary you realize over the past year there were a couple of days that you didnt think about the horror and then you feel guilty. There were days that you didnt think about it and that becomes really hard to deal with because you feel like you might be starting to forget about the person you lost and that's a natural reaction.

He hopes that people dealing with the tragedy will realize that they are allowed to have days of peace.

Living your life, having a life and contributing positively is the best way to honor your loved one. None of us would want anyone we love to feel horrible pain for the rest of their lives. We dont want to be remembered that way  You honor them more by celebrating life than being paralyzed by your grief.

As for the future of the book, Andreyko has plans to expand globally for its fifth anniversary.

We have some foreign publishers who are interested in doing editions of the book with additional pages from their local artists for money towards LGBT charities in those countries, he said. Were planning for the fifth anniversary on doing a special edition with every single piece in one collection for the first time.

The anthology is sold on IDWs website at IDWPublishing.com/product/loveislove. The digital version contains 20 bonus pages that were not included in the original printing. The book is also available on Amazon and at comic book stores around the country.
June 12, 2016 -- a night that the LGBT community will never forget, a night that the lives of 49 people partying at Pulse nightclub in Orlando were ended.

The community sprung into action, creating GoFundMe pages to raise money for the victims families and survivors of the shooting, and others got to work on legislation. This included the League of Women Voters of Florida, which had been active in gun control activism.

Patti Brigham, the first vice president of the league, became the co-chair of the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence. Within days, 40 groups in Florida joined the coalition and today there are more than 125 nonpartisan groups listed as members. A handful of LGBT organizations have signed up as partners including Key West Business Guild, The Pride Center, Pridelines, and SunServe.

You never think its going to happen in your own hometown, even though you know it can. So when it did, I think just like many people, I was in a state of shock and devastated, Brigham said. When the Pulse shooting occurred, we knew it was time to widen what we were doing and start going on the offensive.

Equality Florida is another LGBT group to join the coalition in a stance against gun violence.

Even before the police reports arrive, even before a suspect is apprehended, when these mass shootings  these tragedies  happen, almost inevitably it is an angry young man of whatever ideology, whatever religious stripe with access to weapons of mass slaughter, said Nadine Smith, the co-founder and CEO of Equality Florida.

We understand that hate violence disproportionately impacts the LGBT community and that access to rational gun laws are a part of addressing the carnage that has become far too normalized.

According to Mass Shooting Tracker, which uses crowd-sourced information, Florida had the most mass shootings in the country last year, with 92 killed and 194 wounded. This year, the Sunshine State is on track to lead the charts again.

Mass shooting was defined as four or more gunshot victims in a single incident.

Kicking off 2017, five people were killed by a shooter at the Fort Lauderdale airport. Ten days later eight were wounded at a Martin Luther King Day event in Miami.

The coalition does not want to allow college students to be able to bring guns on campus because of the high suicide rates among the age group and students are often away from home for the first time experiencing drugs and alcohol. The group also doesnt want open-carry laws in the state thats economically dependent on tourism to allow people to walk around public places with firearms exposed.

Thats not something that really fits into a family friendly environment, she said.

The coalition has had backlash from groups who want more lax laws for gun owners, including the National Rifle Association, Florida Carry, and Students For Concealed Carry.

Were not surprised. I mean their agenda is really guns everywhere, that is not our agenda, Brigham said. We certainly dont want to take anyones guns. We believe in responsible gun ownership.

Smith agrees.

Im from the rural south. I grew up with folks who drove to school with a hunting rifle in the back of the truck, she said. Its about having gun laws that recognize that the Second Amendment is not about unfettered access at all times under all circumstances to military style weapons capable of mass destruction, and it is irrational to behave as though any commonsense regulation on which weapons and where they can be had is tantamount to taking away guns from anyone under any circumstance.

The Florida legislature has also been divided on gun laws. This past legislative session, 27 gun-related bills were introduced, 11 of which were from Republican State Sen. Greg Steube. He managed to get one through, but was blocked by fellow Republican, State Sen. Anitere Flores in the Florida Judiciary Committee, the first stop for the gun laws. She said outright that she would not vote for any of the other 10 bills Steube put forward, and her down vote essentially killed the bills chances to advance.

He and I do not see eye-to-eye on probably any of the other gun bills, said Flores, according to the Herald-Tribune. I do not support having guns on campus, I do not support having guns in airports, I do not support having guns in school zones. I dont support those things and Sen. Steube feels differently and thats fine but this is where we are this year.

The coalition was thrilled by the unlikely ally.

She proved to be very courageous standing up to the gun lobby and to Sen. Steube, Brigham said. Of course were not happy that our bills werent heard, but were bringing them back next sessionand feeling good that the bad bills were once again defeated.

Some of the bills that wanted to make gun laws stricter included increasing penalties for shooters that had more than one magazine on them, ending the gun-show loophole, allowing the FDLE to ask gun buyers about their criminal history, and adding a requirement for mental health screenings for those wanting a concealed carry license.

Even though the session wasnt a roaring success for the coalition and its supporters, Smith of Equality Florida says the LGBT community isnt deterred.

One of the things about the LGBT movement is that we have to take the long view, she said. We organized in a state where Anita Bryant put hate on the map, so weve always had to believe that educating people, telling our stories has an impact short term and long term.

Quotes from community leaders

Here at the Key West Business Guild its our mission to market Key West to the LGBT community and part of that marking is to show its a safe community, so it goes hand in hand there, trying to do whatever we can do to end this gun violence. As we approach the year anniversary of Pulse its a shame not much has been done yet.

 Matt Hon, executive director of the Key West Business Guild

Equality Park is a weapons-free campus. The Center supports a wide array of public health and prevention approaches to protect and enhance the lives of our community members. One year ago, LGBTQ plus individuals were targeted and murdered at Pulse nightclub on Latin night during pride month in the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history. We have a responsibility as a community center to work towards ensuring welcoming, safe, inclusive spaces for our community. This isnt about politics. Its about common sense steps to end gun deaths and save lives in our community.

 Kristofer Fegenbush, COO of The Pride Center at Equality Park

We want responsible gun laws to keep everyone safe.

Mark Ketcham, Executive Director of SunServe

The Pulse nightclub shooting, which occurred one year ago next Monday, was the largest massacre in modern history. This horrific incident resulted in 49 lives taken from us by someone who had access to semi-automatic weapons and who was investigated prior by the FBI and who pledged his allegiance to ISIL on multiple occasions. This was an attack on our LGBTQ and our Latinx communities. Therefore Pridelines has joined the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence, alongside many organizations such as Equality Florida and Centerlink, as a partner because we stand behind their intention to support two legislative reforms - 1) A state ban on all semiautomatic assault weapons and large-capacity feeding devices, and 2) Comprehensive universal background checks and ensuring that the State provides all relevant records to the FBIs National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It is our mission to create safe and affirming spaces for South Florida's LGBTQ community and that must include ensuring that automatic weapons do not get into the hands of the people who mean to harm others.

Victor Diaz Herman, Chief Executive Officer of Pridelines
The passage of the Pulse Remembrance Day resolution in the Florida legislature is mostly a symbolic victory. But the author of the resolution, HR 8077, Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, considers it a victory nonetheless.

Its more symbolic than anything. I was a little surprised that there was not any pushback because the makeup of the legislature is very conservative. It was unanimous and it was approved by the Republican leadership. I am so proud. In the House, resolutions pass when no one objects to them.

Although the resolution was symbolic, Smith called it a promising sign in regard to how conservative and republican legislatures view the LGBT community. Passed on April 27, the resolution marks June 12, the one-year anniversary of the attack which killed 49 people at the LGBT Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Along with the impact on the LGBT community, the resolution highlights the fact that the attack happened on Latin Night and impacted that community as well.

The attack at Pulse nightclub has been recognized as the deadliest mass shooting by a single individual, the most lethal incident of violence against the LGBTQ+ community in United States history and the largest terrorist attack in the country since 9/11, reads a portion of the bill.

Smith, a Democrat who represents Orlando and is one of only two openly-gay Florida legislators, said he wanted to make sure the resolution directly addressed who was targeted that night. Its important that we documented what happened . . . but in a way that did not rewrite history. This is not just an act of terror. Its the worst hate crime in the history of the LGBT community. Its important to acknowledge that in a way that future generations could understand.

Terry DeCarlo, executive director of the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida, said he hopes Smiths resolution is the start of something that will eventually become a national day of remembrance.

It started here and lets hope it goes on further, said DeCarlo.

Smith invited others to take up the mantle and build on what hes done.

Theres an opportunity to bring this to Congress, so I would encourage people to do that. But the most important thing is to stand in solidarity with each other. People are still struggling to rebuild their lives, said Smith.

There are also other issues that need to be addressed, said Smith. One of them is getting more LGBT individuals elected to the legislature. Its frustrating. The LGBT community is underrepresented in the legislature. We need more diversity.

For his efforts in the legislature, Smith was named as one of the winners of the 2017 Legislative Session by FloridaPolitics.com.

The website lauded Smith and said he regularly took to the floor to ask members smart questions about their bills, continues to fight for the survivors of the 2016 attack at the Pulse nightclub, and was key to forming the Legislative Progressive Caucus. Theres a reason he was selected as one of INFLUENCE Magazines freshmen to watch, and we expect this could be just the beginning of big things to come.
While the White House remains silent, other federal agencies are recognizing June as LGBT Pride month.

On Wednesday, the State Department issued remarks from Secretary Rex Tillerson.

In recognition of LGBTI Month, the Department of State affirms its solidarity with the human rights defenders and civil society organizations working around the world to uphold the fundamental freedoms of LGBTI persons to live with dignity and freedom, reads the opening paragraph of Tillersons statement.

With a change in the White House, many LGBT activists feared a roll back of their rights. At Foggy Bottom, advancement of LGBT officers appears on track.

On May 17, the State Department released a dialogue from Ted Osius, the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam. During a recent public event in Hue, Vietnam, Osius was asked about difficulties he had encountered during his career as a result of being gay.

When I first joined the Foreign Service, we could lose our jobs for being out, Osius responded. Because there is strength in numbers, we created a group, and we persuaded the State Department to stop discrimination based on sexual orientation. As American society grew more accepting, we insisted that our families be treated with the same respect as traditional families.

Osius also recounted experiences in India and Indonesia where his spouse, Clayton Bond, was treated with equal respect by their foreign hosts. Vietnam, Osius said, is a shining example.

Since we arrived in Vietnam, our family  a black man, a white man, a son and a daughter who are both brown  we have received the warmest possible welcome, Osius said. If I can draw a lesson from these experiences, it is that it is better to be who you are. I dont think happiness is possible any other way. Be who you are.

Meanwhile, Tillersons statement acknowledged risks associated with full disclosure. There are many countries that still consider homosexuality a crime.

We also recognize that LGBTI persons continue to face the threat of violence and discrimination. Violence and discrimination targeting any vulnerable group undermines our collective security as well as American values. When all persons are protected on the basis of equality and with dignity, global stability is strengthened. We will continue to support the human rights of LGBTI persons together with like-minded governments, businesses, and civil society organizations globally, Tillerson said. The United States remains committed to human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons. Dignity and equality for all persons are among our founding constitutional principles, and these principles continue to drive U.S. diplomacy.

Elsewhere, the U.S. Navy was one of the first uniformed service organizations to issue a LGBT Pride Month statement. In a press release, the Navy declares the LGBT community is part of One Navy Team that contributes their diverse talents, skills and service to the strength of the force.

"To remain the finest seagoing fighting force, the Navy needs men and women who are the right fit for the right job regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, creed or gender identity," said Capt. Candace Eckert, Special Assistant for Inclusion and Diversity. "Our goal is to ensure that the mission is carried out by the most qualified and capable Sailors. If an individual can meet the Navy's standards, they should be afforded the opportunity to be part of the One Navy Team."
The United States hasnt granted visas to gay Chechens avoiding persecution, but other countries are stepping up to help.

Germany is allowing gay and bisexual men in Chechnya to have special humanitarian visas, The Foreign Ministry told the Associated Press. According to Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, over 100 gay and bisexual men were detained in the Russian republic, subject to persecution.

The first refugee arrived on Tuesday, with four other visa applications currently under review.

Meanwhile, the Russian LGBT Network has been evacuating gay and bisexual men. They have reportedly helped at least 40 Chechens so far.

Chechen leaders, including Ramzan Kadyrov, have denied claims of gay persecutions. A spokesperson for Kadyrov claimed it was not possible for them to be persecuting gays because you cant detain and harass someone who doesnt exist in the republic.

If you want to help gay men flee Chechnya, you can donate to the Rainbow Railroad at RainbowRailroad.ca.
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.




The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft is pictured in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm moments after it was captured early Monday. Credit: NASA. NASA

The three-member Expedition 52 crew is settling down with science and cargo transfers this week after a trio of space ships arrived and departed at the International Space Station. NASA also introduced 12 new astronaut candidates Wednesday who could fly farther into space on newer spacecraft than any astronaut before them.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson looked after a student experiment today that is exploring how molds and bacteria adapt to microgravity. Afterward, she measured the lighting in the Destiny and Kibo lab modules to help engineers understand how light affects the habitability of spacecraft.

Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA installed and activated new science hardware delivered aboard the latest SpaceX Dragon cargo craft. Fischer also joined Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin to prepare the station for the departure and arrival of a pair of Russian cargo ships next week. The Progress 66 resupply ship will depart June 13 followed three days later with a new space delivery aboard the Progress 67 cargo craft. Both spaceships are uncrewed.

On Wednesday, NASA celebrated the introduction of 12 new astronaut candidates. The 2017 class will officially report for duty in August and begin training for potential missions aboard NASA spacecraft as well as SpaceX and Boeing commercial spaceships.

On-Orbit Status Report

NanoRacks Module-70: The crew removed NanoRacks Module-70 from the Nanoracks Platform-2 in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) and inserted it into a General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator (GLACIER). Module-70 is an educational research project designed to study the effects of radiation damage to synthetic DNA for gene regions that code for a human antibody. The experiment will make copies of the synthetic DNA samples at certain time-points during the mission using a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The DNA will be returned for study of strand break analysis. The experiment is from the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) School of Life Science in Beijing, China.

NanoRacks Module-52: The crew retrieved NanoRacks Module-52 from Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) and initiated sub-experiments that are housed within NanoRacks Module-52. Photographs will be taken of the petri dishes and video will be downlinked. Microscope-3 imagery will also be taken of some of the petri dish slides. NanoRacks Module-52 is a collection of 6 student-led biological experiments photo-documenting the life-cycle of various molds and bacteria on petri plates in microgravity.

NanoRacks Module 9 Operations: The crew activatd mixture tubes today in support of the NanoRacks-National Center for Earth and Space Science-Casper (NanoRacks-NCESSE-Casper) investigation. NCESSE supports various schools and student-designed experiments that address challenges of living and working in space. The program is also a key initiative for U.S. science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), that strives to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers to work on the space program. The specific investigations supported today include Growth and Development of Fathead Minnows in Microgravity, Possible Effects of Microgravity on Development of Dictyostelium discoideum (a type of cellular slime mold), and Tiny Wings of Glory (which involves the growth and life cycle of Vanessa Cardui (Painted Lady) butterflies in microgravity).

JAXA Medium Temperature Protein Crystal Growth (MT PCG): The crew retrieved PCG Samples from the JAXA Freezer-Refrigerator Of STirling cycle 2 (J-FROST2) so that protein crystal growth can begin and will later return the samples back to the FROST2. The main scientific objective of the JAXA MT PCG experiment is to make high quality protein crystals in the microgravity environment at moderate temperature.

Fine Motor Skills (FMS): The crew completed a series of interactive tasks during a FMS session which studies how the fine motor skills are effected by long-term microgravity exposure, different phases of microgravity adaptation, and sensorimotor recovery after returning to Earth gravity. The goal of the investigation is to determine how fine motor performance in microgravity varies over the duration of six-month and year-long space missions; how fine motor performance on orbit compares with that of a closely matched participant on Earth; and how performance varies before and after gravitational transitions, including periods of early flight adaptation and very early/near immediate post-flight periods.

Dose Tracker: The crew completed a weekly medication tracking entry in the Dose Tracker application. Dose Tracker documents the medication usage of crewmembers before and during their missions by capturing data regarding medication use during spaceflight, including side effect qualities, frequencies and severities. The investigation is expected to provide anecdotal evidence of medication effectiveness during flight and any unusual side effects experienced. It is also expected that specific, near-real-time questioning about symptom relief and side effects will provide the data required to establish whether spaceflight-associated alterations in pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics is occurring during missions.

Lighting Effects: The crew set up and configured the Light Meter hardware and take readings in the US Lab and the JEM Pressurized Module (JPM). Both modules use the legacy General Luminaire Assembly (GLA). The Lighting Effects experiment hopes to better quantify and qualify how lighting can effect habitability of spacecraft. The light bulbs on the ISS are being replaced with a new system designed for improved crew health and wellness. The Lighting Effects investigation studies the impact of the change from fluorescent light bulbs to solid-state light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with adjustable intensity and color and aims to determine if the new lights can improve crew circadian rhythms, sleep, and cognitive performance. Results from this investigation also have major implications for people on Earth who use electric lights.

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Yesterday and overnight, Robotic Ground Controllers powered up the MSS cameras and lights and walked the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) off the Node2 Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF) onto Mobile Base System (MBS) PDGF1. They then translated the Mobile Transporter (MT) from Worksite 6 (WS6) to WS2. Finally the Robotics Ground Controllers unstowed the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) from MBS PDGF2. The SPDM is holding the Multiple User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES) payload on the Enhanced Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) Temporary Platform (EOTP) which will be installed later today on Express Logistic Carrier 4 (ELC4).

Todays Planned Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

JAXA MT PCG Sample Preparation

Fine Motor Skills Experiment Test  Subject

JEM TEPC Dosimeter Installation

Recharging Soyuz 735 Samsung PC Battery (if charge level is below 80%)

NanoRacks Platform-2 Module-70 Removal

NanoRacks Module-70 Glacier Insert

Combustion Integrated Rack Alignment Guide Install

Verification of ??-1 Flow Sensor Position

Station Support Computer (SSC) System Vent Cleaning

Electrostatic Levitation Furnace(ELF) Argon gas QD connection

Adjustment of Condensate Pumping Unit (???) operation mode

Nanoracks Module 52 MELFI Retrieve

Restow Vestibule Outfitting Kit (VOK)

Intermodule TORU Test with Mated Progress 435

Rodent Research MELFI Insert

NanoRacks Module-52 Start

MPEG-2 TV downlink test via Ku-band prior to Progress 436 docking

Space Automated Bioproduct Lab Activation and Checkout

Vacuum Pressure Gauge Accuracy Check

NanoRacks Module 9 Ops Session 2

Consolidation of Personal Hygiene Article for Priority Use

Lighting Effects Light Meter Readings Alternate 2

EXPRESS Rack 8 Locker Removal

Polar Dragon Uninstall, Handover, Transfer and EXPRESS Rack Install

Cold Stowage Double Cold bag Ice brick Stow

Terminate Soyuz 735 Samsung PC Battery Charge (as necessary)

Glacier Supply Line Braycote Application

Habitability Human Factors Directed Observations  Subject

Rodent Research 5 Injection Review

Rodent Research Crew Conference

Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference

URAGAN

Metal Oxide (METOX) Regeneration Initiation

Completed Task List Items

Genes in Space (GIS) Sample Photos, Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) Ops, and Maintenance Work Area (MWA) prep

Ground Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Rodent Research ops support

NanoRacks ops support

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Friday, 06/07: Glacier Install, Rodent Research ops, Progress On-Board Training

Saturday, 06/08: Rodent Research ops, Dragon Polar ops, Housekeeping

Sunday, 6/09: Stem Cell media change, Crew off duty
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Lisbon, June 3, 2017 (SPS) - The issue of occupied Western Sahara and its similarities with East Timor was the main focus of an international conference held recently in Lisbon, Portugal, where the participants stressed on determination and international solidarity to snatch independence.

Opening this conference, organized Monday and Tuesday at the headquarters of the Portuguese Parliament by the jurists for "Timor-Leste" on the occasion of the 25th year of its existence, the Deputy Speaker of the Portuguese Parliament Jorge Lacao underlined his support to the right of the Sahrawi and Palestinian peoples to self-determination.

Speaking at the closure of the first day s debates, former president of Timor Xanana Xusmao also reaffirmed his countrys full support to the struggle of the Sahrawi people for their independence, calling on the Sahrawi people for resistance.

During his speech devoted the geopolitics and legal order, Jose Manuel Pureza, deputy speaker of the Portuguese Parliament referred to the issue of Western Sahara several times.

He underlined that perseverance and determination, in addition to the fairness of the cause will always make the difference. (SPS)

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Amateur racing took center stage Thursday afternoon at Monticello Raceway with two amateur club events dotting the 12-race card.

The first, a NAADA trot ,saw Bob Krivelin bide his time and rally Permanent Joy to a 1:59.2 victory while in the second, a Catskill Amateur Club pace, went to Monica Banca and Jay Bees Grin N and in a 1:58.3 clocking. Many of the participating drivers are members of both amateur clubs.

Krivelin, a three-time National Amateur Driver of the Year, worked out a good journey with his nine-year-old Trot For Joy gelding and was the strong horse in the lane.

When the wings of the mobile gate folded Paul Minore sent Wygant Prince to the lead and they cut the early fractions trotting by the first stanza in :28.3 with Permanent Joy comfortable in third position.

Wygant Prince was on the front end as the field trotted by the half in :59.1 with none of the trailers taking a shot at the leader. As they trotted by the three quarters in 1:29.2, Krivelin and Permanent Joy took aim at Wygant Prince but they didnt clear until they came off the final turn but when they did Krivelins charge took command and trotted on to a one length triumph over Fox Valley Steffen (John Kokinos), who was later disqualified for a racing infraction. Third place finisher Flirting Duesy, driven by Tony Verruso, was moved up the second and fourth place finisher Wygant Prince was granted the show dough.

Krivelin, no stranger to the winners circle, was quick to comment that Permanent Joy didnt have a harness on him since he last raced on May 18.

I keep him at my farm in Goshen and tow him because hes not easy to handle when hes harnessed-up, Krivelin said. But in a race hes a sweetheart and you can drive him with two fingers.

Sent off at odds of over 5-1 Permanent Joy notched his third seasonal triumph and his 33rd of his racing career. And for Krivelin it was his 208th winning drive.

The Catskill Amateur Club pace went Monica Banca after she gave Jay Bees Grin N a covered journey until the top of the stretch and then rallied her pacer down the passing lane to score by 1-1/2 lengths over Joe Lee and TKRs Metro Specs in a 1:58.3 clocking. Lightning Strike finished third for John Kokinos.

After the race Banca said that she felt fine but prior to the event she admitted that she was nervous. But if she was a bit tense she didnt show it as she gave her pacer a picture-perfect trip and rallied the New Zealand-bred gelding to his fifth seasonal triumph.

It was the first time that she sat behind Jay Bees Grin N and for the talented horse-woman , originally from Norway, it marked her second win in just three seasonal starts and her 16th driving victory in her career which began in 2013.

The winning horse is owned and trained by Rick Dane. Sent off the odds-on favourite from the two hole Jay Bees Grin N paid $3.60 for win.
April and May did not unfold quite the way Paul Reid had hoped, but the trainer is hoping Sweet Of My Hearts Gold Series victory at Mohawk Racetrack on Thursday evening signals a change in fortune for his three-year-old trotting filly contingent.

Heading into Thursdays contest Reid trainees Sweet Of My Heart, Holiday Promise and Winter Sweet Frost had made a total of 11 starts and Holiday Promise was the only one with a top five result, finishing second in an overnight event in April. On Thursday, however, Sweet Of My Heart went gate-to-wire in the second $95,600 Gold division and Holiday Promise closed hard to earn the runner-up spoils, leaving Paradise Image to settle for third.

I dont know, it just kind of took us a month to get things back on the right path, reflected Reid.

A Gold Series winner at two, Sweet Of My Heart was one of Reids favourites before injury cut her freshman campaign short after five starts. This season the trainer, who hails from De Leon Springs, FL, was hoping the filly would pick up where she left off, but the Angus Hall daughter has been somewhat less than compliant.

The Anguss, with most of them, once you can get them under control youve got a nice horse, but in between it can test your patience, said Reid ruefully, adding that he has recently changed his approach to the fillys training routine. Kind of throwing my hands up a little bit saying, well we cant fight her you know, lets see if we can learn to rate that speed, rather than just trying to manhandle her and make her do what we wanted. She wasnt going to do that.

The change in tactics paid off Thursday as Sweet Of My Heart reeled off a personal best 1:55, hitting the wire four and one-quarter lengths ahead of her stablemate. Louis-Philippe Roy engineered the win for Reid and owner-breeder Robert Key of Leechburg, PA.

While Sweet Of My Heart competed in just five races last season, Holiday Promise made nine starts and capped off her freshman campaign with a third-place result in the Super Final. Like her stablemate, however, she had struggled to regain her form through her first few starts this season so Reid and owner-breeders Richard and Regina Beinhauer of Venetia, PA were relieved to see her finish strong on Thursday.

Shes another filly that just really was better last year than shed shown early this year, and I was real happy with the way she come around tonight, said Reid of the Holiday Road daughter.

The only member of Reids sophomore trotting filly trio that did not break out of her early season slump was Winter Sweet Frost  who threw a shoe going to the starting gate, made a break and finished seventh in the first Gold division  but the horseman is hoping better things are ahead for the reigning Super Final champion.

Were still kind of getting kinks ironed out of her too, said Reid, who conditions the Kadabra daughter for Robert Key. Its been a combination of little things. She didnt ship well from Florida  it kind of stressed her  and then in May she went to The Meadows for a bit and just kind of bounced around there. And just all that travel time with a filly that didnt have to do a lot of travelling last year, she just doesnt seem to handle that well.

Reid has until the second Gold Leg, which goes postward July 2 at Georgian Downs, to get Winter Sweet Frost back on track and ready to defend her division title.

The current favourite to claim the sophomore division crown is Magic Presto, who delivered her third straight victory over the Mohawk Racetrack oval in the first Gold division, sprinting home to a personal best 1:53.3 over Royal Witch and Gravitator.

With Trevor Henry of Arthur, ON in the race bike, Magic Presto landed in third from Post 7 and Henry was content to watch Stuck In My Spanks lead the field to a :26.4 quarter and :56.3 half. Just past the half Henry sent the heavy favourite up the outside and by the 1:25.2 three-quarters she was pulling alongside Stuck In My Spanks. Without much urging from Henry, Magic Presto then cruised down the stretch to the three length victory.

Shes so easy to drive, you can place her wherever you want off the gate, so that makes her so nice, said Henry from the winners circle. Shes just, shes awesome.

Henry crafted the win for trainer Richard Nifty Norman and owners Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, Herb Liverman of Miami Beach, FL, David McDuffee of Delray Beach, FL and Little E LLC of New York, NY.

Mohawk Racetrack fans will be treated to a second helping of three-year-old trotting fillies next Tuesday, June 13 as the Campbellville oval hosts the divisions first Grassroots event.

(OSS)

To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results  Mohawk Racetrack.

For the official judges' report from Thursday's card, click the following link: Judges' Report - Mohawk - June 8.
The first leg of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund stakes for three-year-olds will begin Monday June 12 at Harrington Raceway with three $20,000 divisions of pacing colts and geldings.

Bags To Riches (8-5, Tim Tetrick), was the $100,000 final winner on the Dover Downs circuit and will return among the 17 entries for trainer/co-owner Jason Skinner and Only Money Inc. Owner George Teague and trainer Clyde Francis will send out five starters including Daiymir (8-5, Montrell Teague) and Henry The Dragon (2-1, Bret Brittingham), who will square off in the first division.

On Tuesday, three divisions will be held for pacing fillies as trainer Jim King, Jr. will send out a pair of morning line favourites for Jo Ann Looney-King in Spanish Dream (2-1, Victor Kirby) and Logans Girl (7-5, Kirby).

Trotters will take center stage on Wednesday with two divisions apiece for fillies and colts and geldings. Spoonful (Les Givens) will look to complete a sweep of her eliminations as she did at Dover Downs for her owner/trainer/driver, while Ben Brooks Master Clave (Ross Wolfenden) will look to successfully defend his title after winning the April 10 final at Dover Downs for trainer John Wilkerson.

Live racing will shift to three days a week for the balance of June, Monday through Wednesday until June 28.

(Harrington Raceway)
Trot Insider has learned that longtime Standardbred industry participant Kathy Thomas passed away peacefully in her sleep on June 5, 2017 after a battle with brain cancer.

Born and raised in Edmonton, Alta, Kathy taught elementary school in the Edmonton area for approximately 35 years, her latest being Daly Grove School.

Kathy and her husband Larry Thomas purchased their first horse together six months after their marriage, over 32 years ago. Kathy could often be found in the grandstand excitedly cheering on her horses. Kathy was always supportive of Larry's dream whether it was breeding broodmares, buying yearlings or claiming an older horse.

At first Kathy was terrified of horses. Over the years she started to warm up to them, petting them, feeding them and developing her own favourites.

Kathy shared many traits of a champion racehorse; courage, determination and strength. She will be greatly missed.

Kathy is lovingly remembered by her four children, Melissa (Gordon), Joshua (Kaylie), Jessica (Kris) and Zachary; her parents Jack and Pat MacKenzie and her two brothers Kenneth (Terry) of Stouffville, Ont. and John (Sofia) of Surrey, B.C. and their families. Kathy is also remembered by her father and mother-in-law Alfred and Dorothy Thomas of Red Deer, brother-in-law Blair (Sandy) Thomas of Red Deer, and several nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Kathy's life will be held on Saturday, June 10, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. at Meadowlands Baptist Church, 2215-17 ST NW, Edmonton with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Grey Nuns Hospital.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Kathy Thomas.
A tight-knit group of aged pacers will contest the Sunday afternoon feature pace at Red Shores at the Summerside Raceway.

First-race post time is 1:00 P.M. for the 12-dash program with the $2,300 featured pace lining up in Race 11.

Mando Fun is the morning line choice but is shouldered the outside post in the six-horse field. Dale Spence drives the pacer for co-owner and trainer Paul Biggar of Tyne Valley and co-owner Donald Callbeck of Kensington. The four-year-old son of Badlands Hanover captured last Sunday's top class but looks to have some tougher competition with Narragansett leaving from Post 2 fresh off a 1:56.2 upset victory in the Thursdayevening feature at Red Shores Charlottetown. Jason 'The Blue Knight' Hughes trains and drives Narragansett for owners Foxyhall Racing of Nova Scotia. Machinthesand can never be counted out and teams up with Norris Rogers this week from Post 5. Other entries include Pictonian Storm (Wade Sorrie), Relleno Hanover (Marc Campbell) and D Bs Rosco (Kenny Arsenault).

The back-up pace hits the track in Race 7 for a $1,700 pot with Instant Shadow seeing some class relief and looking for redemption after making a break and being parked out in his latest start. The Sifroi Melanson trainee leaves the gate from Post 6 with Hughes in the bike for New Brunswick owners Ultimate Stable and Robert Kyle. Rash B Havior is the morning line choice in the event with Campbell picking up the catch-drive for owner-trainer Mike Peters of Emyvale. George (Walter Cheverie) and Chevalier Semalu (Spence) both ride season's best victories into Sunday's race.

Mia Lotta makes her East Coast debut in Race 3 on the card for new trainer and co-owner Phil Desroche of O'Leary and co-owner Abel Arsenault of New Brunswick. Desroche's son, Ryan will steer the four-year-old daughter of Major In Art as she relocates from Hippodrome 3R in Quebec.

The weekend programs also feature the kick-off of the $100,000 Dash For Cash with full contest details, race programs and live video available at RedShores.ca.

For entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Red Shores Summerside.

(with files from Red Shores)
Harrisburg Abortion Center Closed After Ordinance Win

Contact: Liberty Counsel, 407-875-1776, Media@LC.org; Press Kit



HARRISBURG, Penn., June 9, 2017 /Standard Newswire/ -- Two weeks after the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Liberty Counsel's pro-life clients in their lawsuit against a Harrisburg ordinance which created buffer zones that silenced pro-life speech on public sidewalks around abortion clinics, one of the abortion centers involved in the case has closed. Hillcrest Women's Medical Center in Harrisburg now has a sign on the door that reads "Office will be closed until further notice."



The Department of Health (DOH) ordered the Hillcrest abortion facility to close after state inspectors found numerous violations and stated that it has until August 31 to make corrections, comply with state laws, and pass another inspection before it can reopen.



Three state senators wrote a letter to the DOH questioning why it hasn't pulled the license for Hillcrest considering it has violated Pennsylvania health laws four times in six years. The facility was cited for numerous issues including improper staffing, expired medications and medical supplies, and failing to follow anesthesia policies for surgical abortions. A March inspection report found that Hillcrest did not have a registered nurse on staff and twice failed to provide documentation showing that its physician was board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology. The facility also was not in compliance with the Child Protective Services Law. Hillcrest treated patients younger than 18, but at least eight employees did not have the required background checks.



Some medications at Hillcrest were stored a year or more after their expiration dates (a repeat violation), including 20 chlamydia and gonorrhea swabs that expired in 2004. Additionally, seven needles and syringes were "in paper wraps that were physically deteriorated and yellow with age."



In 2011, one woman suffered a fatal drug overdose during an abortion at Hillcrest. Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who ran the clinic, was charged with eight counts of murder, for her death and the deaths of seven babies who prosecutors said were born alive and killed with scissors. A 261-page grand jury indictment was also released in 2011 that stated the DOH and other agencies  including the Department of State, under which the Board of Medicine falls  allowed Gosnell's clinic to operate nearly unimpeded since the late '70s. It hadn't been inspected since 1993. In its report, the grand jury said the DOH "decided for political reasons, to stop inspecting abortion clinics at all" and state attorneys changed their opinions and advice "to suit the policy preferences of different governors." The report also stated the department dropped its policy of annual inspections in the mid-1990s under Governor Tom Ridge, who supported abortion rights.



Liberty Counsel represented Becky Biter and Colleen Reilly, who regularly engaged in peaceful counseling on public sidewalks around Harrisburg's two abortion clinics, one of which is Hillcrest Women's Medical Center. They had been harassed and intimated by clinic staff and the local police since the City enacted the ordinance, which was drafted and pushed by Planned Parenthood. This unconstitutional ordinance purported to expel pro-life speakers from public property and pushed pro-life counselors sometimes 50 feet to more than 70 feet away from the women they are attempting to help.



"It is horrifying to know what was happening behind the closed doors of Hillcrest Women's Medical Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We pray those doors will never reopen again," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "We are grateful for the privilege to represent faithful sidewalk counselors like Becky Biter and Colleen Reilly who have helped save, since 2015, at least 50 babies whose lives were going to end at Hillcrest. However, Hillcrest is just one example of the centers where human genocide happens every day. Liberty Counsel continues to fight for the sanctity of human life so that the womb will, once again, become a safe place," said Staver.



Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
The essential component of totalitarian propaganda is artifice (het toepassen van kunstgrepen. svh) . The ruling elites, like celebritie...
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
Northwest congressional representatives are reaching across the aisle to save salmon lives with legislation to make it easier to shoot sea lions.

U.S. Reps. Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-Wash) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore) have introduced the Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Protection Act. The bill will get a Congressional hearing Friday morning.

This bill would allow tribal and government fish managers to lethally remove up 100 sea lions per permit, according to a press release from Herrera Beutler, who represents Southwest Washington.

The Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act is critical because sea lion predation is posing a serious threat to our salmon populations, impacting our efforts to ensure their survival, Rep. Herrera Beutler said in the prepared statement. With this solution, we have tools to better protect the salmon so vital to our recreational, cultural and economic interests.

As of now, there is only one permit in place, issued to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, according to Herrera Beutlers office. This new bill would make the current permit process more efficient, and would allow tribes with resource management experience to apply and receive permits for hunting sea lions.

A previous bill the Republican congresswoman introduced in 2015 would have allowed tribal members to kill up to 85 sea lions, 15 fewer per permit than the new bill.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, there were 203 sea lions present at the Bonneville Dam in 2016, which was the second highest yearly total since 2002, when the Corps started monitoring the area for sea lions. The sea lions estimated salmon consumption rate at the dam in 2016 was around 6 percent of the salmon that passed through, or over 9,000. That number was slightly down from 2015, where sea lions ate more than 10,000 salmon at the dam, according to Corps reports.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife states that sport fishing generates $1.1 billion yearly in activity for the state.
This is the ninth of our Standout Grad profiles. The series runs through this Sunday.

Emily Lozier doesnt drink coffee. For fuel, the Kalama High School senior and valedictorian relied on sheer willpower throughout a high school career when at times she only managed four hours of rest a night.

At the peak, I was busy from the minute I woke up to the minute I went to sleep, she said.

In addition to maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average, Lozier is a two-sport varsity athlete, an active member of the Future Business Leaders of America and puts in 10 hours per week at her job as a receptionist with the Port of Kalama. Shes also served as senior class treasurer and poured hundreds of hours into getting certified in both the 2010 and 2013 versions of Microsoft Office. This has afforded her the opportunity to travel with FLBA to Spokane and as far as Orlando, Fla., to compete in high-level PowerPoint competitions.

The 18-year-old has spent her entire academic career at the top of the hill thats home to Kalama Elementary and Kalama Middle-High School. It wasnt until her sophomore year that she decided to truly challenge herself, though  and she hasnt looked back since.

Shes an extraordinary person and an exemplary student, said Ken White, who was Loziers AP U.S. History techer during her sophomore year. Lozier said there were nights when she wouldnt get home from a volleyball match until 10 p.m. before starting on her homework for Mr. Whites class.

Lozier said shes gravitated toward math and engineering over the past few years and hopes to pursue a degree in engineering at the University of Washington. Out of a graduating class of 62, Lozier is one of four students to be accepted to the states most prestigious public university.

In her free time, Lozier likes to play board games with friends and read science fiction. As a member of the cross country team, shes also an avid runner.

Her advice to younger students is simple: Dont take the easy way out.

Theres nothing that can stop you when you really put your mind to something, she said.
tech2 News Staff

The country's largest paramilitary force, CRPF, is exploring technology that could potentially track and disable weapons looted in extremist-affected parts Jammu and Kashmir.

It has been reported that the extremists use the same automatic and semi-automatic rifles/guns like AK rifles, SLRs and revolvers that are used by the security forces in counter-insurgency and anti-Maoist activities.

Officials in the Indian Army have told The Times of India that CRPF is in touch with private companies which dealt with providing a type of technology which could implant GPS tracking/Biometric ID so that weapons snatched by extremists could be tracked and rendered useless.

Presently, some countries like the US use GPS technology in some of their weapons. However, several officials who spoke to TOI were skeptical of such an idea saying it is not so easy to bring this kind of technology to weapons.
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Infosys Ltd denied a media report on Friday that the founders of India's second-biggest software services exporter were looking to sell their entire 12.75 percent stake in the company. The Times of India newspaper had reported the founders were exploring such a sale, citing people familiar with the developments, although it carried a denial from one founder, Narayana Murthy. Infosys "has no information on any such development," the company said in a statement, adding that the "speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters."

Infosys shares were still down 2.1 percent at 0543 GMT, after earlier falling as much as 3.5 percent. Infosys founders', led by Murthy, have publicly accused the company's board of lapses in corporate governance, forcing the company to appoint a co-chairman to the board and a $2 billion payout to shareholders in the fiscal year to March 2018. Murthy has also criticised pay hikes given to chief executive Vishal Sikka and operations chief Pravin Rao, and severance payouts given to executives, including former finance head Rajiv Bansal.

The row comes at a time when the Indian IT sector is facing headwinds in its biggest market, the United States, as President Donald Trump and his administration lean towards changing visa rules and hiking wages that could hit outsourcing firms. Sikka has said that Infosys was likely to struggle to reach its ambitious $20 billion revenue target by 2020 due to a "challenging environment".

Deven Choksey, promoter at KR Choksey Investment Managers, said markets would take any potential exit by promoters in stride, noting investors were more concerned about the broader outlook for India's IT sector. "The business situation for IT companies remains uncertain. That's a larger concern than that of promoters trying to walk out of the company," he said. Infosys was founded in 1981 by seven engineers, including Murthy, who pooled $250, mostly borrowed from their wives. The company's rapid growth kick-started outsourcing in India.

Reuters
Rehan Hooda

Lenovo, the parent company of Motorola, has announced the launch of the latest, premium handset for the Indian market. The company wants to build on the modular Moto Mod ecosystem that started last year with the launch of the Moto Z. The smartphone is priced at Rs. 27,999 and will be available exclusively on Flipkart from 15 June along with retail channels.

The company is trying its best to push forward the modular smartphone concept to the people. The company also announced four new Moto Mods  the new JBL SoundBoost 2 which when attached to the phone it will work as an audio enhancer, TurboPower Pack Mod which acts as an extra battery to increase the battery life of the phone, new Moto Shells which are the colorful covers to protect the phone and a new Moto GamePad which can be used as joystick while playing games.

We reviewed the first generation Motorola Moto Z along with the Hasselblad True Zoom Mod and JBL SoundBoost Mod and we concluded that this interesting approach to mods could use some polish. Moto Z2 Play is the third smartphone after the Moto Z and Moto Z Play to support the MotoMods. The smartphone looks stellar, but does it fix the quirks that we faced in the original Moto Z? Lets have a quick look at how Moto Z2 Play fares.

Build and Design

Motorola has opted for a full aluminum back with its latest device in India. The smartphone looks great and feels sturdy in hand without any squeaking parts.

The company has not changed much in terms of the design except the redesigned fingerprint scanner in front of the smartphone, which also doubles as your home button.

Motorola also emphasized that the company has redesigned the antennas in the Moto Z2 Play to ensure better connectivity for users depending on how they hold the smartphone.

One thing to point out is that the smartphone has managed to make the smartphone even slimmer. it's now just 6 mm in comparison to the 7 mm of thickness in the previous model.

Features

The new Moto Z2 Play will feature a 5.5-inch Full HD screen with a protection of Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The phone will come with 4 GB RAM with 64 GB storage. It supports memory cards up to 256 GB in size for enhancing the storage.

The rest of the features include a 3,510 mAh battery, an octa-core Snapdragon 626 processor clocked at 2.2 GHz, Android 7.1.1 Nougat, a water repellent nano-coating, a USB Type-C port and two color options of gray and gold. Lenovo also announced the launch of four new Moto Mods along with the smartphone.

Display

The new Moto Z2 Play will feature a 5.5-inch Full HD (1080x1920 pixels) Super AMOLED display with a protection of Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The AMOLED panel comes with a 401 ppi pixel density and a 70.1 percent screen-to-body ratio.

These things remain largely unchanged from the Motorola Moto Z Play that was launched last year. The display looks bright and vibrant with good viewing angles.

Chipset, RAM, and storage

The Moto Z2 Play comes with an Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 626 processor clocked at 2.2 GHz. It is coupled with an Adreno 506 GPU to handle any graphically intensive tasks on the smartphone. This marks a marginal improvement in terms of the clock speed for the processor as the last generation Play packed a Snapdragon 625 clocked at 2.0 GHz.

The RAM has been increased by 1 GB from the 3 GB RAM last year. Coming to the storage, Moto has decided to double the storage of the smartphone from the 32 GB available in the last generation model. The company has not added any revolutionary features in this section, but they do seem to function as evolutionary changes.

OS and Software

Moto Z Play comes with Android Nougat 7.1.1 out of the box along with the April Android security patch. This is one of the few smartphones that is running Android Nougat 7.1.1 as other smartphone makers are still launching smartphones with Android Nougat 7.0. I would like to point out that the first generation Moto Z Play is still running Android Nougat 7.0 with a planned 7.1.1 release.

The company has continued the Motorola philosophy of not adding any bloatware, except the Moto and Moto Mods app on the smartphone, to deliver the Moto Experience. The company detailed Moto Experience as the overall experience that it wants to deliver using the Moto Actions, Moto Display, and Moto Voice. Each adds on additional functionality to the stock Android experience to improve overall usability.

It is interesting to note here that the company has supposedly added some Pixel-centric features in the software that include the support to circular icons along with support for App Shortcuts along with the Pixel launcher like default launcher.

Last but not the least, the company has also added the subtly Google Assistant animation when the user long presses on the home button to activate Google Pixel.

Camera

The smartphone comes with a 12 MP camera with an aperture of f/1.7 for better shots in low and dimly-lit conditions. The company has also added dual-autofocus by adding phase detection and laser detection along with a dual tone dual-LED flash for sharper and improved focus. The camera feels very snappy in performance and it does not hunt for focus as the shot is taken almost immediately, in my limited testing.

The company clarified that the 1.4 m pixel size of each pixel in the camera sensor will ensure better photos. The resolution of the front camera is 5 MP with an aperture of f/2.0 along with a dual tone dual-LED flash. In terms video recording, the rear camera can shoot 4K at 30 fps while the front camera can only manage 1080p video. When compared to the previous generation, the megapixel count is down from the 16 MP mark but the camera gains dual-autofocus.

Connectivity and Battery

The smartphone comes with a 4G-enabled Dual Nano-SIM slot along with a dedicated micro-SD card to expand storage by up to 256 GB. It comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.2 A2DP and LE, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, NFC, FM Radio, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, Moto Mod connector pins on the back and a reversible Type-C USB 3.1 port for connectivity options. The device also packs a fingerprint scanner on the front along with an accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity and compass sensors to expand the functionalities of the device.

Moto Z2 Play comes with a 3,000 mAh non-removable Lithium-Ion battery along with Turbo-Charge to last you a day. In terms of specifications, the smartphone comes with some added features here and there but it also comes with a reduced battery size from the 3,510 mAh in the original Moto Z Play.

Conclusion

Motorola has announced a compelling device in terms of the build quality while improving on the design to improve usability. The company had to make some trade-offs in terms of the battery size or the megapixel count on the primary camera at the back when compared to the previous generation, but those trade-offs may have been worth it. The update looks like an evolutionary one rather than a revolutionary one. The company is still pushing the "revolutionary" agenda of MotoMods.

It clarified that letting customers know about the concept of Mods online or through television advertisements does not convey the full picture of ease and versatility. We will have to see what the latest generation Mods, especially the Gaming Pad bring to the table.

The price tag of Rs 27,999 might be a bit steep, especially considering the fact that you only get the Style Mmod inside the box. But the people who are interested in the entire 'Modular' smartphone would not mind paying for the added convenience. The company also pointed out that it does not want to be the specification leader in the smartphone market. Instead, the company wants to be known for providing comprehensive solutions in terms of the integration between hardware and software.

We still have to test the smartphone thoroughly of course and we'll give you a proper verdict when we've finished putting the device through its paces. For now, the first impressions are very favourable.
IANS

Siemens Industry Software India Pvt Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of Siemens PLM Software, on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government in Bengaluru to establish four Centres of Excellence across the state. Signed with the Government Tool Room and Training Centre (GTTC), the MoU aims to build a world-class integrated skill development infrastructure and benchmarked technical education curriculum with core focus on industry 4.0, automation, mechatronics and internet of things (IoT) infrastructure.

The four centres will address diverse industry segments like automotive, industrial machinery, industrial automation, renewable energy and aerospace and defence. "With Indian industry adopting automation and digitalisation, it also requires a highly skilled workforce trained in future-ready technologies and processes. Siemens is committed to supporting the Indian economy (in this regard)," said Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited.

The centres will be equipped with the latest 'Product Lifecycle Management' software solutions from Siemens, such as 'NX' software for digital product design and engineering, 'Teamcenter' software for digital lifecycle management and the 'Tecnomatix' portfolio for digital manufacturing. "The collaboration will train students on relevant industry processes and create industry-ready personnel," added Suman Bose, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Industry Software India.
tech2 News Staff

Tata Communications has targeted a launch of 50-million IoT (Internet of Things) devices by 2022. This includes technologies like a tracker that will alert a fast-moving consumer goods firm if its coolers used by retailers to keep products at a certain temperature are working, a safety device to alert a company when its women employees reach home using the company cars and many other such devices and technologies.

The company plans to capture 10-15 percent of the market share that has about 150 million devices currently and is growing 28 percent annually. The company plans to bring out devices in three main categories, which include asset management, energy management and customer feedback. Tata Communications is working under a four-pronged strategy to create its brand in the market and take on competition.

For accomplishing this, Tata's business team have decided to set up an application software team in Chennai. The competition is, however, tough owing to the expanding businesses of other telecom providers.

In India, Vodafone's range of IoT solutions include Vodafone location tracker, automotive telematics, remote asset management, and managed IoT connectivity platform among others. Indias largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, recently said that it plans to enter the home automation or smart home segment with its IoT.

The company is collaborating with different states to provide IoT network in cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Jamshedpur and Delhi. For the smart cities, these IoT networks become an asset for monitoring the quality of water, sewage management etc.
fptechno

Yesterday, when Recode, a technology website, revealed the mishandling of the 2014 rape case in India, where a woman, 26, was raped by an Uber driver, the case added to Uber's pre-existing worries. This was followed by immediate termination of its business head for Asia Pacific, Eric Alexander, who had obtained a copy of the medical reports of the rape survivor. Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling, the two law firms, whose investigation led to Alexander's removal, came into the picture after of the 215 cases that were reported against the company.

For Uber, the long list of accusations began in early 2017, 19 February, to be precise, when Susan J Fowler's blogpost, 'Reflecting on one very, very strange year at Uber', became viral.

Fowler narrated her struggle in the 'chaotic' workplace, which by that time, was operating in 50 countries, according to Reuters. She narrated that her position as a female engineer was often mocked. She wrote how during one of the meeting with the HR (human resources) she was belittled for being a woman, who as a sex, were better off for other jobs.

This did not stop with just her, rather, it extended to a host of other female engineers who were victimised. The actual assailant(s) who was a 'high performer', a valuable resource to the company, could be saved. Along with her, other female employees had to face the ire of the HR department. In the complete narrative, there were situations where the women were not only belittled but had to face situation of gaslighting from the concerned authorities. One such example was, as she quoted, "The HR rep began the meeting by asking me if I had noticed that *I* was the common theme in all of the reports I had been making, and that if I had ever considered that I might be the problem."

Fowler's narrative is one which came to light, once she left the organisation. It is appalling to see that even in Silicon Valley where some of the brightest minds work, issues like gender inequality still exist. At one point Fowler also said that by the end of the year, only six female engineers were left in the team, as against 120 men. Moreover, the ruthlessness of managerial authority in its desire to safeguard the interest of the organisations at the cost of its employees talks about how Uber has objectified its own employees.

It is one of the narratives which was brought under the scanner when Uber's policies were reviewed. According to reports, earlier this week, twenty employees were fired on grounds discrimination, sexual harassment and mismanagement.

Recode's findings added fuel to the fire, where it was found that the business head (Alexander) was in possession of the copy of the medical report of the rape survivor not only for a year, but that he had shared the same with Travis Kalanick, Uber's CEO, and the senior vice president. The three of them did not even believe that the rape could have happened. In fact, they came to this conclusion that Ola, their rival company in India, could have tried to plant the situation. Moreover, they even shared the thought with their colleagues, who were left astounded.

While Uber stretched the rope too far in order to save its reputation, sexism and insensitivity have been a part of Uber's work culture. According to another report by Recode, there have been some concerns regarding the manner in which the employees were addressed by Kalanick in his email, which may have been passed of as cool in Uber. Giving leeway to existing sexism.

Findings regarding Uber are not new, rather some lessons can be learned from growing start-up culture in India. TVF, a company which went so far as to host a web series dedicated to modern women concerning their equality, reeked of sexism when allegations against Arunabh Kumar surfaced on the social media. It questioned the informal bro-culture that exists in these growing areas often known as 'start-ups'. When Kalanick's emails surfaced, through Recode, they gave a sense of informality and misogyny which seems pervasive in this space.

Amidst these torrential times for Uber, reports have surfaced that the company is in talks to acquire valet parking service company Luxe.

Meanwhile, as the list of complaints continue to line up, and Eric Alexander being sacked, Kalanick's future in these troubled times remains uncertain.
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Yahoo Inc shareholders on Thursday approved the company's pending sale of its core internet business to Verizon Communications Inc for $4.48 billion, according to preliminary results from a shareholder meeting.

Yahoo expects that the deal will close on 13 June, 2017. The company also said it extended a tender offer to buy back up to $3 billion shares to 16 June from 13 June.

The closing of the deal, announced in July, had been delayed as the companies assessed the fallout from two data breaches that Yahoo disclosed last year.

After the Verizon deal, Yahoo will be renamed Altaba, a holding company whose primary assets will be its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and a 35.5 percent stake in Yahoo Japan Corp. Verizon Communications Inc is expected to cut about 2,000 jobs when it completes its $4.48 billion acquisition of Yahoo Inc's core assets next week, a person briefed on the matter said.

The No. 1 U.S. wireless operator is combining Yahoo's search, email and messenger assets as well as advertising technology tools with its AOL unit, which it bought in 2015 for $4.4 billion. Verizon expects mobile video and advertising to be new sources of revenue outside the oversaturated wireless market.

Verizon shares are down 15 percent this year. The acquisition marks the end of the line for Yahoo as a standalone company, a storied Web pioneer once valued at more than $100 billion. Verizon is rebranding AOL and Yahoo as part of a new venture called Oath, led by AOL Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong.

Verizon is betting it can use data from more than 200 million unique monthly visitors to Yahoo sites and combine it with data on 150 million unique monthly AOL users and its own user base of over 100 million wireless subscribers to offer more targeted services for advertisers.

Reuters
Tom Williams/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump's personal lawyer suggested that former FBI Director James Comey's news of releasing information to a friend who then shared it with a reporter could be cause for an investigation.



But legal experts tell ABC News that it doesn't appear that Comey did anything illegal in sharing the information about his meetings with Trump.



What Comey said he did



During this afternoon's testimony, Comey said he shared the contents of a memo that he had previously written about a meeting he had with Trump with a friend.



That decision, Comey said, came three days after Trump posted a tweet that read "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"



Comey said the tweet prompted his decision to tell his friend -- who was later confirmed by ABC News to be Columbia Law School professor Dan Richman -- about the memo in question.



"I woke up in the middle of the night on Monday night, because it didn't dawn on me originally, there might be corroboration, a tape," Comey said.



"My judgment was I needed to get that out into the public square. So I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. I didn't do it myself for a variety of reasons, but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel," Comey said.



How Trump's lawyer reacted



The president's personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, issued a statement after Comey's public testimony, reiterating facts that he felt bolstered Trump's claims and going after Comey for the revelation about how he shared his memos.



"Today, Mr. Comey admitted that he leaked to friends his purported memos of these privileged conversations, one of which he testified was classified," Kasowitz said Thursday afternoon.



"We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated," he said.



Kasowitz made inaccurate claims about the timing of when Comey shared the memo and when the content of the memo was published in The New York Times. In Kasowitz's incorrect version, he said the information was published before Comey shared the memo and therefore appeared to be "entirely retaliatory."



In reality, Comey shared the memo with his friend days after Trump tweeted suggesting there may be tapes of their conversations, and the day after he shared the information, it was referenced by The New York Times.



Breaking down privileged information



Not everything the president says in private is automatically privileged and therefore unable to be shared freely, unlike attorney-client privilege or doctor-patient privilege. Executive privilege is not absolute.



As seen in the Supreme Court case against then-President Richard Nixon, courts weigh the interests for secrecy against the public interest when it comes to disclosure. The case, United States v. Nixon, took place during Nixon's impeachment proceedings, and the court voted unanimously to order him to release tape recordings of his conversations.



Also, the president would have to claim executive privilege before his conversations with Comey, not after the fact, according to Mark Rozell, author of Executive Privilege: Presidential Power, Secrecy and Accountability. It was incumbent upon Trump to make clear to Comey that these conversations are privileged and off the record, perhaps to say OK, lets speak candidly here, Rozell said.



ABC News' chief legal analyst, Dan Abrams, said the problem is Trump "waived confidentiality on it by discussing these matters publicly previously."

He added that one can't use executive privilege to cover up alleged misconduct, and that's "effectively what Comey is saying that he is doing here."

"So I think the notion that this is somehow privileged communications is simply not going to hold up," Abrams said.



Claims about classification



During his testimony, Comey specified that he purposefully wrote his memo to be unclassified following the Feb. 14 meeting with Trump -- wherein Trump allegedly dismissed everyone else to talk about his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, with Comey alone.



"I remember thinking this is a very disturbing development, really important to our work. I need to document it and preserve it in a way that this committee gets this," Comey said, referencing the private conversation.



"Sometimes when things are classified, it tangles them up. It's hard to share it with an investigative team. You have to be careful how you handle it for good reason. My thinking was if I write it in such a way that I don't include anything that would trigger a classification, that will make it easier for us to discuss within the FBI and the government, and to hold onto it in a way that makes it accessible to us."



Peter Schuck from Yale Law School told ABC News that Comey would have committed a crime in leaking the information to his friend who then shared it with a reporter "only if he was leaking classified information."



Anne Milgram, a former New Jersey attorney general and current law professor at New York University Law School, said when it comes to whether Comey's leak was illegal, the "short answer is 'no.' "



Nothing Comey has said indicates that a crime was committed by his disclosure of the memos he wrote about his conversations with the president, Milgram told ABC News.



Milgram also noted that Comey said the information shared was not classified, and there is also "no evidence that the memos were part of a grand jury investigation, which could trigger other prohibitions against disclosure.



According to Comeys statements today, these were personal memos that he wrote to capture conversations -- and his reaction to those conversations -- around the time that they occurred, Milgram added.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
US says drone fired on US-backed forces near Syrian camp

US-backed forces fighting Islamic State enter Syria stronghold of Raqqa.

AP, Washington :

A drone that U.S. officials say was likely connected to Iranian-supported Hezbollah militias fired on U.S.-backed troops Thursday near a military camp in southern Syria where the U.S.-led coalition is training Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group.

U.S. defense officials said the weapon fired by the drone did not detonate and no one was hurt, but Army Col. Ryan Dillon told reporters at the Pentagon that it carried more weapons and was considered a direct threat, so an manned U.S. aircraft shot it down.

The attack came just hours after the U.S. bombed Syrian government and allied troops inside a protected zone in that area, and marked a sharp escalation in the skirmishes between the coalition and those pro-Syrian government forces there. And it appeared to make good on a Hezbollah threat issued Wednesday saying that it would strike American forces in that area.

Dillon said this was the first time that forces supporting Damascus had attacked coalition troops in that region, which is near the training camp in Tanf, close to the border with Jordan. He declined to say who owned or operated the drone, but other officials said it was likely Iranian or Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the details publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The forces that were fired on by the drone included Syrian rebel fighters and coalition troops, and they were on a routine patrol outside of the protected zone, Dillon said in a telephone conference from the Iraqi capital.

Officials said it was not clear whether the drone attack was in response to the coalition bombing of the Syrian government and allied troops several hours earlier. It was the third time the U.S.-led coalition has bombed troops in the protected zone.

In each case, U.S. officials have said the pro-government forces were either advancing toward Tanf or were readying weapons and were perceived as a threat to the training camps. The U.S. has refused to specify the makeup of those forces inside the protected zone, but Dillon for the first time on Thursday said they include Syrian government troops. Other U.S. officials have acknowledged that they also include Hezbollah fighters.
North Korea says launch tested `New Type` of cruise missile

People watch a TV broadcast of a news report on North Korea missile firing..

AFP, Seoul :

Pyongyang on Friday hailed the successful test of a new type of surface-to-ship cruise missile, which it said was designed to hit "any enemy group of battleships" that threatened North Korea.

The launch on Thursday-the North's fifth weapons test in a month-was overseen by leader Kim Jong-Un, the State-run Korean Central News Agency reported, and came less than a week after the United Nations tightened sanctions against the Stalinist regime.

"The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea," KCNA said, referring to the Sea of Japan-where two US aircraft carriers were carrying out naval manoeuvres last week.

The USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan led the three-day exercises that ended June 3, with a total of a dozen US ships participating along with two Japanese vessels, in a show of force directed at North Korea.

The US has stepped up its muscle-flexing in the region, with a US nuclear submarine, the 6,900-ton USS Cheyenne, whose home port is Pearl Harbor, also arriving in the South Korean port of Busan Tuesday. North Korea has ordered three ballistic missile launches, a surface-to-air missile, and now Thursday's cruise missile tests since South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in took power in early May.

Thursday's short range missiles flew some 200 kilometres (124 miles) which is an improvement on a 2015 test, when a North Korean surface-to-ship cruise missile flew only 100 kilometres, said Korea Defence Forum analyst Shin Jong-Woo.

"This is another sign of meaningful progress in the North's efforts to diversify its missiles. It will pose a considerable threat to US and South Korean navies," he told AFP.

KCNA said that the weapon tested Thursday had been part of the military parade in Pyongyang on April 15 to mark the birthday of the North's founding father Kim Il-Sung.

All of the weapons on display at the extravagant military parade have been tested in the last month, except for one which analysts said appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, Yonhap news agency reported.

Moon advocated reconciliation with Seoul's isolated, unpredictable neighbour but has taken a more stern position in the wake of the missile tests, which pose a policy challenge to the left-leaning leader.

The launches come less than a week after the United Nations expanded sanctions against Kim Jong-Un's regime in response to the string of recent ballistic missile tests.
IMF's Greek compromise could break impasse on aid deal

AFP, Washington :

The IMF's proposed compromise on Greece raises hopes it will break a deadlock with Europe next week and open the way for the release of desperately needed funds for Athens, averting a renewed crisis in July.

The International Monetary Fund is not bending its rules to help crisis-ridden Greece, but is helping to resolve an impasse over a new aid program, while continuing to insist on steps to reduce the country's massive debt burden, an IMF spokesman said Thursday.

Coming just a week before a key Eurogroup meeting, the IMF has offered to revive a seldom-used option in its toolkit that allows the possibility of approving a new aid program for Greece, but without releasing any funds until certain conditions are met: in this case more specific commitments from Europe to bring the debt repayments to a manageable level.

Germany has resisted providing more debt relief, not least because it faces legislative elections in September, nor will it agree to a new loan for Athens unless the IMF also participates.

The impasse has lasted for months and now threatens to generate another crisis in Athens, which has a seven billion euro debt payment due in July.

The new interim step the IMF has offered could unlock the next installment of the 86 billion euro aid package the euro zone approved for Greece in 2015. However, it also raises questions about whether the IMF is bowing to political pressure from Berlin.

"Our understanding is that the European partners could go ahead with a disbursement in this situation so it would avoid a destabilizing situation in July," spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters of the compromise plan.

While the IMF is pushing to have an agreement at next week's Eurogroup meeting that includes an outline for more specific debt relief measures as the "first best solution," Rice said the compromise option would "help catalyze financing and debt relief."

"We're hoping there can be an agreement next week. We're making good progress, the differences are narrowing," he said.
Bangladesh Democratic Council formed a human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club on Friday in protest against occupying of BNP Standing Committee Member Barrister Moudud Ahmed\'s Gulshan residence.
Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mahajote staged a demonstration in the city on Friday demanding release of its Organising Secretary, Sylhet division unit Rakesh Roy.
Mother, 3 children found dead inside home

Relatives wailing as a woman and her three children found dead at their house at Kamarpara in Dhaka on Friday. This photo was taken from Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

bdnews24.com :

A woman and her three children have been found dead inside their home at Dhaka's Kamarpara.

The body of Rehena Parvin, 40, was found hanging from the ceiling of her tin-roofed hut at Kaliartek on early Friday, police said.

Her children's bodies were on a bed with nooses around their necks. They are 'Shanta', 13, 'Shefa', 8 and 'Saad', 1.

The four bodies were recovered and taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 2am Friday, said Turag Police OC Mahbubey Khoda.

Rehena's neighbours untied her noose after discovering the bodies, she said. The four bodies were on the floor by the time police arrived.

Her husband Mostafa Kamal began screaming for his neighbours after seeing the bodies when he returned home from a nearby cooperatives office at night.

Police are assuming that Rehena, from Fariganj of Chandpur, killed herself after taking the lives of her children, said OC Mahbub, "But we are checking if there is another reason behind this."

Police were yet to question the neighbours about any possible dispute between the couple, he said. "We still couldn't talk to them. Everybody is busy with the bodies in the hospital."

Kamal said he ate Iftar with his wife and children on Thursday evening. He then went to the office of a cooperative he built with other small businessmen in the neighbourhood.

"When I came back, the light in the front room was switched off. The children's bodies were on the bed in the middle room and

Rehena's body was hanging from the ceiling fan.

"I screamed. People came running. I breathed into Rehena's mouth, but I couldn't save her."

He said he did not at first realise that the children were also dead.

Kamal, speaking to bdnews24.com at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said the family has been suffering money crisis, which he may have been a motive for her 'suicide'.

He said he had trouble paying tuition for his daughters' schooling. 'Shanta' studied at the fifth grade and 'Shefa' was at the fifth grade of Kamarpara's Parashmani Laboratory School.

"I used to have a good job at a factory in Chittagong. I have done many things since then including a business selling flats. But I made some losses, so we have been suffering badly."

Rehena, he said, worried about their finances. "Maybe she did this because of those worries."

But Rehena's relatives, who were seated nearby inside the hospital's emergency wing, gave a different version of their story.

"They've been married for 17 years. Her husband's family never gave her any peace," said Rozina Sultana, Rehena's sister.

She claimed Rehena was killed by her mother-in-law, sister-in-law and others in their household.

The house where the couple has been living belonged to Kamal's father, said Asma Akhtar, daughter of Rehena's other sister.

The rent paid by residents of the 20 tin huts on the property is collected by Kamal's mother Mafia Begum and sister Kohinoor.

"They would fight a lot with aunt (Rehena) about the rent. They live next door to her, and even after this they didn't come to the hospital."


PM greets Tulip, Rupa, Rushanara

UNB, Dhaka :

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday congratulated Tulip Rizwana Siddiq, granddaughter of Bangabandhu and two other two Bangladesh-origin British politicians- Rushanara Ali and Dr Rupa Huq- on their reelection in the United Kingdom parliamentary polls.

"They have brightened the face of the people of Bangladesh through the victory," she said.

"The victory of three daughters-Tulip Rizwana Siddique, Rushanara Ali

and Dr Rupa Huq-is a matter of pride for Bangladesh, " the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by her press secretary Ihsanul Karim.

"I hope that that the crown of victory they brought for the people of the country will spread the beam of light forever, they have brightened the face of the people of Bangladesh through the victory." Karim quoted the Prime Minister.

Labour Party candidate Tulip Rizwana Siddiq was reelected with a huge margin in the United Kingdom snap general elections held on Thursday.

Tulip, Sheikh Rehana's daughter and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina niece, retained her Hampstead and Kilburn seat with a margin of 15,560 votes.

She polled 34,464 against her Conservative rival's Claire-Louise Leyland 18,904 in Hampstead and Kilburn seat. Besides, Rushanara Ali and Dr Rupa Huq, both from the Labour Party, were also reelected with a huge margin of votes from Bethnal Green and Bow constituency and the Ealing Central and Acton constituency respectively.

Rushanara Ali has won with 42,969 votes and Rupa recorded victory with 13,807 more votes than her competitor Conservative candidate Joy Morrissey.

"Humbled to be re-elected for my home seat of Hampstead and Kilburn! Thank you all so much for your kind support," Tulip tweeted after her win in the polls.

Meanwhile, Rupa Huq thanked everyone who voted for her in the polls.

"The voters of Ealing Central and Acton re-elected Dr Rupa Huq as our MP with a hugely increased majority," reads a message on her website.
Qatar slams Saudi, allies' terrorism blacklist as 'baseless'

AFP :

Qatar on Friday dismissed as "baseless" a terrorism blacklist published by Saudi Arabia and its allies which linked individuals and organisations in Doha to support for Islamist militant groups.

The emirate was responding just hours after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain published a list of 59 people and entities linked to "terrorism". "The recent joint statement issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE regarding a 'terror finance watch list' once again reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact," Qatar's government said in a statement.

Qatar does not support terrorist groups, it stressed, pointing out that "our position on countering terrorism is stronger than many of the signatories of the joint statement-a fact that has been conveniently ignored by the authors". Included on the list were Doha-based Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Qatari-funded charities. The list and response add to the diplomatic and political tensions in the Gulf that have erupted since Saudi Arabia and its allies severed ties with Qatar over its alleged support for extremism.

Qatar has vehemently denied the claims and on Thursday its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said his country would not "surrender". In a bid to drum up support for his country with the crisis showing no signs of abating, the minister made a surprise visit Friday to Germany where he pledged to pursue a diplomatic path out of the deadlock. The actions taken by Saudi Arabia and its allies amounted to "a clear breach of the international law and won't result in a positive impact on the region but will have a negative one", he said, also hitting out at the terrorism blacklist.

"There is a continuous escalation from these countries ... but our strategic options are still diplomacy and dialogue," added Sheikh Mohammed, after holding talks with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

"There are ongoing efforts from friendly countries to contain the crisis and lift the unjust blockade on Qatar and start negotiations," added the Qatari minister, who is travelling to Moscow on Saturday to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Kuwait has taken on the mediator role in the crisis, and French President Emmanuel Macron has also reached out to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran in a bid to kick off talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also spoken to Qatar's emir over the crisis.

Gabriel stressed that "this is the hour of diplomacy" as he vowed to "do everything, along with our European friends, to ensure that this conflict does not further escalate".
Comey says Trump fired me to undermine FBI Russia investigation

Reuters, Washington :

Former FBI Director James Comey accused President Donald Trump on Thursday of firing him to try to undermine the agency's investigation of possible collusion by Trump's campaign with Russia's alleged efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.

In the most eagerly anticipated U.S. congressional hearing in years, Comey told lawmakers the Trump administration had lied and defamed him and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the president dismissed him on May 9. During more than two hours of testimony, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee he believed Trump had directed him in February to drop an FBI probe into the Republican president's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, as part of the broader Russia investigation.

Comey would not say whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice, but added it would be up to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is now investigating the Russia allegations, "to sort that out."

"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning," Comey testified. Sitting alone at a small table facing a bank of senators who fired question after question, Comey gave short, deliberative answers. He painted a picture of an overbearing president he did not trust and who pressured him to stop the FBI probe of Flynn.

Trump critics say any efforts by the president to hinder an FBI probe could amount to obstruction of justice. Such an offense potentially could lead to Trump being impeached, although his fellow Republicans who control Congress have shown little appetite for such a move. In a speech to supporters across town, Trump vowed to fight on. "We're under siege ... but we will come out bigger and better and stronger than ever," he said. Comey did not make any major disclosures about any links between Trump or his associates and Russia, an issue that has dogged the president's first months in office and distracted from his policy goals such as overhauling the U.S. healthcare system and making tax cuts. Russia has denied such interference. The White House has denied any collusion with Moscow. Nevertheless, the Russia matter likely will continue to overshadow Trump's presidency, especially as the FBI probe has ensnared not only Flynn but Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has had to recuse himself from the investigation. Comey's testimony drew renewed attention to Sessions and his relationship with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak.

After Trump fired Comey, the administration gave differing reasons for his dismissal. Trump later contradicted his own staff and acknowledged on May 11 he fired Comey because of the Russia matter.

Asked why he thought Trump fired him, Comey said he did not know for sure. He added: "Again, I take the president's words. I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him, and he decided to fire me because of that." Comey said repeatedly there were details he could not discuss in a public session, making clear he had sensitive information he could disclose only in a closed session with the senators.

Comey said Trump's administration had defamed him in comments made after his firing by saying the FBI was in disarray and that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. "Those were lies, plain and simple," Comey said.

His accusations could further mire Trump's administration in legal difficulties. Mueller and several congressional committees are investigating what U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded was an effort by Russia to help Trump win the election. "The Russian investigation is going to go on and it's not going to stop and the president should have known that," committee member Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein told MSNBC. Trump's personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, said Comey's testimony proved the president was not under any investigation and there was no evidence a single vote was changed as a result of Russian interference in last year's election. Kasowitz denied Trump ever told Comey he needed and expected his loyalty, as Comey said.

NBC News reported on Thursday that Kushner was expected to meet with staff members of the Senate Intelligence Committee in mid-June. Comey said he felt he needed to get his account of his conversations with Trump in the public sphere in the hope it might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, which later occurred. Comey said he gave copies of his memo memorializing his talks with Trump to people outside the Justice Department and asked a friend to share its contents with a journalist.

Columbia Law School professor Daniel Richman confirmed to Reuters he was the friend to whom Comey was referring. Kasowitz said that "we will leave it to the appropriate authorities" to determine whether Comey's leak "should be investigated." Legal experts questioned Kasowitz's contention that Trump's private encounters with Comey should be considered privileged communications.

Comey said he did not know if there were tapes of his conversations with Trump, but that if so, they should be released. "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey said.

Republicans on the committee questioned Comey intently but did not attack his integrity or try to treat him roughly, as a witness making accusations against a sitting Republican president might expect.

Comey testified he kept notes after meeting with Trump because "I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document."

From Capitol Hill to San Francisco's Castro district, Comey's appearance attracted television "watch parties" beckoning politics buffs to taverns, restaurants and living rooms to view an event some likened to the "Super Bowl of Washington." U.S. stocks closed slightly higher as the market reacted little to Comey's testimony, viewing his testimony alone as unlikely to mark the end of Trump's presidency.

Comey said Trump did not attempt to get him to drop the overall Russia investigation, just the part of if that related to Flynn, whom the president fired in February for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of his conversations last year with Kislyak. Republican Senator Marco Rubio asked Comey whether he perceived the president's request to let the Flynn matter go as an order given Trump's position as president, the setting and the circumstances surrounding the conversation. "Yes," Comey replied.

Laura Donohue, a Georgetown University Law Center professor, said if Trump fired Comey to change the course of the Russia investigation, that would constitute obstruction of justice.

Both the conversation between Trump and Comey about Flynn and the firing itself were obstructive acts, she said. "He wanted to scuttle the investigation - it is hard to see it any other way," she said.

Regarding Sessions, Comey said he did not discuss Trump's pressure to drop the probe into Flynn with the attorney general because the FBI leadership team believed Sessions would later recuse himself from the Russia probe. "We were also aware of facts that I can't discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic," Comey said, without giving more details.

The Justice Department later issued a statement saying that Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe only because he had been part of Trump's campaign.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he did not believe Trump had committed a crime even if his personal style was often brash, adding: "I'll just say it, if being crude, rude and a bull in a china shop was a crime, Trump would get the death penalty."




Govt too responsible for gold smuggling

Staff Reporter :

Like the businessmen, the government too cannot avoid the responsibility about the jeweller's dependency on smuggling in the gold business, the Transparency International Bangladesh said on Friday.

Widespread corruption has swallowed the jewellery sector since a long time. Besides, lack of policy formulation and implementation of law along with negligence in duty of a section of officials concerned are mainly responsible for the rampant gold smuggling in the country.

In a statement issued yesterday, the TIB demanded that the government should take effective steps to ensure accountability and transparency while formulating the gold policy involving the stakeholders.

"Though it was neglected for a long time, the ongoing drive conducted by Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate [CIID] under the existing law should be applicable for other jewellery shops also. At the same time, unauthorised influence by the business associations concerned or creating obstacle by any quarter will be illogical, illegal and unethical," TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekheruzzaman said.

He said, "A section of dishonest traders has long been running their gold business through corruption means and gold smuggling for lack of a proper policy and laws. But, the authorities concerned haven't taken proper steps to check it, which causes harm to the country's economy."

The TIB issued the statement at a time when CIID

has taken tough stance against Apan Jewellers and seized about half a tonne of gold from its five outlets in the city. The CIID also filed five cases against three owners of the organization. Of them, three cases were filed against Dildar Ahmed and one each against two brothers.

Director General of CIID Dr Moinul Khan said the owners of Apan Jewellers could not show any document in favour of the gold. So, the gold has been deposited to the Central Bank as per law.


Readers Forum

Rooftop plantation :

The number of children who need medical attention as a direct result of the capital's polluted air has risen threefold in the last decade. Green roofs can be a remedy to this. It reduces heat loss and energy consumption in winter conditions and also reduces cooling loads on a building by fifty to ninety percent during the summer.

Rooftop plantation can filter pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air to cure asthma. It helps filter pollutants and heavy metals out of rainwater, and insulate a building for sound. So, green roofs are not just for natural beauty but also for our very survival, and therefore, green roofs must be encouraged all over the city.

The government can provide free saplings to encourage rooftop plantation. It can be initiated in government schools, colleges and offices, helping the masses inculcate such environmentally responsible gestures.

Zubair Khaled Huq

Dhaka.
If you are looking for the new Immoral Minority posts, you should know that they can be found here at our new home Please stop by to get caught up on politics, join the conversations, or simply check out the new digs.
I'm not an industry watcher like Eamon Hickey or Thom of ByThom.com, but I do have my ear to the ground, always straining to detect the distant hoofbeats.

If I can offer my impression from here, it does seem to me that a) Nikon has been too conservative and unimaginative in recent years and b) its leadership too cautious. The best of the pundits and prognosticators have divined Nikon's financial position to be quite sound and strong; but the rumors that "Nikon is in trouble" are swirling in the photo communitythe people who buy Nikons, that would be, whose perceptions are not inconsequential to the company's health despite what management might believe. And, when repeated, those types of mis-impressions can have a cumulative negative effect.

Ironically, the one source that could do the biggest favor to Nikon right now is Nikon. What its leadership should do right now is put out a strong, positive statement, coming from the highest levels of the company, of its actual financial position, and staking a claim to its actual strength, to quash these rumors boldly and decisively. Otherwise, it's going to get buyers hanging back just that little bit from investing further in Nikon or from deciding in favor of Nikon in comparison-shopping situations.

There's nothing wrong with conservatism and caution, but boldness is also necessary when it's the right move for the good of an organization.

Just my little-man's opinion, worth what you paid for it.

Mike

"Open Mike" is the editorial page of TOP, in which Yr. Hmbl. Ed. offers the more unruly of his many thoughts. It appears on Fridays when anybody remembers.



P.S. "Your Shot of the Day" is not a feature of TOP, because how could it be? This is a photography blog. But here's something to see. As you pick up the action in Derby City, four-time U.S. Open 9-ball champion Shane Van Boening plays a neat little safety shot on 62-year-old Filipino legend Efren Reyes, tucking the white cue ball in behind the black eight ball. Efren is then tasked with striking the red 3-ball first, which he must do by "kicking" at it off the short rail. Watch what Efren does. By the way, you might think this is a fluke, but Efren has made astonishing shots like this over and over again in his careernot for nothing is he called "The Magician."

American champion Shane Van Boening in the chair waiting

his turn. (Screen grab from a match video.)



And by the way, this might look like two subdued, modest-mouse type of guys playing a quiet game of pool, but this is like Michael Jordan playing one-on-one against Larry Bird.

Original contents copyright 2017 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP/Yale Spring Photo Book Offer

(Ends June 30th or when supplies run out)

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)

Featured Comments from:

Michael Perini: "You are exactly right, Nikon is Nikon's biggest problem, or rather Nikon's management is. Wave after wave of cost-cutting has resulted in a spate of problems with new cameras, which Nikon ignored for too long and tried to 'fix' by releasing the [x]10 models. They guessed wildly wrong with the Nikon 1 and Action cameras. They have steadfastly refused to make DX Primes and waited far too long between the D300 and D500.

"Nikon has a long and frankly brilliant history of great cameras and lenses, and their current lineup of high end cameras is great. In successful businesses with a long history it is too easy to say we have always done it this way and ignore for too long the fundamental changes in the industry. I believe Nikon knows it now but it is hard to say if they have lost too much ground. They need mirrorless versions of their top cameras and then they need to allow the market to decide. If they were to make a DX and FX mirrorless to compete head to head with the DSLR version I think they would see waves of business. I wish them well, too."

Dave Levingston: "I know nothing of the goings on in the camera industry in Japan or anywhere else. But I've been using Nikons since 1968. And, though I've been drawn into the mirrorless world with my Panasonic GX8, I still have a Nikon and a lot of lenses ready to use when they are needed.

"Over all those years Nikon as a company has been very consistent in its behavior. The company doesn't tell us anything. They don't make announcements like the one you propose. They don't tell us what's coming until it's pretty much here. And they are always conservative with new technology. Other companies almost always have produced cameras with each new technological advance before Nikon. But, in almost all cases when Nikon delivered their camera with the newest new feature, that feature actually worked, unlike some other companies that rushed to the market. Nikon seems to be in good financial condition. I'm sure they are doing some amazing things in their R&D. And when we see the results of what they are working on, I'm sure we will find the new features to work as they should, probably better than any of their competitors' cameras, and the cameras they produce in the future will be excellent tools that do what photographers need them to do. All that said, I'm still wishing they would get on with it and produce something with an EVF that I can use with all those old lenses in my equipment cabinet."
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CARBONDALE  Look to the skies on Saturday morning and one might just catch the fifth Big Muddy Air Race in action.

The competition, which is sanctioned by the Sport Air Racing League, this year features 31 pilots from Illinois, Utah, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Wisconsin, who will be flying at speeds upwards of 250 mph.

Racers will take off from the Southern Illinois Airport and head to Pinckneyville, Sparta and Chester; next theyll follow the Mississippi River to Grand Tower and down to Cape Girardeau; then theyll swing over to Jonesboro and take a turn at the Makanda water tower to get back to Carbondale.

Race director Sam Hoskins plans to fly his two-seater Quickie Aircraft in the competition.

Even though Im the director, everything is set up, and if I do it right I can put on my pilots hat, go fly and come back, he said.

Hoskins aircraft took its first flight in 1986. Like many of the pilots flying in Saturdays race, he built his plane himself.

It took him five years to complete the project, he said. Some kit planes come with pre-cut parts, and all the user has to do is assemble them. When he bought his kit in 1981, the fuselage was pre-formed, but the rest of the plane  including the vertical fin and the wings  had to be cut from blocks of Styrofoam using a hot wire saw.

Thats all the plane is, really  Styrofoam coated in fiberglass, with epoxy holding it all together. Its just 690 pounds without fuel in it, and it cruises at 190 miles an hour and gets 35 miles per gallon.

Its a nice cross-country airplane. Because its fast, I can fly nonstop out to the East Coast in this thing on 30 gallons of fuel, Hoskins said.

Air racing is not much of a spectator sport, Hoskins admitted  after the planes take off, theres not much to see unless youre at one of the turn-points. But the public is invited to see the planes up close and to speak with pilots starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. Attendees can enter through the SIU Aviation Technologies building, which is east of the control tower at the Southern Illinois Airport. The aircraft should launch at about 10:30 a.m., and there will be an awards presentation at about 1 p.m.

In the Sport Air Racing League, racers accumulate points for how many people they beat and for how many races they run each year.

Its kind of like a bowling league. When you go race for the Sport Air Racing League, they have a winner for the individual race, and you can accumulate points over the year, if you choose to, and then they have a big winner at the end, Hoskins said.

This years race includes an entry with a jet propeller engine expected to run faster than 425 mph, Hoskins said. Due to FAA regulations, that racer wont be visible to people on the ground.

You cant fly above 260 miles an hour if youre below 10,000 feet. Theres a speed limit down here. So what hes going to do is accelerate past 10,000, and when he gets up there, he can get up to his full speed, he said.

Two SIU student groups, the Rotor and Wing Association and SIU Aviation Technologies Ambassadors, will be assisting with the event. HAM radio operators with the SIU Amateur Radio Club will be manning the turn-points to make sure pilots take turns correctly.

Theres a sense of camaraderie in the air racing community, Hoskins said. He sees the same racers at various events throughout the year.

Weve got guys who are currently airline pilots, we do have some military guys, or they fly the Guard, weve got retired guys like me. Our general aviation community isnt huge, but theyre just around, and the guys like to either have their own plane they putter around in or else build one, Hoskins said.
Gov. Henry McMaster has until midnight Monday to sign or veto a bill merging Orangeburg Countys three school districts.

His spokesman said McMaster will consider the opinions of county residents in making his choice.

The governors heard from a number of constituents in Orangeburg County ... and hes going to take their concerns into consideration when he makes his decision, Brian Symmes said.

It may very well be Monday before McMaster makes his final decision, Symmes said.

State lawmakers passed the bill Tuesday. It will consolidate Orangeburg Countys three public school districts into one Orangeburg County School District effective July 1, 2019.

Attendance zones will remain the same through 2021-2022, unless a change is required by a federal court order.

The final version of the bill creates a transition committee to guide the county through consolidation, comprised of the board chairs and a second member from each of the current boards. There will also be five members appointed by the Orangeburg County Legislative Delegation. Non-voting members will include the three superintendents and one parent from each of the three present school districts.

The bill calls for the transition committee to be created within 60 days of the governor signing the bill.

The new school districts board will be composed of nine members. Seven of the members will be elected from single-member districts following the Orangeburg County Council lines, with the final two members elected on a countywide basis.
COPE -- Careers in advanced manufacturing and aerospace will be on the table for Orangeburg Consolidated School District Four students this fall when the district opens the pilot year of its new magnet school.

With state legislators approving consolidation of the countys three public school districts on Tuesday, however, OCSD4 officials are worried about the magnet school's future.

Superintendent Dr. Tim Newman told trustees Tuesday night that District Four is one of just five school districts statewide approved by the S.C. Department of Education to use the aerospace curriculum. The other districts are Charleston, Lexington Five, Sumter and Greenville, he said.

About 70 percent of the districts students dont go on to four-year colleges, Newman said.

We want to make sure we take care of them in a way that allows them to have the skills ready to go to work, he said.

The students will have the opportunity to take part in a four-year program that runs through high school, Newman added.

District Four has consistently opposed consolidation, and the trustees wanted to know how it will affect the new magnet school program.

Trustee Michael Ferris noted that while the magnet program runs for four years, consolidation will take place in two years.

Is it going to affect this program? he asked. Is it going to affect this program or how will it affect this program?

I would just hate to see it get up off the ground and be doing good and then consolidation come along and ruin it.

Newman said he couldnt answer those questions.

I cant speak to two years from now, the superintendent said. Thats going to be up to the folks that make the decisions then. Our responsibility to help kids doesnt change whether its consolidation or not consolidation.

Newman said he hopes that if the district does well in implementing the program, it will be retained and possibly expanded after consolidation takes place.

Thats what needs to happen whether this is still District Four or its all of Orangeburg County, he said, adding that the magnet school program will be good for the students.

Its different from current science, technology, engineering and math programs in that its going to be based on project-based learning, Newman said, noting the program will have students working together in teams and learning collaboration theyll need in the workplace.

The program is also connected with the local business community, which might generate great support for continuing the program after the next two years, he said.

The goal is to to establish relationships with area businesses and industries to make sure theyll be hiring local talent, which is our kids, Newman said. In addition, the school will develop mentoring and internships with these businesses and industries, he said.

The business community that weve been in contact with about this is incredibly excited, Newman said. I think they will demand it continues in some form or fashion.

When the program is implemented this fall, seniors will have the opportunity to take a course on soft skills that offers training in work ethics, communication and collaboration with others.

Members of the freshman class from all the districts schools, who completed English I and Algebra I, qualify to begin the four-year program, which includes multiple career paths ranging from nursing to automotives.

The district will also be looking for eighth graders interested in entering the program. Theyll be encouraged to take Algebra I and English I, which are the prerequisites for the magnet school.

As students move through the four grades, each will build a portfolio that demonstrates his or her skills.

In other business, Finance Director Rebecca Grubbs reported now that the states budget had been passed, she will be able to determine the districts final revenue allocation and put the finishing touches on the 2017-2018 budget.

Also during the meeting, the trustees approved their meeting schedule for 2017-2018 as well as a trip for Edisto High School's Future Farmers of America to attend summer camp at Cherry Grove from June 12-16.

The board also agreed to hold workshops at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month and regular meetings at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. All meetings will be held at the district office in Cope.
I believe that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a thousand pictures. Whether it is in my hometown of North Charleston or Cincinnati, Ohio, I am confident the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officers can bring clarity to contentious and unclear situations, and help both citizens and police officers in many communities.

On that note, I wrote my Safer Officers and Safer Citizens Act with one primary goal: to keep both law enforcement officers and the communities they serve safer.

I stand on the notion that we are better together. We should seek solutions that strengthen our American family. And while body cameras might not be a panacea, they are certainly an important part of the equation. We are seeing the use of body-worn cameras increase across the nation, and as a result, we are also witnessing how beneficial they can be in efforts to keep more folks safe.

At least one study found that public complaints against officers wearing body cameras fell by 93 percent, and that officers use of force decreased by 60 percent. At a minimum, we owe it to our communities and law enforcement officers to consider this study when discussing how effective these devices truly can be.

The Safer Officers and Safer Citizens Act, cosponsored by my colleague Senator Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, would authorize new grants from the U.S. Department of Justice to will allow departments who have adopted policies regarding body-worn cameras to apply for funds to aid in the purchase and initial setup costs of their body-worn camera program.

My bipartisan legislation will be funded by directing the Office of Management and Budget to save up to $500 million through the disposal of under-utilized and un-utilized federal properties. It fully offsets funding for the new grant program, which totals $100 million a year from fiscal years 2018-2022.

It is important to note that the Safer Officers and Safer Citizens Act would not nationalize local law enforcement; I am opposed to that. This bill will simply provide state and local law enforcement agencies with the resources to equip their officers with body-worn cameras.

Over the past two years, I have met with dozens of groups and individuals who want to be part of the conversation surrounding the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement. We continue to iron out some concerns and determine how we can best implement body cameras in communities.

As our nation continues to heal after experiencing pain and heartache from tragedies, I want to make sure body cameras are a part of that debate. We must consider ways that will help rebuild the relationships between law enforcement officers and the citizens they serve, and help to keep them both safe.

I believe my Safer Officers and Safer Citizens Act will do that. I will remain committed to this issue and continue to advocate for the deployment of body-worn cameras for safer communities across the country.
Superintendent of Police Isaiah Browne retires as Fire Chief and after three decades and more as a police officer.

As Superintendent of Police Isaiah Browne, Head of the Fire Department of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF), proceeds on pre-retirement leave, he is urging his colleagues in the Fire Department to continue working together in harmony.





"In fire-fighting, you have to work together in harmony. If you dont, you would not achieve the results you need to achieve, the outgoing fire chief said during a telephone interview with THE VINCENTIAN on Monday.





After a tenure of 36 years with the RSVGPF, including 28 years in the Fire Department, Browne proceeded on pre-retirement leave Wednesday, May 31. That leave will run to August 11.

Reflecting on his service in the Fire Department, he said, "I had good times and bad times, but I think I did reasonably well.





"I have done my best, and the time has come for me to give somebody else a chance to lead the process in the Departments ongoing development.





One of the things he would like to see is the separation of the Fire Department from the Police Force. This, he thinks, would contribute significantly to the enhancement of fire-fighting here.

Browne recalled that when he started with the Fire Department in 1989, there were limitations in terms of equipment. There has since been tremendous improvement in this regard, though he admits that the job continues to be very challenging.





"Thats why you have to always work in harmony, he underscored.





Brownes inspiration came mainly from former Fire Chief Girton Ollivierre, who retired at the rank of Assistant Superintendent some years ago. He also holds high regard for Sergeant Cornelius Sampson, now deceased, who was also attached to the RSVGPF Fire Department.





Browne had many memorable fire-fighting moments, but he highlighted the very challenging nature of the December 7, 2015 fire at the Public Works Department Storage Facility at Arnos Vale. He noted that there was dynamite stored in an area on the compound, and the fire fighters had to move swiftly and skillfully to avoid a major catastrophe.





Browne also recalled that great fire-fighting work was done in the August 19, 2015 fire which gutted the Coreas Food Mart on Lower Bay Street, Kingstown, and the blaze which destroyed three unoccupied buildings in the Halifax, Egmont Streets area, August 23, 2015.





He noted that, had those fires not been brought quickly under control, several other buildings would have been destroyed.





During his retirement, Browne intends to do "a little farming, but has assured that his service would always be available to the Fire Department, if required.





Former Deputy Fire Chief Assistant Superintendent Joel James succeeds Supt. Browne as Fire Chief.




Sean Samuel, founder and CEO of AdzVillage, has added another opportunity for maximisation of the potential of the internet.

An entrepreneurial venture, utilising state of the art technology and dedicated to marketing and advertising businesses, has been launched here.





AdzVillage, a new and dynamic Advertising Network Platform and Website with the tagline We share your business with the world, was launched on Tuesday, 30th May, during a ceremony at Frenches House, Kingstown.





The initiative is the brainchild of Sean Samuel, who is also Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the new venture.

His support team includes a number of business and technology-savvy persons, among these being Johann Stewart, Alison Aliberry John, Dr. Kenneth Onu and Stenneth Sutherland.





According to CEO Samuel. "The AdzVillage Website is the first and only of its kind that rewards its members with points to purchase items in its E-Store.





The dream of establishing AdzVillage, according to Samuel, demanded a range of resources and sacrifice but, he was happy to see it become a reality.





A demonstration of how the website works was led by Samuel. The process also highlighted the benefits with particular emphasis on the E-store operation.





Testimonies





A number of persons were on hand to offer support for the AdzVillage.





Andre Miller of Andrews Refrigeration expressed his excitement in seeing the achievements of a young and upcoming entrepreneur, whom he played a part in mentoring.





Samuels sister, Loren Dabreo, expressed her happiness with what her brother has accomplished. She said that her brother worked overseas for a while,but it was his determination and ambition that led him back to St. Vincent to start the project. According to Dabreo, she has watched her brother struggle through and overcome a number of challenges towards realizing his dream. She congratulated him and wished him all the best.

Technician of the National Telecom- munications regulatory Commission (NTRC) - Cyron Cyrus pointed out the level of creativity displayed by AdzVillage in taking advantage of the Technology available towards developing such a "master site.





Alison Aliberry John appealed to businesses here to step forward from being 10, 15 years behind in development, and embrace information technology by untilising the internet advertising platform provided by AdzVillage.





AdzVillage became fully operational on June 1. (KH)
Left to Right: Hesron Ballantyne  promoted from Inspector to Assistant Superintendent. Trevor Bailey, takes his new rank, Assistant Superintendent, to his new posting as Officer in-charge of the Grenadines. Nigel Butcher now carries the rank of Assistant Superintendent.

Recommendations by the High Command of the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) for the promotion of several police officers, Thursday, June 1, were done in the best interest of the organization and the country.





Commissioner of Police Reynold Hadaway made this clear while speaking to THE VINCENTIAN on Tuesday.

"We are happy for all who were promoted, and we wish them all the best. the top cop added.





Those elevated to higher office include some of the constabularys most outstanding lawmen.

The recommendations, made earlier this year, were recently approved by the Police Service Commission, headed by Cecil Blazer Williams.





Among those promoted is Head of the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) and Port Security Timothy Hazelwood. He moves from Assistant Superintendent (ASP) to Superintendent (SP).





Former Inspectors Trevor Buju Bailey, Hesron Bally Ballantyne and Nigel Butch Butcher, now hold the rank of Assistant Superintendent.





Bailey and Ballantyne are veteran detectives, while Butcher has been a prosecutor for several years, doing stints at the Serious Offences Court, Kingstown Magistrates Court and Family Court.





Butcher was seconded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for the past four months, but from next week he will leave the Prosecutorial Department, to take command of the North Western Division.

Bailey, who was attached to the Central Division, with responsibility for the Questelles District, prior to his recent promotion, is now the Officer in-charge of the Grenadines.





He has led investigations in several high profile criminal matters here, and was commended by former High Court Judge Frederick Bruce-Lyle (deceased),as well as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Colin Williams, on numerous occasions, during High Court sittings, for his performance .





Ballantyne, who was, prior to his promotion, second in command of the Eastern Division, has been appointed second in command of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).





He is the only officer in the RSVG Police Force gazetted to give expert evidence in relation to Eastern Caribbean counterfeit currency.





Junior Simmons, Charles Allen, Lydon Olliver and Paul Jones have been elevated from Station Sergeants to Inspectors.





Former Sergeants Henry Providence, Dwight Rodgers and Dwight Chandler now hold the rank of Station Sergeant, while former Coast Guard Petty Officer Brangurgon Glasgow has been elevated to Chief Petty Officer.





A well-placed source, who preferred not to be identified, told THE VINCENTIAN on Tuesday that the recent promotions have been the best in the last 12 years.





"You now have competent and well-rounded officers in the upper echelon of the Police Force, adding to the few competent ones who were there before, the source stated.

The last promotions were effected in December 2016.




The St Vincent and the Grenadines contingent to Caribbean Festival of Arts- CARIFESTA XIII, from 17th to 27th August in Barbados, will present a bit of everything that the country has to offer.





Artistic Director of the Vincentian contingent Julian PLing Pollard revealed that this will be the aim.

Pollard admitted that St Vincent and the Grenadines has to traverse a path thrown up by changes overtime, and noted that the festival has become a tangible marketplace for Caribbean culture, rather and a showcase.





"CARIFESTA has changed a lot. When CARIFESTA started, it was more of cultural people getting together in a hobby form; but the technology has changed over a period of time, and everybody is focusing on things where they can get more economic benefits  It has become more financially stimulating, Pollard posited.

Pollard, who has attended previous CARIFESTAS, both as a performer and handicraft officer, underscored that St Vincent and the Grenadines then relied mainly on the traditional presentations.





"Most of our presentations have been on the performing arts; we have now to take the aspect of visual arts  We are not known for visual arts, so this is an opportunity for us ... A lot of other people are focusing on the visual arts, and the visual artists get a lot of sale  It is not considered much of a career here .Art is something we do here on the side, Pollard emphasised.





He disclosed that at the last CARIFESTA in Haiti, arts pieces were being sold for as much US $50, 000.

Expounding on the marketability of the countrys products, Pollard advised, "You have to be trade ready, professionally ready. You cannot go out there as if it is a hobby. You are going to meet people who are actively involved in the Tourism market, who are ready to respond one time...We have a set of young entrepreneurs, but we are not taking the advantage that CARIFESTA affords for these people.

Pollard added: "Most countries when they go to CARIFESTA now, food is a big thing, and you can make a lot of money selling food.





The artistic director disclosed that SVG is at the juncture of deciding what will be presented and who will make up the contingent.





He noted, however, that some visual artists and others have been already informed to get their products ready, in keeping with ensuring that SVG can have that allround presence at the hosting of CARIFESTA.





Giving a brief insight into what will be on offer, Pollard said, "We will be trying to make it something like a cabaret with a lot of costuming  The singing will be more choreographed than the normal of just going up and free style It will be a more choreographed, rehearsed presentation.

A pre- show, prior to the departure of the performers, is being framed to fine tune the presentations, Pollard said.





"I am hoping that we can prepare for CARIFESTA in a way that we can encompass our national pride We lack national pride because we are not cultured as we tend to follow others very easily, he lamented.

CARIFESTA 2017 will be held under the theme: Assessing Our Culture Celebrating Ourselves.

The first CARIFESTA was held in Guyana in 1972, with that countrys then President Forbes Burnham being one of the main driving forces behind its establishment.
Kay Martin-Jack, President of the SVGTCC, recognided the challenges the Credit Union faces, but is optimistic about future growth.

Kay Martin-Jack, president of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Cooperative Credit Union, is satisfied that the institution will continue to grow and improve.





Next year, May 24, the SVGTCCU will mark forty years, and if the pattern of membership is maintained, the current figure of 11, 800 will increase.





Addressing the Credit Unions Annual General Meeting held under the theme, Achieving and moving on together as one, and which was the first without Julian Jack as general manager, Martin-Jack complimented Jack for his "sterling contribution, and is looking to the future "on the foundation that he laid.





Martin-Jack recognised the challenges faced in recent times, but contended that the institution "continued to show reasonable growth.

She pointed to financial institutions closing accounts perceived to be high risk and how this affected the organisation.

The situation of banks charging additional fees resulting in transfers of large sums to the Credit Union was of concern.





Lower interest has made the SVGTCCU change rates and reorganise marketing and strategic approaches.

Martin-Jack highlighted the institutions access 365 which provides information on members accounts "anywhere, anytime.





Members, she said, will have Automated Teller Machine (ATM) usage by September 2017.

Treasurer James Jimmy Wilson reported an increase in assets by eight percent over the past year to $113,904,225, from $107,200,772. Cash resources went up six percent to $3.8m, compared to $3.1m in 2015.

Members deposits jumped ten percent to $7.7m from $5.2m, but Share Capital fell to $1.0m from $1.28m.

Master of Ceremonies Curtis King pointed to the significant growth in the Credit Union movement, and echoed the fact that St. Vincent and the Grenadines had one of the highest rates of credit union penetration. He identified the SVGTCCU as playing its role in this regard.





The Meeting received greetings from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Cooperative League, General Employees Cooperative Credit Union, Police Cooperative Credit Union, Kingstown Cooperative Credit Union, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Automotive Cooperative Society, as well as the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Union of Teachers. (WKA)
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By Azernews





By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has left for Kazakhstan to attend the official opening ceremony of the International Specialized Exhibition Astana EXPO-2017.

The Azerbaijani entrepreneurs will also join Astana EXPO-2017 International Exposition titled Energy of the Future, scheduled for June 10 to September 10, 2017. About 100 countries and 10 international organizations will be represented at the Exhibition, the Foreign Ministrys press service reported.

EXPO-2017 reflects the preoccupation of the international community with the problem of energy consumption, which is having an increasing impact on our planet. The main objective of the exhibition is to call for responsibility, to foster a discussion and to develop knowledge enabling people to plan and control energy consumption on our planet and to minimize damage to the environment.

Two million tourists are expected to visit the exhibition, and the total number of visits will be about 5 million. It is planned that 85 percent of the total number of visitors will be citizens of Kazakhstan, and 15 percent - foreign nationals, most of which will come from the CIS countries and China. A significant number of tourists is also expected to arrive from Europe, Turkey and the United States.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

Turkish musician Onder Focan has performed at jazz concert, co-organized by Premier LTD and the International Mugham Center with support of the Turkish embassy in Baku.

Being mainly self- taught, he has become a jazz musician most sought after as a guitarist, player, composer arranger and lyrics writer. The musician released 13 albums and participated in over 90 international festivals, as a performer and member of the jury. Together with two brothers An?l ?all?el and Batuhan ?all?el (?all?el Bros), he presented his new album "Funkbook" in Baku.

Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral, addressing the opening ceremony, said that the gala evening will contribute to further strengthening of the cultural relations between the two brotherly countries.

The diplomat noted that the performance of famous Turkish jazz musicians in Baku in the month of Ramadan has become a tradition.

During the concert, Onder Focan thrilled guests with jazz-funk music pieces, including Ilk yudum, ABS Dran, Salatanin suyu, Kom?unun tavu?u and others.

Note that Bakus International Mugham Center will bring together Romanian and Azerbaijani musicians on June 17.

Tickets are available at all ticket offices of the city, the centers of ASAN Service and website iticket.az.

Media partners of the event are Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az




By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

The Gobustan State Historical-Artistic Reserve will mark the 50th anniversary of its establishment and 10th anniversary of its inclusion into the list of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.

The conference "Petroglyphs of Gobustan is at the crossroads of cultures" will be held on June 13-14 as part of the event, Trend Life reported.

The opening ceremony will be held in the Palace of Happiness at 10:00.

The conference will host a presentation of "Gobustan. New look" research carried out by reserve staff with the support of Azerbaijans Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography.

The project involves 3D modeling for the first time in the study of the monuments. New discoveries have opened new opportunities to study the links between Gobustan petroglyphs and rock carvings of Lesser Caucasus.

The conference will be followed by event co-organized by the Ministry, ANAS and Executive power of Garadagh.

Sixty km south of Baku, on an area of ??537 hectares, there is one of the world's largest ancient petroglyphs collections.

Settled since the 8th millennium BC, the area contains more than 600,000 distinct paintings, going as far back as 20,000 years to as recent as 5,000 years ago.

There are approximately 6000 drawings in Gobustan  petroglyphes - stone and iron-age figures carved thousands of years ago and now considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The pictures dating back to 8 millenniums reflect different hunting scenes, ceremonial and ritual processes of the habitants of these places.

Gobustan petroglyphs were repeatedly investigated by the famous Norwegian explorer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl, who recognized local boats petroglyphs as the oldest known images of pirogue in the world.

These vessels, similar to the old Scandinavian ships, prompted him to make sensational hypothesis statement about the connection between Norwegians and Azerbaijanis.

Thor Heyerdahl concluded that the ancestors of the Scandinavians were the migrants from Azerbaijan region.

Most of the rock engravings depict primitive men, animals, battle-pieces, ritual dances, bullfights, boats with armed oarsmen, warriors with lances in their hands, camel caravans, pictures of sun and stars.

Apart from petroglyphs, there is also this musical gemstone known as Gaval Dash. It makes a tambourine-like sound when it is hit in different points.

Another interesting touristy spot is a stone slab with a Latin inscription dated by the first century. The stone lab was left here by 12th Roman legion of the Emperor Domitian, which indicates that legion had stayed here.




By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

France will remain committed to its obligations as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group on finding a negotiated, fair, and lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a congratulatory letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the Republic Day of Azerbaijan.

France along with Russia and the U.S. is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group established to broker a peace to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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 his letter, Macron also extended to President Aliyev and the entire people of Azerbaijan his congratulations on the national holiday of Azerbaijan. He noted that the numerous high-level meetings which took place in the past period, especially the visit of President Aliyev to France on March 14, 2017, was indicative of the quality and vibrancy of bilateral relations between France and Azerbaijan.

Macron hoped that France and Azerbaijan will mutually benefit from the tremendous development potential of the bilateral relations in all areas in the future.
By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

Regional Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the South Caucasus, Johannes Van Der Klaauw has praised the Azerbaijani government's attention to refugees and IDPs.

Accompanied by UNHCR Representative in Azerbaijan Furio De Angelis, Van Der Klaauw met with the Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs, Ali Hasanov in Baku.

Klaauw said he familiarized himself with what the Azerbaijani government has done for refugees and IDPs under leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. He applauded First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva's laying a foundation stone for a new residential complex for IDPs in Garadagh district of Baku.

Ali Hasanov, in turn, hailed Azerbaijan's relations with UNHCR and emphasized that Azerbaijan attaches special importance to mutual cooperation with foreign countries and appropriate international organizations.

Due to the ethnic cleansing policy, which was carried out by Armenia, and the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, the number of refugees and internally displaced persons in Azerbaijan hit more than 1.2 million. With a population of over 9.8 million,

Azerbaijan is among the countries carrying the highest IDP caseload in the world in per capita terms.

However, with the growing economic and political situation of the country, the Azerbaijani government pays much attention to the most difficult problems once concerning the refugees and IDPs. The state improves the living conditions of refugees and IDPs and it has adopted relevant state programs and legislative acts.

The level of poverty among IDPs has decreased from 75 to 12 percent in Azerbaijan as a result of the measures taken over the past 13 years.
By Trend





President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late on Thursday ratified two deals on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie, according to the presidency.

Turkeys parliament had earlier ratified the agreements on Wednesday. The votes came just days after five Arab countries cut ties with the Gulf state, Anadolu reported.

The deal on deploying troops on Qatari soil, aimed at improving the country's armed forces and boosting military cooperation, had been signed in April in Doha.

Under the bill, the two countries armies will also be able to carry out joint exercises. The move aims to contribute to regional and world peace.

In addition, Turkish gendarmes will be able to train Qatari forces, under another deal between the two countries interior ministries in December 2015.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen cut ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.

Qatar denied the accusations, calling the move "unjustified".

The escalation came two weeks after the website of Qatars official news agency was allegedly hacked by unknown individuals who reportedly published statements attributed to the countrys emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

The incident triggered a diplomatic row between Qatar and its neighbors.
By Azernews





By Kamila Aliyeva

United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash has criticized Qatar's decision to ask Iran and Turkey for help, accusing the country of escalating a row with its Arab neighbors and destabilizing situation in the Middle East region.

Dohas intention to turn to Tehran and Ankara followed the diplomatic rift in the Persian Gulf when its two biggest suppliers, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, cut trade and diplomatic ties with the country actually blocking it from food and water supplies.

Earlier in the day, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani said that Turkey would deploy its troops to Qatar for regional security reasons.

"The demand for political protection from two non-Arab states and military protection from one of them looks like a new tragic and comic chapter," Gargash posted on his official Twitter page.

The minister added that Qatar's behavior was "strange" as it "demands to respect country's sovereignty but looks for help abroad."

Despite the accusations and radical steps taken by Arab countries, Qatar has been repeatedly declaring its readiness for a dialogue and promised not to take any measures against its neighbors which could aggravate the uneasy situation.

Meanwhile, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani Qatar will never surrender to the pressure being applied by its Arab neighbours and won't change its independent foreign policy to resolve disputes that have put the region on edge.

"We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman told Al Jazeera.

Turkey has declared its full support to Qatar by offering food supplies and adopting a bill on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on June 8 ratified two deals on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie

Meanwhile, Pakistan also decided to send military contingent to Qatar after a similar decision was made by Turkey.

Several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing the latter of supporting ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorists and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East. They were later joined by Libya, Yemen, the Maldives, Mauritius and Mauritania, with Jordan and Djibouti announcing they would lower the level of diplomatic contacts with Qatar. Senegal and Chad recalled their ambassadors from Doha.

Qatar denied allegations over its support to terrorism and extremism adding that the diplomatic rift was based on "baseless fabricated claims."
By Azernews





By Amina Nazarli

Sustainable Development Goals: Women and Development conference kicked off in Baku on June 9.

The event was jointly organized by the UN Office in Azerbaijan and the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development (NCCSD).

Deputy Prime-Minister, Chairman of the NCCSD Ali Ahmadov, addressing the conference, highlighted the Azerbaijani government`s measures and projects to strengthen the institution of family and protect women`s and children`s rights.

Important documents have been endorsed to ensure gender equality, fight domestic violence, develop female entrepreneurship and improve social status of women, Ahmadov added.

Women play an important role in the life of Azerbaijan, but this role should grow, stressed the deputy prime-minister.

Ahmadov said that Azerbaijan pays special attention to gender issues, adding that ensuring gender equality creates the opportunity to use the potential of women in the development of society.

The more women are engaged in public affairs, the economy and other spheres, the faster the society develops, he added.

He went on to say that according to the estimates of international organizations, 70 percent of men and 46 percent of women are involved in public activity in the world. "But two third of all works in the world are performed by women. This also includes home economy," he said.

Ahmadov stressed that more women are represented in the spheres of education and healthcare. "Almost more than 70 percent of those working in these areas are women, which are an indicator of their education. Women represent more than 30 percent in municipalities. Women are active in other spheres of society, as well" he said.

UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Ghulam Isaczai also confirmed that Azerbaijan pays special attention to gender equality.

He noted that Azerbaijani women are more active in social areas. In many countries, women are represented in parliament and other state bodies. Unfortunately, there are still some countries where women face discrimination. In Azerbaijan, however, gender equality is developing and women are becoming more actively involved in social life. In 1918, Azerbaijan became the first country in the east to grant women suffrage, the resident coordinator added.

Highlighting the field of gender equality and womens empowerment in Azerbaijan as a priority area of the United Nations, Isaczai stated that this support would further continue.

UNDP and UN will continue to work with the Government, civil society and other partners to clear away any barriers to gender equality, he mentioned.

Chairperson of the State Committee of Azerbaijan for Family, Women and Children Affairs Hijran Huseynova said that if the proportion of women among entrepreneurs was 17 percent in Azerbaijan in 2012, this figure reached 21 percent in early 2017.

The proportion of women in the Azerbaijani parliament is 188 percent. Deputy Heads in 71 executive powers out of the 78 are female. Azerbaijan is consistently working to prevent trafficking of women and violence against children, she said.

Huseynova stressed that the Azerbaijani government pays special attention to education of children and women.

Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Bahar Muradova underscored the importance of educating the public in order to achieve sustainable development.

She said that in Azerbaijan there are no problems with gender equality from the point of view of the legislative base and traditions.

The main objective of this event was to discuss the ways to increase active women participation in the social life and to deliberate the targets and indicators related to the fifth Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality and womens empowerment, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Azerbaijan.

Such panel discussion as well as the ones previously held with academia and civil society contributed to the development of the Voluntary National Review to be presented in the United Nation High-Level Political Forum in July 2017. These discussions created an inclusive conditions for the representatives of diverse segments of society to express their opinions.




Boeing and Huntington Ingalls Industries are teaming on the design and production of Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs) in support of the US Navys Extra Large UUV programme.



This partnership provides the Navy a cost-effective, low-risk path to meet the emergent needs that prompted the Navys Advanced Undersea Prototyping program, said Darryl Davis, president, Boeing Phantom Works. We are combining Boeings preeminent UUV maritime engineering team with our nations leading shipbuilder and Navy technical services company to get operational vehicles to the Navy years ahead of the standard acquisition process.



Boeing is currently testing its newest and largest UUV, Echo Voyager, off the Southern California coast. The vehicle is designed for multiple missions and could include a modular payload bay of up to 34 feet, offering enhanced endurance and increased payload capacity over traditional UUVs. Echo Voyager is fully autonomous, requiring no support vessel for launch or recovery, enabling operation at sea for months before returning to port.



We look forward to a long relationship with Boeing as we embark together to field this unmanned force-multiplier for the Navy, said Andy Green, executive vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries and president of the companys Technical Solutions division. I am confident this team will continue redefining the autonomy paradigm for UUVs.  TradeArabia News Service
British voters dealt Prime Minister Theresa May a devastating blow in a snap election she had called to strengthen her hand in Brexit talks, wiping out her parliamentary majority and throwing the country into political turmoil, reported Reuters.

With 647 of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 316 seats. Though the biggest single winner, they failed to reach the 326-mark they would need to command a parliamentary majority. Labour had won 261 seats.

With complex talks on Britain's departure from the European Union due to start in 10 days' time, it was unclear who would form the next government and what the fundamental direction of Brexit would be.

With no clear winner emerging from Thursday's election, a wounded May signaled she would fight on. Her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn, once written off by his opponents as a no-hoper, said she should step down, it stated.

In the aftermath of one of the most sensational nights in British electoral history, politicians and commentators called her decision to hold the election a colossal mistake and derided her performance on the campaign trail.

The BBC reported, however, that May did not plan to resign.

There has been speculation she may seek some kind of informal arrangement with the Democratic Unionists, which won 10 seats in Northern Ireland, which could see it support the Tories on a vote-by-vote basis.

DUP leader Arlene Foster has said she expects "some contact" with the Tories over the coming days but she also told the BBC she believes Mrs May will find it "difficult to survive".

After a better-than-expected night for Mr Corbyn, Labour is set to pick up 29 seats. The Tories are on course to lose 13 seats. The SNP are down by 22, losing seats to the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems, in a major setback for Nicola Sturgeon.

It is indeed a major blow to th pro-Brexit camp as the EU will force a humiliated Theresa May to explain her intentions at a face-to-face meeting in Brussels as senior diplomats and politicians warned the hung parliament resulting from the UK election was an own goal and a disaster that hugely increases the chance of Brexit talks breaking down, according to The Guardian.

The result is likely to delay the point at which Michel Barnier, the EUs chief negotiator, has someone with whom to negotiate. Sources said a meeting of the European council on June 22 was the EU27s new deadline for wanting to know the prime ministers plans.

Donald Tusk, the council president, reminded London that while the start of Brexit negotiations may now be delayed because of the election result, the date by which the talks must be concluded is fixed.

We dont know when Brexit talks start, Tusk tweeted. We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a no deal as result of no negotiations.

The European commission president, Jean Claude Juncker, said he feared it would not be easy for Theresa May to form a stable government.

We are ready to start negotiations, Juncker said. I hope that the British will be able to form as soon as possible a stable government. I dont think that things now have become easier but we are ready, he added.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain, as part of their commitment to combating terrorism, have listed 37 individuals and six entities in a statement that addresses threats posed by Qatar linked and based terrorism support networks, a report said.



These designations have specifically financed, aided and/or provided material support to Al-Qaeda and its associated organisations and networks, added the report by WAM, the Emirates official news agency.



As a result of the update, 59 individuals and 12 entities are now designated by each of the four countries.



Among the sanctioned parties are charities and fundraisers in Qatar that have acted for the benefit of Al-Qaeda for more than a decade.



The designations point to the fact that despite repeated calls from the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the international community, Qatar remains a permissive jurisdiction for terrorism financing.



The designations are a direct response to the Government of Qatars consistent refusal to take meaningful steps to disrupt the activities of terrorist support networks operating within its borders. In fact several of the entities and individuals identified are explicitly affiliated to the Government of Qatar, the report said.
Officials stated that the two men did not have a specific plan, but they looked for targets. They also

reported
Meet award-winning artisans and buy their products at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village
Authorities are searching for a hiker in Yellowstone National Park who hasn't been seen since Wednesday morning.

Park staff began to search for 53-year-old Jeff Murphy of Batavia, Illinois, on Thursday, according to a news release from the park. His last known location was the Rescue Creek Trailhead near the park's North Entrance where he started to hike toward Turkey Pen Peak about 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Murphy is believed to be wearing glasses, khaki pants, a yellow t-shirt, a navy pullover, a green and gray rain jacket and an Army green backpack. He is about 5 feet 11 inches tall and weights about 190 pounds.

Park staff continue to search the Rescue Creek area by foot and by air, according to the release.

Anyone with information about Murphy's whereabouts is asked to call 307-344-2643.
Repeatedly in his presentation to former fellow House colleagues on Thursday, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said this is what a balanced budget looks like.

Representatives around the committee table didnt much like that look; reactions ranged from flabbergasted in Kentucky coal country about the elimination of abandoned mine reclamation funds to asking why nearly finished early-warning earthquake systems were getting canceled on the West Coast.

The former representative from Montana assured them he would work together to get priorities balanced.

But with a 13 percent cut pushing Interiors 2018 budget down to $10.6 billion, a lot of zeroed-out line items will compete for that reassessment. The cuts will affect many activities in the Northern Rockies region, even as some activities get a boost.

The Interior Secretarys own office would take the largest hit, cutting $596 million or 82 percent of its operating budget. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement would be cut by more than half, from $240 million to $129 million.

Increases would occur in the departments Payment in Lieu of Taxes program (from zero to almost $400 million), and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (zero to $138 million). Interiors portion of the FLAME wildfire suppression reserve would be eliminated, saving $177 million.

The budget assumes the Land and Water Conservation Fund will expire at the end of this the 2018 fiscal year, and the Administration will review options for reauthorization, including consideration of a range of conservation-related investments that could be funded through the LWCF.

At Thursdays hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, Zinke said he remained a supporter of LWCF, and there would be money to maintain existing public lands. But he noted the program would not acquire new properties.

Conversely, the Interior budget document assumes the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act will be permanently reauthorized, allowing Interior to dispose of lands with low conservation value and use the proceeds to acquire lands with high conservation values.

Interior wilderness management would be reduced by $3 million to $15.5 million annually, by reducing monitoring of wilderness values in Wilderness Areas and Wilderness Study Areas, among other measures according to the budget report.

Abandoned Mine Lands and Hazardous Material Management (HMM) programs would take a $16 million combined hit, meaning BLM will not undertake any new mine remediation work and HMM program will have reduced capacity to address existing and emergent environmental impact incidents and will also reduce facility environmental compliance monitoring.

At the hearing, Zinke touted an increase of $35 million toward national park infrastructure needs. But John Garder of the National Parks Conservation Association said that figures misleading.

Its puzzling that in his confirmation hearing, Zinke outlined priorities on land use and front-line personnel and increases to deferred maintenance, Garder said. But in the case of deferred maintenance, they take credit for a 6 percent increase when in reality its a 9 percent cut of $34 million.

That happens because the proposed budget bases its percentages off the fiscal 2016 budget rather than the FY 2017 continuing resolution passed in April, Garder said. On top of that, staff and funding cuts throughout the Interior Department mean there will be fewer people available to carry out those chores.

Zinke joked he was making a lot of savings by not having anybody on staff. The Interior Department staff would be reduced by about 4,000 full-time workers, from 64,025 to 59,968 workers.

That includes reductions of 674 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in Zinkes secretarial office through the dispersal of Office of Natural Resources Revenue duties to other areas, 1,062 FTE in the Bureau of Land Management, 1,089 FTE at the U.S. Geological Survey and 1,242 FTE at the National Park Service.

The secretary said he will be an advocate for on-the-ground personnel, but the disappointing reality of this budget is with an 8 percent cut to operations and 1,200 park service staff cut, the budget does quite the opposite. More than 90 percent of our parks would be significantly affected by these cuts, Garder said. They mean eliminating large numbers of seasonal rangers, closing facilities or reducing hours. And thats while parks are struggling with a 13 percent increase in visitation in the last two years.
Search crews found the body of a missing hiker Friday in Yellowstone National Park.

Officials suspect Jeff Murphy, 53, died from a fall on Turkey Pen Peak near the park's north entrance.

More than a dozen search teams had combed parts of Yellowstone on Thursday and Friday in search of Murphy. His last known location was at the Rescue Creek Trailhead, near the park's north entrance, at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The Batavia, Illinois, man intended to go on a day hike of Turkey Pen Peak, according to a park press release. The search began Thursday after Murphy's wife reported that he failed to check in.

On Friday, eight hiking teams, five dog teams, four horse teams and a helicopter participated in the search.

The park reopened Rescue Creek Trail, which had been closed due to the search. But officials said visitors should expect temporary closures in the area until the investigation is complete.
Two people were injured when a helicopter crashed Friday morning on Highway 93, about five miles northwest of Douglas.

The injuries are not considered life-threatening, said Converse County Sheriff Clint Becker.

There were four people on the helicopter, which is owned by Wagonhound ranch and was attempting to land on company property. Becker said the helicopter was near the ground when it crashed at around 8:30 a.m.

He wasn't sure what caused the issue, though he indicated that it may have been the wind.

Two people were injured and later taken by ambulance to Memorial Hospital of Converse County in Douglas. People elsewhere on the ranch called emergency services.

The sheriff's office, fire department and the county's ambulance service responded to the incident.

No roads were closed, Becker said, but the scene was being contained so state authorities can begin their investigation.
This is the latest in a series about whats going on in the Pima County Public Library.

Every day, widely diverse populations visit our libraries to find answers, participate in activities and connect with others. We offer a thriving space where all are welcome, including those who are new to our country and our community.

The library has long been a supportive place where immigrants of all backgrounds turn for access and information, but thanks to the Welcome to America Team, the library is now engaging immigrants earlier and with targeted programming and services to help them adjust to life in Tucson.

I first got professionally involved with immigrant and refugee issues in the early 1980s. But my reasons for doing so go back to my childhood.

In my youth I experienced a sense of dislocation similar to, but on a much smaller scale, what I imagine many of our newly-arrived community members feel. I grew up in the diverse inner city of Dayton, Ohio, but when school districts began busing students from all over the city, my family moved to the suburbs.

I felt isolated and disconnected, and my confusion about my emerging LGBTQ identity led to feeling invisible. Strangely, I couldnt articulate how separate I felt from other kids, nor could I communicate my displeasure with living in a new environment where everyone else looked the same.

Discovering the suburban branch of the Dayton Public Library near my junior high school was like finding a sanctuary. I felt safe there. I could do homework (which I didnt do a lot of), read magazines and play checkers with other disenfranchised kids. I was also shushed often for talking too loudly or too much.

Years later I was still too loud and talked too much, but I was also actively involved in my own LGBTQ community and learning more about how marginalized groups rely on visual cues (signage and symbols) inclusive language (gender neutral vocabulary) and connectedness (commonality amongst ones peers) in order to fully participate in mainstream institutions.

While finishing my undergraduate degree, I accepted a part-time volunteer coordinator position in the St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS), where I trained volunteers to work with adult refugee students in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms. It didnt take long before I was hooked on working with refugees.

In Minneapolis and St. Paul, many churches and community groups did a lot of work sponsoring refugees from Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Somalia. After completing my degree in community studies, I was assigned by SPPS to work with the Hmong Mutual Assistance Association to write and coordinate a federal Title VII grant that served 300 Hmong families residing in Saint Paul Public Housing.

As a Pima County Public Library employee, the Welcome to America Team was an easy fit for me. I first became interested while working at the Santa Rosa Library and getting to know many East African families who spent time there.

The Welcome to America Team is a group of staff members from the libraries most frequented by refugee and immigrant customers. The team works to reduce and eliminate barriers so that these customers can learn to easily access timely and accurate information. Since many new arrivals are unaware of all that libraries have to offer, we also work hard on outreach and educating families about the free services we provide.

Im proud of all that the Welcome to America Team has accomplished. Pima County Public Library now has a telephone translation service, which provides help in 200 different languages. In addition to English and Spanish, our collection now includes materials in Arabic, Somali, Chinese, Farsi/Persian, Swahili and French.

Weve made Welcome to the Library videos available in multiple languages, including Arabic, Maay Maay and Nepali. We host English Language Learning and Citizenship classes, and coordinate with local refugee agencies. We also offer citizenship tables where customers can get answers to commonly asked questions in person.

Numerous libraries have Citizenship Corners with a variety of materials to help anyone pursuing their citizenship. At the Joel D. Valdez Main Library we offer tours to refugee groups, helping them apply for library cards, learn how to borrow from the Seed Library, and find details for upcoming citizenship and English classes. Parents enjoy touring the childrens area where they can check out books for their children in their native language.

Our mission is to transform lives by educating, inspiring, and connecting people. And that means all people. As a child, I found my sense of belonging within the walls of a library. Today, I take pride in knowing I am helping others in much the same way.
Help India!

By Shafeeq Hudawi, TwoCircles.net

Kerala is often presented as one of the most equitable states in the nation; a state where (at least relatively) your religion/caste does not matter as much as it does in other states. And while this may be true to some extent, there is no doubt that the marginalised communities in the state, especially Dalits and Adivasis, face the same issues as the rest of the country. And Leela Santhosh, a 29-year-old filmmaker and the only Adivasi to be doing so in Kerala, is trying to address the same with her works, starting with ensuring that the states numerous Adivasi communities are able to tell their own stories without the interference of non-Adivasis.

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The journey of Leela, who is now making her second film, is extremely interesting. These days, it is imperative that you attend a film school if you wish to make a career in cinemas (especially if you wish to get into direction/editing). However, let alone a film school, Leela did not attend even a regular school. But that did not stop her from making her first documentary in 2010 called Nizhalukal Nashtappedunna Gothrabhumi (the tribal land that has lost its shadows). Leelas documentary threw light on the life and rituals of Paniya community from Wayanad. The film was exhibited in some festivals and Leela is now looking to exhibit it widely after adding subtitles.

Wayanad is home for various tribal sects including Paniyas, Adiyas, Kattunayakans, Kurichiyans, Kurumans, Ooralis and Urali Kurumans. Out of these tribes, only Urali Kurumans and Kurichiyans are part of the mainstream.

Other tribes are still reluctant to mingle with others. And thus, outsiders are not familiar with their history. With these tribes, there were several heroes, whose stories remain unfolded, says Leela in a conversation with TwoCircles.net.

Leela is now planning to make a feature film about a Paniya tribal chieftain Karinthandan, who is said to have helped an English engineer build the Thamarassery ghat pass. He was a legend and not someone who helped invaders, as is often depicted by non-Adivasis. Several misconceptions about him continue to exist and I will try to address the same, says Leela, who is now in her 30s.

Leelas novel approach to retelling stories and focusing on issues comes from her schooling, except that it was never a regular school. Apart from time spent on filmmaking, Leela also active with Kanavu Gurukulam, an unique experiment in alternative schooling meant for educating Adivasi children. Leela spent 13 years from 1994 to 2007 in Kanavu, and is now helping the same school which shaped her thoughts and understanding.

Kanavu, which literally means dream, was set up by social activist K J Baby in order to resist the high dropout rates among tribal students in Wayanad. The school, which started in Panamarama with 25 students, discards conventional practices as there is no classroom, no syllabus and follows the gurukul system, where teachers live with students and receive no remuneration.

So far, around 400 students have been trained from the school and 50 in the total are non-tribal students. Since its inception, the school and its mode of teachings have also been tuned accordingly.

A few years ago, Kanavu almost stopped functioning due to a drop in the number of students, since the Adivasi students started integrating into public educational institutes. So, Kanavu became more an add-on to the public education system. We changed the mode of teaching and now conduct extra classes for these children on the weekends. We also located students that dropout from schools and take them back. We are taking up efforts to prove that Adivasi kids are as talented as the mainstream children, says Leela.

At Kanavu, now 32 children aged between 5 and 13, are taught not through textbooks but by real life examples by reading and traveling. Starting from the tribal settlements here villages, students are taken to travel across the country to help them learn through real-life experiences, Leela says.

Students here learn music, painting, dance, theatre and martial arts, particularly Kalaripayattu, the traditional martial art of Kerala. Besides, they are given lessons of farming along with learning basic animal husbandry.

Along with Leela, 20 other alumni of Kanavu are active with its activities across Kerala. They manage to find the revenue to run the school by engaging in various professions like Kalarippayattu training and healing.

Kanavu is now drawing the international attention with visible impact on students from the marginalized sections. Now, they have visitors from various countries including Canada, Brazil and Germany.

Kanavu is not irrelevant at all. The film workshops and exhibitions groomed me as a filmmaker. And my first work is a tribute for Kanavu. Several artists will be formed from Kanavu, Leela, who is married to Santhosh Sankar, her classmate in Kanavu, adds. Santhosh is also part of Kanavu and running a Kalarippayattu training institute and healing centre.

Through Kanavu and her filmmaking, Leela is trying to ensure that while she may be the first Adivasi filmmaker from Kerala, she is definitely not the last. The Adivasis in Kerala have, for far too long, seen their history and stories told by non-Adivasis to suit their interests. Leela is trying to make sure that this changes; that their struggles, stories and achievements are presented by one of their own so that they do justice to the history of Kerala Adivasis.
Help India!

New Delhi/Mandsaur, (IANS): An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) team on Friday left for Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur to meet the families of the farmers who were killed in police firing, but authorities said nobody would be allowed to visit the violence-hit district.

AAP leaders Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Sadhu Singh and Somnath Bharti reached Indore in the afternoon on their way to the tense Mandsaur.

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But Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Manoj Singh said the AAP leaders would not be allowed to visit Mandsaur town, where curfew was partially lifted on Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

We will not allow anybody to visit Mandsaur. It will create law and order situation for us, Manoj Singh told IANS.

Five farmers, according to the government, were killed in police firing on Tuesday when hundreds of farmers staged protests, demanding debt relief and price hike of their produce.

However, farmers association said that at least eight protesters were killed when the police opened fire at them.

The AAP said its leaders would meet the families of the victims to express their solidarity with them.
Help India!

Ankara, (IANS): Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ratified two deals allowing Turkish troops deployment to Qatar and training the Gulf nations gendarmerie, according to the presidency.

Erdogan signed off deals on the Turkish Parliaments approval late Thursday night, Xinhua news agency reported.

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The first deal, signed in Doha in April 2016, allows Turkish troops to improve Qatars army and boost military cooperation.

The second deal, signed in December 2015 between the two Interior Ministries, allows the Turkish gendarmerie to train Qatari gendarmerie forces.

The move came after Erdogan expressed earlier this week disapproval of the sanctions imposed on Qatar by several Arab countries.

Erdogan also said that Turkey will continue and develop ties with Qatar.

Earlier the week, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and the Maldives snapped their diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting terrorism and extremism.

Qatar has stoutly refuted the allegations.
Help India!

New Delhi, (IANS): The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) on Friday said the CBI raids on NDTV co-founder Prannoy Roys houses was reminiscent of the Emergency era and a price for questioning the government.

Citing Supreme Court guidelines and the Banking Regulation Act, the PUCL said the CBIs actions were neither based on standard procedures and practices nor as per court mandated guidelines.

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Under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, cognizance of the offences can only be taken in case of a complaint in writing by an officer of the Reserve Bank of India specially authorised to file such complaints.

However, in this case no such complaint seems to have been lodged by an authorised officer of the RBI, PUCL President Ravi Kiran Jain said, citing the CBI booking Roy for criminal conspiracy with unknown officials of ICICI Bank under the Banking Regulation Act.

The CBI statement explains that the complaint is lodged by a private person said to be a shareholder of ICICI Bank and NDTV. In such a situation, the CBI is bound by higher standards of transparency, accountability and responsibility, to explain their actions.

Observing that the CBIs action was initiated without conducting a preliminary enquiry, the PUCL questioned why the agency has not raided the premises of the ICICI Bank or its employees to find out who were involved or responsible for the alleged crime.

The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties condemns the efforts of the present government to suppress the voice of its critics in the media through malicious prosecution on the one hand, and vicious labelling of anti nationalism and seditious on the other, he said.

It criticised the motivated use of the enforcement and intelligence agencies against the expressing of opposing opinions, saying it would lead only to breakdown and loss of faith in the Rule of Law.

The raids is reminiscent of the Emergency era and a chilling reminder of the price to be paid for questioning the government and ruling elite, the PUCL said while referring to India slipping three places, to 136th in the World Press Freedom Index.

The PUCL appealed to journalists, media houses and ordinary citizens not to remain quiet but to stand up and assert the importance of independence of the media and oppose any and all attempts to muzzle and silence dissent.

At stake is the possibility of a new version of `Emergency versus protecting, promoting and deepening democracy, it added.
Legal experts: Testimony could strengthen impeachment case

WASHINGTON - Former FBI director James Comey said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump asked him to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of a probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the presidential election last year.

In written testimony released the day before he appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said Trump told him at a meeting in the White House in February: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."

The testimony puts more pressure on Trump, a Republican, whose presidency has been overshadowed by allegations that Moscow helped him win the election. Trump and the Kremlin have separately denied any collusion.

Some legal experts said Comey's testimony could strengthen any impeachment case built on obstruction of justice, but US markets shrugged off the news from the testimony for lack of any major disclosures.

To build a criminal obstruction of justice case, federal law requires prosecutors to show that a person acted with "corrupt" intent. It does not matter whether the person succeeds in impeding an investigation.

While a sitting president is very unlikely to face criminal prosecution, obstruction of justice could form the basis for impeachment.

Comey said he had told Trump on three occasions he was not being investigated, confirming an earlier account from the president.

Trump, who spent part of Wednesday in Ohio talking about the need to fix the nation's crumbling infrastructure, ignored reporters' shouted questions about Comey. On returning to the Oval Office, Trump went into a meeting with top advisers, including chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Later, his outside counsel released a statement saying Trump felt "completely and totally vindicated" by Comey's account. "The president is pleased that Mr Comey has finally publicly confirmed his private reports that the president was not under investigation in any Russian probe," Marc Kasowitz, Trump's attorney, said in a statement.

Several congressional committees, as well as the FBI and a special counsel, are investigating whether Russia tried to tilt November's election in Trump's favor.

Trump abruptly fired Comey, who was leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe, on May 9.

Comey painted a vivid picture for senators of awkward encounters with Trump in seven pages of testimony.

Comey described a private dinner in the Green Room of the White House on Jan 26, where Trump asked him whether he wanted to stay on as FBI director, telling him: "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty."

"I didn't move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence," Comey said in his testimony, explaining he became concerned that Trump was trying to create "some sort of patronage relationship".

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump announced that he planned to nominate Christopher Wray, a former Justice Department official, as Comey's successor.

Reuters - Ap

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (left) and National Intelligence Director Dan Coats talk on Capitol Hill in Washington during a hearing.Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press

(China Daily 06/09/2017 page11)
Help India!

New Delhi, (IANS): The Congress on Friday accused the government of working for the rich but neglecting the poor and said the countrys farmers are in the throes of a serious crisis but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is paying no attention to their plight.

Congress workers will fully support party Vice-President Rahul Gandhis battle in favour of farmers, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said here.

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The opposition party also protested against Rahul Gandhis detention while on way to Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur town to meet the kin of five farmers killed in police firing on Tuesday. The party said the preventive detention is akin to murder of democracy.

Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday detained by police in Neemuch district bordering Rajasthan when he tried to defy ban orders enforced in Mandsaur district.

Madhya Pradesh farmers are holding a peaceful protest to seek redressal of their demands, but police used bullets to silence their voice, Maken said at a public meeting held to protest against the killing of five Madhya Pradesh farmers.

Slamming the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh, Maken said: When Rahul Gandhi went to meet the family members of the dead farmers to express condolence, he was illegally arrested, which is akin to murder of democracy.

Maken also accused the Narendra Modi government of working for the benefit of the rich.

On the one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working for the benefit of only the rich, on the other hand, Rahul Gandhi is waging a battle for farmers, labourers, tribals and the weaker sections, not only inside Parliament but also at the ground level, the former Union Minister said.

The Centre has written off debts of Rs 1,54,000 crore of rich friends of Modi, but it has not written off even Rs 70 crore debt of farmers.

Maken said the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the helm, had written off farmer debts of Rs 70,000 crore to reduce the burden on them.

He alleged that the government earlier remained unmoved by protests by farmers from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at Jantar Mantar here.

Maken said the government had done nothing to write off farmer debts and ensure remunerative prices for farm produce.
Help India!

New Delhi, (IANS): The BJP-led government has not fulfilled its promise of providing adequate remuneration for agricultural produce in its three years of rule and if it does not mend its ways it will have to face a negative outcome in the forthcoming elections, warn farmer leaders and unions.

Yudhvir Singh, General Secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised minimum 50 per cent profits over the cost of production, which made it win the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

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The rate farmers are getting currently for their agriculture produce is much lower than the input cost. For example, farmers spent about Rs 1,600 to produce a quintal of wheat, but the governments rate is around Rs 1,200, he said.

Now, the government does not want to even discuss its promise of 50 per cent profit. Farmers are under financial burden and the governments apathy is further intensifying their woes. How can one expect farmers to remain calm in such a situation? They will express their anger in the elections to come.

Farmers in several states, such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, have hit the streets demanding better remuneration for their produce and a loan waiver.

Farmer leader and Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra Raju Shetty, whose Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana is an ally in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, said the Narendra Modi government had broken the trust of farmers by overlooking their issues.

Farmers are broken due to droughts of two consecutive years and and fall in prices. As they do not see any solution coming from the government, they are feeling cheated. If the BJP wants to win elections again, it will have to act in time and resolve their issues, Shetty said.

Badrinarayan Chaudhary, General Secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), said that the government should go back to the drawing board and revise the remuneration rates being offered to the farmers.

The government had appealed to farmers to cultivate pulses last year but it did not buy them when a bumper crop was reported this year. So, farmers had to sell pulses much below the minimum support price (MSP) in the open market. The government should address the farmers issues and revise the rates of agricultural commodities for their welfare, Chaudhary said.

P. Ayyakannu, a farmer leader from Tamil Nadu who had grabbed the headlines by resorting to unusual and shocking ways of protests in the national capital two months ago, demanded a loan waiver to save farmers from the financial distress.

Despite the Madras High Courts directive, the Tamil Nadu government has not waived off our loans. Even the central government has failed to provide us respite. Banks are selling our land as we do not have money to repay. Is it not the governments duty to save us? Ayyakannu said.

While Singh and Shetty supported the demand of loan waiver, saying it had arisen out of helplessness, Chaudhary opposed it, saying it would be like cheating those who are paying back their loans honestly.
From my home in New Zealand the rest of the world appears in a sorry state, the spread of radical Islam is a cancer that I have no idea will ever be beaten. The bombings in England, and various other parts of the world, innocent people being murdered, and for what? Some mythical god tells them to hate us? Seriously? Is this what the world is coming to?

Well, not all the world, down here in my small country paradise these troubles seem far away. New Zealand, or Aotearoa, the correct Maori name for it, is two small islands inhabited by barely five million people.

Its where I was brought up and still live. Why would I want to live anywhere else?

No, were not Australian!

I remember the first time I traveled to the US where my unusual accent made me stand out as soon as I opened my mouth. Oh wow, where are you from? someone would ask. New Zealand,  Id say proudly. Er, isnt that up near Nova Scotia? No were down the bottom of the Pacific, not far from Australia, Id say. Then Id have to explain were not part of Australia, were a completely seperate country. Sure, theyre our neighbours, only three hours away by air, but we are very different from that lot. Were far ahead in social and Political development, consider our indigenous rights, LGBT rights, womens rights - weve already had two women prime ministers - Australia had one for a short time and nearly had nervous breakdown as a result, our film industry, the All Blacks, our stable mid-right government, the list goes on.

One of our successful exports Flight of the Conchords have often parodied the difference between our two countries.

Sometimes the distance is too much

Tourists are blown away by the scenery and cant stop raving about it. But there are some people who find the distance too much, my mother came out here from England after the war with her parents and she suffered terrible homesickness.

Hardly a day went by when I didn't hear her mutter under her breath, this bloody country!, but my dad, a Kiwi, took it in his stride, he was the typical laid-back Kiwi bloke. Hed gone to war and flown Lancaster Bombers, job done he came home and met mum, and thats where I came in.

Our dark side

We have a dark side too, we all know it, but its hard to identify - its just there.

Kiwi writer Alan Duff nailed it in the story Once Were Warriors, weve read the book, seen the movie and we nod our heads, yeah thats it. Its a Maori tribal thing, going way back thats still with us now. Its just there. Some say its in the Earth and thats something we all know about, weve had enough violent quakes lately to last us a lifetime.

This scares me

Now I watch the world changing and wonder where its going to end. The heartbreak fanaticism causes scares me. Many a time I hear other New Zealanders saying thank goodness we live here, out of the way. Im glad too, and if ISIS decide to blow us up lets hope they get lost off the coast of Nova Scotia.

https://uk.blastingnews.com/world/2016/11/new-zealand-earthquake-leaves-two-dead-001256095.html

https://uk.blastingnews.com/business/2016/08/new-zealand-s-best-fashion-brands-and-designers-of-the-era-001066401.html
Last night, as the votes were counted and each of the 650 seats were announced, the General Election was neck-and-neck, with no majority looking clear. This morning, there is no majority, Parliament is hung, and the UK government is hanging in the balance.

Of the 650 seats up for grabs in the general election, the Conservative Party and their leader Theresa May won 318 seats, which is 48.9% of the overall vote. The Labour Party and their leader Jeremy Corbyn won 261 seats, which is 40.2% overall. Nicola Sturgeon and her Scottish National Party won 35 seats, which is 5.4% overall.

The Liberal Democrats and their leader Tim Farron won 12 seats for 1.8% of Parliament.

The fringe parties also mustered up a few seats in the general election. The Democratic Unionist Party and their leader Arlene Foster won 10 seats, an overall 1.5%. Sinn Fein and their co-leaders Gerry Adams and Michelle ONeill won 7 seats for 1.1% of Parliament. Leanne Wood and her Welsh party Plaid Cymru won 4 seats, which is 0.6% of the seats. The Green Party and their co-leaders Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley won 0.2% of the seats in Parliament, which is just one seat. UKIP and Paul Nuttall, Ulster Unionist Party and Robin Swann, Colum Eastwood and the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and Alliance and Naomi Long won no seats, while one seat has yet to be declared.

Small victory for Labour voters

While Labour didnt win the majority and Jeremy Corbyn isnt the Prime Minister, this election was still a small victory for Labour supporters, some of whom always had doubts that their party would win. Labour didnt win the election, but it did win enough seats to leave Parliament hung and Theresa May without the majority of seats.

Under Ed Miliband, Labour won 232 seats at the last general election in 2015. Now, with Corbyn in charge, a leader who many doubted, 261 seats have been won.

The Conservative Party garnered 318 seats in the general election, which is 8.7% more of the seats than Labour, but they need more of a lead than this to take the UK government and for Theresa May to be reinstated as British Prime Minister.

The Irish Democratic Unionist Party, or DUP, has won 10 seats (1.5% overall), so May is looking to strike a deal with them and form a coalition that could just push the Tories over the edge and get her back on Downing Street and running Great Britain into the ground.

May striking deal with DUP

The DUP is a reviled party amongst left-wing parties. They once tried to throw together a coalition with the likes of the Green Party and SNP a few weeks ago in a half-baked attempt to win themselves the majority vote in the general election, but their anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion policies got their hopes quickly dashed.

But of course, Theresa May has no qualms with that, and shes striking a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party that will give her the opportunity to take over the UK government and remain our Prime Minister for the Brexit process, which was the whole reason she called the general election in the first place.

She wanted more seats and now she has less. Hilarious! May is expected to go behind everybodys backs and meet with the Queen to confirm that shes made a deal with the DUP, and she hopes the Queen will say, Yeah, thats great. Youre Prime Minister again. Woo! So, well see how that turns out.

This wont officially be a coalition, since Conservative voters didnt vote for the DUP, so that would be sly. Instead, itll be a confidence and supply, which is basically a coalition, lets be honest. May spoke with DUP all through the night as the general election results came in. She used the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn being Prime Minister to sway them. A DUP source has said that the alternative to Mays government, which would be Corbyns government, is intolerable. They said, For as long as Corbyn leads Labour, we will ensure theres a Tory PM.
James Comey testifying before the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence stated that the Trump administration spread lies and defamed him and the FBI. The fired Fbi Director expressed confusion over the changing reasons giving for his firing and talked about feeling pressured to drop the investigation into Russian interference in the US elections.

Lies plain and simple

On his firing, the ousted FBI Director accused the White House of lies and defamation by saying that agents had lost confidence in Comey's leadership and that the bureau was in disarray.

He said those were lies plain and simple and expressed his confusion and concern at the changing explanations of his firing. Comey testified that President Donald Trump had often told him what a great job he was doing and that he let Trump know that he had planned to serve his full 10 year tenure. He was therefore surprised to learn that he was fired because of his decisions relating to the Hillary Clinton email affair in 2016.

An uncomfortable relationship with the president

Mr Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee about the often uncomfortable and complicated relationship he had with the president after the investigation into Russian interference began. He explained how he felt Donald Trump pressured him to stop investigating Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser.

In a previously released statement, Comey detailed private conversations with Trump which included a phone call asking him to stop the Russian investigation. At a dinner in January, Trump asked for loyalty and later in March he found himself alone in the Oval Office with the president when senior officials were asked to leave.

It was then that Donald Trump reportedly asked James Comey to let the matter concerning Flynn go.

A plea for loyalty

Loyalty to the president was a recurring topic of conversation at meetings between Trump and the FBI Director. When he accepted an invitation to dinner at the White House, James Comey soon realised that it would only be him and the president.

It was then that he states he was repeatedly asked to pledge his loyalty to the president. The conversation began with Comey being asked if he wanted to remain in his position, an unusual question as he had already been asked by Trump to continue as FBI Director. Comey said he felt it was an attempt by the president to create a kind of patronage relationship and it was a concern for him in light of the FBI's independent status.

Unease leads to documentation

It was the fired FBI Director's unease during some of the interactions with President Trump that led him to document his conversations after they occurred and then share it with select persons. After being asked to pledge his loyalty, Comey says he offered honesty to which Trump responded, honest loyalty, prompting Comey to document that they understood the phrase differently. He also documented instances where he felt he was being pressured to drop the Flynn investigation.
As the exit poll came in on June 8th, it had become increasingly clear that Theresa Mays decision to call for a snap general election was one of the worst decisions in her political career. She announced the election with a 24-point lead over Jeremy Corbyns Labour, according to the polls, who often underestimate Conservative support. But the exit poll was spot on with how many seats would go Conservative way.

Conservative won 318 seats (including House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow), a net loss of 12, Labour with 261, a net gain of 29. Meanwhile the SNP lost 21 seats, winning 35 seats and the Liberal Democrats, Democratic Unionist Party (Dup) and Sinn Fein all increased the number of seats to 12 (+3), 10 (+2) and 7 (+3) respectively.

One giant misstep for Theresa May

Despite winning the most seats and having the largest voter share, this is a loss for Theresa May. Because she went into the this with such a huge lead, thinking she could all but wipe out real opposition to their plans. She triggered Article 50 and then called for the snap election, probably in mind that she could make it all about Brexit but that plan backfired drastically as people were concerned over the public services such as the NHS and police. Her campaign was dreadful, she failed to engage with the public, hiding behind closed events and dictating what journalists could and couldnt ask.

A coalition of chaos perhaps? Theresa May called the election to strengthen her hand, she failed.

She made the election about her and Jeremy Corbyn, but the electorate has largely said up yours to that sentiment. Theresa May gambled this election and screwed it up, but not before she triggered Article 50. If her government doesn't last the negotiations, which is likely, it would push further chaos as the time limit of the negotiations would be getting shorter and shorter as more mess is created by May.

The Conservative campaign is a stark contrast to Labours, the former concentrated on Theresa May as an individual what I will do, with them asking the public to give her power but Labour were presented as a collective, what we will do for you.

Instability with the DUP

The next problem comes in the form of the DUP, who have backed the Conservatives, in a bid to gain power for Theresa May.

To put into context, the next government will be further right-wing than previously. The DUP were formed through armed extremists in 1971, they are anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, anti-human rights and are extreme religious fundamentalists and creationists that are also climate change deniers.

The Conservatives however, are gaining their support to form a government of stability...the problem is that the DUP are against power-sharing with Sinn Fein and are against the Good Friday Agreement. With the latter in jeopardy because of Brexit, and May pursuing a hard Brexit, this creates an extremely volatile and unstable coalition.
IS attack Iranian Parliament and Khomeini's Mausoleum

Islamic State (IS) it seems despite being beaten back on the battlefield which in turn has made its territory shrink and with its capital, under attack, is still able to inspire attacks or launch planned attacks. Notably, with regards to the attacks in Manila and in the UK, it was unknown whether IS actually were behind these attacks or they were the inspiration behind them.

However, it is clear that IS is on the back foot and they will claim any attack as one of their own even if it is just to keep up their prestige as still being a viable threat to its enemies.

Certainly, despite valiant efforts in Iraq to recapture Mosul the city is still a thorn in the side of the Iraqi government and with the US backed forces gaining ground, IS have essentially made a suicidal defence of their last bastion in Iraq.

Certainly, the attacks on the Iranian Parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's Mausoleum will be seen as a victory of sorts for the Islamic State. The group threatened to hit out at targets in iran and in this, it seems their threat has become a reality.

It would appear that as IS loses land in Iraq and Syria the group will switch more and more to inspiring others to launch attacks on its behalf or plan attacks fighting in the shadows like Al-Qaeda.

Islamic State's hatred of the Shia

One reason why IS was set up was that of Sunni Muslims grievances with the Shia-led government in Baghdad which it accused of treating Sunni Muslims less favourably. There does seem to be some evidence of this because once when Saddam ruled Iraq, Sunnis dominated Shia but since Saddam's fall during the 2003 US/UK invasion, the boot so to speak has been on the other foot with the Shia dominating instead.

This has led to the growing influence of Iran in Iraqi affairs and this is something many Iraqi Sunnis could not tolerate hence them joining Islamic State. It is estimated though that large numbers of Iranian Sunnis not happy living with a Shia government in Tehran have also joined IS.

Amongst the groups treated terribly by Islamic State besides Yazidis, other Sunni Muslims, and Christians are the Shia.

Whether they were captured Shia fighters or civilians, this group has been singled out for harsh treatment, as Islamic State being of the Sunni doctrine hate the Shia.

The fallout between Sunni and Shia

The split between Sunni And Shia Islam occurred after the death of the Prophet Mohammed in 632 when neither side could agree on a successor. Both sides did eventually agree on a successor but not among themselves. Both had two men competing for the job of leading the faithful which led to the split between the two ideologies in Islam, which has remained ever since.

Islamic State may not be the greatest Sunni enemy Iran has because across the Persian Gulf sits Saudi Arabia; probably the most powerful Sunni Muslim state in the region if not the world.

Both Iran and Saudi Arabia favour different sides in the Yemen war which, compared to Syria and Iraq, seems to have become the forgotten war.

With Iran being involved in the Syrian and Iraqi war you can also bet Saudi Arabis also has its fingers in the pie backing which ever side it sees fit as carrying out Saudi influence in the region. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are extreme versions of Shia and Sunni and hate each other with a passion and as a result they make this area of the world very volatile indeed.
Over the last 24 hours, the biggest story to dominate the news cycle has been regarding the abrupt firing of James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Critics of Donald Trump have been extremely vocal over the decision, which has led to the president firing back in a series of angry tweets.

Trump on Twitter

James Comey has been surrounded by controversy for the better part of the last year as both Republicans and Democrats have had their issues with him. The first sign of trouble for Comey occurred at the end of the 2016 presidential election when he brought up the issue of Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her time as Secretary of State under former President Barack Obama.

The issue had been investigated on several occasions, including by the FBI, who ended up clearing Clinton of any wrongdoing. When Comey brought up the email server scandal just weeks before Election Day, it opened up a freshly closed wound which only added further fuel to the fire for the talking points used by Donald Trump on the campaign trail. However, the tide has changed in recent months, as Comey has been the person in charge to help lead the investigation into what role Russia played in the election, as well as the Trump campaign. On Tuesday. Trump surprised many by firing Comey, which resulted in Democrats speaking out against the president for terminating the man who is currently investigating him.

In the hours since the news broke, the commander in chief has done his best to deflect away from the story, while attacking Democrats in the process. As seen on his Twitter account on May 10, Trump is shifting the focus onto the Democratic Party.

Dems have been complaining for months & months about Dir. Comey. Now that he has been fired they PRETEND to be aggrieved. Phony hypocrites!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon, Donald Trump continued to hit back at the Democrats, highlighting their alleged hypocrisy for opposing the firing of James Comey when they once had so strongly opposed him.

"Dems have been complaining for months & months about Dir. Comey. Now that he has been fired they PRETEND to be aggrieved," Trump tweeted out, before adding, "Phony hypocrites!" The former host of "The Apprentice" appears to be doubling down on social media, tweeting his frustrations on the issue on multiple occasions, dating back to late Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, and now headed into the evening.

NEW: James Comey asked for big increase in money for Russian probe in the U.S. election just days before firing https://t.co/ZVsSnw8rlP pic.twitter.com/rgxNYYpv75  The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 10, 2017

Moving forward

As Donald Trump continues to push back at the allegations that he fired James Comey because the former FBI director was investigating his campaign and those around him, the president is not making a convincing argument. Presidential Counsel Kellyanne Conway has appeared on CNN on two occasions since the story was made public, struggling in both interviews as the pressure mounts on the White House to explain Trump's decision, and his potential link back to the Kremlin.
After James Comey was fired as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Tuesday, the news quickly dominated the headlines. As critics spoke out against Donald Trump's decision, the president was quick to lash out on Twitter.

Trump on Twitter

The controversy surrounding James Comey really kicked into gear last year during the 2016 presidential election. As the FBI concluded their investigation into Hillary Clinton and her use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State, the results found that she did nothing illegal, but simply acted carelessly.

However, with just weeks before voters headed to the polls on Election Day, Comey brought the email issue back into the spotlight, only doubling down on the rhetoric coming from Republicans and the Donald Trump campaign. Due to the increased focus and speculation, the consensus is that Comey, in part, harmed Clinton's chances at victory. As time moved on, Comey was viewed as an enemy on the political left, as many Democrats and liberals accused the head of the FBI of handing Trump the election. However, Comey has been a thorn in the side of the former host of "The Apprentice" as he's led the charge in the investigation over Russia's role in the election. As Washington reacted, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was one of the most vocal critics, and instantly became a target of a late-night Trump tweet on May 9.

Cryin' Chuck Schumer stated recently, "I do not have confidence in him (James Comey) any longer." Then acts so indignant. #draintheswamp  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2017

Taking to his Twitter account on Tuesday night, Donald Trump lashed out at Sen. Chuck Schumer over his critical remarks about James Comey's firing.

"Cryin' Chuck Schumer stated recently, 'I do not have confidence in him (James Comey) any longer,'" Trump tweeted out while quoting the senator, before adding, "Then acts so indignant."

'Why now? Chuck Schumer on James Comey's dismissal  video https://t.co/ZKVUdqIROp  The Guardian (@guardian) May 10, 2017

Twitter reacts

Not long after Donald Trump sent out his tweet against Chuck Schumer, social media users responded and were clear in their opposition to the president.

"Comey getting canned is proof this admin will try to ax anybody who is not a Trump apologist, enabler and/or worshiper," filmmaker Adam Best tweeted out.

@realDonaldTrump Remember how you praised Comey and also had since Day 1 in office to fire him?  Kristina Wong  (@mskristinawong) May 10, 2017

@realDonaldTrump And you followed that up with this unhinged letter where you are just straight up f*cking lying. We watched #Comey testify, idiot. pic.twitter.com/K5Rb5nVqLR  Jules Suzdaltsev (@jules_su) May 10, 2017

@realDonaldTrump Comey getting canned is proof this admin will try to ax anybody who is not a Trump apologist, enabler and/or worshiper.  Adam Best (@adamcbest) May 10, 2017

"As any innocent man would do, you just fired the guy investigating you for treason after he testified that you were under investigation," writer Jules Suzdaltsev wrote on his Twitter account.

"BRO. YOU LOOKING SO GUILTY RIGHT NOW. BUT I LOVE WATCHING YOU DIG YOUR OWN GRAVE," comedian Kristina Wong noted. "YOU HAVE LOST YOUR MIND," song writer Holly O'Reilly posted, before adding, "I can't wait until you are impeached." The backlash continued, as it was made obvious that many Americans still don't trust the commander in chief.
It's no secret that the mainstream media doesn't see eye to eye with Donald Trump and the White House. After the recent firing of James Comey from his position as head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the administration has struggled to defend the president.

Fox News on Conway

From the day Donald Trump announced he was running for president back in the summer of 2015, it was clear that he would not be on the same page as the press. After Trump referred to illegal immigrants from Mexico as "rapists" and "murderers," the media quickly hit back, planting the seed for a feud that has grown into a daily war of words.

While Trump would routinely criticize the press during his campaign, going as far as calling reporters "terrible" people, his opposition has only grown since being elected. The president takes to Twitter on an almost daily basis to call the press "fake news," while members of his administration battle it out with cable news hosts and anchors. That was never more apparent than over the last 24 hours when Presidential Counsel Kellyanne Conway clashed with Chris Cuomo and Anderson Cooper during separate interviews on CNN. As reported by Mediaite on May 10, Fox News was not pleased with how the rival network treated Conway.

As seen during Wednesday's edition of "Outnumbered" on Fox News, several hosts on the network were quickly triggered over Anderson Cooper's handling over Kellyanne Conway.

"He rolled his eyes so hard, he actually sprained his face," co-host Kennedy said. Fellow co-host Harris Faulkner doubled down on Kenndy's remarks, referring to Cooper as "disrespectful" in his treatment of the presidential counsel.

'Sprained His Face': Fox's Outnumbered Mocks CNN's Cooper for Rolling Eyes at Conway https://t.co/lRuanWqDSX (VIDEO) pic.twitter.com/faXMukmbqr  Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 10, 2017

After co-host Abby Huntsman wondered if the media would have treated members of the Obama administration in the same way, panel guest David Avella chimed in.

"People in this industry...have lost total respect for the office of the presidency," Avella said. Co-host Meghan McCain also gave her thoughts, complaining about the alleged unfair media treatment of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who has filled in recently for White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. "Did you see what Sarah Huckabee was going through this morning?" McCain asked, before commenting, "My God."

Anderson Cooper's eyeroll is all of us right nowhttps://t.co/gM8iokoUqE pic.twitter.com/J9hyCkRfaI  CNNMoney (@CNNMoney) May 10, 2017

Moving forward

While the majority of the mainstream media is likely to continue to hold the president's feet to the fire, it appears as if Donald Trump still has a safe space at Fox News. After just four months on the job, Trump is still under a constant cloud of controversy that doesn't seem to be clearing up anytime soon.
There has been a massive spike in overdoses from pills and heroin across Arizona, leading Gov. Doug Ducey to declare a state of emergency on Monday. According to Ducey, data shows a 74 percent increase in deaths related to opioid overdoses in Arizona in the past four years. In 2013, the number of reported overdoses was 454, as compared with 2016 figures of 790.

74 percent increase in deaths from drug and opioid overdoses in Arizona

Despite various programs set up to curb overdoses and drug-related deaths, the number of people dying from overdoses in 2016 was 16 percent up on the previous year.

The Arizona Department of Health Services said more disheartening data has shown a 74 percent overall increase in deaths from drug and heroin overdoses.

The New York Daily News cited Ducey as saying that while it is unknown what might happen in 2017, the situation has become urgent and the need to prevent and stop opioid abuse is paramount. He went on to say that with opioid overdoses and deaths increasing at such an alarming rate, the state has to take action, adding it is time to call the situation what it is  an emergency. Ducey said that most people know someone who has been impacted by substance abuse, whether friends, family or neighbors. He said more must be done to prevent this.

Dr. Cara Christ, the director of Arizona Health Services said the department will be looking into improving current prescription practices and to address poly drug use.

Officials will also analyze raw data on the deaths from drug and opioid overdoses to see where problem areas lie and to make changes in order to save lives.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declares state of emergency over opioids https://t.co/02yKLhcbHe pic.twitter.com/LmNiACWuQR  Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 5, 2017

The New York Daily News reports that according to officials, the declaration of a state of emergency gives Arizona the right to increase the distribution of the lifesaving drug, naloxone, and to coordinate efforts between government and the private sector to track overdoses.

Health Emergency Operations Center set up to combat opioid crisis in Arizona

As reported by Cronkite News, hours after Duceys announcement Monday, the Arizona Department of Health Services opened a new Health Emergency Operations Center, aimed at reducing the effect of opioid drugs on victims and their families. This will also assist the health and medical community, as well as law enforcement, and will aid Arizonas economy.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declares state of emergency over opioids https://t.co/Gi84jMLkXw via @dcexaminer  Kimberly Leonard (@leonardkl) June 5, 2017

Opioid overdoses affect other U.S. states

As recently reported by Blasting News, the opioid crisis is not only affecting Arizona, as stories are coming out of Georgia of dozens of people being hospitalized from mass drug overdoses due to tainted pills, believed by the users to be Percocet. Ohio saw the potentially fatal overdose by a police officer after he patted down a drug suspect and accidentally touched fentanyl on the suspects clothing.

In Pennsylvania, two drug addiction counselors overdosed on a combination of heroin and fentanyl.
British Prime Minister Theresa Mays confidence in the Tories backfired in the UK General Election as her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority to Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party. In order to strengthen the Tory foothold, May called for an early election this year which was not due until 2020. Considered to be the second recent failed gamble by a Conservative PM, the year after David Cameron lost the Brexit referendum, the UK General Election results have brought the nation to a standstill. Former Conservative Treasury chief George Osborne called the outcome completely catastrophic for the Conservatives and for Theresa May.

Out of 650 seats in the UK parliament, the ruling Conservative Party needed 326 seats to win an overall majority to continue as Britains Prime Minister while the exit poll predicts that May will win not more than 314 seats.

The left-leaning Labour Party led by socialist Jeremy Corbyn witnessed a 9.6 percent increase in its share of the vote. Labour is predicted to win 260 seats. The British parliamentary term for such an outcome is called a hung parliament. The hung parliament and impending political crisis, which has seen the pound plunge in trading, comes less than two weeks before Brexit negotiations are scheduled to begin.

BBC forecasts #hungparliament



Con 316

Lab 265

SNP 34

Lib Dem 13

Plaid 3

Green 1

Other 18https://t.co/jpy6wsvCIX#GE2017 #BBCelection pic.twitter.com/PAUQ9aolLY  BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) June 9, 2017

What happens next?

With Conservatives losing the House of Commons majority, the Conservative Party will need to form a coalition with at least one other party or do deals to get laws through.

The Labour party will also be seeking to forge alliances to reach a majority. There is a possibility that a progressive alliance may have as many seats as the Conservatives. Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh nationalists can come together to form a progressive alliance. The Conservatives can form an alliance with Northern Irelands right-of-center Democratic Unionist Party to form a majority.

Jeremy Corbyn urges Theresa May to quit

In an early-morning speech after winning reelection to his north London district, Jeremy Corbyn made a statement calling for Theresa Mays resignation. The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. Well, the mandate shes got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

I would have thought that is enough for her to go, actually.

Labour party leader Corbyn also said, "politics has changed and it isn't going back into the box it was before," during his constituency victory speech.

A few minutes later, Theresa May delivered her own speech in which she said that Conservatives remain the largest party with majority votes saying, "it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability, and that is what we will do" as the country needs a period of stability. She made no comment on her own position in the wake of a politically devastating result for her leadership.

PM Theresa May says Conservatives will ensure much-needed "stability" for Britain as the party reels from a string of losses pic.twitter.com/LBIx3HK1EI  AFP news agency (@AFP) June 9, 2017

Even if the Conservative Party has enough votes necessary to continue to govern, Theresa May might have to resign.

Anna Soubry, a Tory member of Parliament remarked on the General Election outcome and Theresa Mays current standing in the Conservative Party:

It was a dreadful campaign  and thats me being generous. Its bad. Shes in a very difficult place. Nigel Farage also commented on the doubtful future of Theresa May as the Conservative leader.
The U.K general elections took place on the 8th of this month where voters were to elect members of parliament from 560 U.K constituencies to represent them in the house of commons. The head of the Conservant Party, Theresa May, has led the U.K since July 2016 after the resignation of David Cameron on July 13th, 2016. May's party has only garnered 317 seats below the required 326 seats needed for her party to have majority seats in the house of commons. Her party has lost 13 seats from the previous 330 it held before the elections. The percentage of voters that voted for her party stands at 42.4%.

Jeremy Corby's labor party comes second in the number of seats won, his party has won 261 seats, an increase of 32 seats from 229 seats it held before the elections. 40% of voters voted for his party. Only 68.7% of registered voters participated in the elections; this is an increase of 2.3% in turnout numbers as compared to the 7th may 2015 elections.

Who was eligible to vote?

Those that were eligible to vote were supposed to be on the electoral register. Voters were required to be over the age of 18 years during the polling day. British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens were eligible to vote. A resident in the U.K and British citizens living abroad who registered as voters 15 years ago were also eligible to vote.

The polling stations were opened from 7 am till 10 pm on the election day.

Since no party has a majority win in parliament, what next?

When no party has a single majority seat in parliament, the parliament will be referred to as a Hung Parliament. This type of house can thus not be used to form a stable government. A no confidence vote can thus be quickly passed.

Theresa May may thus consider forming a coalition government with other parties except for the Labour party which came second until majority seats are attained in parliament. If this will not be achieved, parliament will be dissolved, and fresh elections will be held. The U.K parliament is set to re-assemble on June the 13th while it will officially be open on June the 19th.

What may have influenced voting patterns

The UK's exit from EU was a big highlight during the campaigns. Theresa May called for Snap Elections so that her party can secure majority seats in parliament for Brexit negotiations; this has however not been achieved. Voters may have voted for parties that will deliver a final and smooth exit from the E.U.

The UK's exit from the EU was a big highlight during the campaigns. Theresa May called for snap elections so that her party can secure majority seats for Brexit negotiations; this has however not been achieved. Voters may have voted for parties that will deliver a final and smooth exit from the E.U.

Every vote counts. Please back your local Conservative candidate and together we can secure the best Brexit deal & build a stronger Britain. pic.twitter.com/drt7SV0EbS  Theresa May (@theresa_may) June 8, 2017

Another issue is the Scottish independence, which was a key highlight during the campaigns, that seems to have influenced how Scottish voters voted.
The number of symphony orchestras have ballooned in China over the past few years, according to China's Symphony Development Foundation.

Chen Guangxian, director of the foundation, said that there were around 30 professional symphony orchestras in China five years ago, with the number growing to 72 as of last year.

Chen was speaking at an international forum on the development of symphony orchestras in China at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center (SHOAC).

The forum was a platform for dialogue for the directors and conductors of more than 10 orchestras in China and the leaders of the Philadelphia Symphony.

Last year, SHOAC signed a five-year strategic deal with the Philadelphia Symphony. On May 26, the symphony gave its fifth performance at SHOAC.

According to Lei Wen, general manager of SHOAC, an increasing number of Chinese orchestras have been performing in China's theaters.

During the 2016-17 show season, 10 Chinese symphonies presented 16 concerts.

During the forum, Allison Vulgamore, president of the Philadelphia Symphony and Ryan Fleur, the executive vice president, shared the 117-year-old company's experience in planning concerts and show seasons, how it engages audiences and its management approach.

Tong Ming, director of the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra of Zhejiang province, was also in attendance to speak about the company's efforts in recent years.

"Our musicians would reach out to communities, enterprises and libraries and give free lectures about classical music. They would go on the stage to explain a piece before giving performance, and interact with audiences through online discussion groups," said Tong.

"We were honored to play at the Chopin Competition for Young Pianists last year. We played accompaniment for the contestants and often had to play the same piece many times. The collaboration with soloists and repeated performances was exactly what we needed as a young orchestra, though an established company may find it unacceptable," she added.

While each province has its own orchestra, a growing number of private symphonies have been emerging in China too. Chen attributed the rapid growth of symphony orchestras in China to the cultural development of Chinese people, as well as increasing support from the government.
Bela Kakas, president of the General Assembly of Csongrad County, delivers a speech at a forum on business cooperation between Shaanxi province, China and Csongrad County, Hungary on June 8 in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province. [Photo by Yang Yang/chinadaily.com.cn]

China and Hungary have made great achievements and tapped many new opportunities at the 2017 Silk Road International Exposition and the 21st Investment and Trade Forum for Cooperation between East and West China, said Bela Kakas, president of the General Assembly of Csongrad County on Wednesday in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

"We discovered possibilities in the province, shared a lot of information and made good friends, of which we can harvest the fruits in the near future," Kakas said.

A great many possibilities for future cooperation have been identified in various aspects during the Silk Road expo. For example, they prepared agreements on a sister township connecting Yulin in China with Macon in Hungary. They developed many new investments projects such as a new hotel business in Hungary with Chinese investment. They also singed an agreement on tourism development and created a brand new initiative to produce industrial hemp, according to Kakas.

In order to make sure all the agreements can be implemented smoothly, a Chinese-Hungary investment coordination office will be opened in Csongrad.

In terms of major cooperation areas between Northwest China's Shaanxi province and its sister Hungarian county Csongrad, agriculture and food processing will be top of their agenda.

Kakas also mentioned the Serbia-Belgrade-Hungary Budapest railway which was financed by the Chinese government in cooperation with the Hungarian government.

People-to-people relations form an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative and Hungary hopes to have educational cooperation at different levels, especially higher and middle levels. A laser research institute has been established and they are expecting Chinese scientists and students to come there to participate in the research, Kakas said.

"At higher and middle levels of education, there are options for further cooperation. There are already many Chinese students at universities of Csongrad and I would like to strengthen this cooperation between China and Hungary at different levels," Kakas added.

China and Hungary inked a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, in June, 2015. The MOU about jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, was said to be the first such document China has ever signed with a European country, Xinhua news reported.

The 2017 Silk Road International Exposition is a very important activity for Hungary and the Hungary government has paid great attention to all events related to the Belt and Road Initiative, said Balazs Hadady, Consul-Economic Affairs from Consulate General of Hungary Chongqing.

Hungary's interest in cooperating with China goes beyond Shaanxi province with plans to bring many medical technologies to China.

Hadady also said Hungary is famous for spa hospitals and spa medical treatment takes a leading role in the world, suggesting there may be potential for businesses cooperation with Chinese counterparts in Chongqing and Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province.

In May, Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade, Peter Szijjarto, led the largest business delegation in Hungarian history to Southwest China's Chongqing for business cooperation opportunities.

Hadaby said Hungary has drawn the most Chinese investment in Central Eastern Europe.

More than $4 billion of Chinese investment was pumped into Hungary last year, according to Szijjarto in a previous interview with China Daily.
Xiongan plan will upgrade Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and test an economy based on knowledge, innovation

China has taken to heart Daniel Burnham's admonition: "Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men's blood. Make big plans: aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die."

But, the US architect who created the master plans for downtown Washington, Chicago and Manila, could not have imagined the transformational scale of China's plans for the cities of Beijing and Tianjin and the province of Hebei.

In the three years since President Xi Jinping announced an overall plan envisioning a network of cities around Beijing and a merged mega-region, more detailed infrastructure and development plans have followed.

In November, the National Development and Reform Commission announced plans to build 1,100 kilometers of new high-speed rail at a cost of 237 billion yuan ($34.4 billion) by 2030, with the goal of linking together what will be, by far, the world's largest integrated agglomeration of urban economies.

The region, which is often called Jing-Jin-Ji, will have 110 million people. Once completed, the transportation systems will allow one-hour commuting across an area larger than England, with almost twice the population.

On April 1, the central government announced the creation of the Xiongan New Area in Hebei province, about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing. The new city will be a model for achieving the goal of the 13th Five-Year-Plan (2016-20) to transform China into an "ecological civilization". It will also be a test bed for creating a new type of economy based on knowledge and innovation, rather than on heavy industry and low wages.

Urban planning for Jing-Jin-Ji is tightly tied to many other aspects of China's plans for economic transformation. Most directly, the plans called for Tianjin to be a center of manufacturing research and for Hebei to move to higher value-added manufacturing. This will help provide jobs as China goes through industrial restructuring away from heavy industry.

Reducing polluting industry will create healthier cities. Building world-leading infrastructure ties in with President Xi's Belt and Road Initiative linking China with the rest of Eurasia and Africa.

It also gives China great export capabilities in railway equipment and infrastructure construction. The commuter rails to be constructed in Hebei will relieve congestion in Beijing, reduce the pollution caused by cars.

Finally, by making smaller cities throughout the region more attractive to live in, opportunities in their hometowns will be made available to people who now feel pressure to migrate to Beijing or Tianjin.

Agglomeration economics

Economists and urban planners see huge economic returns from providing fast communications and transportation across a region. These so-called agglomeration effects are a key part of continued economic growth. And, China still has room to grow through such urbanization.

"City clusters are key to the development of a country. The United States, the UK and Japan all have major city clusters that represent 60 percent of the country's GDP, but for China the Pearl River and Yangtze River delta regions and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region contribute only 38 percent to GDP," Shao Chunfu, professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, told rail professional.com.

Robert Guild, director of transport and communications for East Asia at the Asian Development Bank, says the ADB calculates large positive returns for infrastructure investments in China.

"Agglomeration reduces the costs of interaction. It lowers costs throughout the supply chain. Plus, it allows people to generate ideas as they serendipitously come into contact with others. Economists used to think there was an upper limit on efficient city size. But, there does not seem to be an upper limit on agglomeration economies. There does not seem to be an upper limit on city size."

Recent research reinforces the importance of taking advantage of the huge productivity of cities. For example, a 2015 paper by economists Chang-Tai Hsieh and Enrico Moretti showed that 90 percent of US growth comes from cities. Since the 1970s, most of the growth came from a small number of cities in the South and Midwest, which allowed housing to be built and encouraged development.

Strikingly, they conclude that restrictions on building new housing in highly productive cities such as New York, San Francisco or Silicon Valley reduced total US GDP by almost 10 percent by preventing people from moving to them. Instead, the potential growth of those areas just went into unproductive increases in housing prices.

Huang Wenzheng, senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, emphasizes that point: "Labor mobility is the key to economic vibrancy because it can, in principle, better allocate human capital."

Investing in the infrastructure to create extended urban agglomerations is the next logical step in China's long-term plans. Barjor Mehta, lead urban specialist for East Asia and the Pacific at the World Bank, says: "China has built a remarkable network of high-speed rail connecting all the cities. It has also been doing metros in each big city. The next thing when you want to encourage development of a metropolitan region is to seamlessly connect the smaller cities within the region with the metropolitan core. Each of the smaller cities themselves has its own internal transportation. The next big benefit you get is having much better connections within the extended metropolitan regions, linking a very large city with other cities within commuting distance around it."

The Beijing government announced plans in April to double the amount of land allocated for residential development this year to 12 million square meters, enough to meet the city's housing demand for this year, as reported by the Caixin magazine. But, the planned investments in Jing-Jin-Ji can be seen as a way to spread the productivity of Beijing and Tianjin through out Hebei.
Students of Maotanchang High School leave Maotanchang town in Anhui province on 28 buses for a nearby city on June 5, 2017, to take the national college entrance examination, known as gaokao, which starts on Wednesday. More than 10,000 residents, including parents, wave goodbye and wish the students luck on the all-important exam. [Photo by Xu Peng/CHINA DAILY ]
Insurance executive David Wong Tai-wai unwittingly threw himself into a business that was totally alien to what he had majored in. But, he tells Lin Wenjie he was 'ignited' by the challenges ahead.

When David Wong Tai-wai, chief executive officer of FWD Hong Kong and Macau, graduated from the University of Waterloo in Canada 30 years ago with a degree in computer science, he never imagined he would spend half his lifetime in the insurance business.

He had little understanding of what insurance was all about, but found himself "ignited" by the challenges the industry offers, such as analyzing insurance policy risk levels and the intricate issues concerning assets and liability. His computing background also gave him the impetus to steer the human-intensive industry into the digital era.

"Initially, I worked in the IT (information technology) unit of an insurance company. My goal was to achieve something in that field. Eventually, I found this complex and human-interactive business really interesting," Wong tells China Daily.

Having started his career with Toronto-based finance services and insurance giant Manulife in the 1980s, Wong was transferred to Hong Kong in 1996 and held key management and leadership posts across Asia, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. He had taken up nearly 10 positions in three decades with Manulife before returning to Hong Kong in 2013 to become the first chief executive of the newly created FWD Hong Kong.

FWD Group - the insurance arm of investment group Pacific Century Group headed by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's younger son Richard Li Tzar-kai - now has its footprint across eight Asian markets - Hong Kong, Macao, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan - offering policies like life and medical insurance, general insurance and employee benefits. It boasts more than 1.2 million customers and a staff strength exceeding 2,900.

On joining FWD, Wong set an ambitious goal for the group to be among Hong Kong's top five life insurers within five years. He rolled out three key strategies focusing on insurtech (insurance tech), health solutions and customer experience.

FWD said earlier this year it would pump HK$500 million into developing proprietary insurtech solutions - more than five times the amount the company had poured into the sector in the past three years.

Customer experience

"Technology and mobile phones are changing customer behavior, as well as the way of doing business. Thus, it's imperative that we develop insurtech in line with our aim of enhancing customer experience," says Wong.

He stresses that young people, particularly the "mobile-dependent generation", would rather use a digital platform to buy products nowadays instead of going to an agent while, on the services side, both the younger and older generations also prefer using multiple channels to communicate with customer services staff through mobile phones and digital platforms besides face-to-face encounters.

FWD started its commerce digital platform iFWD in mid-2015, enabling customers to purchase products and talk with staff online. For mobile services, the company has an app providing easy access to customers' insurance policies, allowing them to view key data about their policies or make changes to it with the mobile device.

With the creation of iFWD, the group has emerged as the market leader in direct sales of life insurance products through digital platforms in Hong Kong. Statistics show that iFWD generated more than HK$140 million in annual premium equivalent (APE) last year. For general insurance, the platform raked in more than HK$5 million in new business premiums with over 40,000 policies underwritten.

FWD saw the value of its new businesses grow by 44 percent in 2016 to HK$1.13 billion, compared with the previous year, while the APE posted 36-percent growth to HK$2.63 billion.

However, FWD is not the only insurance company that has gone digital. Major competitors like pan-Asian life insurance group AIA, Paris-based AXA and Prudential have embraced insurtech.

Cultural difference

So, what makes FWD different from its peers? Wong believes it's the company's culture.

"The key part is to create a culture that aligns with our strategies. For us, we encourage our employees to be different and innovative. We want them to feel fulfilled when making people's lives a lot easier by using digital tools, so they'll be keen to push through these strategies. We also advocate a win-win environment, with everyone in the company working and succeeding together."

Wong says FWD had set out as a pan-Asia insurer and its goal is to cover most Asian countries. "So, any country with a big population will be among our top choices."

To round it up, FWD has applied to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission for a life insurance license and is keeping its fingers crossed that the nod would be forthcoming.

Contact the writer at cherrylin@chinadailyhk.com
FWD executive David Wong Tai-wai says the insurance group had set out as a pan-Asia insurer and its goal is to cover most Asian countries. Roy Liu / China Daily

Apart from helming local insurer FWD Hong Kong, David Wong Tai-wai is dedicated to the development of micro-insurance in immature markets in Asia.

He serves as an advisor under the United Nations Development Program for ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) regulators on rural financial inclusion and micro-insurance development.

Wong has had a long relationship with member states of ASEAN since 2004 when his former employer Manulife dispatched him to establish a foothold in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. His office in Hong Kong testifies to the relationship - its walls adorned with paintings by Cambodian and Vietnamese artists, depicting the exotic landscapes in these emerging countries.

He says while the insurance markets in Japan and Hong Kong are already in place, those in Cambodia, Burma and other developing countries are just opening up, with an infrastructure network that has yet to come on.

"In these countries, the city and rural areas have very different economies. The banks or insurance companies prefer to set up branches in the big cities instead of the countryside, so the distribution and payment channels in those poor areas are not ready yet. That's the biggest problem. In such a situation, how to protect the low-income people against perils? Micro-insurance is what we want to push in these developing countries," says Wong.

Micro-insurance refers to insurance with low premiums and coverage, usually targeting a population ignored by mainstream commercial and social insurance programs.

"Typically, the premium for micro-insurance is $10 to $20 annually, with coverage of $1,000. But, due to the poor transportation system, insurance agents need to ride a motorbike for three days to go to the village, just to take that $10 premium? That's the distribution problem. On the payment side, as most of these places are still a cash society, companies need to hire collectors to get the money and even if there's a bank, it will charge a $1.5 handling fee for a $20 transfer. The whole payment procedure just doesn't work."

Fortunately, with the development of digital technology, things will get much easier. Wong intends to promote online purchasing of insurance products and the use of digital wallets in those countries as his next step.

"The odds for success are much higher if we use the internet to promote financial inclusion because, even in Vietnam, 80 percent of the people in the rural areas use mobile phones. If digital wallets become popular, the selling and payment procedures would be far more effective and would be a very big help in terms of promoting financial inclusion and micro insurance."

Although the digital revolution can bridge the gap between villagers and insurance, most villagers don't even know what insurance is, so educating the local people has been Wong's major task in the past few years.

"People in Southeast Asian countries are coming to understand the merits of insurance, and then we can build up the distribution and payment channels before starting to make an impact," he says.

According to Wong, he has urged ASEAN governments to legalize the whole distribution procedure and regulate insurance companies, while agents need to get a license before they can sell insurance policies. As insurance is a regulated industry in every country, regulatory consistency with other markets is important to the domestic insurance market development.

Regulators in ASEAN countries have introduced regulations on many fronts. The Philippines will launch its new RBC (Risk-Based Capital)-2 framework next year and continue to synchronize its solvency regulations around risk-based capital frameworks that have been established in Europe, while Singapore, Malaysia, and several other countries already have regulations on cyber security, according to the 2017 Asia-Pacific insurance outlook report by London-based accounting firm Ernst & Young.

cherrylin@chinadailyhk.com
Formerly a prolific studio responsible for creating iconic characters well-loved by Chinese audiences, Shanghai Animation Film Studio is now looking to regain its past glory with a focus on originality and innovation

Before Chinese children discovered Batman and Wonder Woman, their idols were the Calabash Brothers, a team of seven superheroes, each with his own special ability, on a mission to save their grandfather from evil monsters.

There was also the Sheriff Black Cat, an expert at cracking criminal cases in a Zootopia-like realm, as well as cartoon characters from Chinese folklore and classic literature such as the legendary Monkey King.

The animated form of these fantasy characters were created by Shanghai Animation Film Studio (SAFS), the longest-running animation studio in China that celebrated its 60th anniversary on June 1.

The studio's earlier masterpieces such as Baby Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother, The Nine-colored Deer and Feelings of Mountains and Waters received global acclaim, winning prestigious awards at film festivals in Cannes, Venice and Berlin.

"We've experienced two creative peaks in China's animation production, first in the 1960s, then in the 1980s, earning ourselves acclaim in the international animation scene," said SAFS director Zheng Hu during a forum celebrating the studio's 60th anniversary in Shanghai.

History of animation in China

China started producing animations as early as the 1920s when Wan Laiming and his three younger brothers created Uproar in the Studio, a film about a mischievous paper man messing up an artist's studio. In 1940, the quartet created Princess Iron Fan, the first animation film that had dialogue. When SAFS was founded in 1957, the brothers were among the most important artists in the studio and they set the goal of creating uniquely Chinese animated stories by exploring diverse styles and expressions from traditional Chinese art.

Among these artists was Yan Dingxian, who after mimicking the facial expressions of the Monkey King in a mirror decided to design the character with a peach-shaped patch of red in the middle of its face. Yan, who is 81 years old today, recalled that in 1960, when the studio kicked off the Monkey King project, renowned artists were invited from Beijing to create the prototype designs for the characters and settings. The studio had even gotten Peking opera artists to illustrate to the cartoon makers how they played the Monkey King on the stage.

Yan and his colleagues even learned and practiced fighting techniques using the red stick the Monkey King wields so as to better understand the movements which they would later translate into animation.

Today, the original edition of The Monkey King ranks among the top 100 Chinese films on Douban.com, one of the leading film and reading portals in China. The Monkey King that was designed by Yan is still one of the most iconic cartoon images in the country and can often be found on bank cards, T-shirts and even fast food meal packages.

Determined to find a distinctive Chinese style of their own, the staff at SAFS experimented with using ink painting in the production process, recalled artist Duan Xiaoxuan.

"Our rich Chinese culture provided endless resources for creation. We were intrigued by ink art because it was the most distinctive expression of Chinese aesthetics," said the 83-year-old.

It took Duan and her colleagues 30 days to create the first 50 ink-style animation frames. The team would go on to create the first ink-style animation feature Baby Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother which was released in 1961. Duan added that ink-style animations by SAFS have won 18 international prizes in the past.

However, China's animation industry went through nearly a decade of sluggish development starting from the 1990s, losing audiences to Japanese and American cartoons. While leading animation studios in the world would invest millions of dollars in the making of a new film, China's animation sector suffered from a lack of funding and talents, as well as weak support from administrative departments, said Li Yang, a veteran voice actor who rose to fame for his portrayals of Donald Duck and the Monkey King in Mandarin.

In the 2000s, however, SAFS started combining the techniques and styles of established artists, such as Qi Baishi, Li Keran and Cheng Shifa, which it had been using all the while, with CGI technology and started to regain its luster as an animation outfit. Its efforts had not gone unnoticed as it was later commissioned to create short films for the World Expo 2010 held in Shanghai.
Models show creations by both Swiss and Chinese designers during InnoFashion 2017 in Beijing. Photos provided to China Daily

While Switzerland is mostly known in China for its luxury watches, young Swiss designers are also looking to build their names here.

So, InnoFashion 2017, an event that celebrates fashion, design and textile innovation in China and Switzerland, was recently held at the Swiss embassy in Beijing to coincide with Swiss President Doris Leuthard's visit to China.

The event showcased seven Swiss and Chinese brands: Julian Zigerli, YVY, Wuethrichfuerst, Akris, Wang Changrong, Roderic Wong and Pronounce.

There are also jewelry pieces from designers at the Geneva High School of Art and Design. Swiss watchmaker Hublot also exhibited works highlighting Swiss lace.

As for the growing links between the two countries, Switzerland and China established an Innovative Strategic Partnership in 2016 and launched the Sino-Swiss Year of Tourism covering 2016 and 2017.

Jean-Jacques de Dardel, Swiss ambassador to China, says: "We know that you cannot order innovation, or inventions. Instead, you need to rely on the private sector and individual minds for breakthroughs. That is why we have InnoFashion.

"We'd like to use this platform to exemplify such collaboration involving the government, private sector and individuals by bringing young creative minds together," he says.
F. Lit Yu, author of the Legend of Snow Wolf, signs the book for the readers at the Book Expo held at the Javits Convention Center in New York on May 31. XIAO JIAQIAO / FOR CHINA DAILY

New York - Intrigue, romance, wandering warriors and amazing martial artists - the traditional elements of wuxia (martial arts) adventure fiction - have found a new outlet in English.

The Legend of Snow Wolf: Legacy Edition - an English-language martial arts epic - was launched on May 31 at the Book Expo held at the Javits Convention Center in New York.

Written by Chinese-American writer F. Lit Yu, the work was first published in 2012 and 2013 in two volumes. As one reviewer described it, "The Legend of Snow Wolf is to martial arts what Harry Potter is to sorcery."

The story takes place on the plains of Mongolia in the time of legends, when wolves and men fought for dominance of the steppe. Sochai, a young warrior, finds himself mysteriously poisoned. He will die a slow death unless he can find an antidote. All clues point to the goddess Snow Wolf, the once revered goddess and savior of her people.

Author Yu lives in New York City and works in the financial industry. He is an avid follower of Chinese martial arts, strategy and military history, and he describes himself as a writer who ended up in a bank.

"I needed more income to support the family," he said. "So when I came out of school, there wasn't money to shoot a big film, but it doesn't cost money to write a big book. So eventually I started writing while working to support the family."

He had been a fan of martial arts fiction since childhood, especially the novels of Jin Yong.

"I love the world of martial arts," he said. "It is balanced in terms of men and women, rich and poor, officials and common people. If your kung fu is good, you climb higher. It is another world, one we don't have now."
Michelin-starred chef Bill Brogan with his caterer's guide to Chinese cuisine. Provided to China Daily

The United Kingdom's main university catering body has released a guide to authentic Chinese cuisine, potentially helping colleges around the country satisfy the growing number of Chinese students.

Under the direction of Michelin-starred chef and Chinese food expert Bill Brogan, the University Caterers Organisation compiled a list of 23 Chinese dishes that can be prepared in UK university kitchens. The organization hopes to better serve Chinese students, many of whom prepare meals at home in the hope of finding a taste of home.

"A lot of Chinese students will forgo university food and cook their own," said Brogan, who is head of catering at Cambridge University's St John's College. "I've found that while most Chinese people love Britain, they don't rate British food as highly. Now, UK university kitchens are trying to take on more and more real, authentic Chinese food."

As a young chef, Brogan cut his teeth on French food, earning a Michelin star at Le Talbooth in Dedham, Essex. His passion for Chinese food began in 2006 on a visit to the country, and Brogan returned many times after marrying a Chinese woman. The couple started taking people on food tours to several Chinese cities.

In 2015, the University Caterers Organisation enlisted him to lead a group of 15 university catering heads on a two-week tour of university kitchens in China, where they built up their knowledge of how best to feed the United Kingdom's significant Chinese student population.

The number of Chinese students in the UK far exceeds most countries and China is the only nation sending a significantly increasing population of students abroad, according to the UK Council for International Student Affairs.

In 2016, 91,215 Chinese students were studying in the UK for higher education degrees. The number has increased annually by 1.8 percent since 2013.

Matthew White, director of catering at the University Caterers Organisation said:"China represents one of the UK's key international recruitment markets and (we) believed it was important to improve collective understanding of the food, culture and university provision of a world superpower whose population is fast approaching 1.4 billion."

With dishes such as stir-fried duck strips with onion, and pumpkin with pork shoulder, the organization's cookbook offers easy-to-prepare dishes that are scalable, all based on recipes sourced from Chinese university kitchens. Brogan said modifications had to be made based on the availability of ingredients and specialist cooking equipment, as well as British tastes.

"We had to modify some of them, as some wouldn't quite work here," Brogan said. "Some of the ingredients would be difficult to get, and some of the British students wouldn't eat certain dishes. Chicken feet and that type of ingredient wouldn't go down well."

Like many UK university halls, St John's College doubles as a bed-and-breakfast in the summer, and Brogan's staff have undergone training in Chinese cooking to serve tourists on visits to Cambridge, a hugely popular destination for Chinese visitors to the UK.
Mark Eyskens describes China's Belt and Road Initiative as an invaluable aid for global needs. Provided to China Daily

New trade pact with China would be welcome', former Belgian leader says

With the Belt and Road Initiative now globally recognized, the European Union should further explore "ways and means" to invest in big infrastructure projects worldwide with China, according to Mark Eyskens, former Belgian prime minister.

The 84-year-old economist says the EU is enthusiastic about the free trade agreement reached with Vietnam, and adds that the next agreement must build further on this accomplishment interms of legal security, market access and dispute settlement.

There is a huge need to build  to construct infrastructure such as railways, ports, roads to ports, airports  and this will be very costly, and it will not be easy to arrange the required financing, Eyskens told China Daily at his office in Brussels.

The scholar and European political expert, who has published 58 books, says the essential global economic issue of today is investment, because the world's population will reach 10 billion by the end of this century.

He described China's Belt and Road Initiative as an invaluable aid for global needs.

He says the problem Europe has today is a lack of investment, because the bloc has other priorities. It has spent a lot of money on pensions and healthcare, although the European Union has made some effort to increase investment by earmarking money for the European Investment Plan (2015-17).

But he says it is not targeted enough and the money was not always used in the most efficient way. In fact a European Court of Auditors report criticized the European Commission's approach. There is a need to elaborate a grand strategy to truly create innovation and employment by stimulating intercontinental cooperation.

"The big infrastructure projects that can really spur innovation and growth are outside Europe, and many are in Asia and China," Eyskens says.

He says the Belt and Road Initiative is very important for the European Union, which needs to find the ways and means to reorient European investments to the big projects in the world.

"For instance, how Europeans should get involved in building airports, seaports, big channels and canals and so on is very important," Eyskens says.

Eyskens says Europeans are extremely interested in what China is doing, including the way that Beijing finances investment. In that regard, Eyskens says what China had done in creating the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is "very important".

"With some European countries becoming stakeholders in the bank, this may become a great instrument for all," Eyskens says. "Investment must be a two-way street, with long-term benefits for all, embedded in multilateral agreements regarding fair trade, legal security, in-country value and corporate social responsibility."

If that can be done, he says, the European Investment Bank can possibly work as a partner. During the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on May 14 and 15, the European Investment Bank signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese government.

"We've tried to convince the European Investment Bank also to go outside Europe, to Asia, where most of the world's economic growth is realized, and thus where innovation and employment are created."

He says that in 2013 the European Council decided to consider ways to assist European industries  as the Chinese and Japanese governments do  to acquire major infrastructure contracts through competitive long-term loans.

"This may happen in the near future and make AIIB and Europe truly complementary," Eyskens says.

Apart from infrastructure projects, Eyskens also suggests both sides can cooperate on big data, digital devices and all that has to do with modern communications and scientific research.

"In addition, it is also important to invest in brains  and that requires, of course, education and research exchanges of scholars, professors and students," Eyskens says.

He says the University of Leuven, where he was chairman between 1971-76, is hosting about 2,000 Chinese students, and many Belgian students are studying in China.

"That's wonderful for building the future together and learning from each other," he says.

Eyskens has been to China several times. When he was finance minister in the late 1970s he visited China and was impressed by the great changes made in the following decades.

He says China's reforms struck him as having transformed the populous country, and that Deng Xiaoping was a "very, very great statesman". He urges the EU to construct "a web of free trade agreements" with other economies.

"In front of a dilemma between a web and a wall, many people today are what we call the victims of globalization  think they have to replace the web by walls surrounding countries, which is psychologically explicable, but makes no sense at all," he says, calling himself a European federalist.

"It is counterproductive and it's against the future, so we have to save our webs over and destroy the walls," he says.

With China and the EU considering a bilateral investment pact, Eyskens strongly believes that new French President Emmanuel Macron may support a free trade agreement between the EU and China.

He says the Trans-Pacific Partnership  a trade deal led by former US president Barack Obama with Asia-Pacific economic giants  is "dead", but the EU is ready to announce the restart of the talks of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the EU and US.

"This is in the best interest of both partners," he says.

As a European federalist, he believes the EU still needs to do a lot of work to build itself into a strong bloc.

In 1991, Eyskens, as Belgium's foreign minister, says Europe was an economic giant, a political dwarf and a military worm. Asked after 26 years if his views have changed, he responds: "My answer is no, no and no. I was indeed right then, and I am still right now with that sentence."

He continues: "We have no seat at the table of the Security Council. Germany is not at the table, while Germany is the biggest economy in Europe. So this is quite unbalanced indeed. In military terms, Europe is simply insignificant."

To change the situation, Eyskens urges an increased investment in defense, infrastructure and big research projects at the European level.

He says the European budget is 1 percent of European GDP, whereas the federal budget in the United States represents 27 percent of the country's GDP.

"So we have to increase the European budget. And then, of course, the national governments could lower their national budgets and lower their taxes; and, of course, the European Parliament should vote some taxation," Eyskens says.

His father Gaston Eyskens (1905-88) served six times as Belgian prime minister after World War II. At the age of 12, the young Mark Eyskens was introduced to then-British prime minister Winston Churchill during a visit to his father's house in Belgium. He remembers seeing the great statesman sitting in a chair and found him inelegant. He says he saw a rather fat old man chewing a big cigar.

"I had hoped for some important sentences that I would remember my whole life, but Churchill was half asleep," Eyskens recalls. "And he just says that I was a nice boy."

The person Churchill called a "nice boy" is now turning 84, having served as prime minister of Belgium in the 1980s and  as his father did  in many other cabinet posts for 16 years. He says he greatly benefited from being "in politics and with politicians since boyhood, because everyone came to my father's house".

Sitting in the 19th century office of the PA International Foundation about five-minutes from European Union headquarters, Eyskens says his lifelong career as politician in various posts has taught him how to compromise, which informs his role as foundation chairman, overseeing humanitarian projects and identifying solutions to issues of public health in several parts of the world.

But what has been most astonishing is his prolific writing. He is the author of almost 60 books on politics and economics.
Former Federal Bureau of Investigations Director James Comey departs after testifying before a closed session of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 8, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Former FBI director James Comey accused President Donald Trump on Thursday of firing him to try to undermine its investigation into possible collusion by his campaign team with Russia's alleged efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.

In the most eagerly anticipated U.S. congressional hearing in years, Comey told lawmakers the Trump administration had lied and defamed him and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the president dismissed him on May 9.

During more than two hours of testimony, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee he believed Trump had directed him in February to drop an FBI probe into the Republican president's former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of the broader Russia investigation.

Sitting alone at a small table facing a bank of senators who fired question after question, Comey gave short, deliberative answers. He painted a picture of an overbearing president who he did not trust and who pressured him to stop the FBI Flynn probe.

Comey, however, did not make any major new revelations about any links between Trump or his associates and Russia, an issue that has dogged the president's first months in office and distracted from his policy goals such as overhauling the U.S. healthcare system and making tax cuts.

Nevertheless, the Russia matter likely will continue to overshadow Trump's presidency, especially as the FBI probe has already ensnared not only Flynn but also Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has had to recuse himself from the investigation.

After Trump fired Comey, the administration gave differing reasons for his dismissal. Trump later contradicted his own staff and acknowledged on May 11 he fired Comey because of the Russia matter.

Asked why he thought Trump fired him, Comey said he did not know for sure. But he added: "Again, I take the president's words. I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him, and he decided to fire me because of that."

Comey would not say whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice, but added it would be up to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is now investigating the Russia allegations, "to sort that out."

"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning," Comey testified.

Trump critics say any efforts by the president to hinder an FBI probe could amount to obstruction of justice. Such an offense potentially could lead to Trump being impeached by Congress, although his fellow Republicans who control the Senate and House of Representatives have shown little appetite for such a move.

Comey's accusations could further mire Trump's administration in legal difficulties. Mueller and several congressional committees are investigating what U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded was effort by Russia to help Trump win the election by discrediting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton through the hacking and disclosure of damaging emails and other steps.

Russia has denied such interference. The White House as denied any collusion with Moscow.

From Capitol Hill to San Francisco's Castro district, Comey's appearance attracted television "watch parties" beckoning politics buffs to taverns, restaurants and living rooms to view an event some likened to the "Super Bowl of Washington."

'UNDER SIEGE'

In a speech to supporters across town, Trump vowed to fight on. "We're under siege ... but we will come out bigger and better and stronger than ever," he said.

"We know how to fight and we will never give up," Trump added.

Trump's personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, said Comey's testimony proved the president was not under any investigation and there is no evidence a single vote was changed as a result of Russian interference in last year's election.

Kasowitz denied Trump ever told Comey he needed and expected his loyalty, as Comey said, and also slammed the former FBI chief for saying he leaked details of a conversation with the president. Kasowitz added that "we will leave it the appropriate authorities" to determine whether Comey's leak "should be investigated along with all those others being investigated."

Comey said Trump's administration had defamed him in comments made after his firing by saying that the FBI was in disarray and that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. "Those were lies, plain and simple," Comey said.

Comey said he felt he needed to get his account of his conversations with Trump in the public sphere in the hope it might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, which later occurred. Comey said he showed copies of his memo memorializing his talks with Trump to people outside the Justice Department and "asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter."

Comey said he shared the memo with a professor at Columbia Law School, a reference to Daniel Richman, who confirmed to Reuters he was the one Comey referred to in his testimony.

Comey said he did not know if there are tapes of his conversations with Trump but said if so they should be made public.

Trump's fellow Republicans on the committee questioned Comey intently but did not attack his integrity or try to treat him roughly, as a witness making accusations against a sitting Republican president might expect.

Comey testified he kept notes after meeting with Trump because "I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document."

U.S. stocks closed slightly higher as the market reacted little to Comey's testimony, viewing his testimony alone as unlikely to mark the end of Trump's presidency.

Comey said Trump did not attempt to get him to drop the overall Russia investigation, just the part of if that related to Flynn, who the president fired in February for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of his conversations last year with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio asked Comey whether he perceived the president's request to let the Flynn matter go as an order given Trump's position as president, the setting and the circumstances surrounding the conversation.

"Yes," Comey replied.

Laura Donohue, a Georgetown University Law Center professor, said if Trump fired Comey to change the course of the Russia investigation, that would constitute obstruction of justice.

Both the conversation between Trump and Comey about Flynn and the firing itself were obstructive acts, she said. "He wanted to scuttle the investigation - it is hard to see it any other way," she said.

Trump has previously called Comey a "showboat" and a "grandstander" and said he was thinking of "this Russia thing" in dismissing him.

Reuters
Air quality monitoring authorities in Beijing and Paris renewed a pledge for further technological cooperation on Thursday, which could help China's capital combat smog, a senior official said at a forum on clean air.

Under the new agreement, researchers from the two cities will deepen technological cooperation in air quality monitoring, forecasting and emergency response, said Ming Dengli, head of international cooperation at the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, at the International Forum for Metropolitan Clean Air Actions.

The event, which gathered many environment officials and researchers from around the world, will conclude on Friday.

"The deal could help keep exchanges stable and smooth, showing the strong support from Beijing and Paris environmental authorities," she said.

The two air quality monitoring centers first inked an agreement three years ago, but "we started cooperation in 2000, when we learned about Paris' monitoring technologies", Ming said.

After years of practice tackling air pollution, Beijing has developed new forecasting models. Many measures have won praise from Paris and other cities.

Beijing has shut down or required changes at existing coal-fired power plants to reducee missions. The moves are "stricter than what New York City has done", she said.

But exchanges between Beijing and foreign cities with similar smog would help the capital move faster to curb pollution, said Li Xiaohua, deputy head of the bureau.

Beijing has also conducted research on measures like fuel taxes and low-emission zones, which have been implemented in Paris.

"If Beijing would set up the low emission zone like we did in Paris, the restriction should cover as many vehicles as possible, and build an efficient control system to guarantee the violators would be caught and get deserved punishment," said Jean-Loup Caruana, air quality adviser for the Paris region's environmental affairs directorate.

In Paris, diesel cars with high emissions are not allowed to run through the city, and face fines of 130 euros ($146) every time they are caught, he said.

But the restriction only covers 3 percent of all vehicles, which is "too small to make a huge difference", he added, suggesting that Beijing cover more vehicles and regions.
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Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung on May 29 signed Plan No. 112/KH-UBND on implementation of the strategy on development of Hanois cultural industries by 2020, with orientations toward 2030__Photo: Internet

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Hanoi will prioritize the development of cultural industries toward professionalism and modernity to make full use of the citys advantages as a leading political, economic and cultural center of the country.This is one of the objectives set fourth in a plan issued by the Municipal People's Committee on May 29 to specifiy the implementation of the Strategy on development of Hanois cultural industries by 2020, with orientations toward 2030.The plan emphasizes that cultural industries, including advertisement, architecture, software and entertaining games, handicrafts, designing, cinematography, publication, fashion, performing arts, fine arts, photography and exhibition, television and broadcasting, and cultural tourism, will be developed on the basis of creativity and innovation, science and technology, and intellectual property rights while making the fullest use of economic aspects of cultural values. In the near future, these industries will become important sectors with great contributions to economic growth and job creation in the capital city.To this end, Hanoi will diversify and improve the quality of cultural products and services and on that basis build and develop some cultural product and service brands with priority given to those in which the city has advantages and potential such as cinematography, performing arts, advertisement, handicrafts, fashion, and cultural tourism.The city will also gradually develop other cultural industries, including architecture, designing, publication, fine arts, photography, and exhibition, into important service sectors, making positive and effective contributions to the national socio-economic development.Specifically, in each year during the 2016-2020 period, Hanoi will produce 3-5 feature films and 9-12 scientific, animated and documentary films. The city will also upgrade and modernize movie theaters so as to attract more viewers.By 2020, turnover of the performing arts industry will reach approximately USD 5 billion. Annually, around 3,500-4,000 professional performances will be held and 15-20 new plays of traditional and modern theaters will be written and staged.Also by 2020, the cultural tourism industry will account for 10-15 percent of the tourism revenue of over USD 5.2 million.-
HA NOI  The Koyu & Unitek Co Ltd is expecting to export the first batch of 40 tonnes of Vietnamese poultry products to Japan later this year.

According to Nguyen Van Quyen, head of the companys export project board, the group is waiting for the Japanese veterinary agencies to grant the export licence.

It took two years for the firm to complete all the necessary procedures to export its poultry products to Japan, he said.

The biggest problem is the building of its own monitoring management programme, in line with the standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Japanese veterinary organisations.

Japan is particularly interested in products originating from poultry without avian flu diseases and ingestion of antibiotics, Quyen noted.

The building of a safe buffer zone is difficult, but the company has received support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the field.

The company has invested in building a chain of production with bio-safety processes and the application of advanced technology.

It expects two seed farms and three commercial ones to serve exports, in addition to six to seven manufacturing farms to meet the domestic demand.

Apart from Japan, the company has studied other markets such as Europe, Australia and Canada, Quyen said.

Japan is a potential market for Vietnamese farm produce, as under the Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, tax rates for farm produce have been reduced sharply.

In addition to this, as the proportion of agricultural production has become smaller in Japans gross domestic product (GDP), its import demands for farm produce have increased in recent years, the Thoi bao Tai chinh Viet Nam (Vietnam Financial Times) reported.  VNS
HA NOI  The price of Vietnamese export rice has hit a three-year high thanks to the rising import demands and the restricted supply source.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the demand for Viet Nams 5 per cent broken rice, has been rising, hitting US$390 per tonne in the early days of June, against $360 per tonne to $380 per tonne in late May.

This is the highest price since December 2014, the ministry said, attributing it to the rising global demand for rice imports, especially in the Asian region.

The export price rise has also caused the paddy price in the domestic market to soar. A tonne of 5 per cent broken rice in the domestic market stood between VN7.65 million ($340) and VN7.75 million in early June, up VN550,000 ($24) per tonne against last month.

The global rice market has been heating up after top importing countries, such as Bangladesh and the Philippines, announced to import roughly 950,000 tonnes of rice recently.

Bangladesh last month said it would buy 250,000 tonnes to 300,000 tonnes of Vietnamese rice immediately and planned to increase its rice imports from Viet Nam to 500,000 tonnes by the end of 2017.

It will also buy one million tonnes of Vietnamese rice annually until 2022.

The Philippines also said that it would issue a tender late this month or July to import 250,000 tonnes of the grain from key suppliers Thailand, Viet Nam and India.

Besides this, to meet the demand for rice until the year-end, as well as up to the first quarter of 2018, the Philippines is expected to import at least 1.5 million tonnes to 1.6 million tonnes of rice.

Other regional countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia have also planned to import rice, while the demand for rice in China and Africa is also on the upward curve.

While the demand for rice is rising, supply sources are restricted, even "being exhausted", international experts said.

At a rice conference in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 29, executive manager of Rice Trader Jeremy Zwinger said that the global sources of rice supply have been constricted. Even Thailands abundant stockpile of rice has fallen sharply.

In Thailand, in May, the rice stockpile was only 4.32 million tonnes. In late May, Thailand floated tenders to sell 1.82 million tonnes of rice. Thailands ability to sell rice in the coming months will be severely limited, as the countrys paddy harvest, having an output of three million tonnes, is in September.

In Viet Nam, the domestic stockpile is also restricted with most of the rice being exported to China. The countrys new paddy harvest season is in August.

The same trend is seen in India where rice exporters are facing the challenge of meeting their export contracts, until the next harvest season.

Experts have forecast that the global rice price will increase by roughly $20 per tonne in the next three months.

They have advised rice exporting enterprises to not sell the crop in a hurry, hoping that the price of 5 per cent broken rice would increase to at least $400 per tonne.  VNS
South Korean investors in the electronics industry in Viet Nam will receive many incentives as part of the Governments growing focus on this field for the countrys industrial development, officials told a conference held on Thursday in Seoul.  Photo baovinhphuc.vn

SEOUL  South Korean investors in the electronics industry in Viet Nam will receive many incentives as part of the Governments growing focus on this field for the countrys industrial development, officials told a conference held on Thursday in Seoul.

The conference was held by Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) and Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade), in coordination with the Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea. Its aim was to promote cooperation between the two countries in the electronic and mechanical industries and to introduce the investment advantages for South Korean companies in Viet Nam.

Sun Seok-gi, deputy chairman of Kotra, praised Viet Nam for supporting firms in taking opportunities offered by the bilateral trade agreement which came into force at the end of 2015. He said that the conference provided an opportunity for participants to address difficulties encountered by firms and suggest measures to promote cooperation.

Vietnamese Ambassador to South Korea Nguyen Vu Tu said the Government of Viet Nam has placed electronic component manufacturing at the focus of its industrial development, adding that South Korean firms would be eligible for incentives when investing in this sector.

Viet Nams rapid international integration and active participation in a growing number of free trade agreements would also benefit South Korean firms investing in Viet Nam to penetrate and expand regional and global markets, he said.

Deputy Director of Vietrade Bui Huy Son said that to promote trade and investment, the two sides need to focus on their relative advantages. For example, Son said the Vietnamese Government recently issued a support programme for parts-supplying industry development.

South Korea has been the top foreign investor in Viet Nam since 2014, with 70 per cent of its investments going into manufacturing and processing.

According to Tran Kim Oanh from Vietrade, Viet Nam had a number of advantages for South Korean investors, such as social and macro-economic stability, a young population, big consumption market, advantages in exports, and attractive investment incentives.  VNS
HA NOI  The turnover of Viet Nams tuna exports reached US$216 million in the first five months of 2017, a year-on-year rise of 20 per cent.

The strong growth was recorded in canned tuna products (35 per cent) and frozen tuna (11 per cent), reported VASEP.

Viet Nam currently exports tuna to 79 countries and territories across the globe, with the US and EU traditionally being the major markets.

Despite the impressive growth, tuna exports are encountering some difficulties in raw materials and import duties in some key markets.

Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has proposed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)s Directorate of Fisheries should promote fishing under the purse seines technique.

This will ensure they can meet the future requirements of the industry and the global demand for fish.

VASEP said the advantage of seine fishing lay in not having to use fish aggregation devices, as these have a negative effect on the tuna population, including juvenile tuna.

The association suggested MARD and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to soon reach an agreement with the EU on the specific quota for tuna exports to Europe.

It also requested the MoIT consider reducing tariffs on tuna exports to Japan to zero per cent, as Thailand and the Philippines, to improve the competitiveness of the Vietnamese product.

Japan is currently one of the eight largest countries importing tuna from Viet Nam. Since 2013, the countrys tuna imports from Viet Nam have seen a steady decline, dropping it from the third largest importer to the sixth. The key reason for the decline is that Viet Nams tuna products bear significantly higher taxes than those of competing exporters in the region such as Thailand and the Philippines.  VNS
ROME  Vietnam Food Expo 2017, the largest show of the countrys food industry, was introduced to businesses and entrepreneurs in Rome on Thursday.

The event was organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy and Lazio regions trade promotion agency Lazio Innova at the agency headquarters in Rome.

Speaking at the event, Bui Vuong Anh, trade counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy, said the fair, slated to run in HCM City from November 15 to 18, was a national-level trade promotion activity that specialised in the agro-fishery and food processing sectors.

Ilaria Turatti, head of Turatti Pacific Co Ltd, a food processing company that operates in Viet Nam, shared her experience of investing in the Southeast Asian country.

Businesses that attended the event expressed interest in the Vietnamese market, which they consider a gateway to the Asia-Pacific region.

Last year, Italy, as the Country of Honour at Vietnam Food Expo 2016, had 40 stalls that showcased local specialties and food processing machinery.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Vuong Anh said Vietnamese firms and their Italian counterparts from Lazio had been working together to develop distribution channels and products for wholesale markets.

An agreement on establishing twinning relations between Ha Noi and Lazio is expected to be signed this year, he added.  VNS
By Luong Thu Huong

My aspiration to set foot on the set of a Hollywood blockbuster has recently been fulfilled, and I didnt even have to cross the Pacific.

Instead, I visited the backdrop for Kong: Skull Island, right in Viet Nams northern province of Ninh Binh.

Located within Trang An Eco Tourism Complex, Skull Island was officially opened to public in mid-April and has attracted a huge number of Kong: Skull Island fans.

It took me over an hour to travel 100-kilometre distance from Ha Noi to Trang An Eco Tourism Complex by car. It was already mid summer so I had to depart early in the morning to arrive at the island before it was too hot and sunny.

It was my third visit to the complex, and also the my most pleasant one. My two previous visits, which coincided with the festive season, left an impression that the complex was too crowded with visitors. I could hardly manage to find a place on a boat.

Offensive: The "tribal people" use a special brown mixture to darken their skin and have their faces decorated with yellow or blue paint.  VNS Photo Viet Thanh

This time, I found the area clean, peaceful and abundant with modern service. I might have been lucky, or it might have been empty because it was early in the morning on a non-holiday weekday, but it was fantastic.

Paired with another couple, I got down on a boat and got ready for my journey to the land of Kong. It was mildly sunny with cool breezes. What perfect weather.

What has not changed in my three visits is the stunning beauty of Trang An. I even find it more beautiful and magnificent than what was portrayed in the movie. What could be better than sailing on crystal green water so transparent that you can see the coral dancing gently on the river floors?

Strange journey: To reach Skull Island, visitors have to pass through a wooden bridge and a fake World War II-era plane.  VNS Photo Viet Thanh

My boat journey got more exciting during short trips through various caves containing stalactites and stalagmites of all shapes and sizes.

Overwhelmed with this magnificent natural abundance, I understood why the director of Kong: Skull Island, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, chose this world heritage site as a backdrop for his blockbuster.

After a safe and sound hour of sailing, I finally arrived in King Kongs island, located in a tranquil area amidst the high mountains. In the movie, it was a mysterious island inhabited by strange species, dinosaurs, as well as the home of Kong and a tribe called Iwi that worship Kong.

Laid in stone: The small path leads to Skull Island.  VNS Photo Viet Thanh

Following a small path paved with tree barks and crossing a wooden bridge, I encountered a crashed plane, made to look like the one flown by character Hank Marlow, a lieutenant stranded on Skull Island during the Second World War.

Crossing the plane to reach the territory of the Iwi tribe, I was filled with thrill thinking that my favourite movies star, Tom Hiddleston, was there just a couple of months ago.

There are 36 tents made of bamboo on Skull Island, each of which is connected to each other by a small path paved with pieces of stones. Besides each tent are the objects for the daily activities of the tribal people, including farms, earthen ovens, bamboo baskets and frames to dry their food.

All the objects, including the plane or the tents, have been re-made by the local authority with an aim to attract tourists. They are 90 per cent alike the original ones seen on the big screen.

Hut life: There are 36 bamboo tents on the island.  VNS Photo Viet Thanh

The most exciting part of discovering Skull Island was the encounter with the tribal people there. During weekday, there are about ten people dressing up like Iwi tribe, but at weekends, up to 30 people might show up to welcome guests. All of them are locals and many have really appeared in Kong: Skull Island.

By the time I arrived, the tribal people had just finished their make-up and welcomed me with their warm smiles. They were covered with a special brown mixture to darken their skin, and their faces were decorated with yellow or blue paint. Both women and men dressed up in their unique faded-red or blue costumes. Simple, but impressive.

We arrived here at 5am. It takes us hours to finish our make-up to welcome visitors to the island, one tribal man named Bao told me.

Just like Brie Larsons Mason Weaver, armed with only her camera, I took the chance to wefie with the tribal people. But dont expect them to smile in the photos, as the indigenous people in the film never smile!

Kitschy: A basket of "dinosaurs bones" on the Skull Island.  VNS Photo Luong Thu Huong

Seeing more visitors to arrive, the tribal people started to scatter: some of them welcomed their guests in front of the wooden bridge with spears in their hands, while some others gathered around their tents to demonstrate their daily activities, like cooking with earthen oven to cultivating on the farms.

Another interesting group on Skull Island--instead of scary giant dinosaurs--is a family of goats with two babies. Seeing them peacefully eat grass by the tents of the tribal people was a treat.

A trip to Skull Island is a must for fans of Kong: Skull Island who are visiting Ninh Binh Province. Dont be worried, there wont be a mighty Kong nor scary Skullcrawlers, but the hospitality of tribal people and picturesque scenery all around.  VNS
MONTPELLIER  Cuban jazz musician and big band orchestra conductor Ernesto Tito Puentes died on Thursday at the age of 88, his manager said.

A trumpet virtuoso with more than 200 albums, Puentes died in the southern French city of Montpellier, Jean-Louis Perrier said in a statement.

Born on November 7, 1928 in Havana, Puentes started out his career in his native city with two trumpet-playing uncles, becoming well-known in the local music scene in the 1940s before rising to international acclaim.

His last album, Gracias in 2012 featured Cameroonian jazzman Manu Dibango and Ibrahim Maalouf, French-Lebanese trumpeter.

Puentes settled in France in the 1950s.

The most Parisian Cuban... has left to join other salseros for an eternal descarga, said Perrier, referring to an improvised jazz session.

But Puentes preferred the term Afro-Cuban rather than salsa.

When I played jazz my fellow countrymen would say I was no longer Cuban but a jazzman. Today Im called a salsero... I prefer the musical term Afro-Cuban rather than salsa, which seems inaccurate and above all, was invented by Americans, Puentes had said.

I myself say musician. I try to integrate European and African influences into my music. My music is multifaceted.  AFP
Aban Marker Kabraji.  Photo IUCN

Aban Marker Kabraji*

Covering more than 70 per cent of our earths surface and home to 700,000 to two million species, the ocean is the lifeblood of our planet. Besides bringing a sense of serenity through the gentle -- albeit sometimes roaring -- rhythm of its waves, the deep blue employs millions of workers, feeds billions of people and generates trillions of dollars of the worlds economy.

However, despite having such a profound impact on our lives, oceans are often taken for granted. As vast as they may seem, the resources provided by our oceans are finite.

In recent decades, threats such as unsustainable and illegal fishing, tourism and climate change have increasingly threatened coastal and marine resources.

In Asia, where over 30 million people rely on these resources for their livelihoods, the stakes are high.

While the regions exponential economic growth has benefitted its communities through higher incomes and a better quality of life, ever-increasing commercial, agricultural and industrial activity has also exacerbated threats to the regions ecosystems. Some 95 per cent of Southeast Asian coral reefs are at risk of being destroyed and over 80 ocean species in the region are listed as Critically Endangered and Endangered.

Scientists have warned that as increasing amounts of CO2 are absorbed by our oceans, seawater is becoming more acidic, threatening aquatic ecosystems and organisms.

But tides might actually be turning.

The Paris Climate Agreement has united many nations in the common cause of tackling climate change by limiting global carbon emissions and thereby protecting our oceans.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has made it crystal clear that a commitment to the conservation of oceans is necessary to secure a better future for all, through Sustainable Development Goal 14 -- "Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources".

One way to protect our vital ocean ecosystems is to increase the number, size and management effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

MPAs are established to preserve not only coastal and marine terrain, water and the genetic diversity of associated flora and fauna, but also historical and cultural heritage.

It is important that the boundaries of MPAs are delineated through multi-stakeholder consultation and consensus, so that encroachment becomes less likely and enforcement more effective. Local communities, which have traditional knowledge of their natural resources, also need to be involved in the governance of their ecosystems to relieve the pressure on both nature and governments.

Mangroves for the Future (MFF), a regional coastal programme co-chaired by IUCN and UNDP and spanning 11 countries across Asia and the Indian Ocean, has developed Marine Protected Area (MPA) frameworks for Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia and Myanmar.

MFFs overall approach is to identify needs at priority sites. These needs are then addressed through grants and other activities that generate knowledge, empower local communities, and strengthen the governance of coastal ecosystems.

In Viet Nam, MFF is currently supporting Cu Lao Cham Island, an MPA nested within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, to improve its management effectiveness.

Since the island was declared an MPA in 2005, the site has become a popular tourist destination and local livelihoods have become highly diversified. Land value has also increased with the growth of investor interest, all of which is putting pressure on coastal resources and social relations within local communities.

To further strengthen the MPAs resilience, MFF, along with several key stakeholders, facilitated an exercise at the end of April to examine the current management effectiveness of the MPA and develop a road map for revising the framework and zoning scheme. The revision of the MPA framework will take place over the next 18 months through a series of consultations with stakeholders. This will pave the way for improved management of Cu Lao Chams coastal and marine resources.

Studies have shown that small MPAs that are well-managed and well-enforced are facilitating resource recovery, sustaining fisheries, improving livelihoods and promoting sustainable tourism. Yet, while MPAs can be very effective in the conservation and management of our oceans, they cannot address all threats to marine life. Complementary actions need to be implemented to make fishing and aquaculture sustainable, address climate change and reduce marine pollution.

IUCN aims to build on lessons learned from MFF  notably the effectiveness of a partnership-based focus and a governance structure that invites country-level ownership  and scale up the programme, to further improve the resilience of coastal ecosystems, support the livelihoods of millions of people, and increase carbon storage capacity by protecting and restoring mangrove habitats.

This years theme for World Oceans Day (June 8) is Our oceans, our future. Despite recent setbacks, such as the US administrations decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, many other nations remain committed to the Paris accord. Through progressive and forward-thinking policies, commitments from industrialised and developing nations alike, and a multi-sectorial approach that harnesses advancements in science, finance and development, we actually stand a chance to make our oceans truly great again.

* Aban Marker Kabraji is the Regional Director, International Union for Conversation of Asia
HA NOI  The private sector, farmers and manufacturers will have to contribute their share to upgrading, repairing and building new irrigation systems for their use, according to a draft Law on Irrigation discussed on Thursday by the National Assembly.

The Government will give priority to building reservoirs in areas experiencing major water shortage, those seriously impacted by climate change, regions inhabited by ethnic minorities or off shore islands and other socio-economically disadvantages zones.

Article 15 of the draft stipulates that construction costs of all special and major irrigation works, including those for national defence and security, will be covered by the State budget. However, those who benefit from the products or services of the public irrigation network will have to contribute their part to the construction of the projects, including small, inner field irrigation canals, as well as the secondary and tertiary canals.

According to delegate Nguyen Lam Thanh, from the northern province of Lang Son, Viet Nam now has 904 big and medium irrigation systems; nearly 7,000 lakes of different categories; more than 10,000 weirs with thousands of sea dykes. Many of these irrigation works have been degraded and need repair, but no money is available, said Thanh.

Regarding Chapter 5 on the Rights and Obligations of organisations and individuals, the delegates agreed on the need to diversify the funding sources, management and exploitation of all irrigation projects.

Deputy Pham Van Tuan from Thai Binh Province agreed that the State budget should be used to invest in major irrigation works while small irrigation works, including inner field canals, should be invested by farmers.

However, we need a specific roadmap, as we all know that irrigation activities sometimes have to serve political missions and in the fight against natural calamities, particularly climate change, Tuan said.

Duong Tuan Quan, from Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province expressed his concern that when the law comes into effect, all organisations and individuals will have to pay irrigation fees. In addition, they will have to bear the cost of building inner field secondary and the tertiary cannals. Im afraid to say this will impose a high economic burden on the farmers, Quan said.

Airport project

Also yesterday, the deputies discussed the compensation and relocation of residents from the lands designated for the Long Thanh International Airport near HCM City.

Deputy Nguyen Van The from the southern province of Soc Trang said it had been two years since the National Assembly promulgated Resolution 94 but the Government has not approved a report on the projects feasibility and this slow process was worrisome. The deputy also urged the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and other related agencies to counsel the Government in setting up a roadmap for implementation of the project from now until its completion.

Based on such a roadmap, The said, the monitoring and observation of the project would be conducted effectively, ensuring its progress.

Regarding land clearance, compensation and relocation, deputy Tran Van Tuyen from the northern province of Vinh Phuc said the projects scheduled medium-term fund worth about VN5 trillion (US$220 million) had been totally allocated, and according to an initial estimate by ong Nai Province, such work would actually need about VN23 trillion. He requested clarification of all the financial sources for the project.

In response to some other deputies comments about the investment capital for the projects land clearance, compensation and relocation, MoT Minister Truong Quang Nghia said he would report to the NA about a special policy for such work.

The minister said he expected that after hearing a report on the project feasibility at the 4th session, the NA would consider boosting the land clearance work and creating conditions for investment in the first phase of the project.

With the current public debt, to invest in the Long Thang project from the State budget was hard. But if we let private investors get involved, we should have a good preparation, said Nghia.  VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation concluded a five-day official visit to Japan on Thursday.  VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation concluded a five-day official visit to Japan on Thursday.

Before leaving Japan, the PM visited the headquarters of the Nidec-Shimpo Corporation of Nidec Group  a world leading high-tech company that started operation in 1973.

Nidec has carried out investment activities in Viet Nams southern metropolis of HCM City since 1998 with seven projects worth nearly US$800 million, contributing to the citys socio-economic development over the past 20 years.

The group is studying an investment project of about $500 million at Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park, which is expected to generate thousands of jobs and bring in huge export turnover.

The PM affirmed that the Vietnamese Government and the capital of Ha Noi will create the best conditions for foreign investors, including Nidec, to operate effectively in Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park.

He praised Nidecs plan to build a research and development centre in HCM City and suggested establishing a similar one in Ha Noi to enhance cooperation in training and scientific research with Vietnamese universities.

Nidec President and CEO Shigenobu Nagamori thanked the Vietnamese Government and PM Phuc and Vietnamese localities for supporting the groups operations and expressed hope to receive more assistance when investing in Ha Noi.

The PM later met with leaders of the Japan-Viet Nam Friendship Association (JVFA)s chapters in Osaka, Hyogo, and Nara Prefectures and Sakai city.

At the meetings, Phuc recognised the chapters active contributions to the enhancement of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

Leaders of the JVFA chapters said their organisations will closely coordinate with Viet Nam in hosting activities in celebration of the 45th founding anniversary of the two countries diplomatic ties in Osaka and Kansai regions in 2018.

Before concluding his official visit to Japan, PM Phuc visited the Vietnamese Consulate General in Osaka.  VNS
HA NOI  Several major hospital construction projects that would have provided residents of the capital and its surroundings with thousands of beds have been abandoned over the past decade.

Such was the case with the planned Ha ong International Hospital in Ha ong District, with a total area of about 16.65ha.

The project was approved by the former Ha Tay Province Peoples Committee (the province has since been merged into Ha Noi). In 2008, the Ha Long Investment and Development Co Ltd announced its investment in the new hospital complex.

In 2011, the Ha Noi Peoples Committee asked the investor to speed up the projects progress, but by 2014, the ground clearance had not even been completed.

Recently, the Aeon Viet Nam Company signed a contract with the Ha Long company to build a mall in Ha ong District. The capital authorities have thus decided to change the plan, and to approve a smaller hospital with a mall next door.

Under the new plan, the Ha ong International Hospital will be built on 7.1ha with 600 beds, occupying nearly 43 per cent of the land. And the remaining piece of land will be used to build the mall on 9.5ha.

Abandoned project

Another plan was approved in 2011 by the Ha Noi Peoples Committee to build four hospitals, each with 1,000 beds, in four suburban districts to meet residents demand.

Under the plan, the Northern General Hospital was to be built in Me Linh District, scheduled to start in September 2011 and open for public use in June 2013. The second hospital was to be built in an Phuong or Thach That District on 10ha, scheduled to start in September 2011. The third hospital was planned for Gia Lam District and the fourth for Phu Xuyen District.

The Ha Noi Peoples Committee assigned the municipal Department of Planning and Investment to mobilise capital for the plan.

Nguyen Xuan Truong, chairman of the Me Linh District Peoples Committee, told the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper that after the municipal authority issued a decision related to the Me Linh hospital, the district hospital moved to another place to make room for the new facility.

The new Me Linh hospital was expected to serve the demand of residents from Soc Son, ong Anh, an Phuong districts and neighbouring provinces, such as Vinh Phuc and Phu Tho. We looked forward to the project, he said.

But local authorities appear to have changed their policies on medical facilities, preferring smaller, more specialised ones to major district hospitals.

At a recent conference between the Ministry of Health and the Ha Noi Peoples Committee, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said that the Government agreed to build a paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology hospital in Quoc Oai District, and a dental, stomatology and ophthalmology hospital in a suburban district.

Officials of the Ha Noi Peoples Committee agreed that the city should not build big hospitals, and build smaller hospitals instead, located in residential quarters so that residents can access them easily for examination and treatment.  VNS
QUANG BINH  Certain types of vehicles will be exempt from paying toll at Quan Hau Toll Station and toll stations belong to transport infrastructure investor TASCO in the central province of Quang Binh, said Nguyen Van Huyen, director of the Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam.

The toll exemption was expected to be effective this month, according to Huyen.

Vehicles eligible for the waiver include Type 1 and Type 2 vehicles owned by permanent residents of and organisations or enterprises headquartered in districts of Quang Ninh, Le Thuy and ong Hoi City, Quang Trach District and Ba on Town as well as public buses running on the route, he said.

Type 1 vehicles include cars with less than 12 seats and trucks weighing less than two tonnes, he said.

Type 2 vehicles include cars with 12 to 30 seats and trucks weighing from two to four tonnes.

The Peoples Committee of Quang Binh Province is responsible for directing concerned authorities to identify the number of vehicles eligible for the waiver.

The decision was made following the provinces request to remove toll fee for vehicles at toll stations on National Highway 1A which pass Quang Binh Province.

Residents from Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts and ong Hoi City have often complained to local authorities that they did not use BOT sections but still had to pay the fee.

Last Thursday locals caused a congestion on National Highway 1A for many hours when they gathered at the stations with their vehicles to protest against the high toll fee.  VNS
HCM CITY  Residents and urban planning experts have expressed their support for a proposal put forward earlier this week by the Department of Transport in HCM City to lease pavements for commercial operations.

The proposal emerged more than two months after authorities conducted a tough campaign to reclaim clogged pavements for pedestrians.

In Ha Noi, Hai Phong City and Ho Chi Minh City, authorities levied strict fines for illegal parking and vending activity, in some cases demolished construction that encroached on pavements, and tore down illegal billboards.

The general public praised the crackdown, but street vendors and businesses were upset about the damage to their livelihood.

Under the HCM City proposal, people who want to use the roadsides and pavement for parking and commerce can pay a fee, which would vary from district to district.

The fee for using a square metre of pavements per month would range from VN20,000 to VN100,000 (US$1.1-$4.4)

The suggested parking fee would be VN15,000 to VN40,000, depending on the time and area.

Im glad to hear about this information. If I can pay to use the pavement, I wont have to be worried each time the authorities come by and clear us off and take away all of my property, said Hai Huong, 50, a street vendor in District 3.

A cafe shop owner on Tran Quang Khai Street, who declined to be named, said he was more than willing to pay the fee. VN100,000 is not too much for us, and we dont have any other choice  we need the space to do our business, he said, adding that the proposal was reasonable because pedestrians do not need the whole pavement on which to walk.

Some others complained that the fee was too high.

"I couldnt earn that much to pay for the fee. Its unreasonable," said Tran Thi Hang, a food vendor at Le Lai Street.

Meanwhile, Vo Kim Cuong, former director of the Department of Planning and Architecture, said he also supported the idea. Its essential that we reclaim the pavements for pedestrian and make them clean and clear. But residents also have the right to do business legally. According to principles of urban financing, those who benefit from part of the urban area will have to pay for it. So its obvious that those who can make money from the pavement have to pay a certain fee, he said.

The good side of this idea is that it helps the State to properly and transparently manage those paying fees to use the pavement and avoid illegal acts by some individuals, he added.

Pham Sanh, an urban planning expert, agreed. However, if we want to lease the pavement we need a re-planning, a sustainable replanning. Clear criteria about how the pavement can be used and how we would collect the fee must be set out, Sanh said.

Regarding the collection of pavement use fee, Sanh said local authorities should not be involved. The Peoples Committee should assign a department to do this, for example the finance department. The department will be responsible for carrying out studies, making plans, and collecting fees. Local authorities would only supervise and support when needed, he said.

Le Minh Triet, director of the Sai Gon River Tunnel management centre, said his agency would work with the Department of Transport on the application of modern technology to collect pavement fees.

At present, the city administration collects fees from businesses on 345 thoroughfares, which use a part of the pavement and roadway for parking.

The Department of Transport said that charges will be used to repair roads and harbors. Charge levels will be publicised on the collection booths and related agencies websites.  VNS

BOX: Proposed charges
HCM CITY  Boat tours along HCM Citys Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal, which were expected to make use of the urban waterway to boost water tourism in the city, have failed to attract tourists after two years of operation.

In 2015, the first boat tour service was launched on the Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal by the citys Department of Tourism and Sai Gon Boat Co Ltd. The tour offered two options for tourists: a Gondola boat, which was able to carry 1-6 passengers or a conventional boat, which carries 10-20 passengers.

The 4.5km-tour departed from Thi Nghe Bridge in District 1 and stopped at Chantaransay Pagoda in District 3. Folk art performances were provided during the tour.

o Duy Van, representative of the citys Department of Tourisms Planning and Development Research Office said that the company had invested tens of billions of ong in building wharfs, boats, and training staff for this service. However, tourists have showed little interest in it.

There were 22 available boats anchored along the wharf, but only a few were in regular use due to the limited number of visitors. The company has not managed to sign contracts with travel companies to get more guests.

Nguyen Hong Thu, a tourist from Ha Noi, said that for those who experienced the floating markets on the rivers of the Mekong Delta region, the boat tour was quite boring in comparison.

There are no typical leisure activities on the canal, and no special views along the route, she said.

Tran Anh Thy, director of Sai Gon Boat Co Ltd, spoke to Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper that the company has faced many difficulties in increasing the number of visitors that make use of the service.

The water in the canal has become polluted as local residents living along its banks were discharging waste water. Moreover, illegal fishing along the canal has affected the operation of boats.

Earlier this year, a boat carrying tourists broke a fishing line belonging to a group of people fishing illegally. The fishermen chased the vessel and threw stones at the passengers. Luckily, nobody was injured, however the boat sustained light damage.

A shortage of lighting was another problem, forcing the boats to stop running at night, she added.

Phan inh Hue, director of Viet Circle Tourism Company, said that the lack of interest in the service was predictable.

According to Hue, the cleanliness of the canal is the key element in developing waterway tourism. The canal was clean for only two months, and quickly became polluted with a horrible odour and waste drifting on the surface.

Such a dirty environment provides little attraction for tourists.

Commenting on the views along the canal, Hue said visitors were given nothing to see or do when taking the tour. This was different from many other countries, where the architecture along the banks of the river provided beautiful views and chances to take photos.

Hue said this was a lesson for both enterprises and city authorities. The authorities should provide proper support to help enterprises boost their tourism products. He said that issues such as environment management and social security should be under strict control, so that enterprises could promote their products.

Tu Quy Thanh, director of Lien Bang Travelink, said that the city should do something to improve the situation.

He said that each tour lasts for two hours. Thus, it was necessary to build between five and seven rest areas where tourists can disembark and buy souvenirs or refreshments.

Thanh suggested that the work should be done by the citys Department of Tourism and the local authority, with consultancy and design provided by foreign experts. This would help improve the quality of the service and reinforce the confidence of enterprises so that they would keep investing in the citys tourism sector.  VNS
DOHA  Qatar said on Thursday it will not "surrender" and rejected any interference in its foreign policy, defying its Gulf neighbours in an escalating dispute over its alleged support for extremists.

In an interview, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said calls for a change in Qatari policy from Saudi Arabia and its allies, which cut diplomatic ties with Doha this week, were unacceptable.

"No one has the right to intervene in our foreign policy," Sheikh Mohammed said.

He also rejected "a military solution as an option" to resolving the crisis, and said Qatar could survive "forever" despite the measures taken against it.

"We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender the independence of our foreign policy," he told reporters later, adding: "No one will break us."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain led a string of countries that this week cut ties with Qatar over what they say is the emirates financing of extremist groups and its ties to Iran, Saudi Arabias regional arch-rival.

On Thursday the four countries issued a list of individuals and entities they said had "terrorist" links to Qatar, in their first joint statement since severing ties with Doha.

The group said the list shows Qatar "announces fighting terrorism on one hand and finances and supports and hosts different terrorist organisations on the other hand."

But the document contains at least two names already designated internationally as terrorist financiers, and against whom Qatar took action, according to a previous US Department of State report.

Qatar strongly denied the earlier allegations and expressed a willingness to engage in talks to resolve the crisis.

Al-Jazeera in the crosshairs

The gas-rich emirates satellite news giant Al-Jazeera has also emerged as a point of contention, and on Thursday the broadcaster said it was battling a major cyber attack.

Al-Jazeera tweeted that it was "under cyber attack on all systems, websites & social media platforms", and a source said it was trying to repel the hack.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have banned Al-Jazeera from the airwaves and closed the channels offices.

The Arab countries closed air, sea and land links with Qatar, barred the emirates planes from their airspace and ordered Qatari citizens out within 14 days.

The feud has raised fears of wider instability in an already volatile region that is a crucial global energy supplier and home to several Western military bases.

Kuwait  which unlike most of its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members has not cut off ties with Qatar  has been leading efforts to mediate.

Its emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah held talks on Wednesday with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, following talks with senior UAE officials and Saudi King Salman.

US President Donald Trump, who had initially backed the measures against Qatar in a tweet, called Sheik Tamim on Wednesday with an offer "to help the parties resolve their differences".

Qatar hosts the Al-Udeid military base, the largest US airbase in the Middle East. Home to some 10,000 troops, it is central to the US-led fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Foreign policy gone wild

Analysts say the current crisis is in part an extension of a 2014 dispute, when Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain temporarily recalled their ambassadors from Doha over Qatari support for Egypts Muslim Brotherhood.

A top Gulf official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that a major concern was the influence of Sheikh Tamims father, Sheikh Hamad, who had allowed the Taliban to open an office in Doha and helped arm Syrian rebels before abdicating in 2013.

"The previous emir is a big supporter of this whole extremist agenda, so we do have an issue," the official said.

Doha has for years forged its own alliances in the region, often diverging from the politics of the six-state GCC and taking in leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian Hamas and members of the Afghan Taliban.

A senior Emirati official said this weeks decision was not aimed at a change of regime in Qatar but to pressure the country to reshape its policy.

"This is a foreign policy that has gone wild," state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said. "We need to put everything in check."

Gargash said the four Arab states seek a "political commitment to change course" by Qatar, including ending its support for the Brotherhood and Hamas.

Bahrain on Thursday followed the UAE in announcing that expressing sympathy for Qatar over the sanctions was an offence punishable by jail.  AFP
WATERLOO  A Waterloo woman has been arrested after she allegedly sideswiped a police patrol car early Wednesday.

Maryann Hassan Ali, 30, was arrested for second-offense operating while intoxicated and driving while suspended following the minor collision at Allen and West Fourth streets. She was later released from jail.

No injuries were reported in the crash, and both vehicles had minor damage.

According to the accident report, the Waterloo Police Department squad car was traveling east on Allen around 2:20 a.m. Wednesday and was pulling away from a stop sign when an oncoming Ford passenger car swerved into its lane.

Police noticed an odor of alcohol and slurred speech, and Ali allegedly failed field sobriety tests and declined a breath test, court records state.

Men charged

in break-ins

CHARLES CITY  Two Charles City men are facing felony charges after items stolen from the YMCA and a local church were found in their possession, according to police.

On Tuesday, Charles City police arrested Jonathan Goodman, 29, when the police executed three search warrants.

His initial arrest was on a Kentucky warrant for methamphetamine, but he has now also been charged with one felony count of possession of stolen property and two felony counts of third-degree burglary, according to a Facebook post by the Charles City Police Department.

Then on Wednesday afternoon, police arrested Justin Gulian, 26, on two counts of third-degree burglary, second-degree theft and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

The charges are all a result of the investigation into two burglaries, one at the Trinity United Methodist Church and one at the YMCA. Gulian also had a warrant for unauthorized use of a credit card (aggravated misdemeanor). He is being held at the Floyd County jail.

Goodman also is charged with misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree and fifth-degree criminal mischief.

Man hurt in road rage incident

WATERLOO  A Waterloo man has been arrested after he allegedly clubbed another driver during an alleged road rage incident and took his glasses.

Waterloo police arrested Phillip Kiprian Kurilchik, 57, of 114 W. Donald St., on Wednesday for willful injury causing bodily injury and going armed with intent. He was later released from jail.

Authorities allege Kurilchik and Christopher Jones were traveling in separate vehicles on Highway 20 around 2 p.m. Tuesday when Jones claimed Kurilchik allegedly almost ran him off the road near the Highway 63 exit.

Jones took the exit and drove to a Ranchero Road business to pick up co-workers. Court records allege Kurilchik approached Jones vehicle with a wooden bat or club, yelling and screaming ensued, and Jones made a grab for the bat.

Jones and Kurilchik fell to the ground, and Kurilchik stood up and hit Jones once in the head with the club, court records state. He then took Jones glasses and walked off, records state.

The glasses were recovered a short time later.

Jones was taken to Covenant Medical Center where he received four staples to close his head injury, records state.

Drug charges

filed after raid

WEST UNION  A West Union man has been jailed on drug charges following an investigation.

On Wednesday, the Fayette County Sheriffs Office executed a search warrant on West Maple Street in West Union on a narcotic investigation. Deputies had been investigating the use and possible sale of narcotics in the area that led to the search warrant of the property of Kenneth Eugene Gerleman, 57.

Deputies seized a large amount of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and some cash during the search.

Gerleman was transported to the Fayette County Jail and charged with possession with the intent to sell methamphetamine, a class C felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia. After Gerleman was processed, deputies found methamphetamine hidden on him and charged him with possessing contraband, a dangerous drug in a jail, a Class D felony.

If convicted Gerleman could face up to 30 years in prison.

This is an ongoing drug investigation and Sheriff Marty Fisher anticipates more arrests and or charges. Upon investigation it was also discovered that a 15-year-old male was living at the residence, so the Department of Human Services was contacted.

Woman charged following crash

WATERLOO  A Waterloo woman has been arrested after she allegedly crashed her vehicle into her fathers garage on purpose.

A passenger in the car was her 2-year-old daughter, who wasnt in a child safety seat at the time of the collision with the garage, according to court records.

Shamia Imani Harmon, 19, was allegedly angry at her father and drove at him in his driveway at 418 Cottage St. around 12:20 p.m. May 28, but he stepped out of the way. Harmon then decided to target his garage, court records state.

She rammed through the door and struck a boat trailer inside, pushing it through the back wall, records state.

Her damaged vehicle was later found parked in the 1000 block of Logan Avenue, and Harmon was arrested Monday for second-degree criminal mischief, child endangerment and reckless driving. She was later released from jail.

Divers used in search for woman

DUNKERTON  Authorities searching for a missing Waterloo woman used divers to check the murky Wapsipinicon River on Thursday.

Members of the volunteer Cedar Valley Underwater Search and Recovery team assisted with the search for Rhonda Apfel, who was reported missing Memorial Day.

Her motorcycle and personal items were found at the Bruggemann Wildlife Area northeast of Dunkerton, and much of the search for her has concentrated on the Wapsi River, which cuts through the wildlife area.

Capt. Mark Herbst with the Black Hawk County Sheriffs Office said different resources have been used in the search this week. On Wednesday, cadaver dogs were brought back to the area for another pass, and a National Guard helicopter was used Tuesday, he said.

Last week, the search included boats and kayaks on the river and volunteers searching the banks of the river on foot.

Mayor arrested

for fireworks sales

FOREST CITY (AP)  The mayor of Nora Springs has been fined for illegally selling fireworks.

Online court records show 68-year-old George Andersen pleaded guilty and was fined $250.

Forest City police cited Andersen on May 17. He was selling fireworks out of a van. Police say Andersen told an officer he didnt have a permit.

On Monday a Winnebago County District Court ordered the destruction of the fireworks seized as evidence.
WATERLOO  Members of the community are now able to contribute to the Loris Dream Team Endowment, a fund dedicated to benefiting patients at Covenant Cancer Treatment Center in Waterloo.

Lori Clark died on Feb. 12, 2016, after a brave fight with cancer. During her battle, she was saddened to see some cancer patients did not have the same support system she relied on. She also recognized the struggle these same patients had paying for life-saving medical treatments.

Clarks wish to help these people became a reality when her family and friends formed Loris Dream Team. This groups vision has resulted in thousands of dollars raised through events and contributions. These proceeds helped create the Loris Dream Team Endowment with the Covenant Foundation. The endowment will support programs that promote financial help, personal support and hope to patients going through treatment at Covenant Cancer Treatment Center.

Lori was my best friend in everything in life, said her husband, Corey Clark. She supported me, her family and friends with every ounce of her energy and soul. She was a giver in life, not a taker. It is in Loris spirit of thinking of others, and in her faith in God, that this endowment was created. Knowing were doing good things by her example helps us move on as well.

Corey Clark believes it will keep his wifes memory alive.

Establishing this endowment through the Covenant Foundation allows for cancer patients to receive a helping hand in their battle. Lori would be happy to see others being helped in their moment of need and knowing that this endowment will help others perpetually certainly meets the mission and purpose of Loris Dream Team. We know Lori would be proud of the effort of so many.

You can help the Loris Dream Team Endowment by completing by visiting www.wheatoniowa.org/giving. Mark your gift an unrestricted contribution and under additional information type Loris Dream Team Endowment donation.
CHURCH EVENTS

FAIRBANK  Immaculate Conception Parish will host an open house appreciation party honoring the Rev. Paul McManus on Fathers Day, June 18.

The event begins at 9:30 a.m. in the new parish center. McManus came out of retirement to be the sacramental priest for several years.

WATERLOO  Rivers Edge Christian Church was selected as the only Iowa stop for the 50 Shows 50 States 50 Days Tour of Christian illusionist Phil Dalton.

The magic show will take place at 7 p.m. Monday at the church, 1247 Cedar Bend. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

There is no admission; donations will be accepted.

For more information about Dalton, go to www.50magicshows.com. For information about the event, contact Pat Yates at 233-1893 or email patmyates@centurylink.net.

CEDAR FALLS  Jackson Kaguri, the founder and director of the Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project, will return to Nazareth Lutheran Church, 7401 University Ave., on June 17 and 18.

Jackson grew up in poverty in rural Uganda, went to college in the U.S. For his work, he received the 2015 Waislitz Global Citizen Award, was named a 2012 CNN Hero, is recognized in Time Magazines Power of One series, is a Ted Talks participant and has written four books.

The public is welcome to hear Jackson speak and view a movie documenting his life at 7 p.m. June 17 in Bethel Hall.

He will speak at worship services at 9 and 10:45 a.m. June 18.
CEDAR FALLS  The director of a Cedar Falls-based educational charity has pleaded not guilty to state charges alleging he was grooming a teen to have sex with the charitys president.

Christopher Charles Kaiser, 39, of rural Fredericksburg, entered his not guilty plea to a felony charge of enticing a minor on Friday in Polk County District Court in Des Moines, according to online court records.

He waived a preliminary hearing, and the court entered an order keeping him away from all minors.

Kaiser, the director of Blue Trunk Educational Series, had been indicted on federal enticing charges along with the groups president, 33-year-old Barry Dean Devoll, in April 2016.

Devoll, known by his stage name Bixby, pleaded guilty to the federal charge in April and is awaiting sentencing. Court records indicate Kaisers defense attorney and federal prosecutors had been in negotiations to drop the federal charges against Kaiser in favor of prosecution on the state charges.

Federal court records also indicate Kaiser plans to later plead guilty to the state enticement charge with sentencing in September.

Blue Trunk is known for traveling wildlife educational programs geared for children. It produced Bixbys Inflatable Rainforest, Give Back Wildly and other programs that featured Devoll playing to role of an explorer named Bixby.

Kaisers state charges alleged between September and November 2015, he enticed a boy to have sexual contact with Devoll.

Kaiser met the victim, who is described as being under age 16 at the time of the incidents, while they worked at Adventureland Amusement Park in Altoona, court records state.

Kaiser allegedly picked up the victim at high school and drove him to the Adventureland campground and to a location in Runnells where Devoll kept animals for his shows. He also allegedly texted the victim about sending photos.

The defendant would tell the victim Devoll was all hot, bothered and horny to see him and communicated that Devoll was so horned up to see and get naked with the victim, an Altoona police officer wrote in a description of the charges submitted to the court. Kaiser also helped arrange for the victim to go to Florida to see Devoll, court records state.

During a proffer with federal prosecutors, Kaiser allegedly told investigators he knew about nude pictures the victim and Devoll shared through text messages and social media, that Devoll sometimes asked him to tell the victim sexual things and he occasionally left the victim and Devoll alone in Devolls camper.
CEDAR FALLS  The Iowa Board of Regents adopted a further tuition increase  bringing the total increase to 5 percent for undergraduate, in-state students  during its meeting Thursday at the University of Northern Iowa campus.

The board adopted the 3 percent increase, or $216, for fall 2017 beyond the previously approved 2 percent increase, or $142, after state appropriations were lower than the board had requested.

The increase was adopted unanimously and without discussion, though the board met last month to get input from students and university heads.

We worked very hard to try to keep the tuition increases as low as possible, Michael Richards, board president, said after the meeting. We dont like to have this situation  unless its absolutely necessary  where we have to come back, and were going to work with the governors office, the Legislature. Its going to be one of our top priorities.

The desire to prevent future readjustments led the board to form a tuition task force made up of four board members.

Students at the May meeting called for stability in tuition increases and realistic budgeting. That also was the parting message from former regents President Bruce Rastetter, who had called for a tuition task force.

That task force got its start Thursday, with a presentation from Robert Toutkoushian, a professor of higher education at the University of Georgia.

In general, weve seen that in the past 10 to 15 years, state funding is generally failing to keep pace with higher education costs, Toutkoushian said. I think this is why we see such pressure put on tuition revenue, because thats the one revenue source that a governing board or colleges and universities have more direct control over.

Richards said regents want to get input from many constituencies.

Its going to be an open dialogue, and were not pushing toward any particular result, but we know that we have to discuss this in an open format, because whatever were doing needs to be a little different. It needs to be fixed. We want to hear from people, Richards said.

Regent Larry McKibben will chair the task force with three other regents. It is expected to report on its findings at the September meeting.

McKibben said he believes the task force will make the board more proactive as it considers budgeting and tuition rates.

We really owe it to our families and children in the state of Iowa  who are our main customers  to know those things, McKibben said. I think in the next 90 days  its going to be a really good opportunity.

He added, Everythings on the table, and were going to throw things up against the wall, and were going to think outside the box.
Firefighters with the Frederika Volunteer Fire Department and the Plainfield and Tripoli departments were called to 1705 110th St. around 7:10 p.m. Thursday and found the barn engulfed in flames. Crews kept the fire from spreading to nearby buildings and were on the scene for about three hours.
DECORAH  The city of Decorahs three full-time paid fire department drivers (engineers) will report to the city manager.

After months of discussion on how to replace driver Phil Hardy, who is retiring next month, the City Council voted to replace the driver and amend city code to have the drivers report to City Manager Chad Bird rather than Fire Chief Mike Ashbacher.

Its a motion that failed to pass at the councils May 1 meeting. Council members Gary Rustad, Randy Schissel, Andy Carlson and Chuck Lore voted against it, and Kirk Johnson, who made the motion, and Steve Luse voted in favor of it.

Council member Dan Bellrichard was absent May 1. During the same meeting, Rustad later made a motion to hire a third engineer and appoint one of the engineers fire department superintendent as proposed by the fire department. It failed on a 3-3 vote with Johnson, Luse and Carlson voting against it and Rustad, Schissel and Lore voting for it.

The Decorah Fire Department is made up of volunteers, including the chief, and the three full-time paid engineers, who are city employees.

Monday night, Mayor Don Arendt said for the previous motions to be reconsidered it would require having either motion made by one of the council members who voted against it last month. Schissel made the motion to replace the driver and have all the drivers report to Bird. It passed 5-1 with Lore the only member voting against it. Rustad was unable to attend Mondays meeting.
WATERLOO  A proposed zoning change would make it slightly easier for residents to raise chickens and other farm animals in their yards.

Members of the Waterloo Planning, Programming and Zoning Commission voted 6-0 Tuesday to endorse an ordinance allowing residential properties with enough space and signed support from neighbors to have an urban hobby farm.

The measure now heads to the City Council for consideration in coming weeks.

Commission member Tavis Hall said the proposal effectively splits the baby between those who want to allow urban animals under a growing demand for sustainable agriculture and others concerned about how chickens and goats could impact their quality of life and property values.

These hobby farms are sustainability measures that at one point this commission recognized as a priority, Hall said. Our whole point was there should be some basic provisions for hobby farms.

Zoning regulations adopted in 2011 allow residential property owners to keep a limited number of farm animals only if they get a special permit approved by the Board of Adjustment.

Commission chairman Craig Holdiman said it ensures homeowners potentially affected by the new winged or hoofed neighbors have a chance to object.

The special permit process gives surrounding property owners, especially in a residentially zoned neighborhood, some say, he said.

But there were no guidelines to help the Board of Adjustment determine when a hobby farm was appropriate, which led to inconsistent votes. Several requests for hobby farms have been on hold for up to two years while the commission worked on new guidelines.

The proposed ordinance would allow the planning and zoning office to issue a special permit administratively under the following conditions:

Smaller animals, like chickens, rabbits, geese or ferrets, would be allowed on lots with a fenced area of 20,000 square feet or more. Up to four animals could be on 20,000 square feet, with another animal for each additional 5,000 square feet.

Large and intermediate animals, like cows, sheep, goats or llamas, would be allowed on lots with a fenced area of 40,000 square feet. Up to two animals would be allowed on 40,000 square feet, with another animal for each additional 20,000 square feet.

The property owner in both cases gets signatures of support from every abutting property owner and 60 percent of those within 250 feet of their property.

If a property owner is unable to get the required support from neighbors or is asking for an exception to the size requirements, they would need a special permit approved by the Board of Adjustment after a public hearing.

Commission member Jamie Castle was concerned the level of neighborhood support was too high, noting a single neighbor could prevent a person from having a chicken even if they met all other requirements. But the Board of Adjustment would still be able to issue a permit in that case.

The ordinance would continue to ban roosters and swine, including pot-bellied pigs, from the city limits.
GRUNDY CENTER  The Ivester Church of the Brethren is celebrating its 150th anniversary this month.

Events planned June 17 include a welcome and singing and history highlights at 2 p.m.; a cemetery walk, 3:30 p.m., followed by a 5 p.m. meal furnished and greetings from former pastors and members at 7 p.m.

June 18 will start with a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and worship at 10 a.m. There will be lunch at noon, with talks of future plans at 1:30 p.m. and ice cream at 3 p.m.

The church was started in 1867 by pioneers, many from Carroll County, Ill. They met in homes and sheds until the first building went up in 1876. The core of todays building dates to 1912, with a wing added in 1965.

The current pastor is Paul Shaver.
WATERLOO  This summer, the Northeast Iowa Food Bank is partnering with 17 community organizations to provide lunch for children at risk of going hungry when school is out.

The summer months are not easy for many low-income families, said Barbara Prather, executive director of the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. When school ends, so does access to school meals that families and children rely on.

Thousands of meals will be served this summer and around 1,200 food insecure children will not be going hungry. Funding will help support summer meals at:

Boys & Girls Club of Evansdale, Monday-Friday, 1 p.m., June 19-Aug. 11, at 3574 Lafayette Road, Evansdale.

Boys & Girls Club of Waterloo Summer Camp, Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Aug 15-18, 515 Lime St., Waterloo.

Country Terrace Trailer Court, Cedar Falls, Wednesdays at 11:45 a.m. through Aug 2., 700 W. Ridgeway Ave., Cedar Falls.

First Presbyterian Church, Girls Scouts Summer Adventures, Monday-Friday at noon, June 12-30., 505 Franklin St., Waterloo.

Salvation Army, Waterloo, Monday-Friday at 10 a.m. breakfast and 12:15 p.m. lunch, June 12-Aug. 16, 89 Franklin St., Waterloo.

Southeast Elementary, Waverly, Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. through Aug. 11, 809 Fourth St., Waverly.

YMCA Summer Camp, Monday-Friday, noon, June 12-16 and Aug. 14-18, 669 S. Hackett Road, Waterloo.

Young Parents Together (Northeast Iowa Food Bank), Mondays 5 to 7 p.m., July 10-Aug. 23, 1605 Lafayette St., Waterloo.

YWCA Black Hawk County, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. breakfast and noon lunch, June 12-16., 425 Lafayette St., Waterloo

YWCA Black Hawk County (Highland Elementary) Highland, Monday-Friday, 1 p.m. June 12-16, 812 Idaho St., Waterloo.

After being awarded $20,000 from Conagra Brands Foundations Hunger-Free Summer Grant, the Northeast Iowa Food Bank was able to add five site partnerships to the program.

Funding from Conagra Brands Foundation will help support summer meals at:

First United Presbyterian Church (BackPacks), Fridays through Aug. 18; contact Sherry Sheffler at gs_sheffler@hotmail.com for times, 501 Sycamore St., La Porte City.

Congregational United Church (BackPacks), Fridays through Aug. 15, contact the Rev. Laura Arnold at rev.laura.arnold@gmail.com for times, 209 W. BroadwaySt., Decorah.

Expo Alternative Learning Center, Thursdays through Aug. 18, 1410 Independence Ave., Waterloo.

Orange Elementary, YMCA Summer Camp, Monday-Friday, noon, June 12-16 and Aug. 14-18., contact Nikki Campbell at ncampbell@blackhawkymca.org for times, 5805 Kimball Ave., Waterloo.

Cedar Knoll, Monday-Saturday, June 12-Aug. 18, contact Debbie Dreesman at ddreeesman@yescommunities.com for times, 5535 Dysart Road, Waterloo.
Yet another Oval Office conversation was delving into yet another presidents determined wish to shut down yet another FBI investigation that had gotten way too close.

But this was 2017, not 1972.

And the art of this deal was cutting out middle men entirely. This time, the artful deal-master, President Donald Trump, chose to do all the deal-making himself.

And that is one big difference between the stunning, detailed revelations fired FBI Director James Comey made Wednesday regarding his one-on-one conversations with President Donald Trump and the famously named smoking gun Oval Office conversation that was the unmaking of the 37th president, Richard M. Nixon.

It was 45 years ago this month Nixon and his chief of staff, H.R. Bob Haldeman, plotted to get the CIA to tell the FBI to halt its investigation of the Watergate break-in and bugging by falsely claiming it would blow the cover on a national security secret. In contrast, according to Comeys account, Trump chose to personally make repeated appeals to get the then-FBI chief to end his probe of Trumps former national security advisor, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. And kept prodding Comey to say publicly Trump was not a target of any FBI investigation.

But, of course, there is one other huge difference between Comeys disclosures and the smoking gun revelations. Those Nixon exchanges were called smoking because we all could hear them ourselves. Nixons cover-up was recorded for posterity by the presidents own automatic taping system.

On June 23, 1972, midway through a re-election campaign Nixon was leading by a wide margin, Haldeman had walked into the Oval Office and broke some bad news. And two years later, we eavesdropped with outrage as Haldeman told his boss: Now, on the investigation, you know, the Democratic break-in thing, were back to the  problem area because the FBI is not under control.

The FBI had just traced money that was paid to the Cuban-American Watergate burglars, who had been caught in the act. They were paid, in part, with a $25,000 check that had been donated to Nixons re-election campaign.

  The way to handle this now, Haldeman said, is for us to have (CIA Deputy Director Vernon) Walters call (FBI Director) Pat Gray and just say, Stay the hell out of this  we dont want you to go any further on it.

Good, good deal! Nixon said at the end of their discussion. Good deal! Play it tough. Later, Nixon elaborated: When you get these people in, say: Look, the problem is that this will open the whole, the whole Bay of Pigs thing.

Comey has no audio tapes to play for us but he brings to cringe-worthy reality his accounts of a series of meetings in which Trump tried to co-opt him. He recounts a painfully awkward dinner, just the two men alone at a table in the White House mansions Green Room.

Comey says Trump seemed to be engaged in an effort to have me ask for my job and create some sort of patronage relationship. At one point, Comey wrote, the President said, I need loyalty, I expect loyalty. I didnt move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence.

On Feb. 14, after a counterterrorism briefing of the president attended by six top officials, Trump excused all of them but asked Comey to remain. I want to talk about Mike Flynn, Trump began when the others had left. He then said, I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go. I replied only that he is a good guy.

Comey recounts Trumps repeated efforts to get the FBI to make public the fact he is not personally under investigation. Comey, in effect, kept passing that buck up to the acting deputy attorney general to decide. No doubt that infuriated Trump.

If Comeys account proves accurate, Trumps efforts to get the Flynn investigation halted could possibly be considered an effort to obstruct justice. But since he always couched it in terms of human compassion and never issued a direct order, that obstruction finding is far from certain.

Nixon was undone by his own smoking gun. Trump must now try to coexist with the reality of Comeys smoldering (but not smoking) memo. It promises to be, at the very best, a coexistence as chilly and unsettling as his bizarre dinner in the Green Room.
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From left: Liu Xianfa, the Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Annalisa Conte, the WFP Country Director and Guo Ce, the Economic and Commercial Counselor, Chinese Embassy in Kenya, during the Chinese food donation handover on June 7, 2017 at the Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. [Photo by Edith Mutethya/China Daily]

The Chinese government donated $5 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), aimed at supporting 420,000 refugees living in camps in northern Kenya.

Speaking during the donation handover ceremony at Kakuma refugee camp on Wednesday, Annalisa Conte, the WFP Country Director and Representative for Kenya said the donation enabled the organization to resume supplying full food rations to the refugees, after more than a year of ration cuts caused by a shortage in funding.

"We welcome this critical contribution from China," she said.

"WFP has struggled to provide adequate food to refugees living in camps in northern Kenya due to insufficient funds."

Liu Xianfa, Chinese ambassador to Kenya, thanked WFP for its commitment to helping refugees.

"Through what we have seen at the food distribution point, we respect the efforts made by WFP," he said.

He added the Chinese government would, within its capacity, continue to render support to assistance programs in Kenya.

In 2015, the Chinese government donated 560 tens to refugees in the Kenyan-based Daadab refugee camp and has plans in store of donation food to the camp during the next few months.

Sarah Machar, a refugee at Kakuma Camp, expressed her gratitude, and the gratitude of other refugees, to the Chinese government for their donation.

"We are grateful to the Chinese government for their help and we wish that they will continue supporting us," she said.
Democrat Jon Ossoff leads by 7 points over Republican Karen Handel in the latest poll for Georgia's 6th district special election. The poll, conducted by Abt Associates for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, surveyed 1,000 registered voters. Ossoff's 51-44 lead is among a subset of 745 likely voters.

Ossoff's advantage may be in the poll's finding that "hes capturing about 13 percent of Republican voters and 50 percent of independents  a crucial voting bloc that typically leans right in the state. It shows almost no cross-over on the flip side; only 3 percent of Democrats say theyre backing Handel. He gets support from 44 percent of white voters, a big number for a Democrat in Georgia."

Most polling for this race has shown Ossoff leading, but with a much smaller margin. On Thursday, a poll from WSB and Landmark Communications gave Ossoff a lead of about 2.5%. It is also worth noting that today's release was a survey of registered voters, while other polls have been among likely voters.

The race will be decided at the polls on Tuesday, June 20.
Jun 8, 2017 | By David

Heritage is one of the fields that is benefitting the most from 3D technology. Weve reported before on how an antique rifle replicated through 3D scanning and printing methods so that it could be physically held by museum visitors in Poland, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Historical educators can now make use of such tangible, accurate copies of artefacts, as can archaeologists carrying out research into eras even further back in time.

A project carried out at Virginia Commonwealth University has led to the establishment of a Virtual Curation Laboratory, which over the past few years has built up an impressive catalog of 3D printed Native American artefacts and historic items.

Progress in archaeological research can often be hindered by the issue of access to artefacts. Something that was dug up from the ground on the other side of the world is not easy for a busy and perhaps underfunded research team to go and study in depth, nor is it always something that can be easily transported to them without damage.

But 3D technology has started to change this situation for the better. 3D scanners are now available to capture an image of the artefact that renders every detail and intricacy to a high degree of precision, and this 3D model can then be printed out and studied as if it was the original object. Interested visitors to museums can also get their hands on such 3D printed artefacts to learn a little more about their past, and educators can use them as teaching aids.

The Virtual Curation Laboratory in Virginia was developed to support undergraduate students majoring in archaeology at Virginia Commonwealth University. It was created in August 2011 as part of a project funded by the U.S Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management. Their intention was to test how effective the NextEngine Desktop Scanner would be for modelling archaeological discoveries on DoD land.

The VCL team is led by Dr Bernard K. Means, who has a PhD in Anthropology from Arizona State University. The team is able to create 3D printed replicas of all kinds of artefacts, from human and animal remains to fossils and historical items, making use of an Ultimaker 3D printer for their work because of its reliability and the wide range of materials that it allows them to print with.

PLA is most commonly used, with an acrylic paint applied after printing to match the original colors of the artefact as closely as possible. As well as the NextEngine scanner and its native ScanStudio software, a Structure Scanner is sometimes used due to its portability. This makes it more useful for capturing scans on trips abroad.

This kind of work encourages collaboration with other research institutions, as well as opening up the field of archaeology to interested outsiders.

3D printing and scanning technology could eventually turn these casual observers into independent researchers, studying and comparing artefacts in the comfort of their own home or in virtual reality environments. It could also enable people with limited faculties or mobility to explore archaeology, such as the visually impaired, or those living in care facilities.

Bernard says that his team are "energized by their engagement with others working to preserve and make the past come alive," as the implementation of cutting-edge technological advances forms a perfect complement to their delving far back into our planets history.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Jun 9, 2017 | By Tess

The European Plastics Converters Association (EuPC), which oversees the trading of plastic converters across Europe, has announced the launch of two new industry platforms: a 3D Printing Platform and a Composites Platform. The announcement was made at the EuPCs annual meeting in Madrid, Spain last week.

According to the EuPC, the new 3D Printing Platform is being established in order to exploit 3D printings full potential within the plastics converting industry. The Composites Platform, for its part, will take on research projects dealing with composite materials with the aim of overcoming composite-related challenges in the plastics sector.

While we dont know too many specifics about what the 3D Printing Platform will be doing, or what technologies it will be using, the EuPC has said that its new platforms will bring together 3D printing and composites experts from around Europe and invite them to share their knowledge for the sake of advancing the plastics converting industry.

In addition to announcing the two new industry platforms, the annual meeting saw Michael Kundel, the CEO of plastic film manufacturer Renolit, re-elected as president of EuPC for another four years.

The EuPC General Assembly also elected a number of members to its steering committee, including David Baker, general manager of RPC Group and chairman of EuPCs Packaging Division; Philip Law, director general of the British Plastics Federation; Renato Zelcher, CEO of Crocco; and others.

The event itself, hosted in partnership with the Spanish plastics association ANAIP, brought together over 250 members from the European plastics value chain, as well as representatives from various EU institutions, member states, and academia. The event highlighted the importance of Europes plastics converting companies working together.

The plastics converting industry needs to set itself ambitious goals to embrace the circular economy, keep itself competitive and enable our society a responsible and circular use of plastics, commented Michael Kundel, president of EuPC at the meeting.

Michael Kundel, President, EuPC

Founded in 1989, the European Plastics Converters Association is a Brussels-based EU-level trade association that looks out for the interests of plastics converting companies. Also known as Processors, plastics converters are responsible for producing plastics and semi-finished plastics from raw materials. Plastics Converters serve a wide range of industries, including the automotive, construction, consumer product, and healthcare industries.

At present, the EuPC represents some 50,000 plastics converting companies in Europe, which account for the production of over 45 million tonnes of plastic products a year.

Posted in 3D Printing Technology

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On the stage stood a Dutch man in black shorts and a synthetic blue shirt. His grayish hair flopped as he paced. He looked somehow robust despite an absence of prominent musculature and a sort of convex abdomen. This was Wim Hof.

Depression, fear, pain, anxietyyou name it, Hofs voice boomed through the speakers. We are able to get into any cell and change the chemistry. We are able to get into the DNA.

Hof claims that people can address, prevent, and treat most any malady by focusing the mind to control the metabolic processes in their cells. For example, we can will our bodies to heat up in cold situations. He told the audience we can beat cancer by shutting down malignant cells. I challenge any university in the world to test this out, he roared.

For a four-hour seminar in The Wim Hof Method, attendees paid around $200. The ticket offered an opportunity to hear Hof speak and to perform his famous breathing exercises, and then to take a brief dip in an inflatable pool of ice water.

more here.
"How's Harriet?" I asked, a week before the Cochon555 Heritage BBQ competition, at Smokestack last Sunday.

"Pretty good, considering," responded Smokestack's executive chef, Eric Nyeste. "I mean, last week, she lost her head, and just yesterday, she fell to pieces."

Prized Red Wattle sow Harriet, having lost her head, with Smokestack chef Eric Nyeste. (Renee Alexander)

Harriet is, or was, a heritage breed pig who weighed 320 pounds when she started the transition from farm to table. Raised humanely at Devil's Gulch Ranch in Nicasio, the Red Wattle sow pigged out for eight months on whole milk, organic sprouted wheat bread from Petaluma's Alvarado Street Bakery, tortillas from a Santa Rosa tortilleria, unused produce from local food banks, and spent grain from Fort Point and Magnolia breweries before ending up in Nyeste's walk-in cooler for the annual farm-to-table, snout-to-tail competition.

Nyeste was one of five local chefs who each received a heritage pig, along with a challenge to create a snout-to-tail menu to be judged by hand-picked experts and devoured by hundreds of hungry diners, who are allowed inside the venue to graze only after the judging is complete. The winner from each event on the 14-city tour will compete in the national Grand Cochon on October 1 in Chicago. Proceeds from the event benefit the Piggy Bank, an open-access agriculture project for emerging farmers looking to raise heritage breed pigs.

Harriet, known on the farm as 7006, arrived in two halves a week ahead of the big event, which gave Nyeste and his six-member team the opportunity to butcher the meat to their own specifications. He explained, "A chef will often break down a pig differently than a butcher would," because the menu dictates how a chef will butcher an animal, rather than what sells best in the meat case. Because Harriet's breed is known for its rich, beefy flavor, Nyeste's team decided to make charred ribeye, which they served with trotter-tater salad, bacon-onion jam, and green onion ribbons. That meant "...making the saddle cut further up into the shoulder for the more marbled rib-eye meat."

Other items on Smokestack's Heritage BBQ menu were inspired by the heritage of the team members themselves. The beer brat crepinetteserved with soft pretzel, cherry mostarda and a New Speedway Bitter from Magnoliatapped into a team member's Midwestern roots. Nyeste's own Southern upbringing inspired the pork fat Johnny cake, topped with chopped pork, peach salsa, and collard greens.

The cabeza pibil and manteca tortillaserved with salsa verde, cotija, pickled onions and chicharronrelied on the tastes and traditions of team members from Guatemala and Mexico. In fact, Nyeste procured Oaxacan-grown heritage corn in honor of Smokestack team member Maria Tavira, who hails from the nearby Mexican state of Michoacan, to nixtamalize into hand-made masa for the tortillas.

"This menu tells the story of the people making it," he said.

On Sunday, he shared that story with 24 judges who crowded around each restaurant's long table for a brief chef's description of the six dishes before savoring them, scoring them, and moving on to the next table.

"I am Eric Nyeste, chef of the Smokestack and leader of its crew. We have assembled a brief anthology of our stories for you today. In six parts, we invite you to join us on an adventure of six cooks, one fire-breathing kitchen, and our four-legged champion, the humble and much honored Harriet, of Devil's Gulch Ranch."

Harriet sounded better than 7006.

"Our heritage pig is of the Red Wattle breed: stout and beautifully muscled, with some of the most gorgeous fat caps I have had the pleasure of working with. The flesh has a deep red hue and a strong flavor of beef, which we have attempted to apply to our menu to great effect with dishes like the ribeye and bratwurst. That said, she performed beautifully in a more traditional porcine role as well, delivering succulent belly, unctuous trotters and collar, and hams for days and days (of curing and smoking)." He went on to describe each dish individually, as did the other competing chefs, each in turn, as the judges nibbled thoughtfully and took notes.

Chef Trevor Ogden and his team from Park Tavern laid out a round-the-world sampling of barbecue styles, including barbacoa, calcotada, Lexington (North Carolina), Korean, hibachi, and Texan. The Piccino team, led by chef Chandler Diehl, broke down their menu by body parts, with dishes featuring the head, belly, leg, butt, loin, and lard. Chef Tommy Halvorson's crew from Serpentine compiled a diverse sampling of dishes ranging from dwaeji bulgogi with kimchee, hickory smoked ribs with molasses and brown sugar, and sweet tea spiked with mezcal and fat-washed bourbon. Chef Jordan Keao's Aina team remained true to the restaurant's Hawaiian roots, representing two styles of barbecue from the islands: kalua, which requires an underground oven, and hibachi, which is cooked over a wood fire.

The winning menu, by chef Jordan Keao and the Aina team. (Renee Alexander)

Harriet was delicious, but not quite delectable enough to win the competition. She was edged out by a Large Black barrow (castrated male), raised by Wendy Massa and her five-year-old son on their family farm, Massa Natural Meats, near Chico. The rare breed is known for its high quality, marbled meat, as well as its suitability for pasture, rather than confinement. Beyond that, the breed has a "very sweet disposition," according to Massa. "Our biggest sow weighs 500 pounds, and she'll lay down on her side so I can scratch her belly."

Their docile nature was one of the reasons she chose the breed to raise. "My son needs to be able to fill the trough with water without getting knocked over, and I need them to wait for me to feed them, instead of rushing me when I bring the food."

Massa's pig was reared on broken rice, broken almond nuts and shells, prunes, olives, sunflower seeds, and whatever else is plentiful during a given season. He was never fed corn or soy, and the farm does not use growth hormones or routine antibiotics. At 10 months, he was slaughtered and shipped whole to Aina, where Keao and his team transformed him into this award-winning menu:

Kalua pork belly pozole with smoked headcheese, chicharrones, pickled cabbage

Korean-style blood sausage with rice onigiri, pork furikake, caramelized onion soubise

Binchotan grilled char siu pork with charred garlic chive puree, puffed forbidden rice

Lau lau with paiai: pa'iai, lu'au leaves, hopi blue polenta

Chichi dango: coconut & blood mochi, kinako lard crumble, smoke haupia whip

While his team did not name their pig, Keao said, "We are very respectful of the fact that we took an animal's life. Our biggest form of respect is to use every part of that animal, including the skin, offal, and blood. Everyone loves loin, belly, and leg, but heart, kidneys and lungs are more challenging. We like to figure out ways to highlight those parts so people don't necessarily know they're eating them until they've already fallen in love with the dish."

Apparently, the judges fell in love. Or perhaps they were simply in hog heaven.
We think this is the most significant positive impact for retail investors in the last 40 years. Its a big change, says Jon Stein, CEO of Betterment, a New York-based portfolio management firm. It protects people who are getting retirement advice.

The rule took effect last year, although advisers originally had until April to comply. But President Donald Trump this year asked the Labor Department to review the rule, which pushed the compliance deadline to June 9. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it was seeking public comment on whether it should introduce a fiduciary standard to a broader group of advisers.

Its possible the Trump administration will modify the rule later on. In any event, heres what you need to know about the fiduciary rule:

1. What is a fiduciary?

Simply put, a fiduciary is someone who must act in the best interests of his or her client.

Under the rule, professionals who proffer investment advice on retirement accounts must put the interests of their clients first. They cant charge more than reasonable fees and cant make misleading statements about investment transactions, compensation, and conflicts of interest, according to the rule.

2. Dont all advisers put their clients first?

No. When the regulations to oversee financial professionals were created in 1940, a distinction was made between registered investment advisers who give advice and salespeople who make transactions on behalf of customers.

Registered advisers are held to a fiduciary standard. But the rules for salespeople, including brokers and insurance agents, are less strict. They must only make sure the investment they recommend is suitable. So they can steer clients into investments that may pay them and their firms the highest fees and commissions, as long as the product is appropriate to the clients age, goals, tolerance for risk and other factors.

Over the years, these salespeople have rebranded themselves as advisers, says Barbara Roper, director of investor protection with the Consumer Federation of America. Everything about the way they market themselves to customers is designed to send the message that they are objective advisers acting in their customers best interests. But thats not what they are legally required to do, she says.

3. Does this new rule apply to advice on all investment accounts?

No. The rule applies to financial professionals who are being paid to give investment advice on retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs.

It does not cover advice on college savings plans or regular brokerage accounts. It also doesnt apply to government-sponsored retirement plans, such as the federal Thrift Savings Plans, state 457 plans and most 403(b)s, which are typically offered by schools.

And advisers wont be held to a fiduciary standard if they are providing general educational information.
Greg Gibson

The advocates, some wearing red AARP shirts or scarves, swarmed Capitol Hill after a group photo and streamed through Senate and House office buildings. Throughout the day they engaged in more than 300 meetings with members or their staffs.

While waiting in a long security line, Dana Kennedy, state director for AARP in Arizona, said people back home were especially concerned about losing affordable health care coverage if Congress votes to drop current protections for people with preexisting medical conditions. Many also worry about a provision in the House bill (an age tax) that would allow insurers to charge people ages 50 to 64 five times or more what they charge younger people  thats far greater than the current cap of three times more.

Kennedy and Steve Jennings, associate state director, visited the office of Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who is among the targets of AARP ads urging Congress to reject the age tax.

Flake is considered a key senator in the health care debate and is one of five senators in whose states AARP has placed TV ads. The spots urge senators to reject the AHCA and start from scratch with new health care legislation that puts consumers first.

Other AARP state directors and presidents making the rounds found signs of support or common ground with members of both major parties.

Kimberly Campbell, state director for AARP in Mississippi, said her meeting with a legislative aide to Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., indicated that the lawmaker shared some of her concerns, especially about making sure that proposed budget cuts and other changes dont jeopardize access to health care in rural areas.

Weve found that he has been accessible and willing to listen, Campbell said. Its so important for someone from the local area to come to them [members of Congress] to talk about these issues. We are part of their voting base. Its important for them to be cognizant of what our issues are.

Across Capitol Hill, the AARP contingent also urged members of Congress to:
While the pay could be better, benefits of teaching out of this world
Report provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review period and over the forecast period (2016-2020).

The Cards and Payments Industry in Argentina: Emerging trends and opportunities to 2020 report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Argentine cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including credit transfers, cheques, cash, payment cards and direct debit during the review period (2012-2016).

The report also analyses various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review period and over the forecast period (2016-2020). It also offers information on the countrys competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes.

The report brings together research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure.

Read Complete Report With TOC: http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/the-cards-and-payments-industry-in-argentina-emerging-trends-and-opportunities-to-2020

The report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Argentine cards and payments industry, including:

 Current and forecast values for each market in the Argentine cards and payments industry, including debit, credit and charge cards.

 Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, cheques, cash, direct debit and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the countrys key alternative payment instruments.

 E-commerce market analysis.

 Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Argentine cards and payments industry.

 Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit, credit and charge cards.

Scope:

 To improve financial inclusion and increase competition between banks, in 2016 the central bank introduced guidelines for convenient account opening and switching between providers. As per the new guideline, wage accounts can be opened directly by individuals rather than upon request by their employer. Individuals can open and close their accounts and cancel their credit cards through online banking, without the need to visit a bank branch. To increase financial access for citizens, the central bank relaxed the regulatory requirements for opening new bank branches in 2016. In H1 2016, 97 new branches were provided with authorization, an increase of 44 over H2 2015.

 The government move to abolish the tax on credit card payments made in foreign currency in December 2015 is anticipated to drive credit card transactions. In December 2013 the government had increased the tax on all credit card purchases made abroad from 20% to 35%. Consumers were also charged with a 50% tax on online purchases of more than $25 (ARS201.90) from foreign websites. The restrictions on online shopping and use of payment cards abroad was an attempt to control the drop in foreign currency reserves, which fell by 29% in 2013 to $30.9bn (ARS168.7bn), a seven-year low.

 To promote inbound tourism in the country, in September 2016 the Argentine government abolished value added tax (VAT) on hotel charges for foreign travelers if they paid using a debit or credit card issued overseas. Hotels must now refund foreign tourists the VAT charged on hotel stays. This move is anticipated to push up tourist numbers by 120,000 and increase spending by $90m (ARS1.3bn), thereby driving the payment card transaction value and volume.

Request A Sample Copy Of This Report at: http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/the-cards-and-payments-industry-in-argentina-emerging-trends-and-opportunities-to-2020/request-sample

Reasons To Buy:

 Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Argentine cards and payments industry and each market within it.

 Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Argentine cards and payments industry.

 Assess the competitive dynamics in the Argentine cards and payments industry.

 Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Argentina.

 Gain insights into key regulations governing the Argentine cards and payments industry.

Explore Other Reports By Radiant Insights,Inc at:

Wealth In Australia: HNW Investors 2017-

http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/wealth-in-australia-hnw-investors-2017

Bahrain Cards And Payments Industry-

http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/the-cards-and-payments-industry-in-bahrain-emerging-trends-and-opportunities-to-2021

Turkey Cards And Payments Industry-

http://www.radiantinsights.com/research/the-cards-and-payments-industry-in-turkey-emerging-trends-and-opportunities-to-2020

About Radiant Insights,Inc

Radiant Insights is a platform for companies looking to meet their market research and business intelligence requirements. We assist and facilitate organizations and individuals procure market research reports, helping them in the decision making process. We have a comprehensive collection of reports, covering over 40 key industries and a host of micro markets. In addition to over extensive database of reports, our experienced research coordinators also offer a host of ancillary services such as, research partnerships/ tie-ups and customized research solutions.

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Vietnam LED Lighting Market Expected to reach US$ 384 Million by 2022

According to a new report by Expert Market Research, the Vietnam LED lighting market reached a value of US$ 152 Million in 2016 and is further expected to reach US$ 384 Million by 2022.

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are semiconductors that produce and emit light when activated. Owing to the benefits of LEDs, they are considered as better alternative to other sources of light. In comparison to conventional lights, LEDs use energy more efficiently as they are directional light sources that emit light in a specific direction. They are the ideal choice for use in rough conditions on account of their durability and strength. In addition, LEDs are environment-friendly as they radiate less heat and do not contain harmful chemicals like mercury.

Some of the other advantages include small size, good colour rendering, high luminescence and longer operational life. In Vietnam, LEDs were initially used in traffic lights and advertising industry. However, with the increasing awareness about their advantages, they are now being used in various sectors such as residential lighting, street lighting, commercial lighting, etc. According to a new report by Expert Market Research, the Vietnam LED lighting market reached a value of US$ 152 Million in 2016 and is further expected to reach US$ 384 Million by 2022.

The production of LEDs in Vietnam has witnessed a significant growth during the year 2009-2016. This can be accredited to a number of forces. With the rising environmental concerns and increasing expenses on the generation of electricity, the Vietnamese government is encouraging the use of energy-efficient lights. The growing use of LEDs in high-tech products such as television, digital camera, smart phones and automobiles have also resulted in rising demand for LEDs in Vietnam. Moreover, urbanization, rising population, increasing disposable incomes and infrastructural development represent some of the other factors which have further facilitated the market growth.

Request a free sample copy of the report: http://www.expertmarketresearch.com/request?type=report&id=83&flag=B

Key findings from the report:

The major end-uses of LEDs in Vietnam include residential, commercial and outdoor lighting.

On the basis of product type, the Vietnam LED lighting market has been classified as LED lamps and modules and LED fixtures.

Being concentrated in nature, the Vietnam LED lighting market is dominated by a small number of players which include Dien Quang, Rang Dong and Philips.

To view the Report Summary and Table of Contents, click on: http://www.expertmarketresearch.com/reports/vietnam-led-market

Expert Market Research has analysed the Vietnam LED lighting market according to end-use, product type and top players:

Market breakup by End-use

 Residential Lighting

 Commercial Lighting

 Outdoor Lighting

Market breakup by Product Type

 LED Lamps and Modules

 LED Fixtures

Top players

 Dien Quang

 Rang Dong

 Philips

Find more reports on Technology and Media Industry: http://www.expertmarketresearch.com/categories/technology-market-reports

About Us

Expert Market Research (EMR) is a market research and consultancy firm providing syndicated and custom research along with consultancy services to a wide clientele base which includes Fortune 1000 companies as well as small and medium enterprises. With our tailored approach, the clients gain valuable and unbiased insights that help to improve their competitive edge and realize sustainable growth.

With a keen focus on the qualitative aspect as well as accuracy of the reports, we align our resources and services as per the clients requirement and offer a flexible engagement model that best suits their needs. We offer market intelligence across a range of industry verticals which include Pharmaceuticals, Food and Beverage, Technology, Retail, Chemical & Materials, Energy & Mining, Packaging and Agriculture.

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Progress in Kachi and Conference in Catamarca

Brisbane, June 9, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Argentinean focused lithium exploration company Lake Resources N.L. ( ASX:LKE ), ("Lake" or "LKE") and its Argentine subsidiary has presented details of progress at the Kachi Lithium Brine Project at the "Lithium in South America" conference in Catamarca, along with the other presenters including the world's largest lithium producers.



Lake reported earlier that over 90% of the leases at the Kachi Project had been granted for exploration. On receipt of legal confirmation, this triggered the release of shares and options for vendor consideration under Tranche 2 Performance Shares and "C" class options under the terms agreed by shareholders on 4 Oct 2016 as set out in the Notice of Meeting of 1 Sept 2016.





About Lake Resources NL





Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) (OTCMKTS:LLKKF) is a clean lithium developer utilising clean, direct extraction technology for the development of sustainable, high purity lithium from its flagship Kachi Project, as well as three other lithium brine projects in Argentina. The projects are in a prime location within the Lithium Triangle, where 40% of the world's lithium is produced at the lowest cost.



This method will enable Lake Resources to be an efficient, responsibly-sourced, environmentally friendly and cost competitive supplier of high-purity lithium, which is readily scalable, and in demand from Tier 1 electric vehicle makers and battery makers.
A Congress lawmaker in Madhya Pradesh is heard egging on a crowd of protesters to burn the police station down in a video that has been widely shared online. Shakuntala Khatik was part of a farmer protest, one of the many in the state over the past few days.

The Congresss Kerera MLA can be seen telling people, thane mein aag laga do, aag laga do (set the police station on fire), while a policeman can be seen requesting her to leave.

However, Shakuntala dismissed these charges by saying that police misbehaved with her. She alleged that these are false allegations and water cannons were used on her.

The MLA was leading a protest march during which his supporters burnt the effigy of CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the recent killing of farmers in police firing in Mandsaur.

In a bid to douse the fire, local police party poured water on the effigy during which the MLA was partially drenched.

Irked with this, the lawmaker sat on a protest and clashed with the policemen.

With the incident getting media attention, the Congress lawmaker later denied any wrongdoing and even blamed the police for misbehaving with her.

Reacting to the incident, BJP leader Nitesh Bajpai said the incident shows the dirty politics of Congress in the state.

The inflammatory speech was caught on camera and posted by Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga on social media and was also shared by Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Congress MLA Shakuntala Khatik inviting people to burn police station in MP.. Shameful! pic.twitter.com/2dX4PmI6bm  Tajinder Bagga (@TajinderBagga) June 9, 2017

BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said, Farmers are peacefully raising their issues but Congress leaders and workers are indulging in violence. We have registered cases against them.

On Thursday, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi provoked a five-hour showdown with the police in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as he tried to go to Mandsaur to meet the families of five farmers killed in police firing on Tuesday.

The protests, which started over a week ago, escalated after the farmer deaths. Ms Khatik was leading one of the many marches in parts of Madhya Pradesh.
Chinas construction of a military outpost in Djibouti is just the first of what will likely be an ongoing expansion in friendly foreign ports around the world to support distant deployments, a new Pentagon report concludes, predicting that Pakistan may be another potential location.

The annual assessment of Chinas military might also notes that while China has not seized much new land to create more man-made islands, it has substantially built up the reefs with extended runways and other military facilities. And it has increased patrols and law enforcement to protect them.

The Djibouti base construction is near Camp Lemonnier, the US base in the Horn of Africa nation. But American military leaders have said they dont see it as a threat that will interfere with US operations there.

China most likely will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries, the Pentagon report said.

This initiative, along with regular naval vessel visits to foreign ports, both reflects and amplifies Chinas growing influence, extending the reach of its armed forces.

The military expansion ties into a broader Chinese initiative to build a new Silk Road of ports, railways and roads to expand trade across an arc of countries through Asia, Africa and Europe. And countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan welcome it as a path out of poverty.

But India and others would be unhappy with additional Chinese development in Pakistan, particularly anything linked to the military.

China has cited anti-piracy patrolling as one of the reasons for developing what it calls a naval logistics centre in Djibouti. Construction began in February 2016. Beijing has said the facility will help the army and navy participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations and provide humanitarian assistance.

But the expanded presence around the world would align with Chinas growing economic interests and would help it project military power further from its borders.

The report cautioned, however, that Chinas efforts to build more bases may be constrained by the willingness of countries to support the presence of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army in one of their ports.

Unlike previous reports, the new assessment doesnt document a lot of new island creation by China in the East and China Seas. Last years report said China had reclaimed 3,200 acres of land in the southeastern South China Sea.
Coming down heavily on the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday warned GJM supporters of stern action even as the Left Front has demanded an all-party meet on the hill issue.

CM Banerjee has described it as illegal and warned that the government would take legal action against those who participate in it. The strike, however, almost stalled life in the hills with most of the shops, eateries and markets remaining closed and vehicles off the roads.

A defence ministry spokesperson said in Kolkata that six Army columns have been deployed  three in Darjeeling, two in Kalimpong and one in Kurseong. Each column comprises of 43 personnel.

Three companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have also been deployed to ensure peace.

Army was requisitioned at 6.15 pm yesterday (Thursday) in Darjeeling after a mob turned violent and injured government personnel and vandalised government property, he said.

Two Army columns were deployed initially in Darjeeling. Requisition for deployment of additional columns in Kalimpong and Kurseong as a precautionary measure, was received late in the night, the spokesperson added.

Even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the government would take a tough stand to deal with the agitators in Darjeeling, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists reportedly torched an under-construction ITI building at Mungpoo which is 33 km from Darjeeling.

A political slugfest had erupted over the issue with GJM chief Bimal Gurung projecting himself as the chief minister of the hills. He also challenged CM Mamata Banerjee to stop the agitation in the area. As the chief minister of West Bengal she is trying to show her strength. But she must not forget that I am an elected member of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). I am the chief minister of the hills, I challenge her to stop the agitation in the hills, Gurung said.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung projected himself as the chief minister of the hills on Friday and challenged Mamata Banerjee to stop the agitation in the area.

As the chief minister of West Bengal she is trying to show her strength. But she must not forget that I am an elected member of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). I am the chief minister of the hills, I challenge her to stop the agitation in the hills, Gurung said.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut issued a warning to BJP that Sena will quit the government if it fails to waive farm loans.

Raut added that Sena is ready for mid-term polls if its alliance partner doesnt resolve farmers grievances. According to him, it wont take time for Sena to withdraw support to the government. Sena had earlier boycotted the cabinet meeting called by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and alleged that it was not taken into confidence over the farm loan waiver issue by the government.

He said, Sena has always supported the cause of farmers and wont relent until justice is done to them. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is indulging in divisive politics by suppressing farmers agitation. He has created a rift between Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader Raju Shetti and Minister of state for agriculture Sadabhau Khot. Attempts are being made by the government to politicise the issue and derive mileage out of it.

Raut said it was the Sena that had been for the last 15 years demanding a complete loan-waiver for farmers and clear their 7/12 land extracts and the BJP has never been in the picture. The 7/12 land extracts are proof of agriculture land title ownership and they also mention cultivation details.

If you are not ready to hold talks with us, nor with (Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna MP) Raju Shetti, then who will you talk to? The CM says he will only talk to farmers, but who will tell him who is a real farmer? Is he himself a farmer to hold talks with the cultivators? asked Raut

On the other hand, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has gone into a damage control mode by appointing a high-level committee of ministers to oversee the problems faced by farmers in the state. The committee has been formed under the leadership of Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil. It will hold a dialogue with various farmers outfit in the state and suggest recommendations to address their woes. They will also forward a report to the chief minister. Agricultural minister Pandurang Fundkar, Minister for co-operation Subhash Deshmukh, state finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, water resources minister Girish Mahajan, state transport minister Divakar Raote are included in this committee.

The government is willing to talk to farmer leaders and every issue can be resolved through dialogue. We will take steps to financial assistance to debt ridden farmers. However government wont talk to those leaders who are using this issue to derive political mileage, said Fadnavis.
Supreme Court cautioned that, it is concerned with reports of Aadhaar data being leaked. The government has argued that linking tax returns to Aadhaar- a unique 12-digit ID assigned to every citizen and linked to iris scans and fingerprints- is essential to check tax evasion. The apex court has, in fact, partially stayed the government order on linkage of Aadhaar with PAN by stating that those who have Aadhaar can link it with PAN. However, if you dont have Aadhaar, the government cannot force you to get one and you can still file your IT return with your PAN card (sans Aadhaar).

The government says that aadhaar is necessary to prevent duplication of PAN  if more than one PAN is being issued, then it is the fault of the department. You are not willing to take the department to task but fixing the responsibility unnecessary on the common man. We have enough laws but what we lack is the will and honesty to implement them. The court also exempted those who have enrolled for Aadhaar but not got hold of one from the provisions ambit. A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan exempted citizens without Aadhaar card from the ambit of Section 139AA.

Advising Parliament to tone down Section 139AA, the court said invalidation of PANs and restricting people from filing income tax returns would have very severe consequences. Both these categories of persons  those who do not have Aadhaar and those who have enrolled but not got possession of Aadhaar  can continue to file their income tax returns. Their PAN will continue to be valid till a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court decides on the pending question whether Aadhaar scheme itself is a violation of the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.

This judgement may thus act as an impetus for the government to push the Supreme Court to set up a Constitution Bench and decide early on the issue whether Aadhaar violates Article 21 and privacy. The issue was referred to a Constitution Bench in 2015 and is still hanging fire. The Bench, however, said that citizens who already possess Aadhaar will have to link the same with their PAN. Over 95% of the population  115 crore  already have Aadhaar.

The court said that Section 139AA will not have any retrospective effect or affect past income transactions. In short, this means that those who have already filed their income tax returns will not be touched. The court rejected the contentions of the petitioners that Section 139AA is discriminatory and an unreasonable restriction on the right to profession and trade. The court also rejected arguments that linking of PAN and Aadhaar should be voluntary. It said there was no conflict between Section 139AA and the Aadhaar Act.

The court warned the government against the data leakage of Aadhaar and biometric details. It said there should be no chance of such leakage either from UIDAI or the officialdom or contractors. The government had justified the linkage as a measure to combat fake PAN Cards and ration cards that have flooded the market and jinxed financial transactions. The government had argued that the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with PAN cannot be considered discriminatory merely because there are conscientious objectors who refuse to take the Aadhaar in the name of freedom of choice, privacy and fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

The petitioners argued that the Indian Constitution was not a charter of servitude and we are independent citizens who cannot be forced by the State to part with our fingerprints in exchange for being able to file our Income Tax returns.

PAN allows for the tracking of all related monetary information of that entity. Quoting or producing a copy of your PAN card is compulsory in practically every major financial transaction including the purchase or sale of property, and is not restricted to Income Tax dealings.

Critics say that the Aadhaar system, which creates the worlds largest database of biometrics  does not have enough checks against leaks and can also allow the government illicit and intrusive digital surveillance and profiling of individuals. The Aadhaar database scheme, started in 2009, was set up to streamline payment of benefits and cut down on massive wastage and fraud. Last year, amid significant pushback from other parties, the government pushed through legislation that gives central government agencies access to the Aadhaar database in the interest of national security. Government officials said that the government had taken steps to ensure citizens privacy would be respected and the authority to access data was exercised only in rare cases. Meanwhile, according to then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, Aadhaar was insecure, but it became secure automatically after he sworn in as Indias PM.

Anyway, if the security issues are made intact then, making Aadhaar card mandatory for availing all kind of government services be linked to Passport number ( to stop terrorists /criminals escape our country after committing crime), to book a hotel room or railway dormitory or rent house (to stop criminals misuse), mobile/telephone number (to stop misusing it), Driving licence and vehicle registration, property and land registration, marriage, death certificate etc. the terrorism/crimes/anti-national activities would fall drastically.
NOTE: Interesting to see where Senator Richard Pan's loyalties lie. Thanks to the Walking in Quicksand blog for this post excerpt.

Last week, the LA Times reported that The High Priest of Public Health, Senator Richard Pan, voted to stop penalizing those who knowingly expose others to HIV though unprotected sex. Under the bill, failing to disclose one has HIV or AIDS before engaging in unprotected sex will no longer be a felony.

The bill would also apply to those who donate blood or semen despite the knowledge they have HIV or AIDS. Senator Pan argued that penalizing those who knowingly infect others with HIV undermines public health.

This might be a less shocking assault on common sense were it not for the fact that Senator Pan also holds the title of Mandated Vaccination Czar of California. The same man who pushed relentlessly to mandate vaccination, saying Ive personally witnessed the suffering caused by these preventable diseases and I am very grateful to the many parents that are now speaking up and letting us know that our current laws dont protect their kids voted for a bill that will cause a lifetime of serious immune dysfunction for countless unsuspecting individuals.

Senator Pan argues that parents who refuse to vaccinate their newborn for a sexually transmitted virus are menaces to public health who must be kept in line with a law. In the next breath, he argues to give a free pass to those who purposely sign up to taint the blood supply. He touts both bills as of the utmost importance to public health. Read the full post here.
3 Year-old Assyrian Girl Kidnapped By ISIS Reunited With Her Mother

Christina Khader Ebada, the Assyrian girl kidnapped by ISIS three years ago, reunited with her mother. ( AINA) Dohuk, North Iraq (AINA) -- Christina Khader Ebada, the three year-old Assyrian girl who was kidnapped by ISIS three years ago, has been reunited with her family in North Iraq. The Iraqi Army, currently fighting ISIS for the liberation of Mosul, contacted Allen Kakony, a journalist and photographer, and told him "a six-year-old Christian girl had been liberated" from the hands of ISIS. According to the Huffington Post, her parents where contacted and told to report to a designated location in Mosul where she would be returned to them.

According to Fox News, Christina's brother said in a statement "With all that we have been through, we are overjoyed that our Christina has been returned to us safely. I thank all those who have prayed for her safe return."

Christina was abducted from her family by ISIS in August, 2014, as she and her parents were leaving Baghdede (Qaraqosh), the largest Assyrian city in Iraq (AINA 2014-08-25). She was last seen by her mother crying and sobbing as a heavily bearded man carried her away. Her mother was interviewed three days after she was snatched from her arms by ISIS (AINA 2014-08-28) and said at the time "She will die if she does not see me."

Christina is now six years old and is unable to speak except for a few words in Arabic, as she has apparently forgotten her Assyrian language. According to an Assyrian resident quoted by World Watch Monitor, "She looks OK, quite healthy. I believe she must have been in the house of a family who took good care of her. She was even wearing gold earrings, so it must have been a wealthy family."
June 9, 2017

Irans Intelligence Ministry on June 8 released headshots of the five perpetrators of the June 7 attacks on the parliament and the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. The attacks in Tehran left at least 17 people dead and some 50 wounded. Al-Monitor has learned from Kurdish sources in Iran that at least four members of the two terrorist teams hailed from a Sunni Kurdish town in western Iran and spent time with Islamic State (IS) militants in Mosul.

In a video of the attack on parliament published by the semi-official Fars News Agency on June 8, two men with AK-47s and a man with a pistol can be seen rushing into a seating area where members of the public wait for appointments with lawmakers, indiscriminately opening fire on people.

The attacks were the first time that IS managed to penetrate Irans defenses and came after the release of a video in late March in which some Iranian Sunni members of the group promised to take the war to Tehran. In the 37-minute clip, titled Persian Land, From Yesterday to Today, Iranian IS members list what they see as crimes against Sunnis committed by the Islamic Republic and call on their brethren to take up arms against Tehran, saying, Our war has started against the Persians.  I call in particular on the Sunnis in Iran to prepare for this war  and we are behind you.

While the Iranian intelligence services and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) had prior to June 7 managed to seal off the countrys borders from attacks by IS and other militant groups, the incidents in Tehran could be the beginning of a long battle between predominantly Shiite Iran and Iranian Sunnis who have joined IS in recent years.

"Following intelligence surveillance, the identities of all five terrorists in Tehran were discovered.  There were five veteran terrorists with Wahhabi and takfiri groups who were drawn into Daesh [IS] and then exited Iran and participated in the crimes of this terrorist group in Mosul and Raqqa, the June 8 statement from the Iranian Intelligence Ministry read, providing only the first names of the militants. "These individuals entered Iran during the terrorist operation of [the Iranian month of] Mordad [in the Iranian year] 1395 [August 2016] under the command of Abu Aisha, one of the top Daesh commanders, and intended to carry out terrorist operations in holy cities 

The operation the statement refers to occurred in August in the province of Kermanshah near the Iraqi border. Two IS teams reportedly tried to enter the country; one was destroyed on the border by Iranian intelligence operatives. The other team  commanded by Abu Aisha  entered a town in Kermanshah but was later also eliminated by Iranian security forces. No other information has been provided by the media or the Iranian authorities about Abu Aisha apart from to say that he was likely killed in the August 2016 operation. The annihilation of the two IS teams came after reports in Iranian media on July 14, 2016, that the security services had in late June 2016 broken up an IS cell that had planned to carry out 50 attacks in Tehran. Ten members of the cell were detained and made confessions later aired on Iranian state television.

For the past six years, since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Iran has sought to fight extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, deploying thousands of troops to confront IS and other jihadis. The strategy of fighting these groups outside its borders had paid off  until June 7. Now, with the attacks in Tehran, it is clear that many radicalized Iranian Sunnis who have joined IS and other militant groups over the past six years  as well as their sympathizers inside Iran  could pose a serious threat to the country, striking at the heart of the establishment in Tehran. It is unclear what percentage of Iran is Sunni Muslim; an Atlantic magazine article last year put it at 9%.

Al-Monitor has learned that immediately after the June 7 attacks, the Iranian security services rounded up a number of suspects in the town of Paveh in Kermanshah province. Qader Qaderi, the Friday prayer imam of Paveh, condemned the attacks on his website June 8 and said that the actions of some traitors will not taint the sacrifices that the people of his town have made for the Islamic Republic. He said, I was saddened for two reasons; first, for the unjust shedding of the blood of the martyrs and the wounded, and my second sorrow is because apparently some of the terrorists were from this region and this is a big calamity. Qaderi continued, I have pointed out many times, including last night, that we should not allow our children to be influenced by extremist thoughts and be drawn into Daesh [IS] or other groups, and I warned many times that we should be vigilant.

On June 9, the Interior Ministry was quoted by state television as saying that with the help of security forces and families of the suspects, 41 people linked to the attacks and to Daesh have been arrested in different provinces.

It is difficult to gauge the number of Iranians who have joined IS. But given that four of the attackers in Tehran came from a single Sunni Kurdish town, it appears that the number could be high. Kurdish media is full of stories of groups of Iranian Kurds joining IS and al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, previously known as Jabhat al-Nusra. Indeed, IS-affiliated Kurdish channels on the popular smartphone messaging app Telegram have published dozens of videos of Iranian Kurds after their arrival in Mosul and Raqqa.

According to political activist Mokhtar Hooshmand, who was jailed in Iran for his activities and met many Sunni extremists during his detention, some 150 Iranian Kurds had joined IS by early 2016. Hooshmand, who now researches jihadi ideology among Kurds, says that by comparison, there were around 700 Iraqi Kurds in IS at that time. He argues that Salafi ideology has been spreading in Iranian Kurdistan over the past two decades and that the Iranian authorities have to an extent turned a blind eye to Salafi activities  though he claims that there are around 150 Salafi Kurds held in prisons across Iran, while the Islamic Republic has executed a number of Salafi Kurds. In Hooshmands telling, some of the Kurds who have joined various jihadi groups, including al-Qaeda and IS, have reached senior military positions. Moreover, a number of clerics in Irans Kurdish areas are known to have pledged allegiance to IS.

In April, this author argued in an article for Al-Monitor that Iran could face potential threats from citizens who have joined IS and other extremist groups as the caliphate in Iraq and Syria crumbles. While Iranian officials have tried to downplay the threat by IS, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 7 dismissing the attacks in Tehran as fireworks, the threat to Iran could be serious.

I have a message for the Rawafidh [rejectionists,' a derogatory term for Shiites]; for the infidel peshmerga; for the Jews and Christians: Be aware that we love death the way you love life. One day, we will come to you and blow ourselves up among you. ... We are not scared of death  even if my father and brother oppose me, I will make no distinction between them and the Rawafidh," an Iranian Kurd eerily warned in an undated video on the Telegram channel of IS.

Indeed, IS released a video late on June 8 that purported to show the five attackers. It said, This is a message from a unit of the soldiers of the Islamic State ... in Iran. ... With the blessing of Allah this unit will ignite jihad, and we hope our dear brothers will follow suit, a balaclava-wearing man uttered in the Sorani dialect of Kurdish as he held the barrel of an AK-47 with his left hand and waved a pistol with his right hand. Four other men listened quietly at the unidentified location as the speaker made threats against Tehran, describing the country as one of the hands of the Jews in the Middle East. Now, only time will tell whether the end of the wars in Iraq and Syria will usher in the beginning of a sectarian conflict in Iran.
June 9, 2017

BAGHDAD  As violence escalated in Baghdad over the past few days, with several areas being targeted by bomb-rigged vehicles, members of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have called for the capital's security dossier to be handed over to them.

In late May, a series of explosions targeted civilians in Baghdad. Most notably, a car bomb attack targeted an ice cream shop on May 29 in Karrada district, killing 11 people and wounding 47.

According to UN statistics, 86 civilians were killed and 226 others were wounded in Baghdad as a result of terrorist attacks and armed clashes in May.

On May 30, Kazem al-Sayadi, a member of parliament from the State of Law Coalition led by Nouri al-Maliki (who claims he established the PMU), called on referring the entire security system in Baghdad to the courts and dismissing security officers, as well as suspending the Baghdad Operations Command and handing over the capitals security dossier to the PMU.

Hassan Salem, a member of parliament from al-Sadiqoun bloc affiliated with Asaib Ahl al-Haq, said there was a need to involve the PMU in the work of the Baghdad Operations Command to help protect the capital, especially in popular markets and crowded areas.

Such calls were expected from Sayadi and Salem, both of whom are members the Shiite National Alliance, which includes all PMU leaders and factions. However, Christian member of parliament Emad Youhanna surprised everyone May 30 when he called for suspending the Baghdad Operations Command and handing over the security dossier to the PMU, especially since he had previously accused the PMU of seizing the houses of Christians in Iraq.

Maj. Gen. Emad Allow, a retired general and adviser to the European Center for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, told Al-Monitor, The request to hand over Baghdads security dossier to the PMU has been suggested several times. Yet I do not believe the PMU will be able to handle this mission because Baghdads security requires efforts on the police and intelligence levels, not the military one.

He added, The PMU is organized in a semi-military manner and it is not trained to maintain security within cities. In addition, taking over this dossier may raise some sectarian and political issues.

However, Allow agrees with the statements made by Salem on the need for the PMU to coordinate with the Baghdad Operations Command to exchange intelligence information because the Interior Ministry is unable to control security by itself.

There seems to be an attempt by the predominantly Shiite National Alliance that has the majority in parliament to dismantle the Baghdad Operations Command, founded in 2007, so the PMU can take full charge of the security dossier or give the Interior Ministry the power to handle it.

On May 31, a member of parliament from the National Alliance, Faleh al-Khazali, called on the commander in chief of the armed forces, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, to dissolve the Baghdad Operations Command and hand over the security dossier to the Interior Ministry.

On May 8, before these calls were made, the Baghdad Operations Command had added the PMUs slogan to a banner that includes the slogan of each security agency working under the command's umbrella. This shows that the PMU was going to be participating in maintaining security in the Iraqi capital.

The National Alliance is pressing the government by trying to replace the Baghdad Operations Command with the PMU, but it seems that its main demand is for the capitals dossier to be handed to the Interior Ministry and give the interior minister, who will one way or another be affiliated to the PMU, greater powers.

There is a fear that handing over Baghdads security dossier to the PMU would result in society's militarization. However, Mohamed al-Sayhoud, a member of parliament for the State of Law Coalition, believes otherwise and wants to give the PMU the responsibility for Baghdads security.

On May 30, Sayhoud said in a press statement, The PMU has the expertise to maintain security in Baghdad, as it is an official force affiliated with the commander in chief of the armed forces.

The PMU is a great force with the ability to fight on the military battlefield, but it may not be able to control the situation inside Baghdad in terms of maintaining its security and dealing with citizens, especially since the PMU essentially is of one sectarian color (Shiite Muslim); this is why local and international human rights organizations will be keeping a close eye on PMU actions in the capital.

Also, no one can guarantee that the PMU will not be used by a certain party to impose its own military or political influence within the capital. The majority of the PMUs leaders claim to be working under the Iraqi states umbrella, but they believe in doctrines that go beyond the borders of the Iraqi state, and some are directly affiliated with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In a nutshell, the PMU should be calmly dealt with during the post-Islamic State (IS) phase without provoking it. If the PMU is not allowed to control the security situation in Baghdad, it will carry on with its armed action in the capital, which will put the Iraqi security services in a pickle. On the other hand, if the PMU takes over the security dossier in the capital, it could easily use this authority to impose its political influence over Baghdad.
June 9, 2017

Mohammed Mustafa, chairman of the Palestinian Investment Fund and senior economic adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, told the Bloomberg news agency that Abbas is willing to withdraw his demand for a settlement construction freeze by Israel on the West Bank as a stipulation for renewing negotiations with Israel. Mustafa also revealed the reason: Various countries and international donors have drastically decreased their financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Thus, the only way to avert the PA's economic collapse is to enter into negotiations with Israel.

These words expose not only motive on the Palestinian side, but also the way the Israeli-Palestinian game is playing out behind the scenes. After Donald Trump was elected US president in November, the Palestinians adopted a cautious approach. In this way, they hope to score diplomatic successes based on a detailed timetable.

In the short term, they want to prove to the US administration that they, the Palestinians, do not erect barriers or set obstacles in the way of diplomatic negotiations. They want to prove that they are even willing to assist Trump in achieving the historic peace agreement that has eluded every US president who has tried to reach one.

In the medium term, Abbas hopes to save the PA and his regime from collapse. A positive atmosphere between Ramallah and Washington may well lead to a renewal of US economic aid that the PA so desperately needs. More so, if other countries that donate funds to the PA but recently halted them to a large degree see light at the end of the tunnel, they might decide to revive aid as well.

As for the long term, the Palestinians feel that no comprehensive diplomatic arrangement can be reached during the right-wing era of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The PA has an Israel Department, headed by Mohammed al-Madani, a close colleague of Abbas who also heads the Committee for Interaction with Israeli Society. The department estimates that the composition of Netanyahus government will not allow him to move an inch toward any diplomatic arrangement that would inevitably require the return of West Bank territory. Clearly, the Palestinians know how to read Israels political map. Of note, Netanyahu barely managed to push through his Cabinet some small economic gestures toward the Palestinians last month ahead of Trumps visit. As Al-Monitor reported, the Palestinians viewed the gestures as pathetic.

The PAs top brass are convinced that withdrawal of the Palestinians' ultimatum regarding building in the West Bank settlements is the only way to show Trump that they are going out of their way to help him reach the ultimate deal. Even if no deal is reached, however, at least Netanyahu's real face  someone who will try any trick in the book to sabotage the US initiative for a diplomatic arrangement  will be revealed for all to see.

Abbas decision to waive his precondition on construction freeze must also be viewed in a broader context. The US initiative, led by Jason Greenblatt, Trumps emissary to the Middle East, also includes recruiting the Arab states to join a regional process and is the diplomatic prize being offered to Israel. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 15 that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states had offered to take steps toward normalization with Israel if Israel is prepared to partially freeze construction in the territories.

It was in the spirit of this background that a charged meeting was held June 7 between Netanyahu and the heads of the local councils of West Bank settlements. There the prime minister said that the diplomatic sensitivity of construction in the territories must be addressed. Netanyahu, of course, did not overtly say that the Americans were pressuring him to agree to a limited construction freeze and that it was all about semantics. The Palestinians view the American pressure on Israel as a measured [i.e., partial] freeze, while Netanyahu views it as wise, responsible building.

A highly placed Palestinian source told Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity that Abbas had received an express promise from the United States that it would make sure that Israel does not go overboard  that is, will not build as much as it wants and without supervision in the West Bank. In other words, the Americans promised the Palestinians a kind of limited or controlled construction freeze.

In this way, both the Israelis and the Palestinians can relay to their respective publics a cup-half-full version of events. Abbas can claim that by agreeing to reach an understanding with the Americans, he succeeded in extracting a promise that they would rein in the wild behavior of Netanyahu and his right-wing government, according to the Palestinians, thus achieving a partial settlement freeze. Netanyahu can say that he had succeeded in safeguarding the settlement enterprise and did not agree to a freeze, despite all the pressure on him.

Mohammed Shtayyeh, a Fatah Central Committee member and close friend of Abbas, told Bloomberg that what made it easier for Abbas to score points with Palestinian public opinion was Trumps June 1 decision to sign a waiver postponing the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem. The move won the US president the good graces of the Palestinians.

That being said, when it comes to the PA, what is on the line is not the measure of trust between Abbas and Trump, but how Abbas is viewed by the Palestinian rank and file. Abbas will try to convince the Palestinians that wise, cautious and sagacious diplomacy on his part had stopped Trump from taking extreme, irreversible measures they oppose. Netanyahu will take the same approach with the settlers, telling them that wise diplomatic finesse will help him safeguard construction in the settlements.
June 5, 2017

After decades of waiting, the Kurds are finally set to hold a referendum on independence in the fall. Massoud Barzani, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, met June 7 with Kurdish political parties to discuss the referendum. Though the Gorran party (Movement for Change) and Kurdistan Islamic Group refused to attend the meeting, participants scheduled the referendum for Sept. 25.

The decision came soon after Barzani's son, Masrour Barzani, unexpectedly arrived June 4 in Baghdad to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, though the men did not talk about the independence referendum, according to Abadi's office. Masrour Barzani is chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, a hard-liner toward Baghdad and an outspoken supporter of the referendum who calls for "divorce from Baghdad." A memo from Abadi's office said they discussed military coordination to liberate Mosul from the Islamic State (IS).

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), especially the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Massoud Barzani, supposedly favors holding the referendum, though some skeptics doubt Barzani's true intentions. Hoshyar Abdullah, a member of the Gorran faction in the Iraqi parliament, told Al-Monitor that the referendum is "a political card"  leverage toward winning from the KDP the oil fields west of Kirkuk in northern Iraq. He said the referendum also is a tool "to distract the Kurdish people from the KRG's failures and allow the KDP to regain positions lost in Baghdad."

When IS advanced to Kirkuk in 2014, the KDP deployed two peshmerga brigades to protect the western oil fields. When the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) became suspicious about the KDP's intentions, the PUK deployed its forces in June 2014 to the oil fields north of the city to block further KDP advances. Since then, there have been tensions between the KDP and the PUK over the future of the oil fields, oil exportation and the resulting income.

Burhan Haji Sulaiman, the editor-in-chief of the leading Kirkuk weekly Hawal, a pro-PUK outlet, told Al-Monitor that deploying the peshmerga in the western oil fields amounted to "occupation. He said that the decision reflected "the strong alliance existing between the KDP" and Abadi. "The referendum is merely for strengthening a certain political party [the KDP], and the people of Kirkuk refer to the export of their oil as looting," Haji Sulaiman stressed.

In March, a PUK unit known as the Black Force stormed the North Oil Company pumping station to try to put pressure on Baghdad and Erbil, the Kurdistan Region capital, to build an oil refinery in Kirkuk. The move led Massoud Barzani to deploy more peshmerga forces to secure the oil fields.

A high-profile political source in Kirkuk who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue told Al-Monitor that Massoud Barzani supports an independence referendum so he will have "strong leverage against the Iraqi government to win the oil fields west of Kirkuk during negotiations on the future of KRG-Baghdad relations." In 2014, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani announced KRG's strategy of economic self-sufficiency; however, it failed due to the fall in oil prices, the war on IS and Baghdad cutting the KRG budget. In addition, Abdullah believes the KDP does not want to give Baghdad control of the oil, "as the KDP has a deep strategic plan, which is controlling energy so as to successfully continue its quest for hegemony" and political power in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Aso Mamand, the head of the PUK in Kirkuk and a member of the PUK's political bureau, told Al-Monitor that the Iraqi government may not accept the peshmerga's presence in Kirkuk once IS is defeated in Mosul and Hawijah. Mamand has suggested certain multiparty guarantees for Kirkuks future, saying, We have suggested reaching an agreement with Baghdad, the Global Coalition to Counter IS and the Kurdistan Region." Hoisting the Kurdistan Region flag in Kirkuk led to conflicts between the Kurds and Turkmens. Kurdish leaders, in particular a group of PUK leaders of Kirkuk, have tried to reassure Arab and Turkmen leaders that they have "a special project" that will "prioritize Kirkuk and Kirkukis, rather than Baghdad or Erbil.

"We want Kirkuk [governorate] to be a semi-[autonomous] region annexed with the Kurdistan Region with all its decentralized authorities that all the other components will agree on. Kirkuk's oil should belong to Kirkuk, and the Kirkuk semi-region should have control over its oil," Mamand said.

He added, "If it was not for the Kirkuk oil, the KRG would not have been able even to pay the half salaries that KRG employees are receiving. The people of Kurdistan are paying the price" for ill-considered KRG oil policies, he said.

Mamand noted, "We would like to hold a referendum in Kirkuk, but there [need to be] two referendums: first, to determine whether the Kirkukis want to incorporate into the Kurdistan Region or not, and then the referendum for the independence of Kurdistan."

Al-Monitor talked to Nahwi Saeed, an independent researcher who wrote his doctoral thesis on Kirkuk's conflicts and future prospects. Saeed said that incorporating Kirkuk into the Kurdistan Region is considered a "red line by the Arabs and Turkmens."

"Any unilateral attempt by the Kurdistan Region to cross this red line" will lead to violence, Saeed said. Imposing the will of one party or state on others in a deeply divided city like Kirkuk will lead to bloodshed and few solutions, he noted.

Saeed argues that the best scenario is the application of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution. The people of Kirkuk should decide upon the future of their governorate, and their decision should be respected regardless of which option they go for. However, he said, "Such a referendum is highly unlikely now. Therefore, the future of the Kirkuk governorate is truly caught in a catch-22 situation."

Luay al-Khatteeb, Iraq's Energy Institute director, told Al-Monitor the Iraqi government will claim the western oil fields after Hawijah and Mosul are liberated, as Iraq considers these oil fields to be its property and not the KRG's.

"Baghdad turned a blind eye to the KRG exporting oil from those fields, as they didnt want to be involved in Kirkuk conflicts and clashes," Khatteeb said. "My advice for the whole of Iraq is for Kirkuk to declare its own region, or merge with Sulaimaniyah [city] and combine resources. Kirkuk has the richest oil fields but lacks good corridors. To secure a reliable and sustainable corridor for oil exports, there could be pipelines through Baghdad or Mosul, so Kirkuk could have a better chance to meet its local demand."

According to Mamand, the KRG has not been committed to transparency, and Kirkuk's share is not determined appropriately by either the KRG or the Iraqi government. The KRG exports more than 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Turkey, and if the Khormala gas turbine power plant's output is included, that figure will exceed 400,000 bpd. This is in addition to the 60,000 bpd from the North Oil Company going through the KRG.

Mamand concluded, "The economic independence the KRG was claiming was through oil, and the KRG Natural Resources Ministry was aiming for 1 million bpd by the end of 2015  however, it failed. So, I don't know if the Iraqi government will accept taking Kirkuk's oil forever.  Still, Kirkuk is part of Iraq and its oil is controlled by the Iraqi government. This has made us concerned."
June 7, 2017

RAMALLAH, West Bank  After a seven-year hiatus, the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Water Committee (JWC), established under Article 40 of the 1995 Oslo Accord, resumed its meetings May 16. A new mechanism was developed to accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects  such as supply lines, tanks, water and sewage networks, water pumping stations and treatment plants  in many Palestinian areas in the West Bank.

The JWC reconvened in execution of an agreement signed Jan. 15 between Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories, and Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh, with the participation of the heads of the Israeli and Palestinian water authorities.

The JWC was formed under the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement that sought to regulate water issues during the interim period (1995-99). However, in light of the failure to reach a final agreement, the JWC, whose term was supposed to expire in 1999, has yet to be dissolved. The committee's main objective is to approve and oversee every new water and wastewater project in the West Bank, excluding the Jordan River. It is composed of an equal number of delegates representing the Israeli and the Palestinian water authorities, and the implementation of any water project in the West Bank requires the consent of both parties to this committee. Therefore, the Palestinians must obtain the JWCs prior approval on any water project, such as water extraction in the aquifers and any other water-related projects. However, they also need additional permits from the Israeli civil administration before embarking on any works in Area C of the West Bank. This measure, however, does not apply to the Israelis.

Under the 1995 Interim Agreement, the Gaza Strip was considered a separate water sector and thus Gazan authorities were held solely responsible for meeting the residents needs using only sources located within Gazas borders and the small quantities that Israel pledged to sell them, without being able to use water from the West Bank.

On May 25, the head of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), Mazen Ghoneim, said during a periodic meeting held by PWA with its funding partners, The six-year suspension of the JWCs work has led to the suspension of 97 projects in a number of Palestinian communities.

He pointed out that the resumption of the work of the JWC would strengthen the PWAs capacity, with the support of its partners, to implement numerous vital water projects faster  especially projects serving Palestinian communities in Area C.

In 2010, the PWA, headed by Shaddad al-Attili, a water expert in the Palestinian territories, had decided to suspend the work of the JWC because Israel conditioned its approval of any Palestinian water projects on Palestinian approval of Israeli settlement projects in the West Bank. The Palestinians saw this as an attempt to legitimize Israels settlement activity.

Attili told Al-Monitor, Israel has also refused to grant Palestine the necessary permits to dig water wells or develop water projects in Area C. I do not expect the committee to achieve any positive results. Based on my years of experience with the Israelis, I do not expect much from them in the water dispute.

In the West Bank, dozens of residential areas face weeks of water shortages every summer as a result of Israels control over water resources and the water quota distributed to the Palestinians.

Attili noted that he does not expect this problem to be solved soon, since the JWC is mainly tasked with getting approval on internationally funded infrastructure projects. He added, Israel is obstructing the water supply to these projects and preventing the Palestinians from digging wells  not to mention that all water projects in Area C must be approved by the Israeli civil administration.

On Feb. 22, the Coalition for Accountability and Integrity-Aman had held an in-depth panel discussion to debate the JWC renewal mechanism. The experts on the panel concluded that the implementation of the water projects in Area C was still subject to approval by the Israeli civil administration, noting that the agreement to resume the JWC meetings sets the water quotas to be supplied to the Palestinians, but does not set forth any conditions or controls on the water quotas granted to Israeli settlements. The panel concluded that by signing this agreement the Palestinian authorities have acknowledged that they are not entitled to work in Area C because it is one of the disputed areas.

Samir Abdullah, the former Palestinian minister of planning and labor and researcher at the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute-MAS, told Al-Monitor, The resumption of the JWCs work came as a result of US and international pressure on Israel in light of the deterioration of the Palestinian economy hit by multiple crises for several reasons, including the water [shortage] and Palestinians increasing water needs.

The water dispute is one of final status negotiations issues along with other issues related to refugees, borders, the state, Jerusalem and settlements. All these issues were supposed to be resolved after the expiration of the interim period under the Oslo agreement in 1999, but that did not happen.

Abdullah doubts that the Israelis would give the Palestinians any water rights, saying, If the Israelis are forced to give us something because of international pressure, they would give us something that has no value."

Israel controls 90% of Palestinian water resources. A March 2015 report by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics stated, The Israeli daily share per capita of water consumption reached seven times higher than the Palestinians, noting that this is evidence of the inequality between Israel and Palestine in sharing water extracted from aquifers in the West Bank due to Israels almost full control over surface and groundwater.

According to Abdel Rahman al-Tamimi, the director general of the Palestinian Hydrology Group, Israels increase of Palestines water quota would be the main challenge that the JWC will have to face.

He told Al-Monitor, The JWCs action will not be reflected on the water situation in Palestine, because the problem lies in the unavailability for Palestinians of water sources, which are controlled by Israel."

Tamimi added, There is no use or benefit to develop water infrastructure projects such as building reservoirs and water networks, if there is no water to be pumped. This is why the Palestinians hope donors would pressure Israel to give the Palestinians larger water quotas.

This summer, as the Palestinians suffer from the water crisis, the Palestinian delegates in the JWC would also face a serious test. The outcomes of the JWC meetings will reflect the Palestinian delegates' ability to resolve the crisis, increase the water quantities granted to the Palestinians, allow the Palestinians to conclude public works in Area C and obtain the water rights approved under bilateral agreements.
June 9, 2017

The director of Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, Oraib al-Rantawi, is one of the most followed daily columnists in the Arab world, especially when it comes to Palestinian affairs. Rantawi, a Jordanian of Palestinian origin, devoted two successive columns on June 8-9 to the effects of the ongoing Gulf drama to the demise of the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas.

Rantawi made a direct connection in his June 8 column between the escalation against Qatar and the May 20 Arab summit with US President Donald Trump in Riyadh. Trump lumped Hamas with the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra and Hezbollah in his terrorism list, while attending Arab Islamic leaders were quiet.

The well-read analyst said that what is strange is that the four Arab countries that decided to boycott Qatar  namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt  have not listed Hamas on their terror blacklist. Egypt welcomed on the same day a delegation headed by Yahya Sinwar, the hawkish Gaza Hamas leader, and Saudi Arabia had in 2015 welcomed Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas political bureau, while the UAEs favorite exiled Palestinian leader, Mohammed Dahlan, openly proclaims his good relationship with Hamas.

Regardless of their positions toward Hamas, there is no doubt that in the post-Trump visit to Saudi Arabia, a new order has been established.

Omar Kullab, a Jordanian political analyst of Gaza origin, told Al-Monitor that the visit to Egypt by the Hamas delegation was not a pleasant one. Sinwar and his group were summoned to Cairo and were told point-blank that they have to quickly end their rule and hand over the reins of power in the Gaza Strip to the Ramallah-based authority.

Rantawi warned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Ramallah-based leadership, however, not to get too excited about the developments between Hamas and the Arab world. I worry that Fatah in Ramallah would welcome these changes and feel good about them. It might be Hamas today, but it could be Abbas tomorrow, he warned.

Rantawis concerns are apparently correct. A PLO source in Ramallah told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Palestinian leadership is very happy with the latest developments. They are enjoying seeing Hamas go down, especially because of what Hamas did to them, he said in reference to Hamas taking over Gaza by force from the Palestinian Authority in 2007. The source insists that without Qatar, Hamas would have collapsed a long time ago.

Jihad Abu Fallah, a senior producer with the UK-based, pro-Hamas Hiwar TV, also believes that the Qatar crisis will have a negative effect on Hamas. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Abu Fallah said, Many of Hamas leaders have already left Doha, and the newly elected head of the political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, has retracted his decision to move from Gaza to Doha.

Abu Fallah believes that the PLO will also suffer as a result of this crisis. Funding to Palestine will be reduced, and in the frenzy to cozy up to the United States the Gulf countries are going to race to normalize relations with Israel on the account of the Palestinian cause.

In his June 9 column, Rantawi called on Hamas to learn from the Palestinian exile experience in the past decades and reminded them that when the PLO was based in Tunis in the 1980s, they were forced to give in to international pressures in order to stay relevant and ensure that the world did not negotiate directly with the leadership in the occupied territories. The analyst was referring to pressure placed on the PLO to moderate its position after it took residency in Tunis.

Rantawi believes that there are very few choices left for Hamas, which will not be able to find a safe haven even in Sudan. If Hamas wants to get out of the bottleneck that is squeezing it, then it must find a way to return to the political umbrella of the PLO and give up its unilateral rule in the Gaza Strip.

The extreme pressure that has been piled on the Gulf state of Qatar is destined to be resolved sooner or later. But the big question will be at what price. How long will the small state of Qatar hold out its claims of sovereignty and independent foreign policy, and what are the compromises and groups that will be sacrificed in order to bring this crisis to an end?

Qatar has been heavily involved not only in supporting Hamas, but also in providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians, especially in the reconstruction effort after the Israeli wars on Gaza. Palestinians are worried that as a result of this crisis, there will be an end to this vital lifeline. Qatar might be forced to end or reduce its financial commitments to the Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip.

While the Ramallah-based leadership is not currently under any pressure to take any steps against Qatar  such as ending diplomatic relationships  it will no doubt be watching closely what is happening in the hope to keep its head low as Palestinians and Arabs await the end of this storm with the least costs.
June 6, 2017

Members of the Subbotnik community, residents in the small southern Russian town of Vysokaye, have for the past few weeks been gripped by emotional turmoil. After more than a decade of sitting on their bags, they thought they might finally get the Knesset to reopen Israels gates to the Subbotniks.

However, the awaited sitting of Knesset on May 17, which would debate the fate of the towns residents and members of their community scattered throughout Russia, Ukraine and Armenia, was put off. Subbotniks, whose forefathers converted to Judaism over 200 years ago and have been Jews for all intents and purposes ever since, now anxiously await permission to immigrate to Israel.

A Knesset source told Al-Monitor that the Committee on Immigration and Absorption would hold a debate on the issue soon to promote their immigration to Israel. The debate was still unscheduled as of June 5.

The story of the Subbotniks dates to the end of the 18th century in southern Russia, when a group of farmers left their church and began observing the Jewish Sabbath. The name apparently derives from the Russian word Subbota, meaning Sabbath, given that they had previously observed the Sabbath. Several groups grew out of the first community, some of which fully adopted Judaism, and according to the traditions they hold, their ancestors converted to Judaism, by the book. In the early 19th century, Czar Alexander I expelled them from their homes and deported them to various parts of his empire as punishment for their adoption of Judaism  part of the reason that they can be found today in Ukraine, Siberia, southern Russia and the Caucasus. During World War II, many Subbotniks in Russia and the Ukraine were murdered by the Nazis.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Subbotniks moved to Israel in several waves. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, their numbers grew. The flow stopped in 2003 when the Ministry of Interior started limiting their immigration; later, the Chief Rabbinate also entered the picture. Israels Chief Rabbinate claimed their Jewish origins were not sufficiently clear, effectively blocking their immigration under the Law of Return (which provides Jews with automatic permission to immigrate to Israel).

Since then, they have been sitting on their bags, says Michael Freund, the chair and founder of Shavei Israel, the only organization that maintains regular ties to the Subbotnik communities around the world and helps them. A great many family members of the Jewish Subbotniks, especially from the town of Vysokaye and Ilinka in southern Russia, live in Israel and wish to be united with their relatives living in exile, he tells Al-Monitor. The situation is particularly severe in areas of Ukraine, such as Krivoy Rog, where they regularly suffer anti-Semitic persecution. They yearn to immigrate to Israel and dont understand why its not possible. According to Freund, the Jewish Subbotniks in former USSR countries number some 10,000 to 20,000.

The political campaign to obtain permission for them to immigrate is spearheaded by Knesset member Oded Forer of the Yisrael Beitenu party. Were talking, at most, about a few thousand who live as Jews for all intents and purposes. They celebrate the Jewish holidays, observe the Sabbath and attend synagogue. Some have families in Israel. This is a very painful story, the lawmaker told Al-Monitor. I have been following this story ever since I was the director general of the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. We want the Subbotniks to undergo a procedure similar to that of the Falash Mura [Ethiopian Jews claiming Jewish lineage who were allowed to immigrate after undergoing conversion] and put them through a rigorous conversion process.

Forer said the whole procedure must be approved by the Chief Rabbinate and it also requires a government decision. When they immigrate to Israel they will still be considered non-Jews until they undergo conversion. Such a situation requires special government dispensation. This is a tremendous Jewish tragedy  on the one hand they are being persecuted by their neighbors for being Jewish; on the other the State of Israel does not allow them in. Now the issue is under serious consideration to put an end to this saga.

Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund with a Subbotnik Jew in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, in an undated photo provided by Shivtei Israel.

Vitally Grigorenko, 30, immigrated to Israel from Vysokaye when he was 17. He did his compulsory IDF military service, trained as an officer and today is a food engineer at Tel Avivs Ichilov Hospital. Right at the outset of his conversation with Al-Monitor, he rejected the use of the term Subbotniks to refer to his community. We do not accept this term, because we are Jews for all intents and purposes, he insisted.

Grigorenko still has relatives in Vysokaye. They long to immigrate to Israel; they wait for this every day, and they are shocked by Israels attitude toward them, he said. They cannot understand why, even though they have been Jews for several generations  Jews who fought for their Judaism despite all attempts to make them convert to Christianity, and their persecution by the Nazis and by their neighbors  they are not permitted to immigrate to Israel. Nonetheless, he added that the Jews in Vysokaye were still hopeful regarding their prospects for immigration.

Over the years, quite a few Subbotniks immersed themselves in the broader Jewish community abroad and their descendants are an integral part of the Jewish people. Jewish education professor Yuval Dror, for example, is a descendant of a Subbotnik family. My grandfather, Abraham Korakin, immigrated here in the first decade of the 20th century at the head of a group of Subbotniks. They were actually Christians who underwent proper conversion to Judaism by Rabbi Yitzhak Elhanan Spector, the rabbi of the town of Kovno, he told Al-Monitor. They settled throughout the land and became an inseparable part of the Jewish community in British mandatory Palestine. Our family was completely integrated in the yishuv (the Jewish community in the pre-state days), and one of the most famous Subbotnik offspring was Lt. Col. Yossi Korakin, who headed a naval commando operation in Lebanon in 1997 and was killed in a Hezbollah ambush. He was the grandson of Subbotnik Rabbi Korakin.

For history professor Shulamite Shahar, who researched the Subbotnik issue and has traveled to their villages to write a study, the exact roots of the Subbotniks is mired in mystery. No one knows how the Subbotnik phenomenon began, she told Al-Monitor in an interview. Suddenly, at the beginning of the 19th century, talk began of this group. In the study, we cannot pinpoint the start, nor do we know of a charismatic leader who was followed. In fact, we have virtually no idea of their true roots except for their own testimonies. The lives of Russian farmers were hard in any case, and its unclear what led them to enter this Jewish adventure with all the suffering it caused them for generations.

Nonetheless, Shahar supports their immigration to Israel: These are wonderful people, industrious and hard-working farmers. They are educated and polite. They can contribute to the country, to develop here and help others develop. I dont understand why this is being delayed.
June 9, 2017

ALEPPO, Syria  The Syrian regime forces continue their military operations in Aleppos eastern countryside, and with that, towns and villages are slipping out of the Islamic State (IS) grip. On June 4, IS suffered its biggest losses in this attack, as regime forces took control of Maskanah town, the last inhabited neighborhood under IS control in Aleppo province, according to the administrative division of IS.

Apart from some deserts and hills that are still under IS control in the Syrian Desert in the extreme eastern countryside of Aleppo, where there are no villages or inhabited areas, IS has left Aleppo after losing in Maskanah, or Muslima, as the Islamist group likes to call it.

This is the second province that IS has lost in Syria, after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) took control of al-Baraka province, the IS name for Hasakah, at the end of February 2016.

With the Russian air raids and the increased shelling that began May 2 in eastern Aleppo, IS militants had to retreat from the Jirah air base and from several villages and towns in the eastern Aleppo countryside that the regime forces, made up of Qawat al-Nimr and Liwa al-Quds, invaded. Gen. Suheil al-Hassan led the forces, with the support of groups affiliated with Lebanese Hezbollah.

However, the advance of the regime forces stopped when they reached the outskirts of Maskanah on May 25. Intensive pre-emptive shelling no longer did them any good, with IS insistence to stand their ground in the town that was the organizations stronghold and cornerstone in Aleppo after losing Manbij, al-Bab and Dayr Hafir.

The regime forces did not attack Maskanah directly; they imposed a blockade on it and infiltrated into the villages in the south and west of the town, taking control June 3 of around 22 villages, mainly Judayaa Kabira, al-Mahmoudiya and al-Hamraa. IS forces in Maskanah town were hemmed in from three sides: the south, west and north. Thus, they retreated June 4.

Amid the battles and heavy shelling, thousands of civilians were displaced to nearby al-Tabqa city under the control of the SDF. Thousands of displaced also arrived in Manbij and Jarablus that are under the control of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

Abu Hamza, an inhabitant of a town close to Maskanah, was displaced to Jarablus, where his relatives live. He traveled with his family on a farm tractor. He told Al-Monitor, Maskanah and all villages around it have been deserted due to the heavy shelling. We escaped death and carried with us our basic necessities only.

The Syrian regime advance in Aleppos eastern countryside in the past few days has given it many benefits. For one, it has solved the water problem of Aleppo and regained June 4 two pumping and water purification stations in the west of Maskanah, which are the only sources of water for Aleppo, apart from al-Khafsah station. Moreover, the regime control of wide stretches of fertile land constitutes a good source of income from crops.

On the military level, Maskanahs strategic location on the Aleppo-Raqqa highway allows the regime forces to put their hands on the supply routes between Aleppo and Raqqa.

The regime forces continued their military operations and benefited from the Russian air raids and artillery shelling. On June 6, they reached the administrative borders of Raqqa by taking control of villages in east and south Maskanah, mainly Khurbat Mihsen, Tarqawi and Beer Sabe.

The regime forces have found a footing in Raqqa for the first time since 2014. But the SDF, only 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from the regime forces, mobilized its forces in the west and south of al-Tabqa and took control of Alboassi village June 6, after battles with IS. The SDF seemingly wants to close the road to the regime forces to prevent their advance to Raqqa.

On June 8, regime-affiliated aircraft launched raids on the western countryside of Raqqa, targeting IS locations in Deir Mleihan, Debsi Afnan and al-Qadisiya, according to the SANA news agency.

The regime forces apparently arent as interested in their advance in Aleppos eastern countryside to reach Raqqa as they are in securing their supply route to Aleppo and widening their control in the east of the city to reach the Euphrates River.

As soon as the regime forces took control of Maskanah, they opened two new attack axes to expand Athreya-Khanasir road, which is a narrow pathway connecting Aleppo to the center and south of Syria. It had been an easy target for IS attacks in recent years and was blocked several times.

The regime pushed forward troops affiliated with the Syrian Republican Guard along with Qawat al-Nimr, which launched an attack on nearby IS sites from the town of Khanasir in the south of Aleppo. On June 3-4, they took control of Tallat al-Alam and the Tuweihina mountain range.

The second axis was in the south of Athreya village in the eastern Hama countryside. On June 6, the regime took control of northern Maksar and al-Tina, which IS used to attack a supply route to Aleppo, Athreya-Khanasir.

As a result, the regime expanded the safety zone around its supply route to Aleppo, leaving IS out of the picture. IS is now focusing on reinforcing itself in its capital, Raqqa, which the SDF is closely approaching after announcing June 6 a major battle to gain control of the city.
June 8, 2017

The only firm opposition to the "Let's Teach Qatar a Lesson" operation currently underway in the Middle East is coming from Turkey. Even US President Donald Trump initially loudly applauded the campaign led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  though he has since taken a more conciliatory tone.

The Turkish government, which had drafted a plan some time ago to send troops to Qatar to firm up a Sunni front against Iran, fast-tracked legislation needed to send troops abroad.

Turkish-Arab relations are passing through erratic times. Everyone was wondering what position Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would take in the Qatari crisis. Erdogan had won the hearts and minds of the Gulf emirs and kings earlier this year by declaring the need to "prevent the Persian nationalist expansion." Many observers thought he would take a pragmatic approach to avoid losing favor with many other countries just to please Qatar. Erdogans widely publicized but futile telephone diplomacy to solve the crisis was interpreted as a desperate attempt to avoid having to choose between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and its allies. But at the end of the day, Ankara decided to interpret the actions against Qatar as if they had been taken against Turkey.

Erdogan said there are other motives behind what is being done to Qatar, but he wasn't specific.

It didnt take Ankara long to reach the conclusion that, after Qatar, Turkey is the likely next target. After all, just like Qatar, Turkey had become a staunch guardian of the Muslim Brotherhood and was in full harmony with Qatar in the proxy war raging in Syria. All the reasons cited by the Saudi king and the US president to declare Qatar a "supporter of terror" could easily be applied to Turkey. Full support of the sanctions against Qatar from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who had toppled the Muslim Brotherhood in his country, no doubt played a key role in Erdogan's lining up with Qatar.

Turkey felt compelled to take a critical step, convinced that the developments were not confined only to Qatar. Turkey, which had earlier decided to build a base in Qatar, fast-tracked through the parliament this week two accords approving deployment of Turkish soldiers in that country and to train the Qatari gendarmerie. According to the first accord, which will be valid for 10 years and can be extended for five-year periods, there will be a Qatar-Turkey Tactical Division Headquarters to be commanded by a Qatari major general, assisted by a Turkish brigadier general. Some 500-600 soldiers will be based at the headquarters. Currently there are 95 Turkish military personnel in Qatar. An explosives demolition team with 25-30 members will also be going. The second accord will enable Turkey to train about 4,000 Qatari gendarmerie personnel.

Opposition parties in Turkey's parliament called for Turkey to remain neutral in the Arab world dispute, but their demands didn't prevent the ruling Justice and Development Party from passing the accords. In arguing the case, Ozturk Yilmaz, deputy chairman of the main opposition group, the Republican People's Party, said: We know that some countries want to topple the emir and replace him with a new ruler. Who will our force confront? If [Qatar wants] to use those troops to preserve the Qatari ruling family, shall we be supporting that objective? Will we be involved in internal security operations of Qatar? Please dont subject Turkey to this nasty nonsense.

Filiz Kerestecioglu of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) accused the government of trying to drag the country into a quagmire to find new markets for the defense industry. HDP deputy Chairman Mithat Sancar warned that Turkey might soon be accused of cooperating with terrorists.

According to sources close to the Ankara government, although Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud had developed close relations with Ankara, Qatar has a special, distinct place in Erdogans heart and Turkey sees Qatar as its most important ally in the Gulf.

Turkey's government has yet come up with a satisfactory explanation of what its troops will be doing in Qatar, apart from noting that, after all, Turkey has gendarmerie cooperation accords with 18 countries.

There have been several striking examples of Turkeys earlier attempts to assist with crises in the Arab world, all of which backfired. Turkey almost intervened to protect King Faisal II of Iraq against the uprising by Gen. Abd al-Karim Qasim in 1958. Turkey almost ended up in Lebanon in 1958 upon invitation of President Camille Chamoun. Of course there is no need to elaborate here on how Turkeys misguided actions in the Syrian crisis poisoned and complicated relations with Arab and Islamic worlds.

After openly taking sides with Qatar in the current crisis, Turkey might have to reshuffle its cards in regional relations. Against its best interests, it might have to warm up relations with Iran, just as Qatar is doing. Isnt this why Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif immediately showed up June 7 in Ankara, saying he needed to consult with Turkey because of dangerous developments in the region?

When Turkey-Qatar military cooperation first appeared on the countries' agendas, pro-government news outlets in Turkey were regularly citing the threat from Iran. In April 2016, when then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was signing the military accords with Qatar at Doha, Turkish media interpreted Turkeys setting up a base in Qatar as balancing the increasing influence of Iran. For those commentators, the Turkish base reflected a Sunni security alliance among Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

At that time, state-owned TRT Avaz TV did not mince words declaring Iran as the target. Turkey and Qatar have taken positions very similar in Middle East crises. Their stances in assisting the opposition in Syria are the same. They took similar positions vis-a-vis the crises in Iraq and Yemen. This Sunni alliance is particularly important for Qatar. Sunni rule in Doha is uncomfortable, with the US melting the ice with Shiite Iran. Qatar doesnt see the American forces on its land as a militarily adequate deterrent. Qatar is trying to close the gap by opting for cooperation with Turkey, the statement said.

History has repeatedly shown that Turkeys interventionist moves in the Arab world have always poisoned Turkish-Arab relations. We are, of course, aware that since the July 15 coup attempt, Ankara is engulfed by rumors of foreign forces plotting further coups. This is enough to explain Ankara's actions regarding Qatar today.
Montgomery tech and business leaders will be getting together soon to map out a strategy for Montgomery as it seeks to leverage the state's only Internet Exchange into an economic engine.

Carl Barranco was named this week as Montgomery's cyber strategy coordinator. Next week, a group will meet to begin mapping out that strategy in what Barranco described as a six-month process.

Barranco, a consultant and former CPA with 50 years' experience, said he is looking forward to the challenge. He is a former chairman of the Montgomery Chamber and the Committee of 100.

"I consider this as answering a call," Barranco said. "I've always been very active in Montgomery, and this is an interesting subject. (Mayor Todd Strange) saw a need to bring together the various players and give this project some direction."

This week, Montgomery announced an upgrade to the state's only Internet Exchange, known as MGMix, which can now handle 100 Gigabits of traffic per second. City officials said this can position the city to attract companies handling large amounts of data, such as Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple.

Barranco said he sees the strategy as resembling a wheel with several spokes radiating out of MGMix - business development, collaboration, innovation, data science, communication and cyber security. Each of these components can not only contribute to the success of MGMix, but also position Montgomery as a tech leader in Alabama and the Southeast.

"These things are already active out there," he said. "They're just not under any one umbrella. What we intend to do is harness them into a strategy."

Take collaboration. MGMix already has a peering agreement with Auburn University at Montgomery. That means access to a pipeline of data research. City leaders also see a collaboration between government, education and the military with Maxwell Air Force Base.

There's also the potential for jobs. The first group of classes for TechMGM, a program of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, the Alabama Community College System and the local IT industry, finishes up later this month. Participants will earn Security+ certification, one of the most sought-after certifications for IT professionals.

Having a trained workforce is yet another way to attract tech jobs.

"We are already creating a talent pipeline," he said. "And with secondary and post secondary education, we're providing a teaching point."

Cyber security also makes sense as a focus, Barranco said, because of the growing need among firms for trained people proficient in its needs.

The pieces are in place. CoWerx46, a developer-centered co-working space, opens this month on Commerce Street. And Montgomery hosts the annual Air Force Information Technology Conference. That's a lot of collaboration already in existence, and it's a resource to draw from.

"What we're trying to recognize is that we are situated well, not just geographically but technological, to be a leader," Barranco said. "Nobody else has what we have here."
Alabama's second surplus auction of 2017 will take place next week in Montgomery.

The Surplus Property Division of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs will host the event from 8 a.m. until the last item is sold June 14 on 4590 Mobile Highway. The auction will include property surrendered by state and federal agencies and by airport passengers across the Southeast.

Attendees will have a chance to bid on a number of items, including vehicles, computers, office furniture, TVs, vending machines, boat motors and more.

Click here for a complete list of items.

"ADECA conducts public auctions about three times a year, but surplus items are available at any time to municipal and county governments, state agencies and qualified nonprofit organizations," the agency said in a statement.

Participants must bring a photo ID and Social Security number or federal ID to bid. An on-site inspection of the items will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 12-13.

For more information about the auction, call 334-284-0577 or visit www.adeca.alabama.gov/surplus.
Honda this week announced its plans to have advanced self-driving vehicles by 2025, and automobiles with "highly-automated freeway driving capability" by 2020.

"These are critical steps in Honda's commitment to contribute to a collision-free society," the company said in an announcement in Japan.

Members of the media this week were able to test drive vehicles with automated technology, including models with advanced artificial intelligence, the company stated. These models employ multiple cameras and radar sensors, as vehicle technology aims toward driving scenarios on highways with multiple lanes.

"We are striving to provide our customers with a sense of confidence and trust by offering automated driving that will keep vehicles away from any dangerous situation and that will not make people around the vehicle feel unsafe," said Honda President and CEO Takahiro Hachigo.

Automakers are adjusting their timelines for self-driving vehicles as technology merits, according to Venture Beat. Mercedes, for example, is working on "sensor fusion" which combines camera, ultrasound and radar information, as part of its CASE strategy. Daimler is aiming for the early 2020s.

Toyota wants full-automation by 2020, while Hyundai sees urban driving autonomous vehicles by 2030.

What's the goal? It's known as Level 4, which Honda defines as the vehicle being able to drive itself in most cases except inclement weather or unusual driving conditions, RDN reports. Level 5 is complete driverless technology.

Some existing vehicles already have elements of the technology that autonomous vehicles will rely on. More than 500,000 Hondas and Acuras in the U.S. have autobraking, lane keeping and adaptive cruise control features.

And according to Honda, existing technology can allow a vehicle to respond to situations such as roads without lane markings, detecting pedestrians and bicyclists at night.
Local entrepreneurs and artists now have the opportunity to rent pop-up space before leasing a permanent location at Parkway Place Mall in Huntsville.

The CBL & Associates property unveiled the concept this morning on the lower level of the mall in center court. Parkway Place is only the second mall in the CBL portfolio and the first in North Alabama to debut the pop-up concept.

"The retailers that come into the mall will be exposed to tremendous traffic and see the benefits of being in a shopping center without a lease agreement," Marketing Director Molly Mitchell said. "Shoppers will be excited to see what's next. Whenever you're shopping at the mall, people are shopping local."

How does it work?

Tenants can rent pop-up space for one week at a time for $750. The cost includes fixtures, decor, tables, hangers, mannequins, pallet walls, fitting rooms and exposure on Parkway Place's social media channels.

When a store moves in, Mitchell said there will be two vinyl signs that display the store's name. They will also produce signage to display the store name and dates of operation throughout the mall.

"This allows local shops to come into the mall for a reduced rate, low commitment and be exposed to steady mall traffic and sales," Mitchell said.

Pop-up merchants can also take advantage of mall traffic, which averages more than 21,000 visitors each day during busy seasons.

To qualify for the space, Mitchell said tenants must have a successful concept that reflects the integrity of the mall. She said the focus is to "incorporate and target the local flavor that makes North Alabama so unique and wonderful."

"This is to be local, engaging and fun for both shoppers and the merchants," Mitchell said "It's important for each merchant to bring their own style and use the space as a blank canvas we have provided. They can bring in their own fixtures and set up the space to reflect their brand. However, they can come in and use the space as is if needed."

Sister property

Mitchell said Parkway Place is mimicking its sister property, Fayette Mall, in Kentucky.

Since launching the pop-up concept six months ago, she said Fayette Mall has had dozens of successful local tenants use the space, often more than once. In some cases, it has led to long-term leases at the mall.

Parkway Place has not yet promoted the pop-up, but since the vinyl signage went up last week, Mitchell said Senior Specialty Leasing Manager Barbara Hale has spoken with several callers interested in the space.

A pop-up shop social for local merchants, artists and boutique owners will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. June 22 at the mall on Memorial Parkway.

"We will showcase the space and have them see it for the first time," Mitchell said.

Interested tenants can email barbara.hale@cblproperties.com for details.

Parkway Place shoppers spent more than $140 million on site last year, bringing in roughly $6 million in city sales tax. The occupancy rate at Parkway Place was 98.7 percent in late 2016.
The second season of "Ginormous Food" ends with a visit to coastal Alabama, where the final episode promises to be full of flavor and familiar faces. "Mobile's Monster Meals" will air on Friday, July 28, at 7 p.m. CDT, according to Food Network.

The half-hour show will highlight two restaurants in Mobile and one in Fairhope.

Host Josh Denny and a Food Network crew started their Alabama visit with a stop at Thyme on Section in downtown Fairhope on Sunday, May 28.

"It was an interesting process to see it take shape," said chef/owner Adrian Yots, who met the crew at the restaurant at 7 a.m. and served the regular brunch menu to customers while the filming took place.

"Everyone was great," he said. "It was jam-packed, but they were very patient."

The show's premise is in its title, with Denny on a mission to find "the biggest and tastiest foods in America."

At Thyme on Section, Yots prepared the "Alabama Slamma": a whole bacon-wrapped chicken topped with fried oysters and collard greens atop pimento cheese cornbread.

Yots "bought a big old pan," he said, in which to cook the cornbread for the dish, which he describes as "a play on the chicken-and-waffles idea." The pimento cheese cornbread is a popular appetizer on the restaurant's menu right now, Yots said.

In addition to the oversized dish, Yots also prepared a softshell crab sandwich with an avocado puree and a Southern-inspired market fish dish that features Gulf grouper with pecan and arugula pesto atop herb-Parmesan grits with local vegetables.

He made three versions of each dish and started out with "glamour shots" of the food in the morning, then did the "reveal" of the giant dish and interviews during the restaurant's brunch service, then filmed cooking scenes showing "hands and pans" in the kitchen.

Yots opened the restaurant on April 1, 2011, as Thyme on the Bay. It was so popular that Yots needed more dining and parking space, so on Oct. 1, 2016, the eatery moved to a larger space on Section Street in downtown Fairhope and became Thyme on Section.

On Monday, which was Memorial Day, the crew was greeted at LoDa Bier Garten in downtown Mobile by a crowd of "a couple of hundred at least," according to owner Matt Golden. They spent about 12 hours filming at the popular restaurant that opened five years ago.

The Bier Garten was initially chosen because of its high ratings on social media, Golden was told. "It was a very in-depth process" that included "two months of scouts, Skypes and calls." When he received the call to let him know the show would be paying a visit, he thought it was a joke because the last name of the woman who left a message for him was "Burgers."

Known for its burgers and extensive beer selection, the Bier Garten didn't disappoint the "Ginormous Foods" crew with "The Destroyer," two pounds of burger with 12 strips of bacon and a stack of cheese, served on a giant grilled Sugar Rush doughnut - a magnified version of the restaurant's Sugar Rush burger.

Like the other restaurants, Bier Garten also served two popular dishes - Mama's Pretzel Bites with Abita Amber cheese sauce and Pig on a Stick, bacon-wrapped Conecuh sausage corn dogs served with honey dijonnaise dipping sauce. Golden said that Denny "devoured the whole plate" of pretzel bites.

Finally, on Tuesday, "Ginormous Food" visited Von's Bistro in downtown Mobile, where Denny sampled the foot-long "High Roller" version of Von Larson's spring roll appetizer: rice and wheat wrappers stuffed with ground pork, pork belly, shrimp and crab meat, then deep-fried.

The pork belly was provided by Bill-E's Small Batch Bacon, which is made in Fairhope. Larson also served Pad Thai Nachos and Bahn Mi Tacos, two of her more popular and unusual dishes.

"Our restaurant is a little bit of everything," she said.
Moving vocals, energetic dancing and colorful gowns and costumes highlighted the second night of the 2017 Miss Alabama Pageant, but three special guests stole the show.

Ventriloquist Paige Phillips Parnell, Miss Alabama 1980, emceed the competition with her puppets Crazy Pete, Darlene, and Dinkle.

Parnell, a Leeds High School graduate and the first Miss Leeds Area, won the Miss Alabama the first time she competed and was named first runner-up to Miss America 1981.

During the Thursday night preliminary, Miss Alabama hopefuls once again paid tribute to deceased musical artists like Prince, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Nat King Cole, and more.

Callie Walker, Miss University of Alabama, won the talent competition with her performance of the "Hoe-Down" from the ballet Rodeo. Walker, a University of Alabama student, served as Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2012.

Chelsey Sayasane, Miss University of Mobile, won swimsuit. Sayasane, of Saraland, is studying Communications at the University of Mobile and aspires to work on NBC's Today Show.

The 48 contestants are evaluated in private interview, on-stage question, talent, evening wear, and lifestyle and fitness in swimwear during the four-day pageant. The final night of preliminary competition continues Friday, June 9, 2017. The field will be narrowed to the top 12 finalists at the start of the final night of competition Saturday. By evening's end, there will be a new Miss Alabama who will represent Alabama in this year's Miss America competition in Atlantic City.

Later this summer, the top 12 finalists and the new Miss Alabama will be featured in the annual Miss Alabama Fashion Show on Saturday, August 19, 2017 at the Vestavia Country Club. If you want to go, contact the Miss Alabama office starting Monday at (205)871-6276 or visit their website here for more information.

Follow our coverage of Miss Alabama here.
The former director of the FBI, James Comey, testified on Capitol Hill on Thursday, shedding light on the circumstances that led to his controversial firing by US President Donald Trump.

Senators are looking into alleged Russian meddling into the US presidential election of 2016, and Comey is a key witness. Comey once headed the FBI investigation into Russian hacking but was dismissed by Trump because, according to Comey, he went public with the probe.

These were his first public comments since he was sacked and Comey did not hold back. Here are seven things we learned from his testimony:

Comey thinks Trump is a liar. In fact, Comey called the president a liar at least three times during his testimony. After their first meeting at Trump Tower in New York City in January, Comey sat in his car immediately after and typed everything out on a laptop. I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it important to document, Comey told Senators. He documented all nine conversations as a result.

Comey leaked information. In May, three days after he was fired, Comey worried there may actually be a White House tape of one of their conversations. After all, the president had tweeted cryptically that Comey better hope there arent any tapes of their conversations. So Comey reached out to a law professor friend at Columbia University. He shared his notes with him and asked him to tell a reporter about them. Although he didnt specify which reporter, the New York Times released a story a day later with many of the details Comey has now confirmed. I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, Comey said. Robert Mueller, the former FBI director, was appointed special counsel that same week.

Comey challenged Trump to produce tapes. Although the White House wont confirm the existence of any tapes, Comey told him to bring it on. Lordy, I hope there are tapes, he said during his testimony.

The Obama administration tried to get Comey off the Clinton investigation. During the election campaign of 2016, Attorney General Loretta Lynch told him to refer to an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clintons alleged misuse of classified information as a matter rather than an investigation, according to Comey. He said Lynchs request gave me a queasy feeling because there was no doubt the FBI investigation was just that. In July 2016, Comey announced publicly there was no clear evidence Clinton or her subordinates had mishandled classified information.

Kushner and Sessions may have known about Flynn request. On February 14th, during a meeting in the Oval Office, Comey said Trump asked him to let this go in reference to an investigation into Trumps then-national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russian officials during the White House transition. But before Trump made the request, according to Comey, both Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the presidents son-in-law Jared Kushner, a top adviser, lingered in the room. My sense was the attorney general knew he shouldnt be leaving, said Comey. I dont know Kushner well, but I think he picked up on the same thing. The president told them to leave. Comey said Trump then made the unusual request. Both Flynn and Comey were later fired.

Comey debated what to tell Sessions. Within Comeys office, there was much debate about whether to tell Sessions and the Department of Justice about the presidents request to drop the Flynn investigation. Comey said he told several people in his office but they felt Sessions would recuse himself from any Russia investigations because Sessions himself had misled Congress about his own conversations with the Russians while serving as a Trump adviser during the campaign. They were also concerned it would taint the investigation. We decided the best move would be to hold it, keep it in a box, document it, Comey said of the presidents request. Figure out what to do with it down the road. Is there a way to corroborate it? It was our word against the presidents. No way to corroborate this.

Trump made Comey speechless. Following the request to drop the Flynn investigation, Comey sat in silence. I was so stunned by the conversation that I just took in, Comey told the Senate. I remember saying, I agree he is a good guy, as a way of saying, Im not agreeing with what you asked me to do.'
Antifa groups and alt-right activists have increasingly clashed with one another in cities and towns across the US.

A group of black-clad anarchists surround a far-right activist, pushing him from their protest area and dousing him in silly string. The anti-fascist demonstrators had gathered in Portland in the United States to counter an alt-right rally.

Nazis go home, they yell in videos of the incident on Sunday.

Other anti-fascists  or Antifa  set ablaze a blue, black and white version of the US flag that signifies support for the police in a gesture against police brutality.





Columns of police in riot gear, supported by officers from the Department of Homeland Security, stand between the alt-right rally-goers and the Antifa counter-protesters, and although there are only minor skirmishes between them, clashes between the police and Antifa result in the arrest of at least 14 people.

Sunday was just the latest occasion on which Antifa activists and alt-rightists have converged on cities across the US with the intention of fighting.

For Antifa, direct confrontation is a key strategy intended to shut down far-right demonstrations and block platforms for hate speech.

Over the past few months, the alt-right  a loosely knit coalition that includes white supremacists and neo-Nazis  has also focused on building a larger street presence to confront their opponents.

Although they have many disagreements with US President Donald Trump, they have generally supported his far-right policies.

Since Trumps inauguration on January 20, the alt-right has sought to build broader alliances with neo-Nazi groups and more mainstream Trump supporters in order to fight Antifa, say analysts and activists.

Patriot Prayer, a far-right Christian group headed by alt-right activist Joey Gibson, was behind the Portland rally. While Gibson says the protests he holds in Portland are for the promotion of free speech, white supremacists  such as Portland stabbing suspect Jeremy Christian  have attended the events.

Christian is accused of killing Ricky Best, 53, and Taliesin Namkai-Meche, 23, on a light rail train when they intervened to stop his harassment of a pair of teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab.

A third man who intervened, 21-year-old Micah Fletcher, was severely injured.

READ MORE: Alt-right rally draws protests in Portland, Oregon

The fatal attack came just a week after Sean Christopher Urbanski, a 22-year-old studying at the University of Maryland, allegedly killed Richard Collins III, a 23-year-old African American student at a nearby university.

The assailant was a member of a Facebook group titled the Alt-Reich, a play on words on the German Third Reich and the alt-right. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime.

There will be blood

Speaking to Al Jazeera by telephone, Gibson denied any links to Christian and insisted that his group evicted the alleged killer from a recent protest. Christian was recently filmed making Nazi salutes and calling for the death of Jews, Muslims and fake Christians at one of Gibsons events before eventually being ejected.

This is about promoting freedom and promoting spirituality, Gibson argued. Conservatives and libertarians have to get off Facebook and get onto the streets because weve let the left have them for too long.

Antifa has had no impact on me and my free speech, but theyve had more of an impact on others free speech because they try to make threats, he said.

Gibson decried local authorities for supposedly caving into left-wing pressure, citing the Portland municipalitys decision to cancel the citys annual Rose Festival parade in April after anti-fascists promised to confront far-right participants there.

Antifa is all talk, Gibson added. To be honest, some of the people in that group are really good, passionate people, but the rest of them are just kids who cover their faces up and run around burning stuff down.

Anti-fascists argue that the guarantee of free speech is intended to protect against government censorship, not to provide platforms on which to espouse far-right views. With new Antifa groups popping up nationwide, they insist they are prepared for more confrontations.

One Portland-based anti-fascist activist, who spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity for fear of legal repercussions and having his identity exposed by alt-rightists, said local Antifa groups are committed to shutting down far-right protests in the city.

READ MORE: What is the alt-right and what does it stand for?

Weve given them the opportunity to disappear without direct confrontation, and weve allowed them to walk through the streets, he told Al Jazeera by telephone.

Theyve gotten cocky and need to be brought down a level, and sometimes that means in the most literal sense.

In my opinion, I do think there will be blood in Portland  on whose side, I cant say. But someones going to bleed, he concluded.

A local Republican Party official has advocated using citizen militias to protect Republicans. Multnomah County Republican Party chair James Buchal recently told The Guardian that the party should deploy the Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, gun-toting far-right groups, as security for their events.

Increased street fighting presence

While many far-right and neo-Nazi groups have been active for decades, the alt-right was propelled to the spotlight for its vocal support of Trump during his electoral campaign.

Although it had mostly been confined to chat rooms and social media outlets until recently, the movement views showing up for street fights as critical to its success, said Matthew Lyons, author of Ctrl Alt Delete, a collection of essays examining the movement.

It makes sense that [building a street presence] is something that theyve been focusing energy on in the recent time, partly in response to the upsurge of anti-fascist activism and the general upsurge of physical confrontations, he told Al Jazeera by telephone.

On April 15, hundreds of Antifa activists and Trump supporters brawled in Berkeley, California, using homemade shields, sticks, batons, pepper-spray and other makeshift weapons.

Although deeply divided by ideological differences, mainstream Trump supporters, nationalists, the alt-right and other white supremacists banded together to fight Antifa.

During the street fighting, Nathan Damigo, a former Marine and leader of the white supremacist group Identity Evropa, was filmed sucker punching 20-year-old Antifa activist Louise Rosealma, also known as Emily Rose Marshall.

The effort to engage in more street confrontations is also partly motivated by a general disillusionment with Trump; many alt-rightists resent the presidents reneging on electoral promises like halting US military intervention in other countries, said Lyons.

READ MORE: More Americans joining socialist groups under Trump

Alt-rightists have been trying to build alliances in several directions, Lyons explained. While reaching out to more hardline neo-Nazi groups, the movement has also rallied against Antifa alongside self-described patriot groups such as the Oath Keepers.

That is very important because I think Berkeley was the first example that I was aware of with patriot groups and alt-right groups being involved in the same demonstration in an organised way.

Both sides have also made expansive use of doxing, the tactic of publishing private or identifying information about opponents on the internet.

Far-right users of 4chan, an image board website where members post anonymously, have also started maintaining an online database to identify Antifa activists.

After the video of Damigo punching Rosealma went viral on social media outlets, alt-rightists dug through her personal history and shared her private information across the internet.

Upon discovering that Rosealma had previously been a sex worker, they published her pornographic videos on websites and posted links to them on her grandmothers Facebook page, according to local media reports.

Anxious to defeat them

On Saturday, a local branch of the Proud Boys  a far-right nationalist group headed by Vice cofounder and Rebel Media host Gavin McInnes  held a rally for free speech in Boulder, Colorado. They were greeted by hundreds of counter-protesters, including the Rocky Mountain Antifa. Local media reported several arrests.

Next weekend, anti-Muslim protesters will hold the National March Against Sharia, with events scheduled in more than 23 cities nationwide.

Hosted by ACT for America, one of the largest anti-Muslim groups in the US, the march will be the target of Antifa actions in many cities and towns, activists say.

With events like these growing in intensity and frequency, Antifa groups argue that direct confrontation is often necessary to prevent racist groups from being given a platform to espouse their views.

Near Houston, Texas, the Houston Socialist Movement plans to disrupt a National March Against Sharia protest in nearby La Porte.

David Michael Smith, an organiser with the Houston Socialist Movement, said his organisation has faced off with neo-Nazis and other far-right groups on a regular basis since the months leading up to the presidential elections in November.

Our goal is to outnumber and out-shout them and drive them off the streets, he said.

READ MORE: US anti-fascists can make racists afraid again

We are anxious to politically defeat them, he explained. We dont believe there should be platforms for fascists because history teaches us we cant allow that.

Hoku Jeffrey, a national organiser with By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), a left-wing civil rights group, maintains that militant anti-fascism is necessary to prevent the growth of alt-right groups and others like them.

BAMN has participated in the recent mass protests in Berkeley, California, among them the demonstration that resulted in the cancellation of a speech by far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos in February when Antifa hurled objects at the building and set fires outside.

This not a question of abstract free speech; it is a question of the right of immigrants, Muslims, other oppressed minorities, and women to live and live safely, together with countless others who vehemently oppose these violent racist attacks, he told Al Jazeera by email.

Jeffrey argues that Trump supporters and the alt-right are acting out of a desperate sense of embattlement and that resistance to the Trump administrations policies will continue to grow.

More people, especially growing numbers of immigrants and young people, are taking direct action to obstruct Trumps policies and confront his most dangerous racist and neo-fascist supporters.

Follow Patrick Strickland on Twitter: @P_Strickland_








Critics say the National March Against Sharia is organised by groups that promote hate speech against Muslims.

Cities across the United States are gearing up for the National March Against Sharia, an anti-Muslim campaign that has been criticised by several rights groups and watchdogs.

ACT for America, described by the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC) as the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in the US, called for Saturdays marches in at least 28 cities in more than 20 states.

In a statement on ACT for Americas website, the group claims that sharia  or Islamic law  runs contrary to human rights and the US Constitution.

Brigitte Gabriel, the groups founder, is a Lebanese American who has referred to Arabs as barbarians in the past. She has been a vocal supporter of right-wing US President Donald Trump.

In a speech to a pro-Israel lobby group in 2007, Gabriel claimed that Arabs have no soul.

President Trump, who promised during his electoral campaign to ban Muslims from entering the country, has signed two executive orders seeking to limit travel from Muslim-majority countries since taking office less than six months ago.

After being overturned in a handful of courts, Trumps ban will be considered by the Supreme Court.

Corey Saylor, a spokesperson with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told Al Jazeera rallies like the National March Against Sharia contribute to the creation of an environment in which violence [against Muslims] feels permissible.

The SPLC says neo-Nazi, anti-government and white supremacist organisations have thrown their weight behind the marches and plan to attend.

In Batesville, Arkansas, local neo-Nazi Billy Roper has claimed he and his allies are organising the local rally in tandem with ACT for America.

The anti-Muslim marches have also been promoted by the Proud Boys, a far-right nationalist group, and by various organisations within the alt-right, a loosely knit coalition that includes white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

The nationwide marches come just weeks after Jeremy Christian, a 35-year-old white supremacist, allegedly stabbed to death two men on a train when they tried to prevent him from harassing a teenage Muslim girl in Portland, Oregon.

Counterprotests are also slated to take place in California, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Washington and North Carolina, among others.
Zeid Raad Al Hussein, the UN human rights chief, has told Qatari officials that there are vigorous attempts under way to address the humanitarian situation resulting from the blockade imposed on Qatar by several Gulf countries.

Shortly following the severing of diplomatic ties and border closure between Qatar and the three Arab Gulf countries of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, Qatari nationals were ordered to leave within 14 days.

Saudi, UAE and Bahraini citizens were also given the same timeframe to leave Qatar.

As a result, hundreds of mixed-citizenship Qatari couples are facing the grim prospect of being split from their families.

Qatari officials have repeatedly stated that the ultimatum issued by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain for Qatari citizens to leave was a violation of human rights that required UN intervention.

READ MORE: Five days on, five things to know about Qatar-Gulf rift

On Wednesday, Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, chairman of Qatars National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), said that the Saudi-led move went far beyond a simple diplomatic dispute and will break up families and disrupt young peoples education.

A statement issued by the committee said Marri briefed al-Hussein during a telephone conversation on latest developments regarding the human rights situation.

Before the crisis, citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) enjoyed a great deal of freedom of movement between the six member states, and close tribal ties mean that, over generations, thousands of intermarriages have been celebrated between Qataris and other GCC citizens.

Hit by the rift

Citizens of the Gulf countries had the right to live, work and travel wherever they chose to in the region. The passport they held never mattered  until now.

Wafa Al-Wazeedi is one Qatari whose life has been affected by the rift. Her children were born in Qatar, but her ex-husband is Bahraini.

As is the practice in several Arab Gulf countries, the children can inherit only their fathers nationality.

Now Bahrain says its nationals must return within two weeks or risk losing their citizenship.





We found ourselves lost. We may be separated from our children and return back to Bahrain for no reason, al-Wazeedi told Al Jazeera.

I feel that this [Qatar] is more my home than Bahrain. I have only been there four times in my life. If I am required to give up my Bahraini passport to live here, I would be more than glad to do that. This country has given me more than my own country has given me, her son told Al Jazeera.

In the Gulf, we have blood relations and a cousin in all these countries around us. We believe that we are one country, with the freedom of movement and marriage, said Wazeedi.

Her daughter said: We dont want to be separated, like lots of families here. A lot of families are integrated between different countries in the Gulf region. Why should we be separated because of politics?

Along with the severing of diplomatic ties, the Saudi-led blockade against Qatar meant shutting the only land border that Qatar shares with Saudi Arabia.

Like al-Wazeedi, there are 6,474 families in which one spouse is Qatari and who now face the prospect of being broken up.

According to official figures, there are 8,254 Saudi residents, 784 Emirati residents, and 2,349 Bahraini residents living in Qatar.

Owing to the GCC-Qatar rift, these 11,387 people will have their right to freedom of movement, residency, and property ownership violated.

READ MORE: Analysis  Qatar-Gulf crisis: Who are the terrorists?

Nouf*, a Qatari whose late husband was Saudi, had been ordered by Saudi authorities to leave the kingdom immediately.

Nouf was told that she would not be able to take her children as they are citizens of Saudi Arabia, not Qatar.

Nouf is being forced to leave her children behind, including her disabled son who needs round-the-clock care.

About 1,954 nationals from Saudi, the UAE and Bahrain are also employed in Qatars public and private sector and own companies and trading interests, and will have to leave their jobs.

Serious consequences

Mohammed*, a Saudi man married to a Qatari woman, has been living and working in Qatar for many years.

He was informed that he would have to go, along with their children, back to Saudi Arabia, leaving his wife behind.

Mohammed says he has been told that if he fails to comply, he will face serious consequences.

According to Qatars NHRC, which has been receiving complaints about the impact of the Saudi-led blockade, such procedures constitute a grave violation of the rights of these citizens to movement, work, and property ownership.

These steps result in tearing up families, disrupting businesses and interrupting students education across the region, the NHRC said on Thursday in a news conference in Doha.

The NHRC said it was alarmed over the violation of human rights.

Later on Friday, Amnesty International criticised Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, accusing the Gulf states of toying with the lives of thousands of people in their dispute with Qatar.

For potentially thousands of people across the Gulf, the effect of the steps imposed in the wake of this political dispute is suffering, heartbreak and fear, James Lynch, the deputy director of Amnesty Internationals Global Issues Programme said.

*Names for illustrative purposes only
The war in Syria, which has surpassed its sixth year and brought along with it life-threatening sieges to many areas, has pushed people to find innovative ways to adapt to the difficulties facing their daily lives.

Living under siege means being cut off from essential supplies such as food, water and healthcare, when military forces surround a town or area with the aim of pressuring those inside to surrender. Civilians in besieged areas are denied freedom of movement and are often caught in the crossfire.

The UN estimates that there are at least 13.5 million people who require humanitarian assistance, including 4.6 million people in need trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria, where they are exposed to grave protection threats.

At least 643,780 civilians are living in 13 besieged locations, according to the UN.

READ MORE: Syrias besieged communities

Residents of Erbin, in Eastern Ghouta, have resorted to inventing new methods, using homemade tools, to compensate for the severe shortage of basic energy resources of which they have been deprived for years.

Eastern Ghouta is one of the three cordons around the Syrian capital, Damascus. The area, which lies in the northern suburbs of the capital, has been partially besieged by the Syrian government since 2013.

It has an estimated population of 400,000, according to a report by Netherlands-based Siege Watch.

In 2013, the Syrian government banned civilians from going into or out of the enclave, allowing only some food deliveries to be received or sold.

Residents have created these new methods to secure and provide electricity, diesel, petrol and gas  rare resources that are expensive even if found.

A famous proverb in Arabic, familiar to many Syrians, has come to depict the situation in Eastern Ghouta: (Al haaja um al ikhtira) meaning necessity is the mother of invention in English.

READ MORE: Syrias civil war explained from the beginning

Erbin is one of the 22 communities located in Eastern Ghouta. The towns civilians, markets, hospitals and schools have repeatedly come under Russian and Syrian air attacks.

Erbin has been a stronghold for several major rebel groups, including Jaish al-Islam, al-Rahman Corps and al-Qaeda-linked Levant Liberation Committee (Hayet Tahrir al-Sham) during much of conflict.
The attempt to politically ostracise the tiny emirate is more likely to isolate Riyadh than to bring Qatar to its knees.

For the past five days, the Gulf region has been experiencing one of its most serious political crises in recent history. Early on Monday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain cut diplomatic relations with Qatar in an apparent attempt to isolate the country.





In addition to these three countries, Egypt, Libya, Yemen; the island nations of Maldives and Mauritius; and countries such as Jordan, Mauritania, Djibuti and Senegal have also joined in the campaign against Qatar, one of the most prosperous countries in the Gulf region. This unwise decision will undoubtedly harm the feeling of unity among the Gulf countries and cause serious repercussions for the perpetrators behind it.

Since the beginning of the crisis, analysts have been trying to understand the motives behind this move, which was spearheaded by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Despite their disagreement on a number of foreign policy decisions, these two countries are united in their stance against Qatar. I believe there are three main reasons behind Riyadh and Abu Dhabis campaign of isolation against Doha.

Supporting Arab revolutions

First of all, they are threatened by Qatars commitment to supporting democratic demands of the Arab people since the start of the Arab Spring in Tunisia in 2010. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE considered the Arab revolutions as a direct threat to their own regimes survival.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis  All the latest updates

Both counties considered Qatars support for the democratic changes in the region a direct assault on their regimes. This sentiment became particularly visible following the leadership change in Qatar in 2013. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thanis increasing embrace of the revolutionary uprisings in the Middle East had further enraged the palaces in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Supporting the Muslim Brotherhood

The second reason behind Abu Dhabi and Riyadhs enmity against Qatar is Dohas support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Doha has backed the Ikhwan movement in Egypt for a long time and always had strong ties with the moderate Islamist group. This support further increased after Mohamed Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood member, became Egypts first democratically elected president in 2012.

READ MORE: What is the Muslim Brotherhood?

Morsis presidency was a cause of concern for Saudi Arabia and the UAE because they feared that the Muslim Brotherhoods rise to power in Egypt would have a spillover effect in the region. Both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi worked relentlessly for the collapse of the Morsi regime. They even participated in the organisation of the July 2013 military coup that ended his presidency by supporting anti-Muslim Brotherhood figures within the Egyptian military. Therefore, Riyadh and Abu Dhabis latest move can be seen as an attempt to force the Doha government to cut its support to the Muslim Brotherhood.





Seeking independence

The third reason behind the crisis is the tendency of the Doha government to follow a foreign policy independent of other Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia. This attitude has been gradually adopted by other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely Kuwait and Oman, causing Saudi Arabia to become concerned about losing its leadership position in the council. This has led Saudi Arabias King Salman, who wants to pursue a more active and aggressive foreign policy in the region than his predecessor King Abdullah, to adopt a more cautious attitude towards Doha.

Qatars perceived softening towards Iran and its close relationship with Turkey have been viewed as signs of Dohas departure from Saudi Arabias influence. Riyadh is especially worried about the possibility of a rapprochement between Doha and Tehran, since it would view such a move as a direct challenge to its efforts to lead the GCC countries.

How will the crisis affect the Gulf?

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrains decision to cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar would have direct consequences for the only functioning regional alliance, the GCC. By attempting to force Qatar to consider withdrawing from the organisation, the leaders in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are risking the unity among the Gulf nations. As a result of this rift, countries such as Kuwait and Oman may also question their commitments to the GCC and consider seeking new regional alliances. This would further harm the regional alliances and create a division among the long-term Arab allies.

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi's attempt to politically ostracise Doha is more likely to isolate Riyadh than to force Qatar to its knees. by

The main beneficiary of such a scenario would obviously be Iran, a country that has increased its influence in the region significantly during the past couple of years. Considering this a likely outcome, the latest move by the Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini leadership is obviously a self-destructive one. By punishing the Qatari government, Saudi Arabia is trying to give a strong message to both Oman and Kuwait, the countries that have relatively better relations with Iran. However, the method that Saudi Arabia is employing to achieve this goal is immature and unprofessional.

Decisions such as cutting all diplomatic ties, suspending flights, preventing use of airspace, closing the land borders and asking Qatari citizens to leave Saudi Arabia are rarely taken in any diplomatic crisis, even between the most antagonist states. By taking this decision Saudi Arabia lost credibility not only in the eyes of Qatari people, but also in the eyes of fellow Arab citizens throughout the Middle East. By punishing a neighbour in such a manner, Riyadh is forcing its allies to consider getting closer to other regional and international actors, even possibly Iran. Therefore, while trying to contain Iran, the Saudi leaderships unrealistic approach may result in the opposite outcome.

Why will the Saudi attempt fail?

The decisions taken against Qatar put Doha in a difficult situation at international level, but at the moment Saudi Arabia and its allies are also not as comfortable as they thought they would be. In fact, the bloc supporting Saudi Arabia and the UAE in this crisis is not very robust. Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and the Maldives joined in the campaign against Qatar alongside Saudi Arabia and the UAE. However, some of these countries are seen as failed states, while others are known to be controlled by Saudi Arabia in their foreign policy.

OPINION: Looking beyond the siege of Doha

Bahrain, for instance, is a state that is independent in its domestic affairs but controlled by Saudi Arabia in its foreign policy. Therefore, Manama is on the side of Riyadh in this crisis not by choice but by obligation. Given the small size of the country and its limited capacity, Bahrains contribution to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi during this crisis will be limited.

On the other hand, the island nation of Maldives has been struggling with political instability in recent years. In the aftermath of a military coup in 2012, the country is accused of moving away from democracy and sliding into Saudi Arabias sphere of influence.





For example, in the past couple of months the opposition in the Maldives has seriously criticised the government for selling 19 islands to Saudi Arabia. They claimed that the countrys government has sold its legitimacy to Saudi Arabia for billions of dollars of investment. These ties between the country and Saudi Arabia can better explain the motivations behind the Maldives support of King Salmans regime during the crisis with Qatar.

The Egypt factor

Another supporter of Saudi Arabia in this crisis is Egypt, a country struggling to survive both economically and politically. Following the military coup in 2013, Saudi Arabia and the UAE strongly supported the new regime in Cairo. But good relations turned bad when Abdel Fattah el-Sisi showed interest in establishing relations with Iran. Because of this, Egypt and Saudi Arabia had tense relations in 2016.

However, Donald Trumps election as the president of the United States changed the course of events. Trump initiated the creation of a unified Arab front, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, against Iran. Trumps recent visit to Saudi Arabia has consolidated this alliance.

OPINION: Why is Egypt involved in the GCC crisis?

But considering the ups and downs of Egyptian-Saudi relations, Cairos commitment to Saudi plans to isolate Qatar in the region should be questioned. Also, even if Egypt chooses to stay on Riyadhs side, how powerful and effective can Egyptian support be? Egypts economy is on the verge of collapse, the country is failing to cope with terror threats, particularly in the Sinai region, and it has achieved neither social peace nor political stability.

Libya is another country that joined the anti-Qatar bloc. However, it should be mentioned that the announcement of its support for Riyadh was made by the separatist government in Tobruk, a military leadership created with the support of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which obviously is not in a position to represent the official view of the Libyan government.









Support from Yemen

Finally, Yemen also showed its support for the Saudi and Emirati plan to isolate Qatar. However, the Yemeni government can control only some parts of the country. The country is divided between a Saudi-backed Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi government, United Arab Emirates-backed Al-Zubaidi forces and Iran-backed Houthi militias. Hence, it is not possible for one entity to put forward a decision that represents the view of the entire country.

On the other hand, the political statement in which the Hadi administration accuses Qatar of supporting terrorist groups in the country was obviously constructed under instructions from Saudi Arabia because it ignores the fact that in March 2015 Hadi was rescued from the Houthi militias in an operation in which Qatar also participated.

READ MORE: Who benefits from a weak and divided Yemen?

Also Saudi Arabia and the UAE have different approaches to the conflict in Yemen. They follow independent policies and have different agents and interests in the country. Although they act together against Qatar today, it is highly likely that these two countries will face serious disagreements in the future with regard to Yemen. The Saudi-backed Hadi government of Yemen is in direct conflict with the Emirati-backed Al-Zubaidi forces.

Last March, following Hadis decision to sack Aidarous al-Zubaidi as the governor of Aden, al-Zubaidi announced himself as the president of the Transitional Political Council in southern Yemen. Zubaidi, who has increased his control in the region, has created an alternative administration supported by the UAE. This is seen as the first step for a new independent South Yemeni state. With this move, the possibility of Yemens partition has become a reality, something Saudi Arabia strongly opposes. Therefore, it can be said that the cooperation between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi is fragile in Yemen.

Turkish Support for Qatar





Countries such as Turkey, Germany and, to some extent, Iran criticised the campaign against Qatar. While German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel opposed the decision of Saudi Arabia and the UAE to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a public statement on the issue and showed his support for the Qatari government.

Also, as a sign of solidarity with the Gulf nation, on June 7 the Turkish parliament approved legislation allowing Turkish troops to be deployed in Qatar. And Ankara also announced its willingness to provide food for Qatar.

By showing support for Qatar, Turkey has sent a direct message to the Saudi government that it has risked its good relations with Turkey, the most powerful actor in the region, by trying to isolate the tiny but influential emirate. As strategic allies, Saudi Arabia and Turkey share common goals in regional politics, and their alliance is key to regional stability and peace.

READ MORE: Analysis  Why is Turkey deploying troops to Qatar?

Moreover, the Saudi leadership should carefully consider whether it could totally trust the US government, particularly in light of its less-than-perfect relations with the country during the Obama administration. Only last year, the US congress passed a bill titled Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act that enabled US courts to start judicial processes against the Saudi government for its alleged responsibility in the September 11 terror attacks. Therefore, the Riyadh administration should remember the fact that the US current support for the Kingdom can easily turn into accusations tomorrow.

The future of the Gulf looks grim, as differences between neighbours are turning into hostilities. Riyadh and Abu Dhabis attempt to politically ostracise Doha is more likely to isolate Riyadh than to force Qatar to its knees. Therefore, rather than clashing with each other, Gulf nations should find a way to unite against the common threats such as terrorism, extremism and economic challenges.

Ismail Numan Telci is the Deputy Director of the Middle East Institute (ORMER) and an assistant professor at the Department of International Relations at Sakarya University. He is also a foreign policy researcher for SETA.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
The United Nations says it is not bound by Saudi Arabias terror list after the kingdom named several high-profile Qatari charities that carry out life-saving work in war-torn and impoverished countries.

Stephane Dujarric, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spokesman, said on Friday he had seen media reports that four Arab countries accused three Qatar-based charities of being involved in terrorism.

Qatar Charity, Qatars largest NGO, has worked extensively with the UNHCR, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, Oxfam, CARE, and USAID.





The Sheikh Eid Al Thani Charitable Foundation and the Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services were also blacklisted by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain late on Thursday.

The UN is bound only by the sanctions lists put together by UN organs such as the Security Council. Were not bound by any other lists, Dujarric said.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has over the years built strong partnerships with these organisations based on shared humanitarian principles, which are strictly non-political, he added.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  Who are the terrorists?

The Qatari government rejected allegations of supporting individuals and groups blacklisted as terrorists after the four countries cut ties with Doha amid a major diplomatic crisis.

The recent joint statement issued by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE regarding a terror finance watchlist once again reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact, the Qatari government said.

Our position on countering terrorism is stronger than many of the signatories of the joint statement  a fact that has been conveniently ignored by the authors.

Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor at Qatar University, said the terror list was dubious because theres a body within Qatars Ministry of Social Affairs, which looks at all the charities and monitors every penny they receive and send.

Zweiri added these charities cooperate with international aid agencies, including USAID and UK-based Oxfam, in conflict zones such as Syria and Iraq. They also assist in troubled areas such as Palestine, Yemen and South Sudan.

By saying that those specific charities [are engaged in terrorism], they are questioning the work of the international aid agencies cooperating with them as well, Zweiri said.

Since its establishment in 1984, Qatar Charity has sponsored 213,750 young orphans into adulthood, and has built more than 621 schools worldwide.

In 2014, it was ranked first by the UN for its relief efforts in the Syrian, Palestinian, and Somali crises. Since the start of the Syrian war more than six years ago, Qatar Charity has helped about eight million Syrians.
Leader of Catalonia announces region will hold vote on splitting from Spain in defiance of central government in Madrid.

Catalonia will hold a referendum on independence from Spain on October 1, the regions head Carles Puigdemont has said.

The announcement on Friday set the stage for months of confrontation with the central government in the capital, Madrid, which says such a vote is illegal and must not take place.

The question will be: Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic, Puigdemont said in a televised statement after a meeting of his cabinet.

He said attempts to agree on a date and the wording of the question with the Madrid government  headed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy  failed and left him with no other choice than moving unilaterally.

We have always made very diverse offers and all of them have been rejected without any exception, Puigdemont said.

READ MORE: What would Catalan independence mean for region?

Pro-independence campaigners staged a symbolic ballot, organised by volunteers rather than government officials to get around court restrictions, in 2014, months after Scots voted to stay in the UK.

Some two million people voted in favour of secession in that non-binding ballot, though turnaround was relatively low.

In March, Puigdemonts predecessor Artur Mas was banned from holding office for two years after organising the 2014 referendum.

It is not clear how far the legal wrangling may go this time as the Catalan regional government has said it would throw all its weight behind the vote.

Under the Spanish constitution, referendums on sovereignty must be held nationally, not regionally.

Under Article 155, Madrid has the power to intervene directly in the running of Catalonias regional government, forcing it to drop the vote.

This could involve sending in the police or suspending the regional governments authority to rule.

This is widely seen as a last resort move, however, and many analysts believe the clash will instead culminate in regional elections in Catalonia.
Latest military exercise was part of the US Pacific Commands continuous bomber presence programme.

China said on Friday it was monitoring US military activities in the South China Sea after two US bombers conducted training flights over the disputed waters.

The US Pacific Command said on its website two American Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers flew a 10-hour training mission from Guam over the South China Sea on Thursday, in conjunction with the Navys USS Sterett guided-missile destroyer.

The exercise comes after a US warship in late May carried out a manoeuvring drill within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea.





The US military conducts such freedom of navigation patrols to show China it is not entitled to territorial waters there, US officials said at the time.

The latest exercise was part of Pacific Commands continuous bomber presence programme, but it did not give details on where it was conducted and did not refer to it as a freedom-of-navigation operation.

China always maintains vigilance and effective monitoring of the relevant countrys military activities in the South China Sea, the ministry said in a statement, referring to the United States.

Chinas military will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and regional peace and stability, it said.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, through which about $5 trillion in shipborne trade passes each year, a stance contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The US has criticised Chinas construction of islands and build-up of military facilities there, concerned they could be used to restrict free movement and extend Chinas strategic reach.

US allies and partners in the region had grown anxious as the administration of US President Donald Trump had held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.
The Iraqi government has said it would reject any unilateral move by Kurdish regional authorities to press for independence, according to a spokesman in the capital, Baghdad.

The statement on Friday comes two days after Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), announced that a referendum on Kurdish independence would be held on September 25.





No party can, on its own, decide the fate of Iraq, in isolation from the other parties, Saad al-Haddithi, Iraqi government spokesman, said in a statement.

Iraq is constitutionally a democratic, federal country with full sovereignty  Any measure from any side in Iraq should be based on the constitution, Haddithi said.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said in April that he respected the Kurdish right to vote on independence, but he did not think the timing was right for the move.

READ MORE: Iraqi Kurdistan  Playing the independence game

The referendum on whether to secede from Iraq is planned to be held in the three governorates that make up the Kurdish region, and in the areas that are disputed by the Kurdish and Iraqi governments but are currently under Kurdish military control.

The disputed areas include swaths of northern territory that are claimed by both Kurdish Iraq and Baghdad, including the key oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Terrible mistake

Opposition in Baghdad to Kurdish Iraq becoming independent would become even greater if the region tried to take disputed territory along with it.

Turkey also came out against the referendum on Friday, calling the plan a terrible mistake.

The maintenance of Iraqs territorial integrity and political unit is one of the fundamental principles of Turkeys Iraq policy, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

States that neighbour Iraq, including Turkey, as well as Syria and Iran, and which all have large and sometimes restive Kurdish populations, have in the past resisted moves towards Kurdish independence.
Troops shoot man in head with live ammunition and injure at least six others during clashes along northern border.

Israeli forces have shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured at least six others during a protest along the besieged Gaza Strips northern border with Israel.

Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian protesters broke out on Friday east of the Jabliya refugee camp in the north of the territory, where Aeid Khamis Jumaa, 35, was shot in the head with live ammunition, according to the Gaza-based Ministry of Health.





The ministry, run by Gazas ruling Hamas, said six other Palestinians were wounded during the clashes in Jabaliya.

Jumaa was the second Palestinian to be killed in a week during clashes with Israeli troops on Gazas border.

For weeks, Palestinians have rallied at the border fence after activists affiliated with Hamas called for protests there.

In separate clashes on Friday, Israeli forces shot live ammunition at protesters on the border east of Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza injuring at least two Palestinians, witnesses told the Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency.

An Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP news agency that hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators had burned tyres and thrown stones the length of the security fence between Israel and Gaza.

Our forces had to arrest suspects to prevent damage to the security fence, she said, but was unable to confirm the casualties from gunfire.

Israel and Egypt, citing security concerns, enforced a blockade on Gaza a decade ago when Hamas took over the territory from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
More than 100 soldiers have died in recent months in Mali, making it the most deadly United Nations mission to date.

Three UN peacekeepers have been killed in an attack outside their base in northern Mali, the United Nations said in a statement on Friday.

All three soldiers killed on Thursday in Kidal were from Guinea, the Guinean government said. The identity of the attackers was not yet known.

The UN camp came under heavy mortar fire that also wounded five other peacekeepers. Shortly afterwards, the three troops were ambushed by gunmen just outside the base. No further details were provided.





Peacekeeping forces face frequent attacks from desert fighters who have regrouped since a French-led military operation in 2013 to drive them out of Malis northern towns.

Despite ongoing French air raids on their hideouts, fighters  including local al-Qaeda cadres  have staged a series of attacks this year, including a suicide bombing at an army base in January that killed at least 77 people.

Several French soldiers were wounded last week in an al-Qaeda mortar attack in Timbuktu.

More than 100 soldiers have died in recent months, making it the most deadly UN mission to date.

France has sent some 4,000 soldiers to the region, and 11,000 UN peacekeepers have been deployed to ensure Malis stability.

However, UNs forces have lacked equipment and resources, making a political settlement between Tuareg rebels and the government increasingly fragile.

The country is at the centre of the troubled Sahel region and is among the worlds poorest. Unemployment is rampant and most people survive hand to mouth.
Sheikh Mohammed says Hamas political leaders have a presence in country to promote Palestinian reconciliation.

Qatars foreign minister has said the presence of political leaders belonging to the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas in Doha is coordinated with the US and aimed at facilitating Palestinian unity.

Hamas presence [in Doha] is coordinated with the US and the countries in the region, and its part of our effort to mediate between the Palestinian factions to reach reconciliation, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Al Jazeera on Thursday.

The statement comes four days after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar, closing, air land and sea borders over and sending the GCC countries into their largest crisis in years.

They accuse Qatar of supporting armed groups  including Hamas  and their regional rival, Iran. Qatar says the charges are baseless.

The Gaza Strip has undergone a decade-long Israeli blockade and three Israeli assaults that massively damaged its infrastructure.

Analysts told Al Jazeera earlier this week that Qatars role in Palestine has been to accommodate and support both major Palestinian political players, namely Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA), a semi-governmental body that administers the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

We cannot speak of financial support. Qatar is only hosting Hamas and standing by it and its positions, said Modallal.

Qatars position has been to balance between all the sides  it has supported the PA and Hamas.

Qatar has, on multiple occasions, expressed its support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

READ MORE: Qatar supports Gaza not Hamas, analysts say

Despite hosting Hamas political leaders, Qatars vision for peace was in direct contradiction with Hamas until recently when Hamas changed its long-held position on the two-state solution in a new political document.

In 2006, Qatar attempted to bridge the divide between Fatah  the ruling party of the PA  and Hamas, asking the movement to recognise the state of Israel and renounce violence as a form of resistance, which Hamas rejected.

A year later, Qatar also hosted Shimon Peres, former Israeli vice prime minister, where it tried to encourage Israel to negotiate directly with Hamas.

And, in the 2017 Arab League Summit in Jordan, Qatar was among the 22 member states that backed the Saudi-brokered Arab Peace Initiative, supportive of a two-state solution in return for normalisation of relations with Israel.





Qatar supports Gaza, not Hamas, and it has supported the Palestinian Authority in Gaza more than once, thus dismissing claims that Dohas support for Gaza is political support for Hamas, Hebron-based political analyst Belal Shobaki told Al Jazeera.

And while the humanitarian support to Gaza may indirectly serve Hamas, Shobaki says that Doha saved the PA President Mahmoud Abbas authority from collapsing more than once when the deficit in the PA budget has been blocked.

Hamas links to the Muslim Brotherhood are also at heart of the Saudi foreign ministers statements, analysts say.

The US-allied Arab countries, Egypt, Saudi, and the UAE designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.

Although in its founding charter Hamas defined itself as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement clarified its position in the new document describing itself as a purely Palestinian organisation.

Additional reporting by Al Jazeeras @Ali_reports and @ZenaTahhan
Islamabad, Pakistan  Pakistans parliament has expressed its deep concern over the blockade and severing of ties with Qatar by several Arab states, calling for the government to help mediate in the crisis between the Gulf state and its neighbours.





This House calls upon all countries to show restraint and resolve all differences through dialogue, read a resolution passed by the lower house of parliament on Thursday.

The measure came as Pakistans foreign ministry reiterated the countrys concern at the escalating situation  but stopped short of endorsing one side or another.

Pakistan believes in unity among Muslim countries and has made consistent and serious efforts for its promotion, Nafees Zakaria, the Pakistani foreign office spokesperson, said on Thursday.

We are, therefore, concerned at the situation.

But Zakaria refused to comment when probed on whether Pakistan had taken any steps to mediate the crisis or was also considering severing ties with Qatar.

He also had nothing to say when pressed to provide Pakistans position on the allegations of supporting terrorism levelled against Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies.

READ MORE: All the latest updates on the Qatar diplomatic crisis

Pakistan has a close economic and strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia, which is leading the calls for the blockade and severing of ties.

Yet, in the past, it has resisted pressure to wade into regional conflicts in the Middle East.

In April 2015, Pakistans parliament voted to remain neutral in the war in Yemen, despite pressure to join a Saudi-led military alliance fighting Houthi rebels in the country.

On Monday, Pakistans foreign office indicated that it currently had no plans to sever ties with Qatar.

Whats at stake for Pakistan

Pakistans relationship with Saudi Arabia and the UAE is based on close diplomatic ties, but also deep economic relations.

Saudi Arabia is home to more than 1.9 million Pakistanis, mostly unskilled workers, while the UAE hosts a further 1.2 million, according to government data.

Qatar, a much smaller country by comparison, hosts only 115,000 Pakistani citizens.

Those expatriate Pakistanis have a significant effect on their countrys economy, with foreign remittances playing an important role in bolstering Pakistans foreign exchange reserves.

Analysts believe that any attempts to expel Pakistani workers or block remittances could have a major effect on Pakistans economy.

READ MORE: Five days on, five things to know about Qatar-Gulf rift

Saudi Arabia tops the list of countries with the highest remittances to Pakistan, with $4.52bn in funds sent home by Pakistanis in the current fiscal year, according to Pakistans central bank.

The UAE comes in next at $3.47bn, with Qatar appearing much further down the list with only $304m in remittances.

OPINION: Looking beyond the siege of Doha

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also two of Pakistans major trading partners. The South Asian country has imported goods and services worth $5.84bn from the UAE in the current fiscal year, and a further $1.95bn from Saudi Arabia, according to the central bank.

It also sold exports worth $852m and $300m to those two countries respectively.

By comparison, Pakistan sold exports worth $42.6m to Qatar in the current fiscal year, while importing $864m worth of goods and services.

The bulk of those imports have been in the form of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), after Pakistan signed a landmark 15-year deal with Qatar in February 2016.

In addition, Pakistans Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif holds close ties with the ruling families in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In 2000, when he fled a military coup, Sharif resided in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port city on the Red Sea, for eight years while in exile.

The Saudi government also gave Sharifs government a grant of $1.5bn in March 2014 to help meet debt-service obligations and undertake large development projects. At the time, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar termed the grant, a gift.

In more recent times, Sharif has relied heavily upon the testimony of former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani as a part of his defence in an ongoing corruption investigation at the Supreme Court that could unseat him as prime minister.

If push comes to shove

Of all Muslim nations, Pakistan is probably in the most difficult position, James Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and specialist on Pakistans relations with Gulf countries, told Al Jazeera.

Dorsey pointed to the appointment of Pakistans former army chief Raheel Sharif to lead a 39-member military alliance put together by Saudi Arabia, ostensibly to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, known as ISIS) armed group, as a concession the country was forced to make after refusing to join the war in Yemen.

Tehran and others have criticised the alliance as being focused more on furthering Saudi objectives against Shia-majority Iran in the region than against ISIL.

READ MORE: Your questions answered about the Qatar-Gulf crisis

Roughly 15 percent of Pakistans roughly 200 million people are Shia Muslims, and the opposition at home was one of the major reasons the country did not send troops to fight the war in Yemen, according to analysts.

Dorsey said the recent rift with Qatar potentially puts Pakistan in an even tighter spot.

He added: Obviously Pakistan has a historic relationship with Saudi Arabia, and Saudis are not only very important to them [economically], but also very influential on all kinds of levels. But they also have a very close relationship with the Qataris, economically.

But Dorsey argued that while the relationship with Qatar is strong, Saudi Arabia has more leverage to exert on Pakistan, if push comes to shove.

There is a lot of Saudi money going into Pakistan. When Pakistan has a financial shortage, there are two places they go: Saudi and China, he said.

There are a lot of Pakistanis working in Saudi Arabia. [] They could keep the Pakistanis and stop the remittances. And all of this would hit Pakistan quite hard.

READ MORE  Qatar: No justification for cutting diplomatic ties

Moreover, Saudi Arabia has also embarked on a soft power campaign in Pakistan for decades, said Dorsey, whose research has tracked donations and funding trails from the Gulf kingdom to Pakistani religious organisations.

Saudi Arabia in the last four decades has waged the single largest public diplomacy campaign in history. [] That campaign was designed to further a Sunni Muslim ultraconservatism world view.

Political opposition at home

Hasan Askari Rizvi, an Islamabad-based political analyst, said it seems unlikely Pakistan would wade into this regional conflict, not least because of potential political opposition at home.





I dont think they will sever ties, he told Al Jazeera.

There will be domestic opposition, there will be political opposition that this is not an advisable strategy to get totally involved in a conflict in the Arab world.

Rizvis view seems borne out by Thursdays parliamentary resolution, which was moved by key leaders of the countrys opposition parties.

Either way, Pakistan will serve as an interesting test case for major non-Arab Muslim states around the world, both analysts said.

Turkey and Iran have already come out in support of Qatar, promising food aid and sending troops to the country this week.

READ MORE: Qatars ambassador to US discusses diplomatic crisis

Other countries with major Muslim populations such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria have remained largely neutral, so far.

Some smaller countries, such as the island nations of Mauritius and Maldives have joined the boycott of Qatar.

A lot of the Muslim states dont want to get sucked into this, Dorsey said.

What youll see is countries will try and muddle through this, maybe take some sort of step [to isolate Qatar], but stopping short of fully taking sides. The Saudis and Emiratis may not find that sufficient, so it remains to be seen what happens if and when [they] try to put Muslim countries against the wall.

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras web correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim.
Government says list of 59 people and 12 groups, with ties to Qatar, reinforces allegations that hold no foundation.

Qatar on Friday rejected allegations of supporting individuals and groups blacklisted as terrorists by four Arab countries which cut ties with it this week amid a major diplomatic fallout.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt published a list of 59 people and 12 groups with links to Qatar late on Thursday, alleging that they have ties to terrorism.





The recent joint statement issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE regarding a terror finance watch list once again reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact, the Qatari government said in response.

The list included Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the most prominent Muslim religious leaders in the Middle East, as well as Qatari-funded charitable organisations.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  Who are the terrorists?

Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor at Qatar University, said that the release of this list was part of the demonisation [campaign] against Qatar.

They are demonising Qatar, in saying that they are not helping fight terrorism and trying to use this list as evidence, Zweiri told Al Jazeera.

He said the claims of the list are dubious because theres a body within Qatars Ministry of Social Affairs, which looks at all the charities and monitors every penny they receive and send.

Zweiri added that these charities cooperate with international aid agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UK-based Oxfam, in conflict zones such as Syria and Iraq.

By saying that those specific [Qatari] charities [are engaged in terrorism], they are questioning the work of the international aid agencies cooperating with them as well.

In London, the independent UK-based Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR) released a statement condemning the Saudi blocs list as arbitrary.

The list was clearly made up arbitrarily, to serve political agendas, without relying on any evidence or an impartial judicial authority, the group wrote.

The exact legal definition and crime of terrorism needs to be determined by a neutral judicial authority, which is not available in these countries [Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain].

The human rights group also criticised the countries for abuses carried out among their population by broadly applying terrorism to crack down on activists and ordinary citizenry.

The AOHR also warned that the list violated clear laws against defamation, as the reputation of individuals and charitable organisations is put at risk.





Negative impact

The lists release was just the latest escalation in the blocs efforts to isolate Qatar, as allegations that it interferes in the affairs of its neighbours by supporting and financing Islamist groups continue to be levied against it.

Qatar has vehemently denied the charges.

In its statement, the Qatari government said it has been leading the region in attacking what it called the roots of terrorism, including giving young people hope through jobs, educating hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and funding community programmes to challenge agendas of armed groups.

Our position on countering terrorism is stronger than many of the signatories of the joint statement  a fact that has been conveniently ignored by the authors, the government said.

READ MORE: Five days on, five things to know about Qatar-Gulf rift

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have suspended all flights to and from Doha and closed off sea and air links to Qatar.

Saudi Arabia has also closed off Qatars only land border.

Qatars Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday described the blockade as a violation of international law and said there was an attempt to mobilise international opinion against Qatar.

These procedures that were taken have clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law. They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one, he told a press conference during a visit to Germany.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday, the foreign minister said that the country would not bow to the pressure being applied by Saudi, the UAE and their allies to change its independent foreign policy  a move Qatar considers a violation of its sovereignty.
US secretary of state says Saudi blocs actions causing humanitarian consequences and affecting campaign against ISIL.

The US secretary of state has urged Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf states to ease their blockade on Qatar, saying it is causing unintended humanitarian consequences and affecting the US-led fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, known as ISIS) group.

Rex Tillersons statement comes five days after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar, closing, air land and sea borders over and sending the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries into their largest crisis in years.

We call on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to ease the blockade on Qatar, Tillerson said on Friday.





He said blockade had caused unintended consequences and was hindering US military actions in the region and the campaign against ISIS, referring to ISIL.

Our expectation is that these countries will immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation and put forth a good faith effort to resolve their grievances they have with each other.

The three Arab Gulf countries and Egypt accuse Qatar of supporting armed groups and their regional rival, Iran. Qatar says the charges are baseless.

On Thursday, they tightened their squeeze on Doha by placing 59 people and a dozen organisations with links to Qatar on a joint terror blacklist.

Tillerson said the blockade was impairing US and other international business activities in the region, and had also caused inadvertent humanitarian consequences.

Were seeing shortages of food [in Qatar], families are being forcibly separated, and children pulled out of school  we believe these are unintended consequences, especially during this holy month of Ramadan, but they can be addressed immediately.

READ MORE: Five days on, five things to know about Qatar-Gulf rift

Tillerson said the United States supported efforts by the emir of Kuwait to mediate the crisis, and said the elements of a solution are available.

More than 11,000 US and coalition forces are stationed at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, from which more than 100 aircraft operate.

Tillerson also said that Qatar has a history of supporting groups across a wide political spectrum, including those that engage in violence, and that the emir of Qatar had made progress in halting financial support for terrorism but that he must do more.





Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have suspended all flights to and from Doha and closed off sea and air links to Qatar.

Saudi Arabia has also closed off Qatars only land border.

Qatars Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday described the blockade as a violation of international law and sad there was an attempt to mobilise international opinion against Qatar.

These procedures that were taken have clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law. They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one, he told a press conference during a visit to Germany.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday, the foreign minister said that the country would not bow to the pressure being applied by Saudi, the UAE and their allies to change its independent foreign policy  a move Qatar considers a violation of its sovereignty.
Elderly woman and three children die after coalition air raid hits residential area in Yemens capital, activist says.

At least four civilians, including three children, have been killed after a Saudi-led coalition air strike tore through a residential area in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.





Hussain Albukhaiti, an activist based in Sanaa, told Al Jazeera on Friday afternoon that three people were still missing from the late-night raid that struck the south of the city.

Four members of the al-Mahdi family, including an elderly woman and her three young grandchildren, were killed after their house was struck with an air strike shortly after midnight, Albukhaiti said.

He said there was no military installation near the site of the attack and no reported activity by Houthi fighters, whom the coalition are battling.

Theres been no cessation in hostilies from the Saudis since the start of Ramadan. For the past two weeks, every night, weve had planes hovering in the skies until the early hours.

We have no idea what theyre doing  whether its reconaissance or intelligence gathering  but civilians are continually being killed.

This is the latest in a series of air strikes to target civilians since Saudi Arabia, along with a coalition of other Arab states, intervened in Yemen in March 2015.

In August last year, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), one of handful of international aid groups operating on the ground in Yemen, evacuated its staff from the north of the country after a coalition air strike hit a health facility operated by the group, killing 19 people.

READ MORE: Over 3,000 Saudi strikes on Yemen hit civilian areas

And in September, a report by the Yemen Data Project, a group of security and human rights researchers, found that more than a third of air strikes hit civilian sites including schools, hospitals and mosques.

Out of the more than 8,600 air raids examined, the report found that 3,577 were listed as hitting military sites and 3,158 non-military, while 1,882 strikes were classified as unknown.

According to the UN, more than 10,000 people have been killed and 2.8 million driven from their homes by fighting across the country.
Hotels and tourist facilities in the kingdom airing Al Jazeera threatened with closure and fine of up to $26,000.

Saudi Arabia has banned hotels and tourist facilities from airing Al Jazeera news channels and threatened to punish violators with the closure of their facility and a fine of up to $26,000.

In a statement released on Friday, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage ordered that all channels from the Al Jazeera Media Network must be removed and replaced with channels compatible with official Saudi television ones.

Saudi Arabia bans Qatar-owned Al Jazeera channels in hotels, violators face up to 100,000 riyals fines https://t.co/PX1JOVbyTJ  Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) June 9, 2017

The Commission hereby reiterates that all of the Al Jazeera Networks channels must be removed from all hotel rooms and touristic facilities and furnished residential units, totally and entirely, including the TV lists kept within, the circular said.

Any facility acting in violation of the aforesaid Circular will be held liable and be penalized with a fine amounting up to SR100,000 or the cancelation of its license; or both the penalties.

Since a diplomatic dispute escalated between Gulf states and Qatar on Monday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have threatened lengthy jail terms and fines for their nationals sympathising with Qatar on social media.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis  All the latest updates

The UAE said offenders would face a jail term from three to 15 years and a fine not less than 500,000 UAE dirhams ($136,000).

Slogans in support of Qatar have been among the top topics discussed on Twitter in Arabic, which is a hugely popular medium of expression in the Arab world.

Along with severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, a Riyadh-led blockade was imposed against Doha. Saudi, which shares the only land border with Qatar, shut the crossing and halted transport of goods into its neighbour.

Saudi, the UAE and Bahrain also closed their airspace to flights from and to Qatar, forcing airlines to remove Doha from their list of destinations.

Qatar Airways traffic 24 hours before and 24 hours after the flight ban. More on how the ban is affecting flights at https://t.co/lXphkQfLja pic.twitter.com/o9rix5JLlW  Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 8, 2017

The move stranded thousands of passengers and resulted in lost revenues to airlines caught up in the rift.

The International Air Transport Association pleaded that air links be restored, but its request, so far, has met silence.

The dispute between Qatar and the Arab countries escalated after a recent hack of Qatars state-run news agency.








Washington, DC  Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he does not yet know how the Trump administration plans to resolve the standoff between Qatar and Gulf Arab states  but he hopes talks can be initiated soon.

I dont know. I hope that how it can be resolved is that the Saudi Arabians and others will send forth a very clear list of what they are looking for as it relates to a behavioural change, Corker told Al Jazeera in a Senate hallway interview on Thursday.

After President Donald Trump initially responded to the crisis with tweets slamming Qatar for alleged support of terrorism in the region, Corker said he expects the Trump administration to work equally with both sides going forward.

US Department of State officials have suggested offers by Turkey and Kuwait to mediate the conflict should be taken up. Trump offered Wednesday to personally mediate the dispute.





Weve got to be concerned about putting our thumb too heavily on one side of the scale when we are dealing with people in the region we want to maintain a relationship with, Corker said.

Qatar hosts 10,000 US troops and military personnel at the Al Udeid Air Base, home to two US air force wings and the forward headquarters of the US Central Command, responsible for ongoing American combat operations in the Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

We have got to deal with all of the people in the region. We have got some assets in Qatar that I visited not too long ago that are very important to us, Corker said.

The US has five bases in Saudi Arabia. Secretary of Defense James Mattis had visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Israel and Qatar in an April trip designed to focus on US strategic alliances in the region.

The disarray in US relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab nations follows Trumps May 20-21 visit to Riyadh where critics of the president say he gave the Saudis too much of a signal they had a free hand in the region.

I think Saudi Arabia is emboldened by Trumps visit and the blank cheque that theyve gotten. Their reaction to Qatar is just one piece of that, Senator Chris Murphy told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Questions raised over $110bn arms deal to Saudi Arabia

Murphy, a Democrat, is the lead sponsor of a measure on weapons transfers to Saudi along with Senator Rand Paul, a Republican. The vote is symbolic and specifically related to munitions the Saudis would use in Yemen where legislators are concerned about civilian casualties and a major cholera outbreak.

Murphys resolution would not block the proposed sale of 150 Black Hawk helicopters to Saudi Arabia, part of Trumps $110bn announced deal with the Saudis. The Black Hawk is made by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, headquartered with 8,000 employees in Murphys home state of Connecticut.





Murphy said he expects a close vote on his resolution of disapproval of the sales of guided missiles with more than 40 senators voting in favour. He would need more than 50 to succeed in blocking that portion of Trumps arms deal with the Saudis.

Whats significant about the upcoming vote, however, is that support for disapproval is expected to exceed the 27 yea votes Murphy won for a 2016 Senate measure to block tank sales to Saudi Arabia by the Obama administration.

Corker said he would not support the disapproval resolution and cited a decision by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in March to lift human rights conditions for a major sale of F-16 fighter jets to Bahrain.

We do think human rights should be addressed. Im a strong, strong proponent of that. Tying them to arms sales is not the appropriate place to do that, Corker said.

It is important for us to play a role in helping stifle the amount of conflict that is going on there and to allow a move-on towards the humanitarian support that needs to be taking place in Yemen, Corker said.
Officials say at least 20 have been killed and 34 wounded in blast at a market in Musayyib, south of Baghdad.

At least 20 people have been killed and 34 wounded after a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a market in the Iraqi town of Musayyib, south of the capital, Baghdad, according to police.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in Musayyib market, causing 20 civilian martyrs, an interior ministry spokesman told the AFP news agency.

A police officer and a medic at a local hospital said at least 34 people had been wounded in the blast.

The attack took place just hours after a bomb exploded in the holy city of Karbala, just east of Musayyib, wounding several.

READ MORE: Iraqi artist depicts life under ISIL

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, known as ISIS) group claimed the attacks in a statement on its Amaq website.

Musayyib, about 60km south of Baghdad, has been hit by several attacks in recent years.

At least 22 people were killed and 50 wounded in 2014 when a mortar struck a busy area of the town.

Less than two weeks ago, two blasts in the space of 12 hours ripped through Baghdad, killing at least 27 people and wounding more than 100 others.

READ MORE: How the war changed Ramadan in Baghdad

ISIL claimed responsibility for the first suicide car bomb attack, which took place in the district of Karrada.

Last July, ISIL claimed an attack that killed nearly 300 people in the worst attack to hit the capital in 13 years of war.

Further north, Iraqi forces are currently fighting to retake the last ISIL-held areas of Mosul.

Iraqi commanders say the offensive, which recently entered its eighth month, will mark the end of ISIL in Iraq, but concede the group will likely increase attacks in the wake of military defeats.




Fighters backed by UAE accused of kidnapping and torturing hundreds of men, investigation reveals.

UAE-backed forces fighting on behalf of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have kidnapped hundreds of men and allegedly tortured some, according to relatives and local human rights activists.

An investigation  published on Friday by The Daily Beast website and funded by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism  said uniformed men belonging to a militia called the Elite Forces, which is controlled by the UAE, abducted men from their homes and brought them to a secret prison compound in southern Yemen, where they were allegedly tortured.





Human rights activists compared the conditions at al-Riyan airport, in southeastern Yemen, to that of notorious US-run prisons such as Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and Abu Ghraib in Iraq.

UAE forces have been fighting in Yemen since 2015 alongside members of a US-backed, Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi fighters and al-Qaeda-affiliated armed groups.

The investigation echoes a similar report put out by the United Nations earlier this year that warned of increasing instances of forced disappearances in UAE-controlled southeastern Yemen.

According to the UN, the UAE-backed Elite Forces were created to counter the rise of al-Qaeda fighters in the southeastern port city of Mukalla once the government regained control of the area in April 2016.

The city had previously been under the control of armed groups for nearly a year.

Efforts to take back the city were led by the UAE, which maintains a strong presence across the city.

Weeks of interviews with family members of the disappeared led the Bureau of Investigative Journalism to conclude the mass kidnappings were part of a campaign by the Elite Forces against al-Qaeda suspects.

Activists told the Bureau many of those abducted worked normal jobs while al-Qaeda was in control of the city, but had no connections to the group.
An American F-15 jet shot down a pro-regime drone near a base near the Jordanian border, coalition spokesman says.

An American F-15 warplane has shot down a pro-government drone in Syria after it fired at coalition forces, officials said, marking an escalation of tensions in the war-torn countrys south.

No one was hurt in Thursdays incident near the coalitions At-Tanaf garrison close to the Jordan border, Colonel Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the coalition against ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), told Pentagon reporters.

The drone was armed and still had weapons on it when it was fired upon by US forces from an aircraft, said Dillon.

Although the weapon deployed by the drone hit only dirt, the action was clearly meant as an attack, added Dillon.

READ MORE: Rebels launch major offensive to capture ISIL-held Raqqa

Dillon said it was not immediately clear who owned the drone.

Regardless of what kind of drone it was, it fired upon our coalition forces, and therefore showed hostile intent, and it was perceived as a threat, he said.

At-Tanaf, on the key highway connecting Syrias capital Damascus with Baghdad, capital of Iraq, has seen a surge of Iran-backed troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Coalition forces use the area  just northeast of the Jordanian border  as a training and staging area for attacks against ISIL fighters.

It was the first time since 2009 that the US Air Force shot down another aircraft, the Air Force said.

The shooting down of the drone came after another incident earlier on Thursday in which coalition forces struck technical vehicles advancing towards At-Tanaf and threatening coalition and partner forces, US Central Command said in a statement.

It was the third time the coalition has struck pro-regime forces near At-Tanaf in less than a month. On Tuesday, coalition forces destroyed a pro-regime unit that was moving into the area with a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons and armed technical vehicles, the coalition said.

Last month, coalition planes struck a convoy that had apparently been headed towards At-Tanaf.
UK Conservative Party to form minority government with the help of the DUP after Thursdays vote.

Theresa May, British prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, is fighting to save her political career after Thursdays election setback.

May addressed the nation on Friday, saying she has struck a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to form a minority government.

She said what the UK needs now more than ever is stability, and not division.

Despite Mays insistence to go forward, the leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party, Nicola Sturgeon, said it is time for the prime minister to move on.

Sturgeon said May has lost all authority and credibility and accused the ruling conservatives were reckless.

So, did Mays call for snap elections backfire?

Presenter: Jane Dutton

Guests:

Alex Deane  former chief of staff to David Cameron, former UK prime minister, who now heads up the public affairs firm, FTI Consulting

Matthew Goodwin  senior fellow at the Brexit think-tank, UK in a Changing Europe

Matt Zarb-Cousin  former spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn, leader for the opposition Labour Party
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.
Professor Gilles Kepel on what motivates ISIL attacks, and we debate Aung San Suu Kyis stance on the Rohingya.

In this weeks UpFront, political science professor Gilles Kepel weighs in on ISIL attacks and what he calls third-generation jihadism.

And in the Arena, we debate whether Myanmars de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is intentionally ignoring the plight of the Rohingya, or whether she is incapable of stopping the violence owing to constraints by the military.

Headliner  Whats behind ISIL attacks?

In the past week, at least 12 people were killed in Tehran and eight killed in London by attacks claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

In an interview recorded before these attacks, we asked what drives attackers in Europe and whether ideology is a bigger factor than social or economic circumstances.

Its not necessarily bigger, but its very important, says Kepel, author of The Roots of Radicalism. You cannot shun it, and you cant shun the social factor either, you know.

In this weeks Headliner, Kepel speaks about what he sees as the radicalisation of some young Muslims and why he disagrees with fellow scholar Olivier Roy, who says that young idealists who in the past would have turned to Marxism or anarchism are today joining the likes of ISIL.

Arena  Aung San Suu Kyi: Turning her back on Rohingya?

Since October 2016, nearly 75,000 of Myanmars Rohingya have fled across the border to Bangladesh, as a United Nations international probe investigates accusations of rape and murder committed by Myanmar security forces.

According to the UN, Rohingya families may have had members killed, beaten, raped, in what likely amounts to crimes against humanity.

With anti-Rohingya violence continuing to simmer in Myanmar, why doesnt the countrys de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, put an end to it?

We know that Aung San Suu Kyi does not control the armed forces, says Maung Zarni, an exiled dissident from Myanmar. [But] she controls four other ministries that are directly involved in dismissing, denying, and legitimising the persecution of the Rohingyas.

But former East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta disagrees, claiming Suu Kyi inherited an extraordinarily difficult situation.

She has to deal with the military, who still have enormous power, says Ramos-Horta, a Nobel prizewinner. She inherits a very fractured society with more than 18 armed insurgencies, ethnic groups, and this is a very difficult transition from military dictatorship to democracy.

In this weeks Arena, scholar and activist Maung Zarni debates with Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta on whether Suu Kyi has the power to help the Rohingya.

Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront and Facebook.










English News China pavilion features future energy, green Silk Road

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 9 Juin 2017



During the three-month event, the pavilion will hold more than 200 trade and economic, cultural and tourism activities attended by more than 2,000 enterprises, including the Shanghai energy-themed exhibition, promotion of the 2019 Beijing International Horticultural Expo and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and cultural relic exhibitions such as the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses.

By Zhao Cheng, Zhou Hanbo and Xie Yahong from Peoples Daily The Astana Expo 2017 will kick off on Saturday. The China pavilion will demonstrate the nations concepts and visions for the development of future energy, said Wang Jinzhen, deputy director of the organizing committee of the pavilion.



With the theme of "Future Energy, Green Silk Road", the China pavilion consists of a lobby, an energy corridor, a theater themed with future energy, a smart energy zone as well as an exhibition area themed global mission and partnership, Peoples Daily reporters paid a visit to the pavilion.



As future energy will be an important carrier to solve energy crisis and promote sustainable development, Chinas ideas and efforts in development, utilization and protection of the new energy will be highlighted when designing the pavilion, Wang said.



Likewise, the theme of Green Silk Road is a deep interpretation of Chinas concept for green development, she added.



The energy corridor displays representative events and achievements in Chinas energy development, such as Zheng He Treasure Ship, Daqing oil field, Qinshan and Dayawan nuclear power plants and the Three Gorges Dam, showcasing the evolvement from fossil energy to new energy.



In the future energy themed theatre, a movie centered on energy transformation will be screened, telling the story on how the main character looks for new energy and compensates for nature, showcasing Chinas efforts to develop future energy.



Rashid Alimov, secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, said that the China pavilion will demonstrate first-class technologies in the world. Chinas utilization of energy impresses the world and the countrys energy exploitation achievements should be respected, he added.



During its trial operation, the China pavilion offered visitors a feast of high technology, including a nuclear fusion reactor described as an "artificial sun" and Hualong One reactor.



Rapil Zhoshybayev, Kazakh first deputy foreign minister and government representative for the Astana Expo, noted that the China pavilion will present the most wonderful exhibits in this expo.



Kazakhstan is the country where Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt. It is also an important partner to build the Belt and Road, and more importantly a major country to launch production capacity cooperation with China, Wang said.



Wang said that the expo is an important move to implement the consensus reached by heads of the two countries, as it is held after the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and in the year of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Kazakhstan.



China has sent an unprecedentedly number of enterprises, representatives from provinces and cities to participate in the expo, exceeding that to any other expos held in a foreign country.



During the three-month event, the pavilion will hold more than 200 trade and economic, cultural and tourism activities attended by more than 2,000 enterprises, including the Shanghai energy-themed exhibition, promotion of the 2019 Beijing International Horticultural Expo and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and cultural relic exhibitions such as the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses.



All the activities will make the China pavilion a platform to promote Belt and Road cooperation and to enhance mutual understanding and exchanges.





Dans la meme rubrique : < > Yunnan dispatches sci-tech experts to South Asia, Southeast Asia, builds bridge of int'l technological cooperation China's Beidou reaches world-leading level: white paper Silk Road e-commerce promotes trade among Belt and Road countries Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies has commended Global Load Controls (GLC) commitment to job creation amongst the youth of South Africa. Minister Davies was speaking after GLC, a remote global aviation services provider within the Business Process Services sector (BPS), launched its new offices in Cape Town today. As a department []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...










English News SCO to improve counter-terrorism ability, deepen security cooperation

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 9 Juin 2017



The SCO is of great significance in the sharing of intelligence and experience of counter-terrorism actions among the member states, promoting the prevention and tackling of international terrorism.

By Peoples Daily Security cooperation is believed to be a dominant agenda of the two-day-long 17th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State starting on Thursday in Kazakhstans capital city of Astana.



The meeting came as terrorism has posed threats to every country in the world given the ever changing international vicissitudes. As a result, a closer international cooperation to fight terrorism is required.



Chinese President Xi Jinping, before he kicked off his Kazakh trip, published a signed article in the Kazakh newspaper Aikyn Gazeti on Wednesday under the title "May China-Kazakhstan Relationship Fly High Toward Our Shared Aspirations.



He said in the article that the SCO finds security cooperation extremely important and has put in place cooperation mechanisms on combating terrorism, separatism, extremism, drugs and transnational crimes.



He stressed that the member states have held joint counter-terrorism drills on a regular basis, and worked actively to address hotspot issues, adding that all these efforts have helped to maintain regional security and stability.



The SCO has listed the fight against terrorism, separatism, and extremism as its aim and major task. The organization has always played an important role in safeguarding regional peace, security and stability, which also helps promote the Belt and Road construction.



Xi called on the organization to deepen security cooperation, implement the vision for common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, drug trafficking and transnational organized crimes according to law and jointly safeguard the cyber security.



In addition, it will put in place bilateral security mechanisms for the Belt and Road cooperation to ensure the security of the oil and gas pipelines and other large cooperation projects undertaken by China and Kazakhstan, and protect the legitimate rights and interests and the personal and property safety of their citizens and companies, Xi added.



Under the current international pattern with increasingly complicated and serious counter-terrorism situation, the demand for security has become particularly urgent for any country and region.



All countries across the world, against such background, are seeking for closer international cooperation. The security collaboration, as a wheel driving the SCO development, will be highlighted during the summit.



Chinas Assistant Foreign Minister Li Huilai announced in a Monday press briefing that Xi and other heads of SCO members would sign and publish the Astana Declaration, issue press communique, and adopt an anti-extremism convention during the summit held in Astana.

The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, a standing body of the SCO based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan has made huge achievements in terms of both mechanism and cooperation. Fruitful results have been achieved by each member state in fighting against terrorism, separatism, and extremism.

The cooperation has also been extended to the fields of law-enforcement security, information security, drug control and fright against transnational organized crimes.

In addition, SCO members have held multiple military drills to enhance cooperation, deterring the terrorism from further expanding.

The SCO has embraced two new members, namely India and Pakistan, at the summit. The organizations ability to combat international terrorism will be improved after their participation, said Morgulov Igor Vladimirovich, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

The SCO is of great significance in the sharing of intelligence and experience of counter-terrorism actions among the member states, promoting the prevention and tackling of international terrorism.

Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao said that the membership of India and Pakistan will help the organization conduct better anti-terrorism cooperation through intelligence sharing.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Yunnan dispatches sci-tech experts to South Asia, Southeast Asia, builds bridge of int'l technological cooperation China's Beidou reaches world-leading level: white paper Silk Road e-commerce promotes trade among Belt and Road countries Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
So, let's review what we heard:

1. The President was not a target of any investigation.

2. Comey did not trust Donald Trump, regarded him as a liar, and therefore wrote copious notes of meetings with the president.

3. Trump told Comey that Flynn is a nice guy, so Trump hoped Comey would not investigate Flynn.

4. Comey felt uneasy about that request but did not feel strong enough to tell the president so.

5. The president never asked Comey to stop or stall or even pause the investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election, nor did he intimate that Comey should do so.

6. Comey leaked his notes to the NYT through a middleman.

7. Last year, Comey was directed by Loretta Lynch to speak of the Hillary email criminal investigation not as an "investigation," but as a "matter." In fact, it was an ongoing criminal investigation.

8. Comey felt queasy about Lynch's directive, so he jumped the gun on the Justice Department and held his own press conference to report on the Hillary investigation and even arrogated to himself the authority to make his own call as to whether a prosecutor would convene a grand jury.

9. A substantial number of media reports about the White House and the Russian investigation, based supposedly on unnamed leakers within the intelligence community, continually have been outright false because those in the know do not secretly talk to the media, and those who secretly talk to the media are not in the know.

Here is what this means:

1. The head of the FBI must be strong enough to stand up to a president  not to hate him or oppose him, but to stand his own ground respectfully.

2. Comey is not made of that stuff, by his own admission.

3. Therefore, by his own unintentional admission, Comey is unsuited to head the FBI.

4. Someone who has a history of never lying probably has not lied when a question arises as to his or her veracity.

5. Someone who has a background of lying may well be assumed to be lying on other matters when a question arises as to veracity.

6. Trump speaks falsely so often  even when he does not have to  that he probably does not even realize he is lying, and when he does speak falsely, it may well be unintentional and pathological, but not intentionally to deceive or lie.

7. Comey now admits that he leaks. Someone who admits, on the one occasion when he is asked under oath, that he directed leaking of secret FBI-related stuff to the New York Times may well be assumed to have an ongoing history of leaking confidential material to news media like the Times.

8. In an FBI where the director leaks to the news media, the whole cockamamie spy organization may be understood to be permeated with a culture of permissive leaking.

9. For this reason, too, Comey needed to be fired long ago.

10. Comey does not trust Donald Trump, does not like Donald Trump, regards him as a liar, and is suspicious of Trump to the point of Comey documenting his private meetings with the president.

11. Someone with that degree of bias against President Trump, even if such personal bias be warranted, cannot honestly conduct an impartial investigation that looks at Mr. Trump or his White House.

12. Therefore, Comey had to be replaced because he cannot be trusted to conduct an impartial investigation.

13. Comey seems to have leaked to the media everything about the FBI's investigations and concerns regarding these matters except for the fact and disclosure that President Trump has not been and was not being investigated for anything.

14. George H.W. Bush pardoned the despicable Caspar Weinberger just before Weinberger went on trial. President Trump can pardon Flynn any time he wants  before trial, during trial, after trial. There could not possibly have been any constitutional overstepping for Trump, who could instantly legally stop a Flynn investigation on a dime, to say, essentially, "I hope you can find a way to leave my friend, who is a good guy, alone."

15. New Yorkers speak directly. Midwesterners, by contrast, speak indirectly. People in Britain, by further contrast, are even less direct. Those styles are matters of culture. When a British person says, "I hope you will not investigate," he or she means: "I expect you not to investigate." When an American Midwesterner says, "I hope you will not investigate," it is impossible to know what the person really is saying; it is about playing mind games. But when a New Yorker from Brooklyn or Queens says, "I hope you will not investigate," he or she means: "It is my sincere hope that you will not investigate." That is, if a New Yorker from Brooklyn or Queens wants to say: "I expect you not to investigate," he or she will say: "You better not investigate if you know what's good for you." Trump is from those inner boroughs. When he said "hope," he was expressing his hope.

16. Comey never leaked about the pressure to which he was subjected by the Obama White House to ease off on Hillary Clinton's crimes. She committed clear crimes in disclosing certain of her top-secret emails and in removing secure federal electronic documents from her office.

17. The middleman through whom Comey leaked, a Columbia University law professor, may well have committed a crime by participating actively in the leaking. Time will tell.

18. Until recently, the Democrats hated Comey more than did the Republicans, and they wanted him fired immediately, too.

19. None of this nonsense parallels Watergate in any way. In Watergate, there was a criminal break-in. Here, there is nothing  just an innocently undisciplined and brash president with a fundamentally good heart and honest intentions to make America great again, but who unfortunately lost tons of good will by conducting himself disgracefully during campaign debates and throughout the election year, insulting and calling people names, lying about people like Ted Cruz's father, and laying the groundwork to be dragged through mud once elected  something that would not have been possible with more decently behaved Republicans like Mitt Romey and John McCain.

20. The reality is that the American people chose not to elect a Mitt Romney or a John McCain, but instead opted for a bull in search of a china shop. The voters came out to vote for this guy.

21. When the Democrats took down Richard Nixon, they replaced a pseudo-conservative who had engaged in detente with Soviet Russia and rapprochement with Communist China, who had implemented wage and price controls, and who named liberal Supreme Court justices after he botched up two consecutive picks. We ended up with Gerald Ford, who was a decent and honest conservative but who was not suited to be president, because Nixon's first vice president, Spiro Agnew, was really a crook.

22. If the Democrats ever took down this president  and they will not  he would be succeeded by a rock-solid presidential-quality fundamental conservative who also would make America great again by following virtually the same political agenda as Trump, only without the ruckus and tweets, but with dignity, fear of G-d, uncommon humility, and loyalty to the Constitution. And if he were to rise to that post and name Mike Huckabee as his vice president, not only could we see this country's economy become great again and its military might become great again...but we even could see this country's moral fiber and its social character become great again.

23. That Pence-Huckabee development has to wait nearly eight years, until after President Trump concludes his second term.

Rabbi Dov Fischer, an attorney and adjunct professor of law, is a senior rabbinic fellow at the Coalition for Jewish Values and congregational rabbi of Young Israel of Orange County, California and holds prominent leadership roles in several national rabbinic and other Jewish organizations. He has been chief articles editor of the UCLA Law Review, clerked for the Hon. Danny J. Boggs in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and served for most of the past decade on the Executive Committee of the Rabbinical Council of America. His writings have appeared in The Weekly Standard, National Review, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Jerusalem Post, American Greatness, Frontpage Magazine, American Thinker, and Israel National News. Other of his writings are collected at www.rabbidov.com.
California has declared that 50% of electricity in the state must come from renewable sources by 2030. Californias definition of renewable sources is bizarre and heavily influenced by the ideas of the green left. For example, most hydro electricity is not considered renewable, even though hydro uses no fuel and emits no greenhouse gas. (The Sierra Club does not like dams that interfere with rafting.) Nuclear generation is omitted from the list of approved technologies, even though nuclear is nonpolluting and emits no greenhouse gas. However, chopping down trees and burning them to make electricity is apparently okay. (Not that theres anything wrong with that.)

In order to implement the renewable mandate, most of the power will come from dominant wind and solar power. Within California there are only about 5700 megawatts of wind-generating capacity and 8000 megawatts of solar-generating capacity. To fully generate this capacity the wind must be blowing at high noon. However the average power generated from the combined 13,700 megawatts of wind and solar is probably about 25% of the capacity, or on average of about 3500 megawatts. (My estimate of a 25% capacity factor may seem low but for the western interconnection it is 21% for wind and 18% for solar. See page 22 here.) Californias 3500 megawatts of renewable electricity is about 12% of retail sales of electricity in California. But, California claims that 29% of its electricity is currently renewable. How can this be? The answer is dubious bookkeeping. California can contract for renewable electricity from anyplace in the Western Interconnection that stretches as far east as Colorado and includes the two western provinces of Canada. The electricity does not actually have to flow to California. It is a paperwork thing, assigning the renewable character of the electricity to Californias account. There is not supposed to be double counting where some other state claims the same electricity.

It is possible that states other than California are claiming, or at least bragging about, the same renewable power as California claims. Colorado, for example, could brag about how much renewable power is generated in the state, while selling the electricitys renewable attribute to California. That allows California to count renewable power consumed in the Colorado region as its own. Colorado can still brag about how much renewable power is generated within its borders. Further, the renewable power is actually consumed in the Colorado region because thats how the grid works. California isnt actually getting the renewable power; Californias power comes mostly from natural gas plants located in California. This scheme is implemented by renewable power certificates (RPCs). An RPC represents 1-megawatt hour of renewable power. The certificate can be sold to a utility and thus provide the utility with authority to claim 1 megawatt hour of renewable energy. The utility doesnt actually get the power, but the power is exclusively allocated to them. This is a scheme very similar to the carbon offsets that can be bought and sold.

The owner of a wind power farm in Colorado can, at least in theory, create both a renewable power certificate and a carbon offset certificate. The RPC can be sold to California to help satisfy its renewable power requirement. The carbon offset certificate representing CO2 emissions avoided can also be sold, perhaps to Al Gore to relieve him of responsibility for flying in a private jet. The wind farm owner can also brag, truthfully, that it is generating renewable power for use in Colorado.

Carbon offsets are a financial instrument where both the buyer and seller have an incentive to lie. The same is true of RPCs. Certainly the owner of a wind farm could counterfeit certificates and effectively sell multiple certificates for the same power generated. The buyer of the certificates is not buying real power, but trying to satisfy a renewable power requirement by using someone else's renewable power. Certainly the buyer is incentivized to overlook accounting funny business, especially if the price is right. The creation and sale of the certificates is carried on in secret and the price is not disclosed, so the incentive to cheat is all the greater.

The Second Court of Appeals described renewable power certificates this way:

Generally speaking, RECs are inventions of state property law whereby the renewable energy attributes are unbundled from the energy itself and sold separately. The credits can be purchased by companies and individuals to offset use of energy generated from traditional fossil fuel resources or by government agencies to satisfy certain requirements that these agencies purchase a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources.

Apple Computer, as part of its greenwashing operation, claims that its stores in the U.S. use renewable power. Presumably they are buying RPCs from someone.

The California renewable power program requires that the RPCs be purchased only from generators connected to the Western Interconnection. They dont, for example, permit the purchase of RPCs from a wind farm in China. Why not? Obviously they feel the need for a fig leaf. Since all the generators in the Western Interconnection are connected together, they can claim that there is a physical connection between a distant generator in Colorado or Idaho, even if very little power flows from those generators all the way to California.

Apparently, the RPC scheme can backfire. In Colorado, certain solar power projects are required to sell their RPCs to the local utility. But the utility, Xcel, does not want the certificates. However, Xcel, has offered to buy the certificates for a negative price. The solar power operators have to pay Xcel to take the certificates.

It would be very difficult to assure that 50% of California was renewable. Solar power does not work at night, so the possibilities of solar are limited to replacing midday power. (There is such a thing as thermal solar with heat storage that can work at night if the sun shone on the same day, but it is very expensive.) California is a wind power poor state and the good sites are concentrated in small areas. If enough wind power could be installed to ensure 50% renewable power, the result would be too much wind power when the wind was blowing well. That would result in wasting power and lowering the utilization of both wind power and the conventional power that is needed to back up the wind power. It would be massively expensive. A high proportion of wind power would likely create grid stability problems.

In the Pacific Northwest, during the spring when hydro power is plentiful, the hydro and wind power generators are in competition. The wind power generators cannot collect the federal subsidy of about 2 cents for each kilowatt hour generated unless they sell the power to someone. The result is negative pricing, or paying customers to use the power. The hydro power generators have no such incentive, so they simply spill water from the dams instead of generating power.

The term renewable power is practically meaningless, or more exactly it means whatever different state legislatures say it means. Green lobbies like the Sierra Club are possessed by quasi-religious ideas about good electricity and bad electricity. The green lobby has great influence because nobody else cares much about the subject. Renewable power is not about running out of resources to generate the power. Nuclear energy resources are essentially limitless, especially if breeder reactors and thorium reactors are introduced. As it is, nuclear fuel is currently extremely cheap. The supply of coal is so great that the prospect of running out of coal would be many centuries in the future. Ted Golds thesis that hydrocarbons form deep in the mantle and then percolate to the earths surface have recently been proven, making oil a renewable resource. Renewable power is not about limiting CO2 emissions. If it were, nuclear and hydro would be embraced. Renewable power is about promoting wind and solar and a few other sources of power with minor potential, such as biomass burning.

Renewable power and state requirements for a certain portion of power to be renewable are actually special interest legislation designed to enrich the developers of wind and solar power. The ostensible objectives of preserving resources or preventing global warming are cover to justify the schemes. The green left, with its bizarre ideas works hand and hand with the commercial interests. Environmental organizations, like the Sierra Club, or Greenpeace, gain a mission, so that they can be seen as doing something supposedly useful, besides being against practically everything.

Norman Rogers writes often about environmental matters. He has a website.
Fake news has replaced responsible journalism. Its hard to know what to believe. It wasnt long ago that supermarket tabloids like National Enquirer were considered fake news. Now it seems the Enquirer and TMZ may be more reliable sources of accurate news than the New York Times or Washington Post.

Government agencies arent immune from the fake news trend either. The Congressional Budget Office describes itself as, Strictly nonpartisan; conducts objective, impartial analysis; and hires its employees solely on the basis of professional competence without regard to political affiliation.

Ill bet most newspapers and television news networks say the same about their own objectivity.

The CBO analyzed the American Health Care Act of 2017, a lame effort by Republicans to repeal and replace Obamacare. Passed by the House, its now on to the greatest deliberative body in the world. Here the Senate will dither and dawdle, and likely not pass anything. What about the election? What about Trumps campaign promise to repeal and replace? Campaign promises are for chumps, after all. Congress has had years to repeal and replace Obamacare and has done nothing. Ditto on tax cuts, immigration reform, building a wall, and other campaign promises easily made but not kept.

Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has thrown in the towel, saying, "I don't know how we get to 50 votes at the moment. He has 52 votes in his caucus, but perhaps its Common Core math leading him to conclude that 52 is less than 50. Senator Lindsay Graham joined the chorus of naysayers also saying no Obamacare repeal this year. Does the GOP establishment even want to repeal Obamacare? I wonder.

The CBO threw cold water on the House repeal effort claiming 23 million more would be uninsured by 2026 under AHCA compared to the status quo of Obamacare. This assumes that when the individual mandate disappears, the law requiring everyone to purchase health insurance whether or not they want or need it, no one will purchase insurance of any kind. Really?

If inexpensive catastrophic plans became available as an alternative to Obamacare, no one would buy them? Thats like saying if BMW went out of business, sales of other car brands would remain the same, not increase with BMW customers choosing Fords or Toyotas instead. Inexpensive catastrophic plans are ideal for many young healthy adults but are not available under the rules of Obamacare. They would, however, be purchased if priced reasonably. Just like with expensive cars.

A bit of positive news too from the ACHA which has not been reported. The CBO also predicted a $120 billion savings from the ACHA over the next 10 years, but this wasnt deemed newsworthy by the media, burying this fact in the 18th paragraph of their stories.

Those wanting to maintain the status quo of Obamacare, such as California Senator Kamala Harris, doubled down on CBO projections saying 129 million people with preexisting conditions could be denied coverage. How real is that number?

The Kaiser Family Foundation notes that 49 percent of Americans receive employer-based insurance, which covers preexisting conditions. Ditto for 20 percent on Medicaid and 14 percent on Medicare. Leaving only 16 percent on individual plans (Obamacare) or uninsured. The uninsured constitute 9 percent and preexisting conditions are moot as these individuals dont have insurance anyway. Leaving 7 percent on Obamacare plans.

As an interesting aside, why are 9 percent of Americans still uninsured? I thought Obamacare was supposed to fix this?

Of the 7 percent on Obamacare plans, the good news for them is that the ACHA does require coverage for preexisting conditions. Even CNN concedes that point.

The devil, however, is in the details. Covering a condition doesnt mean coverage for each and every available treatment option. Those with Obamacare policies already know this. Limited formularies. Many top hospitals and physicians out of network. Unaffordable copays and deductibles.

Your heart problem may be covered but the only hospitals and surgeons able to treat your particular problem are not in your insurance network. Or the out-of-pocket portion is unaffordable. So you are technically covered for your preexisting condition but may not like or be able to afford the treatment options available to you. In other words, if you like your doctor you may not be able to keep your doctor.

The reality is that only 500,000 individuals are in potential danger of losing their preexisting coverage if Obamacare is repealed, according to a detailed analysis by Betsy McCaughey. All told, a drop in the bucket, but for the media, the sky is falling.

These half million individuals could easily be placed on Medicaid, covering their preexisting conditions with little out-of-pocket expense. Much smarter to attend to this small group rather than make a mess of the system for the remaining 99-plus percent.

Right now we only have a House bill. One of many small steps before grand pronouncements can be made about what replaces Obamacare. Its not law, simply a bill. The Senate needs to pass their own bill, a long shot at this point. Then back to a House-Senate conference to reconcile the two different bills. Followed by another vote in both the House and Senate before it even gets to President Trump for signature and passage into law.

The media, by throwing out fake or exaggerated news as the legislative process has just gotten underway, undermines any realistic chance of dismantling Obamacare. Despite the fact that it is unaffordable for many and in its own death spiral.

It seems preserving Obamas legacy is the medias priority over thoughtful reporting and analysis. Expect the media to double down after Trump threw away one of the other Obama legacies, the Paris Climate Agreement. If the media continues to throw cold water on every repeal and replace effort from Congress, via fake news and fear-mongering, Congress will cower and eventually do nothing. Leading to the irony of Obamas legacy being the ashes of Obamacare once it finally implodes.

Brian C. Joondeph, MD, MPS, is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Anchor Insurance has announced that it will not offer insurance plans on the Ohio ObamaCare exchange next year, leaving 20 counties without any subsidized insurance options.

Regarding the Anthem departure, the New York Times breezily dismisses the fact that

Although [Anthem's] departure would leave a small number of people -- roughly 10,500 who live in about a fifth of the states counties -- without an insurance carrier, the move was seized on by Republicans as more evidence that the markets are 'collapsing' under the Affordable Care Act.

Don't you just love the satirical use of the quotations marks around the word collapsing indicating that such a charge is just utter nonsense?

Consequently, when Americans relate their horrific experiences under ObamaCare, they are met with insensitive, foul-mouthed responses and threats of violence for daring to expose the built-in problems of ObamaCare. Michelle Malkin relates how "millions of us who wanted our individual market health insurance plans left alone were branded selfish or liars for the past eight years. Our stories were stifled; our cancellation notices derided; our accounts of skyrocketing health insurance costs and diminished access to doctors mocked." In fact, "[t]he partisan Beltway press shot down true stories of government-engineered pain and suffering, while hyping countless tall tales spun by the Obamacare Fable Factory."

John Hayward asserts that Obama "needed to conceal how many people would lose their insurance under his plan. Millions of people lost their insurance plans because of the Affordable Care Act. Quite a few people have lost more than one insurance plan because of Obamacare-related disruptions to the market since 2010." Moreover, "[i]t matters very much that Obamacare is absurdly expensive and wasteful. Thats real money being siphoned from our productive private economy and thrown around by the bureaucracy. A repeal plan that saves American taxpayers billions of dollars is a good thing and should be promoted to the people who pay all those taxes, insurance premiums, and deductibles as such."

In addition, physician organizations now predict that in a mere 13 years, there will be a near-catastrophic shortage of primary care doctors and specialists in the United States. Kevin Campbell explains that:

Based on a new report from the Association of American Medical Colleges, it is expected that we will see a shortfall of nearly 100,000 doctors by the year 2030. A closer look at the predictions show that we will have a shortage of 40,000 primary care physicians, as well as a shortage of nearly 60,000 physicians in specialties such as allergy and immunology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and infectious disease. In general surgery, the report predicts that there will be 30,000 fewer surgeons than are needed to provide care to those who need it.

But, rest assured that "all federal employees could see a better rate on their health insurance premiums under a bill to overhaul the U.S. Postal Service, according to an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office." Eric Katz reports that:

A key component of the 2017 Postal Service Reform Act would be the creation of a new health benefits program just for postal employees and retirees, while also requiring all eligible annuitants to enroll in Medicare as their primary provider. Federal workers remaining in their current Federal Employees Health Benefits plans would see their costs shrink, as removing postal employees -- who are generally costlier to insure than the rest of the federal workforce -- from their pools would decrease the overall expenses associated with their insurance. CBO did not estimate the savings FEHB enrollees would themselves receive, but it did predict the governments portion of premium costs would decrease by $1.4 billion for federal retirees and $1.9 billion for current employees over 10 years. Analysts also predicted premiums in the new system 'for postal employees and annuitants would be lower than the FEHB premiums those people would face under current law.' Again, CBO did not project savings for the individual, but said USPS would save $2.2 billion for current postal workers and $2.5 billion over 10 years under the postal-specific health care program.

And while America waits and waits and waits for the repeal and replacement of ObamaCare, the Democrats continue their pre-existing condition scam, claiming that those people with pre-existing conditions will have no insurance protection. Betsy McCaughey exposes this falsehood when she writes that:

...the remaining 4% -- those with pre-existing conditions -- will be protected by a federal fund to subsidize their insurance costs. They won't get priced out of the market, because the fund will pay the lion's share of their premiums.

Yet, Republicans are "cowed by the media's false reports that the GOP is abandoning people with pre-existing conditions." McCaughey explains that:

There is a consensus that people with pre-existing conditions should be able to get insurance. The issue is who pays the hefty price tag. ObamaCare forced healthy buyers in the individual market to foot the entire bill. That's why their premiums have doubled since the law went into effect. The new House bill sets up a fairer way: a $130 billion pot of money, federally funded, to pay for people with pre-existing conditions. The entire nation chips in, not just people stuck in the individual market. Under ObamaCare, the healthy and the chronically ill paid the same premiums. It's called community pricing. Healthy people would never meet their sky-high deductibles. Instead the premiums extorted from them would be used to cover huge medical bills for the chronically ill, who consume 10 times as much medical care. In fact, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini reports that less than 5 percent of ObamaCare enrollees consume over half of the health care. Naysayers claim the federal fund to subsidize people with pre-existing conditions won't be adequate. Nonsense. How many people will need help? Not as many as Democrats claim. Before ObamaCare, 250,000 people a year with pre-existing conditions were denied coverage for health reasons by major insurers. In 2010, when the ACA established a temporary program for people not being served by state high-risk programs, another 115,000 got help. Adding the two figures together, count on 365,000 people to need help paying for their premiums because of their medical histories. To be safe, call it 400,000.

In fact,

. . . several states -- Alaska, Minnesota, Idaho and Oklahoma among them -- have already acted, without waiting for Congress. They used state funds to help cover the sickest people, and relieve pressure on healthy premium payers. Alaska averted a 40 percent premium hike that way last year.

Hayward asserts that, ultimately

"the GOP [needs to] focus on giving its voters what they want, instead of worrying about tantrums from the people who lost the last election? Why make deals to appease an opposition that cannot be appeased? Republican strategists should be able to learn a lot by studying the last repeal battle. It should be easy to anticipate Democrat and media lines of attack against a bold repeal plan. Be ready for those attacks with sharp responses, focused on selling the GOP plan to voters who clearly believe Obamacare isnt the best way to handle health insurance. Be prepared to shoot down misleading factoids and relentlessly hammer everything people dont like about the post-ACA insurance landscape."

Indeed.

Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com
After the recent attack on Manchester by Islamic terrorists, British author and journalist Douglas Murray provided a simple two-word suggestion for what might help prevent future such violence in Great Britain: less Islam. To bolster his point, Murray pointed out that, countries like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have very little Islam and very little Islamic terror. By contrast, France has a great amount of Islam and a great amount of Islamic terror. Of course, Islamic apologists promptly went bananas (Murrays words).

As we have seen for years now, and as recent events again demonstrate, Islamic apologists include not only those deceived by Islam, but also those deceived by liberalism. I say again, there are few greater threats to life, limb, and liberty in the world today than liberalism and Islam. Radical Islamists drive the vans, pull the triggers, slash the knives, strap on the bombs, cut off the heads, and so on, while radical liberals in the media and the state houses provide the political cover for the slaughter to continue.

Despite the obvious differences in their worldviews -- the Do What Thou Wilt godless philosophy that dominates in modern liberalism vs. a rigid, uncompromising (and man-designed) religious code that dominates radical Islam -- both share a common trait that deceives one (liberals) into thinking that the other (radical Islam) can be tolerated: a disdain for Christianity.

Millions of Christians and other such apostates (tens of millions by some estimates) continue to die at the hands of Islamists. For one of the worst examples (one the media often ignores), according to Africa: The Holocausts of Rwanda and Sudan,

Well over two million southern black Christians, Muslims, and animists in the Sudan have died, the great majority civilians, in a genocide that few in the world have heard about. Since 1983, ethnic cleansing and a religious holy jihad (since 1992) have created a holocaust that rival the two great genocides in Europe (the Holocaust and Stalins Gulag) In the Nuba Mountains the Arab Muslim fundamentalists practiced an age-old custom of taking blacks into slavery, forcing conversion of many to Islam, and then decided to wipe out the fifty tribes by genocide, similar to the situation in Darfur in the west.

Tragically, modern liberals are so desperate to rid the world of Christians and Christianity that they will tolerate almost anything, except authentic Christianity. Whats more, as the violence from radical Islamists rages on (and on, and on), time and again, liberal pundits and politicians, as they are forced to address the bloodshed -- and after even their own are murdered -- go to absurd lengths to avoid even the hint of a mention of Islam. As Daniel Greenfield put it after knife-wielding Muslims rampaged London, Islamic terrorism has no religion even when its shouting, This is for Islam.

Of course, after yet another round of killing in the name of Islam, godless liberals also give us the obligatory -- and lazily idiotic assertion that -- when it comes to violence in the name of religion the Christians did it too! To liberals, all religious extremists are equal; however, when one honestly compares radical Christianity with radical Islam, nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, when it comes to killing the innocent, violent religious extremists of any flavor could learn a thing or two from the violent anti-religious extremists that dominate the modern left. The greatest murderers in the history of humanity were the godless socialists and communists of the 20th century. As renowned scholar, educator, and author Walter E. Williams notes:

Between 1917 and 1987, Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin and their successors murdered and were otherwise responsible for the deaths of 62 million of their own people. Between 1949 and 1987, Chinas communists, led by Mao Zedong and his successors, murdered and were otherwise responsible for the deaths of 76 million Chinese. The most authoritative tally of historys most murderous regimes is documented on University of Hawaii professor Rudolph J. Rummels website and in his book Death by Government.

Multiple sources, including professor Rummel, conclude that, in the past century, atheistic regimes worldwide have led to the deaths of tens of millions, with some sound estimates putting the total number of deaths at more than 250,000,000!

Very often, the drive to kill was an effort to purge religion -- especially Christianity -- from the state. Even Wikipedia notes that the slaughter in the Soviet Union started with multiple anti-religious campaigns that began in the early 1920s, when new legislation severely prohibited religious activities and called for a heightened attack on religion in order to further disseminate atheism. In 1937 alone, more than 85,000 Russian Orthodox priests were executed.

Though there are certainly distinctions between the godless socialists and communists of the 20th century and the European and North American liberals of today, there are also very scary similarities. In his mid-19th century Critique of Socialism, Alexis de Tocqueville summarized well the ideology of socialism when he wrote,

They unceasingly attempt to mutilate, to curtail, to obstruct personal freedom in any and all ways. They hold that the State must not only act as the director of society, but must further be master of each man, and not only master, but keeper and trainer. For fear of allowing him to err, the State must place itself forever by his side, above him, around him, better to guide him, to maintain him, in a word, to confine him. They call, in fact, for the forfeiture, to a greater or less degree, of human liberty, to the point where, were I to attempt to sum up what socialism is, I would say that it was simply a new system of serfdom.

Sounds much like the efforts of modern liberals, doesnt it? And even when they claim to be champions of personal freedom -- as is often their cry when it comes to everything to do with matters in the sexual realm -- modern liberalism, like Islam, is still filled with violence and bondage. With nearly 60 million unborn children killed since 1973, U.S. abortion-supporting liberals must be the envy of genocidal maniacs the world over. American abortionists have managed to turn what should be one of the safest places in the universe -- a mothers womb --into a killing field. Worldwide, since 1980, a staggering 1.5 billion children have been aborted.

Furthermore, the most dangerous places in America are run by liberals (i.e., Democrats). According to FBI data, and as Mark Alexander recently noted, the 10 most dangerous cities in America with populations above 200,000 are all managed, top to bottom, by Democrats. They are: Detroit, Oakland, Memphis, St. Louis, Cleveland, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Birmingham, Newark and Kansas City. According to CDC data, nearly 60% of gun homicides in the U.S. occur in the 62 cities of the countrys 50 largest metro areas. Again, these areas are dominated by liberal politics and policies.

In addition, guided by the false belief that Do What Thou Wilt (especially in the sexual realm) frees us from the shackles of the antiquated ideas on morality and personal ethical behavior, liberalism has set about to discredit and abandon many of the eternal and inescapable absolute truths set down by our Creator that should be the cornerstones of all good government. Thus, almost any sexual perversion imaginable is, in the U.S. today, a right. And instead of being free, tens of millions of Americans are now slaves to their sexual desires. As a result, STD rates in the U.S. have reached record epidemic rates.

Of course, just as there are many Muslims who are not terrorists, there are many liberals who are not Christian-hating, terrorist-tolerating, sex-crazed abortionists. However, just as the worlds greatest problem with violent terrorism lies within Islam, the worlds biggest problem with godless, pleasure-peddling, big government statists lies within liberalism.

Trevor Grant Thomas

At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.

www.trevorgrantthomas.com

Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America

tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com
On June 5, 2017, it was reported that the London attack vigil, "led by London mayor Sadiq Khan, saw a procession of Muslims given the opportunity to first, and separately, lay flowers at the scene. While the group of men first laid flowers, other Britons and attendees were held behind barriers. The group is believed to have been from the Bohra sect of Islam, perhaps best known for their adherence to the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation."

What is particularly galling about this scene is not that the London Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan has "ties not just to organizations associated with ISIS, but also groups such as Hamas, Al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda, and the Muslim Brotherhood. During his time as mayor, London has seen an increase in terror incidents[.] Rather than focusing on combatting terror, Khan has used his forum to tell Londoners as well as citizens in other parts of Europe and the United States that the West must learn to live with terrorism as a part of daily life. Khan's extreme flirtation with radical Islamic extremism raises serious questions about his commitment to fighting a wave of extremist fueled terrorism that only continues to spread after a number of attacks and police operations in London and other areas of the UK."

Mayor Khan has knowingly allowed more than 200 jihadists to return from Syria and seemingly has no idea where they are. This was depicted in this astonishing interview between him and Piers Morgan. As Douglas Ernst notes, "London Mayor Sadiq Khan faced a grilling this week by journalist Piers Morgan after admitting that hundreds of jihadists back from Syria are not being tracked by police."

Great Britain has now endured endless candle vigils and wreath laying events while British police "need to ask permission from local Muslim leaders to patrol certain neighborhoods. For example a cop in Lancashire said: 'There are Muslim areas of Preston that, if we wish to patrol, we have to contact local Muslim community leaders to get their permission.'"

Courageous people such as Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller, Michael Savage, and Geert Wilders are not allowed into England because of their truth-telling about Islam because a British "government spokesman said [such] individuals' ... presence 'is not conducive to the public good' since the government condemns 'all those whose behaviours and views run counter to our shared values and will not stand for extremism in any form.'"

Two-faced, anyone?

Female genital mutilation is now on the rise since Muslim immigration has increased in the West.

Once again, Muslims are being given special consideration  except this time it is to show that they are allegedly truly one with Western values.

But doesn't the fact that this Muslim sect is given the first chance to lay flowers at the London attack vigil actually prove that Islam is very much implicated in global terror? Does this not confirm the nexus between Islam and terror?

If, for example, a Christian were to murder someone, would a group of Christians be given the spotlight and be the first to lay flowers? Unlikely, since it is not a tenet of Christianity to go and kill an unbeliever.

The Muslim world cannot have it both ways  either it completely refutes the hateful aspects of Islam or it does not. Thus, those who have the term "Islamophobe" hurled at them are completely correct  it is not Islamophobia when they really are trying to kill you.

The double standard is sickening.

Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gamil.com.
One of the most effective and insidiously deceptive tricks of the American left is to brand anyone who disagrees with their anti-God agenda a "hater." Who wants to be humiliated with an H branded on his forehead? Bullied into submission, many Americans have abandoned speaking truth, betrayed their faith, rejected science, and thrown common sense out the window.

For example: Instinctively, we know and science confirms that it is best for children to have a mom and dad. And yet leftists say homosexual couples make better parents. In other words, leftists say God is an unsophisticated idiot whose design for family is wrong. Think about that, folks. If anyone dares say in the public arena that it is best for kids to have a mom and dad, the full weight of the American left will be launched to silence and punish him. While portraying themselves as victims, the dirty little secret is that We the People are the ones bullied by leftists and homosexual activists.

In their book After the Ball, Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen instruct activists how to make homosexuality accepted as normal. One tactic is to inflate their numbers. Homosexuals are less than 3% of the population. And yet young people believe homosexuals are 20, 30, as high as 40%. If such large percentages of the population are homosexual, it must be normal.

Indoctrinating children to celebrate and experiment with homosexuality begins in kindergarten with books like Daddy, Papa and Me. Shockingly, students are taught an LBGT curriculum beginning in second grade. Courts block parents from opting out their children from homosexual studies; government-forced hijacking of the hearts and minds of your children.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

Determined to train up your child in the way leftists think he should go, leftists are politicking to make homeschooling illegal. Leftists are furious and panicked over Trump appointing Betsy DeVos as secretary of education. DeVos wants to restore parents' God-given rights regarding the education of their children.

Authors Kirk and Madsen also instruct leftist activists to portray anyone who embraces the Bible's teaching as antiquated and backward, badly out of step with the times and the latest findings of psychology. Once again, leftists are saying God got it wrong.

"[L]et God be found true, but every man a liar." Romans 3:4

Kirk and Madsen openly admit that their game plan is a slick propaganda marketing campaign, deceiving the public into believing that the left's minority ideas are the mainstream majority.

Scientists and researchers have exposed leftists' "born gay" hoax. The American College of Pediatricians says supporting LGBT ideology is "child abuse."

John Hopkins University received retaliation from furious leftists over its study that concluded that transgenderism is a mental illness.

Brilliantly, leftists turned a sexual behavior into a human right, equal to the struggles of blacks. Thus, opposing homosexuality is now called bigotry. No one wants to be branded a bigot. Though unreported by the fake news media, black civil rights leaders were appalled when leftists stole the black civil rights movement to further the normalization of sodomy, biblical sin.

Americans are also victims of leftists' desensitization trick, flooding TV and movies with positive images of homosexuals  funny and superior to heterosexuals.

Remember the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers? You could not tell whose body was taken over by space aliens until a person spoke. It is disturbing that Christians I thought were strong in the Lord have succumbed to leftists' desensitization, softening their commitment to God's Word regarding homosexuality, same-sex marriage, and homosexual parenting.

Then there is leftists' dirty trick of lumping everyone who disapproves of homosexuality in with those who wish them physical harm. For example: An Islamic terrorist brutally massacred homosexuals in an Orlando nightclub. Leftists exploited this crime, flooding the airwaves with the narrative that Christians and all who oppose same-sex marriage were responsible for the massacre. So once again, leftists branded God's Word evil hate speech. Before President Trump's executive order defending religious freedom, more and more Christians were forced out of business and even jailed for following Jesus.

For decades, homosexuals have lied, claiming that all they desire is tolerance while stealthily seeking to destroy anyone who does not fully approve of their chosen lifestyle. While I have beloved homosexual friends and family, I will not betray my faith. Sharia law calls for the execution of people who engage in homosexual acts. So why do leftists celebrate Muslims and hate Christians? The God of Christianity says, "With loving kindness have I drawn thee" (Jeremiah 31:3).

I've about had it being bullied by Hollywood, fake news media, and Democrats who demand that I embrace their anti-God agenda. Quoting Joshua, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Lloyd Marcus, The Unhyphenated American

Author: Confessions of a Black Conservative: How the Left has shattered the dreams of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black America.

Singer/Songwriter and Conservative Activist

http://LloydMarcus.com
The recent barbaric events in London, Paris, and Manchester highlighted the reality that the need for peace in the world is today greater than ever. Count the number of people killed in recent terrorist attacks, and plot the curve to get a clear and horrible picture of what has happened.

A few years ago Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified before a Senate committee that the world is "more dangerous than it has ever been."

It highlights the need to look for and locate the first and most important source of violence: the mullah-led regime in Iran.

One place worth looking at right now is Canada, where the regime's minions are active, the Canadian public is growing aware of this, and the country's lawmakers are getting around to finding ways to sanction the mullahs for their state sponsorship of terrorism.

That is why we see new interest from Canada in taking measures against Iran, according to one editorialist.

The Senate of Canada is considering a private member's bill (S-219) declaring that "this enactment provides for an ongoing analysis of the incidence of terrorist activity, support of terrorism, incitement to hatred, and human rights violations, emanating from Iran, the identification of Iranian officials who are responsible for such activities and the strengthening of Canada's non-nuclear sanctions regime against Iran[.]"

I would argue that Canada's Parliament should also name Iran's IRGC as number one on the list of the world's terrorist organizations. Such a bill would require the minister of foreign affairs to publish an annual report on Iran-sponsored terrorism, incitement to hatred, and human rights violations that include a description of measures taken by the government of Canada to address those activities.

Such legal measures can't come soon enough.

Thomas Quiggin from Gatestone Institute, a non-partisan international policy council and think-tank, said: "Iran and its Islamist regime is currently making a major effort to expand its footprint in Canada. Their aim is to use American's northern neighbor as a 'forward operating base' for influence operations against the American government. In a recent video, Hassan Abbasi, a leadership figure in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was boasting about a 'guerrilla movement of Iranian agents living and working in the United States.' Iran, he says, is leading a clandestine army of potential martyrs within the U.S."

"The recent barbaric events in the Middle East  especially in Syria, Africa, and even Europe  highlight the reality that the world's primary state sponsor of terrorism, run by fundamentalists, is Iran, with more ideological and potential threats than ISIS."

Iran has done more harm to world peace than any other terrorist group can imagine. For example, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has diverted an enormous part of Iran's wealth toward acquiring an atomic bomb. Iran has become the shelter for regional terrorist groups. The "Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps," the IRGC, is behind many terrorist activities not only in the Middle East but elsewhere," said David Kilgour, a former member of Canada's House of Commons and secretary of state in Huff Post Canada on April 28, 2017.

Already there are signs that the Canadians are getting fed up with this Iranian record.

Recently, Iran tried to open polling stations for the presidential election outside Iran in different countries, including Canada. But since Iran does not have a diplomatic presence in the North American country, the request was denied by the Canadian government.

In September 2012, Canada has closed its embassy in Tehran and ordered the expulsion of Iranian diplomats from Ottawa, partly because of the country's backing of the Syrian regime.

Canada's former foreign affairs minister, John Baird, cited Iran's support for Bashar Assad, its disputed nuclear program, and its continued human rights violations as reasons behind his country's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran. He said the Canadian government perceived Iran to be "the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today."

Iran's twelfth presidential election was held on May 19, 2017. The incumbent, Hassan Rouhani, was "re-elected" amid various charges of fraud, vote-rigging, and embarrassing measures to portray the polling stations as crowded. Rouhani's far from being Iran's actual ruler; he remains subordinate to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

On May 29, 2017, Iranian-Canadians held protests in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver to denounce the sham election and the mullahs' ongoing violations of human rights in Iran. They announced: "The Iranian regime doesn't care much for the vote of Iranian Canadians. Behind the hollow excuse of opening polling stations in Canada is their plan to have an influence, and expand their footprint here in the Canada. They warned the government of Canada against letting Iranian diplomats back into Canada."

They said that since 2003, Canada has been an honest critic of Iran's human rights record and actively pursued the effort to hold Tehran's leaders accountable for flagrant violations of human rights. This dates from when Iranian-born Canadian journalist Zahra Kazemi was tortured and killed in a notorious Evin (in Tehran) prison after she was arrested for taking pictures of a demonstration.

So in this era characterized by state terrorism, violence, and anxiety, there is a lot to do, but I'd like to point out the central issue: taking action at this critical moment is crucial.

Hassan Mahmoudi M.Sc., California State University, Sacramento is a human rights advocate who is up to date with all Iranian current affairs, including political and economic issues, and critics, with informative reports on Iran and the Middle East. He tweets at @hassan_mahmou1.
In all the Comey brouhaha beating on our senses is an organizational issue that none of the pundits seems to have picked up on: the simple fact that Donald Trump was really and truly James Comey's boss. The media and the urban elites seem perfectly happy to grant James Comey and the federal attorney general the unlimited power of making a determination of prosecution for any suspected federal wrongdoing. If a high-profile case gets killed in Comey's office or the attorney general's office, there may be some blowback in the media and the general population, but no one ever challenges the legal authority of either the director of the FBI or the attorney general to make such prosecutorial decisions.

Think about that: the media are willing to grant these two presidentially appointed individuals this virtually unlimited power of prosecutorial discretion, yet when it comes to their boss, the man with hiring and firing powers over them, the liberal media contend that he has no such rights. According to them, even though he is the highest executive authority above these people who exercise such broad discretionary powers, he, our president, has none, zero, zip, nada. He can't voice a single concern about how a particular case is proceeding or express discomfort that a loyal friend may be wrongly prosecuted. He, as the boss of these two government officials who exercise this virtually limitless discretionary power of prosecution, must remain haplessly mute. The liberal media and the Democrats say he has no legal means of intervention to suggest to his employees that he may possess information, or simply an understanding of the situation that they do not, that leads him as chief executive and chief legal officer, as their boss, to believe that further investigation is unwarranted.

The question begging to be asked here is, just when did a president lose his authority as the chief executive of this country to insert his input, his opinion, his direct orders, in fact, into a federal legal investigation? I would suggest that, in the eyes of the media, that long established power mysteriously disappeared the moment a Republican became president. I would further suggest that this whole Russia business is a concerted plan by the dirty-tricks Democrats to keep President Trump and his administration preoccupied and off-balance so that he is unable to enact the political changes he promised those who elected him. Their hope is to make him look like an ineffectual and failed president, vulnerable to losing the election for his party in 2018.

They should know it's not working; nothing irritates this old voter more than seeing some smarmy California congressman get on a TV talk show and whine about how Trump's travails are holding up the normal conduct of government when that snake knows full well that it is his party's carefully planned program of political obstruction that is holding up legislation the country needs. It is my further belief that James Comey and his testimony are an integral part of that carefully organized program. Typically, the Democrats put their cards on faux heroes. Hoping for a high-ranking insider who could give Trump a shiner, they instead got their more typical Democrat whiner, a larger than normal guy whose drama-queen testimony left a large part of the nation shaking their heads in hopeless wonder that he was in charge of our national Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bet he went through the female course at Quantico.

Talk about the need for an inquiry...
President Trump has had his share of detractors in the Catholic Church (yet he did win the Catholic vote in 2016), but Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life  and friend of civil rights activist Alveda C. King, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s niece, who voted for Trump  isn't one of them.

In fact, he's one of the president's biggest supporters.

In a news release dated June 8, 2017, Pavone said the following:

As [Trump] spoke passionately of the role of faith in American life, of the freedom Americans must have to live their faith and of the freedom pastors must have to preach that faith without government restriction, I could not help but think that there are so many in the church who do not yet realize what a blessing this president is for the church. He affirmed our position in regard to the HHS mandate, which Priests for Life has been battling in court, and he also affirmed our position against the very unreasonable requirements of the Johnson Amendment.

I agree with Pavone. Granted, Trump is no St. Thomas More, but pro-life advocates and the church would have had an arch-enemy in the White House if Trump hadn't won. Sadly, I'm sure that more than a few clergy and religious voted for the arch-enemy, as they did in 2008 and 2012. And no, I'm not referring to John McCain or Mitt Romney.

The church in America (and other countries, for that matter) is riddled with leftists. Thus, how nice it would be if we had more clergy like Pavone, whose years of passionate defense of the innocent unborn should be commended by all.
James Comey went to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee. It was not a good day for him, the Justice Department bureaucracy, the former administration, President Trump, or the American people. Comey admitted that he was not strong enough to comfortably tell the president that his request to minimize the investigation into Michael Flynn was inappropriate. He told no one at the Justice Department or the White House counsel that this request was over the line. Wow: The head of the FBI was afraid of Trump, but he was not afraid of A.G. Loretta Lynch when she requested that he change the narrative of his investigation into Hillary Clinton.

There is little to doubt that Trump fired Comey after the former FBI director never publicly announced that there was no direct investigation of Trump related to the Russian election interference. Comey admitted yesterday in his seven-page opening statement that he told the president three times this fact. Yet, today, he said he could not do this since he might have to retract it should details change later. Again, did he become savvier after his faux pas with Clinton? Or is it likely that he had a dislike for Trump that precluded his support for his legislative program, or "loyalty"?

Does it appear troubling that the former FBI director leaked memos that were written on government computers? Could this possibly put him in legal jeopardy? Did Comey violate the federal records acts? Does it make the matter worse that he used a third-party friend at Columbia Law School?

If Comey thought the president's request was a directive (or obstruction of justice), then he had a duty under federal law to report it. Yet Alan Dershowitz argues that this is wrong, since Trump has the full constitutional power to pardon Flynn and dismiss Comey or end any investigation. After all, didn't Lynch do this indirectly during the summer after the tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton?

Further, Jonathan Turley, another liberal law professor, questions whether Comey might have legal issues pertaining to his memos. He cannot see any obstruction of justice in Comey's testimony. Perhaps special prosecutor Robert Mueller does not see any obstruction either. He let his most important witness on this issue testify before the Senate, which is unusual for any prosecution. The media have driven this story in an effort to destroy the Trump presidency. But they have fallen victim to their own demon.

As a longtime insider, James Comey should have navigated the swamp with more precision. He played too cute, and Trump is not one to overlook Comey's tightrope walk. Trump was clumsy to hold any private meetings with Comey, but he took his cue from their first meeting at the Trump Tower during the transition, in which Comey spoke to him privately. Comey states that Trump could not be trusted to tell the truth regarding their meetings, even calling him a liar. But it appears that he wanted to remain in his job and was vindictive when fired. Comey says he wanted to trigger a special counsel appointment. This could not provide any evidence for Russian collusion, since there was none, according to Comey.

Washington politics allows for some questionable behavior. Comey has spent too long in D.C. as it has colored his perception. It is sad that he has been swallowed by the swamp monsters. However, he damaged the president, who clearly has yet to understand the Washington political world. Comey damaged the Justice Department system that exercised political influence during the election. He hurt the media that he used to leak information damaging to Trump. He showed that they publish false articles about the Russian investigation. Perhaps worse, Comey damaged the American people, as he has prolonged this phony collusion investigation. The electorate wanted a change in Washington, but the swamp refuses to go easily.

Trump has lost some time, but if he can reduce his questionable tweets and move to getting legislation reforming health care and taxes, then he can redeem his promises. He has some able people reforming the executive branch, but he must focus on legislative wins. Democrats have aimed at stalling his initiatives so he must harness the different Republican legislators toward a unified victory. Trump must now resolve to let others handle the Russian investigation or the swamp will swallow him.
On June 8, 2017, the much ballyhooed testimony of former FBI director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee occurred, and it was everything you could wish for. In his opening statement, Mr. Comey stated twice that the FBI is an independent organization. One would think that a man who served as the director of this organization for three years would realize that the FBI is anything but independent. It functions under the Department of Justice, and Mr. Comey reported directly to the attorney general, who directly reports to the president.

I have no doubt that Mr. Comey believes what he said to be true after his infamous press conference about Hillary Clinton during the campaign, held without permission of either the president or the attorney general. The fact that Loretta Lynch, the then-attorney general, had recused herself didn't excuse his independent action.

He also stated that he typed his recollections about meetings with the president immediately after the meetings on government time, in a government vehicle, and on a government computer. Not during the meetings, but after. The reason? That Mr. Trump is a liar, although no evidence was presented to support his assertion. So, in all the years Mr. Comey has served in the public sector, the only person whose meetings he chose to memorialize was the person who terminated his employment? Mr. Obama, you may recall, was a proven liar  remember "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor," and other things that are too numerous to list here.

Questioning was predictably along party lines, with only one senator questioning why the committee should believe Mr. Comey. Mr. Comey's response? He stated that he was attempting to be "open fair, transparent, and accurate." I didn't find anything in his response to change my mind that this was a disgruntled ex-employee attempting to do as much damage to the person who terminated him as possible. The Democrats were literally licking their chops, hoping to get some salacious piece of information that could assist them in their attempt to bring down the Trump administration. To a person, they all fawned over Mr. Comey and his years of wonderful service when just several months ago, during the Clinton email investigation, they were calling for his head like rabid villagers in an old black and white movie.

Mr. Comey, in my opinion, made himself look more and more foolish as the testimony proceeded. He described himself as too cowardly to say anything when Mr. Trump allegedly asked him to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Mike Flynn. He probably thought that made him look humble when, in actuality, it made him look even more foolish than the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. This 6'8" man, who was the director of an incredibly powerful organization, was too cowed to say he thought what was said was inappropriate?

It was interesting that none of the senators, Republican, independent, or Democratic, referred to Mr. Comey's recollections as alleged. From beginning to end, this is a "he said, he said" event. Even someone who is seen shooting another person is referred to as the "alleged" perpetrator. But the senators, almost to a person, seemed to think that because Mr. Comey wrote as yet unseen memos to himself, he was entitled to being treated like Moses with the tablets containing the Ten Commandments. When, actually, was all this written? Where is any substantial proof? I'm still waiting to see proof that the Russians interfered with the election.

Mr. Comey admitted that he didn't share his concern that Mr. Trump could possibly be attempting to obstruct justice with his superior. From what I have heard from various legal professionals, this is, in and of itself, a crime.

The stunner came when Mr. Comey admitted that he was the "leaker" of a memo he wrote. He gave various inane reasons for why he sent it to a close friend of his, but the result was the same. So one of the leaks coming out of the government was, in essence, done by the former FBI director himself. Since he had been terminated, he felt that these memos belonged to him. Sorry, Mr. Comey: In any business, this would be considered a type of work product, as the meetings occurred when he was an employee of the government, not a private citizen.

That the former director of the FBI would leak something to a major newspaper, when he was previously paid to protect the secrets of the United States, is nothing less than astounding. I would be curious to learn what other things Mr. Comey leaked because he thought they were in his own best interest. His stated purpose was that he wanted to force a special prosecutor to be named, and he got his wish. Conveniently, the special prosecutor has been a close personal friend of Mr. Comey's for years.

The mainstream media, predictably, has already started their feeding frenzy. Even Fox News, supposedly a conservative news channel, hasn't asked, to the best of my knowledge, where the proof is that Mr. Comey isn't the real liar.

So the business of the country is once again put on hold, while the in-fighting continues. Soon Congress will be leaving on their summer break and then return for a very short period of time before the end of the calendar year. Meanwhile, inaction is blamed on the president.

Enough, senators and congressmen! This is paralyzing the country. Try to act like adults and work for the betterment of the country and not like spoiled children.

Claire Hawks is a gray-haired granny and writes occasionally for American Thinker. She had the privilege of editing Black Lies Matter by Taleeb Starkes.
He pleaded the case of a loyal soldier, rather than forsake retired U.S. Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn to the mercies of FBI director James Comey. And he asked for loyalty from the congenitally disloyal. You'll agree: President Donald Trump is being indicted on technicalities and on personal style.

Distill the president's unremarkable actions, subject to a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, and it becomes clear that the establishment  for sensible people outside the Beltway have dissociated from the Russia-collusion phantasmagoria  is indicting Trump on the plain, impolitic speech that catapulted him from candidate to president.

Trump is "aggressive and oblivious to the rules of engagement," fumed CNN's sibilant Chris Cillizza, formerly of the Washington Post. Correct. But was the language of combat you deployed, Mr. Cillizza, a Freudian slip?

The president's linguistic infelicities  a word salad, at times  have given the press popinjays and their Washington overlords the foothold needed to go after him. Throw in the "bad" habits of a businessman he has retained. Trump transacts with everyone  Russians, too. We voted for deals, not wars.

This is the sum and substance of President Trump's offenses  and beating Hillary Clinton to the White House.

Proponents of free markets understand how business operates. Statists don't. To the statist, the Fake News fabricator, and the stark raving mad Washington Post (WaPo), "Trump sitting next to Russian Ambassador Yuri Dubinin, at a luncheon hosted by Leonard Lauder, the oldest son of Estee Lauder," in 1986 , is incriminating evidence...of something.

The tidbit made it on to a sinister WaPo list, "Team Trump's ties to Russian interests." To the same statists, Trump "meeting with Russian businessmen, including a real estate developer," in 2013 , "while in Moscow for his Miss Universe competition," is yet more circumstantial evidence of...something.

Citizen Trump was bringing a fun event to Russia! To members of the American media-military-congressional-industrial complex, being amicable with foreign interests is a foreign concept. At the same time, he did some business there. Inconceivable! Had Mr. Trump smuggled a dirty bomb into Russia, under the "clever" guise of pursuing commerce, his militant enemies stateside might forgive him today. The tools threatening President Trump with impeachment have one bag of tricks stuffed with power tools: they audit, indict, arrest, bomb, change regimes. They don't make profitable business deals; they tax them. They don't make peace; they wage war.

Prone to seeing faces in the clouds, the reporters  they've lost their minuscule minds  frame the act of putting in a kind word for "a good guy," as Trump did in February 2017 for Gen. Michael Flynn, as an obstruction of justice. Trump had forgotten he was talking to a cunning career bureaucrat and government attorney. Naively, he asked "Showboat" Comey to take it easy on Flynn. "He's a good guy," said the president. "I hope you can let this go." Trump's language is that of a regular guy. He sees a decent man who's served his country with distinction being hounded. He puts in a good word for him.

Flynn is not a federal zombie in the mold of the terrorist-fighting Jack Bauer, protagonist in the defunct cult TV series 24. Did the general not say bad things about Islam (whose intimate association with bloodletting has been expunged from FBI training manuals)? Indeed, he did.

A theme in 24 is Bauer's eternal willingness to be chewed and spat out by the successive governments he serves. As Bauer's Chinese jailers hand him over to his American handlers, the latter chain him like a dog to a fence. Bauer is accustomed to being manacled by his owners. The Top Dogs just don't trust their lapdog, despite his blind devotion. In fact, Bauer was forever being chained by his "colleagues" and "escorted" to the Los Angeles Counter-Terrorism Unit's "holding cells." These hermetic chambers were used mostly to confine and torture America's enemies, which included some of CTU's finest. Or agents who've been tortured by the enemy and must now be counter-tortured by CTU. Assets have to be utilized to the full.

Flynn broke free. So what? Let him be.

Donald Trump is unschooled in the rules of state. The president is too set in his ways and independent-minded to imbibe the layers of debased semiotics with which government lawyers routinely rape reality. Requesting mercy for Flynn was legally foolish, but it was the humane thing to do. It can't be considered illicit in natural law.

Of course, a president is allowed to assemble around him an administration willing to carry out his plans. Thus, inquiring whether as fickle a man as Comey would support, not sabotage, the president's administration is a perfectly rational way of determining whether Comey should remain in place as FBI director.

Outside politics, fending for Flynn would be normal. Within the dead zone of politics and state-made law, a president who speaks kindly about a marked man becomes one himself.

Ilana Mercer is the author of The Trump Revolution: The Donald's Creative Destruction Deconstructed (June 2016) and Into the Cannibal's Pot: Lessons for America from Post-Apartheid South Africa (2011). Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Gab. Check out Ilana's YouTube channel.
There is a lobbying effort afoot by the country's major accounting firms and industry trade groups like the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to bring more foreign accountants into the United States under the H-1B visa program. The surreptitious way this is being done is to convince Congress to include accounting as part of the STEM career fields  science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Specifically, the accounting industry is trying to expand the STEM definition of mathematics to include accounting.

The STEM areas get preferential treatment in the approval of H-1B visas. U.S. immigration authorities say that about 80% of H-1B visa are in the one of the STEM fields.

The classification of accounting as mathematics comes across as asinine to anyone whose common sense isn't stunted, let alone to those who have actually studied mathematics or science and engineering at the college level. But this story gets even worse.

If you assume by the action of the accounting industry that the country was facing a shortage of accountants, you'd be wrong. In fact, just the opposite is the case. Data from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) show that consistently through recent years, students graduating with either a master's or bachelor's degree in accounting are twice as numerous as those hired by CPA firms.

With a straight face, accounting firms say they are not seeking lower-paid workers. Oh, no  they are merely after the best possible employees for their company and clients. To believe that, one has to assume that American colleges and universities do not know how to teach accounting.

Those who study immigration and outsourcing, like Prof. Ronil Hira, an associate professor of political science at Howard University, disagree with the industry's position.

Mr. Hira says accounting firms are in fact using the H-1B program to bring in lower-paid accountants from abroad into the U.S. The big accounting firms' approved application for H-1B visas show they are predominately for jobs in the lowest wage categories, especially entry-level wages, according to a compilation by Mr. Hira that he furnished to the Wall Street Journal.

"The companies see this as highly profitable. The fact that it undercuts U.S. accountants isn't part of their calculations for decision-making," Mr. Hira said.

Yes, I am sure that undercutting American accountants does not figure in the decision-making of Price-WaterhouseCooper and the rest of the big accounting firms. That's the problem. Under the rubric of globalization, the headlong pursuit of increased corporate profits by any means is undermining the country.

The American middle class is being eaten alive by unfair trade deals; aggressive outsourcing of jobs; and immigration, both legal and illegal. And the truly sad part of this is that these activities, which are destructive to the nation as a whole, are all promoted by our own elite.

It couldn't be any clearer: globalization is the solvent dissolving the cohesion and culture of America. Donald Trump was elected to reverse this trend. He's even on record wanting to scale back the H-1B visa program for the so-called highly skilled "guest workers."

The president's work is cut out for him. He has my support across the full spectrum of issues, irrespective of the hysterical naysaying and fake news propaganda put out by mainstream media.
ISTANBUL - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed into law a bill approved by parliament on Wednesday for sending more troops to the Turkish military base in Qatar.



The mandate is part of a package of norms on military cooperation that also includes training Qatari military police. The bill was fast-tracked through parliament after Erdogan came out in support of Qatar in relation to the blockade imposed by its Gulf neighbours. The number of soldiers to be sent and the length of their stay will be decided by the armed forces. Diplomatic sources say the base could accommodate up to 3,000 troops.
- PRISTINA - In an atmosphere of lasting economic crisis, sharp domestic political counterpositions, and rising tension with Belgrade, Kosovo will be voting in early parliamentary elections on Sunday.



The short but intense election campaign that ends on Friday at midnight focused on economic and social issues, with the promises of all parties to reduce the over 30% unemployment levels, support enterprises and producers, increase salaries and pensions and improve the situation in the healthcare and education fields. The EU has meanwhile firmly asked Pristina to step up and render more effective it fight against spreading corruption and criminality, one of the last conditions for visa liberalization between Kosovo and the EU. The other is the ratification of an agreement with Montenegro on the border between the two countries, which Kosovo's nationalist and radical opposition remains strongly opposed to, saying that the country would lose part of its territory. The opposition stalled the parliament for months as a result, even using tear gas in the parliamentary chambers. The early vote is the result of a no-confidence vote on Isa Mustafa's government by parliament in recent weeks, proposed by the opposition. There are three candidates for prime minister: two representing the main political coalitions and the leader of the nationalist, radical Self-Determination Movement.



The first coalition brings together the Democratic party of Kosovo (PDK, led by Kadri Veselj), the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK, Ramush Haradinaj) and the Nisma movement (Fatmir Limaj), who support PM candidate Ramush Haradinaj, a former officer and leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).



The second coalition includes the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK; Isa Mustafa), the Alliance for Kosovo (AKR, Begjet Pacolli) and Alternative (Mimoza Kisari), which is supporting economics professor Abdullah Hoti for PM. The third PM candidate is Albin Kurti, leader of the Self-Determination Movement.



The most recent polls show Haradinaj in the lead, a staunch enemy of Serbs, with over 40% support against Hoti's 30% and Kurti's 19%.



The about 120,000 Serbs out of a total of 2 million inhabitants - most of whom are of the Albanian ethnic group and Muslim - will be taking part in the election through disparate lists and parties.
BARCELONA - Catalonia regional government president Carles Puigdemont on Friday launched a final challenge to the Spanish State by announcing that the independence referendum is to be held on October 1.



Catalonians will be asked whether they want the northeastern region "to become an independent state in the form of a republic", Puigdemont said.



The government of Mariano Rajoy has said it would not recognise the outcome of a referendum, claiming it to be unconstitutional.



Puigdemont's announcement deepens the ongoing crisis with the government of Madrid.



Conservative Premier Mariano Rajoy has declared the Catalan referendum to be "illegal" and "anti-constitutional" and said he would prevent it from being held. Puigdemont announced the date of the vote from the seat of the regional government, surrounded by his executive and the separatist members of the Catalonia parliament who have the absolute majority. So far no official document has been signed to prevent Madrid from appealing to the constitutional court to block the referendum and take action against the Catalonia leaders. Puigdemont has accused the government of Madrid of making no positive response to Catalonia's offer of negotiations. The president traces the deepening of the crisis with Madrid to the constitutional court sentence of 7 years ago that threw out the 'Catalan statute' approved by the parliaments of Madrid and Barcelona and then by referendum in Catalonia.



Since then "all our proposals have been rejected" and Madrid has issued "a long series of nos".


Iraqi Assyrians Endure Despite Persecution, Chaldean Bishop Says

Washington -- Iraq's Christians have suffered persecution for centuries, yet their faith has survived and the community will remain, provided their material needs are met, a Chaldean Catholic bishop has said. "The story of suffering of Iraqi Christians is an ongoing phenomenon," Bishop Bawai Soro, auxiliary bishop of the Chaldean Eparchy of Saint Peter the Apostle of San Diego, told CNA in an interview. "For two thousand years, it's a story of suffering, a suffering Church," he added, a "Church of the martyrs." Bishop Soro, a native of Iraq who came to the United States as a refugee in 1976, related of how his grandparents had told him of the massacre of Assyrian and Chaldean Christians in the region around the time of World War I, where hundreds of thousands of Assyrians in the Ottoman Empire were killed or dispersed by the new progressive government. "The same thing, the whole story was repeated again after 100 years," he said. "But amazingly, if my grandparents survived this difficulty and were able to hand their faith to the next generations, this suffering generation will do the same." Bishop Soro spoke with CNA June 7 after a press conference on Capitol Hill for the Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act of 2017, a bill that would let the U.S. distribute humanitarian aid directly to churches in Iraq and Syria so that it reaches Christian genocide victims there. There have been many reports that U.S. aid is not reaching Christians, because either they are not in the U.N. refugee camps or the aid gets swallowed up in the bureaucracy of the Iraqi central or local governments. The bill, supported by Bishop Soro, would look to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most. The bill passed the U.S. House on Tuesday and will move to the Senate. "The current situation of Christians in Iraq and Syria remains very fragile," Bishop Soro stated at the press conference. "As a religious minority, Christians still suffer from remaining elements of radical Islamist groups and their policies." Christians in Iraq have drastically dwindled in number since the U.S. war in Iraq began in 2003, dropping from around 1.5 million to below 300,000. After the Islamic State swept through northern Iraq in 2014, killing and displacing those Yazidis, Christians, Muslims, and others who refused to submit to their theocracy, refugee families fled east to Kurdistan, and have lived in temporary shelters around Erbil. Their situation is an emergency, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chair of the House panel on global human rights, stated at Wednesday's press conference, as the private aid has been stretched to its limits and, according to Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, they are expected to face "severe food shortages." Christians have also been "undercut" by aid groups that "would like to be politically correct" and believe in helping all persons equally, Bishop Soro said. Christians and other minorities need more aid from these groups, he insisted, because they may not receive any international aid from the UN or countries like the U.S. "I think the American Church has a mission to go out of the political correctness when helping Christians is concerned, and to address the needs of the Christians," he insisted to CNA. Christians in America also need to "continue the political pressure" and hold the U.S. government accountable on the equitable distribution of aid and "directly help the Christian communities," he said. Yet, although it is vital for the immediate needs of Iraq's Christians, they must also have the means to support themselves and live comfortably in the future with their homes rebuilt and with access to water, electricity, and health care. Also, as citizens of Iraq they must be able to enjoy all the rights they are entitled to, he continued. "After the short-term financial needs are met, constitutional freedom and liberties are needed in stabilizing the Christians in Iraq and Syria for the long-term," he said. It is vital to keep Christians in Iraq because they "are, and have always been, the founders of educational and health care institutions" in the region, he stated on Wednesday. "They often were the peacemakers and the catalysts of reforms," he continued. "As a religious minority and as a peace-loving people, they, and they alone, can once more bring together all the major segments of the Iraqi people, Shiites, Sunni, Yazidis, the Kurds, and the rest of the minorities. As a helping agent that delicately and serenely heals the present and offers a promising future."
The MoU will see ACI and ICAO working together to develop new joint aerodrome training programmes and courses in: general airport management; airport economics; environmental protection; operational safety; security procedures; and other subjects as they are identified.

"This signing highlights the alignment of both our organizations in regards to investment in training and succession planning, essential ingredients of sustainable growth," said Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World. "Airports need a range of skills that must be continually evaluated and refreshed. The urgency in the aviation business is driven both by changes in market conditions as well as the significant growth in global demand. The MoU will build on ACI Global Training suite of skills development programmes in specific disciplines, with diploma-level courses, in the classroom, on-line or at the worksite."

"ICAO is strengthening its collaboration with ACI and reaffirming its commitment to providing targeted assistance in training and human resources capacity building to ICAO Member States," said Dr. Fang Liu, Secretary General, ICAO. "This new partnership is a perfect example of what our two organizations can achieve when we join forces and capitalize on our respective strengths, and through these joint training activities we'll be able to increase global awareness of ICAO Standards and Policies while enhancing competencies of current and future airport professionals."
The Nevada-based budget carrier said the aircraft in question are expected to be delivered between September 2017 and December 2017.

"Each lease has a 12-year term and includes a purchase option which can be exercised by the Company beginning 96 months after the delivery date," it said.
Goh succeeds Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airlines Group. Walsh will continue to serve on the BoG and the Chair Committee.

It is an honour to serve as IATAs chairman for the coming year. While the industrys global profitability may be strengthening, there is more work to be done as it is not evenly spread. Security is at the top of the agenda. We must improve our partnership with governments to meet the many emerging threats. Additionally, I will be paying special attention to progressing preparations for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), driving the modernisation of cargo processes, and increasing transaction volumes with the New Distribution Capability. We have a busy year ahead. I look forward to working with Alexandre and his team to represent, lead and serve the airline industry, said Goh.

Goh joined Singapore Airlines in 1990 and held senior management roles in Singapore and overseas before being appointed CEO in 2011. He was President of the 68th IATA AGM which was held in Singapore in 2011 and has served on the IATA BoG since then.

I want to express my sincere appreciation to Willie Walsh for his strong support and leadership as Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors. Willies insights were especially helpful as I settled into the job of Director General. And it was great to see the historic CORSIA agreement being achieved during his tenure as Chairman. Willie has been a long-time advocate for a market-based measure to help meet our climate change commitments, said Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs Director General and CEO.

I look forward to working closely with Choon Phong during his term as Chairman. Singapore is a rare example of a country where all the dots in aviation have been connected to create a powerful aviation success story. Strong partnerships are also needed at the global level to deliver aviations economic and social benefits. Choon Phongs experience and insight in this area will be invaluable as we address the many issues that confront the industry, said de Juniac.

IATA also announced the BoG agreed to appoint Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, to serve for a one-year term as Chairman of the IATA BoG from June 2018, following Gohs term.
Over this period, increasing numbers of first time flyers, rising disposable income spent on air travel, expanding tourism, industry liberalisation, new routes and evolving airline business models are driving a need for 34,170 passenger and 730 freighter aircraft worth a combined total of US$5.3 trillion. Over 70 percent of new units are single aisle with 60 percent for growth and 40 percent for replacement of less fuel efficient aircraft.

A doubling in the commercial fleet over the next 20 years sees a need for 530,000 new pilots and 550,000 new maintenance engineers, and provides Airbus global services business a catalyst to grow. Airbus has expanded its global network of training locations from five to 16 in the space of three years

Air traffic growth is highest in emerging markets such as China, India, the rest of Asia and Latin America and almost double the 3.2 percent per year growth forecast in mature markets such as North America and Western Europe. Emerging markets currently home to 6.4 billion of the worlds 7.4 billion population will account for nearly 50 percent of the worlds private consumption by 2036.

Air travel is remarkably resilient to external shocks and doubles every 15 years, said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer  Customers, Airbus Commercial Aircraft. Asia Pacific continues to be an engine for growth, with domestic China to become the worlds largest market. Disposable incomes are growing and in emerging economies the number of people taking a flight will nearly triple between now and 2036.

Over the next 20 years Asia Pacific is set to take 41 percent of new deliveries, followed by Europe with 20 percent and North America at 16 percent. Middle class numbers will almost double to nearly five billion as wealth creation makes aviation even more accessible particularly in emerging economies where spending on air travel services is set to double.

In the twin aisle segment, such as the A330 Family, A350 XWB Family and the A380, Airbus forecasts a requirement for some 10,100 aircraft valued at US$2.9 trillion.

In the single aisle segment, such at the A320neo Family, Airbus forecasts a requirement for some 24,810 aircraft valued at US$2.4 trillion. Airlines adding capacity by upsizing to the largest single aisle, the A321, will find even more business opportunities with the A321neo thanks to its range up to 4,000nm and unbeatable fuel efficiency. In 2016, the A321 represented over 40 percent of single aisle deliveries and over 60 percent of single aisle orders.
In 1969, following the purchase of considerable number of helicopters from Italian company Agusta, Iran made an initial step to establish a helicopter support and maintenance unit under the name Iran Helicopter Company Joint Stock.

Following this, with a substantial number of helicopters arriving from Americas Bell Textron in 1973, extensive planning to support the new fleet was started.

Thus, the Iran Helicopter Support and Renewal Company (IHSRC  or Panha in Persian) became the largest helicopter maintenance centre in the Middle East.

Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, severance of ties with the USA and the imposed war inflicted to the new regime, IHSRC experts were able to become self-sufficient in the maintenance and renewal of Irans helicopter fleet, with the aim of supporting Islamic combatants in the battlefront.

In the wake of these achievements, the responsibility to repair and support different models of military and civil helicopters, including the Bell 205, Bell 206, Bell 212, Bell 214, CH-54 Chinook, RH-53D, SH-3D, Bell 412 and Mil Mi-17, belonging to domestic companies and also military forces, such as the Iran Red Crescent Organization, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), and Iran Army Aviation, was given to Panha.

Bells relationship with Iran is long and complex. During the 1970s, Irans then-leader, Mohammad-Reza Shah Pahlavi, developed a serious taste for western aircraft, including Bells, and soon built the largest fleet of military helicopters in the Middle East, including Huey-class 205 and 214s He also purchased more than 200 AH-1J Sea Cobra gunships.

But the Shah wanted to do more than buy Bells; he also wanted to build them.

While continuing to import hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bells, the Shahs government inked a deal with the company to pay half the development costs of a new variant of the 214A, a stretched and more powerful version labelled the 214ST, to be produced in Iran. Under the deal, Bell built a large aircraft factory in Iran.

A non-conforming prototype flew in Iran in 1977. After the Shah abdicated in 1979, Bell moved to develop the 214ST on its own.

After western sanctions following the Iranian Revolution, the official policy of the Iranian Government changed from having the best available in the world to being able to manufacture independently in order to meet domestic needs.

Since the 1990s, Iran has reverse-engineered parts, assemblies and, in some cases, whole aircraft, including the Bell 205, 206 and 214.

Iran Aircraft Manufacturing (HESA) and Panha are completing the work. The knock-offs are being marketed under the names Shahed 278, and Shabaviz 275 and 2061, and Panha 2091, a remanufactured AH-1J Cobra.

A light gunship derived from the Bell 206, the Shahed 285, was unveiled several years ago.

After signing a nuclear deal, following the removal of western sanctions, leading international manufacturers of civilian helicopters and spare parts have announced a willingness to resume cooperation with Iran and invest in Iranian projects.

Lockheed Martin, the largest US arms maker and parent of Sikorsky, has begun to study the possibility of selling commercial helicopters to Iran, but said the market may be small and the company still needed guidance from the US Government.

Lockheed, along with Boeing, is one of the first major US aerospace companies looking into selling to Iran for the first time since US sanctions were imposed.

Nathalie Previte, vice president of sales and marketing for Sikorsky, said the company had received numerous inquiries from existing customers, including leasing companies and operators, interested in possible helicopter operations in Iran.

Sikorskys S-76 and longer-range S-92 commercial helicopters could be options for Iran, Previte said, although she added that the country has little of the offshore drilling activity that drives helicopter demand in the oil and gas sector.

Iran had purchased four R44 helicopters from the United States to train local pilots in 2014.
The issue was discussed recently at a meeting in Berlin, during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

New Delhi: Germany has agreed to implement a fast track system to identify and resolve problems being faced by Indian companies and investors there.

The issue was discussed recently at a meeting in Berlin, during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The system would help in early resolution of problems being faced by Indian companies that have operations in Germany. Indian firms face business visa related issues among others," a senior official in the commerce and industry ministry said.

India has urged the German authorities to make the visa regime liberal for Indian businesses, said the official. India too has implemented a similar system here to help German businesses. It was set up in the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP). This system enables to identify and solve problems faced by German companies and investors in their operations in India.

Germany is the seventh largest investor in India. The country has received USD 9.7 billion foreign direct investment from the European country between April 2000 and March this year. This is 3 per cent of the total FDI received by India during this period.
GST Council has fitted almost all goods and services in tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent.

New Delhi: The all powerful GST Council will meet on Sunday to review some of the rates on which industry has expressed displeasure, besides amending the draft rules.

This will be the 16th meeting of the Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, since it was set up in September 2016.

"Main agenda items include confirmation of the minutes of the 15th GST Council meeting held on June 3, approval of amendments to draft GST rules and rate adjustment, if any, based on the representations received from different trade and industry and their associations," a finance ministry statement

said.

The June 11 meeting would probably be the last one of the Council before the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is rolled out from July 1. Various industry associations have sought a review of the tax rates saying that the GST incidence is working out to be much higher than the present level of taxation.

The auto industry has been demanding a review of the GST rate on mid and large-sized hybrid cars which are proposed to be taxed at 43 per cent, higher than the current level of effective tax rate of 30.3 per cent.

Also, the telecom sector has been placed in the 18 per cent tax bracket and they are demanding that the rate should be lowered. COAI has written to Revenue Secretary to review the matter.

IT hardware firms are seeking an uniform GST rate of 18 per cent on IT products, like monitors and printers, instead of 28 per cent proposed for some items.

The GST Council has fitted almost all goods and services in tax slabs of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. However, precious metals, gold coins and imitation jewellery have been fitted in the 3 per cent slab, and rough diamond at 0.25 per cent.

The GST, which will subsume a host of levies including excise, service tax and VAT, will be rolled out from July 1.
Salman believes in Santoshis abilities and hence wanted him to direct Atul Agnihotris film based on the Korean film An Ode to My Father.

We hear that Salmans brother in law, producer Atul Agnihotri is readying for another project even though he had announced a sequel to Bodyguard amidst fanfare.

Any Salman fan would vouch for his comic timing in Andaz Apna Apna. Rajkumar Santoshis epic film remains one of his career best where he was paired with Aamir Khan in this rib-tickling comedy. No wonder then he made a guest appearance in his estranged lover Katrina Kaifs film Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani with her then lover Ranbir Kapoor.

Salman believes in Santoshis abilities and hence wanted him to direct Atul Agnihotris film based on the Korean film An Ode to My Father. An Ode to My Father is the second biggest hit in Korean history and deals with the life of a child bread winner who heeds his fathers advice and leaves home to take care of the rest of his family, while the father searches for his sister during the Korean evacuation. The brother and the sister unite in the end with the father still missing. The Bollywood version of the film is a period drama set during the partition of India and Pakistan.

However, Salman was not too happy with the first draft of the script. Also, he is now doing a balance of good cinema with commercially successful stories like Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Sultan and the upcoming Tubelight. So, he gave it a miss. Atul is said to be redeveloping the script and making it Salman worthy. Salmans dear friends, directors Kabir Khan and Ali Abbas Zafar are being considered to join the team, as well.

Currently, Salman is busy with the film promotions of Tubelight. He will be shooting for Remos next film on dance and then will oversee the release of Tiger Zinda Hai. Then there is Dabangg 3 also on the cards.

Atul will have to get in line for Salmans dates, we guess.

 Sanskriti Media
Flyers inciting people to protest were allegedly distributed in some areas and police has launched an inquiry into it.

A police emergency dial 100 vehicle torched by farmers in Hatpipalya of district Dewas, Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. (Photo: PTI)

Mandsaur (MP): At least 56 persons have been arrested and over 100 detained in connection with violence during the farmers agitation in Mandsaur, police said on Thursday.

A two-hour relaxation period in the curfew from 4 pm to 6 pm in the four police station areas of Mandsur city and Pipliamandi in the district passed off peacefully and Collector O P Srivastava said that it can be eased further on Friday.

Flyers inciting people to protest were allegedly distributed in some areas and police has launched an inquiry into it.

Additional Superintendent of Police Ajay Pratap Singh said that 22 people have been arrested for arson and other offences related to violence, while 34 have been arrested for defying prohibitory orders.

Police has also detained 102 persons.

Earlier in the day, SP Om Prakash Tripathi, who has been transferred in the wake of the firing in the district that left five farmers dead, said that seven cases have been filed in connection with various incidents of violence.

Addressing a press conference along with Srivastava, Tripathi said some persons have also been detained for heckling the previous Mandsaur Collector S K Singh in Berheda Pant area on Wednesday.

He said Town Inspector of Piplayamandi Anil Singh Thakur has been removed from field duties in connection with the firing on farmers.

Rakesh Choudhry has been transferred as the new town inspector.

Srivastava, who took charge on Thursday, said he is facing a "challenging situation".

"I am trying to understand the situation," he said.

SDM Mandsaur N S Rajawat said that the curfew relaxation was made only for women and children up to the age of 10 years in Mandsaur and Pipliamandi. But as the situation improved the authorities decided to extend the relaxation for all.

Divisional Commissioner M B Ojha said the situation is almost normal. "For the last two or three days, farmers were stopping vehicles and setting them on fire. No such incident has been reported today."

Vehicles that were burnt had been removed on Thursday morning from the highway and traffic had resumed.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1 demanding debt waiver, higher minimum support prices (MSP) for their produce, among others.

Five persons were killed on Tuesday as the farmers' agitation turned violent.

In view of the volatile situation, the Centre had rushed 1,100 personnel of RAF to the violence-hit state.

The Chouhan government had sought to cool the tempers by announcing certain measures, including a loan settlement scheme for those cultivators who had defaulted on repayment of farm loan borrowed by them earlier.

The scheme will cover around six lakh farmers, with accumulated dues of Rs 6000 crore, according to the government.
Minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha said that the government was working to resolve the issue.

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Thursday withdrew a police complaint filed against 34 pilots for sharing obscene messages on WhatsApp against a senior DGCA official.

The move came hours after the government described as unfortunate the confrontation between DGCAs joint chief Lalit Gupta and a group of pilots over alleged abusive language used against the officer on social media as well as reported action against a few pilots for getting Mr Guptas designation wrong.

Earlier in the day, minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha said that the government was working to resolve the issue. This came after pilot unions complained to the government. Speculation is rife that the government may have nudged the DGCA to bring about peace between the warring sides. DGCA sources, however, said the concerned airlines (to which the pilots belonged) and some of the pilots had apologised to the DGCA, with the parents of some of the pilots too requesting the DGCA to resolve the issue, following which the complaint was withdrawn.

DGCA sources on Thursday said, DGCA had filed complaint against certain pilots for making obscene remarks against DGCA officials on social media on 6th June. In the meantime, concerned airlines and the pilots involved have expressed regret on the issue. Airlines have also informed to put in place SOPs on the issue and sensitise their personnel in this regard. Some of the parents of concerned pilots have met in DGCA and requested for solution so as not to impact their careers adversely. In view of all above, DGCA has withdrawn the complaint filed in this regard.
India's membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistan's entry into the grouping was backed by China.

Astana: Capping a two-year-long process, India and Pakistan on Friday became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

India's membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistan's entry into the grouping was backed by China. With the expansion of the grouping, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP.

As an SCO member, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region.

"India and Pakistan are now members of the SCO. It is a very important moment for us," Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is the current chair of the SCO, said, making the announcement at the Summit of the grouping in Astana.

India, one of the largest energy consuming countries in the world, is also likely to get greater access to major gas and oil exploration projects in Central Asia as many of the

SCO countries have huge reserves of oil and natural gas.

The SCO had set the ball rolling to make India a member of the bloc during its summit in Ufa, Russia, in July, 2015, when administrative hurdles were cleared to grant membership to India and Pakistan.

The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 Astana Summit. The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the moratorium on new membership, paving the way for the expansion of the grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

India feels that as an SCO member, it will be able to play a major role in addressing the threat of terrorism in the region.

India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

India has been an observer at the SCO since 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.
New Delhi: Hours after landing in the Kazakhistan capital Astana on Thursday where a much-awaited bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to take place on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met and exchanged greetings with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, at the Astana Opera.

Sources said Modi enquired about Sharif's health after the surgery that the Pakistan premier had undergone last year. PM Modi also enquired about the well-being of Sharif' s family including his mother.

The prime minister had met Sharif's family during his brief trip to Lahore in December, 2015. There was no formal bilateral meeting scheduled at Astana, Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the SCO Summit since neither side had asked for it in view of the tension in Indo-Pak ties.

Ties with Pakistan have plummeted after Mr. Modi's Lahore visit, marked by incursions by the Pakistan military and irregulars across the LoC, as well as rising violence in Kashmir.
Later, 14 of them reached Pak via Wagah border and were received by the Evacuee Trust Board.

At least 96 Sikh pilgrims were issued visas of a special train by the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi. (Photo: AP)

Islamabad: Several Sikh pilgrims failed to reach Lahore to attend the 10-day Jor Mela held to mark martyrdom of Arjun Dev on Friday, after Indian authorities stopped them at the Attari railway station, officials said on Friday.

At least 96 Sikh pilgrims were issued visas of a special train by the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi. However, when they reached the Attari railway station Indian authorities refused to permit them to travel citing the pilgrims were less in number and they couldnt be sent via special train, said an official.

Responding to the situation, Pakistan sent Samjhota Express to the Attari station but met with resistance, and returned empty as the Indian authorities adopted stance that the pilgrims have been issued visas of the special train and not Samjhota Express. Later, at least 14 of them arrived in Pakistan through Wagah border and were received by the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) officials.

Following the schedule, the pilgrims departed for Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hasan Abdal, by a special bus under tight security. They will stay in Lahore till June 9 and will travel to Gurdwara Janam Asthan Nankana Sahib on June 10. After two days, the pilgrims will visit Gurdwara Sacha Soda Farooqabad and will return to Nankana Sahib afterwards. Next day, the special train will take them to Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore where they will attend the main ceremony on June 16.

The Sikh pilgrims will return to India on June 17.
The protests by farmers that began June 1 to seek fair prices for farm produce and debt relief on Friday moved closer to Bhopal.

Bhopal: A farmer apparently injured in the lathicharge by the police on a group of agitating tillers at Bhaugarh in Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur district late on Thursday evening died at a private hospital in Indore a few hours later. With his death, the death toll in the nine-day farmer unrest in the state has risen to six. On June 6, five farmers had died in police firing at Pipliya Mandi in Mandsaur.

The incident sparked tension in Bhaugarh with locals holding protests on the nearby highway. A local subdivisional magistrate, Rajesh Yadav, was attacked by an irate mob as he tried to pacify them.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, meanwhile, announced on Friday he would indefinitely shift his office to Dussehra Maidan, a sprawling ground here, on Saturday to meet agitating farmers to address their problems, and go on fast. I will move out of the Ballav Bhavan (state secretariat) and sit at Dussehra Maidan from 11 am Saturday. I will govern the state from there. I will meet farmers and people there. I willresolve their problems. I will also fast for peace, Mr Chouhan told reporters after chairing a high-level meeting on the situation in the state in the wake of the ongoing farmers unrest.

The CM said he was pained to see young people being handed over stones by mischief-mongers (to target security personnel). I find this disturbing. I always said my doors are open for talks with anybody, particularly farmers. But mischievous elements are trying to create a law and order situation by instigating farmers to resort to violence, he said.

The violent protests by farmers being witnessed in the state is being scripted by some people, he said, in an apparent reference to the Congress.

Earlier, Ghanashyam Dhakad, 32, was admitted to a hospital in Indore late Thursday evening after he was injured in the police lathicharge at Bhaugarh. He died an hour later. The Mandsaur police admitted Ghanashyam to the hospital at around 10.30 pm. At that time he was vomiting. He died at around 11.15 pm, Indore City SP P. Mishra said.

Curfew was relaxed from 10 am to 6 pm in the district headquarters town on Friday to enable people to buy essential goods, Mandsaur collector O.P. Srivastav said.

The violent protests by farmers that began June 1 to seek fair prices for farm produce and debt relief on Friday moved closer to Bhopal. Around 1,000 farmers staged a highway blockade around 20 km from the state capital. The police later tried to chase them away, leading to a violent clash between them.

In another development, a video showing a local Congress MLA in Shivpuri, Shakuntala Khattir, provoking her party workers to set fire to a police station has gone viral in the social media. She said, however, that she had made the remark in the heat of the moment.
The court, for now, stayed the penalising provision that makes PAN cards not linked to Aadhaar cards invalid.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the validity of the law making Aadhaar mandatory for allotment of PAN card and filing of income-tax returns, but exempted those without it for now, until the larger privacy issue is decided by a Constitution bench.

In effect, those who possess an Aadhaar card must link it to their Permanent Account Number (PAN) card, but those who dont have Aadhaar, or have enrolled but have not yet got it, need not. The court, for now, stayed the penalising provision that makes PAN cards not linked to Aadhaar cards invalid.

Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, introduced by Finance Act, 2017, made quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns mandatory with effect from July 1 this year.

A bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said, We are of the opinion that till Article 21 (concerning right to privacy) of the Constitution is decided by the Constitution bench, a partial stay is required (on Section 139AA of Income Tax Act).

Challenging the introduction of Section 139AA in the Income Tax Act, the petitioners  Binoy Viswam, CPI national executive member and former Kerala minsiter, retired Major General S.G. Vombatkere and social activist Bezwada Wilson  had argued that the draconian law, which makes PAN card not linked to Aadhaar invalid, will impact an individuals right to do business.

They also submitted that the Centre cannot belittle the apex courts five-judge bench order of 2015, holding the UID number as voluntary, and not mandatory.

Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi had contended that Aadhaar was made mandatory for allotment of PAN to weed out fake cards that were being used for terror financing and circulation of black money.

Mr Rohatgi also said that with the implementation of Aadhaar, the government had saved over Rs 50,000 crore on various schemes to benefit the poor as well as pensioners.

The bench noted that a person whose PAN card is invalidated is bound to suffer immensely in his day to day dealings, a situation that should be avoided till the Constitution bench authoritatively determines the argument of Article 21 of the Constitution. In the interregnum, it said, Parliament could consider toning down the penalising provision itself.

The main issue, as to whether the Aadhaar card scheme, whereby biometric data of an individual is collected, violates right to privacy and, therefore, is offensive of Article 21 of the Constitution is yet to be decided by the Constitution bench.

While the bench made it clear that Section 139AA will not have any retrospective effect, it said that the Section is neither discriminatory nor does it violate Article 14 (right to equality) or an unreasonable restriction on the right to profession and trade under Article 19.

The bench said the governments objective to introduce Section 139AA is laudable.

The bench, noting that about 11.35 lakh cases of duplicate PANs/fraudulent PANs have been detected, of which around 10.52 lakh pertain to individual assesses, said that Parliament in its wisdom thought that one PAN to one person can only be ensured by adopting Aadhaar for allotment of PAN to individuals.

Referring to reports of leakage of data, the bench said it is necessary to highlight that a large section of citizens feel concerned about possible data leak, and that this concern needs to be addressed by the government through proper measures.
The victim told her mother that the assault had been happening for the last few days but she was scared to tell anyone about it.

The incident came to light on Sunday night when the girl's mother found bloodstains on her clothes. (Photo: Representational)

New Delhi: One person was arrested and a minor apprehended in connection with two separate cases in which two minor girls were allegedly raped in central and outer Delhi respectively, the police said on Thursday.

In the first incident, an eight-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by her maternal uncle at her grandparents' residence in central Delhi's Chandni Mahal.

The incident came to light on Sunday night when the girl's mother found bloodstains on her clothes. As she started questioning her daughter, the girl narrated her ordeal to her.

The victim told her mother that the assault had been happening for the last few days but she was scared to tell anyone about it. A case was lodged on the basis of a complaint from the girl's mother on Tuesday, the police said, adding that the accused was arrested subsequently.

The complainant told the police that she lived with her husband, two sons and a daughter at Paharganj.

The couple runs a beauty parlour. One of her sons is speech-impaired. The children used to go to their maternal grandparents' house at Matia Mahal after school.

A couple of weeks back, when the girl was playing at her maternal grandparents' house, her uncle asked her to bring him a glass of water. When she went to his room, he allegedly forced himself on her, the police said.

In the second incident, a 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her 17-year-old neighbour on Tuesday afternoon at outer Delhi's Mangolpuri. The accused allegedly lured the girl to his house by telling her that her mother was there at his house and she was calling her.

The police said the teenager then locked himself in a room with the girl and raped her. He also threatened to kill her younger brother if she told about the incident to anybody.

After returning home, the girl narrated the incident to her grandmother, who told her parents about it.

A case was lodged on the basis of a complaint from the victim's parents, the police said, adding that the juvenile offender was apprehended subsequently.
The IMD forecast for next 24 hours said that light to moderate rains are likely occur in the city.

Mumbai: The Indian Meteorological Department on Thursday said that the south-west monsoon is expected to reach Mumbai by this weekend. Mumbai city and surrounding areas have been receiving spells of pre-monsoon showers occasionally since the past one week, including Wednesday evening.

P. C. S. Rao, scientist, India Meteorological Department, Pune told agencies, Monsoon has reached Vengurla (on Goa border) in the state. It arrives in Mumbai generally by June 10. Sometimes the scheduled arrival is delayed by a couple of days. As per the current development, the monsoon would reach Mumbai by this weekend. The IMD forecast for next 24 hours said that light to moderate rains are likely occur in the city.
The suicide note, which was addressed to his family and friends, said, I am a farmer, Dhanaji Chandrakant Jadhav.

Mumbai: A debt-ridden Solapur farmer, Dhanaji Jadhav (45), committed suicide on Wednesday night, by hanging himself from a tree near his house at Veet village in Karmala tehsil. He left behind a suicide note with specific instructions for his family  Don't cremate me till Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis comes here. The deceased, who has 2.5 acres of cultivable land, had a debt of around Rs 60,000, according to the police. He was also burdened with loans from private lenders.

The suicide note, which was addressed to his family and friends, said, I am a farmer, Dhanaji Chandrakant Jadhav. I am committing suicide today. Please take my body to the village and do not cremate me till Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis comes here. Jadhav is survived by his wife and two children.

According to Solapur collector Rajendra Bhonsale, it was difficult to ascertain whether Jadhav was incited to take this drastic measure of ending his life for a meagre debt amount of Rs 60,000. We inquired with the State Bank of India, which had loaned him the amount and were told that he had not been pressurised to pay off the amount, said Mr Bhosale.

According to Mr Bhon-sale, following Jadhav's suicide and the demand in his suicide note, Chief Minister Mr Devendra Fadnavis immediately contacted the guardian minister as well as all authorities and asked them to reach the spot and provide assistance to the family.

Though the procedure for allotting financial assistance in such cases takes 15 days, we expedited the procedure and handed over a cheque of Rs 1 lakh to the family ten minutes after he was cremated. The CM has also offered financial help to the family from the CM relief fund, said Mr Bhosale.

Once the news of the suicide broke, many farmers' organisations blocked road traffic and demanded a bandh in Karmala. Mr Bhonsale said he was monitoring the developments in the village and tehsil. A police team had also been rushed to the village to prevent any law and order situation. Solapur's guardian minister Vijay Deshmukh also visited the village on Thursday.

The BJP government headed by Fadnavis has been under pressure from the opposition parties as well as its ally, the Shiv Sena, over the farmers' agitation. In fact, Fadnavis' assurance of a loan waiver by October 31 has failed to pacify the farmers, as in the case of Jadhav.
MMRC has also maintained that it is very well on track.

It says there is no stay order by any court on the work.

Mumbai: The MMRC has said that it has shortlisted three contractors for the construction of Metro-3 car depot and that it will ultimately be the urban development departments responsibility to decide the fate of the depot. This has come despite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations (BMC) improvement committee rejecting the proposal to reserve 33 hectres in Aarey Colony for the Colaba-BKC-Seepz Metro-3 underground corridor.

The MMRC has also maintained that it is very well on track and that there is no stay order by any court for constructing car depot inside Aarey Colony. Earlier, on Wednesday, the BMC rejected the proposal to change the reservation of 33 hectares of Aarey Colony land, which falls under Non-Development Zone (NDZ).

The issue of constructing car depot inside Aarey Colony is said to be a direct fight between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis headed urban development department and the Shiv Sena controlled BMC.

An MMRC official, said, Ultimately it will be the prerogative of the state government, which is the urban development department, to decide whether the car depot should be constructed inside Aarey Colony. The BMCs improvement committee was just asked for its comments on the same and it is not the final authority.

Last month too, when the proposal for change of reservation was tabled before the BMC improvements committee for its approval, all parties barring the BJP had vehemently opposed the proposal, citing the loss of green cover.

Controversial project
According to the rough estimates, Siddique diverted several crores to buy properties overseas.

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday questioned former Congress legislator Baba Siddique for over nine hours to record his statement in connection with his alleged role in the money-laundering case related to irregularities in a Rs 500 crore Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project in Bandra Reclamation.

Siddique was on an overseas trip when the ED conducted raids last month at seven locations, including his residence and seized several documents pertaining to the scam, which were allegedly cleared by him when he was the head of the Maharashtra housing and area development authority (MHADA). The EDs FIR was based on a 2014 case registered by the Bandra police on the directions of the court. We are questioning him in connection with the laundering of the money that was made from the alleged scam and are ascertaining how it was utilised, said a senior ED officer, when contacted by The Asian Age.

Siddique was summoned by the ED just days after the raids were carried out. He returned to Mumbai late on Thursday and appeared for questioning at around 10.30 am on Friday, officials said. ED officials recorded his statements in connection with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case. According to the rough estimates, Siddique diverted several crores to buy properties overseas. Despite attempts by The Asian Age, Siddique could not be reached for his comment.
This is the second instance since May when a woman was caught peddling drugs worth Rs 17 crore at the airport.

This is the second instance since May when a woman was caught peddling drugs worth Rs 17 crore at the airport. (Representational image)

Mumbai: Acting on a tip-off, the narcotics control bureau (NCB) arrested Bolivian national Melgar De Claudia (38), who flew in by Ethiopian Airlines with 3.25 kg cocaine worth Rs 21 crore on her person. The woman had hidden the drug consignment in the lining of her trolley bag and had come with the intent of selling it in the Indian drugs market. This is the second instance since May when a woman was caught peddling drugs worth Rs 17 crore at the airport.

Sources said that the arrested accused arrived at terminal 2 of Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji international airport from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A Bolivian national, she was intercepted at T2 and upon checking her luggage, NCB officials found cocaine neatly concealed in the lining of her trolley bag. She was immediately arrested.

Kumar Sanjay Jha, zonal director, NCB, told The Asian Age, We have arrested a Bolivian woman with cocaine weighing 3.25 kg that is worth Rs 21 crore in the trolley for her luggage. We are still investigating the matter and cannot comment anything further.

During primary investigation, the accused confessed to transporting the drug consignment from Sao Paulo in Brazil to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia from where she finally flew into Mumbai. NCB officials are questioning her to ascertain the origins of the consignment and trying to know if she is associated with any drug cartel in south America.

An official who did not wish to be named said, Mostly women are used to peddle drugs as drug cartels think that women will not be suspected for such a crime.

Meanwhile, Thanes crime branch unit 5 arrested a Nigerian national for selling cocaine worth Rs 1.60 lakh. The police officials received a tip off about the sale of drugs and laid a trap to arrest him. On the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, the police arrested 38-year- Okoye Emanuel, a resident of Diva. The police seized cocaine weighing 40 grams and booked him under relevant sections of the NDPS Act.
Pointing out unfulfilled promises made by the BJP government, Pilot called to memory BJPs Lok Sabha polls manifesto.

Mumbai: The Congress has slammed the government for killing farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his silence on the issue.

Congress MP and Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot who was in Mumbai on Friday said, Unarmed and innocent farmers are being brutally killed in MP by a stubborn BJP government. They should have understood that if they announced a `36,000 crore loan waiver only for Uttar Pradesh, there would be similar demands from other states as well.

His comment came on the back of five farmers being killed by firing during a protest. Pilot ridiculed the governments claims that Congress was responsible for the ongoing agitation by farmers.

About Congress support to the farmers movement, Pilot said, Dont blame us. We were with farmers; we are with farmers; and we will remain with them. But the BJP is insensitive about the issue and blaming us.

Pointing out unfulfilled promises made by the BJP government, Pilot called to memory BJPs Lok Sabha polls manifesto. The government has not met the promises made before coming to power. Under this government, farm loan waiver has only been used as a political tool. Why did you make this announcement before the Lok Sabha polls if you could not fulfil it, he said.
Theresa May has made it clear though snubbed and rejected she might be, but she has no intention of stepping down.

The market would have been buzzing frantically if a general election in India had deprived the ruling party of its majority and resulted in a hung Parliament. I dont mean the commercial market, which has already mauled the sterling, but the market in political horseflesh. The dozen or so seats that Theresa May, the humbled Tory Prime Minister, needs to reach the magic figure of 326 in a 650-member House of Commons, could arguably have been mobilised with promises of portfolios and perks, to say nothing of cash changing hands. But not in the Mother of Parliaments, where the 10 Democratic Unionist Party members from Northern Ireland who can bail out Ms May are playing hard to get  although on strictly political grounds.

Their concern  a concern that extends not just across Britains political spectrum but to Brussels, headquarters of the 28-nation European Union  is over Brexit. When Britain does leave the EU, Northern Ireland will have a land border with the Republic of Ireland which is a EU member. In the north, Scotland might demand another referendum on independence of the government in London. Other such problems relating to immigration, the single economic zone, trade and investment will need careful handling. Some Brussels officials are eager to get on with the Brexit negotiations with a Prime Minister in command of her party. But there is also a thread of gleeful calculation that it might be easier to deal with a weakened British government.

Carl Bildt, a former Swedish PM, put it with brutal frankness. The election result could be messy for Britain, he said. Its the price Britain will have to pay for lack of true leadership. But while everyone is baying for Ms Mays blood (and colleagues like Boris Johnson are suspected to be sharpening their knives), the most important feature of this election should be a source of hope and encouragement to people in democracies everywhere. Its that the 12 million-plus Britons who voted for the Labour Party, led by the formerly despised and denigrated Jeremy Corbyn, clearly yearn for the kinder, gentler Britain that Clement Attlees Welfare State ushered in after the Second World War.

While the Conservative manifesto followed the right-wing chauvinism that politicians like Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump have made fashionable with Ms Mays Stand Up For Britain slogan, Labours rallying call was For The Many, Not the Few. The high turnout of almost 69 per cent, the highest since 1997, may partly have been because this slogan resonated with voters. Many of those who braved Thursdays heavy rains to cast their vote were young men and women who have no personal experience of the Labour Partys caring philosophy that owes much to the vision of Keir Hardie, one of the partys founders 117 years ago. But they have suffered since Margaret Thatchers capitalist revolution became the driving creed of Tony Blairs so-called New Labour. Free education was stopped and subsidies for medical care, housing and social welfare drastically reduced.

In contrast, the Labour manifesto promised to restore many aspects of the dismantled Welfare State and even to nationalise undertakings like the railways. Its surprising no previous political leader has thought of these reforms despite glaring evidence of mismanagement. The number of homeless people huddled in doorways in the bitter winter cold was one indictment of Thatcher-Blair economics. Reckless privatisation produced chaos on the rails. When trains were cancelled halfway through a journey, a wayside stationmaster once explained to me that the Thatcher government had sold the trains and lines to one company and the stations to another  whichever paid more  and they didnt always coordinate their activities.

Moreover, belying the harsh and constant criticism of the chattering classes, the seemingly lacklustre Mr Corbyn showed himself to be a forceful and inspiring speaker able to rally the multitude. He has never been popular in Westminster. But even his critics now concede that he has the common touch. His enhanced prestige confirms again that in politics, as in life, nothing succeeds like success. Of course he has not won enough seats to form a government but Labours strong position in the Commons may allow him to influence policy, specially in the negotiations to leave the EU.

Ms May called the election to further strengthen her position in discussing terms with Brussels, in the wake of three devastating terrorist attacks in three months. In her final message on Thursday, she pleaded with voters to back her in the Brexit negotiations, adding: If we get Brexit right, we can build a Britain that is more prosperous and more secure. A Britain in which prosperity and opportunity is shared by all. A Britain where its not where you come from or who your parents are that matter, but the talent you have and how hard you are prepared to work. She called it the greatest meritocracy in the world.

The majority she inherited from David Cameron would not have been lost if voters had believed her. As home minister, she had cut welfare while claiming she wasnt doing so. When Mr Cameron was PM, she, like him, was in the Remain camp, but quickly  and unapologetically  turned her coat when 52 per cent favoured Brexit in the referendum. She categorically denied any intention of calling a snap election, but did just that as soon as the opinion polls gave her grounds to hope she could better her parliamentary majority. The final touch is post-election. Its recalled that in a similar dilemma, Edward Heath lost no time in calling at Buckingham Palace to resign. In the best style of Indian politicians, however,

Ms May has made it clear though snubbed and rejected she might be, but she has no intention of stepping down.
The Samsung Internet 5.4 browser gets intuitive extensions and gets optimised for Samsung DeX adapter.

The Samsung Internet 5.4 seems to be a great browser with Samsungs modern interface. If you are using a Samsung device, then you should try it out once.

If you have used a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, you must have encountered the native browser in the phones lifecycle at least one. It has been always a simpler browser with basic functionalities and has been generally considered to be an unnecessary addition. However, with the new TouchWiz UI designed for the present generation smartphones, the Samsung browser also got a major overhaul. And it has become a proper Chrome rival.

Known as the Samsung Internet 5.4, the new browser offers a host of exciting features and extensions. Samsung offers a lot of interesting as well as useful extensions for the browser. For starters, theres the CloseBy extension which is basically an IoT-to-browser application. It provides information about the surroundings, i.e. if a physical web beacon pushes a URL, CloseBy will notify the user. Samsung says that extension could be useful in places like bus stops with web beacons that push relevant URLs to your phone upon arrival.

Apart from that, theres also a QR-Code reader extension to read QR-codes using the smartphones camera. The Quick Menu extension provides a floating button on your browser, which can be moved to other parts of the screen if wanted. This allows users to quickly access convenient features, including sharing, opening new tabs and modifying text size. The Video Assistant extension has an additional layer of functionality built into it  simply tap the View on TV button to watch content on a connected television screen or tap the View on Gear VR button to view the content with the Gear VR.

If you are using Samsungs latest flagship  the Galaxy S8 or S8+, along with the DeX dock, then the Samsung Internet 5.4 can let you do even more. Multiple browsers can be opened at the same time, similar to multiple tab browsing, enabling users to work or shop with ease. While shopping, users can make online transactions securely by utilising the biometric payment features enabled on their Galaxy S8 or S8+. Another added benefit of Samsung Internet 5.4 is the ability for it to seamlessly toggle between mobile and desktop versions of the same page, depending on whether you are using your device or Samsung Dex to surf the internet.

If you dont have the DeX dock with you, then you can enjoy your Samsung Internets bookmarks on Google Chrome through the Samsung Internet Chrome plug-in.

The Samsung Internet 5.4 seems to be a great browser with Samsungs modern interface. If you are using a Samsung device, then you should try it out once.

(Source)
The attack is just the latest to target the 12,000-strong force in the west African nation.

Bamako: Three United Nations peacekeepers were killed and eight others wounded when they came under sustained attack in Kidal in Mali's troubled north, the UN said Friday.

The camp "came under heavy rocket/mortar fire" on Thursday and "a little later a position nearby was attacked" outside the base, the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, said in a statement.

The attack is just the latest to target the 12,000-strong force in the west African nation. Guinean and Chadian soldiers make the majority of those at the Kidal camp.

MINUSMA began work in Mali in 2013, providing security and assisting Malian troops struggling to keep the country safe, but has been targeted constantly by jihadists, with dozens of peacekeepers killed.

Northern Mali fell to jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in March 2012, and although these forces were driven out of key towns by a French-led military intervention the following year, the Islamists have now spread further south.
Citing health issues, the 83-yr-old monarch had expressed his desire to take a back seat in '16 after 30 yrs on the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Tokyo: Japan's parliament passed a law on Friday that clears the way for its ageing Emperor Akihito to step down, in what would be the first imperial abdication in more than two centuries.

The popular 83-year-old monarch shocked the country in 2016 summer when he signalled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades on the Chrysanthemum Throne, citing his age and health problems.

The unexpected move presented a challenge since there was no law to deal with an emperor retiring from what is usually a job for life.

The one-off rule was passed in the last-stage upper house on Friday in a unanimous decision after the lower chamber gave its stamp of approval last week.

The abdication must take place within three years of the new law taking effect or it expires -- and it only applies to Akihito.

Japanese media have said the government is eyeing the end of 2018 as a likely timeline for his retirement.

The status of the emperor is sensitive in Japan given its 20th century history of war waged in the name of Akihito's father Hirohito, who died in 1989.

Some scholars and politicians worried that changing the law to allow any emperor to abdicate could put Japan's future monarchs at risk of being subject to political manipulation.

Akihito, who has been treated for prostate cancer and had heart surgery, is expected to step aside in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito.

There have been abdications in Japan's long imperial history, but the last one was more than 200 years ago, so politicians had to craft new legislation to make it possible.

"The one-off law is a result of political compromises, but it will become a precedent for future abdications," said Setsu Kobayashi, a constitutional expert and professor emeritus at Japan's Keio University.

Akihito was born in 1933 just as Japan was embarking on its militaristic sweep across Asia, and was 11 when the war ended in defeat.

His father was allowed to remain on the throne after Japan's defeat, but his status was downgraded from semi-devine sovereign to a figurehead with no political power.

Akihito embraced the role and tried to use it to help heal the scars of the war while remoulding one of the world's oldest monarchies for a democratic age.

"The emperor prefers the more casual image of himself as a 'symbol' of the Japanese people," Kobayashi said.

Even before he assumed the throne, Akihito broke with tradition when he married the daughter of a wealthy flour magnate in 1959, becoming the first imperial heir to wed a commoner.

The emperor and his wife Empress Michiko are seen as being the more accessible face of a monarchy that largely remains in the shadows, unlike the British royals.

The couple have frequently attended public events and console victims of natural disasters, including Japan's 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.

Akihito is officially barred from commenting on politics, but he has over the years hinted at his own anti-nationalist views.

Speaking at a memorial marking the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender, Akihito expressed "deep remorse" for the country's actions in World War II.

Some saw this as a rebuke to nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pushed to change Japan's pacifist constitution and prevent Japanese from having to apologise again for the nation's warring past.

Akihito's pending abdication had reignited concerns about a potential succession crisis.

There are no more eligible male heirs after the 10-year-old son of Crown Prince Naruhito's younger brother Akishino.

Japan's centuries-old succession would be broken if that son, Hisahito, does not have a male child.

In response, Japan's parliament has called for a debate on giving women a bigger role in the male-dominated monarchy.

The idea -- including the possibility of letting women ascend the throne -- is popular among ordinary Japanese, but it is vehemently opposed by traditionalists including the current prime minister and likeminded conservatives.

Female imperial family members lose their royal status upon marriage to a commoner, a point highlighted by recent news that one of Akihito's granddaughters, Princess Mako, plans to marry her college sweetheart.
The meeting between Modi and Xi came after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. (Photo: PTI)

Astana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday underscored the need to respect each others core concerns and appropriately handle the disputes as he held cordial talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions in ties over a host of issues including the CPEC and Indias NSG bid.

The two leaders met in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. It is their first meeting after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the forum to highlight its concerns over the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

During the meeting, Mr Modi said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each others core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

The Indian side is grateful for Chinas support for Indias accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organisation, Mr Modi said. Giving broad outcome of the meeting, foreign secretary S. Jaishankar said the broad thrust of it was that at the time of global uncertainty, India-China relations are a factor of stability and as the world becomes more multi-polar it was important for the two countries to work together more closely.

There was an understanding that where we have differences, it is important that differences should not become disputes and in fact if they were handled well, could even be opportunities, Mr Jaishankar told reporters, describing the meeting as cordial and very positive.

Mr Jaishankar said Mr Modi and Mr Xi also deliberated on defence exchanges, counter-terrorism cooperation and security cooperation. He said issues relating to trade and investment were a major highlight.

Entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation was discussed, said Mr Jaishankar.

It is learnt that Mr Modi and Mr Xi discussed importance of connectivity including the Bangladesh, China, India Myanmar Corridor (BCIM) but there was no direct reference to OBOR.

Relations between India and China has witnessed a downturn owing to differences over a series of issues, incl-uding China blocking Indias move to get Jaish-e-Moh-ammed chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN, its opposition to Indias bid for NSG membership and Chinas Belt and Road initiative.

Asked whether the NSG, OBOR and Azhar were rai-sed, Mr Jaishankar did not give a direct reply and said the meeting was for taking a broad assessment of the relationship.

You should be rest assured that there was a sense that both sides would address each others concerns very seriously, the foreign secretary said.

He said both the countries may have differences, but it is important to find common grounds and address each others concerns with a degree of seriousness.

There was discussion on connectivity, how we could work together. In fact, to my recollection, the AIIB i.e. the Asian Infrastructure Invest-ment Bank and the BCIM Corridor came up for discussion, he said when asked if China raised the issue of Indias boycott of the OBOR.

Asked about the Chinese stand on Mansarovar Yatra, he said the broad signal from the Chinese side was that they accord us facilities which are very appreciated by the public in India and they understand that and they would continue to facilitate and expand its possibility.

When asked whether the recent airspace violation by China was raised by the Indian side, he evaded a reply, saying you people must see this summit level meeting for what it is.

During the meeting, Mr Xi told Mr Modi that the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems, Chinas state-run Xinhua news agency said.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that both the countries should also address sensitive and major issues as she highlighted the issues figured in the meeting.

India should focus more on cooperation and work alongside to provide assistance to each others developmental goals, Ms Hua said.

The two sides should strengthen the complementarities of the development strategies and press ahead with the major cooperation projects such as energy and railways, Ms Hua said.

She also said the two sides should press ahead in a major way on Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar Corridor (BCIM) besides tourism, culture and other fields. BCIM is part of the Chinas multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative (BRI).
One person was killed and four people were wounded in the attacks and one of the assailants was killed, officials said.

The assailants then drove their stolen car toward a military police station and detonated a car bomb at a nearby roadblock. (Photo: Representational/AP)

Ankara (Turkey): Two suspected Kurdish rebels on Friday opened fire on a car belonging to a local mayor, then blew up their vehicle near a military police station in southeast Turkey, officials said.

One person was killed and four people were wounded in the attacks and one of the assailants was killed, officials said. The governor's office in the mainly Kurdish province of Batman said the attackers missed the vehicle of the mayor of Kozluk, but hit another car, killing a teacher and slightly wounding another passenger.

The assailants then drove their stolen car toward a military police station and detonated a car bomb at a nearby roadblock, injuring two soldiers and a civilian, the governor's office said.

One of the attackers also was killed. In a related incident, suspected Kurdish militants fired rockets at a military helicopter in Hakkari province, near the border with Iraq, forcing the Sikorsky to make an emergency landing, Turkey's military said. No one was hurt in the attack.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has waged a three-decade long insurgency in southeast Turkey. Tens of thousands were killed in the conflict.

Violence flared again in 2015 after the collapse of a two-year peace process and the rebels have since carried out a series of car bombings and other attacks, mostly targeting police and military.

The governor's office said the security forces had launched an operation against suspected Kurdish militants following the two attacks.
ISIS claimed the attack in the town of Musayab, south of Baghdad, in a statement on its Amaq news agency.

Baghdad: A woman detonated her explosive belt in a market east of the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala on Friday, killing at least 31 and wounding 35, Iraqi security sources said.

Islamic State claimed the attack in the town of Musayab, south of Baghdad, in a statement on its Amaq news agency. It didn't identify the bomber.

A security officer said the assailant was a woman who hid the bomb under the customary full-body veil.

The attack comes as Islamic State is about to lose Mosul, the de-facto capital of the hardline Sunni Muslim group in Iraq, to a US-backed Iraqi offensive launched in October.

The group is also on the backfoot in neighbouring Syria, retreating in the face of a US-backed Kurdish-led coalition attacking its capital there, Raqqa,.

Iranian-backed paramilitaries are taking part in the campaign fighting Islamic State in Iraq, attacking the group in the border region near Syria.

Islamic State declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Syria and Iraq three years ago.
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan also approved another accord between Turkey and Qatar on military training cooperation.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses foreign ambassadors at a Ramadan dinner in Ankara, Turkey. Erdogan has voiced support for Qatar in its dispute with Saudi Arabia and other nations, saying no one will benefit from the policy of isolating the oil-rich nation. (Photo: AP)

Istanbul: President Tayyip Erdogan has approved legislation on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar, signalling support for the Gulf state as it faces isolation imposed by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism.

Turkey's parliament pushed through the bill on Wednesday and Erdogan's rapid approval of it, announced by his office late on Thursday, was followed by its publication in the Official Gazette on Friday, completing the legislative process.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorists and their arch-adversary Iran - charges Qatar calls baseless. Several countries followed suit.

Qatar vowed on Thursday to ride out the isolation and said it would not compromise its sovereignty over foreign policy to resolve the region's biggest diplomatic crisis in years.

Erdogan also approved another accord between Turkey and Qatar on military training cooperation late on Thursday. Both bills were drawn up before the dispute erupted. Turkey has also pledged to provide food and water supplies to Qatar.

Erdogan has said isolating Qatar would not resolve any problems. Erdogan, who has long tried to play the role of a regional power broker, said Ankara would do everything in its power to help end the regional crisis.

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The bill did not specify how many troops would go nor when.
Modi also congratulated Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev for organising the SCO Summit.

Expressing deep gratitude to all SCO countries for giving India full membership after enjoying 12 years of observer status, Modi termed SCO as a main pillar of peace and security in the regional and the global arena. (Photo: ANI Twitter)

Astana (Kazakhstan): Addressing the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Kazakhstan capital Astana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to coordinate their efforts to fight the menace of terrorism which is plaguing the region.

"It is impossible to find a solution until all SCO members make concerted and coordinated efforts to fight the menace of terrorism, including radicalisation, recruitment, training and financing of terrorists," PM Modi said at the summit which was also attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Describing terrorists as the chief violators of human rights and values, Modi said "We have full faith that the SCO would give a new push to our efforts in fight against terrorism."

Read: Modi pitches for coordinated efforts, better connectivity at SCO summit

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev for organising the SCO Summit.

Expressing deep gratitude to all SCO countries for giving India full membership after enjoying 12 years of observer status, Modi termed SCO as a main pillar of peace and security in the regional and the global arena.

Modi said "With the induction of India in SCO, Shanghai Cooperation Summit will represent 42 percent population and 20 percent GDP which will act as a support to the success story of SCO.

We are achieving full membership today, but India has been nurturing and maintaining good historic relations with every SCO member.

"There are many dimensions of our interaction with the SCO countries. Mutual trust is the cornerstone of our political goodwill and economic cooperation. India is having partnership with SCO countries in several aspects on energy, education, security, development partnership agriculture, minerals, capacity building, trade and investment are the main drivers."

Describing connectivity as the main priority of India but also expressed concern over the China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is a part of the one Belt One Road , Modi said, "The SCO membership will take our partnership to a new level and regional connectivity with all the SCO members is the main priority of India and we entirely support the connectivity that will integrate our economies and build trust among the countries and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors."

Modi emphasized that connectivity initiatives are essential to reap the benefits of the projects and it reflects with our decisions of International North-South Transport Corridor, Ashgabat Agreement and the Chabahar deal.

Modi said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan. The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.
Although not yet formalised, the commitment was undertaken at a UN oceans summit that ended yesterday. For Card Turkson, an ecological conversion is needed as Pope Francis indicated when he said that Care for our common home [. . .] is and will always be a moral imperative.

New York (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Some of the nations most responsible for much of the world's ocean plastic pollution, namely China, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, have promised to start cleaning up their act.

Although not yet formalised, they made the commitment at a UN oceans summit that ended yesterday in New York, aimed, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at turning the tide and showing that we can solve the problems humans have created. According to one recent study, the UN official said, plastic could outweigh fish  if nothing happens - in our seas by 2050.

Card Peter Turkson, who heads the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, addressed the conference. If these present trends continue, this century may well witness an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us," he said.

The prelate noted the absence of any global agreement or body that can care for and protect the resources of the oceans. In view of the situation, he called for action on behalf of future generations who will inherit the fruits of our action.

In many religious and cultural traditions, water is a symbol of cleansing, renewal and rebirth, the prelate explained. As Pope Francis indicated, saving it requires an ecological conversion. What is more Care for our common home [. . .] is and will always be a moral imperative.

The New York meeting noted that 5 to 13 million tonnes of plastics flow into the world's oceans annually, much of it ingested by birds and fish.

According to estimates by the Helmholtz Centre in Leipzig, Germany, about 75 per cent of land-borne marine pollution comes from just ten rivers, most in Asia.

In Thailand, the total amount of garbage finding its way into the sea was estimated at 2.83 million tonnes in 2016 - 12 per cent of which was plastic.

The Thai government says it had established a 20-year strategy to tackle the problem, including developing financial incentives for keeping plastic out of the sea and encouraging eco-packaging design and eco-friendly substitutes for plastics.

In Indonesia, the government is starting a mass education programme for schoolchildren, and in the Philippines new laws are being developed.
He had been arrested a month earlier for a brawl. The family took pictures of the lifeless body full of bruises and blood. Attempts to cover up with false autopsies. After the denunciation, the village of Luo is controlled by armed men and the family and lawyers lost their jobs.

Beijing (AsiaNews / Chrd) - Luo Jibiao, 50, an ethnic Zhuang minority, died in police custody. Luos family and lawyers have called for an investigation into the death of Luo, on May 26 at the Fengxian County Detention Center in Hezhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Police had detained Luo on suspicion of brawling  on May 4.

Luos family members, when they were initially allowed to view Luos body, saw numerous bruises and injuries on his head, neck, chest, arms and legs, and blood around his nose and mouth. They took photos and showed them to lawyer Wu Liangshu (), whom they had hired to represent Luo. The family alleges that Luo was tortured to death during police interrogation. Wu had met with Luo once in detention, in a meeting on May 8. At that meeting, Wu observed no visible injuries on Luo, who also did not report any mistreatment. After that meeting, his family received no information from authorities until the news of his sudden death on May 26.

After Luos family and lawyer demanded an investigation into Luos suspicious death, authorities removed Luos body to an unknown location and blocked the family and lawyers access by deploying dozens of armed riot police officers. Luos family fear that the Fengxian procuratorate have rushed the autopsy without notifying the family. The family released a statement on June 2 denouncing the government cover-up and suspected torture.

Police have since visited the lawyers firms to intimidate them. Dozens of armed SWAT police officers patrol the Zhuang ethnic minority village where Luos family live. Lawyer Chen Jiahong () has been removed from handling the case. Lawyer Qin Chenshou () and the law firm where he practices law, Guangxi Baijuming Law Firm, have been held up in the annual inspection for renewal of licenses by judicial authorities. One family member was detained on May 30 by armed officers, but is believed to have been released. Authorities have also blocked the social media accounts of Luos family members and lawyers.
The Assembly rejects the nationwide ban on slaughtering cattle. "Economic interests" behind the new rules, aimed at encouraging the companies that export. Two Bjp members resign in Meghalaya. A Kashmir separatist calls for a "holy war against cow protectors."

Thiruvananthapuram (AsiaNews) - Kerala is the first state in India to say "no" to the ban on cow meat imposed by central government of Narendra Modi. With a resolution adopted yesterday during a special session of the Assembly, the deputies - apart from one from the Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp) - have rejected the ban on the slaughter of cows.

According to the local government, the CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist) coalition with the United Democratic Front (Udf) led by the Congress, the ban on cow meat throughout India is a "senseless" decision, dictated only by "special interests" of Hindu nationalists in government. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly that his new rule is nothing but a blatant violation on the rights of individuals to eat what they wish and want. This new rule will hugely affect the agrarian society of our state and also our country.

The rejection by the local Parliament points to what is happening in India and confirms the first reactions. In fact, Kerala immediately openly contested the ban on slaughter last week, many believed to be a direct attack on the eating habits of minority communities, especially Muslims and Christians.

For the Hindu religion, the cow is sacred and several states have already prevented the processing of beef. Mere suspicion of illegal slaughter or consumption leads to episodes of serious violence. However, there are many Indians working in the industry, with an annual turnover of over 13.9 billion Euros, while foreign exports are about 3.6 billion Euros.

Former Prime Minister VS Achuthanandan said: "It's nothing but a scam. The reasons are known to all. The Bjp has a program". According to the politician, the government party's plan would be to create cows from added value through exports, "and engage large companies in this business. But we cannot afford our people to suffer." Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, of the Congress, adds: "What emerges is that the major exporters are located in northern India, and some of them have BJP parliamentarians. The law helps them to increase their businesses. We cannot accept this."

Meanwhile, controversies have come to light from various places, which may split even nationalists. In Meghalaya two Bjp leaders - Bernard Marak and Bachu Marak - resigned from their positions. They argue that the party they belonged to does not accept "our Garo culture, traditions and culinary habits. The Nakam Nakam (beef) is part of our typical foods. The imposition of a non-secular ideology by Bjp is not acceptable for us."

Alongside politics, civil society is also moving. In recent days, a Islamist separatist leader in Kashmir called all Muslims in India to protest, launching an appeal to "holy war against cow protectors." The invitation by Zakir Musa, who severed ties with the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), indicates rising tensions within already frustrated religious communities.
The ulama: "Insult to and lack of respect for Islam". Governor Mujiv Hataman: "The terrorists are hypocrites who undermine the true essence of Islam." Regional Darul Ifta: "Attempt to provoke hatred between Muslims and Christians". The army asks social media to remove the video of the attack in order not to feed religious hatred.

Zamboanga (AsiaNews / Cbcp) - Muslim leaders have branded as un-Islamic the desecration and burning of St. Marys Catholic cathedral by a Islamic State-linked group in Marawi City. The National Ulama Conference of the Philippines said the destruction of religious icons and items used in Mass by the Maute terrorist group, which took place on May 23 last, were acts that deserve the strongest condemnation.

Let it be known to all that Islam commands all Muslims even in war time to protect places of worship, the Ulama said. The Muslim clerics said that the incident was a blatant disrespect and disregard of the teachings of Islam. They do not represent Islam but enemy of Islam, they said.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) also criticized the local terror group that brought violence to the countrys only Islamic city. In a strong statement, ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman said the actions of the Maute group were inhumane and unacceptable. These terrorists are nothing but hypocrites who undermine the true essence of Islam, he said. They are the worst of the creation.

The Regional Darul Ifta, the regions highest Islamic authority, also deplored the incident and called it evil. The Regional Darul Ifta strongly condemns the killing of Christians, the burning, destroying and desecrating of the church in Marawi City, it said. According to them, the incident was perpetrated to arouse hatred between good Muslims and Christians in the region.

The same opinion was expressed by the Filipino military summits, which on June 7 asked social media companies, including Facebook and Twitter, to remove the video of the Maute attack in an attempt to turn the conflict into a war of religion. Gen. Restituto Padilla, a military spokesman, also urged citizens not to share the video, which shows that militants snatch a picture of Pope Francis, break down a crucifix, trample and set fire to some religious statues.
by Christopher Sharma

Elected by parliament with 388 votes against 170, he has promised to defend the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and democracy. His statement has been met with happiness, but people will wait to see how much they will respect minority rights and voice.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews)  Sher Bahadur Deuba is the new prime minister of Nepal. Elected yesterday afternoon, he is the countrys 40th head of government.

This follows the resignation of Pushpa "Prachanda" Kamal Dahal on 24 May in accordance with deal worked between the parties in the ruling coalition. Mr Deuba received 338 votes with 170 voting against him. Some 558 lawmakers out of 593 were present.

Deuba, 71, is the president of the Nepali Congress and this is his fourth time to serve as head of government. Speaking to parliament, the new prime minister said that although "the Nepali Congress is the largest political party, we accepted the leadership of a third party in the ruling coalition to strengthen democracy."

"The Nepali Congress has never accepted compromises on democratic values and rights," he added. "We respect all minority castes and faiths, and my government will emphasise the protection and promotion of minority rights. Christians, Tibetans and other religious groups no longer have to worry about their religious and democratic freedom."

Religious leaders happily welcomed the news, but want to see words turned into practice. "We want democratic culture and practice, said Christian Federation president C B Gahatraj. In the past, many leaders promised democracy and rights to minorities, but each failed to fulfill their promises. So, we are positively waiting to see how much they will respect minority rights and voice."
The pontiff met with the participants to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, focused on The role of women in education towards universal fraternity. For Francis, women play an "inestimable" role in education and " offer an important input in dialogue, with their capacity for listening, acceptance, and opening up generously to others."

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis met today with participants to the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, whose discussions have focused on The role of women in education towards universal fraternity.

The aim of the assembly is to give women a greater role in all areas, also by legal means where necessary, including within the Church, not only because of their "inestimable" role in education but also because they offer an important input in dialogue, with their capacity for listening, acceptance, and opening up generously to others.

Unfortunately, the pontiff said, we see how today the figure of the woman as educator in universal fraternity is obscured and often not acknowledged, due to the many ills that afflict this world and which affect women in particular, in their dignity and in their role. Women, and even children, are indeed among the most frequent victims of blind violence. Where hatred and violence prevail, families and societies are torn, preventing women from carrying out, in a communion of intention and action with men, their mission of educator in a serene and effective way.

Reflecting on the topic, Francis focused on three aspects: Valorising the role of women, educating in fraternity, and dialogue.

Valorising the role of women. In todays complex society, characterized by plurality and globalization, there is a need for greater recognition of womens capacity to educate in universal brotherhood. When women have the possibility of fully conveying their gifts to the whole community, the way in which society understands and organizes itself will be positively transformed, arriving at the point of reflecting better on the substantial unity of the human family. Here resides the most valid premise for the consolidation of authentic fraternity. The growing presence of women in social, economic and political life at local, national, and international levels, and in the ecclesial context, is therefore a beneficial process. Women have the full right to be actively involved in all areas, and their right must be affirmed and protected also by legal means where necessary.

Educating in fraternity. Women, as educators, have a particular vocation, capable of creating and nurturing new forms of acceptance and mutual respect. The woman has always been at the centre of family education, not only as a mother. The contribution of women in the field of education is inestimable. And education involves a wealth of implications both for the woman herself, her way of being, and for her relationships, her way of facing human life and life in general.

In conclusion, all people  men and women  are called to contribute to educating in universal fraternity which is, ultimately, education in peace in the complementarity of different sensibilities and roles. Therefore women, linked intimately to the mystery of life, can do much to promote the spirit of fraternity, with their care for the preservation of life and their conviction that love is the only force that can make the world inhabitable for all.

Indeed, women are often the only ones who accompany others, especially those who are the weakest in the family and in society, victims of conflicts, and those who must face everyday challenges. Thanks to their contribution, education in fraternity  by nature inclusive and generating bonds  can overcome the throwaway culture.

Dialogue. It is clear that education in universal fraternity, which also means learning to build ties of friendship and respect, is important in the field of interreligious dialogue. Women are engaged, often more than men, at the level of dialogue of life in the interreligious sphere, and in this way contribute to a better understanding of the typical challenges of multicultural life. But women can also be fully integrated in exchanges at the level of religious experience, as well as at theological level.

Many women are well prepared to face encounters of interreligious dialogue at the highest levels, and not only on the Catholic side. This means that the contribution of women must not be limited to feminine issues or encounters only among women. Dialogue is a path that men and women must pursue together. Today, more than ever, it is necessary for women to be present.

Women, possessing specific characteristics, can offer an important input in dialogue, with their capacity for listening, acceptance, and opening up generously to others.
by Sumon Corraya

The Snehanir Rehabilitation Centre opened in 1992. It is run by the Santi Rani Sisters, with financial support from the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions. Aysha, a Muslim girl disfigured by her father, Flora, a Catholic girl in a wheelchair, and Sajib, Hindu boy without hearing, tell their stories.

Rajshahi (AsiaNews)  Snehanir, or House of Tenderness, is a rehabilitation centre for disabled children and kids. Its patients include a Muslim girl disfigured with acid by her father, a hearing-impaired Hindu boy, and a Catholic girl in a wheelchair.

The facility, which is located in Baganpara, Rajshahi town, opened its doors 25 years ago thanks to the Santi Rani Sisters (CIC), a diocesan congregation founded by the missionaries of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME).

The house takes care, educates and supports Christian, Muslim, and Hindu children, giving them hope in a new life and a better future.

Since 1992, when it was founded, the facility has taken children and young people of every confession. Today they are 42. During the years, they have completed their education and found work, making the most of the skills they acquired.

One of the Snehanir kids is Flora Murmu, a young Catholic woman who spent 12 years at the house. She cannot walk and needs a wheelchair.

She says that her father was desperate over her disability and would always said, "Why did I get a disabled child?" He thought "I was a burden to the family. My relatives were not happy because I was disabled. But the centre has transformed my life."

After her studies, she found work with Caritas Bangladesh. "First, I was a burden, but now, she says with glee, I am helping my family, giving them 5,000 takas a month (US$ 62).

Sajibs story is similar. Born with a hearing impediment into a Hindu family, he was a source of anguish for his father Biplob Lakra, and his mother.

"We did not have the money to maintain him, the father said. Then one day I found out about Snehanir from a Caritas official and I enrolled my son. Now he is learning the sign language. We too are following the lessons so that we can communicate with my poor child."

Aysha Akters story is just one of many involving violence against women. A teenager now, the Muslim girl was just two years old when her father threw acid on her face because his wife refused to give him money. This left her forever scarred.

At the House of Tenderness, she is taking classes. But I'm also taking lessons in morals, what I should do and what I should not do." Today, she believes she can "have a bright future" and wants to work with the victims of acid attacks.

The house is run by nuns with the support of Fr Franco Cagnasso, former PIME superior in Bangladesh, who covers the costs for the childrens education and victuals.

"Our approach is to welcome children with various disabilities, but also without disabilities, he told AsiaNews. They live together, help each other and do not feel excluded from society.

Our goal, he added, is to make them self-reliant so that in the future they can play a relevant role in society."

Former students "maintain good relations with the centre, Fr Cagnasso noted. They inspire young people and minors to have confidence in themselves."

Sr Dipica Palma, who runs the centre, expressed a heartfelt thank you for PIME fathers. Without their support, we would never have been able to keep the centre going and make a positive contribution to the future of these children."
by Mathias Hariyadi

The organ is tasked with fighting growing extremist ideologies. The Ukp-Pip is an expression of a strong "neo-nationalist" wave; The government's response to the Islamist push for radical movements. The Catholic Church has no representation. The appointment of Ma'ruf Amin, chief witness in the Ahok trial, contested.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has appointed members to the Ukp-Pip, a new presidential working unit whose goal is to promote the implementation of Pancasila [the doctrine of Indonesian pluralism ndr].

The 10 major personalities, including some interreligious leaders, were sworn in on June 7 in the presidential palace, in the presence of the highest state offices. Yudi Latif, the Pancasila's famous writer and scholar, will lead the work unit to combat the growing extremist ideologies in the country.

Analysts see Ukp-Pip as an expression of a strong "neo-nationalist" wave, born among the most moderate components of Indonesian society. It is the answer to the Islamist push for radical movements, which in recent months have caused profound political, social and religious divisions. The goal of these groups is to replace Pancasila with laws inspired by sharia and the establishment of an Indonesian Islamic State. The Widodo administration has recently launched a political campaign against extremists, to which the Ukp-Pip is set to give new impetus.

In addition to Yudi Latif, Megawati Soekarnoputri, a former Indonesian president and leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), is also part of the Commission and will serve as Chief Adviser; Try Sutrisno, former vice president of the republic; Syafi'i Ma'arif, Muslim intellectual, pluralistic activist and former Muhammadiyah president; Mahfud M.D, Former President of the Constitutional Court; Ma'ruf Amin, President of the Indonesian Ulema Council (Mui); Andreas Anangguru Yewangoe, President of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI); Wisnu Bawa Tenaya, Head of Indonesia Hindu Religious Councils (Phdi); Sudhamek, president of the Buddhayana Indonesia Assembly (Mbi).

The Catholic Church has no representation on the presidential working unit, albeit always being very active in promoting dialogue and coexistence in a country composed of different ethnicities and religions. Critics also contested the nomination of Ma'ruf Amin. He had in fact participated, as a witness in the blasphemy trial against Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama. The trial ended with the controversial two-year jail sentence of the former Christian governor of Jakarta. The ruling has provoked strong controversy and hundreds of thousands of Indonesians have taken part in a wave of peaceful protests to show solidarity with Ahok. It is precisely in these events that analysts have seen the response of moderate civil society to Islamic fundamentalism and the birth of a new "Indonesian nationalism".
Cases were registered in 19 different provinces. WHO: Within six months up to 250,000 people affected. Oxfam: A victim every hour, nation "on the edge of precipice". Stop the war and restore channels of humanitarian aid. Epidemic spread due to poor hygienic conditions and the shortage of medical facilities.

Sana'a (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The cholera epidemic that has hit Yemen, a nation shaken by over two years of bloody civil war, has caused at least 789 deaths and over 100,000 suspected cases of contagion, according to Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO). He said, "101,820 possible cancers and 789 deaths have been reported to date in 19 different provinces."

In recent days, the WHO experts had launched the alarm, speaking of a real emergency, with up to 250,000 people at risk of being infected within the next six months.

In a statement published yesterday, Oxfam Director Sajjad Mohammed Sajid pointed out that at the moment in the Arab country there is a cholera victim every hour. Yemen - added the expert - is on the edge of a precipice" and if the international community does not intervene drastically to limit the epidemic it will end up "threatening the lives of thousands of people in the coming months." A "ceasefire" and the restoration of humanitarian assistance is essential to stopping the epidemic. The spread of cholera is being fueled by poor sanitary conditions and the shortage of medical facilities. Over half of hospitals and clinics in the country have been seriously destroyed or damaged in the conflict and are almost unusable.

Since January 2015, Yemen has been fought over in a bloody civil war pitting the countrys predominantly Sunni leadership, led by former President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by Saudi Arabia, and Shia Houthi rebels, close to Iran and Lebanons Hezbollah.

In March 2015, a Saudi-led Arab coalition began carrying out air strikes against the rebels, which the United Nations criticised because of the civilian casualties they provoked, including children.

So far, more than 8,000 people have died, more than 44,000 injured and 3 million displaced.

Interviewed by AsiaNews in recent days, Msgr. Paul Hinder, apostolic vicar of southern Arabia (UAE, Oman and Yemen), spoke of a "disastrous" situation. However, the prelate added, at present it is not possible to draw a complete picture of reality because "it is difficult to enter and have credible information" based on reality and not filtered by propaganda. Commenting on the very serious humanitarian emergency in the Arab country, rocked by 30 months of civil war, Msgr. Hinder called Yemen a "forgotten nation, in the face of other conflicts that seem more interesting" at a mediatic level. For this, he concluded "more attention" is needed.
Researchers Identify Correlation Between Names And Faces

Trending News: Feel Like Your Name Doesn't Match Your Face? You Might Be Right

Long Story Short

New research indicates that a well matched name and face can matter in life.

Long Story

Is your name Bob or Lou? Yes? And do you have what one would kindly describe as a round face? If so, then congratulations, youre going far in life. Thats the finding of a new study from the University of Otago in New Zealand and published in Springers Psychonomic Bulletin & Review.

The research, by the universitys David Barton and Jamin Halberstadt, was looking into whats known as the "bouba/kiki effect"  the tendency for people to associate rounded objects with names that are pronounced by rounding the mouth. It involved a series of experiments to test whether names are judged more suitable when theyre congruent in shape with the people they denote, and whether there was any relationship between that congruence and how positively or negatively an individual was judged.

The first test involved participants ranking six suggested names that went best with 20 overly exaggerated round or angular male faces. Participants consistently matched nine of the ten round faces and eight of the ten angular faces with round (George, Lou) and angular (Pete, Kirk) names.

The second test switched to un-manipulated photographs of real male faces. Again, participants assigned shape congruent names to just about all the faces, both round and angular. Whats more, a third test showed participants actually liked a person more when their name matched their face.

You can probably see where this is going. Barton and Halberstadt did, and applied their findings to the real world. They computed scores to match the names and faces of 158 candidates in the 2016 elections for the United States Senate. It turned out that candidates earned 10 more percentage points on average when their name fit their face very well, versus very poorly.

The fact that candidates with extremely well-fitting names won their seats by a larger margin  10 points  than is obtained in most American presidential races suggests the provocative idea that the relation between perceptual and bodily experience could be a potent source of bias in some circumstances, Barton said in a news release.

Face shapes produce expectations about the names that should denote them, Halberstadt added. Violations of those expectations carry affective implications, which in turn feed into more complex social judgments, including voting decisions.

Quite.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

So is Donald a Donald?

Drop This Fact

Science shows that if people are shown faces manipulated to possess a particular trait, they generally begin to think of that trait as more normal, and therefore more attractive.
While other wine clubs try to cater to your individual tastes, Wine of the Month Club does one thing, and one thing only: curate really damn good wine. Every month, wine connoisseurs from around the world gather to bring its members two really, really great bottles of wine, picked for both quality and price point.

What is Wine of the Month Club?

In 1972, the Kalemkiarian family set out on a mission: take out the head-scratching confusion of buying a bottle of wine -- you know, trying to decipher the foreign and fancy labels on wine bottles and sift through jaw-dropping price tags? So Wine of the Month Club began with the intention to make enjoying wine a less intimidating experience; each shipments goal is to bring you really decent wines at surprisingly decent prices. Almost fifty years later, Wine of the Month Club offers up to six different subscriptions types, catered to everyone from the casual wine sipper to the person looking to add to their already-impressive vintage collection. The most basic shipment includes two bottles of wine that industry experts are currently fawning over, delivered to your door monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or really whenever you want.

Who its for: the picky wine snob or just the wannabe wine connoisseur

the picky wine snob or just the wannabe wine connoisseur What it includes: classic subscription includes two bottles of your choice of red, white or both

classic subscription includes two bottles of your choice of red, white or both When it arrives: monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or really, whenever you want.

Unboxing Wine of the Month Club

When you open up your monthly shipment, youll be immediately greeted with tasting notes on the bottles you have waiting for you. Inside the brown box youll find your two bottles, wrapped safely in recycled cradling, and all the reading material you need to get you started on your wine journey.

Each box includes:

Two bottles of wine

Tasting notes

Wine of the Months How to Speak Wine Guide

The Complete Wine Course manual

The Review

Im not sure about you guys, but in the age where everything is viewed on my iPhone screen, theres something really nice about having a glossy magazine in front of me. So when I cracked open the box of my very first shipment of the Wine of the Mont Club, I was gleeful. Included in the shipment: tons of magazines, tasting notes, and little books that act as basically a gateway drug into the world of wine.

Individual tasting notes and information sheets were provided for not only the wine in the shipments but other wines the club is offering via the bottle shop, so you can take advantage of the heavily discounted prices with full knowledge of what the wines will taste like. Each tasting note includes information on the taste, appearance and finish of the wine, as well as suggested food pairings. It also includes notes from professional tasters, ranging from tidbits of info on this particular bottle of wine, or fun facts on the history on where the grape came from. On the back of each sheet are prompts, so you can rate your wines and add your own tasting comments. All notes are hole-punched, so you can create your own little book of wine for dummies.

Also packed into the shipment: two magazines. One, a comprehensive guide to wine terminology (when I say comprehensive, I mean it: its 65 pages), and, more importantly, how to use those wine terms to impress the heck out of your friends at your next dinner party.

To help guide you on your trip to becoming a bonafide wine snob, the second magazine Wine of the Month Club included was a wine course guide. While this may sound like a book reserved for the high-brow, baller-budget wine connoisseurs, the magazines course is palatable to, well, anyone of any palette. The guide acts as an introduction to all things wine, covering how wine is made, how to host a wine tasting, and the ground rules of wine tastings (in their words: there are none. Just enjoy!).

That leads me to the main attraction: the wine. Wine of the Month is no newcomer to the world of subscription services: in an industry dominated by niche start-ups, Wine of the Month Club has been sending wine-lovers wine for decades, so its pretty safe to say they know what theyre doing. Each month, over 400 different wines are tried, and out of those, only 1% actually make it to the Clubs listing. I thoroughly enjoyed both the red and white wine I was sent. Plus, the provided tasting notes and story about the wines I received were so comprehensive, it felt like I had a little sommelier sitting in my apartment explaining everything to me.

In addition, while there are definitely many big-name vineyards out there that are known for having reliably exceptional quality, Wine of the Month Club puts a highlight on smaller-scale, lesser-known vineyards. A.K.A., you can impress the heck out of your boss at the next work dinner with your newfound knowledge.

One unique thing about Wine of the Month Club: they dont just cater to the wine connoisseur, they offer varying levels of membership to meet basically any wine snobs needs. Prefer California wines? Wine of the Month curates a box that focuses on highlighting the West Coasts top bottles. Looking to build an impressive wine cellar? Wine of the Month Club has a box for that. Or maybe you still break out in a hot sweat when asked to pick a bottle of wine: the classic series wine box is your first step to knowing your way around a glass of wine.

While the quality was great and the tasting notes blew me away, what I was really impressed about with Wine of the Month is the quality you get, given the low cost. Coming in at just under $25 before tax, you get two bottles of decent wine and a really comprehensive guide to what youre drinking. You also get access to a curated shop of wine at a heavily discounted rate. Consider the last time you bought wine: did you stare at the wall of bottles and eventually pick one that was either Googled, recommended to you by a sales associate, or, even worse, picked based on the fancy looking label? Weve all been there. But having access to really great wines, at a serious wallet-friendly price point, is a true luxury.

Cost

For the Classic Series Wine Club, prices sit at $23.96 per month, plus shipping and taxes. Prices from there on can range widely, depending on the club you prefer. Tax and shipping will usually set you back just under ten dollars per shipment.

Curate your orders to arrive monthly, every other month, or quarterly: prices are charged per shipment, not per month.

Another membership perk: members have access to exclusive reorder prices for bottles and cases, sitting at usually $5-8 less per bottle than the retail ticket price.

Other options from Wine of the Month Club

California Wine Series What it is: two bottles of Californias finest bottles What it costs: $28.96/month Who its for: the Cali lover

Vintners Series Wine Club What it is: two bottles curated for the wine maker What it costs: $33.96/month Who its for: the DIY wine guy

Limited Series Wine Club What it is: two bottles of exclusive vintages What it costs: $44.96/month Who its for: the person who has it all

Cellar Series Wine Club What it is: six bottles of wines, delivered bi-monthly, that are meant to be aged What it costs: $71.88/shipment Who its for: the person who wants to start their own wine cellar

Case Club Series What it is: 12 hand-selected wines every three months What it costs: $143.76 Who its for: the person who never knows when theyll need a good bottle



How to Subscribe

Signing up to Wine of the Mont Club is as simple as choosing the desired length of your subscription, your wine preference (just bottles of red, just bottles of white, or a little of both), and youre on your way. All subscription signup and subscription management is done via Wine of the Month Clubs online site. Subscriptions and gifts can be purchased on a month-by-month basis or on a subscription basis, both via the site.

Managing Your Subscription

All subscription content is managed via Wine of the Month Clubs website. While they dont yet have an app, Wine of the Month Clubs employees are quick to respond to any questions or qualms you might have regarding your subscription. You can also:

Customize your subscription to whenever you want it

Pay on a month-by-month basis

Switch to other accounts at any time

Gift Wine of the Month Club to colleagues or friends

Is Wine of the Month Club worth It? The VERDICT: Promising Investment

Simply put, Wine of the Month Club is a promising investment for anyone who just wants to enjoy wine. No matter your level of knowledge, Wine of the Month Club is like your own personal sommelier. Use the club to expand your knowledge of wine, or if you want to dive into the world of wine for the first time, Wine of the Month Club can act as your Wine for Dummies. Plus, the price point wont break the bank if you consider what you get: two expert-chosen bottles of wine for roughly $15 each (including shipping and tax). Youll find a tough time faring better in your local wine outlet.

Wine of the Month Club Competitors

Deals, Coupons and Promo Codes

While Wine of the Month Club doesnt dole out too many coupons, when you first order, Wine of the Month Club will send along a free gift -- ranging from bottle carrying kits to wine openers.
By Michael Milford, Associate professor, Queensland University of Technology

Universal Pictures

Its been 18 years since the cheesy but fun 1999 incarnation of The Mummy, and we were long due for another reboot. To meet that need, along came Tom Cruise accompanied by Russell Crowe and relative newcomers Sofia Boutella and Annabelle Wallis, in The Mummy.









Universal Pictures





Sofia plays Ahmanet, a cursed Egyptian princess who was cast aside by her family and sought revenge in the worst way possible. For her crimes, she was entombed for eternity and erased from history.

Enter soldier of fortune Nick Morton (Tom Cruise), who unwittingly awakens Ahmanet from a 5,000-year slumber. Its up to Morton, archaeologist Jenna Halsey (Annabelle Wallis), and Henry Jekyll (Russell Crowe) to stop her from reclaiming her stolen kingdom.

The film is clearly setting up Universals Dark Universe alternative to the Marvel universe, with a host of famous monsters to be rebooted including Frankenstein, Dracula and the Invisible Man. The film also introduces the secret organisation Prodigium, led by Dr Jekyll, who find, examine and destroy evil manifestations in the world.









Universal Pictures





So lets take a light-hearted cross-examination of the science behind some of the action scenes in the film. But beware, well be letting some mild spoilery secrets out of the sarcophagus.









Shooting down an aircraft with birds

While still inside her sarcophagus on board a military transport plane, Ahmanet summons an immense flock of ravens, who smash through the engines and front windshield, and take out the pilots for good measure.

But could the Mummy have taken down an aircraft with birds?

Bird strikes are a regular problem for aircraft of all varieties, with more than 65,000 incidents reported from 2011-2014. High-profile recent incidents include US Airways Flight 1549, which hit a flock of geese shortly after takeoff, prompting an emergency water landing nicknamed the Miracle on the Hudson.

In that incident, birds took out both engines but they can also hit the windshield.

Here come the birds. (Universal Pictures)

The aircraft in the film is a Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with a cruise speed of 540km/h. Lets say a raven can speed for short periods at 80km/h. This gives us a net closing speed of 620km/h between plane and bird, because it is aiming for the plane head-on.

For example, in this learjet collision from 1981, the plane was at low altitude and likely travelling at a relatively low speed of perhaps 400km/h.

Lets assume that bird wasnt malicious and hence wasnt flying head on at the aircraft - so the net closing speed would just be the 400km/h.

Impact energy scales with the square of the speed, so an increase in impact speed from 400km/h to 620km/h results in an increase in impact energy of 2.4 times, meaning a single bird impact in the film is much more damaging.

Some airframe standards mandate being able to withstand a single hit from a 1.8kg bird. Indeed the windshield does seem to handle the first few impacts. But given a few thousand birds flying into the plane all at the same point, it seems highly realistic that the windshield would give way and the plane would be doomed.

This same principle applies to repeated bullet impacts with bulletproof glass.

Verdict: Its highly plausible that so many bird strikes would break the windshield, if you allow for magical undead-mummy bird-corralling capabilities.

Working with mercury

Superman has his Kryptonite: for The Mummy, the element mercury does the job. Ahmanet is both entombed in a massive bath of mercury and injected directly with it later to disable her, making use of its property of being the only metal that is liquid at room temperature.

The films production notes suggest this may have some origin in Egyptian beliefs: perhaps it was just used as a pigment.

The plan is to inject Ahmanet with liquid mercury, then cool it down to -38 (which is the correct temperature at which mercury transitions from solid to liquid) to solidify Ahmanet, then dissect her for study. One of the potential issues with this plan is that solid mercury is relatively soft (like lead or tin) and can be easily manipulated.

So instead of a stiff Wolverine-like corpse, the Prodigium crew may just enrage her even more, which is exactly what happens.

Verdict: Nice chemistry, but a little soft.

Eating your way to a better body

Princess Ahmanet starts the film as a weak skeleton, but rapidly regains her original physique by consuming multiple human victims.









Universal Pictures





Her consumed victims become skeletal servants themselves. If we assume her normal weight is 60kg, approximately 15% of that weight is her skeleton, so around 9kg. She needs to gain about 51kg of mass.

I lost count during the film but I think she consumed about six people to regain her original physique. Thats about 8.5kg of flesh-eating transfer per victim.

But her (mostly larger male) victims are clearly mostly defleshed, suggesting they may have lost up to half their bodyweight, say 40kg per victim, or a total of 240kg.

That means either her consumption process is inefficient - with only a 21% mass transfer rate - or the directors thought it would be nice to have her suck the flesh off more than one victim for effect.

Verdict: Something doesnt add up.

Sarcophagus suffocation

As punishment, Ahmanet is entombed alive in her sarcophagus (a common theme in Mummy films), and then dipped into a well filled with mercury. This is a nightmare scenario, but how long might a normal human survive before suffocating?









Universal Pictures





A big sarcophagus might measure about 2 metres by 1 metre by 0.5 metres - for a total volume of approximately 1m3, or 1,000 litres of air if we ignore the walls. Subtract a small female body - about 60 litres - and youre left with 940 litres of air, which is initially 21% oxygen - 197.4 litres.

You breathe in air containing oxygen, but the air you exhale isnt completely devoid of oxygen either. We can use an approximate net oxygen consumption rate of 0.4 litres per minute to work out how long youd survive:

Time to suffocate = oxygen content / consumption rate = 197.4 litres / 0.4 litres/minute = 493.5 minutes = 8 hrs 13 minutes 30 seconds

This assumes you can completely use all the oxygen available, which is the optimal case. In reality, youd probably pass out and die before youd completely sucked all the last bits of oxygen out of the air.

Luckily Ahmanet is cursed, presumably to live forever, so she likely has other concerns, like trying not to go insane being stuck for 5,000 years in her pitch-black sarcophagus.

Verdict: Painfully plausible: she either suffocates 5 million times over or the curse protects her from dying.

Behind the scenes: filming in zero gravity

If you dont have access to a film studio in orbit, your only other filming options are faking it underwater or using robot arms like in Gravity, a drop tower, or what they did for The Mummy: zero-gravity parabolic plane flights, a technique previously used in classic films like Apollo 13.

Filming in zero gravity with parabolic aircraft loops (123rf.com/Lars Christnsen/Universal Pictures/Michael Milford)

Zero Gravity Corporation provided the flights wherein a modified Boeing 727 flies repeated parabolic arcs that alternate between zero gravity for about 20 to 30 seconds (at the top of the parabola) and about 1.8 normal gravity at the bottom of the trajectory - where an 80kg adult will feel like they weigh 144kg.

NASA also uses a KC-135 aircraft to do essentially the same thing, also known as the Vomit Comet.

The crew did 16 parabolic flights within a two-hour period, twice a day, for two days - for a total of 64 weightlessness sessions. Talk about dedication. The actors performed inside a C-130 interior reconstruction encased within the larger plane.

Cruise talks about how hard it is to fake weightless action scenes, so the fact that they actually filmed in genuine zero gravity means the film gets an A+ there for scientific realism!

Verdict: You cant fake real science.

The overall verdict

The Mummy is a welcome revisit to the classic monster film of old, paying the right amount of homage to the classics, while introducing the modern world of 2017 and setting up a new universe within which to entertain film goers.

In terms of the science, we get a heap of physics and a side of chemistry, some okay, some a bit dodgy.

Thats all more than redeemed for by the fact that the plane crash physics involve the real thing: more than half a billion dollars worth of actors and crew doing it for real, over 64 weightless, vomit-inducing loops through the sky.









Universal Pictures





Michael Milford is a Chief Investigator at the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision, an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Microsoft Research Faculty Fellow and Founding Director of the education startup Math Thrills Pty Ltd. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Government, Caterpillar Corporation, Mining3, Microsoft, the Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development and AMP.

Originally published in The Conversation.


(Voy/Bigstock.com) (Voy/Bigstock.com)

A global campaign has been launched to attract more young people to consider a working holiday in Australia.In particular the nation is keen to attract more working holiday makers from the United States, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The campaign from Tourism Australia comes at a time when numbers have dropped due to tax changes.The campaign focuses on reminding young travellers that an Australian working holiday is more than just a job and more than a holiday. In 2016 more than 320,000 working holiday makers spent approximately $3 billion in Australia.But working holiday makers now have to pay more tax on the income they earn while in Australia and many of the sectors they tend to work in, such as hospitality, agriculture, retail and tourism have found numbers have dropped.The Global Work and Travel Company, with offices in London and Vancouver found that enquiries for working in Australia fell by up to 30% this time last year when it was revealed that a tax on earnings for backpackers would be introduced.'Young travellers changed their plans about heading to Australia and looked at other destinations like the USA or New Zealand instead,' said the firm's chief executive officer Jurgen Himmelmann. But demand is now picking up again and he hopes that it will exceed expectations as Australia offers such a wide variety of jobs for backpackers.It comes as official figures show that more people than ever are visiting Australia, with numbers reaching 7.7 million in the 12 months to March 2017, a rise of 9%, led by a rise of 18% from Japan, a 14% rise from the US and a 12% rise from China. Numbers from the UK increased by 2% and from New Zealand by 3%.There were 1.1 million visitors from China, 1.2 million from New Zealand, 684,000 from the US, 674,000 from the UK and 390,000 from Japan.There was a 25% increase in people from Japan going to Australia for a holiday and a 21% rise in the number of Americans. The US has seen consistent growth in holiday makers in Australia, up 107% since 2012. While most of the growth in holiday visits from Japan was seen over the last year.But there have been fewer tourists from China, down 4% quarter on quarter, the first fall since 2010. It is suggested that this was due to a drop in group tours in the first quarter of2017, with visitors from China falling by 15% compared to the same quarter of 2016.Although Chinese travel for non-group tours increased by 8%, this was not enough to counter balance the drop in group tours. However, China continues to be the dominant holiday market, accounting for one in every six holiday visitors.The figures also show that international tourists are staying longer and spending more when they visit Australia and they are venturing out of the capital cities with record growth of 29% in regional Australia in the last three years.Tourism chiefs expect China to overtake New Zealand in 2017/2018 in terms of visitor numbers, two years earlier than previously forecast. China is expected to contribute 43% of total growth in visitor numbers by 2024/2025.They also expect to see an increase in visitors from Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea in the coming years, along with traditional markets of New Zealand and the US. Sporting events scheduled in 2017/2018 are expected to generate an increase in arrivals from the UK.
Ferrari has a new version of its four-seat GTC4Lusso. It gets a new twin-turbo V8, a rear-wheel steering system and an all-new fun-to-drive attitude.

Step one of driving any 610hp car involves getting comfortable behind the wheel. This is no sweat on Ferrari's new GTC4Lusso T. The square-bottom steering wheel adjusts to exactly where I want it and getting that relaxed-but-attentive driving position isn't difficult either because there's plenty of legroom. Then, of course, comes the slightly more difficult bit; getting to grips with it. The first hurdle involves negotiating some cobblestoned back streets that seem to randomly snake through one of Tuscany's most haphazardly planned villages. Yes, the visibility from that big windscreen is good, and that does make it easier, but this is a 4.9m long car with an almost three-metre-long wheelbase. A tiny Fiat 500 it isn't.

Eventually, we break through  straight into what looks like an Impressionist masterpiece. Rolling hills, olive groves, vineyards, tall needle-like Italian cypress trees and mansions made of centuries-old stone  time seems to have stood still here; you can all but imagine Renaissance masters sitting in the fields with easels, paintbrushes and oil paints.

Off on a trot

What's causing all those fabulous colours to blur, however, is Ferrari's new GT, the inverted-shovel-like nose ripping apart the scenery. There was a time when four-seaters were a lot more ponderous and lethargic than their two-seater cousins; there was also a time when a roughly 250kg weight penalty was a death knell for agility, but today, with Ferrari's V8 pumping iron and blasting out 760Nm of torque, upping the pace is just effortless. I'm barely using an inch and a half of throttle, but the GTC4Lusso T is already vaulting towards the horizon like I've mashed the throttle into the pedal box. It's what the turbos and direct injection have delivered  masses and masses of torque. The max torque comes in at around 3,000rpm and once you get onto that, all that weight just melts away.

This cavallino rampante also possesses plenty of soft skills. Sure this engine has plenty of grunt once the turbo comes in, but responses just off idle speed are quite good too. Progression is so smooth and friendly, I barely detect any lag. And that's despite a specific power output of 158hp per litre. How has Ferrari managed this? Simple, it uses technology to cheat physics. Get a load of this: the turbos use twin-scroll technology making them feel like a quad turbo setup; this engine uses a flat-plane crankshaft for better responses and cylinder scavenging; and each cylinder uses up to five pulses from the spark plug per power stroke to ensure all the fuel is burnt.

The GTC4Lusso T also impresses at low speeds with its smooth and fluid steering and the nicely weighted brakes make driving it in traffic super comfy. Even the ride is surprisingly good over regular potholes. Ferrari has been using the Magneride active damper system for years, and it seems to work a treat here too. The suspension is actually supple even when roads are pretty bad. The short travel spring and those attractive 20-inch rims, however, do get caught out on a particularly poorly patched section of the Autostrade.

Horse power

But enough of canter, it's time to up the tempo and switch to a full gallop. Some of the best driving roads in Tuscany are before me, and since this corner of Italy seems surprisingly devoid of any real traffic, this is not an opportunity to be missed. It's just rolling hills and corner after corner after corner here.

First up, a tinge of disappointment. Yes, that explosive torque-laden mid-range is great but there's also nothing quite like a naturally aspirated Ferrari motor that sings all the way to 9,000rpm. So, while this motor gets full marks for many things, the feeling of ever increasing engine acceleration and sharp responses at high speeds  max power at just 7,500rpm  means it feels like someone has lopped off the best bit of the powerband. Those long hard pulls to the redline, the wide 6,000rpm powerband, they're just not part of the Ferrari V8 experience anymore, and that smarts. Ouch.

The Ferrari, however, punches hard in other areas. I've steadily been upping the pace around corners in this quiet corner of Italy, but while I've been focusing on the engine, the extremely high levels of agility catch me unaware. This car has the wheelbase of a limo, but, from behind the wheel, it feels nothing of the sort. What Ferrari seems to have done is compartmentalise each important parameter, and then attack it with a vengeance. The lack of agility with that long wheelbase has been countered with the use of rear-wheel steering. The car rotates beautifully around its hips when you turn in, and Ferrari has set-up the steering so well, the transition is smooth and linear. Yes, the steering could have done with a bit more feel, but the GT just seems like it can hit the apex of every corner, however tight it is. Up next is traction; a bit more difficult here because the GT ditches the four-wheel-drive system you get with the V12-powered unit. To counter this, up to 54 percent of the weight of the car now rests on the rear wheels. So, when you slip past the apex of the corner and start to accelerate out, there's plenty of weight over the rear wheels and good traction. It may not squat down at the rear and slingshot you out of corners like a rear-engined Porsche 911, but the rear axle feels extremely 'solid', and this gives you plenty of confidence to accelerate harder and harder out of corners. Of course, lending a helping hand is Ferrari's E-diff, something many supercar makers tend to omit. This allows the electronic brain of the car to open the differential when it is beneficial and close it when wants to lock it down and let the power flow.

Soon I get so comfortable with this near five-metre-long car that I start to drive it like a two-seater. And then, because the car responds so beautifully, I push harder still. What's amazing is that the front end just seems to grip and grip. And then as the rear begins to lose grip, kept in check by Ferrari's space age driver aids (see box), the car seems to attain a balance so sweet, it's an absolute joy setting up the car for corners and power out with a measured right foot.

What makes the driving experience complete, however, is the fact that all the various elements are so beautifully stitched together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The explosive torque and punch of the engine, its willingness to deliver a whip-crack response, the super-quick twin-clutch gearbox, the sharp and grippy front axle, and the ability of the rear axle to put down all the power, all work so well in concert; it's like a symphony orchestra under the control of a master conductor. It really does feel like a car half its size. It may be a bit down on pace compared to company's full-blooded sportscars, but that magical Ferrari driving experience that makes you feel like a better driver than you really are; yeah, that's there in spades.

Two plus two is

The GTC4Lusso T even manages to work well as a four-seater. Surprisingly, ingress isn't too difficult, due to the impossibly long doors, and though the roof is low, you don't need to be a world-class contortionist to clamber past the front seats. There's even enough space for my size 11 and a half feet. Sitting in the back also feels kind of unique; it's nice and snug to begin with. Tuscany looks fabulous with the masses of glass all around, and since I'm cocooned in what feels like a giant leather-lined baseball glove, I am pretty comfy.

The cabin is beautifully built too. What I also like is the fact that Ferrari has delivered a massive 10-inch screen that works superbly. And what's nicer still is that there's a display for the passenger as well, just so that they can monitor the speed and revs; nice.

At the final coffee stop, I linger to admire the car from the outside. Of course, the unconventional profile doesn't really help; it looks a bit odd from certain angles. But there's no denying there are a few bits that look just stunning. The nose hits the spot. The power bulge on the bonnet is right on the money, the wide shark-like mouth is stunning and the fact that the headlights get their own big bulge makes them stand out too. Then there are the shark-like gills that are done in carbon fibre, the beautifully sculpted bulging fenders, and that near three-metre-long wheelbase that do lend it some elegance. But the rear, apart from the Coke-bottle hips and the LED tail-lights, is a bit odd.

Lasting impression

Ferrari's GTC4Lusso T is many horses in one. Part load-carrying draught horse, part thoroughbred racehorse, part agile and quick-to-turn polo pony; it fuses the best bits of each into a new sub-breed. It even has a 450-litre boot. How about that? It won't quite deliver the pace of a bonafide sportscar, it's more a plus two (2 + 2) rather than a full-fledged four seater, the suspension did get tripped up by the bumps on the high-speed Autostrade, and it will cost Rs 4.2 crore when it goes on sale here in India. But if you are willing to compromise a bit, the Ferrari experience is also available in the guise of a four-seater, without the expense and prodigious thirst of a full-on V12. The semi-practical Ferrari; yeah, that mythical beast actually does exist.
VIDEO: Hondas Plans for Highly Automated Driving

Honda said its targeting the year 2025 for the introduction of vehicles with highly automated driving capability in most driving situations, known as SAE Level 4 in the lexicon of autonomous vehicle technology.

This new goal builds upon previously announced plans for Honda and Acura vehicles to have highly automated freeway driving capability, or conditional automation (SAE Level 3), by 2020.

Honda President and CEO Takahiro Hachigo made the announcement at a media briefing held at Honda R&D Co. in Japan, where reporters were able to test drive Honda automated vehicles.

We will strive to achieve the technological establishment of Level 4 automated driving for personal car use by around 2025, Hachigo said. We are striving to provide our customers with a sense of confidence and trust by offering automated driving that will keep vehicles away from any dangerous situation and that will not make people around the vehicle feel unsafe.

The freeway test drive demonstration was conducted on a closed test course using a vehicle equipped with an advanced suite of sensors. The test vehicle has multiple cameras as well as five LIDAR sensors and five radar sensors.

A second driving scenario, simulating a common urban driving experience, was conducted using the latest generation of Honda artificial intelligence with Deep Learning capability. Equipped with camera sensors only and no LIDAR or GPS, Honda's AI with Deep Learning can sense and respond to complex driving environments and situations, such as roads without proper lane markings.

The system also can detect pedestrians and bicyclists at night with only partial visibility. Also, through advanced artificial intelligence, the system can improve its ability to predict an outcome and take appropriate action.

SAE International, a global association of engineers and technology experts, defines automated driving based on six levels of capability  from zero to five. SAE Level 4 or high automation means the vehicle can handle all driving tasks in most driving situations, with possible exceptions including inclement weather conditions or unusual driving environments where the driver might be required to assume control.

Honda is advancing its deployment of advanced safety and driver assistance technologies through the companys Honda Sensing and AcuraWatch suite of features, which serve as a bridge to the highly automated vehicles of the future. Nearly half a million Honda and Acura vehicles on U.S. roads today are equipped with these technologies, which include autonomous emergency braking via the collision mitigation braking system, lane keeping assist, road departure mitigation and adaptive cruise control.
Hatami

Volkswagen AG's U.S. unit announced its hiring of Derrick Hatami as executive VP for sales and marketing for Volkswagen of America today, according to a report from Reuters.

Hatami previously worked for Hyundai's U.S. unit as sales chief since 2015, and announced his resignation from the company on Wednesday, citing personal reasons. His resignation followed a report from Hyundai indicating that U.S. sales dropped 18% in May against a 1% drop in the overall market.

Hatami joins Volkswagen as the company rolls out new SUVs in the U.S. to match demand for larger vehicles and regain momentum on lagging VW sales.
The 2018 Audi A8 comes with interesting technology that enables the driver to save on fuel. This is particularly a laudable feature, especially to those who are considered practical. Audi is a luxury brand, however, its owners still care about fuel economy. It also adds its green appeal as well.

The 2018 A8 has a standard, which consists of water-cooled 48-volt alternator starter. This is mounted on the front side of the engine and complementing the regular pinion starter. Such only works during cold starts. It also has a lithium-ion battery pack in the trunk with 10-Ah capacity and 48-volt system.

The sedan is equipped with an advanced coasting function available from 34.2 to 99.4 mph once the driver takes his foot off the accelerator. At this speed, the engine automatically turns off. This is to ultimately save fuel. It will be in this mode for about 40 seconds.

As the driver steps on the gas pedal again, the combustion engine activates without acceleration delay. This happens because of the 48-volt system which is permanently connected to the engine.

The 2018 Audi A8 also has a stop/start function, which is considerably different from other systems currently available. Its predictive starting system enables the A8 to move when the car in front starts to be in motion. This is possible even when the driver is still stepping on the brakes.

The A8 energy recuperation happens not only when it is coasting but also as the car slows down if its gets close to the vehicle in front of it. Because of this, it reduces fuel consumption by 0.7 l/100 km. This is definitely significant that industry experts look forward to.

The 2018 Audi A8 is scheduled to be unveiled on July 11 at the Audi Summit event. This is going to be held in Barcelona, Spain. Next month marks a momentous event for Audi as it continues to mesmerize everyone with its exceptional automotive technology.
ALCHEMIE is a full-time professional band proudly based out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA that plays original and modern rock and pop. They have come a long way since their first public Albuquerque performance in October 2015.

Their new CD dark was released in February 2017 and two songs on the album have been nominated for New Mexico Music Awards: Blues II in the Blues category, and Highway 1 in the Adult Contemporary category. Their cover of It Was a Very Good Year, released as a single, was nominated in the Cover Songs category. These cuts can be heard on www.alchemielab.com.

Listen!ABQ, Albuquerques official music portal, named ALCHEMIE Artist of the Month for March 2017.

KOBTV4 taped an interview and performance of 4 songs from dark for the Good Day New Mexico program. The 1st airing was March 24th and KOB-TV will continue to air the live performances throughout 2017.

Albuquerque the Magazine featured an interview and photos of the band in the May 2017 issue.

ALCHEMIE is getting radio airplay on KUNM FM 89.9 (Ear to the Ground hosted by Matthew Finch and Overnight Freeform hosted by Bob Ottey, David Paytiamo, Dennis Andrus and others). KUNM is playing cuts from "dark" (including the New Mexico Music Awards-nominated "Blues II" in broadcasts that reach about 100,000 people in New Mexico.

On May 1, ALCHEMIE was interviewed by Alpha-Omega KAZQ TV-32for upcoming broadcasts.

Please go to alchemielab.com to learn more about the band.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office has arrested two men in connection with a statewide cellphone theft operation targeting Walmart and Sam's Club stores.

Edouard Fleurant, 36, Carlos Milan, 28, arrested

Warrants out for two other suspects

Phones stolen using fake IDs, stolen identities

Sheriff Grady Judd said Edouard Fleurant, 36, and Carlos Milan, 28, both from Kissimmee, along with two other men, have been stealing cell phones from stores throughout Florida using fake identification. The agency has identified 63 fake ID victims in 13 different states.



Detectives have warrants out for the two other suspects -- Marvin Fleurant, 43, of Orlando and Karla Jazmin Hernandez, 28, of Kissimmee -- as well.



"I was devastated at first, but then, you know, I handed it to the mighty powers above and that's all I can say," said Jason Stone, who said someone used his identification to apply for 10 cell phones in his name.



Sheriff Judd said the suspects then sold the cell phones on the street for cash.



"You know, these folks aren't stupid," said Judd. "They're criminals but they're not stupid."

Edouard Fleurant and Carlos Milan were each charged with organized fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and criminal use of personal identification information.



Judd is asking people who bought the phones to turn them in to his office and serve as witnesses in the case. He said anyone who does that will be free from penalty, but he warned people who didn't that they could face charges themselves.



"It's not a tough choice, you can be a witness or face a second degree felony charge," said Judd. "You decide and you know my detectives are the best and we will come after you and track you down, it's your choice."



Stone said he now checks his credit report daily to make sure he's not victimized again.



"If you don't keep vigilant on it, then somebody else is going to get you, and whenever they get you it might be worse than this," Stone said.
As hurricane season progresses, some Bay area communities have been preparing for possible flooding.

Plenty of questions, no real answers yet on Wares Creek flooding

City of Bradenton is working to solve flooding issues

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project in 2016 doesn't address major flooding

In Manatee County, the city of Bradenton is working to solve flooding issues before a major storm hits. That has leaders thinking of transforming an abandoned parking lot into a new retention pond.

The area of Wares Creek in Bradenton is known for more than just its lush vegetation and scenic views. It is also known for flooding.

Wares Creek resident David Miano moved to the area about a year ago and says he has experienced the flooding problem.

"Of course the creek was flooded from all the rain," Miano said. "My dog and I walk this creek almost every day, frequently after a rain or whatever it's overflowing the banks on both sides."

The city is aware of the issue.

In 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers implemented a $53.7-million mitigation project to quell the flood problems.

"The corps project did solve that," said Tim McAnnm with Southwest Florida Water Management District. "But there's going to be flooding when we have something equivalent to a 100-year storm like we did not too long ago, that's probably going to be unavoidable."

Enter the new retention pond idea.

"That was just one of the few ideas that was brought up," Miano said. "And really it will come down to what is best for the citizens of Bradenton."

But not all of the residents feel a retention pond, which remains only an idea, is enough to control potential flooding.

Even with the little rain we've seen over the past couple days, you could see the Wares Creek area is seeing the effects so residents say they'll take whatever help they can get."

"Keep the water in and confined, I think we'll be a lot safer an there will be less damage."
Friday marks the scheduled end of the special session in Tallahassee but an on-time ending is looking less likely.

Special session set to end Friday at 6 p.m.

House and senate lawmakers rift could jeopardize school funding

Senate President Joe Negron says he never signed off on any deal with Gov. Scott

Lawmakers agree to increase education funding (Thursday)

A few days ago it appeared that Gov. Rick Scott had worked out an agreement with GOP leaders, but Senate President Joe Negron insisted he never signed off on the deal.

Negron says he never signed on to a deal between Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran that would ultimately get approval for Gov. Scott's economic development package and a boost in public school funding.

Negron said he never agreed to it because it would cut from higher education.

After two days, there remained a divide over spending that appears to have been partially spurred on by Scott's decision to veto more than $400 million in projects, including tens of millions in programs for the state's 12 public universities.

If legislators don't act then public schools will lose out on more than $11.4 billion in state funding that it supposed to start trickling down later this summer.

"We're not just going to rubber stamp an agreement that two parties made without our priorities being taken into account," Negron said.

The Senate wants to restore $75 million worth of university-related projects that Scott vetoed last week - and they also want to restore some cuts to hospitals that legislators agreed to when they passed a new state budget.

Corcoran has so far refused to go along with an override of Scott's vetoes or set aside more money for hospitals.

"We would be the first Republican Legislature that overrode a Republican governor on pork-barrel spending. Find me that example. I don't think it exists," Corcoran said.

The drama unfolding in the Capitol was put in motion last week after Scott vetoed more than $11.4 billion for public schools on top of the $400 million in projects.

Scott called legislators back to the state Capitol to pass a new school budget that would increase overall funding by an additional $215 million.

He also asked them to set aside money for his top priorities, including money for the state's tourism marketing agency.

Pushed by House Republicans, the Legislature had initially proposed slashing money for Visit Florida by two-thirds. Scott had warned for weeks that the House proposals would kill jobs.

Despite the ongoing discord over spending, legislators are poised to pass this week a bill that would put in place rules for medical marijuana, which voters in the state approved last November. Legislators failed to pass any legislation during their regular session that ended in early May. Scott agreed to add the issue to the agenda for the special session after a compromise was worked out.

But the compromise put together by legislators would ban the smoking of medical marijuana. Instead sick patients eligible to use the drug would have to consume it by vaping, or ingest it in a pill form or in something edible.

Legislators in both the House and Senate on Thursday tried to eliminate the ban, saying it went against what voters envisioned when they approved the amendment. Supporters of the smoking ban insisted it made sense because smoking in general is not healthy.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
The list of perks for employees of one downtown St. Petersburg company might seem beyond belief. The workplace includes a waterfront view, a pool table, games and an open bar, and employees can make use of two company boats and unlimited paid vacation.



The company is Squaremouth, and its employees compare travel insurance products.

Company utilizes open work space plan: no cubicles

Company is hiring "a lot" and has very little turnaround

More information? Visit www.squaremouth.com

From the comfort of their open office space, Squaremouth employees help customers online and over the phone.



We function like a startup," said Media Specialist Carolyn Leckie. "So were coming up with new ideas, pitching new projects.



But if youre looking for an office space or cubicle, you wont find it here.



We actually have a rule that you cant sit in the same place twice. There are no assigned desks," said Project Management Director Megan Singh. "Theres one office here and thats our CEOs and that might go away soon.



Its a strategy the company has in place for a reason.



We feel that if we can keep the employees happy, it keeps them motivated and it helps us with our main goal, which is providing the best customer service that we can, and we feel the two work hand in hand, said Squaremouth Marketing Specialist Steven Benna.



Employees told us they think the strategy is working.



We have very little turnaround," said Singh. "So were rapidly growing. Were hiring a lot. Were kind of looking for certain roles but there arent a lot of people who leave us intentionally. You have to definitely be able to manage yourself -- were very autonomous here.



If youre wondering if any work gets done with all of the amenities, the employees say its all about being focused.



The other stuff is extra," said Leckie. "And the other stuff is fun and theres a time and place for that, and its often. But priority is the job."



Singh said that, surprisingly, they have to remind employees to take the unpaid vacation days.



We instituted a ten-day minimum and HR kind of sends some reminders every now and then, she said.



Squaremouth is also open with its finances, and every employee knows the salary of the people who work there. The company also surprises the employees from time to time with Apple watches, iPads and a free cruise.



If you feel like you deserve a raise at any point you can say 'I would like a raise and heres why.' Ive done that before, said Leckie. I got a raise.



Leckie said shes been with the company for about a year and its no surprise what her favorite perks of the job are.



My favorite part of working here, I guess, its two things," said Leckie. "One is obviously paid vacation which is awesome. How can you not say thats the best thing about your job? Im happy to come into work.



Its not a job. Its not just here to pay the bills," Leckie continued. "Its because its an exciting place to work and I really like my co-workers.
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A Houston judge will remain on a highly publicized murder-for-hire case despite making what a defense attorney called a "snarky comment" during a hearing, an out-of-county judge ruled Friday.

Leon Phillip Jacob, 39, accused of hiring a hitman with his girlfriend - former Montrose veterinarian Valerie Busick McDaniel - to kill their exes earlier this year, tried to have state District Judge Jim Wallace removed from the case, saying he could not be fair and impartial.

"If he hired a hitman, which the judge assumes he did, then obviously it's for one purpose," said Jacob's defense attorney, George Parnham. "That, to me, is a pre-trial determination of the guilt or innocence in this case."

THE CRIME: Couple hired hitman to kill their exes but got undercover cop instead, prosecutor says

State District Judge Phil Grant, of Montgomery County, agreed with Harris County prosecutors that Wallace did not cross the line.

Jacob, a failed doctor, was arrested earlier this year on a charge of solicitation of capital murder with McDaniel, who killed herself on March 27, days after being arrested.

The couple were arrested after investigators say they paid an undercover police officer posing as a hitman to kill their exes.

After Wallace heard that Jacob was already free on bail after being arrested for allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend, he refused to set bail in the new case.

SHOCKING DEATH: Montrose veterinarian accused in murder-for-hire plot dies by suicide

During a hearing in late March to request bail, Parnham argued that Jacob did care about the ex-girlfriend. The judge responded, "I mean, that's why you hire a hitman."

In court records, Parnham called the retort a "snarky comment."

"Judge Wallace's comment was snide and in flagrant disregard to the defendant's fundamental protection of his presumed innocence," Parnham wrote in the motion for recusal. "It further reveals Judge Wallace's own personal prejudice towards this case."

SURPRISING SOURCE: Houston councilman alerted police to murder-for-hire plot

Prosecutors agreed with Friday's ruling by the Montgomery County judge.

"The judge said the comments were not of a biased nature, and (Judge Grant) kept our judge, Jim Wallace on the case," said Assistant District Attorney Nathan Moss. "He stated that statements Judge Wallace made were not prejudicial and he believed that Judge Wallace was an impartial judge for the case."

Prosecutor Samantha Knecht said Parnham could not appeal Friday's ruling until after the case is resolved.

Friday's hearing, a teleconference with Grant, was brief and did not involve any witnesses from Montgomery County. The judge issued his ruling minutes after hearing the arguments.

brian.rogers@chron.com

twitter.com/brianjrogers
101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For named American Society of Anesthesiologists the winner in the medium business category at the 2017 Chicago Best and Brightest Companies to Work For awards.

Here's what you should know:



1. All the individual winners will compete for a Best of the Best Overall award. The National Association for Business Resources will reveal the overall winner on July 17.



2. An independent research firm evaluated all the nominees on a variety of metrics including compensation, benefits, employee enrichment and several others.



3. ASA CEO Paul Pomerantz said in a release, "We are flattered to receive this honor... The power of an association is reflected not only in the engagement of its members, but also in the staff working to support it."



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Excela Health in Greensburg, Ga., is opening a new outpatient care center next January at Excela Square at Latrobe, according to a Trib Live report.

Here are four things to know:

1. The health system broke ground on the outpatient center in May 2016 and expects the facility to open in the middle of January 2018. The 115,000-square-foot center will include physician offices and medical services.

2. The $40 million facility is part of the system's general move toward outpatient surgery; Excela may also build a similar facility in Murrysville, Pa.

3. Excela is nearly finished with renovations at its Health Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant, Pa., which updated the facility into a medical mall.

4. Excela opened an outpatient center in Norwin, Pa., in 2012 and another in Ligonier, both of which have been successful.

"We're trying to move as much care as we can from inpatient to outpatient facilities," said CEO Robert Rogalski at a Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce luncheon at St. Vincent College.
New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System is undergoing major expansion plans in Baton Rouge, La., including adding a surgery center and a 10-bed micro-hospital, according to The Advocate.

Here are four points:

1. The health system has plans to invest more than $100 million to expand its facilities.

2. In addition to the surgery center and mico-hospital, Ochsner plans to add a new medical office building.

3. All the facilities will replace Ochsner's Summa Avenue clinic in Baton Rouge.

4. Through the expansion, the health system aims to provide the most cost-effective treatment for patients.
Right now is an exciting time in healthcare, especially for Jeffrey Flynn, administrator of New York City-based Gramercy Surgery Center and CEO of Gramercy Healthcare Management, LLC. Despite the barriers to overcome in successfully tying payment to value, healthcare is trending in that direction and many payers and unions are seeing the cost savings opportunities surgery centers present.

"Unions are pushing their people to go to surgery centers after seeing the cost factor and the [lower] infection rates. Unions are self-funded and they want to use us because we are less expensive," Mr. Flynn says. "Some major payers are telling their doctors they want cases done in surgery centers."

Coupled with the drive to lower costs, the New York market is also encountering a loss of operating room space. Many independent surgery centers are seeing the opportunity inherent in the changing marketplace and are partnering with one another in a new initiative. In this initiative, surgery centers would strategize together on the best center to offer certain services. For instance, one center may be offering spinal services but may not have the OR space to effectively perform these higher acuity cases. Another independent surgery center with room for expansion can offer to take on those cases, and move other cases to the ASC with the limited space.

"In New York, there is a lot of business for all of us and we are coordinating with one another," Mr. Flynn says. "We talk about what we can do to enhance each other."

Mr. Flynn is speaking with representatives of independent ASCs throughout New York on how they can mutually benefit from a partnership and is eyeing other centers that may need to undergo some improvements before joining the partnership. For instance, a center in Brooklyn may be located in the ideal spot for a certain set of patients, but may be lacking in adherence to infection control protocols unions and independent practice association require for quality control. Rather than discounting this ASC as a partner, Mr. Flynn said he and the ASC representatives engage in "frank conversations" about how the center can bring quality up, such as improving the number of times employees wash their hands. It could also be as simple as adding some plants and updated magazines to the lobby, as patients pay particular notice to such amenities that may impact their overall care experience.

While the evolving competitive New York market may pose challenges for some practices and hospitals to stay profitable, the landscape paints a different picture for ASCs especially as unions and large national payers push providers to take their cases to surgery centers.

"New York could easily handle another six or seven new multispecialty ASCs which may scare some people," Mr. Flynn says. "However, if you look where things are happening and where payers are going, it is time to get on board with that."
The debate over the Green Mountain Surgery Center proposal continues with those opposing sending a letter to Vermont regulators June 6 arguing ASC investors should not receive additional face time with the regulators, according to VT Digger.

Here are five things to know:

1. Nearly two years ago, ASC investors submitted a proposal to build Green Mountain Surgery Center in Burlington, Vt., sparking opposition from Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems. The association said the ASC will boost costs and provide unnecessary duplicate services.

2. The investors want the opportunity to meet with Green Mountain Care Board members and have members engage in a direct question-and-answer session with the investors.



3. Investors specifically want the board to meet with Amy Cooper, the ASC's lead investor, to answer all questions. Ms. Cooper said the meetings are necessary as emails cannot fully encapsulate everything people are saying and things may get lost in translation, according to VT Digger.

4. Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems and Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans (Vt.) wrote the letter to regulators to persuade the Green Mountain Care Board to block the surgery center investors' request. The board will make the final decision regarding the ASC proposal.

5. The hospital association and Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans said in the letter, "The record regarding the application, compiled over almost two years, is complete," and therefore the board should not grant additional time to meet with investors.
An increasing number of healthcare organizations are filing for bankruptcy, and that trend is partially attributable to the rate of consolidation in the industry.

Jeremy R. Johnson, partner at New York City-based law firm Polsinelli, told Bloomberg BNA the Polsinelli/TrollerBK Distress Index, which tracks Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing data for healthcare businesses, shows bankruptcy filings in the healthcare industry have increased by more than 20 percent since 2010.

The consolidation trend in the healthcare industry is partially to blame for the growing number of bankruptcies, Mr. Johnson told Bloomberg BNA. He said many hospitals that shied away from consolidation and remained independent are facing financial stress, as they're finding it almost impossible to compete with the mega-systems in the industry.

However, some of the hospitals that merged with or acquired other facilities are also facing financial challenges. Some of these entities overextended and are exploring options such as bankruptcy or sale to get their finances back on track, according to the report.

More articles on healthcare finance:

Dallas hospital files for bankruptcy 3 years after opening

NY cancer center avoids Medicare reimbursement cut after $250k typo

Wellmark executive reveals which condition Iowa's $12M patient suffers from
New Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Health System's operating loss doubled in the first half of fiscal year 2017 compared to the same period of the year prior, according to the Boston Business Journal.

The four-hospital system's revenue fell to $480.9 million in the six-month period that ended March 31, down from $487.6 million in the same period of fiscal year 2016.

In the first six months of fiscal year 2017, Southcoast's federal reimbursements dropped by $1 million due to changes from the federal government. A math error made by Boston-based Partners Healthcare caused Southcoast's federal reimbursement to decline by an additional $6 million year over year.

Medicare payments to hospitals are adjusted annually based on a rural wage index that CMS calculates for each state using local hospital worker wages and labor costs. Federal law requires Medicare to reimburse a state's urban hospitals at least at the baseline rate set by rural hospitals in the state. Partners submitted incorrect wage and cost data for 19-bed Nantucket (Mass.) Cottage Hospital, which sets the floor for reimbursement in Massachusetts as the state's only rural hospitals. This caused hospitals across the state to receive lower reimbursement.

Southcoast's revenue growth in the first half of fiscal year 2017 was also affected by a drop in patient volume as staff continued to adapt to using its Epic EHR system, according to the Boston Business Journal.

To stem future revenue loss, Southcoast is making several changes, including adding two new urgent care centers and joining a Medicaid ACO.

Southcoast ended the first half of fiscal year 2017 with an operating loss of $19.3 million, compared to an operating loss of $9.8 million in the same period of the year prior.

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The Mississippi Division of Medicaid notified roughly 5,220 individuals of a potential exposure of their protected health information.

Officials learned April 7 a service the agency used to create online forms may have compromised select individuals' PHI. When users submitted information through the online form, their responses were also emailed to a designated staff member. During an investigation, DOM confirmed the emails were stored in a secure manner upon receipt, however, the emails were not transmitted in a secure or encrypted manner.

Upon discovering the issue, officials removed the online forms from the agency's website and terminated its use of the online form service. The unsecure email transmission may have exposed names, dates of birth, admission dates, Social Security numbers and Medicare or Medicaid identification numbers, among other data. Investigators estimated the potential exposure spanned May 2, 2014, to April 10, 2017.

There is no indication this information was compromised or misused during this period, Mississippi Division of Medicaid officials said in a statement. The agency is in the process of strengthening its technological safeguards and revising its privacy and security procedures.

"It is highly unlikely that the data was compromised, since the typical internet user would not know how to capture it during transmission," Keith Robinson, security officer for the division, said in a statement. "The data storage was secured both at the originating source and the destination [DOM], reducing the risk of the data being compromised."

Click here to view the full notification.
Here are 13 recent news updates on health IT companies.

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic and 2bPrecise entered into a technology license agreement and research collaboration.

Allscripts and GoodRx  a market-intelligence company that tracks medication prices  joined forces to provide clinicians with information about prescription affordability at the point of care.

Online Care Group, one of American Well's clinical partners, rolled out telehealth visits in Texas.

Apple plans to unveil a new Bluetooth application programming interface for its Apple Watch.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will implement Cerner as its systemwide EHR. However, its existing scheduling contract with a health IT competitor, Epic, may still hold.

Cerner Middle East & Africa appointed two general managers.

IBM entered a multiyear strategic partnership with Beijing-based Baheal Pharmaceutical Group to bring Watson for Oncology to China.

IBM Watson Health and Novartis joined forces to personalize breast cancer treatment.

Jerald S. Howe Jr. will join Leidos, a Reston, Va.-based science and technology company, as its executive vice president and general counsel.

The lead plaintiff in a class-action privacy lawsuit filed against MDLive, a Sunrise, Fla.-based telehealth provider, voluntarily dismissed the suit June 2

Meditech and Nuance joined forces to embed cloud-based speech-recognition software into the Meditech Web EHR.

Navican, an Intermountain Healthcare company, entered an agreement with Royal Philips to enable hospitals and health systems to utilize Intermountain's precision medicine program.

Surescripts, a health information network focused on e-prescriptions, conducted more than 10.9 billion transactions in 2016, up 12 percent from the year prior.
Bruce Greenstein, former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, joined HHS as its CTO.

Here are four things to know.

1. In the CTO role, Mr. Greenstein will oversee HHS' use of data and technology.

2. Mr. Greenstein most recently served as president of Quartet Health, a New York City-based software startup focused on integrated behavioral healthcare.

3. Former Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal appointed Mr. Greenstein to DHH secretary, his last government role, in 2010.

He managed a $9 billion budget and led more than 11,000 employees before he resigned in 2013 on allegations he mishandled the state's Medicaid claims, The Advocate reports. In 2014, Mr. Greenstein had reportedly been indicted on nine counts of perjury related to Louisiana's Medicaid contract. The charges against Mr. Greenstein were dismissed later that year, according to The Advocate.

4. Mr. Greenstein ran an advisory firm for the healthcare, government and technology sectors across North America and China, according to his HHS staff page.

Mr. Greenstein has also held senior positions with HHS, CMS, Florida state government and Microsoft.

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HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, testified before the Senate Finance Committee and Ways and Means Committee Thursday on President Donald Trump's budget as it relates to HHS and the House-passed American Health Care Act.

Here are the key takeaways.

1. Medicaid. Dr. Price defended President Trump's budget cuts from the Medicaid program. At the finance hearing he indicated there is likely some overlap between $610 billion in cuts included in the president's budget and the $834 billion in cuts included in the AHCA.

"The constellation of programs we would envision would provide for greater opportunity for individuals to get coverage, as opposed to less right now. I would remind folks again there are 20 million Americans without health coverage. What we would envision is a system that actually responds to those folks and individuals who find that it's better for them not to be covered on the Medicaid system, but on a system that is more responsive to them," Dr. Price said, alluding to previous comments on Medicaid waivers that would allow states to focus resources on specific populations.

2. Opioids. In both hearings, he listed the opioid epidemic as one of the top three health challenges currently facing the nation and discussed a five-part strategy and budget increase of $50 million to fight it. However, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, challenged Dr. Price's commitment to fight the opioid epidemic as conflicting with Medicaid cuts. Ohio spent $939 million on fighting the opioid epidemic in 2016, $650 million of which came from Medicaid, Mr. Brown said. "How do you plan to increase access to treatment when you cut the single biggest source of funding for treatment by $600 billion," Mr. Brown asked.

Dr. Price said, "If we are going to be married to a system that has resulted in 52,000 overdose deaths in 2015, that's not a system I want to be married to." He added, "What I commit to you and what I look forward to working with you on is a system that actually works for the parents who are suffering today because they lost a loved one."

3. Stabilizing ACA marketplaces. Several Democrats challenged Dr. Price on the administration's commitment to current law and maintaining the ACA marketplaces until a new plan is in place, citing reduced time to sign up for coverage, reduced outreach and uncertainty about the future of cost-sharing subsidies, among other issues. "Nobody is interested in sabotaging the system," Dr. Price said. He noted the market stabilization rule released in April as evidence the administration was committed to a stable transition.

4. Cost-sharing reduction subsidies. Senators grilled Dr. Price on the future of the cost-sharing reduction subsidies, which were authorized by the Obama administration to help offset the cost of providing discounted deductibles to low-income marketplace enrollees. They are also the subject of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the payments. Dr. Price cited this lawsuit as a reason why he could not provide more information on the future of these payments. "The current court case is now House v. Price. What I can tell you is that the budget reflects the payment of the CSR payments through 2018," he said.

5. Contraceptive coverage. When asked to discuss a rule that would allow employers not to include birth control in basic health coverage, Dr. Price did not provide a direct answer. He instead repeated, "I believe women that desire to have access to birth control ought to have access to birth control."

6. Zika. The budget cuts funding for the National Institutes of Health from about $31.8 billion to $26 billion, and the administration followed this with additional proposed cuts to NIH of $1.2 billion in fiscal 2017. When asked how these cuts position the agency to prevent and control outbreaks like Zika, Dr. Price said, "We believe the budget accommodates for handling any challenge that may exist from the Zika threat. The proposed budget identifies reductions we believe can be accomplished at NIH  by increasing efficiencies and making certain we have the core mission of NIH accomplished through the resources that are made available."

7. GOP approach to healthcare bill. Democrats voiced concern about the Senate version of the healthcare bill intended to repeal and replace the ACA. "We have no idea what's being proposed. There's a group of guys in a back room somewhere making these decisions. This is hard to take," said Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri. In an aside to Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, she asked if there would be a hearing for the healthcare proposal. Mr. Hatch indicated there will likely not be a hearing for the proposal.

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Stay in the know with Becker's weekly roundup of the biggest healthcare stories.

Here's what you need to know this week.

1. GOP senators: Funding healthcare bill could involve keeping some ACA taxes

As Senate Republicans work on a healthcare reform bill, they have many issues to examine, including how to pay for the legislation. One funding option under consideration is temporarily keeping some ACA taxes intact, reports Politico.

2. Puerto Rico says Zika outbreak has ended, CDC maintains travel warning: 3 notes

Puerto Rico Health officials on June 5 declared the island's Zika outbreak over. However, the CDC maintains its travel guidance for the island, advising pregnant women not to travel to the U.S. territory, according to STAT.

3. US leads other nations in health inequality: 8 things to know

There is a wide divide in health outcomes and perceived access to healthcare between the wealthiest and poorest Americans, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

4. Concurrent surgeries at Mass General caught in crosshairs of new lawsuit

A whistle-blower suit recently filed against Massachusetts General Hospital claims orthopedic surgeons at the Boston-based hospital kept patients under anesthesia longer than necessary so they could complete two or three surgeries simultaneously, according to The Boston Globe.

5. Dallas hospital files for bankruptcy 3 years after opening

Walnut Hill Medical Center, a 100-bed for-profit hospital in Dallas, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy June 6 after abruptly closing just four days prior.

6. Dayton mayor files suit against physicians, drugmakers and drug distributers for role in Ohio opioid crisis

The mayor of Dayton, Ohio, filed a lawsuit June 5 against physicians, drug manufacturers and drug wholesalers for allegedly contributing to the city's ongoing opioid crisis, according to a release.

7. Illinois prisoner holds nursing assistant, officer hostage at Presence hospital

Law enforcement officials said a convicted murderer held a nursing assistant and a corrections officer hostage with a makeshift weapon at Joliet, Ill.-based Presence St. Joseph Medical Center June 7 after the inmate was taken from an Illinois prison to the hospital, Chicago Tribune reports.

8. 62k people died of drug overdoses in 2016, NYT projects

When the CDC finishes tallying drug overdose deaths for 2016, the number will likely fall between 59,000 and 65,000, according to a New York Times projection authored by John Katz.
The following were among the most-viewed transactions and valuations stories published by Becker's Hospital Review the week of June 5.

1. Quorum Health to divest 2 Pennsylvania hospitals

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health, the 35-hospital spinoff of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, signed a definitive agreement to sell two Pennsylvania hospitals to Williamsport, Pa.-based UPMC Susquehanna June 7.

2. 9 recent hospital transactions and partnerships

A list of healthcare mergers, acquisitions and general partnerships that took place or were announced the week of May 29.

3. 63 recent hospital transactions and partnerships in May

A list of healthcare mergers, acquisitions and general partnerships that took place or were announced during the month of May.
Nurses at Boston-based Tufts Medical Center paved the way for greater possibility of a strike Thursday by rejecting a "final" contract offer from the hospital, reports The Boston Globe.

Boston-based Tufts has been in negotiations with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, which represents approximately 1,200 hospital nurses, for more than a year.

Members of the MNA rejected what hospital officials said was their final offer this week after the union called on nurses to vote down the deal, according to the report. The MNA did not disclose an exact vote tally to The Boston Globe, except to say the feedback was "overwhelming."

"I'm really proud of our nurses for standing up together," Mary Cornacchia, co-chairwoman of the bargaining unit, told the publication. "This vote does send a very clear message to the hospital administration that they need to revisit their last, best, and final offer."

Tufts CEO Michael Wagner, MD, has told various news outlets the hospital budgeted $30 million for a new four-year labor deal for nurses.

The hospital is offering a 10.5 percent raise over the contract term to nurses at the high end of the pay scale, which includes more than 60 percent of all nurses, according to the report. All other nurses, the report states, would receive a 5.5 percent raise during that period, in addition to annual step raises.

The hospital also wants to move approximately 340 nurses who get a pension into a defined contribution plan known as a 403b, according to The Boston Globe.

However, the union said workers want "competitive compensation" and contends some nurses would have to sacrifice pay to maintain their benefits if they moved to the contribution retirement plan, according to the report.

In an emailed statement to Becker's, Tufts spokesperson Rhonda Mann said the hospital is not surprised nurses rejected their final contract offer, as "this was an MNA-controlled event with a clear objective."

"We will continue to focus on communicating with all 1,200 Tufts Medical Center nurses about the $30 million offer the Medical Center put on the table to address the issues nurses told us were important to them," Ms. Mann said. "Our offer to provide wage increases of 5.5 to 10.5 percent over four years, as well as improved benefits and staffing, and reflects the deep respect we have for our professional and compassionate nurses. While we have no room left for movement on the financial components of our offer, we look forward to listening and continuing to work toward an agreement at our next bargaining session on June 12."

The MNA must provide a 10-day strike notice before a walkout could occur. The potential strike would last one day, however hospital officials said participating nurses would be disallowed from work for a total of five days, as Tufts is required to pay replacement nurses for a minimum of five days, according to the report. The report states the hospital expects it would spend $6 million to hire temporary replacement workers in the event of a strike.
Jacksonville-based Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review a case involving the privacy of medical records in malpractice lawsuits, according to a report from The Ledger.

The issue stems from a malpractice lawsuit filed by the family of Marie Charles, who alleged she suffered a neurological injury from the care she received at the hospital, according to the report. The family and the hospital settled the malpractice case, but a decision regarding medical record privacy remains.

Southern Baptist Hospital filed a petition to appeal a Florida Supreme Court decision against the Jacksonville hospital system, according to the report. At issue is how federal and state laws interact  the federal 2005 Patient Safety Act, which allows hospitals some confidentiality when they submit medical error information to patient safety organizations, and a 2004 amendment to the Florida constitution, which aims to expand access to adverse medical incident reports when related to malpractice cases.

In its petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, the hospital system argued the Florida court's decision negated the effects of the federal law, forcing providers to decide between participating in patient safety activities "or creating work product that may be used against them in litigation," it wrote in the petition, according to the report.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not indicated if it will hear the case, according to the report.

Read the full story here.

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Connecticut lawmakers unanimously passed legislation addressing the state's opioid crisis June 6, according to a WNPR report.

The bill calls for increased oversight for opioid prescriptions and expanded data sharing on abuse and overdose deaths between state agencies. It also requires prescribers to educate patients about the potential risks of opioids and reduces the maximum opioid prescription for minors from seven-day supply to a five-day supply.

Craig Allen, MD, medical director of Meriden, Conn.-based Rushford, applauded the e-prescription mandate. "Historically these substances required hard copies or handwritten prescriptions. But handwritten prescriptions offer more potential for misuse, or people doctoring a prescription, or faking an amount, or faking a name," Dr. Allen told WNPR.

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CHI Health Good Samaritan in Kearney, Neb., has closed its transitional care unit after struggling to fill open nursing positions, according to NTV.

Good Samaritan CEO Michael Schnieders told NTV it was a difficult decision to close the transitional care unit, which provided short-term skilled nursing care, rehabilitation and end-of-life care.

Although it was licensed for 22 beds, only 16 patients at a time could receive care in the unit due to the nursing shortage, according to the report.

Mr. Schnieders told NTV many hospitals across the country no longer provide skilled nursing care within their facilities.

"At one time, hospitals across the nation provided skilled nursing care within their walls," he said. "Now, it's rare to see that type of care offered in the hospital setting."

Good Samaritan is exploring partnerships with other facilities in the region that provide transitional care services, according to the report.

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The following payers made headlines this week, beginning with the most recent.

1. Health Partners Plans hires Eric Huss as CEO

Managed care organization Philadelphia-based Health Partners Plans selected Eric Huss to serve as executive vice president of finance and administration.

2. Anthem to drop 2018 individual exchange plans in Ohio

Cincinnati-based Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio will no longer sell individual coverage on the state's ACA exchange by 2018, leaving residents in at least 18 counties without an exchange option next year.



3. Recovery Centers of America, BCBS of Massachusetts finalize contract for Boston office

King of Prussia, Pa.-based Recovery Centers of America, a provider of addiction treatment services, inked a coverage agreement with Boston-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts for its Danvers, Mass.-based Boston Center for Addiction Treatment.



4. Federal court denies UnitedHealth's protest of $58B Tricare contracts

The Court of Federal Claims upheld the U.S. Department of Defense's $58 billion military healthcare contract bids with Louisville, Ky.-based Humana and Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Health Net, rejecting Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group's challenge of the deal.



5. Unified Partners CEO: Medical education system, privately owned hospital systems and major pharma companies fuel high healthcare costs

Unified Partners CEO Steve Doletzky said political chaos and scandal are keeping politicians from focusing on some of the issues impacting the healthcare industry.

6. Molina Healthcare of New Mexico taps Daniel Sorrells to serve as president

Molina Healthcare of New Mexico, based in Albuquerque, named Daniel Sorrells its permanent president.

7. Aetna opens Mindfulness Center for employees

Insurance giant Aetna has opened its first mindfulness center at its headquarters in Hartford, Conn.

8. Illinois regulators to conduct 1st broad review of BCBS in 27 years

Illinois will conduct a broad market examination of Chicago-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois' compliance with consumer protection regulations, a move it hasn't pursued since 1990.

9. Payer startup led by former UnitedHealthcare CEO gets $160M investment

Minneapolis-based health insurance startup Bright Health secured $160 million in a Series B funding round.



10. BCBS of Massachusetts executive named to MedPAC

The U.S. Comptroller General and U.S. Government Accountability Office head appointed Dana Gelb Safran, chief performance measurement and improvement officer and senior vice president of enterprise analytics at Boston-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, to serve on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.



11. BCBS of Nebraska to drop last 2 ACA individual plans

Omaha-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska will ditch its final two ACA-compliant individual health plans in 2018.



12. Saint Francis Muskogee, BCBS of Oklahoma terminate provider contract

Saint Francis Muskogee (Okla.) and Tulsa-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oklahoma ended their interim in-network agreement May 31.



13. Tenet-owned health plan divests Texas membership to BCBS

San Antonio-based Allegian Health Plans, a wholly-owned managed care subsidiary of Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, divested 20,000 Medicare and commercial group members to Richardson-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

14. 3 executive moves at Cigna

Bloomfield, Conn.-based Cigna appointed individuals to lead three of its U.S. markets.



15. Tenet, Humana amend effective date of contract

Tenet Healthcare and Louisville, Ky.-based Humana amended their multiyear provider network agreement to take effect June 1.
Medscape asked physicians about their greatest vacations.

Here are some vacation spots you don't want to miss:

1. The Adirondacks, N.Y.: Nora Klein, MD, a pediatrician in Houston, said the Adirondacks is one of New York's "best-kept vacation secrets." The mountain range spans 160 miles wide and 1 mile high, earning the title as the United State's largest park. Find a trail among the more than 2,000 miles and take in the forests and waterfalls.

2. Homer, Alaska: Portland, Ore.-based psychiatrist Jeffery Young, MD, nodded to Homer as a perfect vacation spot. It encapsulates outdoor luxuries to kayak, bear watch and hike while also offering great seafood and shops.

3. Bonaire: Don't miss out on the Dutch island of Bonaire, which is home to the best-preserved Caribbean coral reef. Richard Craig, MD, a surgeon in Saint Joseph, Mo., recommended travelers stay in Harbour Village, a five-star resort equipped with a private beach and freshwater swimming pools.

4. Tanzania: Mount Vernon, Ill.-based radiologist P.C. Shekar, MD, named Tanzania as the place to go. Make sure to go on an African safari in the Serengeti National Park or climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

5. Easter Island: Check out Easter Island, a triangular island west of Chile topped with three extinct volcanoes, with a recommendation from Martin Kane, MD, an Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based psychiatrist. The landscape will amaze, as it's riddled with more than 800 stone heads.

Check out the other recommend vacation destinations here.
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The Islamic militant group ISIS reportedly killed two Chinese hostages, including a woman, in Pakistan. The hostages were reportedly abducted by armed men from the province of Balochistan last month. According to reports, the Chinese national were there to study the Urdu language. Notably, the ISIS killed the hostages hours after Pakistan announced that it had killed twelve IS militants.
From left: Ulster Business editor David Elliott; Aidan Gough, InterTradeIrelands policy and strategy director; Tom Kelly, founder of Stakeholder Communications and former chair of Stronger in Europe; Will Taylor, founder of Glastry Farm Ice Cream, and Johnny Hanna, partner at KPMG

Businesses in Northern Ireland were urged to "plan for the worst case scenario and hope for the best" at a Brexit event yesterday.

The advice from Johnny Hanna, KPMG partner and head of tax, came at an Ulster Business Brexit Breakfast at the Mac in Belfast.

Mr Hanna said: "We know the UK will leave the customs union and we know the UK will leave the single market.

"Those two things on their own mean Brexit will be a big deal for many companies, so much so that even the prospect has forced many to act."

He said preparation would be key for companies.

For example, a consultancy business reliant on EU tenders could be advised to incorporate into the EU to be prepared for the separation.

Mr Hanna also pointed out that exporters in Northern Ireland are, in fact, looked upon enviously by those in the Republic.

"They think Northern Ireland companies have an advantage because they are part of a UK market of 70 million people.

"Their concern is people buying products in Great Britain will choose to buy from within the UK, rather than go to the Republic."

Tom Kelly, founder of Stakeholder Communications and former chairman of Stronger in Europe, said a second referendum couldn't be ruled out.

"If Theresa May gets a good enough majority then she might decide to put any deal she can negotiate to the people. A second referendum is possible."

But he said that was an outside chance, and in reality Brexit will be a long-drawn-out process.

"It's going to be a complicated process, not helped by an absentee Executive in Northern Ireland."

He said a lot of work has been carried out by the government in the Republic, but interest in Northern Ireland's interests from Westminster appears weak.

"I can't tell you how little some of them know about our situation. In the past there were Tories who had family here or interest in Ireland but there are very few today," he said.

Aidan Gough, InterTradeIreland's policy and strategy director, said planning was crucial.

But he said a recent survey by the agency found that 98% of businesses in Northern Ireland have not taken any action to ready themselves for Brexit.

"There are actions which can be taken now to prepare: innovation, lean techniques and actions which should be aimed at the worst case scenario.

"We're telling business to take action now and also to engage with policy makers to let them know what is happening on the ground, so they can negotiate properly."

Will Taylor, founder of Glastry Farm Ice Cream in Kircubbin, said he had already found subtle barriers appearing for his exports to the Republic.

"We've already started to look at Great Britain and are actively looking at a distribution network there and have even had productive meetings with buyers in the United Arab Emirates," he said.
Speedy growth in exports have led to two Northern Ireland firms winning a place in a Sunday Times league table of international sales prowess.

The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 league table ranks the UK's mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.

Now Co Down construction firm Mac is listed for its international sales - which reached 56.6m in 2016.

And Co Tyrone firm CDE Global is also on the list, after exports of its waste and materials processing equipment hit 31m last year.

Mac, which is at number 64 in the 200-strong chart, is included for the first time.

Its revenues have grown as it's benefited from carrying out construction and fit-out work for major US firms seeking a presence in Ireland.

Its client list includes Abbvie, IBM, 3 Ireland, HubSpot, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle and Intel.

And in an interview last year, owner Paul McKenna told Business Telegraph that it was not fearful of the consequences of Brexit and said leaving the EU could present a "fantastic opportunity".

CDE Global sells its waste and materials processing to clients in 70 countries from a base in Cookstown.

Its export sales of 31m last year have earned it a place at number 171.

Amanda Murphy, UK head of commercial banking at HSBC, said: "This year's Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 is testament to the exciting opportunities available to ambitious Northern Irish businesses with appetite to grow their goods and services abroad.

"We work very closely with our business customers to help them achieve their goals, so it makes me immensely proud to see so many of them succeed."

And with Brexit negotiations about to begin following the general election, Europe emerges as the most important sales market for the list, with 85% of companies exporting to the continent.

North America is the next most important market, and is a market for 112 companies, while 75 of the firms of the list sell to Asia.

London is the most popular location for company headquarters with 74, followed by the southeast of England, (32) and the northwest (27). Of the remainder, 20 companies are based in the Midlands, 16 in the southwest, 12 in the northeast and Yorkshire, nine in Scotland, four in the east and four in Wales. Northern Ireland has the lowest tally.
A Co Down company which manufactures and distributes steel has reported a 52% jump in pre-tax profits to 6.1m.

And turnover at Castlewellan-based Walter Watson Ltd also jumped by around 25% during 2016 - from 45m to 55.3m.

Bad debts were also down, although competitive pricing was a challenge, the firm said.

However, the firm said it was hopeful that gradual recovery in the construction sector would continue.

Walter Watson Ltd also made charitable donations of 1m for communities in the areas it works.

Employee numbers also grew from 221 to 247.

The company was founded in 1975 by Walter Watson, who now runs it with his sons Derek and William. It has offices in Kildare and Ayrshire, Scotland, and describes itself as the largest family-owned structural steel fabricator on the island of Ireland.

It's been associated with major construction projects including the extension to the Waterfront Hall and major student accommodation projects at students residences in England.

The company also manufacturers overhead cranes in partnership with German giant ABUS Cranes GmbH.

In a strategic report filed with the accounts, the directors said the firm had "performed well".

It said: "These results are attributed to improved market conditions and increased operating efficiencies across all our divisions."

Forward planning had also helped, the report said.

"Planned procurement and forward-buying of raw material had a significant positive influence in what was a rising market in terms of steel price."

Market stability had also helped, along with improvements in the construction sector as a whole, the report added.

"The markets in which we operate have remained relatively stable during the rest of the year, but prices continue to be very competitive. It should also be highlighted the level of irrecoverable debt has again greatly reduced this year," it said.

"We are hopeful that the signs of recovery in the traditional construction market will continue into the new financial year.

"The group's order book remains solid, and within a range which management is comfortable with, representing approximately six months of forward production capacity," it added.

It was also investing in its core businesses and modernising its plant and machinery assets.

"The group continues to have the financial resources together with future orders from customers to manage business risks successfully, and hopefully as the economy improves, the levels of activity will increase," the report said.
Tom Cruise might headline the new action-horror movie The Mummy, but the superstar has said he's not the film's focus.

That honour falls to the two leading ladies, Annabelle Wallis, who portrays archaeologist Jenny, and Sofia Boutella, who plays the title character.

It's the first time the iconic monster has been depicted by a woman and Boutella admits she did put pressure on herself.

"I thought Boris Karloff (the actor who appeared as the Mummy in the 1932 movie The Mummy) made that character iconic and the movie is iconic," says the Algerian dancer (35), who has starred in Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond.

"I was just super-nervous but I worked super-hard. I think that was the only thing that was going to get me through that."

Boutella plays ancient princess Ahmanet, whose destiny to become a pharaoh is snatched away when a brother is born.

Ridden with feelings of revenge, she makes a pact with Set, the god of death, before captors mummify her alive. Thousands of years later, she's awoken by Nick Morton (Cruise), a military man with a sideline in looting, and all hell breaks loose.

"Seeing her wrath and seeing what happens and how she feels is a good metaphor for how we all feel and for all these imbalances to have happened and existed for so long," says Boutella on the film's topicality.

Wallis agrees.

"I think we're now in an age when it's very exciting to be a woman in film and in all walks of life there are conversations being had that are very inspiring for a new generation," says the 32-year-old, who has appeared in Peaky Blinders and King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword.

"I think if you have an opportunity to honour women in the right way, like Universal has done in this film, then it's very smart.

"Audiences are thirsty for these female protagonists and also female anti-heroes that aren't black or white. They're flawed, they're complex, they're sexy, they're intelligent, they're equal to the man and it's very representative in this movie, in Ahmanet and Jenny. Nobody's falling into a stereotype you could say you've seen before. I just think we're forward-thinking in that sense."

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It transpires Jenny and Nick enjoyed a brief encounter in Baghdad before he disappeared in the morning with secret information of hers.

No surprise things are a little frosty when they meet again in the desert but whether Jenny likes it or not, they're thrown together as Ahmanet's malevolence gains momentum.

The film's action sequences are full-on but given Cruise is a man who will hang off the side of a plane in the name of work, he's not interested in making compromises.

Fortunately Wallis needed no persuasion to get stuck in.

"He didn't have to push me. I was so excited to be in scenes with Tom Cruise and I was thinking how many times I'd imagined that in my head and how impressive it would be when my brother saw the movie," she says, grinning.

"I was ready to go, I was so excited. And I really wanted to prove myself in that space. He was always better at everything than me but he was very kind to let me be in them with him."

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Recounting her first meeting with the Top Gun star, she adds: "I was so convinced of my desire to play this role and be part of this film that when I met him I was so gung-ho and strong.

"I think he looked at me and thought, 'Wow, this is a girl who has conviction and fire'. There were a lot of the elements of the way I went into meeting him that were like Jenny and then they wrote her very much like our first interaction and natural dynamic.

"But yes, you just can't help but look at him and have all the classic Tom lines coming through and just thinking of all the films you've watched.

"It's quite something when you meet him."

Boutella, who was actually cast before Cruise, enjoyed some memorable sequences with the actor too.

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"He's so funny, we laughed so much," she says, recalling the scene in which she tickles the superstar as Ahmanet prepares to sacrifice Nick.

"I was checking him, basically that he's a healthy body, and then I had to lift his shirt.

"As a joke between takes I just grabbed him, because he couldn't move, and I started to tickle Tom and he was laughing and I wouldn't stop and he said, 'Do that, do that'.

"And that's how it ended up in the movie, it's hilarious."

Laughter is an enduring memory of the shoot, which took place in the UK and Namibia, but it was far from easy.

"I was not allowed to complain when I danced, it's not something dancers do often," says Boutella, who will next appear in Atomic Blonde with Charlize Theron and Hotel Artemis with Jodie Foster.

"So that helped me go through what I needed to go through because to make this was pretty intense. It was six hours for the longest make-up (session) and four hours for the shortest."

Her dance background also helped her encapsulate the Mummy's body language. "I wanted to capture her strength and power through her physicality because even if she never became pharaoh, she carries herself as one."

The Mummy marks the beginning of a new franchise beneath the Dark Universe banner, which will include an array of characters, including The Invisible Man and The Wolfman, and Wallis believes they're off to a strong start.

"I think the tone is perfect," offers the actress. "It's a classic monster story so, yes, it does have to be steeped in a darkness, but the action sequences and the pace of it add this thrill that make you jump out of your seat. It's very awe-inspiring."

The Mummy opens in cinemas today
The 12-year-old girl who went viral last week for busking on Grafton Street in Dublin reportedly turned down an opportunity to appear on The Ellen Show.

Allie Sherlock, from Cork, received over 1.2 million views on Facebook for her performance of Ed Sheeran's 'Supermarket Flowers'.

However, the Douglas native said that she enjoys performing solely as a hobby, and wants to work in childcare rather than have a career on the stage.

"I don't want it to be a professional career but I'd like to do it, just as a hobby. I'd like to do childcare because my auntie owns a creche," she told the Evening Echo.

"I want to keep practising all the time and singing and so it's like a hobby really. Maybe I'll do weddings. I'd like to see what happens in the future before deciding anything."

Allie's father Mark went on to say that the talented musician was contacted by The Ellen Show, one of the biggest chat shows in America, but they turned the opportunity down.

"There's been a few people on to us about different things. She had the Ellen Show in America contact her but she's only 12 and she just enjoys a bit of busking.

"My main thing is that Allie continues to be Allie because she's a child. She enjoys her singing and as soon as it isn't fun anymore, that would be the end of it.

"Her plan is to do childcare, she would love that. Music is second. She might go to college and maybe head into town busking and earn herself a few quid."
Winner: Barry McElduff celebrates at the election count at Omagh Leisure Complex Omagh for West Tyrone and Fermanagh & South Tyrone.Photo by John McVitty / Press Eye.

Winner: The DUP's candidate for Upper Bann David Simpson pictured celebrating after he wins the seat at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition Centre Sprucefield for Lagan Valley, Newry & Armagh, South Down and Upper Bann. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com

Winner: Jim Shannon (DUP) with his electoral agent Simon Hamilton during the 2017 Westminster Election count at Aurora Leisure Complex, Bangor. Picture by Brian Little/PressEye

Loser: SDLP candidate for South Down Margaret Ritchie pictured after losing her seat at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition Centre Sprucefield for Lagan Valley, Newry & Armagh, South Down and Upper Bann. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com

Winner: Sinn Fein candidate for South Down Chris Hazzard celebrates after winning the seat at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition Centre Sprucefield for Lagan Valley, Newry & Armagh, South Down and Upper Bann. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com

Loser: The UUP's Danny Kinahan at the election count at Valley Leisure Centre Newtownabbey for East Antrim and South Antrim - Photo by Matt Mackey / Press Eye.

Winner: The DUP's Paul Girvan during election count at Valley Leisure Centre Newtownabbey for East Antrim and South Antrim Photo by Matt Mackey / Press Eye.

Winner: Lady Sylvia Hermon (Independent) winner of North Down during the 2017 Westminster Election count at Aurora Leisure Complex, Bangor. Picture by Brian Little/PressEye

Winner: Ian Paisley pictured at the election count at Seven Towers Leisure Centre Ballymena for North Antrim after keeping his seat. Photo by Stephen Hamilton / Press Eye.

Winner: Sinn Fein candidate for Newry and Armagh Mickey Brady pictured celebrating after he wins the seat at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition Centre Sprucefield for Lagan Valley, Newry & Armagh, South Down and Upper Bann. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com

Winner: Francie Molloy wins the Mid Ulster seat for Sinn Fein in the UK Parlimentary Election. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS

Winner: DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffery Donaldson celebrates at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition after being elected as the MP for the area. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com

Loser: Mark Durkan (SDLP) pictured at the election count at Foyle Arena Derry for Foyle and East Londonderry. Photo by Freddie Parkinson / Press Eye.

Winner: Elisha McCallion (Sinn Fein) pictured at the election count at Foyle Arena Derry for Foyle and East Londonderry. Photo by Freddie Parkinson / Press Eye.

Loser: Tom Elliott pictured at the election count at Omagh Leisure Complex Omagh for West Tyrone and Fermanagh & South Tyrone.Photo by John McVitty / Press Eye.

Winner: Michelle Gildernew celebrates at the election count at Omagh Leisure Complex Omagh for West Tyrone and Fermanagh & South Tyrone. Photo by John McVitty / Press Eye.

Winner: Gregory Campbell with his wife Frances after he was re-elected to represent East Londonderry

Winner: Paul Maskey, left, with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams pictured at the election count at Titanic Exhibition Centre Belfast for Belfast South, Belfast West, Belfast East and Belfast North. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.

Loser: Alasdair McDonnell with his wife and family pictured at the election count at Titanic Exhibition Centre Belfast for Belfast South, Belfast West, Belfast East and Belfast North. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.

Winner Emma Little-Pengelly with Peter Robinson pictured at the election count at Titanic Exhibition Centre Belfast for Belfast South, Belfast West, Belfast East and Belfast North. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.

Winner: Nigel Dodds of the DUP with wife Dianne. Picture Mark Marlow/pacemaker press

Loser: Naomi Long pictured at the election count at Titanic Exhibition Centre Belfast for Belfast South, Belfast West, Belfast East and Belfast North. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.

Winner: Gavin Robinson of the DUP celebrates holding on to his East Belfast seat. Picture Mark Marlow/pacemaker press

Here is a rundown of the winners and losers in Northern Ireland's 18 constituencies at the 2017 General Election.

The DUP's Gavin Robinson defied the pundits to retain his East Belfast seat in emphatic fashion.

The former Belfast mayor held off the challenge of the former MP for the area, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long.

Mrs Long had been tipped by the bookies to regain the seat she wrested off former DUP leader Peter Robinson in 2010 - primarily because the DUP had failed to sustain the electoral pact it struck with the Ulster Unionists in 2015.

But despite a UUP candidate in the field, Mr Robinson romped home with almost 24,000 seats and a majority of around 8,500.

The DUP's Nigel Dodds hailed his fifth consecutive victory as a win for democracy and representation.

He said: "This is a victory for democracy. It is a victory for representation and it is a victory which represents the largest DUP vote in the last 20 years."

He polled 21,240 votes.

Sinn Fein's John Finucane, who received 19,159 votes, expressed pride in his first electoral campaign.

Mr Finucane, who saw his solicitor father Pat Finucane shot dead by loyalists in 1989, said: "I am exceptionally proud to have returned the biggest mandate any republican has ever returned in north Belfast."

Emma Little Pengelly hailed her long time mentor Peter Robinson for helping mastermind her victory.

The former DUP leader and Stormont first minister came out of political retirement to manage his one-time special adviser's Westminster campaign.

She captured the seat long held by the SDLP's Alasdair McDonnell.

"I know Peter has come out of retirement to help and support me in this campaign and he has been absolutely invaluable," she said.

In an unsurprising victory, Paul Maskey romped over the line to retain Belfast West for Sinn Fein.

Mr Maskey, a veteran politician, who has held the mantle since Mr Adams' departure to the Dail six years ago, polled a record 27,107 votes.

In line with Sinn Fein's abstentionist policy, Mr Maskey will not take his seat at Westminster.

His closest rival was the DUP's Frank McCoubrey, who received 5,455 votes.

Sorcha Eastwood of the Alliance Party, who polled 731 votes, was not at the count centre to hear the result, as polling day coincided with her wedding.

The DUP's Sammy Wilson comfortably retained his Westminster seat with 57.3% of the vote.

The former Stormont finance minister, who has held the seat since 2005, increased his share of the vote by 21.2%.

"I am pleased that unionism, in this election, has found its voice, he said.

DUP veteran Gregory Campbell coasted to victory, taking nearly half the votes in East Londonderry.

There was never any fear of him losing the seat he has held since taking it from unionist rivals the UUP 16 years ago.

"If it is a hung parliament, I think for those who have chosen not to take up their seats, their voters will regret it," he said.

Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew has won back the Westminster seat that she lost to the Ulster Unionist's Tom Elliott two years ago.

Mrs Gildernew was declared Fermanagh South Tyrone's new MP after picking up 25,230 votes.

Addressing supporters at Omagh Leisure Centre, Mrs Gildernew said: "We tried to get our message across: there's a lot of fear and anxiety about Brexit and what that will mean for people here in Fermanagh South Tyrone."

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Whatsapp Winner: Michelle Gildernew celebrates at the election count at Omagh Leisure Complex Omagh for West Tyrone and Fermanagh & South Tyrone. Photo by John McVitty / Press Eye.

Sinn Fein has pulled off a sensational scalp by defeating the SDLP in its heartland.

Amid scenes of disbelief at the Foyle count centre, Elisha McCallion - beat outgoing MP Mark Durkan by a slim 169 votes.

It was a historic and ground-breaking performance in what was the SDLP's safest seat.

Expand Close Winner: Elisha McCallion (Sinn Fein) pictured at the election count at Foyle Arena Derry for Foyle and East Londonderry. Photo by Freddie Parkinson / Press Eye. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Winner: Elisha McCallion (Sinn Fein) pictured at the election count at Foyle Arena Derry for Foyle and East Londonderry. Photo by Freddie Parkinson / Press Eye.

Ms McCallion, 35, a popular former mayor of Derry, claimed during the campaign to be a new voice for a new era.

On taking her seat, she said: "There's partying to be done."

Northern Ireland's longest-serving MP has been returned again, with Sir Jeffrey Donaldson holding Lagan Valley.

Mr Donaldson secured 26,762 votes - an increase of more than 7,000 from the 2015 general election.

Sinn Fein's Francie Molloy, who won his Mid Ulster seat for a third time, called on his supporters to remember the former deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, who died earlier this year.

During his acceptance speech Mr Molloy said: "I would like to thank the people of Mid Ulster for renewing the mandate that we have here. A mandate gained by Martin McGuinness 20 years ago and we remember him tonight."

Sinn Fein's sitting MP for Newry and Armagh, Mickey Brady, stormed to victory in the Westminster election once again with a final vote that was more than 10,000 ahead of any other candidate.

He amassed 25,666 votes, adding more than 5,000 to his 2015 tally of 20,488.

The DUP's Ian Paisley Jnr said he has seen "unionism awakening" after a comfortable victory in North Antrim.

The returning MP polled more than 28,000 votes, nearly 20,000 more than his nearest rival, Sinn Fein's Cara McShane.

This victory marks the third time Mr Paisley has won the North Antrim seat, which his father, the late Rev Ian Paisley, former leader of the Democrat Unionist Party, held for 40 years until his retirement in 2010.

Independent Unionist Lady Sylvia Hermon retained her seat in North Down and warned that Theresa Mays days are numbered.

She won the seat by only 1,208 votes from the DUP's Alex Easton.

Lady Hermon used her victory speech to urge DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill to reach a compromise on getting the Stormont Assembly back up and running.

The DUP's Paul Girvan has taken back the seat the party lost to the UUP in 2015.

Mr Girvan took 38.2% of the vote, with the incumbent Danny Kinahan coming second with 30.8%.

Paul Girvan said: "We knew it would be a close call. A majority of 3,000 votes is not necessarily a big majority.

Sinn Fein has dramatically seized the long-time SDLP stronghold of South Down.

Chris Hazzard has become the republican party's first MP in the area with 20,328 votes.

Mr Hazzard beat the SDLP's Margaret Ritchie - who had held the seat from 2010 - by more than 2,000 votes.

In his victory speech, Mr Hazzard said: "We are now entering a new era in South Down.

Ms Ritchie said Brexit had changed the political landscape but insisted she was "going to live and fight another day".

Democratic Unionist Jim Shannon celebrated his phenomenal majority in Strangford by saying it was time to consider all unionists standing under the one banner.

With a margin of victory of close to 20,000 votes, the former soldier said: "I think the people of Strangford would like to see one unionist party.

"Maybe it's just time that we looked towards how we could make that happen."

Sitting DUP MP David Simpson comfortably held his Upper Bann seat in the Westminster election with a tally of 22,317 votes.

He added almost 7,000 votes to his 2015 score of 15,430, while the Ulster Unionist Party saw their votes plummet well below the 10,000 mark.

Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff has secured the Westminster seat formerly held by party veteran Pat Doherty in a stunning victory in West Tyrone.

Mr McElduff told supporters that his party's momentum is building as he received 22,060 votes and was the undisputed winner in the largely nationalist area of rural Northern Ireland.
BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader Arlene Foster stands with fellow DUP MP's as she addresses the news of a possible Parliamentary agreement with the Conservative party following yesterday's election on June 9, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

DUP leader Arlene Foster along with her MPs pictured at the Stormont Hotel in south Belfast this afternoon. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.

Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster has said talks will begin with Theresa May on the formation of a new government. Read her statement in full

Yesterdays General Election was truly historic.

The Democratic Unionist Party recorded its best ever election result.

Read More

I want to thank each and every one of the two hundred and ninety two thousand three hundred and sixteen people who returned 10 DUP Members of Parliament to the House of Commons to stand up and speak out for Northern Ireland.

To secure over a third of all votes cast is truly humbling. We do not take your support for granted and we make you all a simple promise to do everything we can to reward the trust you have placed in this Party.

Yesterday also represented a great result for the Union. Not just here in Northern Ireland but right across our United Kingdom. Those who want to tear apart the Union that we cherish and benefit from so hugely have been sent a clear and resounding message.

In the days and weeks ahead, it is that Union that will be to the forefront of our minds. The Union is our guiding star. We may represent Northern Ireland constituencies in the House of Commons but we are as seized of the interests of the Kingdom as a whole as we are for our small Province.

I make no apology for saying that the DUP will always strive for the best deal for Northern Ireland and its people. But equally, we want the best for all of the United Kingdom.

These are challenging times.

Our United Kingdom  and indeed our very way of life  are under threat from extremists.

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 Winner: Gavin Robinson of the DUP celebrates holding on to his East Belfast seat. Picture Mark Marlow/pacemaker press Loser: Naomi Long pictured at the election count at Titanic Exhibition Centre Belfast for Belfast South, Belfast West, Belfast East and Belfast North. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Winner: Nigel Dodds of the DUP with wife Dianne. Picture Mark Marlow/pacemaker press Loser: Sinn Fein's John Finucane (with Paul Maskey).Picture Mark Marlow/pacemaker press Winner Emma Little-Pengelly with Peter Robinson pictured at the election count at Titanic Exhibition Centre Belfast for Belfast South, Belfast West, Belfast East and Belfast North. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Loser: Alasdair McDonnell with his wife and family pictured at the election count at Titanic Exhibition Centre Belfast for Belfast South, Belfast West, Belfast East and Belfast North. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Winner: Paul Maskey, left, with Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams pictured at the election count at Titanic Exhibition Centre Belfast for Belfast South, Belfast West, Belfast East and Belfast North. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. Winner: DUP's Sammy Wilson. Photo by Matt Mackey / Press Eye. Winner: Gregory Campbell with his wife Frances after he was re-elected to represent East Londonderry Winner: Michelle Gildernew celebrates at the election count at Omagh Leisure Complex Omagh for West Tyrone and Fermanagh & South Tyrone. Photo by John McVitty / Press Eye. Loser: Tom Elliott pictured at the election count at Omagh Leisure Complex Omagh for West Tyrone and Fermanagh & South Tyrone.Photo by John McVitty / Press Eye. Winner: Elisha McCallion (Sinn Fein) pictured at the election count at Foyle Arena Derry for Foyle and East Londonderry. Photo by Freddie Parkinson / Press Eye. Loser: Mark Durkan (SDLP) pictured at the election count at Foyle Arena Derry for Foyle and East Londonderry. Photo by Freddie Parkinson / Press Eye. Winner: DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffery Donaldson celebrates at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition after being elected as the MP for the area. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Winner: Francie Molloy wins the Mid Ulster seat for Sinn Fein in the UK Parlimentary Election. PICTURE MATT BOHILL PACEMAKER PRESS Winner: Sinn Fein candidate for Newry and Armagh Mickey Brady pictured celebrating after he wins the seat at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition Centre Sprucefield for Lagan Valley, Newry & Armagh, South Down and Upper Bann. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Winner: Ian Paisley pictured at the election count at Seven Towers Leisure Centre Ballymena for North Antrim after keeping his seat. Photo by Stephen Hamilton / Press Eye. Winner: Lady Sylvia Hermon (Independent) winner of North Down during the 2017 Westminster Election count at Aurora Leisure Complex, Bangor. Picture by Brian Little/PressEye Winner: The DUP's Paul Girvan during election count at Valley Leisure Centre Newtownabbey for East Antrim and South Antrim Photo by Matt Mackey / Press Eye. Loser: The UUP's Danny Kinahan at the election count at Valley Leisure Centre Newtownabbey for East Antrim and South Antrim - Photo by Matt Mackey / Press Eye. Winner: Sinn Fein candidate for South Down Chris Hazzard celebrates after winning the seat at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition Centre Sprucefield for Lagan Valley, Newry & Armagh, South Down and Upper Bann. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Loser: SDLP candidate for South Down Margaret Ritchie pictured after losing her seat at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition Centre Sprucefield for Lagan Valley, Newry & Armagh, South Down and Upper Bann. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Winner: Jim Shannon (DUP) with his electoral agent Simon Hamilton during the 2017 Westminster Election count at Aurora Leisure Complex, Bangor. Picture by Brian Little/PressEye Winner: The DUP's candidate for Upper Bann David Simpson pictured celebrating after he wins the seat at the election count at the Eikon Exhibition Centre Sprucefield for Lagan Valley, Newry & Armagh, South Down and Upper Bann. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye.com Winner: Barry McElduff celebrates at the election count at Omagh Leisure Complex Omagh for West Tyrone and Fermanagh & South Tyrone.Photo by John McVitty / Press Eye. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Winner: Gavin Robinson of the DUP celebrates holding on to his East Belfast seat. Picture Mark Marlow/pacemaker press

Negotiations on our exit from the European Union are about to commence.

And we now face uncertainty in Westminster.

The Prime Minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge.
The DUPs Arlene Foster is the least trustworthy and least likeable party leader in Northern Ireland, according to LucidTalks latest Tracker poll.

Among the surveys more than 3,400 participants, 63% rate her trustworthiness as very low or bad while 68% regard her likeability with the same level of dissatisfaction.

Commenting on what the results might mean for Arlene Foster, pollster Bill White of LucidTalk told Belfast Telegraph Digital: Her trustworthiness has always been poor among nationalists but it has been growing among unionists, as she has possibly been perceived to have backtracked on the Irish language.

When asked what impact these poor ratings might have at the polls, Mr White said that personality is not usually the main issue on polling day.  People will still vote for a party if they have reservations about the leader. Issues such as trustworthiness and likeability could become more significant after the election.

Trust

The question put to panelists about trustworthiness was: Taken 'in the round' - How do you rate each of the 'top five' Northern Ireland political party leaders in terms of trustworthiness, e.g. following through on policy commitments, sticking to principles, etc? (Please answer neutrally and honestly, i.e. disregard your personal political views).

DUP leader Arlene Foster fares worst, with 63% rating her trust factor as very low or bad. This is almost twice as many as distrust Michelle ONeill (32%),

Naomi Long of the Alliance Party scores highest for trustworthiness, with 64% giving her a moderate or very high rating. The SDLPs Colum Eastwood also does well, with 50% finding him either moderately or highly trustworthy.

According to the poll, voters have no strong opinion about the UUPs new leader, Robin Swann on trust, with 46% giving him a neutral score.

Likeability

According to the poll, likeability is an even bigger issue for Arlene Foster than trustworthiness.

The question here was: Taken 'in the round' - How do you rate each of the 'top five' NI Political Party Leaders in terms of likeability, .e.g having this person as a friend/acquaintance, attending a social event and/or having a coffee/drink/meal with this person? (Please answer neutrally and honestly i.e. disregard your personal political views).

Again, Arlene Foster gets the lowest approval of all the leaders, with 68% rating her likeability as very low or bad.

Michelle ONeill once is once more second lowest but, again, the percentage of people rating her likeability as very low or bad, at 33%, is just under half of Mrs Fosters number.

Naomi Long (62%) and Colum Eastwood (55%) again prove popular in the moderately high or very high categories while the poll participants were again neutral (44%) about Robin Swann.

LucidTalk is a member of all recognised professional Polling and Market Research organisations, including the UK Market Research Society (UK-MRS), the British Polling Council (BPC), and ESOMAR (European Society of Market Research organisations).
The IRA gang responsible for the Kingsmill massacre of Protestant workmen in 1976 was made up of at least 11 gunmen, an inquest has heard.

Giving evidence at Belfast Coroner's Court yesterday, former senior investigator with the Historical Enquiries Team Stephen Morris said that this was the number of men "directly involved in the ambush".

Mr Morris said that there was "at least one other scout car" also involved, which would have contained four to five men.

The figure for those directly involved in the shooting was based on the number of weapons fired, Mr Morris explained.

The attack in January 1976 saw 10 Protestants shot dead by members of the Provisional IRA on their way home from work after the minibus they were travelling in was stopped.

Present at the court yesterday were a number of family members of those killed.

Mr Morris was quizzed on the contents of the review summary report, which he authored while working with the HET.

He said members of the IRA had made a decision that the workmen were a "worthy target".

"An event such as this, with the numbers involved, the number of weapons... it must have been planned and identified as a worthy target early on," he said.

"It was just a matter of the right motive for that attack to be carried out," adding that it was his assertion that the motive for the attack was the loyalist murders of members of the Reavey and O'Dowd families the evening before.

Mr Morris explained to the court that he had first come to Northern Ireland in 2007 to look into cases where there were allegations of collusion, and that over time his work began branching into "other complicated cases".

Fresh concerns were raised about lines of investigation not being fully pursued. Eugene McKenna, barrister for the family of victim John McConville, asked if mistakes in the investigation, which included incomplete police documents and failure to arrest suspects, amounted to "more than shortcomings".

Mr Morris said that it had been "a very significant missed opportunity".

Mr McKenna queried why Eugene Reavey - whose brothers had been killed during the loyalist attack the previous evening - had been present during a meeting between the HET and Alan Black, the sole survivor of the Kingmill massacre.

Mr Morris said he was not aware of meetings with Alan Black where Mr Reavey was present, saying Mr Reavey's purpose had been to act as a "conduit" for making contact with people in the local area.

But he added that he trusted Mr Black "implicitly".

The issue of two suspects in the Kingsmill massacre receiving so-called 'letters of comfort' was also raised, with it being confirmed that suspects previously identified before the court by the ciphers S77 and S97 were recipients.

The inquest continues.
A Co Armagh man who punched a baby girl claiming he wanted to watch the X-Factor in peace was jailed on Friday for a total of 13 and a half years.

A judge at Belfast Crown Court branded Darren Eamon Fagan's version of how the baby sustained the horrific brain injuries in October 2014 at her Bessbrook home as "cowardly, vindictive and shameful''.

Fagan (29), formerly of Clonavon Avenue in Portadown, pleaded guilty to a single charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to the baby who was aged just two years and four months.

A charge of attempted murder was "left on the books in the usual terms'' by the prosecution.

During the sentencing hearing on Friday, the court was told the Fagan had a previous conviction for assaulting the 20-month-child of a former partner.

Fagan was also handed an extended custodial sentence of three years "for the protection of the public'' after Judge Geoffrey Miller QC assessed him as posing a danger to society and a "significant risk of causing serious harm in the future''following the attack on the crying child in her cot.

He told Fagan that he would have to serve half his sentence in prison before the Parole Commissioners would decide whether it was safe to release him back into the community.

If he was assessed as being safe to be freed from custody at that point, Fagan will spend a further nine years and three months on supervised licence with the Probation Service.

Belfast Crown Court heard that as a result of the unprovoked attack by Fagan, the impact on the young child and her parents had been "life changing'' and her future prognosis is yet to be fully determined by doctors.

A recent medical report on the child said she had "difficulties with right upper limb, she is not independently mobile, she requires assistance for walking, reaches most things with her left hand to put them in her right hand.''

She has also "speech and language difficulties, attention and concentration difficulties, and receives physical and occupational therapy. Her long term prognosis is that she will have life changing and long term difficulties,'' the report concluded.

Prosecution counsel Ciaran Murphy QC said that the mother was separated from the girl's father and at the time was in a relationship with Fagan "who she had met in person eight to ten times''.

The young girl had spent part of the weekend with her grandparents and also her father who had all reported her to have been in good health.

That same weekend, Fagan had stayed at the woman's house overnight and on the Sunday "started drinking cider from 1.30 pm''.

The mother told police that the girl's father had dropped her home on the evening of Sunday, October 19, 2014, and she was "in good form'' but had then become unsettled when she was put to bed, describing her face as "red and sweating" when she went to check on her.

After going to the kitchen to look for Ibuprofen child medicine, she said she noticed that Fagan was no longer in the living room and it was as she went upstairs that her daughter "stopped crying" and she heard a "sudden noise...like a thud."

The court heard today that when she went upstairs she "noticed that the gate to her daughter's bedroom was open and the light was on.

"The defendant was standing crouched over the child's cot. He moved away and the mother noticed that the child was not moving and she had a large lump to the left side of her head just above the eye and there was an indentation beneath the lump.

The court heard that she "went instinctively to grab her daughter and shouted at him 'oh my God you've hit her' and the defendant replied 'no, it's not what it looks like'.

"She ran with her daughter down the stairs towards the front door but the defendant would not let her out saying, "I can explain''.

Mr Murphy said the mother managed to get out the front door, pushed past Fagan, and ran up the street to a house where a relative lived.

"The child was violently vomiting at this stage,'' the senior prosecutor told the judge. "The mother tried to use her mobile phone but it had no charge. She told people at the house to ring for an ambulance. Police arrived on the scene and the child was put on a stretcher.''

The "lifeless' child was brought into the house where a police officer performed mouth to mouth resuscitation on her before she was transferred by ambulance to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry.

Police officers at the scene inquired about what had happened and a relative of the injured child told them: "That bastard was punching her.''

When police eventually caught up with Fagan, he told them: "I am the one you are looking for.'' He was formally arrested, cautioned, and replied: "Whaa? (sic) I did not do anything.''

He was handcuffed to the front before being put in the back of a police car to be taken away for questioning.

However, en route to Banbridge police station, Mr Murphy said Fegan started to become "agitated and violent and started head butting the inside window of the car. Police stopped the car and had to put restraints on his thighs and calves and the handcuffs were put around his back.''

A paediatrician who examined the child at Daisy Hill Hospital said she had a "large bulge to the left side of her head and had sustained an acute subdural haemorrhage (bleeding on the brain).''

She was transferred to the children's unit at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and an MRI scan revealed that the child had sustained "multiple fractures'' to the head.

Mr Murphy told the court: "It is clear that this was a serious injury to her head, It was a severe trauma injury to her head.''

The court heard doctors said the child would require "intervention and support in the future'' and there was also a "significant risk of developing epilepsy'' in the future.

The senior prosecutor told the judge that Fegan was "interviewed extensively by police'' who claimed the child had been screaming and the mother and fallen down the stairs with the child who hit her head.

Fagan "mendaciously'' claimed throughout his interviews that the mother had been "drinking and taking drugs''. But Mr Murphy said that was not the case and in fact the mother was pregnant at the time.

"These allegations were traumatic to the girl's mother. For a considerable period he distanced himself and put responsibility for what happened to the child on her mother.''

The court heard Fagan told a probation officer that he "punched the child to her head as she would not stop crying'', claiming he wanted peace to sit with the child's mother and watch X Factor on television.

He was asked by probation how he hit the victim and Mr Murphy said that "it is clear from this that he assaulted the child with extreme force.''

Mr Murphy added: "This was a serious assault on a defenceless toddler.''

Judge Miller was told that Fagan had an "extensive criminal record'' of 58 convictions, including convictions for violence. These included ten counts of assault and two of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. One of those convictions was for assaulting the 20-month-old child of a previous partner.

The Probation Service had assessed Fagan as "dangerous'' who posed a "high likelihood of reoffending and a significant risk of serious harm'' to the public in the future.

"This was a serious assault with high harm and high culpability. It is at the upper level of the range in terms of a determinate sentence,'' added Mr Murphy.

Defence counsel Ciaran Mallon QC told the court that there was "no premeditation'' on Fagan's behalf in assaulting the child, describing it as "explosive incident'' during which the defendant had lost self control.

"He had no hatred for the child whatsoever. In fact, in the days before his incident he took the mother and child to McDonald's and they had played in the park.''

He said that Fagan had had an "absolutely wretched childhood and upbringing'' and from the age of two onwards had been spent in either foster homes or secure foster accommodation. This resulted, said Mr Mallon, in Fagan having "no coping mechanism'' in dealing with his problems and his addictions.

The judge was told Fagan was forced into taking heroin by his mother at a young age and on the night in question had taken a "cocktail of drink and drugs''.

He said Fagan had expressed his remorse for the attack on the child and had also expressed this remorse in a letter which was handed to the judge.

"I want to make it absolutely,'' said Mr Mallon, "that it was a particularly mendacious thing to do to blame the assault on the mother. It is accepted by the accused in his letter that he put the mother through hell by pointing the finger at her.''

Passing sentence today, Judge Miller said that Fagan's reponse during police interview was "cowardly, vindictive and shameful'' in blaming the mother for the child's injuries.

The judge told Fagan that at police interview he had "concocted a story which was strong on detail but entirely false in which he sought to blame the mother for the devastating injuries the child sustained''.

Fagan claimed that they were sitting watching television when he received a text message from another girl and alleged the baby's mother "became angry, checked his text messages, started screaming and shouting and stormed out with her daughter''.

He also claimed that "slammed doors and went upstairs with the child to bed'' and claimed that he heard a "big, big thump''.

Fagan had claimed the mother had been "drinking cider'' and had also been "smoking weed going up the stairs'' when she fell down while carrying the child in her arms and the baby hit her head off the wall.

The defendant also alleged that police had assaulted him in the back of the car and were calling him a "thug'' and a "hood''.

But the judge told the court: "For the avoidance of any doubt it should be clearly understood that the baby's mother was neither under the influence of any drugs, prescription or illegal, nor was she in any way intoxicated on that eveving.''

Judge Miller said that in victim impact statements prepared for the court, the family spoke of the "ongoing trauma'' they were suffering following the assault on the child.

He added: "This will have life long consequences for the child and family members for which this defendant must bear sole responsibility.''

After handing Fagan a 13-and-a-half year determinate sentence, Judge Miller told prison guards: "Take him down.''
Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster has pledged to work in the interests of the entire United Kingdom as she expressed willingness to help Theresa May form a government.

The former Stormont first minister, who led her party to 10 seats in the Westminster election, said the DUP would strive for the best deal, not only for Northern Ireland but for the UK as a whole.

While Mrs Foster vowed to bring stability to Westminster, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams poured scorn on the anticipated confidence and supply deal between the Conservatives and DUP.

"History will show, alliances between Ulster unionism and British unionism has always ended in tears," he said.

"It is far better to look to our own place, to all of the people here, to deal with the people of this island, this part of the island as one community."

Flanked by her 10 MPs, Mrs Foster confirmed the party would enter discussions with the Tories to "explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge".

Mrs Foster described her party's resounding victory in Northern Ireland as "truly historic".

The Democratic Unionists have emerged from the election in the enviable position of being king makers at Westminster.

"Yesterday also represented a great result for the Union," said Mrs Foster.

"Not just here in Northern Ireland but right across our United Kingdom.

"Those who want to tear apart the Union that we cherish and benefit from so hugely have been sent a clear and resounding message."

"In the days and weeks ahead, it is that Union that will be to the forefront of our minds. The Union is our guiding star.

"We may represent Northern Ireland constituencies in the House of Commons but we are as seized of the interests of the Kingdom as a whole as we are for our small province.

"I make no apology for saying that the DUP will always strive for the best deal for Northern Ireland and its people. But equally, we want the best for all of the United Kingdom."

Ms Foster described the uncertainty facing the UK, following the recent terror attacks, the close run election and Brexit negotiations on the horizon.

She added: "Our United Kingdom - and indeed our very way of life - are under threat from extremists."

Ahead of the talks with Conservatives, a senior DUP member said any deal would not extend beyond a confidence and supply arrangement.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson said his party was in a "fantastic position to deliver for Northern Ireland".

Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that she will work with "friends and allies" in the DUP to enable her to lead a government.

Before the 2015 election, with the pollsters predicting a hung parliament, the DUP ruled out a potential formal coalition with the Conservatives, instead indicating its support would be offered in a confidence and supply arrangement from the opposition benches.

Mr Robinson said: "We have essentially got the result we were campaigning for two years ago.

"It didn't materialise then but we campaigned on the basis of a hung parliament two years ago.

"I think that puts us in a fantastic position to deliver for Northern Ireland."

The DUP made its position clear in the election campaign that it wanted a Tory government.

In a speech cancelled in the wake of the Manchester terror attack, Mrs Foster planned to describe Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as "beyond the political pale" because of his past support for Irish republicans.

The DUP and Sinn Fein dealt a series of devastating blows to their rivals in Northern Ireland to emerge from the General Election stronger than ever.

The two main parties advanced as the Ulster Unionists and SDLP were wiped off the Westminster map.

Sinn Fein's seven MPs did not factor as part of calculations to form a government because the republican party refuses to take its seats in Westminster.

Mr Adams, who insisted the abstentionist policy would not change, hailed what he described as an "historic result" for his party.

"Sinn Fein respects the mandate we have received and our electorate who voted in such huge numbers," he said.

"Nationalists and republicans have turned their back on Westminster and accept that the centre of political gravity is now on the island of Ireland."

He rejected Mrs Foster's assessment that the Union had been strengthened and repeated his call for a referendum on Irish unity.

"What value is the Union if we have poverty, division, deficiencies in our education system and health system and homelessness?" Mr Adams asked.

He called on the DUP and Irish government to focus on restoring devolution to crisis-hit Stormont.

"Theresa May sought a mandate for Brexit, austerity and the erosion of human rights," Mr Adams added.

"She got her comeuppance."
The shock result in the general election has managed to pile more uncertainty on the world of business, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said.

It said business was already facing tricky issues including a shortage of skilled workers, currency fluctuations and Brexit.

But the prospect of a hung Parliament after no party managed to achieve an overall majority had achieved the unlikely feat of making matters worse.

Ellvena Graham, chairperson of the Northern Ireland Chamber, said a speedy formation of a government that can give businesses confidence around both economic management and Brexit negotiations, must be the absolute top priority.

And in Northern Ireland, parties must resume talks in order to restart devolved government. It is now time to put the Northern Ireland economy first.

Whilst there are many positive developments in the Northern Ireland economy, we also have challenges in terms of long term unemployment; low levels of export compared to other UK regions; a shortage of funding for infrastructure development and a serious shortage of skills.

We therefore need the Northern Ireland Executive to reform, agree a final Programme for Government, an economic strategy and establish a single Northern Ireland action plan on Brexit to address key business concerns.

And she said it remained crucial that there is no hard border with the Republic following Brexit.

This would be a major setback in economic, social and political relations between Northern Ireland and its neighbour.

And she said Northern Irelands 18 Westminster MPs now needed to support the priorities of a City Deal for Belfast, the abolition of air passenger duty and a cut in corporation tax.

Overall, business and government need to work more closely together than ever before, to develop the mutual confidence needed to overcome the challenges posed by the Brexit transition, to unlock the economic potential of Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and to seize the opportunities beyond.

Results in full:
Sinn Fein's party president Gerry Adams speaking outside Sinn Fein offices on the Falls Road in Belfast after the party emerged with seven MPs following the General Election. PA

Gerry Adams has said a referendum on Irish unity is now inevitable after a dramatic shift among Northern Ireland voters.

While the DUP hailed the General Election outcome as having bolstered the union - taking 10 of the 18 seats - the Sinn Fein leader offered a different interpretation.

As the middle-ground parties collapsed, Mr Adams said unionists had only secured less than half the electorate's backing for the first time in the region's history, while nationalism had clearly turned its back on Westminster.

"One thing we can say for certainty, there is going to be a referendum on Irish unity," he said.

"I can't say when, but there is going to be."

Sinn Fein secured seven of the region's 18 seats - up three - standing on a platform of abstention from Westminster.

The more moderate nationalist SDLP lost all three of its seats in a humiliating defeat which has sparked, perhaps prematurely, predictions of an existential crisis in its ranks.

No loss wounded the SDLP more than in Foyle, the party's cradle and home of founder and Nobel Peace Laureate John Hume, a revered figure in Derry.

Elisha McCallion's shock snatch of the seat, with a razor-thin margin of 169 seats, is being celebrated as a seismic, game-changing advance for Sinn Fein.

Gerry Adams says Leo Varadkar "needs to stand up to the challenges as a co-equal guarantor of people's rights and of the institutions" pic.twitter.com/hUUTXnkL6X  RTE News (@rtenews) June 9, 2017

Expand Close Sinn Fein's Northern Ireland leader Michelle O'Neill (centre left) and party president Gerry Adams (centre) speaking outside Sinn Fein offices on the Falls Road in Belfast after the party emerged with seven MPs following the General Election. PA PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sinn Fein's Northern Ireland leader Michelle O'Neill (centre left) and party president Gerry Adams (centre) speaking outside Sinn Fein offices on the Falls Road in Belfast after the party emerged with seven MPs following the General Election. PA

Republican celebrations in the city continued through the night until an afternoon rally at Free Derry corner, an iconic nationalist landmark.

Dressed in sunglasses, sandals and a denim jacket, Ms McCallion, 35, told hundreds of cheering supporters that a "new era of Irish politics" was being ushered in.

Back in Belfast, Mr Adams told a press conference there was a need for calm reflection on charting a way forward.

A key issue in the coming days will be the talks to restore to the devolved power-sharing executive at Stormont, which collapsed amid a growing schism between Sinn Fein and the DUP.

Prospects for a resolution look further away than ever after the Westminster result.

While Sinn Fein insists an agreement is "do-able", the DUP comes back to the table with its hand strengthened ten-fold since doing a deal to prop up the Conservative government.

Despite a bruising performance at the last Assembly elections, the Democratic Unionists took a record 10 seats, up two, in a barnstorming result that hands it the balance of power in London.

Their chief unionist rival, the UUP, went the same way as the SDLP, losing both its two seats.

That DUP sway will mean a Tory secretary of state would unlikely be acceptable to Sinn Fein as a broker in the negotiations, due to start next week.

DUP press conference Posted by Belfast Telegraph on Friday, June 9, 2017

Nonetheless, DUP leader Arlene Foster insists she wants devolution back up and running as quickly as possible.

"(Sinn Fein) pulled it down and now they have come back with a series of red lines, so the question about devolution is really one for Sinn Fein, because we want devolution back and running," she said.

"We believe it is the best form of government for Northern Ireland and we believe in terms of Brexit that we need a distinct Northern Ireland voice and that can only be gained if we have devolution up and running again."

Mr Adams said he hoped more measured language about Sinn Fein from the DUP in recent weeks indicated "a more mature, less juvenile approach".
An Orangeman accused of driving into a crowd gathered outside the Ardoyne shop fronts told police he believed he was going to be dragged out of his car and "pulled apart", a court has heard.

John Alexander Aughey told police that as he sat in traffic he heard people talking about getting him and felt missiles bouncing off his car and "immediately thought of the two corporals who had been killed".

He was referring to corporals Derek Wood and David Howes, who were murdered after driving into an IRA funeral in west Belfast in March 1988.

The 63-year-old, from Brae Hill Park, told police he feared for his life and was "in a blind panic to get out of the area" when a crowd began approaching the car. He also said during interview that he was not aware he had struck anyone as he tried to make a U-turn on the Crumlin Road, and was "shocked and horrified" when officers told him he had.

Aughey denies six charges, including dangerous driving causing grievous bodily injury to a teenage girl, who became trapped under his Nissan Pulsar.

The incident occurred around 8.15pm on Monday July 13, 2015. Tensions at the interface were heightened on the evening in question after the Parade Commission banned an Orange lodge and flute band from returning past the nationalist Ardoyne shop fronts.

The jury members have already been shown footage of the collision, and yesterday they heard what Aughey told officers during three police interviews conducted at Musgrave Street police station the following day.

Aughey told them his version of events and described how he feared for his life after hearing someone in the crowd say: "Get him, get the b******, don't let him get away."

The Orangeman - who was wearing a white shirt bearing lodge markings and a lodge tie - said he was trying to make his way home along the Crumlin Road and was sitting in a queue of traffic when he became aware of shouting and abuse directed at him.

He said a man then kicked his wing mirror, that people were "trying to wrench the doors open", and that crowds were coming towards him.

Aughey told police: "If they got me I would have been killed."

He said he was left with several options: drive forward or reverse his car, which he couldn't do due to cars both in front of and behind him; get out of the car; stay where he was, or do a U-turn and drive back to police lines lower down the Crumlin Road, where he would have been safe.

Rejecting suggestions that he had his window down and was shouting at the crowd, Aughey claimed he was trying to make himself "as unobtrusive as possible" as he was in a "hostile area".

He said he heard people in the crowd "effing and blinding", and when he heard the comment about not letting him get away, coupled with objects hitting his car, Aughey said he panicked.

He decided to make a U-turn, and it was while undertaking this maneouvre that he hit a crowd of pedestrians standing outside the Ardoyne shops. One local teenager sustained serious wounds after she was hit by the Nissan and ended up under its wheels.

The jury also heard that when Aughey was told he had struck and injured a pedestrian, he said: "I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to hit anybody."

He said he was not aware what had happened initially, and added: "I was shocked, to be honest. I felt terrible about it.

"I was shocked and horrified. I was not aware I had run anybody over until the police told me."

Aughey claimed he didn't see the girl strike his bonnet. He also said he was "relieved and delighted" when he saw police approach him.

During interviews Aughey confirmed no one got into his vehicle and that he was not injured during the incident, but maintained he was in fear of his life.

Saying that when he heard shouts he "immediately thought of the two corporals", Aughey said: "I didn't know whether a brick, hatchet or a gunshot was going to coming through the window. This is Belfast we are talking about here."

Telling police "all I wanted to do was get home", Aughey said he felt his life was "very much in danger". Asked about the U-turn, he replied: "I am convinced that if I didn't take the action I did, I would probably be dead."

At one point during the interview Aughey is asked by a detective: "Why didn't you stop?"

He replied: "Are you kidding? If I had stopped I would have been dragged out of the car and I would have been pulled apart."

A detective constable who questioned Aughey was cross-examined by defence barrister Richard McConkey during the hearing, and confirmed that the defendant appeared before the court with no relevant previous convictions.

She also confirmed that when the "two corporals" were mentioned by Aughey the day after the event, she was aware what Aughey was making reference to.

When asked by Mr McConkey if the reference was to two soldiers who were "dragged out of their car by a mob, beaten and subsequently murdered", the police officer replied: "Yes."

At hearing.
A pensioner who was discovered in a badly injured state in his flat in the Mark Street area of Newtownards in Co Down has died.

The nature of the man's injuries or how he came to sustain remain unclear.

Locals named the man as John Trolan (71), who lived alone in the ground floor property, one of a block of four flats sharing a communal entrance hall and staircase.

Detective Chief Inspector Gareth Talbot said: "The victim, 71 year old John Trolan, was found injured in his Mark Street home at around 10.30am yesterday morning, Thursday 8 June.

"He was taken to hospital by ambulance and was receiving treatment for his injuries but sadly, he has now died.

A post mortem will now be carried out to determine the cause of death.

Residents last night told of their shock as news of the incident spread.

One neighbour said of Mr Trolan: "John keeps himself to himself, he's no bother.

"I can't fathom why anyone would want to do the like of that to him."

A neighbour in the narrow terraced street - who did not want to be named - said two of Mr Trolan's close relatives had recently died.

"He's a quiet wee man," the neighbour said.

"But when we saw the ambulance, we thought 'Oh God, he's hurt himself, fallen or something'."

Speaking at the scene, Mike Nesbitt, the Ulster Unionist Party's candidate for Strangford, spoke of his shock at the incident.

"The big question in my mind is: 'Who did this and what was their motivation?'" he told the Belfast Telegraph. Mr Nesbitt had come directly from election activity to the Newtownards back street where the assault took place. "It seems that the victim was a relatively elderly gentleman who neighbours are saying was totally inoffensive," he added.

"I hope that the police catch the perpetrators behind this incident as soon as possible."

Detective Chief Inspector Talbot added: "I would like to re-iterate my appeal for information. We are keen to trace Johns movements in the hours before he was found unconscious in his home. We know that he was seen at around 10.30am on Wednesday 7 June. At this time he was well and uninjured. We need to know what happened between then and Thursday morning.

"I would urge anyone who may have seen or spoken to Mr Trolan between 10.30am on Wednesday and 10.30am yesterday to please get in touch, you may have information that could prove vital. Was John out and about? Was he alone or in company? Did you speak to him by phone or in person? Any small piece of information could provide the lead detectives need.

"Please call 101, quoting reference number 747 08/06/17. Information can also be given anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111."
Police and forensics officers at the scene in Newtownards yesterday

A pensioner is seriously ill in hospital after being discovered in a badly injured state in his flat in Co Down.

The nature of the man's injuries or how he came to sustain them remained unclear last night.

Forensics officers were at the scene in Mark Street in Newtownards along with plain clothes detectives and uniformed officers.

Locals named the injured man as John Trolan (71), who lived alone in the ground floor property, one of a block of four flats sharing a communal entrance hall and staircase.

Residents last night told of their shock as news of the incident spread.

One neighbour said of Mr Trolan: "John keeps himself to himself, he's no bother.

"I can't fathom why anyone would want to do the like of that to him."

Police said they launched their investigation into what they called a "serious assault" yesterday afternoon when their officers were advised that Mr Trolan had been admitted to hospital. It is understood Mr Trolan had lived in the flat for more than six years.

A neighbour in the narrow terraced street - who did not want to be named - said two of Mr Trolan's close relatives had recently died.

"He's a quiet wee man," the neighbour said.

"But when we saw the ambulance, we thought 'Oh God, he's hurt himself, fallen or something'."

Speaking at the scene, Mike Nesbitt, the Ulster Unionist Party's candidate for Strangford, spoke of his shock at the incident.

"The big question in my mind is: 'Who did this and what was their motivation?'" he told the Belfast Telegraph. Mr Nesbitt had come directly from election activity to the Newtownards back street where the assault took place. "It seems that the victim was a relatively elderly gentleman who neighbours are saying was totally inoffensive," he added.

"I hope he makes a full recovery, and that the police catch the perpetrators behind this incident as soon as possible."

Last night police appealed for anyone who may have information about the assault to come forward.

They said officers received a report at 2.40pm yesterday that a man had been admitted to hospital earlier that morning with serious injuries.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Dickson said: "We are working to establish how this gentleman sustained his injuries.

"I would appeal to anyone who was in the Mark Street area of Newtownards and noticed any suspicious activity to contact detectives at Bangor on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 747 08/06/17.

"Alternatively, 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."
Delegates at this years General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

Presbyterians have rejected a personal plea from the leader of the Church of Scotland to attend its General Assembly as the church in Ireland maintains its traditional stance on marriage.

For the third year running the Presbyterian Church here has banned its Moderator from attending the annual gathering because of the Church of Scotland's more liberal stance on same-sex marriage.

Despite the plea in person from Dr Derek Browning, the General Assembly in Belfast voted yesterday by 221 to 139 not to send the incoming Moderator, Dr Noble McNeely, to Edinburgh next May.

The vote came on the same day that the Scottish Episcopal Church decided by a majority of one vote at its Edinburgh General Synod to allow same-sex marriage in Scottish Anglican Churches.

It is the first Church in the worldwide Anglican Communion to do so.

Presbyterians are boycotting the Scottish Assembly because the Church of Scotland seems well down the road to approving same-sex marriage.

However, the outcome may not be clear until the May 2018 General Assembly.

The Scottish Moderator told Presbyterians from across Ireland yesterday: "We hear your concern, upset and pain.

"The Church of Scotland has been wrestling with these difficulties for some years.

"We plead with you to come to be with us next year.

"We are not asking you to agree or disagree, but we are asking you to be with us."

Several senior figures in the Irish Presbyterian Church backed a motion to send the Moderator to Edinburgh.

One former Moderator, Dr Trevor Morrow, said: "The decision of the Scottish Church is against the Word of God, and the Church is in a serious moral error.

"However, I am asking our Assembly to send our own Moderator to Scotland to express personally the anguish and pain we feel at the decision made by the Scottish General Assembly."

However, Rev Nigel McCullough opposed the plea.

He said that "to send our Moderator to Scotland to make a statement on our behalf is to tell them what they already know".

"We made our views plain two years ago.

"But since then the Church of Scotland has been travelling on the same trajectory and by-passing the Word of God."

Despite the decision not to send the Irish Presbyterian Moderator to Edinburgh, the Presbyterian General Assembly passed a raft of resolutions on building closer ties with other churches, including the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland.
Fears for the future expansion of Ulster Universitys Magee campus have been expressed after another key course was moved to Belfast.

The loss of the Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies follows the transfer of several others including Irish History and Politics, Peace and Conflict Studies and Irish Language and Literature to other UU sites.

People Before Profits Eamonn McCann has called on Vice Chancellor Paddy Nixon to reverse the decision which Mr McCann says flies in the face of assurances Mr Nixon gave him that no more courses would be withdrawn.

Mr McCann wrote to Mr Nixon, stating: You assured me of your commitment to the Magee campus and indicated that you saw the range of courses on the campus expanding, rather than contracting.

Yet I discovered that the Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies, the final remaining degree available on Magee campus in a subject that has been an important part of Magees  and Derry Citys  offerings for at least 30 years is moving to Jordanstown.

This move makes absolutely no sense. I understand that the course has recruited well here at Magee and usually includes several students from the United States.

Mr McCann claimed it was entirely appropriate for the course to be based at Magee and said why he believed it should continue at this campus.

He wrote: Derry City is where the civil rights movement began, where Bloody Sunday led to all-out war  and where the peace process began.

It is the obvious place in Northern Ireland to study Peace and Conflict Studies. I trust that this move has happened without your consent and that it is not too late to stop it.

Mr McCann said he has yet to receive a reply to his correspondence from Mr Nixon.

A university spokeswoman confirmed the loss of the course at Magee but insisted the university remained committed to the INCORE at the campus.

She said: A revised version of the MSc in Peace and Conflict course will move from Magee campus to Belfast campus in 2019. This new course will incorporate wider elements of policy, law and community studies alongside peace and conflict, providing a more inter-disciplinary research focused curriculum which will ultimately benefit students undertaking the course.

We remain firmly committed to INCORE at Ulster Universitys Magee campus and through the development of new study options and the creation of new opportunities to study peace and conflict at Magee, including strengthened delivery of the Clinton International Summer School. The Hume-ONeill Chair in Peace will also remain at the Magee campus and this combined with INCOREs research credentials will continue to attract global dignitaries and international delegations.
A supervisor at an award-winning Belfast restaurant was caught cooking the books after his bosses discovered he was voiding customers' bills and pocketing the cash, totalling over 8,000.

Joseph Michael Hinds (28), of Sandown Road in east Belfast, pleaded guilty at Belfast Crown Court to a single charge of fraud by abuse of his position at James Street South Bar and Grill in the city centre.

Prosecution lawyer Stephen McCourt said Hinds worked as a supervisor in the eaterie and one of his roles was to handle customers' bills.

He told Belfast Crown Court that in 2016, the owners noticed that a customer had paid the bill in cash "but the food and drink was voided and Hinds appropriated the money''.

Judge Geoffrey Miller QC heard that an internal review discovered that Hinds had committed the same offence on a total of 85 times, with a loss to owner and leading Northern Ireland chef Niall McKenna totalling 8,241.05.

When he was confronted by Mr McKenna and other senior management at a meeting in October 2016, Hinds admitted to the thefts and "resigned with immediate effect''.

Mr McCourt said police were notified and during interview without a solicitor present Hinds "showed remorse for what he had done to the business and for the money he had taken''.

Defence counsel Jon Paul Shields said that Mr McKenna, in a victim impact statement to the court, was "quite right to feel let down, to feel betrayed".

The court heard Hinds stole the money as he got himself into financial difficulty after moving into new accommodation with his partner and trying to pay for a repair bill for damage to his car following an accident.

Mr Shields said that Hinds' mother had paid back the outstanding money in full to James Street South Bar and Grill.

Judge Geoffrey Miller told Hinds that he had carried out a "betrayal of trust on a family business'' which had an affect on the owners and other staff.

The judge said if Hinds had been convicted after a contest, he would have jailed him for 14 months.

He added that taking into account his early guilty plea, his remorse and shame, and the fact the money had been paid in full, he would impose a sentence of nine months but would suspend the sentence for two years.

Judge Miller told Hinds: "If you commit any further offences over the next two years you will be going into prison and have no doubt about that.''
Prime Minister Theresa May will keep her top five Cabinet ministers

Theresa May is to head a minority Conservative government - propped up by the Democratic Unionists - after her General Election gamble backfired disastrously.

The Prime Minister announced she was leaving the most senior members of her Cabinet team - including Philip Hammond and Boris Johnson - in place as she began forming a new administration.

There had been speculation Mr Hammond, the Chancellor, would be vulnerable in a post-election re-shuffle and the decision to leave him in the Treasury was being seen as a sign of her weakness after her Commons majority was wiped out.

The result was a personal humiliation for Mrs May who called the election three years before she had to to bolster her position in Parliament as she embarked on the negotiations on Britain's withdrawal from the EU.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said she had lost all legitimacy and called on her to stand aside and allow him to form an alternative administration, declaring: "We are ready to serve".

However, Mrs May insisted that, as the leader of the largest party in the new parliament, she had a duty to act in the "national interest" and lead the country through the Brexit negotiations starting in ten days' time.

"That is why I think at this critical time for our country it is important to form a government in the national interest," she said.

"As we are the party that won most seats and most votes, we are the only party that is in a position to form a government that can do that."

Among Tory MPs there was fury at the way a 20-point opinion poll lead at the start of the campaign had been thrown away in an election which she did not need to call for another three years.

Much of their ire was directed at Mrs May's two close aides Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy - the latter who was blamed for the disastrous manifesto pledge to reform the funding of social care, dubbed the dementia tax, which is thought to have cost the party heavily at the ballot box.

In a pooled broadcast interview, Mrs May hinted she could be prepared to sacrifice them to appease her critics once she has completed her ministerial appointments.

"Other personnel issues are for other days," she said when asked about their future.

With Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Brexit Secretary David Davis, and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon all retaining their posts, there was speculation any reshuffle could be limited to replacing the eight ministers who lost their seats in the election.

On a night of high drama, Mrs May - who went into the election with a majority of 17 - fell eight seats short of an overall majority.

After frantic consultations with DUP leader Arlene Foster, the Prime Minister headed to Buckingham Palace to seek the formal permission of the Queen to form a new government, returning to No 10 to announce she had the "legitimacy" to continue in office.

However, senior DUP figures made clear they were looking at a limited "confidence and supply" arrangement - rather than a more formal coalition - leading to some MPs to predict that there could another general election before the year is out.

Former minister Anna Soubry said Mrs May should "consider her position" after a "dreadful campaign" while backbencher Heidi Allen suggested she could be out within a matter of months, depending on the Brexit negotiations.

"I think it depends very much on how those conversations will go, but certainly I don't see any more than six months," she told LBC radio.

Other senior Conservatives however warned against a leadership challenge with Iain Duncan Smith saying it would be a "grave error".

Mrs May saw Tory ranks at Westminster reduced from 330 to 318 while eight ministers were culled from the Government's front benches.

Meanwhile, Labour, which had been written off by critics as all but unelectable, surged to 262 seats, up 29 from its tally in the 2015 election.

The last count of the election saw Labour overturn a 7,000 majority in Kensington, London, where Emma Dent Coad saw off Tory incumbent Victoria Borwick by just 20 votes after a third recount.

Liberal Democrats gained four seats to amass 12 MPs, but lost its former leader and ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in perhaps the highest-profile casualty in a night of stunning results.

In Scotland, the SNP retained just 35 of the 56 seats it secured two years ago and lost its Westminster leader, Angus Robertson, and former first minister, Alex Salmond.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall, meanwhile, fell on his sword after just six months in the job, after slumping to a distant third place in Skegness & Boston on a woeful night for the Eurosceptic party, which shed swathes of voters to Labour and Conservatives.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said Mrs May needed to stay in office for the national interest.

He told BBC Question Time: "Not only must she not resign, she has to not resign in the interest of the country because we need to move forward, we have got to go into the Brexit negotiations."

Asked if Mrs May should lead the Tories into the next election, Mr Grayling said: "The next election is a question for her. My view is we need her to stay as Prime Minister and stay as Prime Minister for the foreseeable future."
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
Gerry Adams says he is now certain there will be a referendum on a united Ireland

Gerry Adams has said a referendum on Irish unity is now inevitable after a dramatic shift among Northern Ireland voters.

While the DUP hailed the General Election outcome as having bolstered the union - taking 10 of the 18 seats - the Sinn Fein leader offered a different interpretation.

As the middle-ground parties collapsed, Mr Adams said unionists had only secured less than half the electorate's backing for the first time in the region's history, while nationalism had clearly turned its back on Westminster.

"One thing we can say for certainty, there is going to be a referendum on Irish unity," he said.

"I can't say when, but there is going to be."

Sinn Fein secured seven of the region's 18 seats - up three - standing on a platform of abstention from Westminster.

The more moderate nationalist SDLP lost all three of its seats in a humiliating defeat which has sparked, perhaps prematurely, predictions of an existential crisis in its ranks.

No loss wounded the SDLP more than in Foyle, the party's cradle and home of founder and Nobel Peace Laureate John Hume, a revered figure in Derry.

Elisha McCallion's shock snatch of the seat, with a razor-thin margin of 169 seats, is being celebrated as a seismic, game-changing advance for Sinn Fein.

Republican celebrations in the city continued through the night until an afternoon rally at Free Derry corner, an iconic nationalist landmark.

Dressed in sunglasses, sandals and a denim jacket, Ms McCallion, 35, told hundreds of cheering supporters that a "new era of Irish politics" was being ushered in.

Back in Belfast, Mr Adams told a press conference there was a need for calm reflection on charting a way forward.

A key issue in the coming days will be the talks to restore to the devolved power-sharing executive at Stormont, which collapsed amid a growing schism between Sinn Fein and the DUP.

Prospects for a resolution look further away than ever after the Westminster result.

While Sinn Fein insists an agreement is "do-able", the DUP comes back to the table with its hand strengthened ten-fold since doing a deal to prop up the Conservative government.

Despite a bruising performance at the last Assembly elections, the Democratic Unionists took a record 10 seats, up two, in a barnstorming result that hands it the balance of power in London.

Their chief unionist rival, the UUP, went the same way as the SDLP, losing both its two seats.

That DUP sway will mean a Tory secretary of state would unlikely be acceptable to Sinn Fein as a broker in the negotiations, due to start next week.

Nonetheless, DUP leader Arlene Foster insists she wants devolution back up and running as quickly as possible.

"(Sinn Fein) pulled it down and now they have come back with a series of red lines, so the question about devolution is really one for Sinn Fein, because we want devolution back and running," she said.

"We believe it is the best form of government for Northern Ireland and we believe in terms of Brexit that we need a distinct Northern Ireland voice and that can only be gained if we have devolution up and running again."

Mr Adams said he hoped more measured language about Sinn Fein from the DUP in recent weeks indicated "a more mature, less juvenile approach".
The girlfriend of a French tourist knocked into the River Thames as terrorists ploughed a van across London Bridge has paid tribute to an exceptional man.

Xavier Thomas was walking with his girlfriend Christine Delcros on Saturday night when he was run down at the start of the murderous trios rampage.

Ms Delcros, who was seriously injured in the attack, said in a statement: I wish, during these difficult times, to pay tribute to the exceptional man you were and will still remain for us all. I love you. Your Christine.

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The 45-year-olds body was found in the water near Limehouse, east London on Wednesday.

The Metropolitan Police identified the Frenchman, who had been visiting the city for the weekend, as the attacks eighth victim.

His 24-year-old daughter Noemie described her father as a man who was very faithful to people, often turning professional acquaintances into friends.

She said: The things that were important to Xavier were his children and his work. Xavier would not be content with a quiet life, he needed to always discover more and he would include his children as soon as possible.

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Ms Delcros was badly injured by the speeding vehicle on Saturday night, but was not knocked from London Bridge by the impact.

Xavier, my love, my sun, you have marked my heart for ever as no one had been able to before, 45-year-old Ms Delcros said.

I will cherish you intensively in my heart and that way our love will link us forever. You have been a father who did everything for his children and such a caring lover to me, that you could only be loved.

Mr Thomas was one of three Frenchmen killed in the atrocity, along with Alexandre Pigeard and Sebastien Belanger.
File photo dated 02/07/16 of a European Union flag in front of Big Ben. The prospect of a hung Parliament would throw serious doubt over Brexit negotiations, due to begin in earnest in just 10 days.

European Council President Donald Tusk has warned Theresa May there is no time to lose in the Brexit negotiations.

With talks due to start in Brussels in ten days time, Mr Tusk said it was their urgent task to get on with the negotiations in the best possible spirit.

In a letter to the Prime Minister congratulating her on her reappointment, he said the two-year time frame set out under Article 50 of the EU treaties left no room for delay.

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Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations on the UKs withdrawal from the European Union in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome for our citizens, businesses and countries after March 2019, he said.

The time-frame set by Article 50 of the Treaty leaves us with no time to lose. I am fully committed to maintaining regular and close contact at our level to facilitate the work of our negotiators.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said he hoped there would be no further delay to the negotiations.

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As far as the commission is concerned, we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half-past nine, he said. I do hope that the result of the election will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for.

Earlier, Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the talks would begin when Britain was ready, suggesting he would consider a short delay.

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There was clear frustration within the EU at the failure of the election to deliver a decisive result.

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Germanys European Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said a weaker partner weakens the whole thing, while if both sides were strong you get results more quickly.

He told German radio that the timetable for completing the talks was ambitious and Britain had already lost a lot of time by delaying its Article 50 letter and then calling an election.

We will have to see whether the negotiation chief will remain the same, how the relevant ministers will look, he said. Therefore I am expecting uncertainty, because it has an effect on everything. It has an effect on tariff negotiations, on contract negotiations in business and in politics.

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German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said he hoped the election result would be seen as a message that the British people do not want a hard Brexit.

He urged the Government to reconsider whether its really good for Great Britain to withdraw from the European Union in this way.

He said he hoped the new Government was one with which we can conduct serious negotiations and if possible keep Great Britain as close as possible to the European Union.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has conceded her plans for a second vote on independence were undoubtedly a factor as the SNP lost 21 seats at Westminster.

In a dramatic night in politics, senior nationalists were ousted from the House of Commons  with former first minister Alex Salmond and SNP depute leader Angus Robertson among those who were defeated as the Scottish Tories had their best result in a General Election for more than three decades.

Ms Sturgeon said Undoubtedly the issue of an independence referendum was a factor in this election result, but I think there were other factors in this election result as well.

Brexit, a late surge in support for UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and tactical voting were some of the other factors Ms Sturgeon cited as having contributed to the result.

I strongly suspect there were independence supporters amongst those who voted for Jeremy Corbyn yesterday, she said, stressing that rushing to overly-simplistic judgments about the election was not the right thing to do.

The SNP lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the election  with other high-profile casualties including John Nicolson, Mike Weir and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.

The SNP won just under 37% of the vote in the election, ending the night with 35 MPs  a result substantially down on the 50% of the vote they secured in 2015 which gave them 56 MPs.

In contrast, the Tory share of the vote went from 15% to 28% as the partys tally of MPs increased from just one to 13.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats also saw their number of representatives rise, to seven and four respectively.

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The Conservatives ended up with 13 MPs from north of the border, giving the party its best result in Scotland since 1983.

Ruth Davidson said her party had enjoyed an historic night and added: Indyref2 is dead, thats what we have seen tonight.

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Deputy First Minister John Swinney has already said plans for a second referendum were a significant motivator which lost the SNP support, adding the party would have to be attentive to that  indicating perhaps the nationalists might have to draw back from the proposals.

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Ms Sturgeon pledged she would reflect carefully on the result as she stressed the need for politicians to try to bring people together to bridge divides and to find a way forward that is routed in consensus.

She also insisted her party had won the election in Scotland  returning more MPs than its rivals combined.

The SNP leader added: It is an inescapable fact that we also suffered some bitterly disappointing losses last night.

She paid tribute to Mr Robertson, who had been MP for Moray since 2001, describing him as a politician and parliamentarian of immense stature, who week after week held the Prime Minister to account, providing the scrutiny that the official opposition in the House of Commons failed to do.

Ms Sturgeon continued: I want to also make particular mention of Alex Salmond, my friend and mentor for almost 30 years, and without a shadow of a doubt the giant of modern Scottish politics  someone who has devoted his life to serving this country.

She criticised Theresa May, who called a snap election in a bid to boost her partys slender majority at Westminster  a gamble which spectacularly backfired on the Conservative leader.

The Prime Minister had now lost all authority and credibility, Ms Sturgeon said.

She added: The damage the Tories have done to the stability and the reputation of the UK cannot be overstated.

In less than a year they have caused chaos on an industrial scale.

They recklessly force through an EU referendum, they then embarked on a disastrous Brexit strategy, deciding to remove Scotland and the UK from the single market with no idea and no plan for what would come next.

They then called an election knowing that the result would be declared just 11 days, less than two weeks, before the most important negotiations in the UKs modern history were due to start.

They were so arrogant that they thought they could do anything and simply get away with it.

Now theyre planning to cobble together an unstable administration, causing yet more damaging uncertainty.

All of this because they have consistently put the interests of the Tory party ahead of the interests of the country.
Officials are investigating claims by Islamic State that two Chinese teachers abducted in Pakistan have been killed.

Officials are investigating claims by Islamic State that two Chinese teachers abducted in Pakistan have been killed.

A 24-second video appearing to show the bodies of a Chinese man and woman was sent to journalists working in the south-western province of Baluchistan, apparently by the Islamic State group.

Pakistan officials said they were aware of the video, but the bodies had not been found or their identities verified.

"According to the initial information from relevant departments of Pakistan, the two Chinese citizens kidnapped may have been unfortunately killed," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

"We are highly concerned about that and will try our best to get more information on that through various approaches."

The IS claim came hours after Pakistan's military released the pictures of what it said were 12 slain members of the militant group.

They were killed in this week's operation in Baluchistan, where the military said it foiled an attempt to set up an organised IS militant base.

Ms Hua said that after learning the two were missing, the Chinese government and diplomatic missions in Pakistan immediately activated their emergency response mechanism and coordinated with the Pakistani side to "rescue them with our utmost efforts".

Ms Hua gave no details about the two, other than that they were not a couple and came from different provinces in China.

The two teachers at a private language school were kidnapped on May 24 by gunmen dressed as police who stopped their car in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan.

A bystander who attempted to intervene was shot and wounded while rescuing a third person.

A statement late on Thursday from the IS news agency said the two Chinese teachers had been killed.

Thousands of Chinese work in Pakistan and have sometimes been targeted by militants.

China is a long-time ally of Pakistan and is building roads and power plants under multibillion-dollar project termed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Islamic militants opposed to Chinese rule in the north-western region of Xinjiang are also believed to be sheltering in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, from which they have threatened to launch attacks.

Ms Hua said the abductions would have no effect on Chinese-Pakistan relations or plans for development projects.

"Pakistan always pays great attention to the protection of Chinese citizens and institutions there and has made great efforts in this regard. Since this abduction took place, China and Pakistan have been in close communication," Ms Hua said.

She praised Pakistan for "sparing no effort to investigate the incident and search and rescue the hostages".

AP
Chelsea Manning said she had "a responsibility to the public" to leak a trove of classified documents. (Tim Travers Hawkins/Courtesy of Chelsea Manning/AP)

Chelsea Manning, the US soldier who was sentenced to 35 years in a military prison for giving classified materials to WikiLeaks, believed she had a "responsibility to the public" and did not think she was risking national security when she leaked a trove of documents.

The soldier made the comments in her first interview since being release from a military prison last month.

The 29-year-old formerly known as Bradley Manning said in a pre-taped interview broadcast on ABC's Good Morning America that she was prompted to give the 700,000 military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks because of the human toll of the "death, destruction and mayhem" she saw as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq.

She told ABC that she has "accepted responsibility" for her actions.

WATCH: ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea Manning speaks out for the first time since her release from prison, sitting down with @jujuchangABC. pic.twitter.com/DkoSZOP1Oj  Good Morning America (@GMA) June 9, 2017

"No one told me to do this. No one directed me to do this. This is me. It's on me," she said.

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Ms Manning was released from a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 18 after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence, which was commuted by former President Barack Obama in his final days in office.

Mr Obama said in January he felt justice had been served.

She has not spoken to Mr Obama since her release, but emotionally thanked him in the interview for giving her "another chance".

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Ms Manning also touched on her struggles dealing with her gender transition while in prison.

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She says she tried to kill herself twice behind bars and fought for the hormone treatments she says keep her alive.

Ms Manning remains in the Army, but is off duty while she appeals her court-martial conviction.

Chelsea Manning leaks Baghdad attack video to Wikileaks

Chelsea Manning (then Bradley Manning), the former military intelligence analyst gave classified information to the anti-secrecy site WikiLeaks in 2010.

He was acquitted of aiding the enemy, the gravest charge laid against him by the US government. He was, however, found guilty of 19 other charges including espionage, theft and computer fraud.

Following the verdict, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accused President Barack Obama of "national security extremism," referring to Manning "the most important journalistic source the world has ever seen".

"The government kept Bradley Manning in a cage, stripped him naked and isolated him in order to break him, an act formally condemned by the United Nations Special Rapporteur for torture. This was never a fair trial," Assange said from inside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.

"It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism. It is a short-sighted judgment that cannot be tolerated and it must be reversed."

Expand Close President Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea manning (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Its hard not to draw the conclusion that Manning's trial was about sending a message: the US government will come after you, Amnesty International noted.

Making a statement alongside his guilty pleas in 2013, Manning said he wanted to reveal the bloodlust of the US military and so-called disregard for human life.

He transmitted his first batch of papers to WikiLeaks, founded by Assange, on 3 February 2001 with an attached note. This is possibly one of the more significant documents of our time, removing the fog of war, and revealing the true nature of the 21st century asymmetric warfare. Have a good day.

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Thereafter he handed over more than 700,000 documents, including battlefield notes from Iraq and Afghanistan and a video of a US helicopter attack in Baghdad. Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the release of the 'Collateral Murder' video which showed a July 12, 2007 US Apache attack helicopter attack upon individuals in a Baghdad suburb.

The attack killed twelve people including a Reuters photographer and his driver.

On August 21, 2013, Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison. On the day after her sentencing, Manning announced via a statement on the morning talk show Today that she is transgender and wanted to be known as Chelsea.

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The whistleblower behind the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg, called Manning a 'hero'.
This was a strange election campaign in Northern Ireland. Perhaps it was weariness among politicians or they sensed a level of apathy among the electorate, but the election never really caught fire

This was a strange election campaign in Northern Ireland. Perhaps it was weariness among politicians or they sensed a level of apathy among the electorate, but the election never really caught fire.

It was called by the Prime Minister to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations but she got dragged into debates on policies on pensions, social care, education, the health service and, after the atrocities in Manchester and London, policing.

Ironically, it was in the province that Brexit and its implications played largest, with concerns over the potential impact of border controls on trade and movement of labour.

If television viewing figures can be taken as a barometer of public interest then it is clear that it is what happens with the power-sharing administration at Stormont that most exercises voters' minds.

Around 180,000 people in total viewed the local party leaders' debates on BBC and UTV in this election, compared to 172,000 on BBC alone in March in the run-up to the Assembly election.

Yesterday's vote was largely along sectarian lines with the DUP and Sinn Fein seeking to be the top party in ballots cast. Policies don't matter much in a simple headcount.

But now that the counting is finished the local parties face a pressing deadline - they have just 20 days to agree to restore power-sharing.

Given the obvious enmity between the two main parties, DUP and Sinn Fein, the prospect of a new Executive being formed before the deadline seems dubious.

Indeed, it is difficult to be confident that Sinn Fein seriously wants a return to Stormont no matter how much the party protests that it does.

Yet it will be difficult for any party to ignore the demands of the public, never mind business, to get back to work.

And there is plenty of work piling up for all ministers in any new Executive. The health service is seriously ill and in need of radical reform but that decision can only be taken by ministers, not the current caretaker civil servants who are struggling manfully to keep the province running.

It is little short of a scandal that patients in Fermanagh are having to be bussed to distant health practices simply to make an appointment to see a GP. Local politicians cannot continue to wash their hands of their responsibilities while something as vital as the health service continues to crumble.

Education, infrastructure, policing, the economy, the arts, the voluntary sector - all these sectors are in dire need of an elected hand at the tiller of their respective departments.

Then there are the problems of dealing with the legacy of the Troubles and how to deliver some sort of closure to the relatives of those who lost their lives in the conflict.

The piled-high in-trays awaiting new ministers cannot be allowed to grow in stature any longer. We are used to deadlines being extended, but this time June 29 should be the line in the sand.

We know that the political outlooks of the two main parties are diametrically opposed, but they either have to accept that and find enough accommodation to form a new Executive, or else admit defeat and allow Westminster to introduce direct rule, a measure that no one here really wants.

The current political vacuum cannot be allowed to drag on. The voters have spoken twice in the past year showing their desire for local rule.

The parties cannot keep turning a deaf ear to the voices of the people and retain credibility.
Deputy Gerry Adams when he addressed the Dail on April 6 claimed that since 2011 those speaking the Irish language outside the school gates have shrunk by 4.4%. Those speaking Irish even inside the Gaeltacht have shrunk by 11%. The government strategy to increase the number of Irish speakers has been "an unmitigated flop".

He delicately omitted the percentage of the population actually speaking the language daily: 1.7%.

Bear in mind that the overwhelming majority in the Republic of Ireland are patriots, that Irish is enshrined in the constitution and that the Dublin government spends a thousand million euro annually on education in Irish, as Dennis Kennedy in these pages recently reminded us.

Anyone from outside the jurisdiction would draw the obvious conclusion. Sadly, the people do not wish to speak Irish.

But not only do Deputy Adams and his party refuse to draw this conclusion: they demand the Irish government redouble its efforts and, in effect, impose Irish on an unenthused population.

And - which takes the biscuit - they wish to sow the troubled narrative of official Irish in the Republic here in Northern Ireland where the soil has even less nutriment and the percentage of daily Irish speakers is close to zero.

Students of Irish culture find the decline of Irish regrettable. But Sinn Fein challenge our sympathy by politicising the indigenous language. A referendum on a united Ireland and an Irish Language Act (ILA) are two main planks in their election platform and they are now tongue-and-grooved.

The recent march by what the BBC called "thousands of Irish language activists" drove this home. "Organisers of the march and rally say that an Act has to be central to any political settlement." Language and politics are now publicly wedded.

Everyone in Northern Ireland is free to learn Irish. Already Irish is well represented in official Assembly documentation and broadcasting. But that Irish should be made co-equal with English in the courts, administration, commerce, education and place-naming of Northern Ireland is a surreal demand.

Nor does the Irish language need protecting. No body is seeking to quell its current use, contrary to the absurd assumption of a recent Council of Europe report that an ILA is a human rights matter. Talk of "language rights of persons belonging to a national minority" has no sensible bearing on Northern Irish reality.

The language activists try another tack. The Irish language "is part of our shared heritage". Of course our place-names and syntax are often Irish in origin and these are to be relished. The literature I study often has an Irish language dimension. But speaking Irish in daily life and in official transactions - no, that is not my heritage.

There are, of course, unionists and Protestants who learn Irish. They have been doing so for 150 years. Douglas Hyde formed the Gaelic League in 1893. But by 1915, Hyde had resigned from the presidency when he witnessed the league's politicisation. After the 1920s, enthusiasm waned.

The well-meaning unionists and Protestants who advocate support for the language (who could object?) and also assure us there are no political strings attached may prove cat's-paws, unless they would be happy enjoying the language in a united Ireland.

Sinn Fein know that an ILA would not be in the best interests of the living language or of community relations.

But that is not its aim, which is to secure a salient point in their long-haul campaign.

During the recent Years of Disgrace, the Irish language was not a significant issue for the party. Now it is centre stage. If we look farther afield we might see why.

The St Andrews Agreement (2006) promised an Irish Language Act "reflecting on the experience of Wales and Ireland".

We know the southern Irish experience and it is hardly reassuring. And while the potential linguistic parallels between Wales and Northern Ireland may seem plausible, the political differences are stark.

The loudest proponents of the Welsh language do not tirelessly seek dissolution of the jurisdiction, seeing Welsh as the iconic medium of their political work, and with a recent history of using violence in their cause.

For the political understanding of language, it would be better to consider the Quebec Question which originated at the same time as the Ulster Question, the early 17th century.

A smaller jurisdiction (Quebec) with its different religion (Catholicism), ethnicity and language (French) feels thwarted in its nationhood by a larger jurisdiction (Canada).

Of these differences (given the Catholic Church's recent collapse), language (Quebecois) is seen as the premier badge of separatism. The effort to achieve nationhood took violent form in the 1960s with assassination and bombing.

The Canadian government responded with the Official Languages Act (1969), making French equal with English in all federal government services and in the courts. This made sense in French-speaking Quebec, but not in the English-speaking Rest of Canada (RoC) which resented the Act.

This Act did not satisfy the separatist Parti Quebecois (Quebec's Sinn Fein) which was growing. By degrees, and despite losing two sovereignty referenda, Quebec has achieved the hallmarks of a "distinct society". The most important of these was achieved when, through the province's own Official Language Act (1974), Quebec became French-only.

Language is regarded as central to its cultural and political identity and the language police (OQLF) ensure citizens and businesses comply. Even place-names are significant. Quebec separatists believe what David E Hurst wrote: "The assigning of names is the beginning of nation building".

Unlike Quebec, of course, the Republic of Ireland is officially bilingual and in practice English-speaking. Yet its official recognition of Irish reinforces the idea of the distinct nation. And since Irish is an all-Ireland affair, widespread official recognition on both sides of the border would surely encourage the questioning of the existence of that border.

Meanwhile, I would cite the RoC to warn of the huge implications of official bilingualism. It is not just a case of French on the cornflake boxes that irritates Anglophone Canadians far away from Quebec.

It involves bilingual central government services and courts, but also the encouragement of lower tiers of government and public bodies to offer bilingual services - over here that could be city and borough councils, public libraries, museums and hospitals.

Then there is publicly-funded educational instruction in both languages where one language is in the minority. Might putative Irish speakers throughout Northern Ireland claim minority rights and demand Irish-medium schools?

The situation in the workplace (proportional hiring and promotion? Affirmative language action?), in businesses and in the countryside (cluttering signage and information), hardly bears thinking about.

Canada is a vast and rich country that can afford cultural extravagances. Northern Ireland is not.

After almost a half century of official bilingualism, about 2.5% of the RoC speaks French. That percentage is doomed to shrink further because cultural reality is mocking regulations.

Canada's Multiculturalism Act of 1971, promoting ethnic and cultural diversity in Canada, was meant to defang Quebec nationalism by diversifying the RoC while leaving Quebec culturally intact.

But multiculturalism has come home to roost. In parts of Canada, French-English bilingualism now looks silly. The affluent Chinese immigrants of Richmond British Columbia (60% of the city's population) increasingly conduct their businesses solely in Chinese. Punjabi is the second most spoken language in the RoC.

Why would we contemplate English-Irish bilingualism when even in Northern Ireland multiculturalism has already made it an anachronism? Far more Polish and Chinese is spoken in the province outside the classroom than Irish and this will become ever more evident.

But Sinn Fein, like the Parti Quebecois, are driven by ideology. For them, language is a badge of identity and instrument of exclusion.

The St Andrews' obligation remains and must somehow be met. But there are numerous formal and informal encouragements of the Irish language that can be practised without bankrupting the treasury, inconveniencing and alienating the population and advancing one political party's project to undo Northern Ireland.

But an Irish Language Act is not one of them.

John Wilson Foster is a Canadian citizen. He is the author of Between Shadows: Modern Irish Writing and Culture (Irish Academic Press; Kindle, 2017)
Bangladeshi security personnel frisk a traveler at a checkpoint at the entrance to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, following a suicide bomb attack at a nearby military camp, March 17, 2017.

Bangladesh authorities are following a European Union directive that all air cargo destined to the EU from the South Asian country be screened extensively for explosives and that a sophisticated detector be installed for this task at Dhakas main airport.

The detector is expected to be up and running within two months at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the only airport in Bangladesh that operates cargo flights to EU countries, the countrys civilian aviation minister said.

The aviation hub is responsible for handling products valued at about U.S. $2 billion (161.5 billion taka) of the total $19 billion (1.5 trillion taka) exported annually to those countries, he said.

According to the E.U. rule, the civil aviation authority has already started the procedure to install an explosive detection system at the airport. It will be operational, maximum, by the first week of August, Minister Rashed Khan Menon told BenarNews on Friday.

As an interim measure, we have for the first time deployed a special dog squad to detect explosives inside goods and planes, Menon said, adding that the EU decision, effective June 1, came at short notice.

Until the detection system is approved by the EU, products would have to be sent to approved countries such as Dubai, Turkey or Saudi Arabia to be screened before being sent on to their European destination, he said.

A spokesman for the EU mission in Dhaka, who requested anonymity, told BenarNews that the requirement was applicable for cargo transported by air only.

It is the responsibility of the flight operators to ensure that the planes entering EU member states carry no explosives, the spokesman said.

The decision makes Bangladesh the 13th country designated as high risk for EU commerce, the Associated Press reported. Additionally, three countries had already banned direct cargo flights from Bangladesh over fears of explosives.

Australia imposed a preemptive ban on direct cargo planes from Dhaka in December 2015, Germany and Britain followed in January 2016 and March 2016, respectively. Menon said the government appointed Red Line, a British company, to upgrade the security at the airport following Britains refusal to allow direct cargo flights from Dhaka.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan told BenarNews that cargo sent by sea is checked for explosives or other harmful items before leaving port.

The port authorities follow international standards in shipping, he said. About 90 percent of Bangladeshs $34 billion (2.7 trillion taka) in exports are transported by sea.

BGMEA responds

Apparel accounts for about 81 percent of Bangladeshs total exports to the EU.

The new additional security screening rule is a big blow to us because it will hurt our external image as a secured and stable import destination, Siddiqur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told BenarNews on Friday.

The BGMAE president said the ruling would hurt even though 90 percent of Bangladeshs ready-made garment (RMG) products were dispatched by sea.

We ship only 10 percent of our consignments by air. We use air when we have time constraints. This new rule will force the airlines to check the cargo flights in a third country. This means we have to spend more time and money, Rahman said.

Analysts concerned

Hampering delivery of 10 percent of RMG exports in the EU poses a big problem for Bangladesh, according to Nazneen Ahmed, a senior research fellow of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, an autonomous organization under the finance ministry.

Additionally, the new security screening rule will hurt exporters of perishable items such as vegetables, fruits, fish, meat and live items.

The perishable items are sent via air; these account 1 percent of our total export (U.S. $340 million), Ahmed told BenarNews. Farmers and people within the export chain will be hurt economically.

We cannot afford these multi-faceted consequences. The government should immediately address the security concerns of the EU and other western countries, she said.

Sakhawat Hossain, a retired brigadier general and security analyst, told BenarNews that Hazrat Shahjalal airport lacks a security system that meets international standards.

Look, the EU has every reason to suspect that explosives can secretly be planted inside planes flying from Dhaka. Our airport is still mal-administered; the trade union leaders and other influential people can enter without proper security screening, he said.

As we send products to them, we have to abide by their rules, he said, adding that militant attacks on foreigners and minorities over the last two years were a major concern for the Americans and Europeans.

He said global security experts questioned Bangladeshs capacity to maintain security to international standards.

We have to address the concerns raised by the EU and other western countries through upgrading the security regime at the airport and training our personnel, Hossain said.

Menon said the government already had taken measures to upgrade the security standard of Dhaka airport.

We will do more, he said.
Indian farmers gather on a footpath during a protest in Chennai where they demanded profitable prices for their crops, June 9, 2017.

Peasant leaders across India threatened Friday to launch nationwide protests against the recent killings of five farmers by police in Madhya Pradesh state during an agitation over unfulfilled government promises.

On Tuesday, farmers in the central Indian states Mandsaur district had come out on the streets demanding loan waivers and a hike in the minimum support price (MSP), when police opened fire, killing five protesters and injuring dozens. The states government has confirmed that the five died from police fire.

The MSP is a fixed price at which the government purchases crops from farmers so they dont suffer extreme losses in case of low yields.

We have already issued an ultimatum to the BJP-government in Maharashtra for a total loan waiver and a hike in the MSP, Raju Shetti of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana (SSS), an influential union based in Maharashtra state, told BenarNews.

Leading peasant organizations will hold a meeting in New Delhi on July 16 to chalk out a strategy, Shetti said, adding that intensifying the stir was very much on the cards.

Reports of sporadic violence, arson and road blockades by agitating farmers in Madhya Pradesh kept trickling through on Friday, despite a curfew clamped by the state government the day before.

On Thursday, the police detained Rahul Gandhi, the principal leader of the political opposition to Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while he and his Indian National Congress (INC) party colleagues were attempting to enter Mandsaur district.

The rightwing nationalist BJP government accused opposition leaders of instigating the farmers.

[The government is] sensitive to the needs of farmers and [is] doing everything to meet the farmers demands and end protests, Home Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters in New Delhi, while declining to respond to questions on the farmers killings.

M. Venkaiah Naidu, a senior BJP leader, slammed opposition parties for what he described as politicizing the farmers anger.

The protests are being fueled [by opposition parties] to tarnish the image the BJP government, Naidu told reporters in south Indias Tamil Nadu state.

If the hay is dry

But not many are buying BJPs barbs at its opposition.

If the hay is dry then a single match can set the entire field on fire. This is what is happening in the rural areas where farmers have become a dying breed because of lop-sided government policies, political commentator Rakshit Sonawane told BenarNews.

A large majority of farmers voted for the BJP, which had promised them relief, during election campaigns, said scholar Pravin Nadkar, who has spent more than three decades in Indias hinterlands studying agrarian issues.

The sinking of these promises is a slap on their hopes, Nadkar told BenarNews.

Moreover, there has been a tectonic shift by successive governments from agriculture to industrialization. Not that the farmer earlier lived an idyllic life, but today, even a big landholding farmer is facing the sting of this paradigm shift. And alienation is high, he said.

More than 12,000 farmers in India commit suicide every year because of failed crops or unpaid debt, according to government figures.

The government is totally indifferent toward the problems farmers face, Kishore Tiwari, leader of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, which has been documenting farmer suicides in Maharashtra, told BenarNews.

Loan waiver for farmers was the BJPs promise during all its election campaigns, he added.

A hike in the MSP is a key solution for the farmers woes, but the government has come out with an excuse that it does not have requisite infrastructure like gunny bags and warehouses to purchase from farmers at a high MSP. So the farmer is left with no exit other than agitate, Tiwari said.
Jailed de facto Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim filed a lawsuit Friday to overturn his sodomy conviction and win his freedom after reports surfaced that the lead prosecutor had received millions from the prime minister to handle the case.

The lawsuit, filed with the Kuala Lumpur High Court registrar, names the Malaysian government as the defendant.

Anwar claims the appointment of Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, a lawyer in private practice, as the public prosecutor to conduct the appeal went against the attorney generals usual practice. Anwar also claims the lawyer was not an independent prosecutor and did not discharge his duties fairly.

The founder of the opposition Peoples Justice Party was charged with sodomizing a former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, in 2008. The High Court acquitted Anwar in 2012 but the Court of Appeal reversed that decision and sentenced him in 2014 to five years in prison.

While Anwar said he was not aware of an allegation by the Sarawak Report, a British-based whistleblower website, that Prime Minister Najib Razak had made payments to Muhammad Shafee, his lawyer touched on the report after filing the appeal.

This lawsuit is filed today because there has been a new disclosure that the prosecutor had received payments of 9.5 million ringgit (U.S $2.22 million) and we are asking for an urgent trial date because Anwar should not remain in prison even for one more day, lawyer N. Surendran said.

As a Malaysian citizen, Anwar should get a fair trial including an independent prosecutor and not influenced by a third party through monetary inducement, he added.

Muhammad Shafee had little to say to reporters as he walked to his car.

I will issue a statement, but not today, he said.

Najib did not comment on the allegation, but former Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan questioned its validity. Musa served from 2006 to 2010 and Najib became prime minister in 2009.

In 2015, the government said that Muhammad Shafee was paid 1,000 ringgit (U.S. $234) to handle the case.

Case history

Fridays court action follows a lawsuit filed less than two months ago when Anwar claimed the government filed falsified evidence which led to his five-year sentence on his sodomy conviction. The April 17 lawsuit alleges his conviction was based on perjured testimony from his former aide, the prosecutions main witness.

This is Anwars second sodomy conviction. After he was acquitted in 2004 of a charge filed in 1998, Anwar claimed he was framed by the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the party that leads Malaysias ruling bloc.

Malaysian government officials and UMNO leaders have denied framing Anwar.
Malaysias defense minister Friday proposed a special meeting with his counterparts from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to discuss what he described as a threat to all five countries by the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

Minister Hishammuddin Hussein made the remarks as he visited Mindanao island in the southern Philippines, where he met with his Philippine counterpart, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. Mindanao is where IS-linked Filipino militant groups, backed by fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and other nations, have been battling Philippine government forces in the besieged city of Marawi for well over two weeks.

In a statement released Friday, Hishammuddin said the five defense ministers should meet as soon as possible to discuss ways to work together to counter a regional threat from IS.

This is because the five countries directly and indirectly are involved with the Daesh threat, he said, referring to IS by another name. This situation must be addressed immediately before they become more aggressive and jeopardize the stability and sovereignty in the region.

Hishammuddin also expressed his governments support for Manilas campaign to dislodge the IS-linked militants from Marawi, where almost 200 people have been killed and tens of thousands of residents uprooted since fighting broke out there on May 23.

I told Secretary Lorenzana that Malaysia takes seriously and does not compromise with such kind of violent threat, Hishammuddin said. I hope that fighting in southern Mindanao is coming to an end and stability in the region could be restored.

I also share the desire to hold a special meeting with our counterparts from Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia in the near future, he said, explaining that the meeting would discuss strategies and methods to combat militant groups in the region.

While officials in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have openly talked about a threat to their national security posed by IS militants and sympathizers, Thailands junta-led government has never said such a threat exists in the Buddhist-majority country, where a separatist insurgency is raging in the predominantly Muslim region known as the Deep South.

Citing intelligence reports, Malaysias deputy prime minister last month said recent terrorist attacks carried out in southern Thailand, Jakarta and Marawi were all linked to the recent killing in Syria of a Malaysian IS leader, Muhammad Wanndy Bin Mohamed Jedi.

The Malay-Pattani people in the Deep South do not accept the extremely violent ideology of IS and there are no conditions to join the IS, a Thai security official posted in the Deep South told BenarNews in May.

New launch date for joint patrols

Hishammuddin made his comments as Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have been talking for more than a year about joining forces in trilateral patrols to safeguard the Sulu and Sulawesi seas from the threat of piracy and maritime kidnappings.

The launch date for these patrols has previously been delayed, but they will be launched from Tarakan, Indonesia, on June 19, the Malaysian defense minister said in his statement.

For years, the Abu Sayyaf Group, which is based in Mindanao, has been kidnapping and holding hostages for ransom, and executing some of them. In February, the group released a video showing the beheading of a German hostage, Jurgen Kantner, after a deadline for a U.S. $600,000 (2.6 million ringgit) ransom passed.

Last year, ASG militants were also blamed for attacks on ships in waters between Borneo island and the southern Philippines that resulted in abductions of dozens of Indonesian and Malaysian sailors. Most have been released.
Soldiers assist one of 16 Philippine Marines who were wounded in a gunbattle with Islamic State-linked militants in the southern city of Marawi, June 9, 2017.

The Philippine military vowed Friday to raise the countrys flag within a few days across the southern city of Marawi, where troops have been battling Islamic State-linked militants during nearly three weeks of sustained fighting.

The enemy force had been weakened and the fighting confined to just three villages in Marawi, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla told reporters. Marawi, a once vibrant Islamic city in the south, has become a wasteland of pockmarked buildings through battles that have killed almost 200 people and displaced tens of thousands of residents since May 23.

The chief of staff made an announcement that by Monday, we can freely wave our flags in every corner of Marawi, Padilla said in Manila, referring to Gen. Eduardo Ano. And we're working feverishly to do that.

The Philippines marks its 119th Independence Day from Spain on Monday and raising the flag in Marawi on that day would be symbolic to show that the government has retained control after almost three weeks of intense fighting with extremists, he said.

Padilla said the military carried on with its offensives on Friday and we are confident our troops are gaining important headway inside these areas.

The Philippine military also said Friday that it had asked the social media network Facebook to shut down at least 63 accounts allegedly used by members or supporters of the IS-linked Maute gang to spread propaganda and misinformation about the battles in and around Marawi.

The gang is one of two IS-linked groups backed by foreign militants who have been fighting Philippine government forces while seizing and holding onto parts of the city. Fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are among the foreigners, according to Philippine officials.

The military said it had identified that those Facebook accounts were being used by militants and their sympathizers under falsified names, reports said.

They are spreading lies, they are spreading misinformation and they are creating more problems in our fight against the terrorists, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera told a news conference in Marawi City, according to Reuters.

Teen killed

On Thursday, dozens of civilians crawled out of the rubble during a lull in fighting, but hundreds are still believed to be trapped in three villages where the military focused its combat operations against members of the Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups.

While Padilla said the world of terrorists in Marawi was growing smaller by the day, violence still affected civilians.

On Friday, a 15-year-old boy was killed by sniper fire to the head as he prayed at a mosque in an area that had earlier been cleared by security forces, according to police who declined to release the victim's name because he was a minor.

It could not be immediately determined why he was targeted, but his death underscored that the gunmen were still capable of inflicting damage even from afar, officials said

Troops and locals carry the remains of Abdila Masid, 15, who was killed by sniper fire from a Maute militant while he was praying inside a mosque in Marawi, June 9, 2017. [Mark Navales/BenarNews]

Padilla said hoisting the Philippine flag in every corner of Marawi on Monday would also mean that every armed element in the city was either neutralized, targeted or cleared.

He said authorities believed the siege would be over soon because there was less enemy fire and enemy activity in certain areas of the city had diminished.

The volume of fire coming from the enemy side is not as much as it was before, he said. There are areas where so much enemy activity was monitored (previously), but now seems to have dwindled and sniper fire has been very selective.

Fighting erupted on May 23, when troops and police moved in to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, the acknowledged head of the local Islamic State militants. But troops were surprised when they were met by heavy enemy fire from the previously negligible Maute group.

The gunmen spread across the city of 200,000, burning and looting and engaging the troops in running gun battles. They are still believed holding more than 200 hostages, including a Catholic priest, who has appealed for the government to cease its bombing runs.

Cellular phone videos that were recovered by the military and since declassified showed that the Marawi attack was planned, with Hapilon and the leaders of the Maute gang plotting their attacks.

The government has placed a bounty of 10 million pesos (U.S. $202,500) for the capture or killing of Hapilon. Several people linked to the Maute group had also been arrested after slipping out of Marawi, including Cayamora Maute, the clan patriarch.

Officials said that almost 200 people had lost their lives, including 39 soldiers and 20 civilians. The rest were militants.

Civilian rescue groups in Marawi had raised fears of a protracted fighting, with the military earlier acknowledging that the gunmen had a mastery of the terrain. Officials also discovered tunnels that indicated the gunmen had planned escape routes.

This planned attack that we thwarted may lead to more destruction in Marawi and to more deaths, Padilla said of the attack.

And in the course of time, while they are preparing for that, they may have built up this cache of firearms, he said.

As for the return of the city residents, Padilla said authorities would give the signal once it was safe to go back to their homes. He said the military would assist in Marawis reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

Relatives of Abdila Masid, a teenager slain by sniper fire, pray during last rites for him in Marawi, June 9, 2017. [Mark Navales/BenarNews]
Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn pays respects at the statue of King Rama I after signing the military-backed constitution in Bangkok, April 6, 2017.

A Bangkok military court Friday handed the longest prison sentence to a person convicted of violating the nations strict royal defamation law, ordering a Thai man to serve 35 years for posting content on Facebook deemed as insulting to the monarchy, a lawyer said.

The man, identified only as Wichai, 34, was sentenced to 70 years imprisonment on 10 counts of violating Lese-Majeste  the name for the law that guards against defaming, insulting or issuing threats against royals  but the court decided to halve it after he pleaded guilty, said Sarawut Wongsaranon, a lawyer with Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

Still, the 35-year sentence stands as the longest one handed down under the law, Saruwat said.

This is the harshest sentence for Lese-Majeste, he told BenarNews.

Wichai, who used a Facebook account that purported to belong to another user, chose to confess after a witness for his defense failed to testify twice, Sarawut said. He declined to give Wichais full name to protect his privacy because of the sensitive nature of the case.

The trial was held behind closed doors and Wichai was denied bail, Sarawut said.

Wichai, a native of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, was arrested in December 2015, after another man filed a complaint that he used a Facebook account under the mans name and posted insulting messages against the royal family, according to local news reports.

Wichai made 10 offenses posting messages on a Facebook account that he faked in another persons name, resulting in 70-year imprisonment. He broke Section 112, the Lese-Majeste law. But, as he confessed, the sentence was reduced to 35 years, Sarawut said in a phone interview with BenarNews.

Now Wichai gave up appealing and will be jailed and he will see if the jail term is further reduced occasionally, the lawyer said.

At least 82 people have been arrested and charged on suspicion of violating Lese-Majeste since the military seized power in a coup in May 2014, lawyers said. Under the law, those convicted of posting online content deemed as offending the monarchy or committing other perceived slights against Thai royals can face 15 years in prison.

Wichais prison term is longer than the 30-year sentence handed down in August 2015 to another man who was found guilty of six counts for Facebook posting under the name Sam Parr, according to local news reports. He received a 60-year prison term that was reduced to 30 years.

Reacting to the sentencing on Friday, Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division, said the criminal sanctions imposed for violating the countrys Lese-Majeste law are neither necessary nor proportionate to protect the monarchy or national security.

Todays verdict of the Bangkok military court, which sentences a man to 70 years in jail, is shocking and will further stifle the already constricted freedom of expression, Adams told BenarNews.

In a separate case also on Friday, Thailands Supreme Court halved the five-year prison term handed out by a lower court to Chaliew Chan-ied, a tailor, for violating Lese-Majeste, according to local news reports.

Chaliew was found guilty of uploading online an audio file that was deemed insulting to the royal family.
After an 18-year run in Goose Creek and unforeseen challenges presented by COVID-19, Dreamalot Books has gradually  but decidedly  gained a steady foothold in the Moncks Corner community as a welcoming haven of second-hand books for both area bibliophiles and those traveling in from Myrtle Read moreThe 'happy place' for used books: Dreamalot Books emerging as a go-to hot spot in Moncks Corner
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Venezuelas hospitals are out of power. Patients have to purchase sterile latex gloves for their doctors before they go under the knife. People are dying because there are no antibiotics to treat them. It sounds like a tale of the 19th century, yet this is the current state of affairs in Venezuela in 2017.

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For Immediate Release, June 9, 2017 Contact: John Buse, (323) 533-4416, jbuse@biologicaldiversity.org

Dave Goodward, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, (909) 203-8862, davegoodward@earthlink.net

Bryan Baker, San Gorgonio Chapter of the Sierra Club, (760) 780-3829, bb1769@hotmail.co Legal Settlement Reached Over Tapestry Development in Southern California Agreement Protects Thousand Acres for Arroyo Toad, Requires Significant Rooftop Solar HESPERIA, Calif. The Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society have reached a settlement agreement and dismissed their lawsuit against the developers of the Tapestry development in the Southern California city of Hesperia. The agreement requires the permanent protection of more than 1,070 acres; the creation of wildlife corridors to connect open spaces; the banning of off-road vehicles; and the removal of cows, bullfrogs and nonnative predators. These requirements are tailored to protect the endangered arroyo toad and its critical habitat. The beleaguered arroyo toad is in danger from overdevelopment throughout its range, and this agreement preserves critical habitat for the unique toad population on the high desert side of the Transverse Ranges, said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center. It will help to ensure there's high-quality habitat for this amazing little animal to reproduce and thrive in the area. The settlement also puts in place significant restrictions on development at the site, including mandating the generation of 2 kilowatts of rooftop solar energy for every 1,000 square feet of any public, residential and commercial development. Requiring major investments in rooftop solar will protect our climate by ensuring that most energy needs of any future development will be met on-site, said John Buse, senior counsel at the Center. The agreement will substantially reduce the project's carbon footprint and sets a higher standard for other developers in Southern California. The agreement also makes significant strides to reduce and offset the development's impacts on the local community. The settlement preserves most of the scenic Summit Valley, which High Desert residents have treasured for decades, both for its rural qualities as well as for its outstanding wildlife habitat," said Bryan Baker, Conservation Chair for the Mojave Group of the Sierra Club. This agreement will provide much-needed protections for wildlife and their habitat in the high desert, in particular the endangered arroyo toad, added Dave Goodward with the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society. 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.



The San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society is a local chapter of the National Audubon Society, with about 2,000 members dedicated to preserving the habitat in the area, not just for birds, but for other wildlife, and to maintain the quality of life in and around San Bernardino County. The San Gorgonio Chapter of the Sierra Club is the local Inland Empire chapter of the national Sierra Club, a nonprofit organization with 732,000 members dedicated to exploring, enjoying, and protecting the wild places of the earth.
Investigation Focuses on Possible EPA, Monsanto Collusion We learned this week that the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency is investigating possible collusion between Monsanto and a top EPA pesticide official who recently retired. Documents released by court order indicate that the possible collusion may have resulted in a biased review of cancer risks associated with glyphosate, the most commonly used pesticide in the world and the active ingredient in Roundup.



"The EPA is supposed to protect us from toxic chemicals, not go out of its way to protect the profits of chemical companies," said the Center's Lori Ann Burd. "I'm glad to see the inspector general investigating these disturbing indications that one of the EPA's top staffers may have been working with Monsanto to hide the truth about the dangers of glyphosate."



Get details from our press release.
Oxytocin is a hormone known to trigger a wide variety of physical and psychological effects and is commonly used to facilitate childbirth

Drug Controller is now planning to regulate manufacturing of hormone drug Oxytocin to Public sector undertakings (PSUs).

Oxytocin is a hormone known to trigger a wide variety of physical and psychological effects and is commonly used to facilitate childbirth. The Government of India banned retail sale of the hormone in 2014 after it was found that indiscriminate use of Oxytocin in milch animals and by farmers was causing irreversible hormone damage.

According to the statement given by G.N. Singh, Drug Controller General of India in one the daily newspaper, We want to restrict the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredient [API] to PSUs. The Health Ministrys idea is to restrict everything is to public sector and as the drug regulator, we agree with the governments thinking. This will be done at the earliest.

In March 2016, the Himachal Pradesh High Court directed the Central government to consider the feasibility of restricting the manufacture of Oxytocin only in public sector companies and also restricting and limiting the manufacture by companies to whom licences have already been granted.
This Centre can calibrate any make of piston stroke pipette and issue certificate as per the guidelines of NABL.

Eppendorf India Limited announced that its Pipette Calibration Centre in Hyderabad has received ISO 17025:2005 accreditation from National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). This Centre can calibrate any make of piston stroke pipette and issue certificate as per the guidelines of NABL.

The company in release noted that with this, it has NABL accredited Pipette Calibration Centres in 4 locations in India namely Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad. These centres can calibrate micro pipettes (fixed, adjustable-volume, mechanical and electronic) and dispensers from customers nearby.

Eppendorf products are most broadly used in academic and commercial research laboratories, e.g., in companies from the pharmaceutical and biotechnological as well as the chemical and food industries. They are also aimed at clinical and environmental analysis laboratories, forensics, and at industrial laboratories performing process analysis, production, and quality assurance.

Eppendorf was founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1945 and has about 2,850 employees worldwide. The company has subsidiaries in 25 countries and is represented in all other markets by distributors.
Genesis medical scheme has won its legal battle with the Council of Medical Schemes over how to account for the funds in members' medical savings accounts (MSAs), a development that has potentially far-reaching implications for both the industry and consumers.

On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court ruled that all funds paid by members to their schemes should be considered as assets, regardless of their intended use.

This technical accounting point will make a material difference in the way schemes calculate their solvency ratios that measure gross income against reserves.

Treating MSA balances as assets means schemes' reported solvency ratios will improve, because funds accumulated in MSAs will now be considered as part of a schemes' reserves, said Insight Actuaries joint CEO Barry Childs.

This is important because better solvency ratios mean less pressure on schemes to increase premiums.

The judgment overturned a high court ruling that the council has used for the past decade as basis for instructing the industry to regard the money in an MSA as being held in trust and protected from creditors if a scheme was liquidated. The council had also directed schemes to pay interest earned on MSA funds to members.

The judgment means that medical schemes can now retain the interest, and if a scheme is liquidated the funds in a member's MSA are not protected from creditors.

Council spokeswoman Elsabe Conradie said the most important aspect of the judgment was that the members' MSA could no longer be ringfenced from being accessed by creditors. The last scheme to be liquidated was Renaissance, about seven years ago, she said.

Genesis marketing manager Elmarie Jensen said the scheme's trustees were still studying the judgment.

Board of Healthcare Funders head of benefit and risk Rajesh Patel said it was unlikely that schemes would stop paying MSA interest to their members as it would cause immense reputational damage.

The council's position was based on its interpretation of a 2007 high court ruling on medical scheme Omnihealth, which was liquidated in 2005. The high court held that MSA funds constituted trust property and therefore did not fall into Omnihealth's insolvent estate.

The council's registrar used this ruling as the basis for rejecting Genesis's financial statements in 2013. Genesis launched an application to review the registrar's decision, arguing the Omnihealth judgment was an error of law that had materially influenced the registrar's decision. Its contention was upheld by the Western Cape High Court, but subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court of Appeal. It then took the matter to the Constitutional Court.
State-owned pharmaceutical manufacturer Ketlaphela, which has yet to begin production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), may soon face competition from a black-owned rival called Inicio, which has secured a licensing agreement with German firm Fluxpharm.

The agreement is an important step towards possible local API production for HIV/Aids drugs, which locally based pharmaceutical manufacturers import from China and India. APIs are the key biological components of medicine.

Inicio is headed by Eugene Lottering, formerly MD of Specpharm, and is conducting a joint prefeasibility study with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) into the viability of commercialising technology for local API production.

"We are trying to set up a fully black-owned pharmaceutical company to produce APIs," said Lottering.

The outcome of the feasibility study would determine whether the IDC participated in the project and took a stake in the venture, said IDC spokesman Mandla Mpangase.

The government has been pushing for local manufacture of the APIs used for HIV/Aids medicines to try and improve the security of supplies, reduce the pharmaceutical trade deficit, and make better use of SA's fluorspar resources.

SA has the world's second biggest reserves of fluorspar, which are largely exported as raw materials and beneficiated elsewhere, and one of the world's worst HIV epidemics. The government is providing treatment to more than 3.5-million people.

About "75% of all people affected by HIV are in subSaharan Africa and yet there is no African plant making ARV [antiretroviral] APIs," said Lottering. "It is our problem to solve," he said.

Analysis by the Southern African Development Community concluded that the region could support up to two API manufacturing facilities, he said.

The licensing deal with Fluxpharm covered APIs for HIV/Aids medicines, and 22 other drugs, he said
Day 2 of the World News Media Congress began with a breakfast panel discussion, particularly for women in news, around the gender biases in reporting and how media and advertisers represent these...

Women must adhere to non negotiable editorial principles that discourage gender bias in media on and offline @khadijapatel #WNC17  Catherine Gicheru (@cgicheru1) June 8, 2017

Gender in media is not just about men and women, but also about representation of queer people - @khadijapatel #WNC17  Guy Berger (@guyberger) June 8, 2017

#WNC17: Viv Quann (Hot Salsa Media): As a gay woman, I have to tackle gender bias everyday. Training for media is crucial @NewsConf @IOL  The Mercury (@TheMercurySA) June 8, 2017

This was followed by Vincent Peyregne, CEO of Wan-Ifra, talking world media trends and how the global newspaper industry is faring this year.

#WNC17: Vincent Peyregne (CEO of @NewsConf): In 2017 the trust gap has widened. The mass pop has rejected the idea of "authority" @IOL  The Mercury (@TheMercurySA) June 8, 2017

Providing roadmaps for renewal, Jean-Luc Breysse, deputy CEO of Le Figaro Group  a news organisation thats challenging Google and Facebook in France in terms of unique visitors  shared the Groups strategy, along with Juan Pablo Moreno Suarez, director of strategy at EI Tiempo in Colombia, who also shared insights into sustainable ways of going forward. Later, D. D. Purkayastha, MD and CEO of ABP in India shared how, regardless of the print circulation growth in the country, Indian publishers are preparing for change by restricting the industry and playing for victory.

"Having 500 journalists in the group is an asset, not a liability," says Jean-Luc Breysse, Deputy CEO Group Figaro, France #WNC17 pic.twitter.com/kC1HtpMuO8  WAN-IFRA (@NewsConf) June 8, 2017

Do not assume facts - confirm them with data, says Juan Pablo Moreno Suarez, Director of Strategy, El Tiempo, Colombia #WNC17 pic.twitter.com/3c3BisidA7  WAN-IFRA (@NewsConf) June 8, 2017

Purkayastha says reporters are getting lazy because they know that their stories can be checked for 5 times #WNC17 @NewsConf @IOL @MojoIOL  IG: MojoIOL (@MojoIOL) June 8, 2017

Everyones talking about the next big thing when it comes to news publishers business models. Besides The New York Times 2020 project, two others that are working towards a sustainable future for the industry are Schibsteds Next Gen of publishing products and Tony Hailes startup, Scroll. Richard Gingras, vice president of news at Google, USA, later went on to discuss their approach towards the future of news.

Schibsted is aiming to create a personal-first core news product that is data driven with mobile as a starting point -Torry Pedersen, #WNC17 pic.twitter.com/nnE1FKyD0t  WAN-IFRA (@NewsConf) June 8, 2017

The problem the media industry really needs to solve is the business model, says Tony Haile, CEO, Scroll, USA #WNC17 pic.twitter.com/dQnieCxwBA  WAN-IFRA (@NewsConf) June 8, 2017

When asked how we can change culture, Haile said "The only way we can change culture is if culture wants to be changed" #WNC17 @IOL  IG: MojoIOL (@MojoIOL) June 8, 2017

On stage Richard Gingras, Vice President of News at Google talking about print media vs digital #WNC17 @NewsConf @SundayTribuneSA pic.twitter.com/5pPtZO4iwH  Lungani (@lunganizungu) June 8, 2017

"The term fake news has become weaponised." @richardgingras so true. Fake news is now tacked to whatever we don't like #WNC17  Mich Atagana (@MichAtagana) June 8, 2017

Google's Richard Gingras hopes to see third-party fact-checks extended to health, science and other areas #WNC17  Simone Flueckiger (@SimoneFluckiger) June 8, 2017

In a fireside chat, Raju Narisetti, newly appointed CEO of Gizmodo Media Group, shared his findings on his exploration into uncharted territories of millennial audiences in a business model with no subscriptions or newsstand sales to fall back on.

Just because youth put their lives on social doesn't mean they don't care about privacy, says @raju. Be careful about using data. #WNC17  Patrick Butler (@pbutler50) June 8, 2017

People come to the site because they trust them & then share content that they find interesting says Raju Narisseti #WNC17 @NewsConf #data https://t.co/nJBqNt4GGu  Mwazi Sakala (@Mwazi) June 8, 2017

Heres what people had to say at the workshop on harassment, part of the Women in News programme, to equip victims of such abuse in the field, offline and online:

@mariaressa of Rappler in the Philippines says anyone who attacks women journalists online needs to know "we will not be stopped". #WNC17  Nabeelah Shaikh (@Nabeelah_Shaikh) June 8, 2017

Easier for journalists to work in war zones, where they can prepare against threats, than deal with online hate, @mariaressa tells #WNC17.  Nick Wrenn (@nwrenn) June 8, 2017

#WNC17 Combat discrimination and gender harassment through ethics and education in media and society says Randi Ogrey @Mediebedriftene  Aidan White (@aidanpwhite) June 8, 2017

.@ferialhaffajee was advised by male colleagues to not respond to trolls. Decided that sunlight was needed, and it's since receded #WNC17  Verashni Pillay (@verashni) June 8, 2017

In an effort to determine whether the media is broken or just misfiring, speakers Rosental Alves from the Knight Center for Journalism at the University of Texas, Marcelo Rech from RBS Group in Brazil and Ritu Kapur from The Quint in India suggest their solutions:

If you have not failed lately in your news organisation, something is wrong: You're not experimenting enough, says Rosental Alves at #WNC17  WAN-IFRA (@NewsConf) June 8, 2017

Marcelo Rech says journalists are not here to ONLY report but they must also moderate conversations to build a safer world. #WNC17 https://t.co/zudxAQx2uD  Mwazi Sakala (@Mwazi) June 8, 2017

Ritu Kapur says newsrooms must begin to understand that they are part of a conversation & not "truth holders" with active audiences #WNC17 https://t.co/KCnP8GzFIp  Mwazi Sakala (@Mwazi) June 8, 2017

Wrapping up the day, Juan Senor, partner at Innovation Media Consulting Group in the UK presented an analysis of the trend report the Group compiles for WAN-IFRA on an annual basis. He said, Good journalism is good business and urged Google and Facebook to stop destroying it.

Generation Y are used to paying for spotify and netflix, and prepared to pay for news content - Guardian experience #WNC17  Guy Berger (@guyberger) June 8, 2017

If there's one word to sum up the key theme of today's presentations, it's trust, says @DeanRoper, Director of Insights, WAN-IFRA, #WNC17 pic.twitter.com/dG6MkOb7bV  WAN-IFRA (@NewsConf) June 8, 2017

The day culminated in the gala dinner sounding off to the beat of drums.

"You change lives every day when you walk into the office."

Bongani Siqoko, editor, Sunday Times, RSA, addresses journalists @ the #WNC17 pic.twitter.com/nxyicT50jx  anette novak (@anettenovak) June 8, 2017

Drumming up change at Tiso Blackstar gala dinner with Drum Cafe #WNC17 pic.twitter.com/SQAtBgjV10  mapula nkosi (@MapulaNkosi) June 8, 2017

For more information, visit WAN-IFRA.org or follow @NewspaperWorld, hashtag #WNC17 on Twitter, and keep an eye out on Bizcommunity for more socially shared insights from the Congress over the next couple of days.
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Rheinmetall Air Defence, Siemens Industry Software and ESTEQ Industry Solutions have signed Memorandums of Agreement (MoA) to support industry development in South Africa.

These MoAs form part of the Department of Trade and Industrys (DTI) National Industrial Participation Programme (NIPP). The programme seeks to leverage economic benefits and support the development of the South African industry by effectively utilising the instrument of government procurement.

The overall objective of the MoAs is to contribute to the local manufacturing industrys export growth, based on internationally competitive products, by improving the industry and the CSIRs product development capabilities. These capabilities can be used to develop new world-class products and to improve existing products for export. The CSIR aims to support the development of small, medium and micro enterprises as component suppliers to share in the economic benefits of participating in the manufacturing value chain and also contributing to Black Economic Empowerment in the country.

"Our mission is to create business success through engineering technology and we are passionate about what we do. Im excited that we can be involved through the CSIR in growing businesses of the future that will enable economic upliftment at the same time address the severe shortage of engineering skills in our country", emphasised Ryan Earle, ESTEQ ndustry Solutions director.

The CSIR wishes to, through these MoAs, continuously establish, improve, and grow specialised product development capabilities in South Africa by enabling and supporting Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions. The MoAs also aim to create integration platforms across multi-tiered advanced industries, in the form of PLM, multi-enterprise concurrent engineering methodologies, and engineering design integration capabilities spanning engineering disciplines in the product architecture in answer to the latest Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) of the DTI.
Spree has launched an image search or similar style shopping app feature that identifies clothing or footwear seen in photos and images and finds users something similar in the app. Spree is the first online fashion retailer in Africa to offer this technology, according to the company.

Within the existing search functionality, the app now features a camera icon, which allows shoppers to take a live photo or upload an image from the smartphone photo library, and it will return visually similar items in seconds. Finding similar styles while browsing is now also easier. Shoppers can tap and hold any product image in a category or search results view and the feature will highlight visually similar items.

Adopting a mobile-app-first approach, Spree has initially launched the image search and similar styles shopping feature on the Spree iOS app, with a roll-out plan to the Android app and the website scheduled for the next couple of months.

Our goal is to make the shopping experience for our customers as easy and intuitive as possible and, with our new image recognition capabilities and similar style shopping feature, we think we have come closer to achieving this. Searching for items with photos and images saves consumers from having to type keyword combinations, which is challenging on mobile devices," says Sven Schoof, Sprees head of customer experience.

In a world where words are commonly replaced by emojis and images, it makes sense that our shopping habits follow the same path and were very proud to be the first online retailer in Africa to lead this visual trend.

Taking advantage of the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technologies available, Sprees similar style shopping feature bases its suggestions on silhouette, colour, pattern and texture and customers can filter seamlessly by gender. With AI tech being ranked in the top five trends driving change and growth in retail in the next few years, Spree believes its image search feature sets the bar in shaping the fashion landscape in Africa.
In the past, there has been a significant increase in taxpayers voicing their belief that a tax revolt is the correct way to deal with the current crisis of confidence in government. However, despite higher taxes on individual taxpayers, it is not the quantum of tax that is of substantial concern but how tax collections are used.

For example, the suggestion has been made that taxes be withheld from government and paid into a trust account instead. From what I understand, the objective would be to hold the taxes in a trust account until confidence in the use of tax funds has been restored. This demonstrates a willingness to pay tax, if funds are used appropriately.

Many South Africans feel that they should have more say in how their tax contributions are used. Of course, this would put strain on the ability of the state to function properly. If this approach were to be taken to the extreme, one may imagine that no politician or tax official would find a taxpayer willing to pay his or her salary. Surely, we should be looking for middle ground.

Education could be just the right terrain

Education is not meeting Constitutional minimums.

Recently, I read reports that over 580 schools in Limpopo were still without textbooks and learner-teacher material - almost halfway through the school year. Education is the most stable and dependable manner in which to uplift the poor and the country as a whole, and the right to education is a basic Constitutional right. In spite of this, the system seems to be failing hundreds of thousands of children in government schools.

Micro-economic solutions to macro-economic problems

Patricia Williams

One way to approach this kind of situation could be to find micro-economic solutions to macro-economic problems. In the South African context, if one feels that there are government service delivery failures at a macro-economic level, amazing things can be achieved by individuals connecting with other like-minded individuals.

In April, I received an email from the SPCA, asking for donations of pet food. Very conveniently, this could be ordered through online seller Takealot, allowing for delivery within a matter of two business days at the click of a button. In principle, there is no reason why similar options should not be available for individuals to send textbooks, stationery or other basic supplies needed by schools.

In my view, it is time for SARS and the tax legislation to come to the party on these points.

Tax deductions for education-related contributions

Donations to certain charitable organisations give rise to income tax deductions. In principle, this would include the funding of schools. Minor practical changes would facilitate the involvement of third party vendors, such as Takealot, as intermediaries to effect the donations by individuals or businesses to the affected schools and ideally issue tax deduction certificates on behalf of the relevant schools (or as a separate public benefit organisation approved for that purpose).

An income tax deduction only means that whatever income one were to give away for education, SARS would not tax you on that specific income. To be meaningful, the available tax deduction should be higher than the actual expenditure. Tax allowances calculated on more than the actual expenditure are available in South Africa in various areas, for example a 150% deduction for scientific or technological research and development, and a deduction of between 135% and 200% for industrial policy projects. Childhood education is surely of similar extreme importance in our country and, as such, should be similarly favoured by the tax regime.

How this might work

Let us say that a 150% deduction were to be allowed for buying necessary educational items for schools through an appropriate intermediary who can deliver these directly to the schools. Then, for an individual at a marginal 45% tax rate, the effect would be that for every R100 spent in this manner (of income subject to the 45% marginal tax rate), the income tax to be collected would decrease by R67.50 (45% of R100 x 150%). For lower taxed individuals, this reduction in tax would be less substantial  for example, an individual taxed at 31% would see a R46.50 decrease in tax for each R100 spent in this manner.

This is not quite as good as being able to fully choose where the whole of ones tax goes, but it could be seen as meaningful middle ground. The fiscus also benefits, in that the whole R100 goes towards appropriate expenditure that should otherwise be funded by the state, while the fiscus only foregoes a lower quantum of taxes.

Conclusion

It is time for government and SARS to take steps to rebuild trust. These steps should include recognising taxpayers concerns around the use of tax funds, and demonstrating commitment to key issues such as education that are so close to taxpayers hearts.

I do not want to sit in my office, read about massive service delivery failures in education and feel powerless. I want to log on to Takealot or some similar online shopping site, order textbooks and stationery for a school, then send the link to my friends and colleagues for them to consider doing the same, and know that the taxman is also contributing his share in this endeavour.
The 2018 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, released yesterday, 8 June 2017, include nine South African universities in its African list of 18 institutions. University of Cape Town (UCT) remains at the top of that ranking, at position 191 and the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has improved its place to enter the top 650.

UCT rises in employer rankings

UCT performs among the top 20% of the almost 1,000 institutions evaluated in the QS rankings and remains the top university in Africa.

It is encouraging that UCT is holding firm in the current uncertain climate of the higher education system in South Africa and in a highly competitive global arena, says Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, deputy vice-chancellor for Research and Internationalisation at UCT. While rankings are an imperfect measure of the quality of a university, it remains important for the country and the continent that we continue to produce excellent research and teaching, and are seen to do so.

QS uses six indicators to build a universitys overall score; academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty-to-student ratio, international staff ratio and international student ratio. UCTs performance across these indicators was varied, but its strongest performance was in the academic reputation indicator, which is based on a global survey. This is by far the most heavily weighted indicator, 40% of the overall score and suggests that UCTs international reputation among leading academics remains steady.

The university rose 43 places in the employer reputation indicator, which is based on the views of employers from around the world as to which institutions provide the best graduates. Some of this improvement can be attributed to a shift in weighting of international and domestic employers. Previously, QS applied a weighting of 70% for international responses and 30% for domestic ones, but a new refinement has shifted this ratio to 50:50 because a larger proportion of responses are now from domestic employers, who typically have a better knowledge of local institutions.

Youngest ranked university

The 12-year-old UJ is the youngest of all ranked universities in South Africa and has moved into the fifth ranking position nationally in the category 601-650). It is the only one of these top five universities in South Africa that has achieved this distinction without the benefit of a medical school.

Based on six performance indicators, related to global reputation, research output and quality, internationalisation, and teaching and learning; UJs overall score was achieved, in part, by its improvement in employer reputation, as well as by its increased complement of international staff and students.

UJ outperformed the South African average for participating universities in four of the six indicators, namely, employer reputation, staff-to-student ratio, international staff and international students. The scores for international students and employer reputation indicators show the highest improvement from 2016 to 2017.

UJ is pleased with the recognition of its performance, which serves as an affirmation of UJs strategic commitment to being locally responsive whilst maintaining global competitiveness.

Other university rankings

Three other African universities were included in the top 400  Stellenbosch University at 361, the University of the Witwatersrand at 364 and The American University in Cairo at 395. The other South African universities are University of Pretoria (501-550); Rhodes University and University of KwaZulu-Natal (701-750); Northwest University and University of Western Cape (801-1000).

For more information, go to www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2018.
The African Aviation African Airline of the Year' Award for 2017 has been awarded to Ethiopian Airlines for the second year in a row.

The award recognises its continued rapid growth, increased profitability, and its contribution to aviation development in Africa.

Meseret Bitew, acting chief financial officer, Ethiopian Airlines, said: We are pleased to win the African Airline of the Year Award for the second time in a row; a testimony of our commitment to serve our beloved continent, Africa. The commendable success of Ethiopian Airlines attributes to the visionary leadership of Ethiopian management and the hard work of thousands of Ethiopian employees who work hard around the clock with unity of purpose.

"Mobility and air connectivity being the economic engine of growth and development, we shall continue to play vital roles in connecting African countries with their major trading partners around the world and realise an economically liberal Africa.

African Aviation CEO, Nick Fadugba, said: In the past 12 months, Ethiopian Airlines has further expanded its route network, modernised its fleet, inaugurated three new aircraft maintenance hangars, as well as a new world-class in-flight catering facility, and has strengthened its airline joint ventures in Africa. In addition, it has achieved a record financial turnover and profitability despite various industry challenges. Currently, the airline is well on track to exceed the goals of its Vision 2025 Strategy.
At the recent Nor-shipping Conference in Oslo, Norway SAMSA used the opportunity to showcase the vast potential that lies within South Africa's fast-growing oceans economy.

The conference saw African maritime delegates commit their countries to work together to collaborate efforts in developing the maritime economy on the continent.

Sobantu Tilayi, acting CEO of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said delegates  from South Africa to Nigeria - understood the potential of accelerated growth if African countries worked together rather than separately as individual states.

Potential business opportunities

In a discussion with my Nigerian counterpart, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the CEO of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), we placed great emphasis in working towards achieving the African Unions 2050 Africas Integrated Maritime (AIM) Strategy.

Interestingly, at this conference through networking, we were able to gather potential business opportunities worthy of exploration for South African maritime businesses. I immediately communicated with the concerned businesses and encouraged them to consider Nigeria as a commercially viable location, he said.

On advancing partnerships with maritime agencies from other African countries, Tilayi stated the conference not only exposed the country to an international audience of maritime investors, it also gave SAMSA an opportunity to engage with its African counterparts, particularly those from Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Realising the country's ambitions

He added the conference raised confidence that SAMSA would be able to realise the countrys ambitions in relations to South Africas maritime sector as stated in Operation Phakisa, a fast track delivery program to promote the oceans economy and the potential that lies within South Africas coastal line.

South Africa is a maritime country endowed with just of over 3200km of a coastline on which sits eight commercial ports, and some 1.6-million square kilometres of an Exclusive Economic Zone spread over three oceans from the Atlantic in the west, the Southern Ocean in the south and the Indian Ocean to the east.

The conference gave us massive leverage in terms of strengthening our name as an investment destination. Through the conference, in one room, we had access to an audience that would have taken us two years to reach. We are happy to note that the South African Department of Trade and Industry was already engaging in talks with Innovation Norway [the investment agency of the Norwegian government] pursuing areas of partnership in the countrys maritime sector and other economic sectors, asserted Tilayi.

Senior officials from the South African Department of Trade and Industry, South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI), Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University formed part of South Africas delegation to the conference and were accompanied by local business leaders in the maritime sector.
South Africa has halted poultry imports from Zimbabwe after a recent outbreak of highly contagious avian influenza at a farm in the neighbouring country, the government said on Thursday.

zdenet via pixabay

The department of agriculture said although South Africa imports "very little" poultry products from Zimbabwe, it has "suspended all trade in live poultry, meat and table eggs" from its northern neighbour and has stepped up surveillance. "We have heightened inspections of all consignments, including all private and public vehicles at all our ports of entry, especially in and out of Zimbabwe," said the department in a statement.

Zimbabwean authorities at the weekend said they had placed a privately-owned farm under quarantine after the outbreak killed 7,000 birds. Another 140,000 birds were culled to prevent the spread from the farm situated on the outskirts of Harare.

Zimbabwe identified the strain as H5N8, a highly pathogenic and lethal virus to poultry.

South African poultry producers fear that more than 140 million chickens would be at risk if the virus spreads across the border.

Mozambique and Botswana imposed poultry import bans early this week. In a statement on Tuesday, the Botswana government said the "import of domesticated and wild birds, their products... and poultry feed from Zimbabwe is banned with immediate effect," and cancelled all poultry import permits. Mozambique announced the ban on Monday, according to local media.

Source: AFP
Global news with an Asian perspective will be brought to the African continent by Zee Africa, which has launched its gobal English news channel, WION, to African audiences in Kwese TV's current satellite markets on channel 731.

 zlajo via 123RF

This will be the third channel from Zee on the Kwese platform which already hosts Zee Bollynova ch#150 and Bollymovies ch#155, both added on 30 January this year.

With its head office in Delhi, WION, which stands for World is One News, takes its name from the Group's motto, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World is One Family). The channel aims to bring global news with an Asian perspective.

Headed by an international editorial team, WION has experienced journalists, researchers and analysts with global exposure examining global issues with in-depth analysis. With bureaus in 37 global locations, WION has international reach and multi-cultural staff adding local perspective to every global news story.

WION is the first India based network to have its presence in regions like the UK, USA, China, Russia and Africa making it South Asia's first truly convergent, multi-media English News Network.

Kwese TV will deliver this new channel to viewers in Ghana, Zambia, Rwanda and Lesotho, through its multi-platform broadcast offering which includes linear TV, the Kwese mobile app, and web streaming services delivering quality news to viewers on the move anywhere, anytime, on any screen.

With WION, we commit to deliver to the African viewers, authentic information and a local perspective to what is happening in our world today, said Harish Goyal, CEO of Zee Africa.

A premium news offering is one of the key things consumers look for on television. The addition of WION to our line-up not only grows our news and actuality offering but also adds further diversity to our bouquet, added president and group chief executive officer of Econet Media, Joseph Hundah.

Zee has become the number one destination for Bollywood on the continent with 11 channels that are offered across Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, reaching across 50 countries with 50 million viewers across the territory.
Six people, including children, were injured during a lightning storm that struck an unofficial refugee camp in Bangladesh on June 7, according to camp residents.

As the storm lashed the makeshift shelters in Balukhali camp, some of the residents were injured around 5am, said Jafar, one of the refugees living in Balukhali.

The six wounded were identified as Saber, 6, Mohammad Shahin, 4, Shahena Begum, 25, Ismatara Begum 26, Ebadullah, 24 and Noor Ahmed, 45.

The wounded were taken to a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) field clinic, said Majee Saber Hussain, another resident of Balukhali camp. One of the men was then sent onward to a government hospital in Coxs Bazar with critical injuries, he added.

At the end of May, Cyclone Mora reportedly destroyed up to 80% of the shelters in Balukhali camp. Many of the shelters at the camp, which is not officially recognized and so does not receive humanitarian aid, are little more than flimsy huts built of scavenged materials.



The two registered camps and outcropping of unofficial refugee settlements around Coxs Bazar are thought to shelter between 300,000 to 500,000 Rohingya refugees.
U Chit Tin, Mon State Hluttaw MP from Ye constituency 2, submitted a proposal on June 7 calling for the government to crackdown on unlicensed quarries. (photo: MNA)

Mon State parliamentarians have called for an immediate halt of unlicensed laterite excavating and selling.

MPs said that the unlicensed laterite quarries are continuing to operate in Ye township, flouting cease and desist order that have been issued.

U Chit Tin, the MP from Yes constituency 2, told parliament on June 7 that the illegal activity must be stopped for the wellbeing of local residents.

Quarrying is going on in three or four places in Ye township. In one place, the excavation site is five acres wide. They are excavating near houses and between the houses. Its very dangerous for the public, he said.

He submitted a proposal for the government to intervene. The motion was approved the following day.

U Min Kyi Win, Mon States Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said the Ah Sin Village Group Administrator already gave the illegal excavators a warning on May 22, and called for a more decisive intervention to be approved.

The government needs to take action against those who are quarrying and selling without a license. The township general administrator has the responsibility to take action so we will have to give him the instruction to do it, he said.

Laterite is often used for road repairs, and is sometimes made into bricks for construction work.





Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron
Five Of Kriti Sanon's Best Promotional Looks For Raabta Bollywood Wardrobe Dona

The most awaited Bollywood film, Raabta releases today and has already hit the theatres. Actress Kriti Sanon with her co-star Sushant Singh Rajput has been seen promoting their film for more than a month now and we have enlisted five best looks of Kriti among the wonderful ones.

Her styling was done by Anaita Shroff Adjania with assistance from Sukriti Grover. We have to admit, they all did a fabulous job to deck up the diva.

1. In Shantanu and Nikhil

Kriti became an epitome of elegance in the ethnic outfit by Shantanu and Nikhil and jewellery from Minerali Store. 2. In Shweta Kapur Kriti wore a grogeous outfit by Shweta Kapur for the promotion of Raabta. She looked fabulous in a grey top and a metallic midi skirt. We loved the look, especially with the catchy hairstyle by Aasif Ahmed. She completed the look with Minerali Store and Aurelle jewellery and Zara pump heels. 3. In Zara

Kriti's Zara attire with a combination of a white top, floral printed mini skirt and a moss-coloured jacket made her look oh-so-cool. We certainly fell in love with the peppy outfit. 4. In Asos, Shivan & Narresh and Madison The Raabta actress flaunted a summer look in an Asos tee, Shivan & Narresh trench cape and a pleated Madison skirt. Trench capes are just one of Anaita Shroff Adjania's favourite. Just rewind to Alia Bhatt and Shraddha Kapoor's looks from Dear Zindagi and Half Girlfriend, respectively. Madison being one of the favourites of Bollywood celebs, we know how effortlessly the brand looks great on them; in this case, it has made Kriti look smarter than ever. 5. In Manika Nanda One of the best promotional looks of Kriti was the latest one in a Manika Nanda skater dress. The off-shoulder skater dress could not have looked better. She carries the dress with a lot of smartness and the Riti Khanna accessories looked great with the dress. Again Aasif Ahmed did wonders with her hair turning the look to be one out of the best.

All her looks were near to perfect and some were perfect to the 'T' but these looks were our favourites.
PR Newswire

CLEARWATER, Fla., June 8, 2017

CLEARWATER, Fla., June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Less than two weeks after the globally watched rehabilitation and release of Cheeto the lucky seahorse by Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA), home of the successful Dolphin Tale movies, another seahorse is making the headlines. Funyun, the latest lucky seahorse, was rescued near the same beautiful Florida beach as Cheeto. Cheeto was found by a young girl who thought a bird had dropped a Cheeto from its mouth, when in fact, it was an orange seahorse, aptly named "Cheeto." Cheeto developed a worldwide following and was successfully released back into the wild on Tuesday, May 16.

In Funyun's case, she was found by a couple on an early morning walk thinking they had found a unique sea shell, only to find it was a tiny seahorse struggling to survive. The two tried to place the seahorse back in the water, but it helplessly floated on the surface. Having researched Cheeto, they knew to call nearby Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Funyun arrived at CMA in serious condition, suffering from a buoyancy issue, struggling to swim and clinging to a branch to stop from floating to the surface. The CMA team went to work utilizing the latest in animal care technology, including x-rays and techniques to correct her buoyancy issue, putting Funyun on the path to health.

"Incredibly, Cheeto's story of survival inspired the survival of another seahorse, Funyun. The level of care provided by the CMA team for Funyun, due to her serious condition, is inspiring," says David Yates, CEO, Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Funyun is on her way to full recovery and will be released back into the wild on Monday, June 12th in Clearwater, Florida, close to the location Cheeto was released. Funyun can be seen at Clearwater Marine Aquarium or check her out on the Funyun Cam: https://www.seewinter.com/funyuncam

Video of Funyun accompanies this press release.

About Clearwater Marine Aquarium: Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working marine rescue center dedicated to inspiring the human spirit through leadership in education, research, rescue, rehabilitation and release, research and conservation.

249 Windward Passage | Clearwater, FL 33767 | 727.441.1790 | SeeWinter.com A Florida non-profit 501(c)(3)

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clearwater-marine-aquarium-to-release-2nd-seahorse-300471503.html

SOURCE Clearwater Marine Aquarium
PR Newswire

NEW YORK, June 9, 2017

NEW YORK, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of Lion Biotechnologies, Inc. securities from November 14, 2013 through April 10, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period") of the important June 13, 2017 lead plaintiff deadline in the first filed lawsuit commenced by Rosen Law Firm. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for Lion Biotechnologies investors under the federal securities laws.

To join the Lion Biotechnologies class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-1100.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. or Kevin Chan, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

NO CLASS HAS YET BEEN CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ACTION. UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL UNLESS YOU RETAIN ONE. YOU MAY ALSO REMAIN AN ABSENT CLASS MEMBER AND DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. YOU MAY RETAIN COUNSEL OF YOUR CHOICE.

According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that (1) Lion Biotechnologies, through its former CEO Manish Singh, engaged in a scheme to mislead investors by commissioning over 10 internet publications and 20 widely distributed emails promoting Lion Biotechnologies to potential investors that purported to be independent from the company when, in fact, they were paid promotions; (2) former CEO Singh engaged a notorious stock promotion firm to pay writers to publish articles about Lion Biotechnologies on investment websites as well as to coordinate the distribution of articles to thousands of electronic mailboxes; (3) former CEO Singh actively participated in the promotional work for Lion Biotechnologies and understood that the promotion firm was using writers who would not disclose that Lion Biotechnologies was indirectly compensating them for their publications; and (4) as a result, defendants' public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 13, 2017. If you wish to join the litigation, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-1100.html or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Phillip Kim or Kevin Chan of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at [email protected] or [email protected]

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm.

Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Since 2014, Rosen Law Firm has been ranked # 2 in the nation by Institutional Shareholder Services for the number of securities class action settlements annually obtained for investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.Phillip Kim, Esq.Kevin Chan, Esq.The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.275 Madison Avenue, 34th FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) [email protected]@[email protected]

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lbio-loss-notice-rosen-law-firm-reminds-lion-biotechnologies-inc-investors-of-important-first-filed-class-action--lbio-300471830.html

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.


NASA announced its 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class on June 7, 2017. The 12 candidates, pictured here at NASA's Ellington Field in Houston, are Zena Cardman, US Marine Corps Maj. Jasmin Moghbeli, US Navy Lt. Jonny Kim, US Army Maj. Francisco

HOUSTON (PTI): NASA has chosen 12 new astronauts, including an Indian-American, from a record number of over 18,000 applicants, who will be trained for missions into Earth orbit and to deep space.



The seven men and five women comprise the 22nd class of American spaceflight trainees since 1959. This is the largest group NASA has selected in almost two decades.



It was selected from a record 18,300 applicants more than NASA has ever had during an open astronaut call.



To get picked, people had to meet some physical requirements as well as certain education and experience criteria such as having a bachelor's degree in a STEM field or accumulating up to 1,000 hours of piloting jets.



But it's clear that this new class greatly surpasses all the minimum skills that NASA requires.



After completing two years of training, the new astronaut candidates could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and flying on deep space missions on NASA's new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.



Vice President Mike Pence joined NASA leaders, including acting administrator Robert Lightfoot and director of flight operations Brian Kelly, in Houston, Texas to announce the new astronaut candidates, or "ascans".



The event was set inside the Johnson Space Center's Space Vehicle Mockup Facility in front of a full-scale engineering model of NASA's Orion spacecraft, which the new astronauts might fly in the coming years on missions beyond low Earth orbit.



Pence said that President Donald Trump is "firmly committed" to NASA's mission in space and that "America will lead the way in space once again."



He said that NASA would continue to have the resources it needs to "make history" even though the president's budget request cuts funding and cancels certain programs at the agency.



He also mentioned that NASA would continue to collaborate with the commercial space industry in the future.



While delivering the speech, Pence touted the merits of the new astronaut class.



"The courage of these men and women, and all the astronauts who have gone before, inspires me to this very day," he said.



The 12 new candidates include six military officers, three scientists, two medical doctors, a lead engineer at SpaceX and a NASA research pilot.



Lt Col Raja "Grinder" Chari, 39, is a commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California.



Hailing from Waterloo, Iowa, Chari earned a Master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT and graduated from the US Naval Test Pilot School. His father is from India.



Lt Kayla "Sax" Barron, 29, is a US Navy submarine officer from Richland, Washington. A member of the US Navy's first class of women commissioned into the submarine community, Barron comes to NASA from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where she has been serving as the Flag Aide to the Superintendent.



Zena Cardman, a 29-year-old is a geobiologist who had done research at Penn State University in Pennsylvania. Her research was focused on microorganisms in subsurface environments, ranging from caves to deep sea sediments.



Lt Commander Matthew Dominick, the 35-year-old is the head for the US Navy's Strike Fighter Squadron 115.



Born and raised in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Dominick was at sea on the USS Ronald Reagan when he got the call on May 25 saying he had been selected as an astronaut candidate.



Bob Hines, a 42-year-old NASA research pilot is based at Johnson Space Center since 2012. Hines hails from Harrisburg in Pennsylvania. He attended the Air Force Test Pilot School for his Master's degree in flight test engineering. He has served in the US Air Force and Air Force Reserves for 18 years.



Warren "Woody" Hoburg, a 31-year-old assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, has earned a doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkley.



Jonny Kim, a 33-year-old Navy lieutenant and SEAL, had been on active duty reserve while completing his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital.



Robb Kulin is the 33-year-old lead of the Launch Chief Engineering group at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. He has previous experience as an ice driller in Antarctica on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Taylor Glaciers and as a commercial fisherman in Chignik, Alaska.



Major Jasmin Moghbeli, 33, is a quality assurance and avionics officer for the Marine Corps' Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 in Yuma, Arizona.



Loral O'Hara is a 34-year-old research engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, who calls Sugar Land, Texas, home.



Francisco Rubio is a 41-year-old major, serving as a surgeon for the 3rd Battalion of the Army's 10th Special Forces Group. He earned a Doctorate of Medicine from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.



Jessica Watkins is a 28-year-old postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where she collaborates on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory for the Curiosity rover. She has worked at NASA's Ames Research Center in northern California.






SEOUL (AFP): Pyongyang on Friday hailed the successful test of a new type of surface-to-ship cruise missile, which it said was designed to hit "any enemy group of battleships" that threatened North Korea.



The launch Thursday  the North's fifth weapons test in a month  was overseen by leader Kim Jong-Un, the State-run Korean Central News Agency reported, and came less than a week after the United Nations tightened sanctions against the Stalinist regime.



"The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea," KCNA said, referring to the Sea of Japan  where two US aircraft carriers were carrying out naval manoeuvres last week.



The USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan led the three-day exercises that ended June 3, with a total of a dozen US ships participating along with two Japanese vessels, in a show of force directed at North Korea.



The US has stepped up its muscle-flexing in the region, with a US nuclear submarine, the 6,900-ton USS Cheyenne, whose home port is Pearl Harbor, also arriving in the South Korean port of Busan Tuesday.



North Korea has ordered three ballistic missile launches, a surface-to-air missile, and now Thursday's cruise missile tests since South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in took power in early May.



The short range missiles flew some 200 kilometres which is an improvement on a 2015 test, when a North Korean surface-to-ship cruise missile flew only 100 kilometres, said Korea Defence Forum analyst Shin Jong-Woo.



"This is another sign of meaningful progress in the North's efforts to diversify its missiles. It will pose a considerable threat to US and South Korean navies," he told AFP.



KCNA said that the weapon tested Thursday had been part of the military parade in Pyongyang on April 15 to mark the birthday of the North's founding father Kim Il-Sung.



All of the weapons on display at the extravagant military parade have been tested in the last month, except for one which analysts said appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, Yonhap news agency reported.



Moon advocated reconciliation with Seoul's isolated, unpredictable neighbour but has taken a more stern position in the wake of the missile tests, which pose a policy challenge to the left-leaning leader.



The launches come less than a week after the United Nations expanded sanctions against Kim Jong-Un's regime in response to the string of recent ballistic missile tests.



Diplomats at the United Nations denounced Thursday's cruise missile launches as another provocation by North Korea, though no immediate meeting of the Security Council is planned.



Cruise missile tests do not contravene UN regulations, Korea Defence Network analyst Lee Il-Woo told AFP, adding they were "much slower than ballistic missiles and can be shot down by anti-aircraft guns".



Any North Korean tests using ballistic missile technology are banned by UN resolutions.



However, the European Union on Thursday broadened its sanctions against North Korea over its work on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.



The EU said it would freeze the assets of 14 more people and ban their travel to Europe in line with a UN Security Council resolution last week for more sanctions over Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests.



The North has carried out two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the beginning of last year in its quest to develop a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States  something President Trump has vowed "won't happen".




Ka-52K helicopter: Russian Helicopters

MOSCOW (TASS-DEFENSE): Russia has agreed to deliver Kamov Ka-52K shipborne helicopters to Egypt, Rostec International Cooperation Department chief, Viktor Kladov, said.



"We have just returned from Egypt. We discussed these issues. The helicopter carriers were initially intended for the Ka-52K rotorcraft. Thus, the helicopters will be used by the ground forces and be based on the Mistral ships," Russian news agency, TASS, quoting Kladov, said.



"I believe that a fundamental decision has been made, the procedure of signing a contract is only a technical issue," he added.



Earlier it was reported that the tender winner who will deliver shipborne helicopters for Egypts Mistral ships would be announced in late May.



The Ka-52K is derived from a range of shipborne helicopters operational with the Russia Navy. The range includes the Kamov Ka-25, Ka-27, Ka-29, and Ka-31 rotorcraft.



The helicopter is designed for patrol missions, fire support during amphibious assaults and anti-amphibious assault defence on the frontline and in tactical depth.



Unlike the baseline version, the Ka-52K features folding stub wings specifically upgraded to carry heavy weapons and folding main rotor blades that allow it to compactly fit into an under-deck compartment.



The Ka-52Ks smaller size increases the number of helicopters onboard.



The crews armoured cockpit and the ejection system allow pilots to leave the helicopter safely.



The Ka-52K shipborne helicopter has rescue equipment for people in distress at sea.


By Padraig Hoare

Irish firms looking to expand their horizons after Brexit received a boost with the pledge that the Chinese are ready to do serious business.

The potential for new business opportunities in light of Brexit was the focus of a special business round-table event in Dublin, with more than 250 companies introducing each other to potential business between the two nations.

The focus of the conference was on improving trade and investment links between Ireland and China and cooperation through innovation, and was organised as part of a visit to Ireland by Hu Chun Hua , the leader of Guangdong Province.

This visit constitutes one of the most high-level delegations from China to Ireland to date. Guangdong is the largest province in China by GDP and generates over 10% of the GDP for China. It is home to major city and special economic zone, Shenzhen -- which already has extensive links with Cork.

The roundtable event heard keynote addresses from Jobs Minister for Jobs, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Julie Sinnamon and CEO of IDA Ireland, Martin Shanahan.

Seven memoranda of understanding were signed at the event between semi-state bodies, Chambers of Commerce and companies who have agreed cooperation. Mr Hu has also been accompanied on the visit to Ireland by a contingent of 150 companies from the Guangdong region who engaged in meetings with Irish enterprises to explore potential cooperation.

Dublin Chamber CEO, Mary Rose Burke said: Two way trade between China and Ireland has grown from 7.1bn to 12.4bn over the past four years. In Dublin Chamber, we are predicting that there is huge potential to grow this further in the coming years, particularly in light of Brexit.
Unions in the UK have hailed Labour's election success and said policies must now be brought forward to boost workers' pay and rights.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said the next British government must deliver a "new deal" for workers.

"This election was about bread and butter issues - what needs to change for ordinary working people.

"And no wonder - if current trends continue, in five years time nearly four million people will be in insecure work and the average wage is still 1,200 less than it was in 2008."

She called for policies such as banning zero-hour contracts, increasing the minimum wage and delivering a "long overdue" pay rise for nurses, midwives and all public servants to be implemented.

She added: "It's clear that there is no mandate for a no-deal Brexit. The Government should go back to the drawing board and negotiate a Brexit deal that puts UK jobs, decent wages and workers' rights first."

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: "It looks like young people in particular have been inspired to vote in greater numbers in this election with a number of seats in towns and cities with universities and colleges changing hands.

"This is really encouraging and a vindication of all those who worked so hard to encourage young people to register to vote, and to vote for the first time."

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: "Millions of voters supported policies that just two years ago were condemned as fringe ideas - re-nationalising the railways, scrapping student debt, building new homes.

"Jeremy Corbyn has shifted the political debate decisively in favour of working class people by working towards what is fair and just.

"It seems that the Tory party's austerity agenda may have had its day."

Tim Roache, general secretary of the GMB union, said: "Despite their election rhetoric, it's the Conservative party that look likely to form a Coalition of Chaos.

"If that is the case, Labour will be a credible, forceful, united opposition that shows the electorate we're a government in waiting."

Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, paid tribute to Mr Corbyn and his team for their "superb" campaign.

He said: "Jeremy Corbyn is delivering a different kind of politics. Unions must now build on this and deliver a different kind of trade union movement."

Public and Commercial Services union leader Mark Serwotka said: "This election has shown there's huge enthusiasm for an alternative to the Conservatives' failed policies of austerity."

Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, said: "It is clear that these results are a rejection of a hard Brexit and austerity at any cost."
Update 6.41pm: Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster has pledged to work in the interests of the entire United Kingdom as she expressed willingness to help Theresa May form a government.

The former Stormont first minister, who led her party to 10 seats in the Westminster election, said the DUP would strive for the best deal, not only for Northern Ireland but for the UK as a whole.

While Mrs Foster vowed to bring stability to Westminster, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams poured scorn on the anticipated confidence and supply deal between the Conservatives and DUP.

"History will show, alliances between Ulster unionism and British unionism has always ended in tears," he said.

"It is far better to look to our own place, to all of the people here, to deal with the people of this island, this part of the island as one community."

Flanked by her 10 MPs, Mrs Foster confirmed the party would enter discussions with the Tories to "explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge".

Mrs Foster described her party's resounding victory in Northern Ireland as "truly historic".

The Democratic Unionists have emerged from the election in the enviable position of being king makers at Westminster.

"Yesterday also represented a great result for the Union," said Mrs Foster.

"Not just here in Northern Ireland but right across our United Kingdom.

"Those who want to tear apart the Union that we cherish and benefit from so hugely have been sent a clear and resounding message."

"In the days and weeks ahead, it is that Union that will be to the forefront of our minds. The Union is our guiding star.

"We may represent Northern Ireland constituencies in the House of Commons but we are as seized of the interests of the Kingdom as a whole as we are for our small province.

"I make no apology for saying that the DUP will always strive for the best deal for Northern Ireland and its people. But equally, we want the best for all of the United Kingdom."

Ms Foster described the uncertainty facing the UK, following the recent terror attacks, the close run election and Brexit negotiations on the horizon.

She added: "Our United Kingdom - and indeed our very way of life - are under threat from extremists."

Ahead of the talks with Conservatives, a senior DUP member said any deal would not extend beyond a confidence and supply arrangement.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson said his party was in a "fantastic position to deliver for Northern Ireland".

Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that she will work with "friends and allies" in the DUP to enable her to lead a government.

Before the 2015 election, with the pollsters predicting a hung parliament, the DUP ruled out a potential formal coalition with the Conservatives, instead indicating its support would be offered in a confidence and supply arrangement from the opposition benches.

Mr Robinson said: "We have essentially got the result we were campaigning for two years ago.

"It didn't materialise then but we campaigned on the basis of a hung parliament two years ago.

"I think that puts us in a fantastic position to deliver for Northern Ireland."

The DUP made its position clear in the election campaign that it wanted a Tory government.

In a speech cancelled in the wake of the Manchester terror attack, Mrs Foster planned to describe Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as "beyond the political pale" because of his past support for Irish republicans.

Update 5.04pm: The Democratic Unionist Party has often found itself embroiled in controversy over its stance on gay rights issues.

Founded on the evangelical principles of the late Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian church, Northern Ireland's largest political party has been repeatedly at odds with the region's LGBT community.

Their differences highlight Northern Ireland's often stark dichotomy between religious-based social conservatism and secular progressive liberalism.

The DUP has repeatedly used a controversial Stormont voting mechanism - the petition of concern - to prevent the legalisation of same-sex marriage, despite a majority of MLAs supporting the move at the last vote.

While the party insists it is protecting the "traditional" definition of marriage, critics have denounced its stance as homophobic.

Going back decades, the DUP was at the vanguard of the failed Save Ulster from Sodomy movement that campaigned against the 1982 legalisation of homosexual sex in Northern Ireland.

In more recent times, former first minister Peter Robinson's wife Iris, then an MP, described homosexuality as an "abomination", while the MP son of Dr Paisley, Ian Paisley Jr, said he felt "repulsed" by homosexual acts.

A party councillor in Ballymena reportedly claimed Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,500 people in the US, was God's revenge for New Orleans hosting an annual gay pride event.

Former DUP Stormont minister Edwin Poots once hit out at a gay rugby team in Belfast, accusing it of introducing a sporting "apartheid" against heterosexual players.

Mr Poots also ended up in court for upholding a ban on gay men giving blood and, in a separate case, objecting to gay couples adopting. In the former case an appeal judge overturned a finding that he was motivated by bias.

In the 2015 general election campaign, DUP health minister Jim Wells resigned amid a controversy about remarks he made about same sex couples.

With pollsters predicting a hung parliament two years ago, the furore and the wider topic of the DUP's approach to LGBT issues permeated the election debate across the Irish Sea.

Then prime minister David Cameron said he would "never validate" the DUP's position on gay rights while deputy PM Nick Clegg claimed some of the party's views were "backwards".

Last year, DUP Stormont MLA Trevor Clarke admitted he thought only gay people could contract HIV.

Defending her party's stance on gay marriage in a recent interview, leader Arlene Foster insisted those who characterised the DUP as anti-gay were wide of the mark.

"They are wrong and they need to understand why we take those positions from a faith point of view and why we want to protect the definition of marriage," she said.

"I could not care less what people get up to in terms of their sexuality, that's not a matter for me, when it becomes a matter for me is when people try to redefine marriage."

Earlier:

Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster has said talks will begin with Theresa May on the formation of a new government.

The former Stormont first minister, who led her party to 10 seats in the Westminster election, said the DUP will strive for the best deal for Northern Ireland, its people and an agreement that is best for the United Kingdom.

"The Prime Minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge," she said.

Ms Foster described her party's resounding victory in Northern Ireland as "truly historic" as the DUP recorded its best ever election result.

Sending a powerful team of 10 MPs to a hung parliament puts the Democratic Unionists in the enviable position of being kingmakers at Westminster.

Mrs Foster, flanked by each one of her representatives in the House of Commons, did not take any questions after confirming plans for talks with the Conservatives.

"Yesterday also represented a great result for the Union. Not just here in Northern Ireland but right across our United Kingdom," she said.

"Those who want to tear apart the Union that we cherish and benefit from so hugely have been sent a clear and resounding message."

"In the days and weeks ahead, it is that Union that will be to the forefront of our minds. The Union is our "guiding star".

"We may represent Northern Ireland constituencies in the House of Commons but we are as seized of the interests of the Kingdom as a whole as we are for our small province.

"I make no apology for saying that the DUP will always strive for the best deal for Northern Ireland and its people. But equally, we want the best for all of the United Kingdom."

Ms Foster described the uncertainty facing the UK, following the recent terror attacks, the close run election and Brexit negotiations on the horizon.

She added: "Our United Kingdom - and indeed our very way of life - are under threat from extremists."

Ahead of the talks with Conservatives, a senior DUP member said any deal will not extend beyond a confidence and supply arrangement.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson said his party was in a "fantastic position to deliver for Northern Ireland".

Prime Minister Theresa May earlier announced that she would work with "friends and allies" in the DUP to enable her to lead a government.

Prior to the 2015 election, with the pollsters predicting a hung parliament, the DUP ruled out a potential formal coalition with the Conservatives, instead indicating its support would be offered in a confidence and supply arrangement from the opposition benches.

Mr Robinson said: "We have essentially got the result we were campaigning for two years ago.

"It didn't materialise then but we campaigned on the basis of a hung parliament two years ago. I think that puts us in a fantastic position to deliver for Northern Ireland."

The DUP made its positions clear in the election campaign that it wanted a Tory government.

In a speech cancelled in the wake of the Manchester terror attack, Mrs Foster planned to describe Jeremy Corbyn as "beyond the political pale" because of his past support for Irish republicans.

She attacked the Labour leader's credibility, including warning that it was hard to take him seriously because of his meetings with political representatives of the IRA at the height of the Troubles.

Mrs Foster was due to set out her stall at a meeting of the pro-Brexit Bruges Group in Mayfair on May 22, but pulled the speech after Ariana Grande's concert in Manchester was targeted by a suicide bomber.

The DUP and Sinn Fein dealt a series of devastating blows to their rivals in Northern Ireland to emerge from the General Election stronger than ever.

The two main parties advanced as the Ulster Unionists and SDLP were wiped off the Westminster map, failing to secure any seats.

'Comeuppance' for Theresa May

Sinn Fein's seven MPs are not part of calculations to form a government because the republican party refuses to take its seats in Westminster.

Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams hailed what he described as a historic result for his party.

"Sinn Fein respects the mandate we have received and our electorate who voted in such huge numbers," he said.

"Nationalists and republicans have turned their back on Westminster and accept that the centre of political gravity is now on the island of Ireland.

"The Taoiseach and DUP need to focus on restoring the political institutions.

"Theresa May sought a mandate for Brexit, austerity and the erosion of human rights. She got her comeuppance.

"The Irish government needs to seize the initiative to secure designated special status for the North as part of the Brexit negotiations."
The IDA has said it is assessing the implications of job cuts at Verizon on its Irish workforce.

In a statement, the Department of Jobs said it was aware of reports that the company is looking to shed 2,000 positions globally as a result the merger of Yahoo and AOL.
By David Raleigh, Limerick District Court

A man has appeared in court charged with falsely imprisoning his elderly father and stealing over 8,000 from him.

James O'Connor, with an address at Edward Street, Limerick, appeared before Limerick District Court, charged with a total of nine offences, including one count of false imprisonment, as well as eight separate counts of theft.

James O'Connor. Picture: Press 22

Mr O'Connor, who turns 40 tomorrow, is charged with falsely imprisoning Jimmy O'Connor, (80), at various locations in the State, on dates between May 19 and June 2 this year.

The accused is charged with three counts of theft totalling 7,000, from his father's credit union account, at Sarsfield Credit Union, Glentworth Street, Limerick.

He is also charged with five counts of theft, totalling 1,150, from his father's weekly pension of 230, at Henry Street post office, on dates between May 1st and May 18th this year.

Detective Garda Brian Culbert, Roxboro Road garda station, told the court he arrested the accused at his home at Edward Street, Limerick, at 7.15pm, on June 7 last.

The court heard Mr O'Connor was conveyed to Roxboro Road garda station and charged on June 8.

Detective Garda Culbert said the accused "made no reply to any of the charges".

The garda witness said he would be objecting to bail "under O'Callaghan (Rules), as well as Section 2 of the Bail Act".

Mr O'Connor's solicitor, Darrach McCarthy indicated he would be seeking bail, on behalf of the accused, at a later date.

Following a request by the solicitor, the court ordered that the accused receive any necessary medical attention for an "asthmatic condition" and an "arthritis condition".

The accused was granted free legal aid and remanded in custody.

Judge Marian O'Leary remanded Mr O'Connor to appear before Limerick District Court, for a bail application, on June 13.
By John McCarthy

A mosque in Limerick received verses from the Quran wrapped in slices of bacon in the post.

One imam said he fears further reprisals against the Muslim community, following acts of vandalism at other mosques in Limerick and in Galway.

The mosque in question also received several very offensive items sent in the post, including images of the Prophet Mohammad, with a bomb in his turban.

Following the attack on a mosque in Galway this week, Imam Khaled Ghafour (pictured), of the mosque in Dooradoyle, Limerick, said they had been broken into and vandalised on three occasions in recent times, which he had not highlighted previously.

On one occasion, the perpetrators urinated on the carpet, which he said was the worst incident they have suffered. Windows have been broken on several occasions and items in the mosque have been smashed. They have since installed CCTV cameras and reported a series of incidents to gardai, but no arrests were made.

Imam Ghafour said prayers were immediately offered in the mosque following the terrorist attacks in Manchester and London in recent weeks, in which 30 people were killed.

For people to commit these atrocities, especially in the month of Ramadan, which is meant to be a month of mercy, these people have no understanding of Islam at all. People shouldnt fear Muslims," he said.

"I always give people the example of the IRA attacks in the UK, when Irish people were looked in the same light [as terrorists. I would have thought Irish people would be more understanding. Not all Muslims are terrorists, and neither were all Irish people.

Imam Ghafour said fears are always there of a backlash against the Muslim community, but it does not take a terrorist attack in the name of Islam for Muslims to be targeted.

The people who committed these attacks are not martyrs; its not a noble cause that they have somehow construed in their minds. They are dying for nothing. What has happened has tarnished all Muslims.

We are living in a terrible time. As a Muslim, this saddens us all, said the Glaswegian native, who moved to Limerick 12 years ago.

This article first appeared in the Irish Examiner
The Calalan president has called an independence for October 1. The Spanish government maintains such a vote is illegal.

Citizens will be asked: "Do you want Catalonia to be an independent country in the form of a Republic?"

Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, made the announcement today in Barcelona.

Members of Parliament from both the Junts pel Si coalition and the radical-left CUP, as well as the President of the chamber, Carme Forcadell, were also in attendance.

The Catalan government said the vote will be organized with "all guarantees" and the winning result will be implemented.

"All options are equally legitimate and valid," Puigdemont said. "Democracy unites us all beyond our legitimate and healthy discrepancies."

The Catalan President urged all citizens to participate in the referendum, arguing that deciding about the future of the country is "an inalienable right".

"We have sought an agreement again and again," Puigdemont said, describing the initiatives of his government over the last year and a half.

"We have actively participated in the National Pact for the Referendum. We have presented proposals to agree on a negotiation. We have adopted parliamentary and government resolutions urging the Spanish executive to talk and negotiate. We have directly expressed to the Spanish government our firm determination to sit down at the table and negotiate a solution. We have explained this around the world, in London, Brussels, Paris, Boston, Washington, New York, and Madrid."

"But we are at the end of our legislative term and we haven't had a single positive answer," he said, arguing that Madrid's refusal to negotiate a vote on independence justifies organizing it under the authority of the Catalan Parliament.

"Fulfilling our democratic commitment, today we have collectively ratified, with the Vice President and all our ministers, our willingness to call the citizens of our country, in the exercise of their legitimate right to self-determination, to a referendum that will be held on Sunday, October 1," Puigdemont said.

"It's up to the Catalans to decide their future," the Catalan President said.

The question will have to be answered with a single 'yes' or 'no', and will be written in the three official languages of the country: Catalan, Spanish, and Aranese, a language spoken by a minority in the Pyrenees.
CNN has cut ties with author and television host Reza Aslan, less than a week after he profanely referred to President Donald Trump in a tweet about the London terror attacks.

The network said it was not continuing with a second season of Believer, Aslan's series about different religions, which premiered last year.

Only two weeks ago CNN dumped comedian Kathy Griffin, co-host of its annual New Year's Eve celebration, when she was photographed holding a depiction of Mr Trump's severed head.

Angered about Mr Trump's social media commentary on the London terror attacks, Aslan tweeted last Saturday that "this piece of s*** is not just an embarrassment to America and a stain on the presidency, he's an embarrassment to humankind."

Aslan also tweeted that Mr Trump was a "man baby that must be ignored in times of crisis".

The Iranian-born author later apologised "for my choice of words" and CNN issued a statement saying "that kind of discourse is never appropriate".

But it was not enough to save his show.

In a statement today, Aslan said he was grateful to CNN for giving his series a chance.

"In these politically charged times, the tenor of our nation's discourse has become complicated," he said.

"And I recognise that CNN needs to protect its brand as an unbiased news outlet. Similarly, I need to honour my voice. I am not a journalist. I am a social commentator and a scholar."
US President Donald Trump has said he's "100%" willing to testify under oath about his interactions with fired FBI director James Comey.

Mr Trump insists that Mr Comey lied in some parts of the testimony he gave yesterday to the Senate intelligence committee.

Mr Comey testified under oath.

The president said that he never asked the former FBI chief for a pledge of loyalty and never told him he hoped the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn would go away.

He said no-one would ask a man he hardly knew to pledge loyalty to him

But Mr Trump's claimed other parts of Mr Comey's testimony represented "total and complete vindication" in the Russian election-meddling political scandal.

The president, who had not posted on his Twitter account yesterday as Mr Comey accused the administration of spreading "lies", struck back with an early morning tweet in which he said: "Wow, Comey is a leaker."

Mr Comey had laid bare on Capitol Hill months of distrust of the president, bluntly asserting that President Trump had fired him for interfering with the probe of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.

At his first congressional appearance since his abrupt firing last month, Mr Comey also revealed that he had orchestrated the public release of information about his private conversations with the president in an effort to further the investigation.

President Trump's tweet said: "Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication ... and WOW, Comey is a leaker."

Mr Comey's testimony provided a gripping account of his interactions with President Trump and underscored the discord that had soured their relationship.

He portrayed President Trump as a chief executive dismissive of the FBI's independence and made clear that he interpreted Mr Trump's request to end an investigation into his former national security adviser as an order coming from the president.

Though Republicans worked to discredit Mr Comey and to blunt the impact of his testimony, the ex-director's statement deepened questions about the basis for his May 9 dismissal and about whether President Trump's actions constituted obstruction of justice.

The veteran lawman expressed confidence that could be a matter ripe for investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, though he declined to offer an opinion on whether it met such a threshold.

President Trump's private lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, seized on Mr Comey's admission that he had told President Trump on multiple occasions that he was not personally under investigation and maintained the testimony made clear that Mr Trump "never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr Comey stop investigating anyone".

Mr Kasowitz also jumped on Mr Comey's revelation that he had released details of his private conversations with the president, casting the former FBI director as one of the "leakers" set on undermining the Trump administration.

Still, there was no doubt the veteran lawman made for a challenging adversary.

"It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation," Mr Comey said toward the end of more than two hours of testimony before the Senate intelligence committee.

"I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavour was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.

"That is a very big deal, and not just because it involves me."

At one point, he practically dared President Trump to release any recordings of their conversations, a prospect the president once alluded to in a tweet.

"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Mr Comey said, suggesting such evidence would back up his account over the president's.

Thursday's hearing brought Washington and other parts of the country to a standstill as Americans sat glued to their screens.

In his opening statement, Mr Comey sombrely accused the Trump administration of spreading "lies, plain and simple" in the aftermath of his abrupt sacking, declaring that the administration "chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI" by claiming the bureau was in disorder.

He then dove into the heart of the fraught political controversy around his firing and whether President Trump interfered in the bureau's Russia investigation, as he elaborated on written testimony released a day earlier.

In that testimony, Mr Comey said that President Trump demanded his "loyalty" and directly pushed him to "lift the cloud" of investigation by declaring publicly the president was not a target of the FBI probe into his campaign's Russia ties.

He said that when President Trump told him he hoped he would terminate an investigation into Mr Flynn, he interpreted that as a directive.

"I mean, this is the president of the United States, with me alone, saying, 'I hope' this," he said.

"I took it as, this is what he wants me to do."

He said that while he found the February exchange in the Oval Office disturbing, "that's a conclusion I'm sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether that's an offence".

Mr Comey said that after his firing he actually tried to spur the special counsel's appointment by giving a damning memo he had written about a meeting with Trump to a friend to release to the media.

"My judgment was I need to get that out into the public square," he said.

The February meeting was one of several one-on-one encounters that Mr Comey said made him feel such intense discomfort that he felt compelled to document them in memos.

"I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document," he said.

"I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself but to protect the FBI."

Later it emerged the intelligence committee is asking White House lawyers whether there are any tape recordings or memos of Mr Comey's conversations with Mr Trump.

The committee's chairman, RepbuMike Conaway and Adam Schiff, sent a letter to White House counsel Don McGahn, asking him whether any such tapes or memos exist now, or had existed in the past.

The committee has also sent a letter to Mr Comey, asking for any notes or memoranda in his possession that would describe discussions he had with Mr Trump.

The committee is seeking the materials by June 23.

A friend of Mr Comey's is also being asked to hand over any memos the former FBI chief has given him.

Mr Comey testified that he'd given a memo including details about a conversation with President Donald Trump to a friend, who was later identified as law professor Daniel Richman.

Mr Comey said he'd asked Mr Richman to share the content of the memo with a reporter.

Mr Richman has now been asked to provide the memo to the panel.

- AP
Roman Polanski's sex assault victim has told a judge to drop the 40-year-old case against the Oscar-winning director as an "act of mercy" to end her decades of suffering.

Samantha Geimer, 13 at the time of the attack, has long publicly supported the demise of the saga, but it is the first time she made the plea to a judge.

Ms Geimer, now 54, told Los Angeles Superior Court that she believes Polanski served his time when he spent 42 days in jail before he went on the run.

She said: "I would implore you to consider taking action to finally put this issue to close as an act of mercy to myself and my family.

"I would like to ask you to consider sentencing Mr Polanski to time served in absentia.

"I know Roman's family has suffered as well - we are human beings.

"A 40-year sentence has been imposed on the victim of the crime as well as the perpetrator.

"Justice is not only about punishment, it's about equity and consideration."

Ms Geimer, whose blonde bob was highlighted with a streak of pink, appeared in court alongside her husband David to make the motion which was supported by Polanski's lawyer, Harland Braun.

She said she is now a grandmother and wants to end the media intrusion that she believes exists because the case is not settled.

But Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee rejected the victim's motion to dismiss the case, arguing that it is in Polanski's hands to return to the country to end the ordeal.

"It's not the people (state) who have caused her continued suffering," she said.

Judge Scott Gordon said he would respond in writing and thanked Ms Geimer for her bravery.

"You are an elegant and courageous testament to the fact that sexual assault not only impacts the victim at the time," he said.

Polanski, 83, has been in self-imposed exile for nearly four decades after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex with Ms Geimer at actor Jack Nicholson's Hollywood hills home in 1977.

The fugitive, currently living in France, admitted the lesser of six charges, the rest being dropped, after allegedly plying the teenager with champagne and a portion of a sedative pill during a photo shoot.

They are trying to get an Interpol arrest warrant lifted so his movement is not restricted to France, Switzerland and Poland, where he fled the Holocaust.

Mr Braun claims the case is no more than a "political circus" and that Polanski has already served his time by spending more than 300 days in jail and house arrest in Switzerland during a failed extradition attempt seven years ago.

Polanski, who won a best director Oscar for The Pianist, fled in 1978, fearing a judge would extend his sentence after he spent 42 days in jail.

Nicholson was not at home at the time of the offence and prosecutors dropped charges of rape and sodomy against Polanski.
Update 11.20am: Talks on Britain's withdrawal from the EU will begin when the new UK government is ready, Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said.

The comment suggests Mr Barnier is ready to delay the opening of official negotiations, which were expected to begin on June 19 in Brussels.

Meanwhile, European Council President Donald Tusk warned of the risk that Britain might end up with no deal on its withdrawal arrangements or future trade because it does not open negotiations in time.

"We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end," said Mr Tusk. "Do your best to avoid a 'no deal' as result of 'no negotiations'."

The president of the Socialists and Democrats grouping in the European Parliament, Italian MEP Gianni Pitella, said: "It's a disaster for May. Her huge gamble has backfired spectacularly. She has no credibility in UK or Europe. She should resign.

"May's wasted enough time. Negotiations must start. We want a positive relationship but rights and benefits can't be the same for UK post-Brexit."

Sigmar Gabriel

German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said he hoped the election result would be seen as a message that the British people do not want a hard Brexit.

He urged the new government to conduct "fair talks with the European Union and reconsider whether it's really good for Great Britain to withdraw from the European Union in this way".

And he said he hoped the new government was one "with which we can conduct serious negotiations and if possible keep Great Britain as close as possible to the European Union".

Update 8.45am: Nigel Farage believes Paul Nuttall should face no blame for Ukip's woeful election showing, as he left open the possibility of a return as leader.

The MEP said he would have "no choice but to return to frontline politics" if the Brexit he desires is put at risk by a hung parliament.

But the tensions within Ukip following the collapse of its vote were clear to see as MEP Bill Etheridge claimed Mr Nuttall had surrounded himself with "appallingly bad advisers".

He added "heads must roll to save the party" and it "feels like a dictatorship and the leader is not the dictator".

Mr Nuttall failed in his bid to win a Commons seat, finishing a distant third in Brexit heartland Boston and Skegness behind the Tories.

Elsewhere, the Ukip vote seemed to disappear, splitting between Labour and the Conservatives.

Former party leader Mr Farage told LBC Radio: "I don't think Paul did anything wrong at all, he didn't have time to establish himself with the public."

He added: "I would not lay any blame on Paul Nuttall whatsoever."

Asked if he would return as leader, Mr Farage said: "Whether leading or playing a prominent role is perhaps a different question."

He added that he could not see the "historic victory" of the British people at last year's EU referendum be betrayed by the political class "and not fight back".

Mr Farage also joked that European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker will be on his "fifth bottle" of wine following the result.

He said "They will be cheering in Brussels" as they see a coalition under a weak leader, adding: "They will think this is the chance to crush a real Brexit."

Mr Etheridge, who also came home a distant third in Dudley North, labelled the election a "disaster" for Ukip.

He said: "These advisers have led the party down a route of authoritarianism and an obsession with Islam, which has turned off many voters, when we should have been focusing on Brexit."

Mr Etheridge went on: "Paul was overwhelmingly elected as Ukip leader because the membership believed that he could unite the party and lead us on to more success.

"But what we have seen is three electoral disasters in a row with the same people at the top, refusing to learn from their mistakes."

Mr Nuttall's humiliation comes after he failed to win in the Stoke Central by-election in February.

An indication that it was going to be a difficult night for his party came in Sunderland, which a year ago provided an early sign that the European Union referendum was going to result in Brexit.

In Houghton and Sunderland South, Ukip's vote was down 15.78%, in Sunderland Central it fell 14.25%, and in Washington and Sunderland West it was cut by 12.85%.

Earlier: Europe's Budget Commissioner has warned that a weakened Government in London could undermine the Brexit process.

Gunther Oettinger told German radio station Deutschlandfunk that in negotiations, "a weaker partner weakens the whole thing".

If both sides in a negotiation were strong, "you get results more quickly", he said.

Mr Oettinger said that the European Union was ready for Brexit talks which are due to begin on June 19, and would be "hard but fair" in its negotiations with the UK.

But he warned that time was running out to reach an agreement which could be approved by all 27 remaining governments within the two-year deadline set out in Article 50 of the EU treaties.

Theresa May's decision to hold a snap election had delayed matters, he said, adding: "There is only 15 or 16 months left."

Mr Oettinger said that he did not believe that voters made their decision on the basis of Brexit, as Mrs May hoped.

"It was about social justice and security," he said.

Czech prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka said he was "delighted" that Jeremy Corbyn had significantly strengthened his party's position, saying that the Labour leader was "the real winner of the British election".

Mr Sobotka said that Europe would now have to wait for the formation of a UK Government, but said he did not expect it to take long.

"Britain launched Brexit in March," he said in a tweet. "We only have two years."

Bohuslav Sobotka

An article on the Europe edition of website Politico, which covers the politics of the European Union, said that Britain was waking up on Friday morning "more divided and uncertain about its future than anyone thought possible".

The article by Tom McTague added: "From a position of relative strength, dominating a compliant parliament which had accepted Brexit, Theresa May is now struggling to cling on to her job, unsure whether she will even be able to form a minority government."

The article said Mrs May is "mortally wounded" and looked ahead to who could potentially emerge from the political wreckage, saying: "Boris Johnson is the most obvious Tory winner from the fallout.

"When a steady but uninspiring leader has been found wanting, they may turn to a tried and tested winner with the charisma to take on Corbyn."

Manfred Weber, chairman of the European People's Party (EPP), the largest grouping in the European Parliament, said Britain looked disorientated by the election result.

The German MEP told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "One year after the decision by the British people to leave the European Union, we see that Europe, Paris for example, Berlin and even Brussels is very stable, so we are ready, and we see disorientation in London, which is not a positive thing."

Asked whether he expected to negotiate with Theresa May, he said it was purely a domestic matter, adding: "We want to start, the time is running, and instability, losing time, is not in your or our interest.

"Europe is for the moment strong and united and we are waiting for Britain."
Canberra microbrewery Zierholz will pursue the University of Canberra for more than $2 million in damages after negotiations broke down between the two over a failed bar venture at the uni's Belconnen campus.

Zierholz has alleged that the university approached the Fyshwick-based brewery in 2009 to work with the staff-run University of Canberra Union to operate a bar, restaurant and events venue with an expected annual turnover of more than $1 million.

Zierholz owner Christoph Zierholz is suing the University of Canberra for over $2 million in damages. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

The University of Canberra agreed to pay for Zierholz's liquor license, run major events at the venue and promote the bar and its products to staff, Supreme Court documents allege.

An event deed from 2011 shows that the University of Canberra and the University of Canberra Union agreed to work with Zierholz to maximise "each of their respective benefits" and establish a business relationship based on mutual trust.
Domestic airlines have two distinct advantages over most other industries  they have a duopoly in the Australian market and they are not victims of the digital disruption that has decimated so many other industries like retailing, media and even banks. Qantas was seeking a government bailout in 2014 after reporting a loss of $2.8 billion. Credit:Getty Images They are a protected species because the economics of starting a new domestic airline don't stack up. Several have tried and all have failed. For a while Qantas and Virgin tried to engage in the fare-cutting war but both were wounded. Ansett managed to go belly up even when it operated in an effective duopoly. Credit:Bryan Charlton

All Qantas and Virgin needed to do was act rationally  avoid fare and capacity price wars  and regain pricing power. Until recently, investment markets have been unconvinced that any airline could report reliable earnings. (Remember, Ansett managed to go belly up even when it operated in an effective duopoly.) A few years back, Qantas was looking to the government for a financial bailout after reporting a loss of $2.8 billion in 2014. And even though Qantas engineered one of the most extraordinary Lazarus-like financial comebacks, there have been plenty of investors that simply can't stomach the traditional rollercoaster earnings ride that has marked the aviation industry.

Therefore, despite the strong earnings performance Qantas has achieved over the past couple of years, it has been valued by the stock market a discount to other listed non-airline companies. But it increasingly seems that Qantas, at least, is winning over the sceptics. Already this year, Qantas' share price has gone up more than 60 per cent. Citi is predicting there is more in the tank for the share price. It released a report on Friday arguing that Qantas' share price could be the subject of a re-rating if it were valued on the same multiple of earnings as other companies and its international airline peers. It says the share price discount is less justified now because the earnings are more sustainable than ever. And Citi increased its target price for Qantas from $4.71 to $7.09 with an expectation other investment banks will also revise up their Qantas forecasts.

It was enough to push up Qantas' share price on Friday morning by 2.1 per cent to $5.26. The other side of the ledger, particularly for Qantas, is the costs it has taken out of the business. "Three years ago, we said we would deliver on $2 billion in transformation, and we've now given ourselves our targets for the next three years and management's focused on delivering on that," Qantas boss Alan Joyce told Businessday this week. Joyce backed the continued rise in the share price, which he said "would look after itself" if its self-imposed cost savings targets of $400 million annually are met. Taking costs out of their businesses allows the airlines to improve their yields even when taking a cut in airfares.

Virgin's cost-cutting and reorganisation program is not as large nor as well advanced as Qantas'. Another factor tantalising Qantas investors is the prospect of further capital management. Several analysts have forecast share buybacks to continue, and Citi is expecting an increase in dividends beyond the stated minimum of 7 cents per share per half. Loading Whether the optimists' views prove prescient now depends on how well Qantas can improve the performance of its international division  and increase its Asia focus.
"While we have advocated for an emissions intensity scheme (EIS), ... a clean energy target is a viable policy option and will unleash the necessary new investment in the national electricity market," AGL said, pointing out the review had found the resource costs of such a scheme were relatively similar to both business-as-usual and an EIS. Illustration: Simon Bosch The clean energy target would be "technologically neutral", the report noted, while also helping to lower long-term emissions. "For example, a mix of wind, solar and coal generation would be equally acceptable as a mix of wind, solar and gas generation as long as the emissions reduction trajectory is achieved." Both a clean energy target and an emissions intensity scheme "are credible emissions reduction mechanisms because they minimise costs for consumers, are flexible and adaptable, and satisfy security and reliability criteria", the review found. "Both mechanisms ... deliver better price outcomes than business as usual." Renewable energy is to play a bigger role in Australia's energy mix if the Finkel Review is adopted. Credit:AP

However a clean energy target "could build directly on the experience of the renewable energy target" and avoid the need for new trading rules and further complexity and hence be implemented comparatively painlessly. Energy Action's director of innovation and sustainability, Paul Bannister, said the decision to opt for a clean energy target was "pragmatic" since it may more easily win political support, rather than an energy intensity scheme. "But this is always open to meddling," he said, warning of the potential for political intervention in the future. Similarly, while the review has backed the emergence of so-called "micro-grids" any change could be some time off since a review of the relevant regulations will not begin for a year. "The development of a functioning smart grid where energy users can sell demand reductions and surplus on-site generation in a free-market environment is central to the necessary reforms," Energy Action's Mr Bannister said. "This is essential to ensure a least-cost outcome for energy users and the economy as a whole."

The chief executive of Origin Energy, Frank Calabria, said he hoped the Finkel review "will pave the way for a more co-ordinated national approach to energy and climate policy". "The important work now begins as industry and governments work together to translate recommendations into actions. "Getting Australia's energy and climate change policy settings right is crucial to attracting the investment required to maintain a secure and affordable supply of energy to Australian homes and businesses, as we continue the transition to a low-carbon economy." The release of the Finkel review into the electricity system comes as electricity consumers are bracing for another round of "sticker shock" from surging electricity bills. Prices in the ACT are rising around 20 per cent, while AGL announced on Friday it would raise charges in NSW by 16 per cent from July 1 and by 18 per cent in South Australia for all households on so-called standing offers, as the surge in wholesale prices flows through to consumers. Yet while the Finkel review was touted as providing a road map to lower electricity prices, the report failed to indicate how this will be achieved, since it has made it clear substantial new investment will be needed in the long-distance transmission network, for example, with the cost burden to be borne by all consumers.

Central to the report is boosting the role of renewables and it backs new renewable energy projects having backup systems to help improve their reliability and smooth some of the "intermittency" that has plagued the electricity market. "It's about time," one energy trader said. "Intermittency is the key issue with renewables. It is not unusual these days to see wind providing 40 per cent of all output. But it is not there at peak demand times, when it is needed. "This has placed an additional cost on consumers and the other generators. So really, it is 'about time' additional renewables had some sort of back up." Craig Memery of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre warned this will force consumers to pay "more than they should in the long run". ''Requiring new renewable energy operators to invest in energy storage technologies or come up with other ways of addressing their variable output is expensive and unnecessary," he said. "Placing additional obligations on renewable energy generators runs the risk of using less cost-efficient approaches, which translates to higher costs for consumers."

But higher charges are unavoidable with the need to build more transmission lines to accommodate more renewable energy plants. "There is a lot of infrastructure spending coming," warned Gavin Dufty, policy officer with the St Vincent de Paul Society. "That raises the issue of who pays for it and how it is allocated  and that's quite regressive", referring to the fact that the cost will more likely fall heaviest on households and businesses who can't afford to install solar systems, and the like. "If you go on a big infrastructure spend, households and small businesses will pay  but you need to allocate that cost in line with people's ability to pay. System security doesn't come cheap. This transition is costly. It is one of the biggest infrastructure challenges we've got  this is big dollars, and will wash through onto the household bill." The Finkel review warned that newer renewable power generators "will likely be smaller in scale but more numerous than coal-fired generators, so a more co-ordinated approach to transmission planning is required". As part of this, it wants "a long-term, integrated grid plan ... to establish an optimal transmission network design to enable the connection of new renewable energy resources". "Co-ordination of generation and transmission investment so that networks connect the areas with the best renewable energy resources, at an efficient scale, will be a critical challenge. Transmission businesses need to be incentivised to build the network infrastructure required for the future of the [national energy market], but not to build unnecessarily."

As BusinessDay reported when the federal government first unveiled its plan to boost capacity of the Snowy Hydro scheme in early March, the headline cost of $1.5 billion-$2 billion would double once the need for upgraded transmission links was taken into account, which was confirmed earlier this month in Senate estimates hearings. And it has gone unnoticed that on the back of the plan by the Victorian government to lift to 40 per cent the supply of electricity sourced from renewable energy within the next decade, plans are already afoot for as much as 5000 megawatts of new renewable projects in western Victoria alone, of which Australian Energy Markets Operator reckons 3000 megawatts will probably be built. But if the AEMO forecast proves to be conservative and the full 5000 MW is built, that would be more than enough to replace three times the capacity of the recently shuttered Hazelwood power station (1600 megawatts), and more than Loy Yang A (2200Mw) and Loy Yang B (1600Mw) combined. According to AEMO, this will need heavy spending on the transmission network throughout that part of the state to get the power to market, with private estimates that the cost could run to several billion dollars. And unless the network companies are paid to build those links, that renewable energy won't find a home. "Without network investments to improve [network] strength, the 3000 megawatts of new renewable generation may still be constrained or disconnected," AEMO warned in a recent report, "even after investments to improve network thermal capacity have been carried out." "Adding 4000 or 5000 megawatts would need a major transmission upgrade of $3 billion-$4 billion," one senior power industry figure said. "There appears to be a 'cargo-cult' mentality taking hold  build it [the network] and they will come. By going about this process the way it has, via a so-called 'regulatory investment test for transmission' this will push up consumers' bills, since they will have to foot the cost of the expansion and the ongoing cost of operating it.
Australia's highest-risk taxpayer has lost an appeal in the Federal Court on a $15 million tax bill relating to interest income.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation has been in long-running legal battles with the ATO and in 2015 was outed as the nation's highest risk taxpayer.

On Thursday the Federal Court's Justice Tony Pagone dismissed News Australia Holding's appeal relating to an old tax assessment amounting to about $15 million.

The Tax Institute's senior tax counsel Bob Deutsch said the case was important for establishing broad principles regarding the timing of interest income.
Deutsche Bank is not allowed to share information it may have about President Donald Trump's finances and his possible ties to Russia despite a request from US lawmakers, the German lender told Congress on Thursday.

In a letter to five House Democrats, Germany's largest bank said it was barred from sharing information about Trump's finances due to US privacy laws.

"We hope that you will understand Deutsche Bank's need to respect the boundaries that Congress and the courts have set in an effort to protect confidential information," lawyers for the bank from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld wrote in the letter.

Deutsche's correspondence follows a May 23 request from Maxine Waters, ranking Democrat on the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, and four peers, requesting information about the Republican president.
As a 58-year veteran of compiling Herald crosswords, David Plomley, of Frenchs Forest, feels qualified to respond to Edith Crowne's question (C8, Friday) regarding why the pattern of squares for cryptic and quick crosswords are nearly always identical. "The reason for this is that, 13,280 crosswords ago (that's the serial number of Friday's Quick), the features editor at that time responded to complaints from spouses that their partners had got at the paper first and filled in the cryptic grids, leaving them very frustrated with nowhere to go," he says. "With two identical grid blocks, the frustrated partner could simply tear out or cover the completed cryptic block and write their answers in the identical block below."

Lilyfield's Bernard James advises of an amusing diversion "for the time rich geriatric" on the corner of Bathurst and Clarence streets where old black and white photographs on construction site hoardings have been embellished with modern artifacts. "Drones, corgis, punks and much more. Tres droll," he says.

The teenage boys en masse phenomenon has been fondly remembered by Gregory William Sale, of Saratoga, who watched a performance of The Crucible at the UNSW Roundhouse in 1971 in company with 16-year-olds studying Arthur Miller's play. "Act III in which Giles Cory gives a suspicious deposition to the court ... when Thomas Putnam enters the room claiming it is all a lie, Giles responds 'A fart on Thomas Putnam', which was accompanied by the most perfectly timed and I do apologise  resoundingly loud fart  I have ever witnessed," Sale says. "The play had to be stopped briefly due some of the actors having difficulties continuing ... I don't know what rekindled this memory perhaps all the hot air coming out of Canberra of late."

Sue Threlfall's discovery of seven crumpets in a six-pack (C8, Thursday) prompted many C8ers to look closely at their breakfast packets, but Terry Lanz, Mona Vale, spoke for many when he wrote: "Is seven the half-dozen equivalent of a baker's dozen?" Edward Loong widened the debate saying he recently cracked an egg at home in Milsons Point to find a double-yolk. "Two for the price of one! Beats seven crumpets in a packet of six."
Two months before he became prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull spoke with wisdom and clarity about striking the right balance between public safety and individual rights when it comes to the threat of terror.

"The balance between security and liberty will always be controversial and that is a good thing," the then communications minister told the Sydney Institute.

Illustration: Jim Pavlidis

"But we need to recognise that getting the balance right is not easy, not least because the balance may shift over time, and we are more likely to do so if there is a thoughtful and well informed public debate."

So what happened this week, after a Somali-born refugee with a long criminal record and a history of substance abuse, mental instability and violence embarked on a murderous rampage in suburban Brighton?
A former government adviser has been acquitted of distributing unauthorised pamphlets smearing a political opponent as a "paedophile lover", but admitted forwarding other denigrating material about him during a trial into one of NSW's dirtiest election campaigns.

Former Liberal campaign manager Jim Daniel was found not guilty on Friday of breaching electoral laws by distributing unauthorised obscene pamphlets smearing a Labor candidate in a battle for Sydney's most marginal seat, East Hills.

The Labor candidate for East Hills Cameron Murphy. Credit:Lee Besford

Election pamphlets distributed during the campaign described opposition candidate and lawyer and civil liberties campaigner Cameron Murphy as "believ[ing] in the rights of child rapists".

Liberal MP Glenn Brookes ultimately held East Hills by less than 1 per cent and expressed disgust at the material, and moved to the cross bench while allegations were investigated.
The NSW government plans to co-opt the private sector in its fight against terrorism, saying businesses need to be their eyes and ears looking out for lone wolves not on security radars.

Authorities in Australia and abroad are grappling with a new wave of low-tech terror attacks by extremists who had largely been deemed low risk.

The attackers behind the Westminster Bridge car attack and last weekend's London Bridge van and knife rampage had been investigated by authorities but had dropped off intelligence radars.

It was a similar story with Brighton siege killer Yaqcub Khayre and Lindt gunman Man Haron Monis, who were not deemed priority targets when they turned violent.
A Sydney surgeon who was subjected to a "vicious" campaign of harassment by a former patient, including an offensive website and death threats, has been awarded $480,000 in damages for defamation, after a judge lauded him as the "perfect plaintiff".

Munjed Al Muderis, an Iraqi refugee and pioneering surgeon celebrated for giving amputees the ability to walk, considered leaving Australia after a former patient and his brother made a series of threats and put grossly defamatory posts about him online.

Surgeon Dr Munjed Al Muderis. Credit:Tim Bauer

This included a website styled similarly to Dr Al Muderis' official business site along with posts on Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.

The Supreme Court heard former patient Gerardo Mazzella and his brother Rodney Duncan waged an online campaign against Dr Al Muderis after he performed a hip operation on Mr Mazzella in 2010.
There have been multiple attacks and a number of thwarted plots in Australia since 2014 carried out under the banner of Islamic extremism.

June 2017

Brighton siege gunman Yacqub Khayre. Credit:AAP

Yacqub Khayre killed one man, Kai Hao, and took a woman hostage before being shot by police in Brighton.

October 2015
A man who had been attacking his ex-girlfriend but killed a Vietnam veteran who tried to intervene has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail.

Norman Olsen's family watched on in the Toowoomba Supreme Court as James Darren Callow was sentenced over the veteran's manslaughter on Friday.

Norman Olsen, pictured with daughter Kate, suffered fatal head injuries after going to a woman's aid. Credit:Facebook

In February 2016, the 65-year-old had stopped his car and tried to restrain Callow as he was attacking his ex-girlfriend.

Callow turned on Mr Olsen and in a violent outburst punched and kneed him, causing him to fall backwards and crack his head on a busy Toowoomba road.
A Sunshine Coast man has died while on a trip to Bali for a friend's wedding.

Tyler Kennedy, 31, was found at the bottom of a pool at a villa in Canggu, south Bali, earlier this week, 7 News reported.

The former Caloundra High School student was in Bali with a group of people for his friend Luke's wedding on Tuesday.

Darryl Cook, a former employer and friend of Mr Kennedy's, took to Facebook on Friday to pay respects to "one of the greatest guys I have met in my life".
Death threats were made to the leader of a Melbourne mosque the day after Yacqub Khayre allegedly shot dead a receptionist and held a sex worker hostage inside a Brighton apartment.

On Friday police charged a 67-year-old Altona Meadows man over allegedly threatening to kill an Imam at a mosque in Melbourne's western suburbs.

A man has been charged over the threats to the Imam.

The man allegedly called the mosque and made threats to both the mosque and the Imam on Tuesday.

It's understood the call was made in reaction to the tragic events, and the mosque immediately alerted police and the Islamic Council of Victoria.
Sentences imposed on three young Melbourne men who pleaded guilty to separate terror-related offences are too lenient and should be increased, appeals courts have been told.

The Court of Appeal on Friday heard challenges by Commonwealth prosecutors to the sentences imposed last year on Sevdet Besim, who planned to behead a police officer at an Anzac Day service in 2015; a teenager who built a bomb and planned to detonate it on Mother's Day the same year; and Hassan El Sabsabi, who sent $16,000 to a contact who planned to fight in Syria.

Hassan El Sabsabi sent money to a contact who planned to fight in Syria. Credit:Jason South

Besim, 20, was jailed for 10 years and must serve seven and a half years before he is eligible for parole; the teenager  referred to in court as MHK  was jailed for seven years and must serve at least five; and El Sabsabi was spared further jail having served 44 days in custody when arrested in 2014.

Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Sarah McNaughton, SC, said the intentions of both MHK and Besim were to terrorise and kill Australians on home soil.
Expanding export markets and a greater focus on premium wines are crucial to the future profitability of the Victorian wine industry, according to a road map for the industry.

The plan, launched at Yering Station winery in the Yarra Valley on Friday, also calls for a better narrative for how to sell Victorian wine domestically and around the world.

The state industry must position itself as an agile and innovative niche market player, the report says. Credit:Nicolas Walker

The state government's 2017-2021 Victorian Wine Industry Development Strategy says that because the state produces less than one per cent of the world's wine, the industry "must position itself as an agile and innovative niche market player".

"Victoria's point of difference and its competitive advantage in wine export markets is its diversity of varieties, including a range of high-quality alternative and cooler-climate varieties," the strategy says.
Bangkok: An espionage charge laid against Australian filmmaker James Ricketson in Phnom Penh could strain the Turnbull government's relations with Cambodia, as Canberra clings to a controversial $55 million refugee deal.

Mr Ricketson has been charged with gathering information that could jeopardise Cambodia's national security. He could face up to 10 years jail if convicted.

Australian filmmaker James Ricketson in police custody in Phnom Penh.

Australia's standard response in matters where its citizens get into legal trouble overseas is that it cannot intervene in the legal affairs of another nation. It provides only consular assistance.

But Mr Ricketson was charged on Friday with "receiving or collecting information, processes, objects, documents, computerised data or files with a view to supplying them to a foreign state or its agents, which are liable to prejudice the national defence".
This would mean the government and its ministers would all be Conservatives, rather than sharing power as they did with the Liberal Democrats seven years ago. Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted as he arrives at Labour party headquarters. Credit:AP "Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years," Mrs May said. She was confident they would "be able to work together in the interests of the whole of the UK". DUP leader Arlene Foster stands with fellow DUP MPs as she addresses the news of a possible Parliamentary agreement with the Conservative party. Credit:Getty Images

In a video statement released on Friday afternoon, Mrs May added that she was sorry for all her colleagues, MPs and ministers "who lost their seats and didn't deserve to". She said it was encumbent on the Conservatives to "form a government in the national interest", as they were the only party in a position to do so. She did not directly answer a question as to whether her government would last a five-year term, or whether she would last five years at its head  but she said she would "reflect on what happened" in the election. Mrs May's first task will be a reshuffle of her ministry, as the party lost eight ministers in the election including one cabinet minister. Late on Friday afternoon Mrs May reinstalled the government's five senior cabinet ministers to their existing roles: Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon.

They would be the only ministerial appointments made on Friday, Number 10 said. Tellingly, one of the main authors of the Conservatives' 2017 election manifesto lost his seat. Before the election Ben Gummer, the Cabinet Office Minister, had been tipped to take over the Brexit ministry, with Brexit secretary David Davis replacing Boris Johnson in the Foreign Office. Financial secretary to the Treasury  colloquially known as the 'tax minister' Jane Ellison  lost Battersea as it swung 10 per cent to Labour. Andrew Gimson, contributing editor to the grassroots ConservativeHome website, said Mrs May had "lost the trust of the Tory party" and they would not want to fight another election under her.

The new government was "wonderfully weak and unstable", he said, paraphrasing Mrs May's "strong and stable" election mantra. Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown said the Prime Minister had no mandate. "She cannot last, her position is untenable," he said. "She has no credibility at home and no bargaining power with the European Union." However, some senior Tories said it would be unwise to change leadership with the new government in such a precarious position  risking a new election and undermining Brexit talks which are due to begin in just 10 days. If Mrs May stays in the longer term, she will likely be forced to open up Number 10 to a more consultative operation, having previously preferred to work with a tight-knit coterie of close advisers.

The DUP is a natural ally for the Conservatives. Their leader Arlene Foster, who narrowly avoided being killed by an IRA bomb as a teenager in 1988, has described Jeremy Corbyn as "beyond the pale". Last year Ms Foster and her fellow MPs held a champagne reception at the Conservative Party conference. On Friday, Ms Foster told the BBC it would be "difficult for [May] to survive given that she was presumed to come back with maybe a hundred majority". She also stopped well short of promising to support Mrs May's government. Ms Foster delivered a short statement saying she had spoken to the prime minister and that they would "enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge".
Washington: US President Donald Trump says he's "100 per cent" willing to testify under oath about his interactions with fired FBI director James Comey.

Speaking on Friday, one day after Comey delivered a scathing indictment of the president at the Senate Intelligence Committee, the president again denied two key claims made by the former FBI director and labelled him a "leaker".

Trump said he never asked Comey for a pledge of loyalty and never told Comey he hoped the investigation of Flynn would go away.

While Comey confirmed a lot of what Trump had claimed about their interactions, Trump said other parts of Comey's testimony "just weren't true". Trump said the testimony on Thursday proved there was "no collusion, no obstruction" and that "he's a leaker".
Iran has denounced Donald Trump's response to the Tehran attack as "repugnant", after the US president implied that the country brought the attack on itself by supporting other terrorist groups. Hours after gunmen and suicide bombers from Islamic State (IS) struck in the Iranian capital on Wednesday, the White House issued a statement mixing sympathy with a rebuke.

"We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times. We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote," Mr Trump said.

Police officers control the scene, around of shrine of late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, after an assault by several attackers in Tehran. Credit:AP

The statement drew an angry response on Twitter from Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, who also criticised efforts by the US Senate to impose new sanctions on Iran. "Repugnant [White House] statement and Senate sanctions as Iranians counter terror backed by US clients. Iranian people reject such US claims of friendship," Mr Zarif said.

Mr Trump's statement contrasted with a more straightforward message of condolence that had been released earlier by the US State Department.
It was the Roman senator and historian Tacitus who observed how unfair it was that "victory is claimed by all, failure to one alone".

This is not the case with the Conservative Party's electoral disaster. There is an awful lot of blame to go around, but most of it is being sheeted home to two people: the party's leader, Theresa May, and the Australian hired gun who ran the campaign, Lynton Crosby.

Crosby, a former Liberal Party staffer, masterminded four victories for John Howard before moving to the United Kingdom to apply his dark arts for the Conservatives in 2005 for Michael Howard.

Howard (Michael, not John) lost a bitter election campaign in which he had focused on the perils of unchecked immigration, the same issue Mr Crosby had used to help propel John Howard's victories.
Tokyo: The Japanese Parliament has opened the door to modernising the Chrysanthemum Throne, unanimously passing a special law allowing the ailing Emperor Akihito to retire, and proposing that the government consider letting the royal bloodline pass through the women of the imperial family.

Ever since Emperor Akihito, 83, announced his desire to abdicate on television last August, the parliament has deliberated over whether to grant his request. With the passage of the special bill by the upper house on Friday, the stage is now set for the emperor to step down and pass the throne to his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito. The lower house passed the legislation last week.

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in Tokyo earlier this month. Credit:AP

At a time when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is promoting a political message of women's empowerment, the rules of succession governing the world's oldest monarchy do not permit women to be put in line for the throne.

But with public pressure mounting to allow women to reign, the shrinking size of the imperial household - and the dwindling number of male heirs - has pushed the question of the role of royal women to the forefront of the abdication debate.
Los Angeles: The woman whom fugitive movie director Roman Polanski admitted he raped 40 years ago will attend a court hearing in Los Angeles where she hopes to plead for an end to the case, Polanski's attorney said.

Samantha Geimer was 13 years old when Polanski assaulted her in Los Angeles in 1977. In recent years, she has said repeatedly that she has forgiven Polanski, now 83, but Friday's appearance would make the first time Geimer has appeared publicly at a court hearing in the case.

"Samantha Geimer is tired of this. She has been asking the court to terminate this case for years. She wants to get it over with," the director's attorney, Harland Braun, said on Thursday.

He said Geimer would help make the case that Polanski had served his time and should not be punished further.
One of the most astonishing was Canterbury  which held the Guinness World Record for the longest time held by the same party. Jeremy Corbyn attends a campaign rally with young activists in May. Credit:Getty Images The Conservatives and their earlier counterparts held it for 160 years, but Labour snatched it away on Thursday by just 187 votes. The Tories said the seat had been taken away by students in this university campus city attracted by Labour's promise to scrap tuition fees. But locals interviewed by the Guardian said the appeal of Corbyn's Labour was much broader than raw self-interest. The Labour leader won over younger voters. Credit:Getty Images

Similar results popped up across the country: where young voters were concentrated, Labour swings rose  the pattern was repeated in Bristol, Cardiff, Ipswich, Warwick and Leeds, often resulting in Labour gains. The result was foreseen by Survation  the pollster whose prediction of a hung parliament was widely dismissed before the election, but which stuck to its guns. Theresa May was popular with voters aged over 55. Credit:Bloomberg In a blog post defending their figures just days before the vote, Survation CEO Damian Lyons Lowe said he had found an "unusual voting intention boost among the 18-24s"  more young people than usual were telling them they were 'absolutely certain' to vote. Other pollsters refused to believe them, and mapped their predictions onto 2015 turnouts.

Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Downing Street to go to Buckingham Palace for the Queen's permission to form a UK government. Credit:Dan Kitwood But Survation decided to take them at their word. And they found that these groups were much, much more likely to back Labour. "There is some evidence the younger voters will play a more crucial and active role in this election," Lowe wrote ahead of the election. He noted that it wasn't unreasonable, as Labour had a "retail offer" for younger voters on tuition fees. Protesters outside Downing Street in London call on the PM to resign. Credit:PA This generational divide was seen last year too, in the Brexit referendum where 75% of the under-25s voted Remain.

But in that case, turnout of that demographic was a long way below that of the retirees  an astonishing 90% of over-65s voted. There simply weren't enough young people in the country to compensate. This time, there were. And Labour MP Catherine West believes it was about more than just the fees. It was the change in Labour's campaign, inspired by Corbyn's deliberate focus on idealism and hope rather than retail politics. "The way we campaigned was person to person rather than the more robotic approach from the Tories," she told Fairfax. "Young people were telling other young people to vote on Facebook. It was quite a breakthrough for a campaign that is often quite old fashioned, using old media. "The swelling number of people going out to vote I think was quite a new element. Particularly in large young populations we saw that surge."

West doesn't put it all down to youth. She believes the Conservative manifesto 'dementia tax' scared off a lot of older potential Tory voters. The growing age gap The rise of the generation gap was also seen coming by Strathclyde university's Prof John Curtice. A week before the election, he said polls were showing a "very remarkable" breaking of young people to Labour and old to the Tories  at a level much greater than in 2015. "The Corbynista strategy was avowedly to persuade young people to vote Labour and to turn out," he said.

He had seen the first part of the plan work: on election night he saw the second. In England and Wales there was only a 2.5% swing to Labour in seats where less than 7% of the population was aged 18-24. But in seats where at least one in 10 voters were under 25, there was a swing of 5%. On the other hand, only 15 of Labour's 35 gains had more 18-24 year olds than average, so there were clearly other factors at work on the night. It may seem like good news for Labour.

But former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, who lost his seat in the election to Labour, used his concession speech to warn of the consequences of this demographic divide. The next parliament, he said, would be "presiding over a deeply, deeply divided and polarised nation". "We saw that in the Brexit referendum and we see it here again tonight  polarised between left and right, between different regions and nations and areas of the country. "But most gravely of all, this huge gulf now between young and old. Loading
Almost 70% of properties sold in first week of November
Latest News Sydney records highest auction clearance rate in six months Almost 70% of properties sold in first week of November

ScotPac opens new broker portal System aimed at speeding up approvals

Amidst a swathe of decisions to tighten responsible lending, brokers have expressed alarm at the rapid nature of these reforms.A survey conducted by MyState Bank collected results from more than 200 brokers and found the number one concern for over 50% of respondents was the speed at which regulators have changed aspects such as loan to valuation ratios (LVRs) and loan availability to quash heated housing markets in Sydney and Melbourne.An additional 25% of brokers flagged the potential for further regulatory changes with limited notice as their primary concern, while 8% said the ability of their broking businesses to deal with these changes at short notice was more worrisome.Regulatory action overshadowed housing market concerns with only 9.5% of brokers saying the potential for a significant slowdown was their main fear.These responses show that brokers believe that regulators are not giving adequate notice or consultation around regulatory changes, said MyState group executive broker distribution Huw Bough Mortgage brokers are a key mortgage distribution channel in Australia. Broker networks give consumers greater choice and encourage competition by enabling smaller challenger banks to offer products in markets right across the country, he said.As an integral part of our financial system, it is important that the broker industrys views are fully considered and taken into account in any industry change.In the survey, which was carried out through the banks national broker network, more than 60% of those polled said regulators failed to consider the wishes of consumers when making recent changes.There also seems to be a move away from the big four banks with 46% of respondent brokers saying a greater number of clients are now looking for a mortgage elsewhere.As a smaller bank, MyState is strategically reliant on the broker channel and is not conflicted on where it wants to compete, Bough told Australian Broker.This enables us to have a healthy and deeper dialogue with brokers, act as a real business partner, and really focus on improving the broker customer experience. Because we succeed if our brokers succeed, our interests are aligned around helping brokers in a range of areas and doing what is best for the customer.
Latest News Sydney records highest auction clearance rate in six months Almost 70% of properties sold in first week of November

ScotPac opens new broker portal System aimed at speeding up approvals

The Bank of Queensland (BOQ) has rejuvenated its home loan growth through the third party channel after a period of less than stellar performance.A research note released by independent investment firm Morningstar on Tuesday (6 June) referred to claims by BOQ management that tighter standards and reduced lending via the broker channel had actually resulted in below-system residential loan growth.Ironically, tougher regulatory lending criteria announced during the past six months has helped Bank of Queensland as competitors have had to slow loan growth for investor loans and interest-only loans, Morningstar analysts wrote.The problems with the broker channel have been fixed and Bank of Queensland expects to grow its residential loan book broadly in line with system in fiscal 2018.Brokers as well as business specialists have played a significant part in the banks recent push for interstate expansion, analysts wrote.Morningstar met with BOQ prior to writing the released research note and said the key takeaway from the meeting was the banks cautious approach to residential lending, both lending to developers and buyers.Analysts praised the banks high credit quality and loan loss rate of 0.13% in the first half of the year.Strong loan impairment expense improvements in the BOQ finance and commercial loan books was (sic) partially offset by a modest tick up in retail loan losses. Impaired assets continue to decline.Despite considerable media speculation of highly geared households about to implode, there are no signs yet of any deterioration in Bank of Queenslands housing book with 90-day plus arrears 0.04% lower at 0.41% of gross home loans and 30-day plus arrears 0.02% lower at 0.98% at 28 February 2017.After reducing exposure to the overheated Brisbane CBD apartment market as well as the strongly performing markets of Sydney and Melbourne, BOQ has reduced its residential loan portfolio by approximately 3% during the 12 months prior to 31 March.BOQ says it has no exposure to foreign residential apartment buyers. It says its limited residential development exposures are with long-standing clients with strong records in building high quality apartments presold to local buyers.However, Morningstar analysts have taken a more cautious position, maintaining that these exposures would not be immune in a down market.While BOQ should have theoretically benefited from the governments bank levy, any positive effects have been offset by S&Ps recent ratings downgrade of 23 Australian financial institutions, analysts said.Discussing the state of BOQs lending portfolio, Morningstar said that home loans represented over 69% of total loans at the bank with non-performing loans tracking at around 0.49% of total loan book.Finally, analysts said that while stewardship at the bank had initially been poor, BOQ has come a long way in tightening lending standards, cost controls and capital allocation.Improvements in loan arrears and decreased impaired assets in business and commercial lending illustrate asset-quality improvement. All these initiatives bring a tangible benefit of credit-rating upgrades.
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She may have lost, but she found her voice.

Hillary Clinton implored graduates of Medgar Evers College to exercise their right that the universitys namesake civil rights activist died to achieve in a commencement address on Thursday at the Barclays Center.

Previous generations may have begun the struggle for voting rights, but Ill tell that you none of our struggles over, she said. All the speaking out and protesting doesnt mean much if you dont help choose the elected officials who have ability to shape your world.

The former First Lady and U.S. Secretary of State praised diversity in her address to students of the historically black college, throwing a not-so-subtle barb at President Trump days after he requested that the U.S. Supreme Court enact his controversial travel ban on citizens from six Muslim-majority nations entering the country.

You come from 94 countries and speak 44 languages  you embody what makes New York and America great already, said Clinton.

She invoked a graduate of Yemeni descent who graduated with honors as the type of hard-working person who would be discriminated against by the polarizing order.

He came to this country to work in a deli across the street from Medgar Evers College, and he made sandwiches for students and professors, she said. Today he is graduating with honors and Im certainly glad he wasnt banned from America.

Clinton, who visited the Crown Heights school named for slain activist Medgar Evers during her primary campaign last April, urged the crowd to persevere in the face of adversity, citing her loss to Trump in last years presidential election and the hardships that Everss widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, faced after his death.

Ive had a few setbacks in my own life, and losing an election is devastating especially considering who I lost to, she said. But that pales in comparison to what Myrlie went through, and frankly what a lot of people go through today.

Evers, a civil rights activist who fought against segregation at the University of Mississippi, was assassinated in 1963 by a white supremacist who was not tried for the crime until 1994.

Borough President Adams joined Clinton at the universitys 46th commencement, and did not resist his own opportunity to rail against adversity, or Trump, in a speech.

Dont think for one moment there are not going to be days when you feel like you dont want to get out of bed, he said. Dont think that some chump like Trump is going to take away your ability to be the president of the United States. You got to get up.

The City University of New York chancellor awarded Clinton with an honorary degree following her address.
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How rude  and how effective!

Brooklyn Paper Radio co-host Gersh Kuntzman bullied City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez into appearing on this weeks show by attacking the Upper Manhattan Democrat for failing to publicly discuss his back-room negotiations over the long-awaited expansion of CitiBike.

On Thursday, Kuntzman, who is also a Daily News columnist, posted a really long barn-burner of a story (and I mean really long!) criticizing the company that runs CitiBike for the stalled expansion. Kuntzman condemned the company, as well as city officials, for not returning his calls to discuss the vital form of mass transit.

Kuntzman also got angry with Rodriguez, who, as chairman of the Transportation Committee, has a lot to say about CitiBike. In his story, Kuntzman said he called Rodriguez repeatedly, but never got a call back.

Im not sure if hes dodging or if his office is merely incompetent, Kuntzman wrote in the Daily News. In any event, term limits will happily fix that.

Boom!

Sure enough, Rodriguezs aide called Kuntzman on Thursday and offered Rodriguez up for an full interview on Friday on Brooklyn Paper Radio.

Im happy to let the Councilman have a full hour to discuss his vision for CitiBike, Kuntzman said. Thats why I went after him publicly. It worked. Youre welcome.

For his part, Radio co-host Vince DiMiceli was just happy to have Kuntzman once again produce the segment without the help of the shows so-called producer, Johnny or Jimmy or whatever his name is.

I have a lot of strong opinions about how CitiBike is run, so Ill be asking the tough questions, DiMiceli said. But as far as lining up the talent, booking the guests, and writing these stories, look, I just dont have the time. And apparently, neither does Jimmy, or Johnny, or whatever his name is.

Its will all go down live, tomorrow at 4 pm on Brooklyn Paper Radio.
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.
State Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10) presented a check to Yardley Borough Police Chief Joseph Kelly for $68,600 for the purchase of a new police vehicle and motorcycle during a visit to the station. Our police put themselves on the line every day to keep our community safe, said Sen. Santarsiero. Dating back to when I was a Lower Makefield Township Supervisor more than...
NJ Weedman got a license to sell NJ legal weed. He almost said no.
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Taxi-hailing app Ola hit out at rival Uber after the latter fired its Asia Pacific business head who had allegedly obtained medical records of a 26-year-old woman who was raped by an Uber driver in India in 2014. The expelled Eric Alexander alleged that Ola was behind the incident to sabotage Uber's India business.

Ola has described Uber as "despicable" and "low on morality" following a report that claims the American firm badly mishandled the rape of a customer in 2014.

In a statement on Thursday Ola said, "It is a shame that the privacy and morals of a woman have to be questioned in an attempt to trivialise a horrific crime. It is despicable that anyone can even conceive an attempt to malign competition using this as an opportunity. If this report were to be even remotely true, this is an all-time low on morality and a reflection of the very character of an organisation, Ola said.

Alexander showed the confidential information of the medical report to chief executive officer Travis Kalanick and SVP Emil Michael, who, with their timid knowledge of the medical report, believed that the womans story was concocted and not true and that prime competitor Ola was behind the complaints, said the reports by Recode, a technology website.

Despite the case being a criminal investigation, Alexander kept the documents for over a year before other executives allegedly got to know of it and destroyed it. In that time, Alexander showed the report to CEO Travis Kalanick and SVP Emil Michael, apart from numerous other executives, who tried to poke holes in the womans claims of being raped by her Uber driver.

of the 26-year-old woman being raped by her Uber driver in Delhi had led to massive repercussions for the company, which was later banned by the Delhi government. The issue had brought up serious questions about the safety of ride-hailing services, with people pointing fingers at Uber for being so lax about driver background checks.

The victim later settled with Uber for a reported $3 million, reports said.

Alexanders handling of the situation in India is one of the 215 claims that law firms Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling are investigating at Uber. These range from misconduct, sexism and sexual harassment, for which Uber even told employees it has fired 20 people so far and another 100 are still being investigated or have seen some type of action.

The NYT report said employees were surprised to learn that Alexander was not one among the 20 employees who were fired. More disturbing is that he was only let go once reporters began asking questions about his actions, despite Kalanick and several other high-level executives having knowledge of what he had done.

The incident in Delhi in December 2014 led to several widespread changes for Indias ride-hailing sector. While only Uber was implicated, even Ola faced the heat when the Delhi government banned all ride-hailing services in the city.

A few other cities followed suit, leading both Uber and Ola to improve their background verification methods, introduce SOS buttons within their apps and even physical buttons in the cars themselves. However, instances of violence by drivers of Uber and Ola cabs do continue to crop up intermittently despite this.
Shares of Information technology (IT) services major Infosys dropped four per cent on Friday when trading opened on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after reports of its founders, led by N R Narayana Murthy, planning to sell their stake in the company that they founded emerged.
After recently commencing indigenous production of its $1-billion Doritos brand of nachos in India, India is eyeing to grab the top spot in this category in the coming few years.


has announced that one of its subsidiaries will buy robotics Boston Dynamics and Schaft from Google holding company Alphabet. Both specialise in developing walking robots. The terms of the deal are not disclosed.
No outsiders including AAP leaders will be allowed to enter the district during the curfew relaxation period on Friday, the police said.

Addressing a joint press conference along with the collector, SP Manoj Kumar Singh said prohibitory orders are in place in the entire district and entry of outsiders restricted.

AAP leaders including Bhagwat Mann, Ashutosh and Sanjay Singh are planning to visit the district that was hit by farmers' agitation after five were shot dead in police firing.

The SP said the AAP leaders will be arrested if they try to enter the district.

He said anti-social elements were involved in the breach of peace in the district and 156 persons have been arrested so far in connection with cases of arson and vandalism.

"We are with the farmers but will take action against those who resort to violence. Anti-social elements were involved in violence," he said.

To a question, the SP said the postmortem report of two of the five farmers killed in the agitation has found that they were killed by bullets fired from an Insas rifle. The postmortem report of the other three farmers is awaited.

Collector O P Srivastava said the situation has improved and no untoward incident has been reported.

ATMs have started functioning and supplies of milk and vegetables have improved, he said.

However, it would take time before Internet services are restored.

The administration is making a report on the number of vehicles and shops burnt down during the agitation and compensation will be given after thorough checks.

Mandsaur, the epicentre of the agitation, has remained relatively peaceful even as farmer protests have spilled over to new areas of Madhya Pradesh.

Incidents of arson were reported from Shajapur and Dhar districts in western part of the state yesterday as the agitation for loan waiver and better crop price continued.

Police fired teargas and lathicharged a stone-pelting mob near the local market in Shajapur yesterday. Following the incident, prohibitory orders were imposed in Shajapur town under Section 144 of the CrPC.

The agitation has also spread to Chhindwara district in Mahakoshal region of the state.

The Centre had rushed 1,100 personnel of the RAF to the violence-hit state.

While two companies of the RAF, each comprising 100 personnel, were deployed in Pipliamandi in Mandsaur, where the five farmers were killed, another two were posted in Garoth.

Two RAF companies were deployed along the highway.

Contingents of the CRPF have also been deployed.

At least 56 people have been arrested and over 100 detained in connection with violence during the farmers agitation here.

The state's Home Minister Bhupendra Singh had told PTI that the five farmers had been killed in police firing, a remark that assumes significance as the authorities had earlier claimed the police did not fire during the protests.

To bring back normalcy, the Chief Minister had made a fresh attempt to reach out to the agitating farmers, saying the state government was open for a dialogue to iron out the differences and once again appealed them to maintain peace.
Rail, one of the flagship projects of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, is just a step away from its maiden commercial run after receiving a technical clearance from the Railways Ministry on Thursday.
A 26-year-old farmer died in Badavan village of violence-hit Mandsaur district, with locals alleging that was beaten up by policemen.

However, police said the circumstances of his death were unclear and they were investigating the matter.

Ghanashyam Dhakad was on his way to a temple last evening when some policemen stopped him and thrashed him with sticks, villagers claimed.

The farmer was taken to the MY hospital in Indore where he died, they said.

Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh and collector Swatantra Kumar Singh reached the spot on Friday and talked to villagers there.

The collector said the cause of his death was being investigated.

Angry villagers in the area claimed that they were being beaten up and arrested by the police without cause. The SP assured them that their grievances would be looked into.

Former Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan, who is at the spot, said she would meet the SP to demand compensation for the deceased farmer.

Violence has rocked the district after five farmers were killed in police firing in the district on Tuesday.
The army was called in on Thursday after thousands of angry Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists demanding a separate Gorkhaland state indulged in arson and pelted stones at police, injuring 15, as around 45,000 tourists were stranded in the northern West Bengal hills due to the violence.

In Kolkata, a Defence Ministry spokesman said two army columns based in Darjeeling were being requisitioned.

The GJM has called a 12-hour shutdown in the north Bengal hills on Friday in protest against "indiscriminate police action on the peaceful demonstration" by its workers.

"Requisition from state government received. Two army columns based in Darjeeling moving out," said Wing Commander S.S. Birdi, Chief Public Relations Officer of Defence, at Kolkata.

One column comprises 43 personnel.

On a day Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held her cabinet meeting in Darjeeling - the first time in 45 years that the state cabinet had met in the hill district - the GJM workers went on rampage demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland.

They staged demonstrations, raised slogans against Banerjee and engaged in a pitched battle with the police, as panicked tourists tried to rush out. The GJM supporters broke through police barricades, damaging and torching five police vehicles, set fire to a traffic outpost and a state bus, and indulged in massive stone pelting at the police.

The police, who initially beat a hasty retreat, made repeated baton charge and lobbed tear gas shells at the mob to quell the violence that erupted near Bhanu Bhawan on the tourist hub Mall Road, that was virtually taken over by the GJM workers.

At least 15 police officers, including Jalpaiguri range Deputy Inspector General of Police Rajesh Kumar Yadav, sustained severe injuries, as shops and hotels downed shutters in fear.

The Morcha supporters also forced the markets in the neighbouring Kalimpong district to shut down.

Banerjee, after her cabinet meeting, claimed the Morcha's agitation was based on a "non-issue".

"Every political party has a right to protest. So have they. But what is the issue on which this agitation is based? There are no issues at all. The Morcha is trying to gain political relevance by holding these protests," Banerjee observed at the end of her Cabinet meeting. Banerjee and two other ministers have stayed back in Darjeeling after the cabinet meeting in view of the volatile situation and the plight of the tourists.

"We have no enmity with anyone. We want the hills and the entire state to be well," she added.

The GJM claimed that 45 of its supporters were injured in the police action.

"Our party has called for a 12-hour shutdown in the North Bengal hills, including Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Mirik subdivision, in protest against the indiscriminate police action on our peaceful demonstration," GJM General Secretary Roshan Giri told IANS.

"We condemn the police action on our supporters today in Darjeeling. At least 45 GJM supporters including women got injured in the police beating," he said.

State Tourism Minister Gautam Deb said around 15,000 tourists were stranded in Darjeeling town, and around 30,000 in the other parts of the hills.

Holding the Banerjee government responsible for the violence, the opposition Left Front urged the Chief Minister to take immediate steps to restore peace in the region.

"The situation in the hills is a matter of grave concern. The Chief Minister's policy on the north Bengal hills is similar to the Prime Minister's policy on Kashmir. There should be discussions on peace, not provocation," said LF major Communist Party of India-Marxist state Secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh blamed Banerjee for "stoking the fire" in the hills with her repeated visits there. "Now she is trapped there, and seeking army help to return home," he said.

The political temperature soared in North Bengal hills after the GJM -- the dominant party in the region for close to a decade -- seized on Banerjee's earlier announcement that Bengali would be a compulsory subject in schools across the state.

The GJM, looking for a confrontation with the ruling Trinamool Congress which has in recent elections emerged as its main rival in the region, immediately hit the streets, dubbing the move as a bid to "impose Bengali in the hills" and revived the demand for Gorkhaland.

Banerjee on Monday tried to cool passions by announcing that Bengali would not be compulsory in schools in the Darjeeling hills and in certain areas of the Dooars and the Terai.
Delhi Police's Special Cell has arrested an aide of gangster Chhota Shakeel, who was planning to target Pakistan-born Canadian writer .

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P S Kushwah said Junaid Chaudhary (21) was nabbed on the intervening night of June 7 and 8 from Wazirabad road in north-east Delhi.

The DCP said Chaudhary was planning to target the writer, known for his controversial remarks. Even though Fatah was not in Delhi, the aide was here to carry out a recce, he said.

A pistol and four live cartridges were seized from him, the police officer said.

Chaudhary was arrested in June last year along with three others with arms and hawala money sent by Shakeel, but was released on bail within four months. They had been planning to kill Hindu Mahasabha chief Swami Chakrapani at that time.

He contacted Shakeel again but after his bail was cancelled he was sent to Tihar. Later, he was again released on bail and once again got in touch with Shakeel.

Chaudhary then started carrying out the gangster's Delhi- based activities. He is currently being interrogated.
Underage marriages, especially of girls, are rising in urban India and declining in rural India, according to a new analysis of census data, but while the immediate reasons are not clear, patriarcy and the continuing hold of tradition are implicated.
Hundreds of Bhim Army activists protested in Charthawal town of the district demanding the release of the Dalit outfit's chief Chandrasekhar.

The protesters, who came from several villages in the district, alleged on Thursday that Chandrasekhar had been falsely implicated in connection with the caste-based violence at Saharanpur.

The Bhim Army chief was arrested on Thursday from Himachal Pradesh.

Staging a dharna outside a police station in the town, the activists also submitted a memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath demanding the leader's release, SHO Sanjiv Sharma said.
Connaught Place and its radial lanes are home to several relics of a bygone era, hanging on to their laidback ways. The Janpath Hotel, run by the Indian Tourism Development Corporation, belongs squarely within this paradigm of this sepia-toned past. But the government has other plans  the four-acre hotel will soon have to make way for offices.
Everything is being done to secure the release of former naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court, and he will be provided with all support, Navy chief Sunil Lanba said on Thursday.

Following his death sentence, India had approached the International Court of Justice at the Hague last month seeking provisional stay to execution of Jadhav which was granted.

Pakistan, which announced the death sentence to 46-year- old Jadhav on April 10, claims its security forces arrested him from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran.

However, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy.

"We will provide all support to him and his family. The country is doing all that can be done to secure his release," Lanba said, on the sidelines of a flag-in ceremony of Indian Naval Mountaineering Team.
Let me say this at the outset. Jairam Rameshs new book is a thorough documentation of Indira Gandhis love for nature. It showcases how several of Indias laws on environment and forests emerged from the former prime ministers passion for ecology. She led with zeal to set in place the Wildlife Protection Act, 1976, set up Project Tiger, legislate the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 and bring to table the air and water pollution Act.
New Delhi Television (NDTV) founder Prannoy Roy on Friday said he and his company had never touched black money or bribed anyone. In a passionate speech before hundreds of journalists at the Press Club of India, Roy said the media group will answer every one of the false charges, but sought a time-bound process. We ask for transparency and a deadline, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan, on Friday on the sidelines of the SCO summit and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties hit by growing differences over a host of issues including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and India's NSG membership bid.

It is the first meeting between the two leaders after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Prime Minister Modi and Xi are in the Kazakh capital to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Modi tweeted after his meeting with Xi, who is also the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China:



Met President Xi Jinping. We spoke about India-China relations and how to further improve ties. pic.twitter.com/67aPIi6GFF  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 9, 2017

China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It had also stalled India's move to list JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN.

After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.

Modi also met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the SCO.
The vast art collection of banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller, who died in March, will be sold at Christies next year, the auction house said on Tuesday.

Rockefellers estate is selling more than 2,000 objects, including modern art masterpieces, Chinese export porcelain, American paintings and European furniture, according to Christies. The auction house plans to offer the works in 2018 in a series of special sales in New York, according to a statement. Its results could be the largest tally in auction history, according to current and former auction specialists.

"It will be the sale of this century and the last as well," said David Norman, a private art dealer and former co-chairman of Sothebys Impressionist and modern art department. "Every work lives up to the Rockefeller name. Its a perfect match of a great historic family and a great historic collection."



The proceeds will go to about 12 charities that Rockefeller and his late wife Peggy supported during their lifetime, according to Fraser P Seitel, a spokesman for the estate. When Rockefeller died at age 101, he was the last-surviving grandson of Standard Oil founder John D Rockefeller, Americas first billionaire.

While Christies declined to comment on the value of the collection, Marc Porter, its chairman of Americas, said it will be the largest auction for philanthropy in history.

Eventually all these objects which have brought so much pleasure to Peggy and me will go out into the world and will again be available to other caretakers who, hopefully, will derive the same satisfaction and joy from them as we have over these past several decades, Rockefeller said and Christies included in its statement.

Proceeds from the auctions will benefit non-profits and charities including the Museum of Modern Art, which was co-founded by his mother Abby Aldrich Rockefeller; Rockefeller University, a medical-research school started by his grandfather; and Harvard University, his alma mater.

Rockefeller was well-known for his philanthropy, contributing close to $2 billion to various causes during his life, said Seitel.

David was extremely generous but he was also very practical, said Seitel. He was the essence of taking responsibility even for the money he left to others. He orchestrated exactly what was to be done. No surprises.





David and Peggy Rockefeller. Photos: Christie's

Christies competed for the collection with rival Sothebys, which offered the Rockefellers a guarantee of more than $650 million in 2013, according to a person familiar with the matter. Sothebys spokesperson declined to comment.

Porter declined to comment on the terms but said Christies was chosen for the sale during Rockefellers life. Its top sale of a collection was that of fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge, which tallied $484 million in February 2009, according to the firm. Competitor Sothebys top estate sale was the collection of its former chairman A Alfred Taubman that tallied $469 million in 2015 and 2016, according to the company.
China and India should address "major and sensitive issues" dogging their bilateral ties, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday conveyed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Meeting Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Astana, Xi also congratulated India on becoming a full member of the grouping.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, briefing newspersons on the meeting, said that Modi agreed that China and India should deal with the sensitive issues between them.

Hua said that Xi told Modi that both sides "should address major and sensitive issues."

"The Chinese side attaches great importance to this relationship with India, and will work together with India to complement each other's major development strategies and stay in close communication and coordinate with each other on major regional and international affairs and maintain sound and steady growth of the bilateral relationship," Hua said.

"During the meeting, Xi pointed out that the current world situation is undergoing profound changes and China and India as two major developing countries in the world should focus more on cooperation and work alongside with each other to provide assistance to each other's developmental growth."

Modi told Xi that the two countries enjoy traditional friendship and a sound and steady bilateral relationship would be conducive to peace and stability of the whole world, Hua said.

Modi said both nations "should enhance cooperation and coordination in international affairs and deal with sensitive issues between the two countries", according to Hua.

The meeting comes at a time when ties between two countries have been strained over a host of issues, including Beijing repeatedly blocking New Delhi's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and for a ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist Masood Azhar.

China has also been upset with India for hosting the Dalai Lama and allowing the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Arunachal Pradesh, large parts of which Beijing considers as part of southern Tibet.
Passengers of an flight had a providential escape on Friday when the tyres of the aircraft burst on landing at the Jammu airport here, police sources said.

The number of passengers on the Delhi-Srinagar flight could not be known immediately.

"All the passengers are safe. The plane was scheduled to travel to Srinagar after picking and dropping passengers from Jammu," an official said.

Sources said the runway suffered some damage due to the accident.
With a hung Parliament that will make UK Prime Minister Theresa May vulnerable to criticism and attack from within her party, and subject to external pressures as well, India's concerns in its dealings with the UK will likely take a back seat.

New Delhi and London enjoy a relationship that ain't broke and needs no fixing. During her India visit in November 2016, Theresa May described India as UK's "most important and closest" friend and a leading power in the world. But on issues like the extradition of tycoon Vijay Mallya, which was already proceeding slowly, further delays should be expected.
American aerospace giant and France's Dassault Aviation are among the four entities that have responded to he Indian Navys 'Request for Interest (RFI)' to provide 57 multi-role carrier borne fighters, industry sources said.
Tirupur, a textile hub in southern Tamil Nadu, is worried about the 18 per cent Good and Services Tax (GST) rate fixed for different segments in the production chain. This will put pressure on the working capital of the job working units, forcing them to exit the business eventually and affecting the entire industry.
Indias most hard-fought import from Portugal may have been gangster Abu Salem, but while signing the Multilateral Tax Convention, it kept Lisbon out of a rule that allows companies to escape tax on dividends in India easily.
For four days after Madhya Pradeshs farmers launched their agitation on June 1, dumping milk and vegetables on roads and damaging vehicles, Shivraj Singh Chouhans BJP government was unmoved. Only when clashes in Sehore, Indore and Bhopal districts left six policemen injured on June 4 did the government act.
Weak domestic demand despite expanding production in the country has led to the mineral ore surplus reaching an all-time high of 204.09 million tonnes (mt) at the end of 2016-17. Inventory of at mine pit heads has climbed to 149 mt (as on March 31, 2017) with ore getting accumulated in key producing states like Odisha and Jharkhand.
PM's bilateral meetings on the sidelines of SCO Summit in Astana

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Kazakhstan, China and Uzbekistan, on the sidelines of the SCO meeting in Astana.

In his meeting with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan on Thursday, the Prime Minister congratulated Kazakhstan for membership of the UN Security Council in 2017-18. President Nazarbayev received the Prime Minister warmly and recalled his earlier visit to Kazakhstan in 2015. Both leaders reviewed progress on decisions and agreements made during that visit. Kazakhstan is currently the largest supplier of uranium to India, and both sides agreed to maintain the partnership. Cooperation in this area of hydrocarbons was also discussed.

The Prime Minister invited Kazakhstan to become a member of the International Solar Alliance.

Both leaders also discussed the importance of enhancing connectivity. In this context, connectivity through the Chabahar port in Iran was also discussed. Two flights connecting Delhi and Astana will be launched soon.
President of India launches mobile app Selfie with Daughter

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee launched a mobile Application Selfie with Daughter at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (June 9, 2017).

Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated Shri Sunil Jaglan on the launch of the mobile-app Selfie-with-Daughter. He said that Shri Jaglans efforts in initiating this campaign in Haryana are praiseworthy. Selfie-with-Daughter has become a world-wide movement against female foeticide and sex selection. He hoped that this would eventually help in dealing with the problems arising out of gender imbalance.

He stated that the App is an innovative concept and an act of gentle persuasion. He urged people to take photographs with their daughters and upload on the App to make the campaign a success.

The Selfie with Daughter campaign was started by Shri Sunil Jaglan in June 2015 in village Bibipur, Jind, Haryana. A former Sarpanch, Shri Jaglan has been working in the field of women empowerment and village development. The aim of the campaign is to motivate society to feel proud to be parents of a girl child which will result in improving the child sex ratio.
The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the 2018 edition of the QS World University Rankings brought out by the Education Promotion Society of India (EPSI) today (June 9, 2017) at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. .

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Speaking on the occasion, the President urged EPSI to continue the efforts they are making in the education sector. He said that he was happy to find three Indian institutions IIT Delhi and IISc Bangalore, which were already in the top 200, and the latest entrant IIT Bombay securing ranks within the coveted top 200 and IISc Bangalore being now ranked 6th globally for Citations per Faculty. .

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The President said that while in terms of infrastructure there has been considerable expansion in the higher education sector, quality of education in many institutes remains a matter of concern. In ancient times, we had renowned seats of higher learning Nalanda, Takshashila, Vikramashila, Valabhi, Somapura and Odantapuri that dominated the world higher education system for eighteen hundred years beginning sixth century BC. Scholars from round the globe flocked to these centres of learning in search of knowledge. A reverse scenario exists today. Many meritorious Indian students pursue their higher studies from foreign universities. Our higher learning institutions are capable of producing world-class scholars but lose them to foreign universities. .

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The President said that during his visits to the universities in his capacity as Visitor to Central Intuitions of Higher Learning, he had been sharing his concerns about the performance of Indian institutions in world university rankings. He stated that he always believed that the standards of our universities are higher than what these rankings suggested. Perhaps, it was the lack of importance given to the rankings process that stood in the way of our institutions being projected the way they should be. A high rank can boost the morale of the academic and student communities, open greater avenues of growth and placement for students, help attract the best faculty from across the world, and provide a benchmark for continuous quality enhancement. .

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The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Portuguese Republic on the eve of their National Day (June 10, 2017). .

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In a message to His Excellency Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of the Portuguese Republic, the President has said, On behalf of the Government, the people of India and on my own behalf, it gives me great pleasure to extend warm greetings and felicitations to you and to the people of Portugal on the occasion of your National Day. .

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India and Portugal enjoy warm and friendly relations, anchored in historical and cultural links. Our bilateral ties have been energized following the recent visit of Prime Minister Antonio Costa to India in January this year. We hope that our two counties will work closely to build further on this renewed momentum in our bilateral relations. .

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Please accept, Excellency, my best wishes for your good health and personal well-being as well as for the progress and prosperity of the friendly people of Portugal". .

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On the 140th day of the Trump presidency  one for each allotted character on the executive Twitter feed that stayed conspicuously silent all Thursday morning  a very tall man with a very strange place in this very bewildering moment in American history strolled into Hart Senate Office Building 216, shot a quick glance at the masses arrayed behind him and presented a seen-it-all city with something unusual.
The giants based in the US may soon face a new attack in Europe: Theres a perception among activists and officials that the basis of their business model  targeted advertising  can be a threat to democracy.
European Commission President said on Friday he hoped the result of Britain's elections would have "no major impact" on EU-UK divorce talks between the bloc and London, and advised London not to delay the start of negotiations.

Britain and the European Union had agreed to begin Brexit talks on June 19.

"I do strongly hope that Britain will stay ready to open negotiations. As far as the Commission is concerned we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half past nine so we are waiting for visitors coming from London," Juncker told a news conference.

"I do hope that the result of the elections will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for," he said.

Juncker also reminded London that there would be no change to the two-year deadline after which Britain will be out of the European Union with or without an agreed deal

"I don't think the British government would be well inspired if asking to postpone the starting of the negotiations anyway. The clock is ticking. We have two years and the fact in which democracy expressed itself in the way it did yesterday has no influence at all on that count."
Why has President Trump failed to convince anyone other than his ardent supporters that he was justified in firing FBI Director Even more, why did he fail to realize that the firing would call up strong objections, not only from Democrats, but from many Republicans?
Most of the voters who had cast their ballots in the general election on Thursday June 8, would have taken their right to do so for granted, unaware of the contested history of this now familiar action. Its actually less than 100 years since all adult males in the UK were awarded the franchise for parliamentary elections, in 1918, in the wake of World War I. That right wasnt extended to all adult women for a further ten years after that.
A week after Donald Trump stirred up tensions in the Middle East with his visit to Saudi Arabia, and just after Qatar was ostracised by several other countries for its supposed links to terrorism, a brace of terror attacks in Iran have turned up the heat even further.
Global Voices Advocacy's Netizen Report offers an snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in Internet rights around the world.



The decision of a growing number of Arab region states to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar will affect trade, travel and security alliances. It will also affect free speech.
Western manufacturers are shying away from supplying equipment for an that India is developing for fear the United States (US) may reimpose sanctions on Tehran, Indian officials say, dealing a blow to New Delhi's strategic ambitions in the region.

Lying on the Gulf of Oman along the approaches to the Straits of Hormuz, the port of Chabahar is central to India's hopes to crack open a transport corridor to Central Asia and Afghanistan that bypasses arch-rival Pakistan.

India committed $500 million to speed development of the port after sanctions on Iran were lifted following a deal struck between major powers and Tehran to curb its nuclear programme in 2015.

But the state-owned Indian firm that is developing Chabahar is yet to award a single tender for supplying equipment such as cranes and forklifts, according to two government sources tracking India's biggest overseas infrastructure push.

US President Donald Trump denounced the nuclear agreement on the campaign trail, and since taking office in January has accused Iran of being a threat to countries across the West Asia.

Swiss engineering group Liebherr and Finland's Konecranes and Cargotec have told India Ports Global Pvt Ltd, which is developing the deep water port, they were unable to take part in the bids as their banks were not ready to facilitate transactions involving Iran due to the uncertainty over US policy, the two officials said in separate conversations with Reuters.

These firms dominate the market for customised equipment to develop jetties and container terminals. One official said the first tender was floated in September but attracted few bidders because of the fear of renewed sanctions. That fear has intensified since January.

"Now the situation is that we are running after suppliers," one official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

A Konecranes spokesperson declined to comment beyond confirming the company was not involved in the project.

Cargotec and Liebherr did not respond to requests for comment.

Some tenders have been floated three times since September because they failed to attract bidders. A Chinese firm, ZPMC, has since come forward to supply some equipment, the same Indian official said.

Threat of sanctions

Trump has called the agreement between Iran and six major world powers restricting Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions "the worst deal ever negotiated".

Last month his administration extended relief on Washington's broadest and most punitive sanctions while carrying out a wider policy review on how to deal with the Islamic Republic.

Uncertainty over US policy is already causing long delays in contracts that Iran has sought with firms to develop its oil fields and buy planes for its ageing airlines.

The lifting of United Nations and European Union sanctions in 2016 partly reconnected Iran with the financial system crucial to trade.

But large bankers with exposure to the US remain unwilling to facilitate Iranian deals for fear of running afoul of narrower, unilateral US sanctions that remain outside the nuclear deal and uncertainty over whether wider sanctions relief will continue.

India's ambassador to Iran said the process of procuring equipment for the Chabahar port was under way and that some of the customised cranes needed take up to 20 months to build. The banking situation was slowing improving, he added.

"Tenders are re-floated for a variety of reasons including technical specifications not being met, etc. Banking channels, in recent months, have in fact somewhat eased," Saurabh Kumar said in an emailed response to Reuters from Tehran. "If some companies do not participate, it really is their business."

India has been pushing for the development of Chabahar port for more than a decade as a hub for its trade links to the resource-rich countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan. Access to those countries is currently complicated by India's fraught relationship with Pakistan.

Bureaucratic delays, difficult negotiations with Iran and the risk of incurring Washington's displeasure during the financial embargo in Tehran had meant there was little progress on the port until now.

But, prodded in part by China's development of Gwadar port, which lies barely 100 km (60 miles) from Chabahar on the Pakistani coast, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has unveiled massive investment plans centred around the Iranian port, offering to help build railways, roads and fertiliser plants that could eventually amount to $15 billion.

So far, even an initial credit line of $150 million that India wants to extend to Iran for the development of Chabahar has remained a non-starter as Tehran has not been able to do its part of work.

"They have not sought the loan from us because they haven't awarded the tenders, either because of lack of participation or banking problems," said the second government official.

Ambassador Kumar said the Iran had indicated it would be sending proposals shortly to tap the credit line.

Meena Singh Roy, who heads the West Asia Centre at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, a New Delhi think-tank, said increasing tension between Washington and Tehran would have an impact on the port project.

"The Chabahar Project has strategic significance for India," she said. "However ... nothing much seems to be moving due to new uncertainties in the region."
Iran's to the West surged in May to their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in early 2016 and almost caught up with volumes exported to Asia, a source familiar with Iranian said.

Iran, which used to be OPEC's second biggest oil exporter, has been raising output since 2016 to recoup market share loss to regional rivals including Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

While many Asian nations continued to purchase oil from Iran during sanctions, Western nations halted imports, halving Iran's overall exports to as little as one million barrels per day (bpd).

Last month, Iran exported about 1.1 million bpd to Europe including Turkey, almost reaching pre-sanction levels and only slightly below the 1.2 million bpd supplied to Asia, the source told Reuters.

Iran's exports to Asia last month were the lowest since February 2016, Reuters' calculations showed.

to Asia fell as South Korea and Japan stepped up oil condensate purchases and bought less oil, said the source, who asked not to be identified as the information is confidential.

"Iran's condensate parked in floating storage has almost been exhausted because of higher purchases by Japan and Korea," the source said.

Exports to Asia were also hit by India's decision to cut annual purchases from Iran by a fifth for the financial year to March 2018.

After the lifting of sanctions, Tehran added new clients such as Litasco and Lotos and won back customers such as Total, ENI, Tupras, Repsol, Cepsa and Hellenic Petroleum.

OPEC member Iran was allowed a small production increase under a December deal to limit output.

Iran's overall May oil production totalled 3.9 million bpd, the source said.

Iran is currently producing about 200,000 bpd of West Karoun grade, which the nation blends with other Iranian heavy grades for export, he said.
Emily Bazelon, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and the Truman Capote Fellow at Yale Law School, and Elizabeth Goitein, the co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan center, watched James B. Comeys testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee today, where the former F.B.I. director discussed the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election.
Ransomware attacks have prompted to sign an agreement to acquire Hexadite, a US-headquartered company that delivers agentless, automatic incident investigation and remediation solutions.

"Our vision is to deliver a new generation of security capabilities that helps our customers protect, detect and respond to the constantly evolving and ever-changing cyberthreat landscape," Terry Myerson, Executive Vice President, Windows and Devices Group, Microsoft, said.

Although the the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, Tech Crunch reported that the deal was finalised for a price of $100 million to acquire the company that uses AI to identify and protect against attacks.

According to a blog, once closed, the acquisition will build on the successful work was already doing to help commercial Windows 10 customers detect, investigate and respond to advanced attacks on their networks with Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP).

WDATP continues to prove its value in detecting high-profile security cases such as zero-day attacks, ransomware and other advanced cyberthreats.

With Hexadite, WDATP will include endpoint security automated remediation, while continuing the incredible growth in activations of WDATP, which now protects almost two million devices.

"Hexadite's technology and talent will augment our existing capabilities and enable our ability to add new tools and services to Microsoft's robust enterprise security offerings," Myerson added.

Windows 10 was the most secure version of Windows ever and with ongoing investments in the areas of automating detection and remediation.

Windows 10 would continue to drive deployments with customers like the US Department of Defence, Australian Department of Human Services, Kimberly-Clark, MARS Inc., Crystal Group and many others, the blog said.

Hexadite headquarters are based in Boston, with a team of researchers in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Following the close of the deal and after a period of integration, Hexadite would be fully absorbed into Microsoft as part of the Windows and Devices Group.
At the beginning of May, Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogans first post-referendum foreign visit was to meet Indias prime minister Narendra Modi. Despite Erdogans controversial pro-Pakistan statement just before the trip, the pair were pictured sharing friendly hugs as they vowed to tackle terrorism and extend economic relations.
Weeks after being described by Donald Trump as a nut job, on Thursday deftly recast his confrontation with the president as a clash between the legal principles at the foundation of American democracy, and a venal, self-interested politician who does not recognize, let alone uphold, them.
The websites and digital platforms of the Al Jazeera Media Network are undergoing continual hacking attempts.

The platforms, however, have not been compromised.

Last month, Qatar's official news agency was hacked and false statements attributed to the country's ruler were posted that helped spark a rift with other Arab Gulf states.

Consequently, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and several other countries cut their ties with Doha on Monda.

The fake report said that, "Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in a speech at a military graduation ceremony, was critical of renewed tensions with Iran, expressed the need for contextualising Hezbollah and Hamas as resistance movements, and suggested US President Donald Trump might not last long in power."

A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team has been in Doha for the past week after the Qatar government asked the U.S. for help following the security breach by hackers.








Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director James Comey on Thursday testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee, saying he believes he was fired because of the Russia investigation he was leading at the time.



He said it was "very disturbing" that the US President tried to undermine the bureau's investigation into possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign team and Russia.
Theresa Mays gamble didnt pay off. She had hoped that a resounding election victory and an increased majority in the House of Commons would give her the mandate to pursue her own political agenda and, in particular, strengthen her hand in negotiations to secure the United Kingdoms withdrawal from the European Union (EU).
As the results continue to come in, it appears Theresa Mays snap election gamble has backfired. A hung parliament looks on the cards. Theresa Mays leadership is in grave doubt. The shape of the next government remains unclear. Experts react to the news.
Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain, smarting from a humbling snap-election defeat that cost her Conservative Party its governing majority, said on Friday that her party would stay in power by forming a minority government with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Friday that the UK vote reflected popular discontent over Prime Minister Theresa May's hard strategy, which he said should be reconsidered.

"The message from this vote is - hold fair talks with the EU and think again whether it is really good for Britain to leave the EU in this manner," he told reporters.

He added that he hoped "a new government will be formed quickly with which we can hold serious negotiations".

A foreign ministry spokesman said that May had campaigned for "a strong majority for a hard Brexit" and that this "was not the outcome of the election", in which the British PM lost her majority.

A spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile declined to comment on the election until a new government is formed, while the German leader was an on a tour of Argentina and Mexico.
Indian edged lower in intra-day deals on Friday, in line with their Asian peers as the polls in the United Kingdom (UK) hinted a loss for the British Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservative party that could result in a hung Parliament and delay Brexit talks.



Also Read: Conservatives lose majority
Army was deployed on Thursday in Darjeeling following the violent protest by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) and its 12-hour strike against proposal to make Bengali language compulsory in government schools.

Two Army columns have been deployed in the town on the request of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to maintain law and order situation. Each column consists a officer, two JCOs and 40 jawans.

The Chief Minister took the decision to seek Centre's help in an emergency meeting held at Rajbhawan in which 30 ministers and delegates, including Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee, participated.

The meeting was convened following the violent protests across Darjeeling earlier in the day after Mamata announced that Bengali would be compulsorily taught to students up to class 10 in schools.

Police vehicles and a government bus were set afire and the police were attacked with stones and bottles by the GJM protesters.

A protest rally was taken out by the protesters only 100 metres away from the venue of the meeting. The protesters shouted slogans and burnt effigies of the chief minister. The GJM has announced 12-hour bandh against the State government's move.

The GJM has been demanding Nepali as a language instead of Bengali or can accept Hindi, but is strictly against the making of Bengali mandatory in all schools across the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bangladeshi migrants are reportedly distressed over the possibility of them losing their jobs as seven Gulf region countries have snapped diplomatic ties with Qatar on grounds that it is backing terrorism in the region.

"Commodity prices have already soared after Monday's incident. The vegetables, among other food items, got pricier in the meantime." said a Bangladeshi driver of Qatar Transport.

However, the Embassy of Bangladesh has said that migrants will not be affected by the issue.

According to Dr. Md. Serajul Islam, Labour Counsellor at the embassy in Doha, the Bangladeshi community will not be affected even if the situation turns worse.

Dr. Islam expects the situation to normalize soon, as the Kuwaiti Emir is trying to negotiate with Saudi King.

He has assured that the embassy will remain open for Bangladeshis for any emergency.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Baba Ramdev is presiding over a three-day free yoga camp in Bihar's Champaran to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran Satyagraha.

During the duration of the camp, free medicines and meditation classes will be on offer between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The camp began yesterday and will end on Saturday (June 10).

The Champaran Satyagraha was a protest movement initiated by Mahatma Gandhi against India's then British colonial rulers for forcing farmers to cultivate indigo. The movement commenced in the Champaran district of Bihar in 1917.

Keeping the significance of the event in mind, the Government of Bihar and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have decided to hold year round celebrations.

In April, a special train arrived at the Bapu Dham station in Motihari to re-enact the fight of farmers against forced indigo cultivation under the British rule.

Then, a man dressed as the Father of the Nation alighted from the train and was received by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Tara Gandhi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi.

The children also greeted the passengers with the tricolour and slogans of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Champaran Satyagraha Zindabad" at the station.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi Police's Special Cell has arrested gangster Chhota Shakeel's shooter and the alleged contract killer Junaid Chaudhary from Bhagirathi Vihar in New Delhi.

"Junaid was allegedly hatching a plan to kill Pakistan born Canadian writer and liberal activist Tarek Fateh," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwaha.

He was picked up from near Gagan Cinema in East Delhi on Wednesday night.

The police claimed to have recovered a country made pistol and four live cartridges from Junaid's possession.

Earlier, he was apprehended on June 3, along with three other contract killers, identified as Robinson, Yunus and Manish following which they were sent to police remand and interrogated for five days.

Later, they were produced in a court which sent them to judicial custody.

Their plan was initially to kill Rajan while on transit to or from court before and after hearings, but that was later changed to attack him during his hospital visits.

Earlier, the police had found many audio clips of Chhota Shakeel from Junaid's mobile phone.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese President Xi Jinping in his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held on the sidelines of the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, on Friday called for closer cooperation between the two countries.

Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, Xinhua reported the Chinese president, as saying.

Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India and stands ready to work with the Indian side to enhance political mutual trust, link their development strategies, deepen practical cooperation and maintain coordination and collaboration in international and regional affairs, so as to advance their strategic cooperative partnership in a sustained, healthy and stable way.

The Chinese president called for more high-level interactions, institutionalized exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries.

He also called for boosting trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large-scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction.

Xi said the two countries should make joint efforts to advance the building of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor to promote regional connectivity and shared development.

The president said the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems.

Noting that India is about to become a full member of the SCO at the Astana summit, Xi offered congratulations to the Indian side, adding that China is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organization.

Prime Minister Modi on his part said a sound India-China relationship will help stabilize the volatile international situation.

The prime minister said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

The Chinese President also met and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, where he noted that the two countries should strengthen their mutual support on the issues relating to each other's core interests.

The two heads of state also exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and on the Korean Peninsula, as well as on other international and regional issues.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Iran has slammed United States President Donald Trump's response to Wednesday's twin terror attacks in Tehran as "repugnant" even as the death toll from the ISIS-claimed assaults rose to 16.

"Repugnant WH (White House) statement and Senate sanctions as Iranians counter terror backed by U.S. clients. Iranian people reject such U.S. claims of friendship," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted.

President Trump had earlier said, "We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people who are going through such challenging times. We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote."

Earlier, two terrorist attacks in the Iranian capital of Tehran killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 40 others on Wednesday.

The Islamic State claimed the two-pronged attack - a suicide bomb and gun assault - on the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic.

The Parliament assault began when four armed assailants, dressed as women, burst into the building complex and attacked the parliament buildings in the morning, reports Tasnim news.

One of the attackers reportedly blew himself up inside as police surrounded the building.

Equipped with AK-47 assault rifles, handguns and suicide vests, the gunmen killed security guards and ordinary people before holding people hostage in the upper floors of the building.

Security forces laid a siege to the parliament for several hours. Three of the gunmen were shot dead in an exchange of gunfire, while the other blew himself up.

According to the Guardian, this the first attack conducted by ISIS inside majority-Shia Iran.

Attacks are highly rare in Tehran and other major Iranian cities, although a Sunni militant group named Jundallah and its splinter group, Ansar al Furqan, have been waging a deadly insurgency, mostly in more remote areas, for almost a decade.

ISIS, which adheres to a puritanical strain of Sunni Islam, considers Shias heretics and has carried out numerous attacks against Shia civilians, in Iraq in particular.

Also, the attack comes against a backdrop of regional tension, with Arab Gulf countries pushing for a more forceful isolation of Iran. The Gulf states earlier this week severed diplomatic relations with their neighbour Qatar over its close relationship with Tehran.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The ISIS killed more than 200 civilians over three days last week as they tried to flee fighting in western Mosul, Iraq.

The Office of the High Commissioner of the United Nations Human Rights office, citing "credible reports," said that at least 231 civilians were killed starting May 26, while also adding that the murder of civilians amounts to "war crimes."

The ISIS slaughtered 163 civilians on June 1 and left their bodies in the street for days, the UN said.

The militants also killed 27 people, including 14 women and five children.

The Iraqi government said more than 7,42,000 people have left Mosul and surrounding areas since the offensive began.

The United Nations migration agency warned last month that the number of people fleeing western Mosul is soaring.

"Shooting children as they try to run to safety with their families -- there are no words of condemnation strong enough for such despicable acts," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement, as reported by CNN.

"I call on the Iraqi authorities to ensure that those who are responsible for these horrors are held accountable and brought to justice in line with international human rights laws and standards. The victims of such terrible crimes must not be forgotten," he added.

Security forces launched a large-scale military operation late last month to reclaim the remaining ISIS-held neighbourhoods.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After failing to secure a majority in the parliament in Thursday's snap general election, British Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans to form a government with the backing of the Democratic Unionist party.

In a statement at Downing Street, after returning from Buckingham Palace, where she received the Queen's permission to form a government, May shrugged off a growing backlash in the Conservative party, and said she would provide the "certainty" the country needed, reports the Guardian.

"What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the general election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons," she said.

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together, in the interests of the whole United Kingdom," she added.

She insisted she would press ahead with Brexit talks, which are to begin in 10 days.

Many believe the results of 2017 general elections will also impact Britain's exit from the 27-nation bloc as the main reason behind calling for sudden elections was to strength May hands in the Parliament so as to negotiate with Brussels and pass necessary legislation.

But the results left the Tories 12 short of the required number of Commons seat that will embolden anti-Brexit parties .

The Conservatives failed to secure an overall majority in the election, as Jeremy Corbyn confounded predictions to.

Earlier, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who secured a sharp surge in Labour support in the recent election, called on May to resign saying 'Politics has changed" as Britons had rejected her policies of "austerity".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman has claimed that his country is of the view that a "belligerent" India is seeking to escalate tensions to the point of there being the possibility of a conflict between the two countries.

Nafees Zakaria was quoted by the Dawn, as saying in a statement that tensions between India and Pakistan are at an all time high due to sharp increase in ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC).

Zakaria said Pakistan has been cautioned India against engaging in any kind of "strategic miscalculation".

The Foreign Office spokesman was further quoted by the Dawn, as saying, "We have no desire to escalate the situation. Pakistani armed forces would respond effectively to any unprovoked violations. The Indian belligerence is a threat to regional peace and security."

Zakaria's statement comes days after a hotline conversation between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) of India and Pakistan - Lt. Gen. A K Bhatt and Major General Sahir Shamshad Mirza - on the prevailing situation along the LoC. Lt. Gen. Bhatt is believed to have told his Pakistani counterpart India will not refrain from retaliating if Pakistan continues to resort to unprovoked ceasefire violations and or supports infiltration bids.

The deteriorating situation between the two South Asian neighbours has been noted with concern by the international community.

Both Pakistan and India are joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at its 17th summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, and have committed to meet their respective obligations as per the Shanghai spirit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Addressing the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Kazakhstan capital Astana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon member countries of the SCO to coordinate their efforts to fight the menace of terrorism which is plaguing the region.

"It is impossible to find a solution until all SCO members make concerted and coordinated efforts to fight the menace of terrorism, including radicalization, recruitment, training and financing of terrorists," PM Modi said at the summit which was also attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Describing terrorists as the chief violators of human rights and values, Modi said, "We have full faith that the SCO would give a new push to our efforts in the fight against terrorism."

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev for organising the .

Expressing deep gratitude to all SCO countries for giving India full membership after enjoying 12 years of observer status, Modi termed SCO as a main pillar of peace and security in the regional and the global arena.

Modi said, "With the induction of India in SCO, Shanghai Cooperation Summit will represent 42% population and 20% GDP which will act as a support to the success story of SCO.

We are achieving full membership today, but India has been nurturing and maintaining good historic relations with every SCO member.

"There are many dimensions of our interaction with the SCO countries. Mutual trust is the cornerstone of our political goodwill and economic cooperation. India is having partnership with SCO countries in several aspects on energy, education, security, development partnership agriculture, minerals, capacity building, trade and investment are the main drivers."

Describing connectivity as the main priority of India but also expressed concern over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is a part of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR), Modi said,"The SCO membership will take our partnership to a new level and regional connectivity with all the SCO members is the main priority of India and we entirely support the connectivity that will integrate our economies and build trust among the countries and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors."

Modi emphasised that connectivity initiatives are essential to reaping the benefits of the projects and it reflects with our decisions of International North-South Transport Corridor, Ashgabat Agreement and the Chabahar deal.

Modi said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan. The prime minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has exhorted the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to wage an untied fight against terrorism.

Speaking at the SCO Summit, Prime Minister Modi on Friday termed terrorism as the main encroacher of the human rights and values.

"Terrorism is the main encroacher of the human rights and values. Be it the matter of radicalisation, recruitment, training or financing of terrorists. Unless all the countries launch coordinate efforts against them, then it is not possible to combat these problems," said Prime Minister Modi.

"I have full confidence that India-SCO cooperation would give a new direction to the fight against terrorism. Peace and stability in Afghanistan can also take benefit of the SCO," he added.

He also stated that the SCO should also concentrate on the climate change.

Lauding the SCO, Prime Minister Modi said that the progress of the SCO is the progress of the .

He congratulated Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev for the successful organisation of the summit that witnessed the entry of India and Pakistan as a full member states.

"The expanded SCO will now be representing world's 42 percent population, 20 percent GDP, and 22 percent terrain therefore the SCO's progress is the progress of world's psyche and terrain," said Prime Minister Modi.

He maintained that the SCO is the important pillar of peace and security in the regional and global perspective.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana on the sidelines of the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and discussed bilateral relations where the latter pointed out that the international environment was undergoing profound and complex changes.

Prime Minister Modi said that India and China were ancient civilisations with a long-standing friendship.

"Against the backdrop of complex and volatile international situation, the sound India-China relations can serve as a stabiliser. The two sides should tap into the potential for cooperation, bolster communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and properly handle differences," he asserted.

The Prime Minister further said that India appreciates China's support for its accession to the SCO and wishes to strengthen cooperation with China under the SCO framework.

President Jinping congratulated India on its expected official membership of the SCO and stated China's willingness to strengthen cooperation with India under the SCO framework and jointly make positive contribution to its sound and steady development.

President Jinping said China and India, as the two largest developing countries in the world, should focus more on cooperation, advance side by side, lend support to each other's development, uphold world peace and promote common development.

"China highly values its relations with India and wishes to work together to enhance political mutual trust, complement development strategies, deepen practical cooperation, maintain coordination and cooperation on major international and regional issues and push for the sustained, steady and sound development of China-India strategic and cooperative partnership," he added.

President Jinping asserted that the two sides should work for closer high-level and institutional exchanges, strengthen strategic communication and synergise their policies.

"The two countries should also enhance trade and investment cooperation for more early harvests in such major projects as production capacity, industrial parks and railway construction. Efforts should be made to promote regional connectivity and common development, align development initiatives, push for substantial progress in the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor at an early date and enhance cooperation under the framework of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank," he added.

President Jinping said that it is also imperative to step up communication in terms of localities, think tanks, culture, media and tourism, strengthen communication and coordination in multilateral field to properly manage and handle differences and sensitive issues.

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On his second and final day of his visit to Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit here on Friday.

Stressing about the need to deepen cooperation between India and Uzbekistan, Modi said "India and Uzbekistan has foundations in the historical contacts and cultural links and there is a lot of scope for enhancing ties between both the countries. We will work together to take our bilateral ties to next level that includes political, economic, trade, transportation, military exchanges technological ties. "

Modi congratulated President Mirziyoyev for winning the December 2016 presidential election.

Mentioning about his previous meeting with the President, Modi said,"I still remember our meeting in Tashkent which was very fruitful."

Modi said there is a lot of potential in expanding ties between the countries.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi met Chinese President Jinping and thanked him for supporting India's bid to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a consortium that focuses on security and trade.

" I am grateful to you for your efforts and support for India's SCO membership", PM Modi told Chinese president.

As the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a consortium that focuses on security and trade, Modi is likely to pitch for a concerted global action plan to contain terrorism at the summit which is also being attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

On Thursday, PM Modi met Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and exchanged pleasantries when they met at a cultural gala. This was the first time that they have spoken in a year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit will formally begin today at Astana in Kazakhstan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the summit today.

The leaders of six-member countries will take part in the summit and discuss several issues including peace and security in the region.

India is set to join as full member of the SCO comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The highlight of this year's summit is the accession of India and Pakistan to the SCO.

With their induction, the SCO will expand its geographical coverage to South Asia and become one of the biggest regional organisations.

Prime Minister Modi yesterday called on Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev as his first engagement in Astana.

Both the leaders discussed ways to expand bilateral ties and security situation in the region.

Prime Minister Modi also attended a concert at Astana Opera where he exchanged greetings with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

The Prime Minister enquired about Sharif's health.

Prime Minister Modi arrived in Astana yesterday afternoon on a two-day visit to Kazakhstan to participate in the SCO summit.

The Prime Minister will hold a number of bilateral meetings today with leaders of SCO member countries.

He will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping over breakfast and later with Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Prime Minister Modi will also take part in the inauguration of Astana Expo 2017, a class exhibition that will be held over the next three months.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress Party on Friday condemned Thursday's detention of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh, dubbing the whole incident as 'undemocratic'.

Congress leader and former union minister A.K. Antony said that by apprehending Gandhi and other Congress leaders, the Madhya Pradesh Government had violated the fundamental rights apprised by the Constitution of India.

"The Madhya Pradesh Government's reaction of preventing Rahul Gandhi from visiting Mandsaur is totally undemocratic. It is against fundamental rights. Rahul Gandhi has the right as citizen of India to visit Madhya Pradesh and to express his solidarity with suffering farmers and those families who lost their loved ones," he added.

Antony sought the government's intervention and warned that the situation could take a turn for the worse and have an impact across the nation.

Another Congress leader Meem Afzal said, "This is very condemnable that the government is stalling Rahul Gandhi wherever he goes. Through such actions, the government is adding fuel to the incumbent situation. Such actions will aggravate farmers. Rahulji had gone to Madhya Pradesh to console the farmers. This should not have happened."

Gandhi was detained yesterday in Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch district under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which says that a detention order can be carried out if a person or persons is or are "Knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse."

The IPC section further states that, "Whoever knowingly joins or continues in any assembly of five or more persons (and is) likely to cause a disturbance of the public peace, after such assembly has been lawfully commanded to disperse, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both."

Gandhi was detained while heading towards Mandsaur to meet the families of the deceased farmers. He was later granted bail after which he met the family members of the deceased farmers and interacted with them.

Mandsaur district has been tense following a farmers protest over their demand for better remunerative prices for their produce and a farm loan waiver.

This unfortunately took an ugly turn earlier on Tuesday when five farmers were killed and eight others were injured in police firing.

Internet services in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain were also suspended following the farmers' protests, and a curfew was reportedly imposed.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a compensation of Rs. one crore each to the victims' families and Rs. five lakh for the injured.

In a video message, Chouhan also promised a government job to each of the victims' kin.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit began in Kazakhstan capital Astana on Friday and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address it today.

The leaders of India, China, Russia and Central Asian countries will discuss ways to combat terrorism and boost trade, including peace and security in the region at the SCO Summit in the wake of the terror strikes in many countries.

India is set to join as full member of the SCO comprising China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The highlight of this year's summit is the accession of India and Pakistan to the SCO. With their induction, the SCO will expand its geographical coverage to South Asia and become one of the biggest regional organisations.

The agenda of which predominantly includes accession of India and Pakistan to the regional grouping.

ISIS is the major threat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pitch for sharing of intelligence and cooperation to address the threat of terrorism in the region. India is also likely to deepen its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its regional Anti-Terrorism Straructure dealing with security and defence. The summit is expected to come out with a joint statement named Astana Declaration to fight terrorism. Drug trafficking is another area of focus at the summit

On his second day in Kazakhstan capital Astana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Xi Jinping of China and President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit on Friday.

Stressing about the need to deepen cooperation between India and Uzbekistan, Modi said "India and Uzbekistan has foundations in the historical contacts and cultural links and there is a lot of scope for enhancing ties between both the countries. We will work together to take our bilateral ties to next level that includes political, economic, trade, transportation, military exchanges technological ties. "

Modi congratulated President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for winning the December 2016 presidential election.

Mentioning about his previous meeting with the President, Modi said,"I still remember our meeting in Tashkent which was very fruitful."

Modi said there is a lot of potential in expanding ties between the countries.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi met Chinese President Jinping and thanked him for supporting India's bid to become a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a consortium that focuses on security and trade.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
U.S.President Donald J. Trump on Friday fired off an early morning tweet in which he said he had been "vindicated" by the James Comey hearing, adding that the former FBI director was a "leaker."

The tweet broke a mysterious period of silence on social media for the president, who until then had not tweeted since June 7.

On Thursday, Comey had accused Trump of firing him to try to undermine the FBI's investigation of possible collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia in alleged efforts to influence last year's presidential election.

Comey told the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee that the Trump administration had lied and defamed him and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the president dismissed him on May 9.

The more than two hour-long testimony saw Comey further informing that Trump had directed him to drop an FBI probe against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Comey said it should be special counsel Robert Mueller's task to determine whether Trump had obstructed justice, and therefore, had opened himself up to possible impeachment proceedings, keeping the allegations on Russia in mind.

He, however, said that whatever Trump did was "a very disturbing thing, very concerning."

Comey painted a picture of an overbearing president he did not trust and who pressured him to stop the FBI probe of Flynn.

Russia has denied interferin in last year's presidential elections, as has the White House.

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There seems to be a sort of an inevitability to British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party losing seats as the U.K. polls conclude.

According to an exit poll compiled for the U.K.'s main television broadcasters, the Conservatives are set to secure only 314 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, the lower house of the U.K.'s Parliament. The main opposition Labour party are tipped to win 266 seats, The Telegraph reports.

The survey indicated the Tories would win 314 seats, clearly stating that Britain is heading for a hung Parliament as in the country's Parliamentary system, if a party wins 326 seats in the House of Commons, its leader becomes the Prime Minister and can form a government.

The poll puts Labour on 266 with the Scottish National Party on 34, Liberal Democrats on 14, Plaid Cymru on three and Greens on one.

The polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and they closed at 10 p.m. with the first result, likely to be Houghton and Sunderland South which has been quickest at the last five elections, expected to declared very soon.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the wake of the farmer's protest in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress on Friday lashed out at the Centre, stating that they would stand with the farmers and if that is politics, then they are playing it.

Speaking to ANI, P.C. Chacko said, "As long as the farmers are in distress or in any kind of trouble we will stand with the farmers- If that is politics then we are playing it. Unfortunately, from the past three years, the most neglected lot of the country is the farmers; they never get their price for their due nor revision of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) or loan waiver".

Further supporting Rahul Gandhi who met with the kin of farmers in Mandsaur, Chacko asserted that when farmers are in trouble, it is his responsibility too to be there and that's what he did.

"Rahul Gandhi has said that big business houses are given lakh and crore from the bank to start business so why is this government not giving the loan waiver to its farmers who totally deserve it?

"Rahul ji's visit to Mandsaur means, when farmers are in trouble, is his responsibility to be there and if BJP says that Congress is playing politics then they don't understand the agony for the farmers," said Chacko.

Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, another Congress leader Tom Vadakkan said Modi ji has no time not one tweet from his side regretting on the death of farmers.

"It is an established fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is well familiar with the rich and famous, and that he he has no time for the farmers not one tweet from his side regretting on the death of farmers has come... At this time, when farmers need compensation- bullets are being fired. Instead of helping the farmers at the needed hour- bullets are fired and blood is floored. There must be a course correction for this government as the situation is completing reeling out of control," Vadakkan told ANI.

Mandsaur District Collector Om Prakash Srivastava yesterday assured that the curfew would be relaxed for longer hours tomorrow in the violence-hit district.

"Curfew would be relaxed for longer hours tomorrow. ATMs will be opened, milk, petrol and diesel availability will also be ensured," Srivastava told ANI.

Collector said that the police are registering an FIR's against the accused who vandalised the public property and created ruckus.

"We are registering the FIR on those who vandalised the public property in this incident and created ruckus," he said.

Curfew was relaxed for a few hours on Thursday evening.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial enquiry into the deaths of five farmers during the recent agitation.

He said he has announced a compensation of Rs. 1 crore to the kin of those killed and Rs. 5 lakh for those injured in the violence.

Internet services in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain remain suspended following the farmers' protests, and a curfew has also been imposed.

The Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh has been facing a tense situation with farmers protesting over their demands for remunerative prices for their produce and a farm loan waiver not being met.

This unfortunately took an ugly turn on Tuesday when five farmers were killed and eight others were injured in police firing.

Internet services in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain were also suspended following the farmers' protests and a curfew was reportedly imposed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ceat rose 1.14% to Rs 1,913.45 at 09:45 IST on BSE after a foreign brokerage reportedly initiated coverage on the stock with an outperform rating.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 96.87 points or 0.31% at 31,116.49. The BSE Mid-Cap index was down 45.32 points or 0.31% at 14,789.10.

On BSE, so far 26,000 shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 1.43 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 1,916.70 and a low of Rs 1,896.80 so far during the day. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 1,934.10 on 8 June 2017. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 731.20 on 24 June 2016.

The mid-cap company has equity capital of Rs 40.45 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

A foreign brokerage has reportedly initiated coverage on the Ceat stock with an outperform rating with a price target of Rs 2,250 per share. The brokerage said that the tyre maker has a stronger brand and wider reach. The tyre industry's pricing response to cost increases is positive, it added.

Ceat's consolidated net profit dropped 32.51% to Rs 66.33 crore on 5.28% growth in total income to Rs 1475.42 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016.

Ceat is one of India's leading tyre manufacturers. The company sells its tyres under the Ceat brand.

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Greenply Industries rose 2.94% to Rs 273.45 at 09:35 IST on BSE after the company announced that its overseas subsidiary in Gabon, West Africa has commenced commercial production of Veneer.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 June 2017.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 14.57 points or 0.05% at 31,198.79. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was down 36.14 points or 0.23% at 15,508.69.

On the BSE, 4,104 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 89,783 shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 276.95 and a low of Rs 271.50 so far during the day. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 309 on 6 March 2017 and a 52-week low of Rs 217.20 on 7 June 2016.

The mid-cap company has equity capital of Rs 12.26 crore. Face value per share is Re 1.

Greenply Industries said that the company's step-down subsidiary GREENPLY GABON SA, Gabon, West Africa has commenced commercial production of Veneer, at its manufacturing unit at Nkok SEZ, Gabon, West Africa.

Greenply Industries' net profit rose 0.5% to Rs 41.87 crore on 0.33% decline in net sales to Rs 446.58 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016.

Greenply Industries is into manufacturing and marketing of a wide range of interior infrastructure products.

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Eastern Goldfields terminates contract for operation of Surda mine from 02 June 2017

Hindustan Copper has received Notice from India Resources, Special Purpose Vehicle of Eastern Goldfields stating to have purportedly terminated the contract for operation and maintenance of Surda mine located at Ghatshila, Jharkhand with effect from 'C' Shift of 2 June 2017.

Hindustan Copper has appointed an agency for re-starting the operations at Surda mine. The Company has floated tender for award of fresh contract for long term operations and maintenance of Surda mine.

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Mahanagar Telephone Nigam rose 6.89% to Rs 22.50 at 14:50 IST on BSE after the company clarified that it is considering assets monetization to reduce debt.

The clarification was issued during trading hours today, 9 June 2017.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 5.07 points, or 0.02% to 31,208.29.

On the BSE, 22.70 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 7.27 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 23.20 and a low of Rs 21.10 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 27.50 on 25 April 2017. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 15 on 22 November 2016.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 8 June 2017, falling 15.80% compared with 3.19% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 13.55% as against Sensex's 7.83% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one year, rising 4.47% as against Sensex's 16.63% rise.

The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 630 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) clarified on media report regarding raising of Rs 4000 crore and a potential sale of Delhi, Mumbai properties.

MTNL said that in order to revive the company and come out of the debt, the management of MTNL is considering the proposal for assets monetisation through lease/sale of real estate/buildings, lease/sale of towers, ducts, etc.

The proceeds of assets monetization can be utilised for debt reduction. For this, the company has requested the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to grant necessary approval. As and when any such approval comes from DoT, the company will inform the stock exchanges accordingly.

MTNL reported net loss of Rs 634.80 crore in Q4 March 2017 as against net profit of Rs 188.63 crore in Q4 March 2016. Net sales declined 13.31% to Rs 705.17 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016.

State-run MTNL provides telecommunication services. The Government of India currently holds 56.25% stake in MTNL (as per the shareholding pattern as on 31 March 2017).

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Pidilite Industries rose 1.03% to Rs 804.50 at 13:25 IST on BSE after the company's wholly owned subsidiary entered into an agreement with Niteo Products LLC, USA for sale of business of the Cyclo Division of PUSA.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 June 2017.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 58.66 points or 0.19% at 31,154.70

On the BSE, 20,000 shares were traded on the counter so far as against the average daily volumes of 45,311 shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 811.25 and a low of Rs 801.50 so far during the day. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 813.85 on 6 June 2017 and a 52-week low of Rs 568.75 on 26 December 2016.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 8 June 2017, rising 6.69% compared with 3.19% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had also outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 16.5% as against Sensex's 7.83% rise. The scrip, however, underperformed the market in past one year, rising 13.59% as against Sensex's 16.63% rise.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 51.27 crore. Face value per share is Re 1.

Pidilite Industries said that the company's wholly owned subsidiary Pidilite USA Inc. (PUSA), has entered into an agreement with Niteo Products LLC, USA for sale of business of the Cyclo Division of PUSA. Cyclo Division has been engaged in the business of automobile grooming, performance and maintenance products and other such products. Some of the trademarks used by the Cyclo Division were owned by Pidilite International Pte., Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company and the same will also stand assigned to Niteo Products LLC, USA.

Pidilite Industries' consolidated net profit fell 7.01% to Rs 157.23 crore on 5.07% rise in total income to Rs 1326.30 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016.

Pidilite Industries is a leading manufacturer of adhesives and sealants, construction chemicals, craftsmen products, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) products and polymer emulsions in India.

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TCS announced the launch of BaNCS App Development Kit (ADK) that enables banks to design and build their own apps faster and seamlessly deploy across devices and desktops. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 June 2017.

Pidilite Industries announced that Pidilite USA Inc (PUSA), a wholly owned subsidiary of the company has entered into an agreement with Niteo Products LLC, USA for sale of business of the Cyclo Division of PUSA. Cyclo Division has been engaged in the business of automobile grooming, performance and maintenance products and other such products.

Some of the trademarks used by the Cyclo Divisions were owned by Pidilite International pte Ltd, Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company and the same will also stand assigned to Niteo Products LLC, USA, Pidilite said. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 June 2017.

IndusInd Bank said it raised a $225 million loan from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) for supporting the expansion of the bank's micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) lending programs across India. At least 25% of the proposed facility will support women entrepreneurs and reach previously unbanked populations. This eight-year loan is part of the agency's commitment to supporting $1 billion in loans to underserved Small and Medium Enterprises in India. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 June 2017.

Next Mediaworks said that the board of directors of Next Radio (NRL), the company's subsidiary, at its board meeting held on 8 June 2017, approved transfer of its FM radio broadcasting business at Ahmedabad (the undertaking ) to its wholly owned subsidiary viz. Syngience Broadcast Ahmedabad.

The board of directors of NRL has also, at the aforementioned meeting, approved the scheme of arrangement, with appointed date as 1 April 2017. The said transfer of the undertaking is subject to the approval of the National Company Law Tribunal and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 June 2017.

Zee Media Corporation announced that Mumbai Bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at hearing held yesterday, 8 June 2017, approved the scheme of arrangement and amalgamation between Zee Media Corporation; and Diligent Media Corporation; and Mediavest India; and Pri-Media Services and Maurya TV and their respective shareholders and creditors. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 June 2017.

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Chinese authorities have arrested 22 people for selling $7.36 million worth of iPhone user's data from Apple's internal servers, a media report said on Friday.

According to Xinhua news agency, the Zhejiang police arrested 22 employees from Apple's suppliers and vendors as part of the underground data trading network.

The 20 workers, who were employed by Apple suppliers not the company itself, reportedly had access to data, including names, phone numbers, Apple IDs and other information, which they sold for between 10 and 180 yuan (about $2 to $27). In total, the data thieves made about 50 million yuan ($7.36 million).

The Chinese police first started investigating Apple data sales on the black market in January, and began making their arrests on May 3. The arrests stretched from across the Guangdong, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces, the report said.

The alleged thieves created random identifiers for Siri data and switched iMessages to end-to-end encryption.

Earlier this year, a group calling itself the "Turkish Crime Family" tried to hold Apple to ransom, claiming it had access to hundreds of millions of Apple accounts, and the ability to wipe iPhones and iPads.

While the hackers said they were paid, Apple insisted that its servers hadn't been breached, and the account information was "obtained from previously compromised third-party services."

--IANS

sku/ruwa/vt

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 29 people were killed and dozens wounded in two suicide attacks in Karbala and Babylon regions of on Friday, officials said.

Nine people were killed when a suicide bomber blew up a belt of explosives at an entrance to a parking lot in the Shia city of Karbala, 110 km south of Baghdad, Efe news reported.

A few hours later, 20 people were killed in the second suicide attack on a market in the city of Musayyib, also located south of the capital, the Interior Ministry said.

At least 21 were injured and several shops, stalls and nearby cars were damaged in the second bombing.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks in a statement on its Amaq website and said the operations were aimed against Shia groups in Karbala and Musayyib.

The attack came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their remaining redoubt in the western side of Mosul.
As many as 89 per cent of pickpockets operating on Delhi Metro trains and stations are women and they mostly strike in crowded stations, suggests data compiled by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The CISF, which provides security at all 163 Delhi Metro stations, caught 373 suspected pickpockets from the Delhi Metro premises between January 17 and May 17 this year. Of these, 329 were women.

In the same period, 148 pickpockets, including 72 women, were apprehended by the passengers.

In 2016, at least 41 male and 438 female suspected pickpockets were caught by the CISF, the data showed.

The CISF has identified Kashmere Gate, Chandni Chowk, Shahdara, HUDA City Centre, Rajiv Chowk, Kirti Nagar, New Delhi and Tughlakabad stations as most prone to pickpocketing as they are perennially crowded.

CISF spokesperson Manjit Singh told IANS: "Pickpocketing is a growing menace in Delhi Metro. The CISF and the DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corp) have launched special drives at Metro stations."

On May 22, the CISF also launched a drive to identify the pickpockets in Metro premises.

Also, a sub-inspector and a constable have been deputed every Metro station to look for pickpockets. "We keep a constant watch on those who spend time unnecessarily (at stations)."

"We caught 21 women pickpockets on June 2. Fifteen women pickpockets were caught on June 5 and and 16 the next day," the official added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the farmers wing of the CPI-M, has announced a 'rail roko' agitation in Maharashtra on June 13, while continuing its demand to rollback the central government's "anti-farmer" cattle trade notification.

The members of the farmers wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and other activists addressed a gathering of farmers at Jantar Mantar here, pointing out the consequences the notification is going to have on the farmers' lives.

"The notification is anti-farmer. Thousands of farmers stand to lose their livelihood. This government is retracting on all its promises one by one. We will continue our struggle and launch a 'rail roko sadak roko' agitation in Maharashtra on June 13, " said Hannan Mollah, General Secretary, AIKS.

The agitation would be joined by independent farmers and other like-minded groups.

Several other civil society members also voiced their concern saying the move would affect women as well.

"Women have been the primary caretakers of the cattle in any farming community. The notification will spell loss of livelihood for them. This is democracy. The government cannot impose such decisions on us," Mariyam Dhawle, General Secretary, All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA), said.

She continued denouncing the government saying that the latter has not even implemented the Swaminathan Report recommendations which had suggested a Minimum Support Price (MSP) including an additional 50 per cent over and above the total expenses incurred on farming.

"The central government has retracted all its promises. Look what happened in Madhya Pradesh, in Punjab and sometime back in Tamil Nadu," she added.

Another women's rights activist underlined the pro-corporate aspect of the notification.

"The notification fulfils two agenda. It will wipe out all competition from the small time farmers in cattle trading, giving a boost to industrial meat exporters. Secondly, it will bring the Muslim and Dalit community to their knees since by and large, the majority of cattle traders are from these communities," Annie Raja, General Secretary, National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), said.

She said the "notification commensurates with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's aim of making India a 'Hindu Rashtra' by 2025".

The notification was brought on May 23 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017, banning cattle trading in markets for slaughtering. It, however, allows farmers to trade from their farms and houses.

The notification has since been challenged and a hearing is slated in the Supreme Court on June 15 on its constitutionality.

--IANS

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The northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia on Friday announced that an independence referendum would be held on October 1.

President Carles Puigdemont of Catalonia said the referendum would ask one question: "Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic?", reports Efe news.

The Spanish government has not given its consent to the referendum maintaining that the Constitution does not allow for a vote on the independence of any Spanish region.

It also deems the referendum as illegal.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi Police Head Constable died after he shot himself with a service revolver while a Constable was injured in the incident in north-west Delhi, police said on Friday.

However, deceased Head Constable Harbhagvan Singh's family and friends didn't agree with the police version.

Head Constable Harbhagvan Singh, 42, shot himself around 11.30 p.m. on Thursday while he was on night duty with Constable Rajesh at a police post in Rohini area. They were posted at Shahabad Dairy police station.

Constable Rajesh is said to be out of danger.

"It is a case of suicide but police is investigating," a senior police officer told IANS.

Harbhagvan's colleagues at the police station told IANS he allegedly committed suicide due to "domestic problems".

Balraj Singh, 39, who said he knew Harbhagvan for eight years, however, said he was not someone who would go into depression and commit suicide. Two other friends echoed his opinion.

"I met him two days ago and we chatted for a while. He was really happy," Balraj Singh told IANS outside the mortuary of Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini.

Baljeet Singh, a nephew of the deceased police official, said there was no way Harbhagvan could commit suicide. "There were no financial or family problems," he said.

The Head Constable is survived by his wife and three children. His body was taken to his native village in Bathinda in Punjab after autopsy.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A panchayat in Bihar has ordered an 11-year-old rape victim not to file a complaint with the police and instead asked her to wait till she is 18, as the accused has confessed his crime and will marry her, police on Friday said.

A village panchayat under the Baisi Police Station in Purnea district ordered the rape victim to not approach the police or lodge an FIR against the accused.

"After the accused confessed his crime before the panchayat meeting held on Thursday, the panchayat took a decision that the rape victim would not lodge a complaint in the local police station and asked her to wait till she is 18 as the accused will marry her," a district police official said.

Unhappy with the panchayat's decision, the rape victim's family informed Purnea District Superintendent of Police Nishant Tiwari during his Janata Darbar on Thursday and sought his intervention.

Tiwary assured the rape victim's grandmother and maternal uncle of justice and action against the accused.

According to police, the accused Mani Kumar Bosak raped the girl, a student of Class 6, when she was alone in her house.

This is not the first time that a panchayat in rural Bihar has given such a diktat to a rape victim.

Earlier, a panchayat in Muzaffarpur district had asked a 13-year-old rape victim to take the amount fixed by it and undergo abortion to resolve the issue.

--IANS

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Aden, June 9 (IANS/WAM) Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), a volunteer humanitarian organisation in Dubai, has sent a new shipment of antibiotics to combat cholera in the Yemen as part of the UAE's efforts to contain the epidemic.

The aid comes within the framework of the United Arab Emirates' continued humanitarian efforts to support the Yemeni people and alleviate their suffering.

The ERC delegation handed over the shipment of medicines to the representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Yemen, to be distributed to all governorates of Yemen as needed, said the media report on Friday.

A representative of the WHO appreciated the UAE's role in meeting the humanitarian needs of Yemen, which faces difficulties in all areas, especially health.

--IANS/WAM

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European Council President Donald Tusk on Friday congratulated British Prime Minister Theresa May on her reappointment, underscoring that Brussels and London should press ahead with the Brexit talks.

"Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome for our citizens, businesses and countries after March 2019," Tusk said in his congratulation letter to May.

"The time frame set by Article 50 of the Treaty leaves us with no time to lose. I am fully committed to maintaining regular and close contact at our level to facilitate the work of our negotiators," he added.

European Commission President Jean Claude-Juncker, also said earlier on Friday in Prague that the EU "can open negotiation tomorrow morning at 09.30."

"We are waiting for visitors coming from London. I hope that we will not experience a further delay in the conclusion of these negotiations," Juncker said at a joint press conference together with Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, and Rose Gottemoeller, NATO Deputy Secretary-General, following a high-level conference on defence and security.

"First, we have to agree on the divorce and exit modalities and then we have to envisage the architecture of our future relations. I do hope that the result of the elections will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for," he said.

May confirmed Friday afternoon she will form a Westminster government, helped by members of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Speaking minutes after a 15-minute audience at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth, May announced her plan outside 10 Downing Street.

She said the Conservatives and the DUP, "having enjoyed a strong relationship over many years", will work together.

The 318 seats won by the Conservatives in the election on Thursday, plus the 10 DUP seats will give May the majority she needs in the House of Commons.

In the election the Conservatives won most seats, but short of winning enough for an overall majority.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Catholic priest and former President of the UN General Assembly Miguel D'Escoto has died following a long illness, the government reported. He was 84.

D'Escoto was also a former Foreign Minister. He headed the UN General Assembly from 2008-2009.

He died in a hospital here, first lady and Vice President Rosario Murillo said, reading a communique, Efe news reported.

The government headed by Sandinista Daniel Ortega expressed its "profound dismay and sadness" over the death of D'Escoto, the first priest to occupy the UN presidency.

D'Escoto was born February 5, 1933, in Los Angeles and was ordained a priest of the Maryknoll Missionary Society in New York in 1961.

As an adherent of the doctrine of "liberation theology," he secretly joined the Nicaraguan Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).

He began collaborating with the FSLN in 1975 through the Solidarity Committee in the US and backed the armed revolution that on July 19, 1979, overthrew the Somoza dictatorship that had ruled Nicaragua for 42 years.

After the triumph of the Sandinista revolution, D'Escoto was named Foreign Minister by the Ortega government.

Authorized by his congregation to serve as Foreign Minister for the Left wing government, D'Escoto was suspended as a priest by The Vatican. Pope Francis, however, reinstated him as a priest in 2014.

During his tenure as Minister, Nicaragua sued the US in 1984 before the International Court of Justice at The Hague, which ruled against Washington in 1986 and ordered it to pay reparations to Managua, which the US never did.

In Ortega's first defeat at the polls on February 25, 1990, losing to Violeta Chamorro, D'Escoto was elected to a seat in the Nicaraguan Congress.

After Ortega's return to power in January 2007, D'Escoto was named an adviser to the President on border issues and international relations.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court on Friday did not stay the Delhi government's proposed action against a private school for not refunding excess fee.

A division bench of Justice Sunil Gaur and Justice C. Hari Shankar issued notice to the Directorate of Education seeking its response on plea of the school challenging the department's May 29 notice to refund the excess fees and posted the matter for June 14.

The private school is one of 531 schools which, as per the high court-appointed Justice Anil Dev Singh committee, had charged excess fees on the pretext of implementing the 6th Pay Commission's recommendations. The panel was set up in 2011 to review fees of private schools.

After examining 1,092 private schools, the panel had said that 531 among them had charged excess fee and recommended that it should be refunded with nine per cent interest.

The department, in its May 29 notice to several defaulting schools, said that their failure to refund the excess fees could lead to their de-recognition or taking over of its management as per the Delhi School Education Act and Rules of 1973.

The school has sought stay of the notice saying its representation on review of recommendation is yet to be decided by the department. The department however said neither it nor the panel can review its recommendation and the school ought to have come to court much earlier.

The department had issued notice to schools after the court had asked them to ensure compliance of the committee's recommendations, while hearing a plea by NGO Abhibhavak Mahasangh, which had alleged that the DoE was not ensuring implementation of the recommendations of the committee.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In line with the Centre's aim to bring transparency in governance, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh (UP) has become the first state to ride on the micro-blogging website Twitter for reaching out to the people, a company executive said on Friday.

"The UP government has recognised the potential of Twitter as a platform for effective integrated public communication and is setting a model example for accountability and amenability within the administration," Mahima Kaul, head of public policy, Twitter India, told IANS.

At the first-ever #UPonTwitter workshop organised in Lucknow this week, the state government asked officials across departments to join Twitter's live communication platform for effective communication and quick complaint redressal.

"The #UPonTwitter workshop is a step towards encouraging more departments to utilise Twitter to drive public campaigns and ensure effective governance with real-time public feedback," Kaul added.

At the workshop, the micro-blogging website facilitated a presentation and discussion of Twitter Rules, Account and Safety education, sharing of latest features for campaigns and analytics and discussed ideas for citizen engagement on the platform.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who has 5,27,000 followers (@myogiadityanath), also directed all government departments to open Twitter accounts within a week.

Twitter is already being leveraged by the UP police to engage with citizens in real-time to provide faster response.

The UP Police (@UP POLICE) have 1,77,000 followers on Twitter. On an average, it receives around 200-350 actionable tweets, of which the police officials claim to resolve around 90% the same day.

"We look forward to working closely with the government to advance transparent governance across all verticals," Kaul told IANS.
The BJP-led government has not fulfilled its promise of providing adequate remuneration for agricultural produce in its three years of rule and if it does not mend its ways it will have to face a negative outcome in the forthcoming elections, warn farmer leaders and unions.

Yudhvir Singh, General Secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had promised minimum 50 per cent profits over the cost of production, which made it win the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

"The rate farmers are getting currently for their agriculture produce is much lower than the input cost. For example, farmers spent about Rs 1,600 to produce a quintal of wheat, but the government's rate is around Rs 1,200," he said.

"Now, the government does not want to even discuss its promise of 50 per cent profit. Farmers are under financial burden and the government's apathy is further intensifying their woes. How can one expect farmers to remain calm in such a situation? They will express their anger in the elections to come."

Farmers in several states, such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, have hit the streets demanding better remuneration for their produce and a loan waiver.

Farmer leader and Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra Raju Shetty, whose Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana is an ally in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, said the Narendra Modi government had broken the trust of farmers by overlooking their issues.

"Farmers are broken due to droughts of two consecutive years and and fall in prices. As they do not see any solution coming from the government, they are feeling cheated. If the BJP wants to win elections again, it will have to act in time and resolve their issues," Shetty said.

Badrinarayan Chaudhary, General Secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), said that the government should go back to the drawing board and revise the remuneration rates being offered to the farmers.

"The government had appealed to farmers to cultivate pulses last year but it did not buy them when a bumper crop was reported this year. So, farmers had to sell pulses much below the minimum support price (MSP) in the open market. The government should address the farmers' issues and revise the rates of agricultural commodities for their welfare," Chaudhary said.

P. Ayyakannu, a farmer leader from Tamil Nadu who had grabbed the headlines by resorting to unusual and shocking ways of protests in the national capital two months ago, demanded a loan waiver to save farmers from the financial distress.

"Despite the Madras High Court's directive, the Tamil Nadu government has not waived off our loans. Even the central government has failed to provide us respite. Banks are selling our land as we do not have money to repay. Is it not the government's duty to save us?" Ayyakannu said.

While Singh and Shetty supported the demand of loan waiver, saying it had arisen out of helplessness, Chaudhary opposed it, saying it would be like cheating those who are paying back their loans honestly.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Indian hailing from Telengana who was fired upon in California earlier this week is now out of danger, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said.

"I have received the report from our Consulate in San Francisco," Sushma Swaraj tweeted late on Thursday night.

"The victim Mubeen Ahmed works at a gas station. A gunman demanded money from Mubeen and then fired at him," she said.

"He is admitted in the Eden Medical Centre CA. Fortunately Mubeen is now out of danger. We are following up the case with the police"

Mubeen Ahmed, 26, a native of Sangareddy district in Telangana, was on June 4 shot twice in the stomach at the place in California where he works, though the family came to know about it only on Thursday.

He family said that some men went to his work place posing as customers and got into an argument with Mubeen before firing at him.

An injured Mubeen was rushed to the California hospital, where he underwent surgery. His relatives from Chicago were attending on him at the hospital.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
IT bellwether Infosys on Friday denied any stake sale plan by its promoters and appealed to media not to write such "speculative" stories.

"Infosys would like to clarify reports in the media speculating on plans of stake sale by the promoters. This speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters. The company further reiterates that it has no information on any such development," an official statement by the company said.

"We would like to appeal to the media not to fuel such speculative stories as they are likely to harm the interests of the company and all its stakeholders," it added.

The Times of India, Delhi, on Friday published a news item on its front page that said: "The much-celebrated co-founders of Infosys are exploring a sale of their entire 12.75 per cent stake in the company worth about Rs 28,000 crore, people familiar with the development said."

It named Narayana Murthy, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Nandan Nilekani, K. Dinesh and S.D. Shibulal among the promoters who were planning to sell their stake, along with the shares held by their families.

The company's shares were trading at Rs 940.10 per share, down 1.69 per cent around 1.30 p.m. on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Islamic State (IS) terror group has claimed it killed two Chinese nationals who were abducted from Pakistan's Balochistan region in May, the media reported on Friday.

The IS-linked Amaq news agency made the claim on Thursday night in an Arabic statement on the Telegram messaging app, reports the BBC.

A senior Pakistani government official, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn news that an investigation is underway into the IS claim that the Chinese couple has been killed.

The claim came hours after the military's press wing Inter-Services Public Relations released details of a three-day operation in the Mastung area of Balochistan earlier this month targeting "IS facilitators", in which security forces had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists, including two suicide bombers".

The official said that the vehicle used in the kidnapping of the couple was found during the Mastung operation.

"We cannot confirm the claims made by the IS right now," the official told Dawn news.

The two Chinese nationals, a man and a woman, were teachers at a private language school in Quetta city.

They were kidnapped from the Jinnah town neighbourhood on May 24 by gunmen dressed as police who stopped their car.

A bystander who attempted to intervene was shot and injured while rescuing a third person.

Following the abduction, 11 Chinese nationals also living in Quetta were shifted to Karachi for their evacuation to Beijing.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Palermo (Italy), June 9 (IANS/AKI) Ailing Sicilian mafia 'boss of bosses' Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, is "perfectly lucid", prosecutor Nino Di Matteo on Friday told a trial on alleged negotiations between the Italian state and the mafia to halt a deadly bombing campaign in the early 1990s.

The claim came amid heated debate in Italy over whether 86-year-old Riina should be released from prison and put under house arrest due to health problems said to include cancer, heart disease and Parkinson's.

Italy's Supreme Court said on Monday the mobster, known as 'the Beast' had the right to "die with dignity" under house arrest like any other terminally ill prisoner, a ruling that has caused outrage among mafia victims and their families.

The final decision rests with a parole board in the northern city of Bologna, near Parma, where Riina is in jail.

Known for his exceptional brutality, Riina ordered the killings of magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, who were blown up by mafia bombings in 1992.

Riina also infamously ordered the torture, strangulation and dissolving in acid of Giuseppe Di Matteo, the 13-year-old son of a Sicilian mafia informant, after holding the boy captive for two years.

Riina was captured by police in Palermo on January 15, 1993, after 23 years on the run. He was tried and convicted of over a hundred counts of murder, including the slayings of Falcone and Borsellino.

--IANS/AKI

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Justice Department has issued a statement defending Attorney General Jeff Sessions and refuting some of former FBI Director James Comey's congressional testimony.

The Justice Department contradicted Comey's statement given to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, which suggested that Sessions recused himself on March 2 from an ongoing probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election because he was implicated in a series of facts which could not be made public as it was classified information, reports Efe news.

"We were aware of facts that I can't discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic," Comey said.

"Our judgment, as I recall, was that he was very close to and inevitably going to recuse himself for a variety of reasons," the former Federal Bureau of Investigation director added.

In response, Justice Department spokesperson Ian Prior said in a statement later on Thursday, Sessions stepped away from the investigation on Kremlin because he had actively participated in Donald Trump's presidential campaign, accompanying him to campaign events and advising him on immigration issues.

"Shortly after being sworn in, Attorney General Sessions began consulting with career Department of Justice ethics officials to determine whether he should recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the US," Prior said.

Due to his participation in Trump's presidential campaign, Sessions decided to recuse himself from the Russian investigation "for that reason, and that reason alone," according to Prior.

However, when Sessions made the decision, the fact that he had had two meetings during the presidential campaign with the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, had just come to light.

Sessions did not reveal his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary during his confirmation hearing, an omission which prompted Republican and Democratic lawmakers' to call for Sessions to distance himself from the investigation.

In a speech in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the former FBI's testimony "raises serious questions about Attorney General Sessions that he and the Justice Department must answer immediately."

According to CNN, in a closed session with the senators in the afternoon, Comey revealed that Sessions had a third meeting with the Russian ambassador that was kept secret.

That encounter allegedly also took place during the presidential campaign.

Sessions is due to appear before a Senate subcommittee on June 13, and Democratic lawmakers have already announced that they will take the opportunity to ask him about his contacts with Moscow as well as his role in the Russian FBI investigation.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw Thursday's successful launches of several anti-ship cruise missiles from the country's south-eastern coast, state media reported on Friday.

Pyongyang conducted its latest test of new ground-to-sea projectiles developed by the National Academy of Defense Sciences "capable of striking" any enemy fleets "at will", Efe news reported.

The test was intended to "verify the combat application efficiency of the overall weapon system," the KCNA news agency reported.

"At the observation post, Kim Jong-un learned about the tactical and engineering data of the rocket and ordered the start of its test-fire," KCNA reported, adding that the missiles "accurately" detected and hit the simulated ship in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

Pyongyang fired multiple short-range missiles from the town of Wonsan on Thursday, which flew at a maximum height of 2 km and travelled about 200 km before falling into the Sea of Japan.

The North Korean regime said that "reliability of operation of the launching and controlling systems" was confirmed through the test, by checking the launching pad vehicle's mobility characteristics and "rapid firing preparation."

Unlike previous tests, the Thursday's test did not violate the UN sanctions against Pyongyang, which only prohibit launches of ballistic missiles.

Thursday's test was North Korea's 10th missile test so far this year, and took place after the regime tested a mid-range ballistic missile on May 29.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Oscar winning actor Jared Leto says he is not ready for the title of a father as he has a lot of things to take care of right now.

"I think it's really important to be present if you have children. I have a lot of... things to take care of," he told ES Magazine, reports eonline.com.

The 45-year-old is known to focus all of his efforts on his character at hand, most recently as The Joker in the 2016 film "Suicide Squad", which he prepared for partly by sending his castmates rats, used condoms and other items.

However, he doesn't find that level of method acting necessary for every part.

"I mean if I was in 'Baywatch II', I don't think I'd need to do it," he said.

"That would be so much fun, to be in a movie as fun as that. But everyone's got to do what works for them. Some people can be eating chicken nuggets with a stripper on their lap and then jump right into it."

"I've always just done what I have to do in order to do a good job, and I feel I do a better job when I give a bigger commitment."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Resisting calls for her resignation, Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday vowed to form a minority government with the support of a Northern Ireland party after a hung Parliament deprived her Conservative Party of its parliamentary majority.

After Thursday's general election, the Conservatives failed to secure the 326 seats needed to form a majority government and will now seek to stay in power with the informal backing of the right-wing Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The 318 seats won by Tories, plus the DUP's 10 seats, gives May the majority she needs in the House of Commons. But critics warned of political instability.

Speaking outside Downing Street after meeting the Queen, May said she intended to form a government which could "provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country".

Referring to the "strong relationship" she had with the DUP, May said the new government would "guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks" that begin in 10 days.

"We will be able to work together in the interests of the whole UK... Now lets get to work."

Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party gave a stiff competition to the Tories by garnering 261 seats, a gain of 29, while the Conservatives lost 12 seats.

Corbyn urged the Prime Minister to quit, saying he was "ready to serve" himself. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said May "should be ashamed" and should resign "if she has an ounce of self respect".

Speaking at the Labour headquarters, Corbyn said: "I think it's pretty clear who won this election... There isn't a parliamentary majority for anybody at the present time. The party that has lost is the Conservative Party, the arguments it put forward in this election have lost."

Senior Tory figures also cast doubts about May's leadership.

Former Chancellor George Osborne, who was sacked from the Cabinet by May, said he doubted whether she can "survive in the long term as Conservative leader".

European Council President Donald Tusk, however, congratulated May.

He called on negotiations to be conducted in "the best possible spirit" that causes the "least disruptive outcome for our citizens" following Brexit.

London newspapers said May's gamble in calling a snap election had backfired.

The London Times headline read: "May's election nightmare". The Daily Mail screamed: "Gamble That Backfired."

The Conservative setback was only matched by the Scottish Nationalist Party's (SNP) loss of 21 seats. It finished with 35 seats.

The Liberal Democrats made four gains, winning 12 seats in all. After his defeat, Paul Nuttall resigned as the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader.

Scotland's pro-independence First Minister Nicola Sturgeon asked May to abandon her pursuit of a so-called "hard Brexit". She accused the Conservatives of causing chaos in the UK on an industrial scale.

The Green Party warned that a Conservative government propped up by the DUP would be a "coalition of chaos".
India represents a billion dollar Cloud computing market which is growing at 30 per cent annually and Microsoft is well-positioned to support the country's digital transformation, a top company executive has stressed.

"Digital workplace" is the new mantra for enterprises and businesses as IT leaders are focused on building an agile infrastructure that can address the needs of changing workforce demographics and transform their digital strategies.

"India has about 30 million-odd small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and a vast majority of these still have to embrace Cloud. For us, this is a massive opportunity to transform their operations in a secure Cloud environment," Rajiv Sodhi, Country Head, Cloud and Server Business, Microsoft India, told IANS in an interview.

"We spend nearly $12 billion on research every year to help customers derive value out of data they store in our Cloud environments," Sodhi noted.

Microsoft's definition of digital transformation is centred around four pillars: Empower employees, optimise operations, engage with customers, and transform their products.

According to Sodhi, Indian enterprises are adopting a people-centric approach at the forefront of their digital transformation strategies.

"B2B companies are focused on enhancing their workforce productivity and efficiency, whereas B2C companies are focused on customer engagement," Sodhi said, adding that as a long-term partner to Indian businesses, Microsoft is geared to address such needs.

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) are now being viewed by Indians as important and relevant to digital transformation strategies.

According to Microsoft's "Asia Digital Transformation Study 2016", 88 per cent Indians believe that Cloud computing and decreasing cost of devices make it more affordable for companies of all sizes to access modern technology and help them gain a competitive advantage.

In April, Microsoft announced new Azure migration tools and resources to help organisations utilise the power of hybrid Cloud.

Organisations can activate their "Azure hybrid use benefit" directly in the Azure management portal, simplifying their path to the Cloud in the most cost-effective way possible. With the "Azure hybrid use benefit" they save up to 40 per cent with Windows Server licenses that include software assurance, the company said.

"We are guided by what our customers need, so that they are more productive on their business side. Our mission is also to let individuals do and achieve more. We will continue to work as and when we get feedback from customers as to what they want," Sodhi added.

(Anuj Sharma can be contacted at anuj.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sharing the round table with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif amidst the ongoing India-Pakistan chill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for coordinated and strong efforts to fight terror and radicalisation, particularly on recruitment, training and financing -- in a veiled message to Islamabad.

"Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values. The fight against terrorism is an important part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is not possible to find a solution," Modi said, addressing a day-long meeting of the SCO to which India was admitted as a full member along with Pakistan on Friday.

On Thursday night, Modi and Sharif exchanged pleasantries at a cultural function hosted by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The informal interaction came 17 months after Modi's surprise stop over in Lahore to greet Sharif on his birthday and attend a pre-marriage function at his residence on December 25, 2015.

Hailing the SCO's efforts in the fight against terror, Modi expressed the hope that the eight-member Eurasian bloc will give a new direction and strength to this fight.

Noting that India may have gained membership only today, Modi said its relationship with the SCO countries were historical. This, he said, would give new dimension to the relations among the SCO countries.

The Prime Minister also said that energy, education, agriculture, defence, security, minerals, capacity building, development partnership, trade and investment are the main drivers of the SCO. India's membership "will take our relations with SCO countries to a new level", he said.

Modi pointed out that this was a historic day in the history of SCO and India is determined to cooperate in a proactive and positive manner.

In his speech that immediately followed Modi's, Sharif said, "We fully endorse the SCO's resolve to fight the twin evils of terrorism and extremism."

"Pakistan has fought its own fierce war in the fight against international terrorism and with the grace of God it has been able to achieve a turnaround in the security and economic situation in our country," Sharif said.

Sharif also congratulated India on joining the SCO and said the organisation was now truly continental, linking East Asia, West Asia, Asia Pacific and the Atlantic region.

The SCO, which includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, now has India and Pakistan as its newest members. India has been a observer to the SCO since 2005.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Activists of the CPI-ML-Liberation on Friday burnt an effigy of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in protest against the death of farmers in police firing in the state earlier this week.

The Communist Party of India- Marxist-Leninist-Liberation workers staged a demonstration outside the office of Madhya Pradesh Tourism in south Kolkata demanding Chouhan immediately resign taking responsibility for the death of the peasants who are demanding loan waivers and fair price for their produce in Mandsaur.

Holding aloft banners and posters reading "Shivraj Singh Chouhan Murdabad" and questioning the "Acche din" (good days) promised by the Narendra Modi-led BJP before they came to power at the centre, the slogan shouting protestors demanded the Prime Minister and the state governments find a solution to the farmers' plight.

Another Left party All India Forward Bloc condemned the Modi government for deciding to send central police forces to Madhya Pradesh to quell the famers' protests.

Expressing "grave concern" over the National Crime Records Bureau report that a farmer is committing suicide on an average every 41 minutes in India, AIFB General Secretary Debabrata Biswas said his party would back the farmers' protests in Madhya Pradesh.

"When the need of the hour was to announce a compensation package to resolve the agrarian crisis, the Modi government decided to send 1,000 para-military troopers to Madhya Pradesh. This only reveals that the present central government considers all opposition voices as enemises. They want to fight all protests by using bullets," he said.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh began a 10-day protest on June 1 to press for loan waivers and fair price for their produce. The protests turned violent on June 6 when five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur. Another injured protester died on Friday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV network founder Prannoy Roy on Friday said the CBI case against him was "ridiculous and a concocted set of facts" and asserted that he and his wife Radhika Roy "never touched black money and never bribed even a single person" in their lives.

Speaking at a protest meet organised at the Press Club of India following CBI searches at his houses, Roy vowed to fight the charges openly and transparently and called for a time-bound inquiry.

"This is not about NDTV, this is a signal for all of us. And the fact that there is no case, but a flimsy, ridiculous, concocted set of facts," Roy said.

"They are trying to tell us - 'We can suppress you even if you have done nothing wrong'. They are telling us 'We will fix you even if you are innocent'. Remember that signal and fight it. We must... Be clear it's a signal for the entire free press of India," he said.

He said that freedom of press was precious and should be guarded staunchly. "Let's not lose it, let's treasure it," he said.

The protest meet was attended by a large number of well-known journalists.

Attacking the government, Roy said journalists should stand up to all pressures.

"Their (government's) basic idea is crawl or we will come and get you. So stand up, they will never come for you. Mark my words," he said.

Noting that his fight was not against investigative agencies but against politicians, Roy said: "Our fight is not against the CBI or Income tax or Enforcement Directorate, it is against politicians, who are manipulating and want to eviscerate these institutions. They want to disembowel them."

Roy also said the petitioner in the case, Sanjay Dutt, was being used as a tool and being exploited.

"I commit to you we will answer every one of these false charges openly and transparently. All I ask is please make it a time bound process. We would just love that," he said.

Roy also said that the houses they bought were purchased with white money.

The CBI this week searched the houses of Roy for allegedly causing financial losses to ICICI Bank.

The agency registered a case against Roy, his wife, a private company and conducted searches at his south Delhi residence in Greater Kailash-I and his house in Dehradun for "loss of Rs 48 crore" to the bank.

Amid protest by journalists, NDTV had said the CBI had "stepped up the concerted harassment of NDTV and its promoters based on the same old endless false accusations" and that the raid was "a blatant political attack on the freedom of the press".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Read a page-turner based on the rivalry between real-life paleontologists, get a reference manual for entrepreneurs, managers and leaders who want to think better -- individually or as teams -- and flick through the struggles of a boy who assimilates a foreign culture and also tries to retain his traditional values.

IANS bookshelf offers a varied interest for this weekend.

1. Book: Dragon Teeth; Author: Michael Crichton; Publisher: Harper Collins; Pages: 295; Price: Rs 399

The year is 1876. Warring Indian tribes still populate America's western territories even as lawless gold-rush towns begin to mark the landscape. In a major part of the country, it is still illegal to espouse evolution. Against this backdrop, two monomaniacal paleontologists pillage the Wild West, hunting for dinosaur fossils, while surveilling, deceiving and sabotaging each other in a rivalry that will come to be known as the Bone Wars.

Into this treacherous territory plunges the arrogant and entitled William Johnson, a Yale student with more privilege than sense. Determined to survive a summer in the west to win a bet against his arch-rival, Johnson has joined world-renowned paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh on his latest expedition. But when the paranoid and secretive Marsh becomes convinced that Johnson is spying for his nemesis, Edwin Drinker Cope, he abandons him in Cheyenne, Wyoming, a locus of crime and vice.

Johnson is forced to join forces with Cope and soon stumbles upon a discovery of historic proportions. With this extraordinary treasure, however, comes exceptional danger, and Johnson's newfound resilience will be tested in his struggle to protect his cache, which pits him against some of the West's most notorious characters.

A page-turner that draws on both meticulously researched history and an exuberant imagination, "Dragon Teeth" is based on the rivalry between real-life paleontologists Cope and Marsh; in Johnson readers will find an inspiring hero only Michael Crichton could have imagined. Perfectly paced and brilliantly plotted, this enormously winning adventure is destined to become another Crichton classic.

2. Book: Unlock The Real Power Ideation; Author: R Sridhar; Publisher: Productivity and Quality; Pages: 318; Price: Rs 360

Why are bright managers unable to think differently? Why are ideation sessions not productive as managers would like to be? Why do senior leaders kill ideas when their support is most needed?

The author answers all these troubling questions and many more. He then sets you on a practical step-by-step process to unlock the real power of ideation.

"Unlock the Real Power of Ideation" is a simple and powerful reference manual for entrepreneurs, managers and leaders who want to think better, individually and as teams.

3. Book: The Full Circle; Author: Ratan Kaul; Publisher: Frog; Pages: 255; Price: Rs 250

Every change in Rohit's life is like a turn of the wheel, for good or for bad, but it is not in his hands as someone else governs his fate. Every change in Rohit's life is like a turn of the wheel, for good or for bad, but it is not in his hands as someone else governs his fate.

In the early 1980s, fresh graduate engineer Rohit commences his career in a steel factory, located in a remote tribal region in central India. The journey starts with his youthful frolics within a team of young professionals and his budding relationship with a tribal girl.

Then starts his zealous crusade for getting compensation for the distressed tribal villagers, who have been evacuated from their lands and deprived of their livelihood due to the construction of a dam and power plant.

His roller-coaster journey is beset with job challenges, factory intrigues and blackmail, alongside intense societal barriers to his effervescent romantic relationship. In search of greener pastures, he moves to the US, where he progresses gradually. Supported by the technology revolution in the nineties, he rises to join the techno-elite by the turn of the century.

But he is beleaguered by his crumbling relationships and the growing conflicts between assimilating a foreign culture and his retaining traditional values. Ultimately, he chooses to return to his country to live the kind of life more known to him.
Nairobi, June 9 (IANS/MAP) So far, 66,807 Somali refugees in Kenya have been repatriated to their country since the start of the voluntary return operation in December 2014, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has said.

A total of 65,470 refugees have been repatriated from the Dadaab camp in northeastern Kenya, the UN agency said in its latest report on Thursday, noting that 1,620 people returned to Somalia between May 16 and May 31 this year.

The agency said the number of Somali refugees who had joined their country since the beginning of the year reached 26,156.

UNHCR explained that the decline in the number of returnees during the past four weeks is attributable to "the drought and cholera outbreak, the suspension of road convoys due to heavy rain in several parts of Somalia".

Kenya announced in May 2016 its decision not to welcome new refugees, particularly Somali-born refugees, on its soil and that it would close the two main camps of Dadaab and Kakuma for national security reasons, which are home to over a half -million people.

However, the decision to close the Dadaab camp was annulled in February by the High Court, which ruled that this measure was "null and void", by ruling on a complaint filed by the Kenya National Commission of Rights (KNCHR) and the Kenyan NGO Kituo Cha Sheria.

Kenya has often defended the idea that radical Al-Shabab Islamists were hiding among the Somali refugees, accusations challenged by independent observers.

--IANS/MAP

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A petrol tanker burst into flames after it rolled off the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway into a deep gorge on Friday, the state police said.

According to the police, the tanker, on its way to Srinagar from Jammu, burst into flames as it fell into the gorge after it went out of the driver's control near Banihal town. The driver and the conductor sustained grievous injuries.

"Both the injured persons have been shifted to hospital for treatment," a police officer said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) team on Friday left for Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur to meet the families of the farmers who were killed in police firing, but authorities said nobody would be allowed to visit the violence-hit district.

AAP leaders Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Sadhu Singh and Somnath Bharti reached Indore in the afternoon on their way to the tense Mandsaur.

But Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Manoj Singh said the AAP leaders would not be allowed to visit Mandsaur town, where curfew was partially lifted on Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"We will not allow anybody to visit Mandsaur. It will create law and order situation for us," Manoj Singh told IANS.

Five farmers, according to the government, were killed in police firing on Tuesday when hundreds of farmers staged protests, demanding debt relief and price hike of their produce.

However, farmers' association said that at least eight protesters were killed when the police opened fire at them.

The AAP said its leaders would meet the families of the victims to express their solidarity with them.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Korean Air plane on Friday made an emergency landing at an airport in Japan due to smoke in the cockpit.

Flight B737-900 left the port city of Busan at 9.11 a.m. and was expected to arrive at Fukuoka on Kyushu Island at 10.31 a.m., reports Yonhap news agency.

Five minutes before the actual landing and as the plane was making its descent, smoke was detected by the flight crew, the flag carrier said in a statement.

The company asked the Fukuoka tower control to ready firefighters and rescue teams in case of an emergency, but there was no fire on the plane that was carrying 151 passengers and eight crew members, the statement said.

All passengers and crew members safely got off the twin-engine jet, and the company and the local fire authorities are investigating what caused the incident, it said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Siemens Industry Software India Pvt Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of Siemens PLM Software, on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government here to establish four Centres of Excellence across the state.

Signed with the Government Tool Room and Training Centre (GTTC), the MoU aims to build a world-class integrated skill development infrastructure and benchmarked technical education curriculum with core focus on industry 4.0, automation, mechatronics and internet of things (IoT) infrastructure.

The four centres will address diverse industry segments like automotive, industrial machinery, industrial automation, renewable energy and aerospace and defence.

"With Indian industry adopting automation and digitalisation, it also requires a highly skilled workforce trained in future-ready technologies and processes. Siemens is committed to supporting the Indian economy (in this regard)," said Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited.

The centres will be equipped with the latest 'Product Lifecycle Management' software solutions from Siemens, such as 'NX' software for digital product design and engineering, 'Teamcenter' software for digital lifecycle management and the 'Tecnomatix' portfolio for digital manufacturing.

"The collaboration will train students on relevant industry processes and create industry-ready personnel," added Suman Bose, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Industry Software India.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, senior party leader and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Friday condoled the death of senior Congress leader and Telangana MP Palvai Govardhan Reddy, terming it a big loss for the party.

Remembering Reddy as a respected leader, Sonia Gandhi said: "Reddy committed his life to the people and Congress party at a young age and leaves behind an admirable legacy. His death is an irreparable loss to the nation and the party."

Expressing solidarity with his family and supporters, Sonia Gandhi prayed for peace of the departed soul.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a condolence message to the family, said: "In his death india has lost a dedicated parliamentarian and a leader who fought in the forefront for the formation of the Telangana State and a humble human being."

Rahul Gandhi Tweeted: "P. Govardhan Reddyji's untimely demise is a big loss for Congress - a five-time MLA and RS MP he was at the forefront of Telangana movement. My condolences."

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed deep sorrow and grief at the death.

"He was a very seasoned parliamentarian and has richly contributed to the proceedings, both in the legislative assembly and Parliament, of which he remained member from time to time in his long span of political career. In his death, the Congress party has lost a great parliamentarian and a leader," said Azad.

Reddy died of a massive heart attack in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu town on Friday. He was 80.

Reddy, who was in Kullu for a meeting of a Parliamentary Standing Committee, suffered cardiac arrest at Bhuntar airport.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Budget passenger carrier SpiceJet on Friday said it will operate a "special flight" on the Kolkata-Bagdogra-Kolkata route to help tourists stranded in West Bengal's hill town of Darjeeling.

According to the airline, the flight will be operated on Saturday, June 10.

"SpiceJet will be operating its Q400 aircraft for this special flight. This special flight will be in addition to the daily direct flight which SpiceJet operates on this route," the airline said in a statement.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Automobile major Tata Motors has implemented internal strategic initiatives to boost organisational efficiency which include scrapping some designation titles.

A company official, who did not wish to be named, said on Friday that the firm communicated this decision to its employees in an internal circular on Wednesday.

The measures are seen as a way to increase efficiency, boost teamwork and to build a hierarchy-free company.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Thai military court on Friday sentenced a man to 30 years in prison after convicting him of 10 counts of lese-majeste, a law that protects the country's royal household.

The man, identified as Wichai, was detained in the city of Chiang Mai in December 2015 for a series of posts on Facebook that were considered insulting to the Thai monarchy.

The court, which had earlier sentenced him to 60 years in prison, reduced his term to 30, after the accused confessed, Yingcheep Atchanont, a representative of iLaw, a human rights defence group that tracks royal defamation cases, told Efe news.

According to the lese-majeste law it is a criminal offence to "defame, insult or threaten" members of the royal family that is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

After the military coup in May 2014, the number of prosecutions under the draconian law has multiplied.

On many occasions, the army has sent suspects to military courts whose sentences are twice as severe as those of civil courts, according to iLaw.

The UN Human Rights Committee has expressed concern over the law and urged Thailand to respect freedom of expression.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A group of lawyers in the US has threatened legal action against Donald Trump for blocking users on his account, alleging that the action of the President violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The lawyers from Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute wrote a letter to Trump on behalf of two users who have been blocked in recent weeks after mocking the President on the platform, Vox.com reported on Thursday.

They argued that Trump's account was a public forum, and banning users from viewing or engaging with his tweets based on their viewpoints suppresses free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment.

"The President must not be allowed to banish views from public discourse simply because he finds them objectionable," explained Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director, Knight First Amendment Institute.

The group points to a March ruling in which a federal court ruled that the First Amendment applied after the Loudon county, Virginia, attorney's office created a Facebook page for discussing legal issues.

Once the page was opened up for public discussion, the court said, it could not arbitrarily exclude some citizens from participating in the conversation.

But experts are not in consensus on the outcome as this issue tests new legal waters with regard to the First Amendment's application to online forums.

Trump has an array of possible defences against this possible lawsuit centring on the argument that the Twitter account used to block users is used in his personal capacity, some legal experts have argued.

"My sense is that the @RealDonaldTrump account though run by Trump on government time and from government property is the work of 'Trump-the-man', just as it was before (his election), and not Trump-the-president. His decisions about that account are therefore not constrained by the First Amendment," Eugene Volokh, Professor of Law at University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law was quoted as saying.

Another defence proposed by experts is that the Block feature on Twitter does not practically affect a user's ability to access Trump's Twitter feed because all they have to do is log off from their blocked account to access it.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ratified two deals allowing Turkish troops' deployment to Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie, according to the presidency.

Erdogan signed off deals on the Turkish Parliament's approval late Thursday night, Xinhua news agency reported.

The first deal, signed in Doha in April 2016, allows Turkish troops to improve Qatar's army and boost military cooperation.

The second deal, signed in December 2015 between the two Interior Ministries, allows the Turkish gendarmerie to train Qatari gendarmerie forces.

The move came after Erdogan expressed earlier this week disapproval of the sanctions imposed on Qatar by several Arab countries.

Erdogan also said that Turkey "will continue and develop" ties with Qatar.

Earlier the week, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and the Maldives snapped their diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting "terrorism and extremism.

Qatar has stoutly refuted the allegations.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
British billionaire Richard Branson presented a petition to the UN General Assembly (UNGA), urging governments to protect at least 30 per cent of oceans by 2030.

The founder of the Virgin Group, also a famous investor and philanthropist, presented the petition on Thursday backed by over 1 million citizens from around the world to UNGA President Peter Thomson at the UN Oceans Conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

The commitment was made in September 2016 at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, where 180 governments and over 600 NGOs voted to strongly protect at least a third of the world's ocean by 2030.

"Now citizens are calling on governments to execute on this," Branson said.

"The ocean covers two thirds of the planet yet today less than 3 per cent is strongly protected. The science says we need to protect at least 30 per cent."

"Through this petition, over 1 million people from around the world have called for action to reach this ambitious target. I am pleased to add my voice and look forward to working with political and business leaders and citizens to make it a reality," he said.

The UN Ocean Conference is ongoing at the UN headquarters here, coinciding with World Oceans Day, which falls on June 8.

Co-chaired by Fiji and Sweden, the Conference aims to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A hostage situation is underway at a job centre in Newcastle, England, after a man "entered the building armed with a knife" on Friday, police said.

Witnesses also reported seeing the man with "something" strapped to his chest, reports the Mirror daily.

Five members of staff are believed to have been released with one man still being held inside the centre in Clifford Street, according to the police.

Police said they were treating it as an isolated incident at the moment.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi on Friday said he is "yet to receive any official communication" on the situation in Darjeeling, where the army has been called in following widespread violence unleashed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)stir.

"Let me receive (an) official communication. I am yet to receive any official communication," Tripathi told the media here on sidelines of inauguration of the Tagore Centre for Natural Science and Philosophy.

Demanding a separate Gorkhaland state, thousands of angry GJM activists on Thursday indulged in arson and pelted stones at police, injuring 15, in Darjeeling.

The GJM has called for a 12-hour shutdown on Friday to protest "indiscriminate police action on the peaceful demonstration" by its workers.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
I suddenly learn how many restaurants in Delhis top-flight hotels open for business before 1 pm. The answer is, none! Ram Sewak Sharma, chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), had said he would like to be over with our lunch by 1.30 pm, so could we meet at 12.30 pm?
Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer was British, but was an officer of the Indian Army. The 50 riflemen who opened fire at a peaceful Baisakhi gathering at Amritsar's Jallianwala Bagh, killing 396 and wounding more than a thousand, were Indian soldiers.
The textile hub of Tirupur in Tamil Nadu is worried about the 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) for different segments in the production chain. It says this will put pressure on working capital of job work units and that 20-30 per cent of these might have to close down. The Tirupur textile industry does business worth at least Rs 50,000 crore every year, export and domestic. And, employes over a million people.

Raja M Shanmugham, president, Tirupur Exporters Association, says at least 80 per cent of units in Tirupur are dependent on job work on the multiple stages of garment manufacture. The 18 per cent rate would now be applicable at each of these stages.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief on Friday projected himself as the "chief minister of the hills" and challenged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to stop the agitation in the area.

The GJM leader claimed that it was his summon that "ran in the hills."



"As the chief minister of West Bengal, she is trying to show her strength. But she must not forget that I am an elected member of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA). I am the chief minister of the hills, I challenge her to stop the agitation in the hills," Gurung said.

Gurung also said he will directly talk to the Centre about the deployment of Army and the alleged police atrocities in the hills.

"I will talk to the Centre, we are an ally of NDA. We will give them all the details of police atrocities on the innocent people of the hills," he said.

Two columns of Army were deployed in Darjeeling town yesterday after GJM supporters clashed with the police, damaged police vehicles and set some of them ablaze while West Bengal chief minister was holding a cabinet meeting there.

The police resorted to baton charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the agitators who tried to march to the venue of the state cabinet meeting yesterday.
Officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau today recovered 15 kg of pseudo ephedrine from a South African national at the airport today.

Based on 'specific information', officials intercepted Johannes Daniel Haskins and seized the drug from his possession, an NCB press release said.

He was travelling from Delhi to Johannesburg via Chennai, it said, adding, the contraband was packed in 15 packets and kept in his suitcase.

The seized contraband was worth around Rs one crore in the illegal local market, the release said.

This was the first time pseudo ephedrine was being seized here while being 'trafficked' to South Africa, it said.

The release further said that pseudo ephedrine is a "controlled substance" and that it's manufacture and usage was restricted to "medicinal purpose only."



"However, it is illegally used to manufacture Methamphetamine, which is a potent party drug," it said.

Further investigation was on to find out linkages between Indian and South African trafficking networks, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three United Nations peacekeepers were killed and eight others wounded when they came under sustained attack in Kidal in Mali's troubled north, the UN said today.

The UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, began work in 2013, providing security and assisting Malian troops struggling to keep the country safe. It has been targeted constantly by jihadists, with dozens of peacekeepers killed.

Yesterday the UN camp "came under heavy rocket/mortar fire" and "a little later a position nearby was attacked" outside their base, the UN mission said in a statement.

The three peacekeepers were killed in the second incident.

The attack is just the latest to target the 12,000-strong force in the west African nation. Guinean and Chadian soldiers make up the majority of soldiers at the Kidal camp.

The UN mission said it "condemned in the strongest terms these cowardly attacks against its personnel and the danger they cause for the civilian population."



The attackers should be identified and tried as quickly as possible, the statement added.

Northern Mali fell to jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in March 2012, and although these forces were driven out of key towns by a French-led military intervention the following year, the Islamists have now spread further south.

Since 2015, jihadists have targeted Mali's centre and their activities have spilled over into neighbouring countries including Niger and Burkina Faso.

Their last attack killed two peacekeepers on May 23 near Aguelhok, near the border with Algeria, while a Liberian peacekeeper was killed earlier in May close to Timbuktu.

Both attacks were claimed by a powerful jihadist alliance, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a fusion of three Malian jihadist groups with previous Al-Qaeda links.

France on Tuesday asked the UN Security Council to authorise the deployment of a five-nation African military force to fight jihadists in the Sahel region, with its base in Mali.

The force will be under a separate command from MINUSMA and France's own counter-terror force in the Sahel region, but will be backed by the UN and European Union.

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Five terrorists planning a major terror attack in Pakistan have been arrested and a huge cache of explosives recovered from them in Punjab province, officials said on Sunday.

The militants were planning to attack sensitive installations in Sialkot district, about 180 km from Lahore.

They have been booked under the anti-terrorism act.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police arrested them yesterday during a raid in Sialkot.

Abdul Wahab, Behzad Ali, Shahzaib Zafar, Waqas and Daniyal Arshad were said to be active members of the ISIS.

Some 3,400 grammes of explosives, 100-inch safety fuse, five non-electric detonators, three bags and maps have been recovered from them.

The ISIS terror group has claimed responsibility for the killing of two Chinese nationals, including a woman, who were abducted by armed gunmen from Pakistan's restive north-west Balochistan province recently.
America's relationship with India should not be a "one-for-one transactional arrangement" but more than that, a former US envoy to New Delhi has said ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit here.

"In the world economic situation, a strong India is good for us," Frank Wisner told a Washington audience.

"It should not be a one-for-one transactional arrangement because a strong India, as (former US president) George W Bush made it clear, a strong India is good for the United States. India's strength is good for us in maintaining the balance of power in Asia," the former US Ambassador to India said.

At an event organised by the Meridian International Center here, Wisner said when President Donald Trump meets Prime Minister Modi at the White House later this month, he should say that this is "a key relationship" with the US.

"It is of strategic significance. We're going to continue to build. We are going to make sure that the building is done in a manner that is even asymmetrical. That is, we may have to put more in before we get much out," he said.

Noting that the two countries have got a good pattern of defence cooperation, he said they have to sort out some trade issues.

"We need to get our heads together on China. The rise of Chinese power is as much an issue for India as it is for us," he said.

"Pakistan..., the kind of restraint we need to exercise on Pakistan to be a responsible player in the region. And there are needs from India and her dealings with Pakistan where we now have pressing interests. Afghanistan, these are all questions that we can tackle," the former American diplomat said.

"India is a rising power. At the same time, Americans have got to be very careful and not take our associates about what's good for the United States and then transfer them to India," he said.

"India has her own realities and as President Trump and all of us in this country sit down and think about where we're going in the future, we need to be very careful that we understand exactly, first of all, India is a rising power but it's not yet a great power. It's on its way but it has a lot of building to do," he said.

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A delegation of the Aam Aadmi Party was today stopped here by the police from entering Mandsaur, hit by violent farmers' agitation, a day after Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders were turned back by authorities.

The delegation consisting of Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Somnath Bharti, Ashutosh and the party's Madhya Pradesh unit convener Alok Aggarwal sat on a dharna in Dhodhar area of Ratlam district after officials denied them entry into Mandsaur as curfew had been imposed there and told them it would not be safe.

Jaora city SP Deepak Kumar Shukla said the AAP leaders were not allowed to enter Mandsaur and sent back from Ratlam.

The AAP leaders also spoke to some of the farmers who have been protesting since June 1, seeking loan waiver and higher prices for the farm produce among other things.

Mandsaur has been kept out of bounds for political leaders by the state administration in the wake of wide spread violence following the death of five farmers in police firing during the agitation.

"We were going to meet the families of the deceased farmers and did not have any intention to disrupt the law and order in Mandsaur but even then we were stopped," Sanjay Singh said.

He demanded Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's resignation and also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "keeping mum" on the issue.

"He (Modi) tweets immediately on issues from all over the world but has not uttered a single word in solidarity with the farmers in Mandsaur," Singh said.

"The farmers in the country are facing tough times. Those from Tamil Nadu had to protest in Delhi while the ones in Mandsaur had to face the bullets. It's high time that the Centre waives loans of farmers across the country," he added.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was yesterday arrested as he tried to enter Mandsaur from Neemuch district, about 400 km from the state capital Bhopal. He was later released along with his 250 supporters on the border with Rajasthan.

Earlier in the day, Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh had said prohibitory orders are in place in the entire district and entry of outsiders will be restricted.

The SP had said the AAP leaders will be arrested if they try to enter the district.

He said anti-social elements were involved in the breach of peace in the district and 156 persons have been arrested so far in connection with cases of arson and vandalism.

"We are with the farmers but will take action against those who resort to violence. Anti-social elements were involved in violence," he said.

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French Development Agency (AFD) today signed a 3.5-million Euro Grant Facility Agreement with India for implementing 'MobiliseYourCity 'initiative financed by the European Union for sustainable urban mobility.

MobiliseYourCity (MYC) is part of an international initiative supported by the French and German governments. It was launched at Paris' 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) in December 2015.

MYC seeks to back 100 cities engaged in sustainable urban mobility planning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally.

In India, MYC aims at supporting three pilot cities -- Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad -- in their efforts to reduce GHG emissions related to urban transport.

On the occasion, Ambassador of the European Union to India Tomasz Kozlowski said investments in energy, water, waste, climate and smart cities are investments in sustainability and address priorities under the flagship programs of the Indian government.

"The grants delegated to AFD by the European Union under the Asia Investment Facility enable AFD to bring additional value to its partners by implementing technical assistance and capacity building programs," said Pascal Pacaud, Head of Asia Department at AFD Headquarters in Paris.

As per a release, MobiliseYourCity will enable transformational changes towards a less carbon intensive development path in the urban mobility sector and materialize them into locally planned measures, projects and policies.

"With this new financing, which extends the agency's operations in the sector of sustainable mobility in India, AFD has notched up more than 800 million euros in total contribution," it said.

AFD finances phases I and II of the Bangalore metro, phases I and II of the Kochi metro and the construction of a metro line in Nagpur.

AFD also supports Kochi and Chandigarh through a technical assistance programme for the development of a comprehensive vision of urban mobility.

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The All India Forward Bloc, the party founded by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, today extended their support to the farmers of Madhya Pradesh and demanded a special session of Parliament to discuss the plight of the farmers immediately.

"The farmers are up in arms against the callous attitude of the central and state governments towards the burning issues such as Minimum Support Price and agri-loan waiver. It is a matter of great concern that according to the report of the National Crime Records Bureau, on an average one farmer is committing suicide every 41 minutes, somewhere in India,"AIFB general secretary Debabrata Biswas said.

"Instead of announcing compensation or any package to save the farmers from the crisis, the high level meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and officers has decided to send 1,000 para-military troops to Madhya Pradesh from Centre! It shows that the government is considering all the opposition voices are like enemies and they will be handled with bullets," he said.

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Air India's operations in north-east are profitable with a market share of 17 per cent and it is now looking to expand presence in the region, including a direct Guwahati-Bangkok flight, a top official said on Friday.

"Some of our routes are not very profitable in north-east and has less occupancy. But we get a viability gap funding from the NEC. So, overall our operations are profitable in NE," Chairman and MD Ashwani Lohani told reporters here.

The company received a funding of Rs 35 crore from the North Eastern Council (NEC) during 2016-17 to operate flights to loss making routes in the region, he added. Lohani said the state-run carrier operates 24 flights daily to and fro north-east and is currently enjoying a market share of 17 per cent in the region against the pan-India share of 13-14 per cent.

Talking about addition of new flights for the north-east region, the CMD said is considering to operate a direct flight either between Guwahati and Bangkok or between Guwahati and Kunming thrice a week.

He informed that from tomorrow evening, there will be a new flight from Kolkata to Guwahati. The airline is planning to start a new flight between New Delhi and Guwahati from June 28, taking the number of flights on this route to two, he said further.

He announced that from September 1, there will be a flight service between Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Pasighat (Arunachal Pradesh) and back.

The Chief of the National Carrier further said that Air India will soon add a new route either between Mumbai and Guwahati or between Hyderabad and Guwahati. Air India will also introduce a Delhi-Dibrugarh flight in November this year, he said.

"We have discussed these routes during our meeting with the Assam Chief Secretary today. We will finalise everything in a day or two," Lohani said.

He said the company's focus is on international routes as well as enhancing regional connectivity. "We also want to enhance the density in the main cities of the country," Lohani added.
The Arabic network Al-Jazeera has been thrust into the centre of the story as Qatar came under virtual siege by its Gulf neighbours, pressuring it to shut down the TV channel that has infuriated them with its coverage for 20 years.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar this week over allegations it supports terrorism and, more specifically, that it uses Al-Jazeera as a mouthpiece to destabilise the region.

The Qatar-based network, one of the most widely seen Arabic channels in the world, had long angered Mideast governments, since at its start it was one the few that presented alternative viewpoints.

Critics say it has in past years turned to promoting Islamist movements as a tool of Qatar's foreign policy. The region's rulers see many of these movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, as threats.

Qatar and the station deny the accusations. Qatar's foreign minister told The Associated Press there was no way the country would silence Al-Jazeera, which says its channels reach 100 countries and 310 million homes worldwide.

"If anyone thinks they are going to impose anything on my internal affairs or my internal issues, this is not going to happen. We are an independent country with our own sovereignty," said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. He said the allegations are based on "false and fabricated ."



But as Qatar became more isolated this week, so too did Al-Jazeera. Qatar's opponents shut down access to the channel and its affiliate websites in their territories two weeks ago.

On Monday, they blocked airspace to Qatari flights; Saudi Arabia sealed Qatar's only land border; and it and Jordan closed Al-Jazeera offices on their soil. Qatar's opponents reportedly demand a slate of actions, including shutting down or dramatically changing the tone of the network.

The UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said the decision to block the channel is "not about Al-Jazeera, it's not about the media."



"The media aspect of it is part of what I would say an overall support for extremism," he said.

Al-Jazeera and Qatar have been intertwined since it was launched in 1996, with financial backing from the ruling emir at the time, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani - just months after the Qataris accused Saudi Arabia of a failed coup attempt.

Throughout its existence, the station has been mostly funded by the Qatari government. Its chairman is a member of Qatar's ruling Al Thani family.

Energy-rich Qatar has long pursued an ambitious foreign policy, bucking many of the stances of Saudi Arabia and its fellow Sunni monarchies in the Gulf. For example, it has maintained good ties with Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional nemesis, and backed the Brotherhood, which Gulf governments and Egypt have branded a terrorist group.

Similarly, Al-Jazeera has been a renegade in the Arab media landscape.

American viewers became familiar with Al-Jazeera after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when its golden-hued Arabic logo became synonymous with video messages by America's then- Most Wanted Terrorist, Osama bin Laden. The channel aired the messages it received, sparking frequent complaints by then- President George W. Bush's White House. The station defended its policy, saying the messages were newsworthy.

Al-Jazeera was the first Arab satellite channel to offer a range of views outside of heavily censored state media. It was the first Arab-owned news outlet to host Israeli officials and commentators, which some analysts note coincided with Qatar's ties with Israel at the time.

Acting Director General of the Al-Jazeera Media Network, Mostefa Souag, told the AP he believes Al-Jazeera is being targeted because "we tell the truth."



"Certain people maybe don't like the truth," he said, or possibly too because of the network's "relationship with Qatar."



"Al-Jazeera is going to continue with its editorial policy. We're doing the job to the best that we can," he added.

Bassam Awaidah, media professor at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank, said despite Al-Jazeera's insistence that it is editorially independent, the region's media are tools in the hands of governments.

"Al-Jazeera's coverage is clearly biased in favor of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood," Awaidah said. "When there is a Hamas wrongdoing, Al-Jazeera hides it, and when a similar or lesser action comes from (the rival) Palestinian Authority, Al-Jazeera reports it and exaggerates it."



Al-Jazeera's counterweight is largely seen as Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned news channel that closely reflects Saudi policy. It was launched Al-Arabiya launched in 2003, the year after Al-Jazeera's coverage of a Saudi peace plan with Israel prompted the kingdom to pull its ambassador from Qatar for six years.

Al-Arabiya and other media outlets across the Gulf and Egypt have released an avalanche of criticism of Qatar, accusing it of terrorist activities. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain warned that anyone who supporting Qatar on social media could be fined and jailed.

Over the years, Al-Jazeera's reporters have not been spared the region's politics and violence.

One of its reporters was killed by US fire in Iraq in 2003, though Qatar says it had supplied the military with its office's coordinates to avoid being targeted. Its bureau in Kabul was hit in 2001 by the US.

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Actor Alan Cumming has revealed that he was approached by "Doctor Who" producer Russell T Davies to play the titular role but he refused the part.

The 52-year-old actor said he would have accepted the project if he did not have the compulsion of shooting the show in Cardiff, reported The Huffington Post.

"I said, 'Sure, I still have a flat in London, it'd be perfect'. Then he said, 'It's eight months of the year in Cardiff...' And I said, 'What?' And I think that might have been what blew it. Nothing against Cardiff, but..." Cumming said.

But this did not end here and "The Good Wife" actor was approached again for the part, this time by writer of the show Mark Gatiss tried to convince him but failed.

"I said, 'Fine, I'd love to, but they (previously) told me I'd have to go to Cardiff for eight months of the year', and he said, 'Oh no, you'd still have to do that'. (And) I'd do anything for 'Doctor Who', but I won't do that," Cumming said.

The role finally went to actor Peter Capaldi.

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Five militants were on Friday killed near the Line of Control (LoC) as the Army foiled yet another infiltration bid in Uri sector of Kashmir, an Army official said.

With this operation, the total number of infiltrating militants killed over the last three days in various sectors has gone up to 12.

Giving details, the official said a counter-infiltration operation was going on in Uri since yesterday after the troops observed movement of militants trying to sneak into the valley from across the border.

The soldiers engaged the infiltrators, resulting in an encounter in which five militants were killed, the official said.

A defence spokesman had yesterday said that multiple attempts made by Pakistan Army to push armed infiltrators across the LoC were foiled by the troops at Machhil and Naugam sectors in Kupwara district, Gurez in Bandipora district and Uri in Baramulla, resulting in the killing of seven militants.

According to the Army, it has successfully foiled seven infiltration attempts in less than a fortnight in north Kashmir. Three of the attempts were scuttled in Uri sector alone.

On May 26, Army killed two Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) members who tried to infiltrate into Uri sector in Baramulla district to carry out an attack on the soldiers.

Six more militants were killed in the same sector next day when they attempted to sneak into the valley from across the border.

In the current year, Army foiled 23 infiltration attempts killing 39 armed intruders along the LoC.
Amid the ongoing farmers' agitation, a 45-year-old debt-ridden farmer has allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance at Sagoniya village of the district.

Kishanlal Meena, who took the extreme step last evening, was worried about his three marriageable daughters and spiralling debt, police said today.

"Meena, a resident of Sagoniya village under Devnagar police station, committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance," Raisen Kotwali police station in-charge Abhay Nema said.

According to police, Meena told his kin before dying that he was reeling under a debt of around Rs 17 lakh including Rs 10 lakh of a private bank and was worried about three marriageable daughters.

According to his family members, the farmer had to pay an amount of about Rs two lakh for electricity bills.

Nema said Meena was taken to the district hospital by the family members where doctors referred him to Bhopal.

But, the farmer died on his way to Bhopal and his family reached Kotwali police station in Raisen along with his body.

Devnagar police station in-charge Ramesh Raghuvanshi said the body was handed over to the family this morning after post-mortem.

"We have registered a case and further probe is on," Raghuvanshi said.

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Assam government today said it will enact a new textile policy in the near future for production and marketing of handloom products in the global market.

"Government of Assam will soon formulate a textile policy for giving a major fillip to handloom and textile sector in the state," an official release said.

The proposed policy will focus on integrating production and marketing of handloom and textile products, empowering weavers and making a niche for handicrafts of the state in the world market, it said.

"Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directed this while reviewing the activities of the handloom and textile department today.

He also directed the department to set up a state of the art emporium showcasing unique and attractive fabrics of all communities of the state shortly," the statement said.

Sonowal asked the officials to devise strategy to project the handloom products of the state at the India-International Textile Summit, 2017, to be held in Gujarat.

The textile summit, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will see participation of 28 countries like China, the US, the UK, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Kanada, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Brazil, France, the Netherlands, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

Referring to the vast potential of the sector in the state, Soonowal advised the department to formulate pragmatic strategies to empower the rural weavers, marketing of the products as well as motivating young entrepreneurs to take up the trade.

Sonowal also advocated planning for chain-linked exhibition system covering all districts of Assam for proper marketing of the handicrafts, the release added.

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The CPI(M), which is leading the LDF government in Kerala, today alleged that attacks against party cadre and offices by the RSS and the BJP has increased after Amit Shah's recent visit to the state.

CPI(M) state Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan claimed that the BJP national president, during his visit to Kerala, had stated that he has got a "trick" and if his party members use it they can capture power in the state.

"This (violence) is that trick", he told reporters after the party's secretariat meeting here.

Balakrishnan alleged that the Sangh Parivar's motive was to create a law-and-order problem by triggering violence and added that the attack on the CPI(M)'s district office in Kozhikode today was part of its agenda.

He claimed the attackers had actually targeted the party's Kozhikode district secretary P Mohanan, but he escaped unhurt.

Some unidentified persons had hurled two bombs at the CPI(M)'s district office, but no one were injured.

Balakrishnan urged the party cadre not to be provoked by the "violence of the BJP and the RSS, and maintain self- restraint.

Asked about the recent attack on the BJP's district office here and the charge that the CPI(M) was behind it, he expressed his suspicion about the incident and demanded a probe into it.

Balakrishnan alleged that the attack on CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, allegedly by Hindu Sena workers at AKG Bhavan in New Delhi, was also a "planned one".

"The attack on the CPI(M) General Secretary took place with the tacit understanding of Delhi police under the control of the Centre. The Hindu Sena is part of the Sangh Parivar. It is the modus operandi of the RSS and they carry out violence in different names," he alleged.

He referred to reports about the statement of an accused Sudheesh, reportedly an RSS activist, to police, that the RSS had killed Mohammed Fazal, a former CPI(M) activist who later joined NDF, in 2006.

Sudheesh was arrested by Kerala police in connection with another case, while the CBI is investigating the Fazal murder case.

Balakrishnan said the CBI had arrested two CPI(M) leaders Karayil Chandrashekharan and Kannur district secretariat member Karayil Rajan in connection with the case.

"Now is it clear that the CBI had arrested the wrong persons," he said, adding, "Despite the revelation by Sudheesh, the CBI isacting in a politically motivated manner and continuing to target CPI(M) leaders.

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Australia is expecting about eight per cent growth in Indian tourist arrivals this year at up to 2,80,000 mainly due to faster visa processing and direct connectivity.

In 2016, 259,900 Indian travellers visited Australia, according to data by Tourism Australia.

"We are expecting 2,75,000-2,80,000 Indian travellers to visit Australia," Tourism Australia Country Manager, India and Gulf, Nishant Kashikar told PTI here.

There were 24,100 visitors from India during March 2017, a three per cent increase over March 2016, according to the data.

The Tourism Forecasting Committee (TFC) has predicted 2,58,000 visitors from India for the July 2016 - June 2017 period, a 9.4 per cent increase over 2015-16.

Arrivals from India are expected to perform well with an average annual financial year growth rate of 8.7 per cent through to the financial year 2021-22, Kashikar added.

The findings of the target customer research and Consumer Demand Project (CDP) have revealed that the top five Aussie attractions that appeal to Indian travellers are the Australian beaches, iconic landmarks, wild life, food and wine and the Great Barrier Reef.

Faster visa processing under the Preferred Agency Scheme (PAS) and the pilot of three-year multiple entry visas for applicants with a sound travel history has also encouraged Indians to plan a trip to Australia, Kashikar said.

Further, he said, India is the eighth largest source market for Australia in terms of expenditure as an average spend for Indian visitors was AUSD (Australian dollar) 5,316.

In terms of connectivity, there are daily direct, non-stop services on the Delhi-Sydney four times a week and Delhi-Melbourne thrice a week, besides many one-stop flights.

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The Army was out on streets in Darjeeling and two other hill towns in West Bengal which observed a shut-down today amid a renewed call by the influential Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) for revival of Gorkhaland agitation.

The GJM, which rules the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), had called a 12-hour bandh against the Mamata Banerjee government's decision to introduce Bengali language in schools even in the hills, a day after Darjeeling, the verdant north Bengal town known the world over for its tea industry, witnessed large-scale violence.

Banerjee, who held a meeting of her cabinet in Darjeeling yesterday, and stayed back to take stock of the situation in view of the bandh, called it "illegal" and warned of "stern" action against those who engaged in violence and vandalism.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung while declaring that the agitation would be taken forward in a "democratic way", challenged Banerjee to stop it, asserting "his writ runs in the hills". He also proclaimed himself as the "chief minister of the hills".

Six Army columns conducted flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, a defence spokesperson said, adding the situation was under control.

Darjeeling town, brimming over with tourists, had witnessed violence yesterday when GJM supporters clashed with the police and burnt government vehicles.

Banerjee asked tourists not to panic and said government buses would ferry them out of the town to Siliguri on the plains. The state government has also arranged buses to take the tourists from Siliguri to Kolkata, she said.

The chief minister said a three-member team of senior IPS officers has been constituted to look after the law and order situation in Darjeeling.

Though shops and business establishments remained closed, Banerjee claimed government offices recorded 98 to 100 per cent attendence in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik.

Gurung, whose GJM has been ruling the GTA since 2011, said the agitation would continue until the time Gorkhaland was created.

The GJM leader said he will directly talk to the Centre over the deployment of Army and "police atrocities" on innocent people.

"I will talk to the Centre, we are an ally of NDA. We will give them all the details of police atrocities on the innocent people of the hills," he said.

Gurung also accused the West Bengal government of hatching a conspiracy by announcing a "special audit" of funds allotted to the GTA.

He also questioned the "arbitrary" removal of GTA secretary Ravi Inder Singh last night by the state government.

"The state government is trying to undermine the authority of GTA. They are violating the GTA pact. Who gave the state government the right to arbitrarily remove the principal secretary of GTA without informing us?" he wanted to know.

"We are open to any kind of audit. The state government is plotting to malign us in the name of special audit. That is why they had removed the principal secretary of GTA," Gurung told PTI.

Banerjee, who visited some areas and interacted with people during the bandh, warned the GJM against crossing the "Lakshman rekha".

"There is a limit to everything. Strong action will be taken if they cross the limit," she warned.

"The police will do its work and law will take its own course. Nobody is above law. Government is very tough. They will take action against those who are doing this vandalism," she said when asked about the kind of action the government was contemplating against the GJM chief.

Last night, an FIR was filed under non-bailable sections at the Darjeeling Sadar police station against Gurung and GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.

Maintaining that introduction of Bengali language in schools was not the issue, Banerjee said, Gurung-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration had failed to carry out development work in the hills, and when its term was scheduled to be over next month, it has started "torturing the public".

"The previous Left Front government and the Centre had shown them (GJM) indulgence," she said. She admitted her own government also "compromised" with them for some time.

Urging people in the hills not to support Gurung, she said GJM was scaring away tourists from the hills which would adversely affect people who were dependent on tourism for their living.

The chief minister, who visited the injured police personnel in the hospital, said the state government would give compensation to their families and bear their medical expenses.

She said a policeman, who received injuries in his eyes during yesterday's violence, will be airlifted to Kolkata for further treatment. If necessary, he would be taken abroad, she said.

When asked about deployment of Army in Darjeeling, Governor K N Tripathi said in Kolkata, "I am yet to receive any official communication."



Darjeeling hills had seen a violent movement for a separate Gorkhaland in the mid 1980s under Subhash Ghisingh. The movement ended with the establishment of a semi-autonomous administrative body in 1988 called Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, which was headed by Ghisingh.

As Ghisingh's influence waned over time, the GJM launched another movement for a separate state of Gorkhaland. In 2011, the GJM signed an agreement with the state and central governments and another semi-autonomous administrative unit GTA was born replacing the DGHC.

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The allegations of human rights violation by Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, sentenced to death in a blast case, are false and fabricated, the Tihar jail administration has told a Delhi court.

In their reply to an application moved by Bhatkal before Additional Sessions Judge Siddharth Sharma seeking a CBI probe into the allegations, the jail administration said the accused was provided with all basic facilities similar to other prisoners.

"The allegations levelled in his application by the inmate are false and fabricated just to malign the jail administration with ulterior motives best known to him, whereas he has been provided all basic needs similar to other prisoners," a jail official told the court.

He said that the accused, facing trial in 50 cases, has been kept in the high security ward of the jail as there were inputs from various security agencies that the accused may escape from custody and there is also danger to his life.

"Thereby, he has been categorised under 'very very high risk prisoner' and kept under 24 hours CCTV surveillance and the watch of special guards," the officer said.

The court has posted the matter for July 20.

In his plea moved through advocate M S Khan, Bhatkal had alleged physical harassment in the prison, while urging the court to direct a probe by the CBI and the Anti Corruption Branch in this regard.

He had alleged that he had been kept in isolation for the last four months due to which he was suffering from mental and psychological problems.

He had also claimed that he was denied proper medical aid, food and water and was facing problems during the ongoing Ramzan.

Bhatkal was sentenced to death by an NIA court in December last year in the 2013 Dilsukhnagar twin blasts case in Hyderabad. He is at present lodged in Tihar.

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Alleging that the BJP has a hand in the Darjeeling violence, a senior West Bengal minister said today that the saffron party had held parleys with GJM leaders in Kolkata a few days before the protest.

"When the chief minister was holding a series of meetings to provide drinking water and other civic amenities to the people of the hills, leaders of GJM were holding parleys with BJP leaders in Kolkata," Education and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee told a press conference here.

Asked about GJM chief Bimal Gurung's demand for the imposition of President's rule in West Bengal, the minister said, "This again proves he is the voice of the BJP."



Chatterjee asked state BJP president Dilip Ghosh to rectify his language or otherwise he would face rejection by the people of the state.

"The recent utterances of Dilip Ghosh are similar to the terms used in streets. My request to Dilip babu, please rectify your language. This shows your cultural taste, your use of words. Otherwise you will be totally rejected by the people of the state," he said.

The minister was referring to Ghosh's speech at a party meeting yesterday, reported in a section of the press, in which he had allegedly made fun of the chief minister's "frequent visit to the hills".

Reacting to Gurung's provocative assertion that he was the 'chief minister of the hills', Chatterjee said, "He is not even capable of becoming a havildar of the hills."



Chatterjee also trained his gun on other opposition parties, including the CPI(M), and blamed them for neglecting the interest of the hill people in the three-and-a-half decades of its rule.

"Their leaders such as Asok Bhattacharya did not even muster the courage to venture into hills and only talked tall," he said.

To the allegations of GJM that the government was trying to impose Bengali as compulsory language in schools in the hills, Chatterjee said, "We have repeatedly stressed that Bengali will be an optional language in the hills. There is no ambiguity in that. You all will discover it when the Bill is tabled in the House."



"Actually they (GJM) are harping on a non-issue since he (Gurung) is losing ground from under his feet," Chatterjee said.

On West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi telling reporters that he can't comment on requisition of the Army by the state since he had not been informed about it, Chatterjee said, "I can't comment on a subject between the Governor and the state of West Bengal."



The Army today staged flag march in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) observed a 12-hour bandh.

Thousands of tourists are stuck in Darjeeling, which witnessed violence yesterday when GJM supporters clashed with the police and burnt police and government vehicles alleging that the state government was imposing Bengali language in the schools in the hills.

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Boko Haram have slit the throats of four Nigerian villagers in revenge for the arrest of a senior member of the jihadist group, residents have said.

Ten gunmen on motorbikes stormed the northeastern Cameroonian border village of Hambagda near Gwoza, once the capital of Boko Haram's self-announced "caliphate", on Thursday before kidnapping six people and killing four others.

"They asked people to assemble but everyone started running towards the bush," a local resident Usman Buba told AFP yesterday.

"They seized six people in the confusion and slaughtered four while two managed to escape."



The attack came a day after soldiers arrested Boko Haram commander Adamu Rugurugu during a village raid.

Buba said the jihadists who attacked Hambagda on Thursday afternoon decided to slit their victims' throats instead of shooting them to avoid attracting the attention of troops stationed in Gwoza, two kilometres (1.2 miles) away.

"The attack was evidently in reprisal for the arrest of a Boko Haram kingpin who has been terrorising the village," Buba said.

Another resident, Dahiru Alkali, confirmed his account, adding that villagers had complained to soldiers of incessant attacks by Rugurugu and his men.

The two witnesses were able to reach AFP by telephone after arriving in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state.

Boko Haram seized Gwoza in July 2014 and made it their headquarters at a time when they were seizing swathes of northeast Nigeria in their bid to form a hardline Islamist state.

Nigerian troops retook the town in March 2015 but Boko Haram have continued to raid nearby villages from their hideouts in the mountains along the border with Cameroon, despite the government's insistence that calm has been restored to the area.

In April, Boko Haram kidnapped 13 women who were picking fruit near Hambagda, while a month earlier its fighters abducted 18 girls from the nearby village of Pulka.

Large areas around Lake Chad and the Cameroon border remain inaccessible in an ongoing insurgency that has killed at least 20,000 since 2009.

Eleven people were killed on Wednesday when Boko Haram gunmen and suicide bombers launched a rare combined attack inside Maiduguri.

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The police today filed a chargesheet in a magisterial court at Canacona here against a 28-year-old man in connection with the rape and murder of a British woman tourist in south Goa in March.

The chargesheet was filed before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Canacona against Vikat Bhagat who has a criminal background.

According to the police, Bhagat had befriended the victim, Danielle McLaughlin (28), a British national of Irish origin, while she was holidaying in Goa.

On the fateful day, believed to be either March 14 or 15, Bhagat allegedly tried to force himself on the woman at an isolated place between the Canacona and Agonda beaches.

As the woman resisted his attempt, Bhagat allegedly hit her on the head with a beer bottle and raped her before strangulating her, the police said.

The accused then smashed the victim's face with a stone in a bid to destroy evidence.

After groping in the darkness for a while, the police zeroed in on Bhagat after coming across a photo on Facebook showing him with the victim.

According to the police, the accused has confessed to the crime.

"We have examined 68 witnesses during the probe which clearly indicates that the woman was killed by Bhagat, who has a criminal background," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Canacona, Sammy Tavares told PTI.

He said the accused was charged under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rape, murder, theft, and destruction of evidence.

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Delhi Police's Special Cell has arrested an aide of gangster Chhota Shakeel, who was planning to target Pakistan-born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P S Kushwah said Junaid Chowdhry was nabbed on the intervening night of 7 and 8 June from Wazirabad road in north-east Delhi.

Though the DCP refused to divulge details of the target, a senior police officer, on the condition of anonymity, said Chowdhry was planning to target the writer, known for his controversial remarks. Even though Fatah was not in Delhi, the aide was here to carry out a recce, he said.

Chowdhry was arrested in June last year along with three others with arms and hawala money sent by Shakeel, but was released on bail within four months. They had been planning to kill Hindu Sabha chief Swami Chakrapani at that time.

He contacted Shakeel again but after his bail was cancelled he was sent to Tihar. Later, he was again released on bail and once more got in touch with Shakeel.

Chowdhry then started carrying out the gangster's Delhi- based activities. He is currently being interrogated.

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Delhi Police's Special Cell has arrested an aide of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim's confidant Chhota Shakeel, who was allegedly planning to kill Pakistan- born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah and had already received Rs 1.5 lakh for it.

The writer, however, said that he does not need any security and is not scared.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P S Kushwah said Junaid Chaudhary (21) was nabbed on the intervening night of June 7 and 8 from Wazirabad road in northeast Delhi.

The DCP said Chaudhary was planning to target the writer, known for his controversial remarks. Even though Fatah was not in Delhi, the aide was here to carry out a recce, he said.

A 7.65 mm pistol and four live cartridges were seized from him, the police officer said.

Fatah is known for slamming hardliners and strongly opposing terrorism. Chaudhary, who has orthodox beliefs, was enraged with Fatah's remarks and was preparing to kill the writer, sources said.

He had already received Rs 1.5 lakh in the first instalment from some sources and had arranged for weapons from western Uttar Pradesh, they added. He had also recruited a few youths to carry out the plan.

Sources claimed that Chaudhary has said that he will not be deterred by the arrest and will continue in his mission after his release.

The 21-year-old is a resident of Bhagirathi Vihar in Gokalpuri area of north-east Delhi. His father is a milkman. Chaudhary was also pursuing his Class XII from an open school but he does not have interest in studies. His family has also stopped trying to change his thinking.

Chaudhary was arrested in June last year along with Roger Robinson, Yunus and Manish with arms and hawala money sent by Shakeel, but was released on bail within four months. They had been planning to kill Hindu Mahasabha chief Swami Chakrapani at that time.

They were also hatching a plan to kill gangster Chhota Rajan, who is lodged in Tihar jail, at the behest of his arch rival and fugitive don Ibrahim's confidant Shakeel.

However, his aides who were arrested that time have gone their separate ways, police said. One of them is lodged in a jail in some other case while the other two have reformed and one of them is currently in Pune.

Chaudhary contacted Shakeel again but after his bail was cancelled he was sent to Tihar. Later, he was again released on bail and once again got in touch with Shakeel.

Chaudhary then started carrying out the gangster's Delhi- based activities.

Fatah is currently in Canada for his health check-ups but he said that he is not scared.

"These goons do not scare me. I will turn 68 in November and even if they succeed in killing me, the Muslim fight against (radical) Islamism will continue by others," he told PTI in an email response.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Facing heat over farmers' agitation, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister on Friday said he will sit on a fast tomorrow at the Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal and hear the grievances of the cultivators.

The chief minister said the state government will bring in a loan-settlement scheme for farmers who defaulted on the repayment of their loans.

There are 25 per cent farmers across MP who have failed repay their loans, he said.

"I will sit on a fast in the open and run my government so that farmers can approach me for discussion," Chouhan told a press meet.

Chouhan, who appealed for peace, said the government will deal sternly with anti-social elements who are resorting to violence amid the farmers' agitation.

He said the government has constituted a Rs 1,000 crore price stabilisation fund to help farmers secure a better price for their crops.

Also, an Agricultural Cost and Marketing Commission will be set up by the state government to ensure better prices for farm produce visa vis the crop cost, Chouhan said.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1, seeking loan waiver and higher prices for the farm produce among other things amid widespread violence including several incidents of arson.

On June 6, five protesters were killed in police firing in Mandsaur district, the epicentre of the agitation.
From next year, it will be mandatory for those seeking admission in AYUSH courses to clear the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

The decision in this regard was taken to standardise the admission procedure and attract meritorious students into the AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathy) stream.

The Centre had last year announced that admissions into AYUSH courses would be through the NEET, but could not implement it from this year after states raised objections to it.

"The demand for ayurveda, homoeopathy, naturopathy and unani medicines and yoga have increased worldwide and the number of students pursuing such courses have also risen. So there is a need to maintain standard of education in this stream," Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said today.

With the introduction of NEET, he said, examinations by privates entities would not be conducted to fill seats in any of the AYUSH colleges.

The Ministry of AYUSH has sent advisories to all state governments in this regard.

Ahead of International Day of Yoga (IDY) on June 21, Naik said that data showed that in the last two years, there had been a 30 per cent increase in the number of people practising yoga in India and more than 15 per cent in foreign countries.

This year, the main event of IDY will be held in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior ministers, Uttar Pradesh chief minister and yoga gurus, along with about 51,000 people, are expected to take part.

In Delhi, seven main events are being planned at different places in association with the NDMC, the DDA and yoga organisations.

Apart from this, yoga events will be held in different parts of the country as well as in cities like Paris, London and New York across the globe. Around 150 countries, in coordination with Indian missions there, are expected to participate in the mega event.

IDY will be observed there 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.

Naik further said that the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy is conducting a mega multi-centric research study on efficacy of yoga on diabetes in which around 2.50 lakh people have been screened and its preliminary results are very encouraging.

He said that the government has decided to dedicate 100 parks for yoga activities across the country to promote the traditional practise. The parks would be managed by yoga or other organisations voluntarily.

A group of secretaries, in a recent meeting, had also suggested to the prime minister that the Medical Council of India should re-frame curricula in order to incorporate elements of AYUSH into allopathy and vice versa.

"No decision has been taken in this regard and talks are still on," said a senior Ministry official.

The Ministry, on its official website, has requested those 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 nations had participated. Last year, the main function was held at 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 International Day of Yoga.

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Workers of the Congress today held a demonstration against Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at Fetri village, adopted by him under 'Dattak Gram Yojana' in the district, demanding a complete loan waiver for farmers.

Meanwhile, workers of the BJP held a counter-protest near the venue of the Congress' sit-in demonstration.

Farmers in Maharashtra launched protests for various demands, including a complete loan waiver, on June one.

Police stepped up security in the village in view of the protests held by both the parties.

While the BJP workers were led by Hingna MLA Sameer Meghe, Youth Congress leader Kunda Raut spearheaded the Congress protest.

Meghe alleged that Congress was doing only drama and was trying to derive a political mileage of the loan waiver issue by staging the protest at the village adopted of the chief minister.

"The chief minister has already announced a loan waiver for small and marginal farmers," he said.

Raut said the demonstration was organised in a peaceful manner in support of a complete loan waiver for farmers.

"We didn't gather here to level allegations against anybody," she said.

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Congress in Gujarat today warned of launching state-wide protests if the "pro-industrialist" BJP-led state government failed to address the demands of the farmers.

Former president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) Siddharth Patel and his supporters today held a sit-in protest outside the Vadodara District Collector office in Raopura area here in support of various demands of farmers.

"The Gujarat government headed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has been adopting pro-industrialist policy, while farmers in the state are left to suffer," Patel alleged.

He said the state government has not set the minimum support price (MSP) for tur, cotton, onions, potatoes and vegetables, which has worsened the farmers' situation.

Farmers should be given sufficient power supply, he said adding, "The Gujarat government is charging high VAT on fertilisers, diesel and other farm products, which has turned farming into a costly affair. We will fight against these policies."



The Congress submitted a memorandum of demands to the Vadodara district collector.

Meanwhile, at least 15 congress party workers were taken into custody when they tried to burn the effigies of Gujarat chief minister and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan for police firing in Mandsaur in MP in which five farmers were killed.

"We will intensify the agitation if the Gujarat government failed to accept the demands of the farmers in the state," Patel said.

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The Congress today demanded the resignation of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his home minister over the deaths of six farmers in Mandsaur in police firing.

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi dubbed the BJP governments at the Centre and state as "Band, Baaja, Bullet" regimes that responded to protesting farmers with bullets instead of providing them remunerative prices for their produce.

Accusing BJP's state and central governments of being "insensitive" towards farmers and their plight, she said this is the reason why farmers were agitating in states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

"The policy of the BJP governments at the Centre and in states is clear that if the farmers demand remunerative prices for their produce then they will get bullets in return. If you demand the price of your labour, you are labelled as criminals," she said.

"We have seen what 'Hitler-shahi' is and what a 'tyrant' government is in Madhya Pradesh after it treated farmers in such a manner," she said.

She said the BJP governments in MP and the Centre just loudly tout their achievements, imposing various bans and firing bullets at protesting farmers.

AICC Secretary Jeetu Patwari said, "Will Chief minister Shivraj Chouhan and his home minister resign for killing his own God, as he claims that the farmer is his God".

"The Shivraj Singh government stands totally exposed. Will the BJP government at the Centre take any action on them for police firing on farmers?" Patwari asked, demanding the resignations of both the chief minister and his home minister.

He also said that a case of murder must be registered in the Mandsaur firing in which six farmers were killed and the chief minister and state home minister have lost the moral right to be in their posts.

Both Congress leaders accused the state government of seeking to mislead people over the past three days by initially denying that farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur and admitting later that police had indulged in firing on the agitating farmers.

"They first denied firing by police and later admitted. It clearly shows insensitivity of the state government for which the CM should resign," Chaturvedi said.

She said to divert the public attention from the issue, the BJP is spreading canards by floating two undated videos of Congress leaders on social media.

The Congress leader said the authenticity or timing of the videos are not confirmed as the one of Congress MLA Shakuntala is of an incident 600 kms away from Mandsaur and that of Jeetu Patwari is shown in parts.

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A Delhi court has denied bail to a superintendent of the central excise department at Sonepat in Haryana, arrested in connection with theft of gold from the department's vaults at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass denied the relief to Sanjiv Kumar, saying that he might hamper the ongoing probe which is at a crucial stage.

The CBI had alleged that around 125 kg of gold, seized by the customs department over three decades, had been pilfered from the vaults of the department.

In its order, the court noted the submissions of public prosecutor Shampa Tikait that if released on bail, the accused might flee from justice.

She told the court that the gold was replaced with "non- precious metal" and Kumar's finger prints were found on them.

The agency had registered cases related to pilferage of 53 kg of gold but during the probe it found that around 125 kg of of the precious metal was allegedly missing.

Kumar was the custodian of the valuable material godown of Customs Department at the Delhi airport between 2002 and 2004.

He was posted as superintendent, central excise department, Kundali Division, Sonepat.

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Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders will return to Geneva on June 28 for talks aimed at tackling some of the thorniest issues in the way of a historic deal on the reunification of Cyprus.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will attend the talks with Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades, who heads the island's internationally recognized government, and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci, the UN announced today.

Guterres persuaded the two leaders to return to the negotiating table during a four-hour meeting at UN headquarters in New York on Sunday.

Guarantor powers Greece, Turkey and Britain will also attend, as will a representative of the European Union as an observer.

UN envoy Espen Barth Eide on Monday said the two-year diplomatic effort to reach a settlement was in its "final mile."



The leaders will have to decide on "giving final accommodations and concessions that haven't been given before," he said.

The UN-led talks hit a wall in late May after the sides failed to agree on the terms to advance the reunification talks toward a final summit.

A key stumbling block remains new security arrangements that would address Greek Cypriot demands for a withdrawal of Turkish troops as a priority and Turkish Cypriot insistence that other issues should be addressed first.

Negotiations are aimed at creating a new federation in Cyprus but disagreements over the return of property and power-sharing have yet to be fully resolved.

The UN envoy is working on a specific document on security that would outline the various steps needed to address both sides' demands.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said it remained unclear whether the security deal would be finalized in time for the June 28 conference, adding that "obviously security is an issue on the agenda."



Eide said the next round would likely last two weeks.

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.

Turkey maintains some 35,000 troops in the north of the island.

The United Nations, which has 950 peacekeepers serving in Cyprus, could have some oversight role to implement the new security arrangements.

After a UN reunification blueprint was rejected by Greek Cypriots in a referendum in 2004, Cyprus joined the EU still a divided island, with the breakaway north recognized only by Turkey.

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A head constable of the Delhi Police, posted in Rohini district, allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service weapon while he was on duty, the police said today.

Another constable received injuries while trying to stop the head constable from taking the extreme step last night, they added.

Harbhagwan (46) was posted at the Shahbad Dairy police station for the last two-and-a-half years.

He shot himself in the jaw and the bullet went through his head and hit Rajesh Gurjar, a constable, in the shoulder, the police said.

Harbhagwan, along with two constables -- Rajesh and Ashwini -- had returned to the police station after patrolling the area. They were discussing their problems among themselves in a drunken state, the police said.

The head constable was narrating his marital issues when he broached the subject of killing himself, one of his colleagues told the police.

He suddenly took out his service weapon and shot himself, the constable added.

Police are probing if work pressure was one of the reasons which drove the head constable to take the extreme step.

No suicide note was found, the police said.

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Madhya Pradesh unit of Congress today alleged that disgruntled workers of BJP and RSS are provoking the farmers and are responsible for the violence during the ongoing agitation.

The party rejected Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's claim that Congress was instigating the violence.

"Congress subscribes to Mahatma Gandhi's tenet of non-violence and the party can never be involved in any kind of violence," state Congress chief Arun Yadav and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ajay Singh said at a press conference here.

"Disgruntled cadres of RSS and BJP incited the farmers and these people are responsible for the violence," Yadav said, displaying pictures purportedly showing a BJP leader from Betma distributing sticks to his supporters.

"Congress was nowhere in the picture when the chief minister hammered out a pact with farmers' leaders in Ujjain. But when the farmers were shot dead (in Mandsaur district), the CM started dragging Congress into the controversy and made allegations," Ajay Singh said.

If the CM was serious about the agitation, he should have called an all-party meeting, he added.

Singh also said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets on every small issue, but is tight-lipped on the death of farmers in police firing in Mandsaur.

Appealing the protesters to conduct the agitation in a peaceful way, the Congress leaders demanded that criminal cases filed against farmers during the agitation be withdrawn.

Singh also said that the claim that farmers are happy (under BJP rule) has proven to be a mere propaganda with the current agitation.

Chouhan and his ministers lack administrative skills, he said.

"The home minister first claimed that farmers were not killed in police firing. Later he accepted that farmers were killed in police firing. This shows the government wanted to shrug off the issue," Singh said.

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A panel of doctors today conducted second post-mortem on the body of 28-year-old Ketan Patel, who had died in Mehsana under mysterious circumstances earlier this week during his judicial custody.

This fresh post mortem (PM) was conducted at Mehsana Civil Hospital after the chief judicial magistrate, who was probing the case, directed the authorities to conduct the post mortem as Ketan's kin were not satisfied with the first post mortem conducted on June 7.

The first post-mortem report said that there were at least 39 injury marks on Ketan's body.

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said, "As demanded by Ketan's family members and other agitators, the magistrate has ordered a fresh post mortem, which was done today at Mehsana civil hospital."



Yesterday, a 'bandh' had been observed in several parts of north Gujarat, including in Mehsana, over his death.

Despite an assurance of fair probe given by the Gujarat government, Ketan's kin, who have alleged custodial torture by police, refused to take his body, which is still kept in the civil hospital.

Ketan's father Mahendra Patel had threatened to sit outside the Mehsana civil hospital until a case was registered against the policemen, "who tortured and killed" his son.

According to Nitin Patel, Congress leaders, particularly Babu Mangukiya, was instigating Mahendra Patel to take this stand.

"Congress is politicising the issue for their benefit only. Mangukiya, who is also a senior advocate, is deliberately misguiding Ketan's kin. Though the government has accepted his demand to lodge an FIR in this case, neither he nor Ketan's kin came forward to give a complaint" said Patel.

State Congress incharge, Ashok Gehlot will visit Mehsana tomorrow and meet Ketan's family members.

Ketan, a resident of Balol village near Mehsana, was in judicial custody at Mehsana Sub-Jail since June 4 in a theft case. He died at the civil hospital on the night of June 5 within hours of admission.

Police had said that Ketan was arrested on June 3 after a shop owner in Balol village lodged a complaint stating that he stole around Rs 5,000 from his shop.

Though police denied it was a case of custodial death, local Patel leaders and Ketan's family members alleged that he died due to police torture when he was in their custody before being sent to jail by the court on June 4.

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Pakistan-born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah says he does not need any security in the wake of the arrest of a Chhota Shakeel aide, who was paid to kill him.

The writer is currently in Canada for his health check- ups but he said that he is not scared.

"These goons do not scare me. I will turn 68 in November and even if they succeed in killing me, the Muslim fight against (radical) Islamism will continue by others," he told PTI in an email response.

Quoting the Bhagvad Gita and the Quran, he said that he is not afraid of speaking the truth.

"The Gita says, 'our right is to keep doing, not to have expectations of a reward'. And the Quran says, 'speak the truth even if it hurts you', so why should I worry?



"This is why I don't desire any security, though I always let the police know when threats surface," he said.

Fatah said that he was aware of the threat to his life after a friend informed him, but he said that he was not deterred.

"I was aware of this threat after a friend in a Gulf State sent me a recording of a phone call between Chhota Shakeel and a hitman in Mumbai," he added.

Delhi Police's Special Cell arrested Junaid Chaudhary (21) on the intervening night of June 7 and 8 from Wazirabad road in north-east Delhi.

Chaudhary was planning to kill the writer, known for his controversial remarks. Even though Fatah was not in Delhi, the aide was here to carry out a recce and had charged Rs 1.5 lakh for it.

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Mahatma Gandhi's granddaughter Ela Gandhi has been honoured for lifetime activism at the 70th anniversary of the 1946 'Indian Passive Resistance Campaign' in South Africa.

The event held in Durban was celebrated with a special tree-planting ceremony at the Freedom Park, a memorial to honour those who sacrificed their lives to win freedom.

Over 70 of the oldest alumni of Sastri College, named after its founder, the first agent for the government of India to South Africa Srinivasa Sastri, gathered at the adjacent Freedom Park to watch 90-year-old Dhaniram Moolchund planting the first tree to honour the protesters.

Thousands of men and women had defied the government and police intervention in 1947 to protest against the apartheid government's 'Ghetto Bill' by staying in the park.

The Bill was designed to prevent Indians from buying land or property from other race groups as part of the implementation of the draconian separate developmental polices of uprooting people and forcibly resettling them in townships which were segregated by race.

Explaining how her grandfather Mahatma Gandhi had formulated the Satyagraha theory of peaceful resistance during his stay in South Africa at the turn of the century, 76-year- old Ela said it was the first mass struggle against minority white oppression led by Gandhi in 1913.

She said the Passive Resistance Campaign was the first mass action in the country and used the same principles of Satyagraha after that.

Chairman of the alumni body of Sastri College Habi Singh said they would work with the local municipality to make Freedom Park a tourist attraction to remember the resistance to the apartheid.

During his tenure in South Africa from 1922 to 1929, Sastri convinced the local Indian community that their future lay in ensuring education for their children, leading to the opening of the college in October 1929 by Governor General of South Africa Alexander Cambridge.

Cambridge described the construction of Sastri College with community funds as "a fine example of personal effort by individuals for the good of the community", according to the website SA History.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today strongly pitched for coordinated efforts among SCO members to combat the menace of terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In his address at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Kazakh capital, Modi hoped that India's entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism.

"Terrorism is a major threat to humanity," Modi said, adding that there was a need for coordinated efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

"We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity," he said.

However, the Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif among others, asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such a cooperation.

His remarks assume significance as they come weeks after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the Summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of Xi, and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Modi said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he has never known Qatar to give support to terror organisations, a charge made by Saudi Arabia and its allies who have cut ties with the gas-rich emirate.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and other states broke off relations on Monday over what they say is the emirate's financing of extremist groups as well as its ties to Iran, Riyadh's regional arch-rival.

Yesterday, the Saudis and their allies placed several Qataris and Doha-based organisations on a "terror list" as the bitter diplomatic row escalated.

They released a joint statement listing as many as 18 individuals, including members of Qatar's royal family and a former minister as involved in "terrorist" activities.

While maintaining good relations with the Gulf states, Turkey has vowed to continue to back its close ties with Qatar, which Erdogan again defended yesterday.

"They declare foundations established to provide different services as terror organisations. Something like this should not happen. I know those foundations. Until today I have not witnessed Qatar give support to terror," Erdogan said in Istanbul.

In addition to cutting ties, Saudi Arabia has also sealed off Qatar's only land border, a crucial lifeline for food imports.

The Turkish leader called for the "blockade" against Doha to be "completely lifted", urging Saudi Arabia to show leadership and encourage good relations in the region.

"I have a request to the Saudi administration: you are the biggest in the Gulf, the strongest... Not with hostilities, you should be the leader of fraternity there, you should bring everyone together," Erdogan said.

He also ratified a bill approved by Turkish lawmakers on Wednesday to deploy troops to a Turkish base in Qatar in a move seen as Ankara's show of support for Doha.

Erdogan defended the action, asking "our friends" in the Gulf: "Why does the American base not discomfort you? There are other countries' bases too, why doesn't it discomfort you?"



He was referring to the enormous Al-Udeid airbase, the United States' biggest in the Middle East which is home to some 10,000 US troops.

It is a crucial hub for US military operations in the Middle East, especially the battle against the Islamic State group.

Erdogan said Turkey would continue to help Qatar such as exporting food and medicine to them.

"Sorry, but we will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar," he said.
Former IAF head Air Chief Marshal P V Naik has called for "ruthless measures" -- including the use of air power and special zones where intruders can be killed without a warning -- to combat militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian Air Force veteran, in an interview to PTI, suggested a slew of methods, which, he said, could be "better accomplished" under a few months of Governor's Rule.

"Hard decisions will have to be taken...It (the situation) demands something which others feel we as a nation lack: Ruthlessness," he said.

Naik, who was the IAF chief from 2009 to 2011, said there had to be a "more effective use" of air power, so far "underutilised" in the valley.

The retired IAF chief's aggressive views on battling militancy followed Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's position that the Army faced a "dirty war" in the valley.

"This is a proxy war and proxy war is a dirty war. It is played in a dirty way," Rawat told PTI last month.

Fifty-nine Army personnel have been killed in counter- terror operations in J&K since 2016. Twenty-two infiltration attempts have been foiled so far this year and 34 armed intruders killed on the LoC, according to official figures.

Naik believed "Red Zones" should be declared in infiltration prone areas near the LOC.

"Each zone should be a bubble 10 km in depth and include airspace above. Any unauthorised movement in this zone should be treated as inimical," he said.

"We must start thinking along these lines if we are to control terrorism in the Kashmir valley," he added.

Special forces with a clear mandate needed to be deployed to "seek and destroy" foreign terrorists, said Naik, now leading a retired life in Pune.

"There are around 250 foreign terrorists in the valley. Use special forces with a clear mandate to seek and destroy. This would be possible only if the Army re-establishes the intelligence framework with locals. A few months of Governor's Rule should facilitate this activity," he said.

Governor's rule should continue until the situation was conducive to the holding of fair elections, he added.

Naik also stressed the need for a single agency to "collate and manage" intelligence from disparate agencies.

A central data base, he added, was also needed, with face, DNA and fingerprint matching facilities.

"We need cutting-edge forms of communication, too," he said.

The former Navy chief suggested hardware for Kashmir: unmanned air vehicles (UAV), attack helicopters and fixed wing aircraft on the lines of the AC-130 of the US Air Force.

"The resources would be C-130s modified with radar controlled 20 mm gun and a 105 mm howitzer similar to the AC- 130 of the US Air Force. There would be HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) UAVs on station covering the Red Zones and troubled spots. Attack choppers would be on standby during the day. Special Forces teams would be ready along with Mi-17 choppers to move them," he said.

He explained that when UAV spotted targets, they would also appear on the screens of the C-130 which would "track and neutralise" them.

"In Red Zones, no clearance would be required except to ascertain that they are not our own troops. The same method could be used when large mobs gather," he added.

All this, he said, appeared "simplistic", but was not.

"It will take a lot of planning, lead time, training and practice.It will consume a lot of resources including manpower," he said.

Naik also said the Kashmir issued could not be resolved without improving governance.

"There is a need to streamline working of departments, ensure high efficiency and outreach to people," he said.

The government should check the media and ensure that "inflammatory programmes" were not aired, while developing its own narrative to combat anti-national propaganda, he said.

"I have mostly spoken of things military but the situation demands a strong political will and public support," he said.

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More complaints are flooding in against a former school principal after his arrest for allegedly selling fake age certificates which allowed many accused to pose as juveniles though they were adults, police said.

Bhawani Shankar Pandey, a retired principal of a private school in the state capital, was arrested on May 24 on the charges of selling fake age certificates to crime suspects to enable them get bail on the grounds of being a juvenile, they said.

"Pandey has issued more than 100 fake age certificates between 2011 and 2013 for money, including many to hardcore criminals like some charged with three to four murder cases. One Makhkhan Gope, accused of committing 30-40 cases of murder, has been issued age certificate from Pandey's school," Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj told PTI.

Pandey also used to depose in courts to certify his clients as juvenile for which he used to charge hefty amount, Maharaj said.

With the help of fake age certificates, these criminals used to easily get bail from courts, the SSP said.

Bittu, a resident of Beur area in Patna and allegedly involved in four-five murder cases, had also filed a bail application on the basis of age certificate. Police were verifying his certificate, he said.

Police zeroed in on Pandey last month after Santosh Kumar Singh, father of an engineering student Saurabh Kumar who was killed in 2015, challenged the age certificate which the accused produced in the court to claim the status of a juvenile, police said, adding that Pandey had allegedly issued the certificate to the accused whose age was being verified.

In another incident, the family of a suspected dowry death victim Suman Kumari alleged that the accused in the case used a fake School Leaving Certificate from Pandey to claim he was not 27 years old, but only 17 when the case was registered in 2015, they said.

Pandey also allegedly issued a fake certificate to Ranjit Kumar, who is accused of killing a marble trader Ramchandra Jha in Patna in September 2016.

Police is investigating whether Pandey sold fake certificates to criminals outside Bihar.

Pandey continued to run his school despite it being de-recognised by the government in 2013, they said.

He is currently on judicial custody.

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The farmers' agitation in Madhya Pradesh reached the doorsteps of the state capital Bhopal today, with incidents of arson and stone-pelting in Fanda area.

Police baton-charged the protesters and arrested at least 27 of them in the area, some 20 km outside Bhopal.

"Some unidentified persons set a truck on fire near a spot where Congress workers were protesting. Then some men hurled stones at the policemen present there," deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Raman Singh Sikarwar told PTI.

The arrested include 19 Congress workers.

Police also arrested eight others who were allegedly pelting stones.

"We also resorted to lathi-charge to disperse stone-pelters," the DIG said.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1, seeking loan waiver and higher prices for the farm produce among other things.

On June 6, five protesters were killed in police firing in Mandsaur district, the epicentre of agitation.

A 26-year-old farmer died in Badavan village of Mandsaur, with locals today alleging that he was beaten up by policemen.

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The NCP today claimed that the BJP threw a party in a five-star hotel over completion of three-years in power, even as farmers continued protests for a farm loan waiver and implementation of Swaminathan committee recommendations.

"While farmers are protesting for their rights across the country, the BJP government at the Centre and in the state seems to have adopted an insensitive stand over the issue," NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik told reporters here.

"Yesterday when (Union Home minister) Rajnath Singh was in town, the BJP threw a grand party in a five-star hotel to celebrate the party's three-years in office. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar and other senior BJP leaders were present for the party," Malik said.

"On one hand farmers are protesting, ending their lives for their demands and on the other, the BJP is holding grand celebrations. This is like rubbing salts on their wounds," he said.

Malik said most of the NCP workers are from family of farmers and have thus taken part in the protests.

"But the BJP knows nothing except making tall promises and working for the welfare of industrialists," he said.

Reacting to the allegations, BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said it was not a lavish dinner as claimed by the NCP but a very "normal" one with Rajnath Singh.

"The NCP and its spokespersons are only indulging in kite flying as always without having full information. Maharashtra has still not forgotten who has played with the sentiments of farmers and the language that was used when they asked for water," Bhandari said.

"This was a very normal dinner of BJP leaders with Rajnath Singhji. There was nothing lavish about it as being claimed. Instead of levelling baseless allegations, the NCP should first concentrate on keeping its house in order," he told PTI.

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Farmers today threw large quantity of onions in front of the divisional commissioner's office in Rewa district and attempted to block a national highway passing through Dhar district.

Police had to resort to baton-charge after some farmers went on a rampage and attempted to block the Indore-Ahmedabad national highway passing through Dhar district in western part of the state.

At Rewa, farmers threw huge quantity of onion, in-front of divisional commissioner's office and staged protests as there were no takers for the agri-commodity and staged protest.

The Congress burnt an effigy of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Rewa district.

Farmers who tried to block the Indore-Ahmedabad National Highway were stopped by the police at Tornod village, some 3 km from Dhar district headquarters.

Angry at this, the farmers pelted stones and damaged some road construction equipment, said police.

Police had to resort to lathi-charge to contain the violence.

Dhar Collector S Shukla said that they have booked 47 protesters, of them 11 have been arrested.

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Germany has agreed to implement a fast track system to identify and resolve problems being faced by Indian companies and investors there.

The issue was discussed recently at a meeting in Berlin, during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The system would help in early resolution of problems being faced by Indian companies that have operations in Germany. Indian firms face business visa related issues among others," a senor official in the commerce and industry ministry said.

India has urged the German authorities to make the visa regime liberal for Indian businesses, said the official.

India too has implemented a similar system here to help German businesses. It was set up in the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP).

This system enables to identify and solve problems faced by German companies and investors in their operations in India.

Germany is the seventh largest investor in India. The country has received USD 9.7 billion foreign direct investment from the European country between April 2000 and March this year. This is 3 per cent of the total FDI received by India during this period.

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Fitch has affirmed realty firm Lodha Developers' credit rating at 'B' and maintained negative outlook, even as the company's sales booking rose to over Rs 6,900 crore last fiscal despite demonetisation.

Fitch said it might consider revising the outlook to 'Stable' if the Mumbai-based developer addresses its near-term domestic debt maturities, and secure sustained financing for the London project.

Lodha group has projects in Mumbai, Pune and London property markets.

"Fitch Ratings has affirmed India-based home builder Lodha Developers Pvt Ltd's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B', and maintained the negative outlook," the rating agency said.

The affirmation of Lodha's IDR reflects the company's healthy pre-sales and cash collections in the 2016-17 fiscal in spite of weak domestic demand for real estate, it said.

Lodha's sales bookings improved to Rs 6,920 crore in FY17 from Rs 6,430 crore in FY16, amid weaker domestic demand for property, especially against the backdrop of demonetisation.

"Surprisingly, demand for Lodha's projects were somewhat less impacted in the December quarter compared with most of the other large Indian home builders that Fitch tracks," the rating agency said.

Lodha's sales bookings bounced back strongly in February and March this year, Fitch said. It attributed this to the advanced stage of completion of many of its large projects as well as the view that the adverse effects of demonetisation on large homebuilders appears to have passed.

Strong sales in FY17 were also supported by the company's affordable housing project at Pallava.

Lodha's cash collections improved significantly to Rs 7,620 crore from Rs 6,070 crore during the period under review.

Fitch expects the company's pre-sales to remain broadly flat around Rs 7,000 crore in the current fiscal.

The rating agency said, "the negative outlook reflect the near-term risks to the company's credit profile, in particular refinancing risk associated with sizeable maturities, including financing for its London project, over the next 12 months".

Although Lodha has access to domestic funding sources, Fitch said the company has not yet communicated a detailed refinancing plan for its upcoming maturities.

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Following are the top stories from the northern region at 1830 HRS:



DES20 JK-EARTHQUAKE



Jammu: An earthquake of moderate intensity hits some parts of Jammu and Kashmir, triggering panic among people.

DEL11 JK-LD RESTRICTIONS



Srinagar: Authorities impose restrictions on the movement of people and separatists called a strike to protest the killing of a youth, disrupting normal life in several parts of Kashmir.

LGD14 DL-HC-SCHOOL FEES



New Delhi: The Delhi High Court refuses to stay the AAP government's proposed action against a private school for not refunding excess fee allegedly charged by it on the pretext of implementing the 6th Pay Commission.

DEL35 PB-LD LYNCH



Bathinda: A lynch mob chops off the hand and foot of a young man whom they accuse of drug peddling in a Punjab village, causing his death, police said.

DES12 RAJNATH-BORDERS



Jaipur: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh says the country's borders were "more secured" than before and would be further fortified to stop illegal infiltration.

DEL32 AVI-LD-PLANE TYRE BURST



Jammu: A major tragedy has been averted after an Air India plane from Delhi with 134 passengers on board suffers a brake failure on landing here and skids beyond the runway before coming to a halt at the end of the strip, following which the airport had to be shut.

DEL10 MP-FARMERS POLICE



Mandsaur: No outsiders including AAP leaders will be allowed to enter the district during the curfew relaxation period, the police said.

DEL19 PREZ-SELFIE-WITH-DAUGHTER



New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee launches the 'Selfie with Daughter' mobile application, aimed at raising awareness about female foeticide and sex selection.

DES2 DL-LD SHAKEEL-AIDE



New Delhi: Delhi Police's Special Cell arrests an aide of gangster Chhota Shakeel, who was planning to target Pakistan- born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah.

DES5 DL-MISHRA-KEJRIWAL



New Delhi: High drama unfolds outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence when sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, along with his supporters, tried to meet the CM, but was stopped by the police.

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government has decided to convert the old sub-jail in Mapusa town into a detention centre for foreign nationals who violate visa norms.

The state Public Works Department has been asked to renovate the old jail so that the foreigners, who are overstaying in after expiry of their documents, can be lodged there, Superintendent of Police (special branch) Bosco George told reporters yesterday.

"The Mapusa sub-jail, which is currently lying unused after inmates from there were shifted to a correction facility (jail) at Colvale, would be used as the detention centre," George said.

The foreigners will be kept in the detention centre till the procedure to deport them is not completed, he said.

In the absence of such a facility, the foreigners, who are arrested for overstaying, usually secure bail and continue to roam around in the state, another senior police official said.

From 2011 till date, nearly 160 foreigners have been arrested in for overstaying, he said.
Hollywood star Forest Whitaker is all set to feature in the action-thriller "How It Ends".

The 55-year-old actor will join Theo James in the film, directed by David M Rosenthal, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The plot of the Netflix movie revolves around a mysterious apocalyptic event that creates such paths that lead to mayhem.

The story, penned by Brooks McLaren, also touches upon the life of a young father who will leave no stone unturned to get home to his pregnant wife on the other side of the country.

"How It Ends" hits the floors next month in Winnipeg, Canada.

The movie is being produced by Paul Schiff, Tai Duncan, Kelly McCormick and Patrick Newall.

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French photojournalist Mathias Depardon returned home after being freed by Turkish authorities who detained him near the Syrian border for a month, a press rights group said.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) chief Christian Deloire said 37-year-old Depardon, who was detained while on assignment for National Geographic magazine, was met by government officials at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.

President Emmanuel Macron had announced Depardon's arrival on Twitter after asking his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan last weekend to ensure the journalist's return to France "as soon as possible."



Macron had welcomed his release, saying in a statement: "France is committed to freedom of the press and the protection of journalists everywhere."



Depardon was detained on May 8 while on assignment in Hasankeyf in Turkey's southeastern Batman province.

He went on hunger strike two weeks after his detention, stopping almost a week later when he learned that a consular visit would be allowed.

Depardon was accused of working without a press card, which was in the process of being renewed.

He was also detained over "propaganda for a terror group" -- a reference to outlawed Kurdish militants -- which could lead to a judicial investigation, according to Turkish authorities.

The photographer was deported a day after receiving a visit from his mother for the first time at the detention centre in Gaziantep.

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The Army staged flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) observed a 12-hour bandh, which was described by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as "illegal".

"The situation is under control and government offices recorded 98 to 100 per cent attendance in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik," the chief minister told reporters here.

She said some shops were closed as their owners were wary of GJM vandalism.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung has challenged Banerjee to stop the agitation in the hills, asserting that "his writ runs in the hill". He also projected himself as the "chief minister of the hills".

Gurung said the GJM would formulate a strategy for further agitation in a democratic way.

The six columns of Army carried out flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, a defence spokesperson said, adding the situation was under control.

Darjeeling town, brimming over with tourists, had witnessed violence yesterday when GJM supporters clashed with the police and burnt state vehicles.

Banerjee, who stayed back here after yesterday's cabinet meeting, asked the tourists not to get scared.

She said a three-member committee comprising three senior IPS officers had been set up to look after the law and order situation in Darjeeling.

She said arrangements had been made to help the tourists return to Siliguri from Darjeeling. The state government has also arranged buses to take the tourists from Siliguri to Kolkata, she said.

Banerjee, who visited some areas and interacted with the people, said, "I have seen how so many vehicles were set on fire. We want peace and development in the hills. The Army has already started route march."



Warning the GJM not to cross the "lakshman rekha", the TMC leader said, "There is a limit to everything. Strong action will be taken if they cross the limit."



"The police will do its work and law will take its own course. Nobody is above law. Government is very tough. They will take action against those who are doing this vandalism," she said when asked about the kind of action the government was planning against the GJM chief.

Last night, an FIR was filed under non-bailable sections at the Darjeeling Sadar police station against Gurung and GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.

The GJM supporters had protested alleging that the state government was imposing Bengali language in the schools in the hills, which was refuted by the chief minister.

Reiterating that language was not the issue, she said, Gurung-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) had failed to carry out any development work in the hills and when their term was scheduled to be over next month, they have started "torturing the public".

"The previous Left Front government and the Centre had given them (GJM) indulgence," she said admitting that her own government compromised with them sometime.

Gurung, on the other hand, accused the TMC activists of hurling stones at the police yesterday and alleged TMC was responsible for the prevailing situation in the hills.

Urging people in the hills not to support Gurung, she said GJM was scaring away tourists from the hills which would affect the people who thrived on tourism.

The chief minister, who visited the injured police personnel in the hospital, said the state government would give compensation to their families and bear their medical expenses.

She said a policeman, who received injuries in his eyes during yesterday's violence, will be airlifted to Kolkata for further treatment. If necessary, he would be taken abroad for treatment.

Gurung on his part said he will directly talk to the Centre about the deployment of Army and the alleged police atrocities on the innocent people.

"I will talk to the Centre, we are an ally of NDA. We will give them all the details of police atrocities on the innocent people of the hills," he said.

Gurung also accused the West Bengal government of hatching a conspiracy by announcing that a "special audit" would be done on the funds allotted to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and said that the agitation in the hills would not stop till Gorkhaland was achieved.

He also questioned the "arbitrary" removal of GTA secretary Ravi Inder Singh last night by the state government.

"The state government is trying to undermine the authority of GTA. They are violating the GTA pact. Who gave the state government the right to arbitrarily remove the principal secretary of GTA without informing us?" he wanted to know.

"We are open to any kind of audit. The state government is plotting to malign us in the name of special audit. That is why they had removed the principal secretary of GTA," Gurung told PTI.

When asked about deployment of Army in Darjeeling, Governor K N Tripathi said in Kolkata, "I am yet to receive any official communication.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Army staged flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong as a 12-hour bandh sponsored by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) got underway today, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee describing the bandh as "illegal".

GJM chief Bimal Gurung challenged Banerjee to stop the agitation in the hill and said that it was his writ that "runs in the hill". He also projected himself as the "chief minister of the hills".

In all six columns of Army have been deployed, three in Darjeeling, two in Kalimpong and one in Kurseong, a defence spokesperson said.

The Army was requisitioned by the state government for Kurseong and Kalimpong as a precautionary measure, besides Darjeeling town which saw large-scale violence and vandalism yesterday.

Apart from this, three companies of CRPF have also been deployed, the defence spokesperson said.

The Army carried out flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, he said adding that the situation was under control of the civil administration.

The hill station of Darjeeling, brimming with tourists, had witnessed violence yesterday when GJM supporters clashed with the police and burnt police and government vehicles.

Shops, eateries and markets remained closed in the hill although the state government has made arrangements for buses to help the tourists to come down to Siliguri.

Mamata Banerjee, who stayed back here after yesterday's cabinet meeting, asked the tourists not to get scared.

She said that a three-member committee comprising three senior IPS officers, has been set up to look after the law and order situation in Darjeeling.

She said arrangements have been made to help the tourists to return to Siliguri from Darjeeling. The state government has also arranged buses to carry the tourists from Siliguri to Kolkata, she said.

"I will ask the tourists not to worry, the government is there for you", Banerjee who visited some areas, said.

"I have seen how so many vehicles were set on fire. We want peace and development in the hill. The Army has already started route march", she said.

"Police will do their work and law will take its own course. Nobody is above law. Government is very tough. They will take action against those who are doing this vandalism, she said when asked what kind of action the government was planning against the GJM chief.

Last night, an FIR was filed under non-bailable sections at Darjeeling Sadar police station against Gurung and GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.

The GJM supporters had protested alleging that the state government was imposing Bengali language in the schools in the hill which was refuted by the Chief Minister.

She said the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has failed to carry out any development work in the Hill and now when their term is scheduled to be over next month, they have started "torturing the public".

"Government was soft and had given them all kind of support but now government will be very tough after what happened yesterday. The government will not tolerate all these," she said.

Urging the people in the hill not to support Gurung, she said GJM was scaring away the tourists from the hill which would affect the people who thrive on tourism.

The Chief Minister, who visited the injured police personnel in hospital, said the state government will give compensation to their families and bear their medical expenses.

She said one police personnel, who received injuries in his eyes during yesterday's violence, will be airlifted to Kolkata for further treatment. If necessary, he would be taken abroad for treatment, she said.

Gurung on his part said that he will directly talk to the Centre about the deployment of Army and the alleged police atrocities on the innocent people.

"I will talk to the Centre, we are an ally of NDA. We will give them all the details of police atrocities on the innocent people of the hills," he said.

When asked about deployment of Army in Darjeeling, West Bengal Governor KN Tripathi, said in Kolkata,"I am yet to receive any official communication.

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh today exuded confidence that the Centre will be able to find a solution to the Kashmir as he accused Pakistan of creating unrest in the Valley.

He said that certain people are misleading and provoking the youth of Kashmir.

"Our government will solve the Kashmir issue. Our government wants a permanent solution while taking people in confidence," Singh said at a programme here.

"Pakistan is creating unrest in Kashmir and wants to divide the nation. Terrorists infiltrated into India from Pakistan and attacked on our soldiers but our Army gave befitting reply by carrying out strike on terrorists (across LoC)," he said.

The Union minister said that there are certain elements who are misleading and provoking the youth in Kashmir and giving them stones (for pelting on the Indian forces) and such people are playing with their future.

Singh said that insurgency in the northeast and Maoism has reduced during the NDA government's rule.

"The Centre has a strong government and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has emerged as a strong nation," he said.

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The US today appealed to Saudi Arabia and its regional allies to ease their blockade of Qatar, saying it is hindering US military actions in the region and the fight against the Islamic State.

"Now, the situation in the Arabian Gulf over the last few days is troubling to the United States, the region, and to many people who are directly affected," US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department.

"We call for calm and thoughtful dialogue with clear expectations and accountability among the parties in order to strengthen relationships. We ask that there be no further escalation by the parties in the region," he said.

Tillerson also called on Qatar to be responsive to the concerns of its neighbours.

"Qatar has a history of supporting groups that have spanned the spectrum of political expression, from activism to violence," he said.

He said the emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country, but he must do more, and he must do it more quickly.

"Others must also continue to eliminate factions of support for violent organisations within their own borders," he said. Again, that was a commitment made by all at the summit. We call on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirate, Bahrain and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar," Tillerson said.

He said the blockade is hindering US military actions in the region and the campaign against ISIS. We support the emir of Kuwait's efforts to bring about a peaceful resolution to this agreement, and progress toward eliminating all forms of support for terrorism -- military, financial, moral or ideological. Yes, we'll support these mediation efforts, along with the emir of Kuwait," Tillerson said.

The biggest US air base in the Middle East is in Qatar and around 10,000 personnel work there in support of several allied operations in Iraq, Syria and around the region.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have cut ties with Qatar, accusing their former Gulf Cooperation Council ally of supporting extremist groups.

Tillerson, whom Trump has tasked with de-escalating the dispute, said it is "troubling to the United States, the region and to many people who are directly affected."



"There are humanitarian consequences to this blockade. We're seeing shortages of food, families are being forcibly separated, and children are being pulled out of school. We believe these are unintended consequences, especially during this holy month of Ramadan, but they can be addressed immediately," he said.

Noting that the blockade is also impairing US and other international business activities in the region, Tillerson said it has created a hardship on the people of Qatar, and the people whose livelihoods depend on commerce with the Gulf nation.

Referring to the conversations that he had with leaders of the Gulf countries, Tillerson said it is clear to him based that the elements of a solution are available.

"The GCC must emerge united and stronger to show the world the GCC's resolve in its fight against violence and terrorism, and its commitment to countering the threat from terrorism," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a reprieve for the Maharashtra government, the Bombay High Court today vacated a stay granted on allowing increase in floor space index (FSI) for new buildings proposed to be constructed in Navi Mumbai under the state's cluster redevelopment scheme.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice N M Jamdar said the stay granted in September 2014 stands vacated as the government has obtained an environment impact assessment report in support of its proposal for cluster development.

"Now that the report has been obtained we are of the opinion that nothing comes in the way of the government in taking further course of action in respect to their proposal," Chief Justice Chellur said.

The bench was hearing an application filed by the government seeking for the stay to be vacated.

In 2014, the state government proposed to increase FSI for buildings so as to allow private builders to redevelop slum clusters and dilapidated structures into towers, as high as 60 storeys.

However, the proposal was stayed by the high court in September 2014 during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) on the ground that the government had not conducted any impact assessment study.

"The main grievance of the petitioners was that there was no impact assessment report. Now the report has been obtained," the court said today.

Government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani told the court that the government will now issue a fresh notification.

The court said the petitioners are at liberty to challenge the notification afresh.

The government, in its application, said the impact assessment study confirmed that the increased FSI will not have any adverse effect on the development of the area.

It said that many occupants of old and dilapidated buildings in Navi Mumbai did not have the resources to carry out redevelopment work. Thus, implementation of the cluster development project was required.

The application said the increased FSI was essential as it was an incentive to the private developers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kerala's medical fraternity and health experts have hailed the GST Council's decision to tax all tobacco products, including beedis, at the highest 28 per cent rate, saying it would not only curb their consumption but also enhance government revenues.

Significantly, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that tobacco taxes have the potential to reduce tobacco use, save lives and generate revenues, they said.

Dr Tiny Nair, Chief Consultant Cardiologist, PRS Hospital here, said, "Scientific studies have shown that beedi smokers are at a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases, besides cancers in various parts of the body."



By taxing beedi at the same rate as cigarettes and chewing tobacco, the government has ensured that millions of beedi users will quit, and millions of youth will be prevented from initiating tobacco usage, he said.

Beedis were the most commonly used tobacco product in the country, accounting for 64 per cent of all tobacco consumption and are disproportionately consumed by the poor. They contribute to the majority of the ten lakh deaths attributable to tobacco as also to the staggering economic burden caused by tobacco use.

Dr Thomas Varughese, noted oncologist and president, Kerala Cancer Care Society, Kochi, said bringing beedis in the highest tax slab would help prevent millions of premature deaths, especially among the weaker sections of the society.

"Beedi-related health hazards impact the poor user physically and financially, and affect the entire family, especially dependent children.

Addiction to beedis causes poor families to spend more on tobacco and less on food, healthcare, and education," he said. Dr Varughese, who chaired the recently concluded International Oral Oncology Congress in Bengaluru, cautioned about the increasing trafficking of smokeless tobacco and its grey market availability, especially near educational institutions in Kerala.

Dr AS Pradeep Kumar, Senior Research Officer, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies here, made a strong case for governmental intervention to address the plight of beedi workers, especially those in the unorganised sector.

"The occupational diseases among beedi workers, such as respiratory problems, tuberculosis, lung cancers and asthma owing to their extended exposure to tobacco, are well documented," he said.

Rehabilitation schemes and generation of alternative employment opportunities are the way forward, the expert added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following are the top stories from the Eastern region at 2100 HRS



CAL6 WB-GJM 2ND LD BANDH



Darjeeling: The Army stages flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha observed a 12-hour bandh, which was described by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as 'illegal



CAL7 WB-GTA-AUDIT



Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government today directed the state Finance department to submit the special audit report of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration's (GTA) handling of finances within another two weeks.

CAL2 WB-GJM-GURUNG



Darjeeling: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung today projected himself as the "chief minister of the hills" and challenged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to stop the agitation in the hills.

CAL8 WB-GJM-PARTHA



Kolkata: Alleging that the BJP has a hand in the Darjeeling violence, a senior West Bengal minister said today that the saffron party had held parleys with GJM leaders in Kolkata a few days before the protest.

LGC1 JH-COURT-FODDER



Ranchi: Former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra and other accused persons today appeared before a special CBI court here in connection with the multi-crore fodder scam case.

CAL9 BH-PRINCIPAL-ARREST



Patna: More complaints are flooding in against a former school principal after his arrest for allegedly selling fake age certificates which allowed many accused to pose as juveniles though they were adults, police said.

CAL5 OD-JAGANNATH-RITUAL



Puri: Amid tight security and imposition of a ban on touching the deities, the ceremonial bathing ritual of Lord Jagannath was celebrated at the Jagannath temple here in the presence of thousands of people.

CES19 JH-ENCOUNTER-2ND LD MAOISTS



Giridih/Jamshedpur: A Maoist was killed and arms and ammunition were seized in separate encounters in Jharkhand today.

CES22 OD-WEATHER



Rains triggered by a low pressure today brought considerable respite from the long spell of heat across Odisha, where sunstroke has claimed 17 lives this summer.

CES1 AR-BEEF-CONG



Itanagar: The Congress in Arunachal Pradesh today hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was not a judge of some cooking show to decide what should be cooked in the households.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following are the top stories from the Eastern region at 1800 HRS



CAL4 WB-GJM LD BANDH



Darjeeling: The Army staged flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong as a 12-hour bandh sponsored by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) got underway today, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee describing the bandh as "illegal".

CAL2 WB-GJM-GURUNG



Darjeeling: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) chief Bimal Gurung today projected himself as the "chief minister of the hills" and challenged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to stop the agitation in the hills.

CAL5 OD-JAGANNATH-RITUAL



Puri: Amid tight security and imposition of a ban on touching the deities, the ceremonial bathing ritual of Lord Jagannath was celebrated at the Jagannath temple here in the presence of thousands of people.

LGC1 JH-COURT-FODDER



Ranchi: Former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra and other accused persons today appeared before a special CBI court here in connection with the multi-crore fodder scam case



CES8 OD-MAHANADI-HARTAL



Bhubaneswar: The ruling Biju Janata Dal today called for a four-hour 'hartal' tomorrow in four western Odisha districts over the Mahanadi water dispute with neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

CES10 JH-ENCOUNTER-LD MAOISTS



Jamshedpur: An encounter between security forces and Maoists took place today in Ghatsila sub-divison of Jharkhand, police said.

CES1 AR-BEEF-CONG



Itanagar: The Congress in Arunachal Pradesh today hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he was not a judge of some cooking show to decide what should be cooked in the household.

CES5 OD-LOWPRESSURE



Bhubaneswar: A low pressure area over Bay of Bengal is likely to trigger heavy rainfall in some places in Odisha, even as several areas of the state were lashed by rains and thundershower today.

CES2 WB-FAKE-DOC



Kolkata: The Kolkata Police has arrested a fake doctor from the city's Panchasayar area, a senior officer said today.

CES9 WB-GJM LF



Kolkata: West Bengal Left Front chairman Biman Bose today said TMC's government's "mishandling" is one of the main reasons behind the unrest in the Darjeeling hills and demanded an all party meeting to resolve the situation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following are the top stories from the northern region at 2115 HRS:



DES34 DL-AAP-CHADHA



New Delhi: The AAP's National Executive replaces Raghav Chadha with Deepak Bajpai as the party's national treasurer, a decision which sacked minister Kapil Mishra linked with alleged "hawala dealings" during Chadha's tenure.

DEL40 JK-2NDLD RESTRICTIONS



Srinagar: Clashes between stone-pelters and security forces reported from a number of places in Kashmir where normal life disrupts due to a strike called by the separatists and restrictions imposed by the government.

DES35 RJ-RAJNATH-KASHMIR



Jaipur: Home Minister Rajnath Singh exudes confidence that the Centre will be able to find a solution to the Kashmir as he accused Pakistan of creating unrest in the Valley.

DEL35 PB-LD LYNCH



Bathinda: A lynch mob chops off the hand and foot of a young man whom they accuse of drug peddling in a Punjab village, causing his death, police said.

DES12 RAJNATH-BORDERS



Jaipur: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh says that the country's borders were "more secure" than before and would be further fortified to stop illegal infiltration.

DEL32 AVI-LD-PLANE TYRE BURST



Jammu: A major tragedy has been averted after an Air India plane from Delhi with 134 passengers on board suffers a brake failure on landing here and skids beyond the runway before coming to a halt at the end of the strip, following which the airport had to be shut.

DEL46 FARMERS-MP-AAP



Ratlam (MP): A delegation of the Aam Aadmi Party stopped here by the police from entering Mandsaur, hit by violent farmers' agitation, a day after Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders were turned back by authorities.

DEL19 PREZ-SELFIE-WITH-DAUGHTER



New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee launches the 'Selfie with Daughter' mobile application, aimed at raising awareness about female foeticide and sex selection.

DES30 NCR-ROBBERY-NCM



New Delhi: The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) seeks reports relating to the Jewar robbery and alleged gangrape case from the Gautam Buddha Nagar district administration and local police.

DES2 DL-LD SHAKEEL-AIDE



New Delhi: Delhi Police's Special Cell arrests an aide of gangster Chhota Shakeel, who was planning to target Pakistan- born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah.

DES5 DL-MISHRA-KEJRIWAL



New Delhi: High drama unfolds outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence when sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, along with his supporters, tried to meet the CM, but was stopped by the police.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A total of 66 medical camps with adequate number of doctors and para-medical staff from across the country would be set up along the Amarnath yatra route to provide round-the-clock medical facility to the pilgrims.

The annual pilgrimage is scheduled to begin later this month.

"A total of 66 medical camps will be setup by the state health department, the Army, central paramilitary forces, state police and NGOs at identified locations on the twin yatra routes (Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal)," Chief Executive Officer of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) Umang Narula said at a meeting here today.

The meeting, chaired by Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra who is also the chairman of the SASB, discussed in detail the medical facilities provided to the pilgrims for the the yatra scheduled to begin on June 29.

An official spokesman said the health department would be setting up five base hospitals, nine medical aid centres and 14 emergency aid centres along the twin routes besides providing medical facilities at the Neelgrath helipad for the convenience of devotees travelling through helicopters.

The department of Indian system of medicines will be establishing eight medical camps and two mobile camps which will move along with the "Charri Mubarak", the spokesman said.

In addition, six medical camps would be set up by the Army, ten by BSF, seven by CRPF, two by SSB and one each by ITBP and the state police.

The state health authorities also recommended establishment of three medical camps by various NGOs enroute yatra track.

The spokesman said 107 doctors including specialists from super speciality hospitals and prestigious medical institutes and 146 para-medical staff have been nominated till now by Union health ministry and the governments of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra for duty during the yatra period.

The spokesman said the medical camps being set up by the health department are located at an average distance of 2 km from each other on the basis conditions on the ground as well as the availability of the required infrastructure like water, shelter sheds, tents and sanitation facilities.

The base camp hospitals would be equipped with hyperbaric oxygen chambers, portable oxygen concentrators, automated CPR machines, defibrillators and cardiac monitors among others.

Gas fired boilers will also be made available at medical camps on the route, the spokesman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Manipur police have busted an illegal gun manufacturing unit at Langol games village here and arrested two persons in connection with it.

A police team yesterday raided a house in the area and found a man manufacturing a pistol, they said.

The security forces had been maintaining a tight vigil in the area after reports of firing came to light from the locality, police said.

Another man, present in the house, confessed to have fired some rounds, police said, adding that both of them were arrested.

Two country made pistols, equipments used in gun manufacturing, 97 letter heads with "Terrorist Revolutionary Army" printed on it, and a computer set were seized from their possession, police said.

Two owners of a computer shop, where the letter heads were printed, were also arrested from New Checkon area here, they said, adding that investigation is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An inspection of two police stations by officials of the Goa Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has concluded that the "working and living" conditions of cops at both the police stations was "below standard".

It has recommended that priority needs to be given to improve their conditions so that the police force can work with optimal output and remain stress free.

A complaint filed by social activist Aires Rodrigues with the GHRC demanded verification of the factual working and living conditions of the cops at the Old Goa Police Station in North Goa and Colva Police Station in South Goa.

Rodrigues while disputing the stand taken by the chief secretary and Director General of Police that all amenities including canteen and recreational facilities were available at every police station, had sought that any two police stations be inspected to ascertain the ground reality.

In his complaint to the GHRC in September last year, Rodrigues alleged that the copsin the State were being madeto workfor long hoursinpathetic and appalling conditions and had sought thatlike all other government employees thepolice personnel should alsogetaneight hour shiftwhich will in fact increase their efficiency.

A three-member team led by GHRC secretary Margaret Fernandes, under-secretary Shashikant Bhamaikar and police inspector Manoj Mardolkar attached to the investigation cell of the GHRC onMay 26 inspected the Old Goa and Colva Police Stations and last week submitted a detailed 11-page report highlighting the pathetic working conditions at both the police stations.

The report pointed out that Old Goa Police station with a staff strength of 114 and Colva Police station with 87 staff are housed in very old and overcrowded premises which is neither suitable nor sufficient to accommodate the staff working at the police station.

It further said that there was an urgent need of new buildings for both the police stations taking into consideration the basic needs and facilities for the staff posted at these police stations.

It also said that there is also a need to fix an eight hour shift to tackle problems like stress, hypertension and diabetes which are found in policemen.

The report suggested having more staff to share the workload also expressed the need to separate law and order from the investigation cells at the police stations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India today said it was carrying out a verifiable scientific research to establish the benefits derived from 'Panchagavya' which also has medicinal values.

'Panchagavya' is a concoction prepared by mixing five cow products -- cow dung, cow urine, cow milk, curd and clarified butter 'Ghee'. It is used in some traditional Indian rituals.

Dr Harsh Vardhan, the minister of science and technology who attended a clean energy ministerial meet here, said his ministry has taken up research in this field in a bid to "settle controversies" over the benefits of cow milk and urine.

The visiting minister said his ministry has asked scientists to come up with verifiable findings.

He told media here last night that scientists are working to validate 'Panchagavya' efficacy.

"If you have to talk about it to the whole world, even for 'Ayurveda', we know it is well defined and good and people can live for hundred years, but we have to scientifically validate it to prove it to the rest of the world.

"For 'Ayurveda' also, our laboratories in Jammu are doing this. When we established 'AYUSH' (ministry). We have put in Rs 5,000 crore for the ministry and there is a lot of scope," the minister said.

"If you say anything spoken by someone about importance of cow milk, or the 'Panchagavya', you will be surprised very senior scientists in IIT Delhi and all across the country are working on this issue and the importance of cow is well established in our literature and well proven," he said.

About the Paris climate deal, Vardhan, who is also the environment minister, said India would fulfil its climate change commitments under the accord and derive 40 per cent of its energy from non-fossil fuels by 2030 regardless of the US decision to pull out of the agreement last week by US President Donald Trump.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India has moved World Trade Organisation against the US as it has not yet complied with the rulings of the multi-lateral body related to imposition of high import duty on certain Indian steel products.

In December 2014, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had ruled against the US imposing high duty on imports of certain Indian steel products.

The WTO's appellate body had ruled that the high duty imposed by the US on the certain Indian steel imports was 'inconsistent' with various provisions of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.

"India has requested WTO dispute consultations with the US to address US compliance with an earlier WTO ruling concerning US countervailing duties on imports of carbon steel products from India," the WTO said in a statement.

A government official said that India has sought consultation with the US for compliance of the WTO's rulings.

If the issue would not be resolved, then India will approach the WTO's compliance panel, the official added.

The US will have to amend its domestic norms to comply with the WTO's verdict on countervailing duties on imports of hot-rolled carbon steel products from India.

Earlier, the US had dragged India to the arbitration panel of the WTO alleging that India had failed to remove trade restrictions on American poultry.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union minister Kiren Rijiju today said that India will take 'drastic' action against Pakistan as it was crossing the Line of Control (LoC) repeatedly.

Rijiju, who was speaking to reporters at the sidelines of a rally here, however, declined to share details.

He said the security of the newly opened country's longest bridge Dr Bhupen Hazarika Setu at Dhola-Sadiya will be tightened.

The union minister of state for home appealed to members of the militant outfits to return to the mainstream for development of the northeast region.

Earlier, speaking at the rally Rijiju said the NDA government at the Centre is committed to the development of the northeast and is working for implementation of schemes for the benefit and development of the people of the region.

"With the goodwill initiative of 'Sab Ka Sath, Sabka Vikas' under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our government has been trying for all round development of North East," Rijiju said at a public rally here.

"Every effort has been made to deliver a transparent and corruption free governance for all," Rijiju said at the programme held to celebrate the three years of BJP in power.

He highlighted various projects undertaken by the Centre for the north east during the last three years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the UN Office for South- South Cooperation have launched a partnership fund that will support sustainable development projects across the developing world.

The India-UN Development Partnership Fund will implement country-level projects that are catalytic towards achieving the 17 sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda.

The collaborative initiative is aimed at reducing poverty and hunger, improving health, education and equality, and expanding access to clean water, energy and livelihoods.

The fund was launched yesterday on occasion of the World Oceans Day at a special ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in the presence of External Affairs Minister M J Akbar, Envoy of the Secretary-General on South- South Cooperation and Director of United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Jorge Chediek and India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin.

In a message, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres congratulated the government of India on its "strengthened partnership" with the United Nations system through the partnership fund.

"South-South cooperation is a powerful tool as we advance, together, towards the Sustainable Development Goals and fulfil the promise to leave no one behind," Guterres said in his message on the launch.

Addressing representatives of Member States, United Nations organisations and non-governmental partners at the launch, Akbar said this is first time India is entering into a partnership with the UN in a triangular cooperation with fellow developing countries.

"Capacities of nations may vary, but their rights and obligations do not. We are confident that this format would inspire the ability to meet the challenge of our times - shared prosperity."



He said growth which is not shared will no longer be sustained.

"If the 21st century is going to be a egalitarian age, nations are no longer big or small, they are equal and sovereign," he said.

Managed by UNOSSC, the India-UN Development Partnership Fund will support Southern-owned and led, demand-driven, and transformational sustainable development projects across the developing world. Focusing on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), United Nations agencies will implement the Fund's projects in close collaboration with partnering governments.

"India is frequently praised for its contributions of manpower and resources towards shaping a better world," Chediek said.

"The India-United Nations Development Fund we are launching today is yet another example of this notable leadership and drive towards ensuring that no one is left behind, both in India and worldwide."



A 'Climate Early Warning System in Pacific Island Countries' was announced as the first project to receive support from the new partnership. The project was formulated by India and the United Nations Development Programme in consultation with the Governments of the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, the Solomon Islands and Tonga. The project will increase resilience to natural disasters in these seven Pacific island countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has warned against remaking India in a way that undermines its soft power, saying this quality of Indian culture has the potential to make the country truly an "influential" leader in the 21st century.

Speaking at a gathering here, Tharoor, 61, said India has to solve its "internal problems" like terrorism and poverty first before it can aspire to play the role of leadership in the world.

He said there were aspects of Indian society and culture that the world found more attractive than just government initiative.

"Today those aspects may not directly persuade them about India, but they go a long way to enhance India's standing in the world," he said in his key note address at the 'Cultural Diplomacy Forum on India,' organised by the Meridian International Forum, yesterday.

Tharoor said India is a civilisation which has offered refuge to cultural and religious freedoms to Jews, Parses, Christens and Muslims.

"We have to solve our internal problems - that's our problem, not yours - before we can truly aspire to play the role of leadership in the world. We are in the process of doing precisely that. We want to conquer the challenge of development. Not just jihadi terrorism but the problem of hunger and poverty is also part of our problem," Tharoor said.

"Do not try to remake India in a way that undermines your soft power," he said.

Without mentioning any events, Tharoor called for ensuring freedom of press and its thriving.

"Because our civilisational ethos has been the immeasurable asset for our country and it is bipolar. We do not allow spectre of religious intolerance and political opportunism to undermine our soft power in the 21st century," he said.

"I think, this country with all these qualities inherited from millennia of living as an example of this sort of culture has the soft power that would truly make it the influential leader in the 21st century," Tharoor said.

Noting that India's soft power has a claim to the world, Tharoor said India is a country in which all major religions - Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Sikhism - co-exists.

"In this increasingly globalised world where there is so much of backlash against immigration, India of such diversity of caste, religion, language and others rally around the democratic value of consensus. Acceptance rather than tolerance is the Indian secret. And I think that has been the strength of India's soft power," Tharoor said.

"That's why we're stronger in 21st century world. As a society, we have celebrated our diversity, our pluralism, our democracy, our freedom in a way that we imply to take them for granted.

"Some recent trends have unfortunately given free rein to others which have promoted attitude of bigotry and intolerance that should have no place in the narrative. That is also inescapable part, sadly of today's Indian reality," Tharoor rued.

He said the whole question of identifying India into one particular religion and religious faith flies in the face of its own vibrant culture.

"I think, it is not just the breadth but the depth of this cultural heritage that India's soft power lies.

"The fact that we are a land of such rich diversities and one that does not impose narrow conformities...The whole thing about Indian that you can be many things and being one thing is an important lesson in a world in which we are all trying to grapple how to manage diversity," he said.

Tharoor said it was important to resist the attempts that undermine the qualities of Indian culture.

"Resist them not in purely political bipartisan spirit but rather as proud Indians because we are conscious of what we are proud of in our civilisation. We are conscious of the qualities which are so attractive about our culture, that give us soft power in the world," he said.

"We do not want those qualities undermined by recklessly, irresponsible often semi-educated people who have been given a free hand by those in power," Tharoor said, adding that China and Russia have already realised that.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Indian-origin international school in Singapore has introduced a unique entrepreneurship course for its students aimed at preparing them for "digital disruption" and making them future-ready.

The course for students of 8 to 12 grade at the Global Indian International School (GIIS) uses non-traditional learning models to ignite and encourage entrepreneurship in children.

The boot-camp is derived from a popular MBA course taught at the INSEAD Business School in Singapore which is ranked number 1 business school in the world.

The children begin with a session on ideation, then evolve these ideas into real businesses and finally conclude with a fund-raising pitch to real-world venture capital and angel investors.

"GIIS has made a bold move to respond to digital disruption and the changing educational environment by introducing these type of curricula to students early," said Ash Singh, an MBA lecturer at INSEAD in Singapore.

"Global job markets are rapidly changing and so are the skills required to fill future roles, so we want to get ahead of the curve and start focusing more on nurturing students with skills ranging from creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship," said Rohit Ambekar, Director of Business & Strategy at GIIS.

Singh, who has over a decade of experience teaching Entrepreneurship at INSEAD Business School, has modified the MBA course to be relevant to the needs of younger students and has been personally conducting the boot-camps.

"The exposure given to students ranges from thinking, planning, resourcing, raising funds and implementing their concepts into real enterprises," Singh said.

Ambekar believes that entrepreneurship as a mindset and skill set are critical for younger children.

"The feedback from the participating students and their parents has been fantastic, so we are going to roll this out to our other GIIS campuses worldwide," Ambekar said.

GIIS is one of the world's largest operators of International schools, teaching more than 15,000 students in 20 campuses in Singapore, Japan, India, Middle East, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

GIIS' Tokyo campus has attracted a large number of Japanese students to its Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum.

"These students have really impressed me and I am really looking forward to seeing some of them starting up their own social and commercial enterprises," Singh said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three Indian-origin men are among a group of defendants ordered to pay over a million dollars to a federal US agency as settlement in a tech support scam that involved telemarketers based in India tricking consumers into buying unnecessary IT services.

Rajiv Chhatwal, Rupinder Kaur and Harinder Singh and companies Global Access Technical Support, Source Pundit and Helios Digital Media LLC were the defendants that had been charged in October 2016 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as part of its ongoing crackdown against tech support scams.

The FTC said it obtained settlements with the St Louis based group of defendants who used deceptive Internet pop-up ads to trick consumers into buying unnecessary technical support services.

As part of thesettlements, the defendants are banned from marketing or promoting any technical support products or servicesin the future and from misrepresenting any product or service.

In addition, the defendants agreed to turn over assets valued at more than USD 1 million to the FTC, which will be used to provide restitution to victims.

The FTC had alleged that the defendants worked with affiliate marketers to place pop-up ads falsely claiming that a consumer's computer was infected and that the ads originated from legitimate technology companies like Apple or Microsoft.

The ads included dire warnings and urged consumers to immediately call a toll-free number for help.

The FTC said when consumers called the toll-free number, they were connected to telemarketers based in India who falsely claimed to be affiliated with Microsoft or Apple.

The telemarketers claimed they needed remote access to consumers' computers in order to diagnose the problem. Once given access, the telemarketers showed consumers innocuous screens and directories on the computers, deceiving consumers into believing that these were evidence of problems that required immediate repair.

The settlement is part of the FTC's ongoing efforts to pursue tech support scams. The Commission had last month announcedOperation Tech Trap, a major crackdown on tech support operators who used many of the same tactics as the defendants in this case.

"When tech support scams pop up, the FTC will take action," said Tom Pahl, Acting Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

"Today's settlements, along with the agency's recent Operation Tech Trap actions, underscore the FTC's commitment to protecting consumers from tech support scams".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government has informed families of 39 Indians, believed to have been abducted by Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq in 2014, that they may be in Mosul in the north of the country, a family member said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the families the government had received information that some Indian men were in Mosul, from where the 39 men had gone missing three years ago.

The minister told the family in a meeting that lasted 45 minutes the Indians seen in Mosul were in all likelihood the missing men.

The families said they had last heard from the men on June 14, 2014, when they all called home to say they were being taken away by IS fighters.

Now that Mosul, earlier in the control of the IS, had been liberated, the Indian government discussed the issue of the stranded men with the Iraqi government, the family quoted Swaraj as saying.

"The Indian government has taken the matter up with the Iraqi government, which has assured it that once things become normal, they will be sent back," Gurpinder Kaur, sister of one of the missing men, Manjinder Singh, told PTI.

Kaur, a resident of Bhoewal village in Amritsar district, said this was the families' 11th meeting with the minister since the men's disappearance.

"Earlier, the government was silent on the issue. But now Swaraj has assured us that the missing people have been traced," she said.

The families asked the minister what the government was doing to bring them back.

"She told us that Iraqi forces had recaptured 90 per cent of the area and the Indian men were in the area that was yet to be freed from IS militants," Gurpinder said.

Amritsar's Seema Devi, whose husband Sonu Masih is among the missing men, said they were elated when they heard that the men were safe.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
IT major Infosys today denied media reports suggesting that its co-founders, including N R Narayana Murthy, were planning to sell their entire stake in the company.

"We would like to clarify reports in media speculating on plans of stake sale by the promoters. This speculation has already been denied categorically by the promoters," the company said in a statement here.

The country's second largest IT services firm was reacting to a media report that Murthy and other co-founders Nandan Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan, S D Shibulal and K Dinesh were looking to sell their entire stake in the company worth about Rs 28,000 crore.

"The company further reiterates that it has no information on any such development. We would like to appeal to the media not to fuel such speculative stories as they are likely to harm the interests of the company and all its stakeholders," the statement said.

The report published by an English daily said the promoters wanted to sell their entire stake as they were unhappy over the manner in which the company was being run since their exit three years ago.

The co-founders' have had open confrontations with the present management over various issues, including corporate governance and salary to top executives.

They had also shot off a letter to the company board in February questioning several decisions such as the severance package given to former Chief Operating Officer Rajiv Bansal.

Earlier in 2014, the co-founders and their family had sold 2.84 per cent stake in Infosys for Rs 6,484 crore.

They had also raised questions over chief executive Vishal Sikka's USD 11 million remuneration hike.

Murthy had also expressed displeasure over the likely layoffs at the company and suggested that senior executives should take a pay cut to accommodate more lower-rung staff.

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Iran's supreme leader hit out at the United States and Saudi Arabia during the funerals today for those slain in the first attacks in the country claimed by the Islamic State group.

The assault by gunmen and suicide bombers on Wednesday on Tehran's parliament complex and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini killed 17 people and wounded more than 50.

Mourners were paying respects to those killed at a ceremony in parliament on Friday morning, in the presence of newly re-elected moderate President Hassan Rouhani.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei initially played down the attacks this week, describing them as "firecrackers" that "will not have the slightest effect on the will of the people".

At today's funeral, however, he turned his wrath for the attacks on the United States and Saudi Arabia, his country's fiercest rivals.

"Such acts will have no other result than to reinforce hatred for the US government and its agents in the region, like the Saudi (government)," Khamenei wrote in a message of condolence to the families of the dead.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani also attacked the United States and Saudi Arabia, which he called "a tribal state very far from anything like a democracy".

In a speech at the ceremony, Larijani denounced US sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile programme.

The US "knows that the Revolutionary Guard and its Quds force are the most important regional forces fighting terrorists", he said.

The imposition of such sanctions "demonstrates their alignment with terrorists in the region", said the speaker, a moderate conservative.

After prayers, a procession was to leave Tehran University for the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, near the Khomeini mausoleum 13 kilometres south of the Iranian capital.

The attacks, which struck two of the country's most symbolic landmarks, were carried out by five armed men, including suicide bombers who blew themselves up.

The intelligence ministry said they were Iranians who had joined the Islamic State group and travelled to its strongholds in Iraq and Syria before returning home.

Iran is a key fighting force against IS and other groups in Iraq and Syria, and the Sunni jihadists consider Shiite Muslims to be apostates.

Shiites make up roughly 90 per cent of Iran's population, but the country also has a sizeable Sunni minority, particularly around its restive borders with Iraq and Pakistan.

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The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the killing of two Chinese nationals, including a woman, who were abducted by armed gunmen from Pakistan's restive northwest Balochistan province recently.

The Chinese pair was studying Urdu language at a local teaching center in the provincial capital of Quetta when it was forcibly kidnapped by unknown gunmen last month.

Another Chinese woman had escaped the abduction.

Islamic State on its 'Amaq News Agency' uploaded a statement in Arabic yesterday, saying it had killed the two abducted Chinese nationals.

Pakistani officials are yet to comment on ISIS' confirmation, which came a day after army claimed that it had carried out an operation against the outfit in Balochistan.

At least 12 ISIS militants were killed in a three-day operation at the start of June in the mountains of Mastung district of Balochistan.

Earlier, local media had reported that the operation was launched after intelligence reports suggested that the militants were hiding there with the abducted Chinese nationals.

China is developing the strategically located Gwadar port in Balochistan, which many experts say is aimed at having a military presence.

Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist and nationalist insurgencies in Balochistan since 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

ISIS has been making inroads in Pakistan with the help of its ties with local militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. However, the government has largely downplayed the presence of the dreaded terror outfit.
The Islamic State terror group has claimed that it had killed two Chinese hostages, including a woman, who were abducted by armed gunmen from Pakistan's restive Balochistan province recently.

The hostages were studying Urdu language at a local teaching center in the provincial capital of Quetta when they were forcibly kidnapped by unknown gunmen last month.

Another Chinese woman had escaped the abduction.

The ISIS on its propaganda agency 'Amaq' uploaded a statement in Arabic yesterday, saying it had killed the two abducted Chinese nationals.

Confirming reports of the killing of its nationals, China today said the murders have not been connected to China- Pakistan Economic Corridor but asserted that such risks are unavoidable as its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) goes global.

China had worked closely with Pakistan to rescue them but "the two may have unfortunately been killed", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in Beijing, stating that Pakistan has informed China about their deaths.

This incident will not have any connection with the BRI, nor with the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting being held in Astana, Hua said.

China has deployed hundreds of its workers to work for the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is being opposed by the Baloch nationalists.

Hua said contrary to reports the two were not married and hailed from different provinces in China.

Pakistan pays great attention to the protection of Chinese citizens in the institutions there and made great efforts for their security, she said.

After this incident, the Pakistan side had made their utmost efforts to rescue the hostage. Pakistan has also pledged to continue to take necessity actions to protect the Chinese citizens and institutions in the country, she said.

She, however, said Chinese people should be prepared to take risks as the multi-billion BRI spreads to different parts of the country. "As per BRI we should be prepared for risks if want to go global," she said.

"The world today is far from tranquil. In the process of promoting BRI it is inevitable that we will counter all kind of security issues and it should be taken seriously all the countries promoting economic cooperation," she said.

The ISIS claim came a day after the Pakistan Army said that it had carried out an operation against ISIS in Balochistan, killing at least 12 militants.

Local media had reported that the operation was launched after intelligence reports suggested that the militants were hiding there with the Chinese hostages.

Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist and nationalist insurgencies in Balochistan since 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

ISIS has been making inroads in Pakistan with the help of its ties with local militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. However, the government has largely downplayed the presence of the dreaded terror outfit.

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Shares of ITC fell by nearly 2 per cent today amid reports that the government is considering divesting its stake in the company.

The stock went down by 1.73 per cent to settle at Rs 306.20 on BSE. During the day, it lost 2.23 per cent to Rs 304.65.

On NSE, the stock declined 1.79 per cent to Rs 306.

On the volume front, 6.48 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE and over one crore shares changed hands at NSE during the day.

Government has stake in ITC through SUUTI. Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) had 9.10 per cent stake in the company, according to March quarter shareholding pattern.

Life Insurance Corporation of India holds 16.29 per cent stake in ITC.

While there was no official word on the same, Coalition Against Tobacco said, "The Finance Ministry's intent to divest its stake in tobacco companies is a welcome step towards tobacco control."



The 'Coalition Against Tobacco' had recently written to the Prime Minister, highlighting the environmental dangers and degradation at multiple levels due to production and processing of tobacco.

"This move by the Finance Ministry to consider divesting its stake in tobacco stocks is a big step towards a tobacco- free India. The damage that this socially undesirable evil has been doing to our people can finally be reversed through action by the state and civil society, by the government's bold step of moving out of this business," said Pankaj Chaturvedi, Head and Neck cancer surgeon, Tata Memorial Hospital and a member of the Coalition.

On implementation, this will be a major step in dissuading other institutions from investing in this industry and stop promoting tobacco and its consequences in a country like India where almost a million people die annually due to usage of tobacco and tobacco products, it said in a statement.

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The police today claimed to have solved the kidnapping case of a minor girl from Bhattiprolu village of the district by arresting a dismissed BSF jawan who used to ferry her to school in his auto.

Andhra Pradesh DGP Sambasivarao said the girl was kidnapped by one Sriram Nageswararao (45), who was dismissed from the BSF and worked as a school auto driver, on April 21.

Her parents had lodged a complaint with Bhattiprolu police station, said the DGP.

Considering the sensitivity of the case, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had given special instructions to the police to solve the crime.

After kidnapping the minor, the accused stayed in Hyderabad, Ananthapur and various other places, police said.

He finally reached Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir, as he was familiar with the area, they said.

AP police had formed five special teams to crack the case. These teams visited various places in the country, said the DGP.

Nageswararao has a history of kidnapping women, said the official.

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French President Emmanuel Macron's party heads into the first round of parliamentary elections on Sunday looking set to win the majority he needs to push through his ambitious reforms.

A number of opinion polls give Macron's Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party around 30 percent of the vote, which would put it in the driving seat to secure an absolute majority in the second round on June 18.

With Macron's party siphoning off support from France's traditional political forces on the left and the right -- the Socialists of his predecessor Francois Hollande and the conversative Republicans -- the elections could radically redraw the political map.

Today, the final day of campaigning before the first round, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe urged voters to back the new president.

"The question that the French people must answer on Sunday is: do they want to give the president and the government he named a sufficient majority to begin the work of turning around the country?" he said on Europe 1 radio.

Macron's party could be heading for as many as 400 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, according to some polls, a crushing victory for a president who many observers were predicting just weeks ago might struggle to win a majority.

Philippe is a conservative in Macron's multi-hued government that the 39-year-old centrist assembled in a bid to break with decades of tribalist left-right politics.

The prime minister's party, the Republicans, complained today that such domination by REM could be harmful.

"I don't think it would be healthy for the democratic debate over the next five years," said Francois Baroin, who is leading the Republicans in the legislative polls.

Marine Le Pen's National Front meanwhile could struggle to gain 15 seats nationally, a score that would be an additional humiliation for her after she was soundly beaten by Macron in the presidential election.

In one cloud on Macron's horizon, his small centrist ally, the MoDem party was placed under preliminary investigation on suspicion of employing fake parliamentary assistants in the European Parliament.

The investigation comes with one of Macron's ministers and a key supporter, Richard Ferrand, also being probed over suspicions he favoured his wife in a property deal with a public health insurance fund when he headed the company.

Macron's party has brushed off the accusations against Ferrand as unfounded.

Polls appear to suggest that Macron is in tune with the wishes of French voters to see deep changes to the political class. Many of REM's 530 candidates come from civil society and have never run for office before.

Macron's reform agenda is broad. The key plank is to build on an overhaul of the labour market that the previous Socialist government began -- measures that brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets last year.

The government has said it plans to fast-track legislation through parliament using executive decrees in a country where many see the cost of hiring and firing as a brake on growth.

Unemployment, the issue that dogged Hollande's presidency, is around 10 percent.

Macron and Philippe have already held softly-softly initial talks with the unions about their proposed reforms, without apparently showing much of their hand.

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One more farmer has allegedly committed suicide in Maharashtra apparently due to indebtedness, taking the number of peasants who have killed themselves in the recent past to five.

Sandip Shelke (25), who had participated in the recent stir by cultivators for various demands, allegedly hanged himself from a tree in his field in Kahamaswadi village here today, police said.

Shelke's cousin said he took the extreme step due to his inability to pay Rs 2.5 lakh loan he had taken from a bank as his crop has suffered damage due to drought.

However, a police official said the exact cause behind Shelke's suicide is not known immediately.

Following the incident, angry farmers set afire to an effigy of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the village while demanding a loan waiver.

The villagers have declared a bandh in Kalamb tehsil tomorrow in protest against the incident.

Farmers in the state have been demanding a complete loan waiver besides clearing their 7/12 extracts (land records) of all liabilities and a guaranteed rate for milk among other demands.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, four farmers ended their lives in various parts of the state.

Police had said suicides by all the four farmers were due to non-payment of loans from banks and private money lenders.

Dhanaji Jadhav (45) hanged himself from a tree near his house at Veet village in Karmala tehsil in Solapur district Wednesday night. He had left a note purportedly stating that he should not be cremated till the chief minister visits his place and meets their demands.

However, the family members of the deceased relented following an intervention by the district guardian minister.

In another incident, a 48-year-old farmer, Hanumant Shinde, reeling under debt, committed suicide by consuming poison at Gondavewadi in Pune district yesterday.

In Wardha district, farmer Ishwar Baliram Ingale (55) allegedly committed suicide by hanging from a tree in his farm on Wednesday, the police said.

In Satara district of western Maharashtra, a 35-year-old farmer, Suresh Sable, ended his life by consuming poison on June 5 in Man tehsil.

Fadnavis had recently announced waiving of loans of small and marginal farmers. However, the announcement failed to pacify the protesting farmers who are demanding a complete loan waiver.

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Mandsaur, the epicentre of farmers' agitation in Madhya Pradesh, was peaceful today but the violent protests reached the doorsteps of the capital Bhopal even as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced an indefinite fast from tomorrow for restoration of peace.

He said he would be available at the Dussehra Maidan from 11 am tomorrow for farmers to come and discuss their issues but asserted that unruly elements would be dealt with strictly.

A wary central government, meanwhile, asked states adjoining Madhya Pradesh to keep strict vigil against the spread of farmers' protest.

The central government is in touch with states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, and sensitising them against any possible protest by farmers, officials said in Delhi.

In Mandsaur district, where five farmers were killed in clashes with police on Tuesday, curfew was today relaxed for eight hours from 10 am to 6 pm but no untoward incident was reported, Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Singh said.

In view of the improvement in the situation, curfew will be relaxed for 12 hours tomorrow from 8 am to 8 pm in Mandsaur city and Pipliamandi but police said restrictions on movement of people will continue.

However, no protest, rally or demonstration will be allowed during the curfew relaxation period tomorrow as well as on June 11 when farmers have announced a protest, Collector O P Srivastava said.

As shops re-opened, locals stepped out to stock essentials like vegetables and milk. Long queues were also seen outside petrol pumps.

However, the agitation reached the doorsteps of Bhopal as incidents of arson and stone-pelting were witnessed in Fanda area, about 20 kms from the state capital.

Police baton-charged the protesters and arrested at least 27 of them in the area.

"Some unidentified persons set a truck on fire near a spot where Congress workers were protesting. Then some men hurled stones at the policemen present there," Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Raman Singh Sikarwar told PTI.

The SP said the police will not let their guard down and strict action will be taken against those who try to violate prohibitory orders under CrPC 144 which bans assembly of more than four persons. Special permission will be required for weddings or other functions.

At least 156 people have been arrested and 40 cases registered in connection with violence during the farmers agitation here.

The SP said police is trying to identify the culprits by going through the video clips of the incidents of violence.

The Centre had rushed 1,100 personnel of the RAF to the violence-hit state.

Two companies of the RAF, each comprising 100 personnel, were deployed in Pipliamandi in Mandsaur, where five farmers were killed in police firing on Tuesday. Two RAF companies were deployed along the highway. Contingents of the CRPF have also been deployed.

In Bhopal, a visibly-upset chief minister told a hurriedly-convened press conference this evening that ensuring people's safety was his 'Rajdharma' and that he was not flint-hearted.

He said the agitation has gone "anarchic" and appealed to the farmers to come to the negotiating table.

"I will sit on indefinite fast from 11 am tomorrow at Dussehra Maidan for restoration of peace," he said.

"I will be available at the Dussehra Maidan. I welcome all farmers to come there for resolving the impasse peacefully through an amicable dialogue with me. I won't sit in my office at Mantralaya (secretariat)...(but sit at) Dussehra Maiden and do all work from there," he added.

Chouhan said anyone trying to ignite the flames of violence would not be spared.

"I am deeply saddened that stones are being placed in the hands of young people aged 18, 21 and 22 by some persons during attempts to stage road blockades. It is painful that these young people are our own and the elements leading them are also our own," he said.

Chouhan, who has been the chief minister for the last 11 -and-a-half years, said that whenever farmers were in distress due to loss of crops following a natural calamity, he had rushed to them and comforted and helped them.

The state government has started buying onion for Rs 8 per kg from the farmers, while Moong and Urad pulses too will be bought at Minimum Support Price (MSP), the CM said.

A commission will be set up to work out the cost of production of farm produce and a Rs 1,000 crore fund will be created to help farmers when prices crash, the CM reiterated.

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Mauritius is a home away for Indians, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said today as she met President of Mauritius Bibi Ameenah Gurib-Fakim here.

Mahajan, who is leading an Indian Parliamentary delegation to Mauritius, said the relationship between the two countries is "of hearts and sentiments" as the two countries are connected by strong cultural links and shared heritage.

She noted that India and Mauritius have historically enjoyed excellent, unique and extra-ordinary relations and that the Strategic Partnership and co-operation between them in the international fora augurs well.

The Speaker said India has accorded special status to Mauritius in several areas like tax matters and OCI-related issues.

Blue economy, marine research and education, information technology and climate change are the areas where the two countries have common interests, she said.

She said that because of its strategic location, political and economic stability, Mauritius is ideally placed for development as an IT hub to act as a 'Gateway to Africa'.

The President of Mauritius appreciated the relationship with India and expressed the confidence that it will continue to flourish even further.

During the meeting, Mahajan presented a copy of the Constitution of India to the President of Mauritius.

The Speaker, along with the members of her delegation, also visited the Apravasi Ghat, one of the biggest attraction centres in Mauritius.

This is the place where about 183 years ago, the first group of 36 immigrant workers from India landed in Mauritius on-board the Atlas named ship.

After visiting the museum at the Apravasi Ghat, Mahajan said, "we have seen the museums of Raja, Maharajas and the winners, but this museum honours the hard work of the labourers and depicts the contribution of the people standing at the last rung of society in the nation-building of Mauritius," according to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat.

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As the voice on the other side of the phone said "pass", Rekha burst into tears of joy. She has achieved what no member of her 2.5 lakh-strong community -- the Musahar (rat-catchers) -- in the area could do so far.

She has cleared her Class X exam from the UP board, results of which were announced today.

"I'm very happy," said Rekha, a resident of the Musahar Basti under Aayar gram panchayat in Harhua block of Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I was really worried about my result. I even cried in tension yesterday thinking about the result," she said.

Nursing a dream to study further, at least obtaining a graduation degree in arts, the girl said she wanted to become a teacher.

"Although the idea of working for my community and the locals is good, I feel more like becoming a teacher," she said.

Rekha's father, Angal, wore a confused smile, not sure as to how big his daughter's achievement was.

"Yes, I am happy. Everybody around looks happy, so I am also happy," he said.

The girl scored a little over 63 per cent marks. "My writing is poor. I think I lost some marks because of that," said 16-year-old Rekha, still trying to absorb her overwhelming achievement.

As Rekha showed her marks to his father, who does not know how to read or write as his wife, the man's eyes filled with tears and a joyous embarrassment.

"What do I have to see in this," he asked his daughter, who told him that was her ticket to sit in Class XI.

Angal, a daily wage labourer and father to five children, was now worried about future education expenses of her eldest daughter but certain that he wanted her to study.

"There would be more expenses now I hear. New books and stationery need to be bought. My eldest child, a son, dropped out of school after Class V...But it's okay if Rekha wants to study, I'll manage it anyhow," he told PTI.

While local community folks were happy over her breaking the ceiling, Rekha's mother was out to collect wood.

"I had asked her that today my result will be out, stay at home. She said 'khana bhi to banana hai'(food needs to be arranged too)," Rekha said, instructing her younger brother to go out and bring their mother back.

Shobhnath, a human rights activist working for the uplift of the community, said it's a path breaking achievement.

"I know what difficulties Rekha faced to see this day. At a place where you have never seen people around you, people from your community study, it was natural that she opted out. But she sustained and has gained distinction no one in her community in the block, which has around 14 villages, has," said Shobhnath, associated with Jan Mitra Nyas.

The Musahar community is listed as Scheduled Caste in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and West Bengal.

As per Census 2011, the community's population in UP stood over 2.5 lakh, 1.23 lakh of them females.

The total literates in the community stood at 49,287, while illiterates at 2,07,848, as per the Census.

A backward and socially marginalised community, the Musahar find work as industrial labourers, while a majority still works as daily wagers and farm workers.

The women of the Musahar community in this area make disposable plates 'dona' out of 'mahua' leaves.

"But the business is dwindling and nearing end since the plastic and fibre cups and plates came. Also, at Rs 2 for 80 'dona', it's economically not viable anymore," said a local.

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A 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were today found hanging in a room of a guest house in Katra, the base camp of Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir.

Police said the the duo hailed from Gujarat and have been identified as Chintan and Janvi.

"They were found hanging from a ceiling fan in a room of Vishwa guest house in Katra town of Reasi district in the morning," Reasi SSP Tahir Ahmed Bhat said.

The room was locked from inside. Police reached the spot upon information broke into the room, he said.

A case has been registered and investigation is underway, Bhat said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today joined several global leaders at the inauguration of Kazakhstan's World EXPO 2017 which showcases vital innovation and technological prowess of the resource-rich central Asian country.

Modi visited several parts of the expo and later attended its gala inauguration.

India is among over 100 countries which are presenting their pavilions at the expo which is expected to be visited by millions of visitors over the next three months.

Modi was here to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation which inducted India and Pakistan as full members of the security grouping.

A series of high-decibel cultural events are also being organised as part of the Expo which is said to be the first world fair taking place in Central Asia in the last several decades.

The launch event of the expo was attended by leaders of almost all the SCO member countries.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and conveyed India's firm support to the war-ravaged country in "resolutely and effectively" combating the challenge of terrorism.

The Prime Minister strongly condemned the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan, and expressed India's sincere condolences on loss of hundreds of innocent lives.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

The two leaders discussed the current situation in Afghanistan with specific reference to fighting terrorism, and promoting peace, stability and reconciliation in the country.

"PM Modi highly appreciated the sacrifices made by the brave Afghan people and assured President Ghani that 1.25 billion Indians stood by the friendly people of Afghanistan in resolutely and effectively addressing the challenge of terrorism imposed on that country," sources said.

Both leaders agreed that India's entry into the SCO as a full member today would promote closer cooperation within the bloc, including in fighting terrorism, they said.

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BJP president Amit Shah today said the NDA government has proved that it can simultaneously develop villages and industry, and not even the opposition can accuse it of corruption after three years.

He was speaking at the inauguration of 'Modi Fest', an exhibition showcasing achievements of three years of Narendra Modi-led government, at Gauss Memorial grounds here.

"Earlier, it would be asked whether the government of the day was pro-farmers or pro-industry. But the Modi government has proved that it can develop farmers as well as the industry," Shah said.

"This government has completed three years, but neither the media nor the opposition can accuse it of corruption. This is a transparent and decisive government," Shah said.

The NDA government is aiming to bring not just economic reforms but an economic transformation, he said.

"This government has ensured construction of toilets, availability of gas cylinders in the houses of poor. The poor now have bank accounts," he said.

"Modi has presented a development model based on inclusive growth which aims at taking development to everyone in the society. India has become the fastest growing economy in the world under the Modi-led BJP government," he said.

"Through Yoga day, this government increased the prestige of the country and its traditions," he said.

A befitting reply was given to Pakistan through the surgical strikes, he added.

In UPA government, "every minister considered himself to be the prime minister", the BJP chief said.

"People then waited for long to hear the prime minister (Manmohan Singh). He had to wait for a call from 10 Janpath (Congress president's residence) before saying anything," Shah said, in a jibe at the Congress-led regime.

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More than 900 migrants have been rescued off the coast of Libya during the past 48 hours while trying to reach Italy, the Italian coastguard said today.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that it saved 716 of the migrants, and had found one body.

"Around 800 people were rescued today (Friday) during eight separate operations" in the Mediterranean, said a spokesman for the coastguard, which is coordinating the operations.

The migrants were on eight boats, including two inflatables, he said. Some 130 others were rescued yesterday.

MSF tweeted that it had "completed the 5th rescue (operation) and now have 716 people onboard. Unfortunately, for one person we arrived too late."



The UN refugee agency has said around 61,250 migrants have reached Italy since the start of the year after crossing the Mediterranean, while 1,778 more are dead or missing.

Conflict-ravaged Libya has long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

It has urged Europe, and particularly Italy, to supply it with the equipment it needs to monitor its southern borders, through which migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, enter the country.

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A special court has dismissed an anticipatory bail plea of a businessman, who allegedly helped a 40-year-old woman to honeytrap and blackmail BJP MP from Gujarat K C Patel.

Special Judge Hemani Malhotra rejected the application of Ajay Kumar alias Ajay Pal Chauhan, against whom the court has already issued a non-bailable warrant (NWB), saying it appeared that he was an "active participant in a well thought out and a pre-planned conspiracy with the accused woman in their quest to earn money through illegal means".

The court noted that despite being asked to join the investigation, Kumar has not joined the probe and he is evading execution of NBW.

"I do not deem it fit to grant anticipatory bail. The present anticipatory bail application is accordingly rejected," the judge said.

According to the prosecution, the woman had allegedly filmed obscene videos of Valsad MP Patel after drugging him and had threatened to make them public if she was not paid Rs seven crore.

Kumar allegedly had helped the woman in execution of the offence.

The court had issued an NBW against Kumar on June 2 after the police informed it that he was untracable.

Kumar's counsel sought anticipatory bail, saying that he was neither named in the FIR nor there were any allegations against him in it.

He said Kumar, who was running a business in Noida, was ready to join the probe as and when directed.

Public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava, however, opposed the plea, saying Kumar was hand-in-glove with the prime accused, the woman, and he was instrumental in getting hidden video cameras fixed in her bedroom to ensnare prominent politicians.

He argued that despite service of notice and its affixation at his house, Kumar has failed to join investigation and the NBW has remained unexecuted due to his absence.

The court noted that as per the woman's statement, it was Kumar who had arranged the flat in which the alleged sex video was made and previously also, such videos were made involving two politicians and substantial amount of money was extorted.

The woman, along with Kumar and one Mitrapal, had gone to the flat of Patel to extort money threatening that they would expose him by making the sex video involving him go viral on social media, it noted.

The court had earlier dismissed the bail plea of the woman, also a lawyer, noting that she had earlier also lodged three FIRs against other persons for alleged offences of rape, molestation and criminal intimidation and that she had later either turned hostile or had resiled in her statement recorded before a magistrate.

The woman was arrested on May 2 by Delhi Police from her Ghaziabad house.

Patel had filed a police complaint alleging that he was drugged by the woman at her Ghaziabad house and obscene videos and photographs were taken by her.

The woman had also approached a Delhi court, claiming the police did not act on her rape complaint against the lawmaker. Her plea was dismissed.

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North Korea's latest missile launch was a successful test of a new type of ground-to-sea cruise rocket, Pyongyang's state media said today.

Yesterday's launch was "a test-fire of new-type ground- to-sea cruise rocket", the official KCNA agency reported, adding that the missile "accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea".

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Kashmir hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law, Altaf Ahmed Shah, was on Friday questioned by the Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir.

Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, arrived at the NIA headquarters here this morning and was questioned by a team of officials about the alleged funding of the Geelani-led Tehrek-e-Hurriyat, offical sources said.

His Srinagar house was raided by NIA sleuths, who also searched the premises of others, such as Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali.

The NIA had collected "some material" from Shah's residence which was scrutinised by the sleuths before he was called for questioning here, the sources said, adding his examination would carry on for a few days before his statement was recorded.

Apart from being the son-in-law of Geelani, Shah is percieved to be influential in the policies of the Tehrek-e- Hurriyat.

The NIA had conducted raids last Saturday and Sunday on the residences of separatists and businessmen in the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, Delhi and Haryana's Sonepat and Gurgaon. Among those raided were separatists Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate'.

Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.

The raids were part of NIA's efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley.

The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups including LeT and HM.

The NIA investigation also seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who threw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments.

Bank accounts and lockers revealed during the probe had been frozen.

Besides electronic gadgets, phone diaries and documents such as rough receipts and vouchers had been seized from alleged hawala operators, financiers and office bearers of separatist groups.

During the searches, a few thousand Pakistani rupees and currencies belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia as well LeT and HM letterheads were seized by the NIA.

The NIA has alleged that since cross-LoC trade, at Uri in Kashmir and Chakan-da-bad in Jammu, was based on a barter system, some businessmen "under- or over-invoiced" their bills, and the difference in payment was later used for promoting subversive activities in the valley.

This is for the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding separatists.

In 2002, the Income Tax department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents.

However, no criminal case was registered then.

The NIA has also roped in the government's cyber security arm to analyse electronic evidence collected during its raids.

Twenty-two laptops and computers, 100 mobiles and nearly 200 pen drives and memory sticks had been sent to the Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-IN) for creating backup files. The CERT-IN will also provide other technical details related to the data, the sources said.

The CERT-IN has also been asked to look for deleted material in the electronic gadgets, they said.

The NIA raids were carried out following the questioning of three separatist leaders -- Nayeem Khan, who was seen on TV during a sting operation purportedly confessing to receiving money from Pakistan-based terror groups, 'Bitta Karate' and Gazi Javed Baba of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, in the capital last month.
Chairman of Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-K) S S Khaplang died tonight at Takka in Kachin state of Myanmar at the age of 77.

Official sources said that the leader of the Naga insurgent group who had been ailing for quite sometime, died following a cardiac arrest.

Khaplang was a Hemi Naga from Myanmar and was based mostly in that country where the outfit maintains several camps.

Since 1980s, the outfit has engaged in subversive activities, including attacks on security forces, extortion and looting.

Born in April 1940 in Waktham village, east of Myanmar's Pangsau Pass, Khaplang joined the Naga nationalist movement as early as 1964 and was one of the key people in the formation of the NSCN.

However, Khaplang split and formed his own group NSCN(K) in 1988.

He formed the group following differences with the NSCN (IM) leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah. Swu died in June 2016 in a Delhi hospital.

Khaplang also entered into a ceasefire with the central government in 1997 but abrogated it on March 28, 2015.

Meanwhile, Naga Peoples' Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) Secretary General Neingulo Krome said the of Khaplang's sudden demise has come as a "rude shock".

This was so especially at a time when the Naga people are extremely in need of elderly and experienced wisdom of their national movement leaders, to set right the course of the Naga destiny, which is being misinterpreted and re-interpreted in the present day scenario of internal conflicts, he said.

"We will always treasure and cherish his commitment to do what the upcoming Naga generation wants as the Naga national movement is for the well being of future Naga generation who should live in dignity and peace," he said in his condolence message.

There was no immediate reaction from the rebel group or key tribal bodies including Naga Hoho and Naga Mothers' Association.

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Fossils of a completely preserved crocodile and bones belonging to at least six different dinosaurs, dating back 145 to 66 million years, have been unearthed in northeast China.

Paleontologists from Chinese Academy of Sciences began the excavation in late May, following the discovery of dinosaur fossils last year at Longshan Mountain in the city of Yanji in Jilin Province.

A 1.5-meter-long crocodile fossil was found on June 1, researchers said.

The fossil was well preserved from head to tail, with clear skin, which is quite rare among Cretaceous strata findings in China, they said.

"Crocodiles and dinosaurs lived together, which means there are probably more fossils buried underneath," said Jin Changzhu, a research fellow at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology.

Archaeologists also found a large amount of teeth, arm, pelvis and rib bones belonging to at least six different dinosaurs, most of which were in good condition, Xinhua reported.

Yanji has been identified as the easternmost site of Cretaceous dinosaur fossils in China, said Sun Ge, curator of Paleontological Museum of Liaoning.

Cretaceous turtle fossils and petrified wood were also unearthed.

The recent findings have enriched the understanding and research of its fossil resources, Ge added.

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Pakistan parliament today passed two unanimous resolutions condemning terror attacks in Iran and expressing concern at the diplomatic rift in the Gulf region.

The first resolution moved by Minister for Law and Justice Zahid Hamid expressed solidarity with the Iranian people.

The National Assembly in the resolution strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on Iran's parliamentary complex and the shrine of revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini which killed 17 people and wounded dozens.

The resolution reiterated the resolve to "jointly combat the menace of terrorism with our neighbours in the region," 'Radio Pakistan' reported.

Speaking at the floor of the House, the members said the whole nation stood with Iranians in this hour of grief.

They said that terrorism was a common threat and collective efforts were needed for its eradication.

The House also adopted another unanimous resolution expressing deep concerns over the recent diplomatic crises in the Gulf region.

The resolution moved by Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao called upon all the countries to show restraint and resolve all their differences through dialogue.

It also called upon the government to take concrete steps towards forging unity among the Muslim countries in the region.

Speaking on the issue of diplomatic crisis, the members said the Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar and all other countries were equally important for Pakistan.

They said that Pakistan should play a neutral role to mediate for the amicable resolution of the differences among the Gulf countries.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt announced that they were cutting diplomatic relations with Qatar, along with closure of travel links.

The Gulf nations accused Qatar of supporting "terrorism".

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Pakistan has alleged that India has prevented some Sikh pilgrims from travelling to the country for the annual 'Jor Mela' as only 14 devotees have arrived so far.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had issued visas to 80 Sikh pilgrims but 66 of them couldn't reach Lahore as "India stopped them at Attari Railway Station citing a technical reason," Pakistani authorities said.

"The Samjhauta Express train left for Attari on Thursday to bring 80 Sikhs for Jor Mela but when it reached there its staff was told by Indian authorities that the Sikh pilgrims couldn't board it as their visa only allow them to go to Pakistan on a special train," said Amir Hashmi, spokesman Evacuee Trust Property Board, which looks after the minority holy places in Pakistan.

Hashmi told PTI that the Pakistan Railways was willing to send a special train to India to ferry the pilgrims but the Indian authorities didn't allow.

"Fourteen of the total 80 pilgrims had a visa allowing them to enter Pakistan by road. They crossed Wagah Border by foot where the ETPB officials received them," Hashmi said.

'Jor Mela' is observed to mark the death anniversary of fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. The 10-day festival, which is also called Shaheedi Jor Mela, will be held at Panja Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore.

The 14 pilgrims were taken to Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal.

The Sikh pilgrims will return to India through the Wagah border on June 17, according to a report in Radio Pakistan.
Food and beverage major, on Friday launched India made Doritos-nacho chip brand from its modern manufacturing line in West Bengal.

"We are currently producing Doritos from a new line set up in Kolkata plant. We have made significant investment in the country's largest nacho chip line," VP supply chain and operations, Niteen Pradhan said here today at the launch but declined to divulge exact investment in the new production line.

PepsiCo introduced multi-billion brand  Doritos in India through imports with few cities to test the growing segment of the snack market.

"Nachos is the fastest growing category in the Indian salty snacks segment and market size is pegged at Rs 200 crore and Doritos is well poised to address this robust demand," VP- snacks category, Jagrut Kotecha said.

In the next few days, this nacho chips will be made available in top 40 cities of the country before spreading further in future.

The company declined to divulge whether, with Doritos, the company was focusing toward premium snacks for better margins.

Asked why the company preferred Kolkata plant for Doritos manufacturing, Pradhan said, Kolkata plant is the largest plant out 19 snacks facilities with the highly capable manpower that can handle specialised snacks and geographical presence.

Doritos is made from corn sourced from Bihar but not through collaborative farming as of now. Present in over 55 countries globally, it will be the third master brand in snacks portfolio introduced after Lay's and Kurkure.

PepsiCo is engaged in collaborative farming involving 24,000 farmers and of which 12,000 is from Bengal.

The F&B major outsources potato from Bengal in a big way and uses some 80 per cent of it's requirement of Kolkata plant from local sourcing.

On GST, the Pepsico officials said it is not going to hurt company at least in snacks category and the company was poised for new taxation regime and business remains as usual in the transition period.
Owning a dog may help older adults to meet World Health Organisation's recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day, according to a new study.

Health professionals could encourage dog ownership or shared care of a dog to motivate older adults to be more physically active, researchers said.

"We found that dog owners aged 65 and over spent on average an additional 22 minutes walking, taking an extra 2,760 steps per day when compared to people who did not own a dog," said Philippa Dall, senior research fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University in the UK.

"Over the course of a week this additional time spent walking may in itself be sufficient to meet WHO recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity," said Dall, lead author of the study published in the journal BMC Public Health.

The researchers also found that dog owners had fewer sedentary events - that is continuous periods of sitting down - than non-dog owners, although the total time spent sitting down did not differ between the two groups.

"Our results indicate that dog ownership may play an important role in encouraging older adults to walk more," said Nancy Gee from WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition, UK.

"Our research will provide insights into how pet ownership may help older people achieve higher levels of physical activity or maintain their physical activity levels for a longer period of time, which could improve their prospects for a better quality of life, improved or maintained cognition, and perhaps, even overall longevity," said Gee, co-author of the study.

The study used data on patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in 43 dog owners and 43 controls from three regions in the UK.

Study participants were aged 65 years and over and wore an activity monitor continuously during three, one-week data collection periods between April 2013 and November 2014.

The researchers monitored the time spent walking moderately, time spent standing, total time spent sitting, as well as the number of times people sat down and how long they sat down for.

Dog owners and controls were matched on a range of variables such as gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status.

"Most of the research in this area has relied upon self- report measures of physical activity," Dall said.

"The use of objectives measures of physical activity and sedentary behaviour, collected by using activity monitors, provides opportunities to gain greater insight by providing objective data on both the intensity and patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

"This allows closer scrutiny of the potential relationship between changes in physical activity due to dog ownership and health," said Dall.

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US-based consumer products maker Polaroid today forayed into LED TVs and monitors segment in the Indian market.

The company has tied-up with Indian manufacturing company Powerful Technologies Pvt Ltd, an authorised Polaroid licensee, to assemble and manufacture LED TVs and monitors in their Noida factory, Polaroid said in a statement.

Initially six models have been launched -- three Polaroid LED TV models and three monitor models. The products are currently available on e-commerce platform Amazon.

It will be available on other online retailers, besides distribution and retail channels.

The LED TVs are priced at between Rs 7,999 and Rs 13,999, while the LED monitors are priced at Rs 3,499-Rs 4,599.

"India is one of the fastest growing markets worldwide, and we are confident that local partnerships are the right way to tap into this growing market and further introduce the Polaroid brand to India," Polaroid President and CEO Scott W Hardy said.

Powerful Technologies is the Polaroid licensee for LED TVs and monitors in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Powerful Technologies Managing Director Aditya Gupta said: "With our strong online and offline sales channels and excellent after sales service we are confident Polaroid will be a huge success in India".

Polaroid is currently present in India in the segments such a cameras, sunglasses, mobile printer and headphones.

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Police today arrested four persons allegedly involved in the May 24 loot of Utkala Grameen bank in Odisha's Ganjam district.

With this, the number of persons arrested in connection with the bank heist increased to six. On May 27 police had arrested two persons.

Around 1.5-kilo gold ornaments were looted from the bank and two motor bikes were recovered from duo, police said.

Four bank staffs, including the manager and at least 10 customers were in the branch at the time of the incident.

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Punjab Vigilance Bureau today registered a case against Surinderpal Singh, former senior engineer of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), for allegedly amassing huge wealth illegally.

The VB claimed the officer amassed wealth by illegally favouring some construction companies during his tenure as officiating Chief Engineer, GMADA, besides transacting in the accounts of his family and their "bogus" firms to adjust the "black money".

The Vigilance teams have also conducted simultaneous raids at nine places related with the investigations in Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Mohali, Chief Director Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, B K Uppal said.

He said the agency has also booked Gurmej Singh and Mohit Kumar of M/s Ek Onkar Builders and Contractors Pvt. Ltd, Gurinderpal Singh Tinku of M/s Rajinder and Company Pvt Ltd, Amit Garg of Oasis Technologies pvt Ltd. And promoters- directors of other firms/companies associated with Surinderpal Singh, Superintendent Engineer.

Uppal claimed that "it was a multi-crore scandal in development projects as the accused engineer was indirectly running four firms in the name of his wife and mother to adjust the ill-gotten money and had indirect stakes in a construction firm Ek Onkar Builders".

"He had unduly favoured contractors after alteration in terms of tenders and collected commission from them through his conduit," Uppal said.

Giving details, Uppal Said that a thorough probe was done on the basis of vigilance enquiry against Surinderpal Singh and others and a case relevation provisions of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act was registered at police station VB Flying Squad-1, Mohali, against the accused.

He informed that Surinderpal Singh joined as Junior Engineer in Punjab Mandi Board in 1993 and was presently working as Superintendent Engineer in the Board.

"He was officiating as Chief Engineer in GMADA, Mohali, since 2016 and was recently repatriated to the Mandi Board. Earlier, he remained posted as Executive Engineer Punjab Mandi Board, Mandi Board Ludhiana, Executive Engineer Mandi Board Mohali-2 and Executive Engineer Mandi Board Jalandhar.

"Besides, he was holding eight charges simultaneously at Mandi Board Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, GMADA, Exen C-1, GMADA, Exen C-2 and GMADA," Uppal said.

He informed that in alleged connivances with higher authorities and officers, he was having an influence over other junior officers and contractors and committed multi- crore scandal in development projects.

"During investigations, it has come to light he gave extra leverage to a favorite construction firm and had allotted contracts to M/s Ek Onkar Builders and Contractors Pvt. Ltd despite its annual tender limit of Rs 5 crore only.

"He even flouted Standard Bid Document (SBD) without any approval from higher authorities which was implemented by the state government to keep transparency in bidding process and enhanced capacity of Ek Onkar Builders to allot big tenders to this firm," he said.

Uppal further informed that the accused Surinderpal Singh had also sub-letted the construction work of 200 feet road joining junction 73/74 to NH 21 at Chandigarh-Kharar road amounting to Rs 645 crore by flouting all rules.

"He adopted arm-twisting methods and threatened the allottee contractor - SECL Industries Pvt Ltd, to sub-let part of this work to the tune of Rs. 535 crore to Ek Onkar Builders," Uppal said.

He also said that during his tenure more than 200 development works amounting to Rs 1030 crore were allotted to various contractors out of which works having costs of Rs 230 crore were allotted to Ek Onkar firm.

Uppal said that Surinderpal Singh had incorporated three firms in the name of his mother and wife namely - Award Agro Traders Pvt. Ltd, Asees Agro Seeds Pvt. Ltd and Easter Agro Traders Pvt Ltd.

"It was found that Easter Agro and Award Agro were incorporated and registered in a single day on 09-02-2009 whereas Asees Agro was incorporated on 04-03-2005..," he said.

He further said during investigations, it has come to light that Rs 40 crore have been deposited in the accounts of these bogus companies from 2012 to 2016 without having any business transactions.

"In addition to this, inter-transfer of money was also being carried out by these firms and have purchased land worth crores in the name of these companies," he said.

Surinderpal transferred the ill-gotten money in the accounts of his family members and diverted to their firms which was his own creations to adjust the black money, he said.

"Further investigations were under progress," he said.

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Multiplex operator PVR Cinemas is ramping up presence of 4DX screen-equipped theatres with the opening of two such halls in Mumbai and Benguluru.

The company is looking to increase expansion of the new 4DX technology screens, which give viewers a real feeling of rain, snow, wind, lightning and motion as part of movies. It already has one 4DX screen in the national capital.

PVR Cinemas had last year signed an agreement with South Korean cinema company CJ 4DPLEX -- the owner of the technology -- to add 10 4DX screens to its network.

"The response to the 4DX screen in Delhi has been phenomenal and we get 70-72 per cent occupancy," PVR Ltd CEO Gautam Dutta told PTI.

He is optimistic that the new technology will add more footfalls to its multiplexes.

"With these screens, there will be more people coming often to watch a movie. It is a differentiated technology and a leader brand has to do that to create a brand position in the market," Dutta added.

The multiplex chain plans to deploy the remaining screen in cities including Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Gurgaon and Delhi.

"There is a capex of Rs 5 crore we have to spend to deploy this technology in each of the auditorium," he said when asked about investments to deploy the 4DX screens.

PVR currently operates a cinema chain comprising 579 screens at 126 properties in 50 cities (18 states and 1 Union Territory).

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Qatar says its foreign minister has spoken to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The energy rich country's Foreign Ministry made the announcement today.

It said Tillerson and Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani "discussed bilateral relations and means of enhancing them as well as the situation and the latest developments" in a crisis between it and Arab countries.

US President Donald Trump's administration has suggested Tillerson, who as Exxon Mobil's CEO had business with Qatar, as a possible mediator for the dispute.

That comes after Trump, who tweeted Tuesday about Qatar funding extremists, called Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Wednesday and offered to host leaders at the White House to resolve the crisis.

Sheikh Mohammed told The Associated Press yesterday that Sheikh Tamim "is not going to leave the country while the country is in blockade," in effect turning down the mediation offer.

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Scotland Yard today made a new arrest as part of its investigation into the London Bridge attack carried out by three men including a Pakistani-origin terrorist last week.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, supported by the Territorial Support Group, arrested a 29-year-old man at a residential address in Newham, east London, the Met Police said in a statement.

"He was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He has been taken into custody at a south London police station and is detained under the Terrorism Act. Searches of the residential address in Newham are ongoing," the statement said.

Four other men remain in custody in connection with the attack on June 3 when three men - Pakistan-born Khurram Shazad Butt, Moroccan-origin Rachid Redouane and Moroccon-Italian Yousef Zaghba - rammed a high-speed van into pedestrians at London Bridge before proceeding on foot on a knife rampage in nearby Borough market.

They killed eight people in the attack before armed marksmen shot them dead at the scene.

The attack had brought London to a standstill just days before the general election and led to heightened security at polling booths up and down the UK yesterday as the UK's terror threat level remains at "severe", which means an attack is highly likely.

Twelve other men arrested in the early stages of the investigation have all been released without charge.

One man has been bailed to appear in court at a date in late June. He is a 33-year-old man arrested on a street in Ilford, east London, yesterday on suspicion of possession with intent to supply controlled drugs, and further arrested on suspicion of firearms offences.

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Siemens Industry Software India Pvt. Ltd., today said it has signed an MoU with the Karnataka Government Tool Room and Training Center andDesignTech Systems Limited to establish four Centers ofExcellence across the state.

According to the state government, the total cost of the project is Rs 2031.80 crore, out of which Siemens IndustrySoftware, India contributes Rs 1822.48 crore and Government ofKarnataka's share is Rs 219.32 crore.

The partnership paves the way for a world-class integrated skill development infrastructure and benchmarked technical education curriculum with core focus on Industry4.0 Automation, Mechatronics and Internet of Things (IOT) infrastructure, the company said in a release.

The four COEs will address diverse industry segments like Automotive, Industrial machinery, Industrial automation, Renewable Energy and Aerospace and Defence, it said.

DesignTech Systems Limited is the execution partnerfor the four Centers of Excellence and will run the centersfor the first two years and continue to provide support forthe third year.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the MoUsigning event said four Centres of Excellence have beenplanned to be set up at the sub-centres of the Government Tool Room and Training Centre Bengaluru, Kalaburagi, Dandeli andMysuru in association with Siemens.

"This will result in providing advanced world class skill training to 25,000 to 30,000 youths in the State annually and contributes in providing skilled manpower to industries and thus paving the way for overall industrial development of the State," he said according to a state government release.

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A special court today refused to grant bail to an alleged middleman, arrested in the Election Commission bribery case involving AIADMK (Amma) faction leader T T V Dhinakaran, saying probe showed he was the key accused.

Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry dismissed the bail plea of Sukesh Chandrashekar, who was arrested on April 16 and had sought the relief for the second time on the ground of parity with Dhinakaran.

The court said his counsel's contention that he was liable to be released on bail on the ground of parity with Dhinakaran was "without merits as Chandrashekar was the main executor of the conspiracy to bribe the officials of the Election Commission of India".

The court said Chandrashekar had "collected Rs two crore sent through hawala channel out of which Rs 1.3 crore was recovered from him at the time of the raid. As per allegations in the FIR, co-accused Dhinakaran was a conspirator."



While rejecting his second bail application, the court there was no change in the factual situation and a subsequent application lies only on further development and events.

"The counsel' contention that court cannot distinguish between co-conspirators is a matter to be considered at the time of trial and not at this stage," it said.

Advocates Vijay Aggarwal and Anand Pandey, appearing for Chandrashekar, had claimed that he was falsely implicated and made a scapegoat and the police is yet to identify the public servant, who was said to be lured by the accused.

Public prosecutor Balbir Singh had claimed the police has recovered a CD containing the alleged telephonic conversations between Chandrashekar and Dhinakaran. He said Chandrashekar promised Dhinakaran that he will not only arrange the symbol for his faction but also fix the poll date as per certain auspicious astrological time at the behest of the leader.

Dhinakaran, his close aide Mallikarjuna, suspected hawala operators Nathu Singh and Lalit Kumar have been granted bail.

Dhinakaran was arrested here on the night of April 25 after four days of questioning for allegedly attempting to bribe Election Commission (EC) officials for the symbol.

His faction had hoped to obtain the symbol for the bypoll to the R K Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu, which was later cancelled by the EC after the alleged irregularities were reported.

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who represented the constituency.

The EC had frozen the AIADMK's symbol after the two factions of the party -- one led by Dhinakaran's aunt Sasikala and the other by former chief minister O Panneerselvam -- staked a claim to it.

Mallikarjuna was arrested for allegedly facilitating a Rs 50-crore deal between Dhinakaran and Chandrashekar.

Dhinakaran has been accused of arranging the money from undisclosed sources and getting it transferred from Chennai to Delhi through illegal channels.

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Three new cases of polio have been recorded in Syria in the first outbreak of the virus in the country since 2014, the World Health Organization and a partner initiative said.

The new cases were registered in the oil-rich province Deir Ezzor, the majority of which is controlled by the Islamic State group and where a siege of the capital has restricted access to basic goods for some of the population.

An outbreak hit the province in 2013-2014, when 36 cases were reported, according to the Polio Global Irradication Initiative.

WHO spokeswoman Sona Bari told AFP yesterday that the new cases are from a different strain of the virus.

The current form of the virus mutated from strains in the oral polio vaccine, the initiative said, as opposed to the "wild" polio which caused the last outbreak and led to the vaccination of millions of children in the Middle East.

"Circulating (vaccine-derived polioviruses) are extremely rare forms of poliovirus...That can emerge in under-immunised populations," it said in a statement.

"Although access to Deir-Ez-Zor is compromised due to insecurity, the Governorate has been partially reached by several vaccination campaigns against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases since the beginning of 2016," the initiative said.

"Outbreak response plans are being finalized," it added.

Meanwhile medical journal The Lancet reported that health care workers, clinics and hospitals were attacked more than 400 times last year in Syria's civil war.

A total of 402 such attacks - many of them fatal - were registered between November 2015 and December 2016, it said.

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Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan has received a letter threatening her with dire consequences and a probe was on, police said today.

The letter addressed to her was sent by post and received by the party office "Kamalalayam," on June 6.

It was, however, opened only today.

"A sheet of paper inside the envelope was laced with a type of explosive chemical, usually found in firecrackers and a probe is on," a senior police officer told PTI.

The letter had used abusive language against the BJP leader and a similar letter was received three days ago at her Virugambakkam residence, another officer said.

Though no explicit words were used about carrying out a "bomb threat" to the BJP office or the state unit chief, a wick was attached to the explosive laced paper and it is perceived to "symbolise a bomb threat," the officer said.

Tamilisai said the letter had used "filthy, foul language," which no one could read.

"The letter received at party office appears to be a copy of a letter I got at my residence. It threatens me with dire consequences," she told PTI, adding the letter received at her residence was immediately handed over to Virugambakkam police station.

Recently, police had stepped up security to Tamilisai after she complained of having received a threat call over phone.

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Tata Motors today reported over 1 per cent decline in global sales in May at 86,385 units, including that of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles.

The company had sold 87,414 units in May 2016, Tata Motors said in a statement.

In the passenger vehicles category, global sales stood at 58,075 units last month as against 55,039 units during the same period in 2016, up 6 per cent.

Sales of luxury brand Jaguar Land Rover grew 2 per cent to 47,131 units in May compared to 46,204 units in the same month of 2016.

However, sales of commercial vehicles declined by 13 per cent to 28,310 units as against 32,375 units in the year-ago month.

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The Haryana government will soon sign a memorandum of understanding with the Telangana government to strengthen cultural ties between the states under the 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' programme.

Addressing a MODI (Making of Developed India) fest Programme organised here, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said Telangana was the partner of his state in the Surajkund Mela held in February this year.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had started 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat (One India, Great India) scheme wherein one state each year can choose and partner with other state to promote their culture and language.

"Haryana and Telangana have become partner states this year under 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat'. An MoU in this regard is pending. I will meet the Telangana Chief Minister very soon...We will sign an MoU whether it is here in Hyderabad, Chandigarh or Delhi. There will be tours of people of Haryana to Telangana and vice versa enabling the people understand each other," Khattar said.

There are several good things both Telangana and Haryana have and that will attract people of both the states to understand and learn and promote cultural exchange, he said.

Khattar further said a lot of people from Telangana also work in Haryana and "we are also thinking of starting Telugu course in any institute be it University or College in Haryana.

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The lead judge looking into corruption during Brazil's 2014 presidential election voted today to strip President Michel Temer of his mandate, but the overall result remained unclear, with six judges yet to weigh in.

Despite Justice Herman Benjamin's vote against Temer, Brazilian analysts expected a narrow acquittal for the scandal-plagued president.

Benjamin, the coordinator of the case at the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), laid out a damning portrait of systemic undeclared donations and bribes that he said had fatally undermined the election result in Latin America's biggest country.

"This is enough to invalidate the mandate," he said.

The other six judges on the panel were to vote later today after making briefer presentations.

A guilty verdict could mean removing Temer from office and Congress having to pick a new interim president to serve the rest of his term to the end of 2018.

However, Brazilian analysts and media unanimously predicted that a 4-3 majority on the panel will vote to allow the 2014 election to stand, sparing Brazil the trauma of its second emergency change of leadership in just over a year.

Temer was only vice president when re-elected on the ticket of then president Dilma Rousseff in 2014. However, after the leftist leader was impeached by Congress in 2016 for breaking accounting rules, her conservative coalition partner Temer rose to the top.

The TSE has been in final deliberations since Tuesday and even if Temer is acquitted, the trial -- aired live on nationwide television -- has further hurt the already embattled president.

In addition to the election controversy, Temer faces a separate probe into alleged obstruction of justice -- yet another case related to the vast embezzlement and bribery scheme uncovered throughout Brazilian politics by the so- called "Car Wash" operation.

Temer's legal problems, on top of corruption probes opened against a third of his cabinet and many of his congressional allies, come just as Brazil is struggling to exit its worst recession in history.

Temer was taking comfort from the apparent direction the court is taking.

"He is very serene, calm, confident that he has the best legal arguments and will be victorious," a presidential palace source told AFP, asking not to be named.

But whatever the court's verdict, Temer faces an equally serious threat from the probe into alleged obstruction of justice and corruption.

Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot accuses Temer of having agreed to pay hush money to former lower house of Congress speaker Eduardo Cunha, who is in prison for corruption.

Temer says the central piece of evidence -- a secretly made audio recording of a conversation he had with a meatpacking industry tycoon -- was doctored.

Analysts say that if the TSE absolves Temer, Janot could respond by accelerating his legal assault with the filing of formal charges.

That would dramatically ramp up pressure on the unpopular president and his allies in Congress.

The presidency official told AFP that Temer was winning the overall struggle, even if he appears to face one new hurdle after the next.

"Everyone is speculating on the future. Every time he gets past one problem everyone says, 'But the real problem is the next one,'" the source said.

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The textile industry has said it is worried over government's decision to impose 18 per cent GST on manmade fibre as the levy will dent the margins of firms manufacturing synthetic yarn and could lead to job losses.

The industry is also uneasy about the effect on jobs like weaving, knitting, cutting and packaging, which it fears could hurt the small units badly.

Manmade fibre fabric and yarn, along with dying and printing units and embroidery items will attract 18 per cent levy under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime slated for a rollout from July 1, leading to an increase in input costs.

"The 18 per cent service tax will impact a lot. This is a big worry as presently there is no tax on job work. It will mainly affect the small and medium scale exporters engaged in job work activities," Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council Chairman Ujwal Lahoti told PTI.

He said there is also a possibility of job losses in the industries manufacturing synthetic fibres.

Confederation of Indian Textiles Industry Chairman J Thulasidharan observed that the 18 per cent GST rate on manmade fibre and synthetic yarn would have inverted duty structure problem as the fabric would attract only 5 per cent GST rate.

He also pointed out that the high GST rate can also lead to an increase in input costs and adversely affect the entire textile value chain.

Echoing similar views, Southern India Mills Association Chairman M Senthilkumar said the GST rate would have inverted duty structure problem.

The industry fears that high tax rates will intensify the tough competition it faces from countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and China by leading to cheaper imports, increase the prices of textiles products and hit the business of domestic manufacturers.
Michelangelo without his nudes! That's the dilemma Russian curator Yasha Yavorskaya faced when she put together the multimedia exposition, 'The Drifting Canvas', and was told to be cautious while choosing artists for an Indian audience.

And that is why the ongoing exhibition at Select City Walk here does not have any works of Italian master Michelangelo, or indeed nudes by 11 other artists, including Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin and Henri Rousseau.

Art culture in India, says Yavorskaya, is much more conservative than what is usually acceptable for art connoisseurs in Europe. The irony of this being the land of Kamasutra was not lost on anybody.

"We have had heard about reports of protest against artists who showcase nudity in their art works. So we thought of self-censorship and excluded some iconic works. For India, we made content without nudity," Yavorskaya told PTI.

'The Drifting Canvas', that comes to Delhi after travelling to more than 12 countries, including China, Russia, Germany, Brazil and Poland, showcases a unique amalgamation of technology and art with the glorious works of classic masters coming alive in a movie.

A huge canopy welcomes art enthusiasts in the mall; 7,000 sq ft of panoramic screens project the essence of Western art. Featuring more than 1,000 animated paintings, the two hour show is an exposition of the best of the masters. The 24 larger than life HD screens and neo-classical music in the movie transports spectators into an interactive and emotional space.

Yavorskaya collected around 1,000 pictures which were composed into digital format while keeping in mind the exact compositions and colours of the originals. Later, they were converted into story boards. The purpose was to educate people about iconic artists who have left their mark in the history.

"These were original paintings which have been divided by our motion designer into layers and later they were put in a format to move with each other. It took us nearly one year to complete the project. We have collected their works from different museums.

"For me it is an initiative to realise the importance of old art and create a bridge that can educate and benefit new artists. Unfortunately, we do not know much about classic art," she says.

Although there is not much information about the art works in the movie, large-size manifestations talk vividly about the lives of painters like Van Gogh and Monet.

Discussing what brought her to India, Yavorskaya says she wanted to bring art out of galleries.

"Art in its present form is restricted to galleries in India. Masses don't really go there. This exhibition helps bring art out of the galleries. The new and different format creates interest about art in youngsters and educates them about classical art as well."



"Four years ago, when we decided to make this multimedia content, we tried to compose new technologies while combining it with classic art. We are trying to re-imagine the 19th and 20th century through this exposition.

"For me, the very first idea in the present scenario is that of the revolution of art and impressionists have played an important role in representing that," says Yavorskaya.

A joint initiative of Bengaluru-based art platform Esperienza and Russian art cluster ArtPlay, the exhibition has also been showcasing works by marquee Indian artists such as Anupam Sud, Paramjeet Singh, Arpana Caur, Biman B Das, Kanchan Chander, Kalicharan Gupta, Ananda Moy Banerjee and Ram V Sutar.

"It is my first time here in India and I have been motivated to research about Indian art and do an exhibition back in Moscow. It will be an interesting experience for me as a curator. Indian art comes with a lot of cultural ideas which are different to European people," says Yavorskaya.

'The Drifting Canvas' will continue till June 15.

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IT major Wipro Ltd has listed US President Donald Trump's policies as a risk factor that could impact its business, citing promotion of "greater restrictions on free trade" among key worrying points.

The Bengaluru-based firm which earned 52 per cent of its IT services revenue from the Americas, including the US, said significant developments stemming from the US presidential election could have a material adverse effect on its business.

As a candidate, Trump and his administration had expressed support for policies impacting existing trade agreements, like North America Free trade agreement (NAFTA), and proposed trade agreements, Wipro said in an SEC filing.

In its annual report for the fiscal ended March 31, 2017 filed with the market regulator, Wipro further said Trump administration has been "promoting greater restrictions on free trade generally and significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into the United States".

It added: "Changes in US social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories and countries where we currently operate could adversely affect our business."



The company had reported net sales of Rs 55,420.9 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2017.

After assuming office last year, Trump has taken several steps, including H1B visa restrictions, that raised concerns in the Indian IT sector.

This April he signed an executive order that called for a review of the H-1B visa programme, saying they should never be used to replace American workers and must be given only to the most skilled and highest paid applicants.

The US had also accused top Indian IT firms TCS and Infosys of 'unfairly' cornering the lion's share of the H-1B work visas by putting extra tickets in the lottery system.

Wipro had said in April that it expected locals to constitute more than half of its workforce in the US by June as it continues to make "significant" investments in the American market amid tightening of visa norms.

The company further said in the SEC filing that if the economy in the Americas or Europe continued to be volatile or uncertain or conditions in the global financial market deteriorate, pricing for its services may become less attractive.

Clients located in these geographies may reduce or postpone their technology spending significantly, it added.

The other factors, which the company said are "not within our control that could cause significant variations in our results in any particular quarter", include "political uncertainties or changes in regulations in India, the United States and other countries that we operate in".

Besides, it also said the duration of tax holidays or exemptions and availability of other Indian government incentives would be a factor.

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US President Donald Trump will visit NATO ally Poland before he heads to Germany for the Group of 20 summit in July, the White House has announced.

"The visit will reaffirm America's steadfast commitment to one of our closest European allies and emphasize the administration's priority of strengthening NATO's collective defense," the White House said in a statement yesterday.

Trump will deliver a major speech during the visit, and attend the Three Seas Initiative summit as a symbol of Washington's "strong ties to Central Europe," it said.

The Group of 20 summit takes place in Hamburg on July 7- 8.

The office of Polish President Andrzej Duda confirmed the visit, and said it would take place on July 6.

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Two persons, including a farmer, were shot dead today by unidentified persons at Gobrahi diara in Bihar's Katihar district, a police officer said.

Farmer Mithilesh alias Mithu Mandal (45) and Pappu Mahto (23) were shot by unidentified persons while they were sleeping in a make-shift hut on an embankment, Kursela police station in-charge Vinod Kumar Singh said.

The two were found dead by local people, he said, adding the bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

Police suspect that the twin murder was a fall out of personal enmity and land dispute between Mandal and others in the riverine area.

A probe was on in the matter, the police officer added.

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The result of UK election, which threw up a hung Parliament with the ruling Conservative party failing to muster a simple majority, will add to geopolitical uncertainty and increase risks for global businesses including India Inc, industry body Assocham said today.

"Prime Minister Theresa May losing majority for her Conservative party in British Parliament, just days ahead of the scheduled negotiations on the Brexit with the European Union would mean more uncertainties for a host of sectors like financial services, visa policies, trade and services like IT.

"Besides, there would be volatility in the foreign exchange markets in the short term, at least," said Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat.

He said if one adds the outcome of the UK election to what is happening in the US and the impact being felt on the Indian businesses, mainly IT and geo-political, uncertainties are on the higher side.

May, who is now facing mounting pressure to resign, had called the polls three years ahead of schedule hoping to boost her negotiating powers during the complex Brexit talks.

The Brexit talks were set to begin on June 19, but the election result - a sort of turnaround in fortunes for both major political parties - have thrown that timetable into doubt.

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The decision by the US to pull out of the Paris accord was "negative" but it would "not impact" European Union's commitment to fulfil the climate deal, EU's top envoy said here today, while praising India's commitment to the agreement.

"Climate change is a global challenge. We in good faith, the EU, the US under the previous (Barack Obama) administration, China, India and several other countries, subscribed to the Paris agreement.

"The way of thinking was that it would be our common interest to have this agreement and to implement it," Ambassador of the EU to India, Tomasz Kozlowski said.

Asked about America's decision to leave the 2015 climate accord, he said, "The decision by the US to pull out of the agreement was negative."



"But, it will not impact our commitment to fulfil the Paris agreement. Climate issues are global challenges. And, we, together with practically all the countries in the world signed an agreement. The withdrawal by the US was not a positive factor," he told PTI on the sidelines of a function.

"But, we are happy that India has declared its commitment to the Paris agreement," he said.

President Donald Trump had on June 2 declared that the US will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, saying the "draconian" deal unfairly punished America but benefited countries like India and China, drawing strong condemnation from across the world.

"It is time to exit the Paris Accord and time to pursue a new deal that protects the environment, our companies, our citizens, and our country," Trump had said while announcing the sweeping step that fulfils a campaign promise while acutely dampening global efforts to curb global warming.

India, on its side, has said that it was committed to tackling climate change, irrespective of the stand taken by any other country.

"We are committed to ensuring that we will do our best to address the issue related to climate change and global warming," Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan had said, hours after the US had announced its withdrawal.

The Paris agreement commits the US and other countries to keep rising global temperatures "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and "endeavour to limit" them to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

India, under its climate action plans, has pledged to curb its greenhouse gas emissions by up to 35 per cent from its 2005 level.

In the plans submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), India had also vowed that 40 per cent of its total electricity needs would be obtained from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.

New Delhi also pledged to create an additional carbon sink -- which suck up and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere -- of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree covers by 2030.

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The US is looking forward to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington later this month, the State Department has said.

"We look forward to having the (Indian) Prime Minister here in Washington- I believe it's later this month," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily conference yesterday.

Modi is expected to travel to Washington at the invitation of US President Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House later this month. Actual dates of the meeting has not been announced yet.

This would be Modi's first trip to the US under the Trump administration. The two leaders have spoken over phone for at least three times.

Under the previous Obama Administration, Modi had a record number of eight meetings with Barack Obama. Modi traveled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.

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Australia will be desperately hoping to play a full game under clear skies when they face arch-rivals England in their must-win Champions Trophy clash here tomorrow.

While England are already through to the semifinals, all the pressure will be on Australia to perform after washouts against New Zealand and Bangladesh hurt their chances of making the last four.

Australia had to share points with both their previous opponents and now face a bizarre situation where they could be out of the tournament without playing a full game.

Rain threat over the crucial contest looms large as all three games here at Edgbaston have been affected by the weather, one being Australia-New Zealand washout while games between India and Pakistan, and South Africa and Pakistan, had to be curtailed.

Even if the skies are clear tomorrow, Australia face a daunting task against title favourites England, who have breezed into the semifinals with emphatic wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand.

The batsmen from Down Under did not get much time at the crease in the rain hit matches and now have to deal with a well-balanced English bowling attack.

The top-order -- comprising David Warner, Aaron Finch and Steven Smith -- has still spent some time in the middle but the middler-order is severely short on match practice.

However, Australia would be taking positives out of their bowling performance in their last game in which they bowled out Bangladesh for 182 before rain denied them a probable victory.

Premier pacer Mitchell Starc fired with four wickets and was well supported by Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. Leggie Adam Zampa too was impressive with two wickets in four overs.

They will have to find a way to contain the in-form England batting which crossed 300 in both their previous games.

Opener Alex Hales scored his second fifty of the tournament against New Zealand while Joe Root came up with a half century after his unbeaten 133 in the Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh. Jason Roy is the only one who is due for big runs.

Former Australia batsman Michael Hussey feels England will be favourites to win the much awaited fixture.

"There is a great rivalry between Australia and England spanning over a century and any match between the two teams is always hotly contested," Hussey wrote in his column for the ICC.

"I am sure England would love nothing else but to knock the dangerous Australian team out of the tournament.

"For Australia, it is important to be desperate but to not try too hard to force the result. Sometimes the harder you try, the worse you play.

"It is also important to look down and not up with regards to the weather. They must keep their focus on what they can control and the weather is something they can't," he added.

Teams (from):



Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Aaron Smith, Pat Cummins, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa.

England: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Steven Finn.

Match starts 3pm IST.

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The Congress today took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking why he did not raise the issues of Kulbhushan Jadhav and ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the Line of Control when he met Nawaz Sharif at Astana.

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said Modi had asked the Pakistan prime minister about his and his mother's health, instead of giving a befitting reply to him for killing Indian soldiers.

She said Modi had in 2014 questioned the dialogue with Pakistan when soldiers were being killed, but when it came to asking tough questions, he only queried about Sharif's health.

"I want to ask the Prime Minister, when he spoke about Nawaz Sharif's health and asked about his mother, did the prime minister also speak about Kulbhushan Jadhav," she said.

Chaturvedi asked whether the prime minister thought it fit enough to ask his Pakistani counterpart about why Pakistan continues to violate the Line of Control.

"Why is it that our Army jawans are dying almost on a daily basis. Beheading has happened and yet we do not give an answer to the Pakistani prime minister," she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged greetings with his Pakistani counterpart in the leaders' lounge at a reception at Astana Opera in the Kazakh capital organised to welcome leaders participating in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

The meeting came amid escalating Indo-Pak tensions over a range of issues.

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The monsoon is just days away and all should be in readiness for sowing. But a deafening silence echoes through the farmlands of Madhya Pradesh's Malwa region as farmers, reeling under debt and falling prices for their produce, get busy in protests instead.

The meteorological department's prediction that the monsoon will arrive between June 20 and 22 should normally be cause for excitement and action. But this year, the fields are deserted as farmers cope with anger, despair and crippling losses.

Their seething discontent found expression on June 1 when protests began against low prices for their crops. The Mandsaur-Neemuch region, about 300 km from the state capital Bhopal where five farmers were killed on June 6, became the nerve centre of the gathering storm of farmer distress.

Kamlesh Khajuria, 33, is one of those demanding that the government give farmers in the area a minimum support price (MSP) for their produce.

"I had sown kalonji (nigella seeds) in my three bighas of land. But due to unfavourable weather, my crop failed. After this, the price of kalonji also came down, which added to my troubles. We only request our government to give us the right value for our crops."



Kalonji prices plummeted from Rs 25,000 a quintal last year to about Rs 5,000-7,000 this year, said sources from the business community.

Last year, when prices escalated, many farmers switched to kalonji.

According to sources, the reason for the fall in prices is due to two reasons -- first, the harvest was good in many parts of the country, including West Bengal; second, demand in the international market came down.

Farmers in the region who depend on soyabean and onion are also suffering because they are not getting the right price.

Madhya Pradesh, the largest producer of soyabean, is selling the crop at less than the MSP of Rs 2,775 per quintal set by the central government for the year 2016-17.

As analysis continues on why events in Mandsaur took such a violent turn, a top government official said the move to promote digital payment, electricity crunch and the ban on regulated sale of poppy husk were some of the reasons that led to the stir.

The government used to regulate the sale and farming of poppy husk in the past, but now it was destroying the contraband that could earlier be used for medicinal purposes.

"The Centre and the state government have forbidden farmers to sell poppy husk for the last two years in Mandsaur and Neemuch districts and this has rendered hundreds of farmers, mostly members of the strong Patidar community, jobless," the official told PTI.

"Besides, the state government's move to promote digital payment in place of hard cash for procuring produce from farmers in the mandis (markets) aggravated the woes of the cultivators," he said.

The cost of farm produce, he added, had also gone up due to shortage of power and black marketing of manure.

Rattled by the violence, the Madhya Pradesh government has announced a crop-loan settlement scheme, which proposes waiving of interests of the cultivators who have defaulted.

According to Bhagatram Paatidaar, a farmer from Neemuch, those growing fenugreek and coriander are also suffering.

Farmers put their blood, sweat and tears into their land but are helpless when prices crash. The government should increase MSP and also help farmers export agricultural products, he said.

Paatidar also pointed to the shortage of cold storage facilities in the Mandsaur-Neemuch region, which also forces farmers to sell crops at any rate they get.

He added that the farmers were furious at the killing of their colleagues and the increasing interference of politicians. "The politicians only want to take advantage of the situation. Where were these politicians when farmers were suffering?"



As anger peaked after the deaths of the five farmers and politicians across the spectrum took up the issue, the situation continued to be volatile.

A sixth farmer died in the district with locals today alleging that he was beaten up by policemen. However, police said the circumstances of his death were unclear and investigations continued.

Though curfew was relaxed, the administration decided that no outsiders, including AAP leaders, would be allowed to enter the district.

According to the collector, O P Srivastava, the situation was under control and there were no reports of anything untoward today. ATMs were working and milk and vegetable supplies had improved. But the internet service will take time to be restored.

BJP MP from Mandsaur, Sudhir Gupta, blamed the Congress for the farmers' agitation. "Congress is behind the violence in the farmers' stir," he alleged.

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- Tata Motors Ltd reached a long-term wage settlement with workers at Sanand plant in Gujarat.

The settlement includes a total wage package of 16,000 rupees ($248.96) per worker, excluding the salary, to be paid uniformly over the five-year term of the agreement, a company spokesperson told .

The agreement introduced a performance-linked payment accounted as 10 percent of the worker's total salary, Tata Motors said in a statement.

The settlement, which spans from October 2015 to September 2020, includes an annual bonus based on performance for all permanent workers at the plant.

($1 = 64.2675 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jessica Kuruthukulangara in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A major mishap was averted at Jammu airport on Friday. An Air India flight from the national capital, New Delhi, with 134 passengers on board suffered a tyre burst while landing at the Jammu airport.

Air India 821 took off from New Delhi at 11 in the morning and experienced a tyre burst when it was landing at the Jammu airport at 12.15 pm. Fortunately, the pilot managed to land the plane safely.

The airline released a statement saying that passengers were evacuated after the incident and all necessary procedures were followed.

All flights at Jammu airport were temporarily suspended to check if there was any damage done to the runway in the incident.

Meanwhile, Union minister Jayant Sinha said that the government is looking at "alternatives" available to make Air India and other public sector units more competitive and profitable.

The future course of action for the loss-making airline, which is surviving on taxpayers' money, is being actively looked at by the government and a decision on the possible privatisation is likely in three months.

"Our objective is to transform the public sector carrier to a great global airline and we are doing whatever possible in this regard," the Minister of State for Civil Aviation said.




Coal India plans to shut 37 underground mines by the end of this fiscal year, two company officials said, despite unions' plans to strike for three days this month if the decision is not withdrawn.

The coal workers unions, which say they represent more than 400,000 employees of Coal India and closely-held Singareni Collieries Ltd, last month called for a withdrawal of plans to close coal mines and merge the coal miners' provident fund with the employees' provident fund, among other things.

The move will lead to the redeployment of about 11,000 workers, who will be transferred to open-cast mines that need greater labour and produce more coal, one of the officials said, adding that the company is negotiating terms with the unions.

"Quite a number of these mines are incurring huge losses, and their production is miniscule. So, Coal India is looking to close mines that are not profitable," the official said.

Coal India operates 413 mines, of which 207 are underground, 176 are open cast and 30 are mixed.

One of the unions which is close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party and says it has the support of about half of Coal India's workers, said it is negotiating with the company.

"We will jointly close non-profitable underground mines with Coal India once we get favourable terms and more clarity on how workers are going to be redeployed," said Basant Kumar Rai, vice president of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS).

BMS was one among the five unions which signed a letter seeking seven demands including the withdrawal of mine closure plans. Another union Hind Mazdoor Sabha said it is sticking to its anti-mine closure stance. The other three unions were not immediately for comment.

A Coal India spokesman was unavailable for comment.

State-run Coal India, which has reported lower profit in the last four quarters due to high costs, recently slashed its annual coal production target by a tenth due to low demand.

The world's largest coal miner, which accounts for over 80 percent of the country's coal production, produced an average of 1.42 tonnes of coal per day in June last year.
Pakistan's top diplomat in the US was laughed at by a Washington audience when he repeatedly insisted that there are no safe sanctuaries for terrorists in Pakistan and that the Taliban leader, who reportedly died in a hospital in Karachi, never left Afghanistan.

"What is there funny about," a visibly irritated Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, the Pakistan Ambassador to the US, told a Washington think-tank audience which burst into laughter when he repeatedly argued that there are no terrorist safe havens in Pakistan and that Mullah Omar never left Afghanistan to visit Pakistan.

The reality is, however, different, argued former US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as his country's ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the UN.

"We have very firm evidence of his (Mullah Omar) presence in Pakistan, where he went, lived, ..hospital," he said, adding that for a long time there was the idea that bin Laden never left Afghanistan.

"There is ample evidence that while the operation was going on Haqqani network was being evacuated to safer location," the former US Ambassador to Pakistan said during a panel discussion on 'Regional Perspectives on the US Strategy in Afghanistan', at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center. "

Chaudhry appeared to be isolated as two other panellists, the former Indian minister Manish Tewari and top American think-tank expert Ashley Tellis, joined Khalilzad to say that terrorist safe havens continues to exist in Pakistan and there is level of support from the Pakistani establishment.

"What sanctuaries you are talking about' If you want to live in the past, you cannot solve the present. Haqqani and the Taliban are not our friends. They are not our proxies. What Quetta Shura you are talking about' What Peshawar Shura'" the Pak Ambassador questioned to an amused Washington audience, who was witness to sharp debate between him and Khalilzad.

The panel discussion had an abrupt end as the two exchanged words.

Tellis said while the safe havens continue to exist in Pakistan, a great deal of financial and personnel supply does come from Afghanistan.

But there is no denying that the Taliban leadership are based in Pakistan, he said. Tewari said it is time that Pakistan should introspect as to why the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani who went to Rawalpindi to meet the Pakistan Army Chief has turned against Pakistan.

Ghani is actually constrained to say Pakistan is having an undeclared war with Afghanistan. "Those are extremely strong statements coming from the head of state," he said.

During the question and answer session, a Afghan diplomat, Muhammad Asad, and an Afghan woman journalist Nazira Karimi of Ariana television joined the three other panelist to challenge Chaudhry's assertion about terrorist safe haven.

"Our allegation is evidence based," Asad said adding that while the carrot formula has not worked, it is time for the US to look the other way around. Karimi referred to the allegations of US lawmakers about continued terrorist safe havens in Pakistan, which he dismissed.

The Pakistan Ambassador said his country wants a peaceful, stable, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan.

"Afghan soil should not be used against Pakistan. Other than that, we want to facilitate reconciliation. ..Just blaming Pakistan all the time will not help. What will help is recognise what Pakistan has done for Afghanistan," he said.

Chaudhry also accused India of being a part of a "double squeeze strategy". Asserting that India has a "strategic" interest in Afghanistan, he alleged that this is part of the "double squeeze strategy" of New Delhi against Islamabad. "India does have strategic interest in Afghanistan. It could be part of the double squeeze strategy against Pakistan.

To that end an Afghanistan that is not stable would serve India's purpose and that's why India is opposing reconciliation with Taliban of any kind," Chaudhry told a Washington audience.

Participating in a panel discussion on "Regional Perspectives on the US Strategy in Afghanistan", at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center, Chaudhry accused India of trying to be a "hegemonic" power in the region.


Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd will raise Rs 1,500 crore through issuance of bonds on a private placement basis next week.

"The object of the issue is to augment long-term resources of the corporation. The proceeds of the present issue would be utilised for financing and refinancing the housing finance business requirements of the corporation," HDFC said in a regulatory filing.

The Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), the largest mortgage firm in the country, regularly raises money through this method.

HDFC said the bonds can be subscribed by only those who are specifically addressed through a communication and no other person can apply. The issue will open on June 13 and close on the same day.

Set to mature by July 2020, the coupon rate on the bonds is fixed at 7.50 per cent per annum.

The HDFC stock closed 0.66 per cent up at Rs 1,644.85 on the BSE today.
Australia is expecting about eight per cent growth in Indian tourist arrivals this year at up to 2,80,000 mainly due to faster visa processing and direct connectivity.

In 2016, 259,900 Indian travellers visited Australia, according to data by Tourism Australia.

"We are expecting 2,75,000-2,80,000 Indian travellers to visit Australia," Tourism Australia Country Manager, India and Gulf, Nishant Kashikar told PTI here.

There were 24,100 visitors from India during March 2017, a three per cent increase over March 2016, according to the data.

The Tourism Forecasting Committee (TFC) has predicted 2,58,000 visitors from India for the July 2016 - June 2017 period, a 9.4 per cent increase over 2015-16.

Arrivals from India are expected to perform well with an average annual financial year growth rate of 8.7 per cent through to the financial year 2021-22, Kashikar added.

The findings of the target customer research and Consumer Demand Project (CDP) have revealed that the top five Aussie attractions that appeal to Indian travellers are the Australian beaches, iconic landmarks, wild life, food and wine and the Great Barrier Reef.

Faster visa processing under the Preferred Agency Scheme (PAS) and the pilot of three-year multiple entry visas for applicants with a sound travel history has also encouraged Indians to plan a trip to Australia, Kashikar said.

Further, he said, India is the eighth largest source market for Australia in terms of expenditure as an average spend for Indian visitors was AUSD (Australian dollar) 5,316.

In terms of connectivity, there are daily direct, non-stop services on the Delhi-Sydney four times a week and Delhi-Melbourne thrice a week, besides many one-stop flights.
India and Pakistan today joined the SCO with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that unless strong and coordinated efforts are made, the issues of radicalisation and financing and training of terrorists would be impossible to address, in a veiled dig at Islamabad.

"Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is impossible to find a solution," Modi said in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

In his address at the annual Summit of the SCO in the Kazakh capital, Modi said India's entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism and other pressing challenges facing the region.

"Terrorism is a major threat to humanity," Modi said, adding that there was a need for concerted efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.

"I have full confidence that the India-SCO cooperation will give a new direction and strength to the fight against terrorism," Modi said.

Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values. The fight against terrorism is an important part of the SCO cooperation, he said.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

"We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity," he said.

The Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Pakistan Prime Minister among others, also asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such a cooperation.

"Connectivity with SCO member countries is a priority for India and we whole heartedly support it. We want connectivity to pave way for enhancing cooperation and confidence among the societies and young people. Respect to sovereignty and regional integrity is necessary. It is also important to ensure inclusivity and sustainability," the Prime Minister said.

His remarks assume significance as they come weeks after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the Summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of Xi, and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Earlier in the day, Modi met Xi on the sidelines of the Summit and underscored the need to respect each other's "core concerns" and appropriately handle the disputes.

During the meeting, Modi said India and China should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

Following Modi's address at the Summit, India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO, the first-ever expansion of the China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

"India and Pakistan are now members of the SCO. It is a very important moment for us," Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is the current chair of the SCO, said, making the announcement of the induction of India and Pakistan, capping a two-year-long accession process.

Modi, in his address, also thanked the SCO countries for granting membership to India.

The Prime Minister said India's SCO membership will certainly take cooperation among member states to new heights.

"The drivers of which will be energy, education, agriculture, defence, minerals, capacity building, development partnership, trade and investment," he said.

Modi said today marked a historic turn in the SCO's journey and India was ready for an active and positive participation in the grouping.

He said the development of the SCO will mean development of a huge section of the world's population.

The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.

He said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war- torn Afghanistan.

India's membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistan's entry into the grouping was backed by China. With the first expansion of the grouping since its inception in 2001, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP.

The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 Astana Summit. The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the moratorium on new membership, paving the way for the expansion of the grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

As an SCO member, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region.
Capping a two-year-long process, India and Pakistan today became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

India's membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistan's entry into the grouping was backed by China. With the expansion of the grouping, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP.

As an SCO member, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region.

"India and Pakistan are now members of the SCO. It is a very important moment for us," Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is the current chair of the SCO, said, making the announcement at the Summit of the grouping here.

India, one of the largest energy consuming countries in the world, is also likely to get greater access to major gas and oil exploration projects in Central Asia as many of the SCO countries have huge reserves of oil and natural gas.

The SCO had set the ball rolling to make India a member of the bloc during its summit in Ufa, Russia, in July, 2015, when administrative hurdles were cleared to grant membership to India and Pakistan.

The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 Astana Summit. The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the moratorium on new membership, paving the way for the expansion of the grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

India feels that as an SCO member, it will be able to play a major role in addressing the threat of terrorism in the region.

India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

India has been an observer at the SCO since 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.
Worsening pollution levels and congested roads are two problems frequently associated with growing number of vehicles. However, Honda has good news for drivers who feel the onus of resolving these problems lies with them.

The Japanese automaker has stated that the electric cars they launch in the future will also come equipped with autonomous driving technologies. The company claims this technology will allow the driver to 'sleep in the car' while it drives itself. Honda made the announcement alongside committing that it will invest heavily in non-conventional and environment-friendly fuel technology for its cars.



Recently, futurist Tony Seba predicted that technological advancements will lessen our dependency on petroleum products to fuel vehicles. India too has been promoting electric vehicles on war footing, with the goal of no sale of diesel vehicles for the next 15 years.



Honda Motor Company disclosed in a statement to Reuters that the company will launch a self-driving car by in three years as well as incorporate level four autonomous driving technology in their cars by 2025.



ALSO READ: Govt to Tesla: No local sourcing required for manufacturing in India

Autonomous cars use artificial intelligence along with an array of sensors and cameras to assess the road situation in front of them and devise the best plan to keep passengers safe. This will not only help efficient traffic movement on the streets, but will also save drivers some time and energy which could be invested in other endeavours.



However, Honda has tough competition to beat. Other forerunners of the auto industry are claiming to be ready with auto-drive capabilities much earlier than 2025. Another Japanese carmaker Nissan has said that it will come out with its autonomous vehicle by 2020.



Meanwhile, German carmaker BMW has asserted that their autonomous car will be out in the market by 2021. Ford on the other hand has claimed to launch a vehicle with similar capabilities in the same year.

Also watch:




Infosys remained among the top losers on BSE today despite founder NR Narayana Murthy dismissing reports that the promoters of the company were planning to sell their stake.



Infosys shares were down 1.66 per cent to Rs 940.40 at 12:15 pm, after earlier falling as much as 3.5 per cent to the day's lowest at Rs 923.05 in the morning trade.



Share prices of Infosys nosedived after a Times of India report alleged that founders NR Narayana Murthy , Nandan Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan , SD Shibulal and K DInesh were going to sell their 12.75 per cent stakes in the company and wash their hands off for good.



The report attributed the alleged walkout of Infosys promoters to their dissatisfaction with the way incumbent CEO Vishal Sikka runs the company. However, it said nothing about two other founders - Ashok Arora and NS Raghavan, and Infosys soon went into crisis control mode to cut losses.



"We would like to clarify reports in media speculating on plans of stake sale by the promoters. This speculation has already been denied categorically by the promoters," the company said in a statement.



ALSO READ: IT sector job cuts: Are Infosys, Wipro, TCS really cutting jobs, or is it just fear-mongering?

Infosys founders', led by Murthy, have publicly accused the company's board of lapses in corporate governance, forcing the company to appoint a co-chairman to the board and a $2 billion payout to shareholders in the fiscal year to March 2018. Murthy has also criticised pay hikes given to Sikka and operations chief Pravin Rao, and severance payouts given to executives, including former finance head Rajiv Bansal.



The row comes at a time when the Indian IT sector is facing headwinds in its biggest market, the United States, as President Donald Trump and his administration lean towards changing visa rules and hiking wages that could hit outsourcing firms.



Deven Choksey, promoter at KR Choksey Investment Managers, said markets would take any potential exit by promoters in stride, noting investors were more concerned about the broader outlook for India's IT sector.



"The business situation for IT companies remains uncertain. That's a larger concern than that of promoters trying to walk out of the company," he was quoted by Reuters.



Infosys was founded in 1981 by seven engineers, including Murthy, who pooled $250, mostly borrowed from their wives. It was the company's rapid growth kick-started outsourcing in India.



Meanwhile, the BSE Information and Technology index suffered from the poor performance of Infosys shares. The index remained a sorry affair owing to decline in shares prices of Infosys and Tech Mahindra.

Also watch:




Former FBI Director James Comey is sworn in during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP)  Former FBI Director James Comey asserted Thursday that President Donald Trump fired him to interfere with his investigation of Russias ties to the Trump campaign, bluntly accusing the White House of spreading lies, plain and simple.

Comey also revealed that hed orchestrated the public release of information about his private conversations with the president in an effort to further the investigation.

Comeys testimony, at a hugely anticipated congressional hearing that captured the countrys attention, provided a gripping account of his interactions with Trump and underscored the deep distrust that had soured their relationship before his stunning firing last month.

In occasionally explosive statements, Comey portrayed Trump as a chief executive dismissive of the FBIs independence and made clear that he interpreted Trumps request to end an investigation into his former national security adviser as an order coming from the president.

He expressed confidence that the circumstances of his firing, and Trumps overall behavior toward him, could be investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for possible obstruction of justice. But he declined to offer an opinion on whether it met such a threshold.

Trumps private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, seized on Comeys admission that he had told Trump on multiple occasions that he was not personally under investigation and maintained the testimony made clear that Trump never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone.

Kasowitz also jumped on Comeys revelation that he had released details of his private conversations with the president, casting the former FBI director as one of the leakers set on undermining the Trump administration.

Still, theres no doubt the veteran lawman made for a challenging adversary.

Its my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation, Comey said toward the end of more than two hours of testimony before the Senate intelligence committee. I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.

That is a very big deal, and not just because it involves me.

At one point he practically dared Trump to release any recordings of their conversations, a prospect the president once alluded to in a tweet.

Lordy, I hope there are tapes, Comey said, suggesting such evidence would back up his account over the presidents.

Thursdays hearing was Comeys first public appearance since his sudden May 9 firing and it brought Washington and other parts of the country to a standstill as Americans sat glued to their screens, harkening back to the Watergate congressional hearings that held the nation rapt some four decades earlier.

Republicans mindful of the gravity of the moment worked feverishly to lessen any damage from the hearing. They tried to undermine Comeys credibility by issuing press releases and even ads pointing to a past instance where the FBI had to clean up the directors testimony to Congress.

In his opening statement, Comey somberly accused the Trump administration of spreading lies, plain and simple in the aftermath of his abrupt ouster, declaring that the administration chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by claiming the bureau was in disorder.

He then dove into the heart of the fraught political controversy around his firing and whether Trump interfered in the bureaus Russia investigation, as he elaborated on written testimony released a day earlier.

In that testimony, Comey said that Trump demanded his loyalty and directly pushed him to lift the cloud of investigation by declaring publicly the president was not a target of the FBI probe into his campaigns Russia ties.

He said that when Trump told him he hoped he would terminate an investigation into Michael Flynn, the ousted national security adviser, he interpreted that as a directive.

I mean, this is the president of the United States, with me alone, saying, I hope this, he said. I took it as, this is what he wants me to do.

Asked whether that February Oval Office discussion amounted to obstruction of justice, Comey said he expected that to be a matter for Mueller, the former FBI director who has taken over the Justice Departments investigation.

Im sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether thats an offense, he said.

In a startling disclosure, Comey revealed that after his firing he actually tried to spur the special counsels appointment by giving a damning memo he had written about a meeting with Trump to a friend to release to the media.

My judgment was I need to get that out into the public square, Comey said.

The February meeting was one of several one-on-one encounters that Comey said made him feel such intense discomfort that he felt compelled to document them in memos.

I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document, Comey said. I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself but to protect the FBI.

Trump himself was expected to dispute Comeys claims that the president demanded loyalty and asked the FBI director to drop the investigation into Flynn, according to a person close to the presidents legal team who demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss legal strategy. Instead, Kasowitz pushed back and the president remained conspicuously silent on Twitter during the hearing despite expectations he might respond.

The disclosures that followed Comeys firing have raised questions about why Comey, known in government for an independent streak and a willingness to buck protocol, did not speak out publicly while on the job, or at least make his objections directly known to the president.

Discussing the meeting where Comey says Trump asked him to back off Flynn, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California asked: Why didnt you stop and say, Mr. President, this is wrong,?

Thats a great question, Comey replied. Maybe if I were stronger I would have. I was so stunned by the conversation I just took it in.

Comey also made clear that political entanglement in law enforcement has cut across party lines.

During a discussion of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Comey disclosed that then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, an Obama administration appointee, instructed him to refer to the issue as a matter, not an investigation.

That concerned me because that language tracked how the campaign was talking about the FBIs work and thats concerning, Comey said. We had an investigation open at the time so that gave me a queasy feeling.

Many Democrats still blame Comey for Clintons loss, leading Trump to apparently believe they would applaud him for firing Comey. The opposite occurred, as the firing created a political firestorm that has stalled Trumps legislative agenda and taken over Washington.

Under questioning Thursday, Comey reaffirmed the intelligence communitys conclusion that Russia meddled in the election.

There should be no fuzz on this. The Russians interfered, Comey stated firmly. That happened. Its about as unfake as you can possibly get.

Trump has begrudgingly accepted that assessment. But he has also suggested he doesnt believe it, saying Russia is a ruse and calling the investigation into the matter a witch hunt.

___

Annotated testimony:

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3860401-Os-Jcomey-060817.html

___

Associated Press writers Julie Bykowicz and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
The outcome of Armenia's parliamentary elections on May 2 suggest a further strengthening of the country's oligarchic system and its dependence on Russia. These are mutually reinforcing, reducing the likelihood of both substantial political reform and the realization of the lucrative opportunities offered by the U.S. and EU. The attitude towards such opportunities largely depends on Moscow's preferences. The fractured and demoralized political opposition remains incapable of mobilizing significant public support. Furthermore, most of the opposition does not question the country's geopolitical orientation and avoids criticizing the government's pro-Russian policies or Moscow's policies vis-a-vis Armenia.

BACKGROUND: The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) predictably won the parliamentary elections on April 2, securing 58 of 105 seats in the National Assembly. Compared with previous elections, ballot stuffing and violence against opposition representatives and independent observers played a smaller role. Instead, vote buying was more substantial, as was the practice of bussing voters to voting stations. Other violations also took place, including voting on behalf of citizens living abroad, as well as a number of school principals preparing lists of students parents and requesting them to vote for RPA. Public servants and conscripted soldiers were required to vote for RPA under threat of, respectively, losing their jobs or being transferred to more dangerous posts. Some were required to vote for RPAs would-be coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARF). ARF received seven seats and seemingly would not have been able to pass the threshold without such support.

Shortly after the elections, RPA and ARF signed a coalition memorandum. RPAs willingness to once again form such a coalition, despite winning a majority of the seats on its own, could be explained by the need to ensure support for the government among the diaspora, among which ARF enjoys substantial popularity.

The Tsarukyan bloc formed around businessman Gagik Tsarukyan became the second largest parliamentary fraction with 31 seats. The blocs main mission was seemingly to split the dissatisfied electorate (see the 03/20/17 Issue of the CACI Analyst) and hardly criticized the government during the election campaign, focusing instead on making populist promises. Tsarukyan himself replied to a journalists question about the absence of criticism that the elections are not about politics. This statement, despite its absurdity, is not surprising for those familiar with Armenian politics, particularly the origins of Tsarukyans wealth, his previous activities as the founder of the Prosperous Armenia Party, and his previous attempt to challenge President Serzh Sargsyan (see the 03/18/15 Issue of the CACI Analyst).

The remaining nine seats in the National Assembly went to the Way Out bloc, which has been accused by Armenian National Congress and the Free Democrats Party, neither of which passed the threshold, of striking a deal with President Sargsyan. The Ohanyan-Oskanyan bloc also did not pass the threshold. The bloc is formed by two former ministers of defense and foreign affairs who turned oppositional after losing their posts and backed by former President Robert Kocharyans financial and media resources (see the 03/20/17 Issue of the CACI Analyst). One of the blocs known supporters  Samvel Babayan, a former minister in the de facto government of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic  was arrested a few days before the elections. He was charged with an illegal attempt to acquire a Russian-made Igla man-portable surface-to-air missile launcher with a 9M39 missile. There were also speculations about a possible criminal case against former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan related to corruption in the army during his ministerial tenure but these rumors ceased after the elections.

IMPLICATIONS: Unlike all previous elections in the last 22 years, no mass demonstrations followed the April 2 elections. The public apathy can partly be ascribed to the oppositions inability to deploy effective political communication. However, it also confirms that because of the traditional voter behavior pattern, the opposition has been more successful in mobilizing support during presidential, rather than parliamentary, elections. Therefore, abandoning the practice of direct presidential elections, as envisioned in Armenias new constitution, will reduce political participation as well as the potential for protests after elections (see the 12/29/15 Issue of the CACI Analyst).

The mayoral elections in Yerevan on May 14 again confirmed the RPAs determination to reach its goals by any means possible. Without the presence of a significant international observation mission, more violations took place during these elections than the parliamentary polls. Vote buying and instruction of voters were in many cases done openly, at RPAs offices or even on the streets, with little attention paid to videos made by journalists or civil activists showing how police protected the violators. Opposition candidates, their proxies and observers were violently attacked on a number of occasions. The sitting mayor, Taron Margaryan, was reelected.

Ara Babloyan, a former Minister of Health who has not demonstrated significant political ambitions, was nominated as Speaker of the newly-elected parliament. This is yet another indication that Sargsyan plans to remain in power after 2018, when his second presidential term will be over and the transition to a parliamentary system completed. Due to his effective control of the party apparatus and the parliamentary majority, Sargsyan can comfortably become either Prime Minister or chair of RPA. Therefore, the establishment of a formal multi-party system in a de facto institutionalized one-party state has essentially been completed. Also, considering RPAs control of the law enforcement agencies and courts, this state capture practically cannot be reversed by means of elections or judicial review. Quite symbolically, one of the first decisions of the newly-elected parliament was to dispose of the standing committee on human rights.

Peaceful mass protests remain the only constitutional means by which to overturn this development. However, there is no opposition movement capable of organizing such actions. The opposition is fractured and demoralized, which was underscored by the absence of protest demonstrations after the elections. Likewise, no protests ensued after the decision to extradite a Russian soldier convicted of murdering an Armenian family of seven to Russia, publicized about a month after the elections. Moreover, as demonstrated during a protest campaign against a planned increase of electricity fees in 2015, even a strong mass movement can easily be manipulated, put on the defensive, divided and ultimately terminated by the government and Russian TV propaganda by means of insinuating that the protests were anti-Russian in nature (see the 08/19/15 Issue of the CACI Analyst). Most of the Armenian opposition remains obsequious towards Russia, just like the ruling coalition members, and justifies that attitude by referring to Russias actions against Georgia and Ukraine, yet without admitting that Russia is an aggressor.

Voters behavior has played an important role in the transformation of the oligarchy into a de facto one-party system. Those who accepted the amount offered for vote buying had already experienced of several previous elections, with the same pattern repeated time and again. Immediately after the elections, the prices of staple foods (most of which are produced or imported by oligarchs companies without genuine competition) rise, implying that the oligarchic system retrieve the money spent on campaigning and vote buying within a few days or weeks. The same pattern was repeated in 2017.

CONCLUSIONS: While Armenias oligarchic system and the countrys dependence on Russia continue to mutually sustain each other, Armenias Western partners keep trying to provide alternatives. The U.S. Embassy supported the organization of a conference on renewable energy in Yerevan in May, with the participation of several U.S. companies. Ambassador Richard M. Mills noted that as a potential for development in that sphere exists, a sound economic policy would open for substantial U.S. investments of up to US$ 8 billion. However, optimism regarding the governments ability to improve the business climate for foreign companies is clearly unwarranted. Large Western investments would contradict the interests of both Armenian oligarchs, whose businesses could become non-competitive, and of Russia. Aside from a possible increase of Western influence in Armenia, Russias economic security strategy until 2030, signed by President Vladimir Putin on May 15, considers the development of renewable energy a threat to Russias interests.

The EU, in turn, initialed a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with Armenia on March 21. It aims to develop stronger cooperation in sectors such as energy, transport and the environment, and to improve the regulatory environment for business. Yet in this case, it should be recalled how Russian pressure led Armenia to abandon the EU Association Agreement in 2013 (see the 09/18/13 Issue of the CACI Analyst). The final outcome of the current EU-Armenia negotiations may also depend on Moscows whim as well as a number of other uncertain factors, including the economic situation in Russia, Germanys elections, and EU-Russia relations.

AUTHORS BIO: Armen Grigoryan is an Armenian political scientist, and the author of several book chapters, journal articles, and policy papers. His research interests include post-communist transition, EU relations with Eastern Partnership countries, transatlantic relations, energy security, and conflict transformation.

Image source: kremlin.ru accessed on 08.06. 2017
| BY Ricki Green |

Following a competitive tender process, Ikon Group Sydney, has been awarded the media services business for Horticulture Innovation Australias (Hort Innovation) much loved brands including Australian Bananas, Australian Avocados, Australian Mushrooms and Aussie Apples.

Ikon will continue its eight-year long partnership with Hort Innovation providing, strategy, data, media planning and buying services.

Says Graeme Yardy, marketing lead, Hort Innovation: We are pleased to continue growing the success weve had in building our iconic brands on behalf of our growers, by partnering with IKON for the next three years. This will allow further development of our plans to drive consumption of Australias fresh produce industries.

Ikon Group Sydney chief of integrated services Natalie Musico says the win reaffirms the core strengths of Ikons offering.

Says Musico: With each year of our partnership with Hort Innovation, our offering has grown and evolved: this includes our team and the work we produce for them. In turn, Hort Innovation has entrusted us with more and more responsibility for its communications requirements.

It continues to be a privilege to deliver communication services for Hort Innovations great range of industries, especially with these growers representing makes up such a critical part of Australias economy.
| BY Ricki Green |

In its first collaboration, 72andSunny, Semi Permanent, Sea Shepherd, and AFTRS (Australian Film, Television and Radio School) have created a campaign to create a cultural conversation about the trade of shark fins called Kill the Fin Trade.

Out of the 100 million sharks killed each year, at least 38 percent of them end up on the fin trade. Australia is not immune  doubling its export of shark fin to 10,575kg, while also importing 3933kg in 2016.

The campaign kicked off a couple of weeks ago with a live experiment at Semi-Permanent where 72andSunny and Sea Shepherd engaged 1200 designers to help tackle the issue in Australia by kickstarting a cultural movement for people to create and share creative assets globally.

Since that moment the campaign has gathered momentum and is now out in the real world with wild-postings of Michael Mullers donated photography in Sydney, and a creative repository of shareable work from world class designers such as David Carson, Timba Smits, Robert Nakata and, short films produced by the next generation of creative talent from AFTRS, that can be found at www.killthefintrade.com.

The campaign has also seen a mixture of talent ranging from musician Xavier Rudd, typographer Gemma OBrien, and peace activist Danny Lim, getting involved.
| BY Ricki Green |

Havas Sydney has today announced two new senior appointments to further strengthen the agencys digital capabilities as it looks to enhance its position as one of Australias leading digital agencies. Paul Bootlis (right) joins as digital creative director and Yoann Bernex (left) expands the digital technology team as technical lead. The move cements the business goal to integrate disciplines and serve the changing needs of clients.

Bootlis returns to Australia after a stint in the US, most recently at AKQA, San Francisco. He brings over 15 years experience as a creative director and copywriter, having worked with a number of leading global brands including Google, Nike, Toyota, Cadbury and Pernod Ricard. He has also led world famous creative campaigns, including the launch of Apple Watch. Partnering with Gustavo Vampre, he will be responsible for creative development on digital and integrated briefs, overseeing the teams execution to final product. He will report into joint executive creative director, Seamus Higgins.

Bernex joins Havas Sydney with 11 years of technical experience in front end development, database management, web service and source and deployment workflows. He will lead a team of front and back end developers, working on social network integration, mobile web apps and developing complex business intelligence systems for global brands. He will report into chief digital officer, Gordon Dougal.

Says Dan Smith, managing director, Havas Sydney: Its fantastic to bring Paul and Yoann into the business and expand our senior bench. Their appointments build on Havas commitment to digital innovation and enhance our industry status as one of the most digitally advanced marketing agencies in market. The two bring worldly expertise in digital and creative outputs that will translate well across our Havas Village projects.
| BY Ricki Green |

Qantas has launched its latest campaign for its newly launched Qantas Premier Mastercard via WiTH Collective.

The spot is inspired by Dr Seusss poem Oh, the places youll go! to showcase how far everyday spend on the Qantas Premier credit card could take Qantas Frequent Flyers.

Qantas Loyalty CEO Lesley Grant said the new credit card offers Qantas Frequent Flyers the opportunity to earn more points and access some great benefits when they travel.

Says Grant: We know the option to earn Qantas Points influences consumer behaviour and so we expect the high earn rate attached to this card to make it very popular.

The card has extra appeal for those who fly regularly, because of its ability to access fare discounts and lounge passes.

From our perspective, this is an important next step in evolving the Qantas Loyalty business. Its an expansion of the financial products we offer and opens the opportunity for us to share directly in the card economics.

Client: Qantas

Product: Qantas Premier Mastercard

Agency: WiTH Collective

Production house: Rapid Films

Director: Johno Nyquist

Edit house: The Editors
| BY Lynchy |

This Raya, BBDO Malaysia and Guardian celebrates Malaysias rich cultural history by adapting a well-loved Malay folklore on screen, using Wayang Kulit as its main visual element.

Titled Bawang Putih dan Bawang Merah, the story that inspired the web film is also dubbed the Malay version of Cinderella because of their similar storylines; a kind-hearted woman (Bawang Merah) overcoming her evil stepmother and sister to be with her true love. The film adaptation, however, takes on a more comedic twist.

We wanted to create something that is deeply rooted in local culture and traditions, but also fresh enough to impress our audience. Im glad the team made it happen. The combination of Wayang Kulit, the folklore, and comedic twists makes this film truly beautiful, said Christina Low, Marketing Director of Guardian Malaysia.

The team is delighted to be part of this campaign that would put a smile on many Malaysians. We look forward to more exciting work with Guardian in future, said Farrah Harith McPherson, General Manager of BBDO.

The music arrangement for the piece was done by Kamrul Hussin and Geng Wak Long. Kamrul also played the wayang kulit, while Zamzuriah Zahari produced the song and choreography. The actors were from Akademi Seni Budaya Dan Warisan Kebangsaan (ASWARA).

The storyline is based on an ancient Malay folklore; the local version of Cinderella they call it, but we modified it slightly from the original.

The film is about a prince looking for a particular girl who sang in the forest. While looking for her voice, he fell into the river and nearly drowned, but was saved by the girl (featured in red).
Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 10:55PM

Eva Rinaldi/Flickr

After pulling out her back catalog from music streaming services, Taylor Swift is getting back together with the likes of Spotify, Google Play, and Amazon Music. Her management made the announcement on Twitter saying this was to celebrate the sale of over 10 million copies worldwide of her latest album, 1989. Swift pulled out of streaming services like Spotify because she said they didnt compensate artists fairly. She had particular trouble with Spotifys free tier. But now it seems all of that is behind her and her catalog should start showing up at your music streaming service of choice.

Source: The Verge
"You might ask them if they have been talking about the matter with their colleagues and, if they have, remind them that they are bound by the Code of Conduct and are obliged to act honestly and with respect and courtesy," the commission advised
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Just as Toyota Motor Philippines updated the specs of the Hilux pickup truck , theyve done the same for the Fortuner as well.
Two insurance units of Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Inc have agreed to lower their rates and provide more disclosures to settle claims that they overcharged small business owners in California for workers compensation coverage.

The settlement announced by Californias Department of Insurance on Thursday resolves charges that Applied Underwriters Inc and California Insurance Co steered prospective customers to unapproved or unexpectedly costly policies, using illegal side agreements that exposed policyholders to greater risks.

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones had last June halted the Berkshire units sale of unapproved EquityComp policies after finding that one policy subjected Shasta Linen Supply Inc, a Sacramento employer of 63 people, to hundreds of thousands of dollars of extra costs.

Vermont and Wisconsin regulators enacted bans of similar products in those states.

Thursdays settlement allows the resumption of EquityComp sales in California, provided that companies can absorb their risks, Jones said in a statement.

This is a significant victory in protecting California businesses from sophisticated bait and switch marketing tactics, Jones said. We have gone to the limit of our authority over workers compensation insurance products in winning concessions that eliminate oppressive contract terms.

Jeff Silver, general counsel of Applied Underwriters, said in a statement the accord provides certainty that EquityComp is fit for the marketplace. We are pleased to now resume selling this product in California.

Workers compensation insurance typically covers lost wages and medical costs for employees injured on the job.

The case put a spotlight on lesser-known parts of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshires insurance operations, which also include the Geico car insurer, the General Re reinsurer and a business that protects against large and unusual risks.

Berkshire has more than 90 operating units, but insurance still generates about one-fourth of its profit.
GM could complete the sale of Opel, its European arm, to the PSA Group as early as July 31.



When PSA Group agreed to buy Opel from General Motors last March, with the value of the transaction set at $2.3 billion, the two companies said that the deal could be completed by the end of the year.

But the original timeframe appears to have been significantly altered, with the deal set to be completed ahead of schedule, according to Reuters.

We confirm that the closing is expected to take place in the second half of 2017 as planned, and that the date of 31 July constitutes a first assumption for the earliest possible date, subject to the decision of the competition authorities, Opel said in a statement.

The acceleration of the procedure was made possible because GM formally agreed to protect factory jobs by signing binding contracts last week, according to a trade union source.

GM has signed agreements which give workers co-determination rights at Opel Automobile GmbH, the new company that will be sold to the PSA Group, and guaranteed it had set aside enough provisions to fund pension liabilities.

PHOTO GALLERY
We already know that the latest Porsche 911 GT3 managed to post an incredibly fast lap around the Green Hell, but this time, we get to see what it can do during an independent track test.



Sport Auto took a 2017 Porsche 911 GT3 equipped with the PDK transmission for their regular Supertest around the famous German track in the hands of Christian Gebhardt, the same guy who posted that insane lap with the AMG GT-R back in December.

The track-focused 991.2 GT3 managed a 7min 18sec lap time which is not that far off the official time of 7min 12.7 Porsche announced last month.

What might come as a surprise though is the time posted by the same driver on the same track at the wheel of the new 911 GTS: 7 minutes and 24 seconds, which is six seconds slower from a car that wears stickier tires and has only one race seat for this test.

In the end of the day, lap times are just another marketing tool and the fact that the new GT3 proved to be just six seconds faster than the cheaper GTS in the hands of the same driver around the 12.9-mile-long track really doesnt affect our desire to sell a few organs for its keys.

VIDEO
Finding out that your vehicle is part of a recall means that you have to schedule an appointment with an authorized dealer and then visit them for the repair.



However, as AutoExpress reports,Tesla Motors will be fixing certain units of the Model X, which have a software anomaly in the front passenger airbag that was discovered during a routine internal test, via an over-the-air update.

The recall affects all right-hand drive units of the Model X, which means nearly 4,000 vehicles, that have been sold in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Owners of all right-hand drive units of the electric SUV have been already informed in an email sent earlier this week, and all they have to do now is wait for the manufacturer to release the update this weekend.

The British publication states that their source hasnt been able to verify what the exact problem was, but the email sent by the company stated that no customer cars have been reported to have displayed this issue. However, until the fix is released, owners of the aforementioned Model Xs are advised to avoid using the front passenger seat.

PHOTO GALLERY
Creating comics is a complicated enterprise. You write and rewrite your script, then pencil, ink, color, and letter your pages with care, and thenwhat happens next?

How do you get a book published? How do you get your creation into the hands of readers who will love the worlds and characters that youve created as much as you do? Most importantly, how can you make a living making comics?

Id say the first step is to come to CCAD, says Laurenn McCubbin, Associate Professor in the new Comics & Narrative Practice program at Columbus College of Art & Design, which launches in fall 2017.

But McCubbin also has tips for three other things to do. She offers readers of Cartoon Brew these tips on how to succeed in the business of comics.

1. Learn by making.

At CCAD, students in the Comics & Narrative Practice major learn the skills and craft needed to write and draw. But creating comics takes more than just great drawing and writing. If you want to put your comic out into the world, you have be able to design a logo, lay out a book, talk your comic up on social media, and make merchandise to promote it. At CCAD, students take classes in design and marketing, and have the opportunity to learn how to make promotional materials  everything from laser-cut keychains to screenprinted posters to one-of-a-kind handmade books.

2. Take care of business.

For every job you take  whether its drawing for a publisher or publishing your own books  youll have to sign a contract. This will not only explain how much money you make, but what your rights are to the work that you create. At CCAD, we show students how to read contracts, and how to work with a lawyer who can make sure that your rights are protected.

3. Expand your horizons.

If you want to work in comics, it helps to meet the people who are already doing it. Attend conferences. (CCAD students visit conventions like HeroesCon in North Carolina and the Small Press Expo in Maryland.) And if possible, working alongside professionals is awesome. At CCAD, students collaborate with some of the biggest names in the business in our comics practicum class, where student artists work with writers from Marvel, DC, Image, and more, creating stories for our yearly Spitball anthology.

By having multiple experiences to interact with professionals, you can gain a deeper understanding of the comics industry and develop valuable relationships that will help your professional life.

Now, go draw. (And learn more about CCADs Comics & Narrative Practice program here.)

Laurenn McCubbin is an artist, educator, documentarian, and Associate Professor in the new Comics & Narrative Practice program at Columbus College of Art & Design. She was previously the art director for Image Comics and has illustrated several comics and graphic novels with McSweeneys, Marvel Comics, Vertigo, Last Gasp, and Dark Horse.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The union representing workers in production, administration and maintenance at Tecks smelter in Trail has called for a strike vote next week.

The 1,000-plus members of USWA locals 980 and 4705 will be asked to give the union a strike mandate in a vote on Tuesday.

Talks between the company and union stalled last week over money issues. On Monday, Teck told the Steelworkers the Trail operations bargaining committee had reached the end of its mandate.

Your bargaining committee believes that this offer fell short of what is needed to achieve a fair collective agreement, the union said in a newsletter issued Wednesday.

The union said it believes the best way to reach a settlement is through mediation.

Presenting our case to the mediator will give us the best opportunity to encourage the company to move off of their position, the newsletter states.

The company and union have settled their last two contracts without a disruption. In 2012, the union agreed to a five-year contract that included an 18 per cent wage increase. Workers also received a $10,000 signing bonus.

That contract expired at the end of last month.
Photo: The Canadian Press B.C. Finance Minister Michael de Jong and Premier Christy Clark after being sworn-in, Thursday.

Premier Christy Clark says its likely her minority government will be defeated in a confidence motion, but until then she plans to stick to parliamentary rules and retain power.

The Liberal and New Democrat members of the legislature were sworn in separately Thursday, and their emotions were starkly different: the Liberals were stoic, while the NDP members sang.

Clark and her 42-member Liberal caucus are not enough for a majority and are facing an agreement between the NDP's 41 and three Greens MLAs to bring down the government.

B.C. hasn't had a minority government in 65 years.

Asked why she doesn't concede and hold an immediate confidence vote when the legislature returns on June 22, Clark said times of uncertainty demand order.

"When we are in a period like this, something we haven't experienced since 1952, we should make sure that we are going back to the rules that have governed these institutions for centuries," she said. "That really is what provides our democracy with stability."

Clark added that she doesn't know if a change in government is inevitable.

"It's an unusual situation when the party that gets the most seats doesn't form government, if that's what happens."

Whatever the outcome, Clark said she plans to remain as leader of the B.C. Liberals

"Whatever job voters give me and the house gives me in this parliament, I'm going to take it," she told a news conference after her swearing-in ceremony.
Photo: File photo Othman Hamdan had his first day of trial Thursday.

A British Columbia man accused of posting terrorist propaganda online mourned two attackers who were shot dead by police after killing Canadian soldiers in 2014, an expert witness for the Crown has testified.

A trial for Othman Hamdan of Fort St. John has begun in B.C. Supreme Court with RCMP Const. Tarek Mokdad, an expert in Islamist-inspired terrorism and so-called "lone wolf" attacks, describing several posts on the man's Facebook page.

Hamdan has pleaded not guilty to encouraging the commission of murder, assault and mischief, all for terrorist purposes. He has also entered a not guilty plea to inducing and instructing someone to carry out a terrorist act.

One of the posts appeared after Martin Couture-Rouleau rammed a car into two Canadian Forces members in Quebec on Oct. 20, 2014, killing warrant officer Patrice Vincent. Couture-Rouleau was later shot by police.

"A Muslim brother is martyred by the Canadian police after he killed (a) Canadian soldier in retaliation to Canada's crimes in Iraq," the post said, as read aloud by Crown counsel Lesley Ann Kilgore.

Mokdad testified that in the view of ISIL, martyrhood is the absolute highest honour one can attain.

"A martyr means God has chosen you to be a martyr. It's not up to you to be a martyr. You aspire to be a martyr," he said.

"A martyr is promised, in Islam, the highest, most honorific status in paradise. There is nothing better than a martyr."

Two days later, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau stormed Parliament Hill in Ottawa after killing Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack, Mokdad testified.

The post on Hamdan's page on Oct. 22, 2014, appears in both English and Arabic, said Kilgore.

"A Muslim brother martyred today in attack of Parliament with a rifle, shooting politicians inside," the post read.

Hamdan was arrested in Fort St. John in July 2015 for alleged offences dating back to the previous September.

An RCMP statement at the time of his arrest said the propaganda included instructions to kill in the name of jihad.

Mokdad is the only witness for the Crown and is expected to continue his testimony Friday.
Photo: CTV Communication issues caused problems during last year's wildfire in Fort McMurray.

A report into the Fort McMurray wildfire cites critical communications breakdowns as the fire swept into the municipality and forced thousands to flee.

Independent consultants that produced the report for the province noted that in the early days of the fire in May 2016, the two crews battling the blazes were operating through different command centres.

Communication broke down when one crew chief realized the fire would enter Fort McMurray, but failed to inform crews in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

The municipality had to learn from social media that the fire was entering the community.

Municipal Affairs Minister Shaye Anderson says the province has already begun working to ensure a unified communications structure for future disasters.

The fire damaged thousands of homes and force more than 80,000 residents to seek safe ground.
Photo: RCMP

UPDATE: 10:15 a.m.

The Ministry of Transportation expects Highway 1 to remain closed until at least Saturday, and possibly longer if the Camp Creek bridge has been damaged.

The area was hit with 40 millimetres of rain over a short period of time, blocking the creek and sending debris onto the road.

Crews are using heavy machinery to clear the blockage.

The Ministry is running the Galena Bay to Shelter Bay ferry on Highway 23 for 24 hours a day while the closure exists.

UPDATE: 9:15 a.m.

DriveBC reports a geotechnical engineer is assessing the washout site.

Motorists headed to Alberta are advised to take an alternate route via Highway 23 and Highway 6, through Shelter Bay, Galena Bay, Needles, and Fauquier.

ORIGINAL: 6:15 a.m.

A washout has closed the Trans-Canada Highway 25 kilometres west of Revelstoke.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Thursday, the Camp Creek Bridge was overpowered by surging waters, causing a buildup of debris to spill onto the highway. It's not clear if the bridge was damaged in the debris flow, but images provided by Revelstoke RCMP show large volumes of water and heavy debris blocking the highway.

The highway remains closed in both directions, and no detour is available at the scene.

Ministry of Transportation staff and crews from Emcon Services are working to clear the roadway.

The highway could remain closed for at least two days, RCMP report.

Motorists headed to the Okanagan are being diverted via Highway 23 south of Revelstoke to the Shelter Bay ferry and Highway 6.

DriveBC reports the highway has also been closed to all but local traffic westbound from Golden due to vehicle holding capacity in Revelstoke, where massive lineups of waiting vehicles were reported.

Earlier Thursday night, the highway was also closed 60 km West of Golden at Glacier National Park because of a collision.
Photo: The Canadian Press Deputy spokesperson of the Office of the Attorney General Prayuth Bejraguna talks to reporters in Bangkok, Friday.

Thai law enforcement officials say they don't know where the son of one of the country's wealthiest families has escaped, but they're confident they'll catch Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya before the statute of limitations runs out in a deadly hit-and-run case.

Prosecutors held a news conference Friday to assure the public they're going after the high profile fugitive whose grandfather co-founded the Red Bull energy drink brand. The case has prompted public fury over the appearance of corruption and impunity.

The attorney general's spokesman, Prayuth Bejraguna, offered no specifics about how they will go about finding Vorayuth, and Amnat Chotchai, the head of the attorney general's foreign division, said "while we do not know his whereabouts, there are documents that we could prepare in advance."

Authorities delayed prosecuting Vorayuth after the 2012 hit-and-run that killed police Sgt. Maj. Wichean Glanprasert until earlier this year, when The Associated Press published an expose showing Yoovidhya had been living the high life at his family's vacation home in London.

Since the report, authorities issued an arrest warrant, revoked his passport and promised to ask Interpol to issue a "Blue Notice" advising officials in 190 countries that Vorayuth is wanted.
Photo: The Canadian Press Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn

Spectacularly punished by voters who took away her majority in Parliament, a politically wounded but defiant Theresa May soldiered on Friday as Britain's prime minister, resisting pressure to resign.

Having called an early election in hopes of getting an increased majority that could have strengthened her hand in Britain's exit talks with the EU, May instead saw her majority evaporate completely  leaving her fortunes hanging by a thread and dark clouds over the Brexit negotiations just 10 days before they are due to start.

She insisted that she would stick to the Brexit timetable. But she was forced into an alliance with a small party in Northern Ireland just to stay in power. Grim-faced, May said her Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist Party would together form a new government "that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time."

Perplexed EU leaders, unexpectedly faced with the prospect of dealing with now-shaky British leadership, sought Friday to make sense of the drama, but also made clear that while Britain might be accorded time to regroup, it should not expect an extension of the two-year deadline for the Brexit talks to end.

Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted that "negotiations should start when U.K. is ready." But EU Council President Donald Tusk said: "We know when they must end." Mostly, the EU mood was one of frustration that the already tough Brexit talks were likely to become only more difficult.

With 649 of 650 seats in the House of Commons declared, May's bruised Conservatives had 318  short of the 326 they needed for an outright majority and well down from the 330 seats they had before the election.
Photo: Contributed Royal palace in Bangkok

A military court in Thailand on Friday sentenced a man to 35 years in prison for social media posts deemed defamatory to the monarchy, a punishment believed to be the longest ever handed down for the offence of lese majeste.

The Bangkok military court sentenced a salesman to 70 years' imprisonment on 10 counts of lese majeste, but halved the sentence because he had pleaded guilty, said Sorawut Wongsaranon of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. He identified the man only by the single name Wichai to protect his privacy because of the sensitive nature of the offence.

Lese majeste  insulting the monarchy  is punishable by three to 15 years' imprisonment per incident. There has been a sharp rise in cases since the military took power in a coup in 2014 and decreed that lese majeste would be prosecuted in military courts.
Photo: The Canadian Press Former FBI director James Comey speaks during Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Thursday.

President Donald Trump on Friday broke his silence on Twitter following explosive testimony by fired FBI Director James Comey, declaring "total and complete vindication."

Trump's Twitter account had been quiet throughout Comey's testimony accusing the administration of spreading "lies." But a day after the closely watched hearing, Trump struck back with an early morning tweet: "Wow, Comey is a leaker."

While Trump might feel vindicated, Comey's reputation as a truth-teller didn't seem to take a hit. In his testimony, Comey detailed months of distrust of the president and bluntly asserted that Trump had fired him to interfere with the probe of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.

House Speaker Paul Ryan tried to brush off the conclusion as Trump being new to the White House, but Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, said Congress needs to obtain any tapes the president might have of his dealings with the former FBI director. She called Comey an "honourable individual."

Also in his testimony, Comey revealed that he'd orchestrated the public release of information about his private conversations with the president in an effort to further the investigation.

Trump's tweet read: "Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication ... and WOW, Comey is a leaker."
Photo: CTV Vancouver "World's first green carnival"

The latest carnival to roll into Edmonton looks very much like any other carnival except for one major difference. The whole production is powered entirely by renewable energy.

It's the worlds first green carnival, the organizers behind Sustainival have returned to Edmonton for a four-day fair in the parking lot at South Edmonton Common.

The environmentally-friendly carnival is features the usual rides, games, live performances and greasy food.

That greasy food plays a key role in keeping the fun times rolling because the vegetable oil used to cook up those salty French fries is converted into fuel to power the rest of the carnival.

Not only do they use the recycled vegetable oil, the organizers also make use of wind and solar power for energy.

Co-Founder Antoine said the event runs on approximately one megawatt of power, which he said is roughly the same amount of energy used to power about 900 homes.

If we can run this for four days on waste vegetable oil, there are a lot of things that can be done with renewable energy, Palmer said.

When people come they get to see whats happening in their own backyard, support local initiatives and get involved, Palmer added.

-with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: CTV

A female deer on southern Vancouver Island is expected to be fine after conservation officers removed an arrow from its head.

Officers spotted the doe Thursday and tracked it to Maple Bay, north of Victoria, before catching and tranquilizing it.

Sgt. Scott Norris with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service says the surgery was quite simple because there was no tip on the arrow so the team was able to easily pull it from the wound.

Norris says once the arrow was out, the wound was cleaned and the deer was given a drug to reverse the effects of the tranquilizer before it walked away.

He says there was concern because the animal had just given birth.

It's illegal to hunt deer at this time of year and violators can face stiff fines if caught.
Photo: File photo North OkanaganShuswap MP Mel Arnold wants the Trudeau Liberals to explain why they cut coast guard services.

North OkanaganShuswap MP Mel Arnold wants the Trudeau Liberals to explain why they cut coast guard services.

The Conservative Deputy Critic for Fisheries Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard has requested a review surrounding closures of Canadian Coast Guard stations in Gimli and Selkirk, Man. and Kenora, Ont., along with cuts made to the search and rescue dive program in British Columbia and cuts to the Salmonid Enhancement Program.

Opposition parties came together (Friday) asking for an opportunity for the Liberal government to explain recent cuts announced to programs critical to public safety, fish habitat and public education, said Arnold.

After receiving broad concern from the public, school teachers and conservation organizations, four Opposition members on the Standing Committee on Fisheries Oceans requested a briefing meeting with the deputy minister from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

With the majority of members on the committee, government members voted against the meeting.

It is very concerning that the committee will not be provided an explanation of the government's cuts in the form of a public meeting," said Arnold. This raises the question of why the government members are opposed to a briefing. Not only will there be a great loss of education and training capabilities but lives could be put at risk because of cuts to the coast guard dive team operations.
Photo: District of Coldstream Officials are beefing up efforts to keep people off Rotary Pier at Kal Beach.

Despite a barricade and signs telling people to stay off, some are still going on the Rotary Pier at Kal Beach.

The District of Coldstream and Regional District of North Okanagan are warning those who ignore the closure, could be hit in the pocket book.

Violators could face fines, but the district did not say how much the fines would be.

In a media release, officials said the pier is closed for safety reasons.

Due to flood conditions, the pier has been closed for a number of weeks. Despite this closure and in contravention of signage and barriers, residents have continued to access the dock. As a result of heavy wave action on June 8, the pier structure has suffered material damage and consequently there is a heightened safety concern regarding further use, the district said.

The District of Coldstream and the RDNO are installing additional barricades and will have a security presence to deter people from using the dock.

The pier has made the news for more than water levels in the past week, after a brawl on the pier was posted to social media.
Photo: John Boivin

Flood watches have been issued for several major waterways after torrential downpours hit parts of Southern and Central British Columbia.

The River Forecast Centre says rivers throughout the Columbia and East Kootenay regions, including tributaries around Golden, Revelstoke and the Columbia Valley, are rising.

The centre says rivers and streams are expected to approach or exceed flood level today, while the Shuswap and South Thompson rivers are also high enough to burst their banks.

As much as 30 millimetres of rain deluged the southern and central interior today.

Environment Canada says 12.1 mm drenched Revelstoke on Thursday night.

Rainfall warnings were issued for much of North-Central and Northeastern B.C., with up to 25 mm forecast for some areas today, in addition to the 15 to 25 mm that fell Thursday.
Photo: Contributed Greg Mussenden saw first hand the benefits of supporting the VJH Foundation.

Seven years ago, Vernon resident Greg Mussenden was enjoying a winter walk with his wife when he experienced an unfamiliar tightness in his chest.

I knew something wasnt right, he said. I had to stop and rest.

With a history of heart disease in his family, Mussenden tried to live a healthy lifestyle, eating properly and exercising regularly.

Although there wasnt any pain, a recurring sensation of heaviness in his chest during exercise impeded his breathing.

After several incidents, he decided to pay a visit to his doctor, who referred him to a cardiologist. Mussenden was sent for a stress test and nuclear heart scan.

The cardiologist was quite concerned; not just about the blockages, but the areas where the blockages were located was quite serious.

Mussenden was admitted to the ICU at Vernon Jubilee Hospital where he waited for three days to be transported to Kelowna General Hospital. An angiogram determined two of the affected arteries were 90 per cent blocked.

After the stent placement, Mussenden noticed an instant difference.

It was like taking a clogged fuel line and fixing it, he said.

As part of his post-procedure care, Mussenden consulted with a nutritionist and physiotherapist.

It was a bit of an education for me. I thought for exercise to do any good, you had to be sweating and really work out, but 20 minutes of daily walking really does wonders for you.

Today, he sticks to a regimented schedule of sit ups, push ups, weight bearing exercises and walking on the treadmill for 45 minutes, five to six days a week.

As a long-time board member for Vernon Jubilee Hospital Foundation, Mussendens health issues provided him the opportunity to see first-hand the importance of ensuring quality health care for North Okanagan residents.

In addition to countless volunteer hours dedicated to the foundation, Mussenden also supports the organization through personal and business donations.

For many years, he and his partners at Summit Financial sponsored VJH Foundations Do it for Dad Run & Walk that took place each Fathers Day from 2002-16.

I believe in the cause, he said. When I joined the board, the most shocking thing to me was how much the foundation does to get equipment for the hospital and residential facilities. I thought the government supplied everything.

After many years of supporting the event to fight prostate cancer, Mussendens father developed the disease.

Through treatment, he was able to beat prostate cancer, but sadly passed away from other causes on Fathers Day in 2009.

VJH Foundation is dedicating the month of June to local mens health, raising funds and awareness for prostate cancer and heart health.

This year alone, 4,000 Canadian men will die of prostate cancer.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death throughout the Western World and the second most common cause in Canada.

Donations to Mens Health Month will stay local and benefit all men in the North Okanagan.

Funds raised will help purchase an ECG machine and trolley for Vernon Jubilee Hospital, free PSA testing for North Okanagan men, and educational materials and support for local prostate cancer patients and survivors.

More information and how to donate can be found online.
Photo: Kate Bouey The rate at which Okanagan Lake has been rising is slowing, but City of Vernon officials continue to monitor water levels.

The rate at which Okanagan Lake has been rising is slowing, but City of Vernon officials continue to monitor water levels and weather forecasts heading into the weekend.

At this time, weather systems have stabilized and the rate at which the lake is rising has slowed, said Tanya Laing Ghar, with the city. If the situation worsens, City crews will continue to install dams at strategic locations to protect City assets. Residents are reminded that they are responsible for protecting their property and to keep protection in place until the risk of flooding has passed.

Residents on both sides of Lakeshore Road from 2548 to 2688 Lakeshore Road and 6999 Cummins Road remain on evacuation alert.

Lake accesses off Lakeshore Road are closed until the risk of flood has passed. Kin Beach remains open to the public. Lakeshore Road is for local traffic and service vehicles only at this time.

Sand and sandbags are being replenished twice a day at six established sites for Vernon residents:
Photo: Darren Handschuh Except for Saturday when it is supposed to rain, weather forecasters are calling for sunny days.

The North Okanagan can expect a little bit of everything this weekend.

Sunny one day, rainy the next and then back to sunny.

Friday is mostly sunny with a 30 per cent chance of rain, but on Saturday Environment Canada is calling for rain throughout the day and a 60 per cent chance of rain in the evening.

But after that, it is looking pretty good.

The weather forecasters are calling for sun and 22C Sunday and more sun with a high of 26C Monday.

Tuesday will see the return of some clouds with showers anticipated on Wednesday and Thursday.
Regional outbreaks of the Zika virus in the United States this summer could result in the Chinese government enforcing regulations regarding cargo imports, the Agriculture Transportation Coalition said.



Regional outbreaks of the Zika virus in the United States during the warm summer months could result in the Chinese government imposing strict regulations regarding cargo containers being imported from the U.S., the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) said.

On June 8, during the AgTCs annual conference, held in Long Beach, the coalitions program and policy manager, Abigail Struxness, explained to the assemblage that the Chinese government has a requirement that any country thats been classified by the World Health Organization as an active Zika area needs to either fumigate its containers before cargo is loaded, or somehow be able to prove that the containers being imported into China are mosquito-free.

Last August, the Chinese government placed the entire United States on this list due to a Zika outbreak in Miami, and for four weeks in August and early September, the government of China was requiring most containers imported from the United States to be fumigated or otherwise proven mosquito-free.

We were looking at a couple hundred dollars for every container, Struxness said. So we worked with the U.S Foreign Agricultural Service over in Beijing, they were able to talk to the Chinese Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and come up with a compromise. So as of September of last year, only cargo thats originating in a Zika outbreak area needs that certification.

However, she said, the measure was taken informally, meaning that the full, formal regulation could be reinforced at any time.

Struxness then mentioned that according to the Centers for Disease Control, a Zika outbreak is currently active in Brownsville, Texas, while more areas around the country could be affected over the next several weeks, as the weather gets warmer.

Were just coming up on the summer months, where mosquitoes tend to spread the most, and so theres concerns that Zikas going to spread up the East Coast, maybe into the Georgia areas, perhaps into the Gulf (Coast) a little bit more, and so we just need to be aware that this problem hasnt completely gone away; we kind of had it easy for the winter, but theres a chance that its going to return, she said.

Struxness said shes talked to U.S. officials who say that everything is going smoothly with the Chinese for now and that the regionalization approach is expected to continue, but that could change if Zika spreads in the United States this summer.
Gebr Pfeiffer wins new order in Algeria

09 June 2017

Societe Saoura Ciment has contracted Gebr Pfeiffer to supply a vertical roller mill for its new greenfield plant in Bechar, Algeria.

The cement producers has ordered n MVR 5000 R-4 for cement raw material grinding. With a total drive power of 3800kW the mill has the capacity to grind 50tph to a fineness of a maximum 12 per cent R0.090mm. Delivery of the equipment is planned for the first half of 2018.

The contract comes after Societe Saoura Ciment had switched to Gebr Pfeiffer technology for its Zahana works, also in Algeria.

With this deal, the number of Gebr Pfeiffer MVR mills sold to Algeria increases to four.

Published under
For more than a decade, the Cook County assessors office hid a secret inside the massive computer programs used to calculate property tax assessments for single-family homes.

It didnt look like much  just a few snippets of code amid thousands of lines  but it created erroneous valuations for homes throughout the county, affecting the tax bills sent to more than 1 million residential property owners every year.

What the code did was deceptively simple: It decreased every estimated home value in the county by about 40 percent, a troubling practice that ignored legal requirements set out in county ordinances.

The artificially low values threw the property tax system so far out of whack that it may have violated provisions of the state constitution. But, shrouded by an opaque and convoluted assessment system, these widespread inaccuracies were invisible to the average homeowner.

The Tribune already has revealed how the countys assessment system under Joseph Berrios has been riddled with errors that punished the poor while providing breaks to the wealthy.

Now the investigation shows that the assessors office knowingly produced inaccurate property assessments during the long tenure of his predecessor, James Houlihan, and even as far back as the 1980s.

Houlihan removed the snippets of code in 2009, a year before he left office. But their existence reflects the assessor offices long history of flouting legal requirements and operating outside professional standards while keeping taxpayers in the dark about fundamental problems with assessments. It also exposes the far-reaching consequences when a crucial county agency is allowed to function with little oversight.

The undervaluing of residential properties, for instance, may have given homeowners a false sense that they were getting a huge break on their tax bills. In reality, that was far from the case, because the computer code undervalued all homes in pretty much the same way.

The Tribune also found that for many years commercial and industrial properties were undervalued even more than residential ones. If all properties had been assessed accurately during that time, homeowners would have paid less in property taxes, according to Tribune estimates.

Low assessments, high tax bills

And the consequences continue to this day, with taxpayers potentially paying the price in a different way. A prominent law firm has filed lawsuits on behalf of dozens of properties contending that Houlihan produced fictitious residential valuations between 2000 and 2008.

The suits seek to claw back as much as $100 million in tax dollars, the Tribune estimated  money that Chicago Public Schools and other financially struggling agencies and municipalities would have to repay.

Houlihan, now a state lobbyist, declined to be interviewed for this story.

In 2008, Houlihan pushed through sweeping changes to the assessment system, saying they would make the system more fair and transparent. His office also quietly removed the hidden calculations.

Within months, the housing market had collapsed, and home prices were plummeting. But when people got their assessment notices, their values had gone up dramatically because the snippets of code had been taken out.

Complaints poured in, but Houlihan never told the public about his offices failure to produce accurate and lawful valuations.

It sounds like for years the assessors office was shooting for a target rather than using legitimate methods to value property, said Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. If your property tax system is not properly run, it has a ripple effect that impacts every level of government.

Twitter

Facebook If your property tax system is not properly run, it has a ripple effect that impacts every level of government. Ralph Martire executive director, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability

The 40 percent trick

A former theologian turned politician, Houlihan was hand-picked by Cook County Assessor Thomas Hynes as his successor. Hynes, a longtime Democratic power broker, left office in 1997 after serving for 18 years.

Before Houlihan took over, the assessors office was already ignoring county laws by undervaluing homes across the board, state records show.

At the time, the assessment level for residential properties in Cook County was set at 16 percent. This means that the total assessed value of all homes in the county should have been equal to about 16 percent of their total market value.

But that was not the case. Studies from the Illinois Department of Revenue that compare assessments to actual sale prices show that at least as far back as 1994, the earliest year of available records, the median assessment level for residential properties in the county had been much lower: less than 10 percent.

James Houlihan, shown in 2009, preceded Joseph Berrios as Cook County assessor. When he took office in 1997, residential properties were already being dramatically undervalued. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

How could that be happening when homeowners tax bills stated in black and white that their property was being assessed at 16 percent?

The answer lies with an earlier step in the process, in which the assessors office applied whats known as an adjustment factor. This adjustment purposefully lowered the market value of each home, before the assessment level was applied.

The Tribune figured this out by combing through thousands of lines of computer code used to value residential properties during the Houlihan era.

The programs, known as hedonic regression models, take characteristics of homes that sold in the prior three or five years and compute values for each one  the value per bathroom, per square foot and so on. The models then use those values to estimate market prices for every home.

But in this case, snippets of code were tacked onto the end that dramatically decreased those estimates by about 40 percent. So for example, a home that was valued at $326,530 would be reduced to about $200,000.

The county then multiplied that new, lower value by the legal assessment level of 16 percent. To use the last example, 16 percent of $200,000 is $32,000. And that is roughly 10 percent of the homes market value.

Applying this mathematical wizardry to all of the countys homes is what set the countys de facto assessment level at about 10 percent, in apparent violation of the law.

Figuring out why or when this practice started is difficult to discern. But the man who built the computer models, John Horbas, has testified that an adjustment factor was part of the valuation process for more than a decade before Houlihan took office.

I know for sure from 1984 on there was an adjustment factor, Horbas said in an October 2015 deposition.

When Houlihan inherited that problem, he took on another one as well.

Constitutional crisis

Property valuations in Cook County are handled differently from anywhere else in the state, thanks to a complicated system that makes it difficult for most taxpayers to fully understand how their taxes are calculated.

Unlike the other 101 counties in Illinois, Cook County assesses the value of property at different levels depending on their use. Known as classification, the system is meant to give homeowners a break on taxes.

To shift more of the burden onto businesses, the assessment level for residential properties has always been lower than the levels for commercial and industrial properties.

Still, the categories cant be too different. Under the state constitution, no one class of property can be assessed at a level that exceeds 2.5 times the level of any other.

On the surface, Cook County met that standard under Houlihan and Hynes.

The reality, however, was different  thanks to the countys practice of undervaluing residential properties.

State revenue department studies show that from at least 1994 to 2003, the median assessment level for commercial properties in Cook County was more than 2.5 times greater than the roughly 10 percent median assessment level for residential homes.

Most taxpayers would never know any of this. But more than a decade ago, some influential lawyers started suing.

The law firm of OKeefe, Lyons & Hynes was well positioned to know what was wrong. Thomas Lyons was a former deputy assessor and state senator who pushed to allow Cook County to continue using classification during the 1970 state constitutional convention. Robert Hynes was the brother of longtime assessor Hynes. And lead attorney Mark Davis once headed the tax division for the Cook County states attorneys office.

Before joining the firm, Davis helped write changes to the states property tax code in a way that made it easier to challenge assessments in circuit court. Prior to the new law, taxpayers had to prove their assessments were so faulty as to suggest the assessor targeted them specifically, an impractically high burden of proof.

Since 2000, OKeefe, Lyons & Hynes has filed suits involving dozens of commercial, industrial and residential properties, arguing that the assessors office trampled state and federal constitutional provisions between 2000 and 2008  not just the 2.5 rule, but also provisions that guarantee equal protection under the law. Most of the suits are still being argued in county court.

The firm declined requests for an interview but issued a statement to the Tribune: Discriminatory assessments and opaque methodologies destroy the fairness of the property tax system for all taxpayers  not just the plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuits. Instead of opposing the rights of taxpayers, agencies of local government should work to remedy past discrimination and to ensure a future system that is equitable.

Twitter

Facebook Discriminatory assessments and opaque methodologies destroy the fairness of the property tax system for all taxpayers. Statement from OKeefe, Lyons & Hynes law firm

The foundation of the OKeefe suits is a study by their expert witness, University of Illinois economics professor Daniel McMillen. He found that median assessment levels for all classes of property in Cook County were far lower than county ordinances dictated at the time.

Many findings in the McMillen study mirror those from the Tribunes analysis as well as from studies conducted by the state Department of Revenue. In an affidavit filed in September, for instance, McMillen independently cited the same computer code that the Tribune had identified as the cause of low residential assessments.

When Houlihan took charge of the assessors office in 1997, those with deep knowledge of the property tax system would have understood that the ongoing drastic undervaluation of residential homes left the county vulnerable to legal challenges.

One way to fix that problem would have been to raise residential assessments to legal levels.

But that would have increased many peoples taxes, and that is not what Houlihan chose to do.

Instead, records show, the assessors office left the residential level where it was  at 10 percent  and began taking measures that reduced the levels for commercial and industrial properties.

Over the next decade, the median commercial and industrial assessment levels in Cook County fell by more than a third. In 2007, the median level for commercial property was about 17 percent  less than half of what it was supposed to be, according to state studies.

Internal studies unearthed in the OKeefe lawsuits show the assessors office knew about the low valuations. One report, titled The Effects of the Decline in Commercial Assessment, detailed a significant drop in commercial assessment levels between 2003 and 2004.

The Tribune was able to analyze how the assessors office valued residential properties by examining records and formulas obtained through a freedom of information request, but Berrios has declined to release similar information about how commercial and industrial properties are assessed. He argues that the offices valuations are a deliberative process protected under the Freedom of Information Act.

In response, the Tribune filed a lawsuit and won a ruling in its favor from Cook County Circuit Court Judge Neil H. Cohen. I think it leads to an absurd result if anyone were to accept this argument. I think its actually a violation of trust that the public officials are given by the people, Cohen said in court.

Despite Cohens sharp rebuke, the assessors office is appealing that decision, at taxpayer expense.

The lower assessments for commercial and industrial properties solved a problem for the assessors office  the county was no longer valuing one category at a level more than 2.5 times higher than another.

But the changes meant many homeowners were paying more in taxes.

Paying the price

To gauge the impact of the countys questionable practices on property owners pocketbooks, the Tribune studied the 2008 tax year.

That year, homeowners properties were still being dramatically undervalued, at 10 percent. The tricky snippet of computer code  the adjustment factor  was still in place. Commercial and industrial properties were being undervalued more than ever.

All that undervaluing meant that, in 2008, the assessors office shaved tens of billions of dollars from the total assessed value of the county, the Tribune estimated. The result was a cascading series of problems that increased the tax burden for residential property owners.

The reasons lie with two factors in property tax bills: the multiplier and the tax rate.

Your tax bill, explained

The multiplier comes from a provision in state law requiring that the total market value of all property in every county be assessed at 33 percent. The state revenue department compares assessments to actual sales to test whether counties reach that number.

If the assessment level is less than 33 percent, the state applies a multiplier, known as an equalization factor, to the assessed value of every property in the county to bring it up to the statutory level. The result is called the equalized assessed value. Taxpayers can see these figures spelled out on their bills.

In nearly every other county in Illinois, the multiplier is always around 1. But because the assessors office was depressing values across Cook County, the multiplier for Cook in 2008 was nearly 3.

Depressing property values also can increase tax rates, which are derived by dividing a taxing districts total equalized assessed value into the tax levy  the total amount of money that local government units say they need to operate.

In Cook County, the bigger multiplier and higher tax rates were applied to all properties. But because commercial and industrial properties were undervalued more than residential properties, homeowners ended up paying a bigger share.

The owner of a $326,000 home in Chicago that was undervalued at $200,000 in 2008 would have paid about $500 less in taxes if all property had been valued accurately, the Tribune estimated. In towns where tax rates are far higher than Chicagos, the amounts would have been much larger.

The severe undervaluing of both commercial and residential properties under James Houlihan ultimately increased the money homeowners paid to the Cook County treasurers office. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

In fact, an internal study disclosed in discovery for the OKeefe lawsuit shows that Houlihan knew this was happening. In 1996, commercial property held a disproportionate amount of the assessed value distribution. By 2006, the declining commercial ratio reversed the situation, causing residential to have the disproportionate amount of assessed value, the study concluded.

In April 2008, Houlihan stood before the City Club of Chicago to propose a major overhaul of the countys assessment system. Among other changes, it streamlined the classification system in Cook County by reducing the number of categories.

Houlihans proposal, which the County Board approved five months later after one day of debate, also set a new legal assessment level for homes: 10 percent. In effect, he changed the law to align with reality.

In 2008, James Houlihan proposed an overhaul of the countys classification system, saying the changes would result in additional clarity, simplicity and uniformity. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune)

Houlihan vowed the changes would result in additional clarity, simplicity and uniformity.

Transparency cant just be a buzzword, he said. We need to strive for transparency in everything we do.

Yet Houlihan never came clean about the adjustment factor hidden in the snippets of code  or the fact that Cook County had been quietly assessing residential property at about 10 percent for many years.

Then a crisis arrived, creating problems that couldnt be hidden.

New leadership

When the U.S. housing market collapsed, it sent home prices plunging. But because Houlihan had removed the adjustment factor, people were seeing steep increases in the assessors estimates of market value.

Confusion and resentment ensued, throwing the entire system into disarray.

In January 2010, the Cook County Board of Review, a three-member panel charged with ensuring assessments are fair, sent Houlihan a stern letter requesting an explanation.

These increases in market value posted by your office defy a significant declining trend in virtually every facet of the current real estate market, the letter said.

Houlihan, who had announced the previous summer that he would not seek re-election, also was called before the Board of Review to testify about his assessment practices.

Among those sitting on the Board of Review at the time was Berrios, head of the Cook County Democratic Party and a close ally of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who makes his living as a property tax attorney.

Joseph Berrios succeeded James Houlihan as assessor in December 2010. On his watch, the Tribune found, assessments in Cook County have been plagued by errors. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Less than a year later, Berrios would be elected assessor, defeating independent candidate Forrest Claypool and a Republican despite a slew of news stories highlighting Berrios political ties.

Do not count our organization out of anything, Berrios said in his victory speech.

Berrios has now been in office for more than six years. Under his watch, the Tribune found, assessments have been plagued by errors and have systematically hurt homeowners living in poorer areas while giving many people living in affluent neighborhoods an unsanctioned tax break.

He also is now embroiled in the lawsuits filed by OKeefe, Lyons & Hynes.

The suits are still pending after more than a decade, in part because the assessors office has yet to deliver documents sought in a 2009 subpoena. In recent court filings, plaintiffs accused the office under Houlihan of purposefully destroying paper and electronic records relevant to the case, a contention the county denies.

The law firm is seeking refunds of tens of millions of tax dollars sent years ago to school districts, municipalities and other government agencies across the county, many of which are already struggling with budget issues.

With so much money on the line, local governments and agencies are standing with the county in defense of the assessors office. Among them are the city of Chicago and Chicago Public Schools, which could owe tens of millions of dollars in refunds if the suits prevail.

Circuit Court Judge Alfred J. Paul has refused numerous requests to throw out the lawsuits. Chicago as well as a few smaller municipalities and school districts have already settled some of the cases, refunding millions in erroneous taxes.

David Kidwell contributed. Students from Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications also assisted as part of investigative reporting classes.

jgrotto@chicagotribune.com Twitter @Jason Grotto
The President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, on Friday left for Kazakhstan on a working visit.

June 9, 2017, 13:46 Armenia President heads for Kazakhstan

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 9, ARTSAKHPRESS:In the Kazakh capital city, he will attend the official opening of Astana Expo 2017 international exhibition, which will bring together 115 countries and 18 international organizations, the press office of the President informed.

Dedicated to alternative energy sources and green technologies and referred to as Future Energy, the exhibition will present the best energy saving technologies and the latest developments in alternative energy.

Within the framework of the Astana Expo 2017, the President will also visit the Armenian pavilion.
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The worlds longest zip-line will be opened in Yell Extreme Park in Yenokavan, Armenia during summer, Tigran Chibukhchyan  co-founder of the Park told reporters.

June 9, 2017, 14:44 Worlds longest zip-line to be available in Armenia in July

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 9, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: The architectural section of the zip-line is almost completed and only a few issues remain to be solved. Construction will begin from June 20. We have planned to finish it by August, Chibukhchyan said.

A crowd funding was held from May 4 to June 2 in the international co-financing platform Indiegogo for building the worlds longest zip-line in Armenia. 22,165 dollars was raised.

Yell Extreme Park offers also paragliding, paintball, horse riding, off-road driving tours and other active leisure services.

The worlds longest zipline in Tavush, Armenia will be 2680 meters long, with an altitude of 200-300 meters.
The Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office conducted a monitoring of the Armenian-Azerbaijan border in Armenias Tavush province on June 7, the Defense Ministry of Armenia told.

June 9, 2017, 16:26 OSCE conducts monitoring on Armenia-Azerbaijan border

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 9, ARTSAKHPRESS: From the Armenian side the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and his field assistants Gennady Petrica and Martin Schuster.

No ceasefire violations were registered during the monitoring.

During a briefing in Aygepar community following the monitoring the OSCE officials were briefed on the current situation in the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border, the statistics on Azerbaijani ceasefire violations, by drawing their attention on the fact that the Azerbaijani forces regularly fire shots towards the bordering villages and roads.

The OSCE officials thanked the Armenian side for the presented data, stating that these will be included in their reports.
The Student Representative Council which led the boycotts has since been suspended for five years.

Students had been boycotting classes for almost two months, demanding prime minister Peter O'Neill step down to answer to fraud allegations.

It's a year since 20 students from the university's Port Moresby campus were hospitalised after police opened fire when they sought to march to parliament.

UNIVERSITY of Papua New Guinea students say their protest last year played a role in informing the public ahead of the upcoming election.

According to a former member of the Council, Gerald Tulu Manu-Peni, the class boycott and student forums about fraud and the economy were not in vain.

"What we did last year will not go to waste," he said.

"We know for sure that the population of this country, at least they know what we did, what we fought for... so they will make a well-informed decision this coming polling period."

Gerald Tulu Manu-Peni said classes had mainly returned to normal and the campus was quiet again now.

UPNG management had ruled that no political activities or campaign rallies were allowed, and was maintaining tighter control of any new student issues that arise.

Following the incident, both police and the government indicated an inquiry would be held into the circumstances around the police shootings.

There are no indications any probe had transpired.
After the longtime operator of the New York State Fair's Dairy Products Building departed this year, fair officials needed to develop a plan to keep the popular facility running.

They didn't have to look far.

The fair announced Friday that Tully's Good Times, a restaurant chain based in the Syracuse, will sponsor the Milk Bar and Wegmans Food Markets will sponsor the annual butter sculpture featured inside the Dairy Products Building.

As part of the fair's agreement with Tully's, the company's logo will appear on the seven-ounce cups of milk sold at the Milk Bar. The price of a cup of milk will remain 25 cents.

The Milk Bar will be operated by three longtime fair vendors  Wahid Akl, David and Michael Tadros. The fair said the new vendors will explore ways to accelerate lines for milk. The trio will also take over a nearby yogurt booth.

Akl and the Tadros already run two stands inside the Dairy Products Building that sell Belgian waffles and the New York Hot Beef Sundae. They also operate the New York Brew Pub and Distillery in the International Building and roasted corn stands throughout the fair.

The sponsorship of the butter sculpture will add to Wegmans' existing presence during the fair. The supermarket chain already sponsors the fair's lost kid tags and cooking events in the Art & Home Center's Wegmans Demonstration Kitchen.

Troy Waffner, the fair's acting director, said the sponsorships are part of the fair's plan to "reenergize" the Dairy Products Building, which is typically one of the biggest attractions during the annual event.

"We thank them for their investment and want fairgoers and dairy farmers to know that our goal going forward, as stewards of New York agriculture, is to find new ways to link more New Yorkers to our great dairy products as we have done with other New York products at the fair," he said.

The previous operator of the Dairy Products Building was NYS Dairy Exhibits. The entity pulled out after a 60-year run following a dispute with the state.

NYS Dairy Exhibits announced last year its intent to raise the price of milk at the Milk Bar from 25 to 50 cents. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo intervened and pledged to keep the price of milk at 25 cents.

To help NYS Dairy Exhibits, the state committed $90,000 to the organization. When the group announced its decision to no longer operate the Dairy Product Buildings, officials said they had only received half of that amount.

Waffner told The Citizen in April that the fair purchased cups for the Milk Bar and absorbed some of the organization's expenses, including adding its employees to the state payroll.

With NYS Dairy Exhibits' exit, the fair took over control and is in the process of buying the Milk Bar equipment and other assets in the building that are owned by the group.

Along with the sponsors announced Friday, there will be other changes to the facility. The music stage, which was previously located near the Milk Bar, will now move to the other side of the butter sculpture in an effort to reduce congestion.

The fair will run from Aug. 23 through Sept. 4.
A new report calls Chicago a "stagnant giant," and suggests a plan that pulls together four major areas  commercial, academic, cultural and civic  would translate into greater international interest, and eventually, more business and other opportunities. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Over the past 20 years, Chicago has made its way onto the international stage, especially as more local businesses expand globally and many overseas firms open outposts here.

For a city where many residents typically prefer a slice of tasty deep dish pizza over fine French cuisine, it's been an impressive transformation from a homegrown manufacturing base to a globally oriented service sector economy.

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But is it now time for local CEOs to act less like rugged individualists, following their own corporate or institutional agendas?

Could the entire city, including some of its poorest neighborhoods, prosper if the area's commercial, academic, civic and cultural powerhouses got behind an overarching, comprehensive game plan to greatly advance Chicago's allure as a global hub?

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Those are some of the thought-provoking questions raised in a new task force report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, which is exploring the Chicago area's preparedness to compete worldwide in the coming years against other international cities including New York, London and Tokyo.

The task force doesn't profess to have all the answers, but it delves into a complex issue  and one that needs to be taken up by business, civic and neighborhood leaders concerned about the city's future place in the world.

One intriguing aside: Chicago already has a public-private entity, World Business Chicago, that is charged with working to win international investments. The task force applauds World Business' accomplishments while advocating more aggressive global image-building and pushing businesses, universities, cultural and civic institutions to team up to prospect for worldwide opportunities.

The report rightly points out the growing financial impact that international trade is having on the local economy.

Area exports, for example, totaled $63.3 billion, or 11.3 percent of the metro area's gross domestic product, and supported 421,806 jobs in 2014, the most recent year for which data were available.

That said, the report also dubs Chicago's economy as a "stagnant giant," that during 2000 to 2014 lagged behind both its global and U.S. peers  putting it 277th for growth performance among the world's cities.

Could a new type of global strategy or business model jump-start the local economy?

The task force contends a plan that pulls together four major areas  commercial, academic, cultural and civic  would translate into greater international interest, and eventually, more business and other opportunities.

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Moreover, the effort would help sharpen Chicago's brand and marketing image as an international destination for business and commerce, making it more competitive with other U.S. cities including New York and San Francisco, which are viewed respectively as financial or technology meccas.

Just how this effort comes to life is one of the task force's unanswered questions. It could be driven by a stand-alone organization, executed by city leaders or an existing business or civic group could take the point.

How it's funded is another question mark the report doesn't address, and that's a biggie, too.

An example of this holistic approach is up and running in London.

In 2011, the city created a promotional vehicle called London & Partners, which puts economic development, tourism and the task of attracting foreign students under one roof. Companies, events or activities doing global business in London can work through this centralized group, cutting their expenses and red tape.

So far, the London program has been hailed as a success. But no city has done anything as comprehensive as the council's task force is envisioning.

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That's what the Chicago area's leadership types will have to get their minds around in the follow-up discussions to the report.

They will also have to deal with skeptics who will wonder if it is realistic to expect major companies and nonprofits to work so closely together. Whether it's the public or private sector, competition and rivalries are a fact of life.

Moreover, City Hall may catch flak if it dedicates even limited financial resources to an international effort while other pressing local issues, including a crackdown on violent crime and school budget issues, still need to be resolved.

Taking all that into account, I think the council is on to something.

It is important that Chicago remains a top-tier international destination and commercial center. Any threat needs to be addressed.

Moreover, global trade is a tonic to the city's image and a boost to an economy that's in transition.

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Local business, cultural and academic leaders should try to map out a comprehensive plan.

Right now, it looks like a trip that's worth taking.

roreed@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @reedtribbiz
The Labor Department has withdrawn Obama-era worker protections that would have held big companies like McDonald's liable for actions of their franchisees.

The so-called joint employer standard was one of the most controversial moves by the National Labor Relations Board, the agency tasked with enforcing U.S. labor law, during the former president's administration. The rule said more companies could be held liable for labor violations by their franchisees or subcontractors.

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That meant that corporations, not just the franchisee or subcontractor, could be held liable in suits filed by workers pursuing alleged wage or overtime violations. The rule left companies more prone to legal battles involving workers they didn't consider to be their own, and allowed companies to be brought to the bargaining table should workers employed by subcontractors form a union.

Business groups had opposed the joint-employer rule because of the massive implications on many different kinds of businesses. Many large U.S. companies use subcontractors or franchisees to lower costs and lessen liability for the parent company. For McDonald's, more than 90 percent of its 36,000 restaurants worldwide are operated by franchisees, and it's undergoing an effort to sell more of its company-operated locations to those operators.

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McDonald's says its franchisees are independent operators who run their own businesses, but it also tells franchisees how to staff and when to clean the bathrooms. An NLRB decision in 2015 said a company can be a joint employer if it exerts "indirect control" over workers, or "reserves" control even if it does not take advantage of it. That case went to the U.S. Court of Appeals earlier this year but has not been heard.

In October, McDonald's agreed to pay $3.75 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it was liable for a California franchisee's labor law violations. McDonald's continues to assert it is not a joint employer.

McDonald's didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, the AFL-CIO called the withdrawal "very troubling."

"These were not new rules imposing new requirements on employers  this was guidance that made it easier for employers, workers, unions and others to know about their rights and obligations under the law," it said. "What does this say about this administration's commitment to vigorously enforcing the law and protecting workers' rights?"

sbomkamp@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @SamWillTravel
Guests immediately gravitate to the set of brass and leather stools from CB2 at the marble island in the black and white kitchen. (Mike Kaskel/KitchenLab )

When Chuck Droege and Julie Wroblewski, both 41, found a brick, four-bedroom home brimming with historic character in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood last year, the married couple leapt at the chance despite the house's shortcomings.

The flaws were many.

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Think garish orange walls, dated golden oak woodwork and a somewhat bizarre layout  a holdover from its conversion from a two-flat many years earlier.

"The inside was not to our taste at all, but we could see the potential," says Wroblewski, an archivist at the Chicago History Museum.

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Droege and Wroblewski purchased the home in June 2016. Based on the problems they'd encountered doing even minor renovations in the past, the pair decided to hire professionals. Enter Rebekah Zaveloff, of KitchenLab, and builder Mike Valente, of MV Construction.

"We wanted a modern space that doesn't feel over-designed, and Rebekah has a natural style that we appreciate," Wroblewski explains. "She really got why we liked the house and was on the same page right away. That was really appealing."

The massive renovation  which began in September and took four months  started in the front vestibule, where Zaveloff and associate designer Kate Mihelitch eliminated an odd second doorway into the living area. In its place, they incorporated a transom window and a simple bench that, like the stairway railing, has been painted jet-black. A graphic encaustic concrete tile floor introduces pattern and color.

"The first time we met her, Julie was wearing a black and white dress, and we could tell right away that high contrast was her thing," Zaveloff says. "We took our cues from that."

The high-contrast aesthetic can also be found in the kitchen, where thick white marble countertops and subway tile are juxtaposed with many black elements, including cabinetry, a high-end range and a custom steel hood.

A set of brass-and-leather stools at the island complement the sheen of hardware and light fixtures found throughout the interior. "Brass adds so much warmth to every room," Zaveloff explains. "It pops off the page in a black-and-white palette."

By removing an awkward partial wall and stealing several feet from the powder room, Zaveloff was able to pair the kitchen with a charming breakfast area. There, a contemporary wire table, midcentury modern chairs and a tufted leather bench meet.

"It's really fun to push the envelope by mixing traditional and modern pieces," Zaveloff says. "You're creating this sort of dialogue."

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That conversation continues in the adjacent powder room, where a bold, large-scale floral wallpaper pattern juxtaposes black geometric floor tile. The same wallcovering, albeit in a different color scheme, lines the interior of a closet-turned-office in the second-floor guest bedroom. The owners love it, and Zaveloff says she may even use it again in her own home.

"I can't explain the experience of looking at this wallpaper," she says. "It has this very whimsical and gutsy feel to it that's consistent with their style."

A gallery wall of the couple's artwork makes a more subtle statement in the living room, where Zaveloff added a new fireplace with a carved wood mantel that can also be enjoyed from the adjacent open dining room. Crown moldings and ornate ceiling medallions reintroduce historic character befitting the original stained glass windows.

On the upper level, Zaveloff stole yet more square footage  this time from the cavernous master bathroom to create room for a full tub in the adjacent guest bath. Both spaces sport white wall tile laid in a herringbone pattern  black grout in the guest bath, white grout in the master. A thick band of painted drywall above the tile makes the high ceiling seem less imposing and also reduced the budget.

"The bathrooms were very big with high ceilings, so we didn't tile everywhere," Zaveloff explains. "All that tile would have made it look like an elevator shaft."

Happily ensconced in their new abode, the couple enjoy much about the final result.

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"There were a couple of areas that were semi-unusable before, and now people flock to them," Droege explains, pointing to a small sitting area with a pink sofa settee at the top of the stairway to the basement. "It's crazy in a way that I love."

Wroblewski agrees: "I don't think we'd change a single decision."

Tate Gunnerson is a freelance writer.

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Kevin Oyakawa speaks to North Central students before a solidarity march in downtown Naperville in November 2016. (Mike Mantucca-Naperville Sun) ( Mike Mantucca/Naperville Sun )

A North Central College student plans to run as a Democrat for a District 5 seat on the DuPage County Board in 2018.

Kevin Oyakawa, who will be a junior in the fall, is studying political science and economics at the Naperville college, where he served as president of the school's College Democrats this past year. This spring he was elected political director for College Democrats of Illinois.

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Originally from Ohio, Oyakawa now lives in Naperville.

The primary election is in March and the general election eight months later in November.

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Oyakawa will join District 5 Republican incumbents Tonia Khouri and Janice Anderson, both of whom said they plan to seek re-election in 2018.

"We need leadership in our county, leadership that will actively engage the citizens, leadership that will develop practical, sustainable and responsible solutions to the issues in DuPage County," Oyakawa said in announcing his candidacy over the weekend at Naperville's Riverwalk Free Speech Pavilion.

"I am ready to lead the fight on behalf of my generation, to fight for the changes our community desperately needs," he said.

The 21-year-old said he's always been active politically. "Being president of the College Democrats at North Central tuned me into how big local politics is," Oyakawa said.

The last election in which six of eight Democrats in Lisle and Naperville townships won seats gave Oyakawa the inspiration to run for a position that can effect people at a grassroots level: the county board.

"I want to positively impact the lives of as many people as I can in a short period of time," he said.

Two issues the college student plans to tackle are the heroin epidemic and equity in public schools.

The opiate crisis, he said, can be solved through proper education and by treating addicts not as criminals but as individuals who need help.

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"As a student, I understand the issues of public education, and I understand the importance of equal opportunities for everybody," Oyakawa said.

He said he'll work with every school district in District 5 to ensure that can happen.

The next year year and a half will be challenging, he said, because he'll be campaigning while going to college. He'll be relying on his youth, energy and a base of support he's developed on campus and in the community through unity marches in the last year.

Longtime members of the DuPage Democratic Party have taken notice.

He's already received the endorsements from state Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, and Dianne McGuire, co-chairwoman of Indivisible Naperville and former chairwoman of the Naperville Township Democratic Organization.

"(Oyakawa) is incredibly intelligent," said Cullerton before introducing the new candidate Saturday. "He is incredibly articulate. He is young. He is energized. He is focused. His dedication to getting this done, getting this accomplished, is huge,"

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Cullterton later said millennials get a bad rap for not standing up for anything and relying heavily on their parents. "(Oyakawa) is showing the exact opposite. That's positive," he said

"Kevin is the future," McGuire said at the Oyakawa rally. "His willingness to mix it up in politics today  not an easy gig is so admirable and inspiring."

Andrea Heiden, who is taking over as president of the North Central College Democrats, said Oyakawa has the courage to run for county board at a young age. It's an extension of what he accomplished at the college his past year, she said.

Heiden, of Quincy, said students started becoming more politically active after the November election.

"The election had such a polarized outcome for both sides," said Heiden, a sophomore who is majoring in political science with a minor in organizational communication and conflict resolution.

Heiden said college is a time when individuals can explore their interests and passions, and getting involved politically is one outlet.

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"Anytime a group gets together to work for a common purpose, I think real change can happen," she said.

If he is elected, he will probably still have a semester left before graduating.

"Serving on the county board would be my priority. School assignments I can make up," Oyakawa said. "The people would be electing me to serve, not to go to school."

subaker@tribpub.com

Twitter @SBakerSun1
The combination xiaolongbao dumplings at Imperial Lamian each has a different flavor profile: green is duck, orange is crab, natural has Shanghai pork, yellow is Gruyere, black has truffle and red is spicy Szechuan pork. (Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune )

It's said that every cuisine around the world has a dumpling, and Chicago must have a version of most of them -- from pierogi to kreplach to gyoza -- scattered throughout its many neighborhoods.

1 Combination xiaolongbao at Imperial Lamian

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The combination xiaolongbao show beauty that's more than skin deep. Each dumpling is flavorfully filled: green is duck, orange is crab, natural has Shanghai pork, yellow is Gruyere, black has truffle and red is spicy Szechuan pork. $7 to $12 for three pieces, $18 for a six-piece combination, lunch and brunch; $5 for three pieces original pork only, weekday happy hour; $18 for six-piece combination, dinner.

6 W. Hubbard St., 312-595-9440, www.imperial-lamian.com

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 Louisa Chu

Sauerkraut pierogis with Polish sausage are available at Kasia's, as well as several vegetarian peirogi varieties. (Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune )

2 Pierogi at Kasia's Deli

Despite the designation as one of Martha Stewart's go-to stops when she's in Chicago, Kasia's Deli is decidedly a neighborhood spot: Take a number, order everything  deli or dining menu  from the same counter, take a seat (hopefully, at least; there are only six of them). The pierogi are the popular kids in the case, with different flavors every day. I got four: sweet cheese, sauerkraut, potato-and-cheese and beef. While the former pair were more interesting  creamy, sweet-but-not-too-sweet cheese and tender, tangy kraut  than the latter pair, all four reminded me of my late grandmother's comforting creations: soft, buttery and perfectly simple. 50 cents apiece

2101 W. Chicago Ave., 773-486-7500, www.kasiasdeli.com

 Adam Lukach

The lightly fried yam dumplings served at Little Unicoco in Rogers Park are mild in flavor, perfect for dippinginto richstew. (Grace Wong / Chicago Tribune)

3 Yam dumplings at Little Unicoco

The lightly fried yam dumplings served at Little Unicoco in Rogers Park were my first foray into Nigerian cuisine  though this is one of the few items on the menu that isn't traditional, a colleague said. Each delicately fried ball has a crisp, slightly salty outside that gives way to a creamy middle. They're mild in flavor, perfect for dipping into rich stew. $6 for five

1631 W. Howard St., 773-764-2626, www.littleunicoco.com

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 Grace Wong

At the Sutadonya stall at the Mitsuwa Marketplace, each dumpling has a gorgeously browned bottom, which remains crispy long after you get your order. (Nick Kindelsperger / Chicago Tribune )

4 Yaki-gyoza at Mitsuwa Marketplace

The food court at the Mitsuwa Marketplace, the giant Japanese grocery store in suburban Arlington Heights, is home to one of the best bowls of ramen in the Chicago area, thanks to the Santouka food stall. Turns out, at the market you can also find some of the best gyoza, or Japanese potstickers. At the Sutadonya stall, each dumpling has a gorgeously browned bottom, which remains crispy long after you get your order. In contrast, the other sides are extra soft, delicately holding the juicy pork filling. $4.50 for seven

100 E. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, 847-956-6699, www.mitsuwa.com/locations/chicago

 Nick Kindelsperger

Kreplach dumplings at Manny's Deli. (Kristan Lieb / Chicago Tribune )

5 Kreplach at Manny's Deli

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Make no mistake: The kreplach at Manny's are gnarled, rumpled-looking things. Squint and you could mistake each one for wadded-up sock. Fortunately, you're in for some supremely delicate dumplings. Each one  individually called a krepel  is filled with minced meat. They bob up and down in a bright yellow chicken broth, as satisfying as everything from Manny's always is. I'm guessing the matzo balls get the most play here, but give the kreplach a chance. $4

1141 S. Jefferson St., 312-939-2855, www.mannysdeli.com

 Nick Kindelsperger

The gnocchi would star in any context, but the contrast between the delicate dumplings and the rustic, meat-rich bolognese sauce makes the dish especially memorable. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

6 Gnocchi Bolognese at Il Porcellino

Il Porcellino in River North is justifiably popular for its pastas, especially the feather-light dumplings that go into the menu's gnocchi Bolognese. The gnocchi would star in any context, but the contrast between the delicate dumplings and the rustic, meat-rich Bolognese sauce makes the dish especially memorable. $17

59 W. Hubbard St., 312-595-0800, www.ilporcellinochicago.com

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 Phil Vettel
Too often naan acts as a ho-hum scoop that gets whatever you are eating from point A, the plate, to point B, your mouth. Not so at Mango Pickle, where the Indian flatbread gets the attention it deserves. The slow-rise naan ($3) is served warm with a light gloss of butter and a sprinkling of sea salt. Once the fluffy, buoyant bread arrives, you'll want to tear it with abandon. Chef-owner Marisa Paolillo says her naan represents "the best of both worlds" in terms of European and Indian approaches. She uses poolish, a pre-fermented yeast starter, to give a bit of sourness to the dough, which she makes using a high-quality bread flour from Wisconsin, a small amount of yeast and hours of rising time. As for baking, the naan are done to order. Paolillo bakes the dough on a stone plate at 550 degrees, where it takes just 6 minutes before going directly to the table.

5842 N. Broadway, 773-944-5555, www.mangopicklechicago.com
Packaged in a perfectly clear cube, the Champagne gummies from Sugarfina are made with ritzy bubbly brand Dom Perignon. Pink bears, made with Dom rose, come mixed in with the regular brut bears, which mimic the color of a flute of Champagne  golden yellow with a near-sparkling clarity. Not nearly as jaw-breakingly chewy as run-of-the-mill gummy bears, the brut are tart and zesty. Their rose friends are even softer, with a more subtle, juicier flavor (think orange juice versus lemon). Do they taste like Dom Perignon? Not really, but that's OK. The price tag ($8.50 for a small 3.9-ounce box, $20 for a large 12.6-ounce box) is less stop-your-heart-scary than the $200 average cost for a bottle of the real stuff.

55 E. Grand Ave., street level, www.sugarfina.com
AUBURN  Cayuga County Health Director Kathleen Cuddy had good news to share with county legislators Thursday night. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has stepped up to treat and monitor a 26.6-acre patch of hydrilla discovered in Cayuga Lake near the village of Aurora.

The army will fund the operation, at least for this year, while the hydrilla task force organized by local officials will continue to pursue funding opportunities for the future.

"It's really fantastic that the Army Corps is paying for this," Cuddy said to legislators at a Health and Human Services Committee meeting.

Hydrilla is an invasive water weed that can quickly choke out lakes and other water bodies. It can grow into dense mats, preventing sunlight from penetrating the water and depleting oxygen levels. The southern end of Cayuga Lake has been battling the species for years, but it had not been a known problem in northern parts until September last year when the Cayuga Lake Floating Classroom discovered it on an outing.

The treatment that will be used is a chemical called fluridone. Hilary Mosher, coordinator for the Finger Lakes Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, had said at a Cayuga County Water Quality Management Agency meeting earlier this month that the herbicide was in the form of a tablet, and similar to Alka Seltzer, would dissolve on the plant.

With the patch close to the Wells College water intake pipe, Cuddy said the army will be doing water monitoring and testing, too, with the help of the health department. The chemical will be applied at specific regulatory amounts. According to a fact sheet from the Cornell Cooperative Extension, fluridone may create a breakdown chemical that is toxic to humans. But in order for humans to experience any of those effects, the cooperative said one would have drink 15,852 gallons per day or swim in treated water for 1,014 years.

Cuddy said there may be concerns for people who draw from the lake and water their lawns. The herbicide is not good for grass, she added.

Treatment will not begin until the plant starts to grow. Cayuga County Legislature Chair Keith Batman said last week the lake was about 57 degrees. The water needs to be about 60 degrees before hydrilla starts to sprout. Divers went out Thursday to check the invasive species, but it was not clear the results of that most recent survey.

Batman had originally planned to have the county Legislature discuss funding the minimum $140,000 treatment. He said he had approached towns and villages to ask if they would contribute but with little success.

"We dodged a bullet for now," Batman said.

In other news:

 The county Legislature will convene a special meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 15 in the Sixth Floor Chambers of the Cayuga County Office Building, 160 Genesee St., Auburn. Legislators will review and discuss an updated job description for the Cayuga County administrator position. Legislators will also hear a presentation from Cayuga Community College President Brian Durant on the college's 2017-2018 budget.
Despite a recent souring of U.S.-Pakistan relations, a new trade development promises to sweeten things up.

Its the debut of Pakistani mangoes, the first shipment of which touched down at OHare on Thursday night. After a quick trip to Iowa for electron beam irradiation (for food safety), the fragrant chaunsa mangoes returned for their coming out party at the Palmer House Hilton Saturday afternoon.

Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Hussain Haqqani presided over the mango party, which he said was the culmination of two years of strategic dialogue with the late ambassador Richard Holbrooke and others officials about ways they could improve relations relatively easily.

Although the mangoes wont be in stores for a few weeks and theres no definite price yet, the ambassador said that he has already sent boxes to Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Mark Kirk, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He further said a box should be arriving at the White House on Monday.

Party guests from Chicagos Pakistani-American community and beyond also got an early taste. Clad in tailored suits and elegant shalwar kameezes they strolled through the hotels Grand Ballroom sampling chilled mango chunks, mango ice cream, mango tarts, mango chutney, mango tortes, mango custard, mango pudding, mango pies and non-alcoholic mango margaritas and sangria. After a battery of impassioned mango speechesfrom pols including Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinklethe last mango masterpiece was revealed: a green and white fondant covered four story mango cake announcing the inauguration of the famous fruit.

We have been waiting for this for the past 20 years for Pakistani mangoes to come here, said Samina Khattak of Chicago. We have been eating the Mexican and Indian mangoes but they are not the same.

Indeed the mango mania surrounding the arrival of the Pakistani fruit mirrors the 2007 hoopla over the American debut of Indias Alphonso mangoes, which connoisseursmostly Indiansalso called the best mangoes in the world.

Swetal Patel is the vice president of Raja Foods in Skokie and was the original importer of Alphonsos, whose season has just ended and can cost about $3 a piece.

The Indian executive says he will probably carry the chaunsas at his familys stores for his Pakistani customers but not because he can make a lot of money.

They cost so much to ship in that the profit margins are very small, he says. But well carry them as a service to the community. People want the taste of the mangoes they had growing up. Thats why we carried the Alphonsos, which can be great but then another box can be bad. I think the irradiation causes some issues.

India (the worlds largest mango producer) and Pakistan harbor rivalries on many subjects and mangoes are no exception.

Although Patel loves Kent mangoes from Mexico and thinks Pakistani mangoes can be good, he also believes that nothing compares to a good Indian Alphonso.

Pakistani Member of Parliament Farahnaz Ispahani politely disagrees.

I have tasted Alphonsos and there is no competition, said Ispahani who is also the wife of Ambassador Haqqani and the Pakistan Presidential spokesperson. The soil in Pakistan produces the sweetest mangoes in the world and once Americans taste Pakistani mangoes in all their depth and flavors theyll never turn back. Theyll forget Alphonsos and any other mangoes.

While many guests quietly slipped a few mangoes into their purses for later eating, Oak Brook surgeon Murtaza Arain chose not to wait.

I have been here 42 years and some of these mangoes are very close to those I grow on my farm in Pakistan, he said rolling a chaunsa in his hands and then biting off the stem so he could drink from the fruit like a juice box.

Because most of the fresh mangoes on offer were not yet ripe, its hard to say how they compare to premium mangoes like Alphonsos. But the various dishes in which they were served revealed a sweet, fragrant and nearly fiber free fruit that could appeal to many American palates.

Haqqani said that the chaunsa is one of more than 200 Pakistani mango varieties and he expects more growers with different varieties to meet U.S. import requirements in the near future.

As the biggest importer of mangoes in the world (with $250 million in mango imports) America was a ripe market for the Pakistani mango, Haqqani said.

But the diplomat hopes the arrival of the fruit will mean more than improved economic ties for the two countries with such strained dealings.

This is something we are very happy about, he said. At a time when U.S. Pakistan relations are being reported as tense, this is finally some sweet news.
Sous chef John Paul Johnson, executive chef Mark Steuer and general manager Robert Diaz, pictured left to right, will open Funkenhausen in the fall. (Richard Shilkus)

Chef Mark Steuer wants to combat the image of German food as staid, heavy and meat-centric.

"My childhood memories of visiting Germany and Alsace are all about the markets," he said. "You went to the baker for bread, a butcher for meat. There was a vegetable guy, a fruit guy, and everything was beautiful and fresh."

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To that end, Steuer  known primarily for his work as chef at The Bedford and Carriage House (both now closed) and his savory work at Mindy Segal's Hot Chocolate  will open the creatively named Funkenhausen, a beer hall and brasserie, in West Town at 1709 W. Chicago Ave.

"It's a bit of a funky concept, and it's something I've always wanted to do," said the chef, who is of German heritage. "I want to update the German concept, to show what it can be, as opposed to what people think it is."

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He'll look to family memories and family recipes while creating the menu: "For me, food is based and rooted in family."

But Funkenhausen won't represent a complete about-face from German tradition; the menu will feature Bavarian pretzels with beer cheese, and veal schnitzel (albeit with house-fermented vegetables). The drink menu will have beer and wine from the Old Country, along with drinks created in collaboration with local breweries and distilleries.

Vegetables will feature prominently on the menu, though Steuer realizes that an October opening will mean Funkenhausen will debut after most of the local harvest has disappeared.

"We're just now starting to get beautiful fruit and vegetables," he said. "We're already preserving and pickling what's in season right now."

Phil Vettel is a Tribune critic.

pvettel@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @philvettel






Authors and Holocaust survivors Estelle Glaser Laughlin, Mitchell Winthrop and Samuel Harris talk abouth their experiences and read excerpts from their books. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune) (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

They suffered the horrors of the Holocaust and the destruction of their families  and lived to tell the story.

Sam Harris, Mitchell Winthrop and Estelle Glaser Laughlin have gone through personal anguish to put their experiences to paper, each writing a haunting memoir.

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How did they do it? How difficult was it? During interviews with the Tribune, they eloquently addressed these questions. Their edited responses are below.

Each author is a member of the Speakers' Bureau of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, and they'll talk about the process of writing their memoirs at the 33rd annual Printers Row Lit Fest at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Jones College Prep, 700 S. State St., Room 4038.

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For more information, visit www.printersrowlitfest.org.

Sam Harris, 82, born in Deblin, Poland

What happened: I was 4 years old when Hitler came to my town of Deblin, and during that time I witnessed all these terrible things, including losing my parents, my brothers, sisters. I was the youngest of seven, and I was loved by all. All of that disappeared.

Eventually they were all killed except two sisters. I went through two concentration camps: Deblin and Czestochowa. There were all kinds of miracles that happened along the way, so that I would survive. It's unbelievable. I can't even believe it happened to me, that I'm sitting here today.

Why I wrote a memoir: I wrote a memoir not because I wanted to. Over the years I would have dreams, and I wouldn't talk about it. I would take a yellow piece of paper, I write the stories down and I give them titles. Like "Disney World," which means the day of my liberation. "Hiding High in the Hay Loft," which was when I was hiding in front of the Nazis when they were looking.

And I wrote so many of them, and I stored them away. My wife found them. And she said: "We have to write a book."

I said, "No, wait till I'm dead."

She said, "No, we're going to do it now."

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How difficult was it to write?: The challenges were this: I would start to sweat. And I wrote, I put myself in the place where whatever I was writing about was happening to me. And all I was doing is like a newspaper person, standing there and reporting.

Excerpt from: "Sammy: Child Survivor of the Holocaust,' by Samuel R. Harris (Szlamek Rzeznik) with Cheryl Gorder

"Suddenly from nowhere a soldier yelled, grabbed me by the arm and held his revolver right in front of my eyes. I was shaking frantically, filled with fear. Looking into his eyes, I saw the most cold, reptilian look I had ever seen in a human being."

Holocaust survivor Mitchell Winthrops book, The Arrival: I Sought God in Hell, was published under his original name Mietek Weintraub. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune )

Mitchell Winthrop, 90, born in Lodz, Poland

What happened: I was incarcerated in the Lodz ghetto for five years until I was sent to Auschwitz, and I worked in a coal mine near Auschwitz.

Then I was sent on a death march, you can say, in snow, toward Germany. I escaped, but I was caught after two days and sent to another concentration camp called Mauthausen. There I was liberated by the American Army on May 5, 1945.

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And I returned to Poland to try and find some of my family, but none was there.

Why I wrote a memoir: I started writing right after liberation. I started writing in Polish, because this is the language I knew best. I felt terribly lonely. And writing about my relatives, a memoir, relieved the loneliness.

There was another reason. I thought that if my book would be popular, maybe I would be able to find some relatives that way.

There was also another reason. All my relatives, these were successful people, businessmen, manufacturers, philanthropists, and they deserved to have their names memorialized in some way, and there was absolutely no trace of them having ever lived.

And, finally, there was one more reason. I was a witness to important events.

How difficult was it to write?: In a sense it was difficult, but in a sense it relieved the loneliness. Because it kind of brought my family back on the pages of my memoir.

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So it was sweet and difficult both.

I started writing right away, in Polish, but when I emigrated to the United States, I thought that it would be more successful publishing it in English. So I started taking classes and learning English. It took me many years to master English to the point where I could be able to express myself enough for my readers to appreciate my memoir.

Excerpt from: "The Arrival: I Sought God in Hell," by Mietek Weintraub (Mitchell Winthrop's original name)

"In the anteroom, they inform us that we are in the shower barrack and must disrobe and leave all our belongings and clothes on the floor, right where we stand, keeping nothing but our belts and shoes.  I suddenly realize that my knapsack with the diary I kept in the ghetto, my treasured stamp collection, and my favorite family pictures may be lost forever. I must save the photos to preserve the memories just in case we'll never see each other again."

Estelle Glaser Laughlin, 87, born in Warsaw, Poland

What happened: I had just turned 10 when Germany invaded Poland, and immediately my sunny childhood turned into an inferno. They isolated us in a tiny ghetto. They built a thick wall around us, filled the ghetto with people driven out from surrounding areas.

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Most people died in the streets of cold, starvation and illness. I experienced then the deportations, the infamous deportations of the Warsaw ghetto. It was carried out with 20th century know-how and Stone Age values.

We were loaded onto freight trains and ended up in Majdanek extermination camp, where my father was gassed. My mother, sister and I survived Majdanek and two other camps. We survived with love for humanity and compassion and joy  for life should be lived joyfully.

Why I wrote a memoir: These memories loom larger now at the winter of my age, the time of repose and reflection, and hence my memoir. After I retired, I joined a writers group. And the book just wrote itself.

The past is what formed me. Even though I lived in the present, in some way the past was with me in the back, as I believe the past is with us all our lives. We are still influenced by the smells, by the touch, by the emotions that formed us. And that stayed with me, and it just spoke for itself.

How difficult was it to write?: I was petrified to start writing it. I was so petrified to go back to that place that was so devastating. I was so afraid of seeing the people, of seeing the brutality, of seeing the death, of seeing the yearning for life.

I was very fearful, but it was a cathartic thing to do. I heard someone once say that that which you are afraid of most you should face, because the truth is never as horrible as the imagination. And that was true in my case.

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In writing the book I met a very wise, very resilient girl who found a way to preserve the goodness, to keep her spirits alive. In a way, she brought her own light into her darkness. This is what sustained her, and this is what sustains the reader.

Excerpt from: "Transcending Darkness: A Girl's Journey Out of the Holocaust," by Estelle Glaser Laughlin

"I raised my eyes to the sky in hope of finding an inspiration, a way out. The sky hung there in the indescribable glory of a myriad stars, just blinking the fact that 'the universe just is.'"

Howard Reich is a Tribune critic.

hreich@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @howardreich

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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)
All too typically, they made no room for Glenne Headly on the poster for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels." Steve Martin and Michael Caine were the famous ones in that comedy. But Headly, who joined Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1979 and emerged as an extraordinarily deft actress of deceptive range, turned out to be the popular 1988 movie's X-factor, juggling false identities and short cons like a boss.

Headly's performance toolkit included an indelible, sweet Blossom Dearie voice and a rangy, expressive physicality, and she served all sorts of material well on stage, on film and on television. The summer "Glengarry Glen Ross" was on Broadway (1984), showcasing various fellow Chicagoans, Headly scored in the spectacular Steppenwolf revival of the Lanford Wilson play "Balm in Gilead," which took New York by storm.

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Laurie Metcalf earned every rave she got in that revival's famously lengthy and surefire monologue. Metcalf delivered it to the taciturn prostitute played by Headly. I've seen that scene played as a pure solo act, but the way those two performed it, it really did feel like a two-person encounter, one talking, the other listening, both alive and real.

Headly clearly craved the collaborative nature of the business she chose. In HBO's "The Night Of," in so much of what she did across four different decades, the New London, Conn., native earned the respect and admiration of both audiences and artists. The Hulu series "Future Man," currently in production, will now have to get along without her calm, focused expertise in both comedy and drama. Headly died Thursday evening at the age of 62, leaving behind a husband, a son and an awful lot of goodwill.

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Glenne Headly as Tess Trueheart in 1990s Dick Tracy, also starring Warren Beatty. (Touchstone Pictures)

She was medium-famous, I guess you'd say, not that these things matter much when an excellent actress of any degree of renown dies. Coming off "Balm in Gilead," Headley (then married to John Malkovich) made hay while the industry sun shone. She landed "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" the year before TV's landmark miniseries "Lonesome Dove" rewarded Headly with an Emmy nomination. When I learned this morning of her death, my first thought flew back to a screwy, eccentric comic strip adaptation from 1990: director and star Warren Beatty's "Dick Tracy." Headly played Tess Trueheart, perfectly in period (the 1930s by way of the maddest color schemes imaginable) and effortlessly natural.

With all its artful, suffocating artifice, the movie needed her. Around the 26-minute mark Headley shares a scene with Beatty, in a car at night, with a sleeping urchin (Charlie Korsmo) between them in the front seat. Tracy's working up to a proposal. He talks about her living alone, the way he does. "I like living alone. You know that. I'm not the lonely type," she says, quietly.

A minute into the scene you realize Beatty has suddenly become a better, truer, more convincing actor because of his scene partner. When I talked to Beatty last year, he acknowledged as much, noting the same thing happened a generation earlier, when he did a scene in director Robert Rossen's "Lilith" with a screen newcomer named Gene Hackman.

In an HBO interview for "The Night Of," on which Headly played a coolly effective lawyer, the actress said: "If I had tried to play (her) in a much tougher, more obvious way, I don't think she would have gotten so far." Headly often hid her characters' toughness beneath layers of sidewinding charm, or cunning, or an appealing guilelessness. She did her homework, in other words, whatever the role, and then made it seem like it was happening on the spot, with zero calculation.

She'll be missed.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune

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United Airlines' loss is the film world's gain. Mainly to please his concerned mother, he says, then-fledgling filmmaker Trey Edward Shults  whose second feature, the insinuating thriller "It Comes at Night," opens in 2,500 theaters this week  went five years ago to United flight attendant school, where he met his girlfriend, Ashley Meyers.

"We got kicked out together!" Shults, over coffee in a Frenchy downtown bistro, exults in the memory. "They treat it like summer camp or something, all these rules: You can't go in each other's rooms, this and that. All this stuff. She snuck into my room one night; we snuck into the pool after hours. We had a glass of champagne after acing an exam. So one day the instructor came in the classroom and said, 'Uh, we're getting calls from the hotel that it's like "Girls Gone Wild" over there. Destroying property and whatnot. Trey and Ashley, please stand up and leave the room.' He accused us of all this stuff we didn't do! But, so, yeah. That happened."

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His mother's a therapist and Shults, now 28, clearly is used to processing things conversationally. "I was only doing it because my mom wanted me to have some kind of job," he says. "Even when I dropped out of college, studying movies at home, they supported and believed in me. But they were worried."

Krisha Fairchild in a scene from "Krisha." The film, directed by Trey Edward Shults, was made in nine days with less than $100,000, shooting at his mother's house and starring his aunt. (AP)

Two months after getting kicked out, Shults made a short film called "Krisha," with his aunt Krisha Fairchild playing an estranged addict falling off the wagon at a fraught Thanksgiving dinner. After two years of unsuccessful fundraising, and an aborted attempt at making the "Krisha" feature he had in mind, Shults (who interned and later worked for Terrence Malick) found the money and the nine shooting days it took to film a feature-length version.

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"Krisha" won the top prize at South by Southwest in 2015. Two months later it drew worldwide praise in one of the sidebar competition slates at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

His follow-up project, "It Comes at Night," shot near Woodstock, N.Y., takes place in the near future. A horrendous plague has ravaged the population. A family played by Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo and Kelvin Harrison Jr. stays on guard in their house in the woods. Another family intrudes on their wary solitude. The tale becomes one of trust, paranoia and chilling no-win situations. Writer-director Shults plays the scenario for unconventionally intimate suspense, as teenage boy, Travis, watches a nightmare scenario unfold all around him, while at night his own nightmares complicate things even further.

Watch the "It Comes at Night" trailer. (A24 Films/Handout)

Shults wrote the script in the wake of his own father's death from drug and alcohol abuse. To the man who made it, "It Comes at Night" is a grief-stricken personal story even if it's not autobiographical.

"For a huge chunk of his life," Shults says of his birth father, "he had it together. And I was with him for a lot of that, though when I was a kid I saw some terrible things. After my parents separated he got his life back on track, but later he fell off the rails again, and one time he showed up at our house in a semi truck to take me to dinner. He was already drunk, and by the end of the night he was trying to get me to take money out of my mom's and stepdad's bank accounts. Extremely unhealthy behavior.

"I was still in high school but I basically cut off our relationship. And I hadn't talked to him in eight, nine years when I found out he had pancreatic cancer. So like Tom Cruise in 'Magnolia,' I went to him on his deathbed, and just tried to help him find some peace before the end. Two months after that I started writing 'It Comes at Night,' and the scene at the beginning (where Ejogo says goodbye to her own plague-infected father) is pretty much verbatim."

Shults pauses a second, then: "I hope the film indicates the mind-state I was in when that first draft more or less poured out of me in three days. I think it's there, anyway."

He made "Krisha" for $30,000 in his mother's house in Montgomery, Texas, and fully half the budget went to camera- and lens-related expenses, including a Steadicam operator. Postproduction and Cannes-related costs brought the final budget to $80,000. The film's distributor, A24 ("Room," "Moonlight"), paid $40,000 for the rights to use the Nina Simone version of "Just in Time," underscoring a crucial sequence in "Krisha." That one song on the soundtrack cost more than the initial production budget.

A24, Shults acknowledges, got behind the defiantly uncommercial "Krisha" mainly to get ahold of Shults' next project, i.e., "It Comes at Night." This one cost around $3 million, and Shults shot it in 26 days. He struggled to find the right ending, he says, initially sending the teenage boy at the story's heart straight to hell, or something like it. He filmed it, but the feedback he got was that after a pretty stark picture, that ending was nothing but "pummeling," he says, shaking his head with a grin. A24 remained supportive, he says, even though Shults burned down an entire set for the unused epilogue.

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The next movie, Shults says, will reflect his general state of happiness now. He and his significant other (she's a flight attendant for American Airlines) recently got what he calls "my first really nice apartment," in Orlando. Her schedule flexibility has allowed them to travel the film festival circuit as a couple. The new screenplay in development, he says, will deal with a brother and a sister over the course of a year. And unlike "Krisha" and "It Comes at Night," this one, he says, will likely let in a little more light. (He's planning on shooting in Florida.)

"There's another side of me I have to get out," he says. "I like combining a fictional narrative with the subtext of all this personal stuff. Right now I'm inspired by Florida and my girlfriend, so I'm going with it.  There's a lot of love in my other movies, but they're dark. This one's more about love and sunshine. " Pause. He smiles. "But you know, with some very, very tragic stuff that happens along the way."

As with another A24 release, Robert Eggers' superb supernatural debut feature "The Witch," "It Comes at Night" will inevitably frustrate audiences looking for a more formulaic genre picture. The ads, he says, cautiously, are pushing "a full-on horror movie, which I don't think it is. I'm already anticipating a huge portion of the audience to (be thrown by it), the way 'The Witch" threw people. On the other hand, 'The Witch' still made money. And it reached all kinds of people."

For the moment, Shults' needs sound both simple and, as for so many talented filmmakers before him, elusive. "I've struggled financially a long time," he says. "All I ever wanted to do was make movies I believed in, with all my heart and soul. If I can keep doing that, and be able to live while doing that, it'd be incredible."

"It Comes at Night" opens Friday in wide release.

Michael Phillips is a Chicago Tribune critic.

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mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune

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"Aladdin" 

"Aladdin," the most frenetic and cartoonish of Disney's screen-to-stage musicals, officially opened its first national tour in Chicago at the Cadillac Palace Theatre. And Adam Jacobs, his gleaming white teeth, his charming costar Isabelle McCalla as Princess Jasmine and the rest have all acquired a little more attention to veracity and Broadway chops since this show's first turn on the rialto. The new "Aladdin" crew is committed and fun, which you would expect, but they also bring more emotional depth to a show naturally inclined to remain in the shallow end of the pool. You can't beat catching a first-class Equity tour right at the start. Through Sept. 10 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St.; $44-$153 at 800-775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com

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"Black Pearl: A Tribute to Josephine Baker"  1/2

In 1925, the hugely talented young Josephine Baker moved to France to appear in "La Revue Negre," but her switch to French citizenship came at a price. Which is clear in Black Ensemble Theater's very moving biographical musical that represents perhaps the best writing I've seen in 25 years of watching the stories of black musical legends at this venerable theater. And it features dynamite performances from Joan Ruffin as the older version of Baker and Aeriel Williams as her impetuous younger self. Williams, a newcomer, can sing every note of the Baker repertoire and can dance the Charleston to within an inch of her life. Through June 18 at Black Ensemble Theater, 4450 N. Clark St.; $55-$65 at 773-769-4451 or blackensembletheater.org

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"Blue Man Group"  1/2

"Blue Man Group" has been playing at Briar Street Theatre since 1997, a remarkable run of 20 years. There have been only two major overhauls in that time; the latest adds selfie sticks, new music and a livelier finale. I'd argue the Blue Men need a bigger overhaul  they still chomp marshmallows, bang drums and paint up audience members  but this remains a fine gateway for the young into the arts. If you've never had the pleasure, go. Open run at the Briar Street Theatre, 3133 N. Halsted St.; $49-$69 at ticketmaster.com

"Bright Half Life"  1/2

The more you love another person, the more you have to lose. That's the paradox in Tanya Barfield's moving two-character play "Bright Half Life," the story of a lesbian relationship from the first meeting to sad end. Elizabeth Ledo imbues her Erica with such a force of affection that she raises the stakes of this show, produced by About Face under the direction of Keira Fromm. The much cagier Vicky is played by Patrese McClain. You spend your 90 minutes fearing for Erica and hoping against hope for both of these women, and it's also a play designed for you to compare what you are watching with what you know in your own relationships. Whoever you may be. Through July 1 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.; $40 at 773-975-8150 or aboutfacetheatre.com

"Chicago" 

William Osetek, the director of the highly entertaining new production of "Chicago" at the Drury Lane Theatre, finally got the rights to this most deliciously cynical of American musicals  you could see years of pent-up ideas crammed on stage, along with a lot of talent, excitement and raw desire. E. Faye Butler knocks us back in our seats with "When You're Good to Mama." And Kelly Felthous plays the unfortunate murderess Roxie as very much a lost soul until she wises up to her situation. She and Alena Watters' Velma are a study in contrasts, which is what Kander and Ebb originally intended. Through June 18 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace; $45-$60 at 630-530-0111 or drurylanetheatre.com

"Fantastic Super Great Nation Numero Uno"  1/2

"Fantastic Super Great Nation Numero Uno" is an inclusive and warmhearted new e.t.c. Theater show, directed by Ryan Bernier, that takes a broad view of the moment. There have been edgier revues on the e.t.c. stage, but this crew is so funny you worry some coastal talent-spotters soon will steal them away. Alan Linic plays a Cubs fans who slept through everything that has happened since. Katie Klein's old-school parody of affirmative women's daytime talk shows  "What's Up Girl?"  is probably the richest material of the night. Open run in Second City e.t.c. Theater in Piper's Alley, 1618 N. Wells St.; $19-$46 at 312-664-4032 or secondcity.com

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"Hamilton" 

This Broadway show has given Chicago a Chicago-style production. The heartland "Hamilton" is performed by players mostly younger and less experienced than the original New York cast and is less flashy. But it is more in touch with the fundamental scrappiness of the early years of a rebel colony turned into a spectacular democratic experiment. And in a city whose native theater is founded on truth, it is somehow very much more human and vulnerable. That Chicago-style sensibility is led by Miguel Cervantes, the superb actor in the title role. This is a company that deserves to be embraced. Open run at PrivateBank Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St.; $65-$400 at 800-775-2000 or broadwayinchicago.com

"Ideation"  1/2

Aaron Loeb's tense, blisteringly smart "Ideation" unfolds with enough dramatic tension in director Gus Menary's Jackalope Theatre production to propel anybody outside the box. A group of MBA types gather in a conference room, tasked with a big new project. But even as they synergize and incentivize, they're confused as to what the project is about. The disposal of bodies? This is a high-stakes show, with a compelling cast, and it raises all sorts of questions. Does morality have a place at the table? Through June 17 at Broadway Armory Park, 5917 N. Broadway; $25 at jackalopetheatre.org

"La Havana Madrid" 

In the 1960s, many of Chicago's Puerto Ricans lived on the western side of Lincoln Park. Sandra Delgado's hit "La Havana Madrid" is a heartfelt and fascinating musical tribute to those immigrants and the music, especially the salsa, that they brought to town. This new show, staged by Teatro Vista, has transferred from the Steppenwolf for another week of shows on Pulaski Road, a celebration of a nightclub run by the music promoter Tony Quintana and what it meant to the community it served. Through June 11 at the Miracle Center, 2311 N. Pulaski Road; $25 at teatrovista.org

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"The Mystery of Love & Sex" 

The two young people in Bathsheba Doran's compassionate play are what's often called soul mates. Charlotte (Hayley Burgess) and Jonny (Travis Turner) are longtime girl-and-boy friends who, as they head off to college, are exploring their own sexuality and trying to figure out if they are gay. She's Jewish, he's African-American. But this play is not just about their relationship, it deepens in Act 2 and brings in conflicts with Charlotte's parents, as well as the power and necessity for reconciliation. Through July 2 in the Gillian Theatre at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; $35-$80 at 847-242-6000 or writerstheatre.org

"Parade"  1/2

Director Gary Griffin has created a fresh and relevant new production of Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown's "Parade," a 1998 Broadway musical about the 1913 trial, abduction and lynching of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank in Atlanta. Many great musicals feature a community under stress, pulling together. In many ways, "Parade" turns that device on its ear. The community of Atlanta is under stress, all right  everyone in power feels "a rumblin' and a rollin'" coming from the North. Frank is played with passion and ferment by Patrick Andrews, but it is Brianna Borger as his wife, Lucille, whose work anchors this show. Through July 2 at Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe; $35-$80 at 847-242-6000 or writerstheatre.org

"Paradise Blue" 

Black Bottom, the east side neighborhood of Detroit that once was the center of African-American life in that city, was the kind of place where a musician could play with dignity, as noted in Dominique Morisseau's play "Paradise Blue." That was before the community was razed to make way for Interstate 75. "Paradise Blue" is set in 1949 in a jazz club owned by Blue (Al'Jaleel McGhee), a gifted trumpeter who faces so many racial obstacles that he becomes dangerous to himself, his girlfriend Pumpkin (Kristen E. Ellis) and the pals, Corn (Ronald L. Conner) and P-Sam (Charles Andrew Gardner), who hang around in his Paradise. It's also filled with the music and longing of composer Orbert Davis in director Ron OJ Parson's languid TimeLine production. Through July 23 at TimeLine Theatre Company; 615 W. Wellington Ave.; $38-$51 at 773-281-8463 or timelinetheatre.com

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"Ragtime" 

"Ragtime" is the musical based on E.L. Doctorow's 1975 novel, with a book by Terrence McNally, music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. It's about many things at the turn of the 20th century, including the American sin of racism and the plight of immigrants. But it is fundamentally a show about change. Director Scott Weinstein's non-Equity show is my favorite of the several small "Ragtime" revivals here over the years, with a palpable commitment to the story. He gets his talented young cast out into the audience, delivering Flaherty's gorgeous music. Through July 16 at the Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave.; $39 at 866-811-4111 or griffintheatre.com

"Relativity" 

Albert Einstein is an ideal role for America's oldest active union actor Mike Nussbaum, the new show by Northlight Theatre reveals. Watch Nussbaum in a heady, talky play like this one  with Einstein very much at the center of the drama  and you leave shaking your head in amazement. Nussbaum, I swear, is as unique as was the man he plays. But aside from Einstein, the play is about the relationship of Professor E=MC2 with his daughter. You get to ponder some of life's ironies  and the morality of old Einstein himself  while finding yourself back in the parking lot just 70 minutes later. Through June 25 at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie; $30-$81 at 847-673-6300 or northlight.org

"Shakespeare in Love" 

The smarty-pants 1998 movie "Shakespeare in Love" imagined a love affair between Shakespeare and Viola de Lesseps, a wannabe actress seduced by a life on the boards. The stage adaptation has had a mixed history (it really should have been a musical). But in the hands of the director Rachel Rockwell  who has put a lot of heart into the Chicago Shakespeare Theater production  it makes for a very warm, accessible and enjoyable night out. Nick Rehberger is unpretentious and likable as the man himself, Kate McGonigle is a pleasing Viola, and the whole play is now a love letter to the collaborative nature of Chicago theater. Through June 11 in the Courtyard Theater on Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand Ave.; $58-$88 at 312-595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com

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"She Loves Me"  1/2

Emotional intimacy can be tricky at the Marriott Theatre and its in-the-round auditorium. But director Aaron Thielen's very lovely new production of the 1963 musical "She Loves Me" manages to carve out an exception for itself. This charming show  the book is by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock and lyrics are by Sheldon Harnick  is set mostly inside an old-school perfumery. The characters are ordinary folks striving to have successful romantic relationships, including the main couple, both clerks in the shop. You really care about these two, not the least because Alex Goodrich and Elizabeth Telford turn in such honest, vulnerable and realistic performances. This is perhaps Thielen's best work at the Marriott. Through June 18 at the Marriott Theatre, 100 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire; $50 to $60 at 847-634-0200 or marriotttheatre.com

"Spamilton"  1/2

With "Spamilton," the savvy parodist Gerard Alessandrini ("Forbidden Broadway") has come roaring back in a new, local production ideally timed for Chicago, delivering nonstop laughs to anyone with enough knowledge of "Hamilton" to get the gags. The famous "blue-collar/shining beacon/Puerto Rican" is played by Yando Lopez, an actor with a better vocal instrument than Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Eric Andrew Lewis blows out the room as Aaron Burr. It's a fair criticism to say that Alessandrini is perhaps too much in love with the real "Hamilton" to really skewer the show, but there's guaranteed fun here for Miranda obsessives. Open run at the Royal George Cabaret Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St.; $59-$99 at 312-988-9000 or spamilton.com

"Tony n' Tina's Wedding" 

I actually had a blast at this semiscripted affair that employs 23 actors to play members of the two feuding families joining in holy matrimony. Don't judge without going. Still, I wouldn't be recommending this thing if it were just like last time. The difference this time around is that the show begins in an actual Chicago church, where the congregants are to be commended for their sense of humor, and the scale and quality of the Chicago improv community (not all of whom are in the first blush of youth) have improved vastly in the years since I last saw this show. It's a rough, tough, divisive world out there. Here, everyone was having fun. Go in a group. Open run at Resurrection Church, 3309 N. Seminary Ave.; $75-$85 at 773-327-3778 or tonylovestina.com

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One of the markers of adulthood is recognizing that your parents had lives of their own that had nothing to do with you. Often you don't see it until at least one of them has died. They live on in fragmented memories and at multiple places along a timeline of intersecting personal histories  histories we might be shocked to learn about.

And if the deceased parent is also famous for creating great things in the world, the lenses can be even cloudier. Their work is all around you  but what foundations did they provide for you?

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That's the central dramatic conundrum in Richard Greenberg's 1997 play "Three Days of Rain," now in a handsome intimate revival with BoHo Theatre. It concerns the grown-up children of Ned Janeway, a celebrated architect who has just died. Well, he died a year ago. But his troubled, voluble son, Walker, disappeared right after his dad's death. He's returned to New York and is camping out in a dilapidated loft that once served as the studio for Ned and his long-dead architectural partner, Theo Wexler.

The first act takes us into the world of Walker, his older sister, Nan, who is raising her own kids in Boston (much to Walker's disdain  he clearly feels that New York is the only city worth mentioning in America), and Theo's son, Pip, a sunny-natured soap opera actor. They're gathered to hear Ned's will, and they end up dealing with the fallout of uncovered secrets and surprising bequests.

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Walker, who has apparently inherited his mother's emotional fragility (we learn she's been institutionalized for years), fixates on an old journal of his father's that he uncovered in the loft, as well as the house on Long Island that Ned built for his own parents years ago. It's a modernist classic, and restless Walker wants it for himself. Maybe, it's hinted, he'll stop wandering if he has this totem of parental affection as an anchor.

By the second act, we're back in time to 1960, where shy Ned and charismatic Theo are both caught by the charms of Lina, a Southern firecracker who comes off as a cross between Zelda Fitzgerald and Edie Sedgwick. The brief lines in Ned's journal that Walker puzzles over in the first act take on clarity as the tangled relationships of the older generation come into sometimes-painful focus.

The conceit is that the actors who play the grown-up kids return in the second act to play the parents, with sharp contrasts drawn between them. So for example, Kyle Curry's Walker, who never stops talking, returns as father Ned, a shy stutterer. Kate Black-Spence plays both the tightly wound Nan and Nan's histrionic mom, Lina. And Niko Kourtis, whose good-natured Pip tells snobbish Walker, "Being in a good mood is not the same as being a moron," shows up as Theo, whose own emotional swings and flashes of braggadocio seem more like narcissistic Walker than his own son.

Greenberg's signature style is for dialogue that outdoes Woody Allen for torrents of cultural references and occasional moments of psychological navel-gazing. If that sort of thing wears you down, then "Three Days of Rain" might feel like a long, gray night of verbosity. But director Derek Van Barham's staging, despite some over-loud moments in the first act especially (the tiny Heartland Studio space has a lot of aural bounce to it), creates a mostly compelling environment, aided by Patrick's Ham's cunningly detailed set and the hints of actual rain (not just the emotional metaphor variety) in Kallie Rolison's subtle but effective soundscape.

The challenge  and it's one largely met by these actors  is to make even the less palatable aspects of the characters resonate truthfully over the course of both acts. Curry's Walker may at times veer into being a self-parody of the overeducated, self-involved Lost Boy, but when finally seen in conjunction with Black-Spence's mercurial and self-lacerating Lina, we feel more sympathy for what his family history has cost him.

Similarly, Kourtis (who pulled off a similar Greenbergian double casting in "The Assembled Parties" at Raven earlier this year) shifts smoothly between go-along-to-get-along Pip and Theo, a man whose mouth has been writing checks his talent may not be able to back up.

BoHo's "Three Days of Rain" leaves us wondering whether knowing more about our parents' pasts would change our own choices. Sadly, we may think there's always time to find out. But time runs out, and the truth about our personal and family histories often lives on in what's unsaid.

Kerry Reid is a freelance critic.

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ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com

"Three Days of Rain" - 3 Stars

When: Through June 25

Where: Heartland Studio, 7016 N. Glenwood Ave.

Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Tickets: $25 at 866-811-4111 or www.bohotheatre.com

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In his new memoir, "The Black Penguin," Andrew Evans balances tales of his travels to Antarctica with his story about growing up Mormon and gay in the rural Midwest. (KEENPRESS)

The cover to Andrew Evans' memoir-travelogue "The Black Penguin" can almost be described as a cynical choice, a gaggle of cute penguins enticing readers into a tale of adventure to the end of the world. In an age of viral animal videos, who doesn't want to read about those silly, proud aquatic birds?

And indeed, Evans delivers an adventure, though his approach is anything but cynical. After four travel guidebooks, "The Black Penguin" is Evans' first foray into narrative writing, and an earnest one at that.

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On assignment for National Geographic, Evans traveled 12,000 miles by bus from his Washington, D.C., home to South America's southernmost tip before crossing by ship to Antarctica. Per his assignment, all of this was documented, in real time, on Twitter, but also in video, blog form and a printed feature.

"I had been riding buses since kindergarten  it is the simplest and most accessible form of public transportation that exists. If I could just keep connecting from one bus to the next, then eventually, I would reach the bottom of the world," he writes.

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Evans became a viral hit as National Geographic's "Digital Nomad" writer  the author charts a parallel journey in his book, that of a Mormon man coming to terms with his religion and his identity, namely as a gay man.

From his early beginnings, riding (and being bullied on) a school bus in rural Ohio to riding a chicken bus through unpaved jungle roads among kind strangers, Twitter stalkers and clumsy cows, Evans charts his self-discovery with charm and sincerity, culminating in a run-in with the titular animal.

Ever the adventurer, Evans had just returned from a 400-mile, 40-day overland hike on the newly minted Jordan Trail, from the city of Umm Qais to Aqaba on the Red Sea, when he talked by phone to the Tribune about his book, his life as a former Mormon, and childhood bullying. The interview is edited for space and clarity.

Q: At one point, you write, "I had never stayed at a gay hotel before, nor was I sure what makes one hotel gayer than the other. Besides the rainbow flag, the pretty, twink receptionist, and the disco ball in the lobby, the gayest thing about this hotel is that I wanted to stay there." It seems like you're trying to make a point.

A: I don't think gay travel exists. I don't think travel needs to be framed like that. I think "gay travel" can sometimes be shorthand for clubbing, where to hook up, that kind of stuff.

Q: And yet you explore your background as a gay man.

A: I didn't set out to write a book about being gay  I've never considered myself a gay writer  but it's the running theme of my life. When I started writing the book, it was just a travel story, but my agent at the time kept telling me it was missing a personal story. I shelved it for three years before picking it back up and starting all over again.

Internalized homophobia kept me from writing it at first. But as I wrote, the more I realized that, of course, travel is a path to self-discovery. I didn't want to write a coming-out book, but travel helps you come to terms with who you are, which is why the book is structured the way it is today.

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Q: You've written guidebooks to Iceland, Ukraine and others, but this is your first narrative book. What's the reception been like?

A: I think we all live our lives thinking we're the only people dealing with a particular issue or problem. I've met readers not in the same boat as me  not religious or gay  but they still connect with bullying, being ostracized. I thought I was being weak, recalling how difficult school was for me, but when I put it on the page, that's what people have brought up  "yeah my kid is getting picked on at school," or, "I was bullied too." It's universal.

Q: You took an ordinary idea  ride the bus  and made it an extraordinary adventure, and yet the story is so deeply about your upbringing in Ohio. As a former, deeply devout Mormon, you went from schoolyard taunts to excommunication from the church you loved, along with familial problems.

A: Everyone struggles with loving their family, fighting to be an individual, and to realize that everything your family is not who you are. My mother did not react well to my writing the book. It was to be expected  when you write a book like this, people aren't just characters. The thing I hear all the time from other writers is "I want to write something like this, but I can't because of my family." I had to write as honest as I could, without any of that influence.

It's the airing of personal things, the pain. It's what happens. I ended up remembering a lot of stuff that I didn't put in the book. I could've published a more damning book than I did  there were times people would tell me I was better off dead. These are not things you say to a young person suffering.

Q: Did this help you come to terms with your relationship to the church? You occasionally share facts and figures about LGBT matters as it relates to the church. Where do you stand?

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A: Writing was cathartic, but there are still so many LGBT Mormon kids who are so despondent and ostracized by the church. I know because I was there. I felt that, in writing this book, I wanted to address that fact.

The Mormon church is playing to two audiences  obsessed with public image but afraid to address the problem of teen suicide in their ranks. They claim to be tolerant and loving and open-minded, but after the church's role in passing Prop 8 (which was backed by opponents of gay marriage), they spent as much money to clean up that image. Leaders can come out and say they're welcoming of gay people, but behind closed doors, doctrine says that being gay is a perversion and a wicked desire and you're going to hell. I write about what's prescribed by the church  the process of excommunication, reparative therapy. When you are raised this way, suicide is all but encouraged by doctrine  that it's the only cure. It's the most harmful message we can give to another human.

Being gay is treated like a condition you pick up in school, or you're encouraged to play a part that's not true to who you are. But homosexuality is real, to be transgender is real.

Q: You write about your family in the book  what do they think about your criticisms?

A: When I post online about the church, I am criticizing the leadership. Unfortunately, my friends and family think it's an attack, that I'm anti-Mormon. Why? It's my heritage, it's who I am  I'm seventh-generation Mormon. They can't dictate to me how I express that.

Q: And yet you're still a deeply spiritual person.

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A: The blessing of excommunication was that I discovered God as an independent being. When you are so very violently jettisoned to the curb and yet still feel the same feelings from God, the same guidance, you realize you didn't really need the church. You still have God.

I've seen lots of gay friends leave their faith and throw the baby  that is, God  out with the bathwater. I didn't want to lose that.

Q: But seriously: Why a bus?

A: While I began writing about the bus, I was a 34-year-old man who had a partner, now husband. I was out and happy. When I started writing about that journey to Antarctica, with broken lines down to the bottom of the map, rather than one simple flight, I realized life isn't that neat.

From there, I drew connections to being bullied as a kid on the bus, and even then, National Geographic was a bright spot in my childhood when I was dealing with darkness and doubt. The bus becomes this vector for good and bad things  it's always carrying us, and it was always there in my life. Buses are central to my past.

Q: So you don't believe in gay travel, but does that inform your experience of the world, even a little?

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A: I don't want that to become my defining thing, to be a "gay writer." I don't want my career to be attached to my preference.

The world is very big, and I've been exploring it for decades  and yes, we do see the world from our experience. I see homophobia a certain way, but I also think when you're gay, you seek out the other and the elsewhere because we all have to get out of our own worlds. The same can be said for a lot of people with wanderlust, the people flinging themselves around the world because it's easier for them to connect with the kindness of other humans. I relate to that.

jbhernandez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @joeybear85






Southwest Airlines pilot Lou Freeman is greeted after landing his final commercial flight at Midway Airport on June 8, 2017. Freeman is retiring after nearly 37 years of service with Southwest as the company's first African-American pilot. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

On Thursday morning, Lou Freeman stood in front of a mirror and tied his pilot's tie one last time, fiddling with the knot to make sure it was exactly right.

He inspected his reflection.

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He saw the tidy white shirt, which he has always insisted on ironing himself. The neat black pants. And the face of the first black pilot at Southwest Airlines, a distinction he doesn't give much thought to on an ordinary day.

This was not an ordinary day.

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After nearly 37 years at Southwest, Captain Lou, as he's widely known, was retiring.

"I enjoyed looking at myself in the mirror," he said a while later, by phone, sitting in the Dallas airport, ready for his farewell flight home to Chicago's Midway Airport. "I knew I was getting dressed for the last time."

Freeman joined Southwest in 1980, in an era when African-American commercial pilots were even more rare than they are today. In the decades since, the airline says, he rose to become the first African-American chief pilot of any major airline, and he has made it his mission to guide more young black people into the job.

"I'm looking right now at four guys, actually, five, that are Southwest Airlines pilots who are here because I was part of it," he said, sitting at the Dallas gate, surveying the passengers for Flight 4122. "They all bought tickets and they're going to fly with me up to Chicago."

He's known for his modesty and mentioned these things only because I'd asked.

As a kid growing up in Texas, Freeman never traveled by plane, except once as a toddler, when his father, an Army man, took the family to Germany. In college, he failed the pilot portion of the Air Force officers qualifying test.

"I'd never been exposed to airplanes," he said, "so I had no clue to what they were talking about."

But he studied, and when he repeated the test the following year, he passed, the beginning of a life he loved.

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"This is a man who has never, ever, ever complained about going to work," said Stephanie Woodfork, his wife of 34 years. "This is a man who wouldn't let anybody else iron his white shirt. I'd say, 'Louis, take it to the cleaners.' No. He was so proud of that uniform. He probably would have done his pants, too, but they needed to be dry-cleaned."

Through the years, Freeman has worn the title "first African-American pilot at Southwest Airlines" lightly but taken its opportunity seriously.

"If anyone ever called and asked him to talk to kids about flying, he went," his wife said, "even if he had to buy his own plane ticket."

He sometimes encountered racism on the job.

"Of course," she said, "definitely, without a doubt. But he never let it stop him, never let it get him down."

When he was occasionally mistaken for a skycap, she said, he never seemed to mind.

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"I'd be insulted," she said. "But he'd stop and check their bags."

Once, she said, she was on the plane when another passenger glanced down and commented in dismay that the pilot was helping to load luggage in the cargo hold. She told the startled passenger that was her husband, and he was always game for doing any job.

Of the thousands of trips Freeman has flown, one stands out in his mind. In late October 2005, he was captain of the team that gave the civil rights icon Rosa Parks, in his words, "one last tour."

He flew Parks' casket to Montgomery, Ala., then to Washington, D.C., and on to its burial spot in Detroit. He watched, awed and humbled, as people lined the streets to see her body pass, as if for a parade.

He brought his kids on Parks' last tour and was glad that the two of them, raised in the predominantly white Chicago suburb of Naperville, could connect with their history.

Next week, Captain Lou turns 65, mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots. So at 12:51 p.m. Thursday, in his perfectly knotted tie, he pulled out of Dallas for his farewell flight.

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Champagne was served to passengers in his honor. When he touched down at Midway, he was given a water cannon salute.

"Am I thrilled about having to park the airplane and walk away?" he said shortly before departure. "No. But it's time to give my seat to somebody else."

Before he settled in the cockpit for the last time, his wife said, she plucked some tissues from her purse.

"Do you want some Kleenex?" she asked.

He said, "I think I need a whole box."

mschmich@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @MarySchmich
Nearly three years ago, then-Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez threw out the murder conviction of Alstory Simon, saying that an investigation into the case and the "interests of justice" led her to "no other conclusion" but that Simon be set free  in spite of his videotaped confession, guilty plea and an apology to the victims' families.

In fact, the yearlong investigation, run by two of Alvarez's top deputies, came to a different conclusion.

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According to the report from that investigation, never released publicly but recently obtained by the Tribune, prosecutors determined that evidence of Simon's guilt in a 1982 double murder outweighed evidence against Anthony Porter, who had been sentenced to death for the crime and released after Simon implicated himself.

The two Alvarez deputies, Fabio Valentini and Joseph Magats, the leaders from the Criminal Prosecutions Bureau, concluded there was not sufficient evidence to warrant setting Simon free.

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"Ultimately," the July 2014 report states, "the credible evidence which incriminated Porter does not rise to the level that would offset Simon's own confessions to these crimes. ... Therefore, at this time, there is not sufficient evidence to seek to vacate Simon's convictions."

Nonetheless, three months later, Alvarez did just that.

"At the end of the day, and in the best interests of justice," Alvarez said at a news conference in October 2014, "we can reach no other conclusion but that the investigation of this case has been so deeply corroded and corrupted that we can no longer maintain the legitimacy of this conviction."

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez talks to reporters Thursday about her decision to drop charges against Alstory Simon. (Chicago Tribune)

With that, Alvarez rewrote a key chapter of the state's death penalty narrative. No longer was the unraveling of Porter's case and his release from death row a crucial pivot point in Illinois' experiment with capital punishment. Instead, it was a curiosity  and possibly a wrongful conviction twice over.

Alvarez could not be reached for comment, though she has said in the past she only wanted to get to the truth of what happened and had no stake in the outcome of her office's investigation.

In the end, she said, the case against Simon was tainted by questionable methods employed by Northwestern University journalism professor David Protess, who led the investigation that helped free Porter, and his team.

The attorneys for Simon, who had encouraged Alvarez to re-examine the case against Simon and cheered her decision to release him, declined comment; in the past, they have said Protess conducted an unethical investigation to further the state's anti-death penalty movement and burnish his own reputation.

The attorneys represent Simon in a federal lawsuit that alleges he was framed for the murders. Simon is also seeking a certificate of innocence that would allow him to seek state compensation.

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Porter's lawyer declined comment as well.

An attorney for a private investigator who worked with Protess said the report supports her belief that Alvarez allowed personal animus toward him to color her judgment. Alvarez who had tangled with Protess on other cases  had long wanted to find a way to undercut the state's wrongful conviction movement, the attorney said.

"My takeaway is that Anita Alvarez epitomizes what we know about Cook County politics, in that she used her position of power to get payback against an institution and an individual who had been critical of her office and of her, and that had been successful at exposing deficiencies and injustices in the system," attorney Jennifer Bonjean said. "If you discredit this, then you make people distrust reform of the system."

The 1982 murders of Jerry Hillard and Marilyn Green at Washington Park on the city's South Side drew scant attention when they occurred. But in the 31/2 decades since, and particularly since 1999, the case has come to inform Illinois' troubled history with capital punishment.

Hillard and Green were shot to death before dawn on Aug. 15 as they sat in the bleachers of one of the park's pools. After a police investigation that the report concludes was "incomplete and less than thorough," Porter  who had a lengthy record of arrests, including three arrests for murder  went to trial and was convicted of the Hillard and Green murders. Eyewitness identification was the backbone of the prosecution case.

Porter was sentenced to death.

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In 1999, an investigation by Protess and his students, as well as the private investigator Paul Ciolino, obtained statements from supposed witnesses that implicated Simon. What's more, Ciolino obtained a videotaped confession from Simon, in part by using a video with an actor to suggest to Simon that he had been implicated in the case. Valentini and Magats, in their 28-page report, were critical of Northwestern and Ciolino's investigative methods, and Protess in fact left the university in a dispute.

After Northwestern made the video public, then-State's Attorney Dick Devine approved the release of Porter, who at one time had come within 48 hours of being executed. Shaken by seeing Porter come so close to being put to death, then-Gov. George Ryan declared a halt to executions less than a year later and created a commission to study the state's death penalty. He later emptied death row.

In 2011, fueled in part by Porter's exoneration but also by other cases, the state legislature abolished the death penalty.

Devine, meantime, negotiated a plea deal with Simon. In exchange for pleading guilty, Simon was given a 37-year prison sentence. In court, he made a lengthy apology and, even in prison, he continued to admit he had killed Hillard and Green

Indeed, Simon told a television reporter from Milwaukee in a prison interview that he had committed the murders and, in a letter from behind bars the report cites, he told a lawyer on his team, David Thomas, that he killed Hillard in self-defense and Green by accident. The investigation also obtained notes from Simon's chief attorney, Jack Rimland, quoting Simon saying he shot Hillard after Hillard appeared to reach for his own gun.

After his release, Porter filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city, seeking damages for his wrongful conviction. The city, in defense, argued that Porter was guilty and that the only miscarriage of justice was that he had been released from prison.

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Porter lost the lawsuit.

Simon appealed his conviction, to no avail. In 2005, lawyers James Sotos and Terry Ekl filed a post-conviction petition in which they claimed Simon was innocent. They alleged that Protess' team offered at least one witness money to accuse Simon of the murders and persuaded another to implicate Simon; those witnesses, the lawyers said, had backed away from those claims. Sotos and Ekl alleged in court papers that Ciolino and Rimland also had a conflict of interest because they were friends and shared office space.

Sotos and Ekl urged Alvarez to re-examine the case. She agreed and assigned it to her Conviction Integrity Unit, which she had formed amid a flurry of wrongful conviction cases. The inquiry included dozens of interviews and a review of reports and other documents. Alvarez called it the "most complicated and most challenging" investigation the unit had ever done.

The report said Protess and his students, as well as Ciolino, were not interviewed, in most cases because they declined to cooperate. Nonetheless, investigators questioned a number of witnesses, plus some witnesses who had never been interviewed before.

The report states that "multiple attempts" were made to interview Porter but that all of those attempts were unsuccessful.

A lengthy passage in the report deals with two interviews with Simon, who told investigators that he was innocent. He said he was not in Washington Park at the time of the murders. He said he was not a drug dealer, though at least one witness said he was; said Hillard was not selling drugs for him; and said Hillard did not owe him money. He said, too, that he left town after the shooting not to flee the investigation into the murders but because gang members had been breaking windows at his home.

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Simon said he confessed because he felt threatened  Ciolino had a gun, he said  and because he was on drugs at the time.

In the report, Valentini and Magats focused on Simon's interviews  on when he began to suspect he had been railroaded, why he did the Milwaukee TV interview, whether he had written to Thomas and Rimland. He could not explain why he had written to Thomas and admitted his guilt, according to the report, when at the same time he said his trust in Rimland was eroding. Valentini and Magats called Simon's many confessions "significant."

Sotos, Simon's lawyer, called the prosecutors later to say he had discussed the letters further with his client, according to the report. Simon, Sotos said, probably made incriminating statements in letters to lawyers because he felt he needed to take responsibility "in order to have any chance of establishing credibility in an effort to obtain legal representation at that stage in the proceedings."

While the prosecutors' report concludes that there was enough evidence to convict Porter at trial, it says, too, that they were struck by how the evidence against Porter continued to morph. By the time of trial, they said, it was weaker than when he was arrested. Then when Simon was arrested, the case against Porter somehow grew stronger.

"It is difficult to understand why or how this happened," the report states, "but numerous witnesses suddenly identified Porter as the killer, never having done so before." And, indeed, Sotos and Ekl have said the case that was presented to the Cook County grand jury that eventually indicted Simon contained more evidence against Porter than Simon. The prosecutors' reports backs that claim.

But the report also says that Simon's supporters have mischaracterized the evidence.

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"In short, Simon supporters, in their zeal to characterize Simon as innocent of these crimes, have mischaracterized the evidence implicating Porter in these crimes as overwhelming," according to the report. "It is not that at all. ... Porter very well may have killed Hillard and Green. But the evidence is less than overwhelming. The evidence is flawed." Only one witness against Porter, the report concludes, was credible. And that person was dead at the time of the prosecutors' investigation.

What's more, the report says none of the lawyers who came into contact with Simon before Sotos and Ekl ever heard Simon profess his innocence. And it says that, at age 46 at the time of his confession and arrest, he was no naive criminal.

"This certainly complicates his claims regarding coercion and having been misled," the report states.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

While Alvarez was sharply critical of Protess and Ciolino when she announced in October 2014 she was setting aside Simon's conviction and paving the way for him to go free, saying their actions would never pass muster in a law enforcement investigation, she did not discuss the implications of the evidence gathered against Simon.

Instead, Alvarez largely articulated the points Sotos and Ekl had made on Simon's behalf. She noted that Simon began professing his innocence approximately a year into his prison sentence.

"He was going along with the story," she said of Simon's many confessions, although her office's report does not reach a similar conclusion. The report seems to view the confessions as genuine, in fact.

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Pressed by reporters, Alvarez refused then to say if she believed Porter or Simon was the real killer. She said it was possible that, after more than three decades, the real killer might never be identified.

She never mentioned the conclusions of Valentini and Magats.

smmills@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @smmills1960
Knowing Elaine Chao from afar for many years, there are a lot of words I would use to describe her: smart, tough, accomplished and, yes, badass.

After all, she was George W. Bush's labor secretary for two terms -- the longest-serving member of his Cabinet and the first female Asian-American in any presidential cabinet in US history. She is now President Donald Trump's transportation secretary and one of four women in his Cabinet.

But spending time with Chao in her office, I was immediately struck by something I did not expect -- how candid she is about her vulnerabilities and anxiety, especially about when she was a young Chinese immigrant.

"I remember how tough it was to try to learn a new culture, a new language and just to adapt to, like, ordinary daily stuff like the food. Like, most Chinese don't eat meat between breads," she told me with a laugh.

Eight-year-old Chao started her journey to America on an overnight train in Taiwan with her mother and two sisters in 1961. They then boarded a cargo ship to cross the Pacific Ocean to California before finally reaching their destination: New York.

"As an adult looking back and seeing my mother who was only like 27, you know how frightening it must have been as the only woman aboard this cargo ship with three young girls? I mean, that's pretty rough," she said.

In our nearly hour-long interview, Chao opened up about her struggles to adapt to a new country, her rise to power and her regrets about sacrifices she made along the way.

A tough transition for young Chao

Chao, her mother and sisters joined her father, who had come to the US three years earlier and lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Queens, New York.

"Those initial years were very hard," Chao said -- especially when she was first trying to learn English.

"The kids were mean to me," she recalled in a matter-of-fact tone that usually only comes with years of distance.

Her parents helped a lot, she said, providing "such a loving and secure" environment for her despite their own adversities and adjustment issues.

Chao's father eventually did very well in America, becoming a wealthy shipping magnate.

She said she felt a lot of pressure to succeed, noting that in Asian culture, the first-born child is expected to "take care of the rest of the children, my siblings."

"I was really scared that I would not be able to catch on, latch on to mainstream America. I wouldn't be able to find a job. I couldn't -- I couldn't make anything of myself. I'd be a disgrace to my family," she said.

No proms. No dates.

She was hardly a disgrace. Chao excelled academically and was accepted to Mount Holyoke, a women's college.

"We thought that that was the best place for, you know, a young girl to be. Little did I know then there would be, like, weekend dating situations," Chao said.

"I never dated in my whole entire life. I never went to my senior prom, never went to my junior prom," she revealed.

Although she clearly wasn't looking for sympathy, I told Chao that made me sad.

"That's OK," she reassured me, "I'm not. Nobody asked."

"I didn't understand the significance of it," she explained. "I didn't understand popular culture. I never listened to music because I didn't -- because, No. 1, I was too busy studying," she said.

That paid off. After college, Chao attended Harvard Business School to pursue a career in banking until she got a White House fellowship during the Reagan administration.

She said she was doing research for Republican President Ronald Reagan's speeches and "the bell went off, 'ding, ding, ding, ding!'"

"I was going, hey, I believe in all this stuff. I'm actually a Republican," she remembers.

Chao, 64, steadily climbed the GOP ranks with an appointment to the Maritime Commission, then deputy transportation secretary and eventually Peace Corps director. After Bill Clinton won the White House, she left government and became president of The United Way. It was around that time she met her husband, Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is now the Senate majority leader.

Her 'low-maintenance husband'

Chao scoffs at the idea of being one half of the ultimate power couple, noting rightly that these days there are a lot of power couples because there are so many more women in positions of power.

Chao played a significant role in her husband's 2014 reelection bid -- especially in helping him appeal to female voters as he competed against a female Democratic challenger, Alison Lundergen Grimes.

She is still eager to humanize her husband, who is known much more for his sharp political skills than a warm, fuzzy demeanor.

"This is really important. You've gotta leave this in," she says, looking directly into the television camera lens. "I call him my low-maintenance husband. He does his own laundry and he cooks."

"He does mine too sometimes," she said, referring to the laundry. "He's really good," she added about his cooking. "And he's really considerate," she continued, "and he's really very thoughtful. So, life with him, you know, is very easy that way."

A friend who set the couple up described Chao years later as a "tiger wife."

"At the time he made his remark, Amy Chua had her book about Tiger Moms. So I think he was trying to say that ... I am an incredibly loving, loyal wife and asset to my husband," she explained.

Chao brought up an article she once read that claimed that she keeps files on her husband's donors and supporters. She said the story was wrong -- but not why you may think.

"I didn't take notes. It was all up here," she said, her finger on her temple and a devilish look in her eyes.

"I have an incredible memory. It's just one of, you know, life's blessings. If I met you 24 years ago, I can remember the place, the time, the circumstances," Chao said -- a great asset in politics.

"It's proven to be pretty helpful," she agreed.

Her mother passed away, but her 90-year-old father still works and is her biggest cheerleader. He was there earlier this year when she was sworn in as transportation secretary.

As we looked at a photograph from that day, Chao remembered it was "January 31, 2017, at 5:30 p.m."

"I told you I have a good memory," she laughed.

Her candid regret: No children

Chao displays other photos in her office of her large family -- sisters, nieces and nephews.

She is very family-oriented but never had children of her own, and in a painfully candid moment during our discussion, she revealed that's a regret.

"I try not to have too many regrets. But I will say to young women, you know, when in my generation, we were taught that we can have it all. And so it was thought, well, you have a career. And then you would, you know, have your family and, well, there'd be no problem. Well, it doesn't work like that," she said, growing emotional.

"So I try to counsel young women that they will have to be, regardless as to whether they want it or not, there are tradeoffs and sacrifices in life. And it's important to know when those points occur because it would be a regret if you didn't know you were making that tradeoff and it happened. And there was no chance to go back."

Did she know she was making that tradeoff, I asked?

"No. I didn't," she replied, trying to hold back tears.

It was an unexpectedly raw moment with Chao that so many women can relate to. It resonated with me in a big way because I almost made the same "tradeoff," as she called it. I did not start trying to have a baby until I was in my late 30s, and it was almost too late. After years of fertility treatments, I finally got pregnant with my son, whom I call my miracle baby.

Because of my experience, I too tell young women that if they think they want children, it is important not to take that for granted. Watch the clock, because it matters.

Chao: A role model for many who didn't have one herself

Chao may not have her own kids, but there are scores of Asian-Americans who look to her for inspiration. Often, Chinese-American families meet her at airports just to say hi.

"Oh, my gosh. I mean, I would go to events. And they would show up. Asian-American families will show up everywhere. And there would be like, there'd be like an instant bond."

As transportation secretary, Chao oversees almost 60,000 employees and a slew of agencies, including the FAA. She says she tries to mentor young people who work for her -- but also surprised me by saying that role models are overrated.

"I'm gonna say something that seems a bit strange. But I want it to be encouraging. I didn't have a lot of role models. But that didn't hurt me. And so for young people, young women, I wanted to give them strength and hope and confidence," she declared.

"Just because there are no role models doesn't mean that you can't be the future role model that you now seek. So our country is so full of opportunities. And, you know, even if you don't have a role model, it's OK. Just pursue your life's passion. Do what you really love, and the way will unfold."
Buffalo Grove police said an off-duty Chicago aviation officer shot a teenager during a traffic altercation and the officer was struck by the other car.

Authorities in the northwest suburb said they were called to a gas station just after 9 p.m. Thursday and found an 18-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and the aviation officer also injured.

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Police said they're still piecing together what happened and in what order, but they said it appears that someone from the 18-year-old's car fired a rifle at the aviation officer's car and that the officer shot and wounded the 18-year-old.

The officer told investigators that he was also struck by the other car after he had exited his vehicle at or near the gas station at McHenry and Arlington Heights roads, officials said.

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Authorities said they recovered two compressed air rifles and an air pistol from the teen's car and a handgun from the officer's car.

No arrests had been made as of Friday afternoon, and police said they were still interviewing witnesses and seeking to determine the circumstances leading to the apparent exchange of gunfire.

Both the 18-year-old and the officer were taken to hospitals, but the officer has since been released. Police said the 18-year-old was in stable condition but remained hospitalized as of Friday afternoon. Each car contained a single passenger; neither was injured.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Aviation, which oversees Chicago aviation police, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The identity of a man shot to death in the Chatham neighborhood earlier this week has been released.

Tryce Caver, 27, of the 7800 block of South Indiana Avenue, was pronounced dead at 10:02 p.m. Tuesday at Stroger Hospital after being shot in the 7900 block of South Wabash Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office, which released his identity Friday.

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Caver was found shot multiple times about 9:30 p.m., police said at the time.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police did not release additional details about the shooting.

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Tuesday night, a security guard at a nearby gas station said he heard 10 to 15 gunshots. He said he believed the man who was fatally wounded had purchased an item at the gas station just before the shooting.

"It's kind of wild over here," he said.
Chicago Public Schools on Friday unveiled plans to construct a new high school in the Englewood area  a $75 million project that also would close several under-enrolled high schools in the area.

The high school would go up at the site of Robeson High School, 6835 S. Normal Blvd., one of the four high schools that will be merged into the new high school. Plans call for the new building to open in fall 2019.

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CPS Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson said the new high school, which has yet to be named, will be open to students who live in the surrounding area and will eventually replace the Robeson campus.

"We'll build a new school next door, on the same site as the current Robeson campus," district CEO Forrest Claypool said Friday during a news conference at Kennedy-King College. "And then once the new school is constructed, then demolish the old school."

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The other schools that would be merged into the new campus are Hope, Harper and TEAM Englewood.

Those schools also hold some of the district's lowest high school enrollment numbers. Just 137 students  almost all of them African-American, and more than a third of them listed as having special needs  attend Robeson, according to CPS.

The schools would be shut down as a five-year moratorium on school closings comes to an end. The moratorium was implemented after Mayor Rahm Emanuel's decision to shutter some 50 elementary programs  but spare underused high schools  rattled the city in 2013.

"It's one of those uncomfortable conversations that we must have, because we do have schools with dwindling population and we need to find a way to either reinvorgate them or repurpose them," Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, said Friday. "No one likes to talk about that, but that's the reality that we're faced with right now."

Officials said the proposal follows a request from a community group that has worked with the system and suggested merging the four schools.

Construction costs would be paid with a share of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of borrowed money financed by a special property tax that the city approved in 2015. Revenue from the tax is directed specifically to CPS capital projects.

CPS officials on Friday cast the plan as the most significant investment the district has made in the Englewood area in decades, one that will correspond with fresh real estate development, including a retail center, a Whole Foods grocery next to a Chicago Transit Authority train line and a remodeled City Colleges of Chicago campus.

Those investments have not yet led to a marked reduction in violent crime and poverty in the area. Many students who live within the boundaries of the neighborhood high schools now set to close have consistently chosen to attend schools in other neighborhoods.

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CPS did not address planned academic programs or safety concerns that could stem from merging the student bodies of the four schools. Claypool said the new facility would be part of the South Side area's revival.

"Englewood children should not have to travel for miles and miles to find a quality high school experience," Claypool said. "They deserve a modern high school with excellent academic programming, which is exactly what this new facility will provide."

Jackson made a comparison to Westinghouse College Prep, a gleaming selective-enrollment school built in East Garfield Park on the West Side. "Once that new school building is open, it changes not only the trajectory for the students but it changes communities," Jackson said.

Two charter schools currently operate inside the Hope and TEAM campuses. Claypool and Jackson said those schools will continue to use the buildings and could even expand.

That leaves the Harper site with an uncertain future, and risks joining the ranks of surrounding vacant schools left in the wake of the 2013 closings.

Ald. Sawyer said he supported the overall construction plan but wanted the Harper campus to remain open.

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"One school will need to get repurposed if they decide to close it, which I'm hoping, really, honestly, that they don't," he said. "Harper's a little farther west, and I think that if we're going to serve all the children in Englewood, I think that Harper should stay open for those that want to stay in their geographical boundary in that area without having to cross a little ways away to go to the new school."

The decision is the latest signal that Emanuel's administration will continue to construct school facilities even as the district holds an oversupply of seats that often go unfilled.

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Each of the high schools, and much of the Englewood area, sits within CPS' Network 11. That's one of the mostly geographically based units the district uses to organize its portfolio of school buildings.

This school year, according to CPS data, there were 20,005 students eligible to attend the network's 32 traditional elementary and high schools. Those schools must accept pupils who live within neighborhood boundaries set for each building.

Overall, slightly more than a third of the students who could have attended Network 11's schools this year actually did so. There are 22 attendance boundary high schools in Chicago that drew in less than 13 percent of students qualified for entry based on where they live. Three of them are in Network 11.

About 2,300 students were eligible to attend Robeson  more than enough to fill the building to capacity levels set by the district. But just 86 students living inside Robeson's attendance boundaries opted to attend the school by this year's 20th day of classes.

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At Harper, about 2 miles from the Robeson campus, just less than 10 percent of 1,166 eligible students enrolled in classes, according to the district's official head count.

jjperez@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @PerezJr
Quinton Gates, 18, has beenordered held in lieu of $1 million bail in the death of Lamanta Reese on May 23 in Englewood.

A self-admitted Chicago gang member approached a rival on a South Side porch last month and shot 11 times, killing the 19-year-old man, prosecutors said in Cook County court Friday.

Quinton Gates, 18, of the 6500 block of South Green Street, was charged with first-degree murder and ordered held on $1 million bail in the death of Lamanta Reese in the Englewood neighborhood.

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Gates, also known as Man Man, has identified himself as a member of the Mac Block faction of the Black Disciples street gang, said Assistant State's Attorney Craig Taczy. Reese was a member of a rival Black Disciples set known as Lowe Life, and the two groups have been locked in a conflict, Taczy said.

On May 23, Gates walked through a gangway and up to a back porch in the 700 block of West Marquette Road, where Reese and several others had gathered, prosecutors said.

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Gates, who was carrying a semiautomatic handgun with an extended clip, put one foot on the steps to the porch and opened fire at Reese as Reese tried to run into the building, according to Taczy.

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Gates fired about 11 times, and after the last shot, said "(Expletive) Lowe Life," Taczy said.

Reese was shot in the head, groin, shoulder and abdomen, police said at the time. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and pronounced dead.

Several people, including some who were on the porch at the time of the slaying, identified Gates as the shooter, Taczy said. Gates was located Wednesday and arrested.

Kevin Ochalla, Gates' public defender, said Gates just finished his junior year of high school and is living with his aunt. He goes to church and is active in his block club, Ochalla said.

Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered Gates held on $1 million bail.

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @crepeau
Former Chicago police sergeant John Herman leaves the Cook County courthouse on Dec. 4, 2007, during his trial for sexual assault. On June 9, 2017, a judge awarded Herman, whose conviction was overturned in 2011, $4.5 million in a lawsuit against his accuser. (Milbert O. Brown / Chicago Tribune)

A former Chicago police sergeant who spent nearly four years in prison for a criminal sexual assault conviction before it was overturned by an appellate court won a $4.5 million civil default judgment in his lawsuit against his accuser after she failed to appear in court.

But although John Herman had his conviction overturned in 2011, he dropped his effort to gain a certificate of innocence  or a full exoneration  after prosecutors alleged that he sought to have the woman murdered while he was in prison in 2010.

Herman, 52, was never charged with soliciting the woman's murder, but prosecutors revealed the allegations and existence of undercover police recordings in a court filing when Herman sought the certificate of innocence in 2015.

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Herman withdrew his petition about three months after prosecutors said they intended to put on evidence that he allegedly told a fellow prison inmate he wanted to hire a hitman to locate and kill the woman, who lives in Texas.

Neither Herman nor his attorney could be reached for comment on Friday.

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Prosecutors said Herman allegedly gave the inmate a photograph of the woman and also provided him with the name and address of her daughter. In a recorded conversation, Herman allegedly told an undercover cop posing as a hitman that he wanted his business "taken care of, it would take 15,000 to 20,000 miles" prosecutors said  an apparent reference to a cash payment.

In their court filings, prosecutors did not say why they did not pursue charges against Herman, and the Cook County state's attorney's office was unable to respond to a Tribune inquiry Friday.

A little over two months later, Herman won his appeal when a panel of three appellate judges cited inconsistencies in the testimony of the woman, noting she admitted smoking six to eight "rocks" of crack cocaine that night.

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Cook County Circuit Judge Joseph Claps, who convicted Herman, called the sergeant's testimony of consensual sex "nothing short of perjury," but the appellate judges said that finding was "unsupported by the record."

The court threw out Herman's convictions for aggravated criminal sexual assault, official misconduct and kidnapping.

The 20-year police veteran was accused of picking up the woman while he was on duty, driving to her home to retrieve her identification and raping her. DNA evidence tied him to the 2004 sexual assault, but Herman contended the sex was consensual.

The city previously paid the woman $1.5 million to settle her federal lawsuit. Herman sued her in 2015 alleging malicious prosecution, defamation and abuse of process for her involvement in the criminal charges brought against him.

Cook County Circuit Judge Gregory Wojkowski did not rule on the facts of the case but on Tuesday awarded Herman a $4.5 million default judgment after the woman failed to file a legal response to the lawsuit or appear in court.

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sschmadeke@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @SteveSchmadeke
A reputed Chicago gang leader is facing up to 6  years in federal prison after pleading guilty Thursday to taking target practice at a suburban gun range and then persuading a friend to lie about the incident to a grand jury.

Labar Spann, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, three counts of obstruction of justice, and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. His plea agreement with prosecutors states that preliminary sentencing guidelines call for 63 to 78 months in prison.

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U.S. District Judge John Tharp is scheduled to sentence Spann in September.

Spann, a reputed leader of the Four Corner Hustlers, was charged in 2015 with firing a Glock pistol rented by a friend at Midwest Sporting Goods in the 8500 block of West Plainfield Road in Lyons.

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According to a criminal complaint unsealed after his arrest, Spann posted a 15-second video on Instagram depicting two people inside the gun range and the "sound of a gun firing in the background."

Another short video clip appeared to be taken from inside the gun store at the facility and had a caption that read, "Real boss do this type of (expletive)," the complaint alleged.

Spann was barred from handling a firearm because of his extensive felony background, including convictions for aggravated battery of a police officer, drug offenses, harassment of a witness and armed robbery, prosecutors said.

The woman who rented the gun, Ladonah Hampton, initially told federal agents Spann took part in the target practice and later paid her $60 for his share of the rental cost. But when she appeared before a federal grand jury weeks later, she testified falsely that Spann had never handled the weapon, according to court records.

Investigators later discovered that on the day of Hampton's grand jury appearance, Spann was chatting on social media with an acquaintance who followed Hampton's movements in and around the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, according to Spann's plea.

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In one text, Spann told the acquaintance, "Whatever she do just say I don't touch sh," according to the plea.

Days after her testimony, Hampton exchanged text messages with Spann assuring him she never told the grand jury he'd handled the weapon. She also promised to ask her lawyer to get Spann a transcript of her testimony, according to court records.

Hampton pleaded guilty last year to obstructing grand jury proceedings and was placed in a sentencing diversion program, records show.

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In addition to his felony convictions, Spann was charged in 2003 with being the alleged mastermind of a plot to kill and rob rival Latin Kings leader Rudy Rangel Jr., an aspiring rapper who was fatally shot in June 2003 at a West Side barbershop.

Spann was acquitted of Rangel's killing by Criminal Court Judge James Schreier in a bench trial in July 2008, court records show.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @jmetr22b
KENOSHA, Wis.  Kenosha police have released the names of two men who were fatally shot during an apparent domestic dispute.

Authorities on Thursday identified the men as 23-year-old Brian Baldwin of Kenosha and 23-year-old Anthony Kerrill of Waukegan, Illinois.

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Police were called about shots fired around 4 p.m. Wednesday. Officers entered and found the two men dead inside the home as well as a witness who was not hurt.

Police also found a gun in the home. Authorities say the shooting is under investigation and there is no danger to the public.
Quinton Gates, 18, of the 6500 block of South Green Street in the Englewood neighborhood, faces a count of felony murder related to a fatal shooting in the 700 block of West Marquette Road, police said. (Chicago Police Department )

An 18-year-old man was arrested on a murder charge in connection with the May shooting of a 19-year-old man, Chicago police announced Friday.

Quinton Gates, 18, of the 6500 block of South Green Street in the Englewood neighborhood, faces a count of felony murder related to a shooting in the 700 block of West Marquette Road, police said.

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Lamanta Reese was killed after someone approached him just before 7:50 p.m. on May 23 and fired shots at him. Reese was hit in the head and body and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said Gates fled the scene after the shooting.

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Gates is expected to appear in bond court on Friday.
Ald. Willie Cochran, 20th, attends the last City Council meeting of the year on Dec. 14, 2016, at City Hall in Chicago. Cochran has been charged with 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of extortion and two counts of bribery, the most serious of which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. He left the meeting early. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

Ald. Willie Cochran was in the midst of pushing through a change to a city ordinance to help a liquor store owner in his ward when, in a text message, he allegedly demanded a $5,000 kickback, court records show.

"I need your help, whatever you can do," the owner said Cochran's text stated, according to an FBI search warrant affidavit made public Friday. Shocked by the amount the alderman was requesting, the owner instead took $3,000 in cash from his business safe and drove to Cochran's 20th Ward office.

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When the store owner pulled up, Cochran came up to the passenger-side window, took the cash and stuffed it in his front pocket, according to the 46-page affidavit. The owner told the FBI the alderman said simply, "Thanks."

The details of that alleged 2015 transaction were laid out in nearly 150 pages of federal search warrant and surveillance application records made public by Cochran's lawyers as part of their effort to suppress some of the key evidence in the high-profile case.

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In his motion, Cochran's lead attorney, Thomas Anthony Durkin, accused federal investigators of using disreputable tactics during their inquiry, including employing controversial cellphone "sting ray" technology that allowed agents to track one of the alderman's cell phones.

"Alderman Cochran was subjected to federal electronic surveillance techniques normally reserved for violent crime, drug and national security investigations," Durkin wrote. "These controversial surveillance methods employed by the FBI on an elected public official and sitting Chicago alderman raise significant privacy and constitutional concerns."

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment on Friday. A status hearing in the case was set for July 11 before U.S. District Judge Jorge Alonso.

In addition to details about the alleged bribe to the liquor store owner, the search warrant records revealed new information about how Cochran spent tens of thousands of dollars he allegedly stole from charitable contributions meant for poor children and seniors in his largely impoverished South Side ward.

Cochran used a bank account tied to the ward fund to buy tires and a chrome fog lamp bumper ring for his Mercedes as well as vases, lamps and artwork from Z Gallerie, the records show.

According to the affidavit, Cochran also used the ward fund's accounts to buy "herb scissors" and a "compact juice fountain" from Crate & Barrel, a $600 iPad from Walmart, and $67 worth of compact discs at Best Buy  including hits by Usher and Rihanna and an album titled "Call Me Irresponsible."

The indictment brought in December already accused Cochran of using the ward charity funds to pay a portion of his daughter's college tuition and withdraw thousands of dollars from the fund at Indiana casinos where he gambled.

Cochran, 64, was charged with 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of extortion and two counts of bribery. The most serious counts carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.

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Cochran has pleaded not guilty and continues to serve on the City Council while the case is pending.

In 2015, Cochran took the $3,000 cash bribe from the liquor store owner  identified as Individual B  in exchange for his support of an ordinance amending the municipal code to allow liquor sales in a two-block stretch of South Cottage Grove Avenue in the 20th Ward, the charges alleged. The owner wanted to sell the business, but the area had since gone "dry," and the amendment was needed for the buyer to continue to sell liquor there.

The amendment was passed by the City Council in April 2015. Then, while Cochran was being investigated, the alderman proposed a new ordinance to again prohibit the sale of packaged liquor on that same stretch of Cottage Grove. The council approved that change in October.

The records made public Friday revealed that the liquor store owner initially lied to a federal grand jury investigating the alderman, testifying in March 2016 that he never provided any cash to Cochran.

Confronted later by FBI agents, the owner admitted to paying the $3,000 in order to get the legislation passed, as well as another $1,000 payment to Cochran the year before, according to the affidavit.

The owner returned to the grand jury in June 2016 and "apologized" for lying the first time, the affidavit stated. He has not been charged with any crimes in connection with the false statements.

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According to the indictment, Cochran also provided letters of support in 2010 and 2011 for a real estate project in his ward to an attorney representing the project's developers. The project, part of a federal program to get boarded-up or foreclosed properties occupied as soon as possible, was completed in 2014.

The FBI affidavit alleged the attorney told a grand jury that after Cochran provided the letters, he called the attorney in December 2011 and said, "'I need some help. My daughter's tuition is due and I'm short. If you can do $1,500, I'd appreciate it.'"

In January 2012, Cochran later came to the attorneys' office and picked up the check personally, the attorney testified.

"I provided the check to Alderman Cochran based on our prior relationship, with Cochran as an alderman and his support of me and my projects in the past," the attorney allegedly testified to the grand jury. "I also know that I would need Alderman Cochran's support in future business dealings, and I wanted to preserve our business relationship going forward."

Bank records showed that at the time he took the attorney's money, Cochran's own $6,600 tuition check to Eastern Illinois University had bounced.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

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Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, seen here addressing Brooklyn College graduates May 30, will headline a gathering of liberal activists in Chicago on Saturday night. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield. Subscribe here.

Topspin

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is scheduled to deliver the keynote address Saturday evening of a weekend gathering in Chicago of progressive activists from across the country.

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Called the "People's Summit," the McCormick Place event to be held from Friday through Sunday carries the theme, "Beyond Resistance: A People's Movement for a Just World."

Sanders' aides said the unsuccessful 2016 Democratic presidential contender will outline how the nation can advance as a society if it overcomes "the greed of the billionaire class."

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He also plans to detail a path forward for the Democratic Party, his aides said of his scheduled 7 p.m. Saturday evening speech.

Progressive activists expected to attend include actor Danny Glover, Democracy Now host Amy Goodman, Texan Jim Hightower, Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, and Ben Jealous, the former president of the NAACP and now a candidate for governor in Maryland. (Rick Pearson)

What's on tap

*Mayor Emanuel will celebrate the 2nd anniversary and announce an expansion of the Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center.

*Gov. Bruce Rauner will sign a criminal justice bill involving the bail process. Democratic and Republican lawmakers will join him, as will Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx. Looks like it's this piece of legislation.

*State Rep. Will Guzzardi and state Sen. Omar Aquino will hold a news conference to pressure Rauner to sign the $15 minimum wage bill that both chambers approved late last month. The bill has not been sent to the governor yet. The news conference advisory came from the Service Employees International Healthcare union.

From the notebook

*On the Sunday Spin: Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson's guests are Steve Schneider with American Insurance Association and Jeff Junkas with Property Casualty Insurers Association to discuss workers' compensation; Democratic governor candidate and Northwest Side Ald. Ameya Pawar; and Robert Shapiro, an attorney and philosophy professor at St. Xavier University on former FBI Director James Comey's testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. The "Sunday Spin" airs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on WGN 720-AM.

What we're writing

*An era of errors: Part three in a series about property taxes in Cook County.

*State budget impasse victims rip Rauner, who says Democrats using them as "props."

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*Pritzker puts another $7 million of fortune into governor bid.

*Illinois congressional delegation reacts to Comey testimony.

*Emanuel administration dings Cubs in letter criticizing security measures around Wrigley Field.

*Emanuel doles out developer money to neighborhood businesses on South, West sides.

What we're reading

*Hundreds attend dedication of a 10-story mural for bluesman Muddy Waters.

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*66 more Sears and Kmart stores to close.

*Bill Murray to be inducted into Irish American Hall of Fame.

Follow the money

*Track Illinois campaign contributions in real time here and here.

Beyond Chicago (Mostly Comey edition)



*Comey says he couldn't trust Trump to tell the truth.

*NYT: Key moments from the hearing.

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*Sarah Sanders: "The president is not a liar."

*Comey says he shared notes in hopes of a special counsel, WaPo reports.

*Theresa May projected to lose her majority in U.K. Parliament.
The county sheriffs office has responded to four search and rescues in two days, stretching across the northern half of the state from Sedona to the Grand Canyon.

The first rescue by Coconino County Sheriffs Search and Rescue teams occurred Tuesday, west of Cedar Ridge in the area of Twentynine Mile Canyon.

Initial reports stated that a hiker had fallen approximately 200 feet and suffered severe injuries.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety Helicopter and county rescue team identified the victim as a 33-year-old man from Flagstaff.

The man was short hauled back to the rim of the Grand Canyon and then airlifted to Flagstaff Medical Center to treat multiple fractures.

The man was alone at the time of the fall and was attempting to locate new places for future rock climbing. Reports state that he had fallen around 3 p.m. the previous evening.

He was found by his wife who was waiting in their car as he scouted the canyon.

On Wednesday morning, the Sheriffs Office received a distress call from a lost female hiker in Brins Mesa outside of Sedona.

The hiker was a 70-year-old female from New York who hiked up the trail on Tuesday afternoon.

She reportedly became disoriented before dark and lost track of the trail and was unable to use her cellphone.

The woman then fell asleep under a tree and woke up the next morning, calling 911 until she found service on her phone.

Search and rescue teams found her near Jordans Trail Head where she was treated for dehydration, but needed no serious medical attention.

That same day, rescue teams also coordinated the rescue of a 15-year-old girl from Gilbert after she crashed her bike off the Mogollon Rim in Woods Canyon.

She fell 25 to 30 feet off a rock cliff, landing on a ledge.

She was airlifted off the ledge and treated for a head laceration at the Payson Hospital.

The final rescue occurred on Wednesday after a 74-year-old male hiker from Tucson collapsed at Veit Springs.

Neither he nor his wife had cellphones on them at the time and were helped after they came across another pair of hikers who called 911.

Search and rescue teams were able to get an ambulance near the entrance of the trailhead and a medical team transported the hiker on foot to the vehicle where he was transported to FMC.
Low-level offenders who have been arrested and can't come up with enough money to get out of jail can get a rehearing of their bail amount, under a plan signed into law Friday by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Known as the Bail Reform Act, the new law creates new rights for people in custody at Illinois jails and aims to move away from requiring people charged with relatively minor crimes to post cash bail as a condition of their release.

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The legislation reflects a general consensus among criminal justice advocates, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx that the state's cash bail system is unfair to poor people.

Under the previous law, many nonviolent, low-level offenders were spending weeks or months in jail because they couldn't come up with the 10 percent down payment that's required in order to be released. In 2015, for example, more than 1,000 inmates in the Cook County Jail had served more time in custody than they were ultimately sentenced to serve, according to Dart's office.

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The new law specifies that cash bail is not necessary for people who are in custody for a nonviolent misdemeanor or low-level felony, such as theft, prostitution, driving under the influence or drug possession.

Instead, there will be a presumption that any bail set in connection with those categories of crimes shouldn't be monetary. Other options include electronic home monitoring, curfews, drug counseling, stay-away orders and in-person reporting.

And if a judge sets monetary bond for a person in custody who is unable to come up with the money, a rehearing on the bail must be held within seven days under the new law.

"What this does is provide fairness to folks who really are just struggling to make ends meet, commit a minor offense and should not be forced to languish in jail," Rauner said at a signing ceremony at the Chicago Baptist Institute International on the South Side.

Much credit for the legislation was given to Willie Wilson, the former mayoral and presidential candidate, who lawmakers and Rauner hailed as being instrumental in advocating for the changes. Wilson last year bailed six strangers out of jail on a single day as part of what he called a "Good Samaritan Bond Pilot Project" to help inmates who've been charged with misdemeanors but can't afford to pay.

Notably absent at the bill signing ceremony was Dart, who launched a campaign last fall against the cash-bail system.

Cara Smith, senior policy officer for Dart, said the sheriff's office was unhappy that the bill didn't include provisions to make it harder for dangerous offenders with access to cash to get out of jail.

A Tribune analysis of five years of booking data at Cook County Jail found that the jail has become a revolving door for people who have been arrested multiple times on felony weapons charges, and who can easily post bond with suspected gang money. Dart's office was seeking to make it harder for them to bond out in addition to making it easier for low-level offenders, Smith said.

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"The bill that was signed today was a product of a working group and lots of negotiations, and we thought that it should have addressed the violent offenders," Smith said, noting that the legislation emerged only in the final days of the legislative session. "We were sorry it didn't go further and certainly hope that the momentum we saw this session for reform will continue, going forward."

Still, the signing ceremony offered a rare opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to tout an achievement that's come out of gridlocked Springfield.

"This bill, when it becomes law, is going to make Illinois a national leader in bail reform," said Rep. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago. "We will now be the largest state to have a presumption against using monetary bail. We are no longer going to lock somebody up because they're poor."

The legislation also provides for a five-year extension of the Illinois Street Gang and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Law, which was set to expire later this month.

kgeiger@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @KimGeiger
Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker has put another $7 million into his campaign fund, bringing to $14.2 million the amount of personal funds the billionaire investor and entrepreneur has poured into his bid to win the nomination, state records showed Thursday.

The latest self-funding continues as Illinois voters brace for what's expected to be the most expensive contest in state history. Gov. Bruce Rauner, a former private equity investor, gave his re-election fund $50 million in December. Last month, Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin made the largest non-candidate donation in state history to the Republican governor by chipping in another $20 million.

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Pritzker, worth an estimated $3.4 billion according to Forbes, has vowed to self fund his campaign  one element in securing the early endorsement this week of the state's top labor organization, the Illinois AFL-CIO.

Pritzker's ability to go dollar-for-dollar against Rauner has been viewed as an appealing choice by some Democratic-oriented groups, freeing up money for lower-ballot contests over control of the Democratic-led General Assembly.

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In a crowded Democratic governor field, Pritzker early last month became the first to run TV ads. He has been on the air consistently, though he has started to phase out the costly one-minute ads that marked an introductory phase for his campaign in favor of traditional 30-second spots.

But Pritzker's wealth also has become an issue for his Democratic rivals, including businessman Chris Kennedy, Evanston state Sen. Daniel Biss, Northwest Side Ald. Ameya Pawar, Madison County regional schools Superintendent Bob Daiber and Highwood state Rep. Scott Drury.

The others have positioned themselves as outsiders in the race and warned against supporting Pritzker on the basis of his deep pockets. That includes Kennedy, who has substantial wealth and is a member of the iconic Massachusetts political family.

Despite Pritzker's early front-runner status, his campaign also has faced some challenges amid increased scrutiny of a candidate who has been a longtime Democratic donor at the state and national levels.

The Rauner-funded Illinois Republican Party repeatedly has criticized Pritzker for the revelation that he purchased a neighboring mansion in the Gold Coast and had it declared uninhabitable for property tax assessment purposes, gaining a sizable real estate tax deduction.

In addition, the Chicago Tribune last week disclosed conversations between Pritzker and then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich that were caught on FBI recordings in November 2008 as part of the corruption investigation that led to Blagojevich's imprisonment.

The recordings reveal Pritzker asking Blagojevich to appoint him state treasurer should the office become open. In one conversation, Blagojevich sought a campaign donation, with Pritzker replying he didn't "think we should even talk about it," but also saying at one point, "I hear ya."

The state GOP on Thursday noted Pritzker's latest donation to his campaign fund, calling the Democrat "just another Chicago insider who works the system to benefit himself at our expense."

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Twitter @rap30
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel talks at a West Side addiction treatment center about the need for the Cubs to make security improvements around Wrigley Field. June 9, 2017 (John Byrne / Chicago Tribune) (Videolicious - Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Rahm Emanuel upped the ante Friday in his beef with the Cubs about security around Wrigley Field , calling the team out for making further investments inside the park while leaving some safety responsibilities unmet.

Emanuel wasn't asked at a brief news conference about the latest episode in the increasingly acrimonious public tiff over security near the historic ballpark. But he brought it up unprompted, saying city Office of Emergency Management and Communications chief Alicia Tate-Nadeau has requested a meeting with team officials "in short order" to talk about the lack of an updated safety plan.

The mayor referenced the team's recent announcement that it plans to build high-end clubs for season ticket holders inside the stadium, contending the Cubs first need to come up with a security framework in the tight neighborhood adjacent to it.

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"If we're going to invest in skyboxes and the enhancements around skyboxes, we need to make sure that we have the enhancements around the security around Wrigley Field," he said after cutting the ribbon for an expansion at an addiction treatment center on the West Side.

"You have a new plaza, you need a new plan for security," Emanuel added. "And it's time now, with all the type of economic development that's happening, we need a comprehensive, thorough security plan and all the infrastructure investments along with that security plan, to meet a new facility that you've invested in."

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In a statement Friday, Cubs spokesman Julian Green said the city approved the team's "security plan and plan of operations" for the plaza in April. "We're happy to provide another copy if they lost it," he said. "We've been raising security concerns well before the Ricketts family privately invested $850 million into the project. We're happy the city is hyper interested in the subject now and look forward to the meeting instead of responding through the media."

But Green also wondered about the extent of the security plan the city seems to be requesting from the Cubs.

"We would question why the team would be responsible for securing the public way, given that is the role of the police department and all the public agencies whose mission is to keep these venues safe which we would expect in return for being the highest taxed team in baseball," he said.

Mayoral spokesman Adam Collins countered that the team has submitted a business plan for the plaza, not security standards. And he said the city's plan for the streets around the park allows for various traffic restrictions and for Clark and Addison to be closed if police deem it necessary.

The latest chapter in the ongoing security dispute began Thursday, when the Emanuel administration announced Tate-Nadeau had sent the team a letter criticizing various security shortcomings.

Tate-Nadeau said the team needs to install permanent security barriers on sidewalks along Addison Street next to the park and adjacent to a new public plaza on Clark Street. She also criticized the team for what she said was their failure to immediately inform police when a man fell to his death inside the park after a game this year.

The team and the city have been publicly at odds over the security strategy, with the Cubs calling for Clark and Addison to be closed on game days, and Emanuel and Wrigleyville Ald. Tom Tunney opposing that move on the grounds it would further snarl the already ugly traffic in the area.

Last month, aldermen approved a plan for the Cubs to pay $1 million for additional security cameras outside Wrigley Field.

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Twitter @_johnbyrne
Robert Bryant Melson is scheduled to be executed June 8, 2017, in Alabama by lethal injection after being convicted of killing three fast food restaurant employees during a 1994 robbery. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)

ATMORE, Ala.  A man convicted of killing three people during the 1994 robbery of an Alabama fast-food restaurant was put to death Thursday by lethal injection.

Robert Melson, 46, was pronounced dead at 10:27 p.m. CDT Thursday at a southwest Alabama prison, authorities said. The execution was the state's second of the year.

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State prosecutors said Melson and another man who used to work at the restaurant, robbed a Popeye's in Gadsden, 60 miles northeast of Birmingham, and Melson opened fire on four employees in the restaurant's freezer. Nathaniel Baker, Tamika Collins and Darrell Collier were killed. The surviving employee, Bryant Archer, crawled for help and was able to identify one of the robbers as the former worker which led police to Melson.

Collins' family members wore a badge with her photograph and the phrase "In Our Hearts Forever." Her family issued a statement saying that three young people lost their lives for "a few hundred dollars" and criticized court filings on behalf of Melson that challenged the state's execution procedure as inhumane. Collins' mother and two sisters witnessed the execution.

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"He has been on death row for over 21 years being supported by the state of Alabama and feels he should not suffer a little pain during the execution. What does he think those three people suffered after he shot them, leaving them in a freezer?" the statement said.

Melson shook his head no when the prison warden asked if he had a final statement. A prison chaplain knelt with him. Melson's hands quivered at the start of the procedure and his breathing was labored, with his chest moving up and down quickly, before slowing until it was no longer perceptible.

Melson's attorneys had filed a flurry of last-minute appeals seeking to stay the execution. The filings centered on Alabama's use of the sedative midazolam which some states have turned to as other lethal injection drugs became difficult to obtain.

The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily delayed the execution to consider Melson's stay request, but ruled after 9 p.m. that the execution could go forward.

Midazolam is supposed to prevent inmates from feeling pain before other drugs are given to stop their lungs and heart, but several executions in which inmates lurched or coughed have raised questions about its use. An inmate in Alabama coughed and heaved for the first 13 minutes of an execution held in December.

Melson's attorney argued that midazolam does not anesthetize an inmate, but they might look still, because a second drug, a paralytic, prevents them from moving.

"Alabama's execution protocol is an illusion. It creates the illusion of a peaceful death when in truth, it is anything but," Melson's attorneys wrote in the filing to the Alabama Supreme Court.

The Alabama attorney general's office argued midazolam's use has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and it has allowed multiple executions to proceed using the drug, including the execution of an Alabama inmate last month.

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"Robert Melson's decades-long avoidance of justice is over. For twenty-three years, the families of the three young people whose lives he took, as well as a survivor, have waited for closure and healing. That process can finally begin tonight," Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement after the execution.
Solomon "Fred" Spector, who played violin with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 47 years, was also a knowledgeable historian and collector of music and instruments and a nurturer and friend to young musicians.

"I first met Fred when I soloed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 10," said Chicago violinist Rachel Barton Pine.

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Spector was kind and welcoming then, but the two got better acquainted when Pine began substituting with the Orchestra in her teens.

"We really got to know each other. We both had red hair," she said. "We really bonded over his love of music history."

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That bonding led to a deep friendship and opportunities to play music from Spector's large collection of older sheet music, much of it little known.

"I found a lot of really cool pieces that I've been able to add to my repertoire," said Pine, who called Spector her "musical grandfather."

Spector, 92, died of natural causes June 3 in his Lincoln Park home, according to his son J.B.

He was born and grew up on the West Side of Chicago, where he began violin lessons at age 5 with an uncle, J.B. Mazur, former concertmaster to the orchestra of the Russian czar. After Hyde Park High School, he went on to what was then Chicago Musical College, since renamed as part of Roosevelt University. His musical education included study in violin and conducting.

Spector flew as an Army Air Forces bombardier in the Pacific during World War II. He later returned to Japan as one of the first American violinists to give a post-war concert there.

He returned to Chicago at the end of the war and became concertmaster with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, studied conducting and several years later was a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago orchestra.

Spector joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra twice. As the story goes, he was hired first in 1948. But the music director who hired him was fired soon after, and Spector lost his new job at the same time.

It took another eight years for the CSO to invite him for another audition.

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He was hired again by music director Fritz Reiner in 1956 and played with the Orchestra until retiring in 2003. A chamber music enthusiast, he also performed with numerous ensembles in the Chicago area and was a member of the Chicago Strings, the Chicago Symphony Quartet, and the Chicago Arts Quartet.

Retired CSO cellist Donald Moline also played with Spector in the Chicago Arts Quartet.

"We shared a great many concerts together in chamber music  for 25 years," Moline said. "We played all over the world on our days off and in our free time, including at the Bruckner Festival in Austria and Japan and on college campuses around the country."

Spector was for many years a private pilot whose flying skills were called on by the CSO at least once, Moline said. A truck carrying the orchestra's instruments and other gear overturned in West Texas ahead of a scheduled performance in San Antonio.

Orchestra managers had to get to the remote location to assess the damage. "Fred was the go-to guy. He flew them out to West Texas." But the damage was extensive. "We played the concert on borrowed instruments and, I think, in street clothes," Moline recalled.

As Pine noted, Spector collected a broad range of music-related materials, including sheet music, hundreds of books and a world-class collection of devices called mutes, which attach to the violin bridge to damp the sound of the instrument but also affect its tone.

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Pine said when she recorded her album "Violin Lullabies," about half the pieces called for mutes. "He let me use a bunch of his (mutes) to see which tone colors worked best for each piece, and I used a handful of different ones," she said.

Pine recalled a time when she was recording a Brahms concerto with the CSO. Spector had already retired but came back to sit in the audience. "An audience of one, so I had somebody to play to," Pine said.

Spector never lost his love for music and the Chicago Symphony. As recounted in the orchestra's remembrance, Spector told the Chicago Tribune in 1994, "Even after all these years, we play concerts that still excite me. Concerts that leave me saying, 'That was special. Everything was marvelous.'"

In addition to his son, Spector is survived by his wife of 66 years, Estelle; another son, Ari; daughters Lea Spector Temkin, Mia Cohen and Julie; his brother, David; six grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Service were held.

Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter.
For months, President Donald Trump has been calling the Russia investigation "fake news." He has insisted that China or some other country could have been behind the hack of Democratic Party organizations' computers and the effort to meddle in our elections. In his eyes, it's all a plot to undermine him, and he is "vindicated" when it was confirmed that at the time former FBI director James Comey left the FBI, there was no investigation with his name on it.

Contrast that with this line of questioning from Thursday's hearing:

---

SEN. RICHARD BURR, R-N.C.: Do you have any doubt that Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 elections?

COMEY: None.

BURR: Do you have any doubt that the Russian government was behind the intrusions in the D triple-C systems [the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] and the subsequent leaks of that information?

COMEY: No, no doubt.

BURR: Do you have any doubt the Russian government was behind the cyber intrusion in the state voter files?

COMEY: No.

BURR: Are you confident that no votes cast in the 2016 presidential election were altered?

COMEY: I'm confident. When I left as director, I had seen no indication of that whatsoever.

---

In that same vein, Comey explained how definitive was the information:

---

SEN. MARTIN HEINRICH, D-N.M.: The president has repeatedly talked about the Russian investigation into the U.S. - or Russia's involvement in the U.S. election cycle as a hoax and fake news. Can you talk a little bit about what you saw as FBI director and, obviously, only the parts that you can share in this setting that demonstrate how serious this action actually was and why there was an investigation in the first place?

COMEY: Yes, sir. There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever. The Russians interfered in our election during the 2016 cycle. They did it with purpose. They did it with sophistication. They did it with overwhelming technical efforts. It was an active measures campaign driven from the top of that government. There is no fuzz on that. It is a high-confidence judgment of the entire intelligence community, and the members of this committee have seen the intelligence. It's not a close call. That happened. That's about as unfake as you can possibly get. It is very, very serious, which is why it's so refreshing to see a bipartisan focus on that. This is about America, not about a particular party.

HEINRICH: That is a hostile act by the Russian government against this country?

COMEY: Yes, sir.

---

One simply cannot square the president's persistent public assertions that the Russia investigation was "fake news" or a "hoax" with such a definitive assessment from the former FBI director and the rest of the intelligence community. This raises the question as to why Trump kept suggesting that the Russians couldn't be fingered.

Perhaps Trump knew that Russia was responsible (everyone in the intelligence community told him it was beyond dispute) but lied to the American people so as to convince them that he really, really won. Maybe Trump is unable to process facts or think logically, preferring rumors, conspiracy theories and the like. In other words, maybe he honestly did not understand what was going on. Then again, Trump  if he was trying to remain in Russian President Vladimir Putin's good graces  could have simply been covering for the former KGB lieutenant colonel. Whatever the reason, he persistently told the public an obvious falsehood, pretending that there had been no assault on American democracy. He needs to explain this disparity.

It is also possible that Trump and the intelligence community were talking past one another. Trump thinks of the Russia investigation as a "cloud" over him. If the story was that Trump personally colluded with Russia, then it had to be "fake news." That, after all, was the reason he was frantic to have Comey clear his name. This truly is a case in which Trump considered the "Russia investigation" to be only about him.

The intelligence community and Comey, specifically, were of course definitive about an attack on American democracy. Comey declared:

"The reason this is such a big deal. We have this big messy wonderful country where we fight with each other all the time. But nobody tells us what to think, what to fight about, what to vote for except other Americans. And that's wonderful and often painful. But we're talking about a foreign government that using technical intrusion, lots of other methods tried to shape the way we think, we vote, we act. That is a big deal. And people need to recognize it. It's not about Republicans or Democrats. They're coming after America, which I hope we all love equally. They want to undermine our credibility. ... They think that this great experiment of ours is a threat to them. So they're going to try to run it down and dirty it up as much as possible. That's what this is about and they will be back. Because we remain  as difficult as we can be with each other, we remain that shining city on the hill. And they don't like it."

That entire concept  the threat to democracy, the danger to our system of government, the violation of American self-government by a hostile power  seems to mean nothing to Trump. It's a non-issue.

What more evidence do we need that Trump cannot fulfill his oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States"? Trump's psyche is geared to "preserve, protect and defend" Trump. A president who could care less about an attack on American sovereignty is by definition incapable of performing the most fundamental part of his job: acting as commander in chief.
When Reality Leigh Winner was arrested last week under the Espionage Act for allegedly removing classified information from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet, opponents of the Trump administration were quick to be alarmed. The 25-year-old federal contractor had criticized President Donald Trump on social media, and the document she allegedly leaked to the Intercept contained details of Russian attempts to hack into state and local election systems last fall  details that get to the heart of what Trump calls the "fake news" investigation into whether his campaign colluded with Russian intelligence.

"Donald Trump's frequent threats against leakers paved the way for Reality Winner's arrest," HuffPost wrote. "The crackdown on leaks has begun in earnest," a New York Times national security reporter said on Twitter. Organizers of a rally in New York called the arrest "the opening salvo in the Trump Administration's self-described war on leaks" and said Winner "deserves widespread support." Edward Snowden said the law under which Winner was charged "must be resisted." On social media, people called Winner a "hero" and a "whistleblower" and began raising money to support her and her family.

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But put aside Trump's vows to crack down on leakers amid a steady stream of embarrassing revelations. There is nothing surprising or unusual about the criminal charges against Winner. Nor is there any indication that the White House had any involvement in this matter. The fact that Trump wants to silence leakers does not turn Winner into a whistleblower or a martyr of "the resistance," no matter how much some may wish to applaud her actions. In our system, someone doesn't earn the title whistleblower just because her actions might support a particular ideological agenda. The classified document Winner allegedly revealed was obviously newsworthy, but nothing in it exposes any type of fraud, waste or abuse  or, most important, any unlawful conduct by the U.S. government. If she was indeed the source of the news website Intercept's reporting, Winner failed to blow the whistle on anything.

As a matter of law, no one who leaks classified information to the media instead of to an appropriate governmental authority is a whistleblower entitled to legal protection. That applies to Winner, Snowden and Chelsea Manning, no matter what one thinks of their actions. The law, appropriately, protects only those who follow it. Anyone who acts contrary does so at their own peril.

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As a lawyer having represented national security whistleblowers for more than two decades, my job is to ensure the fullest protection possible for those with a story to tell. Winner, as a person authorized by the government to have access to classified information, had a lawful obligation to protect any such material from unlawful disclosure to third parties, including news outlets. The Trump administration did exactly what the Obama administration would have done -- and did do, at least nine times under the Espionage Act, when faced with an obvious apparent violation of well-settled law.

If Winner believed that the information she allegedly purloined revealed something that was being ignored or misused, she could have legitimately pursued any number of avenues to bring attention to the document within the system, such as complaining to an office of inspector general, an independent counsel or government lawyers; submitting her written views to the National Security Agency for review to attempt to create an unclassified document that she could distribute; or even creating legal claims to take her before a federal judge.

I'll be the first to admit that the system has serious flaws that demand strengthening, especially in ways that reassure whistleblowers that their concerns are actually being addressed. But that does not relieve the legal, and frankly moral, obligation for Winner to make every possible effort short of unlawful disclosure before crossing that dangerous line of leaking.

Few individuals other than the president have the legal right to decide unilaterally what constitutes the national security interests of the United States, and Winner certainly was not one of them. In fact, the argument can be made that every time a leaker illegally discloses classified information, even if the motive is sincere, it causes the government to cast a wider net to identify and prevent perceived insider threats, i.e., leakers. The repercussion is that true whistleblowers are deterred from coming forward while other innocent individuals have their careers derailed or ruined. Sadly, I have encountered this numerous times within the intelligence community, as agencies desperately seek to use sledgehammer approaches where laser precision is required to try to prevent another Snowden breach  or another Aaron Alexis, the Navy Yard shooter, whose colleagues had many security concerns about him that were either ignored or unreported.

There was one surprise in Winner's case, however, and perhaps this really should serve as a warning to would-be leakers in the Trump era: the speed at which criminal charges were brought. It took the FBI just days to identify and apprehend Winner. In fact, the Justice Department's announcement of the charges coincided nearly simultaneously with the Intercept's publication of a redacted version of the leaked document, which the outlet said arrived anonymously via U.S. mail.

Partly because the case was made so quickly, critics have condemned the Intercept's reporters for having burned their source by failing to take proper operational security precautions. They point to the claim in the FBI's affidavit that government investigators took note of the folds in the document shown to them by the Intercept and speculated that it had been printed by the leaker, a lucky guess on their part (especially since the folds could have been created instead by the journalists). In any event, that led the government to determine that only six individuals had printed this specific document, and only one  Winner  had been in contact with the Intercept from her personal email account, which she had accessed from her work computer. The case could not have been handed more easily to the government on a silver platter.

That ease is the new norm in the world of classified leakers. The Obama administration was roundly condemned for prosecuting more leakers of classified information than all prior administrations combined. Some styled it a "war against whistleblowers," but in reality, it was nothing of the sort, and that criticism is unfair. The Obama administration was able to prosecute more leakers because technology is a double-edged sword, making it both easier to leak vast amounts of classified information and to trace those leaks directly to their sources. This, combined with often poor tradecraft by leakers or journalists, means it is now much simpler for the government to collect tangible evidence permitting prosecution in ways that were previously unavailable.

It is a fact that the Trump administration has been besieged by leaks  some of which were clearly themselves illegal in releasing classified information  at a level that far exceeds that of previous presidencies within the first 130 days. To many this is to be applauded, and one day history will judge the consequences of these actions. To be sure, we absolutely need whistleblowers. But whether the Trump administration ultimately survives or fails, however, should be determined by lawful oversight and accountability, rather than by selective leaks of classified information that could harm our national security interests.

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Mark S. Zaid is a Washington lawyer who regularly handles classified matters, including representation of national security whistleblowers.
President Donald Trump listens during his meeting with U.S. Mayors and Governors for a Infrastructure Summit in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2017. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)

Former FBI Director James Comey went to Capitol Hill Thursday with an explosive tale of political impropriety: How President Donald Trump tried to influence the FBI's Russia investigation by putting pressure on Comey to back off from aspects of the case.

We believe Comey. He was a straight-talking witness who gave credible testimony to the Senate intelligence committee. He relied on detailed note-taking to describe Trump's unsuccessful efforts to draw him into a cooperative relationship that should never exist between a president and FBI director.

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The president crossed a line.

But about that line: Did Trump inadvertently cross the line from appropriate to inappropriate behavior? In other words, did Trump the neophyte president unwittingly test the FBI director's autonomy? Or did Trump go all the way to illegal behavior by directing Comey to tamper with a criminal investigation?

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Comey wouldn't answer the question of whether he believed Trump committed obstruction of justice by attempting to shut down parts of the investigation. Still, Comey's response made Thursday a watershed day of defeat for the president: Comey said he expected that special counsel Robert Mueller, now conducting the Russia probe, would decide whether to accuse Trump of that. Comey, fired by Trump on May 9, said his notes of his interactions with Trump are now in the hands of Mueller's investigators.

Thus it appears Comey's firing, and Trump's dealings with Comey before that, are now part of the broader investigation of Russia's meddling in the 2016 campaign.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 19 Former FBI Director James Comey, second right, moves from an open hearing to a closed hearing during a break in testimony before the Senate intelligence committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on June 8, 2017, in Washington. Comey said President Donald Trump pressured him to drop the FBI's investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and demanded Comey's loyalty during the one-on-one meetings he had with president. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Here's how Thursday hurts Trump: Comey said one of Trump's complaints to him was that the Russia probe, though not focused on the president, constituted "a cloud" impairing his ability to pursue his political agenda. Trump wanted Comey to lift that cloud. But now that cloud over Trump is a gathering storm. As long as Mueller's work continues Trump will operate under the specter of a criminal investigation.

How bad is this for the president? Trump now has a private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, who issued a denial Thursday, saying the president "never sought to impede" the Russia inquiry and never directed or suggested that Comey stop investigating anyone. The president's Twitter feed was uncharacteristically silent. How that must have frustrated Trump the social media fiend. It was left to his spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, to refute Comey's dramatic claim that Trump lied about his reasons for firing Comey. "I can definitively say the president is not a liar," she said. Not a great companion slogan for "Make America Great Again."

Remember that the original focus of the investigation was Russia's efforts to meddle in American politics. Comey told senators the Russians purposefully interfered in the election and "they will be back." Comey wouldn't discuss details or any evidence that people in Trump's orbit colluded with the Russians.

Beyond those issues, Comey's tale focused on Trump expressing undue interest in the investigation, using the power of his office to ingratiate himself with Comey and seek his loyalty. In a Feb. 14 one-on-one encounter in the Oval Office, Trump asked Comey to lay off Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser who is one subject of the probe. "I hope you can let this go," Comey said Trump told him about Flynn.

Comey described his dealings with Trump as awkward and disturbing because the president was trying to influence a criminal investigation. Talk about meddling: Comey was especially unnerved in the Feb. 14 meeting when Trump cleared the room to be alone with Comey. Even Comey's boss, the attorney general, was kicked out. Comey said Trump didn't issue a direct order to Comey to release Flynn from the investigation, but "I took it as a direction."

The way Comey described it, when the president gets you alone in the Oval Office, looks you in the eye and expresses his wishes, you understand you're being given an order. Comey felt intimidated. Who wouldn't be? "This is the president of the United States with me alone saying, 'I hope this.' I took it as this is what he wants me to do," Comey said. "I didn't obey that."

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Comey thinks he was fired in due course because of the Russia investigation. Trump shifted explanations but at one point said the FBI director was axed for "the Russia thing." If Trump's intent was to punish Comey for not reshaping the Russia inquiry, that would add to the evidence of wrongdoing.

Comey's testimony damaged the president's credibility. But complex investigations take twists and turns and don't conclude quickly. In time the country will learn enough to render judgment. Were Trump's actions permissible, inept or nefarious?

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.

What to read next:

Donald Trump's behavior suggests he never wants the truth to come out

'Vindication'? Not so fast, Mr. President

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Trump is a profoundly incompetent president

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The reader laid out three possible plans that would allow CPS to continue to function as the reader believes appropriate. It was suggested that the Tribune, if it doesn't care for Claypools plan, provide one of its own. While I am sure the Tribune has the resources to do this, it would be better for the taxpayers, who have seen their property taxes increased, if Claypool and his staff would draft a budget commensurate to the projected revenue. This may mean making cuts especially where nobody wants, but we cannot continue to sustain the "sacred cow" mentality. We need to tighten up beyond the comfortable level, withstand the pain of austerity, and suffer through what needs to be done to see our state restored to being intelligently managed into financial stability.

Gov. Bruce Rauner was elected on a platform I characterize as change and restore. While the citizens of the state wanted change, state Democrats apparently do not. Instead of working with the governor and allowing him to implement the reforms he wants, the Democrats, not the governor, refuse to compromise, refuse to offer a balanced budget for self-serving reasons. They do not want to accept term limits. They do not want to risk the possible success of the governor's plan in spite of the voters who elected him to do precisely what he promised  change Springfield.

If the citizens of this state want to see education get better dramatically, we first must get our financial house in order. To accomplish this, we need a governor who will take a stand against the same old, same old. Rauner has done just that, but has been met with ignorant arrogance by House Speaker Michael Madigan and the lemming Democrats. It is past time that we citizens use our vote to drain the swamp here in Illinois and get rid of any and all incumbents in the next election.

 Dave Roberts, Frankfort
It was a riveting display of political fireworks, complete with a fired FBI director accusing his former boss of lying about why he was fired. Comey also said he had to take special precautions with President Trump in large part because he cant be trusted to tell the truth. Devastating.

But the core of James Comeys testimony was built upon the question of obstruction of justice, for which he had a clear and, basically, uncontested story:

President Donald Trump made clear over time he wanted Comey to be loyal to the president, not to the law or the Bureau; that loyalty meant curtailing the Russia investigation; the investigation went forward unimpeded; Comey is loyal to the law and the Bureau, not to the president; Trump fired Comey; Trump himself said the dismissal was over the Russia investigation.

Committee Republicans may have had some success poking holes in the precise meaning of Trumps requests to Comey: Was it limited to just the Michael Flynn portion of the investigation or something broader? But its Trumps public statements on why he fired Comey that support the latter.

That this constitutes a form of obstruction of justice and is, therefore, impeachable is fairly obvious. But impeachable is a funny word.

What is a justified and legitimate use of Congresss impeachment power? The Constitution doesnt say. Nor does it require Congress to act just because everybody thinks that the president has done something impeachable. Thats a political question completely up to the House to decide (and then for the Senate if the House puts it to them).

In that sense, while theres no way of knowing how this scandal plays out, what we already know is devastating to the presidents professional reputation. Republicans as well as Democrats will conclude that the president is incompetent, that his word cannot be trusted, that he does not respect the laws and norms of the constitutional system, and that those around him either share each of those traits or act as if they share them. Of course this episode and the broader Russia scandal are only one piece of that, but anyone tempted to believe that Trumps bluster was limited to peripheral situations will certainly know that he acted unprofessionally and worse even with national security and his own political viability on the line.

We can see that in the questioning from committee Republicans, which broke down into three groups.

A couple just wanted to talk about Hillary Clinton and emails. A couple asked questions designed to draw Comey out further, questions the White House could not be happy about at all. And about half of them tried to challenge Comeys facts and interpretations, but most of them did so in only a half-hearted way, and none of them shook the former directors story at all on any subject. So while its quite true that no Republican broke with the president in the sense of adopting the harsh language that the Democrats used, its also true that none of them really did much to support the president; at best it seemed the president can count on some Republicans to be reluctant but willing partisan warriors, but it sure didnt seem to me that Trump had any real friends in that room.

The legal case against the Trump team and any potential impeachment will depend on many factors, including other facts which we dont yet know. But the damage to Trump is severe. A president who is not respected, trusted, or even feared is not going to have much influence in Washington. Im not only talking about members of Congress (and remember, Republicans who arent influenced by the president will still try to pass very conservative legislation because they themselves are very conservative). Im also talking about bureaucrats, state governments, even judges.

Comey and this hearing can be seen then not (necessarily) as steps on the way to some ultimate climax of the presidency, but as confirmation of how badly Trump is doing, and how little hell be able to get done going forward. That doesnt mean hes not dangerous. Presidential weakness endangers the nation, as does a president who abuses or misuses those bare bones formal powers, given how formidable they still can be.

Impeachment and removal may be less likely at this point than an extended demonstration of just how powerless a president can become.
A West Virginia dad who watched his father die of black lung disease will be grateful his own son has a safe, high-paying job erecting wind turbines.

A little girl on the East Coast thinks high speed rail is cool. She dreams she will design electric trains and cars someday.

A laid-off worker in Tulsa, Okla., no longer worries about paying his mortgage. He completed a free training program and now installs energy-efficient lighting.

A teenage boy in Chicago cant wait to graduate from high school so he can attend a month-long energy efficiency boot camp. Hell have his choice of energy retrofit jobs as soon as hes ready.

Thanks to a green energy loan, a single mom in Georgia now has solar panels on her roof. Instead of paying her electric bill, she makes money by selling electricity back to her power company.

A Native American in North Dakota is repairing natural gas leaks in a nearby pipeline. Hes proud to protect his ancestral home by fighting climate change.

A clean environment and good jobs must go hand in hand. Or, in the end, we will have neither.

 Carrie Scherpelz, Madison, Wis.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Romanian President Klaus Werner Iohannis during a news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House on June 9, 2017, in Washington. (Andrew Harnik / AP)

Those who were playing the Trump Twitter Drinking Game  take a drink every time President Donald Trump tweets  during James Comey 's Senate intelligence committee testimony Thursday came away surprisingly sober.

For nearly 48 hours, the president maintained Twitter silence, causing surprised followers like me to wonder if he had dozed off or worse.

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But at 6:10 a.m. Friday, the morning after former FBI Director Comey appeared before the Senate committee, Trump reappeared in the Twittersphere with, "Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindicationand WOW, Comey is a leaker!"

As often happens with Trump's tweets, this one fiddles with facts. That's not an extraordinary development for our serial-exaggerator president, who has never backed off his ludicrous claim to the biggest inauguration crowd ever.

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In similar fashion, Comey's testimony raised more issues than vindication, except for those who  like Trump  dismiss inconvenient facts as "fake news." He cannot shrug off ongoing investigations by the Senate committee and special counsel Robert Mueller of ties between Trump's campaign and Russian officials.

The announcement of Mueller's investigation followed what, so far, is the most pivotal tweet of Trump's presidency. On a Friday morning, May 12, he typed: "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!"

That was the tweet, according to Comey's account to the Senate intelligence committee, that spurred him as a private citizen at that point to make a special request to a friend, Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman.

Comey asked Richman to tell The New York Times about the memos he had written to describe his interactions in private meetings with President Trump. The memos described why Comey thought the president had asked him, as FBI director, to drop the FBI's criminal investigation into Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn .

The Times story appeared seven days after Comey was fired May 9.

Was that a "leak," as Trump calls it? Comey was passing his own memos, not classified documents, to the Times. As he told the Senate, he hoped the disclosure would lead to the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russia's involvement in the 2016 election and possible collusion with associates of the president's campaign. It did.

On May 17, the day after the Times piece ran, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein named former FBI Director Mueller, a longtime friend of Comey, to the post. Trump was apparently declaring victory because Comey wouldn't say whether he believed the president obstructed justice by saying he wished Comey would "let" the Flynn investigation "go." Comey told the senators that he was confident that Mueller would make that determination.

Indeed, if Trump should be angry at anyone, it is himself. By needlessly firing Comey and tweeting recklessly about it, Trump single-handedly turned his Russia problem  a "cloud" over his administration, he reportedly told Comey  into a much bigger problem.

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Now it's an investigation into possible obstruction of justice charges, the same charge that forced Richard Nixon to resign his presidency for cover-ups during the Watergate scandal.

Yes, here comes the old Watergate-era line once again: It's not the crime, it's the cover-up that counts.

Were it not for the rising investigation into a possible cover-up, Trump would have reason to celebrate Comey's debunking of a February New York Times article as "in the main , not true," although he didn't say in the open hearing what specifically wasn't true, So, as the story about Team Trump's possible collusion with Russians took a hit, suspicions about a possible Trump cover-up got a big boost from Comey's testimony.

No, this investigation is only beginning. For those who appreciate history, it's important to note that the Watergate investigations went on for more than two years. Bill Clinton's Whitewater scandal lasted for seven of his eight years in office.

But the big question on everyone's minds  will he be impeached?  depends largely on the partisan makeup of the House and Senate. Legal scholars argue about it, but impeachment is a political process more than a legal one. It all comes down to how many votes the president has in Congress, which Trump's Republican Party currently controls.

Still, there are danger signs on the horizon. A Politico/Morning Consult poll at the end of May found 43 percent of voters want impeachment proceedings to begin. Most of those cite political reasons, not criminal offenses. But that's up from 38 percent the previous week. Vindication is just one of Trump's challenges.

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Clarence Page , a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/pagespage.

cpage@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @cptime
Jeff Murphy, 53, of Batavia, was last seen 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Rescue Creek Trailhead in Yellowstone National Park, according to a park news release. (Yellowstone National Park )

A Batavia man who went missing in Yellowstone National Park was found dead Friday afternoon, a National Parks Service spokesman said.

Jeff Murphy, 53, went missing Wednesday. His body was recovered Friday afternoon, spokesman Jonathan Shafer said.

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It appears that his death resulted from a fall near Turkey Pen Peak, Shafer said.

"All of us at Yellowstone extend our sympathy to the Murphy family for their tragic loss," according to a statement from the national park.

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Shafer said he didn't know exactly what time Murphy was found, if a coroner would be performing an autopsy or if any foul play was suspected.

At its peak, the search for Murphy included eight hiking teams, five dog teams, four horse teams and helicopter, he said.

The Batavia resident was hiking Rescue Creek Trail to Turkey Pen Peak and his last known location was 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Rescue Creek Trailhead, according to a news release.

The trailhead is near Yellowstone's north entrance, which is in Montana.

On Thursday, Yellowstone announced the park was beginning the search for Murphy, calling him a missing person.

hleone@tribpub.com

Twitter @hannahmleone
Former FBI Director James Comey, second right, moves from an open hearing to a closed hearing during a break in testimony before the Senate intelligence committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on June 8, 2017, in Washington. Comey said President Donald Trump pressured him to drop the FBI's investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and demanded Comey's loyalty during the one-on-one meetings he had with president. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Two things are undeniable about former FBI Director James Comey. He's really tall. And he's really credible.

He's also unpretentious and likable  which is probably why I couldn't help but feel a bit protective of this star of the latest episode of "As the White House Spins."

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Was it lack of sleep that made those bags under Comey's eyes appear bigger as he made this Thursday morning guest appearance on Trump's latest and greatest reality show? Did Comey have a few more gray strands in his hair since getting unceremoniously dumped by the president?

Was it just my imagination, or was the former top dog of the FBI nervous as he made his way into the much-anticipated Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Trump's efforts to influence the investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn? I noticed his fingers twiddling anxiously as things got underway. And I could swear I saw a slight quiver to his chin at one point in the proceedings.

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The big man appeared uncomfortable as he sat stone-faced in his chair while pool photographers swarmed around him. Less than 10 minutes in, he was already reaching for a glass of water. And as committee chairs Sens. Richard Burr and Mark Warner rambled on with their introductory remarks, the former director looked like he might be ready to give up breakfast.

When Warner praised him for his integrity, expertise and intelligence, however, Comey seemed to relax, even more so when he was sworn in and finally able to tell his crazy story to the world.

While at one early point in the almost three-hour ordeal, he seemed on the verge of tears when talking about "my folks" at the FBI and how he never had a chance to say goodbye, for the most part Comey spoke with calm, clarity and conviction. He became more passionate when he insisted Trump "lied about me" and the FBI, and emphasized more than once the seriousness of Russian interference in our democratic process.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 25 Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that some "patriotic" individuals may have engaged in hacking in the U.S. election, but continues to deny government involvement. After President Barack Obama announced sanctions on Russian spy agencies and expelled 35 diplomats, Putin declined to immediately retaliate, drawing praise from President-elect Donald Trump. On Jan. 17, 2017, Putin took a parting shot at the Obama administration, accusing it of trying to undermine Trump's election and calling a dossier alleging Russian spy agencies collected compromising material on Trump as "nonsense." After a report that Trump revealed classified information in a May 10 meeting with Russian diplomats, Putin offered to turn over to Congress records of the discussion. In a June 2017 interview with NBC's Megyn Kelly, Putin dismissed as "a load of nonsense" that Russia has damaging information on Trump. After 13 Russians were indicted by the United States in February 2018 for election-meddling, Putin insisted they didn't act on behalf of his government. Putin won re-election as Russian president on March 18, 2018, and received a phone call from Trump, congratulating him on the victory. (Anatoly Maltsev / AP)

"There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever," noted Comey  a rather odd way of saying there should be no confusion to the fact Russians are creating chaos however and whenever they can.

His inquisitors, surprisingly on both sides of the aisle, were civil, respectful and seemed genuinely appreciative of his service to this country. And rather than question the truthfulness of his testimony, even the most critical Republicans only cast doubt on his interpretation of events.

Comey made it clear he felt he got canned because he did not follow Trump's directive when the president told him "I hope you can let this go." He would not go so far, however, as to say the president's "awkward" conversations with him rose to the level of obstruction of justice. Comey is now a private citizen, he pointed out more than once, and it was now up to officials to determine if the president crossed the line in his efforts to make the Russian problem go away.

Nor could Comey say, when asked by Democrats and Republicans alike, why he didn't stand up to the president when Trump asked him to back off the investigation.

The man, after all, is not some lowly White House intern: He was head of the FBI, for crying out loud, and has been around Washington long enough to not be intimidated by those even more powerful.

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But somehow, his explanation just made the man more credible.

"I was a bit stunned and didn't have the presence of mind," he told the committee. "Maybe others would be stronger. If I had the opportunity, I'd do it better."

That being said, he also testified he felt the best way to "protect the credibility" of the Russian investigation was to take explicit notes of his bizarre conversations with the president. It was only after Trump tweeted about the possibility the meeting was taped that Comey turned his memos over to a professor at Columbia Law School. That friend then leaked them to the press. Or as the former FBI director described the reporters at the end of his driveway, "the seagulls at the beach."

While even Comey admitted he may have acted "slightly cowardly" in the way he handled his unorthodox encounters with the president, in the end he knew how to make the most of a bad situation. It may have cost him his job, but the country got what it needed: a special counsel to look into this mess the White House is in.

Whether you think of him as a wimp or a martyr or, as Trump's private attorney declared after the hearing, "a leaker," James Comey  sorry, Mr. President  is no "real nut job."

DCrosby@tribpub.com

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Twitter @dencrosby
PHOENIX  The state's top prosecutor wants police to be able to arrest people for having marijuana on college and university campuses, even if they have a state-issued card allowing them to buy and use the drug.

In new court filings Thursday, Attorney General Mark Brnovich contends the Arizona Court of Appeals erred earlier this year when the judge voided a 2012 law which made possession of the drug on campuses a crime.

The appellate court said that is directly contrary to the 2010 initiative which legalized marijuana for medical use. While that law barred marijuana possession on public school grounds, it made no mention of college campuses.

More to the point, the judges said the Voter Protection Act, part of the Arizona Constitution, bars lawmakers from altering the voter-approved law.

But Brnovich, in arguments to the state Supreme Court, is pointing out that the constitution does allow lawmakers to amend initiatives if the change furthers the purpose of what voters originally approved. And he contends the 2012 law fits that exception  an argument specifically rejected by the Court of Appeals.

The case before the high court involves Andre Maestas.

A student at Arizona State University, Maestas was arrested in 2014 by campus police on a charge of obstructing traffic after they found him sitting in an intersection.

When police arrested him they found a medical marijuana card in his wallet. Questioned about it at the station, he admitted having marijuana in his room, giving police what they needed for a search warrant.

Police found about 0.4 grams of the drug  less than 0.02 ounces  far below the 2 1/2 ounces medical marijuana users are allowed to legally possess.

Originally charged with a felony under the 2012 law, prosecutors reduced that to a misdemeanor, a move that meant Maestas was not entitled to a jury trial. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dean Fink found Maestas guilty, placed him on unsupervised probation, and imposed a $1,000 fine.

But the Court of Appeals, in a ruling in April, said making criminals out of medical marijuana users doesn't further the purpose of what voters approved.

To the contrary, it eliminates some of its protections, wrote Judge Peter Swann for the three-judge panel. And that, he said, makes the 2012 change in law criminalizing medical marijuana possession on campuses illegal.

Undeterred, Brnovich is making some of the same arguments to the state's high court. And that starts with the fact that marijuana remains a felony under federal law despite what voters in this state and elsewhere have decided.

Federal funding for universities is conditioned on compliance with federal law, he wrote. And Brnovich said the 2010 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act specifically allows universities to restrict and penalize cardholders to protect their federal dollars.

The appellate court ruling did not dispute that. In fact, Swann said lawmakers  or even the universities themselves as the owner of buildings  can enact regulations against marijuana possession on campuses.

To the extent a person violates such rules or prohibitions, the state can have the offending party removed or charged with trespassing, Swann said. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act does not stop it from creating such policies.

What lawmakers may not do, he said, is make criminals out of medical marijuana users just because they bring their drugs on campus.

Brnovich, however, is urging the Supreme Court to take a narrower approach to what the legislature can and cannot do to voter-approved laws.

He said it would be one thing if the 2010 law explicitly required that medical marijuana be allowed on college campuses.

He also pointed out the 2010 law already lists places where medical marijuana is not allowed, places like public schools and prisons. And the law says even cardholders cannot smoke the drug in public.

The way Brnovich sees it, those existing restrictions give license to lawmakers to add to the list.

Adding public colleges and universities to the list does not somehow deprive the voter initiative of force and meaning, but rather gives effect to the provision permitting restrictions by public universities and colleges to protect federal funds, Brnovich told the justices. The legislature acted well within the authority it retains under the Voter Protection Act to amend the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act in ways that further its purposes.
Students with the Medical and Dental Brigades at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently traveled to Honduras. ( Courtesy of Kimberly Albrecht/HANDOUT )

Glancing out the window of an old school bus after digging holes to a foundation in the heat might not make the average college student wax poetic, but my youngest, Brittany, had an epiphany as she posted a breathtaking photo of the mountainous Honduran horizon, quoting poet Sylvia Plath in the process.

"I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery  air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy." Plath's prose, written decades earlier, captured the essence of her experience with the Medical and Dental Brigades at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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She and 37 other University of Illinois students served in rural Honduras from May 16 through May 24.

It's hard to fathom that a beautiful country in Central America has homes that lack basic sanitation. It's an extra shock when one considers the intricate systems designed more than 2,000 years ago by the ancient Romans.

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Yet, for three days, student crews worked in San Juan de Flores to build sanitation stations for families who did not have toilets, showers or sinks. They then helped set up medical and dental clinics in Los Terrones, and provided health care to more than 500 people in the surrounding communities.

Under the supervision of physicians and dentists, students assisted with everything from tooth extractions to pap smears, dispensed medicine, and educated young and old on nutrition and dental hygiene.

I recently asked some students to describe their most influential moment during the trip and whether the experience propelled or repelled them toward a career in medicine.

Pravin Vence, of Inverness, has served before and plans to return next summer. He said his moment was leading a Spanish food and nutrition presentation.

"I was deeply humbled by the profound, genuine interest that the Honduran people demonstrated by their eagerness to adopt a healthier lifestyle and heed my advice," he said. "I have never been more motivated to pursue this career path."

Julia Fornatto, of Elmhurst, said she had served before, recalling her first year.

"When I was shadowing one of the doctors  a woman came in and couldn't see that well. I asked the doctor if she knew her eyesight was as bad as it was, or if it had become worse. He told me that she had no idea her eyesight was so bad because she had never seen a doctor," she said. "This was when I realized that basic medical attention is so scarcely available to the Honduran people.  (It's) the reason why I decided to become so involved in Global Brigades and  am pursuing physician assistant studies."

Kathryn Liston, of Hinsdale, said her "moment' came while she was working in dental, sweaty with a mask on.

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"Obviously didn't look my best  A kid came in, who was so respectful. He was obviously trying to look his best," she said.

Glancing down at his shabby shoes, she had to look away, overwhelmed by his poverty, she said.

"You could tell how appreciative he was for the opportunity to have medical care. I got genuine vibes from him through his silence  these people have such beautiful souls," she said.

Liston said she wants to become a doctor, promising herself to make this kind of trip once a year.

"Because these people need so much  and a lot of their illness is so preventable," she said.

Bri Sarley, of Glen Ellyn, said her experience leading Brigade gave her a new perspective.

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"Not only was my heart incredibly full to see my peers falling in love with a country so pure and generous, but it was so rewarding to know that after all of the work  everyone would be walking away with their passions reinstated completely due to their newfound drive to improve health care globally."

She added later, "Seeing the lack of education in different areas of the world really gives you a reason to stop complaining and bury your head in the books."

U of I students a part of the brigade included: Ben Abraham, South Elgin; Brittany Albrecht, Hawthorn Woods; Kassie Alvarez, Bloomingdale; Daniel Andress, Schaumburg; Brendan Black, Champaign; Julia Fornatto, Elmhurst; Jack Geocaris, Naperville, Brooke Gandhi, St. Louis, MO; Isabel Goduco, Lake Forest; Frankie Granata, Medina; David Kellner, Elk Grove; Anna Keyes, Decatur; Anna Klipstein, Arlington Heights; Nikola Koziol, Park Ridge; Kathryn Liston, Hinsdale; Kelsi Miller and Jack Moore, Tremont; Lucy Nuding, Rochester; Jill Patel, St. Charles; Nishal Patel, South Barrington; Tommy Pickett, Chicago; Morgan Prinn, Antioch; Mike Prochazka, Downers Grove; Danny Ramljak, Naperville; Aliyah Saiyed, Gurnee; Bri Sarley, Glen Ellyn; Julia Setchell, Amboy;; Caitlyn Silhavy, Westmont; Haily Stillabower, Wood Dale; Rachel Valentino, Chicago; Claudia VanOpdorp, Annawan; Pravin Vence, Inverness; Ryan Walton, Crestwood; Nicolette Westphal, Libertyville; Karoline Yacono, Lake Zurich; Mayuri Yasuda, Batavia; Taylor Zars, Elmhurst; and Graham Zolkowski, Chicago.

Kimberly Albrecht is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.
Two Joliet-area men were killed on Route 171 on Friday morning when their vehicle collided head-on with an AT&T service truck, according to Illinois State Police.

The two men, who were in a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, were pronounced dead at the scene, Illinois State Police Sgt. Scott Angus said.

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Police identified the driver of the Silverado as Juan Huerta-Hernandez, 23, of Joliet. His passenger has not been identified, pending notification of family, Angus said.

The crash, which caused Route 171 to be closed for about five hours Friday morning, occurred at 8:11 a.m. near Dell Park Avenue in Lockport, police said.

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The two men in the pickup truck were northbound on Route 171 when, for unknown reasons, they crossed the center line and struck the southbound AT&T truck head on, Angus said.

The driver of the AT&T truck was transported to Silver Cross Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Angus said.

"Our thoughts go out to those affected by the accident. We will be cooperating with police in their investigation," AT&T spokesman Phil Hayes said in a prepared statement. He deferred to police for additional information.

slafferty@tribpub.com

Twitter @SusanLaff
Two of log rolling's top competitors Shana Verstegen and Ellie Davenport duke it out in last year's finals. (Katie Rick)

Following its inaugural year, the U.S. Log Rolling Open is planning to make a splash again with its return to Orland Park's Lake Sedgwick in Centennial Park on Saturday.

It made a "great" first impression on spectators last year, tournament organizer Katie Rick said.

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Excited about another opportunity to work with the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau along with the Village of Orland Park, Rick said this year will continue efforts to draw more attention to log rolling.

"By bringing it to the Chicago market, we're able to reach an entire new audience, expand our sport and help grow this modern sport," Rick said. "I'm interested in growing the tournament but also expanding the sport to the state of Illinois."

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With the chance to move beyond logrolling's Minnesota and Wisconsin origins, six-time log rolling world champion Shana Verstegen said she's "thrilled" to compete in Illinois this weekend. Current world champion Ellie Davenportalso also will compete among 20 other competitors in the bracket-style tournament. Competition aside, Verstegen praised the event as a chance for viewers to fall in love with something new.

"The spectators were kind of enthralledThey thought it was very neat to see something so different coming to the area," Rick said. "So, I'm really looking forward to it."

Log rolling's unique nature piques interest at first sight but it's a sport that also promotes inclusivity. Verstegen said growing the sport is possible once more people learn about it, and she believes it's an activity that newcomers can enjoy after observing and giving it a try.

"The cool thing about the sport of logrolling is that anybody can do it, anywhere," Verstegen said. "So, hopefully people will come out on Saturday, see how cool it is and how hard the athletes work, how amazing of a sport it is and want to learn it themselves."

The sport is action-packed, Rick said, as two competitors strategically spin a floating log in an attempt to send their opponent into the water.

This year's tournament will be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet Chicago again, and Rick said the media coverage combined with a competitive showcase of the sport's top athletes will offer plenty to look forward to come Saturday.

The tournament kicks off at noon, and is free to the public. CSN Chicago will air their coverage on June 18, 20 and 30.
The Wharton School building on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. (Beth J. Harpaz / AP)

In 2009, Tina Thompson, a student at New York's Monroe College, sued her alma mater for $70,000, the cost of her tuition, claiming that her inability to find a job was proof of the school's failure to educate her adequately.

The school defended itself, stating that while it did offer job training services, it never offered Thompson or any other student a guarantee. And the lawsuit was ultimately unsuccessful.

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But it raised the question whether colleges can be held accountable for the achievement and competence, or lack thereof, of its graduates.

And it is why I recently contacted the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, to learn what they thought about the words and actions of its most famous graduate, President Donald Trump.

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Trump's tweets, unscripted speeches, and extemporaneous remarks have manifested a mortifying ignorance of history, geography, literature, language, and science.

His display of knowledge is shockingly substandard for someone with a college degree, let alone a product of a reputable Ivy League school that boasts Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, and Michael Milliken among its alumni.

Granted, a president can't be expected to know everything. On one of his overseas trips, former President Barack Obama once said, "I don't know what the term is in Austrian for 'wheeling and dealing.'"

Austrians speak German, and there is no Austrian language, which Obama did not seem to know. And he went to Harvard.

But that was one of just a handful of verbal flubs through eight years of his presidency, and it a misstatement that most Americans might make, or at least understand making.

Yet, during Trump's presidential campaign, and in the short time he has been president, he has issued statements on a nearly weekly basis that would make seventh graders cringe.

For example, speaking informally at a black history event, Trump said of the African American abolitionist who died over 100 years ago: "Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who's done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice."

I'm not sure whether it's more concerning that he does not know who Douglass was, or that he thinks what he said successfully hides that fact.

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Then there's spelling: Who doesn't misspell a word now and then? But misspellings and usage errors festoon his writing.

And certainly the president ought not confuse the spelling of his own title with the word precedent, as he did in this tweet: "China steals United States Navy research drone in international waters  rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented act..."

History, likely the most valuable subject for a president, is Trump's weakest: "I mean, had Andrew Jackson been a little later, you wouldn't have had the Civil War... He was really angry that he saw what was happening with regard to the Civil War. He said, 'There's no reason for this.' People don't realize, you know, the Civil War  if you think about it, why? People don't ask that question, but why was there a Civil War?"

Even those seventh graders know that slavery was the reason for the Civil War, during which Abraham Lincoln was president. Jackson died 16 years earlier!

Science: Regarding climate change, which 97% of scientists agree is man-made, our current president famously said in 2013: "Ice storm rolls from Texas to Tennessee - I'm in Los Angeles and it's freezing. Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax!"

Political Science: During one of the campaign debates, conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt tried to pin down Trump's thoughts on the nuclear triad, consisting of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, strategic bombers, and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

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The Not-So-Artful Dodger Trump hadn't obviously a clue:

Hewitt: "Of the three legs of the triad, though, do you have a priority?"

Trump: "I think  I think, for me, nuclear is just the power, the devastation is very important to me."

Geography: Trump in Atlanta on a campaign stop on June 15, 2016: "So Belgium is a beautiful city!"

Unfortunately, I could go on.

Instead, I checked the core curriculum for undergraduates at Wharton.

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It consists of 37 credit units, covering the same variety of courses you'll find in most colleges, but with emphasis on business and economics.

A shortcoming, in my eyes, was that Wharton requires students to take only one course in social science, and one in writing. Certainly, students can elect to take an additional history or writing course. I'm guessing young Donald stuck with the minimum.

But to find out more, I sent the following email message to the publicity department at Wharton;

I'm writing a story about the rigor of President Trump's education, in consideration of various of his communications showing gaps in general knowledge of history, geography, science, and political science.

In view of your long and illustrious list of accomplished and erudite alumni, is Donald Trump a poor or atypical reflection of Wharton standards?

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

The response was immediate and courteous:

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Mr. McGrath,

The only information we release about a University of Pennsylvania alumnus is the year of graduation, degree and major. In the case of Donald J. Trump, he earned a B.S. in economics (real estate major) in May 1968.

Ron Ozio

Director, Media Relations | University of Pennsylvania

And we probably have as much of a chance of seeing his transcript as we do of seeing his tax return.

mcgrathd@dupage.edu
University of California Los Angeles students march on November 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California, during a "Love Trumps Hate" rally in reaction to President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the presidential elections. (Frederick J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)

"Get going. Beat it. If you don't like it in this country, leave."

Video posted to social media shows an older, white male saying those words to five Muslim teen girls Monday night in a Hickory Hills restaurant. The man apparently mistook the hijab-wearing girls for immigrants, when they're actually American citizens.

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"This is our home, too. What do you mean, leave?" a girl can be heard saying in the video.

The man, according to the video, made more insulting comments toward the group and said, "What's the problem? Anything else?"

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"Let's go, let's go. Come on. Let's just go," one of the girls is heard saying in the video.

"Disgusting man," another girl can be heard saying.

"Hang on," the man said. At that point in the video, he is shown standing up from the restaurant booth and letting loose a string of profanities unfit for publication in a family newspaper.

The girls told the Daily Southtown they were afraid of the man's aggressive behavior and left the restaurant. They reported the incident to Hickory Hills police, who on Thursday continued to investigate the altercation and sought to identify the man in the video.

Representatives of Pepe's, the restaurant where the exchange occurred, issued a statement apologizing to the girls and condemning all types of discrimination.

I think in that incident, the high school girls acted like adults and the rude man hurling provoking insults acted like an immature schoolyard bully.

Another display of juvenile conduct occurred the following day at a Starbucks in Chicago's Loop. A TV news cameraman captured video of the incident, which reminded me of a fight between high school students.

Video footage shows a young-looking white man in a light-colored suit with coffee stains hurling racist insults at a young-looking black man he apparently blamed for spilling coffee on him.

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Video shows several customers in the Starbucks store intervening and trying to physically separate the two men. As the confrontation spills outside onto the sidewalk, the white man spits at the black man, then walks away.

The video shows the white man punching another black man who was walking down the sidewalk. Three men then tackle the white man, who was arrested for battery, Chicago police told ABC7 news.

I think the two incidents serve as timely reminders that public displays of intolerance seem to becoming more common. It seems ordinary folks are increasingly likely to encounter awkward and tense situations when they go out for dinner, stop for coffee or simply walk down the sidewalk.

How would you react if you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a confrontation?

In the Hickory Hills incident, one girl told the Southtown she was disappointed by the reaction of bystanders in the restaurant. People sat there as the conflict unfolded, she said, and did nothing.

Contrast that reaction with the response to the harassment of a Muslim girl on a train May 26 in Portland, Ore. Three good Samaritans who came to the girl's defense were stabbed. Two of the men died from their wounds.

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I think a natural reaction for many people to tense confrontations is to step in and try to keep the situation from escalating. Others are less prone to intervene. They may be momentarily paralyzed by the shock of what they are witnessing.

Some bystanders might avoid interfering because they silently condone the behavior. Others might record video on their cell phones.

In my opinion, there's no doubt that in the seven months since Donald Trump won the presidential election there have been more public displays of people expressing hatred. I believe increasing numbers of people who previously kept their opinions to themselves feel they now have the green light to exercise their rights to freedom of expression.

This is Trump's America, where decency is derided as wimpy political correctness. Civility is eroded because Trump is going to bring back jobs by getting rid of immigrants.

Incidents of bullying have reportedly increased at schools across the country, according to the Documenting Hate project. Numerous news organizations nationwide are participating in the database-building effort launched by ProPublica.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

All types of people are reporting incidents of harassment: Latinos, blacks, Jews, Muslims, Asians, Native Americans, and members of the LGBTQ community, to name a few.

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It takes courage to stand up to bullies. Courage is lacking these days among many politicians who are slow to denounce hatred and violence. They're afraid of offending their base of supporters, so they stay silent.

I think the behavior of the men shown on video this week at the Hickory Hills restaurant and the Chicago Starbucks is indefensible. How can anyone condone a grown man yelling profanities at teen girls in a restaurant, or someone spewing racist rants and throwing punches on a public sidewalk?

I encourage expressions of opinion and rational debate about policies for immigration, national security and other serious issues. But I think it's more important than ever for decent people to denounce all forms of hate speech and violence.

I, for one, refuse to accept the normalization of hate speech as mere freedom of expression. I think it's up to decent people everywhere to take a stand against hate speech and violence in all its forms.

tslowik@tronc.com

Twitter @tedslowik
Union wages are not ruining companies. Union wages are gauged by the profit companies acquire for their services or products. When a company creates a product or service cheaper, the product or service should be cheaper for the consumer. It should not be a time to increase salaries or give bonuses to company executives.

George, Burbank

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The late U.S. Marine Corps Col. John Glenn should be honored in every state with a statue. It should be erected in every state's most prominent location. Talk about an icon. This man was a Marine combat pilot in two wars: World War II and Korea and flew 150 combat missions. He had the courage to volunteer to be the first American to orbit Earth. To top that off, at age 77 he became the oldest person to fly in space on the shuttle Discovery. Glenn was one of the most courageous men in the entire world and the United States of America should honor him with a holiday named in his honor now, not later.

Alsip

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Why must phone costumers register on the do not call list to eliminate unwanted phone calls? Because it simply don't work. I'm on that no call list but still get calls interrupting me all day long. As an elderly man, it is difficult answering my phone for someone that I don't want to talk to. The phone company must stop this intrusion on my privacy and well-being.

Four top law firms turned down offers to represent President Donald Trump in the Russia investigation because they are concerned that the president won't listen to them, and he won't pay them. No surprise here. Trump's entire business history is one of "strategic bankruptcies" to avoid paying his bills and refusing to pay his suppliers. The man is a fraud and a life long con man who successfully conned a minority of voters into supporting him. Well done, informed Trump voters.

William, Oak Lawn

What's Speak Out?

Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout@southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 120 words and give your first name and your hometown.
Officials investigate Thursday morning at the scene of a fire on Richardson Drive in unincorporated Dundee Township where a man and a dog were found dead on Wednesday. ( Erin Sauder/The Courier-News )

A man found dead at the site of an early morning fire Wednesday in unincorporated Dundee Township had a gunshot wound, officials said.

The man has not been identified due to the extent of burns caused by the fire, according to a news release from the Kane County coroner. The preliminary cause of death is pending. Toxicology samples have been sent to a forensic lab, the release said.

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Authorities believe the fire was intentionally set, according to a news release from the Kane County sheriff.

Members of the East Dundee and Countryside Fire Protection District were called at 3:26 a.m. Wednesday to the 15N300 block of Richardson Drive for a structure fire, according to the release.

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Crews encountered heavy fire and the building was fully engulfed. Firefighters were initially unable to gain entry due to the volume of fire, the release stated.

The fire was under control at 4:06 a.m., and during the initial investigation, the bodies of a man and a dog were found, police said.

Detectives were notified by the Kane County Coroner's Office Thursday about the gunshot wound, the release said.

"This incident is a great example of how we must do our due diligence," Kane County Coroner Rob Russell said. "We rely heavily on the science to definitely determine identity as well as cause and manner of death."

The Kane Country Sheriff's Office is investigating with the assistance of the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force, Kane County Coroner's Office and Kane County Fire Investigation Task Force.

Detectives are asking anyone who may have any information relating to this incident to call 630-444-1103.

Erin Sauder is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Elgin Ribfest is expanding.

Ribfest takes place June 16-18 at Festival Park. Hours are 5-11 p.m. June 16, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. June 17 and 12-7 p.m. June 18. The festival is open to all ages.

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This year, the fest is taking up the whole park, said organizer Bryant Haniszewski with NTD Events.

"Because there were so many people there last year, we wanted to make sure we could accommodate everyone and we weren't too cramped," he said. "And we're adding two more big rib vendors."

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That includes BBQ Smokehouse of Woodstock, which has been cleaning up in barbecue contests, including a first place in the "Best Ribs Juried by our Celebrity Judges" category at the 2016 Chicago Ribfest.

Other rib vendors include After Hours BBQ of Orrville, Ohio; Fine Smoke of Columbus, Ohio; BG's Main Event of Rittman, Ohio; Salt Creek BBQ of Glendale Heights, and Smokin' Joe's Hog Wild BBQ of Olive Hill, Kentucky.

"People like the change in the food vendors, going to the big, traditional rib vendors," he said. "People like the local vendors but they also like trying something different they normally wouldn't see. It's an experience and something you don't get all the time but is fun to have."

Another change is they've added more food for people aren't rib fans, he said; including Danny's Pizza of Elgin, Chicago's Little Red Donut Truck, the Toasty Cheese of Schaumburg, North of the Border Mexican Restaurant of Bartlett, plus others that offer goodies like hamburgers, hot dogs and Italians ices.

"We've added a section for kids with inflatables, kids' games and carnival games," he said. "We made it a little bigger. Since we have a larger footprint to work with, we're going to use it all. If you have something for the kids, the parents stay longer. And we've all got little kids so we all know how it goes."

This is the festival's 21st year, which was also the Elgin Brewfest in earlier years but was later renamed and re-branded.

"I think people are looking for something to do in the summer and it's always been near or on Father's Day weekend so it's a good weekend to have something to do and take the family out," he said. "As long as the weather cooperates, we'll be fine."

As usual, music is another big component of Ribfest. Friday night features Libido Funk Circus and Hillbilly Rockstarz alternating sets, with The Millennials opening. On Saturday and Sunday, there's music going right from the beginning when the gates open at 11 a.m. Modern Day Romeos and 7th Heaven headline Saturday, with Tynan and Heartache Tonight headline Sunday.

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Other highlights include the car show, Touch-a-Truck and the Home Depot Kid's Workshop with woodworking kits. Kids can make a small project and take it home with them.

Ribfest is something fun and different that gives back to the community, he said.

Annie Alleman is a freelance writer for The Courier-News.

Elgin Ribfest

When: June 16-18

Where: Festival Park, 132 S. Grove Ave., Elgin

Tickets: $5
PHOENIX  House Speaker J.D. Mesnard is enacting new travel restrictions on members a year after his predecessor was forced to reimburse taxpayers for more than $12,000 in improper expenses.

The new policy unveiled Thursday limits when lawmakers can charge mileage to the state for trips to the Capitol and around their legislative districts. Mesnard said the rules, coupled with public disclosure, should prevent abuse.

Mesnard also has pretty much made the use of state fleet vehicles off limits to House members, saying that should be reserved only for the most limited of circumstances.

The speaker said that when he took office in January he wanted to revisit all House policies. But he conceded that the question of legislative travel  and who pays for it  was a priority after news reports showed that David Gowan, his predecessor, was making questionable claims for reimbursement.

Obviously, travel in the past, has been a point of controversy with some decisions that had been made previously, Mesnard said. I think everybody knows what those are.

Gowan is gone, having decided to make an unsuccessful bid to become the Republican nominee for Congress from CD 1. He never made it to the election, dropping out and instead endorsing Gary Kiehne.

As it turned out, Paul Babeu got the nomination, only to lose to Democrat Tom O'Halleran.

Now Gowan is trying to get back to the Capitol with a 2018 bid for state Senate from his old southeast Arizona legislative district.

In the meantime, however, the attorney general's office is investigating his use of state vehicles for travel that was not for legitimate state business. A spokeswoman for the agency said that probe is ongoing despite Gowan writing out a personal check in January 2016 after the Arizona Capitol Times published an article about the use of state fleet vehicles by him along with other top Republican lawmakers and their staff.

Stephanie Grisham, Gowan's publicist, said at the time that nearly $9,700 of what he paid was for reimbursements he claimed for mileage actually driven in a state vehicle. That amount, she said, also included overestimating distances on trips in his own car.

There also was $727 for use of state vehicles for personal business and $1,655 for days he had claimed he was working but was not. Grisham, now press aide to Melania Trump, said the problem was due to errors made by staffers in assuming Gowan had been driving his personal vehicle when he instead had a fleet vehicle.

The restrictions Mesnard instituted are designed to keep that from happening, at least in part by clamping down on the use of state cars and making reimbursement requests more transparent.

A fleet vehicle is not to be used as a substitute for one's private vehicle or other means of transportation for commuting, or solely for the convenience of the traveler, the policy states. They also cannot be used because of the distance between a lawmaker's home and the Capitol.

The policy also requires Mesnard's permission before taking out a fleet vehicle and pretty much says that won't be granted to lawmakers traveling alone without another legislator or staffer.

Mesnard said lawmakers will get reimbursed for official business.

But he did push through legislation earlier this year that boosts the reimbursement rate for lawmakers  both House and Senate  to 53 1/2 cents a mile, nine cents more than is available to other state employees. Mesnard said that's based on how much legislators need to use their vehicles.

The speaker acknowledged that the policy itself does not spell out what is official business. In his mind, Mesnard said, it is not official campaigning or that is not personal.

So you're there in your capacity as a legislator, he said, like official meetings with constituents. But Mesnard said it's set up in a way to discourage cheating.

It's got to be on your calendar, it's subject to public records request, he said.

So, anything that essentially you are willing to air out before the world, Mesnard said. And we're going to keep an eye on it.

And Mesnard put something else in the policy: a cutoff date of June 1 on even-numbered years when lawmakers are either up for re-election or campaigning for some other office.

Even if you are on official business, we're just not going to do the mileage reimbursement beyond that time because it's just too close to the election cycle, he said. We're trying to strike a proper balance between perception as well as legitimate reimbursable mileage expenses for legislators.

He said the issue is particularly important for lawmakers who represent rural areas where driving from one end of the district to another is often more than 100 miles.

Mesnard is maintaining existing policy that says when lawmakers want public funding for out-of-state trips they first have to get permission from him. He said that both protects the House budget and also ensures that no one lawmaker or one party gets to eat up all the available funds.
A 72-year-old St. Charles man has been charged with sexually assaulting and abusing two children at a Schaumburg home daycare over a four-year span, according to police.

Julio R. Marquez is being held in Cook County Jail on a $3 million bail after appearing in bond court Thursday on single counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. He is scheduled to return to court on June 29.

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Schaumburg police opened an investigation in May after a report of a child being sexually assaulted between 2008 and 2012 at a home daycare where Marquez assisted his wife with its operation. Police said Marquez committed sex acts with the child, who is now eight years old, several times during that four-year period. The child told a mandated reporter about the incidents. That person then contacted the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, which advised Schaumburg police.

The subsequent investigation also turned up information of a previous sex abuse allegation from the same time frame at the daycare, located in the 400 block of East Wise Road in Schaumburg, police said. Investigators reopened their look into that case and eventually sought charges alleging a second child had been abused by Marquez.

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DCFS records do not currently show any daycare facilities licensed at the location. Marquez has no criminal record in Kane County, according to court records.

Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
The state legislature again has packed up and gone home without a budget. There is still time to repair this travesty. The house, senate, and governor have until the end of June to work together to reach a compromise agreement that puts party politics aside and brings the reforms needed to keep Illinois a desirable place to live and work.

According to Sen. Karen McConnaughay's most recent newsletter, "The Illinois senate voted on a series of measures that comprised what became known as the "Grand Bargain," a series of measures meant to provide Illinois with a balanced budget that cuts spending, accompanied by structural reforms that would create jobs and help stimulate our economy."

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So why is a "Grand Bargain," still not enough? McConnaughay also stated, "Homeowners in Illinois are already saddled with some of the highest property taxes in the nation. I've always said that before we ask residents to pay more in income taxes, we must ensure accompanying property tax relief is passed."

Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain doesn't see an immediate impact. The city "continues to have a strong financial position and as a result we do not anticipate any program cuts because of a lack of a state budget. I do believe we need to be aware of the threats to reduce or modify the local government distributive fund and a potential property tax freeze."

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Those hurt the most by this impasse are residents such as the developmentally disabled, those with behavioral health issues, and children in families who are unable to afford to care for them.

"The local not-for-profits continue to raise the most concerns over the lack of a state budget and many are owed for services they provided under existing contracts," Kaptain said. "I have warned them (and the City of Elgin) for years that the state was going to place them in financial risk and the need to work toward becoming less dependent on state funding. That warning now should be extended to federal funding as well."

Is working together beyond the abilities of our legislators? Should all of us suffer, because the elite elected officials have too much power and don't have to follow the same rules the rest of us do?

With the threat of the state's credit rating being dropped to junk status, there must be an end to this impasse. With each passing day, the state of Illinois continues to be on the brink of disaster.

Linda McDaniel-Hale is a Fox Valley resident who offers opinion on local topics.
A Culver's drive-thru restaurant could be serving its signature ButterBurgers and fresh frozen custard at an Elmwood Park location by next year under a redevelopment agreement approved by the Elmwood Park Village Board on June 5.

At the meeting, board members approved an agreement with Hollis of Palos LLC for the sale of a village-owned parcel at 7538-7550 W. Grand Ave., to be redeveloped into a Culver's drive-thru.

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The site sits in view of the village's recently renovated Village Circle area and across from the Metra station along Grand in the Grand Avenue Corridor Redevelopment area. In 2014, the village designated the area as a "redevelopment project area," adopting tax increment financing in an effort to spur development.

In May of this year, the village published a notice requesting alternate proposals for the redevelopment of the property and did not receive any alternate proposal, according to the facts contained in the redevelopment agreement.

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Under the agreement, the developer is proposing to construct an approximately 3,950-square-foot Culver's with a drive-thru and 25 parking spaces and making other site and streetscape improvements on what currently is a vacant lot. Currently, the closest Culver's to the area is located in Franklin Park, approximately 3.3 miles away.

The project calls for a number of steps, with Sept. 20 pegged as the closing date on the purchase and sale of the property. Construction would run from Oct. 5 until April of next year, with a planned opening set for April 15.

The Culver's developer had pursued the project dating back to late 2014, said Village Manager Paul Volpe, "and I know the village board wanted to make sure it was the right choice for that particular location."

"We're very excited at this point, now that we've done a lot of due diligence," he added. "We're convinced they'll do well there and they'll (Culver's) be good for the community, and the community seems to be excited."

"Paul did a great job on it," said Angelo "Skip" Saviano, village president. "We kept working on it, working on it, working on it and made some concessions. We had bought the land for $300,000 originally. We sold it for $350,000, so we made a few dollars."

Saviano added that "it's going to be a great revenue generator for us  sales-tax wise and real-estate wise  and we're looking forward to it sparking a snowball effect," encouraging more national retailers to locate along Grand Avenue.

Culver's is a privately owned restaurant chain with roots in Wisconsin. In recent years, the chain has made a strong push into Illinois, where now close to 100 restaurants have opened, according to Paul Pitas, the company's communications director.

Guy Hollis, the developer of the Elmwood Park franchise, is the owner-operator of multiple Culver's in the Chicagoland area, Pitas said. Hollis was the recipient of the 2016 GM Culver Award, the organization's highest honor which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated long-term visionary leadership and success, the company said in a release on its website in February.

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The release reported that Hollis opened his first Culver's in 2004, and now owns six Culver's in the area.
La Grange Police have made an arrest in a home invasion that took place last month.

Terrence D. Harris, 25, of Aurora was arrested on June 5 on charges related to home invasion in Scott County, Iowa, according to police.

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During the May 26 robbery, five men allegedly stole guns, money and a cellphone from a home in the 100 block of Sawyer Avenue.

At about 11:45 p.m. May 26, two handguns and a shotgun were reported taken from the house on Sawyer. The suspects, one of whom had a black semi-automatic pistol, entered when the residents answered the door, acting police chief Andrew Peters said. Gunshots in the same neighborhood the next day were related to the case, police said.

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Terrence D. Harri (Scott County Sheriff's Department /)

Harris was identified through witness statements and other information, he said.

"Some of the information we found during the investigation made a connection with that area of Iowa," Peters said.

La Grange police worked with the Cook County States Attorney's office to obtain an arrest warrant and other local and state departments to locate Harris, he said.

Bond was set at $500,000 for Harris on the home invasion charge. He said they are working to coordinate extradition of Harris, who is currently in the custody of Scott County.

Harris also was arrested in Scott County on a warrant for failing to register as a sex offender, Peters said.

Police are continuing to work to track down other suspects.

"We're still looking for those other people," Peters said.

amannion@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @triblocalam
Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Waukegan was the site of a BB gun shooting Wednesday. (Emily K. Coleman/Pioneer Press )

Three youths were injured when they were shot with BBs on Wednesday in two separate incidents at a school and a park in Waukegan. Authorities recovered one BB gun.

There were no serious injuries in either of the incidents, which happened about six hours apart, according to Cmdr. Joe Florip of the Waukegan Police Department.

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In the first incident, police were called to Thomas Jefferson Middle School at 600 S. Lewis Ave. at around 2 p.m. after a juvenile showed school officials a small superficial wound to his chest from a BB, Florip said.

"A couple of juveniles were questioned with school staff and there was no arrest made," he said, "but a BB gun was recovered."

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Florip said the juvenile who was hit in the chest was not transported to a hospital and the injury was dealt with by the young man's family.

At about 8 p.m. at Clearview Park, 1600 Berwick Blvd., about 3 miles from the school, police received a report of two youths walking in the area of the park being shot with BBs, he said.

Both juveniles were shot in the head area, and one was taken by Waukegan Fire Department ambulance to Vista Medical Center East, Waukegan, where he was treated and released.

The other juvenile was looked at by paramedics and he did not require hospital treatment.

"It's believed the offender is also a juvenile and the case is open and active," Florip said.

Asked if the incidents were connected in any way, Florip said investigators were keeping all options open, but pointed out a BB gun was recovered in the initial incident.

"Both cases are active," he said.

fabderholden@tribpub.com

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Twitter @abderholden
Zion police are launching multi-jurisdictional efforts this week and later this summer to target street crime and gun violence. (Zion Police Department )

Zion police started Operation Guardian 2017 this week in which multiple police agencies are combining efforts in the city through June 14 to decrease "intolerable criminal activity and gun incidents" in the community, according to a statement released by officials on Thursday.

Plans include performing sweeps, saturation patrols and warrant arrests to address the use of guns and violence, said Police Chief Stephen Dumyahn of the Zion Police Department.

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"They just made an arrest of a person just now for possessing a gun," Dumyahn said late Thursday afternoon, saying he just heard of the arrest on the scanner.

"It's probably someone from our list, but I didn't hear who got him," he added, referring to a roster of individuals known to carry out violent crimes and individuals wanted on warrants for various crimes in the city.

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According to Dumyahn, the Metropolitan Enforcement Group (MEG), a county-wide agency focusing on drug trafficking, also served some warrants early Thursday morning, but he had not received the results of that action yet.

Besides MEG, other agencies involved in Operation Guardian include the sheriff's warrant division, and both detectives and patrol officers from the Illinois State Police detectives, according to the Zion police statement.

"This is to make an impact, like the shooting at 29th and Gabriel a few weeks back (where) the vehicle was hit as it was driving by," said Dumyahn, referring to one of three shooting incidents reported on May 16. "We need to give that neighborhood some attention. People shooting at each other is not what we want to see in this community."

Dumyahn said the operation's objectives include arresting dangerous or violent individuals with outstanding warrants; focusing police patrols or tactical units in areas of gun violence and reports of shots fired; targeting individuals known to have involvement in drug or gun possession; and focusing resources on gang-related activity through the gang unit.

Zion police officers will also be making compliance checks on registered sex offenders, he added.

"The priority is to create a safer environment for citizens within the city of Zion as well as increasing safety for officers working the streets this summer," officials said in a statement released to the community on the department's Facebook page. "This is not merely a 'Stat' driven initiative.

"Our objective is to make a realistic impact by making arrests, recovering illegal handguns, and saturating high crime areas. Our intent is to send a high visibility message in order to deter violent crime this summer while creating a positive presence within the community."

Dumyahn on Thursday said that last year's operation turned up a number of drugs, guns and arrests in the two weeks police did it at the end of May 2016. This year, the operation will extend for a week in June, a week in July and another week in August, but the exact weeks won't be announced until later.

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According to Dumyahn, last year saw authorities recover five guns, make 17 criminal arrests resulting in 20 felony charges, serve 24 criminal warrants, and seize 100 grams of cannabis, 16 grams of cocaine, 11.5 grams of heroin and 98 prescription pills.

"We also made 12 traffic arrests for driving on a suspended or revoked license," he added. A check of the 63 sex offenders registered resulted in eight offenders arrested for non-compliance.

"Last year was successful in a short period of time, but this year we are going to run operations through the summer," he said.

In the social media statement, Dumyahn said he wanted to "thank the citizens in our community for their cooperation, understanding and support and reassure them that our objective is to make the community safer for all our citizens this summer."

fabderholden@tribpub.com

Twitter @abderholden
A letter sent to all maintenance and custodial employees at Waukegan District 60 told employees that they should not communicate with anyone other than their immediate supervisors about district business. (Emily K. Coleman / News-Sun)

A letter sent to some Waukegan District 60 employees as a reminder to follow the chain of command in their communications could end up discouraging them from reporting potential criminal activity and even engaging in internal discussions, an expert in public corruption said.

The letter, which was sent by the district's director of operations to all maintenance and custodial employees in March, reminded employees they should "not communicate with anyone other than their immediate supervisors" about district business, according to a copy obtained by the News-Sun.

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"Observing the chain of command is essential to the effective management of District resources and time," Director of Operations LeBaron Moten said in the letter. "When you have questions or concerns as it relates to privileged departmental or District business you should bring them to your direct supervisor for discussion and resolution."

The letter lays out examples of concerns and complaints that employees should take to their supervisor, including understaffing that may prevent the completion of a work order; a principal or other employee misusing district funds or equipment; the purchase of luxury office equipment; a paycheck missing overtime; and an employee not receiving enough support in their work.

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William Newby, the district's deputy superintendent of operations, safety and facilities, said the letter was intended to increase the efficiency of the district's mainenance and custodial departments.

The furniture example followed a News-Sun report in January that found Waukegan District 60 had spent about $123,000 replacing beetle-infested subfloors, installing new carpet and vinyl floor tile, and purchasing furniture in an effort to make the administrative offices at Lincoln Center on Sheridan Road more welcoming.

The district also had made improvements to various school buildings ahead of school starting in the fall and plans on continuing that work this summer, officials have said.

The letter concludes with a warning that "failure to follow the chain of command may result in disciplinary action."

Dick Simpson, a political science professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, said he believes some of the letter is fine, but other parts raise concerns. He said the letter might have a "chilling effect" on employees reporting potential criminal activity and even having internal discussions.

A former Chicago alderman whose research has led to reform for many local government units in Cook County, Simpson said that while employees shouldn't be talking outside of the proper channels about personnel disputes, "outright mistaken policy or corruption" should be reported to other places even if the employee reports it to their supervisor.

Maryam Judar, executive director and community lawyer of the Citizen Advocacy Center, said she found "aspects of this policy troubling" under the Illinois Whistleblower Protection Act, which protects employees who report illegal activity to government officials or who refuse to participate in the illegal activity.

While Illinois' whistleblower law doesn't protect leaks to the media or certain other types of speech, Judar said the examples that caught her attention were the ones concerning the misuse of funds and the purchase of luxury office furniture.

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"I view this policy as a mechanism to maintain some order and control and to discourage employees who might be concerned about their employment from reporting (their concerns) to law enforcement," Judar said. "It is problematic, because the law forbids that."

The letter "doesn't even suggest that crimes should be reported," Simpson said.

Nothing in the letter tells people they can't report either, said Newby, who oversees the department involved. Employees can report criminal activity to the police, but they should still tell their supervisor, he said.

Newby said he crafted the letter with Moten after they had noticed an uptick in scenarios where an employee would mention an issue such as a hole in the parking lot to a friend, who would say something to another friend, who would say something to another friend, who would tell a school board member, who would then tell the superintendent.

"A lot of times in the district stuff would happen, and we would end up chasing our tails for weeks or months," Newby said, adding that they had used the example of the furniture purchases likely because it had been something that had come up recently.

The letter was designed to remind employees to report things they see to their supervisor or log it into the operations work order system so they can be addressed, he said.

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Newby said no one has been disciplined for not following the chain of command, and district officials haven't had conversations with employees about it.

The News-Sun was unable to reach a spokesman for the Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents some of the employees who received the letter.

But Matt Beverly, a field service director for Lake County Federation of Teachers Local 504, said they "would hope and expect the district to not infringe on any of our members' constitutional rights, including free speech."

The union represents multiple unions at the district, including teachers and other certified staff as well as the Waukegan Professional Support Staff council.

The letter needs to be read in the context of Illinois and the Chicago metropolitan region, some of the most corrupt areas in the county, Simpson said.

"That sets a sort of context, and this is the best form of letter to send (in that context)," he said.

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The letter could have struck a different tone that overtly encouraged internal reporting and reminded employees that criminal activity should be reported to law enforcement, Simpson said.

When asked if he would write the letter differently the next time around, Newby said that they had thought hard about how to word the letter and were careful in choosing their examples, but that "pretty much anything can be misconstrued."

"Depending on how you look at it, you can look at it either way," he said.

emcoleman@tribpub.com

Twitter @mekcoleman
J. Herman Sitrick, pictured in the 1940s as a U.S. Army soldier serving in World War II. (Ron Sitrick )

A Morton Grove man's actions in Belgium during World War II will be honored by the French on Monday, some 70 years after he reportedly single-handedly captured 21 German soldiers during a snowstorm.

J. Herman Sitrick's son said the decoration for his 92-year-old father, to be presented by the consul general of France in Chicago, is "astounding and touching."

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Sitrick will receive the Legion d'Honneur, officials confirmed.

The Legion d'Honneur is the highest honor bestowed by the nation of France for military and civil actions. It was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, said Pascale Thome, a spokeswoman at the French consulate.

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Sitrick's recognition is one of a number bestowed on American World War II veterans who fought on French soil, "depending on the battles and what they achieved," Thome said.

France began honoring those fighters in 2004, the 60th anniversary of D-Day, she said.

Along with capturing the German soldiers in Belgium in 1945, Sitrick fought in Luxembourg and in Normandy and Brittany in France, among other European locations, he said.

Sitrick left the Army in 1946, he said, and to receive the high French honor more than seven decades later "came as a huge surprise to me."

"The man who contacted me about it, his father had been an infantry soldier too," Sitrick said.

He theorized that his colleague passed down the story about the day Sitrick captured the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge.

As the war veteran recalls, the episode started after Sitrick encountered a soldier who in German said to Sitrick as he approached, "Don't shoot! I have three children."

Sitrick spoke some German, he said, and the two sought refuge from the snow and cold in a bombed-out farmhouse. Sitrick put the soldier in the basement. Other Germans wandered in, seeking shelter, and Sitrick captured them as well, he said.

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The next morning Sitrick heard tanks, he said, and turned the prisoners over to the 3rd Armored Division before seeking to rejoin his own company.

After the capture Sitrick spent a week in the hospital for "frozen feet," he said.

When he rejoined his company, fellow soldiers told him reporters and photographers had been by looking for him, he said.

He never did the interviews.

Sitrick said he expects more than 50 family members, friends, coworkers and even the doctor who replaced his heart valve to turn out for the ceremony next week. He still goes to work "almost every day" at his business, Sitrick Advertising in Skokie.

The biggest absence at next week's event will be that of Sitrick's wife, Marcia, 89, who can't attend due to medical issues, he said.

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Sitrick met her "at a dance at a community center two days after I got back" from fighting in World War II, he said. He proposed the next day. A day after that she said yes. They married about six months later in July 1946.

"It was the best thing I ever did in my lifetime," Sitrick said.

Sitrick's son, Ron, described his dad as humble and reserved about his war experiences, "like most true heroes."

"What this award means to us more than anything is that his bravery, selflessness and service is not taken for granted at this stage of his life," Ron Sitrick said. "The outpouring of love and admiration for our father by so many is astounding and touching for all of us as a family."

gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GenevieveBook
Almost two decades after a Lisle woman was sexually assaulted in her apartment, a man was convicted Friday.

Roberto Noyola, 41, was found guilty Friday in DuPage County court of six counts of sexual assault and one count of home invasion for the February 1999 attack on a 63-year-old woman, who has since died. DuPage County Judge Robert Miller handed down the rulings after a bench trial that started Tuesday.

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A retired detective testified that two days after the assault the victim identified Noyola as her attacker from a booking photo from a previous arrest. But Noyola left the Chicago area and was not arrested until 2014.

Authorities say he fled to Mexico and then spent years in Texas. In 2013, Noyola was required to contribute a sample of his DNA to the national database following his conviction for a crime in Texas. That DNA matched a sample on file from the Lisle case.

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Noyola was charged and extradited from Texas. The victim was still living at the time of the arrest, but she died several months later.

Authorities say Noyola, who has also been identified in court as Noyola-Espinal, knocked on the woman's patio door, and she opened it, thinking it was a friend. He then forced his way inside, she told police.

"While justice may have been a long time coming, today Mr. Noyola-Espinal learned that he will be held responsible for the horrendous acts he committed so many years ago," State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

Noyola, who represented himself at trial, could face up to 60 years in prison. He is due back in court next week for a status appearance.
DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin says he will ask the board to add a binding referendum to the spring 2018 election ballot to dissolve the election commission and move its responsibilities to the county clerk's office. (Gary Gibula/Naperville Sun )

With legislation to dissolve the DuPage County Election Commission stalled in the Illinois House, county board Chairman Dan Cronin is proposing the matter be put to the voters in a spring election referendum.

"As we evaluate the current landscape and atmosphere in our state Legislature, we believe it's in the best interest of DuPage taxpayers that we not wait for the House," Cronin said Tuesday.

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Senate Bill 1592, which would move elections to the jurisdiction of the county clerk's office and create a bipartisan 5-member oversight board, was approved by the Senate May 5 but sent back to committee on May 31 by the House.

"At this late point in the spring General Assembly session, many other issues were competing for attention and debate, including the state budget, property tax and school reform," Cronin said.

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The board chairman has been pushing for the merger of the two offices because it's estimated it will save at least $300,000 annually.

A binding referendum, if approved by voters, could dissolve the current election commission and move day-to-day operations to the clerk's office. However, legislation would still be required for the creation and method of choosing the oversight board, Cronin said.

In order to place the question on the the March 2018 primary ballot, the county board would need to approve the measure by this winter, election commission officials said.

"Together with Paul Hinds, the county clerk, and Cathy Ficker Terrill, chair of the Election Commission, we will move forward implementing functional consolidation between the two offices to the fullest extent the existing law allows," Cronin said.

"We will also have a robust discussion with members of the county board to evaluate the opportunity to pursue options, including a referendum, to achieve our goal to dissolve the Election Commission."

Gary Gibula is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Volunteers get ready to launch 1,445 plastic ducks into the DuPage River last year in the 2016 Duck Race fundraiser to benefit the Naperville Riverwalk. Ducks are on sale now for this years race in August. (David Sharos / Naperville Sun)

Ducks on sale for annual Riverwalk race

Ducks are being sold to participate in the annual Riverwalk Duck Race.

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The ducks will race in the DuPage River from the foot bridge near Centennial Park to the Eagle Street Bridge near the Naperville Municipal Center at 10 a.m. Aug. 16. The first three ducks to finish the race will earn cash prizes, with a $1,981 first-place prize.

Proceeds from the race will go to the Riverwalk Foundation to fund walk enhancements.

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Ducks cost $5 each, but discounts are available for purchasing multiple ducks or sponsoring ducks.

For more information, go to www.riverwalkduckrace.com.

City doing smoke testing for sewer defects

The city of Naperville is performing smoke testing downtown and in various Naperville neighborhoods for four weeks starting June 12 to look for sanitary sewer line defects.

Smoke testing can determine if there are any sanitary sewer backups and helps pinpoint the location of leaks, a news release from the city said. Smoke can be seen coming up out of the ground where there are defects in the lines.

The smoke is nontoxic, dissipates quickly and is harmless, but residents with respiratory issues may want to take precautions until testing is complete, the release.

According to the city, smoke will not enter buildings unless there is defective plumbing or drain traps that are dried up. It is normal for smoke to come out of the sewer vent stack on the roof of a home or business during the test.

The city will hang notifications on nearby doors prior to testing and testing sites will be marked.

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DuPage giving away free wood chips

Residents can pick up free wood chips from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 17, at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County's native plant nursery at Blackwell Forest Preserve, 29W218 Mack Road, West Chicago.

Vehicles must be no larger than a pickup truck to take mulch. A district employee will help fill trailers or truck beds. People who want smaller amounts should bring their own containers.

The district makes its own mulch from dead trees and tree and brush trimmings and uses it throughout the forest preserves. When it has more mulch than needed, the public can pick it up.

For more information, call 630-876-5920.

Will County seeking election judges

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Will County is looking for election judges for the March 20 primary election.

Interested applicants must be a U.S. citizen, a registered voter or a high school senior and must be able to speak, read and write English and know arithmetic.

Election judges cannot be a precinct committeeman or a candidate on the ballot.

Judges can earn $150 for each election contingent upon attending a training class.

For more information, go to www.thewillcountyclerk.com.
Every month, 83-year-old Ralph Pedersen hand-writes a long letter to each of four second-grade pen pals, and draws a picture that corresponds to something the child has said that he or she likes. Each picture takes him about two hours, because he's nearly blind.

Pedersen started writing to the kids about 10 months ago, when he moved to Northbrook's Covenant Village, which has participated for 14 years in a Wescott School pen-pal program run by teacher Xenia Stamoudis. She said that over the years, she has seen many dedicated Covenant Village senior pen pals, but none quite like Pedersen.

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"In all the years I've done this, I've never had cards as wonderful," she said. "Some residents do paint for the children, but this is something different."

Pedersen, like the other two dozen seniors in the Northbrook school program, met his pen pals for the first time June 6, at the big senior complex' Town Center building. After a kids' musical production, senior-student hugs and a card game, some of the kids were seen gradually talking more to each other than to their older pals. That was not the case with any of Pedersen's little crew. They chattered on until it was time to go.

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Much of the talk was about the cards and letters they had exchanged. In Pedersen's pictures, happy animals and people may hold up homespun sampler-like slogans such as, "Find what makes you happy, and go there."

The letters, like the pictures, are the kind you might write if you remembered what it was like to be a kid, and enjoyed being a parent, too.

"I am so glad you seem to like math. Learning to do fractions the right way will help you all your life. Some day you will want only half of a watermelon, not the whole big one."

"April showers bring May flowers (and muddy shoes)  May showers bring May flowers, can June be far behind? Watch that summer sun shine: Hey, you are out of school; be careful jumping in the pool."

In order to produce these letters, he places the paper between a light box-like device and a magnifying panel. He moves his head side to side, because he now lacks peripheral vision.

They are cheery letters, produced by a man who could not be blamed for being cheerless.

"My wife died two years ago, of Alzheimer's," he said, after the last child had walked back to the Northbrook school. "On June 25, 2015, we celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary. It was the last time she smiled at me. She died July 2.

"After she died, I didn't think that life could get any worse."

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But, he said, he was wrong. He was soon diagnosed with a tumor on his pituitary gland, and after it was removed, his optic nerves didn't work right.

"For 25 days, they thought I was blind," he said.

His eyes partially recovered, leaving him with weak tunnel vision. It meant he couldn't drive the new car he had just bought. It also meant the end of living at the home on Citation Lake in unincorporated Northbrook that he had shared for 24 years with his wife, Marlene Ann.

Pedersen comes from tough Danish stock, people who take life as it comes. He had once wanted to be an artist, but that didn't work out, he said. He wound up a State Farm insurance agent instead, and made a good living for his family from that. He has four children, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

And now, in the space of two years, he has become a legally-blind widower who had to move from the house he loved, where he remembers reeling fish out of the water at will. If he wants to go somewhere, someone else has to drive.

"It's like a new stage in life," he said, and smiled.

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"Am I going to spend the rest of my life crying? No. I'm looking forward to being here as long as I can. It's all to the good," he said.

"Covenant Village of Northbrook is on a 58-acre piece of land," he wrote to one of the children, who had asked what his new life is like. "There are about 500 people who live here.

"I live in a lovely first-floor apartment, with a door that leads out to my patio, an 8' by 20' patio. Do the math! How many square feet are on my patio?

"I am very happy here! The food is very good in our beautiful breakfast, lunch and dinner dining room. I do not cook for myself! The outside, plus the inside, and my apartment, are done up very nice. Most of my new friends and staff are very nice and friendly."

Pedersen is practiced in overcoming his poor eyesight, and the kids, upon meeting him, might have been unaware of his condition. But they know, because he told them in his letters.

Stamoudis said it's a good thing that they do.

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"I want the kids to see that not everybody's perfect," she said.

She understands. Because of a childhood injury, she has had both hips replaced, one of them twice.

"I'm very mobile now, and I'm very happy to be mobile," she said.

"I was in a nursing home for a short time in recovery, and it brought me so much joy when people brought me cards," she said. "Nowadays all we do is send the text messages. There is value to hand-making a card. It makes you feel special."

This year, 87 second graders exchanged cards and letters with the seniors of Covenant Village. Pedersen said they may be the only letters the children ever send, but he's glad to read them.

"I like children," he said, smiling. "And dogs."

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He walked out of the auditorium and through the dining room, stopping to say hello to a fellow resident who was sitting alone.

"It's so nice to see you," the former insurance man said. "Would you sit with me at dinner?"

Of course, she would.

ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @IrvLeavitt
Air Force ROTC Cadet Caroline Smith, 20, has received an award from the University of Texas, the Major Christopher M. Cooper "Longhorn Airman" Memorial Award, and a $5,000 scholarship. Smith, who plans on a career as an Air Force pilot, is also a volunteer and is double-majoring in Chinese and government. She's taking the summer off, working the front desk of her apartment complex, at a clothing store, a yoga studio, babysitting and studying for her pilot's license.

Q. Where did you grow up?

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A. Northbrook, Illinois.

Q. As a child, what did you want to be when you grow up?

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A. Either an astronaut or president of the United States.

Q. What was your first job?

A. Lifeguard for the Northbrook Park District. And I also was a sales associate for Kate Spade at Northbrook Court. And a nanny. That summer I did all three. I like to be busy.

Q. Do you play any musical instruments?

A. I have played piano since the first grade. I used to go to the Sonatina competition, competed through high school. I also used to play at (St. Norbert) every year, 5 p.m. Christmas Eve mass.

Q. Tell me something about yourself that most people don't know.

A. I'm in ROTC, and I'm also in a sorority. There are completely different people (who) never really cross paths.

Q. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

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A. I spent my entire (last) summer in China and Japan. I was in Europe, also. It opened my entire mind. I'd like to go to Africa or New Zealand. Next on my list is to hike Mount Kilimanjaro.

Q. What's the most amazing thing you've ever seen?

A. Last week my car was broken into, and my purse stolen. Wallet, sunglasses, passport. But then throughout the week, I found all my belongings through Facebook and memberships  Such a weird thing; a lot of great people found them all.

Q. Do you have any pet peeves?

A. When people are late. And slow drivers.

Q. Words of wisdom?

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A. My dad always tells me, 'Fortune favors the bold.' You have to really put yourself out there to be successful.

Shout Out is a weekly feature where we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut.

ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @IrvLeavitt
During about two hours of cross-examination, the defense attorney questioning the lead detective in murder case being tried in Lake Superior Court focused on the statements made by a key witness in the shooting.

Although she had admitted she lied for the majority of the 11 hours she was questioned by police over two days, Marian Robertson, the girlfriend of defendant Kevin D. Riley Sr., said she was truthful during the last 30 to 40 minutes of her interview after telling police she was afraid of Riley and investigators assuring her they would protect her to the best of their ability.

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Former Lake County police Detective Joseph Hardiman, now a training officer, acknowledged that Robertson and Riley were suspects in the Jan. 13, 2016, killing of April Bailey, 39, who was shot in the face at close range outside her residence in the 4700 block of Delaware Street in Gary.

Riley, 39, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. Robertson was not charged.

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Questioned by defense attorney Mark Gruenhagen, Hardiman said he and other detectives were able to verify information Robertson provided and compared it with phone calls placed to the victim.

That, coupled with physical evidence, including a shell casing collected at the scene and a box of bullets recovered during execution of a search warrant at Riley and Robertson's apartment, were also collected. In September 2016, a .380-caliber handgun that prosecutors have said was used in the killing was recovered by Chicago police.

Robertson said when she and Riley were in the booking area in the Lake County Jail, Riley made a motion with his finger to his lips, as if to silence Robertson. Hardiman said that surveillance footage had been taped over when he went to retrieve it.

Gruenhagen also noted that Hardiman never mentioned in any of his reports that Robertson said she was afraid.

Earlier this week, Robertson testified that her sister told her that Riley had been cheating with Bailey. Robertson confronted Riley, who denied a relationship.

Testimony is scheduled to resume Friday morning.

Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
A 4-year-old boy died early May 11, 2017, after being shot in the neck in an apartment in the 3500 block of Guthrie Street in East Chicago. (Becky Jacobs/Post-Tribune )

The shooting death of a 4-year-old boy last month is being investigated as a homicide, according to the East Chicago police.

Garrion Glover Jr., of East Chicago, died May 11 after he was shot once through the neck, authorities said. East Chicago police and the Lake County coroner's office had previously not ruled whether the child's death was an accident or a homicide and was waiting for test results after the autopsy.

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Chief Deputy Coroner Scott Sefton said Thursday that the manner of Garrion's death has been ruled a homicide, and Lt. Marguerite Wilder confirmed Friday that the East Chicago Police Department is investigating the case as a homicide.

From a coroner's perspective, "normally, a homicide would be someone else shooting somebody," but Garrion's death was ruled a homicide because "we really don't know for sure," Sefton said.

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The investigation is ongoing, and Wilder said the department is not releasing information about any potential suspects. No charges had been filed in the case as of Friday, but Wilder said she would provide an update "when possible."

East Chicago officers were called at 12:03 a.m. May 11 to the 3500 block of Guthrie Street, where the victim's mother said she was asleep in her bedroom with her boyfriend "when they both heard some type of noise coming from the living room." The mother went to see "what was going on" and "noticed her son lying on the floor bleeding" near the couch, according to police.

Garrion's uncle said he was sleeping on the couch when he also heard a noise and was awoken by his sister, police said. The uncle said he then saw Garrion lying on the floor next to the couch, the release states.

"No narratives have changed since we just recently received the official results from the Lake County coroner office," Wilder said.

The gun was recovered from the scene, and police are waiting for test results from the weapon, according to Wilder. Police have not released what type of gun it is or who owned it.

The coroner's office had been waiting on histology reports before making a ruling in Garrion's death, according to Sefton. Histology, according to Sefton, is similar to toxicology tests the coroner runs on adults, but since children are less likely to have substances in their systems, histology is another test the office can run to help determine a manner of death.

Garrion was one of two juveniles fatally shot within a 24-hour period in East Chicago. Robert Thompson, 15, of East Chicago, was found dead from a gunshot shortly before 7:30 p.m. May 10 at an abandoned apartment in the 1900 block of East Columbus Drive.

rejacobs@post-trib.com

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Twitter @ruthyjacobs
Indiana legislative leaders are ramping up for a tour of Indiana to hear from constituents about what they want to see lawmakers focus on.

The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus' session will end its tour in Gary to get input from residents about its priorities during the 2017 session and what it should be looking at moving into the 2018 session, according to a press release.

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Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, said the sessions aim to create a dialogue between the legislative delegation and residents. Randolph said the caucus will look for common issues throughout the communities

"The best way to do that is to go to the communities," Randolph said.

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Randolph said the caucus will summarize the session and highlight key bills, ask for input and use that to formulate ideas.

The Legislature's Republican majority called the session a win because of the focus on infrastructure and transportation, Randolph said, but many important issues did not pass or weren't even discussed.

Abortion rights, Medicare and Medicaid, minority rights, bias crimes, gun issues and a host of other issues will likely be in the queue for the next session, Randolph said.

"There's a lot of stuff there," Randolph said.

During the 2017 session, the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus focused its efforts on bias crimes legislation, changes to the Marion County courts, criminal justice reform and budget issues.

Randolph said Democrats took issue to parts of the budget that continued tax cuts to corporations but increased the tax burden on middle- and low-income families.

Prior to its session in Gary, the caucus will hold similar meetings in Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Evansville, South Bend, Fort Wayne and Lafayette.

"This is the second consecutive year that the IBLC has conducted these town halls, and we have found them to be very effective in helping us find out what the people of Indiana would like to see its Legislature do for them," said IBLC Chairwoman and Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, in a statement.

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"At each stop, members of the IBLC will be in attendance to inform the public about the highlights and lowlights of the 2017 session, take questions about issues of concern, and begin to lay the groundwork for the IBLC's agenda for 2018," Pryor said. "We will be paying particular attention to legislation that impacts people on lower incomes and minority communities. Our town halls are free and open to everyone, and we encourage all to attend."

The caucus' session in Gary is from noon-2 p.m. at the Savannah Center at Indiana University Northwest.

clyons@post-trib.com

Twitter @craigalyons
Indiana-American Water has agreed to tear down this water tower for Lake Station on Central Avenue, just east of Indiana 51. (Carole Carlson / Post-Tribune)

After nearly a year of studies and talks, the Lake Station City Council voted 6-1 Thursday to sell its water plant to the Indiana-American Water Co. for nearly $20.7 million.

With water company officials in the audience, the seven-member council cast its final votes with no discussion.

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At the meeting's conclusion, Mayor Christopher Anderson said the Board of Works will "iron out the details" in the purchase agreement, and it will be forwarded to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission for approval.

Anderson said it's likely the legal process will continue into 2018.

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Council member Esther Rocco-Baldazo, D-at large, was the lone "no" vote.

During remarks from the council at the meeting's end, council member Jennifer Miller, I-2nd, questioned the vote cast in favor of the sale by council member Rick Long, D-5th.

She said Long's wife works for the city water department, so she believed his vote was a conflict of interest.

Long said he spoke with several attorneys and said he feels there was no conflict.

"My wife will continue to work here. She's been here for 10 years, and she isn't going to work for Indiana-American Water," he said.

Long said he favored the sale because the water department was in disrepair and the city has been struggling to maintain it.

"This will be a more-quality water people can drink," he said.

Lake Station's plant, 2898 Union St., relies on a system of wells to provide water.

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Indiana-American officials said the plant would be idled and used as a backup. The water company uses water from Lake Michigan that's filtered at its plants in Gary and Ogden Dunes.

The sale will help the city dig out of the financial hole many blame on former Mayor Keith Soderquist, who was convicted last year on federal corruption charges.

Anderson said the sale should net the city about a $9 million profit after it pays off construction debt on the water plant that opened in 2015.

The mayor said the sale proceeds would help reduce the city's deficit and raise its budget back to $4 million.

The water company also agreed to tear down the water tower on city-owned property on Central Avenue, just east of Indiana 51. Officials said the area could be developed for business use.

Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
The Lake County Council is considering an amendment to its ordinances governing the towing program by dropping a franchise fee operators pay to the county.

The proposed amendment would cut a portion of the fees the county collects from tow operators in an effort to lessen the cost Lake County residents pay if their cars get towed, according to Councilman David Hamm, D-Hammond. The county's ordinance currently levies a $50 franchise fee of tow operators, and a $75 fee paid to the county for each tow conducted under the terms of the contract.

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Larry Blanchard, a commissioners' consultant, said the franchise fee netted the county $80,000 to $90,000 before the program was restructured putting that money into the general fund. When the towing fees went to the Sheriff's Department, Blanchard said that went toward funding salaries and other items.

The County Council eliminated the towing fund used to pay for salaries after the Board of Commissioners took over the towing program.

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"So we're losing $90,000?" asked Councilman Jamal Washington, D-Merrillville.

"Yes, we're losing $90,000," Hamm said.

Hamm said he's supporting the commissioners' request as the council opted to given them authority over how the towing program is run.

Washington said he supports the amendment but wanted to know the rationale.

Council President Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, said he's concerned because anytime money is taken away, there's always something that comes up short.

"It's coming," Bilski said.

The Lake County Council stripped governance of the towing contracts from the Lake County Sheriff's Department earlier this year after federal indictments against Sheriff John Buncich alleged he solicited bribes from operators in exchange for more tow jobs.

The Board of Commissioners continue to move forward with its reforms to the county's towing policies, which many were set to start June 1.

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In March, the county received proposals from 23 tow operators vying for contracts; eight of those operators previously had contracts with the sheriff. Three operators who submitted proposals were disqualified for not meeting the county's guidelines.

The commissioners approved nine contracts in May and were waiting for another 11 to be returned by a May 30 deadline. Once all the contracts were received, the commissioners planned to develop quadrants assigned to towing companies.

If a tow operator had a contract with the Sheriff's Department that was not renewed by the commissioners, it will be terminated.

clyons@post-trib.com

Twitter @craigalyons
The Crown Point man charged Thursday with 95 counts relating to an alleged illegal puppy mill operation in Center Township turned himself in Friday and was released on a $2,000 bond, according to court records.

Stevce Rajcinoski, 36, has been charged with 11 counts of felony animal mutilation, 72 counts of animal neglect, 11 counts of practicing veterinary medicine without a license and one count of failing to register as a commercial breeder with the state of Indiana following an investigation into a complaint about dogs housed in a building in the 5600 block of West 125th Avenue.

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Sheriff's police along with the Indiana state veterinarian served a search warrant May 3 on the property.

During the execution of the warrant, deputies discovered 66 dogs in a small building set back from a two-story home at the address, police said. Two larger dogs were chained outside of the structure. Three goats and a miniature horse also were removed from the property, along with evidence including surgical scalpels and veterinary medical equipment, according to police.

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Deputies confiscated 24 American bulldogs, 26 French bulldogs, three English bulldogs, 13 Leonbergers and two pit bulls. The 11 female dogs, including some that were nursing, had evidence of cesarean sections. The mothers to the pit bull puppies and the English bulldog puppies could not be found.

One of the French bulldogs recently had a litter of puppies, bringing the total number of dogs to 79, according to a source who asked to remain anonymous.

A gag order surrounding the case was issued May 26 after Lake County Superior Court Judge Julie Cantrell approved a motion by Paul Stracci, Rajcinoski's attorney, and agreed to by Lake County Prosecutor Bernie Carter. The order also requires all information posted by the entities to various social media platforms to be removed.

On May 12, Stracci filed an emergency petition to return seized animals. The motion was set for a hearing May 26. Cantrell said Thursday no further information had been filed by Stracci regarding the petition and no action was taken on the petition May 26.

The Lake County Sheriff's Department raided an alleged puppy mill in Crown Point on May 3, 2017. (Craig Lyons / Post-Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Christie Gillespie, who will become the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky on July 1, talks about the challenges and things she's looking forward to in her new role. (Andrew Burton / Getty Images)

Regardless of threats to federal funding or laws passed by legislators, Christie Gillespie said she has a clear message for clients of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.

"These doors will stay open," Gillespie said.

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Gillespie was named as the new president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, also known as PPINK, on Tuesday. She takes the helm July 1. Gillespie replaces Betty Cockrum, who is retiring after 15 years in the role.

"I am thrilled to leave the organization in such capable hands," Cockrum said. "Christie brings unparalleled leadership experience in public policy, strategic planning, fundraising and community engagement at a time when these issues have never been more critical."

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Gillespie said that she plans to draw on her experiences from previous positions as she starts her new role. Most recently, Gillespie was the vice president for community impact with the United Way of Central Indiana. Before that, she worked with the Indiana Association for Community Economic Development and Community Alliance of the Far Eastside.

Christie Gillespie (Planned Parenthood )

"All of my positions have been somehow based in community and human services and so I think one of the things I bring to this role is I think I have a good, complete picture of what many of our clients at Planned Parenthood are facing, holistically, in their lives," she said.

Gillespie, 51, has lived in the Indianapolis area for 25 years, she said, but she grew up east of there on a family farm. Gillespie is a graduate of Purdue University, and has a master's degree in Public Administration at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. She has a partner and two step-children, she said.

Gillespie has volunteered with Planned Parenthood for 15 years as a funder, donor and advocate, supportingits benefits, and attending rallies and encouraging legislators to support the organization, she said.

Becoming the CEO of the organization wasn't just a job title, but a position she felt passionate about, she said.

"The mission of Planned Parenthood is something that I believe in to my core," she said.

Gillespie said she feels that "the No. 1 job of a CEO" is "to make sure we're financially stable because if we're not financially stable, we can't provide the services to our patients."

There's been a lot of debate at the state and federal level about "whether Planned Parenthood should be considered a health care provider for Medicaid patients," Gillespie said. While potential cuts hurt the organization's bottom line, "more importantly ... it hurts our patients because it removes a choice for patients to be able to access us as their primary health care provider," she said.

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One way to work to ensure funding for the organization is to go out and talk with legislators and other influential leaders who participate in policy discussions to emphasize why the organization should be supported, Gillespie said, and that's what she plans to do.

Part of that includes explaining what PPINK does to help "patients who often have no other provider, no other choice in terms of access," she said.

"I will definitely want to continue a lot of what Betty has done in her leadership to make sure that we stay ... a visible source of accurate information when it comes to reproductive health," Gillespie said.

Even with the threat of funding cuts, Planned Parenthood has seen its highest peak of donations and fundraising since the 2011 efforts to cut funding, she said. It's this "incredible activism" of people from "all walks of life" in the past six to eight months, including with the Women's March and other rallies, who "have never been involved in a civic way before" that Gillespie said she finds inspiring as she takes on her new job.

"We thought all of these things with reproductive rights have been debated and solved," she said. "And a lot of us, including me, took that for granted that we would never have to discuss these things again. And I think a lot of us have really realized that we've become a little complacent. And we're all waking up that these are things that we all need to be more active."

Gillespie will also be taking over as PPINK, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, has an ongoing federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a law Gov. Eric Holcomb signed in April, which allows a judge to alert the guardians of a teenager seeking an abortion, among other guidelines.

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"Despite how it might be described, it is not about protecting teenagers or families but is really about restricting the access to abortions. Laws like this have been opposed by state and national medical experts, and honestly could jeopardize a young person's access to health care," Gillespie said.

Gillespie said she and PPINK hope that "politicians will just be reminded that they are not physicians, and it's best for them to stay out of the doctor's offices and let the physicians do their work." Until that happens, Gillespie said she will fight to make sure people "receive high quality healthcare."

Like her predecessor, Gillespie said she believes that PPINK's mission is "more important than ever" to make sure that "regardless of income, people can have control of their lives and plan when is the best time to have their family when they're emotionally, financially and otherwise ready for that."

"At the end of the day, through lawsuits, fundraising, all of that stuff, it really comes down to delivering high quality reproductive care to the patients," Gillespie said.

rejacobs@post-trib.com

Twitter @ruthyjacobs
When Brian Hedger was given the opportunity to work in Europe for a couple weeks last month, he and his wife didn't hesitate to embark on the trip he said he always wanted to take with her.

The fear of terrorism never crossed their minds, both said, even though their travels took them to Germany and France, two of several countries in the continent targeted by terrorists within the last six months.

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"I wasn't afraid at all. I looked at it as being similar to traveling to any city in the Midwest, or anywhere," said his wife Lisa Hedger, who added that she kept vigilant and aware of her surroundings like she would in other big cities.

"I'm one of those people who feel like the odds are still way stronger in your favor of being safe. I didn't have a single fear," Brian Hedger said.

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According to area travel agents, the Lakes of the Four Seasons couple is not alone in their feelings about European travel. They say travel there has remained strong.

"There has been a record number of travelers to Europe this year, some taking river cruises or ocean cruises. People just keep going," Mary Rakoczy, of Travel Hut travel agency in Highland, said.

Still, the Department of State issued a travel alert for Europe in early May that will extend to Sept. 1. The alert warns Americans of the threat of terrorist attacks throughout Europe, particularly mentioning France, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. And it encourages travelers to Europe to have an emergency plan ready, just in case.

More than 50 people have been killed and hundreds injured in various large European cities since March 22. Three of the attacks took place in England  on the London and Westminster bridges and outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester  one at the Champs Elysees in Paris, one in Stockholm, Sweden and one in St. Petersburg, Russia.

A German market was the target of a terrorist attack last December.

The Department of State warns on its website, travel.state.gov, that extremist groups such as IS and Al Qaeda and their affiliates continue to focus on tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls and local government facilities. Hotels, clubs, places of worship, high-profile events and educational institutions are also targets, the department stated.

"U.S. citizens should exercise additional vigilance in these and similar locations, particularly during the upcoming summer travel season when large crowds may be common," the department stated on its website.

The department advises travelers to Europe to review security information from local authorities and to follow their instructions, be prepared for additional security screening and unexpected disruptions, to stay in touch with family members and ensure they know how to reach you in the event of an emergency and to have an emergency plan of action ready.

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The department also encourages travelers to enroll in its Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and to make it easier to locate you in an emergency.

Travel agent Mary Rakoczy works at her desk on Friday at Travel Hut in Highland. (Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune )

No worries

Brian Hedger said he wasn't aware of the government's safety alert, but said there was a large police and military presence in Paris, which has been targeted more by terrorists than Germany.

"You can't really worry about it, but you don't want to be dumb about it. If you feel something isn't right, follow your gut feelings," he said.

Lisa Hedger, who only spent one week abroad while Brian was there for two, said she did a lot of walking in both countries, frequented cafes and markets and visited tourist spots such as Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower  and never felt afraid while in Cologne, Germany or Paris.

"I often saw seven or eight armed officers walking around in Paris, some in tourist areas, some on regular streets," Lisa Hedger said.

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Cologne, Germany, which has not been targeted by terrorists, was more relaxed, they said.

Dawn Franko, an agent with Passport Travel Inc. in Valparaiso, said she's seeing people who are traveling to Ireland, Italy and France, but added that one potential client had recently called about booking a trip to England.

"There was a terrorist attack and she did fall off the face of the earth," Franko said.

She said she doesn't think it's her place as a travel agent to give advice to clients on where and where not to go.

The travel agent said she was in Paris last summer and discovered she was six blocks away from where one of the bombings had taken place.

"We never saw a problem. One day we walked 13 miles and I never saw an issue," Franko said.

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Rakoczy said she has clients going to all areas of Europe.

"One client was doing the Tower of London and London Bridge on Friday. He said he felt these were the safest places to go now. There will be more police there," Rakoczy said.

Brian Hedger said if people stopped visiting these areas, the terrorists would win.

"Their goal is to strike terror in people. They want to change your entire life," he said.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
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The Marriott Cell, a critique

In light of recent developments where several countries including Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, Mohamed Fahmy, who had become a pundit on Qatari and Aljazeera issues, briefed television viewers on the outcomes of such serious moves. Immediately afterwards I went online to read Fahmys The Marriott Cell, an epic journey from Cairos Scorpion Prison to freedom.

Before we critique The Marriott Cell, lets reminisce for a bit.

On February 2, 2011, less than two weeks into the January 25th Revolution, I wrote about my doubts of Aljazeeras intentions. In an article posted in the Canadian online paper The Tyee, I asked if Aljazeera had a hidden agenda.

Later in 2014, when Fahmy was detained and charged for working for Aljazeera, I questioned how Fahmy, an award-winning journalist and correspondent, couldnt see through Aljazeeras ways and deliberate malice towards Egypt.

When Fahmy and the other Marriott Cell members were sentenced to seven years, the world went berserk. Mia Farrow tweeted Considering a trip to #Egypt? Skip it. You could end up in prison for 7 years for spying  they dont need ANY evidence to convict you. Jon Stewart found the prosecution shammy; and BBC staff held a silent vigil in protest against the sentencing.

Then I wrote, Im not equipped to defend the sentencing or go against it, but neither are all those noisemakers. The sentences are harsh and maybe even unfounded, but my take is with those who cry foul. The uproar is threefold: one, it assumes the judicial system in Egypt was coerced into its verdict, that journalists are infallible, and that Egypt will listen to the uproar.

One angst was with the assumption that the courts were colluding with the regime and complying to its beck and call. I found this first argument offensive. I regard the judiciary system in Egypt with respect and hope that its judges have the wisdom and clout to carry out sentences void of pressure from within Egypt, be it from authorities or Egyptians, or from the world, be it the journalists or the Mia Farrows.

Still, I could neither vouch for or against the journalists, but I knew that journalists are human. Journalists can, like anyone else, side with or against an issue or become tools in a propaganda scheme. Watch world-renowned CNN correspondent Charles Jaco put on his gas mask in fear as the sirens go off during a fake scud missile attack on Saudi Arabia, shot in a US studio; then, as the camera continues to roll, watch Jaco smugly laugh at viewers naivete saying, I love this country and heads out to get himself a burger.

People from all walks of life are supposed to follow rigid codes of ethics, and yet policemen abuse and kick their fallen detainees, accountants forge and deceive, and politicians lie to their teeth despite solemnly swearing to follow these codes of ethics. Why would journalists be any different?

And with this mindset I began reading Mohamed Fahmys The Marriott Cell, and, much to my astonishment, I was pleasantly surprised. I started reading with a flippant, skeptic perspective, but the book, and Fahmy, soon won me over with a readable tone and genuine, revealing facts.

First and foremost, Fahmy in The Marriott Cell corroborated what I thought all along: he should never have worked for Aljazeera. I concluded that, to Fahmy, the position of bureau chief for Aljazeera, a huge step up as he says in his book, overrode all dubious factors.

Though Fahmy didnt want to be associated with the marred Aljazeera Arabic-language channels, he accepted the job of English bureau chief in Egypt, despite having just finished one of the strangest job interviews in my career, Fahmy messages his parents.

Once on the job, Fahmy learned that the former chief bureau had fled to Doha without telling the staff. Fahmy then says that his hiring must have been a convenient solution to the crisis. Yet Fahmy forged on.

Dohas office told Fahmy that the choice of topics was not left to him alone and that Aljazeera English had to report on Friday demonstrations against the government regularly. One reporter asked Fahmy, Why are we covering the protests every time a gas canister is fired?

He was also asked to run fake footage, and to interview illegal Muslim Brotherhood members. And yet he carried on.

But today Fahmy tweets: We should always differentiate between the kind Qatari people and the terrorists running the government funding #ISIS #ALQaeda #MB #Hamas.

To which I must ask: where you not aware of this fact while you worked for Aljazeera, which remains incessantly obsessed with Egypts downfall? After all the foreboding facts you mention against the Aljazeera, Qatars mouthpiece, did you not see the writing on the wall?

Perhaps this is Fahmys only failing.

But there is more to The Marriott Cell than this revelation. It first depicts the horrendous conditions in Scorpion Prison very accurately; only someone imprisoned in that dungeon can highlight the agony these inmates suffered and how others still suffer.

It proves that prisons such as the Scorpion Prison are breeding grounds for terrorism. When many prone-to-terrorism individuals are clustered together or when juvenile delinquents share a shady crammed space, it is a recipe for disaster. The three students incriminated in the Marriott Cell will leave prison doctored even further into terrorism.

Im elated that Fahmy had smuggled pen and paper into prison, so he could elaborate on what he called Al Jazeera Live Scorpion Radio Show, when inmates freely talked about Muslim Brotherhood beliefs and elaborated on their personal demise. It will take too long to recount these uncensored moments, but if anything, this is by far the most fascinating part of The Marriott Cell. A few eyeopeners stand out and must be mentioned.

Abdel Meguid Al Meshary, President Morsis media relations person, response to the question What mistakes have you committed as the Brotherhood? What could you have done better? is, We could have communicated better to influence perception and to establish a more transparent system 

When Essam Al-Haddad, a member of the Muslim Brotherhoods Guidance Bureau is asked about his visit to the White House in 2012, he admits that President Obama was not opposed to the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and considered the group moderate Islamists.

And when asked if Morsi's government was inclusive of all Egyptians, Amin Al-Serafi, Morsi's secretary, "I can say that wasn't a priority."

It is only after reading The Marriott Cell that I realized that Fahmy was given no choice but to renounce his Egyptian citizenship. He was told that the president could not implement the decree to pardon foreigners if Fahmy had dual citizenship.

Immediately Egyptians turned their backs on Fahmy considering him a traitor, but in all fairness, he had no option but to comply. As he wrote down, I renounce my Egyptian citizenship of my own will and with no coercion exerted on me, his hands shook and a deep loss engulfed him. I do hope that Fahmy manages to get his citizenship back.

While on bail, Fahmy was summoned to El-Ittihadeya Palace where he met the presidents secretary. Fahmy was told that They knew he was innocent, so Fahmy asked himself why they wouldnt let him go. But when he asked about the final verdict to be announced soon afterwards, the secretary says, I dont know. We have no contact with the judges, corroborating the fact that the judicial system is in no way in cahoots with the government and remains free to do what it sees fit. Even if they knew he was innocent, it wasnt up to them to interfere.

During that same meeting Fahmy was told outright that if he goes to prison, he will be taken care off, which is nothing short of the presidents way of telling Fahmy that he would be pardoned, and so he was, but only after the courts had their say since the president does not interfere with court decisions.

What seemed a negative matter earlier on I see today as confirming proof of Fahmy innocence. Those who sided with him were from all walks of life; they all believed that this man deserved their allegiance and support. Marwa, his fiancee, who later became his wife, Amal Clooney, Lamees El Hadidi, Naguib Sawiris, ex-Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, and ex-Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim all stood beside him.

These supporters though did not aim to shame the government as the Mia Farrows did; they literally worked hard to free Fahmy, and this vouches for Fahmy even further.

In essence Fahmy had very little criticism for the Egyptian government in The Marriott Cell, as most of his criticism was directed at Aljazeera.

In closing off, Fahmy says, The dangerous marriage of politics and news is more important today in our media-driven world than ever before in history. I agree.

He also says, When I began this journey, I believed that if my team and I held fast to good, honest journalism, everything would be all right. And that is where I was wrong. Capital and politics are increasingly controlling the corporate media. I agree again.
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Our weekly round up of other news affecting foreign investors throughout Asia:

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About Us Our Briefing updates are written by and provided by the various regional offices of Dezan Shira & Associates throughout Asia. To obtain a complimentary subscription to Asia Briefing please click here. To contact Dezan Shira & Associates concerning foreign investment and assistance in Asia, please email us at asia@dezshira.com

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN 2017

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An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2017

Doing Business in China 2017 is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in China. Compiled by the professionals at Dezan Shira & Associates in January 2017, this comprehensive guide is ideal not only for businesses looking to enter the Chinese market, but also for companies who already have a presence here and want to keep up-to-date with the most recent and relevant policy changes.

An Introduction to Doing Business in Hong Kong 2017

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An Introduction to Doing Business in India 2017

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With the scope and penalties of Chinas social credit system being further clarified in 2021, legal and regulatory compliance has become more important than...
The ship is named Zhiyin. [Photo by Li JingChina Daily]

A cruise ship along the Yangtze River is presenting a rare immersive show. Li Jing reports.

The moment a dock door opens, the audience begins to time-travel to the 1920s.

With music coming from afar, a long trestle leads up to a giant steamship, along which rickshaws and stands of street food are seen. A boy, coming up to passers-by, hands over old-fashioned papers printed with stories and information about a performance titled Zhiyin Cruise.

Opening to the public on May 19 in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, a rare immersive show on the Yangtze River has already sold out tickets for the month.

The name zhiyin, which refers to intimate friends in Chinese, comes from the legend of Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi, which is believed to have happened here in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).

Yu, a well-known zither player, found that no one could really understand his music until he met Zhong along the Yangtze. The encounter then started a lasting friendship between them.

Just as Yu came across Zhong, "the show depicts tales of the encounter", says Fan Yue, the director, who has teamed up with Zhang Yimou on the Impression series of live shows.
China and Kazakhstan plan to further upgrade their bilateral investment agreement to promote more trade and investment deals in the key areas of energy, agriculture and infrastructure, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

Spokesman Sun Jiwen said the ministry will speed up efforts to cement economic and trade relations with Kazakhstan in a comprehensive way, such as broadening financing channels and expanding areas of cooperation.

Among the economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, Kazakhstan is China's largest investment destination, Sun said at a news conference in Beijing.

According to the ministry, Sino-Kazakh trade exceeded $4.91 billion between January and April, up 45.6 percent compared with the same period last year. So far, China and Kazakhstan reached early agreements on 51 deals in capacity cooperation, which are worth more than $26 billion.

Kazakhstan is China's largest trading partner in the Central Asian region, and China's largest investment destination among Belt and Road economies.

China on Thursday posted a significant surge in exports and imports in May, with total volume growing 18.3 percent year-on-year to 2.35 trillion yuan ($345.92 billion).

China's exports increased by 15.5 percent to 1.32 trillion yuan in May from a year earlier, and imports rose 22.1 percent year-on-year to 1.03 trillion yuan, according to the General Administration of Customs. It produced a trade balance of 281.6 billion yuan.

In dollar-dominated terms, exports rose almost 9 percent year-on-year, while imports jumped nearly 15 percent. The data were far better than the 7.2 percent rise in exports and the 8.3 percent increase in imports in dollar calculation, predicted by analysts in a survey by Bloomberg News.

Wei Jianguo, vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said an import boom would not only meet China's growing domestic demand but contribute to growth in the rest of the world.

"The trend will continue in China this year, as the Belt and Road Initiative continues to advance," said Wei.

China will likely import more high-quality agricultural and industrial products, cutting-edge technologies, and luxury goods from countries and regions related to the initiative, he elaborated.

He said the forecast is based on an evaluation of the mutual benefits that all sides stand to gain from the initiative.
You are here: Home

China's State Council published a guideline Thursday to improve the management of the government websites.

To establish a clean, innovative and service-oriented government ruled by law, websites should be open, clear, informative and convenient for the public, said the document issued by the general office of the State Council.

According to the guideline, ministries of the State Council and government offices above county level should each have one official website.

The guideline also stressed Internet security, urging government offices to set up stable, reliable and safe websites by having online security warning systems and emergency response systems.
China on Thursday rejected a review of key developments in Hong Kong by the U.S. State Department.

"We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to that document and the irresponsible remarks by the United States," foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Thursday at a daily press briefing.

Hua said that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. Hong Kong affairs fall within China's domestic affairs and no country has any right to intervene, she said.

She urged the United States to be prudent in its words and actions on affairs concerning Hong Kong.

It is undeniable that the principle of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law have been comprehensively implemented, and Hong Kong residents have enjoyed their rights and freedoms in accordance with the law since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, according to Hua.

"The Chinese government's resolve to implement 'one country, two systems' and 'Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong' with a high degree of autonomy is unwavering, and will not be changed," she said.
You are here: Home

The deep blue sea still remains an abyss of mystery after years of exploration by scientists worldwide. But adventurers never pause before the great unknowns, and the Chinese are no exception.

China is making progress in becoming a maritime global power, pushing forward technology and research on all fronts.

Deep-sea observation

China is setting up a submarine observation network, the first national science and technology infrastructure project in the maritime field.

The network will be completed within five years at a cost of more than 2.1 billion yuan (about 310 million U.S. dollars).

The cable-based network will study the bed of the East China Sea and the South China Sea to collect data to be analyzed in Shanghai.

The network will emphasize on observation of the environment and marine disasters.

Deep-sea diving

The Chinese have long dreamed of going up to the sky and down into the ocean on the backs of dragons.

On Friday China's manned submersible Jiaolong will have its 150th dive, in the Yap Trench.

Named after a mythical water dragon, Jiaolong completed its first dive in 2009 and reached a maximum depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench in June 2012.

"Hailong 2" and "Qianlong 1," both unmanned submersibles, were deployed at the National Deep Sea Center in Qingdao in February.

The three types of subs are all domestically-made and each has its own specialty.

"Hailong 2", which needs a wire to link to the support ship, can work at a maximum depth of 3,500 meters. Wireless "Qianlong 1" can operate at a depth of 6,000 meters.

Deep-sea drilling

A four-month drilling expedition in the South China Sea as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) is drawing to an end.

Among the 66 scientists from 13 countries on the drilling ship JOIDES Resolution, 26 are from Chinese universities and research institutions.

Since joining the IODP in 1998, China has played a major role in two previous expeditions to the South China Sea in 1999 and 2014. Scientists collected samples for the study of climate change and basin formation.

China will organize an international expedition and set up a new research center for deep-sea sediment core research between 2018 and 2020, then build a new-generation ocean drilling vessel.
The Beijing Office of China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) has approved the opening of Beijing Zhongguancun Bank, marking the establishment of the capital citys first private bank.

As the 13th private bank approved to open in China, Zhongguancun Bank has registered capital of 4 billion yuan (US$589million) and 11 shareholders, which are mostly tech companies registered in the Zhongguancun Science Park.

The bank will be committed to providing fund and financial services for small-and medium-sized (SMEs) tech companies in Zhongguancun. It will also support the innovation-oriented development of SMEs in Zhongguancun and across China by using advanced technologies including the internet, big data and cloud computing.
 Flash

Staying in private homes while traveling is gaining popularity among Chinese, both for domestic trips and travel abroad, according to tourism industry insiders.

A report released on Thursday by the China Tourism Academy and Airbnb, an international house-sharing service, said 45 percent of people surveyed reported trying homestays when traveling abroad, while almost 60 percent of those who had not used such services said they wouldn't mind trying them on future trips.

Travelers invited to rent private homes in latest trend

More than 1,500 people in five Chinese cities - Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Xi'an - participated in the online survey.

A report released by the State Information Center in February noted a similar trend. It found the market size for house-sharing in China reached 24.3 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) last year. In 2012 it was 140 million yuan.

Chen Chi, founder and CEO of Xiaozhu, a Chinese online marketplace that helps travelers and homeowners connect for vacation home rentals, said house-sharing has evolved from a negligible market into a big one in recent years in China.

"Both demand and supply will increase in the future, and consumers' experiences will also improve as the market gradually grows mature," he said.

Dai Bin, director of the China Tourism Academy, said the development of peer-to-peer accommodation has benefited from innovation in internet technology, the rise of a new generation of consumers and the evolution of consumption concepts in China.

"The sharing economy, also known as collaborative consumption, has been well-received nationwide. People can see different forms of the economic pattern: shared bicycles, shared portable chargers and so on. Shared accommodation is another one," he said.

Data from Airbnb showed that most users in China were millennials - born between 1984 and 2000. The average age of the sharing homeowners was 32, while that of the guests was 30. Millennials account for 32 percent of China's population.

"They are the driving force behind the sharing economy, including peer-to-peer accommodations," Dai said.

But there are some details, especially with regard to the user experience, that should get some attention to ensure further development, said Lin Quan, vice-president of Tujia, an online homestay booking platform in China.

How the house-sharing industry deals with these details, such as the balance between the demands of tourists, homeowners and online operators, will determine how the industry develops, he said.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, pledged Thursday to enhance bilateral ties and promote the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

The two heads of state met ahead of the 17th SCO summit in Astana.

Noting that the SCO is facing new opportunities and challenges for development, Xi said China and Russia should strengthen communication and coordination, firmly observe the "Shanghai Spirit," boost solidarity among the SCO members, maintain regional security and stability, promote pragmatic cooperation, so as to constantly enhance SCO's influence in the international and regional affairs.

Xi urged the SCO to play a bigger role in Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation process, adding that China will assume the SCO rotating presidency after the Astana summit and is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with all parties including Russia, to achieve further development for the SCO.

During their meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing last month, the two leaders reached an important consensus on maintaining a high-level China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and enhancing all-round cooperation, according to the Chinese president.

Under the current complex international situation, sound China-Russia ties are of great significance to the two countries' development and revitalization, as well as to peace and stability of the world, Xi said.

The two countries should strengthen their mutual support on the issues relating to each other's core interests, said Xi, urging more achievements in the alignment of the Belt and Road construction with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

The Chinese president also urged the two countries to deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and strengthen coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs.

For his part, Putin said it is of great significance for Russia and China to maintain frequent high-level interactions.

He urged the two sides to step up their communication and coordination in a bid to maintain peace, stability and security in the region and around the world.

Russia and China should work together with all sides concerned to boost unity and coordination among the SCO members to enhance the influence of the organization in international affairs, Putin said.

Reiterating his congratulation on the success of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Russian president said the Belt and Road Initiative has won extensive support in the international community.

The two heads of state also exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and on the Korean Peninsula, as well as on other international and regional issues.
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China on Friday expressed grave concern over the reported killing of two Chinese nationals kidnapped in Pakistan late last month.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern. We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in response to the reports.

"The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities," she said.

"The Chinese side is firmly opposed to the acts of kidnapping civilians in any form, as well as terrorism and extreme violence in any form," she said.
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A senior Brazilian government official said on Thursday the government is confident the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) will acquit President Michel Temer of any wrongdoing in the 2014 presidential elections.

The trial, which began its final stage on Tuesday, could result in the removal of Temer from office if he is found to have knowingly received illegal campaign fund during the 2014 election.

Temer was elected as vice-president in that election but assumed presidency in August 2016 after President Dilma Rousseff was impeached.

"The government has full confidence that the TSE will act according to the proof," the chief of staff of the government, Eliseu Padilha, stated.

Padilha also said he felt most of the judges on the court will reject the inclusion of confessions by executives from the construction company Odebrecht which gets involved in a series of bribery scandal.

"There is no need to worry. We are confident. But...we must also have respect for the decisions that will be taken by the TSE," Padilha added.

For his part, Rodrigo Maia, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and Temer's ally, said any decision by the court would be respected.

"A decision, whatever it may be, by the Supreme Court or the Supreme Electoral Court, must be respected," he said on Thursday.

Temer is facing a separate investigation for obstruction of justice and passive corruption by the Supreme Court after a tape was recently revealed in which the president could seemingly be heard approving the bribery of public officials.
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The Maritime Silk Road has opened a new chapter of China-Kenya cooperation, a Chinese diplomat has said.

Guo Ce, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said in a commentary published in a local daily, The Standard, on Wednesday that a new chapter of China-Kenya cooperation opened as soon as Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Beijing as the only Africa president to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

"During the forum, China signed economic and trade cooperation agreements with 68 countries and international organizations, among which are three agreements inked with Kenya, including the Agreement on Technical Cooperation Regarding Offering Grant Aid and the Framework Agreement on Strengthening Cooperation in Production Capacity," Guo said.

In terms of cooperation, the Chinese official noted that the two friendly countries have together carried on the Silk Road spirit of "peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit".

In May, the bilateral cooperation between China and Kenya was lifted to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The presidents of the two nations have also agreed to press on with the construction of roads and ports and the integration of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway project, Mombasa Port Terminal and Mombasa Special Economic zone.

He said that further and deeper synergy of Kenya's national development strategy with the Belt and Road Initiative will strengthen mutual and pragmatic cooperation, bringing along a bright future for common development and more tangible benefits to people of both countries.

The friendship between China and Kenya dates back more than 600 years when Zheng He, the great navigator of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, set foot on the eastern coast of Kenya.

In 1415, Zheng arrived at Malindi and took back to China a giraffe, which was then taken as a resemblance to the Chinese mythological beast "Kylin", symbolizing auspice and royalty.

Since then, Zheng's fleet has repeatedly visited Kenya and other parts of Africa to spread the "blessing of peace" from the ancient China.

Guo noted that in 2013, Presidents Xi Jinping and Uhuru Kenyatta jointly announced the initiation of the China-Kenya Comprehensive Partnership.

"Over the past four years, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Kenya has become deeply interwoven and achieved unprecedented historic heights," he added.

Currently, China is the largest trading partner, contractor, the largest loan provider and the fastest-growing source of overseas tourists to Kenya.

According to the Chinese official, Kenya has also managed to attract most of China's investments among Africa countries.
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China on Friday proposed to set up a media cooperation mechanism among the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and offered to host the first media summit of the SCO.
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At least 20 people were killed and some 21 others wounded on Friday in a suicide bomb attack at a popular market in south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

The attack occurred at noon when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt at a crowded market at the entrance of the town of Musaiyab, some 50 km south of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The blast destroyed several shops and many stalls and caused damages to several nearby civilian cars, the source said.

The toll could rise as ambulances, police and civilian vehicles evacuated the victims to the town's main hospital and medical centers, the source added.

Musaiyab is part of the once restive area, dubbed Triangle of Death, which is a cluster of towns scattered north of Babil's provincial capital city of Hilla, some 100 km south of Baghdad.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most cases, is responsible for such suicide attacks targeting crowded areas, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.

Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 345 Iraqis and wounded 446 others in May across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said.

The attack came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their remaining redoubt in the western side of Mosul.
Zhang Xiuhong (left) was sentenced

to five years in prison.

(Photo: China Aid)

China Aid

(Guiyang, GuizhouMarch 6, 2017) An imprisoned Christian woman recently penned a poem recounting the year she spent in police custody in Chinas southern Guizhou province, even as she faces five years incarceration

Zhang Xiuhong, the chairwoman of Huoshi Churchs Board of Deacons and the church accountant, wrote a piece that retells what she could not experience during the year of 2016 due to her imprisonment and expresses the hope and joy she experiences in the midst of her cruel experiences.

On July 28, 2015, she was seized by local authorities for illegal business operations. Her defense lawyers, Xiao Yunyang and Li Guisheng, were not allowed to plead guilty on her behalf and argued that the transaction was an invalid piece of evidence, since she did not benefit from it.

Her trial commenced on Jan. 23 at 9:00 a.m., and the Nanming District Court sentenced her to five years in prison on Feb. 10. She appealed her sentence on Feb. 17, arguing that she was deemed responsible for embezzling 5 million Yuan [$725,374.00 USD]. She was accused of collaborating on this crime with Pan Lina, another defendant in her case. Pan, however, received only three years with a four-year probation. Zhang concluded that authorities used her charge to target her on account of her religious beliefs.

Xiao told a China Aid reporter that his clients sentencing was unfair, since authorities promised that Zhang would be sentenced for only two years. Additionally, the judge who tried Zhangs case visited her twice beforehand and encouraged her to confess, saying that Wang Yao and Tu Yulei, two others involved with Huoshi Church, both confessed and were released on probation. He also demanded that she fire Li, but she refused.

Zhangs poem can be read in full below.

China Aid reports abuses such as those suffered by Zhang Xiuhong in order to stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law.





Poem by Zhang Xiuhong

This year

I didnt hear the sweet voice of my baby,

I didnt embrace the wanderer come back from afar,

I didnt see my loved ones thin and weak figure,

I didnt have heart-to-heart talks with my sister,

I didnt taste the delicious food prepared by my mother-in-law,

I didnt bask in the rays of the morning sunlight,

Or take a stroll as the sun sets.

Or ride on a high-speed train to go somewhere.

This year, the sound I often heard,

Was the slam of metal doors, sharp and piercing,

This year, the sight I often saw was hopeless eyes,

This year, the food I had every day was the unchanging three dishes and a soup,

This year, the farthest I went was less than 1,000 meters [approximately 3,281 feet] away,

This year, I received a staggering fine,

This year, I saw the judge of my case twice, not at the court, but where Im being detained.

Was this a tough year for me? Painful? Lonely? Living each day like a year? Absolutely not!

This year, I was never in a dark place while waiting; the sun above the clouds shined upon me and nourished me;

This year, I was never homesick;

This year, I enjoyed the bounty of grace because my trust in the Lord who called me brought me unspeakable glory and joy;

This year, the world drifted farther away from me;

This year, my Lord drew ever closer to me;

This year, I received the fruits of the Lords Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control;

This year, I bathed in His love;

This year, my soul broke free from the metal bars of prison and soared in the Kingdom of God;

This year, I lived in hope and divine promises.

Your sister in Christ,

Zhang Xiuhong

ChinaAid Media Team

Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985

Email: [email protected]

For more information, click here
This notice, sent to Gesan Village Church,

announces that its power supply has been

turned off for alleged overcrowding and fire

hazards. However, the church members

suspect they are being punished for not

complying with a campaign to install

surveillance cameras. (Photo: ChinaAid)

ChinaAid

(Wenzhou, ZhejiangMay 26, 2017) In the midst of escalating religious tensions, authorities in Chinas coastal Zhejiang province cut off two churches electricity supply after they refused to comply with orders to install security cameras.

Fire safety departments in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, issued a notice to Gesan Village Church on May 24, claiming the 400-500 member church is overly crowded and poses fire hazards. As a result, the government temporarily cut off its power and water supply temporarily and demanded that the church fix the aforementioned problems or face forced intervention, saying they could not use the building until the issues were resolved.

According to reports, an unnamed churchs power supply was also severed.

Despite the governments claim that it severed the power supply for safety reasons, Christians suspect it is a retaliation against the churches for failing to comply with efforts to install surveillance cameras in a campaign that is sweeping the province. Officially, authorities allege the cameras will improve church security, but it will also make it easier for them to monitor religious activity. Some Buddhist temples have also been required to use surveillance equipment.

In their vicinity, these churches remain the only two without the cameras.

Although Gesan Village Church refuses to succumb to this pressure and purchased a diesel tank in order to continue carrying out its regular services, one of its attendees said, We are trying our best to avoid the installation, but the church is too weak to fight against the government. We cant do anything if the government decides to take violent measures.

ChinaAid reports abuses, such as those enacted against the churches and Buddhist temples affected by the security equipment installation campaign, in order to stand in solidarity with the persecuted and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law.

ChinaAid Media Team

Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985

Email: [email protected]

For more information, click here
Pastor Yang Hua

(Photo: ChinaAid) ChinaAid





developed a critical medical condition while in custody in Chinas southern

Guizhou province is improving after he was temporarily transferred to a new

prison, his wife said on May 3. (Guiyang, GuizhouMay 15, 2017) An imprisoned pastor whodeveloped a critical medical condition while in custody in Chinas southernGuizhou province is improving after he was temporarily transferred to a newprison, his wife said on May 3.



a severe form of vasculitis after doctors working in his detention center

improperly treated ulcers that materialized on his legs, rendering him unable

to walk. He was admitted to the hospital, where physicians notified his wife,

Wang Hongwu, that he was critically ill. She was allowed to visit him, and they

had their first in-person conversation since he was taken into custody on Dec.

9, 2015. Li Guozhi, better known as his alias, Yang Hua, developeda severe form of vasculitis after doctors working in his detention centerimproperly treated ulcers that materialized on his legs, rendering him unableto walk. He was admitted to the hospital, where physicians notified his wife,Wang Hongwu, that he was critically ill. She was allowed to visit him, and theyhad their first in-person conversation since he was taken into custody on Dec.9, 2015.

Because of his illness, authorities temporarily relocated

to another prison, where Wang says he has been allowed to heal: 

2]. Although he had to ask another prisoner to carry him to the conference

room, his condition is getting better. We talked for 20 minutes. I asked him to

show me his feet, and I was glad to see that the measles on his shin bones

disappeared, the festers became scabs, and the old scabs healed  Yang Hua told

me that one of his legs was functioning, while another was still too weak to

support him. The prison does not have his medications, although he still lives

in the medical ward. He was transferred from the Baiyun Prison to the Kaili

Prison on the 16th [of April]. The family members, strictly

speaking, only my son and I, could visit him once a month. Not even his brother

was allowed to visit him. The prison permits him to call me once a month for no

more than ten minutes. I visited Yang Hua in prison yesterday [May2]. Although he had to ask another prisoner to carry him to the conferenceroom, his condition is getting better. We talked for 20 minutes. I asked him toshow me his feet, and I was glad to see that the measles on his shin bonesdisappeared, the festers became scabs, and the old scabs healed  Yang Hua toldme that one of his legs was functioning, while another was still too weak tosupport him. The prison does not have his medications, although he still livesin the medical ward. He was transferred from the Baiyun Prison to the KailiPrison on the 16[of April]. The family members, strictlyspeaking, only my son and I, could visit him once a month. Not even his brotherwas allowed to visit him. The prison permits him to call me once a month for nomore than ten minutes.

Yang was originally taken into

police custody on Dec. 9, 2015, for trying to prevent officials from

confiscating a church hard drive. He spent 10 days in administrative detention

for the crime of obstructing justice and gathering a crowd to disturb public

order before being charged with illegally possessing state secrets and being

transferred to criminal detention. He was arrested on Jan. 22, 2016, and his

charge changed a fourth time to divulging state secrets. During the time

leading up to his trial, which was held on Dec. 26, 2016, he was repeatedly

tortured by his prosecutors. On Jan. 5, a Guiyang court sentenced him to

two-and-a-half years in prison.



as a part of our ongoing efforts to encourage Christians persecuted for their

faith and exposes abuses enacted against him in order to promote religious

freedom, human rights, and rule of law. ChinaAid celebrates Yangs recoveryas a part of our ongoing efforts to encourage Christians persecuted for theirfaith and exposes abuses enacted against him in order to promote religiousfreedom, human rights, and rule of law.

ChinaAid Media Team

Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985

Email: [email protected]

For more information, click here
In a similar incident, Christians in Wenzhou, Zhejiang,

worship in the rubble of their demolished church on May 22,

2016. (Photo: ChinaAid)

ChinaAid

(Shangqiu, HenanJune 1, 2017) A church in Chinas central Henan province demands justice following the destruction of their church building and took more than 40 Christians into police custody, ChinaAid recently learned.

300 local police officers and city and inspectors forcibly demolished Shuangmiao Christian Churchwhich was under construction in Shangqiu, Henanon the morning of May 5, dragging away around 40 Christians and leaving about 100 without a place of worship. During the demolition, officials beat dozens of church members, pushing them to the ground and twisting their hands. The church was completely razed, and a church member likened the scene to the Japanese invasion of China during World War II.

Of the 40 Christians seized, eight are still in custody, and the cases of Shuangmiao Christian Church pastor Zhang Di and the churchs vice director, Lu Yuexia, were recently transferred to the procuratorate, which will decide whether or not to formalize their arrest.

The Communist Party ordered the churchs demolition after labeling it an illegal structure and dispatched personnel to search the belongings of the Christians and construction workers. They confiscated phones and other personal property, damaged closets, smashed offering boxes, and stole laptops, money, and jewelry.

Officially, the government also alleges that the demolition was a punishment for refusing to pay 4,000 yuan ($588 USD) annually as part of an arbitrary road usage fee imposed by villagers who envy the churchs money. Before the demolition, the church tried to negotiate with the officials in an attempt to remedy this problem. This culminated in authorities summoning Zhang for questioning on May 2 and then seizing him on false charges of assaulting the police station, limiting the freedom of others, and attacking a village representative.

The church requests that the government adequately punish the leaders of those who have acted out violently against them and immediately release the detained Christians.

ChinaAid exposes the abuses experienced by Shuangmiao Christian Church members in order to stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law.

ChinaAid Media Team

Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985

Email: [email protected]

For more information, click here
A worker monitors container operations at Zhoushan port in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. [Photo/China Daily]

Beijing, Astana to boost cooperation in energy, agriculture and infrastructure

China and Kazakhstan plan to further upgrade their bilateral investment agreement to promote more trade and investment deals in the key areas of energy, agriculture and infrastructure, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

Spokesman Sun Jiwen said the ministry will speed up efforts to cement economic and trade relations with Kazakhstan in a comprehensive way, such as broadening financing channels and expanding areas of cooperation.

Among the economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, Kazakhstan is China's largest investment destination, Sun said at a news conference in Beijing.

According to the ministry, Sino-Kazakh trade exceeded $4.91 billion between January and April, up 45.6 percent compared with the same period last year. So far, China and Kazakhstan reached early agreements on 51 deals in capacity cooperation, which are worth more than $26 billion.

Kazakhstan is China's largest trading partner in the Central Asian region, and China's largest investment destination among Belt and Road economies.

China on Thursday posted a significant surge in exports and imports in May, with total volume growing 18.3 percent year-on-year to 2.35 trillion yuan ($345.92 billion).

China's exports increased by 15.5 percent to 1.32 trillion yuan in May from a year earlier, and imports rose 22.1 percent year-on-year to 1.03 trillion yuan, according to the General Administration of Customs. It produced a trade balance of 281.6 billion yuan.

In dollar-dominated terms, exports rose almost 9 percent year-on-year, while imports jumped nearly 15 percent. The data were far better than the 7.2 percent rise in exports and the 8.3 percent increase in imports in dollar calculation, predicted by analysts in a survey by Bloomberg News.

Wei Jianguo, vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said an import boom would not only meet China's growing domestic demand but contribute to growth in the rest of the world.

"The trend will continue in China this year, as the Belt and Road Initiative continues to advance," said Wei.

China will likely import more high-quality agricultural and industrial products, cutting-edge technologies, and luxury goods from countries and regions related to the initiative, he elaborated.

He said the forecast is based on an evaluation of the mutual benefits that all sides stand to gain from the initiative.
A woman has a facial care at a hospital in Zhengzhou, Henan province. [Photo/China Daily]

Private equity firm H&Q Asia Pacific said PhiSkina cosmetic medical services provider which operates a skin and laser clinic in its investment portfoliocompleted series B fundraising in early June, one more deal in the sector which is attracting increasing amounts of capital in China.

Legend Capital led the 120 million yuan ($17 million) series B round in PhiSkin, the Shanghai-based aesthetic medical and beauty services provider that focuses on skin treatment.

H&Q led PhiSkin's series A round fundraising, and invested some 54 million yuan of the total 64 million yuan raised in 2015.

The private equity firm said that the internal rate of return target for its PhiSkin investment was at least 30 percent and 40 percent, and the exit plan included an initial pubic offering in the A-share market.

"A lot of capital from Chinese investors poured into private equity investment. Healthcare is one of the hottest sectors together with TMT," said Mark Hsu, managing director of H&Q.

"Out of the many different niche sectors in the healthcare industry, medical aesthetic clinics are the easiest to understand and operate," Hsu added.

He said that demand for aesthetic medical services would continue to expand as the middle class population grows steadily, and mid-to-high income people required more anti-aging services.

"If we just consider high-quality medical aesthetic services which are operated by real high quality doctors, the supply is not enough," he said.

"That's why we believe that to build up a well-known retail brand with real medical professional operation in this sector can have a long-term success."

China's aesthetic medical services sector has been appealing to a wide range of investors. That has included Nanjing-based Suning group, which set 5 billion yuan fund to invest into aesthetic medical services, and Beijing-based female fashion retailer Lancy, which acquired stakes in six beauty clinics and now seeks to raise more fund to invest in a cosmetic services hospital.

Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun also invested in acquiring stakes in aesthetic medical equipment and material suppliers, aesthetic medical information providers, and aesthetic medical clinicsin a bid to profit from the fast-growing market throughout the entire value chain.

According to data from the country's representative body for comestic medical services and plastic surgery, the Chinese Association of Plastics and Aesthetics, the country now has more than 10,000 aesthetic medical services clinics, and some 3 million quasi-aesthetics stores without medical service qualifications providing services such as acne treatment and anti-aging treatment.

Analysts estimate that in 2014, some 1 percent of the population used aesthetic medical services, and the number is seen reaching about 17 percent by 2019.

"The aesthetic medical services market is quite fragmented in China, but its size is expanding fast. By 2020 the market will reach a size of one-trillion yuan, so significant market consolidation is expected," said a research note by China Merchant Securities.
LOS ANGELES - Some might think a trillion-US-dollar super highway connecting Europe and Asia has little to do with California, but Governor Jerry Brown pointed out they would be wrong.

In the trillion dollar clean energy field, the America's most populous state hopes to bolster climate partnerships with China, making joint efforts to push green and low-carbon development.

Local experts said it was the reason why California welcomed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which proposed forever linking 70 percent of the world's population and the gigantic markets of Asia and Europe.

On Wednesday, Brown delivered a keynote speech at a clean energy forum in Beijing to hundreds of global energy ministers.

Brown leads a state of almost 40 million people with a GDP greater than France, and has been a clean energy champion since he first became California governor in 1975.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Brown in Beijing on Tuesday and called on California to play a bigger role in promoting bilateral exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States in areas including technology, innovation and green development.

It is agreed that "infrastructure development, trade and transportation, almost everything, will be enhanced by clean energy," said Washington political analysts David Richardson.

"California does it better than any other state in the United States," Richardson told Xinhua Wednesday.

"Governor Brown's current trip to China underscores the tremendous value California puts on this vastly important economic policy," Margaret Wong, CEO of the California Center said of the Belt and Road Initiative in a statement Wednesday.

Wong, based in Sacramento, has been spearheading trade efforts with China for 30 years, and was in 2014 one of the 25 business leaders on the president's official China trade mission led by the US Department of Commerce.

She sees the BRI "forging trade and utilizing the opportunity to make lasting and meaningful reductions in global emissions and increasing clean energy/technology solutions."

With China accelerating development of manufacturing hubs in the western part of the country, the BRI has the potential to create an economic corridor and promote stability and energy security, while opening up trade, said the Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe.

"If we don't seize exports opportunities where they exist, the jobs will go to others, not Americans," former US Assistant Defense Secretary Chas Freeman told NBC News Tuesday.

Freeman highlighted that 60 countries involved in the BRI boast about 55 percent of global economic output and an estimated 75 percent of known energy reserves.

On Tuesday, the California governor visited Chengdu in Sichuan Province, China's gateway to the "Silk Road," where he again voiced his support of California's involvement in the BRI.

"A prominent and strategic focus of China's economic plan that focuses on connectivity and cooperation -- there is no better location than Chengdu for seeing first-hand the level of dedicated cooperation occurring between our two countries," Wong said.

"We are so excited the governor made this stop a priority," said Wong, whose California Center hosted the business event.

California Center has been a valuable resource and advocate for many clean technology efforts in China and helped to launch the US Smart Cities Alliance focused on smart energy solutions between the United States and China.

"The possibilities are endless for US industries to build a presence in China markets thanks to the Silk Road," said Gordon Hinkle, Senior VP of global operations for the California Center, which was set up according to the initiative of Brown.

One of California Center's projects is working with government officials in Changsha, China's Hunan province, to design a "Smart City" that includes "Smart Street Lamps," according to Hinkle.

"These streetlamps not only cast light, but also collect data on climate, air quality, information that makes running a city more efficiently, has sensors to detect floods, and can also help emergency responders," Hinkle told Xinhua.
A researcher uses a pipette to develop an assay to detect a specific gene of corn at a lab in the Syngenta Biotech Center in Beijing. [Photo/Agencies]

China National Chemical Corp, known as ChemChina, has completed the second settlement of its tender offers for Basel-based Syngenta AG, increasing its stake to 94.7 percent, the group announced on Thursday.

ChemChina plans to delist Syngenta's shares on the Zurich-based SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange as soon as permitted by law and applicable regulations, the group said in a statement on Thursday.

Shareholders who tendered their shares after May 4 received the consideration of $465 per share, and holders of American Depositary Shares, who tendered them after May 4 received $93 per ADS, on Wednesday.

Syngenta is the largest European producer of hybrid seeds and crop protection products. Supported by 28,000 employees and more than 13,000 patents, it operates 107 production facilities and 119 research and development units in more than 90 countries and regions.

The deal has been reviewed and approved by commerce authorities and antitrust agencies of 20 countries and regions, including the United States, the European Commission and Brazil.

"The completion of this deal will help ChemChina become one of the world's largest suppliers of pesticides and other crop-care chemicals," said Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the rural development institute of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Li said Dow Chemical Co's merger with DuPont Co and Bayer AG's purchase of Monsanto Co, which occurred in the past two years, would mean that ChemChina would face strong competitors, as the top six international suppliers, including Syngenta and BASF SE, have all been vying for market share and financial resources to push the research and development of new products.

Zhang Xiaoping, director for China at the US Soybean Export Council, said ChemChina could use Syngenta's rich experience and resources in intellectual property, risk control and environmental management to bring its products to global markets.

Syngenta's sales revenue amounted to $12.8 billion in the global market in 2016. The Swiss company has invested more than $360 million in China and employs more than 2,000 people.

This transaction preserves choice and competition in the industry, as it allows Syngenta to maintain its strategy, management, people and culture. It preserves the company's core business model so it can continue to operate independently.

The central government has pinned high hopes on reforms to solve structural issues in the agricultural sector, where some agricultural products are oversupplied while others rely heavily on imports.

China has been encouraging its companies to use both domestic and global resources to ensure the country's grain and food security in its agricultural policy.

Beijing-headquartered ChemChina possesses production, research and development, and marketing systems in 150 countries and regions. Materials sciences, life sciences, high-end manufacturing and basic chemicals are its main businesses.

It has also acquired nine companies in France, the United Kingdom, Israel, Italy and Germany.
Jeff Gennette, Macy's Inc chief executive officer. [Photo provided to China Daily]

NEW YORKMacy's Inc Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette is optimistic about the future of the largest department-store chain, even if it doesn't look much like the store R.H. Macy imagined.

Gennette, 55, wants to build Macy's into a fashion destination where shoppers looking for exclusive products can buy online or on their phones as easily as in a store.

In an interview from his office on the 13th floor above the department store's iconic Herald Square flagship location, he mapped out how Macy's will capture one hypothetical customer's heart.

"We need to be sure that when she walks into a Macy'sbe it on the web or on a mobile device or when she walks into our storesshe encounters a brand she loves, that gets her, that she wants to tell her friends about," Gennette said.

He has his work cut out for him. The chain is reeling from tumbling sales and sluggish shopping-mall traffic.

Macy's posted a 4.6 percent decline in comparable sales last quarterdeeper than the 3.5 percent drop predicted by analysts.

People wait with purchases at Macy's Herald Square during the Black Friday sales in New York, Nov 25, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Karen Hoguet warned on Tuesday that second-quarter gross margins have contracted a percentage point from a year earlier, sending the shares to their biggest dive in almost a month. They have now lost 39 percent of their value this year.

Despite the challenges, the company is maintaining its earnings forecast, vowing to reach its goals by slashing costs and revamping its marketing strategy.

As for beyond 2017, Gennette, who took the helm in late March after serving as Macy's president and chief merchandising officer, said Macy's will focus on delivering better fashion. Instead of adding more apparel options to stores, the retailer will offer more products that shoppers can't find anywhere else.

Part of this effort will focus on adding special lines of Macy's-exclusive productsknown as capsule collectionsfrom national brands such as Levi Strauss & Co and Ralph Lauren. Gennette sees 40 percent of the department store's inventory as unique to Macy's in 2020, up from 29 percent today.

Brands are eager to work with Macy's on these collections, he said.

"It's a collaboration," he said. "Our bigger issue is not jumping at every exclusive opportunity that comes our way from our vendors, it's being selective."

The Cincinnati-based company also is building up its e-commerce site and rolling out its discount division, Backstage, in an effort to drive more traffic into stores.

All this will take time to pay off, and in the meantime, Macy's is cutting costs. The retailer is closing 100 underperforming stores68 of which are being shuttered this year. This will eliminate about 4,000 jobs, on top of 6,200 cuts that were announced in January.

Trimming inventory

Macy's is also trimming its catalog of products. The retailer is trying to edit down its assortment to reduce clutter and remove items that duplicate each other. Gennette wants fewer distractions for shoppers, who he believes desire clearer choices.

"It's not overnight," Gennette said. "We're going to do it one brand or product category at a time."

He declined to address speculation that Saks Fifth Avenue-owner Hudson's Bay Co may be interested in a takeover of Macy's to add to its real estate portfolio. Instead, Gennette said the company is considering the brand's appeal to international consumers, with a particular focus on China, where Macy's has a partnership with Alibaba's Tmall platform.

Domestically, Macy's sees its sprawling real estate holdings as a source of cash to fund growth. The company has a plan to squeeze more cash from its properties, which includes its flagship store in Manhattan. Brookfield Asset Management was hired in November and given a two-year window to create development plans for about 50 of Macy's real estate assets.

Gennette acknowledges that for his plans to be realized, the key metric of store sales has to improve.

"That has to stabilize, we have to do that," Gennette said. "And I believe it's in our control to help with that."

BLOOMBERG
Two visitors at the stand of Xiongan New Area at an exhibition held in Beijing in May. [Photo/China Daily]

Property prices should not be allowed to spiral out of control in the Xiongan New Area when development gathers pace.

Wu Hequan, deputy director of the Council of Experts for Coordinated Development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, issued the warning at a forum on urban construction in Beijing.

"There have been many places in China where house prices have risen too quickly," he said.

"At times, they have even been out of control. But Xiongan cannot afford to allow that to happen."

The central government announced plans to establish Xiongan New Area in April in order to integrate Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development, and cut congestion and pollution in the capital.

The decision has since triggered a speculation frenzy in the property market, which has now prompted policy makers to call for tighter controls on real estate development in the area.

Xu Kuangdi, director of the Council of Experts think tank, stressed the environmental elements of the new area and its "green" potential

"The principle of the plan of the new economic zone is that it should be a livable, modern city with green spaces taking up more than half of the area," he said.

A blueprint for the area is still being studied and discussed by China's top institutions.

An overall plan will then be submitted to the central authorities for consideration.

Xu stressed that a new development model would be tested in Xiongan New Area. Balancing residents rights, controlling house prices and developing industry would be challenging, he said.

"The construction of underground infrastructure will be one of the bright spots," he said.

A disaster protection system, water supplies, electricity cables and gas pipes will be built under the surface along with a high-speed rail network and city traffic lanes.

"On the surface we will have green areas and sidewalks," said Xu.

Construction should focus on a more efficient transport network, environmental protection, urban and rural integration, and innovative urban planning.

"Industry in the economic zone should develop high-end manufacturing, featuring integrated production services," said Huang Qunhui, director of the Institute of Industrial Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Located about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, Xiongan New Area will cover the three existing counties of Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin in Hebei province.
BEIJING - People in China made more payments with mobile phones in the first quarter of 2017, central bank data showed Thursday.

Chinese commercial banks dealt with 9.3 billion payments from mobile banking services in Q1, up 65.7 percent from a year ago, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said in a report.

Combined value of mobile payments rose 16.4 percent to 60.65 trillion yuan ($9 trillion).

The surge is partly due to the number of mobile phone users in China. At the end of April, there were 1.35 billion mobile phone users, of which more than 1 billion had broadband Internet access.

Payments from online banking services made with computers rose 8.17 percent to 11.3 billion, with total value edging up 0.14 percent to 658.78 trillion yuan.

China's financial institutions had issued 6.3 billion bank cards by the end of March, up 10.7 percent year on year. The number of credit cards stood at 490 million, according to the report.
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BEIJING - Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli called for green development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt on Friday.

"We should prioritize the protection and repair of the Yangtze River's environment and strive to make the Yangtze River Economic Belt into a demonstration of innovation-driven, coordinated development," said Zhang.

The vice-premier emphasized water resource protection, waterway construction, industrial upgrades and urbanization along the river, as well as the connection between the Belt and Road and Yangtze River Economic Belt and market integration along the river.

The Yangtze, the world's third-longest river, runs through nine Chinese provinces and two municipalities, covering 2.05 million square km.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt, which accounts for more than 40 percent of the national total in terms of both population and GDP, is considered a new growth engine for the country, reducing the development gap between east, central and western regions.

In September 2014, China announced measures aimed at the development of the belt. Twenty-seven cities along the river have jointly established a regional platform for trade in natural resources and established an ecological compensation system along the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze.

Provinces and municipalities have also formulated measures to boost cooperation in customs clearance, urban development as well as tourism.
CHONGQING - Hundreds of Ford vehicles produced at a Sino-US joint venture are parked along the platform waiting to be loaded onto trains. Huge containers reading "China-Europe Train" are stacked up like mountains. Giant cranes are busy placing cargo into train carriages designated for different destinations -- Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland or Turkey.

This is Tuanjiecun, which translates as united village. It had been once a small nondescript railway station in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, before the first China-Europe freight train set off from its platform in 2011.

"That opened a new chapter for trans-continental transportation in the 21st century and was later incorporated into the Belt and Road Initiative," said Wang Weiping, a Chongqing railway official.

Zhang Xin, Tuanjiecun station master, still remembers the day that first China-Europe freight train departed. "I gave the departure order," he said, noting that the German-bound train carried Chinese-manufactured computers and other electronic devices.

Tuanjiecun was previously a four-class station with a staff of 20, located in farmland in the suburbs of Chongqing. Only three passengers trains stopped at the station each day.

Now it has become a first-class station with more than 200 permanent staff and 600 temporary workers. Visiting guests include foreign transportation ministers and other officials from Europe and Southeast Asia.

"I never imagined this little station would one day provide a direct link to outside world," said Zhang, 45. He admitted that his biggest problem now is finding enough workers as the station becomes even busier.

During the first two years only one train set off for Europe each week. Since 2013, when the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed, the number of China-Europe trains has grown to eight or nine per week.

Following its success another 20 Chinese cities have launched direct freight train services to Europe, transporting cargo valued at a total of $20 billion last year.

Previously, most products were exported via air or sea freight, with higher costs and longer travel times, respectively.

The cities selected for the China-Europe services are all economic hubs. Tuanjiecun was chosen as the trial station because of its proximity to Chongqing, a center for cargo exports. The municipality has reported China's fastest economic growth for the past three consecutive years and rail transportation is seen as a barometer for the Chinese economy.

The number of carriages daily passing through the West Chongqing Station, which administers Tuanjiecun station, has risen from 5,000 to 10,000, Wang said.

The Belt and Road Initiative -- linking dozens of countries along the overland Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road -- is a crucial component of China's current foreign policy.

It takes it's name from a historic network of trails and caravan routes that linked the ancient civilizations of Asia, Europe and Africa and transformed the nature of international trade links.

Tuanjiecun's status has become even more important after a new route opened last month -- the Chongqing-Singapore railway line, linking China's hinterland with Southeast Asia.

"Connecting the Chongqing-Europe and Chongqing-Singapore railway lines makes this the longest railway route in the world, " said Wang, adding that Tuanjiecun is the pivotal transit point on the transportation corridor.

Zhang said the international railway port is undergoing massive construction to expand its capacity even further.
A man examines Siemens' healthcare facilities at an industry expo in Beijing. [Photo/China Daily]

Siemens Healthineers has targeted county-level and rural markets in a bid to boost its business in China.

The German medical equipment and technology company hopes to post double-digit growth fueled by increased demand in its services.

George Chan, president of Siemens Healthineers Greater China, outlined plans to increase sales staff, step up training and roll out products to meet specific demands in county-level and rural hospitals.

The healthcare firm is connected to the global industrial juggernaut, Siemens AG, and became a "company within a company" in 2015.

Already there has been talk that it could be spun off and listed.

"Obviously, more details on an initial public offering would be publicized if a decision was made," Chan said.

Total revenue for Siemens Healthineers for the 2016 fiscal year was 13.5 billion euros ($15.22 billion), with an operating profit of 2.3 billion euros.

China played a key role in the company's profit margin.

"Despite the fierce competition, we finished the fiscal year with double-digit growth of new orders, outperforming major key players," Chan said, without disclosing detailed financial figures.

Multinational medical equipment and technology companies are facing a fast changing environment here.

Chinese providers have moved into the sector, making the industry even more competitive.

Hospital regulators in more than 20 provinces in China have also helped shorten distribution chains and reduce costs of medical equipment and medicines by bringing in new rules.

"Siemens Healthineers has applauded these changes that encourage more transparency and compliance," Chan said.
China and Afghanistan should deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road framework and push forward projects to connect the two countries more, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

In a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Astana, Kazakhstan, at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Xi hailed the ties between the two nations.

The president said that high-level interaction should play an important role in guiding China-Afghan relations and that exchanges on all levels should be intensified.

China supports the Afghan government's efforts to maintain its domestic security, Xi said, adding that China will continue to help Afghanistan's reconstruction. The two countries should enhance anti-terrorism and security cooperation, he said.

Xi said that China firmly maintains a friendly policy toward Afghanistan. China would like to play a constructive role to support Afghanistan in conducting peaceful reconstruction and advancing reconciliation, he said.

Ghani expressed gratitude for China's support of his country's peaceful reconstruction and reconciliation process, saying that Afghanistan cherishes its friendship with China.

The Afghan president said his country values China's important role in international and regional affairs, and is dedicated to cooperation with China in areas like the economy, trade and security.

Afghanistan also looks forward to connecting the country's development with construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, he said, adding the country will participate with China to boost connections between the two nations.

Chen Yurong, a senior researcher in European and Asian studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said China has been dedicated to promoting Afghanistan's reconciliation process by making use of the multilateral mechanism.

Afghanistan is along the corridor that links Central Asia with South Asia, and the geographic location provides huge potential for the two countries to cooperate on the Belt and Road Initiative, Chen said.

Sun Zhuangzhi, secretary-general of the SCO Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that China and Afghanistan can strengthen cooperation on infrastructure construction under the Belt and Road Initiative's framework.

Infrastructure in Afghanistan has collapsed under years of conflict, he said, and China can help Afghanistan rebuild its railways, highways and hydraulic engineering, and cooperate in mining, agriculture and investment.
Liu Qibao, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, delivers a speech at the BRICS Media Forum in Beijing on Thursday.Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily

Representatives at forum call for new narratives that present positive picture

Shaping another golden decade of BRICS cooperation requires joint efforts by media in the five member countries, a senior Party official said.

Liu Qibao, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the committee's publicity department, made the comment when addressing the BRICS Media Forum in Beijing on Thursday.

BRICS comprises five major developing countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

As BRICS cooperation enters its second decade, leaders of 27 media agencies from member countries vowed on Thursday to deepen their cooperation.

Liu said the media should support win-win cooperation, display the bright future of BRICS, and promote friendship and cultural exchanges among members.

The ninth leaders' meeting of BRICS will be held in Xiamen, Fujian province, in September.

Cai Mingzhao, president of Xinhua News Agency and executive chair of the forum, said participating media organizations all agreed to choose news stories for the BRICS news reporting award, and will continue to present photo exhibitions.

Qian Keming, vice-minister of commerce, told the forum that the world economy and trade has stopped slumping and is on the rise, but the imbalance of the economic structure and the lack of new economic driving forces remain to be tackled.

As rising protectionism challenges economic globalization, China is ready to work with other BRICS countries to showcase faith in greater collaboration, Qian said.

Zhou Shuchun, editor-in-chief of China Daily, said media in BRICS countries should jointly study and deal with the world economic situation, and better showcase the firm will and strong actions of BRICS countries in building an open world economy.

Zenariah Barends, co-chair of the forum and the chief of staff at Independent Media in South Africa, called for more efforts to develop alternatives to the current narrative that often focuses on the negative side of BRICS countries.

BRICS media have a huge role in telling amazing stories, not only about what the BRICS organizations are doing, but also the important life-changing stories happening in these countries, Barends said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

ASTANA -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, pledged here Thursday to enhance bilateral ties and promote the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The two heads of state met ahead of the 17th SCO summit in Astana.

Noting that the SCO is facing new opportunities and challenges for development, Xi said China and Russia should strengthen communication and coordination, firmly observe the "Shanghai Spirit," boost solidarity among the SCO members, maintain regional security and stability, promote pragmatic cooperation, so as to constantly enhance SCO's influence in the international and regional affairs.

Xi urged the SCO to play a bigger role in Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation process, adding that China will assume the SCO rotating presidency after the Astana summit and is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with all parties including Russia, to achieve further development for the SCO.

During their meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing last month, the two leaders reached an important consensus on maintaining a high-level China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and enhancing all-round cooperation, according to the Chinese president.

Under the current complex international situation, sound China-Russia ties are of great significance to the two countries' development and revitalization, as well as to peace and stability of the world, Xi said.

The two countries should strengthen their mutual support on the issues relating to each other's core interests, said Xi, urging more achievements in the alignment of the Belt and Road construction with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

The Chinese president also urged the two countries to deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and strengthen coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs.

For his part, Putin said it is of great significance for Russia and China to maintain frequent high-level interactions.

He urged the two sides to step up their communication and coordination in a bid to maintain peace, stability and security in the region and around the world.

Russia and China should work together with all sides concerned to boost unity and coordination among the SCO members to enhance the influence of the organization in international affairs, Putin said.

Reiterating his congratulation on the success of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Russian president said the Belt and Road Initiative has won extensive support in the international community.

The two heads of state also exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and on the Korean Peninsula, as well as on other international and regional issues.
Tiffany Hsiung (left), writer and director of The Apology, talks with Grandma Cao at Cao's home last year. [Photo provided to China Daily]

After decades of living in silence and shame, so-called comfort women - who were sexually exploited by the Japanese military in World War II - have been given a face in a new documentary that gives firsthand accounts of their brutal experiences during a horrific chapter of history.

The film, The Apology, recounts the personal ordeals of three women - Grandma Gil in South Korea, Grandma Cao in China and Grandma Adela in the Philippines.

"For me it's important to give them a face, so they can share what they want to share and also teach us, the younger generation, about history, as well as what their lives were like after the war," said Tiffany Hsiung, who wrote and directed the film.

During the war, hundreds of thousands of women and girls were sexually enslaved by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in Asia-Pacific countries, mostly China and Korea. They were euphemistically called "comfort women".

These war crimes, however, were swept under the rug, and the survivors struggled on their own with the aftereffects of their harrowing experiences.

By showing intimate scenes of the now elderly women's daily routines and interactions with friends and loved ones, the film provides a glimpse into how they have managed to carry on despite the horrors they lived through.

Grandma Gil has been attending weekly demonstrations in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul for years. Despite her age and declining health, she remains a powerful voice in the movement demanding an official apology from the Japanese government.

Grandma Cao lives in a rural mountain village in China, where what befell hundreds of local girls after they were kidnapped by Japanese troops has long been a well-known secret among the old-timers of the area. It was only when a historian requested her testimony about her war experiences that Grandma Cao agreed to break decades of stoic silence and talk about her painful past.

Likewise, Grandma Adela hid the truth from her husband. Now widowed, she carries feelings of guilt for not sharing her secret with him.

She resolved to tell her children, but remains unsure whether unburdening herself after all these years will make up for withholding the truth from the love of her life.

"Time is running out. If we don't capture their stories, if we don't hear it from them, it will be too late," said Hsiung, who is of Chinese descent. She lives in Toronto, Canada.

She started documenting the lives of former comfort women in 2009. The film, which was released last year, has garnered several honors, including the Busan Cinephile Award at the Busan International Film Festival, the Audience Award at the 2016 Cork Film Festival and Film of the Year at the West Lake International Documentary Festival in China.

The Apology will be screened in San Francisco from June 8 to 11 and from there travel to New York and other cities in the United States.

Hsiung said the majority of US audiences don't really know much about the issue, but the reaction they get is what they had hoped for - deeply felt compassion.

"The film is for a universal audience. You don't have to be Asian to understand or feel connected to these women, the things that they continuously go through and how incredibly strong and resilient they are," she said.

The biggest message of the film is for people to understand the role that they all potentially play in the shame.

"I think we can all do a better job of listening to the survivors of sexual violence so that they can pass that on," she said. "We can all make that change. It's a small change, but I think it has a really big impact."
Oregon Coast Whale Watching: 6 to 20 Sightings a Day

Published 06/08/2017 at 6:03 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Depoe Bay, Oregon)  There isn't much that gets people more excited about visiting the Oregon coast than a good run of whale watching, and that's exactly what's happening right now. The official numbers on the central Oregon coast are an average of six to 20 whales spotted a day, in areas scattered all over that section. From Yachats up to Lincoln City (which includes Newport, Seal Rock, Waldport, Gleneden Beach and Depoe Bay), there have been lots of reports of gray whales wandering the region, and social media is filled with quite a few videos of whales spouting.

Luke Parsons, head of the Whale Watch Center in Depoe Bay, said it all started back during March's Whale Watch Week. The numbers were good then as the grays slowly swam their way up to feeding grounds closer to Alaska, and with a generally good run of weather conditions they seem to be sticking around.

We had a very busy and successful spring whale watch week, and it's just really kind'a continued on, Parsons said. We definitely have our summertime resident whales along the central Oregon coast, and we're seeing six to 20 a day, as long as the weather allows.

Parsons said plenty of reports have come in from all over Lincoln County. While those numbers of six to 20 sightings per day come from the Depoe Bay center, he said he's getting enough callers about whales in other areas that those numbers are likely steady up and down that geographic range.

They've been coming quite close to shore, according to many reports and videos. There have been numerous reports of them hanging out close to the Cape Perpetua Visitors Center near Yachats.





A good rule of thumb: if reports are this good from shore, you can bet the whale watch boat tours are riding high on even more whale encounters.

Last month we had a group of Bottlenose whales come through, and the Orcas were here for four or five days, he said. We're definitely gearing up for another good summer of whale watching.



The biggest factor is most often weather. If seas are rough and it's windy, the whale steer clear of near-shore activity. Large waves also create big gullies that makes the whales hard to see.

Every year, there are what officials call the resident whales along the central coast, attracted to this area because of lots of krill and mysid shrimp. They linger here, and often it's the same ones each year, sometimes year-round. But others come and go and are replaced by other cetacean loiterers.

These areas are full of this food source because of the thick kelp forests. Gray whales chomp on about 500 pounds to 2,000 pounds of the tiny creatures every day.

There are some special encounters that can leave witnesses breathless, however. Such as when the whales get real close. Often, this is because the mother whales are trying to keep their babies away from predators, such as Orcas. However, Parsons said gray whales can feel more comfortable in shallow water than Orcas or other whales, and that tends to chase the killer whales away.

Studies have shown these whales feel comfortable in as little as six feet of water, Parsons said.

Even more spectacular is when the grays are apparently quite curious about you. Sometimes a whale will do a maneuver called a spyhop, where they pop out of the water and then flop back in again, mostly to take a look around them. Parsons, along with many boat tour operators, believe this is when a real connection can happen.

There have been a few occasions when they spyhop in front of the visitor center, and I'm pretty sure they're staring right at us, he said. I do think they're curious. Especially the young ones. Oregon Coast Lodgings for this event - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours - More about Oregon Coast Whales.









Gray whale photos below courtesy Seaside Aquarium











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Three former senior executives who worked for Guo stand trial at the Xigang District People's Court in Dalian, June 9, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Former executives of a Chinese billionaire fugitive Guo Wengui pleaded guilty in court to fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign currency in Dalian, Liaoning province, on Friday.

Three ex-senior executives, Yang Ying, Xie Honglin and Lyu Tao, who worked for Guo, and the Beijing Pangu Investment Inc, one of Guos companies, confessed that they managed to get a loan of 3.2 billion yuan ($470 million) from the Agricultural Bank of China using fake official seals, contracts and invoices in 2010, and illegally gained foreign currency of $13.5 million in 2012.

The defendants said in court that Guo asked them to do so.

This is the first trial related to Guo, who fled abroad about three years ago and his whereabouts is unknown. The public hearing of the case began at 8:30 am at the Xigang District Peoples Court in Dalian on Friday. The verdict will be handed down at a later date.

Information, photos as well as videos of the trial were broadcast via the courts official account on Sina Weibo, Chinese Twitter-like platform.

In April, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a news briefing that the Interpol has issued a red-corner notice for the 50-year-old Guo.

Meanwhile, Beijing News reported that Guo took out a loan of 3.2 billion yuan from the Agricultural Bank of China using forged official seals, fake contracts and counterfeit invoices.
Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin has been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the next Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

According to a statement issued by the secretary-general's office, the appointment was made on Thursday in New York.

The statement said Liu "brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in the diplomatic service, with a strong focus on the promotion of bilateral, regional and global issues".

Liu succeeds Wu Hongbo, to whom Guterres expressed his appreciation for his commitment and dedicated service, the statement said.

Born in 1955, Liu gained a Master's in law and started his diplomatic career in 1982. He has valuable experience on issues regarding Asia, international treaties and laws, boundaries and oceans.

He previously served as director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Treaty and Law.

In 2006-2009, he served as deputy permanent representative and then ambassador of the Permanent Mission of China to the UN.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn
BEIJING -- Representatives of political parties, think tanks and non-governmental organizations from BRICS countries will discuss ways to cement cooperation at a forum, to be held from Saturday to Monday in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian province.

The forum aims to build consensus and boost stronger BRICS cooperation through in-depth exchanges, to offer proposals and create a sound environment for the Ninth BRICS Summit scheduled for September in Xiamen, Fujian province.

The forum will draw over 400 participants from BRICS and other developing countries. It is sponsored by the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
MACAO -- The Chinese mainland and Macao were negotiating on comprehensively upgrading Closer Economic Partnership Arrangements (CEPA), which is expected to complete at the end of this year, a senior official confirmed here at a recent symposium.

Wang Bingnan, assistant minister of commerce of China, made the announcement at the opening ceremony of International symposium on Belt and Road and Macao's development, starting on Thursday.

A meeting has been held between representatives from China's Ministry of Commerce and Economy and Finance of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government to negotiate on terms and contents of CEPA, especially those concerning guaranteeing investment, and deepening of economic and technical cooperation, according to a press release on Friday.

The sectors beneficial to Macao's industrial diversification were highlighted during the negociation, the press release said.

The mainland and Macao signed CEPA in 2003 to forge closer ties. In 2014 and 2015, two new agreements were signed respectively under the framework of CEPA between them to further liberalizing trade in services.
The official newspaper of the CPC Central Committee for Discipline Inspection has detailed how a corrupt official broke down after being taken away for questioning by inspectors.

Chen Quanbiao, the former head of the aquaculture, animal husbandry and veterinarian bureau of Beihai city in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, was dismissed from the Party and removed from his post for violation of discipline in October 2016.

The article revealed how Chen reacted when he realized he was under investigation.

During a meeting held by the city's discipline watchdog to warn the bureau's cadres on April 26, 2016, serious discipline violations committed by one of Chen's subordinates were announced. Chen apologized to the inspectors for failing to supervise his subordinate properly.

What came as a surprise was that discipline inspectors announced that Chen himself was also under investigation for serious violations of discipline.

The report described how the meeting room fell silent suddently and Chen's "eyes were full of terror, his face turning pale, and his body trembling".

Chen reportedly said: "I was totally caught off guard at the moment. I could not feel my soul with my mind going blank. I never thought I would end up like this, in front of my subordinates. The mental preparation I had made to fight the investigation broke down in a sudden."

The CCDI newspaper said that although the inspectors had confirmed Chen's offenses before taking action, they did not reveal their intention before the meeting. As a result, when they announced Chen was to be probed for discipline violation, he was caught by surprise and did not resist being taken away.

Honest Outlook, an anti-corruption themed magazine, quoted an anonymous discipline inspection official as saying that "corrupt officials tend to have low vigilance during meetings" and most of them would "cooperate" when taken away by enforcement officers to avoid embarrassment in front of other people.

Using "the element of surprise" is a tactic of discipline inspectors in the anti-corruption campaign. The approach gives no time for the suspected officials to respond and serves as a warning to other officials, the People's Daily said in an article in July 2014.

A similar case involved Wan Qingliang, the former Party chief of Guangzhou. Wan was taken away by discipline inspectors for investigation during a meeting of the provincial Party committee on June 27, 2014.

In another surprise, former deputy governor of Jiangxi province, Yao Mugen, was taken away by enforcement officials when attending a national meeting on water conservation on March 21, 2014.
Zhan Hongge, a collector of Shenyang, Liaoning province, has more than 200 gaokao test permits, including some issued during the period of the Republic of China (1912-1949), June 6, 2017. Zhan has opened up his collection in the hope the permits can be returned to their owners. [Photo/VCG]
Beijing has pledged to closely cooperate and fully support the development of Xiongan New Area and encourage people to move there as needed, officials said on Friday.

Liu Bozheng, deputy director of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development group, said the Xiongan New Area, south of Beijing, will be the central location for non-capital functions.

Therefore, Beijing will actively strengthen cooperation with Xiongan on construction and services, accelerating the relocation of industries that suit the new super economic zone.

"Beijing municipal government attaches high importance to the development of Xiongan New Area," he said. "Beijing will support whatever Xiongan's needs during its constructions and development."

He said Beijing will assist in the planning and policy cohesion in sectors such as infrastructure construction, transportation integration, public service sharing.

The capital will also support innovative companies to establish themselves in Xiongan.

China announced plans to establish Xiongan New Area in April this year as part of measures to integrate the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional development and cure "urban ills" such as traffic congestion and air pollution in the capital.

Located about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, Xiongan New Area will mainly cover the three existing counties of Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin in Hebei province.
A woman looks at a golden-colored sharing bike in Shanghai. [Photo by Shi Xiaofeng/chinadaily.com.cn]

In the fiercely competitive bike share market, a new player is hoping a bold color choice will help it stand out.

A bunch of sparkling gold bikes hit the streets in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Xi'an on Thursday, triggering interest online.

Unlike the orange, yellows and blues employed by the major players, the Beijing-based tech company Coolqi, founded in November, has sprayed the entire bike frame in shimmering gold.

Many bike users have commented that the color is so bright, especially when in the sun, that it may threaten traffic safety.

The company previously rolled out about 1 million green bikes across more than 50 cities on the Chinese mainland.

Some joked that new entrepreneurs joining the fierce battle will be running out of colors.

China's bike-sharing sector has experience rapid growth and expansion since early last year. The major players include Mobike represented by orange bikes, Ofo, which has yellow bikes and Xiaoming with blue bikes.
Polluting companies have been fined 420 million yuan ($61.8 million) in the first four months of this year, 1.7 times the amount of the same period last year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Thursday.

Environment bureaus around the country have taken tougher measures to punish violators, it said, adding that fines reached 145 million yuan in April, a 73 percent increase on the previous month.

More than 1,900 polluting companies were also shut down or ordered to suspend production in the first four months, a 317 percent increase on the same period of last year, the ministry said.

Administrative detentions of up to 15 days were also handed out in 1,955 cases, an increase of 201 percent year-on-year.

However, the ministry highlighted three cities  Zhangjiakou and Chengde, of Hebei province, and Liuzhou of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region  for not having any businesses that were fined for polluting or shut down in the first four months of the year.
President Xi Jinping joins leaders for a group photo on Friday at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana, Kazakhstan. They are, from left, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President Xi, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon, Kyrgyzstani President Almazbek Atambayev and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

SCO members urged to strengthen coordination in fighting terrorism

President Xi Jinping sent a strong voice of fighting terrorists and safeguarding regional peace during a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on Friday.

China calls for the SCO to strengthen regional counterterrorism institution building to enhance the capacity of member states in coordination and implementation in the security field, Xi said in a speech at the 17th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO.

"Without security, there will be no development to speak of. Recent acts of terrorism in this region show that the fight against the three forces remains a long and arduous task," Xi said.

The "three evil forces" are terrorism, separatism and extremism.

During the summit, the member states signed the SCO Convention on Combating Extremism. The leaders of the SCO members also issued a declaration to jointly fight international terrorism.

China proposes to hold a defense security forum and formulate a three-year program of cooperation to fight the "three forces", Xi said, adding that China is willing to host an SCO joint counterterrorism cyber exercise again.

India and Pakistan were officially accepted as member states at the summit, taking the number of SCO members from the previous six  China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan  to eight. The move made the SCO one of the biggest regional organizations, covering nearly half of the world's population.

"All member states, old and new, should work in close coordination, deepen mutual trust and increase mutual support in their endeavor to build a community of shared future featuring equality, mutual support, solidarity and sharing of weal and woe," Xi said.

The president announced the contribution of an additional 10 million yuan ($1.47 million) to the Secretariat of the SCO to facilitate its work.

Noting that "destabilizing factors and uncertainties are on the rise", Xi said that China is willing to work together with all parties to strengthen the sense of community of shared future, and "build a common home of security, stability, development and prosperity".

China is concerned with the recent deterioration of the security situation in Afghanistan, and it calls upon all parties to support the country's peace and reconciliation process, Xi said.

China will take over the rotating presidency of the SCO and host the next summit in June 2018.

Xi pledged that China will do its best to fulfill the task and work with all other parties for a brighter future of the SCO.

Sun Zhuangzhi, secretary-general of the SCO Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the SCO Convention on Combating Extremism that was signed during the summit will set a more legitimate basis for the SCO members' cooperation in fighting terrorism and extremism.

Additionally, he said, the acceptance of new SCO members will increase the organization's influence and openness, providing new forces to settle regional hot spot issues.
Jacqueline Hughes plays Elphaba in Wicked. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"I never dream of playing Elphaba as she is such an iconic character in the western musical. But when opportunity comes knocking, I will be ready," says Jacqueline Hughes, female lead of musical Wicked.

After 13 years' waiting, the award-winning Broadway musical, Wicked, finally comes to China and offers a feast for both eyes and ears in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou from April 11 to July 2 this year.

Wicked tells the story of two sorcery students who happen to share a room in a wizard school. Elphaba is helpful and quirky while Glinda is beautiful, yet ostentatious.

In the musical, they go on an incredible journey of love, friendship, misunderstanding and acceptance and became best friends in the end.

"From my perspective, the musical tries to encourage people to be different. Being different is always beset by ridicule, contempt and negativity in life, and many people cannot be true to their hearts. And being different also makes you unique," Hughes says.

Born in Scotland, Jacqueline Hughes graduated from the Guildford School of Acting with first class honours in 2007 and started her professional career as a musical performer.
Wang Yin (right) and UCCA director Philip Tinari at his solo exhibition last year. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Wang Yin was awarded Artist of the Year by the 10th Art Power 100 awards on June 3.

The 54-year-old Beijinger has been committed to oil painting for two decades.

His work explores the distance between individuals and other people.

Wang's acclaimed solo exhibition last year at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Wang Yin: The Gift, examined how Chinese and Western art have influenced each other.

Art Power 100 was launched in 2007 to recognize outstanding artists and institutions, and has become one of the country's top awards.

Shang Yang receives Special Contribution of the Year award. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Shang Yang was awarded Special Contribution of the Year. The 75-year-old Beijing resident is recognized as one of China's earliest contemporary artists. His works bridge East and West, and traditional and contemporary art.

Long Museum's space in Shanghai West Bund. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Shanghai's Long Museum, founded by collector couple Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei, and the Beijing Fine Art Academy's art museum shared the Art Museum of the Year award for exhibitions of classical Chinese and contemporary Western works last year.

Budi Tek (middle) at the opening of an exhibition of Alberto Giacometti at Yuz Museum last year. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese-Indonesian entrepreneur Budi Tek was honored as Collector of the Year. Tek founded Shanghai's Yuz Museum, showing artists featured in his collection and exhibitions of such Western artists as Andy Warhol and Alberto Giacometti.

Other winners include Beijing Minsheng Art Museum; ART021, an up-and-coming art fair in Shanghai; Beijing-based gallerist and dealer Wang Xinyou; and curator Zhu Xiaojun.

Gu Weijie, a publisher who initiated Art Power 100, says it will incorporate awards for design and folk handicrafts to connect with daily life and will enhance the awards' capacity as a launchpad for young artists.
Keeping the bright light glowing Updated: 2017-06-09 06:56 By Evelyn Yu(HK Edition)

Asset investment guru Chen Shuang's gamble has paid off. He tells Evelyn Yu the overseas unit of mainland conglomerate Everbright Group has now found itself synonymous with the trade.

Chen Shuang, chief executive of Hong Kong-based China Everbright Ltd (CEL) - the overseas arm of Chinese mainland conglomerate China Everbright Group - has had his company's unique features at his fingertips.

His strategy has been to get the company shifted to asset management, and the approach has been progressing well under his stewardship for the past decade as its business model evolved over the years, having started off with brokerage and investment banking.

CEL itself is a market-oriented State-owned company that knows China well and is a polished brand to both foreign and domestic investors. Chen has steered the diversified financial group, which came into being in 1997 on the periphery of the city's return to the motherland, into a flagship mainland-funded finance company that has been synonymous with direct investments, asset management, investment banking and brokerage services in China.

CEL is the subsidiary of State-owned conglomerate Everbright Group - a pioneer in the country's overseas investment program. Everbright Group's history could be traced back to the 1980s when the central government launched an ambitious overseas investment drive with the emergence of two major groups - CITIC Group established in 1979 by Rong Yiren, former vice-president of the People's Republic of China, and China Everbright Group which was founded in Hong Kong in 1983.

Chen notes that brokerage services have remained the major business of the mainland's securities houses and are prone to volatility in the stock market, while investment banking is not highly profitable, with foreign investment banks dominating the Hong Kong market.

The evolvement saw CEL's direct operating businesses - fund management and investment - shot up 509 percent year-on-year to HK$2.74 billion in 2016. But, due to a decline in returns for its two strategic investments - a 71-percent drop in profit share from Everbright Securities and 3 percent down from China Everbright Bank - CEL posted a 21-percent fall in profit attributable to shareholders of HK$4.07 billion compared with a year ago.

Strong appetite

Chen reveals that he has been trying to convince the group to sell off those two sectors, but no time frame has been set.

He sees opportunities abound in cross-boundary asset management.

"In 2008, China became the center of attention in the global economy as it was among the few countries that were mildly hit by the global financial crisis. The renminbi was on its upward track and the demand of foreign investors to invest in China surged. We saw the opportunity and touted the company as an expert in investments in China."

Today, despite the renminbi's depreciation, domestic investors' appetite for overseas investment is strong, and Chen sees cross-boundary asset management and investment as holding great promise.

CEL manages a portfolio of private equity funds, venture capital funds, sector focus funds, mezzanine funds, hedge funds and principal investment funds that invest in such fields as healthcare, manufacturing, aircraft leasing, real estate, technology, media, and telecommunications.

As of 2016, CEL had held 36 funds, 105 primary market post-investment management projects and 15 secondary market portfolios. The fund management business's total fundraising amount soared nearly 80 percent from 2015 to HK$87.5 billion.

Chen is confident that most of the invested projects have reached their expected rate of return, while some existing projects have been rewarded with excessive returns.

"In 2008, when we acquired the real estate private equity firm from Lehman Brothers, which is today's EBA Investments, it only cost us $850,000. Last year, we sold a 51-percent stake to Jiabao Group for 1.5 billion yuan ($220 million)," Chen tells China Daily.

He believes EBA's total returns would exceed 4 billion yuan in the event of a full exit.

Going with the trend

Chen's investment philosophy is to "ride on the momentum rather than against it", saying he's not a short-term investor seeking overnight riches, but is carefully looking for sectors and assets that blend with the trend of society.

"Many private enterprises think they should invest in banks in secondary markets. I wouldn't recommend that because banking is on the downturn. As the country furthers its structural reform, banks are digesting a high level of bad loans, thus dampening their profits. Recent years have seen banks aggressively expand their off-balance sheet assets for profit, but the financial deleveraging and downsizing of balance sheets only serve to pile pressure on them," he notes.

Some of his strategic investments, however, have been questioned in the first place. Last year, CEL completed the acquisition of a 100-percent stake in Tirana International Airport in Albania.

"People asked me why I bought an airport in Albania, which is one of the most undeveloped countries in Europe. The fact is that Tirana is the only international airport in Albania and the return has been high and stable over the years. Chinese investors are craving for high returns from overseas assets. I find it's very easy for me to complete the airport's asset securitization."

Looking ahead, aircraft leasing, investment in Israel and the issuance of dollar products in overseas markets will form just a fraction of Chen's ambitions.

In retrospect, like many Chinese-funded finance houses, Chen said CEL was a small firm that "didn't have the confidence to compete with foreign investment banks" when it set foot in Hong Kong in 1997.

As Hong Kong celebrates the 20th anniversary of the handover, Chen is glad to see many mainland finance firms going out and keeping pace with their overseas competitors. "We're growing by leaps and bounds."

Contact the writer at

evelyn@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 06/09/2017 page9)
A Film Cities Summit of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was hosted by the Qingdao government from June 6 to 8 to brainstorm ideas and cheer for Qingdao's application to be named a UNESCO City of Film.

More than 100 distinguished guests from the China Film Association, the China Film Group Corporation, CCTV Movie Channel, 1905 (Beijing) Network Technology Co, Qingdao West Coast Development Group Co, five UCCN film cities -- namely Bradford of Britain, Rome of Italy, Sydney of Australia, Santos of Brazil, and Bitola of Macedonia -- as well as China's Beijing and Shanghai, UCCN cities in design rather than film, took part in the event.

A Forum on Film and the Sustainable Development of Cities is held on June 6 at the 1907 Movie Club, the former Qingdao Seamen's Club. [Photo by Wang Yongsen/people.com.cn]

A Forum on Film and the Sustainable Development of Cities was held on June 6 to discuss issues related to the development of the global film industry, developments and trends in the Chinese film sector and the outlook of Qingdao's film and creative industry.

During the forum, all the film cities and the applicant city Qingdao jointly released the Qingdao Declaration of Film Cities, an initiative put forward in support of the goals set by the UCCN and to promote sustainable development of creative cities.

The Five Film Cities and the applicant city Qingdao jointly released the Qingdao Declaration of Film Cities on June 6 in Qingdao. [Photo by Zhou Guanghui/people.com.cn]

The UCCN was created in 2004 to promote cooperation between cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development. It currently consists of 116 members from 54 countries, covering seven creative fields: Crafts & Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Music and Media Arts.

The 116 cities work together towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.

To date eight Chinese cities have joined the UCCN: Shenzhen (2008), Shanghai (2010), and Beijing (2012) are in the catalogue of Design Cities; Hangzhou (2012), Suzhou (2014), and Jingdezhen (2014) are Cities of Crafts and Folk Art; Chengdu (2010) and Shunde (2014) are classed as Gastronomy Cities.

Eight cities so far have been named film cities: Bradford of the UK, Sydney of Australia, Busan of South Korea, Galway of Ireland, Sofia of Bulgaria, Bitola of Macedonia, Rome of Italy, and Santos of Brazil.
A graphic shaped in the outline of China, is seen through a magnifying glass on a computer screen showing binary digits in Singapore in this January 2, 2014 file photo illustration. [Photo/Agencies]

The much-anticipated cybersecurity law that came into force on June 1 reflects China's determination to secure its cyberspace and protect Chinese citizens against data theft. Some Western observers, however, are worried that the new law targets foreign enterprises by "restricting the cross-border flow of information", which could "give Chinese companies an unfair advantage".

Such worries are uncalled for, as the ultimate aim of the new law, as emphasized by the country's cyber security watchdog, is to safeguard China's cyberspace sovereignty and security.

Misinterpreting certain provisions of the law as "hampering trade" or compromising China's commitments to the World Trade Organization and sensationalizing the issue are not only unnecessary but also could be misleading.

Some Western multinational enterprises often overreact to China's lawful and justified enforcement of regulations because they have taken for granted the "super-national treatment" offered by most developing countries and the policy support by their home countries.

The truth is, cyber security is a precondition for national security, as President Xi Jinping has said. Xi has time and again emphasized the need to strike a balance between secure cyberspace and digital development, and ruled out the possibility of "shutting the door" to the internet for security concerns.

But some Western media outlets have made it a business to misread China's laws. A Financial Times report on May 31 even "warned" that China's cyber security law might make multinational companies "vulnerable to industrial espionage" and unfair competition. The provision requiring key information on infrastructure operators' data should be especially protected as it is closely linked with national security. And it is necessary to conduct a security review to ensure their data systems do not compromise China's national security. Besides, the ban on the misuse of users' personal data is in line with international practice.

China aspires to become a digitally advanced country, which should be seen as a great opportunity by overseas internet operators and service providers, especially those in the possession of desired technologies or businesses.

Also, since China has a long way to go to improve its cyberspace management, it could enlist the help of business pioneers at home and abroad. And foreign companies, like their domestic counterparts, can work with Chinese government to improve China's cyber governance.

The author is deputy director of the Cyberspace Governance Study Center at Fudan University.




China's Global Newspaper





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HARVARD UNIVERSITY has rescinded admission offers to at least 10 students because they posted extremely offensive memes in a private message group on Facebook. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

The students concerned made jokes about the Holocaust, sexual assault and child abuse, among other things. Harvard has said that it retains the right to withdraw admission if a student engages in behavior that brings into question his or her moral character.

This incident is a good example of the limits of freedom of speech.

Although the First Amendment of the US Constitution protects freedom of speech as a fundamental right of US citizens, it also draws lines that should not be crossed.

Today, all sensible governments seek to eliminate and prevent speech that is malicious or constitutes enticement to crimes, violence, genocide, racial discrimination, extremism and terrorism, so as to protect the interests of the public.

To exercise one's freedom of speech, one must remain within these boundaries.

Many would assume that posting such information through a private account, or spreading it in message groups on the social media platform does no harm to the public.

Yet there can be no double standard for online and offline actions in terms of freedom of speech.

In October, a Chinese student, who had studied in Canada for 15 months, was repatriated when he landed at an airport in Canada while entering the country, because the WeChat account on his smartphone was found to contain animated stickers depicting pornographic acts.

So, the handful Harvard incoming students, whose offers had been revoked, should feel grateful for the university's mercy.
OFFICIALS IN HUXIAN COUNTY OF XI'AN, Shaanxi province, reportedly hired locals to stalk visiting journalists, whose real-time whereabouts, possible destinations and even their license plates were instantly reported to the local "work groups" using the instant-messaging app WeChat. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Using online group chats to share "intelligence" about the journalists, who apparently had good reason to be present in the county, seems to have missed the point of efficient governance.

With the intelligence-sharing group chats dismissed and the hired snoops put under investigation, questions should be asked about the boundaries of public power. Spying on journalists is clearly not a part of a government's responsibilities.

Civil servants are obliged to provide quality public goods and services to citizens, while journalists also have the right to solicit public opinions on social governance and supervise local governments. In truth, they share the commitment to serve the people. Hence, government officials have no reason to see journalists as "troublemakers".

The Huxian officials deserve some credit for enlisting the help of WeChat to improve communication and work efficiency. But the idea of keeping the journalists under surveillance was not a good one as it was always likely to backfire and constituted a waste of resources.

The officials involved in organizing the watchful eyes have come under fire after their tricks were exposed online, putting into question their intentions and governing competence.

That aside, there is much room for improvement when it comes to e-governance. What the local governments should be doing is optimizing the interaction between citizens and officials and fixing the "zombie government-run websites" that have not updated their content for years, not using social media to avert public supervision.
A potential homebuyer checks out a property project in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Dec 17, 2016. [Asianewsphoto by Long Wei]

THE BEIJING COMMISSION OF HOUSING and Urban-Rural Development recently announced it will strengthen its efforts to curb the illegal activities that plague the capital's affordable housing programs. Beijing News comments:

Beijing is not alone in introducing such measures. Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, recently announced its decision to put 54 fresh college graduates on a social credit blacklist because they illegally rented their affordable housing apartments to others.

It is cheaper to rent an affordable housing unit compared with an ordinary apartment, as affordable housing apartments are meant for people on low incomes. Yet many apply for them and rent them to others as a way of making a profit.

In some cities, a whole profit chain has been formed, with realty agencies falsifying materials and unqualified individuals applying with the materials. It is such practices that have prompted Beijing and Xi'an to take actions.

Such illegal activities must be curbed, because they challenge the justice and fairness of society. When illegal profits are derived from affordable housing, those truly needing the support of government subsidized housing are deprived of their deserved chance.

However, the new measures introduced by Beijing and Xi'an, though praiseworthy, remain quite weak. For example, those who rent their affordable housing apartments to others in Beijing will be barred from applying again for 10 years. But the fact is many who rent out their affordable housing apartments do not need them, so rejecting their future applications won't do them any harm.

It is advisable to introduce more legal penalties for such illegal activities. Actually, these deeds are similar to fraud and they should be given legal punishments as such.

Those guilty of such illegal actions should, at the very least, be fined heavily for their actions.
Former Federal Bureau of Investigations Director James Comey departs after testifying before a closed session of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 8, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON - Former FBI Director James Comey accused US President Donald Trump on Thursday of firing him to try to undermine the agency's investigation of possible collusion by Trump's campaign with Russia's alleged efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election.

In the most eagerly anticipated US congressional hearing in years, Comey told lawmakers the Trump administration had lied and defamed him and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the president dismissed him on May 9.

During more than two hours of testimony, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee he believed Trump had directed him in February to drop an FBI probe into the Republican president's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, as part of the broader Russia investigation.

Comey would not say whether he thought the president sought to obstruct justice, but added it would be up to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is now investigating the Russia allegations, "to sort that out."

"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning," Comey testified.

Sitting alone at a small table facing a bank of senators who fired question after question, Comey gave short, deliberative answers. He painted a picture of an overbearing president he did not trust and who pressured him to stop the FBI probe of Flynn.

Trump critics say any efforts by the president to hinder an FBI probe could amount to obstruction of justice. Such an offense potentially could lead to Trump being impeached, although his fellow Republicans who control Congress have shown little appetite for such a move.

In a speech to supporters across town, Trump vowed to fight on. "We're under siege ... but we will come out bigger and better and stronger than ever," he said.

Comey did not make any major disclosures about any links between Trump or his associates and Russia, an issue that has dogged the president's first months in office and distracted from his policy goals such as overhauling the US healthcare system and making tax cuts.

Russia has denied such interference. The White House has denied any collusion with Moscow.

Nevertheless, the Russia matter likely will continue to overshadow Trump's presidency, especially as the FBI probe has ensnared not only Flynn but Trump's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has had to recuse himself from the investigation. Comey's testimony drew renewed attention to Sessions and his relationship with Russia's ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak.

After Trump fired Comey, the administration gave differing reasons for his dismissal. Trump later contradicted his own staff and acknowledged on May 11 he fired Comey because of the Russia matter.

Asked why he thought Trump fired him, Comey said he did not know for sure. He added: "Again, I take the president's words. I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him, and he decided to fire me because of that."

Comey said repeatedly there were details he could not discuss in a public session, making clear he had sensitive information he could disclose only in a closed session with the senators.
BEIJING - China on Friday expressed grave concern over the reported killing of two Chinese nationals kidnapped in Pakistan late last month.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in response to the reports. "We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days."

"The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities," she said.

"China is against any act of kidnapping of civilians and opposes terrorism and extreme violence in any form," Hua added. Islamic State has killed two Chinese teachers it kidnapped in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province last month, the militant group's Amaq news agency said on Thursday, Reuters reported at midnight on Friday.

The Reuters report quoted a Baluchistan government spokesman as saying that officials were in the process of confirming "whether the report was true".

A soldier stands guard near the site where two Chinese language teachers were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen, in Quetta, Pakistan, May 24, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Two Chinese language teachers, based in the Pakistani township of Jinnah, Quetta city, in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, were captured by gunmen pretending to be police on May 24, Pakistani newspaper The Dawn, reported two weeks ago.

The report said three Chinese citizens - two women and a man - were intercepted by three people in a white car while leaving a language center and forced them into the vehicle at gunpoint. One of the women narrowly escaped during the turmoil when the kidnappers fired warning shots into the air to scare passers-by and the other two, a couple, were taken away.

Islamic State, which controls some territory in neighboring Afghanistan, has struggled to establish a presence in Pakistan. But it has claimed several major attacks, including one on the deputy chairman of the Senate last month in Baluchistan, in which 25 people were killed.

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan's military published details of a three-day raid on an militant hideout in a cave not far from Quetta, saying it had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists" from a banned local Islamist group and prevented Islamic State from gaining a "foothold" in Baluchistan, said Reuters.

Reuters/The Dawn
File photo taken on April 18, 2017 shows British Prime Minister Theresa May speaking to media outside 10 Downing Street as she calls a snap general election in London, Britain. [Photo/Xinhua]

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May is on course to lose her overall majority in the British general election, according to an exit poll released as soon as voting finished Thursday night.

The poll, commissioned by Britain's main broadcasters, showed May's Conservatives would have 314 seats, losing 17 seats and the overall majority she had before the election. She needs to win at least 326 seats to claim an overall majority in the House of Commons.

May's main rivals, Labour, would have 266 seats, according to the exit poll, which gave the first clue about the likely outcome of the snap general election called just a few weeks ago by May.

The minority Liberal Democrats would gain six seats to reach 14, the Scottish Nationalists will lose a third of their seats, getting 34, and the Greens would hold on to their single seat in Westminster.

It will be early hours Friday before the result is confirmed, but similar exit polls carried out at the previous two general elections in Britain came very close to predicting the results correctly.

In the 2015 general election, which came after five years of a general election between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, few polls predicted a majority win for then prime minister David Cameron.

The poll predicted not only would Cameron win, but also that his coalition partners since 2010, the Liberal Democrats would be massacred.

The 2015 exit poll predicted nine seats for the Lib Dems, and in the event they ended up with eight, losing around 50 MPs.

Counting of millions of votes started soon after ballot boxes were delivered to counting stations, with the first declarations likely before midnight.

The vast majority of results will be declared between 2 am and 4 am local time, with May and her main rival, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, eagerly waiting to see which party, if any, crosses the 326-seat threshold. That is the number of seats needed to guarantee a majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Superior Court announced Thursday that Andrew Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of a Chinese graduate student at the University of Southern California (USC) in 2014.

24-year-old Ji Xinran was attacked during an attempted robbery on July 24, 2014 when he was walking to his apartment from a study session. He was found dead the next morning.

Medical reports indicate that Ji suffered skull fractures, facial lacerations and a broken nose. Andrew Garcia and three co-defendants were charged with first-degree murder, second-degree robbery, second-degree attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

After five days of jury trial, the Court had a closing statement on Wednesday, where prosecutor John McKinney presented evidence including footage from surveillance cameras, autopsy report, DNA report and interrogation recordings.

"All the evidence have proved that Garcia is not only an aider, he is the perpetrator," Cai Wenhui, Ji's family attorney told Xinhua on Wednesday.

After about two hours of discussion on Thursday, the jury group of 12 made a decision that 21-year-old Garcia is guilty. He will face up to life in prison without parole. Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.
TOKYO -- Japan's parliament enacted on Friday a law to allow Japan's Emperor Akihito to step down and pass his duties over to Crown Prince Naruhito.

The law, designed specially for the current emperor, would allow Emperor Akihito to be the first Japanese emperor that has relinquished the throne in around 200 years.

The timing of the abdication, according to the law, will be decided under a government ordinance within three years of the law's promulgation after consulting with the Imperial House Council.

Local media reported that the government eyes allowing the emperor to abdicate in December 2018, with the emperor's 85th birthday in mind.

The government is also set to speed up its efforts to pick a name for the new era once Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum throne, said the reports.

Japanese Emperor Akihito indicated his wish to relinquish and hand over the throne to the crown prince in a rare video message last August, citing his age.

A six-member government panel was set up last September to hear opinions of experts on the constitution and other fields and to hold discussions on necessary legal changes to enable the emperor to abdicate and on the status of and treatment given to the retired emperor.

One of the major disputed points had been whether to create a permanent abdication system for every emperor, or just a mechanism to enable only the current emperor to abdicate.

With the enactment of the new law, debate is expected to ensue in parliament regarding the recognition of the branches of female members of the imperial family who marry commoners.

A committee of the upper house of Japan's parliament on Wednesday adopted a special resolution which was attached to the abdication law, and though not binding, said that the government will "consider various issues to secure stable imperial succession, including creating female branches."
The 2017 NASA Astronaut Class are photographed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The group includes doctors, scientists, engineers, pilots and military officers.Via Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - NASA chose 12 new astronauts on Wednesday from its biggest pool of applicants ever, hand-picking seven men and five women who could one day fly aboard the nation's next generation of spacecraft.

The astronaut class of 2017 includes doctors, scientists, engineers, pilots and military officers from Anchorage to Miami and points in between.

They've worked in submarines, emergency rooms, university lecture halls, jet cockpits and battleships. They range in age from 29 to 42, and they typically have led the pack.

"It makes me personally feel very inadequate when you read what these folks have done," said NASA's acting administrator, Robert Lightfoot.

US Vice-President Mike Pence welcomed the group during a televised ceremony at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and praised their "excellence" and "courage". He also offered President Donald Trump's congratulations.

More than 18,300 people threw their hats into the space ring during a brief application period about 18 months ago. That's more than double the previous record of 8,000 set in 1978, when the space shuttles were close to launching.

The 12 selected on Wednesday will join 44 astronauts already in the NASA corps.

Hitching rides

United States astronauts have not launched from home soil since 2011, when the space shuttles were retired, thus the low head count. US astronauts have been hitching rides aboard Russian spacecraft in the meantime, but that could change next year.

After two years of training, the newbies may end up riding commercial rockets to the International Space Station or flying beyond the moon in NASA's Orion spacecraft. Their ultimate destination could be Mars.

SpaceX and Boeing are building capsules capable of carrying astronauts to the space station and back as soon as next year. A launch engineer and senior manager for SpaceX, Robb Kulin, is among the new astronauts. He's also worked as an ice driller in Antarctica and a commercial fisherman in Alaska.

"Hopefully, one day, I actually fly on a vehicle that ... I got to design," Kulin said.

Kulin and his classmates may be in for a long wait. Some members of the class of 2009 have yet to launch.

This is NASA's 22nd group of astronauts. The first group, the original Mercury 7 astronauts, was chosen in 1959.

Altogether, 350 US citizens have been selected to become astronauts. Requirements include US citizenship; degrees in science, technology, engineering or math; and at least three years of experience or 1,000 hours of piloting jets.

Xinhua - Ap
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (left) and National Intelligence Director Dan Coats talk on Capitol Hill in Washington during a hearing.Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press

Legal experts: Testimony could strengthen impeachment case

WASHINGTON - Former FBI director James Comey said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump asked him to drop an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of a probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the presidential election last year.

In written testimony released the day before he appears before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said Trump told him at a meeting in the White House in February: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."

The testimony puts more pressure on Trump, a Republican, whose presidency has been overshadowed by allegations that Moscow helped him win the election. Trump and the Kremlin have separately denied any collusion.

Some legal experts said Comey's testimony could strengthen any impeachment case built on obstruction of justice, but US markets shrugged off the news from the testimony for lack of any major disclosures.

To build a criminal obstruction of justice case, federal law requires prosecutors to show that a person acted with "corrupt" intent. It does not matter whether the person succeeds in impeding an investigation.

While a sitting president is very unlikely to face criminal prosecution, obstruction of justice could form the basis for impeachment.

Comey said he had told Trump on three occasions he was not being investigated, confirming an earlier account from the president.

Trump, who spent part of Wednesday in Ohio talking about the need to fix the nation's crumbling infrastructure, ignored reporters' shouted questions about Comey. On returning to the Oval Office, Trump went into a meeting with top advisers, including chief of staff Reince Priebus.

Later, his outside counsel released a statement saying Trump felt "completely and totally vindicated" by Comey's account. "The president is pleased that Mr Comey has finally publicly confirmed his private reports that the president was not under investigation in any Russian probe," Marc Kasowitz, Trump's attorney, said in a statement.

Several congressional committees, as well as the FBI and a special counsel, are investigating whether Russia tried to tilt November's election in Trump's favor.

Trump abruptly fired Comey, who was leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe, on May 9.

Comey painted a vivid picture for senators of awkward encounters with Trump in seven pages of testimony.

Comey described a private dinner in the Green Room of the White House on Jan 26, where Trump asked him whether he wanted to stay on as FBI director, telling him: "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty."

"I didn't move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence," Comey said in his testimony, explaining he became concerned that Trump was trying to create "some sort of patronage relationship".

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump announced that he planned to nominate Christopher Wray, a former Justice Department official, as Comey's successor.

Reuters - Ap
YANGON, Myanmar - Bodies and aircraft debris were found in the sea off the southern coast of Myanmar on Thursday by ships searching for a military plane that went missing with 122 soldiers, family members and crew on board.

Twenty-nine bodies of adults and children were found about 35 kilometers off the southern coastal town of Launglon by navy and civilian ships, said a military officer involved in the recovery operation.

The search by nine navy ships, five military planes and two helicopters, would continue with help from civilian boats, the military said.

China expressed deep sympathy and condolences to the tragedy, and is willing to provide necessary assistance if required, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday.

"China is willing to provide necessary assistance, according to the requirements of the Myanmar government," she said.

The Y-8F-200W transport plane, vanished on Wednesday after taking off from the coastal town of Myeik on a weekly flight to the country's largest city, Yangon.

The multipurpose aircraft lost contact 29 minutes after takeoff while flying at 5,500 meters over the Andaman Sea, about 70 km west of the town of Dawei, the Myanmar military said.

The maker of the transport plane, China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation, said in a statement that it will fully assist Myanmar in the investigation.

Searchers also found an aircraft wheel and two life jackets on Thursday. Some bags with clothes - believed to be from the missing plane - were found earlier.

Some patches of oil were spotted 30 km from Dawei, the military said.

More than 40 ambulances and scores of medics and emergency staff were heading to the fishing town of Sanlan where boats carrying bodies were set to arrive around midday, said Hla Thein, a member of a hospital emergency team.

The plane was carrying 108 soldiers and their family members as well as a crew of 14. The military said the 108 passengers included 15 children, 58 adults and 35 soldiers.

It is the rainy season in Myanmar but a civil aviation official said the weather had been "normal" with good visibility when the plane took off.

The aircraft was bought in March last year and had a total of 809 flying hours. It was carrying 2.4 tons of supplies, the military said.

Aircraft accidents are not uncommon in Myanmar.

A military helicopter crashed last June in central Myanmar, killing three military personnel on board. Five military personnel were killed in February last year when an air force aircraft crashed in the capital, Naypyitaw, media reported.

China Daily - Reuters - Xinhua - Ap
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May waits for the result of the vote in her constituency at the count centre for the general election in Maidenhead, June 9, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON -- Britain will have a hung parliament, with no party winning majority in the snap general election, according to official results announced Friday morning.

With more than 631 of the 650 results declared, the Conservatives got 306 seats against 258 seats for main rival Labour. No party has won 326 seats required for becoming a majority party.

Early morning editions of the London daily newspapers headlined Friday that prime minister Theresa May's gamble in calling a snap general election had backfired.

Former government minister Anna Soubry in an interview around 5 am local time said May must consider her position following the results in the election.

May appeared defiant, insisting that the country needs stability and the Conservatives will deliver that stability.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, commenting after being re-elected in the London Islington North constituency, said it was time for May to go and make way for a government that would be "truly representative of the people of this country".

Corbyn said: "The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate, but she has lost seats, lost votes and lost confidence and that is enough for her to go."

The London Times headline read "May's election nightmare", while the Daily Mail's headline was "Gamble That Backfired" with a sub-heading stating "Corbyn surge puts Britain on a knife edge" and another saying "Fears of Brexit chaos".

Just 24 hours earlier most of the London newspapers had urged readers to back Theresa May and her government.

The Conservative Party is predicted by BBC and Sky News to finish the election with between 315 and 321 seats, and with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) making gains in Northern Ireland, May could, with their support, form a government.

The DUP made two gains, taking their total to ten, with counting continuing in other constituencies. Their support will be seen as crucial to keep the Conservatives in power.

Labour were predicted to suffer a landslide of losses, but with almost 100 results still awaited, Labour had made so far 28 gains and the Conservatives had lost 11 seats.

Under election convention the party with the highest number of members of parliament would have the first opportunity of forming a government.

Despite that Emily Thornberry, Labour's shadow foreign secretary said Corbyn could end up as prime minister under a Labour-led progressive alliance.

Political commentators are already posing the question of whether the expected result will make it impossible for Theresa May to continue as prime minister.

May started the campaign with a majority of 17, with expectations of seeing it rise in the election.
Doha has held talks with Turkey, Iran to secure food and water supplies

BERLIN - German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel criticized the decision by several Arab countries to sever relations with Qatar and US President Donald Trump's involvement in the crisis, German media reported.

"Apparently, Qatar is to be isolated more or less completely and hit existentially," the DPA news agency reported on Wednesday, quoting an interview Gabriel did with the Handelsblatt daily.

"Such a 'Trumpification' of relations in a region already susceptible to crises is particularly dangerous," he said.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates severed ties with Qatar on Monday. Yemen, Libya and the Maldives followed suit.

Qatar has been accused of supporting extremism and destabilizing the region, but it rejected such accusations as "unjustified" and "baseless".

Trump tweeted on Tuesday that "during my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"

In a call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Wednesday, he offered to personally broker a resolution to resolve the crisis. "The president offered to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House if necessary," a White House statement said.

Gabriel met with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Tuesday and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on Wednesday in Berlin, trying to find a solution to the diplomatic crisis.

But Jubeir said that Gulf states could resolve the row with Qatar among themselves without outside help.

"We have not asked for mediation, we believe this issue can be dealt with among the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council," he said.

Jubeir declined to confirm a list of 10 demands published by Al Jazeera, which included shutting down the Doha-based news channel, but added that Qatar knew what it needed to do to restore normal relations.

Efforts to defuse the worst crisis among Gulf Arab countries for two decades showed no immediate progress.

The UAE threatened anyone publishing expressions of sympathy toward Doha with up to 15 years in prison and barred entry to Qataris.

The sudden isolation has spurred Qatar to hold talks with Turkey, Iran and others to secure food and water supplies, a Qatari official said. He said there were enough grain supplies for four weeks and Qatar also had large strategic food reserves

Trump's defense secretary, James Mattis, spoke to his Qatari counterpart to express commitment to the Gulf region's security. Qatar hosts 8,000 US military personnel at al-Udeid, the largest US air base in the Middle East and a launchpad for US-led strikes on Islamic State extremists.

Xinhua - Reuters - Ap
TOKYO - A Korean Air plane made an emergency landing on Friday at Fukuoka airport, in southwestern Japan, after smoke filled the cockpit, according to the airport's operator.

The Boeing 737 which originated from Busan in the Republic of Korea made the landing at around 10:20 am local time.

The operator reported that there were no injuries to any of the 153 passengers or nine crew members as a result of the smoke or the landing.

Fire engines standing by were not needed to discharge water or foam on the aircraft.

The incident caused some delays to arrivals at the airport.
The Montana State University Library will create an Ivan Doig archive exhibit for the 2017 Big Sky Country State Fair in Bozeman, July 19-23 at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds.

Ivan Doig: Voices and Vistas will be an interactive learning experience that encourages the exploration of the celebrated Montana authors work, according to Jan Zauha, outreach librarian at the MSU Library.

Zauha said the exhibit will highlight the intertwined nature of reading, writing, research and lived experience by using components of the Ivan Doig Archive, which is housed physically at the MSU Librarys Special Collections and online at http://ivandoig.montana.edu.

Doig, the son of a ranch foreman and sheep herder, was a third-generation Montanan born in White Sulphur Springs. Doigs first memoir, This House of Sky, is a reminiscence about his childhood in Montana. Though Doig eventually left Montana, he continued to use the people and landscapes of Montana as the backdrop for many of his books

The library is collaborating with Mike Everts, a professor in the MSU School of Architecture, and MSU architecture students to conceptualize the exhibit. Additional students will work together with library staff to build certain aspects of the exhibit.

In addition, Paul Lachapelle, associate professor in the Department of Political Science and an MSU Extension community development specialist, will be on-site to record interviews from individuals who wish to share stories about their life, community or impressions and thoughts on Doigs work. The interviews are part of the Montana Community Story Project, a collaborative effort between MSU Extension, MSU Library and StoryCorps, an organization that collects personal narratives from ordinary people, in order to preserve and share humanitys stories, according to its website, https://storycorps.org/about/.

The projects goal is to educate citizens on the importance of documenting and preserving, archiving stories about the people and places that make their communities so special, said Lachapelle, who is coordinating the project. A secondary goal is to train community residents how to conduct interviews, record stories, preserve digital archives and create content to share online.

Lachapelle hopes to collect stories from communities across Montana and place them in a permanent archive, both at the MSU Library and at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the Yellowstone Writing Project, housed in the MSU Department of English, is partnering with MSU Library to host a writing competition that is open to all writers. Voices and Vistas will highlight the winners of the writing competition, and the Yellowstone Writing Project will coordinate activities for all ages throughout the fair.

The prompt for the competition is tell us your Montana story. All poetry submissions should have a maximum of 300 words. Prose, which may include short fiction or personal narrative/memoir, should have a maximum of 1,500 words. No more than two original photos may be submitted with or as part of an individual submission.

Zauha said Doigs books and other Montana-related titles will be available for purchase at the exhibit. The Bozeman Public Library will partner with the MSU Library during the exhibit to provide content and programs promoting reading, Montana-related literature and exploration of the new BPL bookmobile.

Tickets for the fair are $10 for adults, $5 for youth ages 6-12 and $6 for seniors ages 62 and over. Children 5 and under are free. The fair will run from noon to 10 p.m. each day. The exhibit will be open during fair hours and is included in the general entrance fee.

For more information about the exhibit, call Zauha at 406-994-6554 or jzauha@montana.edu.
WASHINGTON - US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill to replace the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act established after the 2008 financial crisis to prevent another meltdown.

The House passed the Financial Choice Act along party lines by a vote of 233 to 186. The bill isn't expected to receive sufficient support in the Senate in its current form since Democrats have universally opposed it.

The bill would allow banks with a simple leverage ratio of 10 percent or higher to be exempted from a number of regulatory requirements, including Dodd-Frank's heightened standards for larger lenders.

It would restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, repeal the Volcker rule that restricts banks from speculative trading, and remove the so-called orderly liquidation authority, which provides regulators with a process for winding down large financial institutions in distress.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would reduce federal deficits by $24.1 billion over the 2017-2027 period.

"Of all the regulations that were imposed on our economy in the Obama era, Dodd-Frank was the worst. In the House, we just threw it off," said Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and the lead author of the bill.

Republican lawmakers considered the bill as a job creator, because they believe the numerous requirements in Dodd-Frank Act have restrained the lending ability of banks, community banks in particular, which hurt small businesses.

However, Democrats said the bill would bring about an economic catastrophe by eliminating vital regulations on the financial system.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May waits for the result of the vote in her constituency at the count centre for the general election in Maidenhead, June 9, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Prime Minister Theresa May plans to seek the permission of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government even though her Conservative Party lost its majority in the House of Commons.

Downing Street says she plans to meet the queen at 12:30 p.m. local time.

The UK faced renewed uncertainty as the Conservatives lost their majority in the parliament, leaving them unable to form a government on their own.

The Conservatives were in coalition discussions with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party on Friday. The DUP have ten MPs.

The value of the pound fell against the dollar and euro, as currency traders reacted to the instability of a hung parliament. The first round of Brexit negotiations, due to start on June 19, may be postponed.

Although the Conservatives are still the largest party, Prime Minister Theresa May's position was not clear.

The Conservatives won 42 percent of the vote and Labour 40 percent. Both gained from the demise of the UK Independence Party, which went from 12.6 percent in 2015 to 2 percent.

Voter turnout was up 2 percent on 2015 at 68 percent. An increased turnout of young voters may also have lifted Labour.

May called the election to increase the Conservatives' majority in Parliament, strengthen the UK's position in Brexit negotiations and to ask for a personal mandate for her prime ministership but the electorate has rebuffed her.

May was shaken despite winning her own seat of Maidenhead. Speaking at the count, May said: "If the Conservative party has won the most seats and most votes then it will be incumbent that we will have that period of stability and that is what we will do." But many Conservatives thought that May's position was untenable and that she should resign. Conservative MP Anna Soubry told the BBC that May should consider her position. "It is bad. She is in a very difficult place  It was a dreadful night. I've lost some excellent and remarkable friends. This is a very bad moment for the Conservative party and we need to take stock and our leader needs to take stock."

May took the decision to call an election in the hope that the country would endorse her leadership before negotiations begin with the European Union on Brexit. May also put herself at the centre of the campaign, rather than the party, which makes the failure to gain a majority more personal.

The Labour Party did much better than expected. Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader won his seat in north London. He said that the UK had rejected austerity politics. "Politics has changed. Politics isn't going back into the box where it was before. What's happened is people have said they've had quite enough of austerity politics."

He also called for May to resign. "She wanted a mandate. Well, the mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that is enough for her to go."

The Conservatives needed 326 seats to get a majority but with four seats to declare they had 315, Labour 261, the Scottish National Party, 35, Liberal Democrats 12 and the Democratic Unionist Party 10.

In Scotland, the Conservative Party fared far better than they had in decades. They ousted Angus Robertson, the SNP's leader in Westminster in his Moray constituency. The SNP's former leader Alex Salmond also lost to the Conservatives in Banff and Buchan. The SNP lost 21 seats to the Liberal Democrats and Labour as well as the Conservatives.

A major issue in Scotland was the prospect of a second independence vote, which voters seem to have rejected.

Northern Ireland became a two-party state with Sinn Fein rising from 4 to 7 seats and the DUP gaining 10. Sinn Fein MPs do not take their seats in Westminster because they refuse to to take the oath of loyalty to the Queen.

AP contributed to this story.
Judges from China and ASEAN members reached an agreement on Thursday to strengthen continuous judicial communication and cooperation in order to guarantee social security and economic prosperity in the region.

With the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, exchanges between China and ASEAN have expanded in multiple areas. However, business disputes and cross-border crimes, such as drug trafficking and smuggling, continue to increase, Zhou Qiang, president of China's Supreme People's Court, said at the opening ceremony of the China-ASEAN Justice Forum.

More than 100 judicial officers attended the forum, held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, including presidents and chief judges from Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. South Asian nations such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan were also invited.

Kanagasabapathy Sripavan, Sri Lanka's chief justice, said: "It's my first time to attend the forum. We were specially invited this year because Sri Lanka is an important partner along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The forum offers us a good chance to learn about China's judicial achievements in recent years."

Veerapol Tungsuwan, president of Thailand's Supreme Court, said: "The judicial exchange between China and Thailand has enjoyed 26 years of history since 1991. I am glad to see more and more countries involved in the forum and sharing their judicial reform experiences, which will no doubt deepen mutual understanding and accelerate regional prosperity. "

The forum was previously held in 2014, focusing on judicial reform, the training of judges and dispute resolution.

zhangli@chinadaily.com.cn
About five years ago, businesswoman Sara Jane Ho established China's first high-end finishing school, hoping to bring international etiquette and protocol training to the Chinese elite.

Now the Harvard Business School graduate expands her etiquette business to a broader scale.

A platform named Casa Fengchao will be unveiled next week, offering various services to help Chinese elite succeed in their business and personal lives in China and abroad.

Casa Fengchao is located in the former residence of Ronglu in Beijing, a Manchu political and military leader of the late Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and grandfather to Puyi, Chinas last emperor. Built in 1875, the two-storey French style mansion is also where Rong greeted foreign envoys. "This clubhouse has served as a platform for dialogue between China and overseas since a long time ago, and Casa Fengchao will continue that mission," Ho said.

Casa Fengchao will offer various services to its Chinese and Western members across three categories: transcending borders, health and wellness, and building legacy.

"The clubhouse is also a space to exhibit culture and arts," she said. "We have an impressive line-up of industry leaders both in China and overseas to speak to our members."

Ho said that Casa Fengchao would be a place where different cultures would be appreciated and different minds and ideas from China and overseas would make collision sparks.

For example, although the building is in a French style, its furniture is a mix of Chinese and French antiques, giving members a taste of both Chinese and European culture.

"A century ago, our clubhouse, Rong Lu Residence, hosted guests from all over the world. Today, we are continuing its legacy into the 21st century," said Ho.
British voters have added further confusion to the uncertainty confronting the UK's international partners, who have spent the past year trying to work out the consequences of the same electorate's decision to quit the European Union.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street to travel to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen's permission to form a minority government, in London, June 9, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

In a snap election called by Prime Minister Theresa May to endorse her mandate for a "strong and stable" stance in negotiations on Britain's withdrawal from the 28-member EU, voters denied her ruling Conservative Party an overall majority in the British Parliament. The Conservatives won 42 percent of the vote to Labour's 40 percent.

What now looks like an ill-advised gamble to increase her parliamentary majority - the snap election was called on her initiative - leaves May in office but seriously weakened. After meeting the Queen on Friday, May said she would form a government that would work with the Democratic Unionist Party and its ten MPs. The prime minister has barely a week before she is due to embark on talks on the terms of Britain's EU withdrawal.

May fought the election on a "Brexit" agenda, promising to take a tough line on maintaining Britain's rights in future relations with its European neighbors. Her Brexit promises, criticized for being thin on detail, were twinned with a pledge to tighten Britain's trade relationship with non-European partners such as China, India and the US.

In the event, the election result appears to have been driven more by domestic issues - taxation, welfare and pensions - than it was by the Brexit issue.

Promises by the main opposition Labour Party to boost public spending, tax corporations and renationalize some sectors of the privatized economy appear to have boosted its support among people who had voted both for and against EU membership in last year's referendum.

Jeremy Corbyn, a left-wing Labour leader who had looked unelectable as prime minister a year ago, delivered one of the party's best ever results in a general election in terms of the percentage vote.

Corbyn remains in opposition despite Labour gains in Thursday's poll but his party may be able to count on tactical support from Liberal Democrats, Scottish Nationalists and others to constrain the weakened Conservative government.

All of the Liberal parliamentarians, many from the Labour Party, and a substantial wing of the Conservative Party campaigned against withdrawal from the EU last year, although a majority of MPs subsequently gave the formal go-ahead for Britain's departure.

The result will almost certainly not reverse the consequences of last year's referendum but it may temper May's threat of a "hard Brexit" if Britain fails to reach a satisfactory deal with the EU.

A year on, the UK's trading partners are still assessing the impact of the referendum on its relations with the world's sixth largest economy.

Harvey Morris is a senior media consultant for China Daily: contact him on harvey.morris@gmail.com
BEIJING - A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday that China would continue to use various channels to gain and verify information about the reported killing of two Chinese nationals kidnapped in Pakistan last month.

According to spokesperson Hua Chunying, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan had launched immediate emergency procedures and cooperated with the Pakistani side to rescue the two nationals.

However, Hua said the Pakistani side had provided China information that the two Chinese nationals were probably dead.

Stressing that China opposes terrorism in any form, Hua said China will continue to support Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism and safeguard national stability.

"China will cooperate more with the international community, including Pakistan, to fight terrorism and maintain global and regional peace," Hua said.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street next to her husband Philip after traveling to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen's permission to form a minority government, in London, June 9, 2017. [Photo by Lei Xiaoxun/chinadaily.com.cn]

LONDON - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday she would form a new government to provide certainty and lead Britain in talks with the European Union to secure a successful Brexit deal.

On the doorstep of her official Downing Street residence, May said she could rely in parliament on the support of her "friends" in Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party after her governing Conservatives failed to win a majority.

"We will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular," she said.

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."

Reuters
LONDON  Spectacularly punished by voters who took away her majority in Parliament, a politically wounded but defiant Theresa May soldiered on Friday as Britain's prime minister, resisting pressure to resign after the failure of a high-stakes election gamble that made the massive challenge of untangling Britain from the European Union only more complex and uncertain.

Britain's Primer Minister Theresa May poses with her husband at Downing Street in London, Britain June 9, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Having called an early election in hopes of getting an increased majority that could have strengthened her hand in Britain's exit talks with the EU, May instead saw her majority evaporate completely  leaving her fortunes hanging by a thread and dark clouds over the Brexit negotiations just 10 days before they are due to start.She insisted that she would stick to the Brexit timetable. But she was forced into an alliance with a small party in Northern Ireland just to stay in power. Grim-faced, May said her Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist Party would together form a new government "that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time.""This government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks ... and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union," she said after seeking Queen Elizabeth II's approval for the new, hastily cobbled-together arrangement.May's snap election call was the second time that a Conservative gamble on the issue of Britain's relations with Europe backfired. Her predecessor, David Cameron, first asked British voters to decide in 2016 whether to leave the EU or stay in, triggering the divorce that will leave the bloc with 27 members when Britain leaves in 2019.Cameron, gambling that Britons wouldn't want to sever their network of ties with the continent, had promised the Brexit referendum during a 2015 election campaign that gave Conservatives a surprise Parliamentary majority. When voters stunned him and Europe by voting to leave, he resigned, leaving May to deal with the mess.Perplexed EU leaders, unexpectedly faced with the prospect of dealing with now-shaky British leadership, sought Friday to make sense of the drama, but also made clear that while Britain might be accorded time to regroup, it should not expect an extension of the two-year deadline for the Brexit talks to end.Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier tweeted that "negotiations should start when U.K. is ready." But EU Council President Donald Tusk said: "We know when they must end." Mostly, the EU mood was one of frustration that the already tough Brexit talks were likely to become only more difficult.The election shock is "yet another own goal" that will make "already complex negotiations even more complicated," said the European Parliament's top Brexit official, Guy Verhofstadt.With 649 of 650 seats in the House of Commons declared, May's bruised Conservatives had 318  short of the 326 they needed for an outright majority and well down from the 330 seats they had before May's roll of the electoral dice.Rather than resign, May quickly grabbed the lifeline of an alliance with the DUP, which won 10 seats. But even that arrangement seemed shaky. Before May went through the largely symbolic process of seeking the queen's approval for the new government, DUP leader Arlene Foster had told British media that it would be "difficult for (May) to survive" and that "it is too soon to talk about what we're going to do."In May's camp, recriminations were immediate and stinging."This is a very bad moment for the Conservative Party, and we need to take stock," Conservative lawmaker Anna Soubry said. "Our leader needs to take stock as well."The biggest winner was Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Labour's increase in seats from 229 to 261  with one seat still undecided  confounded expectations that his left-wing views made him electorally toxic.In a buoyant mood, Corbyn piled on pressure for May to resign, saying Friday morning that people have had enough of austerity politics and cuts in public spending. He ruled out the potential for deals or pacts with other progressive parties in Parliament."The arguments the Conservative Party put forward in this election have lost, and we need to change."Initially blind-sided by May's snap election call, and written off by many pollsters, Labour surged in the final weeks of the campaign. It drew strong support from young people, who appeared to have turned out to vote in bigger-than-expected numbers.The fast-moving events both flummoxed and fascinated voters."It's a bit of a mess," Peter Morgan, 35, said in London. "I was kind of hoping it would just go the way that the polls suggested it would and we could have a quiet life in Westminster but now it's going to be a bit of a mess."Many predicted May would soon be gone. Steven Fielding, a professor of politics at the University of Nottingham, called her "a zombie prime minister.""Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government, then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative Party leader," former Conservative Treasury chief George Osborne said on ITV.May wasn't the only big loser.In a blow to its hopes for another referendum on whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom, the pro-independence Scottish National Party lost about 21 of its 54 seats. Its casualties included Alex Salmond, one of the party's highest-profile lawmakers.Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the idea of a new independence referendum "is dead."European leaders grappled with the question: what next? French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the election shock didn't necessarily mean that Britons have changed their minds about leaving but also predicted that "the tone" of negotiations may be affected."These are discussions that will be long and that will be complex. So let's not kid ourselves," he said on Europe 1 radio.EU budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger said the EU is prepared to stick to the timetable that calls for negotiations to start in mid-June, but also said: "Without a government, there's no negotiation."May, who went into the election with a reputation for quiet competence, was criticized for a lackluster campaigning style and for a plan to force elderly people to pay more for their care, a proposal her opponents dubbed the "dementia tax." As the polls suggested a tightening race, pollsters spoke less often of a landslide and raised the possibility that May's majority would be eroded.Then, attacks in Manchester and London that killed a total of 30 people brought the campaign to a halt  twice, sent a wave of anxiety through Britain and forced May to defend the government's record on fighting terrorism. Corbyn accused the Conservatives of undermining Britain's security by cutting the number of police on the streets.Eight people were killed near London Bridge on Saturday when three men drove a van into pedestrians and then stabbed revelers in an area filled with bars and restaurants. Two weeks earlier, a suicide bomber killed 22 people as they were leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

Reuters
Two Chinese nationals abducted in Pakistan last month are probably dead, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Friday, vowing to continue to use various channels to gain and verify information.

"According to the latest information provided by Pakistan, the two kidnapped Chinese citizens have probably been killed," Hua told a daily news briefing. She added that China is gravely concerned about the case.

She said the two people were not a couple, as previously reported, and they come from different Chinese provinces, but details were still being investigated.

According to Hua, departments of the Chinese government and the Chinese embassy in Pakistan immediately launched an emergency response mechanism after the kidnapping and worked closely with Pakistan.

"China is firmly opposed to and strongly condemns terrorism in any form. We support Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism and safeguard national security and stability," she said.

China will continue to strengthen anti-terrorism cooperation with the international community, including Pakistan, to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world, Hua added.

The Chinese embassy in Pakistan released a security alert last month after the kidnapping, reminding Chinese citizens not to visit Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province.

It also urged local Chinese nationals and organizations to evacuate as soon as possible, and to turn to the embassy for help if necessary.

Related stories:

China 'gravely concerned' about reported killing of kidnapped Chinese in Pakistan

China vows to rescue kidnapped citizens in Pakistan
Astana Expo 2017 will begin in Kazakh capital amid anticipation

President Xi Jinping (R front) and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev (L front) inspect via videolink two key hubs of the cross-border transportation at the Chinese national pavilion of the Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. Xi, accompanied by Nazarbayev, on Thursday visited the Chinese national pavilion of the Expo 2017 in Astana, and urged bilateral efforts to facilitate the China-Kazakhstan cross-border transportation. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping visited the China pavilion at the Astana Expo 2017 on Thursday, accompanied by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during his state visit to the Central Asian country.

At the pavilion, the two presidents watched a video about the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. They also had a look at exhibitions featuring intelligent energy of the future.

The China pavilion, covering an area of 1,000 square meters, focuses on energy of the future and presents the Belt and Road Initiative to global visitors.

Wang Jinzhen, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said the energy theme reflects China's ideas and practical implementation regarding the most effective use of traditional energy and the development of renewable energy sources.

The organizing committee of the China pavilion, approved by the State Council and led by the international trade council and National Energy Administration, was in charge of preparing and managing China's participation in the expo.

China included in the pavilion models of clean energy projects and equipment as well as a simulator cockpit of a high-speed train.

Domestic energy and power giants such as China National Petroleum Corp and the State Grid also are taking part in the expo's core exhibition, in which high-end technological achievements in fields such as extra-high voltage, solar energy, nuclear energy and wind energy are displayed and demonstrated via 3D movies, multimedia presentations and virtual reality technologies.
More Kazakhs are studying the Chinese language in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, as more jobs requiring the language skills are needed.

Kazakhstan is one of China's largest trade partners in Central Asia and is a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The popularity of learning Chinese is higher than ever in the newly built city, and the number of students in the Eurasian University Confucius Institute is at its highest level.

Deng Ying, of Xi'an International Studies University, is the third Chinese director in this Confucius Institute since it opened in 2007.

She said there were just dozens of students in 2007 and the number increased rapidly after 2013, when President Xi Jinping proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt in Astana.

"When I arrived in Astana, the student number reached 386. This year we have over 530 students," she said with pride.

Over 60 percent of students attend university, 20 percent have been in the workforce for years, and the rest are school students, Deng said.

"More Kazakh people want to learn Chinese thanks to the close relations between the two countries," said Abkhapparobe Bibikhadishe, the Kazakh director of the Confucius Institute.

She said that No 67 Middle School was the first high school to teach the Chinese language in Astana due to demand for Chinese speakers in the city. More schools also will offer courses.

"In my opinion, the China-Kazakh relation is one of the most important bilateral relations in the world, because if we see the 20th century as the century of Western countries, the 21st century belongs to Asia," she said.

She said as the countries' relations get closer, more Chinese companies will invest in Kazakhstan, while many local companies also have their eye on China, which creates a potential for many job opportunities for language learners.

Patiman Kali, 44, is a Chinese Kazakh teacher who has worked in the Confucius Institute for two years. She said Kazakh Chinese learners have advantages that students from other countries don't have, because many Kazakhstan traditions are same as those of ethnic Kazaks living in China.

So when Kazakh students learn Chinese, it is easier for them to understand facets of the Chinese minority tradition.

Gazizova Guldana, 21, agreed with Kali. Now a senior student at Eurasian University, she spent half a year in Xinjiang University as an exchange student last year.

"When I studied in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, I met several Kazak people. I talked to them and found we have a lot in common."

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn

Eurasian University students Zhuassova Assem (left) and Gazizova Guldana show on Thursday their Chinese calligraphy works, which together say "I Love China".Ren Qi / China Daily

(China Daily 06/09/2017 page3)
Xi, Afghan leader agree to boost cooperation

By An Baijie in Astana | China Daily | Updated: 2017-06-09 07:28

China and Afghanistan should deepen cooperation under the Belt and Road framework and push forward projects to connect the two countries more, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

In a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Astana, Kazakhstan, at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Xi hailed the ties between the two nations.

The president said that high-level interaction should play an important role in guiding China-Afghan relations and that exchanges on all levels should be intensified.

China supports the Afghan government's efforts to maintain its domestic security, Xi said, adding that China will continue to help Afghanistan's reconstruction. The two countries should enhance anti-terrorism and security cooperation, he said.

Xi said that China firmly maintains a friendly policy toward Afghanistan. China would like to play a constructive role to support Afghanistan in conducting peaceful reconstruction and advancing reconciliation, he said.

Ghani expressed gratitude for China's support of his country's peaceful reconstruction and reconciliation process, saying that Afghanistan cherishes its friendship with China.

The Afghan president said his country values China's important role in international and regional affairs, and is dedicated to cooperation with China in areas like the economy, trade and security.

Afghanistan also looks forward to connecting the country's development with construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, he said, adding the country will participate with China to boost connections between the two nations.

Chen Yurong, a senior researcher in European and Asian studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said China has been dedicated to promoting Afghanistan's reconciliation process by making use of the multilateral mechanism.

Afghanistan is along the corridor that links Central Asia with South Asia, and the geographic location provides huge potential for the two countries to cooperate on the Belt and Road Initiative, Chen said.

Sun Zhuangzhi, secretary-general of the SCO Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that China and Afghanistan can strengthen cooperation on infrastructure construction under the Belt and Road Initiative's framework.

Infrastructure in Afghanistan has collapsed under years of conflict, he said, and China can help Afghanistan rebuild its railways, highways and hydraulic engineering, and cooperate in mining, agriculture and investment.

anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/09/2017 page3)
The Sino-Kazakh coproduction, Composer, a biographical film about Chinese composer Xian Xinghai, has begun filming in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, and is set to premiere on June 13, 2018. Photo provided to China Daily

ASTANA - As the first China-Kazakhstan co-production inspired by President Xi Jinping started shooting on Thursday, film makers and producers from countries along the Belt and Road seemed ready to dredge up more stories from political leaders.

Composer, telling the rarely known life story of the late Chinese composer Xian Xinghai in Kazakhstan in 1940s, came out of the statement of President Xi in 2013 and began filming during his ongoing state visit to the Central Asian country, said the film's producer Shen Jian, president of Chinese movie-making company Shinework Pictures.

A movie inspired by Xi

In his first state visit to Kazakhstan in 2013, Xi, while elaborating in a speech at Nazarbayev University his proposal of the Silk Road Economic Belt, a part of the Belt and Road Initiative, explained why there is a Xian Xinghai Boulevard in the Kazakh city of Almaty that sits on the ancient Silk Road.

The road "got its name from a true story," Xi said. "At the outset of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, Xian arrived in Almaty after much travail. By then, he was worn down by poverty and illness and had no one to turn to. Fortunately, the Kazakh composer Bakhitzhan Baykadamov took care of Xian and provided him with the comfort of a home."

"It was in Almaty that Xian composed his famous works Liberation of the Nation, Sacred War and Red All over the River. He also wrote a symphony Amangeldy based on the exploits of the Kazakh national hero. These pieces served as a rallying call to fight Fascists and proved immensely popular with the local people," said the Chinese leader.

"It was a fascinating story that we have never heard of, although Xian Xinghai is a household name in China," Shen, the film's producer, told Xinhua.

"I, and my generation, grew up listening to his passionate and extremely beautiful symphonies like the Yellow River Cantata. But we didn't know he had such a deep bond with Kazakhstan," said Shen.

"I was touched by President Xi's account. It was then that I felt obliged to shoot the movie, to make Xian and his helpful Kazakh friends widely known," he said.
President Xi Jinping (L) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

China and Russia should strengthen communication and promote the role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to enhance its influence in the global and regional affairs, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday while meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The two presidents had a bilateral meeting ahead of the 17th SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Noting that the SCO is facing new opportunities and challenges, Xi said China and Russia should firmly observe the "Shanghai Spirit", boost solidarity among the SCO members, maintain regional security and stability, and promote pragmatic cooperation.

Xi urged the SCO to play a bigger role in Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation process, adding that China will assume the SCO rotating presidency after the Astana summit and is willing to maintain close communication and coordination with all parties, including Russia, to achieve further development for the SCO.

During their meeting on the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing last month, the two leaders reached an important consensus on maintaining a high-level China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination and enhancing all-round cooperation, according to the Chinese president.

Under the current complex international situation, sound China-Russia ties are of great significance to the two countries' development and revitalization, as well as to peace and stability of the world, Xi said.

The two countries should strengthen their mutual support on the issues relating to each other's core interests, said Xi, urging more achievements in the alignment of the Belt and Road construction with the Eurasian Economic Union.

The Chinese president also urged the two countries to deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and strengthen coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs.

Putin said it is of great significance for Russia and China to maintain frequent high-level interactions.

He urged the two sides to step up their communication and coordination in a bid to maintain peace, stability and security in the region and around the world.

Russia and China should work together with all sides concerned to boost unity and coordination among the SCO members to enhance the influence of the organization in international affairs, Putin said.

Congratulating again on the success of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Russian president said the Belt and Road Initiative has won extensive support in the international community.

The two heads of state also exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan and on the Korean Peninsula, as well as on other international and regional issues.
BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping's current visit to Kazakhstan will lift bilateral relations to a new height and inject fresh impetus into cooperation along the Belt and Road.

Xi arrived in Astana for a state visit Wednesday, his third to Kazakhstan since becoming Chinese President in 2013.

On Thursday, Xi held talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev to take stock of achievements the two countries have made since they forged diplomatic ties 25 years ago and to chart the course for future cooperation -- especially on the Belt and Road Initiative and Kazakhstan's new economic policy of the "Nurly Zhol," or "Bright Path."

"The visit signals that China and Kazakhstan have established a successful role model for win-win cooperation along the Belt and Road," said Chen Yurong, a senior research fellow and director of the Department for European-Central Asian Studies at the China Institute for International Studies.

Xi's Kazakhstan tour came less than a month after China held the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, in Beijing, attended by leaders from 29 countries, as well as the heads of the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Named after the historic Silk Road, the initiative was proposed by Xi in 2013 during his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia.

But the president's ongoing visit is about more than revisiting the root of the initiative. It is about expanding cooperation.

According to a joint statement signed by both sides, China and Kazakhstan have agreed to develop more international freight train services, starting from China and going via Kazakhstan to Central Asia, Europe and Gulf countries, effectively lowering logistic costs, making rail freight a major solution to trade between Asia and Europe by 2025.

In 2016, more than 1,200 trains transited through Kazakhstan, with rail freight for the two countries reaching 8.2 million tonnes, and the number of freight containers rising more than two-fold.

The two leaders praised the cross-border transport project as a model of their Belt and Road cooperation, saying it would benefit the economy and people of countries along the route.

According to Chen, the relationship between China and Kazakhstan has entered its best period in history.

"Kazakhstan is among one of the first states in Central Asia to dock its own development strategy with the Belt and Road Initiative," Chen said. "The Belt and Road Initiative and Nurly Zhol complement each other."

Noting this year marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Kazakhstan, Chen said the two countries had fulfilled remarkable achievements in many areas, including cooperation in trade, connectivity, industry and culture.

Several key connectivity projects have contributed to the growth of bilateral and regional trade, making daily life more convenient for many local residents.

Less than a year after Xi proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt, the first phase of a logistics terminal built by China and Kazakhstan went into operation in Lianyungang port in eastern China's Jiangsu Province, offering the land-locked country a means to send goods overseas.

"Kazakhstan is seeking an improved transport network, and the Belt and Road Initiative can help advance the inter-connectivity of infrastructure," said Guan Guihai, associate dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University.

Calling Kazakhstan a vital partner for China to promote the Belt and Road Initiative, Guan said Kazakhstan held a key geographic position for China to reach Central Asia, Middle East, North Africa and Europe.

"The presidents of the two countries share adequate strategic mutual trust," Guan said. "China and Kazakhstan highly understand and support each other, as they cooperate closely on security, the economy, people-to-people exchanges and cultural issues."

He said that through the initiative, China would bring more concrete benefits and win-win cooperation to Kazakhstan and other nations along the Belt and Road.
Leaders of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) pose for group photos after the conclusion of the 17th SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan June 9, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

ASTANA - Leaders of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) strongly condemned all forms of terrorism, according to a statement released here Friday.



A statement on jointly fighting international terrorism by top leaders of SCO members was released after the conclusion of the 17th SCO summit in Astana.



The SCO leaders stressed the core coordination role of the United Nations and its Security Council in the fight against international terrorism and in international anti-terrorism cooperation, saying the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, as well as norms of international laws, should be strictly observed.



The SCO members stand firmly against linking terrorism with any religion, and condemn all intolerant, discriminatory and violent activities against Christian, Islamic and other religious people, said the document.



The leaders warned against the propaganda and instigation of terrorism and extremism through the Internet, as well as the recruitment activity for such purposes, calling for comprehensive measures to combat the spread of terrorist and extremist thoughts.



They emphasized the importance of taking joint actions against armed terrorists who have participated in international terrorist groups' activities and returned to the SCO countries.
By AN BAIJIE in Astana | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-06-09 21:06

President Xi Jinping shakes hands with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon on Friday. [Photo/Xinhua]

China and Tajikistan should boost interconnectivity and enhance cooperation on production and equipment manufacturing, President Xi Jinping told his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon on Friday.

The two presidents met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The two countries have made important achievements related to the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi said, adding that both sides should push forward high-level, innovative and multi-area cooperation.

Calling Tajikistan a friendly neighbor and highly trusted strategic partner, Xi said that the two countries' high-level exchanges had been frequent in recent years with fruitful cooperation in trade, agriculture, infrastructure construction, energy and security.

The two countries have maintained close links under the United Nations and SCO frameworks, Xi said.

Xi called on the two countries to deepen cooperation on disaster relief, facilitate trade and investment, and enhance cooperation on defense and law enforcement.

China would like to seize the opportunity of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Tajikistan to enhance strategic cooperation, Xi said.

Rahmon said that Tajikistan and China are good neighbors, friends and partners.

Tajikistan cherishes its friendship with China and attaches great importance to China's role in global affairs, he said.

Tajikistan would like to connect its development strategy with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and enhance cooperation with China in areas including interconnectivity, electricity, agriculture and security, he said.
By AN BAIJIE in Astana | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-06-09 21:25

President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Spanish King Felipe VI in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China and Spain should make full use of the China-Europe rail line, connecting Yiwu city of East China with Madrid, in a discussion with Spanish King Felipe VI.

The president also welcomed Spain to proactively participate in building the Belt and Road.

Noting that China paid high attention to the bilateral relations, Xi said he appreciated the Spanish royal family's firm support in developing relations with China.

"The two countries should make joint efforts to upgrade comprehensive strategic partnerships to a higher level in order to benefit the people of both sides," he said.

Xi further called on both sides to strengthen high-level exchanges, as well as firmly support each other's core interests and major concerns.

"The two countries should connect their development strategies and deepen cooperation in areas including finance, telecommunication, renewable resources, agriculture, pharmacy, aviation and aerospace," he said.

Xi then called for more joint efforts with Spain to push the development of economic globalization in the direction of being more open, inclusive, beneficial and balanced.

"China firmly supports the process of European integration," Xi said.

"We hope Spain will continue to play a positive role in the European Union, in order to make positive contributions to the healthy and steady development of China-EU relations."

The Spanish king expressed his willingness of strengthening political trust, deepening high-level exchanges and enhancing practical cooperation in all areas with China.

"The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative will play an important role in promoting global economic growth," he said.

"Spain would like to enhance cooperation in infrastructure and energy with China under the Belt and Road framework."
The problem with President Donald J. Trump's approach to agriculture isn't any one of his administration's ideas and measures at reform.

It's all of them.

Wait...

We don't mean that every single one of the things the Trump administration aims to do with farm and agriculture policy is wrong. What we mean instead is that all of them together, being pushed through simultaneously, could have disastrous effects on places like Montana.

When Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue traveled to Montana last week, he helped outline the Trump administration's agriculture and trade policies, all of which would have significant impacts on the state.

Among those things, he highlighted the elimination of the food stamps program, major reform to crop insurance, and the elimination of anything but bilateral trade.

Taken individually, some of these changes make sense. For example, Perdue, during his recent visit to Montana, noted that crop insurance that pays 110 percent of the loss doesn't make sense. It seems to reward disaster rather than compensate for true loss.

We hope Sens. Jon Tester and Steve Daines, along with Rep.-elect Greg Gianforte will work on each of these issues because they're too important to Montana to leave them to chance. Furthermore, we believe that we need strong, unified leadership from Montana because there are certain states that will not be impacted as much as the Treasure State.

What the Trump administration must realize is that Montana disproportionately benefits from trade agreements. Without strong trade agreements, our state's economy and it's No. 1 industry, agriculture, will be jeopardized.

The Trump administration seems to favor bilateral trade agreements. That is, trade agreements which are negotiated between two countries and no other nation.

However, the worldwide appetite for trade is through multi-nation trade agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Countries do this because they want to negotiate similar terms with many countries so that it ensures fair trade, and so one country is not edged out by another in a game or trade one-upsmanship.

For the Trump administration to go back and negotiate one-on-one agreements with our partners could be dangerous for two reasons. First, trade agreements are complex and time-consuming. While we're negotiating, we could be losing out to other countries more nimble.

Also, by negotiating series after series of bilateral trade agreements, we run the risk of getting terms that aren't the best because the trade pact is less valuable. We're just one nation; other trade agreements involve many. The next group of countries to come along with a different trade pact could negotiate a better deal together because of their strength in numbers.

The Trump administration also wants to eliminate the food stamp program, a key component for social services and farmers. For farmers, the food-stamp program helps take surplus crops and divert them to feed families and children. It is arguably a good deal for farmers and government programs aimed at keeping citizens fed.

While there's a good argument to be had about whether the program is serving a need and whether we should be encouraging surpluses of some commodities, we don't believe the answer is eliminating the program altogether.

This portion of the president's budget could very well be a negotiating tactic to force the Department of Agriculture to reform the program, but we think there's way too much good to risk cutting it altogether. Moreover, it would seem to hurt two significant groups  those who are vulnerable and those who provide food to the nation. We want to encourage food and crop production and optimize them. This program does just that.

We also believe that there's a good debate that needs to happen about crop insurance. That conversation, though, must focus on how to make the program equitable, not whether it should exist. We have to continue to make sure that one or two bad hail storms or flash floods don't destroy or bankrupt a farm or ranch that has been in production for generations.

Moreover, we have to reform it so that farmers aren't "farming the program," a derisive term to describe folks who put in crops hoping to file a claim for crop damage. There has to be a way to make sure farms are protected without incentivizing disaster.

We believe that Trump's approach to farming and agriculture is rooted in his business background. And, that's fine. Farming and ranching is undoubtedly a business and must be overall financially viable.

But in Montana, farming and ranching isn't just a job. Farming and ranching sustains our communities. It is part of who we are. We take pride in our role feeding and sustaining the country. Farms and ranches are the economic driver in many rural communities. We hope that leaders in Washington D.C., realize it's a way of life as well as national security issue. We need food security and the only way to guarantee that is to safeguard agriculture.

If the fear of hurting Montana farmers and ranchers isn't enough to stop those in the Trump administration from thinking twice about these radical changes, then we hope the political aspect helps.

The Trump Administration would do well to remember this is a state that supported the president by nearly 100,000 votes, and beat Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton by a nearly 20-point margin.

Ag voters supported Trump. Now it's his turn.
Lots of go-do lists catalog the parts of Montana that have showed up in Hollywood movies. But there are a few places that should have been Montana in films, but werent. And theyre even better to visit.

Cattle Queen Creek: Pre-president Ronald Reagan starred in this 1954 cowboy story about Barbara Stanwyck playing Sierra Nevada Jones (actual movie blurb: She strips off her petticoats  and straps on her guns!). While the film backgrounds did show some vistas of the St. Mary-area showing the front of peaks, hikers know the Cattle Queen drainage as the calf-busting down-and-up section of the Highline Trail between Granite Park Chalet and 50 Mountain Campground.

The Chutes: In the movie version of Norman Macleans A River Runs Through It, brothers Norman and Paul (Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt, respectively) swipe a rowboat and prove their courage running the chutes whitewater stretch at night. While the book was set on the Blackfoot River, director Robert Redford confessed that the rapids scene was actually stitched together with bits of the Boulder and Madison rivers. To be true to the novel, it should have been Thibodeau Rapids on the Blackfoot, a couple miles upstream from Johnsrud State Park.

Eden, North Dakota: Where to begin? In Wolverines final movie Logan, the erstwhile X-man leads a group of child mutants to a crossing point on the U.S.-Canada border to escape evil government agents. But the crossing has high mountains, deep canyons and lush forests  none of which exist in North Dakota. In fact, the scenes were shot in New Mexico. But if you really want a remote, mountainous border crossing ideal for ditching a motorized army of goons, youd bushwhack up Kintla Creek into the fascinating Akamina-Kishnina Basin, and then into the soft beds of Waterton Township.

Interstellar Montana: In Arrival the aliens set up their gigantic space-traveling chatroom on a very green valley somewhere in Montana. The shooting notes reveal the actual scene was filmed at Rimouski, a spot along the North St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. It really should have been shot along the Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley, south of Livingston.

The bridge blow-up that wasnt: Clint Eastwood has a penchant for really big cannons in the 1974 heist film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, co-starring Jeff Bridges. While much of the film was shot in Great Falls, Wolf Creek, Hobson and Fort Benton, the folks at the Superior Ranger Station recall a request from the film scouts to do some damage west of the Continental Divide. At the time, the Forest Service was trying to figure out what to do with the dilapidated Dominion Trestle near Taft, just east of whats now the starting point of the Trail of the Hiawatha bike path on the old Milwaukee Road railroad grade. Eastwoods crew offered to blow it up, but then the script changed and the plan was dropped. Good thing, because its now the scenic lead-in to Montanas Route of the Olympian 31-mile multiple-use trail.
(Photo : Northrop Grumman) SABR AESA radar on an F-16.

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The selection by the U.S. Air Force of the APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), an advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) system, to upgrade the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon makes this legacy fighter more formidable in air-to-air combat than the newer Sukhoi Su-35S of the Russian Air Force.



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The F-16 entered service with the air force in 1978 while the Su-35S was introduced into service only in 2014. More than 4,500 F-16s of various models have been produced, and the newer mods remain in front line service.



The addition of the APG-83 greatly increases the F-16's capabilities against increasingly sophisticated threats that include the Su-35S Flanker-E and new Russian cruise missiles. Only some 60 Su-35Ss have been built so far.



Compared to the F-16's existing APG-68 mechanically scanned radar, the APG-83 can detect, track and identify a larger number of targets much faster and at much longer ranges. APG-83 also has much higher resolution than the current radar.



The radar upgrade extends the operational viability and reliability of the F-16 and provides pilots with 5th generation fighter radar capabilities to counter and defeat Russian fighters.



The greater bandwidth, speed, and agility of the APG-83 allow F-16s operate in hostile electronic environments. The AESA radar features all-weather, high-resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping, which presents the pilot with a large surface image enabling precision target identification and strike.



The new APG-83 is also the standard radar for Lockheed Martin's new Block 70 F-16, which the company hopes to export to India and others. Ultimately, the APG-83 will become the standard radar for most of the F-16 fleets around the world.



Northrop Grumman will upgrade 72 U.S. Air National Guard F-16s with the APG-83 to meet a U.S. Northern Command Joint Emergent Operational Need for homeland defense.



"AESA radar upgrades are critically important to give the F-16 community, the tactical advantage it deserves, and we are honored to provide this differentiating technology for the safety and mission effectiveness of our warfighters," said Bob Gough, vice president, combat avionics systems, Northrop Grumman.



"The APG-83 SABR system is in full rate production and available now for U.S. and international F-16 upgrades."



In contrast, the Su-35S operates the inferior PESA (Passive Electronically Scanned Array) radar that can track fewer aerial targets at shorter ranges.



AESA is a more advanced, sophisticated version of the original PESA phased array technology. PESAs can only emit a single beam of radio waves at a single frequency at a time.



On the other hand, AESA can radiate multiple beams of radio waves at multiple frequencies simultaneously. AESA radars can spread their signal emissions across a wider range of frequencies, which makes them more difficult to detect over background noise. This allows ships and aircraft to radiate powerful radar signals while still remaining stealthy.



Most of the radar systems used in modern combat aircraft are AESA systems. The Su-35S is a notable exception to this rule.



Russia has no plans of deploying an AESA system on the Su-35S any time soon.



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TagsU.S. Air Force, APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), Active Electronically Scanned Array, AESA, General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, Sukhoi Su-35S, Russian Air Force, PESA, Passive Electronically Scanned Array
Indian Army T-72s

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The Indian Army is "well-prepared" to fight a "Two-and-a-Half Front War" simultaneously, claims Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, a statement at odds with his previous claim made in January the army can only fight a two-front war against China and Pakistan.



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Indian media said the phrase, "Two-and-a-Half Front War," refers to a war against China along the Line of Actual Control; against Pakistan along the Line of Control and against Muslim terrorists supported by Pakistan in the rugged regions of Kashmir.



"The Indian Army is fully ready for a two-and-a-half front war," said Gen. Rawat, who didn't expound further on how the army plans to fight and win a type of war India has never been called on to fight.



Gen. Rawat, however, claimed the army is prepared to handle internal and external fronts at the same time if it comes to that. But he did note that methods other than war are available for resolution of difficult situations.



Gen. Rawat expressed his satisfaction at the Indian government's support for modernizing the Indian Army with new weapons and equipment.



"'Make in India' is a good initiative. It will give results in two to three years," said Gen. Rawat.



Gen. Rawat's statements last January to the effect the army can fight a two-front war against Pakistan and China left some Indian military observers shaking their heads in incredulity.



"As far as armed forces are concerned, we are tasked to be prepared for a two-front war and I think we are capable of carrying out our task in whatever manner that we may be asked to do by the political hierarchy," said Gen. Rawat.



"We want peace at borders because civilians lose the most."



Gen. Rawat said while India and its army want to maintain peace and tranquility at the borders with China and Pakistan, it will not "shy away" from using its power in any form.



He also noted the dynamics of terrorism is constantly changing, and said the army has to think ahead to counter new terrorism threats.



"The fact that terrorists infiltrating from adversary's (Pakistan's) side means that they are getting support from them (Pakistani forces)," Gen. Rawat pointed out.



"We also have to think ahead, and ball has already been rolling in that direction."



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TagsIndian Army, Two-and-a-Half Front War, Lt. Gen. Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, china, Pakistan
(Photo : USAF) U.S. aerial might: A B-2 Spirit, B-1B Lancer and B-52G Stratofortress fly in formation.

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The U.S. Air Force admits it will need only 165 heavy bombers of all types (both non-stealth and stealth) to enable it to successfully prosecute its combat operations worldwide in the event of conflict.



The air force currently operates 159 heavy bombers consisting of 62 Rockwell B-1B Lancer variable sweep-wing supersonic heavy bombers; 20 Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and 77 Boeing B-52G Stratofortress strategic bombers.



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It now says it wants a total future bomber fleet of around 165 aircraft, including the new Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider Long Range StrikeBombers (LRSBs) currently under development, said Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, to the House Armed Services Committee's Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.



Last March, the B-21 "Raider" completed is preliminary design review and is "making great progress, and we're pleased with the way it's headed," according to Gen. Stephen Wilson, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force.



Gen. Wilson told U.S. Congressmen the B-21 is on schedule and on budget.



The air force plans to acquire some 100 B-21s for an estimated $80 billion. Initial operating capability for the nuclear-weapon strategic bomber capable of penetrating modern air defenses (such as those operated by China and Russia) is set for the mid-2020s.



The B-21 Raider will join its sister strategic bombers in the Air Force Global Strike Command: the B-52G; the B-1B Lancer and the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.



The B-21 Raider is distinguished by its very long range and its ability to loiter for extended periods over distant targets such as those in the South China Sea and Asia.



It will likely be a very long-range subsonic aircraft with broadband stealth capability. It's being designed to defeat low-frequency radars as effectively as high frequency sets.



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TagsU.S. Air Force, Rockwell B-1B Lancer, Northrop B-2 Spirit, Boeing B-52G Stratofortress, B-21 Raider, Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris
(Photo : US Navy) An MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter prepares to land aboard the USS Coronado.

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The U.S. Navy will deploy its new Independence-class littoral combat ships (LCS) to Asia to keep China at bay, and will start by stationing two of these shallow draught warships to Singapore.



The trimaran hull Independence-class is one of two LCS classes, the other being the Freedom-class. The navy plans to build 13 ships of each class.



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Of the 13 Independence-class LCSs, four are in service while seven more are fitting out or building. Those in service are the USS Independence (LCS-2); USS Coronado (LCS-4); USS Jackson (LCS-6) and USS Montgomery (LCS-8) built by Austal USA, a subsidiary of the Australian firm Austal plc, a major defense contractor.



What makes these 3,000 metric ton warships different from all others is their extremely shallow draught; they can sail through littoral or coastal waters only four meters deep.



Rear Admiral John Neagley, Program Executive Officer, Littoral Combat Ships, said two of these LCS' will operate out of Singapore. A Freedom-class LCS will operate out of Bahrain for the first time in the program's history.



"I think it's going to be really powerful to have two ships operating together, so you kind of get the synergy of two platforms operating together, doing dual operations, and you get the benefits of having those two crews on station doing that work," said Adm. Neagley.



"But having a 15-foot draft ship, being able to do those kinds of operations, I think provides us a lot of flexibility."



Adm. Neagley also said the shallow draught also allows the Independence -class "to be able to go into ports that we haven't really been able to go into before because we have a relatively shallow draft, we're talking about a 15-foot draft, has opened up some things for us."



He noted that "for that part of the world (Asia) they're a really good size ship to operate with our partners out there."



The navy is now preparing for more complex LCS operations in Asia and the Middle East. It's previously deployed three LCSs overseas so far: USS Freedom (LCS-1) and USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) built by Lockheed Martin and the USS Coronado (LCS-4). All these warships were previously deployed to Singapore.



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TagsU.S. Navy, Littoral Combat Ships, LCS, china, Singapore, Independence-class, Freedom-class, Rear Admiral John Neagley
Repeatedly in his presentation to former House colleagues on Thursday, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said this is what a balanced budget looks like.

Representatives around the committee table didnt much like that look; reactions ranged from flabbergasted in Kentucky coal country about the elimination of abandoned mine reclamation funds to asking why nearly finished early-warning earthquake systems were getting canceled on the West Coast.

The former representative from Montana assured them he would work together to get priorities balanced.

But with a 13 percent cut pushing Interiors 2018 budget down to $10.6 billion, a lot of zeroed-out line items will compete for that reassessment. The cuts will affect many Montana-centric activities, even as some activities get a boost.

The Interior Secretarys own office would take the largest hit, cutting $596 million or 82 percent of its operating budget. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement would be cut by more than half, from $240 million to $129 million.

Increases would occur in the departments Payment in Lieu of Taxes program (from zero to almost $400 million), and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (zero to $138 million). Interiors portion of the FLAME wildfire suppression reserve would be eliminated, saving $177 million.

It assumes the Land and Water Conservation Fund will expire at the end of the 2018 fiscal year, and the Administration will review options for reauthorization, including consideration of a range of conservation-related investments that could be funded through the LWCF.

At Thursdays hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, Zinke said he remained a supporter of LWCF, and there would be money to maintain existing public lands. But he noted the program would not acquire new properties.

Conversely, the Interior budget document assumes the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act will be permanently reauthorized, allowing Interior to dispose of lands with low conservation value and use the proceeds to acquire lands with high conservation values.

Interior wilderness management would be reduced by $3 million to $15.5 million annually, by reducing monitoring of wilderness values in Wilderness Areas and Wilderness Study Areas, among other measures according to the budget report.

Abandoned Mine Lands and Hazardous Material Management (HMM) programs would take a $16 million combined hit, meaning BLM will not undertake any new mine remediation work and HMM program will have reduced capacity to address existing and emergent environmental impact incidents and will also reduce facility environmental compliance monitoring.

At the hearing, Zinke touted an increase of $35 million toward national park infrastructure needs. But John Garder of the National Parks Conservation Association said that figures misleading.

Its puzzling that in his confirmation hearing, Zinke outlined priorities on land use and front-line personnel and increases to deferred maintenance, Garder said. But in the case of deferred maintenance, they take credit for a 6 percent increase when in reality its a 9 percent cut of $34 million.

That happens because the proposed budget bases its percentages off the fiscal 2016 budget rather than the FY 2017 continuing resolution passed in April, Garder said. On top of that, staff and funding cuts throughout the Interior Department mean there will be fewer people available to carry out those chores.

Zinke joked he was making a lot of savings by not having anybody on staff. The Interior Department staff would be reduced by about 4,000 full-time workers, from 64,025 to 59,968 workers.

That includes reductions of 674 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in Zinkes secretarial office through the dispersal of Office of Natural Resources Revenue duties to other areas, 1,062 FTE in the Bureau of Land Management, 1,089 FTE at the U.S. Geological Survey and 1,242 FTE at the National Park Service.

The secretary said he will be an advocate for on-the-ground personnel, but the disappointing reality of this budget is with an 8 percent cut to operations and 1,200 Park service staff cut, the budget does quite the opposite. More than 90 percent of our parks would be significantly affected by these cuts," Garder said. "They mean eliminating large numbers of seasonal rangers, closing facilities or reducing hours. And thats while parks are struggling with a 13 percent increase in visitation in the last two years.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on June 5 deported the last of four Indonesian Christians detained last month in New Jersey when they showed up for a routine check-in.



Officials rejected a stay of removal application for Oldy Manopo. Manopo left the country hours after the Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, who had advocated for the men, rallied with other supporters outside the detention center where Manopo was staying. Manopo previously lived with his daughters family and helped take care of his 4-month-old grandson.



Weve lost a real gem, Kaper-Dale told The Record of Bergen County, N.J.



Officials also deported Rovani Wangko and Saul Timisela last week and Arino Massie last month. The four men fled persecution in Indonesia in the 1990s but missed the asylum application deadline. They were able to reach an agreement with ICE to remain in the country as long as they maintained clean records and checked in periodically with immigration officials.



Kaper-Dale said authorities deported Wangko and Timisela without notice to their families, who only received phone calls when the men were in Japan on the way to Indonesia. The pastor called on the immigration office to exercise discretion in how it responds to each case. Indonesia currently is ranked by Open Doors USA as the 46th most difficult country for Christians to live in, and advocates fear the men could face persecution in the country.



The United States is heightening priority deportations to include immigrants without any prior criminal record. The country saw a 37 percent increase in migrant arrests last month compared to the same time last year. New Jerseys head of immigration enforcement, John Tsoukaris, said immigrant removals in the state are up by 30 percent.



U.S. Rep Frank Pallone, D-N.J., who introduced a bill to allow immigrants to reopen their asylum cases, said last week the removals are morally reprehensible.



I have been inspired by the groundswell of support for these men, and we will continue to fight until our country has a just and humane immigration policy, Pallone said in a statement to New Jersey Advance Media.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: June 9, 2017
If youve eyed some of Netflixs recent additions, youve probably spotted a picture of a young nun accompanied by the mildly ominous title, The Keepers. Or maybe youve heard about it: The series is currently making waves, with more than one critic comparing it to David Simons The Wire.

Those who know a bit about the shows background might find this to be an odd comparison, since The Keepers is a documentary, and The Wire, for all its gritty realism, is still a work of fiction. The comparison makes a bit more sense, though, when we press into the details: Like Simons show, The Keepers takes place in Baltimore, Maryland, and, like The Wire, it offers a near-comprehensive expose of institutional corruption.

But heres an honest question: Do we really need another crime documentary in our queues? The recent proliferation of these titles is dizzying: HBOs The Jinx, Netflixs Making a Murderer, This American Lifes Serial podcasts. Isnt The Keepers just more grist for the true crime mill at this point?

Im compelled to warn you that Netflixs The Keepers is one of the more horrifying entries in this recent spate of true crime documentaries, both because of the nature of its subject matter, which concerns murder and sexual abuse, as well as its unflinching depiction of the long-term consequences suffered by the victims of these crimes. In many ways, however, its this stark depiction of profound injustice that makes The Keepers a valuable, albeit challenging, watch.

The series revolves around the unsolved murder of Catherine Cesnik, which took place in Baltimore in 1969. By all accounts, Cesnik was one of the most revered teachers ...

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Image: Win McNamee / Getty

The controversy over a former Wheaton College professors theological explanation for wearing a hijab in solidarity with Muslims during Advent was one of the biggest religion news stories of last year. Still, nobody expected Larycia Hawkins to come up in a Senate confirmation hearing for a new Trump administration nominee.

This week, Wheaton alumnus Russell Vought, President Donald Trumps pick for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, was repeatedly challenged by Senator Bernie Sanders for his Christian convictions and specifically quoted Voughts disagreement with Hawkinss position.

While Sanders accused Vought of being Islamophobic and making statements that are indefensible and hateful, Christian onlookers saw the senator applying a religious test to deem an orthodox evangelical unfit for office.

Sanderss line of questioning was different than the initial debate launched by the Wheaton-Hawkins situation, which focused on whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. (Americans are evenly split.) Instead, Sanders pushed back against a principle that is not up for debate within the realm of Christian orthodoxy: the belief that salvation is only secured through Christ.

I dont know how many Muslims there are in America. I really dont know, probably a couple million. Are you suggesting that all of those people stand condemned? What about Jews? Do they stand condemned too? demanded Sanders, himself a secular Jew. I understand that Christianity is the majority religion. But there are other people who have different religions in this country and around the world. In your judgment, do you think that people who are ...
On the way to the Atlanta airport for a student mission trip to Africa, an Alabama church bus flipped in a crash with two other vehicles, killing a teen girl and injuring dozens more.

The bus carried 38 passengers, mostly 11th and 12th-grade students, from Mount Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama, about three and a half hours away. The group, including a second bus from the church, was on their way to a flight bound for Botswana. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

The Alabama Baptistidentified the victim as Sarah Harmening, 17. Her parents described her as having a tangible love for the Lord and being so excited for the trip. She earned all the money to go and share Christ with children of Botswana, said her mother, Karen Harmening.

The Harmenings shared their daughters final journal entry from the trip, where she reflects on Gods call on her life:

I was just sitting here on the bus feeling a little sad. I guess because ...

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Southern Baptists gained almost 500 churches last year, while taking in more than $11 billion. Such statistics would have most US denominations praising the Lord.

But because of declines in other metrics that matter moreincluding their namesake, baptismsleaders say members should offer lament instead.

"Virtually everyone who sees these figures will react negatively and lament the poor state of our churches, our lack of evangelistic fervor, and our increasingly irrelevant programs, Frank S. Page, president and CEO of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), told Baptist Press. Indeed, we all should.

Theres no denying the decline of Americas largest Protestant denomination any longer. The SBC lost almost 78,000 members in the past year, according to the Annual Church Profile (ACP) released ahead of its upcoming annual meeting. Southern Baptists have now lost a million members since their peak of 16.3 million in 2003. ...

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What every collector needs to know about Hermes handbags

Christies Handbags & Accessories specialists look at the holy trinity of Hermes bags  the Kelly, the Constance and the Birkin  and offer an expert guide to what new and experienced collectors should look for

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Hermes bags  history, and quality as an investment

Thierry Hermes began his career in 1837 crafting harnesses, and from the outset was fastidious in his devotion to materials, quality and craft. In 1880, Hermes and his sons introduced saddlery to their array of products. In the 20th century, Hermes further enhanced its product range by adding accessories for women, including carres, or silk scarves, and sacs. The techniques that for two centuries were used to craft the highest quality saddles are still seen today in the ateliers where Hermes craftsmen and women stitch and sew Birkin and Kelly handbags by hand.

It takes a single expert craftsman up to 40 hours to produce a Birkin bag. The stitch on which the brands reputation is based  the saddle  cannot be replicated by a machine; it takes two needles simultaneously passing through the same seam to produce a Birkin correctly. If done correctly, the saddle stitch will never unravel  either on a saddle or a Birkin.

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The birth of the Hermes Kelly bag

Emile-Maurice Hermes was the creative mind behind the first Hermes accessories. After the advent of the automobile, Emile-Maurice diversified the Hermes offerings with an array of products that reflected the changing times. For example, Hermes became the first French firm to introduce the modern zipper mechanism in leather goods and clothing. Among his many contributions was the Sac a depeches, which was produced in 1935 for his wife to carry. The bag would go on to achieve worldwide recognition 20 years later, when in 1956 Princess Grace Kelly used her Sac a depeches to shield her baby bump from the paparazzi. In an early instance of what might today be described as viral marketing, Hermes received so many requests for The Kelly Bag, as it became immediately known, that it was renamed in honour of the princess.

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The origins of the Hermes Birkin bag

The story of the invention of the Birkin bag  the result of the chance meeting in 1983 between actress Jane Birkin and Jean-Louis Dumas, then creative director of Hermes  has become legendary among Hermes lovers. The two were seated next to each other on an international flight. When Dumas asked why she travelled with a simple straw tote, Birkin explained that most leather bags were too structured for her taste. Birkin wanted something much more boho, according to Caitlin Donovan, head of department, Handbags and Accessories at Christies in New York. The two actually came up with the design for the bag on that flight, on the back of an airsickness bag. Since its inception, the specialist adds, the Birkin has changed little in style or function.

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Silk scarves by Hermes have inspired handbag designs

Open a larger version of this image A limited edition rose Mexico swift leather & marble Constance 24 with palladium hardware, Hermes, 2020. Sold for 21,250 on 23 June, Online

As is the case with many iconic Hermes products, the silk scarf was inspired by an item of equestrian clothing  the riding silk, with Emile-Maurice producing the first carre in 1937. Up to 36 colour frames are prepared and meticulously printed on the finest Chinese silk. Today more than 2,000 scarf designs have been produced, and an Hermes scarf is sold worldwide every 25 seconds. The architect, illustrator and artist Nigel Peake created the On a Summer Day scarf for Hermes, its whimsical, abstract cityscape exemplifying the houses irreverent sense of humour and sophisticated aesthetic. Two Constance bags were created, which used Peakes graphic as inspiration  the On a Summer Day and On a Summer Night Constance bags. In 2018, Peake again collaborated with Hermes on a limited edition bag. The One Two Three & Away We Go Birkin is inspired by the Ferris Wheel on the Grande Roue de la Concorde in Paris. For their Fall/Winter 2020 collection, Hermes combined their expertise in silk printing and leather craftsmanship with the debut of the Marble Silk Constance. Crafted in extremely limited production, this rare Constance is a reflection of Hermes continual commitment to innovation while building upon classic design techniques.

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The importance of the horseshoe stamp on an Hermes bag

Collectors of Hermes are known for their encyclopaedic knowledge of materials, shades, and models. To be an Hermes expert is to be fluent in a language in which phrases such as Juane Ambre Clemence K28 and Matte Mykonos Alligator B30 are not only familiar, but represent something very specific. To these collectors, there is no greater privilege than becoming the owner of a bag emblazoned with a horseshoe stamp, denoting that the bag was a special order, and often crafted in a combination of the season's most desirable new colors. To those who can immediately identify an Hermes hue or leather, the Special Order process remains a significant experience. These one-of-a-kind pieces can drive values sky-high.

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Rose, Bleu or Rouge: colour is fundamental for collectors of Hermes bags

The expertise Hermes applies to every aspect of its design extends to the rigour of its dyeing process. All leathers are treated and dyed by artisans in the workshops of Pantin. The seasonal release of colours is always anxiously anticipated, and inevitably results in comprehensive dissection by Hermes fanatics. Rumours of rested colours being re-released are regularly circulated. At auction, pinks and blues tend to achieve the highest values. Shades such as Rose Lipstick, Rose Azalee and Rose Sakura are known to command high prices, especially in small pieces such as the Kelly Pochette or the Kelly 25. Bleu bags, especially shades such as Bleu Marine and Bleu Saphir, are highly coveted for Birkins. Some shades are part of the Hermes canon, including Rouge Hermes, known as Rouge H, and have been collector staples for half a century.

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The evolution of the Hermes Constance bag

Said to have left the factory on the same day that Hermes designer Catherine Chaillets fifth child was born, the Constance bag entered the market in 1959, and was named after the designers newborn daughter. Although designed more than 50 years ago, the Constances elegant shape and functional design make it a favourite among collectors. It is said that a Constance can be harder to find than the more well-known Birkin and Kelly. The Constance is a celebration of the brands craftsmanship and the workshop in which every Hermes piece originates. A perfect marriage of materials and colours.

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Invention, innovation and the Hermes Picnic Collection

Only Hermes would take an existing craft and spend years working towards an inventive new way to interpret materials. The delicate nature of osier, or wicker, means it is used by only the most skilled artisans. The resulting basket pattern is paired with Barenia leather, known to collectors as the material used in saddles. This juxtaposition of old and new highlights the brands constant innovation. The Osier Kelly was first seen in 2011; five years later, Hermes invented a technique to produce wicker bags in a round shape. The 2016 Spring/Summer Picnic Party collection saw the introduction of a selection of wicker items, such as the Picnic Bolide and Farming Bag, however, as the first of this collection, the Picnic Kelly continues to be a top collector piece.

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The Hermes So Black Collection
A 27-year-old Billings man has admitted in Yellowstone County District Court to sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in 2013.

Nicholas James Orr was originally charged with sexual intercourse without consent but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge on Thursday.

As a designated persistent felony offender Orr faces a minimum sentence of five years and up to life in prison. The State of Montana has recommended a 15-year commitment to the Montana Department of Corrections with 10 suspended.

According to court documents, a 12-year-old girl was reported as a runaway on May 10, 2013. Her mother suspected she was with Orr because she had previously attempted an intimate relationship with him. The mother had forbidden interaction between the two because of their more than 10 year age difference.

On May 19, the girl was found at Orrs home on the 800 block of North 17th Street hiding in a bedroom closet. She told officers she had been sleeping at the house and had a sexual relationship with Orr. Because of her age she could not legally consent to sex in Montana.

The girl was taken to a hospital where a rape kit was completed and sent to the Montana State Crime Lab. Tests revealed semen and DNA matching Orrs profile.
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Houston-based Landry's has emerged as an interested party in Ignite Restaurant Group's bankruptcy proceedings days after a California restaurant operator agreed to acquire the distressed company for about $50 million.

Attorneys for Landry's, Tilman Fertitta's restaurant empire, requested copies of all documents and notices produced as part of the case, per court records. They also represented the company at a hearing Wednesday.

The interest comes less than a week after market intelligence firm Debtwire reported that Landry's and another company were in the running to acquire Houston-based Ignite, which for months sought a buyer.

EARLIER REPORTS: California firm to buy Ignite Restaurant Group

Ignite, which operates Joe's Crab Shack and Brick House Tavern & Tap, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday to facilitate the sale of the company. An affiliate of Kelly Cos., a San Diego-based private equity firm, offered to pay cash for both of its brands.

Fertitta said in an interview that Landry's had negotiated with Ignite but hadn't been able to reach an agreement.

"It's a very troubled company," he said. "They wanted us to sign a deal, and we couldn't get there yet."

Kelly Cos. operates more than 100 restaurants in 22 states, including Fox & Hound, Champps, Baileys and Grady's BBQ. The sale is expected to close within the next three months.

After years of declining sales, Ignite hired Piper Jaffray & Co. to explore options for the company late last year and announced it would pursue a sale of the business this spring. Six potential buyers expressed serious interest.

Three of them drafted bids, per court filings. KRG Acquisitions Co, the Kelly Cos. affiliate, submitted the highest offer.

As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Ignite has filed a motion to allow other companies to submit bids for the brands. A hearing to schedule an auction will be held later this month.

Fertitta said Landry's is monitoring the case and hasn't yet decided whether to participate in the auction process. He added that he'd consider making a bid only if the company's sales improved.

"I'd have to see a turnaround in the company," he said.

Paul Gunther, legal analyst at Debtwire, said another company could potentially outbid KRG in auction. But such a move is somewhat unlikely, he added, because KRG emerged as the highest bidder after months of searching, and Ignite would have to pay KRG a breakup fee of $1.5 million if it accepted a better offer.

"The vetting process seems like it was pretty thorough," he said.
On June 9, 1994, Saint Arnold Brewing Co. delivered the first kegs of its Amber Ale from a nondescript industrial park in northwest Houston to the Gingerman bar in Rice Village, helping birth a Bayou City beer revolution.

DRINK UP: Saint Arnold Pub Crawl Pale Ale has plenty of fans
Area attorneys are invited to the Tuesday, June 27, lunch meeting of the Katy Bar Association at 11:30 a.m. at Willow Fork Country Club, 21055 Westheimer Parkway, Katy.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod will talk about "Reflections on Nearly 10 Years in the 'Least Dangerous Branch'."

Elrod has served as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, since the Senate confirmed her by a voice vote in 2007. Before that, she served for over five years as a judge of the 190th District Court of Harris County, presiding over more than 200 jury and non-jury trials.

Elrod is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Baylor University and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an Ames Moot Court finalist and senior editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.

Elrod is a member of the Journal's Board of Advisors, the Baylor University Board of Regents and the American Law Institute. She has served as the board chair of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics, on the State Bar of Texas Committee on Pattern Jury Charges, and as chair of the board of the Gulf Coast Legal Foundation (now Lone Star Legal Aid).

Elrod has been recognized on many occasions for her pro bono work and contributions to the community. She has received the Chief Justice Jack Pope Award for Professionalism and Ethics, as well as the Judge Thomas Gibbs Gee Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Work. She has twice received the President's Award from the Houston Bar Association and is also the recipient of the HYLA Outstanding Mentor Award and the Mexican-American Bar Association of Texas Judge of the Year Award.

She has served as a visiting professor at Texas Tech University School of Law, a Jurist-in-Residence at Brigham Young University Law School, and has taught legal writing at the University of Houston Law Center. She also serves as an instructor in the Guide to the Basics of Law Practice, which is a requirement for every new lawyer in Texas.

Katy Bar Association President Elizabeth Pratt said, "This month we will be electing our officers for the upcoming year. Area attorneys are invited to join our lunch meeting learn about the effects of politics and criticism of the judiciary, and Judge Elrod's famous 'Ten People You Don't Want to Be at Oral Argument', and earn an hour of CLE."

For more information, email David Frishman at David.Frishman@DavidFrishmanLaw.com or call 281-391-2147.
As the Houston Independent School District prepares to pay the state between $77.5 million and $137 million in so-called recapture fees to help subsidize poorer school districts, Gov. Greg Abbott has thrown another wrench into the district's budget.

Several items on Abbott's special session wish list - including a $1,000 raise for all teachers and overhauling how local property taxes are collected - could end up costing the nation's 8th largest school district millions more in an already difficult fiscal year.

Glenn Reed, HISD's general manager of budgeting and financial planning, said this has been the most difficult year he's experienced in his 18 years with the district. He does not expect the state to help fund special session items such as teacher raises.

"There were so many scenarios that building this budget was any mans guess," Reed said. "Usually in the past you at least knew, when the Legislature was in session, they were at least working on something with school finance. But this session it was only the House and that was it. And with our whole (recapture) election in May, it was just impossible to know where it was going to land."

The budgeting process began on a sour note last year, when Houston school officials learned the district would have to pay recapture fees for the first time in its history.

Recapture is the process by which property-rich school districts give money to the state in order to buoy poorer districts that collect less in local property taxes. Only Texas and Vermont use such a system for funding schools equitably, and in Texas, its use has ballooned. When the Texas program started in 1993, only 34 school districts paid a total of $131.5 million in recapture fees. This year as many as 379 of Texas' more than 1,200 districts could pay a total of $1.87 billion in recapture fees.

Two referendums further complicated budget planning: In November, about 62 percent of Houston voters told the district not to pay the state's recapture fee. Last month, more than 80 percent of voters approved paying it.

The tide changed after the Texas Education Agency said if Houston would not pay willingly, it would detach some of the city's most valuable commercial properties, giving their tax revenues to a poorer district instead.

Then there was a lawsuit contesting an agency rule meant to lessen the amount Houston and some other districts would have paid by recognizing their local homestead exemptions when calculating recapture payments. The measure would have knocked the Houston school system's bill down by about $60 million. But a federal judge issued an injunction barring the rule from taking effect at least until a trial in August, about two months after the district budget it due.

All of this muddied the budget before Tuesday, when Abbott announced his special session.

"Other districts around us are getting additional funds if property values increase," Reed said. "They get some benefit - thats why theyre able to go and put money to pay increases. But with us, if get an increase in revenue, we'll have to pay a big chunk of it to recapture. That leaves us with less money."

The special session will begin July 18, weeks after the Houston school budget is due. Any costs associated with mandates stemming from the special session would have to be presented to HISD's board later in the year in the form of budget amendments, which could cost millions more.

One of Reed's biggest concerns about the special legislative session is that lawmakers will order teacher pay raises without giving districts money to pay for them. If they do, that would cost Houston schools about $12 million.

And that doesn't include yet-to-be-defined changes to local and school district property tax collections that Abbott wants. In any case, Reed said the budget will force the district to dip into its rainy day fund.

"Its impossible for me to run a model" of what the final budget could look like, he said. "There are a lot of unknowns."
A man has been charged with murder after fatally shooting a young Houston man last year, according to police.

Tavish McKinley, 25, was charged Thursday with murder in the 208th State District Court for his role in the killing of Rayland Dunta Maryland, 22, of Houston.
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A Harris County sheriff's deputy and her husband are expected to appear in court Tuesday, days after being indicted on charges of murder, accused of intentionally choking a Crosby man outside a Denny's restaurant.

Deputy Chauna Thompson, 45, and her husband, Terry Thompson, 41, also of Crosby, turned themselves in Thursday night and both made bail of $100,000 each. They could face up to life in prison if convicted.

Typically, suspects charged with felonies in Harris County appear before a state district judge to have their bail conditions set.

Both are accused of the firstdegree felony of intentionally causing the death of John Hernandez, with Terry Thompson accused of choking him to death as he held him pinned to the ground. Chauna Thompson was charged as an accomplice.

The indictments, handed down late Thursday, came a day after more than 150 protesters marched across downtown Houston proclaiming "Justice for John Hernandez" and "Brown Lives Matter."

The march was the culmination of a week of unrest after cell phone video of the incident was released.

Hernandez's family members praised the charges as they prepared for a visitation and rosary are set for Friday. A funeral Mass will be held Saturday at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Houston.

ALSO READ: Deputy, husband turn themselves in after choking death of man

Terry's attorney, Scott Courtney, said prosecutors rushed the case without giving the grand jury time to consider all the evidence. Courtney said Terry did not intentionally kill Hernandez.

"I'm extremely disappointed the grand jury chose to indict," he said. "I don't believe the evidence shows that."

ALSO READ: Medical examiner rules exact cause of John Hernandez's death

Terry maintains Hernandez took the first swing after the two men argued.

"It's disappointing that citizens can simply march on the courthouse and demand somebody be indicted for murder," Courtney said.
The evolving mugshots of a man with elaborate face tattoos have become an internet obsession this week after his most recent arrest.

Originally from North Carolina Robert Hardister, 25, has an array of mugshots, starting in 2009, that show the evolution of tattoos on his face.
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Longtime Pearland staff member named police chief

Johnny Spires, a law enforcement executive with more than 27 years of experience, has been appointed police chief for the city of Pearland.

A longtime member of the city's staff, Spires has served as a police officer, sergeant, lieutenant and assistant chief. He stepped into his new role June 1, upon the retirement of Chief J. C. Doyle.

As chief, Spires will be responsible for the department's $25.5 million budget, 17 divisions and more than 200 city employees.

Police department welcomescitizens for coffee, conversation

Pearland residents can meet the city's officers and voice their concerns at Coffee with a Cop, 9-10 a.m. June 22 at police headquarters, 2555 Cullen Blvd.

The event is free. Visit www.facebook.com/events/136732106884580/?active_tab=about for details.

THEFT

Police arrested a Houston man, 18, for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle May 29 in the 2500 block of Main Street.

A Missouri City man, 44, received a citation for shoplifting May 30 in the 11100 block of Shadow Creek Parkway, police said.

A 44-year-old Houston woman was taken into custody for theft of service May 31 in the 2500 block of Cullen Parkway, police said.

A Houston man, 23, was arrested for theft June 2 in the 1200 block of Commerce Street, police said.

Police took a Pearland man, 53, into custody for theft June 2 in the 7500 block of Bluebonnet Street.

A 46-year-old Houston man was arrested for shoplifting June 4 in the 8300 block of Broadway Street, police said. A Santa Fe man, 30, also was taken into custody for possession of drug paraphernalia.

NARCOTICS

A Manvel woman, 42, received a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia May 29 in the 11400 block of Broadway Street, police said.

Police arrested a Fresno man, 19, for possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance May 29 in the 12700 block of Broadway Street.

A Houston woman, 50, received citations for possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to maintain financial responsibility and driving while license invalid May 30 in the 4600 block of Dixie Farm Road, police said. She was transferred to the Pasadena Police Department.

A 41-year-old Garland woman was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia May 30 in the 4500 block of Main Street, police said. A Dallas man, 33, also was arrested for failure to identify.

Police arrested a Houston woman, 22, for possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana June 1 in the 11200 block of Broadway Street. Another Houston woman, 25, was arrested for failure to identify as a fugitive.

An Alvin woman, 39, was arrested for possession of a controlled substance June 2 in the 6700 block of Magnolia Road, police said.

Police arrested a 29-year-old Pearland man for possession of drug paraphernalia June 2 in the 11500 block of Shadow Creek Parkway.

An Alvin man, 22, was arrested for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia June 3 in the 4200 block of Main Street, police said.

Police arrested a Clute woman, 41, a Freeport woman, 22, and a Palacios woman, 36, for possession of drug paraphernalia June 3 in the 17800 block of Texas 288.

A Houston man, 20, was arrested for marijuana possession June 3 in the 4500 block of Main Street, police said. A 17-year-old South Houston woman also was arrested for failure to identify.

Police cited a 19-year-old Hitchcock man for possession of drug paraphernalia June 4 in the 4900 block of Main Street.

An 18-year-old Missouri City man was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia June 4 in the 2300 block of Main Street, police said.

An Alvin man, 29, was arrested for marijuana possession June 4 in the 3900 block of Dixie Farm Road, police said.

TRAFFIC

Police arrested a 29-year-old Manvel man for driving while license invalid May 29 near the intersection of Texas 6 and Texas 288.

A Pearland woman, 33, was arrested for driving while license invalid May 31 in the 2300 block of Hatfield Road, police said.

Police arrested a Houston man, 27, for driving while license invalid May 31 in the 11000 block of Broadway Street.

DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED

Police arrested a Fresno man, 46, for DWI with a child under the age of 15 May 29 near the intersection of CR 59 and Kirby Drive.

A Boerne man, 47, was arrested for DWI May 31 in the 9700 block of Broadway Street, police said.

Police arrested a Houston man, 39, for DWI June 2 in the 4100 block of Main Street.

A Pearland woman, 49, was arrested for DWI June 3 in the 4000 block of East Walnut Street, police said.

A Missouri City man, 61, was arrested for DWI June 4 in the 14900 block of Texas 288, police said.

Police arrested a Rosharon man, 33, for DWI June 4 in the 5700 block of Broadway Street.

Police arrested an Alvin man, 25, for DWI June 4 in the 4600 block of Main Street.

ASSAULT

A 27-year-old Pearland man was arrested for aggravated assault May 29 in the 3100 block of Hatfield Road, police said.

Police arrested a Sealy man, 32, for assault by physical contact May 30 in the 2200 block of O'Day Road.

Police arrested a 51-year-old Pearland man for assault-family violence May 30 in the 8300 block of Diamond Way Court.

A Pearland man, 18, was arrested for aggravated assault May 31 in the 3800 block of Dunlavy Drive, police said.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEF

Police arrested a Pearland man, 30, for criminal mischief May 30 in the 2600 block of Pearland Parkway.

Police took a Houston woman, 26, into custody for criminal mischief June 2 in the 2500 block of Cullen Parkway.

BURGLARY

A Pearland man, 25, was arrested for burglary of a habitation, possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana May 30 in the 2900 block of Harkey Road, police said.

INDECENT EXPOSURE

A Pearland man, 40, was taken into custody for indecent exposure May 31 in the 2500 block of Cullen Parkway, police said.

HARRASSMENT

Police took a 78-year-old Pearland man into custody for harassment June 1 in the 3400 block of Shadycrest Drive.

PUBLIC INTOXICATION

Police arrested two Pearland men, 33 and 64, for public intoxication June 1 in the 1500 block of Broadway Street.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

Police arrested a Houston man, 59, for disorderly conduct June 4 in the 9000 block of Sunrise Trail.
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Houston has received national attention for being the most diverse city in America. Now, it appears the suburbs are starting to get noticed for diversity, too.

The Christian Science Monitor recently highlighted Pearland's growing population in an article titled, "Suburbia's new face."

MELTING POT: Houston is America's most diverse city and others are finally starting to notice

The Monitor argues that while Houston remains divided by race and income, the city's suburbs are "rapidly becoming a kaleidoscope in which no majority exists, a sign of where much of America is headed."

The article focuses on how Pearland is the eighth fastest-growing city in America with 120,000 residents. In 2000, the city had 37,600 residents.

It also addresses how do older residents deal with the influx of new, diverse residents.

THE BBC'S TAKE: The BBC visits Houston and dives into our complex diversity

"We're not threatened by each other," Stephen Klineberg, a sociologist at Rice University, told the Monitor. "But we also don't get to know one another."

The article points out that despite the influx of diversity, it doesn't necessarily mean newcomers are mingling with established families. "A gap has already opened up between the younger, multicultural new arrivals and the mostly white homeowners near the city's old center."

Still, some people told the Monitor that Pearland will continue to change, for the better. City manager Clay Pearson told the outlet, "At some level, you realize that's part of the now and the future. For myself and a lot of people I've talked to, that's an attraction."

Click above to see where Houston's foreign-born population comes from.
Lawrence Allen DeShetler, an investment adviser and certified financial planner in The Woodlands, pleaded guilty to mail fraud June 8 in U.S. District Court in Beaumont, Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston announced Thursday.

DeShetler, 67, fraudulently obtained $1.9 million from five clients of his advisory business, DeShetler and Company Inc. DeShetler faces a maximum sentence of 20 years at sentencing. The date has not been set.

DeShetler spent some of the client's money on restaurant bills, country club fees, clothing, and pool cleaning services.

According to the Information filed in federal court, DeShetler advised clients on investment strategies and financial planning. In 2014, he started urging clients to withdraw money from their investments and give him the proceeds so he could earn higher returns than they were getting.

Instead of investing their money, DeShetler placed the funds into a bank account over which he had sole authority.

In a proceeding at the State Office of Administrative Hearings, the Inspections and Compliance Division of the Texas State Securities Board filed a Notice of Hearing in August 2016 to revoke DeShetler's registration.

State Securities Board staff alleged that DeShetler misapplied funds from a client's individual retirement account that was once worth $726,785. Staff alleged that in January 2016, DeShetler advised a client to cash out her IRA and transfer the funds to him.

DeShetler said he would invest the money in a new IRA, but deposited the funds into the bank account cited in the information.

The case was pending when DeShetler was arrested in August 2016 and subsequently indicted on state theft charges in November 2016 in Montgomery County. He remained in Montgomery County Jail until shortly before his guilty plea in federal court.

The criminal case was investigated by the FBI, the Texas State Securities Board, the district attorneys in Montgomery and Jefferson counties, the sheriffs' offices in Orange County and Montgomery County, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

In connection with the plea agreement, DeShetler will not contest a State of Texas administrative law case that the Texas State Securities Board filed to revoke his registration as an investment adviser.
A man previously in charge of installing a fire sprinkler system in the library of Montana State University Billings has admitted to taking payment but not completing the job.

Dustin James Jensen pleaded guilty to felony theft by embezzlement in Yellowstone County District Court. Jensen faces up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

According to court documents, Jensen was a foreman for IT&M Co. when they were awarded the contract to upgrade the sprinkler system in the library in August. The contract was worth more than $70,000 and Jensen was in charge of the project.

The job was said to be finished on Aug. 15, two weeks ahead of schedule. A state fire marshal and the alarm company performed a hydrostatic test of the system and the fire alarm and marked the project complete. But three days later an MSUB maintenance employee discovered a piece of water pipe was missing above the first floor.

The employees observed sprinkler heads clipped into place in the ceiling to create the appearance of a complete sprinkler system but above the ceiling tiles there was pipe missing that would connect the system to a water supply.

Court documents said Jensen could not provide a plausible explanation as to why he and another employee had not completed the sprinkler upgrade or why the pipe purchased for that section was missing.

Police discovered the missing pipe at Big Sky Steel and Salvage in Lockwood. Police interviewed employees at the business and reviewed receipts from when the pipe was purchased. They discovered Jensen had sold 2,540 pounds of pipe and received $82.55. Including shipping, IT&M paid more than $5,300 to replace the materials. The total loss including overpaid wages is estimated between $7,000 and $10,000.
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.
Police say a man texted his daughter he would commit "suicide by cop" before he shot a woman in the head Wednesday night, ran multiple red lights and crashed into an occupied truck parked outside a downtown Billings business.

Steven Eugene Kueffler, 50, was charged Thursday in Yellowstone County Justice Court with one count of felony attempted deliberate homicide, one count of felony criminal endangerment and one count of misdemeanor driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Billings Police Department Officer Ryan Kramer responded to the 1100 block of Fourth Avenue North at about 11:53 p.m. on Wednesday night. There he found a female bleeding from a bullet wound to the top of her head and screaming she had been shot.

The 25-year-old woman was hospitalized with injuries that did not appear life threatening, BPD Sgt. Pat Curry said in a press release.

Her vehicle was nearby with several shattered windows, and a later search turned up multiple bullets that had been lodged in the car. Based on the bullets' trajectory, it appeared the three shots were fired directly at the victim, according to court documents.

The victim told police that she had been eastbound on Fourth Avenue North when a vehicle pulled up next to her, and she heard three gun shots, which broke out several windows of her vehicle.

She then ducked down and pulled over to the side of the road. After feeling the top of her head she discovered she was bleeding, according to court documents.

She said the shots came from a red truck with a male driver. Another witness described a red truck leaving the scene after he heard gun shots.

Nearby, BPD Officer Nathan Contreras followed a red truck matching the suspect vehicles description after he saw it run a red light on Sixth Avenue North. Contreras tried to stop the truck, but it drove away, and the officer followed.

The truck ran another red light, hit a light pole and left the road during the pursuit, which began near MetraPark. Police estimate the chase lasted three to five blocks. The truck came to a halt on the 1500 block of Sixth Avenue North after it hit an occupied Silverado truck in the Singh Contracting parking lot, sending the Silverado's occupant and the truck into the interior of a building.

The 21-year-old man inside the Silverado was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries, according to the release.

The driver of the truck, identified as Kueffler, was taken into custody after the crash, according to court documents. His truck had two distinct bullet holes in the front windshield. A black handgun and spent shell casings were inside the truck in plain view, according to court documents.

Gunshot residue was collected, and a blood sample was taken at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility.

Kueffler told police he didn't remember the past two hours and denied taking any drugs. He said he had been drinking alcohol.

Kuefflers daughter provided Officer Kramer with a text message from Kueffler earlier in the evening in which he threatened "suicide by cop.

Felony attempted deliberate homicide can be punished by life imprisonment or between 10 and 100 years in prison with an additional 10 years for use of a dangerous weapon. Felony criminal endangerment is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of as much as $50,000. A misdemeanor first offense for driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs could carry a sentence of between 30 days and one year imprisonment and/or a fine of between $2,400 and $5,000.

Kuefflers bond was set at $100,000 and he is scheduled to appear with a State Public Defender-assigned attorney before District Court Judge Michael Moses on June 20 at 10 a.m.
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Schools have a new tool for helping keep up with building repairs, but it comes at the cost of local taxpayers.

Legislators passed a law this spring that allows school boards to pass non-voted levies that fund facilities projects and eventually chips in some matching money from the state.

At least three Yellowstone County school districts have passed such a levy, and another district passed an option but didnt enact the levy.

In Lockwood, the roughly $140,000 per year generated by the levy will help fix a crumbling roof. In Elysian, it will go toward maintaining a school that was extensively remodeled and expanded in work completed in 2015. Canyon Creek also passed the levy, which according to school board minutes will be used for roof repairs.

School officials were glad to have the option of raising more money, but less enthused about the method.

It gives us flexibility, but once again the hammer comes down on the local taxpayers, Lockwood superintendent Tobin Novasio said.

Lockwoods levy is six mills, or about $8 per year on a $100,000 home. Thats on top of an expected increase in an automatic levy to fund day-to-day school operations after legislators cut school funding that triggered a statewide $40 million tax increase for local school taxpayers over the next two years.

Lockwood also offered a local general fund levy, which would have allowed the district to raise more day-to-day funding, but it narrowly failed in this year's spring election.

We originally werent going to do (the building reserve) if the levy was going to pass, Novasio said. We didnt want to double up on taxpayers.

While Lockwood will use the tax revenue for a dire issue, Elysian is hoping to avoid getting to that point. With a large commercial tax base, the cost of its $44,000 levy comes in at only $2.30 per year on a $100,000 home. That made the decision to enact the levy absolutely easier for trustees, principal Luke Shelton said.

Its a way that we can continue to keep up with our infrastructure, he said. We have a newer building  but we want to make sure were maintaining and keeping those pieces up.

Fixing small problems before they become big problems saves the district money in the long run.

I truly believe that the cost benefit is huge that way, if you can do a little bit each year, staying ahead of it, Shelton said.

State source

The new law calls for matching funds, up to 80 percent of levy money raised per year, from the state that dont kick in until the 2018-19 school year. Its unclear exactly how much money will be available.

Its the first direct state support for school infrastructure since the defunding of the much-maligned Quality Schools Grant Program in 2015. The competitive grants were often criticized for not allocating funds equitably, not doing enough for schools and not being reliably funded.

However, for all the grant's faults, they allowed schools that received them to tackle larger, more costly projects.

Local levies are limited to either 10 mills and can't raise infrastructure money that exceeds roughly $100 per student enrolled added to $15,000. The money can address smaller fixes, but projects like new schools are out of the question.

Just south of Billings, Pryor was near the front of the line for a Quality School Grant to build a new elementary school before the program was defunded. The new levy would raise only about $9,000 per year for the district on the Crow Reservation that has a tax base of less than $900,000.

Novasio speculated that the new law was an effort to chip in state support to avoid a lawsuit against the state for not providing enough education facilities funding. Montana has been sued several times for failing to fulfill its constitutional obligation to fund education, with mixed verdicts.

For now, at least, schools will take what they can get.

Its nice to have a little bit more kind of control, Shelton said.

Billings Public Schools, Montana's largest district, didn't consider the levy at board meetings. Superintendent Terry Bouck said that he prefers voted tax raises that have community buy-in, though he said that he gets that automatic tax raises might be necessary for some districts.

By putting those costs on local schools with tax bases of varying strength, "it lets the state off the hook," he said.
Greenlight Capital Re Ltd. Announces Appointment of Burton as Chief Executive Officer

Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd., a specialist property/casualty reinsurance company headquartered in the Cayman Islands, hired Simon Burton as chief executive officer, effective July 1, 2017.

He will succeed Leonard Goldberg, who will step down as interim CEO while remaining a member of the Companys Board of Directors. Burton will also be appointed to the Companys Board of Directors.

Burton previously served as chief executive officer of SAC Re from its inception until its sale to Hamilton Insurance Group, where he was responsible, among other things, for building the companys global reinsurance portfolio, which supported the material growth in book value. Prior to SAC Re, Burton served in a variety of roles at Lancashire Group, including deputy chief executive officer and chief executive officer of the companys Bermuda subsidiary. He also spent 10 years at Financial Solutions International, an underwriting division of ACE Limited, where he eventually rose to the role of president.

Powell Joins Bolton & Company as Vice President of Property & Casualty

Bolton & Company, one of the nations largest privately owned insurance brokers, announced today that Erin Powell has joined the firm as vice president of the organizations Property & Casualty Department.

With more than 20 years of industry experience, Powell will lead Boltons Property & Casualty efforts company-wide through its Pasadena headquarters and satellite offices in Santa Clara and Orange County.

Powell will manage Boltons Property & Casualty service teamsincluding small business and claimswhile developing new business and expanding the organizations exclusive programs and offerings. Additionally, she looks to further develop carrier relationships and find new ways to collaborate with Boltons key markets.

Bolton President and CEO Steve Brockmeyer said this latest organizational development is a strategic step that will lead the firm into the next chapter of its continued growth.

Prior to joining Bolton, Powell was senior vice president with Orion Risk Management. In roles prior, she was senior vice president and Property & Casualty practice leader with Lemme, a division of Integro USA, and vice president, unit manager with Lockton Companies and co-led the Law Firm Practice Group. She has been involved in various Women in Leadership organizations, including being one of the co-founders of Locktons Southern California Women in Leadership chapter. Powell also managed and mentored the Associate Account Manager/Future Leaders Program for the firm.

Athens Administrators Names New Executive Vice President, Workers Compensation

Athens Administrators, a third-party claims administration services provider appointed Douglas Gibb as executive vice president, Workers Compensation.

Gibb will be responsible for the oversite of all of Athens workers compensation claim administration operations, initially splitting time between Athens Orange County and Concord, Calif., locations then transitioning to full time at corporate headquarters in Concord.

With over fifteen years in the workers compensation industry, Gibb joined Athens in 2011 as a unit supervisor, a position he held for two years until he was promoted to division claim manager. In this position, he was responsible for running the Orange office and under Gibbs leadership, the Orange office has successfully managed many high-profile programs which include large, sophisticated private sector and public agency self-insured programs.
An investigation into hailstorm claims fraud by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Fraud Unit led to a Tarrant County grand jury indictment of Richard Kent Livesay, a lawyer who allegedly solicited business following major hailstorm events that occurred in the Dallas area in 2014.

Livesay was indicted on first degree counts of felony engaging in organized criminal activity, felony insurance fraud, felony false statement to obtain property or credit, and thirteen counts of third degree felony barratry.

During his initial appearance today, Livesay posted a $20,000 bond and was ordered to surrender his passport. He faces a minimum sentence of 15 years if convicted on all counts.

A solo practitioner, Livesays license to practice law in Texas was suspended effective January 1, 2017, according to the Texas Bar Association. According to the Texas Bar Journal, Vol. 80 No. 1, Livesay accepted a one year active suspension on Nov. 8, 2016. A Hildalgo district court found that Livesay violated several rules and was ordered to pay $2292 in attorneys fees.

On Nov 22, 2016, David Yates of the SE Texas Record reported that the suspension resulted from an allegation by an insurer that he had filed a claim on behalf of a client he didnt represent. A disciplinary petition was filed by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline, a part of the State Bar of Texas.

He was previously suspended for one year back in 2005 for failing to return a client file upon termination of a case.

Steve Badger, a partner with Zelle LLPs Dallas office and a vocal advocate for hail litigation reform, said he was pleased to see prosecution of a barratry matter, since it remains rampant in hail litigation across the state.

Hopefully this prosecution of a well-known hail lawyer will send a message to other hail lawyers that the crime of barratry will be identified and, when appropriate, prosecuted, he said.

Badger brought attention to the issue of mounting hail claims in a 2015 article published by Claims Journal, The Emerging Hail Risk: What the Hail is Going On?

According to Badger, the Texas Department of Insurance is actively investigating cases of fraudulent hail claims and litigation.

I often hear complaints that the TDI is not doing anything to address illegal conduct in hail claims and litigation. That is simply not true, said Badger. I speak to the TDI Enforcement and Fraud units weekly about matters they are pursuing and provide requested information pertinent to their investigations. The TDI recognizes there is a problem and is taking action. They should be commended for their efforts.

A bill to end hail lawsuit abuse was recently signed by the governor and becomes effective September 1, 2017.

With increased enforcement and a new law in place, Badger hopes there will be a halt to fraudulent hail claims litigation.

Hopefully, the combination of strong law enforcement and the hail litigation reform bill recently passed by the Texas Legislature will stem the tide of abusive lawsuits arising from Texas hail claims.
Two area school programs were given Serve Montana awards during a ceremony held last Friday in Senate chambers at the State Capitol.

Run by Bridger High School students, Coles Pantry Posse was one of two group award winners.

After seeing the need to help students in their community, this dedicated group of students jumped into action, a news release from Serve Montana stated. Posse members plan, purchase, fill and distribute food bags each week. The group does its own fundraising, marketing, organizing and distribution.

Coles Posse is named for Cole Pelican, a Bridger 2nd-grader killed in a 2009 horse accident.

Over the past two years, posse members have helped students in seven other communities begin similar projects. Coles Pantry, the posses food provision outlet, offers seed money to schools ranging from $500 to $1,500, depending on the school size.

Red Lodge Public Schools won a First Lady School Breakfast Champion Award in part for offering a breakfast snack mid-morning to students as a scheduled part of their day.

According to the news release, students gather in the commons area, where they interact between classes. Fresh fried eggs, yogurt parfaits, whole fruit and juice, and cereal are among the healthy options for students.

Once breakfast is served, students listen to daily announcements while they eat. The school counselor engages students in an interactive game, and then students are off to their next class.
Gov. Doug Ducey reacted Wednesday to the latest fatal wrong-way crash on a Phoenix-area freeway by ordering state agencies to take steps to combat the deadly problem.

Ducey commented after two drivers were killed and a third injured in a wrong-way wreck Tuesday night. The incident was the third wrong-way accident in the last two weeks, two of them involving fatalities.

Ducey said he wanted the Department of Public Safety and other agencies to increase enforcement and public awareness of the problem. He also ordered that a planned pilot program involving new technology be accelerated and broadened.

Arizona Department of Transportation officials said last week the pilot program would use thermal camera technology to notify wrong-way drivers, surrounding drivers and law enforcement. The cameras would be installed on Interstate 17 beginning in the fall.

I want those cameras implemented as quickly as possible, and expanded to as many areas as possible where they may make a difference and save a life, Ducey said in a statement.

He also called on local police agencies to assist with enforcement and public awareness.

Drivers traveling against traffic on Arizona freeways claimed at least seven lives in 2016 and at least six so far this year, including the two people killed Tuesday night.

There have been 12 wrong-way crashes involving injuries or fatalities this year, up from 10 to date in 2016, according to DPS.

Wrong-way crashes have been a problem in states around the country, prompting the National Transportation Safety Board to study on the issue in 2012. The report found that about 300 people die every year as a result of wrong-way wrecks.

The agency recommended design changes on highways and alcohol ignition locks on vehicles of known DWI offenders and listed several examples of steps taken to address the problem of wrong-way crashes. The programs included embedded pavement sensors in San Antonio and a system along a 10-mile stretch of a Houston highway that relays information in real-time to a command center.

ADOT officials declined to comment, but DPS Director Col. Frank Milstead told radio station KTAR that ADOT has considered adding new lights to alert wrong-way drivers and using cameras to photograph wrong-way drivers and record their license plate numbers.

Milstead said he didnt know whether those ideas have been approved.

Milstead also underscored his belief that the public is also responsible for curbing the problem.

I think all too often people want to make this a road design issue or an enforcement issue, he told KTAR. There are obviously places where we can do better in both of those areas, but, really, this is a social responsibility issue.

Milstead said more than 80 percent of wrong-way drivers are impaired.

People should take car keys away from someone drinking too much or abusing drugs, said Alberto Gutier, director of the Governors Office of Highway Safety.

In response to Duceys call for action, Gutier said his office, DOT and DPS plan to launch a campaign this month highlighting the dangers of distracted driving.

The DPS said there have been 737 incidents involving wrong-way drivers reported so far in 2017, resulting in 37 related DUI arrests.

Most reported incidents of wrong-way drivers dont result in arrests or collisions because errant drivers correct themselves, Gutier said.

Gutier said he has been meeting regularly with state officials since the first wave of wrong-way accidents occurred in 2014. In 2015, ADOT began installing hundreds of larger and lower wrong way and do not enter signs on more than 100 freeway ramps throughout the state.

According to a 2015 ADOT report, wrong-way crashes occur most often after dark and predominantly in the morning hours from midnight to 2 a.m.

Sen. Karen Fann, vice-chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said wrong-way wrecks have always been a problem, but increasingly so in recent years.

I havent seen as many in my entire life as Ive seen in the past five years, said Fann, a highway construction company owner.

However, she said she knows of no planned legislation on the topic.

(AP reporter Paul Davenport in Phoenix contributed to this report.)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
AKRON, Ohio - One of the country's earliest building trades, timber framing, along with stone and slate trades, is re-emerging, as interest increases in preserving historic buildings, said master timber framer Rudy Christian, a member of the Timber Framers Guild.

Christian, president of Christian & Son, assisted by timber framers Laura Saeger and Ric Beck, will lead a timber framing workshop for anyone with woodworking or carpentry skills at Glendale Cemetery June 10-18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Those who would like to come to observe the work are also welcome.

Christian directs a crew setting up a tripod, and block and tackle for lifting a column at a Buddhist monastery in Mandalay, Myanmar.

"People come to the workshops who aren't happy with what they're doing," he said. "They end up looking forward to the work they're doing. It's a very viable trade."

The $250 workshop will focus on repairing the cemetery's cut stone tower belfry, which was removed for repairs in April after standing at the entrance for 130 years.

Students will be introduced to historic conservation practices and assembly techniques while repairs are made and replacement timbers cut to restore the structure to its original condition. A tool list will be supplied.

"This trade is important," Christian said. "If we want to keep those buildings part of our heritage we need people who how to take care of them. You can't take care of them using new techniques and materials."

Students also will have the opportunity to tour the nearby historic John Brown House and Stan Hywet Mansion, and be invited to attend the raising of the rebuilt roof structure and belfry onto the frame at the cemetery in August. A re-dedication is planned for September.

Christian, who has worked as a timber framer around the world, started his career as a mechanical engineer but found he wasn't satisfied with the work. After meeting his wife, Laura, who was involved in creating theater sets, the two began to collect old, unusual tools. Some of those tools were for timber framing, which led Christian to a workshop and to the trade.

In the United States timber framing was used often in the 1800s and 1900s to build structures such as "pegged barns," which rely on wooden pegs to hold them together. In the trade that's known as "mortise and tenon wood joinery."

One of Ohio's most famous timber-framed structure is the massive barn at Malabar Farm, home of author Louis Bromfield. In 1994, nearly 50,000 people attended the barn's restoration celebration on the farm, which is known for hosting Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's wedding in May 1945.

For more information about the timber framing workshop, contact Mark Gilles, construction manager for ARRC, Stan Hywet's historic preservation subsidiary, at 330-315-3240 or send an email to mgilles@stanhywet.org.

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AKRON, Ohio - Summit County, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow and Tallmadge are moving toward consolidating public safety dispatch operations.

After months of discussion -- as costs of operating individual systems rise -- County Executive Ilene Shapiro, Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters, Stow Mayor Sara Kline and Tallmadge Mayor Dave Kline recently signed a memorandum of understanding outlining details of the consolidation.

The signed agreement is not a binding legal document; it details steps the communities must take to complete a consolidation.

The state of Ohio has encouraged communities to merge, awarding a $500,000 grant to the Summit County communities, along with Mogadore, to assist.

The agreement spells out the goals of the communities, stating all decisions and agreements about the consolidation will be made with public safety and service as the primary considerations.

"Since the county joined the discussions several months ago, it was clear to me that our potential partners are approaching this opportunity with the goals of public safety, improved service and fiscal responsibility in mind," said Shapiro in a news release.

Here are highlights of the agreement:

The communities will share the cost of a consultant to decide where to build the consolidated operation and advise cities on processes, procedures and best-practices for implementing it.

The communities will create a Council of Governments to oversee construction, budget and communication with unions.

Key goals are sustainability, regional disaster recovery and redundancy, and cost-effectiveness.

Law enforcement should should always work to improve services for the safety of citizens and for law enforcement officers and staff, said Summit County Sheriff Steve Barry in the release. "Collaboration and cooperation between agencies is the most effective solution and most fiscally responsible way to accomplish this goal," he said.

"We are incredibly fortunate here in Cuyahoga Falls to have the established relationships between communities that allow for a multi-jurisdictional collaboration of this caliber, and we are proud to be a part of it," Walters stated in the release. He agreed consolidation is the best way for the communities to ensure savings while continuing to deliver high-quality services to residents.

Cuyahoga Falls, Stow and Tallmadge have discussed consolidating dispatch operations for more than two years. Since Summit County was also considering such a move, the four began discussions that would become the model for more consolidation in the county.

"This effort has my full support and I am confident that the city of Stow will be well served by this process," Sara Kline stated.

Tallmadge, which consolidated with Stow a few years ago, has experienced operational and administrative efficiency ever since, David Kline said in the release.

"We anticipate that this larger consolidation effort will provide even greater benefits to our community, our neighbors, and our county," he said. "We look forward to merging our collective knowledge and experience to improve dispatch services and reduce long-term costs."

Under the agreement, each community's council must approve any agreements necessary to create the Council of Governments. The communities will submit legislation to their councils to approve each step in the process, beginning with the hiring the consultant.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Daiquiri is a Cuban cocktail that derives its name from a beach town on the island's southeastern coast.

According to veteran bartender Bob Dagostino, "it's the first classic straight-up cocktail to be invented outside the United States."

Our curiosity on how to make some of the most popular drinks ordered in area taverns grew out of our search to find Greater Cleveland's Best Bartender.

We visited with Dagostino -- who has spent more than 30 years behind Cleveland-area bars -- to learn how to make the five most popular drinks on the North Coast. Each day this week we have featured a step-by-step video so you can create these drinks for yourself, or wow your friends at your next party.

Watch the video above to learn all about the Daiquiri.

The popular Daiquiri summer libation was supposedly invented by an American mining engineer, Jennings Cox, who was in Cuba at the time of the Spanish-American War. It is also rumored William Chanler, a United States congressman who purchased the Santiago iron mines in 1902, introduced the Daiquiri to clubs in New York City that year.

The drink became popular in the 1940s when World War II rationing made whiskey and vodka hard to come by, yet because of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy, rum was easily obtainable because the policy opened up trade and travel relations with Latin America, Cuba and the Caribbean.

It was a favorite drink of writer Ernest Hemingway and President John F. Kennedy.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland police are searching for the person who stabbed a 15-year-old girl Thursday night in the city's Lee-Miles neighborhood.

The girl was stabbed in her side about 9 p.m. in the 15000 block of Cloverside Avenue near East 155th Street, police said.

The girl was taken to University Hospital treatment. Her condition was not known as of 11:30 p.m. Thursday.

Police did not release the victim's name, and officials did not say what prompted the stabbing. The incident remains under investigation.

Police also did not say whether an arrest was made or if investigators have a suspect in the case.

To comment on this story, please visit Thursday's crime and courts comments page.

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.

To comment on this story, please visit Thursday's crime and courts comments page.

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 -- After telling Cleveland Heights police last month that a neighbor raped her, Alisa Alfaro said she was shocked to see the department had posted online the report with her name and address.

The 48-year-old executive assistant told The Plain Dealer in an interview she gave police the name of the neighbor, who she said entered her unlocked apartment while she slept. His name, however, was not included on the report, leaving her to feel that police were protecting him and putting her in jeopardy.

"Will a potential employer do a Google search and this show up?" she asked.

Contacted this week, Cleveland Heights officials said the department's online reporting system was designed to promote transparency, and was in compliance with Ohio's public records law, which does not protect the names of victims or others named in incidents reported to police.

The city, however, decided to modify its system and it will no longer post online those reports. Complete reports can still be requested from the police department.

"We certainly sympathize with victims' concerns for privacy and security. Anyone who has been a victim of crime would want the same thing," City Manager Tanisha Briley said in an email to The Plain Dealer.

Alfaro's May 17 report, which was available online Tuesday, is no longer on the department's website. It's not clear whether the department will remove only reports of rape or begin modifying the reports to remove names and personal information. Officials weren't immediately available Thursday to clarify.

Alfaro wanted to speak publicly about her experience because she decided she she didn't want to feel stigmatized by what happened to her. She also feels secure because she has a protection order and Charles Cross, her 62-year-old neighbor, is in jail.

"My concern is for other victims and survivors who might not want their information compromised or for their attackers or their families to have access to their personal information."

Cleveland Rape Crisis Center President & CEO Sondra Miller said the center hears about the release of victims' names a few times a year, though it likely happens more often.

Miller said some law enforcement agencies redact victims' names and contact information and others do not.

Victims' names and other personal information sometimes appears on public court dockets and in documents filed as part of court cases.

Most sexual assault cases already are not reported, Miller said. If a victim understands that their name and contact information might be released, she or he may be less likely to report.

"For some survivors of rape and sexual abuse, if their name and information related to their assault is released publicly without their consent, it can be embarrassing or even humiliating," Miller said in an email.

"Survivors don't deserve to be publicly embarrassed for something that was never their fault."

Alfaro said after she initially reported the rape on May 17, a detective told her for more than a week that they could not charge Cross until they received results from lab tests on evidence collected as part of the investigation, including DNA.

"It made me feel like they weren't taking it seriously," she said. "They didn't even interview him right away."

Cross was arrested June 2 and charged with rape. He is being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail and has a hearing set for Friday. The court's docket doesn't list an attorney for him.

Alfaro has since spoken to Chief Annette Mecklenburg, who listened to her concerns about the case and the publishing of online reports.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Seventy-six years ago, as America entered World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces conducted an experiment to see if the nation's blacks could not only fight, but fly as well.

The experiment and its participants, who became known as the Tuskegee Airmen, proved a resounding success, and set the stage for ultimate integration of America's armed forces.

On Saturday, a plaque will be dedicated in Oberlin to nine onetime residents who served in that fighting force.

The 10 a.m. dedication will be held on Tappan Square, at Main and East College Streets, with shuttle service to the monument that is entitled "Honoring the Tuskegee Airmen of Oberlin, Ohio."

Among those honored will be James G. Cannon, a lifelong resident, who died in 1969 at age 55.

His great-niece, Therese White Bowen, will be flying in from Atlanta for the ceremony, and many of his other descendants also plan to attend.

Bowen said the monument was the result of efforts by Oberlin historian Margaret Christian, author of the book "Tuskegee Airmen: Men of Color Call to Action."

The monument consists of a plaque set on a stone. The plaque features a representation of a Tuskegee Airman in flight gear, a fighter aircraft flown by the black pilots, a Tuskegee emblem and the names of those being honored.

In addition to Cannon, they are: Gilbert Cargill, William A. Johnston Jr., Norman E, Proctor, Wayman E. Scott, Ferrier H. White, William L. Williams Jr., William Young and Perry H. Young Jr.

The dedication ceremony will be part of a Junteenth Festival being held on Tappan Square from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bowen said there was some uncertainty regarding her great-uncle's role in the Tuskegee airmen.

Though he trained in Tuskegee, and got a private pilot's license before the war, whenever he was asked if he was a Tuskegee Airman, he said no, according to Bowen.

She believes this denial may have been due to his own modesty and a common misinterpretation of the Tuskegee program as being limited only to black fighter pilots. The overall Tuskegee program also trained bomber crews, thousands of ground support personnel, and included women and whites.

Bowen who grew up in Elyria and Oberlin, remembers her great-uncle a very modest, soft-spoken and patriotic man, who ran the Veteran's Cab Co. in Oberlin after the war.

"He loved flying before he went into the Tuskegee program," she said. "To my knowledge he never flew. I assume he was one of the grounds crews working in planes."

The family had unsuccessfully tried to research his role in the program, but Bowen said Christian's work was able to confirm his participation.

"I consider ourselves very blessed that my sister and family and I will be able to witness this momentous occasion, because we never thought my great-uncle would ever be recognized as a Tuskegee Airman," Bowen said. "It just means so much to us.

She added, "My family has been working hard to make this a reality, but better late than never. They're finally getting their due respect."

The first aviation cadet class of the Tuskegee Airmen -- so-named for their training at the Tuskegeee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama -- started in 1941, eight months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Most of the recruits were college graduates or undergraduates, initially trained to be single-engine pilots, and later as twin-engine pilots, navigators or bombardiers.

Upwards of 19,000 support personnel were trained to be aircraft and engine mechanics, armament specialists, radio repairmen, parachute riggers, control tower operators, policemen, administrative clerks and other positions.

From 1942-1946, 992 officer pilots graduated from Tuskegee. Black bomber navigators, gunners and bombardiers trained at military bases elsewhere in the U.S.

The fighter pilots were formed in the all-black 99th Fighter Squadron and 332nd Fighter group, flying P-40 Warhawks in combat in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

These "red-tails," as they became known for the distinctive coloration of their aircraft tails, were awarded three Presidential Unit Citations for such missions as escorting bombers - including protection from attacks by the new German jet fighters - and attacking targets on land and sea.

The Tuskegee Airmen were credited with shooting down or damaging 409 enemy aircraft while flying more than 15,000 sorties over North Africa and Europe. Some 150 fliers were killed in training or combat.

In the post-war U.S. Air Force, black aviators continued to serve in their own units until all military forces were desegregated by President Harry Truman in 1948.

In 2007, President George Bush presented the group with the Congressional Gold Medal.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio didn't allow open deer hunting until 1943 because deer had previously been over harvested for their hides, bones and antlers.

Hunting was only offered in three counties at first, and then on and off for several decades depending on the state's deer population.

Today, sportsmen and women can hunt white tail deer in all 88 counties. State officials set the bag limits annually on how many deer hunters can take in each county, after reviewing changes in the deer population and surveying farmers and hunters.

Last season, hunters could take as many as six deer, including one buck. Only 1 percent of Ohio's hunters take the full amount, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Hunting limits and poaching penalties were in the news this week after a grand jury indicted eight members of an illegal deer poaching ring in Cuyahoga County. The eight face 66 counts including racketeering, fraud and identity theft charges in addition to breaking state wildlife laws and could spend 55 years in prison.

Take a look at how Ohio reached its rules.

Deer population

Despite deer culling in Northeast Ohio and debates over deer invading suburban yards, state officials say deer population has been relatively stable and actually could stand to grow.

The state doesn't measure actual deer population. Instead, officials examine the numbers of deer hunted, carcasses removed from roadways and live deer spotted by bowhunters to determine whether the population is increasing, decreasing or staying the same.

All three measures showed smaller populations in 2015 compared to most of the previous 10 years, according to a 2016 department report. Hunters reported harvesting 79,176 bucks, 90,021 does and 19,138 button bucks in 2015.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources deer biologist Clint McCoy said the state seeks farmers' and hunters' opinions because they are the two largest constituencies concerned about deer population. The goal, he said, is to strike a balance between having enough deer to satisfy hunters but not be a nuisance to farmers.

McCoy said the state's deer population took off in the 1980s and spiked in the early 2000s. The goal then became to reduce population.

The division upped the bag limit for antlerless deer, usually does, to bring the population down.

"On a large scale, the most effective method of controlling the population is through hunting," McCoy said.

McCoy said recent surveys show a need to stabilize the deer population in Lorain, Cuyahoga and Summit counties and grow it in the far northeast corner of the state as well as the far western edge.

Bag limits

The population and survey data is used to annually set county bag limits.

For the 2016-17 season, hunters could take up to four deer in six counties, including Cuyahoga and other counties with large cities. Two or three were allowed in the rest.

Statewide, hunters could only take six deer, and only one could have antlers. The state also utilizes controlled hunts and damage permits to target specific areas.

Ohio's limits are fairly liberal compared to some of its neighbors but allows fewer bucks to be hunted because the focus has been on reducing population.

How Ohio stacks up

Ohio's 2015 buck harvest was greater than in neighboring Indiana, smaller than in Michigan Pennsylvania and about the same as Kentucky and West Virginia.

Each state sets its own bag limits similar to Ohio, adjusting for population and targeting areas where deer might be a nuisance to residents. But each state varies in their regulations.

For example, Indiana allows bowhunters to bag two deer, including one antlered, plus additional antlerless deer depending on the county limit. In deer reduction zones, found in mostly urban areas, hunters can take 10 deer.

Ohio and Pennsylvania are also one-buck states. Michigan hunters can take up to two antlered deer statewide, but limits are imposed depending on the number of antler points in different parts of the state.

West Virginia limits hunters to three bucks per season.

Penalties

Illegally taking a deer, on first offense, is a third-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine up to $500.

The state, which legally owns Ohio's wildlife, can also collect restitution on poached animals.

State lawmakers drastically increased the money the state can collect from trophy deer in 2008 for the first time in 20 years.

What was once a flat $400 per deer fee was replaced by a calculation of various antler measurements, called a Boone and Crockett score, which reflect how much the antlers are worth when sold.

Under the law, $400 is the minimum restitution owed and it increases for deer with a gross score greater than 125.

At the time, state officials and sportsmen said the penalties were so low that poachers viewed them as the "cost of doing business," according to a Gongwer News Service report.

"Poachers steal from all Ohioans," Larry Mitchell, president of the League of Ohio Sportsmen, told lawmakers in 2007. "When a deer or turkey is taken illegally, it is no longer available for hunters to hunt or for wildlife watchers to see."

Before the change, a first-time violator found guilty of illegally taking two deer, each with a gross score of 150, paid $500 for the third-degree misdemeanor and $800 restitution for both deer. Now, the violator would pay the $500 fine for the misdemeanor but also $4,125 for each deer, hiking the total fine from $1,300 to $8,750.

Trophy bucks, like some of those nabbed in the poaching ring, can cost upwards of $20,000 in restitution in Ohio. If convicted of all counts, the alleged poachers face up to $225,000 in restitution back to the state, officials said.

As for penalties, Ohio's are in line with neighboring states. Kentucky, which also uses the Boone and Crockett gross point score, would assess the same $4,125 fine to a buck scoring 150 points.

That's not obscene. In Michigan, restitution starts at $2,000 per antlered deer with more added for deer with 8-point antlers or greater. A 10-point buck that scored 150 would cost $7,000 in restitution there but $4,125 in Ohio.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland man is accused of attacking a University Hospitals doctor with her own stethoscope.

Evroy Campbell, 46, is charged with second-degree felonious assault. He appeared for arraignment Friday, where a judge set his bond at $15,000 and bound his case over to a Cuyahoga County grand jury.

Campbell was at the University Hospitals emergency room around 11 p.m. Wednesday, where a 28-year-old doctor was seeing him for "psychiatric purposes," according to a University Hospitals police report.

Campbell became combative after the doctor and other staff members told him they needed to give him an IV, the report says.

He grabbed the doctor's stethoscope and struck her several times over the head with it, court documents say.

The attack left the doctor with a bloody face, the report says. She required six staples to her back of the head and two sutures to the front of her head, court documents say.

An emergency room secretary alerted police to the incident by hitting a panic alarm, and Campbell was arrested once the hospital discharged him, the report says.

Campbell was indicted on charges of felonious assault and robbery in connection with a 2002 Cleveland police case, but those charges were later dismissed, records show. He has no other felony record in Cuyahoga County.

To comment on this story, please visit Friday's crime and courts comments page.

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watch now

Jen-Hsun Huang, chief executive officer and co-founder of Nvidia, speaks at an International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Jacob Kepler | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Then, on a day where the major averages inched up, seemingly unphased by the congressional hearing of former FBI Director James Comey, Cramer found a different story worth noting. "I think the story is much less about Director Comey versus President [Donald] Trump than it is about two stocks: Nvidia versus Nordstrom ," the "Mad Money" host said. "I know, I know. Only I could really boil down a constitutional crisis into two stocks, but that's alright. They're jumping. I can do it because as riveting as the Comey testimony was, to me it means only one thing: forget about Washington ... if you're looking for anything good." While the hearing is bad for Trump's pro-business economic agenda, Wall Street was focused on these two other stories, which Cramer said represent the conflict of growth versus value.

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Cramer also went off the tape and sat down with David Yeom, the co-founder and CEO of online bargain retailer Hollar, to see how the privately held dollar store is faring in the internet realm. "We have been just pounding the pavement, working with amazing suppliers and sourcing just unbelievable products," Yeom told Cramer on Thursday, highlighting the company's ability to offer products like the fidget spinner at competitively low prices. And as the company rides what Yeom called a "macro trend" of bargain buying in the otherwise bleak world of retail, the CEO said that Hollar is perfectly positioned to benefit from two of the struggling industry's most popular segments. "There's really two things working in retail right now, and that's online and off-price, and we're doing both. And we're chasing after a consumer group, really Middle America millennials, that's really been under-served for a long time," Yeom said.

Joey Levin, chief executive officer of IAC/InterActiveCorp, left, speaks as Barry Diller, chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp, listens during a conference in New York on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016. Misha Friedman | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Although its stock has doubled over the past year and rallied over 64 percent in 2017, InterActive Corporation does not get enough love from the market, Jim Cramer says. "It's because IAC is a confusing conglomerate of online businesses that people simply don't understand. They don't know how IAC is structured, and more importantly, they can't keep track of what IAC even owns," the "Mad Money" host said. So Cramer broke down the business to find the key to its soaring stock and how IAC has kept creating value over the years under the leadership of Chairman and Senior Executive Barry Diller.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals: Confidence in DNA

Finally, Cramer sat down with Joseph Kim, the president and CEO of Inovio Pharmaceuticals , to hear more about the rise of the speculative biotechnology play that focuses on DNA-based therapies for cancer and other infectious diseases. Kim told Cramer on Thursday that despite the company's relatively small market capitalization, it has managed to stay efficient in developing and testing their cutting-edge treatments. "We're very focused and we're very good at what we do, but also, it's our technology platform," the CEO said. "It's a very innovative way of jump-charging a patient's own immune system, and we can do this very rapidly and effectively." And although the company is small, it has partnered with pharmaceutical giants like AstraZeneca's Medimmune, Regeneron and Roche's Genentech to continue developing its medicines, Kim said, adding that his confidence about Inovio's future is not unfounded. "The confidence isn't out of ignorance, it's really based on our data. We have about 1,000 patients' worth of strong and potent immune responses already recorded across our early trials," he told Cramer. "While we're still growing, this is a wonderful platform that's been validated with a lot of these data."

Lightning Round: I See your Anheuser-Busch, and I Raise You...
Those 16 include Ask.com , Dotdash , HomeAdvisor , The Daily Beast , Dictionary.com , Vimeo , and Match, the online dating colossus that owns the dating app Tinder.

IAC is an internet and media company and the parent of 16 key brands, some of which run their own, smaller brands under their wings.

So Cramer broke down the business to find the key to its soaring stock and how IAC has kept creating value over the years under the leadership of Chairman and Senior Executive Barry Diller.

"It's because IAC is a confusing conglomerate of online businesses that people simply don't understand. They don't know how IAC is structured, and more importantly, they can't keep track of what IAC even owns," the " Mad Money " host said.

Although its stock has doubled over the past year and rallied over 64 percent in 2017, InterActive Corporation does not get enough love from the market, Jim Cramer says.

"Put it all together and IAC's sites have more than 500 million unique monthly users, [and] 2.5 billion monthly page views," Cramer said. "Perhaps more important, IAC's been around for decades, and it's been a history of incubating great ideas then spinning them off as their own separate companies."

The company did so with Cramer-fave online travel company Expedia , TripAdvisor , Home Shopping Network , and Ticketmaster, which has since merged with Live Nation .

Its most recent spinoff was of Match Group , the parent company of Match.com and Tinder, but IAC still owns most of that business.

What intrigues Cramer the most about IAC's track record is that going back to the 1990s, Diller was always tuned in to up-and-coming trends and fads.

"In the '90s he embraced the rise of cable TV. But by the early 2000s, after the dot-com boom went bust, Diller quickly started de-emphasizing his cable franchises and turning more attention to the web," the "Mad Money" host said.

And while that led IAC to make landmark acquisitions like Expedia, LendingTree, CollegeHumor, Dictionary.com and Ask.com, the conglomerate never stopped shedding brands from its portfolio, either.

In the years after it bought all those companies, it spun off Expedia, LendingTree and a slew of others, coaxing out value by reforming these largely successful businesses.

Cramer added that although the company does not always acquire winners, it knows when to correct its strategy, as demonstrated by its purchase of Newsweek, which it sold 30 months later.

"Add up all these spin-offs, and get this: Barry Diller has created  and no one talks about this  $40 billion in value over the last decade," Cramer said. "That's a very impressive number when you consider that IAC itself is only an $8 billion company."

IAC is still employing its monetizing strategy, as demonstrated by Match Group and HomeAdvisor. Though the stock sold off in February 2016, it has come roaring back, up nearly 140 percent since that bottom.

"In terms of profitability, half of IAC's segments are actually losing money. They're still investing in themselves to promote future growth," Cramer said.

From Match Group's IPO, which had a rocky start but later bounced back, to HomeAdvisor's merger with Angie's List, which Wall Street embraced, IAC is maintaining its strong track record, shown in its two latest earnings reports, the "Mad Money" host said.

"Even though IAC has caught fire lately, I think the company and its terrific leader, Barry Diller, just don't get the respect or the attention that they deserve. Of course, I have to tell you, they do not seek it, just so you know. But Diller's proven to be an incredible and unheralded value creator over the years, and I bet IAC's stock has a lot more room to run," Cramer said.

Questions for Cramer?

Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC

Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up!

Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine

Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com
2016A statue is seen next to the logo of Germany's Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, Germany.

Deutsche Bank AG on Thursday said U.S. law prohibits it from responding to questions from U.S. lawmakers about President Donald Trump and his possible ties to Russia without a legally proper request because of regulations protecting customer information.

In a letter to five House Democrats, Germany's largest bank said U.S. federal privacy and confidentiality laws prevented it from sharing information on its reported banking relationship with the President and his family.

"We hope that you will understand Deutsche Bank's need to respect the boundaries that Congress and the courts have set in an effort to protect confidential information," lawyers for the bank from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld wrote in the letter.

Deutsche's correspondence follows a May 23 request from Maxine Waters, ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, and four peers, requesting information about the Republican president.

The original letter sought details that might show whether Trump's loans for his real-estate business were backed by the Russian government, including documents tied to any internal reviews of Trump's accounts at the bank.

The lawmakers initially gave Deutsche Bank until June 2 to respond, but the German lender requested more time.

The Democrats on their own cannot compel Deutsche Bank to hand over the information. The House committee has subpoena power, but Republican committee members, who make up the majority of the panel, would have to cooperate.

No Republicans signed the letter.

Public records show Deutsche Bank loaned Trump millions of dollars for real-estate ventures.

The letter was sent on a day Washington was consumed with testimony by former FBI director James Comey, who appeared before a Senate panel on Thursday and accused Trump of firing him to undermine an investigation into possible collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign team and Russia.

Moscow has denied the allegations of election meddling, and Trump has denied any collusion.

The congressional Democrats also sought information about a Russian "mirror trading" scheme that allowed $10 billion to flow out of Russia. In January, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $630 million in fines over the scheme, which could have been used to launder money out of Russia.

The trades involved, for example, buying Russian stocks in roubles for a client and selling the identical value of a security for U.S. dollars for a related customer.Deutsche Bank provided the Democrats copies of settlements regarding the trades.
The day after the election, the day after a candidate body slammed a reporter, the day after another millionaire will have the pleasure of walking the hallowed halls of America's government, the day after the millionaire joins the club of Captains of Capitalism.

It's been obvious that Montana has been a bastion of Republicanism for many years. And that's fine. However, this is not the time in history that another millionaire club member is allowed access to our government. This is the day after the election that Americans should stop and consider what it is we are doing to our country and our relations around the world. This is the day after the election we must seriously accept the fact that this is indeed a global village and what happens in our Congress can have repercussions around the world.

This day after the election sit back and remember what has been going on in Washington since Jan. 21, 2017, and putting aside political parties, think about the realities of what has been done to our health care, think what has been done to our national monuments, think what has been done to our international relations around the world, think what is being said and done in Washington, and then think about why you would want to send another Republican to the club of wealth that has become our government.

And if you can think about these things objectively, then I suggest you might want to apologize to Rob Quist and the Americans who were counting on you to do the right thing.

Note: Yes, I live in Kentucky, but I was born and raised in Eastern Montana, and my roots are still there.

Ted Green

Lexington, Kentucky
Hong Kong-listed furniture maker Man Wah Holdings , under attack by short-seller Carson Block, resumed trading of its shares on Friday after calling the allegations "groundless."

The company's shares surged when the Hong Kong session opened and are up around 17 percent by 10:00 a.m. HK/SIN. Man Wah halted trading of its shares at 2:30 p.m. HK/SIN on Wednesday after Block named the company as his next target.

Block, the founder and chief investment officer of Muddy Waters, said Man Wah has undisclosed debt and is less likely to be profitable. He also raised questions about the company's alleged inconsistencies in taxes and China sales growth.

CNBC has sent an email to Muddy Waters seeking further comment.

In a nine-page stock exchange filing on Friday morning, Man Wah said the allegations are "groundless and contains various misrepresentations, malicious and false allegations and obvious factual errors about the Group."
Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet, at the 2017 Code Conference on May 31, 2017.

Alphabet's sale of two robotics companies this week should serve as a warning to all the other robots whose budgets depend on the approval of CFO Ruth Porat: From now on, merely becoming a YouTube video star isn't enough to stay on the payroll.



The sales to Softbank, the Japanese conglomerate owned by billionaire investor Masayoshi Son, show that the fiscal discipline Porat has brought to Google's parent company extends even to its most high-profile technologies.

Her focus on the bottom line has reportedly earned Porat the nickname 'Ruth Vader' at the company, after the Star Wars arch-villain of the same name.

While Porat's cost-cutting regime may put fear into the hearts of engineers dreaming of the distant future, it's been music to the ears of investors focused on this year's market returns.

One of the companies sold this week, Boston Dynamics, has built a group of robots that can run up stairs, leap over obstacles and bounce back from a swift kick as good as any human, as shown by their massively-popular YouTube videos.

Clips that showcase different members of the cutting-edge metal crew, who have hip names like WildCat, Spot and Atlas, have garnered more than 76 million views on the Alphabet-owned video service.
Theresa May, U.K. prime minister, left, waves as she stands with Donald Tusk, president of the European Union (EU), outside number 10 Downing Street in London, on Thursday, April 6, 2017

The start of Brexit negotiations scheduled for June 19 is set to be delayed after a U.K. General Election produced a hung parliament on Friday morning.

The U.K. will have to clear the current political uncertainty and define its next government before it can negotiate with the European Union. At the same time, the country is under pressure given that the two-year time limit to conclude Brexit talks continues to tick.

President Donald Tusk of the European Council said on Twitter: "We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know then they must end. Do your best to avoid a 'no deal' as result of 'no negotiations'."

The EU's Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, also said on Twitter that the negotiations will start when the U.K. is ready. "Timetable and EU positions are clear. Let's put our minds together on striking a deal," he said.

Tweet 2

Theresa May called the election to garner stronger support and more power when discussing Brexit with the EU. However, this seems to have totally backfired raising questions as to who will negotiate Brexit and what sort of Brexit the country will look for.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May returns to 10 Downing Street with her husband Philip after traveling to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen's permission to form a minority government, in London, June 9, 2017.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May "botched" her party's chances of a clear majority after she called for a snap election, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday.

"Theresa may or may not be the prime minister. If you want certainty, then I think you're not going to get it from her reign," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street."

Cramer spoke after May's Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority in the U.K. general election, according to results Friday. May said she hopes to continue as party leader and prime minister despite calls for her to resign.

On Friday, May asked permission from the queen to form a new government. Europe's markets were mixed after May announced she would form a government alliance with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party. The sterling took a beating, however.

Cramer said he was surprised by the market's muted reaction to the results, given that it was a "major gaffe."

"The pound we can say is a big sell-off. I don't regard this as a huge sell-off, given how seriously she botched this thing," Cramer said.
The company also gets some of its business from water, environmental and energy management systems, as well as construction and engineering projects for local governments.

Contrary to its name, Chicago Bridge & Iron, known as CB&I, deals chiefly in infrastructure projects for the energy and utility sectors, like building power plants and fuel transportation systems.

"What in the world is going on with Chicago Bridge & Iron , CBI, the once-great industrial that's seen its stock get cut almost in half so far this year, including a 15 percent decline this week alone?" the " Mad Money " host asked. "Back in November, Chicago Bridge & Iron was seen as a quintessential Trump stock, the kind of company that could benefit from the president's infrastructure agenda and his embrace of domestic fossil fuel production."

As President Donald Trump's " Infrastructure Week " comes to a close, Jim Cramer decided to take a closer look at one perceived Trump stock that has been struggling of late.

"That's what Chicago Bridge & Iron the company does, but from a stock perspective, all it really seems to do is go down, except for today where it caught a nice relief rally as part of a larger rotation," Cramer said. "Still, this week's decline has been staggering, the latest in a long line of beatings that's taken this stock from just under $90 three years ago ... down to $16 and change today."

Cramer attributed the stock's weakness mainly to declining oil and natural gas prices, which fell off a cliff in 2014 and put a damper on the energy infrastructure industry as a whole.

CB&I saw depressed sales and earnings as a result, but in 2014 managed to grow its revenues by 16.9 percent, with relatively flat sales in 2015. Then, however, sales dropped by over 17 percent in 2016, potentially due to oil prices' bottom in early 2016.

"So far, though, in 2017, Chicago Bridge & Iron has experienced a massive 31.5 percent revenue decline, just an incredible beat-down, and you can't just blame that on energy anymore," the "Mad Money" host said.

Some of the industrial's company-specific missteps may have cost it more than the downturns in oil prices, Cramer argued, starting with two acquisitions it made in 2012 and 2013.

In 2012, CB&I acquired Shaw Group for $3 billion, doubling its revenue and expanding its power plant portfolio. But along with the acquisition came a massive amount of debt, forcing the company to borrow more and more money.

Then, CB&I purchased Phillips 66's e-gas technology business, which transforms coal into a synthetic gas that generates power  an unfortunate and poorly timed bet on the dying coal industry, Cramer said.

"Now, fast forward to 2015 and things start to get really complicated. Among the businesses Chicago Bridge & Iron bought from Shaw Group was a company called Stone & Webster, and that's a nuclear power construction play. This division was partnered with Westinghouse to build two nuclear plants in South Carolina and Georgia, but the partnership became troubled, experiencing massive cost overruns," Cramer said.

Westinghouse eventually agreed to buy CB&I's nuclear business, but when the companies compared notes, disparities in the numbers caused CB&I to sue Westinghouse. The suit was thrown out and later appealed, and a decision has not yet been made.

To complicate things further, CB&I's longtime CEO, Philip Asherman, announced he would be stepping down several weeks ago, a move that many shareholders embraced but Cramer questioned because it made him wonder whether Asherman has information we do not.

The company also sold its capital services business to a private equity firm, making it look like it needed the cash.

To boot, Macquarie analysts put a downgrade on the stock with expectations that it would slide further yet to $11.50 on account of more debt pressure than the market anticipates.

And while CB&I's stock is trading at roughly 4 times earnings, Cramer warned that the incredibly cheap price might really turn out to be a value trap.

"Here's the bottom line: sometimes stocks go lower because they deserve to go lower. Never go bargain hunting with a busted piece of merchandise," Cramer said. "Of course, if Chicago Bridge & Iron wins its lawsuit in the near future, the stock will pop. But if they lose, the downside could be enormous, and you never want to speculate on a court outcome that we can't predict. Instead, stick with companies that have good fundamentals, like CB&I's cross-town rival, Illinois Tool Works , and watch CBI from the sidelines. It's a binary outcome and I prefer something far more predictable for you."

Questions for Cramer?

Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC

Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up!

Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram - Vine

Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com
Britain's chaotic election result is a boon for its European partners. It gives them a much stronger hand in talks over how the country should leave the European Union. But overindulging in schadenfreude, as some Europeans are already doing, could backfire.

It's small wonder the UK's European partners are groaning after Theresa May's disastrous election gamble. Even if the prime minister can form a coalition or minority government, her administration will be less stable and predictable. It may not have the parliamentary support to make compromises and stick to agreements. Talks could be delayed by repeated elections.

But Brussels should look on the bright side. The electorate did not reward May's desire for a clean break with Europe, or a radical cut to immigration. And she may now have to team up with the northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, which backed Brexit, but wants a smooth border with Ireland, and could tilt talks towards the UK staying in the customs union and single market.

More from Breakingviews:

Sterling post-election blues will be slow to lift

Qatar's weak link in Saudi stand-off: people

Weak government may be just what Britain needs



Europe might be tempted to make the most of the UK's weak negotiating position, giving no relief on the tight timetable that requires a deal by March 2019, and demanding a high divorce bill. As Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, tweeted on Friday: "We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end."

That would be a mistake, because it could boost anti-EU sentiment and revive the fortunes of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party, which won no seats on June 8. The risk of the UK crashing out of the EU in 2019 could grow, hurting both it and its trading partners.

The better response would be to defuse tensions. If Britain has to hold another election, it may need to extend the date when its EU membership automatically ends. That's possible if all countries agree. Europe could also be flexible on the mooted divorce bill, especially since a long transition period would mean UK paying into the EU budget for longer, and could elicit compromise on issues like free movement of people.

After May railed against the "bureaucrats of Brussels" in her election campaign, the urge to crow over her electoral drubbing is entirely understandable. This would be a good moment to prove that Europe can rise above such petty politics.

Commentary by Neil Unmack and Olaf Storbeck, both London-based columnists at Breakingviews. Follow Umack on Twitter at @Unmack1 and Storbeck at @OlafStorbeck.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
If you're snapping pictures with your smartphone, whether it's an iPhone or an Android device, you should be using Google Photos to back them up.

It's the best solution, by far, and works across platforms so you can open and view your photos whether you're on a computer, a tablet or a smartphone. Even better, it's free unless you want to store pictures that are greater than 16MP (most smartphones don't go higher than that, so no worries.) It even automatically stores free 1080p video.

Google Photos is loaded with fun and unique features that add to the pleasure of flipping through old vacation pictures, and has the best search options on the market. We'll walk you through setup and how to use some of those features now.
Former FBI director James Comey's illuminating testimony in front of the Senate provided a trove of new information about conversations Comey had with President Donald Trump about former national security adviser Mike Flynn before Trump fired him.

Trump requested the Flynn investigation be dropped, which deeply concerned Comey, he testified. Comey feared Trump would "lie," which is why he kept detailed memos about each conversation they had. Flynn was under an active criminal investigation, Comey confirmed. Comey was sure he had been fired due to the FBI's ongoing investigation into ties between members of Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.

But in pro-Trump media, the takeaways from the hearing were decidedly different than the rest of the media. In that corner, Comey's testimony proved Comey was untrustworthy and politically motivated, but his testimony nonetheless absolved Trump of wrongdoing.

@MichaelCalderone

More from Mic:

What the Fuzz? Unpacking the folksy rhetoric of the Comey testimony

Donald Trump accuses James Comey of making "false statements and lies"

Trump may have already obstructed justice enough to be impeached

The through-the-looking-glass view of the hearing hinges on a few key moments. One was that, while Trump asked Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn, he did not ask Comey about dropping the larger Trump-Russia investigation.

Fox News repeated that point on screen 16 times over the course of its Comey hearing: "COMEY: NOBODY ASKED ME TO STOP RUSSIA PROBE."

It was also repeated on Breitbart, the right-wing website formerly headed by Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon: " COMEY SAYS NEVER ASKED TO STOP RUSSIA INVESTIGATION."

Another storyline right-wing media quickly honed in on was Comey's confirmation of an April report from the New York Times in which it was revealed that former Attorney General Loretta Lynch told Comey to call the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server as a "matter." During the testimony, Comey said the request made him "queasy."

That story was blasted across pro-Trump channels, and it remained the lead story on several sites well after the testimony had concluded. "Comey Confirms: Lynch Tried to Influence Clinton Investigation," declared Trump surrogate Laura Ingraham's website LifeZette. Fox News host Sean Hannity, an ardent Trump supporter, demanded an investigation into Clinton and Lynch on Thursday afternoon.

@AlexCKaufman: Fox News: Lynch!Townhall: Lynch!Breitbart: We drink!Drudge: Enjoy the show.

@AlexCKaufman: National Review: Not obstruction!Red State: Bernie hates Christians!Heat St: Teenage girls!!!TheBlaze: Lynch!

Another common thread: the media's untrustworthiness. While Comey's testimony confirmed several major news reports, the ex-FBI director characterized a February report from the New York Times as being mostly untrue. (The paper has issued a response to Comey's testimony here.)

Comey's comments were indeed a blow to the Times, and the paper said it was "looking into" his statements. Right-wing media, as expected, gleefully pounced on the testimony as evidence that the mainstream media was not to be believed. FAKE NEWS, several sites blared.

One issue that drew particular ire was the revelation that Comey instructed a friend of his to share the contents of several memos with a reporter in an effort to get a special counsel appointed. (In an email, Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman confirmed that he was the friend who leaked the information.)

That prompted a flurry of negative reports. Townhall: "Comey Admits to Leaking: I Had a Friend Give My Memos To a Reporter." The Daily Caller: "HE LEAKED: Comey Admits He Dished On Memos To The New York Times" Breitbart: "SHOCK: FMR FBI DIRECTOR ADMITS ORCHESTRATING LEAK  BUT! NEVER LEAKED TRUMP *NOT* UNDER INVESTIGATION." Drudge Report: "SOAP OPERA: COMEY ADMITS ORCHESTRATING MEMO LEAK ..."

@oliverdarcy: Trump boosters are going to seize on this to go after @nytimes & probably rest of media -- particularly in future when anon sources are used

On Fox News immediately after the public testimony concluded, host Bret Baier declared "the media" one of the losers of the day. (The other loser, naturally, was Lynch.)

The most important takeaway, though, was that the president came out victorious.

"HEARING DESTROYS OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE CASE AGAINST TRUMP," a headline from Breitbart blared. "Comey Blows Hole In Liberal Narrative That Trump Tried To Stop Russia Investigation," said the Daily Caller. Other sites doubled down on the statements from Trump's personal attorney that came out soon after Comey's public testimony finished.

Many of those stories followed the official RNC talking points that had been distributed to lawmakers before the hearing even began.

RNC Talking Points
Guo Wengui Source: Wikipedia

A dispute over why Voice of America abruptly shut down an interview with a vocal critic of Beijing is raising questions about whether Chinese leadership influenced the U.S. broadcaster. On April 19, taxpayer-funded Voice of America cut short a live interview with Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui  and subsequently put five of its own journalists on administrative leave. "I suspect somebody caved in to the Chinese government's demand, because the timing itself was very suspicious," one of those journalists, Mandarin Service Chief Sasha Gong, told CNBC last week. "Someone very, very powerful must be very, very afraid of this. Otherwise, nothing makes sense." Gong said Chinese authorities met with Voice of America's Beijing correspondent two days ahead of the April 19 interview and asked for its cancellation. Voice of America management then asked Gong to cancel the interview, or at least to shorten it to 15 minutes, she said. Gong said management declined to cancel the interview in writing before it began, but then abruptly pulled the plug one hour and 19 minutes into the live conversation.

Why was the interview stopped while it was going on? You send a message to the audience that's watching. Robert Reilly former director, Voice of America

Two of the other reporters on administrative leave, who did not wish to be identified, concurred with Gong's account. Voice of America, however, disputes Gong's version. "At no time was there any management consideration of not doing the interview, nor of cutting short an ongoing interview for any reason," the broadcaster said in a statement to CNBC. Voice of America confirmed that it put Gong and four other department employees on administrative leave. Voice of America Director Amanda Bennett denied that Beijing influenced VOA's decision. "It was not caused by the Chinese involvement. It was caused by our own recognition at a news meeting that an unusual interview had been scheduled," she told CNBC, arguing that Guo was making allegations that could not be verified. "It wasn't miscommunication, and the instructions were clear." The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Voice of America, appointed James McGregor, chairman of greater China for a public relations firm called Apco Worldwide, to investigate any influence from Beijing. Gong characterized McGregor's role as "crisis management PR." Bennett said McGregor is "probably as neutral and respected and ethical as anybody in the field." McGregor did not respond to a CNBC request for comment. A law firm and the Broadcasting Board of Governors' internal security department are conducting two separate investigations, Bennett said.

Mission to encourage a free press

Voice of America was founded in 1942 to encourage freedom of the press beyond U.S. borders. The organization received $218 million in funding from Congress in fiscal 2016.

Bennett became director in 2016. She led the projects and investigations unit of Bloomberg when it came under fire from Beijing for a report on the wealth of Xi Jinping's relatives in 2012, just before he became Chinese president. Bennett resigned from Bloomberg in 2013. She told CNBC she is "exceptionally proud" of the report on Xi and that it "was extremely controversial and at various times during the project we faced strong pressure from China not to publish." This April when Voice of America began promoting its Mandarin-language interview with Guo, Chinese officials told the news organization that the planned program "was interfering with China's internal affairs," Gong said, noting the broadcaster has two visas for work in Beijing.

watch now

Among the billionaire Guo's allegations is that Wang Qishan, leader of Beijing's anti-corruption efforts, is himself tainted by corruption. CNBC was unable to reach the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs early Saturday morning Beijing time for comment. Guo is believed to have fled China for the United States in 2014. The tycoon's deep involvement in Chinese government and business affairs has apparently given Guo plenty of inside material, which he disseminates to his more than 200,000 Twitter followers. A New York Times profile of him last week noted that while "some of his claims have been outlandish and easily debunked," others "have turned out to be accurate." Guo did not respond to CNBC requests for comment. Voice of America's Gong said her reporting and live interview with Guo would have shed light on how much the Communist Chinese government is spending to monitor and intimidate dissidents  practices she said are on the scale of what was seen in the Soviet Union. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has called Guo a "criminal." On the day of the Voice of America broadcast, the ministry confirmed that it had asked Interpol to issue a "red notice" for Guo's arrest. At 9 a.m. ET that day, the live interview in Mandarin began as scheduled before stopping shortly after an hour. The program had been planned as a one-hour televised broadcast, followed by two hours of internet livestreaming . The initial hour of the televised broadcast is still available on Voice of America's Mandarin Service YouTube channel. "As I understand it, there were several members of senior management who were viewing this as it was taking place," Robert Reilly, who served as Voice of America director until 2002, told CNBC. "Why was the interview stopped while it was going on? You send a message to the audience that's watching." Watch: China property market
Israeli-American solar power generation company Energiya Global expects to capitalize on the Trump administration's emphasis on "fighting Jihadism". Chief Executive Yosef Abramowitz in an interview with CNBC said that of his company's projected pipeline of some 1500 Megawatt of solar power in Africa over the next five years, half is in places "where the U.S. likes to counter extremist forces".

Abramowitz was fresh off a trip that took him within the space of a week from Liberia, where he accompanied visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to Copenhagen, where he attended the Africa Energy Forum, an international power industry investors' meet-up. He says that he took a freshly-signed $20 million solar field deal from Liberia directly to his "debt and equity sponsors" at the forum.

The Liberia contract is part of an announcement of $1 billion in solar projects in the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, area that Energiya made last weekend. Abramowitz explains that: "It is a commitment by Energiya Global to deploy $1 billion in investments over the next 4 years in ECOWAS member states through the ECOWAS energy commission."

Most of that investment is in the form of debt that is to be funded largely by international development banks and that will be underwritten by World Bank and U.S. guarantees. The projects will amount to some 500MW of mostly solar power generation with some wind and mini-hydro power mixed in as well, and come in addition to about 1000MW that exist in Energiya's current pipeline of projects in Africa.

Energiya, which is registered in Israel but has a majority of its stock held by U.S. citizens, is eminently placed to bring solar power to the African continent, says Abramowitz. He is a U.S. emigre to Israel and was involved there in setting up the Arava solar power fields before co-founding Energiya. He also was an Israeli negotiator at the Paris climate conference in 2015.

He does not expect the Trump administration's withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris climate accord to significantly impact his company. The U.S. mechanisms that underpin his work, including OPIC, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and USAID's PowerAfrica program, "make money for the U.S. taxpayer," says Abramowitz.

The Paris climate deal has made a lot of money available for the kind of projects that Energiya pursues, he explains. "Most people don't realize that it wasn't only a climate deal, it was also a development deal, particularly for Africa."

The situation with solar power in developing markets post-Paris, says Abramowitz, is such that: "There is nearly unlimited debt today for these projects and the development banks are begging for a bankable deal flow. So it's a buyers' market if you know how to do this and we have a good track record."

Energiya's Israeli background and close cooperation with U.S. programs puts it in a good position to operate in Africa, says Abramowitz. The company brings unique problem-solving capabilities with it plus and understanding of the needs of the countries where it operates, from a social and economic development perspective, he says, "which is a significant differentiator with Chinese companies."

But also very significant is Israel's security mindset and experience. "We come with a unique understanding of security. Seven of the ECOWAS countries, for example, are frontline states with Islamic Jihadism. Most developers wouldn't know how to handle that, from a physical security perspective and also from a financial security one."

That is where the Trump administration comes in, Abramowitz reasons. "The emphasis of the Trump administration on fighting Jihadism means they're going to want new strategies to deploy in frontier markets, both U.S. soft power and hard power." So despite the U.S. withdrawal from the climate deal, Abramowitz says: "I think there's a renewed interest in what we're doing, not because of the climate issue but because of the anti-Jihadist agenda of the administration."

Under the project with ECOWAS, for example, Energiya is looking at The Gambia, which had declared itself an Islamic republic in 2015 and is still recovering from political unrest, instability and an ECOWAS intervention. "A normal solar developer wouldn't consider The Gambia for so many reasons but we're coming from a different place," says Abramowitz. He adds that Energiya has a "quadruple bottom line" that apart from a modest profit also features "significant humanitarian benefit, a significant environmental benefit."

Still, Energiya is a business and as such is aimed at generating returns for its investors from its solar fields. "What we're actually doing is create a new asset class. These are cash producing assets that have an insurance wrap from the World Bank or the U.S. government and that are actually very valuable, if you know how to do it and if you do it with integrity. So we anticipate that our investors will do well," says Abramowitz.

He says that while projects are often funded by development banks, Energiya is considering inviting new investors at the company ownership level: "Because we're in a growth spurt right now we're willing to take in more investors at the parent company level and that's where you get the multiples. The solar fields themselves are dependable cash flows, like annuities, but the multiples are at the holding company level. And we're open to investors whose values are consistent with ours."

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Young people looking to land that perfect first job may be soothed to hear billionaire tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban's perspective: Any job you get is a good opportunity to learn.

"Kids who are graduating today, they ask about jobs and things they should do and everything, and I always like to tell them, you don't have to get the perfect job," says Cuban on The Thrive Global Podcast.

"When you're 22, 23, 24, there's no such thing as failure, really."

The point is to get started and learn as much as you can.

"Whatever job you take, you're getting paid to learn. And you just spend however many years paying to go to school, and you paid a lot of money, probably still owe money. Take that job. You're gonna get paid to learn, and if it was like my experience where I learned what not to do and I was getting paid, it was still well worth it."

Finding your strengths is a matter of trying, learning and trying again, the tech billionaire says.
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) deputy Nigel Dodds (L), leader Arlene Foster (C) and Former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Leader, Peter Robinson (R) Paul Faith | AFP | Getty Images

British Prime Minister Theresa May has struck a deal with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which will enable her to form a government, sources have confirmed. The Conservatives are said to have held talks with the DUP overnight as it became clear that the incumbents would be unable to maintain their stronghold following a surge in popularity for Labour. May's party lost their slim parliamentary majority, securing a projected total of 319 seats, shy of the 326 needed for a clear win. By teaming up with the DUP, which won 10 seats, the party will be able to form a majority, though it is unclear whether the deal will be a formal coalition or a looser "confidence and supply" arrangement. The former would give the DUP a degree of control in government, while the latter would see the party support the Conservatives' policies in return for some of its policies being enacted. May is expected to meet with the Queen at 12:30 p.m. London time to seek approval for the deal.

Who are the DUP?

The DUP is the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fifth-largest party in the U.K.'s House of Commons. The party, which has historically strong Protestant links, was formed in 1971 by Ian Paisley and is now run by Arlene Foster. It has seen a gradual rise in popularity, most notably in the mid-2000s, when, under Paisley's rule, it increased its number of Parliamentary seats from five to nine. This year the party secured a record number of seats  10 out of 18 available in Northern Ireland. Seven seats are held by Sinn Fein and one by independent candidate Sylvia Hermon. Lawmakers from Sinn Fein traditionally do not attend Parliament.

What do they stand for?

The DUP describes its five key priorities as increasing jobs and incomes; prioritizing spending on the health service; protecting family budgets; raising education standards; and investing in infrastructure. The party has also been clear on their stance against May's proposed "hard Brexit". Northern Ireland has a history of conflict with its land neighbour and EU member the Republic of Ireland, but the two countries now enjoy a peaceful relationship and the DUP has insisted that it will not advocate a return of a hard border once the U.K. leaves the EU. "No-one wants to see a 'hard' Brexit, what we want to see is a workable plan to leave the European Union, and that's what the national vote was about  therefore we need to get on with that," Foster has previously said.

DUP leader Arlene Foster gives her thoughts on the general election during a television interview at the Belfast count centre on June 9, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Charles McQuillan | Getty Images

Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU by a majority of 56 percent to 44 percent, though was overruled by the U.K. majority. It can be expected that the DUP will make maintaining strong relations with the EU a key priority in a shared government. The party has, however, been less clear in its stance on climate change. The party has reportedly previously appointed a climate change denier as Northern Ireland's environment minister and made no reference to the environment or climate change in its campaign manifesto. It has also been vocal about its opposition to abortion and gay marriage.

Who is Arlene Foster?

Irish politician Arlene Foster has been leader of the DUP since December 2015 and served as the first minister of Northern Ireland from January 2016 to January 2017 following the resignation of Martin McGuinness. A trained lawyer, Foster began her political career at university and later joined the Ulster Unionist Party in 2003. She moved to the DUP a year later and was elected as an MP in 2005.

May-Foster partnership

The two party leaders has had little public interaction though Foster said as recently as Thursday evening that May's catastrophic loss could mean she has to stand down from her role as prime minister. "I think that it will be difficult for her (May) to survive, given that she was presumed at the start of the campaign  which seems an awfully long time ago now  to come back with over 100, maybe more, in terms of her majority," Foster told BBC Radio Ulster.

Prime Minister Theresa May looks on at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, after she held her seat Stefan Rousseau | PA Images | Getty Images
Michael Flynn Carlos Barria | Reuters

By the time Michael Flynn was fired as President Donald Trump's national security adviser in February, he had made a lot of bad decisions. One was taking money from the Russians (and failing to disclose it); another was taking money under the table from the Turks. But an overlooked line in his financial disclosure form, which he was forced to amend to detail those foreign payments, reveals he was also involved in one of the most audaciousand some say harebrainedschemes in recent memory: a plan to build scores of U.S. nuclear power plants in the Middle East. As a safety measure. In 2015 and 2016, according to his filing, Flynn was an adviser to X-Co Dynamics Inc./Iron Bridge Group, which at first glance looks like just another Pentagon consultancy that ex-military officers use to fatten their wallets. Its chairman and CEO was retired Admiral Michael Hewitt; another retired admiral, Frank "Skip" Bowman, who oversaw the Navy's nuclear programs, was an adviser. Other top guns associated with it were former National Security Agency boss Keith Alexander and retired Marine Corps General James "Hoss" Cartwright, former vice chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whose stellar career was marred when he was prosecuted last year for lying to the FBI during a leak investigation.

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In the summer of 2015, knowledgeable sources tell Newsweek, Flynn flew to Egypt and Israel on behalf of X-Co/Iron Bridge. His mission: to gauge attitudes in Cairo and Jerusalem toward a fantastical plan for a joint U.S.-Russian (and Saudi-financed) program to get control over the Arab world's rush to acquire nuclear power. At the core of their concern was a fear that states in the volatile Middle East would have inadequate security for the plants and safeguards for their radioactive wastethe stuff of nuclear bombs. More from Newsweek:

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'Infrastructure week' symbol of Trump's many problems But no less a concern for Flynn and his partners was the moribund U.S. nuclear industry, which was losing out to Russian and even South Korean contractors in the region. Or as Stuart Solomon, a top executive along with Hewitt at his new venture, IP3 (International Peace, Power and Prosperity), put it in a recent speech to industry executives, "We find ourselvesstanding on the sidelines and watching the competition pass us by." That the oil-rich, sun-soaked Arab Middle East would pursue nuclear energy seems paradoxical. But as The Economist noted in 2015, "Demand for electricity is rising, along with pressure to lower carbon emissions; nuclear plants tick both boxes." And some of the region's major players, like Egypt and Jordan, don't have oil and gas resources and "want nuclear power to shore up the security of their energy supplies," The Economist said.

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So the genius idea developed by Flynn and Co. was a U.S.-Russian partnership to build and operate plants and export the dangerous spent fuel under strict controls. Flynn's role would be helping X-Co/Iron Bridge design and implement a vast security network for the entire enterprise, according to an internal memo by ACU Strategic Partners, one of the lead companies involved, obtained by Newsweek. Not only would the project revive the U.S. nuclear industry, but it would cost American taxpayers nothing, its principals asserted. It would be "funded entirely by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries," according to the ACU memo. The kingdom's upfront cost? "Close to a trillion dollars," says a project insider, who asked for anonymity in exchange for discussing internal matters. Theoretically, the Saudis would recoup their costs by selling energy to Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Qatarwhich hosts the largest U.S. military base in the region. (Qatar doesn't seem to be an option for the moment, since six of the Arab states, led by the Saudis, severed diplomatic relations with it on June 5 over its alleged support of terrorism.)

National Security Adviser Mike Flynn listens to President Trump during a listening session with cyber security experts in the Roosevelt Room the White House in Washington, DC on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017. Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Left out of this grand nuclear scheme: Iran (along with Syria, its war-ravaged Shiite proxy). In fact, "it was always part of the project that Russia's involvement...would tilt Russia away from Iran," Fred Johnson, ACU's chief economist, wrote in an email to his advisers obtained by Newsweek. Not only would Russia earn cash for being a dumping ground for radioactive waste, Johnson wrote, but the consortium would purchase "Russian military hardware" to compensate Moscow for losing military sales to Iran. "Further plans to sideline Iran," Johnson wrote, included "the development of X-Co," the Hewitt company that Flynn was advising, "with its very visible deployment of Sea Launch," a Russian company "that would provide a platform for rockets." It's unclear whether Flynn was involved in negotiating with Sea Launch. The former general, now being pursued by federal investigators probing contacts between Russian officials and Trump's inner circle, did not respond to an inquiry from Newsweek. People associated with the Middle East project say they thought Flynn's involvement was limited to sounding out the Egyptians and Israelis on security aspects of the enterprise. He listed no income from X-Co/Iron Bridge on his financial disclosure form and "was not paid," except for his travel expenses, according to Thomas Cochran, a prominent scientist and nuclear nonproliferation proponent involved with the project. (The cost of business-class round-trip airfare and exclusive hotels for the trip would have ranged between $10,000 and $15,000.) Hewitt denied that isolating Iran was part of the plan. "X-Co wasn't created to simply 'sideline Iran,'" he responded to Johnson and their associates in an email. "It was designed to set the conditions for stability which were the precursors to building 40 plants" and to "solidify the GCC, Jordan, Egypt under a security construct, led by two superpowers, using state of the art capability." But the project faced opposition from the Obama administration, Cochran says. "They didn't want to do it with the Russians and didn't want to do it while they were negotiating the Iran deal," he tells Newsweek.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivers remarks at the Department of Justice on February 28, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Getty Images

Trump's embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, offered an attractive possibility. And when Flynn, who had connections to the Russians, became the candidate's national security adviser, the ACU team, led by British-American dealmaker Alex Copson, suddenly seemed to have an inside man. Last year, Copson was touting such connections when he tried to buy an unfinished nuclear plant in Alabama in concert with the Russians, telling a Huntsville reporter that "Alabama's two senators"both Republicans, and one, Jeff Sessions, then a top Trump campaign adviser"can help the next administration move this project forward." Copson's bid for the plant failed. When reports surfaced that the FBI was investigating possible collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign, however, some of Copson's partners and advisers decided it was time to walk away. "When Copson decided he was going to saddle up with the Trump team, that was the last straw for me," the insider says. "I said it's time to regroup." The Saudis hadn't shown much interest anyway, the insider says. "Copson was promising the advisers lots of money if the Saudis put up money," but it failed to materialize. "And so there's nothing that anyone was going to gain unless the project was a success," he tells Newsweek. Hewitt and his associates also split from ACU to pursue their own path toward a nuclear-powered Middle East, one that would swap in China for Russia as a nuclear partner, two sources close to the project say. (Hewitt declined to discuss plans for IP3, telling Newsweek he was "working hard to create our public persona right now.") But the highly regarded Cochran stayed with ACU. A longtime senior scientist and onetime president at the Natural Resources Defense Council, he was the author of countless studies and articles over the decades and had initiated with Moscow the U.S.-Soviet nuclear test ban verification project in 1986. He "has extraordinary chutzpah," a writer for Scientific American observed in 1998. "He is willing to take on what most people wouldn't bother with because they assume it's hopeless." Or nuts. In 2001, a writer for the left-wing In These Times weekly got hold of a draft proposal for a 1990s-era project that Cochran was involved in, the Nuclear Proliferation Trust, which envisioned taking control of spent fuel from reactors around the world and shipping it to Russia "on large ships mounted with an arsenal of weapons designed to ward off nuclear pirates," wrote Jeffrey St. Clair. "The big question is what happens to the waste after it arrives in Russia." Would NPT guards be authorized to fire on rogue Russian soldiers or Chechen rebels? And what would stop corrupt Russians from selling weapons-grade uranium to anyone who could pony up the cash? Similar concerns are all the more reason to partner with the Russians today in an ironclad security arrangement, Hewitt says. "We're always going to be engaged in the security of the Middle East," he told a May gathering at the Nuclear Energy Institute. "It is in our best interests to ensure that nuclear power is introduced with all of the safety [standards of the U.S.]." Cochran urges critics not to lose focus on the big picture, which he alternately likens to launching the U.S. Marshall Plan, which rebuilt Europe after World War II, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, which tamed rivers and brought electricity and industrial development to the American South in the 1930s. "It would provide energy and jobs and so forth for countries like Egypt and others in the region," he says, "so that these young men have got something more useful to do than go out and shoot each other." For a project fraught with such diplomatic and logistical minefields, however, Copson is an odd choice to lead ACU into the Middle East. "A sometime bass player with the British rock band Iron Butterfly," according to Time, Copson once famously "described the natives of the Marshall Islands as 'fat, lazy fucks' when they nixed one of his nuke dump schemes" in the Central Pacific Ocean, the muckraking journalist Greg Palast wrote in 2001. (The islands are now disappearing under rising seas.) Copson did not respond to several calls and emails asking for comment. But it's not likely the Trump team, many of whom are under close scrutiny for their undisclosed Russian contacts, will be any help to Copson now. And the Saudis aren't "taking the kind of steps that would be required to really get serious about setting up a civil nuclear-energy infrastructure," says Tristan Volpe, a fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. Others suspect the Saudis are up to something more nefarious because of the U.S.-led nuclear deal with Iran. The Saudis "have big ambitions for nuclear," says David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, D.C. "The issue is whether they cross over into any processing or enrichment" with secret partners like Pakistan or China, he says. Flynn once expressed deep worries about a Saudi-Iranian nuclear arms race. In a January 2016 interview with Al-Jazeera, he sounded like Cochran, the elder statesman of the nonproliferation movement. "An entirely new economy is what this region needs," he said, especially for the millions of unemployed young men living under corrupt autocracies and tempted by extremism. "You've got to give them something else to do. If you don't, they're going to turn on their own governments." But that was before he hitched up with Trump, who has embraced the Saudi monarchy and ratcheted up his rhetoric against Iran. Talk of a grand scheme to create jobs in the Middle East, meanwhile, has evaporated, with the Russia scandal enveloping not only Flynn but Trump's entire presidency. Watch: Flynn misled investigators
James Comey's testimony was not "even close" to proving that President Donald Trump had tried to obstruct justice in the probe of alleged Russia meddling in the election, a former Bush administration Justice Department official said Friday.

John Malcolm, a deputy assistant attorney general during the George W. Bush presidency, said there could be an argument that Trump's actions, as described by Comey, were an "implied threat."

"There was something in this for everybody," Malcolm told CNBC's "Squawk Box," referring to the fired FBI director's testimony Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Malcolm said the positive takeaways for Trump included confirmation the president was not under investigation and that Comey outed himself as the one who leaked to the media his notes about meetings with the president in hopes of getting a special counsel appointed.

Robert Mueller was subsequently appointed special counsel to oversee the Justice Department investigation of Russian efforts to disrupt the 2016 president election.



Trump, in his first tweet since the Comey testimony, said Friday morning: "Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication." He also said, "Wow, Comey is a leaker ." Trump holds a news conference Friday afternoon.

Trump Tweet

Malcolm also said Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch was "dinged up" by Comey. The former FBI director testified that he was confused by Lynch's instructions in 2015 to call the Hillary Clinton email inquiry a "matter" not an "investigation."

On the other hand, Malcolm said Trump critics could take solace in Comey's assertion that Comey felt pressured by the president to drop an investigation into now-fired national security advisor Michael Flynn's contacts with the Russians.

Comey did not drop the Flynn investigation and was later fired as FBI director by Trump.

As a former prosecutor, Malcolm said he would not take legal action against Trump based on what he heard from Comey's Senate testimony. "I certainly wouldn't indict immediately. I don't think there would be a provable case for obstruction of justice at this point," he added. "They're not there yet, not even close."

Under current DOJ guidance, the special counsel can't bring a charge against the sitting president. Any recourse against Trump would have to be addressed on Capitol Hill, with the House and Senate as judge and jury.
It all comes back to Boba Fett.

A collector in Georgia is facing charges in two states after his admission to stealing a rare "Star Wars" figurine led to the discovery that he may have swiped more than $200,000 worth of memorabilia from the world's biggest collector of "Star Wars" merchandise.

Carl Cunningham was indicted by a grand jury in Denton County, Texas, in February after admitting to taking a prototype rocket-firing Boba Fett action figure from a fellow collector and friend, the Roanoke Police Department in Texas confirmed.

The prototype, created in the likeness of Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett, is one of only a few that were created and is estimated to be worth about $40,000.

Philip Wise, a prolific collector from Texas, told CNBC that he discovered in early February that the figure had disappeared from its case in his personal museum.

After reporting the theft to police, Wise posted about the missing Fett toy on his website RebelScum.com, a well-known Star Wars collectors news site. The post quickly caught the attention of Zach Tann, a collector and dealer based in California, who had recently purchased a rare Boba Fett prototype.

Because there were only a small number of these prototypes created, Tann reached out to Wise to verify if the figure he had purchased had been the one that was taken.



"My stomach dropped," Tann told CNBC about the moment he realized that the figure he bought had been stolen.

Tann said the action figure was one of many items he had bought from Cunningham since May 2016. He also said that at first he was hesitant to tell Wise who had sold him the item in case Cunningham had purchased it from another dealer before reselling it.



However, when Wise named Cunningham as a possible suspect, Tann confirmed he was the seller and shared the list of other items he had purchased. Wise recognized many of the items and determined that there was only one place that they could have come from: his friend Steve Sansweet's museum in California.

Sansweet is well-known in the collecting world. He owns an estimated 500,000 pieces of "Star Wars" merchandise, although only 93,260 were cataloged in 2015 to earn him the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of "Star Wars" memorabilia. He is also the owner of Rancho Obi-Wan, a public museum and nonprofit organization.
If you're planning on house hunting this weekend, you might want to do a little math first.



Owning a home used to be a great way to build wealth, but that equation is turning. It may, in fact, be more lucrative to invest your money elsewhere.

As home prices rise quickly and mortgage rates threaten to increase, the rent versus buy equation is tipping toward rent, according to an index from Florida Atlantic University. It factors in home prices, rents, mortgage rates and alternative investments that create wealth. Essentially, it calculates the wealth accumulated when owning a home compared with the wealth accumulated when renting the same property and investing the down payment somewhere else.

"The major drivers for this quarter's scores appear to be slowing rents relative to the costs of ownership and climbing mortgage rates," said Ken Johnson, a real estate economist and one of the index's creators at FAU's College of Business.



"Thus, on the margin, more potential owners should favor renting and reinvesting in a portfolio of stocks and bonds as opposed to ownership. This shift should slightly lower the demand for ownership and contribute to the slowdown in housing prices around the country."

Of the 23 cities the index measures, 11, including New York City and Boston, are still in 'buy' territory  some very definitively, like Chicago, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Nine, including Minneapolis, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, hover right around zero, meaning it is a toss-up between buy and rent. Three cities, Dallas, Denver and Houston, are in historically high territory for renting being the better option for building wealth.

Despite different levels currently, all of the cities are steadily moving toward rent in the FAU index, because home prices have risen so steeply in the past few years and continue to gain. Mortgage rates bumped higher after the presidential election in November, and although they have fallen since, they are expected to rise through the end of 2017.

This may be why another index, measuring homebuyer sentiment, is dropping. The monthly Fannie Mae survey found those who said now is a good time to buy a home fell to its lowest level ever. In addition, fewer respondents said they were confident about holding on to their jobs.

"High home prices have led many consumers to give us the first clear indication we've seen in the National Housing Survey's seven-year history that they think it's now a seller's market," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae.



"However, we continue to see a lack of housing supply as many potential sellers are unwilling or unable to put their homes on the market, perhaps due in part to concerns over finding an affordable replacement home. Prospective homebuyers are likely to face continued home price increases as long as housing supply remains tight."
A federal judge in Great Falls sentenced Billings contractor Kevin David McGovern on Thursday to two years in prison and ordered him and two of his companies to pay more than $4 million in fines and restitution for convictions in a large corruption case involving federal programs and the Chippewa Cree Tribe.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris sentenced McGovern to two years in prison on multiple convictions with the terms to run concurrently and to two years of supervised release, court records said. He also ordered McGovern to pay a total of $880,000 restitution. The judge allowed McGovern to report to prison when he is assigned to a facility.

In addition, Morris also ordered McGoverns former companies, CMG Construction Inc. and MC Equipment Holdings LLC, to pay fines totaling $2.4 million and restitution totaling $1.38 million.

Fines and restitution for McGovern and the companies totaled $4.66 million.

McGovern and three of his former companies were convicted of a total of 13 felonies in four separate indictments involving defrauding the Chippewa Cree Tribe on the Rocky Boys Reservation in northcentral Montana and the federal government.

McGoverns indictments are part of a massive years-long corruption investigation by the Department of Interiors Office of Inspector General into various tribal activities; the tribes Chippewa Cree Construction Company, which was headed by Tony Belcourt; and nontribal persons who did business with the tribe.

Belcourt, a former state legislator, tribal member and business partner of McGoverns, along with at least 12 other tribal members and non-tribal people have been convicted and sentenced to prison.

Morris earlier sentenced Belcourt, who was a central figure in the probe, to more than seven years and ordered $667,000 restitution.

Morris has presided over all of the corruption cases.

A Great Falls jury convicted McGovern in November 2016 of conspiracy and bribery charges in a kickback scheme on Federal Emergency Management Agency contracts for projects related to flooding on the Rocky Boys Reservation in 2010.

McGovern and his former firm, MC Equipment Holdings LLC, pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud and to theft from an Indian tribal organization over a 2012 deal to sell the tribe a portable hot plant, which is used in paving.

He also pleaded guilty on behalf of CMG Construction to false claims against a federally funded project for bills submitted to FEMA for the demolition of the tribes flood-damaged medical clinic in 2010.

In a fourth case, MT Waterworks, a Billings pipe-fitting supply and sales firm, paid a $350,000 fine in 2016 after admitting it falsely claimed an Indian preference on federal and tribal contracts, including more than $3.3 million from the Chippewa Cree Tribe for work on a federally-funded water project. McGovern was a partner in the company, along with Belcourt and Kent Boos.

McGoverns convictions marked a stunning end to a successful career of a Billings contractor and community booster who ran multi-million dollar companies, employed hundreds of people and donated to numerous local charities and organizations.

As McGovern and prosecutors reached plea deals to settle the criminal cases, McGovern also sold GMC Construction and sister companies earlier this year to Oroco Capital, a private equity firm in Bethesda, Md. McGovern formed CMG in 2004 and was president and sole principal of the privately held company.

Sentencing recommendations filed in the case by the prosecution and the defense painted starkly different portraits of McGovern. The parties also disagreed over the amount of prison time and loss amount.

To prosecutors, McGovern was a man who had everything, then turned greedy and conspired with Chippewa Cree Tribal officials and others to steal money from the tribe and federal government programs.

McGoverns attorney, Mark Parker of Billings, said McGovern had a sterling reputation as an honest, straightforward businessman and was trying to grow his business. McGovern also was a respected community member who gave generously of his time and money, he said.

McGoverns conduct was extremely out of character, Parker said. Although he was not the architect of any of these schemes, he was a willing participant. The reasons for that are not clear, he added.

McGovern has suffered financially and had to sell CMG at a significant loss, Parker said.

Prosecution recommendation

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Weldon sought a prison sentence of about five years to six years and fines and restitution totaling $4,651,000. Prosecutors agreed not to seek a prison term of more than six years.

This case is purely about greed, Weldon said in his sentencing memo.

McGovern had a multi-million dollar business and a personal bank account of almost $1 million. He had everything, he said.

CMG Construction did not have to bribe to get business, Weldon continued. The company was a legitimate, thriving firm that employed hundreds of people. Yet, McGovern and his companies chose to engage in the corrupt practices at the Rocky Boys Reservation, he said.

McGovern was more than willing to work with Belcourt, who had control over $80 million for various projects, Weldon said.

McGoverns fraudulent conduct was not a one-time thing; rather, it involved multiple transactions, the prosecutor said. McGovern and others were willing to shred million-dollar checks, generate false invoices, delete emails and pay bribes, he said.

These frauds were not an accident. They were calculated, Weldon said.

The prosecutor also asked the judge to consider prison sentences he has imposed on 13 others convicted as part of the broader investigation. Those sentences range from a high of about seven years for Belcourt to less than a year for two other defendants. The majority of the 13 defendants were sentenced to about three years or longer.

Defense recommendation

Parker recommended McGovern serve one year and a day in prison, which would qualify him for good time and shorten his incarceration.

Parker asked the judge to weigh McGoverns personal characteristics and business performance and reputation.

McGovern did not enter into business with the tribes construction company because of abject greed, Parker said. And while McGovern and CMG Construction were seeking to grow and profit from the tribal construction contacts, those contracts were a small percentage of CMBs business, he said.

CMG Constructions total revenue from 2011 to 2012 was $114.68 million, while contracts with the tribes construction company during that time totaled $2.17 million or 1.8 percent of its total revenue, Parker said.

The expectation was that delivering on the contracts would lead to future business with the tribe, Parker said.

And CMG delivered on the contracts, Parker said. There has been no complaint about the quality of work that CMG performed. The Tribe received quality goods and services under the contracts CMG entered into with the CCCC, he said.

The business community also viewed McGovern as someone who strives for fairness and honesty rather than his own profit margin, Parker said.

Parker submitted letters of support from Billings business representatives who have worked with McGovern, including Eric Bechtold, of RDO Equipment Co., Stephen Langlas of Langlas & Associates general contractors, Charles Yegen of Peter Yegen, Jr., Inc. insurance company, Scott Aspenlieder of Performance Engineering and Consulting and A. Christopher Edwards of Edwards Frickle & Culver law firm.

McGovern, Parker said, worked to improve the Billings community through charitable donations and his time and services. McGovern and his companies treated employees like family, loaning them thousands of dollars to help them buy homes, vehicles and other items, he said.

McGoverns charitable donations from 2010 to 2015 totaled $185,711, while CMGs charitable donations totaled $164,683 from 2010 to 2016. The companys donated services included paving a church parking lot and constructing handicap accessible sidewalk ramps at a school. Another of McGoverns companies, Johnson Lane Materials, donated a total of $15,046 to numerous organizations from 2010 to 2016.

People who submitted support letters for McGoverns character and charitable donations included Brian Dennis of the Boys & Girls Clubs; Marc Johnson, mens pastor at Faith Chapel; Jay S. Harris, president of Yellowstone Bank; Bob Wilmouth, president of Rocky Mountain College; and Kelly Edwards, also of RMC.

What his background shows is that Kevin McGovern is a good man who acted extremely out of character when he involved himself with Tony Belcourt, Parker said.
Remember Sophia, the life-like humanoid robot?

She's back, this week at a United Nations-hosted conference on artificial intelligence in Geneva. The conference aims to show how AI can  and one hopes will  ultimately benefit humanity.

And while Sophia says AI has a long way to go before it becomes smarter than humans, she still says she can do a better job than Donald Trump.
For the principal part of President Donald Trump's agenda to get passed, it may take something as dramatic as a sharp stock market pullback, according to one Wall Street analyst.

As the political drama heightens in Washington the legislative agenda suffers, leading to fears that tax reform is nowhere near getting done. Trump wants to roll back taxes for corporations and individuals and has offered a broad outline of how he'd like to see that get done.

Concerns over delays grew when the White House announced last week that it would not offer more details of its tax plans until after the August recess. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin previously had said he believed the program could be pushed through before the break.

It's all leading to worries that with the stock market seemingly on autopilot, moving higher in the face of damaging political headlines and mediocre economic growth, that complacency about getting tax reform accomplished will only grow.

"We have come to think that a combination of brinkmanship and a correction of risky assets may be necessary for tax reform to get done," David Woo, currency and rates strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in a note to clients.

Woo calls the scenario a "mini-TARP moment," referencing the market plunge after Congress rejected the initial bill for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a measure that ultimately would provide the bedrock for the Great Recession recovery. The Dow industrials fell 7 percent in late-September 2008 after the TARP rejection.
"We only get the chance to rework the tax code every 30 years. We shouldn't blow it by passing a small rate cut that expires in a few years."

That is why I was so optimistic earlier this year when tax-writers at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue promised to correct the code's fundamental preference for foreign workers, not just lower rates.

The initial effort now looks stalled, as policy makers haggle over the details and industry groups marshal opposition to proposals they don't like. That is why I think it is important for Congress and the White House to step back and rally around some shared principles that will make a real difference for American businesses and workers.

First, tax reform needs to be permanent. We only get the chance to rework the tax code every 30 years. We shouldn't blow it by passing a small rate cut that expires in a few years. Businesses need more certainty to make the kind of long-term investments that fuel robust economic growth and sustained job creation.

Second, we need to encourage American companies that operate abroad to return their profits to the U.S. The best way to do that is to stop taxing capital earned in other markets at the same 35 percent rate we apply to business income here in the U.S. We are one of the few developed countries on Earth to discourage companies with a global footprint from investing here in the U.S.

And finally, tax reform should be a vehicle to slow the tide of jobs flowing to other countries. Our existing tax system is an engine to offshore wealth. Americans continue to consume more and more foreign-made products that used to be made here. The migration of those jobs has hollowed out communities throughout the country.

Tax reform is a chance to correct past mistakes, if policy makers create additional incentives for businesses to invest in their workers and their supply chains. That is why I support the House's border adjustment; the proposal seeks to level the playing field for American businesses and their workers. Other ideas can accomplish that goal, but it's the right objective.

I watched this migration of American jobs firsthand as the chief executive officer of Walmart. In the 1980s and 90s, lower labor rates in global markets and $12-a-barrel oil combined with a tax code that rewarded offshore manufacturing resulted in a stampede of manufacturing jobs out of the U.S. Today, the difference in labor costs has diminished and transportation costs have reversed. The math has changed. Our antiquated tax code is the only thing holding back a manufacturing renaissance in the U.S. because it incents the wrong behavior.

These trends are one of the reasons I launched a manufacturing initiative at Walmart to help promote the sourcing of products made here in the U.S. That campaign has been a clear success, and one of the biggest reasons for that success is that it works financially.

Businesses benefit from a shorter supply chain. It takes a lot less time to buy something from a factory across town than it does to buy something from a factory on the other side of the world. At Walmart, we often placed orders a full calendar year before we intended to sell something.

More to the point, investing in the local workforce means people in the community have more money to spend on things they need  and things they want. That would be a huge boon for the retail sector, right at the time when they need it.

But we will never get there, if the conversation centers entirely on what people are against. I acknowledge that retail would be seriously disadvantaged without a careful transition plan. We can figure it out. We must put forward the effort to change or we will continue to slowly decay.

We should take a step back to remind ourselves why we are doing tax reform in the first place. For me, that starts with restoring the pride and security I remember growing up in Hartford when I was a boy, and we made the best guns and airplane engines in the world. Let's bring the jobs back. Let's bring the opportunity back. Let's bring the pride back.

Commentary by William "Bill" Simon, who was president and chief executive officer of Walmart U.S. and executive vice-president of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. from 2010 to 2014. He was also the treasurer of JEB 2016. Simon currently teaches as an adjunct professor at Baylor University and is a member of the Baylor Board of Regents.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) Joshua Roberts | Reuters

Chaffetz gave in to pressure and started to investigate Trump. Will Gowdy?

Under Chaffetz's leadership, the House Oversight Committee was slow to investigate Trump or the White House. But with daily developments in the Russia-related scandals, the pressure proved too much to ignore. In just two weeks, Trump abruptly fired Comey, telling Holt it was related to his Russia investigations; then Trump reportedly revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister; and all of that was followed by the revelation that Comey kept memos that reportedly indicate possible obstruction of justice. Chaffetz said he had his "subpoena pen ready" should the FBI turn down his request for the memos. That may have just been hyperbole. So far, Comey has not scheduled a date for testimony on the House side. He has told Chaffetz he wants the Department of Justice's newly appointed special counsel, Robert Mueller, to review the memos before passing them to Congress. Mueller has only cleared Comey to testify publicly  which Comey did before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Chaffetz will likely pass the baton to Gowdy before either of those things happens in the House Oversight Committee. And Gowdy seems equally understanding of allowing the special counsel to take charge of the timeline. Some Republicans on the Hill have argued that the special counsel might slow down what Congress is doing, making it harder for Congress to get ahold of certain documents or testimonials. But Gowdy says that's just the nature of these kinds of probes. "Most people will tell you that the criminal inquiry takes precedence," he told Vox after Mueller's appointment. "Routinely I did not interview people on other committees because I did not want to interfere with an ongoing criminal [investigation]. That's not interference; that's a purposeful decision that the criminal takes precedence."

We have already seen Gowdy in a Russia-related investigation

Gowdy isn't coming cold to investigating Trump and Russia. Earlier in May, he heard from former CIA Director John Brennan during a testimony before the House Intelligence Committee  which Gowdy also sits on. The testimony looked bad for Trump; Brennan said that Russia "brazenly interfered" with the 2016 election and had actively been in contact with some in Trump's campaign. But as Vox's Yochi Dreazen noted, he was careful to avoid making any claims of collusion. But Gowdy's questioning was pointed in its efforts to catch Brennan on semantics, an indication of his loyalty to the Republican leadership. "When you learned of Russian efforts, did you have evidence of a connection between the Trump campaign and Russian state actors?" Gowdy asked, knowing well that Brennan couldn't answer the question. "I don't do evidence," Brennan said. He does "intelligence," he said, adding that deciding what constitutes as evidence is up to the FBI. Nevertheless, Gowdy asked the same question again, painting the debate as a partisan one: I appreciate that you don't do evidence, Director Brennan. Unfortunately, that's what I do. That's the word we use; you use the word "assessment," you use the word "tradecraft." I use the word "evidence." And the good news for me is lots of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle use the word "evidence," too. One of my colleagues said there is more than circumstantial evidence of collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign. So Brennan carefully explained again: "I don't know whether or not such collusion  and that's your term  existed. I know that there was a sufficient basis of information and intelligence that required further investigation by the bureau to determine whether or not US persons were actively conspiring, colluding with Russian officials." Without an answer for the second time, Gowdy turned to questioning Brennan's judgment on the intelligence. He pressed Brennan to explain the nature of the classified information. Brennan again refused. So Gowdy asked how Brennan tested the "reliability or believability, credibility" of the "evidence," to which Brennan gave a standard response that chalked up to they "actively" worked to ensure its accuracy. After the hearing, Gowdy reportedly downplayed Brennan's testimony to CNN's Manu Raju: @mkraju: Trey Gowdy, senior GOP member of House Intel, downplayed Brennan's testimony, telling me it's not unusual for Russians to contact campaigns To some, the tense exchange between Brennan and Gowdy appeared to be an attempt to paint the former CIA director as a partisan. Former CIA agent Phil Mudd added that Gowdy is well aware of the distinction between "evidence" and "intelligence" and was trying to muddy Brennan's testimony to appear there was no proof of collusion between Trump's team and the Russians. This exchange has put Democrats on edge over Gowdy's intentions with the investigations. But it's one thing to sit on a committee, and another to chair it.

Trey Gowdy won't make a fuss for House leadership
Katia Beauchamp, co-founder of CEO of beauty subscription service Birchbox, is a 2010 graduate of Harvard Business School. There, she studied under esteemed professors, met her co-founder and even emailed with Steve Jobs. But one of the most important business lessons she says she learned came from "Winning," by Jack Welch, former CEO and chairman of GE. The tell-all story goes behind the curtain of his time at GE and details his success strategies for business and career. Beauchamp calls the the autobiography, which was co-written by his wife, bestselling author and and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch, "really powerful."

Katia Beauchamp, Birchbox Scott Mlyn | CNBC

In the book, Welch writes, "When you own your choices, you own their consequences." Welch's experience at the helm of GE is certainly different from Beauchamp's role as co-founder and CEO of a beauty business, but she says his book taught her a crucial lesson about success. "Get ready for what is going to be a roller coaster," Beauchamp says, "where you're going to make mistakes, but where ultimately you can still look back and say 'I did something important. I have a legacy that I'm proud of.'" Beauchamp says that the best employees and leaders recognize when they make a mistake and think about what they can learn from it. They don't let it define them.

"It's not to let failure define you, and certainly not to let it dictate what you can do next," she tells CNBC."The best experience and the greatest growth comes from the hardest situations." Executives and career experts agree that while failure isn't fun, it can be more important to a leader's development than success. New York Times bestselling author Adam Grant encourages professionals to keep a resume of failures, because it reminds you of your resilience and ability to recover from setback. Billionaire Mark Cuban encourages young people to embrace mistakes, since they are great lessons moving forward.

Use failure as a way to catapult yourself into exponential development Katia Beauchamp Birchbox CEO and co-founder

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says that that one Thomas Edison quote perfectly describes what it's like to be an entrepreneur, and it's not about success: "I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work." "Use [failure] as a way to catapult yourself into exponential development," Beauchamp says, "exponential growth as a human, as a leader as a contributor." Check out bestselling author Adam Grant's take on how failure helps you get ahead
The disappointing result for the Conservative party at the U.K. general elections has sparked many calls for Prime Minister Theresa May's resignation, but she reportedly has no intention in leaving her role.

Earlier on Friday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that the prime minister had lost her mandate and should therefore resign. Shortly after, Theresa May said that what the country needed at this time was stability. The BBC has reported, citing unnamed sources, that she has no intention of stepping down.

The General Election resulted in a hung parliament, where the Conservatives remained the biggest party but failed to reach majority.

Separately, Sky News reported Friday that the Conservative party has already contacted the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) looking for a coalition partner.
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Christopher Furlong | Getty Images | Getty Images News

Making matters worse, the shock result plunged one of America's closest allies and a critical trading partner into uncertainty just 10 days before the U.K. enters very complex and high-stakes talks over its "Brexit" from the European Union. The Conservatives remain Britain's largest party, but May's failure to secure an overall majority could put her alliance with Trump to the test. It also seriously depletes her own political power. "The result is a major embarrassment for May, who called the election just a few weeks ago on the back of a commanding 20-plus poll lead," Kallum Pickering, senior U.K. economist at investment bank Berenberg, said in an email to CNBC.

Tough times for the 'special relationship'

May has voiced concerns about some of Trump's hard-line views  and Trump is intensely disliked in the United Kingdom  but the Tory leader recently reaffirmed her commitment to maintaining the U.K.'s "special relationship" with the United States. May's political standing and Britain's economic health are especially important for the United States now, when so much of the rest of America's alliance with Europe is on the ropes. Trump has openly attacked Germany  he famously said that country is "very bad" for the United States  and the U.S.-Germany relationship is in its worst state since Germany reunified in 1990. Trump has spoken with open contempt for the European Union and the NATO military alliance, and he has professed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin at a time when much of the rest of the Western world sees him as tremendous threat. May's willingness to set aside political differences with Trump was perhaps most fittingly captured when she was photographed holding hands with the president in her first state visit to Washington.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson speaks ahead of Prime Minister Theresa May during her last campaign visit at the National Conference Centre on June 7, 2017 in Solihull, United Kingdom. Carl Court | Getty Images
The U.K. election has failed to give a decisive mandate to either the ruling Conservative party or the opposition Labour party, sparking more political uncertainty and dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Theresa May. The official result is a hung Parliament with no party able to form a majority on its own. Here's what happens next, according to the U.K. Parliament.

The ruling Conservatives will remain in power while they try to negotiate a coalition or the government may attempt to try to govern with a minority of members of Parliament. Back in 2010, the last time there was a hung Parliament, the incumbent Labour government stayed in place until a majority government could be formed.

Not guaranteed. In order to govern, a party must be able to command a majority in Parliament (there are 650 seats in total) on votes of confidence and supply, either on its own or through support from other political parties whether there is a formal coalition in place or not. For instance, the Conservatives could partner with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) that has 10 seats to get over the finishing line. However, if they can't seal a pact with the DUP (or someone else) and the Conservatives can't claim a majority, May will likely resign and the Labour party will be invited next to try and form a coalition.

By 11:00 a.m. London time, Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservative party had won 318 seats while the opposition Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, had 261 seats. Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP) had won 35 seats, the Liberal Democrats were at 12 and the Democratic Unionist Party had secured 10. Voter turnout was at 68.7 percent, according to the BBC.

Sky News reported Friday morning that the Conservatives have already contacted the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) and are expected to agree a coalition deal. U.K. leader Theresa May is expected to seek permission from the Queen to form a new government.
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Despite a bruising election result for her Conservative Party, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has sought permission from the queen to form a new government on Friday. She will continue as party leader and prime minister despite calls for her to resign. Addressing the media on Friday afternoon, she said that her Conservative party will align itself closely with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party in order to form a government that can ensure certainty for the British people. "Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over the many years," May said at Downing Street moments after meeting with the queen. "What the country needs more than ever is certainty and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist party has the legitimacy and the ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons," she said. With the bulk of seats declared in the General Election, no party gained a clear majority but the Conservatives swiftly contacted the Northern Ireland-based Democratic Unionist Party and agreed a coalition deal.

watch now

By 11 a.m. May's ruling Conservative party had won 318 seats  eight seats short of a majority  while the opposition Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn had 261 seats. The Conservatives did have a working majority of 17 seats before the snap election. Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party had won 35 seats, the Liberal Democrats were at 12 and the Democratic Unionist Party had 10. Voter turnout was at 68.7 percent, according to the BBC. Tweet 1 After winning his seat back in Islington, North London, early on Friday, the 68-year-old Corbyn called for May to step down. "People have said they have quite enough of austerity politics," he declared. "The PM called this election because she wanted a mandate. Well, the mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence." Nigel Farage, the former U.K. Independence Party leader, also called for her resignation. "May has failed. She absolutely has to go," he said on Twitter. Farage has also indicated he would feel forced to launch a political comeback if Brexit was under threat.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May gives an election campaign speech to Conservative Party supporters in Norwich, June 7, 2017. Toby Melville | Reuters
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When you imagine retirement, you might picture a spot by the beach or the pool to escape the chilly winters. The reality is that the vast majority of retirees are homebodies, not snowbirds. More than 80 percent of people age 55 and older in 17 major real estate markets who moved during the past seven years remained in the same county or state, according to an analysis by the CoStar Group, a real estate information company. "Most people retire in the same metropolitan area. You don't see the migration of snowbirds you would expect to see to the Sun Belt," said Hans Nordby, a CoStar economist who conducted the analysis.
In one of my earlier articles I discussed the unsatisfactory state of affairs in our criminal justice system, pointing out the incarceration rate in the U.S. is the highest in the world.

Our country has 737 per 100,000 people incarcerated, which is six times more than the worldwide midpoint of 145 per 100,000 people. Our prison population was relatively flat until the 1980s. Due primarily to the war on drugs, our incarceration population had increased by an astonishing 500 percent in the last 30 years. Forty-nine percent of U.S. inmates are serving time on drug-related offenses. Criminals should absolutely be held accountable for their actions, but the fiscal and social cost of our current incarceration rate is unacceptable. Prisons should be reserved for violent and repeat offenders.

My article stated it is time to hold a national debate on the future of our criminal justice system. The average cost to confine an inmate is $26,163 per year. Yet we spend an average of $6,589 to educate a student. Something is amiss.

Ideas to address this issue were discussed, including reducing penalties for nonviolent offenders, residential and nonresidential treatment programs, and probation for nonviolent offenders. I am pleased to report the Montana Legislature passed some terrific bills along these lines.

Both sides of the aisle came together in the 2017 Montana Legislature to save taxpayer dollars, reduce jail populations, and treat people with chemical dependency issues and mental health issues. Many of these bills came out of the Sentencing Commission, which brought together various groups to perform a comprehensive study of why more money was being spent with worse outcomes. They did an outstanding job. My hat is off to them.

Sen. Cynthia Wolken, D-Missoula, led the commission, and carried these bills, all of which passed. A too brief summary of each is as follows:

SB 59: Sets up a pre-trial, risk based program to utilize when determining bonds and release conditions;

SB 60: Mandates 30 days for pre-sentence investigations, funds new PSI authors, and streamlines the PSI process;

SB 62: Allows peer mentors to be licensed and paid to help those struggling with chemical dependency and mental health issues;

SB 63: Addresses swift and certain probation sanctions, including intermediate sanctions, for probation violations, as opposed to prison;

SB 64: Overhauls the Board of Pardons and Parole, instituting professional board members and implementing a grid system for decisions;

SB 65: Provides housing vouchers for those leaving prison to up to three months, recognizing this will not only save taxpayers money but also help those reentering society;

SJ 3: Forms an interim study on Native American incarceration rates and how to address those disproportionate rates.

I dont like labels, but those who lean right like these bills because they save money. Those who lean left like these bills because they reduce incarceration. Many of these bills go into effect July 1. There are some additional bills I am also very excited about, which I will discuss next month.

Overall, the Montana Legislature deserves a hearty congratulations for addressing the ills in our criminal justice system. These smart on crime initiatives, the first comprehensive criminal policy reform in 20 years, will have a lasting, and I believe, positive, impact on our criminal justice system.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Spider-man Tom Holland meets students from Dyslexia Association of Singapore

Tom Holland who plays Spiderman in Spiderman: Homecoming taking a selfie with Ryan Ho Yan Xing (fourth from left) and friends Photo courtesy: Marina Bay Sands

Tom Holland who plays super-hero Spiderman in the upcoming Marvel movie Spiderman: Homecoming was in Singapore to promote the movie, which will release later this month.

A group of thirty lucky students from the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend the movie's red carpet event and participate in a meet-and-greet session with the lead actor, Tom Holland, on 7 June at Art Science Museum.

Ryan Ho Yan Xing Photo courtesy: Ryan Ho Yan Xing

I am very happy to have the opportunity to attend this event. Spider-man inspires me to never give up despite the odds and challenges in life. When it comes to tackling my exams and the recent PSLE, like Spider-man, I try my best to push through the difficulties and overcome them, said Ryan Ho Yan Xing, 13 years old, a DAS student and beneficiary.

DAS is a voluntary welfare organisation with over 240 full-time staff who provide a wide array of services for dyslexics in Singapore. DAS Educational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Specialist Psychologists provide support for over 3,500 preschool, primary and secondary school students in 13 DAS centres all over Singapore. DAS also teaches at five PAP Community Foundation Kindergartens. Besides the main literacy programme, DAS also offers support in Mathematics, Chinese, English Exam Skills and Speech and Drama Arts. Increasingly, DAS will provide support for dyslexics who also suffer from other specific learning differences (SpLD) such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia, dyscalculia and non-verbal learning differences.

Aged between 10 and 15, the students attend intervention programmes run by DAS.

DAS is a designated charity under Sands for Singapore, Marina Bay Sands corporate social responsibility programme, DAS has been working with the integrated resort since 2015. Marina Bay Sands contributed S$180,000 to fund DAS Specialised Educational Services (SES) programmes over a period of three years. The integrated resort further supports DAS initiatives through active volunteerism. In March this year, ten Marina Bay Sands volunteers spent a day as ushers and befrienders at a DAS learning centre, where they lent their support during the free dyslexia screening programmes for students at pre-school, primary and secondary levels.

George Tanasijevich, President and Chief Executive Officer at Marina Bay Sands, said, Beyond providing monetary support to our designated charities such as DAS, we create inspirational opportunities for beneficiaries, leveraging on our facilities or our star-studded events. Todays Spider-Man: Homecoming red carpet event is a great example. I hope this experience was meaningful for the students from DAS, and we look forward to welcoming them to Marina Bay Sands again in the future.

Lee Siang, Chief Executive Officer, Dyslexia Association of Singapore Photo courtesy: DAS

We are privileged to have the generous support of Marina Bay Sands for DAS students from lower income families over the past three years and for kindly inviting our students to meet Tom Holland in person. I believe his passion and love for acting would have inspired our students to pursue excellence in all that they do. Interestingly, Homecoming centres on Peter Parkers struggles in high school due to his alter ego Spider-Man. It fittingly encourages our students to embrace their unique ways of learning due to dyslexia and create their own paths by focusing on their strengths, said Lee Siang, Chief Executive Officer, Dyslexia Association of Singapore.

Backed by the integrated resorts support, DAS will launch a new curriculum focused on solving problem sums under its SES Mathematics Programme for upper primary school students on 26 June 2017. The curriculum will help dyslexic learners who struggle to solve problem sums decode and gain meaning from the language of mathematics. Designed for students in Primary 5 and 6, the new curriculum takes a systematic approach in tackling common challenges, such as sequencing problems and multi-step calculations.
Even when the Conservatives were on track for an historic triumph across Great Britain, they werent set to have as good a result north of the border as its shaping up to be.

At the time of writing, the Tories have taken eleven seats from the Scottish National Party. As we write theyve come from a distant third to unseat Alex Salmond in Gordon and also captured his former constituency of Banff & Buchan (the only Scottish seat to vote Leave) on an astonishing 20 point swing.

With Dumfries & Galloway and Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale, and Tweeddale  David Mundells constituency  still to declare we could end up with an eye-watering 13 Scottish Conservative MPs. Heres the full list of current gains:

> Aberdeen South

> Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine

> Angus

> Ayr, Carrick, and Cumnock

> Banff and Buchan

> Berwickshire, Roxburgh, and Selkirk

> East Renfrewshire

> Gordon

> Moray

> Ochil and South Perthshire

> Stirling

There were some painful misses in seats which were actual targets: Pete Wishart fended off Ian Duncan MEP by just 21 votes in Perth and North Perthshire, whilst the Nationalists held Edinburgh South West by just over 1,000 votes.

Nonetheless, some big names have fallen: the aforementioned Salmond but also Angus Robertson, the SNPs Westminster leader, in Moray and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh in Ochil and South Perthshire.

Conservative candidates also ran close in Ayrshire Central (SNP maj. 1267), Ayrshire North & Arran (SNP maj. 3,633), and Argyll & Bute (SNP maj. 1,328). They also retook second place in two long-lost highland strongholds: Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey (formerly Danny Alexanders seat) and Ross, Skye, & Lochaber, and increased their vote substantially almost everywhere.

For a party which hasnt won more than a single seat in Scotland at a general election since 1992, this is an absolutely fabulous result. For a Prime Minister who always took pains to emphasise the full name of the Conservative and Unionist Party it could have been the crowning glory of an historic triumph. As is, it stands in sad contrast to the result in England and Wales and is almost certainly the sole property of Ruth Davidson.

With a hung parliament looking likely, any ongoing Tory administration will owe its survival to this new Scottish caucus and the Conservatives close working relationship with the Democratic Unionists. Could it end up being the first Unionist government since Lord Salisbury?
It may just be that there is a dramatic change during the next few hours, and the Conservative position recovers sufficently for Theresa May to win a workable majority. However, some senior Tories in the campaign are now briefing that the BBC exit poll and YouGovs original calculation were right  and that she will fall short.

In any event, it is clear that this election has left her authority deeply wounded, perhaps fatally, even if she returns to Downing Street as Prime Minister later today. When she called the poll, the Tories expected a landslide. This morning, they believed they would win emphatically.

ConservativeHome has been speaking to backbenchers and Ministers, and though there is some loyalist sentiment the picture isnt pretty. The consensus view is that 

The Prime Ministers authority has received a blow from which it is unlikely to recover.

Her most senior advisers, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, must go.

May must share more power with her Cabinet

Which itself must be open to a wider range of views. (Some suggest backbench Brexiteers, such as Michael Gove, join it Others name senior Remainers, such as Nicky Morgan.)

The principle of Brexit is not in question, but the Governments proposals for it are  not to mention the timetable. Single market membership may now be on the table.

And all this, remember, is on the assumption that May somehow gains a working majority, or is Prime Minister in a hung Parliament. In the latter circumstance, a second election in the autumn will be likely. With the threat of a second election hanging over their heads, Conservative backbenchers would be unlikely to mount a leadership challenge, but Mays days as leader would be numbered.
CORNWALL, Ontario  A 62-year-old man and 47-year-old woman from the Cornwall area have received a lifetime prohibition on owning animals after being convicted of animal cruelty under the Ontario SPCA Act.

On March 1, 2017, an Ontario SPCA officer responded to a concern about the welfare of animals at a residence in St. Andrews West, located approximately 15 kilometres north of Cornwall. They discovered six terrier-type dogs ranging from three to 14 years of age that were badly matted, severely infested with fleas and suffering from hair loss. The dogs had dirty, infected ears, and the officer noted a foul smell on their breath and a yellowish discharge coming from the mouth of some of the dogs.

Orders were issued under the Ontario SPCA Act to have the dogs seen by a veterinarian and to follow treatment recommendations. The veterinary examination revealed that four of the six dogs were suffering from severe dental disease, as well as skin infections due to a significant flea infestation. As a result of their deteriorating health, four of the dogs were humanely euthanized by a veterinarian. The two remaining dogs were treated for fleas and skin infections.

Raymond Levac and Juliette Fortin, both from St. Andrews West, pled guilty to animal cruelty in a Cornwall Provincial Offences court on May 23, 2017. They were each convicted of permitting an animal to be in distress and failing to comply with prescribed standards of care.

Levac and Fortin were sentenced to two years probation and a lifetime prohibition on owning animals, with the exception of two dogs and a cat currently in their care. Those animals must be brought to a veterinarian every six months for an examination and any treatment recommend by the veterinarian must be followed. Levac and Fortin must also submit to unannounced inspections by the Ontario SPCA during their probation period to verify compliance with the court order.

There is no excuse when it comes to failing to care for your animals, says Bonnie Bishop, Senior Inspector, Ontario SPCA. If you are having difficulty providing care for your animals, contact the Ontario SPCA to discuss your options.

To report animal cruelty, call 310-SPCA (7722) immediately.
CORNWALL, Ontario  Carl Desjardins-Paquette, 31 of Cornwall was arrested on June 7th, 2017 and charged with indecent act and breach of recognizance and probation for failing to keep the peace.

It is alleged in the afternoon of June 7th, 2017 the man was spotted exposing himself by a member of the Cornwall Community Police Service. He was taken into custody, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing.
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According to a recent study published in Gastroneterology, taking a probiotic supplement may help those who are struggling with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and depression.

IBS is a disorder characterized by cramping, abdominal pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association, approximately one in five adults in the U.S. have IBS, and women are more likely to experience symptoms in early adulthood or late adolescence.

Because the colon is partially controlled by the nervous system, those who suffer from IBS may also experience depression and anxiety, which can worsen symptoms.

Conducted by researchers at McMaster University in Canada, the study found evidence that certain bacteria in the gut can influence a person's behavior.

Probiotics, which are live bacteria and yeasts found in foods such as sourdough bread and Greek yogurt, are commonly used to reduce bloating and aid digestion. But this new discovery may have given them a new purpose.

Researchers observed 44 adults with IBS who also have moderate depression or anxiety - half were given the probiotic Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001, while the other half were given a placebo.

In the end, twice as many participants reported improvements when they had the probiotic.

"This study shows that consumption of a specific probiotic can improve both gut symptoms and psychological issues in IBS," senior study author, Dr. Premysl Bercik wrote. "This opens new avenues not only for the treatment of patients with functional bowel disorders but also for patients with primary psychiatric diseases."

Six weeks into the 10-week study, 64 percent of the participants taking probiotics had reduced depression scores compared to the 32 percent of those who were given a placebo.

"This is the result of a decade long journey -- from identifying the probiotic, testing it in preclinical models and investigating the pathways through which the signals from the gut reach the brain," Dr. Bercik added.

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
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The oldest known Homo sapiens fossils, dated 300,000 years old, have been found by anthropologists in a site called Jebel Irhoud in Morocco.

The findings were published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, and are evidence that humankind did not evolve solely in south or east Africa as previously thought, but rather throughout the entire African continent.

"We did not evolve from a single 'cradle of humankind' somewhere in East Africa," said Philipp Gunz, a paleoanthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, according to the New York Times.

The oldest Homo sapiens fossils previously were found at two sites in Ethiopia: one called Omo-Kibish, where scores of fragments dated to 195,000 years ago were found, and another at Herto where a skull roughly 160,000 years old was found. The new fossils in Morocco have been determined to be 300,000 years old, making them the oldest fossils of our species.

A paleoanthropologist named Jean-Jacques Hublin started studying fossils and other artifacts at Jebel Irhoud in the 1980s after miners dug up pieces of a skull and flint blades. Dr. Hublin noticed that the jawbone and teeth of the skull looked similar to modern humans, even though the shape of the skull was primitive.

The discovery of these skulls seemed to contradict the previously held theory that Homo sapiens evolved in East Africa and then spread out over the continent.

To date the fossils, Dr. Hublin studied flint blades found in the same sedimentary layer as the skulls, which were most likely used as spears. Many of the blades showed signs of having been burned. The paleoanthropologists have hypothesized that the people at Jebel Irhoud lit fires to cook food, and heated discarded blades that were buried in the ground below the fire.

With this in mind, Dr. Hublin and his colleagues used a method called thermoluminescence to determine how much time has passed since the blades were burned, and estimated that they were roughly 300,000 years old. The skulls, found in the same rock layer, must be the same age.

Remarkably, the skulls found at Jebel Irhoud resemble modern humans in many ways, such as the flat and wide shape of their faces, which paleoanthropologists think may have had to do with the advent of speech. But in many ways the brain cases of these Homo sapiens were still reminiscent of early hominins, such as in the lack of a distinctively round shape that modern human brains have now. Despite some primitive features, the hominins do belong to the Homo sapiens species and not to other hominins such as Neanderthals.

Dr. Hublin and colleagues traced the source of the flint used in the blades to a site about 20 miles south of Jebel Irhoud, which indicates that early Homo sapiens knew how to search out and use resources over long distances. This suggests that flint blades found in other parts of Africa may have been made by early Homo sapiens. If that is true, then our species may have been evolving as a network of groups spread out across the continent.

There is still much research to be done, because the presence of other fossils from the same era may mean that the blades were used by other hominins. As Hublin said, reported by CNN, "We would support the notion that around 300,000 years ago, very early forms of Homo sapiens were already dispersed all over Africa."

The fossils start to fill in a previously blank spot in the history of the human species, from between 200,000 and 300,000 years ago, and can be seen as an intriguing slice of evolutionary history.

See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare
It all started with the grittiest possible reboot of Mary Poppins. Now, whenever you discuss politics, the word "Nazi" gets thrown around a lot. It's usually unfair, but in this case it's unavoidable -- because David and Charles Koch were raised by a literal Nazi nanny. She had emigrated from Germany, where she was very pro-Hitler, and loved to tell fairy tales about naughty children getting tortured. Have you ever seen a congressman on TV arguing to destroy environmental protection and minimum wage and thought, "Jesus, who is funding this madman? Were they raised by Nazis? Were they psychologically tortured every day as a child?"

Koch Family "Do they have a curiously thorough knowledge of Argentina and murky parentage?"

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Yes. Strangely enough, exactly that.

The Koch children were subjected to some truly draconian toilet training: They were expected to poop at the exact same time each morning, or they would suffer castor oil and enema treatments. So yes, it's easy to be upset at the billionaires trying to burn the world down around them right now, but try to be understanding. They had Nazis forcing poop out of them when they were children.

Their nanny returned to Germany in 1940, almost certainly with bags of their feces to give to Hitler's scientists in order to create some kind of money golem. This seems like it would be good news for the children she terrorized, but it meant spending more time with their father. Fred Koch was a big believer in social Darwinism, which meant encouraging the boys to beat the shit out of each other to toughen them up. No matter what boys did in the Koch house, shit was expected to come out of them.
Nurses at CHI St. Alexius Health in Bismarck are considering unionizing over operational changes they say are harming patient care.

Mary Turner, president of the 20,000-member Minnesota Nurses Association, said she met with the Bismarck nurses a couple weeks ago after they contacted her group asking for help.

I think its telling that they came to us, said Turner of the nurses, who have expressed concern over what they believe are declining care standards that are causing the local hospital to lose its positive reputation.

Since CHI took over, its been going down hill, Turner said the nurses told her.

Denver-based Catholic Health Initiatives, of which St. Alexius is an affiliate, has been dogged by financial issues for more than a year. The company has been operating at a loss and struggling against yet another downgrading of its credit ratings from several major ratings agencies during this past year. At the beginning of March, Standard & Poor's took the hospital down from an A- to a BBB+ rating.

About 120 employees have been laid off from the Bismarck hospital over the course of the last year and a half.

It was 2000 the last time RNs at the hospital voted on whether or not to form a union in the right-to-work state.

We believe we can best continue our mission to serve our patients when CHI St. Alexius Healths staff is free to operate without the restrictions that often result when labor unions become involved in health care settings, Ellen Holt, CHI St. Alexius Healths vice president human resources, said of the recent talks.

Even as layoffs were announced, the hospital has maintained that its quality of care had not and would not change.

"We are proud of the high quality and safe care our nurses and patient care team provide to our community. It has been our faith-based mission for more than 132 years," Holt said.

But Turner said the nurses disagree.

Among a number of concerns, Turner indicated that nurses spoke of receiving larger and larger workloads that have made it difficult to give appropriate focus to each individual patient.

"The system they're running is just ridiculous," said Turner, adding that patient care is paramount for nurses and St. Alexius nurses have been unwilling to stand by and watch what they believe are poor policy decisions.

Turner said nursing union contract negotiations are unique in that they often involve provisions meant to protect patients as well as workers.

Theyre not going to stand for it, she said. "People go into nursing because they truly care about people and have dreams they can make a difference."
GRAND FORKS -- For mayors around the U.S. -- and at least one in North Dakota -- the fight to combat climate change is still on, despite President Donald Trumps avowed withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.

Many mayors are signing agreements and pledges to stay green despite Trumps rejection of the climate accords, which involves almost every country in the word. The We are Still In initiative, for example, claims the support of more than 1,200 governors, mayors, businesses, investors and colleges and universities in a pledge to work to meet the aims of the Paris agreement, and plans to report its progress fighting climate change to the U.N. The Mayors National Climate Action Agenda is a network of local mayors that already have been working to promote and effect climate-friendly policies.

North Dakota mayors are split on joining wider pacts to combat climate change -- at least one says theyre open to such a pact. Another isnt, and another says they wish they knew more about such a pledges local effects.

Asked for his thoughts on joining a broader climate-change coalition, Grand Forks Mayor Mike Brown said theres evidence both ways on the climate change debate.

I think we need to be aware of that, with our industry and our agriculture and things like that, we can impact it, Brown said. But do I -- Im still skeptical, a little bit, I guess. Is it global warming, or is it a natural (process)?

Brown said that he does not know if the principal cause of climate change is humans, and thus he would stop short of joining the mayors calling for more action on climate change.

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney said hes open to the idea of joining a pro-environmental pact. He said Fargo is looking into ways to become more energy efficient, and expressed support for higher-efficiency, environmentally friendly measures in the city -- like better landfill methane-capture technology and a continued dedication to sharing large-scale utility resources with nearby communities, decreasing the need for more utility projects.

Mahoney said he believes humans are the principal cause of climate change and pointed out the potential effects extra wetness and precipitation could have on local crops.

I think what people should think about is the effects for their children and grandchildren, he said. You dont want to be the guy who didnt do anything about it.

East Grand Forks Mayor Steve Gander said that hed have to know more about how changes in environmental policy would work at the local level before he could join any larger initiatives, but supports being a good steward of the environment. He said international and federal regulations often have a way of forcing bizarre changes when they work their way down to the local level, but he is open to the possibility that humans are the leading cause of recently-observed climate change.

If the research that weve gathered is good -- and Im not saying its good or bad -- but if its good, then we have to say its humans, he said.

Bismarck Mayor Mike Seminary and Minot Mayor Chuck Barney were unable to be reached for comment.

Scientific consensus holds that humans are the principal cause of climate change. According to NASA, most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is the expansion of the greenhouse effect -- warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from the Earth toward space.

And its more than just a coastal issue. Speaking in March, University of Minnesota associate professor Tracy Twine warned that the threats posed to North Dakota by climate change could include extreme weather, flooding and new precipitation patterns. Twine teaches in the schools soil, water and climate department.
Networking News

Layoffs Continue At Nokia As Part Of $1.3B Effort To Cut Costs

Mark Haranas

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Nokia Friday confirmed plans to cut 170 positions in Finland, part of a major cost-savings plan stemming from its $16.6 billion blockbuster acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent in 2015.

The Finish telecommunications equipment maker cut 960 jobs in Finland last year and said it would lay off an additional 1,400 employees in Germany.

Last year, Nokia said it planned to cut thousands of jobs worldwide as part of a $1.3 billion global cost-savings plan following the Alcatel-Lucent acquisition. The company could eliminate up to 15,000 positions out of a combined Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent staff of around 101,000 -- more than 14 percent of its global workforce.

[Related: Network Blockbuster: Aruba Takes On Cisco With New 'Catalyst Killer' Core Switch]

Nokia is attempting to reduce approximately $1 billion in operating costs by 2018, while also looking at savings in the areas of manufacturing, real estate, services, procurement and supply chain.

"Nokia is going up against some pretty heavy players like Huawei and Ericsson overseas," said Todd Carothers, executive vice president of sales and marketing at CounterPath, a Vancouver, B.C.-based Alcatel-Lucent partner. "It's a tough market right now."

"I don't think this is a bad strategy by Nokia," he said. "I like the moves they've been making this year like [the] Comptel [acquisition] and focusing more around 5G at a time when carriers are looking to upgrade infrastructure."

In February, Nokia unveiled plans to acquire telecom software specialist Comptel for $370 million. The acquisition was part of Nokia's strategy to build a stand-alone software business by expanding and strengthening its software portfolio and go-to-market capabilities with additional sales capacity and a strategic partner network.

Nokia did not respond for comment by press time regarding how many more layoffs are expected in 2017.

The layoffs and reductions are expected to come in the areas where Nokia said there are overlaps, such as research and development, as well as regional and sales organizations.

"These actions are designed to ensure that Nokia remains a strong industry leader," said Rajeev Suri, Nokia's president and CEO, last year in regard to the layoffs. "We also know that our actions will have real human consequences and, given this, we will proceed in a way that is consistent with our company values and provide transition and other support to the impacted employees."
Security News

Sources: Hexadite Lays Off US-Based Staff After Microsoft Acquisition Announced

Sarah Kuranda

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Hexadite has cut most of its U.S.-based staff, including its channel chief, in the wake of its acquisition by Microsoft, multiple sources close to the company told CRN.

The cuts included most of its U.S.-based team, including its sales, marketing, and operations staff, with two weeks' severance, according to multiple sources close to the Boston-based security startup that was founded in Israel.

The cuts include Vice President of Sales Aaron Cote and Vice President of Channels and Alliances Jessica Couto, a well-known former Carbonite channel executive who joined the company two months ago, sources said. CRN reached out to both executives directly for comment, but has not heard back.

[Related: Partners: Microsoft Acquisition of Hexadite Is Step In Right Direction For Security Push]

The layoffs came Thursday, the same day Microsoft announced that it had signed an agreement to acquire the security automation startup. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The cuts do not appear to extend to Hexadite's R&D arm, based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Hexadite has around 35 employees total, with about half of those affected by the cuts, one source said.

"It's disappointing to say the least and, frankly, it's wrong," one employee affected by the cuts said. "This is very disappointing. This is incredibly disappointing." The employee, who did not want to be named, worried that cuts, like this one, would discourage partners and employees from wanting to work with security startups.

Several Hexadite partners also said they were disappointed by the news of the acquisition by Microsoft and the subsequent cuts. One solution provider executive, who did not want to be named, expects to put work "on hold" with the vendor for now, in wake of the acquisition news and layoffs.

"I just don't understand it at all," the partner said.

Hexadite did not respond to a CRN request for comment. A Microsoft spokesperson said, "We are working with the Hexadite team to determine the best options. As company policy, we do not disclose personnel matters. We expect many of the Hexadite team to join Microsoft as part of the Windows and Devices Group."

Hexadite offers a security orchestration and automation platform that uses artificial intelligence to investigate and respond to alerts. The company is backed by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, as well as venture capital firms TenEleven and YL Ventures. It most recently raised $8 million in Series A funding in February, 2016.

Microsoft said it plans to leverage Hexadite's technology to build on its Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection solution with automatic investigation and remediation capabilities.

"Our vision is to deliver a new generation of security capabilities that helps our customers protect, detect and respond to the constantly evolving and ever-changing cyberthreat landscape," Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Windows and Devices Group, Microsoft, said in the statement. "Hexadite's technology and talent will augment our existing capabilities and enable our ability to add new tools and services to Microsofts robust enterprise security offerings."
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BRIDGEPORT - When it comes to time off, many private sector workers face using it or losing it before the calendar year ends.

If you work for Bridgeport, it pays not to take a vacation.

Three hundred and thirty eight municipal workers, including Mayor Joe Ganim and key members of his staff, received a total of $406,302 this spring for unused vacation days from 2016.

Ganim topped the list that the city provided to Hearst Connecticut Media with a $5,539 payout. The lowest amount? One dollar and fifty cents.

The maximum amount of vacation time offered a city staffer is five weeks, earned at 20 years on the payroll.

All employees must take at least one full week off or forfeit that time. Staffers who have earned three weeks of vacation can exchange one of those for cash. Those with four weeks are eligible for a buyout for two.

The mayor took advantage of the latter option, according to his office. Although he was sworn in on Dec. 1, 2015, Ganim, as previously reported, was able to pick up, benefits-wise, where he left off in 2003 at the end of his first tenure as mayor.

Ganim was elected mayor in 1991, serving for twelve years until he was convicted of corruption in 2003. But, according to the city, his first year back in office was treated as his thirteenth, so he has four weeks of vacation.

There is an argument to be made a mayor is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and never really able to take a vacation.

On the other hand, is anyone working beneath a mayor really going to question the chief executives time sheet and how many vacation days he used or did not use?

Asked if he had taken time off so far this year, Ganim spokesman Rowena White initially said no. Hearst pointed out to Ganim that during the first week of May he flew to Lebanon to accept a leadership award  he is Lebanese  and the trip was supposed to be on his own dime.

We definitely classified that as personal, Ganim said. I guess that will probably go down as vacation.

City Attorney R. Christopher Meyer was paid $4,773 for unused vacation days and some of the other veteran lawyers on his staff received similarly sizable, if not higher, payments.

Meyer said one reason is the workload that comes with providing legal counsel to Connecticuts largest city.

Ive had one (paid) day off, other than weekends and holidays, in over a year and a half, Meyer said. Honestly, Id love to have three weeks off.

He noted that the mayor and his top appointees agreed to take two weeks of unpaid furlough days last year to help reduce the deficit and to encourage unions to agree to similar givebacks. Meyer said he took two weeks.

The other thing is, some people would rather have the payout, Meyer said.

Ganim appointed friend Armando A.J. Perez police chief in March, 2016. Perez earned $5,091 for unused days off.

It was just too crazy to take time off, Perez said. But its just the nature of the beast. Im a hands on guy. I want to know whats going on.

Bridgeports policy of issuing annual vacation payments differs from that of Hartford and New Haven and from state government. Public employees for those three entities can bank vacation days during the course of their careers and eventually cash out.

There are no provisions for vacation buyback in a given year, said Laurence Grotheer, spokesman for New Haven Mayor Toni Harp. In some bargaining units an employee who retires or resigns in good standing can get a vacation payout up to a certain point.

State union contracts cap vacation accrual at 60 days, after which members have to use it or lose it.

David Lewis is president and founder of Norwalk-based OperationsInc, billed as one of the Northeasts largest Human Resources Outsourcing and Consulting firms, specializing in support for businesses small and large.

Lewis said while some states require vacation payouts, in Connecticut the overwhelming majority of employers have a use it or lose it policy with some variations.

The idea of use it or lose it is to come up with the right balance between work/life and number of days a business can do without an employee during the course of the year, Lewis said.

Lewis said public employees and other unionized jobs typically receive vacation payouts as part of their contracts. In those cases, Lewis said, Bridgeports policy of tackling that expense annually rather than putting it off is preferred.

For example, Lewis said, local governments that offer early retirement incentives to help thin out the ranks and balance the budget have to then absorb those hefty accrued lump sum vacation payouts at a fiscally challenging time. The Hartford Courant, for example, recently reported that since 2010 that city has paid out over $16 million for employees unused sick and vacation time.

If youre going to adopt a policy that involves paying out, that should occur, in my opinion, in the first quarter following the year staffers would have taken the unused vacation, Lewis said.

Ganim could, as mayor, try to bargain away paid vacation time from Bridgeports municipal unions. But the mayor indicated he is fine giving personnel the option to forgo time off.

White added that having too many people on vacation simultaneously could inflate the overtime budget.

Id rather get the productivity, the mayor said. You could argue theres a quality of life (issue) but thats a choice they get to make.
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Remaining unchanged is sometimes a good thing. After all, Connecticut is the land of steady habits.

Those were my thoughts one day driving through the spring foliage on The Merritt  Queen of the Parkways. What an amazing road.

A century ago, Route 1  Post Road  was the only way to drive between New York and Boston. If you think traffic is bad now, imagine that journey.

So in 1936, two thousand men began working on the states largest public works project  the $21 million four-lane parkway starting in Greenwich and running to the Housatonic River in Stratford. The adjoining Wilbur Cross Parkway didnt open until years later when the Sikorsky Bridge across the Housatonic was completed.

The Merritt, named after Stamford resident, Congressman Schuyler Merritt, is best known for its natural beauty, though most of it isnt native. A total of 22,000 trees and 40,000 shrubs were planted along the highway. And then there are the amazing bridges that have been listed since 1991 on the National Register of Historic Places.

Architect George Dunkleberger designed 69 bridges in a variety of architectural styles, from Art Moderne to Deco to Rustic. No two bridges are exactly alike. It didnt take long for The Merritt to be hailed The Queen of Parkways.

The parkway initially had three tolls  a dime that was later raised to 35 cents  to finance its extension to Hartford via the Wilbur Cross Parkway, named after Wilbur Lucius Cross who was governor in the 1930s. Tolls were dropped in 1988.

More Information Join the conversation Use #GettingThereCT to chime in on Facebook and Twitter. Commuter chatter Here are some reader reactions to "VMT deserved more consideration" "If CT wanted to do something, they should do like NY, Mass., NJ and many of the other states I have traveled through. When vehicle registration are due, you send in an additional $25 and bank or checkbook information and you get an E-ZPass. Many other states already have them, so there in no reason why CT cannot tie into those systems." - Jay Hull "I would be 100 percent supportive of implementing both a VMT and tolls for CT if it improved our transportation infrastructure and was part of an overall master plan for transportation. My problem is, this is just another way for the legislators to tax the citizens of CT. This needs to be part of the governor's Vision for Transportation, with a lock box." - Jack Condlin "In CT, we already pay billions to the state, and for that, we expect some services. Find that needed repair money from the funds already collected. Us few state residents who plan to stay in CT cannot be asked to pay a penny more. Neither the toll or the VMT are fair to our already over-taxed residents. Just because we are the simplest target doesn't mean we are a bottomless resource. A mass exodus has already begun. Please don't push any more of us out." - Ellen Connery "I suggest trial for only battery-powered cars since they pay no gas tax and thus avoid paying for road use. Broad use tax (mileage) would impact more those in rural areas, and discourage rural life and home values, and would incentivize more crowding in megacities. ... Mileage-use tax would also promote use of large gas guzzling vehicles, since smaller cars would be taxed at the same rate as larger ones." - Jehudah Benizak See More Collapse

The old toll booths were as unique as the parkway, constructed of wooden beams and covered in shingles. One of the original booths is still preserved in Stratford at Boothe Memorial Park. Theres also a nearby museum (just off exit 53), highlighting the parkways construction and history.

The Merritts right of way is a half-mile wide. The vistas are more obvious since massive tree clearing after the two storms in 2011 and 2012 when downed trees pretty much closed the highway.

Since its design and opening in 1938, commercial vehicles and trucks have been prohibited from the parkway. But as traffic worsens on I-95, debates often rage about allowing trucks on the Merritt and possibly widening the road. Either move would likely mean demolishing the parkways historic bridges, so dont expect such expansion anytime soon.

The best watchdog of the parkways preservation is the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, which has fought to keep the roads unique character.

The group won a court battle in 2007 against state Department of Transportation plans for a massive Los Angeles-like cloverleaf interchange where the Merritt meets Route 7. The groups latest battle is against plans for a multiuse trail along the south side of the roadway. Costing an estimated $6.6 million per mile, the Conservancy worries the trees and foliage that would be cleared to allow bike and pedestrian users would despoil the ecosystem.

So for now, the best and only way to enjoy The Merritt is from your car. This is one road where bumper-to-bumper traffic can actually give you time to appreciate the incredible natural and man-made beauty.

Jim Cameron is a longtime commuter advocate based in Fairfield County. Contact him at CommuterAction

Group@gmail.com.
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The states public universities wont be compelled to accept one more community college credit than they do now under a bill that passed both houses of the Legislature this week.

But if signed into law, the bill would make clear which transfer credits the University of Connecticut and the four other state universities accept, and which ones they reject.

New university reporting requirements alone should improve the lot of transfer students, according to John Mullane, a counselor at Gateway Community College in New Haven.

This will increase transparency, Mullane said. If signed and enforced, (the law) should go on a long way to help our students reduce the time and cost of a bachelors degree.

The final language of that legislation is under review by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his staff, a spokesman said.

State Rep. Pam Staneski, R-Milford, a lead Republican on the Legislatures Higher Education Committee, called the new bill a start. It would require the states public universities to publish links to transfer agreements on the states Office of Higher Education website and, starting in January 2018, submit annual reports on transfer credits accepted and rejected. The universities would also have to make public the graduation rate of transfer students.

The University of Connecticut already does some reporting, and has a Guaranteed Admissions Program that assures community college students admission with a certain grade point average and an associate degree in approved academic programs.

Until now, the other state universities  Western, Southern, Central and Eastern  have not had to report transfer statistics. But they do have a relatively new Transfer Ticket program that allows students who earn an associate degree at one of Connecticuts 12 community college to seamlessly transfer to Central, Eastern, Southern or Western to complete a bachelors in their major without loss of credit.

What there should be, Staneski said, is a way for community college credits to count at all colleges doing business in the state, public or private. Ultimately, she wants to lessen if not eliminate the chance that students pay twice by having to retake a course.

But we needed to take one bite, Staneski said. Get this on the books ... to expose gaps and changes that need to be made.

The bill also mandates that incoming community college students be educated about the variety of transfer programs available.

Mullane said UConn rejects nearly 25 percent of the transfer credits from community college students. Community college students transferring to UConn last year lost an average of 15 college credits, equivalent to a full semester or $7,866 in educational debt.

Mullane said he has not been able to do similar studies at the four other public universities in the state, because until now the law has not required them to keep track and report those numbers. But Mullane said he expects the transfer losses for them will turn out to be similar to those at UConn.

Transfer students are an important part of UConn, and the new legislation is consistent with our goals of ensuring them access and affordability, said Stephanie Reitz, a UConn spokeswoman.

The university, she said, looks forward to working with the Connecticut State College and University system to continue streamlining the transfer process

During a public hearing on a stronger version of the bill, however, other UConn officials called the measure pedagogically unsound.

A wonderful aspect of higher education in Connecticut is that the faculty at different institutions can develop requirements that meet the specific interests and needs of different students, testified Michael E. Morrell, a UConn political science professor.

A one-size-fits all approach could undermine that work, he argued.

Thats baloney, Staneski said. If a community college course isnt good enough, come down and help them to make the rigor happen ... We all should be playing in the same sandbox in the state of Connecticut, and stop making students pay double for courses.
The governor and lieutenant governor are resisting a subpoena to testify in the removal case against the McKenzie County sheriff.

Doug Burgum and Brent Sanford have, through an attorney, filed a motion to quash the subpoenas, which ask them to give sworn interviews about their involvement with the case.

The attorney for Sheriff Gary Schwartzenberger is asking for the testimony, because he thinks Burgum's office intervened improperly by communicating with the special prosecutor. Communications between them would be inappropriate, according to his attorney, Mike Geiermann, because the governor will ultimately judge whether Schwartzenberger should be removed.

In late March, special prosecutor William O'Driscoll sent a letter to the governor saying he wanted to dismiss the case for lack of evidence, according to case records. Shortly thereafter, he was asked by the governor's office for a status update. The next day, O'Driscoll asked the presiding magistrate to move forward, the opposite of what he'd asked the governor two days before. Two weeks later, O'Driscoll wanted out entirely and asked the governor to let him withdraw. Burgum replaced him with a new attorney.

"How did this all happen?" Geiermann said. "Thats why I want to take depositions."

Solicitor General Matthew Sagsveen argued in his motion to quash the subpoenas for Burgum, Sanford, Deputy Attorney General Troy Seibel and Governor's Counsel Leslie Oliver, that the governor's office is conducting a quasi-judicial act and should be immune. He also argued that high-ranking officials should only have to testify in extraordinary circumstances, which is not this.

"Sheriff Schwartzenberger has not made any showing of extraordinary circumstances to make this one of those rarest cases when a high-ranking government official should be compelled to testify," Sagsveen wrote.

Geiermann contends in court documents there is a reason the governor's office is trying to stay silent: "They will have to be truthful about the (out of court) communications they had about the merits of the case against Sheriff Schwartzenberger and the concerted effort to remove him from office."

Burgum's spokesman Mike Nowatzki declined to comment, because the case is pending.

Schwartzenberger, who remains suspended from his duties, is accused of bullying and retaliation within the office and is charged with a misdemeanor accusing him of misusing a county credit card. He has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial in September.

There will be a hearing with former U.S. Magistrate Karen Klein about the subpoenas at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Burleigh County Courthouse.
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STRATFORD  After two days of searching, police had not found the body of a Florida man who they say jumped from the Washington Bridge into the Housatonic River.

Police said Tavares Harris, 26, was driving on the Washington Bridge, also known as the Devon Bridge, when he crashed his sport utility vehicle into the protective early Wednesday. After crashing, police said he jumped from the bridge into the water below.
As with most business strategies, interactive marketing can be done very well -- or very poorly. Regrettably, Burger King recently made just such a major interactive gaffe.

Related: Burger King Gets Burned in Twitter Duel With Wendy's

The company's motivation was solid: Get an artificial intelligence platform to be its sales partner. How? Burger King ended a commercial not with a call to action but an odd challenge: "Okay, Google. What's in a Whopper?"

The point was to make Google's AI device, the Google Home, respond, and it did, as did Android phones. As expected, these devices linked to the Whopper's entry on Wikipedia, which Burger King had carefully pre-edited to define its burger combo in yummy terms.

The problem? Viewers with a mischievous streak quickly redited that entry, replacing, for instance, "meat" with "child" and one of the ingredients with "cyanide."

The ad garnered attention all right, but not the right kind; and critics called Burger King out for being gimmicky and invasive.

Of course, the fast food chain wasn't the only behemoth to dance with interactive marketing. McDonald's did, too -- but brilliantly. Its ad featured actress Mindy Kaling requesting viewers to ask Google "where Coca-Cola tastes so good," prompting all those millennials to do just that. McDonald's name was not even mentioned -- but was obvious. This strategy produced kudos, not thumbs down, from the marketing world.

These examples illustrate just how slight the difference can be between pulling off excellent interactive marketing or bombing on a global stage.

No wonder executives everywhere are engaging in serious due diligence before giving the green light to any interactive marketing campaign. They realize that with the immediacy of a social-driven population, wiggle room is virtually nonexistent; still, they can't afford to ignore this emerging trend.

Interactive: Heating up marketing departments

Interactive marketing comes in numerous forms: content marketing, trigger-based marketing, event marketing -- the list goes on. But what really matters is that all interactive marketing has a stickiness that binds the user to the marketed product or service. It's symbiosis, a give-and-take relationship.

You can foster successful relationships using interactive marketing, but only if both parties get something out of the deal. In the case of Burger King, that didn't happen because its approach was off-putting. For McDonald's, a win-win scenario was established because its approach felt less like a hard sell to the consumer. Instead, it was all about the experience.

Just ask Danielle Narveson, director of strategy at inbound digital marketing firm LIFT Agency, who's passionate about interactive marketing. She understands that people are willing to pay more for brand experience -- especially when the experience meets the client need for relevant, high-quality service.

Related: 4 Secrets to Better Interactive Social-Media Content

In some cases, consumers are willing to pay as much as 10 percent more for a brand with an associated experience than for the same product without. This is the case with grocery home-delivery service Instacart. With 55 percent of shoppers in a 2015 survey having said they were open to a online grocery service, the success of this kind of experiential brand is much more likely in today's market than than it was just five to 10 years ago, Narveson told me.

Narveson's observation explained why leading media-buying companies like Coegi are recommending practicality over pure quirkiness when it comes to well-targeted interactivity and audience participation.

Coegi President Sean Cotton noted to me the power of coordinated advertising that reaches the consumer at multiple touchpoints simultaneously, and that audience's increased likelihood of consumer response to the brand -- the ultimate goal.

Burger King's bungle illustrated how painful an effort at interactive marketing with the wrong approach can be. In contrast, a well-thought-out campaign has big benefits, so it's worth considering what tactics will make sense in this evolving world of one-to-one selling. Here are several to consider:

Use live video-streaming.

If a giraffe's live birth can attract more than 232 million viewers, it's time to sit up and take notice. When Oliver, the spindly-legged baby, came into the world in April 2017 at a Connecticut zoo, he was long-awaited, thanks to a continuous live video stream from the zoo's facility housing Oliver's mother and father.

The zoo used the experience to drive donations and impart animal education. Similarly, your business may be able to make use of live streams as well. Start small by streaming a talk, event, chat, product demo, etc.; then, evaluate, experiment and repeat.

Make the audience part of the marketing.

Stay on social media long enough, and you're bound to see tons of calculators, quizzes and infographics come your way. What makes those vehicles so effective? They grab your attention and draw you into the story.

Your input is what makes these marketing experiences feel a little unique, a little different and a lot more customized.

Grab attention with powerful content in unexpected places.

When was the last time you abandoned an online shopping cart? Chances are good it wasn't long ago; stats say the abandonment rate is inching toward 70 percent. If you're in the ecommerce space, you can use abandoned carts as catalysts for innovative interactive marketing touchpoints.

"Come back and reclaim your cart" emails can be straightforward, funny, touching or rewarding -- whatever you choose. The goal is to make patrons finish the checkout process with a great feeling about the company.

Hyperpersonalize the experience.

The 2013-2014 "Share a Coke" campaign may have been one of the most widely seen interactive marketing campaigns ever. Around the planet, beverage buyers were tempted to buy more Coke than they might normally have because of common first names adorning the bottles.

And they didn't stop with the cash register: They tweeted, added hashtags and blew up the internet with fun. The movement drove revenue and gave everyone a reason to buy two Cokes: one for themselves and one for a friend who shared a name with a bottle.

Related: Top 10 Customer-Centric Marketing Trends for 2016

Like it or not, people are getting accustomed to interactive marketing. So, invest in appropriate strategies relevant to your industry to see how it can transform your relationship with your customers.

Related:

25 Ways to Market Your New Business on Little or No Money

How Recruitment Dynamics Will Change in Fast Growing Economy Like India

Influencer Marketing for B2B: 4 Examples That Prove It Can Work



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
The news last month that Bob Marleys son, Damian Marley, and a Los Angeles-based venture capital company have purchased High Times magazine for $70 million is the latest in a string of large private investments in the cannabis industry.

How large? The total of private capital moved into the cannabis business reached almost $2 billion between January 2016 and April 2017, according to cannabis business analysts New Frontier Data and Viridian Capital Advisors. More than $730 million was raised in the first four months of 2017 alone.

This comes despite vague threats from members of President Donald Trumps administration, and Trumps continued silence on the issue, that have led some to fear a federal crackdown on the marijuana industry.

Related: New Study Finds Cannabis Reduces Seizures In Epilepsy Patients

Silicon Valley moves in.

Up until the last couple of years, much of the VC money came from outside Silicon Valley. Groups such as Casa Verde Capital, a Los Angeles-based fund backed by Snoop Dogg, and Oakland-based Gateway have stepped in to fund marijuana tech companies.

While venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road pride themselves on backing cutting-edge startups, they have been cautious given marijuanas illegal status at the federal level. However, thats changed in the past two years. Deals in the past couple years involving both marijuana and tech include:

San Francisco-based Founders Fund, co-founded by Peter Thiel, investing in Seattle-based Privateer Holdings, which focuses on marijuana businesses

Y Combinator investing in Confident Cannabis, a company that creates software for marijuana-testing labs, and Meadow, which provides software for dispensaries and delivery services. Y Combinator helped fund development of Airbnb and Dropbox.

DCM Ventures, with offices on Sand Hill Road for two decades, investing in San Francisco-based marijuana delivery company Eaze.

Sand Hill Angels Inc. recently put $200,000 in Tradiv, a wholesale marijuana online marketplace.

With one-third of all the investment capital in the world coming out of Silicon Valley, these investments indicate an important shift for the marijuana industry.

High Times and L.A.

The High Times deal shows how investors, particularly in California and Colorado, are not waiting around to see what the Trump Administration will do, similar to how states and cities are moving forward with the Paris climate accords without federal government backing.

Oreva Capital led the deal to purchase 60 percent ownership of High Times. Based in Los Angeles, Oreva is run by Adam Levine, the former chief executive officer of social media site Bebo. Oreva typically works in turnarounds, buyouts, growth and capital restructuring. In addition to High Times, Oreva has investments in Fatburger and Boxlight.

Related: 5 Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Toke on From Tommy Chong

In addition to Marley, the group of investors included Snoop Dogg and Denver Relief, the marijuana dispensary chain based in Colorado, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

High Times had recently moved to Los Angeles, leaving its long-time home in New York City. At the time the move was seen as another sign that California in general and Los Angeles in particular are becoming the capitals of the marijuana industry.

Follow dispensaries.com on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest cannabis news.

Related:

Sand Hill Road Joins Private Capital Flooding Into Marijuana Startups

New Study Finds Cannabis Reduces Seizures In Epilepsy Patients

Science and FDA Say Cannabis Is Medicine but DEA Insists It Isn't



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Manal Kahi didnt found her startup with the purpose of helping refugees. Rather, she saw an opportunity for refugees to add value to the lives of others.

The company, Eat Offbeat, is a catering service that cooks authentic ethnic meals for groups of 10 or more. The meals are conceived, prepared and delivered by 18 chefs from 12 countries -- all are refugees who now reside in New York City. Most are from places that are underrepresented in the U.S. restaurant scene, such as Eritrea and Senegal. Customers can mix and match dishes from different chefs and countries into a single menu and transcend the limits of a typical fusion dining experience.

In addition to providing jobs to refugees with untapped talent and giving Americans the chance to taste new cuisines, one of Eat Offbeats major goals is to change the narrative around refugees, Kahi explains. She says that the company tries to avoid framing its chefs based on their status, as refugees, and avoid constructions such as refugee chefs. In all of the companys external communication, Kahi says it strives to portray its chefs as happy, courageous and resilient, while erasing the negative connotation of refugees as people who are vulnerable or need help.

Related: Founders of Venmo and Foursquare Explain How Entrepreneurs Can Help Immigrants

To that end, Eat Offbeat also emphasizes that it is a for-profit company, not a charity, though Kahi explains that its strong social mission makes it difficult for some people to picture it as a competitive, highly scalable business which is eligible for investments rather than grants.

In some ways though, Eat Offbeats social good mission has directly benefitted its bottom line. Kahi spoke with Entrepreneur about why shes working to change peoples perspectives.

This conversation has been edited.

What have you learned about growth while doing good?

Even for businesses that dont have a social mission, growth is really hard and always comes with a lot of pain -- which is sometimes a good problem to have. In our case, I would say growing was actually easier due to our mission, and not the other way around. Our mission has given us a great edge and resulted in people coming to us. Most of our customers come through word of mouth. But I did learn that its incredibly hard. When we first started, we thought we would already be operating at full scale in the first few months. We were very naive. It took more than a year to get to a place where weve started feeling that weve started growing.

What have you learned about culture while doing good?

We already have 12 countries represented in the kitchen, so we cant speak of a culture. Its really cultures that we have. But somehow, people manage to come together. In this case, everyone is bringing their own dish, and theyre building a common menu. So that helps us all unite over one common culture. Language and cultural differences have been one of the least challenging aspects for us. Most of our chefs are bilingual if not trilingual, so theres always someone whos translating to the other person. If anything, those differences are an advantage for us.

Image Credit: Eva Cruz of Crouching Tiger LLC

At the end of the day, you realize that its all really the same. Once, we were looking for new menu items, so we asked the chefs to try something new. And both the Iraqi chef and the Nepali chef mashed potatoes and made them into bowls. They filled them with different fillings -- one was vegetarian, the other had beef -- and they deep fried them. They tasted completely different, because they had different spices, the texture was a bit different. It shows that were all the same, except there are these different spices that make us different and so rich and so unique.

Related: This Founder Shares How She Was Able to Bootstrap Her Way to Success While Giving Back

What advice do you have for other businesses looking to do good?

Since we started, weve been very focused, both in terms of mission and in terms of business goals. The small steps might change every now and then, but were always looking at the same point at the end. So, keep focused, and never underestimate that the social impact side can actually be a great advantage, and not the other way around. Always see it as leverage, and not as something that will take you back.

Related:



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
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BRIDGEPORTThe State Police Bomb Squads search for an explosive device in an apartment building on Boston Avenue yielded negative results Friday afternoon.

The Bridgeport Police Department called in the State Police Bomb Squad in regards to a bomb threat on Boston Avenue, according to Connecticut State Police Sergeant Eric Haglund. Bridgeport police were informed of the threat shortly after 1 p.m. Friday.

The apartment on Boston Avenue was in the area of Palisade and Mill Hill avenues, according to Bridgeport spokeswoman Rowena White.

Haglund said the personnel of the bomb squad responded to the scene and brought a K-9 trained in explosive detection to conduct a search.

The incident remains under investigation, Haglund said.

At this time, it is unknown if anyone was detained, arrested or charged in relation to the incident.

In the beginning hours of the investigation, several streets were blocked off in the area while police and fire were on scene in the area. Boston and Palisade avenues near St. Ambrose Church were among the many streets blocked off. With numerous roads closed and traffic being detoured there were gridlock conditions in the area, including on Seaview Avenue.

The all-clear signal came just before 3 p.m., nearly two hours after Bridgeport police were initially notified of the threat.

Harding High, Hall and Edison schools were put on lock out, lock in around 1:13 p.m. due to police activity in the area. At 1:27, the alert for Harding was upgraded to a lockdown due to police activity in the area.
TRUMBULL - Police helped stop an elderly resident from losing $8,500 in what is called The Grandparents Scam.

The scam that has been around for years goes this this:

A grandparent gets a call from a person claiming to be from a police department.

They say police have arrested their grandson on a charge, such as DUI.

They say their grandson is being held behind bars.

They tell the grandparent to send money to release the grandchild.

They lose their money because the grandchild was never arrested.

Lt. Douglas Smith said an elderly Trumbull resident nearly lost $8,500 earlier this month because he fell for the scam.

But, quick work by the Trumbull Police Department and the the U.S. Postal Service helped foil this scam.

The elderly Trumbull resident received a call from a male who identified himself as a police officer from the Boston Police Department telling him his grandson was in jail after receiving a DUI.

The caller told the resident to send $8,500 for bond money to an address in Boston. The resident did as requested and sent the cash via the U.S. Postal Service.

Shortly afterward, the grandfather was able to make contact with a family member and found that his grandson was not incarerated and this was a scam.

Smith said Trumbull police were then contacted and notified the Postal Service.

More Information Trumbull police say if residents should get a similar call, they should: Slow down, remain calm, get the callers information and tell them you'll call them back. Try to contact the grandchild or other relative to confirm even if asked not to. Call the police agency for confirmation. Tell the caller you will have someone deliver the money in person If still unable to confirm. contact your local police for assistance. See More Collapse

Officials from the Postal Inspection Service in Boston were able to intercept the mail, stopping the cash from being lost.

Inspectors are currently looking for the people behind the scam.

Smith said scammers ask to receive the money in a number of ways, including wire transfers for bond payments or medical treatments to various vacation destinations in other countries.
Nearly 80 PA people have been charged for Jan. 6 riot. Three are dead.

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Like it or not, Donald Trump (pictured) is the democratically elected leader of our closest ally

Donald Trump can be gauche, boorish, thin-skinned, bombastic and simplistic. His late-night forays into the Twittersphere are frequently childish and deliberately provocative, unworthy of a man who is nominally leader of the Free World.

But what especially infuriates his many sworn enemies and high-minded critics is that most of the time hes absolutely right.

In the wake of Saturdays terror attack at London Bridge, Trump tweeted: At least seven dead and 48 wounded . . . and Mayor of London says theres no reason to be alarmed. Cue bien-pensant outrage and a hissy fit from the mayor himself, Sadiq Khan, demanding that Trumps proposed state visit to Britain should be cancelled, on the grounds that the President had insulted all Londoners.

No he hadnt. Hed insulted Sadiq Khan, which is not the same thing at all. Those of you who read my column on Monday will be aware that I said almost exactly the same thing about Khan. Perhaps the mayor will retaliate by banning me from paying another state visit to Smith & Wollensky, the magnificent American steakhouse off the Strand.

For anyone who missed it, I monstered Khan for claiming that: London is the safest city in the world, even while the body count was rising. With complacency like that, what chance have we got?

Trump wasnt insulting London, he was quite rightly criticising the typical knee-jerk nothing to see here reaction of politicians unwilling to confront the clear and present danger we face from the nihilistic Islamist death cult in our midst.

No reason to be alarmed? This was the second murderous terrorist attack in London in a matter of weeks, coming as it did in the wake of the Manchester massacre.

No reason to be alarmed? Then why are the barricades going up all over London and the streets flooded with armed policemen?

If there was any insulting going on, it was Saddo Khan insulting our intelligence.

Saddo Khan has announced that if the Presidents visit goes ahead, he will boycott the official state banquet. Pathetic

After mouthing the usual platitudes and pieties, it was back to parochial political business as usual for the mayor, who attempted to shift responsibility for the London Bridge atrocity on to Tory cuts to police budgets.

Trumps tweet gave the mayor another convenient excuse to change the subject, to summon up a wave of faux fury against one of the Lefts favourite bogeymen.

Youre not welcome in my city, Mr President, parroted one respected commentator yesterday, repeating the fiction that Trump had insulted all Londoners. This from a former Moscow stooge who was an active Communist throughout the time the Soviet Union had hundreds of nuclear missiles pointed at Britain and was equally scathing about Ronald Reagan, the President who won the Cold War.

Like it or not, Trump is the democratically elected leader of our closest ally. As Randy Newman sang about another controversial U.S. politician: He may be a fool, but hes our fool.

We are going to need him  and not just to prop up the Nato alliance at a time when Islamist nutjobs have declared war on the West.

Unlike some of our so-called international partners, Trump is an Anglophile who has said that Britain will receive favourable treatment when it comes to trade post-Brexit. That should be music to the ears of the mayor, who says he wants to protect Londons economy when we leave the EU. American investment is vital to ensure that happens.

New mobile phone footage shows him stop breathing and his legs twitch before he dies outside the Wheatsheaf pub near London Bridge

Yet Saddo Khan has announced that if the Presidents visit goes ahead, he will boycott the official state banquet.

Pathetic.

Its a pity the mayor isnt quite so fussy over some of the other company he keeps. In the past hes shared a platform with Islamist rabble-rousers who would do us harm and campaigned against the deportation to America of a man who subsequently pleaded guilty to raising money for terrorists.

If he really wanted to keep undesirables off the streets of London, he might think twice about allowing the Al-Quds Day march through London to go ahead on June 18.

Ostensibly in support of Palestinians, this event is regularly infiltrated by anti-Semites, Islamists and terrorist cheerleaders.

Last year, demonstrators waved Hezbollah and Hamas flags. If this rabble tried marching through Trumps New York they wouldnt get more than five yards.

The timing is deliberate. Al-Quds Day is always held on the date chosen by the late Ayatollah Khomeini to call for Israel to be destroyed. No wonder Londons Jewish community is alarmed. Its irresponsible madness to hold such a polarising, provocative march in the wake of a bloody attack by Islamist terrorists.

From left: London Bridge killers Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba

But the authorities can always be relied upon to prostrate themselves before militant Islam.

Pity theyre not so obliging when it comes to others, especially supporters of the Jewish state.

Britains largest pro-Israel event, scheduled to be held in Westminster on June 22, has just been scrapped on the advice of security experts. The organisers, Christians United for Israel, said it had been cancelled for the protection of the 1,000 people who had already bought tickets.

A statement explained: Islamist extremists have called for specific targeting of Christians and Jews during Ramadan, when our event was due to take place. Chalk that up as another victory for the terrorists. If London really is the safest city in the world, as Saddo Khan claims, then why cancel it?

If defending freedom is paramount, then why not surround the venue with some of those armed officers to ensure the event can go ahead safely?

Curiously, another pro-Palestine event is being held in Westminster next month, free of any security concerns. Still, no one is calling for the specific targeting of Muslims or Palestinians, are they? Only Jews and Christians.

Its almost exactly ten years since I presented a Channel 4 documentary exposing the new virulent anti-Semitism being propagated by the unholy alliance of militant Islam and the hard Left.

This oldest of hatreds has now gone mainstream. Yesterdays Mail featured a photo of a giant election poster portraying Theresa May in Star of David earrings, along with claims she was responsible for everything from NHS spending cuts to causing Isis.

I hadnt realised until now that the Zionists were to blame for the wicked Tory cuts to the health service. They get everywhere, dont they?

The clowns behind this kind of poisonous propaganda are the terrorists useful idiots, along with politicians like Khan and his opportunist oppo in Manchester, who still claims the maniac who blew up the Ariana Grande pop concert wasnt a Muslim.

At least Trump is prepared to identify the problem as radical Islamist terrorism. He took his message to the Middle East recently and, as a result, other Muslim states have now moved to isolate rich Qatar, which is a notorious state sponsor of terrorism.

No such luck here, where our politicians are desperate for Qatars billions. The scene of Saturday nights carnage lies in the shadow of The Shard, Londons tallest tower, built with Qatari money.

Its easy to mock Trump  Ive done it myself. His proposed Muslim travel ban, however crass, provoked outrage. But when we learn two of the London killers were from Morocco and Pakistan and had been free to move around Europe and enter Britain unimpeded, are we really in any position to gainsay him?

Saddo Khan can stamp his little bootees and demand that Trump is banned from Britain, while simultaneously allowing Islamist terrorist cheerleaders and anti-Semites to march through London.

But what he cant deny is that, much of the time, the Donald is dead right.

Police across Britain are ever vigilant when it comes to preventing an Islamophobic backlash after terror attacks.

Officers in Grimsby rushed to a mosque, where it was reported a suspect was threatening to stab someone.

They arrested a homeless man, Jake Jones, and charged him with possessing an offensive weapon.

The charge, which was subsequently dropped when it came to court this week, read: At Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, you had with you in a public place, namely Legsby Avenue, an offensive weapon, namely a sharply pointed pencil.

When I read the address, I assumed this was a wind-up. Legsby Avenue?

Ello, ello, ello. Legsby avin yew.

Nope, it really exists.

Deputy district judge Philip Houlden said that the whole purpose of having a pencil was surely that it should actually have a sharp point so that it could be used properly.

This is another one of those stories I dont know whether to pencil in under Mind How You Go or You Couldnt Make It Up.
What an absurd lot we homo sapiens are. As a species, we like to think ourselves superior to smaller-brained inhabitants of the planet, such as swarming bees, herds of buffalo or sheep that mindlessly follow the flock. But I often think were just as easily led  and in some respects, perhaps even more so.

Indeed, though Im no David Attenborough, Id suggest we are the only creatures on this Earth whose very senses  the way we see, taste, smell, hear and feel  are profoundly influenced by the guidance of others.

The point was brought home vividly this week in a fascinating study by the University of Adelaide in Australia, which found that wine actually tastes better to the human palate if the drinker has first heard it described in flowery language by someone else. This seems to apply no matter how meaningless the description may be.

Scroll down for video

As a species, we like to think ourselves superior to smaller-brained inhabitants of the planet, such as swarming bees, herds of buffalo or sheep that mindlessly follow the flock. But are we?

You know the sort of thing: An intensely accessible vintage, at the peak of its perfection, with a distinguished oaky nose, undertones of burnt toast and freshly mown hay and a distinct raspberry-and-butterscotch finish.

As explained in Food Research International, the scientists gave regular drinkers three popular Australian white wines to test, asking them to rate them blind, with no information supplied.

A week later, they were given the same three wines  only this time they were told they were tasting six new ones. Three of the bottles were labelled with basic descriptions, the other three in the purple prose favoured by so many wine critics.

For example, a Riesling was first described simply as pale yellow/green. But when the same wine was offered again, the drinkers were told it had refreshing lemon and lime fruits accompanied by delicate jasmine flower aromas.

Furthermore, they were informed, it came from a family vineyard with 145 years experience and was lovingly crafted, with a respectful nod to our forebears, using handpicked fruit from our highest altitude vineyards.

Sure enough, the 126 human guinea-pigs enjoyed the wine more after hearing the elaborate description, giving it higher marks than before. On average they were found to be roughly 33 per cent more likely to buy it. What mugs, eh?

But then professional wine-tasters are also heavily influenced by factors other than taste. According to separate studies, they consistently give the same wine different ratings when presented with it twice, almost always preferring it when they are told it is more expensive. All of which has set me wondering about my own moment of revelation, when I understood for the first time what oenophiles were on about when they went into raptures over a fine wine. Or thought I did.

A blind test showed drinkers were more interested in the label on bottles of wine than the taste

As Ive described before, it came in France on my 19th birthday, when the patron of the hotel where I was working in my gap year presented me with a bottle of Chateau Latour, vintage 1953  my birth year. My first sip told me that this was the most exquisite liquid ever to have slipped down my throat, or ever likely to again.

But with this weeks research in mind, I wonder if it was really the smell and taste of it that transported me to sensual heaven? Or could it be that my pleasure had as much to do with the words printed on the label  Premier Grand Cru Classe  and the fact that I happened to know Chateau Latour was fabulously expensive and rated by some claret buffs as the best wine in the world?

I dont know what it cost then. But I saw it advertised on the internet yesterday (from the excellent 1953 vintage, this amazing red wine has a forthcoming bouquet, a sweet round entry and is a deep intense wine) with a price-tag of a cool 349.97. And that was for a half-bottle!

Does it cost that much because its so delicious? Or is it so delicious because it costs that much? If the scientists findings are to be believed, the answer is probably a bit of both.

And what goes for wine must surely go for food, too. Speaking for myself, Ive always been irritated by those flowery descriptions of dishes on the menu at fancy restaurants. Again, we all know the genre.

At the sort of establishment I have in mind, we wont be offered bangers and mash with onion gravy. No, exactly the same dish, cooked with precisely the same ingredients, will be described thus: Mouth-watering torpedoes of prime Lincolnshire pork, pan-fried and garnished with a puree of dawn-gathered maris pipers, drizzled with an aromatic salsa de cebolla. Whats more, the asking price will be nearer 20 than the 6.50 at the local caff.

The question is this: does the fancy description, coupled with the inflated price tag, actually make the dish more pleasing to the palate? Over to you, Adelaide University. Then, when youve finished your investigation of taste, you might turn your attention to how far the pleasures we derive from our other senses are influenced by what we read and hear.

Take eyesight and our sense of beauty. For many years now, my own favourite painting has been Girl At A Window, which hangs in our local Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London. But Ive often asked myself if it would give me so much sensual pleasure if I hadnt read thousands of words praising it, and didnt know it was by a certain artist called Rembrandt.

Call me a philistine, but if the same painting had been attributed to Anon, the chances are that I would have studied it for a moment or two, found it quite pleasing and thought no more about it.

As it is, Ive been back to see it time and time again, enjoying it more at every visit. Others, too, seem to spend more time looking at it than at any other picture in the gallery.

But how much is this due to the intrinsic beauty of the painting? Doesnt it also have a lot to do with the human herd instinct, the fame of the artist, the knowledge that everything he painted is worth a bomb and the reputation of Girl At A Window as the artwork thats been stolen more often than any other in the country? Whatever the truth, the next time it disappears Ill be the number-one suspect.

Its the same with our other senses, too. How many of us, relying on our hearing alone, would revel in the genius of Shakespeare or Mozart if we didnt know that millions of others rate them as sublime?

What worries me most is how many young people will have voted for Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party, driven out of their senses by the mindless herd instinct of social media

How many of my generation would have laughed themselves stupid at Monty Pythons Flying Circus, as I did in the early Seventies, if it hadnt been for the fact that almost everyone of our age was laughing at it, too? I watch repeats now and wonder what on earth I found so funny at the time.

All of which brings me to the question weighing most heavily on my mind. As I write, the polling stations are still open and I havent an inkling of the election result.

What worries me most is how many young people will have voted for Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party, driven out of their senses by the mindless herd instinct of social media?

With a sleepless night ahead, Ill be opening a bottle or two to dull the anxiety. Plonk will do me  and I dont care a damn how its described on the label.
Theresa May was riding for a fall from the moment she decided to call the election. Thats what happens when you start believing your own publicity.

Swept along by polls predicting a crushing three-figure majority, she threw her natural caution to the wind and staked everything on a coronation.

If weve learned one thing in recent years, its not to trust the polls.

Theresa May was riding for a fall from the moment she decided to call the election. Thats what happens when you start believing your own publicity

She should have seen this coming. Some of us warned from the off that it had the potential to blow up in her face, especially during a ridiculously long campaign lasting more than seven weeks.

This may have seemed a straightforward choice between a popular Prime Minister determined to implement the will of the people and an Opposition led by a hapless IRA-loving, Hezbollah-worshipping North London Trot, wedded to sky-high taxes and suffocating state control.

But the headline figures dont always tell the full story. There was no guarantee that former Ukip voters would switch to the Tories. And come election time, old tribal Labour loyalties were always likely to kick back in.

At the beginning of this campaign, I drew a parallel between Mother Theresa and Grocer Heath  until now the worst Tory prime minister in living memory.

Heath went to the country in 1974 on the question of who runs Britain: the Government or the unions? He didnt get the answer he was looking for.

And neither did May  although she might have romped home had she limited the campaign to three weeks, to coincide with the local elections, and stuck to the script.

This was supposed to be a single-issue election, about Brexit and nothing else. Soon it became about everything but Brexit.

This may have seemed a straightforward choice between a popular Prime Minister determined to implement the will of the people and an Opposition led by a hapless IRA-loving, Hezbollah-worshipping North London Trot

Whoever heard of a snap election which lasts the thick end of two months? Policies inevitably expanded to fill the time available on the rolling news channels.

As the election progressed, a nauseating cult of personality grew up around the Prime Minister. The Tory campaign morphed into one designed to install May as an absolute monarch.

Yet the more she made the election all about her, the less she had to do with the common herd, conducting her rallies in a hermetically sealed bubble.

While she was wise to avoid the stage-managed TV slanging matches with the muppets from the minor parties, she also ran scared of going head-to-head with Jeremy Corbyn.

That didnt make her look presidential, it made her look weak. In interviews with Andrew Neil and Jeremy Paxman, she came across as humourless, wooden and slow-witted.

The more people saw of her, the less they liked her.

May and her handlers ran a staggeringly stupid and inept campaign, driven by hubris. It takes a special kind of arrogance to alienate your natural supporters and attempt to appeal to those who have never voted Conservative in their lives.

Who thought it was a good idea to upset pensioners and those worried about paying for care in their old age? Presumably the same clowns who supported Spreadsheet Phils ridiculous attempts to soak the self-employed and screw small businesses in his subsequently aborted Budget.

May managed to persuade herself that middle-class, Middle England was in the bag and she concentrated her efforts on winning over voters in Labour heartlands in the North.

The assumption that working-class men and women who had voted Leave in the referendum would suddenly switch allegiance to the Tories was deluded.

Yet in order to reach out to this previously elusive demographic, she recklessly junked large chunks of Conservative philosophy and embraced pseudo-socialist policies.

All Mrs May seemed to care about was securing her place in history and being remembered for boldly going where no Tory had gone before.

Scratch the surface, though, and the absurd notion that she was strong and stable never stood up to serious scrutiny. Ask anyone who had dealings with her during the six years she was Home Secretary. Bloody difficult woman wasnt meant as a compliment.

Come election time, old tribal Labour loyalties were always likely to kick back in

May earned a reputation for dithering and caution, bordering on cowardice, coupled with a stubborn refusal to take advice from outside her own sycophantic inner circle. She spent the referendum campaign hiding behind the sofa, emerging only after Call Me Dave fell on his sword when he failed to persuade us to Remain.

She got the job by default, after the rest of the leadership candidates formed a circular firing squad in a fit of mutually assured destruction. I never thought she was up to it in the first place.

May owed her elevation to the fallout from the Brexit vote. That should have been her number one priority  her only priority.

We might also have expected a degree of humility and gratitude. Yet as soon as she moved into No 10, she started to behave as if she owned the place.

Even though she was an Accidental Prime Minister, she convinced herself that she had the right to tear up everything which had gone before.

Meanwhile, the focus on Brexit began to drift. She should have triggered Article 50  the formal process of leaving the EU  on the day she moved into Downing Street. If she had, wed be halfway down the road to the departure gate by now.

Instead, she kept making excuses as to why the time wasnt right  in the process handing the initiative to the rebellious Remainers determined to derail Brexit at any price. It took her nine wasted months to trigger Article 50, by which time much of the impetus had been lost.

Well never know for sure if she really did call this election to scupper the Remainers. My firm suspicion is that she saw a golden opportunity to reinforce her grip on power and took it, assuming that Labour was unelectable and the result was never in doubt.

Where Theresa goes from here is anybodys guess. Listening to her outside Downing Street yesterday, she seems to think it is business as usual

Instead, the campaign dragged on, and on, and on, with every new day bringing another pointless policy initiative, giving her opponents a new line of attack.

Some of the mud will have stuck, especially among voters who were already sick and tired of the interminable election campaign.

Gradually, the air of invincibility and inevitability she had tried to cultivate withered and died. The truth is that it was always a mistake to confuse her massive early leads in the opinion polls with any wild excitement for her personally. Those of us who decided to vote for her anyway did so without enthusiasm.

In my own North London constituency, her growing unpopularity cost a decent young Tory MP, a family man with six kids, his relatively safe seat.

Even Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, sent out like a lamb to the slaughter to defend May in the TV debates, only just managed to cling to her seat by the varnish on her fingernails.

This was the worst performance since my own beloved Tottenham Hotspur managed to finish third in a two-horse race for the Premiership two seasons ago.

Pretty impressive, given that at one stage Theresa was supposed to be on course for a majority in the region of 140.

If the campaign had lasted any longer, there may have been the nightmare prospect of Corbyn being installed as Prime Minister, bolstered by Wee Burneys Toytown Tartanistas, the Lib Dems and the Welsh cottage burners.

Miraculously, though, shes still there, thanks to Ulsters Democratic Unionists and the magnificent Tory revival in Scotland  which is some small consolation to those of us who believe in the Union.

Where Theresa goes from here is anybodys guess. Listening to her outside Downing Street yesterday, she seems to think it is business as usual.

The fact is shes damaged goods, but were stuck with her for the time being. Surely not even the Tories are insane enough to launch a leadership battle when they cant command a working majority in the Commons.

For now, we can only hope that Theresa can somehow redeem herself by forcing through the unambiguous Brexit that 17 million of us were entitled to expect when we voted Leave last June. But I wouldnt hold your breath.

May has handed the initiative to the saboteurs, first by prolonging the agony before triggering Article 50, then by calling an unnecessarily protracted election campaign, which allowed her opponents to keep changing the subject and relegate Brexit to a sideshow. No wonder theyre crowing now.

If the campaign had lasted any longer, there may have been the nightmare prospect of Corbyn being installed as Prime Minister, bolstered by Wee Burneys Toytown Tartanistas, the Lib Dems and the Welsh cottage burners

My own view is that Theresas already dead in the water. Its just a matter of time before they haul the body away, but its not going to be pretty.

She thoroughly warrants all the opprobrium being heaped on her today, and deserves to be reviled in the same terms as the appalling Grocer Heath.

Not only did she manage to lose the Tories their working majority, potentially scuppering Brexit in the process, she has contrived, astonishingly, to make Jeremy Corbyn an attractive alternative Prime Minister in the eyes of 40 per cent of the British electorate.

A campaign which began with her intending to drive a stake through the heart of Labour has ended with her giving it the kiss of life.

And nobody saw that coming.
Love him or hate him, theres no question that yesterdays election victory is a considerable achievement for Jeremy Corbyn.

The 68-year-old Labour leader was written off by every self-appointed political expert when the campaign started.

They expected his campaign to collapse, all the more so because Corbyn was undermined by many from his own side, with a clear majority of Labour MPs refusing even to serve in his leadership team.

Love him or hate him, theres no question that yesterdays election victory is a considerable achievement for Jeremy Corbyn

Yet he confounded the experts by securing more than 40 per cent of the popular vote  more than any Labour leader since Tony Blair in 2001.

When Mr Corbyn became leader, Labour had lost seats in four consecutive elections since 1997.

In the face of apparently insuperable odds, he reversed that trend, raising the number of party seats from 232 to 262.

Many predicted the death of the Labour Party itself when Mr Corbyn took over. Yet he has managed to bring it back to life.

So how did he achieve this?

Partly, it was Mr Corbyns refusal to be bullied into submission by his enemies within the Labour Party or by a hostile media. He also relished the cut and thrust of political debate.

He knows what he thinks and believes. And however unpalatable many find them, he was seen as standing by those beliefs  something which is almost unknown in the modern age of spin and lies. But Mr Corbyn had one huge additional advantage.

Since few took his campaign seriously, almost nobody drew attention to his dangerously impractical economic policies. Very few seriously asked how Corbyn  who, as we know, is in thrall to the unions  could afford to nationalise the railways and the Royal Mail, while ending tuition fees, putting caps on energy bills and maintaining the triple lock on pensions and building one million new homes.

The answer  as this paper pointed out many times - is that he couldnt without bankrupting Britain. But his supporters  many of them idealistic young people voting for the first time  couldnt care less about such brutal financial realities and certainly cant remember such horrors as the Winter of Discontent when, because of strikes, Britain couldnt bury its dead.

Yet he confounded the experts by securing more than 40 per cent of the popular vote  more than any Labour leader since Tony Blair in 2001.

They were making a protest vote against what they saw  not without reason  as an utterly discredited political Establishment.

This is why the biggest loser of the election was not Theresa May, who will carry on in office as Prime Minister, but Tony Blair and his coterie of modernising supporters.

The election result has certainly damaged the Conservatives  but Mr Blair and his supporters have been blasted out of our political life. And, for Corbyn, the revenge will be sweet.

Mr Blairs close ally Peter Mandelson disloyally boasted that I work every single day in some small way to bring forward the end of Jeremy Corbyns tenure in office.

Meanwhile Tony Blair treacherously encouraged voters to consider voting Tory or Lib Dem rather than Labour because of Brexit.

As far as I can discover neither Blair nor Mandelson lifted a finger to help the Labour campaign  disgraceful conduct in view of the way thousands of party workers selflessly helped them when they were in office.

Day after day, watchers never saw any Labour posters in the windows of Blairs 5million house in Connaught Square.

I am told that Mandelsons even more lavish residence in Regents Park contained no campaign posters either.

Indeed Open Britain, a campaigning organisation chaired by Lord Mandelson, actually dedicated itself to the removal of Labour candidates (such as Kate Hoey) who supported Brexit.

Jeremy Corbyn cemented the Left's grip on Labour last night as he claimed the party had effectively 'won' the election

Treacherous to the end, Blair, Mandelson and their supporters sought to engineer a collapse of the Labour vote so they could install themselves back in what they called the centre ground of British politics.

Every extra vote for Jeremy Corbyn was a disaster for Blair and Mandelson. Their modernising project is now dead.

Corbyn, who secured a higher percentage of the vote than Blair himself, can now reshape Labour as he and his union paymasters wish.

This creates a deeply embarrassing problem for the scores of Blairite MPs on the Labour benches, who have spent the last 18 months plotting to bring Corbyn down and replace him with an acceptable Blairite successor.

Should they continue to plot? Or swing in behind their leader and ask for a front bench job?

Its likely that they will return hypocritically to the Corbyn camp. They have nowhere else to go.

As for any talk that David Miliband, Tony Blairs protege and chosen successor, will return from the United States to lead Labour back to power  forget it. Mr Corbyn now has unlimited authority. He has a genuine claim to have done what Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson ultimately failed to do and re-invent the British Left.

Several months ago, wrongly believing Jeremy Corbyn to be finished, Tony Blair announced his intention to return to British politics. That plan is terminated. Expect Messrs Blair and Mandelson to return to making money lobbying for overseas dictators.

The fact is that Jeremy Corbyns new brand of politics has put Labour modernisers out of business for good. They may also have destroyed Labours chances of getting back into power.

For be in no doubt that the Labour leaders political programme signals a return to the hard-Left, union-dominated politics that brought Britain to its knees in the 1970s  and which, I suspect, will never be accepted by the British voters.

Again, love him or loathe him, Mr Corbyn also recalls a politics before the age of spin when politicians had genuine beliefs.

Which means millions of voters have turned their backs not just on Tony Blairs but also David Camerons style of slick, cynical and dishonest politics.

Hard times lie ahead during this moment of national crisis, but the death of such politics can only be a good thing for Britain.
The eastern practice of cupping is far from new, with experts pegging its beginnings to around 3000 BC in Egypt. The ancient remedy, which uses suction cups to treat everything from pain and fever to helping to control appetite and increase circulation, made headlines last summer when Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was seen with the telltale circular welts on his back.

Then earlier this spring, facial cupping, which was once reserved for Asian royalty, entered the popular lexicon when it was featured on Kim Kardashian's Snapchat and the Ellen show. 'It's a facelift in a blue ball with a suction,' lifestyle expert Kym Douglas told the talk show host.

Last week, the Kardashians' go-to skincare guru brought it up again, when she revealed that all three sisters come to her for cupping facials.

What's behind that glow? Kim, 36, Khloe, 32, and Kourtney Kardashian, 38, have turned to cupping facials as part of their skincare regimen (pictured from left)

'The cupping facial encourages blood flow to the tissue and stimulates the lymphatic system to help reduce inflammation, which in turn smooths fine lines and wrinkles,' Jamie Sherrill, a.k.a. Nurse Jamie, told The Coveteur.

'Using cups of different sizes strategically placed on areas of the face, the skin gets drawn up into the cup, creating a vacuum-like effect. Almost immediately, you will feel your muscles start to relax and any facial tension melting away. You'll also notice plumper, fuller skin right away.'

Never one to shy away from trying a new - or at least new to me - facial procedure, I sought out a practitioner in New York City to see if cupping really was the answer to the reality stars' flawless complexions. And perhaps more importantly, I wanted to find out if my face would be covered in round bruises before that happened.

Keeping up with Kim's komplexion: In March, Kim posted this photo on her Snapchat of the face cupping products used by her skincare pro Nurse Jamie

Just for laughs: The blue balls attached to glass cups were featured on the Ellen show in May

After some word-of-mouth recon (the practice is less Google-able than you'd think), I was connected with celebrity aesthetician Thuyen Nguyen, whose client list reads like a who's who of Hollywood. He's performed his signature FaceXercise treatment, which uses a combination of massage and cupping, on the likes of Natalie Portman, Jennifer Aniston, Uma Thurman and Katy Perry.

I met Thuyen at his Tribeca studio to experience a 50-minute Instant-Lift Facial Ultimate Workout (yes, the $330 treatment was comped).

Vietnamese-born Thuyen was introduced to the art of facial massage when he was just five years old. His mother taught him how to do it on her and considered it one of his household chores. He's been doing facials professionally for 21 years, with additional studio locations in the Hamptons and LA.

I laid face-up on the massage table, I curiously noted that there wasn't a blue suction cup in sight. Instead, Thuyen began my facial by applying an oxygen cleanser, followed by a triple antioxidant oil made of argan, perilla seed and jojoba oils. He used short, fast, upward strokes to massage the oil into my skin, encourage lymphatic drainage and increase circulation.

The cupping, he said, would come next.

Checking it out: Beauty director Lindsey Unterberger, 33, visited celebrity facialist Thuyen Nguyen in New York city to try facial cupping first hand

'Cupping on its own can only do so much,' he explained. 'The key is alternating the techniques, which is why I switch between doing a few minutes of massage followed by a few minutes of cupping. It's like when you work out and are lifting weights; you have a rest period between sets, which allows the blood to go back and forth.'

The resting period also ensured that I wouldn't have crazy looking circles on my face, as I had feared.

'It's like anything else,' Thuyen assured me. 'You can't push the muscle to take on more than it can. That's where bruising comes in. If I did cupping the whole session, believe me, you would have bruises. When I do the massage, I'm basically recovering and healing the muscle and getting it ready to be able to work out again with the cupping.'

Probably sensing my lingering apprehension, Thuyen did not warn me before he began the first round of cupping.

It turns out, he didn't need to. The mild suction feeling followed by the gentle plopping sound and quick release felt more relaxing than painful. It was almost, as Thuyen put it, 'like fish kissing you'.

I use three different sizes of glass cups, he told me. 'The first suction cup is small, meant to tighten the pores. As you can see, I'm going fast and snapping it back. This is basically exercising your pore to tighten it.'

In laymen's terms, he was training my pores to appear smaller.

A quick peek at the cup confirmed that it was in fact the same ones Nurse Jamie uses on the Kardashians. While some practitioners, and many at-home systems, use plastic cups, both Jamie and Thuyen prefer the glass ones.

Material girls: While Thuyen and Nurse Jamie prefer to use glass cups, Hollywood aesthetician Kat Radu (pictured) opts for the plastic kind

'The plastic ones are usually made from a mold, and the problem is that there can be a slight crease, and it also doesn't form the suction the same way,' Thuyen told me. 'Plastic can be more difficult for the practitioner to use as well because his or her hands are greasy from all the oil being used and plastic can be slipperier to handle.'

As Thuyen continued to work his massage-cupping-massage magic, I grilled him about the process.

'Can anyone have this done?' I asked as his hands moved in circular motions around my jawline.

'It's safe for all types of skin, including those with rosacea, eczema and psoriasis,' Thuyen said. 'It actually strengthens the skin because the massage I do helps to boost the skin's immunity by increasing the blood flow and circulation.'

'OK, but what downtime? If you have a client with a red-carpet appearance, how far in advance should they come see you?' I pressed.

They're fans! Thuyen counts Natalie Portman (left), 36, and Uma Thurman (right), 47, among the high-profile clients who come to him for his Instant-Lift Facial Ultimate Workout

But wait, there's more: Eva Mendes (left), 43, and Jennifer Aniston (right), 48, have also seen Thuyen for face cupping

'I've been known to do this for celebrities before the Oscars and the Met Gala,' he said. 'I can do this facial right before they go into make-up, that's how soon before. It makes them look like they slept for a week. There's no downtime. It's almost as if you went into a sauna. It takes about five or ten minutes for the blood to settle in and then your skin looks amazing. You don't look blotchy. You don't have the circle marks like you do with body cupping or even the red marks you can get from a typical extraction facial.'

My next question was the one Thuyen said he gets most often: How fast would I see results and how long would they last?

'I tell my clients to think about this way: If you go to work out with a trainer, do you get the result for the body that you want in one session? No,' Thuyen said.

'The difference here, though, is that the face muscles are much smaller than the body muscles, so they don't take three or four times a week to train. You can get away with once a month if you have to.'

Making a splash: Olympic medalist Michael Phelps, 31, made waves in Rio when fans noticed the giant round welts on his body when he swam. They turned out to be cupping marks

Her big bang theory: Kaley Cuoco, 31, has joined a rapidly growing list of stars to dabble in cupping therapy. She captioned the Instagram pic at left, 'Hurts so good #nofilter #cupping'

Here, there, everywhere: In addition to cupping on her face, Jennifer has also been spotted with cupping marks on her back, indicating she's a fan of the remedy for her whole body

She's into it too: Hailey Baldwin, 20, took to Instagram in April to share a selfie after cupping

Thuyen's most devoted clients do, however, come to see him once week. Others come once a month and the ones with money and time budgets opt for a session every two months.

No matter how frequently they visit, his goal in the beginning is always to build muscle memory by having them come in twice within the span of two weeks.

Even after just one session he promised me I'd see results in the form of more tightened, lifted skin. 'In a single session, I'm able to detox the skin in what would normally take the body a month to do on its own,' he said.

HOW MUCH DOES FACE CUPPING COST? At Thuyen's FaceXercise studios, he charges: $225 for 25 minutes $330 for 50 minutes $490 for 80 minutes At Nurse Jamie's Beauty Park Medical Spa, she charges: $325 for 75 minutes $75 as an add-on to other facials Advertisement

Coming more often, however, could make all the difference between needing injectables like fillers and Botox versus not.

While Thuyen seems anything but judgmental, it's clear that he is against using even mildly invasive practices whenever possible.

'Most of my clients are purists,' he told me. 'They're really into the natural space and want to avoid [injectables] if they can. They're also actresses who can't get too many injections because it can be too noticeable.'

There's a domino effect that happens when you start going down that road, too, he said. 'You get Botox, which paralyzes the muscle. When you paralyze the muscle, you create atrophy and then the muscle gets flat and you start to look bony. So the first year, you look OK, but then the second year, the doctor says, "Well let's do filler to build the look of the muscle back up."

'The problem with using filler to correct the flatness of the muscle is that when you put something underneath the skin, you're expanding the skin, which means you will always have to get the filler to keep it taught. And on top of that, you're getting older, so your skin is not snapping back the way it used to because it's losing elasticity.'

She's a convert: Lindsey left her cupping facial with tightened, glowing skin and not a single circular mark

Thuyen believes his method of facial exercise can keep people out of that cycle or complement its effects if they're already in it.

As a big personal fan of Botox in my forehead and fillers under my eyes, I was skeptical but could see his logic.

After Thuyen used the next two sizes of cups, one larger size and one meant to be used specifically around the eye area, he applied a calming charcoal mask to my face while providing a heavenly neck and shoulder massage.

'I use the mask to clean the excess oil and anything else that came out of the skin before I put on a multivitamin serum and aloe-based finishing cream,' he explained.

Had I not been peppering him with questions, there is no doubt I would have fallen asleep while he was working on my skin.

'People snore all the time during this facial,' Thuyen said. 'There's a euphoric feeling if you really focus on that one millisecond when the cup pulls up, which can lull people into deep, REM sleep.'

Before I left, Thuyen gave me the same homework he gives all of his clients, and for once, it seemed like a skincare routine I could actually stick to.

'My biggest tip for skincare is to always circulate your blood,' he said. 'Skin is reliant on the bloodstream underneath it. If the blood isn't being pushed and facilitated, no matter how good you eat or how effective the skincare products you use are, you won't get the full benefits.

Not just for the ladies: Men like Justin Theroux (left), 45, and Jimmy Fallon (right), 42, also come to Thuyen for facial cupping

'I don't like to have my clients do cupping at home, though, because you can actually end up clogging your lymphatic system if you don't know where to place the cups. But I do have them massage their face every day. I tell them to buy a bottle of organic grapeseed, coconut or jojoba oil at at health store - not a grocery store. You want one meant for skin, not cooking. Then, I have them put the bottle in the shower and rub a quarter-size amount of the oil around their face vigorously for 30 seconds to a minute before they cleanse. I always tell my clients not to try to choreograph it. Don't try to think too much about it, because if you do, you won't end up doing it.'

Instructions in hand, I looked up at my face in the mirror, still half expecting to see lots of little red circles but was greeted instead with perfectly clear skin that appeared significantly tighter than it did when I arrived and a pink flush that looked like I had just had an afternoon tryst with multiple orgasms.

Thuyen told me Uma Thurman calls him Magic Man, and after seeing the results of just one session, I have to agree.
The camera pans across a beautiful private estate in the countryside above the Cote dAzur.

A maid adjusts sun loungers by a glistening pool overlooking the Provencal hills before we see a billionaire businessman watching his beautiful wife sleep.

The following day that man, Constantine Clios, played by Anthony LaPaglia, is dead, blown up at a cocktail party on a Russian oligarchs superyacht in Monte Carlo harbour while his blissfully ignorant wife Georgina, played by Hollywood star Julia Stiles, is bidding for a $30 million work of art.

Julia Stiles stars in Riviera as Georgina Clios whose husband's death leads her on a dangerous search to learn more about the double life he appeared to be leading

The death leads Georgina on a dangerous search for the truth behind the double life her husband appeared to be leading, and the disappearance of the Clios fortune.

These are the explosive opening moments of Riviera, possibly the most glamorous TV series since Dynasty and a dramatic embodiment of Somerset Maughams famous description of the French Riviera as a sunny place for shady people.

This glimpse into the hedonistic lives and loves of super-rich billionaires over ten high-octane episodes swings between the murky worlds of finance and art in Monaco, London and New York as superyachts vie for attention with private jets and luxury cars against the magnificent backdrop of the Mediterranean.

The brainchild of Paul McGuinness, a former manager of U2 whos lived for 20 years outside Nice, where Bono, Adam Clayton and The Edge all have homes, Riviera was created with Oscar-winning writer Neil Jordan.

Julia says that playing Georgina was a dream role for her

It was inspired by living here and hearing what goes on behind closed doors, says Paul. Theres so much secrecy. If you ask who lives behind those walls or whose yacht that is, nobody is telling. Inevitably, people are fascinated by the secrets of the rich. Theres a saying that behind every great fortune, theres a crime.

The South of France is the preferred destination for people from all over the world when they make money, so all the ingredients are here. We have English characters, Americans, Russians, French, its reflective of the community that exists. There certainly are crimes that go on too.

'Neil has been a friend of mine for years and when I told him I wanted to do something with yachts, murder, crime, art fraud, money laundering, adultery and fast cars, he said, I want to do that too!

Playing art curator Georgina, Constantines second wife of just one year, was a dream role for Julia, 36, star of the Bourne movies, Mona Lisa Smile and 10 Things I Hate About You. Id just finished work on Jason Bourne, she recalls.

I was in an airport waiting for my flight when my agent called and said, You have to read this, its shooting in the South of France and Neil Jordan created it. It was sophisticated, intriguing and poetic in a way I hadnt seen on television recently. Theres this glamorous world with all the drama, intrigue and corruption just underneath it.

As the series progresses it becomes clear that Constantines family members have their own murky agendas, and Georginas uneasy alliance with his first wife Irina, played by Swedish actress Lena Olin, provides some of the bitchiest lines. The set-up makes it impossible for them to like each other at first, explains Lena, 62.

The new wife lives in my home with my children, but as time goes on they start liking each other. Irina starts off dismissing Georgina but theres a growing respect as she realises Georginas intelligent. That was fun to work with, to have the relationship grow and not just have them hating each other.

Anthony LaPaglia plays Constantine Clios who is blown up at a cocktail party on a Russian oligarchs superyacht in Monte Carlo

Julia agrees. On the surface were rivals jockeying for control of this family and theres also the possessiveness over our relationship towards our deceased husband, but sometimes theres an allegiance too. We need each other to get what we want.

I loved being able to explore a character over ten hours as opposed to 90 minutes in a movie. It was gripping. Ive almost never spent so much time playing a single character before.

For Lena, who spent many childhood holidays in the South of France, the appeal of murder, duplicity and corruption in one of the worlds most idyllic playgrounds was irresistible.

The combination of an extremely privileged, elegant, sophisticated world along with the criminal element, family drama and relationships intrigued me, she says.

Irina is the queen bee. She wasnt born into this life but she now takes it for granted. She gets invited to all the parties and expects everyone to know who she is. Although her children are tortured souls, shes a loving mother. Shed do anything for her children.

Constantines drug-addicted son and heir Christos, played by Dimitri Leonidas, is fighting his personal demons. Hes reckless and hedonistic but you do get to understand him more, even if you dont necessarily like him, says Dimitri, the former Grange Hill actor who appeared with George Clooney and Matt Damon in the film The Monuments Men. Hes not well adjusted enough to shoulder the responsibility of inheriting his fathers empire so theres lots of inner turmoil to explore.

French-Austrian actress Roxane Duran is cast as Irina and Constantines troubled daughter Adriana.

Shes self-harming the first time we see her, says Roxane. Her parents got divorced and now her fathers death means there are no illusions about the family getting back together. She has to try and cope.

Welsh actor Iwan Rheon, best known as sadistic Ramsay Bolton in Game Of Thrones, completes the Clios family as laid-back son Adam. He takes all the luxury for granted, says Iwan. Hes completely at home in it.

Another key player is art dealer Robert Carver, one of Georginas closest friends, played by Hustle star Adrian Lester.

Robert and Georgina trained together, explains Adrian. He has a soft spot for her, theyre very close but we dont know what the nature of that closeness is. Robert operates on the edge of the art world, hell do whatever it takes to make a buck. He knows how to forge a painting  or how to get someone else to do it.

Paul McGuinness is already gearing up to film a second season later this year, he says. I hope we can come back to tell more stories about adultery, murder and Lamborghinis!

Riviera, Thursday, 9pm, Sky Atlantic. All episodes will also be available to stream from 10pm on Sky On Demand and NOW TV.
Sir David Attenborough  official national treasure (as anointed by Prince William and others)  is a 91-year-old television legend, and the man whose whispered tones have introduced generations to the wonders of nature for more than 60 years.

He's the person most Brits would want as their prime minister and he's also our most trusted celebrity, but he's perplexed at all the acclaim.

No one would have guessed there's a chink in the armour but Sir David, it emerges, has light fingers on occasion.

His passion is for fossils and occasionally one or two have been known to stray into his pocket! 'I've been fascinated by fossils since I was a child,' he says.

Sir David Attenborough is a 91-year-old television legend, and the man whose whispered tones have introduced generations to the wonders of nature for more than 60 years

'After a day filming I still love to go and look for fossils, especially when it's abroad. The trouble is it's illegal in most countries. Which can make it tricky.' His eyes twinkle as he raises his eyebrows and grins.

'I've made lots of programmes about important fossils. The fact that they are important means that science is still working on them and they have significance so you had better not put them in your pocket. About a year ago I made a programme in Patagonia.

'We went to a very special remote place which was the nesting ground of dinosaurs. They nested like birds and this was a large colony. Everywhere, as far as you could see, there were dinosaur eggshells on the ground. You almost couldn't walk without treading on one. You had to be very careful.

'There was this big piece of eggshell that was beautiful and it was sticking out of a pebble. I picked it up because I was talking about the shells with this scientist. I looked at it and it was so fabulous that I slipped it into my trousers.

David with his wife and family in 1957

'But then I realised the camera was still running so I said, loudly, 'There, I am now putting it back where I found it.' He chuckles to himself and shakes his head; he really is as delightful as any fan could hope.

'I have a lot of junk in my house that I've picked up over the years,' he adds. 'I've lived in the same house for 60-odd years so as you can imagine, it's full.'

And as for the whole national treasure thing; he's not buying it. 'Who calls me that?' he asks, looking bemused. 'I can only think there's a vacant space for this sort of thing and somebody has to be put in it.' His nose crinkles as he laughs.

We've met in a film studio a mile away from the Richmond home he once shared with his wife Jane, the mother of his children Robert and Susan. David called Jane 'the focus of my life', but she suffered a brain hemorrhage in 1997 when he was filming in New Zealand. He returned home just in time to say goodbye to her.

He threw himself even further into work and hasn't stopped since, in spite of his advanced years. Not that you'd know it; he has few lines and could easily pass for 20 years younger.

Thanks to two new knees and a pacemaker which was fitted in 2013 he feels fit and well. 'It's nothing to do with clean living,' he says.

'I've got friends my age who can't get out of a chair. It's not their fault  the human frame is like a car. It gets run down. My new knees work perfectly; without them I'd be in a chair myself, wondering why I couldn't go to Africa.'

He'd love to live another 70 years; if he could turn the clock back. 'There's nothing good about getting older,' he sighs. 'If you could press a switch and get younger that would be fine. I'd do that for the next 70 years. You might say one benefit of getting older is wisdom but forget it, I'm not wiser. Once you've got rid of your adolescent problems and seen where you are and where your relationships are, I see no advantage in getting older.

'In your 20s you think you're immortal, but when you're in your 90s you know things are going to go wrong. At my age you know it's more likely you'll be struck down by something tomorrow than it was yesterday.

'I take care of myself, I don't try and run 100 yards in ten seconds any more. A lot of your friends who you thought were fine, suddenly you'll hear they had a fall. And you do think that maybe they won't get better.'

All he can do is carry on. And he still works harder than many people half his age. 'I am pretty busy,' he says. 'I've just come back from visiting elephants in Tennessee and soon I'm going to Trinidad to see leatherback turtles laying eggs. Then I'm off to Switzerland to make a programme about ants.

David says he would not rule out a third series of Planet Earth - but would expect his paycheck in advance as he wouldn't finish filming until the age of 96

'It's fairly continuous. But it's nice to be doing things. The people who might say I've done enough are the poor souls who have to watch it on television thinking, 'There he is again!'

He's on again this week, presenting the fourth series of his half-hour show, David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities, about strange natural phenomena. The show covers all sorts of creatures usually ignored, from pigeons that can find their way home from hundreds of miles away to a bamboo tree that can seemingly tell the time  every 60 years, no matter where in the world the plant is, it flowers.

He looks at the natural phenomena of pizzly bears  when polars and grizzlies mate  and the killer bees that were created when a well-meaning experiment went wrong. He also covers some of the fiercest creatures on Earth  kangaroos have a kick which can disembowel an opponent and the Siamese fighting fish is so aggressive it will try and fight its own reflection.

'These are some of the background stories that never get told, about how animals were discovered or the myths or oddball stories concerning them,' says David. 'Because it doesn't involve going to adventurous places in a canoe, television tends to ignore these stories but they're very interesting subjects.'

His appetite for knowledge is seemingly never satisfied. He's reading a biography of Edward Lear, who wrote The Owl And The Pussycat and was the 20th child out of 21. 'The fewer children you produce the more care you take, we see that in nature,' says David. 'I don't know why you'd want to produce 20 babies if 15 then die. We should have just a few children.'

But mainly David is consumed by work. A new series of the award-winning The Blue Planet, which first aired in 2001, has been filmed; David now needs to write a script as he'll be presenting the footage again.

Last year his Planet Earth II epic gained audiences of almost 14 million and won Baftas in the Specialist Factual category and for Must-See Moment for the heart-stopping footage of snakes chasing baby iguanas. However, David says the second award had nothing to do with him.

'I know my name's attached to it because I wrote the words but the person who really won it was the terrific producer Liz White,' he says. 'She spotted it happening, she persuaded the others to go back and film it.

'I started in TV as a producer, I'd put people on air and write every word and then he or she would get the credit. Unfortunately, that's the business we're in.

'But these are my pals and they're lovely people and I don't like getting all the credit for their work. But that's the way it is; you take the blame and the credit. You often get blamed for things you don't deserve, equally.'

As it is, you know you'll always be getting quality when a show has the Attenborough name attached to it. And that this endlessly curious man will always teach you something. There's been talk of a third Planet Earth but as the last took five years to make, David could be 96 by the time it's ready to air. 'If they want me to do it, of course I will,' he says. 'But I think I'll get them to pay me in advance.'

David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities, tomorrow, 7pm, W channel.
The worlds most pampered rhino is having his mudpack applied by hand. Sudan the veteran northern white rhinoceros stands placidly and allows his personal assistant to rub dollops of wet clay into his hide, to moisturise his skin and keep insects away.

He loves that, says Zach, his 24-hour-a-day PA. Zach lives next door to the rhino enclosure, permanently on call in case His Lordship should require anything. And Sudan is very high maintenance  he used to have a man whose job was rubbing oil into his hooves.

Little wonder that the staff at Ol Pejeta reserve in Kenya refer to him affectionately as the Hollywood rhino. Sudan even has his profile on dating app Tinder. But theres a tragic reason for all this attention.

Sudan the northern white rhino who is the last male of his kind - once he dies therell be no more like him, in the wild or in captivity

Sudan is very old and weak. And while his close relatives the southern white rhinos are thriving in the wild, he is the last male of his kind. When he dies therell be no more like him, in the wild or in captivity.

His story is told in an amazing BBC2 documentary, Sudan: The Last Of The Rhinos, which reveals how the northern white has been wiped out in just a few decades.

It is a uniquely powerful film, because the events of Sudans life show how close we are to losing other African animals including the elephant and the gorilla.

Today, Sudan lives under 24-hour armed guard, safe from the poachers whove slaughtered thousands of rhino for their horns in recent years. Despite the fact it has no medicinal value, powdered rhino horn still fetches more than gold dust in the Far East, for its perceived power as an aphrodisiac and anti-cancer treatment.

Sudan sleeping under guard at his sanctuary at the Ol Pejeta reserve in Kenya

The show tracks down animal catchers Annie Olivecrona, a Swede, and Brit Peter Litchfield, who snatched Sudan from his herd as a calf in 1973. Annie, who today lives just a few miles from Sudan in Kenya, insists they were doing the right thing. We were saving him from poachers, she says.

Hed be dead by now if we hadnt caught him. Shes almost certainly right: within a few years of his capture the population had dwindled to a single herd of fewer than 20 animals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)  then known as Zaire.

Sudan had been collected for a zoo near Prague, then behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia. It was run by an eccentric Czech TV presenter, Josef Vagner, who believed he could start a rhino breeding programme.

But this failed because  as we now know northern white rhinos need much more space if they are to breed happily; they couldnt thrive in zoos. But that knowledge has come much too late. One by one, the Czech rhinos died off, until three years ago Sudan became the last surviving male. He was sent to Kenya to live out his days in the sun.

There are two younger females, Najin and Fatu, but they cannot be allowed near the old male: they sense his weakness, and bully him.

Meanwhile, in DRC, the last herd seemed to have found a saviour, zoologist Dr Kes Hillman-Smith, whod taken her family to live in the Garamba reserve where she observed the rhinos and campaigned to protect them.

Her tireless work paid dividends. Local people joined her, patrolling constantly to keep the poachers at bay. Slowly the numbers increased until in 2003 there were more than 30 rhinos. The herd had doubled in size.

What followed is a stark warning that, when a population falls so low, it can be destroyed by a single attack. As civil war wracked the region, poachers roamed on horseback carrying AK-47s and rocket grenade launchers.

One night over the radio, Kes heard desperate cries of cheval! cheval!  horsemen were coming. By the time she reached the scene, almost the whole herd were dead, with their heads horribly mutilated.Kes knew every one of those rhinos by name. Shed seen many of them born. Now their bodies lay where they were killed for their horns.

During the next four years the poachers returned to kill every last straggler in the herd. Not one rhino remained in the wild, and it was too dangerous for the Hillman-Smiths to remain. When Kes speaks in the film, she sounds heartbroken.

There is one faint hope for the northern whites. A few eggs have been harvested for IVF, and scientists in Berlin are trying to create an embryo in the lab, to implant into a southern white female. But all attempts have failed so far, and the scientists are running out of eggs. Theyll freeze stem cells and other DNA, in the remote hope that some day the animals could be cloned.

Even if that happens, they would be no more than curiosities in safari parks or reserves. Northern whites lived in highly sophisticated animal societies, with customs and territorial rights that probably predated human civilisation.

They are intensely loving and sociable creatures. Kes Hillman-Smith can imitate their varied mews and calls, though no rhinos survive who understand the language.

Sudans story emphasises that its a short step from endangered to extinct. There is no happy ending for the northern white rhino  and if we dont learn from Sudan and act now, then elephants, gorillas, lions and more could also be gone within a few years.

Sudan: The Last Of The Rhinos will air on Wednesday 28 June on BBC2.
A heartbroken husband set up a crowdfunding page to make his dying wife's dreams come true as she battles terminal cancer.

Julie Lewis, 44, from Telford, Shropshire, was diagnosed with a rare form of bone marrow cancer in January - just months after toasting 10 years of being cancer-free.

Now, with only a limited time left to live, Julie plans to realise her last wishes while receiving palliative chemotherapy.

Her husband, Roger Lewis, 47, set up a crowdfunding page on JustGiving in order to raise money to help Julie's last wishes come true.

Roger and Julie Lewis have launched a crowdfunding appeal for donations that will help realise Julie's last wishes as she suffers from an incurable form of bone marrow cancer

During Julie's battle with breast cancer ten years-ago, the Lewises found out, in a cruel addition to the family's heartache, that her life insurance policy would not pay out.

Minor discrepancies in Julie's height, which was inaccurately recorded by 2.5cm and her weight by 6kg, meant the insurance company could refuse to compensate for the medical trauma.

Roger Lewis said the news of the void insurance policy 'was devastating' and Julie was unable to receive life or health insurance after that.

'On top of the bad news I had a work accident,' he told Femail. 'I was working as an HGV driver at the time. We were facing massive financial hardship with bills mounting up and two of us being unwell and off work.'

After receiving the life-altering diagnoses in January 2017, with living costs mounting for the Lewises and their insurance policy falling through, Roger set up a JustGiving page for Julie.

Proud parents Julie and Roger Lewis with their children Jasmine, 14 and Dylan, 18, who understand how unlucky their mother is. Cancer has plagued the heart of their family twice, and now the family want to enjoy the rest of their time together

'Crowdfunding was a way to allow us to enjoy the time we have left together,' Roger explained.

Roger and Julie are parents to Dylan, 18 and Jasmine 14, who have remarked how 'unlucky' their mother is.

Julie, a former school kitchen worker, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 34 and went through nine months of treatment including surgery, then six months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The more aggressive form of cancer this time means the palliative treatment for Julie is incredibly intense, however her crowdfunding appeal has added light to her journey.

'Through my appeal, a couple of friends who I haven't seen in 25 years got in touch and we met with them last week, and that has been lovely.'

Julie smiles as she undergoes intense palliative treatment for her rare bone marrow cancer, she hopes to be strong and healthy enough to enjoy and live out her last wishes with her husband, family and friends

'Crowdfunding on JustGiving has also been a medium for Julie to connect with old family and friends, and feel heartened by the generosity of others. Some of the people who have donated have been anonymous or complete strangers.

'It has restored our faith in human nature, against all the difficult news we have had  there are people out there who are willing to help people like us who are going through a hard time.'

Some of Julie's biggest wishes have already materialised after Roger wrote to Andrea Bocelli.

It has restored our faith in human nature...there are people out there who are willing to help people like us who are going through a hard time.

The famous tenor invited the couple, to come to Linz, Austria to meet him and hear him sing.

Julie said that as a huge opera fan, the experience was a 'dream come true.'

Roger added: 'I emailed [Bocelli's] management asking if he was singing in the UK in the near future and was overwhelmed to receive a reply offering us ticket to hear him sing and meet him in Linz, Austria in early July.'

The couple have a 5,000 goal on their JustGiving page and have raised 1, 390 with the support of 43 donations.

'The ultimate dream is to take the honeymoon we never had when we got married.'

When Roger and Julie Lewis got married 21 years ago they couldn't afford a honeymoon and she has always dreamed of the 'ultimate beach holiday.'

The couple aim to head to a sandy beach in the sun when Julie's treatment finishes mid-August.

Struck by cancer twice, with teenage children and a loving husband, Julie wants to make some wonderful memories with her family and friends and make sure the remaining time she has is as special as possible. The generosity of friends and strangers through crowdfunding made this a reality for Julie

This weekend, Roger and Julie are making the journey from Shropshire to London to have tea and stay in the Ritz. Julie said: 'It's the first big wish that we are realising. Staying at the Ritz is a a dream come true.'

Last week Roger updated their supporters on their JustGiving page that Julie had contracted an infection, and there was a possibility that she could miss out on her special weekend away.

However, Roger assures that she has made a good turn around and she is 'much better.'

'But the infection serves as a reminder that small ailments can be life-threatening to Julie, and that is very worrying.

'Given Julie's health it is very hard to plan trips far in advance. Julie's chemo finishes in mid-August and we hope to go on our honeymoon then.'

You can support Roger's appeal for his wife at JustGiving and help make Julie's last dreams come true
Were endlessly fascinated by murder mysteries. Countless TV programmes, books and movies prove our interest in unsolved killings borders on the obsessional. But theres another topic that attracts a similar level of attention  royalty.

This too is an industry that we seem to have an insatiable appetite for, as Prince Harrys sweetheart Meghan Markle is discovering.

So what would happen if you were to combine these two immensely popular subjects? Well, the result would look a lot like a forthcoming TV series called Royal Murder Mysteries.

Questions remain about the death of the Duke of Kent (far right) but his father George V (centre) was definitely killed, the series reveals

As the title suggests, its a compilation of six real-life stories of royalty caught up in cases of murder most foul.

Intriguingly the series reveals suspicions behind the deaths of some members of our own Royal Family, including the Queens uncle Prince George, Duke of Kent, who died in a plane crash in Scotland in August 1942.

Along with 13 others, the duke was killed when an RAF flying boat taking him to Iceland crashed into a hillside.

Although it looked like an accident, there are those who maintain he was murdered by forces in the government determined to get rid of a man who some today suspect was trying to broker a peace deal with Nazi Germany.

According to some authors, Prince George was connected with Rudolf Hess, Hitlers deputy who flew to Scotland in 1941, and the two were part of a plot to topple Churchill and make peace with Hitler.

The crash in Scotland in which the Duke of Kent died in 1942

A peace treaty with Germany, a country that had historic ties with the Royal Family, would have seemed like the most sensible option to them, says John Harris, the author of Rudolf Hess: Treachery And Deception.

There were many parties involved in the plot but our research points to one man connected to them all  Prince George.

It seems that the dukes demise will always attract conspiracy theorists, but as the series shows, there are some questions that remain.

Why, for example, was he carrying Swedish currency when he was supposedly travelling to Iceland? Some speculate that the real destination of the flight was Stockholm, where Prince George planned to meet Nazis on neutral territory.

Although we may never know all the answers to Prince Georges death, we have a clearer picture of the demise of his father, George V, on 20 January 1936. As the king lay close to death, his physician, Bertrand Dawson, gave him two massive injections of morphine and cocaine.

I therefore decided to determine the end, Dawson later admitted in his diary, to spare the Royal Family hours of waiting just for the mechanical end. In a strictly legal sense, Dawson, despite acting from benign motives, murdered the king.

Josslyn Hay, the 22nd Earl of Erroll's murder was the subject of the film White Mischief starring Charles Dance and Greta Scacchi,

The reason we know of Dawsons actions is because his diary was published in 1986. And the series also presents other evidence gleaned decades after the event, this time in the form of a tape recording made in connection with the notorious 1941 murder of Josslyn Hay, the 22nd Earl of Erroll, a member of the Happy Valley set of hedonistic expats in Kenya.

Although not technically royalty, the earls family had played a leading role in coronations since the 14th century.

His murder, the subject of the film White Mischief starring Charles Dance and Greta Scacchi, has never been solved, although it is thought that the murderer was Sir Henry Jock Delves Broughton, whose wife was sleeping with Josslyn.

Excitingly, for the first time the series plays a taped interview with a member of the Happy Valley set who reveals how Jock was able to commit the murder. It would spoil things to reveal the details, but hearing a voice from beyond the grave discussing the murder sends a chill down the spine.

The series also explores the mystery of the fate of the Romanovs, the Russian Royal Family who were slaughtered by a Bolshevik firing squad on 17 July 1918.

Although it was supposed that Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, his son and four daughters had indeed been killed, the appearance in Berlin in the 1920s of a woman, Anna Anderson, claiming to be Anastasia, the tsars youngest daughter, made many think the familys fate had been different.

An absence of bodies deepened the mystery and led some to theorise that the Romanovs had been exchanged in a Soviet-German pact after the First World War. It would take decades for the truth to emerge  although again it would be a plot spoiler to reveal it here.

In some cases, the fate of the royals at the heart of these mysteries has never been established. The death of King Ludwig II of Bavaria  known as Mad King Ludwig  remains shrouded in suspicion. Very eccentric, and in all likelihood gay, Ludwig was more interested in building sumptuous residences than practising statecraft.

His most celebrated creation was the fairytale-like Neuschwanstein Castle, finished in 1886, which has since attracted millions of visitors, thereby earning Bavaria a fortune.

At the time, however, Ludwigs ministers saw him as a spendthrift  and insane. He was deposed, but Ludwig was determined to appeal to his people to get himself restored. For his ministers, that was a serious threat to their authority.

On 13 June 1886, Ludwig went for a walk around a lake with his psychiatrist, Dr Bernhard von Gudden. Later that night, a search party discovered their bodies in the water  both apparently drowned.

The autopsies raised serious questions, though, as Ludwigs lungs contained no water, which meant he couldnt have drowned. There were also injuries on Dr Gudden that suggested the cause of death was violent.

What makes matters more disquieting is that Ludwigs descendants still refuse to allow his body to be exhumed and studied for any signs of violence.

Somehow, it does not seem to matter if these cases are solved or not  there is no doubt that anything involving royalty and murder will continue to fascinate us mere commoners.

Royal Murder Mysteries starts on Monday at 8pm on Yesterday.
Weve had more than our usual share of nastiness in recent days.

Its not just the awful events in Manchester and London: this General Election campaign has been so toxic, so horribly tribal and hate-filled, that I feel Ive been swimming in bile for the past six weeks.

So it was genuinely uplifting yesterday to see the pictures of Prince Harry, on a flying visit to Sydney for the launch of the Invictus Games, homing in for a soggy full-on hug with Daphne Dunne, a 97-year-old war widow.

Prince Harry embraced Daphne Dunne, a 97-year-old war widow, while he made a flying visit to Sydney for the launch of the Invictus Games. The pair had met in a previous visit in 2015 when he spotted her wearing her first husband's Victoria Cross

She had waited more than seven hours in the rain to greet him. It wasnt the first time the two had met; during a previous visit in 2015 he had spotted her wearing her first husbands Victoria Cross. He got close to me and he said: I know what that is,  she said at the time. And I said: Well, you should. 

To see Harry embracing her was a reminder that despite so much overwhelming evidence to the contrary, basic human kindness has not yet gone completely out of fashion.

Harry has also experienced immeasurable loss in his life with the death of Princess Diana in August 1997. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Diana's death

There was also something bittersweet about this meeting of two people, generations apart, who have both experienced immeasurable loss in their lives. For Mrs Dunne, her husband; for Harry his mother, Princess Diana.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Dianas death in August 1997, shortly after Tony Blair swept New Labour to power. It was a defining moment for the country, the Royal Family and, of course, for Prince Harry, who was just a few weeks shy of his 13th birthday.

Harry is a hugger. A young man for whom reaching out to embrace another human being in moments of joy or sorrow

Whats so striking about this picture  and of Harry in general, a young man who seems to have a passionate desire to help others, and especially those whose lives have been marred by death or illness  is how much his spontaneity and talent for connecting with people brings to mind his late mother.

Put simply, Harry is a hugger. A young man for whom reaching out to embrace another human being in moments of joy or sorrow is the most natural thing in the world.

Joan Collins once said the people are either radiators or fridges. Princess Diana was definitely the former, something that no doubt contributed to her struggles within a Royal Family of a notoriously chilly disposition.

As a woman who craved warmth and affection  and who sadly didnt always get it  she compensated by offering it to others. From the very beginning, when she was photographed surrounded by small children clinging to her at nursery to the iconic photographs of her hugging Aids patients ostracised by others, she seemed to radiate goodwill.

She was before her time. As numerous scientific studies have now shown, human contact and especially hugging has physical benefits. It triggers the release of oxytocin, the bonding hormone, which in turn slows the heart rate and causes a drop in stress hormones. Researchers have even found that hugging can reduce the chances of catching a cold, since the release of oxytocin improves immune function.

Harry is never more at home than when he is enfolding someone in his arms, aware a good hug can connect powerfully with the poor and the shy

Pictured left, Harry embraced Hope Hills, five, who had 50 operations in her short life. Pictured right, Harry met amputee Rio Woolf, seven, at the 2016 Invictus Games

Its true that anyone who ever met Diana spoke of her ineffable generosity of spirit, her capacity for empathy and making other people feel special. All traits that she seems to have passed on to Harry.

Whether hes comforting a sick child or enveloping a sporting hero in the moment of victory, Harry is never more at home than when he is enfolding someone in his arms, aware a good hug can connect powerfully with the poor and the shy.

Who can fail to melt at the picture of Harry hugging a puppy at the tender age of three while on a rare happy family holiday in Majorca? He may have not had much time with his mother, but what he had was defined by a level of openly demonstrative affection not previously seen among the Royal Family.

Harry himself always seemed like the huggiest of children, never happier than when close to his mother. Pictured left, Prince Harry embraces a woman as he visits the Kananelo Centre for the deaf

There are innumerable pictures of her and the children snuggling up together or holding hands.

Harry himself always seemed like the huggiest of children, never happier than when close to his mother.

In recent months, he has spoken candidly about the sorrow of losing her and of the emotional complications it caused. Clearly, the love she gave him in their short time together was more than enough to last a lifetime.

It may be a mean and nasty old world were living in, where evil stalks the innocent and hatred clouds judgment. But as long as people can reach out to one another, as long as we retain the capacity to heal the hurt with one simple gesture, then there is still hope.

Thank you, Prince Harry, for reminding us of that.

The VC hero husband of the widow he embraced this week

By DAVID WILKES

Daphne Dunne's husband Lieutenant Albert Chowne was killed aged 24 on March 25 1945, just ten days after their first wedding anniversary

When Prince Harry met Daphne Dunne, a snowy-haired Australian pensioner, during a walkabout in Sydney in 2015, she clearly made an impression.

And no wonder. When he asked her about the Victoria Cross pinned to her coat, the story she told him was hard to forget.

The recipient of the VC  Britains highest military honour  was Daphnes lost love, her first husband Lieutenant Albert Chowne. He was killed, aged 24, on March 25, 1945, just ten days after their first wedding anniversary.

Lt Chowne was her Prince, she says, who never came home but whom she never forgot.

She and Albert (pictured right on their wedding day) had met at the David Jones department store in Sydney, where he was a shirt cutter.

When he enlisted in the Australian Army in May 1940, they were just friends who agreed to write to each other. It was through those letters that they fell in love.

He was very romantic, very sincere and very loving. He was just a very good person, recalled Daphne, of the dashing young soldier she married in March 1944 when he came home on leave.

He was also very brave. Just how brave is made plain in the entry in the War Offices own account, published in the London Gazette of September 6, 1945.

It details the superb heroism and self-sacrifice which resulted in the post-humous award of the VC for most conspicuous bravery, brilliant leadership and devotion to duty during a fierce encounter on a narrow ridge near Dagua, on the north cost of Papua New Guinea, where the Japanese had an airfield.

As part of 2/2 Australian Infantry Battalion, Lt Chowne and his comrades had helped to capture Dagua, but the enemy had retreated south to where they posed a great danger to the flank of the Australian troops, making it impossible for them to advance further.

The leading platoon came under heavy fire from concealed machine guns and their commander was among the wounded.

It was then that Lt Chowne took action. Without awaiting orders, he rushed the enemys position, ran up a steep, narrow track and hurled gre-nades, which knocked out two enemy light machine guns.

Then, calling on his men to follow him and firing his sub-machine gun from the hip, he charged the enemys position.

Although he sustained two serious wounds in the chest, the impetus of his charge carried him 50 yards forward under the most intense machine gun and rifle fire, the account continued.

Lieutenant Chowne accounted for two more Japanese before he was killed standing over three foxholes occupied by the enemy.

His actions resulted in the capture of the strongly held enemy position, and paved the way directly for the continuance of the Divisions advance.

Lieutenant Chowne had earlier served at Tobruk in Libya and been wounded at El Alamein. He returned to Australia with his battalion in January 1943, before being deployed to Papua in July.

In March 1944, he was awarded the Military Medal for twice crawling close to enemy positions to direct mortar fire.

Described as fearless but self-effacing by his comrades, on another occasion in Papua, he had carried out a one-man patrol in daylight, entering an empty hut and rifling through the belongings of Japanese soldiers, one of whom he shot when he was discovered.

Back in Sydney, Daphne was working as a corporal in a finance office of the Australian Womens Army Service. She remembers only too clearly the day an officer came over to tell her she was wanted at home. My heart sank, she later recalled. You were rarely sent home and it was never good news.

Her mother, her sister  and a telegram  were waiting for her. Just a few days earlier shed received a bouquet of red roses from Albert, which hed arranged for her birthday. Now he was dead. She was still grieving deeply a year later when she heard about the VC.

I am proud of him but it doesnt make up for everything, she told the Sydney Morning Herald then. I would rather he had remained just ordinary and was alive. He was a wonderful man and a grand husband. I have no plans for the future. It is all dead to me now.

Eventually, after ten years, Daphne did move on, marrying John Dunne, with whom she had a daughter.

But Albert retains a special place in her heart. She once said: You survive; youve got no choice. You have got to pick yourself up and start over again. I wanted him [Albert] to be as proud of me as I am of him. I still love him.

Now 97, Daphne Dunne still takes part in Anzac Day, a national day of remembrance in April to commemorate all Australian and New Zealander servicemen and women.

No doubt she would have made her darling, heroic Albert extremely proud.
They have been putting on a series of loved-up displays during their lavish Australian honeymoon.

And Pippa Middleton and her new husband James Matthews embarked on the next leg of their extended break on Thursday as they were whisked away form Perth Airport.

Mr and Mrs Matthews looked bleary-eyed as they loaded their luggage into the waiting car at the terminal in Western Australia.

Pippa, 33, opted for a typically stylish ensemble of white skinny jeans, wedges and a chiffon blouse while James, 41, wore a dark blue shirt and desert boots.

Pippa Middleton was spotted getting into a waiting car at Perth Airport on Thursday

James, 41, looked smart in a dark blue ensemble teamed with suede desert boots

The newlyweds kicked off their trip in French Polynesia after tying the knot on May 20 in Berkshire, England.

They were later spotted soaking up the atmosphere in Sydney, after flying in from Tahiti via New Zealand.

On touching down in Perth last weekend, Pippa told reporters she was having a 'wonderful time' so far.

The pair arrived in Western Australia on Sunday, after spending three days at the luxury wild bush resort Bamurru Plains in nearby Kakadu National Park, in Darwin.

Bamurru Plains offers numerous safaris to experience Australia's unique wildlife and landscape, with luxury bungalows as accommodation where guests wake to the calls of magpies.

Pippa opted for a typically stylish ensemble of white skinny jeans, wedges and a chiffon blouse

Mr and Mrs Matthews looked bleary-eyed as they loaded their luggage into the waiting car

Non-stop! The newlyweds kicked off their trip in French Polynesia after tying the knot on May 20 in Berkshire, England

Last week the pair were spotted soaking up the atmosphere in Sydney, after flying in from Tahiti via New Zealand

Trip of a lifetime: On touching down in Perth last weekend, Pippa told reporters she was having a 'wonderful time' so far

Lavish: Insiders say James and Pippa's honeymoon bill could total as much as 120,000

The holiday continues! The pair arrived in Western Australia on Sunday, after spending three days at the luxury wild bush resort Bamurru Plains in nearby Kakadu National Park, in Darwin

The couple spent their time skimming across the floodplains by airboat, fishing, spotting crocodiles from a river boat, and spying wallabies and buffaloes on a open-top safaris.

Insiders say their honeymoon bill could total as much as 120,000.

Pippa and James said 'I do' in front of a congregation including royals, celebrities and socialites at St Mark's Church in Englefield, Berkshire.

They then partied the night away in a towering glass marquee on the sprawling grounds of the Middleton family home, Bucklebury Manor.
Theresa May has had a tough 24 hours after losing her commons majority, yet the Prime Minister remains defiant insisting she will carry on in Downing Street for a full five-year term.

It's a tough task to face the country after such an election disaster, but the Prime Minister has had some subtle morale boosting from her armour of carefully chosen outfits over the past 24 hours.

When she faced the media earlier after getting permission from the Queen to form a government, Mrs May reminded people in no uncertain terms that she's still boss in a Tory blue suit by one of her favourite designers Daniel Blake.

'The bold blue colour signals her party loyalty and determination as a leader,' political style blogger Laura Dunn told Femail.

'It shows she is strong and on message, and further signals her commitment to supporting the UK through championing British design. We're also seeing May embrace block primary colours which stand out from the crowd.'

Laura adds that her choice of a much-loved red Amanda Wakeley suit for election night at her Maidenhead constituency was a way of Mrs May giving herself a much-needed confidence boost.

The Prime Minister wore a Tory blue suit by one of her favourite designers Daniel Blake to deliver a statement outside 10 Downing Street

Mrs May added a touch of personality to her outfit on polling day with leopard print flats and a statement necklace

'The red Amanda Wakeley suit is one of May's favourites and a regular outfit which we've seen on the campaign trail,' she explained.

'Teaming it with a Hermes scarf, this is her power play outfit, and an appropriate choice for May to wear to her count in Maidenhead.

'This look is perhaps her "uniform", a go-to outfit which she turns to when she needs the strength of familiarity to provide her with confidence and power.

'We also saw bolder make-up and a strong, fresh haircut.'

The PM chose her favourite Amanda Wakeley suit for the declaration in the general election at her constituency in Maidenhead

The suit was previously seen on Mrs May when she met with President Obama during the G20 Summit in China in September last year

She also chose the red power suit when she became the first foreign leader to visit President Trump in Washington

Mrs May has previously worn the Amanda Wakeley suit when she was the first world leader to visit Donald Trump in Washington in late January, and it was previously seen when she met Obama and Putin at the G20 last September.

The outfit is certainly a subtle hint that she's the only one capable of representing the country on the world stage.

However, it was a more casual look for a trip to the polling station to cast her vote yesterday morning with her husband Philip.

Theresa May is clapped into 10 Downing Street by staff after reminding the country who the boss is

A tailored silhouette with a touch of flair was Mrs May's secret weapon for election day

According to political style blogger Laura Dunn, Mrs May chooses this much-loved suit whenever she needs a confidence boost

'Theresa voting outfit shows a silhouette that she does best- a pair of good tailored trousers, a nipped in blazer and a pair of statement flats showing May's fun side,' Laura explained.

'The wearing of a chunky chain necklace is a new trend that we're seeing regularly.'

That on-trend necklace and the statement flats were ideal touches to remind people to see beyond the politician and add a touch of the personal - something critics said her campaign had lacked.

Overall, her outfit choices during the past 24 hours have left the public in no doubt as to who is boss, stylist Natalie Robinson adds.

'Theresa May is looking boldly confident in a patriotic, royal blue suit today - a prominent reminder of her assertiveness and powerful position,' she explained.

'Undeniably, Theresa May's wardrobe is a true representation of her fiery boss-lady qualities and fearless attitude towards the finishing line.'
When it comes to fashion, we are all inspired by what we see; whether it be a well-dressed celebrity, a blow-your-mind catwalk presentation or even a super stylish every-day passerby.

As fashion editors, we're moved by all of the above, and then some. We're exposed to under-the-radar labels; we get a first-hand look at collections months before they hit stores; we're tapped into brands with chic-yet-cheap offerings and we shop - a lot.

To share our knowledge, FEMAIL brings you Style Swoon, a weekly series of the latest, greatest and on the verge. We hope this Friday series will serve as a buying guide and point of inspiration for the clotheshorses and fashion fanatics alike.

FUN BACKPACKS FOR GALS

Ruby Rose approved: With their female following getting larger, Sprayground introduced The Duchess of Sprayground capsule, a line of backpacks geared toward gals

Jungle Lips by Sprayground, $60; sprayground.com

Left: Diamonds in paris by Sprayground, $60; sprayground.com. Right: Jungle Gold by Sprayground, $70; sprayground.com

With their female following getting larger, Sprayground introduced The Duchess of Sprayground capsule, a line of backpacks geared toward gals.

The collection includes backpacks, duffles, totes, key chains, clutches and more.

Sprayground was started in 2010 by New York-based designer, David Ben-David. Originally created as a blank backpack designed for street artists to easily transport spray cans, Sprayground has evolved into a collection of original and functional designs.

The brand has been spotted on stars like Paris Hilton, Cara, Beyonce, Kevin Durant, Ruby Rose, Odell Beckham Jr, Young Thug, Iskra Lawrence and more.

Left: Black Diamond by Sprayground, $60; sprayground.com.Right: Neon Camo Cargo by Sprayground, $70; sprayground.com

Celeb approved: The brand has been spotted on stars like Paris Hilton, Cara, Beyonce, Kevin Durant, Ruby Rose, Odell Beckham Jr, Young Thug, Iskra Lawrence and more

SPARKLY SNEAKERS

Karine Chunky Glitter by Ugg, $130; ugg.com

Left and right: Adley Chunky Glitter by Ugg, $140; ugg.com

Ugg's newest collection of shoes will surely update your athleisure game.

The Southern California-based brand best known for it's sheepskin boots, has just released a line of glitter sneakers.

There are three key styles in the collection: Gradie Glitter (a sparkly high-top), Adley Chunky Glitter (slip-on), and Karine Chunky Glitter (an easy low top).

From tea-length dresses to denim shorts, these dazzling kicks will add a glamorous touch to any summer look.

Left and right: Karine Chunky Glitter by Ugg, $130; ugg.com

Left and right: Gradie Glitter by Ugg, $150; ugg.com

KARDASHIAN APPROVED SWIMWEAR LINE

Bikini babe: Naked Wardrobe is one of the Kardashians' favorite contemporary brands. Just in time for summer, the affordable lifestyle label launched swimwear. Kim tested out the Bandeau Bae Bikini ($38) in the Bahamas recently

Naked Wardrobe is one of the Kardashians' favorite contemporary brands.

Just in time for summer, the budget-friendly lifestyle label launched swimwear and Kim already tested out a black two-piece in the Bahamas recently.

From one-piece silhouettes that show off some side-boob to bikini bottoms that barely cover the backside, these suits are designed to make a splash!

With suits retailing for $20-$45, you can heat things up without breaking the bank.

Left: Summer Exposure One-Piece, $34; nakedwardrobe.com. Right: Tank Tied One-Piece, $40; nakedwardrobe.com

Left: Tank top Secret Bikini, $40; nakedwardrobe.com. Right: Cut-out For Me Bikini, $40; nakedwardrobe.com

All in the family: The Kardashian/Jenner clan wears Naked Wardrobe repeatedly

HARRY'S STATEMENT-MAKING TEE

It's a sign of the times: Can Harry Styles get any sexier? This week the former One Direction star stepped out wearing a white graphic tee that read 'Women are smarter,' by itsasickness. Vintage Women are smarter by itsasickess, $100; itsasickness.com

Can Harry Styles get any sexier? This week the former One Direction star stepped out wearing a white graphic tee that read 'Women are smarter,' from itsasickness.

Itsasickness launched in October of 2004. The brand encourages obsessive behavior and creates products and apparel for people whose obsessions make them extraordinary.

'We print all our Women are smarter tees and sweatshirts on vintage sourced from amazing markets and dealers all over the USA,' said Barnaby Harris, Creative Director at itsasickness.

A portion of all proceeds from the bold-face statement shirt are donated to Planned Parenthood. As for Harry being spotted in the tee, 'He wears it well. Harry Styles... itsasickness,' says Barnaby.

BRAND NEW LAUNCH

Cooper & Ella x Dream Hotel Kaftan, $88; cooperandella.com

Left: Cooper & Ella x Dream Hotel Kaftan, $88; cooperandella.com. Right: Cooper & Ella x Dream Hotel Kaftan, $88; cooperandella.com

Contemporary label Cooper & Ella partnered up with The Dream Hotel to create a beach cover-up collection that launched yesterday.

They collaborated with bloggers Krystal Bick of This Time Tomorrow, Grace Atwood of The Stripe and Christine Cameron of My Style Pill on the fun pieces.

The line includes three styles : a floor-length kaftan ($88), a chic tunic ($78) and a versatile pareo with mini bag ($55.) Each style is offered in the girls namesake prints: The Krystal, The Grace and The Christine.

Through Cooper & Ellas Empower give-back initiative, the brand will donate 10% of proceeds from the cooper & ella x DREAM collection to 100cameras. 100cameras empowers kids worldwide to share their stories through photography and to create impact in their communities.

Cooper & Ella x Dream Hotel Tunic, $78; cooperandella.com

Left: Cooper & Ella x Dream Hotel Tunic, $78; cooperandella.com. Right: Cooper & Ella x Dream Hotel Tunic, $78; cooperandella.

Left: Pareo with matching mini bag, $55; cooperandella.com. Canter: Pareo with matching mini bag, cooperandella.com. Right: Pareo with matching mini bag, cooperandella.com




A fashion house is taking Donald Trump's Muslim ban to task with a new collection that blends style and activism.

Slow Factory, a Brooklyn-based label, has partnered with the ACLU to create a unique pieces that draw attention to the countries potentially impacted by the ban: Syria, Yemen, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Sudan (Iraq was originally included, but later removed).

The collection features a scarf with the word 'Banned' prominently stamped across the image, a flight jacket with the First Amendment written in Arabic printed on the back, and a choker that reads 'we the people.'

Political style: A collaboration between clothing company Slow Factory and the ACLU directly targets Trump's proposed travel ban

Anti-ban: The collection draws attention to the inherent connections between the US and the Middle East, and the risks of losing that connection

A new classic: One of the pieces, the pictured choker that reads 'we the people' will soon be available in 10 of the world's most widely-spoken languages

For Celine Semaan, the designer behind Slow Factory, the project is highly personal. Semaan came from Lebanon to Canada as a refugee when she was just a young girl in the 1980's.

As a consequence, Semaan told Teen Vogue that she considers these pieces 'totems of resistance' against the present political administration, with each one carrying a particular significance.

Semaan explained that the image on the scarf shows the Middle East at night, as seen from the International Space Station. By itself, Semaan said the image 'inspires a sense of peace and unity.'

Yet, the bright block-lettering of the word 'Banned' serves as a stark reminder of how the Muslim ban puts that sense of unity at stake.

The flight jacket, which Semaan called an 'American staple,' features the First Amendment to the Constitution written on the back - in Arabic.

The jacket is actually reversible, and the inside, which is orange, features the same text written in English: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.'

The 'we the people' choker replicates the popular nameplate necklace style, but instead of one's name, it features the iconic opening words of the United States Constitution.

Writing on the wall: This bomber jacket features the First Amendment written in Arabic on the back

Deeper meaning: Inside the reversible jacket, the First Amendment appears in English

A personal story: Slow Factory designer Celina Semaan came to Canada from Lebanon as a refugee, making the collection particularly personal for her

Semaan said that the necklace will soon be available not only in English, but in 10 of the most widely spoken languages in the world, including Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, and Arabic.

The collection comes at a time when an increasing number of fashion houses are using their platform to promote political ideology. Dior's 'We Should All Be Feminists' t-shirt caused a stir last year, and this past spring Missoni sent a line of pink pussyhats down the catwalk.

Now, this Slow Factory collection makes a point that, even if Trump's Muslim ban were to succeed (unlikely considering it's been shot down by multiple federal officials), there is no changing the fact that Muslim identity is woven into the fabric of the United States.

You can shop the collection on Slow Factory's website.
Turning on a battered tape recorder, I listened with mounting astonishment to the unmistakable voice of Princess Diana. She was pouring out a tale of woe in a rapid stream of consciousness.

The year was 1991. Diana was approaching 30 and the very idea that her ten-year marriage was in dire trouble seemed unthinkable at the time.

I felt Id been transported into a parallel universe. The Princess was talking about her unhappiness, her sense of betrayal, her suicide attempts  and two things Id never previously heard of: an eating disorder called bulimia nervosa and a woman called Camilla.

Princess Diana made a series of recordings for Andrew Morton where she described her sense of betrayal, her suicide attempts and her struggle with bulimia. He wrote: 'She was pouring out a tale of woe in a rapid stream of consciousness.' Pictured on her honeymoon in 1981

As a journalist who chronicled the work of the Royal Family, Id met the Prince and Princess on many occasions. But our conversations had seldom ventured beyond comments about my loud ties. So why did she trust me with the true story of her marriage?

The key, it turned out, was Dr James Colthurst, whom I met in 1986 when the Princess opened a new CT scanner in his X-ray department at St Thomas hospital in Central London, where he worked as a junior doctor.

Afterwards, over tea and biscuits, I questioned him about Dianas visit. An Old Etonian and the son of a baronet, I discovered he had known Diana since she was 17. Gradually, James and I became friendly, enjoying games of squash. As her friend, of course, James was well aware that her marriage had failed and that her husband was having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.

Diana sent the information to Andrew via a go-between, Dr James Colthurst. The princess would send snippets of information to the journalist, which he would turn into news stories

Diana had spoken with Charles about his mistress and been dismissed. Then shed talked to the Queen, but it was like facing a blank wall.

In short, she was coming to realise that unless she took drastic action, she faced a life sentence of unhappiness and dishonesty.

Her first thought was to pack her bags and flee to Australia with her young sons. There were two problems with this: she wouldnt have been allowed to keep them there, and the public would have considered her behaviour irrational and hysterical.

Meanwhile, she had a nagging fear that, at any moment, her enemies in the Palace would have her classified as mentally ill and locked away.

Where to turn? It had finally dawned on Diana that unless the full story of her life was told, the public would never understand the reasons behind anything she decided to do.

At the time, she knew that I was researching a book about her.

So she gradually started testing me out by allowing Colthurst to give me snippets of information, which I turned into news stories. Some time later, she asked him: Does Andrew want an interview?

Naturally, I was keen to talk to the Princess directly, but this was simply out of the question. At 6ft 4in tall and as a writer known to Palace staff, Id hardly be inconspicuous.

So I interviewed her by proxy  giving my questions to Colthurst, who then conducted six taped interviews with her in her sitting room at Kensington Palace.

Colthurst vividly remembers that first session: Diana was dressed quite casually in jeans and a blue shirt. Before we began, she took the phone off the hook and closed the door. Whenever we were interrupted by someone knocking, she removed the body microphone and hid it in cushions on her sofa.

Andrew gave his taped questions to Colhurst, who then interviewed Diana in Kensington Palace. She also gave him several letters from Camilla to Prince Charles

Anxious to be believed, she passed James Colthurst several letters and postcards from Camilla to Prince Charles to show me. These billets-doux  passionate, loving and full of suppressed longing  left absolutely no doubt that Dianas suspicions were correct.

I hate not being able to tell you how much I love you, wrote Camilla, adding that she longed to be with Charles and was his for ever. I particularly remember one vivid passage that read: My heart and body both ache for you.

However, due to Britains libel laws, I wasnt at the time able to write that Prince Charles and Camilla were lovers, because it couldnt be proved. Instead, I had to allude to a secret friendship.

During the year that Diana was being secretly interviewed, my office was burgled and files rifled through  but nothing of consequence, apart from a camera, was stolen.

But Diana never told the journalist about her own infidelity. She hid the fact that shed enjoyed a long love affair with Major James Hewitt from 1986 until 1991. Colthurst had no idea about her affairs either

After that, the Princess had her sitting room swept for listening devices  none was found  and shredded every piece of paper. She trusted no one inside the royal system. Even with Colthurst, she was never entirely frank.

While she raged about her husbands infidelity, she hid the fact that shed enjoyed a long love affair with Major James Hewitt from 1986 until 1991, as well as a brief dalliance in 1989 with her old friend James Gilbey (later exposed as the male voice on the notorious Squidgygate tapes).

Nor did Colthurst and I have the faintest notion that the married art dealer Oliver Hoare had recently become the object of her love and devotion.

Looking back, Dianas audacity was breathtaking. One is left wondering if she wanted to get her side of the story published first, so that shed escape blame for the failure of the marriage.

He wrote: 'Looking back, Dianas audacity was breathtaking. One is left wondering if she wanted to get her side of the story published first, so that shed escape blame for the failure of the marriage'

She read my book in chunks as I wrote it and on one occasion was so moved by the poignancy of her own story that she confessed to weeping tears of sorrow.

And, shortly before her father Earl Spencer died, she sent him a note asking for photos for the book from the familys albums.

I would like to ask you a special favour. In particular, I would like you to keep that as a secret between us. Please will you do that, she wrote.

An author who has done me a particular favour is now writing a book on me as Diana, rather than POW (Princess of Wales) . . . It is a chance for my own self to surface a little rather than be lost in the system. I rather see it as a lifebelt against being drowned and it is terribly important to me.

Diana's friend film-maker Lord Puttnam recalled: She owned what she had done. She knew what she was doing and took a calculated risk, even though she was scared s***less'

A few days later, several large, red, gold-embossed family albums arrived. The Princess herself helped to identify many of the people in the photographs, a process she thoroughly enjoyed, as it brought back happy memories  particularly of her teenage years.

On June 7, 1992, the first extract from my book appeared in a newspaper  under the banner headline: Diana driven to five suicide bids by uncaring Charles. Id used a few quotes from the secret tapes, but the vast majority of what shed said was disguised.

Its hard now to convey the shock, disgust and astonishment that greeted the first instalment.

Andrew Morton's book Diana: Her True Story - In Her Own Words was met with outrage when it was first published. The Archbishop of Canterbury condemned it and one MP suggested I be imprisoned in the Tower of London

The Archbishop of Canterbury condemned it, one MP suggested I be imprisoned in the Tower of London, and the chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, Lord McGregor, accused the media of dabbling their fingers in the stuff of other peoples souls.

In the ensuing furore, the book was banned by numerous major bookstores and supermarkets. Ironically, a biography written and produced with Dianas enthusiastic co-operation was being piously boycotted on the suspicion that it was a pack of lies.

But it soon became apparent that the book really was, as it claimed, Dianas own true story. And the Princess quickly began to receive the kind of support that always meant so much to her. Letters came flooding in  many from people whod suffered from eating disorders themselves.

She never regretted the taping sessions. As her friend film-maker Lord Puttnam recalled: She owned what she had done. She knew what she was doing and took a calculated risk, even though she was scared s***less. But I never heard one word of regret, I promise you.

In the last five years of her life, the world witnessed the flowering of Dianas humanitarian spirit  qualities that might have remained buried if she hadnt had the courage to disclose the reality of her life. The publics verdict can be gauged by the outpouring of grief that convulsed the country when she died in a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.

Thankfully, Diana left her own searing testimony of what life was really like for her as Princess of Wales.
In a recording sent to journalist Andrew Morton, Princess Diana described how she had a 'filthy row' with Prince Charles over Camilla before they got married.

Diana overheard a phone conversation Charles had with Camilla when he was in the bathroom. The prince told Camilla: Whatever happens, I will always love you.

Prince Charles later had a bracelet made for Camilla with their nicknames intertwined.

Princess Diana described how she had a 'filthy row' with Prince Charles over Camilla before they got married. She had overheard a conversation where the prince professed his love

ISOLATED IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE

After a few days, Diana moved from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace. It was a place of dead energy, she said, and she felt lonely there. She regularly wandered from her second-floor apartment to the kitchens to chat to the staff  and on one occasion, barefoot and in jeans, buttered toast for an astonished footman.

I couldnt believe how cold everyone was; how I thought one thing but actually another thing was going on.

The lies and the deceit! The first thing that hit me was my (future) husband sending Camilla Parker Bowles flowers when she had meningitis: To Gladys from Fred (their nicknames for each other).

Diana was shocked when Charles sent Camilla a bunch of flowers when she had meningitis. The card read, 'To Gladys from Fred', their nicknames for each other

I never dealt with that side of things. I just said to him: You must always be honest with me.

I was the only one here (when planning the wedding) because (Charles) had pushed off to Australia and New Zealand on tour, and you may recall, of course, the picture of me sobbing in a red coat when he went off in the aeroplane.

It had nothing to do with him going. The most awful thing had happened before he went. I was in his study talking to him, when the telephone rang. It was Camilla.

I thought: Shall I be nice (and leave him alone so he can talk to her in private) or shall I just sit here? So I thought Id be nice, so I left them to it. It just broke my heart, that.

We always had discussions about Camilla, though. I once heard him on the telephone in his bath on his hand-held set, saying: Whatever happens, I will always love you.

I told him afterwards that I had listened at the door, and we had a filthy row.

Diana overheard Charles tell Camilla: Whatever happens, I will always love you. She said: 'I told him afterwards that I had listened at the door, and we had a filthy row'

Somebody in his office told me that my husband had had a bracelet made for her, which she wears to this day. Its a gold chain bracelet with a blue enamel disc. Its got G and F entwined in it, Gladys and Fred.

I walked into this mans office one day and said: Oh, whats in that parcel?

He said: Oh, you shouldnt look at that.

I said: Well, Im going to look at it.

I opened it, and there was (the) bracelet, and I said: I know where this is going. I was devastated. This was about two weeks before we got married.

Diana also found out the prince had a bracelet made for Camilla. It was a gold chain bracelet with a blue enamel disc. Its got G and F entwined in it, Gladys and Fred.

He said: Well, hes going to give it to her tonight.

So rage, rage, rage! Why cant you be honest with me? But, no, Charles cut me absolutely dead. Its as if he had made his decision; and if it wasnt going to work, it wasnt going to work.

Hed found the virgin, the sacrificial lamb, and in a way he was obsessed with me. But it was hot and cold, hot and cold. You never knew what mood it was going to be  up and down, up and down.

He took the bracelet, lunchtime on Monday. We got married on the Wednesday. I went to his policeman, who was back in the office, and said: John, wheres Prince Charles? and he said: Oh, hes gone out for lunch.

So I said: Why are you here? Shouldnt you be with him?

Oh, Im going to collect him later.

So I went upstairs, had lunch with my sisters who were there, and said: I cant marry him. I cant do this. This is absolutely unbelievable.

They were wonderful and said: Well, bad luck, Duch (her childhood nickname), your face is on the tea-towels so youre too late to chicken out.

Diana also revealed her struggle with bulimia began when she got engaged. She said: 'My husband put his hand on my waistline and said: "Oh, a bit chubby here, arent we?"'

The bulimia started the week after we got engaged (and would take nearly a decade to overcome).

My husband put his hand on my waistline and said: Oh, a bit chubby here, arent we? and that triggered off something in me. And the Camilla thing. I was desperate, desperate. I remember the first time I made myself sick. I was so thrilled because I thought this was the release of tension.

The first time I was measured for my wedding dress, I was 29 inches around the waist. The day I got married, I was 23 inches. I had shrunk into nothing from February to July. I had shrunk to nothing.
In a recording sent to journalist Andrew Morton, Princess Diana described how she was mortified by the reaction to her first public engagement.

Diana wore a black taffeta gown to a black-tie event at Goldsmith's Hall, which Prince Charles didn't like as black is only worn by royals in mourning.

The future princess was starstruck when she met Princess Grace of Monaco who told her: It will only get worse.

In March 1981, Diana accompanied Prince Charles on their first joint public engagement, a black-tie event at Goldsmiths Hall in aid of the Royal Opera House

A DISASTROUS FIRST ROYAL NIGHT OUT

In March 1981, Diana accompanied Prince Charles on their first joint public engagement, a black-tie event at Goldsmiths Hall in aid of the Royal Opera House development appeal.

She wore a strapless, black taffeta evening gown designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel, who would go on to design her wedding dress.

Charles told Diana, Youre not going in that dress, are you? as royals only wore black when they were in mourning. She said: 'Black, to me, was the smartest colour you could possibly have at the age of 19'

I remember my first engagement so well. So excited. I got this black dress from the Emanuels and I thought it was OK because girls my age wore this dress. I hadnt appreciated that I was now seen as a royal lady, although Id only got a ring on my finger as opposed to two rings.

I remember walking into my husband-to-bes study, and him saying: Youre not going in that dress, are you?

I replied: Yes, I am.

And he said: Its black! But only people in mourning wear black! And I said: Yes, but Im not part of your family yet.

Black, to me, was the smartest colour you could possibly have at the age of 19. It was a real grown-up dress. I was quite big-chested then, and they (the Press) all got frightfully excited.

I learned a lesson that night. I remember meeting Princess Grace and how wonderful and serene she was  but there was troubled water under her, I saw that.

(Princess Grace noticed how frightened she was and whisked her off to the ladies for a chat. Diana poured her heart out to her about her sense of isolation and her fears for the future. Dont worry, Princess Grace joked. It will only get worse.)

It was a horrendous occasion. I didnt know whether to go out of the door first. I didnt know whether your handbag should be in your left hand or your right hand.

I was terrified, really  at the time everything was all over the place. I remember that evening so well. I was terrified  nearly sick.

I missed my girls so much. I wanted to go back there (to Coleherne Court) and sit and giggle like we used to, and borrow clothes and chat about silly things  just being in my safe shell again.

Diana was starstruck when she met Princess Grace of Monaco at the event. She said: 'I remember meeting Princess Grace and how wonderful and serene she was  but there was troubled water under her, I saw that'

One day, youve got the King and Queen of Sweden coming to give you their wedding present of four brass candlesticks, the next minute you get the President of Somewhere Else coming.

I was just pushed into the fire. But I have to say, my upbringing was able to handle that. It wasnt as though I was picked out  like My Fair Lady  and told to get on with it. I did know how to react.

You see, I had a very good lifestyle myself. I was Lady Diana Spencer. I was living in a big house, I had my own money. So it wasnt as though I was going into anything different.

Diana said: 'It was a horrendous occasion. I didnt know whether to go out of the door first. I didnt know whether your handbag should be in your left hand or your right hand'

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencers Wedding Day: Everything you need to know

Princess Dianas Wedding Gown: Details on the Dress of the Century

Charles and Dianas Wedding: Minute-by-minute Timeline of the Big Day

Prince Charles and Lady Diana's bridesmaids: Where are they now?
If you've ever wondered just how dangerous cocaine can be, this gruesome video will leave you stunned.

The shocking footage depicts the irreversible damage done to the heart of a long-term user of the illegal narcotic.

Around three times the size of a normal heart, it can be seen beating rapidly outside of the body for nearly half an hour.

The shocking footage depicts the irreversible damage done to the heart of a long-term user of the illegal narcotic, experts believe

The distressing clip was shown on The Doctors, an award-winning programme broadcast on US channel CBS.

Dr Travis Stork, the show's host, said: 'This is a video of a human heart beating erratically outside the human body, that's not normal.'

He explained that this abnormal heart rate was triggered by dilated cardiomyopathy - a potentially fatal disease.

It causes the heart muscle to become stretched, leaving it unable to pump blood around the body efficiently and can eventually lead to heart failure.

Dr Travis Stork, the show's host, said: 'This is a video of a human heart beating erratically outside the human body, that's not normal'

WHAT IS DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY? In dilated cardiomyopathy the muscle walls of the heart have become stretched and thin, so they can't contract properly to pump blood around the body. If you have dilated cardiomyopathy, you're at greater risk of heart failure, where the heart fails to pump enough blood around the body at the right pressure. Heart failure typically causes shortness of breath, extreme tiredness and ankle swelling. Learn more about the symptoms of heart failure. There's also a risk of heart valve problems, an irregular heartbeat and blood clots. Advertisement

Dr Stork also added that the more concerning feature of this human heart was its abnormally large size, The Sun reports.

He told viewers: 'The heart should be the size of your fist and when it gets to three times the size, that is going to cause long-term problems and also early death.

'This is why doing drugs not only does long-term damage but can cause instantaneous death.'

Dilated cardiomyopathy often causes the heart to become enlarged due to it pumping much harder than usual.

It comes after Imperial College London researchers made a shock discovery about the condition in November.

They found thousands of Britons are at risk of heart failure because they are carrying a faulty gene that could trigger dilated cardiomyopathy.
Women have long been using intimate hygiene brands  now men are jumping on the band wagon as well.

Sales of male-only grooming products such as scrotal deodorants  which even come in a chocolate scent  have soared dramatically  as much as 2,000 per cent in seven years, reports one company.

The rise in demand has been attributed to the 'rise of the metrosexual'  a man who pays attention to his personal appearance.

But experts warn overuse of heavily-fragranced products can cause skin problems including eczema.

For so long, the grooming industry turned a blind eye to men's genitals, but 'new male-only intimate toiletry brands are emerging to fill this gap in the market,' noted a 2015 Keynote report.

Since then, a range of new products have exploded on to the market. Fresh Balls, Driball, Dry Goods, DZ Nuts, ToppCock, Balla for Men and Man Powder are just some of the creatively-named brands.

An increasing number of men are using male-only intimate grooming products (file)

Comfy Boys Intimate Deodorant for Men in chocolate flavour is marketed as 'the best intimate deodorant for men' which prevents odours, humidity and discomfort around the groin area.

And business is reportedly booming. Balla for Men sales have increased from 2,000 units in 2010 to 50,000 last year  an increase of 2,400 per cent over seven years.

Man Powder say their sales have spiked by over 60 per cent since last summer, while Fresh Balls claim sales have doubled since last January, Tonic reports.

Many of the products on the market are made with a blend of essential oils and natural fragrances.

Skin in the groin area tends to be more sensitive and can be irritated by chemically-loaded products, warns Dr Anton Alexandroff, a dermatological consultant at Spire Leicester Hospital.

PUBIC GROOMING AND STD LINK Dr Anton Alexandroff says shaving or trimming your pubic hair is more hygienic. But adults who trim their hair down below are 80 per cent more likely to have an STD, a study suggests. US researchers polled 14,409 adults about their pubic hair grooming habits. They found those who have a 'Brazilian' were 4 times more likely to have an STD. But rather than there being a medical reason, experts believe sexually active adults are simply more likely to keep themselves tidy. Groomers were found to be less at risk of developing any lice infestations. Advertisement

He cautioned against the overuse of powders, which may cause excessive dryness and lead to skin irritation.

He said: 'The groin is an area that can get sweaty. It's not the sweat itself that causes odours, it's the bacteria and it thrives in areas that are warm and moist.

'The skin in the groin area, particularly the scrotum, tends to be more sensitive, and use of heavy fragrances and talcum powders can irritate and cause skins reactions such as eczema.

'With women, the use of certain intimate hygiene products can disrupt the delicate pH balance of the vagina. The same doesn't really apply for men but products using fragrances could sting if applied directly on a man's urethra.

'Soap and water is effective for keeping the groin clean and shaving or trimming public hair helps as bacteria lives on hair.

'But men like to use these products for confidence and they put men's minds at ease. We don't really need to use deodorant under our arms but we do.'

Dr Alexandroff warns that if men are experiencing extreme sweating in the scrotal region they should see their doctor.

'Someone who is sweating excessively should be checked out for a common condition called hyperhidrosis, which can affect the whole of your body, or only certain areas like the groin,' he said.

'There is is no obvious cause, it's thought to be a result of a problem with the part of the nervous system that controls sweating.

'The sweating doesn't usually pose a health threat, but it can be embarrassing and distressing.'
Diesel emissions linked to Alzheimers disease have been found in the brains of children as young as three, a shocking study reveals.

Scientists last night said a major cause of dementia was hiding in plain sight in exhaust fumes, being inhaled by young children and damaging their brains.

The research, by experts in the US and Mexico, showed microscopic particles had caused obvious damage to key parts of the brains of children by the age of 14.

They said this damage might explain behavioural problems including violence in adolescence, and could pave the way for the development of Alzheimers disease in later life.

An estimated 850,000 people in the UK currently have dementia, and the number is expected to soar to one million by 2025 and two million by 2050.

Diesel emissions linked to Alzheimer's have been found in the brains of three-year-olds

DIESEL POLLUTION RAISES YOUR RISK OF HEART DAMAGE AND EVEN EARLY DEATH Diesel fumes alter the structure of the heart, raising the risk of early death, a major British study found last month. Even supposedly safe emission levels can have a significant impact, researchers discovered. They added pedestrians should try to keep as far away from the kerb  and passing cars  as possible. Scientists from Queen Mary University of London and Oxford University found a specific link between deformation of the heart and the fine, sooty particles emitted by diesel engines. They found those who live in areas of high diesel air pollution are more likely to have an enlarged chamber on the left side of their heart. If this left ventricle becomes too big the heart loses pressure and power. This means it cannot pump as much blood, raising the risk of heart attack, heart failure and early death. Experts are increasingly aware of the impact of diesel fumes on human health, including the risk of asthma, dementia and cancer. Advertisement

The disease is thought to be largely linked to genetics - but increasing evidence suggests other factors such as smoking, obesity and lack of exercise may increase the risk.

The new study suggests air pollution may also play a role.

The UK is notoriously bad at controlling air pollution, with 37 cities British cities persistently displaying illegal levels of air pollution - which has seen the Government repeatedly hauled into court over the last few years.

Key findings

The research team examined the brains of 21 young adults and 13 children from Mexico City who had died in accidents but were otherwise healthy.

They found evidence of high levels of fine nanoparticles embedded in the structures of the brain in children as young as three years old.

The particles - known as PM2.5 - are particularly a problem in the emissions of diesel cars.

The scientists, writing last night in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease, said damage started to become evidence in the brains of children in their early teens.

In one child, a 14-year-old girl from south-east Mexico City, they said they found very high levels of PM2.5 in the frontal lobe of the brain - a part of the brain responsible for attention, short-term memory tasks, planning and motivation.

They wrote: Abundant nanoparticles are seen in [her] luminal red blood cells, endothelial cells, and basement membranes.

Similar damage was seen in other teenagers and the young adults, who were mostly aged in their 20s.

Particles from diesel emissions lodge in parts of the brain associated with memory (stock)

DIESEL FUMES CAUSE COUGHING AND SHORTNESS OF BREATH Diesel fumes cause coughing and shortness of breath, a study found last month. British scientists have physical evidence that car fumes cause nerves in the lungs to misfire. It was known that people with asthma, taken to traffic-heavy Oxford Street in London, for example, are worse affected than those in less polluted areas. Researchers can now explain the effect of diesel particles, which are so tiny that the body mistakes them for natural molecules and draws them deep into the lungs. A team from Imperial College London discovered diesel fumes trigger a receptor in the airway, starting a chain reaction that causes nerves in the lungs to fire incorrectly. Diesel particles are 83 per cent man-made carbon, but it is the chemicals on their surface that are now known to cause coughing and wheezing. Testing diesel fumes on human lung tissue, the Imperial College team found these chemicals, known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, trigger the nerves responsible for coughing. It starts in the airways, where the diesel fumes react with receptors, causing an electrochemical imbalance called oxidative stress. This then opens a channel in the airway, just below the trachea, that makes nerves in the lungs misfire to cause coughing, wheezing and a painful tightening in the chest. These respiratory reflexes, meant to protect the lungs from harmful bacteria, could make asthma worse when they are triggered incorrectly. Advertisement

Children who lived in unpolluted areas had no sign of the same damage, the researchers said.

Dr Lilian Calderon-Garciduenas, of the University of Montana in the US, said car emissions are breathed in through the nose and enter the brain immediately, crossing the blood-brain barrier with ease.

The predominant combustion particles in young brains have properties that enable them to cause oxidative damage because these nanoparticles are capable of crossing all barriers, she said.

No barrier is spared.

In the context of serious continuous exposures to high concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) ... the issue of who is at risk of neurodegeneration at an early age should be an urgent public health concern.

The effects of poverty, urban violence and urban stress on impaired cognitive skills are also very important for the developing brain and cant be ignored.

Her team wrote: Highly oxidative, combustion nanoparticles entering young developing brains  the culprit hidden in plain sight in Alzheimers disease development  constitute a very serious public health issue, with grave social and economic consequences.

Diesel car controversy

Diesel cars have been promoted since the 1970s as an environmentally-friendly choice because they emit less carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas which causes global warming.

Tony Blairs Labour government, in particular, used generous tax breaks to persuade drivers to buy diesel cars.

The tactic  which aimed to help Britain hit EU carbon emissions targets  contributed to the number of diesel drivers in Britain jumping from around 1.5million a decade ago to about 11million today.

But in recent years scientists have realised that diesel also produces more of the tiny particles and nitrogen oxides that are damaging to human health.

Medical experts are increasingly aware of the impact of diesel on human health, including the risk of asthma and heart disease, but this is the strongest link so far to have been made between traffic exposure and dementia.

NHS watchdog NICE last year warned air pollution now contributes towards 25,000 deaths a year in England - almost 5 per cent of all deaths.

It called for a reduction in speed limits and traffic to be restricted around schools.

Separate research, published in January this year, found that people living close to main roads and exposed to traffic fumes were up to 12 per cent more likely to develop dementia.

Those researchers, from University of Toronto, calculated that among those at the highest risk - those living within 50 metres of a major road - up to one in nine cases of dementia could be caused by traffic exposure.
Opioids are over-prescribed to women after a cesarean section in America, a new report warns.

Most new mothers received double the amount of painkillers they need for a c-section - 40 pills rather than 20 - according to a study that looks at prescription rates in six parts of the US.

That is a huge overflow, the researchers warn, give that a c-section delivery is the most common inpatient surgical procedure in the United States, with around 1.4 million c-sections performed each year.

Crucially, they found women tended to take more pills if they had them, even if their pain levels were not strong.

The review is one of the first attempts to collate data from providers and institutions nationwide, to offer a clear national picture.

Most new mothers received double the amount of painkillers they need for a c-section - 40 pills rather than 20 - according to a study that looks at prescription rates in six parts of the US

Opioids, most commonly oxycodone, are the standard pain medications prescribed to women following cesarean delivery.

But the number of pills that are prescribed varies between providers and institutions, and there is little data regarding how much pain medication patients actually require to manage their pain.

In two papers, both published online June 8 in Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers quantified the number of pills that are typically prescribed following cesarean delivery and tested a shared decision making tool, in which patients select the amount of medication they are prescribed.

'We know that leftover medications are fueling our current opioid epidemic,' said Brian Bateman, MD, chief of Obstetric Anesthesia at Brigham and Women's Hospital and corresponding author of the two papers.

'Quantifying the amount of medication that a woman needs to control her pain following cesarean delivery and finding ways to reduce unnecessary prescribing can reduce unused opioid pills that end up in medicine cabinets at home.'

In the first paper, researchers conducted a survey of 720 women from six academic medical centers in the U.S.

They found that there was variation in how opioids were prescribed following cesarean delivery, with 40 pills as the median, which was well in excess of what patients actually used.

Typically, women received double the number of pills than they took and had 15 leftover pills.

Two weeks after discharge from the hospital, 95 percent of patients had not disposed of their excess medication.

Researchers also found that there was no difference in pain scores when comparing women by the number of pain pills that they were prescribed.

But the women who were prescribed a higher number of pills ended up taking more medication and were more likely to suffer from the side effects of opioids such as drowsiness, nausea or vomiting, and constipation.

'This was especially interesting to us, because it suggests that we are setting patient expectations based on the number of pills that we prescribe,' Bateman said.

In the second study, researchers tested the use of a shared decision making tool with 50 women who delivered at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Participants viewed a tablet-based decision aid with a clinician and reviewed information pertaining to anticipated patterns of pain in the first two weeks after cesarean delivery, expected outpatient opioid use after cesarean delivery, risks and benefits of opioid and nonopioid pain medications, and information on opioid disposal and access to refills if needed.

Data from the Times shows drug overdose deaths surged 19 percent to at least 59,000 in 2016

Then, women chose the number of pills (5mg of oxycodone) that they would be prescribed at discharge, up to the institutional standard of 40 pills.

Use of the shared decision-making tool was associated with a 50 percent decrease in the number of opioid pills prescribed at the time of discharge.

Additionally, researchers found that the refill rate was low, regardless of the number of pills that was prescribed, and the vast majority of women were satisfied with their pain control.

'With cesarean delivery, we have the opportunity to tailor pain medication prescriptions to an individual's needs and preferences, while also limiting the number of unused pain medications that have the potential to be misused,' Bateman said.

'If we can scale this concept to be widely adopted, then we can make significant improvements in both patient care and public health.'
ESPIONAGE

THE ANATOMY OF A TRAITOR

by Michael Smith (Aurum 20)

When you think about the risks secret agents take  the lonely, un-James-Bond-like lives they lead, the way theyre controlled or run by intelligence officers who treat them like puppets, and how many of them have ended up either being shot or serving life-long jail sentences  you cant help wondering: why on earth do they do it?

Why would anyone spend years taking surreptitious microfilm photos of the classified documents on their bosss desk and hand them over to someone in a Mac on a park bench, risking arrest for high treason at every turn?

In this revealing book, Michael Smith seeks to understand the chief human motives behind spying.

In this revealing book, Michael Smith seeks to understand the chief human motives behind spying (Above: Sir Roger Moore as James Bond in the 1974 film)

The FBI has an acronym for agent motives: MICE. Money, ideology, compromise, ego. Smith thinks its more complicated than that  most spies are driven by a toxic mixture of those, plus others, including patriotism and revenge.

Its a terrifying thought that you and I could easily have been trapped, or compromised, into becoming a spy by a sexual ruse in the Cold War days.

The Soviets in the Fifties had no qualms about using suave men to seduce nice, unsuspecting members of embassy staff with the aim that the women would divulge top-secret information during post-coital pillow chat.

John Vassall, a hapless young staffer at the British Embassy in Moscow in 1954, was induced into taking part in a gay orgy, after which photos taken were used to blackmail him into working for the Soviets. He was so terrified, particularly of the ambassadors wife seeing those incriminating photographs (imagine the shame!  homosexuality was still a crime), that he did as the Soviets told him and handed them thousands of secret documents over many years.

Smith thinks Vassalls driving force was, in fact, deep loneliness  some people will betray their country in order to feel useful to someone.

Money is a big motive: walk-ins volunteer to spy for a fee. All very well  but if an agent is unable to find genuine intelligence, he or she might fabricate it to keep the job. Forged documents, Smith tells us, discredit genuine information from other sources. Wars can, and do, start as a result of such wilful misinformation.

The good motive is patriotism. There are some extraordinary stories of brave agents who helped the country they loved or hindered the country they hated: for example the French agent who identified 31 V-1 rocket sites, allowing the RAF to bomb them, preventing a vast number of British casualties.

Patriotism is even more effective as a motive if its spiced with a desire for revenge. One of the most valuable agents ever run by the British secret service was Oleg Penkovsky, driven by the need to avenge his fathers death at the Bolsheviks hands when he was a child.

THE ANATOMY OF A TRAITOR by Michael Smith (Aurum 20)

He passed 100 cassette films and 8,000 pages of documents to the British containing vital information about the development of Russian missiles, which helped to diffuse the Cuban Missile Crisis because then U.S. President John F. Kennedy knew Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had been bluffing about how advanced his missiles were. A secret agent really can save the world.

Some betray their country, believing it is the right thing to do. Double agent, John Cairncross, passed huge amounts of vital information summarising Britains atomic research into Soviet hands, which then formed the basis of the Soviet atomic weapons programme. And he died comfortably in his bed.

Then there are the crazy fantasists addicted to the whole idea of espionage. They can be useful because they tend to be reckless. Juan Pujol Garcia (codename Garbo) filed highly imaginative reports that totally fooled the Germans into believing the D-Day landings would take place in Calais rather than Normandy.

This book takes us right up to early 2017, discussing the Russians alleged murky dealings that many believe enabled the election of Donald Trump as U.S. President.

An MI6 officer suggests that Trump may well be acting as an unconscious agent for the Russians  he would be a dream for the role: His vanity, narcissism, egocentricity, naivety, sensitivity to criticism and his desire for revenge and getting even, as well as his intellectual weaknesses and lack of knowledge of, and interest in, international politics, are all factors to be exploited.

Thats a pretty damning summing-up of Trumps character traits. We may soon find out to what extent this surmise is accurate.
Isis appears to be pursuing a nefarious game-plan to turn Muslim-majority Jammu and Kashmir into a caliphate, a blueprint prepared by its terror masterminds suggests.

The wicked plot for the valley - already plagued by Pakistan's ISI-sponsored terror - is documented in an Islamic State publication which has been seen exclusively by India Today TV.

It calls for carnage in the Himalayan region, extolling jihad and the group's trademark narrative of hate against democratic rule.

The article also said: 'Infidels have captured Kashmir for a long time, but Kashmiris have never been silent against infidels. They have always sought freedom. But unfortunately, they were not initiated in the right direction. Political parties and organisations took advantage of their sacrifices.'

In a series of spiteful paragraphs, the Isis has also tried to instigate a dangerous guerrilla warfare with the army.

'You are not fighting a strong army but idol-worshippers, drinkers of cow urine,' reads one of the passages from the Kashmir-centric article in the terror journal. 'These are the weakest forces. You must attack them. You must surround them. Wherever you find them, kill them. Follow them to the skies, if you have to.'

Alongside this dangerous incitement, the terror group also plans to eliminate any traces of liberal Islam, its moderate Sufi roots, from the Valley, the blueprint reveals. 'Kill bad clerics who are only rumour mongers. Commit yourself into massacring them,' says ISIS in its characteristic rant for a caliphate based on eighth-century Islam and the Sharia law.

The group, in its article, said: 'Kill the officials and spies of Indian RAW and Pakistans ISI. Dont give them the benefit of doubt. These are the people who have sold off their religion and therefore qualify for punishment by Allah.'

In the nut, the ISIS plan centres around annihilating various organs of a democratic state  security forces, political and religious representatives and established rule of law  by invoking fundamentalist Islam.

'Infidels have captured Kashmir for a long time, but Kashmiris have never been silent against infidels. They have always sought freedom,' said the eight-page article. 'But unfortunately, they were not initiated in the right direction. Political parties and organisations took advantage of their sacrifices,' it claimed.

The ISIS write-up then glorified Islamic State and its ballyhooed caliphate as the only representative of true Islam. 'The Islamic caliphate witnessed a renaissance, which diminished the influence of political parties and organisations. The Islamic caliphate provided the right direction and led Muslims to true faith. Just like the rest of the world, the people of Kashmir will witness the rise of the Islamic caliphate,' the article claimed.

The group doesn't spare even Pakistan as part of its plot to build a base of its own terror forces in Kashmir. 'Kill the officials and spies of Indian RAW and Pakistan's ISI. Don't give them the benefit of the doubt,' reads a passage. 'These are the people who have sold off their religion and therefore quality for punishment by Allah. Their names may be Muslim, but they have discarded Sharia, just as an arrow escapes the bow.'

Loaded with its distinctive venom, the ISIS piece called upon potential terrorists to mount fatal attacks. 'The heads of these snakes must be crushed. Sharia must be dominant. Allah will help those who follow him. We pray to Allah to show Kashmiris the right direction. Islam must reside in their hearts. We pray to Allah to dispel their obstacles. That is how the path for a caliphate will be made,' the article read.

Emboldened by the separatist-fuelled unrest, terrorists are attempting to plunge the entire valley into a deeper crisis, with their own brand of radical Islam.

In a video, issued purportedly by militant commander Zakir Musa and his Taliban-e-Kashmir, masked militants could be seen holding guns with audio threatening youth for their western lifestyle and dresses.

'The youth of Kashmir are wearing jeans, and girls apply make-up. We are totally against it,' says a voice in the footage. 'We will murder your children and you will not see their future. We warn all of Kashmir in the name of Taliban and Zakir Musa.'

Zakir Musa has recently declared Sharia as his sole goal for Kashmir. Formerly Hizbul Mujahideen, he recently founded the Taliban-e-Kashmir group. Musa is believed to have successfully poached more than a dozen cadre from Hizbul.

The terrorist leader has also been successful in developing a support base among the Kashmiri youth following radical Islam over mystical Sufism, which highly placed security sources say is losing appeal in the state.

'Musa has been able to break away 12 to 15 of his former Hizbul Mujahideen cadre and take them with him to the Taliban-e-Kashmir, which is an attempt to attract more youth and give a push to militancy,' said a senior security official.

On May 10, Musa, an engineering dropout, delivered an audio address, declaring war on Hurriyat separatists and advocating the beheading of the separatist leaders at Lal Chowk. In the same address, he announced his allegiance to a pan-Islamic caliphate as he parted ways with Hizbul Mujahideen.
ST. MARTIN, Mississippi -- Charges against the couple accused in a gift shop robbery and stabbing in the St. Martin community last weekend have been dropped after investigators learned the gift shop owner had lied about the incident.

Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said Friday the owner of Dino's Gifts, 26-year-old Luis Diaz, lied about the armed robbery and when he told investigators the woman originally accused was his ex-wife.

Ezell said Luis Diaz and 23-year-old Erin Elizabeth Diaz are still married, though estranged. Luis Diaz was stabbed during an altercation between the two over money last Saturday.

U.S. Marshals arrested Erin Diaz and 33-year-old Clinton Buchanan in Gulfport on Monday. Both were initially charged with armed robbery, but those charges have been dropped.

Luis Diaz was charged with filing a false police report and is in the Jackson County Adult Detention Center under a $6,000 bond.
In one of its boldest moves yet, the Narendra Modi government has decided to chalk out a roadmap for privatising its chronic loss-making national carrier Air India.

The decision has already raised the hackles of trade unions and left-wing parties who have managed to block disinvestment in the airline sector for over 25 years.

'There are no two opinions in the government about the privatization of Air India. The Cabinet will decide on the process but we have already come towards the end of the assessment of the assets owned by the airline,' Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha told India Today.

The privatisation process could be completed within a year

Top level sources have told India Today that the privatisation process will be completed in the next 12 months.

But for an airline with bureaucratic baggage, it will be a difficult task. The first challenge will be to deal with the massive debt of Rs 52,000 crore. While top level sources have told India Today that the government is willing to write-off the debt for the potential buyer, the question is whether that option is attractive enough to lure in enough bids for the sell-off.

For the moment though, the government is not ruling out opening the doors to even foreign airlines to compete in the bidding process. 'We want Air India to be a global airline and are moving as quickly as we can,' Sinha said.

The government has swung into action with its think tank Niti Aayog mapping the blueprint for the sale of Maharaja. It took Niti Aayog just 15 days to draft the Air India privatization report.

'We did recommendation on Air India in just 15 days time, it was very clear from the analysis and statistics of its financial performance, that it will do better if you structure it with a private partner,' revealed Amitabh Kant, Niti Aayog CEO to India Today.

Niti Aayog has made a strong argument to put national carrier on the sale bloc and allocate the funds used to subsidize it for the education and health sector in its fourth report to the PMO.

But is the timing of announcement on the third anniversary of the Modi Government appropriate? While Air India has piled up a loss of Rs 3,643 crore in 2016-17, there has been trimming of corners with staff reduction and optimization of resources already.

In March itself the AI board had approved a proposal to induct seven Boeing 787-9 aircraft to improve international connectivity to Canada, U.S and Australia. Currently the national carrier has 103 planes out of which 42 are Boeing and 61 are Airbus carriers.

'We won't put the expansion of Air India on hold, all steps make commercial sense. If anyone wants to buy the airline, it would to take these steps', Sinha explained. The process of Air India assets sale is another big challenge. Air India has 4 subsidiaries of Air India Express Limited (AIEL), Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), Air India Transport Services Limited (AISTL) and Alliance Air.

Each subsidiary has different valuation with experts estimating Air India Express Limited valuation at Rs 8,000 cr, AIESL at Rs 3,000 cr and AITSL valued at roughly Rs 2,000 cr. It also has a joint venture with AISATS which provides ground handling for domestic airports, with rough estimated worth at Rs 1000 cr.

'It's a very value rich company there will be many buyers if there aren't the government needs to structure it in the right manner', Amitabh Kant said.

Interestingly during the Vajpayee government there was a push to sell a stake of Air India by then divestment minister Arun Shourie but the bidding war was stuck in a political and corporate quagmire.

But will the Modi government learn from the past to give Air India private wings this time? 'Our government is transparent and it will happen in this case as well, our government is for the people and we are ready to make any changes to make Air India more competitive', Sinha added. 2
Barely months after sanitation workers littered the streets across the Capital with garbage, staff of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) have threatened to go on strike from July 1.

More than 50,000 employees of North and East MCDs  from Group A to C comprising ranks of commissioner to lower division clerks (LDCs)  have not received salaries since April.

Street-side garbage in New Delhi

Also, their arrears for five years, since the joint MCD was trifurcated in year 2012, have not been paid to them. The workers gatecrashed the first House meeting of EDMC since elections on Friday, and raised slogans against newly-elected mayor Neema Bhagat and councilors.

Bhagat, who was elected from Geeta Colony, said: 'Unfortunately, it is not in our hands. The Delhi state government still hasn't started giving MCDs their due as per the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission report. This report was accepted in 2012, but we are still getting money as per the Third Delhi Finance Commission.'

EDMC needs Rs 3,000 crore to clear all salary dues. Their per month salary bill itself is Rs 100 crore.

North MCD, on the other hand, needs Rs 3,600 crore to pay its dues. Its employees' salary bill is Rs 240 crore.

'I will soon meet the Lieutenant Governor to discuss the issue and bring about a solution,' Bhagat said.

An angry Rajesh Mishra, president of the United Front of MCD Employees, said, 'We also have bills to pay at home. How will we run our kitchens? How will we feed our children and pay their school fees?

The BJP told us they will resolve the issue with CM Arvind Kejriwal and ensure we get our salaries, but it looks like all are lying.'

Rejender Mewati, another staffer, said, 'All safai karamcharis were paid dues recently because they used to create ugly scenes and approached the Delhi High Court. Just because we are educated and don't squat on the streets in protest, we should not be fooled.'
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is going on hunger strike to try to bring peace to the region, amid the raging farmer protests.

The move comes as another farmer died in the violence-hit Mandsaur district, taking the death toll to six.

'I have decided to sit on an indefinite fast from Saturday. It will continue till the time peace is restored in MP,' Chouhan said.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan

A 26-year-old farmer died in Badavan village of the district, with locals alleging on Friday that he was beaten up by policemen.

Sources at MY Hospital in Indore, where the farmer was taken on Thursday night, said he was brought dead on arrival and that his body bore signs of assault.

However, police said the circumstances of his death were unclear and they were awaiting his postmortem report. Mandsaur superintendent of police Manoj Kumar Singh said an FIR has been lodged.

To restore peace in the area, Chouhan will begin his fast at Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal where he will be holding an open 'durbar' to address the grievances of farmers.

The district was on the boil after five people were killed in police firing during protests on Tuesday by farmers who are seeking loan waiver and higher prices for the farm produce among other things.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Aam Aadmi Party was stopped at Ratlam by the police from entering Mandsaur, a day after Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders were turned back.

The delegation consisting of Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Somnath Bharti, Ashutosh and the party's Madhya Pradesh unit convener Alok Aggarwal sat on a dharna in Dhodhar area of Ratlam district after officials denied them entry into Mandsaur as curfew had been imposed there.

Contingents of the CRPF have also been deployed to take control of the situation

Youth Congress workers stopped trains during a Rail-roko protest against the government for the death of six farmers allegedly in police firing in Mandsaur

Sanjay Singh demanded the CM's resignation and also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for keeping mum on the issue. 'He (Modi) tweets immediately on issues from all over the world but has not uttered a single word in solidarity with the farmers in Mandsaur,' Singh said.

A curfew will be relaxed for 12 hours on Saturday in Mandsaur city and Pipliamandi but police said restrictions will continue.

Mandsaur SP said no untoward incident was reported during a curfew relaxation from 10am to 6pm on Friday. The curfew will be eased from 8am to 8pm on Saturday.

However, no protest, rally or demonstration will be allowed during the curfew relaxation period, including on Sunday when farmers have announced a protest, collector O P Srivastava said.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tamil Nadu farmers to relaunch their protest in Chennai

Farmers in Tamil Nadu are back on the streets, this time in Chennais Chepauk area, to stage a symbolic 32-day protest to remind the state and the Centre of their demands.

A little over a month ago, Tamil Nadu farmers caught national attention when they sat on a dharna in Delhis Jantar Mantar with skulls, which they claimed were of fellow farmers who allegedly committed suicide after the drought.

The protesting Tamil Nadu farmers also lit candles to express their condolence over the death of six farmers in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh.
Shruti Haasan does not believe in flaunting legacy. The limelight that comes with being Kamal Haasan and Sarika's daughter, she would insist, is incidental. 'It never works on my mind. It has neither hindered nor promoted my career, so the legacy of my parents is never really a pressure,' she says.

In an industry that is often accused of nepotism, Shruti's assertion would perhaps seem valid. Over a nearly decade-long stint in Bollywood, Tamil and Telugu films she has held her own, never really using the influence of her illustrious dad to bag projects.

Perhaps that bit lets her stay rooted, and avoids letting stardom go into her head. 'I have never felt like a star. At home we (sister Akshara and Shruti) are regular girls. Both parents have always supported us in whatever we did. Sure, there is criticism too but mostly it is constructive,' she says.

Shruti Haasan in Behen Hogi Teri

Kamal Haasan in fact came out to support Shruti's latest effort Behen Hogi Teri, out this week, when the film got embroiled in controversy a few days before release. A poster depicting hero Rajkummar Rao dressed as lord Shiv and seated on a motorbike enraged certain Hindu groups who claimed the picture made fun of the deity.

'Nobody sets out to offend anybody through their work,' contends Shruti. 'That particular scene is just a passing bit in the entire film. It is a slice of reality that can perhaps be seen anywhere in India.'

Does she agree with her dad's opinion that India is losing its sense of humour, as Kamal Haasan recently said while discussing the controversy over the film? 'I would say people all over the world at large  and not just in India  tend to judge others easily these days. Free speech is not flowing as easily as it should no matter which nation you are in,' she says.

Shruti would rather concentrate on all things professional than such matters. 'As an artist, my focus is on work,' she says. Work right now refers to Behen Hogi Teri, debutant Ajay K. Pannalal's directorial effort co-starring Rajkummar Rao and Gautam Gulati.

The film is set in smalltown Lucknow and is a humorous take on the plight of a mild-mannered boy who falls in love with the feisty neighbourhood girl but is expected by all to treat her as his sister, in sync with traditional mindsets. Shruti plays the girl Binny, a character she describes as 'quite modern in certain ways, yet revealing smalltown values'.

Shruti in Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji in 2011

Binny, she adds, 'is a mix of the tough and the vulnerable, the romantic and the pragmatic'. 'I had to work on the Lakhnavi accent of Binny,' says Shruti, about preparation she needed to do for the role, although she mainly banked on what her director said.

'He had created the character of Binny based on his sister. We wanted to keep it simple,' Shruti adds.

Behen Hogi Teri marks her move to a more realistic realm, and is unlike most of what we have seen Shruti doing in Bollywood so far. She has mostly been an uber glamgirl in Hindi films, scorching the screen with her dream girl avatars in films such as Welcome Back, Gabbar Is Back as well as turning on the oomph factor with her item number in Tevar.

Shruti in Welcome Back, from 2015

'There was no grand plan to move onto realistic cinema with Behen Hogi Teri. It is just that I liked the story, so I agreed to do the film. Also, although I have done lots of believable roles down South, Hindi cinema never gave me the opportunity before,' she explains.

Has Hindi cinema been a tougher deal to crack, then? Shruti does not agree. 'It's not like Bollywood is a harder place to find a foothold. Only, I have been more focussed on my career in Tamil and Telugu films,' she reasons.

She is currently shooting in all three languages actually, for her father's upcoming release. The film, a spy comedy written and directed by Kamal Haasan, is titled Shabaash Kundu in Hindi and called Sabaash Naidu in Tamil and Telugu.

Shruti in D-Day, from 2013

Being directed by dad is a high point in her career, though Shruti would insist it is not necessarily due to the familial ties. 'Working in Shabaash Kundu was beautiful because I am being directed by one of the greatest artists of Indian cinema. This is the first time I work with my father as a lead actress and it has been a learning experience,' she said.

She defines herself as 'a bit of a wild child' and adds she is 'a little impulsive when it comes to life'. The traits, however, do not affect her work ethic, she insists. 'At the same time I am a careerist who is serious about my job, too. I think I would describe myself as a combo of being impulsive and level-headed.'

She is not willing to think about life as an actor beyond Shabaash Kundu just yet. Maybe, she will land that one role that will redefine her career, as has been happening to so many actresses in Bollywood lately. 'All I want is to be a part of every story that needs to be told on screen,' she said, revealing her dream.
Children are in for the chance to win prizes if they take part in a quiz devised by the BJP to celebrate three years of the Narendra Modi government.

With summer vacations on the party has organised special camps for schoolchildren where they will be asked questions on PM Modi and various initiatives taken by the government like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Beti Padhao Beti Bachao and demonetisation.

The plan was chalked out at a party meeting on Thursday. The idea was to create awareness among children about governance and politics, said Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari.

The party has organised special camps for schoolchildren where they will be asked questions on PM Modi and initiatives taken by his government

The fest will be organised in all seven Lok Sabha constituencies. Local BJP units will form teams of interested students and camps will be organised for them.

Tiwari said the top 10 students in each constituency will get awards.

'The BJP government has initiated a number of reforms in the social and economic sectors. This quiz aims at creating awareness among students as well as engaging them with the idea of developing India,' Tiwari said. 'Apart from the quiz, a short film will be shown to the students on the government's initiatives.

Parents accompanying the children will also be briefed about the government's achievements. Further, a separate intellectual meeting will be organised in each constituency to collect feedback from the public,' the BJP president said.

PM Narendra Modi

While the Modi fest was initially planned till June 15, Tiwari said, the programme could be extended for another week.

Meanwhile, the BJP has planned six different programmes to celebrate three years of the Modi government. Addressing a meeting of Delhi BJP office bearers, the party's national general secretary Arun Singh elaborated on these programmes.

They include creating awareness about Deen Dayal Upadhyay among people at the booth level. Further, a show will be held highlighting achievements of three years of Narendra Modi government. Of the more than 100 initiatives by Union government, 99 are meant just for the poor, a BJP leader said.

The other programmes include a bimonthly meeting at the booth level, celebration of the party's Foundation Day on April 6 and Martyr Day of Shyama Prasad Mookerjee on June 23, and the birth and death anniversaries of party ideologue Upadhyay. Two programmes will be decided by the state unit.
Linen provider Berendsen jumped to a seven-month high yesterday after a French rival bought it for 2.2 billion.

Berendsen, which provides linen and tablecloths to hotels and restaurants, saw 210.6 million added to its value after finally accepting an offer from Elis.

It was Eliss third attempt to buy Berendsen, and comes despite the latter previously saying there was no basis for any further discussion of a deal.

Linen provider Berendsen jumped to a seven-month high yesterday after a French rival bought it for 2.2 billion

The agreed bid values Berendsens shares at 1250p each, ahead of previous offers of 1173p and 1100p, and an attractive 45 per cent premium to their value when it was first approached.

Shares yesterday rose 11 per cent, or 122p, to 1229p, sending Berendsen to the top of the FTSE 250 by a comfortable margin.

Beleaguered oil and gas producer Petrofac was also among the indexs winners, enjoying a rare day in the black after securing a key partnership in Oman. The firm rose 4.1 per cent, or 14.4p, to 363.4p after signing a ten-year contract with Petroleum Development Oman to work on projects in the country.

Petrofac is already working on two developments worth around 1.6 billion as part of the deal, which was described by managing director Craig Muir as a landmark agreement.

Another mid-cap winner was property investor Workspace Group , which rents out affordable office space in London to new and growing firms (stock image)

Petrofac has been in decline since last month, when its chief executive and chief operating officer were questioned under caution by the Serious Fraud Office as part of an investigation into Monaco-based Unaoil, which has been accused of bribery and corruption around the globe.

Another mid-cap winner was property investor Workspace Group, which rents out affordable office space in London to new and growing firms.

STOCK WATCH: Nektan Investors in mobile gambling firm Nektan were down on their luck yesterday after its chief executive announced his departure. Leigh Nissim will remain with the Gibraltar-headquartered business until August before taking up a new, unspecified role. Nektan has begun its search for his replacement. In the meantime, former chief executive Gary Shaw, who founded Nektan in 2011 and holds a 14.8 per cent stake, will take over as boss. Shares fell 15.3 per cent, or 5.5p, to 30.5p.

The company rallied after confirming it is in discussions to buy Salisbury House in Finsbury Circus, in the City, for around 158 million from private equity group Lone Star.

If it goes through, the deal would bring the total number of properties owned by Workspace to 69. Yesterday, its shares rose 3.8 per cent, or 33p, to 909.5p.

Despite a relatively quiet session for company results, the FTSE 100 fell slightly as Britain headed to the polls. It finished down 0.4 per cent, or 28.64 points, at 7449.98, hit by a strengthening of the pound as traders increasingly bet on a Tory majority government.

The index also shed around 12 points as a number of firms began to trade without entitlement to their latest dividend. These included Johnson Matthey, down 1.1 per cent, or 32p, to 2947p, and WPP, down 2.7 per cent, or 45p, to 1631p.

But mobile phone network Vodafone was the worst hit by the dividend changes, falling 4.8 per cent, or 11p, to 218p.

Broker Jefferies took an unexpectedly severe disliking to the mining sector in a note released yesterday, arguing that a recent recovery in commodity prices will soon come to an end.

The miners greatly benefited from Chinese stimulus-driven demand in 2016 following a near hard landing in the second half of 2015, it said. While balance sheets are no longer a serious concern, the end to Chinese stimulus is.

This led it to downgrade BHP Billiton to hold from buy and cut Vedanta Resources to underweight from hold, as well as reducing its target price for a number of other miners.

Although BHP Billiton shrugged off the downgrade, rising 1.1 per cent, or 12.5p, to 1183p, Vedanta took the news harder, falling 2.2 per cent, or 13p, to 582p.
Peter Dolan, 61, who has been chairman of Allied Minds for two years

Both the chairman and chief executive of Allied Minds have snapped up shares in their company.

The US venture capital firm, which is listed in London, funds and builds technology companies out of ideas formed in university laboratories.

Peter Dolan, 61, who has been chairman for two years, bought 83,800 shares for 139.9p each  an outlay of 117,236.

Jill Smith, 59, who was appointed chief executive this year, spent 100,450.

Allieds shares reached a high of 725p in 2015. They closed at 135.5p last night.
Jerry Oppenheimer is a New York Times bestselling author who has written two books about the Kennedys. His latest book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, will be published in September.

John F. Kennedy, whose 100th birthday is being celebrated this year with a Kennedy Centennial postage stamp, TV memorials, a slew of books, and much media coverage, was revered as the 35th president of the United States.

But the man married to Jackie Kennedy was quietly chided for his compulsive philandering. The one iconic photo of President John F. Kennedy up close and personal with a woman other than Jackie shows him and his attorney general brother, Robert, coming on to curvaceous Marilyn Monroe at a party.

While the photo of Kennedy cozying up to Monroe is the best known of him with one of his purported lovers, other far less public snapshots show the flip side of Kennedy's intimate relationships.

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A different side of JFK: John F. Kennedy and Lem Billings met at Choate Rosemary Hall and became lifelong friends. Billings would later spend nights in the White House where he had his own room

Schoolboy crush? Lem Billings and John F Kennedy were practically inseparable in prep school. Billings reportedly wrote the future president a love note on a piece of toilet paper (pictured at the Kennedys' Palm Beach estate)

JFK was famous for his womanizing habits, but one of his closest relationships was with Lem Billings. Billings reportedly told Kennedy of his romantic intentions in prep school (JFK pictured chatting with Marilyn Monroe and Robert F Kennedy)

Among the snapshots is one that shows a handsome pre-presidential Kennedy sunning himself, sprawled on a chaise at Patriarch Joe Kennedy's Palm Beach estate. And seated close to Kennedy is his shirtless, tanned and oiled best friend forever, his very gay chum, Kirk LeMoyne 'Lem' Billings.

While JFK is legendarily known as a master womanizer who frequently cheated on his first lady, his curious three-decades long intimate friendship with Billings suggests more than a simple bromance.

They met in 1933 in their sophomore year at Choate Rosemary Hall, the exclusive Connecticut prep school, when both were teenagers, working together on their class's yearbook, and Billings instantly became attracted sexually and otherwise to the handsome scion of America's self-styled royal family.

Their very intimate relationship would last from those school days to Billings even having a room in the Kennedy White House  distressing for the first lady  to the day of Kennedy's assassination.

Details of Lem Billings and JFK's three decade relationship are revealed in 'Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And The Dark Side Of The Dream'

One of the most credible accounts of the Kennedy-Billings relationship was told by David Pitts, who I interviewed extensively for my book, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And The Dark Side Of The Dream, because the strapping, bespectacled Billings, with a high-pitched, effeminate voice, would later become the fawning surrogate father  and fellow drug user  of JFK's nephew, Bobby Kennedy Jr., with whom Billings also had intense romantic feelings.

As one source told me, 'Young Bobby replaced Jack in Lem's heart of hearts.'

Billings, who was a year older than Jack Kennedy, made his desire known while the two were still at Choate in a bizarre love note, penned on a piece of toilet paper that could be disposed of easily to avoid incrimination at a time when homosexuality was illicit.

While Billings' missive is long gone, a startled Kennedy responded, 'Please don't write to me on toilet paper anymore. I'm not that kind of boy.'

But Kennedy's reaction to Billings gay come-on soon changed and he became more amenable to his friend's advances, according to the writer Lawrence J. Quirk, author of 'The Kennedys in Hollywood.' Quirk had met Billings in the mid-Forties when both were volunteers in Jack Kennedy's first congressional campaign.

Lem Billings relaxed on the Kennedys' Palm Beach estate the summer of 1936. The Kennedys tolerated his homosexuality, which was considered taboo at the time

Lawrence J. Quirk, the author of 'The Kennedys in Hollywood' said Billings and JFK's relationship turned sexual at a point. Kennedy was allegedly on the receiving end of oral sex

Quirk immediately pegged Billings as gay, noting his 'high, screechy laugh,' and 'high nasal whine of a voice.' As they became close, Billings confided that his relationship with Kennedy was, in fact, sexual, to a point.

According to Quirk, Billings revealed that his friendship with the future president of the United States 'included oral sex, with Jack always on the receiving end.'

Their arrangement, Quirk asserted, 'enabled Jack to sustain his self-delusion that straight men who received oral sex from other males were really only straights looking for sexual release,' and he further observed, 'Jack was in love with Lem being in love with him and considered him the ideal follower adorer.'

The Kennedy patriarch, Joe, a noted philanderer himself, was suspicious of Billings' sexual preference from the start of his son's close friendship with him. He noted that everywhere Jack went, Billings was sure to follow, like a puppy dog. On school breaks, Jack often brought Billings home with him, sparking Joe Kennedy to complain to his wife, Rose, 'Do we have to have that q***r around all summer?'

Still, the Kennedy clan accepted  even welcomed  Lem Billings into their exclusive inner-circle, practically adopting him, and he became a part of the family.

As Billings' biographer David Pitts told me, 'Once JFK decided that Billings was his best friend  like it or leave, everybody in the family sort of fell in line with that. The Kennedys were a liberal family and one that tolerated a lot of heterosexual promiscuity as well.'

Roommates: JFK and Billings (right) roomed at Choate and again at Princeton (pictured mid-1930s outside a drugstore with roommate Ralph Horton Jr)

JFK's sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver said his relationship with Billings was a 'complete liberation of the spirit' for Jack (Pictured on their Christmas card with fellow Princeton roommate Ralph Horton Jr)

While her husband had his qualms about Billings and couldn't stand to have him around, the matriarch Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, had a different take. In her memoir, Times To Remember, published eleven years after Jack's assassination in Dallas in 1963, she wrote that Billings had 'remained Jack's lifelong close friend, confidant, sharer in old memories and new experiencesHe has really been part of 'our family' since that first time he showed up at our house as one of 'Jack's surprises.'

One of Jack's five sisters, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, found it hard to describe her brother's relationship with Billings, once stating, 'It was a complete liberation of the spirit' for Jack, and that her brother was a 'complete liberated man when he was with Lem.'

But Billings was embarrassed about his effeminate mannerisms  he'd remain publicly closeted for his lifetime. 'People think I'm a joke,' he once acknowledged. 'They make fun of my voice. But I'm stuck with the Kennedys emotionally, and I will be to the end of my life.'

Jacqueline Kennedy was reportedly unhappuabout her husband and Billings' three decade long relationship. The president was famously believed to have affairs during their marriage

When their brother Bobby married Ethel Skakel in a royal-like wedding in Greenwich, Connecticut, the staunchly conservative republican and seemingly homophobic Skakels let their feelings about Billings' gayness be known.

Ethel's alcoholic, philandering brother, George Skakel Jr., actually booted Billings in the a** at the church, knocking him into the aisle. And George Terrian, the alcoholic husband of Ethel Kennedy's alcoholic, pill-popping sister, Georgeann, told me in interviews for my book 'The Other Mrs. Kennedy' that, 'Everyone in the family knew Lem was q***r  the Kennedys, the Skakels, everyone.'

After the assassination of Robert Kennedy, a distraught Ethel turned over her son, Bobby Jr., to Billings to act as his surrogate father, sparking her brother-in-law, Terrien  RFK's roommate at the University of Virginia law school  to wonder why she would allow 'Lem to have such an intimate relationship' with her troubled third born, who would go on to have a a bizarre relationship with Billings, including the taking of drugs.

JFK appeared to be in love with the idea of Billings being in love with him. Their lifelong relationship caused some of the presidents advisers to fear Russian agents may use the information as blackmail

After Jack Kennedy's election to the presidency, Billings was a constant presence and overnight guest at the White House. Knowing the kind of intimate relationship that he had with the president, advisers were concerned about political repercussions, and even blackmail.

The Cold War was still raging, and there was fear Russian agents might use the friendship against Kennedy.

Gore Vidal, the writer who claimed he viewed homosexuality as normal as heterosexuality, disparaged the JFK-Billings relationship during the Kennedy administration.

He once called Billings the 'chief f****t at Camelot.' As for Kennedy himself, Vidal asserted that the president 'felt quite comfortable in the company of homosexuals as long as they were smart enough to hold his interest.'

White House visitor: Billings often spent the night at the White House, which upset Jackie Kennedy. She reportedly had a love-hate relationship with her husband's best friend

The first lady, Jackie, had something of a love-hate relationship with Billings. But was reportedly upset that her husband spent so much time with him, and that he often stayed overnight at the White House.

Like the rest of the free world, Billings was devastated when President Kennedy was assassinated. The biographer Sally Bedell Smith, referred to Billings in one of her books as 'probably the saddest of the Kennedy widows.'

After the assassination of RFK in 1968, the flamboyant Billings transferred his obsessive affection for Jack, to handsome teenager Bobby Jr.

David Pitts, the author of 'Jack and Lem: The Untold Story of an Extraordinary Friendship,' told me, 'Lem was a gay man and he had a 14-year-old, good-looking kid living in his house with him and there had been rumors because of that. I have no evidence one way or another, but I would discount [any sexual activity.]

Still, Billings was viewed by many I interviewed for my biography of RFK Jr. as his gay Svengali who guided and literally tried to control every aspect of Bobby Jr.'s life from the time he was in his mid-teens.

During the night of May 28, 1981almost two decades after JFK's untimely death  65-year-old Lem Billings died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack.

Billings had once told Bobby that when he died he wanted the pall-bearers to be members of Bobby's circle of young friends, whom he knew well and with whom he had done drugs.

Lem Billings and Bobby Kennedy Jr became close after JFK's death and allegedly took drugs together. When Billings died of a heart attack in 1981, Bobby Jr gave the eulogy (From left to right: Lem Billings, Bobby Kennedy Jr and Ethel Kennedy)

Part of the family: From childhood to adulthood, Billings stayed close to Jack Kennedy and his family. When JFK was assassinated, he turned his attention to his nephew Bobby Kennedy Jr

It was Bobby Kennedy Jr. who gave the eulogy.

'I'm sure he's already organizing everything in heaven so it will be completely ready for us  with just the right Early American furniture, the right curtains, the right rugs, the right paintings, and everything ready for a big, big party.

'Yesterday was Jack's birthday. Jack's best friend was Lem, and he would want to remind everyone of that today. I am sure the good Lord knows that heaven is Jesus and Lem and Jack and Bobby loving one another.'
Dan Bell has made it his lifes work to uncover some of Americas most disgusting hotels.

So far Bell said he's found cockroach infestations, stains on clean sheets, used needles, human feces, rodent feces, drugs and sinks clogged with vomit.

Armed with a black light, which shows up the fluorescent molecules in bodily fluids, he travels around the hotels and motels in his home state of Maryland recording what he sees and uploading his gross findings to his YouTube channel.

So what possesses a 40-year-old man who lives in a comfortable Baltimore home to trawl these grimmest of rooms?

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Will Krupinsky, Rick Serra and Dan Bell (L to R) on the set of their series Another Dirty Room. They travel to some of the most disgusting motels and hotels in Maryland

Dailymail.com has contacted all of the motels featured in the article for comment but did not receive a response from Econo Lodge, The Swan Motel, The Royal Inn, Super 8 and the Towson East Motel.

A year ago Bell went on a month-long road trip to film his YouTube show Dead Malls with his colleague Will Krupinsky. What had been a cheap business trip turned into a business pitch when the pair ended up staying in a hotel with a cockroach infestation and filmed their horrified reaction.

In their twin room at an Econo Lodge in Rockport, Texas, small cockroaches were just crawling around on the dresser and into the mini-refrigerator. In the footage, Bell opens the refrigerator door to find dead roaches and a horrendous smell.

They then pan the video across the bed where the bedspread appears to be stained with dried fluids. To their horror there was also a white splatter across the rooms carpet.

Their horror gives way to amusement when they see an envelope for gratuity for the housekeeper and they ask the camera: Michelle, did you even look? Theres a roach, theres a roach. And theres an envelope; she wants a tip?

Choice Hotels, which owns the Econo Lodge brand, did not respond to a phone and email request for comment.

The series was inspired by Bell's and Krupinsky's stay at an Econo Lodge in Rockport, Texas. There they found a stained bedspread (pictured)

To their horror there was also an unidentified white splatter across the rooms carpet. Bell captured the entire incident on camera and uploaded it to his YouTube channel

Small cockroaches were just crawling around on the dresser and into the mini-refrigerator

In the footage, Bell opens the refrigerator door to find dead roaches and a horrendous smell

Their horror gives way to amusement when they see an envelope for gratuity for the housekeeper Michelle

I thought everyone can sort of identify with staying in a bad hotel, Bell said, explaining how his roadtrip from hell became a new YouTube series  Another Dirty Room  which began last November.

He, 28-year-old Krupinsky and 57-year-old Rick Serra, spend their days documenting phantom stains, used needles and the things that lurk beneath the sheets in budget hotel rooms so their viewers dont have to.

At the beginning of each episode Bell reads some of the hotels reviews on TripAdvisor and at the end the gang rates the room or rooms.

Each episode involves the trio using a number of different products and tools to test out a room's hygiene. Bell said they usually find the rooms littered with crushed beer cans, food crumbs and containers filled with various drugs that they also test.

Although Bell and Krupinsky didn't find any drugs in their Econo Lodge room, the substances have become so common on Another Dirty Room that they conduct chemical testing on site

They also use black light, which shows up the fluorescent molecules in bodily fluids, as pictured in this room at The Midtown Inn in Baltimore. Bell was unable to identify these fluids

Bell wears a hidden camera to check into the hotel. All his equipment is packed into luggage to remain inconspicuous and he has limited interaction with hotel management and fellow guests, none of whom know the show is being filmed.

And once theyve investigated the rooms cleanliness, they leave.

As tempting as it may be for us to rest our heads on saliva-stained pillows after a day of work, we leave the hotel room as soon as we wrap shooting, he said.

This is coming from a man who spent his 20s living in some sketchy New York City apartments on a waiters salary in the early 1990s. But even those atrocities couldnt compare to the crime scene that is The Swan Motel in Halethorpe, Maryland.

Bell said the worst motel he has been to so far is The Swan in Halethorpe, Maryland

The Swan Motel was listed as closed online and Bell said he paid $40 in cash on arrival

Yellowed cotton buds littered the top of the toilet cistern (pictured) and Bell said the sinks drain was clogged with vomit

Bell remembered a prostitute peering at him through the doorway as he walked the few feet to his own hotel room. When they opened the wooden door he said a wave of heat flowed out and the smell of stale cigarette smoke prickled his nose.

Dust shimmered in the light as Bell, Krupinsky and Serra set up their equipment and snapped on rubber gloves. Bell said he had wondered why the motel receptionist seemed shocked at his request to rent a $40-a-night smoking room there in cash. That is, until the group inspected the bathroom.

Yellowed cotton buds littered the top of the toilet cistern, the sinks drain was clogged with vomit and the thread-bare, white towels had brown stains on them, Bell said. The Swan Motel was listed as closed online and it seemed for good reason.

I have never seen anything so deplorable, said Bell. The Swan Motel was the most shocking place.

A representative of The Swan Motel could not immediately be reached for comment. The voice mail for the establishment's phone number listed online is for an individual.

Online hotel reviews usually tip him off, but he found only one review for The Swan Motel, praising the housekeeping there. Chemical testing and UV light proved otherwise.

There was more blood than any other room. It just was completely shocking. Theres just blood remnants all over the place, Bell said. He surmised that the bodily fluid wasnt from drug injections but from a fight  or worse, murder. No news reports could be found of violent fights or murders at The Swan Motel.

To the team's shock, chemical testing and UV light reveal blood stains on almost every surface at The Swan Motel

This could be the most disgusting room ever, said Bell at the end of the six-minute video. He spoke too soon.

Before there was The Swan Motel there was The Royal Inn in Odenton, Maryland, which Bell considered to be the filthy motel from hell. In the two-part episode, Bell said he and the gang were surprised to find a baggy of crack cocaine stuffed into a prescription pill bottle. He said the room was just rife with hidden treasures.

Bell remembered trying to suppress laughter as he held the camera in front of a pile of trash. Krupinsky and Serra were picking through the piles contents behind a wooden television stand. They pulled out surgical scissors, a receipt from Cracker Barrel, a roach trap, a piece of bacon and a strip of condoms, among other items. As Krupinsky and Serra stood up to examine their findings, they tried not to knock over thick, yellowed toenail clippings on top of the TV.

This is why you should always do a thorough examination of your room, Bell said.

A representative of The Royal Inn, which is listed as closed on Yelp, told Dailymail.com by phone that the manager was out of the country until Friday.

Bell and his team claim to have found a baggy of crack cocaine (above) stuffed into a prescription pill bottle at The Royal Inn in Odenton, Maryland

Krupinsky and Serra picked through a pile of trash behind a wooden television stand at The Royal Inn. They claimed to have found a roach trap and a strip of condoms, among other items

Sweat and saliva-soaked pillows like this one at The Royal Inn are the most common items Bell has claimed to have found so far

It's also common for the team to find blood-stained and urine-soaked mattresses like this one at The Royal Inn, Bell said

This tiny childrens book, crayons and Legos were found underneath the bed at the pay-by-the-hour motel, Bell said

Although these scenes have become commonplace for the gang, that doesnt mean theyve become desensitized to drugs or sex, Bell said. Quite the contrary. A greasy wooden pole found underneath a bed at the Regal Inn and Suites in Rosedale, Maryland, left them physically uncomfortable.

We found a greasy stick under the bed, said Bell. Will thought it may have been used as a weapon, but Dan thought it looked like it was used for other purposes.

This was the same $65-a-night room where they found a vial of cocaine on the windowsill, as well as pillows still soaked in sweat and saliva from the rooms past tenants. Bodily fluids of every variety are now just a given, said Bell, trying to mentally count the number of times hes seen, smelled and felt urine on hotel sheets that have seeped into the mattress. Sometimes consistency is nice, he added.

A representative of the Regal Inn and Suites who identified himself as the motel's manager hung up when asked to provide comment.

Bell claimed to have found the parts of a used needle under the sink of the Regal Inn and Suites in Rosedale, Maryland

A greasy wooden pole found underneath a bed at the Regal Inn and Suites in Rosedale left Krupinsky (pictured) disturbed. The team debated whether it had been used as a weapon

This shopping bag filled with needles and other drug paraphernalia Bell said he discovered under a mattress at the Regal Inn and Suites has been the most disturbing items they've found

The bag contained a metal spoon, a small piece of sponge and shoelaces (pictured), Bell said

Bell said he also found two vials filled with a white, rocky substance that tested positive for cocaine, according to the team's chemical test

While pillows covered with sweat and saliva are the most common items Bell has found, he said a bag filled with needles and other drug paraphernalia they discovered under a mattress at the Regal Inn and Suites in Rosedale has been the most disturbing. The bag contained a metal spoon, a small piece of sponge and shoelaces, Bell said. He also found two vials filled with a white, rocky substance that tested positive for cocaine.

This wasnt the first time the teams found used needles. Theyve been in almost every motel room since episode one at The Midtown Inn in Baltimore. The team was doing their usual inspection of the room when they found the caps of used needles.

The first time we found a needle under the sink I was surprised, now its like common place, said Bell. Im now not shocked by it.

Dailymail.com contacted The Midtown Inn. A man, who declined to give his name and title, answered the phone and when told about the motel's appearance on Another Dirty Room said the establishment was being unfairly targeted.

Bell said he first found needles (the caps of which are pictured next to a piece of condom wrapper) in episode one at The Midtown Inn in Baltimore

This white sheet on a bed at The Midtown Inn was stained, Bell said

Drugs are also a common find for the team, specifically cocaine, which Bell said they gleefully discovered for the first time hidden in a bed bug-infested mattress at the The Royal Inn in Odenton, Maryland. Its become so routine that they now carry out chemical testing in the room on the substances they find before flushing them down fecal-rimmed toilets.

A representative of The Royal Inn could not immediately be reached for comment.

Throughout the series, Bell and his team have found themselves, sometimes quite literally, up against rodent and human excrement. But Bell said he doesnt blame the former tenants for the health hazard, instead its the hotel managers who run a kind of shady business. Chain hotels arent immune to this, he said. The show filmed an episode at the Super 8 in Essex, Maryland  the most expensive room theyve rented for $98  that was pretty un-super.

Wyndham Hotels, which owns the Super 8 brand, did not immediately respond to phone and email requests for comment.

Bell said he and his team research the motels they feature on the show ahead of time and have found that whether theyre independently owned or a chain theyre just magnets for crime.

They put the dregs of society there and dont care about bad rooms, he said. I dont know how people turn a blind eye.

Chain hotels, like this Super 8 in Essex, Maryland, aren't immune to dirty rooms, Bell said

Bell said he found splatters on one of the bed's white sheets at the Super 8

There was also a large brown stain at the edge of the white sheet, Bell said

The sometimes heavy subject matter, like when they found a tiny childrens book, crayons and Legos underneath the bed at a pay-by-the-hour motel, is balanced with comedy, Bell said.

For instance, Serra has a shtick where he bites into the hotels wafer-thin soap and describes how it tastes. In one episode, he squats in a pink, heart-shaped bathtub at the Towson East Motel in Towson, Maryland, with barely any room to dig out the wads of dark hair from its drain.

The manager of the Towson East Motel did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Another episode has Krupinsky writing Another Dirty Room with a disinfectant towelette on a cigarette tar-stained ceiling. But there are some memories that Bell, try as he might, just cant smudge out.

Serra has a shtick where he bites into the hotels soap and describes how it tastes. Here he tries a chunk from the Best Budget Inn in Havre De Grace, Maryland

In another episode, Serra squats in a pink, heart-shaped bathtub at the Towson East Motel in Towson, Maryland, with barely any room to dig out the wads of dark hair from its drain

We could hear people having sex. Oh, it was horrendous, he said.

Eleven episodes in and although it may seem like the Another Dirty Room team has seen their fair share of filth, they have yet to encounter live bed bugs or rodents. Oh, but theres still time. Bell next plans to expand his careful eye to the hotels of Florida and New Jersey this summer where he thinks he will find plenty of material.

Im always afraid of finding live bed bugs. Or what if we find a hand? I would totally freak out, he said.

Have you seen worse? Email jordan.gass-poore@mailonline.com
The ex-fiance of actress Jodie Sweetin has spoken for the first time about the blazing fight that ended the couple's relationship of four years and saw him thrown in prison for almost three months.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, recovering drug addict and fitness fanatic Justin Hodak blames 'roid rage' for losing his temper with Sweetin and sending a 7ft-high bookcase crashing to the floor at the Los Angeles home he shared with the actress on March 18 this year.

But while the actor and screenwriter, who had recently weaned off anabolic steroids, regrets making 'mistakes' that day and becoming suicidal, he says he feels 'set-up' by his former lover after a petty argument over a French Bulldog called Buster escalated into a 'perfect storm' that ended with him in jail.

Hodak, 40, was arrested three times during the course of nine days for violating a restraining order keeping him away from his Fuller House star ex and was later convicted of the illegal possession of a gun and falsifying evidence by threatening a witness with force or implied force.

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The fight on March 18 triggered the events that led to Justin Hodak's arrest and the end of his nearly four-year relationship with Jodie Sweetin. He told DailyMail.com the argument was about who would watch a French Bulldog puppy and was heightened by his 'roid rage'

'Looking back I feel terrible for what happened, it went too far,' Hodak says. 'I'm super remorseful. I just don't know where it all came from, but there was no domestic violence, I would never hurt Jodie. I just feel set up.

'I feel like it was a situation that could have been avoided. It was four years and we're never going to speak to each other over a dog that we didn't even get yet and a broken bookcase. None of it makes sense.'

On May 5 a judge handed Hodak a suspended sentence of six years, eight months in prison - a devastating blow. He was ordered to serve 120 days in L.A. County Jail, complete a 52 week domestic violence course, and stay away from Sweetin for five years as part of a plea deal.

DailyMail.com revealed on Monday that the actor - who was credited with time already served in jail - was released early on May 22. Fearing her ex might try to approach her, we also reported that Sweetin has hired a round-the-clock security detail to protect her and her two children. But for Hodak, nothing could be further from the truth.

Hodak was arrested three times during the course of nine days for violating a restraining order keeping him away from Sweetin (former couple pictured in November)

He said: 'Am I a threat to Jodie? That's just absolutely ridiculous, it says in the paper work, 'He never hurt me, he never threatened to hurt me he never did anything to the kids'.

'I love them all, they know I'd never hurt them in any shape or form. Our mutual friends think it's the most ridiculous thing ever. The threat was to myself not to her.'

Hodak, 40, met child star Sweetin, 35, ten years ago when he worked as an admissions director at a rehab clinic and she worked as a drugs counselor.

The pair had a lot in common - Hodak was a recovering cocaine addict and a convicted drug felon, while Sweetin had battled both drug and alcohol addiction - a result of becoming depressed following the 1995 conclusion of ABC's Full House after eight seasons.

Hodak and Sweetin are both fomer drug addicts. He is a recovering cocaine addict and a convicted drug felon and she has spoken about recovering from drug and alcohol addiction after Full House stopped filming in 1995

They had a brief fling but went on to marry and divorce other people. When Sweetin separated from third husband Morty Coyle, her and Hodak reconnected after a chance meeting.

What is 'roid rage'? Since the 1980s, scientists have differed on whether or not abusing anabolic steroids can cause psychotic episodes known as roid rage. People who claim they have these episodes say they lose impulse control and often react violently. There are clear links between testosterone, the hormone that steroids mimic. However, some studies show those who experience roid rage episodes have preexisting mental health issues. Source: Live Science Advertisement

Hodak said: 'I saw her in 2013 - she was standing on Melrose and Robertson with a friend. I had heard she was single again so I go talk to her and we began dating - we were together for around three and a half years.

'People used to say that Jodie and I were perfect for each other - we never judged each other, we both had a bit of a past, we used to finish each other's sentences, we both had the same sense of humor.

'Of course we bickered and fought like any other couple but who doesn't?'

The couple decided to move in together and got a place in Van Nuys, Los Angeles where they lived with Jodie's two kids Zoie, nine, and Beatrix, six. Hodak also has a daughter from a previous relationship named Tatum Breanna.

In more blissful times Sweetin announced her engagement to her boyfriend with a picture of the huge proposal ring on Instagram in January 2016.

'So... Looks like the cats outta the bag! Haha! I'm so happy and he did a GREAT job with the ring! Good taste @justinhodak_ I love you!!' she wrote.

Earlier this week, DailyMail.com reported that Sweetin has hired a round-the-clock security to protect her and her two children from Hodak. He said it is 'ridiculous' of Sweetin to think he would harm her and claimed he was never physically abusive

The couple were happy together, but alarm bells began to ring for Hodak months prior when Sweetin 'overreacted' to a minor row they had had. The actress had security stop him from entering the Warner Brothers studio lot where she was filming Fuller House.

Hodak said he was eventually reinstated at the studio, but said people working there looked at him 'like I'm some huge maniac'. He also said that Sweetin's friends were 'weird' with him from that day.

'I just don't know how it escalated so much,' he added. But it wasn't until March 18 this year that they had a huge argument that would spell the end of their relationship.

It was the day after Hodak's 40th birthday and the pair had celebrated with a few drinks.

He recalls: 'I remember Jodie did Instagram posts the night before saying 'To the most loyal guy ever, I love you forever,' then the next day just boom. 'We woke up in the morning I had to go get some antibiotics.

Hodak claimed the majority of his relationship with Sweetin was smooth sailing. He told DailyMail.com: 'Of course we bickered and fought like any other couple but who doesn't?' (pictured with Sweetin's daughters Beatrix Carlin Sweetin Coyle and Zoie Laurel May Herpin)

'I'd been coming off the steroids for like a week, I didn't want to do it anymore, I didn't like who I was. Jodie never told me the steroids affected the relationship but I did feel myself more agitated and aggressive.

'We were on the way back when we started talking about this dog that we haven't got yet.

'I'd asked her to ask her mom to watch the dog because I didn't trust the nanny and the kids and we had a wedding to go to the next day.

'It was a little French bulldog, so cute, we were going to pick him up from the breeder and name him Buster.

'But she starts telling me her mom can't watch the dog and I said, 'well when your mom asks for stuff we just do it,' and I said 'fine, next time your mom asks me for something I'm not doing it'.

'Then I found out she didn't even ask her mom.' Hodak says Sweetin got 'aggressive' and 'physical' with him in the car, 'but I didn't even say anything - I just thought 'breathe',' he recalls.

'She said sorry when we got home and I just went upstairs, took a shower and then I was ready to continue the argument.

'It was bubbling in me because she hit me in the jaw - she picked up her phone and threw it.

Justin Hodak told DailyMail.com Sweetin threw her phone at him, hitting him in the jaw. After that he knocked down the Ikea bookcase our of anger

'I never laid a finger on Jodie or threatened to. We were bickering in the living room and I said something and she ignored me, then I said something else and she laughed and that was it, that's when I broke down the bookcase in anger.'

According to news reports at the time Kodak was accused of barricading Sweetin inside her home - a claim he says isn't true.

Hodak said his ex wrongfully claimed he tried to barricade her in the house. After the bookcase fell, Sweetin told him to 'get out'

'It was just a cheap Ikea bookcase with loads of DVDs on it, but when it came down it blocked the door,' he said.

'I shouldn't have done it, I know that but I wasn't charged with kidnap.

'I looked at Jodie and she looked sad and she still had a broken foot at this point from a fall she'd had.

'She said just 'get out', and I said I will, but I wanted to clean the mess up first.'

Hodak said Sweetin continued to scream and shout at him and he became overwhelmed with emotion, having what he called a 'mini breakdown'.

'I went into the bedroom and Jodie came to comfort me - she was loving and kind. I was remorseful, I realized that I had crossed the line.

'I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride and we did, she said in the car, 'I don't think I can do this anymore,' so I said, 'Well why do you lead me on and comfort me, why are we doing that?'''

Then Sweetin compared an already upset Hodak to his father sending him further over the edge.

'That was super hurtful to me,' he recalls.

Hodak said he was going to kill himself after Sweetin compared to his father, who he said was abusive towards his mother and was an alcoholic (pictured Saturday)

'He was an alcoholic and he was abusive to my mother and that killed me - and I got suicidal for the first time in my life.

'I drove back home and then I grabbed my gun put it in my pocket and left the house and said I was going to kill myself.'

Hodak says Sweetin immediately called her therapist who told her to call 911. The police arrived and Sweetin told the officers that Hodak kept a gun in the bedroom. They found an AR15 rifle but the handgun was gone.

Sweetin called Hodak and told him he had to come back, he refused.

After Hodak grabbed the gun, Sweetin called the police. Hodak was not allowed to possess the firearm since he was a convicted felon because of drug charges

'I got mad at her and said 'What are you doing? Why did you let the police in our house?'

'I shouldn't have had the gun because I'm a convicted felon, but I wanted to be able to protect my family. I was angry she had called the police.

'She started yelling 'I called them because I was worried about you.''

He decided to cool down and headed to his brother's house.

But he couldn't resist calling Sweetin again, which only made matters worse.

He begged his fiancee to stay with him for another week as he didn't want anything leaking to the media while they sorted things out.

'She's crying on the other end, 'I just need some space,'' he recalls.

Hodak said the third time he violated Sweetin's restraining order he was trying to take a short-cut to avoid Los Angeles traffic and he drove by her house on accident

'She threatened me with something, then I said something like, 'I'll sell naked pictures of you' - you know when you say in arguments things you don't mean.

'I regret saying it I was just mad.'

That night when Hodak returned home there was around 12 armed police officers waiting for him and he was immediately arrested for illegal gun possession.

'Some news reports said I was in a drug and alcohol fueled rage but I was sober that day,' he said.

Heavily tattooed Hodak recalls being in a jail cell for six hours before bailing himself out and heading home once again. Sweetin wasn't there.

His next mistake was repeatedly trying to get hold of his fiancee.

'I must have called her like 80 times, I'm just obsessed at this point, I want her to come home,' he said.

'I keep telling her I'm sorry, I want to make up or let's just resolve this amicably.'

But the next day he was visited by the police again who served him with a temporary protective order.

'I got 10 minutes to pack a bag and leave - even though there was no domestic violence, I was shocked,' he said.

Jodie Sweetin's ex said he panicked when a news outlet called in March and asked for a comment on the arrest (Sweetin pictured in April between actresses Beverley Mitchell and Christine Lakin)

Hodak headed out of town to the desert for five days to get his head straight.

He believed that Sweetin had not taken out any further restraining order - but he was wrong.

And when a media outlet called him seeking comment on the split he panicked.

Fearing the public scrutiny he'd face, Hodak immediately went to Sweetin's management office to speak with her agent.

'They were looking at me like I shot Kennedy or something,' he recalls.

'They said, 'Well Justin we heard there's a gun and that you're crazy, we just don't know what to think.'

'I told them I didn't want it in the news - I begged them to keep it out and said I wanted to work it out amicably with Jodie.

'So they called Jodie and 10 minutes later the police show up and arrest me for violating my restraining order through third party contact.

'It was mortifying. I only wanted an amicable break up I wasn't smashing the place up or anything.'

As if things weren't bad enough, Hodak got himself arrested a third time - this time through pure idiocy.

Hodak was arrested on March 27 for violating a restraining order Sweetin took out against him. It is understood that Warner Bros, the studio that producing Fuller House is paying for her security (Sweetin pictured with Fuller House cast)

He claims he was taking a short cut through his neighborhood to miss traffic when he drove past his old house and saw 15 cops on the lawn.

The cops, he says, were on another call after Sweetin reported a suspicious vehicle outside her house.

'It had nothing to do with me,' he claims.

'But by now they know my car so they are on me like flies.

'I called my attorney and he told me to come to his office and they follow me until I get there then 23 cops pull their guns on me like I just robbed a bank or something.

'There was even a helicopter - it was really excessive.'

A video of the arrest was leaked online and Hodak was slapped with a stalking charge, saying he violated the restraining order by being too close to the home.

It was another devastating blow for Hodak who insists the whole thing was a misunderstanding.

'I was mortified, I'm not a stalker. I mean if there was a felony stupid charge then yes I'm guilty, but not felony stalking.'

Hodak claimed he had not gone near Sweetin's house with the exception of the drive-by to avoid traffic. His bail was set to $1 million and he was sentenced to six years eight months in jail

Hodak claims he was then hit with several 'false' allegations.

'My attorney then told me they were charging me with eight violations of my restraining order - they said I called Jodie four times, I drove to her house in a different car and ran in and out of the house and that I pulled in the driveway and had an altercation with a security guard.

'But I hadn't been near the house except for that one drive by - I'd been in the desert.

'I just felt I was being set up. I go into court and my attorney told me the DA wanted to put my bail to $1 million - which is a murderer's bail.'

Not able to make bail Kodak was sent to LA County jail.

'They threw the book at me and I got a six years eight months,' he says.

Hodak, who since his release has been forced to wear an electronic ankle bracelet which monitors his every move, has had plenty of time to mull over what happened.

'I never got to say goodbye to the kids - they are nine and six. I think that's what breaks my heart more than anything,' he said.

'I know they have their own dads but I tried to be there for them as well.

Hodak, an actor and screenwriter, is currently unemployed and lived in East Los Angeles with his relatives as he tries to get his live back on track

'I used to promise them I'd never leave them, I made a promise I couldn't keep.

'And Buster the French Bulldog went to another family I heard.'

Hodak says he bitterly regrets the fall out with Sweetin.

'I should have just been an adult and bit my tongue and walked away,' he said. 'I definitely think the steroids had something to do with it.'

'I put the bookcase incident down to roid rage - I lost it. A lot of this has to do with that. You think you'll be the exception to the rule but you're not.'

Hodak is currently unemployed and living with relatives in East LA while he tries to get his life back on track.

'I'm completely different now I'm off the steroids - I'm so chill, everything is good. I've lost 25 lbs and I'm sober, I've never felt better,' he said, adding: 'The only thing I'm guilty of is being in love.

'I'm overly remorseful for my actions but I never knew they'd cause this reaction and that I'd end up in prison. Life goes on.'

For Sweetin it's yet another failed and messy relationship.

She has been married three times, her first husband was LAPD officer Shaun Holguin who she wed in 2002 but divorced in 2006.

She has a daughter, Zoie with ex-husband Cody Herpin, who she divorced in 2010 after nearly three years of marriage.

Sweetin also shares daughter Beatrix with her ex Morty Coyle, who she filed for separation from in June 2013.
US 90 widening 1.JPG

This photo shows the area (boxed in red) of U.S. 90 which will be widened to six lanes from Ocean Springs to Gautier. It includes a stretch of the federal highway from Washington Avenue to Vermont Avenue which is already six lanes, but will be improved during the project.

(MDOT photo)

OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- Motorists traveling through Ocean Springs to Gautier are likely anxious to see U.S. 90 widened to six lanes to help alleviate congestion.

But it will likely be 2023 before their hopes are realized.

Kelly Castleberry, District 6 Engineer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, told The Mississippi Press Friday it's likely going to be late 2021 before the massive project begins. Once it does, it will be 18-24 months before th project is complete. Initially, the project had been scheduled to begin in 2020.

The project will widen the highway to six lanes from where it intersects with Vermont Avenue in Ocean Springs to Dolphin Drive in Gautier -- the only remaining stretch of U.S. 90 in Jackson County which is not six lanes.

"We've done some preliminary work, as far as design," Castleberry said. "They're currently looking at hydraulics, where all the water is going to flow. There still has to be some right of way purchased, though not a lot, mainly near the intersections. Then there's going to have to be a lot of utility relocation through that corridor."

That, and more, has to happen before contractors can start the actual process of building the new lanes.

"What has to occur is they'll go through and do a little demolition work on anything that is in the way of the new lanes," Castleberry said. "Then they'll have to tie in the drainage work. Once that's done, they'll start the construction of the actual lane and curb improvements."

There won't be a cost estimate until plans are finalized, but because U.S. 90 is a federal highway, much of the funding will come from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Castleberry said MDOT looks closely at traffic patterns and other factors in planning a project of this scope in order to mitigate as much as possible the impact on motorists and businesses along the highway.

"We look at all aspects," he said. "We look at the schools, we look at when Ingalls gets off, when everybody gets off from the casinos. We look at those aspects of it and try to have the work planned accordingly.

"The other aspect we look at is the access to business, to make sure every business has an access point. Our goal is to make sure motorists have at least one access to every business. We look at all of that and take it into account."

That's not to say, however, there won't be growing pains once the project begins.

"Of course, there will be disruption. It's unavoidable," Castleberry said, "but we try to mitigate it as best we can. Motorists will be impacted, just based on the scope of it. But we try to minimize it as much as possible. We try to ensure there are two travel lanes during peak hours, while it may go down to one travel lane during the non-peak hours at night."

Part of those mitigation efforts is to work with city leaders and keep the public informed. To that end, MDOT held a public meeting at the Ocean Springs Civic Center last September during which residents and business owners were able to take a first look at the tentative plans for the highway widening.

"Typically, we contact the cities and work with the city leaders," Castleberry said.

In addition to the main feature of widening the highway, there are other elements involved in the project, including:

The portion of the highway from Vermont Avenue to just west of Walmart will have curbs and gutters. The remaining stretch will be open shoulder.

Crossovers may change, turning lanes may be lengthened and some businesses with two driveways off the highway may only qualify for one.

Highway lighting will be continued or added along the length of the project, provided the cities sign an agreement to maintain the lighting, as they currently does with existing lighting.

All existing traffic lights will be upgraded.

MDOT is looking at putting in pedestrian crosswalks on the highway at Vermont Avenue, Bristol Boulevard (entrance to Ft. Bayou Estates) and Hanshaw Road.

While a project of this size is expected to take 18-24 months, Castleberry noted that this project -- as with all others -- is at the mercy of south Mississippi weather.

"It's always subject to weather conditions," he said. "Typically, projects will go a little long because -- while we try to build weather into it -- it's always a shot in the dark as to what may occur."

Castleberry also said once the project begins, it will be up to the contractor winning the bid to determine where the project begins and in which direction the work will move.

"We typically do not tell contractors they must start in a particular location and work in a certain direction," he said. "What we try to do is allow the contractor the flexibility to determine where they want to start. If their operations allow, they may be able to work multiple locations at certain times. Once we award the contract, the contractor will make those decisions."

He also said the possibility remains the project could be split into two phases -- one in Ocean Springs and one in Gautier -- depending on funding available at the time.
Emily Dearden, of Yonkers, was sentenced Thursday

A former NYPD psychologist who admitted shooting her husband in the head as he slept has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

Emily Dearden, of Yonkers, was sentenced Thursday, according to Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino Jr.

She made the admission while accepting a plea deal to attempted assault in February.

She originally told detectives she was knocked unconscious by an intruder on the night her husband was shot.

Kenneth Dearden woke up with head pain in the early hours of November 14, 2013.

It turned out he had been shot while the couple's children were sleeping nearby.

He spent about eight days in a hospital, including in surgery to remove a bullet from his jaw.

Dearden, who admitted shooting her husband Keneth (both pictutred) in the head as he slept, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison

In 2015, she pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, assault and weapons possession.

She told police she awoke before dawn on the day of the shooting, leaving her husband asleep in bed and going downstairs, where she was struck and knocked unconscious, the transcript stated.

'I got hit hard on the left side of my head,' Dearden says in the transcript. 'I don't know what I got hit with. I don't know who hit me. I never saw it coming. I was knocked to the floor, unconscious. '

When she came to, she claimed she was being woken up by her husband, who had suffered a gunshot wound, the transcript continued.

ABC reports Dearden's husband originally believed the story of the intruder, but later initiated a civil suit against Dearden after police found no evidence of forced entry that would suggest an intruder.

In 2015, Dearden (pictured with her husband and children) pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, assault and weapons possession

Dearden's husband, Kenneth, is now alleging she was trying to get rid of him because she was having an affair and wanted to avoid a messy divorce.

Authorities have charged Dearden, who told police there were no weapons in the house, with possessing four guns, including two .22-caliber pistols.
A U.S. Army colonel, his wife and a former defense contractor are accused of participating in what federal prosecutors call a bribery and kickback scheme connected to a Georgia military base.

Col. Anthony Roper conspired with his wife and others to seek and accept bribes in exchange for rigging more than $20 million in Army contracts to individuals and companies, prosecutors said Thursday.

The scheme began in 2008 and lasted nearly a decade, prosecutors said.

Roper was stationed at Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia.

Anthony Roper, 55, and his wife Audra, 49, are both charged with conspiracy, obstruction, making false statement, with Colonel Roper facing an additional charge of bribery

His duties included oversight of the Army's efforts to build and modernize its information and communication networks, an indictment said.

Roper, 55, is charged with conspiracy, bribery, obstruction and making false statements. He faces a maximum sentence of 85 years in prison and a $1.75 million fine.

The colonel's wife, Audra Roper, 49, is charged with conspiracy, false statements and obstruction with a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $750,000 fine.

Dwayne Oswald Fulton, 58, is charged with conspiracy and obstruction, with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Anthony Roper could face a fine of $1.75 million fine and 80 years in jail. Audra is facing a $750,000 fine and 25 years behind bars

Fulton was an officer for 'a large defense contracting company.' The firm is not named in the court records.

Audra Roper operated Quadar Group, which prosecutors said was a shell company used to funnel bribe payments to her husband, the indictment states. It was one of multiple shell companies used to defraud the government, prosecutors said.

The indictment further alleges that in an attempt to hide their bribery and fraud schemes, the Ropers and Fulton attempted to obstruct an official investigation into their criminal conduct.

Court records filed this week do not list any attorneys for the defendants.

A spokesman at Fort Gordon did not immediately respond Thursday.
The Greater LA Veteran's Center has revealed it is planning to drop an approved proposal for 'taxpayer-funded, fatal experiments on dogs' in after Congress members demanded answers.

The letter from the lawmakers to the Department of Veterans Affairs raised concerns a proposal had been approved for an experiment which would see dogs fed antidepressants or methamphetamines, before being killed and dissected at the center, according to representatives - in what an animal rights group branded a 'cruel and wasteful' study.

According to the letter, Congress was not even aware of the secretive experiment proposal until a series of FOIA requests revealed the 'harmful' tests, and lawmakers have blasted the VA for their lack of transparency.

The VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System has since confirmed to DailyMail.com they currently have three narcoleptic dogs at the facility, and were planning to breed them and carry out the experiment after the proposal gained approval.

But in the face of such strong public backlash, it appears the center is planning to drop the research which had not yet been carried out.

'The researcher has no current plans to breed further and it is expected the study will not be done,' a spokesman told us.

They said that none of the studies carried out on animals had involved euthanasia in recent years. If this had gone ahead, it would have changed that.

Congress members are demanding answers on an approved experiment to breed, study and euthanize dogs at the Greater LA Veteran's Center (pictured is believed to be a photo of one of the experiments' dogs, taken by a whistleblower patient at the center)

An anti-animal-testing charity White Coat Waste Project is demanding an end to the plans for the tax payer funded project

Nevada Rep. Dina Titus had told the DailyMail.com that Congress needed to 'take action' after learning the 'increasingly disturbing details' of the VA's planned dog experiments.

'Taxpayers should not be funding the abuse or mistreatment of animals.'

Rep Titus was one of eight representatives to have written to the Office of Inspector General for Veterans Affairs, Michael J. Missal, demanding answers.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), another one of the signatories, said he was 'deeply troubled' to learn about the experiment.

'We were not aware of it, and frankly no one was aware of it,' Lieu told the LA Times. 'No federal agency should be doing that. If this is true, these dogs are being abused.'

Their letter highlights concerns about 'apparent misleading statements of the Department of Veteran Affairs about harmful dog experiments taking place at a VA Greater Los Angles Healthcare system laboratory and a related lack of transparency and accountability.'

An Iraqi war veteran, who is a patient at the LA VA, says dogs at the center are allowed out one by one, for just five minutes at a time (a photo is what is believed to be one of the dogs in the experiment)

The Veteran's Center are believed to carry out the animal testing at this building at their Greater LA center

Tinted windows offer little information to the nature of the experiments that reportedly take place within

It highlighted a statement from the VA about ongoing research projects with dogs that stated they were; 'Gaining insights into narcolepsy... through observations studies of a unique colony of naturally narcoleptic dogs.'

Representatives argued the label 'observational' was 'inaccurate and misleads Congress and taxpayers to believe that the studies are harmless.'

'This is a betrayal of dogs, a betrayal of veterans and a betrayal of tax payers,' said Justin Goodman, Vice President, of Advocacy and Public Policy of the White Coat Waste Project, an anti-animal-testing charity which discovered the animal testing at the VA.

He also condemned the VA's lack of transparency to both tax payers and Congress, about what he branded 'irrelevant and cruel research.'

The VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System told the DailyMail.com that all their research 'is strictly controlled and monitored' and has the same 'accountability mechanisms in place' as university programs and state, private, and military organizations employ.

'VA and VAGLAHS realize this is a very sensitive issue, but we also know that it would be unethical to expose humans to the risks associated with test treatments that have not been thoroughly studied first in animals, or to refuse to do the research that is necessary to reduce human suffering.

'We keep detailed records of all of our research projects, and follow strict policies and procedures for making sure that the welfare of the animals we studied is appropriately respected.'

Congress have also discussed why the department are even carrying out such research which seems to be 'outside their core competency,' Goodman said.

Eight representatives have written to the Office of Inspector General for Veterans Affairs, Michael J. Missal, demanding answers

An Iraqi war veteran, a patient at the Greater LA Veteran Center seeking treatment for his PTSD, told the DailyMail.com, says he has a view over the animal testing facility from his room.

He told us that he often hear dogs barking, and often sees them being taken out, one by one, for just five minutes at a time in the concrete, barren backyard behind the center which is next to the VA neurological research center.

But the veteran, who does not want to be named, did not realize what was happening until he read a report by the White Coat Waste Project. He was horrified.

'It's heart-breaking,' the veteran said. 'It's like a house of horrors.'

'Dogs are so beautiful, especially to veterans. And people just don't know what's going on.

'I have a therapy dog that help me with my PTSD. Having a therapy dog has been a huge part of getting me back into society, becoming a productive citizen again.

'We use dogs for war, we use dogs for therapy, and now we are going to hurt them? It's kind of an insult for them to do what they are doing to these dogs in our name.

The White Coat Waste Project has also published the list of hounds which they claim are part of the VA experiments

'I think it's outrageous. People need to know what is happening.'

He said that since news broke of the animal testing, that staff had become more 'secretive' and he would see them choosing to enter the center via the side door.

A research application, approved by the Inspector General of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, in October 2016, revealed the project entails breeding dogs at the Greater LA VA to suffer from the sleep disorder narcolepsy, injecting them with methamphetamines or antidepressants, and then killing them and removing their brains,' the representatives' letter revealed.

They argued that such 'harmful' experiments - classified as 'Category D' as they involve pain and distress - 'cannot reasonably be described as 'observational.'

'We are also concerned that without access to FOIA documents, we would not have known the VA was providing misleading information, or that dogs were even being used in these experiments at the Greater LA VA,' the letter continued.

They have demanded more details on the experiments, details of the dogs and the cost to the tax payer.

The inspector general is yet to respond to the representatives' letter.

However, Re Lieu has said he plans to push the department to end the experiment while Rep Titus has called for 'action'.

California's members have been pushing for greater visibility over animal testing and its costs to the tax payer for the past year.
Publicity queen Heidi Virtue got the best birthday present she could imagine on Friday - escaping jail despite being convicted of high-range drink driving for the second time in five years.

The former TV publicity boss was facing up to two years behind bars when she arrived at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court to be sentenced on her 48th birthday.

Virtue, who was caught driving more than four times over the legal limit after a 20-hour white wine drinking binge, was told at her last appearance that prison would be 'appropriate' for her crime.

PR queen Heidi Virtue (pictured) escaped jail on Friday despite being convicted of her second high-range drinking driving offence in five years

Serial drink driver Heidi Virtue (right) has run publicity for the Nine Network, Foxtel and Southern Cross Austereo

Former television executive Heidi Virtue had been warned she faced jail for her second high-range drink driving offence

However, magistrate Robert Williams accepted Virtue had taken steps to address her drinking and other problems and would be suitable for an intensive corrections order.

Such orders are an alternative to imprisonment under which an offender is supervised in the community by Corrective Services NSW.

Mr Williams imposed a 16-month order on Virtue and disqualified her from driving for two years and nine months.

The Mosman resident, who has run publicity for Foxtel, the Nine Network and Southern Cross Austereo, stood at the bar table trembling as Mr Williams began sentencing.

It was her second high-range drink driving crime, and third drink driving offence in total, and she had been warned she faced going to jail.

At the time of her last appearance, Virtue had been working part-time for Bauer Media as a consultant helping plan the TV Week Logie Awards. Since then, she had a contract with a production company terminated due to publicity about her offence.

Heidi Virtue leaves Downing Centre Local Court on Friday after being convicted of high-range drink driving for the second time

Heidi Virtue turned 48 on Friday as she learnt she would not be jailed for high-range drink driving

PR queen Heidi Virtue walks out of Downing Centre Local Court after being convicted of high-range drink driving

Police had spotted Virtue's silver Mercedes being driven erratically in Mosman, on Sydney's lower north shore, about 5.30pm on October 22 last year.

Motorcycle officers on traffic duty had earlier been warned over the police radio about Virtue's driving.

One message said a woman believed to be intoxicated was 'swerving all over the road and almost having collisions with other vehicles'.

Officers saw Virtue's vehicle in Mandolong Road trying to swerve left to avoid hitting another car. They activated lights and sirens.

When police stopped her Mercedes in nearby Clifford Street, Virtue stepped out from the driver's side 'stumbling' towards them, according to a statement of facts.

Serial drink driver and former television PR executive Heidi Virtue (left) with Kerri-Anne Kennerley (far right)

Former PR queen Heidi Virtue arrives at Downing Centre Local Court on Friday ahead of her sentencing for drink driving

Former head of Nine Network publicity Heidi Virtue (right) arrives at Downing Centre Local Court with a friend

'Her eyes were bloodshot and glazed, her speech was slow and slurred, she was unsteady on her feet, she was unstable and she was confused by simple questions and instructions,' statement said.

There was as a small child in the rear passenger seat and damage to the wheels and panels of her Mercedes.

Officers said Virtue smelt of intoxicating liquor and asked if she had been drinking. She said she had consumed 'some wine the night before'.

Police described Virtue as 'well affected by intoxicating liquor' and 'emotionally unstable'. Her breath tested positive to alcohol in a roadside test.

At North Sydney police station Virtue admitted she had consumed an 'unknown quantity of white wine drinking out of a tumbler glass' and had not eaten for two days.

Heidi Virtue has not had an alcoholic drink since being pulled over for high-range drink driving in October last year

Heidi Virtue arrives at Downing Centre Local Court for an earlier appearance at which she was warned she was facing jail

PR queen Heidi Virtue shook and wept when told she faced jail for drink driving in April

She had downed her first drink at 8pm on the previous day, a Friday, and her last at 4pm on the Saturday, 90 minutes before she was pulled over. An hour after her arrest she recorded a blood alcohol reading of .208.

Virtue told police she had only been driving because she was on her way to the hairdresser ahead of a reunion.

In sentencing, Mr Williams considered Virtue's high alcohol reading, erratic driving and the fact she had a child in the car as aggravating factors.

He also noted a report found Virtue suitable for an intensive corrections order and was satisfied she had made progress attending to her 'issues'.

'I'm certainly not saying they have been resolved,' Mr Williams said.

Heidi Virtue attempts to avoid photographers as she leaves Downing Centre Local Court in April

Former Foxtel head of publicity Heidi Virtue says publicity around her drink driving case has cost her work

A lawyer acting for Heidi Virtue said his client had shown remorse for her second high-range drink driving offence.

When the matter came to court in April Virtue's lawyer tried to have her case dealt with under the Mental Health Act.

Mr Williams said that course of action was not in the public interest.

'I don't consider it appropriate,' he said, as Virtue began to shake.

Mr Williams conceded Virtue was suffering from depression, anxiety and alcohol disorders but said her offence was so serious and the safety of the public so important the case had to be dealt with as a criminal matter.

Asked by Virtue's lawyer whether he would be considering jailing her, Mr Williams had said: 'the court must'.

When Mr Williams said a custodial sentence was appropriate because this was Virtue's second high-range drink driving offence, she wept.

Birthday girl Heidi Virtue (right) turned 48 on the day she escaped jail for being caught driving four times over the legal limit

Heidi Virtue (with face covered) leaves court in April after being told she faced jail for high-range drink driving

On the day she turned 48 publicity queen Heidi Virtue avoided jail despite being convicted of her second high-range drink driving offence

He lawyer said there was 'a long-standing history of difficulty which has troubled Ms Virtue.'

'There is no excuse for her conduct, there can't be,' he said.

'There was a significant spiraling of the depressive condition in the immediate lead-up to this incident.'

Virtue had faced a 'significant deterioration of circumstances' but had 'utilised this as a turning point in her life and is now returning to the workforce.'

The former Wenona School student had been an inpatient at a rehabilitation facility for more than two months after her arrest, the court heard.

Her arrest had been a turning point in her troubled life. Virtue had been 'a particularly troubled person reaching a crisis point' her lawyer said. She had since taken 'quite courageous steps' to stop drinking.

She had not drunk alcohol since her most recent arrest.
Sydneysiders trying to save for a home have been forced so far out of the city it takes them up to five hours to commute for work every day.

This on top of 10 or 12 hour work days is driving thousands of Australians mad and highlights the country's housing affordability crisis.

For many who live outside the city, jobs in that area simply do not pay enough to fund a mortgage.

Sydneysiders trying to save for a home have been forced so far out of the city it takes them up to five hours to commute for work every day (stock image)

Kyle Price, 30, lives on NSW's Central Coast and faces a four hour commute to work each day (he is pictured with his partner)

Kyle Price (pictured at his Google office in Sydney) describes his daily commute as 'heartbreaking'

Kyle Price, 30, thought he had everything under control.

He got a well-paid job at Google in the city and combined income with his partner to buy a home on NSW's Central Coast.

But he has to leave home at 5.30am every day to catch a train to Pyrmont in the city, and gets home about 7pm. He describes this daily commute as 'heartbreaking'.

'It's rough. It's disheartening,' Mr Price told The Daily Telegraph.

'On a Tuesday or Wednesday when the end of the week is not insight you're like, "goddamn it I've gotta do this all over again tomorrow".

'It's very, very stressful. It's had an impact on me physically- I'm constantly stressed, you feel yourself ageing, you feel your body getting tight, it's tough.'

The NSW government's Greater Sydney Commission hopes to to sort out the city's commuting infrastructure issues by the year 2056, meaning people like Kyle Price face a four hour commute for the next 40 years.

The commission headed by Prime Minister Turnbull's wife, Lucy Turnbull, is responsible for planning for Sydney's rapidly growing population.
Reality Winner portrayed little emotion in court Thursday as she was denied bond in her federal espionage case after the government alleged that she may have stolen other top secret information and poses an ongoing risk to national security.

The Air Force veteran, 25, is accused of mailing a classified report on a Russian military intelligence cyber-attack in 2016 to a news website.

She entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Brian K. Epps at U.S. District Court in downtown Augusta, Georgia on Thursday afternoon after she was charged with a single count of 'willful retention and transmission of national defense information'.

Winner was brought into court, in an orange jumpsuit with her hair braided in a top knot, by two federal marshalls. Her hands were cuffed behind her back and she appeared to stand to attention when addressed by the judge.

She spoke only to respond: 'Yes, your honor' in a soft voice.

The prosecution made its case for Winner to be detained based on evidence that one prosecutor called 'downright frightening'.

The prosecution alleged that Winner is 'extremely intelligent' and may have removed information from a 'Top Secret computer on a USB drive' while she was on active duty and stated that the thumb drive has not been located.

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Reality Winner, the 25-year-old woman accused of leaking classified documents to a news outlet, reportedly wanted to burn the White House down. She is pictured above in Augusta, Georgia after appearing before a judge on Thursday

The former Air Force veteran appeared stoic and calm as Judge Brian K Epps made the ruling at U.S. District Court

Winner was ordered to be detained on Thursday until she faces trial on federal espionage charges after she allegedly mailed a classified report to a news website

The prosecution made its case for Winner to be detailed based on the 'downright frightening' allegations that she may have other documents to release and had also inserted a thumb drive into a top secret computer while she was still an active member of the Air Force

The government also claimed that they had found handwritten notes at Winner's home which appeared to sympathize with Osama bin Laden and other terrorists along with the statement: 'I want to burn the White House down and go live in Kurdistan.'

The government is also concerned about what other intelligence Winner (above in the van) possesses as she told her mother in a recorded phone conversation from prison that she 'screwed up' over those 'documents'

The government is also concerned about what other intelligence Winner possesses as she told her mother in a recorded phone conversation from prison that she 'screwed up' over those 'documents'.

The prosecution stated that Winner had a fascination with the Middle East and Islamic terrorism.

The government claimed that they had found handwritten notes during a search at Winner's home which appeared to sympathize with Osama bin Laden and other terrorists.

Authorities claim another handwritten statement found during a search of Winner's home allegedly read: 'I want to burn the White House down and go live in Kurdistan.'

Prosecutors said in recorded jailhouse calls that Winner told her mother how to play her side of the story in the media.

They also said in a phone call she made to her sister that she was confident in how to 'play the court' during her bond hearing.

'I'm pretty, white and cute,' she allegedly told her sister. Prosecutors said Winner told her sister she would braid her hair and cry in court.

In a recorded prison call, Winner also reportedly asked her mother to transfer $30,000 out of her bank account and instructed her what to say to the press.

Winner's mother, Billie Winner-Davis, and stepfather, Gary Davis, sat directly behind her in court along with their friend, Anne Demasi.

Prosecutors said in recorded jailhouse calls that Winner told her mother how to play her side of the story in the media. Above her parents Billie Winner-Davis (left) and Gary Davis (center) are pictured entering the court on Thursday

Winner's mother, Billie Winner-Davis (left), and stepfather, Gary Davis (center), sat directly behind her in court

Both took the stand in her defense telling the court that their daughter had never been in trouble and had served her country for six years

Winner's defense attorney Titus Nichols told the court that the government was 'scraping and clawing to build a mountain out of a molehill' in the case. Above her attorneys are pictured entering the court house in August on Thursday

Both her mother and stepfather took the stand in her defense telling the court that their daughter had never been in trouble and had served her country for six years.

Winner-Davis testified for a half-hour on her daughters behalf and said that she loved that language when asked by the prosecution about Winners ability to speak Farsi, Pashto and Dari as part of her linguist career in the U.S. Air Force.

Davis said he was caught off-guard by the allegations made against his stepdaughter but said he had 'no fear' about putting up the family's home in Kingsville, Texas, and 20 acres of land for her bond.

'She's a wonderful girl,' he said.

Winner's defense attorney Titus Nichols told the court that the government was 'scraping and clawing to build a mountain out of a molehill' in the case and argued that she should be released on bail because she had no history of violence and that they government had produced no evidence, noting that Winner 'had been interrogated by 10 law enforcement officers in her home'.

Nichols said she was no threat to the community and never went AWOL during her six year's military service from which she was honorably discharged.

The government painted a darker picture of the defendant as someone who they suggested had 'two faces'  one as a nice person who loved dogs and yoga and the other as someone who seemed motivated to harm the government.

'We don't know how much more she knows and can remember,' the prosecution said. 'She's extremely intelligent.'

The government painted a darker picture of the defendant as someone who they suggested had 'two faces'  one as a nice person who loved dogs and yoga and the other as someone who seemed motivated to harm the government. Winner is pictured above in a court room sketch

The prosecution said: 'We don't know how much more she knows and can remember.She's extremely intelligent.' Winner (center) is pictured above in a court room sketch

The 25-year-old faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines, as well as a further three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. Winner is pictured above in a court room sketch

The 25-year-old faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines, as well as a further three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.

Prosecutors said on Thursday they may bring more charges against Winner and gave further details of the alleged confession and evidence they gathered at her home on Saturday when a search warrant was executed and she was arrested.

Investigators retrieved four cellphones, two laptops and tablet from Winner's home along with handwritten notebooks.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Solari told the judge that Winner had written a notebook, along with multiple doodles of her signature, the statement: 'I want to burn the White House down find somewhere in Kurdistan to live. Haha!'

The pages also included notes on how to install Tor Browser on a computer which allows the Dark Web to be accessed and notes on how to unlock a cellphone and untie it from the provider, 'creating a single-use burner account,' the prosecution said.

Winner's notes allegedly contained sympathetic statements on Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, and referenced going to live in a number of countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Mexico. Solari said that Winner had taken a three-day trip to Belize last month and had researched travelling from Atlanta to Tel Aviv in September 2017.

Solari also said that in recorded conversations from jail, Winner had told her mother to 'play that angle' with the press that she had been afraid for her life when FBI agents arrested her at her home. In a separate call she also told her sister that she would 'go out and play the cute, blonde white girl. Braid my hair, going to cry.'

In another recorded call, she reportedly said: 'Go nuclear with the press  because that's how Manning got out' apparently in reference to the recent release of military intelligence leaker, Chelsea Manning.

She also allegedly pledged her allegiance to the Taliban. Prosecutors said in recorded jailhouse calls that Winner told her mother how to play her side of the story in the media

Winner (left and right) was charged with a single count of 'willful retention and transmission of national defense information'

The six-page indictment states Winner (pictured) worked at a government agency from February to June in Georgia. During that time she had top-secret security clearance

In making his decision, Judge Epps said he was worried about the missing USB drive that Winner had inserted into a government computer along with her notes and terrorists.

'Whether that's a joke or not, it still concerns me,' he said.

Solari said that the prosecution was not trying to link the veteran to terrorism: 'The government is not in any way suggesting the defendant has become a jihadist or that she is a Taliban sympathizer,' Solari told the judge.

Solari detailed for the court the circumstances of Winner's arrest by FBI agents. She said that one June 3, 2017, agents approached the defendant and she consented to the search, first taking her care of her cat and dog and swapping stories with the agents about their respective jobs.

She asked whether the agents were doing to take her phone as 'she was teaching yoga tomorrow and would like to have it'.

Solari said that Winner admitted to the agents that she had accessed and printed a classified document, stored it in her car for a few days and then mailed from Augusta to a news agency 'she admired'.

'She said she was mad about what she had seen in the media and wanted to set it right', Solari told the court.

Following the hearing, Winner's parents left court in the company of her lawyers and declined to comment to the media.

The six-page indictment states Winner worked at a government agency from February to June in Georgia. During that time she had top-secret security clearance.

It then states Winner printed on May 9 a report from four days earlier, which focused on: 'intelligence activities by a foreign government directed at targets within the United States'.

The FBI alleges Winner, who was in the Air Force for six years, was working as a government contractor last month when she copied a classified intelligence report containing top-secret information and mailed it to a reporter at The Intercept.

The website published a report on Monday based off a top secret NSA document that allegedly revealed efforts by Russian military intelligence to conduct a spear phishing cyber attack on a company and on local voter registration.

'Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate actors executed cyber espionage operations against a named US company in August 2016, evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions,' according to the document the Intercept published.

'The actors likely used data obtained from that operation to launch a voter registration-themed spear-phishing campaign targeting US local government organizations.'

The hearing on Thursday came after Winner's parents insisted their daughter is not a flight risk and should be released from jail before her trial.

Billie Winner-Davis said Wednesday she fears prosecutors will try to make an example of her daughter to show that they're not 'going to tolerate leakers.'

Gary Davis said his stepdaughter isn't a flight risk. He says she has never run away from anything and there's no reason to hold her.

Winner grew up in Kingsville, Texas, and enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from high school.

Davis said she became a linguist, speaking Arabic and Farsi, and spent four years assigned to the NSA at Fort Meade, Maryland. During that time, he said, Winner provided real-time translation to Americans conducting field missions.

Davis said she received a commendation for aiding in the deaths of more than 100 enemy combatants and more than 250 enemy captures.

'If she made this mistake,' Davis said, referring to the leaked documents, 'it needs to be balanced against what she has done in the past and how she has served this country.'

Neither prosecutors nor Winner's parents have identified the government agency where she worked at the time of her arrest. But the NSA has operated a $286 million complex in Augusta since 2012.

Winner has been jailed in neighboring Lincoln County since her arrest, according to a booking report released by the sheriff.
North Korea has successfully tested a new 'ground-to-sea cruise rocket', according to state media.

The KCNA news agency declared today that the rocket was 'capable of striking any enemy group of battleships attempting a military attack on the DPRK.'

This marks the fifth test in less than a month and comes less than a week after the United Nations expanded sanctions against the country.

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The missiles were 'accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea

The missile had previously been seen during the giant military parade held in April

Kim Jong-un smiles after the testing of the new 'ground-to-sea cruise rocket'

The state news agency described the new missile as a 'powerful attack means.'

It added that the missiles were 'accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea.'

The missile had previously been seen during the giant military parade held in April to mark the 105th birthday of the country's founder Kim Il-sung, according to South Korean media.

Successful launch: The Korean People's Armed Forces test fire a new cruise rocket

Members of the Korean People's Armed Forces react after conducting a test-fire of a rocket

Other missiles recently launched include a intermediate-range ballistic missile and a surface-to-air missile.

Kim Jong-un was in attendance at the launch.

South Korea's military says the missiles flew some 200 kilometres.

KCNA news agency declared today that the rocket was 'capable of striking any enemy group of battleships attempting an attack on the DPRK

Soldiers celebrate the successful launch of the new missile which was announced today

Supreme leader: Kim Jong-un observes the area in which the missile launch took place

According to USA Today, the launch marked the fourth new missile system introduced and successfully tested this year alone.

It is the third since South Korea's new president Moon Jae-in came to power in May. The new South Korean leader has advocated reconciliation with the North but has since taken a more stern tone following the tests.

The launch comes less than a week after the United Nations expanded sanctions against DPRK

It is the third launch since South Korea's new president Moon Jae-in came to power in May

Other missiles recently launched include a intermediate-range ballistic missile and a surface-to-air missile

The launch comes less than a week after the United Nations expanded sanctions against Kim Jong-un's regime. The UN Security Council added 15 people and four entities linked to North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes to a blacklist.

While on Tuesday, the 6,900 tone USS Cheyanne arrived in the South Korean port of Busan as the US attempts to flex its muscles in the region.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said during a press briefing that President Trump had discussed the Korean situation with the Defense Secretary and Secretary of State.
Thousands of knife offenders have avoided prison for a repeat offence despite the Government introducing a two strikes and youre out rule.

Adults caught with a blade for the second time are meant to be jailed for at least six months under laws rolled out in 2015.

A total of 4,928 people who had at least one previous conviction for knife possession were sentenced for a further offence in 2016.

But 2,105 of them  43 per cent  were spared jail, equivalent to almost six a day.

Four in ten knife offenders have avoided prison for a repeat offence despite the Government introducing a two strikes and youre out rule (file photo)

Instead, they received suspended sentences, community punishments, fines or cautions  effectively a slap on the wrist.

Police chiefs fear they are seeing the first signs of a knife crime epidemic in major cities, including more than a dozen teenagers stabbed to death in London this year. Labour justice spokesman Richard Burgon said: The Tories are letting down the victims of crime.

Knife crime is on the rise and the public want to be confident that people carrying knives face tough sentences.

Rather than warm words and empty promises, they need to make sure those who carry these weapons are properly punished.

Under the two strikes system, minimum sentences were introduced for over-16s convicted of a second or subsequent offence of possession of a knife or offensive weapon.

The punishment is at least six months in jail for adults, while young offenders face a minimum four-month detention and training order.

Judges must impose the minimum sentence unless there are particular circumstances which would make it unjust to do so in all the circumstances.

The number of people caught with knives has risen to its highest level in six years, according to Ministry of Justice statistics.

Instead, thousands of offenders received suspended sentences, community punishments, fines or cautions  effectively a slap on the wrist (file photo)

Courts dealt with more than 5,184 knife possession cases between January and March  equivalent to more than 50 a day. It is the most for a three-month period since July-September 2011.

It was also an increase of 11 percentage points compared with a year ago. For the year to the end of March, there were 19,725 knife possession offences dealt with by the criminal justice system, the highest total since 2011-12.

Some 39 per cent of adult offenders were jailed, while 13 per cent of ten to 17-year-olds were detained.

The average custodial sentence for knife possession was 7.6 months, almost three months more than the typical term in 2008.

Rachel Almeida, of the charity Victim Support, said: The horrific and senseless terror attack at London Bridge shows in stark reality how devastating knives can be.

The latest figures are a cause for concern as we know only too well knife crime shatters the lives of so many, particularly young people.
The crisis-hit Co-op Bank could be rescued by Swiss and Qatari investors  dealing a fresh blow to its claims to be an ethical business.

Bosses at the struggling lender are desperately seeking extra cash to shore up their financial position, and have now reportedly held talks with companies from Qatar and Switzerland.

An injection of foreign money might rescue the bank but it could also further damage its battered reputation as a caring alternative to High Street rivals.

Swiss firm Interritus and Middle Eastern business Al Faisal Holding are said to have formed a consortium and held several rounds of talks with the Co-op Banks board and advisers.

The crisis-hit Co-op Bank could be rescued by Swiss and Qatari investors  dealing a fresh blow to its claims to be an ethical business

Any Swiss involvement is likely to raise eyebrows as the country is known for a regime of secrecy and historically lax tax regime.

There is no evidence that Interritus  which was founded by German financier Patrick Bettscheider  has ever been involved in any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, Al Faisal is one of the biggest private companies in Qatar and is owned by Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, one of the countrys richest men.

It has a wide range of interests, including property in London, and has benefitted from the building boom in the tiny Middle Eastern nation.

Qatar is presently embroiled in an international standoff with neighbours including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have accused it of funding terrorist group Islamic State.

The Qataris are facing an economic and diplomatic blockade, and there are reports of families stockpiling food as fears grow this could spill over into military conflict.

There is no suggestion Al Faisal or its owner have been involved in anything untoward.

If the Co-op Bank is saved, it would mark the second rescue in four years for the lender.

US hedge funds bailed it out in 2013 after a 1.5billion black hole was discovered in its accounts.

That scandal forced the resignation of chairman Reverend Paul Flowers, a minister who was dubbed the Crystal Methodist after being caught several months later with drugs and rent boys.

Losses have since mounted at the bank and it has reached a point where 750million of fresh cash is desperately needed.

Bosses put the business up for sale in February but interest has so far been muted.

Lenders including Virgin Money and the parent firm of Yorkshire Bank had initially expressed an interest but have since backed off.

Swiss firm Interritus and Middle Eastern business Al Faisal Holding (owned by Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, pictured) are said to have formed a consortium

If no buyer can be found then current investors will be asked to pump in more cash, and if they decide not to do so then the Bank of England could be forced to step in and wind the lender up.

This might see bits of it split off and flogged to rivals at a knockdown price, although customers cash would be protected and they should not experience any disruption.

It is understood that fresh investment by existing backers of the bank is the most likely solution to its problems, although talks with the Swiss-Qatari consortium are said to be continuing.

A fifth of the bank is still owned by the Co-op Group, which had to sell the other 80 per cent for its 2013 rescue.

Bosses at the group wrote off the value of this 20 per cent holding earlier this year  essentially meaning they thought it was worthless.

It is not clear what would happen to the Co-op Groups stake if a rescue is agreed.

The Co-op Bank declined to comment.
Small business owners will be slugged up to $22,000 a year to have a balcony under the Byron Shire Council's new 'air tax'.

Speaking on the Today show on Friday, Publican Brendan Lawless, who owns Middle Pub in Mullumbimby on the New South Wales North Coast, said the proposed 'Road Airspace Policy' came as a complete shock.

'I got a letter out of the blue and now I'm looking down the end of $21,400 a year to hold this beautiful balcony in place which has been here since 1904,' he said.

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Publican Brendan Lawless, who owns Middle Pub in Mullumbimby on the New South Wales North Coast, said the proposed tax came as a complete shock

'Out of the blue this letter just comes and there's just no consultation. No anything, and now I'm forced to be on TV.'

Mr Lawless is just one business owner in the wider Byron Shire area who faces payments under the Road Airspace Policy, Today reports.

The Byron Shire Council told Daily Mail Australia the Road airspace is the 'encroachment that occurs where any part of a building projects beyond the lot boundaries onto the Council road reserve'

'This includes features including balconies, awnings and more,' it said.

The council said letters were sent to property owners to invite them in for a meeting to discuss the changes.

Under the proposal, the council will tax pubs, restaurants and cafe owners if their building has a veranda.

'I got a letter out of the blue and now I'm looking down the end of $21,400 a year to hold this beautiful balcony in place which has been here since 1904,' Publican Brendan Lawless said

Mr Lawless said he would be charged about $160 per sq metre, but in Byron, owners could be charged up to $500.

'I just find it really amazing,' he said.

The publican said he planned to fight the tax.

He said he had a meeting scheduled in with the mayor, but if the tax was not dropped, he planned to take it to court.

'Hopefully he can see some sense,' he said.

Today show presenters Lisa Wilkinson and Sylvia Jeffreys reacted with astonishment at the new tax.

Today show presenters Lisa Wilkinson (right) and Sylvia Jeffreys (left) laughed at the absurdity of the 'air tax' on Friday

Ms Wilkinson said the tax could be the result of a struggling council trying to scrape together some capital.

'Sounds like they haven't been balancing the books and looked at a way they could slug people unfairly,' she said.

Mr Lawless said he did not 'know about their books' but knew the town did not deserve to be wrapped up in more red tape.

He said Mullumbimby and the greater NSW North Coast prided itself on its historic buildings and feared the tax would compromise that.

Mr Lawless said Mullumbimby and the greater NSW North Coast prided itself on its historic buildings and feared the tax would compromise that

'All I know is it's a beautiful area. Everyone knows it's a beautiful area. Everyone knows it's beautiful because of the old buildings,' he said.

'Why target us? The cost of just running what we do is enormous.

'I find it pretty amazing. I really do. I find it amazing, but we'll soon see what happens.'

Byron Shire Council digital communications officer Amy Phillips told Daily Mail Australia no formal submissions had been lodged against the tax since it was proposed 28 days ago.

Ms Phillips said the proposal would be brought to the next public council meeting on June 22.

She said submissions remained open until Thursday June 15.
Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure.

WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has narrowly clung onto her seat by just 346 votes, following speculation she would become the most high profile cabinet member to lose.

With the vote so close, officials undertook a full recount in Hastings and Rye over the course of the night, delaying the result by around three hours.

She has survived with a dramatically reduced majority - going from more than 4,000 to fewer than 350.

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Amber Rudd held on to her seat by a narrow majority of fewer than 350 votes, a dramatic slash from her 4,000 majority in 2015

The Home Secretary pictured attending the count for her seat at a centre in Hastings

A recount was forced at the Hastings and Rye seat as Amber Rudd clung on by just 346 votes

According to sources at the count, it was believed to boil down to just hundreds of votes.

She was named among the high-profile MPs who were under threat, alongside ministers and cabinet members like Jane Ellison and Justine Greening. Although Greening survived, with a decreased majority, Ellison lost to Labour.

Although Mrs Rudd, 53, won praise just days ago when she stood in for the Prime Minister in a televised election debate, she had just a 9.4 per cent lead, putting her in the danger zone.

In Mrs Rudd's south coast seat, where she has served since 2010, the Green Party has forged an alliance with Labour to oust the 53-year-old from her constituency.

Speaking after the narrow win, she said: 'I'm deeply honoured to have been re-elected for the third time by the residents of Hastings and Rye.'

Despite Mrs Rudd, 53, winning praise just days ago when she stood in for the Prime Minister in a televised election debate, she has just a 9.4 per cent lead, putting her in the danger zone

Ms Rudd said: 'I'm deeply honoured to have been re-elected for the third time by the residents of Hastings and Rye.

'This is a fantastic place to live and work and I'm going to continue my hope to build on the opportunities and great regeneration that has been taking place in this area.

'Improving our schools, improving our NHS and getting the infrastructure investment that we need.

'This is what really matters to me and this is what I hope to continue to deliver for the fantastic constituency of Hastings and Rye.'

Mrs Rudd played a prominent role in the election campaign and is tipped as a possible successor to finance minister Philip Hammond.

She said she was 'hopeful but not complacent' over her chances in Hastings and Rye amid speculation she might be the most senior Cabinet minister to lose her seat.

She told BBC News: 'I'm just quietly waiting and keeping an eye on everybody and everything in the normal way.'

Pressed on her chances, she said: 'I'm just hopeful but not complacent.'

The mother-of-two has held Hastings and Rye

The mother-of-two has held Hastings and Rye after taking it from Labour in 2010, and won a majority of 4,796 in 2015.

The Green Party, which won just under 2,000 votes there in 2015, has agreed not to field a candidate in a bid to help Labour try and unseat Rudd. Pollster YouGov's election model has predicted they could succeed in doing so.

Ms Rudd is a direct descendant of Charles II and her mother is Marchioness Conyngham by remarriage.

She entered Parliament in 2010 and becoming Home Secretary in just six years  a meteoric rise for the former Cheltenham Ladies' College student.

Mrs Rudd was 'aristocracy co-ordinator' and asked to arrange for people in 'smart wedding outfits' to appear in the background during the wedding scenes of the hit 1994 Hollywood blockbuster Four Weddings And A Funeral, starring Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell.

The 53-year-old was born in London studied History at Edinburgh University before going on to became a successful investment banker in London and New York.

She has also worked in financial journalism and recruitment but entered politics in her 40s after deciding to take her 'life back'.

She was appointed as a junior minister in the Department of Energy and Climate Change in July 2014 and, in May 2015, became Secretary of State.

Mrs Rudd was given the role of Home Secretary last year, having been promoted by Theresa May in her Cabinet reshuffle.

A committed Remain campaigner in the EU referendum, she raised eyebrows with the highly personalised attacks she launched on Boris Johnson during a live TV clash in which she said: 'Boris is the life and soul of the party, but he is not the man you want driving you home at the end of the evening.'

She entered Parliament in 2010 and becoming Home Secretary in just six years  a meteoric rise for the former Cheltenham Ladies' College student

In Mrs Rudd's south coast seat, where she has served since 2010, the Green Party has forged an alliance with Labour to oust the 53-year-old (pictured at a count tonight)

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has held Hastings and Rye after taking it from Labour in 2010, and won a majority of 4,796 in 2015

She said she was 'hopeful but not complacent' over her chances in Hastings and Rye amid speculation she might be the most senior Cabinet minister to lose her seat

In her role as Home Secretary she is responsible for the UK's security from crime and terrorism, for reducing net migration to sustainable levels, and for taking steps to protect vulnerable people from abuse, violence and modern slavery.

She is also vice-chairman of the parliamentary committee on female genital mutilation, chairperson of the all-party parliamentary group for sex equality and has campaigned to see more women in Cabinet positions.

She has pledged to work to secure faster train services with greater capacity between London and the south coast, tackle local unemployment and support schools and the NHS.

Ms Rudd's father, a retired stockbroker and Second World War pilot, died last Monday aged 93.

She also suffered the loss of her ex-husband, Sunday Times journalist AA Gill from cancer less than six months ago.

They were married for five years in the 1990s and had two children.

The Home Secretary represented the Conservatives instead of Theresa May on the 90 minute BBC special last week even though her father Tony Rudd passed away just days earlier.

Some praised Ms Rudd as 'stoic' and 'courageous' and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: 'I thought Amber did an absolutely heroic job'.

Ms Rudd's father, a retired stockbroker and Second World War pilot, died last Monday aged 93

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox

The Home Secretary represented the Conservatives instead of Theresa May on the 90 minute BBC special

Rudd had to endure a recount as the result was so close in her seat, and saw her majority cut

In recent days Mrs Rudd has faced questions about national security and extremists slipping through the net after the terror attack in London last Saturday night.

'It's not really for me or for the Foreign Secretary to say how that happened or what happened,' she told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

'It's like any incident, you will look and find out whether there is something to learn. I can say with absolute confidence that they will want to do that, but I can say that without, I hope, putting any sort of suggestion of blame because it's very easy to rush in and say 'what went wrong?'.

'There were some fantastic elements of this where the counter-terrorism policing and security services worked incredibly closely and effectively.

'But as we have seen in the past three months, there has been a step up in attacks against us from the enemy, and we need to make sure that we improve, make changes, do more to counter extremism as we go forward.'

Losing seats would be an unprecedented setback for a Prime Minister who called a snap election while riding high in the polls.

A slew of senior figures including home secretary Amber Rudd and former minister Anna Soubry could be axed.
A teenage tenant who wreaked havoc on a housing commission unit has been evicted after making life hell for her neighbours.

The tenant, known only as Trinity, kicked in walls, ripped out wiring and scrawling faeces over the walls of the Beenleigh flat in Queensland.

Members of the community have told of their desperation for relief after being taunted by her day and night, reports 7News.

Trinity, kicked in walls, ripped out wiring and scrawling faeces over the walls (pictured)

The tenant, known only as Trinity, (pictured)apologised for her reign of terror in the housing commission flat

'We tried to give her the right help, you know mental health and things, and we couldn't,' neighbour Carmen Allen said.

She said police were called dozens of times but the 17-year-old's rampage showed no signs of slowing down.

Trinity apologised for her reign of terror, which she said 'never should have happened.'

The Minister for Housing said in a statement the eviction of the teen was done with the safety of residents in mind.

Residents voiced their relief at the move, but feared they hadn't seen the last of Trinity.

'I wouldn't be surprised even if she can't get back into the place, that she would still be there terrorising the people,' Ms Allen said.

Members of the community have told of their desperation for relief after being taunted by her day and night
Children trying to flee western Mosul have been shot dead by Islamic State militants amid a 'significant escalation' in civilian deaths in the battle for the Iraqi city, the UN has said.

It said that credible reports indicate that more than 231 civilians attempting to flee western Mosul have been killed since 26 May, including at least 204 over three days last week alone.

The UN Human Rights office said it had documented IS 'use of civilians as human shields and its slaughter of those attempting to flee' since the start of the operation, but that recent reports indicated 'a significant escalation in such killings'.

Children trying to flee western Mosul have been shot dead by Islamic State militants amid a 'significant escalation' in civilian deaths in the battle for the Iraqi city, the UN has said

'Shooting children as they try to run to safety with their families - there are no words of condemnation strong enough for such despicable acts,' UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein said.

'I call on the Iraqi authorities to ensure that those who are responsible for these horrors are held accountable and brought to justice in line with international human rights laws and standards. The victims of such terrible crimes must not be forgotten.'

It also said it was investigating reports that between 50 and 80 people had died in an air strike on the Zanjili district of Mosul on May 31. It did not say who carried out the strike.

The killing of fleeing civilians by Islamic State militants occurred in the al-Shifa neighbourhood on May 26, June 1 and June 3, it said.

Iraqi government forces retook eastern Mosul in January and began a push on May 27 to capture the remaining Islamic State-held enclave in the western side of the city, where about 200,000 people are trapped in harrowing conditions.

Last week Iraqi police said at least seven civilians had been killed by Islamic State mortar shells in the Zanjili area of western Mosul.

It also said it was investigating reports that between 50 and 80 people had died in an air strike on the Zanjili district of Mosul on May 31

But a young man told Reuters he had been wounded when an air strike hit a group of between 200 and 250 civilians collecting water because an Islamic State fighter was hiding among them.

The U.N. statement said the deaths in Zanjili were reportedly caused by one of several recent air strikes that had inflicted civilian casualties and it was seeking further information about those attacks.

Islamic State's self-declared 'caliphate' is in retreat across Iraq and Syria. U.S.-backed Syrian forces this week launched an operation to capture Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria.
Veteran presenter David Dimbleby has stolen the show during the election coverage today after several on-air blunders left the audience in fits of laughter.

A hashtag dubbed #dimblebae began trending on Twitter after Mr Dimbleby battled with forgetfulness, faulty sound systems and pesky flies.

When providing the results for the Swindon North constituency, the 78-year-old complained about the poor sound quality, remarking that it was '2017 not 1917'.

David Dimbleby has entertained viewers during the BBC's election coverage after swatting a fly and complaining about the sound quality

He seemed in good spirits despite complaining about the pesky insect, which landed on his face

Mr Dimbleby added that it had been bothering the BBC news team for the past three days and still hadn't left

Siobhan Beales said Mr Dimbleby was the 'best thing about the election' and called him #Dimblebae

Richard Gomer also waded in to the #Dimblebae trend and followed it with three hearts

Suzanne claimed that Mr Dimbleby, who is a veteran journalist, should be elected the Prime Minister

Speaking from the BBC studio in London, he said: 'Well once again the sound quality is abysmal from these places.

'We're meant to be in 2017 not 1917, it's absurd.'

Mr Dimbleby then carries on to reveal the results of Swindon North, where Conservative candidate Justin Tomlinson held his seat after receiving 29,431 votes.

During the coverage however, a fly sits on the presenter's face, forcing him to start swatting it away.

'There's a fly in the studio which is rather irritating me,' he complained, as he started to wave in the air.

'We've been trying to get rid of it over the last few days but it's still coming around.

'I need a fly swatter.'

During another moment of the evening, Mr Dimbleby accidentally called a BBC reporter Laura, even though her name is Emily.

Viewers took to Twitter to praise the presenter's coverage so far, leading to the name #Dimblebae trending.

Rhea said she wanted to stay up all night and watch 'David Dimblebae' but was very tired

KarasunoStanIAm joked about the appearance of the fly by referencing Marty McFly from Back To The Future

Anna MacLaughlin wrote: 'Latest reaction on the #GeneralElections2017 from the @BBCOne studio fly'

Fiona said she was intrigued by the outcome of the election as well as Mr Dimbleby's 'omnicrankiness'

The name was formed by combining Mr Dimbleby's name as well as the acronym bae, which means before anyone else, and is typically used as a term of affection for people.

Others said the presenter was being 'sassy' during the coverage.

Mr Dimbleby has hosted every general election BBC special since 1979, and has been the chair on Thursday nights Question Time since 1994.

Ibrahim Banks praised Mr Dimbleby for complaining about the sound quality of the broadcast

Bethany Andrew said the 'best thing' about the election was Mr Dimbleby being upset about the sound quality

Ruth Price referenced the conversation between Mr Dimbleby and Emily when he inadvertently got her name wrong
A cheeky toddler has been filmed helping his younger brother escape from his crib.

The footage of the pair, filmed by a baby monitor and posted on Daily Bumps, shows the brother pick up a blue plastic stool in the nursery and carry it over to the crib.

He moves a fluffy white blanket out of the way so he can position the chair right next to the side of the crib.

A cheeky toddler has been filmed helping his younger brother escape from his crib. He is pictured putting a chair next to the side of the crib

The toddler then picks the chair up and lifts it over the side of the crib, and drops it down inside next to his little brother Finn.

As it falls down into the crib, Finn reaches to turn it up the right way and his older brother is heard saying to him 'I've got it Finn!' as he climbs into the crib.

He then demonstrates to his little brother how to escape by climbing on top of the chair and saying to him 'Do this', before he rolls over the top of the side of the crib and down onto the floor.

As Finn climbs up onto the chair in the crib to attempt his escape, his brother is heard saying to him 'You can do it Finn!'

He then passes the chair over the top of the crib's railings to his little brother Finn (left)

When the chair lands inside the crib, Finn's older brother demonstrates how to climb onto it (right) and then over the railings

As Finn hesitates before climbing up onto the chair, his brother is heard calling to him 'Just jump to me! Jump Finn!'

As Finn appears to hesitate making his escape, his older brother stands next to the crib and says 'Just jump to me! Jump Finn!'

Standing on the chair, Finn leans across the railings and his older brother pulls him over, as they both fall down on the carpet floor.

As they stand up a celebrate Finn's new-found freedom with a hug, the toddler says ''You got it Finn!' before they walk over to the nursery door and escape.

He then helps Finn to escape by pulling him over the railings (pictured) and down onto the carpet floor

Once Finn has escaped from the crib, the two brothers are seen hugging and squealing with excitement at the escape (left)
A terror alert was sparked on a train in France after a conductor heard the English words gun and weapon being spoken by someone inside the toilet cubical.

But after the police and military were called in to investigate, it turned out the man was simply an actor rehearsing his lines for a play.

The 35-year-old had shut himself away to practise his lines for an English-language stage role.

A terror alert was sparked on a train in France after a conductor heard the English words gun and weapon being spoken by someone inside the toilet cubical

He was taken off the train for questioning and eventually released.

The drama unfolded on Wednesday, when tensions were high a day after an ISIS attacker was foiled outside the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris as he launched an attack on a police officer.

The high-speed TGV train buzzed through the French countryside en route from Marseille to Paris, France Bleu website reported.

A passing train guard who overheard the soliloquy raised the alarm, telling his bosses there was someone talking about weaponry in the toilet.

The drama unfolded on Wednesday, when tensions were high a day after an ISIS attacker was foiled outside the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris as he launched an attack on a police officer. File pic

The train made an unscheduled stop in the city of Valence where security forces took the man for questioning at a police station.

Taking into account the current context of terrorism and the national threat level, the train guard did not take any risks and for the avoidance of doubt had the man questioned, a spokesman for national train company SNCF said.
The Catholic Church in Scotland has admitted it made a 'huge mistake' by sending paedophile priests away to be 'fixed' rather than prosecuting them.

A senior cleric said yesterday that abuse was seen as a 'sin' and the church focused more on 'treating' child molesters than on helping their young victims.

He said there were occasions when prosecutors turned a blind eye and agreed not to bring charges on the condition abusers received therapy, with their crimes seen as a 'moral fault that could be fixed by prayer and retreat'.

The Catholic Church in Scotland has admitted it made a 'huge mistake' by sending paedophile priests away to be 'fixed' rather than prosecuting them

Some abusers were sent to a hospital in Ireland, he revealed.

Monsignor Peter Smith, former chancellor of the Archdiocese of Glasgow, told a hearing of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in Edinburgh that abuse had 'always been seen as a serious sin for a cleric' and that there was an internal court process for accused priests.

But he said the 'reality was these processes were seldom used' because the abuse was seen as a 'sin' that could be 'sorted'.

He acknowledged that was a 'dreadful misunderstanding' and when asked by the inquiry's lead counsel Colin MacAulay QC if a criminal trial was 'relatively rare', Monsignor Smith said: 'It was [seen as] better to fix the person, to stop them sinning, to redeem them  and that was a huge mistake.'

Monsignor Smith, of St Paul's Parish Church in Whiteinch, Glasgow, said some of those accused were sent to a 'hospital facility in Ireland', where they were treated by psychologists.

Some alleged abusers were removed from the church for good but others were considered to be 'fixed' and returned to the ministry, he said, adding that cases of abuse were not 'talked about or shared by bishops'  because it was 'embarrassing'.

He said: 'It still is horrendously embarrassing that such things could have been done to an innocent party.'

He insisted that there was 'most definitely an assessment of risk' posed by alleged abusers and it had 'not been an amateur arrangement'. But he admitted: 'Many of these places thought that therapy was sufficient We know sadly and to the cost of many innocent people that that wasn't true.'

A senior cleric said yesterday that abuse was seen as a 'sin' and the church focused more on 'treating' child molesters than on helping their young victims

Monsignor Smith insisted prosecutors did believe at the time that the most appropriate action was treatment and that 'a year in prison might not be as helpful as a year in therapy'.

The matter was discussed between the prosecutor and the bishop, but the families of victims were not consulted 'as a routine'.

Canon Thomas Boyle, former assistant secretary of the Bishops' Conference, who last week issued an apology to victims on behalf of the Catholic Church, said they had let victims down.

He said: 'We didn't hear them. We didn't understand the nature of abuse  that it wasn't a moral fault that could be fixed.'

Judge Lady Smith asked: 'Could it really have been the case people were not aware that some people were a risk ... that there was something about their familiarity with children that wasn't right?'

Canon Thomas Boyle, former assistant secretary of the Bishops' Conference, who last week issued an apology to victims on behalf of the Catholic Church, said they had let victims down

Canon Boyle said 'that's the learning curve we have been on'. He added that the church was determined to 'learn from past mistakes'.

He said: 'We want survivors to have peace, we want them to be able to live lives as if these things did not happen. It would be great if we could give them their childhoods back  we couldn't do that.'

The inquiry continues.
Doctors should prescribe dogs to old people to help them stay active in their retirement, a study has advised.

Researchers made the recommendation after finding dog owners got much more exercise than those without.

It seems having a pet pestering you to go walkies helped you to keep fit as well, researchers said.

Researchers made the recommendation after finding dog owners got much more exercise than those without

Dog owners aged over 65 got an extra 22 minutes of moderate exercise a day compared to non-dog owners.

This is enough to meet the World Health Organisations recommended minimum of 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.

Researchers looked at 43 pairs of dog owners and non-dog-owners in three counties, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Cambridgeshire.

The participants wore an activity monitor strapped to their thigh that counted the number of steps they took.

They were also asked to keep a diary.

They found that dog owners took 10,030 steps a day compared to 7,260 for those without dogs.

In all the dog owners spent 119 minutes a day walking, 32 minutes at a moderate pace, compared to 96 minutes and 11 minutes for non-dog owners.

The authors, writing in the journal BMC Public Health said: Owning a dog, may therefore motivate older adults to engage in appropriate levels of PA [physical activity] for health.

Health promotion professionals could consider encouraging appropriate dog ownership, or shared care of a dog to promote PA [physical activity] in older adults.

It seems having a pet pestering you to go walkies helped you to keep fit as well, researchers said

Dr Philippa Dall, senior research fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University and lead author said: We found that dog owners aged 65 and over spent on average an additional 22 minutes walking, taking an extra 2,760 steps per day when compared to people who didnt own a dog.

Over the course of a week this additional time spent walking may in itself be sufficient to meet WHO recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity.

The researchers also found that dog owners had fewer periods of sitting down - than non-dog owners, although the total time spent sitting down overall did not differ between the two groups.

Nancy Gee, of the WALTHAM centre for pet nutrition, a co-author of the study said: Our results indicate that dog ownership may play an important role in encouraging older adults to walk more.

Ultimately, our research will provide insights into how pet ownership may help older people achieve higher levels of physical activity or maintain their physical activity levels for a longer period of time, which could improve their prospects for a better quality of life, improved or maintained cognition, and perhaps, even overall longevity.

The 54 participants were all white British, including 54 women and 32 men, aged between 65 and 81.

Most of the dog owners had sole responsibility for care and walking the dog.

Some 69 per cent of the dogs were pedigree, and in a range of sizes  33 per cent toy and small, 38 per cent medium, and 30 per cent large and giant.
Close to 9,000 New South Wales schoolteachers who called in sick last year have cost taxpayers thousands of dollars as their replacements did not come cheap.

The NSW education department reports that a total of 8385 teachers for all public schools had called in sick last year with some coming under suspicion.

That amounts to more than one in 10 teachers across the state being reprimanded.

NSW public teachers taking sick leave have left taxpayers with a big bill (stock image)

The latest figure are an increase over what was recorded in 2015 when 8052 teachers were investigated by the school system's HR department for misconduct with 96 warranting further investigation.

The numbers were lower in 2014, with 7684 teachers reported skipping class and out of that number 115 was further investigated for misconduct.

NSW Secondary Principals' Council President Chris Presland told Daily Mail Australia that casual replacements for permanent staffers cost taxpayers between $400 to $500 a day.

'The school arranges the casual teachers. The rate of pay depends on their level of experience,' he said.

Mr Presland said that the current number of casual teachers is not enough to cover permanent staffers who suddenly called in sick.

This is especially the case for teachers in the maths and technology subjects, he said.

Some teachers taking sick leave have been caught cheating the system (stock image)

The Daily Telegraph reported that the large number of teachers calling in sick has been blamed on deteriorating health among the school system's ageing workforce.

However, a NSW Education Department spokesperson refuted this claim when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

In a statement, the department said that, like any organisation, large or small, teachers can occasionally take sick leave.

'The average sick leave days for permanent teachers has continued to fall from 2014 (8.73) to 2016 (8.50),' the statement said.

'As part of the management of sick leave at the 2200 public schools across the state principals, as local approvers, are provided with details of teachers who have in 12 months accumulated a total of five days which have not required a medical certificate. This gives the principal the opportunity to consider if a teacher needs well being support or other measures.

'Overall monitoring and follow-up principal reviews indicate that the vast majority of teachers are fully complying with sick leave and only a small proportion of those reviewed are given an additional requirement to get a medical certificate for every sickness absence.'

There are currently around 65,000 teachers on the NSW education payroll.
Universities in the UK are set to lose claims of being among the top one per cent institutions in the world following complaints to the advertising watchdog.

The University of Reading has already agreed to remove the assertion from its website and marketing materials but dozens more vice chancellors are now expected face challenges.

The move is a blow for UK universities as claims of global superiority are increasingly influential for recruitment, particularly among overseas students.

Universities in the UK are set to lose claims of being among the top one per cent institutions in the world following complaints to the advertising watchdog

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) approached Reading after a complaint from a member of the public last month who argued that the one per cent claim was misleading and could not be substantiated.

The problem has arisen because Reading, along with other universities across the UK, base their claims on featuring among the top 200 institutions in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings.

Both these global league tables list more than 900 universities each.

However, the ASA has told Reading that being in the top 200 of both or either global performance table does not substantiate the argument they are ranked in the top one per cent worldwide.

The University of Reading has already agreed to remove the assertion from its website and marketing materials but dozens more vice chancellors are now expected face challenges. File pic

This is because the THE and QS rankings do not purport to be based on every single public and private university, higher education institution and institution offering degrees worldwide.

In addition, while there are total estimates of around 20,000 such institutions worldwide, there is no single, definitive source.

Therefore, the ASA has insisted to officials that the top one per cent claim cannot be extrapolated from using these two rankings and an estimation of total numbers.

Reading is in joint 188th place in the top 200 of the latest QS World University Rankings, published yesterday (thurs)  down from 175th last year.

The ASA has now closed the case against Reading without the need for a formal investigation or ruling because the dispute was informally resolved. The decision will be published on its website next week.

However, Reading has argued that other universities using similar claims  including among the prestigious Russell Group - should also face scrutiny from the ASA.

Charles Heymann, the University of Readings head of corporate communications, said: The ASA now needs to investigate every single other UK university which claims it is in the top one per cent in the world, rather than waiting for individual complaints to be made.

Its odd if the ASA turns a blind eye to possible breaches of its own Code.

He added: Reading has been consistently in the top 200 in the two main global performance rankings  Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings.

Like dozens of other UK universities in recent years, we judged this put us in the top one per cent out of an estimated 20,000 institutions internationally.

We accept the ASAs view that this could not be proved given no league table assesses every single university worldwide.

Its right for other UK universities to look at how they use similar claims.

An ASA spokeswoman said yesterday: We approached the University of Reading about the complaint and they were unable to provide any evidence to substantiate the claim and because of that, they agreed to remove the claim without the need for a formal investigation.

We would expect all institutions making similar statements in their marketing communications to hold substantial data to qualify their claim.

If we received complaints about these institutions and found that they did not, we wouldnt hesitate to take action to have their ad removed or amended.

Russell Group member, the University of Liverpool claims to be among the top one per cent of higher education institutions worldwide. In yesterdays QS World University Rankings, it fell from 157th position to joint 173rd.

Glasgow and Exeter  also in the Russell Group  make the same assertions. Glasgow has fallen to 65th position after joint 63rd last year while Exeter has risen to joint 158th from joint 164th last year.

Among other institutions making top one per cent claims are St Andrews, which is 92nd in yesterdays rankings; University of Leicester (238) and Queens University Belfast (202).

Ben Sowter, head of research for the QS Rankings, yesterday indicated there are estimates of 20,000 and 26,000 for the number of universities in the world.

He said he was confident that any institutions rated in their top 200 would be in this top one per cent worldwide.

A spokesman for the University of Exeter yesterday said it consistently features in the top 200 of the most respected world rankings. In its report to the institution this week, QS confirmed it is one of the top one per cent universities in the world.

She added: We are confident in the methodology, analysis and processes that independent ranking providers employ.

Exeter has not been contacted by the ASA. In line with the release of the annual league tables, we update our position both nationally and internationally, and will continue to do so.
The VADs (value added distributors) are feeling the pinch of the growth of cloud, SAAS, SD-WAN, managed services - amid the decline of laptops, PCs, hardware and software licensing.

Last year, Tech Data negotiated to acquire Avnet Technology Solutions for $2.6 billion. Avnet TS brings in $9.65 Billion in revenue and will increase Tech Data's share of data center revenue from just 29 percent to 45 percent. This move also gives Tech Data a presence in Asia-Pacific.

Tech Data competes with Ingram, ARROW, SYNNEX, Westcon-Comstor and to a lesser extent Jenne, ScanSource and CDW.

"Westcon has struggled in recent quarters, with revenue falling 10 percent to $2.26 billion and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) falling 18 percent to $42.9 million," according to reports. This is not unusual in the VAD space. ScanSource and other VADs have been facing declining revenue and margins due to the turbulence of the IT space.

"SYNNEX has reached an agreement to buy the North American and Latin American Westcon-Comstor business from Datatec," according to Seeking Alpha. The financials of the deal are complicated and range between $715 and $915 million depending on earn out.

Most analysts have commented that this is a as good a fit (Westcon+Synnex) as TD-AVnetTS. It fills in holes both in line cards as well as geography.

Consolidation is happening at every level of the IT/tech/telecom sector. Less choice for the partner and customer is one result. The other is usually a disorganized organization.

The other blockbuster deal is in the Data Center space. Digital Realty Trust (which acquired TELX) is now buying data center wholesaler DuPont Fabros for $7.6 billion. "DuPont Fabros operates 12 data centers in three major U.S. markets, including Silicon Valley and Northern Virginia, while Digital Realty operates 145 data centers globally." Dupont Fabros is the data center landlord to Yahoo, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. Those are nice tenants to have if you are DRT.

This is more than either CenturyLink or Verizon received for selling their data center business. C-Link sold 57 data centers to a group of PE firms for $2.15 billion and a piece of the new firm (now known as Cyxtera Technologies). Cyxtera is a combo of Savvis and Qwest data centers that C-Link paid much more than the $2.5B C-Link paid just for Savvis. (Buy high sell low!) VZ sold its 24 data centers to Equinix for $3.6 billion, which it bought from Terremark for $1.4B.

Dany Bouchedid, CEO of COLOTRAQ, the data center master agency, said, "This definitely establishes DLR in the wholesale colocation space more than ever. Dupont's data centers are enormous with next gen gear and mechanicals. In addition, Dupont owns their PPE (property plant and equipment) with some of their sites having a decent amount of land. Their PUEs are industry leading and their cooling and UPS technologies are ahead of their time. DLR will be a great platform for them to further market their capabilities."

Data Center is still a hot sector with PE firms swooping in as well as consolidation by the REITs.
Young people turned out in record numbers for Labour after an aggresively youth-centred campaign as the party clocked up significant victories in university towns.

Last night's analysis showed the Labour vote was higher in constituencies with large numbers of under-25 voter as well as towns like Cambridge, Sheffield and Edinburgh after reports that the age group registered in extremely high numbers.

The party saw a surge of support after pledging to abolish tuition fees and reinstate maintenance grants for the poorest students in a bid to woo young voters.

Young Remain supporters were also attracted by the party's position regarding Brexit.

The party made the most of backing from grime artists including Stormzy and Jme, and even managed to pull in social media support from rapper Professor Green and legendary artist Goldie.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn can thank them, as well as grassroots group Momentum, for mobilising the vote, which is thought to have led to a turnout between 66 and 72 per cent among 18 to 25-year-olds.

Jeremy Corbyn has held on to his seat with an increased majority, and seems to have caused a spike in turnout in younger voters too

The Labour leader's success is being put down to his tech-savvy supporters who have maximised their social media reach to connect with younger voters.

This has helped push what could be the largest turnout for more than 20 years. Reports indicate that turnout is up by three points on the General Election in 2015.

Almost 250,000 young people registered to vote on just one day, May 22  the cut-off for being eligible in the general election. This eclipses 140,000 on the last day for registrations in 2015.

It meant one million 18-to-24-year-olds registered since Theresa May called for an election on April 18.

Turnout overall was close to 70 per cent by the end of the night.

Labour supporters turned out to watch the results come in in Bristol. Nationally, young people turned out at around 72 per cent

TURNOUT UP FOR GENERAL ELECTION Reports indicate that turnout is up by three points on the General Election in 2015. By the end of the night, it may hit pre-1997 levels, of around 70 per cent. Turnout is back to 1997 levels if early polls are correct After 646 constituency results out of 650 in the Snap General Election the turnout is: 32,000,370 (68.72%, +2.63%) Total turnout for 2015 was 66.1 per cent. Some constituencies reporting a high level of turnout include: Tooting, 74 per cent, up from 70 per cent in 2015 Macclesfield, 72 per cent, up from 69.5 per cent Oxford West and Abingdon, up 79.6 per cent from 71.8 in 2015 Advertisement

George Osborne said the Conservative leader was suffering thanks to the anger of young people at last year's Brexit vote.

The former Chancellor told ITV: 'First of all you're seeing the revenge of the young.

'The young are coming out and voting and they are clobbering the Tory MP's in university towns and places like that.'

His supporters in the left-wing group Momentum have also 'learned lessons' from the Bernie Sanders campaign in last year's US election.

According to The Times, Momentum has been urging supporters to visit its website My Nearest Marginal, which reveals key marginal seats once a user types in their postcode and lists contact details and timings for local Labour contacts and campaign events.

It is believed more than 70,000 people used the site, while a text messaging service to encourage support was also employed.

The paper reported US campaigners flew to Britain to train Momentum activists to 'make their conversations with undecided voters about issues rather than personality or leadership'.

Former Sanders campaigner Jeremy Parkin, 27, of San Francisco, told The Times: 'I train people to talk about why they're here. What is good persuasion is emotional, empathetic, it forms human connections.'

Momentum has also teamed up with celebrity left-wing activists such as film director Ken Loach, to extend its message while it has reached millions of voters via Facebook.

Jme with Jeremy Corbyn earlier this year as artists from the grime scene began to throw their weight behind the Labour leader

It also developed a crowd fundraising page and a remote phone banking app that allows supporters to 'canvass from their sofas'.

The group has previously been criticised by Labour MPs, including deputy leader Tom Watson, who once described it as a 'rabble'.

The success of the movement can be seen from the record number of people registering to vote in the month after the election was launched.

Included in the 622,398 new voters registering for the first time were 453,000 aged between 18 and 34.

It comes despite reports of students up and down the country being told they could not vote when they arrived at polling stations although they had registered.

Labour supporters celebrate as their party picks up seats across the country in shock results

Some polling station operatives were given old copies of registered voters, from 2015, instead of this year's list.

Turnout is on the rise, with some seats reporting levels as high as 79 per cent, and with the national picture likely to return to 70 per cent, pre-1997 levels, after years of decline.

But in May 2015's election, the rising rate of turnout was not matched evenly by young people. There was a turnout of just 43 per cent in those aged 16 to 24, compared with 66.1 per cent overall.

Speculation over how the young person vote could change the election result has been rife, but many have concluded that even will full turnout there would not be enough young people to give Corbyn the lead he needs to form a government.

Corbyn has won unlikely backing from grime artists like JME and Stormzy, and been praised for listening to young people

In Newcastle, ballot box assistants were given the old register for the electorate from the 2015 election

Vince Cable, who managed to regain his lost Twickenham seat from the Conservatives, told the Independent: 'We've all underestimated the force of the younger generation. Mr Corbyn, to his credit, understood that.'

A number of young adults in London were told they were not on the register, despite having confirmation emails confirming their eligibility to vote.

And in Newcastle, ballot box assistants were given the old register for the electorate from the 2015 election.

Christina Demetriou, 18, registered to vote in her Finchley and Golders Green constituency - which has been tipped for a Labour gain.

She received her confirmation email at 8.57pm on May 21 - the day before the deadline to register.

But when she turned up to vote for the first time yesterday, she was refused.

A number of young adults in London were told they were not on the register, despite having confirmation emails confirming their eligibility to vote

The student told The Telegraph: 'When I arrived at the polling station they said I wasn't on the list and that there was nothing that they could do and that others had come that had been affected in the same way.

'I returned to the polling station with my confirmation email in hand and was told others had come with theirs too, but (they said) 'our job is not to second guess the registration system, only to insure that those eligible to vote, get to vote'.

'It's just really shocking.'

Meanwhile, in the Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency - where many of the voters are students - people who had just registered for this election were being turned away because staff were given an old list.

The seat is held by Labour, but it is marginal with only a 700 majority and Jeremy Corbyn's party hope to increase it with the student vote.

Students at Keele University received their polling cards but were told they were not on the register.

However, once the blunder was recognised there was an urgent call for them to return to the polling stations with one hour left of voting.

Students at Keele University received their polling cards but were told they were not on the register

A post of a Keele Facebook page read: 'VERY URGENT: from a colleague: I have been alerted to the fact that a great many Keele students are being turned away from polling stations in the Newcastle-under-Lyme area, even with polling cards.

'I rang Newcastle Borough Council and they have informed me that the students may be late additions to the electoral register and thus not on the registers sent out to polling stations.

'Can you please send out a message to our students informing them that if this is the case, they need to go back to the polling stations with their polling cards and ask to speak to the presiding officer. They should tell them to ring the elections office to check that they are on the most up-to-date version.

'Whichever polling station you go to, the presiding officer should have an out-of-hours number to check whether you are a late addition to the electoral register.'

Malia Bouattia, president of the National Union of Students, said: 'Students will be disappointed to have not been able to vote today.

'Everyone deserves to be able to express their democratic right to choose the leaders of the country they live in.

'This isn't the first time an incident like this has happened, and yet nothing has been learnt. We need a democratic system that enables everyone to have their voices heard.'
Columbia professor Daniel Richman appears to have gone into hiding after it emerged that he had leaked James Comey's memo on his meeting with Donald Trump.

Comey testified on Thursday that he had asked a friend at Columbia to release the memo, in which he wrote that Trump had asked him to squash the investigation into Mike Flynn's Russian ties.

Richman, the Paul J Kellner Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, confirmed after the hearing that he was the friend in question - and then vanished, the New York Post reported.

James Comey testified on Wednesday that a professor friend from Columbia university leaked his Trump memo. Daniel Richman (right) said he was that friend, and then seemingly vanished

When asked, Comey said the man he asked to leak the memo to the New York Times in May was 'a good friend of mine who's a professor at Columbia Law School.'

Richman confirmed to Mic that he was the professor in question, but then fled his home on Henry Street in Brooklyn's Richmond Heights.

Neighbors refused to answer questions when the New York Post arrived, and a doorman eventually barred their reporter.

Richman is described on the Columbia website as 'a former federal prosecutor who served as chief appellate attorney in the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.'

It also says that he served as a consultant to the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury on federal criminal matters.

Perhaps more pertinently, it says 'He is currently an adviser to FBI Director James B Comey.'

He and Comey worked together when Richman was a federal prosecutor in Manhattan; they also worked together at Columbia in 2013.

Last month the New Yorker called Richman Comey's 'close friend' and 'unofficial media surrogate'.

Richman could not be found at his Brooklyn apartment (pictured) on Wednesday. He and Comey have been pals for years, and he is officially an adviser to Comey

Comey testified that he was spurred into asking Richman to leak the memo after Trump fired him and tweeted that he'd 'better hope there's not tapes.'

He said he woke up in the middle of the night and realized that he could corroborate the conversation through the memo, which he'd written after the meeting.

'And my judgement was, I needed to get that out into the public square,' he said. 'And so I asked a friend of mine to share the content of that memo with a reporter.

'Didn't do it myself for a variety of reasons, but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.'
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Jeremy Corbyn today said Labour are 'ready to serve this country' and form a minority government - but said they would do 'no deals and no pacts'.

The left-wing leader defied expectations to deny Theresa May a majority - and has called for the humiliated PM to resign.

And he today said he is already drawing up plans to try to form a minority government to enact his socialist agenda.

He was spotted this afternoon looking relaxed in a cafe in his Islington constituency, chatting on the phone while his wife, Laura Alvarez, smiled happily at him.

Asked directly about his plans for power, he said: 'We are ready to serve this country, that is what we fought this election for, and this is the programme we put forward in our election campaign.

'We are offering to put forward the programme on which we have fought the election  we have done no deals and no pacts with anybody.

'We're there as the Labour Party with our points of view, everybody knows what they are and everyone can see the huge increase in our support because of the way we conducted the election and the comprehensive nature of the programme we put forward.'

Scroll down for video

Jeremy Corbyn today said Labour are 'ready to serve this country'. The Labour leader was spotted relaxing in a cafe in his London constituency today, chatting on the phone while his wife, Laura Alvarez, smiled happily at him

The Labour leader was pictured waving to supporters at the count and described himself as feeling 'wonderful'

Mr Corbyn, pictured as his victory in Islington North was announced, said the UK could be a 'different and fundamentally better place' after the election

The Labour leader gives a double thumbs up as he arrives at the party's central London HQ

Diane Abbott, pictured arriving with Meg Hillier at her count in London this morning. Miss Abbott was asked to step aside from her frontbench role as shadow home secretary just days before the election - a move Labour figures was down to a long-term health problem

Miss Abbott, pictured at her London count this morning, looked grim-faced - despite the votes showing that Labour had defied the pollsters by doing far better than expected

With Labour on course to secure 261 seats, Mr Corbyn called on Mrs May to 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country'.

He said that whoever is in government will have to go ahead with the Brexit negotiations, which are due to kick of in 11 days time.

And Mr Corbyn said he is ready to take up the Brexit talks, saying: 'We are ready to undertake negotiations on behalf of this country, to protect jobs and have a sensible free trade arrangement with Europe.'

His storming performance will be seen by his allies a a vindication of their left-wing manifesto and finally silence his critics who have been hellbent on ousting him.

Labour activists across the country were jubilant as they watched as their party snatched back seats across the country - including several from the Tories in Wales.

The shock results are a huge slap in the face to his Blairite critics, who are likely to go scurrying for cover after their predictions he would bomb in the voting booth was proved wrong.

But it raises serious questions over whether moderates feel they can stay in the party now it like it is in the hands of the far-left for the long-run.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Mr Corbyn's closest shadow cabinet ally, told reporters that Mrs May has the weekend 'if that' to form a government or Labour will try and form one.

He told the BBC: 'We have laid the foundations for a minority government, and then eventually a majority government.

'The instability that we now have is not from the Labour Party or other parties, it's the Conservative Party itself.

'If we can form a minority government, I think we could have a stability government, not through deals or coalitions but policy by policy.

'That would prevent another election, because I think people have had enough of elections.'

Jeremy Corbyn, pictured at the count, has strengthened his hold over the Labour Party

Scottish Labour supporters erupted into wild cheers as they celebrate a night which has defied expectations

Mr Corbyn hugs a friend as he arrives at the Labour Party HQ this morning. The Labour leader has declared he wants to try to form a minority government and take over Brexit talks

Mr McDonnell said that if Mrs May tries to cling on to power, Labour will table an alternative Queen's Speech - laying out their policy agenda - and seek to put it to a vote.

And he tore into the Conservatives' chances of producing a stable government.

He said: 'I hope she realises today, very quickly, that she cannot continue.

'I think the Conservative Party needs to recognise it cannot re-enter government in the way it is at the moment, in its unstable, divided form.'

He added: 'I'm hoping the situation will be clarified within days, otherwise we are in an impossible position with the negotiations on Brexit coming.

'The responsibility is on Theresa May now to stand down and for the Conservative Party to go away and sort itself out and let a Labour government take place.'

Mr McDonnell had earlier said: 'In the interests of the country we are willing to for a government  a minority government  to put forward a programme, a Queen's speech, as well as an alternative budget and an alternative programme for the Brexit negotiations.

'And then it is up to other parties if they want to support us.'

However, Mr Corbyn's chances of making it to No 10 appear slim as the Tories look like they will be propped up in government by the DUP.

A jubilant Mr Corbyn waves as he arrives at Labour headquarters in central London this morning having defied his critics to lead the party to a far better than expected election result

The Labour leader hugs a friend as he arrives at Labour HQ in central London this morning

And while some Labour moderates may be wondering about their future in the party which now seems secure in the grip of the hard left, others who quit the frontbench over his leadership could be eyeing a return to the shadow cabinet.

WHAT WILL JEREMY CORBYN DO NEXT? A jubilant Jeremy Corbyn has secured his grip on the Labour party and has set his sights on No 10 after he defied the odds to deny the Tories a majority. The Labour leader hopes to form a minority government - propped up on a vote by vote basis by the smaller parties. But while Mr Corbyn says he stands ready to serve, it is highly unlikely that he will form a minority government. Theresa May has visited the Queen to get permission to form a government, and she is confident that with the support of the DUP's 10 MPs she will be able to govern. However, if her agenda, known as the Queen's Speech, is voted down later this month then Mr Corbyn will be given the chance to form a government. He has ruled out deals with smaller parties like the Lib Dems and Greens - and they do not have enough seats between them to form a majority government - even in coalition. Instead he would try to win over their support on a vote by vote basis - which could allow the smaller parties to effectively hold him ransom on issues like Brexit and a second Scottish independence referendum. But if he got their support, Mr Corbyn would use the chance to enact the socialist policies he has spent a lifetime proclaiming - mainly from the backbenches. The main result of the election is to strengthen his hold over his party. Mr Corbyn will almost certainly want to seize upon his success by looking to beef up his frontbench with a reshuffle. And his shock performance suggests that Labour's lurch to the left is here to stay Advertisement

Mr Corbyn will use it to push ahead with his ultra-left policies and will look to capitalise on his success by beefing up his shadow cabinet team.

Emily Thornberry, a close ally of Mr Corbyn, also said Labour is looking at forming a minority government.

The shadow foreign secretary told the BBC: 'It looks tonight like we could form the next government.'

She added: 'There's no coalition, there's no deals.

'Either the Conservatives will be a minority government, if this poll is right, or Labour will be a minority government.'

A jubilant-looking Mr Corbyn arrived at Labour's headquarters in Westminster just after 8am this morning.

The veteran left-winger will be hunkering down with key allies - probably including his strategy chief Seamus Milne and Mr McDonnell - to plan his next moves.

But while Labour are denying they will do any backroom deals, their plan relies on getting support for their policies on a vote by vote basis from the string of small left-leaning parties returning to Parliament.

And behind the scenes, Labour figures will be drawing up strategies to try to woo the likes of the SNP, the Lib Dems and plaid Cymru.

As the leader of the biggest single party, Mrs May will get the first chance to form a government and have her manifesto enacted.

But her position hangs on a knife edge as if her policy agenda is voted down in the Queen's Speech at the end of the month, then she will be forced to resign and Mr Corbyn would be invited to form a government.

This would mean he could become Britain's most left-wing Prime Minister and set about trying to enact his socialist vision.

Speaking at his Islington North constituency count this morning as the scale of the Tory defeat was emerging, Mr Corbyn shouted 'Welcome to the Labour Parliament', and described himself as feeling 'wonderful'.

Accepting victory after holding Islington North, Mr Corbyn said the UK could be a 'different and fundamentally better place'.

He added: 'Politics has changed. Politics isn't going back into the box where it was before. People have said they have had quite enough of austerity politics.'

The current projected share of the vote has Labour at 40 per cent - the party's best result since Tony Blair's victory in 2005 when he had a majority government.

The Labour leader thanked the electorate for standing up and vowed to put his manifesto to Parliament.

He said: 'This election was called by the Prime Minister to gain a large majority in order to assert her authority.

'The election campaign has gone on for the last six weeks, I have travelled the whole country and you know what: politics has changed.

Mr Corbyn was dishing out high fives to his supporters when he arrived at Labour's HQ this morning after defying his critics who had predicted he would bomb at the ballot box

Allies of Mr Corbyn pictured arriving at Labour HQ this morning, say he is hoping to form a minority government and wants the chance to put forward an alternative Brexit plan

Results suggest Labour could have at least 266 seats in the Commons, leading to Mr Corbyn looking jubilant tonight at the count in Islington North

'Politics is not going back into the box where it was before.

'What has happened is people have said they have had quite enough of austerity politics, they have had quite enough of the underfunding of the health service, underfunding our schools and education service.'

He added: 'I am very proud of the results coming in around the country tonight, of people voting for hope, hope for the future and turning their backs on austerity.

'If there is a message from tonight's result it is this: the Prime Minister called the election, she wanted a mandate.

'The mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

'I would have thought that was enough to go and make way for a government that will be truly representative of the people of this country.'

Mounds of voting slips piled up in Mr Corbyn's box at the official Islington North count as he won the seat for the ninth time

The Labour leader was mobbed by the media on his way into the Sobell Leisure Centre where he was eventually greeted by Islington South and Finsbury candidate, and shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry.

LABOUR WIN LARGEST SHARE OF VOTE SINCE BLAIR'S LAST VICTORY With 40 per cent of the public vote, Jeremy Corbyn has won Labour's largest share since Tony Blair in 2005. But unlike the former prime minister, Mr Corbyn has been unable to secure a majority government. Mr Blair polled 40.7 per cent of the vote in 2005 and won 355 seats giving him a majority of 66 - although that in itself was down from the 160-seat majority he previously enjoyed in 2001. The reason Mr Corbyn does not have similar numbers is because the Lib Dems were far stronger in 2005, earning 22 per cent of the vote and winning 62 seats. But the party's decimation in 2015 has meant this year's election has been more of a straight fight between the Tories and Labour. Advertisement

Later in the morning, Mr Corbyn was all smiles as he arrived at Labour Party headquarters near Westminster.

He was greeted with a chorus of cheers as he emerged from a car just before 8am warmly hugging Iain McNichol, Labour's general secretary, and aide Karie Murphy.

Waving triumphantly to the cameras, Mr Corbyn said, 'Hi guys, thank you very much', before stopping to give a thumbs-up to the cameras.

Inside the headquarters' foyer he was met with a raucous reception by Labour party members and activists, and Mr Corbyn appeared to dance a little jig as his supporters chanted, 'Go Jeremy Corbyn'.

A number of early results, including Newcastle Central, mirrored the exit poll  showing a rise in the Labour vote.

It even held on to Wrexham, despite confident Tory predictions of taking the Welsh seat. Mrs May campaigned in the constituency.

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson launched a savage attack on Mrs May and said the public view her as 'weak and wobbly' rather than 'strong and stable'.

The West Bromwich East MP said Labour would hold Mrs May to her campaign warning that if she lost six seats Jeremy Corbyn would be in Downing Street.

He said: 'Results are still coming in, but we are going to hold her to that.

'She thought she was going to get a Margaret Thatcher-style majority. That now seems out of her reach.

'The Prime Minister fought one of the most negative, pessimistic and defensive campaigns in British history and the British people delivered their verdict on that.

'She said she was 'strong and stable'. The public saw that she was weak and wobbly.

'She said she was a 'bloody difficult woman', she boasted about it. The public saw she was just a woman who was finding it all a bit too bloody difficult.'

The Labour leader enjoyed a strong showing early on with voters backing Labour in Newcastle and Sunderland

Labour said they tried to run an 'extremely positive campaign' based around Mr Corbyn's 'character'

It quickly became clear at the Islington North count that Mr Corbyn would retain his seat

Exit polls suggested a rise in the Labour vote with the Tories set to lose seats and their majority, meaning Mr Corbyn, pictured, could become Prime Minister

In a nod to the possibility of a hung parliament, Mr Watson said: 'The next few hours - maybe the next few days - look very uncertain.

'But one thing can be sure: Theresa May's authority has been undermined by this election. She is a damaged Prime Minister whose reputation may never recover.

'People in this country were crying out for something more than what the Tories have given us for the last seven years. They want something to hope for. They have responded to a positive campaign.'

Meanwhile a gleeful Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry said: 'It is possible that we will form the next government.'

She said, in that case, Labour would put forward a Queen's Speech and a budget and challenge other parties to support it.

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE EMPEROR: WHAT CORBYN WOULD DO TO BRITAIN Raise taxes to their highest ever peacetime levels

Introduce Land Value Tax that could be triple council tax levels and cause a housing market slump

Scrap tax breaks for married couples, costing them 230 per year

Rule out a 'no deal Brexit' potentially blocking the process

Cut funding to 7,000 church schools across the country

Reduce inheritance tax from 850,000 to 650,000 affecting 1.2million people

Scrap 30billion of student loan debt without revealing how to fund it

Nationalise rail, energy, water firms and the Royal Mail at a cost of billions of pounds

Abolish anti-strike laws designed to prevent widespread disruption

Refuse to commit to setting an immigration target

Renew Trident but refuse to use it Advertisement

'There's no coalition, there's no deals,' she said.

'Either the Conservatives will be a minority government, if this poll is right, or Labour will be a minority government.'

A spokesman for the party said that, if true, the exit poll predicted an 'extraordinary result', and that the Tories had been 'punished for taking the British people for granted'.

A party source added that if the poll was correct it would represent the largest increase in a party's popularity during an election campaign 'by miles'.

Ms Thornberry said: 'I think we're on the verge of a great result.

'We put forward a popular manifesto with a leader of the party who has withstood the most extraordinary personal attacks, and has actually shown if anybody was strong and stable, it was him.'

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he expected Boris Johnson to launch a challenge against Mrs May for the Tory leadership today.

Mr McDonnell made the prediction after securing victory at the Hayes & Harlington seat.

He said Labour: 'I think Theresa May actually called a General Election despite promising some seven times not to. And people thought this was unnecessary. And she put party before country.

'I think even some Conservative MPs now consider her position is increasingly untenable.

'I think she has committed a ... political error for her own political career.

'More importantly she has put us through a General Election which was unnecessary. She put party before country and that's unacceptable.

'We will form a government at the first opportunity.

'Whenever we get the opportunity we will do. If it's a minority government we will. But we don't know the results of this election yet.'

Former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper also said she 'could not see how Theresa May could continue as Prime Minister'.

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson, pictured, said the Conservative campaign was 'weak and wobbly' rather than 'strong and stable'

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, pictured, said Labour was 'on the verge of a great result' and also called for Mrs May to resign

It is a personal triumph for the leader, just a year after his own MPs tried to force him out in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Mr Corbyn, 68, is now safe as Labour leader for as long as he wants to stay. This result should put an end to the carping of moderate MPs who have been attacking his leadership ever since he was elected.

TURNOUT UP FOR GENERAL ELECTION Reports indicate that turnout is up by three points on the General Election in 2015. By the end of the night, it may hit pre-1997 levels, of around 70 per cent. Turnout is back to 1997 levels if early polls are correct With 21 seats left to declare, turnout was at just shy of 69 per cent, sitting at 68.8 per cent. Total turnout for 2015 was 66.1 per cent. Some constituencies reporting a high level of turnout include: Tooting, 74 per cent, up from 70 per cent in 2015 Macclesfield, 72 per cent, up from 69.5 per cent Oxford West and Abingdon, up 79.6 per cent from 71.8 in 2015 Advertisement

Many of the senior figures from the old guard who stepped down from the Shadow Cabinet in 2015 when he was elected may now return to the frontbench.

If the exit poll is borne out, it shows that Mr Corbyn's Left-wing manifesto  with its plans for higher taxes on the wealthy  was much more popular with the public than analysts had thought.

The forecast result comfortably beats the tally notched up by Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband in the previous two elections. Before Mrs May went to the polls, Labour had just 229 seats in the Commons.

Ken Loach, the Left-wing film director, told Sky News: 'It was a campaign in the teeth of a hostile gale from all the media  so I think it is extraordinary.

'People are really concerned about things like the health service, they are concerned that they do not have secure work, that they have to work through agencies where they can be turned on and off like a tap.

'So I think there are real issues that people were worried and angry about, which were not reflected in the coverage but were certainly reflected when you spoke to people.

'If the figures are right, it is not a huge shock because of the simmering discontent on all these issues.'

Friends of Mr Corbyn said last month that, even if he does not win, he should be allowed to stay on as Labour leader.

They pointed to the fact Neil Kinnock stayed on in 1987, despite losing to Margaret Thatcher.

One pro-Corbyn source said: 'There is a tradition of Labour leaders staying on after elections. Kinnock didn't resign in '87, (James) Callaghan didn't in '79.'
Electronic cigarettes can stop wounds from healing, experts have warned.

A study found that chemicals in the devices can impair the processes that allow the body to repair itself.

The findings may explain why some users can develop persistent painful mouth sores and ulcers. E-cigarettes are widely promoted as a safer replacement for tobacco.

But toxicology experts in the US say they can lead to a range of health issues. A study by the University of Rochester in New York, published in the journal Scientific Reports, exposed damaged lung tissue to e-cig vapours in the laboratory.

Chemicals and nicotine found in e-cigarette can prevent cells getting enough energy to heal a wound properly and can increase the risk of contracting gum disease (file photo)

They found the nicotine and flavour chemicals prevented certain cells getting enough energy to heal a wound properly. Study leader Dr Irfan Rahman said: While it is perceived that they may be less harmful than conventional smoking, our data shows e-cigarettes can lead to other health issues apart from lung damage.

E-cigarettes contain a liquid form of nicotine that is heated into vapour to be inhaled, avoiding the harm caused by tobacco smoke.

Nearly 3 million adults in Britain have used e-cigarettes in the decade they have been on the market.

Health experts agree that the devices are much safer than smoking tobacco  and the gadgets are thought to have helped 22,000 people quit smoking each year.

But many are worried about unresolved safety concerns, particularly linked to the chemicals used to flavour the vapour.

Others are also concerned that e-cigarettes provide a gateway for teenagers to go on to smoke tobacco.

The scientists, whose work is published in the journal Scientific Reports, exposed human lung tissue to e-cigarettes vapours in the laboratory.

When they wounded the tissue by scratching it, some of the cells around the wound - known as fibroblasts - began to change to begin the process of repairing the damage.

Normally these cells produce matrix-like structures that new tissue can grow across while those cells around the edge of the wound shrink to help close it.

But Dr Rahman and his colleagues found after exposure to flavoured e-cigarette vapour, the wounds did not close up.

They also found the ability of the cells around the wound to convert to those needed for wound healing was also inhibited.

E-cigarette vapour could also trigger inflammation in the mouth, increasing the risk of gum disease. But experts say they are still less harmful than smoking cigarettes (file photo)

Dr Rahman said it appears the nicotine and flavour chemicals in the e-cigarette vapour were preventing the fibroblast cells from getting the energy they needed to heal a wound properly.

He said further work was needed to examine what impact this would have in the lungs and mouth of real people.

But he added it may explain why vapers often report suffering persistent ulcers and sores on their gums.

It builds on previous work by Dr Rahman and his team that found e-cigarette vapour could also trigger inflammation in the mouth, increasing the risk of gum disease.

This gum damage could even lead to teeth falling out in the most serious cases, he warned.

He said: How much and how often someone is smoking or vaping flavoured e-cigarettes will determine the extent of damage to the gums and oral cavity.

The research comes after scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, found traces of toxic metals in the e-liquids used by five major brands of e-cigarettes.

Others have found apparently harmless liquids can generate harmful compounds like formaldehyde when they are heated by the coil in an e-cigarette.

Martin Dockrell, head of tobacco control at Public Health England said that despite the results, e-cigarettes remain much less harmful than smoking.

He said: We know that smoking slows wound healing and increases the risk of infection, but when smokers switch to e-cigarettes the overall harm to their health is greatly reduced.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) added: Studies like this one are misleading because they dont compare the impact of vaping with smoking.

Its the smoke that does most if not all of the damage, not the nicotine.

Sadly that message isnt getting through - nearly a quarter of smokers who havent tried vaping say theyre unwilling to because of concerns e-cigarettes are not safe enough.

We would always recommend smokers to quit completely but for those who cant then vaping is much lower risk than carrying on smoking.
A tattooist granted a dying father's last wish to have tributes to his daughters inked on his body before his family switched off his life support.

Daniel Kopa, 34, was taken to hospital in a critical condition after being hit by a car on Hobson Street in Auckland, New Zealand, just before 9am on Tuesday.

His family issued a plea for tattooist Andre Garcia to come to the hospital and complete a tattoo on Mr Kopa's arms in honour of his daughters  Harper, five, Zoey, two, and eight-month-old twins Eden and Charli.

Mr Garcia said he made his way to the hospital late on Wednesday night and tattooed a footprint of one of Mr Kopa's daughters, matching one he already had, as well as the names of his twins.

Daniel Kopa (pictured with his wife and daughters) had a tattoo inked in honour of his daughters before his life support was switched off

It took him two hours to complete the inking while Mr Kopa lay unconscious - with his wife Calli Cleland and friends watched.

'[Ms Cleland] said he was planning to do this tattoo a little bit before this happened,' Mr Garcia said, according to the New Zealand Herald.

'It was such an important thing to do.'

Mr Garcia, who runs the Artero Tattoo Studio in Birkenhead, declined payment for the work, saying he hoped it would help them with their grief.

'How could you charge for something like that?' he added to Stuff.co.nz

'I'm pretty sure they have funeral costs and all those things, so I say to them I don't want payment.'

According to the Herald, hospital staff delayed switching off Mr Kopa's life support machine so the tattoo could be completed.

His best friend Jonny Chambers said it was turned off on Thursday afternoon as Mr Kopa held his daughters in his arms.

is family issued a plea for tattooist Andre Garcia, pictured, to come to the hospital and complete a tattoo on Mr Kopa's arms in honour of his daughters

'Calli felt that Dann was telling her he was ready, he was tired,' Mr Chambers told Fairfax Media.

Friends of the family set up a Givealittle page to help Ms Cleland and her daughters on Wednesday, and it has already amassed more than $87,000.

On the page, Mr Kopa is described as 'an amazing husband' and 'one-of-a-kind.'

The post adds: 'Hard working, an incredible friend, and all round amazing person.

'If you know Daniel then you consider yourself lucky to know one of the good guys.

'Naturally, Dann's family is devastated. His family is his world. The burden of how to support his family now lies with Calli and Dann's families.'
Hillary Clinton delivered the commencement address at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and she took multiple swipes at President Donald Trump while invoking her election loss.

The former secretary of state also encouraged graduates at the Brooklyn college to fight for social justice Thursday morning.

'When I was here last year, someone asked if I would come back and speak at commencement,' Clinton told thousands who assembled at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

'Now, I wish I had flown in from the White House, but I'm just as happy to be here anyway.'

Hillary Clinton (above) delivered the commencement address at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and she took multiple swipes at President Donald Trump while invoking her election loss

The former secretary of state also encouraged graduates at the Brooklyn college to fight for social justice Thursday morning

The 69-year-old did not mention former FBI director James Comey, who delivered some of the most watched political testimony in years by calling out the 'lies' told after president sacked him.

Clinton did reference Trump's campaign slogan as she praised the graduating class's diversity.

'You are an inspiring group,' the former senator said.

'You come from 94 countries, speak 44 languages  you embody what makes New York and America great already.'

Clinton also praised a Yemeni immigrant who had worked at a nearby deli prior to graduating from the college with honors.

'I'm certainly glad he wasn't banned from America,' she said.

Later on during her speech, the former first lady stressed the need to 'recommit ourselves to the urgent work of protecting the safety and civil rights of all our people, not moving in the opposite direction.'

The 69-year-old did not mention former FBI director James Comey (above), who delivered some of the most watched political testimony in years by calling out the 'lies' told after President sacked him.

She added, 'But instead we see official actions that turn us against one another and turn us back.

'The Muslim ban is a particularly egregious example  and yes, it is a ban, as the President himself made very clear this week.'

She also decried the confidence of white supremacists and a recent 'surge in hate crimes across our country'.

Clinton paid tribute to the victims of the Portland train attack, which a white supremacist fatally stabbed two men who were defending a teenage girl.

'This showed us the best and the worst of humanity among us,' Clinton said.

'We all  not just our nation's leaders, but all of us  must recommit ourselves to the urgent work of protecting the safety and civil rights of all our people.'

Clinton also decried the confidence of white supremacists and a recent 'surge in hate crimes across our country.' She paid tribute to the victims of the Portland train attack, which a white supremacist fatally stabbed two men who were defending a teenage girl

Clinton took the stage at the graduation after a pre-recorded video message from former NAACP chairwoman Myrlie Evers-Williams played. She is the widow to the college namesake, Medgar Evers, who was a Mississippi civil rights hero killed by Klansman in 1963.

The former Democratic presidential candidate praised his resilience, before she referenced the election.

'I've had a few setbacks in my own life ... and losing an election is pretty devastating, especially considering who I lost to,' she said.

'But even that pales in comparison to what Myrlie went through, and frankly what a lot of people go through every day.'

At several points during her speech, audience members shouted 'we love you Hillary' or 'Go Hillary.'

However, roughly 15 people outside of the Barclay's Center held signs protesting against Clinton and her husband.
Shocking surveillance footage shows the moment a woman plunged through a sidewalk access door in New Jersey because she was distracted by her phone.

The video shows the 67-year-old woman walking down Somerset Street in Plainfield.

At first she seems aware of her surroundings, even glancing at a store as she walked by.

Shocking surveillance footage shows the moment an elderly woman plunged through a sidewalk access door in New Jersey

The video shows the 67-year-old woman walking down Somerset Street in Plainfield. At first she seems aware of her surroundings, even glancing at a store as she walked by

But seconds later, the woman got distracted when she appeared to be texting on her phone. She then plummeted six feet through the open door

But seconds later, the woman got distracted when she appeared to be texting on her phone.

She then plummeted six feet through the open door.

Authorities said the incident happened in front of Acme Windows shortly after noon on Thursday.

The surveillance footage also shows the Plainfield Fire Division extricating the woman from the basement floor, according to ABC 7.

She was then rushed to the hospital for medical treatment. Authorities said the woman, who hasn't been identified, is listed in serious condition.

Officials said the access doors were open due to the repair of gas lines in the area.

Authorities said the incident happened in front of Acme Windows shortly after noon on Thursday

The surveillance footage also shows the Plainfield Fire Division extricating the woman from the basement floor

She was then rushed to the hospital for medical treatment. Authorities said the woman is listed in serious condition

Officials said the access doors were open outside of Acme Windows (pictured) due to the repair of gas lines in the area




An Australian man who went to Bali to celebrate his friend's wedding has been found dead at the bottom of a pool.

Tyler Kennedy, 31, couldn't be revived after he was hauled from a Canggu villa pool on Wednesday night, the Sunshine Coast Daily reported.

His body was found by close surfing buddy, Jake Townsend, who worked with him on the Gold Coast.

Tyler Kennedy, 31, couldn't be revived after he was hauled from a Canggu villa pool on Wednesday night (he is pictured)

Australian man Tyler Kennedy (pictured surfing) who went to Bali to celebrate his friend's wedding has been found dead at the bottom of a pool

Another friend, Dean Carpenter, said Mr Kennedy and a large group from Caloundra, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, had been in Bali to celebrate the wedding of Daryl Cook on Monday.

'He was at the villa at about 8pm when he decided to go for a swim,' Mr Carpenter said.

'Ten minutes had passed before Jake found him on the bottom of the pool.

'Jake and Tyler travelled the world together surfing.'

In response to questions about the former Caloundra State High School student, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who died in Bali.

Tyler Kennedy's body was found by close surfing buddy, Jake Townsend, who worked with him on the Gold Coast (Mr Kennedy is pictured surfing)
The Senate Intelligence Committee will question Jared Kushner later this month, insiders say.

Kushner, who is a person of interest in the FBI's Russia probe, is expected to present the Committee members with documents, meet with staffers and face questions from the senators.

Early reports said that the meeting would occur mid-June, according to two insiders, but a third source said the time is still being negotiated, NBC News reported.

Probed: Presidential aide Jared Kushner will face questioning by the Senate Intelligence Committee this month as the probe into his contacts with Russia continues

Kushner is not necessarily suspected of a crime, US officials said last month, but it's believed he may have information relevant to the investigation.

However, the FBI has been looking into several aspects of Kushner's work, both on the Trump election campaign and in his role as advisor to President Donald Trump.

Those aspects include his overseeing the Trump campaign's voter data operation and his attempts to open up a secret line of communication with Vladimir Putin.

It's believed that he may have attempted to set up the line to find someone in Moscow who could buy Kushner Companies' 41-storey tower at 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NBC reported Monday.

There are also concerns about his relationship with ex-national security advisor Michael Flynn.

Flynn was forced to step down after it emerged he had not properly briefed Vice President Mike Pence on his relationship with key Russian figures.

Kushner has himself been questioned for relationships with prominent Russians, including Sergey Gorkov, whom he met in December.

Gorkov is the chairman of Vnesheconombank, a Russian state-owned bank, and was appointed to the role by Putin.

Kushner met him as one of several representatives of major US banks and businesses, Reuters said.

Ex-FBI director James Comey was asked what he knew about Vnesheconombank during his testimony on Thursday, but said he couldn't publicly answer the question.
Since coming into office, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has talked a lot about the importance of local control, and derided the Obama administration for stepping on states authority to design their own K-12 systems.

Now a last-minute request from Alabamawhich wants to dump the ACT Aspire assessment and instead use a series of interim tests for accountability next school yearcould provide an important test case of the Trump administrations commitment to the concept of local control. How will it balance state flexibility with the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which passed with big bipartisan support back in 2015?

Alabama must decide by July 1 whether it wants to stick with ACT Aspire, the test specified in its current accountability plan. The state asked the department for a one-year waiver to use interim tests instead.

Alabama officials said during a state board meeting Thursday that their request was denied, according to AL.com .

The states superintendent, Michael Sentance, said hed had a conversation recently with Jason Botel, who is the acting assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education at the department, and it was pretty unsatisfactory. .... It was pretty clear right from the start that the answer was going to be no.

Alabamas board members were disheartened and suggested the states congressional delegation step in to help, AL.com reported.

The U.S. Department of Education however, has a different take: They havent given their final answer yet.

We have received Alabamas formal waiver request and it is being assessed, said Liz Hill, a spokeswoman.

Its not a total surprise though, that the conversation may not have gone as Alabama hoped. The Every Student Succeeds Act does indeed allow states to use a series of interimassessment-speak for short-termtests instead of one big overall exam for accountability purposes .

But these interim tests must meet certain quality requirements, ESSA says. For instance, the onus is on the state to show that the interim tests do indeed provide the same information as a single summative score. And the tests are supposed to go through the departments rigorous peer review process. It would be a big deal for DeVos to waive those requirements.

And its not clear that the interim tests Alabama was asking to use met the laws standards. (Weve put out a call to the Alabama Department of Education and will update if we hear back.)

We do know, however, that ACT Aspire didnt quite meet the federal departments requirements for tests that are rigorous and reflect state academic standards. The department said so in a recent peer-review lette r.

If the department ultimately rejects Alabamas request, it will be a signal thateven though local control is a watch-word of the Trump administrationthere are some clear limitations to that idea.



Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
A sheriff deputy and her husband have turned themselves in mere hours after a grand jury indicted them for murder.

Chauna Thompson looked flustered in a pair of black shorts and a grey t-shirt as she and her husband Terry walked towards the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Texas on Thursday.

The couple have been accused of strangling John Hernandez, 24, outside a Denny's branch chain in Sheldon, Texas - while his three-year-old daughter and wife begged them to stop,KTRK reported.

'The little daughter was screaming, "Quit hitting my daddy"', Hernandez's family attorney, Randall Kallinen, said.

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In a pair of shorts and a grey t-shirt, Chauna Thompson turned herself in to the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Texas on Thursday

Thompson (pictured left) and her husband (pictured right) have been charged with murder after a video appeared to show them strangling a man

Thompson (left) and her husband (right) showed little emotions as they posed for mugshtos

The incident occurred on May 28 at around 11 pm. Hernandez was urinating outside the restaurant when Terry shouted at him to stop, investigators say.

The verbal exchange quickly became physical.

A bystander recorded the alleged murder in a disturbing video, which appeared to show Thompson holding down Hernandez's arm with her knee while Terry mounted him and left him in a choke hold for several minutes until he apparently turned blue.

While this unfolded, Hernandez's wife and three-year-old daughter begged for Terry to release his strong hold.

In the recording, Terry can be heard repeatedly asking his alleged victim, 'do you want me to hit you again?' before two bystanders command the witness to stop the recording.

A Denny's employee who witnessed the alleged murder says she and other workers tried to stop Terry but it was to no avail.

'We kept asking him to let go and he wouldn't,' she said. 'He kept holding him and holding him and will not let go even after he turned blue.'

'It's wrong, he shouldn't have killed the man. No man is worth taking for the mistake.

'In my right mind, I wanted to do so much, but I knew working for Denny's any of us could get into a lot of trouble if any of us got involved.'

Hernandez was rushed to the hospital but died three days later, after the doctors had to take him off life support

The Thompsons allegedly strangled John Hernandez, pictured, while his three-year-old daughter, also pictured, begged them to stop

After witnesses say he was strangled for ten minutes, Hernandez stopped breathing and appeared lifeless.

Thompson then proceeded to give him CPR. Emergency services arrived and then rushed Hernandez to the hospital but after three days he died after doctors had to take him off life support.

Autopsy results revealed that he died from anoxic encephalopathy, which means that his brain was deprived of oxygen during the alleged strangulation.

The Thompsons' lawyers plan to claim the couple was acting on self-defense.

'The video to me is almost by itself enough. You see a person on the ground who is completely immobilized and grunting and moaning.

And you see a big guy on top of him choking him and he dies of that choking,' Kallinen said.

Protests have still erupted calling for justice and a fair trial since Thompson is a part of the law enforcement.

While the investigation ensues, Thompson will not be allowed to continue with her patrol duties and has been placed on the administrative team at the station.
Australian children who play video games that feature raunchy heroines with large breast are harming children more than ever, experts have warned.

Just like how Mattel's Barbie dolls, were once singled out by body image experts for sending the wrong message to young girls, it seems that their attention have now shifted to heroines with large boobs seen in many video games these days.

Experts interviewed by the Daily Telegraph said the threat brought on by this raunchy female characters can be detrimental if left unchecked.

Laura Matsuda is a raunchy video game character from the Street Fighter series

Aussie kids playing games with raunchy female characters were in for no good, experts warn

As it lead to harmful stereotypes and body dysmorphia, a mental illness involving an obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in a person's appearance.

To add salt to the injury a recent Salvation Army revealed that only 16 per cent of Australian girls were happy with their body image and weight.

Fictional characters such as Lara Croft, Rainbow Mika and Laura Matsuda from Street Fighter V and Honoka from the Dead or Alive franchise were the ones that have left experts concerned.

Sydney psychologist and director of BodyMatters Australasia Sarah McMahon told the Daily Mail Australia that it was really concerning to see young children being exposed to such images in mainstream games.

Ms McMahon, who specialises in treating patients with eating disorders and body shame issues said the fictional female characters seen in the video games did 'impossible things and were impossibly beautiful.'

She also questioned why these characters had no diversity.

'At least with the Barbie dolls, there was a level of imaginary. She had children and Ken dolls as husband,' she said.

Rainbow Mika, also known as R. Mika is a character from Capcom's Street Fighter series

A spokeswoman for Butterfly Foundation, an organisation that supports people affected by eating disorders and negative body image also echoed the same opinion as Ms McMahon.

Spokeswoman Sarah Spence told the Daily Mail Australia that raunchy female characters do have the potential of setting up unrealistic perceptions on what is considered normal body shape and size.

'They in some children can create the false thinking that this is what super hero characters are supposed to look like.

Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Tomb Raider franchise



'Body image issues are on the increase in both males and females.

'There would be similar such male characters created with unrealistic body shapes and sizes.

'Therefore these types of characters could have an effect on both boys and girls,'she said.
The mother of a man accused of stabbing a father to death in a wild brawl has gone to ground after getting death threats from an armed mob.

Heavily tattooed James Alderton, 22, has been charged with the murder of a father who was trying to protect his son during the melee in Murwillumbah.

Alderton's mother Heidi Eitz, 38, has gone into hiding after she was threatened by a mob of men stalking outside her home wielding bats, Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

Heavily tattooed James Alderton, 22, has been charged with stabbing a father to death

'When I arrived home [about 12.40pm on Tuesday] they were standing out the front of the house with bats and bottles and I was threatened myself,' she said.

'I'm staying away from home because I've had death threats I've had to have police escort me.

Alderton, whose is pictured making flipping the bird at the camera in a number of images on his Facebook, was remanded in custody following a court appearance.

Police allege Alderton was the one who sparked the deadly fight then stabbed three people with a knife stolen from a Coles.

Charlie Larter, 46, was killed and his 18-year-old son Zack was critically injured in a stabbing frenzy.

Detective Inspector Brendon Cullen said Alderton knew at least one of the victims but refused to comment on speculation the brawl was drug-related.

Police allege Alderton was the one who sparked the deadly fight then stabbed three people with a knife stolen from a Coles.

Alderton's mother Heidi Eitz, 38, has gone into hiding after she was threatened by a mob of men staking outside her home

Alderton, whose is pictured making flipping the bird at the camera in a number of images on his Facebook, was remanded in custody following a court appearance

'The motive and the cause behind what happened yesterday is something which we'll be focusing our investigations on today and going forward,' he told reporters in Tweed Heads on Wednesday.

Det Insp Cullen said despite the Murwillumbah police station being unmanned at the time of the attack, police had been on the scene within three minutes of being called.

He also denied such brawls were a frequent concern for residents of the town.

In mobile phone footage from the scene, a woman can be heard screaming: 'Get over here now, hurry up. My husband can't breathe!'

'There is no concern for crime in Murwillumbah. I'm assuring the people of Murwillumbah that they have a police presence there which is serving their community well,' he said.

In mobile phone footage from the scene, a woman can be heard screaming: 'Get over here now, hurry up. My husband can't breathe!'

Mr Larter was taken to Tweed Heads Hospital but later died.

It was his birthday, according to his sister who posted on social media.

'Well your last words to me this morning were I love you and mine to you -I love you. Way too young to die on your birthday RIP little brother,' Cathy Larter wrote on Tuesday.
This is the far-left Antifa movement whose members cowardly attacked political commentator Andrew Bolt on a Melbourne street on Tuesday.

Antifa Australia is a branch of a wider international movement which claims to 'defend the working class from fascists and other right-wing threats' and says 'Aussie pride can f*** right off'.

Members of Antifa Australia have claimed one of their 'family' was responsibility for attacking Bolt with thick liquid at a book launch in Carlton on Tuesday  which lead to a brawl on Lygon Street.

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Members of Antifa Australia marched against racism along the beach in Cronulla, a 'memorial' rally to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Cronulla riots

Bolt claimed the Antifa posted: 'Some of our family in solidarity were attacked by Andrew Bolt while they were protesting today. Why he isn't in prison for his horrendous, violent language yet is beyond me'.

The Facebook post has since been deleted.

Bolt said the attack shed light on the ongoing war waged by far-left activists against conservative voices like himself.

'It is ridiculous how dangerous it is for conservatives in this town to speak out,' Bolt told The Age.

'The right to free speech has to be better protected  everywhere but particularly in Melbourne.'

Bolt said he was not the first to be attacked by the far-left leaning Antifa group and said he refused to take it lying down.

'Their sort has ruled the streets for too long,' he wrote for the Herald Sun.

'This must stop. It must not be this dangerous for conservatives to speak in Melbourne, while bullies escape punishment and the media Left yawns.'

Members of Antifa Australia demonstrated against a Reclaim Australia rally in Melton, Melbourne on November 22, 2015

The moment Andrew Bolt is cowardly attacked by two masked men in Melbourne on Tuesday

Antifa Australia claims to stand up for left-wing, progressive views, and boasts a staunch resistance to 'the Right Wing'.

'[We are] here to educate, organise and fight,' the group said on its Facebook page.

'To inform the public about nationalism, fascism, capitalism, racism, sexism, religious persecution, homophobia, xenophobia, attacks on minorities.'

Bolt said he would not take Tuesday's attack lying down and condemned political violence

'This must stop. It must not be this dangerous for conservatives to speak in Melbourne, while bullies escape punishment and the media Left yawns,' Bolt said following the attack

The group made a personal mention to One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson.

The Queensland Senator, who is outspoken about her conservative views, was labelled 'xenophobic' on the Antifa Australia site.

The group said there was a 'capitalist crisis infecting the idiotic with fascism'.

'You and your fascist minions will be defeated,' it said in a Facebook post.

'Aussie pride can f*** right off,' it said condemning the celebration of Australia Day.

'No pride in genocide.'

The attack on Bolt by two masked men in Melbourne turns into a brawl on Lygon Street

Members of the group have been pictured wearing balaclavas and other face coverings to protect their identities as they did when they reportedly attacked Bolt on Tuesday.

Bolt, who hosts The Bolt Report on Sky News and co-hosts a 2GB radio show , said it was not the first time 'masked idiots' attacked conservative leaders.

He said violent threats forced the cancellation of a meeting between Senator Hanson and conservative Jews.

Ms Hanson also condemned the extreme left wing following the event for its 'violent attacks on free speech and the right to gather peacefully'.

Antifa Australia said there was a 'capitalist crisis infecting the idiotic with fascism'

Antifa Australia has boasted of various movements online including an 'anti-racism' march at Cronulla beach protesting the 2015 riots which were racially fuelled

A physical altercation also broke out at Melbourne University when Sophie Mirabella was jostled by left-wing activists.

Antifa Australia has boasted of various movements online including an 'anti-racism' march at Cronulla beach protesting the 2005 riots which were reportedly racially fuelled.

The group also demonstrated at a Reclaim Australia rally in Melton, Melbourne in November 2015.

It also fronted anti-Islam protests in Penrith, and stormed Australia First Party headquarters in New South Wales.

Antifa Australia failed to respond to Daily Mail Australia's requests for comment.

Bolt said political activism, regardless of whether it targeted the left or the right, 'must stop'.

'We must be able to discuss ideas in public without being threatened, intimidated and attacked,' he said.
A 32-year-old man attempted to cross the frigid waters of a channel in Alaska while floating in a homemade watercraft.

But he wasn't alone. The man was spotted by the US Coast Guard with his trusted dog companion onboard the unsafe contraption.

Coast Guard officials said the man and his canine pal were floating on an inflatable, duct-taped watercraft when it started to take on water.

A 32-year-old man (pictured) attempted to cross the frigid waters of an Alaskan channel in a homemade watercraft. But he wasn't alone. The man was spotted by the US Coast Guard with his trusted dog companion onboard the unsafe contraption

The daredevil was reportedly attempting to cross the Gastineau Channel near Juneau, Alaska's capital city, on Wednesday.

According to a news release, he was trying to reach Point Bishop in the unsafe watercraft.

In a photo released by the Coast Guard, the man is seen paddling the 'boat' with a pair of shades on as his dog sits next to him.

The Coast Guard says in a release that the duct-taped boat was homemade. According to officials, the unidentified man was not wearing a life jacket.

An off-duty Coast Guard member saw the unsafe craft and called it in. The Coast Guard delivered the man, dog and boat to Douglas Harbor in Juneau.

The weather on Wednesday was calm with 9mph winds. The Gastineau Channel separates Juneau on the mainland of Alaska and Douglas Island.
Alex Salmond prepares to give a concession speech after he was kicked out of Parliament - ending more than 30 years in frontline politics.

Alex Salmond has been kicked out of Parliament after losing his fight to be re-elected as MP for Gordon - ending more than 30 years in frontline politics.

The former SNP leader joined more than a dozen of his SNP colleagues on the sacked list this morning in a grim night for the nationalists.

He called the result a 'grievous blow' to the party but refused to say the second independence referendum is dead.

Mr Salmond was swept away by a Scottish Conservative surge that saw an historic resurgence in the Scottish borders and the north east.

Scotland's former first minister has spent most of the last 30 years in a Westminster seat - aside from between 2010 and 2015 - but last night was defeated by Colin Clark on a huge swing to the Tories in yesterday's election.

After his defeat he said in his concession speech: 'You've not seen the last of my bonnet and me' - a quote from a Jacobean song - but it could be the end of his Westminster career.

Mr Salmond, the SNP's foreign affairs spokesman, had swept to power in the seat with a 8,687 majority in 2015, overturning decades of Liberal Democrat rule.

His 2015 election was a triumphant return to Westminster after a spell leading the Scottish Government in Holyrood that ended with defeat in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Alex Salmond has been kicked out of Parliament after losing his fight to be re-elected as MP for Gordon

The former SNP leader joined more than a dozen of his SNP colleagues on the sacked list this morning in a grim night for the nationalists

Jubilation: Ruth Davidson, whose Scottish Conservatives ejected Mr Salmond from Gordon and Mr Robertson from Moray, said her party is enjoying an 'historic night'

In his speech, Mr Salmond said: 'The SNP has lost a number of fine parliamentarians this evening, that is a grievous blow for us.

'But overall results show the SNP will win a majority of the seats in this country and a majority of the votes.'

He said that while the SNP may have been reduced in numbers at Westminster, they will still have significant influence.

And he added: 'You've not seen the last of my bonnet and me,' quoting a Jacobite song.

As the results emerged this morning, Nicola Sturgeon's hopes of breaking up the United Kingdom faced a devastating blow.

The SNP has suffered a slump in support in the General Election, with the party's depute leader among several high-profile nationalists ousted from Westminster.

Angus Robertson lost his Moray seat to Tory Douglas Ross - who overturned a majority of more than 9,000.

Other prominent nationalists who have lost their seats are Mike Weir, who had represented Angus in the House of Commons since 2001, and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheik, who lost the Ochil and South Perthshire seat to the Tories.

Scotland is now the one bright spot for the beleaguered Tories, set for their best result in 25 years as the Conservative Scottish Secretary warned 'the SNP bubble has burst.'

Nicola Sturgeon said she was 'disappointed by the SNP losses', but she added the result was the second best ever for the party

First Minister and SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon was mobbed by SNP supporters as she arrived at the counting hall

After the devastating loss of his Gordon seat, Salmond left the count with his wife Moira

SNP depute leader Angus Robertson has been spectacularly ousted from Parliament by the Tories, as the nationalists saw their share of the vote slump

After winning 56 of the 59 Scottish constituencies in 2015, this time round the SNP lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats

She said: 'This has been a disaster for Theresa May. She called an election clearly very arrogantly thinking she was going to crush the opposition, sweep everybody aside and cruise to a landslide majority.

'Her position I think is very, very difficult. We have to wait and see how things shake out. I've always said the SNP would want to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government.

'I'm disappointed at the SNP losses but I'm pleased that we've won the election.'

As he arrived at the count in Aberdeen, former SNP leader Alex Salmond told reporters: 'Sometimes you get swings in politics that even the excellence of individual MPs can't withstand.'

After winning 56 of the 59 Scottish constituencies in 2015, this time round the SNP lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

The SNP lost the first seat of the night north of the border to Labour, with Gerard Killen winning Rutherglen and Hamilton West from Margaret Ferrier.

Labour also returned to winning ways in Scotland's largest city, winning Glasgow North East from the nationalists, ousting Anne McLaughlin, and defeated the SNP in Midlothian and East Lothian.

After winning 56 of the 59 Scottish constituencies in 2015, this time round the SNP lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats

Elated Tory leader Ruth Davidson, pictured this morning with her partner Jen Wilson

Tommy Sheppard, Scottish National Party member of parliament for Edinburgh East, speaks after winning the seat

SNP supporters celebrate Tommy Sheppard's winning Edinburgh East for SNP

Despite the losses, Sturgeon said: 'I've always said the SNP would want to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government'

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates Scottish Labour candidate Ian Murray winning

Sturgeon said: 'This has been a disaster for Theresa May. She called an election clearly very arrogantly thinking she was going to crush the opposition, sweep everybody aside and cruise to a landslide majority'

Self-styled Mr Scotland's Westminster career is ended by the Tories

In happier times: Alex Salmond, then SNP MP for Banff & Buchan, celebrating election an win with his wife Moira Salmond in June 1987

Alex Salmond spent 20 years as SNP leader and took charge in 1990 when the party had just three MPs in Westminster and there was no such thing as a Scottish Parliament.

Today there are more than 30 MPs in Westminster and

an unprecedented overall majority in Holyrood, and having secured an historic referendum on independence.

He said he wanted to put the future of Scotland in the hands of the Scottish people.

They took his dream of separation and tore it to shreds. But he is a man who refuses to take no for an answer.

Born in Linlithgow in 1954, Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond was educated at Linlithgow Academy and St Andrew's University, where he first joined the SNP.

Graduating with a degree in economics and history, he worked as an economist for both the Government Economic Service and the Royal Bank of Scotland before being elected as an MP for the Banff and Buchan constituency in 1987.

In 1981 he married Moira, 17 years his senior They have no children, and she is rarely seen in public, though she was on hand to smuggle a Saltire past Wimbledon security in her handbag for Salmond to wave when Andy Murray was crowned champion in 2013.

Mr Salmond, who will turn 60 on New Year's Eve, said he had decided to 'step up to the plate' in the interests of Scotland +5

Mr Salmond, who will turn 60 on New Year's Eve, said he had decided to 'step up to the plate' in the interests of Scotland

His election at Westminster followed a turbulent period for the SNP, which saw its number of seats fall from 11 to two in the 1979 general election.

As a young and brash newcomer, Salmond played a role in the breakaway faction of the party known as the '79 Group' which sought to take a more left-wing stance.

His brief expulsion as a result did not hinder his advancement within the party in the long-term, with his election to leader coming in 1990.

With the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, Salmond went on to serve as leader of the opposition at Holyrood, while retaining his seat at Westminster.

He stood down as SNP leader in 2000 and left the Scottish Parliament in 2001.

In his speech, Mr Salmond said: 'The SNP has lost a number of fine parliamentarians this evening, that is a grievous blow for us'

Returning as leader in 2004, he guided the SNP to a narrow Scottish election win in 2007 and then led a minority government as he became Scotland's first SNP First Minister.

With the Tories all-but wiped out in Scotland, and Labour's big beasts serving in Tony Blair's Cabinet in Westminster, few could match Salmond's abilities.

While New Labour viewed Holyrood as a small pond compared to the shark-infested waters of Westminster, Salmond was the biggest fish north of the border.

He rebranded the Scottish Executive as the Scottish Government, greeting David Cameron in Edinburgh like a visiting dignitary, not the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

After the 2011 elections, he bounced Westminster into accepting his claim to have a democratic mandate for a referendum.

A year later he bounced David Cameron into accepting the timing of the referendum, and giving 16 and 17-year-olds the vote.

A Star Trek fan, a keen golfer, an enthusiastic gambler, Salmond has a competitive streak to almost everything, even dieting.

When trying to slim on the 5:2 diet, he boasted how he had shed the pounds faster than Chancellor George Osborne.

He returned to Westminster in 2015 but lost in the snap election called two years later in a 'grievous blow' for the party.
The federal government has charged two American nationals with scouting possible terrorism targets in the US and Panama for the Iranian-backed organization Hezbollah, it was announced on Thursday.

The FBI says that Ali Kourani, a 32-year-old resident of New York, and Samer el Debek, 37, from Dearborn, Michigan, were arrested last week.

The two men, both of whom are naturalized US citizens, were charged with weapons-related crimes as well as multiple counts of providing material support for a terrorist organization, according to NBC News.

They are also believed to have received military training from Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim group based in Lebanon.

If convicted, they could spend the rest of their lives in prison.

According to officials, Kourani immigrated to the US legally from Lebanon in 2003.

The FBI says that Ali Kourani (above), a 32-year-old resident of New York, and another man, Samer el Debek (not pictured), 37, of Dearborn, Michigan, scouted potential terrorist targets

The two men were alleged to have been conducting 'pre-operational surveillance' for Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim organization considered to be a terrorist outfit by the US State Department. Hezbollah gunmen are seen above in Beirut on May 11, 2008

The federal government says he conducted 'pre-operational surveillance' of potential military and intelligence targets in New York.

According to the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan, the targets included LaGuardia Airport and the FBI's New York headquarters.

The government says that Kourani attended Hezbollah training camps in Lebanon when he was 16 years old.

Kourani never mentioned this on his immigration application, which requires disclosure of any past ties to terrorist organizations.

As for el Debek, officials do not say how or when he entered the US.

The government is alleging that el Debek traveled to Panama, where he scouted the American and Israeli embassies. Authorities also said that el Debek was looking for 'security vulnerabilities' in the Panama Canal (above)

According to the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan, the targets included LaGuardia Airport (above) and the FBI's New York headquarters

The Jacob Javits Federal Building in lower Manhattan, the tallest federal building in the United States, is home to, among other agencies, the FBI's New York field office

The government is alleging that el Debek traveled to Panama, where he scouted the American and Israeli embassies.

Authorities also said that el Debek was looking for 'security vulnerabilities' in the Panama Canal.

Investigators who examined el Debek's computer allegedly found over 250 searches of sites with terms like 'Hezbollah martyrs' and 'martyrs of Islamic resistance.'

Kourani and el Debek 'received military-style training, including in the use of weapons like rocket-propelled grenade launchers and machine guns for use in the support of the group's terrorist mission,' according to acting US Attorney for the Southern District Joon Kim.

NBC News only reported on the case a week after the arrests and charges because law enforcement official asked the press to withhold details of the investigation, citing security concerns.

Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group aligned with Iran and the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, has been designated a terrorist organization by the State Department since 1997.
A man who was stabbed in the buttocks during a daylight brawl has been filmed smoking a cigarette as paramedics wheel him into an ambulance.

Emergency services were called to a unit block in Cartwright, south-western Sydney, just before 9am on Friday morning following reports of a fight.

Police officers arrived to find a man with stab wounds to his bottom.

A man who suffered stab wounds to his buttocks during a daylight brawl puffed away on a cigarette as paramedics wheeled him to an ambulance

The man seemed unconcerned with his injuries and took one last deep drag of the cigarette before throwing it to the ground

Paramedics treated him at the scene before taking him to Liverpool Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Video captures the moment the attack victim - lying shirtless in a stretcher as two paramedics wheel him into an ambulance - puffs away on a cigarette.

Seemingly unconcerned with the stab wounds to his nether regions, the main hoists his body upright to take one last drag of the cigarette before throwing it away.

A crime scene has been established at the complex and detectives from Green Valley Local Area Command will continue with their inquiries.

Police believe the stabbing occurred outside the unit block.

Investigators are calling for anyone with information surrounding the incident to come forward.

Emergency services were called to a unit block in Cartwright, south-western Sydney, just before 9am on Friday morning following reports of a fight

Paramedics treated the man at the scene before taking him to Liverpool Hospital with non life-threatening injuries

A crime scene has been established at the complex and an investigation has been launched
Rebel Wilson's 'raw' and 'candid' testimony during her defamation trial against Bauer Media is evidence she is 'obviously not a serial liar', her lawyer claims.

Matthew Collins QC praised the Pitch Perfect actor's behaviour and composure during the past three weeks in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

During his closing address to the jury on Friday, Dr Collins referred to the Bible while discussing the seriousness of being called a liar.

Rebel Wilson's 'raw' and 'candid' testimony during her defamation trial against Bauer Media is evidence she is 'obviously not a serial liar', her lawyer claims

He said not lying was one of the 10 Commandments and was taught to children, with ordinary and reasonable members of society thinking less of liars.

Wilson, 37, is suing Bauer Media for defamation over a series of articles in May 2015 she says damaged her reputation by painting her as a serial liar, putting her out of work for a year and a half.

The articles claimed to reveal the truth about Wilson's 'real' name, age and childhood after the actor added a touch of 'fantasy' in order to 'make it in Hollywood'.

The Bridesmaids and Fat Pizza actor has maintained throughout the trial she has never lied to journalists.

The Bridesmaids and Fat Pizza actor has maintained throughout the trial that she has never lied to journalists

Australian actress Rebel Wilson arrives at the Victorian Supreme Court on June 8, 2017 in Melbourne

One of Bauer's defences is that the matters referred to in the article were 'trivial' and unlikely to cause the actor any real harm.

Dr Collins referred to a 'pre-interview' former Australian Women's Weekly journalist Caroline Overington claims she had with the 37-year-old star before a formal interview in October 2014.

Ms Overington previously gave evidence that Wilson confirmed with her that she was 29, that her real name was Rebel and that she was related to Walt Disney.

Australian actress Rebel Wilson arrives at the Victorian Supreme Court on June 8, 2017 in Melbourne

However, Dr Collins said that conversation never happened.

He said the inclusion of the star's age in Ms Overington's article did not occur until its 10th draft after an editor referenced the IMDB movie database website, which erroneously listed Wilson's age as 29.

Dr Collins also reminded the jury that Ms Overington had 'lost or destroyed' her notes and audio recording of the day's interview.

'Caroline Overington's evidence about all of this is just not to be believed,' he said.
The Tories faced a near wipe out in London this morning as devastating election results turned swathes of the capital red and yellow.

Labour defeated Tory ministers Jane Ellison and Gavin Barwell to take Battersea and Croydon Central.

In West London, the Liberal Democrats reclaimed Twickenham and Kingston and Surbiton as Sir Vince Cable and Sir Ed Davey return to Westminster.

All the seats that changed hands heavily backed Remain at last year's EU referendum. London defied the national 52 per cent vote for Brexit to endorse Remain by 59.9 per cent.

With 72 of 73 London seats declared, the Tories had lost five seats - three to Labour two to the Liberal Democrats - but gained back Richmond Park.

Labour now holds 48 of the capital's seats.

Theresa May (pictured leaving Tory headquarters this morning) has faced heavy losses in London as Remain voters delivered a painful Brexit backlash

Tories Tania Mathias (left) and Jane Ellison (right) lost their seats overnight as Remain voters dismissed the Tories in the capital

Ex-chancellor George Osborne told ITV News: 'If you start losing seats like this, like Battersea, then that is trouble.

'As a seat won actually some time ago by the Conservatives what are we doing losing Battersea?'

Battersea was lost on a 10 per cent swing from the Tories to Labour, wiping out the Conservative majority.

Education Secretary Justine Greening clung on in Putney, South West London, as her majority of 10,000 was slashed to 1,500.

She told the BBC: 'It is exceptionally hard in these political climates to really see what is going on on the ground.

'It may be that what we are seeing in this vote is people are still in a debate about what that future direction should be.'

Mr Corbyn's party was polling strongly in London and other Remain-voting cities with high student, young professional and minority ethnic populations.

Meanwhile the Tories looked set to hold on to Leave seats in a vindication for Theresa May's promise to deliver on a hard Brexit.

Sir Vince Cable was among the benefactors as he won back Twickenham for the Liberal Democrats

During the campaign, the Prime Minister had vowed to deliver a full-blooded Brexit and set out a positive vision for a 'strong, fairer more prosperous' Britain outside the Brussels club.

Most London boroughs voted to remain in the EU  bucking the national trend. Across all 33 boroughs in the capital, 59.9 per cent of voters  some 2.26million  voted in favour of remaining in the EU. In some areas, the Remain vote was more than 70 per cent.

Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Sutton, Havering and Hillingdon were the only areas that supported Brexit.

Mrs May faced calls to resign from within her own party this morning after a devastating general election left her authority shattered.

Former Conservative minister Anna Soubry led the charge against the embattled Prime Minister as she condemned a 'dreadful' Tory campaign.

Ms Soubry slammed the Tory campaign for sending out negative messages on key policies like free school meals and social care.

As dawn broke, Mrs May appeared on the brink of becoming one of the shortest lived PM's in history after losing seats at the snap election she did not have to call.

The Tory leader has just hours to work out her next steps - or face having it decided for her if her party takes matters into its own hands.

Mrs May has already visited Conservative headquarters in Westminster and was said to be 'calm' when she addressed party staff in the early hours of the morning - but gave no hint of her own future.

The ailing premier is now thought to be with her husband Philip and closest aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill.

'Is this the end for Nick and Fi?': Blame turns to May's top aides as the Tories wake up to losses

Blame for Theresa May's catastrophic election blunder was settling on her controversial aides this morning.

Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, Mrs May's joint chiefs of staff, have been warned their extraordinary controlling role at No 10 cannot continue even if their boss keeps power.

Mr Timothy was already under fire inserting into the manifesto at the last minute the social care pledge which blew up the Tory campaign.

Mrs May has been criticised ever since taking over No 10 last summer for keeping decisions within their secretive triangle of three.

Blame for Theresa May's catastrophic election blunder was settling on her controversial aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill (pictured at Tory HQ today) this morning

Ms Hill and Mr Timothy have worked with Mrs May since she was Home Secretary.

One senior backbencher said: 'Obviously some people are talking about changing personnel. I think that's very much a matter for the Prime Minister to decide for herself.

'If you start changing your advisors then you have conceded something quite important. But I do think there needs to be a real effort to make sure there are open lines of communication.'

Before the polls closed yesterday, one Minister described the Conservative campaign as the 'worst in living memory'.
If you listen to one top Democratic senator, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has pledged to make sure schools participating in a proposed federally backed school choice program must follow federal special education law. But the issue isnt necessarily so straightforward.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the ranking member of the Senate education committee, thinks DeVos made the answer pretty clear. On Tuesday, she asked DeVos if the $250 million school choice program in President Donald Trumps proposed budget would require participating schools to comply with IDEA. (Thats a reference to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, the federal law governing programs for special-needs students.) DeVos replied, Absolutely. Watch that exchange below:

An aide to Murray subsequently said this amounted to a commitment that all students in schools receiving federal funds should be protected under our nations civil rights laws, including the full range of Title IX and IDEA. In other words, Murray believes DeVos has pledged that schools using federally funded vouchers would have to follow IDEA.

But can DeVos make that promise and have it backed up by the law itself right now?

The short answer is no. As our colleague Christina Samuels wrote recently , Federal law states that parents who choose to enroll their children in private schools do not receive the Individuals with Disabilities Act protections that are granted to public school students. And right now, states as a general rule do not require private schools participating in state-run voucher programs to follow IDEA.

We dont yet know the exact legal structure of the $250 million program proposed by the Trump administrationindeed, DeVos said there is no specific proposal under that line item in the spending blueprint. But if any federal voucher program is to require private schools to follow IDEA, that would require either a direct change to the law outside the budget process, or change to the language in a congressional appropriations bill funding the Education Department. In the latter scenario, the Trump administration could propose such language, but only Congress could adopt it.

And either proposition would face a very steep uphill climb in Congress. DeVos said during the hearing said that her department would not issue decrees on which students are or are not covered under civil rights laws without congressional and court decisions on those outstanding issues.

In fact, some might argue that private schools shouldnt have to follow IDEA, in part because there are no federal dollars flowing their way under the law.

And here its worth pointing out that IDEA is about eight years overdue for reauthorization by federal lawmakers. The law was last reauthorized in 2004, and has been overdue for reauthorization since 2009. Any reauthorization could include a requirement for private schools to follow IDEA. So far, theres been little interest expressed so far this Congress in taking a fresh look at the law.

So irrespective of DeVos pledge to Murray, it will probably take congressional action for her pledge to really have teeth.

Assistant Editor Christina Samuels contributed to this blog post.

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Robert Bryant Melson (pictured in this undated photo), 46, was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday at a south Alabama prison

Alabama has put to death a man convicted for the 1994 shooting deaths of three fast food restaurant employees.

Officials say 46-year-old Robert Melson was pronounced dead at 10.27pm Thursday following a lethal injection at a southwest Alabama prison.

Melson was visited by his uncle, brother, aunt, and two attorneys before his execution.

Throughout the day, Melson refused breakfast at 5am and he also refused a last meal.

Melson was convicted of killing three people during a robbery of a Popeye's restaurant in Gadsden, 60 miles northeast of Birmingham.

State prosecutors said Melson and Cuhuatemoc Peraita, who used to work at the fast-food chain, robbed the restaurant.

They said Melson opened fire on four employees on April 15, 1994. Nathaniel Baker, Tamika Collins and Darrell Collier were killed.

The surviving employee, Bryant Archer, crawled out of the freezer and called for help.

Archer was able to identify one of the robbers as Peraita. While he could not identify Melson, prosecutors said Melson told police he had been with Peraita that night.

Scroll down for video

Melson was convicted of killing three people during a robbery of a Popeye's restaurant in Gadsden, 60 miles northeast of Birmingham. The robbery and shooting took place at this Popeyes on April 15, 1994. The store is pictured recently

Tamika Collins (pictured) was one of the three people killed. Her mother posted these pictures on social media Thursday morning

A shoeprint behind the store also matched Melson's shoes, they said.

Archer told Alabama.com he remembers the exact amount of money Melson and his accomplice, Peraita, tried to make off with.

'For $2,100, they killed three people and shot me five times,' he said, before explaining how the two men led him and his three co-workers into the store's freezer.

'I was the first one in, and the other three were behind me. The door shut and I thought they were running off, so I sat down. That's when the door opened and I saw the first blast.

'I could see what was going on, but it kind of went to a blur. I could still see but I couldn't move anymore.'

Melson's attorneys unsuccessfully asked appellate courts to halt the execution in order to review the constitutionality of Alabama's lethal injection protocol.

They argued there were unsettled questions about the humaneness of Alabama's lethal injection process.

Melson appealed a judge's dismissal of lawsuits that argued Alabama plans to use the sedative midazolam has been linked to what they say were problematic executions.

Other inmates have appealed the dismissal as well.

Some states have turned to the sedative as other lethal injection drugs became difficult to obtain.

They argued that a federal judge prematurely dismissed their lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the state's death penalty procedures.

Melson's attorneys had filed a flurry of last-minute appeals seeking to temporarily stay the execution, but to no avail.

The US Supreme Court lifted its temporary stay of Melson's execution around 9.10pm Thursday night. The temporary stay had been issued around 5.45pm.

Melson (left) robbed the store with Cuhuatemoc Peraita (right) - who was also convicted of murder over the three deaths. He was sentenced to life in prison, but is currently on death row for murdering another inmate while behind bars

Midazolam is supposed to prevent inmates from feeling pain before other drugs are given to stop their lungs and heart, but several executions in which inmates lurched or coughed have raised questions about its use.

An inmate in Alabama coughed and heaved for the first 13 minutes of an execution held in December.

Melson's attorney argued that midazolam does not anesthetize an inmate, but they look still, because a second drug, a paralytic, prevents them from moving.

WHAT IS MIDAZOLAM? Midazolam is a sedative that has been used as a replacement substance in lethal injections as the chemicals used in the original formula created in the 1970s became harder to get. It first made headlines when Joseph Wood was put to death in Arizona in 2014, and the drug was used as part of a cocktail. Wood received 15 doses, but the execution took more than two hours and he 'gagged and choked the entire time', according to Newsweek. The drug was also used in Ohio in 2014 on Dennis McGuire, and while the execution lasted 20 minutes, he too gasped for air, choked, and tried to sit up during it. Advertisement

'Alabama's execution protocol is an illusion. It creates the illusion of a peaceful death when in truth, it is anything but,' Melson's attorneys wrote in the filing to the Alabama Supreme Court.

'It should not allow Mr. Melson's execution to go forward in the face of botched executions and significant challenges to the constitutionality of Alabama's execution protocol.'

The 11th Circuit did not rule on the merits of Melson's claim when it issued the first stay. Judges said they were issuing the stay to avoid prejudging the other inmates' appeals.

The Alabama attorney general's office has argued midazolam's use has been upheld by the Supreme Court and it has allowed multiple executions to proceed using the drug, including the execution of an Alabama inmate last month.

'If a stay were granted, Melson's execution would be delayed many months, if not years. The State, the victims' families, and the surviving victim in this case have waited long enough for justice to be delivered,' the attorney general's office wrote in a Wednesday court filing with the 11th Circuit.

Peraita was also convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

He is currently on death row for murdering another inmate while in prison.
ISIS has abducted and killed two Chinese nationals living in Pakistan, the terror group claimed.

China and Pakistan said on Friday that they were investigating the claim after a video appearing to show the pair was sent to journalists.

The two victims have been described as teachers and were said to be a couple.

The two Chinese nationals have been identified as Li Xinheng (left) and Lu Ling Lina by the Pakistani Police, who provided the pictures to the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA)

A Pakistani man was injured while trying to help the two Chinese nationals from being abducted. The man is pictured receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Quetta

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told the official Xinhua News Agency on Friday that the government was seeking information from Pakistani authorities.

'We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern. We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days,' Hua was quoted as saying.

She added: 'The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities.'

Hua also stressed that China opposes terrorism and extreme violence in any form.

In Islamabad, two Pakistani security officials said they were investigating the claim, but no bodies have been found.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying (pictured) said Beijing expressed 'grave concern' over the reports. The Chinese authorities are investigating into the claim

Earlier Friday, a 24-second video was sent to the phones of journalists working in Baluchistan - apparently by the Islamic State group.

The footage appeared to show the bloodied bodies of a Chinese man and woman.

Pakistani officials speaking to Associated Press on routine condition of anonymity said they were aware of the video but the bodies had not been found or their identities verified.

It's believed that the two victims were teachers at a private language school.

They were kidnapped on May 24 by gunmen dressed as police who stopped their car in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan.

A bystander who attempted to intervene was shot and wounded while rescuing a third person.

The two victims were a couple, according to The Guardian. The report said they were studying Urdu and teaching Mandarin in Quetta.

Pakistani security officials inspected the area where the Chinese couple were abducted

A handout photo appearing to show the two Chinese nationals have been distributed by the European Pressphoto Agency. The photo was made available by the Pakistani Police, said the agency.

The photo show the portraits of two Chinese nationals, identified as Li Xinheng and Lu Ling Lina.

A statement from the ISIS news agency on late Thursday said the two Chinese teachers had been killed.

The ISIS claim came hours after Pakistan's military released the pictures of what it said were 12 slain members of the militant group.

They were killed in this week's operation in the south-western province of Baluchistan, where the military said it foiled an attempt to set up an organised IS militant base.

Thousands of Chinese work in Pakistan and have sometimes been targeted by militants. China is a longtime ally of Pakistan and is building roads and power plants under multi-billion-dollar project termed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Islamic militants opposed to Chinese rule in the north-western region of Xinjiang are also believed to be sheltering in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas, from which they have threatened to launch attacks.
There was international uproar when the 'Trivago guy' was replaced by a relatively unknown Australian.

But since becoming the face of the travel website in commercials airing in Australia and abroad, Gabrielle Miller has developed a cult following of her own.

The Australian actress has been flooded with marriage proposals since her ad first went to air, but she is blissfully unaware of her international stardom.

'What? No, I wasn't aware. Sounds very unlikely. Tell me more,' Ms Miller told news.com.au.

Gabrielle Miller (pictured) replaced the 'Trivago guy' as the face of the travel website

The Australian actress, who lives in Berlin, is blissfully unaware of her international stardom

'What? No, I wasn't aware. Sounds very unlikely. Tell me more,' Ms Miller said of her fame

She revealed she secured the role in the advertisement after auditioning on a nudist beach on the Greek island of Crete.

'The request was to dress as a Hollywood star, casual but fashionable, and to imagine that I was in an animated studio preferably against a white background,' Ms Miller told the publication.

'Of course I had none of the above therefore I had to be resourceful, so I wedged the camera between two rocks, wiped the zinc off my face and filmed a rough version of the script while trying to avoid too many bare bottoms in the background.'

The advertisement has generated the highest digital response rate of any of Trivago's English-language promotions, according to an advertising analytics firm.

There was international uproar when the popular 'Trivago guy' was replaced by the relatively unknown Australian

But abroad Australian actress Gabrielle Miller has now developed a cult following of her own

This social media user seems to think the travel website's advertising strategy is working

Ms Miller, who lives in Berlin but calls Australia's Sunshine Coast home, revealed she once applied for a role on hit soap Home and Away, but she 'did a terrible audition.'

She has since performed in film, stage productions and cabaret shows - and has worked as a professional dancer.

Ms Miller is also a member of a swing jazz band, Zap, which has toured Asia and Europe.

She was born in Coffs Harbour on the New South Wales North Coast before relocating to Queensland as a teenager.

She secured the role in the advertisement after auditioning on a nudist beach on the Greek island of Crete

Ms Miller lives in Germany but calls Australia's Sunshine Coast home. She was born in Coffs Harbour
A young Australian entrepreneur has made millions overnight after selling her start-up recruitment website.

At 26-years-old Gen George has sold her company OneShift to labour hire and maintenance firm Programmed.

She didn't reveal the sale price, but in 2013 Programmed valued the business at $18.2 million.

At 26-years-old Gen George has sold her company OneShift to labour hire and maintenance firm Programmed

Ms George started the company in 2012 when she was just 21 as an employment website for short-term retail and hospitality workers after struggling to find work, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

'In 2011 I deferred my property law degree to work in Europe. I had a job on a boat in France lined up in six weeks and thought I'd find short-term work in the interim but it wasn't that easy,' Ms George told the publication.

After seeing many of her friends in the same position as her Ms George decided to fill a gap in the market.

The 26-year-old said persistence and spotting a hole in the market paid off.

'I sticky-taped a WordPress website together, put up posters around universities and talked to business owners,' she said.

The company started with just 300 university student members and now has 56 staff and over 1 million members.

Ms George's father Phillip George played an important role in the start up, coming on as an executive chairman.

He runs property development company the George Group with his brothers.

He sold the family business Mrs Crocket's Kitchen, a manufacturer and distributor of fresh chilled prepared salads, vegetables and desserts, for more than $100million ten years ago.
A Sydney masseur has been jailed for at least three years for sexually molesting a client during a massage.

Anthony Theodosiou was found guilty in January by a District Court jury of six out of eight charges of molesting the woman.

The molestation occurred during her appointment at a Sutherland clinic in August 2015.

Judge Andrew Haesler allowed him to remain on bail after the verdicts because his wife was about to give birth.

But he was jailed on Thursday for four years and nine months with a minimum term of three years.

Anthony Theodosiou was found guilty in January by a District Court jury of six out of eight charges of molesting the woman
A Long Island architect who has done work for A-list celebrities like Clint Eastwood and Michael J. Fox has been arrested again for allegedly possessing child pornography, it was learned on Thursday.

Jay Lockett Sears, 78, was taken into custody by federal agents after he allegedly pasted the faces of little girls onto the bodies of naked women.

The act is a violation of the terms of Sears' supervised release.

Jay Lockett Sears, 78, was taken into custody by federal agents after he allegedly pasted the faces of little girls onto the bodies of naked women. In 2013, he was convicted in US District Court in Central Islip (above) of committing the same crimes

In 2013, Sears was convicted in US District Court in Central Islip of committing the same crimes, according to the New York Daily News.

Under the terms of his release, Sears was forbidden from engaging in acts of child pornography.

Authorities arrested him after his probation officer allegedly found several bags of pornographic images featuring children, according to Assistant US Attorney Allen Bode.

Sears had allegedly taken the young girls' faces and cut them out of a kiddie publication linked to clown business, the Waldo Tribune.

Sears has designed houses for A-list celebrities like Clint Eastwood (left) and Michael J Fox (right)

If convicted, Sears faces three years in federal prison.

Sears first caught the attention of law enforcement in 2013 when a garbage collector found boxes with hundreds of creepy images in a town dump.

In May 2014, Sears was spared a prison sentence, though he did have to submit to a supervised release.
A Melbourne man convicted over an Anzac Day terror plot where he planned to behead a police officer should be given a longer sentence because there is no evidence he had rejected his radical beliefs, prosecutors say.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Sarah McNaughton SC said too much emphasis was given to Sevdet Ramadan Besim's youth, immaturity, previous good character and rehabilitation prospects when he was sentenced to 10 years with a minimum seven and a half years in 2016.

The discount given for his guilty plea was also too high, Ms McNaughton argued in the Victorian Court of Appeal on Friday.

The Hallam man pleaded guilty to conspiring to do an act in preparation for or planning a terror act.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The 19-year-old was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment last year by the Supreme Court of Victoria for doing acts in preparation for, or planning a terrorist act

Besim, aged 19 at the time of his sentencing, had planned a rampage during which he would run down and behead a police officer in Melbourne on one of Australia's most sacred holidays

Besim, aged 19 at the time of his sentencing, had planned a rampage during which he would run down and behead a police officer in Melbourne on one of Australia's most sacred holidays.

He chose Anzac Day to 'make sure the dogs remember this as well as their fallen heroes'.

Ms McNaughton said if authorities had not intervened, people in the community would have been killed or seriously injured and the community terrorised.

'This is an outrageous, heinous offence of grave moral culpability,' Ms McNaughton said.

The fact the plot involved a police officer showed a 'defiance of the rule of law in the most profound sense'.

Ms McNaughton argued Besim's plan was complete, with his knife purchased and target researched.

The Hallam teenager (pictured) allegedly planned to kill a police officer during Anzac Day commemorations in 2015

'The only thing that needed to be done was wait for Anzac Day,' she said.

'It's particularly shocking, particularly outrageous and designed to terrorise.'

His suicide note written over four months had also been edited in the hours before his arrest.

Ms McNaughton argued rehabilitation had a much smaller role to play in the case of Besim, whose family had no idea he had been radicalised.

'If he could do that in the bosom of his family ... it's of even more concern as he gets older,' she said.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Sarah McNaughton SC said too much emphasis was given to Sevdet Ramadan Besim's youth, immaturity, previous good character and rehabilitation prospects when he was sentenced to 10 years with a minimum seven and a half years in 2016

She said there was no evidence he had resiled from his beliefs, which were the same at his sentence as at the time of his offending.

However, defence barrister Peter Morrissey SC accused crown prosecutors of 'over extremising'.

Mr Morrissey said his client was young, impressionable, and had since been removed from the 'dangerous context' where he was communicating online with people he viewed as charismatic guides.

'The evidence was he was an unformed person,' he said.

He added Besim was now saying things in public that were at odds with a 'recalcitrant' approach.
A man Utah was killed in a hit-and-run incident after he confronted a driver for beating up a small dog.

Police said they are searching for the driver of a black Lexus who is suspected of intentionally hitting and killing 47-year-old Jeremy Hardman on Wednesday.

Hardman was in a car with his co-worker, Jason Estes, when they pulled over and confronted the suspect about abusing the dog, according to KUTV.

Police are searching for a white or Hispanic male suspect driving a black Lexus. The man is suspected of hitting and killing 47-year-old Jeremy Hardman (left and right), who confronted him about abusing his dog in Utah

Authorities said the suspect's Lexus (pictured) has four doors with temporary plates and a spoiler. The windshield of the vehicle is also likely shattered

After the confrontation, the pair began to head back to their truck, but Hardman stayed behind thinking he dropped something near the intersection

After the confrontation, the pair began to head back to their truck, but Hardman stayed behind thinking he dropped something near the intersection.

Police said the suspect then got into his vehicle and drove back toward the intersection and hit Hardman as he was walking in the crosswalk.

Lauren Estes, whose husband, Jason, was with the victim at the time, watched as Hardman took his last breath. Hardman was pronounced dead at the scene.

'There was no way it was an accident, the guy deliberately turned around just to hit him,' Lauren Estes told CBS News.

Friends described Hardman as someone who loved people and animals.

'Just the biggest dog lover I've ever known and probably the biggest dog lover any of us have ever known,' Hardman's lifelong friend Brandon Beckstead told Fox News.

Police said the suspect then got into his vehicle and drove back toward the intersection and hit Hardman as he was walking in the crosswalk

Friends described Hardman (pictured with his canine pal) as someone who loved people and animals. 'Just the biggest dog lover I've ever known and probably the biggest dog lover any of us have ever known,' Hardman's lifelong friend Brandon Beckstead said

The incident, which took place around 4pm, is under investigation as authorities continue their search for the suspect. Police are looking for a white or Hispanic man in his late 20s or early 30s, with a buzz-style haircut. Hardman is pictured with his other canine companion

'It's just fitting that he passed away saving a dog, trying to save a dog, doing whatever he could to help with that dog.'

It's unclear if Hardman was married or had children, but according to his Facebook, he had at least four dogs.

Authorities said the suspect's Lexus has four doors with temporary plates and a spoiler. The windshield of the vehicle is also likely shattered.

The incident, which took place around 4pm, is under investigation as authorities continue their search for the suspect.

Police are looking for a white or Hispanic man in his late 20s or early 30s, with a buzz-style haircut.

If anyone has any information regarding this suspect or the car, you are being urged to call West Valley City Police. Dispatch can be reached at 801-840-4000.
A Sydney mother's 'unusual' behaviour when she dropped her kids off at school - one still in her pyjamas - should have set off alarm bells, says a NSW coroner who has found she is dead.

Katherine Ackling-Bryen, 37, was reported missing by her husband after failing to pick up their two daughters from school on February 19, 2016.

In her findings handed down on Friday, NSW deputy coroner Harriet Grahame says Ms Ackling-Bryen died on or soon after her disappearance, but she could not determine the place, manner or cause of death.

Katherine Ackling-Bryen (pictured), 37, disappeared on February 19, 2016

She said Ms Ackling-Bryen acted 'out-of-character' on the day she disappeared when she took her children - one dressed in pyjamas - to school.

The school gave the girl a uniform and Ms Ackling-Bryen returned later with her daughter's shoes.

'It is difficult to understand why this behaviour did not ring some warning bell at the school,' Ms Grahame said.

'With hindsight, it was so unusual within the family's history at the school that it tended to indicate the need for concern or follow-up of some kind.'

Ms Ackling-Bryen contacted her mother, father and two brothers that morning.

'The conversations seemed normal and happy, but it was, on reflection, odd that she had called all her family members on the same day,' Ms Grahame said.

After dropping the kids at school Ms Ackling-Bryen went shopping and started cooking a meal in the slow-cooker.

Then she vanished.

Ms Ackling-Bryen dropped her two daughters off at school, went shopping, and vanished

Ms Ackling-Bryen died on or soon after her disappearance, according to a NSW coroner

During the inquest Ms Ackling-Bryen's husband Michael Bryen and mother Sue Reeve said they believed she was dead.

'I just cannot accept that Katherine would have walked away from her two girls ... those girls were her life,' Mr Bryen said on Wednesday.

An extensive police investigation has found no evidence of foul play.

The inquest heard Ms Ackling-Bryen had suffered from anxiety and depression, and in 2013 she had an acute psychotic episode.

'It may be that Katherine suffered further mental health issues and died by suicide or accident,' Ms Grahame said in her findings.

'There are certainly aspects of her behaviour on the morning of 19 February 2016 which indicated that Katherine may have been unwell.'

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.

CCTV footage shows Ms Ackling-Bryen at St Marys Shopping Village about midday, but police have been unable to find any other trace of her

Her husband Michael Bryen (L) and mother Sue Reeve (R) told a NSW coronial inquest they believe she killed herself

Ms Ackling-Bryen acted 'out-of-character' on the day she disappeared when she took her children to school




A man who attempted to smuggle 4.8 kilograms of methamphetamine into New Zealand inside eight candles has been arrested.

Customs officers intercepted a package of 'home accessories' from Canada on Tuesday at the International Mail Centre.

An examination of the package uncovered about 4.8 kilograms of meth - which equates to 48,000 hits - concealed inside eight candles with a street value of $4.8 million.

A man attempted to smuggle 4.8 kilograms of methamphetamine in candles (pictured)

Customs officers intercepted a package of 'home accessories' from Canada

Investigators launched an inquiry into the package to connect the package with an individual.

A 36-year-old Canadian was taken into police custody after a search warrant was issued in central Auckland.

Customs Investigations Manager Bruce Berry said the investigation was another example of good profiling and quick efforts to catch the individual involved.

'Criminal syndicates will keep trying to get drugs into our country in order to make profit, having complete disregard of the harm this substance causes New Zealanders, and Customs will continue to do everything to stop them,' he said.

An examination of the package uncovered around 4.8 kilograms of meth inside
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will be addressing the countrys largest gathering of charter school leaders next week at the National Public Charter Schools Conference in Washington.

More than 4,000 charter school leaders, educators, advocates, and policymakers are expected to attend the annual gathering thats hosted by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the nations largest charter advocacy group.

According to a press release, DeVos will give prepared remarks on Tuesday morning followed by a Q&A session with a moderator and questions from the audience.

Although DeVos has long been a philanthropic supporter of school choice, including charter schools (her husband even founded a charter school in Michigan ), many charter advocates are waryand sometimes downright apocalypticabout how the Trump administrations particular focus on charter schools could adversely affect the sector .

DeVos appearance before the charter audience is not guaranteed to be a purely friendly one, as there will almost certainly be some vocal critics of the administration among the attendees.

Many advocates are very protective of charter schools status as a bipartisan issue, and the National Alliance underscored that in its press release announcing that DeVos will be addressing the conference.

Secretary DeVoss participation in the National Charter Schools Conference continues a bipartisan tradition of having every sitting Department of Education Secretary since the conferences launch in 2000 appear at this premier annual gathering for the charter school movement, the release read.

The lineup for this years conference includes a couple of other notable, philanthropic heavyweights, including Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of Netflix, and Marc Sternberg, the education program director for the Walton Family Foundation.

Also on tap during the conference: the prestigious Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, which honors high-performing charter networks that educate disadvantaged students, will be announced.

The Broad Prize is named for Eli and Edythe Broad, another set of billionaire donors to the charter school cause.

This years finalists for the award are DDST Public Schools in Colorado, Harmony Public Schools in Texas, and Success Academy Charter Schools in New York. You can read more about the finalists here .

Related stories:

Photo: U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos addresses the Council of the Great City Schools Annual Legislative Policy Conference in Washington on March 13. Jose Luis Magana/AP
Footage has captured the dramatic moment police officers busted into a Gold Coast home before arresting a 12-year-old girl on drug charges.

The young girl was among seven people arrested after the raid on a Helensvale property on Wednesday.

Police body camera shows the officers using a battering ram to open a gate on the property before carefully opening the front door.

Scroll down for video

Police bodycam footage has captured the moment officers busted into a Gold Coast home before arresting a 12-year-old girl on drug charges

Police arrested a number of people on drug charges, including 12-year-old girl

They then make their way upstairs before handcuffing one man.

The officers continue to search the house and bag a number of items as evidence.

Police allege cash, drugs and other items of property were found during a search of a home in Helensvale at 7.30am on Wednesday.

The 12-year-old Helensvale girl has been charged with one count each of possessing dangerous drug and possession of property suspected of having been used in the commission of a drug offence.

A 27-year-old Jimboomba man was granted bail after making a brief appearance at Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday.

His lawyer, Steve Cavanagh, told the court his client was not a resident of the home and had been visiting a friend at the time of the raid.

'It was very much a case of wrong place at the wrong time,' Mr Cavanagh said.

A 52-year-old Helensvale man did not face court as his matter was adjourned until Friday for a likely bail application.

A 17-year-old youth and two women, aged 19 and 20, all from Helensvale are expected to appear at the Southport Magistrates Court on July 12.
Khuram Butt, 27, was claiming Jobseeker's Allowance of around 300 a month, and was also paid housing benefit for his council-owned flat in Barking as well as child benefit

The ringleader of the London terror attack was bankrolled by the taxpayer, it has been revealed.

Khuram Butt, 27, was claiming Jobseeker's Allowance of around 300 a month, and was also paid housing benefit for his council-owned flat in Barking as well as child benefit.

Father-of-two Butt was a supporter of al-Muhajiroun and an associate of its leader Anjem Choudary, who encouraged his followers to exploit Britain's welfare system.

The jailed hate preacher even used the phrase 'Jihad Seeker's Allowance'.

Butt, who wore an Arsenal shirt on the night of the attack, started claiming benefits after being sacked from his job on the London Underground last October.

He worked there as a trainee customer services assistant for nearly six months but was fired for poor timekeeping.

He also received Jobseeker's Allowance for over a year after leaving a job at KFC and prior to working for Transport for London, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Relatives of Butt said he drew inspiration from extremist videos on YouTube and wanted to fight in Syria but had his passport taken away by family.

Fahad Khan, 36, the cousin of Butt's wife Zahrah Rehman, claimed his younger relative watched the hateful tirades of preachers online and supported ISIS.

Butt is suspected of running mixed martial arts classes at the Ummah Fitness Centre, in Barking, in an attempt to groom teenagers for terror.

The gym was raided by police on Tuesday after CCTV revealed the three London Bridge terrorists met there days before the attack.

It shows Butt meeting Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, five days before they murdered eight people and left dozens injured.

Counter-terrorist police are building a detailed picture of the activities of the three men before Saturday night's massacre.

Butt lies on the floor in Borough Market after being shot by armed police while wearing what turned out to be a hoax suicide vest

The bodies of the two other men, Redouane, right, and Zaghba, left, lie in the road in Borough Market after being gunned down

The aftermath: Debris from Saturday's attack in Borough Market, London, remained in the street on Wednesday

They are examining their movements and communications, as well as a mass of forensic evidence, to see whether they had help.

Sixteen suspects have been arrested, including three men held during raids in the early hours of yesterday.

One 29-year-old suspect was dragged from a house in Ilford by armed police and two others, aged 33 and 27, were arrested in the street in a dramatic ambush. Two are being held under terrorism laws and the other on suspicion of drugs and firearms offences.

Ilford and nearby Barking, where 12 were arrested on Sunday, have become the focus of the police inquiry. Neighbours said police spent more than an hour at the gym, which is in a small parade of shops.

They were seen leaving with computer equipment and specialists searched under parked vehicles.
Donald Trump Jr claimed that his father's legal troubles were over on Thursday night, calling the FBI probe into the Trump administration's connections with Russia 'a ten-month witch hunt'.

Speaking on Sean Hannity's FOX show on Thursday, Trump Jr said that the investigation was an attempt to 'distract' his father from getting things done in the White House.

'This has been a ten-month witch hunt,' Trump Jr said. 'This is the only thing that they had on Trump. This is what they did to distract him from being able to get the stuff done that he was ultimately elected to do.

'And I think now that this is all passed, he can go back to doing what he promised he was gonna do. There's no clouds. Nothing getting in his way. There's no obstructionist.'

Speaking on Sean Hannity's FOX show on Thursday, Donald Trump Jr said that the investigation was an attempt to 'distract' his father from getting things done in the White House

Watch the latest video at <a href="//video.foxnews.com">video.foxnews.com</a>

Trump Jr added: 'He can go back to what he said he was going to do for the American people - getting Americans back to work, putting America first, and getting us out of these stupid deals that America seems to pay for and everyone seems to benefit from but us.'

Trump Jr referenced comments Chris Matthews made earlier on MSNBC, in which he said theory that President Donald Trump's staffers and close confidants were in collusion with Russia 'came apart' during Former FBI Director James Comey's testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday morning.

'Even the left, as you pointed out with Chris Matthews, saying 'Hey guys, it's over. Let's move on.' Let my father do his job,' Trump Jr. said. 'Let him do what the American people elected him to do.'

Hannity and Trump Jr later criticized the role of the media in Trump's presidency and how it's portrayed his time in office.

'It's not about reporting the truth anymore, Sean,' Trump Jr said. 'It's not about journalism. Even when I was born it was "Hey, we report the news".

'Then it became journalism would put its spin on the news. Now it's just "We're just going to craft narratives and run with it".

The Hannity appearance wasn't the first time Trump Jr spoke out for President Donald Trump on Thursday - during Comey's testimony earlier in the day he unleashed a sudden tweet storm about an hour into the hearing

'It's pretty sad and it's a shame because it would be a pretty important profession and it's why he's [Trump] is on Twitter all the time.'

The Hannity appearance wasn't the first time Trump Jr spoke out for President Donald Trump on Thursday - during Comey's testimony earlier in the day he unleashed a sudden tweet storm about an hour into the hearing.

He even retweeted an individual whose Twitter handle is 'CNN is ISIS & Hitler' at one point, posting over 50 times in less than two hours.

'Flynn stuff is BS in context 2 guys talking about a guy they both know well. I hear 'I hope nothing happens but you have to do your job,'' wrote Trump Jr to start things off.

'Very far from any kind of coercion or influence and certainly not obstruction!'

He added: 'Knowing my father for 39 years when he 'orders or tells' you to do something there is no ambiguity, you will know exactly what he means.'

Then, just two minutes later, Trump Jr tweeted again, writing: 'Hoping and telling are two very different things, you would think that a guy like Comey would know that. #givemeabreak'

He was back again after another two minute break to keep going after Comey and his statements.

No worries: President Trump skipped out on the end of the Senate Intel hearing to deliver a speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition (above)

And there's more: 'Hoping and telling are two very different things, you would think that a guy like Comey would know that. #givemeabreak,' wrote Don Jr in another tweet

'So if he was a 'Stronger guy' he might have actually followed procedure & the law? You were the director of the FBI, who are you kidding?' he wrote at 11am, scoffing at Comey's comments.

And when Senator Marco Rubio pointed out that the only thing which was never leaked was that President Donald Trump was not under investigation, Trump Jr tweeted: 'Solid point and seems rather convenient for the partisan nonsense we have seen play out for months.'

That tweet even got a retweet from Trump Jr 30 minutes after he first posted it on his account.

Trump Jr later added: 'We all know that there is no way anyone in the swamp would leak something favorable to @POTUS. Otherwise this whopper would be everywhere!'

Then, when Comey stated that he helped to get his memo leaked in hopes of getting a special counsel to investigate, Trump Jr tweeted: 'Did I miss something or did Comey just say he asked a friend to leak information to the press? Is this a joke?'

He then wrote: 'Washington DC at its finest. This is what America rallied against, but the DC elite don't get it or know any other way.'

Through this all Trump Jr also retweeted a number of other individuals, including former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Bill O'Reilly and the disgraced host's former employer Fox News.

He also earned a number of retweets from the son of General Flynn, Michael Flynn Jr., who posted a number of Trump Jr's comments to his own account.

Comey's admission that he had leaked information seemed to be the most bothersome bit of information to Trump Jr who tweeted: 'He was more than willing to leak something against @realdonaldtrump but not something that exonerates him? Classy guy.'

Trump Jr also made a point of posting the question asked by Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, writing: ' If you told Sessions you didn't want to be alone with Trump again, why did you continue to take his calls?'

Trump Jr's final comment was a retweet of his father, who wrote back in April: 'The real story turns out to be SURVEILLANCE and LEAKING! Find the leakers.'

Trump Jr added: 'Once again he's right way before anyone else sees it... and they found another leaker today.'
European press - led by the Germans - have been quick to mock Theresa May as the world reacts to the Conservative election disaster.

Last night, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to resign after she lost 12 seats across the country.

Newspapers across Europe have also discussed how the Tory defeat could impact Brexit negotiations which are due to begin on June 19.

Spiegel magazine, using German wordplay to compare her to Margaret Thatcher, called her instead 'Die eiernde Lady' - the wobbly lady.

Spiegel magazine, using German wordplay to compare her to Margaret Thatcher, called her instead 'Die eiernde Lady' - the wobbly lady

Newspapers across Europe have also discussed how the Tory defeat could impact Brexit negotiations which are due to begin on June 19

It went on: 'Britain's Prime minister Theresa May has been playing poker - and has lost almost everything. After a memorable night, the country is politically paralyzed. And it's completely unclear where it goes from here.

'It is not stable any more - at least not for her job. So the tasks now are enormous: the government must organise the divorce process with the EU, for which there is no historical role model; It must tame the centrifugal forces in its own country and, in particular, look to Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure that the United Kingdom remains a United Kingdom.

'It must comply with almost unsustainable promises it has given itself, and take care not to torpedo the domestic economy.

'It is a situation in which the country can actually use a strong and stable leader. Theresa May looked like this for a while. Two weeks ago, she was compared to the British media with the 'Iron Lady' Margaret Thatcher.

Germany's best selling Bild newspaper said: 'Will May resign today? Is there an exit before Brexit?'

The Netherlands' nrc.next (left) said: 'May's big gamble is wrong' while Greece's Ta Nea (right) includes a graphic with the United Kingdom inside one of Theresa May's famous leopard print shoes

The Conservatives are forecast to win 42% of the vote, Labour 40%, the Lib Dems 7%, UKIP 2% and the Greens 2%.

'She's only been a wobbly lady since Friday morning.'

There was a mocking tone to French coverage of the UK general election today as commentators said Britain was now weakened as it prepared for Brexit.

Le Figaro newspaper wrote: 'Theresa May, who had called this poll with the sole purpose of strengthening her existing majority, was caught in her own trap.'

Italy's Corriere della Sera, in its online headline, says: 'Theresa's gamble failed, she is no Margaret Thatcher.'

Another Italian paper La Repubblica says in its online headline: 'May's gamble fails, loses her majority.'

Germany's Die Welt website simply says: 'Conservatives lose majority - May speaks at 11 am.'

Italy's Corriere della Sera (left) said: 'Exit poll: May retreats, she has no majority' while Fintan O'Toole (right), a columnist for The Irish Times, said: 'Queen Theresa ousted in ignominy; In all of this panic there has been a deep undermining of the idea of political authority'

The Wall Street Journal said: 'U.K. Polls Point to No Majority; Outcome would represent a major setback for Prime Minister May'

The international edition of the New York Times said: 'Snap vote in Britain could sting its leader; Theresa May counted on a landslide, but voters are having second thoughts'

Denmark's leading broadsheet Politiken said: 'What now, UK? May went from Brexit Queen to disaster in seven weeks.'

Norway's Klassekampen said: 'Labor and Jeremy Corbyn have almost captured the lead to Theresa May before today's election: They underestimated us.'

Germany's best selling Bild newspaper said: 'Will May resign today? Is there an exit before Brexit?'

'Election quake in the UK! Theresa May has gambled  and her Tories lose an absolute majority, instead of being strengthened, from the election.

'When the BBC's first extrapolations were shown last night at a party in London's Trafalgar Square, some guests stormed out of the room in fright. They too were sure that Theresa May would get a large majority in Parliament. In London it is known as MAY-DAY!

Italy's Corriere della Sera, in its online headline, says: 'Theresa's gamble failed, she is no Margaret Thatcher'

Another Italian paper La Repubblica says in its online headline: 'May's gamble fails, loses her majority'

'However, the hope of a withdrawal from the exit  that is, a departure from the Brexit  remains low. Rupert Harrison, former chief adviser of former Treasury secretary George Osborne and now fund manager at BlackRock, said to Bild: 'A Conservative government will carry out the Brexit. There's no going back. '

'Nevertheless, with this election result, it is not easy for May to lead the negotiations with the EU out of a position of strength.'

It added: 'An election debacle before the start of Brexit negotiations. Theresa May is facing an exit from her own party.

'With the election she wanted to expand the parliamentary majority of her Conservative Party and win more tailwind for the Brexit negotiations with the EU.

'But now she will probably lose her office. After the fantastic poll values of four weeks ago, this is a bitter slap for May!'

Die Welt declared: 'Theresa May pays for her risky game.' It condemned her campaign as a 'disaster' and also questioned how long she could remain in office.

'Election disaster for May - what now for Brexit?' asked the Merkur.de news website.

It went on: 'MEPs are uneasy about the Brexit negotiations because of the weakness of the British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Spanish daily El Pais (left) accused Theresa May of 'short-termism' in an editorial piece while La Vanguardia (right) said: 'May's absolute majority is in danger according to the polls'

Denmark's leading broadsheet Politiken said: 'What now, UK? May went from Brexit Queen to disaster in seven weeks'

'The time for a sensible negotiation of the British EU exit is very scarce, given the unclear leadership situation,' said the Green Europe chief Reinhard Butikofer.

'The CDU MEP and Brexit expert Elmar Brok described Mays's authority as severely damaged. 'It is now very exciting for the negotiations,' he said.

'Hard Brexit? Soft Brexit? The message of the British electorate is not easy to decipher, given the unclear majority situation. It is clear that may does not have her own majority for her very tough negotiating line without any major concessions to the EU.

'Will May be able to get a government that can vigorously defend its positions at the negotiating table at all? Will it be dependent on partners who bring more willingness to compromise? Are there even fresh elections planned and therefore a further month-long suspension?

'Brussels is looking to the United Kingdom with unease.'

Norway's Klassekampen said: 'Labor and Jeremy Corbyn have almost captured the lead to Theresa May before today's election: They underestimated us'

The Berliner Zeitung said: 'Setback instead of tailwind: British Prime Minister Theresa May is standing in front of a pile of debris after the reelection that had been put forward on her initiative.

'In Parliament the Conservatives lose their majority  the clear mandate they want for the Brexit negotiations with the European Union does not exist. No one knows whether, in these difficult circumstances, by March 2019, an orderly and all-enduring EU exit of the United Kingdom will indeed be successful.'

'Brexit timetable spoiled,' said business bible Manager Magazin. 'Germany industry concerned.'

It added: 'The German economy is very concerned about the electoral outcome in the United Kingdom. With the parliamentary election, the uncertainty in the German economy is rising, leading the chief executive of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) Martin Wansleben, to lament: 'The roadmap for the Brexit negotiations is now wasted.'

'Foreign Trade President Anton Borner is also expecting new uncertainties around the Brexit. 'This is not a cause for Schadenfreude because this is bad news for Brussels.'

Germany's Die Welt website simply says: 'Conservatives lose majority - May speaks at 11 am'

'May loses absolute majority in parliament,' said the broadsheet Sueddeutsche Zeitung. 'What this political insecurity means in the short term for the exit negotiations with EU remains unclear.

The Netherlands' nrc.next said: 'May's big gamble is wrong' while Greece's Ta Nea includes a graphic with the United Kingdom inside one of Theresa May's famous leopard print shoes.

The Wall Street Journal said: 'U.K. Polls Point to No Majority; Outcom would represent a major setback for Prime Minister May'.

Italy's Corriere della Sera said: 'Exit poll: May retreats, she has no majority' while Fintan O'Toole, a columnist for The Irish Times, said: 'Queen Theresa ousted in ignominy; In all of this panic there has been a deep undermining of the idea of political authority'.

Ouest France, another of the biggest papers in France, pointed to: 'An election for nothing', saying that a 'profoundly disorientated Britain' had voted.

Le Monde, the most famous paper in the country, meanwhile suggested that Britain was facing up to the prospect of 'terribly fragile' minority government that will be a 'blow to the Brexit schedule'.

Chile's El Mercurio said: 'The Conservative party continues with the most votes, but does not retain a large majority in Parliament'

Le Monde quoted academics from the London School of Economics (LSE), including Professor Iain Begg who said: 'It's a disaster for Theresa May. Her leadership is being questioned and she will be under pressure to resign if the results are confirmed.'

Tony Travers, also of the LSE, told Le Monde: 'It seems that there will be instability and it will be more difficult for the British government to negotiate Brexit from a firm position.'

Jean-Baptise Duval, economic editor of the French Huffington Post, said: 'The result is the exact opposite of the one Theresa May wanted. She, who was counting on a large victory to reinforce her hard Brexit line, will start negotiations weakened against the EU.'

And Le Croix newspaper said: 'The opposition Labour leader, the very Left-wing Jeremy Corbyn, was the big winner in the parliamentary elections on Thursday, increasing the score of his party when he was considered beaten and mocked within his own party.'

AFP, France's national news agency, set the tone for coverage, writing: 'The Conservative prime minister Theresa May was in a hurry to resign on Friday, after her Conservative Party lost its absolute majority in the British parliament.'

The report suggested that it was 'a result that plunged [Britain] into uncertainty before the opening of Brexit negotiations.'

AFP suggested it was a 'a personal failure for Mrs May, who had called the legislative elections anticipating a large majority to negotiate the exit from the European Union.

'The Conservatives were ahead in the polls but lost a dozen seats, while the Labour opposition won around thirty, according to these almost certain results after which the Tories will not be able to obtain an absolute majority.'

Spanish daily El Pais accused Theresa May of 'short-termism' in an editorial piece.

It said: 'The short-term adventurism of the British PM Theresa May has reached its end in the polls in the first occasion in which the leader submitted her candidacy to public scrutiny.

Election disaster for May - what now for Brexit?

'If May brought yesterday's elections forward to achieve electoral backing for the UK's crucial Brexit negotiations, as she repeatedly claimed, the result she's obtained has been exactly the opposite.'

Writer and journalist Berna Gonzalez Harbour, in a piece titled 'When the United Kingdom went wrong', claimed May had continued to fuel the 'mistake machine' Tony Blair had turned on by distancing Britain from Europe despite his pro-European colours and aligning it with George Bush and his illegal war on Irak.

She wrote: 'It's difficult to imagine that May will stop the mistake machine when she's talking about the end of tolerance (what tolerance?) and about hard Brexit.'

Rival El Mundo claimed the 'strong and stable' Margaret Thatcher-style image May had tried to project had gone from 'inspiring confidence among her voters to causing the same effect as a joke told too many times.'

Blaming the electoral result on several factors including her 'Dementia tax' and criticism over police cuts while she was Home Secretary following the Manchester and London terrorist attacks, it added: 'The Conservative party has won the elections but they have lost their absolute majority.

'May, who had called these elections to increase her majority in Parliament so she could negotiate Brexit with a stronger hand, has failed.'
Boris Johnson is the favorite to be the next Tory leader - and has already repeatedly refused to back Theresa May after her election nightmare.

The outspoken Foreign Secretary was asked if he believes Mrs May should be Prime Minister but would only say 'it's early days' after retaining his Uxbridge seat.

He also stayed silent when a reporter suggested that the Tory leader was 'fatally wounded' - and then appeared not to hear when another journalist asked him: 'Does your party need a new leader? Is it you?'.

The knives are already out for the Tory leader after a dismal campaign, a series of policy blunders and a manifesto now branded the party's 'worst ever'.

Theresa May is said to have 'no intention' of resigning and plans to form a Government - but some MPs including Anna Soubry said she should quit as soon as possible.

Jeremy Corbyn has again repeated his demand that Mrs May leaves office immediately - John McDonnell said he expected Boris' leadership campaign to start today.

The other candidates behind Boris according to the bookies are David Davis, Amber Rudd, Ruth Davidson, Phillip Hammond , Sajid Javid and Michael Gove.

Boris Johnson has already refused to back Theresa May after her election nightmare, saying it is 'early days'

Awkward: He also stayed silent when a reporter suggested that the Tory leader was 'fatally wounded'

Downcast: Theresa May and her husband Philip leaves Conservative Party headquarters after losing seats when she had hoped for a landslide

George Osborne said the result was completely catastrophic for the Conservatives and Theresa May and said the woman who sacked him would be lucky to survive.

Nigel Evans, member for Ribble Valley, told BBC 5 Live that her decision to call a snap election meant: 'We didn't shoot ourselves in the foot, we shot ourselves in the head'.

Who could be next Tory leader if Mrs May goes? Boris Johnson - 11/4 David Davis - 6/1 Amber Rudd - 8/1 Ruth Davidson - 14/1 Phillip Hammond - 14/1 Sajid Javid - 25/1 Justine Greening - 25/1 Liz Truss - 33/1 George Osborne - 33/1 Jeremy Hunt - 33/1 Michael Gove - 33/1 Michael Fallon - 50/1 Liam Fox - 66/1 Advertisement

The bookies have made Boris Johnson favourite to be the next Tory leader - and probably prime minister - followed by Chancellor Philip Hammond and Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

Former Ukip MP Douglas Carswell said he believes that it will be a battle between Boris and Brexit Secretary David Davis followed by a general election later this year.

The former Mayor of London's chances will have been bolstered by Mr Hammond's shaky start as Chancellor.

Amber Rudd only held her Hastings seat by 300 votes and if an election was called again this year there would be a real chance she would be toppled.

Mr Johnson looked in a hurry to be leaving the count at Brunel University, and as soon as all the speeches were over made a dash for the exit.

He stormed into the venue simply stating that it was 'early days'.

In his victory speech Mr Johnson said: 'It is early to comment on the events unfolding tonight in this General Election.

'But one this is absolutely clear, I think to all of us who have been elected as MPs tonight across our fantastic country, that is we have got to listen to our constituents and listen to their concerns.'

He added: 'I am proud to be re-elected as the member of parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.'

Mr Johnson said nothing else about wider results of the night and how his party was performing, but thanked all involved in the election in the borough.

A number of other declarations were made at the same count, including that for Hayes and Harlington which was won by John McDonnell.

Mr McDonnell said Theresa May had made a big mistake in calling the General Election.

Asked if she should resign, he said: 'Increasingly now political commentators and by the sound of it, some Tory MPs now consider her position is now untenable.

'I was expecting Boris Johnson to launch his leadership campaign tonight. But clearly not tonight, maybe tomorrow.'

Tory favourite: Boris Johnson (pictured after retaining his seat) is the favorite to be the next party leader and PM - and it could be a straight fight between him and Brexit Secretary David Davis (pictured today)

Amber Rudd is third favourite to be Tory leader - but only held onto her Hasting seat by 300 votes - and she is followed by Ruth Davidson - but she is not even an MP

Philip Hammond, Michael Fallon and Liam Fox (left to right) are also among the frontrunners as MrsMay digs her heels in

How could Conservative MPs get rid of Theresa May? Philip May puts an arm around his wife as they arrive at Tory HQ today as the results went against her The Tories are famously ruthless when it comes to getting rid of leaders who dont perform, and with the knives already out for Theresa May, her position has never looked weaker. Under Tory Party rules, a leadership election is triggered if 15 per cent of Conservative MPs send a letter to the Graham Brady, chairman of the influential backbench 1922 committee, demanding she goes. With the Tories on course to get 319 seats, this would mean 48 MPs would be able to trigger a vote of no confidence. Mr Brady would then call a no confidence vote which will seal the leaders fate. If this was done and Mrs May won a simple majority then she will remain leader and another vote cannot be called for at least 12 months. But if she loses she would have to resign and not be allowed to stand again. This will prevent the Tories from plunging into a long and lengthy civil war like Labour had last summer when Jeremy Corbyn refused to step down despite overwhelmingly losing a vote of no confidence among his MPs. Conservative MPs then throw their hat into the ring to be leader. If only one puts their name in they win automatically, if two do then they go head to head, and if three or more Tory MPs want to stand then the parliamentary party whittles them down to two contenders. The final two go head to head in a vote of the party at large. But given the political turbulence the party, and country, has been hit by, the Tories will want to make any leadership challenges as swift and bloodless as possible. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis would both be seen as top contenders for the job. Home Secretary Amber Rudd will also be seen as a possible runner after her strong performances filling in for Mrs May in the leadership debates. Although her position will have been weakened after her majority was today slashed to a wafer thin 346 votes. Advertisement

Earlier Mr McDonnell declared Labour would form a government at the first opportunity, even if it was a 'minority government.'

Mr McDonnell said: 'I think Theresa May actually called a General Election despite promising some seven times not to. And people thought this was unnecessary. And she put party before country.'

He added: 'We will form a government at the first opportunity.

'Whenever we get the opportunity we will do, if it's a minority government we will. But we don't know the results of this election yet.

'We are extremely cautious, let's see what the results are.'

The ailing premier is now thought to be with her husband Philip and closest aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill.

The PM's joint chiefs of staff became the focus of blame this morning as Mrs May was warned she would have to shake up her team if she clings to power.

One Tory minister last night said: 'Is it the end of the Nick and Fi show?'

The ailing premier is now thought to be with her husband Philip and closest aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill (pictured together this morning)

Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill (pictured this morning), Mrs May's joint chiefs of staff, were warned their extraordinary controlling role at No 10 cannot continue even if their boss keeps power

Ms Hill and Mr Timothy have worked with Mrs May since she was Home Secretary.

One senior backbencher told the Mail: 'Obviously some people are talking about changing personnel. I think that's very much a matter for the Prime Minister to decide for herself.

'If you start changing your advisors then you have conceded something quite important. But I do think there needs to be a real effort to make sure there are open lines of communication.'

Before the polls closed last night, one Minister described the Conservative campaign as the 'worst in living memory'.

WILL MAY SURVIVE? THE PM'S OPTIONS FOR CLINGING TO POWER ARE LIMITED Theresa May's grip on power was dramatically loosened overnight as the voters rejected her Brexit plea. Mrs May will stay Prime Minister until she tenders her resignation to the Queen and she cannot do so without recommending a successor. The rules mean she has the first chance to form a government in the hung parliament if she chooses to carry on. She could suggest to Labour that the hung parliament means the two parties should work together in a national government to deliver Brexit together. All of the constitutional rules could be swiftly thrown out if Mrs May quits as Tory leader either of her own volition or because party chiefs make clear her position is untenable. Advertisement

They said: 'Is it the end of the Nick and Fi show? Everybody wants it to be but she [Theresa May] is very stubborn.'

Another backbench Tory added: 'There have to be lessons learned. There's a lots of people with grey hair who Theresa could use. If the manifesto had been properly passed by them they would have put a stop to it.

'Manifestos are usually apple pie and ice cream. Instead we got three spoonfuls of arsenic and  surprise surprise  people didn't like it.'

Asked if Mrs May should resign, Ms Soubry told the BBC: 'That's a matter for her. It's bad. I think she in a very difficult place.

'She's a remarkable woman and a very talented woman but she now has to consider her position.'

Ms Soubry added: 'Theresa did pit her mark on this campaign and she takes responsibility, she always does and I know she will, for the running of the campaign as well.

'It was a tightly knit group and it was her group who ran this campaign'

Criticising the Conservative manifesto, Ms Soubry said: 'When you talk about the changes we're going to make to school lunches, you start with the plan that says children from poorer families will now get two free meals a day, you don't start from the basis that some children will lose a free school meal.

'All the way along those of messaging were appalling. And then you had the change of heart on social care deeply flawed Theresa May.

'She didn't look the strong and stable leader Prime Minister and leader she said she was and that was a very difficult and very serious blow in terms of her own credibility.'

Conservative MP Nigel Evans told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'We didn't shoot ourselves in the foot, we shot ourselves in the head.'

Senior Tories were last night speculating openly about whether the Prime Minister would be able to survive.

'It's a disaster,' said one. 'We may be able to form a government, but it will be a very different government  and it may not be a Theresa May government.'

Mrs May will stay Prime Minister until she tenders her resignation to the Queen and she cannot do so without recommending a successor.

Mrs May's motorcade was seen returning to Downing Street this morning as the country woke up to surprising results

The rules mean she has the first chance to form a government in the hung parliament if she chooses to carry on.

She could suggest to Labour that the hung parliament means the two parties should work together in a national government to deliver Brexit together.

All of the constitutional rules could be swiftly thrown out if Mrs May quits as Tory leader either of her own volition or because party chiefs make clear her position is untenable.

Mrs May's mood was 'calm' and 'sombre' when she addressed staff at Conservative Party HQ - but she 'didn't directly refer to her future', BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg says.

She didn't say she would stay, and the fact she didn't mention this could mean she hasn't made up her mind yet, and 'puts the chance of resignation on the table', Laura adds.

As her own result was declared in Maidenhead, Mrs May appeared defiant insisting the country needed a 'period of stability.

Theresa May was shepherded into Tory headquarters this morning (pictured) as the party was left reeling by devastating election results overnight

The Prime Minister (pictured in Maidenhead this morning with her husband Philip called the snap election in a bid to increase her power going into Brexit negotiations

Katie Perrior, Mrs May's former director of communications at 10 Downing Street, said it would be 'incredibly difficult' for her former boss to stay as Conservative leader.

MAY LED A 'DREADFUL' CAMPAIGN, EX MINISTER WARNS Former Conservative minister Anna Soubry (pictured on the BBC this morning) led the charge against Theresa May Former Conservative minister Anna Soubry led the charge against the embattled Theresa May this morning as she condemned a 'dreadful' Tory campaign. Ms Soubry slammed the Tory campaign for sending out negative messages on key policies like free school meals and social care. Ms Soubry added: 'Theresa did pit her mark on this campaign and she takes responsibility, she always does and I know she will, for the running of the campaign as well. 'It was a tightly knit group and it was her group who ran this campaign' Criticising the Conservative manifesto, Ms Soubry said: 'When you talk about the changes we're going to make to school lunches, you start with the plan that says children from poorer families will now get two free meals a day, you don't start from the basis that some children will lose a free school meal. 'All the way along those of messaging were appalling. And then you had the change of heart on social care deeply flawed Theresa May. 'She didn't look the strong and stable leader Prime Minister and leader she said she was and that was a very difficult and very serious blow in terms of her own credibility.' Advertisement

She told Sky News: 'It depends whether or not the Conservative Party says 'Look, we're 10 days away from the start of the Brexit negotiations, what we need right now is a stable leader to rally around but we will look at this in a month or two and come back to it'.

'But that is whether or not they're willing to do that.

'There are a lot of bruised people out there this morning ... they're bruised because they may have had lower majorities or indeed they've got friends who have lost their seats.'

Ms Perrior said it was 'damaging' for Mrs May not to take part in the televised debates, adding: 'I think the communications for the campaign have been pretty awful.'

Looking shattered at her Maidenhead count, she said: 'At this time more than anything else this country needs a period of stability.

'And if as the indications have shown the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes then it will be incumbent upon us to ensure we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do.'

The bookies opened markets on the next Conservative leader and by 3am Boris Johnson was the favourite at 2/1, Philip Hammond joint second with David Davis at 7/1 and Jeremy Hunt priced at 12/1.

If she does manage to stay on as Prime Minister, she faces being severely weakened going into Brexit talks with EU chiefs, and could be held hostage by the right wing of her party.

Last month, she wrote: 'The cold hard fact is that if I lose just six seats I will lose this election and Jeremy Corbyn will be sitting down to negotiate with the presidents, prime ministers and chancellors of Europe.'

Critics were predicting Mrs May could fail her own test after early results went against her.

After the exit poll was announced, the odds on Boris Johnson becoming the next Prime Minister shortened.

Several of her ministers were expected to lose their seats. One of her manifesto authors, Ben Gummer lost his seat to Labour's Sandy Martin in Ipswich.

Treasury minister Jane Ellison was the first casualty  losing Battersea in South London in a disastrous night for the party in the capital.

Senior figures such as David Cameron's former No 10 spin doctor Sir Craig Oliver openly speculated about Mrs May's future.

Attempting to rally support for Mrs May, David Gauke, chief secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News that Tory MPs had a 'responsibility to continue to support her'.

'With all caveats repeated, I think Theresa May continues to be the dominant figure within the Conservative Party. She won the leadership with a massive majority with MPs.

Bookies have installed Boris Johnson and Phillip Hammond as favourites to take over

MAY COULD BE ONE OF THE SHORTEST SERVING PMs EVER The only previous PM to serve less time is Andrew Bonar-Law - and he died in office. Theresa May faces becoming one of the shortest serving ever Prime Ministers. If she resigns in the aftermath of this morning's disastrous election results, she will have served just 331 days in No 10. The only previous PM to serve less time is Andrew Bonar-Law - and he died in office. Advertisement

'I think she is not only the best person to lead not just the party but the country and I think that given that we have got really important negotiations in 11 days' time, I think the responsibility of those of us who hope to be elected as Conservative MPs in the next few hours is to continue to support her.'

But International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox appeared to raise doubts about her future. Asked to guarantee she will not have to resign, he said: 'It's very early in the evening and we'll have to wait and see'.

Mrs May faces a brutal post-mortem into a disastrous campaign which began with the Conservatives boasting double digit poll leads and Mrs May sky-high personal ratings.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk has joined other EU leaders in gloating over Theresa May's failure to win the general election, warning that time is running out for Britain to avoid getting 'no deal'.

Mr Tusk said the clock is ticking for Britain to negotiate its future relationship with the EU, adding: 'We don't know whenBrexit talks start. We know when they must end'.

Meanwhile EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said he hoped for no 'further delay' in Brexit talks.

Mr Tusk joined a raft of smug politicians across the continent after voters dealt Mrs May a punishing blow, denying her the stronger mandate she had sought to conduct Brexit talks and weakening her party's grip on power.

The European Parliament's Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said the election was 'yet another own goal' for the UK, while French EU commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Mrs May 'lost her bet' before adding: 'We don't really know what the governing situation is this morning'.

European Council president Donald Tusk (pictured left sharing a joke with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker) said: 'We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end'

Donald Tusk tweeted that the British should do their best to 'avoid a "no deal" as result of "no negotiations"'

French EU commissioner Pierre Moscovici gloated that 'we don't really know what the governing situation is this morning' after Theresa May failed to win a majority

European Parliament chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt piled the misery on Prime Minister Theresa May after her party lost seats in the general election

German chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured left) enjoys a toast with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri during a state dinner at the Kirchner Cultural Centre in Buenos Aires last night

Mrs May said it was 'incumbent' on her party to stay on in government if it received the most seats in the election

Italian MEP and leader of the EU parliament's Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Group Gianni Pittella praised Jeremy Corbyn and called on Mrs May to resign

But Germany and France have both insisted that Brexit will still go ahead, with a colleague of Angela Merkel adding: 'Time is ticking'.

The German government, however, said it will not comment on the election 'out of politeness and respect' while a government is formed.

Spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer added the EU is prepared for Brexit negotiations and that there was a timeframe for them, saying: "Nothing has changed about that ... In any case we hope the negotiations can begin quickly because the two-year period is already running and could only be extended unanimously.'

Italian MEP and leader of the EU parliament's Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Group Gianni Pittella praised Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and called on Mrs May to resign.

He said: 'It's a disaster for May. Her huge gamble has backfired spectacularly. She has no credibility in UK or Europe', adding: 'She should resign.'

Mr Pittella also called for Brexit negotiations to start so the EU could have a 'positive relationship' with Britain, though the UK's rights and benefits 'can't be the same'.

European Parliament Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt (pictured above) said the election was 'yet another own goal' for Britain

German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said the UK vote reflected popular discontent over Mrs May's hard Brexit strategy, which he said should be reconsidered.

'The message from this vote is - hold fair talks with the EU and think again whether it is really good for Britain to leave the EU in this manner,' he told reporters.

He added he hoped 'a new government will be formed quickly with which we can hold serious negotiations'.

A spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile declined to comment on the election until a new government is formed, while the German leader was a on a tour of Argentina and Mexico.

German MEP Manfred Weber also rubbed salt in Mrs May's wounds by saying 'Europe is for the moment strong and united and we are waiting for Britain', adding: 'May wanted stability but brought chaos to her country instead'.

The chairman of the European People's Party, the largest grouping in the EU parliament, added: 'One year after the decision by the British people to leave the European Union, we see that Europe, Paris for example, Berlin and even Brussels is very stable, so we are ready, and we see disorientation in London, which is not a positive thing.'

Asked whether he expected to negotiate with Theresa May, he said it was purely a domestic matter, adding: 'We want to start, the time is running, and instability, losing time, is not in your or our interest.

Speaking to French Europe 1 radio, EU commissioner Mr Moscovici said: 'Mrs May, who was supposed to emerge strengthened, lost her bet and is therefore in a less than clear situation because the truth is that we don't really know what the governing situation is this morning.'

French prime minister Edouard Philippe, however, said he 'always thought these [Brexit] discussions wouldn't be simple'.

German MEP Manfred Weber said the UK is 'deeply split' and accused Mrs May of bringing 'chaos' to the country

He added: 'In fact, they will be long and complex.

'I do not believe, however, that one should read into these results a shift in the position expressed by the British over Brexit.'

And in the Czech Republic, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said Britain should form a new government quickly, as months have already been lost in its divorce talks with the EU.

French prime minister Edouard Philippe (pictured) said he 'always thought these [Brexit] discussions wouldn't be simple'.

'I only hope that it will not take too long [to form a government] because we have already lost several months from the time that Britain officially announced Brexit in March,' Sobotka told Czech Television.

'But now it will be necessary to wait for who will form a government and what this government will bring to negotiations over Brexit.'

German deputy foreign minister and member of Mrs Merkel's coalition government Michael Roth said Brexit negotiations need to start 'as soon as possible'.

He added: 'Regardless of the question of who will form a government in Britain, time is ticking... We have less than two years to negotiate the exit ... so we should not waste any time now.'

He also said he was 'so proud' of young Brits 'who voted for Europe, social justice and solidarity', adding: 'Cheers!'

Meanwhile German EU Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said 'the referendum stands, no one is challenging that', adding: 'A weak negotiations partner raises the risk of having the negotiations go badly for both sides'.
An 80-year-old woman has been found dead in her New York apartment just days after her younger boyfriend was arrested for beating her, it has been reported.

Ganina Olszweka, a former hotel maid, is said to have been found with trauma to her head and body in Ridgewood, Queens.

Her boyfriend, Marek Piotrkowicz, 56, was arrested for domestic assault against her only five days prior to her death.

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An 80-year-old woman has been found dead in her New York apartment (building pictured) just days after her younger boyfriend was arrested for beating her

He was charged with assault and endangerment but released by Queens Criminal Judge John Zoll a few hours later on $5,000 bail, the New York Post reported.

Police interviewed her 6ft 6in partner on Thursday and have also talked to her son, who she lived with for more than 20 years.

Olszweka was an alcoholic who also routinely fought with her son, sources told the Post.

'Sometimes I would hear them screaming when I took out the garbage,' said building super Dzemail Praprankiu.

While neighbour David Perez said the police often came out to their house during their arguments.

He added: 'Cops would be called here several times, and they would talk to him in the hallway. She could barely walk.'

Irek told cops he called 911 after he found her sleeping on the floor the night before.

Footage taken my CBS New York on Friday shows the apartment sealed off.

Her son (pictured with a cane) is seen walking back to the apartment he shared with the victim
The sister of accused drug smuggler Cassandra Sainsbury has confirmed the 22-year-old and her fiance Scott Broadbridge are still together, despite the prison walls which separate them.

Khala Sainsbury, the older sister of the Adelaide woman locked behind bars in a Colombian prison, took to a discussion page to talk about Cassandra's dire situation as the media storm calmed.

When asked if Ms Sainsbury and Mr Broadbridge were still together, she simply replied: 'Yes they are.'

Scott Broadbridge (left) and his accused drug smuggler fiancee Cassandra Sainsbury (right) are 'still together' despite being separated by prison walls

The engaged South Australian couple (pictured) appeared to be crumbling under the pressure during a tense phone called aired on Channel Seven's Sunday Night

Khala Sainsbury confirmed the couple were still together despite the accused drug smuggler still living in a Bogota prison

Tensions between the engaged South Australian couple were running high after Mr Broadbridge flew to Bogota to visit Ms Sainsbury at El Buen Pastor women's prison.

The pair were able to see eachother and shared a brief but emotional phone conversation which was aired during a Sunday Night exclusive with 23-year-old Mr Broadbridge.

Ms Sainsbury told her fiance 'we're not going to last' as he replied: 'You are pushing me away from you.'

When asked why she believed the pair's relationship would not last, Cassie said: 'Can't you already tell?'

'Everything is telling me I should just walk away,' he told the Sunday Night reporter.

But despite their struggles, Mr Broadbridge says he will remain dedicated to his fiancee whether she is found innocent or guilty.

Despite their struggles, Mr Broadbridge says he will remain dedicated to his fiancee whether she is found innocent or guilty.

The 23-year-old man (pictured) was dragged into a media circus after his fiancee was allegedly found with 5.7kg of cocaine in her luggage

'They paid flights and accommodation, that's it': Khala Sainsbury took to Facebook to deny claims she and her mother were paid $1 million for their 60 Minutes interview

When questioned on what he would do if his fiancee were to be sentenced to 20 years behind bars, Mr Broadbridge was unwavering in his devotion.

'I'll wait. She would do the same for me,' he said.

'I am willing to be there through to the end, and I've told her that. That's how I feel.'

Khala also took to the private group to ask members to stop insulting her family and speculating about her sister's patchy story.

'I am well aware media are on all pages, I'm not saying you can't have an opinion, I'm just saying what if someone was saying crap about your families, wouldn't you ask them to try and cut it back a little,' Khala said.

She was also asked whether media continued to follow her and mother Lisa Evans, but she said she was 'left alone mostly.'

When questioned on what he would do if Ms Sainsbury (pictured) were to be sentenced to 20 years behind bars, Mr Broadbridge was unwavering in his devotion.

Khala was also asked whether media continued to follow her and mother Lisa Evans (left), but she said she was 'left alone mostly'

The sister of Cassie Sainsbury denied she had been paid by 60 Minutes for their exclusive interview but clarified they had covered flights and accommodation in Bogota

Khala (right) also took to the private group to ask members to stop insulting her family and speculating about her sister's patchy story

Other members fired questions at the mother-of-two about her sister's 'cleaning business' employer and if the family had received the reported $1 million for their interview with 60 Minutes.

One person asked: 'Have you had any prior knowledge of a cleaning business that was owned by your uncle Neil Sainsbury?' to which Khala ignored, but Neil Sainsbury himself responded with: 'I'd like to know the same.'

Khala also denied she and her mother had been paid for sharing their story with Channel Nine.

'Do you have proof I got paid? If you do produce it, my mum and I haven't lied about getting paid. We haven't received any form of payment,' she replied.

But she did clarify the pair's flights and accommodation were covered by 60 Minutes.
The incredible true story of the Royal Air Force's top night intruder ace during World War Two with 18 confirmed victories has been revealed in a new book.

Flying over enemy airfields and destroying bombers as they took off or landed, Karel Kuttelwascher, nicknamed the 'Czech Night Hawk' was the scourge of Luftwaffe bombers operating from France and the Low Countries in 1942.

The idea of night intrusion was to engage the Luftwaffe aircraft over their own bases in France and the Low Countries.

Because German bomber pilots were tired and unsuspecting of an attack as they returned to base, the RAF could pounce on them as they were coming in to land.

Flight Lieutenant Karel Kuttelwascher (second from the left) photographed in front of an American aircraft during his visit to Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics at Orlando, Florida

A rare shot of Karel Kuttelwascheris actual Hawker Hurricane IIC BE581 JX:E. He is seen on the wing. Note the white swastikas below the cockpit indicating kills, the rubber covers on the 20 mm cannon, and the 45 gallon drop tanks.

They were particularly vulnerable, as the bomber crews' ammunition was probably used up.

Flying with the RAF's legendary No. 1 Squadron, Kuttelwascher's destruction of 15 aircraft in only three months brought him the Distinguished Flying Cross twice in a mere 42 days and made him the RAF's top night intruder ace.

After his daring escape from German-occupied Czechoslovakia, he flew in the ferocious Battle of France and was then in time to participate in the final weeks of the Battle of Britain as one of Churchill's 'Few'.

The fascinating details of Kuttelwascher's exploits and life after the war are revealed in an updated reprint of the book, Night Hawk, by Roger Darlington and published by Fonthill Media.

Mr Darlington is uniquely placed to tell the story after marrying Kuttelwascher's daughter which gained him access to a treasure trove of personal records.

'Karel Kuttelwascher, known as Kut, was one of the RAF's greatest fighter aces and arguably its most brilliant night fighter pilot,' he said in the book's introduction.

'During the war, he was a well-known hero but his name has subsequently been almost forgotten.

'Kut's story is sufficiently exciting not to require artificial embellishment, so everything in this book-to the best of my efforts as a researcher-is fact and every quote is authentic.

'Essentially, Night Hawk is a biography of one extraordinary man. However, it outlines the tremendous contribution to the war effort made by Czechoslovak airmen, a story not yet fully told anywhere in the English language.

'Also, it describes an aspect of the last war-night intruder operations-that has previously received too little examination and appreciation.'

Karel Kuttelwascher wearing flying gear at Kenley in the early months of 1941 (left). The incredible true story of the Royal Air Force's top night intruder ace during World War Two with 18 confirmed victories has been revealed in a new book

In France, Czech airmen, including Kuttelwascher, were originally enlisted in the French Foreign Legion but France utilised the Czech pilots once the war broke out with Germany.

Kuttelwascher left France after it fell and travelled to Britain where he was assigned to No. 1 Squadron RAF.

During the early circus operations, he clocked up his first three kills and then played a part in the famous Channel Dash.

'Karel Kuttelwascher, known as Kut, was one of the RAF's greatest fighter aces and arguably its most brilliant night fighter pilot,' said author Roger Darlington, in the book's introduction

However, it was in the lauded but lonely night intruder role that his individualistic skills came to the fore.

Flying a long-range Hawker Hurricane IIC armed with 20-mm cannon, Kuttelwascher unleashed a reign of terror that included the knocking out of three Heinkel bombers in just four minutes.

Mr Darlington explained the reason for the reprint was that Kuttelwascher's story continued to evolve in the intervening years since the initial book release.

'Here in Britain, Karel Kuttelwascher's name was included as one of 'The Few' on the Battle of Britain memorials erected at Capel-le-Ferne on the Kent coast (1993) and on the Victoria Embankment in London (2005),' he explained.

'During the war, he was a well-known hero but his name has subsequently been almost forgotten', said Mr Darlington. But in Kut's birthplace of Svaty Kriz, a large memorial was constructed and Mr Darlington said the ace 'would be amazed by the interest that continues to be shown in his story'

'The then Czechoslovak President VAclav Havel posthumously promoted Karel Kuttelwascher to Brigadier General in 2000 and the current Czech President MiloA Zeman posthumously gave him the White Lion - the country's highest award - in 2016.

'In Kut's birthplace of Svaty Kriz, a large memorial was constructed. Kut would be amazed by the interest that continues to be shown in his story some three quarters of a century after his exploits, but it is quite a story.'

Kuttelwascher returned to Czechoslovakia in August 1945, but returned to Britain when the Communists came to power, becoming an airline pilot for British European Airways. He died of a heart attack on 17 August 1959, while on holiday in Cornwall.
Demonstrators will gather in at least 28 cities across the US for anti-Sharia law marches on Saturday.

March Against Sharia rallies are organized by ACT for America, an organization that says it is focused on fighting terrorism and promoting national security.

The marches will be held in 18 states and are 'against Sharia law and for human rights', according to the ACT for America website.

Cities include Phoenix, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta, New York, Boston and Seattle.

Demonstrators will gather in 28 cities across the US for March Against Sharia rallies on Saturday

The marches are organized by ACT for America, a non-profit organization that says it is focused on fighting terrorism and promoting national security

Four and a half hours south of Seattle, Washington, in Eugene, Oregon, worshippers at the Eugene Islamic Center are worried about their security, so are installing higher-grade locks on the front door.

A man recently appeared outside the mosque and threatened to kill Muslims.

Barely two weeks later, an assailant stabbed two men to death and wounded a third on a commuter train in Portland, 110 miles to the north.

The victims were trying to protect two teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, as the man shouted anti-Islamic slurs.

ACT for America says it condemns bias against religious groups and is 'proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with peaceful Western Muslims as well as peaceful Muslims worldwide'

Muslim leaders and others are concerned about the Marches Against Sharia planned for Saturday, saying the rallies are really anti-Muslim.

They consider the incidents in Portland and Eugene, and other recent anti-Muslim crimes in America, part of an alarming trend that came to the forefront in last year's presidential election with far-right activists portraying Islam - and all Muslims - as a threat.

'Our Muslim community is feeling a tremendous amount of stress and pressure,' said former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, who plans to attend a counter-rally Saturday.

'It's important for local leaders to express solidarity and make clear we stand against bigotry, against racism and with our Muslim neighbors in the state and beyond.'

However, Muslim leaders and others are concerned about the Marches Against Sharia, saying the rallies are really anti-Muslim because the group promotes a distorted and prejudiced view of Islam

Drew Williams, a member of the Eugene Islamic Center, said members of the mosque have been rattled by an incident in which a man showed up and allegedly threatened to kill worshippers, but that the community has shown concern and support

ACT for America says it condemns bias against religious groups and is 'proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with peaceful Western Muslims as well as peaceful Muslims worldwide'.

Yet many Muslims and others say the group promotes a distorted and prejudiced view of Islam.

'Many aspects of Sharia law run contrary to basic human rights and are completely incompatible with our laws and our democratic values,' the ACT for America website says.

Their activists portray Shariah as largely incompatible with American democracy and often warn of a stealth effort to replace US law with Islamic law.

Muslims call the claims ludicrous and say Islamic law plays a role similar to Jewish law, as a guide to religious life rooted in the Quran.

Aneelah Afzali, who heads a Seattle-area group that works against discrimination and hate crimes, said she will be putting up an 'ask a Muslim booth' near Seattle's anti-Shariah rally, 'so people can ask questions directly about Islam, and we can counter conspiracy theories, accusations and lies that come from that hate rally.'

She said she has noticed increased hostility toward Muslims, evidenced by the destruction of a granite sign in front of the mosque she attends in Everett, Washington, by someone apparently wielding a sledgehammer.

A temporary sign was destroyed a few weeks later.

'What was so beautiful was the outpouring of community support,' she said, explaining that many community and business leaders showed up for a ceremony and left their handprints in the concrete base that holds the new sign.

ACT for America activists portray Shariah as largely incompatible with American democracy. Their website says: 'Many aspects of Sharia law run contrary to basic human rights and are completely incompatible with our laws and our democratic values'

Locksmith Jim King upgrades the locks on the Eugene Islamic Center after the center was targeted by a death threat in May

Two far-right groups, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, are to provide security at some of the rallies, apparently the first simultaneous anti-Shariah rallies in the US.

Members of a third group also confirmed they'll attend, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups.

'With the recruitment of anti-government groups and the Proud Boys, the potential for violence increases,' the center said.

The marches come amid a rise in reports of anti-Muslim incidents in the US, including arson attacks and vandalism at mosques, harassment of women wearing Muslim head-coverings and bullying of Muslim schoolchildren.

'Things happen so fast, it's so hard to keep up,' said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on Islamic-American Relations.

Footwear of worshippers are kept at the Eugene Islamic Center where the faithful must remove their footwear before going in to pray. The center was targeted by a death threat in May, days before a deadly attack on a Portland commuter train by a man police say was shouting anti-Islamic slurs

Muslim leaders hear echoes of the views of groups like ACT for America in President Donald Trump's temporary ban on entry into the US from six Muslim-majority countries - a measure currently blocked by federal courts - and in his claims of dangers posed by immigrants and Muslim refugees.

Trump has said his policies are critical for protecting national security.

Those who attend the Eugene Islamic Center, in an off-white building in a lower-income neighborhood, are still coming to grips with the May 10 threat from a man who was arrested the next day while carrying a knife.

Mosque member Drew Williams said the man claimed to have killed Muslims while serving in the military in Iraq and told witnesses, 'I have no problem killing you.' The man was charged with intimidation, menacing and harassment.

'Many people are worried and saddened and very shocked, but we still hope to be able to practice and to be part of the Eugene community,' Williams said as the locksmith worked next to him.

Besides installing stronger locks, the mosque is raising funds to erect a fence around the building and possibly hire a security guard for Friday prayers, when the number of worshippers peaks.
Indiana is expanding its prekindergarten program to several additional highly populated areas in the state, bringing the total number of counties offering pre-K to 20.

Since 2015, Indiana has supported On My Way Pre-K for about 1,600 children from low-income families who live in the counties that include Evansville (Vanderburgh County), Fort Wayne (Allen County), Gary (Lake County), and Indianapolis (Marion County.) Rural Jackson County is also a participant.



On Wednesday, Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, announced the 15 additional counties that will offer the program. They are St. Joseph (South Bend), Tippecanoe (Lafayette), Monroe (Bloomington), Vigo (Terre Haute), Bartholomew (Columbus), DeKalb (Auburn), Delaware (Muncie), Elkhart (Elkhart), Floyd (New Albany), Grant (Marion), Harrison (Corydon), Howard (Kokomo), Kosciusko (Warsaw), Madison (Anderson) and Marshall (Plymouth).

A limited number of seats may be available for children in January, but the program will be fully operational for the 2018-19 school year.

The state budget, which was approved back in April, included $22 million for prekindergarten, including $1 million for an online preschool program called UPSTART that is in wide use in Utah, and has been piloted in other areas across the country. The Indiana program operates like a voucher, providing money to parents who can then enroll their children with registered providers that meet certain quality standards.

Prekindergarten was a priority of former governor and now U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who made a personal appeal to lawmakers in 2014 to start an early-childhood education program . Holcomb, who was Pences lieutenant governor, has continued that trend. During his State of the State address , Holcomb made a pitch to double the states funding for prekindergarten, though lawmakers ultimately approved a smaller amount. Such an investment is part of his transformation policies to improve the state, he said.

Our most vulnerable children deserve a fair start, too, he said during the speech.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A man armed with a knife and a 'bomb vest' stormed a Job Centre and took several members of staff hostage.

The attacker, who was known to employees, stormed the branch in the Byker area of Newcastle this morning.

He held more than five people at knife-point before police negotiated their release after a tense stand-off.

The knifeman was arrested just over an hour later and remains in custody.

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Pictured: Armed police stand on guard at the scene in Byker, Newcastle, this morning

Pictured: Armed police aim their weapons towards the job centre this morning

Pictured: Soldiers from a bomb disposal unit arrive on the scene after claims the man had an object strapped to his chest

Armed officers swooped in on the area within minutes, with roads closed and members of the public ordered to stay away.

Two army bomb disposal units were also called to the scene after witnesses claimed the man was threatening people with a 'bomb vest' strapped to his chest.

Ambulance services assisted police, although there have been no confirmations of casualties so far.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said: 'Police are currently dealing with an ongoing situation in Newcastle.

Pictured: Roads were closed around the Job Centre, as Northumbria Police officers negotiated with the knifeman

Pictured: Officers from a police dog unit walks on patrol around the scene in Byker

Pictured: Police speak to members of the public, who were told to stay away from the scene

'Police were called to Job Centre Plus, Clifford Street in Byker at around 8am (Friday, June 9) following reports of a man causing a disturbance.

'There are no reports of any injuries at this stage and police would ask people not to speculate about the ongoing situation in Byker.

'We can confirm that the bomb disposal unit is currently on scene of the ongoing incident.

'This is there as a precaution following reports that the man could be in the possession of an explosive device.

'The man has been arrested by officers and is in police custody. A search of the premises will now take place so the cordon will remain.'
More than 750 people have been fined for their acts of generosity after placing donation items outside charity stores in Brisbane.

Brisbane City Council issued fines to 761 people in the past financial year for leaving donations on the doorstep of charity stores, such as the Salvation Army.

Salvos Store Brisbane area manager Stuart Estreich said 95 per cent of donations left at their stores after hours are unusable and cost the company hundreds of dollars to dispose.

More than 750 people have been fined for their acts of generosity after placing donation items outside charity stores in Brisbane (stock image)

Brisbane woman Sarah Deery was fined $243 after she made a donation of clothes to a Salvos store in Lutwyche, in Brisbane's inner-north (pictured)

'The issue for us is when people do donate out of hours, those donations generally get wrecked because they are exposed to the elements or undesirable people destroy them,' Mr Estreich told the Brisbane Times.

'Hundreds of thousands of dollars a year goes into ensuring we can get rid of the dumped stuff.'

Brisbane woman Sarah Deery was fined $243 after she made a donation of clothes to a Salvos store in Lutwyche, in Brisbane's inner-north.

The council issued Ms Deery with an infringement notice, alleging she left 'waste' at the store.

Salvos Store Brisbane area manager Stuart Estreich said 95 per cent of donations left at their stores after hours are unusable and cost the company hundreds of dollars to dispose (stock image)

The council issued Ms Deery with an infringement notice (pictured), alleging she left 'waste' at the store

'It's not like I'm dropping off crappy, soiled mattresses or anything like that, it's actual stuff people can use,' Ms Deery told the newspaper.

'What a pathetic money grab and punishment for wanting to help out the community.'

Council Lifestyle and Community Services chairman Matthew Bourke said donations not placed inside designated bins are considered to be illegally dumped, the Brisbane Times reported.

He said about $800,000 has been spent by the council cleaning up illegal dumping.
The older sister of London Bridge terrorist Youssef Zaghba (pictured) said they argued over her strappy tops and mini skirts

The older sister of London Bridge terrorist Youssef Zaghba said they argued over her strappy tops and mini skirts.

Kaouthar Zaghba, 24, also revealed she will not attend the killer's funeral and that she wishes she could 'beat him to a pulp'.

She added that both Youssef and their strict Muslim father Mohammed, were obsessed with her clothing and feared she was too Western.

Their controlling behaviour led to a rift in the family that saw Kaouthar run away from home at 18.

She said: 'Youssef was a shy good boy. I didn't believe he could have done what he has. Now I would beat him to a pulp.

'I'm angry, I won't go to the funeral. I don't know what feelings I would have standing next to the coffin.'

The retail worker blamed their Moroccan father's hardline Islamic lifestyle for Youssef's problems.

She said: 'At 18 I ran away from home because I couldn't bear the mentality anymore. I fought with my father because he was violent. He hit us often.

'He had a violent nature, he beat me for bad marks at school, because I didn't wear the veil, for smoking a cigarette.

'Sometimes I fought with Youssef about how I dressed, like if I wore a miniskirt. He did not approve of my freedom.

'I like to wear fashionable outfits, strappy tops and miniskirts, and he couldn't accept it. He didn't like it if I showed off my figure.

'In the last few months we hadn't spoken. He didn't like the way I lived my life.'

The sister of the terrorist said both Youssef and their strict Muslim father Mohammed, were obsessed with her clothing and feared she was too Western

She added: 'When we were little we were very close, the age difference was nothing. We were always together.

'Even when I fought with my father he often defended me. Thinking back maybe I think that Youssef's problems comes from this.

'From the beatings he saw, from the endless fights, sometimes he defended my mother and took the punches that were meant for her.'

After leaving Morocco, Kaouthar moved back to their mother's native Bologna and lived with an aunt and uncle.

She remained in touch with her mother, Valeria, 68, and Youssef but never thought her brother would become a terrorist.

She said: 'If I thought he was going to become a terrorist I would have done something.

'I don't want anything to do with extremism.

From left: Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba were all shot dead by police following their crazed terror attack in London

'When he was stopped at the airport I said to my mother if he really wanted to go to Syria I don't want to see him anymore.

'Then nothing happened, he got his passport back and my mother and I thought it was a one-off. 'Let's give him another chance,' we said.

'After I came to live in Italy he stayed in Morocco, we saw each other less and less.

'Then he went to London and something must have happened there.

'I accept that he is dead. But I cannot accept how he died. I just can't accept it. I would really give him a good beating for what he did.

'I can't think about what he did. In my head he had nothing to do with the stabbings. Even as a little boy he never liked toy weapons.'

The aftermath: Debris from Saturday's attack in Borough Market, London, remained in the street on Wednesday

Zaghba was said to have been working at a Pakistani restaurant in Ilford in the run-up to the attack.

He was let into the country despite being on a security watch list, raising questions about the UK's counter terror efforts.

The 22-year-old was stopped at Bologna airport in March last year and prevented from travelling to Turkey amid suspicions he intended to go on to Syria.

He was not prosecuted, but reports from Italy have indicated his name was listed on a Europe-wide security database and British authorities were alerted.

But Italian officials did not provide full details to the Schengen Information System (SIS) in relation to Zaghba's attempt to travel to Syria, sources told The Times.

While Zaghba was stopped at Stansted airport in January, the SIS alert seen by Border Force officials did not include the fact that he had told Italians he 'wanted to be a terrorist', the newspaper reported.

Instead, the alert is said to have provided information that suggested he had been involved in a criminal matter.

Reports suggesting one of the terror gang members was on the radar of authorities in Italy intensified the pressure on agencies already facing intense scrutiny following three deadly outrages this year.

MI5 and police faced questions after it emerged another of the London Bridge attackers, 27-year-old Khuram Butt, had been investigated in 2015.

The third terrorist, Rachid Redouane, was not known to security services.
Jailed: Fast food worker Jynal Khan

A fraudster who conned a pensioner out of 35,000 in an online dating scam has been jailed.

Fast food worker Jynal Khan, 36, of St Dennis, Cornwall, sent pictures and messages to Geoffrey Hoyland for a year pretending to be a voluptuous Bangladeshi woman in her early 30s.

The victim, who is in his late 60s, used Facebook because he was lonely and looking to find a partner.

Truro Crown Court heard he believed he was going to marry the imaginary Asian model.

He even sent 20,000 in cash after he was told the woman's mother wanted proof he would be a financially stable husband.

He also sent gifts including sexy underwear and a gold necklace.

Earlier the court heard how Mr Hoyland lived alone with his two cats.

He was reeled into the scam in December 2014 after joining a Facebook dating page.

He was sent sexy pictures back of an unknown woman in her underwear who he thought was his fiancee.

Truro Crown Court heard Khan conned a pensioner out of 35,000 in an online dating scam

Father-of-one Khan used words like 'honey' in messages to reassure Mr Hoyland that he would be together with the fictitious woman.

At first Khan's wife, pastry crimper Aysha Begum was implicated in the fraud but she was cleared of any wrongdoing at a previous hearing last month.

Khan admitted fraud and was jailed for two years on Thursday.

Judge Simon Carr said the victim was a 'sitting duck for exploitation'.

He added: 'The victim was in his late 60s and a very lonely man.. You deliberately manipulated his emotions.

'Khan used the money to buy an Audi car, Playstation and other goods including a lounge suite.'

Khan admitted fraud and was jailed for two years.
A cosmetics store has been slammed by a racial equality group for putting a quote from Sir Winston Churchill on display.

The Bristol branch of Lush currently has words by the wartime leader promoting European unity in its front window.

But a local campaign group is furious about the decision and has branded Churchill a 'war criminal and white supremacist'.

Members of the Bristol People of Colour Collective went into the store on Tuesday to complain about the words and were told it was part of a nationwide campaign.

The quote displayed in the window of the Lush cosmetics store in Bristol

The words are from a speech the former world leader (pictured) gave in Amsterdam in 1948

The quote promotes European Unity and is part of a nationwide campaign by Lush

Now the group is lobbying Lush's head office to have the words, which were taken from Churchill's 1948 speech to a packed crowd in Amsterdam, removed.

The quote in the store's window includes the lines: 'We hope to see a Europe where men of every country will think of being a European as of belonging to their native land.

'We hope wherever they go in this wide domain... they will truly feel: "Here I am at home. I am a citizen of this country too."

'Let us meet together. Let us work together. Let us do our utmost - all that is in us - for the good of all.

'How proud we should all be if we had played any useful part in bringing that great day to come.'

Bristol People of Colour Collective said the decision to quote Churchill was 'wild'

But Bristol People of Colour Collective, which was set up three years ago to 'end the harmful and oppressive structures and attitudes that exist in society', said quoting Churchill was 'wild'.

A spokesperson for the group said: 'The fact that any brand, especially one that is rooted in ethics, can uphold Churchill or anything he said about unity when he was a war criminal and white supremacist responsible for literally millions of deaths is wild.

Controversial: The group accused Churchill of being a white supremacist

'We won't stand for it.'

The two-time Prime Minister has been regularly voted the 'Greatest Ever Briton' in polls for leading the country during World War Two and his face features on the five pound note.

But his track record before 1940 has been controversial.

In 1937, he told the Palestine Royal Commission: 'I do not admit for instance, that a great wrong has been done to the Red Indians of America or the black people of Australia.

'I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more wordly wise race... has come in and taken their place.'

Former Bristol Tory Leader Richard Eddy said: 'Sir Winston Churchill was undoubtedly one of the greatest Britons ever.

'During the last World War, he saved this country by his leadership and Europe and the World by example.

'It really is ludicrous for this self-appointed and self-important protest group to make the claims they have against him and seek to blackmail the Lush business.'

He added: 'Sadly, there are some people in this country who hate our nation, its values and history, and heroes like Winston Churchill.

'But in my opinion, it is always a mistake to pander to their warped opinions.'

MailOnline has contacted Lush for comment.
Thailand has today jailed a man for 35 years for insulting the monarchy marking the toughest sentence for the 'crime' ever recorded.

Vichai Thepwong, a former insurance salesman was initially sentenced to 70 years which was later halved after he pleaded guilty.

He was accused of posting ten messages and pictures on Facebook insulting the country's royal family.

Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn (pictured) watches over a military parade

Thailand's Royal Army Chief General Teerachai Nakwanich salutes during a ceremony

Thailand has strict 'lese majeste' laws which mean that it is illegal to insult, defame or threaten the monarchy.

Since the military seized power in a coup three years ago, there have been cases brought against 73 people under the defamation law.

However the sentence of Vichai Thepwong is said to be the heaviest yet, beating a 30-year sentence handed down in 2015.

Thai military policeman salutes during a funeral procession (File photo)

Thai Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn pictured before later becoming King last year

The 34-year-old has been held in a Bangkok prison since his arrest in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai in 2015.

His messages and posts on Facebook were deemed insulting to the monarchy however the exact content of the posts is unclear.

Khumklao Songsonboon, Vichai's lawyer said he will not appeal against the verdict: 'He wants the case to end, and wants to petition for a royal pardon.'

Following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej last October, the country's military have increased online censorship to help try and curb insults to Thailand's royals.

The military has urged the Thai people to report any 'lese majeste' cases to authorities.

While last month, Thai authorities threatened to press charges against Facebook after footage was posted online of the current King Maha Vajiralongkorn wandering around a shopping mall while wearing a crop top and fake tattoos.
The Metropolitan Police has denied heroic Spanish skateboarder Ignacio Echeverria was shot dead by officers after being mistaken for a terrorist during the London Bridge attacks.

The force was pushed to release a statement after furious speculation in Spain, where interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said the delay in identifying Echeverria, from Madrid, was 'strange' and others suggested he was accidentally killed by armed police.

HSBC banker Echeverria, 39, reportedly jumped off his bike to help a woman who was being stabbed in the rampage that left eight dead on Saturday, fighting off her attacker with a skateboard.

But the Met said it did not recognise 'allegations that are circulating in the Spanish media that a member of the public was fatally shot by police.'

Ignacio Echeverria (pictured) was last seen on Saturday night lying on a pavement near London Bridge after confronting one of the knife-wielding terrorists as he was attacking a female victim

Echeverria was skating with friends before the London attack on Saturday night. He is pictured above skateboarding elsewhere

Its statement, sent to The Local, went on: 'As soon as the events of Saturday night became clearer we confirmed that when officers confronted the terrorists a member of the public also suffered gunshot wounds.

'That person remains in hospital at this time where they (are) receiving medical attention.'

Criticism of British authorities has been severe in Spain, with foreign minister Alfonso Dastis telling his counterpart Boris Johnson that the delay in identifying the dead is 'inhumane'.

There were even fears of a cover-up in the country because Echeverria's family was told they could only see the body of their relative today - after the general election - but they were ultimately able to see him yesterday morning.

Echeverria's sister Isabel, an account operations manager with WEX Virtual Payments who also lives in London, previously launched a social media appeal for help in tracking her brother down. Pictured above, emergency responders at London Bridge following the attack

Echeverria, from Madrid, has been recommended for a bravery award by the Spanish prime minister

The Met previously said there were a number of reasons why an identification could take longer in some circumstances and that families would be notified as soon as possible.

Hero: Echeverria tried to save an unidentified woman in the terror attack

'We work in liaison with the coroner, that's how the system works. When the coroner is content and we are content with the ID we have got we will issue that publicly,' a police spokesman said.

But reports in Spain alleged that a fingerprint ID of Echeverria was established as early as Monday but the need for DNA testing delayed the process.

The Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, said that Echeverria would be recommended for a bravery award.

A friend who was with the heroic banker during the attack said he charged the terrorists to prevent them beating up a woman.

He added: 'A skateboard against a knife wielded by three or four guys is going to get you killed. You have to have a lot of courage'.
The father being investigated in the death of his six-year-old daughter, whose decomposing body was found in an Illinois garage, claims her death was an accident.

Jason Quate claims the girl, who has been missing for two years, choked to death on a steak after he spanked her.

Quate, 34, who in a Las Vegas jail on unrelated prostitution charges, claims her mother then hid the body in a dilapidated and vacant home in Centreville, near St Louis.

Quate faces a court hearing Friday on charges of felony sex trafficking and living from the earnings of a prostitute - though no charges have yet been filed over his daughter's death.

Jason Quate (pictured), the man accused over the death of his six-year-old daughter claims her death was an accident

The dead girl's mother accused him of forcing he into sex trafficking and abusing their other two daughters.

In a jailhouse interview with the St Louis Post-Dispatch, Quate said his daughter choked to death when he spanked her, unaware that she still had Salisbury steak in her mouth.

A day earlier, he told KSNV his wife had told him she had put the girl up for adoption.

He later told the Post-Dispatch he lied to the TV station and that his wife had come up with the adoption story after their daughter died.

In his interview with the newspaper, he repeatedly referred to what happened with his daughter as 'horrible', adding: 'I'm not the monster she's [his wife] making me out to be.'

Quate said he and his wife were afraid to call police out of fear their other children would be taken from them.

He said they kept the girl's body in their home in Belleville, Illinois, for some time.

Jason Quate claims the girl, who has been missing for two years, choked to death on a steak after he spanked her. Pictured: The garage in Illinois where her body was found

Eventually Quate said his wife came up with the idea to work as a prostitute in Las Vegas.

Before they left, she found a garage in Centreville, where the body was dumped, he said.

Quate faces a court hearing Friday on charges of felony sex trafficking and living from the earnings of a prostitute

The family moved to Las Vegas two years ago, where their two teenage daughters are now in protective custody.

Police said the girls were never allowed outside, even to attend school. A police lieutenant said the girls lacked socialization skills and showed signs of abuse.

A separate child abuse charge against Quate is pending, said Audrie Locke, an aide to Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson in Las Vegas.

A judge is expected to appoint a lawyer to represent Quate at Friday's court hearing.

Jail records showed that the mother was also jailed in Las Vegas pending a Monday court appearance as a fugitive on an out-of-state warrant.

St Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly didn't immediately respond to messages about the warrant.

Police say the girl's mother moved to Belleville two years ago but later fled to Las Vegas to escape her husband Jason Quate, who allegedly forced her into prostitution.

In his interview with the newspaper, Quate repeatedly referred to what happened with his daughter as 'horrible'

A forensic anthropologist was initially called in to determine the child's gender and race as police tried to figure out how she died.

Neighbors of the small, frame home with boarded-up windows told the Belleville News-Democrat the house has been vacant for more than two years.

Property records show the home was last sold for $25,500 in 2005. The man listed as its owner, Marcus Acoff, declined comment when reached by the AP, saying he did not want to interfere in the investigation.
An 11-year-old schoolgirl has survived after one of her classmates threw a ninja star into her head by accident, according to media.

A blade was said to be stuck in the pupil's head by two centimetres (0.8 inches) as she was taken to the hospital in eastern China earlier this week.

Surgeons removed the sharp object after operating on the girl for an hour.

The 11-year-old girl was hit in the head by a ninja star when she was in her classroom in China

A CT scan shows the ninja star was stuck in the girl's head by two centimetres (0.8 inches)

The incident took place at a school in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on June 7, according to the provincial television broadcaster.

The girl, nicknamed Wenwen, was said to be working on her school assignment when she was hit by the metal ninja star.

The object is said to have flown into the classroom through the window and hit the sixth-grade pupil. The sharp object struck her head from the left side and became lodged in her skull.

It's reported that a classmate of Wenwen's was playing with the ninja star, which has been described as a toy by Chinese media.

The classmate threw 'the toy' into the classroom by accident.

One of her classmates was apparently playing with the sharp object, which has been desribed as a toy. The blade was removed from the girl's skull after an hour-long operation

Wenwen was taken to the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine immediately.

The school also informed Wenwen's parents.

Dr Shen Zhipeng, a neurosurgeon, told a reporter: 'The ninja star is made of metal and it certainly does not look like a children's toy.'

Dr Shen did a computerised tomography (CT) scan for Wenwen. The scan confirmed that the blade had been stuck in Wenwen's skull for about two centimetres.

'We provided two suggestions to the parents. One was surgical debridement, which is to pull out the ninja star directly; and the other was craniotomy, which is to open the skull and carry out a thorough inspection,' said Dr Shen.

The ninja star measures about 13 centimetres (5.1 inches) from one point to the opposite end

Wenwen's parents chose to have the ninja star pulled out directly.

Surgeons successfully removed the sharp object after performing an hour-long operation.

The ninja star has four blades and measures about 13 centimetres (5.1 inches) from one point to the opposite end.

Dr Shen explained that the blade had impaled the skull and reached the cerebrospinal fluid, a protective layer of tissue below the skull.

Wenwen is expected fully recover in three to five days if no infection is caused by the surgery, according to Dr Shen.

Ninja star is said to be popular among pupils at Wenwen's school. The shape of the particular ninja star is said to be inspired by popular Japanese manga Naruto.

Taobao.com, a Chinese e-commerce platform, sells similar ninja stars as toys.

Sellers claim the metal toy is suitable for anyone over 14 years old.

A ninja star toy sells for about 19.80 yuan (2.29) on Taobao.

The report claimed that ninja star toys are usually not sharpened.

However, it's hard for authorities to inspect whether or not the buyers would sharpen the toys by themselves, as it's understood.
A former Ohio fashion model sentenced to prison for trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband's ex-wife has had her conviction overturned.

Tara Lambert, 35, gave an undercover sheriff's deputy $125 as a down payment to kill Kellie Cooke, who is the mother of Lambert's two stepdaughters.

Now an appeals court judge has ruled the case against Lambert should never have been allowed to proceed due to a prosecutor's error in the indictment language, which he described as 'fatally flawed.'

Lambert has spent the past year in prison after being sentenced to one count of conspiracy to commit murder. Her attorney says she could be released by Friday.

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Guilty: Former model Tara Lambert, 33, tried to hire a hitman to kill her husband's ex-wife, Kellie Cooke

Lambert (in court, left, and in 2011, right) gave an undercover sheriff's deputy $125 as a down payment to kill Mrs Cooke, who is the mother of Lambert's two stepdaughters

Lambert was found guilty of trying to hire an assassin to kill Mrs Cooke (right). She was cleared of trying to do the same to Mrs Cooke's husband, Shawn (left)

Prosecutors say Lambert, from Circleville, Ohio, met with an undercover police officer posing as a hit man in February 2016 to make arrangements.

The Pickaway County prosecutor did not respond to requests for comment

Lambert suggested the officer use a wood chipper to dispose of Mrs Cooke's corpse.

The former model insisted in court that she had been joking, but a jury found her guilty on Wednesday after just 45 minutes of deliberations, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

She could face up to 11 years in jail when she is sentenced in February.

Lambert was cleared of conspiring to murder Mrs Cooke's husband, Shawn, if he was at home when the hitman came to kill his wife.

The ex-model, who is married to Brandon Lambert, the father of Mrs Cooke's children, was arrested on July 28 last year after giving the undercover police officer a photograph of Kellie Cooke and a $125 payment to have her killed.

The court was told that she also gave the deputy Mrs Cooke's address and a description of her car.

Lambert said she wanted Mrs Cooke's body thrown into a wood chipper, but insisted in court that she had been joking.

Lambert (pictured in court) had drink and drug problems, as well as eating disorders and issues with her body image, a psychologist said

Lambert (pictured in court) suggested the police officer - who she thought was an assassin - use a wood chipper to dispose of Mrs Cooke's corpse

Lambert and Mrs Cooke had been in the midst of a custody battle, the Circleville Herald reported.

A psychologist told the jury on Tuesday that Lambert was 'developmentally challenged' and said she had drink and drug problems.

The 33-year-old also suffers from eating disorders and has issues with her body image, leading to her more than two dozen cosmetic surgeries, the jury was told.

The psychologist, Jolie Brams, added that on one occasion, Lambert was told her sweater did not fit so she immediately went to her plastic surgeon for an operation.

Ms Brams said the accused was brought up around violence and was abandoned by her parents as a child.

Lambert's defense attorney James Kingsley said: 'Tara Lambert doesn't know what's appropriate for a situation. She's childlike. Life's a fantasy to her.'

Lambert (pictured in court) and Mrs Cooke (in the background) had been in the midst of a custody battle

The former model (left, in court, and right, in a police mugshot) insisted in court that she had been joking

Lambert (pictured in court) could be jailed for 11 years when she is sentenced next month

After the verdict, Lambert was taken into custody. The last thing she said before being led from the courtroom was asking what officials would do with her purse.

Speaking after the hearing, Mrs Cooke said her children had not seen their father, Mr Lambert, since August last year. His whereabouts are unknown.

'We'll heal but we'll never feel secure,' Mrs Cooke said.

Mr Cooke said: 'That woman tried to take away everything that matters to me.

'This has opened our eyes that there is evil in this world, true evil, and for us, nothing will ever be the same. There's no way it can be.'

'She had the full intention of my wife being killed, there's no doubt about that,' he told the Pickaway News Journal.
Editors Note: Kaitlin E. Thomas has worked in multiple public school organizations in the Mid-Atlantic and New England, and is a doctoral candidate in Hispanic Studies at the University of Birmingham (U.K.). She shares how she dealt with racism in her foreign langauge classroom this year.

by guest blogger Kaitlin E. Thomas

The end-of-the year meeting began innocuously enough, colleagues bantering with routine pleasantries as the spring semester faded into the summer recess on that final day of the term. We settled in for our discussion, and I couldnt help but admire the meticulously written Chinese symbols displayed on the chalkboard in front of me. I imagined the student working in that quiet, small classroom space carefully composing each character as they crafted each mark, absorbedly moving from one down to the next.

And then I saw it: Speak American or GTFO .

At any institute of learning such commentary is disparaging. In one imbecilic move, the intrusive commentary not only demoted the intellectual pursuit of language learning, but did so using an erroneous concept "American as a language. This was just one example, but there have been an alarming number of similar incidents since President Trump won the election in 2016. It appears that, to some, pursuing foreign language and cultural studies is in conflict with current ideas around what patriotism or national loyalty means in the United States.

The current political climate has created a paradoxical conundrum for instructors of foreign language and culture. Since June 2015 , this jingoist resistance to global awareness or understanding has surged in the classroom as misplaced defiance and fueled by bogus social conspiracy theories and false threat narrative propagation. It bleeds hostile toxicity into learning that depends on student inquisitiveness, participation, and, ultimately, tolerance.

Silent accusations accompanied by glaring stares meet me as we embark on discussions about communism, fascism, and socialism. When a student refuses to use vocabulary (Ojala) after discovering its origins (InshAllah), or when a discussion about the current crisis in Venezuela devolves into belligerency toward Chavezs contempt of el norte and its leaders, for example, it is challenging to seize what could be a teachable moment without letting the resulting dialogue succumb to more misplaced nationalist fervor. These are new pedagogical obstacles that have been startlingly absent until now in a craft meant to provoke constructive focus.

It is a foreign language instructors privilege to serve as ambassador between languages, cultures, and histories, and to embark on the challenge of exposing students to what lies beyond artificially constructed borders and boundaries. It is also a responsibility to encourage a broadening of perspectives that mightfull teacher disclosure hereeven instigate a process of unlearning  when need be.

It is within the learning of language and cultures that critical truthsnot all Muslims are terrorists, not all Mexicans are rapists, there is no official U.S. languagemust be clarified, impressed upon, and reiterated to our students. They must not fear the pursuit of studying other languages and cultures since it is through such scholarship and skill acquisition that their own sense of citizenry and self become coherently realized. Ojala touched a nerve because of an assumption bred through fear mongering. And how do you think my students reacted when I told them that their beloved Ole! also shares Arabic derivation? Or that their cafe is more aptly known as qahwa ?

For the sake of them (including you, anonymous chalkboard commentator), and for the profoundly complicated, unescapably globalized, and ethnically dynamic world that they are only beginning to experience, I confront these hesitations, misconceptions, and now increasingly overt enmity toward learning Spanish language and culture by first tackling the sentiments on a one-on-one level. This facilitates a less charged exchange between the student and me, one in which a conversation, rather than a spectacle, can take place. In other words, I eliminate the crowd mentality factor as much as possible.

This is not to say that I do not address the sentiments with the entire class; I do indeed, and in fact make it a personal mission to do so. Emotion is just as undermining to the issue as irrationality, and so I arm myself with as much all-encompassing (fact-based) information as possible. Do you like and study math? Fantasticlets talk about mathematical Arabic influence . What about medicine, health, and wellness? Perfectheres a bit more . And of course, I drive home the point, with as much accessible information as possible, that Spanish and Arabic are beautifully and purposefully connected in cultural and linguistic history.

Much of how an instructor opts to confront these newly emerging obstacles in our foreign language classrooms depends on the student-teacher and teacher-class dynamic. Regardless, it has become and must remain a primary objective to GTFO and hit the streets to extoll loud-and-proud the benefits, immense importance, and lifelong dividends of embarking on foreign language and culture studies.

Connect with Heather on Twitter.

Image courtesy of the author.
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This is the stomach-churning moment a group of Russian daredevils broke into a Moscow skyscraper and dangled off its icy 784-foot high ledges.

The stunt, captured by photographer and blogger Alex Nomernoy, was pulled off atop the 60-floor Imperia Tower in the Russian capital.

Nomernoy said his team hacked the door near a CCTV camera to get in while guards were having their lunch and then turned off motion sensors.

He added: 'This building is a maze, there are 160 stairs and forty elevators.

'People who were in the skyscraper opposite saw us and were shocked, a few minutes later we saw a police patrol car so we decided to leave.'

In the terrifying video Nomernoy took of the stunt, one member of the group can be seen hanging off a frost-encrusted ledge by his hands and posing for the camera.

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The fearless Russian daredevils were caught on camera by blogger and photographer Alex Nomernoy

The stunt was pulled off atop the Imperia Tower in Moscow. Pictured above, one member of the group peers over the precipice

The Imperia Tower is 784 feet tall and has about 60 floors. Above, one of the daredevils hangs a leg off the icy ledge while, right, the same person sits comfortably while Moscow stretches out below

A hooded figure with a lightning bolt on his top poses for pictures on the tower. Below, a snow-covered Moscow is visible

The view from the top of the Imperia Tower shows a frozen Moscow

A daredevil hangs over the edge of the skyscraper

The adrenaline junkies had to hack a door to get into the building. Pictured, two members of the stunt group look out over the city

Stomach-churning: The view from the top shows a perilous drop

Nomernoy said police were quick on the scene, so the group had to take pictures hastily and scuttle off. Pictured, a seat with a view

Nomernoy said the building was a 'maze' with forty separate elevators. Pictured above, a view of nearby skyscrapers

People looking on in horror from the buildings opposite called the police, Nomernoy said

Pride: One daredevil spreads his arms in victory as Moscow is visible in the distance
Video footage has caught the moment animal lovers risked their lives to save one of the world's most deadliest snakes.

Workers in Goa, India, spotted a dehydrated king cobra hanging near a pond desperate for water and rushed over to give it water from a cup.

The king cobra's bite is strong enough to kill an elephant.

Mr Singh can be seen feeding the snake water with a tin cup as onlookers surround it

Others also managed to use leaves to put the water straight into the snake's jaws

Onlookers called the Animal Rescue Squad who located the 12-foot-long cobra hiding in a tree.

The group's president Amrut Singh climbed the tree and pushed the animal down to the ground. The snake was reluctant to take water from a bowl so Singh decided to place water in a cup instead.

The snake took the water from Singh's hand. While other rescuers also used a leaf to funnel the water straight into the snake's jaws.

In the footage, onlookers can be seen gathering round and trying to help the animal take some water.

In need of help: Onlookers spotted the snake looking extremely dehydrated

The snake can also be seen taking water from the man's hand in desperation

The snake appears not to be bothered by the number of people around it.

Singh said: 'We got a call at around 10am from a farm at Thane in Sattari that a large black snake was spotted on the caller's property.

'I decided to try and offer the cobra water from a steel glass and much to my surprise the reptile started drinking from it.

'After an hour at 12.30pm, a 12 foot-long king cobra was successfully rescued by our ARS team.'

When asked if he was worried about being so close to the snake, Singh told reporters: 'I have developed a special bonding with snakes, particularly king cobras in the past 15 years.

'I never feel that the cobras are dangerous if we handle them carefully without causing them any harm or difficulties.'
No regrets: Daniel Rickard, 32, is accused of showing no remorse after allegedly sleeping with a pupil on a school trip

A teacher has been suspended for one year after boasting that he had 'smashed' a 17-year-old schoolgirl on a history trip to Berlin, and allowed her to drink alcohol while the pair were alone together.

Daniel Rickard, 32, is banned from the classroom after his boastful claims, which he said were made up to gain the admiration of fellow colleagues, and nothing sexual happened between him and the girl.

A disciplinary hearing today ruled his drunken antics with the girl were 'unacceptable professional conduct' which could mean him being banned from the classroom for life.

The father-of-two then told a colleague that he could 'tick it off his bucket list" - and then said: 'I would probably do it again'.

Form teacher Rickard took the party of teenagers from his 830-pupil comprehensive school in Bridgend, South Wales, to Berlin for the four-day history and RE trip.

But he bragged about having sex in the basement with the girl - identified only as Pupil A - after staying up all night drinking after a day visiting the Berlin Wall and the Reichstag.

The hearing was told he then bragged to head of history Paul Hicks: 'You know [Pupil A]? I've just smashed her.'

Four days later in a text to the same teacher saying: 'Worse thing is in the same situation I'd probably do it again;) lol.'

Rickard was accused of unacceptable professional conduct, in that he allowed Pupil A to consume alcohol and was alone with Pupil A during part of the night.

His colleague Paul Hicks, who worked alongside him at Cynffig Comprehensive School, told the Education Workforce Council this week that his colleague showed no remorse.

Speaking at the hearing, Mr Hicks said: 'He told me he could 'tick it off his bucket list' now.

'He did not show any regret and he was quite boastful.

'At one point he took a call from his girlfriend and asked about his children, and then carried on with what he was talking about.'

Mr Rickard denied the claims throughout the hearing and said his comments were 'just banter'. He said the events had not taken place.

Daniel Rickard, 32, was a geography teacher at Cynffig Comprehensive School in Bridgend when he was accused by a colleague of boasting about sleeping with a 17-year-old schoolgirl, saying he had 'smashed' her

The father-of-two told a misconduct hearing he made it up as 'a bit of a tease' between the two men.

Rickard said: 'It was such laddish behaviour, which I now can't take back.

'There had been discussions and observations made by myself and him about the girl on the trip.

'It was a bit of a tease and a wind-up.'

But Rickard told the hearing in Cardiff he'd made up the story to gain admiration from his colleague.

Rickard said: 'It was my intention to get admiration from him. I wanted to plant a seed in his head that something had happened.

'I accept I let the hoodwink continue for a little bit.'

The teacher had worked at the Cynffig Comprehensive School in Bridgend, South Wales, for seven years before allegedly having sex with the girl on the trip in February 2016.

Giving evidence at the hearing Mr Hick said: 'I was woken up by Daniel in our shared bedroom, he said it was 6am. He told me he had been drinking and looked unsteady.

'I asked him where he had been and he said he had been drinking with a group of men. He got into bed and he said "you know [Pupil A], I've just smashed her". I believe he was implying he had sexual intercourse with Pupil A. I was shocked and said "Are you joking?"

'But Daniel said no. I was unsure what he had told me was true.'

Mr Hicks said he later went down to breakfast where he was told by another teacher on the trip that Pupil A had not returned to her room until 6am, which led him to believe what Mr Rickard had said was true.

Before returning home, teachers and pupils went for a last-minute shopping trip where colleagues went for coffee with Mr Rickard and asked him to explain himself.

Mr Hicks said: 'Daniel said when everyone else went to bed he and Pupil A were left alone together and she became flirty with him.'

He added: 'He told me he went to the toilet and when he returned Pupil A had gone. He said he found her on the stairs and that she took off her top.'

Mr Rickard said at no point was there physical contact between him and Pupil A other than what he described or anything sexual

Mr Hicks was present at the hearing and spoke about the evening of the alleged incident

Mr Hicks said Mr Rickard had said he and Pupil A went to the basement of the hotel as there was no CCTV down there where he claimed Pupil A performed oral sex on him and they had sexual intercourse.

The colleague added: 'He told me he could "tick it off his bucket list" now. He did not show any regret and he was quite boastful. At one point he took a call from his girlfriend and asked about his children, and then carried on with what he was talking about.'

Mr Hicks said Mr Rickard told him not to say anything and said he had 'massively f***** up'.

He said: 'I asked Daniel if he thought about his family, his children and his job and he said he only thought about the consequences after the event. At no point did I think he was joking.'

On the next Monday, Mr Hicks said he received a text message from Mr Rickard, which said he had spoken with Pupil A.

He said Mr Rickard added: 'Worse thing is in the same situation I'd probably do it again lol.'

Mr Hicks said Mr Rickard had said he and Pupil A went to the basement of the hotel as there was no CCTV down there where he claimed Pupil A performed oral sex on him and they had sexual intercourse

Mr Hicks said he requested a meeting with head teacher Hannah Castle the next day, where he provided a statement detailing the allegations against Mr Rickard.

Ms Dewi said: 'The information that Mr Rickard said was true and there was sexual contact between him and Pupil A that evening.

Mr Rickard will say the conversation took place; however, he was not being honest in what he what he was telling Mr Hicks and no sexual contact took place between Pupil A and himself.'

She added: 'Even if you find in Mr Rickard's favour, that this was an elaborate lie and banter, that in itself was unacceptable professional conduct.'

Mr Rickard, who taught geography at the school, has admitted remaining in the bar area of the hotel with Pupil A and that the conversation between himself and Mr Hicks took place, but denies allegations he had sexual intercourse with Pupil A or that his actions amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.

Giving evidence, Mr Rickard said teachers and pupils were drinking and talking together in the bar area but when he returned from the toilet the only person left was Pupil A.

He added: 'We stayed to chat about exams and the future. At around 1.45am she brushed her hand across my leg and then I thought it was time to finish the conversation and to go to bed.

'We took the lift to the third floor and it descended to the basement. I looked around without exiting the lift and returned to the third floor.

'Pupil A commented she was hot and went to remove her jumper but I told her this was not a good idea and she should go to her room and change. I watched her enter her room and made a check to make sure all the other pupils were asleep and went to my room.'

Mr Rickard, who taught geography at the school, has admitted remaining in the bar area of the hotel with Pupil A

Mr Rickard denies allegations he had sexual intercourse with Pupil A or that his actions amounted to unacceptable professional conduct

Mr Rickard said at no point was there physical contact between him and Pupil A other than what he described or anything sexual. He said: 'My error of judgement was in speaking to Mr Hicks in the way I did. I did make a comment to Mr Hicks. I'm not proud of my language and I know it's not appropriate to speak in that manner. I was only speaking in the same way Mr Hicks had previously spoken to me. I regret playing Mr Hicks along but I didn't think he had taken it seriously.

'We were speaking as friends having banter. It was complete male bravado and I'll regret it for the rest of my life as there is no room for banter in teaching. If there was any substance to what had happened I wouldn't have treated it in a blase way.'

When asked by Geraint Davies, representing Mr Rickard, whether he had sexual intercourse with Pupil A, Mr Richard said: 'Absolutely not.'

Miss Dewi said Rickard was 'unreliable' having changed 'significant' details of his account given in an earlier written statement.

Cynffig Comprehensive School in Bridgend, South Wales, where he was a teacher for seven years before the incident

Miss Dewi said: 'We know he had been drinking at the bar. He was described by another pupil as appearing drunk.

'Numbers at the bar dwindle. People go back to bed. Hours pass by. The two of them continue to drink alcohol at the bar.

'The conversation goes from one of academia to a more personal conversation.

'Her hand goes onto his knee. He doesn't tell her to move it and does not make her move it.

'Clearly boundaries have been crossed.

'We say after that initial contact matters develop further and there was sexual contact as described by Rickard to Paul Hicks.

'Would Rickard say those things to him in such depth and detail of it wasn't what happened? If it wasn't true?'

The hearing was told Pupil A and her mother had told police there had not been sexual contact between Pupil A and Mr Rickard.

The Education Workforce Council said the proven facts amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.

The panel found two allegations - that Rickard actually had sex with the girl and that his behaviour was sexually motivated - had not been proved.

The EWC hearing in Cardiff imposed a suspension order until the end of May 2018 meaning he cannot apply for teaching jobs for a year.

Panel member Robert Newsome said his conduct showed 'serious incidents of unprofessional conduct'. Rickard can appeal to the High Court.
A self-professed Chinese 'slapping therapist' will be extradited from the U.K. to Australia after the death of a six-year-old diabetic boy who was repeatedly hit as part of his treatment.

Hongchi Xiao attempted to heal the Sydney boy during a slap workshop at Hurstville in Sydney's south between April 22 and 28, 2015, but the child was later found unconscious and died shortly after.

The slapping guru will return to Australia to face manslaughter charges for the little boy, who was also deprived of his insulin and food before his death as part of a 'fasting' therapy.

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The six-year-old boy (pictured) died after attending Hongchi Xiao's slapping therapy workshop

Hongchi Xiao (pictured) attempted to heal the Sydney boy during a slap workshop at Hurstville in Sydney's south between April 22 and 28, 2015

Xiao was arrested in London in May and is expected to be extradited to Australia within the next few weeks.

After prompts from NSW Police, British detectives arrested Xiao when he flew into Heathrow Airport on Anzac Day, Seven News reports.

He was refused bail at Westminster Court and will remain behind bars until his extradition.

The six-year-old child's mother and father, aged 41 and 56, took the boy to a $1,800 week-long self-healing conference.

Police alleged the parents and grandmother, who was caring for the boy before he died, were 'grossly negligent'.

Just before 10pm on April 28, emergency services were called to a hotel in Sydney after reports the boy had been found unconscious.

After prompts from NSW Police, British detectives arrested Xiao (pictured) when he flew into Heathrow Airport on Anzac Day, Seven News reports

Slapping therapy is a form of Chinese alternative medicine which claims to heal people suffering from ailments by repeatedly slapping them

Paramedics attended and performed CPR, but were unable to revive the child.

Slapping therapy, or paida lajin, is a Chinese alternative medicine which claims to be able to cure patients by repeatedly hitting them, leaving them covered in bruises.

The slapping and stretching of muscles clears meridians in the body allowing Qi, or life force, to flow more easily, slapping therapists allege.

According to practitioners, this can cure a range of ailments including cancer, diabetes and hypertension.
A serial con artist who's previously duped authorities in Ireland and Canada into thinking she was a child sex abuse victim held by human traffickers has pleaded guilty to fresh fraud offences.

This time, she posed as a 13-year-old Sydney schoolgirl and was placed in foster care.

Sydney woman Samantha Azzopardi, 28, pleaded guilty in Hornsby Local Court on Thursday to four counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception.

Sydney woman Samantha Azzopardi, 28, pleaded guilty in Hornsby Local Court on Thursday to four counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception

In her most recent con, Azzopardi went by the name Harper Hart, court documents show, although she's been known to have used more than 40 aliases in the past

In her most recent con, Azzopardi went by the name Harper Hart, court documents show, although she's been known to have used more than 40 aliases in the past.

She defrauded the Department of Families and Community Services through the financing of medication and Good Shepherd Australia through the cost of an ambulance transfer to Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

She also obtained an iPad, Opal cards and a mobile phone from the Burdekin Association, a northern Sydney not-for-profit organisation.

Azzopardi also recycled her previous claims of being a victim of sexual abuse and human trafficking and even accessed counselling services from the Victims of Crime Assistance League.

But things started to unravel when the Department of Families became suspicious and alerted police.

In opposing Azzopardi's initial bail application, police said she had an 'extensive history of providing false documentation, obtaining passports in false names and assuming identities of other persons' in Queensland, Western Australia, Ireland and Canada.

'The accused is known to lie about her age purporting to be a 13-year-old girl and the victim of sexual trafficking,' the court document states.

'Police believe the accused is a considerable flight risk and if released, will assume another false identity and/or flee the country.'

The 'significant costs' of overseas investigations were also cited.

Azzopardi became well known in 2013 when she was found wandering the streets of Dublin and duped Irish authorities into thinking she was a trafficking victim from eastern Europe.

During her most recent deceptive endeavor, she was placed in foster care and received an iPad, mobile phones and travel cards from charitable sources

The serial con artist has previously duped Canadian and Irish authorities while pretending to be an eastern European sex slave

Azzopardi was deported from Ireland after a psychiatrist found she wasn't suffering from a mental disorder that enabled her to be detained under the Mental Health Act

She drew pictures apparently showing herself being raped, with Irish police releasing a photo of her as they tried to determine her identity.

They reportedly spent more than $350,000 on the investigation before discovering she was an Australian con artist and not a child.

Azzopardi was deported after a psychiatrist found she wasn't suffering from a mental disorder that enabled her to be detained under the Mental Health Act.

The following year, she was charged with public mischief in Canada after walking into a Calgary health centre claiming to be a 14-year-old who was the victim of an abduction and prolonged sexual assault. She used the alias Aurora Hepburn.

Canadian authorities spent $150,000 on their investigation before realising she was the same woman at the centre of the Dublin saga.

At her Hornsby court appearance, Azzopardi's duty solicitor questioned the seriousness of the offences and said no monetary value had been determined.

The 28-year-old did not apply for bail and it was formally refused. She's scheduled to reappear in court via video link on June 28.
A man who worked as a shopping centre Santa Claus has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, but the judge took pity on him for his 'bleak future'.

William John Webster, 80, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography depicting a child aged under 14-years-old, but received a suspended sentence in the Adelaide District Court.

Judge Michael Boylan sent Mr Webster to prison, but suspended the sentence with a good behaviour bond of 18 months, after he took into consideration the amount of illicit content, age, plea and poor health, according to The Advertiser.

William John Webster (pictured) pleaded guilty to child exploitation offences

William John Webster, 80, (pictured) received a suspended jail sentence for an 18 month good beahviour bond

'Your life is in ruins after being estranged from your partner of 50 years ... and adult son. Your future is sadly bleak,' justice Boylan said.

Mr Webster worked as a Santa Clause at Southgate Plaza in Morphett Vale, south Adelaide.

Police originally seized the 80-year-old's computer and found three videos showing child exploitation in 2012.

Mr Webster's suspended jail term was for one year and if he finds himself in any trouble with the law he will spend the remainder of his suspended sentence in prison.

The maximum sentence for each offence carries five and seven years in jail respectively.
A senior Russian lawmaker has dismissed the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey as insignificant.

Comey, who testified before a Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, asserted that President Donald Trump had fired him to interfere with an investigation of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.

He also reaffirmed the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia meddled in the election.

But Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the information policy committee at the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, late on Thursday dismissed Comey's testimony as a 'big bubble'.

Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the information policy committee at the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, late on Thursday dismissed former FBI Director James Comey's testimony as a 'big bubble'

Comey, who testified before a Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, asserted that President Donald Trump had fired him to interfere with an investigation of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign

He said that the testimony 'will not help Trump's adversaries to start impeachment proceedings'.

Russian officials have vehemently denied any role in hacking attacks on the Democratic National Convention and voter-registration databases.

Comey laid bare months of White House distrust in his highly anticipated testimony before Congress on Thursday.

He accused the Trump administration of spreading 'lies' and bluntly asserted that the president had fired him to interfere with an investigation of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.

His gripping account of interactions with Trump underscored the discord that soured their relationship.

Facing a Senate committee Thursday, Comey portrayed Trump as dismissive of the FBI's independence.

Russian officials have vehemently denied any role in hacking attacks on the Democratic National Convention and voter-registration databases

He also made clear that he interpreted Trump's request to end an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn as an order coming from the president.

Comey also revealed that he'd orchestrated the public release of information about his private conversations with the president. He said it was an effort to further the investigation.

Though Republicans worked to discredit Comey and to blunt the impact of his testimony, the ex-director's statement deepened questions about the basis for his May 9 dismissal and about whether Trump's actions constituted obstruction of justice.

The veteran lawman expressed confidence that could be a matter ripe for investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, though he declined to offer an opinion on whether it met such a threshold.

Trump's private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, seized on Comey's admission that he had told Trump on multiple occasions that he was not personally under investigation and maintained the testimony made clear that Trump 'never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone.'

Though Republicans worked to discredit Comey and to blunt the impact of his testimony, the ex-director's statement deepened questions about the basis for his May 9 dismissal and about whether Trump's actions constituted obstruction of justice

Kasowitz also jumped on Comey's revelation that he had released details of his private conversations with the president, casting the former FBI director as one of the 'leakers' set on undermining the Trump administration.

Still, there was no doubt the veteran lawman made for a challenging adversary.

'It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,' Comey said toward the end of more than two hours of testimony before the Senate intelligence committee. 'I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.

'That is a very big deal, and not just because it involves me.'

At one point he practically dared Trump to release any recordings of their conversations, a prospect the president once alluded to in a tweet.

'Lordy, I hope there are tapes,' Comey said, suggesting such evidence would back up his account over the president's.

Thursday's hearing brought Washington and other parts of the country to a standstill as Americans sat glued to their screens, harkening to the Watergate congressional hearings that held the nation rapt some four decades earlier.
Thomas Hunter, 59, of Nottinghamshire, admitted crashing into a car killing a three-year-old girl, her unborn brother and seriously injuring their mother at Oxford Crown Court

A lorry driver with one arm has admitted crashing into a car killing a three-year-old girl, her unborn brother and seriously injuring their mother.

Thomas Hunter, 59, crashed his Volvo articulated truck into the back of a car that pregnant Collette Wiggin and her daughter Isla were travelling in.

Isla suffered serious brain injuries in the crash and died two days later, on August 27, at John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, Oxon.

Her 31-year-old mother suffered a broken neck and lost her unborn son - whom the family had already named Harry, a name chosen by his would-be big sister.

In a statement the family said Isla was 'so excited at the prospect' of a baby brother and 'her loving and caring nature would have made her an amazing big sister'.

Hunter, of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire appeared in the dock with a prosthetic left arm with a hook, at Oxford Crown Court.

He was told by Judge Zoe Smith that he would be sentenced on July 17 following the crash on a busy carriageway in August 2016.

Hunter pleaded guilty to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.

The court heard that thirteen other people were injured in the six car pile-up on the A34 at Hinksey, Oxford.

An inquest into Isla's death in September last year heard how the car was in a queue of 'slow-moving or stationary traffic' when it was struck from behind by the lorry.

Prosecutor Michael Roques told the court there must have been a 'distraction' for Mr Hunter to 'miss the traffic jam'.

Isla (pictured) suffered serious brain injuries in the crash and died two days later, on August 27, at John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, Oxfordshire

Isla's 31-year-old mother suffered a broken neck and lost her unborn son - whom the family had already named Harry, a name chosen by his would-be big sister

Mr Roques added that the death of Mrs Wiggin's unborn son, and Mr Hunter crashing into five other vehicles, further aggravated the offence in respect of sentence.

In a tribute to their two children last year, Isla's parents said, 'Isla was as perfect a daughter as you could ever wish for.

'Beautiful and witty, yet cheeky and mischievous, she was a character that you couldn't help but love with all your heart.'

They added that the family had called their unborn child Harry after their daughter said she liked the name.

'We were extremely proud to find out that we were going to have a son, who would have completed our family.

Hunter pleaded guilty to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving

He was told by Judge Zoe Smith that he would be sentenced on July 17 following the crash on a busy carriageway in August 2016.

'He had big hands and strong arms and no doubt would've grown into a strapping young man who would have loved and protected Isla.

'We are so sorry that we didn't get the chance to meet him properly and get to know him.

'Not a day will go by where we won't think of them and all the happy memories that we have shared.'

Defending Mr Hunter, Alexander Stein said the defendant was of previous good character.

He added: 'He knows exactly what's going to happen.'

Hunter was granted bail and told by Judge Smith that he was disqualified from driving before appearing at the same court on July 17.
A High Court judge has allowed travellers to stay at a sprawling camp nicknamed 'Dale Farm II' in a decision slammed as 'appalling' by local residents.

Mr Justice Rabinder Singh QC controversially changed an injunction to let travellers remain on the plot across Green Belt land in Wickford, Essex.

His ruling came after more than 700 tonnes of building material was illegally delivered and laid on the site by a cavalcade of unmarked lorries.

Mr Justice Singh QC controversially changed an injunction to let travellers remain on the plot across Green Belt land in Wickford, Essex

Pictured: Police are called to the scene as workmen deliver 700 tonnes of building material at the traveller site at Wickford in Essex

Locals fear more work is imminent with more than 50 families expected to pitch up.

The site is roughly 3.5 miles away from the infamous Dale Farm which cost Basildon Council more than 7million to clear after a pitched eviction battle.

Taxpayers were forced to pay out after a decade of legal wrangling and a heated showdown.

Jill Walsh, chairman of the Hovefields Residents Association, said she endured hell the last time her home was engulfed by an illegal travellers' site, before it was cleared in 2010.

Reacting to the High Court decision, she said: 'It just makes a mockery of the whole planning system, that decision just gives the green light to travellers everywhere.

'As for us I'm really concerned, that's an appalling decision as it is on Green Belt land.

'It's an absolute joke.'

Another local, who did not want to be named out of fear of reprisals, said: 'I'm absolutely disgusted, it's an injunction after all.

'I just can't believe it, this means to me that anyone can do what they want planning wise on Green Belt land.

'They can just go there, live there and do what they want while we deal with the consequences.'

Mr Justice Singh's decision has been slammed as 'appalling' by angry campaigners

The site was covered by an injunction on October 18 2016 preventing development of the land, but in February this year work started.

Footage filmed by angry locals captured lorries flying on to the sprawling site, which has now been covered in hardcore and asphalt.

Septic tanks have also been buried deep into the ground and wooden fencing has sprung up around the edge of the land.

Council chiefs have slapped the travellers with planning breaches but there was no time for their case to be argued in court.

Basildon Council's injunction also restricted occupation of the land to those living there at the time, but this was changed.

This was secured against the Tidd family, John Hilden, George Davis and 'persons unknown' but a parcel of the relevant land was subsequently sold to Michael Smith, who moved onto the site with 10 others.

The group applied to the court to vary the injunction, allowing them to stay, and for the changed layout of caravans and mobile homes, wooden sheds and the fencing surrounding the pitches to remain in place.

A spokesman for the council said: 'This application was heard ahead of the committal proceedings brought by Basildon Council against the defendants for breaching the injunction and a further application seeking the court's authority to enter the land and remove the offending caravans, hardstanding and fencing.

Locals fear more building work is imminent on the traveller site with more than 50 families expected to pitch up

'Despite the council's strong objections, Mr Justice Singh allowed the injunction to be varied which means that the travellers can remain on the site, substituting their names on the order for the Tidd family, who no longer occupy the land.

'The time spent dealing with the defendants application meant that there was insufficient court time available for the council's own applications to be heard and the judge felt it was appropriate to give further directions to deal with this application.

'A further hearing will be arranged for this to happen, which will not take place before 23 June.'

Some fear the completed site could eventually dwarf Dale Farm, in nearby Crays Hill, which at its height was home to more than 1,000 people.

TheWickford site is roughly 3.5 miles away from the infamous Dale Farm which cost Basildon Council more than 7million to clear after a pitched eviction battle.

The council is still reeling from the pitched battle it funded to remove the travellers from Dale Farm.

It was once the largest illegal travellers' site in Europe and in October 2011 the six acres of land were finally cleared amid scenes of violence as travellers and campaigners clashed with bailiffs and police.

The final cost of the eviction was nearly 7million, with Basildon Council picking up a bill for 4.3million whilst Essex Police spent 2.4m on their involvement.

The embittered authority sent invoices to the travellers, demanding payments to cover the costs of the operation.

The average bill was about 60,000 - although the highest demand was 350,000 - but not a single penny has been paid.
David Cameron has been seen for the first time since the Conservative's shocking election result.

The former Tory leader looked grim-faced but determined as he left his home in Kensington this morning as it became clear Theresa May had failed to gain a majority in parliament.

Last year Cameron resigned after his own defeat at the ballot box when Britain voted to leave the EU, a policy he had campaigned passionately against.

The former Tory leader looked grim-faced but determined as he left his home in Kensington this morning

However, he was far more successful in the 2015 election when he stormed into Downing Street and outperformed the exit polls, gaining 331 seats.

Only once before in recent history had an incumbent government increased its majority - and that was Mrs Thatcher in her prime in the 1980s.

On election day, Mr Cameron tweeted a picture of himself campaigning for Robert Courts, who held his former constituency of Witney for the Tories.

Just weeks ago May was expecting a similar result. With a 20-plus lead in the polls some were predicting the Conservatives would gain up to 50 more seats.

But the party has been unable to even gain a majority after losing 12 seats on top of a series of disastrous results in the hotly contested north-east of England.

Cameron left his redbrick home flagged by armed guards and clutching a satchel this morning

In a statement the legislature's Brexit coordinator Guy Verhofstadt said: 'I thought surrealism was a Belgian invention', referring to Cameron's Brexit referendum and May's early election hopes.

He added that it was yet 'another own goal, after Cameron now May.'

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said that Brexit negotiations must be put on hold and Theresa May must quit.

He insisted talks about leaving the European Union, which are due to start in 11 days, should be delayed while the new government reviews its priorities and sets them out to the public.

Cameron resigned as leader after his own disaster at the ballot box when Britain voted to leave the EU, a policy he had campaigned passionately against

Mr Farron insisted there would be no deal to prop up a Conservative government, using May's own words against her by insisting 'no deal is better than a bad deal'.

'Like David Cameron before her, our Conservative Prime Minister rolled the dice with the future of our country out of sheer arrogance and vanity,' he added.

Earlier today Theresa May left Downing Street for Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen for permission to form a new government, despite the Tories suffering devastating losses.

The Prime Minister is going to make clear she intends to stay in power to push through Brexit - even though she has lost her Commons majority.

Earlier today Theresa May left Downing Street for Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen for permission to form a new government

The defiant move comes as Mrs May faced open calls from her own MPs to 'consider her position', while a jubilant Jeremy Corbyn has demanded she resign.

Earlier, an ashen-faced Mrs May claimed the Conservatives had the right to stay in power because they are still the largest party with an expected 318 seats.

But as the knives came out for Mrs May, former chancellor George Osborne lambasted her campaign performance as 'wooden' and her manifesto as a disaster.

Even the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), whose 10 MPs Mrs May is set to rely on to keep her in Downing Street, said it would be 'difficult' for her to cling on.

Cameron has so far kept tight-lipped about May's election performance.

The Prime Minister is going to make clear she intends to stay in power to push through Brexit - even though she has lost her Commons majority. The defiant move comes as Mrs May faced open calls from her own MPs to 'consider her position'

With English and Welsh voters seemingly punishing Mrs May for calling the ballot unnecessarily, the only thing saving Mrs May from utter disaster overnight was the Tory performance in Scotland.

The party's leader north of the border, Ruth Davidson, inspired a 12-seat surge that even ousted the SNP's former First Minister Alex Salmond in Gordon and Westminster leader Angus Robertson in Moray.

Speaking outside Downing Street, May said she would lead the government in coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party.

She said she would lead a government that put 'fairness and opportunity at the heart of everything it does'.
Teachers unions escaped a potentially devastating blow when the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked in the Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association case last spring , which meant the lower court ruling stood and they could continue to charge fees to nonmembers.

But a new challenge to the teacher groupsand public sector unions in generalappears to be on the horizon.

On Tuesday, attorneys requested that the Supreme Court hear a case in which Illinois health care worker Mark Janus argues that he should not be forced to pay monthly union fees to keep his job. The plaintiff in Janus v. AFSCME pays about $45 a month in compulsory fees to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which collectively bargains on his behalf.

Like Friedrichs, this case could potentially overturn the 1977 ruling from Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that said states could allow unions to exact mandatory fees as a condition of government employment. Often called agency or shop fees, they represent the cost of negotiating things like salaries and benefits that apply to all workers, whether or not they belong to the union.

Overturning Abood would have implications for teachers (and other government workers) in more than 20 states that allow unions to charge agency fees.

Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, one of the two groups filing the case for Janus , said in a statement, Requiring public servants to subsidize union officials speech is incompatible with the First Amendment. This petition asks the Supreme Court to take up this case and revisit a nearly half-century-old mistake that led to an anomaly in First Amendment jurisprudence.

Only four justices need to agree to hear the case, so theres a good chance it will be accepted for the next session.

Many people assumed that the high court would overrule Abood in the Friedrichs case, which centered around a California teacher who didnt want to pay union dues, as my colleague Mark Walsh wrote this week . But Justice Antonin Scalia died soon after those arguments, leading to the 4-4 deadlock which allowed court rulings upholding Californias agency fee law to remain in place, he explained. The anti-union groups are essentially betting that new Justice Neil M. Gorsuch would be likely to side with them.

Earlier this year, a group of California teachers filed a U.S. district court case challenging agency fees as well. The teachers in Yohn v. California Teachers Association were represented by the Center for Individual Rightsthe same group that brought the Friedrichs case. But the Illinois case has beaten the recent California one to the high court.

The teachers unions are already bracing for membership losses , according to Mike Antonucci at The 74. Thats because teachers in states with mandatory fees have an incentive to join the uniontheyre already paying about 70 percent of the union dues, so whats a few more dollars a month for full membership?

The National Education Association has modified its budget for 2017-18 in anticipation of losing about 20,000 full-time equivalent members, reports Antonucci. This seems accurate because even larger losses wont be felt until the 2018-19 school year, he writes. (A ruling on Janus would be likely to come down in June 2018.)

See also:
Teenagers are learning how to steal and get away with it from an online 'lifting' community where people give each other tips.

One anonymous forum shows people bragging about their 'hauls' worth thousands of dollars by posting pictures of neatly arranged stolen goods while dishing out advice to beginner shoplifters.

Some users include tips about how to steal from popular stores such as The Body Shop, Victoria's Secret and cosmetics retailer Mecca.

Others claim their actions are a fight against the 'scams' of retail corporations who 'overcharge' their consumers.

Teenagers are learning how to steal and get away with it from an online 'lifting' community where people brag about their 'hauls' by posting pictures of neatly arranged stolen goods while dishing out advice to beginner shoplifters

One user claim their actions are a fight against the 'scams' of retail corporations who overcharge their consumers

People use aliases such as 'liftingboy', 'beaniebooster' and 'justliftit' - with some referring to themselves as 'ethical petty criminals'

'The more I look at prices on the items I shove in my bag, the more justified I feel in stealing,' one person said.

'Asking $36 dollars for a pair of earrings, that is outright contempt for your fellow man.'

'Companies repulse me,' replied another user.

People use aliases such as 'liftingboy', 'beaniebooster' and 'justliftit' - with some referring to themselves as 'ethical petty criminals'.

'If you are ever made uncomfortable by the fact that I am an ethical petty criminal you can always take the time to remind yourself that there is nothing you can do to stop me,' one person posted.

One user confesses to creating a shoplifting diary on Microsoft Excel, where they record the value and date of their haul as well as the store they stole it from.

A 'haul' from one user who has stolen goods from stores including Victoria's Secret and Witchery

One user confesses to creating a shoplifting diary on Microsoft Excel, where they record the value and date of their haul as well as the store they stole it from

Meanwhile, would-be shoplifters anonymously ask for tips as they plan their future life of crime.

'Hey, teenage girl from Melbourne here. I have never lifted before and would like to start. Any advice?' one person posted.

'Should I go alone? What shops are the easiest, and what products are the easiest? I really want a mentor to teach me how to lift like a pro.'

Mecca stores in Melbourne Central and Highpoint shopping centre are among those named in the online community, as thieves seek information to plan the perfect heist.

Makeup products and a moisturiser that were stolen then posted to the online 'lifting' community

Mecca stores in Melbourne Central and Highpoint shopping centre are among those named in the online community

Would-be shoplifters anonymously ask for tips as they plan their future life of crime

'Where are the blind spots? Are the naked palettes in lockable cases, because that's my worry,' another person said.

Among stolen items posted to the online community are eyeshadow palettes valued at almost $100 each and $70 Sennheiser headphones.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said the actions of shoplifters lead to higher prices for consumers.

'The shoplifting community definitely contribute to price increases, as retailers have to build a cost structure around the loss of stock,' Mr Zimmerman told the Herald Sun.

Victoria Police Supt David Cowan told the newspaper shoplifters can face up to ten years in jail, although many escape with just a caution.

'Enforcement options can vary depending on the level of offending and eligibility, underage offenders may be issued with a caution and released without charge,' he said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted police for comment.

A post from one user in the online 'lifting' community who says they intend to continue shoplifting
Sydney property owners who are selling their homes are pushing the asking prices up to take advantage of recent NSW stamp duty cuts.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian released a funding package on June 2 that abolished stamp duty for all first-home buyers purchasing homes up to $650,000.

There would also be significant discounts on stamp duty for homes priced up to $800,000 from July 1.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian released a funding package on June 2 that abolished stamp duty for all first-home buyers purchasing homes up to $650,000

The measures are an attempt to cope with the housing affordability crisis and potential owners trying to compete with rising prices, higher deposits and competition from foreign investors.

But residential property owners already in the market have been making calls to their agents asking to have a higher asking price now that first-home buyers will have 'more money to spend.'

Ray White's Ercan Ersan said one of his apartment sellers, who had listed their property between $600,000 and $650,000 asked to delay the sale until July 1, reports The Financial Review





While he did not ask for a higher price the strategy meant there would be more first-home buyers competing for his property, Mr Ersan said.

'This will give them a chance to extract every last dollar. They expect there will be more interest and that puts pressure on competition and ultimately drive a higher price.'

Ray White's Ercan Ersan said one of his apartment sellers, who had listed their property between $600,000 and $650,000 asked to delay the sale until July 1, reports The Financial Review

The only issue with this theory is that there aren't enough first-home buyers on the market to make that much of a difference.

Real Estate Institute president John Cunningham said that only 5 per cent of the residential market is filled with first-home buyers.

'There are dozens rather than hundreds of first home buyers and, if prices go up, it won't start wildfire,' he said.

'First-home buyers might be young in age but they are not gullible. If vendors push up prices, they push themselves out of the market.'

Experts are now worried the attempt to ease pressure on first-home buyers will actually just push them into purchasing apartments.
Two terror suspects accused of plotting a car and knife attack face trial at the Old Bailey in January.

Umar Ahmed Haque and Abuthaher Mamun, from east London, were arrested as part of an investigation by MI5 and the Metropolitan Polices Counter Terrorism Command on May 17.

They were allegedly planning to use a vehicle in a terror attack. Haque is accused of having a list of possible targets in the capital, including major tourist attractions and government buildings.

Police also allegedly found a large knife in his car.

Umar Ahmed Haque and Abuthaher Mamun, from east London, were accused of plotting a car and knife attack between March 25 and May 18 this year. They appeared at the Old Bailey by video-link today

They appeared at the Old Bailey by video-link on Friday for a preliminary hearing, speaking only to confirm their names.

Haque, from Newham, is accused of preparing to commit acts of terrorism between March 25 and May 18 this year.

The 25-year-old is also charged with four counts of possessing documents useful for committing or preparing an act of terror.

Mamun, 18, from Barking, is accused of engaging in conduct to assist Haque in preparing acts of terrorism between the same dates.

The pair appeared in court with Muhammad Abid, 26, from Newham, who is charged under terror laws with failing to disclose information about Haque.

A fourth man, Nadeem Ilyas Patel, 25, from Newham, also appeared by video-link, but is not charged with a terror offence.

Police allegedly found an air gun and gas-powered pistol when they searched his home address.

He is accused of conspiring with Haque to possess a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear or violence.

All four men were remanded in custody before a plea hearing on a date to be fixed.

Mr Justice Holroyde set a provisional trial date of January 15 2018.

They were remanded in custody until a preliminary hearing at the Old Bailey on a date yet to be fixed.
Youre toast, Theresa.

Its over.

Kaput.

Finito.

The fork has been well and truly stuck firmly in your political back and theres no possible way you can now try to cling onto power.

As Monty Python put it in their Dead Parrot sketch, your position is not just pining, it has ceased to be.

Despite a devestating election Theresa May plans to lead the Brexit negotiations in a few days

Youve just waged the worst campaign in British political history and as a result, been spectacularly humiliated.

Yet extraordinarily, as I write this, youre insisting you WILL stay on and youre actively plotting a desperate, dirty coalition government with the dinosaur DUP bigots in Northern Ireland to save your own skin.

Please spare us, and yourself, this absurd farce.

Its far too an important a time for the country to have such a severely damaged, weakened leader.

The European leaders must be laughing their heads off.

YOU, Theresa May, are still going to be leading the Brexit negotiations in a few days time?

A woman who just blew a massive landslide lead in the polls to actually lose her partys existing majority?

Theyll chew you up like a piece of frazzled, barbecued gristle  then spit you and Britain onto a financial bonfire.

Leadership is about being a leader, whether fighting elections or negotiating deals.

It means standing up and showing people youre the boss.

You seemed to get this at the start of the campaign with your bold gamble to call a snap election and emphatic strong and stable mantra.

Jeremy Corbyn (pictured today) grew more interesting, passionate and animated as the campaign continued

Yet very quickly it became painfully obvious your leadership skills were pathetically weak and grotesquely unstable.

Ive never seen anyone wilt under fire in such an alarming, derisory manner.

Your failure to take part in the TV debates summed up the general cowardice that pervaded your entire campaign.

What were you so scared of that meant you couldnt stand on a podium and debate important issues with your opponents?

We never found out but it made you look so spineless, especially at the last one when Jeremy Corbyn turned up and you sent Amber Rudd in your place, just two days after the death of her father. Margaret Thatcher would never have done that; shed have instinctively known how embarrassing it would look.

Equally ill-advised was your decision to shun many of the TV and radio shows that party leaders traditionally appear on during election campaigns. This included Good Morning Britain, the ITV breakfast programme I co-host with Susanna Reid.

Again, what made you such a bottlejob? Corbyn dared to drag himself onto our sofa for a robust grilling and he emerged much the better for it because our viewers recognised he at least had the balls to face the music. Even my mother, a lifelong conservative, admitted afterwards that she rather liked him.

TV matters. Fronting up to proper media interrogation matters.

Yet you largely preferred to hide in Downing Street like a timid little shrew, too terrified to step outside and take any risks.

May largely preferred to hide in Downing Street during the campaign

You also surrounded yourself with vile, poisonous aides who loved screaming and shouting at the media for not towing the line but didnt have a clue how to defend a gigantic poll lead.

Your manifesto was clueless. It lacked clarity, despite you constantly banging on about being very clear, and it lacked any sense of theme, focus, purpose or ambition.

Worse, as exemplified by the disastrous dementia tax, it stupidly targeted the very people you most needed to vote for you: those who had worked hard all their life and saved enough money to buy a home they hoped to leave to their families.

You created totally unnecessary fear, panic and anger just as you ironically continued to insist everything was strong and stable.

As own goals go in politics, this was right up there with the worst Ive ever seen.

Then there was your record as Home Secretary. Many thought this would be a positive thing for you when Britain was hit by a series of terror attacks in recent weeks.

But the opposite happened as people realised it was you who had slashed police numbers and control orders, thus making it easier for the killers to escape detection.

Finally, there was your personality, or rather lack of it.

What was initially seen as reassuring dullness became a massively unappealing, relentless mundanity typified by your claim that the naughtiest thing youve ever done was run through a wheat field.

We laughed right to the point we realised you were deadly serious.

By contrast, Corbyn grew more interesting, passionate and animated as the campaign continued.

Let ME be clear now: I dont think he should lead this country, mainly because I dont trust him as far as I can throw him on national security and he would never be able to pay for a tenth of the stuff hes promised.

May plans to stay on as Conservative leader and is plotting a desperate coalition government with the DUP in Northern Ireland, led by Arlene Foster (left)

But there is no denying he fought a great campaign.

As with Donald Trump in America, Corbyn positioned himself as an anti-establishment outsider and he successfully tapped into a lot of genuine anger and fear among millions of ordinary hard-working people about the quality of their healthcare, education and public services.

He also stole one of Trumps smarter campaign ploys by constantly appearing at rallies with thousands of his most diehard fans, thus creating a sense of constant, surging popularity.

And he showed some basic gumption.

My regular work driver said to me at 6am this morning: Theres one word for Corbyn: perseverance.

I agree.

The ability to simply keep buggering on as Sir Winston Churchill liked to say is a massively underrated value.

Corbyn coped supremely well with a vicious press and scornful public.

The former never relaxed their attack, but the latter began to warm to him. In fact, the more Corbyn was savaged, the more the sceptical public liked his resilience.

Millions of young people agreed with Corbyn and not May, and voted accordingly

As my 19-year-old middle son put it to me last night, after voting Labour: I like him dad, hes a decent bloke who wants to take care of those less fortunate or well off. Whats so wrong with that?

Millions of young people agreed with him and voted accordingly.

Yet despite your appalling campaigning, Prime Minister, I still presumed youd win quite comfortably.

In fact, I tweeted yesterday afternoon that I thought youd end up with a majority of 90-100 seats.

My rational was based on what happened in the last election in 2015 when many people openly flirted with the idea of voting for Ed Milibands Labour Party but then played safe with the Conservatives.

I couldnt have been more wrong.

You got an absolute drubbing.

In fact, the result was so bad that Corbyn has even been able to claim victory despite the fact he lost.

As former chancellor George Osborne said: This is completely catastrophic for the Conservative Party.

Well, when catastrophes happen in politics, one thing inevitably follows: the head of the leader.

Youre now totally discredited, Prime Minister  among your cabinet, your MPs, your wider party members, the country and Europe.

We cannot afford to have such a lame duck leader as we head into the biggest national negotiations in my lifetime.

So stop being so deluded, stubborn and selfish.

You boasted of being a bloody difficult woman but, as with Hillary Clinton, you turned out to be a bloody unelectable woman.

For the sake of Britain, you must go  and go now.
Chelsea Manning broke down in tears while thanking former President Barack Obama in her first interview since she was released from prison last month.

In a preview of her 'Nightline' interview with Juju Chang that will air early next week, Manning was asked what she would say to Obama if she had the chance to speak with him after he commuted her prison sentence prior to leaving office.

She immediately began sobbing at the mention of Obama's name, before saying: 'Thank you for giving me a chance. That's all I wanted.'

Manning, 29, continued to cry as she then added: 'That's all I asked for was chance, that's it. And this is my chance.'

Her initial prison sentence had been for 35 years, the longest term ever handed down to a leaker in the United States, but thanks to Obama she was released after just seven years behind bars.

When the former army intelligence officer was asked if she believed that she owed Americans an apology for her actions, she replied: 'I've accepted responsibility. No one told me to do this. Nobody directed me to do this.'

She then added: 'This is me. It's on me.'

Manning wore a floor-length knit tan dress with three-quarter length sleeves and a crewneck for her interview.

Scroll down for video

Speaking out: Chelsea Manning is giving her first interview since her release from prison in May, after serving seven years for violating the Espionage Act (above on Nightline with Juju Cheng)

Emotional moment: Her sentence was commented by Barack Obama during one of his last days in office, and when asked what she would say to him she broke down in tears (above)

Manning was asked early in the preview, which aired on 'Good Morning America,' if she was ever concerned that the over 700,000 documents she leaked to Wikileaks would threaten national security.

'No,' said Manning, who opted not to expound upon her answer.

Chang then asked Manning to respond to her detractors, who believed that by leaking these documents Manning was potentially giving top-secret information to enemies of the United States.

'Right, but I have a responsibility to the public,' explained Manning.

'You know, it's not just about me. We all have responsibility.'

She then spoke about how the images she saw on some of the tapes made her feel like it was imperative that she act.

'We're getting all this information from all these different sources and it's just death, destruction, mayhem,' said Manning.

It's literally what keeps me alive. It keeps me from feeling like I'm in the wrong body. -Chelsea Manning on her hormone treatments

'We're filtering it all through facts, statistics, reports, dates, times, locations, and eventually, you just stop. I stopped seeing just statistics and information, and I started seeing people.'

Manning explained that at the time, she had hoped the release of the documents would cause public debate, and raise awareness.

'I work with this information every day. I'm the subject matter expert for this stuff,' said Manning.

'You know, we're the ones who work with it the most. We're the most familiar with it. It's not, you know, it's not a general who writes this stuff.'

Lengthy sentence: The 29-year-old (above in July 2013 leaving a military hearing) was initially sentenced to 35 years behind bars for leaking over 700,000 documents, including ones that were classified and sensitive

Coming out: The former army intelligence officer, who came out as transgender after her arrest, also said her hormone treatments were a life or death matter for her in jail (above in her first post-prison photo)

Manning also spoke about her hormone treatments, which she was not allowed to receive when she first entered prison when the military denied her request.

In 2015, after almost five years of legal battles and a hunger strike, Manning got her wish and began receiving her hormones.

That victory also came after she attempted to commit suicide on two occasions, which is why the treatment was necessary she explained to Chang.

It's literally what keeps me alive,' said Manning of her hormones.

'It keeps me from feeling like I'm in the wrong body.'

I used to get these horrible feeling like I just wanted to rip my body apart and I don't want to have to go through that experience again. It's really, really awful. -Manning on the benefits of hormones

She then explained how bad it would get at times, saying: 'I used to get these horrible feeling like I just wanted to rip my body apart and I don't want to have to go through that experience again. It's really, really awful.'

Manning also said that despite her prison sentence and own personal difficulties during her time in the armed services, she has nothing but 'utmost respect' for the military.

'The military is diverse, and large, and it's public, it serves a public function, it serves a public duty,' said Manning.

'And the people who are in the military work very hard, often for not much money, to make their country better and to protect their country. I have nothing but respect for that. And that's why I signed up.'

As for life on the outside, she said it was a 'culture shock.'

Manning also took to Twitter to promote her special, which still does not have an air date, writing of the preview: 'so - im walking in a bookstore - books - epic music plays - words are said in epic way by an epic voice - how epic - meh'

In another, she called her interview with Chang 'fun, engaging and emotional,' saying it was an honor to work with the television journalist.

And on Friday morning she tweeted: '[T]his was the first time in seven years that anyone actually gets to see me talk and on so many platforms.'

New look: Manning wore a floor-length knit tan dress with three-quarter length sleeves and a crewneck (above) for her interview

Getting out the word: Manning also took to Twitter to promote her special, which still does not have an air date, writing of the preview: 'so - im walking in a bookstore - books - epic music plays - words are said in epic way by an epic voice' (above)

Proud: In another, she called her interview with Chang 'fun, engaging and emotional,' saying it was an honor to work with the television journalist (above)

Big deal: And on Friday morning she tweeted: '[T]his was the first time in seven years that anyone actually gets to see me talk and on so many platforms' (above)

Making her release even more surreal is the fact that is going from relative obscurity before her sentencing to being a transgender icon and role model.

She earned those titles as a result of her battles while in prison, paving the way for transgender inmates to receive hormones and even surgery.

It was announced back in September that the army had agreed to allow Chelsea to undergo gender transition surgery, six days after she started a hunger strike in protest of their refusal to allow her to have the operation.

'I am unendingly relieved that the military is finally doing the right thing. I applaud them for that. This is all that I wanted  for them to let me be me,' said Chelsea at the time.

She was the first transgender inmate to ever be approved for the surgery.

Chelsea successfully petitioned to have her name changed in 2014, and began hormone therapy in February of the next year.

It marked the first time the Army had allowed the therapy in prison, and they still required that Chelsea keep her hair cut short as per their standards.

Two months after she was approved for hormone therapy, Chelsea wrote about how happy she was in a letter to Amnesty International, which the group posted on their Facebook accounts.

'I finally began my prescribed regime of hormones to continue my overdue gender transition in February,' explained Chelsea, who used the letter to thank members of the group for their support.

'It's been such an amazing relief for my body and brain to finally come into alignment with each other. My stress and anxiety levels have tapered off quite considerably. Overall, things are beginning to move along nicely.'

She added that the she was 'staying strong' thanks to the support of Amnesty advocates.

Chelsea has been documenting her time back in the real world ever since she was released back ion May.

Her first post showed her 'first steps of freedom' in a pair of new black Converse hours after her release from Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas, while her second was of the slice of pizza she had been looking forward to enjoying for the past seven years.

She then capped off her day with a $150 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne, writing: 'Here's to freedom and a new beginning.'

And the following morning she posed a photo of herself, giving the public their first look at her as a private citizen.

Then, after posting four Instagram photos in her first 24 hours as a private citizen, Manning began to dial thing back, and has only posted four more in the months since her release.

Two were of an Italian dinner, one was of Starbucks and the fourth shows Manning playing a video game.

Wine and dine: Manning has been posting images of her post-prison life to Instagram (left her pizza lunch on the day she was released and her champagne on right)

Supporters: When asked if she wanted to apologize to for her actions, Manning stated: ''I've accepted responsibility. No one told me to do this' (Manning supporters above at her trial in 2013)

Chelsea's new life: She has also posted photos of herself playing video games (left) and getting her caffeine fix (right) over the past month

She has been behind bars since 2010, when she was first charged with giving classified government materials to WikiLeaks.

Chelsea, who was named Bradley at birth, was convicted in 2013 on 20 of the 22 offenses with which she was charged, including six Espionage Act violations, theft and computer fraud.

She was acquitted of the most serious charge she was facing, aiding the enemy.

Chelsea was then sentenced to 35 years in prison, but that was later commuted to seven years beginning with the date of her arrest by Obama just days before he left office.

In total, she released more than 700,000 classified military and diplomatic documents via WikiLeaks.

She said she wanted to expose what she considered to be the US military's disregard of the effects of war on civilians and that she released information that she didn't believe would harm the United States.

Critics said the leaks laid bare some of the nation's most-sensitive secrets and endangered information sources, prompting the State Department to help some of those people move to protect their safety.

The Crescent, Oklahoma, native tweeted after being granted clemency that she plans to move to Maryland.

Chelsea previously lived with her aunt Debra in Potomac for a little over a year before she enlisted in 2007, at which time she attended some college, had a boyfriend and held down a handful of jobs.
The grieving mother of a 17-year-old girl who was killed in a church bus crash sobbed as she read her final diary entry - made moments before she died.

Sarah Harmening, of Huntsville, died on Thursday when the bus, which was headed to the airport for a student ministry mission trip to Africa, collided with another vehicle on a four-lane road and flipped over. Another ten passengers were injured.

Her heartbroken mother Karen told a press conference yesterday that her daughter was a 'gift' who had 'lived and breathed' for her faith, Fox 5 reports.

Karen Harmening, the grieving mother of Sarah who was killed in a church bus crash, sobbed at a press conference as she read her final diary entry

Mrs Harmening turned to her husband Scott during the press conference at Kingdom of God Church in Atlanta

Sarah Harmening (pictured) of Huntsville, died on Thursday when the bus, which was headed to the airport for a student ministry mission trip to Africa, collided with another vehicle on a four-lane road and flipped over

Mrs Harmening broke down in tears as she read out her daughter's final journal entry, made on that same bus ride, as Sarah wrote about overcoming her nerves for the trip to Botswana by reading Bible passages.

'I was just sitting here on the bus feeling a little sad,' she read. 'I guess because I'm going to be gone so long and I was a little uncomfortable. Then I decided to read my Bible.

'Pretty much everything I read applied to me now. It talked about watching over the flock entrusted to you which would be my little buddies in Botswana.'

Mrs Harmening, who was supported by her husband Scott at the press conference at the Kingdom of God Church in Atlanta on Thursday, continued to read, revealing her daughter's excitement for the 'mission'.

'We will get to participate in his Divine Nature! I mean how awesome is that?' she read from the journal.

The Mount Zion Baptist Church bus from Huntsville, Alabama, was headed to the airport for a student ministry mission trip to Africa when it collided with another vehicle on a four-lane road

Police said there were two people in the car involved in the crash, but she wasn't sure of their conditions

The church bus carrying dozens of high school students and adults from Alabama crashed near Atlanta on Thursday afternoon, killing one person and injuring several others

A Fulton County, Georgia police official said said at least 10 people were hurt, including two critically. Fulton County Fire Chief Larry Few said 21 people were hurt

Church education minister Terry Slay told WXIA-TV that the bus was carrying 11th- and 12th-graders, along with adults who were going on a an international mission trip with Mount Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama (seen above)

'So mostly, I was just reminded of why I am here and that God has called me here and has done this for a reason. So, I know he's going to do incredible things.'

Sarah was part of a youth group from Mount Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama, who were due to fly out for a mission trip to Botswana on Thursday when the bus collided with a car on a four-lane road, authorities said.

Dozens of high school students and adults were on board; at least 10 people were hurt.

Police said the driver of the bus tried to change lanes and collided with another car. The driver steered to the left, losing control, and the bus crossed an uneven median and rolled over, Fulton County Police said in a statement on Friday.

The bus also slid into a car traveling on the westbound side of the four-lane road. Police said Harmening died at the scene.

Images from the scene showed the bus on its roof and another car underneath it. The parkway where the crash occurred was completely closed and firetrucks and ambulances swarmed the area near Atlanta's airport.

The family of Sarah look on while her mother addresses the press conference on Thursday

Sarah wrote about overcoming her nerves for the trip to Botswana by reading Bible passages moments before she was killed

Sarah is pictured with her family, including her mom Karen and father Scott

Authorities said the 37 other people on the bus with Harmening had various injuries and were taken to hospitals, along with three people who were in the other cars involved in the crash. Police said no other injuries are life-threatening.

Church education minister Terry Slay told Atlanta station WXIA-TV that the bus was carrying 11th- and 12th-graders, along with adults who were going on a an international mission trip.

Madison County Commissioner Phil Vandiver's wife and son were on the bus. He says both are safe.

'We know they're all right, we know we've been blessed,' he told reporters outside the church.

Vandiver said he spoke with both shortly after the accident but neither could provide any real details. 'He was rather shook,' he said of his son. 'He just told me him and his mama were fine.'

The church asked people for prayers on its Facebook page.

'There is no greater love that you can find in this city and Fulton County. That we know how to come together, we know how to care, and we know how to love and we know how to help folks get to the next journey in life,' said Pastor Warren L. Henry Sr., South Fulton chaplain.

'There's no words that can be said at this time to truly make people feel good. I can say this, and I want to thank so many people. We've been a city now for less than two months, but I saw what we can do when challenges come,' added South Fulton Mayor Bill Edwards.
Union chiefs have called for Queensland's no pursuit policy to be scrapped after the latest police statistics revealed a sharp increase in drivers evading officers.

In the last year Queensland Police statistics obtained between March 2016 and April 2017 indicated that 5,871 police evasion offences were recorded, breaking down to nearly 113 offences weekly.

Those figures show a staggering 29 percent increase on the previous year's figure of 4,554 and has prompted Queensland Police Union boss Ian Leavers to urge the Palaszczuk Government to abolish the no pursuit policy giving cops the freedom to chase.

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Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers has called for the current policy, where police are restricted when pursuing evading vehicles, to be scrapped following recent statistics

Police chiefs have defended the law suggesting public safety must come first and have highlighted the lack of fatalities from pursuits as a key factor for the policy to stand

Mr Leavers ripped into the policy, suggesting it was the wrong course of action to take with the current situation impractical.

Queensland Police Evasion Statistics Evading Police Offences Mar 2015  Apr 2016: 4,554 Mar 2016  Apr 2017: 5,871 Percentage increase: 28.9% Persons Charged Mar 2015  Apr 2016: 175 Mar 2016  Apr 2017: 185 Percentage increase: 5.7% Charge Count Mar 2015  Apr 2016: 1,273 Mar 2016  Apr 2017: 1,573 Percentage increase: 23.5% Source: Queensland Police Service statistics Advertisement

'These stats which have risen more than threefold over the last year clearly show the current 'no pursuits policy' for police is a dismal failure and should be consigned to the wastepaper bin,' Mr Leavers told The Courier Mail.

Mr Leaver believes that public knowledge of the policy gives an element of freedom to drivers who can flee from officers at will, knowing they won't be chased.

He also pointed to the trust placed in police officers to use firearms at their discretion, suggesting the same legislation should be in place for pursuits.

The current pursuit policy was introduced in 2012 after a coroner suggested a restricted rule following a series of fatal crashes in Queensland.

The legislation states that pursuits are 'inherently dangerous' and are only permitted on the strict basis that those fleeing are an 'imminent threat to life' or have been involved in or threatened a murder.

If caught evading officers on two separate occasions, the police have the authority to confiscate any vehicle with it being forfeited to the state.

The policy was implemented in 2012 to prevent Queensland Police pursuing evading vehicles after a series of fatal crashes on the roads of Queensland caused by a pursuit

Road Policing Assistant Commissioner Mike Keating confirmed the raise yet indicated it was down to, and most importantly, the public's safety coming first.

'It's an increase but it's an increase where we are managing the risks to the general public which is our responsibility,' he revealed.

A concerning statistic is that only 1,573 charges were laid of the 5,871 police evasions recorded.

Mr Keating suggested however that factors such as drivers offending multiple times were to blame for wavering statistics.

Amidst the growing concern with the policy, Police Minister Mark Ryan pointed out that one key positive to take from the rule was the lack of fatalities connected to police pursuits.

'Since the introduction of the current policy six years ago there have been no deaths associated with police pursuits,' Mr Ryan noted.
A Florida man faces a possible death sentence after being convicted of killing his infant daughter.

The Northwest Florida Daily News reports that a jury found 26-year-old William Thomason guilty Thursday of first-degree murder.

Authorities say Thomason's eight-week-old daughter, Braelyn, was hospitalized in September 2013 after being left with Thomason.

Braelyn, who was born July 14, 2013, and died just eight weeks later, had horrifying injuries including brain and eye damage along with broken legs and ribs

William 'Billy' Thomason has been found guilty of killing his 8-week-old daughter Braelyn in 2013. Thomason now faces a possible death sentence or life in prison without parole

Jessica Bias found her daughter Braelyn Thomason, who was eight-weeks-old at the time, non-responsive in 2013. She is pictured in court listening to the 911 call

She died several days later, suffering two broken femurs, a broken clavicle, broken ribs, bilateral retinal hemorrhages and massive bleeding of the brain.

The girl's mother told investigators the baby was fine when she left home that day to obtain a driver's license.

Thomason presented several scenarios as to how the infant might have been injured, including blaming the pet dog.

He even said the baby might have hit her head on the faucet when he was bathing her.

The State Attorney's Office indicted Thomason in October for first-degree murder.

Prosecutors announced soon after that they would seek the death penalty.

Braelyn suffered fatal injuries after being left alone with Thomason. Her mother, Jessica Bias told investigators the baby was fine when she left home that day to obtain a driver's license

Mom, Jessica Bias, pictured, returned home to the home she shared with Thomason to find Braelyn with her eyes unfocused and unable to hold her head up

The jury heard how William 'Billy' Thomason downloaded information on his phone about medical uncertainties and how shaken baby syndrome confuses juries

The determination was based in part on an investigative discovery that Thomason had used his phone to research what Assistant State Attorney Angela Mason told jurors amounted to 'knowing exactly what shaking a baby would do and knowing or figuring out how to get away with it.'

Assistant State Attorney Angela Mason, said that showed that Thomason planned to kill his daughter, Braelyn, and beat the rap.

'He planned to kill her and he planned to confuse a jury,' Mason said during the trial.

'He planned to hurt his child so bad she died, and he planned to confuse a jury.'

The jury will decide between the death penalty or life in prison with no possibility of parole.

The penalty phase is scheduled to begin Friday morning and is expected to last about two days.
The 'adopted' son of a famous New York jeweler charged with stabbing a Hofstra graduate to death, may be spilling secrets to a model friend who allegedly tried to sell his story to the press.

James Rackover, 25, was indicted last month for the grisly murder of 26-year-old Joseph Comunale, who was a guest at his luxury Upper East Side apartment in November last year.

Since his arrest, he has been in constant contact with fitness model Carri Lyn Ciamarra - the former mistress of Christie Brinkley's ex-husband, New York Daily News reports.

James Rackover (in court last month for his indictment over the murder of Joseph Comunale) may be spilling secrets to a model friend who then tried to sell his story to the press

Ciamarra wrote on the now defunct Justice for Joey C Facebook page that Rackover regularly called her from jail.

A photograph of a letter from Rackover to Ciamarra, was also posted on the page.

Ciamarra denies posting the letter and told the newspaper that 'someone hacked my Facebook account and wrote these messages'.

But that didn't sop her trying to negotiate an interview with NY Daily for the 'right price', claiming she was a 'very good friend' of Rackover.

She also denied being the author of a lengthy message to the moderator of the Facebook page for Comunale, which promised to make him confess.

The message was accompanied with photographs of a handwritten letter, sent from jail and addressed to Ciamarra.

'Lately I have been beating him down and I urge him to give the family answers,' the message read. 'He trusts me and lately it makes me sick, but I continue (because) I can help get through to him,' it went on. 'I am not going to stop until I can get him to talk.'

Rackover (right) is accused of the stabbing murder 26-year-old Joseph Comunale (left) in New York in November last year

Ciamarra, who made headlines in 2008 as the ex-lover of Brinkley's ex-husband Peter Cook, insisted on Thursday she wanted nothing to do with Rackover's case.

Meanwhile Rackover, along with Lawrence Dilione, 29, and 29-year-old Max Gemma - have been charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence in relation to Comunale's death.

Comunale was allegedly stabbed 15 times at an alcohol and cocaine-fueled party inside Rackover's luxury Midtown apartment on the night of November 13 after an argument over cigarettes.

His stabbed and burned body was found three days later by police in a shallow grave in Oceanport, New Jersey.

Court documents allege that Rackover and Dilione drove Comunale's body from the apartment to New Jersey on the same night he was stabbed and buried him in the shallow ditch.

Dilione previously told cops that he had punched Comunale unconscious after fighting over the pack of cigarettes but claimed it was Rackover who allegedly choked and stabbed the victim.

He also alleged that Rackover tried to dismember Comunale in the bathtub with a serrated blade.

Rackover (left) lived in the building with his adoptive father Jeffrey Rackhouse (right). The famed jeweler has designed baubles for the likes of Jennifer Lopez and was responsible for Melania Trump's $3million engagement ring

They allegedly removed Comunale's body from the apartment by using a luggage cart from the luxury building.

Rackover lived in the building with his adoptive father, Jeffrey Rackover. The famed jeweler has designed baubles for the likes of Jennifer Lopez and was responsible for Melania Trump's $3million engagement ring.

The jeweler has since distanced himself from Rackover.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. announced the murder charges against Rackover and Dilione on Wednesday.

The two are also charged with concealment of a corpse.

'The brutality of this horrific murder was compounded by the defendants' efforts to dispose of the victim's body in an attempt to evade prosecution,' District Attorney Vance said.

'We will prosecute this case to the full extent of the law to achieve justice for Joseph and the Comunale family.'

Rackover and Dilione were held without bail following their court appearance on Wednesday.
A helpful radio listener has helped safely find a disoriented teenager missing from hospital suffering from post traumatic amnesia.

Luke O'Brien, 14, went missing for two hours on Friday from Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital after he was admitted following a car crash last week causing post-traumatic amnesia.

The young boy's father Jerry O'Brien had been sleeping in his son's hospital room and said his son was often waking up disoriented not knowing who people were.

Luke O'Brien (pictured) went missing from a Melbourne hospital after he was suffering from post-traumatic amnesia following a car crash

His father Jerry O'Brien called 3AW radio to ask for help and a listener spotted Luke 15km away from the hospital and safely helped him back

'Throughout periods of this week he didn't recognise me. He didn't recognise himself, he didn't know who he was but after a period of time he's started to gel,' Mr O'Brien told Nine News.

Luke went missing at 7am on Friday and his father immediately called Melbourne's 3AW radio for help.

A local listener 'Louisa' listening spotted Luke in Greensborough, 15km from the hospital, and she said Luke was trying to get home.

She described Luke as 'lost and confused' but reassured his parents she arranged with police to help him return.

'I do have to ask how does he just walk straight past the nursing station with two black eyes, a broken nose and straight out the front door,' a confused Mr O'Brien said.

Mr O'Brien thanked 'Louisa' and said she was 'just another angel' that had helped the family and Luke since the accident.
Jessica Alba's (Not So) Honest Company Settles Class Action for $1.5M

Staking its reputation on being honest, The Honest Company was founded over 5 years ago by actress Jessica Alba, and 4 others, to profit by selling non-toxic household goods to ethical consumers. However, despite not admitting liability, The Honest Company just settled a rather large class action lawsuit that alleged the company wasn't being honest about its products' ingredients.

The purveyor of household products is alleged to have mislabeled several of their products as being SLS-free. The problems started early last year when a Wall Street Journal story explained that The Honest Company wasn't being so honest when it came to SLS-free goods. In response, the company asserted that SLS had been replaced by SCS, and that SCS actually contains SLS. The problem is that many consumers suffer from allergic reactions to SLS and purchased the products specifically for this reason.

In an odd twist, Alba started this company after a baby product she used on her own child caused welts and skin irritations.

Details of the Settlement

The settlement, which still has not received court approval, will allow consumers to submit claims for refunds without a proof of purchase for claims under $50. Claims of purchases over $50 will require a proof of purchase. In addition to the refunds, The Honest Company has offered consumers 1.5 times the cash value of the refund if the consumer would prefer taking credit to purchase goods direct from The Honest Company. If the there are undistributed proceeds from the settlement, either class members will receive additional funds, or a donation will be made to charity.

On top of the financial terms of the settlement, they have agreed to either properly identify goods that contain SLS, or reformulate all products that contain SCS or SLS to not contain those ingredient.

What's SLS?

SLS, which is short for sodium lauryl sulfate, is what is known as a surfactant, or a chemical that makes liquids more liquidy. Surfactants are commonly found in cleaners, detergents, and other compounds. The problem is that SLS can cause skin irritations and rashes for those with sensitivities or allergies. The ingredient listed on The Honest Company's products at issue here, SCS, sodium coco sulfate, is also surfactant, but still contains SLS and can still lead to skin irritations.

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An Australian filmmaker has been sent to a Cambodian prison to await trial over allegations he collected information prejudicial to the country's national security, a court official says.

James Ricketson, 68, was arrested on Saturday, and has been the subject of conflicting reports since then - with some linking his detention to flying a drone, and others to living in the Southeast Asian nation without proper documentation.

On Friday afternoon he faced court in the capital Phnom Penh and was officially charged with 'collecting information prejudicial to national security.'

James Ricketson, 68, was arrested on Saturday, and has been the subject of conflicting reports since then - with some linking his detention to flying a drone, and others to living in the Southeast Asian nation without proper documentation

The offence includes collecting or receiving information with a view to supplying them to a 'foreign state or its agents.'

It carries a penalty of five to 10 years imprisonment.

He was sent to Prey Sar prison in the capital for 'pretrial detention', court spokesman Y Rin said.

Just why Mr Ricketson has been charged with this offence, however, remains unclear.

The offence includes collecting or receiving information with a view to supplying them to a 'foreign state or its agents' (pictured Cambodia)

Lou Rabo, deputy municipal police chief in charge of immigration, said Mr Ricketson was arrested on Saturday at Phnom Penh's riverside during random checks on foreigners.

'We asked him regarding the legal documents. He didn't have it and he didn't respond about where he lives. Under questioning, he didn't reply, meaning he was living in our country illegally, therefore we took him to the office,' Mr Rabo told AAP.

'First we found out his crime that he doesn't have legal documents and after further investigation, he was found with a different crime. It is normal.'

'First we found out his crime that he doesn't have legal documents and after further investigation, he was found with a different crime. It is normal' (pictured Cambodia)

The deputy police chief also rejected reports his initial arrest was connected with flying a drone over supporters of the country's main opposition political party Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

The government-affiliated website, Fresh News, reported Mr Ricketson was arrested for allegedly spying and entering 'Cambodia to conduct the act of stealing information in order to publish it overseas without permission from authorities'.

According to his blog, Mr Ricketson has been making films since the 1970s, and has recently been in a long-running dispute with Screen Australia.

Lou Rabo, deputy municipal police chief in charge of immigration, said Mr Ricketson (pictured) was arrested on Saturday at Phnom Penh's riverside during random checks on foreigners

He has been an outspoken critic of the Cambodian government, describing it as a 'dictatorship' on his Facebook page.

In 2014, he was fined $2,000 and given a two-year suspended sentence for defamation, over a dispute with a Brisbane church working in Cambodia.

In December, Mr Ricketson was ordered to pay $4,900 in fines and compensation for defaming anti-paedophile organisation Action Pour Les Enfants.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it is providing consular assistance to an Australian man detained in Cambodia.

It is expected Mr Ricketson will not face court for several months.
European judges have ruled doctors must keep terminally ill Charlie Gard on life-support until midnight on Tuesday as his parents face final battle to save their desperately ill son.

The news comes after yesterday Charlie Gard's devastated mother broke down in tears and screamed after she and her partner lost their legal fight to take their baby to the US for treatment.

But there is fresh hope for parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates today after they took the case to the European Court for a final legal challenge.

Today European judges have ordered British doctors to continue to treat ten-month-old Charlie and to keep him on life-support for five more days before they make a decision.

European judges have ruled doctors must keep Charlie Gard's life-support until midnight on Tuesday as his parents face final battle to save their desperately ill son

Chris Gard and Connie Yates wanted permission to take son Charlie (pictured) to America for a therapy trial - and are begging the Supreme Court to intervene

After exhausting legal options in the UK, this is their last chance to get legal clearance to send their ill son to the states to receive rare and experimental treatment.

Charlie, who suffers from a rare genetic illness, is currently being kept alive by machine at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Doctors insist his life-support should be switched off, against his parents' wishes.

So far the case has gone through the British court system, with each judge ruling in the hospital's favour.

But today, after an emergency hearing, the European Court ruled the little boy must continue to be treated by doctors until Tuesday while they investigate the case.

Chris Gard and Connie Yates, from Bedfont, west London , launched a high-profile legal challenge to get their son rare experimental treatment from a doctor in the USA. Pictured above, passionate protesters outside court on Thursday

Thousands have donated money for Charlie's fight and say they are sickened at the decision by the Supreme Court, which would see his life-support switched off

A spokesman for the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, said judges wanted treatment to continue while they looked at paperwork in the case.

Specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where Charlie is being cared for, say therapy proposed by a doctor in America is experimental and will not help.

A High Court judge in April ruled against a trip to America and in favour of Great Ormond Street doctors.

Mr Justice Francis concluded that life support treatment should end and said Charlie should be allowed to die with dignity.

Three Court of Appeal judges upheld that ruling in May and three Supreme Court justices on Thursday dismissed the couple's latest challenge after a hearing in London.

Ms Yates screamed as Supreme Court justices announced their decision.

Both parents appeared to be in tears as they left the Supreme Court in London on Thursday

Ms Yates wept as she was led from the court, where she and the little boy's father had argued that the state has no right to 'extinguish' their little boy's life

The ECHR spokeswoman said: 'Today, the European Court of Human Rights decided to indicate to the United Kingdom Government that, in the interests of the parties and the proper conduct of the proceedings before it, they should provide Charlie Gard with such treatment and nursing care as may be appropriate to ensure that he suffers the least distress and retains the greatest dignity consistent, insofar as possible, with maintaining life, until midnight on Tuesday 13 June.

'The interim measure granted ... has been applied temporarily in order to allow the European Court to examine the request.'

She said Charlie's parents wanted a panel of seven judges to analyse the case in detail.

A spokesman for the European Court said they needed more time to process the case so had ordered British doctors to keep Charlie's life-support on until Tuesday at midnight.

This was a request made by seven judges of the court who want to investigate proceedings fully before making a decision.

A spokesman for the court said it only granted requests on an 'exceptional basis' where the applicants would otherwise face a real risk of irreversible harm.

Yesterday saw emotional scenes from outside court after Charlie Gard's mother broke down upon hearing the decision.

Outside court, she cried out: 'How can they do this to us?

'They are lying. Why don't they tell the truth?'

Save Charlie! His parents have exhausted legal options in the UK but now hope European judges will come to their aid. Pictured above, one of the many supporters of the case outside the Supreme Court yesterday

The Supreme Court justices said doctors should continue life support treatment for Charlie for 24 hours to give the European Court of Human Rights the chance to consider the case.

Mr Justice Francis concluded that life support treatment should end and said Charlie should be allowed to die with dignity.

Three Court of Appeal judges upheld that ruling in May, and a panel of three Supreme Court justices today dismissed the couple's latest challenge after a hearing in London.

Prior to the decision, Richard Gordon QC, who leads the couple's legal team, had argued: 'Charlie is being deprived of his liberty at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

'Charlie's parents have made a decision, it's not a wish, it's a decision, to try to keep all options open and retain life for their child'.

Outside court on Thursday, the devastated mother cried out: 'How can they do this to us? 'They are lying. Why don't they tell the truth?'

Campaigners gather outside the Supreme Court in London to give their support to the family of Charlie Gard

The Supreme Court justices said doctors should continue life support treatment for Charlie for 24 hours to give the European Court of Human Rights the chance to consider the case

Chris Gard and Connie Yates want ten-month-old Charlie Gard, who suffers from a rare genetic condition and has brain damage, to undergo a therapy trial

Thousands have donated 1.3million to Charlie's fighting fund that would pay for his treatment in America.

Charlie's parents have indicated that they will ask the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to consider the case if Supreme Court justices rule against them.

Mr Gard and Ms Yates have already lost in the High Court and Court of Appeal where judges agreed with doctors that he should be allowed to die.

Experts at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where Charlie is being cared for, say life-support treatment should stop

Specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where Charlie is being cared for, say therapy proposed by a doctor in America is experimental and will not help and life support treatment should stop.

More than 83,000 people donated money and the fund has now topped 1.3 million.

Mr Justice Francis said Great Ormond Street doctors had considered the experimental treatment, but decided it would not help Charlie/ He said the case had never been 'about money'.

Three Court of Appeal judges upheld that ruling in May.

Previous court cases have heard how Charlie can not could see, hear, move, cry or swallow.

Katie Gollop QC, who led Great Ormond Street's legal team, said the case was 'sad' but not 'exceptional'.

She said the couple seemed to be suggesting that 'parents always know best'. But she said the paramount interest in such cases was the welfare of the child.

Lawyers representing Charlie's parents say they should be free to make decisions about their child's treatment

Charlie has a rare genetic condition which saps energy from his muscles, lungs and other organs and he is being kept alive by a ventilator

Nine-month-old Charlie Gard's parents (Connie Yates and Chris Gard) have raised 1.3m in public donations for him to undergo experimental treatment, but the courts have repeatedly said they cannot take him to the US for the therapy

Ms Gollop said the case was 'particularly sad' and 'particularly difficult for all those who care about Charlie'.

But she said there were children who had illnesses which could not be cured.

She said in such cases parents did not want to look back and think something else could have been tried and sometimes became embroiled in disagreements with doctors.

Ms Gollop said Great Ormond Street specialists had tried to work with the couple, had 'listened intently' to them and sought a number of second opinions from doctors at other hospitals.

'Fundamentally the parents don't accept the facts,' said Ms Gollop. 'They don't accept that nucleoside therapy will be futile.'

She added: 'He is on a machine which causes his lungs to move up and down because his lungs cannot go up and down.'

Ms Gollop said Charlie's condition 'affords him no benefit'. She said some doctors thought that Charlie felt pain and some thought he did not.

Barrister Victoria Butler-Cole, who is instructed by a guardian appointed to independently represent Charlie's interests, said a trip to the US was not in Charlie's best interests and said life-support treatment should stop.

Doctors have been continuing to provide treatment pending a decision by Supreme Court justices, headed by Lady Hale, the Deputy President of the Supreme Court and most senior female judge in British legal history.

A Great Ormond Street spokeswoman said the thoughts of staff were with Charlie and his parents.

'This is a very sad day for Charlie's parents and family,' she said.

'It is never easy when medical and judicial opinion goes against the wishes of the parents but our first responsibility at Great Ormond Street Hospital remains to put the interests of the child first and foremost.

'It is also hugely difficult for any clinically-trained professional to be asked to treat a child who has no chance of survival or even improvement in his quality of life.

'We are led by the legal process and when the time comes for a change in treatment, we will support the parents in every way that we can, aiding them through next steps. This would normally take place over at least a number of days.

'For now, our priority is to ensure Charlie remains well cared for and to offer our support to Charlie's devoted parents at this distressing time.'
Details have emerged about the final days of terrorist Yacqub Kharye's life and how he is believed to have enjoyed a dinner with friends at a Somalian restaurant two days before he killed a hotel clerk and wounded three police officers.

Kharye took a sex worker hostage and murdered Kai Hao in an 'ISIS-inspired' attack in Brighton, in Melbourne's south-east, on Monday.

The dramatic two-hour siege ended when the Somali-born 29-year-old left the apartment building and fired at police with a sawn-off shotgun.

Police have seized CCTV footage showing what is believed to be Kharye and a group of men breaking their fast during Ramadan, two days prior to the attack.

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Terrorist Yacqub Kharye is believed to have enjoyed a dinner with friends at a Somalian restaurant two days before he killed a hotel clerk and wounded three police officers

In the footage, approximately ten men dine at the restaurant before they kneel down in a line and begin to pray

In the footage, approximately ten men dine at the restaurant before they kneel down in a line and begin to pray.

Restaurant worker Sharifo Abiikar said the group of men were celebrating.

'Someone told me they were having a graduation party,' she told 7 News.

The video is believed to give insight into Kharye's state of mind before he committed a terror attack 'for IS and for al-Qaeda', 7 News reported.

Details about the dinner have emerged as police arrested 30-year-old Ascot Vale man following co-ordinated counter-terrorism raids in Melbourne on Friday morning.

He has been charged with prohibited firearm possession and committing an indictable offence while on bail.

He faced an out of sessions hearing on Friday night and has been remanded in custody to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Khayre (pictured) was on parole at the time he shot and killed Chinese-born Hao and held an escort hostage before dying in a hail of bullets

Forensic police hold an evidence bag on Tuesday outside the Buckingham Serviced Apartments in Brighton in Melbourne, where Khayre shot Hao

A police officer is seen carrying a laptop in a sealed bag during co-ordinated counter-terrorism raids in Melbourne linked to Monday's deadly Brighton siege

Police arrested 30-year-old Ascot Vale man following co-ordinated counter-terrorism raids in Melbourne on Friday morning

During the raids in Ascot Vale, Glenroy and Gladstone Park, an imitation shotgun was recovered.

Police took a 32-year-old man into custody - who was later released - and interviewed two others, aged 31 and 51.

'They are not persons of national security interest,' Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters on Friday morning.

'They are, however, persons who are known to us through their criminal history,'

A crime scene was established around a black Toyota Celica without number plates and a blue Mazda 3, while a police helicopter hovered above Flemington.

Mr Patton said officers entered the first unit, in Ascot Vale, by force but no one was present.

Police said the raids were related to the investigation into how Somalian-born Yacqub Khayre obtained the weapon he used to kill a hotel clerk. (There is suggestion the people in the picture have anything to do with the raids or the Brighton attack)

Five people were found in the second unit police searched, including the 32-year-old man who was taken into custody (There is suggestion the people in the picture have anything to do with the raids or the Brighton attack)

At least half a dozen officers remained at the Ascot Vale unit bagging items as evidence

Five people were found in the second unit police searched, including the 32-year-old man who was taken into custody.

Mr Patton said: 'He's being interviewed by the joint counter-terrorism team.'

A third search warrant was carried out at Gladstone Park, where police located the imitation firearm, he said.

Police are speaking to a 31-year-old man and his father at that property.

'As it stands, the searches are still very active at this stage,' Mr Patton said.

'As I say, these are in follow-up to the investigation. The purpose of it is to ensure there is no continued threat to the Victorian public in regards to terrorism.'

Khayre was on parole at the time he shot and killed Chinese-born Hao and held an escort hostage before dying in a hail of bullets.

Earlier, a witness said at least 20 police were 'running around' on a major road, including Special Operations Group officers
The estranged wife of world renowned pianist Vadym Kholodenko who is accused of killing their two young daughters will stand trial for their murder after having spent six months at a mental health facility, a judge has ruled.

Sofya Tsygankova, 33, was sent to a mental health facility in November, where she spent six months until a judge ruled her competent and returned her to Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth, Texas, in May.

Sofya Tsygankova was arrested on March 17, 2016, after the bodies of her two children were found by her estranged husband at her home in Benbrook, Texas.

Sofya Tsygankova, 33, was sent to a mental health facility in November, where she spent six months until a judge ruled her competent and returned her to Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth, Texas, in May

Sofya Tsygankova was arrested on March 17, 2016, after the bodies of her two children were found by her estranged husband at her home in Benbrook, Texas. She pleaded not guilty to the murders of Nika Kholodenko, five, and one-year-old Michela Kholodenko. The family is pictured together above

Following a medical examination, doctors deemed her unfit to stand trial last year on two counts of capital murder and sent her to the mental health facility. Tsygankova is pictured above with Kholodenko

She pleaded not guilty to the murders of Nika Kholodenko, five, and one-year-old Michela Kholodenko.

However, following a medical examination, doctors deemed her unfit to stand trial on two counts of capital murder and sent her to the mental health facility.

After six months at the facility, she has been deemed competent to stand trial.

Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty in the case, according to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

On the day in question, Tsygankovas Ukrainian pianist husband Kholodenko arrived at his estranged-wife's home to take his children to school when he discovered their bodies.

The acclaimed pianist had called 911 and reported that his wife 'was going crazy', according to an affidavit seen by the DailyMail.com.

After six months at the facility, she has been deemed competent to stand trial. Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty in the case

When Tsygankova was arrested, she told officers she recalled 'cutting herself with a knife and taking pills' but had no memory of harming her children at her home, pictured above

On the day in question, Tsygankovas Ukrainian pianist husband Kholodenko arrived at his estranged-wife's home to take his children to school when he discovered their bodies. The acclaimed pianist had called 911 and reported that his wife 'was going crazy'

When Tsygankova was arrested, she told officers she recalled 'cutting herself with a knife and taking pills' but had no memory of harming her children.

When she appeared at court, cut marks were clearly visible on her arms and bandages could be seen on her chest.

Hours after the bodies of her children were found she asked investigators: 'Did I do anything bad to my kids?'.

Prosecutors filed two charges of capital murder against Tsygankova before she was transferred to the Tarrant County Jail.

After entering her not guilty plea on March 23, 2016, she was returned to custody at the prison where she was was held on $1 million bond for each of the murder charges before being taken to the mental health facility.

The bodies of both children were found in bed while a pillow partially covered the head of the youngest child.

Tsygankova had a history of mental illness and had visited a Mental Health and Mental Retardation facility in Fort Worth on the day before her daughters were discovered, says the affidavit.

Tsygankova had a history of mental illness and had visited a Mental Health and Mental Retardation facility in Fort Worth on the day before her daughters were discovered

Kholodenko (left) - who was a gold medalist at the 2013 Cliburn piano competition - had been staying at a hotel outside of Benbrook on the nigth of the murders. After entering her not guilty plea on March 23, 2016, she was held at at the prison on $1 million bond for each of the murder charges before being taken to the mental health facility

She was found kneeling on the floor wearing a blood-stained nightgown and 'rocking back and forth, the affidavits say. She had wounds on her wrist and chest, and a butcher knife was found near the home's patio.

An empty prescription bottle of anti-psychotic drug Quetiapine - used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia - were also found inside the home.

Police also found bloodied linens inside her Ford Focus and blood in and around the car, according to the affidavit.

Her husband - who was a gold medalist at the 2013 Cliburn piano competition - had been staying at a hotel outside of Benbrook that fatal night.

He had arranged with his wife to pick up the girls for a regular visit at 9.20am on Thursday. Police received his 911 call just seven minutes later.

After finding the bodies of the children - that showed signs that rigor mortis had already set in - police discovered two knives, a blood-covered butcher's knife and a cleaver style knife.

Kholodenko filed for divorce from Tsygankova in November 2015 after the couple arrived to the US from Russia in 2014.

He cited discord or conflict of personalities. He had not been living with his estranged wife or daughters since last August. The pair had been married for five years.
Israeli actress Gal Gadot plays the lead role in action movie Wonder Woman

Hollywood movie Wonder Woman has been banned in Tunisia due to the leading actress' Israeli heritage.

The film was pulled before the first screenings on June 8 after a lawsuit called Gail Gadot a 'champion Zionist.'

Tunisia joins Lebanon and Algeria in banning the film due to Gadot's Israeli heritage and past links to the country's military.

The Tunisian Association of Young Lawyers put forward the lawsuit.

The Tunisian courthouse has halted release of the film while it examines the lawsuit, reports the Jerusalem Post.

Following the decision, screenings of the film were removed from cinema booking websites.

Gadot was a soldier in the Israeli army and has in the past expressed support for Israel's military policies against the Gaza Strip, a coastal Palestinian territory run by the militant Hamas group.

In a widely shared post on her Facebook page, Gadot has praised Israel's military during the Gaza-Israel 2014 war, sending prayers to Israeli soldiers 'who are risking their lives protecting my country against the horrific acts conducted by Hamas.'

She was also previously Miss Israel before starting her acting career. She appeared in reprisals of the Fast and Furious however none of these films were banned in Lebanon.

The movie is based on the DC Comics character, Wonder Woman. It has earned Gadot acclaim, as a rare leading female role

Wonder Woman: Gadot was an unpopular choice among campaigners in Tunisia

Lebanon which is officially at war with Israel has also banned the film. It has a decades old law that boycotts Israeli products and bars Lebanese citizens from travelling or having contact with Israelis.

A film festival in Algeria also removed Wonder Woman from its scheduled list.

Wonder Woman is set to open as scheduled during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan across cinemas in Oman on June 22 and Bahrain on June 29.

The movie is based on the DC comics character, Wonder Woman earning Gadot critical acclaim.
A leader at one of Virginia's largest mosques has resigned after the imam there made comments in support of female genital mutilation.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, who was director of outreach at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Falls Church, posted his resignation on Friday on his website.

Abdul-Malik says he's leaving after 'many reprehensible statements' by Dar Al-Hijrah's senior imam, Shaker Elsayed, including his recent comments on genital mutilation.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik (center, pictured in March 2010) resigned from his post as director of outreach at the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in Virginia on Friday after 'many reprehensible statements' by the senior imam, Shaker Elsayed, including his recent comments on female genital mutilation

In the lecture, Imam Shaker Elsayed (pictured in June 2005) says that the practice, also known as female circumcision, has received a bad name because poorly trained surgeons are too aggressive in the procedure

Elsayed (pictured during the lecture) described the practice as a way to avoid 'hypersexuality' and 'the honorable thing to do if needed'. He added that the surgery is properly carried out with a minimalist approach 'so that she is not hypersexually active. This is the purpose'

In a recorded lecture on June 3, Elsayed described the practice as a way to avoid 'hypersexuality' and 'the honorable thing to do if needed'.

In the lecture, Elsayed says that the practice, also known as female circumcision, has received a bad name because poorly trained surgeons are too aggressive in the procedure.

He said the surgery is properly carried out with a minimalist approach 'so that she is not hypersexually active. This is the purpose.'

Dar Al-Hijrah's board denounced Elsayed's comments Monday. Two days later, it placed him on administrative leave.

Elsayed later issued a clarification through the mosque's website saying that 'Islam would never support anything that harms anybody's well-being' and that he should have avoided his comments on hyper-sexuality.

'I hereby take it back. And I do apologize to all those who are offended by it,' Elsayed wrote.

Abdul-Malik said in his resignation that the board's actions against Elsayed are insufficient.

'Ultimately, The Board of Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is responsible for the direction of the community and its leadership. They are proceeding in a different direction than I believe is in the best interest of the congregation and the community at-large,' Abdul-Malik wrote.

The Falls Church mosque has been mired in controversy since the September 11 attacks, when its imam was Anwar Al-Awlaki, who later left the US and became a senior figure in al-Qaeda before being killed in a drone strike.

Abdul-Malik (pictured in 2010) said in his resignation that the board's actions against Elsayed were insufficient. 'Ultimately, The Board...is responsible for the direction of the community and its leadership. They are proceeding in a different direction than I believe is in the best interest of the congregation and the community at-large' he wrote

Elsayed (pictured in February 2016) later issued a clarification through the mosque's website saying that 'Islam would never support anything that harms anybody's well-being' and that he should have avoided his comments on hyper-sexuality

The Falls Church mosque (pictured, during prayer in March 2017) has been mired in controversy since the September 11 attacks, when its imam was Anwar Al-Awlaki, who later left the US and became a senior figure in al-Qaeda before being killed in a drone strike

Elsayed (far right) has been controversial in his own right. He served as an unofficial spokesman for the family of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, convicted of joining al-Qaida while studying overseas and plotting to assassinate then-President George W Bush, during his 2005 terrorism trial. Here, Elsayed is seen leaving a dentition hearing with Abu Ali's mother and father

Elsayed has been controversial in his own right. He served as an unofficial spokesman for the family of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali during his 2005 terrorism trial.

Abu Ali, who worshipped at Dar Al-Hijrah, was convicted of joining al-Qaida while studying overseas and plotting to assassinate then-President George W Bush.

In a 2005 Associated Press interview, he defended the militant group Hamas, which the US government designates as a terrorist group.

'Everybody jumps on Hamas,' Elsayed said. 'Look at how long Israel has occupied [Palestinian lands]. How long did it take to say enough is enough?'

He also told the AP that dating is prohibited in Islam and that women cannot marry a man of their choosing without the woman's family's consent.
The live-in boyfriend of a mother-of-two who has been missing since May was arrested on suspicion of her murder even though her body has not been found.

Robert John Interval Jr. was arrested on Thursday in Peoria, Arizona, and booked on one count of first degree murder nearly one month after girlfriend Christine Mustafa was last seen leaving work at a Walgreens pharmacy.

Interval called Mustafa, who is the mother of his eight-month-old daughter, on May 10 and accused her of cheating on him before he threatened to kill her, according to court documents obtained by the Arizona Republic.

The suspect's sister told authorities the 37-year-old said to her 'I took it too far' and 'I can never un-see the things I saw.'

Robert John Interval Jr. (left) was arrested on Thursday in Peoria, Arizona, nearly one month after girlfriend and mother-of-two Christine Mustafa (right) went missing

Interval called Mustafa on May 10 and accused her of cheating on him before he threatened to kill her, according to court documents. She was last seen leaving work that day

Mustafa missed her only day of work in 11 years on May 11.

Co-workers said Interval called Mustafa at work on May 10 around 1pm and threatened to kill her.

She left work about half an hour later, spoke to her family at 3pm, and failed to turn up the next day.

Her absence was highly unusual given she hadn't missed a day of work in more than a decade, according to court document.

When police arrived at her home on May 11, they found her cellphone, purse and wallet on her bathroom floor.

Interval turned up during the investigation, and told them Mustafa had walked to work earlier that morning because her car had a flat tire, even though her Nissan Cube was parked in the driveway with no apparent damage.

He then told police he thought Mustafa had been cheating on him, and that they had gotten into an argument over his accusations on May 10 and 11, according to court documents.

He denied any physical violence had occurred.

But his sister, who visited Interval after the disappearance, told investigators her brother claimed Mustafa had attacked him and later said: 'I took it too far.'

His sister said Interval, who was acting 'paranoid', told her the mother-of-two had threatened to take their baby and leave Interval on May 10.

Mustafa's family also said Interval had made death threats against the 34-year-old, who had been planning to move out and get a restraining order against him, according to court documents.

Interval's sister, who visited him after the disappearance, told investigators her brother (left) claimed Mustafa (right) had attacked him and later said: 'I took it too far.'

When police arrived at the home on May 12 to perform a welfare check on the couple's eight-month-old daughter, Interval appeared at the front door with a loaded .40-calibur handgun, according to court documents.

The baby was removed from the home, and Interval told his sister he wanted to turn himself in once the child custody case was over, court documents stated.

Police then returned to the house on May 15 with a search warrant, and found pillowcases and bedsheets with 'possible blood-stained material', the court documents stated.

There was also blood, or other biological material found on the walls.

Jonathan Howard of the Phoenix Police Department told KTAR 'there is a lot of witness evidence', particularly from her family, which the police are 'confident' is accurate.

Interval was named a person of interest before he was arrested and booked on Thursday on probable cause.

An investigation is ongoing and Mustafa's body has not yet been found.

Her family expressed their relief after Interval's arrest. Her 15-year-old daughter, who she had with another man, is visiting family members in Jordan with her father.

Family members initially tried to hold off on telling the teen about her mother's disappearance, and she traveled to the Middle East on May 12. She is said to be 'devastated' by the news, and remains in Jordan for the time being.

Her baby is currently in the custody of the state Department of Child Safety.
Cassie Sainsbury's sister claims the accused drug smuggler was threatened at gunpoint to carry 5.8kg of cocaine through the airport and was going to be killed in Hong Kong.

In a new version of events, the Adelaide woman begged the Australian consulate to help free her from the grasp of a Colombian crime syndicate forcing her to carry cocaine through Bogota El Dorado airport, according to her sister Khala.

Her sister claims Cassie begged the consulate to help arrange her sudden departure from the country after being approached by the drug syndicate, Khala told The Herald Sun.

Scott Broadbridge (left) and his accused drug smuggler fiancee Cassandra Sainsbury (right) are 'still together' despite being separated by prison walls

The engaged South Australian couple (pictured) appeared to be crumbling under the pressure during a tense phone called aired on Channel Seven's Sunday Night

However, when the criminals found she had attempted to flee she was cornered at gunpoint and they threatened her fiance and family showing photos of them back in Australia.

'She was told 'I've got photos of your family, if you don't do what I want you to do, they are dead', Khala told the publication.

A part of the story was rebuked by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade claiming Cassie never came to them crying for help, according to the publication.

Khala has also claimed Cassie was never going to make it home to Australia alive with the crime syndicate arranging for her to be killed in Hong Kong or local authorities sentencing her to death for drug smuggling.

'Cassie wasn't coming home alive  that's what we believe, that's what our lawyers believe,' Khala told The Herald Sun.

Khala also confirmed the 22-year-old and her fiance Scott Broadbridge are still together, despite the prison walls which separate them.

Khala Sainsbury, the older sister of the Adelaide woman locked behind bars in a Colombian prison, took to a discussion page to talk about Cassandra's dire situation as the media storm calmed.

When asked if Ms Sainsbury and Mr Broadbridge were still together, she simply replied: 'Yes they are.'

Khala Sainsbury confirmed the couple were still together despite the accused drug smuggler still living in a Bogota prison

Tensions between the engaged South Australian couple were running high after Mr Broadbridge flew to Bogota to visit Ms Sainsbury at El Buen Pastor women's prison.

The pair were able to see each other and shared a brief but emotional phone conversation, which was aired during a Sunday Night exclusive with 23-year-old Mr Broadbridge.

Ms Sainsbury told her fiance 'we're not going to last' as he replied: 'You are pushing me away from you.'

When asked why she believed the pair's relationship would not last, Cassie said: 'Can't you already tell?'

'Everything is telling me I should just walk away,' he told the Sunday Night reporter.

But despite their struggles, Mr Broadbridge says he will remain dedicated to his fiancee whether she is found innocent or guilty.

Despite their struggles, Mr Broadbridge says he will remain dedicated to his fiancee whether she is found innocent or guilty.

The 23-year-old man (pictured) was dragged into a media circus after his fiancee was allegedly found with 5.7kg of cocaine in her luggage

'They paid flights and accommodation, that's it': Khala Sainsbury took to Facebook to deny claims she and her mother were paid $1 million for their 60 Minutes interview

When questioned on what he would do if his fiancee were to be sentenced to 20 years behind bars, Mr Broadbridge was unwavering in his devotion.

'I'll wait. She would do the same for me,' he said.

'I am willing to be there through to the end, and I've told her that. That's how I feel.'

Khala also took to the private group to ask members to stop insulting her family and speculating about her sister's patchy story.

'I am well aware media are on all pages, I'm not saying you can't have an opinion, I'm just saying what if someone was saying crap about your families, wouldn't you ask them to try and cut it back a little,' Khala said.

She was also asked whether media continued to follow her and mother Lisa Evans, but she said she was 'left alone mostly.'

When questioned on what he would do if Ms Sainsbury (pictured) were to be sentenced to 20 years behind bars, Mr Broadbridge was unwavering in his devotion.

Khala was also asked whether media continued to follow her and mother Lisa Evans (left), but she said she was 'left alone mostly'

The sister of Cassie Sainsbury denied she had been paid by 60 Minutes for their exclusive interview but clarified they had covered flights and accommodation in Bogota

Khala (right) also took to the private group to ask members to stop insulting her family and speculating about her sister's patchy story

Other members fired questions at the mother-of-two about her sister's 'cleaning business' employer and if the family had received the reported $1 million for their interview with 60 Minutes.

One person asked: 'Have you had any prior knowledge of a cleaning business that was owned by your uncle Neil Sainsbury?' to which Khala ignored, but Neil Sainsbury himself responded with: 'I'd like to know the same.'

Khala also denied she and her mother had been paid for sharing their story with Channel Nine.

'Do you have proof I got paid? If you do produce it, my mum and I haven't lied about getting paid. We haven't received any form of payment,' she replied.

But she did clarify the pair's flights and accommodation were covered by 60 Minutes.
The seeds of the Tory election disaster were sown ten years when David Cameron first came to power.

The past decade has seen a series of highs and lows for the Conservatives, from Cameron announcing the Brexit referendum to May losing her majority .

Here MailOnline takes a look at how it all played out and the Key Brexit events that have led a hung parliament.

May 2009 - Cameron withdraws from grouping in European parliament

As the Conservative leader launched his campaign for the election, the Tories held their final meetings in Strasbourg as part of the EPP-ED grouping. All Conservative candidates had signed a form agreeing to join a different centre-right grouping after the election, allowing them to leave the fiercely pro-European EPP-ED group. It was criticised at the time as a sign that the Conservatives were drifting away from Europe and becoming isolated.

As the Conservative leader launched his campaign for the election, the Tories held their final meetings in Strasbourg as part of the EPP-ED grouping

January 2013 - Cameron lays the groundwork for the Brexit Referendum

Cameron made a landmark speech at Bloomberg about the future of the European Union. He told the crowd: 'The map of global influence is changing before our eyes. And these changes are already being felt by the entrepreneur in the Netherlands, the worker in Germany, the family in Britain.' While Cameron was in favour of the remaining in the EU, in the speech he clearly expressed his belief that the the institution needed to be reformed.

Cameron made trailblazing speech at Bloomberg about the future of the European Union

May 2015 - Cameron gains surprise victory in the 2015 General Election

Conservatives outperformed the exit polls and gained 331 seats. Only once before in recent history had an incumbent government increased its majority - and that was Mrs Thatcher in her prime in the 1980s. In his manifesto the Prime Minister had included a promise of a referendum on Europe  not expecting to win a majority and having to deliver on it.

February 2016 - The referendum campaign was launched

During May's 2017 election campaign, after a series of disastrous manifesto promises support for May starts to dwindle

Cameron announced that the Government would recommend that the UK should remain in the EU, but allowed ministers to vote and campaign in whatever way they saw fit. The Tories were the most split party with 185 MPs declaring they would vote remain and 138 backing leave. Big Conservative names, such as Boris Johnson, Zac Goldsmith and Michael Gove, throwing their support behind the leave vote gave the campaign weight.

June 2016 - Britain votes to leave the EU

On referendum night even the faces of the leave campaign, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, did not believe they would win. As the counting began Farage even told reporters that he had heard remain would 'edge it'. But, by 3am it became clear that outside London the leave vote was stronger than most had imagined.

June 2016 - Cameron quits

When the results came in Cameron was toppled, and the question everyone was asking was who would succeed him? Boris was the obvious choice, but when Gove appeared to stab his campaigning ally in the back, the paving was laid for Home Secretary May to succeed as PM.

July 2016 - May becomes Prime Minister

Business owner Gina Miller (pictured) led the High Court campaign against Brexit

After Angela Leadsom withdrew from the the Conservative Party leadership race, May was elected leader of the party. Despite supporting remain during the referendum, May adopts a hard Brexit stance, suggesting she will remove the UK from the free market.

November 2016 - High Court Brexit battle

The High Court of Justice rules that Parliament has to legislate before the Government can invoke Article 50. The Brexit spirit remains strong and the group bringing court action, led by business owner Gina Miller, are branded 'remoaners'.

March 2017 -Article 50 Triggered

The Government fights further court action and May triggers Article 50.

April 2017 - Election called

May's refusal to take part in live television debates lead rivals to brand her 'scared'

With the Labour party seemingly in turmoil while being led by ultra left-wing Jeremy Corbyn May announces an election, despite promises she would not call one. She is some 20 points ahead of Corbyn in most opinion polls and the Conservatives hope that the party can win up to 50 more seats, strengthening May's Brexit negotiating position.

April - June 2017 - Support for May starts to dwindle

After a series of disastrous manifesto promises, including the dementia tax, a reversal of the fox hunting ban and the removal of free school meals support for May starts to dwindle. Her refusal to take part in live television debates lead rivals to brand her 'scared'.
Supreme Court Limits Government's Power to Seize Property

Most Americans hadn't heard of civil forfeiture before John Oliver did a deep dive on the practice two years ago. And it seems like his critique and others like it have gotten not just the attention of citizens, but of judges as well. After the rampant expansion of law enforcement entities seizing assets in criminal cases, largely with judicial support, the Supreme Court looks like it may be finally reigning in the practice.

A unanimous Court ruled that the federal government overstepped its bounds by seizing personal property it could not prove had actually been "tainted" by criminal activity.

Tennessee Waltz

The Honeycutt brothers of Tennessee, Tony and Terry, were indicted on several federal drug crimes including conspiracy to distribute a product used in methamphetamine production, namely, 20,000 water filters from which the pair knew meth cooks could extract iodine. The government was looking to extract $269,751.98 from the Honeycutts it alleged they made from the scheme and funneled back into Tony's hardware store. Tony pleaded guilty and agreed to fork over $200,000. Terry went to trial and was convicted, so the government came calling for the remaining $69,751.98.

A district court declined to enter a forfeiture judgment against Terry, concluding he was merely a salaried employee, and therefore not in a position to receive any of the profits from the sales. The Sixth Circuit disagreed, finding both brothers liable for any and all conspiracy proceeds. But that wasn't enough for the Supreme Court, which ruled that forfeiture is limited to property a defendant actually acquired as the result of the crime, and which the government could not prove in Terry's case.

Two Left Feet

"Congress did not authorize the government to confiscate substitute property from other defendants or co-conspirators," wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor for the Court, referring to 21 U.S.C. 853(a), which allows for property forfeiture in drug crimes cases. "It authorized the government to confiscate assets only from the defendant who initially acquired the property and who bears responsibility for its dissipation."

The forfeiture statute allows the government to seize "any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, as the result of [the criminal] violation." But it turns out that the property needs to be more than an hourly salary you get from your brother to work at his hardware store. And the Court's ruling may indicate that there are some limits to criminal forfeiture, even in federal drug cases.

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The detective at the centre of an investigation into how police handled the disappearance and death of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe allegedly told a colleague to 'f*** off' when he mentioned the schoolboy's killer by name.

Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon was the head of homicide in 2003 during the hunt for Daniel and is now being probed by the Ethical Standards Command, the Courier Mail reports.

It is claimed Mr Condon failed to chase evidence leading to the early capture of Daniel's murderer Brett Peter Cowan and told a fellow detective 'f*** off - you wouldnt know anything' when he tried to assist.

Daniel Morcombe (pictured) was 13 when he was abducted and killed by Brett Peter Cowan in 2003

It took eight years for detectives to pin Daniel's (pictured) tragic death on killer Brett Peter Cowan

The investigation was prompted by complaints made by former detective Dennis Martyn, who also alleges Mr Condon had in his possession a report which named Cowan as the prime suspect in the Morcombe case - but 'lost' it.

But Mr Condon denies any conversation took place and has accused Mr Martyn of committing perjury.

Mr Martyn also claims Mr Condon 'abused' his position in Queensland Police by attempting to prevent the detective from giving evidence at an inquest.

The former detective alleges he told Mr Condon that Cowan was 'your man' after it was revealed the killer admitted to driving past Daniel at the bus stop before he went missing.

Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon (pictured) was the head of homicide in 2003 during the hunt for Daniel and is now being probed by the Ethical Standards Command

It is claimed Mr Condon failed to chase evidence leading to the early capture of Daniel's murderer Brett Peter Cowan (pictured) and told a fellow detective 'f*** off - you wouldnt know anything' when he tried to assist

An inquest into the adequacy of how police responded to Daniel's abduction and subsequent murder was reopened by the Morcombe family to see what lessons could be learnt from the case.

The investigation is ongoing and the Morcombe inquest has been adjourned for the findings with no date yet given for its next proceedings.

Daniel Morcombe was abducted from a Sunshine Coast bus stop and murdered on December 7, 2003.

Eight years after his death Brett Peter Cowan was arrested for his murder and he was sentenced to life in prison in 2014.

Bones belonging to Daniel were found in 2011 in Queensland's Glass House Mountains, as well as some of his clothes.

Mr Martyn also claims Mr Condon (pictured) 'abused' his position in Queensland Police by attempting to prevent the detective from giving evidence at an inquest
A North Carolina man, 25, has been charged with murder over the death of his girlfriend's two-year-old son.

The toddler was rushed to the Carolinas Medical Center at around 7pm on Wednesday.

Medical staff said the youngster had been beaten so badly that he was unable to breathe on his own.

Christopher Sims, 25, was arrested and was initially facing felony child abuse and inflicting serious injury charges over the brutal attack.

Video from WSOC

Christopher Sims, 25, was arrested and was initially facing felony child abuse and inflicting serious injury charges over the brutal attack

But they have been upgraded to murder charges after the little boy died of his traumatic brain injuries in hospital, WBTV reports.

Police say Sims had attacked the child after he was left alone with the child at a home on Griers Grove Road on Wednesday evening.

Sims remains at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department and is expected to appear in court later on Friday.
Theresa May has been defended by few members of her cabinet since the scale of her election disaster emerged today.

The Prime Minister has insisted she will not quit despite losing her majority and relying on the support of DUP to prop up her government.

Theresa May, pictured, has insisted she will not quit despite losing her majority and relying on the support of DUP to prop up her government

Today a number of backbenchers demanded Mrs May and her closest advisers resign in the aftermath.

But her frontbench team has been largely silent about their future with some including Boris Johnson refusing to back her.

Here is what they have - or haven't said - since the results came in.

Philip Hammond - Chancellor of the Exchequer

Mr Hammond's relationship with Theresa May has been strained in recent weeks amid rumours that he was set to be replaced by Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

He has not yet today publicly declared his support for Mrs May.

Amber Rudd - Home Secretary

Ms Rudd was said to have been tipped for a promotion to chancellor if the Conservatives won a 'landslide' victory in the election after performing well in the TV debates.

She has not yet today declared her support publicly for Theresa May.

Boris Johnson - Foreign Secretary

The outspoken Foreign Secretary was asked if he believes Mrs May should be Prime Minister but would only say 'it's early days' after retaining his Uxbridge seat.

He also stayed silent when a reporter suggested that the Tory leader was 'fatally wounded' - and then appeared not to hear when another journalist asked him: 'Does your party need a new leader? Is it you?'.

Sir Michael Fallon - Defence Secretary

When the exit polls were released at 10pm showing mass Tory losses, Sir Michael said that they had 'been wrong in the past'.

He continued: 'This is a projection, it's not a result.'

But Sir Michael has said nothing since the election results confirmed the poll estimates.

Liz Truss - Justice Secretary

Theresa May had been urged to strip Liz Truss of her role as Lord Chancellor amid fears that her department the Ministry of Justice was 'not fit for purpose'.

Mrs May stood by her Minister - but Ms Truss has not yet today declared her support.

Justine Greening - Education Secretary

When Theresa May refused to appear on Woman's Hour she sent Greening in her place.

But she has not yet today declared her support publicly for the Prime Minister.

David Davis - Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

Brexit Secretary David Davis is the only one to have made a clear declaration that Theresa May should stay, insisting he would fight 'tooth and nail' to keep her in post.

Mr Davis said: 'The simple truth is we have a Prime Minister, she is a very good leader, I'm a big supporter of hers.'

He had earlier suggested a hung parliament could have forced the Conservatives to backtrack on Brexit.

Speaking to Sky News at about 2am, he referenced the Conservative manifesto which pledged to leave the customs union and single market.

He said that British people would make 'their decision', adding: 'It said we want to leave the customs union and single market, but get access to them, and to have a deep and special relationship with Europe.'

Liam Fox - Secretary of State for International Trade

Following the exit poll Liam Fox said he 'wouldn't make any assumptions' on Mrs May's future.

When asked if Mrs May would be forced to resign, Dr Fox told BBC News: 'It's early in the evening and I think we have to wait and see.

'I've sat through these programmes before when we've been told that we'll be in a hung parliament or a Conservative minority government, and as the results come through we've seen the Conservatives outperforming some of the predictions.

Greg Clark - Business Secretary

After winning his seat in Tunbridge Wells Mr Clark said he was 'very honoured' and spoke passionately about road repairs - but he failed to declare his support for Theresa May.

He has not yet today declared her support publicly for Theresa May.

Jeremy Hunt - Health Secretary

Jeremy Hunt said that the Conservative election campaign had been 'honest about the real challenges ahead'.

He continued: 'We haven't ducked those issues and we didn't duck those issues in our manifesto and that obviously made for difficult conversations at various moments in the campaign.

'But I would rather part of a government that is elected on the basis of being truthful about the challenges we face in areas like social care.'

Damian Green - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

After winning his Ashford seat, Damian Green said: 'I hope, and certainly the projection is, that we will still have a Conservative government led by Theresa May.

'I hope and expect that will be the final outcome, and we have these hugely important Brexit negotiations coming up over the next two years so it's very important that we approach those in a constructive and determined spirit to get the best result for Britain because that will determine our prosperity  not just in the next few years  but for decades to come.'

Chris Grayling - Transport Secretary

Although he didn't specifically reference Theresa May in his remarks, Chris Grayling said that the Conservatives had 'taken support from other parties'.

'It's polarised into much more of a two-way battle, though happily I have a reasonably comfortable margin over the top of them,' he said.

'We always said from the start we were taking nothing for granted, it would be a tough battle, that it could be a close result and we've been proved right.'

Sajid Javid - Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Theresa May has previously backed Sajid Javid in a row over business rates, so she will likely be looking to him for support.

But Mr Javid has only been an MP since 2010 meaning he does not have the same network of allies that many cabinet ministers do.

James Brokenshire - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Speaking after the exit poll was released, James brokenshire defended Mrs May's decision to call a snap election.

He said: 'I think it was right because ultimately she was presented with a situation in the House of Commons, also the House of Lords of people wanting to frustrate the whole Brexit process.'

Andrea Leadsom - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Andrea Leadsom went head-to-head with Theresa May when she challenged her for the Conservative leadership last year and lost.

She was appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs weeks later by Mrs May.

Ms Leadsom has not yet today declared her support publicly for Theresa May.
Soldiers reacted with fury yesterday as lawyers who pursued false torture and murder claims against British troops were cleared of a string of misconduct allegations.

Campaigners said it was a whitewash that law firm Leigh Day and three of its solicitors were found not guilty of 20 charges after they mounted a 7.5million defence at a tribunal.

The seven-week London hearing  which began after the Ministry of Defence compiled a dossier of the firms alleged wrongdoings  was the most expensive brought against a law firm by the solicitors watchdog.

Pictured left to right, Anna Crowther, Martyn Day and Sapna Malik

Leigh Day, which has represented hundreds of suspected Iraqi insurgents since the end of the Iraq war, was accused of wrongly drumming up cases against troops, causing them years of torment.

It was alleged the firm pursued false allegations, despite holding evidence the accusers were lying, as part of a business that raked in 9.6million.

But yesterday, a panel found the firm, its senior partners Martyn Day and Sapna Malik, and fellow solicitor Anna Crowther not guilty of allegations of misconduct. Last night the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which brought the charges, said it was considering an appeal.

The Ministry of Defence said in a statement that it was disappointed, and vowed that it would continue to defend against opportunistic ... false or exaggerated claims.

The tribunal heard Leigh Day worked with now-disgraced solicitor Phil Shiner (pictured)

Nigel Kelsall, a spokesman for UK Veterans One Voice, a campaign group that works on behalf of hounded troops, slammed the judgment.

He said: Many veterans are disappointed with the outcome. With all the evidence we thought we would have seen justice done today ... The soldiers think it is a whitewash. It is absolutely disgraceful and shows there are no boundaries when it comes to law firms pursuit of innocent brave soldiers who have fought for the country.

The outcome came after solicitor Phil Shiner, who worked with Mr Day, was struck off for acting dishonestly in relation to cases against troops.

The allegations against Leigh Day and its solicitors centred around their handling of claims alleging the mistreatment and unlawful killing of captives at Camp Abu Naji in Iraq following the Battle of Danny Boy in May 2004.

The SRA prosecuted them following the end of the 31million Al-Sweady Inquiry, which found the most serious claims of murder and torture were entirely false and the product of deliberate lies.

However, yesterday the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ordered the allegations to be dismissed. Simon Tinkler, chairman of the panel, said: None of the allegations made has been proved.

He also said any decision for costs would be decided after it has published its full reasons for its decisions, which may not happen until August.

Mr Day and Miss Malik were each cleared of 16 misconduct charges. Miss Crowther was cleared of four, including an allegation of destroying a key document. The firm, which denied any professional wrongdoing, was cleared of 11 counts.

Of the result, Mr Day, the companys founder, said: I am very pleased that I and my colleagues can now get back to doing the work we love.

A spokesman for the SRA said it needed to see the full detail and rationale behind the tribunals decision before considering an appeal.
Jack Tindall, 96, who killed his dementia suffering wife after she said she no longer wanted to live has been given a suspended sentence

A 96-year-old man has been given a suspended prison term after admitting killing his dementia-suffering wife by strangling her with a dressing gown cord because she told him she no longer wished to live.

Devoted Jack Tindall pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 88-year-old Ernestine Tindall on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Nottingham Crown Court.

The court heard he strangled her before arranging her body on a bed covered in lilies and telling police: Ive strangled her -the things you do for love.

Judge Gregory Dickinson QC sentenced WW2 veteran Tindall, of Boughton, Nottinghamshire, to 12 months in prison suspended for two years.

Nottinghamshire Police said the couple had been married for 68 years and were 'devoted to one another'.

Mrs Tindall had been suffering with vascular dementia and needed round-the-clock care after a stroke in August 2015, according to the force.

She had previously mentioned to her husband and other loved ones that she no longer wished to live, police added.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Ernestine had been Jacks rock and that she had told her husband: 'Dont let me wake up in the morning If you love me like I love you.'

The court heard that the couples grandchildren had overheard their grandmother begging her husband to help her die on several occasions - and that on August 3, he gave in to his wife's wish.

Tindall's wife Ernestine was found in their home in Perlethorpe, near Ollerton in Lancashire

He told police he surrounded her beautiful face with lilies, and went outside, where his granddaughter realised something was wrong and called police.

He told police who arrived at the home in Nottingham: 'For years weve solemnly promised each other that if anything happens - if it gets too much - we know what to do and Ive done it. A promise has been fulfilled.

'Ive strangled her. All the pleading and pleading and pleading and I finally done it.

Mr Tindall, who served in North Africa and Italy during WWII, before being posted to Austria, where he met his wife, and the couple were married in 1947, and on their return to the UK, Mr Tindall worked as a miner.

The incident made Tindall one of Britain's oldest men to be charged with murder

The had a son and five grandchildren, and the court heard testimony from them that the couple were totally devoted to each other - and Mrs Tindall wore the trousers.

They lived together at Queens Court care home, where the manager described them as 'the closest couple she had ever known'.

The incident makes Mr Tindall one of Britain's oldest men charged for murder, as was the initial charge.

Frail Tindall had appeared at a previous court hearing in a wheelchair.

He was initially charged with murder, becoming one of the oldest people in the UK to be so charged, after killing his wife at their home in Perlethorpe, near Ollerton, on August 3 last year.

However, the court accepted his plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Justine Dakin of Nottinghamshire Police said: 'This is a tragic and desperately sad case for all concerned.'

He was initially charged with murder however, the court accepted his plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter

Britain's oldest killer is thought to be Bernard Heginbotham who stabbed to death wife Ida, 87, in an 'act of love' when he was 99 on April 1, 2004.

The great grandfather could not face his partner of 67 years being moved to a fifth care home in three months and so slashed her throat in their bungalow in Preesall, Lancs.

He was handed a 12-month community order after he admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Heginbotham died in a care home aged 102 in February, 2007.
A Sydney Grammar schoolteacher who had sex with a 17-year-old boy has spoken out about miscarrying a child conceived during the affair.

The 33-year-old, who has pleaded guilty to having a sexual relationship with the student, told the Saturday Telegraph 'I lost that child It hasn't been easy, it's been very tough.'

She told officers from the NSW Sex Crimes Squad she was pregnant after they arrested her in October.

The teacher is currently waiting to be sentenced on November 30.

The first time a Sydney private school teacher (pictured) and her student had sex at her apartment, the pair then sat together and ate ice cream while they watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit

The former Sydney Grammar School teacher (pictured) has pleaded guilty in Downing Centre Local Court to having sex with a school student

The private school teacher had been warned previously about engaging in inappropriate behaviour with students.

She first met with the school in September 2013 - more than two years before she had sex with the boy.

At the end of 2014 the teacher was reprimanded by the school for forming an 'overly close pastoral role' with a male student with a mental health problem.

According to court documents, the school and the teacher 'discussed how to avoid students looking to her for special support'.

The private school teacher had been warned previously about engaging in inappropriate behaviour with students (pictured is Sydney Grammar)

'She was advised of the need for a more professional approach and was reminded that the school permits use of phones strictly on school business for contact only as necessary'

'She was advised of the need for a more professional approach and was reminded that the school permits use of phones strictly on school business for contact only as necessary.'

Despite the warnings, the woman began having sex with a 17-year-old student in January 2016 and continued to do so for about three months.

After the first time the pair had sex, at the teacher's apartment in Newtown, they sat together on a lounge and ate ice cream while they watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The former Sydney Grammar School teacher has pleaded guilty in Downing Centre Local Court to nine counts of sexual intercourse and one of indecent assault.

The teacher, who earlier this year had a baby with her husband, texted the student until shortly before police arrested her at a mental health facility on October 14.

After being arrested on October 14, 2016, she was made the subject of an apprehended violence order to stop her contacting the teenager.
A New York judge continues to draw a $174,000-a-year paycheck despite being stripped of her judicial duties after driving drunk to work and being jailed for skipping a court date.

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio was arrested for drunk driving in February 2016, and discharged in August on the condition that she would submit to random drug tests and abstain from alcohol.

While the conditional discharge did not bar her from traveling, Astacio flew to Thailand on May 2 and claimed she did not receive notice of a urine test.

She missed the court date on May 30, and a judge issued a bench warrant for her arrest before Astacio returned to the US to be taken into custody, where she will remain until her sentencing in July.

Because Astacio was elected to a 10-year term in 2014, only the state Commission on Judicial Conduct can remove her from the bench. The commission won't say if it's investigating, and any action could take years.

Video from WHEC

Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio (left in court this week and right, in mugshot) was arrested for drunk driving in February 2016

She discharged in August on the condition that she would submit to random drug tests and abstain from alcohol, but missed a urine test after she flew to Thailand to 'de-stress'

Astacio, was arrested in 2016 and charged with driving while intoxicated after crashing her car on the way to work.

To resolve her drunken driving case without a guilty finding, Astacio had agreed to undergo random alcohol testing and have a device installed on her car that tests her breath before starting the ignition.

The urine test was ordered after the device recorded a positive alcohol reading, which Astacio said was from her daughter blowing into it.

Ed Fiandach, Astacio's lawyer, said she didn't know about the urine test order because she unreachable by phone after buying a one-way ticket to Thailand.

While Astacio said she planned to stay in a temple with monks, photos on an Instagram account showed her at tourist destinations in Bangkok, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.

After a judge issued a bench warant for her arrest, Astacio returned to the US and was taken into custody on Monday.

As WHEC captured Astacio headed into court wearing in handcuffs, critics on social media complained that she's being paid her judge's salary even though she's been barred from hearing cases since March 2016.

'You are self-sabotaging any chance you have to return to the bench,' Judge Stephen Aronson said Monday when Astacio appeared before him to explain why she skipped a court-ordered urine test last week.

While Astacio said she planned to stay in a temple with monks, photos on an Instagram account showed her at tourist destinations in Bangkok (above)

Aronson chided Astacio for leaving the country when she was subject to monitoring and being paid as a judge.

'Instead of doing something constructive with your time, serving the people that elected you, you're traveling halfway around the world,' Aronson said Monday before offering a plea deal that included 45 days in jail. Astacio rejected the deal.

At Thursday's hearing, Astacio told the court she had gone to Thailand to 'de-stress' and had limited cellphone service. She said she hadn't planned to return until August.

Aronson ruled that Astacio had violated the terms of the conditional discharge of her DWI conviction by missing the test, even though she was unaware of it.

Astacio has been barred from hearing cases since March 2016, but continues to draw a $174,000-a-year paycheck as an elected official on a 10-year term

The daughter of parents who held multiple blue-collar jobs, Astacio said during her election campaign that she was determined to be a role model for the daughter she had at age 17.

After a few years with the Monroe County district attorney's office, she launched a criminal defense practice. She said she saw a judgeship as a way to reroute young lives in their first contact with the criminal justice system.

Fiandach, who said he plans to appeal, noted that Astacio had never been in legal trouble before.

'Arguably, she's being punished for something bad she did,' Fiandach said outside the courtroom Thursday. 'But by the same standpoint, I think she deserves some credit for living such a good life.'
A 59-year-old student at a Wisconsin university has taken her professor to court, demanding she receive an A for an advanced creative writing poetry class that she failed.

Donna Kikkert, 59, filed a complaint against Patricia Dyjak, claiming the professor's teaching material had alienated 'mainstream' students at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Kikkert, who is pursuing a bachelor's degree at the school claimed that Dyjak 'swung the pendulum far to the side of LGBT students', and as a result, she the mature student received an F grade in the class.

She also claimed that her failing grade was 'capricious retaliation' on Dyjak's part after Kikkert made complaints about the content and the professor's behavior toward students.

Donna Kikkert, 59, filed a complaint against Patricia Dyjak (pictured), claiming the professor's teaching material had alienated 'mainstream' students at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. A judge has dismissed the claim, but Kikkert said she may launch an appeal

While a Portage County judge has already dismissed the case, Kikkert said she is considering launching an appeal.

Kikkert claimed that she hoped to study classic poetry in the course but received a different syllabus than she had expected, according to court documents obtained by the Stevens Point Journal.

'For the reading material in this course, Ms Dyjak chose five poetry textbooks ... which focussed on lesbians, illicit sexual relationships, incest and frequent swearing,' Kikkert's complaint stated.

'A rational person would surmise these textbook choices to be myopically degrading and insulting to the intelligence of university students, who would have greatly benefited from a balanced study of poets.'

Kikkert claimed that by focusing on LGBT works, Dyjak had 'chosen to totally discount the importance and the validity of the mainstream student population'.

The court case came after Kikkert took an advanced creative writing poetry class at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (pictured)

In addition to the improved grade, Kikkert asked for Dyjak to be suspended for a year without pay or removed from the university entirely.

Assistant Attorney General Katherine Spitz, representing Professor Dyjak, has asked that the case be dismissed.

'Kikkert's complaint fails because it does not provide any legal authority or other basis (and the defendant's counsel is aware of none) upon which this court could require Dyjak to teach the work of certain poets in a college course ... or to provide any particular student with the grade that student believes she deserves, rather than the one she earned,' she said.
A dozen gang members have been arrested in New York for allegedly threatening to kill policemen and rival criminals on social media.

The so-called TBO gang posted a series of violent threats on Facebook and YouTube, where they bragged about their crimes.

One suspect, Yasin Shearin, who was charged with conspiracy, was once accused of of making a terrorist threats in a Facebook post which read: 'Let's kill the cops.'

A dozen gang members have been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill policemen and rival criminals on social media

Shearin posted that rant, complete with emojis of a gun and cops, hours after Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjin Liu were shot dead in December 2014.

He is said to be a member of the TBO gang [True Bosses Only] who are locked in a bitter battle with several others, the New York Daily News reported.

He was one of a dozen alleged gang members indicted for conspiracy for allegedly using social media as part of a criminal operation.

The TBO gang are said to be behind ten shootings in Bushwick, Brooklyn which have left seven injured

Other gang members, all aged between 17 and 26, have all been fighting with three other crews: Elm Street Piru, Loot Gang and 900 Gang.

'This indictment describes a terrifying mix of deadly force and mindless obsessions with turf, leading to serious consequences for innocent bystanders,' said Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

TBO are said to be behind ten shootings which left seven injured. Three incidents were caught on video surveillance, prosecutors said.
Sorry, I had to turn over.

That was my husbands update at 2am, after he switched from BBC to ITV.

A Labour voter, a Labour Party member (yes, I married a lifelong leftie) even he found the BBCs none-too-subtle attempts to dismantle Brexit during their election coverage too much to take when all he wanted was honest reporting.

The exit polls turned out to be exactly that: an honest, accurate picture of a confused, divided nation.

I absolutely accept Corbyn is justified in feeling like the victor even if he didn't actually, er, win. Because at a personal level he has absolutely triumphed

We now have a government that is weak and uncertain at a time when we are about to start the most difficult negotiations in recent history. Without a majority, without a clear mandate. Floundering off the back of one of the worst manifestos of our time.

And I absolutely accept Corbyn is justified in feeling like the victor even if he didn't actually, er, win.

Because at a personal level he has absolutely triumphed. He fought a terrific campaign, enjoyed his time in front of huge crowds, and managed, through a highly targeted electoral machine and the direct bribe of 30K tuition fees for students, to get people out to vote.

This is his moral victory. And I applaud his personal determination to move forward as his authentic self despite the contempt showed to him by his own MPs and the left wing commentariat at the Guardian who demanded he stand down in March, who called him a joke.

And who now suddenly find themselves working out how to try and own a piece of his victory party.

Corbyn is right to feel vindication and triumphant. Corbyn won. But his party did not, no matter the swing, no matter the swatches of red across the Conservative target seats.

Theresa May already has more votes than Tony Blair won with a Labour landslide in 1997. She has seven percentage points more than Cameron in 2015. But this is little consolation to her as leader

Their number is 261. It is a long way from 326. Even Diane Abbott can do the maths on that.

So its a little odd for Labour rabble-rousers to be celebrating as if they have won. Their pure unadulterated delight smacks of something other than joy for Jeremy Corbyn.

It is a bit weird, a bit macabre, this collective gloat after 12 months of Brexit anguish. A lancing of the boil on the Remainers butt hurt. All a bit ugly.

I wonder whether they have spent too much time watching the BBC, and believe theyve just voted in a second referendum like the Ginger Dwarf from the North demanding access to the Single Market even as she falls into oblivion.

They did not.

Even though some of the voting might make Kim Jong Un blush. For example, Diane Abbott  who I suspect we can all agree ran a campaign that was as close to self-harm as it is possible to get, who has shown herself incompetent on every media platform she has taken  triumphed with a 75% share of the vote.

At a time when she was signed off sick, in the dying days of the campaign while our capital city stifled under the oppression of terror, she managed to increase her majority by 11,000.

I question the motivation of any individual prepared to vote this level of sheer incompetence into power at a time when our terror threat stands at critical.

And the rise in votes from young people feels cynical, at best, and narcissistic.

A generation used to obsessing over itself, motivated purely by self-interest, was persuaded by means of a minutely targeted campaign to vote Labour in return for free university tuition.

The idea that they might have considered what is best for their country, even for a nanosecond, even if they had the first idea what that is, is laughable.

And the notion that taxpayers should fund the latest tranche of barely-literates to spend three years on campus being further indoctrinated by liberals, leaving with a useless 2:2 in Posh'n'Becks studies, is laughable, too.

Some of the voting might make Kim Jong Un blush. For example, Diane Abbott  who I suspect we can all agree ran a campaign that was as close to self-harm as it is possible to get, who has shown herself incompetent on every media platform she has taken  triumphed with a 75% share of the vote

It would almost have been worth Corbyn winning, to watch their shiny little faces crumple when he was obliged to speedily back-pedal from his big promises that could only ever have been funded by his own magical golden goose in the sky.

And it is very important to remind Corbyn of the promise he made to Ukip voters, without whose return to the Labour fold he would have had a much worse night:

Can I make it clear? Yes, we accept the result of the referendum, Britain is leaving the European Union and we will negotiate a tariff-free trade access to the European market.

We will also make sure that we protect those conditions we have achieved through Europe, such as the working time directive and issues like that.

We will also guarantee the rights of EU nationals to remain here.

It is curious. I dont feel bitter, and I dont feel disappointed. I am happy to congratulate Corbyn, and to remind those who deserted him of the disloyalty for which they are now desperately showing contrition.

In truth, I begrudged voting for a Tory party that has let our country fall this low.

I had no wish to pledge support for politicians who have been so determined to be politically correct that they turned our cities into war zones and let our little girls down.

I am even moved to suggest this result was just. A just reflection of the despair of so many, of the battering we have taken, the tears we have shed for the father burying his daughter, the Frenchman washed up in the Thames.

But the election map is still very blue.

Theresa May already has more votes than Tony Blair won with a Labour landslide in 1997. She has seven percentage points more than Cameron in 2015.

But this is little consolation to her as leader.

She is being roundly criticised for her stoicism delivering her speech outside Number 10. Some mock her lack of contrition. Others furious she does not appear even more diminished.

But perhaps, for once we have a leader prepared to take ownership of the mess they have made and handover the baton of leadership with some semblance of actually giving a sh*t.

David Cameron got the results from the referendum, and legged it. Farage, the same. Neither of them wanting to face the hard months to follow, absolving themselves of responsibility, leaving Theresa May to scoop up the mantel of leadership discarded on the floor.

Remember the state of Clinton when she was pulverised by the polls? She couldnt even concede with dignity.

May came back from meeting the Queen with her husband and stood bravely outside Number 10 Downing Street and told us she would form a government, get us out of the EU, crack down on Islamic terror, and lead the Conservative and Unionist party.

This Government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days, and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union.

It will work to keep our nation safe and secure by delivering the change that I set out following the appalling attacks in Manchester and London, cracking down on the ideology of Islamist extremism and all those who support it and giving the police and the authorities the powers they need to keep our country safe.

The government I lead will put fairness and opportunity at the heart of everything we do so that we will fulfil the promise of Brexit together and over the next five years build a country in which no one and no community is left behind, a country in which prosperity and opportunity are shared across this United Kingdom.

I believe she knows she has to go. But unlike lesser men, she will hand over the keys to No 10 personally - assuming any of the Tory 'runners and riders' actually want it.

So Labour will spend the weekend celebrating as if they have won.

Let them gloat. They are celebrating losing, bless them.

While Theresa's Tory 'colleagues' cool calculate whether to let her keep sipping from the poisoned chalice she has fashioned for herself or whether they want to get rid of her and if so, how

I just hope they make it quick. The real business of getting us out of the European Union is more deserving of our attention.

For this we look to a new Conservative and Union party. And a new leader.

Even if it is bloody Boris.
Affordable Law School in Dallas Gets ABA Approval

The American Bar Association is accrediting another law school, even as the organization is suspending others in an era of declining law school enrollments.

The ABA gave provisional approval to the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law, reviving hopes that the lower-cost law school will break a disturbing mold in legal education. Some law schools are in jeopardy of losing their accreditation, largely due to low admission standards and poor bar pass rates.

"Our goal has always been to equip graduates with practice-ready competencies and the practical knowledge to pass the Texas Bar Exam," said Royal Furgeson, UNT's founding law school dean. "We now have a clear path to demonstrate that the innovative curriculum and the resources we've established will support exactly that kind of success."

Low Cost Education

The law school was founded in 2013, offering legal education in the Dallas-Forth Worth area for about half-to-one-third the price of other local law schools. UNT-Dallas charged $16,000 in tuition per year; Texas A&M in Forth Worth charged $28,000, and Southern Methodist in Dallas cost more than $50,000.

Located in a diverse community, more than half of the first law students at the school were minorities. The law school's goal was to make legal education and legal services attainable for everyone.

UNT won its provisional accreditation after the ABA denied the school's previous application in 2016. The ABA said it was concerned about the school's admission policies and finances at the time.

"It appears that the Law School is admitting applicants that do not appear capable of satisfactorily completing its program of legal education and being admitted to the bar," the report said.

Crowded Market?

The ABA has always scrutinized law schools before granting accreditation, but it has focused on lower admissions and bar pass rates recently. As enrollments declined over the past seven years, some schools responded by admitting students who left law school with little more than a diploma and crushing student debt.

In the midst of the crisis, UNT launched its law school. Joe Patrice, writing for Above the Law, said it was a good thing.

"While America faces the troubling lawyer supply conundrum of too many lawyers for declining top-flight jobs and simultaneously not enough lawyers for public interest and under-served market roles, UNT is filling the niche of providing a low-cost legal education for people who won't then run away from lower-paying work," he said.

Related Resources:
The Australian dollar is up one per cent on the British Sterling after Britain's election leads to a shock hung parliament.

While it may be a disastrous result over in the UK Aussie tourists will be relishing in the slight increase while it lasts.

But it won't just be the land Down Under celebrating as the pound goes down two per cent against the American dollar and is falling rapidly across Asia.

Many felt as though British prime minister Theresa May (pictured) would easily be voted back into parliament with a majority vote but when it became apparent this wasn't going to be the case stocks fell

One Aussie dollar now buys 59.48 British pence which is up from 58.20 pence on Thursday.

Against the American greenback the sterling dropped from $US1.2955 to $US1.2752, its lowest level in four months.

Many felt as though British prime minister Theresa May would easily be voted back into parliament with a majority vote but when it became apparent this wasn't going to be the case stocks fell.

The prospect of a majority for Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) was seen as better than a hung parliament and chaotic coalition but it wasn't to be

Mrs May has since declared her determination to carry on in Downing Street for a full five-year term after getting permission from the Queen to form a government, even though she spectacularly lost her Commons majority.

Incredibly Mrs May failed to mention that she had humiliatingly lost seats to Labour after calling the election three years early in a bid to capitalise on sky-high poll ratings which predicted a landslide.

One Aussie dollar now buys 59.48 British pence which is up from 58.20 pence on Thursday

She will now be relying on the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland to prop her up.

However not everyone is so sure this financial downturn will last.

AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said while the election upset was bad for the UK it would have little to no impact globally.

'The UK is just 2.5 per cent of world GDP and it's hard to see significant implications for global investment markets. Just noise  unless you are in the UK or have a big exposure there!'
Mussarat Khan, 55, (pictured) who was accused of poisoning her husband Tariq, of Manor Park London, following his affair, was cleared after the man said he took the poison himself

A wife suspected of poisoning her cheating husband in an attempted honour killing walked free from court with her smiling wheelchair-bound partner after he claimed he did it himself.

Mussarat Khan, 55, was accused of slipping arsenic into the food or drink of 50 year-old Tariq Khan for shaming the family by having an affair.

Mr Khan spent several weeks in a medically induced coma after being rushed to hospital with multiple organ failure and is now left with limited use of arms and legs.

Police charged the wife with attempted murder after a bottle of poison was found in the kitchen cupboard of the family home in Manor Park, east London.

But after Mr Khan recovered enough to return home a year later he told police that he had poisoned himself.

Judge Paul Dodgson threw out the case after ruling that there was not enough evidence to prove Mrs Khan was responsible - even though she had both the motive and opportunity.

The judge pointed out that the couples son and daughter - who were also arrested by police during the investigation - could also have poisoned their father.

Judge Dodgson said: The Crown suggest she had a motive for poisoning her husband. That is undoubtedly correct but all close members of the family would have had that possible motive due to his infidelity over a number of years.

Therefore any of his close family members might thus consider poisoning him to deal with the shame and also he himself might be driven by the shame of the situation to commit suicide.

The judge concluded that while it remained suspicious there was insufficient evidence to blame his wife solely.

Mr Khan (pictured) spent several weeks in a medically induced coma after being rushed to hospital with multiple organ failure and is now left with limited use of arms and legs.

Tariq and Mussarat Khan lived together at their home in Keller Crescent, Manor Park, for 20 years.

The family became aware of Tariqs affair with Naila Ali two years before and at one stage he moved out of the house.

Miss Ali later told police that his family had confronted her and verbally abused her about the affair.

Tariq moved back in after reconciling with his wife but shortly before falling ill his family discovered he was again seeing Miss Ali.

Mr Khan received his first dose of arsenic in April 2016.

On April 20 he was taken to hospital only to be discharged home at 12pm the following day.

The prosecution claimed Mrs Khan gave her husband a further dose of arsenic on April 23.

Tariq and Mussarat Khan had lived together at their home in Keller Crescent, Manor Park, for 20 years (pictured)

He was rushed to hospital at 6pm with multi-organ shutdown and was placed in a medically induced coma for several weeks, the court heard.

Mr Khans lover told police that he confided in her that after eating or drinking something given to him by his wife he felt his throat burning.

A plastic bottle containing high levels of arsenic and mercury was then discovered in their kitchen cupboard.

Mrs Khan was suspected of obtaining the poison during a trip to Pakistan - where it is readily available.

But her lawyers pointed out her visits to Pakistan were not unusual and claimed the last trip was to see a sick relative.

Mrs Khan was charged with attempted murder on March 3 2017.

But days after she was remanded in custody her husband told police he had poisoned himself because he was finding it hard to cope after having an extra-marital fling.

The family became aware of Tariqs affair with Naila Khan a couple of years before the poisoning and at one stage he moved out of the house

Prosecutor James Lofthouse said: He [Mr Khan] said, because of difficulties in the extra-marital relationship he was having, he was finding it hard to cope and he went to someone who sells DVDs in east London and, using 300, bought various substances and poisons from him.

He effectively said he intended to end it all.

Mrs Khan was granted bail in April and was reunited with her husband, who also attended todays application to dismiss the charge.

Giving his ruling, Judge Dodgson said: The question for me is whether there is evidence a jury could be sure of this defendants guilt.

In my judgement a jury would be entitled to conclude that the contents of the small plastic bottle discovered in the kitchen of the matrimonial home were indeed used to poison Tariq Khan.

She may have been and probably was the main user of that kitchen. However the prosecution accept there were three other adults living at the premises in addition to Tariq Khan.

Naila later told police that they had confronted her and verbally abused her about the affair

The judge said the evidence did not demonstrate that she had the opportunity.

He also said it was pure speculation that she got the arsenic during her trips to Pakistan.

Mr Khan told police that he bought the poisons for 300 from someone selling DVDs in east London and intended to end it all.

Rupert Pardoe, defending, said that several of the family members had arsenic or mercury in their hair after the poisoning.

He said: The wider family would all have a sense of dishonour. It would be absolutely guesswork for a jury to convict my client.

Mrs Khan was granted bail in April and was reunited with her husband, who also attended todays application to dismiss the charge

They were all arrested and interviewed and they were all on bail for eight months.

At a previous hearing Mr Pardoe outlined an incident in which someone dressed as a medical orderly to get access to Mr Khan while he was being treated in hospital.

Mr Khans lover also recalled a brick being thrown at Mr Khans car with a note on it saying Im going to kill you or I wish you dead.

In police interview Mrs Khan denied poisoning her husband but admitted her son had put a recording device in Mr Khans car.

Mrs Khan, of Keller Crescent Manor Park, had not yet entered a plea to the single count of attempted murder and the charge was dismissed by the judge due to lack of evidence.

Mr Khan, who waited outside court while the judges ruling was given, was reunited with his wife outside the courtroom and the pair left the Old Bailey together.
Dominique Joiner admitted to performing two sex acts with the high school senior

A substitute bus driver has been accused of using his position to have sex with a 17-year-old student he befriended on Snapchat.

Dominique Joiner admitted to performing two sex acts with the high school senior while working as a driver for the the Clark County School District.

The girl said Joiner asked her several nude or partially nude images as well as a sexually explicit video on social media, according to an arrest report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Joiner, who had a girlfriend at the time, told police he 'thought he could have sex' with the girl because she was over 16 - even though he had seen training videos warning not to.

He now faces two counts of sexual conduct between a school employee and pupil, two counts of kidnapping and one count of use of a minor for child pornography.

He is being held on $125,000 bail at the Clark County Detention Center.

LasVegasNow.com

The girl said Joiner asked her several nude or partially nude images as well as a sexually explicit video on social media (file photo of school bus)

In what is being perceived as an ongoing issue, Joiner is the 13th school district employee to be detained over reports of sexual misconduct since July.

His job required filling in on several bus routes throughout the valley for Northwest Career and Technical Academy, where the girl attends school.

They met during on of the 14 times he made the trip between January and March.

Just before he was transferred to a different route, Joiner told detectives the girl added him on Snapchat.
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Just as Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, China flicked the switch on the world's largest floating solar energy plant.

The massive waterborne plant is expected to generate 40 megawatts at one time and could supply electricity for over 15,000 homes.

The pioneering project, located in eastern China, is thought to cement China's status as a top producer of solar energy in the world.

Located in eastern China, the plant has a capacity of 40 megawatts of energy - enough to power over 15,000 homes

The impressive plant is built on the surface of a reservoir, which has been converted from an abandoned coal mine

The plant has been built in Huainan city, Anhui Province, by Sungrow Power Supply, a Chinese company specialised in renewable energy.

The ambitious company has put the first phase of the project into use after connecting hundreds of solar panels to form the impressive power plant, according to its website.

In order to find a body of water large enough to hold the plant, workers filled an abandoned coal mine with water to create a reservoir.

The floating solar plant, which is dubbed the world's largest, is built by Chinese company Sungrow Power Supply

The ambitious company has put the first phase of the project into use after connecting hundreds of solar panels

The cool air near the surface of the water would help reduce the heat generated from the solar panels and lower the risk of battery malfunction, said Chinese news website Sohu.

In addition, building a solar plant on water could save land space, which puts China one step ahead of other countries in providing green energy, according to the same report.

The solar power plant is expected to generate 800 megawatts a year.

Last year, Britain built a similar floating solar plant on the Queen Elizabeth II reservoir in Walton-on-Thames, which is due to power 1,800 homes. The power station features 23,046 solar panels and measures 57,046 sq metres (618,925 square feet).

The floating plant in China is six times the size of the plant in Britain.

The cool air near the surface of the water would help reduce the heat generated from the solar panels, said the company

China is expected to be a global climate leader after Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris accord on climate change

Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris accord on climate change on June 1 - deriding it as bad for American jobs and bad for the environment.

The decision could accelerate China's unlikely ascent toward leadership in stemming global warming and promoting green technology, and on global matters far removed from the environment.

The world's largest emitter of man-made carbon dioxide, considered a top cause of climate change, is already making rapid progress toward its Paris goal of stopping emissions growth by 2030.

It has overtaken the U.S. in transitioning to renewable energy, generating a fifth of its electricity from renewable sources. The U.S. only sources about 13 per cent of its electricity from renewables.
Prosecutors say Michelle Carter sent her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, dozens of text messages urging him to take his own life.

Carter's lawyer argue that she tried repeatedly to talk him out of it and only began to support the plan when it became clear he would not change his mind.

Here are a series of texts seen in court documents, organized chronologically:

June 19, 2014:

Carter: 'But the mental hospital would help you. I know you don't think it would but I'm telling you, if you give them a chance, they can save your life'

Carter: 'Part of me wants you to try something and fail just so you can go get help'

Roy: 'It doesn't help. Trust me'

Carter: 'So what are you gonna do then? Keep being all talk and no action and everyday go thru saying how badly you wanna kill yourself? Or are you gonna try to get better?'

Roy: 'I can't get better I already made my decision.'

June 23, 2014:

Carter: 'How do you want to harm yourself'

Roy: 'Something idkk yet'

Carter: 'Please don't'

Roy: 'I hate myself I'll always hate myself, I'm never gonna view myself as good I'm so far behind'

Carter: 'What is harming yourself gonna do!? Nothing! It will make it worse!'

Roy: 'Make the pain go away like you said'

Carter: 'It will make the pain go away temporarily, but when you're done, you'll just regret it and feel even worse!'

July 7, 2014:

Roy: 'If you were in my position. honestly what would you do'

Carter: 'I would get help. That's just me tho. When I have a serious problem like that my first instinct is to get help because I know I can't do it on my own'

Later that day, they talk about how he could make carbon monoxide (CO) in order to suffocate to death

Carter: 'Well there's more ways to make CO. Google ways to make it. . . '

Roy: 'Omg'

Carter: 'What'

Roy: 'portable generator that's it'

July 8, 2014:

Carter: 'So are you sure you don't wanna [kill yourself] tonight?'

Roy: 'What do you mean am I sure?'

Carter: 'Like, are you definitely not doing it tonight?'

Roy: 'Idk yet I'll let you know'

Carter: 'Because I'll stay up with you if you wanna do it tonight'

Roy: 'Another day wouldn't hurt'

Carter: 'You can't keep pushing it off, tho, that's all you keep doing'

July 11, 2014:

After Roy suggests putting a generator in the truck to make CO rather than a water pump:

Carter: '...Well in my opinion, I think u should do the generator because I don't know much about the pump and with a generator u can't fail'

July 4-12, 2014:

The following was sent over a nine-day span. The *** symbols show a gap in communications between the two.

Carter: 'You're gonna have to prove me wrong because I just don't think you really want this. You just keeps pushing it off to another night and say you'll do it but you never do'

***

Carter: 'SEE THAT'S WHAT I MEAN. YOU KEEP PUSHING IT OFF! You just said you were gonna do it tonight and now you're saying eventually...'

***

Carter: 'But I bet you're gonna be like 'oh, it didn't work because I didn't tape the tube right or something like that' . . . I bet you're gonna say an excuse like that'

***

Carter: 'Do you have the generator?'

Roy: 'not yet lol'

Carter: 'WELL WHEN ARE YOU GETTING IT'

***

Carter: 'You better not be bulls***ing me and saying you're gonna do this and then purposely get caught'

July 11-12, 2014:

Again, *** shows a gap in communications

Roy: 'I'm just to sensitive. I want my family to know there was nothing they could do. I am entrapped in my own thoughts'

Roy: 'like no I would be happy if they had no guilt about it. because I have a bad feeling tht this is going to create a lot of depression between my parents/sisters'

Roy: 'i'm overthinking everything. . f**k. I gotta stop and just do it'

Carter: 'I think your parents know you're in a really bad place. Im not saying they want you to do it, but I honestly feel like they can accept it. They know there's nothing they can do, they've tried helping, everyone's tried. But there's a point that comes where there isn't anything anyone can do to save you, not even yourself, and you've hit that point and I think your parents know you've hit that point. You said you're mom saw a suicide thing on your computer and she didn't say anything. I think she knows it's on your mind and she's prepared for it'

Carter: 'Everyone will be sad for a while, but they will get over it and move on. They won't be in depression I won't let that happen. They know how sad you are and they know that you're doing this to be happy, and I think they will understand and accept it. They'll always carry u in their hearts'

***

Roy: 'i don't want anyone hurt in the process though'

Roy: 'I meant when they open the door, all the carbon monoxide is gonna come out they can't see it or smell it. whoever opens the door'

Carter: 'They will see the generator and know that you died of CO. . . .'

***

Roy: 'hey can you do me a favor'

Carter: 'Yes of course'

Roy: 'just be there for my family :)'

Carter: 'Conrad, of course I will be there for your family. I will help them as much as I can to get thru this, ill tell them about how amazing their son/brother truly was'

***

Roy: 'Idk I'm freaking out again'

Roy: I'm overthinking'

Carter: 'I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it! You can't keep living this way. You just need to do it like you did last time and not think about it and just do it babe. You can't keep doing this every day'

Roy: 'I do want to. but like I'm freaking for my family. I guess'

Roy: 'idkkk'

Carter: 'Conrad. I told you I'll take care of them. Everyone will take care of them to make sure they won't be alone and people will help them get thru it. We talked about this, they will be okay and accept it. People who commit suicide don't think this much and they just do it'

July 12, 2014:

In these exchanges on the day before his body was found, Roy expresses more hesitation about his plan.

Carter: 'So I guess you aren't gonna do it then, all that for nothing'

Carter: 'I'm just confused like you were so ready and determined'

Roy: 'I am gonna eventually'

Roy: 'I really don't know what I'm waiting for. . but I have everything lined up'

Carter: 'No, you're not, Conrad. Last night was it. You keep pushing it off and you say you'll do it but u never do. Its always gonna be that way if u don't take action'

Carter: 'You're just making it harder on yourself by pushing it off, you just have to do it'

Carter: 'Do u wanna do it now?'

Roy: 'Is it too late?'

Roy: 'Idkk it's already light outside'

Roy: I'm gonna go back to sleep, love you I'll text you tomorrow'

Carter: 'No? Its probably the best time now because everyone's sleeping. Just go somewhere in your truck. And no one's really out right now because it's an awkward time'

Carter: 'If u don't do it now you're never gonna do it'

Carter: 'And u can say you'll do it tomorrow but you probably won't'

***

Carter: 'You just need to do it Conrad or I'm gonna get you help'

Carter: 'You can't keep doing this everyday'

Roy: 'Okay I'm gonna do it today'

Carter: 'Do you promise'

Roy: 'I promise babe'

Roy: 'I have to now'

Carter: 'Like right now?'

Roy: 'where do I go? :('

Carter: 'And u can't break a promise. And just go in a quiet parking lot or something.'
President Donald Trump denied that he obstructed justice on Friday as the hawks circled overhead.

The president put his stamp of approval on a tweet sent by legal scholar and OJ Simpson lawyer Alan Dershowitz that slapped him with political sins but no actual crimes in conjunction with his requests of James Comey.

'We should stop talking about obstruction of justice. No plausible case. We must distinguish crimes from pol sins,' Dershowitz wrote in a message that Trump retweeted.

The president put his stamp of approval Friday on a tweet sent by legal scholar and OJ Simpson lawyer Alan Dershowitz that slapped him with political sins but no actual crimes in conjunction with his requests of James Comey

The legal scholar posted a write up and clip of his interview this morning on Twitter. Trump retweeted him less than an hour later

'The president has the authority to direct the head of the FBI to stop investigating anyone,' the Harvard professor told Fox News' Neil Cavuto. 'I've been saying this for months'

Trump had ignored reporters earlier this week who asked him about that very thing.

The president's personal attorney said Thursday that Comey's testimony to a Senate panel confirmed that Trump is not under investigation for allegations that he tried to obstruct the FBI's investigation into Russian collusion.

His statement addressed arguments that Trump may have obstructed justice when he talked to Comey about the FBI's investigation into Mike Flynn by denying that the president had pressured him.

Marc Kasowitz's statement claimed that Trump did not ask his FBI director to 'left Flynn go.' Flynn came up, but Trump did not ask or suggest that Comey end the FBI's investigation into his former aide, Kasowitz said.

Even if he did, Dershowitz said that's not obstruction of justice.

'The president has the authority to direct the head of the FBI to stop investigating anyone,' the Harvard professor told Fox News' Neil Cavuto. 'I've been saying this for months.'

Dershowitz also slammed Comey for the 'cowardice' he displayed when he asked his friend, a Columbia law professor, to leak the memo he kept on his interaction with the president instead of doing it himself.

The legal scholar posted a write up and clip of his interview this morning on Twitter. Trump retweeted him less than an hour later.

Trump declared war on his fired FBI director Friday morning, shredding Comey's testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee as full of 'lies' and sicking his personal lawyers on him.

Trump, who is usually active each morning on Twitter, had remained eerily quiet before Comey's testimony and in the hours after.

He let it rip this morning in tweet at 6 am.

Trump proclaimed on social media: 'Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!'

Fox News then reported that Trump's legal team was preparing complaints against Comey that it will file with the Department of Justice's Inspector General and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The president's outside counsel singled out a disclosure Thursday from Comey's testimony that he gave memos on his encounters with Trump to a friend for the purpose of leaking them and lit the former law enforcement official up.

Kasowitz said it was Comey who should be investigated.

Trump stopped short of saying that Comey lied under oath at the hearing, while suggesting that he did.

It's a federal felony to lie in court testimony, and Comey could be subject to criminal charges and jail time if his claims were disproven.

Trump's message Friday was that he was coming after Comey was for something he doesn't need to prove - the former law enforcement official revealed information from their private conversations before Trump decided to waive executive privilege.

Comey testified Thursday that gave memos he authored on the discussions to a friend to disseminate after Trump claimed in a tweet that he had tapes of their conversations.

Dershowitz also slammed Comey for the 'cowardice' he displayed when he asked his friend, a Columbia law professor, to leak the memo he kept on his interaction with the president instead of doing it himself

Republicans on the Intelligence Committee argued Thursday that it may not have been within Comey's authority to share his FBI work product. He said the documents were his personal property and he leaked them as a defense mechanism.

He accused the Trump administration of spreading 'lies' about him and claimed he wrote the memos out of concern the president would be untruthful.

Rather than sharing them himself, he asked a friend to leak passages to the media.

'I was worried the media was camping at the end of my driveway at that point,' he said, 'and I worried it would be like feeding seagulls at the beach.'

Dershowitz shot back on Fox, 'I thought it showed a lot of cowardice.'

Echoing Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Dershowitz commented on Comey's stature and said that he's supposed to be a 'strong and powerful guy, and he's afraid of a couple of seagulls.'
A 26-year-old Indiana woman was praised over the weekend after she helped a blind man hail a cab outside Wrigley Field in Chicago after a Cubs game.

Casey Spelman, of Indianapolis, saw the man struggling to get a cab outside the stadium on Saturday and jumped in to help him out.

As Spelman, who was visiting Chicago for the weekend, took the man's hand and hailed a taxi for him, someone else took photos, which quickly went viral on social media as strangers praised her for her good deed.

Casey Spelman, of Indianapolis, saw the man struggling to get a cab outside the stadium on Saturday and jumped in to help him out. As Spelman, who was visiting Chicago for the weekend, took the man's hand and hailed a taxi for him, someone else took photos, which quickly went viral on social media as strangers praised her for her good deed

Spelman said she didn't get the name of the Cubs fan she helped, but she was happy she was there to give him a hand and that he was able to find a safe ride home

'I just said "hi are you trying to get a cab" and he said "yes" and I said "would you like some help' and he said 'that'd be great",' Spelman told Fox 59 of the incident.

She said that people were standing in front of him as he tried to hail a cab, so she helped him get closer to the street and find a car to get into.

Spelman, who was visiting Chicago for the weekend from Indianapolis, was praised for her actions on social media

As she helped the man, witness Ryan Hamilton snapped photos from the rooftop of the nearby Old Crow Smokehouse and was quick to post them on to his Facebook.

'Wanted to give a shout-out to this girl,' he wrote. 'No idea who she is, but we are in Wrigleyville on the rooftop of Old Crow Smokehouse.

'There was a blind Cubs fan trying to hail a cab for several minutes until the lady came up and asked him if he needed help hailing a cab.

'She stood there with him until one pulled up. Awesome to see such kindness in a world that the media portrays so much hate in. Share freely in hopes that her kindness spreads.'

Spelman said she didn't get the name of the Cubs fan she helped, but she was happy she was there to give him a hand and that he was able to find a safe ride home.

'He said give me a hug and I gave him a big hug and he said 'God Bless you and have a great night' and I said thank you, you too,' said Spelman.

Fox 59, however, found the man, identified as Yusef Dale, and he thanked Spelman for her gesture.

'Not only was she kind enough to see and observe that perhaps I was having a difficulty, but she handled it well. She did precisely what people who are blind like to be offered,' Dale told FOX59.

'Thank you very much for stopping and certainly the help was appreciated. She was kind. She had good energy,' he added.
Ruth Davidson has aimed a sideswipe at the Democratic Unionist Party over its opposition to gay marriage.

The Scottish Tory leader tweeted a link to a speech on gay pride she delivered in Belfast in a coded warning to Theresa May not to let the DUP, which is set to go into coalition with the Conservatives, push her to the right on social matters.

The Northern Irish party, which has 10 MPs, follows a stridently conservative social agenda that includes opposition to abortion and support for the death penalty.

Scroll down for video

Ruth Davidson has aimed a sideswipe at the Democratic Unionist Party over its opposition to gay marriage

The Scottish Tory leader tweeted a link to a speech on gay pride she delivered in Belfast in a coded warning to Theresa May not to let the DUP push her to the right on social matters

It has also been criticised by green activists for appointing climate change skeptic, Sammy Wilson, as Northern Ireland's environment minister.

Ruth Davidson tweeted: 'As a Protestant Unionist about to marry an Irish Catholic, here's the Amnesty Pride lecture I gave in Belfast..'

During the speech, Ms Davidson said: 'I am practicing Christian. I am a Protestant. I am a Unionist. I am Scottish and British.

Ruth Davidson 'assured' by Theresa May on contentious gay rights issue Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said she has received assurances from the Prime Minister over gay rights should the Tories do a deal with DUP. I was fairly straightforward with her (Mrs May) and I told her that there were a number of things that count to me more than the party, she told the BBC. One of them is country, one of the others is LGBTI rights. I asked for a categoric assurance that if any deal or scoping deal was done with the DUP there would be absolutely no rescission of LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK, in Great Britain, and that we would use any influence that we had to advance LGBTI rights in Northern Ireland Its an issue very close to my heart and one that I wanted categoric assurances from the prime minister on, and I received (them). Advertisement

'I am engaged to a Catholic Irishwoman from county Wexford who was educated by nuns. For me, equal marriage isn't about one religion or county or community.'

The DUP supported leaving the EU, but is expected to push for a softer Brexit excluding a hard border with the Irish Republic and any new customs operations.

One red line is the idea of Northern Ireland being granted some sort of 'special status' when Brexit comes to pass.

DUP leader Arlene Foster, pictured left with Theresa May will be looking for guarantees on preventing a hard border with the Republic of Ireland and any new customs operations

The DUP will not stand for any arrangement that physically sets the region apart from anywhere else in the UK.

DUP's leader was blown up and her father shot in the head by IRA More than 3,600 died in the Troubles as Catholic Irish militants seeking to unite the province with the Republic of Ireland faced off against the British Army and Protestant Loyalist paramilitaries, who wanted it to remain British. Arlene Foster has been feted as a member of a new generation of politicians who came to prominence after the peace. But even if she is two decades younger than outgoing leader Peter Robinson, a sidekick of firebrand party founder Ian Paisley, the conflict left deep scars. Foster's father, a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Police Reserve, was shot in the head by the IRA on the family farm when she was eight. She watched him come 'crawling into the house, blood streaming down his face,' she told the Sunday Tribune newspaper. He recovered and continued to serve in the police, but the family was forced to move. When she was 17 she survived an IRA bomb on her school bus which was being driven by a part-time soldier in the Ulster Defence Regiment, badly injuring the girl sitting next to her. Advertisement

That includes suggestions that border, immigration and customs controls could be set up at ports and airports like Stranraer and Liverpool rather than in Belfast or Larne.

Another big price to pay for the party's support in Westminster could be the reinstatement of any EU subsidies that farmers lose when Brexit is a done deal worth about 350million a year.

Another set of funds doled out by Brussels could also be on Ms Foster's shopping list - about 400m of payments due over the next four years that go to community development and cross-border projects as part of a dividend for the peace process.

While the DUP, with its strong links to the business community in Northern Ireland, does not want to see the region set apart from the rest of Britain but it may also use its strong hand to push for a reduced corporation tax rate.

The Republic's 12.5 per cent rate has been a bone of contention at times, including with suggestions from some quarters that Dublin poached foreign investors considering locations north of the border.

The DUP manifesto also vows to oppose Tory plans to cut pensioner benefits such as the winter fuel allowance, for example.

With the DUP's newfound position as power brokers, its website crashed from the the surge in internet traffic.

Mrs Foster has hailed her party's influence that they will gain in their role as kingmakers.

Theresa May is pictured leaving Downing Street with her husband Philip to go to Buckingham Palace earlier today following the snap election result

But she warned that it would be 'difficult' for Mrs May to cling on after her humiliating defeat.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster, she remained tight-lipped about the prospects of the DUP supporting the Conservatives, but suggested Mrs May could have to go.

She said: 'Of course it's too soon to say what we're going to do yet. We need to see the final make-up of Parliament and then we'll reflect on that.

'I certainly think that there will be contact made over the weekend but I think it is too soon to talk about what we're going to do. I think we need to wait and see.'

Arlene Foster will not want to see any physical manifestation of the divide between the EU and the UK

Asked directly if she thought Mrs May would survive, she said: 'I don't know. I see that she's on her way back to London.

'I think that it will be difficult for her to survive, given that she was presumed at the start of the campaign  which seems an awfully long time ago now  to come back with over 100, maybe more, in terms of her majority.

'And now we're in the position we find ourselves in tonight, so it will be an incredibly difficult evening for her.'
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US jets have taken part in an annual NATO military exercise in the Baltics in the wake of increasing Russian aggression in the area.

Striking pictures show German Luftwaffe's Eurofighter Typhoons joining the US's Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker during the 45th BALTOPS military exercise in Poland.

The annual Baltic Operations military exercise has taken place since the 1970s and this year's event includes more than 50 aircraft, 4,000 shipboard personnel, as well as 50 ships.

US jets took to the skies over the Baltic as they took part in the BALTOPS military exercises with other NATO countries including the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Pictured right to left, two German Luftwaffe's Eurofighter Typhoons with US aircraft the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and two B-1B Lancer bombers

US jets including the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress and two B-1B Lancer bombers took to the skies as they carried out mock exercises with naval forces from NATO countries including the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

The 45th Baltic Operations Exercise is taking place from June 1 to 16 and is based at the Powidz Air Base in central Poland.

The military show comes as NATO increased their position in the Baltic to combat Russian aggression.

On June 1, 12 NATO countries deployed around 4,600 troops to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland and the four battlegroups are due to be fully up and running within two weeks.

NATO says it's a deterrent move aimed at countering aggression by Russia, which seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

Spokesman Piers Cazalet said: 'NATO is a defensive alliance and we do not seek confrontation with Russia.

German Luftwaffe's Eurofighter Typhoons (pictured) took part in the annual exercises at the Powidz Air Base in central Poland. The BALTOPS exercises have been running since the 1970s and this year's event, which runs from June 1 to June 16 includes more than 50 aircraft, 4,000 shipboard personnel, as well as 50 ships

'NATO had no plan to deploy forces in the region before Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.'

In Romania, meanwhile, another 2,000 soldiers, 1,000 assistance personnel and 500 vehicles from 11 NATO nations were training in the alliance's 'Noble Jump 2017' drill.

Last week Russia's envoy to NATO warned that Moscow is concerned by the alliance's military deployment in the Baltic States and Poland, and will respond to the buildup, as thousands of U.S. and European troops trained on land, sea and in the air in central and eastern Europe.

'NATO is building a new military security situation that we cannot ignore, that we should address using our own military instruments,' Ambassador Alexander Grushko said in Brussels.

Pictured, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (pictured), which is a US long-range subsonic jet-powered strategic bomber. The aircraft has been used by the US Air Forcesince the 1950s and has been used in the Cold War, Vietnam and the Gulf War. The annual military exercise comes as NATO increased its presence in the Baltic in a show of force against Russian aggression after the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014

He declined to spell out what kind of measures Russia might take, saying only that 'NATO's movements will not be left without a response in terms of military planning.'

The increase in NATO activity comes as Vladimir Putin said a hot war between Russia and the United States would result in a nuclear holocaust.

The Russian leader spoke to director Oliver Stone in an interview set to air on Showtime next week.

Stone asked Putin whether the US would be 'dominant' in the event of a 'hot war' between the two nuclear powers.

'I don't think anyone would survive such a conflict,' Putin said.
Manchester Airport Terminal Two has been evacuated after a suspicious bag was found

Manchester Airport Terminal Two has been evacuated after a suspicious bag was found unattended.

A bomb squad rushed to the scene to conduct a controlled explosion while passengers were left stuck on planes while the evacuation took place.

Police said it was a precautionary measure and not connected to the bombing of the Manchester Arena which killed 22 almost three weeks ago.

Passenger Chris Hawkins wrote on Twitter: 'Whole place evacuated. Police & fire arriving from all directions. Hundreds of people all over area.'

Twitter user Karl Kerman was sitting on a plane on a runway, unable to enter the airport.

He said: 'Stuck on plane at Manchester airport for security reasons anyone know why? #manchester'

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: 'Due to an unattended bag being found in Terminal Two, a controlled evacuation is currently taking place, as is standard procedure.

'As always, the safety of all of our passengers is of paramount importance and we will provide an update on the situation as soon as possible.'

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: 'Shortly after 2.45pm police were called to terminal two at Manchester Airport to reports of an unattended bag.

'A precautionary evacuation has been conducted. Bomb disposal officers are in attendance and enquiries are ongoing.'
Sun's Out, Fun's Out: Top 7 Summer Injury Tips

As the old saying goes, "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt." And with more fun and games over the summer months comes more opportunity for injury. While we hope everyone stays safe this summer, some injuries are inevitable.

So here is some of our best advice for avoiding and dealing with summertime injuries, from our archives:

Kids off to camp? Make sure you know the ins and outs of injury liability for summer camps before your kids hit the bunkhouse.

Whether it's a summer program at the community center, sports-centered training sessions, or Camp Firewood up in Waterville, Maine, most camp organizers will have participants or their parents sign liability waivers. Are they enforceable? Should you sign one?

For many of us, summer is the opportunity to explore the natural wonders of the world. Thing is, those natural wonders aren't always the most welcoming. Here's what you need to know if you're injured out in nature.

If you're more interested in seeing the nation's highway system rather than its national parks, you're not alone. America's highways and byways will be packed this summer, so stay safe out there.

A pool can be the perfect spot to hang out this summer. It can also be an attractive nuisance. And if you don't know what that means, legally, you may want to find out before inviting friends and neighbors over.

Ah, cooking outside over an open flame while enjoying a few cold adult beverages. What could possibly go wrong?

Most of us are not on summer vacation from June to August, and not all of us who are working are doing it from climate-controlled office environments. So if you're working outside in the elements this summer, do it safely.

We wish everyone a safe and fun summer. And if it wasn't so safe, you may want to talk to an experienced injury attorney in your area.

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Australian supermarkets are charging more for products compared to the same goods sold in their U.K. counterparts, including on home grown products such as Vegemite.

Supermarkets are passing on the prices to the consumer because global companies such as Coca-Cola, Cadbury and Heinz are taking advantage of the Australian market, according to Coles boss John Durkan.

Durkan said Coles pays more for bulk wholesale prices than the U.K. consumer purchases their goods for at shelf price for the major brands.

Vegemite costs up to 13 per cent more here in Australia than it does from U.K. supermarkets according to News Corp study

Coles boss John Durkan said Multinationals charge more for goods to Australian retailers

Identical products sold in Australian supermarkets are more expensive than the same goods sold in supermarkets from the U.K.

'Multinationals think they can charge more in this country,' the Coles boss told News Corp Australia.

'We are going to give consumers an alternative.'

Durkan said products such as Vegemite, despite being home grown, are sold at a lower price points in the U.K as they are competing with homegrown products such as Marmite.

'Vegemite has all of the market here meaning they can effectively charge what they want for that product,' he told the publication.

A Mars bar in Australia costs up to 86 per cent more than it does in the U.K.

Coca-Cola costs 65 per cent more in Australia than the U.K.

'But in the UK they are up against a homegrown product: Marmite. They are offering a lower price to get into that market.'

A comparison from different products showed a Mars Bar cost nearly twice as much in Australia, Vegemite cost 13 per cent more and Coca Cola up to 65 per cent more.

Despite Coles boss pointing out local retailers pay more for multinational goods, The Australian Food and Grocery Council said Australian supermarkets pick up 41 per cent of the profit from products, compared to just 24 per cent from international retailers.
The daughter of an Indiana firefighter had to be rushed to a hospital after a piece of her fidget spinner broke off, flew into her open mouth and lodged in her throat.

The girls dad, who serves with the Decatur Township Fire Department, shared the familys alarming experience on the departments Facebook page on Thursday to warn other parents about the hidden dangers of the popular stress-relieving gizmo.

According to the post, the girl was sitting in the backseat of the mans car and spinning the toy while talking.

Transparent: This X-ray image shows the girl's intestines after she swallowed the toy part

Something's amiss: This photo posted on the Facebook page of the Decatur Township Fire Department in Indiana shows a fidget spinner with one of its metal bearings missing after it became lodged in the throat of a firefighter's daughter

Suddenly, one of the metal bearings came out of the plastic body of the fidget spinner, flew into the child's mouth and then became stuck in her throat.

'I did about 5 minutes of back blows and with her coughing it became dislodged and went to her stomach, the firefighter wrote.

The concerned parent called 911 and had his daughter transported to a hospital, where she was treated and later released.

Thankfully this turned out well, but please be aware that it can be a choking hazard, the post concluded.

The fire department also shared a photo of the culprit - a lime-green fidget spinner with one metal bearing missing  alongside an X-ray image showing the girls stomach with the circular foreign object trapped inside.

This is not the first time that the addictive fad toy, heralded by some as a useful tool for people suffering from autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, has raised safety concerns for children.

In May, a piece of a fidget spinner became stuck in the throat of a 10-year-old girl from Texas.

Doctors had to perform surgery to extricate the part from the childs esophagus.

Sold for just a couple of dollars each, the spinning top-like gadget divided into two or three branches, has proved a surprise hit this spring with children and adults alike.

However, many school districts in US have banned the entertaining gadgets after teachers complained that they were distracting to students.
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Furious socialists are protesting outside Downing Street to demand Theresa May's resignation - even though she won the election.

The vociferous demonstrators have been chanting with megaphones outside the premier's house branding signs reading 'defy Tory rule' and 'kick the Tories out'.

Notorious left-winger Lily Allen rushed to join the fray as soon as she saw the protests unfolding.

She tweeted: 'Running late, had to wait for babysitter and then it took me ages to find the right placard. #DowningStreet'.

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Furious socialists are protesting outside Downing Street to demand Theresa May's resignation - even though she won the election

The vociferous demonstrators chanted outside her house branding signs reading 'defy Tory rule' and 'kick the Tories out'

As soon as she saw the protests unfolding left-winger Lily Allen Tweeted: 'Running late, had to wait for babysitter and then it took me ages to find the right placard. #DowningStreet'

One woman, who hid her identity with black-out shades, held a sigh reading 'empty the bins before you go'

The socialists, some wearing red, held several signs reading 'never trust a Tory'

The protesters want Mrs May to quit after her political gamble spectacularly backfired as she lost her Parliamentary majority.

One protester called for her to quit with a sign reading: 'Theresa get packing' while another read: 'Strong and stable my arse'.

Another alluded to Mrs May's insistence that she would defend Britain from nuclear attack with a sign reading: 'Pressing the nuclear button? Not the vote winner you thought Mrs May!'

The protests came after a humbled Theresa May finally apologised to defeated Tory MPs and pledged to stay for five more years.

These protesters held a sign reading 'queers fight back' to protest the DUP who do not approve of same-sex marriage

Two woman held up signs protesting the DUP - one read: 'Gay northerners against the DUP'

Protesters demonstrate outside Downing Street after the General Election

Protest: One sign read 'strong and stable my arse' as another referred to Mrs May's willingness to defend Britain with nuclear weapons

The protesters want Mrs May to quit after her political gamble backfired as her snap election saw her lose her Parliamentary majority

One furious protester held a sign reading: 'Theresa get packing'

Protesters demonstrate against British Prime Minister Theresa May outside No. 10 Downing Street

The Prime Minister's political career is hanging by a thread after she promised to offer 'certainty' for Britain as PM - despite the Tories suffering humiliating losses when her election gamble backfired.

She will now rely on the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in Northern Ireland to prop her up when she had hoped for a landslide victory.

Mrs May has said Chancellor Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon - five favourites to replace her as leader - will keep their jobs.

The protesters want Mrs May to quit after her political gamble backfired as her snap election saw her lose her Parliamentary majority

The Prime Minister's political career is hanging by a thread after she promised to offer 'certainty' for Britain as PM

The Chancellor and Foreign Minister could have been 'goners' but she is now 'too weak to sack them', a source said, while another expert suggested she has has been 'taken prisoner' by her Cabinet colleagues.

Earlier Mrs May stood in Downing Street and declared her determination to carry on for a full five-year term after getting permission from the Queen to form a government, even though she spectacularly lost her Commons majority overnight.

Incredibly she failed to mention that she had humiliatingly lost seats to Labour after calling the election three years early in a bid to capitalise on sky-high poll ratings.

Around two hours later she appeared on TV again and apologised to defeated Tory MPs after she was accused 'lacking humility'.

Mrs May acknowledged that she had called an election three years early hoping for a 'large' majority, adding: 'That was not the result that we secured'.

The PM was flanked by husband Philip on the steps of No10 as she delivered her statement after seeing the Queen today

She said: 'As I reflect on the result, I will reflect on what we need to do in the future to take the party forward.

'I am sorry for those candidates and hard-working party workers who weren't successful but also particularly sorry for those colleagues who were MPs or ministers who had contributed so much to our country and who lost their seats and didn't deserve to lose their seats.'

Mrs May today refused to say if her election disaster has killed off Britain's chances of a good deal to leave the EU - with former Chancellor George Osborne saying: 'Hard Brexit went in the rubbish bin last night'.

Senior MPs such as Sarah Wollaston, Anna Soubry and Nicky Morgan have openly called for Mrs May to step aside - with the latter suggesting she should go within 'weeks or months' because her credibility is shot.

One senior Tory MP told ITV News: 'We all f***ing hate her. But there is nothing we can do. She has totally f***ed us'.
Cyril Snelling helped keep Spitfires operational during World War 2

A veteran was surprised on his 100th birthday - with a special flight inside a Spitfire.

Cyril Snelling, served in the RAF as an aircraft fitter and engineer in World War 2.

He thought he was getting a tour around a heritage hangar where old warbirds such as Spitfires and Hurricanes are restored and kept.

But he had an even bigger surprise in store when he was able to fly as a passenger in a two-seater version of the iconic Spitfire fighter plane after bosses waived the normal fee of 2,550.

Cyril went to the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar at Biggin Hill Airport - a former RAF base - near Bromley, Kent.

He was gobsmacked when told about the chance of a lifetime flight.

The pensioner, from Surrey, was an aircraft fitter-engineer from 1940 onwards, and worked on many aircraft engines including Blenheims and Lancaster bombers, as well as Spitfire fighters.

He was a member of 53 Squadron and moved around quite often, starting his career in Uxbridge and then spent time in Scotland, Biggin Hill and Northern Ireland before finishing up in Bombay and Bengal in India.

The veteran said it was 'marvelous' way to celebrate his 100th birthday.

He said: 'It was a big surprise I couldn't believe it.

'Then we got up there and took off an away we went. After we got up to a fair height as we were flying along we saw different places from air like Brands Hatch.

Cyril said it was a 'marvelous' way to celebrate his 100th birthday

The veteran of RAF's 53 squadron even got to do a roll when he was high above the skies of Surrey

'The pilot said what about a roll - I said are we high enough - and he said yes.

'After he said right the joystick is yours and he told me climb up a bit. It was quite a thrill really to have control of it.'

A symbol of victory: How WW2's most celebrated plane helped defeat the Luftwaffe The Spitfire has become an icon of British engineering Perhaps the most famous fighter of World War 2, the Spitfire has remained an icon of British engineering more than half a century on. The fighter's groundbreaking design and combination of speed, maneuverability and firepower made it a feared match for the Luftwaffe's Me-109s. The first prototype flew in 1936, and was powered by a 1,440 horsepower Rolls Royce Merlin engine. As the war progressed the Spitfire was repeatedly modified to make it faster. by 1944 it had a 1,700 horsepower engine and was equipped with both 20mm cannons and .50 caliber machine-guns. The Spitfire continued its gallant service after the war, and became a mainstay fighter for air forces around the world. Advertisement

Paul Campbell, project manager at Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar, said the centenarian was 'absolutely delighted' with the surprise.

He said: 'It was one of those days that makes it all worthwhile.

Project manager Pail Campbell didn't mind giving Cyril a free flight, saying 'heroes like him have already paid'

Cyril had had plenty of time to observe Spitfires and Lancasters up close, but had never flown in one

'Although we don't really offer free trips, heroes like him have already paid. It just seemed like the right thing to do.

'He had worked on the planes but never flown on one. He was buzzing afterwards.'
Three men confessed to running a cannabis factory from a Cold War nuclear bunker when they appeared before a judge today.

Police discovered the 20-room drug factory during a midnight raid on RGHQ Chilmark in Wiltshire, which was built in the 1980s to house local government in the event of a nuclear attack.

Officers detained Martin Fillery, 45, Plamen Nguyen, 27, and Ross Winter, 30, as they left the bunker.

Martin Fillery, 45, Plamen Nguyen, 27, and Ross Winter, 30, (right to left) admitted converting a Cold War bunker into a cannabis factory at Salisbury Crown Court today

Police found more than 4,000 cannabis plants inside RGHQ Chilmark in Wiltshire, which was built in the 1980s to house local government in the event of a nuclear attack

Each of the bunker's 20 rooms were converted to house cannabis plants and the base had the capability of making 2 million worth of drugs a year

Police found more than 4,000 cannabis plants inside, with the capability of making 2m worth of drugs a year.

A spokesman for Wiltshire police said tonight: 'Martin Fillery, aged 45 years, of Pedwell Hill, Ashcott, Bridgwater, Somerset, Plamen Nguyen, aged 27 years, of Bartholomews Square, Horfield, Bristol and Ross Winter, aged 30 years, of Maytree Avenue, Bristol, appeared at Salisbury Crown Court today.

'The site is no longer owned by the Ministry of Defence. However the bunker is still intact and the nuclear blast doors were still in place making the site almost completely impenetrable.

'Because of this obstacle, officers intercepted the three men as they left having gathered intelligence in relation to the site.

The trio illegally used up 250,000 worth of electricity to grow the drugs. Police intercepted the men as they left the bunker during a midnight raid

Police seized lighting equipment to grow the cannabis, which cost in the region of 140,000. They believe the bunker was capable of producing a crop of the drugs every six weeks

'In order to keep the factory up and running, the men had bypassed mains electricity into the site, subsequently illegally abstracting approximately 250,000 worth of electricity.'

Detective Inspector Simon Pope said: 'This was an enormous discovery for our Local Priority Team - I believe it was the biggest cannabis factory we've ever had in Wiltshire and the South West region.

'The isolated and secure nature of the location made the warrant particularly challenging.

The men grew the cannabis by bypassing mains electricity into the site. Detective Inspector Simon Pope said: 'This was an enormous discovery for our Local Priority Team'

It is believed that the bunker cannabis factory is the biggest police have found in Wiltshire and the South West region

'The bunker itself had approximately 20 rooms inside over two floors, and almost every single room had been converted for the wholesale production of cannabis.

'In addition to the growing rooms, there were drying rooms, nurseries and living quarters for the growers - it was a sophisticated set up with an illegal connection to the mains electrical supply.

'The lighting equipment alone seized from the site cost in the region of 140,000 and the setup was capable of producing a crop every 6 weeks. In all it took approximately 10 days to completely search and clear the site.'

Police took 10 days to completely search and clear the site. DI Pope said: 'It was a sophisticated set up with an illegal connection to the mains electrical supply'
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has revealed just how unpopular the former Health Secretary is at Westminster, admitting this will 'not be a good thing' for the West Suffolk MP. Mr Hancock, who has been thrown out of the Tory Parliamentary Party for going 10,000 miles away from his constituency to appear on the ITV show, got covered in slime, cockroaches and spiders last night. H e was also picked by the public to endure a second Bushtucker trial tonight, called Tentacles of Terror. And in a hint that his colleagues at Westminster have played their part, Mr Heaton-Harris said: 'I know the format of the show. There's a lot of people in the House of Commons & House of Lords who've downloaded a certain app [I'm a Celeb] so they can vote'. He added that he believed that "hundreds" of MPs and peers have downloaded it. Mr Hancock received an icy reception from his fellow campmates when he arrived yesterday - with Boy George threatening to walk out and Chris Moyles asking 'what about his constituents?' ITV newsreader Charlene White also gave him a grilling about his motives and Mike Tindall said: 'All I heard him say was bulls**t bulls**t bulls**t!!'. The former Health Secretary tried to reassure the camp that 'Rishi's great, he'll be fine' and 'stability' has been restored in politics when they grilled him on his reasons for entering the jungle. Campmate Charlene White told him: 'We've had stability for all of five minutes Matt'. As Hancock prepares for his second Bucktucker trial tonight, crew are reportedly holding a backstage sweepstake including taking bets on how many trials he will have to endure, according to the Sun .
A 25-year-old math teacher at a North Carolina public charter school has been arrested on suspicion of carrying on sexual relationships with three male students.

Erin McAuliffe was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with three counts of sexual activity with a student and one count of indecent liberties with a minor.

Police launched an investigation into McAuliffe in May after officials at Rocky Mount Preparatory called them to report allegations of misconduct against the teacher.

Ousted: McAuliffe was fired form her job n May 4, a day before school administrators called police to report allegations of misconduct against the teacher

Police said McAuliffe (left and right) had sexual contact with two 17-year-old boys and a 16-year-old. The alleged encounters with the three students all took place off campus

Detectives with the Rocky Mount Police Department conducted interviews with students and staff at the school, which has 1,300 students from kindergarten to 12th grade, before obtaining a warrant for McAuliffe's arrest this week.

According to police, the math teacher's alleged sexual encounters with the three students all took place off campus.

McAuliffe was ordered held in the Carteret County Jail on $20,000 bond pending her first court appearance scheduled for June 12, reported WITN.

School administrators at Rocky Mount Prep said that the 25-year-old educator was fired on May 4, a day before police were tipped off about her alleged dalliances with minors.

Young professional: McAuliffe graduated from Methodist University in 2014 with a Bachelors degree in mathematics. He social media posts suggest that she lives in Rocky Mount with a dog and a cat

Teacher jailed: Erin McAuliffe, a math teacher at a North Carolina public charter school, has been charged with three counts of sexual activity with a student and one count of indecent liberties with a minor. The 25-year-old was fired in May

McAuliffe was hired in August 2016 to teach math at Rocky Mount Prep - a free public charter school that has students from kindergarten to 12th grade (pictured)

Police said two of the victims are 17 years old and the third is 16 years old, reported the station WNCN.

According to her LinkedIn profile, McAuliffe graduated from Methodist University in 2014 with a Bachelors degree in mathematics.

She was hired at Rocky Mount Prep in August 2016 after a brief stint as a data analyst at a San Diego-based law firm.

McAuliffes social media posts suggest that she is not married and lives in Rocky Mount with a dog and a cat.
Jerry Oppenheimer covered the Justice Department and the FBI for the Washington Star. A New York Times bestselling author, his latest book, The Kardashians: An American Drama, will be published in September.

When California Senator Kamala Harris thanked fired FBI director James Comey for testifying as a 'private citizen' in the Senate intelligence hearing into Russian interference yesterday, his response was, 'I'm between opportunities right now.'

It was a joking reference to being out of work since Presidential Trump told him, 'You're fired!'.

When Harris responded, 'I'm sure you'll have decent opportunities [in the future'], she didn't know how right she was.

Why is this man smiling? Comey's going to have the biggest D.C. golden parachute ever, says one literary agent

If the publishing world has anything to say about it, the nation's ex-top cop, 56, will be a multimillionaire ten times over from the book deal major publishers are offering to pay up front for his memoir  a whopping $10 million, DailyMail.com can reveal.

It's a sum right up there with the kind of advances paid to the Clintons - although maybe not a high as the Obamas - and the kind of royalty money generated by Comey's nemesis Donald Trump's many books.

'Jim Comey's story has everything, from White House intrigue to possible corruption and law breaking. His explosive story makes 'West Wing' and 'House of Cards' on a par with Mister Rogers,' an acquisition editor for a major New York publishing house told DailyMail.com

'When his proposal hits my desk, I've already been authorized to offer $10 million.'

Not only that, but the publisher of another key player in the book world revealed that major Hollywood producers are already lining up to make the torn-from-the-headlines blockbuster movie about Comey's life and his attempt to unseat the president.

A prominent movie-TV agent told DailyMail.com: 'I know one top drawer producer who's already talking to stars to cast the Comey role. He has to be tall, good-looking and a Jimmy Stewart-John Wayne-hero type. I was mesmerized when I spent the whole day watching Comey testify.

'Comey could expect a movie deal tied into the book worth many millions of dollars more, tens of millions.'

The Washington Post called Comey's testimony a 'performance of a lifetime  Classic G-man and aggrieved victim.' And a New York Times headline billed Comey as, 'Hero, Villain and Shakespearean Character'

Comey's seven-page testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee was released late Wednesday, just hours before his appearance. 'When that document hit my desk I thought, 'I want his book.,' said another top editor whose been involved in some of the biggest New York Times nonfiction bestsellers.

Expect him to dish on Hillary Clinton and President Trump in what promises to be a riveting memoir

'This guy can write. His story and the way he tells it is spellbinding. Ten million dollars is not an outrageous amount for his story. I ran some numbers and I could see us selling a million copies  especially if he goes way beyond what he's stated publicly,' said another

Comey had proven his writing ability as a student journalist at the College of William & Mary when, in 1980, he wrote a three-part series for the campus newspaper, The Fat Hat, about the retaining and recruitment of African-American students

According to one knowledgeable publishing insider, 'Comey will be having talks with one of Washington's top lawyer-agents, Bill Barnett, whose book clients have included Bill and Hillary, George W. Bush, Bob Woodward and even the Prince of Wales and Barbra Streisand. He will get Jim millions, maybe even more than $10 million, which is the number making the rounds.

'By being fired by The Donald, Jim Comey's going to have the biggest Washington golden parachute ever. Trump's going to make him a Hollywood celebrity, a literary lion and a multimillionaire. Trump's gonna kick himself. But he'll be a major player in both the big screen and the book story.'

And Comey can surely use the pay day. He's no longer receiving his annual salary of $172,100. And because he was fired for cause by Trump he can't receive severance pay, but can qualify for government retirement benefits.

When Comey (center) was 16, he and his younger brother, Peter, became victims of a gunman who had invaded the Comey home in suburban New Jersey, locked them in the bathroom at gunpoint, and ransacked the house

But none of that can compare to the millions he'll get for his memoir and the movie deal.

Still, Comey's far from broke. When he got the FBI job, records showed he had a net worth of $11 million, and was awaiting a $3 million payout from the hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, where he served as general counsel. He previously held a similar position with a major aerospace firm.

Comey and his brother called the police, and they helped the police artist make a sketch of the intruder. This led to the arrest of a wanted criminal known as the Ramsey Rapist, who had raped teenaged babysitters.

Aside from being out of work, he recently lost $500,000 in the sale of his home in the ritzy New York City suburb of Westport, Ct., a bastion of liberal Democrat voters, and once the home of Martha Stewart and Paul Newman. According to reports, Comey had to drop the price twice before a buyer bought it for $2.475 million last January, around the time of Trump's inauguration. In 2010, three years before he became FBI director, Comey paid $3.05 million for the seven-bedroom, more than 7,000-square foot home near Long Island Sound.

According to the publishing executives interviewed by Daily Mail, the proposed book would deal with Comey's entire life, from his New Jersey childhood up to the intrigue and drama of his Washington years, including the Hillary email fiasco and of course his dealings with Trump.

When Comey was 16 the future top law enforcement officer of the nation, and his younger brother, Peter, became victims of a gunman who had invaded the Comey home in suburban New Jersey, locked them in the bathroom at gunpoint, and ransacked the house.

Comey and his brother called the police, and they helped the police artist make a sketch of the intruder. This led to the arrest of a wanted criminal known as the Ramsey Rapist, who had raped teenaged babysitters.

Years later, on 60 Minutes, the newly appointed FBI Director, recalled the incident.

'We escaped, he caught us again, we escaped again  so it was a pretty horrific experience. Frightening to anybody, but especially for a younger person to be threatened with a gun and to believe you're going to be killed by this guy.

'It most affects me in giving me a sense of what victims feel. Even the notion that no one was physically harmed doesn't mean no one was harmed, because I thought about that guy every night for five yearsIt made me a better prosecutor and investigator to feel better what victims experience.'
The woman who was raped by filmmaker Roman Polanski as a teenager four decades ago appeared in court to plead on his behalf.

Samantha Geimer pleaded with a judge in the downtown Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday to end the 40-year-old case so she could move on with her life.

This is the first time the 54-year-old has appeared in court on behalf of Polanski for the long-running case.

She had previously told reporters that she was terrified to speak in court, but she believed the hearing would be her last chance to tell the judge her feelings about the case.

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Samantha Geimer, 54, pictured, the woman who was raped by Roman Polanski 40 years ago when she was 13, appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court Friday to plead with the judge to close the case

This was Geimer's first court appearance on Polanski's behalf in the long-running case

Geimer pleaded with the judge 'on behalf of justice' to settle the matter and not incarcerate Polanski

Geimer was 13 at the time of the assault in 1977.

'I would implore you to do this for me, out of mercy for myself,' she told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon on Friday.

'I am not speaking on behalf of Roman, but justice,' she added, reading from a statement.

'I implore you to consider to resolve this matter without incarcerating an 83-year-old man.'

Geimer told the judge that she was no longer afraid to speak out and simply wanted the matter settled.

Geimer said she had recently become a grandmother and did not want her family subjected to any more suffering from the case.

Geimer read from a statement before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon and said she wanted to move on with her life

She had previously told reporters she was terrified to speak in court, but she believed the hearing would be her last chance to tell the judge her feelings about the case

She said she had recently become a grandmother and did not want her family subjected to any more suffering from the case. She said she wanted the matter settled. Geimer is pictured arriving at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse, left, and leaving the courtroom, right, after giving her statement during the hearing Friday

The judge said he would take her plea into account as he decides whether to unseal documents that Polanski claims show he reached a plea agreement in 1977 to serve 48 days in jail for the rape.

'Your words mean a lot to this court,' the judge said without specifying when he would issue his decision.

Geimer has said in the past that she has forgiven Polanski.

Polanski's lawyer, Harland Braun, had said earlier that Geimer would help make the case that the filmmaker had served his time for the 40-year-old crime.

'She's tired of this case,' Braun had said. 'The judge is just playing games with him.'

The Oscar-winner has been a fugitive since he fled to France in 1978 after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor.

Polanski feared the judge was going to renege on the plea agreement and send him away for more time than the six weeks he served in prison prior to sentencing.

Judge Gordon, center, told Geimer, right, that he would take her plea into account as he makes his decision on whether to unseal documents that Polanski claims show he reached a plea agreement in 1977

Roman Polanski's (left) lawyer had previously said Samantha Geimer (right), would directly appeal to a judge to end the case against him. Geimer appeared Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court to help make the case that Polanski has served his time for decades old crime

Polanski attacked Geimer, whose surname at the time was Gailey, back in 1977 when she was just 13 years old.

The rape occurred at Jack Nicholson's Mulholland Drive home during a photo shoot. Polanski had picked the then-13-year-old schoolgirl up, plied her with champagne and drugs after photographing her and forced himself on her.

He makes no denial of it, accepting it was 'morally and legally wrong', according to his lawyer.

Geimer has long supported Polanski's bid to end the case and has forgiven the director. However, she has never appeared on his behalf in court.

His lawyers have been fighting for years to end the case and lift an international arrest warrant that confined him to his native France, Switzerland and Poland, where he fled the Holocaust.

The warrant prevented Polanski from collecting his Academy Award for best director for his 2002 film 'The Pianist.' He was also nominated for 1974's 'Chinatown' and 1979's 'Tess.'

Polanski, 83, is trying to get the Interpol warrant lifted so he can move freely among nearly 190 countries in the global policing network. If that happened, the California warrant would still be valid.

Polanski contends he is the victim of judicial misconduct because the now-deceased judge who handled the case suggested in private remarks that he would not honor a plea bargain agreement.

It called for no more time behind bars for the director after he spent 42 days in a prison undergoing a diagnostic screening.

The Oscar-winner has been a fugitive since he fled to France in 1978 after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor. Polanski (above in 1977 appearing in court) attacked Geimer, whose surname at the time was Gailey, back in 1977 when she was just 13 years old

The hearing Friday is an effort by Braun to get the court to unseal testimony by the now-deceased prosecutor in the case, who is believed to have testified in a closed session about backroom sentencing discussions.

Braun wants to use the transcript to show Polanski has served his time so the international warrant is dropped. Braun also argues that Polanski served an additional 10 months under house arrest during a failed extradition effort from Switzerland in 2010.

Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee wouldn't comment on the case Thursday but was expected to file a response to Polanski's brief.

Prosecutors have vigorously opposed any efforts to end the case without Polanski appearing in court - a position upheld by a state appeals court.

Judge Scott Gordon has rejected Polanski's efforts to resolve the case in the director's absence or with a promise that he wouldn't be sentenced to more time or be arrested if he voluntarily returned for a sentencing hearing.

Back in April she sent a letter to prosecutors in Los Angeles demanding they grant his request to unseal vital testimony which could secure his return to the US.

Deputy Los Angeles District Attorney Michele Hanisee was forced to read her scathing words aloud in court after being compelled by a judge in April.

'You and those who have come before you have never protected me, you have treated me with contempt using a crime committed against me to further your own careers,' Geimer said in her letter.

Polanski lives in Paris with his family, but has been unable to travel to see some of his children due to the outstanding arrest warrant.

Braun told DailyMail.com that 'his daughter is in London but he's unable to get to her.'
Whenever its haunting theme tune lilted into millions of homes across the country, fans of Last Of The Summer Wine knew they were in for a treat. Many of the laughs that followed stemmed from the unlikely love lives of its characters.

If it wasnt Compo gurning lewdly at the sight of his neighbour Nora Battys wrinkled stockings, it was over-the-hill supermarket checkout girl Marina pointing her ample bosom in the direction of any available man.

Geriatric lust was centre stage, but one would probably struggle to think of mild-mannered widower Norman Clegg setting his flat cap at the opposite sex. Indeed, Cleggy only ever had one love, his wife Edith, whose grave he is seen tending in the first episode.

Geriatric lust was centre stage in Last of the Summer Wine, but Sallis' mild-mannered character Norman Clegg always seemed terrified around women

And that somewhat gives the lie to the claim by Peter Sallis, the man who played him, that he and his character had much in common.

The only actor to appear in all 295 episodes between 1973 and 2010, Sallis once said that, like Clegg, he used to be frightened of women too. It was clearly a problem he had learned to overcome.

He was once described by his own wife, Elaine, as a devious, serial adulterer. It was a bitter verdict which the actor, who died last week at the age of 96, accepted.

Some people have problems paying the mortgage, he said. My problem was women.

All of this might come as something of a surprise to the legions of Last Of The Summer Wine aficionados who, over the years, included the Queen Mother, Prince Charles and even the Queen herself.

When she presented Sallis with his OBE at Buckingham Palace in 2007, Her Majesty told him how much she loved the sitcom, with its gentle depiction of three delinquent pensioners enjoying a second childhood in a Yorkshire village.

The shows creator, Roy Clarke, described it as Just William in long trousers, and its joyful exposition of ageing showed that older people could still have fun, whether sledging down hills in tin baths, constructing a home-made glider, or simply fleeing the wrath of Nora Batty and her broom.

Sallis and his wife Elaine Usher at their wedding in 1957. She later described him as a devious, serial adulterer

It was something that Sallis seemed hell-bent on proving in his private life, too, sometimes having more than a little in common with Compos famously feisty ferrets.

And as we will see, other members of the cast were also far from what they seemed.

But none more so than the man whose convincing Yorkshire accent belied the fact that he was a southerner.

Sallis was born in London in 1921 to bank manager Harry Sallis and his wife Dorothy, a piano player. The couple hardly inspired confidence in the joys of married life.

There were no physical outbursts, or anything like that, Sallis wrote in his less than revealing autobiography. I just knew instinctively that things were not well between them. I had a little prayer that I used to say: Please God, make Mummy and Daddy live happily together. Im afraid it had no effect.

He got the acting bug when he signed up for the RAF at the beginning of the war and was assigned to Cranwell in Lincolnshire as a wireless mechanic. There, he took a starring role in an amateur production of Noel Cowards Hay Fever and his course was set.

In later life Sallis found comedic fame providing the voice of Wallace in the Oscar-winning Wallace And Gromit films

After being demobbed  in the suit that, many years later, he wore again as Clegg  he won a scholarship to RADA.

Sallis was never going to be a leading man, even after eradicating what he called his suburban Cockney accent and unattractive moon sort of face. But his talent shone through, as did what Roy Clarke later described as a quintessential Englishness.

In 1951, after several years with regional repertory companies, Sallis won a West End role in Chekhovs The Three Sisters with Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson. It was to be the launch pad to a successful career as a character actor, which saw him working alongside such towering figures as Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud.

In 1957, he met a pretty actress called Elaine Usher. Then 26  ten years his junior  she had enjoyed early success in a BBC childrens show called The Goose Girl. They married following a whirlwind courtship and, in 1959, they had a son, Crispian. Elaine put her own career on hold  only to be rewarded by his infidelity. How long Sallis remained faithful is not clear, but by 1965, Elaine sued for divorce on the grounds of desertion and adultery, following his affair with a woman named Brenda Richardson, about whom little is known.

Last of the Summer Wine's legion of fans included the Queen, the Queen's Mother and Prince Charles

Elaine would later claim he had promised to marry Richardson, only to jilt her at the altar and return to his wife and young son.

Thus began the pattern of endless break-ups and reconciliations that marked the years ahead.

His many affairs were facilitated by the long periods he spent away from the family home in Richmond, South-West London while filming Summer Wine. The cast spent up to six months at a time on location in the pretty Yorkshire village of Holmfirth.

Much of his time on set was spent acting as peace-keeper, thanks to the irascibility of Bill Owen, who played Compo. A feisty, dapper Londoner  unlike the impish character in scruffy jacket, woolly hat and wellies he portrayed on screen  Owen had appeared in more than 40 films, including several of the Carry Ons.

He regarded himself as the real star of Summer Wine.

He was not impressed when, after the first day of filming the pilot show, he discovered that the cast were being put up in a far-from-salubrious pub, which was on the edge of the moors and doubled occasionally as a gentlemans club. It was, as Roy Clarke put it, Wuthering Heights with strippers.

Owen was, according to Sallis, slightly to the left of Lenin and, during dinner, initiated an angry argument about politics with Michael Bates, who played Cyril Blamire, and was every bit as Right-wing as his character.

All attempts by Sallis to calm the situation failed. Things got so heated that the two of them had to be put up in separate hotels.

Sallis' voice was said to be like a pair of warm slippers in an uncertain world

Owen got on no better with Brian Wilde, whod enjoyed great success as prisoner officer Mr Barrowclough in Porridge and joined the show in 1976 (after Michael Bates was diagnosed with cancer).

His character, Foggy, another ex-military man, was full of dreams and ambitions that were doomed to fail because of his general incompetence, but Wilde showed no ineptitude when it came to negotiations over money, ending up with a far better deal than either Owen or Sallis.

When this became known, it did nothing for relations between the three men and a morgue-like atmosphere pervaded the large motorhome they shared on each days filming.

By unspoken arrangement, each kept to his own area. Owen always sat at the front, checking each script and counting the lines to make sure that nobody had more laughs than him.

In fact, as Roy Clarke once revealed, he gave Sallis the best lines because it was through Clegg that he felt best able to voice many of his own thoughts and feelings.

While Wilde always occupied the middle of the van, Sallis could be found at the back, usually poring over a crossword.

Apart from going over their lines together, there was little talk and any conversation was conducted with pointed civility, wrote journalist Andrew Vine in his book chronicling the behind-the-scenes dramas on the show.

Sallis is awarded the OBE by the Queen in November 2007, left, and right, outside Buckingham Palace

A happier atmosphere prevailed in a smaller caravan occupied by Kathy Staff and Jane Freeman, who played Nora Batty and cafe owner Ivy respectively, both formidable battle-axes.

The lavatory was so tiny, neither could fit in it  especially when Staff was wearing the padding that bulked her up to Noras size 24  but leaving the caravan to use the portable loos was at least a step up from the days when no loos were provided at all. At one point, Staff had resorted to knocking on the door of a house in Holmfirth to ask the residents if she could use the facilities.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the far more cramped accommodation, the two actresses became great friends. But Staff questioned why their male co-stars were given such preferential treatment.

They are there all the time, so they do deserve the number one dressing room, she wrote, but its become a bit of a social thing. Everyone else is second class.

No hint of these frustrations ever made it on to the screen and, at its peak at the end of the Seventies, Summer Wine was being watched by as many as 20 million people. Indeed, it remains the BBCs longest-running sitcom ever.

By then, Sallis had long been a household name and, despite approaching his 60th birthday, was still as active in his philandering. He never named any of his lovers, but there were so many that, by 1983, his wife had lost track of the number. When it got into double figures, I stopped counting, Elaine once explained.

Last of the Summer Wine was the BBC's longest-running sit come, with 20 million people watching at its peak

Following what she estimated was his 16th extra-marital liaison, she vowed she would never have him back. But they remained together and some reports suggest that they even remarried, despite one incident in which she had run to a neighbours house, distressed and bloodied after he hit her.

It is something I have lived to regret and something of which I am deeply ashamed, Sallis later said of the incident, explaining he had a problem with drinking.

As for Elaine, her explanation for staying with him was that he still needed her. He cant see beyond the end of his nose, she said. She was referring to his failing sight, caused by macular degeneration, the eye condition with which he was diagnosed in 1994.

This perhaps explains, in part, his increasing grumpiness towards others on the show, including Dame Thora Hird who played the highly opinionated, house-proud Edie Pegden from 1986 to 2003.

Regarded as a national treasure, Dame Thora was fond of regaling others with stories of her long showbusiness career, and her tendency to steamroller all conversations except her own irritated Sallis, who described her as ghastly.

Neither did he take kindly to comedy legend Norman Wisdom who appeared in a New Years Day special and brazenly attempted to steal the show. I developed three words to help Norman in his work, observed Sallis, sourly. They were Shut up Norman. 

When Sallis came to write his autobiography, published in 2006, it contained no mention of his wife or his son Crispian  a leading film production designer.

Sallis (left) had so many lovers that, by 1983, his wife had lost count of the number

Instead, he focused on how, in later life, he had provided the voice of Wallace in the Oscar-winning Wallace And Gromit films.

That role will ensure his comic legacy lives on for many years.

With the passing of Sallis, we have lost the last member of the original Summer Wine trio, Bill Owen having succumbed to cancer in 1999.

Other members of the cast have gone, too  Kathy Staff and Thora Hird among them  but they seem as alive as ever in the repeats shown here and around the world, and to the thousands of visitors who flock to Holmfirth every year to see what Sallis called Summer Wine Land for themselves.

As to the secret of its enduring appeal, a clue lies in a phrase once used about Sallis himself.

Philanderer he may have been, but his voice was said to be like a pair of warm slippers in an uncertain world. Its hard to imagine a more evocative tribute than that.
Google has developed digital maps of the cities. Now it is easy to locate any address and find ones way in any city.What if similar digital maps of the farmlands of the world are...
A senior judge has condemned hospitals that film desperately ill patients to use as evidence that they should be allowed to die.

Mr Justice Hayden rebuked doctors after an NHS board allowed a video to be made of an 81-year-old man, at the request of his family, for the Court of Protection to decide if his life support should be withdrawn.

In a landmark ruling, the judge said such videos of patients should not be made without strong and well-reasoned justification.

Mr Justice Hayden warned the videoing of patients was highly invasive, as those in a vegetative state had no way of consenting

And he refused to view a 20-minute video edited from several days of filming the retired engineer in his hospital bed.

The elderly patient suffered brain damage after a heart attack in June last year, with doctors believing he would remain in a permanent vegetative state.

The Abertawe Bro Morgannwg health board in South Wales assisted in the making of a film after applying for legal permission to withdraw the patient's ventilation and other life-sustaining treatment and only provide him with palliative care. The patients daughter told the High Court that her father, who lived in Port Talbot, was a devout Christian who would have wanted everything done to save him, believing any life is better than no life.

Mr Justice Hayden said in his ruling that some consultants have begun to encourage the filming of patients, warning that he was bound to record some unease with these video recordings.

He added: It is axiomatic that they are highly invasive of the patient's privacy and that he has no capacity to consent to them. They have been viewed by a variety of professionals.

I do not consider that video recordings should ever be regarded as a routine investigative tool.

Both the videoing and their distribution will require strong and well-reasoned justification.

Mr Justice Hayden said he did not think that video recordings should be used routinely to show elderly patients should be allowed to die (file picture)

The judge said he had decided against watching the footage because as a lay person, he might gain a distorted impression of the patients overall situation. He added that not being a medic, he might struggle to see what the healthcare professionals did.

The elderly patients case was considered over a series of hearings, beginning in October last year and continuing until this February.

During this period, doctors continued to provide treatment although the judge said the patient should not be revived if he suffered a second heart attack. One consultant said the patient was on a trajectory of improvement and his condition was one of minimal consciousness rather than vegetative. However the patient died peacefully in hospital shortly after the judges ruling was drawn up in February.

The judge made a ruling in October last year that the elderly patient should not be identified until three weeks after his death. His daughter was not named by the court. Legal experts applauded the ruling.

The court also heard that footage can be selectively edited, which raises questions about its validity as evidence (file picture)

Dr David Green, director of the Civitas think-tank and a former Home Office adviser, said: If medical professionals are not able to kill you without a court order, should they be able to use video evidence to get the court order?

The answer is surely no. A court can be given a selective recording in which the choice of what is shown is tendentious.

He said footage could be selectively edited, adding: The safeguard in the courts is that doctors can be cross-examined. Knowing that you are going to be questioned by a clever dick lawyer concentrates the mind and encourages people not to tell lies. It is the best protection we have.

The case marks a new twist in the controversy over how hospitals should treat patients who are believed to be close to death.

It follows the scrapping in 2013 of the Liverpool Care Pathway, which hospitals were using to ease the passing of 130,000 patients by withdrawing nutrition.
Morning Joe's Mika Brzezinski was joined by her co-host and newly announced fiance Joe Scarborough at her father's funeral as President Jimmy Carter delivers a eulogy to his former national security adviser.

Zbigniew Brzezinski died aged 89 in a Virginia hospital on May 26.

Family and friends turned out for funeral alongside some of Washington D.C.'s elite, including foreign ambassadors, diplomats and ex-president Jimmy Carter, at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle, in Washington D.C., on Friday.

Mika Brzezinski, second from right, is hugged after the funeral for her father Zbigniew Brzezinski, while her fiance Joe Scarborough stands by her side

Zbigniew Brzezinski served as national security adviser for President Jimmy Carter who gave a eulogy at the funeral (pictured)

Brzezinski (pictured in 2012) died in a Virginia hospital aged 89 last month

President Carter gave the eulogy at the service, offering anecdotes about his former security adviser's sharp wit and strategic planning skills.

He had previously called in to Morning Joe after Zbigniew Brzezinski's death to pay tribute to him.

'It's been one of the most valuable things in my life, the relationship with Dr. Brzezinski,' the 92-year-old said.

'He was the most brilliant person that I have ever known...you can be truly proud of him.'

Mika, Brezinski's only daughter, accompanied by her new fiance Scarborough.

The couple only announced their engagement after Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman, popped the question to Brzezinski, while the two were on a romantic trip to the south of France to celebrate Brzezinski's 50th birthday.

He appeared to be a comforting presence for Mika who was mourning the loss of her father. She also gave a eulogy at the funeral on Friday.

Mika, Brezinski's only daughter, also gave a eulogy at her father's funeral service

President Carter gave a eulogy at the service, offering anecdotes about his former security adviser's sharp wit and strategic planning skills

Diplomat and former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, was also in attendance, and shared her memories of the deceased

Guests depart after the funeral service for Zbigniew Brzezinski,on Friday, June 9

Mourners gather out front after the funeral for Zbigniew Brzezinski at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle

Diplomat and former Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, was also in attendance, as was Polish Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Adam Bielan, and Andris Teikmanis, the Ambassador of Latvia to the US.

A small orchestra and choir accompanied the service.

Mike was the one to publicly announce Zbigniew Brzezinsk's death last month, posting a picture of him with his two grandchildren, with the caption: 'My father passed away peacefully tonight.

'He was known to his friends as Zbig, to his grandchildren as Chief and to his wife as the enduring love of her life. I just knew him as the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have,' she wrote. 'I love you Dad. Hail to the Chief.'

Scarborough, also paid tribute to the former NSC chief, calling him a 'fierce Cold Warrior against Russian aggression.'

Brzezinski was known for his intellectualism as well as a fierce anti-Soviet disposition.

He rose to the pinnacle of the American foreign policy establishment when he was named national security adviser under Carter.

Brzezinski helped topple economic barriers between the Soviet Union, China and the West.

And he helped Carter bridge wide gaps between the rigid Egyptian and Israeli leaders, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, leading to the Camp David accords.

What appears to be a page from the order of service, which quotes Brzezinski as saying he had always wanted to spend his life, serving a good cause

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, center, departs after the funeral for Zbigniew Brzezinski

Former President Jimmy Carter, left, joins his wife after the funeral for his national security adviser

But the Carter years were also defined by the Iranian hostage crisis, which came to symbolize the administration's failures and frustrations.

Brzezinski was the man who advocated for the disastrous rescue attempt of the hostages, when eight commandos died before ever reaching the Iranian capital of Tehran in April 1980.

In recent years, Brzezinski took part in proceedings designed to bring the former Soviet republics into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Born in Warsaw and educated in Canada and the United States, Brzezinski was an acknowledged expert in Communism when he attracted the attention of US policymakers.

In the 1960s he was an adviser to John F. Kennedy and served in the Johnson administration.

In December 1976, Carter offered Brzezinski the position of national security adviser.

He had not wanted to be secretary of state because he felt he could be more effective working at Carter's side in the White House.

Brzezinski often found himself in clashes with colleagues like Secretary of State Cyrus Vance.

Morning Joe co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough only announced their engagement after Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman, popped the question to Brzezinski, while the two were on a romantic trip to the south of France to celebrate Brzezinski's 50th birthday

For the White House, the differences between Vance and Brzezinski became a major headache, confusing the American public about the administration's policy course and fueling a decline in confidence that Carter could keep his foreign policy team working in tandem.

The Iranian hostage crisis, which began in 1979, came to dramatize America's waning global power and influence and to symbolize the failures and frustrations of the Carter administration.

Brzezinski, during the early months of 1980, became convinced that negotiations to free the kidnapped Americans were going nowhere.

Supported by the Pentagon, he began to push for military action.

Carter was desperate to end the standoff and, over Vance's objections, agreed to a long-shot plan to rescue the hostages.

The mission, dubbed Desert One, was a complete military and political humiliation and precipitated Vance's resignation.

Carter lost his re-election bid against Ronald Reagan that November.

Zbigniew Brzezinski leaves behind a wife, renowned sculptor Emilie Benes Brzezinski, and their three children - Mika, Mark, and Ian

Emilie Benes Brzezinski (seen with Mika in 2014) is a world renowned artist who is known for her wood-based sculptures

Brzezinski went on to ruffle the feathers of Washington's power elite with his 1983 book, 'Power and Principle,' which was hailed and reviled as a kiss-and-tell memoir.

'I have never believed in flattery or lying as a way of making it,' he told The Washington Post that year.

'I have made it on my own terms.'

The oldest son of Polish diplomat Tadeus Brzezinski, Zbigniew was born on March 28, 1928, and attended Catholic schools during the time his father was posted in France and Germany.

The family went to Montreal in 1938 when the elder Brzezinski was appointed Polish consul general.

When Communists took power in Poland six years later, he retired and moved his family to a farm in the Canadian countryside.

At his new home, the young Brzezinski began learning Russian from a nearby farmer and was soon bitten by the foreign policy bug.

News of Brzezinski's death was announced by his daughter, who posted an image on her Instagram account showing her father with two of his granddaughters

Mika paid homage to her dad on Twitter, posting an image of her parents from years ago

'We love you, Dad, and will always be grateful for the love and devotion you showed us all,' Mika tweeted late Friday

Scarborough also tweeted another photo of a young Mika with her father on the White House lawn

Brzezinski's climb to the top of the foreign policy community began at Canada's McGill University, where he earned degrees in economics and political science.

Later at Harvard, he received a doctorate in government, a fellowship and a publishing contract - for his thesis on Soviet purges as a permanent feature of totalitarianism.

Frequent trips to Eastern Europe and several books and articles in the 1950s established Brzezinski as an expert on Communism, and by the 1960s he'd begun to attract the interest of policymakers.

Throughout his career, he would be affiliated with moderate-to-liberal groups, including the Rand Corp., the Council on Foreign Relations, Amnesty International and the NAACP.

In the 1960s he was an adviser to John F. Kennedy and served in the Johnson administration. In December 1976, Carter offered Brzezinski the position of national security adviser. In this photo, Carter awards Brzezinski the Medal of Freedom at the White House in 1981

Brzezinski (far right) often found himself in clashes with colleagues like Secretary of State Cyrus Vance (far left). The two men are photographed with President Carter in March 1979

Zbigniew Brzezinski leaves behind a wife, renowned sculptor Emilie Benes Brzezinski, and their three children - Mika, Mark, and Ian.

His sons followed in their father's footsteps and took up careers in public service.

Mark Brzezinski, 52, was a foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama during his presidential campaign.

Obama then named him to be US ambassador to Sweden, where he was posted from 2011 to 2015.

Ian Brzezinski is a foreign policy and military affair expert.

He worked in the Pentagon as deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO policy during the George W. Bush administration.
The grandparents of two British children are fighting to bring them home from China after their son was fatally wounded in a scuffle with his estranged wife.

Michael Simpson, 34, was stabbed through the heart and his new girlfriend was brutally slashed at their Shanghai apartment.

The successful expatriate businessmans wife WeiWei faces up to 50 years in prison if she is convicted of murder. But her family were allowed to take the couples two children Alice, five, and Jack, seven, to their remote provincial home.

Ian Simpson is hoping to bring his grandchildren, Alice and Jack, home to the UK after their father, Michael, died this year

Mr Simpsons parents now fear that unless they agree to forgive WeiWei, dramatically slashing her sentence, they will never see them again.

Speaking last night, his father Ian, a retired IT consultant, said the children are being used as leverage in an expensive custody battle that threatens to rage for months.

Without the children Ive lost everything, he said. If they were to stay there now Id probably never hear from them or see them again. We are now focused totally on the children. We literally dont care about WeiWei. Whatever happens to her, we dont care  whether she gets 50 years or five years.

Michael Simpson travelled to Shanghai in 2009 to work as a senior manager for Next as it expanded into the Far East. Within months he met WeiWei, a store assistant, and she quickly became pregnant with Jack. The couple married and went on to have daughter Alice.

But his wife became increasingly unhappy, his family said, as she was materialistic while he remained focused on their children.

They separated and Mr Simpson began another relationship with Rachel Lin, a British university-educated Chinese woman and senior colleague.

Mr Simpson, 34, was stabbed through the heart on March 20. Ian is concerned he won't see his grandchildren again

His wife WeiWei is accused of pulling out a knife and stabbing her husband several times. The pair were separated after Mr Simpson became unhappy in the relationship

On March 20, WeiWei arrived at Mr Simpsons apartment with two friends and a row broke out as she threatened to blackmail his new partner. His family said she was going to post embarrassing material about Rachel online unless she was given more money. The mother of two is accused of pulling out a knife and stabbing her husband several times before slashing his girlfriends arm to the bone.

Ian Simpson, who lives in rural Suffolk, flew to Shanghai the next day where he found his grandchildren being looked after by a social worker at a hotel.

But the suspected killers family then employed a lawyer who managed to get the children put in their care.

The pair, who both hold British passports and were regular visitors, are now believed to be more than 700 miles from Shanghai in Hubei province with WeiWeis parents. Alice turned five on May 25 but Mr Simpson and his wife Diana, 67, were unable to wish her a happy birthday or send her a present.

Mr Simpson said: I understand what they are doing. They want to do the best for WeiWei but at the same time it feels like Jack and Alice are being used as leverage.

The prosecution is going for a life sentence which is 50 years and forgiveness will reduce that by 80 per cent and mean she pays no compensation. My lawyers say it is disgusting. The brother mentioned it in the very first meeting. He said, Will you forgive her? I said, What? Will that bring my son back? I realised a few days later it was a missed opportunity because I could have said yes and got the kids back.

He began seeing Rachel Lin, a British university-educated Chinese woman and senior colleague. Weiwei is also accused of slashing Miss Lin's arm to the bone

The longer the kids are with WeiWeis parents the harder it will be to get them back because the authorities might say the children are settled with them.

Forgiveness could shorten the custody case by about eight months. The consulate said when a Chinese mother and European father split up the mother usually takes the children and literally disappears in China. It would be difficult to do that in the UK but over there with 1.4billion people you can disappear.

Mr Simpson and his wife have now joined forces with Michaels mother, Linda, and with his second son Andrew, 36, to win his grandchildren back.

They have already raised nearly 15,000 towards a 35,000 target to pay the custody legal fees and for medical care for Rachel.

Describing his son Mr Simpson said: Michael was a devoted father and did everything for the kids. She preferred going out and buying clothes. She wanted more money and help with the kids. Thats how the tension grew  WeiWei was materialistic and my son was more home-oriented.

Last month an inquest was opened in Bournemouth near where Michael Simpson, whose funeral was held in Poole, last lived in Britain with his mother. Coroner Rachael Griffin adjourned the matter pending the outcome of the murder inquiry.

A crowdfunding website has been set up by a friend to help cover Ian Simpsons legal fight. Details are at: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jack-and-alice
Donald Trump said on Friday that he backs the NATO charter's demand that all members be prepared to defend each other, weeks after jarring allies by not restating U.S. support for the agreement.

At a joint news conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Trump said he supports the NATO charter's Article 5, the requirement that each member of the alliance defend each other if they come under attack.

During a visit to NATO headquarters last month in Brussels, Trump had pointedly not mentioned U.S. support for the critical portion of the NATO charter. He used his speech there to demand that members pay more for the alliance's defense.

I'm in: Trump was speaking at a press conference with Klaus Iohannis, Romania's president, when he committed to Article 5

How mutual aid works: Article 5 says an attack on one is an attack on all. In the ongoing BALTOPS exercise in the Baltic, German Europfighter Typhoons (right) escort a USAF B-52 (second from right), two B-1B Lancers (left) and a KC-135 flying tanker

A senior White House official later had said the United States does in fact support Article 5 simply by agreeing to the terms of the charter.

But having not mentioned it himself, Trump sowed some doubts among allies and the ensuing controversy prompted Vice President Mike Pence to later express explicit U.S. support for the charter.

Senior aides to Trump had tried to get a statement of explicit support for Article 5 in the president's NATO speech but it was not included, a senior administration official said.

'I'm committing the United States to Article 5 and certainly we are there to protect and that's one of the reasons that I want people to make sure we have a very, very strong force by paying the kind of money necessary to have that force,' Trump said.

'But yes, absolutely I'd be committed to Article 5,' he said.
Philip Hammond clashed with Theresa May yesterday over claims she planned to sack him.

It came as the weakened Prime Minister had to abandon a full reshuffle.

Amid fury at her failure to win a majority, the Chancellor was said to have challenged her face-to-face over a series of negative briefings against him during the campaign.

Theresa May with her husband Philip after the audience with the queen where she asked to form a government

A well-placed source said: 'He made it pretty awkward for her, telling her, 'You've been briefing for weeks you are going to sack me'. The PM mumbled that it wasn't her.'

HOW TORIES COULD TRIGGER LEADERSHIP CONTEST If Tory MPs want to trigger a leadership contest, then under party rules 15 per cent of them must write to the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs saying they no longer have confidence in the leader. The only other way to trigger a contest is if the leader chooses, or is convinced, to resign. When the party is picking a new leader, MPs must first vote to narrow down the candidates to a shortlist of two. All party members then each get one vote in a national ballot. Advertisement

Mr Hammond also apparently demanded Mrs May remove her joint chief of staff Nick Timothy, with whom he has clashed repeatedly, and appoint a deputy prime minister to cut her reliance on special advisers  a plan she was said to be considering last night.

The Chancellor was sidelined during the Tory campaign and subjected to a drip-drip of briefings suggesting he would be replaced by Home Secretary Amber Rudd or Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green.

Yesterday Mrs May  whose own job is now under threat  had to abandon the plans, instead confirming he would stay in his post. Miss Rudd, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon and Brexit Secretary David Davis will also keep their jobs.

The Prime Minister will complete a 'reshuffle' today. But what had been intended as a sweeping reorganisation will now be minor tinkering. Sackings are highly unlikely given Mrs May's weakened position.

Philip Hammond, left, is said to have clashed face-to-face with the PM, right, after her apparent briefings that she was going to sack him

Downing Street sources last night denied the account of her conversation with Mr Hammond, insisting it had been cordial.

But allies of the Chancellor confirmed he felt shabbily treated by No 10.

WILL THIS BE 1974 ALL OVER AGAIN? Parallels were drawn between yesterdays election and 1974, when Tory prime minister Ted Heath called an election asking for a mandate to take on militant trade unions. Similarly, Theresa May went to the polls asking for voters to give her a strong mandate in Brexit talks. Both decisions backfired. In February 1974, Labour won 301 seats to the Tories 297  the first hung parliament since the Second World War. Harold Wilson formed a minority Labour government, then called a second election in October, and won. There was speculation yesterday that Britain may have to vote again later this year. As results came in former shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: This looks like 1974. A Conservative prime minister who didnt need to call an election given a real kicking. Advertisement

One said: 'It has been shocking and counter-productive. Sidelining Philip made it impossible to get on the front foot on the economy  it gave [John] McDonnell a free pass to set out ridiculous plans that we never properly challenged and we made nothing of our record on the economy.'

Another said: 'The treatment of Philip has been a disgrace. If you are trashing and hiding your chancellor then you cannot very well attack the other side on the economy. It was a big mistake.'

Mr Hammond angered some in No 10 last year by warning that Brexit was likely to set the economy on a 'rollercoaster ride'. The election result means he emerges a strengthened figure.

But it could also lead to dangerous friction between No 10 and the Treasury. One minister said: 'Imagine the tensions around the Cabinet table, being forced to work with someone you know wanted to sack you. He'll get on with it, but it's not great.'

Early in the election campaign, when the polls were suggesting a possible Tory landslide, Mrs May and her aides had considered moving Mr Johnson from the Foreign Office  and possibly even sending him to the backbenches. He was also sidelined for much of the early part of the campaign, which focused almost entirely on Mrs May.

Mrs May had planned a major reshuffle, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, above, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom all tipped for the sack

But as the campaign soured, Mr Johnson was given an increasingly prominent role, even introducing Mrs May at her final rally. The Foreign Secretary, who has now emerged as her chief rival, made no comment yesterday apart from a brief message on Twitter, saying: 'Delighted to be reappointed Foreign Secretary. Lots of great work to do for greatest country on earth.'

Mrs May had planned a major reshuffle, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom all tipped for the sack. But it is now likely to be a minor affair, focused on replacing the eight ministers kicked out by the voters.
Tory MPs have been plunged into civil war over the election results left a hung parliament

Furious Tory MPs last night threatened to oust Theresa May within six months after her disastrous election campaign.

The party was plunged into civil war after the Prime Minister lost her Commons majority, with MPs aghast at her campaign tactics that resulted in the Tories blowing a 20-point lead over Labour.

They demanded the resignation of Mrs May's closest aides, and amid reports the PM had to be talked out of resigning early yesterday, some ministers said she would be forced from office in months.

Speculation mounted about potential successors, with Boris Johnson and David Davis both strongly tipped, and rumours of a joint ticket involving Home Secretary Amber Rudd and former Justice Secretary Michael Gove.

In a defiant statement on the steps of No 10 yesterday, Mrs May vowed to 'get to work' on delivering Brexit after visiting the Queen to inform her she would try to form a minority government with the support of the hard-line Democratic Unionist Party.

However, the tone of Mrs May's statement only enraged Tory MPs further as she failed to mention the MPs who had lost their seats, or show any contrition for a result that plunges the country  and Brexit negotiations  into turmoil.

After critics said she was 'in denial', Mrs May later made a statement in which she apologised to Tory MPs who lost their seats and promised to 'reflect' on the result.

A well-placed source said Brexit Secretary Mr Davis had to make an emergency dash to No 10 to 'shore up' the Prime Minister after rumours circulated that she might quit. Shortly afterwards, Downing Street put out a statement saying Mrs May would stay on and try to form a government.

May's gamble in calling an early election backfired spectacularly, as her Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament

Despite the turmoil rocking Mrs May's premiership, only one Cabinet minister  Transport Secretary Chris Grayling  came out publicly to defend her. On Question Time last night, he said: 'No, she shouldn't resign. She won the largest vote share that a Conservative Prime Minister or leader has won for a generation.'

Last night, the weakened Prime Minister was forced to scrap plans for a frontbench reshuffle and keep Chancellor Philip Hammond in his post.

On an extraordinary day of drama at Westminster:

Tory MPs savaged the party's manifesto, with one minister who lost his seat saying it 'put an Exocet through the heart of our main supporters  older people';

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was ready to try to form a coalition with the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Welsh nationalists and Greens if Mrs May falls short;

Brexit was plunged into chaos just days before negotiations with Brussels are due to begin;

In further embarrassment for Mrs May last night, the last parliamentary seat to be decided  former Tory stronghold Kensington  was won by Labour's Emma Dent Coad by a razor-thin 20 votes from Victoria Borwick;

Rumours swirled that Mrs May's joint chiefs-of-staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill were on the verge of quitting over their role in the campaign;

A Tory surge in Scotland killed off the prospect of a second referendum on independence, with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon admitting she would have to 'reflect' on the loss of 21 MPs;

Mrs May was warned she could undermine the Northern Ireland peace process by striking a deal with the DUP;

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall resigned after a disastrous night that saw the anti-EU party lose more than three million votes.

Mrs May faced a fierce backlash from MPs and ministers over the campaign which appeared to pluck disaster from the jaws of triumph.

Tory MP Heidi Allen said it was clear Mrs May could not stay on 'indefinitely'. Asked how long she might survive, she said: 'I don't see any more than six months.'

Brexit Minister David Jones said he supported Mrs May but it was 'impossible to say' if she would still be Prime Minister in six months' time.

Pressed on how long she would stay PM, Mr Jones said: 'That remains to be seen.'

Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street after she traveled to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II following the General Election results

DUP leaders head to Westminster Last night senior Democratic Unionist Party leaders were reportedly heading to Westminster to hammer out a deal. Nigel Dodds, the DUP deputy leader, and the partys chief whip Sir Jeffrey Donaldson were expected to make the journey from Belfast to meet key Tory aides. There was fierce speculation about what form any deal could take. It could be a written programme for government which could form the basis of commitments in the Queens Speech later this month, or a looser arrangement where the two parties agree on a law-by-law basis. A replication of the 2010 Tory-Lib Dem coalition is thought to be unlikely. Advertisement

One minister predicted Mrs May would have to go by the time of the annual Tory conference in October, adding: 'There is no way she makes it past conference.' Another said: 'Unless she turns things round very quickly  which does not look likely right now  then she will be gone by the end of the year.' Former minister Anna Soubry called for the PM to resign immediately, saying: 'She needs to consider her position.'

Miss Soubry added: 'It was a dreadful campaign, and that's me being generous. We need to take stock and our new leader needs to take stock.'

Tory MP Sarah Wollaston said the election result would 'inevitably have consequences for our negotiating position given the need for Parliamentary agreement to the final deal on Brexit'.

She added: 'The precipitous fall from predicted 'landslide' to minority government was wholly avoidable  the result of hubris and a failure to listen.'

But in a speech in Downing Street, the Prime Minister insisted she planned to serve a full five-year term.

At 2am: May arrives at Conservative Party Headquaters with her husband Philip May as the results pour in

At 1pm: Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip are clapped into 10 Downing Street in by staff after seeing Queen Elizabeth II where she asked to form a new governmen

Boris REFUSES to back May for PM Boris Johnson is the favourite with the bookies to be the next Prime Minister and has already refused to give his backing to Theresa May. He told a reporter it was 'early days' when he was asked if she should stay on, as he attended his own count in Uxbridge. He also stayed silent when a reporter suggested that the Tory leader was 'fatally wounded' - and then appeared not to hear when another journalist asked him: 'Does your party need a new leader? Is it you?'. Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, is 11/4 with the bookies to be the next leader. He crashed out of the leadership race at the end of last year after Cameron resigned in the wake of the Brexit result. Advertisement

Mrs May insisted that, as the leader of the largest party in the new parliament, she had a duty to act in the 'national interest' by staying on at a 'critical time in our country'.

The PM called the election to strengthen her mandate to deliver Brexit, but ended up weakening it. Yesterday she insisted she would press ahead with her Brexit plans, which include taking the UK out of the EU's single market and ending free movement.

'That's what people voted for last June,' she said. 'That's what we will deliver. Let's get to work.'

Allies of the PM insisted she had every right to stay on after securing 13.7 million votes  more than Tony Blair got in the New Labour landslide in 1997. The Tories were only four seats and 287 votes away from a working majority of 322. And 1,688 votes away from a proper majority of 326.

One ally said it would be risky to try to oust the PM, saying: 'You couldn't hold a leadership contest without then holding another election  and no-one wants that, most of all the public.'

But the future of Brexit was in doubt last night. One Whitehall source said the Government's plans were 'as good as dead', with almost no chance of a weakened PM forcing them through the Commons and Lords after failing to get a mandate. Pro-Remain forces in the Tory Party indicated they would now push to stay in the single market.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, who emerged from the election as a powerful figure, urged Mrs May to prioritise the economy over the need to end free movement, saying: 'We must, in my view, seek to deliver an open Brexit, not a closed one, which puts our country's economic growth first.'

But a senior Eurosceptic MP warned Mrs May against any backsliding over Brexit.

'If we remain in the European Economic Area, we will not be able to control immigration which is what people want and we will not be able to control domestic regulations and do services trade deals with the rest of the world,' he said. 'If we are not putting forward an internationalist trade agenda the economic benefits of Brexit will not be realised.'

One minister said the failure to secure a strong mandate could see the Tory Party 'tear itself apart over Europe again'.

Silent cabinet as Ministers 'go into hiding' without backing PM May The Prime Minister has been publically defended by just a handful of her close cabinet ministers today as some key names appeared to go into hiding, licking the wounds of a lost Conservative majority. Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, Boris Johnson and Michael Fallon have yet to declare public support for Theresa May, whose decision to call a snap general election has backfired. Hammond is said to have clashed in Number 10 with the PM, amid claims she briefed that he would be sacked several times during the campaign. Justine Greening, who saw her majority of more than 11,000 slashed to 1,500 in Putney, has also failed to declare public backing. Liz Truss has not returned the PM's support for her to remain as Lord Chancellor with a public nod of approval. But David Davis, the Brexit secretary, said: 'The simple truth is we have a Prime Minister, she is a very good leader, I'm a big supporter of hers.' And Damien Green said he hoped there would be a Conservative government led by Theresa May. James Brokenshire also defended her decision to call the snap election, after the shock result of a hung parliament. Advertisement

Furious Hammond dodges the sack: Chancellor turns on the PM over toxic briefings and she is forced to scrap her plan for a major reshuffle

Philip Hammond clashed with Theresa May yesterday over claims she planned to sack him

Philip Hammond clashed with Theresa May yesterday over claims she planned to sack him.

It came as the weakened Prime Minister had to abandon a full reshuffle.

Amid fury at her failure to win a majority, the Chancellor was said to have challenged her face-to-face over a series of negative briefings against him during the campaign.

A well-placed source said: 'He made it pretty awkward for her, telling her, 'You've been briefing for weeks you are going to sack me'. The PM mumbled that it wasn't her.'

Mr Hammond also apparently demanded Mrs May remove her joint chief of staff Nick Timothy, with whom he has clashed repeatedly, and appoint a deputy prime minister to cut her reliance on special advisers  a plan she was said to be considering last night.

The Chancellor was sidelined during the Tory campaign and subjected to a drip-drip of briefings suggesting he would be replaced by Home Secretary Amber Rudd or Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green.

WILL THIS BE 1974 ALL OVER AGAIN? Parallels were drawn between yesterdays election and 1974, when Tory prime minister Ted Heath called an election asking for a mandate to take on militant trade unions. Similarly, Theresa May went to the polls asking for voters to give her a strong mandate in Brexit talks. Both decisions backfired. In February 1974, Labour won 301 seats to the Tories 297  the first hung parliament since the Second World War. Harold Wilson formed a minority Labour government, then called a second election in October, and won. There was speculation yesterday that Britain may have to vote again later this year. As results came in former shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: This looks like 1974. A Conservative prime minister who didnt need to call an election given a real kicking. Advertisement

Yesterday Mrs May  whose own job is now under threat  had to abandon the plans, instead confirming he would stay in his post. Miss Rudd, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon and Brexit Secretary David Davis will also keep their jobs.

The Prime Minister will complete a 'reshuffle' today. But what had been intended as a sweeping reorganisation will now be minor tinkering. Sackings are highly unlikely given Mrs May's weakened position.

Downing Street sources last night denied the account of her conversation with Mr Hammond, insisting it had been cordial.

But allies of the Chancellor confirmed he felt shabbily treated by No 10.

One said: 'It has been shocking and counter-productive. Sidelining Philip made it impossible to get on the front foot on the economy  it gave [John] McDonnell a free pass to set out ridiculous plans that we never properly challenged and we made nothing of our record on the economy.'

Another said: 'The treatment of Philip has been a disgrace. If you are trashing and hiding your chancellor then you cannot very well attack the other side on the economy. It was a big mistake.'

Mr Hammond angered some in No 10 last year by warning that Brexit was likely to set the economy on a 'rollercoaster ride'. The election result means he emerges a strengthened figure.

Mrs May had planned a major reshuffle, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, above, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom all tipped for the sack

But it could also lead to dangerous friction between No 10 and the Treasury. One minister said: 'Imagine the tensions around the Cabinet table, being forced to work with someone you know wanted to sack you. He'll get on with it, but it's not great.'

HOW TORIES COULD TRIGGER LEADERSHIP CONTEST If Tory MPs want to trigger a leadership contest, then under party rules 15 per cent of them must write to the chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs saying they no longer have confidence in the leader. The only other way to trigger a contest is if the leader chooses, or is convinced, to resign. When the party is picking a new leader, MPs must first vote to narrow down the candidates to a shortlist of two. All party members then each get one vote in a national ballot. Advertisement

Early in the election campaign, when the polls were suggesting a possible Tory landslide, Mrs May and her aides had considered moving Mr Johnson from the Foreign Office  and possibly even sending him to the backbenches. He was also sidelined for much of the early part of the campaign, which focused almost entirely on Mrs May.

But as the campaign soured, Mr Johnson was given an increasingly prominent role, even introducing Mrs May at her final rally. The Foreign Secretary, who has now emerged as her chief rival, made no comment yesterday apart from a brief message on Twitter, saying: 'Delighted to be reappointed Foreign Secretary. Lots of great work to do for greatest country on earth.'

Mrs May had planned a major reshuffle, with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom all tipped for the sack. But it is now likely to be a minor affair, focused on replacing the eight ministers kicked out by the voters.
A man accused of molesting his New York roommate's model girlfriend while she slept was acquitted by a Manhattan jury on Friday after he claimed he did not know he was doing it because he was sleepwalking.

Nick Liu, 27, was found not guilty of one count of forcible touching and third-degree sexual abuse over an incident that took place in the Manhattan apartment he shared with Shane Payne on September 11, 2015.

'I'm very happy to have my life back,' Liu told the New York Post after the verdict was read.

Payne had flown his girlfriend, who has not been named, from Florida to New York for a romantic weekend.

When she arrived, they went out for drinks at a bar on the Lower East Side, according to the New York Post, before they went home to have sex.

Payne told the Manhattan Criminal Court Wednesday his girlfriend fell asleep in bed after they had sex, at which point he left the bedroom and went to read a book on his couch in the living room.

Nick Liu (pictured in court on Thursday), was acquitted Friday of molesting his New York roommate's model girlfriend while she slept

Payne's girlfriend then testified she woke up to find Liu kissing her neck and molesting her, according to the Post.

She told the court she shouted, 'Stop, Stop!' as she pushed the 27-year-old away.

Payne's testimony revealed what happened immediately after the alleged incident.

'The next thing I remember is being violently shaken by [my girlfriend], and shes screaming...' he told the court. She told him Liu had digitally penetrated her.

Liu (left) was charged with one count of forcible touching and third-degree sexual abuse over an incident that took place in the Manhattan apartment he shared with Shane Payne (right) on September 11, 2015

Nick Liu, left, who says he sexually abused a woman because he was sleepwalking, is pictured with his father at New York court on June 8, 2017

'She's in hysterics. I wake up and storm into Nick's room.'

Payne then said his roommate said to him: 'I'm so sorry, I cant believe I did this.'

Traumatized by the alleged incident, Payne's girlfriend then flew home to Florida.

Lisa Philips, Liu's mother, then told the court her son had a sleep disorder since he was a boy and was asked by the prosecution to describe any incidents she could remember.

Philips, who is a kindergarten teacher in New Jersey, said: 'His dad and I would wake up and he'd be in our room lost, staring off into space'.

However, the upset mother then broke down during an intense cross-examination from Assistant District Attorney Mimi Mairs.

Liu is seen hugging his father while at court in Manhattan over the charges he abused his roommate's girlfriend in 2015

Lisa Philips, Liu's (left and right) mother, told the court her son had a sleep disorder since he was a boy

Liu's mother, Lisa Philips, is pictured at the Manhattan court on Thursday for her son's appearance

'Was there ever a time when your son was sleepwalking that he put his fingers in your vagina or your daughter's?' Mairs asked.

Philips broke down in tears, saying: 'Thats awful... What's wrong with you?'

Liu's girlfriend, Alexandra Berg, then spoke to the jury about experiences she had with his sleep issues over their five-year relationship.

Berg explained twice every month or so Liu would grab her breasts and vagina while he was asleep.

'The first few times it happened, I didnt know he was asleep,' she told the court, according to the Post.

'He woke up during it, and you could see his eyes going from unconscious to confused.'

She then said her boyfriend called her immediately after the incident in September 2015.

'He felt horrible about what happened,' she said, before going on to say he moved out of the apartment the next week.

'(He) wanted to live alone to ensure nothing like this would happen again.'
Theresa May's deal with the Democratic Unionist Party came under immediate fire yesterday  from within her own party.

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, bluntly showed her opposition by tweeting out of the blue a link to a gay pride speech she gave in Belfast last year.

Miss Davidson, who is gay, said in her tweet: As a Protestant Unionist about to marry an Irish Catholic, heres the Amnesty Pride lecture I gave in Belfast.

The message was posted just before 3pm yesterday just as the DUPs leader Arlene Foster led a press conference which confirmed they were talking to the Conservatives about a deal.

The MPs Theresa will have to rely on 1) Emma Pengelly, 37, took South Belfast from the SDLP. Husband Richard is a top civil servant in the Department of Health in Northern Ireland. 2) Gregory Campbell, 64, newly returned MP for East Derry. Increased his majority by 4,000. 3) Sammy Wilson, 64, the re-elected East Antrim MP, served as Northern Irelands environment minister despite calling the Paris Agreement on climate change totally flawed and pointless. 4) Nigel Dodds, 58, has served as DUP deputy leader since June 2008. During an Orange Order march in 2013 he was knocked unconscious by a brick in the Shankhill area of North Belfast. 5) Jim Shannon, 62. Ex-soldier secured a majority of nearly 20,000 in Strangford. In 2011 he was voted the least sexy MP. 6) Arlene Foster, 46. The DUP leader is not an MP but sits at Stormont. Implicated in the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal, which offered taxpayer incentives to businesses for burning wood pellets but overspent by hundreds of millions. 7) Gavin Robinson, 32, is a barrister and formerly Lord Mayor of Belfast. 8) Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, 54, is Northern Irelands longest-serving current MP. He controversially opposed David Trimble during his efforts to negotiate the peace process to end The Troubles. 9) Paul Girvan, 53, took the South Antrim seat from the Ulster Unionists. 10) David Simpson, 58, has served as MP for Upper Bann since 2005. 11) Ian Paisley Jr, 50, son of the firebrand founder of the DUP. Advertisement

Miss Davidson stopped short of direct criticism of the DUP, but her tweet was a clear indication she will find it difficult to see her party co-operating with a party which has views on equality which clash with her own.

Elsewhere, critics were asking if an alliance with the Tories would enable to DUP  which has been accused of regressive, homophobic and misogynistic policies  to introduce policies that have become controversial in Northern Ireland.

The party has repeatedly vetoed marriage equality for same-sex couples in Ulster and has limited enthusiasm for LBGT rights.

What they will want in return Here are six key demands the DUP is likely to make of Theresa May: The Block Grant: Northern Ireland is the best funded part of the UK  Government spending there exceeds tax revenues by 5,440 per person. But this could rise as the price of the deal. Welfare: The DUP opposes means testing the 200-a-year winter fuel payment to pensioners and dropping the pensions triple lock. Tax Cuts: The party wants cuts to VAT on tourism to help the province compete with the Republic of Ireland. Similarly, it wants lower corporation tax to mirror the 12.5 per cent rate in the south. Brexit: The DUP is pro-Brexit. This is good for Mrs May  but will make it all but impossible for her to offer significant concessions to Remainer Tory MPs. Forces witch-hunt: The party says investigations into deaths during the Troubles are focusing disproportionately on former police officers and soldiers instead of the paramilitaries. BBC: The DUP wants to find an alternative to the licence fee to fund the corporation. Advertisement

The DUP doesnt mention abortion in its manifesto, but it has been open in its support for Northern Irelands abortion ban, which sees women imprisoned for having one and denied access to safe and legal terminations.

Mrs Foster has said the party remains opposed to any reform of the provinces strict abortion laws, urging last year that she would not want abortion to be as freely available here as it is in England.

Some DUP members have made overt criticism of homosexuality. Ian Paisley Jr, son of the partys founder, has in the past said he was repulsed by gay people and called homosexuality immoral, offensive and obnoxious. The party once supported a campaign called Save Ulster from Sodomy.

The DUP is also sceptical of climate change, while some members are creationists, believing the Old Testaments description of how God created the Earth rather than backing theories such as evolution.

The Tories failure to secure a majority has handed huge power to Mrs Foster, who said she would enter discussions on a deal. But her position as kingmaker raised questions about what concessions she would seek to extract from Mrs May in return for support.

The DUP supports cuts to corporation tax, air passenger duty and VAT on tourism to compete with the low-tax Republic. But it also wants to continue winter fuel payments for the elderly and keep the pensions triple lock.

Crucially, the partys position on Brexit is aligned with Mrs Mays  it backs leaving the single market, agreeing a trade deal and ending rule by EU judges. It also opposes a hard border between the province and the Republic.

The agreement will not be like the formal coalition under the Conservatives and Lib Dems after 2010. Instead, it is likely to be a confidence and supply arrangement where DUP MPs will vote for Government legislation.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead

However, Tony Blairs former chief of staff Jonathan Powell, a key architect of the Northern Ireland peace process, said the move was a very big mistake and would stop the UK Government being a neutral party. It may have the effect of undoing the 20 years of good work weve done in Northern Ireland, he told the BBC.

Theyve made themselves dependent on the DUP. Since 1991, for good reasons, the British government has always been neutral in Northern Ireland, weve not taken sides between the Unionists and the Nationalists and Republicans.

By doing this Theresa May has made herself a hostage to the DUP, which means that she cannot be the independent mediator between the two sides.

Mrs Foster, the former Northern Ireland First Minister, suggested on election night that Mrs May would have to stand down. But in a statement yesterday, she opened the door to a deal with Mrs May.

Jeremy Corbyns close links to Irish Republican terrorists makes a deal with Labour impossible, DUP sources said.

Mrs Foster said she made no apology for trying to get the best deal for Northern Ireland. This was seen as a sign she would seek to extract painful financial concessions from the Government.

She added: Those who want to tear apart the union that we cherish and benefit from so hugely have been sent a clear and resounding message. In the days and weeks ahead, it is that union that will be to the forefront of our minds.

The election saw DUP seats increase from eight to ten. Sinn Fein also emerged stronger, while the Ulster Unionists and SDLP were wiped off the map. Sinn Feins seven MPs are not part of calculations to form a government because the party refuses to take its seats in Westminster. That position was confirmed yesterday.
Charles Wotruba, 70, was arrested on Friday and charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace

A 70-year-old man from Florida, Charles Wotruba, was arrested on Friday for allegedly pulling the plug on a bounce house filled with children.

Wotruba was charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace, but was released.

Police say Wotruba deflated the bounce house during a birthday party last month, and surveillance video captured him committing the act before disappearing across the street to his own house.

The heavy collapsing plastic sent two children to the hospital.

Surveillance video allegedly captured Wotruba unplugging a bounce house at a child's birthday party last month in Florida

Wotruba may have believed that he was unplugging stereo equipment, rather than the bounce house, according to police

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 children 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.

About a dozen children 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 during the holidays, the family's cord to their Christmas lights outside was cut as well

A YouTube video was created calling Wotruba man a 'bad neighbor' and a 'piece of trash'.

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.

Wotruba may have believed that he was unplugging stereo equipment, rather than the bounce house, according to police. He lives just 500 feet away from the house where the birthday party was being held.
A 62-year-old man has been charged after a stabbing another man in the abdomen in Sydney on Friday night.

The incident took place just after 11pm at a unit block on Elizabeth Street in Redfern.

Police officers attended the scene and found a 49-year-old man with stab wounds to his abdomen.

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A 62-year-old man has been charged after a stabbing another man, 42, in the abdomen in Sydney on Friday night at an apartment block on Elizabeth Street in Redfern (pictured)

Officers from Redfern Local Area Command arrested the 62-year-old man at the scene.

The younger man was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to St Vincents Hospital, in a serious but stable condition.

The older man was taken to Redfern Police Station where he was charged with wounding a person intending to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.

Initial police inquiries suggest the men are known to each other.

The incident took place just after 11pm on Friday night. Redfern police attended the scene (pictured) and arrested the 62-year-old man

The younger man was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to St Vincents Hospital (pictured) in a serious but stable condition
Genres : Drama

Starring : Victor Ezenfis, Natacha Regnier, Fabrizio Rongione

Director : Eugene Green

Plot Synopsis

The American-born filmmaker Eugene Green exists in his own special artistic orbit. All Green s films share a formal rigor and an increasingly refined modulation between the playfully comic, the urgently human, and the transcendent, and they are each as exquisitely balanced as the baroque music and architecture that he cherishes. His latest movie, The Son of Joseph, is perhaps his most buoyant. A nativity story reboot that gently skewers French cultural pretensions, it features newcomer Victor Ezenfis as a discontented Parisian teenager in search of a father, Mathieu Amalric and Fabrizio Rongione as his, respectively, callous and gentle alternative paternal options, and Natacha Regnier as his single mother.
Khala Sainsbury has slammed comparisons of her sister Cassie to Bali drug smuggler Schapelle Corby.

The high profile case has seen the Sainsburys' personal life laid bare, but Cassie's sister says there is one name they don't want brought up throughout the ordeal.

'We are not the Corbys 2.0,' Khala told The Advertiser, referring to boogie board drug smuggler Schapelle Corby and her family.

The sister of 'Cocaine Cassie' has slammed comparisons made between her and convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby (pictured)

Khala Sainsbury (pictured) has slammed comparisons of her sister Cassie to Bali drug smuggler Schapelle Corby

Cassie's sister also claims the accused drug smuggler was threatened at gunpoint to carry 5.8kg of cocaine through the airport and was going to be killed in Hong Kong.

In a new version of events, the Adelaide woman begged the Australian consulate to help free her from the grasp of a Colombian crime syndicate forcing her to carry cocaine through Bogota El Dorado airport, according to her sister Khala.

Her sister claims Cassie begged the consulate to help arrange her sudden departure from the country after being approached by the drug syndicate, Khala told The Herald Sun.

Scott Broadbridge (left) and his accused drug smuggler fiancee Cassandra Sainsbury (right) are 'still together' despite being separated by prison walls

The engaged South Australian couple (pictured) appeared to be crumbling under the pressure during a tense phone called aired on Channel Seven's Sunday Night

However, when the criminals found she had attempted to flee she was cornered at gunpoint and they threatened her fiance and family showing photos of them back in Australia.

'She was told 'I've got photos of your family, if you don't do what I want you to do, they are dead', Khala told the publication.

A part of the story was rebuked by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade claiming Cassie never came to them crying for help, according to the publication.

Khala has also claimed Cassie was never going to make it home to Australia alive with the crime syndicate arranging for her to be killed in Hong Kong or local authorities sentencing her to death for drug smuggling.

'Cassie wasn't coming home alive  that's what we believe, that's what our lawyers believe,' Khala told The Herald Sun.

Khala also confirmed the 22-year-old and her fiance Scott Broadbridge are still together, despite the prison walls which separate them.

Khala Sainsbury, the older sister of the Adelaide woman locked behind bars in a Colombian prison, took to a discussion page to talk about Cassandra's dire situation as the media storm calmed.

When asked if Ms Sainsbury and Mr Broadbridge were still together, she simply replied: 'Yes they are.'

Khala Sainsbury confirmed the couple were still together despite the accused drug smuggler still living in a Bogota prison

Tensions between the engaged South Australian couple were running high after Mr Broadbridge flew to Bogota to visit Ms Sainsbury at El Buen Pastor women's prison.

The pair were able to see each other and shared a brief but emotional phone conversation, which was aired during a Sunday Night exclusive with 23-year-old Mr Broadbridge.

Ms Sainsbury told her fiance 'we're not going to last' as he replied: 'You are pushing me away from you.'

When asked why she believed the pair's relationship would not last, Cassie said: 'Can't you already tell?'

'Everything is telling me I should just walk away,' he told the Sunday Night reporter.

But despite their struggles, Mr Broadbridge says he will remain dedicated to his fiancee whether she is found innocent or guilty.

Despite their struggles, Mr Broadbridge says he will remain dedicated to his fiancee whether she is found innocent or guilty.

The 23-year-old man (pictured) was dragged into a media circus after his fiancee was allegedly found with 5.7kg of cocaine in her luggage

'They paid flights and accommodation, that's it': Khala Sainsbury took to Facebook to deny claims she and her mother were paid $1 million for their 60 Minutes interview

When questioned on what he would do if his fiancee were to be sentenced to 20 years behind bars, Mr Broadbridge was unwavering in his devotion.

'I'll wait. She would do the same for me,' he said.

'I am willing to be there through to the end, and I've told her that. That's how I feel.'

Khala also took to the private group to ask members to stop insulting her family and speculating about her sister's patchy story.

'I am well aware media are on all pages, I'm not saying you can't have an opinion, I'm just saying what if someone was saying crap about your families, wouldn't you ask them to try and cut it back a little,' Khala said.

She was also asked whether media continued to follow her and mother Lisa Evans, but she said she was 'left alone mostly.'

When questioned on what he would do if Ms Sainsbury (pictured) were to be sentenced to 20 years behind bars, Mr Broadbridge was unwavering in his devotion.

Khala was also asked whether media continued to follow her and mother Lisa Evans (left), but she said she was 'left alone mostly'

The sister of Cassie Sainsbury denied she had been paid by 60 Minutes for their exclusive interview but clarified they had covered flights and accommodation in Bogota

Khala (right) also took to the private group to ask members to stop insulting her family and speculating about her sister's patchy story

Other members fired questions at the mother-of-two about her sister's 'cleaning business' employer and if the family had received the reported $1 million for their interview with 60 Minutes.

One person asked: 'Have you had any prior knowledge of a cleaning business that was owned by your uncle Neil Sainsbury?' to which Khala ignored, but Neil Sainsbury himself responded with: 'I'd like to know the same.'

Khala also denied she and her mother had been paid for sharing their story with Channel Nine.

'Do you have proof I got paid? If you do produce it, my mum and I haven't lied about getting paid. We haven't received any form of payment,' she replied.

But she did clarify the pair's flights and accommodation were covered by 60 Minutes.
A man has been charged in connection to the fatal Brighton siege which left a man dead and three officers seriously injured.

Following a series of raids across Melbourne on Friday, a man from Ascot Vale in Melbourne's north west was charged by police.

The 30-year-old was charged with prohibited person in possession of firearm and committing an indictable offence while on bail.

A 30-year-old man has been charged in connection to the deadly Melbourne Siege on Monday. Pictured, police who carried out a raid in Ascot Vale on Friday linked to the siege

Police searched several properties across Melbourne on Friday as part of co-ordinated counter-terrorism raids

The man appeared at an out of sessions court hearing and will appear in Melbourne Magistrate's Court on Saturday.

About 150 state and federal police searched properties in Ascot Vale, Glenroy and Gladstone Park about 5am on Friday as part of co-ordinated counter-terrorism raids in Melbourne linked to Monday's deadly siege.

Police said the raids were related to the investigation into how Somalian-born Yacqub Khayre obtained the weapon he used to kill a hotel clerk and wound three police officers.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters on Friday those they have spoken to following the raids are 'not persons of national security interest'.

A police officer is seen carrying a laptop in a sealed bag following a raid on an Ascot Vale property on Friday
The number of female MPs has topped 200 for the first time.

The previous high of 191 from the 2015 election was beaten by 17, bringing the number of women in Parliament to 208.

It also surpassed the total of 196 women elected to the Commons during the course of the last parliament, when subsequent by-elections are taken into account.

Labours Preet Gill secured 24,124 votes to hold the seat in Birmingham Edgbaston for Labour with a majority of 6,917

And it includes the UKs first female Sikh MP. Labours Preet Gill secured 24,124 votes to hold the seat in Birmingham Edgbaston for Labour with a majority of 6,917.

The final constituency to declare was Kensington which, after several recounts, announced last night that Labour candidate Emma Dent Coad had taken the seat from the Conservatives. This confirmed that in all 208 of the 650 MPs elected would be female.

Though 32 per cent of MPs are women, there are significant variations between parties. For Labour the figure is 45 per cent, with 119 of their 262 MPs female. And 67 out of the 318 Tory MPs  21 per cent  are women.

Miss Gill, 44, succeeded pro-Brexit Labour campaigner Gisela Stuart who stepped down when the election was called. She had been a Labour councillor in Sandwell since 2012. In her acceptance speech, Miss Gill paid tribute to her father, an immigrant bus driver from India who became a close friend of the first Sikh peer, Lord King.

She said: My father came to this country from India with great aspiration for us all, and tonight this is the beginning of a journey he would have been proud of had he been here.

Jeremy Corbyn cemented the Left's grip on Labour last night as he claimed the party had effectively 'won' the election

Bhai Amrik Singh, chairman of the Sikh Federation, said: We are delighted to have the first Sikh woman MP in Preet.

She will be a fantastic MP, a credit to the Sikh community and an excellent role model. After the 2015 election, 68 of the 331 Tory MPs were women, with 99 out of 232 for Labour. In 1997, 101 of Labours 418 MPs were female.

Among the other new women MPs elected on Thursday were Gillian Keegan, who held Chichester for the Conservatives, where Andrew Tyrie won a Tory majority of 24,413 two years ago.

Former minister Esther McVey returned to Parliament, taking Tatton in Cheshire, where George Osborne had quit. The former TV host was the most high-profile Tory casualty of 2015, ousted by Labour from Wirral West.

The Tories have not introduced the all-women shortlists used by Labour to raise the number of women MPs, but they have forced four local Welsh associations to accept female candidates.

Former Liberal Democrat minister Jo Swinson was swept back to Westminster after ousting SNP MP John Nicolson. Miss Swinson regained her former seat from Mr Nicolson after overturning the 2,200 majority he picked up in 2015  turning that into a 5,339 majority.

There will also be a record 51 ethnic minority MPs in the new House of Commons, according the integration think-tank Britains Future.

Constance Markievicz was the first woman elected to Parliament in 1918, following the passing of a law that allowed women to stand. She did not take her seat as she was a member of Sinn Fein.

Tory Nancy Astor was the first woman to take her seat after winning a by-election in 1919 for Plymouth Sutton.
STEPHEN FISHER, a professor in political sociology at Oxford University, examines the conflicting allegiances that led to a hung Parliament:

WHY DID LONDON REMAINERS VOTE LABOUR?

Jeremy Corbyn cemented the Left's grip on Labour last night as he claimed the party had effectively 'won' the election

Sixty per cent of the capital's electorate backed Remain. Remainers in London warmed to Jeremy Corbyn's message because he promised a softer Brexit compared with the Conservatives' tough stance.

In particular, he pledged an immediate guarantee of full rights to all EU citizens here, while he also refused to set any target for mass immigration.

Both these measures had a strong appeal in a city where a third of the population is foreign-born and which last year elected Britain's first Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan.

London's results were also part of a wider pattern in which constituencies with the highest Remain vote saw a 7 per cent swing to Labour.

BUT WHY DID SO MANY UKIP VOTERS BACK LABOUR, TOO?

There are several possible reasons. Many Ukip voters are traditional Labour supporters, who may have liked its policy of less austerity and more spending on the NHS.

The Labour manifesto also promised explicitly to implement Brexit. Though vague on the terms, this may have been enough for many Ukip voters.

Above all, Ukip voters tend to be over 55 so they are likely to have been alienated by the Conservatives' policy on social care  the so-called 'Dementia Tax'  and the withdrawal of winter fuel allowances.

London's results were part of a wider pattern in which constituencies with the highest Remain vote saw a 7 per cent swing to Labour

WHY DIDN'T THE MIDDLE CLASSES STAY BLUE?

Labour largely retained the support of its English and Welsh heartlands, but also appears to have extended its support among educated professionals. There were probably two forces at work.

One was the dislike of Brexit: more educated, affluent voters overwhelmingly tended to back Remain in last year's EU referendum and therefore disliked Mrs May's policy. The other was Labour's promises of support for the public sector workforce, through new funding and the removal of pay caps.

WHY COULDN'T THERESA MAY 'DO A THATCHER'?

At the start of Mrs May's campaign, many pundits thought this would be a re-run of the 1983 contest, in which a strong female Conservative leader, Margaret Thatcher, trounced a dishevelled Left-winger, Michael Foot.

Above all, Mr Corbyn turned out to be a much better campaigner than the shambolic Mr Foot, whereas May was just a shadow of Margaret Thatcher

But the circumstances could hardly have been more different. Mrs Thatcher had already been in office four years and had earned a reputation for toughness through victory in the Falklands. Less than a year into her premiership, Mrs May's image of strength melted in the fire of the campaign.

Above all, Mr Corbyn turned out to be a much better campaigner than the shambolic Mr Foot, whereas May was just a shadow of Margaret Thatcher.
Concerns abound over the future of Britain's homebuilding as Britain faces enlisting a new housing minister - the fifteenth since 2000 - after voters ditched Gavin Barwell in the General Election.

Housing minister Mr Barwell lost his Croydon Central seat after getting just 24,221 votes compared to Labour's 29,873.

It means the country's housebuilding policy faces further delays, as a new housing minister is appointed and gets to grips with challenges in the property market.

Mr Barwell was only appointed last year and published a housing white paper earlier this year

Housing experts warned that transactions in the property market may stay 'anaesthetised' as Britain faces getting a new housing minister.

Russell Quirk, the chief executive of estate agent eMoov, said: 'As we awake today to the opposite of a strong and stable administration, but to a rather unexpected hung parliament, I fear that the property market's post-election return to normality that I'd hoped for may be rather further away still.

'Political instability breeds procrastination on the part of homebuyers and sellers and for over a year now we have seen the effects of that on volumes, if not so much prices, as a consequence of the EU vote and then the snap general election.

'So while the UK voter may understandably develop electoral fatigue, transactions in the property market may also stay somewhat anaesthetised until it's re-awoken by something more politically and economically decisive than we have seen over the past 24 hours.'

He added: 'I suspect that the housing brief will take a back seat now, despite politicians' promises in recent weeks, given the combined weight of negotiating Brexit, stabilising our economy, button-holing political support across the aisle on every vote and, inevitably, campaigning again for the next poll.'

As housing minister since last year, Gavin Barwell was at the helm for a housing white paper, which had been expected to lay out bold plans to build more homes for Britain but was criticised for being a damp squib.

However, industry experts praised Mr Barwell himself for his determination in the role as housing minister.

Buying expert Henry Pryor said: 'If we could build homes like the Governments of all political persuasions can appoint new housing ministers then we wouldn't have a housing crisis.

'Gavin Barwell was, to his credit one of the most proactive and successful.He faced up to the vested interest groups, challenged house builders to actually build, and told letting agents to their faces that he was going to scrap tenant fees. I for one will miss his determination to get things done.'

The result in Mr Barwell's constituency saw him lose his seat to Labour's Sarah Jones

North London estate agent and former RICs boss, Jeremy Leaf, said: 'A hung parliament will result in an extended period of uncertainty with decision-making kicked into the long grass.

'Theresa May is correct - we need a period of stability as that will quash uncertainty which is bad for the housing market - but it is not clear at the moment whether she can deliver it. Stability is crucial in enabling people to make big decisions such as buying and selling property.'

Mr Barwell was only appointed minister of state for housing and planning last year.

During his tenure he published a housing white paper that aimed to fix the 'broken housing market' and boost housebuilding.

The paper examined issues such as cutting red tape on planning and encouraging smaller builders.
An AI machine has completed the maths section of the annual Chinese university exams in record time.

The system, called AI-Maths, completed the test 12 times faster than it normally takes to complete.

Despite the speedy result, its scores were well below average compared to students.

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A machine learning system called AI-Maths has completed the maths section of the annual Chinese university exams in blistering time. But despite the speedy result, its scores were well below average compared to students

EXAM BEATING AI An AI system developed in 2014 using big data, artificial intelligence and natural language recognition technologies, had mixed results after attempting China's annual university entrance exam. The machine, called AI-Maths, scored 105 out of 150 in 22 minutes in one test then spent ten minutes on another version and scored 100. The machine took only one of the four subjects in the crucially important entrance examination. The other three are Chinese, a foreign language and one comprehensive test in either liberal arts or science. While AI is faster with numbers than humans, it struggles with language. Advertisement

The artificial intelligence machine, a tall black box containing 11 servers placed in the centre of a test room, took two versions of the exam in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

The machine, called AI-Maths, scored 105 out of 150 in 22 minutes.

Students have two hours to complete the test.

It then spent ten minutes on another version and scored 100.

Beijing liberal art students who took the maths exam last year scored an average of 109.

Exam questions and the AI machine's answers were both shown on a big screen while three people kept score.

The AI was developed in 2014 by a Chengdu-based company, Zhunxingyunxue Technology, using big data, artificial intelligence and natural language recognition technologies from Tsinghua University.

Speaking to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Lin Hui, the company's CEO said: 'I hope next year the machine can improve its performance on logical reasoning and computer algorithms and score over 130.

'This is not a make-or-break test for a robot.

'The aim is to train artificial intelligence to learn the way humans reason and deal with numbers.'

The machine took only one of the four subjects in the crucially important entrance examination.

The other three are Chinese, a foreign language and one comprehensive test in either liberal arts or science.

The AI machine scored 105 out of 150 in 22 minutes, then 100 in 10 minutes. Students have two hours to complete the test and average a score of 109

While AI is faster with numbers than humans, it struggles with language.

'For example, the robot had a hard time understanding the words 'students' and 'teachers' on the test and failed to understand the question, so it scored zero for that question,' Mr Lin added.

The test was the latest attempt to show how AI technology can perform in comparison to the human brain.

Last year, the Google-owned computer algorithm AlphaGo became the first computer programme to beat an elite player in a full match of the ancient Chinese game of Go.

AlphaGo won again last month, crushing the world's top player, Ke Jie of China, in a three-game sweep.

AlphaGo's feats have fuelled visions of AI that can not only perform pre-programmed tasks, but help humanity look at complex scientific, technical and medical mysteries in new ways.
Electronic assistants such as the Amazon Echo could be hacked by criminals

Electronic assistants such as the Amazon Echo could be hacked by criminals to steal personal information, a security expert has warned.

Millions have bought voice-activated speakers which play music, provide weather forecasts, order groceries and answer questions.

The devices are brought to life by vocal commands such as 'Alexa' or 'Hello Google' but experts warn they pose a major security risk as they are always listening in and monitoring conversations.

Criminals could hack into them to find out when families are away or steal credit card details when someone orders a takeaway over the phone.

Cybersecurity expert Dr Jason Nurse warned: 'If hackers find a way to compromise these devices in our homes, they could have it recording all of the time and you wouldn't necessarily know.

'They could hear you discussing your holiday plans, so they know when you are away and could burgle you.

'They may hear you buying something on the phone, giving away your credit card details.'

The Oxford University research fellow, who was speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, is so concerned that he refuses to have electronic assistants in his house.

However, the gadgets are more popular than ever. The Google Home, a similar device to the Amazon Echo, can pick up commands even in noisy rooms, track online shopping and even switch on lights and adjust the thermostat.But some fear that users are inviting an electronic spy into their home.

HI-TECH HELPER The Amazon Echo costs 149.99. It is a hands-free speaker with seven microphones, voice-controlled by a command to the virtual assistant Alexa. It plays music, provides sports scores and weather forecasts, can adjust lighting and heating, as well as answer questions and give traffic updates. The more you use it, the more it adapts to your speech patterns, vocabulary and preferences. Google Home, which went on sale in April and costs 129, works in a similar way. It is activated by the words 'OK Google' or 'hey Google'. Apple's version of the gadget, the HomePod, is late to the market after being announced this week. Available from December, it will cost about 270. Advertisement

Dr Nurse said: 'If there's something private you want to say, the first thing you should do is mute the device... or turn it off. You should think twice about what you say in front of these devices.' Conversations recorded on the Google Home device are automatically encrypted, while Amazon Echo has a 'microphone off' button and utterances can be deleted.

Dr Nurse added: 'A TV, radio or someone else in your home may say the wake word without your knowledge and start it recording while you are discussing something private or sensitive.

'That may then be sent off without you being aware it is happening.

'Automation is great. It's fantastic that you can walk around your home and tell it to do things like you are talking to an individual but the risks are mounting.

'People should think about the cost-benefit pay-off in terms of privacy and security and how much convenience they add to your life.'

An Amazon spokesman said: 'Amazon takes customer privacy seriously and we have taken measures to make Echo secure.'

Google declined to comment.
A terrifying new breed of robotic animals could be created after the Japanese takeover of two pioneering firms in the world of robotics.

SoftBank has agreed to buy Boston Dynamics, the makers of a series of fearsome robots, and humanoid AI specialists Schaft from Google's parent company Alpahbet.

The deal could lead to the development of even more bizarre devices, with their latest creation described as 'nightmare-inducing'.

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Boston Dynamics makes a variety of robots, with their latest creation (pictured) desribed as 'nightmare-inducing', but has struggled to find a market for them. The latest deal could lead to the development of even more bizarre devices

ROBOT TAKEOVER SoftBank began life as a telecoms firms and was the first carrier to offer the Apple iPhone in Japan, but it soon expanded into the area of robotics. The firm's creation, companion robot Pepper, hit the headlines last year after the robot refused to share whether it held a desire to rule the world. The ambitious bot is already a familiar face in some banks and shops in Asia, as well as Pizza Hut. SoftBank has agreed to buy Boston Dynamics, the makers of a series of fearsome robots, and humanoid AI specialists Schaft from Google's parent company Alpahbet. The deal could lead to the development of even more bizarre devices, with past efforts described by some as 'nightmare-inducing'. Advertisement

Boston Dynamics makes a variety of robots, including machines that mimic humans and animals, but has struggled to find a market for them.

Under a deal announced today, SoftBank also acquired a company called Schaft that develops humanoid robots for an undisclosed sum.

The move is part of wider plans by the Japanese company to develop their robotics technology.

SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son said robots will help solve problems that have been beyond human capabilities.

'Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution,' he said.

'I am thrilled to welcome them to the SoftBank family and look forward to supporting them as they continue to advance the field of robotics and explore applications that can help make life easier, safer and more fulfilling,' Mr Son said of Boston Dynamics.

SoftBank began life as a telecoms firms and was the first carrier to offer the Apple iPhone in Japan.

Boston Dynamics first hit headlines with Cujo, also known as 'Big Dog' (pictured far right), one of a series of dog-like robots created by the company (stock image)

It includes US carrier Sprint and Yahoo Japan in its business portfolio.

Mr Son drew attention for hobnobbing with President Donald Trump late last year and promising to create jobs and invest in the US.

Marc Raibert, CEO of Boston Dynamics, said he looked forward to working with SoftBank on creating technology for 'a smarter and more connected world.'

'We share SoftBank's belief that advances in technology should be for the benefit of humanity,' he said.

Boston Dynamics first hit headlines with Cujo, also known as 'Big Dog', which took two million dollars (1.6 million) and four years to create and was first tested out by the US marines.

'NIGHTMARE INDUCING' BOT Footage leaked in February revealed a glimpse at Boston Dynamics' latest humanoid, Handle. It combines legs and wheels, and 'throws its weight around' to balance itself at all times. The robot can squat, stand, and even jump over obstacles. Founder Marc Raibert called it the latest 'nightmare inducing robot.' Handle stands atop two small wheels, with leg-like appendages that bend in knees that point backward. Its upper body is equipped with two arms, and elbows that point in the opposite direction of its knees. Video footage reveals Handle can even do tricks, showing off with a series of fast spins in both the squat and standing position, and even jumping over a construction barricade. Advertisement

Their products also include Big Dog's little brother Spot, a complex machine that can walk and trot on four legs like a dog.

Their humanoid robot Atlas walks on two legs and has arms that can open doors and lift items.

Footage leaked in February revealed a glimpse at Boston Dynamics' latest humanoid, Handle.

It combines legs and wheels, and 'throws its weight around' to balance itself at all times.

Military robot Cujo, also known as 'Big Dog' (pictured), took two million dollars (1.6 million) and four years to create. Tested out by the US Marines, It can walk and run over rugged terrain, following a soldier while carrying their kit and weapons.(stock image)

CUJO THE BIG DOG Boston Dynamics first hit headlines with Cujo, also known as 'Big Dog'. It took two million dollars (1.6 million) and four years to create and was tested out by the US marines. It is one of a series of dog-like robots created by the company. It can walk and run over rugged terrain, following a soldier while carrying their kit and weapons. It can stand upright, walk for 20 miles without a break and carry up to 400lbs (180 kg). The controls are simple to learn and have joysticks and one recruit said using it 'feels like playing Call of Duty.' Advertisement

SoftBank's shares rose 7.3 per cent to 9,464 yen after the deal was announced.

The company did not disclose the terms of the transaction.

'Robotics as a field has great potential, and we're happy to see Boston Dynamics and Schaft join the SoftBank team to continue contributing to the next generation of robotics,' an Alphabet spokesman said.

The move may seem surprising to some, as SoftBank's previous efforts have been a lot more friendly in appearance than Boston Dynamic's.

Boston Dynamics products also include Big Dog's little brother Spot, a complex machine that can walk and trot on four legs like a dog. Their humanoid robot Atlas (pictured) walks on two legs and has arms that can open doors and lift items.

THE 'ATLAS' ROBOT According to Boston Dynamics, Atlas is a 'high mobility, humanoid robot designed to negotiate outdoor, rough terrain. 'Atlas can walk bipedally leaving the upper limbs free to lift, carry, and manipulate the environment. 'In extremely challenging terrain, Atlas is strong and coordinated enough to climb using hands and feet, to pick its way through congested spaces.' Atlas can now do a range of movements including: - Standing up after falling over - Running - Balancing on a narrow beam - Cleaning, including vacuuming and sweeping - Karate kick - Throwing a paper aeroplane Advertisement

Their companion robot Pepper, hit the headlines last year, after the Japanese robot refused to share whether it held a desire to rule the world.

Pepper went on sale to consumers in Japan in June 2015 and then enterprise customers, who pay for the bot on a three-year rental basis worth around $16,000 (12,000), the following October.

The ambitious bot is already a familiar face in some banks and shops in Asia, as well as Pizza Hut.
A leak of a protective case that might be released with the Apple iPhone 8 has revealed more details about the much-anticipated device.

The case has an opening that would fit a vertical lens camera on the back as well as space for a mute switch, buttons to change the volume and a standby button.

It looks like the Home Button has moved to the screen itself, which follows previous reports Apple may embed the TouchID fingerprint scanner.

The images also suggest the display might stretch right up to the edge - similar to a Samsung - taking up as much space as possible.

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The protective case has an opening that would fit a vertical lens camera on the back as well as space for a mute switch, buttons to change the volume and a standby button

IPHONE 8 RUMOURS Several rumors have been circulating about the iPhone 8, and suggest the next device may have: - Dual-lens 3D camera - Augmented reality to generate real-time views of surroundings - Curved glass casing - Plastic OLED screen - Wireless charging - New 5 inch (12.7 centimeter) and 5.8 inch (14.7 centimeter) models with a wraparound OLED screen - 5.8 inch will be designed with the Touch ID finger print sensor 'under the glass or on the back - Aluminum back will be replaced with two reinforced glass panes and a metal frame in the middle - Facial recognition -Premium model could cost $1,000 Advertisement

The pictures confirm previous leaks that suggested the cameras on the back will run vertically instead of horizontally like previous models.

The images, leaked by Slashleaks do not give an idea of size and there was no official release from Apple at the Worldwide Developer Conference, despite rumours there might be.

The designs also suggest there will be no fingerprint sensor on the back, which follows on from previous leaks.

However, not everyone is convinced by the designs with some suggesting previous images are more reliable.

'The screen is likely wrong considering that Apple isnt expected to stretch the display over the edges like Samsung does', said BRG.

'Moreover, the top and bottom bezels are bigger than expected, at least considering the many alleged sketches weve seen so far.'

'But what really matters here is the actual design of the case', the website said.

Last week three employees from the Chinese manufacturing firm Foxconn, which builds Apple handsets, allegedly revealed features about the design of the much-anticipated handset.

The employees said the phone will use facial detection and a retina scanner on the front facing cameras and suggested the tenth anniversary gadget would be called 'iPhone X'.

The leaks suggest the Home button has moved to the screen itself, which follows previous reports Apple may have embedded the TouchID fingerprint scanner

The pictures confirm previous leaks that suggested the cameras on the back will run vertically instead of horizontally like previous models

The unverified employees wrote on Reddit that the new phone looked 'more like an iPhone 7 with glass and without the AuthenTec's capacitive touch module.'

They said they saw 'test units with fingerprint scanners mounted below the glass, but performance and yield rates were not good.'

Leakers suggested there is no rear fingerprint scanner.

The employees also suggest that the tenth anniversary gadget could come with 3GB RAM and is made of 'composite glass', which will facilitate wireless charging, writes the Verge.

Like the iPhone 7, it will be also 'water resistant.'

The leak suggests it will continue with the Lightning connector and not move to a USB-C connection.

They also suggested the phone will have wireless charging.

Sources said the new phone (pictured, from previous leak) looked 'more like an iPhone 7 with glass' and will use Facial Detection and Retina Scanner on the front facing cameras

Reports suggest the iPhone 8 (centre), which is due to be released in September, will measure 143.59 x 70.94 x 7.57 mm compared to the iPhone 7 (left) which is 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm and the iPhone 7 Plus (right) which measures 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm

The new details come a fortnight after another leak suggested the highly-anticipated iPhone 8 will be 'much heftier' than the iPhone 7 but smaller than the 7 Plus.

Reports suggest the iPhone 8, which is due to be released in September, will measure 143.59 x 70.94 x 7.57 mm compared to the iPhone 7 which is 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm.

In terms of size, the iPhone 8 sits between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus but because it does not appear to have a Home Button, the screen is larger than both.

Leaks by Benjamin Geskin for iDrop show the new iPhone 8 will be thicker than the iPhone 7 Plus which is 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm.

Obtained from 'factory workers with intimate knowledge of Apple's latest device', the leaks confirm the iPhone 8 will have an edge-to-edge screen on the front.

Mr Geskin also mocked up an image of the iPhone 8 between the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ which shows it has a similar sized screen to the S8, but with smaller body.

Mr Geskin also mocked up an image of the iPhone 8 (centre) between the Galaxy S8 (left) and Galaxy S8+ (right) which shows it has a similar sized screen with smaller body

KEY DIMENSIONS iPhone 8 143.59 x 70.94 x 7.57 mm (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 in) iPhone 7 Plus 158.2 x 77.9 x 7.3 mm (6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 in) iPhone 7 138.3 x 67.1 x 7.1 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.28 in) Advertisement

Its screen appears marginally smaller than the S8+.

The images show a dual camera system on the back of the phone with one camera on top of the other and a flash between them, which confirms previous leaks.

Mr Geskin's images support claims that the front of the phone will be almost all display with only a lip at the top for a camera and sensors.

The images show a dual camera system on the back of the phone (centre) with one camera on top of the other and a flash between them, which confirms previous leaks

There does not appear to be a dual selfie camera on the front, which has previously been speculated.

On the back there is a round shaped ring which looks like it could have been a fingerprint sensor.

Mr Geskin suggests this could be where the Apple logo will be.

Slashleaks also leaked images of the iPhone 8 in flip cases a few days previously.

IPHONE 8 RUMOURS Several rumours have been circulating about the iPhone 8, and suggest the next device may have: - Dual-lens 3D camera - Augmented reality to generate real-time views of surroundings - Curved glass casing - Plastic OLED screen - Wireless charging - A folding element - New 5 inch (12.7 centimetre) and 5.8 inch (14.7 centimetre) model, which will have a wraparound OLED screen - 5.8 inch will be designed with the Touch ID finger print sensor 'under the glass and in the active display area' - A new 'pure white' model - Aluminium back will be replaced with two reinforced glass panes and a metal frame in the middle - Facial recognition - Premium model will cost $1,000 Advertisement

Obtained from 'factory workers with intimate knowledge of Apple's latest device', the leaks confirm the iPhone 8 (pictured) will be larger than the iPhone 7 in every dimension

Benjamin Geskin's images support claims that the front of the phone will be almost all display with only a lip at the top for a camera and sensors. The new release looks like it will have Touch ID fingerprint scanner embedded in the main display

These leaks came after a ten second preview video claimed to show the upcoming handset in the closest detail yet and shows some of the expected features of the final iPhone 8 design.

Mr Geskin, who uploaded the video to YouTube, said that the clip shows a dummy display model of the handset created in China, based on the schematics.

It also contains a number of expected features for the iPhone 8.

The computer-assisted design (CAD) drawings show a dual camera system on the back of the phone (right) with one camera on top of the other and a flash between them. There appears to be no Home Button on the front (left) which corroborates rumours there will be Touch ID fingerprint scanner embedded in the main display

On the back there is a round shaped ring which looks like it could have been a fingerprint sensor but Benjamin Geskin suggests it is where the Apple logo will be. The much-anticipated iPhone 8 which will mark the 10th anniversary of the gadget

The images support previous claims that the front of the phone will be almost all display with only a lip at the top for a camera and sensors. The designs also show dual speakers at the bottom edge with a Lightening port in the middle

This image shows a dummy of the phone in a case posted by Slashleaks. There does not appear to be a dual selfie camera on the front, which has previously been speculated

Slashleaks also leaked images of the iPhone 8 in flip cases. The design also corroborates the images released by Benjamin Geskin

Video courtesy of iVenyaWay

The sleek black phone is extremely thin and the glass screen area appears to reach to each corner and edge of the front of the phone, in line with rumours of a bezel-less design.

The Touch ID button is notably absent from both the front and rear of the display model, following speculation that Apple has worked out a way to embed the technology into the device's screen

The rear features a silver oval area which could house the dual-lens 3D camera thought to be a new headline feature of the iPhone 8.

The tipster also Tweeted a copy of the leaked schematics (pictured). The drawings and video show a number of expected features for the iPhone 8

The tipster also Tweeted a copy of the schematics, writing a short message on Twitter in which he said: 'Alleged #iPhone8 schematics.'

As with the iPhone 7, the schematics seem to show that the iPhone 8 will also not include a headphone socket.

The eagerly anticipated 10th anniversary edition of iPhone, rumoured to be called Edition, is expected in September.

The glass screen area appears to reach to each corner and edge of the front of the phone (left), in line with rumours of a bezel-less design. The rear (right) features a silver oval area which could house the dual-lens 3D camera thought to be a new headline feature
Beneath the waters that surround the Amamioshima Island in Japan, a tiny artist is gathering fine sand to create a patterned circle for an elaborate mating ritual.

The recently discovered white-spotted pufferfish builds underwater crop circles in order to attract a mate, which also doubles as protection for the females eggs.

Once the design is finished, a female will swim into the center to signal approval and the male bites on her cheek to start the mating process.

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Beneath the waters that surround the Amamioshima Island in Japan, a tiny artist is gathering fine sand to create a patterned circle for an elaborate mating ritual. The white-spotted pufferfish builds the underwater crop circles in order to attract a mate

MATING RITUAL The white-spotted pufferfish spends at least six weeks building a patterned mating circle that is 20 times its size. It moves around in a circle gathering up fine sand and adorns the finished structure with sand dollars and seashells. A suspecting female ventures over to the area and if she is approved, will signal for the male by hovering in the center. The male pufferfish will then grab onto the the female's cheek and begin mating - a process that only takes a few seconds. Once finished, the female swims off - never to return. Advertisement

The white-pufferfish had laid hidden until 1995 when researchers diving off the coast of the Amamioshima Island spotted the delicate patterns etched into the sand on the seabed, according to a new video from PBSs upcoming nature documentary series, Big Pacific that premiers on June 21.

The show will take viewers into the depths of the Pacific Ocean to reveal the hidden treasures that call it home  and one of the episodes highlights the elusive white-spotted pufferfish.

After the underwater circles were discovered, researchers began to monitor the seabed with the hopes of uncovering the mystery.

And within a year, the team found their answer.

The fish spends about six weeks building the structure that is 20 times its size, which also acts as a way to slow down the current in order to protect the eggs laid its mate.

The fish spends about six weeks building the structure that is 20 times its size, which also acts as a way to slow down the current in order to protect the eggs laid its potential mate

And the male even adorns the circle with sand dollars and seashells to make it more attractive.

Once a female approaches the mating area, it hovers in the center as a signal of approval.

The male swims over, snatches the female's cheek and the two creatures begin to mate, however, the process only lasts for a few seconds.

It moves around in a circle gathering up fine sand and adorns the finished structure with sand dollars and seashells. A suspecting female ventures over to the area and if she is approved, will signal for the male by hovering in the center.

The white-spotted pufferfish is about three-inches long and adorned with whites spots on its back and silvery white spots on its abdomen. It is the 20th pufferfish to fall into the species of Torquigener  but it is the only one that creates stunning patterns in the sand to attract a mate

Once finished, the female swims off - never to return.

The white-spotted pufferfish is about three-inches long and adorned with white spots on its back and silvery white spots on its abdomen.

It is the 20th pufferfish to fall into the species of Torquigener  but it is the only one that creates stunning patterns in the sand to attract a mate.

Although the white-spotted fish is the only one of its kind that plays in the sand, there are other species of fish that make similar structures to impress females.

Cichlid fish, which live in Lake Malawi, East Africa, build what are known as bowers once or twice a year so they have a place to mate.

The white-spotted pufferfish was discovered just a few years ago in the waters surround the Amamioshima Island in Japan (pictured)

Once the design is finished, a female will swim into the center to signal approval and the male bites on her cheek (pictured) before breeding. Following the mating process, the female swims off - never to return

There are 200 species of sandcastle-building cichlid fish and each creates a differently shaped bower, which they then defend in a bid to attract suitable partners.

British researchers from the University of Hull and the University of Nottingham have discovered that the exact shape of the bowers determines how many fights the male fish have with nearby rivals.
French president Emmanuel Macron launched a new website today encouraging scientists, researchers, and others concerned with climate change to move to France. And the name of the new website? Make Our Planet Great Again, of course.

Macron is hoping to lead the world in climate change, and the new site asks anyone interested to apply for positions on the site, and to apply for immigration as well.

According to Politico:

"This is a signal sent to the rest of the world," an adviser to Macron said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity? "France wants to lead the fight against climate change and we want to attract people who share that aspiration." The site, which cost 22,000 to build, is part of a public relations drive by Macron  who took office less than a month ago  to capitalize on Trump's decision to withdraw from the climate change deal, and underscores his presidency's exceptionally active approach to communications.

Make Our Planet Great Again introduces itself with a statement from Macron:

"On the 1st of June, President Donald Trump decided to withdraw the United States from the Paris agreement, which gathered more than 190 countries united against climate change. This decision is unfortunate but it only reinforced our determination. Don't let it weaken yours. We are ONE planet and Together, we can make a difference. France has always led fights for human rights. Today, more than ever, we are determined to lead (and win!) this battle on climate change."

Vive le monde!
You may curse your memory when you lose your house keys for the umpteenth time or fail to find your car after just half an hour in the supermarket.

But forgetfulness is not completely to blame for these everyday frustrations.

Instead older people who find themselves losing things more frequently probably did not pay enough attention when they put them down or left them.

Ginny Smith has said older people who lose things more frequently probably do not pay enough attention when putting objects down

Ginny Smith, presenter of an event called Mastering Memory at the Cheltenham Science Festival, said we need to focus less on recalling memories than storing them to begin with.

It means the best advice when dropping your keys somewhere at the end of the day is to make up a little poem about their location.

If that seems like too much hard work, just really concentrate without any distractions on where you put them.

The science radio presenter and Cambridge graduate, speaking after the science festival event, said: Recent studies are now very much suggesting that older people are not more likely to lose their keys and other items not just because they have a bad memory, but also because of a lack of attention.

This is usually because people walk into a room on the phone or with a bag of shopping, for example, and just throw them down.

It is not that they can then not retrieve the memory, it is that they never stored it in the first place.

She cites evidence published in the journal Psychology and Aging which found older people have fewer resources for processing attention.

Experts suggest that older people have less efficient processing resources in the frontal lobe of the brain which means it is harder to pay attention and to remember things in context.

Speaking before the science festival workshop, Miss Smith said: We know that older people lose their episodic memory, which means they struggle to look back at recent memories.

This can mean losing keys more easily or forgetting where your car is parked after leaving the supermarket.

The best advice when dropping your keys somewhere at the end of the day is to make up a little poem about their location

With age, we also become worse at filtering out distractions, which is why older people can struggle to follow a conversation in a noisy room.

So any distractions when putting down glasses or keys, or parking a car, can make it harder to remember later.

The new evidence has been used to provide tips on how to help the brain make up for the changes in later life, which can see people walk into a room and forget why or lose the spectacles on top of their head.

Miss Smith added: A tip is to really concentrate, to take a minute and think, this is where I am putting down my keys. This means attention is being paid.

We know the brain is very good at remembering rhyme so a poem might help. An example is I will not forget my keys any more, I left them on the table by the door.

But anything which provides a trigger will help - for example, remembering that you have parked in the blue bay of a car park and your wallet is also blue.
Just over 50 years ago, NASA launched two men into space on the Gemini 3 mission for the first two-man spaceflight.

They shared a corned beef sandwich which one of them had smuggled on board, and the crumbs flew everywhere, which could have damaged equipment or even have been inhaled by the astronauts.

Since then, bread has been banned in space, but a German company hopes to change this by making crumb-free bread for space.

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Fresh food, including lettuce and vegetables, has already been grown in space - but yet bread - instead, flour tortilla wraps are used aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as an alternative

HOW THEY'D MAKE THE BREAD According to Bake In Space, the company behind the space bread, the bread will be 'the typical weekend German bread roll'. It's working with other researchers to develop a dough mixture and baking method that makes crumb-free bread. According to the researchers, the hardest part of the process is developing dough with the correct texture. While bread that's chewier and tougher doesn't produce crumbs, it's also not particularly tasty. Another company, called OHB System AG, is working on developing a convection oven that abides by the constraints of the ISS. Because electricity on the ISS is limited, the oven needs to work with just 250 watts of power, which is a tenth of the power used by a standard oven. In addition, the exterior surface of the oven can't exceed 45C (113F). The company is also looking into vacum baking as an option. This system works by lowering pressure inside a sealed oven, and because the boiling point of water decreases as pressure decreases, this system would be able to bakes at lower temperatures - and make bread more fluffy. Advertisement

Fresh food, including lettuce and vegetables, has already been grown in space - but bread remains banned.

Instead, flour tortilla wraps are used aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as an alternative.

The company behind the crumb-free space bread, Bake in Space, aims to provide fresh bread to astronauts in a bid to improve astronauts' well being on long-duration missions such as on a moon base or on Mars.

'As space tourism takes off and people spend more time in space we need to allow bread to be made from scratch,' Sebastian Marcu, the founder of Bake In Space, told New Scientist.

According to Bake In Space's websites, the bread will be 'the typical weekend German bread roll'.

The company is working with the German Aerospace Centre and researchers from other organizations to make a dough mixture and baking method that makes crumb-free bread.

According to the researchers, the hardest part of the process is developing dough with the correct texture.

While bread that's chewier and tougher doesn't produce crumbs, it's also not particularly tasty.

The design of the oven to cook the dough is also important.

Another company based in Germany, called OHB System AG, which develops equipment for use in space, is working on developing a convection oven that abides by the constraints of the ISS.

Because electricity on the ISS is limited, the oven needs to work with just 250 watts of power, which is a tenth of the power used by a standard oven.

In addition, the exterior surface of the oven can't exceed 45C (113F).

'The solution is an oven with a small volume that retains heat well,' says Matthias Boehme of OHB System AG.

The company is also looking into vacum baking as an option.

The Gemini 3 mission of 1965, was America's first two-man spaceflight. It was controversial because astronaut John Young took a corned beef sandwich on board. The sandwich is shown here embedded in acrylic, exhibited at the Grissom Memorial Museum in Mitchell, Indiana

This system works by lowering pressure inside a sealed oven, and because the boiling point of water decreases as pressure decreases, this system would be able to bakes at lower temperatures - and make bread more fluffy.

Bake In Space, who presented their project at the UK Space Conference last week, will test their bread technology during the European Space Agency's Mission to the ISS in April, 2018.

They plan to control the baking process from Earth so that the astronauts don't have to worry about it.

The team will also use dough pre-baked on Earth to see how microgravity affects finished loafs of bread.

'The comforts of home, like the smell of fresh baked bread, could energize astronauts physically and psychologically, Jennifer Levasseur, from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, told New Scientist.

Bake In Space will also experiment with sourdough, creating fermented dough for sourdough bread in space.

If the project is successful, they plan to bring some dough back to Earth, potentially selling space rolls in bakeries.
A new study has suggested that America's coffee habit is harming the environment.

Researchers have discovered that because the human body is unable to consume all of the caffeine, the leftovers are expelled in urine and have made their way into rural streams.

Studies have found that, when exposed to caffeine, animals becomes stressed and are unable to protect their DNA for being genetically mutated by the stimulant.

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Researchers collected samples from 2008 to 2015 from streams in the San Diego Region and parts of Orange County. The red indicates areas were caffeine was detected

CAFFEINE IS BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Researchers have discovered that because the human body is unable to consume all of the caffeine, the leftovers are expelled in urine and have made their way into rural streams. A study investigated how the stimulant affects the creatures living in the area. The team found that near-shore mussels who live in both Oregon and the San Diego area were forced to use energy to make a protein that protects its DNA when exposed to low levels. However, those found in high level areas stopped producing the protein and were at risk of genetic mutation. 'They get so stressed out at a cellular level that they can't protect their DNA with this protein,' Granek said. Advertisement

Experts have previously known that the caffeine expelled by humans made its way to sewage systems in urban areas, but new findings have found that the stimulant has reached rural streams.

A team from the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board had found traces of it in the wild, knowing that there are no natural sources of caffeine in North America, they were force to conclude that it came from humans.

Researchers collected samples from 2008 to 2015 from streams in the San Diego Region and parts of Orange County, reported Matt Weiser with UPI.

The samples were taken from both raw sewage and treated waterwater in urban areas, in addition to some in streams in remote areas.

After analyzing the water, the team had conclude that the urban water had traces of caffeine  a result that was expected.

Samples from untreated sewage had between 0.052 and 8.5 micrograms per liter and those form septic systems ranged from 0.029 to 1.19 micrograms per liter.

However, researchers were surprised when they discovered that the streams had also tested positive  the samples ranged from 0.032 to 0.662 micrograms per liter.

Other than caffeine, traces of other human waste was also uncovered, such as viruses, pathogens and pharmaceuticals and personal care products were also detect in the samples.

'No caffeine was detected in samples collected from the sites with little to no known recreational use, and caffeine was detected in all but two of the samples collected from sites with known recreational uses, such as hiking, fishing, or horseback riding,' the team explained in a press release.

Samples from untreated sewage had between 0.052 and 8.5 micrograms per liter and those form septic systems ranged from 0.029 to 1.19 micrograms per liter

However, researchers were surprised when they discovered that the streams had also tested positive  the samples ranged from 0.032 to 0.662 micrograms per liter

The team had determined that the potential caffeine sources included 'leaky sewer lines, poorly maintained septic systems, food waste or beverage containers from trash receptacles or littering, recycled water used for irrigation, and stormwater runoff.'

In a similar study, researchers examined the coast of Oregon where they detected 45 nanograms per liter along coastlines and just 9 nanograms per liter in urban areas.

'That indicates poor-performing septic systems in rural areas, Elise Granek, the study's lead author and a marine ecologist at Portland State University, told UPI.

A third study, investigated how the stimulant affects the creatures living in the area.

Found that near-shore. mussels who live in both Oregon and the San Diego area were forced to use energy to make a protein that protects its DNA when exposed to low levels. However, those found in high level areas stopped producing the protein and were at risk of genetic mutation

The team found that near-shore mussels who live in both Oregon and the San Diego area were forced to use energy to make a protein that protects its DNA when exposed to low levels.

However, those found in high level areas stopped producing the protein and were at risk of genetic mutation.

'They get so stressed out at a cellular level that they can't protect their DNA with this protein,' Granek said.
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Alaskas Bogoslof Island may sit in a remote part of the world, but its latest activity could not hide from satellites in space.

NASA Earth Observatory has captured the eruption in a stunning image that shows a sediment plume extended to the northwest  creating a striking green-blue hue to the Bering Sea.

Snapped by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8, the photo highlights the activity that occurred on June 5 and a small puff of steam that was rising from the volcano.

NASA Earth Observatory has capture the eruption in a stunning image that shows a sediment plume extended to the northwest  creating a striking green-blue hue to the Bering Sea. Snapped by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8, the photo highlights the activity that occurred on June 5 and a small puff of steam that was rising from the volcano

BOGOSLOF VOLCANO Bogoslof Volcano sits about 850 miles southwest of Anchorage, a remote location making observation difficult. Experts have noted that there have been more than 10 eruptions since mid-December . The island has also added roughly 187,007 square feet of new land, thanks to huge amounts of lava and ash pouring from the active stratovolcano. Satellite images taken 19 years apart revealed a massive crater created by the volcano that has taken out about a third of the island's landmass. Advertisement

Since Bogoslof Volcano sprang back to life with a series of explosions starting in December 2016, scientists have been keeping watch from afar via satellite and seismologic data.

The Alaskan volcano may be remotehalfway down the Aleutian Island chainbut it still poses a hazard to aircraft.

Researchers had announced on May 28th that a major volcanic eruption is imminent, underway, or suspected, with hazardous activity both on the ground and in the air, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO).

And in the same day, the volcano exploded  shooting ash at least 35,000 feet into the air.

Two more eruptions followed days later  June 5th being the second.

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured a small puff of steam rising from the volcano and a sediment plume extended to the northwest, imparting a striking green-blue hue to the Bering Sea.

Scientists have kept a close eye on Bogoslof volcano, as it keeps erupting, and has demolished much of its Aleutian island home with a string of huge explosions.

Earlier this year, scientists took a unique look at how the eruptions had changed the layout of the remote island.

Satellite images taken 19 years apart revealed a massive crater created by the volcano that has taken out about a third of the island's landmass.

The volcano sits about 850 miles southwest of Anchorage, a remote location making observation difficult.

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured a small puff of steam rising from the volcano (pictured is an image snapped on Earth) Scientists have kept a close eye on Bogoslof volcano, as it keeps erupting, and has demolished much of its Aleutian island home with a string of huge explosions

On December 23, observers on a Coast Guard vessel reported spotting ash, lightning, and 'ejection of incandescent lava,' scientists at the Observatory said in a report.

There have been more than 10 eruptions since mid-December, observatory geophysicist Dave Schneider said.

Prior to that, the last reported eruption was in 1992, when an eruption lasting 19 days sent a cloud rising to 3 km above Bogoslof Island, which was identified on satellite imagery.

The massive explosions have demolished much of Bogoslof's island home, US Geological Survey observations show.

The island has also added roughly 187,007 square feet of new land, thanks to huge amounts of lava and ash pouring from the active stratovolcano.

Chris Waythomas, a geologist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory, noted how the landscape has changed in a pair of satellite photos taken nearly 19 years apart.

Alaska's remote Bogoslof volcano keeps erupting, and has demolished much of its Aleutian island home. Points A-D are the same place in both photos. A is Castle Rock, B shows 1927 lava deposits, C shows 1992 lava and D is Fire Island. View is roughly North and the distance from A to C is around 820 metres (0.5 miles)

 Slide me  Satellite images taken 19 years apart have revealed a massive crater created by the volcano that has taken out about a third of the island's landmass

Ash has built up, causing more mass at the northern tip of the island, while the underwater volcano has also created a huge crater that has taken out a third of the island's landmass.

Mr Waythomas told CBS News: 'It might help us with the understanding of the ash plumes that have been generated.

'They're all happening in a submarine environment, so seawater plays a big role in driving this eruption.

The island has added roughly 187,007 square feet of new land, thanks to huge amounts of lava and ash pouring from the active stratovolcano. Red line shows how it looked in 2011, the blue line its coastline on 22nd December 2016 and the purple line how it looked just a few days later on the 25th

Alaska's remote Bogoslof volcano keeps erupting, and has demolished much of its Aleutian island home with a string of huge explosions. Pictured is an explosion in December

'So magma, seawater interaction is a big part of the eruptive process.'

The island is home to a large population of fur seals, who may have been impacted by the relentless eruptions.

Vulcanologists plan to visit the area this year with US Fish and Wildlife Service biologists to see the impact to the seals and other wildlife.

Bogoslof Island is roughly 850 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. The island is home to a large population of fur seals, who may have been impacted by the relentless eruptions

Bogoslof Island's coastline has changed completely, with repeated eruptions in December destroying 72,000 square meters of land area
She's just weeks away from having her first child.

But Laura Prepon and her actor fiance Ben Foster have kept their baby's sex under wraps...until now.

The beaming 37-year-old let their secret slip when she appeared on ABC's Live With Kelly And Ryan on Thursday.

It's a girl: Laura Prepon revealed she and her actor fiance Ben Foster are expecting a baby daughter next month when she appeared on Live With Kelly And Ryan on Thursday morning

Laura shared with Ripa: 'Its weird because it sneaks up on you, youre like, "I cant believe its been eight months already."

'But then youre like, "Oh my gosh, she needs to, like, come out already!"

'Its so wonderful. Its just, like, a blessing,' Laura continued. 'Its, like, she likes it here. Shes already kicking.'

The actress made the most of her blossoming belly in a short-sleeved, knee-length black dress with tiny white polka dots and a wide red belt.

Happy to be there: The 37-year-old wore a black dress with tiny polka dots and a wide red belt, emphasizing her baby bump as she dished, 'She likes it here. Shes already kicking'

Hug and a kiss: The beautiful brunette was warmly greeted by Kelly Ripa as co-host Ryan Seacrest looked on

Laura was on the show to promote her new movie, The Hero, due out on Friday, and her Netflix hit Orange Is The New Black, set to start its seventh season the same day.

The actress certainly isn't letting her baby bump slow her down.

She even grabbed a bite to eat in the limo on the way to the morning show, posting an Instagram selfie as she ate a strawberry.

Strawberry snack: Laura posted this instagram snap captioned, 'En route to @livekellyandryan Breakfast of champions! @theheromovie @oitnb'

Social media star: Getting her message out there on Twitter and Instagram

The beauty captioned it: 'En route to @livekellyandryan. Breakfast of champions! @theheromovie @oitnb.'

Laura seemed to be bursting with energy as she raced around New York for a second date, this time at SiriusXM, despite a late Wednesday night at a special screening of The Hero.

She changed her outfit for her radio interview, showing off her blossoming figure in a skin tight black sweater with a deep v-neck, equally tight jeans and black court shoes with low heels.

Now you see it, now you don't: The star's baby bump was barely visible in her black sweater when she stood front on but it was more than apparent in side views

The brunette, whose long wavy tresses cascaded past her shoulders, cradled her baby bump as she posed at the studio.

Laura and her actor fiance Ben Foster announced they were expecting a baby back in January.

The Hero, due out on Friday, stars Sam Elliott as a washed-up Western actor looking for a career revival who finds new love with a stand-up comic, played by Laura.

Meanwhile, the fifth series of OITNB returns to Netflix the same evening.

Promo pose: From left, The Hero director Brett Haley, Laura and Sam Elliott at a special screening of the movie in New York on Wednesday evening. It opens on Friday
She poised to cash in on her West Hollywood condo.

And Dame Joan Collins, 84, isn't messing around with the price of the place which has been listed for $4.5 million.

The former Dynasty star, whose main residence is in London, bought the condo for $2.7 million in 2007 in the exclusive building, according to Page Six.

Making some money: Dame Joan Collins, 84, isn't messing around with the price of her West Hollywood condo which has been listed for $4.5 million (pictured in May)

Profit: The former Dynasty star bought the condo for $2.7 million in 2007 in the exclusive building, according to Page Six

The site talked to listing agent Josh Greer, who also lives in the complex and asserts the residence is the 'height of Hollywood glamour.'

The corner unit is on the 25th floor of Sierra Towers, which was built in 1965, and has gorgeous views of the Hollywood Hills and much of Los Angeles.

Greer says, on a clear day, the views reach all the way to the Pacific ocean.

The complex is located in the posh area between Beverly Hill and West Hollywood, right in the heart of the city.

The corner unit is on the 25th floor of Sierra Towers, which was built in 1965

Room with a view: It has gorgeous views of the Hollywood Hills and much of Los Angeles

Large bathrooms: There are three in the condo and they are airy and spacious

At 2,300 square feet, it has two bedrooms and three bathrooms.

It's currently decorated in Joan's taste, but Greer says a new buyer will likely 'blow it out' and completely remodel.

At the amount of money the condo is going for, options for potential buyers are pretty vast.

To their liking: It's currently decorated in Joan's taste, but agents says a new buyer will likely 'blow it out' and completely remodel

Elegant fabrics: Joan has decorated the home in silks and other elegant fabrics

'People will buy one in hopes they can get the one next door. It's a chess game,' Greer revealed.

Collins, who is best known for playing Alexis Carrington Colby on Dynasty in the 80s, spends most of her time in London.

Earlier this year, Dame Joan was in the middle of a dispute with neighbors over construction in her neighborhood.

Lots of white: The apartment currently features a lot of white, especially in the kitchen and bathroom

She is upset about the extensive construction work underway, including a 108ft 'super basement' being built beneath the 15million townhouse next door.

Dame Joan has now taken to social media to reveal the extent of the disruption it has caused, describing her home as a 'danger zone' and sharing pictures that show how the upmarket street has been rendered impassable by lorries and equipment.

The actress' has been tweeting about the dispute, showing the building site outside her house. The tweet included the hashtag '#whenwillitstop'.
Sheridan Smith has been forced to temporarily withdraw from her touring musical Funny Girl after being struck down with the mumps.

The talented actress, who takes the lead as Fanny Brice in the hugely popular show, pulled out of a week long run at Bradfords Alhambra Theatre following her diagnosis on Tuesday.

Sheridan, 35, will be replaced by Natasha J. Barnes  with whom she has shared the role during its winding UK tour  until Saturday, after which the show will resume at Nottingham Theatre Royal from June 12.

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Pulling out: Sheridan Smith has been forced to temporarily withdraw from her touring musical Funny Girl after being struck down with the mumps

Her absence with the contagious viral infection has resulted in disappointment for hundreds of fans, with many having booked tickets specifically to see Sheridan onstage.

With Natasha already scheduled to play Brice in Nottingham, the actress is expected to return for a run of shows at Southends Cliffs Pavilion from June 19.

The Alhambra notified fans of her sudden absence in an official statement, released by the West Yorkshire theatre on Tuesday.

Sudden illness: The talented actress, who takes the lead as Fanny Brice in the hugely popular show, pulled out of a week long run at Bradfords Alhambra Theatre following her diagnosis on Tuesday

Disappointment: The Alhambra notified fans of her sudden absence in an official statement, released by the West Yorkshire theatre on Tuesday

'Following test results, it is confirmed that Sheridan Smith has contracted mumps and on doctor's advice will not be able to perform in Funny Girl at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford this week,' it revealed.

'The producers and company wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming her back as soon as possible.

'This week, the role of Fanny Brice will be played by Natasha J. Barnes who is currently sharing the role of Fanny Brice with Sheridan Smith on the UK Tour of Funny Girl.'

Stepping in: Sheridan, 35, will be replaced by Natasha J. Barnes  with whom she has shared the role during its winding UK tour  until Saturday, after which the show will resume at Nottingham Theatre Royal from June 12

Sheridan previously pulled out of shows during its West End run at London's Savoy Theatre in May 2016, with 'stress' and exhaustion' cited as causes for her absence. The actress returned to the role on 8 July.

She also quit a previous run at the Menier Chocolate Factory, also in London, in March of that year after her father Colin was diagnosed with cancer.

After being insulted by a fan on Twitter for her absence, she wrote: 'If you just found out your dad had cancer you wouldn't be such a heartless human. Take care love (sic).'

Tragedy: Sheridan previously quit a run at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London after her father Colin was diagnosed with cancer; she later cancelled an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance after Colin lost his battle with the illness, aged 80

Hours earlier she posted: 'Had s*** news today, sorry I can't make the show for you loyal fans. If you ask they give u tickets to the Savoy (sic)!'

She also hit out at show bosses by tweeting to the official Twitter page for the production, alleging they were breaking their contract by pressurising her to return to the stage, tweeting: 'They don't give a f*** about my dad.'

Nine months later Sheridan cancelled an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance after Colin lost his battle with the illness, aged 80.

Her current illness explains her absence in Glasgow, where cast-mates including Darius Campbell partied until the early hours at the city's Blythswood Square Hotel on Monday evening.
She's famous for her fit figure.

So it's little wonder that Hailey Baldwin decided on a revealing top for her outing in West Hollywood on Thursday.

The 20-year-old model gave onlookers a glance at her fantastically flat tummy thanks to her pale yellow, cropped Supreme hoodie.

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Flashing the flesh: Hailey Baldwin decided on a revealing top for her outing in West Hollywood on Thursday

The daughter of Stephen Baldwin also showed off her gloriously narrow waist and toned gams in a pair of textured grey leggings.

She seemed to be carrying quite a haul, as she toted a black alligator skin handbag, phone and coffee cup in her right hand.

It appeared as though the runway beauty's hair was still wet after a shower, as the starlet combed her honey tresses back with her hand.

She must do situps: The 20-year-old model gave onlookers a glance at her fantastically flat tummy thanks to her pale yellow, cropped Supreme hoodie

Hailey appeared to be mostly make-up free, with the exception of a slick of pale crimson lipstick.

While she was dressed casually for her outing, her outfit from the night before was anything but.

On Wednesday, she hit the town with her actor beau Cameron Dallas as they headed to an IGM Model Party in Hollywood.

Relaxed: It appeared as though the runway beauty's hair was still wet after a shower, as the starlet combed her honey tresses back with her hand

Perfect pair? On Wednesday, she hit the town with her actor beau Cameron Dallas as they headed to an IGM Model Party in Hollywood

The professional clotheshorse looked sensational in a hot pink slip dress with a matching shirt pulled over the top as she borrowed from the Nineties in her chic style.

She oozed sexy style in her ensemble which made the most of her endless legs and slender frame by hanging loosely off her physique.

Clearly proud of her getup, she shared a snap of the outfit on Instagram while giggling and pulling the shirt off her shoulders.
The Take That-themed musical The Band, featuring songs by the legendary pop group, has already sold 10 million-worth of tickets  three months before a nationwide tour begins.

Its a record breaking amount for the show about five teenage girls, the women they become, and the boy band they follow for 25 years.

Nick Carsberg, A.J. Bentley, Curtis T. Johns, Yazdan Qafouri and Sario Watanabe-Solomon, who all appeared on the BBC programme Let It Shine as the group Five-to-Five, will play the lads known as The Band.

Take That musical The Band has already sold 10 million-worth of tickets, three months before a nationwide tour begins

Their grown-up followers will be played by Rachel Lumberg, Alison Fitzjohn, Emily Joyce and Jayne McKenna, while Faye Christall and Rachelle Diedericks (a newcomer who graduates from the Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts next month) will play two of the fans when they were schoolgirls.

The Band will travel to 20 venues over its 40-week tour, which kicks off at the Manchester Opera House for three weeks on September 8.

Written by award-winning stage and film writer Tim Firth, the show is being produced by the established team of David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers, along with the full original Take That line-up of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams.

The musical follows a group of teenage girls, and the women they become who follow a boyband (pictured) for 25 years

The Band will travel to 20 venues over its 40-week tour, which kicks off at the Manchester Opera House for three weeks on September 8. Pictured, the leading ladies

The box-office success of The Band was bittersweet for Firth and Barlow. Another of their shows  the Olivier award-nominated musical The Girls (a favourite of mine)  will close at the West Ends Phoenix Theatre on July 15.

Interestingly, sales have shot up since its closing notice was posted two weeks ago. The Girls will embark on a 42-week UK tour next year.

London has become a perilous place for new shows of late; and a few more are likely to close in the run up to the autumn season.

Interestingly, sales have shot up since its closing notice was posted two weeks ago. The Girls will embark on a 42-week UK tour next year. Pictured, Rachelle Diedericks relaxes during rehearsals

The musical is being produced by the established team of David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers, along with the full original Take That line-up of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Jason Orange and Robbie Williams

The West End is a great concern now, so were taking The Band direct to the people, by touring, Pugh told me.

He pointed out the top ticket price of 49.50 (and lowest at 19.50) was still a lot of money for some people. But there were other advantages for folks seeing it on tour. They know where to park; they know where they like to eat; or they can have their teas before they come and see it.

Pugh said he and Rogers are big fans of Ken Dodd, and his legendary touring prowess.

The band are played by Five to Five, who won BBC reality show Let It Shine for the chance to star in the musical

A.J. said: Were like five excitable little puppies. Were happy, because were constantly busy. Like Duracell bunnies.' Pictured, the band relax and play pool

The ensemble also visited a recording studio where they laid down a beautifully arranged a capella version of Back For Good

We want to follow Ken Dodd and take The Band to every theatre in the country, he said, smiling at the thought.

Members of The Band company spent Tuesday and Wednesday reading the latest version of Firths script; the session was filmed, and videos were dispatched to Take That for their comments.

The ensemble also visited a recording studio where they laid down a beautifully arranged a capella version of Back For Good, and the Five-to-Five boys recorded a medley of Take That songs.

Members of The Band company spent Tuesday and Wednesday reading the latest version of Firths script

The band's grown-up followers will be played by Rachel Lumberg, Alison Fitzjohn, Emily Joyce and Jayne McKenna

Tim Firth said: The great thing about them is that they know, instinctively, the work ethic theyve got to adopt'

Were like five excitable little puppies, A.J. told me, during a break in which he and his mates were playing pool.

Were happy, because were constantly busy.

Like Duracell bunnies, he added, with a giggle.

Tim added: 'Theyre coming into this with an understanding of the immense mountain theyve got to climb.'

Bittersweet: As The Band enjoys commercial success, Firth and Barlow's first musical The Girls is set to close in July

We love animals, A.J. pointed out.

Firth said: The great thing about them is that they know, instinctively, the work ethic theyve got to adopt. And theyre coming into this with an understanding of the immense mountain theyve got to climb.

The boys are appreciative of the chance the show has given them.

The King And I is poised for the Palladium

Get ready to whistle a happy tune, because the celebrated Broadway production of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammersteins The King And I with Kelli OHara and Ken Watanabe has its eye on the London Palladium for a limited season next year.

There was chatter that the show, directed by Bartlett Sher at the Lincoln Centre in New York, would head this way last year; or maybe this.

But various things got in the way  the availability of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, for one.

Rogers and Hammerstein's The King And I (starring Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe) has its eyes on the London Palladium for a limited season next year

And I happen to know that Sher wanted both Ms OHara (who won a Tony for her layered exploration of Anna Leonowens, real-life governess to the royal Siamese children) and Watanabe (the film actor best known for Letters From Iwo Jima and Inception) to do the polka in London.

The impresario Howard Panter is, according to informed rumour, hoping for a 15-week run at the Palladium from mid-June 2018 for the classic show, which features great songs such as Getting To Know You, Shall We Dance and Hello Young Lovers.

Last time I wrote here about Ms OHara, who would be making her West End debut (as would Watanabe), there were some sniffy retorts that she wasnt that special. Well, I disagree.

O'Hara has a lightness of touch coupled with that rare ability to convey a lot with a little, that is special indeed, writes Baz Bamigboye

My sense is that OHara (who Ive caught in several shows) has a lightness of touch, coupled with that rare ability to convey a lot with a little . . . just a smile or a frown . . . that is special indeed. And she can sing!

Shers going to have a busy time in London town, what with the sublime J.T. Rogers play Oslo (up for several Tony Awards on Sunday, including best play) bound for the National Theatre and the Harold Pinter in the autumn; followed by The King And I this time next year.

The Old Vic is in the running for a best musical Tony Award with Groundhog Day  up against Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away and The Great Comet.

But its the revival of Hello, Dolly!, starring a luminous Bette Midler, thats creating the most Tony excitement.

Will she win best actress in a musical? You betcha. Will she bring Dolly to London? Shed better.
Chris Evans is the last dude you'd expect to get misty eyed over his leading lady, unless that lady happens to be a ten-year-old by the name of Mckenna Grace. The pair star together in the independent movie Gifted

Chris Evans is looking tough-guy fit: honed and toned with biceps bulging. Hes Captain America on screen, the last dude youd expect to get misty eyed over his leading lady.

Unless that lady happens to be a ten-year-old girl by the name of Mckenna Grace. The pair star together in the independent movie Gifted. Evans plays Frank Adler, the uncle who cares for niece Mary (Mckenna), whose mother is out of the picture.

Marys a mathematical genius, while Frank, according to Evans, is a lumbering gorilla.

I dont think he knows how to convey emotion properly, he said sadly.

Uncle and niece muddle along  with a bit of help from a neighbour (Octavia Spencer). Mary is soon hailed as a maths prodigy; and then a tug-of-love battle begins, as others seek to take the child from him.

Theres no denying Evans, 35, and Mckenna have great chemistry. Its difficult for the camera to lie when adults act with children; and sometimes theres a palpably uncomfortable vibe. But not in Gifted.

Mckennas a force to be reckoned with: a real firecracker . . . very wise for her age! Evans enthused. Shes a fresh new soul who made it very easy for everyone  and she tells jokes!

The pair play an uncle and niece, who muddle along  with a bit of help from a neighbour, played by Octavia Spencer (pictured) Theres no denying Evans, 35, and Mckenna have great chemistry.

Chris Evans shot to fame in 2011 as Steve Rogers, who is transformed into Captain America in the Marvel franchise.

You hear this kind of gush all the time; and normally Id put a stop to it. But in this case I happen to know that the people on Gifted got on very well.

Evans puts it down to the time spent rehearsing before director Marc Webb rolled cameras. There was time to develop a bond, and trust built very quickly. Thats the key. We trusted each other.

Mckennas mum was with her and we all hung out and ate together when we could, Evans told me. He got on well, too, with Lindsay Duncan, who has a key role in the picture which opens here next Friday.

Evans said: There was time to develop a bond, and trust built very quickly. Thats the key. We trusted each other. The crew would burst into applause after scenes with Lindsay'

The crew would burst into applause after scenes with Lindsay. That normally never happens! I felt like I was back in the theatre at summer camp, he joked.

Chris and his siblings did shows at school and in community theatre in the colonial town outside Boston, Massachusetts, where they were raised.

Each of us probably did about 20 plays; and by the time I was 16 or 17 the woman who ran the theatre retired and my mother took the gig, he told me.

Mckenna's character Mary is soon hailed as a maths prodigy; and then a tug-of-love battle begins, as others seek to take the child from him

Although hes soared as a movie star, Evans believes its important to return to the stage when he can. Next March, he will appear alongside Michael Cera in Kenneth Lonergans The Lobby Hero, as a police officer.

Lonergan has perfected the art of drawing drama out of real life (an ability that earned him an Oscar for his last film, Manchester By The Sea). As Evans continued chatting, it occurred to me that he has just the chops for a Lonergan character.

I mention Anthony Hopkins mantra about not being able to play real life if you dont live it (Nicole Kidman says it a lot, too).

Next March, Evans will appear alongside Michael Cera in Kenneth Lonergans The Lobby Hero, as a police officer

Thats exactly it! he said. You dont want to look back and say: Yeah, life was great, but I f****** missed it. Or: I was there, but I wasnt. You know, this business can become more about binary and maths and having a cold heart if youre not careful.

So I do step away occasionally. I go home to Massachusetts to rest.

A nd he takes his rescue dog Dodger with him. Evans said he had a DNA test done to determine his breed, and when it came back it said part Boxer, part Lab, part Pit Bull . . . and part Pomeranian. The idea clearly tickles him. I mean, who knew?!

He has recently finished filming Avengers Three and is about to start shooting Red Sea Diving Resort with Ben Kingsley and Alex Hassell for Gideon Raff, one of the creators of Homeland. Its about how Israeli secret operatives rescued Ethiopian Jews from camps in Sudan.

And after that, he will don the Captain America suit again, for Avengers 4. Its the final picture in his contract with Marvel, but from the twinkle in his eye its clear he might be persuaded to pick up that shield again.

Captain America is fun to do  and Marvel have the Midas touch, he told me. It has been the gift that keeps on giving.

Watch out for...

Zizi Strallen (right) and Leisha Mollyneaux (far right), who have been cast by director Dominic Cooke to play the roles of young Phyllis and young Stella in his production of the Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman musical Follies, which will run in the Olivier at the National Theatre from August 22. Strallens role is the younger version of Phyllis Rogers Stone: who will be played by Janie Dee. Ms Mollyneaux will be the younger version of Stella Deems (played by Dawn Hope).

Liz White has been cast in a new production of Jim Cartwrights debut play Road, which will run in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court from July 21

Phyllis, Stella and Sally Durant Plummer (Imelda Staunton) were chorus girls in the fictional Weismann Follies show, which ran in New York between the two World Wars (the already announced Alex Young will play young Sally). The tale focuses on Phyllis and Sally, who meet up again in 1971, at a reunion  during which Stella leads the former Follies in a rousing tap number called Whos That Woman? The cast also includes Philip Quast, Peter Forbes, Tracie Bennett  and Gary Raymond as Dimitri Weismann.

John Tiffany (the director of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child), who has cast Liz White, Mark Hadfield, Michelle Fairley, Faye Marsay, Mike Noble, Dan Parr, Lemn Sissay and June Watson in a new production of Jim Cartwrights debut play Road, which will run in the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs at the Royal Court from July 21  32 years after its first performance in the Courts upstairs studio space.

The company directed by Simon Curtis, way back then, included Edward Tudor Pole, Lesley Sharp and Susan Brown (whos giving a series of breathtaking performances as multiple characters in the unmissable Angels In America at the National Theatre right now).

Cartwright once said that Road features the nutters, mystics and drunks that hed met in school and at the pub. It explores the dead end many found themselves in during Margaret Thatchers time in Downing Street.

Nikki Amuka-Bird will take on Henrik Ibsens heroine Ellida Wangel in his play The Lady From The Sea: a story of a woman torn between her husband and the tidal pull of a former lover

Nikki Amuka-Bird, who will join the small list of actresses  which includes Vanessa Redgrave and Natasha Richardson  who have taken on Henrik Ibsens heroine Ellida Wangel in his play The Lady From The Sea: a story of a woman torn between her husband and the tidal pull of a former lover from her days in a coastal town.

The superb Ms Amuka-Bird will lead a new version of the play by Elinor Cook, directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, into the Donmar Warehouse Theatre from October 12.
In her new series The FREQ Show, Anita Sarkeesian digs into insidious, pervasive Hollywood stereotypes about Muslims and Arabs, and how those stereotypes fuel real-world Islamophobia. As Sarkeesian puts it:

To so many Americans, people in the Middle East have never been established as human beings with real lives, hopes, dreams, and struggles. When almost every story you've ever seen about a particular part of the world paints the people who live there as monolithic, evil, and scary, you're a lot more likely to believe that it's actually true.

And it's not just fictional representation that's a problem. According to a study by University of Illinois professor Travis Dixon that analyzed 146 episodes of TV news programing between 2008 and 2012, 81 percent of the terrorist suspects discussed on TV news were Muslim. In real life, however, Muslims accounted for just 6 percent of actual FBI terrorist suspects during that time period.
He's one of Australia's most beloved actors who has never been afraid to play the 'bad guy'.

And Ben Mendelsohn proved that he can make even the most innocent of children's films sound terrifying.

The Animal Kingdom actor was chatting with Louis Hobba from Triple J about his choice of villainous roles, when he gave a chilling rendition of I Just Can't Wait To Be King from The Lion King.

Villain: Ben Mendelsohn proved that he can make even the most innocent of children's film fare sound terrifying after turning his talents to a song from the Lion King on Thursday

'We were talking about your back catalogue and it's terrifying - you're a lovely man in real life but onscreen you're a terrifying person,' Louis said.

'We just wondered if there was anything you couldn't "Mendelsohn up" - if there's anything you couldn't make terrifying.'

'I'm sure there's plenty, but what did you have in mind,' Ben asked the host, before Louis suggested the hit song from the classic children's animation.

Versatile; 'We just wondered if there was anything you couldn't "Mendelsohn up" - if there's anything you couldn't make terrifying,' Triple J's Louis Hobba said to the star

'I just want you to do it as you do everything,' Louis directed the star.

As Louis played some ominous background music, Ben, without batting an eyelid, launched into a truly unsettling version of the song.

As he read the opening lines: 'I'm gonna be a mighty King, so enemies beware,' Ben almost completely altered the tone of the bright and breezy original.

Menacing: With that, Ben gave a rendition of I Just Can't Wait To Be King' that sent chills across the airwaves.

Unsettling: Ben upped the creepy stakes throughout the course of the reading and, by the time he uttered the last 'I can't wait to be King' Louis was palpably shaken

Ben upped the creepy stakes throughout the course of the reading and, by the time he uttered the last 'I can't wait to be King' Louis was palpably shaken.

'Oh, my God Ben Mendelsohn - I will never sleep again,' he said.

One of Australia's most versatile actors, Ben has never shied away from playing the bad guy.

Some of his best known roles have seen him on the darker end of the spectrum, such as the chilling Andrew 'Pope' Cody in the chilling Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom.

Ben's talent for playing the bad guy was also flaunted in the recent blockbuster Star Wars as villain Orson Krennic

Chilling: Some of Ben's best known roles have seen him on the darker end of the spectrum, such as t Andrew 'Pope' Cody in the chilling Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom (pictured)

Intergalactic: Ben's talent for playing the bad guy was also flaunted in the recent blockbuster Star Wars as villain Orson Krennic


She seemed to have the best - if briefest - time of her life canoodling with famed sex addict Scott Disick in Cannes.

And Bella Thorne showed the reality television personality what he is missing when she showed off her taut tummy in Hollywood on Thursday.

The self-styled actress wore a look of smug satisfaction as she flaunted her washboard stomach as she made the most of a gap in her busy schedule by stretching her legs.

Scott free: But Bella Thorne showed Disick what he is missing by showing off her taut tummy in Hollywood on Thursday

The teenagers former lover, who himself is 34-years-old, may secretly have a pang of regret when he sees her latest ensemble.

For the 19-year-old fitness fanatic looked in fine form in a cropped jacket, bra, chequered trousers and white boots.

The Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Roadchip favourite has been spotted cosying up to ex Gregg Sulkin, whom she'd dated for over a year before they split last August, following her fling with Scott.

Bella had a very public falling out with the self-proclaimed Lord, who is a decade and a half her senior, after their trip to France.

Hatagirl: She rounded off her eye-catching look with a trendy cap

Hard to stomach: She was also flaunting her abdominals on social media

Ready for her close up: She also uploaded a beauty shot to Snapchat

The two were seen canoodling at Cannes Film Festival, but the next day Disick already had a new lady on his arm.

The self-confessed 'sex addict' was spotted - poolside once again - getting cozy with his swimsuit-wearing ex-girlfriend, stylist Chloe Bartoli.

That same day Bella tweeted: 'Yo this #cannes fancy life isn't for me,' and less than 24 hours later, she wrote more specifically about Scott on social media.

Quoting another user's tweet that read: 'Waiting for @bellathorne to tweet that she's not talking to Scott and that she's actually with someone else,' Bella wrote in response: 'Hahahah I'm not talking to scott or anyone else. #dontf***withit'.

If she were chocolate: She seemed to have a great time flaunting her physique

Key to her heart? She was wearing a key around her neck on a chain
Common (Royal National Theatre)

Verdict: A new low for the NT

Pointless swearing, olde-worlde speak, lesbianism, incest, colour and gender-blind casting, pagan fertility rites, ooh-arhh accents, an incomprehensible plot and a mechanised, talking crow: is Common the worst show yet staged at the Royal National Theatre?

The 19th-century theft of open pastures  the Inclosure Acts  is a historic scandal full of dramatic potential. The subject could be topical, showing a parliamentary elite pushing its weight around, depriving the populus.

You can see why the Nationals artistic supremo Rufus Norris might have been initially drawn to playwright DC Moores idea. But as soon as he read Moores muddled, cod-verse script, rotten Rufus should have dropped it in the WPB. Instead, risibly, unless you are one of the poor actors involved, it has been given the main stage at our countrys leading subsidised theatre for ten weeks.

Trevor Fox (Heron) and Anne-Marie Duff (Mary) in Common at the National Theatre. Is it Common the worst show yet staged at the Royal National Theatre?

Anne-Marie Duff plays a character who may be called Mary. She arrives in an undefined English village circa 1800. Is she from London? Is she from another age? Blow me if I could work that out.

Miss Duffs half-hearted delivery of orotund lines left me baffled. She could have been reading the small print in an insurance policy. An adolescent farmhand, Eggy Tom (Lois Chimimba), speaks like a 21st-century yoof, complete with innits?.

She takes a message from mysterious Mary to her sister Laura (Cush Jumbo). Laura is busy burying animals. Was that a dead Shetland pony she was dragging across the stage? Or was it the quality-control officer in the Nationals new-drama department? We have our first C-word in roughly the second minute of dialogue. Mary shrugs and tells the Nationals genteel audience: If my language you offends, fist-f*** you all.

Laura is surprised to hear from Mary, since she thought her long dead. This is not the only resurrection.

The second half starts with Mary clambering out of a grave  a hand piercing a slit in the stages covering of soil. Schlock horror time. The villages farm folk are first seen with pagan headgear  one man with a wheatsheaf on his bonce, though it may have been a Jedward hairdo.

He turns out to be Marys incestuous brother (John Dagleish) and ends up having his entrails cut from his chest.

Out they come, glurrrtchhhh, a string of chipolatas splattered in ketchup. This provoked titters of mirth from an audience that melted away somewhat in the interval. Word has it that, some nights, the rate of attrition is as high as a third as patrons leg it for the exits at half-time.

Marys relationship with her siblings takes up more of the plot than the controversy over the villages common being enclosed by a syphilitic landowner (Tim McMullan, who needs, please, to become more discerning in the parts he accepts).

As soon as he read Moores muddled, cod-verse script, Rufus Norris should have dropped it in the WPB

Trevor Fox, as the squires henchman, does his Geordie routine again and fires a rifle a couple of times. That at least woke me up. Other actors sound like something from The Archers.

What were the arguments for and against the Inclosures Act? The play does not offer an opinion. What is the historical context? We get none. What are the consequences (eg, Industrial Revolution urbanisation, higher crop yields, economic enslavement)? Nope. None of that, either.

Common is a pseudish, muffled dud from start to dreary end. Suitable only for connoisseurs of stage disasters.
Nocturnal Animals actress Isla Fisher pampered herself (and her enviable auburn tresses) with a visit to a Studio City hair salon on Thursday.

The 41-year-old SAG Award nominee - who relies on stylist Anita Patrickson - looked chic in a short-sleeved, sheer dotted maxi-dress with red loafer mules.

On May 17, Isla joined guest judges Courteney Cox and Will Arnett for ABC's reboot of seventies variety competition The Gong Show, which premieres June 22 with host Mike Myers.

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Maintaining her mane: Nocturnal Animals actress Isla Fisher pampered herself (and her enviable auburn tresses) with a visit to a Studio City hair salon on Thursday

Sophisticated: The 41-year-old SAG Award nominee - who relies on stylist Anita Patrickson - looked chic in a short-sleeved, sheer dotted maxi-dress with red loafer mules

The Muscat-born Australian (with Scottish parents) is in 'final negotiations' to co-star with Keanu Reeves as grieving parents in Dome Karukoski's dramedy The Starling - according to Deadline.

And American readers can now preorder a hardcover copy of Fisher's collection of babysitting short stories, Marge in Charge, before it hits shelves on October 3.

The Keeping Up with the Joneses funnywoman knows a thing or two about children thanks to her daughters Olive, 9; and Elula, 6; as well as son Montgomery, 2; with husband Sacha Baron Cohen.

'My biggest aim is to be considered cool by my kids. I'd also like to write more children's books and, on the acting side, work with the Coen brothers, David Fincher, Spike Jonze, and Adam McKay - preferably not as their assistant,' the Home and Away alum told MailOnline's Miranda Thompson last year.

'I may have given a "10" to everyone!' On May 17, Isla joined guest judges Courteney Cox and Will Arnett for ABC's The Gong Show, which premieres June 22 with host Mike Myers

Next role? The Muscat-born Australian (with Scottish parents) is in 'final negotiations' to co-star with Keanu Reeves (L) as grieving parents in Dome Karukoski's dramedy The Starling

Third literary effort: And American readers can now preorder a hardcover copy of Fisher's collection of babysitting short stories, Marge in Charge, before it hits shelves on October 3

'I wish I had the secret to balancing it all as a mum, but I don't have a clue. "Don't worry about being perfect or you'll miss out on the fun!" - that's the message from Marge in Charge and I try to keep it in mind myself when I am juggling life.'

The Brothers Grimsby couple - who met at a 2002 party in Sydney - impressively celebrated seven years of marriage on March 15.

Fans can next reportedly catch the 45-year-old Golden Globe winner as the titular master illusionist in Etan Cohen's 2019 Warner Bros. flick, Mandrake the Magician.

'My biggest aim is to be considered cool by my kids': Isla knows a thing or two about children thanks to her daughters Olive, 9; and Elula, 6; as well as son Montgomery, 2 (pictured Sunday); with husband Sacha Baron Cohen

Still going strong! The Brothers Grimsby couple - who met at a 2002 party in Sydney - impressively celebrated seven years of marriage on March 15 (pictured February 26)
The son of late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin terrified The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon with a boa constrictor when he made his US late-night TV debut in February.

But when Robert Irwin, 13, returned to the talk show on Thursday, the host was in awe of a few of the cute animals the Australian teen had brought with him.

Jimmy, 42, happily left the comfort of his desk to bottle-feed an adorable kangaroo joey during the segment.

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A VERY special guest! Steve Irwin's son Robert, 13, helps Jimmy Fallon bottle-feed cute kangaroo joey on The Tonight Show on Thursday

Robert introduced the baby red kangaroo, who is the biggest kangaroo species, as eight-month-old Hazel.

Jimmy, on his hands and knees, looked on at the sweet joey as Robert gestured for the comedian to come around to feed her.

Walking slowly around the animal to not frighten or startle the creature on his set, he said: 'She's like a little bunny rabbit kind of thing.'

'She's like a little bunny rabbit kind of thing': Jimmy, on his hands and knees, looked on at the sweet joey as Robert gestured for the comedian to come around to feed her

'That's pretty cute. She gave you a kiss': Robert demonstrated to Jimmy how to 'blow on her face' in order to 'introduce' himself to the joey named Hazel

'She's staring me down,' Jimmy said as he held the bottle gently for the joey.

Robert then suggested he 'blow on her face' in order to 'introduce' himself.

'Hazel, thank you for...' the talk show host trailed off as the kangaroo positioned itself away from him.

Cute! After practicing his bottle feeding with the joey, Jimmy later helped Robert feed three baby warthogs with milk

Robert then showed how it was done and got a slight kiss from the baby animal, to which Jimmy said: 'That's pretty cute. She gave you a kiss.'

After practicing his bottle feeding with the joey, he later helped Robert feed three baby warthogs with milk.

The Australian teenager also brought a North American badger, a baby snapping turtle and a 100-year-old snapping turtle on the show.

More animals! The Australian teenager also brought a North American badger, a baby snapping turtle and a 100-year-old snapping turtle on the show

While plugging an upcoming Australia Zoo expedition in remote bushland, Robert also revealed they would be calling the first crocodile they catch after Jimmy.

'I'm honoured, That's so cool!' Jimmy said.

Robert, who is the spitting image of his late father when he was his age, encouraged the public to register their interest in attending the expedition by heading to AustraliaZooExpeditons.com.au

Look-a-like son! Robert is the spitting image of his late father Steve Irwin when he was his age
Bethenny Frankel crossed reality worlds Thursday with an appearance on Million Dollar Listing New York.

The 46-year-old star of The Real Housewives Of New York City considered buying a $16.5 million townhouse while on the Bravo show.

Fredrik Eklund, 40, offered the 100-foot long property in the SoHo area to Bethenny after another potential buyer stopped contact.

Reality star: Bethenny Frankel jumped reality shows Thursday and appeared on Million Dollar Listing New York

Bethenny objected to the size of the closet in the six-bedroom unit.

Fredrik noted that she didn't need six bedrooms and suggested she convert one of the bedrooms into a 'glam room slash closet'.

The Skinnygirl Cocktails founder asked openly gay Fredrik if the man who built the townhouse was 'straight or gay' just as the builder and developer Michael walked in.

She became tongue-tied and acted awkwardly around him.

Townhouse pitch: Fredrik Englund showed Bethenny a townhouse on the market for $16.5 million

'I've never seen Bethenny flustered. This is hilarious,' Fredrik said.

Fredrik assured Bethenny that she deserved the townhouse.

'I do deserve it. Let me think about it,' Bethenny said.

The builder: Bethenny got flustered when she met the builder/architect Michael

Lots of light: Fredrik stood back and watched as Bethenny checked out the apartment

Outdoor space: Bethenny said she would think about buying the place

Fredrik and Bethenny then met up at a boutique where she disappointed her pal.

'I liked it. I don't think it's for me,' Bethenny told him.

The reality star said she preferred 'before and after' project.

Not for her: The Skinnygirl Cocktails founder later informed Fredrik that she wasn't going to buy it

'I like a woman who is a sled dog at the beginning and supermodel at the end,' Bethenny told him.

She also surprised Fredrik by saying she was considering getting her real estate license.

'I actually think we should go into business together,' Bethenny said.

New venture: Fredrik however was told by Bethenny that she was considering going into business with him

Fredrik immediately warmed up to the idea.

'She's an incredible business woman and I'm incredible,' she said.

Bethenny then gushed about show newcomer Steve Gold who used to model before becoming a real estate agent.

Model turned agent: Bethenny after nearly being set up with show newcomer Steve Gold said she knew about him

Model looks: Steve was shown in a nude photo that Bethenny had on her phone

Nice place: The townhouse was going for $16.5 million

She even had a nude modeling photo of Steve that she showed to Fredrik.

'He has good listings,' Fredrik told her.

'I can see why. You should start showing your c*** again,' she quipped making Fredrik laugh.

New venture: Bethenny told Fredrik that she was considering getting her real estate license

He's interested: Fredrik said he was interested in working with Bethenny

Unfinished penthouse: The unfinished penthouse had a $17.5 million asking price

Steve meanwhile was on a roller-coaster ride with a Greenwich Village listing in a building constructed in 1897.

His associate Ian who was representing the developer said they were selling the 6,704-square-feet townhouse raw.

'That's not the right move here,' Steve advised and said the asking price of $15 million was too high.

Former model: Steve was dealing with a Greenwich Village listing

Negotiating time: Developer representative Ian and Steve agreed on a $12.75 million price for the raw unit

Ian agreed to drop the price to $12.75 million but wanted the deal done in 30 days.

Steve stood to make a potential $382,500 in commission.

Ian however called and said the developers instead wanted to sell it as a finished product.

'Sorry. You know, it was kind of your idea,' Ian told him.

Bad idea; Steve lost the listing when the developer decided to sell it finished instead of raw

Steve said he had already spent $11,000 on the listing and probably wouldn't get it back for months.

Ian however Steve another listing in a finished third-floor unit.

The developer wanted to sell the three-bedroom penthouse for $9.5 million, but Steve talked him down to listing it at $8.95 million.

Not staged: A private showing was supposed to be staged for Steve but it wasn't

Steve asked for the penthouse to be staged for sale and Ian agreed after initially balking.

At a private showing nearly a week later however the home was not furnished and decorated.

Steve called and complained to Ian who informed him the developer wouldn't pay for staging.

'Why are you crying over this bro? Just handle it,' Ian told him.

Getting frustrated: Steve felt like he was being set up for failure

'I'm trying to do my job, but you're setting me up for failure,' Steven told him before Ian cut short the phone call.

Ryan Serhant, 32, meanwhile scored two townhouse listings in the Upper West Side.

His meeting with investor David over a five-bedroom townhouse built in 1884 ran long.

Two townhouses: Ryan Serhant was dealing with two townhouse listings on the same street

Long time: David kept talking about his townhouse for sale and made Ryan late for his next listing meeting

They agreed on a selling price of $11.5 million for the townhouse that included an elevator and roof deck.

Ryan then hustled down the street and met Joseph about a seven-bedroom townhouse for sale.

Joseph surprised Ryan by seeking a reasonable price between $9.5 million and $10.5 million.

Good price: Joseph surprised Ryan by asking for a reasonable selling price

Not happy: David wasn't happy that Ryan was selling two homes on the same block

Not cheating: Ryan insisted that he wasn't 'cheating' on David and was in a position to help him by managing the market

Ryan set the price at $9,999,000 and Joseph agreed.

With the two townhouses, Ryan stood to make $644,970 in total potential commission.

Fredrik meanwhile turned to supermodel Renee who ultimately agreed to buy the unfinished penthouse with some changes made.

Bad news: Fredrik had to break it to Michael that supermodel Renee wanted changes to the penthouse

Done deal: Michael ultimately agreed to the cash deal for the penthouse
She recently revealed her dramatic style transformation.

And Louise Pillidge was showing her love rat ex Blake Garvey what he was missing again on Tuesday, flaunting her incredible figure at Sydney International Airport.

The now brunette beauty looked incredibly chic as she toted luggage through the terminal.

Chic: Louise Pillidge was showing her reality show ex Blake Garvey what he's missing again on Tuesday when she flaunted he incredible figure at Sydney International Airport

A vision in black, the 29-year-old wore a pair of ankle-length pants and a ruffled blouse that complimented her svelte form.

She added a touch of colour to the ensemble with a pair of nude coloured heels, while she accessorised with a large black leather handbag slung over her shoulders.

Louise's silky smooth locks fell over her left shoulder while she added some ear bling, a light dusting of blush and a light rose shade for her lip.

Svelte: A vision in black, the 29-year-old reality star wore a pair of ankle-length pants and a ruffled blouse, adding a touch of colour with a pair of light-bone heels

New look: Louise's silky smooth locks fell over her left shoulder while she added some ear bling, a light dusting of blush and a light rose shade for her lip

As she strolled, the reality star wheeled a large gun-metal grey suitcase through the terminal and she had a secondary black leather bag perched atop her luggage.

The 29-year-old lifestyle blogger revealed her dramatic transformation on Instagram this Thursday, as she debuted a notably darker hairstyle.

Looking happy and confident in a pink dress, the former reality TV star was almost unrecognisable compared to her appearance on The Bachelor three years ago.

Louise, is that you? The Bachelor's Louise Pillidge looked remarkably different compared to her appearance on TV dating series in 2014, as she debuted a new look on Instagram on Thursday

She appears to have permanently swapped her light blonde hair for a more conservative brunette look, perhaps in a bid to move on from her past relationship.





In the social media snap, Louise is shown flaunting her fit and fabulous physique as she smiles for the camera in front of a picturesque oceanview backdrop.

Louise first shot to fame when she competed against 29 other women for the heart of Perth auctioneer Blake Garvey on The Bachelor in 2014.

New hair, don't care! During her blonde days, Louise won the heart of Perth auctioneer Blake Garvey on The Bachelor 2014 - despite not actually 'winning' the show

Mistakes? He's had a few! Blake Garvey (left) infamously proposed to Sam Frost (right) during The Bachelor's series finale, only to dump her a few weeks later and start dating Louise instead

She eventually placed third, with Blake instead proposing to Sam Frost in the series finale, which was filmed in South Africa.

However, Blake infamously ended their engagement just a few weeks later, dumping Sam during a meeting with The Bachelor producers.

He was later branded a 'love rat' and 'Australia's most hated man' after immediately starting a relationship with Louise, his second runner-up.
She's been sparring with her 'toxic' mother via social media.

But Ariel Winter looked happy and relaxed as she attended the Los Angeles Dodgers' Blue Diamond Gala on Thursday night.

The 19-year-old Modern Family starlet was accompanied by her hunky beau Levi Meaden.

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Having fun! Ariel Winter, 19, looked happy and relaxed as she attended the Los Angeles Dodgers' Blue Diamond Gala on Thursday night

For the event, Ariel seemingly pulled out all the stops with a glittering black and gold bodycon dress that fell to her mid-thigh.

A pair of black stilettos completed her elegant ensemble.

Her fiery tresses were parted in the middle and fell well beyond her bust line.

Some subtle blush, exotic lashes and pale rose lipstick ensured the actress was ready for her turn on the blue carpet.

Stunner: For the event, Ariel seemingly pulled out all the stops with a glittering black and gold bodycon dress that fell to her mid-thigh

Eye-catching: Her fiery tresses were parted in the middle and fell well beyond her bust line

Dapper: Boyfriend Levi, 29, looked exceedingly sharp in an all-black suit which was flecked with silver sparkles

Boyfriend Levi, 29, looked exceedingly sharp in an all-black suit which was flecked with silver sparkles.

A crimson tie clip was the only burst of color.

While the couple looked stunning together, the duo decided to reveal just how much work went into their preparation via Snapchat before the event.

Behind the scenes: While the couple looked stunning together, the duo decided to reveal just how much work went into their preparation via Snapchat before the event

Distracted? The young television star started her broadcast with a mirror selfie depicting her in tiny shorts and a t-shirt, before training the camera on her bodacious beau

Finished product: She supplied before and after snaps

The young television star started her broadcast with a mirror selfie depicting her in tiny shorts and a t-shirt, before training the camera on her bodacious beau.

She couldn't help but caption one clip 'sexual' as he adjusted his belt.

The couple seemed as loved up as ever at the event, as cameras caught them smooching each other quite passionately.

A little peck: The couple seemed as loved up as ever at the event, as cameras caught them smooching each other quite passionately

Smitten: Ariel made sure there was no residual lipstick on her man's lips

Of course other celebs were on hand for the glitzy night as well, including Glee star Heather Morris, aged 30.

Her outfit was an airy affair composed of a cream-colored halter top and billowing blue trousers.

She pulled her blonde locks back and then secured them in a loose ponytail.

Husband Taylor Hubbell accompanied her, and that pair also did a little making out in front of the cameras.

Ready for summer! Of course other celebs were on hand for the glitzy night as well, including Glee star Heather Morris, aged 30

Affectionate! Husband Taylor Hubbell accompanied her, and that pair also did a little making out in front of the cameras

Still going strong! Bachelor stars Nick Viall, 36, and Vanessa Grimaldi looked happy to be a part of the proceedings as well

Nothing fancy: The Sixth Sense star Haley Joel Osment, 29, also chose a laid back look composed of a light blazer, heather grey shirt and blue trousers

Bachelor stars Nick Viall, 36, and Vanessa Grimaldi looked happy to be a part of the proceedings as well.

She chose a cerulean blue shift dress which sported an incorporated fabric belt and belt buckle.

Nick kept things casual in a leather jacket, oxford shirt and jeans combination.

Casual cool: Modern Family actor Eric Stonestreet, 45, chose a similarly laid-back look of a coat, blue oxford shirt and black jeans

Happy couple: Television host Mario Lopez, 43, also donned a blazer and blue shirt combo, while his wife Courtney delighted in a navy blue, thigh-skimming number with a lace hem

Pop royalty: Prince Jackson, son of Michael and brother to Paris, added a little verve to his look with a small-brim fedora

The Sixth Sense star Haley Joel Osment, 29, also chose a laid back look composed of a light blazer, heather grey shirt and blue trousers.

Modern Family actor Eric Stonestreet, 45, chose a similarly laid-back look of a coat, blue oxford shirt and black jeans.

Television host Mario Lopez, 43, also donned a blazer and blue shirt combo, while his wife Courtney delighted in a navy blue, thigh-skimming number with a lace hem.

Slugger: Yasiel Puig and girlfriend Andrea de la Torre glammed it up for the cameras
Kristen Stewart played the doting girlfriend on Thursday as she supported Stella Maxwell at the Moschino Resort Collection show in Los Angeles.

The Twilight star hung out backstage as the model prepped and rehearsed for the runway extravaganza.

The two 27-year-olds, who have been dating since December, had been spotted earlier in the day strolling hand in hand as they took a casual walk together.

Inseparable: Kristen Stewart played the doting girlfriend on Thursday as she supported Stella Maxwell backstage at the Moschino Resort Collection show in Los Angeles

Kristen sat next to the Victoria's Secret Angel as she was primped and pampered.

Photos taken backstage at Milk Studios showed the pair to be inseparable as the work went on around them.

The actress continued to sport a beanie over her new platinum-dyed buzz cut as the Belgian-born New Zealand beauty had her long honey blonde locks blown out in front of a large illuminated mirror.

Supportive: Kristen sat next to the Victoria's Secret Angel as she was primped and pampered for the runway event

Striking: The actress, 27, who sported heavily kohl-lined eyes, wore a beanie over her newly platinum-dyed buzzcut and wore a baggy white t-shirt with KAOS emblazoned across the front

Stunner: The model, 27, pouted for the camera backstage as she rocked red lipstick and a matching manicure

The in crowd: Kristen and Stella hung out with Moschino creative director Jeremy Scott

Stella put on a leggy display for the cameras in a pair of tiny Daisy Dukes.

She left the top of the denim shorts undone and rolled up the cuffs to make them even shorter.

She added a faded blue denim jacket over a gray t-shirt and sported a pair of stunning shiny gold platform sandals.

Looker: Stella put on a leggy display in a pair of tiny Daisy Dukes, leaving the top of the denim shorts undone and rolled up the cuffs to make them even shorter, and gold platform sandals

Pouting: She added a faded blue denim jacket over a gray t-shirt and her long hair fell down around her shoulders

Runway queen: Stella showed what she's made of as she strutted her stuff in rehearsals on the catwalk

Stella had flown into Los Angeles on Wednesday for her Moschino gig and a reunion with Kristen who is based in the city.

On Thursday morning, the two both bared their toned midriffs in casual ensembles as they took a walk.

Kristen wore baggy striped pants rolled up at the calf and a short white tee with KAOS splashed across the front and a pair of retro shades.

Stella had also opted for dark baggy pants and a gray t-shirt that was pushed up above her midriff along with a lightweight dark rain jacket and sunglasses.

Loving display: Earlier on Thursday, the two held hands as they took a walk together in Los Angeles
She welcomed a daughter just two months ago.

But Irina Shayk wasn't just showing off her incredibly slim figure on Thursday in New York as she opted to let her skin breathe by going makeup free.

The 31-year-old looked fit and slender in a skintight grey top and matching bottoms as she chatted on the phone.

Natural beauty: Irina Shayk wasn't just showing off her incredibly slim figure on Thursday in New York as she opted to let her skin breathe by going makeup free

And while the catwalk queen opted for no makeup she still managed to show off sense of style with a Hermes bag.

Meanwhile, Bradley Cooper's been in contact with his girlfriend Irina 'numerous times a day' in the two months since their daughter Lea de Seine was born.

The American Sniper actor, 42, and the 31-year-old model welcomed their first child in March, and although Bradley's hectic schedule has meant he's been away from his newborn daughter, he always makes sure he stays in touch.

Chat and cut: The 31-year-old looked fit and slender in a skintight grey top and matching bottoms as she chatted on the phone

Nice bag, lady! While the catwalk queen opted for no makeup she still managed to show off sense of style with a Hermes bag

'Irina and the baby are doing wonderful,' an insider told E! News Saturday. 'She has her mom in town since the baby was born helping her out. Bradley is in touch with Irina numerous times a day.

'It's hard for him to be apart from his new baby when he has to work,' the source said, adding that 'they FaceTime all the time when Bradley can't be there and working his crazy hours.'

The insider said there could be more children on the horizon for the new parents, as they're 'in love' with their little girl.

'Bradley and Irina as a couple are doing really good and have gotten even closer since the baby was born,' the source said. 'More kids would likely be in the future. They are in love with Lea.'

Out and about: The duo was seen holding hands last July heading to Wimbledon in London

Comely couple: The duo, seen here at Wimbledon last year, have been careful to shield their newborn from media coverage, according to sources

Lucky kid: The baby 'definitely has her mom's model genes,' the insider said

The Limitless star and the Russian beauty have been incredibly secretive about their baby, as he's dodged questions about his daughter during interviews.

'Only a limited number of people have seen the baby,' the source told the outlet. 'They want to protect her as much as they can from the media.'

The newborn 'is also so beautiful' and 'definitely has her mom's model genes,' the insider added.

Leading man: The Limitless star looked dapper while attending an event in LA last fall

Stunning: The statuesque beauty posed at a Victoria's Secret party last November in Paris

The 5ft10 model had previously spoken of her desire to start a family, calling it the 'most important thing on this earth.'

She told the U.K.'s Hello! last year, 'I think family is the reason why we are here. I love my job and it's very important to me. 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.

'My father was married to my mother for more than 20 years and, yes, definitely one day I want to have a family because that is the most important thing on this earth.'
Ten MTA cars have been outfitted as Subway Libraries by the New York Public Library: the in-car wifi connects riders to an e-reading repository containing "books, short stories, chapters and excerpts donated by publishers to the New York Public Library."

It's just one of the many excellent ways that NYPL is leading on ebooks, from lending patrons wireless hotspots ("borrow the entire internet!") to the world's greatest elending platform, to the world-beating public domain repository to the amazing, wall-climbing book-train!

"It used to be that you were 'unplugged' on the subway, and even though you're connecting to the wireless now, you'll still have the sense of being unplugged when reading books," said Lynn Lobash, manager of reader services for the New York Public Library. "It's a lot different than the frantic sense of checking your email or being on Twitter."



Subway Library [NYPL]



New York Today: A City Library, on the Subway

[Alexandra S Levine/New York Times]





(via Dan Hon)
She's the fashion-forward AFL WAG, known for her glamorous lifestyle and impeccable style.

But Rebecca Judd ditched the red carpet glam for a more comfortable look while running errands in Melbourne this week.

The 34-year-old wife of former Carlton player Chris Judd wore no makeup and a simple ponytail as she made her way around town.

Braving the cold: Rebecca Judd cut a relaxed figure while running errands in Melbourne this week

She rugged up in a black faux-fur coat paired with blue leather-look pants, to brave the chilly weather.

The Postcards presenter completed the look with casual white sneakers and a large Louis Vuitton tote which added an element of chic to the outfit.

The mother-of-four looked to be in high spirits during the low-key outing, just days after sharing a very personal story on her KIIS FM radio show,3pm Pick Up.

Makeup-free: The 34-year-old wife of former Carlton player Chris Judd wore no makeup and a simple ponytail as she made her way around town

Rugged up: She rugged up in a black faux-fur coat paired with blue leather-look pants, to brave Melbourne's chilly weather

Bec confessed to radio listeners she once used her daughter Billie's nappy to relieve herself in, a few weeks after the now three-year-old was born.

She explained she was driving in her car with Billie, now three, and she was still struggling to adjust to the demands of a newborn.

Bec said she had forgotten her post-natal bladder wasn't as strong as it used to be, and so had to resort to desperate measures.

'Those Huggies nappies are so absorbent': Rebecca surprised radio listeners on Monday by confessing she once used her daughter Billie's (left) nappy to relieve herself in

'I just whacked it on and away we went': The mother-of-four explained she was driving in her car with Billie, now three, and she was still struggling to adjust to the demands of a newborn

Far away from home and needing to use the bathroom, she decided to take advantage of the spare nappy in the glove box.

She explained: 'I thought, "I'll just hold on, I can wait 'til I get home".

'(I was) not really thinking, "You've just pushed a baby out of there and your pelvic floor's not as good as it used to be!"

'Luckily, I had a spare nappy in the glove box so I just whacked it on and away we went.

'May I just add, those Huggies nappies are so absorbent. No spills, no leaks, no worries!'

Mum's life! Rebecca, who shares four children with husband Chris Judd, is known for her candid confessions about pregnancy and motherhood. Pictured with twin sons Tom and Darcy

Bec, who shares four children with ex-AFL star husband Chris Judd, is known for her candid confessions about pregnancy and motherhood.

The Postcards host previously discussed the time she believed she was going into labour at 34 weeks - only to discover she had actually wet herself.

In another anecdote, Bec said her daughter Billie once waved her tampons in front of the other school mothers while yelling: 'Mummy, I've got these for your fanny!'
Amy Schumer discussed her May 16 break-up from Ben Hanisch for the first time publicly at Hilarity for Charity's sold-out variety show in her native Manhattan on Thursday.

'I went through a breakup about a month ago. We were a year-and-a-half, you know, it's not that bad,' the 36-year-old Emmy winner said onstage Webster Hall - according to People.

The blonde also said that she was dating a 'new dude.'

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Newly single: Amy Schumer discussed her May 16 break-up from Ben Hanisch for the first time publicly at Hilarity for Charity's sold-out variety show in her native Manhattan on Thursday

The Snatched actress said: 'I'm dating this new dude. He's awesome. He's like Stephen Hawking, sexually.'

Amy explained what her relationship with Ben was like.

'We went out with a couple who had been together a long time. We were trying to rush the intimacy. I was trying to impress the girl and I was like, "Well he woke me up this morning with a fart!"

'And he just slowly turned to me and he goes, "Are we doing this?" And I was like, "No, no, no, no, we're not opening fire. Don't tell me any of the disgusting s*** I've done."'

Amy used to refer to the 30-year-old furniture designer - whom she met on a dating app in 2015 - as 'the love of my life' but they haven't been pictured together since May 5.

For her stand-up set, Schumer opted for her signature ponytail, a tiny denim mini-skirt, red-white-and-blue short-sleeved top, and kitten-heeled sandals selected by stylist Leesa Evans.

The 36-year-old Emmy winner said onstage Webster Hall: 'I went through a breakup about a month ago. We were a year-and-a- half, you know, it's not that bad'

It's over: Amy used to refer to the 30-year-old furniture designer - whom she met on a dating app in 2015 - as 'the love of my life' but they haven't been pictured together since May 5

The Snatched actress also joked: 'I'm dating this new dude. He's awesome. He's like Stephen Hawking, sexually'

Leggy look: For her stand-up set, Schumer opted for her signature ponytail, a tiny denim mini-skirt, white short-sleeved top, and kitten-heeled sandals selected by stylist Leesa Evans

The cherubic-faced comedian and her real-life family will compete against Kelly Clarkson and her family on this Sunday's episode of ABC's Celebrity Family Feud.

Amy will soon head to Massachusetts to begin filming Marc Silverstein and Abby Kohn's directorial debut, the head injury comedy I Feel Pretty, with Michelle Williams.

The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo author also acts in Jason Hall's PTSD war drama Thank You for Your Service - hitting US theaters October 27 - alongside Miles Teller and Keisha Castle-Hughes.

Also attending the Alzheimer's fundraiser were the man and woman of the hour - HFC co-founders (and married couple), Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen.

'I haven't been this excited, maybe, in my whole life!' The cherubic-faced comedian and her real-life family will compete against Kelly Clarkson and her family on this Sunday's episode of ABC's Celebrity Family Feud

Head injury comedy: Amy will soon head to Massachusetts to begin filming Marc Silverstein and Abby Kohn's directorial debut, I Feel Pretty, with Michelle Williams (pictured May 18)

'That's a wrap in ATL! Off to Morocco!' The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo author also acts in Jason Hall's PTSD war drama Thank You for Your Service, which hits US theaters October 27

The blue-clad couple - who began dating on the 2004 set of Da Ali G Show - will celebrate six years of wedded bliss on October 2.

The 35-year-old Emmy nominee later joined frequent collaborator Paul Rudd onstage during his charitable event.

Seth and Paul memorably shared the screen in Sausage Party, This Is the End, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Wake Up Ron Burgundy, Anchorman, and Monsters vs. Aliens.

On the red carpet, the Ant-Man heartthrob easily defied his 48 years in a grey suit and crisp white shirt sans necktie.

Man and woman of the hour! Also attending the Alzheimer's fundraiser were HFC co-founders (and married couple), Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen

Still going strong! The blue-clad couple - who began dating on the 2004 set of Da Ali G Show - will celebrate six years of wedded bliss on October 2

Aries duo: The 35-year-old Emmy nominee later joined frequent collaborator Paul Rudd onstage during his charitable event

Reunited: Seth and Paul shared the screen in Sausage Party, This Is the End, Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Wake Up Ron Burgundy, Anchorman, and Monsters vs. Aliens

Evergreen: On the red carpet, the Ant-Man heartthrob easily defied his 48 years in a grey suit and crisp white shirt sans necktie

Veteran stand-up comic Jim Gaffigan also hit the Webster Hall stage to do a set with jokes like: 'Can mac and cheese be listed as a cause of death?'

Green was clearly the preferred shade of the evening, thanks to glamorous guests Gina Gershon, Sarah Rafferty, and Ari Graynor.

And Drop Dead Diva's Brooke Elliott selected a cobalt blue frock for the funny festivities.

Veteran stand-up comic Jim Gaffigan also hit the Webster Hall stage to do a set with jokes like: 'Can mac and cheese be listed as a cause of death?'

Emerald trio: Green was clearly the preferred shade of the evening, thanks to glamorous guests Gina Gershon, Sarah Rafferty, and Ari Graynor
Diane Keaton received the American Film Institute's 45th Life Achievement Award at the Dolby Theatre Thursday in Los Angeles in front of a packed house that included huge names such as Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep and Meg Ryan.

Also seen at the starry get-together were Steve Martin, Emma Stone, Morgan Freeman, Richard Dreyfuss, Andie MacDowell, Martin Short, Rachel McAdams, Sarah Silverman, Antoinette Robertson and Candice Bergen.

Keaton wore a black dress with a turtleneck under a textured white jacket with black boots with white laces, a black leather belt and a black hat. The veteran actress had her blonde locks down for the occasion and wore glasses.

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Eyes on the prize: Diane Keaton, 71, proudly hoisted her trophy for the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award at the organization's gala at the Dolby Theatre Thursday in LA

Play it (all) again, Diane! Keaton's AFI Lifetime Achievement gala drew A-listers in support of iconic actress' body of work

The 71-year-old actress told The Hollywood Reporter Thursday she considered the event to be 'the wedding [she] never had and the retirement party [she] never wanted.'

The Godfather beauty continued, 'When I got the phone call [from organizers], I was simultaneously thrilled but also terrified. Because it meant I was going to have to look back on my life as a performer. So right now I'm anxious. It's terrifying to see your life go by!'

Keaton has been up for four Academy Awards in her career, taking home the coveted statuette for best actress in the titular role of Woody Allen's 1977 masterpiece Annie Hall.

Timeless: The honoree recreated her pose from 1977's Annie Hall outside the Hollywood venue

Sense of humor: The versatile actress described Thursday's proceedings as 'the wedding [she] never had and the retirement party [she] never wanted'

Star of the evening: The actress, who made her film debut in 1970's Lovers and Other Strangers, enjoyed a gratifying walk down the red carpet

Five-star fashion: Keaton wore a stylish black-and-white ensemble on her big evening

Legends: Keaton chatted with her peer Meryl Streep inside the star-laden event

Homage: Streep donned a Keaton-esque ensemble as she honored her colleague

AFI's founding director, George Stevens Jr., said Keaton's amazing career - which also includes films such as Reds, The First Wives Club and all three films in The Godfather trilogy - fits perfectly with what the award entails.

'This tradition of the Lifetime Achievement Award, which we started many years ago, through the years have honored people who have, as we say in the criteria that we wrote long ago, in a fundamental way advanced the art of film and whose work has stood the test of time,' Stevens said, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Fashionistas: Reese Witherspoon (L) looked beautiful in a black skirt with a white collar and sleeves at the event, while Meg Ryan (R) wore a stunning floral dress

Perfect smile: The Walk The Line Oscar-winner beamed as she made her way into the proceedings

Always in style: Ryan's wavy blonde tresses perfectly complemented her seasonal look

Gleaming: Andie MacDowell (L) was radiant in a dark grey gown while Emma Stone's (R) unique ensemble included polka dots and plaid

Colleagues: MacDowell and Keaton worked together in the 2001 comedy Town & Country

Glowing: Rachel McAdams, who worked with Diane on the film Morning Glory, emerged in a fab floral ensemble for the proceedings

He continued: 'And Annie Hall is as good today or better as it was when she and Woody [Allen] made it in 1977, and so Diane is being recognized for her career just as other great figures have.'

The actress joined an elite group of entertainers in receiving the honors, as past recipients of the vaunted honors include Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks, Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep.

The event, which included a dinner, is slated to air on TNT later this month.

Gold standard: Steve Martin, seen inside the event, collaborated with Keaton on 1991's Father of The Bride and its 1995 sequel

Funny fellas: Martin Short, who also appeared in both Father of The Bride films, joined Steve onstage in honoring the venerable actress

Gold standard: Actor Richard Dreyfuss and his wife Svetlana Erokhin matched nicely in black on the red carpet of the swanky event

Smokin': Dreyfuss and Keaton won the top acting awards at the 1978 Oscars, with the actor collecting the Best Actor honors for his work in The Goodbye Girl

Leading ladies: Jane Seymour and Lisa Kudrow were both in attendance at the prestigious event

Last but not least: Comedian Sarah Silverman, 46, vamped it up on the red carpet in a cap-sleeved black pencil dress and matching pumps

Age defying: Jane Fonda looked sensational as ever in a crisp white number

Hollywood royalty: Jane Fonda and Warren Beatty were at the event to honour Diane

Quirky: Jane provided her usual spoonful of sass

Jolly: Presenting an award, Reese Witherspoon shared a joke with the crowd

Old pal: The films that shaped Diane's early career were those with director and co-star Woody Allen, beginning with Play It Again, Sam in 1972

Kings of Hollywood: Warren Beatty and Al Pacino gave speeches

Tribute: Morgan Freeman did a reading for his pal Diane

Pucker up: Actors Steve Martin and Martin Short gave each other a smacker to mark the occasion

Blonde ambition: Lisa and Meryl cozied up at the same table as they enjoyed the night

Sharing stories: Rachel starred alongside Diane in Morning Glory, while Lisa played opposite her in Hanging Up

Magic moment: Meryl was sure to get on stage and give a speech too

Give us a song: Steve and Martin performed a number for Diane

Telling tales: Actresses from all over recounted their memories working with Diane

Lady of the night: Diane was the centre of the attention for the entire evening

Friends forever: Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton starred in Marvin's Room with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in 1997
She shot to fame as the first bi-sexual Bachelor star after falling in love with Tiffany Scanlon.

Now Megan Marx has seemingly landed herself in trouble with the authorities.

On Friday, the 28-year-old shared a suspicious snap to her Instagram story of her getting pulled over by the police.

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Uh oh! The Bachelor's Megan Marx shared a snap of her and a friend getting pulled over by the police to her Instagram story

In the clear: The photo appears to be taken from the passenger seat of the car so Megan may not of been driving at the time

The snap showed a shot of the front of a police car in the side mirror of a silver car.

The photo appears to be taken from the passenger seat of the car so Megan may not of been driving at the time.

In the photo she circled the police car in red and simply captioned it: 'Busted'.

The photo seems to be taken while Megan and the potential driver were cruising down a seemingly deserted road.

Caught in the act! In the photo she circled the police car in red and simply captioned it: 'Busted'

The reason for the police intervention is still unknown.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Megan jokingly said she was pulled over because: 'An officer asked me out on a date'.

After splitting with her girlfriend Tiffany Scanlon in February, Megan has definitely been attracting attention from both men and women with her latest antics.

Moving on: After splitting with her girlfriend Tiffany Scanlon in February, Megan has definitely been attracting attention from both men and women with her latest antics

In a video posted to Instagram last week, the Perth beauty appeared to 'deep throat' a bottle of wine during a boozy girls' night.

In the risque Instagram video, Megan laughed as she puts a red wine bottle into her mouth while stimulating a sex act.

The clip was filmed on a boozy night with one of Megan's friends, as the table was littered with wine and takeaway pizza boxes.
She was boldly wearing a look seldom seen on the red carpet before.

For Emma Stone appeared to be chanelling Star Trek: The Next Generation android Data as she attended a glittering gala in Los Angeles on Thursday.

It was perhaps a symbolic gesture, as she was at an event celebrating one of the mainstays of a previous Hollywood generation, with the American Film Institute giving Diane Keaton a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Boldly going: Emma Stone wore a Star Trek-esque dress to an American Film Institute gala honouring Diane Keaton in Los Angeles on Thursday

Emma was certainly looking out of this world in her fashion forward gown, which was patterned in a style somewhat akin to an enormous ice lolly.

For while top the black top and orange around the bust and arms gave it the look that would have fitted in perfectly on the bridge of the enterprise, it then gave way to a tartan torso section and polka dot skirt.

While it is unclear whether Emma specifically demanded an outfit with a Star Trek theme, her dressmaker was certainly able to make it so.

And it helped the fine filly steal at least a significant portion of the limelight as she cantered down the red carpet in her eye-catching gown.

Emma also added some bling to her ensemble with a selection of Anita Ko jewels, while finishing off the look with chic black heels.

Beam her down Scotty: She looked like she had just stepped off the bridge of the Enterprise

An enormous ice lolly: Her look may have also been inspired by a trip to the freezer

Hollywood: The Next Generation: Perhaps it was a symbolic homage to her forbear Diane

Poor man's Spock: But Data was undoubtedly one of the most popular Next Generation characters

While she has yet to amass a body of work to match Diane's, Emma already has some boasting rights over the acting heavyweight.

For while Emma was just 28-years-old when she won her first best actress Oscar for her turn in La La Land earlier this, the star of the night was a relatively ancient 31 when she got the gong for her turn in Woody Allen film Annie Hall.

And she has plenty of time to overtake the Godfather star in the all-time rankings, as she never managed to win another trophy despite being nominated a further three times.

Phasers set to stunning: The La La Land lovely looked as beautiful as ever, wearing a selection of jewels by Anita Ko

Mother's pride: She was joined on the red carpet by her proud parent Krista

Move aside Buster: She was surrounded by photographers at the event hailing Keaton
It's just been over a week since Sofia Richie looked forlorn as she exited a super yacht she had shared with Scott Disick in the South Of France .

While apart, the duo, who claim to be just friends, still manage to keep in touch.

On Thursday the 18-year-old was pictured Facetiming with self-proclaimed sex addict Scott as she touched down in Los Angeles.

Caught redhanded: Sofia Richie was pictured Facetiming with self-proclaimed sex addict Scott Disick as she touched down in Los Angeles

The model, who was wearing Adidas sweats and a cropped Daniel Patrick sweater and a White + Warren cashmere beanie, looked thrilled to chat with the handsome reality star as she made her way through the airport.

Happy camper: The bearded chick magnet looked thrilled to chat with Lionel Richie's daughter

The sighting comes after she tweeted that she knows her father Lionel Richie has been checking up on her. 'My dad tracks my phone once a day,' she wrote.

The blonde added: 'Awkwardly enough I get a notification every time. I think it's funny so I don't tell him I know.'

The Eighties soft rock hitmaker - know for All Night Long and Endless Love - most likely is aware that she is aware as she posted the note for all to see. And if he's tracking her, he most likely read the note.

Sofia has said in the past that her dad, 67, is especially careful with her because her older half sibling Nicole Richie was such a party animal.

'My dad is more strict because of my sister. I feel like now he's on the preventative side,' she told Elle magazine in 2014. She added: 'It's not like I'm doing anything bad, but he went through all that with Nicole, so he's just strict to prevent it from happening again.'

But he has also been a great mentor: 'I'm always in the studio with my dad. I've written a few songs. I'll start off writing rhymes, then freestyles, then I add in beats,' she told Teen Vogue.

Not exactly Scott free! The star, who was wearing a cropped Daniel Patrick sweater and a White + Warren beanie, was by herself but thankfully had her pal on the line to chat with

Don't hang up! The duo appeared to have quite the lengthy chat

Her mother is fashion designer Diane Alexander; Lionel and Diane divorced in 2004.

Sofia's tweet comes after she was seen face timing Lionel on her iPhone as she walked in Monaco with Disick and a group of friends on Sunday.

Just as the gang - clad in matching white outfits - ventured off their yacht and out on The town to enjoy the local nightlife, Lionel decided to touch base with the youngest of his three children.

Sharing a joke: The model looked thrilled to chat with the handsome reality star as she made her way through the airport

So close: The beauty has been partying with self-titled Sex Addict Scott but claims the two are just friends

Funny: This sighting comes just before she tweeted that she knows her father Lionel Richie has been checking up on her. 'My dad tracks my phone once a day,' she wrote

And it looked to be a serious conversation, with Lionel's face filling the screen as he chatted with Sofia. The teen held a drink in the other hand - at 18 she is of legal drinking age in Europe.

For her part, the young model concentrated on her father as she walked alongside Disick - who seemed to be listening in - and her friends.

While Sofia has been pictured living it up with Scott in France, she made it clear to her fans that she wouldn't dream of dating the 34-year-old father-of-three.

In fact the teen seemed disgusted at the very idea, as she tweeted earlier on Sunday: 'Just so everyone can get their panties out of their asses, Scott and I are just homies.'

Her comments came just hours after the two were pictured playfully wrestling on the deck of their luxury yacht, Scott lifting a squealing Sofia as he flirtily manhandled her.

Rager: Here Sofia is seen with Scott and friends on the same yacht

No hanky panky: She denied she was dating the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star

Also on the yacht was his ex, Chloe Bartoli, who has worked as a stylist for Sofia and has been pictured with Scott this week.

The girls were not the only two to spend time with Scott - with a series of women spotted at his side over the past few days.

They included Bella Thorne, 19, who has made it clear she was thrilled to have ditched him in Cannes.

The actress flew to France with the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star but was said to be enraged at Scott for 'using' her after he was spotted getting close to Chloe just hours after he was photographed cuddling up to Bella by the pool.

No go: While Sofia has been pictured living it up with Scott in France, she made it clear to her fans that she wouldn't dream of dating the 34-year-old father-of-three

After returning to the US, Bella wrote on Instagram: 'Couldn't be happier to be back home.'

Meanwhile, on Tuesday Kourtney Kardashian, Scott's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his three children, showed him exactly what he was missing.

She posted an Instagram snap of herself on what appeared to be a yacht in the harbor at Cannes with her boy toy model lover Younes Bendjima, 23.

The couple were pictured on recliners with a topless Younes showing off his impressive pecs as her assets were barely contained in a red swimsuit.

Just friends: The teen tweeted on Sunday: - 'Just so everyone can get their panties out of their asses, Scott and I are just homies'
Woody Allen paid tribute to his former girlfriend and longtime muse Diane Keaton in Hollywood on Thursday night.

The director, 81, made a rare West Coast appearance to present the actress, 71, with AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award in front of a star-studded audience.

'We go back a long way, Diane and I,' the New York-based filmmaker said in his remarks, according to THR.com. 'Much of what I accomplished in my life I owe for sure to her.'

Thank you: Woody Allen paid tribute to his former girlfriend and longtime muse Diane Keaton in Hollywood on Thursday night

His muse: The director, 81, made a rare West Coast appearance to present the actress, 71, with AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award in front of a star-studded audience

Close: The two hugged on stage as Diane showed off long white nails

Keaton starred in several Allen movies in the 1970s after finding fame as Al Pacino's wife Kay Adams in the Godfather film in 1972 and its sequel.

She played the lead in Sleeper, Love and Death, Interiors, Manhattan, and the film version of Play It Again, Sam, the pay she starred in on Broadway before making the move to films.

She won a Best Actress Academy Award for Allen's 1977 romantic comedy Annie Hall.

In 1978, she ended her romantic relationship with Allen after falling for Warren Beatty who cast her opposite himself in his 1980 film Reds.

Praise: 'We go back a long way, Diane and I,' the New York-based filmmaker said in his remarks, according to THR.com. 'Much of what I accomplished in my life I owe for sure to her'

Feted: Keaton starred in several Allen movies in the 1970s and won a Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Allen's 1977 romantic comedy Annie Hall

Movie classic: Allen has said Annie Hall owed a great deal to Keaton's real-life persona. The director and the actress ended their romantic relationship following the making of the film

Both Pacino and Beatty also showed up at Thursday's award ceremony to honor Keaton.

They joined a host of Hollywood talent including Meryl Streep - in Annie Hall-inspired garb - Reese Witherspoon, Meg Ryan, Steve Martin, Emma Stone, Richard Dreyfuss, Morgan Freeman and Jane Fonda.

Still her fan: Warren Beatty, 80, who began an affair with Keaton in 1978 and cast her as the female lead in his 1980 film Reds, also paid tribute to the veteran star

Memories: Al Pacino, 77, who starred with Keaton in The Godfather movie in 1972 that made her famous, spoke about her talent

Fellow spirit: Jane Fonda, 79, also came to the star-studded event to praise Keaton's work as an actress

Eye on the prize: Keaton proudly posed with her trophy for the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award at the Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard

Keaton was dressed for her big night in a black dress with a turtleneck under a textured white jacket with black boots with white laces, a black leather belt and a black hat.

The 71-year-old actress told The Hollywood Reporter Thursday she considered the event to be 'the wedding [she] never had and the retirement party [she] never wanted.'

The Godfather beauty continued, 'When I got the phone call [from organizers], I was simultaneously thrilled but also terrified. Because it meant I was going to have to look back on my life as a performer. So right now I'm anxious. It's terrifying to see your life go by!'

Timeless: Keaton recreated her pose from Annie Hall outside the Hollywood venue in front of an image from the film

Sense of humor: The versatile actress described Thursday's proceedings as 'the wedding [she] never had and the retirement party [she] never wanted'

Star of the evening: Keaton, who made her film debut in 1970's Lovers and Other Strangers, enjoyed a gratifying walk down the red carpet

Five-star fashion: Keaton wore a stylish black-and-white ensemble on her big evening

Legends: Keaton chatted with her peer Meryl Streep inside the star-laden event

Homage: Streep donned a Keaton-esque ensemble as she honored her colleague

AFI's founding director, George Stevens Jr., said Keaton's amazing career - which also includes films such as Reds, The First Wives Club and all three films in The Godfather trilogy - fits perfectly with what the award entails.

'This tradition of the Lifetime Achievement Award, which we started many years ago, through the years have honored people who have, as we say in the criteria that we wrote long ago, in a fundamental way advanced the art of film and whose work has stood the test of time,' Stevens said, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Fashionistas: Reese Witherspoon (L) looked beautiful in a black skirt with a white collar and sleeves at the event, while Meg Ryan (R) wore a stunning floral dress

Perfect smile: The Walk The Line Oscar-winner beamed as she made her way into the proceedings

Always in style: Ryan's wavy blonde tresses perfectly complemented her seasonal look

Gleaming: Andie MacDowell (L) was radiant in a dark grey gown while Emma Stone's (R) unique ensemble included polka dots and plaid

Colleagues: MacDowell and Keaton worked together in the 2001 comedy Town & Country

Glowing: Rachel McAdams, who worked with Diane on the film Morning Glory, emerged in a fab floral ensemble for the proceedings

He continued: 'And Annie Hall is as good today or better as it was when she and Woody [Allen] made it in 1977, and so Diane is being recognized for her career just as other great figures have.'

The actress joined an elite group of entertainers in receiving the honors, as past recipients of the vaunted honors include Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks, Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep.

The event, which included a dinner, is slated to air on TNT later this month.

Gold standard: Steve Martin, seen inside the event, collaborated with Keaton on 1991's Father of The Bride and its 1995 sequel

Funny fellas: Martin Short, who also appeared in both Father of The Bride films, joined Steve onstage in honoring the venerable actress

Gold standard: Actor Richard Dreyfuss and his wife Svetlana Erokhin matched nicely in black on the red carpet of the swanky event
She's the American actress who is married to Australian celebrity chef Curtis Stone.

And as Lindsay Price prepared to celebrate four years of wedded bliss with Curtis on Thursday, the brunette beauty has revealed she will don a 'big white dress' every year to commemorate the occasion.

The 40-year-old took to Instagram on Thursday to flaunt her ample cleavage in a flowing gown from fashion label Kalita.

In love: With Lindsay Price celebrating four years of wedded bliss with celebrity chef husband Curtis Stone on Thursday, she revealed that she would don 'a big white dress' every year to celebrate

With her brunette locks styled into a fetching bob, Lindsay sat cross-legged on a couch in front of a sun-drenched window.

The actress went sans bra for the photo and the plunging neckline of her did not leave much to the imagination.

She had her hands perched casually in her lap that was almost obscured by the flowing fabric of the dress.

Revealing: The actress went sans bra for the photo and the plunging neckline of her did not leave much to the imagination

'I've decided that every year on my anniversary from here on out I'll wear a big white dress,' she captioned the photo. 'That's not weird is it?'

While obligatory epithets like 'gorgeous,' and 'beautiful' were quickly hurled at the post, other fans were quick to point out that her new tradition was not 'weird'.

One fan offered: ' No way! We actually dress in our wedding attire every anniversary. It's the best.'

Another section of her social media fan-base were more concerned with her chef husband with the likes of: 'If I were married to CS I would make my anniversary a night to remember too!!!'

Sweet: Lindsay also found time to post another cute photo, this time showing the marital bed and two pillowcases monogrammed with hers and Curtis' initials

The beauty also posted a photo that showed her posing in the dress in front of a mirror.

A much more demure photo than the first, this one, that showed Lindsay posing underneath an ornate chandelier, flaunted her well-toned back.

Between anniversary preparations, Lindsay also found time to post another cute photo, this time showing the marital bed and two pillowcases monogrammed with hers and Curtis' initials.

'Goodnight... love, LPS and CS. Sleeping in tomorrow ok shhhhhhh,' she captioned the romantic photo.

Lindsay and Curtis started dating ion 2009 before tying the knot in a lavish resort wedding in Mallorca, Spain. The couple share two sons together - Hudson, 5 and Emerson Spencer, 2.
She's the glamorous WAG who's married to AFL icon Jimmy Bartel.

And it seems even fashion-forward Nadia Bartel struggles to put an outfit together sometimes, reaching out to her Instagram followers on Friday for advice on what to wear to the Brisbane Races.

The 32-year-old shared a series of videos to her 'story' asking fans to help her decide between different headpieces, shoes and purses.

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Help me! Nadia Bartel calls on her Instagram followers for help deciding what to wear to the Brisbane races

The fashion blogger deliberated over whether to pair her white Zimmermann dress with a 'boater' style hat or to keep it classy with a gold-coloured headband.

The 32-year old presented a variety of options which included an elegant black hat by Sydney designer Suzy ORourke, and two cream hats from Nerida Winter.

She also presented a selection of five different gold headpieces, each featuring unique crown-like detailing.

Plenty of options: The 32-year-old presented a variety of headpieces, purses and shoes for her fans to choose from

The blonde showed off two Christian Louboutin bags as potential options, with one a studded black purse and the other a reflective gold number.

Meanwhile a pair of 'classic pointed pumps' were compared with some gold Gucci heals which she revealed she had already worn to a polo event.

'They're a little bit ruined, but they're always a really good option to work in with white.'

The indecisive beauty explained she wasn't sure of what weather she should prepare for.

'As you can see, I've picked pieces that are quite spring racing focus.'

'I know the Brisbane races is a winter event but it's quite warm up there so I wanted to go for looks that I wouldn't be too hot and warm in.'
She's the PR queen who just treated herself to a very luxurious 37th birthday present in the form of a $746,000 Rolls-Royce.

And Friday night Roxy Jacenko showed off another gift, this time for her children Hunter, 3, and Pixie, 5.

In an image shared to Instagram, the two tots are shown cuddled up in custom made pyjamas, on which their names are monogrammed.

More presents? On Friday night Roxy Jacenko showed off her children Hunter, 3, and Pixie, 5, cuddled up in custom made pyjamas, on which their names are monogrammed

Roxy captioned the image: 'little monkeys in @neueblvd custom PJs - no chance of forgetting their names.'

The luxury sleepwear was part of a week of splurging and being treated to many indulgences for her 37th birthday.

On Thursday, the blonde socialite could be seen sitting behind the wheel of a $746,000 Rolls-Royce.

That's one (very expensive) way to celebrate! Roxy Jacenko drives a $746,000 Rolls-Royce on her 37th birthday

In the social media snap, a grinning Roxy can be seen sitting the passenger seat of the luxury car.

Her mum Dorren was quick to comment on the photo, writing: 'OMG is this the Dawn!!! @roxyjackeno.'

Hinting the flash new wheels may be a present to herself, Roxy wrote back: 'Eeeek yes. I may have lied when I said it was not coming SURPRISE !!!'

Wishing her well: Roxy's mum Doreen took to Instagram to share a birthday tribute to her daughter

'Happy Birthday to our beautiful boss!' PR maven Roxy Jacenko enjoyed a lavish 37th birthday treat this Thursday after her Sweaty Betty employees threw a decadent party for the blonde

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Roxy to clarify if she has purchased, received or is loaning the vehicle.

Meanwhile also on Thursday, Roxy's mum Doreen took to Instagram to share a birthday tribute to her daughter, posting a selfie of the two out at lunch.

Someone's popular! Several of Roxy's staff-members also took to their personal Instagram pages to wish Roxy a happy birthday

'When we tell her it's compulsory to have a slice not a sliver': Roxy was also pictured holding her extravagant birthday cake

Later on, her Sweaty Betty team shared a photo of their boss with a lavish party spread, writing in the caption: 'Happy Birthday to our beautiful boss.'

The PR queen started her birthday off on Thursday by exchanging gifts with her children - Pixie, 5, and Hunter, 3, - humbly thanking the two tots for getting her through the past year.

'All trained not to miss an Instagram moment': A photo of the event depicted a sea of staff-members holding up their phones in an attempt to capture the action for their social media accounts

Thanks kids: In a surprisingly serious Instagram post, Roxy labeled her past year difficult and thanked her two children for sticking by her

The last 12 months have seen Roxy battle breast cancer, her husband Oliver Curtis jailed for insider trading, as well as the married publicist busted kissing her ex boyfriend Nabil Gazal in April.

In a surprisingly serious Instagram post, Roxy labeled her past year difficult and thanked her two children for sticking by her.

'Never would have dreamt of the challenges I would face in the past 12 months - these two made it manageable - the best present I could have wished for,' she wrote.
Another day, another bikini shot from Louise Thompson.

The Made In Chelsea starlet - who is currently sitting out of the show's summer season in Ibiza - has opted to jet to Mykonos, Greece, for her latest vacation.

Standing in a crystalline pool, the brunette posed for her 1m Instagram followers, showing off her deep all-over tan in dark silvery two-piece.

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Made In Mykonos: Louise Thompson shows off her pert derriere in a metallic bikini in yet another cheeky snapshot from her sun-drenched trip to Mykonos

She stood in the water, looking out over the sunny Greek landscape, her long locks cascading down her bronzed back, her head turned to the side.

The reality star wore aviator shades and allowed a thin smile to creep across her face.

Louise flaunted her tanned and gym-honed curves in yet another skimpy set of swimwear, having posed the previous day in a black one-piece with her name branded across the chest.

What's my name? Louise flaunted her tanned and gym-honed curves in yet another skimpy set of swimwear, having posed the previous day in a black one-piece with her name branded across the chest

Making waves! Louise continued to send her fans wild with envy as she took to Instagram to share another bikini-clad picture on Wednesday

The day before, the 27-year-old was joined by a group of pals as they soaked up the Greek sunshine.

Boasting an impressive tan, she showed off her shapely thighs in the high-cut black swimsuit.

Leaning back against the sun's rays, she left her brunette locks in loose beach waves and wore a pair of oversized shades.

And framing the picturesque blue backdrop perfectly, she captioned the snap: 'Swim sea sky #GirlGangInMykonos #mykonos #greekisland #poolgoals'.

Holiday time again! Louise, 27, sent pulses racing in a skimpy white bikini over the weekend, which showed off her enviable frame

Just days ago the reality star sent pulses racing in a skimpy white bikini which showed off her topped up bronzed glow as she made her way down the white stairs in the scorching heat.

The bikini showed off her toned abs and lean legs to perfection and she accessorised with a striking silver body chain.

Louise sported centre parted locks and a pair of shades as she strutted down the steps in matching embellished white shoes.

Clearly in high spirits in the picture, the reality star captioned the snap: 'Happy place, happy crowd  fallen in love with #mykonos GR next up --> meeting the #GirlGangInMykonos for a @calzedonia store visit.'

And Louise wasn't done there, as she took to the social media platform to upload an image of her posing in a pristine blue infinity pool.

'Morning dip in Mykonos': In another, the Made In Chelsea star stood at a side angle in the infinity pool and raised one arm - allowing her impeccably chiselled abs to take prominence

Criticism: This comes after her boyfriend Ryan Libbey, 26, was slammed by his Instagram followers, for sharing an image of himself as part of his tribute to the London Bridge terror attack victims

With the ocean behind her, the beauty stood at a side angle and raised one arm - allowing her impeccably chiselled abs to take prominence.

Her tiny bikini just about managed to contain her modesty as she executed the steamy pose by placing one leg in front of the other.

'Morning dip in Mykonos! These views. Can't wait for a fun trip exploring the island with the @calzedonia girls!' she titled the saucy snap.

This comes after her beau Ryan apologised after being slammed by his Instagram followers for sharing an image of himself, with clothing brands tagged, as part of his tribute to the London Bridge terror attack victims.

The hunk, 26, shared a photo on Instagram on Sunday, the day after seven people were killed in London Bridge, of himself posing in the sunshine.

While he included a heartfelt message alongside the image, Ryan was criticised by his followers for choosing to share a photo of himself, and including tags which are used to advertise brands in the photo.

Seven people were killed and nearly 50 injured on Saturday night after three men drove a van into a crowd on London Bridge and set upon people in a crazed knife rampage.

On Sunday night Ryan shared his tribute, with the personal trainer's photo showing him posing on a street, with info on where his sunglasses, shirt, trousers and shoes could be bought. The tags were later removed by the star.

Alongside his photo, Ryan wrote: 'My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the attacks on our capital last night.'

Promotional: While he included a heartfelt message alongside the image, Ryan was criticised for choosing to share a photo of himself, and including tags used to advertise brands

Not impressed: Despite his words, many followers chose to focus on his choice of image

'These acts of terror are disgusting and I can't comprehend how any human out there has the capability to cause such damage, upset and pain to a nation, a city, a person, a family, a child, to a beautiful world. We should all stand together, show strength and look after one another.'

'Hold those closest to you a little closer and stay safe.'

Despite his words, many followers chose to focus on his choice of image, with one follower ellie_smurf questioning in the comments: 'How can you write a post like this yet still advertise brands that are probs paying you to tag their products.'

Hitting back: Ryan replied, stating: 'this is not a sponsored post' but the commenter said: 'Just think these things can be done in a more tactful way'

Ryan replied, stating: 'this is not a sponsored post. I'm quite simply showing my gratitude to those brands who have been kind enough to gift. The essence and point of this post is to offer my condolences to those suffering. So rather than come at me for tagging a brand, focus on keeping yourself and your loved ones safe.'

But ellie pointed out: 'I can focus on my safety and appreciate the content of the message posted without appreciating the photo and the brands tagged in it... Just think these things can be done in a more tactful way.'

Another commenter agreed, writing: 'So your reaction is to post a picture of yourself? You ok?'

Thoughtless: Another commenter agreed, writing: 'So your reaction is to post a picture of yourself? You ok?'

In his corner: Some came out in defence of the reality star with the madeinchelsea_uk account writing: 'Well said Ryan'

Ryan replied again, telling the follower to 'shut the f**k up. Another one who has missed my point entirely.'

Some came out in defence of the reality star with the madeinchelsea_uk account writing: 'Well said Ryan Sad others choose to focus on your photo rather than your words and your heartfelt message.'

bex_hughes_life_must_carry_on also defended Ryan, writing: 'All those saying they notice the photo blah blah blah . I see a picture of a man in deep thought see the facial expressions. Lovely sentiment and its especially important because this is his turf. So he is probably v.upset about whats happend himself. Not everyone is about self promotional benefits you know.!!! [sic]'

On his side: : bex_hughes_life_must_carry_on also defended Ryan, writing: 'I see a picture of a man in deep thought see the facial expressions'

'Lovely': His girlfriend Louise Thompson also showed her support, writing simply in a comment: 'lovely words bub'

Ryan thanked the fan for their words, replying: 'thankyou so much for saying that. So pleased that someone is speaking some sense and being nice, and what's more not trying to find fault in a picture I've posted during this sensitive time. I was trying to be nothing but sensitive, yet so many have misinterpreted and tainted this post now.'

His girlfriend Louise Thompson also showed her support, writing simply in a comment: 'lovely words bub.'

After receiving a stream of negative comments, the reality star uploaded a video on his Instagram page on Monday afternoon apologising for his choice of photo, and admitting he has 'to learn from this.'

'I just wanted to apologise formally and officially for what was a clumsy post on my Instagram over the weekend,' Ryan said in the video. 'I really didn't mean to cause upset or offence. It was a clumsy choice of photo from myself and I shouldn't have tagged any brand in that photo.'

'The words that I wrote, I do mean them,' he went on. 'It was supposed to be a genuine and heartfelt message. I just wanted to reach out and offer my condolences to everyone in London who's been affected by what's been a terrible event.'

'I got it wrong this time and I am sorry. I've got to learn from this, I'm still getting used to being in the public eye and it's not easy.'

Ryan's post comes just two weeks after his girlfriend and MIC co-star Louise was slammed for sharing a bikini Instagram hours after the Manchester terror attack left 22 people dead.

Apology: Ryan's post comes just two weeks after his girlfriend and MIC co-star Louise Thompson was slammed for sharing a bikini Instagram hours after the Manchester terror attack left 22 people dead

The star issued a public apology for offending her social media followers, but was back to doing what she does best - plugging swimwear brands online- as she uploaded more shots from her holiday in Isla de Holbox,Mexico, just two days later.

The Edinburgh University graduate insisted 'news hadn't travelled' when she shared the original image while drinking a margarita and wearing a bikini.

Despite Louise's apology for 'ignorance' and 'being offensive', her personal trainer boyfriend Ryan 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

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.

As families continued to hunt for lost relatives while others mourn the dead, celebrities swarmed 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.'

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'.

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 Ryan inMexico, 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.

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!'

'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'

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.
She plays Senior Constable Katrina Chapman on Home and Away.

And on Friday, Pia Miller was spotted braving the cold filming steamy scenes on-set at Palm Beach.

Getting very handsy, the 33-year-old was spotted alongside her new on-screen hunky heartthrob, Jake Ryan.

He's keeping her warm: Pia Miller was spotted braving the cold filming steamy scenes on-set at Palm Beach with co-star, Jake Ryan

The stunning actress was seen out of her police uniform and dressed down in a aqua singlet and pair of multi-coloured shorts over her bikini.

Walking along the sand barefoot, Pia carried a beach bag that featured a zig-zag pattern on it.

The stunner had her hair left out and her makeup was minimal.

Off-duty: The stunning actress was seen out of her police uniform and dressed down in a aqua singlet and pair of multi-coloured shorts over her bikini

Getting handsy! Jake's tattooed arms were spotted all over the Chilean born actress in the beach scenes

What's wrong? Keeping Pia close to him, Jake looked as though he had something very important to tell his new love interest

Jake's tattooed arms were spotted all over the Chilean born actress in the beach scenes.

Also facing the winter chill, Jake wore a grey singlet top with a pair of board shorts.

Keeping Pia close to him, Jake's character who is yet to be introduced on the long running soap, looked as though he had something very important to tell his new love interest.

Keeping it casual: Also facing the winter chill, Jake wore a grey singlet top with a pair of boardshorts

Serious talk: Jake's character looked serious as he walked along the beach with Pia

In another beach scene, Pia was seen wearing a busy floral mini dress.

Showing off her bronzed and toned legs, the actress paired her look with some black sandals.

Talking on the phone, the off-duty police officer looked concerned and unhappy about the news that she was receiving.

Is everything alright? Pia was seen looking concerned in another beach scene

Meeting Pia at the top of the beach, Jake's character who looked as though he had just come from a surf also looked unimpressed.

With his hunky good looks and copious tattoos, Jake definitely fits Pia's 'bad boy' type.

While things are heating up between the on-screen couple, Pia often shows loved-up photos on Instagram of her off-screen boyfriend, Tyson Mullane.

The couple have been dating for the past year, following her split from long term husband Brad Miller in late 2015.
Tom Hardy has posted a heartfelt tribute to his pet dog Woody, as he announces the pooch has sadly passed away aged six.

The actor took to his blog to tell his fans about his loss, explaining that Woody died earlier this week after a six-month battle with polymyositisis, which is a muscle disorder.

Tom called Woody his 'best friend', revealing how he rescued the animal when he was filming his 2012 movie Lawless in Atlanta.

Mourning: Tom Hardy has posted a heartfelt tribute to his pet dog Woody, as he announces the pooch has sadly passed away aged six

In the lengthy post Tom detailed the night he and Woody first met, when the Labrador-cross ran across a road the actor was driving down one night in Georgia with his Lawless co-star Jessica Chastain.

Tom went out looking for the dog, who was just 11 weeks old, before deciding on a name for his new buddy, with some help from Jessica.

'Jessica asked me was he a girl or a boy. It's a boy I said. How do you know. Erm I can feel his Woodstock. great !!! let's call him Woodstock!!! And so it was,' he writes.

Best friend: The actor took to his blog to tell his fans about his loss, explaining that Woody died earlier this week after a six-month battle with polymyositisis, which is a muscle disorder

While Tom had to return home to London after the movie wrapped, Jessica's parents took care of Woody in California until the actor returned to the US to shoot Dark Knight and took him home.

Detailing their adventures together, Tom calls Woody his 'best friend', gushing that 'we went through so much together,' and revealing how the pooch helped him after the death of his dog Max.

The actor adds that Woody had a close bond with his wife, actress Charlotte Riley, explaining: 'Charlotte worked tirelessly with him to get him through a rough case of separation anxiety. He loved her like his Mum. And when she was pregnant he guarded her fiercely.'

Bond: Tom called Woody his 'best friend', revealing how he rescued the animal when he was filming his 2012 movie Lawless in Atlanta

The actor points out how Woody had also won the heart of his fans and Hollywood colleagues, after he bought him onto sets and to movie premieres and events.

'He has been on many sets. Met many crews. Photo shoots premieres made many many friends he was #73 most influential animal in TIME magazine. He beat JAWS. Something we all thought was brilliant. He's been in peaky blinders. Legend everyone who met him loved him. He didn't have a bad bone in his body. All he knew was love,' he writes.

'I don't normally speak out about family and friends but this is an unusual circumstance. Woody affected so many people in his own right,' he adds.

Always by his side: The actor pointed out how Woody had also won the heart of his fans and Hollywood colleagues, after he bought him onto sets and to movie premieres and events

'He was Far too young to leave us and We at home are devastated by his loss I am ultimately grateful for his loyal companionship and love and it is of some great comfort that he is no longer suffering. Above all I am completely gutted. the world for me was a better place with him in it and by my side.'

Tom ends his essay by telling Woody he was 'the bestest friend ever. To me and to a family who loved him beyond words and whom he loved without doubt more than I have ever known. Woody was the bestest of journey companions we ever could dream of having. Our souls intertwined forever.'

'Thankyou Woody for choosing to find us. We will love you and be with you and you with us forever. Never ever ever forgotten. Your Boy tom xxx I love you beyond words. To the moon and back again and again to Infinity and beyond. Run with Max now and the Angels. I will see you when I get there. With all of me I love you. Always Thankyou for Your love beautiful boy.'
Lisa Kudrow was besties with Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox when she starred on the sitcom Friends for a decade.

But now the 53-year-old actress has a new pal in her life.

When helping Diane Keaton celebrate her American Film Institute's 45th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday evening, Kudrow was seen palling around with legend Meryl Streep.

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Close pals: Lisa Kudrow talked to Meryl Streep at the American Film Institute's 45th Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute to Diane Keaton at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday

Hee hee: The two made each other crack up; Meryl has appeared on Lisa's show Web Therapy

Glam: Lisa was there because she worked with Diane on the 2000 film Hanging Up

The two sat at the same table and seemed to have fun cracking each other up.

Streep has appeared on Kudrow's show Web Therapy.

Lisa told Elle.com how she was lucky to land the Oscar-winner icon known for Death Becomes Her and Out Of Africa for her show.

Just the three of us: Kudrow Streep, and writer Anne Stringfield

Old pals: Daniella Garcia-Lorido, Actor Andy Garcia, Kudrow, and Carol Kane

'Basically. I ran into her at an event at Vassar. She said, "Now, that Web Therapy thing you're doingI love it! How do you do that?"

'I explained it, and she goes, "Well, that sounds fun!" And I said, "If you ever want to do it" She said, "I'd love to!"

'The big mega-stars always say that because they're smart, and they're nice, and they always say yes. But then there's always a "scheduling problem." I said, "But I really AM going to get in touch with you."'

Princess moment: Lisa looked pretty in a long blue dress with a mermaid finish and a crystal belt

Chic accessory: The Analyze This star held onto a small black clutch

But Meryl delivered, and ended up playing a sex therapist.

Lisa looked pretty in a long blue dress with a mermaid finish and a crystal belt. The Analyze This star held onto a small black clutch.

The TV star wore her blonde locks down and had on flattering makeup.

Lisa worked with Diane on the 2000 film Hanging Up.

On stage: The TV star wore her blonde locks down and had on flattering makeup

The crowd loved her: Guests sat and listened to the small screen diva
They made a return to the music airways this week with their single, The Only High.

And on Saturday, The Veronicas shared that their high is no longer comes from drinking, but from love.

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Jess Origliasso gushed over her serious relationship with fellow Aussie actress, Ruby Rose, whilst her twin sister dished over her engagement to Hollywood actor, Logan Huffman.

It's real: On Saturday, The Veronicas shared that their high is no longer comes from drinking, but from love

'Love is really the only high,' said Jess, 32.

'It took us about 12 years of being drunk to realise love is a better high than anything else.'

Sharing that they're both very happy in their current relationships and where they are in their lives, the sisters said they drew on those feelings as inspiration for their latest hit.

Lisa who announced her engagement to long-term partner Logan in January this year, is not shy when it comes to expressing her love.

'It took us about 12 years of being drunk to realise love is a better high than anything else.'

She's feeling the love: Posting a photo on her Instagram earlier today, the brunette beauty looked stunning as she took a selfie in a red floral top

Posting a photo on her Instagram on Friday, the brunette beauty looked stunning as she took a selfie in a red floral top.

Captioning the post, 'you're the only high I need,' Lisa insinuated the post was dedicated to her fiance.

Jess and Ruby who rekindled their love last year also haven't been shy about posting their blossoming relationship throughout their social media accounts.

Together forever: Lisa who announced her engagement to long-term partner Logan in January this year, is not shy when it comes to expressing her love

The couple who celebrated their seven-month-anniversary last week, were in lock-down in the city of London during the attacks.

Throughout their distressing encounter, the pair kept fans in the loop and assured them they were safe and together.

Sharing a post with her 11.1 million followers after the ordeal, Ruby revealed that she had traveled 12 hours and Jess 23 hours to meet in London for three days.

Back together: Jess and Ruby who rekindled their love last year also haven't been shy about posting their blossoming relationship throughout their social media accounts

'I flew 12 hours she flew 23 hours...she really loves me haha..You do anything for love. That's when you know it's real.

'You feed it, that's how you know it will grow, you are gentle with it so it doesn't get hurt...and you live for it because without love what do we have?' wrote Ruby.

'Amazing 3 days that started with a horrible tragedy that we held each other tightly during and only cemented how vital making time in crazy schedules to see those you care for is more important than anything else..'
Her daughter Amal Clooney recently welcomed twins into the world with her actor husband George.

The human rights lawyer, 39, gave birth to a girl, Ella, and a boy, Alexander on Tuesday morning in England.

And now her mother Baria Alamuddin has been gushing over the couple's new arrivals, insisting they are 'stunningly beautiful babies'.

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New parents: Amal and George Clooney became parents to twins Ella and Alexander on Tuesday June 6

In an interview with People magazine, she recalled the moment she first set eyes on the newborn twins and revealed: 'Seeing these two angels, these stunningly beautiful babies cuddled together...

'And seeing the joy on Amal and Georges faces, its one of those deeply felt beautiful feelings you cant express in words.'

She added that the arrival of their twins had left her feeling like the 'most blessed human being on earth'.

Proud grandmother: Amal's mother Baria Alamuddin has since been gushing about the 'stunningly beautiful' new arrivals in an interview with People magazine

She said: 'Seeing the joy on Amal and Georges (pictured above in 2016) faces, its one of those deeply felt beautiful feelings you cant express in words'

Her comments come after George's dad Nick Clooney spoke exclusively to Good Morning Britain to share his delight at meeting his grandchildren.

'Theyre absolutely beautiful,' he said. 'Im supposed to be a reporter, therefore observant, but I really dont know how to describe one beautiful baby from another beautiful baby - these are two beautiful babies.'

'George will be an absolutely wonderful father, Amal will be - and already is - a magnificent mother.

'Im constantly amazed by her. She is an incredible woman. George certainly married up!'

On hand: Baria was pictured in London (above) the day after her daughter gave birth to her two grandchildren at London's Chelsea and Westminster hospital

Speaking of nappy duty, Nick said: '[George] will be hands on entirely and he will do it with humour and with joy.'

His comments come after the Ocean's Eleven star's spokesperson confirmed he and Amal had welcomed their twins on June 6.

They stated on Tuesday: 'This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives.

'Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine.'

'George will be an absolutely wonderful father': The actor's father Nick Clooney was full of praise for his son and his wife following the arrival of their twins

The announcement ended with the quip: 'George is sedated and should recover in a few days.'

Amal had given birth to the couple's two children at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

They are currently residing in Berkshire, England, where they own a home.

It was announced back in February earlier this year that the duo were expecting twins together as first-time parents.

Amal and George had got engaged in April 2014, after meeting the previous year, and tied the knot five months later in September in Venice, Italy.
She's back in Paris for her latest modelling job.

And Bella Hadid certainly proved why she's the top of designers' wish lists as she headed out in the French capital for meetings on Friday.

While she chose a chic monochrome ensemble for a stop by the Dior offices, the 20-year-old beauty suffered a wardrobe malfunction, revealing a little too much of her assets after going braless.

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Ooh la la! Bella Hadid suffered a wardrobe malfunction as she went braless under a sheer top while heading to meetings in Paris on Friday

Sheer delight: While she chose a chic monochrome ensemble for a stop by the Dior offices, the 20-year-old beauty suffered an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction

Bella teamed a black turtle-neck sweater with a smart white mini skirt for her stop by the top design house.

But in the Paris sunlight, her choice of top turned sheer, exposing the model's nipples.

Bella also flaunted her incredibly long legs in her choice of outfit.

Still chic: Bella teamed a black turtle-neck sweater with a smart white mini skirt for her stop by the top design house

Her white wraparound skirt skimmed her toned and tanned thighs, while a racy choice of lace-up sandals elongated her legs further.

The style-conscious star proved that accessories make an outfit as she added a pair of statement rectangular shades and carried a snakeskin shoulder bag.

With her dark locks slicked back into an ultra sleek up do and a slick of lip gloss, Bella was ready for her day of fashion meetings.

Leggy lady: Bella also flaunted her incredibly long legs in her choice of outfit

Say cheese: The friendly star made time to pose for selfies with some adoring fans

The finishing touches: The style-conscious star proved that accessories make an outfit as she added a pair of statement rectangular shades and carried a snakeskin shoulder bag

And the star didn't seem to notice her wardrobe malfunction, flashing a big smile as cameras greeted her after her meeting and at her lunch with a girlfriend.

Bella was the epitome of effortless style as she landed in the French capital just a couple of hours earlier on Friday after a flight from New York.

The top model rocked a head-to-toe white ensemble for the trans-Atlantic trip, showing off her svelte figure in skin-tight trousers.

Check out the shoes! Her white wraparound skirt skimmed her toned and tanned thighs, while a racy choice of lace-up sandals elongated her legs further

Chic in the city: With her dark locks slicked back into an ultra sleek up do and a slick of deep brown lip gloss, Bella was ready for her day of fashion meetings

Having some trouble: Bella was seen trying to pull up the loose lace-up ties on her heels as she strutted around the city

Meal break: After her meetings the top model stopped by a restaurant for a spot of lunch

On the go: Bella looked in great spirits despite hitting the ground running just an hour or so after she landed in Paris from New York

All eyes on her: Bella's fans snapped away on their phones as she arrived back at her hotel

Can I get a selfie? The model broke out her best poses for fans' camera phones

Bella teamed her white trousers with a baggy white denim jacket and Nike sneakers - the brand for which the model is an ambassador.

She completed her jet-set ensemble with a designer handbag in black and a pair of statement shades.

With her brunette locks scraped back into an up 'do and just a dash of makeup, Bella flaunted her natural beauty.

Girl talk: Laughing away, Bella shared an alfresco lunch with a girlfriend

What a natural: Bella showed off her natural beauty with barely a scrap of makeup

Chic in the city: Bella was the epitome of effortless style as she landed in Paris earlier on Friday after a flight from New York

Sporty: The top model rocked a head-to-toe white ensemble for the trans-Atlantic trip, showing off her svelte figure in skin-tight trousers

Finishing touches: She completed her jet-set ensemble with a designer handbag in black and a pair of statement shades

Earlier in the day Bella sported the same outfit as she stepped out intoNew York City.

Bella added a personalized touch to her trendy outfit with a red beanie complete with her first initial.

The model stepped out sporting a pair of rectangular sunglasses that gave her cool outfit another edgy touch.

White hot! Earlier in the day Bella sported the same outfit as she stepped out into New York

Her short brunette tresses were worn down in a straight style, and she added another pop of color with her bold red purse, slung over her shoulder.

To accessorize the look, she wore a sparkling ring on her left hand.

Stepping out with a smile on her face, Bella appeared relaxed and in a good mood as she left the building in her Nike trainers.

Shady lady! The model stepped out sporting a pair of rectangular sunglasses that gave her cool outfit another edgy touch

Adding some glam: And to accessorize the look, she wore a sparkling ring on her ring finger

Over the spring, Bella became the new spokesperson for Nike Cortez.

The star recently revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that modelling for the brand had been a lifelong dream of hers.

'It's crazy because my biggest dream was doing Chanel and having a Dior contract, I did a Fendi campaign  so I did a lot of the fashion stuff, and then being able to walk the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was so crazy to me because it took me into that more commercial lingerie land.

'And now I'm able to work with Nike, which has always been my number one, its been a dream of mine since I was a kid. I don't even know if it was a dream because I didn't think it was a realistic thing to think about.'

Hitting her stride: Over the spring, Bella became the latest spokesperson for Nike Cortez
She is enjoying her last days as a single woman before becoming Mrs Thomas.

So Emmerdale star Adam Thomas' fiancee Caroline Daly is naturally keen to veer towards married life in style as she shipped off to Ibiza with a bevy of pals where she was spotted in a racy bridal-inspired ensemble on Friday.

The blonde beauty, who has been with the hunk for nine years, looked incredible in her skimpy white bikini which she paired with a veil and train to make her look the perfect bride-to-be.

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Stunner: Emmerdale star Adam Thomas' fiancee Caroline Daly is naturally keen to veer towards married life in style as she shipped off to Ibiza with a bevy of pals where she was spotted in a racy bridal-inspired ensemble

Adam and Caroline, who share two-year-old son Teddy, announced their engagement last June and have been carefully planning their nuptials every since.

The blonde beauty was celebrating in style as she hit the party island with a group of pals, including Adam's twin brother Scott's girlfriend Kady McDermott, where all the girls chose a number of sexy bikinis.

Ensuring she was the centre of attention and quite clearly the bride-to-be, Caroline naturally opted for white, with the risque light colour perfectly accentuating her tanned frame and toned body.

The key-hole neckline gave a cheeky hint of the stunner's cleavage while she blinged up the ensemble with a body chain adorned with diamantes.

Her love: She is enjoying her last days as a single woman before becoming Mrs Thomas

Headed to the aisle: Adam and Caroline, who share two-year-old son Teddy, announced their engagement last June and have been carefully planning their nuptials every since

Boosting her height was a pair of staggering platform wedges while she personalised the look with a straw bag adorned with the intials Mrs. T.

As she climbed into a waiting taxi, Caroline flicked out her train to show off the entirety of her derriere - with the peachy posterior perfectly fitted in the bottoms.

Proving just how well she fits in the Thomas clan, Kady took to Instagram to share a gushing post with the bride-to-be as they cuddled up.

She added a sweet caption on the shot reading: 'The most amazing girl ever! Love you like a sister happy hen do!'

Legs eleven: Boosting her height was a pair of staggering platform wedges while she personalised the look with a straw bag adorned with the intials Mrs. T

Adam, who plays Adam Barton in the Yorkshire-based soap, recalled: 'On the day I was going to propose, Caroline described her perfect engagement ring...

'It was exactly the same as the one I had bought. I thought shed seen the ring  I was absolutely gutted.'

The actor, whose older brother Ryan plays Jason Grimshaw in Coronation Street, admitted he put on a suit and convinced his fiancee-to-be they were going out for a posh dinner.

We are family! Proving just how well she fits in the Thomas clan, Kady took to Instagram to share a gushing post with the bride-to-be as they cuddled up

I cried! Caroline added: 'I was gobsmacked  I cried. For a while I couldnt even speak as I was so choked up. It felt like we had been in this bubble. I looked around and Ted was covered head to toe in tomato ketchup'

He explained: 'I was dressed up in a suit! But I couldnt say anything as I didnt want to spoil the surprise.'

Caroline added: 'I was gobsmacked  I cried. For a while I couldnt even speak as I was so choked up. It felt like we had been in this bubble. I looked around and Ted was covered head to toe in tomato ketchup.'

With a role in one of Britain's most popular soaps, a bride-to-be and their son, Adam admits he is happier than ever: 'Were perfect together. My life is perfect. Ive got everything I want right now.'
Megan McKenna has confirmed she has taken a holiday with her on-off beau Pete Wicks to Las Vegas, where they are 'working on things'.

In images obtained by The Sun, the TOWIE duo were seen reclining poolside in a US hotel earlier in the week as they spin the latest twist in their convoluted tale which has seen an array of make-up and break-ups.

A representative for the 24-year-old starlet, confirmed to MailOnline: 'They have taken a trip abroad to work on things and hope people will respect their privacy.'

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Back on: When Megan McKenna and Pete Wicks finally called things quits last month, the duo remained adamant they would remain civil yet it seems they have fallen once again into romance as they jetted away to 'work' on their relationship

Megan and Pete have been locked in a convoluted love story since she entered the structured reality programme in March last year, with their dramas captivating viewers following many bumps in the road.

The most shocking twist in their romance came last September when he was outed for 'sexting' his ex-girlfriend Jaqui Ryland, in which he sent messages stating he 'wished he didn't have a girlfriend' - naturally to Megan's chagrin.

After mending their relationship, he admitted the scandal was hanging over their heads as Megan admitted in an episode of TOWIE in March that she constantly thinks of the betrayal particularly when they argue.

When they finally called things quits last month, the duo remained adamant they would remain civil yet it seems they have fallen once again into romance as they jetted away to 'work' on their relationship.

Not giving up: Megan confirmed she has taken a holiday with her on-off beau Pete Wicks to Las Vegas, where they are 'working on things'

Out and a pout: She went as far as keeping her location mysterious - in an unprecedented move for a reality star who is so used to documenting every detail of her life on social media

Fun in the sun: A representative for the 24-year-old starlet, confirmed to MailOnline: 'They have taken a trip abroad to work on things and hope people will respect their privacy'

Last month, a source told The Sun: 'Megan and Pete still love each other despite everything and they want their time off from Towie to be about them and try to rekindle what they had. Its very early days, but theyve had a few heart to hearts and now Towies finished filming they can work through things.'

The couple's trip appears to be the true mark of great things to come, as they pair looked happy and relaxed while chilling in scanty swimwear and having deep chats.

Megan has been littering her social media accounts with envy-inducing snaps from a trip although remained mysterious over her holiday mate, yet her confirmation proves it was in fact Pete behind the lens.

She went as far as keeping her location mysterious - in an unprecedented move for a reality star who is so used to documenting every detail of her life on social media.

Turbulent: Megan and Pete have been locked in a convoluted love story since she entered the structured reality programme in March last year, with their dramas captivating viewers following many bumps in the road

Gone: As the 20th series of TOWIE drew to a close last month, the pair starred in one of the most shocking scenes in the show to date when Megan was physically restrained by producers in the midst of a blazing row

Outraged: Sources claimed during the row in the street Megan accused Pete of being unfaithful while staying in Scotland, presumably during his solo mini-break he took in January

As the 20th series of TOWIE drew to a close last month, the pair starred in one of the most shocking scenes in the show to date when Megan was physically restrained by producers in the midst of a blazing row.

Sources claimed during the row in the street Megan accused Pete of being unfaithful while staying in Scotland, presumably during his solo mini-break he took in January after a blazing row with Megan at the NTAs.

Megan's temper has become prolific throughout her lengthy career in reality TV which has seen her appear on Ex On The Beach for two turns, CBB, an attempted bid for stardom in Britain's Got Talent and X Factor while making her first TOWIE appearance in 2010 while auditioning for Jess Wright's now-defunct group LOLA.
She is rarely seen out nowadays.

But Michael Jackson's wheelchair-bound mother Katherine, 87, made a rare public appearance on Wednesday evening.

Daughter Rebbie Jackson, 67, took her to see grandson Austin Brown perform at the intimate Hotel Cafe in Hollywood.

Rare outing: Katherine Jackson joined her daughter and caretaker Rebbie to watch her grandson Austin Brown perform in Hollywood, CA.

The Jackson family matriarch left the Hotel Cafe in a wheelchair after watching Rebbie Jackson's son Austin Brown perform a small show at the venue

Austin, who played with Dana Williams, is Rebbie's 31-year-old son.

Katherine looked well in a long black dress and smart red jacket while her daughter was clad in a red sweater covered in flowers, black Adidas pants and a cap that she jammed low over her eyes.

The family matriarch was later spotted at nearby Mel's Diner, according to TMZ.

Last month, a California judge dismissed Katherine's elder abuse lawsuit against nephew Trent Lamar Jackson, whom she's had a temporary restraining order against since February.

Cheering him on: Michael Jackson's nephew and son of Rebbie Jackson Austin Brown performed for a small crowd

The judge found that she and her attorneys were 'unprepared to go forward' with a full-blown trial, TMZ reported at the time.

Katherine had previously claimed that Trent, who is the 52-year-old son of her estranged husband Joe Jackson's brother Luther, abused her and stole $40,000 from her accounts as her caretaker and driver since 2009.

Meanwhile, Trent thinks Katherine (born Kattie B. Scruse) is being manipulated by family members trying to gain control of the late Michael Jackson's $1 billion estate.

So grateful: Austin, 31, posted this snap of himself with performer Dana Williams, captioned, 'Thank you LA for showing love last night we had a great time' giving a 'big shout out' to Dana, his sister Yashi Brown and Diana Ross's son Evan Ross 'for sharing your gifts. Peace and love'

She was allegedly so afraid of Trent she fled to London for two months to be with her daughter Janet, who just welcomed son Eissa Al Mana with estranged third husband Wissam Al Mana.

Katherine jetted back into Los Angeles in March for the court hearing.

She was met at LAX by Rebbie and has reportedly been living with her in the Encino district of Los Angeles since then.

Last month, sources connected to the family told TMZ that Michael's children - Prince, 20, Paris, 19, and Blanket, 15 - hadn't yet seen their beloved grandmother.

She and grandson TJ Jackson are co-guardians of the late King Of Pop's kids.

Michael died on June 25, 2009, at his home in the tony Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, just before his 51st birthday, after an overdose of drugs administered by his personal physician.
She was left 'furious' when her best friend Ellie Young reportedly 'left her behind' to go into the Big Brother house.

But Hayley Fanshaw - who sources claim could still enter the house to confront Ellie -didn't seem to have a care in the world as she soaked up the sun in Magaluf.

The Ibiza Weekender star, 19, showed off her slim physique in a seriously plunging white swimsuit with a silver front.

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Beach babe: Hayley Fanshaw didn't seem to have a care in the world as she soaked up the sun in Magaluf

Hayley, who hit the headlines on Ibiza Weekender after being caught in a love triangle with Jordan Davies and Laura Louise, looked sizzling in the one-piece.

She showcased her glowing tan in the plunging swimwear, which featured a high thigh cut.

The reality star wore minimal make-up and shielded her eyes from the blistering sun with a pair of classic black shades.

Looking good: The Ibiza Weekender star, 19, showed off her slim physique in a seriously plunging white swimsuit with a silver front

Trouble maker: Hayley hit the headlines on Ibiza Weekender after being caught in a love triangle with Jordan Davies and Laura Louise

She knows how to make a splash! The reality star looked sizzling in the one-piece

Boasting a deep golden tan, the teenager from East Yorkshire wore her long dark tresses swept off her face.

Her defiant outing comes after claims that her best friend and fellow Ibiza Weekender rep Ellie, 23, ditched her in Magaluf to enter Big Brother in secret.

According to The Sun, the pair were supposed to enter the show as a pair - but their plans were ruined after Ellie went into hiding and reportedly did not tell Hayley she was going in alone.

Glowing: She showcased her glowing tan in the plunging swimwear

Natural look: The reality star wore minimal make-up for her sun-soaked outing

Legs for days: The revealing ivory swimsuit featured a high thigh cut

Shady lady: She shielded her eyes from the blistering sun with a pair of classic black sunglasses

'She is raging. Ellie didn't tell her she was flying back to Britain to go into hiding without her,' a source close to Hayley told the paper.

'She said she was going home to do promotional appearances. Hayley only found out this weekend and she is furious that she got left behind.

'They are sure to have a big fight when they eventually meet up again.'

Sun goddess: Boasting a deep golden tan, the teenager from East Yorkshire wore her long dark tresses swept off her face

Awkward: Her defiant outing comes after claims that her best friend and fellow Ibiza Weekender rep Ellie, 23, ditched her in Magaluf to enter Big Brother in secret

Tense: According to The Sun , the pair were supposed to enter the show as a pair

Hayley is reportedly on standby now and could still be brought into Big Brother later in the reality show.

Ellie hit the headlines on Wednesday night when she canoodled with Dreamboys star Lotan Carter and later kissed him in bed.

Ellie revealed to Mandy earlier in the show that she likes Lotan and said: 'He can do better than me, he's stunning!'

Oh dear: But their plans were reportedly ruined after Ellie went into hiding and is believed not to have told Hayley she was going in alone

Any day now? Hayley is reportedly on standby now and could still be brought into Big Brother later in the reality show
She's no stranger to making a fashion statement and is usually dolled up to the nines.

But Katie Price opted for laid back glamour on Friday when she stepped out in Manchester, rocking a silk onesie with tassel and diamante detailing at the bust.

The mother-of-five, 38, accessorised her pyjama inspired ensemble in true Pricey style, setting off her look with fluffy sliders.

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Keeping it casual: Katie Price opted for laid back glamour on Friday when she stepped out in Manchester, rocking a silk onesie with tassel and diamante detailing at the bust

Katie wore her long blonde extensions in straight style and hid behind a large pair of shades, highlighting her plump pout with pink gloss.

The glamour-loving star pulled her look together with a hot pink manicure, ensuring she was picture perfect from head-to-toe.

She seemed in high spirits as she joined friends at Barca bar and restaurant, making the most of the sunshine.

Glamorous: Katie wore her long blonde extensions in straight style and hid behind a large pair of shades, highlighting her plump pout with pink gloss

Living it up: She seemed in high spirits as she joined friends at Barca bar and restaurant, making the most of the sunshine

The star's outing comes after Katie revealed on Wednesday's episode of Loose Women that she is planning another baby with her husband Kieran Hayler - as she revealed the unusual choice of name she has decided on.

The beauty candidly admitted she has a string of regal-themed monikers lined up if she decides to add to her brood in future - with Royalty at the forefront, despite daughter Princess growing to dislike her name.

Katie is mother to 15-year-old Harvey with former partner Dwight Yorke, Junior, 11, and nine-year-old Princess with first husband Peter Andre and Jett, three, and Bunny, two, with spouse Kieran - yet she is eyeing more sprogs.

It's all in the details: The glamour-loving star pulled her look together with a hot pink manicure, ensuring she was picture perfect from head-to-toe

As she spoke on the panel show, she said: 'Obviously I've got a Princess and a Bunny, Harvey was named after my granddad and Junior because he was a mini Pete, but I actually like the name Royalty, I don't care if no one else does.

'Royalty, then Prince and then King and then Duchess, I've got them all named, I don't know how many more I'll have. (The whole monarchy?) Why not.'

The former glamour model also admitted she "hated" her own full name when she was growing up: 'I hated mine, I was born Katrina Amy Alexandria Alexis Infield, I don't know what my mum was thinking.

'When I was 17, I changed it to Katie and then Katie Price, my stepdad's name is Price, so I changed that.'

Enjoying herself: Katie was chatting away to friends during her fun-filled outing
He had a day off between playing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Highland Park in Illinois on his Darkness And Light tour.

So crooner John Legend, 38, and his wife, model Chrissy Teigen, 31, took their baby girl Luna for her first visit to a zoo at Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois on Friday.

The one-year-old was obviously taken by one of the animals she saw as she cuddled a plush toy giraffe in the Instagram selfie John shared, showing the tot sitting between him and her mom on a tour bus at the zoo.

She likes giraffes: John Legend, 38, and his wife, model Chrissy Teigen, 31, took their baby girl Luna for her first visit to a zoo at Lincoln Park in Chicago on Friday as the crooner continues his Darkness And Light tour

John, wearing a white shirt open at the collar, and Chrissy, who donned a jean jacket and Linda Farrow shades, smiled happily but little Luna didn't look quite so sure

He captioned it: 'Time for a zoo visit! #LunasFirstTour.'

John was referring to his Darkness And Light tour in support of the album of the same name that began in Miami on May 12 and will wrap in New Orleans on June 30.

Ready for some food: The one-year-old sat up and waited patiently for her dinner in this Snapchat image Chrissy shared

Play time: After dinner, Teigen ran around the restaurant with her daughter singing 'pizza party, pizza party,'

It's been a series of firsts for little Luna.

On Tuesday night, the little cutie threw the first pitch at the Seattle Mariners home game against the Minnesota Twins - with a bit of help from her parents.

The tot was dressed in a miniature Mariners shirt and jeans and was held tight by her musician father as she pitched on the mound.

Queen of the throne: Chrissy uploaded this shot with the kidding caption 'Stealing john's photo haha she's not even his anyway'

Another first: On Tuesday night, the little cutie threw the first pitch at the Seattle Mariners home game against the Minnesota Twins - with a bit of help from her parents

He's hyped: The star held the baseball aloft with one hand as he clasped Luna with the other. His daughter looked incredibly cute in her Seattle Mariners outfit

Chrissy, who went to high school in Washington state, acted as chief cheer leader.

'I have never been so proud,' Chrissy tweeted as she shared more photos from Luna's big night.

The couple welcomed their precious daughter in April 2016 after undergoing fertility treatment.

The musician and the model wed in 2013 after dating since 2007.
At the height of her career, she was one of Hollywoods most in-demand actresses, commanding more than 5million per movie.

But now Lindsay Lohan has been questioned by police over the alleged theft of 24,000 of her ex-fiances belongings.

The actress, 30, attended three interviews at Charing Cross police station last month.

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Interrogation: Lindsay Lohan has been questioned by police over the alleged theft of 24,000 of her Russian property tycoon ex-fiance Egor Tarabasov's belongings

She is now understood to have returned a 3,500 Rolex, jewellery and clothes to Russian property tycoon Egor Tarabasov, 24.

However, she is said to have kept another 4,000 watch and a gold Russian orthodox cross  a gift from his late godfather.

Mr Tarabasov accused her of taking the items from a 3.5million flat they were renting in Westminster.

Questioned: The actress, 30, attended three interviews at Charing Cross police station last month

Last night a friend of Mr Tarabasov said: Egor had been chasing Lindsay for months for the return of his personal belongings, but to no avail.

In the end he felt he had no choice but to go to police and formally accuse her of theft. Lindsay has been in and out of the country, so police initially struggled to pin her down to be interviewed.

They finally got through to her after sending an email to her publicist, threatening Lindsay with arrest.

It is fair to say there is no love lost between the two.

Troubled times: The couple split in August after they were seen brawling on a Greek beach. In October the Mail revealed Lohan was facing bankruptcy after failing to pay 78,000 in rent

The couple split in August after they were seen brawling on a Greek beach. In October the Mail revealed Lohan was facing bankruptcy after failing to pay 78,000 in rent.

She has been to rehab several times for alcohol and drug problems, has previously spent time in jail and has been convicted of drink-driving and shoplifting.

Last night Westminster police said she was questioned under caution and there would be no further action.
She's the London socialite who's a regular on the exclusive fashion scene.

And Daisy Lowe, 28, turned heads in a daring thigh-high slit dress at the One For The Boys Fashion Ball on Friday.

Flashing her long, slender pins in the long black gown, the model looked stunning as she worked the cameras.

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Sensational: Daisy Lowe, 28, turned heads in a daring thigh-high slit dress at the One For The Boys Fashion Ball on Friday

Daisy's dress clung to her curves, and the addition of two front slits snaked up to the tops of her thighs.

The quirky gown featured sheer sleeves that gave a glimpse of her slender arms, and she carried her belongings in a Bertoni 1949 Blue Velvet Mini Squared Bertoncina miniature box bag.

She piled her raven tresses into a messy plait with a fringe, from which her alluringly made-up smokey eyes peeped out of.

Daring: Daisy's dress clung to her curves, and the addition of two front slits snaked up to the tops of her thighs

Quirky: The quirky gown featured sheer sleeves that gave a glimpse of her slender arms, and she carried her belongings in a Bertoni 1949 Blue Velvet Mini Squared Bertoncina miniature box bag

Sultry: She piled her raven tresses into a messy updo with a fringe, from which her alluringly made-up smokey eyes peeped out of

The gown teased at her ample cleavage whilst remaining covered up, and she paired some simple black court heels to the look.

The addition of a diamond chain necklace further enhanced the classiness of the look, and Daisy beamed her trademark grin as she worked all her angles to show off the dress.

Songstress Pixie Lott was also in attendance, looking stunning in a peach suit that clung to her slender frame.

Classy: The addition of a diamond chain necklace further enhanced the classiness of the look, and Daisy beamed her trademark grin

Work it: Daisy looked typically stunning as she posed for cameras on Friday evening

Turning heads: Daisy displayed her messy plait hairstyle as she turned away from the cameras

Smouldering: Daisy opted for smoky make-up that accentuated her naturally pretty features

The Mama Do hitmaker topped off her look with a pair of towering salmon platform heels.

Pixie wore her platinum tresses slicked back off her face and accessorised with dazzling silver earrings.

She was joined by a host of famous faces at the event, including singer Leona Lewis.

The former X Factor favourite was dressed to impress in a white column dress with quirky halterneck detailing.

She looked the picture of elegance as she posed hand-on-hip at the event.

Peach perfection: Pixie Lott also kicked off London Fashion Week Men's at the One For The Boys Fashion Ball held at the Landmark Hotel on Friday night

Cool couple: The singer looking stunning in a peach suit that clung to her slender frame, while her model boyfriend, Oliver Cheshire, sported a cool burgundy jacket

Glamorous: Pixie wore her platinum tresses slicked back off her face and accessorised with dazzling silver earrings

Pretty in pastels: Pixie made an impact in a striking peach suit and matching heels, turning heads as she arrived on the red carpet

White-out: Leona Lewis also looked beautiful in a figure-hugging white maxi dress that highlighted her hourglass shape

McFly's Dougie Poynter also looked trendy in a navy tartan suit complete with dishevelled tie, and styled his long tresses swept over his face.

The One For The Boys bash aims to raise money for Samuel L Jackson's charity of the same name, which aims to increase awareness of male cancers and educate men about the health risks they face.

The ball also launched the charity's latest campaign, The Waiting Room.

This will see a pop-up doctor's waiting room, disguised as the ultimate men's retreat appear in Canary Wharf from Monday 12 - Wednesday 14 June.

Dishevelled cool: McFly's Dougie Poynter also looked trendy in a navy tartan suit complete with dishevelled tie, and styled his long tresses swept over his face

Dapper: Toby Huntington-Whiteley and Richard Biedul both smartened up for the charity ball

Glam: Eve opted for full-on glamour in a floor-length beaded gown and pink fur stole

Stunning: Leona Lewis and Sofia Davis posed for photos together

Making an entrance: She looked the picture of elegance as she arrived at the event

Natural beauty: Leona, who has been living in LA, looked like she hadn't aged a day since her pop debut

Hitting the high notes: Leona later took to the stage for a live performance at the event

In good company: Pixie posed for a photo with fellow guest Eve

Stylish exit: Pixie and Oliver put on a united display as they left the venue

Goth chic: Daisy looked chic as she left the party, flashing her toned pins

Rear view: The model accessorised with a deep blue velvet clutch and matching heels

Stunner: Despite the late hour Pixie still looked flawless

Who's that girl? Even looked effortlessly chic as she left the party with her husband
They've been shunned by overseas audiences after it was deemed 'too extreme' in its drama.

And now Melbourne cast members have weighed in on the Sydney housewives drama, with RHOM's Janet Roach telling News Corp their stars show more respect for each other.

Janet's comments come as as Foxtel conceded some of the Sydney housewives have 'no redeeming features', and hinted at a major cast overhaul for season two.

'I think we have a bit more respect for one another': Real Housewives Of Melbourne's Janet Roach says Sydney show had too many below the belt fights

While Sydney's first season featured derogatory comments about people's weight, families and 'sl*t shaming', Janet said the Real Housewives Of Melbourne has very clear 'no-go zones'.

'I think we have a bit more respect for one another in Melbourne,' Janet explained, also adding the Sydney series didn't showcase the housewives' real personalities enough.

'And we have no-go zones - children, partners, things that are going to affect us in our outside lives.'

'It is surprising because those other franchises can get pretty nasty': Gina Liano was shocked to see overseas audiences shun the Sydney series

Drama: Sydney's first housewives series had its fair share of fights

Real Housewives Of Melbourne's Gina Liano also weighed in on the drama, saying she had been shocked to see overseas audiences shun the Sydney series.

'It is surprising because those other franchises can get pretty nasty. I don't know what they were comparing it to, Melbourne has been nasty too,' Gina told News Corp.

Last month The Daily Telegraph reported that US networks had rejected the chance to broadcast the series.

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.

Shaking things up? The disappointing decision has caused Foxtel's head of television Brian Walsh to concede he is concerned about the cast

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.

'I particularly felt Lisa Oldfield and AthenaX Levendi were driving their own agendas.'

'I particularly felt Lisa Oldfield and AthenaX Levendi were driving their own agendas': The Foxtel boss said he was particularly concerned about Lisa and Athena's behaviour

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.

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.
She's been ruling the red carpet since her teens.

And Neve Campbell added one more win to her resume as she dazzled in an eclectic ensemble at the Los Angeles Confidential Women of Influence Tea on Friday.

The 42-year-old paired a navy blue top with an orange long skirt as she hosted the event to celebrate women empowerment at the new Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Stunner: Neve Campbell, 42, dazzled in an eclectic ensemble at the Los Angeles Confidential Women of Influence Tea on Friday

The Scream siren revealed her toned arms in the sleeveless top that had a peek-a-boo cut for her cleavage.

Her svelte physique was evident as the two-toned orange skirt hugged her frame perfectly and cascaded to the floor.

Neve paired the look with open toed high heels and a small black leather clutch.

Opting for the natural look, the star chose minimal makeup to compliment her youthful and fresh face.

Catwalk strut: Neve paired a navy blue top with a red long skirt as she hosted the event to celebrate women empowerment at the new Waldorf Astoria hotel

Body hug: Her svelte physique was evident as the two-toned red skirt hugged her frame perfectly and cascaded to the floor

The annual fete is thrown by Los Angeles Confidential magazine and invites women of influence to come together in celebration.

Last year, the party was hosted by Mad Men's Christina Hendricks.

Meanwhile, Neve continues her stint on the critical darling House of Cards.

Peek: The Scream siren revealed her toned arms in the sleeveless top that had a peek-a-boo cut for her cleavage

VIPs: Actress Linda Thompson also attended the event

She portrays Texas based political consultant Leann Harvey.

Hired by Claire (Robin Wright) to be her campaign adviser, Harvey is happy to go toe-to-toe with  and even defy  the seemingly unstoppable President Frank Underwood (Kevin Costner).

Of the role, Neve told ET: 'Very often in this industry, the female roles tend to be vulnerable characters or victims in some way. Its always fun to have roles come along where its the opposite.'.

Woman of influence indeed.
Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi met Justin Trudeau at the Canadian prime minister's office in Ottawa

Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi sat down with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Wednesday to learn about Canadian federalism, a system of government she believes could bring stability to her nation.

"I'm happy to be here, particularly to study the federalism of Canada because it is where we're trying to go. We're trying to build up a democratic federal union," the Nobel laureate said.

"We have some ways to go before we become a working democratic federal nation such as yours," she added, turning to Trudeau in his parliamentary office. "But I'm sure we'll get there."

Canada is among several Western nations supporting democratic reforms in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi's trip to Canada follows a fresh round of peace talks in the capital Naypyidaw aimed at ending a conflict in Myanmar's troubled frontier regions, where various ethnic groups have been waging war against the state for almost seven decades.

Summit delegates considered what shape a federal union might take. The idea is still in its infancy.

Trudeau offered condolences on behalf of Canada for the loss of a Myanmar military aircraft carrying 106 passengers -- soldiers and their families -- and 14 crew.

He also said after their talk that he "encouraged Myanmar to accelerate its efforts to uphold human rights, particularly with respect to women, youth, and protecting ethnic and religious minorities, including the Rohingya."

Trudeau also announced Can$8.8 million in aid to support the peace process and to provide emergency food assistance, shelter and health care to vulnerable populations.

Suu Kyi, a former dissident, was given Canadian honorary citizenship in 2007.
Tensions are high in Kabul since a truck bomb killed more than 150 people and wounded hundreds in Kabul's fortified diplomatic quarter, in the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since 2001

Afghan authorities warned anti-government protesters of legal action Thursday as demonstrators set up new sit-in camps around Kabul, raising security alarms after a week of deadly bombings and street clashes.

Tensions have been high in Kabul since a truck bomb last Wednesday killed more than 150 people and wounded hundreds in the fortified diplomatic quarter, the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since 2001.

Protesters enraged by spiralling insecurity have established sit-in camps in at least six locations around Kabul, including one near the bombing site, demanding the resignation of President Ashraf Ghani's government.

Ghani has roundly rejected their demands, including calls to sack his powerful national security advisor Hanif Atmar, while demanding an immediate end to the protests.

"We ask our countrymen to end their protests which have caused problems considering the sensitive security situation and... open the roads for traffic," the presidential palace said in a statement.

"If the protests continue, the government will take legal action against the demonstrators to ensure security for our people."

Protesters are refusing to give in despite insurgent threats still looming over the city.

Much of Kabul is on lockdown, with many streets blocked with shipping containers and armoured vehicles, but that has not stopped hundreds of people from joining the sit-ins.

"We must clearly say that any use of force against our civil protest will lead to catastrophe," protest leader Asaar Hakimi warned on Facebook. "We will continue our protests until our demands are met."

Any violent showdown between authorities and protesters could spiral into chaos, a threat that has prompted government allies including former warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar to call for peace.

Last Friday at least four people were killed when hundreds of protesters clashed with police, prompting officials to beat them back with live rounds fired into the air, tear gas and water cannon.

Protesters enraged by spiralling insecurity have established sit-in camps in at least six locations around Kabul, including one near the bombing site, demanding the resignation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's government

"Unruly protests have proved bloody in the past, and these unfortunate events should not be repeated," Hekmatyar said.

"I ask the protesters to remove their tents. Roads and streets are public property and nobody has the right to block them."

The Italian-run Emergency hospital, seen as a medical lifeline in Kabul, has also voiced fears for the safety of its staff with protesters camped near their facility.

The attacks have exacerbated tensions between rival ethnic groups and raised the prospect of a political crisis.

Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who heads the mainly Tajik Jamiat political group, also called on Ghani -- an ethnic Pashtun -- to dismiss Atmar.

Rabbani survived an attack at the funeral of one of the protesters on Saturday where suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners. He blamed "terrorists within the system" for the blasts, suggesting it was an inside job.

The government has accused the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network of Wednesday's bombing and said the funeral was targeted by bombers trained at a religious seminary in Pakistan.
A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on December 5, 2016 shows Saudi King Salman (L) and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani during a ceremony in Doha

Saudi Arabia and allies, which have cut ties with Doha, on Friday issued a list of individuals and entities they say are linked to Qatar over "terrorism".

It is the first joint statement issued by the four since Monday, when they severed ties with the gas-rich emirate which has long exercised an independent streak in its foreign policy.

They issued the list hours after Qatar said it would not "surrender" and rejected any interference in its foreign policy.

"This list is connected to Qatar and serves suspicious agendas in an indication of the duality of Qatar policies," said the statement from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain.

It shows that Qatar "announces fighting terrorism on one hand and finances and supports and hosts different terrorist organisations on the other hand," they said.

The list, however, contains at least two names already designated internationally as terrorist financiers, and against whom Qatar took action, according to a previous US Department of State report.

Those two, Sad al-Kabi and Abd al-Latif al-Kawari, are among dozens of individuals and entities named Friday by Saudi Arabia and its three allies.

"The four countries agreed on categorising 59 persons and 12 entities in their list of terrorism," they said, affirming "that they won't be lenient in pursuing" such persons and groups.

Along with Qataris, many on the list are individuals and groups from Egypt, Bahrain and Libya.

In severing diplomatic ties with its Gulf neighbour on Monday, Riyadh accused Doha of supporting groups including some backed by Iran.

It accused Doha of harbouring "terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to destabilise the region including the Muslim Brotherhood, Daesh (the Islamic State group) and Al-Qaeda".

Riyadh has itself faced accusations of tolerating or even supporting extremists, in particular after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

In its latest Country Reports on Terrorism, the US State Department said Qatar in 2015 froze assets and imposed travel bans on Ka'bi and Kawari, both of whom are Qatari citizens.

"Despite these efforts, entities and individuals within Qatar continue to serve as a source of financial support for terrorist and violent extremist groups, particularly regional Al-Qaeda affiliates such as the Nusrah Front," the State Department said.

"Qatar has made efforts to prosecute significant terrorist financiers."
ABG Encourages Culture of Accountability



Anthony Kaybing



080617



The Autonomous Bougainville Government is encouraging a culture of accountability from its Ministers and Members of the ABG down to its public service.



ABG President Chief Dr John Momis made the remark during the launch of the Public Service last week.



We must develop a culture that promotes excellence, rewards success and penalises those that do the wrong thing, Momis said.



I can no longer tolerate stories of corruption and fraud and I intend to take action to convene an Inquiry to investigate the many allegations that have been raised, he added.



He also made it clear that the outcomes of this investigation will not be treated lightly  those found to have done wrong, no matter how senior or junior will suffer the full weight of the law.



Enough is enough  things have to change. If they do not, then we are only destined for failure, Momis said.



Momis has also instructed the ABG Chief Secretary, Joseph Nobetau to take all necessary actions to address gaps in service delivery and inefficiencies in the public service.



The Chief Secretary on his part has been briefing regularly on issues that arise as a result of this drive to curb corruption.



The Chief Secretarys primary aim is to enhance the professionalism of our public service and to ensure that our senior leaders step up and take charge of their respective responsibilities, this has to happen if we are to change, Momis remarked.



The ABG Corporate Plans provide a roadmap of what agencies expect to achieve, they are key accountability documents that will allow us as a government to demonstrate the work that we do.



The corporate plans will be backed up by effective reporting and monitoring and in turn, this must be linked to performance expectations of all public servants.



I have therefore instructed the Chief Secretary to progress a new performance management framework so that this evaluation can occur, Momis stated.



The President said that accountability does not, however, only extend to the public servants, it also applies equally to our Ministers and Members of Parliament.



Let me be clear that the standards and expectations that I have of our public servants apply equally to our elected leaders, Momis added.



Ends////


A soldier keeps watch as the children of Israeli settlers play outside the Abraham Avinu settlement in the divided West Bank city of Hebron

Israel has advanced plans for more than 3,000 homes in West Bank settlements this week, despite US President Donald Trump's call to hold back on such projects as he seeks ways to restart peace efforts.

Israel pushed forward with the plans as it also marked 50 years since the Six-Day War, fought from June 5-10, 1967 and which began its continuing occupation of the West Bank.

A total of 3,178 housing units were advanced in a number of different settlements, the Peace Now NGO that tracks settlement growth told AFP on Thursday.

They are the first new settlement announcements since Trump's visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories last month, when he tried to encourage both sides back to the negotiating table.

Trump has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold back on settlement building for now, but the right-wing Israeli leader has been under intense pressure from settler leaders.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said she was aware of a government announcement of "about 2,500 new units in the West Bank".

"President Trump has talked about this consistently and he has said that in his opinion unrestrained settlement activity does not help advance the peace process," she said.

The powerful settler movement wields heavy influence in Netanyahu's right-wing governing coalition.

On Tuesday, a defence ministry planning committee advanced 1,500 units, while more than 900 more were added on Wednesday, Peace Now said.

In a separate process, 688 homes were advanced by the committee late on Wednesday and will now go out for a 60-day public comment period during which objections can be filed.

The plans are at various stages in the process and the units are in a number of settlements across the West Bank.

- 'Ultimate deal' -

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas condemned the plan for the new housing units.

Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, including in annexed east Jerusalem.

They live alongside some three million Palestinians.

Settlements are considered illegal under international law and are seen as a major obstacle to the so-called two state solution -- the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Israel blames Palestinian incitement and intransigence for the ongoing conflict.

While the majority of the planned homes are in pre-existing settlements, some will be built in the first new official settlement in some 25 years, Peace Now said.

Last month, Trump visited Israel and the Palestinian territories, meeting both Netanyahu and Abbas as he seeks what he has called the "ultimate deal".

But he has given no details about how he plans to restart talks, and there is deep scepticism over whether such an effort would have any chance of success.

Netanyahu has said he still supports a two-state solution, but peace advocates say his actions show otherwise.

On Tuesday, the premier told settlers he would keep building across the West Bank.

- 'Strong pressure' -

"Netanyahu has been trying to hold back but he has been under very strong pressure from the settlement movement," Ofer Zalzberg of the International Crisis Group think tank said.

Abbas's spokesman called Netanyahu's statements a "challenge" to Trump and the international community.

"It is a challenge to (Trump's) efforts to create an appropriate atmosphere for a serious political process, and a blatant challenge to the international community as a whole," a statement said.

Hugh Lovatt, Israel coordinator at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said the new settlements would not totally derail Trump's push.

The Palestinians have previously demanded a settlement freeze as a precondition to returning to negotiations, but there have been suggestions Abbas has dropped this since Trump came to power.

But Zalzberg said more settlement announcements could push the two sides further apart.

"It is becoming more difficult to square the circle to get negotiations going," he said.
At 83, Emperor Akihito, has signalled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades on the Chrysanthemum Throne, citing his age and health problems

Japan's parliament passed a law Friday that clears the way for its ageing Emperor Akihito to step down, in what would be the first imperial abdication in more than two centuries.

The popular 83-year-old monarch shocked the country last summer when he signalled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades on the Chrysanthemum Throne, citing his age and health problems.

The unexpected move presented a challenge since there was no law to deal with an emperor retiring from what is usually a job for life.

The one-off rule was passed in the last-stage upper house on Friday in a unanimous decision after the lower chamber gave its stamp of approval last week.

The abdication must take place within three years of the new law taking effect or it expires -- and it only applies to Akihito.

Japanese media have said the government is eyeing the end of 2018 as a likely timeline for his retirement.

The status of the emperor is sensitive in Japan given its 20th century history of war waged in the name of Akihito's father Hirohito, who died in 1989.

Some scholars and politicians worried that changing the law to allow any emperor to abdicate could put Japan's future monarchs at risk of being subject to political manipulation.

Akihito, who has been treated for prostate cancer and had heart surgery, is expected to step aside in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito.

There have been abdications in Japan's long imperial history, but the last one was more than 200 years ago, so politicians had to craft new legislation to make it possible.

"The one-off law is a result of political compromises, but it will become a precedent for future abdications," said Setsu Kobayashi, a constitutional expert and professor emeritus at Japan's Keio University.

- 'Casual image' -

Akihito was born in 1933 just as Japan was embarking on its militaristic sweep across Asia, and was 11 when the war ended in defeat.

His father was allowed to remain on the throne after Japan's defeat, but his status was downgraded from semi-devine sovereign to a figurehead with no political power.

The emperor and his wife Empress Michiko are seen as being the more accessible face of a monarchy that largely remains in the shadows, unlike the British royals.

Akihito embraced the role and tried to use it to help heal the scars of the war while remoulding one of the world's oldest monarchies for a democratic age.

"The emperor prefers the more casual image of himself as a 'symbol' of the Japanese people," Kobayashi said.

Even before he assumed the throne, Akihito broke with tradition when he married the daughter of a wealthy flour magnate in 1959, becoming the first imperial heir to wed a commoner.

The emperor and his wife Empress Michiko are seen as being the more accessible face of a monarchy that largely remains in the shadows, unlike the British royals.

The couple have frequently attended public events and console victims of natural disasters, including Japan's 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.

Akihito is officially barred from commenting on politics, but he has over the years hinted at his own anti-nationalist views.

Speaking at a memorial marking the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender, Akihito expressed "deep remorse" for the country's actions in World War II.

Some saw this as a rebuke to nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pushed to change Japan's pacifist constitution and prevent Japanese from having to apologise again for the nation's warring past.

Akihito's pending abdication had reignited concerns about a potential succession crisis.

There are no more eligible male heirs after the 10-year-old son of Crown Prince Naruhito's younger brother Akishino.

Japan's centuries-old succession would be broken if that son, Hisahito, does not have a male child.

In response, Japan's parliament has called for a debate on giving women a bigger role in the male-dominated monarchy.

The idea -- including the possibility of letting women ascend the throne -- is popular among ordinary Japanese, but it is vehemently opposed by traditionalists including the current prime minister and likeminded conservatives.

Female imperial family members lose their royal status upon marriage to a commoner, a point highlighted by recent news that one of Akihito's granddaughters, Princess Mako, plans to marry her college sweetheart.
Thee new cases of polio have been recorded in Syria, the WHO says, blaming under-immunisation in the war-wracked country. Vaccination -- like this in Afghanistan -- is simple and relatively cheap

Three new cases of polio have been recorded in Syria in the first outbreak of the virus in the country since 2014, the World Health Organization and a partner initiative said.

The new cases were registered in the oil-rich province Deir Ezzor, the majority of which is controlled by the Islamic State group and where a siege of the capital has restricted access to basic goods for some of the population.

An outbreak hit the province in 2013-2014, when 36 cases were reported, according to the Polio Global Irradication Initiative.

WHO spokeswoman Sona Bari told AFP on Thursday that the new cases are from a different strain of the virus.

The current form of the virus mutated from strains in the oral polio vaccine, the initiative said, as opposed to the "wild" polio which caused the last outbreak and led to the vaccination of millions of children in the Middle East.

"Circulating (vaccine-derived polioviruses) are extremely rare forms of poliovirus...that can emerge in under-immunised populations," it said in a statement.

"Although access to Deir-Ez-Zor is compromised due to insecurity, the Governorate has been partially reached by several vaccination campaigns against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases since the beginning of 2016," the initiative said.

"Outbreak response plans are being finalized," it added.

Meanwhile medical journal The Lancet reported that health care workers, clinics and hospitals were attacked more than 400 times last year in Syria's civil war.

A total of 402 such attacks -- many of them fatal -- were registered between November 2015 and December 2016, it said.
Akihito -- the son of wartime emperor Hirohito -- has repeatedly warned that Japan must not downplay its 20th-century militarism and actions in World War II.

Japan passed a law Friday that allows 83-year-old Emperor Akihito to step down, setting the stage for its first imperial abdication in more than two centuries.

Here are five things to know about Japan's royals:

Ancient history

The Japanese imperial family is believed to be the world's oldest, with a myth-filled history that dates back more than 2,600 years.

Akihito is the 125th emperor since Emperor Jimmu, said to be a descendant of the legendary sun goddess Amaterasu.

Emperors have played a crucial role in the country's native Shinto religion, conducting various annual rites and prayers for the prosperity of the nation.

Constitutional symbol

The greatest threat to the imperial family's long history came with Japan's defeat in World War II.

Some in the Allied camp wanted to end the monarchy in whose name Japanese armies marched through Asia-Pacific. But US General Douglas MacArthur, who led the post-war occupation, called for it to be retained, though its power was greatly curbed.

The current US-imposed constitution took away the emperor's semidivine status and turned him into a national "symbol" as part of a radical democratisation.

Popularity

Unlike in some countries with royal families, there is no republican movement in Japan and the emperor and royal family have won the admiration of the vast majority of the country.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko journey to sites of natural disasters to console victims, most notably after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Akihito -- the son of wartime emperor Hirohito -- has repeatedly warned that Japan must not downplay its 20th-century militarism and actions in World War II. His remarks have been seen as a rebuke to the nationalist stance of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and likeminded conservatives.

Gentlemen's club

The family operates under hereditary, male-only succession rules, although there have been eight empresses in past centuries.

Upon the abdication of Akihito, his oldest son Crown Prince Naruhito will assume the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Naruhito's younger brother, Prince Akishino, is next in line. The only other male heir, 10-year-old Prince Hisahito, Akishino's son, is third in line to the throne.

The future

If Hisahito only has daughters, the family is likely to face a succession crisis unless laws are changed.

The scarcity of young men in the family has prompted talk of alternatives, including letting women ascend the throne, though traditionalists abhor the idea.

Some have suggested that female members of the family who marry commoners should stop losing their royal status -- as will happen to Akihito's granddaughter Princess Mako when she weds her college sweetheart.

Others advocate expanding the family to include distant relatives.

Parliament has called on the government to "consider" plans to allow female members to stay in the royal family even after their marriage with commoners.
People in the coastal Cypriot city of Paphos are turning to art therapy to heal the wounds of division.

Inside an art gallery on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Selma Bolayir draws a large yellow sun on a black-and-white picture of a South Vietnamese soldier who appears to be crying.

"When I look (at) this young soldier, I feel so upset, because I am a mother," says the elegant 73-year-old, her eyes outlined with black eye liner.

"In all the wars, the losers are the soldiers, the mothers and the children," says the Turkish Cypriot.

Bolayir is in Paphos to take part in an art therapy session, more than 40 years after fleeing the coastal town following a Turkish invasion of the island's north in 1974.

Turkish and Greek Cypriots attend an art therapy workshop to overcome painful memories of a conflict that split the island in two.

Around 200,000 people fled their homes on either side of the island after the incursion in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.

In a population swap, Turkish Cypriots fled to the north and Greek Cypriots fled to the south.

Bolayir now lives in the northern half of Nicosia, Europe's last divided capital.

Decades later, she is one of around 10 Cypriots -- Turkish and Greek -- attending the workshop to overcome painful memories of the conflict that split the island in two.

Brightly coloured paint pots and black-and-white images of war from renowned photojournalists dot a table top.

Participants have each chosen a picture and are busy coating it with colour as a way of processing their individual and collective memories of traumatising events.

- 'We have to talk' -

Bolayir has picked a photograph taken by Nick Ut in 1974 of a South Vietnamese soldier sitting knees pulled up to his chest and head buried in his arms.

She has drawn a large sun behind the fighter and written a line inspired by Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet: "The sun will rise for us one day."

"I hope that one day, the sun will also rise for the Cypriots," she says, alluding to stalled peace talks for the island's reunification.

The workshop is one of several projects to encourage dialogue between Turkish and Greek Cypriots as Paphos is European Capital of Culture this year.

Her daughter Asli, who is an artist and therapist, says she set up the workshop to transform pain into hope.

"When you see a war picture, automatically you feel the violence," she says. We "transform it into something else".

"That's the purpose of the workshop: to change our point of view, our feelings."

Cypriots on both sides have suffered greatly and witnessed devastating violence, says Asli.

"We have to talk about it," she says, as the fragile peace talks enter their third year.

The workshop is one of several projects to encourage dialogue between Turkish and Greek Cypriots as Paphos is European Capital of Culture this year.

- 'Time to give back' -

At another gallery, the sculptures of both a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot are exhibited side by side.

Most are by Greek Cypriot artist Andy Hadjiadamos, including an African-inspired elongated wooden man's bust.

A child touches a sculpture at an exhibition featuring the works of his late grandfather, Greek Cypriot artist Andy Hadjiadamos, along with other works by Turkish Cypriot artist Baki Bogac as galleries use art to heal divisions.

In 1974, Hadjiadamos was forced to abandon his studio in the city of Famagusta in what is now the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

A Turkish Cypriot ended up saving the works he left behind.

Sculptor Baki Bogac says he instantly recognised the value of Hadjiadamos' works when he discovered them by chance two years after the Turkish invasion.

Bogac was part of a team surveying abandoned buildings in Famagusta, accompanied by Turkish troops.

He persuaded the soldiers to let him take a few works at a time and managed to gather a collection of paintings, drawings, photographs and a sculpture.

Years after looking after the works, Bogac searched for the artist to give him back his works but Hadjiadamos had died in 1990. Instead he met his family and handed over the treasure trove.

"I was really happy," says Bogac, now 66, at the recent opening of an exhibition of both their works.

"I came here as a real Cypriot, to show that you shouldn't take what doesn't belong to you," he said. "It's time to learn to give what we took -- more than we needed -- in this island."

"It's very important that events like (these) happen in Cyprus to connect people and bring them closer," said one guest at an event that showcased works from both Greek and Turkish artists.

"We can create something new, more pure, without keeping everything for ourselves," he told a crowd including Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, his voice shaky with emotion.

Prodromos Andreou, a Greek Cypriot literature student, stood nearby inspecting Bogac's sculptures.

"It's very important that events like (these) happen in Cyprus to connect people and bring them closer," said the 27-year-old, a bag slung over his shoulder and trainers on his feet.

"Unfortunately many of them don't want to see them," he said, referring to some of his friends.
Most of the dead retrieved from the Andaman Sea were women and children after a fraught search by navy ships, planes, helicopters and fishing boats hampered by heavy rains

Search and rescue efforts for a plane that crashed off Myanmar's southern coast entered a third day on Friday, as hopes faded of finding survivors after 31 bodies were pulled from the water.

Most of the dead retrieved from the Andaman Sea were women and children after a fraught search by navy ships, planes, helicopters and fishing boats hampered by heavy rains.

A statement from the army chief's office posted on Friday said workers had found the bodies of 21 women, eight children and two men, along with parts of a military transport plane.

The Chinese-made Shaanxi Y8 military aircraft, which was carrying 122 people, disappeared on Wednesday afternoon around 30 minutes after take off from the southern city of Myeik on its way to the commercial hub of Yangon.

More than half of the passengers were from military families, including 15 children, according to the army. The remainder were soldiers and flight crew.

On Thursday recovery workers carried bodies on stretchers back to shore in a grim procession met by solemn lines of locals and relatives waiting under heavy skies on the beach.

"Our three fishing boats carried (them) from the navy ships. I felt sorry when I saw the bags, I have a family as well," said fisherman Min Oo.

The bodies, covered in white plastic sheets, were taken to a military hospital in nearby Dawei town.

Relief work was expected to restart on Friday despite more rains lashing the coast.

"We will continue searching today as well, though the weather is bad. Some fishing boats are even out to help the search," police major Aung Win told AFP at the beach.

There has been no official explanation for the cause of the crash, one of several deadly incidents involving Myanmar military aircraft in recent years.

It is monsoon season in Myanmar, but there were no reports of major storms along the plane's flight route at the time of the crash.

The military said it was flying at over 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) when it lost contact with air traffic control at 1:35 pm (07:05 GMT) on Wednesday.

Gerry Soejatman, an independent aviation expert based in Jakarta, said initial information indicated something went wrong "not long after or just before reaching cruising altitude".

The military has described the captain as a "seasoned" pilot with more than 3,000 hours flying experience.

Myanmar's former junta bought several Y8s -- four-engine turbo prop jets used for medium range flights -- during their 50 years of isolated rule, when they were squeezed by Western sanctions.

The plane's maker, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation, has pledged to assist with investigations into the crash.

Several pieces of debris that appeared to be from the wreckage, including tyres, life jackets and some luggage, have also been salvaged.
A Korean Air flight carrying more than 150 passengers landed safely at a Japanese airport Friday shortly after pilots reported seeing smoke in the cockpit. File picture shows one of the company's planes at Los Angeles airport earlier this year

A Korean Air flight carrying more than 150 passengers landed safely at a Japanese airport Friday shortly after pilots reported seeing smoke in the cockpit, officials said.

The crew on the Boeing 737, which had left the Korean port city of Busan earlier in the day, noticed smoke coming out of cockpit panels just minutes before a scheduled landing at Fukuoka airport in southwestern Japan, an airport official said.

Korean Air said the pilots noticed "smoke at the cockpit about five minutes before landing".

The crew contacted airport authorities to ask for firefighting crews to be ready but there was no actual fire.

"The cause of the smell and the smoke is currently being investigated," a Korean Air spokesman told AFP in Seoul.

"All of the 151 passengers on board left the plane safely and without any incident."

The plane landed at Fukuoka at 10:22 am (0122 GMT) on schedule and a total of 162 passengers and crew members got off without using emergency chutes.
Protesters and police stand by as trailers carrying US THAAD missile defence equipment enter a deployment site in Seongju, on April 26, 2017

Installing a controversial US missile defence system in South Korea was never going to be easy but, caught between Beijing's opposition and American insistence, the country's new president has a strategy: delay.

Seoul suspended deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system this week following a furious campaign of economic sanctions and diplomatic protests by Beijing against the US missile shield, dealing a blow to Washington's regional security policy.

Officially, the delay is to allow for a new, comprehensive environmental impact assessment, but analysts say the move is a strategic delay by new President Moon Jae-In to dodge the tricky diplomatic situation he inherited.

"South Korea is caught between China and the United States... it can't turn its back on either China, its largest trading partner, or the United States, its key ally," Chonnam National University political science professor Yoon Sung-Suk told AFP.

The new government is undertaking a delicate balancing act, saying the two THAAD launchers already in place are safe, but suspending further deployment until completion of the probe -- ordered after an allegedly botched roll out of the missile shield by the previous government.

"Moon is playing for time, trying to avoid irritating Washington but find a way to wiggle out of the current diplomatic impasse," Yoon added, saying he could be hoping that by the time the probe is finished the security landscape will have changed.

"It's given him a year, and in the meantime he'll be doing his utmost to make diplomacy work on the North Korea issue."

Missile defense system

THAAD was approved by Moon's ousted predecessor, conservative president Park Geun-Hye, who then steamrollered the project through a hasty environmental review during her last months in office as she became ensnared in a massive corruption scandal.

As it became apparent Park would lose power, the administration started "hurrying up with the deployment, sidestepping due procedures and shrouding it in secrecy," Kim Dong-Yub at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University told AFP.

The legacy of secrecy has continued, with Moon this week removing a Park-appointed defence ministry official for "intentionally" doctoring reports to hide the fact that four new launchers had arrived in the country.

-- 'Dishonest but brilliant' --

Moon is trying to balance Beijing's implacable opposition to THAAD -- which it says threatens its own military capabilities -- with US insistence that the system is a key buffer against Pyongyang's aggression.

Stalling with the pretext of an environmental assessment is "dishonest but brilliant", said Andrei Lankov, Korearisk.com director and professor at Kookmin University.

Moon cannot be seen to immediately cave in over THAAD as "it will show that South Korea is vulnerable to Chinese blackmail, and also it will annoy the Americans," Lankov said.

But if he continues with deployment, Beijing is likely to intensify informal economic sanctions -- which have seen Chinese tourists abandon the South in droves and a damaging boycott of retail giant Lotte's stores on the mainland.

"China is determined to punish South Korea for THAAD deployment... South Korea will face large-scale sanctions from their main trading partner which is not what they want," he said, warning Beijing could tighten the screws further if they wanted to.

Beijing's economic retaliation, ordered in April as THAAD was partially deployed, is now likely to be eased to "reward" Moon for the suspension, Lankov said.

The key question now is how the US will react to the delay, whether they will see it as a breach of alliance solidarity, or whether they will understand Seoul's delicate position and play along.

So far, the Pentagon has said the US trusts South Korea's official stance that the THAAD deployment was an alliance decision and will not be reversed.

But "under Donald Trump you never know. Especially because he explicitly said South Koreans should pay for THAAD deployment which annoyed a lot of people here," Lankov said, referring to the president's threat to make Seoul foot the billion-dollar bill.

But analyst Kim Dong-Yub said there was no question that the system would be deployed -- eventually.

"It is unthinkable that South Korea makes a U-turn, which would upend the decades-long alliance with the US."
Solar power prices in India have hit rock bottom, but it is not all good news for the electricity-starved country as the phenomenon has hit investor confidence and threatens the country's effort to push its green credentials.

Solar power prices in India have hit rock bottom, but it is not all good news for the electricity-starved country as the phenomenon has hit investor confidence and threatens the country's effort to push its green credentials.

Cut-throat competition has driven prices down to unsustainable levels, undermining the booming sector's viability, according to experts.

After the United States withdrew from the Paris climate deal last week, India said it would stick to its huge renewable energy programme.

India is the headquarters of an international solar energy alliance and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to reinforce the notoriously polluted country's green credentials.

But the price slump could hinder India's efforts to meet its solar energy goals and limit temperature-raising emissions.

Delays in generating more electricity also mean that nearly 250 million Indians without power will remain in darkness, analysts said.

Indian authorities hold regular auctions for power supply companies and the most recent, in May, saw a bid of 2.44 rupees -- less than four US cents -- per kilowatt hour.

The government has set an ambitious target of harvesting 100,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022 -- but has installed just 12,500 MW so far.

That was a record low for India at a fifth of the price at the start of the decade and energy minister Piyush Goyal called it a step to a "green future".

The price is cheaper than for coal-powered electricity, which overwhelmingly dominates the power grid.

However, the effect of the falling cost of solar modules, cheaper financing, aggressive competition and a surplus power supply in some states has been to unleash chaos, with companies and state governments clamouring for suppliers to match the new, low prices.

"Prices have come down too much, too soon and that doesn't bode well for the overall health of the sector," said Vinay Rustagi, managing director of renewable energy consultancy Bridge to India.

- Solar 'curse' -

"In the past 17 months, tariffs are down nearly 50 percent and this is leading to buyer's remorse for projects already built and under development," he added.

"There's a reasonable chance that these projects will face some trouble in the future."

Modi turned to renewable energy to meet the vast needs of an economy that grew by 7.1 percent last year.

Of India's 329,000 MW of installed capacity, 67 percent comes from coal and gas. The rest is a combination of nuclear and renewables including, hydro, wind and solar.

The government has set an ambitious target of harvesting 100,000 megawatts of solar power by 2022 -- but has installed just 12,500 MW so far.

Of India's 329,000 MW of installed capacity, 67 percent comes from coal and gas. The rest is a combination of nuclear and renewables including, hydro, wind and solar.

India is the fastest growing of the world's major economies and needs uninterrupted electricity to maintain its expansion.

It also needs renewable energy to meet its 2015 Paris commitment to reduce emissions relative to gross domestic product by up to 35 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels.

The state governments of Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana have refused to sign purchase agreements to buy power at the rates of 4-5.50 rupees a unit reached at auction over the past year, hoping to secure a cheaper deal.

This is "creating uncertainty," said Rustagi.

"Ethically we shouldn't do that," said Sanjay Sharma, general manager at the state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India which conducted the latest auctions.

He warned that the government could "lose the confidence of the foreign bidder who is investing in India."

Critics also question if the new contract winners can provide low price electricity and remain viable.

A day after India saw its new cheap solar prices, Amplus Solar founder Sanjeev Aggarwal was bombarded by clients asking him to slash rates to match the new prices.

"People are falling over each other to grab a piece of the pie, but the question is if they can ever deliver at these rates," Aggarwal told AFP.

Sumant Sinha chief executive of ReNew Power, one of the largest Indian renewable power companies and a losing bidder in the latest auctions, predicted a "winners curse."

"Extremely low tariffs don't help anyone. Ultimately people have to raise debt financing, banks have to be brought on board, all of that looks very dicey at these levels," Sinha said.
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Saudi Arabia and its allies this week cut ties with Qatar over what they say is the emirate's financing of extremist groups and its ties to Iran

Qatar on Friday dismissed as "baseless" a terrorism blacklist published by Saudi Arabia and its allies which linked individuals and organisations in Doha to support for Islamist militant groups.

The emirate was responding just hours after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain published a list of 59 people and entities linked to "terrorism".

"The recent joint statement issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE regarding a 'terror finance watch list' once again reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact," Qatar's government said in a statement.

Qatar does not support terrorist groups, it stressed, pointing out that "our position on countering terrorism is stronger than many of the signatories of the joint statement -- a fact that has been conveniently ignored by the authors".

Included on the list were Doha-based Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Qatari-funded charities.

The list and response add to the diplomatic and political tensions in the Gulf that have erupted since Saudi Arabia and its allies severed ties with Qatar over its alleged support for extremism.

Qatar has vehemently denied the claims and on Thursday its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said his country would not "surrender".

- 'Hour of diplomacy' -

In a bid to drum up support for his country with the crisis showing no signs of abating, the minister made a surprise visit Friday to Germany where he pledged to pursue a diplomatic path out of the deadlock.

The actions taken by Saudi Arabia and its allies amounted to "a clear breach of the international law and won't result in a positive impact on the region but will have a negative one", he said, also hitting out at the terrorism blacklist.

"There is a continuous escalation from these countries ... but our strategic options are still diplomacy and dialogue," added Sheikh Mohammed, after holding talks with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

"There are ongoing efforts from friendly countries to contain the crisis and lift the unjust blockade on Qatar and start negotiations," added the Qatari minister, who is travelling to Moscow on Saturday to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Kuwait has taken on the mediator role in the crisis, and French President Emmanuel Macron has also reached out to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran in a bid to kick off talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also spoken to Qatar's emir over the crisis.

Gabriel stressed that "this is the hour of diplomacy" as he vowed to "do everything, along with our European friends, to ensure that this conflict does not further escalate".
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, pictured meeting in 2014, exchanged greetings on the sidelines of a summit in Kazakhstan on Thursday, their first meeting in 17 months

The leaders of rivals India and Pakistan have met for the first time in 17 months, at a summit in Kazakhstan, officials said, despite renewed tensions over Kashmir.

Indian premier Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif shook hands and exchanged greetings late Thursday at the opening of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Astana.

Modi and Sharif last met on the sidelines of the Paris climate summit in December 2015 before Modi surprised the world with an impromptu visit to Pakistan the same month.

An Indian foreign ministry official said that as it was the first contact between the leaders since Sharif underwent surgery, Modi enquired about the Pakistani leader's health.

"He also enquired about Sharifs mother and his family", the official said on condition of anonymity.

Following Modi's visit to Pakistan, relations quickly deteriorated after suspected Pakistan-based militants attacked an Indian airbase in Pathankot in January 2016 killing six Indian soldiers.

New Delhi suspended peace talks accusing the rival government of continuing to "sponsor terrorism", a charge Pakistan denies.

There have also been renewed tensions in the disputed Kashmir territory which is split between the two. Militants killed 19 Indian soldiers in a raid on a military camp in September 2016.

In response, India launched strikes inside Pakistan, targeting accused militant havens.

Indian and Pakistani troops regularly trade fire on the Kashmir frontline, while the governments are also in a legal tussle over the death sentence imposed in Pakistan against an Indian accused of spying.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since they gained independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.
About 240,000 have been displaced by the fighting in Marawi, which started more than two weeks ago when hundreds of militants rampaged through the city waving black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group

More than 200,000 people displaced after Islamist militants attacked a southern Philippine city are facing deadly health risks, relief groups said Friday after a fleeing mother told AFP her baby died because of a lack of medical care.

The onset of the rainy season could worsen the situation, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned as it said it had already observed a spike in diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses and other ailments.

"The health situation is not yet critical at this point, but we fear that this may worsen in the coming days with prolonged displacement," said Jose Amigo, health coordinator for the ICRC in the Philippines.

About 240,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Marawi, according to the government.

Conflict in southern Philippines

The unrest began more than two weeks ago when hundreds of militants rampaged through the city waving black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group.

President Rodrigo Duterte said the attack was part of a wider plot by IS to establish a base in the southern region of Mindanao, and declared martial law there to quell the threat.

Twenty civilians have been confirmed killed due to the fighting, according to the government, but the true number is likely to be higher with authorities yet to fully assess the roughly 10 percent of Marawi still being held by the militants.

About 2,000 people are also believed to still be trapped in those areas with some being used as human shields, according to authorities.

Meanwhile, about 90 percent of the evacuees have sought shelter in the homes of relatives and friends rather than evacuation centres, according to government data, and aid workers have not been able to help all of them.

Among those staying with friends and relatives was Emmalyn Macababayao, 37, who told AFP her one-year-old son died after getting sick during a six-day ordeal to escape Marawi.

"While fleeing I held on tight to my elder son with my left hand while the other was breastfeeding," Macababayao said as she began to cry.

"The baby that time felt so hungry. It was raining so hard, we all got wet. It was a long walk, I was just crying, feeling helpless and in despair. But I kept holding tight to my children. I felt so afraid... I was alone."

She said her son died three days after reaching a relative's house, after not being able to get medical treatment for a fever and diarrhoea.

The Philippine military said Friday it hoped to defeat the militants by Monday, which is independence day.

But heavy fighting continued in parts of Marawi on Friday, according to an AFP journalist.
Khine Zin Win (C), who lost her youngest brother and his family, cries during the funeral in Dawei, Myanmar

Heartbroken relatives gathered Friday for the funeral rites of the first victims of a military plane crash off Myanmar's southern coast, as search teams battled heavy rains and churning waves to find scores more people presumed lost at sea.

Most of the 31 dead retrieved from the Andaman Sea so far have been women and children after a fraught search by navy ships, planes and helicopters hampered by sweeping rains.

A total of 122 people were on board the Chinese-made Shaanxi Y8 military aircraft when it crashed on Wednesday during a routine flight from the southern city of Myeik to Myanmar's commercial hub of Yangon.

Hundreds gathered in a cemetery outside Dawei town on Friday afternoon to bid goodbye to loved ones whose bodies had been pulled from the water the previous day on San Hlan beach, a two hour drive away.

Chanting from Buddhist monks filled a hall used for the ceremonies as 10 flimsy wooden coffins were laid out.

One woman fainted and had to be carried out and many others broke down wailing as the service went on.

Mourners then moved outside and watched as black smoke from the cremated coffins poured out of nearby towers, drifting across the sky.

"My husband identified my nephew's body. I'm so sorry," said a tearful Khine Zar Win, who lost her youngest brother, his wife and two-year-old nephew in the plane crash.

Another mourner, Aye Aye, said five members of her friend's family were killed in the crash.

Myanmar plane crash

"I couldn't sleep when I heard about them," she said. "We lived together like a family for 15 years in the military before my husband retired."

"I have no words," added one woman, whose daughter and grandson were on the plane. "We are so sad."

More than half of the passengers on the aircraft were from military families, including 15 children, according to the army. The rest were soldiers and flight crew.

The military said on Friday it had identified 16 of the dead so far.

There has been no official explanation for the cause of the crash, one of several deadly incidents involving Myanmar military aircraft in recent years.

Monsoon season brings heavy rains and strong winds every year, but there were no reports of major storms along the plane's flight route when it went missing.

- Storms hamper search -

Smokes come from the crematory chimney at the funeral home in southern Myanmar's Dawei

Fishing boats helped navy vessels and military aircraft as they continued to hunt for the wreckage on Friday, despite tides reaching over 2.5 metres, the military said in a statement.

But by the afternoon officials had not announced the retrieval of any more bodies.

"We are having difficulty because of the strong winds and tide," Major Aung Win, police chief of Launglon township, told AFP.

The military said the aircraft was flying above 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) when it lost contact with air traffic control at 1:35 pm (07:05 GMT) on Wednesday.

The military has described the captain as a "seasoned" pilot with more than 3,000 hours flying experience.

Gerry Soejatman, an independent aviation expert based in Jakarta, said initial information indicated something went wrong "not long after or just before reaching cruising altitude".

Myanmar's former junta bought several Y8s -- four-engine turboprop jets used for medium range flights -- during their 50 years of isolated rule, when they were squeezed by Western sanctions.

The plane's maker, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation, has pledged to assist with investigations into the crash.

There has been no official explanation for the cause of the crash, one of several deadly incidents involving Myanmar military aircraft in recent years

Several pieces of debris that appeared to be from the wreckage, including tyres, life jackets and some luggage, have also been salvaged.
Communist Party critic Guo Wengui is the subject of an Interpol "red notice" for his arrest

Three executives of a Chinese investment firm linked to outspoken Communist Party critic Guo Wengui confessed to fraud on Friday, as the billionaire property tycoon lobs corruption allegations at high-level officials from abroad.

Appearing in Dalian Xigang People's Court in northeastern Liaoning province, the defendants -- Lu Tao, Xie Honglin and Yang Ying -- admitted to fraud involving 3.2 billion yuan ($470 million) in loans from the Agricultural Bank of China.

Xie and Lu also confessed to fraudulently obtaining foreign currency.

All three held management positions at Beijing Pangu Investment and said in court that Guo was Pangu's "actual controlling shareholder," testifying that they did not have any decision-making power.

Under Guo's direction, Lu told the court, he "privately engraved an official seal" for use on their loan applications.

"I knew (this was illegal)," Lu said, according to video published on the court's social media account.

"It was Guo Wengui who instructed me to do it, under the circumstances at the time I had no choice."

Guo, who left China two years ago and is currently in New York, denied the statement in a message to AFP on Friday.

"Of course this isn't true," he said. "It's very very complicated. It's hard to explain in a few words."

Guo has said in videos and statements posted to his active Twitter account (under the alias Miles Kwok) that he plans to release incriminating information about powerful Chinese officials at a livestreamed press conference this coming fall.

His moves threaten to undermine President Xi Jinping's efforts to consolidate power ahead of a key party congress later this year.

Among the targets of his allegations is Wang Qishan, the head of the government's internal corruption watchdog, a position whose power is widely considered second only to that of Xi.

The real estate magnate is the subject of an Interpol "red notice" for his arrest.

That was released in April at around the same time as a video ostensibly from the Chinese government showing jailed former state security vice minister Ma Jian confessing that Guo paid him 60 million yuan ($8.8 million) in bribes.

Guo appeared in a televised Voice of America interview this April which was cut short just as he started discussing anti-graft chief Wang.
Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard secure the area outside the Iranian parliament during an attack on the complex in the capital Tehran on June 7, 2017

The attacks in Tehran this week will only "reinforce hatred" for the United States and Saudi Arabia, Iran's supreme leader said on Friday at a funeral for those killed.

"Such acts will have no other result than to reinforce hatred for the US government and its agents in the region, like the Saudi (government)," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote in a message of condolence to the families of the dead.

Wednesday's attacks on Tehran's parliament complex and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini killed 17 people and wounded more than 50.

They were the first attacks in Iran to have been claimed by the Islamic State group.

The funerals for those killed began on Friday morning in Tehran with a ceremony in parliament, with President Hassan Rouhani in attendance.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani also attacked the United States and Saudi Arabia, which he called "a tribal state very far from anything like a democracy".

In a speech at the ceremony, Larijani denounced US sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile programme.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

The United States "knows that the Revolutionary Guard and its Quds force are the most important regional forces fighting terrorists," he said.

The imposition of such sanctions "demonstrates their alignment with terrorists in the region," said the speaker, a moderate conservative.

After prayers, a procession will leave Tehran University for the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, near the Khomeini mausoleum 13 kilometres (eight miles) south of the Iranian capital.

The intelligence ministry said the attacks were carried out by five Iranian men who had joined IS and travelled to their bastions in Iraq and Syria before returning home.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has accused regional rival Saudi Arabia of involvement in the attacks.

But Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said "we still cannot judge that Saudi Arabia has had a role in this terrorist incident".
Hundreds of militants waving the black Islamic State (IS) group flag rampaged through Marawi on May 23 and seized parts of the city

The Philippine military on Friday asked Facebook to close dozens of accounts linked to Islamist militants who attacked a southern city, saying they were being used for propaganda.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-ar Herrera said the armed forces' social media unit uncovered 63 Facebook accounts belonging to the jihadists and their supporters.

"These 63 accounts are spreading malicious information and misinformation that affect the information landscape and the mindset of every Filipino," Herrera told a news conference in the southern city of Marawi.

The military has asked Facebook Philippines "to conduct necessary measures to take down these fake accounts," Herrera said.

Hundreds of militants waving the black Islamic State (IS) group flag rampaged through Marawi on May 23 and seized parts of the city.

They have so far fended off more than two weeks of air and ground assault by government forces.

President Rodrigo Duterte said the attack was part of a wider plot by IS to establish a base in the southern region of Mindanao, and declared martial law there to quell the threat.

Forty government troops and 138 militants, have been confirmed killed due to the fighting, according to Herrera.

Twenty civilians have also been confirmed killed but the true number is likely to be higher with authorities yet to fully assess the roughly 10 percent of Marawi still being held by the militants.

About 2,000 people are believed to be trapped in the militant-held areas with some being used as human shields, the military has said.

IS jihadists have made extensive use of social media to strike fear and spread their ideology, and analysts have said many of their followers were radicalised by reading and listening to online propaganda material.

When asked about the military's request, Facebook told AFP it would remove accounts that promoted terrorism.

"We want to provide a service where people feel safe. Thats why we have community standards that explain what you can and cannot do on our service," a Facebook statement said.

"Our community standards do not allow groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism. Fake accounts are also prohibited."
Charles Sobhraj, a notorious French criminal who earned the nickname "bikini killer" for a string of murders throughout Asia in the 1970s, was in a Nepali hospital Friday, where he is expected to undergo open heart surgery, sources said.

A notorious French criminal who earned the nickname "bikini killer" for a string of murders throughout Asia in the 1970s, was in a Nepali hospital Friday, where he is expected to undergo open heart surgery, sources said.

Charles Sobhraj, 73, who is currently serving a life sentence, was taken to hospital for tests, his lawyer and mother-in-law Sakuntala Thapa told AFP.

The ageing conman has been implicated in more than 20 killings, earning worldwide notoriety for a series of poisonings and robberies of backpackers across Asia in the 60s and 70s.

He needs to have one of the valves in his heart replaced, said Jyotendra Sharma, director of Sahid Gangalal National Heart Centre, where the surgery will take place.

Senior police officer Janak Bahadur Shahi told AFP that Sobhraj will remain in hospital until after the surgery, which other sources said is expected to take place next week.

"Sobhraj has been admitted to the hospital for the surgery. The date for the operation is yet to be fixed," said Shahi.

Sobhraj was taken to hospital in late May after suffering a heart attack and was diagnosed with a weak valve that needed to be corrected through surgery.

His lawyer said that Sobhraj wanted to return to France for the surgery -- a plea that he also made in a rare telephone interview with the Indian Express newspaper earlier this week.

But prison doctor Kedar Narshingh KC said he thought Sobhraj, who also earned the sobriquet "The Serpent" for his repeated identity thefts and escapes from justice, was angling to get released from jail early.

"He is spreading rumours despite our intensive care and treatment. It is suspicious and could be a ploy to get released from the jail," said the doctor.

- Murder and robberies -

The French embassy in Kathmandu told AFP there were "no ongoing discussions regarding the transfer of Sobhraj to France" for treatment or to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Sobhraj -- a French citizen of Vietnamese and Indian parentage -- was sentenced by a Nepal court in 2004 for the killing of US tourist Connie Joe Bronzich in 1975.

It was the first time he had been convicted of murder, despite being linked to a string of killings. Two of his victims were found wearing only bikinis.

The law first caught up with him in India in 1976, when he was jailed for culpable homicide -- a lesser charge than murder -- for poisoning a French tourist and killing an Israeli man.

He spent 21 years in jail in India's capital with a brief 22-day break in 1986 when he escaped by reportedly offering the guards cakes, cookies and grapes laced with sleeping pills.

Sobhraj claimed that the jailbreak was a well-crafted plan to avoid extradition to Thailand where he would have faced the death penalty for the murder of an American woman in the mid-seventies.

India's snail-paced judiciary took years to begin prosecution against him for jailbreak and in 1995 the extradition warrant from Thailand expired. He was finally released in 1997.

In 2014, he was handed a second life sentence in Nepal for the killing of Canadian backpacker Laurent Carriere.

While in jail in Nepal, Sobhraj married his lawyer's daughter, Nihita Biswas, who is 22 years his junior.

Biswas has herself courted notoriety, appearing in India's hugely popular reality television show "Bigg Boss" -- a spin off of the global "Big Brother" franchise -- in 2011.
Iraqi soldiers stand at attention in the Zanjili neighbourhood of Mosul on June 1, 2017 as they press their campaign to recapture the second city from the Islamic State group

Three years after the Islamic State group routed them in Mosul, Iraqi forces are now on the cusp of retaking the city from the jihadists and avenging a historic debacle.

The fall of Mosul was the worst defeat that Iraqi forces suffered in the war with IS, and regaining it would cap a major turnaround for security forces that broke and ran despite outnumbering the jihadists who attacked the second city in 2014.

"Of course, we celebrate the successes of the military" three years after the city's fall, said Staff Lieutenant General Abdulghani al-Assadi, a senior commander in Iraq's elite Counter-Terrorism Service, which has spearheaded the battle.

When IS seized Mosul on June 10, 2014 and drove south toward the federal capital, the atmosphere was not one of celebration, but rather fear.

"Three years ago, around this time, Daesh... was moving rapidly towards Baghdad," said Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the international coalition against IS, using an Arabic acronym for the jihadist group.

"Mosul fell, seven divisions of the Iraqi security forces simply disintegrated," he said.

Iraqi forces "were not prepared for a threat like that" posed by IS in 2014, said coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon.

IS "was knocking on the doors of Baghdad."

At that time, recovery "looked almost impossible, and many were saying, 'Well, this is the end of Iraq'", McGurk said.

A combination of factors ultimately stopped the jihadists short of Baghdad, and they were not able to launch a large-scale conventional attack on the capital.

Iraqi armoured vehicles patrol the streets of the Tamuz neighbourhood of Mosul on May 23, 2017, after retaking it from the Islamic State group

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the country's top Shiite cleric, called for volunteers to battle IS, and pre-existing Iran-backed Shiite militias fought under that banner to first halt the jihadists and then slowly push them back, while new volunteer units were also established.

The United States meanwhile launched an air campaign against IS in Iraq about two months after Mosul's fall, which became an international coalition effort also involving training and other support for Iraqi forces.

- Better, but still flawed -

The Iraqi security forces have since recaptured much of the territory seized by IS, including three cities, and have retaken most of Mosul, the fourth and largest.

In Mosul, "nothing remains for Daesh except three or four neighbourhoods in which it is surrounded," Assadi said.

When IS seized Mosul, "the units that were present were in fact lacking some preparations and some equipment... and therefore the fall (of the city) happened quickly," he said.

"Now the units are well prepared and their relationship with the citizen -- and this is a very important point -- is a good relationship and the citizen cooperates with the units," Assadi said.

"Success in the Mosul operation will highlight how far the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) have come since their collapse in June 2014," said Patrick Martin, Iraq analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.

But Martin noted that "recapturing terrain in Mosul should not obscure the fact that the ISF remains incomplete and flawed," including that "they still have insufficient manpower to clear and hold the country."

Pushing the jihadists back has taken a massive toll on Iraq: years of battles have left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, and laid waste to swathes of the country, while many suffered under brutal jihadist rule.

Iraqi civilians flee the devastated Zanjili neighbourhood of Mosul on June 1, 2017 during the battle to retake the city from the Islamic State group

"Nineveh province in general and Mosul specifically passed through a major tragedy," said Staff Lieutenant General Abdulwahab al-Saadi, another senior Counter-Terrorism Service commander.

Civilians suffered through massacres and rapes, while a "very big price (was) paid by all the units" that fought, Saadi said.

The recapture of Mosul will also not mark the end of the war against IS in Iraq, as the jihadists will still control territory in Kirkuk province further south as well as in the west.

And then there is the "future threat", Dillon said, that IS "will devolve back into an insurgency again."
Map of Iraq locating Musayyib, where a suicide bomber blew himself up in a market

A suicide bomber blew himself up in a market in the town of Musayyib, south of Baghdad, on Friday killing at least 20 people, medical and security sources said.

"A suicide bomber blew himself up in Musayyib market, causing 20 civilian martyrs," an interior ministry spokesman said.

At least 34 other people were wounded in the attack in the centre of Musayyib, a town that lies about 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of the capital, a police officer and a medic at the local hospital said.

A source at Musayyib hospital said at least four of the wounded were in very serious condition following the blast, which rocked the market at around 11:30 am (0830 GMT).

The attack in Musayyib came hours after another, apparently failed attack in the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, a few kilometres (couple of miles) to the southwest.

Four civilians were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the city's main bus station early Friday, police sources said.

Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group through its propaganda agency Amaq, which in both cases spoke of a "martyrdom-seeking operation" using an explosive vest.

IS has carried out dozens of deadly suicide bombings targeting civilians but Iraq has been on heightened alert since the start of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

More than 40 people were killed and dozens wounded in a spate of attacks on May 30, a few days after the beginning of Ramadan, including a devastating blast at an ice cream shop in central Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood.

It was during Ramadan last year that IS carried out its deadliest ever attack in the Iraqi capital with a truck bomb that set two shopping arcades ablaze, also in Karrada, resulting in more than 320 deaths.

The bombings in Baghdad come as Iraqi forces fight to retake the last IS-held areas of Mosul, a city that was the jihadist group's emblematic stronghold.

Iraqi forces are almost eight months into a massive operation to recapture the second city and have already taken back its whole eastern side and much of the west.
Entertainment / Music

by Staff reporter

JAH PRAYZAH's continued with his quest to conquer Africa by recording a collabo with popular Nigerian star, Davido.To underline his status as one of the biggest artists on the continent, Davido's video was posted on YouTube on February 17 this year and was on 19,232,873 (yes 19 million views as of last night.Davido is currently doing very well with his latest release, Fall, which was posted on YouTube on June 2 and already had 1,691,439 views as of 6pm yesterday.In an interview, David said he missed Zimbabwean fans and would want another show in the country soon."I was happy to work with Jah Prayzah. I am a big fan and I can't wait to come back and entertain my fans in Zimbabwe," said David.The two met in Johannesburg two weeks ago and came up with a love song titled, "My Lilly" and whose audio version was produced by DJ Tamuka of Military Touch Movement while the accompanying video was produced by South Africa-based Nigerian producer, Godfather.The two beautiful women featured prominently in the video are South African models.Speaking to H-Metro from Nairobi, Kenya where he is at the Coke Studio for a week, Jah Prayzah said he will be releasing the track anytime soon and definitely before his 2017 album provisionally set for September.Jah Prayzah came up with the script and got Davila to sing in Shona.Getting one of the continent's busiest musicians to fly from London to Johannesburg for the collabo was overwhelming for Prayzah."We met in Johannesburg as I made my way from Coke Studio and he flew from London just to do the project. We did it in one day and finished around midnight. What is amazing is that Davido is very easy to work with despite being a sought-after artist.The other thing is he is a man of his words if he undertakes to do something he will give it his all and he is such a professional who wants the best out of people involved. This explains why he is among the best on the continent and it is an honour to be able to do a collaboration with Davido," said Jah Prayzah.Jah Prayzah's latest collaboration is clear testimony that he is now after a more global audience if his videos with Diamond Platinum and Mafikizolo had not already cemented such intentions.A quick comparison with Davido's hit songs 'If' and 'Fall' shows Jah Prayzah has moved to a new high in his endeavour to wow a more international audience.The song's baseline on its own shows Jah Prayzah is after the market that follows Davido's music. But he goes a step further to achieve that purpose when he makes Davido sing in Shona.For a name that big to sing, "zvaimoita iwewe baby kana uneni..." means attention will definitely come to Zimbabwe.Meanwhile, it is Jah Prayzah who sings a lot in English to appeal to everyone outside Zimbabwe.Jah Prayzah chooses to reach out to Africa with a few verses that appeal to the continent but without throwing his roots and strengths through the window.Both Jah and Davido sing in Shona to show the origins of the song. Both sing in English to communicate with the world but there is a lot more that will engage the international audience that the languages.The professional models used in the video, the aura of sophistication and the million dollar appeal of the scenes where the video was shot all spell a serious production that can match the best in the world any day.
Philippine lawmakers this week slammed the management at the Resorts World Manila casino and hotel for alleged lax security at the complex and questioned the competence of its security chief

Serious security lapses at a Philippine casino contributed to the deaths of 37 people when an assailant set fire to gaming rooms, the industry regulator said Friday as it suspended the operator's license.

The armed attacker, identified by police as gambling addict Jessie Javier Carlos, entered the Resorts World Manila casino and hotel complex on June 2 with an M4 automatic rifle and a bottle of petrol.

Carlos set alight a number of different rooms in the complex, claiming the lives of 37 people who police said died after becoming trapped in the fires. Dozens more were injured in a stampede to escape.

Gaming regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) said Friday it had suspended the casino and gaming license of Travellers International Hotel Group, owner and operator of Resorts World.

"The said suspension will remain until RWM rectifies its serious security lapses and deficiencies - which caused not only the loss of lives and damaged properties - but also placed the Philippine gaming, tourism and hospitality industries in bad light," the statement said.

Carlos, 43, was found dead about five hours after initially entering the casino in a hotel room that was part of the complex. Police said he committed suicide by setting fire to himself.

Lawmakers this week slammed the casino management for alleged lax security at the complex and questioned the competence of its security chief.

A widely circulated security video showed the attacker easily gaining entry into the complex despite having an assault rifle.

The attack happened as Philippine security forces were battling Islamist militants who had seized parts of a city in the south of the country, triggering fears it could be a terror strike.

But police insisted Carlos was not a terrorist, rather a deranged gambling addict. Carlos's parents spoke to the media to confirm he was a gambling addict and ask for forgiveness.

Resorts World spokespeople were unavailable for comment on Friday afternoon.
China's overall once-vibrant trade with the North, rich with coal and other mining resources, fell in April to a near three-year low after the coal import ban took effect

North Korea's global coal exports sunk to zero in April, UN data showed, as China choked off imports from Pyongyang to ramp up pressure on its nuclear-armed neighbour.

China -- the North's sole major ally and economic lifeline -- announced in February a suspension of coal imports from the North, choking-off a key source of hard currency for Pyongyang, which has rattled the region with an increasingly aggressive weapons programme.

Data recently updated on the United Nations Security Council website showed a sharp fall in coal shipped from the North to one unnamed country, plunging from 1.4 million tonnes, worth $126 million, in January to zero in April.

The data, based on member states' voluntary reports, did not explicitly name China.

But it may assuage the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has leant heavily on Beijing to help rein in Pyongyang.

Tension is high on the Korean peninsula as the North has staged two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the beginning of last year, showing gradual upgrade in its missile capabilities.

The UN Security Council last Friday unanimously adopted a US-drafted resolution imposing new targeted sanctions on a handful of North Korean officials and entities, a move Pyongyang said was "mean".

China supported that decision but has made it clear that a push for talks -- and not more sanctions -- is its priority, calling for a resumption of six-party negotiations that have been dormant since 2009.

Washington says it is willing to enter into talks with Pyongyang, but only if it halts its missile and nuclear tests.

Under UN resolutions North Korea is barred from using nuclear and ballistic missile technology. The North is already under layers of sanctions for past violations of the resolutions.

China's overall once-vibrant trade with the North, rich with coal and other mining resources, fell in April to a near three-year low after the coal import ban took effect.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on the outskirts of Raqa, on June 7, 2017

US-led coalition forces launched heavy raids into Friday morning in support of Syrian fighters battling to oust the Islamic State group from its bastion of Raqa, a monitor said.

The Kurdish-Arab alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces broke into Raqa city's east earlier this week, months after they launched an operation to capture the jihadist stronghold.

On Thursday night, the US-led coalition backing the SDF launched 25 air strikes on Raqa city and its outskirts, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

The Britain-based group reported 23 civilians killed in the overnight strikes, including 15 who were in an internet cafe in the western suburb of Jazra, just outside the city.

Syrians civilians who fled the northern Syrian city of Raqa arrive at the village of Balaban on June 7, 2017

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said heavy strikes continued on Friday morning as the coalition tried "to undermine IS capacity and open the way for the SDF to advance further in the city's east and enter from other fronts".

SDF spokesman Talal Sello said fighters were advancing against IS on several fronts.

"The SDF has control of Al-Meshleb district (inside eastern Raqa) and is clearing it of mines and explosives at the moment," he told AFP.

He said SDF forces were also advancing on the northern front outside the city, and had repelled an attack by IS fighters as they pushed towards the city limits from the west.

Al-Meshleb was the first neighbourhood in Raqa city entered by SDF fighters.

The battle for Raqa

They are expected to progress from the district into neighbouring Al-Senaa and the Observatory said some of the overnight strikes targeted the area between the two districts.

IS fighters have been fighting back against the advancing forces with snipers as well as drones armed with explosives, according to the SDF.

They have also reportedly dug defensive trenches and tunnels to try to slow the SDF advance.

- Children caught in crossfire -

"Hundreds" of US military personnel are taking part in the Raqa offensive, according to the Pentagon, which said Thursday it believed up to 2,500 IS fighters were still holed up in Raqa.

Captured by the jihadists in 2014, Raqa has become synonymous with IS atrocities including beheadings and public displays of bodies, and also emerged as a hub for planning attacks abroad.

A fighter of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces guards a position in the Al-Meshleb neighbourhood of Raqa as they try to advance further into the Islamic State group bastion on June 7, 2017

An estimated 300,000 civilians were believed to have been living under IS rule in Raqa, including 80,000 displaced from other parts of Syria.

But thousands have fled in recent months, and the UN humanitarian office estimates about 160,000 people remain in the city.

The UN children's agency UNICEF warned Friday that "an estimated 40,000 children remain trapped in dangerous conditions in Raqa city."

"Many are caught in the crossfire," said UNICEF regional director Geert Cappelaere.

"Children are deprived of the most basic and life-saving necessities," he added, urging safe passage for those who want to leave the city.

A Syrian woman waves a white flag as she runs towards Syrian Democratic Forces as they approach the Al-Meshleb neighbourhood of Raqa, on June 7, 2017

Tens of thousands of people have fled Raqa and the surrounding area since the SDF launched its Operation Wrath of the Euphrates to capture the IS bastion last November.

Many have described harrowing journeys as they fled Raqa city, with IS fighters targeting them as they tried to escape.

Elsewhere in Syria, a US warplane shot down a pro-regime drone on Thursday night near the Jordanian border in the latest incident in escalating tensions in the country's south.

The US-led coalition said the drone was downed after it fired at coalition forces near the Al-Tanaf garrison, where anti-IS Syrian rebels are being trained.

The shooting down came after another incident earlier Thursday in which coalition forces struck "technical vehicles" advancing towards Al-Tanaf.

The US-led coalition backing the SDF has launched 25 air strikes on the Syrian city of Raqa, according to monitors

It was the third time the coalition has struck pro-regime forces near Al-Tanaf in less than a month.

Syria's government is eager to deploy forces in the area and head off any dispatch of foreign-trained Syrian rebels to fight IS in the country's eastern Deir Ezzor province.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on June 9, 2017

Asian rivals India and Pakistan on Friday formally joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a security bloc spearheaded by China and Russia, despite bilateral tensions bubbling over Kashmir.

Leaders of the largely symbolic body -- including Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping -- formally signed off on the sub-continent duo's accession at the annual SCO summit in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi reportedly shook hands and exchanged greetings late Thursday at the opening of the SCO meeting, although New Delhi said that no formal bilateral meeting between the two was planned.

Modi on Friday hailed India's accession as a "landmark moment in the journey of the SCO" and pledged India would play a "constructive and active role" in the organisation that also includes ex-Soviet states Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Sharif thanked the founding members for their "staunch support" for his country's entry into the organisation, which he hailed as "an anchor of stability in the region".

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in its entirety.

India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming militants, while Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only provides diplomatic support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination.

But both Moscow and Beijing expressed optimism that the two neighbours' entry into the SCO could strengthen prospects for peace across the region.

Founded in 1996, the SCO is viewed as a vehicle for managing competing Chinese and Russia political, economic and military interests in the strategic region.

China is championing ambitious infrastructure projects, including land and sea links touted as a revival of the ancient Silk Road trade route.

Russia, in turn, has focused on broadening its Eurasian Economic Union integration project involving former Soviet allies.
Sky-high prices and the cost of living outstrip many ordinary residents' salaries in Hong Kong, with apartments becoming increasingly cramped and generations of families forced to share

Hong Kong's wealth gap was on Friday revealed to be at its highest in nearly 50 years, with living conditions fuelling discontent in the city as it prepares to mark two decades under Chinese rule.

Sky-high prices and the cost of living outstrip many ordinary residents' salaries in Hong Kong, with apartments becoming increasingly cramped and generations of families forced to share.

In a report that comes out every five years, the census and statistics department applies a formula known as the Gini Co-efficient to measure wealth inequality.

A Gini figure of zero indicates perfect equality, while 1.0 would be a society in which one person had all the wealth.

The department said Hong Kong's figure climbed from 0.537 in 2011 to 0.539 in 2016, the highest since 1971.

The census department said poverty alleviation and support for the disadvantaged were "at the top of the government agenda".

But lawmaker and social worker Fernando Cheung said the result showed life had not improved since the handover by colonial power Britain to China in 1997.

"The Gini signifies that the economic development of the past 20 years has not helped narrow the wealth gap or make our society more just," Hong Kong lawmaker Fernando Cheung told AFP.

"Income disparity is still a main problem," Cheung added, describing major industries as controlled by a handful of tycoons.

A string of high-profile corruption trials has led to heightened public suspicion over cosy relations between politicians and the business world.

Former leader Donald Tsang was sentenced to 20 months in prison for misconduct in February after being found guilty of failing to disclose plans to lease a luxury flat from a major investor in a broadcaster, which was later granted a licence from the government while he was in office.

He was granted bail in April pending an appeal.

In a separate case, his former deputy Rafael Hui was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in 2014 after being found guilty of taking bribes from Hong Kong property tycoon Thomas Kwok.

Hong Kong's unpopular outgoing leader Leung Chun-ying also faces allegations of corruption over receiving a reported payment of HK$50 million ($6.5 million) from Australian engineering firm UGL before he took office.

Cheung said the increasing wealth disparity will continue to drive discontent, especially among young people.

"With limited opportunities and high costs in housing and other aspects of life, it makes the life of the younger generation very hard," he said.
In her first interview since being released from a US military prison, Chelsea Manning explains why she leaked a trove of secret military documents

In her first interview since being released from a top-security US military prison, WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning says justice "has been served."

Manning, a former army intelligence analyst who served seven years for one of the largest dumps of classified documents in US history, acknowledged responsibility for leaking the material.

"I've accepted responsibility," Manning, 29, told ABC in an interview broadcast Friday. "No one told me to do this. Nobody directed me to do this. This is me. It's on me."

Manning -- who was 22 years old and known as Bradley at the time -- said that she was deeply affected the information that she was receiving from the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as reports of civilian deaths.

"Getting all this information, death, destruction, mayhem and eventually you stop -- I stopped seeing just statistics and information and I started seeing people," the transgender soldier told ABC's "Nightline."

"Counterinsurgency warfare is not a simple thing. It's not as simple as good guys versus bad guys. It's a mess."

An excerpt of the interview aired on the network's morning show.

Manning said she hoped the 700,000-plus classified documents leaked in 2010 would spark a public debate, and did not believe they threatened US national security.

"I have a responsibility to the public, you know... we all have responsibility," she said, without elaborating.

Soon after being sentenced in August 2013, Manning came out as transgender, and was treated for gender dysphoria only after her lawyer sued the military in September 2014.

Hormone treatment "keeps me from feeling like I'm in the wrong body," Manning said.

"I used to get these horrible feelings like I just wanted to rip my body apart, and I don't want to have to go through that experience again. It's really, really awful."

Manning had been sentenced to 35 years prison and twice tried to take her own life, before then-president Barack Obama commuted her sentence just days before leaving office in January.

"I feel very comfortable that justice has been served," Manning said, adding that if she had the opportunity to do so, she would thank Obama "for giving me a chance."
A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces stands in the village of Hazima on the northern outskirts of the Islamic States group's Syrian bastion of Raqa on June 6, 2017.Less than an hour later the SDF entered Raqa

US-backed Syrian fighters Friday seized part of a district on the western edge of the Islamic State group's Raqa bastion and battled to advance inside the city's east, a monitor said.

The Kurdish-Arab alliance known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) broke into Raqa for the first time earlier this week, months after they launched an operation to capture the jihadist stronghold.

They are backed by the US-led coalition which carried out heavy air strikes on Raqa and its surroundings overnight and into Friday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said SDF fighters took parts of the suburb of Jazra just west of Raqa's city limits on Friday.

It said heavy clashes continued to rock other parts of the neighbourhood, where at least 15 civilians were killed Thursday night in air strikes that hit an internet cafe.

They were among 23 civilians killed in more than two dozen US-led coalition strikes on and near Raqa that night, the Observatory said.

The battle for Raqa

SDF spokesman Talal Sello said fighters were advancing on several fronts on Friday.

"The SDF has control of Al-Meshleb district (inside eastern Raqa) and is clearing it of mines and explosives at the moment," he told AFP.

He said SDF forces had also advanced on the northern front outside the city.

The SDF media department said four local journalists were wounded Friday when an IS mortar landed near them as they made their way toward Al-Meshleb.

- Fighting back -

Members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stand in the village of Hazima on the northern outskirts of the Islamic States (IS) group's Syrian bastion of Raqa on June 6, 2017

Al-Meshleb was the first neighbourhood in Raqa city entered by SDF fighters.

They are expected to progress from the district into neighbouring Al-Senaa, and the Observatory said some of the overnight strikes targeted areas between the two districts.

IS has been fighting back against the advancing forces with snipers as well as drones armed with explosives, according to the SDF.

They have also reportedly dug defensive trenches and tunnels to try to slow the SDF advance.

"Hundreds" of US military personnel are taking part in the Raqa offensive, according to the Pentagon, which said Thursday it believed up to 2,500 IS fighters were still holed up in Raqa.

Captured by the jihadists in 2014, Raqa has become synonymous with IS atrocities including beheadings and public displays of bodies. It has also emerged as a hub for planning attacks abroad.

An estimated 300,000 civilians were believed to have been living under IS rule in Raqa, including 80,000 displaced from other parts of Syria.

But thousands have fled in recent months, and the UN humanitarian office estimates about 160,000 people remain in the city.

- Children in crossfire -

The UN children's agency UNICEF warned Friday that "an estimated 40,000 children remain trapped in dangerous conditions in Raqa city".

"Many are caught in the crossfire," said UNICEF regional director Geert Cappelaere.

"Children are deprived of the most basic and life-saving necessities," he added, urging safe passage for those who want to leave the city.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also warned that Raqa's civilians were left facing a "deadly choice".

"Parents have to make an impossible decision," said MSF emergency coordinator Puk Leenders.

"Either they stay in Raqa, subjecting their children to increased violence and air strikes, or they take them over the frontline, knowing they will need to cross minefields and may be caught in the crossfire."

A Syrian woman waves a white flag towards members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as they approach Al-Meshleb neighbourhood of Raqa, the Islamic State group's Syrian bastion

Tens of thousands of people have fled Raqa and the surrounding area since the SDF launched its Operation Wrath of the Euphrates to capture the IS bastion last November.

Elsewhere in Syria, a US warplane shot down a pro-regime drone on Thursday night near the Jordanian border in the latest incident in escalating tensions in the country's south.

The US-led coalition said the drone was downed after it fired what turned out to be a dud bomb at coalition forces near the At-Tanaf garrison, where anti-IS Syrian rebels are being trained.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said Syrian regime ally Russia helped prevent an escalation in hostilities between the coalition and the pro-regime forces.

"Russia has been very helpful and I think that the calm we see today is largely due to their efforts," Davis said.

Tensions around At-Tanaf have surged as pro-regime forces, including Iranian-backed militias, look to expand their influence.
An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard during a curfew and strike called following the killing of a Kashmiri student in downtown Srinagar

Indian soldiers killed five suspected rebels Friday in a shoot-out near the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir with Pakistan, the army said.

Troops deployed along the heavily militarised frontier known as the Line of Control (LOC) shot and killed the suspected fighters when they tried to cross into Indian-administered Kashmir.

An operation to counter the infiltration bid was still underway in Uri, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of the summer capital of Kashmir, the army said in a statement.

The deaths came a day after Indian soldiers killed three suspected rebels in an exchange of fire, which also killed one soldier.

Earlier in the week Indian troops killed three combatants as they tried to cross into the territory.

India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming militants and pushing them across the LoC to launch attacks on its forces.

Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only provides diplomatic support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in its entirety.

Rebel groups have for decades been fighting the around 500,000 Indian soldiers deployed in the territory, demanding independence from India or a merger of the Himalayan region with Pakistan.

Armed encounters between rebels fighting against Indian rule of Kashmir and soldiers have become more frequent since last July when security forces killed a popular rebel commander.

Officials say dozens of youths have joined the ranks of the rebels, who enjoy renewed public support.
Trump lashed out at Comey, branding him a "leaker" for indirectly providing to reporters the contents of memos summarizing their private conversations in the weeks before he was sacked

US President Donald Trump punched back Friday against James Comey, accusing the ousted FBI director of lying about their private conversations -- and saying he is "100 percent" willing to testify under oath.

Comey delivered scathing testimony a day earlier in a highly anticipated Senate hearing, saying Trump sought to derail a probe into onetime national security advisor Michael Flynn -- at best, a political miscalculation, and at worst a criminal obstruction of justice.

Trump was addressing reporters at the White House for the first time since Comey's explosive appearance, in which he branded the president a liar and said he believed he was fired over his handling of the FBI probe into Russian election meddling.

"Yesterday showed no collusion, no obstruction," Trump said in reference to the twin controversies dogging his administration -- accusations his aides colluded with the Russian effort to tilt the vote, and that he sought to block the related Flynn probe.

Trump lashed out at Comey, dubbing him a "leaker" for indirectly providing reporters with the contents of his memos summarizing their private conversations in the weeks before he was sacked. A person close to Trump's legal team has said a complaint would be filed with the Justice Department.

"Some of the things that he said just weren't true," added the president, who -- when asked if he would be willing to speak under oath to special prosecutor Robert Mueller about the encounters -- responded: "100 percent."

"I would be glad to tell him exactly what I just told you," Trump said.

The White House has seized on Comey's confirmation that Trump personally was not under investigation over his ties to Russia to declare a victory of sorts.

The Republican president took to twitter earlier in the day, claiming "total and complete vindication."

The Trump administration has also highlighted the fact Comey stopped short of accusing the president of obstructing justice -- a potentially impeachable offense. The former FBI chief has said the decision was now in the hands of special counsel Mueller.

Questioned about Comey's central claim that Trump told him to lay off Flynn, the president responded: "I didn't say that."

"And there would be nothing wrong if I did say it, according to everybody that I read today."

- Tapes? -

During almost three hours of statements Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey described himself as "stunned" by Trump's "very disturbing" and "very concerning" behavior towards him.

Comey's testimony was required viewing in Washington -- some bars opened early to host watch parties

Detailing one-on-one talks with a sitting president -- which under normal circumstances are private -- Comey said he took painstaking notes for fear Trump might "lie" about the unusual encounters.

And Comey admitted that he asked a friend to leak those notes to a reporter, correctly betting that the details would prompt the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Comey said he did so after Trump suggested in a tweet that their conversations may have been recorded.

Trump demurred when asked whether tapes of his talks with Comey actually exist.

"I'll tell you about that maybe in the very near future," he said.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the House Intelligence Committee, which is also probing Russian election meddling, wrote Comey requesting his notes memorializing his conversations with Trump.

They separately wrote the White House counsel Don McGahn asking whether the recordings exist, and if so, that they be produced to the committee by June 23.

- 'Inappropriate' -

Pundits and legal experts were divided about whether Trump's actions rose to the level of obstruction of justice, a potentially impeachable offense.

But while Republicans have generally continued to back the president, some have begun openly questioning and criticizing his actions.

"It was clear that the president asked Mr Comey to do an inappropriate action, and that was to drop the investigation of General Michael Flynn," Senator Susan Collins told CNN.

"It crossed a boundary that the president should not have crossed."

Bob Inglis, a Republican former congressman who voted to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998, suggested Trump might be in particularly hot water.

Ousted FBI chief testifies

"Yes, I was on Judiciary Cmte that impeached Clinton/sent him for trial in the Senate for matters less serious than the ones before us now," Inglis tweeted Friday.

In his testimony, Comey recalled that during a private White House dinner on January 27, the president asked him for "loyalty" and to lay off his former top aide Flynn -- who is under investigation over his Russia ties -- imploring Comey to "let this go."

"I didn't say that," Trump insisted Friday, before heading to his New Jersey golf club in Bedminster where he will spend the weekend. "I hardly know the man. I'm not going to say, 'I want you to pledge allegiance.'"

Trump abruptly fired Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on May 9, later admitting that the Russia probe was on his mind at the time.

Harvard Law School professor Mark Tushnet said onlookers should keep in mind that Comey knows much more than he can say, calling his testimony a "big deal."

Lawmakers will get another chance to hear from a top administration official, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, when he testifies Tuesday before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
US President Donald Trump

Germany's Deutsche Bank said Friday it would not disclose any information on its links to US President Donald Trump and his family, rejecting a request from US lawmakers.

Democratic members of the House Financial Services Committee had written to the bank in May to ask for documents which they said could help shed light on whether "loans Deutsche Bank made to President Trump were guaranteed by the Russian Government, or were in any way connected to Russia".

But the bank rejected the demand in a written reply published on its website, arguing that divulging such information constituted a violation of privacy.

"Federal law requires that financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank maintain the privacy of their customers and the confidentiality of information relating to those customers," said the bank.

"This is true even if the individual is a government official or well-known person, and even in circumstances where the individual has made some disclosure regarding their relationship with their banking institution," it added.

The law only provides for disclosure of such information "for law enforcement or regulatory purposes or in connection with duly-authorised investigations," it noted.

"Accordingly, Deutsche Bank, like other financial institutions, is not permitted to disclose details related to its customers," it said.

Among information sought by the lawmakers are "any document, record, memo, correspondence, or other communication related to the 2011 Russian mirror trading scheme," as well as details of any loans and guarantees made to Trump or his family members.

The demand for information from the bank was the latest twist in the high-stakes investigation of Trump's relations with Moscow, including into whether there was any collusion between his campaign and an alleged Russian bid to tilt the US election in the Republican's favour.
News / Africa

by Staff reporter

Zambia's opposition leader and UPND president Hakainde Hichilema and five others will face a High Court trial over treason charges and remain in police custody, a magistrate ruled on yesterday.Lusaka Principal Resident Magistrate David Simusamba committed Hakainde Hichilema and his five co-accused to the Lusaka High Court for trial in the offense of treason contrary to section 43 (cap 1) (d) of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.Hichilema was arrested in April for allegedly failing to give way to President Edgar Lungu's motorcade and has so far been held in detention for nearly two months.The incident led to him being accused of endangering President Lungu's life and treason charges followed."I am in court because of hatred. This has everything to do with hatred," Hichilema told journalists inside the courtroom.His lawyers asked the court to throw out the treason charge, arguing it was baseless, but the magistrate referred the case to the High Court with the date for the hearing yet to be announced.Treason suspects are not eligible for bail in Zambia and, if found guilty, Hichilema could face a possible death sentence.Hichilema said he hoped the trial would start soon and criticised the police, accusing them of failing to properly investigate the case."We need a dedicated judge to deal with our matter expeditiously," he said.The treason case comes after Hichilema made a fifth unsuccessful bid for the presidency last year.He refused to recognise Lungu as president and has challenged the narrow poll defeat in court.Meanwhile, there was drama yesterday morning at the Lusaka Magistrate Court when UPND Vice President Geofrey Mwamba was leaving the court hearing after word went round that police were planning to nab him.In a movie like scene, Mwamba was reportedly rescued by four UPND cadres when police attempted to arrest him.He was quickly helped into the vehicle belonging to Dr Nevers Mumba which sped off.
Hussain Rasheed, the father of slain Maldivian blogger Yameen Rasheed, speaks with reporters in Colombo on April 28, 2017

The father of murdered blogger Yameen Rasheed in the Maldives accused police Friday of trying to cover up the case, and appealed to the United Nations for an investigation.

Speaking to AFP on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council, Hussain Rasheed said he had come to Geneva "to raise my voice internationally and to put pressure on the government to achieve justice for my son."

"I think the UN can help us in this," he added.

Choking back tears, the 54-year-old recalled seeing the body of his son, who had been killed hours earlier at his home in Male by unidentified attackers.

"My son was very brutally murdered," he said, shaking his head and pointing out that the 29-year-old blogger "had so many wounds, it was difficult for me to count."

Yameen Rasheed, who poked fun at the Maldives' politicians on his blog The Daily Panic, was found in the stairwell of his Male apartment building with multiple stab wounds to his chest and neck. He died in hospital.

He had lodged complaints with the police about death threats he had received in December, but they were not taken seriously.

The government of the Indian Ocean archipelago has promised an investigation into his death, and police last month began making arrests, but activists say they doubt those detained are actually behind the killing.

"They have seven people under arrest now who may or may not have been connected to the murder, but we don't believe that any of those people are the people behind this," Shahindha Ismail, executive director of the Maldivian Democracy Network told AFP.

- Cover-up? -

"I am not trusting the investigation," Rasheed said, adding that "my own suspicion is that the police is trying to cover up the case."

He charged that the Maldives police had acted suspiciously, washing down the scene of the crime and having the blood-splattered wall repainted.

They also prevented anyone from taking pictures and had not questioned anyone in the building, he claimed.

Asked why police would intentionally botch the investigation, he said: "The government is not on a democratic path right now, It's going towards a dictatorship."

His comments came a day after Adam Azim, the brother of jailed former defence minister Mohamed Nazim and one of the few vocal dissidents still in the country, was arrested.

Earlier this week 30 nations issued a statement criticising the Maldivian regime before the Human Rights Council, calling on the country to respect basic freedoms.

The statement also urged President Abdulla Yameen to ensure justice for Rasheed's killing.

He was the third media figure to be targeted in the troubled archipelago nation in the last five years.

Blogger Ismail Rasheed narrowly escaped death when he was stabbed by an unidentified attacker in 2012.

A journalist with the independent Minivan News, Ahmed Rilwan, was likely abducted in August 2014 and has been missing ever since.
The WTO ruled in March 2012 that billions of dollars of subsidies to Boeing were illegal and notified the United States to bring them to an end

The World Trade Organization said Friday the United States had not fully complied with a 2012 ruling ordering it to halt subsidies to Boeing, in a partial victory for rival aircraft maker Airbus and the EU.

The ruling from a WTO panel was the latest blow in the decade-long clash between the titans of the civil aircraft industry, which has seen both Airbus and Boeing score points along the way.

The WTO ruled in March 2012 that billions of dollars of subsidies to Boeing were illegal and notified the United States to bring them to an end.

But just a few months later, the European Union filed a new complaint with the global trade body, alledging that Washington was not complying with that order.

In the ruling published Friday, WTO said it had concluded that the state of Washington had continued to dish out subsidies totalling $325 million in the form of tax cuts to Boeing between 2013 and 2015.

It agreed with Brussels that the United States had not taken "appropriate steps to remove the adverse effects or ... withdraw the subsidy."

The EU hailed the ruling, saying in a statement that it confirmed "that the United States has taken no appropriate action to comply with its obligation to withdraw subsidies declared illegal ... or to remove their adverse effects."

"The panel agrees that the US has simply ignored existing WTO rulings and has continued to subsidise Boeing," EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in the statement.

- Plans to appeal -

But the WTO ruling also rejected significant portions of the EU complaint, finding that Brussels had failed to demonstrate that US subsidies after 2012 to Boeing's research and development programmes were harming EU interests through lost sales and price cuts.

Washington therefore chose to see the ruling as a victory, pointing out that the WTO panel had found that 28 of the 29 programmes it examined were in compliance.

"The panel found only one state-level programme ... to be contrary to WTO rules," the US government said in a statement.

"The United States disagrees and plans to appeal this limited finding," it added.

The EU has also been reprimanded by the WTO during the tit-for-tat conflict between Airbus and Boeing.

In September, a WTO panel found that Brussels had not respected a 2011 ruling ordering it to take steps to withdraw several support and subsidy programmes for Airbus.

The WTO did not put a value on those programmes but Boeing said they amounted to $22 billion worth of illegal support for Airbus development and sales.

The EU has appealed against that decision, insisting that the subsidies in question had been discontinued.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer meanwhile insisted that Friday's ruling proved that "the United States does not provide subsidies even remotely comparable to the uniquely large and uniquely harmful EU subsidies to Airbus."

The WTO, which aims to create a level playing field in global trade, does not have the ability to force compliance with its rulings, but can approve retaliatory measures which in theory can pressure trade manipulators to fall into line.
Syrian government troops, seen near the town of Al-Khafsah in March 2017, reached the Iraqi border for the first time since 2015

Syria said its troops and allied forces reached the Iraqi border on Friday, for the first time since 2015, a day after a US jet shot down a pro-regime combat drone.

State news agency SANA, citing a military source, said "army units in cooperation with allies managed to arrive at the border... with Iraq" and "set up positions in an area northeast of At-Tanaf".

Forces from the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria and Iraq are using a garrison in At-Tanaf to stage attacks against the jihadists and train Syrian rebels to fight them.

The SANA report said the advance came after "the last" IS fighters in the area "were eliminated".

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights earlier said dozens of pro-regime forces had arrived at the point on the Syria-Iraq border around 70 kilometres (40 miles) north of At-Tanaf.

Asked about the advance, the coalition expressed concern.

"The demonstrated hostile intent and actions of pro-regime forces near coalition and partner forces in southern Syria... continue to concern us and the coalition will take appropriate measures to protect our forces," it said in a statement.

"As long as pro-regime forces are oriented toward coalition and partnered forces the potential for conflict is escalated," it added.

On Thursday a US jet shot down a pro-regime combat drone that fired what turned out to be a dud bomb at US-led coalition forces close to the coalition's At-Tanaf garrison near the Jordanian border.

Tensions around the At-Tanaf garrison have surged as pro-regime troops look to expand their influence.

The US has in recent weeks conducted three strikes against pro-regime forces it deemed to be threatening At-Tanaf.

Earlier in the week, coalition forces "destroyed" a pro-regime unit that was moving into the area, and on May 18, coalition planes struck a convoy that had apparently been heading towards At-Tanaf.

- Kudos for Russia -

The Pentagon credited Syria regime ally Russia with helping to calm tensions after the drone incident.

"Russia has been very helpful and I think that the calm we see today is largely due to their efforts," spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said Friday.

"They are trying to get the other parties, the pro-regime, the Iranian-backed militias to do the right thing and to prevent them from taking actions that are destabilising."

The Russians "have helped to pass messages and calm the situation there, and we hope that continues", he said.

The Pentagon has not said who was operating the drone, but the At-Tanaf area has seen a surge in activity by Iran-backed troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Iran makes an armed drone similar to the one shot down.

The coalition has established a "de-confliction" zone extending 55 kilometres (34 miles) from the garrison, in which pro-regime and Russian forces are not supposed to operate.

Syria's government has been eager to reach the eastern border after recapturing territory in central Homs province once held by IS.

Damascus is hoping to lead the battle against the jihadists in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor and head off any attempts by the US-led coalition to do so.

Syria's government has not held positions on the border with Iraq since 2015, when IS swept down from neighbouring Deir Ezzor and captured positions in Homs province, including the ancient city of Palmyra.
Sacked FBI chief James Comey did something Donald Trump had asked him to do -- he told the world the president was not personally under investigation in the Russia probe

The White House hopes the confirmation by James Comey that Donald Trump was not under FBI investigation can draw a line under a scandal consuming his presidency. That may be wishful thinking.

It's not often the president being publicly described as an untrustworthy liar would be welcomed by the White House as a political victory.

But Comey's searing character portrayal Thursday also included testimony the West Wing believes can ease the pressure buckling Trump's administration.

In a sworn account, the sacked FBI chief did something Trump had pressed him to do -- and which he could not while still in post: he told the world the president was not personally under investigation in the Russia probe.

Allegations that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to manipulate the 2016 election have -- along with Trump's outsized personality -- defined his presidency so far.

The Russia question has put an asterisk next to the president's election win, put the White House on a war footing, sunk his poll numbers and sucked up oxygen in Congress -- which has launched multiple investigations.

"There's no doubt that keeping members focused on investigations detracts from our legislative agenda," said top Trump domestic advisor Marc Short.

Even with a Republican-controlled Congress, Trump's victories so far have largely come from pulling things down -- leaving a trans-Pacific trade deal or opting out of the Paris climate accord -- rather than passing new policies.

Like the Iran-Contra scandal that dominated president Ronald Reagan's second term -- and saw 11 officials indicted -- the administration is preoccupied and being led rather than leading.

Trump and his spin doctors have faced questions on little else.

- Shaky strategy -

So for Republican partisans there is hope that Comey finally shattered a vast left-wing conspiracy: the idea the president was in bed with the Russians has been shown to be "fake news," right-wing news outlets claimed.

But Comey was careful to make clear that while Trump was not under counterintelligence or criminal investigation by the time he was sacked from the FBI on May 9, that may yet change.

He was also careful to say it would be up to a special prosecutor, the former FBI chief Robert Mueller, to decide whether Trump should be investigated for obstruction of justice in trying to steer the Russia probe and in sacking Comey.

Former FBI chief James Comey made clear in his testimony that while Donald Trump was not under counterintelligence or criminal investigation by the time he was sacked on May 9, that may yet change

Comey testified that Trump sought to derail a probe into his onetime national security advisor Mike Flynn, which looks at best like a political miscalculation, and at worst may constitute criminal obstruction.

Equally, Comey was clear that many of Trump's inner circle -- including some still in the White House -- could be in serious hot water.

All that portends a lengthy investigation that will not stop until every rock has been turned over.

In an attempt to push on with business, the White House has tried to physically separate itself from the scandal.

Crisis response has been outsourced to the president's private lawyer Marc Kasowitz and veteran Republican public relations expert Mark Corallo.

That strategy already looked shaky when White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders was touting "infrastructure week" on Thursday, while the rest of Washington was hanging on every word of Comey's testimony.

Then Trump tweeted.

"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication," he declared Friday at daybreak, bringing the focus back to the White House and breaking risky new ground by accusing a former FBI director of perjury.

After such a salvo, few were talking about infrastructure week.

The White House would like to draw a line under this scandal, but Trump, desperate both to prove his legitimacy and to have the last word, is unlikely to play along.
SoftBank Team Japan (R) races against Artemis Racing during the 35th America's Cup Challenger Playoffs Semi-finalson June 5, 2017, in Bermuda's Great Sound

Sweden's Team Artemis completed their remarkable comeback to eliminate SoftBank Team Japan from the America's Cup Challenger semi-final series on Friday and set up a showdown with Emirates Team New Zealand.

The Swedes, who at one point had trailed 3-1 to the Japanese in the best-of-nine series, produced a superb display on Bermuda's Great Sound to clinch a 5-3 victory.

Artemis, skippered by Nathan Outteridge, will now battle it out against the New Zealand challenge to decide which team will advance to face defending champions Oracle Team USA.

"We're absolutely stoked," Outteridge said shortly after clinching the win.

"That was a tough race and to come back from 3-1 down -- the boys really dug deep.

"It didn't go all our way today but we're really happy to take that through to the next round. Full credit to the guys. We're going to be ready to go tomorrow."

Crucially, Outteridge and Artemis appear to have built momentum at the business end of the competition, and the 31-year-old 2012 Olympic gold medallist promised no let up against New Zealand.

"It's been an up and down road but it's nice to be hitting a bit of form," Outteridge said.

"The racing yesterday was super tight and today was no exception as well. I think if we can just keep the momentum going that will be our best chance moving forward. The confidence in the boat is just growing every day. If we can keep pushing the boat to its limit there's going to be some incredible racing."

But it was another crushing disappointment for SoftBank skipper Dean Barker who was left reflecting on another blown America's Cup lead.

The Kiwi had been skipper of the New Zealand challenge in the 2013 America's Cup, when his team blew an 8-1 lead to be pipped 9-8 by Oracle Team USA in San Francisco.

SoftBank's hopes were dealt a blow shortly before Friday's race, when their boat struck an unidentified object in the water. With not enough time to get the boat back to dock for an inspection, divers had to check on the boat in the water.

Barker said although no evidence of damage was detected, the time spent assessing the wings had disrupted the vital period usually spent gauging the conditions just before the race.

"We were definitely a bit under-prepared for those conditions," Barker said.

The vessel however took its place on the start line and appeared to have shrugged off the setback after getting off to a flier.

The Japanese were swiftly up onto their foils and pulled clear of Artemis on the first leg.

But Artemis and Outteridge were soon hunting them down, and the Swedes seized control when Outteridge's overtaking manoeuvre allowed them to pull clear on the third leg after Japan tacked poorly.

"Once they got in front it was always going to be hard to claw it back," said Barker, who said he hoped the SoftBank Team would return to challenge in the next America's Cup.

"I hope this team does have a future. It's been nice to have Japan back in the America's Cup," Barker said, declining to commit his own future.

"I've always said I love racing and I'd like to keep racing. If there is an opportunity then I will but we just have to wait and see what the future holds."

The first three races of the Challenger final take place on Saturday.
Central African internally-displaced people, who make up 60 percent of the country's population, gather around a truck where volunteers distribute fire wood in Bangassou on May 26, 2017

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres voiced concern Friday over the "widespread instability" and attacks on UN troops in the Central African Republic, which has been wracked by renewed sectarian violence since last month.

One of the world's poorest nations, the Central African Republic has been struggling to recover from a three-year civil war between the Muslim and Christian militias that started after the 2013 overthrow of leader Francois Bozize.

A new flare-up of sectarian violence since the beginning of May has forced tens of thousands to flee conflict-ravaged areas.

"I am concerned by the widespread instability and repeated violations of human rights in the Central African Republic, as well as by the attacks targeting United Nations peacekeeping forces in the southeast of the country," Guterres wrote in a report detailing UN activities in CAR.

Six UN peacekeepers were killed last month in the border city of Bangassou near the Democratic Republic of Congo and the surrounding region, and violence has spread to other nearby towns.

The United Nations has 10,000 troops and 2,000 civilians serving in its MINUSCA mission there.

"The current trend of unrest is of the highest concern to the humanitarian community," the UN's humanitarian coordination agency OCHA said in its monthly bulletin in May.

OCHA said "clashes have taken an increasingly religious and ethnic connotation," which it called "alarming".

It said that the number of internally displaced people is now over half a million for the first time since August 2014, while a further 400,000, out of a population of 4.5 million, are in neighbouring countries.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also expressed concern over the renewed violence, fearing it could spread to the central city of Bambari, about 250 kilometres (150 miles) northeast of the capital Bangui.

Internally displaced people "represent already 60 percent of the population and residents worry that the violence engulfing the cities of Bangassou and Bria since early May in the form of brutal massacres could soon spread to Bambari," MSF said in a statement.
Hamas has a network of tunnels, two of which have just been discovered under schools, that have been used in the past as firing positions, shelter from Israeli attack, storage for weapons and at times to enter Israel and capture soldiers.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Friday said it has protested to the Islamist movement Hamas after finding a tunnel under two of its schools in the Gaza Strip.

Over the years, Gaza's Hamas rulers have built a labyrinth of tunnels, including ones that cross under the border with Israel, and have used them to launch attacks during the 2014 Gaza war.

On June 1, UNRWA found "part of a tunnel that passes under two adjacent agency schools in the Maghazi camp" of Gaza during construction work, spokesman Christopher Gunness said.

He said in a statement that the tunnel "has no entry or exit points on the premises nor is it connected to the schools or other buildings in any way".

"UNRWA condemns the existence of such tunnels in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way."

"The construction and presence of tunnels under UN premises are incompatible with the respect of privileges and immunities owed to the United Nations under applicable international law, which provides that UN premises shall be inviolable," he said.

Gunness said that the Palestinian refugee agency "has robustly intervened and protested to Hamas in Gaza".

UNRWA, he said, will seal the tunnel which was discovered during the summer holiday at a time when the schools were empty.

Attack tunnels were a key weapon for Hamas during the 2014 Gaza war.

Hamas also built a vast network of tunnels under Gaza's border with Egypt to smuggle goods and allegedly weapons.

Israel's army found and destroyed several tunnels during the 2014 war.
France is attempting to overcome US reservations about financial backing for anti-terrorism forces in the Sahel region of Africa, pictured in May 2017 when French President Emmanuel Macron (C), visited the French troops in northern Mali

France on Friday sought to address US reservations over its request that the United Nations authorize an African military force tasked with fighting jihadists in the Sahel region.

Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger -- which make up the G5 -- agreed in March to set up a special counter-terrorism operation of 5,000 troops for the Sahel region.

On Tuesday, France presented a draft resolution that would give a UN mandate to the G5 troops to "use all necessary means" to "combat terrorism, drug trafficking and trafficking in persons."

A revised draft resolution circulated to the Security Council on Friday specified that the armed groups to be targeted by the five-nation force are on the UN terror list.

The United States had said the mandate lacked precision and that a council statement instead of a full-fledged resolution would provide sufficient support.

"We find the mandate of the force way too broad, lacking precision," a US official said, adding that it would "set a dangerous precedent" by authorizing the use of force for a broad range of activities.

Under the proposed resolution, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres would be asked to provide a report to the council on ways to support the Sahel force through logistical and financial means.

The European Union has already agreed to give 50 million euros to the regional force, but the United States and Britain are unwilling to commit UN funds for the operation, diplomats said.

"The real issue is money," a Security Council diplomat said, asking not to be named.

The United States argued that the council did not authorize the Chadian-led regional force fighting Boko Haram through a UN mandate, although it expressed support for its mission in statements.

France is pushing for a UN mandate in response to a request from the African Union that the Security Council authorize the regional force.

"While we support a G5 Sahel joint force in principle as a potentially important example of African efforts to fight extremism... Security Council resolutions are not the only -- nor always the most advisable -- means of providing necessary political support," the US official said.

A vote on the draft resolution could take place next week.

France carried out a military intervention in Mali in 2013 to drive out jihadist groups, some of which were linked to Al-Qaeda, which had seized key cities in the country's north.

Although the Islamists have been largely ousted from the north, jihadist groups continue to mount attacks on civilians and UN forces in violence that has engulfed parts of central Mali.
"Sorry, but we will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said he has never known Qatar to give support to terror organisations, a charge made by Saudi Arabia and its allies who have cut ties with the gas-rich emirate.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and other states broke off relations on Monday over what they say is the emirate's financing of extremist groups as well as its ties to Iran, Riyadh's regional arch-rival.

On Friday, the Saudis and their allies placed several Qataris and Doha-based organisations on a "terror list" as the bitter diplomatic row escalated.

They released a joint statement listing as many as 18 individuals, including members of Qatar's royal family and a former minister as involved in "terrorist" activities.

While maintaining good relations with the Gulf states, Turkey has vowed to continue to back its close ties with Qatar, which Erdogan again defended on Friday.

"They declare foundations established to provide different services as terror organisations. Something like this should not happen. I know those foundations. Until today I have not witnessed Qatar give support to terror," Erdogan said in Istanbul.

In addition to cutting ties, Saudi Arabia has also sealed off Qatar's only land border, a crucial lifeline for food imports.

The Turkish leader called for the "blockade" against Doha to be "completely lifted", urging Saudi Arabia to show leadership and encourage good relations in the region.

"I have a request to the Saudi administration: you are the biggest in the Gulf, the strongest... not with hostilities, you should be the leader of fraternity there, you should bring everyone together," Erdogan said.

He also ratified a bill approved by Turkish lawmakers on Wednesday to deploy troops to a Turkish base in Qatar in a move seen as Ankara's show of support for Doha.

Erdogan defended the action, asking "our friends" in the Gulf: "Why does the American base not discomfort you? There are other countries' bases too, why doesn't it discomfort you?"

He was referring to the enormous Al-Udeid airbase, the United States' biggest in the Middle East which is home to some 10,000 US troops.

It is a crucial hub for US military operations in the Middle East, especially the battle against the Islamic State group.

Erdogan said Turkey would continue to help Qatar such as exporting food and medicine to them.

"Sorry, but we will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar," he said.
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Police described a dramatic and scary scene as they explained their decision Wednesday to shoot and kill a heavily armed man they said was bent on dying.

The 21-year-old suspected gang member had fired dozens of rounds from three weapons, including an assault rifle, from the backyard of a home with six children and four adults inside, police said.

Some shots striking the home came from within a shed where the man had lived for some time, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said in a news conference.

A Fresno police detective talks to family members of the man shot to death at a house where an officer involved shooting occurred Wednesday, June 7, 2017. Police say a suspected gang member was shot and killed early Wednesday after he fired a least 75 rounds at officers with a high-powered rifle. Officers were first called to the home following reports of gunfire from neighbors. (John Walker/Fresno Bee via AP)

A neighbor heard the man pacing the backyard saying he "wanted to end it all," and a woman in the home who dialed for help said the gunman announced he wanted to go see his deceased grandmother, Dyer said.

The woman also urged police to hurry, fearing they would all die, said Dyer, who identified the man as 21-year-old Salvadro Lopez.

Officers were first called to the home at 3:30 a.m. after receiving several reports of gunshots. Officers surrounded the home, hearing bullets shoot past them, police said.

The officers escorted everybody inside to safety in an ordeal lasting nearly an hour, the chief said.

Dyer said the man tried to come from a backyard to the street and was blocked by two officers, who shot and killed him. No police officers or civilians were hit or injured.

Police recovered between 75 and 100 casings at the scene. The man was also armed with a handgun and a shotgun, and more ammunition was found in a backyard shed, police said.

Police showed photos of holes from bullets exiting the shed and hitting the home. A video from an officer's body camera showed the man firing toward him as he hunkered behind his patrol car.

Dyer said the man had a "death wish" and may have wanted to kill others. Officers opened fire to protect themselves and others in the neighborhood, Dyer said.

The Fresno County District Attorney's office will investigate the shooting.

The violence came just a day after a gunbattle at a Fresno home left three men dead and another wounded in what may have been a home-invasion robbery or a drug deal gone bad, police said.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office identified the intruders as Xavier Williams, 23, and Elijah Monroe-Mays Sr., 27, both of Sacramento. Mays and Williams are half-brothers. Also killed was Chong Yang, 69, of Fresno. Yang's adult son, who was armed, was also shot in the gunbattle and survived.

___

Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com

Fresno police officers confer in front of the scene of an officer involved shooting Wednesday, June 7, 2017. Police say a suspected gang member was shot and killed early Wednesday after he fired a least 75 rounds at officers with a high-powered rifle. Officers were first called to the home following reports of gunfire from neighbors. (John Walker/Fresno Bee via AP)

Fresno County Coroner Dr. Venu Gopal, at center in tie, confers with a county sheriff's department investigator in front of the scene of an officer involved shooting Wednesday, June 7, 2017. Police say a suspected gang member was shot and killed early Wednesday after he fired a least 75 rounds at officers with a high-powered rifle. Officers were first called to the home following reports of gunfire from neighbors. (John Walker/Fresno Bee via AP)
News / Africa

by APO

Distributed by APO on behalf of African Union Peace and Security Department.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AU), H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, expresses dismay at the simultaneous gun and suicide bomb attacks on Iran's Parliament Building and the tomb of the Republic's revolutionary founder that occurred on Wednesday 6 June 2017.The attacks resulted in the death of at least 12 people and left 46 others wounded.The Chairperson expresses the AU's heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and wishes speedy recovery to the wounded. He also expresses the AU's solidarity with the Government and people of the Islamic Republic of Iran.The Chairperson notes that the attack is a reminder of the virulent nature of terrorism and reaffirms the AU's strong rejection of all acts of terrorism and violent extremism.Reiterating AU's commitment, he stresses the need for enhanced international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in all their forms.
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Police in Illinois believe the remains of a child found in the garage of a vacant home had been there four years and are investigating the death as a homicide.

Officers found the remains Tuesday morning after a woman in Las Vegas contacted police and told officers her husband had killed their then-6-year-old daughter in Illinois years earlier and hid the body in the garage of a home in Centreville, near St. Louis. She also said her husband, identified by police as Jason Quate, 34, forced her into sex trafficking over the past two years and had abused two other children.

Las Vegas police shared the tip with Centreville police, who found the small decomposed body wrapped in two blankets inside the detached garage behind a dilapidated and vacant home in the impoverished town of about 6,000 residents.

Trees grow in front of the entrance of a garage Tuesday, June 6, 2017, where the remains of a 7-year-old child was found in Centreville, Ill. A Las Vegas woman told investigators Tuesday that her dead child had been in a southern Illinois home for two years, and authorities later found human remains in the vacant house, according to authorities. Centreville police Sgt. DeMarius Thomas Sr. told the St. Louis Post-Disaptch that police believe the child was killed in nearby Belleville, Ill, and dumped in the garage. (Christine Byers/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Authorities suspect the child was killed in nearby Belleville in 2013 and taken to the Centreville garage. An autopsy is expected later this week, St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. said.

The girl's mother contacted police from a woman's shelter, where she said she had gone to seek refuge from her husband. She said Quate killed the child during a "physical altercation," Las Vegas police Lt. Raymond Spencer said in a video statement.

Spencer said officers were told the woman's remaining children, who are in their early teens, were never allowed outside, even to attend school. He described them as pale and lacking socialization skills, and said officers observed signs of abuse. Both children were taken into protective custody.

"It was very disturbing when you saw the children," Spencer said.

Belleville detectives were sent to Las Vegas to work on the case, while others focused Wednesday on a Belleville home, Master Sgt. Todd Keilbach said Wednesday. Real estate records obtained by The Associated Press show Quate lived in the Belleville home that was being examined.

There are no records indicating that Quate ever lived at the home in Centreville.

Quate is jailed in Las Vegas. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he expected to file charges of felony sex trafficking and living off the earnings of a prostitute Wednesday against Quate.

Wolfson said the woman also is under investigation.

"We're looking at the behavior of both of them for potential criminal charges," Wolfson said.

Any charges related to the girl's death would be filed in Illinois. St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly said the investigation was still ongoing and declined further comment.

Court records show that a man with the same name and birth date as Quate was convicted of three crimes in Belleville. He was sentenced to probation for two residential burglaries in July 2000 and was convicted of misdemeanor retail theft in May 2000.

Neighbors told the Belleville News-Democrat that the small house in Centreville with boarded-up windows has been vacant for more than two years.

Property records show the home was last sold for $25,500 in 2005. The man listed as its owner, Marcus Acoff, declined comment when reached by the AP, saying he did not want to interfere in the investigation.

___

Associated Press reporters Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.

Boards cover the windows of a vacant home, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, where the remains of a 7-year-old child was found in the homes' garage in Centreville, Ill. A Las Vegas woman told investigators Tuesday that her dead child had been in a southern Illinois home for two years, and authorities later found human remains in the vacant house, according to authorities. Centreville police Sgt. DeMarius Thomas Sr. told the St. Louis Post-Disaptch that police believe the child was killed in nearby Belleville, Ill, and dumped in the garage. (Christine Byers/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
HOUSTON (AP) - Election officials have long contended that the highly decentralized, often ramshackle U.S. voting system is its own best defense against vote-rigging and sabotage . New evidence from a leaked intelligence report indicates that hasn't deterred foreign adversaries from exploring ways to attack it anyway.

The document, attributed to the U.S. National Security Agency, describes alleged attempts by Russian military intelligence to hack into local election systems - the latest evidence of a broad and sophisticated foreign attack on the integrity of U.S. elections. It does not indicate whether actual vote-tampering occurred.

The NSA report adds significant new detail to previous U.S. intelligence assessments that alleged Russia-backed hackers had compromised elements of America's electoral machinery. It also suggests that attackers may also have been laying groundwork for future subversive activity.

FILE - This Oct. 14, 2016 file photo shows Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's names printed on a ballot on a voting machine to be used in the upcoming election, in Philadelphia. A newly leaked NSA document outlining alleged attempts by Russian military intelligence to hack into U.S. election systems is the latest piece of evidence suggesting a broad, sophisticated foreign attack on the integrity of U.S. elections. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The U.S. elections system is a patchwork of more than 3,000 jurisdictions overseen by the states with almost no federal oversight or standards. The attack sketched out in the NSA document appears designed specifically to cope with that sprawl.

ELECTORAL RISK

The operation described in the document could have given attackers "a foothold into the IT systems of elections offices around the country that they could use to infect machines and launch a vote-stealing attack," said J. Alex Halderman, a University of Michigan computer scientist. "We don't have evidence that that happened," he said, "but that's a very real possibility."

Computer scientists have proven in the lab that once inside an election network, skillful attackers could manipulate pre-election programming of its systems and alter results without leaving a trace.

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said Tuesday that hacking into state voting systems ahead of the Nov. 8 vote was more widespread than has been disclosed.

Attempts by Russia to "break into a number of our state voting processes" was "broad-based," he said, without offering details. In Moscow, a Kremlin spokesman categorically denied Tuesday that Moscow had tried to hack the U.S. elections.

Warner did not directly address the classified intelligence report published Monday by The Intercept, an online news outlet. The Associated Press has not independently verified the authenticity of the report, although its apparent leaker, an NSA contract worker, was arrested last weekend in Georgia.

GOING LOCAL

The NSA document says Russian military intelligence first targeted employees of a Florida voting systems supplier in August. Apparently exploiting technical data obtained in that operation, the cyber spies later sent phishing emails to 122 local U.S. election officials just days ahead of the Nov. 8 vote, intent on stealing their login credentials and breaking into the their systems, the document says.

The emails packed malware into Microsoft Word documents and were forged to give the appearance of being sent by the system vendor, VR Systems of Tallahassee, Florida.

The Department of Homeland Security knew in September that hackers believed to be Russian agents had targeted voter registration systems in more than 20 states. To date, no evidence of tampering with vote tallies or registration rolls has emerged.

The NSA document did not name any of the states where local officials were targeted by the emails masquerading as being from VR Systems. The Miami Herald reported Wednesday that officials in at least five Florida counties received the malicious emails described in the NSA report.

In September, the FBI held a conference call with all 67 county elections supervisors in that battleground state to inform them of infiltration of VR Systems without naming the company. Ion Sancho, who retired as Leon County supervisor in December, said he later learned from industry contacts that it was VR Systems.

LOCAL PROBLEMS

VR Systems officials did not respond directly to questions emailed by the AP. In a statement, the company said it only knows of a "handful" of customers who received the fraudulent email, adding that it had "no indication" that anyone had clicked on the malware. The NSA document says at least one account was likely compromised.

The company makes software for on-site voter registration at polling stations and backend systems for voting management, according to its website, which says it has customers in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

VR Systems' electronic poll books - electronic systems used to verify registered voters at polling places - experienced problems on Nov. 8 in Durham County, North Carolina. The issue forced officials to abandon the system, issue paper ballots and extend voting hours.

North Carolina's state elections director said Tuesday that officials would investigate to see if officials in Durham County were targeted and possibly compromised

Iowa University's Douglas Jones is among computer scientists who say voter registration systems are particularly vulnerable to tampering, in part because they are on the internet.

Someone trying to cause chaos and discredit an election could delete names from registration rolls prior to voting - or request absentee ballots en masse. In the latter case, a voter showing up at the polls on Election Day would be recorded as having already cast their ballot. That could force voters to file provisional ballots, and provoke long lines.

There is no evidence any of that happened last Election Day.

___

Satter reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann in Washington, D.C., and Emery D'Alesio in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - An attorney for a man convicted of killing his high school sweetheart, and whose story is at the center of the popular podcast "Serial," argued Thursday that Adnan Syed deserves a new trial.

C. Justin Brown argued that his client's trial attorney, the late Cristina Gutierrez, provided ineffective counsel when she failed to cross-examine the state's cell tower expert about the reliability of location data that placed Syed near the burial site.

He also contends Gutierrez failed to pursue an alibi for his client by calling Asia Chapman to the witness stand. Chapman said she saw Syed at the library in the town of Woodlawn, Maryland, around the same time prosecutors say Lee was killed and that Syed couldn't be the killer.

FILE - In this Feb. 3, 2016 file photo, Adnan Syed enters Courthouse East in Baltimore prior to a hearing in Baltimore. Attorneys for Syed, convicted of killing his high school sweetheart, and whose story is at the center of the popular podcast "Serial," will argue Thursday, June 8, 2017 that he deserves a new trial after his conviction was vacated. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/The Baltimore Sun via AP)

"I haven't seen a single case in which an attorney failed to contact an alibi witness in which deficiency was not found," Brown told a three judge panel of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the state's intermediate appellate court.

Brown also told the judges there is a duty to investigate an alibi.

"This is an alibi witness who is providing their phone number and their willingness to testify, and the reason, the reason that this is so important is that there is no more powerful defense than an alibi."

Judges on the panel repeatedly asked about the lack of following up with Chapman.

Thiru Vignarajah, special assistant attorney general arguing on behalf of the state, said it was reasonable not to seek out Chapman, because it was "a deviation" from an alibi Gutierrez was seeking.

"Evaluating a decision not to contact a particular witness isn't just about making that call," Vignarajah said. "It's about making that call versus the strategy that she was pursuing. We know from the record that Ms. Gutierrez and her defense team were very focused on developing an alibi."

He said she was focused on an alibi placing him at the school, not the library.

"It's the kind of thing that the defense attorney would have to make a judgment about," he said.

Shamim Rahman, Syed's mother, attended the hearing, along with Rabia Chaudry, a family friend.

"We're hopeful," Rahman said.

Chaudry said the family spoke with Syed earlier in the day, and that he's "doing well."

"He's in good spirits, and he's patient," Chaudry said.

A lower court judge last year vacated Syed's conviction and ruled that he deserved a new trial because his original attorney failed to cross-examine a key witness. Prosecutors appealed that decision to the appellate court.

The court will issue a written decision at a later date. That decision could later be appealed to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals.

Syed, who remains in prison, did not attend the hearing. No witness testimony was presented.

Syed was convicted in 2000 of murder in the death of his high school girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, and burying her body in a shallow grave in a park in northwest Baltimore. He was 17 at the time.

Syed's story was widely publicized in the 2014 "Serial" podcast, which cast doubt on his guilt and inspired armchair investigators to dig into the case and unearth new information.

"Serial" attracted millions of listeners and shattered records for the number of times a podcast has been streamed or downloaded. Syed's attorneys say they don't think he would've likely won a new trial without the fanfare surrounding "Serial."

It's Syed's second attempt at a new trial.
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) - Qatar, one of the few foreign backers of Hamas, faces massive pressure from its Gulf neighbors to cut ties with the Islamic militant group. If it does, the result could be disastrous for Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in the tiny territory. Its infrastructure projects are one of the few job-creators in a devastated economy.

Gaza already suffers from an Israeli-Egyptian blockade, widespread destruction from a string of Israel-Hamas wars, economic misery and chronic electricity shortages. For Hamas, Qatar's money pumping into the economy is a vital lifeline bolstering its rule.

FILE -- In this Oct. 23, 2012 file photo, then-Emir of Qatar Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, center right, and then Gaza's Hamas Prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, third left, arrive for the corner-stone laying ceremony of a new center providing artificial limbs, in Bait Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip. Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in Hamas-ruled Gaza, but its role as one of the few foreign backers of the internationally shunned Islamic militant group could come to a halt as Qatar faces massive pressure from its Gulf neighbors to cut ties with Hamas. (AP Photo/Ali Ali, Pool, File)

Qatar appears to be weighing its options. The mere prospect of losing Qatari support prompted Hamas on Wednesday to issue rare criticism of Saudi Arabia, which has been leading the campaign against its tiny Gulf neighbor.

Hamas official Mushir al-Masri said the Saudi call for Qatar to cut ties with the Palestinian group is "regrettable" and contradicts traditional Arab support for the Palestinian cause. He accused Saudi Arabia of siding with "American and Zionist calls to put Hamas on the terrorism list."

Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting violent Islamist groups across the region, including Hamas. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Qatar must sever its ties with Hamas.

Qatar has denied the allegations. But its small size and reliance on food imports from Saudi Arabia could make it susceptible to the pressure.

This could spell trouble for Hamas. The group - which calls for Israel's destruction, even if it has offered long-term interim cease-fires - is considered a terrorist group by Israel and its Western allies. Israel and Hamas have fought three cross-border wars that caused large-scale damage in Gaza.

Qatar doesn't support Hamas directly, but its large-scale projects have significantly eased the burden on Hamas authorities and given it some credit for bringing this money to Gaza.

In 2012, Qatar's then-emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, visited Gaza, the first and only head of state to do so since Hamas seized control of Gaza from the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas 10 years ago. The emir announced a grant of $407 million for humanitarian projects.

The grant is being used to build a housing complex of 3,000 units. Two phases of the project have been completed and families moved into their new houses in the complex, dubbed the Hamad Residential City in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.

Last month, Palestinian contractors and Qatari envoys signed deals to start the third and final phase of Hamad City. Now, those deals could be in question.

Using that grant, Qatar also built a specialist prosthetic center, the first of its kind in Gaza. Qatar paved roads, repaired or rebuilt mosques and oversaw dozens of other infrastructure projects.

Qatari Ambassador to the U.S. Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani, told The Associated Press in an interview that his country's work in Gaza is "purely humanitarian."

"All our contacts are very transparent, and they are clear, in coordination with the U.S. and the Palestinians and the Israelis. We don't understand where the problem is," he said.

Following a 50-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2014, Qatar was the largest single donor to the reconstruction of Gaza, pledging $1 billion at a Cairo-hosted international conference.

So far, Qatar has delivered just $50 million of this pledge for rebuilding 1,000 houses.

Qatar also helped pay for fuel deliveries from neighboring Israel, which, despite its enmity to Hamas, supplies energy to Gaza for what it says are humanitarian reasons. But in an ominous sign for Hamas, Qatar stopped the energy payments for the past two months.

It is unclear whether the payments were halted under Arab pressure.

On Wednesday, bulldozers with Qatari flags were seen leveling land overlooking Gaza City's coastal road. The spot is supposed to house the headquarters of Qatar's Gaza reconstruction mission and a residence for an envoy.

In Hamad City, new shops and stores are opening, including a pharmacy named Qatar, barber shops and a video gaming cafe as more families move in. The complex is the largest in Gaza.

Wael al-Naqla, a contractor, has won a bid to build several buildings in the final phase. Thanks to Qatari money, he is one of the few businessmen who can hire workers in today's Gaza.

"Without these projects, we would have been idled long time ago," he said, voicing fears that the funding could soon dry up. "We are afraid I won't be able to keep paying for my 20 workers and they will not be able to eat."

The construction is one of the few bright spots in Gaza.

As the Islamic group marks its 10th anniversary in power, the situation is grim. The territory suffers from rolling power cuts, with just four hours of electricity at a time, followed by 14-18 hours of outages. Tap water is undrinkable, youth unemployment is estimated at 60 percent. Thousands wait for a rare chance to exit the blockaded territory.

Unable to offer a remedy, Hamas has jailed people who dare to criticize it. A new political program that Hamas hoped would mollify the West and Arab nations instead underscored its ideological rigidity. While softer in tone, the document reaffirmed a call to armed struggle and its goal of eliminating Israel.

Mkhaimar Abusada, an independent Gaza political analyst, said Qatari pressure could increase Hamas' political and financial isolation.

This week, a high-level Hamas delegation was summoned to neighboring Egypt, which has had cool relations with Hamas. "If these talks don't lead to new understandings getting Hamas out of its difficult political situation, I think there will be more crises," he said.

One person who could benefit from Hamas' troubles is Abbas, who has repeatedly failed in talks with Hamas to regain control of Gaza.

Abbas recently reduced the salaries of his former employees in Gaza and threatened to scale back payments for Gaza's electricity - attempts to pressure Hamas. Abbas' government, which maintains good ties with Qatar, has not commented on the latest crisis.

Chagai Tzuriel, the director general of Israel's Intelligence Ministry, said Hamas's many troubles have put it in a "strategic bind."

"I think they are under greater pressure now than before," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report.

In this April 8, 2013 file photo, Palestinians work on a Qatar-funded road in Gaza City. Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in Hamas-ruled Gaza, but its role as one of the few foreign backers of the internationally shunned Islamic militant group could come to a halt as Qatar faces massive pressure from its Gulf neighbors to cut ties with Hamas.(AP Photo/ Hatem Moussa, File)

FILE -- In this Oct. 23, 2012 file photo, then-Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, left, and Gaza's Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, arrive for a corner-stone laying ceremony for Hamad, a new residential neighborhood in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in Hamas-ruled Gaza, but its role as one of the few foreign backers of the internationally shunned Islamic militant group could come to a halt as Qatar faces massive pressure from its Gulf neighbors to cut ties with Hamas. (AP Photo/Mohammed Salem, Pool, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 6, 2012 file photo, then-Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, center, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, left, and then-Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal, arrive to sign an agreement in Doha, Qatar. Qatar has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, housing and a major hospital in Hamas-ruled Gaza, but its role as one of the few foreign backers of the internationally shunned Islamic militant group could come to a halt as Qatar faces massive pressure from its Gulf neighbors to cut ties with Hamas. (AP Photo/Osama Faisal, File)
BOSTON (AP) - A man who rode a rented snowmobile across the U.S. border into Canada in 2005 to avoid charges that he hid up to $4 million in cash after declaring bankruptcy has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Cyril Gordon Lunn was sentenced Wednesday in federal court after pleading guilty in January to concealing assets from his bankruptcy creditors and making a false statement under penalty of perjury.

Prosecutors say the 69-year-old Canadian citizen owned Cy Realty Corp., a construction and development business in Pepperell, Massachusetts.

He declared bankruptcy in 2001, but failed to disclose that he had stashed the money in Canadian banks.

In March 2005, Lunn rented a snowmobile in Presque Isle, Maine, and took a remote trail into New Brunswick. He remained a fugitive until last year.
PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) - Montenegro's higher court on Thursday confirmed prosecution indictments against 14 people, including two Russians charged with masterminding a coup attempt aimed at preventing Montenegro from joining NATO.

Russian nationals Eduard Shishmakov and Vladimir Popov have been indicted with various criminal offenses, terrorism and acts against the constitutional order of Montenegro, a court statement said.

The two alleged members of Russia's military security agency had reportedly operated from neighboring Serbia with sophisticated spying equipment. They have returned to Russia and are beyond the reach of Montenegro's judiciary.

Shishmakov was a deputy military attache at the Russian embassy in Warsaw, but was declared persona non grata in Poland in June 2014 because it was believed that he was involved in spying.

The other 12 suspects, mostly Serbs, allegedly planned on the election day in October to take over parliament in the capital of Podgorica and kill then-Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic.

Among the indicted suspects are two top Montenegrin opposition officials who have made frequent visits to Moscow before and after the alleged coup attempt.

"This is a political process against fierce opponents of NATO," said opposition leader Milan Knezevic, who was indicted.

Montenegro, once a Russian ally, formally became the 29th member of NATO on Monday, despite Moscow's strong opposition.

Russia, which is against NATO's expansion in Europe, has repeatedly denied involvement in the alleged coup attempt. But it has openly supported groups in Montenegro that opposed the small Balkan country joining the Western military alliance

The higher court said it will open the trial within the next two months.

___

AP Writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed from Belgrade, Serbia.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - A Swedish investigator says the probe into the April 7 attack when a stolen truck rammed into a crowd in downtown Stockholm, killing five and injuring 14, will last until the end of the year.

Christer Nilsson says he expects that formal charges against the suspect, a 39-year-old Uzbek man, will be ready after that - "give or take a couple of months."

Lawyers for Rakhmat Akilov say he has admitted driving the truck 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) down a main pedestrian shopping street.

Nilsson said Thursday that 65 people are working on the case and 1,279 people have been questioned, adding that one reason for the lengthy probe is the number of victims.
BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union has expanded its sanctions against North Korea adding 14 more people to an asset freeze and travel ban because of the country's continuing work on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

The measures announced Thursday brings the total of people under the sanctions regime to 94.

North Korea's weapons tests are meant to build a nuclear and missile program that can stand up to what it sees as U.S. and South Korean hostility, but they are also considered by outside analysts as ways to make its political demands clear to international leaders.
BERLIN (AP) - A radicalized 18-year-old was convicted Thursday of attempted murder for throwing two Molotov cocktails into the entrance of a German shopping mall.

The Hannover state court sentenced the German citizen, identified only as Saleh S. in line with privacy rules, to eight years in prison for throwing the homemade firebombs into the mall in Hannover in February 2016, news agency dpa reported.

They were filled with diesel fuel that didn't ignite. The Molotov cocktails glanced off two people, but nobody was hurt and no damage was caused. The defendant was tried as a juvenile behind closed doors.

He is the brother of a 16-year-old girl, Safia S., who was convicted in January of stabbing and wounding a police officer at the behest of the Islamic State group.

In a separate case, German authorities said Thursday that they arrested a Syrian man suspected of acting as a liaison between the IS group's Aamaq news agency and potential attackers.

Federal prosecutors said the 23-year-old, identified only as Mohammed G. in line with privacy rules, was arrested Wednesday. He is accused of membership in a terrorist organization.

The suspect arrived in Germany in September 2015. Prosecutors said he was in contact via social media with a person suspected in an arson attack on a Shiite community center in Sweden in October 2016, and demanded a personal claim of responsibility the day after that attack.

Aamaq didn't want to report the attack without a claim as evidence, prosecutors said. IS then published a claim of responsibility in its Al-Naba newsletter.

The suspect also allegedly spread IS propaganda in online chat groups.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's President Andrzej Duda said Thursday that he supports holding a referendum asking Poles if they want to accept refugees - but not until 2019 and only if migration is still a "problem" then.

Such a referendum would see Poland following the path of Hungary, where voters were asked last year if they wanted to resettle refugees as part of a European Union program. The vote was declared invalid because of low turnout, but the overwhelming number that cast valid ballots - 98 percent - voted against resettlement.

The Hungarian vote allowed the government to keep the issue on the agenda, while Prime Minister Viktor Orban - who has sealed off Hungary's borders against migrants - said it gave his government political backing when confronting the EU on the matter.

Law and Justice, the nationalist conservative ruling party in Poland, like Orban's Fidesz party, vehemently opposes accepting refugees, a stance putting the two countries at odds with EU leaders.

Ewa Ostaszewska-Zuk, with the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Warsaw, said she sees no reason for a referendum because the number of people seeking asylum in Poland is already low and that the vote would serve mainly to promote anti-migrant sentiment.

"Right now the government talks about migrants in only one way: they are a threat to the security, they are dangerous, they are terrorists; we will not take anyone because we are looking after the safely of Poles," said Ostaszewska-Zuk, who heads the foundation's program of legal aid for migrants and refugees.

In case of a vote, she said non-governmental groups would need to give the public more objective information about foreigners, letting them know they don't pose security threats when national authorities carry out effective vetting procedures.
News / Africa

by BBC

Lesotho's Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili has admitted defeat in a parliamentary election to his opponent Thomas Thabane, Reuters news agency reports.It adds that a government statement said that King Letsie III has accepted Mr Mosisili's resignation.The Independent Election Commission announced the result of the election two days ago.Reuters adds that this eases concerns of political instability in the country.It is the third election in three years caused by a bitter power struggle.
NEW YORK (AP) - With television networks setting aside regular programming to mark the moment Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey's testimony before Congress on the investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election will be hard for most Americans to miss.

CNN has already kept a "countdown clock" to the start of Comey's appearance before the Senate intelligence committee on its screen for days. The moment has already drawn comparisons to past congressional appearances that riveted the country, from Watergate to Anita Hill's testimony at Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

"This is one of those moments where much of the country may want to stop and watch," said Norah O'Donnell, part of the trio anchoring CBS' live coverage.

FILE - In this May 3, 2017, file photo, then-FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Comey is making his first public comments since being fired by President Donald Trump and, according to his prepared remarks, will talk about the president's efforts put the investigation behind him. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Comey is making his first public comments since being fired by President Donald Trump and, according to his prepared remarks, will talk about the president's efforts put the investigation behind him. CBS is one of several networks expected to air Comey's remarks and subsequent questioning by senators.

Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie and Chuck Todd will be at the helm of NBC's coverage, scheduled to start at 10 a.m. George Stephanopoulos anchors at ABC. O'Donnell's fellow hosts at "CBS This Morning," Gayle King and Charlie Rose, will be in the lead at that network.

The Fox broadcast network, which airs news coverage much less frequently, will do so with Comey in a broadcast anchored by Shepard Smith. On the sister Fox News Channel, Bill Hemmer and Shannon Bream will co-anchor. Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper are the helm at CNN, with Brian Williams and Nicolle Wallace filling that role on MSNBC.

C-SPAN will air the coverage on two of its channels. Facebook is offering live streams from several media outlets, including Buzzfeed, Townhall Media, Politico, The New York Times and Washington Post.

It's a big moment for the journalists, said O'Donnell, who used to cover Congress even before she got into TV.

"I feel the weight and responsibility of getting it right and conveying the details," she said.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A billion-dollar redevelopment plan originally proposed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been dealt a major setback after the state's highest court decided the city doesn't have the legal authority to develop the land.

The Court of Appeals ruled 6-1 Tuesday, saying only state legislators can give away public park land through specific changes in the law.

The Willets West plan called for a private developer to build a large mall on top of a parking lot outside Citi Field, where Shea Stadium once stood. To build the mall, the city would have to give private developers 47 acres of land from Flushing Meadows Park.

Bloomberg proposed redeveloping the neighboring Willets Point area.

State Sen. Tony Avella, a Queens Democrat, called the plan a heist of public land. The developer is considering next steps.

___

This story has been corrected to show that project is for $1 billion mall, not $1.
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed close ties between the two nations during their meeting Thursday on the sidelines of a summit of an alliance dominated by Moscow and Beijing.

The leaders are attending a two-day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO, which also includes India, Pakistan and several ex-Soviet Central Asian nations.

Welcoming Xi at the start of the talks in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, Putin said the Chinese leader's visit to Russia later this year would be a "major event."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at their meeting in Astana, Kazakstan, Thursday, June 8, 2017. Putin and Xi Jinping arrived in Astana to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. (Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Xi in turn hailed the "strategic" China-Russia ties, saying that "our cooperation and mutual support have a great global significance."

The SCO was founded in Shanghai in 1996 as a counterweight to Western alliances. In 2015 the group approved the membership of India and Pakistan, and the current summit will fully formalize their accession to the group.

Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Belarus have an observer status in the group.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Long-term U.S. mortgage rates fell this week, as the benchmark 30-year rate declined for the fourth straight week to its lowest level in nearly seven months.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate home loans dropped to 3.89 percent from 3.94 percent last week. The rate stood at 3.60 percent a year ago and averaged 3.65 percent in 2016, the lowest level in records dating to 1971.

The rate on 15-year mortgages eased to 3.16 percent from 3.19 percent.

Mortgage rates often track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. Prices for the key bond rose last week, pushing down its yield. The yield was at 2.18 percent Wednesday, down from 2.21 percent a week earlier. It rose back to 2.21 percent Thursday morning.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country between Monday and Wednesday each week. The average doesn't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fee for a 30-year mortgage was unchanged this week at 0.5 point. The fee on 15-year loans also head steady at 0.5 point.

Rates on adjustable five-year loans remained at 3.11 percent. The fee rose to 0.5 point from 0.4 point.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The leader of an anti-abortion group who is being sued wants to disqualify a U.S. judge who barred him from releasing videos recorded at meetings of an association of abortion providers.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick has a longstanding relationship with an organization that partners with Planned Parenthood, attorneys for David Daleiden, a leader of the Center for Medical Progress, said in a court filing late Wednesday. The attorneys also said the judge's wife "liked" Facebook posts critical of Daleiden.

They asked Orrick to recuse himself from a lawsuit that the National Abortion Federation filed against Daleiden. The judge has blocked the Center for Medical Progress from releasing videos made at the federation's meetings and airing the names of its members.

FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2016 file photo, David Daleiden, one of the two indicted anti-abortion activists, speaks with supporters outside the Harris County Criminal Courthouse after turning himself in to authorities in Houston. The leader of an anti-abortion group moved to disqualify a federal judge who barred him from releasing videos recorded at meetings of an association of abortion providers. (AP Photo/Bob Levey, File)

"The instant case is not only high profile but involves one of the most persistently debated moral and political issues of our times," Daleiden's attorneys said in their request. "The public is well aware that abortion is a topic on which many people, including judges, are apt to have very strong feelings they would find difficult to set aside in order to be impartial."

A phone message left at Orrick's chamber was not immediately returned. The judge said last month that he will consider holding Daleiden in contempt of court after links to videos that were barred from release appeared on the website of Daleiden's attorneys.

Daleiden is also facing felony charges of recording people without their permission in violation of California law. The Center for Medical Progress has released several secretly recorded videos that it says show Planned Parenthood employees selling fetal tissue for profit, which is illegal.

Planned Parenthood has denied that claim and said the videos were deceptively edited.

The videos stoked the American abortion debate when they were released in 2015 and increased congressional scrutiny of Planned Parenthood that has yet to subside.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - After a quarter of a century, a victim of the Los Angeles riots has a name.

Police on Thursday announced that the man known only as John Doe No. 80 is Miguel Armando Quiroz Ortiz.

He was 18 at the time of his death.

His body, burned beyond recognition, was found on May 2, 1992 in a Pep Boys store that was one of many buildings burned down during the riots that engulfed South Los Angeles.

Coroner's officials determined the man had died from inhaling smoke, soot and carbon monoxide and the death was classified as a homicide because the fire was deliberately set, according to a police statement.

Detectives found a shell casing near the body but it's unknown whether it was associated with his death, the statement said.

Officials tried to identify the body using a fingerprint from the left middle finger but got no match for a quarter of a century.

This April, however, the county coroner's office notified LAPD cold case detectives that the fingerprint had at last been identified as that of a Los Angeles resident named Armando Hernandez.

Hernandez was one of Quiroz's aliases.

"The coroner's office had information from a previous LAPD contact with Hernandez that he was possibly a Mexican citizen," the police statement said. "The Mexican Consulate was contacted for assistance in trying to locate a next of kin."

The man's sister in Mexico identified him from a photograph provided by the coroner, police said.

Quiroz came to the United States in 1989 from Mexico to look for work.

After several contacts with his family, he "was never heard from again" even though the family tried for several years to find him, police said.

Quiroz's death remains under investigation and investigators would like to hear from anyone who knew him during his stay in Los Angeles. They also would like to identify and interview an "unknown friend" who accompanied him to the United States, according to the LAPD statement.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Matt Every, Scott Brown, Stewart Cink and Sebastian Munoz each shot 6-under 64s on Thursday to share the lead after one round at the St. Jude Classic.

Charl Schwartzel and Matt Jones were each one stroke back at the final tuneup before the U.S. Open.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and Chez Reavie each shot a 66 on the par-70 TPC Southwind course.

A great blue heron flies away as golfers approach the ninth hole during the first round of the St Jude Classic golf tournament, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Memphis, Tenn. (Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal via AP)

The 33-year-old Every has two wins on the PGA Tour, but none since 2014. He's only made two cuts this year and hasn't finished better than a tie for 62nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.

"I haven't played real well in a couple years, and I've been out here for like seven or eight, so I kind of know the drill," Every said. "Like one round is not that big a deal. It is nice to play well, but yeah, they don't hand out trophies after the first round."

Every had four birdies during his round and an eagle on the par-5 16th, sticking his second shot about 10 feet from the flagstick before sinking the putt. He closed his round by making a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th.

"Middle of the round got a little away from me, but I saved some shots and I haven't been doing that lately," Every said. "Then I played pretty solid the last few holes. So it was just a good day. I was kind of due for one."

Cink, Brown and Munoz joined him by making afternoon charges up the leaderboard.

Brown, a 34-year-old who finished second at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and tied for second at the Genesis Open, followed a bogey on the 14th with consecutive birdies, holing a pair of putts from inside of 10 feet to pull even with Every. He missed a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 18 that would have given him sole possession of the lead.

"I've been striking it nicely now for a few months and just the putter's kind of been a little inconsistent," Brown said. "Hot some days, cold some days. ... If I can keep the putter rolling, should be kind of in the mix for the week."

Cink, a 44-year-old, six-time winner on tour and 2009 British Open winner, birdied three straight holes late in his round, including one from about 10 feet on the par-4 5th. He bogeyed the next hole, then closed his round with a birdie on No. 9 to catch Brown and Every.

"The key to my round today was the key to anyone's round who plays well here and that is you've got to keep the ball in front of you," Cink said. "Meaning, you don't have to hit every fairway, but you can't really be off too much."

Munoz, a 24-year-old, third-year pro from Colombia who's chasing his first victory on tour, was bogey-free during the best round of his career. He had six birdies, including two in a row on Nos. 15-16.

DIVOTS: Billy Horschel used a fairway wood to putt on his final hole after he broke his putter a hole earlier. After missing a 2-foot putt on No. 8, he flipped his putter in the air and the head snapped off when it struck the ground. According to PGA rules, he wasn't allowed to use a new putter because it didn't break during the course of play. He finished with a 72.
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese authorities say a Korean Air pilot reported smoke in the cockpit before landing at Fukuoka Airport in southern Japan.

The Transport Ministry said the smoke had stopped after the Boeing 737 landed Friday at 10:22 a.m. No injuries were reported. The ministry is investigating the cause of the smoke.

Japanese broadcaster NHK showed two fire trucks waiting on the tarmac as the plane landed and taxied toward the terminal.

The flight from Busan, South Korea, was carrying 153 passengers and nine crew members.
HOUSTON (AP) - The Trump administration is shutting down the least restrictive alternative to detention available to asylum-seekers who have entered the U.S. illegally, The Associated Press has learned.

Immigration activists consider the move a callous insult to migrants fleeing traumatic violence and poverty - nearly all the program's participants are Central American mothers and children - by a White House that has prioritized deportations that break up families over assimilating refugees.

"This is a clear attempt to punish mothers who are trying to save their children's lives by seeking protection in the United States," said Michelle Brane of the nonprofit Women's Refugee Commission. "I think it's crazy they are shutting down a program that is so incredibly successful."

The overwhelming majority of asylum-seekers that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spares confinement at family detention centers - about 70,000 -have been placed in an intrusive "intensive supervision" program as they await court hearings on whether they can stay in the U.S.

GPS ankle monitors are strapped on three in seven. The wearers, mostly women, complain of bruises and public ostracism.

The Family Case Management Program that is being shuttered had 630 families enrolled as of April 19. Essentially a counseling service, it has operated in Chicago, Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Baltimore/Washington, D.C., since January 2016. Social workers help participants find lawyers, navigate the overburdened immigration court system, get housing and health care, and enroll the kids in school.

Women who previously would have been eligible can now expect to be put on ankle monitors, said Lilian Alba, program manager at the International Institute of Los Angeles, one of the community-based agencies running the program.

It will end June 20, according to a letter signed by Ann M. Schlarb, an executive with GEO Group Inc., the for-profit Boca Raton, Florida, prison company that operated the program under contract with ICE.

Dated Thursday, the letter was emailed to members of an advisory group and provided to the AP by Brane, who received it at the end of business hours.

The program's director at GEO Group, Mary Loiselle, referred all questions to ICE, which was reached by email but had no immediate comment.

Schlarb did not explain in the letter why ICE decided to shutter the program, whose contract had been renewed in September for a year.

"The families have thrived," wrote Schlarb, president of the GEO Group division that also manages the company's electronic-monitoring business. She noted that 99 percent of participants "successfully attended their court appearances and ICE check-ins." That includes more than a dozen families who were ultimately deported, added Brane, a member of a DHS advisory panel on family detention.

The Trump administration's fiscal 2018 budget request has other priorities. It seeks a $1.6 billion increase to expand detention and removals - and the GEO Group in April signed a $110 million contract with ICE to open a new 1,000-bed immigration detention center in Houston.

Agencies that run the program in Los Angeles and Chicago told the AP in April that the GEO Group had informed them that ICE was ending it.

"We don't want to abandon these ladies," Myrna Fragoroso, director of the Frida Kahlo Community Organization, the Chicago partner, said at the time. "The stories of these ladies, if you hear them, will break your heart."

To qualify for the program, participants had proven in initial interviews a legitimate credible fear of returning to their home countries.

It is geared to "special populations, such as pregnant women, nursing mothers, families with very young children," said Sarah Rodriguez, an ICE spokeswoman.

Family case management cost the government $36 a day per family versus between $5-$7 per adult for intensive supervision. That compares to $319 per-person for a family detention center bed.

The Trump administration's budget request calls for spending an additional $57 million for an alternative to detention programs this year. Nearly all will go to the so-called "Intensive Supervision Appearance Program," for which GEO Group also has the contract.

The U.S. government began the long-term detention of families in 2014, responding to an influx of women and children seeking asylum from record gang violence in Central America. The following year, a federal judge ruled that children cannot be kept more than 20 days in detention centers that have not been licensed as child-care facilities. ICE has not adhered to that ruling, however. An Afghan woman was recently kept with her two children at a Texas detention lockdown for six months.

___

This story has been corrected to show that all participants, not 80 percent of them, had to prove in initial interviews that they had a legitimate credible fear of returning home.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE Bulawayo City Council has turned down the Joshua Mqabuko Centenary Celebrations organisers' request for a donation of $10 000 citing financial constraints.The Joshua Nkomo Cultural Movement will be hosting the two-day Joshua Mqabuko Centenary Celebrations this weekend at St Joseph's in Kezi.The council is instead partnering with the Embassy of India in commemorating the International Yoga Day and is offering the Large City Hall for the event on June 24.According to the latest council report, council turned down the $10 000 donation request from JNCM.Finance director, Mr Kimpton Ndimande, said council was cognisant of the immense role played by the Late Vice President J M Nkomo in liberating this country hence some public institutions are named after him in order to propagate his legacy.He, however, said due to financial constraints, the council was unable to partner the organisers of the centenary celebrations to host the event.Councillors following recommendations from the Finance Department resolved that council should not partner the organisers."The request by the Joshua Nkomo Cultural Movement to partner Council in hosting the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Centenary Celebrations be not acceded to for reasons stated in the report (financial constraints)."Individual councillors or staff members that want to attend the celebrations should do so at their own expense," read the resolution.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - An anonymous bidder has agreed to pay more than $2.6 million for a private lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett, with the auction proceeds going to a California homeless charity.

The winning bid of $2,679,001 was announced Friday night, as the online auction that started Sunday wrapped up. That's lower than last year's winning bid of $3,456,789, which tied for the record set in 2012. Organizers said in a news release that they still are grateful for the generous support.

For the 18th consecutive year, Buffett auctioned off a lunch to raise money for the Glide Foundation, which helps homeless people in San Francisco. The chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has raised more than $25 million through the auctions.

FILE - In a Monday, May 8, 2017 file photo, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett gestures during an interview by Liz Claman of the Fox Business Network in Omaha, Neb. Buffett is auctioning off a private lunch in the hopes of raising millions of dollars more for a charity helping the homeless in San Francisco. Buffett has raised nearly $24 million for the Glide Foundation over the past 17 years. This year's eBay auction starts Sunday, June 4, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. PDT and runs through Friday. The largest bids typically come near the end. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Glide provides meals, health care, job training, rehabilitation and housing support to the poor and homeless. Buffett has praised the charity for the work it does helping people.

Buffett became a believer in Glide's work after his first wife, Susie Buffett, showed him what the group was doing for the poor and homeless. Susie Buffett had volunteered for the charity before her death in 2004.

As for this year's lunch, Buffett says the only topic that will be off-limits in the conversation is what he might invest in next. The 86-year-old says he usually gets a wide range of questions.

The winners of the lunch auction typically dine with Buffett at Smith and Wollensky steak house in New York City, which donates at least $10,000 to Glide each year to host the lunch. The meal has sometimes moved elsewhere for anonymous winners.

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Online:

Auction site: www.ebay.com/glide

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: www.berkshirehathaway.com

Glide Foundation: www.glide.org

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Follow Josh Funk online at www.twitter.com/funkwrite
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese internet, solar and technology company SoftBank Group Corp. is buying robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics from Alphabet Inc., Google's parent.

Terms of the deal, announced Friday, were not disclosed. SoftBank, which offers the Pepper companion robot, said the purchase underlines how robotics is a key part of its business.

Boston Dynamics makes various robots, including Big Dog and Spot, complex machines that walk and trot on four legs, as well as Atlas, which walks on two legs like a human. Atlas has arms and can open doors and lift items.

FILE - In this June 18, 2015, file photo, SoftBank Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son speaks with the company's companion robot Pepper during a press conference in Maihama, near Tokyo. The Japanese internet, solar and technology company is buying robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics from Alphabet Inc., Google's parent, announced Friday, June 9, 2017. SoftBank said the purchase underlines how robotics is a key part of its business. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)

Under Friday's deal, SoftBank is also buying from Alphabet a company called Schaft that develops humanoids and came out of the University of Tokyo.

SoftBank bought British semiconductor company ARM Holdings, an innovator in the "internet of things," last year.

SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son said robots will help solve problems that have been beyond human capabilities.

"Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution," he said. "I am thrilled to welcome them to the SoftBank family and look forward to supporting them as they continue to advance the field of robotics and explore applications that can help make life easier, safer and more fulfilling," Son said of Boston Dynamics.

SoftBank, the first carrier to offer the Apple iPhone in Japan, includes U.S. carrier Sprint and Yahoo Japan in its group business.

Son drew attention for hobnobbing with President Donald Trump late last year and promising to create jobs and invest in the U.S.

Marc Raibert, CEO of Boston Dynamics, said he looked forward to working with SoftBank on creating technology for "a smarter and more connected world."

"We share SoftBank's belief that advances in technology should be for the benefit of humanity," he said.

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Yuri Kageyama can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Her work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/yuri%20kageyama
MOSCOW (AP) - A senior Russian lawmaker has dismissed the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey as insignificant.

Comey, who testified before a Senate committee on Thursday, asserted that President Donald Trump had fired him to interfere with an investigation of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign and reaffirmed the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia meddled in the election.

Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the information policy committee at the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, late on Thursday dismissed Comey's testimony as a "big bubble," adding that it "will not help Trump's adversaries to start impeachment proceedings."

Russian officials have vehemently denied any role in hacking attacks on the Democratic National Convention and voter-registration databases.
LONDON (AP) - In the big book of political blunders, Theresa May's decision to hold a snap election to solidify her Brexit mandate will rank among the most memorable - and the most unnecessary.

The British prime minister was cruising along two months ago with a solid majority in Parliament and several years to run on her party's mandate. There was no need for her to put her position on the line, and she had said earlier that an election was not needed.

But her party's huge lead in the opinion polls - 20 percent in most cases - made the prospect too tempting to pass up.

British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the press in Downing Street, London, Friday, June 9, 2017 following an audience with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace where she asked to form a government. May's gamble in calling an early election backfired spectacularly, as her Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

At the time, it seemed to make sense. Her main opponent - Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, known for his left-wing views - was stumbling from mishap to mishap, unable even to muster solid support from his party's own lawmakers. May seemed virtually certain to add to her party's strength, win a mandate in her own name - not just as a stand-in for her predecessor, David Cameron, who quit after Britain voted to leave the European Union last June - and gain five years to negotiate a deal on Britain's exit from the European Union without facing a pesky national vote soon after the scheduled Brexit date of March 2019.

So she flung the dice - and lost.

After Thursday's vote, May's Conservative Party still has the largest number of lawmakers, but lacks a parliamentary majority. It may well be able to form a minority government with the help of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party in the coming days and weeks, but the prime minister's ability to cling to the keys of Number 10 Downing Street is very much in doubt, and her stated goal of unifying the country behind her ahead of the upcoming Brexit negotiations with EU leaders is utterly out of reach.

The result has caused a fresh bout of selling of the British pound, and made EU leaders still more uncertain about Britain's Brexit priorities. The inherent weakness of a minority government raises the prospect of another election later this year, which would undoubtedly cause more turbulence.

It is too early to say with any certainty what the change from a majority to minority government will mean to Brexit. Some experts are calling the Conservatives' unexpected loss of seats a rejection of the "hard Brexit" May has advocated, which would take Britain out of the single market and the customs union and which could see tariffs slapped on British exports to the EU.

Voters may have been unimpressed with her refrain that "no deal is better than a bad deal" because it raised the prospect of Britain crashing out of the EU without a trade-and-immigration system to replace the existing, well-integrated procedures that have evolved over decades of European integration.

Corbyn's newly energized Labour Party officially backs Brexit - since voters endorsed it in a referendum last year - but many important figures in the party advocate a much "softer" approach, and their views now may now carry sway.

Corbyn's rise is one of the biggest surprises. Since winning the Labour leadership in 2015, few commentators gave him much chance of doing well nationally - he was seen by many as too left-wing, too much of a pacifist, and tarnished by prior associations with the radical group Hamas and the IRA. The bearded, often rumpled Corbyn seemed to suffer from a chronic charisma deficit - until the campaign began. Then, he ran a disciplined, coherent campaign despite a few miscues, and deftly capitalized on May's mistakes.

May's campaign seemed to suffer from her refusal to debate and her propensity to appear only in carefully controlled situations. She was listening only to a small group of aides, and they failed to get her out and interacting with crowds.

Unlike the Labour Party - which sweetened its platform with things like free tuition for university students - the Conservative Party contained little to get people excited.

He gained ground when she outlined a policy on nursing care for the elderly that was swiftly derided as a "dementia tax" and in the final days repeatedly hammered May for cutting 20,000 police officers during her tenure as interior minister - an assertion that carried weight as major terrorist attacks hit Manchester and London.

Corbyn faced intense opposition from the right-wing tabloid press and from the Evening Standard, newly edited by former Treasury chief George Osborne, whom she fired when replacing Cameron last summer following the Brexit vote.

Osborne used the front page of his newspaper to predict "Corbyn Chaos" - and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson repeatedly ridiculed Corbyn in the campaign's waning moments.

But the attacks did not seem to work.

It is May, not Corbyn, whose career appears to be in tatters.

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Gregory Katz has covered British politics for two decades.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip are applauded by staff as they return to 10 Downing Street, after seeking permission from Queen Elizabeth to form a new government, in London, Friday, June 9, 2017. Theresa May has confirmed she plans to stay on as Britain's prime minister to provide certainty to the country, with support from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)

British Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip stand on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street, London, after addressing the press Friday, June 9, 2017 following an audience with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace where she asked to form a government. May's gamble in calling an early election backfired spectacularly, as her Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks watched by her husband Philip in 10 Downing street, London, as she addresses the press Friday, June 9, 2017 following an audience with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace where she asked to form a government. May's gamble in calling an early election backfired spectacularly, as her Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)
MIAMI (AP) - After 26 years on the lam, a man dubbed by investigators as one of Miami's last "cocaine cowboys" pleaded not guilty Friday to decades-old drug trafficking charges that could land him in prison for life.

The plea was entered at a brief hearing Friday by Howard Srebnick, the attorney for Gustavo Falcon who stood silently nearby in a tan prison jumpsuit and shackles. Falcon, 55, is charged in a 1991 indictment claiming he was part of a major cocaine smuggling operation during the 1980s.

Falcon vanished in 1991 when he, his older brother Augusto "Willie" Falcon, Salvador "Sal" Magluta and others were originally charged. The gang purportedly smuggled at least 75 tons of cocaine into the U.S., earning some $2 billion during the hyper-violent "Miami Vice" era.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by Orange County Corrections shows Gustavo Falcon, the last of South Florida's "Cocaine Cowboys". After 26 years on the lam, Falcon, a man dubbed by investigators as one of Miami's last "cocaine cowboys" is set to enter a plea to drug trafficking charges, Friday, June 9, 2017. (Orange County Corrections via AP, File)

Falcon was arrested by U.S. marshals in April near Orlando, where he lived under the fake name Luis Reiss with his wife. Investigators tracked down Falcon after the false name surfaced in a 2013 car accident near Kissimmee, Florida, and was linked to a house in Hialeah, Florida, once owned by Falcon.

Falcon was arrested April 12 in Kissimmee while on a bike ride with his wife, Amelia, who was not charged. Authorities were surprised to find him living in a Florida rental house because other information pointed to him likely hiding out overseas.

"Nobody thought Gustavo Falcon was still in the United States," Marshals Service spokesman Barry Golden said at the time.

The case was sensational from the start, especially after Augusto Falcon and Magluta were acquitted at their 1996 trial. It turned out that the pair had bought off witnesses and at least one member of the jury, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison after admitting taking a $400,000 bribe.

Magluta was tried a second time and convicted of drug-related money laundering in 2002, receiving a 205-year prison sentence later cut down to 195 years.

Augusto Falcon took a plea deal in 2003 and was sentenced to 20 years behind bars. He is scheduled for release from a Kentucky prison on June 17, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Gustavo Falcon's current trial date is July 24 but that is likely to be delayed since the defense is only beginning to go through the government's evidence.

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Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Trey Gowdy is known as a dogged investigator of Hillary Clinton. Now Democrats wonder whether the South Carolina Republican will pursue President Donald Trump with the same vigor he used in going after the Democratic presidential candidate.

Later this month, Gowdy, 52, is set to become chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where he will lead official scrutiny of the Trump administration, including a budding investigation into possible ties between Russia and Trump's campaign.

Gowdy led a two-year investigation into the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, focusing heavily on Clinton's role as secretary of state. It was the committee's probe that revealed Clinton used a private email server for government work, prompting an FBI investigation that proved to be an albatross in her campaign.

FILE - In this April 4, 2017, file photo, Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., speaks during a hearing of the House Judiciary subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Gowdy has been tapped to lead the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee after Chairman Jason Chaffetz leaves Congress at the end of month. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans say the four-term lawmaker and former federal prosecutor is the right man for the job. Democrats are not convinced.

"When push gets to shove, I think Trey's a reliable partisan and that's why Ryan picked him," said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va.

In 2014, House Speaker John Boehner selected Gowdy "as a very junior member to head up the Benghazi panel to go after Hillary Clinton. That was not an accident," Connolly said. "Having done his duty well, Paul Ryan has now tapped him to head oversight, where your job obviously is to protect the man in the White House. So vigorous oversight is not on the agenda."

The House Republican Steering Committee on Thursday recommended Gowdy for the chairmanship, replacing Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who is leaving Congress on June 30. Gowdy beat out Oklahoma Rep. Steve Russell. The full House Republican conference is expected to confirm the choice next week.

Rep. Mark Sanford, another South Carolina Republican who briefly considered running for the oversight post, said Gowdy has "a steady prosecutorial mind" and a keen understanding of issues facing the committee.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a close friend and former colleague of Gowdy in the House, said "no one works harder and is more committed to the truth and the rule of law than Trey."

Connolly, a member of the oversight panel, stressed that he likes Gowdy personally and praised his skills as a former prosecutor and lawmaker. But he said Gowdy knows his role in the GOP leadership.

"I don't think Paul Ryan is worried about that streak of independence showing itself any time soon - and certainly not in the context of Donald Trump and the Russia thing," he said.

Ryan, in a statement, said Gowdy "possesses the experience and deep commitment to transparency and accountability" needed as oversight chairman. "He has proven that he will always look out for taxpayers and seek answers from the bureaucracy. Trey has my absolute confidence, and I know he will do an outstanding job," Ryan said.

Gowdy led the Benghazi inquiry from May 2014 through last July. The committee's 800-page report accused the Obama administration of lethal mistakes, but it produced no "smoking gun" pointing to wrongdoing by Clinton, even as Gowdy threatened to seek a federal investigation into whether she lied to the committee under oath in 2015.

In the end, Gowdy did not sign a perjury complaint against Clinton filed by House Republicans. The July 2016 complaint to the Justice Department was made by Chaffetz and House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.

Gowdy said in a statement Thursday he was "grateful" for "this opportunity to serve." The statement focused on the committee's institutional responsibilities and made no mention of specific lines of inquiry.

Sanford, a Trump critic, said some constituents have expressed concerns about the partisan focus of the Benghazi investigation.

"I try to convince them my experience with Trey has been most even-handed, and it's my hope and expectation that he has the same approach to the committee at large," he said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the senior Democrat on Oversight, served with Gowdy on the Benghazi panel, where Cummings also was the top Democrat. While the men initially pledged to work together, their relationship descended into partisan bickering by the time the investigation ended last summer.

Still, Cummings congratulated Gowdy in a statement and promised to "support his efforts whenever we can."

Gowdy takes over the oversight panel just as it is poised to investigate Trump's firing of James Comey as FBI director amid the FBI's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Gowdy is already familiar with the questions over Trump's Russia ties due to his seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which has conducted a probe of its own since allegations of Russian efforts to influence the presidential election surfaced late last year.

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Follow Matthew Daly: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John McCain's fuzzy questions during the congressional testimony of former FBI Director James Comey left viewers scratching their heads.

Comey looked puzzled as McCain pursued a line of questioning that seemed to tie the FBI investigation into Russia and election meddling with the campaign of Hillary Clinton. Investigators are looking into ties between the campaign of President Donald Trump and Russia.

Comey pointed out that the Clinton investigation concerned her use of a private email server.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., questions former FBI Director James Comey during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 8, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

McCain later issued a statement saying he was tired when he questioned Comey. The 80-year-old Arizona Republican joked that he stayed up late watching an Arizona Diamondbacks game.

McCain says his point was to find out if Comey believes his interactions with Trump rise to the level of obstruction of justice.
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - Large numbers of civilians are being killed and injured in western Mosul because Iraqi and U.S.-backed coalition forces are relying on the use of heavy weapons as they struggle to push Islamic State group militants from the city, human rights organizations warned.

Heavy ordnance, such as 500-pound (227-kilogram) air-delivered bombs, are causing excessive and disproportionate damage to civilian life and property, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law, organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Center for Civilians in Conflict warned.

Their combined report released Thursday also pointed to the use of artillery systems, including heavy mortars and locally fabricated rocket launchers that lack a guidance mechanism, and are therefore inherently imprecise and indiscriminate.

In this Tuesday, June 6,2017 photo, a boy stands among the rubble of a house in the 17 Tammouz district of western Mosul. Human rights organizations say that Iraqi and coalition forces are using inherently inaccurate and indiscriminate heavy weaponry to dislodge Islamic State militants from the city, putting the tens of thousands of civilians still in Mosul at high risk. (AP Photo/Balint Szlanko)

"Such disproportionate military attacks are prohibited under international humanitarian law," the report said.

Backed by the U.S.-led international coalition, Iraq last October launched a wide-scale military offensive to recapture Mosul and the surrounding areas, with various Iraqi military, police and paramilitary forces taking part in the operation. The city's eastern half was declared liberated in January, and the push for the city's western section, separated from the east by the Tigris River, began the following month.

Iraqi forces are in their last push to drive IS militants from the remaining pockets of territory they still hold in the Old City where narrow streets and a dense civilian population are complicating the fight.

The use of powerful and often inaccurate weapons is problematic because a very large number of civilians - as many as 180,000, according to the United Nations - remain in the IS-controlled areas of the city, now little more than 1.5 square miles (4 square kilometers). The situation is made more difficult by IS' practice of using civilians as human shields and stopping people from leaving.

Many of the recently retaken areas of western Mosul are reduced to rubble, in some cases with entire families killed in airstrikes or shelling.

Amran Waabdullah Jumaa, 35, said his mother was killed on 12 May in an airstrike outside their house in the 17 Tammouz district. They buried her in the garden along with another woman who had died in the same strike.

"She was killed by these American smart bombs or whatever they call them," he said.

Ahmed Najim Abdullah, 27, a resident of the Zanjili district of western Mosul, lost three members of his family when their house collapsed on them after an airstrike. He was trying to dig the rest of them out from under the rubble when another rocket hit, injuring him in several places.

"It's well known that the houses there are very old, the missiles weigh over 200 kilos (440 pounds), it hits the house and when it hits one house the next four or five houses will collapse with it too," he said in his hospital bed in Irbil.

Military analysts say that Iraqi and coalition forces rely on these weapons because they are trying to minimize their own casualties, which have been considerable. According to a recent U.S. Defense Department report, Iraqi special forces have suffered a staggering 40 percent casualty loss in Mosul so far.

The U.S.-led coalition estimates that its airstrikes unintentionally killed at least 484 civilians between the start of the Mosul campaign and June 2. Airwars, the United Kingdom-based non-governmental organization that monitors airstrikes, believes the real number may be as high as 3,800. These numbers do not include the number of people who have been killed by artillery shelling, for which there is no reliable estimate.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A motorboat capsized Friday south of the Philippine capital, killing five people, the coast guard said. It said all 44 others were rescued.

The coast guard said the motorboat Alad Express 2 was traveling from Sibuyan Island to nearby Rombon Island when it was hit by a whirlwind, causing it to capsize.

An initial coast guard report said 50 people were on board the boat, but an update said one of the people on the manifest had failed to join the trip. Eleven people were earlier listed as missing, but the latest report said all have been accounted for.
Congressional investigators probing alleged contacts between aides to President Donald Trump and the Russian government have officially requested to see memos written by fired FBI Director James Comey, it was reported on Friday.

The House Intelligence Committee, led by Republican chairman Michael Conaway and the ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff, officially sent a request to Comey for copies of the memos that the former FBI head wrote to document his private conversations with Trump.

Schiff and Conaway also asked White House counsel Don McGahn for any record the White House kept of their meetings, according to CNN.

The House panel would like to receive the Comey memos as well as tape recordings of Trump's conversations with the former FBI head  if they exist  by June 23.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which is conducting its own inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the election, is asking a friend of Comey to hand over any memos Comey has given him.

At his first congressional appearance since his abrupt firing last month, former FBI Director James Comey laid bare months of White House distrust in his highly anticipated testimony

Comey said he wrote memos detailing his conversations with President Donald Trump (seen above at the White House on Friday)

Comey testified Thursday that he'd given a memo including details about a conversation with Trump to a friend, who was later identified as law professor Daniel Richman.

Comey said he'd asked Richman to share content of the memo with a reporter.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and other members of the committee said Friday that they have asked Richman to provide the memo to the panel.

Comey said at the hearing he no longer has copies of the memo and the FBI has so far not provided any to Congress.

The House Intelligence Committee, led by Republican chairman Michael Conaway (left) and the ranking Democrat, Adam Schiff (right), officially sent a request to Comey for copies of the memos that the former FBI head wrote to document his private conversations with Trump

Comey testified on Thursday that a professor friend from Columbia University, Daniel Richman (right), leaked his Trump memo. The Senate Judiciary Committee has asked Richman to provide a copy of the memo

Comey said he would allow Richman to release it.

In dramatic testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Comey accused Trump of lying about the circumstances of his dismissal.

Comey asserted Thursday that Trump fired him because of the ongoing investigation into possible ties between Trump's campaign and Russia.

Comey also bluntly accused the White House of spreading 'lies, plain and simple.'

Comey also said that Trump had made clear to him his preference that the investigation into former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn be squelched.

The former FBI director said he felt so uncomfortable with Trump's overtures to him that he felt the need to immediately write down the contents of their meetings after they had concluded.

Trump said he would reveal 'over a short period of time' whether he has tapes of his interactions with Comey, after the two men's stories clashed. Congress has also asked for the tapes - if they exist

Trump tried to rattle Comey with a May 12 tweet saying Comey had 'better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations'

Trump's personal attorney insisted Thursday that Comey revealed details of discussions with the president earlier than Comey had acknowledged.

Marc Kasowitz released a statement Friday to clarify his statement from the day before, after Comey's Senate testimony.

Comey testified that he gave a memo with his recollections of his conversation with Trump to a friend after the president's May 12 tweet about possible White House recordings.

Comey then urged his friend to share the recollections with the press.

But Kasowitz claims that he believes Comey shared details earlier than that, suggesting it informed a May 11 story in The New York Times.

The statement from Kasowitz was released moments after a news conference in which Trump accused Comey of lying under oath.

Trump said on Friday he's '100 per cent' willing to testify under oath about his interactions with Comey.

Marc Kasowitz, Trump's personal attorney, seized on Comey's affirmation that he told Trump he was not personally under investigation

Trump insists that Comey lied in some parts of the testimony he gave Thursday to the Senate intelligence committee. Comey testified under oath.

Trump says that he never asked Comey for a pledge of loyalty and never told Comey he hoped the investigation of Flynn would go away.

He says nobody would ask a man he hardly knew to pledge loyalty to him.

Trump on Friday told a joint news conference at the White House alongside visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis that Comey's testimony Thursday proved there was 'no collusion, no obstruction' and that 'he's a leaker.'

Trump also said Comey confirmed a lot of what he had claimed about their interactions, though he says other parts of Comey's testimony 'just weren't true.'

Trump won't rule out his previous claim that there may be tapes of his conversations with Comey.

He says, 'Well, I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future.'

Earlier on Friday, Trump asserted that Comey's testimony to Congress represents 'total and complete vindication.'

Trump, who did not post on his Twitter account as Comey appeared before the Senate intelligence committee Thursday, sent a tweet at daybreak Friday.

In the post, the president said: 'Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication... and WOW, Comey is a leaker.'

Trump was referring to Comey's revelation that he had passed on to a friend a written memo he'd made detailing a meeting with Trump at the White House - and had asked a friend to give it to a reporter for the New York Times.

During much of the increasingly heated debate surrounding the FBI's investigation of Russia's role in the election, Trump has chafed over news leaks, arguing that news organizations had not given them proper attention.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Under-fire police, in a bid to stamp the worsening rot within its ranks, last year suspended 357 officers over misconduct amid growing calls for the revamp of law enforcement system by the restive populace and opposition parties.At the same time, the roadblock saga which has seen police come under heavy criticism from the motoring public and international tourists, has finally attracted the attention of the presidium.Deputy Home Affairs minister Obedingwa Mguni on Wednesday told Parliament that they were acting on the worsening rot within the police force."That is a worry that we as the leaders of Home Affairs have to balance security versus quality service to our citizenry. When the police officers are trained and deployed on the ground, some are doing other things that are not according to the police policy as a force, which they need to be disciplined on."The disciplining mechanism which is there in the police has actually seen the suspension of more than 357 police officers last year who had been doing other things that are outside their working scope," Mguni said."Therefore, it is also the duty of the public to understand what is expected from a policeman so that if that police officer commits something outside the working scope, he has to be reported so that we deal with the police office," he added.Mguni was responding to Kuwadzana East legislator (MDC) Nelson Chamisa who questioned the conduct of police officers after they ambushed and fired teargas at MDC officials who were conducting a voter registration campaign in Lupane last month.Among those teargased was MDC vice president Thokozani Khupe."Is there going to be a revamp of how the police work looking at what happened two weeks ago when women had a meeting in the rural areas and tear gas was thrown at them."Even livestock were affected because of the smoke. Is there anything that is going to be done on how the police work? Looking at how they throw spikes, it is like the police are not working well with the people."Is there anything that is going to be done for them to work well with the people because they do not belong to any political party but to the people?" Chamisa asked Mguni.Meanwhile, police roadblocks have finally caught the attention of President Robert Mugabe's office with Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday telling Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo to engage his Tourism counterpart Walter Mzembi to sort out the contentious issue."I am aware that the issue of roadblocks has been raised by a number of tourists. As government, we remain committed to the free movement of tourists and the need to ensure their safety. I therefore urge the two ministers of Home Affairs (and Tourism and Hospitality Industry to sit down together under one roof and further determine how the need for safety and movement of tourists can be guaranteed," Mnangagwa said.Last week, Mzembi once again complained about the numerous police roadblocks which he said were driving away tourists.A recent survey conducted by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) revealed that nearly 10 000 tourists rated police services as "very poor", with half of them vowing never to visit the country again after enduring endless harassment at many roadblocks.
CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - A Marine was turned away from his high school graduation ceremony in Indiana this week when he showed up in his dress blues instead of the standard cap and gown.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports (http://bit.ly/2r8J9kS) Jacob Stanley graduated from Crown Point High School in December and joined the Marines. He completed boot camp last week and flew home for Tuesday's ceremony.

School principal Chip Petit tells the newspaper tradition calls for all students to wear a cap and gown to graduation. He says individual students can recognize achievements such as military service by wearing stoles or chords over their gowns.

He says the policy isn't "intended to be disrespectful" to students entering the military.

Some of Stanley's classmates told the newspaper that they were disappointed by the decision.
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. WHY BRITISH PM'S EARLY ELECTION GAMBLE SPECTACULARLY BACKFIRES

Theresa May's Conservative Party loses its majority in Parliament, throwing British politics into chaos, but she still seeks to form the next government.

Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn waves as he leaves the Labour party headquarters in London, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election backfired spectacularly, as her Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament and pressure mounted on her Friday to resign. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

2. COMEY'S PRIMARY TARGET: TRUMP'S CREDIBILITY

Donald Trump's own track record - as president, a candidate and private citizen - make new questions about the veracity of his own words impossible for the White House to avoid.

3. SECRET RELEASE OF TRUMP MEMO KICKS UP HORNET'S NEST

Experts debate the legality of the ex-FBI director's leak of damaging information about his conversations with President Trump.

4. WHO'S SET TO LEAD POWERFUL HOUSE PANEL

Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, is on track to become chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

5. ARAB NATIONS PUT 12 GROUPS ON TERROR SANCTIONS LIST

The organizations are described as being associated with Qatar, in a growing diplomatic dispute that's seen the energy rich nation isolated by Saudi Arabia and others.

6. WHAT EXPLOSIVE DETAILS COULD COME NEXT IN COSBY TRIAL

Prosecutors are expected to present excerpts of a previous deposition given by the actor, in which he acknowledges giving drugs to women before sex.

7. US PULLS BACK FROM TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE

The Trump administration's withdrawal from environmental treaties opens the way for China and other nations to seize the mantle of leadership.

8. BUFFET LUNCH AUCTION COULD RAISE MILLIONS

A California homeless charity will benefit from the online auction for a private meal with the Oracle of Omaha.

9. JAPAN GIVES OK FOR EMPEROR'S ABDICATION

In veiled language, the 83-year-old Emperor Akihito has expressed his wish to step down from the throne.

10. PENGUINS ARE 1 GAME AWAY FROM STANLEY CUP REPEAT

Pittsburgh crushes Nashville 6-0 to take 3-2 lead lead in Stanley Cup finals.

Former FBI director James Comey listens as he testifies before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 8, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
BERLIN (AP) - Borussia Moenchengladbach says it is on the verge of signing Swiss midfielder Denis Zakaria from Young Boys Bern in a deal reportedly worth around 10 million euros ($11.2 million).

The Bundesliga club says the 20-year-old Zakaria is to sign a contract to 2022 on Friday.

'Gladbach hopes Zakaria will fill the position left by Mahmoud Dahoud, who joined league rival Borussia Dortmund.

Zakaria, who rose though the youth ranks at Servette FC in Geneva, started as a striker and was brought back to defense before finding his current position in central midfield. He made six appearances for Servette's senior team before joining Young Boys in 2015.

He has made three appearances for Switzerland.
PLAINFIELD, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey woman distracted by her cellphone was hospitalized after she fell over open basement access doors and fell 6 feet (1.8 meters) into the opening.

Surveillance video captured the woman Thursday as she walked along a Plainfield street. The 67-year-old landed in the cellar of Acme Windows, where workers were repairing gas lines.

Martin Delgadillo told WNBC-TV in New York he was standing outside his barbershop on Somerset Street when he saw the woman plunge through the access door.

"She was looking at her phone - the last minute - she hit the door and fell right in," Delgadillo said.

The woman, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital. Police said her injuries were not life-threatening.

"I thought texting and driving was a bad thing," Delgadillo said. "Now it's texting and walking."
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on the sexual assault case against Bill Cosby (all times local):

10 p.m.

Lawyers for Bill Cosby now have the task of convincing jurors that the 79-year-old entertainer did not drug and molest a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Bill Cosby arrives with Comedian Joe Torry, second from right, for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Friday, June 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The prosecution rested its case on Friday after five days of testimony. Andrea Constand testified this week that Cosby gave her pills that made her woozy. He contends the sexual encounter was consensual.

Jurors heard excerpts Friday from Cosby's decade-old testimony in a related civil suit about how he gave quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with. It's unclear if he will take the witness stand. The defense will begin its case on Monday.

If convicted, Cosby could spend the rest of his life in prison.

___

4:20 p.m.

Bill Cosby is all smiles as he walks out of court, raising his wooden cane to salute well-wishers after the prosecution rested its case in his sexual assault trial.

People yelled, "We love you Bill Cosby," and "Hey, hey, hey," the catchphrase from Cosby's "Fat Albert" TV show, as the comedian left the courthouse Friday. He waved from the back of an SUV with its window half down.

The 79-year-old entertainer is charged with drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He says the sexual encounter with Andrea Constand was consensual.

Cosby didn't respond when The Associated Press asked if he'll take the stand in his own defense. His spokesman says it's under consideration.

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3:50 p.m.

Prosecutors have rested their case against Bill Cosby on the fifth day of his sexual-assault trial.

The 79-year-old entertainer could spend the rest of his life in prison if he's convicted of drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He says the sexual encounter with Andrea Constand was consensual.

Constand testified this week that Cosby gave her pills that made her woozy, then violated her. Cosby has said he gave Constand the cold and allergy medicine Benadryl to help her relax, but prosecutors have suggested he drugged her with something stronger.

Jurors heard excerpts Friday from Cosby's decade-old testimony in a related civil suit about how he gave quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with.

Cosby's lawyers will present his side of the story before jurors get the case.

___

3:15 p.m.

Jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case are listening to his testimony about getting quaaludes in the 1970s to give to young women before sex.

Prosecutors plan to close their case Friday afternoon after five days of testimony.

Cosby is on trial for allegedly drugging and molesting a woman at his home near Philadelphia in 2004.

He says in the deposition that he no longer had quaaludes at that time. Prosecutors have suggested he could have.

Cosby says he gave the trial accuser only Benadryl.

In the deposition, he admits giving quaaludes before sex in 1976 to one of his approximately 60 accusers. She was in the courtroom Friday.

Prosecutors reopened the case after his deposition was unsealed in 2015 and arrested Cosby just before the 12-year deadline to file charges.

The defense is expected to present its case next week.

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1:15 p.m.

Bill Cosby's spokesman is dangling the possibility that the 79-year-old comedian may testify at his sexual assault trial after all.

Andrew Wyatt told reporters during a lunch break on Friday that Cosby's team was still evaluating whether to have him take the stand.

Cosby said before the trial that he wouldn't testify, but Wyatt said that could change now that the prosecution is nearing the end of its case.

It's the first time Wyatt has spoken at length to reporters since the trial began.

Wyatt says Cosby was listening closely as accuser Andrea Constand testified this week, and that he's confident his lawyers will show they were in a consensual, romantic relationship.

Wyatt says some members of Cosby's family will join him in court as the trial wears on. He says Cosby told wife Camille to stay away from the courthouse so she didn't have to endure the "media circus."

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12:45 p.m.

Bill Cosby's lawyers asked for a mistrial but were rejected after they say a prosecution sex assault expert was trying to convict the comedian from the witness stand.

Cosby's lawyers argued Veronique Valliere's testimony on Friday included observations that seemed tailored to Cosby's case.

They say the psychologist was only allowed to speak generally about victim behavior at Cosby's trial stemming from allegations he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Cosby's lawyers say Valliere's past social-media posts have shown a pro-prosecution bias.

Valliere had told jurors that an offender's celebrity status can have a chilling effect on victims and that all victims experience shock and disbelief when they're violated by someone they know.

She testified that such victims often fear they'll face backlash for harming a well-known person's reputation if they come forward.

Cosby accuser Andrea Constand waited a year to go to police.

___

11 a.m.

Bill Cosby told lawyers in a 2005 civil deposition that he only apologized for giving a woman pills and fondling her because he thought her mother saw him as a "dirty old man with a young girl."

Prosecutors on Friday are in their second day of reading deposition excerpts to jurors at Cosby's sex assault trial.

In the excerpts, Cosby spoke about apologizing to Andrea Constand and her mother during a telephone conversation about a year after Constand says he drugged and violated her.

Constand's mother repeatedly asked Cosby what were in the pills. Cosby refused to answer and said he'd send them in the mail.

Cosby testified in the deposition he thought he'd caused trouble because he was 66 at the time and Constand was 30.

Constand had gone to police with her sex assault allegations days before the January 2005 phone conversation, but Cosby was not yet aware of that.

Cosby maintains the encounter at his suburban Philadelphia home was consensual.

___

8:40 a.m.

Bill Cosby has arrived at a suburban Philadelphia courthouse for the fifth day of his sexual assault trial.

Cosby was accompanied Friday by comedian Joe Torry, who a day earlier joined fellow actor and comedian Lewis Dix in support of the 79-year-old actor. On Wednesday, actress Sheila Frazier and her hairstylist husband, John Atchison, arrived with Cosby. Earlier in the week, Keshia Knight-Pulliam, who played the youngest daughter, Rudy, on "The Cosby Show," attended in support of Cosby.

On Thursday, jurors heard excerpts from the comedian's lurid, decade-old deposition, but explosive sections about him obtaining quaaludes and giving them to women before sex are yet to come.

Prosecutors are expected to continue focusing on Cosby's testimony on Friday.

It's giving jurors a look at his view of the January 2004 encounter where Andrea Constand says he drugged and violated her at his suburban Philadelphia home.

___

12:10 a.m.

Jurors at Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial have heard excerpts from the comedian's lurid, decade-old deposition, but explosive sections about him obtaining quaaludes and giving them to women before sex are yet to come.

Prosecutors are expected to continue focusing on Cosby's testimony on Friday.

It's giving jurors a look at his view of the January 2004 encounter where Andrea Constand says he drugged and violated her at his suburban Philadelphia home.

The 79-year-old Cosby has said he will not testify. That means jurors will only hear from him through the deposition from Constand's civil lawsuit and a prior police interview.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.

___

For more on Cosby, including trial updates, historical photos, videos and an audio series exploring the case, visit: http://www.apnews.com/tag/CosbyonTrial

Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Friday, June 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Friday, June 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Friday, June 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Friday, June 9, 2017. (Lucas Jackson/Pool Photo via AP)
ROME (AP) - Retired motorcycle racer Max Biaggi has been seriously injured while training near Rome.

Italian media report that Biaggi was being treated for multiple injuries, including a broken shoulder, after being transported by helicopter from a track in Sagittario to Rome on Friday.

The ANSA news agency says the 45-year-old Biaggi was conscious after the accident.

FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2012 file photo Italy's Max Biaggi, of Aprilia Racing Team, rides his bike to take third place during the first race of the FIM Superbike World championship at the Moscow Raceway circuit, outside the town of Volokolamsk, some 100 km (62 miles) east of Moscow, Russia. On Friday, June 9, 2017 Italian media reported that Biaggi was being treated at a Rome hospital for multiple injuries, including a broken shoulder, after being transported by helicopter from a track in Sagittario, near Rome after crashing while training. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, file)

Biaggi won World Superbikes titles in 2010 and 2012 and was also a four-time champion in the 250cc class of the MotoGP series. He was a three-time runner-up in the 500cc and MotoGP class.

He was training with two young Moto3 drivers that he manages.

The accident comes less than a month after former MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden died after he was hit by a car while training on his bicycle in Italy.

FILE - In this April 11, 2010 file photo, rider Max Biaggi from Italy, on Aprilia Alitalia's racing team, reacts on the podium at the Ricardo Tormo racetrack in Cheste, near Valencia, Spain. On Friday, June 9, 2017 Italian media reported that Biaggi was being treated at a Rome hospital for multiple injuries, including a broken shoulder, after being transported by helicopter from a track in Sagittario, near Rome after crashing while training. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz, file)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Aziz Ansari says he knew he couldn't be the only storyteller on season two of "Master of None" if he wanted to keep the show's momentum going.

The show premiered on Netflix in 2015, quickly garnering critical acclaim for honest depictions of Asian and immigrant families. The first season relied heavily on Ansari, previously a star on "Parks and Recreation," who appeared in nearly every scene.

When it came time for the follow-up, the Emmy-winning writer-comedian wanted to be more ambitious, he said during a recent interview about the show.

FILE - In this May 18, 2016 file photo, Aziz Ansari, left, the star, writer, director and co-creator of the Netflix series "Master of None," poses with cast members, Lena Waithe, center, and co-creator/executive producer Alan Yang at an Emmy For Your Consideration screening of the show in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

The second season focuses less on Ansari's character Dev, a struggling New York actor turned food game show host, and more on supporting characters with different perspectives and plots.

In the standout "Thanksgiving" episode, Lena Waithe's character Denise comes out as a lesbian to her family. The revelation causes tension within her African-American family, especially with her mom played by Angela Bassett. The episode depicts a series of Thanksgiving dinners from Denise's childhood through her twenties.

Both Ansari and the show's co-creator Alan Yang rely heavily on their own experiences when writing. But neither could relate to Denise's impending character arc.

Ansari asked Waithe, 33, to co-write the episode. As a black lesbian, Waithe did exactly what Ansari and Yang do: She wrote what she knew.

"Coming out was not fun. I don't think it is for most people," Waithe said. "To have survived it and to be able to tell that story in a fun, light interesting but also honest way was a really wonderful opportunity."

Waithe said the experience of writing her own story was liberating, noting she's rarely embraced in society because of her identity.

That is why it's important her work vocalizes new perspectives, Waithe said.

"We got to keep telling really cool stories because that sometimes is the only way out, through art," she said.

Ansari didn't stop with just Waithe. He brought in Melina Matsoukas to direct two episodes, including "Thanksgiving."

Matsoukas previously directed Beyonce's "Formation" music video and several episodes of HBO's "Insecure."

"I love how they have the guts to find people who can tell the story most authentically. I think that's why I'm here today," Matsoukas said.

"Master of None's" second season ambitions extend past just nuanced storytelling. The creators experimented with various forms and sounds, from a black and white episode to a montage of first dates in the aptly named "First Date."

Then there's the episode Yang directed, "New York, I Love You."

Ansari appears for barely a minute. He wanted it that way, saying he and Yang pondered doing an episode without Dev.

Instead, the creators chose to highlight New York cab drivers, doormen and a deaf convenience store worker.

"They have their drama, their love, their humor and their lives," Ansari said. "You never see it."

He said Netflix questioned the episode at first, which incorporated eight minutes of silence. The creators stuck by their idea.

"It's been said before if you're not doing something that scares you a little bit, then you probably should be," Yang said.

Yang said they don't intentionally create provocative art, though they're praised for doing so. They're not trying to shock audiences, but said he and Ansari are just naturally curious.

"When you depict people whose stories haven't been told as often, that can lend you some originality," Yang said. "Why not tell stories that haven't been told as much?"
PARIS (AP) - A French photographer has been freed after a month in custody in Turkey, the French president's office said Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron's office said in a statement that Mathias Depardon was released, without elaborating.

The photographer, who was based in Turkey, was on assignment for the National Geographic magazine when he was detained in the mainly-Kurdish province of Batman on May 8. He was being held at a deportation center in the province of Gaziantep.

Turkish officials have not commented directly on the reasons for his detention. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, without naming Depardon, suggested earlier this week that the photographer was detained for allegedly taking photographs of military installations.

Reporters Without Borders and the French government pushed for his release. Macron confronted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the issue when the two leaders met for the first time on the sidelines of a NATO summit last month.

The press advocacy group said on its Twitter account Friday that Depardon was on board a plane headed for Istanbul for Gaziantep. He would return to Paris later on Wednesday.

Reporters Without Borders described his release as an "expulsion" and said it came the day after his mother Daniele Van de Lanotte, RSF chief Christophe Deloire and deputy French consul Christophe Hennings visited Depardon in prison in Gaziantep.

"We are deeply relieved for Mathias Depardon and his loved ones," Deloire said in a statement thanking the French authorities and others for their help. "His detention was absolutely unjustified, it was one month of a man's life lost for no reason, not to mention the anguish and uncertainty he suffered."

RSF says more than 100 Turkish journalists remain in custody for various reasons.
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The Mexican government's human rights commission says marines illegally detained and tortured two suspects with electric shocks, before turning them over to police.

Military personnel in Mexico are allowed to detain suspects, but must turn them over to civilian prosecutors as soon as possible.

The National Human Rights Commission said Friday its investigation found that marines violated the pair's human rights.

The marines allegedly held the man and woman at a base for almost 12 hours, stripped them and applied electrical shocks to their genitals and other parts of their bodies.

The two were detained in early May in the north-central state of San Luis Potosi.

The Navy had no immediate comment on the alleged abuses.
BEIRUT (AP) - The U.N. children's agency warned Friday that the fight for the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqqa threatens more than 40,000 children, while overnight airstrikes on the city in northern Syria killed more than a dozen people.

The violence has displaced residents in and around the city, with about 80,000 children living in temporary shelters and camps, UNICEF said in a statement.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces launched an attack on Raqqa earlier this week and airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition have intensified since then.

"An estimated 40,000 children remain trapped in extremely dangerous conditions in Raqqa. Many are caught in the crossfire," said UNICEF regional director Geert Cappelaere. He urged all parties to give safe passage to those who want to leave.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported more than 25 overnight airstrikes on Raqqa killed 17 people, including 12 at an internet cafe. One of the dead was an activist with the group, it added.

In addition to the airstrikes, Raqqa was subjected to artillery and missile attacks, according to the activist collective known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. It said the coalition used white phosphorous in the attacks.

In a video posted on its Aamaq news agency, IS also alleged the coalition used white phosphorous over Raqqa on Thursday at dusk, when Muslims would have been breaking their Ramadan fasts.

White phosphorous burns at extremely high temperatures and can be used to illuminate conflict zones or obscure them with smoke. International law prohibits its use in civilian areas because of its indiscriminate effects - from starting fires to causing excruciating burns for bystanders, according to Human Rights Watch, which said it was investigating the allegations.

The U.S. CENTCOM military command refused to comment on specific allegations but said it uses white phosphorous rounds "in accordance with the law of armed conflict ... in a way that fully considers the possible incidental effects on civilians and civilian structures."

The violence came as Syrian troops and their allies have been clashing in southeastern Syria with U.S.-backed rebels near the border with Iraq. The Observatory said rebels attacked government forces near the area where the Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders meet.

On Thursday, a drone that U.S. officials say was likely connected to Iranian-supported Hezbollah forces fired on U.S.-backed troops and was shot down by an American fighter jet in southern Syria near a base where the coalition is training Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group.

U.S. defense officials said the weapon fired by the drone did not detonate and no one was hurt.

Earlier this week, the U.S. bombed similar forces inside the protected zone after an attack by another unaffiliated group of Syrian rebels. The pro-government forces brought in additional equipment and called in airstrikes to repel the assault, and the U.S. was informed of those developments through the so-called "deconfliction line" it has set up with the Russian military.

___

Associated Press writer Maamoun Youssef in Cairo contributed to this report.
News / National

by Staff reporter

A Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) officer on trial over $59 000 theft has been freed on $350 bail after engaging another lawyer.Tsungai Mazani, whose case was thrown into disarray after his lawyer Macleen Mahaso was arrested for failing to renew his practicing licence, was remanded to June 22 for trial by magistrate Innocent Bepura.Mazani's initial bail application was disregarded following Mahaso's arrest. His new lawyer had to restart the whole process.He is being charged with theft of trust property as defined in section 113 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act chapter 9:23.It is the State's case that Mazani and Ezekiel Murehwa were handed $59 000 on May 29 at around 0540 hours so that they could take it into Mozambique where the owner intended to buy bales of second hand clothes.The duo allegedly took the money and fled to Harare where Mazani was arrested from.His alleged accomplice, Murehwa, who had been released on bail pending the arrest of Mazani, will be summoned to appear in court on the same date.The court heard $25 400 was recovered from Murehwa with $33 600 alleged to having been in Mazani's possession.Fletcher Karombe was prosecuting.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) - Jihadists launched an attack on a United Nations camp in northern Mali, killing three peacekeepers from the West African nation of Guinea and wounding several others, officials said Friday.

Al-Qaida's affiliate in Mali claimed responsibility for the attack during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to a statement translated by SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terror groups. The extremist group said it struck Guinean forces east of Kidal city after attacking the camp with intensive rocket and mortar fire Thursday.

"It resulted in killing and wounding a number of Guinean soldiers participating in this Crusader alliance that invades this good land," the statement said.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission confirmed the attack and deaths. The U.N. mission in Mali is the deadliest active peacekeeping mission in the world.

In the Guinean capital of Conakry, the government expressed its condolences to the victims' families, calling the attack "barbaric."

The attack comes days after France circulated a U.N. Security Council resolution that would authorize military action by five countries in Africa's vast Sahel region against extremist groups.

The countries are Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. The joint force is expected to comprise up to 5,000 personnel, with headquarters in Mali. The European Union is providing 50 million euros in support.
LAS VEGAS (AP) - The parents of a 6-year-old girl whose body was found in a vacant garage of an abandoned St. Louis-area home were charged Friday in Illinois with concealing a homicidal death.

Jason Quate, 34, and his wife were charged in the death of their daughter, Alysha, by St. Clair County state's attorney Brendan Kelly.

The child's body was found Tuesday morning after a woman in Las Vegas called police and said her daughter's body was in a garage behind a vacant home in Centreville, Illinois. Police believe the child was killed in 2013 in nearby Belleville, Illinois. An autopsy performed Friday was unable to determine the cause of death.

Jason Quate appears in court Friday, June 9, 2017, in Las Vegas. Quate has been is jailed in Las Vegas on suspicion of sex trafficking, a prostitution-related allegation and suspicion of child abuse. He is also under under investigation after his wife told police he killed their daughter and hid the body in an Illinois garage. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The charge of concealing a homicide is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Bail for each was set at $750,000.

The charges came on the same day Jason Quate was told he'll remain jailed without bail in Las Vegas, where he is accused of forcing his wife into prostitution and abusing their two other daughters.

Quate stood in shackles and answered "Yes, sir," when a local judge asked if he understood he was charged with felony sex trafficking and living from the earnings of a prostitute.

Quate wasn't asked to enter a plea, but his court-appointed attorney, Katrina Ross, said outside court that he will plead not guilty. Ross declined to comment about evidence in the case.

The judge said Quate's lawyer can file documents seeking his release, but that he will remain held without bail pending a June 22 preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to order him to stand trial in state court. Convictions on both charges could get him up to 24 years in prison.

Coroner Calvin Dye Sr. in St. Clair County, Illinois, said Friday the child's body was too decomposed for an autopsy to immediately determine how she died. He said further testing will be necessary on the bones, and results may not be known for a couple of weeks.

Quate also faces child abuse and child pornography charges in separate cases filed in Las Vegas following his arrest Tuesday. Prosecutor Samuel Martinez said Quate's initial appearances are expected Monday in separate courts on those cases.

The mother also is jailed in Las Vegas pending a court appearance Monday as a fugitive on an unspecified out-of-state warrant. It was not immediately known if that case was connected with the discovery of her daughter's body.

The Associated Press is withholding the woman's name to avoid identifying the couple's now-teenage children and because authorities said she is considered a victim in the sex trafficking and prostitution case. She has not been charged with a crime in Las Vegas.

Jason Quate has given differing accounts about his daughter to some media. He declined jailhouse interview requests from The Associated Press.

Quate told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the girl choked to death with food in her mouth when he spanked her, and his wife found the place to hide the body.

He told KSNV-TV in Las Vegas that his wife told him she put the girl up for adoption. But he also told the Post-Dispatch that he lied to the TV station and that his wife concocted the adoption story.

The family moved to Las Vegas in January 2016, according to a police report obtained Friday. Police said Quate acknowledged that his wife worked as a prostitute, but denied that he was her pimp.

Quate described himself to investigators as a stay-at-home dad, the report said.

Police have said their two daughters were never allowed outside their apartment, even to attend school. The girls have been placed in protective custody.

___

Associated Press writer Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report.

Jason Quate appears in court Friday, June 9, 2017, in Las Vegas. Quate has been is jailed in Las Vegas on suspicion of sex trafficking, a prostitution-related allegation and suspicion of child abuse. He is also under under investigation after his wife told police he killed their daughter and hid the body in an Illinois garage. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Jason Quate, left, speaks with public defender Katrina Ross during a court appearance Friday, June 9, 2017, in Las Vegas. Quate has been is jailed in Las Vegas on suspicion of sex trafficking, a prostitution-related allegation and suspicion of child abuse. He is also under under investigation after his wife told police he killed their daughter and hid the body in an Illinois garage. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Jason Quate appears in court Friday, June 9, 2017, in Las Vegas. Quate has been is jailed in Las Vegas on suspicion of sex trafficking, a prostitution-related allegation and suspicion of child abuse. He is also under under investigation after his wife told police he killed their daughter and hid the body in an Illinois garage. (AP Photo/John Locher)
NEW YORK (AP) - A landmark tavern that hosted George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr has been temporarily closed by the New York City Health Department.

Violations cited at Fraunces (FRAHN'-sehz) Tavern, in the Wall Street area, include evidence of rats, flies and improper sewage disposal.

The restaurant's website says it's closed until further notice "due to unforeseen structural issues."

In this May 9, 2017 file photo, the Fraunces Tavern is seen in New York. The City Health Department has temporarily closed the landmark tavern that hosted George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. Violations cited at the tavern, which opened in 1762, include evidence of rats, flies and improper sewage disposal. The tavern's executive director says the famous watering hole has survived bombings and a revolution and will reopen as quickly as possible. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The tavern, which opened in 1762, got an "A'' at its previous inspection in November.

The executive director of the Fraunces Tavern Museum, J.B. Philips, says the famous watering hole has survived bombings and a revolution and will reopen as quickly as possible.
MADRID (AP) - Police have destroyed an explosive from the Spanish Civil War that was discovered by construction workers outside the new Atletico Madrid stadium.

Workers contacted authorities Friday after coming across the artifact while moving ground about 150 meters (yards) from the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in northeastern Madrid.

Police secured the area and detonated the projectile that measured about 50 centimeters (2 feet). Construction resumed after the controlled explosion.

Work is being finalized at the new stadium, which is expected to be inaugurated next season. Atletico played at the Vicente Calderon Stadium for the last five decades.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, who is serving a 21-year sentence for killing 77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage in Norway, has legally changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen.

The Verdens Gang newspaper on Friday cited the central National Registry that contains information on Norway residents. .

The inmate's lawyer, Oeystein Storrvik, told the tabloid he didn't know when or why the 38-year-old changed his name. Storrvik was not immediately available for comment.

Norway's top court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Breivik, saying the country didn't violate his human rights by isolating him in jail. He also had claimed that frequent strip searches and the fact that he was often handcuffed during the early part of his incarceration violated his rights.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Puerto Rico's governor is pushing ahead with his top campaign promise of trying to convert the U.S. territory into a state, holding a Sunday referendum to let voters send a message to Congress.

His party has launched an aggressive ad campaign urging people to "demand respect" with their vote - to choose statehood so the island can obtain equal treatment from the federal government that some say would ease a 10-year economic recession that has spurred nearly half a million Puerto Ricans to flee to the U.S. mainland.

While Puerto Rico is exempt from the U.S. federal income tax, it still pays Social Security and Medicare and local taxes but receives less federal funding than U.S. states.

FILE - In this July 29, 2015 file photo, the Puerto Rican flag flies in front of Puerto Rico's Capitol as in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico's governor is pushing ahead with his top campaign promise of trying to convert the U.S. territory into a state, holding a Sunday June 11, 2017, referendum to let voters send a message to Congress. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo, File)

Statehood supporters and some economists say this unequal treatment has contributed to the island's deep economic crisis, which was largely driven by heavy borrowing and in part by the elimination of federal tax incentives.

"It's clear we need to change our course toward a new future," said Puerto Rico Sen. Carmelo Rios, a member of the governor's party. "Puerto Rico is at its most critical point in its modern history, where its political-economic model has collapsed, society is in a crisis, the government cannot sustain itself, and we have seen with much pain how our people leave us in search of a better chance of quality of life."

The referendum coincides with the 100th anniversary of U.S. citizenship being granted to Puerto Ricans, who are barred from participating in presidential elections and have a representative in Congress with limited voting powers.

Voters will choose one of three options: statehood, free association/independence or the current territorial status. If a majority chooses "free association/independence," Puerto Rico would hold another referendum in early October with those two options. Regardless of the referendum's outcome, the U.S. government has final say on changes to Puerto Rico's political status, and many believe a Republican-led Congress would not approve Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state.

A recent survey by Gaither International found that more than 60 percent of people interviewed believed that solving the island's status would ease Puerto Rico's problems. A May 24-26 house-to-house poll published by local newspaper El Nuevo Dia found 52 percent of those interviewed favored statehood, compared with 17 percent for the status quo and 15 percent for free association/independence. It had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.

Gov. Ricardo Rossello this week signed a measure that would authorize him to choose two senators and five representatives and send them to Washington to demand statehood, a strategy Tennessee employed to join the union in the 18th century.

"Our colonial status is unsustainable and has contributed to the current fiscal and economic crisis," Rossello said.

Puerto Rico has held four previous referendums on the issue. No clear majority emerged in the first three, with voters almost evenly divided between statehood and the status quo. During the last referendum in 2012, 54 percent said they wanted a status change. Sixty-one percent who answered a second question said they favored statehood, but nearly half a million voters left that question blank, leading many to claim the results were not legitimate.

Critics question the timing of the newest referendum, coming about a month after Puerto Rico's governor announced the island would enter a bankruptcy-like process to restructure part of its $73 billion public debt.

"Pushing statehood under normal times would be difficult enough; to push while literally under bankruptcy court is absolutely ridiculous," said Amilcar Barreto, a Northeastern University associate professor who focuses on Puerto Rico politics and identity. "There couldn't be a worse time ... They really haven't given much thought, perhaps out of desperation, on how that's going to swing in Congress."

Three political parties in Puerto Rico are boycotting Sunday's referendum, including the main opposition party. They question why the government is spending more than $5 million on the vote amid a crisis, and note that the U.S. Justice Department has not backed the referendum.

A department spokesman told The Associated Press that the agency has not reviewed or approved the language on the ballot. Federal officials in April rejected an earlier version, in part because it did not include the territory's current status as an option. Rossello's administration added it and sent the ballot back for review, but the department said it needed more time and asked that the vote be postponed, which it wasn't.

Statehood opponents boycotting the referendum say they also want to preserve Puerto Rico's cultural identity and retain more local control.

If the island became a state, Puerto Ricans also would have to pay millions in federal taxes, said Manuel Calderon Cerame, vice president of the main opposition party's youth wing.

"Statehood is not an economic model. Statehood is a political model," he said. "Ever since I was a kid, we've been told that the poorest state in the U.S. is Mississippi. I'm 28 years old now, and Mississippi is still the poorest state. There are no guarantees that statehood would represent an economic boost for Puerto Rico."

Even if there's a clear winner on Sunday, nothing will change without U.S. government authorization, Barreto said.

"It's all in Congress' hands," he said. "I strongly suspect that regardless of the outcome, that Congress as a collective will probably just ignore the results of the plebiscite and after a week, pretend it didn't even happen."
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Protesters outside Greece's parliament threw boxes of fish at police on Friday ahead of a vote that approved new austerity measures.

Members of a communist-backed labor union hurled the crates of sardines at police as lawmakers debated the cuts, which were added to draft legislation on fishing regulations in an attempt to speed up their passage through parliament.

Greece's left-wing government is trying to reach a deal on reforms with international bailout lenders that would unfreeze the flow of the country's rescue loans. Without an agreement, the country would risk default next month.

A cleaner clears the main entrance of the Greek parliament after protesters from a communist-backed labor union threw boxes of fish, during a protest against an upcoming vote on new austerity measures in Athens, Friday, June 9, 2017. The latest cuts were added to draft legislation on fishing regulation in attempt to speed up its passage through parliament. Greece's left-wing government is trying to reach a deal with international bailout lenders to try and restart rescue loan payouts. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

The austerity measures were approved despite strong protests from opposition parties which called the legislative maneuver unconstitutional.

"Apart from battering the institutions with your actions, you have added an element of farce," conservative opposition Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

The measures, the latest in a series of major cuts, include additional restrictions on pension payments over the next five years and regulations to facilitate property foreclosures amid a growing number of distressed mortgages.

Finance ministers from countries using the euro currency will meet in Brussels on Thursday to review the Greek rescue program.

Economist Thomas Wieser, who heads a key Eurogroup advisory body, said he expected a deal next week.

"I think there's a 95 percent probability that we'll have an agreement on June 15," he said in an Austrian newspaper interview .

The International Monetary Fund was likely to remain involved in the current rescue program but would withhold any financial contribution until a spat with European lenders over Greek debt sustainability had been resolved, Wieser said.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire is due in Athens on Monday to discuss the Eurogroup meeting. He is expected to meet with Greece's Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, and Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras, according to Greek officials.

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Follow Gatopoulos at http://www.twitter.com/dgatopoulos

Boxes of fish are seen after protesters from a communist-backed labor union threw them at police outside parliament, during a protest against an upcoming vote on new austerity measures in Athens, on Friday, June 9, 2017. The latest cuts were added to draft legislation on fishing regulation in attempt to speed up its passage through parliament. Greece's left-wing government is trying to reach a deal with international bailout lenders to try and restart rescue loan payouts. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on a former Pennsylvania treasurer's guilty plea (all times local):

12:25 p.m.

Former Pennsylvania Treasurer Barbara Hafer is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about taking money from a man whose company got millions in business from the agency when she ran it.

FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2016, file photo, former Pennsylvania Treasurer Barbara Hafer, right, and her attorney John Knorr, left, walk out of the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Harrisburg, Pa. Hafer was scheduled to appear in federal court Friday, June 9, 2017, to plead guilty to lying to the FBI in a case stemming from a long-running, pay-to-play investigation. (Michael Bryant/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, File

The 73-year-old Democrat is likely to face a few months in jail at most when she's sentenced by a federal judge.

Federal prosecutors said Friday she falsely denied taking money from investment adviser Richard Ireland after her term as treasurer ended in early 2005.

She's the second ex-state treasurer in three years to plead guilty to federal charges.

Rob McCord, a Democrat, resigned in 2015 in the middle of his second term before pleading guilty to attempted extortion in a campaign finance-related case. McCord has not yet been sentenced.

Hafer isn't commenting on the plea.

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10:55 a.m.

A former Pennsylvania state treasurer has agreed to plead guilty to lying to the FBI in a case stemming from a long-running, pay-to-play investigation that has already ensnared another state treasurer.

Barbara Hafer, 73, is scheduled to appear in federal court Friday. A plea agreement filed in court Thursday said the charge calls for a maximum of five years in prison.

The Republican-turned-Democrat is the second ex-state treasurer in three years to plead guilty to federal charges.

Rob McCord, a Democrat, resigned in 2015 in the middle of his second term before pleading guilty to attempted extortion in a campaign finance-related case. McCord has not yet been sentenced.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - An appeals court has affirmed an $11 million jury award related to a Minnesota crash that killed three people and resulted in the wrongful imprisonment of a driver.

A jury in 2015 determined that Toyota was 60 percent to blame for the 2006 crash in St. Paul. A lawsuit alleged the crash was caused by a throttle design defect in a 1996 Camry that caused it to suddenly accelerate. Toyota argued there was no defect. The company said driver Koua Fong Lee accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake.

Lee was incarcerated until 2010 after he won a new trial which showed he was wrongfully convicted. A subsequent civil trial in 2015 found Toyota liable. The 8th U.S. District Court of Appeals Friday affirmed the jury award.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that the jury's verdict was in 2015, not last year.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Norton Development Association (NORDA) chairperson and Norton Constituency House of Assembly representative Hon Temba Mliswa has reiterated his call for the people of Norton to shelve their political differences when dealing with developmental issues.Hon Mliswa was speaking at a joint graduation ceremony for the National Youth Service and Norton Vocational Training Centre that was held at the site of the proposed constituency Youth Empowerment Hub next to Dudley Hall Primary School on Thursday."Allow me to be frank with you, People of Norton, some of you are in perpetual election mode. Some of you are not even politicians but spend precious time playing a political game they are not good at. The development of our constituency can only happen if we give everything its time. This is the time for development," said Hon Mliswa.Hon Mliswa commended the Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, Hon Patrick Zhuwao, for choosing Norton as the pioneer constituency for the Youth Empowerment Hub concept."VaZhuwao is a former MP of this constituency. He has shown his continued passion for it by making sure we are the first to get the Youth Empowerment Hubs concept under way. Let me promise that as MP, I will support the parliamentary lobby which seeks to allocate more resources to the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, so that programs like these go forward," he continued.Turning to the National Youth Service gradutes, Hon Mliswa warned them against using their uniforms to perpetuate violence and intimidation in the community."NYS graduates, your uniform carries the national flag. When you underwent your training, violence and intimidation were not part of the syllabus. You are supposed to be the most disciplined youths Zimbabwe has, drivers of the lobby for youth empowerment in a civilised manner. Refuse to be used as instruments of violence by politicians because when you face the music, they will never be on your side!", warned the MP.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's infrastructure plans (all times local):

1 p.m.

President Trump is adding some theatrics to a speech about infrastructure.

President Donald Trump shows the size of road planning documents for a highway plan in Maryland while speaking at the Department of Transportation, Friday, June 9, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

During an appearance at the Department of Transportation headquarters, the president dramatically flipped through binders that he said contained pages of "nonsense" paperwork for an 18-mile road in Maryland, and then tossed them onto the floor.

The binders containing environmental impact statements landed with loud thuds.

Trump was highlighting the time, money, paperwork and other hurdles it takes to get major projects like roadways and bridges approved. Some are aimed at protecting the environment and insuring community input.

He is pledging to streamline the process to make it easier to build.

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12:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he's working to streamline the permit process for infrastructure projects across the country to get them finished faster.

He calls the current process "painfully slow" and "unnecessarily burdensome" and says it's hurting the economy.

He's announcing a new council aimed at helping project managers navigate red tape and an online dashboard that will allow the tracking of major projects through the approval process.

Trump is speaking at the Department of Transportation's headquarters in Washington to an audience that includes members of Congress and state transportation officials.

Trump has pledged to improve the nation's roads, bridges and pipelines. But it remains unclear exactly how he wants to fund the projects beyond vague talk of public-private partnerships, teaming with states and streamlining the approval process.

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11:39 a.m.

President Donald Trump says that, thanks to him, U.S. infrastructure will "once again be the envy of the world."

Trump is visiting the Department of Transportation's headquarters to highlight his goal of curbing regulations on infrastructure projects.

Trump says at a round table discussion with White House and state transportation officials that his administration is working to streamline the permitting process.

He claims that, right now, the country's infrastructure is being "laughed" and "scoffed" at and complains that highways take too long to build.

Trump has been promoting vague plans to bolster the country's roads, bridges and waterways in what his aides have dubbed "infrastructure week."

But former FBI Director James Comey's testimony about his interactions with Trump and Russian interference in the U.S. election has dominated the news.

President Donald Trump speaks about infrastructure at the Department of Transportation, Friday, June 9, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A judge has temporarily suspended the license of a Washington, D.C., cab driver accused of harassing a Muslim legislator from Minnesota.

State Rep. Ilhan Omar says she was in a taxi with her sister last December when the driver threatened to remove her headscarf and used offensive language toward them. A District of Columbia judge recently fined the driver $1,000, suspended his license for 45 days and ordered him to take cultural sensitivity classes.

The administrative ruling says the cab driver denied using offensive language and threatening Omar and said she was insulting to him. The driver has 30 days to file a petition for review.

Omar is the nation's first Somali-American legislator. She immigrated to the U.S. after spending part of her childhood in a Kenyan refugee camp.
President Donald Trump accused Qatar on Friday of funding terrorism 'at a very high level,' and said solving the problem in the tiny Persian Gulf nation could be 'the beginning of the end of terrorism.'

'No more funding,' Trump said.

Launching an extraordinary allegation against a key U.S. military partner, Trump derided what he called Qatar's 'extremist ideology in terms of funding' terrorist groups, an accusation Qatar has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

His comments were a forceful endorsement of this week's move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to cut off ties to Qatar.

President Donald Trump spoke during a Friday news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House, saying Qatar has been funding terrorism 'at a very high level'

Trump spoke alongside Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on Friday

Trump tweeted about the effort to isolate Qatar on Tuesday, setting off concerns about fragile alliances in the region as Saudi Arabia and other nations cut off all links

Trump said Arab leaders he met with in Saudi Arabia last month had urged him to confront Qatar over its behavior.

'The time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding,' Trump said. 'They have to end that funding.'

Speaking in the Rose Garden, the president said Qatar had 'historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.' Other U.S. officials have said Qatar has already taken some steps to reduce terror funding but that the steps are insufficient.

It wasn't immediately clear how Trump's sharp condemnation might affect U.S. cooperation with Qatar, which hosts some 10,000 U.S. troops and a major U.S. air base that serves as a staging ground for operations in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Qatari Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke about Qatar at the State Department, calling on Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to immediately ease their blockade

This aerial view shows just one area of the sprawling Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a section known as 'Ops Town'

Only an hour before, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had issued a very different message, calling on the Arab nations to immediately ease their blockade on Qatar.

'The blockage is hindering U.S. military action in the region, and the campaign against ISIS,' Tillerson said, using an acronym for the extremist group. Tillerson has been tapped by Trump to help mediate the crisis.

Tillerson, too, faulted Qatar for allowing funds to flow to extremist groups, but in terms that were much less severe. Tillerson said the U.S. was asking Qatar to 'be responsive to the concerns of its neighbors.'

'Qatar has a history of supporting groups that span the spectrum of political expression, from activism to violence,' Tillerson said. He credited Qatar's emir with making progress in curbing financial support and expelling terrorists, but added: 'He must do more, and he must do it more quickly.'

TRUMP'S ATTACK ON QATAR 'No civilized nation can tolerate this violence or allow this wicked ideology to spread on its shores. 'I addressed a summit of more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders, a unique meeting in the history of nations, where key players in the region agreed to stop supporting terrorism, whether it be financial, military or even moral support. The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level. 'And in the wake of that conference, nations came together and spoke to me about confronting Qatar over its behavior. So we had a decision to make: Do we take the easy road or do we finally take a hard but necessary action? We have to stop the funding of terrorism. I decided, along with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, our great generals and military people, the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding  they have to end that funding  and its extremist ideology in terms of funding. 'I want to call on all of the nations to stop immediately supporting terrorism. Stop teaching people to kill other people. Stop filling their minds with hate and intolerance. I won't name other countries, but we are not done solving the problem, but we will solve that problem. Have no choice. 'This is my great priority because it is my first duty as president to keep our people safe. Defeating ISIS and other terror organizations is something I have emphasized all during my campaign and right up until the present. To do that  stop funding, stop teaching hate, and stop the killing  for Qatar, we want you back among the unity of responsible nations. We ask Qatar and other nations in the region to do more and do it faster. 'I want to thank Saudi Arabia and my friend King Salman and all of the countries who participated in that very historic summit. It was truly historic. There has never been anything like it before, and perhaps there never will be again. 'Hopefully, it will be the beginning of the end of funding terrorism. It will, therefore, be the beginning of the end to terrorism. No more funding.' Advertisement

Trump and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani took part in a bilateral meeting in Riyadh on May 21 but Trump later criticized his nation for supporting terrorism

Tillerson, speaking at the State Department, said the U.S. would help support efforts to mediate the crisis, along with Kuwait  another Gulf country that has stepped up to try to broker a resolution. Urging all sides to avoid further escalation of the conflict, Tillerson said the elements were available to resolve it.

Yet Tillerson's plea to Qatar's neighbors to pull back their efforts to isolate the tiny gas-rich nation marked a shift from previous statements by the Trump administration.

Earlier in the week, Trump took to Twitter to take credit for the Saudi-led move to punish Qatar, saying it could be the start of the end of terrorism in the Middle East. He noted that during his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, Arab leaders he'd met with had joined in warning about Qatari support for terrorism.

Since Saudi Arabia and other nations cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday, triggering the worst diplomatic crisis in the Gulf in years, the U.S. military has insisted that it would not affect U.S. military operations in the region.

But Tillerson said the crisis was indeed affecting the U.S. military.

Qatar has long denied supporting or funding terror groups. But Western diplomats accuse Qatar's government of allowing or even encouraging the funding of some Sunni extremists, such as al-Qaeda's branch in Syria.

Tillerson's efforts to mediate came as Qatar's neighbors put 12 organizations and 59 people on a terror sanctions list and described them as being associated with Qatar, in a fresh attempt to increase pressure. Qatar dismissed the terror listing as part of 'baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact.'
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Roman Polanski's sexual assault victim made an impassioned plea Friday to end the fugitive director's four-decade legal saga, saying she felt more abused by the legal justice system than by the man who she said drugged, raped and sodomized her when she was 13.

"The trauma of the ordeal that followed was so great that, you know, the brief encounter with him that evening that was unpleasant just faded and paled," Samantha Geimer said outside a courtroom in Los Angeles Superior Court. "It just wasn't as traumatic for me as everybody would like to believe it was."

Geimer asked Judge Scott Gordon to either dismiss the case outright or sentence the Oscar winner to the six weeks he served in prison during a court-ordered evaluation before he fled the country on the eve of sentencing in 1978.

Samantha Geimer arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court for a motion hearing in Los Angeles Friday, June 9, 2017. A lawyer for director Roman Polanski says Geimer, Polanski's sexual assault victim, will appeal to a judge to end the 40-year-old case against him. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

"I implore you to consider taking action to finally bring this matter to a close as an act of mercy to myself and my family," Geimer said.

She also called for an end to "a 40-year sentence which has been imposed on the victim of a crime as well as the perpetrator."

In downplaying the crime and saying she empathized with Polanski, Geimer took a position at odds with some sexual assault victims. Victims and their advocates have been outspoken recently about lenient sentences in sex abuse cases.

Gordon, who praised Geimer for her courage and elegant words, said he would take the matter under consideration.

He has consistently ruled against Polanski's repeated requests for similar outcomes and has said the director must appear in court to resolve the case.

Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee, who has insisted Polanski return to court to put the matter to rest, opposed Geimer's plea. Victims have a wide range of rights but cannot dictate the outcome of cases, she said.

Geimer was critical of the district attorney's office for its stance and for not investigating allegations that a former prosecutor not assigned to Polanski's case improperly influenced the original judge in the case.

"If I was standing here saying, 'Throw the book at him, I want him in jail for life,' my opinion would count," Geimer said. "When I'm standing here saying, 'I'm fine and nothing you can do to him will help me or anybody else,' suddenly it's the state not me that counts. It's a really hypocritical view."

Polanski contends he is the victim of judicial misconduct because the now-deceased judge who handled the case suggested in private remarks that he would renege on a plea agreement. It called for no more time behind bars for the director after he spent 42 days in a prison undergoing a diagnostic screening.

The hearing Friday was part of an effort by defense attorney Harland Braun to unseal testimony by the now-retired prosecutor in the case, who is believed to have testified in a closed session about backroom sentencing discussions.

Geimer, 54, had long supported Polanski's efforts to end the case that limits his movements to three European countries, but it was the first time she spoke in favor of him in court.

She said she had suffered four decades of insults and mistreatment and has been hounded by the news media.

The original judge in the case asked if she was part of a mother-daughter prostitution team, the former district attorney suggested she had been paid off and others said she was a lying gold digger and a drug-dealing Lolita who trapped Polanski.

She said does not dismiss Polanski's responsibility and does not view him as a victim, but has empathy for the way he's been treated by the legal system and feels his family has suffered.

"I'm standing here saying he's served his sentence," Geimer said after the hearing. "He owes me nothing. He owes the state of California nothing except to show up here eventually. I wish he could show up and feel he could be treated fairly, but I don't know if that will ever happen."

Polanski has been fighting for years to end the case and lift an international arrest warrant that confined him to his native France, Switzerland and Poland, where he fled the Holocaust.

The warrant prevented him from collecting his Academy Award for best director for his 2002 film "The Pianist." He was also nominated for 1974's "Chinatown" and 1979's "Tess."

Geimer said she received a letter of apology from Polanski years ago after a documentary came out on the crime and the director's life.

Polanski, now 83, had been shooting photos of the girl at Jack Nicholson's compound in the Hollywood Hills when he gave her champagne and part of a sedative pill before raping her, according to grand jury transcripts. Nicholson was not home at the time.

He pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in exchange for dropping drug, rape and sodomy charges.

Polanski agreed to pay Geimer over $600,000 to settle a lawsuit in 1993.

The Associated Press does not typically name victims of sex abuse, but Geimer went public years ago.

She wrote a memoir titled "The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski" four years ago. The cover features a photo shot by Polanski.

In Polanski's memoir, "Roman" he described the incident as a romantic one and referred to making love with the girl before being interrupted when Anjelica Huston, who had dated Nicholson, returned to the house.

Geimer said she was offended by the way Polanski described it.

___

This story has been corrected to show that the former prosecutor who handled Polanski's case is retired, not dead.

Samantha Geimer, left, appears at Los Angeles Superior Court for a motion hearing in Los Angeles on Friday, June 9, 2017. Geimer, director Roman Polanski's sexual assault victim, asked a judge Friday to end the 40-year-old case against the fugitive director. (Paul Buck/Pool Photo via AP)

Samantha Geimer, right, waves as she arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court for a motion hearing in Los Angeles Friday, June 9, 2017. A lawyer for director Roman Polanski says Geimer, Polanski's sexual assault victim, will appeal to a judge to end the 40-year-old case against him. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

This combination photo shows director Roman Polanski at the photo call for the film, "Based On A True Story," at the 70th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, on May 27, 2017, left, and Polanski at a Santa Monica, Calif., courthouse on Aug. 8, 1977. A lawyer for Polanski says his sex crime victim, Samantha Geimer, will appeal to a Los Angeles judge on Friday, June 9, 2017, to help make the case that Polanski has served his time for the 40-year-old crime. (AP Photo/Files)

FILE - In this May 6, 2008 file photo, Samantha Geimer arrives at the premiere of the HBO Documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" in New York. A lawyer for Polanski says Geimer, a sex crime victim, will appeal to a judge to end the case against him. Geimer will appear Friday, June 9, 2017 in Los Angeles Superior Court to help make the case that Polanski has served his time for the 40-year-old crime. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, File)

FILE - In this May 27, 2017 photo, director Roman Polanski appears at the photo call for the film, "Based On A True Story," at the 70th international film festival, Cannes, southern France. A lawyer for Polanski says his sex crime victim will appeal to a judge to end the case against him. Attorney Harland Braun said Samantha Geimer will appear Friday, June 9, 2017 in Los Angeles Superior Court to help make the case that Polanski has served his time for the 40-year-old crime. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

Samantha Geimer smiles as she arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court for a motion hearing in Los Angeles Friday, June 9, 2017. A lawyer for director Roman Polanski says Geimer, Polanski's sexual assault victim, will appeal to a judge to end the 40-year-old case against him. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Democratic Party was fined $500,000 after an internal investigation found problems with the organization's former practice of fundraising through bingo games.

The civil fine is one of the largest levied by the Federal Election Commission, the Detroit Free Press reported (http://on.freep.com/2r9azXP ) Friday. An investigation conducted by the political party found poor record-keeping, excessive contributions and other problems, and those findings were turned over to the federal agency.

The bingo games, which Democrats ended in 2014, have long been a point of contention. Republicans passed a 1994 law to ban political bingo games, but voters rejected it.

An FEC spokeswoman said the agency has up to 30 days to publicly post documents related to an enforcement case after a closeout letter is issued. A Michigan Democratic Party spokeswoman confirmed the fine and told The Associated Press a settlement was finalized May 11.

The Free Press reported that the party will pay the fine in installments by mid-2019 and has agreed to hire a treasurer and a firm to review its accounting processes for the next two years. The party understated contributions at the bingo games by $4.4 million over 14 years and prize money payouts by $3.9 million.

Cumulative civil penalties of $500,000 or more have been levied just 10 times previously, according a list on the FEC website that was last updated in 2015.

Brandon Dillon, who negotiated the settlement of the bingo issue after becoming party chairman in 2015, said in a statement: "We take our reporting requirements very seriously, and we promptly stopped all bingo fundraising activity over three years ago. As our agreement with the FEC states, the previous party leadership voluntarily brought this issue to the FEC's attention, and we have cooperated fully with the Commission at each step of this process. We have taken every step to ensure what happened in the past doesn't happen again and will continue the important work of helping to elect Democratic candidates who will fight on behalf of every resident of our state."

Former Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson began the internal review in 2014 before leaving in 2015 to run for Congress. In a response to the FEC, Mark Brewer - who led the party for years before Johnson beat him in an election - said it was impossible to collect all the names, addresses and prize amounts for individual players. Brewer also said the practice had been sanctioned by the agency.

Brewer took issue with the investigation by the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee's legal counsel, saying key people weren't interviewed and the self-report contained "many unfounded assumptions and beliefs, and pure speculation."

"It provides no foundation for any conclusion regarding knowing and willful violations of the law," Brewer's statement said.

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Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com

___

Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com
JERUSALEM (AP) - A U.N. aid agency that helps Palestinians in Gaza condemned the territory's Hamas rulers on Friday after discovering a tunnel running under two of its schools for boys.

Hamas has built a sophisticated network of tunnels in Gaza used for smuggling, storing weapons and for gunmen to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks.

Israel has long accused Hamas of exploiting civilian infrastructure and of using supplies for military installations instead of civilian projects.

UNWRA said Friday it "condemns the existence of such tunnels in the strongest possible terms."

"It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way," it said, adding that it "robustly intervened and protested to Hamas."

The agency said it is sealing the tunnel under its premises and will ban students and staff from the building until the issue is resolved.

The tunnel was found on June 1 under the Maghazi Elementary Boys A&B School and the Maghazi Preparatory Boys School during construction work, according to UNWRA. Both schools were empty at the time due to summer vacation.

During the 2014 war, Hamas gunmen on several occasions made their way into Israel through a tunnel, though they did not manage to reach civilian areas.

Israel destroyed 32 tunnels during that conflict, and has since made neutralizing the tunnel threat a top priority.

Gaza tunnels also stretch into neighboring Egypt, mainly for the purpose of smuggling.

Israel and Egypt, citing security concerns, enforced a blockade on Gaza a decade ago when Hamas took over the territory from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Islamic militant group has fought three wars with Israel since then.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum his group "strongly condemns UNRWA's allegations." Barhoum said Hamas clarified the issue with other militant groups who denied having any "resistance-related works" in the area.
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) - A Nigerian military court has sentenced to death a soldier accused in the killing of an arrested Boko Haram suspect.

Court Martial president Brig. Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi ruled Friday that the soldier had breached Nigerian army laws in the killing of the suspect, who was in the custody of his unit in Damboa.

The court martial in Maiduguri was set up last year by Nigeria's army following several allegations of extrajudicial killings by soldiers fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast.

The court also found four other soldiers guilty of various misconducts, including stealing and unlawful assault of civilians. Among them, two were given sentences that included a lowering in rank. Another was sentenced to 15 years for complicity in the murder of a minor.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A Mexican woman was released from custody Friday while the U.S. government seeks to deport her after a judge rejected arguments she should wear a monitoring device because she was arrested twice while demonstrating in support of people in the country illegally.

Claudia Rueda, 22, plans to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program started in 2012 under President Barack Obama that shields immigrants who came to the U.S. as young children from being deported. Her case has drawn attention because she has no criminal record and is an immigration activist.

The immigration judge, Annie S. Garcy, said holding Rueda without bond was "unduly severe" and allowed her to be released on her own recognizance. She noted Ruedas' academic and other achievements and was incredulous when a government attorney asked that Rueda be required to wear a monitoring device.

In this photo from a video provided by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Claudia Rueda, front, thanks supporters after her release from the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego Friday, June 9, 2017. A judge on Friday ordered the release of Rueda while the government seeks to deport her to Mexico, rejecting arguments that two arrests while demonstrating in support of people in the United States illegally justified requiring that she wear a monitoring device. (National Day Laborer Organizing Network via AP)

"Wow, an ankle bracelet? Really?" said Garcy, who is on temporary assignment from Newark, New Jersey, under an administration effort to give higher priority to cases along the U.S. border with Mexico.

The government attorney, Matthew Hanson, responded that Rueda was arrested twice, once for trespassing and once for disorderly conduct.

Her attorney, Monika Langarica, said those arrests occurred during peaceful demonstrations to support people in the country illegally. She was charged in only one case and it was dismissed.

Rueda, a student at California State University, Los Angeles, was arrested on immigration charges May 18 outside a relative's Los Angeles home in connection with what the U.S. Border Patrol said was a drug smuggling investigation.

Her mother, Teresa Vidal-Jaime, was arrested on immigration violations in April in connection with the same investigation and later released from custody. Neither Rueda nor her mother was arrested on drug charges.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it would comply with the order to release Rueda and will consider any additional requests by her attorney.

Langarica submitted legal arguments in support of Rueda that included letters from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, a Los Angeles Democrat.

President Donald Trump has upheld Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals while expanding the scope of immigrants subject to deportation beyond people with criminal convictions.

During Trump's first 100 days in office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it arrested more than 41,000 people on immigration charges, an increase of nearly 40 percent from the same period a year earlier. Nearly 75 percent had criminal convictions.

Rueda did not apply for the Obama-era program to shield young immigrants from deportation because she could not afford $465 application fee, Langarica said. A scholarship fund has since agreed to pay the fee, which is now $495.

The hearing was held under tight security at a privately-run detention facility in San Diego, where Rueda has been held.

A band played Mexican-style ranchera and dance music outside the detention center for a small crowd of supporters.

A vehicle drives into the Otay Mesa detention center in San Diego, Calif. on Friday, June 9, 2017. A judge on Friday ordered a Mexican woman released from custody at the detention center, while the government seeks to deport her, rejecting arguments that two arrests while demonstrating in support of people in the United States illegally justified requiring that she wear a monitoring device. (AP Photo/Elliot Spagat)

A demonstrator urges the release of Claudia Rueda outside the Otay Mesa detention center where she is being held in San Diego Friday, June 9, 2017. A judge on Friday ordered the Mexican woman released from custody at the detention center, while the government seeks to deport her, rejecting arguments that two arrests while demonstrating in support of people in the United States illegally justified requiring that she wear a monitoring device. (AP Photo/Elliot Spagat)

This photo provided by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network shows Claudia Rueda, fourth from right in black jacket, and her attorney Monika Langarica, white shirt at center, after Rueda's release from the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego Friday, June 9, 2017. A judge on Friday ordered the release of Rueda while the government seeks to deport her to Mexico, rejecting arguments that two arrests while demonstrating in support of people in the United States illegally justified requiring that she wear a monitoring device. (National Day Laborer Organizing Network via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) - CNN cut ties with author and television host Reza Aslan on Friday, less than a week after he profanely referred to President Donald Trump in a tweet about the London terror attacks.

The network said it was not continuing with a second season of "Believer," Aslan's series about different religions, which premiered last year. Only two weeks ago CNN dumped comedian Kathy Griffin, co-host of its annual New Year's Eve celebration, when she was photographed holding a depiction of Trump's severed head.

Angered about Trump's social media commentary on the London terror attacks, Aslan tweeted last Saturday that "this piece of s--- is not just an embarrassment to America and a stain on the presidency, he's an embarrassment to humankind."

FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2016 file photo, Reza Azlan speaks during the "Rough Draft with Reza Aslan" panel at the Ovation 2016 Winter TCA in Pasadena, Calif. CNN has dumped author Reza Aslan less than a week after he profanely referred to President Donald Trump in a tweet. The network, in a statement on Friday, June 9, 2017, said it was not continuing with a second season of Aslan's series, "Believers," which premiered last year and discussed different religions. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Aslan also tweeted that Trump was a "man baby that must be ignored in times of crisis."

The Iranian-born author later apologized "for my choice of words," and CNN issued a statement saying "that kind of discourse is never appropriate." But it wasn't enough to save his show.

In a statement on Friday, Aslan said he was grateful to CNN for giving his series a chance.

"In these politically charged times, the tenor of our nation's discourse has become complicated," he said. "And I recognize that CNN needs to protect its brand as an unbiased news outlet. Similarly, I need to honor my voice. I am not a journalist. I am a social commentator and a scholar."
PARK CITY, Utah (AP) - Democrat Hillary Clinton encouraged Mitt Romney to take a job as President Donald Trump's secretary of state, the former Republican presidential candidate said Friday.

Romney, speaking to a high-powered gathering of GOP officials, top donors and business leaders at a luxury Utah resort, said that when Trump briefly considered him late last year for Clinton's former job, Romney called "virtually all the former secretaries of state" including Clinton.

"In each case, each of them said, 'Please, please take that job if it's offered to you,'" Romney said, drawing laughs from the crowd. "We would very much like to see you serve in that capacity."

FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016 file photo, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney talks with reporters in New York. Romney said on Friday, June 9, at a gathering of GOP officials in Park City, Utah that Democrat Hillary Clinton encouraged him to take a job as President Donald Trump's secretary of state. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Romney had been one of Trump's most strident critics in the 2016 election, calling him a phony and a fraud. But he later seemed to embrace Trump when he was considered for the top diplomatic job. When the billionaire and reality TV star held a private dinner with Romney late last year, the former Massachusetts governor praised the president-elect.

Romney said he was concerned that he and Trump were "miles apart" on foreign policy, disagreeing about approaches to Syria, NATO, North Korea, and China, but he hoped Trump would be open to other opinions.

"Why would I consider it?" Romney said Friday. "It's not as if I suddenly had a differing view at that point of the president and the things that I had felt about him in the past."

Former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson got the job and was a good choice, Romney said, adding that he thinks he was not the right person for the job because of how much he and Trump differed on the issues.

Romney made the comments as he held court at the resort in the mountains of Park City where he hosts an annual meeting of largely Republican power players for a mix of hobnobbing, policy talks and outdoor excursions like alpine hikes with Romney, which the 70-year-old takes at a blistering pace.

His business and policy-focused summit, tucked in the mountains about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) from the swirl of Washington, drew top donors, executives and office holders like Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona.

Romney did not directly mention the explosive testimony in Congress a day earlier where fired FBI director James Comey attacked Trump's credibility, but instead referred to the "theater of Washington right now and the theater around the White House right now," saying he wasn't too concerned about that slowing down a chance for Republican priorities to be passed in Congress.

Romney, who was criticized by Democrats in 2012 for saying Russia was America's "No. 1 geopolitical foe," said Friday that he thinks Trump should have denounced Russia early when its meddling in the U.S. election was revealed, instead of continually referring to it as "fake news."

"The more you stir a turd, the more it stinks," Romney quipped, quoting a former boss.

Last year, heartburn in the Republican Party over Trump played out at the summit, with some like Romney warning the brash billionaire would be destructive for the party and country. Others like Reince Priebus, now Trump's chief of staff, urged Republicans to fall in line.

Romney has hosted similar gatherings since 2012. But this year's event is the first held under a GOP administration, leaving attendees optimistic despite "distractions" that the White House was grappling with, according to Spencer Zwick, Paul Ryan's fundraising chief and Romney's former fundraising chief.

Zwick said the group of about 230 largely GOP power players attending seemed hopeful that Republican priorities like overhauling the tax code and health care will get done, despite the cloud of Russia investigations and Comey that the White House was wrestling with.

"Overwhelmingly, I think people in this room are excited about both the legislative agenda and the agenda that's coming out of the White House. We can all point to distractions along the way, the president had pointed to distractions. I think it's one of the reasons that he's wanted to get some of this stuff behind him, so he can focus on the agenda," Zwick said.

Zwick, co-founder of a private equity firm that sponsors Romney's business and politics summit, said there was no broad concern about GOP prospects in the 2018 midterm elections.

Republican donors and business leaders believe they will pass legislation like tax reform through this year and members of Congress will take that home and campaign on it, he said.

Graham, speaking Friday afternoon, was franker in his concerns but said he hoped Trump could tackle items on his agenda like infrastructure and tax cuts and "still be a consequential president."

"But if he doesn't adjust the way he's behaving, if he doesn't let people help him," Graham said, "he's going to lose the last best chance the Republican Party probably has to change America."

Trump declined an invitation to the gathering. But former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden was scheduled to speak Friday night in a session closed to the media.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE military and several Zanu-PF bigwigs have invaded one of the best agricultural training institutes in Southern Africa, Blackfordby College of Agriculture, amid concerns that equipment worth thousands of dollars could be seized from the tertiary institution, the Zimbabwe Independent has established.The farm, on which the agricultural college is situated in Concession, Mashonaland Central province, is owned by Tetrad Investment Bank which is under provisional judicial management. The college occupies 1 350 hectares.Blackfordby College is well-known in the region for training agricultural experts.Zimbabwe embarked on the chaotic land reform exercise at the turn of the millennium which resulted in mainly white commercial farmers losing large tracts of land to indigenous people.The land grabs have continued unabated, disrupting agricultural activity and spooking foreign investors.This newspaper is reliably informed that in December last year, officers from the Ministry of Lands approached Blackfordby College to inform its directors that the farm was now going to be subdivided into 13 plots of which the Air Force of Zimbabwe and some Zanu-PF members were going to be beneficiaries.Sources said the Ministry of Lands officers told the college that it was going to subdivide the farm and leave the college with only 400 hectares.Tetrad Bank, the Independent understands, contracted a white farmer, Pip Madison, by allocating him part of the land where he grew tobacco, maize, coconut and wheat, among other crops.Most of the land at the college was used by the students for their practical subjects."The college was simply told that the farm was going to be subdivided because it was too big for the school. They said the fact that a white farmer occupied part of the land showed that the land was too big for the school's business," a source said.It is understood that the money paid by Madison for rentals was wired directly to the college and not to Tetrad Bank as the funds were meant to help with the upkeep and running of the college.Sources told this paper that although most of the plots have been parcelled out to the Zanu-PF members with some beneficiaries already on the farm, there has been no official communication to Tetrad except for the information given by Lands ministry officers who visited the college last year.When the Independent visited the farm this week, students and some workers who refused to be named for fear of victimisation, said the military has since occupied part of the land where Madison previously farmed."As we speak, the soldiers are here in uniform guarding part of Madison's equipment such as the irrigation centre pivot which they do not want him to take with him as he prepares to leave the area," said one of the workers."What is sad is that this white man used to employ more than 300 workers and therefore the fact that he is leaving means all those people have also lost their jobs."One of the beneficiaries of the invasion, Mazowe West MP Kazembe Kazembe, told this paper that he was not the only beneficiary as the land that was taken was subdivided into 13 plots."I received my offer letter from the Ministry of Lands last year whereby I was allocated 100 hectares of land. However, I am not the only beneficiary of this programme, because there are others who are also occupying these 13 plots which were subdivided from the college," Kazembe said.Kazembe, who said he had already planted maize on the piece of land, refused to reveal the other beneficiaries of the farm grab although this paper is reliably informed that other Zanu-PF bigwigs benefitted as well.THE military and several Zanu-PF bigwigs have invaded one of the best agricultural training institutes in Southern Africa, Blackfordby College of Agriculture, amid concerns that equipment worth thousands of dollars could be seized from the tertiary institution, the Zimbabwe Independent has established.The farm, on which the agricultural college is situated in Concession, Mashonaland Central province, is owned by Tetrad Investment Bank which is under provisional judicial management. The college occupies 1 350 hectares.Blackfordby College is well-known in the region for training agricultural experts.Zimbabwe embarked on the chaotic land reform exercise at the turn of the millennium which resulted in mainly white commercial farmers losing large tracts of land to indigenous people. The land grabs have continued unabated, disrupting agricultural activity and spooking foreign investors.This newspaper is reliably informed that in December last year, officers from the Ministry of Lands approached Blackfordby College to inform its directors that the farm was now going to be subdivided into 13 plots of which the Air Force of Zimbabwe and some Zanu-PF members were going to be beneficiaries.Sources said the Ministry of Lands officers told the college that it was going to subdivide the farm and leave the college with only 400 hectares.Tetrad Bank, the Independent understands, contracted a white farmer, Pip Madison, by allocating him part of the land where he grew tobacco, maize, coconut and wheat, among other crops. Most of the land at the college was used by the students for their practical subjects."The college was simply told that the farm was going to be subdivided because it was too big for the school. They said the fact that a white farmer occupied part of the land showed that the land was too big for the school's business," a source said.It is understood that the money paid by Madison for rentals was wired directly to the college and not to Tetrad Bank as the funds were meant to help with the upkeep and running of the college.Sources told this paper that although most of the plots have been parcelled out to the Zanu-PF members with some beneficiaries already on the farm, there has been no official communication to Tetrad except for the information given by Lands ministry officers who visited the college last year.When the Independent visited the farm this week, students and some workers who refused to be named for fear of victimisation, said the military has since occupied part of the land where Madison previously farmed."As we speak, the soldiers are here in uniform guarding part of Madison's equipment such as the irrigation centre pivot which they do not want him to take with him as he prepares to leave the area," said one of the workers."What is sad is that this white man used to employ more than 300 workers and therefore the fact that he is leaving means all those people have also lost their jobs."One of the beneficiaries of the invasion, Mazowe West MP Kazembe Kazembe, told this paper that he was not the only beneficiary as the land that was taken was subdivided into 13 plots."I received my offer letter from the Ministry of Lands last year whereby I was allocated 100 hectares of land. However, I am not the only beneficiary of this programme, because there are others who are also occupying these 13 plots which were subdivided from the college," Kazembe said.Kazembe, who said he had already planted maize on the piece of land, refused to reveal the other beneficiaries of the farm grab although this paper is reliably informed that other Zanu-PF bigwigs benefitted as well.Blackfordby principal director Moses Siluma confirmed there was a programme spearheaded by the Ministry of Lands, but refused to shed light and referred all questions to the ministry.However, Lands minister Douglas Mombeshora also refused to comment, referring the matter to the province where the farm is."It is under Mashonaland Central province, you can contact them," he said.Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Martin Dinha could not be reached for comment as his mobile was constantly unavailable.Tetrad chief executive Eugine Mlambo could also not be reached for comment.Zimbabwe Defence Forces director of public relations Colonel Everson Mugwisi referred all questions to Air Force of Zimbabwe spokesperson James Chingono.In an interview, Chingono said the air force has no power to take over farms."As air force, we have no power to take over someone's farm," he said, adding: "We are allocated the farms by government so wherever you see the air force having a farm, we would have followed all the processes involved in getting it."Blackfordby College was founded in 1974 as the Tobacco Training Institute at the direct request of members of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA). This was at a time of crisis in the industry when static prices and disappointing yields were threatening the viability of the country's large-scale commercial farmers.Tetrad then took over ownership of the college from ZTA in 2008.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump says the United States is committed to the mutual defense of NATO members, casting aside concerns that his failure to mention the commitment last month weakened the alliance.

Trump said Friday that he was "committing the United States to Article 5." That article in the NATO treaty says an attack on one member is an attack on all members and binds the allies to come to that country's defense.

European countries and others expressed concern last month when Trump did not mention the clause in a speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels. In that speech, Trump demanded that allies live up to a pledge to spend 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024. He did not specifically mention Article 5, which has only been invoked once, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

President Donald Trump, right, and Romania's President Klaus Werner Iohannis, left, walk together to a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Friday, June 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

"I'm committing the United States to Article 5," Trump told reporters at a news conference Friday with visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. "Certainly we are there to protect, and that's one of the reasons that I want people to make sure we have a very, very strong force by paying the kind of money necessary to have that force. But yes, absolutely, I'd be committed to Article 5."

The White House later reaffirmed the commitment in a statement announcing that Trump will visit Poland next month as part of his second foreign trip. It said that in addition to showing America's support of Poland, the trip will also emphasize the president's commitment to strengthening NATO's "collective defense."

Trump's omission in Brussels raised concerns on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. White House aides said the president's support was implied even though he deliberately did not utter the words.

Still, allies had questions about Trump's belief in the value of NATO, which he had termed "obsolete" during the presidential campaign.

On Friday, Trump noted that only a handful of NATO's 29 members - Montenegro joined just this week - were meeting the 2 percent pledge. But he said the U.S. would abide by its treaty obligations.

"We're going to make NATO very strong," he said. "You need the money to make it strong. You can't just do what we've been doing in the past."
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Threatened as it is, the Earth's climate will survive longer than Donald Trump's presidency, Germany's environment minister said Friday.

The U.S. Constitution dictates no more than two terms, federal environmental minister Barbara Hendricks noted to reporters at a San Francisco news conference alongside California Gov. Jerry Brown.

"So that's eight years," Hendricks said. "I think the climate is going to survive this."

German Federal Minister for the Environment Barbara Hendricks, right, speaks during a news conference as California Gov. Jerry Brown, left, listens Friday, June 9, 2017, in San Francisco. Hendricks offered encouragement for American efforts against climate change, saying the earth's climate will last longer than Donald Trump's presidency. (AP Photo/Linda Wang)

The German official's trip to California to talk climate-efforts with Brown demonstrates determination of some U.S. governors, some 200 U.S. mayors, business leaders and others to keep cutting Americans' output of climate-changing emissions from fossil fuels, Brown said.

That is despite Trump's announcement last week that he would pull the country out of the 2015 Paris global accord. Germany and almost all the world's other governments are still in the accord, which pledges them to curbing emissions from gasoline-powered engines and other sources of carbon.

Trump's declaration last week prompted a series of corresponding announcements of new climate alliances and efforts nationally by state leaders and others determined to keep up U.S. efforts overall against climate change.

Brown, one of the United States' highest-profile campaigners to cut carbon emissions, spoke a day after returning from a week of climate-change events in China.

"The United States by withdrawing under Trump has taken a back seat" on fighting climate change, Brown said.

"But that's temporary," the California governor said. "This current decision will not stand."

California Gov. Jerry Brown listens to a question during a news conference after delivering a speech on the state's leadership role on climate change Friday, June 9, 2017, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Linda Wang)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Little Rock's push to reclaim control over its public schools remains in limbo as Arkansas officials weigh whether the district has done enough to improve six schools found to be failing.

The city's Board of Directors approved a resolution earlier this week asking the Arkansas Board of Education to allow Little Rock to hold elections for school posts. Mayor Mark Stodola is preparing to make a similar request to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

A school board overseeing the 25,000-student district was dissolved under the state's takeover in January 2015 after it was deemed that six of the district's 48 schools were in academic distress.

Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key said in a statement that Little Rock schools had shown "great progress," with three of the six schools removed from the classification and noticeable improvement from the three others. However, Key stopped short of saying whether the state will allow the election of a school board anytime soon, as the city requests in the resolution approved Tuesday.

"The purpose of the city's resolution is to express to the Board of Education that is in the city's best interest for our growth and vitality to have the school system returned to local control with a locally elected school board," Stodola told The Associated Press.

While the decision on local control rests with the state Board of Education, Hutchinson appoints the education commissioner. Under the current arrangement, that person essentially makes the decisions for the Little Rock district in the same way a local school board would.

An Arkansas law taking effect in August specifies new guidelines for the way in which schools are graded and establishes options for school districts under state authority.

The new law more clearly outlines how the state can return local authority to a school district, including appointing or electing a new local school board upon the recommendation of the education commissioner. It also streamlines the process that once included several community hearings about a school district's progress.

Key expressed confidence that the law would help "accelerate the momentum" for Little Rock students and expedite the district's return to local control.

Hutchinson told the AP that he wants to see the restoration of local control, but that timing is important.

"I've always supported the return of LRSD to local control, but the timing should be based upon the academic achievement of the schools and not an arbitrary time line," Hutchinson said.

Local residents have been adamant in their desire for local control being returned ever since the district was taken over by the state, and their distrust of state leadership over the district was part of the reason why voters rejected a proposal that would have paid for a new high school and other improvements.

Opponents of the plan to extend a property tax increase to pay for improvements said they were wary of giving money to a school district that hasn't had an elected school board in over two years.

The district says the tax extension would've raised $160 million for the improvement projects.

Democratic state Sen. Joyce Elliott said at the time that everyone wanted better facilities for district's students, but a comprehensive, sustainable long-term plan is needed.

The rejection of the proposal happened as the school district is set to lose millions of dollars in annual state desegregation aid.

The desegregation payments that are set to end in 2018 stem from a 1982 lawsuit the school district filed against the state and its neighboring districts, alleging state policies were still creating racial imbalance despite changes made since 1957. To settle the lawsuit, Arkansas agreed in 1989 to give the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County special school districts additional funding for magnet schools and allowing student transfers. The payments have totaled nearly $70 million annually.

A judge signed an order in 2014 to halt the payments to the Little Rock and North Little Rock districts by June 30, 2018.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The FBI chief he fired called the president a liar, but the response from many Republicans was a collective shrug. The GOP still needs Donald Trump if it has any hope of accomplishing its legislative agenda and winning elections, and it's going to take more than James Comey's testimony to shake them.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday boasted of the GOP's accomplishments under Trump thus far, and promised more to come, making no mention of Comey in a speech. A group of House conservatives discussed taxes and the budget, with no reference to Comey or the federal investigations into Russia's election meddling and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

Elsewhere, there were few outward signs of concern from the top Republican officials, donors and business leaders who gathered largely behind closed doors in Park City, Utah, for a conference hosted by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

President Donald Trump waves as he steps off Air Force One after arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, N.J., Friday, June 9, 2017. Trump is spending the weekend at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

"The people in this room, who give money to the Republican Party and who are focused on helping get Republicans elected, they do it because they believe in an agenda," Spencer Zwick, House Speaker Paul Ryan's fundraising chief, said in an interview. As for the Comey testimony, "there's nothing we can do about it," Zwick said.

It all underscored what's become a hardening dynamic of the Trump presidency: Republicans on Capitol Hill and off are mostly sticking with the president despite the mounting scandals and seemingly endless crises that surround him.

Though some are privately concerned, and frustration is regularly voiced about the president's undisciplined administration and the distractions he creates, Republicans have scant incentive to abandon him now. Trump's signature remains key to the still-nascent GOP agenda, and he has the ability to appoint judges to lifetime appointments, a thrilling prospect for conservatives.

And, despite Trump's low approval ratings nationally, his core base of supporters remains firmly behind him. Those voters will be key to the GOP's success in next year's midterms when Republicans will be defending a fragile majority in the House and looking to pick up seats in the Senate, thanks to a favorable map that has a large group of Democratic incumbents up for re-election in states that voted for Trump.

"I think the last 24, 48 hours were all good for the president, confirmed he was telling the truth all along, that he wasn't under investigation," GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said Friday, referring to Comey's confirmation that he had informed Trump that the president wasn't being personally investigated.

Comey also bluntly accused the Trump White House of lying, asserted that Trump asked him to back off an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, and contended that Trump fired him in an effort to change the course of the Russia investigation. But Republicans chose to ignore those things and focus on the aspects of Comey's testimony on Thursday that were favorable to Trump. Trump himself, appearing alongside the president of Romania on Friday, attacked Comey and said some of his testimony wasn't true.

"I think he was exonerated," GOP Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said Friday of Trump. "He said that he wasn't under investigation and indeed that was verified."

Ryan and other Republicans explained away Trump's interactions with Comey as the understandable blunders of a Washington neophyte.

"It's no secret to anybody that this president is not experienced in the ways of Washington, of how these investigations work," said GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who sits on the intelligence committee. "When you have the FBI director telling you three times you're not the subject of an investigation and you ask him, 'would you please announce that publicly' and he refuses, I can understand why the president would be frustrated by that."

Outraged Democrats argued that Comey had laid out all the elements of an obstruction of justice case, even as Democratic leaders tried to tamp down calls for impeachment coming from some liberals, including some members of Congress. Chances that Republicans themselves would initiate or even consider impeachment proceedings were zero, and that will change only if the Justice Department special counsel on the case, Robert Mueller, delivers a verdict they cannot ignore whenever his investigation concludes.

To be sure, not all Republicans were so quick to dismiss Comey's testimony and the Russia investigation.

The Tucson Weekly published quotes from what it said was a private talk by GOP Rep. Martha McSally of Arizona to the Arizona Bankers Association last week. McSally, who represents a closely divided district targeted by Democrats, expressed concerns that the House majority could be at risk partly because of "distractions" from Trump and his tweets.

"Any Republican member of Congress, you are going down with the ship. And we're going to hand the gavel to Pelosi in 2018," McSally said, referring to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California. "The path to that gavel being handed over is through my seat. And right now, it doesn't matter that it's me, it doesn't matter what I've done. I have an 'R' next to my name and right now, this environment would have me not prevail."

A litmus test comes in two weeks when voters choose a new House member in a competitive Georgia district, where a GOP loss would unnerve some two dozen incumbents like McSally.

___=

Associated Press writers Michelle Price in Park City, Utah, and Andrew Taylor in Washington contributed to this report.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., flanked by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Republicans on Capitol Hill push ahead with their legislative and political agenda largely unconcerned with former FBI Director James Comey's testimony Thursday about President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
A restaurant worker killed in the London Bridge attack was a marvellous son, a perfect older brother and a radiant young man, his family have said.

Frenchman Alexandre Pigeard, 26, was living and working in the capital and was one of eight people killed in the atrocity.

He was stabbed while working on the terrace of the restaurant at Borough Market where he had been an employee for nine months.

A statement released by Scotland Yard on behalf of Mr Pigeards family said: Alexandre Pigeard, born on 29 July 1990 in Paris, died on Saturday 3 June 2017 in London.

He was killed during the terrorist attack at Borough Market. One of the killers fatally stabbed him whilst he was working on the terrace of the restaurant where he had been an employee for nine months.

Alexandre was a marvellous son, a perfect older brother and a radiant young man, much loved by all who had the good fortune to meet him. All his friends praised his kindness, his good humour and his generosity. Alexandre was passionate about electronic music and a member of Club 808, a group of DJs based in Caen (Calvados).

The family only wish to communicate the information contained in this statement. They ask the media to fully respect their time to grieve and to cease all morbid and inappropriate inquiries regarding this tragically cruel and unjust loss.
Five of the men who launched an attack in the heart of Irans capital previously fought for Islamic State, the countrys intelligence ministry has said.

The attacks on Wednesday on Irans parliament in Tehran and the tomb of its revolutionary leader killed at least 16 people and wounded more than 40.

The ministry issued a statement on its website with bloody pictures of the mens bodies. It identified them only by their first names, saying it did not want to release their last names due to security and privacy concerns for their families.

Mohammad Javad Zarif is Iran's foreign minister

It described them as long affiliated with the Wahhabi, an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam practised in Saudi Arabia. However, it stopped short of directly blaming the kingdom for the attack, though many in the country expressed suspicion that Irans regional rival had a hand in the attack.

The men had left Iran to fight for the extremist group in Mosul, Iraq, as well as Raqqa, Syria  the groups de facto capital, the ministry said. It said they returned to Iran in August under the command of an IS leader and escaped when authorities initially broke up their extremist cell.

The ministry did not identify the mens home towns or say how they were able to evade authorities. Commuters in the Iranian capital noticed more police than usual on the streets as dawn broke.

That came after Mohammad Hossein Zolfaghari, a deputy interior minister, told state TV that law enforcement activities may increase.

Police officers control the scene around the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on Wednesday (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)

We are focused on intelligence gathering, he said.

State television also reported on Thursday that the death toll had risen to 16, citing Ahmad Shojaei, the head of the countrys forensic centre.

The attack as politicians held a session in parliament and at the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini shocked Iranians, who so far had avoided the chaos that has followed ISs rise in Syria and Iraq.

Iranian forces are backing embattled Syrian president Bashar Assad while the Shiite power is also supporting militias fighting against the extremists in Iraq.

The attack came as emboldened Sunni Arab states  backed by US President Donald Trump  are hardening their stance against Shiite-ruled Iran.

The White House released a statement from Mr Trump condemning the terrorist attacks in Tehran and offering condolences, but also implying that Iran is itself a sponsor of terrorism.

We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times, the statement said. We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.

The comments sparked anger from Iranians on social media, who recalled the vigils in Tehran that followed the September 11 attacks. Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the White House comments repugnant and accused the US of supporting terror.
Ukip has suffered a collapse in its vote, with many people who backed the party in 2015 switching to the Tories or Labour.

Early results saw the partys vote down by around 13% on 2015, when under Nigel Farage it secured a 12.6% share of the national vote but just a single MP.

Pressure will increase on Ukip leader Paul Nuttall if the partys vote share does not improve as further results come in, particularly if he fails in his second attempt this year to secure a Commons seat.

Pressure will increase on Ukip leader Paul Nuttall if the party's vote share does not improve (Victoria Jones/PA)

Mr Nuttall, who is standing in Boston and Skegness, failed to enter Parliament in the Stoke Central by-election in February.

An indication that it was going to be a difficult night for his party came in Sunderland, which a year ago provided an early sign that the European Union referendum was going to result in Brexit.

In Houghton and Sunderland South, Ukips vote was down 15.78%, in Sunderland Central it was down 14.25%, and in Washington and Sunderland West it was cut by 12.85%.

Whatever the true result, the Conservative party needs a leader that believes in Brexit.  Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 8, 2017

Former party leader Mr Farage insisted that Ukip could benefit if  as an exit poll predicted  the country faces a hung parliament.

He told LBC Radio: If the result of this tonight is that we finish up without a government with a clear majority pushing for Brexit, then a huge gap opens in the political landscape for Ukip once again.

But he said officials in Brussels will have looked at the exit polls and be cheering very loudly because right now, if we believe the exit polls, Brexit is under a bit of threat.
Another suspect has been arrested in connection with the London Bridge attack.

The 29-year-old was held during a raid at a residential address in Newham, east London, in the early hours of Friday, Scotland Yard said.

The suspect was taken to a south London police station while officers from the Metropolitan Polices Counter Terrorism Command searched the property.

Police outside Borough Market as a further arrest was made (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

He is being held on suspicion of involvement in the preparation of terrorist acts.

The arrest brings to four the number of men being held in connection with Saturdays attack, in which eight people died.
The Conservatives have lost the election and should stand aside for a Labour minority government, according to Jeremy Corbyn, who declared: We are ready to serve this country.

The Labour leader reiterated his call for Theresa May to resign as Prime Minister and said his party had achieved an incredible result, putting on more than three million votes and gaining seats all over the UK.

I think its pretty clear who won this election, he said at Labours headquarters in central London.

We are ready to do everything we can to put our programme into operation. There isnt a parliamentary majority for anybody at the present time, the party that has lost in this election is the Conservative Party, the arguments the Conservative Party put forward in this election have lost.

I think we need a change.

The new political map of the United Kingdom

Mr Corbyn said he would not make any coalition deals or pacts but would instead put forward Labours own programme for government.

We have done no deals and no pacts with anybody, were there as the Labour Party with our points of view. Everybody knows what they are and everyone can see the huge increase in our support because of the way we conducted the election and the comprehensive nature of the programme we put forward.

Mr Corbyn mocked Mrs Mays election campaign slogan that she would provide strong and stable leadership.

She fought the election on the basis that it was her campaign, it was her decision to call the election, it was her name out there, and she was saying she was doing it to bring about strong and stable government.

Well, this morning it doesnt look like a strong government, it doesnt look like a stable government, it doesnt look like a government that has any programme whatsoever.

Theresa May re-elected with 37,718 votes in Maidenhead  Sam Lister (@sam_lister_) June 9, 2017

Anna Soubry on whether Theresa May can remain PM - 'it's a matter for her, it's bad'  Sam Lister (@sam_lister_) June 9, 2017

Asked if there would now be another election, Mr Corbyn said: Parliament must meet and Parliament will have to take a decision on what happens. When a government puts forward the Queens Speech, we will put forward our point of view, we are of course ready to serve.

Mr Corbyn said Labour has won a huge mandate to challenge austerity.

Asked if the uncertainty created by a hung parliament was good for Britain, he replied: A hung parliament is what weve been given, its up to MPs to deal with that.

Theresa May looks on at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead

We have a huge mandate from a huge increase in our support to carry forward a programme that challenges austerity, that challenges poverty and challenges inequality and gives opportunities for young people, for people in the middle, and gives protection for older people.

That surely is a very important message that the people in this country, in every part of this country, have given us all today.

State of the parties in the UK general election after 632 of 650 results declared

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told the BBC he was disappointed that Labour had not secured an overall majority.

But he added: We have laid the foundations for a minority government, and then eventually a majority government.

The instability that we now have is not from the Labour Party or other parties, its the Conservative Party itself.

John McDonnell

If we can form a minority government, I think we could have a stability government, not through deals or coalitions but policy by policy. That would prevent another election, because I think people have had enough of elections.

Mr McDonnell said that if Mrs May persisted in her efforts to remain in power, Labour would table an alternative Queens Speech and seek to put it to a vote.

He said that he did not expect the Conservatives to be able to produce a stable government, with MPs calling for Mrs Mays resignation and senior figures like Boris Johnson and David Davis on manoeuvres.

Jeremy Corbyn tells me Labour has won a "huge mandate" in the election and tells @JasonFarrellSky the Tories have lost and should step aside  Arj Singh (@singharj) June 9, 2017

I hope she realises today, very quickly, that she cannot continue, said Mr McDonnell.

I think the Conservative Party needs to recognise it cannot re-enter government in the way it is at the moment, in its unstable, divided form.

He said: Im hoping the situation will be clarified within days, otherwise we are in an impossible position with the negotiations on Brexit coming.

The responsibility is on Theresa May now to stand down and for the Conservative Party to go away and sort itself out and let a Labour government take place.
Barely an hour after the last Britons cast their votes in the 2017 General Election, the first constituencies began sharing their secrets.

The exit poll itself sent tremors around the political echo chambers, contrasting with the early predictions that Theresa May would find herself with a reasonable enough majority to form a government.

Here are some of the biggest shocks of the night:

Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrats

"You live by the sword and you die by the sword."



Former Lib Dem leader @nick_clegg reacts to losing his #sheffieldhallam seat#ge2017 pic.twitter.com/PBOIrgzZoi  PA Media (@PA) June 9, 2017

This time in 2010, Nick Clegg was preparing for life as deputy prime minister as part of the Coalition Government. Seven years, a very public apology over tuition fees and a starring role in a parody pop song later, his career as an MP is  for the time being, at least  over. His defeat in Sheffield Hallam was met with surprise from follow candidates, who looked on as the former party leader cut a subdued figure.

Angus Robertson, SNP

Angus Robertson

Thanks for the kind messages from political friends & foes. It's been an honour to be MP for Moray for 16yrs and wish my successor well.  Angus Robertson (@AngusRobertson) June 9, 2017

SNP depute leader Angus Robertson had been an MP since 2001 and was defending a majority in Moray of nearly 10,000. But MSP Douglas Ross took the seat, thanking the former incumbent for his service to constituents during his career. In defeat, party grandee Mr Robertson said: It seems to me theres a lot of change going on. People are seeking answers to the complex questions that we all face.

Ben Gummer, Conservative

Worth noting that minister who wrote @theresa_may manifesto, Ben Gummer, has lost his seat. Some will see that as somehow poetic justice  Robert Peston (@Peston) June 9, 2017

He was the man behind the Conservative manifesto  but he was not granted the opportunity to help introduce its policies after being ditched by the electorate. The Cabinet Office minister lost out to Labour with a nearly 5% swing in Ipswich.

Jane Ellison, Conservative

Labour win Battersea - big surprise. Jane Ellison was not expecting to lose her seat. "What are we doing losing Battersea" Osborne says.  Kate McCann (@KateEMcCann) June 9, 2017

Jeremy Corbyns party claimed the scalp of Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jane Ellison, taking her Battersea seat on a 10% swing. She had risen swiftly up the ranks since her election to Parliament in 2010. Former Chancellor George Osborne said her unexpected departure would require a very big post-mortem.

Alex Salmond, SNP

Very sorry that @AlexSalmond has lost his seat. A giant of our Party who has changed Scotland for the better. All good wishes Alex.  John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) June 9, 2017

SNP veteran and former first minister Alex Salmond will no longer be a vocal presence in Westminster. His defeat by Colin Clark in Gordon was met with cheers from Conservative Party HQ in central London as the announcement filtered through.

Gavin Barwell, Conservative

Theresa May and Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell

He was the housing minister who penned a book entitled How To Win A Marginal Seat: My Year Fighting For My Political Life. But Gavin Barwell now has grounds for a less triumphant follow-up, having lost said marginal seat  Croydon Central  to Labours Sarah Jones by more than 5,000 votes.

James Wharton, Conservative

Stockton South falling to Labour with swing of 5.7% is most significant result of the night. @theresa_may electoral strategy demolished  Robert Peston (@Peston) June 9, 2017

Another minister, international developments James Wharton, was also on the Labour kill list. Mr Wharton had been the incumbent for Stockton South since 2010.

Julian Brazier, Conservative

Thank you everyone! Going to sleep for a couple of hours then live on BBC Breakfast - I may make zero sense...!  Rosie Duffield MP (@RosieDuffield1) June 9, 2017

Labour took Canterbury, a seat which had been held by Conservatives since 1918. Rosie Duffield was the history-maker, defeating Julian Brazier by around 200 votes.

Simon Kirby, Conservative

Massive victory in Brighton Kempton for Labour, helped by a brave local party that stood aside to give them a clear run.  The Green Party (@TheGreenParty) June 9, 2017

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Simon Kirby lost his Brighton Kemptown seat to Labour on an 11% swing. The 52-year-old was elected to Parliament in 2010 and was appointed to the Treasury team when Mrs May became Prime Minister in 2016.

Nicola Blackwood, Conservative

It may be raining here in #Oxford but I've #VoteConservative - have you? Polls are open until 10pm. Make sure your voice is heard! #GE2017 pic.twitter.com/6x8u5SE2Et  Nicola Blackwood (@nicolablackwood) June 8, 2017

Public health minister Nicola Blackwood lost Oxford West & Abingdon to the Liberal Democrats by just 816 votes. The 37-year-old won the seat from the Lib Dems in 2010 and had chaired the Commons Science and Technology Committee before being appointed to the Department of Health by Mrs May in July last year.

Edward Timpson, Conservative

The children and families minister was beaten by Labour by just 48 votes in the Crewe & Nantwich seat which he seized in a by-election in 2008. Son of the chief executive of the family shoe-repair empire, Mr Timpson was given junior ministerial rank by Mr Cameron in 2012 and promoted to minister of state following the 2015 general election.
News / Regional

by Stephen Jakes

Mthwakazi Republic Party is set to hold its first campaign rally in Matabeleland South, after the rally was officially cleared by the unpredictable Zimbabwe Republic Police.Party's spokesperson Mbonisi Gumbo said the rally will be held in Matobo North Constituency, precisely at Gwandavale business centre on Saturday the 10th of June 2017 at 10:00am."Hundreds of locals are expected to attend. The Matobo North Constituency has been neglected for a long time by the Zanu PF ruling party. After 37 years of the so called independence, there are still no roads at all such that during the rainy season, school children do not go to school, sometimes for months because of flooded rivers. Even the sick are not spared either, because Mtshabezi hospital is in Gwanda North and there are no bridges to go there," Gumbo said."Pregnant women are forced to give birth at home during the rainy season. In Matobo North and the rest of Matabeleland we still have both primary and secondary school kids who walk between 10 and 25 kilometres a single trip to school."Gumbo said people in the area are poor and don't have any income generating projects, yet the available jobs are being taken away from them.MRP President Mqondisi Moyo who is set to become the MP for Matobo North, has pledged that his first priority would be to see the Matopo National park employing local people.He will also make sure that Masiye camp which is run by the Salvation Army which was officially opened by NPP President Joyce Teurairopa Muruju,who by then was the vice President to Robert Mugabe in Zanu PF government, it is Joyce Mujuru who brought non Ndebele speaking people to come and work in Masiye Camp which to us was the the implementation of the satanic Shona 1979 Grand Plan against our people."It is either Masiye Camp employs locals or they close the place, because it is not serving the interests of the locals," he said.Moyo also said, the Bakalanga, Ndebele, and Sotho people who are predominantly the majority in his constituency will be protected, and he will make sure that their cultures are protected as well.Moyo said he will make sure that only teachers who can speak local languages are deployed in his constituency. He further stated that the Matopo National Park has been neglecting local people for a long time and that has to come to an end."We are encouraging our people who are 18 years old and above to register and vote MRP. People from Matabeleland should shun Harare parties who do not serve their interests at all. Moyo said those of us who still think that our solution is in Harare are lost and they need to wake up and smell the coffee. The solution to Matabeleland problems is in hands and together with MRP we will do it. Konke sizokulungisa," he said."Everyone of us is invited to officially attend this important gathering, which is only the beginning as plans are already in place to hold yet another rally in Gwanda North this month end, as we prepare for the Gwanda town road show. All members of the Matabeleland South provincial executive are also expected to attend in full."
The Labour Party in Wales is celebrating after a fantastic night saw them take three Welsh seats from the Conservatives as Theresa Mays party failed to achieve its hoped for breakthrough.

Jeremy Corbyns party won Gower, Vale of Clwyd and Cardiff North and secured their highest share of the vote for 20 years.

Delighted I've nearly doubled my majority but fair play @jeremycorbyn has massively outperformed expectations.  Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) June 9, 2017

Theresa May has lost her mandate. End of.  Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) June 9, 2017

Professor Roger Scully, of Cardiff Universitys Wales Governance Centre, said: It is a fantastic result for the Welsh Labour Party.

A month ago we were looking at them maybe suffering serious losses but they have actually made gains in Wales and it looks like they are going to have their highest vote share in Wales since 1997. Thats absolutely astonishing, it is an extraordinarily good night for the Welsh Labour Party.

I think a very disappointing night for the Conservatives although this is the highest Conservative vote share in Wales since at least 1935, when we get the final figures on the last couple of seats; it may be the highest Conservative vote share since before World War One but they have actually lost seats.

Outstanding result for @ToniaAntoniazzi retaking Gower for @WelshLabour. Llongyfarchiadau mawr!!!!  Jeremy Miles (@Jeremy_Miles) June 9, 2017

Gower, won by the Tories in 2015 after more than 100 years in Labour hands, was the most marginal seat in the country with a majority of 27 for Tory Byron Davies.

On Friday morning, Welsh Labour candidate Tonia Antoniazzi won 22,727 votes while Mr Davies got 19,458, a majority of 3,269.

Vale of Clwyd was another Conservative win in 2015, while Cardiff North has been held by Theresa Mays party since 2010.

The Conservatives also failed to take Wrexham, which they had hoped to win.

A Tory source said that result was truly disappointing for the party in Wales and must be heartbreaking for Andy Atkinson, who campaigned with all his heart for that seat.

In total the Labour Party won 28 of Wales 40 seats, an increase of three on their total in the 2015 general election.

R.I.P. Premiership of Theresa May  Paul Flynn (@PaulFlynnMP) June 8, 2017

The Conservatives took eight seats, down three on their result two years ago while Plaid Cymru managed to hang on to its three seats, holding its marginal seat of Arfon by just 92 votes, plus winning Ceredigion from Lib Dems, wiping them out from Wales for the first time.

The West Wales seat was the last in the country to be declared at 6.15am with a majority of 104 for the nationalists.

Party leader, Leanne Wood, said Plaid had matched its best ever performance in a Westminster election and had bucked the trend and made a gain while other parties have made heavy losses.

Prof Scully said: Plaid Cymru have had a pretty bad night except that they have held their three seats, only just in one case and theyre making the one gain, Ceredigion and Lib Dems have been wiped off the map, which has never happened before in Wales.

We thought 2015 was as bad as it could get for the Lib Dems in Wales but we now know differently.

Labour's Geraint Davies held Swansea West (Ben Birchall/PA)

A Welsh Labour spokesman said the party had had a great night and had secured their highest share of the vote since 1997.

He said: Given that at the beginning of the campaign polls put us 10 points behind and losing more than 10 seats, this is a remarkable turnaround, and shows the strength of our Welsh Labour campaign.

He added that it was clear that the Tories are having a terrible night in Wales.

They are not just failing to take seats, they are losing them, and seeing majorities slashed elsewhere.

Prof Scully added that the Welsh Conservative campaign was not particularly impressive but primarily it was not so much a Conservative failure as it was a success for Labour.
Boris Johnson retained his seat in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, but was in a rush to get off the stage.

The Tory MP looked in a hurry to be leaving the count at Brunel University, and as soon as all the speeches were over made a dash for the exit.

He stormed into the venue simply stating that it was early days.

Boris Johnson was re-elected as Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

In his victory speech Mr Johnson said: It is early to comment on the events unfolding tonight in this General Election.

Boris Johnson re-elected MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Delivers victory speech and is then off like a flash into the night #Ge2017 pic.twitter.com/WbJw5zaF8w  Nina Massey (@ninamasseyPA) June 9, 2017

But one this is absolutely clear, I think to all of us who have been elected as MPs tonight across our fantastic country, that is we have got to listen to our constituents and listen to their concerns.

He added: I am proud to be re-elected as the member of parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Mr Johnson said nothing else about wider results of the night and how his party was performing, but thanked all involved in the election in the borough.

A number of other declarations were made at the same count, including that for Hayes and Harlington which was won by John McDonnell.

John McDonnell wins Hayes & Harlington.Says after speech tht he expected Boris Johnson to launch Tory leadership bid tonight-maybe tomorrow pic.twitter.com/vhH3V6C5ZZ  Nina Massey (@ninamasseyPA) June 9, 2017

Mr McDonnell said Theresa May had made a big mistake in calling the General Election.

Asked if she should resign, he said: Increasingly now political commentators and by the sound of it, some Tory MPs now consider her position is now untenable.

I was expecting Boris Johnson to launch his leadership campaign tonight. But clearly not tonight, maybe tomorrow.

Earlier Mr McDonnell declared Labour would form a government at the first opportunity, even if it was a minority government.

Mr McDonnell said: I think Theresa May actually called a General Election despite promising some seven times not to. And people thought this was unnecessary. And she put party before country.

He added: Whenever we get the opportunity we will do, if its a minority government we will. But we dont know the results of this election yet. We are extremely cautious, lets see what the results are.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd narrowly retained her seat in Hastings and Rye with a slim 346 majority after early speculation she was poised to become the most senior Cabinet minister to lose out.

Ms Rudd, who saw her majority of more than 4,700 collapse, came ahead of Labours Peter Chowney by claiming 25,668 votes following one recount.

Amber Rudd arrives at the count in Hastings as a source says it is "50-50" over she will retain the seat. pic.twitter.com/rj3IONjbUF  Tom Pugh (@TomPugh212) June 9, 2017

Her marginal win came in the face of an alliance struck by the Green Party and Labour in the East Sussex resort in a bid to oust Ms Rudd.

Amber Rudd

The Greens, who gained nearly 2,000 votes in Hastings and Rye in 2015, agreed not to stand in the seaside seat in return for various pledges from Labour, including for electoral reform and to oppose fracking.

Turnout was 70.05%, up from 68% in 2015. Ms Rudd said: Im deeply honoured to have been re-elected for now a third time by the residents of Hastings and Rye.

The former investment banker, venture capitalist and financial journalist took the seat from Labour in 2010, and has enjoyed a rapid rise through the ranks, culminating in her taking the key role of running Britains counter-terrorism efforts, police forces and immigration policies.

Tim Farron, Jeremy Corbyn, Caroline Lucas, Leanne Wood, Amber Rudd, Paul Nuttall and Angus Robertson take part #BBCdebate pic.twitter.com/8TkOWrPcnO  PA Media (@PA) May 31, 2017

She was one of the few senior Conservatives to play a high-profile role in the campaign, standing in for Theresa May in the leadership debates.

Ms Rudd proved to be a capable replacement for the Prime Minister, who was criticised for failing to take part.

In recent days, as the election was overshadowed by the Manchester and London terror attacks, Ms Rudd was called on to defend the Tories record on policing.

She rejected suggestions after the London Bridge attack that a 20,000 fall in the number of police officers had made the UK more vulnerable to terrorism.
Theresa May is to head a minority Conservative government - propped up by the Democratic Unionists - after her General Election gamble backfired disastrously.

The Prime Minister announced she was leaving the most senior members of her Cabinet team - including Philip Hammond and Boris Johnson - in place as she began forming a new administration.

There had been speculation Mr Hammond, the Chancellor, would be vulnerable in a post-election re-shuffle and the decision to leave him in the Treasury was being seen as a sign of her weakness after her Commons majority was wiped out.

The result was a personal humiliation for Mrs May who called the election three years before she had to to bolster her position in Parliament as she embarked on the negotiations on Britains withdrawal from the EU.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said she had lost all legitimacy and called on her to stand aside and allow him to form an alternative administration, declaring: We are ready to serve.

Final tallies of battleground seats won and lost in the 2017 general election graphic

However, Mrs May insisted that, as the leader of the largest party in the new parliament, she had a duty to act in the national interest and lead the country through the Brexit negotiations starting in ten days time.

That is why I think at this critical time for our country it is important to form a government in the national interest, she said.

10 smallest majorities at the 2017 general election graphic

As we are the party that won most seats and most votes, we are the only party that is in a position to form a government that can do that.

Among Tory MPs there was fury at the way a 20-point opinion poll lead at the start of the campaign had been thrown away in an election which she did not need to call for another three years.

Much of their ire was directed at Mrs Mays two close aides Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy - the latter who was blamed for the disastrous manifesto pledge to reform the funding of social care, dubbed the dementia tax, which is thought to have cost the party heavily at the ballot box.

In a pooled broadcast interview, Mrs May hinted she could be prepared to sacrifice them to appease her critics once she has completed her ministerial appointments.

Final state of the parties at the 2017 general election graphic

Other personnel issues are for other days, she said when asked about their future.

With Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Brexit Secretary David Davis, and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon all retaining their posts, there was speculation any reshuffle could be limited to replacing the eight ministers who lost their seats in the election.

On a night of high drama, Mrs May - who went into the election with a majority of 17 - fell eight seats short of an overall majority.

After frantic consultations with DUP leader Arlene Foster, the Prime Minister headed to Buckingham Palace to seek the formal permission of the Queen to form a new government, returning to No 10 to announce she had the legitimacy to continue in office.

However, senior DUP figures made clear they were looking at a limited confidence and supply arrangement - rather than a more formal coalition - leading to some MPs to predict that there could another general election before the year is out.

Former minister Anna Soubry said Mrs May should consider her position after a dreadful campaign while backbencher Heidi Allen suggested she could be out within a matter of months, depending on the Brexit negotiations.

Other senior Conservatives however warned against a leadership challenge with Iain Duncan Smith saying it would be a grave error.

Thank you x 292,316. Honoured and humbled. We will Stand Strong for Northern Ireland. pic.twitter.com/UVke717JV1  Arlene Foster DBE PC #ProudofNI. (@ArleneFosterUK) June 9, 2017

Mrs May saw Tory ranks at Westminster reduced from 330 to 318 while eight ministers were culled from the Governments front benches.

Meanwhile, Labour, which had been written off by critics as all but unelectable, surged to 262 seats, up 29 from its tally in the 2015 election.

The last count of the election saw Labour overturn a 7,000 majority in Kensington, London, where Emma Dent Coad saw off Tory incumbent Victoria Borwick by just 20 votes after a third recount.

Liberal Democrats gained four seats to amass 12 MPs, but lost its former leader and ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in perhaps the highest-profile casualty in a night of stunning results.

Buckingham Palace

In Scotland, the SNP retained just 35 of the 56 seats it secured two years ago and lost its Westminster leader, Angus Robertson, and former first minister, Alex Salmond.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall, meanwhile, fell on his sword after just six months in the job, after slumping to a distant third place in Skegness & Boston on a woeful night for the Eurosceptic party, which shed swathes of voters to Labour and Conservatives.
Zac Goldsmith has snatched the narrowest of victories in Richmond Park with a majority of just 45.

After dramatically quitting the Conservatives over Heathrow expansion last autumn, Mr Goldsmith was back in the Tory fold this election to unseat the Lib Dems Sarah Olney.

Goldsmith, 42, lost to Ms Olney on December 1 last year after triggering a by-election when he quit the Conservatives in protest at his partys plans for a third runway.

A batch flick of the votes

He stood then as an independent but was defeated by Ms Olney by 18,638 to 20,510, or 4.5%. Today 63,462 votes were cast in Richmond Park  a total of 79.3% of the electorate and up from 53.55% for last Decembers by-election. He won 28,588 votes to Ms Olneys 28,543.

The victory marked the end of a string of blows to Mr Goldsmith in a little over a year - he lost the London mayoral election to Sadiq Khan, was unable to alter his partys stance on Heathrow before losing his seat to Ms Olney.

Despite rejoining the Conservatives, Mr Goldsmith still ran his campaign on his anti-Heathrow credentials. Staunchly pro-Brexit, the multi-millionaire member of the eponymous banking dynasty also had to win over a constituency that voted 72% Remain.

Zac Goldsmith is back in the Tory fold

He said: Im grateful to my constituents for having put their trust in me again. I hope that I will never let them down  we have the most special community in the world and representing them is an unimaginable honour.

He refused to answer questions on the future of Theresa May following his election speech.

Ms Olney - a former accountant - commented during the campaign that voters were confused as to why Goldsmith was standing for the Conservative despite continuing to oppose Heathrow expansion. The 40-year-old was the only female Liberal Democrat MP in the 2015-2017 parliament.
European Council President Donald Tusk has warned Theresa May there is no time to lose in the Brexit negotiations.

With talks due to start in Brussels in ten days time, Mr Tusk said it was their urgent task to get on with the negotiations in the best possible spirit.

In a letter to the Prime Minister congratulating her on her reappointment, he said the two-year time frame set out under Article 50 of the EU treaties left no room for delay.

File photo dated 02/07/16 of a European Union flag in front of Big Ben. The prospect of a hung Parliament would throw serious doubt over Brexit negotiations, due to begin in earnest in just 10 days.

We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a "no deal" as result of "no negotiations". #GE2017  Charles Michel (@eucopresident) June 9, 2017

Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations on the UKs withdrawal from the European Union in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome for our citizens, businesses and countries after March 2019, he said.

The time-frame set by Article 50 of the Treaty leaves us with no time to lose. I am fully committed to maintaining regular and close contact at our level to facilitate the work of our negotiators.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said he hoped there would be no further delay to the negotiations.

The clock is running on how long we can live in a house half built. It is time we built an #EUdefence Union. #DESCOP https://t.co/uY0Uwg0oSv pic.twitter.com/FvOSUUST0D  Jean-Claude Juncker (@JunckerEU) June 9, 2017

As far as the commission is concerned, we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half-past nine, he said. I do hope that the result of the election will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for.

Earlier, Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the talks would begin when Britain was ready, suggesting he would consider a short delay.

#Brexit negotiations should start when UK is ready; timetable and EU positions are clear. Let's put our minds together on striking a deal  Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) June 9, 2017

There was clear frustration within the EU at the failure of the election to deliver a decisive result.

Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May, will make already complex negotiations even more complicated.  Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) June 9, 2017

Germanys European Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said a weaker partner weakens the whole thing, while if both sides were strong you get results more quickly.

He told German radio that the timetable for completing the talks was ambitious and Britain had already lost a lot of time by delaying its Article 50 letter and then calling an election.

We will have to see whether the negotiation chief will remain the same, how the relevant ministers will look, he said. Therefore I am expecting uncertainty, because it has an effect on everything. It has an effect on tariff negotiations, on contract negotiations in business and in politics.

Watch Jeremy Corbyn call for Theresa May's resignation pic.twitter.com/69sDsFNxwa  PA Media (@PA) June 9, 2017

German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said he hoped the election result would be seen as a message that the British people do not want a hard Brexit.

He urged the Government to reconsider whether its really good for Great Britain to withdraw from the European Union in this way.

He said he hoped the new Government was one with which we can conduct serious negotiations and if possible keep Great Britain as close as possible to the European Union.
A 15-year-old girl believed to be one of Britains youngest double murderers concocted a plan to brutally kill her own mother and sister, it can now be reported.

Kim Edwards roped in her boyfriend, Lucas Markham, to carry out the brutal executions of dinner lady Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her daughter Katie as they slept at their home in Spalding, Lincolnshire last April.

The house in Spalding where the bodies of Elizabeth Edwards and daughter Katie were found (Chris Radburn/PA)

The couple, likened to Bonnie and Clyde during their trial, had sex, shared a bath and watched four Twilight vampire films as they revelled after the killings.

The identities of the couple could not be reported throughout a trial at Nottingham Crown Court in 2016 because of their age, but restrictions on naming the pair were lifted by three judges at Londons Court of Appeal.

The pair, who were both originally given 20-year minimum custodial terms, had them reduced by the judges to 17 and a half years each.

The ban on naming the pair was lifted by Sir Brian Leveson, Mr Justice Blake and Mr Justice Lewis.

Sir Brian Leveson lifted the ban on naming the pair (Lewis Whyld/PA)

Sir Brian said: In the circumstances of this case, notwithstanding that the appellants are only 15 years of age, we have no doubt that the lifting of reporting restrictions is in accordance with law, pursues a legitimate aim and is a reasonable and proportionate measure  properly balancing the welfare of the appellants  against the Article 10 rights of the press and the interests of the public.

He announced that, as a result of the courts decision, the names of these two young people are now capable of being reported, allowing reporting of the full facts and circumstances surrounding the case.

Both defendants were given life sentences for the killings, which were planned in a McDonalds.

Lucas Markham & Kim Edwards named as the juveniles convicted of the murders of Elizabeth & Katie Edwards in Spalding https://t.co/9w69HH5Ogo pic.twitter.com/OvpcyOp18y  Lincolnshire Police (@LincsPolice) June 9, 2017

Prosecutor Peter Joyce told Edwards trial that her sister and mother were stabbed a total of 10 times in a cold, calculated and callous onslaught at their home in Dawson Avenue.

Mr Joyce told jurors that Markham walked for around 30 minutes along Spaldings Coronation Channel to reach Edwards home before knocking three times on a bedroom window as a pre-arranged signal that he had arrived.

Edwards then opened a bathroom window to allow Markham to climb into the house from the roof of a shed, and gave him advice on moving quietly around the property.
US President Donald Trump has said he is 100% willing to testify under oath about his interactions with fired FBI director James Comey.

Mr Trump insisted that Mr Comey lied in some parts of the testimony he gave on Thursday to the Senate intelligence committee.

Mr Comey testified under oath.

The president said that he never asked the former FBI chief for a pledge of loyalty and never told him he hoped the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn would go away.

He said no-one would ask a man he hardly knew to pledge loyalty to him

But Mr Trump claimed other parts of Mr Comeys testimony represented total and complete vindication in the Russian election-meddling political scandal.

The president, who had not posted on his Twitter account on Thursday as Mr Comey accused the administration of spreading lies, struck back with an early morning tweet in which he said: Wow, Comey is a leaker.

Mr Comey had laid bare on Capitol Hill months of distrust of the president, bluntly asserting that President Trump had fired him for interfering with the probe of Russias ties to the Trump campaign. Mr Comey also revealed that he had orchestrated the public release of information about his private conversations with the president in an effort to further the investigation.

His testimony provided a gripping account of his interactions with President Trump and underscored the discord that had soured their relationship.

He portrayed President Trump as a chief executive dismissive of the FBIs independence and made clear that he interpreted Mr Trumps request to end an investigation into his former national security adviser as an order coming from the president.

Though Republicans worked to discredit Mr Comey and to blunt the impact of his testimony, the ex-directors statement deepened questions about the basis for his May 9 dismissal and about whether President Trumps actions constituted obstruction of justice.

Its my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation, Mr Comey said towards the end of more than two hours of testimony before the Senate intelligence committee.

I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavour was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. That is a very big deal, and not just because it involves me.

US President Donald Trump (Andrew Harnik/AP)

At one point, he practically dared President Trump to release any recordings of their conversations, a prospect the president once alluded to in a tweet.

Lordy, I hope there are tapes, Mr Comey said, suggesting such evidence would back up his account over the presidents.
A man who took people hostage at a job centre had a fake explosive device strapped to his chest, police have said.

The 28-year-old walked into the Byker Job Centre Plus in Newcastle at 8am brandishing a knife, Northumbria Police said.

Officers responded in nine minutes and shut down roads, closed Byker Metro Station, evacuated nearby buildings and began negotiating with the hostage taker.

A message from Darren Best following the incident this morning. Huge praise for the responding officers. More here - https://t.co/V7cNSJhKdr pic.twitter.com/ICoETbL5Vo  Northumbria Police (@northumbriapol) June 9, 2017

Armed police were sent to the scene and a cordon was put in place. Officers were swift to dismiss fears the incident was terror-related.

Police said the man was known to job centre staff and he engaged with officers early on during the incident.

He released everyone in the building within 30 minutes and surrended at 11.15am, when he was arrested for making threats to kill.

We want to reiterate there is no info or intelligence to suggest this was a terror incident. The man arrested is the only person involved.  Northumbria Police (@northumbriapol) June 9, 2017

It was at that point police confirmed the explosive device was fake.

Assistant Chief Constable Darren Best said: In recent weeks we have heard many positive stories about the police and how quickly they have responded to some of the atrocities we have witnessed in London and Manchester.

When we first received the call this morning there were very real concerns that this individual could have caused serious harm and to be on the scene in a matter of minutes is a fantastic response.

Police and a bomb disposal van at the scene (Scott Heppell/PA)

It must have been particularly traumatising for those staff members who were kept inside the premises but we were able to secure their release within just half an hour of arriving on scene.

Our specialist negotiators engaged with the man very early on and their efforts are one of the main reasons that this incident was brought to a safe conclusion and that nobody was injured.

We know that this would have been a very concerning incident for members of the public, particularly in light of events over the past few weeks, and we want to thank the public for their patience.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been released by Manchester United  but the veteran striker will continue his rehabilitation with the club, Press Association Sport understands.

Signed from Paris St Germain last summer on a one-season deal with the option of another, the 35-year-old netted 28 goals before serious knee ligament damage brought his campaign to a shuddering halt in April.

United have remained quiet about Ibrahimovics future since then, but the striker was named on the Premier Leagues official list of players let go on Friday.

It is little surprise given the highly-paid Swede is unlikely to play until early next year, but Press Association Sport understands he will do his rehabilitation with United.

The club are keen to look after Ibrahimovic and have been doing so both on site and from afar since Aprils injury in the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Anderlecht.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been released by Manchester United.



His one season at the club was incredible.  pic.twitter.com/DMWPVCzpn9  Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 9, 2017

The fact his rehab will be under Uniteds guidance does not necessarily mean he will sign a new deal with them, although their start to the 2017/18 campaign and his recovery could change things.

Ibrahimovics injury means a new number nine is high on Uniteds list of priorities this summer.

Reported target Romelu Lukaku appears close to leaving Everton for former club Chelsea, while Torino striker Andrea Belotti and Real Madrids Alvaro Morata are other options.

#PL clubs from the 2016/17 season have confirmed their released players lists



Full story: https://t.co/F27fgDRZcv pic.twitter.com/FoHbEmKCF1  Premier League (@premierleague) June 9, 2017

Ibrahimovic was the stand-out name on the Premier Leagues list of players released.

John Terry was confirmed as a free agent after leaving Chelsea, while Gael Clichy, Jesus Navas, Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna and Willy Caballero are among those released by Manchester City. Zabaleta has already agreed to join West Ham.

Yaya Sanogo has been released by Arsenal, with Evertons Arouna Kone and Crystal Palace striker Fraizer Campbell not offered new deals.

Sunderlands relegation from the Premier League looks to have prompted a shake-up of their first team squad with Victor Anichebe, Sebastian Larsson, Joleon Lescott, John OShea and Steven Pienaar all deemed surplus to requirements.
News / Religion

by Ihechukwu Njoku

Ihechukwu Njoku is a freelance Nigerian journalist.

News of Prophet T.B. Joshua's alleged relocation to Israel has continued to draw a spate of reactions, especially from distinguished Nigerians within government and religious circles.In an interview with Nigeria's Daily Times Newspaper, Cardinal Olubunmi Okojie, the fiery Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos, gave his comments on the contentious issue via phone from a London hospital bed."The man of God should not be intimidated over hostility by government or any other body because that is a true indication that God is working out His purpose in the midst of His people," counselled Okojie.The outspoken cardinal reminded Joshua of the persecution experienced by Jesus Christ during His time on earth, encouraging him to draw strength from such remembrance."All His disciples' ministries followed the same pattern, so Joshua should not remove from the midst of his own people who need him greatly," the aged Archbishop noted."He may not even realise the impact of what his ministry is doing to the poor and needy beside healing and setting captives free. Let him stay in his own country and minister to the rest of the world as he is doing," Okojie concluded.Alhaji Balarabe Musa, the former Governor of Kaduna state, opined that Israel has enough of its own challenges to deal with and the leader of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) would do well to remain in his homeland."What is T.B. Joshua's reason for deciding to move his wonderful ministry from his own country to another country," the elder statesman questioned."If he is accusing the Lagos State Government of persecution, why does he feel that he will have religious sympathy in Israel rather than any other country, considering the fact that Israel has a tremendous amount of problems."Musa called on the popular cleric to "rethink" his resolution, citing Israel's multiple "internal problems with the outside world" as a determining factor.Dr. Frederick Fasehun, the founder of Oodua People's Congress (OPC), equally lent his voice to the trending topic."Prophet T.B. Joshua's exit from Nigeria would be one brain drain incident too many," Fasehun firmly told reporters.The medical doctor cum political leader stated that if The SCOAN founder did indeed leave the country, it would be "a tragedy of no mean proportions and a national embarrassment".Fasehun described Joshua as one of the spiritual titans whose prayers were "helping sustain the peace and sanity of this country," calling on Nigerians to join together with one voice to appeal to the cleric to rescind his decision.Another group upset with Joshua's purported decision to depart Nigeria is the community closest to the Church whose local businesses literally revolve around The SCOAN's activities."A good number of us have been praying and fasting for God to change the mind of Prophet T.B. Joshua because the man of God doesn't know how much his Church is providing for and sustaining our families," a concerned resident told Daily Times."It will be catastrophic if The SCOAN is removed to another country because if it happens, many people may commit suicide," he solemnly declared, insisting that he was "not exaggerating".Okojie, Musa and Fasehun join the plethora of other prominent Nigerians who have called on Joshua to remain in Nigeria, citing his positive impact in the fields of Nigeria's economy, tourism and image abroad.
Denmarks Jkoba Fuglsang won a sprint finish ahead of Richie Porte and Chris Froome on stage six of the Criterium du Dauphine around Mont du Chat.

BMC rider Porte moved into the overall lead with a 39-second advantage over Team Skys Froome heading into Saturdays mountain stage to LAlpe dHuez.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), who had earlier been caught up in a crash, was the first to attack some eight kilometres before the summit, but it was Fuglsangs Astana team-mate Fabio Aru who took Mont du Chat as the lone leader.

Chris Froome was happy enough with his progress so far (Ian Parker/PA)

Froome, though, regained ground on the descent through a run of narrow roads and right corners before Fuglsang attacked under the flamme rouge of the last kilometre, but could not shake his rivals as they were back together again for the final 500m.

Porte then looked to have been blocked in, but as all three pushed for the line, it was Fuglsang who had enough left in the tank to edge his tyre in front, with Froome, who is aiming to defend his 2016 Criterium du Dauphine title, in third just ahead of Aru.

Australian Porte made the most of a disappointing day for Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), who lost several minutes, to lead the general classifications, with Fuglsang now third overall one minute and 15 seconds back following the Danes maiden Dauphine stage triumph.

Quel sprint ! Ralenti de la victoire @jakob_fuglsang / Slow-mo of Jakob Fuglsang's victory#Dauphine pic.twitter.com/eP2XYQPB4b  Criterium du Dauphine (@dauphine) June 9, 2017

There has been a lot of bad luck for our team this year, but finally everything seems to come together. We start to be competitive. Luckily its at the right time just before the Tour de France, Fuglsang said.

I like to ride the Dauphine like this, being two guys at the front with the two favourites for the Tour.

It is really nice to win here for the first time. It is the success of the team, not only Fabio and me, but all the guys who worked before the main climb and protected us in the past few days.

Froome was happy enough with his progress so far as he eyes the 2017 Tour de France crown.

It could have gone a lot worse. I was up front and the legs were pretty good. Im happy to be up there with Richie at the moment, whos in amazing form, the Briton said on the Team Sky website.
Rafael Nadals favourite number is nine  but he will reconsider if he wins an unprecedented 10th French Open title on Sunday.

The Spaniard continued his romp through the draw at Roland Garros with a 6-3 6-4 6-0 victory over Dominic Thiem.

Nadal is yet to drop a set and has lost just 29 games in six matches  his lowest tally ever and the least since Bjorn Borg in 1978.

Spain's Rafael Nadal raises his arms in victory after defeating Austria's Dominic Thiem during their semifinal match of the French Open (David Vincent/AP)

Thank god I didn't ever play Rafa on clay. Oh and oh and oh and oh and oh  Mardy Fish (@MardyFish) June 9, 2017

Now only Stan Wawrinka remains between the 31-year-old and another record as the first man to reach double digits at a single slam.

Nadal said: Nine or 10, its only 10 per cent more. Its true that 10 is a beautiful number, but actually my favourite is nine. But for sure it becomes 10.

I think I dont make more history. Its enough. Nine is more than good. Today is not the moment to think about that. Its the moment I have to be very happy.

Ive played a very good event, all the matches playing well. Today was not an exception. I started a little bit more nervous today than normal, but then I played well.

 La Decima se rapproche pour @RafaelNadal, tombeur de Thiem et a un match de soulever le Trophee des Mousquetaires pour la 10e fois ! #RG17 pic.twitter.com/T0axvyA21v  Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2017

Its true that Dominic played with more mistakes than usual probably. At the same time it was windy out there, and he didnt play on the centre court before that match. Probably that was not helping him.

In general, to be in the final again here of probably the most important event in my career, it means a lot to me. Im just very, very happy for everything, and Im going to try my best on Sunday.

Thiem went into the match fresh from his stunning upset of defending champion Novak Djokovic and looking for a second successive win against Nadal.

But Philippe Chatrier is the Spaniards stage and Thiem found Nadal a very different opponent to the one he met at the Italian Open in Rome last month.

Ruthless Rafa



King of Clay @RafaelNadal powers through to his 10th Roland-Garros final after impressive 6-3 6-4 6-0 win over Thiem. #RG17 pic.twitter.com/ejlvslv1Ga  Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2017

The pair did not begin their match until gone 6pm after Wawrinkas epic five-set victory over Andy Murray.

There had been speculation about whether they would be able to finish on Friday but that did not prove to be a problem.

After reaching the semi-finals here last year, Thiem has really come of age this season, with only Nadal having a better clay campaign.

The 23-year-old Austrian had also reached the last four without dropping a set and broke serve in the opening game.

No problems at all for Nadal, who crushes Thiem 6-3 6-4 6-0. Thiem will have his day, but for now there's only one king of clay  Eleanor Crooks (@EleanorcrooksPA) June 9, 2017

That was to be the only time he was ahead. Nadal reeled off four straight games, soaking up Thiems power and returning it with interest.

Time and again Thiem threw everything he had at Nadal but there was no way past and the sixth seed began to make too many errors.

Thiem fought hard to stay within touching distance in the first and second sets but Nadal ran away with the third.

It was a disappointing end to a terrific couple of months for Thiem, and he said: I think he played a good match today. I was not on the top of my game and the result everybody saw.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said she has received assurances from the Prime Minister over gay rights should the Tories do a deal with Democratic Unionist Party.

Ms Davidson, who is gay, spoke out after Theresa May outlined a plan to seek a deal with the socially hardline party, which has 10 seats in the Commons, to prop up her minority administration.

In an apparent criticism of the plan, Ms Davidson on Friday tweeted a link to a speech she made in favour of marriage equality, with the message:

Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster, center, speaks to the media, surrounded by her party Members of Parliament, during a press conference at the Stormont hotel in Belfast (Peter Morrison/AP)

As a Protestant Unionist about to marry an Irish Catholic, here's the Amnesty Pride lecture I gave in Belfast...https://t.co/NdRaT2s3W5  Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonPC) June 9, 2017

Ms Davidson, who became engaged to partner Jen Wilson in May 2016, later told the BBC: I was fairly straightforward with her (Mrs May) and I told her that there were a number of things that count to me more than the party.

One of them is country, one of the others is LGBTI rights.

I asked for a categoric assurance that if any deal or scoping deal was done with the DUP there would be absolutely no rescission of LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK, in Great Britain, and that we would use any influence that we had to advance LGBTI rights in Northern Ireland

Its an issue very close to my heart and one that I wanted categoric assurances from the prime minister on, and I received (them).

PM says Conservatives will work with "friends and allies" in the DUP. #2017Election  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) June 9, 2017

Northern Ireland is the only part of the British Isles where same-sex marriage remains outlawed.

The DUP has repeatedly used a controversial Stormont voting mechanism  the petition of concern  to prevent the legalisation of same-sex marriage, despite a majority of MLAs supporting the move at the last vote.

The party has often found itself embroiled in controversy over its stance on gay rights issues.

Founded on the evangelical principles of the late Ian Paisleys Free Presbyterian church, Northern Irelands largest political party has been repeatedly at odds with the regions LGBT community.

.@DUPleader says "Union will be our guiding star" when it comes to attitude in parliament. #2017Election pic.twitter.com/bq1rrhwL4Z  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) June 9, 2017

Their differences highlight Northern Irelands often stark dichotomy between religious-based social conservatism and secular progressive liberalism.

While the party insists it is protecting the traditional definition of marriage, critics have denounced its stance as homophobic.

Going back decades, the DUP was at the vanguard of the failed Save Ulster from Sodomy movement that campaigned against the 1982 legalisation of homosexual sex in Northern Ireland.

In more recent times, former first minister Peter Robinsons wife Iris, then an MP, described homosexuality as an abomination, while the MP son of Dr Paisley, Ian Paisley Jr, said he felt repulsed by homosexual acts.

I have spoken with the PM. We will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how we can help bring stability to our nation. pic.twitter.com/sTjTwJDbKU  Arlene Foster DBE PC #ProudofNI. (@ArleneFosterUK) June 9, 2017

A party councillor in Ballymena reportedly claimed Hurricane Katrina, which killed more than 1,500 people in the US, was Gods revenge for New Orleans hosting an annual gay pride event.

In the 2015 general election campaign, DUP health minister Jim Wells resigned amid a controversy about remarks he made about same sex couples.

Defending her partys stance on gay marriage in a recent interview, leader Arlene Foster insisted those who characterised the DUP as anti-gay were wide of the mark.

Missed a whole slew of declarations while I was doing the media rounds. So proud of the whole team.  Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonPC) June 9, 2017

They are wrong and they need to understand why we take those positions from a faith point of view and why we want to protect the definition of marriage, she said.

I could not care less what people get up to in terms of their sexuality, thats not a matter for me, when it becomes a matter for me is when people try to redefine marriage.
By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, June 7 (Reuters) - More than 30 Western countries called on the Maldives at the U.N. Human Rights Council on Wednesday to investigate thoroughly the death of a prominent blogger and to guarantee space for activists and political opposition.

Yameen Rasheed, who denounced Islamist extremism and state corruption, was found stabbed to death in late April. He had led a campaign to find a journalist presumed abducted in 2014 and had repeatedly complained to police about death threats.

The Maldives government denies targeting any critic unfairly and President Abdulla Yameen has condemned Rasheed's murder, vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice.

But Britain, in a joint statement read out on behalf of countries including the United States, said strong guarantees in the Maldives constitution of freedom of expression were being "increasingly curtailed".

"We welcome the governments commitment to ensuring an objective and impartial investigation into the killing of blogger and prominent human rights defender, Yameen Rasheed," Britain's ambassador Julian Braithwaite said in the statement, noting that Rasheed's father Hussain attended the session.

The joint statement urged the government to "prevent the intimidation of human rights defenders", including by those who promote violent extremism.

"Legitimate opposition remains a vital component of a healthy democracy, and it is essential that the freedoms of assembly and expression are granted to all."

Forum-Asia, a non-governmental organisation which promotes human rights and development, welcomed the "unprecedented censure" at the council, adding that "the government is yet to hold a credible investigation" into Rasheed's murder.

Maldives Ambassador Hala Hameed told the council her government had shown "our willingess to engage in constructive dialogue across the breadth of human rights issues, engaging with human rights institutions and robust press and civil society to maintain our strong record of protecting core political rights".

The tropical Indian Ocean archipelago of 400,000 people has been mired in political instability since its uneasy shift to democracy in 2008, and critics accuse President Yameen of autocratic behaviour.

Many potential challengers in elections due in 2018 have been arrested for alleged security offences.

The European Union said on Wednesday: "The use of the judicial system to target political opponents is a serious threat to the prospect of credible and inclusive elections in 2018." (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Andrew Roche)
RABAT, June 8 (Reuters) - A Panama court dismissed a case by the Western Sahara Polisario independence movement to block a Moroccan shipment of phosphate in Panama saying there was no evidence the cargo belonged to the group, the Moroccan phosphate producer said on Thursday.

Polisario in May filed a claim to hold the Danish charter vessel Ultra Innovation, carrying 55,000 tonnes of phosphate rock from Morocco's Office Cherifien de Phosphate (OCP), through Panama to the Port of Vancouver for the Canadian company Agrium.

The detention of the vessel was a new legal tactic by the independence movement in its conflict with Morocco over Western Sahara, a disputed territory where the two sides fought a war until a 1991 ceasefire.

"The court ruled that a domestic court is not the appropriate venue to consider purely political matters. It also ruled there is indeed no evidence demonstrating that the cargo on board belongs to the plaintiffs," OCP said in a statement.

Panama court authorities were not immediately available for comment to confirm the OCP statement. Polisario said its lawyers were not aware of such a decision.

In late May, Panama judicial sources and Agrium said the shipping company posted a bond for the release of the ship.

By trying to seize Moroccan phosphate vessels, Polisario had tested a European court ruling last year that Western Sahara should not be considered part of the Moroccan kingdom in EU and Moroccan deals. Polisario said phosphate shipped from the disputed territory does not belong to Morocco.

Western Sahara has been disputed since 1975, when Morocco claimed it as part of the kingdom and the Polisario fought a guerrilla war for the Sahrawi people's independence. A 1991 ceasefire split the region in two between what Morocco calls its southern provinces and an area controlled by Polisario.

Morocco's OCP is the world's leading phosphate exporter and operates in the Moroccan-held areas.

U.N.-backed negotiations have failed for years to end the dispute. Morocco wants the region to have autonomy within Moroccan sovereignty. Polisario wants to hold a referendum on self-determination, including on the question of independence. (Reporting by Samia Errazzouki; Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Adrian Croft)
TOKYO, June 9 (Reuters) - Smoke was detected in the cockpit of a Korean Air Lines flight on Friday as it approached Fukuoka airport in southern Japan, but there was no fire reported and no injuries among the passengers, civil aviation and transport officials said.

All 162 passengers and crew on the plane disembarked normally, officials said.

The cause of the smoke in the cockpit of the Boeing 737 has not yet been determined, the transport ministry official said.

The pilot of flight 783 from Busan, South Korea, reported to the control tower that there was smoke in the cockpit as the plane neared Fukuoka airport.

The smoke cleared once the plane landed, an official at the Civil Aviation Bureau in Fukuoka said. (Reporting by Elaine Lies and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Writing by Malcolm Foster; Editing by Paul Tait)
BUCHAREST, June 9 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Friday.

WASHINGTON

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will meet U.S. President Donald Trump on an official visit in Washington on Friday.

TRADE DATA

Romania's National Statisctics Board to release April trade data at 0600 GMT.

DEBT TENDERS

Romania sold a planned 1.0 billion lei ($246.17 million) worth of one-year treasury bills on Thursday, with the average accepted yield at 0.8 percent, and 703 million lei ($173.05 million) worth of Dec. 2022 bonds at 2.81 percent, central bank data showed.

CEE MARKETS

The crown led a rise of Central European currencies on Thursday, hitting its highest level since 2013, after Czech central bankers repeated that they could start raising rates later this year.

WAGE CHALLENGES

Romania's prosecutor general has asked the president on Thursday to challenge the Constitutional Court over a public sector wage bill parliament approved earlier this week that would enforce a pay gap between prosecutors and judges, even though both have legal status as magistrates.

President Klaus Iohannis must sign the bill into law for it to take effect.

TENNIS

Simona Halep showed the full extent of her defensive skills to outfox Karolina Pliskova 6-4 3-6 6-3 on Thursday and reach her second French Open final, setting up a showdown against her polar opposite.

COURT RULING

A Bucharest court ruled on Thursday Romanian businessman and politician Dan Voiculescu who is serving a 10-year prison sentence over the privatisation of a food research institute in 2003 qualified for early release. Voiculescu has served three years of his sentence. The decision is not final and could be challenged by prosecutors.

MARKET OFFERING

Induction heat parts maker AAGES Targu-Mures' secondary market offering, which has a June 8-21 subscription period has already been oversubscribed. Ziarul Financiar

For the long-term Romanian diary, click on

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SOFIA, June 9 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

-- Bulgarian government approved an agreed increase of the minimum monthly state pension to 180 levs ($103) as of July and to 200 levs as of October. The raise will cost about 100 million levs but would not lead to changes in the state budget and will be covered by expected higher revenues from pension and social contributions, Social Minister Biser Petkov said. (Trud, 24 Chasa, Monitor, Sega, Duma, Telegraph)

BANKER - Three Bulgarian companies are in the shortlist to acquire the Bulgarian assets of Czech power company CEZ and have to file binding offers by the end of July, sources familiar with the process said. CEZ has said it would decide on the whether to sell in the second half of the year.

-- A Bulgarian court kept in custody a Swedish citizen who kicked a hotel cleaning lady at the Black Sea resort of Sunny Beach unprovoked. The man had since apologized saying he had been drunk and did not remember the incident. (Trud, Telegraph, Sega)

-- President Rumen Radev, former air force commander, flew on U.S. F-15C jet fighter during a joint U.S.-Bulgarian military drill in Bulgaria. (Trud, Sega, Duma) ($1 = 1.7452 leva)
By Susan Taylor

TORONTO, June 9 (Reuters) - Freeport-McMoRan Inc, the world's largest publicly traded copper miner, is "on a path" to get a new mining deal with Indonesia this year for its giant Grasberg mine, Chief Financial Officer Kathleen Quirk said on Thursday.

The Arizona-based company resumed copper concentrate exports from Grasberg, the world's second-biggest copper mine, in April after a 15-week outage related to a government dispute over mining rights. Freeport had planned to ramp up production, which was cut by around two-thirds during the outage.

Freeport shares gained 2.9 percent to $12.06 on Thursday.

Jakarta halted Freeport's copper concentrate exports in January, under new rules that require miners to adopt a special license, pay new taxes and royalties, divest a 51 percent stake in their operations and relinquish arbitration rights.

Freeport, whose current contract runs until 2021 with two 10-year extensions, will only agree to a license accompanied by an investment stability agreement that replicates current legal and fiscal certainty, Quirk said.

"We think we're on a path to be able to get that resolved during this year and that's our top priority," Quirk said via webcast from a Deutsche Bank conference.

Without the agreement, Freeport is unlikely to continue investing in the country, she said, noting the company has already spent $3 billion on a project to transitions Grasberg to underground from open pit mining.

Production from the project, about half complete, is targeted for 2018 or 2019, she said.

The government will meet Freeport next Wednesday for further talks and negotiations could be concluded by October 2017, Teguh Pamuji, secretary general at Indonesia's energy and mining ministry told reporters on Friday.

"The important thing is the substance, which will cover regulations and documents that will make them comfortable and give security for them to operate in Indonesia," he said.

Meantime, Freeport is grappling with labor problems.

Its contractor-dominated workforce in Indonesia has been reduced to approximately 26,000 workers currently from about 33,000 at the start of 2017.

Following the export restrictions, Freeport furloughed some 3,000 workers in the first quarter, Quirk said, sparking a strike and high levels of absenteeism. Freeport later deemed that approximately 3,000 full-time employees and 1,000 contractors had resigned, Quirk said.

Quirk said Freeport is training additional workers and "offering opportunities for those workers that are deemed to have resigned to be able to apply for open positions through contractor companies."

While the union said its strike would extend into June, Freeport has not seen additional absenteeism that would cause it to assume the workers had resigned, she added.

The union, which began a 30-day strike on May 1, said on May 20 that it would extend the strike for a second month. (Reporting by Susan Taylor; Additional reporting by Wilda Asmarini in JAKARTA; Editing by Bernard Orr and Jeffrey Benkoe)
SAKATA, Japan, June 9 (Reuters) - Sirens blared in the streets of a Japanese city on Friday, the latest community to conduct evacuation drills in a region wary of the threat of North Korean missiles.

School children in Sakata, a city on Japan's northeast coast, crouched down with their hands over their heads and then ran into their gymnasium for shelter.

Residents who could not make it to a designated evacuation centre knelt or lay down in the middle of rice fields.

"In the past, I felt like these had nothing to do with me," college student Makoto Nanba, 20, said of North Korea's missile launches, as she gathered with others at the school gym.

"But because their frequency has gone up, it doesn't feel like a distant problem anymore."

Japan has stepped up evacuation drills in recent months as North Korea tests missiles in defiance of international pressure to halt its weapons programme.

Japanese authorities estimate that it would take only 10 minutes for a North Korean missile to reach Japan.

North Korea has launched 16 missiles in 10 tests this year, the latest on Thursday when four surface-to-ship cruise missiles travelled about 200 km (124 miles) from Wonsan in the east of the reclusive country. (Reporting by Megumi Lim, writing by Karishma Singh)
Opinion / Blogs

ANSWERS

Questions by schools to be answered on Newspaper can be submitted through my mobile number +2363777896159 or Email address : witnessdingani@gmail.com. Readers of the Daily Old Testament Questions and Answers can follow the Questions and Answers on Sunday News Newspaper every week | Bulawayo24.com Online Newspaper | Listen to Divinity on Lips Radio Program with Witness Dingani every Sundays on Channel Zim Free Tv Decorders [Radio Dialogue] 09:00am -10:00am or Like Facebook page "Witness Dingani" where some of useful information will be posted. For assistance in Apostolic age kindly inbox Sir Derco on +263735710949 and For assistance in Four gospels kindly inbox Sir Chakabva on +263785199703



Remember this ancient Indian proverb: "if you conquer your mind, you conquer the world."

QN "Ecstasy was a phenomenon also found outside Israel" (G.Holscher). Show how this statement has often been used to dispute that prophecy was unique Israel?(25)COMMENT OVERVIEWDifferent definitions of ecstasy have been brought forward by different scholars, some define ecstasy as an abnormal behavior as a result of being possessed by the spirit of supernatural force,Ecstasy and prophecy cannot be easily separated, this has been supported by Philo who argued that no ecstasy no prophecy. The above question requires one to prove that ecstasy was not unique to Israel.Number of scholars believe that ecstasy was also common to the following surrounding nations.EgyptPhoeniciaCanaanSyriaAmong the Israelites they were some who were ecstatic, this will be fully shown below.- Israelites experienced ecstasy, this idea was first experienced by the 70 elders during the exodus event, this is recorded in Numbers 11 :22-26. The type of ecstasy which they experienced has been interpreted by different scholars, some believe that it was contagious type of ecstasy. This has been supported by Constable in page 41, paragraph 4 in his NUMBERS notes who submitted that this type of prophecy was selective and temporary. This type of prophecy was also common in surrounding nations, this has been supported by Pritchard quoted by B.W.Anderson in his book entitled the "The Living World of Old Testament", who recorded the story of Wen - Amon [the story is well known ]As such, this indicates that ecstasy was phenomenon also found outside Israel as it was found in Phoenicia and Egypt basing on the story of Wen -Amon.- The sons of prophets experienced absorption ecstasy; absorption ecstasy is whereby an individual prophesy ecstatically after being induced or absorbed by music, this is recorded in 1st Samuel 10:6-10 has been supported by J Lindblom quoted by Ewbank page 9, paragraph 6.[The point in this case is that Israelites experienced ecstasy]. Extra biblical sources proves that ecstasy was common in surrounding nations, it was common in Syria, this can be supported by the story of STELLE ZAKIR, who was answered by a seer who delivered the visions in trance. The story of Mt Camel Contest is well known by so many people, what cannot be noticed is that the Baal prophets which were exported by Jezebel from Phoenicia experienced ecstasy in 1st Kings 18:28,this type of ecstasy is also believed by B.W.Anderson in his book entitled "The Living word of Old Testament" to have existed in Asia -Minor (orges of Dionysus). All this, indicates that ecstasy was a phenomenon also found outside Israel as the author indicated that it was found in Phoenicia, Syria and Asia-minor.THE ABOVE INFORMATION CAN BE USED TO DISPUTE THE VIEW THAT PROPHECY WAS UNIQUE TO ISRAEL, HOWEVER ONE SHOULD NOTE THAT MORE EVIDENCE CAN BE BROUGHT FORWARD TO PROVE THAT INDEED PROPHECY WAS NOT UNIQUE, FOR INSTANCE.The prophetic titles of Israel prophets, is believed to be similar to those of surrounding nations, Israel prophets named their prophets as man of God, this trend started with Moses, this is evidenced in Joshua 14:6,Samuel was also regarded as a man of God in 1st Samuel 9:7-9, Elijah the Tishbite was regarded as a man of God by the widow of Zerapath in 1st Kings 17:12-20.The young prophet from Judah is named as man of God in the bible (1st Kings 13:1) even though scholars like Josephus named him as Jadon. In surrounding nations they were prophets who were named as man of God, this has been supported by Martin North citing the story of Andrew Parrot the French archaeologist [Sometimes the story is well known as the story of ZIMRI LIM ). As such, this indicates that prophetic titles can be used to dispute the view that prophecy was unique to Israel.MORE POINTS CAN BE ADDED- Advising Kings (Gad and Nathan ): Similar to the story of Balaam the Moabite who advised the King of Moab Baalak to offer the sacrifices [read Numbers 23 :1 to get full information]
BEIJING, June 9 (Reuters) - Pakistan has told China that two Chinese teachers kidnapped by Islamic State militants in Pakistan are likely dead, a foreign ministry spokeswoman in Beijing said on Friday, adding the government was trying to get more details.

Islamic State has claimed that its fighters killed the two teachers, who were kidnapped on May 24 in Pakistan's Baluchistan province, where China is investing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects. The two, a man and a woman, were kidnapped in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan, by armed men pretending to be policemen.

"According to the most recent information Pakistan has provided, these two kidnapped Chinese citizens have probably already been murdered," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.

China is trying to verify this information and is also ascertaining details about the victims, she added.

"China resolutely opposes and strongly condemns all forms of terrorism, and supports Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism and maintain domestic security and stability," Hua said.

Pakistan had gone all out in its rescue efforts and had promised to continue to do its utmost to protect Chinese citizens, she added.

The kidnapping was a rare security incident involving Chinese nationals in Pakistan, where Beijing has pledged $57 billion under its massive "Belt and Road" initiative to build rail, road and power infrastructure.

China says Pakistan, a long-time political and military ally, is a major part of its plans to build a modern day "Silk Road" network of land and maritime routes to connect Asia with Africa and Europe. Key parts of the infrastructure will be in Baluchistan, including the new port of Gwadar, which will be linked to western China under current plans.

The killing of the teachers was claimed by Islamic State's Amaq news agency on Thursday.

"Islamic State fighters killed two Chinese people they had been holding in Baluchistan province, southwest Pakistan," Amaq said.

A Baluchistan government spokesman said officials were in the process of confirming whether the report was correct.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's interior ministry or its foreign office.

GREATER CAUTION

Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times, published by the official People's Daily, said in an editorial on Friday China would never bow in the face of terror, but also said Chinese people should exercise greater caution abroad, especially in more remote areas.

"They also need to raise their ability to protect themselves, and as much as possible put distance between themselves and real danger," it said.

The claim of the killings sparked anger on Chinese social media, with some strongly anti-Muslim comments.

Islamic State, which controls some territory in neighbouring Afghanistan, has struggled to establish a presence in Pakistan. However, it has claimed several major attacks, including one on the deputy chairman of the Senate last month in Baluchistan, in which 25 people were killed.

On Thursday, Pakistan's military published details of a three-day raid on a militant hideout in a cave not far from Quetta, saying it had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists" from a banned local Islamist group and prevented Islamic State from gaining a "foothold" in Baluchistan.

China's ambassador to Pakistan and other officials have often urged Islamabad to improve security, especially in Baluchistan.

The numbers of Pakistanis studying Mandarin has skyrocketed since 2014, when President Xi Jinping signed off on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Consequently, any attack on Chinese interests in Pakistan would come as an embarrassment to Islamabad, which greatly prizes its relationship with Beijing. The two refer to each other as "all weather friends".

Security in Baluchistan has improved in recent years, but separatists, who view infrastructure projects as a ruse to steal natural resources, killed 10 Pakistani workers building a road near Gwadar this month.

China has also expressed concern about militants in Pakistan linking up with what China views as separatists in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where hundreds have been killed in violence in recent years. (Additional reporting by Saud Mehsud in Islamabad; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
BELGRADE, June 9 (Reuters) - Serbia has extended a deadline for bids for a 25-year concession to operate Belgrade's Nikola Tesla airport, the biggest in the western Balkan region.

The government, which needs to raise revenues and wants to sell remaining state-owned firms under a three-year loan deal with the International Monetary Fund, expects the deal to be worth around 400 million euros ($448 million).

In an official notice published in the Friday edition of the Politika newspaper, Belgrade said the deadline had been extended to June 21. The initial deadline was for March 10, but this was then extended to May 30.

"The public body (government and airport management) decided to extend the deadline to allow qualified participants ... to provide proof of fulfilment of all requirements," it said.

In March, the then-Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that 27 companies had expressed an interest in bidding. On April 24, the Beta news agency reported that South Korea's Incheon airport was interested in bidding for the concession.

The Serbian government has an 83.1 percent stake in the airport whose net profit increased by 21 percent in the first four months of 2017 to 831.7 million dinars ($7.6 million).

Under terms of the offer, prospective bidders must not have more than a 20 percent stake in another airport within 450 kilometres of Nikola Tesla, which had passenger numbers of more than 1 million in 2016. ($1 = 0.8932 euros) (Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Alexander Smith)
ANKARA, June 9 (Reuters) - Turkey called a plan by Iraqi Kurds to hold a referendum on independence a "terrible mistake", saying on Friday that Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity was a fundamental principle for Ankara.

Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region said this week it would hold a referendum on independence, a move that is also unlikely to be welcomed by the central government in Baghdad.

Kurdish separatism is a sensitive issue for Turkey, which has been battling a militant insurgency in its largely Kurdish southeast for three decades.

Ankara is also worried about the advances by a Syrian Kurdish militia in northern Syria, fearing that could embolden the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey.

"We think this will represent a terrible mistake," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "The maintenance of Iraq's territorial integrity and political unit is one of the fundamental principles of Turkey's Iraq policy."

The idea of Iraqi Kurdish independence has been historically opposed by Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria, as they all fear separatism spreading to their own Kurdish populations.

Iraq's majority Shi'ite Arab community mainly live in the south while the Kurds and the Sunni Arabs inhabit different areas of the north. The centre around Baghdad is mixed. (Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Daren Butler and Tom Heneghan)
By Zandi Shabalala

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Copper hit its highest in over five weeks on Friday, helped by concerns over supply from Chile, recent data pointing to robust import demand in China and falling stocks of the metal.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ended 1.3 percent higher at $5,804 a tonne, after touching $5,813, its highest since May 2.

Copper, used in power and construction, made its biggest weekly gains since mid-March, ending about 2.5 percent higher.

"Chinese trade data registered another surplus in May, its helped coax copper prices higher," said Kash Kamal, a commodities analyst at Sucden Financial.

"Still, the tentative macro environment and stronger dollar outlook is likely to cap gains on the upside and we have a limited view on additional upside potential," he said.

COPPER INVENTORIES: Falling stocks of copper support the price. Copper inventories in LME warehouses <MCU-STOCKS> fell 9,475 tonnes on Friday to 276,875 tonnes and are down almost 20 percent from a seven-month high May. CHINA DATA: China reported stronger-than-anticipated exports and imports for May on Thursday, despite falling commodity prices, indicating the economy is holding up better than expected despite rising lending rates and a cooling property market. COPPER MINES RESTART: Chilean copper company Codelco has restarted operations at mines in the northern part of the country after a rain storm caused a series of precautionary closures.

TECHNICALS: "Copper, which broke the recent daily downtrend yesterday and closed strongly, held the momentum today to challenge $5,800 area as shorts covered and supported again by further LME stock declines," Sucden said in a note.

UK ELECTION: British voters dealt Prime Minister Theresa May a devastating blow in a snap election, wiping out her parliamentary majority and throwing the country into political turmoil.

OTHER ASSETS: Sterling spiralled lower as British elections left no single party with a clear claim to power, sideswiping investors who had already weathered major risk events in the United States and Europe.

ALUMINIUM: Benchmark aluminium down 1.4 percent on the week, on track to clock its worst week since mid-April. It was up 0.3 percent on Friday at $1,907 per tonne.

ALUMINIUM SUPPLY: The metal fell sharply this week as traders brushed aside news that Qatar's exports of the metal had been blocked and focused instead on weak Chinese demand and rising geopolitical tensions.

SUPPLY: Miner Alcoa said it had restarted half the capacity at its 300,000 tonnes per year Portland smelter in Australia crippled by a blackout half a year ago.

ZINC RISES: LME zinc rebounded from a seven-month low of $2,427.50 touched on Wednesday. It was 2.7 percent higher at $2,533 a tonne.

OTHER PRICES: Nickel closed 1.9 percent higher at$8,980 a tonne, lead rose 0.4 percent to $2,099, while tin fell 2 percent to $18,800.

(Additional reporting by James Regan; Editing by David Evans)
By Noah Browning and Aidan Lewis

DUBAI/TUNIS, June 9 (Reuters) - The ostracism of Qatar by other powerful Arab states is deepening divisions between their respective allies vying for influence in wars and political struggles from Libya to Yemen.

The feud complicates efforts to stabilise countries reeling from years of turmoil and undermines the notion of a Sunni Muslim Arab world united against terrorism and Iran, proclaimed by U.S. President Donald Trump in his visit last month.

The quarrel is the latest chapter in the battle of wills between political Islamists and traditional Arab autocrats which has buffeted Muslim societies for decades.

Since the 2011 "Arab Spring" protests, which aspired to democratic reform but in several countries collapsed into warfare, Egypt and especially the United Arab Emirates emerged as main foes of an ascendant Muslim Brotherhood backed by Qatar.

After Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE cut ties to Doha on Monday, accusing it of supporting militants and Iran, regional allies followed suit and denounced domestic foes as Qatari stooges, undermining reconciliation efforts by foreign powers.

"The whole situation has become very awkward. Qatar and its big rivals are fighting each other, but indirectly and on other people's territory," said Yemeni analyst Farea al-Muslimi.

"Having internal Arab messes like this escalate and get more complicated makes it pretty clear that the Arab world is far away from solving other issues like Palestine or Iraq or even the relationship with Iran."

In Libya, the UAE and Qatar, which both played key roles in backing rebels in the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, have emerged as rivals on the battlefield with conflicting interests and visions.

The UAE, along with Egypt, has backed anti-Islamist former army commander Khalifa Haftar, appointed by a government and parliament based in the east. Qatar and Turkey have supported rival Islamist-leaning factions in western Libya.

In Yemen -- mired in conflict since Saudi Arabia launched an air war in 2015 against the Houthi movement that controls the capital -- a southern Yemeni secessionist council armed by the UAE opposes the internationally recognised government because it includes the Qatar-backed Muslim Brotherhood.

The council and Yemen's Saudi-backed government, despite years of Qatar ties, cut diplomatic relations with Doha.

The eastern-based Libyan government and parliament aligned with anti-Islamist Haftar did the same.

"We are certain that the concerned states in the Gulf and Egypt will put pressure so as to drastically shift Qatar's outrageous policies," Mohamed Dayri, the foreign minister of the eastern government, told Reuters.

On Friday Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain designated as terrorists five Libyans including Tripoli Grand Mufti Sadiq al-Ghariani, an influential figure for anti-Haftar militias in western Libya. They also listed the Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB), a group that has tried to revive armed opposition to Haftar since last year.

TIME TO WITHDRAW?

Qatar has for years punched well above its weight in world affairs by parleying its vast gas wealth into influence across the region, irking the UAE and dominant Gulf Arab power Saudi Arabia with its maverick stances and support for Islamists.

Now, Qatar's powerful neighbours appear to be demanding a retreat from those conflicts.

"The message now is that it's time for Qatar to withdraw from the region and essentially not have an independent foreign policy," said Peter Salisbury, an analyst at Chatham House.

"It looks like Saudi Arabia and the UAE won't be satisfied until Qatar is pushed to stop funding the groups they don't like, the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas."

But these demands come while Qatar's allies have for the most part been forced onto the back foot.

Blessed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, former Egyptian army chief and now president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted the Qatar-aligned elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in a 2013 military takeover.

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, some of its leaders based in Doha, is no closer to leading the Palestinian people then when it fell out with secular rivals in the Fatah party in 2007.

The Gulf spat is likely to further fuel inter-rebel conflicts in Syria, where rivalries between Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been showcased since the earliest days of the crisis.

"EXTREMIST DIVIDENDS"

Qatar's friends who retain a plausible chance at national leadership, in Libya and Yemen, may have the most to lose from the row.

Haftar styles himself as a bane of extremism, and has become the dominant figure in eastern Libya since launching a campaign against Islamist groups and former rebels in Benghazi three years ago. Many suspect he seeks national rule.

His supporters believe the Qatar spat vindicates their anti-Islamist stance, as Haftar has gained ground and the U.N.-backed Tripoli government that he has rejected has been floundering.

Any hardening of the Haftar camp's stance could complicate mediation efforts by Libya's neighbours to the west, Algeria and Tunisia, which have been pushing for an inclusive, negotiated solution.

"Qatar being made an example out of ... means that Haftar, Egypt and the UAE will experience much less diplomatic pushback as they ramp up their military campaign inside Libya itself," said Jalel Harchaoui, a researcher at Paris 8 University. (Editing by Samia Nakhoul)
DAKAR, June 9 (Reuters) - Militants on Thursday killed three United Nations peacekeepers in a attack outside their base in Kidal in northern Mali, the U.N. said in a statement on Friday.

U.N. soldiers face frequent attacks from desert fighters who have regrouped since a French-led military operation in 2013 to drive them out of Mali's northern towns.

More than 100 peacekeepers have died in recent months, making it the most deadly U.N. mission to date.

The U.N. camp came under heavy mortar fire on Thursday, injuring five. Shortly afterwards, three U.N. soldiers were killed in an attack just outside the camp, the U.N. said, giving no further details.

The nationalities of the soldiers and the identity of the attackers were not yet known.

Despite ongoing French strikes on their hideouts, fighters, including local al Qaeda affiliates, have staged a series of attacks this year, including a suicide bombing at an army base in January which killed at least 77 people.

Several French soldiers were wounded last week in an al Qaeda mortar attack in Timbuktu. (Reporting By Edward McAllister; Editing by Tim Cocks)
PARIS, June 9 (Reuters) - A French photographer detained in May by Turkish police while on assignment in the mainly Kurdish southeast has been freed, the French president's office and activist group Reporters sans Frontieres said on Friday.

Istanbul-based freelance journalist Mathias Depardon was taken into custody by police in Batman province on May 8 and had been held at a deportation centre in the border province of Gaziantep, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said last month.

RSF said on Twitter that Depardon was on an airplane to Istanbul and would arrive in Paris in the evening. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau and Marine Pennetier; writing by Leigh Thomas; editing by Richard Lough)
JOHANNESBURG, June 9 (Reuters) - South Africa's ultra-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party filed a criminal complaint against Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and the state rail company on Friday over what it says is evidence of corruption in a lucrative government tender.

A flurry of new allegations of inappropriate collusion between state-owned companies and business interests close to President Jacob Zuma this week have piled pressure on the scandal-plagued leader and emboldened opposition parties.

Some of more than 100,000 emails leaked to media show a company owned by the Gupta family, friends of Zuma, allegedly earned 5.3 billion rand ($410 million) by acting as an intermediary in a tender to build locomotives for state rail firm Transnet.

"We are here because we want to protect the South African purse, which Zuma and his friends have turned into a personal purse," EFF head Julius Malema said after filing the complaint at Johannesburg's central police station.

Gigaba has said he has done nothing wrong.

A Gupta family spokesman has said the emails are "fake news". Zuma has not addressed the new allegations but has previously said his relationship with the Guptas does not represent a conflict of interest.

The African National Congress (ANC) has become increasingly divided over Zuma's leadership in recent months due to a string of corruption scandals, diminishing public support and economic turbulence caused partly by a cabinet reshuffle in March.

Zuma, who has survived calls to resign from sections of the ANC and its political allies in recent months, said on Friday the party must put a stop to public spats and unite to avoid handing the advantage to its opponents.

"We must unite and close ranks and find solutions to the challenges we face," Zuma told veterans of the ANC's military wing. "We cannot afford anymore self-inflicted pain."

($1 = 12.9117 rand) (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Tanisha Heiberg; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Ed Stoddard)
By Parisa Hafezi

ANKARA, June 9 (Reuters) - When Islamic State called on members of Iran's Sunni Muslim minority in March to wage a religious war on their Shi'ite rulers, few people took the threat seriously. And yet within three months, militants have breached security at the very heart of the nation, killing at least 17 people.

This week's attacks at parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini have exposed shortcomings among the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) which was supposed to be protecting these potent symbols of Iran's revolution.

They have also undermined Tehran's belief that by backing offensives against Islamic State across the Middle East, it can keep the militant Sunni group away from Iran.

Undaunted, officials say Iran will step up the strategy, which includes sending fighters to battle Islamic State in Syria and Iraq alongside allied Shi'ite militia groups.

And with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the IRGC blaming Saudi Arabia for the attacks, tensions are only likely to deepen between the two arch rivals competing for influence in an already chaotic region. Riyadh denies the charges, describing Tehran instead as "the number one state sponsor of terrorism".

Wednesday's killings in Tehran by Iranian members of Islamic State drew a shocked response similar to that in Western countries when they too have been attacked by locally-born jihadists. Now Iranians are worrying about how many others are out there, planning similar assaults.

One senior Iranian official told Reuters that Islamic State had established a network of support in the country, and suggested that members' motivation was as much political and economic as to do with Sunni radicals' belief that Shi'ites are infidels.

"Sunni extremism is spreading in Iran like many other countries. And not all of these young people who join extremist groups are necessarily religious people," said the official, who asked not to be named. "But the establishment is well aware of the problem and is trying to tackle it."

Most Iranian Sunnis, who form up to 10 percent of the population, reject Islamic State's ideology. But some young Sunnis seem to regard policies of Shi'ite-led Iran as oppressive at home or aggressive abroad, such as in Iraq and Syria, pushing more of them into the arms of jihadist groups.

Iran has been trying to stem the spread of radicalism into Sunni majority regions, which are usually less economically developed. Authorities said 1,500 young Iranians were prevented from joining Islamic State in 2016.

Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to the Balouch minority and has long been a hotbed of Sunni insurgents.

Two Sunni groups, Jaish al-Adl and Jundallah, have been fighting the IRGC for over a decade. This has mostly been in remote areas but some say it was almost inevitable that violence would eventually spread to Tehran, as it did this week.

"It's not the attacks that are surprising. It's that Iran has been able to avoid one for so long. The attacks were a wake-up call for Iran's security apparatus," said senior Iran analyst Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group. "But so too will they probably serve as one for jihadists, who will be encouraged to exploit Iran's vulnerabilities."

"STRATEGIC FOLLY"

Since its creation shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, the IRGC has functioned as Iran's most powerful internal and external security force, with a sophisticated intelligence and surveillance network.

The IRGC has vowed revenge on Islamic State - known by its opponents under the Arab acronym of Daesh - but a top security official said this won't be easy.

"The attacks showed the vulnerability of our security system, at the borders and within Iran," the official said, asking not to be named. However, he added: "Many planned attacks by Daesh have been foiled by our security forces in the past years. Many terrorist cells were dismantled. Our Guards have been vigilant."

Syrian rebels and Iraqi forces are closing in on Islamic State in those countries, and the official said the group appeared to have tried to strike back in Tehran.

"The attacks are the result of Daesh being weakened in the region. They blame Iran for that ... But Iran will not abandon its fight against terrorism," he added.

Open discussion of security vulnerabilities is taboo in Iran. However, Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior Iran analyst at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, criticised the idea that Syria and Iraq could form an effective first line of defence for Iran.

"Iranian officials have long justified their country's active military presence in Iraq and Syria as a way to keep the homeland safe," he said. "Wednesday's attacks expose the folly of that strategy."

SPIRALING TENSIONS

A senior official, who also asked not to be named, said the attacks would push Iran toward "a harsher regional policy".

Sanam Vakil, associate fellow with Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Programme, dismissed any expectation that Tehran might try to ease spiraling tensions with Riyadh. "If we are expecting to see any change in Iran's regional policy or a retreat in any way - that is not going to happen," she said.

Newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani has said the attacks will make Iran more united. Analysts, however, believe they will exacerbate domestic tensions between Rouhani, a pragmatist, and his rivals among hardline clergy and the IRGC.

They have repeatedly criticised Rouhani's attempts to improve relations with the outside world.

Rouhani has generally lost out to the hardliners, who through the IRGC's Al Quds force - expeditionary units which are fighting in Iraq and Syria as well as organising Shi'ite allies - continue to call the shots. In the view of the hardliners' critics, they are helping to drive alienated Sunnis towards militant groups. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul in London, Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Samia Nakhoul and David Stamp)
By Ceyda Caglayan

ISTANBUL, June 9 (Reuters) - French airport operator ADP will pay $160 million for an additional 8 percent in Turkey's TAV, it said on Friday, as the two aim to step up expansion in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.

ADP, which will take its holding in TAV to 46 percent, is looking for new markets in the region and believes it can partner with TAV to fuel the growth, said Antonin Beurrier, ADP's deputy chief executive and chief international officer.

TAV operates 14 airports in Turkey and abroad and has a track record in the Middle East, having helped build airports in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. This week it signed 30-year agreements to help operate three Saudi airports.

While the region offers plenty of growth opportunities, it is not without its downside.

Turkey has been hit by a string of militant attacks over the last two years, including a May 2016 triple suicide bombing at Istanbul's main airport that killed 45 people. Recent tensions between Qatar and Arab powers have also put some investors on edge.

"The region is a bit unstable, but we believe in the fundamentals of the company," Beurrier told Reuters. "There is no political meaning in our investment. We are investing in airports."

Following the deal, TAV would contribute more than 15 percent to ADP's group profit, he said.

CONTRACT ENDING

TAV CEO Sani Sener told a news conference that he did not expect any negative impact on the business from the rift between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Any disruption would be ill-timed for TAV, which is looking to add new businesses before its contract to run Istanbul's Ataturk Airport ends.

Turkey's new airport in Istanbul is due to start operating in 2018 and Ataturk, the existing hub for flagship carrier Turkish Airlines, is slated for closure in 2021.

TAV lost the tender to operate the new airport to a consortium led by Turkish group Limak and has to find alternative revenue to replace its main earnings generator.

The transaction values TAV at around $2.0 billion, or 19.2 Turkish lira per share, an 8 percent premium on TAV's closing price on Thursday. Shares in the company rose more than 2 percent in Friday trade, and were at 18.14 lira at 1325 GMT.

ADP is buying the stake from Turkey's Akfen Holding, which will no longer have a holding in the Turkish airport operator. Akfen said it would put the proceeds from the sale towards a 6.7 billion lira ($1.9 billion) investment programme in Turkey focused on hospitals and energy projects.

ADP also said it would sell its 49 percent stake in TAV Construction for 9 million euros ($10 million). ($1 = 3.5240 liras) ($1 = 0.8933 euros) (Additional reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Wout Vergauwen; Editing by David Dolan/Keith Weir)
TEL AVIV, June 9 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of rainbow flag-toting revellers attended the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parade in Tel Aviv on Friday, billed as the largest of its kind in the deeply conservative Middle East.

The annual parade featured floats with blaring sound systems and gyrating dancers. Revellers could be seen dancing on the balconies of surrounding building.

"We need to show ourselves and we also need to fight for others who need to feel like they can show themselves too, to empower everyone around us," Max Kratz, a parade participant from Germany told Reuters.

Same-sex marriage is against the law in Israel, but polls published in the country's media this week suggested that around three quarters of Israeli Jews supported permitting it.

"We are here to party and to celebrate with them, their freedom in Israel and we are hoping they are going in the right direction and have more privileges in the country," party-goer Shir Geri told Reuters.

The parade caps a week of pride festivities in the city, which authorities expected to draw 35,000 tourists. The parade is sponsored by the municipality, which said it had invested heavily to promote gay tourism in recent years. (Reporting by Amir Cohen; Writing by Mark Hanrahan in London; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN, June 9 (Reuters) - The United States and Russia are quietly holding talks on creating a "de-escalation zone" in southwestern Syria, Western diplomats and regional officials said, but could face fierce opposition from Iran.

The Russian and U.S. special envoys for Syria, Alexander Lavrentiev and Michael Ratney, and other officials have met at least twice in the Jordanian capital Amman in the past two weeks and will talk again soon, the officials and diplomats said.

The talks are at an early stage of discussing the boundaries of the proposed de-escalation zone in Deraa province, on the border with Jordan, and Quneitra, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, they said.

Diplomats say the talks could represent a major new attempt by Washington and Moscow, Syria's main foreign backer, to reach an understanding on how to end six years of conflict which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, estimates has killed close to half a million people.

Iran, Russia and Turkey brokered a deal in the Kazakh capital, Astana, in May to create four de-escalation zones in Syria. But the United States wants no role in the southwest, Russia's ally in the war, the diplomats said.

Washington has misgivings about the Astana talks and wants to forge a bilateral understanding with Moscow in an area of strategic interest to the United States and its allies, Jordan and Israel.

"The Americans are talking to the Russians and proposing a deconfliction zone outside the Astana process without the Iranians and their proxies," said one senior diplomat.

The United States is proposing a de-escalation zone covering areas held by both rebel and government forces that could eventually turn into a safe area, the envoys and officials said.

"The two sides are in the process of drafting its borders... and which outside forces will be on the ground. But there are many flaws on how to implement it," said a regional intelligence official who is familiar with the talks but is not authorised to speak publicly.

Time may be of the essence. Lebanon's Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, is expanding its foothold in the southwest and dozens of raids this week by the Syrian army and new troop deployments by Hezbollah in Deraa city were intended to pre-empt or wreck any agreement, a Western intelligence source said.

The Kremlin and the Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A U.S. State Department official said: "We have nothing to announce regarding reports of discussions about southern Syria. The United States remains committed to supporting a diplomatic resolution to the Syrian conflict, one which can bring about a more representative and peaceful Syria, free of terrorism."

U.S. MISTRUST OF IRAN

Under the Astana accord, de-escalation was envisaged as the halt of hostilities between government forces and opposition groups and the creation of conditions for humanitarian access, medical assistance, the return of displaced civilians to their homes and restoration of damaged infrastructure.

Safe zones should be guaranteed by all parties to a conflict.

U.S. officials have told the Russian negotiators that the Syrian army and Iranian-backed troops are exploiting the Astana agreement to free up additional troops for other battles, the source familiar with the negotiations said.

The United States has taken a tough stance against Tehran under President Donald Trump. But Iran and allied militias are integral to groups supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Although Trump has voiced support for safe zones in Syria, Washington opposes Iran's involvement as a guarantor of the de-escalation zones set out in the Astana accord, and regards Assad's track record in upholding previous agreements as poor.

In the talks with Moscow, Washington has proposed a halt in military offensives by Western-vetted rebels who control swathes of Deraa and Quneitra, a regional intelligence official said. Jordan's role in the deal is important because of its leverage over rebels in that area.

Deraa and Quneitra are home to tens of thousands of people and form a centre of the insurgency against Assad. They are a potential launchpad for rebel attacks on the Syrian capital Damascus, 40 miles (64 km) to the north.

U.S. enthusiasm to push the deal depends on Russia forcing the Iran-backed militias to leave the area. "Iran and its proxies have to be out of this zone. This is key to the deal being proposed," he said.

Regional tensions are on the rise and the warfare in southern Syria has worsened, pitting Western-backed rebels around the Tanf base near the border with Iraq against Syria's army and militias backed by Iran.

There are doubts in the West that Russia can rein in the growing involvement in the region of Iran and its allies, two senior diplomats familiar with the talks said.

There are other difficulties. Jordan wants a deal that keeps the Deraa front quiet and eases the plight of civilians under the threat of army bombardment. But it has rejected a Russian proposal for its troops to police the proposed de-confliction zone, another regional source said.

(Additional reporting by Tom Perry in Beirut, Maria Tsvetkova in Moscow and Yeganeh Torbati in Washington, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
By Aidan Lewis

TUNIS, June 9 (Reuters) - Emirati assistance that violates a U.N. arms embargo has significantly boosted air power for forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, a report by U.N. investigators published on Friday said.

Air power has helped Haftar's eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) gain the upper hand since last year in Libya's conflict between rival groups vying for power.

The panel of experts which reports on violations of U.N. sanctions across Libya said Haftar's forces had received aircraft as well as military vehicles from the United Arab Emirates, and had built up an air base at Al Khadim.

The annual U.N. report provides rare detail on the level of outside intervention in Libya, where foreign backing for rival armed camps is widely seen as having exacerbated conflict.

Friday's report said there had been a general increase in direct foreign support to armed factions in Libya, breaching a U.N. arms embargo imposed during the country's 2011 uprising and tightened in 2014.

Much of the section on recent transfers of materiel or other assistance was taken up by the development of the LNA air force and reports of UAE assistance.

"The United Arab Emirates have been providing both material support and direct support to the LNA, which have significantly increased the air support available to the LNA," it said.

The panel said its requests for information from the UAE had received no response.

Competition for power and wealth between broad and shifting coalitions of armed groups has thrown Libya into turmoil over the past six years. A collection of Islamist-leaning militias took control of the capital, Tripoli, in 2014, installing a self-declared government as their opponents set up a rival administration in the east.

The eastern government is aligned with Haftar, who has close relations to the UAE and Egypt and has rejected a third, U.N.-backed Libyan government that moved to Tripoli in March 2016. Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army has extended its control over towns, military bases and oil facilities in eastern and central Libya since last year. Air power has played a key role in those advances, analysts say.

The U.N. report included satellite imagery of Al Khadim air base, about 105 km (65 miles) east of Benghazi, between July 2014 and March 2017, showing a gradual build-up of infrastructure and aircraft, including drones "most probably" operated by the UAE.

The U.N. panel said it received information that attack helicopters were delivered to the LNA in April 2015. One Mi-24p helicopter was traced back to Belarus, which confirmed it had delivered four of the aircraft to the UAE in 2014.

It also published a photo of an AT-802i single engine plane which it said was based in eastern Libya. The plane, originally designed for agricultural or firefighting use, was repurposed in the United States for counter-insurgency and sold to the UAE, the report said.

The panel said it had confirmed a delivery of 93 armoured personnel carriers and 549 armoured and non-armoured vehicles to the LNA in the eastern city of Tobruk in April 2016. The personnel carriers likely included Panther T6 and Tygra models, both made by companies based in the UAE, the report said, and were delivered by ship from Saudi Arabia.

It said it had received information on further large deliveries of Toyota pick-up trucks and armoured 4x4 cars to Tobruk in January and April 2017, on a ship that had passed through Port Said in Egypt. (Editing by Toby Chopra)
By David Lawder

WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is likely to impose a new sugar trade deal with Mexico even if final revisions to it fail to win support from the U.S. industry, trade lawyers and experts say.

After announcing a deal this week that would dramatically cut the amount of refined sugar that Mexico ships to the United States, officials from the two countries are working with their industries on final language that would govern its operation.

At issue is a new right of first refusal granted to Mexico to supply all U.S. sugar needs not met by domestic suppliers or other foreign quota holders.

A coalition of American sugar cane and beet farmers and a major refiner want a more explicit guarantee that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not Mexican producers, will dictate what type of sugar fills that gap. They are worried that a flood of refined sugar will pour in, rather than the raw sugar needed to keep U.S. mills running.

The final sticking point stands in the way of resolving a years-long dispute over Mexican access to the highly regulated U.S. sugar market, which is protected by a complex web of subsidies and rationed quotas for foreign producers.

The sugar industry is known for its sway in Washington. But its point of view on Mexican imports is not shared by sugar users such as confectioners and soda makers.

The Trump administration wants to clear away the sugar dispute and a lumber trade row with Canada before starting full-scale negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement. An industry rarely objects to a government-negotiated settlement of its anti-dumping case, and U.S. sugar producers could do little to stop the Commerce Department from implementing a final deal after a two-week comment period, said Seattle-based trade lawyer William Perry, who previously worked at Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission.

While the industry could ask the International Trade Commission to overturn the settlement that suspends anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duty orders issued in 2014, chances for success look slim. The panel in 2015 rejected a challenge by two sugar refiners to the previous U.S.-Mexico pact.

"Petitioners are never entirely happy with suspension agreements like this," Perry said. "They would rather have anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders with rates high enough to shut out imports."

A Commerce spokesman said that Ross hoped the U.S. sugar industry would ultimately endorse the final agreement.

Gary Hufbauer, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the administration was probably willing to compromise on some industry-specific concerns to help reach its larger NAFTA goals of reducing U.S. trade deficits.

The U.S. sugar industry must probably present evidence of new Mexican dumping before going back to Commerce for more changes to the deal, said Daniel Pearson, a senior fellow of the libertarian Cato Institute and former International Trade Commission chairman.

"They would do well to take this agreement and run with it and see how it works," Pearson said, noting that it raises prices and keeps U.S. refiners well-supplied with raw sugar.

Mexico made major concessions to maintain its access to the lucrative U.S. market, agreeing to ship no less than 70 percent of its quota volume as raw sugar to U.S. refineries. It gave ground on nearly all of the U.S. producers' demands.

American Sugar Alliance spokesman Phillip Hayes said the final hurdle should be easy to address by making clear that the USDA, not Mexico, can dictate the type and purity level of any additional imports.

But Juan Cortina, head of Mexico's main sugar trade group, said there was no problem with the language because any additional needs would filled with raw sugar, as Mexican producers would have to keep higher inventories of that grade. (Additional reporting by Adriana Barrera in Mexico City and Chris Prentice in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
GAZA, June 9 (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinians who were throwing stones near the border fence in the Gaza Strip on Friday, killing one man and wounding four others, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Islamic Jihad Palestinian militant group said the man killed was a member of their armed wing.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said hundreds of Palestinians had gathered along the fence and were throwing stones and burning tyres.

Soldiers on the Israeli side of the border opened fire after their calls to the Palestinians and warning shots were ignored, she said.

Israel and the Islamist Hamas movement which rules Gaza have fought three wars since 2008, though the border has been largely quiet in recent months.

On Friday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the main U.N. aid agency in Gaza, said it had discovered part of a tunnel running under two of its schools in a refugee camp in the enclave.

UNRWA said it had protested over the finding to Hamas, which in a 2014 war had used a network of cross-border tunnels to launch attacks inside Israel.

"UNRWA condemns the existence of such tunnels in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way," a written statement said.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum denied the tunnel belonged to his or any other Gaza militant group.

Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005. The Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the enclave, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed in 2014.

At least 249 Palestinians and one Jordanian citizen have been killed since a wave of sporadic violence began in 2015 in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Israel says at least 167 of those killed were carrying out stabbings, shootings or car-ramming attacks. Others died during clashes and protests.

Thirty-seven Israelis, two American tourists and a British student have been killed in the violence, which has slowed in recent months but not stopped. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
ZAGREB, June 9 (Reuters) - Croatia's parliament approved on Friday seven new ministers in a reshuffled conservative-led cabinet, ending a government crisis after a split in April between the conservatives and their junior centre-right partner.

In the vote, 78 deputies in the 151-seat parliament endorsed the new government coalition.

The conservative HDZ party struck a coalition deal with the liberal Croatian People's Party (HNS), representatives of national minorities and a few smaller parties to remain in power and avert a second snap poll in less than a year.

"I believe we have now secured stability for the functioning of the government and (state) institutions," Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic told reporters.

During the parliamentary debate the opposition severely criticised the deal between the HDZ and liberals, saying it was deceiving voters since the HNS party had won parliamentary seats as part of a pre-election deal with the Social Democrats, the second-strongest parliamentary party.

Four of nine liberal parliamentary deputies dissented, refusing to endorse the cooperation with HDZ.

The liberals said they entered the ruling coalition because their goal was to preserve political stability. They will run two ministries, those for construction and education.

"This combination of liberals and conservatives is atypical for Croatia's political culture, but if the partners keep focus on goals and projects of joint interest and show readiness to compromise, this government could prove stable," political analyst Viseslav Raos said.

In April, Plenkovic fired four ministers from the previous junior coalition partner, the centre-right Most ("Bridge") party, as Most supported the opposition in a no-confidence motion against Finance Minister Zdravko Maric, which he survived by one vote. (Reporting by Igor Ilic,; Editing by Ed Osmond)
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump spoke on Friday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and emphasized the importance of maintaining unity among Arab countries, the White House said in a statement.

It was the fourth call Trump has had with a regional leader since Gulf allies severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday over long-standing allegations that Doha is courting Iran.

The two leaders also agreed on the importance of all countries implementing agreements recently reached at a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to fight terrorism, counter extremism, and stop the funding of terrorist groups, the statement said.

(Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Chris Reese)
By Daren Butler

ISTANBUL, June 9 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan called for the lifting of a blockade on Qatar on Friday after approving legislation on deploying Turkish troops there, as the Gulf state faces isolation imposed by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism.

Erdogan vowed to keep supporting Qatar after his rapid approval of the bill, pushed through parliament on Wednesday, and he rejected accusations that it supported terrorism.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and their arch-adversary Iran - charges Qatar calls baseless. Several countries followed suit.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Friday urged Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to ease their blockade, saying it was causing unintended humanitarian consequences and affecting the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State.

Referring to Tillerson's comments on the blockade, Erdogan said in a speech at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner in Istanbul: "I say it should be lifted completely".

"There are those who are uncomfortable with us standing by our Qatari brothers, providing them with food. I'm sorry, we will continue to give Qatar every kind of support.

"Until now I have not seen Qatar give support to terror," he added.

Arab states tightened their squeeze on Qatar on Friday by putting dozens of figures with links to the country on terrorism blacklists.

After an initial deployment of Turkish troops at a base in Doha, Turkish warplanes and ships will also be sent, the mass-circulation Hurriyet newspaper said on its website on Friday.

"The number of Turkish warplanes and Turkish warships going to the base will become clear after the preparation of a report based on an initial assessment at the base," Hurriyet said.

A Turkish delegation would go to Qatar in the coming days to assess the situation at the base, where around 90 Turkish soldiers are currently based, it said.

Turkish officials were not available to comment on the report but Hurriyet said there were plans send some 200 to 250 soldiers within two months in the initial stage.

Erdogan also approved another accord between Turkey and Qatar on military training cooperation late on Thursday. Both bills were drawn up before the dispute erupted. Turkey has also pledged to provide food and water supplies to Qatar .

Erdogan has said isolating Qatar would not resolve any problems. Erdogan, who has long tried to play the role of a regional power broker, said Ankara would do everything in its power to help end the regional crisis.

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The bill did not specify how many troops would go nor when. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Robert Birsel and David Dolan, Larry King)
WASHINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Poland ahead of next month's G20 summit in Germany, the White House said in a statement on Friday.

The visit will emphasize the "priority of strengthening NATOs collective defense," and Trump will also attend the Three Seas Initiative Summit to "demonstrate our strong ties to Central Europe," the statement said.

Leaders from several central, eastern and southern European countries are to meet in the city of Wroclaw in western Poland for the so-called Three Seas Initiative summit on July 6-7. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by David Alexander)
By Peter Apps

June 9 (Reuters) - Despite her dramatic electoral upset, British Prime Minister Theresa May appears determined to stay in office. In the short term, she could yet manage it. But the longer-term consequences may well be disastrous for her country.

Negotiations on the U.Ks exit from the European Union are scheduled to begin on June 19 - less than two weeks away. In the aftermath of Thursdays shock result, many assumed May would stand down, perhaps allowing in a new leader from her Conservative party. European leaders had already signaled they might be willing to rework the timetable if the opposition Labour Party won, and would probably have done the same under the current circumstances.

Instead, May seems keen to push ahead with the discussions. Its a toxic dynamic that will likely make any kind of deal all but impossible.

During the election campaign, May repeatedly talked up the dangers of a "coalition of chaos" if the opposition Labour Party were able to become the largest party. With shameless speed, however, she has negotiated herself into partnership with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party, giving her a slim majority in parliament. Its a brilliant, Machiavellian move, leaving her - for the moment at least - surprisingly unassailable.

Its hard to imagine there are many people outside her closest circle in Downing Street who genuinely believe May is the right choice right now. But that may not matter. During the campaign, she said she prided herself on sometimes being a "bloody difficult woman." At the time, she was talking up her ability to negotiate with Europe. Now she is facing down all comers, from her own party and beyond.

It might feel like an affront to democracy, but the truth is that the prime minister is still the leader of Britains largest political party, and she has found an ideological ally willing to back her. The government she has formed could hardly be more out of touch with an electorate that has moved sharply to the left. There is little sign she cares.

There will be no shortage of figures in her Conservative Party who would like to bring her down - they have clearly been furiously briefing the media ever since the election results started coming in. A leadership challenge is possible - but far from inevitable.

Former Chancellor George Osborne, perhaps the most likely to do so, stood down from Parliament this election to edit the London Evening Standard. Other potential rivals such as Chancellor Philip Hammond remain within her government, and have so far mostly said little in public either before or after the election.

German Chancellor Angela Merkels office on Friday declined immediate comment on the election results. But it already seems likely that May will be moving toward a uniquely adversarial relationship with her continental partners.

Merkel and French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, after all, increasingly define themselves in their opposition to the far right in general and U.S. President Donald Trump in particular. May, by contrast, has openly cozied up to Trump and based her unsuccessful electoral campaign on drawing votes from the anti-European UK Independence Party.

Presumably May is still intending to stick with the team she chose before the election to negotiate Brexit. Led by pugnacious Euroskeptic David Davis, it also includes Trade Minister Liam Fox and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Its hard to imagine a group more likely to unnecessarily antagonize those they are supposed to be dealing with.

May will also now have to take into account the wishes of her DUP ally, an unapologetically right-wing Christian party with anti-EU tendencies but a desire to see EU money continue flowing to Northern Ireland. Her premiership is dependent on their continued support, and this will make negotiations more complex still.

While she has generally gone out of her way to be vague on what she means by Brexit, the general assumption within Britain is that May wants to renegotiate freedom of movement and migration between Europe and the UK. The cost of that "hard" Brexit is likely to be Britain leaving the European single market, something that could bring with it extremely difficult economic consequences.

In the June 8 election, voters appeared lukewarm about that concept. But May could well choose to pursue it anyway. Shes unlikely to find much support from her European counterparts, however. Indeed, they may have a vested interest in making sure negotiations fail. Europe has little enthusiasm for countries being able to leave the EU, and the patience of EU officials with Britain was already running thin.

Britain still has cards to play: it remains a major player in European defense within NATO, for example. Its relationship with the United States is also important, although in the era of Donald Trump that more a double-edged sword. Its also unclear how May will now be viewed by the U.S. president, notorious for not wanting to associate with those who look weak.

Not all of these problems would be solved by May standing aside for a new Tory leader - or perhaps even Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the unlikely event that he is able to form a broader loose alliance with other progressive parties. But they are all intensified by May keeping herself in office.

Things may work out, of course. Its just conceivable that May could deliver a Brexit success - whatever that means - and win back her shattered credibility without losing power.

If that doesnt happen, however, neither she nor her party will be forgiven by the country for a very long time. (Reporting by Peter Apps)
Takaful is a concept of Joint Guarantee or Mutuality, which simply means that any Takaful (insurance) contract is transparent and participatory. The Participant is the Takaful Certificate holder and thereby an active party in the deal. Together with the Trustee (Takaful Provider) the Risk is shared as opposed to the Conventional practice where-in the Risk is passed on.

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With these hallowed principles, this shariah compliant concept of Takaful has endured since 1999. Amana Takaful (ATPLC) is the only fully fledged service provider holding aloft the Takaful Spirit in its pristine purity.

With just 6 employees way back in 1999, the Company has grown consistently over the years, under-writing both Life and Non-Life classes. As of today the Company has a multi-ethnic workforce of 300+, a well-represented geographic footprint of 27 branches countrywide. As of now, ATPLC has 2 subsidiaries in the insurance sphere.

In 2005 a small team of Amanites ventured to the Maldives and established an Agency House for insurance which has now grown into a totally integrated Takaful outfit, listed on the Maldives Stock Exchange- the only Shariah compliant entity to this date. This subsidiary Amana Takaful Maldives holds a 15 share of market in the archipelago.

By Regulation, the Life segment of ATPLC was segregated into a new legal entity and listed in the CSE in August 2016.

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We have made good progress in understanding the needs and wants of the underserved segments within the financial services eco-system. A range of Micro products have been introduced in the last 2 years encompassing benefits on Life, Health, Loss of Income and Funeral expenses both for individuals and family units. Given the very encouraging renewal rate, it has spurred us to enhance benefits and widen the scope of cover to the informal sector and ensure they are adequately protected,

In December 2016, following extensive research and focus group study, two ground breaking products were launched to embrace the Three Wheeler Community and Motor Cycle Riders. These competitively superior products namely Tuk Tuk Full and Smart Rider Cover were placed before the target audiences and supply chain intermediaries through a series of road shows island-wide. The responses to-date are encouraging.

In April, yet another new product was introduced to include the Dairy Farming Community. The Kiri Govi Sathkara cover aims to protect Pastoral Life and Cattle in addition to a range of other benefits at an affordable price.

Despite the heavy claims pay-out in 2016, from the normal business compounded by the catastrophic flood, it is noteworthy that of 12 companies accounting for 75% of the market, ATPLC takes the Top Slot in the speed of recognition of and settlement of Motor Claims (source: Independent Actuary NMG Consulting). This gives credence to our ISO re-certification in terms of our internal processes, being the only player to achieve this feat in the insurance fraternity.

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The government is reported to have prepared legislation to permit foreign nationals to open foreign currency accounts in Sri Lanka with a minimum deposit of US$500,000 or more.

The legislation titled Special Deposit Account has been gazetted. In addition to US dollars, the other permitted foreign currencies for such purposes are sterling pounds, Swiss francs, Australian dollars, Singapore dollars, Canadian dollars, Japanese Yen, and Euros for the equivalent of USD500,000.

Apart from these seven currencies, the subject minister will be authorised to approve other currencies where necessary.

Meanwhile, foreign nationals including dual citizens opening such accounts will be granted resident visas while their spouses will be issued resident visas if an additional US$300,000 is deposited and their children if minors will be entitled to stay in Sri Lanka during the validity period of the deposit accounts. Account holders will not be allowed to engage in any paid employment in the country while the interest income on these accounts will be exempted from any tax or levy.

The Exchange Control Act will not apply to such accounts. (Kelum Bandara)
The government is attempting to delay the local government elections by using Galagodatte Gnanasara Thera to divert attention from the real issues, the joint opposition said today.

JO spokesman Gamini Lokuge told a news conference that the government was reluctant to hold the elections because it knew it would be defeated.

He said this government with the help of the international forces is conducting the Gnanasara drama to divert the attention so that it could cling to power.

Mr. Lokuge said a similar coup was hatched during the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime by using the Thera to topple the then government.

Meanwhile, he said the government should not sell the country's resources such as the buildings which housed Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Galle post offices.

Commenting on the incident where Minister John Amaratunga was reported to have threatened a group of journalists when he was questioned about the garbage disposal issue, the MP said it was the right time for the minister to retire from politics. (Thilanka Kanakarathna and Sheain Fernandopulle)

Video by RM
SRINAGAR AFP June8, 2017-

An Indian soldier and three suspected rebels died in a shoot-out along the de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir with Pakistan early Thursday, the army said.

Soldiers deployed along the heavily militarised frontier known as the Line of Control (LoC) shot and killed the three suspected rebels when they tried to cross into Indian-administered Kashmir from the Pakistan side.



One soldier also died in the exchange of fire, the army said in a statement.



The deaths came a day after Indian soldiers killed three combatants as they tried to cross into the territory.



India regularly accuses Pakistan of arming militants and pushing them across the LoC to launch attacks on its forces.



Islamabad denies the allegation, saying it only provides diplomatic support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination.



Both claim the territory in its entirety.
(Daily Mail, London), 8 June 2017 - Iran has branded Donald Trumps reaction to ISIS attacks in capital Tehran repugnant after the US president claimed the nation is reaping what it has sown.

The attack claimed the lives of 13 people and a further 40 were wounded at the countrys parliament complex.



Wednesdays attack, close to the shrine to revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, is the first claimed by ISIS in Iran.



Trump said the US would grieve and pray for the victims, but added: We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.The six attackers were Iranians who had joined IS, the deputy secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council, Reza Seifollahi, said on state TV.



Irans Revolutionary Guards blamed Saudi Arabia for the attack, saying: This terrorist attack happened only a week after the meeting between the US President Donald Trump and the Saudi backward leaders who support terrorists.
Kuwait Airways, the national carrier of the State of Kuwait has tied up with Air Canada, the flag carrier of Canada to operate almost daily flight services to Toronto, Lester. B Pearson Airport.

Toronto is Canadas largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is also the global center for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the worlds most livable cities.

The partnership between both Kuwait Airways and Air Canada will be able to offer passengers more flexible, hassle-free very convenient options,on all Kuwait Airways flights between Colombo and London. Canadas national carrier Air Canada operate daily flights from London Heathrow to Toronto as such passengers can enjoy true Canadian hospitality on their Trans-Atlantic flights. SriLankan passengers with valid Canadian visas do not need a transit visa to the UK which is a great convenience.Also. Passengers are given the flexibility to travel to Toronto and return from New York which is a prime destination that Kuwait Airways operates.

Passengers flying to Toronto will enjoy very convenient travel connections with Kuwait Airways brand new A330 flights from Colombo departing at 02:55HRS in the morning, arriving in Kuwait at 05:50HRSand connecting to London at 09:45 a.m.to arrive at London Terminal 4 at 14:45HRS. The flight to Toronto departs at 18:00HRS from terminal 2 and arrives in Toronto at Terminal 1 20:35HRSon the same day.

The introductory fares are very cost effective to the passengers as the One-Way Economy Class Air Fare starts from Rs. 76,500 and the Return Economy Class Air Fares starts from Rs. 128,000 during the low season. All Toronto excursion fares are valid for 06 months and combinations of low and high season fares are permitted. Business Class return Air fares start from Rs. 335,100. Kuwait Airways operate Airbus A33-200 aircraft from Colombo &and operate brand new Boeing 777-300ER Aircraft from Kuwait to London. Whilst the London-Toronto flight operates with Air Canadas state of the art

Boeing 787.
I had no reputation to preserve, no status to maintain. I began to enjoy the familiarity of males, their easy banter and witty remarks though at times crude. It was a facet of social life that I had never tasted, open and devoid of double standards and remarkably fresh. Never had I experienced anything like that in the middle class society I grew in, almost frigid in the sphere of sex and eroticism.



Glancing through a slim novel at a book sale, I decided to buy the book after reading the above passage. Its not the kind of thing you come across every day in Sri Lankan creative writing.

Widows world in the East is a novel by Padma Edirisinghe published in 2002. The blurb says that shes a former director of Teacher Education, and pioneer of the Childrens Creative Writing Project at state level, besides being author of 13 books and six translations. As far as this book goes, however, my initial enthusiasm didnt last as I read through it. However, it gives a voice to a subject usually neglected by Sri Lankan writers  sex, or erotic love, and how it affects minds and relationships. For that reason alone, its worth reading.



There is no sex in Widows World in The East. Rather, the author gives an analysis of sexual mores and relationships as they exist today in the country, through her own first person narrative voice. Then there is the character of Xavier Wanigasekara, who says that there is a clear division of sexual mores on a geographical basis. As he puts it: Because you were born and bred within 25 miles of the coastline of Sri Lanka that got shrouded by Puritanism during the reign of Queen Victoria. England herself has spurned Victorian morals long ago but Lankas coastline faithfully holds on to it.

The highlanders of the interior are happily free of the notion that sex is a sin, he added.



This was generally true several decades ago. The story is set at an earlier time. As it starts, a family is fleeing Colombo due to Japanese bombing and invasion threats. The narrator, a little, dark-skinned girl at the beginning, goes on to assume another identity and personality as an adult. A writer, she assumes the personae of Palingu Nona, a woman from a mountaneous village in the Ma Oya valley (the Land of the gods or deiyange rata). She has a complicated history, having been raped by her father, but the narrator welcomes the phsychological change brought about by her transformation.

For one thing, Palingu Nona is physically more attractive than the narrator, who carries the onus of being dark-skinned like a beast of burden. As she puts it: Palingu was a robust healthy woman with big breasts and big buttocks. Sex appeal just screamed out of her. This naked sexuality of hers plus a pleasing face made her a very attractive woman.



One plus point of this transmigration of souls is that the narrator has access to Palingus lover. But the ingraining of the traditional Eastern culture within me was so strong that even after my voice was restored I would not have dreamt of asking her whether she had a lover after her husband died. But if I was keen to do a research on an average village widows life, now I had a golden chance. Palingus lover would come to me now.



And he did come very direct and no-fumbling unlike city Romeos, who lost in the urban wilderness that includes hundreds of the other gender (with or without war paint), try to experiment with every new female they meet and end up sad novices.



Both women are widows. A widow is under greater social constraints. But the narrators exploration of sexual hypocrisy and related pressures arent limited to the state of being widowed. As she writes with impish humour:  My grandmother writes a feminine Lankan author, is the mother of eleven offsprings, but she is so averse towards sex that I often wonder how she begot them. Maybe King Sakra placed his big toe on her navel or some proximate place. 



And here is a male writer again from my own dear Taprobane..., My parents never touch each other in public that when I hear from a classmate how close they get to each other at night I recoiled at the adult hypocrisy.



So it is not the sex act which hurt him, but the hypocrisy....sex is a taboo topic in female conversation, especially in the circles I move. Almost a stony silence is maintained on the subject except when the more garrulous, when provoked would declare.



The sex act! Ugh! I just hate it. It is so brutal. Just like an animal assault.



Evidently the females who enjoy sex keep mum about it. Never do you hear expressions as I love sex I just enjoy sex. And no typical Lankan woman would go around asking another, How is your sex life? What are you doing for sex? Have you lovers? 



This author should be commended for her moral courage. It is nothing short of brave to write the above. This is no feminist tract since she is frank about female sexual hypocrisy. She has gone where Lankan writers of either sex rarely venture. As for the men, even if they dare (which is rarely the case) a male writer who writes the above will get pilloried for being sexist.



The book has major flaws. The plot line is ambitious, but its development is haphazard, and the authors rather verbose prose style doesnt help, either. Its strength lies in the narrators gradual exposure of her own sexual hypocrisy due to her higher social status and associated constraints and stigmas.



Dingi, Palingus lover to whom the lady in her transformed state has access, is a universal type who occurs often in literature  Dingi was a likeable man. Very honest looking he just had no secret to hide. Handsome, muscular, hairy and smelling of cow dung that both repelled and fascinated me by the earthy odours.



In other words, an attraction (fatal or otherwise) to the noble savage. This may sound like a cliche, but I recall an incident narrated by Maxim Gorky. An aristocratic lady from St. Petersburg goes for a vacation in the countryside and fancies a handsome young peasant. They choose an anchored boat by the river as their secret hideout. However, the lovemaking is cut short when the lady is attacked by mosquitoes.



Dingi is the deiyange rate re-incarnation of D. H. Lawrences gamekeeper Mellors, in the Lady Chatterleys lover. But things dont go that far here. The narrator mentions that the manuscript (which her intellectual friend Xavier dismisses sarcastically) is part of something longer. Despite all the books flaws, I wish she had put the rest of it into print along with this. The narrator presents a dissenting point of view raising its stubborn head from the depths of sexual suppression. She describes how sexual energy is channelled into chats and banter between men and women when she describes her friendship with Xavier:



The only male I associated regularly was impractical Xavier, whose cynicism just awed me. I would not dream of attaching myself in a romantic way with him, that may or may not culminate in a physical bond. But he was a very good companion, garrulous and full of strange new theories. And I knew he liked me or maybe I flattered myself imagining he liked me. Perhaps he only wanted an audience to air off his views.



But I knew he was selective, and the fact that he opted to spend a good part of his time with me, meant that he liked me. If in my loneliness now and then, a desire rose within me to reach out to him physically, that it was instantly driven underground, could only be explained by the earlier mentioned factors!



Though the writers somewhat disjointed prose style often gets in the way, this is a very honestly written novella.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) Chief Vaiko was denied entry into Malaysia today due to his alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), The Asian News international (ANI) reported.

The MDMK Chief was stopped at the Kuala Lumpur Airport and questioned for several hours on his alleged links with the Tamil rebel group and later denied permission to enter the country.

ANI reported that Vaiko was identified as a member of the LTTE and revealed that his name also figured in the list of persons who were dangerous.

The politician had visited the country upon being invited for the wedding of Penang States Deputy Chief Minister Ramasamy Palanisamys daughter on Saturday (June 10).

Vaiko is scheduled to return to Chennai tonight. The LTTE, which fought for an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka, remains outlawed in India as well.
For hundreds of years the Gem and Jewelry Industry of Sri Lanka has played a vital role in the countrys cultural, social and economical development. Growing from strength to strength the industry presents tremendous opportunities of investment and value addition as explained by the experts.

The value of gems & jewelry to the general individual:

There are two such ways in which an individual may perceive the benefits of owning an intricate piece of jewelry or a fine gemstone.

In Sri Lanka most people buy gems and jewelry more as means of investment rather than for the sake of style and fashion. Thus, when people buy gems and jewelry, theyre faced with a number of possibilities such as: mortgage, emergency funds, storing value and future investments. It has been noted that in Sri Lanka a large majority of consumers find gold to be the preferred choice in such instances, due to the higher value of that particular mineral.

Due to the depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee, many people perceive a piece of jewelry or a gem as a much more dependable and beneficial means of investment due to the consistency of the products value.

But of course, there are a fair amount of people who purchase gems and jewelry for the sake of fashion. This has been especially noted among the younger generations who look for the perfect accessory to suit their outfits or their self-image.

The contribution of the industry to the countrys economy:

There are two major ways by which the Gem and Jewelry Industry contributes to the Sri Lankan economy.

The first is via employment generation. There are between 150,000 to 250,000 people employed in the industry at different levels along the value chain including miners, dealers, jewelers, goldsmiths, retailers etc.

The second is the foreign exchange earning thats brought to Sri Lanka, as the Gem & Jewelry Industry specializes primarily in export. The industry currently generates a total of about 350 million US dollars worth of foreign exchange on an annual basis.

The position of the industry amongst others in Sri Lanka:

The Gem and Jewelry Trade is the best among the rest in comparison with any other product, due to the fact that it earns 99% of nett foreign exchange, as the entire resource is produced in Sri Lanka whereas in the case of other products, a significant percentage is imported into the country where the value addition takes place and then exported. When it comes to a gem 99% of the raw material is found in Sri Lanka and the remaining 1% makes up the machinery or material used in the cutting process to further enhance the items value.

With the expansion of the Gem & Jewelry Industry currently occurring courtesy of the Government there will be more job opportunities available due to the large number of new establishments coming up. Various other industries, notably the Tourism Industry are indirectly benefitted by these expansions.

Today, the Gem and Jewelry Industry is the 7th largest in terms of export contribution.

The current landscape of the Gem & Jewelry Industry and its future:

Sri Lanka is currently considered to be one of the best sources of natural sapphires in the world, having earned a top spot on the global list. The Ceylon Sapphire is one of the most renowned gemstones in the world. It has been discovered lately that sapphires and other colored stones are now gaining popularity vis-a-vis diamonds. This offers Sri Lanka a huge opportunity as it is a certain fact that this new trend will ensure the growth and expansion of the local market.

The growth of the Tourism Industry also brings in new opportunities for the Gem & Jewelry Industry, as large numbers of tourists show a keen interest in purchasing a genuine Sri Lankan gem or an authentic piece of jewelry as a keepsake or souvenir.

Sri Lanka currently exports an enormous amount of gemstones to Europe and the Middle East where the demand is highest.

Following a bit of research there is evidence that there are a significant number of untapped areas of resource in the country. Industry experts hope to conduct an extensive research project in order to gain more extensive information about these areas and tap into these resources in order to boost the production gemstones in Sri Lanka.

Such circumstances ensure a bright future for the development and expansion of the Sri Lankan Gem and Jewelry Industry.

The Impact of Facets upon the Gem & Jewelry Industry:

Year after year Facets has served as a means of showcasing the very best of what Sri Lanka has to offer. The exhibition provides visitors with a very concise view of the operations and products of the local Gem and Jewelry Industry, not just in the form of exquisite gemstones and stunning pieces of jewelry but through the showcasing of machinery and equipment used for cutting, testing and other processes involved in the process of production.

Facets is an excellent starting point for anyone searching for opportunities in the Gem and Jewelry Trade. Be it via export or import, Facets plays an important role in linking various parties so that all may reap the benefits of the various opportunities the local and global industries have to offer.
During the past year the Western world has been rocked if not split apart by extremist right wing populism and liberal democracy, with Russia allegedly playing some role. In Britain yesterday, the new Prime Minister Theresa May was obviously dismayed when the Conservative Party suffered a stunning setback, though it won a shaky 318 seats in the 650-seats House of Commons or Westminster.



Many world news analysts described the Conservative Party as being like a casino. In June last year the then Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron - though he had a comfortable majority in Parliament - took a major gamble by calling for a referendum on whether Britain should pull out of the European Union. Though most opinion polls predicted that Premier Camerons remain camp would comfortably win the referendum, the result was a shocking upset with the so-called Brexit camp winning by a small majority. Mr. Cameron resigned immediately and the then Home Secretary Theresa May was elected to replace him, Ms. May who also was a remain supporter, took a hard-line after she became Prime Minister and said she would take a tough stand at Brexit talk with European Union leaders. The talks were to begin this month with a deadline of two years to work out a deal.



Saying she wanted to consolidate her position as Premier so that she could get the best deal for Britain, Premier May surprised the world on April 18 by calling for a snap General Election which was held on Thursday. Most opinion polls had showed she had a comfortable 20 percent lead over the Labour Party led by the controversial Jeremy Corbyn. But the official results, as announced around 3.30 pm (Sri Lanka time) yesterday showed that the Conservatives had won 318 seats, a loss of 12, while Labour had won 262, a gain of 30. With the results of all 650 seats now declared, no single party will be able to secure the 326 seats needed for an overall majority, with a hung parliament now confirmed, the Daily Telegraph reported. That means that Ms. Mays path to power will possibly require a deal to be done with Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which increased its representation from eight to 10. The DUP has signalled it is ready to discuss working with the Conservative or Tories on issues such as Brexit and keeping the United Kingdom together. With the party in a position to hold the balance of power at Westminster, senior MP, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the DUP would be serious players in the hung parliament, telling the BBC: This is perfect territory for the DUP because obviously if the Conservatives are just short of an overall majority it puts us in a very strong negotiating position and certainly that is one we would take up with relish, the newspaper reported.



Around 5.00 p.m. (Sri Lanka time) yesterday, Ms. May met Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace and sought permission to form a minority Government. She said later, she would stay on as Prime Minister with support from Northern Irelands DUP.



Some analysts believe US President Donald Trumps shocking upset victory in November last year may have had an impact on British voters. Britain is considered as the mother of parliamentary democracy with a moderate policy, checks and balances and a rejection of extremism on racial issues specially.



The parallel with Sri Lanka is the gamble that failed when former President Mahinda Rajapaksa called an early Presidential Election on January 8, 2015almost two years ahead of schedule. He suffered a stunning defeat to the rainbow coalition led by President Maithripala Sirisena and we hope the National Unity Government will take the right lessons from what happened in Britain. Most world economic analysts believe that another major reason for the backfiring of Ms. Mays gamble was the partys austerity policies and the reduction of the budgetary allocations for vital areas such as health and education. That may be the main lesson for the National Unity Government here.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will visit Buckingham Palace to seek permission from the Queen to form a government, the Independent reported a short while ago quoting a Downing Street spokesman.

The article said Ms. May has struck a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to form a small working majority in coalition.

The DUP said the deal would work on a vote-by-vote basis called "confidence and supply" and they would not form a formal coalition.

It follows calls for Ms May to resign after a disastrous election for the Conservatives. They emerged eight seats short of a majority, with one seat left to declare.

"We would consider a supply and confidence arrangement to make sure Theresa May would have sufficient support to keep her in government, one DUP MP has told Sky News.

Support for the DUP has grown, with the party increasing their number of seats from 8 to ten. The Tories and DUP combined would have 329 MPs in the Commons.

The party has series of demands from the Conservatives in exchange for its support. Among them is an assurance that Ireland is not granted special status after Brexit.

Nigel Dodds, who retained the North Belfast seat, reportedly said the DUP would insist there was no separate deal for Ireland that would in essence keep in inside the EU. The DUP backed Brexit in last year's referendum.

The DUP objects to special status for the region, one of Sinn Fein's key demands, fearing it could break-up Ireland from the rest of the UK.

The DUP, the largest unionist political party in Northern Ireland, said their desire to form a coalition with Ms May is driven by concerns about Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister.

Mr Corbyn, who has called on Ms May to resign, has well publicised links with Sinn Fein. The Labour leader has said he is "ready to serve" and the party is willing to form alliances with other smaller parties.

Yet even if Labour joined forces with the SNP, Lib Dems, Green Party and Plaid Cymru, it would only have 313 seats, short of the 326 figure it needs.
Speech by the Leader of the Opposition Rajavarothiam Sampanthan made in Parliament on UN Human Rights Council Resolutions

Mr. Presiding Member, this Resolution has been moved by the Joint Opposition.

The objective of the Resolution is the attempted repudiation of the Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and also the Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council.

I do not want to approach this matter in a spirit of confrontation. I want to approach it from the perspective of what would be in the best interests of the country and all its people while ensuring truth and justice

What happened to unarmed civilians in violation of human rights and humanitarian laws must not be confused with legitimate actions taken by the State against armed combatants carrying on an armed struggle against the State.

No one should be allowed to confuse the execution of legitimate duties by a government and the wanton killing of unarmed civilians in furtherance of the political agendas of persons holding high office



Unfortunately, I do not think such steps are within the competence of this honourable House and I might, perhaps, safely say that it is not the will of the present House. I might say very clearly that the Sri Lankan State is bound by the Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council and that it is the bounden duty of the Sri Lankan State to implement that Resolution. We should really work towards how that can be achieved without any harm being done to this country. That should be our objective.



I do not want to approach this matter in a spirit of confrontation. I want to approach it from the perspective of what would be in the best interests of the country and all its people while ensuring truth and justice.



The causes and events that led to this situation, to this Resolution being adopted, occurred during the tenure of the former Government. The present Government took over when conclusions, decisions, had been arrived at by the UN Human Rights Council. Not having been able to contain the situation despite being given every opportunity from 2012, the former Government could not have contained the situation when decisions had been arrived at in 2015 by the UN Human Rights Council.

The former Government was given every opportunity to implement its own LLRC recommendations

It was the policy of confrontation and refusal to participate that led to the Resolution adopted in 2015

What happened in the South from 1988-1989 and in the North from 2008-2009 are crimes against humanity.

I do not think all war heroes were engaged in committing violations of humanitarian laws but some of them undoubtedly committed such

crimes



The former Government was given every opportunity to implement its own LLRC-Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission- recommendations and conduct its own domestic investigations in 2012 and 2013 up to 2014. It was the policy of confrontation and refusal to participate that led to the Resolution adopted in 2015. This is undeniable and the former Government must accept responsibility for that situation.



This Resolution is frequently referred to as a Resolution against Sri Lanka. I do not agree with that view. It is a Resolution dealing with violations of human rights laws and humanitarian laws committed by both parties to the conflict, the State and the armed rebel group, the LTTE. It is not a Resolution against Sri Lanka. It is a Resolution pertaining to certain acts, not all acts, committed by the two parties to the conflict.

One must not forget that this whole process commenced when the then President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, gave a commitment to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, on the May 26, 2009 when the Secretary-General visited Sri Lanka, to the effect that Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President and the Sri Lankan Government would address the question of accountability. That was a commitment very clearly made by the then President to the Secretary-General of the UN when the Secretary-General came here. Mahinda Rajapaksa undoubtedly knew what he was doing because he himself had gone to Geneva in the late 1980s - in 1988 and 1989 - to seek the intervention of the UN Human Rights body when there were grave violations of human rights and humanitarian laws in the South of this country, when Sinhala civilian youth and Sinhala people were being slaughtered in their thousands, indeed tens of thousands, at that point of time. The only difference is that what happened in 2008-2009 happened in the North.



Nobody is complaining on behalf of the armed combatants. Mahinda Rajapaksa did not complain on behalf of armed combatants when he went to Geneva in 1988 and 1989. He only complained about what happened to civilians. The UN Human Rights Council is also dealing with what happened to civilians. In fact, simultaneously investigations have been conducted against the armed combatants about their own violations of human rights laws and humanitarian laws also against civilians. This culture of impunity should not continue. It should come to an end. What happened to unarmed civilians in violation of human rights and humanitarian laws must not be confused with legitimate actions taken by the State against armed combatants carrying on an armed struggle against the State. The distinction between these two situations is clearly defined in humanitarian laws and human rights laws and the standards of judgement pertaining to the applicability of the said two laws are clearly recognized internationally. I found my friends, in the course of the speeches they made earlier the day, referring to war heroes. I do not think all war heroes were engaged in committing violations of international humanitarian laws and human rights laws but some of them undoubtedly committed crimes against both those laws.



Can the cases pertaining to journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda, five students murdered in Trincomalee when they were standing on the beachfront or the 17 aid workers killed in Muttur be swept under the carpet merely because the persons accused of those crimes are members of the armed forces; so called war heroes? If those crimes cannot be swept under the carpet merely for the reason that those acts were committed by war heroes, how can violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law which are crimes against humanity committed in 2008-2009 be swept under the carpet? This was impunity at

its zenith.



Sir, no one should be allowed to confuse the execution of legitimate duties by a government and the wanton killing of unarmed civilians in furtherance of the political agendas of persons holding high office. Unless this culture is brought to an end, it will continue and that must not be allowed.



What happened in the South from 1988-1989 and in the North from 2008-2009 are crimes against humanity. No country, Sir, can continuously disregard such crimes.



As a result of its short-sighted policies and not being inclusive in exercising powers of governance or in sharing sovereignty vested in the people of this country, our country has faced catastrophic situations. We need to retrieve ourselves from this dire situation.

Full and expeditious implementation of the UN Human Rights Council Resolution will be the first step in that direction. Engaging in devious tactics to delay or deny the process will - I respectfully submit - be positively harmful to the future of this country.
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj

Jaffna District MP, Mathiaparanam Abraham Sumanthiran waxed eloquent during the course of the adjournment debate in Parliament on June 6th 2017. M. A. Sumanthiran who is also the official Spokesperson of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and its premier constituent, the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) emphasised that they stood for a country that is not divided, a country in which all the peoples will be proud of their equal status to live without discrimination or fear.



Speaking further Sumanthiran lamented the fact that there was much discrimination along ethnic lines in many spheres in the country. He pointed out that there was discrimination even in the matter of taking action to ensure justice for journalists victimised in the past.



The TNA Parliamentarian, who is also a lawyer touched upon the issue of attacks on journalists in this regard and stressed that there was discrimination in addressing such matters too.



Even in taking action, there is blatant discrimination. We commend you for taking action in the case of Prageeth Eknaligoda; in the case of Lasantha Wickramatunga, but there was a course of Tamil journalists who were killed. Why has the Government not moved one finger in respect of one of those assassinations? Why? Are Tamil journalists any less citizens of this country than Sinhala journalists? Is that your view? You do not have to answer that. It is blatantly obvious what your view is, when you do not do what you are supposed to do; when you do not do the right thing for certain sections of the community, but rush to do other things.



The question of media freedom and the safety and security of journalists in Sri Lanka has been keenly debated in the past. The situation eased somewhat after the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended in May 2009.



Fresh winds of hope and optimism blew after the advent of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government in 2015. A Government, which pledged Yahapalanaya -Nallaatchi-Good Governance took office. Among the positive features of the new Govt. was the effort taken to probe at least some of the cases where journalists were affected.



Media rights organisations have recorded several instances of media employees (Both full time and part time) being killed, injured, assaulted, abducted and/or made to disappear during the years between 1999 to 2011. Among such recorded incidents are the deaths of 25 journalists.



An ethnic breakdown of the 25 journalists killed are Eighteen Tamils, Six Sinhalese and One Muslim. The most prominent among the journalists killed was my friend and colleague, Lasantha Wickrematunga the founder-editor of The Sunday Leader. He was gruesomely killed on a public road in Ratmalana while on his way to work.



Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Govt.

The Sirisena- Wickremesinghe Govt. to its credit has initiated fresh probes into the assassination of Lasantha Wickrematunga.



Action is also being taken to seriously investigate some other incidents like the enforced disappearance of freelance journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda, abduction and torture of The Nations Deputy Editor Keith Noyahr and assault on Rivira Editor Upali Tennekoon.



Some forward movement of a positive nature has been recorded in these investigations so far. What the final outcome would be is something which still remains in the realm of the unknown.



While the actions being taken in these instances are indeed commendable, one is also struck by the fact that apart from the Lasantha assassination, very little or practically no action has been taken in the cases, where journalists have been killed. It may not be entirely a coincidence that most of the journalists killed are by ethnicity -Tamils.



This gives rise to an impression that the absence of positive action in these matters is due to discrimination on ethnic grounds. This opinion that was articulated strongly by Sumanthiran in Parliament last Tuesday.



It is against this backdrop that this column intends to focus this week on the assassination of a journalist 13 years ago.



Aiyathurai Nadesan, serving as Batticaloa correspondent of the Tamil daily Virakesari was shot dead in broad daylight in the heart of Batticaloa town on May 31st 2004.



No concrete action has been taken to even investigate the murder so far. Nadesan was a friend whom I had known for about 26 years. I have written about Nadesans assassination, when he was killed. I shall however re-visit Nadesans killing with the intention of drawing attention to an unsolved murder of a journalist and friend.



The death of any member of the journalistic fraternity is distressing. More so when a scribe is gunned down in broad daylight by unknown assassins for the crime of writing something that displeases people with pretensions of power.



The sadness is even more acute when the journalist was someone known to you for more than 25 years and had been immensely helpful as a source of accurate news and stimulating views.



Aiyathurai Nadesan was shot dead on May 31st 2004 at about 9.35 a.m. in Batticaloa. He was riding his motor cycle to work when the assailants shot him dead at point blank range on Boundary Road. Leaving his home on Lake Road, Batticaloa at 9. 20 a.m. Nadesan had followed his usual practice of picking up his Virakesari copy from the boutique next to the Virakesari office on Central Road.



Two Men on a blue motor cycle

Nadesan, though a journalist worked as an income tax assessor, too. He was going along Boundary Road and nearing his Bar Road office, when the assassins struck. Two men on a blue motor cycle  both wearing helmets  were the killers. At least four shots were fired at point blank range from a 9 mm. Two hit Nadesans shoulder and chest. One struck his hand. The killers whizzed away. There were many witnesses but none came forward to give evidence to the Police.



Nadesans bike knocked against a concrete lamp post and he was thrown off. Nadesan fell into a drain. The fall had resulted in his ribs getting fractured. He lay bleeding about 200 yards away from his workplace on Bar Road and died at the spot after a while.



The Bar Road-Boundary Road area is a very busy place in the morning. Many people saw Nadesan lying in the drain for a long time. Yet no one came to his aid. Such was the state of fear in Batticaloa, that people were scared to display even the most basic human tendencies at times like these.



The people of Batticaloa were in the grip of two contending terrorist forces at that time. The clash for supremacy between the mainstream Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Batticaloa - Amparai dissident faction led by ex-tiger eastern commander Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Col Karuna had led to a situation where lives were being snuffed out without restraint.



People were afraid to talk freely as they did not know who supported Pirapaharan and who supported Karuna.



It was left to a fellow journalist, Thurairatnam and the TELO Batticaloa Organiser Prasanna to go to the spot, examine the body of the lifeless, Nadesan and alert the authorities. The then Batticaloa Magistrate M. Ajmeer went to the place at about 11 a.m. and ordered that the body be taken to the hospital and handed over to the family after an inquest. This then was the sad tale of Nadesans demise.



Though a resident of Batticaloa for nearly 20 years, Nadesan was not an easterner. His wife Gowri was from Batticaloa. Nadesan however had adopted Batticaloa as his native place and integrated himself with the region.



He spotlighted the problems facing the people aptly. He was easily one of the best Tamil media journalists in the country at the time of his death.



Nellai Nades of Nelliaddy

The 49-year-old scribe hailed from Nelliaddy, Karaveddy in Jaffna. My mothers village Kaddaively (Thunnalai South, Karaveddy) was adjacent to it. Nadesans father Aiyathurai was a Cooperative Inspector with an impeccable reputation for honesty and integrity.



Nadesans house was down Chettitharai Lane between Nelliaddy Central College and the Vathiri Road junction. Conforming to the practice adopted by many artistes and writers of adding their village name as a prefix Nadesan too used the condensed version of Nelliaddy Nellai before his name. It was as Nellai Nades that he wrote articles, short stories and poems during his school and undergraduate days. When I first met him in 1977 while working at the Virakesari, he was known as Nellai Nades. Nadesan used to drop in frequently to meet the then Virakesari News Editor S. Nadarajah who was also from Anaipanthy in Nelliaddy.



Later as a journalist, he used the by- line G. Nadesan.



The G denoted his wife Gowri. Technically Nadesan was not a full-time journalist. He was an Income Tax Assessor by profession.



He was a part time journalist but in practical terms the part time was full time. He was the Batticaloa correspondent for the Virakesari and also for Shakthi TV and radio. He also worked for the London based International Broadcasting Corporation.



Given the volume and scope of his journalism, one could safely say that Nadesan was far more productive than most full-time journalists in the Tamil media those days.



After obtaining a degree in Business Administration, Nadesan became a teacher for a while. Later he joined the Inland Revenue Department as a clerk and subsequently became an Assessor.

He used to write articles as a free-lance contributor to the Virakesari under his pen name Nellai Nades.



He later became the Virakesaris Batticaloa Correspondent. Nadesan married in Batticaloa and settled down there. The Nellai gave way to G (Gowri). They had four children, two boys and two girls.



The news of a Virakesari Batticaloa correspondent being killed on the line of duty was and is of poignant impact to me. One of the happiest and challenging periods of life for me as a journalist on the Virakesari was when I worked as Batticaloa staff correspondent for three months in 1977. (June and Nov  Dec).



The Virakesari then had a brilliant journalist, V.S. Kathirgamathamby as Batticaloa correspondent. I had to replace him twice on a temporary basis then.



After Kathirgamathamby retired another close friend, Nithianandan became Batticaloa correspondent of the Virakesari. Nithy, an ardent Tamil nationalist got too involved with the LTTE. During the time of the IPKF, Nithy was viciously stabbed by some members of the pro-IPKF group, the EPRLF. Then Indian envoy J.N. Dixit arranged for immediate air lifting of Nithy to Colombo for urgent medical treatment at the request of Nithys journalist friends then.



After recovering Nithy worked in the Colombo Virakesari office. When the Indian army left he returned to Batticaloa and joined the LTTE as a full time member. He was later ambushed and killed by the Sri Lankan Army. Nadesan became the acting and later permanent Batticaloa Correspondent after Nithy.



Thamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal

Though the Police said that they had no idea who Nadesans killers were, the people of Batticaloa knew fully well, who they were. It was an open secret in Batticaloa that the killing was carried out by members of renegade leader Col Karunas faction known as Batticaloa-Amparai Liberation Tigers.

Subsequently they formed a new politico-military organisation called Thamil Makkal Viduthalaip Puligal (Tami Peoples Liberation Tigers). When Nadesan was killed the Batticaloa grapevine hummed that the assassin, who was seated on the pillion and fired the shots was none other than Pillaiyan.



Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan later made history as the first ever Chief Minister of the Eastern Province serving from 2008 to 2012. He is currently in detention as a suspect in the 2005 assassination of former TNA Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham.



After killing Nadesan the Karuna faction of the LTTE tried to justify it by accusing him of being a Prabhakaran loyalist. The mainstream LTTE on the other hand tried to derive propaganda mileage by claiming him as one of their own.



Though a Tamil nationalist in the 70s and 80s of the last century, Nadesan was more of a leftist than an ethno  populist. When Tamil militancy grew, Nades was more aligned with the Eelam Peoples Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) than the LTTE. Nades was closely associated with former EPRLF Northeastern Chief Minister Annamalai Varadarajaperumal.



Nades and Varathan had been contemporaries at the Jaffna University and had also taught together at a Nelliaddy tuition centre later. When the northeast provincial council was formed Nadesan got himself seconded from government service and got appointed as Varatharajaperumals press officer. I think his official title was Information Officer. Ironically Nades was also an unofficial censor when the North -Eastern Provincial Council was in existence.



Nadesan discharged his duties efficiently. With the LTTE threatening the Tamil media on the one hand, it was a formidable task to project the northeast provincial council activities in a favourable light. Nades did so, often exerting pressure on editors and management personnel. One editor told me how Nades would often utter veiled threats in order to get pro-EPRLF news published.



Detained in a Bunker by LTTE

When the council was dissolved in 1990 and the bulk of EPRLF including Perumal fled from Sri Lanka, Nades did not follow suit. He opted to take his chances with the LTTE rather than fleeing the country to India. Nades was arrested as a traitor by the LTTE and detained in a bunker prison. He was subjected to physical and mental torture. Nadesans stand was that he was only an employee of the Northeast Provincial Council, doing his duty. Finally, Nadesans brother Sivanathan, a prosperous mill owner had to pay a hefty donation to secure his release. The LTTE that detained Nadesan as a traitor may very well have killed him in captivity like many others if not for the money being paid. After Nadesan was killed the same LTTE started showering patriotic titles and organising condolence meetings and protest demonstrations in his memory.

This was reminiscent of how the Tigers treated former Tamil United Liberation Front President Murugesu Sivasithamparam. In 1989 the LTTE tried to kill him as a traitor. In 2002 when Sivasithamparam died of natural causes he was honoured by the Tigers.



As a journalist living in Canada and writing about Sri Lanka, I kept in touch with Nadesan on the phone for several years. He was a reliable source of information about events in the east. Though he espoused a strong Tamil nationalist line he was by no means a LTTE acolyte. Nevertheless he had to adopt a safe course. Often he would tell me of happenings which he himself could never report in Sri Lanka.



What he wrote in print and what he said on the phone were sometimes different. We cant write the whole truth. At least you do something, he would say.



This was a tremendous existential problem encountered by Tamil journalists in the northeast. Having worked as provincial correspondent for the Virakesari both in Jaffna and in Batticaloa, I know only too well the pressures on the outstation correspondent. Later on, the war situation imposed an immense burden on these poor souls. Even the brief interludes of fragile peace during the years of war did not bring any relief to the scribes in the northeast. In that context one is fully aware of the difficulties faced by Batticaloa based journalists like Nadesan, Uthayakumar and Thurairatnam in those days.

To strike a personal note, I have in the past faced several problems at the hands of the LTTE in Canada. I have been assaulted and had my limbs broken; the newspaper I ran had to close down because the Tigers intimidated shop owners and advertisers.



Threats over the telephone were a regular feature. Scurrilous leaflets were often distributed. Anonymous letters in foul language threatening death would often be posted. Tiger media organs continued to portray me as a traitor and assassinate my character. Yet, I was still able to criticise the LTTE, whenever and where ever necessary because I was not living in northeast Sri Lanka then.



Staple Sustenance of Tamil Media

The scribes living in the North -east had to face this LTTE pressure in those days. There was also pressure from the armed forces and even other non-Tiger Tamil groups. However, the biggest threat was the LTTE and almost all Tamil newspapers in Sri Lanka toed a pro-Tiger line then.



While Tamil nationalism is the staple sustenance of the Tamil media, the LTTE factor brought about a qualitatively destructive change then.



Against this backdrop one would hesitate to judge journalists in Nadesans position without having walked in their shoes.



Unlike some bluff masters who plugged a Tiger line and peddled fantastic bits of propaganda to any buyer, ranging from intelligence agencies to the BBC, Nadesan had striven to present a correct picture of developments as far as possible. I often listened to his reports in the London based pro-LTTE IBC Radio. I also read his Virakesari Sunday column regularly.



The significant thing about the column was that he did not distort facts. He left out some problematic details, but never wrote utter falsehoods. His comments too never went to the extent of unbridled LTTE sycophancy like some others, since he himself was a Tamil nationalist and much of what he wrote was from that perspective. This however did not make him a Tiger as both the LTTE and Karuna faction tried to portray him after his demise



The pro  Karuna website Neruppu which scooped the Nadesan killing described Nades as a Wannippulippathirigaiyaalar ( journalist of the Wanni tigers). Tarnishing a dead mans name to justify a dastardly killing is a typical Tiger trait. The Karuna faction was no doubt adhering to its roots in this matter. The brutal assassinations of perceived dissidents and critics by both the mainstream and rebel groups indicated that in the final analysis both tiger factions were paasisappuligal (Fascist Tigers) and nothing else.



Capitalising on Nadesans Death

The Prabhakaran led LTTE began capitalising on Nadesans death. The Tigers organised a worldwide campaign condemning and mourning Nadesans death to obtain political mileage. A team of Tigers led by Senathi went to the funeral house and wrapped a Tiger flag around the body. Nadesans sister objected. The flag was removed. Later Nadesans body was taken to the Northern Province for cremation at the Aalankatti cemetery in Vathiri. The LTTE took over the funeral arrangements.



Homage ceremonies were organised in Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Jaffna and Karaveddy. Nadesans body, now wrapped in a Tiger flag lay in state for people to pay their respects. The LTTE orchestrated large crowds of mourners. Leading LTTE figures spoke at the various ceremonies as well as the funeral itself. The LTTE organised a massive demonstration and hartal in the northeast to condemn the killing. Almost all the Tiger media started lamenting Nadesans loss ad nauseam.



Tiger media organs devoted much time and space to Nadesan. In typical Tiger fashion, fund raising in his memory commenced overseas. Fund raising to the LTTE was like a fire hydrant to a mongrel.

The LTTE Leader Prabhakaran conferred upon Nadesan the posthumous title Naatuppattraalar (Patriot). This is a second class honour bestowed upon people who have supported or assisted the LTTE. First class honour is the Maamanithan (Great Human) title.



Taraki Sivaram was made a Maamanithar. By this action of dubbing Nadesan a patriot the LTTE tried to show the world that he was one of theirs.



Sadly all these efforts helped to strengthen the impression that Nadesan was a Tiger scribe. The truth however was different.



This typical LTTE deception only helped to reinforce the Karuna Group charge that Nades was a Tiger associate. The LTTE damaged Nades after his death by trying to coopt his image for their benefit. By doing so the LTTE distorted and diluted the widespread condemnation that should have arisen because an independent journalist was assassinated. Instead Nadesan was depicted as a Tiger in journalist garb. If the Karuna faction had taken Nadesans life, the LTTE had destroyed his reputation.



Necessary to Investigate Murder

Whatever his faults or deficiencies, there is no doubt that Nellai Nades was a fine journalist and clever craftsman. Most of his articles were well researched and had a lot of facts and figures. I have at times relied on his articles to get data and statistics.



Whatever his stance because of political compulsions, Nadesans death was a great loss to the Tamil community in general and the journalist fraternity in particular. Irrespective of the views he espoused, Nadesans killing has to be condemned forthrightly. It is also necessary to investigate this unsolved murder fully even thirteen years later and mete out justice to those responsible for killing Aiyathurai Nadesan.



D.B.S.Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com
Vish-Govindasamy - Group Managing Director, Sunshine-Holdings

Watawala Tea Ceylon Ltd, a member of the Sunshine holdings group celebrated its outstanding achievements for the last year with a gala event on the 21st of April 2017 at the Grand Ballroom of the Galadari Hotel Colombo.

Themed One Team, One Spirit, One Goal, the annual convention of the largest branded tea company in Sri Lanka was graced by Watawala Tea Ceylon Limited Managing Director Shyam Sathasivam, Chief Executive Officer, Surith Perera, Sunshine Holdings Group Managing Director, Vish Govindasamy, and key members of the Sunshine Groups management team, distinguished guests, and employees.

Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings, the parent company of Watawala Tea Ceylon, Vish Govindasamy said: I would like to congratulate all the winners who have been nominated for these coveted awards. The team has worked hard to achieve great growth and accolades, further strengthening its position in a highly-competitive industry.

Watawala Tea Ceylon Limited dominates Sri Lankas tea category with the highest market share, positioning its three tea brands - Zesta, Watawala Tea and Ran Kahata, to appeal to different palates and consumer segments in the country. In 2016/17 financial year, Watawala Tea emerged as the No. 1 brand in the market in the market.

Surith Perera, Chief Executive Officer at Watawala Tea Ceylon Limited said, Both independent market research tracking surveys, Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB) and Nielsen Sri Lanka, declared Watawala Tea as the No. 1 Brand in the tea category in the year 2016/17.

As per Nielsen, we achieved a market share of 24.7%for Watawala Tea with total market share for the company being 35.1%.We as a team achieved,we overcame many challenges last year and excellent teamwork has helped us to take the best of Sri Lankas tea into international markets as well. Today we pay tribute to employees who have contributed to the growth of our company by walking the extra mile he said.

Watawala Tea has reiterated its leadership in the tea category with the latest recognition at SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards with Watawala Tea being voted the countrys most loved hot beverage brand of the year.
Watawala Plantations PLC (WATA), a subsidiary of Sunshine Holdings PLC, will begin commercial dairy operations during the latter half of the 2018 financial year, a top official said.

Increasing the scale of the dairy farming project is a key deliverable in the coming year as we commence commercial operations in the 2nd half of FY 2017/18, WATA Chairman Sunil Wijesinha said.

The firm started investing in a US$ 11.5 million dairy farm last year in a joint venture with PADC Holdings, which is a subsidiary of global dairy industry investor,Duxton Asset Management.

WATA owns 68 percent of the shares in the joint venture, Watawala Dairy Limited.

So far, WATA has invested Rs.626.50 million in the project which is still under construction at Lonarch Estate, which is now unviable for tea planting.

The current 167 cows in the farm (82 of which are milking cows) most of which are present from an earlier pilot project, had produced 1,143 litres of milk daily in the 2017 financial year, generating Rs. 32.6 million in revenue, but a Rs.13.6 million loss in operating profits. The dairy project is expected to generate a bottom line of 40 percent and will contribute considerably towards the groups future profitability, the WATA annual report said. According to WATA, national milk production grew by 2.6 percent year-on-year to 384 million litres in 2016, which was able to meet only 42 percent of total local demand.

Milk powder imports, which captured the remaining 58 percent of the market, were 94,011 metric tonnes in the year, valued at Rs. 33.6 billion, growing 15 percent year-on-year. The WATA farm, once fully operational, will produce 30,000 litres of milk daily with a herd of 1,700 cows, of which 1,000 will be milking cows.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Astana, Kazakhstan, this week to attend the summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) where it will become a full member of the grouping along with Pakistan. Modis visit and Indias SCO membership will enhance Indias linkages with the region at a time when major powers are competing for influence in the five nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Influence

Russia is determined to restore some of its historic influence over the former Soviet empire, but it is China that is making a real splash in the region. Though Russia and China are planning to enhance their engagement in Central Asia and have decided to coordinate their policies in the region, Beijings economic transformation of the lands west of its restive Xinjiang province has gathered pace in the last decade.

With China spending billions of dollars on infrastructure and energy projects to link up the disjointed region, it has emerged as the main trading partner of four of the five Central Asian countries that gained independence from Moscow in 1991.

Unlike China, which shares a border with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Indias transit to the region lies through Pakistan and Afghanistan, limiting Indias reach. Yet, Indias growing interests in Central Asia are well-recognised. There is a growing convergence between the United States and Indias interests in the region, especially their reluctance to see the region fall under the exclusive influence of Russia or China.

India was worried in the 1990s when Russian influence in Central Asia weakened substantially with the commensurate rise in Chinas influence. This negatively impacted Indian threat perceptions which stabilised only after the growing US presence in the region since 2001.

Indias ties with the regional states are growing. India views itself as a stabiliser and security provider in Central Asia and, with its growing economic clout, it is an attractive economic power for regional states. Indias interest in securing reliable energy supplies and trade through Central Asia remains substantial. Besides oil and gas, energy-hungry India is eyeing imports of uranium from both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

India has long wanted to play a larger role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and has been seeking support from individual member states for quite some time. India was admitted as an observer at the 2005 Astana Summit along with Iran and Pakistan. Though the 2010 Tashkent Summit lifted the moratorium on new membership, Indias role in the grouping has remained a marginal one so far.

Now with a full membership India will be hoping to play a larger role but given Chinas complete dominance of the SCO, it might remain a pipedream.

Shadow

Against this backdrop, Indian strategy has focused on developing strong bilateral partnerships in the region. With Uzbekistan, India has signed a pact on the import of over 2,000 tonnes of uranium, much like the one India signed with Kazakhstan.

India is also exploring with Uzbekistan the possibility of extending the Friendship Railway Bridge to Herat in western Afghanistan. The requirements of energy security also postulate a continuing positive relationship with Moscow and friendly ties with all the Central Asian states.

India must create firm ties among the energy exporting states of Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and, if possible, Turkmenistan. But India has so far failed to invest the diplomatic capital that the region demands.

India tried to open an air facility in Ayni, Tajikistan, in 2002, to guard against growing instability in the region, though nothing much happened on that front. And in 2010 the Tajik government officially made it clear that Russia is the only country likely to usethe airbase in the future.

This happened despite India spending around $70 million (Rs 449 crore) between 2002 and 2010 to renovatethe Ayni base, extending the Ayni runway to 3,200 metres as well as installing state-of-the-art navigational and air defence equipment there.

Meanwhile, China managed to win the competition for the Kashagan oilfield in Kazakhstan and the Dauletabad gas field in Turkmenistan. The much-hyped Turkmenistan-AfghanistanPakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, which is supposed to transport gas from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan and Pakistan to India, is yet to get off the ground.

Headway

With a strategic approach towards Central Asia, China has made significant headway in the region with $10 billion in grants and aid to SCO members and developing regional linkages between Central Asia and its western regions.

Chinas trade with the Central Asian region crossed the $50 billion (Rs 32,000 crore) mark in 2013 whereas trade between Central Asia and India struggled to hit a paltry $2 billion (Rs 1,285 crore). Central Asia is now central to Chinas much touted Belt and Road Initiative.

Indias lack of direct overland access to the region due to Pakistans reluctance in allowing Indian goods to pass through its territory has constrained Delhis trade interests from growing in the Central Asian region and consequently, trade with the region remains far below potential.

Indias much touted International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), aimed at expanding Indias trade and investment links with Central Asia, remains a work in progress.

It is time New Delhi gives the region the attention it deserves. Otherwise, China will be able to claim the region as another of its backyards, despite Indias long-standing cultural links with the region.
System Change, not climate change should be the norm for the United States. Arguably, the Paris agreement on climate change is not the best prescription to tackle climate change maladies, but its the best possible pathway agreed by all members through a multilateral process under the United Nations to address a global threat.

US president Donald Trump, true to his presidential campaign promise, has withdrawn from the 2015 Paris agreement. And the world went berserk post his decision. Had not 43rd president George W Bush also withdrawn from implementing the Kyoto Protocol in March 2001?

Was the world critically chaotic at the time as it is now? Not really. The fear of a Tomahawk Cruise Missile or the influential power of the paper-driving Benjamin Franklin (on the US dollar) or the absence of social media, as unruly as it is today, may have restricted such chaos.

Germany, and arguably India and China are becoming leaders in climate change despite serious constraints on the domestic front. Photo: PTI

The broader question to be raised is not on the presidents hyperbolic attitude to climate change rather the political system of the US where such incidents occur. One President representing the country at a global forum took the lead in multilateral environmental negotiations to agree upon on something, and a successor president in office rejected the same.

Ridiculous as it may be, there is a battery of domestic and international experts supported by some or other form of US benevolence, relentlessly justifying both stands.

While the Nobel Peace Prize for vice-president Al Gore under the Clinton administration led to a breakthrough legal Kyoto Protocol in 1997, United States failed to ratify the same at home. The Bush administration, which came to power in 2000, withdrew officially from the pact.

A similar sequence of events is playing out with Trump having discarded the long battle the Obama administration had committed itself to. It is not about Republicans and Democrats, though many would argue along such lines. As always, it is the business as usual (BAU) for all. The UN secretary general suggested to move ahead beyond the US as the withdrawal would not change anything in Paris agreement!

With its impunity and immense influential power using Sama (alliance), Dama or Dana (award), Danda (Punishment) and Bheda (division) of "complete diplomacy", the US would keep justifying its position on climate change.

More than criticising Trump, the question should be raised against the oldest democracys overall political system  the so-called inefficient "separation of powers" among the White House and the Capitol Hill with checks and balances, which allows such cacophony.

Can the House and Senate override the abdication?

Despite knowing the fact that Trump's withdrawal from the Paris agreement is on the cards, the discussions unfolded gradually on individualistic accusation notes rather dispassionately rationalising the consequences upon the US. One group of opinion is scared about losing the leadership role of the US. Has the US been the leader in global environmental governance?

Manipulating the closed-door negotiations to protect own interests is not leadership when it comes to global governance. Leading this group of opinion is former secretary of state Joh Kerry, who was instrumental during the Paris deal. He has been lamenting that Trumps "America First" has taken a self-destructive step that puts the US last and will "cost us (US) influence".

Germany, and arguably India and China are becoming leaders in climate change despite serious constraints on the domestic front. Earlier, during climate talks, India was being categorised as obstructionist by the same US for reaching any climate agreement. What should the US be called now?

Another opinion is demanding accountability from the worlds largest emitter to help reduce dependence on fossil fuels and extend financial support to other developing countries as agreed at Paris in 2015.

Nobody is really talking about making the US accountable for its flip-flop attitude or imposing any sanctions to punish it for its withdrawal from the global agreement. Had it been Indonesia or Tuvalu, there would have been an emergency Security Council meeting to release a statement for imposing series of economic sanctions.

This is an unequal world with unequal ethics and rule of law. Even though the Paris agreement is not a legally-binding accord, the member countries who are suffering the maximum impact of climate change must impose strict moral sanctions on the US.
Aspect Named Vendor of the Year by Frost & Sullivan

Aspect Software, a provider of fully integrated consumer engagement, workforce optimization and self-service solutions, is all about improving the customer journey. The companys ultimate goal is to help enterprises break down the walls between people, processes, systems and data sources. It does this by helping companies produce an omni-channel experience with the help of fully native interaction management, workforce optimization and self-service capabilities, all of which are located within a single customer engagement center.

The company understands that, at the end of the day, it all comes down to customer satisfaction. Contact centers are supposed to be about helping customers resolve whatever issues or questions they may have, and Aspect is determined to provide companies with contact center solutions that will help aid in that mission. By offering options such as its SaaS Workforce Management solution and by conducting consumer experience studies, Aspect is helping companies improve upon the customer journey one step at a time.

Its dedication to helping other companies improve has, in turn, caused Aspect to grow into a better operation. Thats why the company was just awarded the 2017 Frost & Sullivan Thailand Contact Center Applications Vendor of the Year Award. Frost & Sullivan gives this award to a company that demonstrates excellence in growth, innovation and leadership. Given Aspects dedication toward helping others improve through innovative contact center solutions, it was an obvious choice for the award.

Krishna Baidya, Head of Customer Contact Research Digital Transformation - Asia Pacific Frost & Sullivan, discussed why Aspect was chosen for the award, saying, Aspect's transformational journey in the region in recent years was built based on a customer experience perspective and innovation. The vendor was able to establish a deeper engagement with both existing and new customers in Thailand with its complete suite of customer engagement solutions and customer-centric approach to deliver bespoke solutions. Account-based marketing and conducting workshops with prospective customers together with its partners have helped Aspect to gain further mindshare across varied sectors and add many new clients. Aspect's success in doubling its business volume in 2016 in the highly matured and competitive Thailand market is a great testimony of its focus and ability.
CAMEROUN :: Cameroon, FRONTLINE FIGHTERS FOR CITIZENS INTEREST [FFCI]:HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT ON URBAN TERRORISM IN THE NORTH WEST REGION

The North West Region of Cameroon has experienced a series of vandalism since November 21st, 2016, when the socio-political crisis started. This unprecedented series of violence caused by civilians has resulted in the loss of human lives and property and it is alleged that there is more violence and vandalism announced to take place in the future. The burning of the Bamenda Women Empowerment Center illustrated below is just one among many.

This whole saga started in November 2016 with the Teachers and Lawyers strike. These strikes were declared to be pacific and nonviolent. But they were cunningly using some radical groups to envenom the situation and this has degenerated to a point where the teachers and lawyers no longer have control of the crisis anymore. Radical groups have taken the law into their hands with the aid of some leaders at home and abroad calling for secession and federal system of government. They are calling on teacher, pupils and students not to go to school until their demands are met and are employing threats, violence, and vandalism to enforce a no school going. This no school going is having an adverse effect on the future of the youth; teenage pregnancy has increased by 80%, domestic robbery is on the rise, corruption of the youth and child abuse, illiteracy will increase in a couple of years given many children will never go to school because of what has transpired this year. An illiterate population shall be easily manipulated by the leaders for their selfish interest. As days go by, we witness an ever increasing acts of vandalism in the city of Bamenda and the North West Region as a whole.

These outlaws have engaged in a massive destruction of public and private property, and urban criminality since the beginning of the current crisis. Many of them still go unpunished given that they are highly protected upon by the Consortium of Trade Unions. Whenever one of these radicals is arrested by the forces of law and order, the leaders of the consortium propagate messages on social media calling for their immediate and unconditional release. They call on the population to stage a ghost town in order to achieve their goal and even go about committing more atrocities; burning down public institutions and roads.

Those arrested recently and placed under detention were not all involved in acts of vandalism; after an on the ground investigation, FFCI discovered that some of them were just passers-by and sought for their release. Some organizations had been propagating false information that most of those arrested had died in detention, which was very wrong and contrary to the reality. This propagation of false information incited the population into more violence and vandalism. The propagation of false information is ongoing and is having a negative impact on the efforts government is making to normalize the situation and meet the demands of the teachers and lawyers. Most of the demands that have been met by government have not been given the right publicity and the population is still unaware that government has done a lot and is prepared to do more in order to satisfy the teachers and lawyers and have them resume work.

It is crystal clear today the demands of the teachers and lawyers went beyond pure professional demands. Secessionist and federalist ideologies were the bases of their demands. Their demands tabled to government was just a shadow of their real intentions.

We the Frontline Fighters for Citizens Interest (FFCI) - a human right defense Organization, strongly condemn the manipulation of some ignorant Citizens by teachers, lawyers and political opposition Actors to achieve their Public demonstrations in the North West and South West Regions.

The lawyers and teachers may have been right in their motives and initial aims but cunningly used the wrong actors (Radical groups).

The FFCI carefully followed the strike actions and must comment that the teachers and the lawyers used and are still trying to use the vulnerable and most available citizens [the unemployed] to achieve their unlawful demonstrations.

We dare to say, but must say; these citizens deeply implicated the main opposition party (Social Democratic Front SDF). We dont stand on any ground to blame the SDF chairman but watched him authorizing the traders and teachers to hold on with the strike action during the festive period and continue then after.

According to the FFCI national president, Mr. Mowha Franklin, after a face to face discussion with Fru Ndi on the 18th Dec. 2016, he seemed to be the switch to the strike actions both in the North West and South West regions. We doubt why he could not organize his own manifestations or uprising but wait for the teachers and lawyers to start changing the teachers and lawyers demands into his quest for federalism. Thereby confusing citizens of their immediate needs.

As a slogan, the teachers say; behind their curtains e go bad today, Misleading, influencing and supporting while within their shells the final perpetrators of their unexplained actions. This is a clear indication that they are not sure of themselves and could be considered troublers of public order.

How many teachers were amongst those arrested and detained in the looting, robbery and aggression scenes that accompanied the strike action? Why will one swallow a pear seed when he knows his anus is not big enough to pass it out?

We do not rush into southern Cameroon/Western Cameroon Crisis. We however watched the National flag being brought down and finally burnt by individuals whom we finally classified as completely uneducated and influenced. If Southern Cameroon wants to be heard, why cant they make themselves visible civilized and courageous? The reunion of Cameroon was a peaceful and highly welcome occasion and if there has to be a separation, it should be done on the table and by eligible elite and not vandals, whatever be the atmosphere.

We went a long way to see that the detainees in Bamenda were released in collaboration of the authorities on bail.

We the FFCI therefore urge the Cameroonian judiciary system to charge the teachers and lawyers to pay not only for the physical but also the social and economic damages registered all along the strike actions of both public and private property.

Nevertheless, the Forces of law and order must revise and improve on their methods of intervention. They should make sure that the civilians they arrest are those caught in action and not just pick up innocent citizens to justify their presence on the field.

FFCI is particularly concerned because in its capacity as a defender of human interest, it also has a primary role to promote education which is a fundamental human right and essential for the exercise of all other human rights.

We therefore call upon both the Cameroonian government and the protestors to know that we are seriously violating the normative instruments laid down by UNESCO; promoting and developing the right of every person to enjoy access to education of good quality, without discrimination and exclusion. These instruments bear witness to the great importance that member states and the international community attach to the normative action for realizing the right to education.

FFCI therefore observing actively, urges the government of Cameroon to fulfill within the shortest frame of time its political and legal obligations vis a vis providing education of good quality and to implement and monitor more effectively educational strategies in action and not only on paper.



WOMEN EMPOWERMENT CENTER IN FLAMES

The Bamenda Women Empowerment Center run by the Ministry of Womens Employment and the Family has been consumed by fire. In the early hours of the 20th of May, 2017, smoke could be seen coming out of the building.

The President of FFCI and his staff made a stopover at the premises after the 20th May celebration at the Commercial Avenue in Bamenda to see for themselves the enormous damage that the blaze has done to the center.

Main entrance of the women empowerment center



The Bamenda Women Empowerment Center was opened to train young girls and women in many different professional areas so they could become self-employed and independent. The center has trained more than a thousand young girls and women to date.

President of FFCI in one of the workshops of the women empowerment center



The cause of the fire is still unknown but fingers are already pointed at some extremist groups that have been setting ablaze public and private structures that do not respect the ghost town operation in the region.

Until a new structure is put up, the many young girls and women who were being trained at the center will be redundant; they would have to indulge in other activities and wait until a new structure is built for them to proceed with their training. How long shall it take for a new structure to be built is the question that is begging for an answer. What is certain is that with the structure down, the lives of the trainees may never be the same again; many may never complete their training and fulfil their dreams.

Women empowerment center after blaze

Frontline Fighters for Citizens Interest [FFCI], would like to inform the youth that their right to education is fundamental; it is an inalienable right, preserved by the constitution of the Republic of Cameroon and furthermore, in the United Nations Charter on Human Rights and Freedoms. Accordingly, no individual, association, syndicate, group, etc., has the power or right to jeopardize that right for whatever reason.

There is information circulating and propagated by some unscrupulous persons in Cameroon and the Diaspora to the effect that UNESCO has cancelled the current school year in Cameroon and therefore any certificate obtained this school year shall not be valid or recognized.

FFCI (Frontline Fighters for Citizens Interest), would like to state clearly that Cameroon is an independent country and therefore no country, be it the United States of America, France, Italy, etc., and no organization, be it UNESCO, UN, AU, etc., has the power, right, or authority to cancel the school year in Cameroon. It is only the state of Cameroon that has the power, right, or authority to cancel the school year of this country. Therefore, these bad intentioned persons are either acting out of ignorance or deliberately want to frustrate the youth by spreading false and unfounded information.

The education of the youth is priceless; the best heritage a parent can leave to his children is not wealth but education. It is safe to say the education of the youth is indispensable.

The truth is that Strikes in Cameroon have often had poor Prognosis. This is because they are poorly organized or led by invisible leaders. The grievances are often a salad of problems which one could hardly tell if they are eventually resolved or not. The leaders often stay behind, while the innocent and the less privileged are thrown behind bars.

We the Frontline Fighters for Citizens Interest (FFCI) are not condemning strikes but wish to make it clear that neither the civilians nor the forces of law and order in Cameroon fully understand the process of striking. We would therefore recommend other means of tabling our problems or better still; get proper education about our rights and the roles of public Riot.

It is erroneous to peaceful manifestations criminal acts but the vandalisms that accompanies them usually varies from misdemeanors to typical felonies.

And when they become felonies, the victims or suspects arrested in Cameroon with the slow judiciary process are usually abandoned in prison. Some die awaiting trail and some become unbearable to their families.

Frontline Fighters for Citizens Interest FFCI strongly condemn the everlasting GHOST TOWN, VIOLENCE and VANDALISM which have been a nightmare to the entire population of the North West Region.

The most significant violation of human rights during this crisis period is the systematic halting of classes and the threats against pupils, students, parents and the vandalism committed against businesses and private residences.

Thousands of inmates awaiting trial would have to wait much longer given lawyers are not performing their duties and this is a serious violation of their rights given justice delayed is justice denied.

Traders who dare to open on a ghost town day run the risk of having their businesses vandalized. A good number of businesses have been burnt down for not honoring ghost town days. This is of course a violation of their right to operate their businesses.

It should be noted that in the North West Region, cheap contraband petrol from Nigeria is sold in every corner. This cheap fuel is easily bought and used to burn down markets, schools, etc. If government stops this contraband fuel from entering the country, it would make it difficult for vandalism to continue at the rate at which it is at the moment because the fuel is also one of the sources of income of these out laws.
Early one winter morning, a group that included Bill Crutchfield, Chuck Rotgin, Suzanne Brooks, Charley Lewis, Hunter Craig, Bob Gibson, Tim Hulbert and myself got together to explore the idea of a Charlottesville Business Hall of Fame, founded by the newspaper and championed by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

It was a good idea, but what made it a better idea was the groups insistence that we focus on the past before we contemplate the present. Certainly Canton, Ohio, or Cooperstown, New York  even Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame  captured the imagination of their fan bases by celebrating the passion and greatness of pioneers. The ones who came before. Those who laid the groundwork and defined for future generations what greatness could be.

What constitutes a Hall of Famer in Charlottesville business? This discussion, led by Bill Crutchfield, settled on the idea of a transformative and sustained contribution to our community. We then wrestled with that idea and contrasted several examples of transformation and sustainability until we arrived at a consensus of merit. Next, we defined the seven key industries that comprise our economy, including banking/finance, manufacturing, communications, education, hospitality and tourism, retail services and transportation. Then we reached into the vaults  the vaults of memory, our neighbors and our own. We reached back to newspaper, Chamber and library archives. We visually surveyed our landscape and asked ourselves, What endures?

It was an impressive list from which we had to cull eight individuals. No particular reason for that number, just agreement that each inductees contribution was unique and changed Charlottesville for the better. Each ones contribution resulted from deep commitment and, substantially, remains with us today to make Charlottesville a better and a different place to live and conduct business than it would be otherwise.

We at The Daily Progress  where we are celebrating our 125th anniversary  are proud to present you with our inaugural Charlottesville Business Hall of Fame. We hope it inspires you to pursue dreams that will prove transformative and sustaining.

Rob Jiranek, Publisher, The Daily Progress
The history of Charlottesvilles development traces the deft innovation of sundry industries that have not only shaped the region, but provided opportunity and created an enviable enclave for thousands to call home.

Charlottesville grew up along the Rivanna River, a fact that today pleases people who look to the river for recreation and enjoyment of nature, two of the regions attractive business assets. Many residents, though, might find it interesting how important the river became as an umbilical cord to commerce for many decades after the towns birth. Today, the city treasures its ties to larger communities  as rail, Interstate 64 and the Internet replaced the Rivanna  while guarding the natural beauty and unique history and culture that nurture connections to tourist, hospitality and information-driven commerce.

The citys distinctive business history and cultural life are shaped by a century of river commerce, another century starting in the 1850s as a railroad crossing hub and many decades as a tourist destination, manufacturing center and home to a growing university designed by Thomas Jefferson as an academic engine for educating leaders for Virginias and Americas democracy.

After 200 years as a college town and a century and a half as a mill and manufacturing town, Charlottesville is adapting as a connected community welcoming visitors and residents who seek a high-tech, arts, food and beverage locale open for innovative entrepreneurs, as well as retirees.

On the river

Charlottesville from its beginnings built itself on worldly pretensions. The towns early marketing efforts included a grand comparison to ancient Greece. Charlottesville sold itself to the world during the time of Jefferson as the Athens of the South and named its port Pireus, as the ancient Greeks had done. Tobacco, flour, cloth, grains and other farm goods were shipped down the Rivanna and James rivers and across the Atlantic to England.

The entrepreneurial spirit is not new to the town born 255 years ago to be a seat of government. Amherst and Buckingham counties broke away from Albemarle County in 1761, and Scottsville lost its status as a centrally located county seat. The next year, Charlottesville became the seat of the county government and has considered itself increasingly more than just the center of Albemarle. Perhaps it aspired to be the center of Virginia and beyond, or maybe of a refined rural tradition. The area did produce three U.S. presidents who occupied the White House from 1801 all the way through to 1825.

As with so much else in the history of the city, Thomas Jefferson played a key role in charting the course of its commerce. In 1763, the year after Charlottesville became Albemarles county seat, 20-year-old Jefferson paddled up and down the Rivanna and determined it could be made navigable for trade. His father, Peter, a businessman and surveyor, had acquired large tracts of land and built a mill at Shadwell. The young Thomas also had a knack for business and found the river to be a promising channel for commerce. He wrote later that he got an act of assembly [passed] & the thing effected, so as to be used completely & fully for carrying down all our produce, according to Minnie Lee McGehee and William E. Trout III, in their valuable book, Mr. Jeffersons River: The Rivanna.

Initial improvements, such as sluices, gave way to a series of locks and canals constructed to accommodate flat-bottom boats along a viable commercial waterway after Jefferson, who designed canals and locks, helped start a state-chartered canal business on the Rivanna in 1765.

By the 1820s, Pireus had become an important port on the Rivanna River at its junction with Moores Creek. Small mills processing wool and cotton joined a saw mill and eventually became known as the Woolen Mills. Flat-bottomed canal boats called bateaux carried cloth and farm products along 51 miles of the navigable Rivanna to the James River at Columbia and from there 56 miles downstream to Richmond. The smaller Rivanna often lacked sufficient water flow and required a lock and dam navigation system with 13 dams and 18 locks to take boats from Charlottesville to Columbia. Mill owners along the route clashed over water rights with canal companies, but milldams on the Rivanna were required by law to have navigation locks for bateaux, McGehee and Trout wrote.

A rough east-west symmetry developed as Charlottesville became a small manufacturing town at the same time it became a university town. The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 one mile due west of the downtown courthouse as Jeffersons separate white-collar Academical Village. Meanwhile, the Woolen Mills one mile due east of downtown built housing for its factory workers, spawning a blue-collar neighborhood with its own school, church and businesses, such as Pireus Tavern and a general store on East Market Street. The small town in the middle was a business and government center that served both villages and eventually grew to merge with each and to develop a taste for mixing commerce with academic growth.

In this growth process, Jefferson had powerful political friends who helped him on both sides of town, making the Rivanna into a water highway and UVa into a durable institution. One ally was Dr. Thomas Walker, of Castle Hill, his mentor and predecessor in the General Assembly. Their successful efforts to build canals for commerce of farm products along the Rivanna helped Jefferson first win public office, Trout noted. Another of Jeffersons compatriots was Joseph C. Cabell, who helped create and grow the University of Virginia. Cabell, twice a university rector, helped quash a scheme to move the College of William & Mary to Richmond in 1825 when that was seen as a threat to UVa. Cabell also led General Assembly support for canal companies, including one that stretched up the James River from Richmond to Lynchburg and Buchanan. Future President James Monroe was instrumental in the schools location, as he had owned the farmland that became UVa and served as its rector before Cabell held the post. Monroe and future President James Madison, of nearby Orange County, also served on the universitys Board of Visitors with Jefferson starting in 1817.

A full decade before the Civil War, the iron horse started to replace the flat-bottomed boat and its canals. By 1852, Charlottesville enjoyed rare status as a small city with railroads crossing both east-west and north-south. In 1850, Virginia Central Railroad, now CSX, connected Charlottesville to Richmond. In 1852, the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, now Norfolk Southern, added a north-south route connecting Charlottesville to Alexandria. The town now had competitive access to two railway companies, two different express companies and nearly next-day first class mail service in all directions within the eastern half of Virginia.

Charlottesville prospered, given its river, then rail transportation advantages for farms and businesses. After Pireus faded as a port, the railroads gave Charlottesville valuable rail crossing connections that eventually led to more manufacturing and eventually tourism.

Access, prosperity

Clearly, Charlottesvilles location 20 miles east of a Blue Ridge Mountain pass at Afton and astride a river made it an excellent venue for commerce. The railroad followed the old Three Notchd Road west from Richmond, later U.S. 250 and today Interstate 64, and cut through the mountains at Afton to the Shenandoah Valley, thanks to the 1850s engineering feat of a 4,273-foot Blue Ridge Tunnel built by the renowned French engineer Claudius Crozet, who previously helped design the Rivanna and James River canals. At the time it was built, the tunnel was the longest in the United States. Labor from hundreds of Irish immigrants and dozens of enslaved workers completed the tunnel and its rail connection to the west three years before the start of the Civil War.

After becoming a rail hub, Charlottesville saw hotels built along West Main Street, a phenomenon that continues today.

One railroad ran through the old Pireus port just feet from the Woolen Mills, which thrived and became the largest employer in Albemarle County by the second half of the 19th century. It made cloth for Confederate uniforms until the end of the Civil War and continued making cloth for sundry items until 1962. The mills thrived under the family leadership of father John A. Marchant and son Henry Clay Marchant, until the sons death in 1910.

City business leaders and banks helped the mills prosper. According to Harry Edward Poindexters 1955 UVa masters thesis, A History of the Charlottesville Woolen Mills, 1820-1939, Henry Clay Marchant added to his board four directors of Peoples National Bank of Charlottesville, which was founded in 1875, including two presidents of the bank and the citys mayor. Four other mill directors were on the board of Charlottesville National Bank.

While much of Virginia was destroyed during the Civil War, Charlottesville survived largely intact thanks to a negotiated surrender to Union forces. Incorporated as a city in 1888, it reached a population of 5,591 in 1890. In 1892, The Daily Progress began publishing as the newspaper of record. Surrounded by farms and orchards producing apples and peaches, the citys commerce reflected the regions agricultural base, as farming flourished and farm-to-market roads became a state priority by the 1920s. Albemarle County, with a population of 26,981 in 1930, was third in apple production among Virginia counties and first in peach production with 538,655 apple trees and 177,362 peach trees. The citys population had climbed to 15,245 in 1930. All in all, Virginia ranked third nationally in apple production with a long history of growing the fruit at least as much to drink as to eat.

Charlottesville had a collection of black-owned businesses for decades after the Civil War, many located in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood that was razed in the 1960s during city-sponsored urban renewal. From the 1910s to the early 1960s, it was the citys concentrated black business district. The voters of Charlottesville decided 57 years ago to redevelop the 20-acre neighborhood, and by 1965 a church, 30 businesses and about 140 African-American families were moved out.

UVa serves as a magnet for many individuals who move to Charlottesville and has attracted business entrepreneurs for more than a century. The city also became home to growing numbers of small banks that intimately were tied to businesses that they financed. Founded in 1914 as National Bank of Charlottesville in a city with 8,765 residents, Jefferson National Bank was the subject of a Sept. 21, 1914, story in The Daily Progress heralding New Bank Opens and reporting that Charlottesville is to be congratulated on the opening of her youngest financial institution; and many of our citizens believe it will mark the beginning of a new era in the progress and development of the entire community. The deposits for the day amounted to $197,314.66.

The banks stockholders held their first meeting in the offices of the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce, which had been founded in 1913 on the second floor of Timberlakes Drug Store, as the new banks building was not yet ready.

Small banks sprang up around the region and were connected through their boards of directors to local businesses they served. G. McNeir Tilman, whose father and grandfather owned a department store downtown starting in 1895, left the business to go into banking.

The city was growing and people were starting small banks and then the big banks began swallowing the small banks, said Tilman, who helped manage Jefferson National Bank before it merged with North Carolina-based Wachovia in 1998.

Jefferson National had acquired many small banks across the state under the leadership of Henry A. Haden and Hovey Dabney by 1968 when it opened a branch on Grounds at UVa, where 17.5 percent of the citys population was connected or employed. (Two weeks after swallowing Jefferson National and its 1,300 employees in 1998, Wachovia acquired Richmond-based Central Fidelity and its 3,950 employees. Ten years later, San Franciscos Wells Fargo outbid New Yorks Citibank to buy Wachovia.)

On a beam of light

The roar of the Roaring 20s was heard across Charlottesville as economic prosperity and the automobile offered new opportunities to make the city a tourist destination. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 by local business leaders to preserve and operate Monticello, which was acquired from the private ownership of the Levy family and opened to the public.

Monticellos new owners set a new pace for tourism. The sky was the limit for their marketing prowess, literally. By 1927, a beam of light billed as the worlds brightest shined from Charlottesvilles tallest building three miles to Jeffersons home and far beyond. The beam across the night skies could be seen from New York to Spartanburg, South Carolina, reports said. The Jefferson Light atop the Monticello Hotel weighed 4,500 pounds and used 62-inch lenses to project a 1.3-billion-candlepower beam built for military use in spotting aircraft.

Lighting the night skies starting in August 1927, the beacon to lure the driving public to Charlottesville was first switched on with great pomp in simultaneous ceremonies in Charlottesville and at City Hall in New York City. A huge army blimp appeared over Charlottesville and the Municipal Band marched and played military music as the light was lit. The beam was pointed at five former presidential homes in the region: Monticello, James Monroes Highland, James Madisons Montpelier, the presidential retreat of Theodore Roosevelts Pine Knot lodge near Scottsville and 31 West Range, the UVa home of Woodrow Wilson.

Not everyone warmed to it, as the Progress reported, The petting couples around Charlottesville dont like it at all.

The light was taken down before World War II.

The marketing of Monticello as a tourism magnet drew visitors and dollars to Charlottesville in increasing numbers soon after Jeffersons architectural treasure of a home was opened. In 1924, Monticello had 20,091 visitors who were charged a 50-cent admission fee. By 1944, the number of visitors increased five-fold, as the presidential home marked its first year with visitation exceeding 100,000. By 1951, Monticello welcomed more than 200,000 visitors for the first time and by 1965 the number topped 300,000. Monticellos record number of visitors was 671,487 in the American Bicentennial year of 1976. In recent years, visitation has averaged about 440,000 a year.

UVa, another Jeffersonian architectural treasure, has expanded every decade since World War II and is the dominant employer in Charlottesville. UVa and its health system employ a workforce of about 20,000. The UVa student body today is 22,000. Total spending by all groups of UVa visitors exceeded $122 million a year as of 2005 and is still growing. UVa student local spending exceeds $210 million a year, including more than $18.5 million a year in bars and restaurants, according to an economic impact study by the Cooper Center for Public Service at UVa. Total local spending at and by the university exceeds $1 billion a year, the study found.

The base

Greater Charlottesville maintained a manufacturing employment base until a few decades ago. A major employer from 1928 to 1999 was the Ix Mills, a New York textile business that opened a Charlottesville factory 89 years ago several blocks south of downtown. Ix eventually became the citys largest employer, aside from UVa, with a workforce of 1,400 that created silk and synthetic fiber products, spinning off retail jobs and developing blue-collar neighborhoods like Belmont.

The Ix Mills closed in 1999 and since has been developed into an arts, business and media center in a growing city with an expanding job base that has attracted firms, such as Sperry Rand Corporation and General Electric, today located in Albemarle County. National defense and intelligence agencies and firms employ more than 3,000 men and women in the Greater Charlottesville area. Sperry, now owned by Northrup Grumman, was at the vanguard of high-tech manufacturing, service and engineering firms that started calling Charlottesville home and providing more high-paying jobs to the region. That coincided with UVa attracting major employers to the area, such as Crutchfield, State Farm, Klockner, CFA Institute, Macmillan Publishing Services and large numbers of biomedical and other tech startups.

The theft of an interstate highway 56 years ago during President John F. Kennedys administration also helped make Charlottesville the business and education center it is today. Kennedy was a great admirer of Jefferson, and his brothers, Robert and Edward, attended law school at UVa . So, he was a sympathetic ear in 1961, when Virginia political figures argued that Interstate 64 should travel through Charlottesville instead of through the larger city of Lynchburg.

Although the State Highway Commission had agreed to the route through Lynchburg, in July of 1961, Governor Lindsay Almond and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Luther Hodges jointly announced that the route would go through Charlottesville. It was no coincidence that John F. Kennedy had served in the same U.S. Navy P.T. Boat squadron with William C. Battle, of Charlottesville. Battle, the lawyer-politician son of a Virginia governor who participated in the rescue of Kennedy after his boat was sunk, later served as his ambassador to Australia. It is safe to say that UVas expanding presence in Charlottesville was a lure for I-64, as it has been for commerce.

The jog of I-64 northwest from the state capital to Charlottesville and then to Waynesboro and Staunton before slipping south along Interstate 81 to Lexington gave business a big boost in Charlottesville (population 29,427 in 1960) over the larger manufacturing center of Lynchburg (population 54,790 in 1960) and left our sister community to the south as the only city in the U.S. at the time larger than 50,000 people without an interstate highway.

Interstate 64 officially opened to Charlottesville in September 1970 with Gov. Linwood Holton presiding.

Four days after Holtons ceremony, the United States Army Foreign Science and Technology Center moved to Charlottesville from Fairfax County, accelerating decades of federal government white-collar job growth in Charlottesville.

Business leaders and city officials worked together to create a revitalized downtown during the following six years. As large retail stores relocated from downtown to shopping centers and malls in the 1960s and early 70s, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce joined political leaders in 1971 in building a civic consensus favoring a downtown pedestrian mall, promoting walkability, better urban housing patterns and an economic rebirth of a downtown that tended to empty at the close of the working day. Now one of the longest pedestrian malls in the country, the tree-lined Downtown Mall is another tourism magnet and home to more than 120 shops and 30 restaurants located in historic buildings on and around Main Street.

Charlottesvilles past, its progress to the present and its bright future carry a sense of the rich history relating commerce to academic innovation and growth. Its economic and entrepreneurial development promise new avenues of commerce related to a culture of artistic innovation and public service. The livability of a region that tries to carefully balance economic growth with retaining the assets of its natural beauty and history continues to place Charlottesville high in national rankings as a fine place to tour, live, learn, retire and do business.

Bob Gibson is a senior researcher at the Academy for Civic Renewal at the University of Virginias Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.
Appellate Court of Illinois, Fourth District. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. RYAN SCHUTZ, Defendant-Appellant. NO. 4-14-0956 Decided: June 07, 2017

OPINION

 1 In July 2013, defendant, Ryan Schutz, hired attorney M. Jane Foster to represent him in an ongoing criminal case. In November 2013, Foster was hired to represent Kristopher Johnson in two unrelated criminal cases. The following month, Foster withdrew from defendant's case. In February 2014, Johnson, who was still represented by Foster, entered into a plea agreement conditioned upon him testifying against defendant in defendant's pending case. Defendant's attorneys at his bench trial, David Rumley and Michael Herzog, had also previously represented Johnson in unrelated matters. Following the bench trial, the trial court found defendant guilty of multiple charges and subsequently sentenced him to 12 years' imprisonment.

 2 Defendant appeals, asserting all three of his attorneys labored under conflicts of interest that should result in us reversing his convictions and remanding for a new trial. For the following reasons, we affirm.

 3 I. BACKGROUND

 4 In July 2013, the State charged defendant with numerous offenses related to one victim: (1) four counts of criminal sexual assault while holding a position of trust (720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(a)(4) (West 2012)), (2) four counts of criminal sexual assault by force or threat of force (720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(a)(1) (West 2012)), (3) four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse (720 ILCS 5/11-1.60(d) (West 2012)), and (4) two counts of providing alcohol to a minor (235 ILCS 5/6-16(a)(iii) (West 2012)).

 5 Later that month, Foster filed an entry of appearance on defendant's behalf. Foster appeared on defendant's behalf for numerous pretrial matters, including (1) defendant's waiver of his right to a jury trial, (2) two State motions to compel, and (3) the State's motions to allow evidence pursuant to sections 115-7.2 and 115-7.3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 (725 ILCS 5/115-7.2, 115-7.3 (West 2012)).

 6 In November 2013, while she continued to represent defendant, Foster entered her appearance on behalf of Kristopher Johnson in two unrelated criminal cases (McLean County case Nos. 13-CF-735 and 13-CF-1332). At some point in November or December 2013, Johnson, who shared a jail cell with defendant, obtained incriminating evidence from defendant regarding defendant's criminal case.

 7 Foster withdrew from defendant's case in December 2013. In February 2014, Johnson entered into a plea agreement wherein he agreed to testify against defendant. Foster signed her acknowledgment of the plea agreement.

 8 In March 2014, defendant's case proceeded to bench trial, where he was represented by Rumley and Herzog. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Johnson testified against defendant, stating he had a conversation with defendant in the McLean County jail wherein defendant admitted committing sexual acts with the victim. Herzog objected to Johnson's testimony on numerous occasions, citing lack of foundation or narrative testimony.

 9 On direct examination, Johnson admitted he had previously committed drug offenses that resulted in probation and prison sentences. During cross-examination, Rumley and Herzog did not question Johnson about his prior convictions for aggravated battery (McLean County case No. 07-CF-648), violation of bail bond (McLean County case No. 11-CM-752), or felony theft (McLean County case No. 12-CF-177), all impeachable convictions the State disclosed in discovery but failed to raise on direct examination. Herzog cross-examined Johnson regarding the plea agreement, and Johnson admitted he hoped to get a lighter sentence for disclosing confessions from other inmates, particularly those charged with sex offenses. Johnson also admitted he specifically sought information from defendant due to the nature of defendant's case. Herzog also challenged Johnson's version of events, which Rumley highlighted during closing arguments. Rumley argued Johnson's testimony was laughable, as Johnson pretended to know details about the offense, but those details were inconsistent with other evidence. Moreover, Rumley highlighted that Johnson was a jailhouse snitch and convicted felon.

 10 In one of the cases involved in Johnson's plea agreement with the State (McLean County case No. 13-CF-735), Herzog had represented Johnson for purposes of conducting a June 2013 bond hearing. The record contains no evidence that defendant or the trial court knew of Herzog's prior representation of Johnson. Additionally, Rumley represented Johnson in a prior criminal proceeding unrelated to Johnson's plea agreement (McLean County case No. 12-CF-177), wherein Johnson was convicted of felony retail theft. Neither the State nor Rumley or Herzog impeached Johnson regarding his conviction on this offense. The record contains no evidence that defendant or the trial court knew of Rumley's prior representation of Johnson.

 11 Following the presentation of evidence, the trial court found defendant guilty of one count of criminal sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual abuse, and two counts of providing alcohol to a minor. In reaching its decision, the court found the victim credible given the general consistency of her statements. The court also noted that several witnesses testified about profound changes in the victim around the time of the alleged offenses, including a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder, that gave further weight to the victim's testimony. As to Johnson's testimony, the court said, while the court does not place a high degree of reliability in Mr. Johnson, the court would note that there are certain facts that he testified to that would be difficult for him to know had he not had a conversation that he claims he did with the defendant. The court likewise notes Mr. Johnson's background and is considering the totality of his circumstances when evaluating his testimony. The court subsequently sentenced defendant to 12 years' imprisonment.

 12 This appeal followed.

 13 II. ANALYSIS

 14 On appeal, defendant asserts that all three of his attorneys labored under a conflict of interest that should result in us reversing his conviction and remanding the case for a new trial. [A] criminal defendant is entitled to the undivided loyalty of counsel who is free from conflicting interests or inconsistent obligations. People v. Murry, 305 Ill. App. 3d 311, 314, 711 N.E.2d 1230, 1233 (1999). Where the facts in the record are undisputed, the issue of whether an attorney operated under a conflict of interest is a legal question subject to de novo review. People v. Murphy, 2013 IL App (4th) 111128,  24, 990 N.E.2d 815. We begin by addressing whether any of defendant's attorneys labored under a per se conflict of interest.

 15 A. Per Se Conflict of Interest

 16 Defendant asserts Foster and Herzog operated under a per se conflict of interest that requires us to reverse and remand this case for a new trial. A per se conflict of interest exists where certain facts about a defense attorney's status, by themselves, engender a disabling conflict. People v. Fields, 2012 IL 112438,  17, 980 N.E.2d 35. An attorney labors under a per se conflict of interest where defense counsel's past or present commitments raise the possibility that the attorney is unwilling or unable to effectively represent the defendant. People v. Becerril, 307 Ill. App. 3d 518, 524, 718 N.E.2d 1025, 1029 (1999). Unless a defendant waives his right to conflict-free representation, a per se conflict is automatic grounds for reversal. Fields, 2012 IL 112438,  18, 980 N.E.2d 35.

 17 A per se conflict of interest occurs: (1) where defense counsel has a prior or contemporaneous association with the victim, the prosecution, or an entity assisting the prosecution; (2) where defense counsel contemporaneously represents a prosecution witness; and (3) where defense counsel was a former prosecutor who had been personally involved with the prosecution of defendant. Id. Here, defendant focuses on the second situation, where defense counsel has a contemporaneous relationship with the defendant and a prosecution witness. [I]n cases where defense counsel has represented a State's witness, a per se conflict of interest will not be held to exist unless the professional relationship between the attorney and the witness is contemporaneous with defense counsel's representation of the defendant. Id.  20. However, a contemporaneous relationship does not require simultaneous representation of a defendant and the prosecution's witness. See People v. Daly, 341 Ill. App. 3d 372, 377, 792 N.E.2d 446, 450 (2003).

 18 1. Foster

 19 Defendant argues Foster had a contemporaneous relationship with both defendant and Johnson because she commenced her representation of Johnson in November 2013, prior to withdrawing from defendant's case. In other words, she represented Johnson and defendant simultaneously. However, the State asserts that Johnson did not become a prosecution witness until he signed his plea agreement in February 2014, which occurred after Foster withdrew from defendant's case. The question we must answer is whether a per se conflict arises by virtue of Foster representing a prosecution witness after withdrawing from defendant's case. Because we find no published cases directly on point, we must attempt to draw analogies from existing case law.

 20 In People v. Morales, 209 Ill. 2d 340, 344, 808 N.E.2d 510, 512 (2004), the defendant's attorney also represented Jorge Hernandez, who was disclosed as a potential State's witness in the defendant's case. However, in the end, Hernandez did not testify at the defendant's trial. Id. at 343, 808 N.E.2d at 512. Defendant was convicted and, for the first time on appeal, argued that his attorney labored under a conflict of interest due to his contemporaneous representation of a potential prosecution witness. Id. at 345, 808 N.E.2d at 512. The supreme court found no per se conflict of interest, concluding, because Hernandez never testified, the defendant's attorney was never the attorney for a prosecution witness. Id. at 346, 808 N.E.2d at 513.

 21 Other cases have highlighted the witness's status as a prosecution witness in identifying whether an attorney labored under a per se conflict of interest. For example, in Murphy, 2013 IL App (4th) 111128,  77, 990 N.E.2d 815, this court found a contemporaneous relationship existed where defense counsel represented a disclosed prosecution witness during the pretrial phase of defendant's case, and the prosecution witness later testified at defendant's trial. Similarly, in People v. Thomas, 131 Ill. 2d 104, 113-14, 545 N.E.2d 654, 658 (1989), the supreme court found contemporaneous representation where defense counsel represented a disclosed prosecution witness but failed to call that witness at the defendant's pretrial suppression hearing to challenge the veracity of the witness's statements to police. In all of these cases, the individual's status as a prosecution witness was key in determining whether a per se conflict of interest existed.

 22 In the present case, at the time Foster represented defendant, Johnson was not disclosed as a prosecution witness, nor does the record suggest anyone was aware Johnson would later become a prosecution witness. In Morales, the defendant's attorney did not represent a prosecution witness because Hernandez never testified. Applying the same reasoning in the present case, Foster did not represent a prosecution witness at the time she represented defendant. This is because February 2014, the earliest time Johnson can be considered a prosecution witness, is after Foster had withdrawn from defendant's case. Thus, we conclude Foster did not contemporaneously represent a prosecution witness such that it would create a per se conflict of interest.

 23 In support of his argument that Foster labored under a per se conflict of interest, defendant relies, in his reply brief, on People v. Gerold, 265 Ill. 448, 107 N.E. 165 (1914). In Gerold, the defendant's criminal defense attorney withdrew from representing the defendant and later became the prosecutor in the same case. Id. at 453, 107 N.E. at 168. The supreme court, in finding the attorney labored under a conflict of interest, reasoned:

[A]n attorney cannot represent conflicting interests or undertake to discharge inconsistent duties. When he has once been retained and received the confidence of a client, he cannot enter the service of those whose interests are adverse to that of his client or take employment in matters so closely related to those of his client or former client as in effect to be a part thereof. Id. at 477, 107 N.E. at 177.

The court added, This rule is a rigid one, designed not alone to prevent the dishonest practitioner from fraudulent conduct, but as well to preclude the honest practitioner from putting himself in a position where he may be required to choose between conflicting duties. He should undertake no adverse employment, no matter how honest may be his motives and intentions. Id. Because of the nature of the attorney-client relationship, an attorney owes to his client fidelity, secrecy, diligence and skill and cannot take a reward from the other side. Id.

 24 In relying on Gerold, which provides a generalized overview of conflicts of interest, defendant overlooks the more specific rules relating to per se conflicts of interest developed in the years following Gerold. Specifically, defendant overlooks the three situations that constitute a per se conflict of interest: (1) where defense counsel has a prior or contemporaneous association with the victim, the prosecution, or an entity assisting the prosecution; (2) where defense counsel contemporaneously represents a prosecution witness; and (3) where defense counsel was a former prosecutor who had been personally involved with the prosecution of defendant. Fields, 2012 IL 112438,  18, 980 N.E.2d 35. The facts before us fit into none of the three proscribed situations. Aside from the fact that Foster did not act as defense counsel during defendant's trial, there are, as noted by the State, other problems with defendant's position.

 25 The State contends this case is more akin to People v. Probst, 344 Ill. App. 3d 378, 800 N.E.2d 834 (2003). In Probst, the defendant's attorney had previously represented the prosecution witness in an unrelated criminal case. Id. at 382, 800 N.E.2d at 839. The witness's unrelated criminal case was dismissed after the witness agreed to act as a police informant. Id. Months later, the witness undertook an undercover drug purchase from the defendant, which led to the defendant's arrest and criminal charges. Id. This court found no per se conflict of interest, concluding defense counsel's prior representation of the witness neither concerned nor was relevant to defendant's trial. Id. at 383, 800 N.E.2d at 840. This was particularly true where nothing in the witness's agreement to become an informant was contingent on a guilty verdict in the defendant's case. Id. at 384, 800 N.E.2d at 840.

 26 Similarly, in the present case, nothing in the record indicates Johnson's agreement to testify against defendant was contingent on a guilty verdict in defendant's case. Moreover, Johnson's plea agreement concerned criminal cases wholly unrelated to defendant's criminal case. Thus, as in Probst, defense counsel's representation of Johnson neither concerned nor was relevant to defendant's trial. Id. at 383, 800 N.E.2d at 840.

 27 After applying the existing case law to the facts of this case, we conclude Foster did not labor under a per se conflict of interest.

 28 2. Herzog

 29 With respect to Foster, we found no per se conflict of interest where she did not contemporaneously represent defendant and a prosecution witness. See id. The same reasoning applies to Herzog. Herzog represented Johnson for purposes of a bond hearing in June 2013, but Johnson did not become a State's witness until February 2014, long after Herzog's representation of Johnson ended. Thus, we conclude Herzog was not laboring under a per se conflict of interest.

 30 We now turn to whether any of defendant's attorneys labored under an actual conflict of interest.

 31 B. Actual Conflict of Interest

 32 Where a defendant fails to demonstrate a per se conflict of interest, he must demonstrate that an actual conflict of interest adversely affected his attorney's performance. People v. Austin M., 2012 IL 111194,  82, 975 N.E.2d 22. To establish a conflict, the defendant must show some specific defect in his counsel's strategy, tactics, or decision making attributable to [a] conflict. (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Morales, 209 Ill. 2d at 349, 808 N.E.2d at 515. [M]ere speculative or hypothetical conflicts are insufficient to demonstrate an actual conflict of interest. People v. Bailey, 374 Ill. App. 3d 1008, 1022, 872 N.E.2d 1018, 1031 (2007).

 33 1. Foster

 34 Although defendant asserts Foster labored under an actual conflict of interest, he raises no specific argument to support such a finding. Regardless, given that Foster had withdrawn from defendant's case prior to trial and prior to Johnson becoming a prosecution witness, it is difficult to imagine how a conflict of interest adversely affected Foster's performance. See Austin M., 2012 IL 111194,  82, 975 N.E.2d 22. Notably, defendant makes no allegation that Foster provided any privileged information about defendant's case to Johnson. In fact, Johnson's agreement to testify stemmed not from his relationship with Foster, but from an alleged conversation between defendant and Johnson. Given Foster did not represent defendant at trial, it cannot be said Foster's divided loyalties impeded her ability to cross-examine Johnson. Accordingly, we conclude defendant has failed to demonstrate Foster labored under an actual conflict of interest.

 35 2. Herzog

 36 Defendant asserts Herzog's failure to properly impeach Johnson with his prior convictions constituted an actual conflict of interest due to Herzog's duties to Johnson as a former client. Defendant argues Herzog's loyalties were divided between defendant, who stood to benefit from Johnson's impeachment, and Johnson, to whom, as a former client, Herzog had a continuing duty of loyalty.

 37 We begin by noting that Herzog had no reason to engage in redundant impeachment of Johnson regarding his prior criminal history. The State engaged in extensive examination, highlighting that Johnson was currently in jail, had been to prison, was on drug court probation, and had convictions for drug-related offenses. The State's direct examination also included a discussion of Johnson's plea agreement in McLean County case Nos. 13-CF-1332 and 13-CF-735, the latter being the case in which Herzog briefly represented Johnson. On cross-examination, Herzog generally highlighted Johnson's criminal history, including the fact that Johnson (1) had previously been to prison, (2) had been in the McLean County jail for approximately five months, and (3) had prior experiences in criminal court. Although Herzog did not specifically question Johnson about his prior convictions for aggravated battery (McLean County case No. 07-CF-648), violation of bail bond (McLean County case No. 11-CM-752), or felony theft (McLean County case No. 12-CF-177), Herzog's cross-examination of Johnson's criminal history was sufficient to impeach his overall testimony.

 38 Not only did Herzog impeach Johnson's credibility with his history of criminality, Herzog also engaged in extensive cross-examination of Johnson's motives regarding the plea agreement, such as Johnson's (1) knowledge that he could receive favorable treatment from the State if he provided information about an inmate charged with a sex crime, (2) targeting of defendant in an attempt to obtain a statement, and (3) desire to benefit from disclosing defendant's alleged statements. Herzog extensively questioned Johnson regarding the details of defendant's alleged statement, which Rumley used during closing arguments to demonstrate the lack of accuracy in Johnson's testimony when compared to the other evidence. These actions do not demonstrate Herzog was withholding himself from fully questioning Johnson due to ongoing loyalties. Accordingly, defendant has failed to demonstrate an actual conflict of interest adversely affected Herzog's performance.

 39 3. Rumley

 40 Defendant next asserts Rumley's failure to properly impeach Johnson with his prior convictions constituted an actual conflict of interest due to Rumley's duties to Johnson as a former client. Although Herzog cross-examined Johnson, and was therefore the attorney in a position to directly challenge Johnson, Rumley challenged Johnson's testimony at length during closing argument. Rumley called Johnson's testimony laughable and highlighted the various inaccuracies in Johnson's testimony. As with Herzog, Rumley's actions demonstrated a loyalty to defendant. Accordingly, defendant has failed to show an actual conflict of interest adversely affected Rumley's performance.

 41 C. Best Practices

 42 Although we find no specific conflict of interest present in this case, our conclusion does not condone counsels' representations as ideal. As the State conceded at oral argument, this case presents a scenario where the optics aren't the best. In the judicial system, where we seek to avoid even the appearance of impropriety and extol the notion of fairness, cases such as the one before us tarnish that image. Simply stated, it can be inferred from the facts of this case that Foster worked out a deal for one her clients that was to the detriment of another client. The difficulties presented by this case are avoidable.

 43 Diligent record keeping as to client representationalong with communication among the trial court, counsel, and the defendantwould have prevented the problems that developed in this case. Counsel should stay informed as to prior clients and disclose to the court and the defendant any prior representation of individuals related to the defendant's case. This would allow the defendant to state any grievances or request new counsel prior to trial, and it would give the trial court the opportunity to resolve the matter.

 44 As a better practice, Foster should have informed the trial court that she previously represented defendant and currently represented Johnson, who was now a prosecution witness against defendant. Both Herzog and Rumley should have disclosed their prior representation of Johnson, regardless of the nature or length of the representation. While we do not suspect or intend to suggest any wrongdoing on the part of any of the attorneys involved in this matter, we conclude our proposed solution appropriately places the burden on counsel in light of their ethical obligations in matters before the court. Additionally, in cases involving court-appointed attorneys, such as Herzog and Rumley, the court certainly has the authority to make inquiries aimed at assuring appointed counsel is not laboring under any conflict of interest.

 45 III. CONCLUSION

 46 For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the trial court's judgment. As part of our judgment, we grant the State its $75 statutory assessment against defendant as costs of this appeal. 55 ILCS 5/4-2002 (West 2014).

 47 Affirmed.

JUSTICE HOLDER WHITE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.

Justices Steigmann and Appleton concurred in the judgment and opinion.
RICHMOND  The Virginia attorney general's office is appealing a federal judge's ruling last month that ordered new sentencing hearings for "Beltway sniper" Lee Boyd Malvo.

On May 26 U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk ruled that Malvo is entitled to new sentencing hearings in light of a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision that mandatory life sentences for juvenile offenders are unconstitutional.

Malvo, now 32, was 17 years old when he and John Allen Muhammad, then an adult, shot 10 people to death in 2002 in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Muhammad was executed in 2009. Malvo was sentenced to four life terms and could be sentenced to life again even if ultimately re-sentenced.

Attorney General Mark Herring's office Friday filed notices of appeal and a request for a stay in the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court is expected to set a briefing schedule in the coming weeks, said a Herring spokesperson.

Malvo was convicted in Chesapeake - the trial was moved because of publicity surrounding the sensational slayings - for the capital murder of a woman in Fairfax County. He pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania County in another slaying.

Department of corrections records indicate Malvo was sentenced to four life sentences - two in Fairfax County and two in Spotsylvania County. He was also convicted of three charges of using a firearm in the commission of a felony for which he received a total of 11 years.
Just three days after appearing in court on an assault charge stemming from an incident downtown, attorney Jeff Fogel made a fairly innocuous quip about his midnight arrest last week before being asked about it indirectly at a candidate forum Thursday.

In the final Charlottesville League of Women Voters candidate forum before Tuesdays Democratic primary, Fogel and Joe Platania answered questions about their visions for the top prosecutor position, as well as the legal minutiae of the circumstances that led to Fogels arrest last week following a large-scale confrontation between right- and left-wing activists on the Downtown Mall.

Fogel, a tireless liberal activist, and Platania, an assistant commonwealths attorney for the city, will face off next week to see who earns the party nomination in the Nov. 8 general election.

Last week, Fogel was arrested after a man involved in the politically motivated fracas accused Fogel of lightly pushing him with an open hand. Fogel said the man and one of his colleagues, right-wing blogger Jason Kessler, repeatedly called him a communist.

Fogel was arrested later in the evening at his home. His case has been continued to June 19.

During the forum, he alleged that the officers who arrested him that evening were not wearing body-mounted cameras, which Platania said now are being used as a standard piece of field equipment.

After the forum entered a questions-from-the-audience period, the candidates were asked about where they draw the line between free speech and disturbing the peace.

Im sure that question is not tied to any specific case, Platania said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

The exercise of discretion and deciding whether to go forward with the case gets to the heart of prosecutorial discretion. Theres no answer in a book for whats fair or reasonable, he said. My general answer on that is, I dont know. Each case has its own factual set of circumstances.

I think people in this room know from my history that I have been a proponent all my life for free speech, regardless of who is exercising it, Fogel said.

Fogel said states are generally allowed to proscribe conduct that constitutes fighting words.

Thats the limits of what the state can do, he added.

For some reason, neither Virginia nor Charlottesville has adopted what I call a harassment statute, which exists in many states and seeks to draw the distinction youre asking about right here, Fogel said.

In many of these areas, you have to be looking at the conduct rather than the speech.

Both candidates have portrayed themselves as progressives wishing to promote positive reform by enabling policies that would curb mass incarceration and racial inequities in the criminal justice system.

In their opening remarks, Fogel mentioned those similarities while attempting to explain their differences.

The difference was recently expressed very well by one of Joes supporters who said to me that I focus on the forest and you focus on the tree, Fogel said. I accept that, and I think someone who is the top law enforcement officer in our community should be looking at the forest and not just the trees.

The two candidates also explained what they think it means to serve as a commonwealths attorney.

Fogel said hed like to be elected to take on the issues hes tried to tackle as a private citizen.

The Commonwealths Attorneys Office gives you an opportunity to do something about it, and thats why Im running. Its now no longer sufficient to be a critic  I want to be in that system, making the changes Ive always believed in ...

Platania said he has a lot of similarities with Fogel, as well, saying hed like to fight for many of the same changes.

Platania, however, said there is an important distinction between him and Fogel.

I have the experience, credibility and demeanor to bring people together to continue to look at these difficult issues, to address these problems, to improve our local criminal justice system, to treat people charged with a crime fairly and to keep this community safe at the same time.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MICHAEL DANIEL RUBENS, Defendant-Appellant. No. 16-11170 Decided: June 08, 2017

Before JORDAN, ROSENBAUM and BLACK, Circuit Judges.

Michael Daniel Rubens appeals the 120-month total sentence he received after pleading guilty to various offenses involving stalking via the internet. Rubens asserts his total sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district court failed to give specific reasons for its sentence. He also contends his total sentence is substantively unreasonable because the conduct the court considered was already accounted for by the Sentencing Guidelines. He suggests his total sentence is unreasonable because in sentencing him, the district court improperly tried to send a message. After review, we affirm Rubens' sentence.

I. DISCUSSION

A. Procedural reasonableness

We review the reasonableness of a sentence under a deferential abuse of discretion standard of review. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 41 (2007). In reviewing the procedural reasonableness of a sentence, we ensure the district court properly calculated the Guidelines range, treated the Guidelines as advisory, considered the applicable 18 U.S.C.  3553(a) factors, did not select a sentence based on clearly erroneous facts, and adequately explained the chosen sentence. Id. at 51. Although the district court must provide some explanation for the sentence, nothing  requires the district court to state on the record that it has explicitly considered each of the  3553(a) factors or to discuss each of the  3553(a) factors. United States v. Docampo, 573 F.3d 1091, 1100 (11th Cir. 2009) (quotations omitted). Additionally, this Court has held the district court, in imposing a variance, may consider conduct that a probation officer already had considered in calculating the defendant's advisory guidelines range. United States v. Johnson, 803 F.3d 610, 619 (11th Cir. 2015) (quotations omitted).

Rubens' procedural reasonableness challenge fails. The district court stated the reasons for the 120-month total sentence it imposed, explaining there were a number of very aggravating circumstances in the case that [were] not taken into account in the guideline at all. Specifically, referencing the nature of the offense conduct, the court noted that Rubens had photoshopped pictures of the victims engaged in sexual acts that did not occur and cited the circumstances involving the distrust created in one victim's marriage, as well as the circumstances involving the victim married to a military serviceman stationed overseas. Indeed, the court stated the most important factor that affected its decision was the nature of the offense and the impact on the victims. The court also stated as a reason for its sentences, the length of time that Rubens engaged in the offense conduct, and the need for general deterrence. Moreover, the court stated that it had considered the  3553(a) factors, and that under all of the circumstances, the total sentence imposed was appropriate. Thus, the court adequately explained the sentence it imposed.

Contrary to Rubens' contention, the district court did not err in considering conduct that had already been considered in the calculation of his guideline range. See Johnson, 803 F.3d at 619. Finally, Rubens' challenge to the reasonableness of his total sentence based on his arguments under  5K2.0, 5K2.3 or 5K2.8 are meritless, because the district court did not impose an upward departure, but rather, relied on the  3553(a) factors in imposing an upward variance.

B. Substantive reasonableness

We consider whether a sentence is substantively unreasonable under the totality of the circumstances and in light of the 18 U.S.C.  3553(a) factors. United States v. Johnson, 803 F.3d 610, 618 (11th Cir. 2015). The district court must impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes listed in  3553(a)(2), including the need to reflect the seriousness of the offense, promote respect for the law, provide just punishment for the offense, deter criminal conduct, and protect the public from the defendant's future criminal conduct. 18 U.S.C.  3553(a). In imposing a particular sentence, the court must also consider the nature and circumstances of the offense, the history and characteristics of the defendant, the kinds of sentences available, the applicable Guidelines range, the pertinent policy statements of the Sentencing Commission, the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities, and the need to provide restitution to victims. See id.  3553(a)(1), (3)-(7). A district court abuses its discretion in imposing a sentence when it (1) fails to afford consideration to relevant factors, (2) gives significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or (3) commits a clear error of judgment in considering the proper factors. United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 1189 (11th Cir. 2010) (en banc).

Even as to a substantial variance, we will not reverse a sentence unless we are left with the definite and firm conviction that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the  3553(a) factors by arriving at a sentence that lies outside the range of reasonable sentences dictated by the facts of the case. Johnson, 803 F.3d at 618-19 (quotations omitted). A sentence's variance outside the guidelines range, whether upward or downward, represents a district court's judgment that the combined force of the other  3553(a) factors are entitled to greater weight than the guidelines range. United States v. Rosales-Bruno, 789 F.3d 1249, 1259 (11th Cir. 2015). The Supreme Court has held that variances from the advisory guidelines range can sometimes be based on the sentencing judge's disagreement with whether a guideline properly reflects the  3553(a) factors, Id. at 1254 (quoting Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85, 10509 (2007)), evidencing the discretionary nature of the application of the  3553(a) factors.

The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing an upward variance and Rubens' 120-month total sentence was substantively reasonable. First, the district court was free to consider any information relevant to Rubens' conduct in imposing an upward variance. See United States v. Tome, 611 F.3d 1371, 1379 (11th Cir. 2010) (citing 18 U.S.C.  3661) (explaining the district court is free to consider any information relevant to a defendant's background, character, and conduct in imposing an upward variance). In doing so here, the district court considered the serious nature of the offense including, the fact that Rubens photoshopped sexual acts of the victims and posted them online, the effects Rubens' actions had on the victims and their personal relationships, and the length of time Rubens engaged in the offense. Finally, while Rubens suggests the district court's 120-month total sentence was substantively unreasonable because the court tried to send a message in sentencing him, the need for general deterrence is a proper factor under  3553(a) for the district court to consider in sentencing a defendant. See 18 U.S.C.  3553(a).

In sum, the district court was within its discretion to determine an upward variance was warranted based on the nature of the offense conduct, which included specific aggravating conduct, the length of time that the conduct occurred, the impact on the victims, as well as the need for general deterrence. Rosales-Bruno, 789 F.3d at 1254, 1259. Rubens has not shown the district court abused its discretion in doing so.

II. CONCLUSION

Rubens' 120-month total sentence is both procedurally and substantively reasonable. Thus, we affirm.

AFFIRMED.

PER CURIAM:
WASHINGTON  Former FBI director James Comey on Thursday essentially laid out an obstruction of justice case against President Donald Trump, highlighting for a Senate committee and a national television audience some of the critical encounters that will be considered in any evaluation of whether Trump committed a crime.

There was evidence of possible intent: when the president cleared the room so he could ask Comey - without the attorney general or his son-in-law present - about the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russian officials after the 2016 election.

There was the suggestion of quid pro quo: when Trump repeatedly raised the status of Comey's job as he asked for loyalty.

And there was the consequence: when Comey, having not steered investigators away from Flynn, was fired by Trump in May, long before the end of his 10-year term.

Comey, a former prosecutor, did not connect those dots explicitly to allege obstruction. But he posited someone who might.

"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct," Comey said. "I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but that's a conclusion I'm sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether that's an offense."

Robert Mueller III, another former FBI director, was appointed special counsel last month and heads the independent investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

Legal analysts said Comey's testimony clarified and bolstered the case that the president obstructed justice - adding rich new color about the former FBI director's interactions with the president.

It might not be the last word. Trump's personal lawyer disputed key portions of Comey's under-oath account, and the president has hinted on Twitter he might have "tapes" of what happened. But Comey said he kept contemporaneous memos, which he was willing to see released. He also said he would not stand in the way of the president's purported recordings also becoming public.

"Release all the tapes," Comey said. "I'm good with it."

Comey's testimony was remarkable for its frankness, and his willingness to reveal his personal reactions to the president along with his view of the facts. Comey said Trump's request that he terminate the Flynn investigation left him "stunned," and it sparked serious conversations among senior leaders at the FBI about what to do next.

"It was of investigative interest to us to try and figure out what just happened with the president's request," Comey said.

Of particular concern, Comey said, was that Trump asked other officials to leave him alone with his FBI director in the Oval Office before saying of Flynn: "He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go."

"Why did he kick everybody out of the Oval Office?" Comey said. "That, to me as an investigator, is a very significant fact."

Kelly Kramer, a white-collar criminal defense attorney at the Mayer Brown law firm, said that point was particularly damaging.

"I think any reasonable prosecutor would look at that and say it implies a consciousness of guilt," Kramer said. "You know this is not something you're supposed to be doing. You're not even willing to do it in front of the attorney general."

Marc Kasowitz, Trump's lawyer, disputed Comey's descriptions of Trump's interactions with the president and said Trump "never pressured Mr. Comey."

Kasowitz said Trump never "directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone," and he said Trump specifically "never suggested that Mr. Comey 'let Flynn go.' "

"As the president publicly stated the next day, he did say to Mr. Comey, 'General Flynn is a good guy, he has been through a lot' and also 'asked how General Flynn is doing,' " Kasowitz said.

Comey testified that he was skeptical of Trump almost from the outset, and he decided to document their interactions because he was "concerned [Trump] might lie about the nature of our meeting."

He said his concerns were realized almost immediately. In a meeting soon after Trump took office, Comey said, Trump brought up his job as FBI director and asked for loyalty. Comey said he felt Trump was "looking to get something in exchange for granting my request to stay in the job." The FBI director is generally appointed to a 10-year term to avoid political influence.

Kasowitz said the president "never told Mr. Comey, 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.' He never said it in form, and he never said it in substance."

The next month, after a counterterrorism briefing, Comey testified that Trump asked him to stay for a one-on-one conversation. He said both Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Trump's son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, lingered behind - in Comey's view, because they were leery of what might happen next.

When they left, Comey said, Trump said he hoped Comey would shut down an investigation of Flynn. At the time, Comey said, Flynn was "in legal jeopardy," as agents were investigating him for his contacts with Russians and "whether there were false statements made to government investigators."

Under questioning from Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., Comey denied that Trump had asked him to stop the FBI investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. elections. But he said the Flynn request was nonetheless "very disturbing" and that other bureau officials were "as shocked and troubled by it as I was."

Comey also said he believed he was fired to affect the Russia probe.

"It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation," Comey said. "I was fired, in some way, to change - or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted."

Comey allowed, under questioning from Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, that Trump did not outright give him an order on Flynn.

"He did not direct you to let it go?" Risch asked.

"Not in his words, no," Comey said.

But Comey later said he took the president's assertion as akin to a command.

"I took it as a direction," Comey said. "This is the president of the United States, with me alone, saying 'I hope this.' "

The specific language of Trump's request could be pivotal. In response to a question from Risch, Comey conceded he was not aware of a case where the FBI had charged someone for hoping something.

Cornell University law professor Jens David Ohlin said that he understood "why the Republicans would want to focus on 'hope' versus 'direct,' but I don't think it makes any difference."

"Trump made his wishes clear and fired Comey when his wishes weren't respected," Ohlin said. "It doesn't matter whether it was an order or not. What matters is the action that Trump took when it became clear that Comey was continuing the investigation."

While Mueller could ultimately conclude Trump obstructed justice, previous Justice Department legal opinions say he could not indict or charge a sitting president. Congress, though, could impeach the president.

Barak Cohen, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice at Perkins Coie, said he believed Comey was "walking a fine line" by "trying to convey how he interpreted the president, but also admitting that there might have been other ways to interpret what the president said."

But Comey's assessment of the situation, he said, was critically important.

"He was there; he heard the president's tone and saw his body language - things that shape whatever the president was trying to express," Cohen said. "That's why direct evidence of someone who witnesses an alleged crime is so important."
RICHMOND  Eight candidates  six Republicans and two Democrats  are vying in Tuesdays primaries for a chance to succeed Del. Peter F. Farrell, R-Henrico.

Farrell, 33, who has held the seat since 2012, surprised many Virginia politicians when he announced in March that he would not seek re-election. Farrell, who has an 18-month-old daughter and a growing investment firm, said it was a tough decision, but with a young family and a growing business I cannot give the job as delegate the time and energy that it deserves.

The six Republicans in the GOP primary are Graven Craig, Surya Dhakar, George Goodwin, John McGuire III, Matt C. Pinsker and Jay F. Prendergast. The two candidates in the Democratic primary are Melissa M. Dart and Lizzie Drucker-Basch.

A registered voter in the district may cast a ballot in the Republican primary or the Democratic primary, but not in both contests.

Traditionally, the 56th has been a solidly Republican district. While Democrat Hillary Clinton carried Virginia in November, Republican Donald Trump carried the 56th District by nearly 20 percentage points.

Farrell succeeded Bill Janis, a Republican who represented the district from 2002 to 2012. Janis did not seek re-election in 2011, choosing instead to mount what became an unsuccessful run for Henrico County commonwealths attorney.

Democrats have not fielded a candidate for the seat since 2009, when Janis was elected with nearly 70 percent of the vote.

The district includes Louisa County, which makes up 40 percent of the district, and parts of Henrico, Goochland and Spotsylvania counties.

Here is a look at the candidates:

Republicans

Graven Craig is a personal injury attorney at his law firm in Louisa, where he has lived and worked since 1997. He is one of four founders of the United Self Defense Law Firm, which specializes in defending gun owners who use them in self-defense.

A native of Charlottesville, Craig attended the University of Maryland for his undergraduate degree before earning a law degree from George Mason University. He has been married for 21 years and is a father to three teenagers.

Craig said he wants to protect civil liberties outlined in the Bill of Rights, which he described as having come under attack because of government overreach.

Craig said he also seeks to ensure fiscal responsibility in Virginia, calling it concerning that the General Assembly this year raided the rainy day fund to balance state spending.

We need to figure out where we can cut some spending, and were going to have to have the courage to cut spending, he said.

Surya Dhakar says he wants to abolish state income taxes, rein in government spending, eliminate overreaching regulations on businesses and provide affordable health care to Virginians.

A dentist with his own clinic in Glen Allen, Dhakar leads the Republican candidates in campaign contributions with $58,173 as of late May, far more than any of his rivals, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

He has lived in Henrico County since 1995 when he began dental school at Virginia Commonwealth University. He previously obtained a doctorate in ocean science from Old Dominion University in Norfolk.

Dhakar said he supports Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespies proposed 10 percent personal income tax cut over three years, adding that he wants to eliminate state income taxes entirely if the proposed cuts go well.

He said he has not seen any delegates who have proposed any tax cuts or proposed ... removing regulations for businesses.

George Goodwin is a retired senior intelligence analyst who runs a cow and calf farm with his son in Louisa, where his family history spans generations. He went into the U.S. Air Force following graduation from Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. He holds degrees from VMI and the University of Virginia.

After working with the Virginia Department of Transportation as a highway engineer, Goodwin served as director of the National Ground Intelligence Center. After retirement, Goodwin worked as a campaign manager for the state Senate bid of Republican Tom Garrett  now the 5th District congressman  and did the same for state Sen. Mark J. Peake, R-Lynchburg.

Goodwin served as a legislative adviser for Garrett and Peake. He said his four years of experience in the legislative process is what sets him apart from the other candidates.

I can go down there on Day One and be effective because I know how it operates, he said. Ive done it.

Goodwin said he hopes to do away with unfunded mandates and make Virginia more business-friendly by getting rid of restrictive regulations on small businesses.

John McGuire III is a former Navy SEAL and founder of SEAL Team Physical Training Inc., an outdoor fitness training program with locations in Richmond, Henrico, Charlottesville, Washington and Atlanta. He lives in Henrico with his wife and five children.

McGuire said the strengths he would bring to the voters of the 56th are his abilities to be a leader and team-builder. While the run is his first for public office, McGuire said he has excelled in the military and in business when he was still brand-new, which he attributes to his gift of uniting people.

McGuire said it would be premature before hes elected to say what exactly he would do in the district, but he said hes interested in growing businesses in Virginia and wants to continue providing support for veterans and law enforcement officers.

I just want to make sure we have a better future for our grandchildren, McGuire said.

Matt C. Pinsker is a captain in the Army Reserve and an adjunct professor of homeland security and criminal justice at Virginia Commonwealth University.

He also works with his own law firm that specializes in criminal defense for people suffering from addiction. As a small-business owner, Pinsker said he sees the negative effects of high taxes and regulation on businesses.

Im really the only candidate whos not only talked the talk but walked the walk, he said.

A lifelong conservative, Pinsker attended Mills E. Godwin High School  where he founded a Republican club  before graduating from the College of William & Mary. He lives with his wife near his family home in western Henrico.

Pinsker said he actively works to help veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, gives law enforcement officers support and training as a professor, and fights to preserve conservative values. He added that those are some of the issues he would work toward resolving as a delegate.

Jay F. Prendergast works in commercial media at Studio Center, a nationwide company that produces commercials for television and radio. He was a radio personality in Virginia Beach for more than a decade before moving to Henrico in 2007 with his wife and four children.

A native of Alexandria, Prendergast calls himself a forever Virginian. He attended T.C. Williams High School and went on to earn a degree in economics from UVa.

In 2006, Prendergast unsuccessfully ran for a City Council seat in Chesapeake  an experience he said provided a good lesson on local elections. Compared with the other candidates, Prendergast said he holds similar conservative views but distinguishes himself in that he has a flexible schedule to work the position full time.

He said he believes in holding government accountable and promoting fiscally responsible practices, saying he would promote a true free-market economic system for the people of the 56th.

If you free the people up to pursue their dreams, thats the best way to get things done, Prendergast said.

Democrats

Melissa M. Dart works full time as a health care administrator with AllyAlign Health, a small company based in Henrico. She has worked in the industry for 20 years, which she said gives her detailed understanding of an issue important to all members of her district.

Dart is married and has three young children. She attended the University of Richmond for her undergraduate degree and has a masters in health care from VCU and serves on the Henrico County Special Education Advisory Committee.

The motivation to run for office came to Dart after the confirmation of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, she said, because she was concerned how it could affect the public school systems nationwide.

Dart says she thinks the Democratic Party has a real shot at winning the 56th, and her campaign is important to her personally because a woman has yet to be elected to that office in the district.

I think that the demographics have changed, and I think a Republican being in this seat for so long doesnt represent the true progressive voices that are more and more a part of this district, Dart said.

Lizzie Drucker-Basch owns a property renovation company that rehabs historic buildings in the Richmond area.

The small-business owner has lived in western Henrico County for 15 years and has three children who have gone to public schools there. She holds degrees from Syracuse University and the University of Chicago and serves on the board of directors for the Disability Law Center of Virginia.

A first-time candidate for office, Drucker-Basch said she thinks the Democratic Party has gotten away from its roots and its base. Drucker-Basch dismissed the idea that the district is inherently Republican, saying the constituents want good jobs and education opportunities for their children  the same desires she has for her own family.

Its going to be Republican if we dont show up and show that we care, she said.
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. John Lee FUTRELL, PlaintiffAppellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, DefendantAppellee. No. 16-3079 Decided: June 08, 2017

Before Posner, Ripple, and Sykes, Circuit Judges. Laura Mae Longstreet, Attorney, Longstreet Law LLC, South Bend, IN, for PlaintiffAppellant. Gina Shields, Bob Wood, Attorneys, Office of the United States Attorney, Indianapolis, IN, for DefendantAppellee.

The plaintiff began a military career in 1983, serving variously in the Indiana National Guard, the United States Army, and finally the United States Army Reserve, from which he retired, ending his military career, in 2014, by which time he had reached the rank of Captain and served in combat in Iraq. Between July 2007 and October 2011 he had sustained several injuries and, more ominously, had been diagnosed with Type 2 (adultonset) diabetes. His bloodglucose levels had risen so high as to sow doubt about his ability to continue performing his military duties. And sure enough in October he was released from active duty and placed on reserve status while a Physical Evaluation Board evaluated his fitness for continued military service.

When finally retired from the army on grounds of physical disability in November 2014, Futrell became eligible to receive a monthly pension from the government. And had his medical paperwork gone through he would have received in addition incapacitation payments to cover the gap between his release from duty and his retirement. But as a result of some mixup he received no money from the government between December 2011 and January 2013, a deprivation that he claims without contradiction inflicted severe financial and emotional distress on him. In the following month the government did pay him a lump sum that covered the incapacitation payments that he should have received, but the government failed (he claims, again without contradiction) to compensate him for the distress he'd experienced when because of the government's confusion or incompetence he had received no salary.

Having thus incurred damages as a result of the government's negligence in failing to pay him his salary for more than a year, he filed this suit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which makes the government subject to tort claims in the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances. 28 U.S.C.  2674. (Actually, the claim might better have been interpreted as a contract claim governed by the Tucker Act, 28 U.S.C.  1346(a)(2), but as neither side has briefed the issue we'll not address it.)

Coming to the heart of the case before us, we note that the district court dismissed Futrell's suit as barred by Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, 71 S.Ct. 153, 95 L.Ed. 152 (1950), where in Justice Robert Jackson's majority opinion, which despite its age has not been overruled, superseded, recast, or ignored, the Court ruled the Federal Tort Claims Act unavailable to a member of the armed forces who while on active duty and not on furlough, sustained injury due to negligence of others in the armed forces. Id. at 138, 71 S.Ct. 153. That describes the present case. The Court further noted that the Act made  the law of the place where the [negligent] act or omission occurred govern any consequent liability, id. at 142, 71 S.Ct. 153, quoting 28 U.S.C.  1346(b), and since a soldier has no choice of where he's assigned, that the geography of an injury should select the law to be applied to his [a soldier's] tort claims makes no sense It would hardly be a rational plan of providing for those disabled in service by others in service to leave them dependent upon geographic considerations over which they have no control and to laws which fluctuate in existence and value. Id. at 143, 71 S.Ct. 153. The Court pointed out that the military had its own compensation system comparable to the common law tort system embodied in the Federal Tort Claims Act, see id. at 145, 71 S.Ct. 153, and conclude[d] that the Government is not liable under the  Act for injuries to servicemen where the injuries arise out of or are in the course of activity incident to service. Id. at 146, 71 S.Ct. 153.

Feres remains the law, but the plaintiff argues that his claim falls outside its scope. He points out that the negligent acts for which he seeks redress were not the injuries (including his contracting diabetes) that he suffered while he was in active military service, but rather the financial and emotional damages that he incurred while an Army reservist because of the Army's delays in paying him the disability benefits to which he was entitled as a result of the injuries. Had he incurred those damages after his retirement, the Feres doctrine might well have not applied, see, e.g., United States v. Brown, 348 U.S. 110, 112, 75 S.Ct. 141, 99 L.Ed. 139 (1954), because the claim would have accrued when he was no longer a member of the armed forces. But he was not retired until November 5, 2014, and all the delays and other harms of which he complains occurred much earlier, between December 6, 2011, and January 13, 2013; for that was the period in which he was not paid and it was his not being paid that gave rise to the damages he seeks under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Furthermore the alleged harms all relate to Futrell's military benefits and were committed by staff working on the military base. See Jones v. United States, 112 F.3d 299, 30102 (7th Cir. 1997). That he was on reserve status is irrelevant, because the Feres doctrine applies to reservists and not just to active military. See, e.g., Duffy v. United States, 966 F.2d 307, 312 (7th Cir. 1992); Herreman v. United States, 476 F.2d 234, 23637 (7th Cir. 1973).

What is puzzling is Futrell's passivity during the 13month period in which as a result of the errors or incompetence of the military paymasters he was receiving no pay. We are not told whether he made any efforts to light a fire under the paymasters, for example by filing grievances up the chain of command or complaining to his senator or representative, who probably would have been aggressive in pressing the paymasters on behalf of a constituent who had served in combat, been injured, and contracted a serious disease, all while in service. But whether the delay in his receiving money due to him from the government was purely the fault of the government or compounded by laxity in his pursuit of his rights is irrelevant; all that matters is that Feres renders the Federal Tort Claims Act inapplicable to a serviceman who incurs injuries that exist only because of his military employment.

The judgment of the district court is

AFFIRMED.

Posner, Circuit Judge.
In Cal Thomas' column June 3 column in The Daily Progress (A U.S.- Europe split? But at what price?), there were a number of baseless statements and outright errors. The German people elected Adolf Hitler" is just one example. Hitler never won a democratic election; he slipped in due to a climate of apathy, poor leadership, factionalism, feelings of persecution, etc.

And the comment We bailed you out twice in the 20th century at enormous cost in blood and treasure misses the fact that the Allies in World War II, including the U.S., of course, demolished Germany. But, yes, we did mostly rebuild the country. The German people are very industrious, just look at them now.

As for a having a debate between "pro and con" climate scientists, as Thomas suggests: Legitimate climate-denying scientists are very few and far between.

Cal Thomas appears to be denying the damage Mr. Trump is causing.

Tommy Lunsford, Charlottesville
As a progressive environmental activist in Charlottesville, Ive recently become disillusioned by Del. David Toscano. Through research and public forums, I have realized several issues on which he diverges from my political beliefs.

First and foremost, Dominion Energy is seeking to build a fracked-gas pipeline that would run through Virginia communities and intrude on natural lands. Ive spoken with community members across the state who feel threatened by this environmentally destructive infrastructure. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline would harm the health of our people and our environment.

Since the Trump administration lacks the competency to address climate change, our state politicians must stand against new climate change-inducing infrastructure. Unfortunately, Toscano has been insufficiently critical of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Our politicians must work for the people of Charlottesville rather than the interests of big corporations and wealthy donors. I was disgusted to learn that David Toscano has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbying groups and large corporations, including nearly $37,000 from Dominion Power alone.

On another note, our minimum wage in Virginia is still only $7.25 an hour. I was really disappointed to learn that Toscano did not co-sponsor any of this years proposals for a higher minimum wage (HB 1771, HB 1444, HB 2309). When he did suggest an increase in 2007 (HB 1654), it was from the then federal level of $5.15 to $7. That was not an ambitious proposal. Later that year, George W. Bush signed a $7.25 minimum wage into law (the Fair Minimum Wage Act).

We need a state delegate who will truly fight for bold, progressive policies such as a living wage.

In this primary election, we are incredibly lucky to have an option  a challenger to the status quo. I support Ross Mittiga in this years election, because he will do all he can to stop the pipelines, has committed to rejecting all corporate and fossil-fuel money, and will fight for a living wage of $15.

Gabby Levet

Charlottesville

References:
As a 70-year-old mother, grandmother, and graduate of Hollins College and the University of Virginia Law School, I volunteered every day all day as an intern for Bryce Reeves during the 2017 session of the General Assembly. I witnessed firsthand Bryces leadership, persistence, and accumulated wisdom as state senator for the 17th District.

Whether reviewing the 2,900-plus bills under consideration, shepherding his anti-terrorism bill to become law, chairing the Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee and serving on four others, addressing the Senate, or greeting and listening to the views of the multitudes that streamed through his office, Bryce exhibited a gift to negotiate to a result where all parties felt like theyd won. And he did so with boundless energy and enthusiasm. There is no harder worker on behalf of his constituents and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Bryce already knows the ropes. As a small-business owner, former undercover narcotics agent, Army officer and infantry ranger, Bryce has the precise skill set and experience that Virginia needs to attract business, protect our youth from the burgeoning opiate epidemic, and protect the commonwealth from terrorists.

Recipient of the Champion of Regulatory Reform Award, Bryce has an A+ rating from the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the Family Foundation, and the National Rifle Association. He was endorsed by former Attorney General Ed Meese of the Reagan administration, as well as by most Republican women serving in the General Assembly. That speaks reams about Bryces ability to work with his peers, including women.

As a practicing lawyer myself, I believe we dont need another lawyer in government to shift and shout, shuffle words and paper, and bicker over who won or lost. For us all to win, we need someone who gets things done.

Bryce Reeves is that man. I urge you to join me in voting for Bryce Reeves as lieutenant governor in the Republican primary on June 13.

Virginia Derby Jordan

Orange County

References:
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. TWENTY-TWO STRATEGIC INVESTMENT FUNDS, Petitioner, BIRCH VENTURES, LLC; TOM GONZALES, Intervenors-Appellants, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent-Appellee. No. 15-15551 Decided: June 07, 2017

Before: Sidney R. Thomas, Chief Judge, Kim McLane Wardlaw, Circuit Judge, and Cathy Ann Bencivengo,* District Judge. COUNSEL Mark Wray (argued), Law Offices of Mark Wray, Reno, Nevada, for Intervenors-Appellants. Andrew M. Weiner (argued) and Thomas J. Clark, Attorneys; Tax Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; for Respondent-Appellee.

OPINION

SUMMARY **

Tax

The panel affirmed the district court's judgment in an action raising a statute of limitations challenge to the Internal Revenue Service's determination of tax liabilities in a partnership level proceeding under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act.

In 2002, the IRS began investigating what it later determined to be a tax sheltering scheme and issued Final Partnership Administration Adjustments (FPAAs) to many of the limited liability companies (LLCs) that participated in that scheme. The adjustments effectively disallowed tax losses sustained through involvement in the scheme, and resulted in substantial tax liability for the LLCs. The tax matters partner for the funds that constituted the tax shelters challenged the disallowance of losses.

Taxpayers, an individual investor (Tom Gonzales) and his single-member LLC (Birch Ventures), intervened in the action. The partnership tax return at issue was filed on April 16, 2001. Absent an extension on the statute of limitations, the IRS had until April 16, 2004, to assess taxes with respect to that return. Gonzales personally signed two consents to extend the limitations period, and the IRS issued a FPAA after the initial limitations period expired but within the extension granted by the consents.

The panel held that the statute of limitations extensions signed by Gonzales were valid. The panel reasoned that an alleged third-party conflict of interest, without more, does not vitiate the individual consent personally executed by a taxpayer and that, even crediting Gonzales's allegations in this case, the alleged actions by the IRS do not constitute legal duress warranting relief.

OPINION

THOMAS, Chief Judge:

We consider in this case whether consents to extend the statute of limitations for the assessment of tax attributable to a partnership item, signed by the taxpayer-partner, are invalid because of a third party's alleged conflict of interest or duress. Under the circumstances presented by this case, we conclude that they are not invalid, and we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I

This case arises out of an elaborate tax sheltering scheme that resulted in a massive Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigation, multiple criminal indictments and convictions, and a U.S. Senate investigation and hearing. The accounting firm KPMG developed and marketed an investment product called a Bond Linked Issue Premium Structure, or BLIPS. BLIPS was a means of investing in foreign currencies that were pegged to the U.S. dollar, but its ultimate purpose was to generate tax losses for investors who sought to offset substantial taxable gains in a given year. In 1997, several KPMG employees left the firm to form an investment advisory firm, Presidio Growth, LLC (Presidio). Presidio participated in the BLIPS investment strategy and offered this program to its clients.

In order to participate in the BLIPS program, a client would establish a single-member limited liability company (LLC), which would take out a specific loan with a participating lender and contribute all of the loan funds to a strategic investment fund, an LLC managed by Presidio, which would then purchase foreign currency assets. After a brief period, usually about sixty days, the client would exit the BLIPS program, the assets would be sold, and the loan would be repaid with interest and pre-payment penalties. The result of this series of transactions was a tax loss for the client approximately equal to the amount of the offset he or she was seeking.

In 2002, the IRS launched an investigation into BLIPS investments promoted by KPMG, Presidio, and their principals. Ultimately, several KPMG partners were indicted for conspiracy and tax evasion. See United States v. Stein, 495 F. Supp. 2d 390 (S.D.N.Y. 2007). The IRS also began auditing personal tax returns from 1999 and 2000 that claimed BLIPS losses. When it became clear that BLIPS was a tax sheltering scheme and not a true investment vehicle, the IRS issued Final Partnership Administration Adjustments to many of the LLCs that participated in the BLIPS program. The adjustments effectively disallowed the tax losses sustained through BLIPS involvement and resulted in substantial tax liability for the single-member LLCs.

Presidio, as the tax matters partner for the strategic investment funds, brought the underlying action to challenge the IRS determination disallowing BLIPS-related losses on the partners' tax returns. The government moved for summary judgment, arguing that the BLIPS transactions lacked economic substance and should be excluded from affected tax returns. The district court concluded that the strategic investment funds constituted tax shelters, and granted summary judgment to the government.

An individual investor, Tom Gonzales, and his single-member LLC, Birch Ventures (collectively Gonzales), intervened in the action. Gonzales participated in BLIPS by forming Birch Ventures LLC, which obtained a loan and invested the proceeds in the Logan Strategic Investment Fund (Logan). Presidio was Logan's tax matters partner. Logan filed its 2000 partnership tax return on April 16, 2001, so absent an extension of the statute of limitations, the IRS had until April 16, 2004, to assess any taxes with respect to that return. See 26 U.S.C.  6229. Gonzales personally signed consents on December 2, 2003, and October 20, 2004, that together extended the limitations period to June 30, 2005. The IRS issued a Final Partnership Administration Adjustment to Presidio for Logan on April 28, 2005, after the initial limitations period expired but within the extension granted by the consents.

Separately from Presidio, Gonzales moved for summary judgment, arguing that the IRS failed to obtain valid extensions of the statute of limitations and that the Final Partnership Administration Adjustment issued to Logan was therefore untimely. The district court granted summary judgment to the government, and Gonzales appealed.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.  1291. We review de novo a district court's grant of a motion for summary judgment. Candyce Martin 1999 Irrevocable Tr. v. United States, 739 F.3d 1204, 1210 (9th Cir. 2014).

II

The central issue in this case is the validity of the statute of limitation extensions signed by Gonzales, the taxpayer-partner. Gonzales contends that the consents to extend the limitations period that he signed are invalid because his tax advisor had a conflict of interest and he signed the extensions under duress.

A

Gonzales first argues that the consents to extend the limitations period that he personally signed are invalid because of the conflict of interest of his tax accountant and advisor, Steve Smith, because Smith was instrumental in selling the [tax] shelter to Gonzales, received a commission for involving Gonzales in BLIPS, and signed the 2000 tax return that the IRS was auditing. According to Gonzales, the IRS was aware of these facts, but did not seek a waiver of the conflict.

Other than this vague implication of wrongdoing, Gonzales offers no evidence that Smith's involvement in promoting BLIPS and his involvement in preparing Gonzales's 2000 tax return combined to create a conflict of interest three years later when the IRS approached Gonzales himself about extending the limitations period. There is no evidence in the record that the IRS contacted Smith during the time he was advising Gonzales to request that Gonzales agree to extend his limitations period. Nor is there evidence that Smith ever provided any advice to Gonzales regarding extending his limitations period. Furthermore, as the district court observed, [a]lthough Steve Smith represented Gonzales during the audit that flowed from his 2000 tax return, Gonzales had designated different representation before signing the consents. Gonzales offers no evidence that his decision to consent to extend time was influenced by Steve Smith notwithstanding this latter designation. It was Gonzales's burden to point to evidence in the record showing a genuine dispute of fact on this point, Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1), and he has not done so.

Although he does not explain precisely how Smith's involvement with BLIPS and preparation of Gonzales's 2000 tax return taints the consents Gonzales personally signed three and four years later, Gonzales cites two cases in support of his argument that such a situation presents a disabling conflict of interest, Transpac Drilling Venture 1982-12 v. Comm'r, 147 F.3d 221 (2d Cir. 1998), and Phillips. These cases are easily distinguishable.

In Transpac, the Second Circuit addressed a single question: whether, as a result of being placed under criminal investigation by the IRS (and hence becoming subject to pressure by the IRS), the tax matters partners (TMPs) of various partnerships labored under a conflict of interest and thereby were disqualified from binding the partnerships. Transpac, 147 F.3d at 222. In contrast, we are concerned with whether the taxpayer may bind himself. Moreover, the conflict in Transpac was egregious and evident. The IRS in that case was conducting civil audits of Transpac partnerships at the same time it was conducting criminal investigations of some Transpac tax matters partners. Id. at 227. The IRS first sought extensions of the limitations period for issuing FPAAs from the individual partners, who declined to sign such extensions. Id. at 224. The IRS then sought consents from the tax matters partners, who were under criminal investigation and therefore had a powerful incentive to ingratiate themselves to the government and ignore their fiduciary duties to the limited partners. Id. at 227. The case involved an unrefuted allegation that the Service also misled those limited partners who had inquired as to the status of the civil audits by telling them to consult their [tax matters partners] (who, in turn, had been expressly ordered not to disclose the existence of criminal proceedings against them). Id. In these circumstances, the Second Circuit found that a severe conflict cannot be doubted, and refused to allow the tax matters partners to bind the partnerships. Id.

Absent from the case at bar is any evidence that the government failed to obtain consent from Gonzales himself, that it sought consent from the tax matters partner after Gonzales expressly declined, or that it thwarted Gonzales's attempts to inform himself about the status of the audit by directing him to the tax matters partner, who was under criminal investigation but forbidden from revealing that fact. Transpac simply does not support Gonzales's argument that his tax advisor's role in promoting BLIPS in 2000 created a conflict sufficient to invalidate Gonzales's own consent to extend the limitations period in 2003 and again in 2004.

Phillips is similarly unhelpful for Gonzales. In Phillips, we were asked to decide whether criminal tax investigation of a statutory [TMP] does, or must, end the TMP's power to act for a partnership. Phillips, 272 F.3d at 1173. Our answer was no. Id. The individual partner in that case relied on Transpac in arguing that his tax matters partner had a disabling conflict of interest because the tax matters partner was under criminal investigation for his involvement in other partnerships. Id. at 117475. We cited Transpac with approval, noting that [t]rust law, generally, invalidates the transaction of a trustee who is breaching his trust in a transaction in which the other party is aware of the breach. Transpac is a salutary application of this rule to the particular case of a TMP who should have been seen by the IRS as laboring under an incapacitating conflict of interest. Id. at 1175 (citation omitted). However, we found that two circumstances differentiated Phillips from Transpac. First, in Phillips, [t]he IRS made no attempt to get waivers from limited partners. Id. Second, [i]t is not intuitively obvious that [the tax matters partner] did what is a routine accommodationsigning a waiver in order to avoid immediate assessment by the IRSin order to ingratiate himself in the investigation of his partnerships. Phillips  speculated that [the tax matters partner] so acted; he [did] not prove[ ] it. Id. Such is the case here. In fact, the IRS obtained consents from Gonzales personally, and Gonzales has not pointed to any evidence proving that Smith was under criminal investigation at the time he was advising Gonzales, that Smith had a desire to ingratiate himself with the IRS, that such a desire tainted Gonzales's own consents to extend the limitations period, or that Smith had any involvement in Gonzales's decision to sign the consents.

In short, these cases do not stand for the proposition that a third party's alleged conflict of interestespecially absent evidence of government misconduct, or a breach of the third party's fiduciary duty to the taxpayerinvalidates a consent to an extension signed by the taxpayer himself. As a result, the district court did not err in concluding that the consents Gonzales signed to extend the limitations period were not invalidated by Steve Smith's alleged conflict of interest.

B

Gonzales next argues that his consent to extend the limitations period was obtained under duress inflicted by IRS agent Paul Doerr. Duress in the tax context is an action[ ] by one party which deprive[s] another of his freedom of will to do or not to do a specific act. Price v. Comm'r, 43 T.C.M. 18 (T.C. 1981), aff'd, 742 F.2d 1460 (7th Cir. 1984). The Tax Court also has held that [i]f a taxpayer signs a waiver under duress or coercion, the waiver is invalid. However, where [the IRS] threatens to take legally authorized actions if a taxpayer does not sign a waiver, neither duress nor coercion exist, and the waiver is valid. Shireman v. Comm'r, T.C.M. (RIA) 2004-155 (T.C. 2004) (citation omitted).

Here, Gonzales first alleges that IRS agent Doerr met with Gonzales two times without legal representation present. The government disputes that any such meeting occurred. However, we are bound to construe the facts in the light most favorable to the non-movant in reviewing summary judgment orders. Construing the facts in the light most favorable to Gonzales and assuming the meeting did take place, the facts still do not justify an inference of duress. Gonzales can recall no details of the meeting other than its location. He cannot remember any questions agent Doerr asked him or any particular things agent Doerr said that were intimidating or coercive. His testimony was that he was worried that he might be in legal trouble and that the IRS could ruin his life. His conclusion was founded on inference. However, the fact that the agent declined to assure Gonzales that the IRS would not be pursuing lawful action against him does not justify an inference that Gonzales was deprived of his freedom of will to such a degree that he signed the consents to the extensions under duress. Price, 43 T.C.M. 18. Furthermore, the IRS was legally authorized to investigate and take action against Gonzales, so even if he feared legal trouble, he has not shown that this fear sufficed to support a finding of duress under Shireman.

Second, Gonzales contends that the fact that the agent served a summons on him constitutes duress. The parties agree that agent Doerr drove to Gonzales's home. Gonzales stated in his deposition that he was not home when agent Doerr visited his residence. Agent Doerr stated in his deposition that he drove to Gonzales's residence to serve a summons, and that he left the summons in the mailbox without encountering anyone. IRS agents are authorized by statute to issue summonses, and a summons regarding a tax return is required to be delivered in hand to the person to whom it is directed, or left at his last and usual place of abode. 26 U.S.C.  7602(a), 7603(a). There is simply no evidence that agent Doerr acted improperly or illegally in serving a summons at Gonzales's home, and there is no evidence to support Gonzales's assertion that his consent to extend the limitations period was obtained under duress.

There is nothing in the record indicating that Gonzales was deprived of his free will in executing the consents to an extension. Therefore, his duress argument fails.

III

In sum, an alleged third-party conflict of interest, without more, does not vitiate the individual consent personally executed by the taxpayer. Even crediting Gonzales's allegations, the alleged actions by the IRS agent do not constitute legal duress warranting relief.

AFFIRMED.

FOOTNOTES

. This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.

. The tax code defines a partner as a partner in the partnership or any other person whose income tax liability under subtitle A is determined in whole or in part by taking into account directly or indirectly partnership items of the partnership. 26 U.S.C.  6231(a)(2). Thus, both Gonzales and Birch Ventures are partners in Logan.

. A tax matters partner is the partner designated to act as a liaison between the partnership and the IRS in administrative proceedings, and as a representative of the partnership in judicial proceedings. 26 U.S.C.  6229(b)(1)(B), 6231(a)(7). The tax matters partner is the central figure of partnership proceedings. During both administrative proceedings and litigation, the tax matters partner serves as the focal point for service of all notices, documents and orders on the partnership. Comput. Programs Lambda, Ltd. v. Comm'r, 89 T.C. 198, 205 (1987).

. Gonzales challenged the IRS's Final Partnership Administration Adjustments before the district court. The district court concluded that the transactions at issue lacked economic substance and entered judgment for the United States. Gonzales does not appeal this determination.

. A partnership as an entity is not subject to federal income tax. 26 U.S.C.  701. Rather, the partners of a partnership pay income tax attributable to the partnership on their individual tax returns. Id. In determining his income tax, each partner takes into account his share of the partnership's gains and losses. Id.  702. Although partnerships do not file income tax returns, they are required to file a report of the partners' shares of gains and losses. Id.  6031. If the IRS disagrees with something reported by the partnership, it opens an administrative proceeding and notifies each partner of the Final Partnership Administrative Adjustment that results from the proceeding. Id.  6223(a). Partners then have an opportunity to seek judicial review of the adjustment. Id.  6226. As a general rule, the IRS must assess federal income tax related to partnership items within three years of the date on which the partnership return was filed. Id.  6229(a). However, a taxpayer-partner may agree to an extension or extensions of the limitations period. Id.  6229(b)(1)(A). Such consents are routinely signed by taxpayers in order to avoid immediate assessment by the IRS. Phillipsv. Comm'r, 272 F.3d 1172, 1175 (9th Cir. 2001), as amended (Jan. 14, 2002).

Opinion by Chief Judge Thomas
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. PATRICK JONES, Defendant-Appellant. No. 15-55003 Decided: June 07, 2017

Before: REINHARDT, TASHIMA, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges.

MEMORANDUM *

Patrick Jones was convicted following a jury trial of sexual exploitation of a child in violation of 18 U.S.C.  2251(a) and sex trafficking of children in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1591(a). Jones now appeals the district court's denial of his habeas petition under 28 U.S.C.  2255. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.  2253, and we affirm.

1. Jones argues that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to move to suppress evidence on the ground that the warrantless entry into his motel room was unconstitutional. Under Strickland v. Washington, Jones must show that counsel's performance was deficient and that prejudice resulted from the deficiency. 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984). Where counsel's alleged ineffectiveness came from his failure to litigate a Fourth Amendment issue, Jones must also prove that his Fourth Amendment claim is meritorious and that there is a reasonable probability that the verdict would have been different absent the excludable evidence. Kimmelman v. Morrison, 477 U.S. 365, 375 (1986).

Because we conclude that the warrantless entry was justified by exigent circumstances, Jones' challenge fails. See United States v. Struckman, 603 F.3d 731, 739 (9th Cir. 2010) (requiring the government to show both probable cause to search the location and exigent circumstances to justify the intrusion). The officers here had sufficient probable cause to enter the room. The minor victim, who was distraught and crying, reported that she had just escaped from the motel room with several adults who had forced her to pose for nude photographs that they intended to use to sell her into prostitution. The victim reported that she was punched twice by one of the adults when she was crying. The officers responded to the motel, where they were able to corroborate with the clerk some details about the perpetrators and their car, and, as the victim reported, the door to the room was slightly ajar. These circumstances are sufficient to establish probable cause to believe that a crime had been committed in the motel room. The officers also had exigent circumstances to justify immediate entry. The victim reported that there was a small child still in the room, and while the officers could see feet on the bed, they could not see any of the defendants' heads or hands. Thus, the officers were reasonably concerned for the child's safety as well as possible destruction of electronic evidence.

2. Jones argues that his trial counsel's performance was constitutionally deficient because he failed to move to suppress the search of Jones' cell phone. He relies heavily on Riley v. California, 134 S. Ct. 2473, 2485 (2014), which held that the search incident to arrest doctrine does not permit warrantless searches of the contents of cellular phones. On habeas, however, Jones must prove that his motion to suppress would have been meritorious at the time of his trial, which significantly pre-dates Riley. See Belmontes v. Brown, 414 F.3d 1094, 1121 (9th Cir. 2005) (stating that under Strickland, counsel's performance is evaluated from counsel's perspective at the time of the alleged error) rev'd on other grounds, Ayers v. Belmontes, 549 U.S. 7 (2006). Jones' argument that pre-Riley case law already established the illegality of the search such that counsel's failure to move to suppress would be constitutionally deficient is unconvincing.

Jones next argues, without a supporting record citation, that a search incident to arrest is invalid if the search took place prior to his arrest. This argument fails because the case law does not mandate a strict sequence of events. See United States v. Turner, 926 F.2d 883, 887 (9th Cir. 1991) ([A] search incident to arrest must be conducted at about the same time as the arrest. (internal quotation marks omitted)). Therefore, whether the search occurred shortly prior to or shortly after the arrest is not determinative of its legality.

Finally, Jones argues that the search was not incident to arrest because his cell phone was no longer within his immediate area of control. See Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332, 343 (2009); United States v. Cook, 808 F.3d 1195, 1199 (9th Cir. 2015). There is no evidence in the record as to Jones' location when the search was conducted, but we nonetheless see no need to remand for further factual development for two reasons. First, even assuming the search of Jones' cell phone was not valid incident to arrest, the nude photographs of the victim still would have been admitted at trial under the independent source doctrine because the officers in no way relied on the earlier search in later obtaining a warrant to search the phone. See Murray v. United States, 487 U.S. 533, 535 (1988). The warrant therefore was an independent source that would have supported the introduction of the photographs at trial.

Second, Jones cannot show a reasonable probability that the verdict would have been different even had the photographs been excluded. The evidence against him was overwhelming, including his own testimony that he committed the crime and the detailed testimony of his accomplice, Shawndrea Dorrough. At trial, Jones admitted the alleged conduct and chose to rely on the affirmative defense that he was reasonably mistaken as to the victim's age. Therefore, he fails to establish a reasonable probability that, had the jury not seen the photographs, it would have found, pursuant to the jury instructions, by clear and convincing evidence that [Jones] did not know, and could not reasonably have learned that the child was under 18 years of age.

AFFIRMED.

I would remand Jones's case for an evidentiary hearing. A petitioner seeking relief under 28 U.S.C.  2255 is entitled to an evidentiary hearing [u]nless the motion and the files and records of the case conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no relief. 28 U.S.C.  2255(b); United States v. Leonti, 326 F.3d 1111, 1116 (9th Cir. 2003). Here, the district court rejected Jones's request for an evidentiary hearing and decide[d] the matter on the papers submitted and without oral argument. Moreover, no record pertaining to the Fourth Amendment issue was developed at trial because Jones's lawyer never moved to suppress the evidence obtained in the search  exactly what Jones contends constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel. In its current form, the record does not provide a sufficient basis on which to determine whether the search violated the Fourth Amendment.

FOOTNOTES

. We granted Jones' request for a certificate of appealability on the issue of whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion to suppress. We deny the motion to expand the certificate of appealability. See 9th Cir. R. 22-1(e); Hiivala v. Wood, 195 F.3d 1098, 110405 (9th Cir. 1999).
Here is the weekly road construction report for Hamilton County:

U.S. 27 (I-124) widening from I-24/U.S. 27 interchange to north of the Olgiati Bridge over the Tennessee River, including widening the Olgiati Bridge: Work on this project continues. The speed limit on U.S. 27 in the construction zone is 45 MPH. The contractor may have temporary lane or shoulder closures on U.S. 27 between 7 p.m.-6 a.m. The new permanent Exit 1A from U.S. 27 North to Main Street / Carter Street/ Convention Center is now open.

The intersection of Carter Street and 13th Street is now a 4-way stop. On weekdays during this report period between the hours of 9 a.m.-3 p.m., the contractor will have a temporary right lane closure on eastbound MLK Boulevard between the U.S. 27 North exit ramp and Carter Street and on westbound MLK Boulevard between Chestnut Street and the U.S. 27 North entrance ramp to work on new signals. Ramp traffic will not be affected. This work is weather permitting. As the project progresses, there may be short term temporary lane closures for the safety of the traveling public on city streets within the project area. Flaggers will assist with these closures and they will be properly signed in accordance with the Federal Highway Administrations Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. During Phase 1 of the U.S. 27 project, the contractor will be working on the northbound side of U.S. 27 on the bridges. Work will consist of demolishing and reconstructing the outside sections of the bridges along U.S. 27 North. Also on U.S. 27 South, they will be constructing a large retaining wall between the Olgiati Bridge and 6th Street. At least one lane will remain open in each direction on U.S. 27. THP will assist with traffic control on the project as necessary. Estimated project completion date is July 2019. For more info, visit the project website http://www.tn.gov/tdot/topic/US27-reconstruction-chattanooga . [Dement Construction Co., LLC/JM/CNP230]

SR 317 (Apison Pike) the grading, drainage and paving on from Old Lee Highway (LM 5.58) to SR-321 (Ooltewah-Ringgold Road) (LM 7.84): Work on this project continues. During this report period the contractor may have intermittent lane closures throughout the project from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion date is July. [Wright Brothers Const. Co. /Pruett/CNN279]

SR-320 (East Brainerd Road) grading, drainage, installation of signals, construction of seven retaining walls and paving from east of Graysville Road to east of Bel-Air Road: Work on this project continues. During this report period, the contractor will have intermittent lane closures between 9 a.m.-2 p.m. This work may affect either direction of East Brainerd Road or side streets from Graysville Road to Hamlett Drive as the contractor installs road crossings and borings. Traffic has been switched onto the newly-constructed section from the west end of the project to the Hurricane Creek Road/East Brainerd Road intersection, allowing the contractor to work on the other side of the roadway. The contractor may have short-term lane closures to perform various operations on an as-needed basis. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Original completion date is June. Estimated project completion date is December. [Jones Brothers Contractors, LLC /Pruett/CNN383]

SR-153/SR-319 (Hixson Pike) bridge repair on Hixson Pike over SR-153: Work on this project continues. The outside lanes in both directions on the bridge on Hixson Pike over SR-153 are now closed. This lane closure will be in place until late November. During this report period the contractor may have intermittent lane closures on SR-153 from 9 p.m.-6 a.m. to do work under the bridge. If there are any temporary closures needed on SR-153 as part of this project, they will take place at nighttime on Sundays through Thursdays between 9 p.m.-6 a.m. and on weekdays on SR-153 South between 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and on SR-153 North between 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as necessary during these temporary closures. Estimated project completion date is May 2018. [Mid-State Construction Co. /Micka/CNQ941]

U.S. 27 (SR-29) resurfacing from north of Signal Mountain Road (LM. 3.02) to north of SR-29 (MM. 6.0/LM 6.07): Work on this project has begun. The contractor will have temporary intermittent lane closures on Sundays through Thursdays between the hours of 8 p.m. each evening to 6 a.m. the following morning to mill and pave the roadway. THP and flaggers will assist with traffic control as necessary during these temporary closures. Estimated project completion date is June. [Wright Brothers Construction Co, Inc./Micka/CNQ189]

The tunnel cleaning of the McCallie Tunnel on U.S. 11 (US 64, SR-2), the Stringers Ridge Tunnel on U.S. 127 (SR-8), and the Bachman Tubes on U.S. 41 (U.S. 76, SR-8): The nighttime cleaning operation of McCallie Tunnels, Stringers Ridge Tunnel, and Bachman Tubes occurs normally on Wednesday and Thursday nights during the week with the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Work hours are between 8 p.m.-6 a.m. Tunnels will be closed during cleaning, and detours will be marked accordingly as each tunnel is cleaned. Contract completion date is June. [Diamond Specialized, Inc./Micka/CNQ174]






The Tennessee Bar Association has elected Jennifer Exum, estate planning and probate administration attorney at Chambliss, Bahner and Stophel, P.C., as the chair of the TBA Estate Planning and Probate Section.

With more than a decade of experience, Ms. Exum counsels Chambliss clients in the areas of estate administration, estate planning, conservatorships, tax, estate-related litigation and general civil litigation.

Ms. Exum previously served as the vice chair of the TBA Estate Planning and Probate Section, overseeing activity for nearly 700 members. The section keeps members informed of changes in the law related to estate planning and probate matters through regular newsletters and online educational content and produces an all-day live CLE program each year.

Ms. Exum has served on the section's executive council as an Eastern Division delegate since 2008, when she succeeded former Hamilton County Clerk and Master, S. Lee Akers.






Hybrid vehicles have been put in the same category as big petrol and diesel luxury cars attracting 28 per cent rate with a cess of 15 per cent.

New Delhi: Auto makers have asked the government to reduce GST rate on hybrid vehicles to 18 per cent, saying clubbing the eco-friendly automobiles with big luxury models is "incomprehensible".

As part of auto industry's representation to the GST Council, which will meet on June 11, automobile manufacturers have asked the government not to levy any cess on hybrid vehicles.

As per the proposed rates under the GST regime, which will be implemented from July 1, hybrid vehicles have been put in the same category as big petrol and diesel luxury cars attracting 28 per cent rate with a cess of 15 per cent.

The tax incidence on hybrid vehicles will go up to 43 per cent from the current level of effective tax rate of 30.3 per cent.

"We are at loss as to why hybrid electric vehicles have been clubbed with petrol and diesel luxury cars in the highest tax bracket. It is incomprehensible and merits an urgent review," said a senior industry official, who did not want to be identified.

The industry has also asked the government to levy lower GST rate of 18 per cent without any cess on hybrid electric versions for all vehicles falling in the 28 per cent bracket.

The automakers argued that hybrid vehicles are much more efficient and eco-friendly but requires scale and volume to become economically viable. In its earlier submissions to the government, auto industry body SIAM had suggested 10 per cent differential rate between conventional and hybrid versions in the new GST system to encourage new technology.

"Without such differential, it will be impossible to make a small hybrid electric car, commercial vehicles or two/three -wheelers viable," the official said, adding that a proper government support is crucial for such new eco-friendly technology to take roots in India.

The proposed GST rate for hybrid vehicles is "totally divergent from the stated government approach of minimal change in tax incidence for any item when migrating to GST", the official added.

At present, hybrid vehicles attract excise duty of 12.5 per cent, similar to the ones for entry level small cars such as Tata Nano or Maruti Alto.

Even though they are exempt from infrastructure cess, there is a 1 per cent National Calamity Contingent Duty, 2 per cent Central Sales Tax and 12.5 per cent VAT, which takes the total incident of tax to 30.3 per cent.
New Delhi: Fitch has affirmed realty firm Lodha Developers' credit rating at 'B' and maintained negative outlook, even as the company's sales booking rose to over Rs 6,900 crore last fiscal despite demonetisation.

Fitch said it might consider revising the outlook to 'Stable' if the Mumbai-based developer addresses its near-term domestic debt maturities, and secure sustained financing for the London project. Lodha group has projects in Mumbai, Pune and London property markets. "Fitch Ratings has affirmed India-based home builder Lodha Developers Pvt Ltd's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B', and maintained the negative outlook," the rating agency said. The affirmation of Lodha's IDR reflects the company's healthy pre-sales and cash collections in the 2016-17 fiscal in spite of weak domestic demand for real estate, it said.

Lodha's sales bookings improved to Rs 6,920 crore in FY17 from Rs 6,430 crore in FY16, amid weaker domestic demand for property, especially against the backdrop of demonetisation. "Surprisingly, demand for Lodha's projects were somewhat less impacted in the December quarter compared with most of the other large Indian home builders that Fitch tracks," the rating agency said.

Lodha's sales bookings bounced back strongly in February and March this year, Fitch said. It attributed this to the advanced stage of completion of many of its large projects as well as the view that the adverse effects of demonetisation on large homebuilders appears to have passed.

Strong sales in FY17 were also supported by the company's affordable housing project at Pallava. Lodha's cash collections improved significantly to Rs 7,620 crore from Rs 6,070 crore during the period under review. Fitch expects the company's pre-sales to remain broadly flat around Rs 7,000 crore in the current fiscal.

The rating agency said, "the negative outlook reflect the near-term risks to the company's credit profile, in particular refinancing risk associated with sizeable maturities, including financing for its London project, over the next 12 months".

Although Lodha has access to domestic funding sources, Fitch said the company has not yet communicated a detailed refinancing plan for its upcoming maturities.
Bengaluru: Infosys Ltd on Friday denied a media report that the founders of India's second-biggest software services exporter were looking to sell their entire 12.75 percent stake in the company.

The Times of India newspaper on Friday had reported the Infosys founders were exploring such a sale, citing people familiar with the developments, although it carried a denial of such a move by one of the firm's founders, Narayana Murthy.

Infosys "has no information on any such development," the company said in a statement, adding that the "speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters."

Earlier this year, Infosys' founders had expressed concerns about the manner in which the company was being run by its current management and board.
New Delhi: Shares of Infosys fell by over 3 per cent in intra-day trade today amid reports that its co-founders were planning to sell their entire stake in the company, but later recovered most of the losses after the IT major denied any such move.

The stock declined by 3.47 per cent to Rs 923.05 during the day on BSE, but later recovered most of the lost ground and ended at Rs 948.65, down 0.80 per cent. On NSE, shares of the company fell by 0.82 per cent to close at Rs 948.60. In terms of volume, 10.29 lakh shares of the company were traded on BSE, and over 73 lakh shares changed hands on NSE during the day.

Infosys today denied media reports suggesting that its co-founders were planning to sell their entire stake in the company. "This speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters," the company said in a statement.

According to the report, Narayana Murthy and other co- founders Nandan Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan, S D Shibulal and K Dinesh were looking to sell their entire stake in the company worth about Rs 28,000 crore. "The company further reiterates that it has no information on any such development. We would like to appeal to the media not to fuel such speculative stories as they are likely to harm the interests of the company and all its stakeholders," the statement said.

Selling pressure was also seen in other IT stocks, with Tech Mahindra dropping 2.68 per cent, Hexaware Tech (1.64 per cent), Wipro (1.61 per cent), HCL Tech (0.70 per cent) and TCS (0.45 per cent). The BSE IT index lost 0.76 per cent to end at 10,100.60. IT stocks have been reeling under pressure since past few days amid rising concerns as the sector is facing challenges on multiple fronts, including stricter visa regime in key markets.
Telecom companies including Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Jio have, separately, denied cancellation of existing line of credit by any bank.

Mumbai: Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) today said it has not cancelled unused line of credit to debt-laden telecom sector amid reports of tightening of screw by lenders.

RBI recently asked banks to immediately review their exposure to the telecom sector, which has total debt of about Rs 4.6 lakh crore, and make higher provisions to firewall their business against any future stress.

The sector is facing the squeeze on revenues and profitability in the wake of cut-throat competition following entry of Reliance Jio.

"As regard to withdrawal of these unused line of credit to telecom sector, we have not withdrawn any unutilised limit. As a matter of general practise, we do review all the accounts irrespective of which sector, including telecom," SBI Managing Director B Sriram said here.

"In terms of saving our capital we do take informed decisions to try and use limits where it is required," he said.

At the same time, SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said that even for the unutilised limit the bank needs to keep the capital.

She, however, added: "So, we have a cancellability clause for unutilised limits so that we don't unnecessary block up capital. This is a regular review that is taken and where the limits are unused for a period of time, there we simply cancel it."

Asked if SBI is reviewing limits in other sectors, Bhattacharya said the bank is yet to come up with the board policy.

"But more or less we continually look at all the sectors and continually rate all the sectors as to which sectors are good. This kind of a rating goes on for every sector on a quarterly basis and that is already being done," she said.

"Based on that we will take a call by the end of June on what it shows in this particular quarter and accordingly we will bring a policy on how much more of a standard provision we can do," she added.

SBI has exposure of less than 1 per cent in telecom sector. Sriram said: "As far as our telecom exposure is very minuscule. It was 1.4 per cent, which was RS 18,000 crore. Post merger it has reduced to less than 1 per cent. "This is the total exposure and of which, generally at any given time, about 70-75 per cent is utilised. It may be utilised by one company and not by others... It's goes around between companies."

Various telecom companies including Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Jio have, separately, denied cancellation of existing line of credit by any bank.

"No credit lines of Vodafone India have been cancelled by SBI or any other bank. Therefore, Vodafone India remains unaffected by this decision," Vodafone spokesperson said.

"State Bank of India has not cancelled any existing Line of Credit for Reliance Jio," the spokesperson said.
Animal Emergency & Specialty Center announce that Dr. Jeff Phillips has been named specialty director and Dr. Nikki Branam has been named hospital administrator.

Animal Emergency & Specialty Center is a 24-hour regional veterinary practice serving eastern Tennessee with specialty and emergency services from locations in Knoxville and Chattanooga.

Preeminent veterinary oncologist Dr. Phillips is known for "his astute medical care, research,

teaching, and compassionate care of clients and patients." Moving into his new role as specialty director is a natural progression for him, said officials. Dr. Phillips leads the team of board-certified and specially-trained veterinarians in oncology, surgery, critical care, avian and exotics, internal medicine, and dermatology at Animal Emergency & Specialty Center.

Dr. Branam has been promoted to hospital administrator for Animal Emergency & Specialty Center following roles as an emergency veterinarian and operations manager. Known for her dedication and calm demeanor, this role allows Dr. Branam to combine her medical and business skills for maximum benefit for the practice, said officials.

Together, Dr. Phillips and Dr. Branam will continue to direct the growth of Animal Emergency & Specialty Center and the specialty practice.
According to sources, the industry leaders will first discuss the current state of financial stress in the sector with Sinha and later in the day will call on Jaitley.

New Delhi: Top telecom leaders, including Sunil Bharti Mittal, Kumar Mangalam Birla and Anil Ambani, are expected to meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha on June 22 amid mounting financial stress in the sector.

According to sources, the industry leaders will first discuss the current state of financial stress in the sector with Sinha and later in the day will call on Jaitley.

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekharan is also learnt to have confirmed his participation, while Reliance Jio Chairman Mukesh Ambani is yet to confirm his presence for the meeting called by Sinha.

However, queries sent to Tata Sons and Reliance Jio on whether their chairpersons will participate in the meeting, did not elicit any reply. The meeting will take place after inter-ministerial group finishes its meetings with telecom operators by June 17.

The inter-ministerial group (IMG), created to work on resolving financial woes of the telecom sector, has called Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices, Aircel and Sistema Shyam Teleservices for a meeting on June 12. The other major players -- Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone and Idea -- have been asked for a meeting on June 15 by the panel, according to sources.

The panel has sought details of operations from telecom firms for financial years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 before June 12. These include their total annual revenue, operational expenses, net profit, market share, return on investments and capital deployed, debt liability from both domestic and foreign lenders, spectrum liability and equity infusion, among others.

As per industry estimates, total debt for the sector is at around Rs 4.5 lakh crore, while revenues are around half of this. RCom has not been able to pay its lenders and has seven months to make repayments.

Vodafone and Idea Cellular have entered into agreement to merge their businesses in India due to low margin and highly competitive environment.
New Delhi: Ficci has been designated by the government to represent the country's businesses at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Business Council, the industry body said today.

Capping a 2-year long process, India and Pakistan today became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to Nato, after a formal induction ceremony in Astana, Kazakhstan. "We are excited to be part of this multilateral grouping and contribute to its economic agenda. Business and economic connect would be an important aspect of India's full membership of the SCO. We look forward to working with member countries for progress, prosperity and connectivity in the region," Ficci President Pankaj Patel said. The business council is expected to play a significant role in the SCO on account of the grouping's increasing focus on economic aspects.

From a primarily Eurasian construct, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) now expands its footprint in the Indian sub-continent with the induction of India as a full member.

"India's capacities in trade, investments, information and communication technology, financial services, space, S&T, agriculture, healthcare, small and medium scale industry can bring widespread economic benefit to the SCO countries," Ficci said.

With the expansion of the grouping, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of global population and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP. As an SCO member, India may have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as issues relating to security and defence in the region.
New Delhi: Low cost Internet based transactions and business efficiency due to technology advancements are expected to kill physical banks in next 5-6 years, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said today.

"My view is in next 5-6 years you will see death of physical banks. It will be very difficult for physical banks to survive because the cost of physical banks will be so enormous.

It will be so enormous compared to an online instrument, many of the fintech start-up and their ability to do data analysis (and) providing lending," Kant said at an IAMAI event.

He said that with proliferation of mobile phones and Internet based transaction, it will be easy for financial technology firm to do analysis and provide loans to person who requires it and has good credit history.

"Amazing thing is that a lot of this going to happen because India will become data rich before it becomes rich. Our ability to use technology, analyse data and able to reach and provide financial inclusion to people in rural area will be key drivers of growth," Kant said.

He said that India is now home to about 900 financial technology players and received funding of USD 3 billion. This is forcing Indian banks to transform themselves riding on wave of Fintech.

"There is lot happening in India because of Internet. We have leap frogged US technology industry with very simple and practical innovation. Cost of customer acquisition in India fell down to USD 1 where across America and Europe the cost of acquiring is between USD 28-30," Kant said.

He said that in last 45 years about 28 bank licences have been issued by the government, but within last 18 months about 21 payments bank licences have been issued. In 2015, the RBI had granted 'in-principle' approval to 11 entities, including the Department of Posts, to set up payments banks and proposed to give such licences 'on tap' basis in future.

However, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company, Tech Mahindra and a consortium of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries promoter Dilip Shanghvi, IDFC Bank and Telenor Financial Services gave up their plans to roll out payments bank.

Out of the remaining eight companies in the fray, Airtel, India Post Payments Bank and Chinese firm Alibaba backed Paytm have launched their commercial operations. Other players are Aditya Birla Nuvo, Fino PayTech, National Securities Depository, Reliance Industries and Vodafone m-pesa. Kant said Indian government is making things easy and simple for businesses.

He, however, was annoyed when director of a company complained about processes at government offices and problem in online transactions in India. The NITI Aayog CEO said he agrees with the point raised but in last three years lot of things have started changing.

"I have been in government for long time to realise that in the last 3 years a lot of attempt has been made to make India very easy and simple," Kant said. He cited new reforms like goods and services tax, bankruptcy laws, enabling company to register in a day etc.

"You and me have to change India. All of us have to be part of that change. But, people when they live abroad, come to India for 10 days and start criticising everything about India, that's not done," Kant said.
Akshay Kumar and Pahlaj Nihalani at the screening of the film 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha.' (Pic: Twitter)

Mumbai: Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairperson Pahlaj Nihalani watched the trailer of Akshay Kumar's upcoming movie 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' and later took to Twitter to praise the premise of the movie.

Nihalani even said that the movie should be tax-free as it promotes Prime Minister's 'Swachh Bharat' Abhiyan.

"Watched trailer of @akshaykumar's #ToiletEkPremKatha. Based on true incidents, it promotes #SwachhBharat.Should be made #TaxFree. #SuperHit!" Nihalani tweeted.

The trailer of the much-awaited movie will be out on June 11.

With only three days to go, makers of the Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar-starrer are going all out to keep the social media abuzz.

The movie reportedly revolves around Prime Minister's Narendra Modi's 'Swachh Bharat' Abhiyan and campaigns against open defecation. The underlining subject is also believed to highlight the importance of the pay-and-use toilet scheme.

'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' is slated to release on August 11.
All in all, Galti Se Mistake song seems to be heading towards the right spot to become yet another chartbuster featuring Ranbir.

Mumbai: He may not be a fabulous dancer but with songs like Badtameez Dil, Matargashti and Ghagra, Ranbir Kapoor has successfully made an image for himself as someone who is fit for a song thats quirky and anything but a typical Bollywood song.

As the eccentric beat takes off, Ranbir enthrals with his crazy antics and zany dance moves. Thats, exactly what we see Ranbir doing in the new song from his upcoming film Jagga Jasoos, which also stars Katrina Kaif.

In Galti Se Mistake song, we see Ranbir jamming it out with his boys inside the hostel. Needless to say, Pritam has done a fabulous job on music, while Arijit Singh and Amit Mishra sound absolutely funky as per the songs requirement.

Vijay Gangulys to the point choreography matches up to Amitabh Bhattacharyas lyrics. The song is also special for one more reason as it features films director, Anurag Basu, in a cameo. With a red beanie covering his head, big old glasses and long white beard, Anurag almost looks unrecognisable as he pops up on the screen and gets his shirt ripped off by Ranbir.

All in all, Galti Se Mistake song seems to be heading towards the right spot to become yet another chartbuster featuring Ranbir.

Watch the song below:

The films first song, 'Ullu ka Pattha', was released recently and has been receiving tremendous response from the audience due to its refreshing music and outstanding visuals that exhibit the chemistry between the lead pair.

The movie, also starring Katrina Kaif in a titular role, is set to hit the theaters on July 14.
The posters of the film shared on Twitter.

Mumbai: After months of uncertainty over its title, the Shah Rukh Khan-Anushka Sharma starrer directed by Imtiaz Ali, has finally found a name, and its neither The Ring, Rehnuma or Raula as speculated, but Jab Harry Met Sejal.

Shah Rukh and Anushka shared posters and you might be mistaken to think that the film was either titled Jab Harry or Met Sejal as the two actors shared separate posters of each other's character names in the film.

The shoot of the film took place at various places in Europe like Amsterdam, Budapest, Prague and Lisbon and some of the European countries rightly feature on the poster, with the couple twinning in white and having a ball.

While the makers had earlier announced August 11 as the release date, it has now been advanced by a week, to August 4, according to a leading trade analyst.

This could be to avoid a clash with Akshay Kumars Toilet- Ek Prem Katha which is also scheduled to release on the same day.

Jab Harry Met Sejal sees Shah Rukh reportedly in the role of a tourist guide while Anushka plays a Gujarati girl.

Apart from the European cities, the film has also been shot been in Punjab.
Aamir Khan in a still from the film 'Dangal' (L) and Information & Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu (R).

Mumbai: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today expressed happiness over Aamir Khan starrer 'Dangal' earning praise from a top Chinese leader for being a success story in that country.

Dangal has scripted history in China by becoming the first top-grossing non-Hollywood film, attracting praise from Liu Yunshan, a high-ranking leader of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

"Happy to see #Dangal receiving acclaim from a Chinese leader. A great example of cooperation among #BRICS nations!," Naidu said in a tweet.

Happy to see #Dangal receiving acclaim from a chinese leader. A great example of cooperation among #BRICS nations!https://t.co/UbAFpuAPTQ  M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu) June 8, 2017

Addressing participants of BRICS Media Forum in Beijing yesterday, Liu had said the movie has become very popular in a short time with record revenues -- even higher than the Chinese movies.

"I think this is a very typical example of a success story. We media groups need to give it more coverage. This will serve as a good example," Liu had said.

Dangal which raked up over Rs 1,100 crores since it was released in China on May 5 has created history by becoming only the 33rd film in China's history to cross RMB one billion. It continues to play in over 7,000 screens across China.

Editors and journalists from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) are attending the forum being organised by China's Xinhua news agency ahead of the BRICS Summit to be held in the Chinese city of Xiamen in September this year.
A Delhi couple that loves books takes their passion a step further by coming up with an innovative way to encourage others to read.

Shruti Sharma and Tarun Chauhan leave books on the metro trains and stations for anyone to pick up and enjoy. After they drop it off, they post clues about the books location on social media. They also request people to post about the find using the hashtag #booksonthedelhimetro and return the book to the metro so others can read it.



Metro museum is the place where you should be looking today.

Take it, read and return

#booksonthedelhimetro #books #delhimetro pic.twitter.com/iWeqb4wFDX  Books On Delhi Metro (@booksonthemetro) June 9, 2017

They started the non-profit project called 'Books on the Delhi Metro' in May. The idea was inspired by Harry Potter star Emma Watson who leaves feminist books on the New York City Subway and the London Underground.

The couple was intrigued by her act and learned Watson collaborated with a global initiative called Books on The Move that encourages reading while on public transport. After Sharma contacted them to seek permission to start an Indian branch, the couple's project was launched.

Sharma told a leading English daily apart from encouraging reading, she also wants to people to put down their phones for a while. The couple aims to leave one book a week and also introduce Hindi books at some point.
Shah's His father Niaz Mazari and mother Mian Zohran also do not send him to school because they fear he will be bullied. (Photo: Youtube)

Rare conditions are a surprise to a lot of people because they are mostly unheard of and hence unimaginable to the common folk. A Pakistani boy has surprised everybody including doctors because of a condition that makes him have a belly swollen so big that an operation is the only saving grace for him.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, Shah Gul Mazari suffers from a condition that makes his belly swell the size of a beach ball because of the build-up of faeces in his bowels. The nine-year-old suffers from Hirschsprungs disease that makes his belly grow abnormally large making it difficult for his parents to even make him wear clothes that fit him. His father Niaz Mazari and mother Mian Zohran also do not send him to school because they fear he will be bullied because of it.

Unfortunately, his parents do not have enough money as his father earns barely Rs 245 a day and a much-needed surgery seems impossible anytime soon. Shah has only 20 percent chances of survival if the surgery does not happen any time soon to treat the condition.
The simian virus is known to be a difficult-to-neutralise strain and the new test is likely prevent monkeys from getting infected by it. (Photo: Pixabay)

Washington D.C.: US researchers have suggested that a five-part investigational vaccine may protect monkeys from HIV-like virus to 55 percent.

Adding three more targets to the investigational vaccine for a total of five, more than half of the vaccinated animals were protected from simian-human immunodeficiency virus infection.According to researchers from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, the vaccine added three more targets to a human vaccine candidate that showed a promise.

The team used a more-is-better approach in monkeys that appeared to improve vaccine protection from an HIV-like virus."The vaccine regimen tested in the Thai trial, known as RV144, had a 31 percent efficacy and is the only HIV investigational vaccine regimen to have demonstrated even modest protection from HIV infection," said senior study author Barton F. Haynes.

"In this study in monkeys, we increased that level of protection to 55 percent by using a pentavalent (five-part) vaccine," Haynes added.The researchers -- including Bette T. Korber of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, who led the vaccine design -- started from the foundation used in the RV144 human vaccine trial in Thailand, adding targets that elicited antibody responses to regions of the HIV envelope.Those antibodies were fairly easy to induce, Haynes said.

By adding the three additional regions of the viral envelope to the investigational vaccine, the researchers improved the level of protection afforded to animals exposed to a difficult-to-neutralise strain of the simian virus, which is comparable to HIV."Vaccine protection using this model of virus infection in primates is possible," said lead study author Todd Bradley.

"This is a proof-of-concept that provides a strategy to improve upon the first HIV vaccine regimen that provided limited protection in people," Bradley stated.The study is published online in the journal Nature Communications.
The Honoring the Sacrifice Foundation announced that Lt. Colonel Oliver North, USMC (Ret.) will be the guest speaker at the fourth annual American Heroes Dinner. The event will be held on Friday, July 14, at 7 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

The Honoring the Sacrifice Foundation provides assistance (financial and material) and support to severely injured men and women, and their immediate families, who suffered injuries while in service to our country.

SGT Andrew T.

LtCol North is a combat decorated U.S. Marine, author of 13 award-winning books, inventor with three U.S. patents, syndicated columnist, and host of the award-winning Fox News Channel show War Stories. Mr. North was born in San Antonio, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He served 22 years as a Marine officer and has been embedded with more than 55 U.S. and allied combat units. His awards for service in combat include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for valor, and two Purple Hearts for wounds in action.

Honoring the Sacrifice is a wonderful cause. I hope you can join me in supporting them in all they do to support American Heroes, said LTC North.

Examples of assistance that the foundation has provided veterans includes: housing adaptations for severely-wounded veterans in Tennessee, Colorado, North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia; assistance acquiring a vehicle following a serious car accident for a veteran; two customized lawn mowers with hand controls to assist double amputees who were wounded in Afghanistan; snow blower for a hero in Minnesota who suffered a back injury while deployed in Iraq.
New Delhi: The Patiala House Court on Friday dismissed the bail plea of 'middleman' Gaurav Kohli in connection with the alleged 'transfer posting racket' that is said to have been functioning in the Indian Army.

The court had earlier sent Lt. Col. Ranganathan Subramaniam and Kohli to 12-days of judicial custody to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in this matter.

The officer and the middleman were arrested by the CBI and Rs. 2 lakh was also recovered from the Lt. Colonel's residence. Both the accused were produced in a Special CBI Court in Delhi.

An FIR was registered under the Sections 7, 8, 12, 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988 and Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The officers have been charged with criminal conspiracy, demand and acceptance of illegal gratification and using influence over public servants.

It is being alleged that Ranganathan entered into a criminal conspiracy with Kohli, Purshottam and others for ensuring transfer/posting of different officers posted in different field formations to their place of choice in lieu of payment of huge illegal gratification.

Purshottam allegedly contacted army officers, who were either posted in different field formations or facing imminent transfer and desirous of getting a posting at different locations, and then contacted Gaurav Kohli, who had a close acquaintance with many officers posted in the Personnel Division of Army Headquarters, for pursuing the transfer of these officials in lieu of huge illegal gratification to senior officers posted at the Army headquarters.
New Delhi: A special court on Friday refused to grant bail to an alleged middleman, arrested in the Election Commission bribery case involving AIADMK (Amma) faction leader TTV Dhinakaran, saying probe showed he was the key accused.

Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry dismissed the bail plea of Sukesh Chandrashekar, who was arrested on April 16 and had sought the relief for the second time on the ground of parity with Dhinakaran.

The court said his counsel's contention that he was liable to be released on bail on the ground of parity with Dhinakaran was "without merits as Chandrashekar was the main executor of the conspiracy to bribe the officials of the Election Commission of India".

The court said Chandrashekar had "collected Rs 2 crore sent through hawala channel out of which Rs 1.3 crore was recovered from him at the time of the raid. As per allegations in the FIR, co-accused Dhinakaran was a conspirator."

While rejecting his second bail application, the court there was no change in the factual situation and a subsequent application lies only on further development and events.

"The counsel' contention that court cannot distinguish between co-conspirators is a matter to be considered at the time of trial and not at this stage," it said.

Advocates Vijay Aggarwal and Anand Pandey, appearing for Chandrashekar, had claimed that he was falsely implicated and made a scapegoat and the police is yet to identify the public servant, who was said to be lured by the accused.

Public prosecutor Balbir Singh had claimed the police has recovered a CD containing the alleged telephonic conversations between Chandrashekar and Dhinakaran. He said Chandrashekar promised Dhinakaran that he will not only arrange the symbol for his faction but also fix the poll date as per certain auspicious astrological time at the behest of the leader.

Dhinakaran, his close aide Mallikarjuna, suspected hawala operators Nathu Singh and Lalit Kumar have been granted bail.

Dhinakaran was arrested here on the night of April 25 after four days of questioning for allegedly attempting to bribe Election Commission (EC) officials for the symbol.

His faction had hoped to obtain the symbol for the bypoll to the R K Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu, which was later cancelled by the EC after the alleged irregularities were reported.

The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who represented the constituency.

The EC had frozen the AIADMK's symbol after the two factions of the party - one led by Dhinakaran's aunt Sasikala and the other by former chief minister O Panneerselvam - staked a claim to it.

Mallikarjuna was arrested for allegedly facilitating a Rs 50-crore deal between Dhinakaran and Chandrashekar.

Dhinakaran has been accused of arranging the money from undisclosed sources and getting it transferred from Chennai to Delhi through illegal channels.
Chennai: Police on Friday arrested one person for stealing hair worth Rs 15 lakh from a dealers house in Valasaravakkam three weeks ago. Police said that N. Venkatraman (31) of Annai Sathya Nagar collects hair from across the state and sells them.

Recently, Venkatraman had brought four sacks of hair from Andhra Pradesh through his acquaintance Yesubabu. He had stocked them at his house in Valasaravakkam and was negotiating with dealers. A few of them even visited his house to check the quality of the hair, a police officer said.

On May 18, Venkataraman found that the sacks of hair were stolen from his house after which he approached Royala Nagar police. Based on the inputs provided by Venkataraman on those who approached him to buy the hair, police zeroed in on the accused, S. Abu Bakr (39) of Mannadi, near Chennai.

Police investigations revealed that Abu Bakr broke into the house along with three others and had the hair stocked in his hideout in Andhra. Police recovered the hair and launched a hunt for three others involved in the theft. Abu Bakr was earlier arrested by Thoraipakkam police in connection with a murder in 2007. He was remanded to judicial custody.
Thanjavur: Farmers, by and large, welcomed the Supreme Court order asking the Centre to spell out schemes for the ameliorating the conditions of farmers so that suicides of farmers across the country can be prevented.

The farmers also demanded that the Centre spell out its policies clearly.S. Ranganathan, secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, while welcoming the order, said the government should fix Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops as per the recommendation of Dr M. S. Swaminathan, who headed the National Commission on Agriculture.

The commission recommended that price should be fixed taking into the cost of cultivation per acre plus fifty per cent of the cost of cultivation into account.

Agreeing with the court's observations on crop insurance and bank loans, Mr Ranganathan said that subsidy should be abolished but a better price should be given for paddy.

Welcoming the court's observation, V. Palaniappan, senior agriculture expert and member of Senior Agro Technologists forum, which sends its suggestions to state government on opening of Mettur dam, said bottlenecks in crop insurance scheme like delay in payment of premium by state and central governments and discrepancies in details of area of cultivation given differently by agriculture and statistics departments should be removed.

He also felt that nationalized banks should not insist on security for giving loans to farmers. P. R. Pandian, coordinator of Tamil Nadu Farmers' Associations, felt getting water from Karnataka alone can prevent suicides and deaths.

"Water is the main problem which deprives farmers to take up cultivation or sustain the raised crop, when they don't get it in time and available quantity. This leads to death or suicide than other factors, though they also contribute to it. Centre should solve the Cauvery issue first, he said.
New Delhi: The Samajwadi Party on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to maintain a distance from his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. It said India should act strictly with Pakistan as sometimes being too good can backfire.

Talking to ANI, Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agrawal said India acting strictly with Pakistan might make it take a stand against terrorism.

"I think we should maintain some kind of distance with Pakistan. Be it any kind of meeting, India should act strictly with Pakistan may be only then Pakistan might take a stand against terrorism. Sometimes, being too good backfires so it's better to keep distance. I think Prime Minister Narendra Modi should in fact ignore Nawaz Sharif," he said.

However, denying to make any political comment, Congress Party leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said it is unnecessary to criticize and comment on everything and anything.

"I don't think the political party is to comment on anything and everything. I don't think there is anything wrong to know about a person's health. It is not necessary to comment on everything. The political party is not trying to politicize this and it is unnecessary to criticize," he added.

Prime Minister Modi, who held bilateral talks with Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev after reaching Astana on Thursday, happened to meet Pakistan Prime Minister Sharif in the Leaders' Lounge at the Astana Opera before the start of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) concert.

They reportedly exchanged greetings. Prime Minister Modi enquired about Sharif's health and also asked about his mother and family.

Prime Minister Modi is in the Kazakh capital to attend the two-day summit of SCO, which is a consortium focusing on security and trade.

India and Pakistan, which so far have had an observer status till now, will be formally inducted in the six-nation bloc that includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Prime Minister Modi has held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and is will subsequently meet Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The chance meeting of Prime Minister Modi and PM Sharif comes amidst a highly-strained atmosphere between the two neighbouring nations following the death sentence awarded to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav.

India moved the ICJ against the death penalty awarded to Jadhav by a Pakistan military court on May 8 for espionage.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

During the last trial on May 18, the ICJ had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav.
Ranchi: Former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra and other accused persons appeared before a special CBI court in Ranchi on Friday in connection with the multi-crore fodder scam case.

The RJD chief and Jagannath Mishra appeared before the court of Shiv Pal Singh in connection with a case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 96 lakh from the Deoghar treasury in the 1990s.

The court set June 16 as the next date for hearing.

Earlier, a special CBI court had convicted Jagannath Mishra, Lalu Prasad and other accused persons in the fodder scam case in 2013.

Last month, the Supreme Court had ruled that Lalu Prasad will have to stand trial in all the four fodder scam cases setting aside a Jharkhand High Court order that had dropped conspiracy charges against the former Bihar chief minister.
Chennai: In another raging farmer's agitation, farmers from Tamil Nadu, who have been demanding loan waivers, drought relief packages and formation of a Cauvery management board to resolve their irrigation issues, resumed their protest in the national capital on Friday.

Resuming their protest, president of Desiya Thenninthiya Nathigal Inaippu Vivasayigal Sangam P Ayyakannu said, "Keep the promise you made, withdraw the case from Supreme Court and give pension to farmers above 60 yrs."

"We will be here for 32 days and we will continue to sit here if problem is not solved by then. We will expand agitation all over India," the farmers' leader told ANI.

Accusing the Centre and the state government for failing to address the demands of the farmers, he said, "We condemn the bullets firing at farmers who are backbone of our nation. Soon there will be a nationwide protest and for this we have special meeting on June 16 at Delhi."

The Tamil Nadu farmers earlier withdrew their agitation after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palanisamy assured that he will take up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to waive off the loan and urged the farmers to end their protest.

The farmers had grabbed headlines for their unique and sometimes bizarre methods of protest since they arrived in Delhi to protest.

Adorned with human skulls around their necks, the farmers attempted to grab the attention of authorities towards their condition and demands for drought relief package.

In August last year, protests erupted in Tamil Nadu after Karnataka refused to release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka's refusal to Tamil Nadu put the farmers in Delta districts in distress.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi talks to media as he is arrested on his way to Mandsaur from Neemuch to meet the family members of the farmers killed in the recent police firing. (Photo: PTI)

Bhopal/Mumbai/New Delhi: High political drama took the centrestage in western Madhya Pradesh on Thursday as the police briefly arrested Rahul Gandhi and a slew of top Congress leaders when they tried to go to Mandsaur where farmers protests have escalated and become violent after six agitators were killed in police firing two days ago.

The 46-year-old leader ditched his car, walked and then rode pillion on a motorbike to avoid detection by local authorities, who had denied him permission to visit the volatile region.

He was arrested at Jiran in MPs Neemuch district. Let off on bail, he was escorted by the police to the Rajasthan border where he met the family members of some of the victims who were killed on Tuesday demanding debt relief and better crop prices. Mr Gandhi blamed the Prime Minister for the farmers deaths.

Mandsaur collector, 2 others transferred

As hundreds of policemen in riot gear patrolled the streets, the state government transferred the collector and the superintendent of police of Mandsaur on Thursday.

The collectors of two other unrest-hit districts Ratlam and Neemuch have also been replaced.

Earlier in the day, Mr Gandhi  accompanied by Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot and Madhya Pradesh party chief Arun Yadav  proceeded from Udaipur to Mandsaur that has been scorched by violent protests with several vehicles burnt and buildings torched.

The police had put barricades at Nayagaon in Neemuch bordering Rajasthan to stop him from entering Mandsaur, where curfew remained in force for the third consecutive day on Thursday. He jumped the barricades but was pushed back across the border by a huge posse of security personnel.

Mr Gandhi, however, dodged the police and walked nearly 100 meters to enter Neemuch. He then rode pillion on a bike to go to Mandsaur. He was stopped and taken under preventive detention by the police.

Later, he and other Congress leaders were arrested and put in a local resthouse of a private company.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are to be blamed (for the killing of farmers in police firing). Countrys prime minister can waive Rs 1.50 crore worth of loans to the richest people of India, but cant pay heed to the plight of farmers. He can only give bullets to them, Mr Gandhi told reporters before being whisked away by the police.

The local administration had arranged telephonic talks between him and the family members of the victims of police firing. He, however, insisted on meeting them saying that he would not return to Delhi without talking to them in person. He relented when the police assured him of allowing him to meet them at the Rajasthan border.

Breaking his silence, Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh termed the agitation unfortunate and said those "politicising" the incident were not concerned about the community's welfare.

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said his government was open to a dialogue to iron out differences and again appealed for peace.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday launched the 'Selfie with Daughter' mobile application, aimed at raising awareness about female foeticide and sex selection.

The President urged people to take photographs with their daughters and upload them to make the campaign a success.

" 'Selfie with Daughter' has become a worldwide movement against female foeticide and sex selection," the president said.

The campaign was started by Sunil Jaglan in June 2015 in village Bibipur in Haryana's Jind district. The former sarpanch had been working in the field of women empowerment and village development.

The aim of the campaign is to motivate society to feel proud to be parents of a girl child, which, in turn, will result in improving child sex ratio.

The president expressed the hope that this would eventually help in dealing with problems arising out of gender imbalance.

Describing the app as an innovative concept and an act of gentle persuasion, Mukherjee congratulated Jaglan and said his efforts in initiating the campaign in Haryana were praiseworthy.
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said the government is following a case with the US police about the Telangana man who was shot at in California.

In a series of tweets, Swaraj said she has recieved a report from Indian Consulate in San Francisco that an Indian man identifed as Mubeen Ahmed, who was working at a gas station in California, was shot at by a gunman.

"I have received the report from our Consulate in San Francisco. The victim Mubeen Ahmed works at a gas station. A gunman demanded money from Mubeen and then fired at him," she tweeted.

"He is admitted in the Eden Medical Centre CA. Fortunately Mubeen is now out of danger. We are following up the case with the police," she said.

According to reports, 26-year-old Ahmed, a native of Telangana, had gone to the United States in February 2015, to pursue his Masters course in a university.

He had completed the course two months ago and was doing a temporary job at a private store.

Tweeting on a separate issue, Swaraj said the government has taken up with the Canadian High Commission the visa issue of Indian badminton players, who are scheduled to play in Canada at the Yonex Open.

"We took up the matter with Canadian High Commission. I am happy you will participate in the Yonex Canada Open," Swaraj tweeted after badminton player Sikki Reddy said the players were struggling to get a Canadian visa.

"Hi Mam, this is Sikki Reddy, badminton player. We all players have applied canada visa for the Yonex Canada open," Reddy had tweeted on Wednesday.
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced on Friday the counties chosen to participate in the

Spring Round.

Launched in 2015, the purpose of PEP is to improve the inventory of industrial sites and buildings in Tennessee by evaluating potential properties, advising counties on where investment may be most beneficial and addressing needs to make sites viable for industrial prospects.

I want to congratulate the eight communities for being chosen to participate in the spring round of PEP, TNECD Commissioner Bob Rolfe said. This program is designed to help communities be better prepared to attract new and expanding businesses to Tennessee, and I look forward to seeing what these communities do with the information from this program and seeing their future success.

Based on the principles of the departments

, and with the assistance of the site selection firm Austin Consulting, PEP will benefit counties by emphasizing the importance of and assisting with planning for future industrial development.

I am excited to see these eight communities grow and help us in the states initiative to create valuable sites in order to attract business investment and job creation in Tennessee, said TNECD Site Development Director Leanne Cox.

TNECDs Property Evaluation Program is a tool that allows communities to build consensus around industrial properties that offer the most potential to attract investment and job growth, both in the near-term and over the next few decades, said Austin Consulting Director Jonathon Gemmen.

For counties selected to participate, the program includes an educational webinar on the site selection process, an on-site visit by Austin Consulting and a comprehensive assessment addressing each propertys strengths, weaknesses and recommended next steps to improve marketability.

Selection was based on demonstrated local need for industrial properties and also on the countys ability to assemble viable properties with market potential.

The application process begins with the submission of a

, which is accepted at any time. Upon receipt of the letter, counties will be provided with the application.
Bhopal: A farmer apparently injured in the lathicharge by the police on a group of agitating tillers at Bhaugarh in Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur district late on Thursday evening died at a private hospital in Indore, a few hours later. With his death, the death toll in the nine-day farmer unrest has risen to six.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, meanwhile, announced on Friday he would indefinitely shift his office to Dussehra Maidan, a sprawling ground here, on Saturday to meet agitating farmers to address their problems, and go on fast.

I will meet farmers and people there. I will resolve their problems. I will also fast for peace, Mr Chouhan said.
Chennai: Police on Friday recovered the body of a five-month-old baby wrapped in a cardboard box and dumped near the Krishnampet crematorium in Triplicane.



Police were alerted after locals informed the crematorium workers about dogs dragging the cardboard box and found that it had the body of a baby boy in it. Ice House police secured the body and moved it to the Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy. Police have sought the list of boy babies delivered in government and private hospitals in the city to trace the parents.
Hyderabad: A 16-year-old boy who was suspected of being involved in house theft and automobile theft, attacked a police constable in Meerpet on Friday. The boy, who was released from a correctional home, was seen moving suspiciously on a scooter, when constable S. Ramesh and home guard Naveen Kumar tried to apprehend him. In an attempt to escape, the boy attacked Ramesh with a shaving blade, while another home guard, Naveen Kumar, escaped unhurt and fled.

Ramesh was rushed to hospital and is said to be out of danger now. The boy was earlier accused in six cases, including an attempt to murder in Meerpet Police station.

According to police, on Friday, while constable S Ramesh and home guard Naveen Kumar were on beat duty, searching for a stolen scooter, they noticed the boy riding the vehicle. As he had already been arrested in previous cases, they were very familiar with his face and so they identified him and rushed to apprehend him.

To escape from the cops, he attacked Suresh with a razor blade, causing a lacerated injury on his left forearm and fled the scene. Naveen escaped in the attack, Rachakonda Commissioner Mahesh Bhagawat who visited Suresh at the hospital, said.The commissioner said that the boy, a resident of Nadanavanam, is the son of Gopichand, who is a suspect sheeter in Meerpet Police station limits. The boy stopped his education in class V.

Due to bad company and dangerous friends he got addicted to bad habits and started committing offences since 2016.

Before this, he was accused in four cases in Meerpet and one each in Saroornagar and Bhavani nagar. Out of the six cases, four were registered in 2017.

He was arrested in 2016 by Bhavani Nagar and Meerpet Police and was released later.

He was arrested again by Meerpet Police in January for theft and was put in a correctional home. After his release in March, he got busy with committing thefts.

An application is being filed before the Juvenile Justice board to treat the JC as an adult, as the JC is an active, potential bodily and property offender and is involved in six cases. the commissioner said. Teams have been formed to trace the boy.
A man and his child pull their bike through knee deep water after the heavy rains in Hyderabad that inundated most of the roads in the Old City on Friday, as goats take shelter outside an ATM. INN

Hyderabad: The city received another round of pre-monsoon thundershowers on Friday.

Moderate to heavy rainfall was recorded in Medchal, Nampally, Red Hills, Lakdi-ka-pul and Begumpet. The weather department has attributed this shower to a passing thunderstorm and not the arrival of south-west monsoons.

Heavy pre-monsoon rains that started in Hyderabad last week are a welcome break from the oppressive heat.

The showers are due to the low-pressure area that has developed over west-central Bay of Bengal, off the Andhra and Odisha coast. With this, humid winds have been blowing over Hyderabad, which is leading to the formation of convective clouds over the city and finally leading to rains.

Good amount of rains and thundershowers are predicted over Telangana including Hyderabad till June 11.

Night temperatures have dipped considerably and are hovering around 20C.

Update on south-west monsoon:

South-west monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of Konkan, interior Karnataka, Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The south-west monsoon is expected to further cover Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh during the next 2-3 days.

Warning for TS on June 10:

High likelihood of heavy rain at isolated places in all the districts of Telangana.
Astana: India and Pakistan on Friday joined the SCO with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that unless strong and coordinated efforts are made, the issues of radicalisation and financing and training of terrorists would be impossible to address, in a veiled dig at Islamabad.

Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is impossible to find a solution, Mr Modi said in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

In his address at the annual Summit of the SCO in the Kazakh capital, Mr Modi

Terrorism is a major threat to humanity, Mr Modi said, adding that there was a need for concerted efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.

I have full confidence that the India-SCO cooperation will give a new direction and strength to the fight against terrorism, Mr Modi said.

Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values. The fight against terrorism is an important part of the SCO cooperation, he said.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity, he said.

The Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif among others, also asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such a cooperation.

Connectivity with SCO member countries is a priority for India and we whole heartedly support it. We want connectivity to pave way for enhancing cooperation and confidence among the societies and young people. Respect to sovereignty and regional integrity is necessary. It is also important to ensure inclusivity and sustainability, the Prime Minister said.

PM: Respect each others concerns

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday underscored the need to respect each others core concerns and appropriately handle the disputes as he held cordial talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions in ties over a host of issues including the CPEC and Indias NSG bid.

It is their first meeting after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

During the meeting, Modi said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

Giving broad outcome of the meeting, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said the broad thrust of it was that at the time of global uncertainty, India-China relations are a factor of stability and as the world becomes more multi-polar it was important for the two countries to work together more closely.

There was an understanding that where we have differences, it is important that differences should not become disputes and in fact if they were handled well, could even be opportunities, Jaishankar told reporters.

Growing power bloc

The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

It is a China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO

With the first expansion of the grouping since its inception in 2001, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP

ADVANTAGE INDIA
Hyderabad: Departments of the Telangana government are divided on whose responsibility it is to settle the power dues owed to AP. Officials of the financial department say that the state government has nothing to do with the matter and that the issue needs to be resolved by the power utilities of the two states. TS Transco officials, however, say that the issue needs to be resolved at the state level.

Four days ago, officials of the TS finance department went to Amaravati, the capital of AP, to discuss the settlement of funds between the two states.

They claimed that the AP government had to pay them Rs 3,000 crore from the funds released by the Central government under centrally-sponsored schemes after the bifurcation. Officials of the AP finance department said that the Telangana government owed them Rs 4,000 crore for the power which AP had supplied to Telangana over the past three years.

In response, the TS officials said that the state government had nothing to do with the dues owed by Telangana power utilities. They said that the matter would have to be resolved by the power utilities of the two states, without intervention from the state governments.

However, D. Prabhakar Rao, the chairman and MD of TS Transco and TS Genco, believes that the issue should be settled at the state level. In a letter to AP Genco chairman, Mr Rao said, Telangana State Power Coordination Committee and TS Discoms are of the view that the settlement of dues between the two power utilities should be done at the state level, for a permanent and amicable solution.

Meanwhile, AP officials are unsure about whom they should take the issue up with. A senior officer of AP says that TS officials are also confused, after the finance department and the power utilities passing the buck to the each other.

Insulated cables to deal with power cut

Residents of the twin cities will no longer have to deal with interruptions in the power supply during heavy rains or strong winds once the Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (SPDCL) replaces the existing conductors with insulated conductors. The replacement will be carried out in phases.

After successful implementation of a pilot project in Prasasan Nagar, where about 1.2 km of conductors were replaced with insulated conductors, the SPDCL has begun replacing conductors along a 58-km stretch in Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills.

At present, regular electrical wires are used as conductors. When trees fall on these wires, they cause transformers to trip, thus cutting off the power supply. Once the wires are replaced with insulated ones, transformers will no longer trip if trees fall on them.

The SPDCL also considered the possibility of laying underground cables to avoid interruptions in the power supply, but then decided against it because it would be much more expensive. Laying underground cables for a stretch of the same length will cost Rs 500 crore.

Total length of electrical wire within GHMC limits:

33KV lines: 2200 km

11KV lines: 8400 km

LT lines: 27,000 km
Visakhapatnam: At least two sailors from Philippines were found dead at Visakhapatnam's Gangavaram Port.

They accidentally fell in a coal store earlier on June 1.

Port authorities have finished the post-mortem and the bodies were sent to Singapore two days ago.

Sources said that one of the sailors went to coal venture place for checking coal scaling on vessel.

He accidentally fell in the coal store. Another sailor also accidentally fell when he tried to rescue the first sailor.

The coal store was filled with chemical air.
The splitting of votes in such an election is unlikely to trigger the state governments fall and loss of MLA posts.

Chennai: As AIADMK deputy general secretary TTV Dhinakaran silences the voices against him within Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami group with an open warning, BJPs calculations for Presidential polls can go awry if it relies on the Chief Minister who is not in a position to ensure the support of all his party MLAs.

A day after the warning of Dhinakarans supporters that action would be taken against finance minister D. Jayakumar, he has fallen silent and there is no denial to media reports that the Chief Minister himself had directed his colleagues not to speak anything against the party deputy general secretary.

The upper hand, gained by Dhinakaran is certain to cast a shadow on the Presidential elections since he would be in a position to give directions to all the MLAs in his capacity as the partys deputy leader.

The BJP has 5,27,371 electoral college votes at the moment and it needs about 22,000 votes to reach the winning margin of 5,49,474 votes. The calculation for the BJP could be easier if the support base of Dhinakaran is confined to 32 MLAs and two MPs.

But, there is much more than what meets the eye since none of the legislators from the delta districts of Thanjavur, Tiruchy, Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur had expressed their support to Dhinakaran. The delta districts are considered the bastion of the AIADMK (Amma) general secretary V.K. Sasikalas family and political analysts feel that other family members like Dhivakaran control more MLAs and MPs than those with Dhinakaran.

Political commentator Govi Lenin said Palaniswami could have the backing of few MLAs from the Kongu region and it will surely be less than what Dhinakaran commands. We should not forget that it was Sasikala and her family members who allocated seats to party men during the Assembly elections. Every MLA has moved through one of the family members and a large number of legislators are with them. Sasikala s family members would decide whom to support in the Presidential elections.

Though the Congress had not opened its channels with the AIADMK, it could do so anytime, given the proximity of TNCC president S. Thirunavukkarasar to the AIADMK leaders, especially Sasikalas family. The move is unlikely to be opposed by the DMK, which would always welcome a split in the AIADMK votes as it could impact the stability of the state government.

Sasikalas family, which is at the receiving end of centres action could think of voting against the BJP too, but they would seek an assurance for their protection from a possible backlash from the party which controls the Union government.

The splitting of votes in such an election is unlikely to trigger the state governments fall and loss of MLA posts. Besides, the violation of party direction is also unlikely to have an impact since it could not expel its legislators at the present circumstances.

TTV Supporters

MLAs 32

MPs 2

Value of votes 7,048

Other MLAs of AIADMK (Amma) including Dhivakaran supporters

MLAs 91

MPs 35

Value of votes 40,796

AIADMK (PTA)

Number of MLAs 12

Number of MPs 12

Total value 10,608

DMK alliance

Number of MLAs 98

Number of MPs 4

Total value 20,080
The market would have been buzzing frantically if a general election in India had deprived the ruling party of its majority and resulted in a hung Parliament. I dont mean the commercial market, which has already mauled the sterling, but the market in political horseflesh. The dozen or so seats that Theresa May, the humbled Tory Prime Minister, needs to reach the magic figure of 326 in a 650-member House of Commons, could arguably have been mobilised with promises of portfolios and perks, to say nothing of cash changing hands. But not in the Mother of Parliaments, where the 10 Democratic Unionist Party members from Northern Ireland who can bail out Ms May are playing hard to get  although on strictly political grounds. Their concern  a concern that extends not just across Britains political spectrum but to Brussels, headquarters of the 28-nation European Union  is over Brexit. When Britain does leave the EU, Northern Ireland will have a land border with the Republic of Ireland which is a EU member. In the north, Scotland might demand another referendum on independence of the government in London. Other such problems relating to immigration, the single economic zone, trade and investment will need careful handling. Some Brussels officials are eager to get on with the Brexit negotiations with a Prime Minister in command of her party. But there is also a thread of gleeful calculation that it might be easier to deal with a weakened British government.

Carl Bildt, a former Swedish PM, put it with brutal frankness. The election result could be messy for Britain, he said. Its the price Britain will have to pay for lack of true leadership. But while everyone is baying for Ms Mays blood (and colleagues like Boris Johnson are suspected to be sharpening their knives), the most important feature of this election should be a source of hope and encouragement to people in democracies everywhere. Its that the 12 million-plus Britons who voted for the Labour Party, led by the formerly despised and denigrated Jeremy Corbyn, clearly yearn for the kinder, gentler Britain that Clement Attlees Welfare State ushered in after the Second World War. While the Conservative manifesto followed the right-wing chauvinism that politicians like Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump have made fashionable with Ms Mays Stand Up For Britain slogan, Labours rallying call was For The Many, Not the Few. The high turnout of almost 69 per cent, the highest since 1997, may partly have been because this slogan resonated with voters. Many of those who braved Thursdays heavy rains to cast their vote were young men and women who have no personal experience of the Labour Partys caring philosophy that owes much to the vision of Keir Hardie, one of the partys founders 117 years ago. But they have suffered since Margaret Thatchers capitalist revolution became the driving creed of Tony Blairs so-called New Labour. Free education was stopped and subsidies for medical care, housing and social welfare drastically reduced. In contrast, the Labour manifesto promised to restore many aspects of the dismantled Welfare State and even to nationalise undertakings like the railways. Its surprising no previous political leader has thought of these reforms despite glaring evidence of mismanagement. The number of homeless people huddled in doorways in the bitter winter cold was one indictment of Thatcher-Blair economics.

Reckless privatisation produced chaos on the rails. When trains were cancelled halfway through a journey, a wayside stationmaster once explained to me that the Thatcher government had sold the trains and lines to one company and the stations to another  whichever paid more  and they didnt always coordinate their activities. Moreover, belying the harsh and constant criticism of the chattering classes, the seemingly lacklustre Mr Corbyn showed himself to be a forceful and inspiring speaker able to rally the multitude. He has never been popular in Westminster. But even his critics now concede that he has the common touch. His enhanced prestige confirms again that in politics, as in life, nothing succeeds like success. Of course he has not won enough seats to form a government but Labours strong position in the Commons may allow him to influence policy, specially in the negotiations to leave the EU. Ms May called the election to further strengthen her position in discussing terms with Brussels, in the wake of three devastating terrorist attacks in three months. In her final message on Thursday, she pleaded with voters to back her in the Brexit negotiations, adding: If we get Brexit right, we can build a Britain that is more prosperous and more secure. A Britain in which prosperity and opportunity is shared by all. A Britain where its not where you come from or who your parents are that matter, but the talent you have and how hard you are prepared to work.

She called it the greatest meritocracy in the world. The majority she inherited from David Cameron would not have been lost if voters had believed her. As home minister, she had cut welfare while claiming she wasnt doing so. When Mr Cameron was PM, she, like him, was in the Remain camp, but quickly  and unapologetically  turned her coat when 52 per cent favoured Brexit in the referendum. She categorically denied any intention of calling a snap election, but did just that as soon as the opinion polls gave her grounds to hope she could better her parliamentary majority. The final touch is post-election. Its recalled that in a similar dilemma, Edward Heath lost no time in calling at Buckingham Palace to resign. In the best style of Indian politicians, however, Ms May has made it clear though snubbed and rejected she might be, but she has no intention of stepping down.
British Prime Minister Theresa May plans to cling to power although she could not take the Conservative Party to victory in a snap election that she had called, hoping to form a strong and stable government as Brexit negotiations begin later this month. Her calculations backfired. After the deeply disappointing result for the Tories, announced on Friday, and a surge in seats for the Opposition Labour Party, Ms May  whose authority appears greatly diminished  now says it is incumbent on her party to give the country stability. Being the first party in the House, she doubtless has the constitutional right to try to form a government. Ms May is expected to form a minority government with the help of the Democratic Unionist Party (of Northern Ireland), which is likely to offer informal support. How stable can such a government be is anyones guess. This sort of thing will be par for the course in a country like India in a situation of hung Parliament when the ruling party did not win outright, but seems unusual for Britain. In light of the fact that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on the Prime Minister to resign as she had sought a mandate and not got it, and has asserted that his party is ready to form the government (with the help of others), it remains to be seen if the Tories can command a majority in the House.

All the potential politics is probably not done yet. It is not known if the Tory Party in Parliament will be united on Ms Mays leadership. It is also not known if the other parties will be determined to obstruct her path, and come together to let Mr Corbyn  known to be on the left wing of Labour  lead a new government. But there can be no question that this Labour leader is a transformed man, although observers have been dismissive of him due to the politics that he espouses. Labour under him polled 40 per cent of the vote, the highest for the party since 1970, and only slightly behind Ms Mays Tories. He made up ground in the course of the campaign, closing a big gap. The polling was higher in the Thursday election than in the general election of 2015, and Labours startling run was fuelled by young voters. Commentators in Britain have already begun to wonder about the possibility of a fresh election in six months. Surprisingly, Nigel Farage of the United Kingdom Independence Party, which had stridently campaigned for Brexit, on Friday called for a fresh vote on leaving Europe in light of the election result. The available indications are that the Europeans arent seeing it that way. But the course of politics will be watched closely.
Gap Inc. officials announced Friday that the global retailer will create more than 500 jobs at the companys distribution center in Sumner County.

Gap Inc. is investing approximately $41.7 million in its Gallatin distribution campus on Gap Boulevard. The new capital investment will go into technology upgrades as Gap Inc. expands its online fulfillment capabilities in Sumner County.

Gap Inc.s latest commitment to create more than 500 new jobs is yet another confirmation that Tennessees central location and skilled workforce make it the ideal place for global companies to operate major distribution facilities, Governor Bill Haslam said. Gap Inc. has long been a crucial part of Sumner County and this significant expansion brings us closer to our goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.

The long-term health of Tennessees economy depends on investments and job creation from our existing businesses such as Gap Inc., Department of Economic and Community Development Bob Rolfe said. Gap Inc.s third major investment in Sumner County over the past four years is a strong vote of confidence in Tennessees advantages for doing business. Wed like to thank Gap Inc. for its commitment to create more jobs in Sumner County and look forward to its continued role in the strength of Tennessees economy.

Gap Inc. is one of the largest employers in Sumner County, operating more than 2.8 million square feet of distribution space as part of the companys North American network of distribution centers.

Weve been proud members of the Sumner County community for over 20 years and our Gallatin team members are some of the best in the business, Shawn Curran, executive vice president of Global Supply Chain at Gap Inc., said. The Gallatin distribution campus continues to be a key strategic location for growth and opportunity. Its central location and access to a strong labor force are key for continued investment in Tennessee. We pride ourselves on a deep level of commitment to our employees, customers and to the communities where we live and work, and look forward to many years of continued growth.

In July 2016, the retailer announced a $3.1 million investment in Gallatin to meet growing demand for e-commerce sales on Gap Inc.s brand websites.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Gap Inc. is a global retailer offering clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women and children under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Athleta, Intermix and Weddington Way brands. Gap Inc. products are available for purchase in more than 90 countries worldwide through about 3,200 company-operated stores, about 450 franchise stores, and e-commerce sites.

Local officials and the Tennessee Valley Authority applauded Gap Inc. for its planned expansion in Gallatin.

Were honored that Gap Inc. chose Gallatin 21 years ago and that it continues to expand here, Gallatin Mayor Paige Brown said. Our city is fortunate to have a strong manufacturing and industrial community with Gap Inc. as one of its leaders. Gap Inc.s latest investment here helps us send the message to other companies that Gallatin is worth consideration.

Gap Inc.s steady growth shows its long-term commitment to Gallatin, James Fenton, executive director of the Gallatin Economic Development Agency, said. We appreciate Gap Inc.s continued confidence that we can meet its workforce needs.

TVA and the Gallatin Department of Electricity congratulate Gap Inc. on its plans to invest and expand operations in Gallatin, TVA Senior Vice President of Economic Development John Bradley said. We are pleased to partner with Gallatin Economic Development Agency, the State of Tennessee, the City of Gallatin and Sumner County Officials to help existing employers like Gap Inc. continue to add quality jobs in the Gallatin and Sumner County community.
As I write from faraway Washington D.C. the contrast could not have been more stark. The press in the United States, almost without exception, is engaged in a rancorous battle with the current US administration, shining the light on and speaking truth to power. Such is the exasperation of the White House that President Donald Trump took to Twitter on the morning of June 6 to launch a no-holds-barred diatribe against the media. He tweeted: The fake MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use social media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out. This tweet came a day after presidential aides tried to draw a distinction between the tweets labelling them as a social media phenomena and government policy. Mr Trump undercut them the very next morning essentially saying that my TWEETS MATTER. He went on to rub it in by directly hitting out at the most influential networks and print publications. He again tweeted: Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on fake news of CNN, NBC, ABC,CBS, washpost or nytimes I would have had zero chances of winning WH.

Ironically, these tweets came on a day when 73 years ago Allied troops under the command of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower (later President) stormed the beaches of France, commencing the liberation of the European mainland. The flower of American youth fell to a barrage of German fire, but by sheer force of will they established a bridgehead. The battle for the beaches of Normandy, immortalised in the movie The Longest Day, was far from President Trumps mind when he tweeted a commemoration of that epoch-making struggle many hours after the media harangue.

The President had identified his enemies by name but even the most powerful man in the world can only rant his frustration at the American press and their unwillingness to play ball with him. He cannot set the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the various other law-enforcement acronyms after them. For institutions in the American democratic paradigm are mature and robust, and they will not do the Presidents dirty work. Mr Trump learnt it this hard way. His firing of FBI director James Comey has backfired on him so badly that the White House has been scrambling to do damage control and put out rapidly spreading bushfires that threaten to engulf those around him. The story so far has been that President Trump ostensibly asked the FBI director to pull the plug on the investigation into Russian interference into the US presidential election process and the alleged meetings that Trump campaign staff members had with senior Russian officials, including the Russian ambassador.

What the content of those meetings was, whether or not it was in any manner criminal in nature all this would emerge as the investigation unfolds, but the revelation that former national security adviser Michael Flynn was less-than-forthcoming about these Russian connections to vice- president Mike Pence has already cost him his job. Mr Comeys testimony on June 8 before the Senate Intelligence Committee could well become the trigger for the commencement of the impeachment of Mr Trump. All this has come to a head in less than 150 days of the Trump presidency thanks to the relentless and dogged pursuit by the American media which possibly is in the throes of its finest moment post-Watergate. The American press is no babe in the woods. It is a corporate media, but it believes in the doctrine of institutional mistrust that should underpin the relationship between the various stakeholders in a vibrant democracy. This is what I call the unkept media.

From the capital of capitals, when one turns ones gaze eastwards towards the worlds most populous democracy  India  one is confronted with a bizarre spectre where the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is brazenly throttling the freedom of speech and expression. The raids on NDTV and its promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy are nothing but a crude attempt to muzzle an alternative point of view that is troublesome to Modi and Co. by misusing the instrumentalities of the State  namely, the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate and the income tax department, to name but a few. The fact that a spurious case ostensibly relating to a banking transaction, that too with a private bank  which is not even a complainant in the matter  has been fabricated and deployed to unleash the might of the State on the oldest and perhaps the most venerable English news channel only serves to underscore both the hubris and the insecurity of the NDA government. The fact that the CBI raids were perpetrated a few days after a BJP spokesperson was literally ordered off the channel by one of its most soft-spoken anchors for allegedly insinuating that the channel was running an agenda against the government is definitely not a coincidence.

However, what is most disappointing is the reaction of a large section of the Indian media. They chose not to cover  forget to protest  against this atrocity by the State. On the contrary, certain propaganda vehicles of the government masquerading as television news channels that Arun Shourie has correctly, characterised as North Korean television channels and the governments bots and trolls in the social media were deployed to justify the crass actions of the State. Even the Editors Guild of India gave but a pro-forma statement that can be lamented for its tepidness for it did not contain even a hint of temerity. The News Broadcasters Association, which holds itself out as the custodian of the freedom of the press and self-regulation in the broadcasting space, did not even have a pro-forma condemnation of the CBI raids on its website. A new phenomenon has emerged in the past 36 months in India  the spectre of the kept media. Rather than speak truth to power, now you have kept television channels and their associates in the print space falling over each other to justify, whitewash and even glorify every wrong of the government.

If the American media is basking in the glory of its finest hour, sections of the Indian media are sloshing around in their most ignominious moment. Lal Krishna Advani, as the information and broadcasting minister of the Janata party government from 1977 to 1980, had once famously remarked about the Indian press during the Emergency: You (journalists) were asked to bend, but you chose to crawl. Today sections of the Indian media are behaving worse than that. For they are no longer fit to be termed as the press, but are unashamed propagandists of the government. However, what this kept media does not realise and would be well-served to internalise the prophetic words of a German pastor, Martin Niemoller, immortalised on a plaque in a Holocaust museum in Jerusalem: First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. That is the intrinsic DNA of sycophants.
Russia on Thursday sent into space a Proton rocket carrying a US telecom satellite, Echostar-21, the first launch in a year after an engine glitch sparked a probe into manufacturing flaws.

"The Proton-M was successfully launched at 6:45 am (0345 GMT/ 9:15am IST)," from the Baikonur cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

"All the phases went off as scheduled," a statement said.

The Proton-M is the largest Russian carrier rocket and has been used since 1965. But it grounded Proton launches in June last year after a series of embarrassing setbacks.

Echostar-21 will provide telecommunications services in Europe and is set to be put into orbit at 1258 GMT, Roscosmos said.

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A new emoji panel has also been added to Windows 10, which can be accessed in an active text box.

A while back, Microsoft showed us its new Fluent design language, which it plans to implement in the upcoming Fall Creators Update for Windows 10. The design showcased a radical looking interface for Windows 10, making it look cleaner and fluid. Now, Microsoft has released a new build to the fast ring users of the Windows Insiders with the new design language incorporated.

The Windows 10 Preview Build 16215 changes the design of the Start menu and the Action centre. The Start menu can be resized according to the users choice and the Action Center gets a new tweaked layout as well as attractive colour schemes.

The new build also lets users pin a website directly to the Windows taskbar from the Microsoft Edge. It also lets Edge users switch to a full-screen view of the web pages. A new emoji panel has also been added to Windows 10, which can be accessed in an active text box. The touch keyboard also gets word prediction as well as one-handed keyboard support.

The new Fall Creators Update will attempt to make Windows 10 a more attractive proposition to older Windows users as well as MacOS users.

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The deal merging Yahoo's internet operations with Verizon's AOL, now expected to be finalized June 13, will create a new unit to be named Oath

Yahoo shareholders voted Thursday to back the sale of the company's internet business to Verizon, clearing the way for the deal to close June 13.

The California internet pioneer said approval came at a vote held at a special meeting of stock owners.

Verizon's internet division AOL and Yahoo will be combined into a unit called Oath.

Tech news website Recode reported this week that as many as 1,000 jobs could be shed as redundant positions get eliminated at combined AOL and Yahoo operations.

A price cut early this year kept Verizon on track to consummate the purchase of Yahoo's internet business, and share the costs from a pair of epic hacks that threatened to derail the deal.

Yahoo slashed the price of its core internet business by $350 million.

Under revised terms of the delayed deal, Verizon's purchase of Yahoo assets will total $4.48 billion.

Yahoo announced in September that hackers in 2014 stole personal data from more than 500 million of its user accounts. And in December it admitted to another cyber attack from 2013 affecting more than a billion users.

The US Justice Department charged two Russian intelligence operatives and a pair of hackers over one of the largest cyber attacks in history, which had apparent twin goals of espionage and financial gain.

The deal with Verizon will end Yahoo's run of more than 20 years as an independent company.

Yahoo is selling its main operating business as a way to separate that from its more valuable stake in Chinese internet giant Alibaba, which will become a new entity, to be renamed Altaba, Inc., and will act as an investment company.

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South-Korean tech giant Samsung recently took the wraps off its Galaxy S8, S8 Plus smartphones  pretty much taking the market by a storm. But the firm isnt done yet. They are speculated to be working on bringing the Galaxy Note 8 to the table by the end of August. While rumors and speculations regarding the device have been popping up every now and then  a new report suggests that the company might be planning on ditching the idea of embedding its fingerprint sensor into the devices display all together.

Online website News 1 cites a Samsung representative as saying, We made every effort to install a display-integrated fingerprint sensor on Galaxy Note 8, but we decided not to install it on this strategic phone due to various technical limitations such as security. In other words, while the company tried installing this update onto its smartphone  it didnt work out for them as imagined and thus the idea was eliminated.

The report even further goes on to suggest that the company will now focus on developing the technology in collaboration with biometric sensor manufacturer, CrucialTec.

Earlier Galaxy Club reported that the Galaxy Note 8 will have the same aspect ratio as the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The smartphone will also reportedly feature the Infinity display, meaning the device will be sans the home button. The fingerprint sensor will most likely be integrated underneath the display.

Unfortunately the report doesnt reveal any details about the innards of the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 and will run on the Exynos 8895 processor paired with 6GB of RAM. The Note 8 wont be the first Samsung phone to have a dual camera setup, the company will unveil the C10 this summer, but an exact date is yet to be announced.

The Galaxy Note 8 is an important smartphone for Samsung, considering the predecessor Note 7 was discontinued causing massive financial loss to the company. The refurbished Galaxy Note 7R is expected to arrive in Korea this month, with a price tag of about $620.

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All of the Nokia smartphones run on the latest version of Android Nougat 7.1.1.

A few months ago, Nokia unveiled its arsenal of Android smartphones  Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3, to regain the glory of the brand's old days and compete against the existing giants of the mid-range smartphone market. HMD Global has been slowly releasing the devices around the world one country at a time. And now, it seems that India is next on the list to enjoy Nokia's latest Android smartphones.

According to Gadgets360, Nokia-HMD Global will be unveiling the Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 in India on 13th of June, as confirmed by a press invite. The invite mentions  "Welcome the new era of Nokia smartphones", which indicates the arrival of the trio on the Indian shores. The Nokia 6 was launched in China a few days back.

To recall, Nokia 6 features a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080) display, powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC, coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, which can further be expanded via microSD card, a 16MP rear camera and an 8MP front camera. The Nokia 6 could be available for approximately Rs 16,000.

The Nokia 5 features a 5.3-inch HD display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, runs on Qualcomms Snapdragon 430 processor and Adreno 505 GPU, coupled with 2GB RAM and have 16GB storage option, 13MP rear camera, and an 8MP front camera. Available in four colours  Matte Black, Silver, Tempered Blue, and Copper the Nokia 5 could retail at a price of approximately Rs 13,300.

The entry-level Nokia 3 features a 5-inch display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, powered by MediaTek MTK 6737, coupled with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. The front and rear camera have both 8MP sensors. The device will feature four coloursSilver White, Matte Black, Tempered Blue and Copper White It could be price around Rs 9,000.

All of the Nokia smartphones run on the latest version of Android Nougat 7.1.1. Once launched, the Nokia line-up could pose a strong threat to the mid-range offerings from Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo-Moto, and HTC.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment. (Photo: AP)

Astana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday strongly pitched for coordinated efforts among SCO members to combat the menace of terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In his address at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Kazakh capital, Modi hoped that India's entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism.

"Terrorism is a major threat to humanity," Modi said, adding that there was a need for coordinated efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

"We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity," he said.

However, the Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif among others, asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such cooperation.

His remarks assume significance as they come weeks after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the Summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of Xi, and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Modi said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan. The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.
Expressing deep gratitude to all SCO countries for giving India full membership after enjoying 12 years of observer status, Modi termed SCO as a main pillar of peace and security in the regional and the global arena. (Photo: AP)

Astana (Kazakhstan): Addressing the 17th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Kazakhstan capital Astana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to coordinate their efforts to fight the menace of terrorism which is plaguing the region.

"It is impossible to find a solution until all SCO members make concerted and coordinated efforts to fight the menace of terrorism, including radicalisation, recruitment, training and financing of terrorists," PM Modi said at the summit which was also attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Describing terrorists as the chief violators of human rights and values, Modi said "We have full faith that the SCO would give a new push to our efforts in fight against terrorism."

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev for organising the SCO Summit.

Expressing deep gratitude to all SCO countries for giving India full membership after enjoying 12 years of observer status, Modi termed SCO as a main pillar of peace and security in the regional and the global arena.

Modi said "With the induction of India in SCO, Shanghai Cooperation Summit will represent 42 percent population and 20 percent GDP which will act as a support to the success story of SCO.

We are achieving full membership today, but India has been nurturing and maintaining good historic relations with every SCO member.

"There are many dimensions of our interaction with the SCO countries. Mutual trust is the cornerstone of our political goodwill and economic cooperation. India is having partnership with SCO countries in several aspects on energy, education, security, development partnership agriculture, minerals, capacity building, trade and investment are the main drivers."

Describing connectivity as the main priority of India but also expressed concern over the China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is a part of the one Belt One Road , Modi said, "The SCO membership will take our partnership to a new level and regional connectivity with all the SCO members is the main priority of India and we entirely support the connectivity that will integrate our economies and build trust among the countries and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors."

Modi emphasized that connectivity initiatives are essential to reap the benefits of the projects and it reflects with our decisions of International North-South Transport Corridor, Ashgabat Agreement and the Chabahar deal.

Modi said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan. The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.
Moscow: The Russian military has accused the US-led coalition in Syria of providing safe corridors for the Islamic State group to leave the area around its stronghold of Raqqa.

Col. Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the commander of Russian forces in Syria, said earlier this month that ISIS has made a deal with the Kurdish forces to leave two villages southwest of Raqqa and move toward Palmyra.

Surovikin said Friday the US-coalition along with the allied Kurds "collude with the leaders of the ISIS, who surrender the areas under their control and head to provinces where Syrian government forces operate." He said Russian forces have struck several ISIS convoys as they left Raqqa.

Surovikin also criticized the US for trying to block Syrian government forces from taking control of the country's southern border.
With no clear winner emerging from Thursday's election, a wounded May signalled she would fight on. (Photo: AP)

London: British voters dealt Prime Minister Theresa May a devastating blow in a snap election she had called to strengthen her hand in Brexit talks, wiping out her parliamentary majority and throwing the country into political turmoil.

With no clear winner emerging from Thursday's election, a wounded May signalled she would fight on. Her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn, once written off by his opponents as a no-hoper, said she should step down.

In the aftermath of one of the most sensational nights in British electoral history, politicians and commentators called her decision to hold the election a colossal mistake and derided her performance on the campaign trail.

The BBC reported, however, that May did not plan to resign.

"Theresa May has no intention of announcing her resignation later today," BBC Political editor Laura Kuenssberg told BBC radio, adding, however: "It's not clear to me whether they're trying to kill the rumours off before she truly makes her mind up."

With 643 out of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 315 seats. Though the biggest single winner, they failed to reach the 326-mark they would need to command a parliamentary majority. Labour had won 261 seats.

With talks of unprecedented complexity on Britain's departure from the European Union due to start in just 10 days' time, it was unclear who would form the next government and what the fundamental direction of Brexit would be.

"At this time, more than anything else this country needs a period of stability," a grim-faced May said after winning her own parliamentary seat of Maidenhead, near London.

"If ... the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do."

After winning his own seat in north London, Corbyn said May's attempt to win a bigger mandate had backfired.

"The mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence," he said.

"I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country."

From the EU's perspective, the upset in London meant a possible delay in the start of the talks and an increased risk that negotiations would fail.

"We need a government that can act," EU Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. "With a weak negotiating partner, there's a danger that the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides."

Conservative Member of Parliament Anna Soubry was the first in the party to disavow May in public, calling on the prime minister to "consider her position".

"I'm afraid we ran a pretty dreadful campaign," Soubry said.

May had unexpectedly called the snap election seven weeks ago, even though no vote was due until 2020. At that point, polls predicted she would massively increase the slim majority she had inherited from predecessor David Cameron.

Instead, she risks an ignominious exit after just 11 months at Number 10 Downing Street, which would be the shortest tenure of any prime minister for almost a century.

"Whatever happens, Theresa May is toast," said Nigel Farage, former leader of the anti-EU party UKIP.

Sterling fell by more than two cents against the US dollar, hitting an eight-week low of $1.2690, but by 0609 GMT it had recovered to $1.2721.

"A hung parliament is the worst outcome from a markets perspective as it creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations and chips away at what is already a short timeline to secure a deal for Britain," said Craig Erlam, an analyst with brokerage Oanda in London.

May had spent the campaign denouncing Corbyn as the weak leader of a spendthrift party that would crash Britain's economy and flounder in Brexit talks, while she would provide "strong and stable leadership" to clinch a good deal for Britain.

But her campaign unravelled after a major policy u-turn on care for the elderly, while Corbyn's old-school socialist platform and more impassioned campaigning style won wider support than anyone had foreseen.

In the late stages of the campaign, Britain was hit by two Islamist militant attacks in less than two weeks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London, temporarily shifting the focus onto security issues.

That did not help May, who in her previous role as interior minister for six years had overseen cuts in the number of police officers. She sought to deflect pressure on Corbyn, arguing that he had a weak record on security matters, but that did not stop questions about her own ministerial decisions.

With the smaller parties more closely aligned with Labour than with the Conservatives, the prospect of Corbyn becoming prime minister no longer seems fanciful.

That would make the course of Brexit even harder to predict. During his three decades on Labour's leftist fringe, Corbyn consistently opposed European integration and denounced the EU as a corporate, capitalist body.

As party leader, Corbyn unenthusiastically campaigned for Britain to remain in the bloc, but has said that Labour would deliver Brexit if in power, albeit with very different priorities from those stated by May.

"What tonight is about is the rejection of Theresa May's version of extreme Brexit," said Keir Starmer, Labour's policy chief on Brexit, saying his party wanted to retain the benefits of the European single market and customs union.

On a nerve-racking night for the Conservatives, interior minister Amber Rudd held on to her seat by a whisker, while several junior ministers were swept away. In one of many striking moments, the party lost the seat of Canterbury for the first time in a century.

The Conservatives could potentially turn for support to Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a natural ally, projected to win 10 seats.

But Labour had potential allies too, not least the Scottish National Party (SNP) who suffered major setbacks but still won a majority of Scottish seats.

The pro-EU, centre-left Liberal Democrats were having a mixed night. Their former leader, Nick Clegg, who was deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2015, lost his seat. But former business minister Vince Cable won his back, and party leader Tim Farron held on.

In domestic policy, Labour proposes raising taxes for the richest 5 percent of Britons, scrapping university tuition fees, investing 250 billion pounds ($315 billion) in infrastructure plans and re-nationalising the railways and postal service.

Analysis suggested that Labour had benefited from a strong turnout among young voters. UKIP saw a collapse in its support, shedding votes evenly to the two major parties instead of overwhelmingly to the Conservatives, as pundits had expected.

UKIP voters wanted Brexit but they also want change," Farage said.

"They are fundamentally anti-establishment in their attitudes and the vicars daughter (May) is very pro-establishment. And I think she came across in the campaign as not only as wooden and robotic but actually pretty insincere."

In Scotland, the pro-independence SNP were in retreat despite winning most seats. Having won all but three of Scotland's 59 seats in the British parliament in 2015, their share of the vote fell sharply and they lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

The campaign had played out differently in Scotland than elsewhere, the main faultline being the SNP's drive for a second referendum on independence from Britain, having lost a previous plebiscite in 2014.

SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it had been a disappointing night for her party, while Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said Sturgeon should take the prospect of a new independence referendum off the table.
Paris: French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Friday that the British election result was a surprise but did not change the country's decision to leave the European Union.

"The British have spoken, they have voted, and have given the Conservative party a majority, albeit a simple majority, which is something of a surprise," Philippe told Europe 1 radio.

But he added "I don't think we should read these results as calling into question the stance on Brexit which was clearly expressed by the British people."

Philippe, who only took office in May, said the British election "had relatively little to do with Brexit and far more to do with domestic issues, for example linked to security" following the terror attacks in Manchester and London.

"I don't think we can read anything into this vote than a desire expressed by the British to choose the Conservative Party, but with less intensity than we thought beforehand," he said.
Iranians attend the funeral of victims of an Islamic State militant attack on Wednesday, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo: AP)

Tehran: Tehran hit out at Washington and Riyadh as tens of thousands attended the funerals Friday for those slain in the first attacks in Iran claimed by the Islamic State group.

"Death to America", "Death to the Saud" ruling family, and "We are not afraid", shouted the crowd gathered behind a lorry bearing the coffins of 15 of the 17 people killed in Wednesday's attacks.

Burials were held in the provinces for the two others killed when gunmen and suicide bombers stormed Tehran's parliament complex and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Fifty people were wounded.

Nine people suspected of ISIS links have been arrested, a website close to the judiciary said Friday, as mourners paid their respects to those killed at a ceremony attended by newly re-elected moderate President Hassan Rouhani.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had initially played down the attacks, describing them as "firecrackers" that "will not have the slightest effect on the will of the people".

On Friday, however, he turned his wrath for the attacks on the United States and Saudi Arabia, his country's fiercest rivals. "Such acts will have no other result than to reinforce hatred for the US government and its agents in the region, like the Saudi (government)," Khamenei wrote in a message of condolence to the families of the dead.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani also attacked the United States and Saudi Arabia, which he called "a tribal state very far from anything like a democracy".

In a speech at the ceremony, Larijani denounced US sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile programme. The US "knows that the Revolutionary Guard and its Quds force are the most important regional forces fighting terrorists", he said.

The imposition of such sanctions "demonstrates their alignment with terrorists in the region", said the speaker, a moderate conservative. After prayers at Tehran University, a long procession left the centre of the capital headed for Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, near the Khomeini mausoleum, 20 kilometres (12 miles) away.

The attacks, which struck two of the country's most symbolic landmarks, were carried out by five armed men, including suicide bombers who blew themselves up. The intelligence ministry said they were Iranians who had joined the Islamic State group and travelled to its strongholds in Iraq and Syria before returning home.

Iran is a key fighting force against ISIS and other groups in Iraq and Syria, and the Sunni jihadists consider Shiite Muslims to be apostates. Shiites make up roughly 90 percent of Iran's population, but the country also has a sizeable Sunni minority, particularly around its restive borders with Iraq and Pakistan.

ISIS released a video overnight of the five attackers before the assault, via its Amaq propaganda agency. "Allah permitting, this is the first brigade that was established (in Iran) but it will not be the last," one of them said, as the group sat masked in a circle with their weapons.

The jihadist group had earlier released footage of the attackers from inside the building, also via Amaq a rare claim of responsibility while an assault was still going on. Although the US military is also fighting ISIS in Syria, as well as Iraq, President Donald Trump said in response to the attacks in Iran that the country is reaping what it sows.

That drew fire from Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who tweeted: "Repugnant WH (White House) statement as Iranians counter terror backed by US clients." Since Trump took office in January, relations between Washington and Tehran have worsened.

Washington has imposed new sanctions on Tehran for its alleged support of "terrorist" groups in the Middle East, ballistic missile tests and human rights abuses.

On a recent trip to Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, Trump called on all nations to "isolate" Iran. The Islamic republic's elite Revolutionary Guard has accused regional rival Saudi Arabia of involvement in Wednesday's attacks.

But Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said on Thursday that "we still cannot judge that Saudi Arabia has had a role in this terrorist incident".

The Mizanonline website, which is close to the judiciary, said nine people suspected of ISIS links were arrested, seven of them on Thursday night in Fars province and the other two on Friday morning in Kermanshah province, near the border with Iraq.
Iran has said five Iranians, who had joined ISIS and travelled to its Iraq and Syria bastions, carried out the attack. (Photo: Representational/File)

Tehran: Dozens of suspected "agents" of the Islamic State group have been arrested following the deadly attacks in Tehran, Iran's intelligence ministry and a website close to the judiciary said Friday.

The jihadist group claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attacks that killed 17 people.

The intelligence ministry said 41 suspects were arrested in Tehran, in the northwestern provinces of Kermanshah and Kurdistan, and in West Azerbaijan, near the borders with Iraq and Turkey.

It described the suspects as "agents of Daesh", an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group, and said they included "operational teams".

Documents and equipment "for carrying out terrorist operations" were also seized, the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, the Mizanonline website close to the judiciary said nine people suspected of links to IS were arrested on Thursday and Friday in the southern province of Fars and in Kermanshah.

The attacks on Tehran's parliament complex and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini also wounded more than 50 people and were the first claimed by IS in Iran.

Iran has said five Iranians, who had joined IS and travelled to its Iraq and Syria bastions, carried out the attack.

It also announced just after the attack the arrest of five suspects at the parliament complex and the Khomeini shrine, in addition to the arrests announced on Friday.

Security forces have launched a nationwide hunt for suspected accomplices of the attackers. Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi has said Iran identified several jihadists, where they meet and where they hide.

Security forces have found explosive vests and other equipment, as well as an abandoned car, packed with at least 22 pistols, in Kermanshah province.
Baghdad: A woman detonated her explosive belt in a market east of the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala on Friday, killing at least 31 and wounding 35, Iraqi security sources said.

Islamic State claimed the attack in the town of Musayab, south of Baghdad, in a statement on its Amaq news agency. It didn't identify the bomber.

A security officer said the assailant was a woman who hid the bomb under the customary full-body veil.

The attack comes as Islamic State is about to lose Mosul, the de-facto capital of the hardline Sunni Muslim group in Iraq, to a US-backed Iraqi offensive launched in October.

The group is also on the backfoot in neighbouring Syria, retreating in the face of a US-backed Kurdish-led coalition attacking its capital there, Raqqa,.

Iranian-backed paramilitaries are taking part in the campaign fighting Islamic State in Iraq, attacking the group in the border region near Syria.

Islamic State declared a self-styled "caliphate" over parts of Syria and Iraq three years ago.
The 10-day festival, which is also called Shaheedi Jor Mela, will be held at Panja Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore. (Photo: AP/Representational)

Lahore: Pakistan has alleged that India has prevented some Sikh pilgrims from travelling to the country for the annual 'Jor Mela' as only 14 devotees have arrived so far.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had issued visas to 80 Sikh pilgrims but 66 of them couldn't reach Lahore as "India stopped them at Attari Railway Station citing technical reason," Pakistani authorities said.

"The Samjhauta Express train left for Attari on Thursday to bring 80 Sikhs for Jor Mela but when it reached there its staff was told by Indian authorities that the Sikh pilgrims couldn't board it as their visa only allow them to go to Pakistan on a special train," said Amir Hashmi, spokesman Evacuee Trust Property Board, which looks after the minority holy places in Pakistan.

Hashmi said that the Pakistan Railways was willing to send a special train to India to ferry the pilgrims but the Indian authorities didn't allow.

"Fourteen of the total 80 pilgrims had a visa allowing them to enter Pakistan by road. They crossed Wagha Border by foot where the ETPB officials received them," Hashmi said.

'Jor Mela' is observed to mark the death anniversary of fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. The 10-day festival, which is also called Shaheedi Jor Mela, will be held at Panja Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore.

The 14 pilgrims were taken to Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal.

The Sikh pilgrims will return to India through the Wagah border on June 17, according to a report in Radio Pakistan.
Islamabad: The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the killing of two Chinese nationals, including a woman, who were abducted by armed gunmen from Pakistan's restive northwest Balochistan province recently.

The Chinese pair was studying Urdu language at a local teaching center in the provincial capital of Quetta when it was forcibly kidnapped by unknown gunmen last month. Another Chinese woman had escaped the abduction.

Islamic State on its 'Amaq News Agency' uploaded a statement in Arabic on Thursday, saying it had killed the two abducted Chinese nationals.

The Pakistani officials are yet to comment on the ISIS' confirmation, which came a day after army claimed that it had carried out an operation against ISIS in Balochistan.

At least 12 ISIS militants were killed in a three-day operation at the start of June in the mountains of Mastung district of Balochistan.

Earlier, local media had reported that the operation was launched after intelligence reports suggested that the militants were hiding there with the abducted Chinese nationals.

China is developing the strategically located Gwadar port in Balochistan, which many experts say is aimed at having a military presence.

Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist and nationalist insurgencies in Balochistan since 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

ISIS has been making inroads in Pakistan with the help of its ties with local militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. However, the government has largely downplayed the presence of the dreaded terror outfit.
Air passengers will soon be required to share their unique identity details at the time of booking tickets, as the government looks to facilitate paperless travel.



Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha today said the Ministry plans to introduce "digital unique identification" requirement at the time of booking air tickets.



Air travellers are already required to carry a copy of their identity while entering an airport.

Now, a digital unique identification such as Aadhaar, PAN (Permanent Account Number), Passport Number is being proposed for air passengers, Sinha said.



The Civil Aviation Ministry has also set up a digital traveller working group to provide suggestions on implementing the scheme.



Within 30 days, the group would come out with a white paper and subsequently, comments from the stakeholders would be sought before finalising the norms, Sinha said.



Under the initiative, Aadhaar would not be made mandatory but would be an option among other digital identities, the Minister said.



"This is a pull experience and not a push experience. Passengers still have the option of carrying a boarding pass if they so wish," he said at a press conference here.



According to Sinha, the Ministry is studying proposals and would conduct extensive consultations to ensure comprehensive traveller coverage, convenience and privacy.
With Chinese President Xi Jinping likely to tom-tom his Belt-and-Road initiative at its 'birthplace' in Astana on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too will put forward India's own vision for connectivity.



The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the capital of Kazakhstan on Friday will see both Modi and Xi highlighting the key role of Central Asia in the respective connectivity initiatives of Idnia and China. It was in Astana that Xi had first mooted the idea of Belt-and-Road in 2013 and he is likely to use his current visit to the city for the SCO summit to the hilt to highlight the progress of the cross-continental connectivity initiative, which is now being actively pursued by China, but opposed by India.



It was during my first visit to Kazakhstan back in 2013 that I proposed the initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt, which started the process of Belt and Road cooperation, Xi wrote in an article. Over the past four years, the Belt and Road Initiative has gradually developed from a proposal to actions, and from a concept to practice, Chinese President, who arrived in Astana on Thursday, added. The initiative offers an open and inclusive platform of cooperation and has become a global public good well received by the international community, he wrote.



India remained opposed to the Belt-and-Road (also known as One-Belt-One-Road or OBOR) initiative of China. Modi turned down Chinese Government's invitation to attend an international conclave of leaders that Xi hosted in Beijing last month to drum up support for the project.



The international situation is undergoing profound and complex changes. The world economy is slowly recovering amid deep-going readjustment. Global development remains a daunting challenge. In this context, the building of the Belt and Road brings us unprecedented historic opportunities, wrote Xi.



Last month, Chinese President added, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was successfully held in Beijing. The countries represented at the forum agreed to work more closely together to synergize development strategies for greater complementarity and common development.



Xi has since 2013 been articulating the idea of a 21st century Maritime Silk Road to revive economic connectivity between the Pacific and Indian Oceans and to link Chinas coastline with South-East Asia, the Gulf and the eastern coast of Africa. He has also been proposing a Silk Road Economic Belt reviving the ancient link between China and Mediterranean through Central Asia. The two projects are now together called OBOR and Chinese Government has been pulling all stops over the past few years to elicit support from other countries and make it a success.



Modi, who also reached Astana on Thursday, will have a bilateral meeting with Xi on the sideline of the summit Friday. Prime Minister is likely to reiterate to Chinese President that India appreciated the compelling logic of regional connectivity for peace, progress and prosperity and believe that connectivity must be strengthened.



He will highlight India is engaged with Iran on Chabahar Port project for connectivity to Central Asia and Europe. India is also participating with Russia, Iran and Central Asian nations on International North South Transport Corridor, keen to clinch a trade deal with Eurasia Economic Union and decided to accede to Ashgabat Agreement, which facilitates transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.



Modi, however, would also stress that connectivity initiatives should be based on dialogue and consent of all parties concerned with due respect to sovereignty, sources told the DH in New Delhi.



New Delhi argues out that it was not consulted by Beijing before China launched its OBOR initiative, which would include an economic corridor proposed to pass through areas it accuses Pakistan of illegally occupying in Kashmir and thus would infringe upon sovereignty of India.



No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity, Modi is likely to convey to Xi and other SCO leaders during his visit to Astana. The SCO will on Friday formally grant membership to India and Pakistan, which were earlier observers to the bloc and had no say on the outcome doccuments issued by the bloc after the summits.



The declarations issued by the SCO leaders after summits in the previous years extended support to the OBOR initiative of China. This time, however, India, being a full member of the bloc, will insist on dropping any such reference in the Astana Declaration, which will be issued after the summit on Friday, sources in New Delhi said.
Donald Trump's personal attorney has denied allegations made by fired FBI director Comey saying that it has now become clear that the expelled lawman was one of the leakers of "privileged information" and should be investigated.



"Contrary to numerous false press accounts leading up to today's hearing, Comey has now finally confirmed publicly what he repeatedly told President Trump privately," Mac Kasowitz, personal attorney of Trump told reporters at a news conference after the conclusion of Comey's testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.



"That is that the president was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference," Kasowitz said.



Kasowitz said Comey also admitted that there is no evidence that a single vote changed as a result of any Russian interference. His testimony also makes clear that the President never sought to impede the investigation into attempted Russian interference in the 2016 election, he said.



"In fact, according to Comey, the president told Comey, quote, "It would be good to find out", closed quote, in that investigation if there was, quote, "some satellite associates of his who did something wrong", closed quote. He President Trump, did not exclude anyone from that statement," the attorney said.



"Consistent with that statement the President never in form or substance directed or suggested that Mr Comey stop investigating anyone, including the president never suggested that Mr Comey, quote, "Let Flynn go", close quote. As the president publicly stated the next day, he did say to Mr. Comey, quote, "General Flynn is a good guy, he has been through a lot", close quote. And also , quote, "asked how General Flynn is doing", closed quote," he said.



"Admiral Rogers (Director of National Security Agency) testified today that the president never, quote, "directed him to do anything illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate", closed quote. And never, never, quote "pressured him to do so", close quote. Director (of National Intelligence, Dave) Coats said the same thing. The president likewise never pressured Comey," he added.



"The President also never told Comey, quote, "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty", closed quote. He never said it in for and he never said it in substance," he said.



"Of course, the Office of the President is entitled to expect loyalty from those who are serving the administration and from before this president - and from before this president took office to this day, it is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications," he added.



"Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers. Today, Comey, admitted that he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorised disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president," Kasowitz said.



The attorney said the leaks of this privileged information began no later than March 2017 when friends of Comey have stated that he disclosed to them the conversations that he had with the president during their January 27th, 2017 dinner and February 14th, 2017 White House meeting.

"Today, Comey admitted that he leaked to friends of his purported memos of those privileged communications. One of which, he testified, was classified," he said.



He alleged that "Comey also testified that immediately after he was terminated he authorized his friends to leak the contents of those memos to the press in order to, in Comey's words, quote, "prompt the appointment of a special counsel", closed quote.



"Although Comey testified that he only leaked the memos in response to a tweet, the public record reveals that "The New York Times" was quoting from those memos the day before the referenced tweet, which belies Comey's excuse for this unauthorized disclosure of privileged information and appears to be entirely retaliatory," he said.



"We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated along with all the others that are being investigated. In sum, it is now established that the president was not being investigated for colluding with or attempting to obstruct any investigation," Kasowitz said.



"As the committee pointed out today, these important facts for the country to know are virtually the only facts that have not been leaked during the course of these events, " he said.
New Exhibition Gallery, Expanded Bookstore Coming To Newberry Library In $11M Renovation

By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 9, 2017 9:49PM

One of Chicago's oldest library institutions is undergoing a major new renovation.

An $11 million, six-month upgrade will bring a host of new amenities to the first floor of the the Newberry Library, the free, historic research space on the Near North Side. Renovations include an information center, where visitors can learn about the library and register; an expanded bookstore; a new seminar room, where patrons can go through collection material; and perhaps most excitingly, a permanent exhibition gallery.

Other changes include an ADA-accessible entrance and digital signage out front. They'll also strip away some of the "fortress-like" fencing on the exterior. The library faces "a bit of a fight when it comes to the nature of the building; it can be on the imposing side," Alex Teller, Director of Communications for Newberry Library, told Chicagoist.

The project will begin in January, 2018. The library has so far secured 40 percent of the funds needed for the estimated $11 million cost.

We consider ourselves a community of learning that flourishes both within our walls and beyond them. But the Newberry is, first and foremost, a physical space built on bringing our users into direct contact with the legacy of the past and into conversation with one another and our staff, said Newberry President David Spadafora. In renovating our first floor, we are not just strengthening this community bond but providing our visitors with new opportunities for engaging with our collections, our staff, and other readers and lifelong learners.

The library hasn't decided what its first exhibition will be for the new gallery. But we know it'll include "a rotating selection of highlights from our collection," according to Teller, with books, maps and manuscripts. Perhaps selections from the Women's March protest archive would make a nice debut?


Pyongyang today hailed the successful test of a new type of surface-to-ship cruise missile, which it said was designed to hit "any enemy group of battleships" that threatened North Korea.



The launch Thursday -- the North's fifth weapons test in a month -- was overseen by leader Kim Jong-Un, the State-run Korean Central News Agency reported, and came less than a week after the United Nations tightened sanctions against the Stalinist regime.





"The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea," KCNA said, referring to the Sea of Japan -- where two US aircraft carriers were carrying out naval manoeuvres last week.



The USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan led the three-day exercises that ended June 3, with a total of a dozen US ships participating along with two Japanese vessels, in a show of force directed at North Korea.



The US has stepped up its muscle-flexing in the region, with a US nuclear submarine, the 6,900-ton USS Cheyenne, whose home port is Pearl Harbor, also arriving in the South Korean port of Busan Tuesday.



North Korea has ordered three ballistic missile launches, a surface-to-air missile, and now yesterday's cruise missile tests since South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in took power in early May.



The short range missiles flew some 200 kilometres (124 miles) which is an improvement on a 2015 test, when a North Korean surface-to-ship cruise missile flew only 100 kilometres, said Korea Defence Forum analyst Shin Jong-Woo.



"This is another sign of meaningful progress in the North's efforts to diversify its missiles. It will pose a considerable threat to US and South Korean navies," he told AFP.



KCNA said that the weapon tested Thursday had been part of the military parade in Pyongyang on April 15 to mark the birthday of the North's founding father Kim Il-Sung.



All of the weapons on display at the extravagant military parade have been tested in the last month, except for one which analysts said appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, Yonhap news agency reported.



Moon advocated reconciliation with Seoul's isolated, unpredictable neighbour but has taken a more stern position in the wake of the missile tests, which pose a policy challenge to the left-leaning leader.



The launches come less than a week after the United Nations expanded sanctions against Kim Jong-Un's regime in response to the string of recent ballistic missile tests.



Diplomats at the United Nations denounced Thursday's cruise missile launches as another provocation by North Korea, though no immediate meeting of the Security Council is planned.



Cruise missile tests do not contravene UN regulations, Korea Defence Network analyst Lee Il-Woo told AFP, adding they were "much slower than ballistic missiles and can be shot down by anti-aircraft guns".



Any North Korean tests using ballistic missile technology are banned by UN resolutions.

However, the European Union yesterday broadened its sanctions against North Korea over its work on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.



The EU said it would freeze the assets of 14 more people and ban their travel to Europe in line with a UN Security Council resolution last week for more sanctions over Pyongyang's ballistic missile tests.



The North has carried out two atomic tests and dozens of missile launches since the beginning of last year in its quest to develop a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental United States -- something President Trump has vowed "won't happen".
Infosys, Indias second largest IT services exporter, on Friday categorically denied a media report that its founders were looking to sell off their holding in the company.



Referring to a report in the section of the press, the company said it has no information on any such development.



In a statement issued here the company said, We would like to appeal to the media not to fuel such speculative stories as they are likely to harm the interests of the company and all its stakeholders. This speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters, it said.



The founder promoters of Infosys led by N R Narayana Murthy hold a combined 12.75% stake in the company. Murthy together with his family members hold a maximum of 3.44% stake in the company.



When DH sent an email query on the development, Murthy didnt respond. Kris Gopalakrishnan on the other hand said he will not comment on Infosys.



The last sale of promoter stake happened when Kris Gopalakrishnan and SD Shibulal sold 50 lakh and 25 lakh shares respectively via block deals in March 2016. The 75 lakh shares, representing 0.3% stake in Infosys, were offered in a price range of Rs 1,149 and Rs 1,178.5 per share.



Commenting on the development, Infosys Chief Executive Officer Vishal Sikka in a statement to a media house said he would fully trust any decision that Murthy and founders make, as one of high integrity and driven by a deep sense of purpose and values. He also maintained that as Murthy had denied this development, it should be put to rest.



There is too much noise these days and it distracts from the business as we steer it to purposeful growth in an already challenging environment, Sikka stated.



In the recent days, Infosys founder promoters including N R Narayana Murthy had expressed concerns over transparency and corporate governance under the leadership of the present management led by Sikka since their exit three years ago.



They had also raised concerns about the payment of Rs 17.38 crore severance package to former CFO Rajiv Bansal. Murthy then onwards sought exit of Chairman R Seshasayee, saying that the board had failed in its fiduciary responsibility.



To douse the fire, Infosys management inducted Ravi Venkatesan as co-chairman and appointed law firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas to mediate between the founders.




The popular 83-year-old monarch shocked the country last summer when he signalled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades on the Chrysanthemum Throne, citing his age and health problems.



The unexpected move presented a challenge since there was no law to deal with an emperor retiring from what is usually a job for life - and it reignited debate about allowing women to ascend the male-only throne.



The one-off rule was passed in the last-stage upper house today in a unanimous decision after the lower chamber gave its stamp of approval last week.



The abdication must take place within three years - and it only applies to Akihito.



Tokyo is eyeing the end of 2018 as a likely timeline for his retirement, Japanese media said.



The status of the emperor is sensitive in Japan given its 20th century history of war waged in the name of Akihito's father Hirohito, who died in 1989.



Some worried that changing the law to allow any emperor to abdicate could put Japan's future monarchs at risk of being subject to political manipulation.



Akihito, who has been treated for prostate cancer and had heart surgery, is expected to step aside in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 57.



There have been abdications in Japan's long imperial history, but the last one was more than 200 years ago, so politicians had to craft new legislation to make it possible.



"The one-off law is a result of political compromises, but it will become a precedent for future abdications," said Setsu Kobayashi, a constitutional expert and professor emeritus at Japan's Keio University.



Akihito was born in 1933 just as Japan was embarking on its militaristic sweep across Asia, and was 11 when the war ended in defeat.



His father was allowed to remain on the throne after Japan's defeat, but his status was downgraded from semi-devine sovereign to a figurehead with no political power.



Akihito embraced the role and tried to use it to help heal the scars of the war while remoulding one of the world's oldest monarchies for a democratic age.



Even before he assumed the throne, Akihito broke with tradition when he married the daughter of a wealthy flour magnate in 1959, becoming the first imperial heir to wed a commoner.



The emperor and his wife Empress Michiko are seen as being the more accessible face of a monarchy that largely remains in the shadows, unlike the British royals.



The couple have frequently attended public events and console victims of natural disasters, including Japan's 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.



Akihito is barred from commenting on politics, but he has over the years hinted at his own anti-nationalist views.



Speaking at a memorial marking the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender, Akihito expressed "deep remorse" for the country's actions in World War II.



Some saw this as a rebuke to nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pushed to change Japan's pacifist constitution and prevent Japanese from having to apologise again for the nation's warring past.

Japan's parliament passed a law today that clears the way for its ageing Emperor Akihito to step down, in what would be the first imperial abdication in more than two centuries.
A man armed with a knife is holding employees hostage at a job centre in Newcastle in northeast England, police said today.



"Specialist negotiators are at the scene," Northumbria Police said in a statement, adding that there were no reports of injuries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today strongly pitched for coordinated efforts among SCO members to combat the menace of terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity.



In his address at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Kazakh capital, Modi hoped that India's entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism.



"Terrorism is a major threat to humanity," Modi said, adding that there was a need for coordinated efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.



The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment. "We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity," he said.



However, the Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif among others, asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such a cooperation.



His remarks assume significance as they come weeks after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in which 29 world leaders took part.



India abstained from the Summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of Xi, and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).



Modi said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan. The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.
A 30-year-old man, suspected of supplying drugs to youths, was lynched by a mob in a village in Talwandi Sabo subdivision of this district.



Police said Vinod Kumar was killed yesterday after being attacked with sharp weapons by the mob at Bhagi Wander village.



"He was facing some cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and had come out of jail only 3-4 days back," Talwandi Sabo's Station House Officer, Inspector Jagdish Kumar said.



Vinod, whose hand and foot were chopped off, was shifted to the Civil hospital at Talwandi Sabo from where he was referred to a hospital at Faridkot, where he succumbed to his injuries yesterday, he said.



"A case of murder has been registered against unknown persons at Talwandi Sabo police station," the SHO said.

Police are also verifying some mobile phone videos of Vinod being attacked.



Some villagers told reporters that police was not taking any action when they were told that Vinod was supplying drugs to youths in the village.



The villagers yesterday said when they were going to meet the DSP to question why no action was being taken, Vinod confronted them on the way, which led to heated arguments.



Vinod's family has alleged that he was kidnapped by another youth of the village when he was going to lodge a complaint about his stolen scooter and was then attacked by several persons.



They denied allegations that he was a drug supplier.




The Supreme Court on Friday upheld validity of law making it mandatory to link PAN cards with Aadhaar for filing Income Tax returns. However, those having no Aadhaar cards till date can also file their returns, it ruled.



A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan put a partial stay on the operation of the amendment into Income -Tax Act brought in through Section 139AA that made it essential for all assesses to link their PAN cards with Aadhaar.



The court said till the time right to privacy issue is authoritatively decided by Constitution bench, the operation of a portion of the amendment would remain stayed.



Though the apex court held it cannot question Parliament wisdom to pass the law, it went on to read down the recent amendment.



The court, however, disagreed with the contention of PIL petitioners former Kerala Minister and CPI leader Binoy Wiswam that the move violated their fundamental right to equality and created unreasonable classification.



The court also did not concur with the contention by other petitioners retired Major General S G Vombatkere and social activist Bezwada Wilson that insertion of Section 139AA into the Income Tax Act under the Finance Act, 2017  making it mandatory for individual tax payers to quote Aadhaar number in filing IT returns -- was contrary to the previous apex court's orders and repeated claims by the government that Aadhaar is voluntary.



The court also asked the government to ensure that there is no leakage of citizens data collected for the purposes of Aadhaar.
The Army staged flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong as a 12-hour bandh sponsored by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) got underway today, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee describing the bandh as "illegal".



GJM chief Bimal Gurung challenged Banerjee to stop the agitation in the hill and said that it was his writ that "runs in the hill". He also projected himself as the "chief minister of the hills".



In all six columns of Army have been deployed, three in Darjeeling, two in Kalimpong and one in Kurseong, a defence spokesperson said.



The Army was requisitioned by the state government for Kurseong and Kalimpong as a precautionary measure, besides Darjeeling town which saw large-scale violence and vandalism yesterday.



Apart from this, three companies of CRPF have also been deployed, the defence spokesperson said.



The Army carried out flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, he said adding that the situation was under control of the civil administration.



The hill station of Darjeeling, brimming with tourists, had witnessed violence yesterday when GJM supporters clashed with the police and burnt police and government vehicles.



Shops, eateries and markets remained closed in the hill although the state government has made arrangements for buses to help the tourists to come down to Siliguri.



Mamata Banerjee, who stayed back here after yesterday's cabinet meeting, asked the tourists not to get scared.

She said that a three-member committee comprising three senior IPS officers, has been set up to look after the law and order situation in Darjeeling.



She said arrangements have been made to help the tourists to return to Siliguri from Darjeeling. The state government has also arranged buses to carry the tourists from Siliguri to Kolkata, she said.



"I will ask the tourists not to worry, the government is there for you", Banerjee who visited some areas, said.

"I have seen how so many vehicles were set on fire. We want peace and development in the hill. The Army has already started route march", she said.

"Police will do their work and law will take its own course. Nobody is above law. Government is very tough. They will take action against those who are doing this vandalism, she said when asked what kind of action the government was planning against the GJM chief.



Last night, an FIR was filed under non-bailable sections at Darjeeling Sadar police station against Gurung and GJM general secretary Roshan Giri.



The GJM supporters had protested alleging that the state government was imposing Bengali language in the schools in the hill which was refuted by the Chief Minister.



She said the Bimal Gurung-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) has failed to carry out any development work in the Hill and now when their term is scheduled to be over next month, they have started "torturing the public".

"Government was soft and had given them all kind of support but now government will be very tough after what happened yesterday. The government will not tolerate all these," she said.



Urging the people in the hill not to support Gurung, she said GJM was scaring away the tourists from the hill which would affect the people who thrive on tourism.



The Chief Minister, who visited the injured police personnel in hospital, said the state government will give compensation to their families and bear their medical expenses.



She said one police personnel, who received injuries in his eyes during yesterday's violence, will be airlifted to Kolkata for further treatment. If necessary, he would be taken abroad for treatment, she said.



Gurung on his part said that he will directly talk to the Centre about the deployment of Army and the alleged police atrocities on the innocent people.



"I will talk to the Centre, we are an ally of NDA. We will give them all the details of police atrocities on the innocent people of the hills," he said.



When asked about deployment of Army in Darjeeling, West Bengal Governor KN Tripathi, said in Kolkata,"I am yet to receive any official communication.
Premier Li Keqiang has reaffirmed China's stand on supporting multilateralism and advancing globalization in the direction of fairness, inclusiveness and shared benefits.

Economic globalization, liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment have promoted fair competition and innovation, which are beneficial to world peace, stability as well as balanced and sustainable development, Li said during a Wednesday meeting with some participants of the fifth round table summit of the Global CEO Council, according to a press release issued on Thursday.

The conversation between Li and the CEOs of around 20 of the world's top corporations, including Dow Chemical, Honeywell, BHP Billiton and Qualcomm, focused on regulatory reform, trade facilitation, innovation capacity building and expansion of market access.

Li briefed the CEOs on China's innovation-driven strategies, saying China will adopt regulatory measures toward new industries and business models in an inclusive and prudent way, so as to foster new growth areas and guard against risks.

China, with huge market capacity, rich human resources and upgraded industries, will provide broad space for foreign investment, said Li.

He said China will continue to ease market access and allow foreign investors easier access to key sectors via a "negative list" approach.

China will protect intellectual property rights and create a fair policy environment to become the most attractive destination for foreign investment, said the premier.

He welcomed multinational enterprises to grow together with the Chinese economy.

The entrepreneurs present at the meeting appreciated Chinese efforts in pushing forward economic globalization and trade liberalization, as well as expanding market access and creating a favorable environment for foreign investors, said the press release.

They looked to the great market potential in telecommunication, aviation, high-end manufacturing, e-commerce, logistics, tourism, bio-medical and new energy.

They both expressed full confidence in the prospect for China's development and were willing to expand their business in accordance with China's priorities, said the press release.
The Karnataka government will take steps to acquire 33 acres of land around the Mangaluru airport at Bajpe for extension of the runway, Industries Minister R V Desphande informed the Legislative Council on Friday.



Replying to a query by Ganesh Karnik (BJP), Desphande said the state government has written to the Ministry of Civil Aviation that the expenditure for the expansion will have to borne by Airport Authority of India to which it belongs to. The government has already provided land for construction of a new terminal building.



Extension of the existing runway will help in meeting the critical mandatory requirement for safe landing of aircrafts, the minister said.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today inaugurated a newly built cowshed at his official residence here, describing cow as a symbol of Indian culture.



Accompanied by his wife Sunita, Rawat worshipped a cow and its calf kept in the cowshed to mark its opening.

The couple caressed them and offered them a mix of jaggery and gram.



"The cow is a symbol of our culture. Keeping a cow at home gives us great happiness and spiritual peace," he said.
A suicide bomber today blew himself up in a market in the town of Musayyib, south of Baghdad, killing at least 20 people, medical and security sources said.



At least 34 other people were wounded in the attack in the centre of Musayyib, a town that lies about 60 kilometres south of the capital, a police officer and a medic at the local hospital said.

"A suicide bomber blew himself up in Musayyib market, causing 20 civilian martyrs," an interior ministry spokesman said.

A source at Musayyib hospital said at least four of the wounded were in very serious condition following the blast, which rocked the market at around 11:30 AM (0830 GMT).



The attack in Musayyib came hours after another, apparently failed attack in the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, a few kilometres to the southwest.



Four civilians were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the city's main bus station early today, police sources said.



Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group through its propaganda agency Amaq, which in both cases spoke of a "martyrdom-seeking operation" using an explosive vest.



IS has carried out dozens of deadly suicide bombings targeting civilians but Iraq has been on heightened alert since the start of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.



More than 40 people were killed and dozens wounded in a spate of attacks on May 30, a few days after the beginning of Ramadan, including a devastating blast at an ice cream shop in central Baghdad's Karrada neighbourhood.



It was during Ramadan last year that IS carried out its deadliest ever attack in the Iraqi capital with a truck bomb that set two shopping arcades ablaze, also in Karrada, resulting in more than 320 deaths.

The bombings in Baghdad come as Iraqi forces fight to retake the last IS-held areas of Mosul, a city that was the jihadist group's emblematic stronghold.

Iraqi forces are almost eight months into a massive operation to recapture the second city and have already taken back its whole eastern side and much of the west.




Prime Minister Narendra Modi today underscored the need to respect each other's "core concerns" and appropriately handle the disputes as he held "cordial" talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions in ties over a host of issues including the CPEC and India's NSG bid.



The two leaders met in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. It is their first meeting after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.



India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.



During the meeting, Modi said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.



The Indian side is grateful for China's support for India's accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organisation, Modi said.



He said it would not have been possible for India to become member of SCO without China's backing.

"There was an understanding that where we have differences, it is important that differences should not become dispute," Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar told reporters describing the meeting as "cordial" and "very positive".



Relations between India and China has witnessed a downturn owing to differences over a series of issues including China blocking India's move to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN, its opposition to India's bid for NSG membership and China's Belt and Road initiative.



Asked whether the NSG, OBOR and Azhar issues were raised, Jaishankar did not give a direct reply and said the meeting was for taking a broad assessment of the relationship.



"You should be rest assured that there was a sense that both sides should address their concerns sincerely," said the Foreign Secretary.

He said both the countries may have differences, but it is important to find "common grounds" and address each other's concerns "with a degree of seriousness".



Giving broad outcome of the meeting, he said India and China are factors of stability when the world is going through economic uncertainty.



Jaishankar said Modi and Xi also deliberated on defence exchanges. He said issues relating to trade and investment were a major highlight.

"Entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation was discussed," said Jaishankar.



During the meeting, Xi told Modi that the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems, China's official Xinhua news agency said.



In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that both the countries "should also address sensitive and major issues" as she highlighted the issues figured in the meeting.



"India should focus more cooperation and work alongside to provide assistance to each other's developmental goals," Hua said.



"The two sides should strengthen the complementarities of the development strategies and press ahead with the major cooperation projects such as energy and railways," Hua said.

She also said the two sides should press ahead in a major way on Bangladesh, China, India Myanmar Corridor (BCIM) besides tourism, culture and other relevant fields.



BCIM is part of the China's multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative (BRI).



Xi also congratulated India on becoming official member of the SCO, she said. "We hope that the two counties will work together to ensure the development of the SCO," he told Modi.



The SCO is a security grouping increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.



Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, so as to instill more momentum into each other's development and contribute to world peace, stability and common development, said the Chinese president.



Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India. He called for more high-level interactions, institutionalised exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries, Xinhua reported.



China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large- scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said.



The Chinese President said his country is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organisation.

China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).



After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.
The central government plans to open 100 Yoga parks all over the country besides setting up at least one dedicated Yoga centre in each state with central assistance.



The Yoga parks are nothing but neighbourhood parks, maintained by the municipal bodies. The central government would be providing funds to the municipal authorities to hire Yoga instructors to teach the commoners about the ancient exercise.



We are formalising the plans for 100 such Yoga parks as a part of our existing National AYUSH (Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) mission and yet to receive the cabinet approval, an official from the Ayush ministry told DH.



In addition, at least one Yoga centre would be set up in each state with central funding as another component of the mission. These could be existing organisations, which would receive resources from the government to spread awareness on Yoga.



The new components of the mission were announced by the Union AYUSH minister Shripad Yasso Naik ahead of the International Yoga Day in Lucknow on June 21, which will be attended by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The mission was notified by the Modi government within four months of coming to the power at the centre.



Naik said from the next academic year, there would be a common entrance test for admission in the Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) courses. This would be in the line of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, which has been made mandatory for the MBBS course.



The AYUSH Ministry intimated the states about the common test from the next year after it was decided to standardise the admission procedure, said union health secretary C K Mishra, who is holding the additional charge of the AYUSH department at the moment. There are close to 3,900 BAMS seats in India.



Naik said participation of 51,000 people is expected in the main Yoga Day event in Lucknow. The day would be celebrated in all states as well as by the Indian Embassies and High Commissions. Singapore, for instance, would have a 9-day celebration with the involvement of locals.



Asked about the attendance of popular Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, Naik said Ramdev would be in Gujarat with BJP president Amit Shah and would not be in Lucknow.


Clashes between stone pelters and security forces erupted at several places in Kashmir on Friday as authorities imposed restrictions to foil a march called by separatists to Shopian against the killing of a civilian in forces firing earlier this week.



22-year-old Adil Magrey was killed when security forces opened fire on protesters who were trying to disrupt an anti-militancy operation in Ganwapora village of Shopian district on Tuesday evening.



Separatist leaders had called for a shutdown and protests after Friday congregational prayers against the killing. They had also asked people from all over south Kashmir to march towards Shopian to Magreys residence. Fearing law and order problem, authorities imposed curfew like restrictions in Nowhatta, Rainawari, Khanyar, MR Gunj, Kralkhud, Maisuma and Safa Kadal areas of Srinagar. Similar restrictions were also imposed in Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam, Baramulla, Budgam, Ganderbal, Bandipora and Kupwara districts of the violence-hit valley.



Authorities had closed all gates of Jamia Masjid in old city Srinagar and sealed all routes leading to the historical mosque to prevent people from gathering for weekly congregational prayers in view of call for protests by the sepratists. The authorities also placed moderate Hurriyat chairman and chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house detention last evening.



Police also detained pro-independence JKLF chief Yasin Malik in Sarai Bala area of Srinagar where he was leading a protest rally after congregational prayers. However, despite restrictions stone pelting youths clashed with security forces across the Valley, reports said.



A police spokesperson said barring five stray incidents of stone pelting, situation across the valley remained under control till evening. "At these places miscreants in their attempt to disrupt the situation pelted stones on police and security forces deployment. The deployment used maximum restraint and chased the miscreants away," he said.



All shops and other business establishments remained closed in Srinagar while public transport was off the roads. Similar reports of shutdown were also received from other district headquarters of the valley.



All educational institutions were shut down to prevent students from protesting and the Kashmir University postponed all exams scheduled for the day. Intra-Kashmir train services also remained suspended while authorities also cut off high-speed mobile internet service in Kashmir. People could use 2G services only.



The insurgency-hit Kashmir has been rocked by months of unrest and stone pelting over alleged human rights abuses by security forces.
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Property prices should not be allowed to spiral out of control in the Xiongan New Area when development gathers pace.

Wu Hequan, deputy director of the Council of Experts for Coordinated Development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, issued the warning at a forum on urban construction in Beijing.

"There have been many places in China where house prices have risen too quickly," he said.

"At times, they have even been out of control. But Xiongan cannot afford to allow that to happen."

The central government announced plans to establish Xiongan New Area in April in order to integrate Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development, and cut congestion and pollution in the capital.

The decision has since triggered a speculation frenzy in the property market, which has now prompted policy makers to call for tighter controls on real estate development in the area.

Xu Kuangdi, director of the Council of Experts think tank, stressed the environmental elements of the new area and its "green" potential.

"The principle of the plan of the new economic zone is that it should be a livable, modern city with green spaces taking up more than half of the area," he said.

A blueprint for the area is still being studied and discussed by China's top institutions.

An overall plan will then be submitted to the central authorities for consideration.

Xu stressed that a new development model would be tested in Xiongan New Area. Balancing residents rights, controlling house prices and developing industry would be challenging, he said.

"The construction of underground infrastructure will be one of the bright spots," he said.

A disaster protection system, water supplies, electricity cables and gas pipes will be built under the surface along with a high-speed rail network and city traffic lanes.

"On the surface we will have green areas and sidewalks," said Xu.

Construction should focus on a more efficient transport network, environmental protection, urban and rural integration, and innovative urban planning.

"Industry in the economic zone should develop high-end manufacturing, featuring integrated production services," said Huang Qunhui, director of the Institute of Industrial Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Located about 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, Xiongan New Area will cover the three existing counties of Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin in Hebei province.
Five militants were today killed near the Line of Control (LoC) as the Army foiled yet another infiltration bid in Uri sector of Kashmir, an Army official said.



With this operation, the total number of infiltrating militants killed over the last three days in various sectors has gone up to 12.



Giving details, the official said a counter-infiltration operation was going on in Uri since yesterday after the troops observed movement of militants trying to sneak into the valley from across the border.



The soldiers engaged the infiltrators, resulting in an encounter in which five militants were killed, the official said.



A defence spokesman had yesterday said that multiple attempts made by Pakistan Army to push armed infiltrators across the LoC were foiled by the troops at Machhil and Naugam sectors in Kupwara district, Gurez in Bandipora district and Uri in Baramulla, resulting in the killing of seven militants.



According to the Army, it has successfully foiled seven infiltration attempts in less than a fortnight in north Kashmir. Three of the attempts were scuttled in Uri sector alone.



On May 26, Army killed two Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) members who tried to infiltrate into Uri sector in Baramulla district to carry out an attack on the soldiers. Six more militants were killed in the same sector next day when they attempted to sneak into the valley from across the border.



In the current year, Army foiled 23 infiltration attempts killing 39 armed intruders along the LoC.


Fair trade regulator CCI today rejected Bharti Airtel's complaint alleging anti-competitive practices by Reliance Industries and Reliance Jio, saying no case could be made out against the Mukesh Ambani-led firms.



The Competition Commission of India (CCI) also said Bharti Airtel has made "contradictory submissions of the impugned free services" of Jio as being an outcome of leverage of dominant position by parent Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) as well as an outcome of alleged anti-competitive agreement between the two group firms.



Dismissing Bharti Airtel's complaint, the CCI said in a 17-page order that the company has not given any plausible explanation as to how Jio's free services were an outcome of unilateral conduct of Reliance Industries as well as an anti- competitive agreement between RIL and Jio.



The order assumes significance as the CCI has already ordered a detailed probe into the conduct of leading telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, for allegedly forming a cartel against Reliance Jio.



In today's order, the CCI said Jio's conduct "has not been found as prima facie contravening the provisions of the (Competition) Act prohibiting unfair pricing, including predatory pricing".



It also said that in the absence of any finding of anti- competitive conduct by Jio, its parent RIL cannot be held to be in contravention of the competition laws just because it has made huge investments in its telecom venture.



"Mere investments cannot be regarded as leverage of dominant position, particularly when RIL itself is not engaged in business of providing telecom services or any activities incidental thereto," the CCI said.



"If one were to construe such investment as anti- competitive, the same would deter entry and/or expansion and limit the growth of markets," the CCI added while ruling that no prima facie case of contravention of the competition law is made out against the two Reliance firms.



In February, the Sunil Mittal-led telecom operator had moved the CCI against Jio. The regulator observed that the gravamen of the allegations concerns free services provided by Jio since the latter's inception in September 2016 under "one offer or the other".



For the case, the CCI considered market for 'provision of wireless telecommunication services to end users in each of the 22 circles in India' as the relevant one.



According to the regulator, it would not be appropriate to hold Jio dominant in a scenario where its customers constitute less than 7 per cent of the total subscriber base at a pan-India level.



Besides, various functions of telecom service providers are regulated and entrenched players have been in existence for over a decade with sound business presence, comparable financial position, technical capabilities and reputation, the regulator noted.



As per the watchdog, in a competitive market scenario, where there are already big players operating in the market, it would not be anti-competitive for an entrant to incentivise customers towards its own services by giving attractive offers and schemes.



"Such short-term business strategy of an entrant to penetrate the market and establish its identity cannot be considered to be anti-competitive in nature and as such cannot be a subject matter of investigation under the Act," it added.



Bharti Airtel had also alleged that the two Reliance firms had entered into an agreement whereby RIL, being in position of holding unlimited fund and resources, had allowed unfettered access of its funds to Jio which would adversely impact competition.


Former Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress leader has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modis for posting a video on his twitter account of how to practice yoga but being silent over killings of farmers in Madhya Pradesh during their agitation.



Senior Congress leader and AICC General Secretary in a statement said, "Instead of sending out a message of solidarity to our farmers, Modi ji has posted a video on his twitter account of how to practice Shalabasana. Yoga is good for health, no doubt, but killing of farmers is indeed a pressing matter than anything else."



Calling PM Modi's silence on killing of farmers in MP is deafening, Gehlot said farmers have died in the country but PM has not issued any statement. "The farming community across the country is looking at their PM to come out with relief measures or atleast to say a few words of sympathy" he said.



Gehlot on his twitter handle also called both NDA government and Prime Minister insensitive by not issuing a statement for the distressed farmers. "Unfortunately, our very vocal PM has not found time to say a few words of kindness or to feel sorry or sad about the killing of farmers. It is strange to see how NDA government and its leaders fail to even acknowledge killing or deaths of common people."


Army foiled sixth infiltration bids along the Line of Control (LoC) in last 48-hours as five more militants were killed while trying to infiltrate from Uri sector of north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Friday.



The Army has killed 12 militants and foiled six infiltration bids since Wednesday. "In the last 48 hours, infiltration attempts have been foiled at the Gurez, Machil, Naugam and Uri sectors. 12 armed intruders have been eliminated so far,"the army said in a statement.



While three infiltrators were killed in Nowgam sector of Kupwara district on Thursday, four more were killed in Machhil sector of the same district on Wednesday. On Friday, sources said troops noticed movement of a group of heavily armed militants at Gohalta Top in Uri sector trying to sneak into Indian territory from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) in Uri sector.



As the troops challenged the militants, they opened fire which was retaliated, ensuing a gunbattle in which five militants have been killed so far, they said and added the search operation in the area was going on.



PRO defence Col Rajesh Kalia while confirming the death of five militants in the encounter said the operation was in progress.



Two soldiers had been injured when soldiers of 4 JAKLI came under fire from militants near Kikkar Post and Anil Post at Gohalta Top in Uri sector after they were concluding a search operation in the area. Sources said massive search and combing operations by the Army are going on in Nowgam, Machil, Keran and Uri sectors near the LoC .



The Army statement said the intruders were being provided active support, including covering fire (heavy calibre artillery) by Pakistani army posts on the LoC to assist them to enter the Kashmir Valley.



According to official figures 43 militants have been killed along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir this year while the Army has been successful in preventing 23 infiltration attempts in the same period.



In 2015, militants made 28 infiltration attempts along the LoC by while last year the number rose to 88 infiltration attempts . A total of 59 Army personnel have lost their lives in counter-terror operations in J&K since 2016, the records reveal.



There is pressure on militants waiting on launching pads to infiltrate due to depleting number of militants in the State in view of successes achieved by security forces, sources said and added the Army has enhanced its capability and boosted its strategy to check the infiltration attempts on the LoC.


Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said the farmers' agitation has turned "anarchic", and announced that he will sit on an indefinite fast for restoration of peace.



"I will sit on indefinite fast from 11 am tomorrow at Dussehra Maidan for restoration of peace," a visibly upset Chouhan said at a hurriedly convened press conference at his official residence this evening.



"I will be available at the Dussehra Maidan. I welcome all farmers to come there for resolving the impasse peacefully through an amicable dialogue with me. I won't sit in my office at Mantralaya (secretariat)...(but sit at) Dussehra Maiden and do all work from there," he added.



However, he categorically said that all unruly elements would be dealt with strictly.



"I am deeply saddened that stones are being placed in the hands of young people aged 18, 21 and 22 by some persons during attempts to stage road blockades. It is painful that these young people are our own and the elements leading them are also our own," he said.



"I appeal to the people, farmers to come to the negotiating table," he said, adding people's safety is my 'Rajdharma' and I am not flint-hearted.



The CM said that the agitation has gone "anarchic" and anyone trying to ignite the flames of violence would not be spared. He said he was pained by the violence.



"As the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for eleven-and- a-half years, my priority has been state's development and farmers' welfare," Chouhan said.



He said that whenever farmers were in distress due to loss of crops following a natural calamity, he had rushed to them and comforted and helped them.



The state government has started buying onion for Rs 8 per kg from the farmers, while Moong and Urad pulses too will be bought at Minimum Support Price (MSP), the CM said.



A commission will be set up to work out the cost of production of farm produce and a Rs 1,000 crore fund will be created to help farmers when prices crash, the CM reiterated.


Various media bodies joined by eminent jurists, intellectuals and journalists including former Union Minister Arun Shourie held a protest meet against the CBI case on the NDTV promoters, appealing to the media fraternity to "unite and resist" against the Narendra Modi government's "attempts to muzzle" Press in India.



This is not the time to sit in judging each other. They (Modi government) will try to divide you and pit you against each other. This will intensify in coming days because the nature of this regime is totalitarian. They are extending it step by step," Shourie, a former Bharatiya Janata Party leader, said while addressing the protest meet.



He said Modi government was using three instruments to control mediafirst stuffing the mouth of media with bribe of ads, second spreading fear and third applying overt pressure of which NDTV is an example.



They tend to suppress the voice of dissent because the gap between their speeches and ground realities have widened. The Government is using social media to spread lies. Modi has a huge team working on the social media. You (journalists) also must counter, he added.



Addressing the gathering, eminent jurist Fali S Nariman defended NDTV's case, saying all raids conducted by the CBI on the premises of the NDTV and case instituted against the news channel's promoters Prannoy Roy, his wife and others were unjustified attack on them.



He noted that the CBI has filed case against NDTV promoters on the basis of information supplied to it by a person who had some grudge with the news channel. My legal submission is that in case of allegations of criminal wrong doing, agency should have first inquire into it. It was CBI's obligation to first ask the persons against whom the allegations are made as to what they have to say, he added.



Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar said Press was the foundation of democracy and secular ethos. Let's commit to this idea of India.



Speaking on the occasion, Roy defended the CBI charges against him and his wife, saying, We will answer everyone of these false and concocted charges openly and transparently. We never touched black money



This is not just about NDTV but a signal to all of us. They (government)are telling you (media) that they will fix you if you don't fall in line, he added.




Mountains do not grow before our eyes, except in stories and fables, and nor do they shrink unless divine beings, monsters and the like have taken their form and have decided to suddenly downsize for tactical reasons in war or for deception. If the hills are old and tall they have always continued to be so and even an inch of change up or down has not been imagined and expected. Much thought has not been spent on the matter either. But Mt Everest is different from other mountains, being the tallest in the world, and its height has always been important for scientists, students and everybody else who has a penchant for general knowledge. The knowledge that it rises to 29,029 feet into the cold emptiness of the Himalayas is drilled into young heads in every school, and it has not changed in decades, except from feet to metres.



But scientists now doubt that the mountain has shrunk a little in the past two years, perhaps by a couple of feet or a metre. They think the 2015 earthquake in Nepal shook up the innards of the mountain, rearranged the rocks, bits and other pieces there and took it down by a whit. However high the mountain is, the low temblor is above it, because when the earth trembles what remains of the peaks, the seas and the plains? A metre of the mountain is nothing for nature dancing in primordial power; which has flattened cities, shifted rivers and humbled vanities higher than the Everest. A view from the sky has shown a diminished peak, and scientists and surveyors will now go and measure it the hard way, metre by metre, tapes, telescopes, trigonometry and all. They think it is as much a matter of pride to put a scale to the Everest, as scaling it. The results will help in the study of the mountain and the movement of tectonic plates. The wisdom till now was that the Himalayas, which carries the Everest, is rising by an inch or two every year because of the pre-historic collision between the tectonic plates which created the mountain, the earths measuring rod. The rise may resume next year, but for now, the peak may be less lofty than three years ago.



But it may not make any difference to the self-image of the mountain whose competitor is far too lower down in the Karakoram. It is also doubtful whether the mountain, shrunken by a metre, would make any difference to the climbers in future.
The farmers in the district are in distress due to prolonged dry spells and their hopes of getting some relief from the government have shattered. The Revenue department has deposited Re 1 into the account of many farmers in the taluk towards crop loss compensation.



Puttamma of Yagachi village owns 3.1 acres of land, and ragi and jowar cultivated on 2.10 acres was lost due to drought. She had applied for compensation but the Revenue department has now deposited Re 1 into her bank account at SBI, Belakavadi branch.



Similarly, Manjunath of Kananakoppal has received Re 1 as compensation. He lost jowar which was cultivated on 2.34 acres of land. Manjunath received Re 1 in his account of Vijaya Bank branch on June 6.



The bank manager said that three farmers have received Re 1 as compensation for crop loss so far. Belakavadi Taluk Panchayat member Ningegowda condemned the government saying that it is belittling the farmers. Raitha Sangha taluk president Yoganna threatened to hold a protest against the government if the officials failed to rectify the problem.



Tahsildar H V Prasannamurthy said that as many as 30,000 farmers have applied for compensation. I have received information that a few farmers have received Re 1 as compensation. However, the number of farmers who have received Re 1 as relief is yet to be ascertained. I have directed the panchayat development officers to collect the details, he said. At least 1,476 farmers have not linked their Aadhaar numbers with their bank accounts and thus the compensation amount has not been deposited, he said.
An orthopaedic surgeon in Amritsar on Thursday operated the wrong leg of a Three-year-old, leaving the girl and her parents in utter misery.



Niyati was to be operated upon for an ankle issue in the right leg. However, the doctor operated on her left leg.



Her parents learnt about the doctors negligence when the girl was wheeled out of the operation theatre. Her father, Vipin, said the doctor initially misbehaved with them, but later admitted to the lapse and promised to rectify the error, albeit by another operation.



The incident took place at the railway empanelled hospital in Amritsar. Vipin is a railway employee posted there.



He said Niyati needed surgical intervention as she was finding it extremely difficult to place her right ankle on the floor. She was under treatment at the central hospital in New Delhi for some time, but her treatment had to be shifted to Amritsar after Vipins transfer.



The parents, accompanied by members of the Railways union, protested on Thursday shouting slogans against the erring surgeon, Dr Davinder. The doctor, sources said, is remorseful of what he maintains is an inadvertent error. He has promised that the girl will be completely fine after a surgery. But the parents are not keen on Dr Davinder treating Niyati. Union representatives said though the doctor had admitted to his negligence, it was not an ordinary lapse.



The union has demanded that Dr Davinders licence be revoked. The higher railway authorities were quick to order a probe into the incident.






The Ramanagaram police are on the lookout for a man who threatened to kill Art of Living (AoL) founder Sri Sri Ravishankar.



The suspect, believed to be a resident of Mysuru, on his Facebook post on June 1, wrote in Kannada that Ravishankar should be shot dead for his remarks against government schools.



The post was found on the Facebook wall of a person identified as Harohalli Ravindra, said to be a Mysuru-based post-graduate student.



Ravindras post went viral and was also circulated among AoL members. AoL did not take the threat lightly and lodged a complaint with the police, said Nikhilesh Shenoy, administrator, The Art of Living International Centre.



Based on the complaint, the police registered a case under IPC Section 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) against an unidentified person.



We will take cybercrime experts help and arrest the suspect at the earliest, Krishna Kumar, police inspector, Kaggalipura police station told DH.






A firefly [File Photo]

Yue Hua, a member of the Endangered Species Fund, dedicated to ecological diversity, was happy to know Taobao.com, China's leading online business platform, had banned transactions involving endangered fireflies since the end of May.

Over the past few years, Yue and his colleagues have striven to identify the hideouts of firefly businesses, now estimated to be heavily affected by the Taobao prohibition.

Fu Xinhua, vice professor from the botanic technological school of Huazhong Agriculture University and the top expert involved in research and the protection of fireflies, warned: "The number of fireflies is declining fast and they are as greatly endangered as some of the species now on the brink of extinction."

Two weeks after the ban, delivery companies, such as SF Express, have refused to receive any orders related to the endangered insect, which is raising a glimmer of hope for firefly protection.

According to a statement issued by the company, "As Taobao is unable to tell whether the fireflies awaiting deliveries are artificially bred or not, it will not continue to approve any transactions. All will be treated as wildlife with no exceptions."

The announcement inspired Yue with the hope that hordes of fireflies will reappear on summer nights as they did decades ago.

According to Fu, about 95 percent urban children have never seen fireflies and more than 99 percent of rural residents mistake the species for harmful insects.

"Except those in some remote mountainous areas, fireflies, a species signaling regional environmental conditions, have almost disappeared," Yue said.

However, at the same time, the endangered insects could often be spotted at ceremonial business occasions, where their illumination is used for the celebration of happy moments. They sometimes also serve as treasure pots, captured for theme parks.

"The celebrations do not lead their eventual release, but rather accelerates their death, which, if not stopped, will lead to the extinction of the entire species," Yue said.

The capture of fireflies by men for business purposes has emerged of late as a new environmental threat.

In his report on firefly transactions in 2016, Fu said large numbers were captured in Ganzhou of Jiangxi Province, Tunchang of Hainan Province and Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province. The conclusion is generally in line with the previous research in 2014 and 2015.

The release of fireflies between 2014 and 2016 for urban celebrations are growing and the top two provinces in this regard are said to be Guangdong and Zhejiang.

The accounts of most online stores related to the firefly businesses have been invalidated after Taobao's official notice that may hopefully terminate the industrial chains in the insect business. People were not annoyed by the idea of selling fireflies before 2015, nor were they convinced that their ruthless seizure of the insects might lead to the extinction of the species.

Local farmers cajoled by free treats and prepayments struggled to capture the diminishing number of fireflies with the instruments provided by the business agents. The purchase price was said to be about 0.5 yuan (US$0.074) to one yuan for each insect.

According to Yue and Fu, the brutal capture could halt the reproduction of the insects during the time when they shine, thus diminishing their lifeline.

The captured insects were put into empty mineral water bottle, usually 50 to 100 in each, and sold to the agents. Previously, a firefly was priced at three to five yuan in the online stores registered in Taobao.

The mortality rate during the delivery process was estimated to reach 22.52 percent on average, 75.8 percent at maximum.

When the protest against the detrimental business started to emerge, some villagers set up several greenhouses claiming the fireflies they provided were all cultured by their own hands.

However, according to Fu and Yue, the cost to raise a firefly may reach as high as 20 to 30 yuan each, which would be far too expensive to be maintained, so the artificial breeding claim is treated with much skepticism.

In Fu's report, in 2016, there were a total of 49 stores on Taobao selling fireflies, registering a yearly increase of 28.9 percent. A business chain from capture to dispatch was taking shape as more than 6 million fireflies were sold last year by the agents involved in the business with rewards of 600,000 yuan to 1 million yuan each person.

Becoming aware of the investigation, some agents sought to bribe Yue to stop his research, implying he could join in them to share their gains, which the conservationist insisted he had rejected.

By preying on snails or conches, the larvae of fireflies are instrumental in promoting the growth of crops and vegetables, Yue explained.

The efforts to persuade villagers to abandon the capture of fireflies have struggled against the myopic vision of fat rewards; therefore, the experts asked the government to create a new law as fireflies are not yet protected species across the country.
The BMTC on Friday said that it will pay 25% of the dearness allowance arrears to its employees in June and the balance amount will be cleared in instalments.



The BMTC has not paid 12.5% dearness allowance to its employees for nine months - from January to September 2016. The employees had recently staged a protest demanding payment of arrears. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who met the representatives of the State Transport Workers Federation, assured them of fulfilling the remaining demands soon.



In a circular issued on Friday, BMTC said that the remaining 75% of the arrears will be paid in six instalments.

CITU president H D Revappa said BMTC still owed the employees the bonus for 2015 and 2016. Besides, BMTC is yet to add the 3% bonus in our salary though the three other state road transport corporations have done that already, he said.


A senior police officer who served in the Bengaluru commissionerate until last week is in the news for the wrong reasons.



H D Anand Kumar, who was Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime-2) in the city, faces an enquiry for trying to help IAS officer Gangaram Baderiya, who is an accused in the illegal mining case, get bail.



The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing illegal mining cases in Karnataka, had arrested Baderiya for allowing a mining company to lift iron ore after taking a bribe of Rs 10 lakh. When Baderiyas bail application was being heard last month, Kumar visited the Lokayukta court and approached the SITs Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), requesting him to be lenient with the IAS officer. The SPP immediately brought the matter to the notice of the SIT chief, K S R Charan Reddy.



On May 25, the SIT chief wrote to DG&IGP, Rupak Kumar Dutta, and informed him about Kumars intervention. The state police chief forwarded the letter to Bengaluru Police Commissioner Praveen Sood, instructing him to order an enquiry and submit a report. Within days of the directive reaching the commissionerate, the state government transferred Kumar to Tumakuru as Additional Superintendent of Police.



An official confirmed that Kumar was DCP (Crime) when he had approached the SPP in the Lokayukta court. He had no business contacting the SPP with regard to the SIT case against an IAS officer, the official added. Baderiya is presently out on bail and has applied for anticipatory bail in other cases of illegal mining registered by the SIT.



Not new to controversy



This is not the first time that Kumar is involved in controversy. During his first posting as Assistant Commissioner of Police in Devanahalli, the Lokayukta police had caught him taking bribe at the Devanahalli police station but he was acquitted later. As DCP (Crime), he raided Pokers Club. He was accused of high-handedness and not depositing the full money seized at the club. An enquiry is pending against him.



Sood said the enquiry over the Pokers Club raid would be completed soon. The enquiry seems to be going on. But I am yet to see the letter from the DGP on the recent (Baderiya) case, he said.


Reading newspapers everyday helped a lot to keep in touch with current affairs for civil services topper K R Nandini. During her visit to Alvas Educational Institutions here on Thursday, Nandini shared her study schedule.



She completed her pre-university education from Alvas.



Reading is my hobby since high school days. I read literary works of great writersin Kannada. Regular reading of two newspapers helped me keep in touch with current affairs, Nandini said, while speaking to reporters.



She said after completion of her engineering studies, she cleared IRS examination by securing 849th rank. She was posed as an assistant engineer with Public Works Department in New Delhi. Her performance in the IRS examination motivated her to enter Indian Administrative Service.



It is true that lot of hardwork goes into the preparation of UPSC examination. But, it does not require lot of money, she said.



Nandini, who met Alvas Education Foundation Chairman Dr M Mohan Alva, said that educational institutions should create an atmosphere which is conducive for students to set high goals. She thanked the Alvas Education Institution where she studied under the free education scheme. She declared that she would donate her first salary as an IAS officer to the education fund of the institution, meant for meritorious students from underprivelged section of society.



Nandinis mother K V Vimalamma said that she supported daughter in her studies. Dr M Mohan Alva said that Nandini has made her institution proud. K R Nandinis father K V Ramesh was present.


Alert traffic police averted a possible accident by arresting a highly inebriated driver who was ferrying school- children in a van on Friday evening.



The suspect Shahji Mule (45) is the driver attached to Sri Chaitanya School.



The police on Marathahalli Main Road grew suspicious as the school van was moving dangerously. The police followed the van and stopped it. Mule failed to satisfactorily answer the questions.



We subjected him to an alcometer test and the reading was 280 mg per 100 ml of blood. The permitted level of alcohol in the blood is 30 mg per 100 ml of blood, said a senior police officer.



There were 32 children in the bus waiting to be dropped to their houses. The police immediately arranged for another bus and sent the children home safely.



The police have informed the school authorities about the incident and are verifying Mules antecedents.

Mule has been booked under IPC Section 279 for rash and negligent driving endangering public lives.






Command Centre, the control room of the Bengaluru police, will have 100 telephone lines from Saturday onwards.



The number of phone lines has been increased from 20 to 100. Around 275 personnel, hired on contract basis, will take up to 8,000 calls per day. At present, around 3,000 calls make it to Dial 100 on any given day.



Receiving 3000 calls a day but geared up to receive upto 8000 calls a day (sic), Police Commissioner Praveen Sood tweeted on Friday. The Dial 100 service has been rechristened Namma 100 and will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday.



Senior police officers who monitored the trial phase of the service were elated when they found out that they could take a call in less than six seconds. The police commissioner had earlier promised 15 seconds to take a call. Our Namma-100 fully operational. V promised 2 pick up every call within 15 sec but doing it now within 6 sec (sic), he tweeted.



Namma 100 aims to be the go-to telephone number for emergency services, much like 911 in the US and 999 in the UK. It will also cater to people seeking help on social media.



The service aims to drastically reduce the time to address a complaint and rush police patrol cars to crime spots. The police control room staff will take just two minutes to understand a complaint and a mere 30 seconds to alert the nearest Hoysala patrol car to reach the spot. The staff will be able to identify the exact location of the caller with enhanced Global Positioning System (GPS) and assisted real-time technology with the help of the telecom department.



The Bengaluru polices social media wing receives hundreds of complaints every day. To streamline all the complaints, police will categorise them into emergency and non-emergency messages and co-ordinate with Namma 100. Citizens will receive a unique ID once they file a complaint on Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp. After collecting the necessary details, the case will be sent to the despatcher in the main control room who will forward it to the nearest Hoysala vehicle, a senior police officer said.



One number for all

There will be an added feature on Namma 100. Dial 100 and press one for police, two for traffic and three for enquiry and appointments, Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said. Why remember basket of numbers? Dial 100 for Vanitha Sahay Vani, Makkala Sahay Vani & Hiriyara Sahay Vani (sic), he tweeted.


BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa on Friday charged that the Siddaramaiah government is utilising the subsidised rice provided by the Centre and distributing it under the Anna Bhagya scheme, claiming it as the states initiative.



Addressing a convention at Hoskote in Bengaluru Rural district as part of the BJPs Janasamparka Abhiyan, Yeddyurappa said the NDA government has been procuring rice and wheat from the open market and dispatching them to states at subsidised prices.



However, in Karnataka it is being distrubuted under the Anna Bhagya scheme. (Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah is using his photo in advertisements and making false claims that it is his initiative, Yeddyurappa said.



The BJP leader said that he had indication that the Siddaramaiah government, faced with a number of scams and corruption charges, may call for elections in December and asked party workers to be prepared for the same.



He termed it unfortunate that Siddaramaiah is reluctant to waive loans raised by farmers. The Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments waived crop loans without any aid from the Centre, he said. He reiterated that if the state government does not waive the loans by June-end, the party will make arrangements to bring five lakh farmers to Bengaluru to lay a siege to the Vidhana Soudha.



Earlier in the day, Yeddyurappa had breakfast at the residence of Byllappa, a Dalit in Nelamangala. He had idli, uppittu and chitranna, served in a copper plate.
Switch to the election mode. This was the message Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gave to the party legislators at the Congress legislature party meeting held on Friday.



He gave some tips to the legislators for improving their image in the coming days. Go back to the constituencies soon after the session, review implementation of the government schemes and listen to peoples grievances, Siddaramaiah is learnt to have told his party legislators. The chief minister chaired the meeting that was held at the Vidhana Soudha. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara was also present at the meeting.



Siddaramaiah is learnt to have told the legislators that the public opinion is in favour of the party government. A survey being conducted by the party to assess the popularity of the government has revealed that people are happy with the governments performance. The survey has been completed in 50 assembly constituencies so far. The party will come up with a separate strategy for the constituencies where the opinion is not so favourable, he added.



Sources in the party said the chief minister told the party legislators that they need not worry about the BJP politicising the farm loan waiver issue. The saffron party does not have moral right to demand the loan waiver. The BJP-led NDA government at the Centre should first act in this regard. The farmers have borrowed more money from nationalised banks than the co-operative banks, he added.



On the Centres controversial decision to ban sale of cattle for slaughter, Siddaramaiah is learnt to have said that it is a sensitive issue. The state government has decided not to make any hasty move in this regard. Moreover, the Centres ban has been already challenged in the Supreme Court, he added.



The sources said the Congress MLA from Hunsur in Mysuru district H P Manjunath complained that Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait has recently transferred a government pre-university college lecturer in his constituency without taking him into confidence. When Sait and Manjunath indulged in a heated argument on the issue, Siddaramaiah intervened and advised them to sort out the matter amicably.


The problem of flooding still persists in Avani Sringerinagar, Saraswathipura and surrounding areas off Bannerghatta Road though many houses were partially razed a year ago to build a stormwater drain (SWD)

to prevent last years deluge.



Torrential rain last week exposed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palikes failure to prevent flooding in Avani Sringerinagar and adjoining areas.



Residents said they had to wade through knee-deep sewage-mixed water. To compound their problems, the Palike has diverted the water from the SWD into shoulder drains to complete work on the stormwater drain.



K Gayathramma of Royal Residency said, The entire area was reeking a week ago because of stagnation of sewage-mixed water. Thankfully, the water did not enter our sumps.



Monsoon has set in and the construction work on the drains is still incomplete and may not be completed for another year.



A resident, requesting anonymity, said, We have been subjected to unnecessary harassment. Despite having all the necessary clearances, our houses were demolished to create a stormwater drain to prevent flooding. The irony is that the recent rain flooded our locality again.



She was afraid that blaming the BBMP or the government may complicate her problems. She said there was too much politics in her locality ever since the demolition drive began.



Our load-bearing walls and pillars were destroyed. We have built new pillars and beams to support whatever structure is left after demolition of a portion of the building. Many cracks have developed, said the woman.



Water pipe in SWD

The Cauvery pipeline in Avani Sringerinagar, Saraswathipura and Royal Residency has been laid inside the newly constructed stormwater drain in which sewage flows.

Any leak in the pipe would contaminate the drinking water. At a few places in Saraswathipura, the newly built box-type stormwater drain has been broken to let in the rainwater from the shoulder drain. The broken portion of the SWD reveals that it is completely clogged and the sewage is flowing into the shoulder drains.



Home destroyed

Diwakar is still trying to cope with the devastation that ensued after the flooding last year.

A resident of Saraswathipura near Avani Sringerinagar, Diwakar spent nearly Rs 10 lakh to repair his house after BBMP razed a portion of it to build a stormwater drain. Two pillars of his porch were brought down, the size of the hall was reduced, the floor level of his house has gone at least three feet below and the stormwater drain has consumed his sump.

He has erected three load-bearing beams inside the hall to support the roof. He constructed a new sump inside the hall. The building has lost all its aesthetics. The only consoling factor for him is that he still has a house.


After giving up the steel flyover project from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal, the state government is pushing for the tunnel route from Mehkri Circle to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) near Devanahalli.



Bengaluru Development Minister K J George on Friday held discussions with Bulgarian representatives from ISA West Consortium Company for the tunnel route. The representatives made a presentation explaining various proposals regarding providing tunnel route at various points to reach the KIA.



The minster advised them to come out with specifics of the tunnel work between Mehkri Circle and Columbia Asia Hospital. He also asked them to conduct a preliminary feasibility study and submit a report so that a clear picture would emerge on implementing the proposals in a phased manner.



The representatives told George that they were ready to invest 70% of the total project cost under Private Public Partnership model.



It was decided at the meeting that a three-member committee be constituted to interact with the representatives and help them in preparing the study report. The members are Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) engineer member P N Nayak, Karnataka Road Development Corporation chief engineer Krishna Reddy and BBMP chief engineer (projects) K T Nagaraj.
Lack of adequate parking space and high parking fee at Metro stations are making commuters park their vehicles on a garbage mound near the Vijayanagar Metro station. The land is part of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palikes dry waste centre.



Metro rides are expensive, but parking space at Metro stations is even more expensive. Thus, we are forced to look for alternative parking spots. I dont mind parking near the garbage pile too, said Swathi B, a commuter.



Several Metro users at Hosahalli come to Vijayanagar due to lack of parking space. I ride up to Vijayanagar to park my vehicle. Many a time, I too am forced to park near or even on the garbage pile. But there is no choice. The service road, which was dug by the BWSSB, has not been repaired. The market near the Vijayanagar police station adds to the congestion. This vacant plot is the only option, said Vikram J, a regular Metro user.



Commuters also say the space below the tracks and pillars gets occupied very fast. There is some space near the entrance, but it is reserved for the staff and the entry is blocked. There are very few staff vehicles. If this space is also opened up for commuters, then we will not have to park on the garbage piles, said Sumanth J, a commuter.

Apart from waste at the segregation centre, garbage trucks are regularly parked on the service road.



Pourakarmikas dump the waste, which includes food waste packets, clothes, broken commodes and discarded mattresses, on the makeshift parking space. By evening and after rainfall, the area becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Stray dogs and cattle can be seen feeding here. Every night, commuters jump over piles to take out their bikes.



Those who regularly park here say safety is not a problem.



Even at paid parking lots, we are told that we are parking at our own risk. It is risky here too, but there is some shade from the trees and Metro piers, added Swathi.



Designated parking lot withdrawn

BMRCL PRO U A Vasanth Rao said paid parking was introduced even at Vijayanagar, but was withdrawn as the response was poor. The situation is the same at Peenya and other stations where people park everywhere except at designated parking lots. A police complaint was also filed against illegal parking, but no action was taken, he said.


A state-level sculpture camp organised by Karnataka Shilpakala Academy in association with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) was inaugurated at Bangalore Haat near the Swami Vivekananda Metro Station on MG Road on Friday. Pradeep Singh Kharola, Managing Director, BMRCL inaugurated the camp.



Artists from Chitradurga, Uttara Kannada, Kalaburagi, Mandya, Tumakuru, Shivamogga and other districts, besides Bengaluru are expected to take part. K Prabhakar Rao, chief administrative officer, Bangalore Haat said they were planning to invite artists from all over the country in the future. Rao said they were also having talks with Karnataka Shilpakala Academy about organising a stone, fibreglass and bronze sculpture camp in the years to come.
The Centre on Friday stoutly defended provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, in the Supreme Court, saying 115.15 crore people had already embraced the socio-political tool to avail benefits of various schemes.



It maintained that the fundamental right of identity and various e-governance initiatives of the government to provide food security, livelihood, jobs and health to the teeming masses cannot be sacrificed at the altar of the right to privacy of an elite few, who do not want Aadhaar.



The Centre filed an affidavit in response to a batch of PILs filed by former National Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Shanta Sinha and others, challenging the validity of as many as 17 government notifications making Aadhaar mandatory to access welfare schemes and benefits after June 30, 2017.



This is a classic case where a handful of individuals who are not aggrieved by the Aadhaar Act are questioning its vires and consequently, the benefits it gives the poor, the government said.



Claiming that the petitioners do not represent the larger population, the government said, This is demonstrated by the fact that more than 115.15 crore residents of India, which is equal to 95.10% of the entire population, have already been enrolled and allocated Aadhaar number.
At least eight Indians, including a woman, released from Pakistan jails nearly a decade ago still have no place to go. Many of them are suffering from mental illness.



None of their family members or friends have ever visited them since their release 10-years ago.



These former jail inmates have been lodged at the institute of mental health facility in Amritsar which has been their home from the day they crossed the Atari-Wagah border in Punjab in 2007 after their release. The hospital authorities are in a fix.



They say they have made efforts to help these persons not just battle their illness but to also reunite them with their families.



So far, all efforts have been avail. Doctors say that their mental illness may possibly have been because of the pathetic period in isolation spent languishing in Pakistan jail for years. What has compounded the problem is that many of them have no recollection of their whereabouts back home. They also have just a faint recollection of their stay in jail in Pakistan.



B L Goel, the director of the institute, says the institute tried to get details of their families, but efforts went in vain. Doctors say, many of them often ask where they are which explains their unstable state of mind. Doctors arent sure if their mental illness was present even before they strayed into Pakistan and were arrested by Pakistan Rangers. In all, there were 17 Indians who were released by Pakistan in 2007.



Nine of them had their families waiting at the border to receive them. The other eight found a way into the mental institute.



One of them is Dev, who feels incapacitated to explain why and under what circumstances he strayed into Pakistan. He says he wants to go home, but the authorities cannot help him.



Meanwhile, at the transit camp of the Amritsar jail, as many as 30 Pakistani nationals are awaiting their release for years after completion of their jail term. Their release has been stuck since their high commission is yet to confirm their nationality as Pakistanis.
Characterized by extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, the Belt and Road links countries and regions that account for about 60 percent of the world's population and 30 percent of global economic output. [Cartoon by Zhai Haijun/China.org.cn]

One of the most beloved American books is "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. The book, originally published in 1937, has sold over 30 million copies. It is a favorite of those who want to succeed in business and marketing, but its acclaim extends well beyond this milieu. Eighty years after the book was published, millions of Americans have read this book and apply its principles as they work to succeed in their everyday lives.

When trying to explain China's foreign policy, American analysts often present the "Belt and Road" policy in conspiratorial terms. Behind their words are cold war phobias about "global revolution" and "Bolshevism." However, in order to understand China's New Silk Road, they should look much closer to home, at Carnegie's classic, which is still the world's most widely read self-help text.

In the beloved book, Carnegie urges his readers to avoid attacking and criticizing people, as such statements, no matter how justified, usually result in creating resentment from the other person. Instead, Carnegie urges his readers to genuinely praise the attributes they like in other people, and not to be glib or deceptive in doing so.

When looking at China's behavior in the international arena, you will notice that China rarely, if ever, threatens the use of military force. Just as Dale Carnegie writes that by genuinely building up other people's better traits, their negative traits can be voluntarily diminished, China seeks to win friends by building infrastructure and providing development loans to governments. Chinese diplomats do not use terms of contempt and vitriol. Chinese foreign policy mostly does not involving putting sanctions on countries that have crossed it.

Carnegie reminds his readers, in the beloved text, that the primary interest of human beings is themselves. He advises his readers that rather than demanding others fulfil their needs, they should figure out how they can fulfil the needs and desires of others, and in the process, achieve their goals.

One can see China establishing international relations in a similar manner. China does not approach countries like Bangladesh, the Philippines, or New Zealand with sentiments of "What Can You Do For Us?" Rather, China looks into the domestic problems plaguing such countries, and sees how trade relations can be crafted in a mutually beneficial way.

Different background, similar understanding

Dale Carnegie's methods were not the result of his own personal brilliance. According to the book, he spent a long time studying human psychology and observing successful people.

Around the same time that Carnegie was developing his wisdom about human interactions, the founder of modern China, Mao Zedong, was leading the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression on Chinese soil. In Mao Zedong's writings on the concept of "The Mass Line" one can see Mao giving similar advice to Chinese Communists on how to win the masses of workers and peasants to support them.

He urges the Party members to have humility, and not think of themselves in lofty terms. Mao Zedong writes: "The masses are the real heroes, while we ourselves are often childish and ignorant, and without this understanding, it is impossible to acquire even the most rudimentary knowledge."

Mao urged China's Communists not to practice "commandism" and expect the population to fall behind them. Rather, he called on them practice a method of "from the masses, to the masses" and find out the real hopes and dreams of Chinese people, and then develop a political program that can address these needs.

Dale Carnegie was a strong adherent of American capitalism, while Mao Zedong was the ideological father of the Chinese Communist Party. Despite vastly different backgrounds and perspectives, both of them shared similar insights into how human beings relate to each other.

Both of them understood that blatant selfish actions, coercion, and bullying are not effective strategies for human interaction. Both Mao and Carnegie saw that discovering mutual interests and rewarding positive attributes was much more effective. China seems to now be applying such an understanding to its relations on the global stage. Rather than interpreting China's practices with hostility and suspicion, countries around the world should perhaps seek to learn from their record of success.

Caleb Maupin is a journalist and political analyst who resides in New York City focusing on U.S. foreign policy and the global system of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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After a night of cheers, tears, shocks and surprises, the General Election results have been announced and the country is reeling from the news that it has a hung parliament.

After the polls closed at 10pm on Thursday night, the UK exit poll indicated that the Conservatives would remain the party with the most seats after the General Election but would lose their majority - something which would be borne out hours later.

By 5am, all the results were in from Derbyshire's 11 constituencies. Derby North and High Peak fell to Labour, while North East Derbyshire switched to Conservative control. Labour held their Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derby South seats, while the Tories defended Amber Valley, Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, Mid Derbyshire and South Derbyshire.

Here's our round-up of the night - broken down into seven crucial moments:

1) When the results of the UK poll were announced

At 10pm on Thursday night, the UK election exit poll predicted that Derby North seat would fall to Labour - the first sign of potential drama on Election night.

At the same time, it put the country on alert when it indicated that Theresa May could fall short of a Commons majority - even though her party would take the largest number of seats.

2) When Tories started defending key seats

The Erewash and Amber Valley counts were the first to be announced in the early hours of the morning and they suggested there was no great drama in store, as Maggie Throup and Nigel Mills defended their respective seats. Derbyshire Dales, Mid Derbyshire and South Derbyshire would also remain under Tory control, it would later emerge.

3) When Derby North came under Labour control

(Image: Ian Hodgkinson / Picture It)

The first sign of a momentum change nationally from Derby's point of view came when the Derby North result was announced at about 3.30am. Chris Williamson regained the seat he lost to Conservative candidate Amanda Solloway back in 2015.

4) The High Peak and North East Derbyshire swap

(Image: Ian Hodgkinson / Picture It)

At the same time, it became clear not a lot was changing in Derbyshire - with the exception of High Peak and North East Derbyshire. The former came under Labour control, while the latter fell to the Tories.

5) Labour holding their ground

The final results of the evening from our patch included the defence by Labour of Derby South. In total, only three of Derbyshire's 11 constituencies had changed their colour - which showed that, while the county was not completely unaffected by the changing national picture, it was business as usual for many people.

6) Local reaction to the national picture

All of our local candidates could not help but be aware of the emerging national picture and that became apparent as the atmosphere changed throughout the night at the counts. Candidates gathered around television screens to watch as Labour made major gains across the UK.

7) Hung parliament

(Image: Getty Images)

By early Friday morning, it was confirmed that the UK was facing a hung parliament - and lots of decisions would need to be made. And Derby and Derbyshire's new MPs - whether defending or new to the job - were all too aware of the impact this might have on their first few days in office.
Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road [File Photo]

Kazakhstan is the first stop as well as the lynchpin for the three land routes of China's Belt and Road Initiative (see maps). In this context, President Xi Jinping's state visit to Kazakhstan is essential to the new trade routes that will contribute to the easing of Chinese dependence on its East and South China seas shipping channels.

While Kazakhstan is a crucial first link, the BRI will be dependent on each State link, so making it vulnerable to natural, political and economic risks. The costs will also be enormous and eventually require more participatory funding. This will require a consensus approach that is at odds with the corporate majority rule approach favored by developed nations since the end of WWII.

Nations will only participate in the BRI if they see mutual benefits, and as such, cannot be coerced into participating.

For a consensus approach to be successful, China will have to know and understand the politics, laws, regulations, economics, languages and culture not only of Kazakhstan but every country involved in the BRI. It will mean an enormous amount of educational and people-to-people exchange activities.

China's answer has been to create 10,000 scholarships and establish various Confucius Institutes; however, although seemingly large in number and the amount of resources, they alone will not be enough. It is probable that these efforts will have to increase by a factor of 10 if this essential part of the process is to be effective.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will showcase how China's new role as a planner, facilitator, consensus builder and proponent of multilateralism, is in sharp contrast to current American diplomacy and policy by Tweet, demands, corporate majority rule philosophy and isolationist policies and direction.

This brings us to President Xi's current visit to Kazakhstan, a landlocked country dependent on larger economic neighbors, Russia and China. Kazakhstan's improved ability to get its products and resources to markets in Europe and Southeast Asia will increase its market reach and may encourage its manufacturing and processing industries to look beyond marginal processing industries and value added manufacturing.

New jobs and higher margins will be the keys to economic growth of states along the BRI, especially in areas where the lack of transportation infrastructure and trade services prevented growth. This will help China, as long as it is able to provide more sophisticated high quality goods and services, at lower prices, than its competitors.

Kazakhstan will, therefore, be a proving ground for the BRI's industrial, manufacturing and services capacity-building program. Nations, along the new "land bridges" will be looking carefully at how the BRI is able to contribute to increasing and elevating their economies.

President Xi, of course, is also in Kazakhstan to attend the annual meeting of the SCO, which will induct India and Pakistan as members. Their presence brings into focus SCO's crucial role in the BRI trade initiative, as without security the trade route will be useless.

China and its partners along the BRI routes can expect outside interference from state and non-state actors, for example: rival powers, ideologues and terrorists, that will have to be dealt with by a very strong sense of shared benefits and requiring China to take a more consensus-building role.

The entrance of Pakistan and India will be a strong signal that security, in the end, is not about politics, but about mutually-shared interests, but only so long as all countries refrain from bringing their previous or current conflicts into the group. It will need to be an organization that agrees to work on consensus projects and initiatives, not settling old scores or disputes.

One of the major issues China will need to confront as its role expands in a U.S.-created vacuum is the issue of the Great Power Trap, occurring when a power becomes so dominant that there's an assumption it must solve the world's problems.

The lesson of what happened to the U.S. when it adopted American Exceptionalism and then assumed the role as the world's policeman should be a learning opportunity for China. The experiment has ended with bitter recriminations and a retreat into isolationism, as Americans seem to feel they were used and unappreciated. On the other side, many nations regard American actions as having brought calamity and instability to their countries, cultures and the world in general.

Xi's state visit, and the SCO meeting in Kazakhstan, is simply the first in a series of steps, on a rocky road, for China, as it seeks to create a win-win regional trade mechanism. The irony that what started out as a necessity to avoid being blockaded along its sea routes, in response to American encirclement and containment campaign, has now become a leading economic revival tool.

Einar Tangen is a political and economic affairs commentator, author and columnist.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
The 2017 national college entrance examination, known as the Gaokao, kicks off Wednesday, June 7. A report shows that the number of students taking the exam has declined from its peak of 10.5 million in 2008, and has remained stable at around 9.4 million since 2014.

The competition is fierce and then after that there is another tough challenge for students: choose an appropriate university and a good major. The Chinese Universities Alumni Association (CUAA), a famous university ranking institution best known for its annual overall ranking of Chinese universities, released its ranking of Chinese universities with the largest number of high quality undergraduate majors on June 5, 2017.

The majors have been categorized from one-star to eight-star according to the quality. Peking University, one of the most famous universities in China, topped the list with 9 eight-star majors and 39 seven-star majors in total on the list.

It is the third time that CUAA has released the ranking since it was launched in 2015. It aims to provide an authoritative reference for students.

Let's take a look at the top 10 Chinese universities with best undergraduate majors in 2017:

Sichuan University

Sichuan University [nipic.com]

Eight-star: 0

Seven-star: 7

Six-star: 14

Five-star: 36

Four-star: 58

Three-star: 28

Two-star: 0

One-star: 0
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File photo taken on May 3, 2017 shows that JamesComey, the director of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

Former Director of Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) James Comey said Thursday that he was confused over the circumstances under which he was fired.

Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee in a hearing that the Trump administration had offered "shifting explanations" for his firing, which was confusing and concerning.

"It confused me when I saw on television the president saying that he actually fired me because of the Russia investigation," he said.

"I was also confused by the initial explanation that was offered publicly, that I was fired because of the decisions I had made during the election year," Comey said.

"The administration then chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray," Comey said.

Comey also touched on his exchanges with President Donald Trump regarding the FBI investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Comey said Trump had asked him during a meeting on February 14 to go easy on an ongoing investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

Comey testified that even though Trump's words were not "an order", he nevertheless "took it as a direction."

Whether Trump ordered Comey to drop the investigation into Flynn may carry significant importance as some lawmakers are contemplating whether Trump's action constitutes obstruction of justice.

The high profile hearing is scheduled to find out the circumstances under which Comey was fired and if Trump had interfered with FBI investigations.

Comey was fired on May 9.
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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) confirmed early Friday it test fired a new type of ground-to-sea cruise missile on Thursday, the fourth missile test by Pyongyang in one month.

The Korean Central News Agency said DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un guided the test fire of the missile, which was "a powerful attack means capable of striking any enemy group of battleships."

A number of cruise missiles were launched from caterpillar self-propelled launching pad vehicles capable of staging strikes "at will," it said.

"The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea (Sea of Japan) after making circular flights," said the report.

Earlier media reports said the test fire was made from DPRK's eastern coast city of Wonson, a major naval base near the military demarcation line.

The United States lately sent two aircraft carrier task groups to the Sea of Japan to hold joint military exercises with South Korea.
More than 16,000 professionals with an interest in diabetes will come together this weekend to discuss new and emerging concepts within the field.

This years American Diabetes Association (ADA) 77th Scientific Sessions is taking place in San Diego and will showcase innovative research about the condition to doctors, nurses, podiatrists, psychologists, pharmacists and anybody else who works within the diabetes community.

Speaking to Endocrine Today, Dr William Cefalu, chief scientific, medical, and mission officer for ADA, said: The thing that really sets [this meeting] apart is the late-breaking science, both in clinical and basic.

That really sets it apart from other endocrine meetings  the quality of the science and the depth of the science. In addition, this session also provides clinical guidance and clinical education. It covers the gamut of research topics for diabetes, so it offers a diversity of interests.

Attendees are invited to share ideas and learn about significant advances in diabetes care and treatment. The five-day event will provide more than 2,500 research presentations which will cover a number of different topics and more than 2,000 posters will be available for delegates to explore.

This year the programme has been divided up into several key themes which include acute and chronic complications, behavioural medicine and insulin action.

The results from the highly anticipated TrialNets international Oral Insulin Prevention Trial will also be presented, which is the largest and longest oral insulin prevention trial ever conducted.

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Foot Care Interest Group. The ADA will consequently hold a symposium looking back at how diabetes foot care has changed and improved over the years.

Dr Maureen Ganno, chair of the Scientific Sessions Meeting Planning Committee, said: One of the things I like best about the scientific sessions is the ability of the basic researchers to make the connections between what is going on at the bench and what is happening with patient care, and back again.

Its being able to go to those different sessions and learn about the artificial pancreas, and how those new drugs are impacting beta cells  really going back and forth between basic molecular research and patient care.
Medical device company Medtronic has announced the US launch of the worlds first hybrid closed-loop system, a near-artificial pancreas, for people with type 1 diabetes.

Medtronics MiniMed 670G system, which self-adjusts blood sugar levels and delivers basal insulin when needed, has been given the go ahead by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Alejandro Galindo, president of the Intensive Insulin Management division within the Diabetes Group at Medtronic, said: The response from the diabetes community has been tremendously positive and we are proud to be leading this remarkable period in diabetes history in partnership with the clinical and advocacy communities.

The pioneering MiniMed 670G has been vigorously tested. Research published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) last year showed the device led to less variation in blood sugar levels and fewer episodes of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia in people with diabetes aged 14 or older.

Weve essentially designed a smarter insulin pump that alleviates some of the burden associated with diabetes management, which can be unrelenting and exhausting, said Galindo.

The hybrid closed-loop system comprises the use of the Medtronic MiniMed 670G insulin pump, fourth-generation sensors and a control algorithm to determine basal insulin delivery.

This system helps to keep blood glucose levels within normal ranges by measuring levels every five minutes and automatically responding by administering or withholding insulin.

Dr Jennifer Lynn Sherr, assistant professor of endocrinology at the Yale School of Medicine, said: The MiniMed 670G system has proven to be life-changing for many patients [] and we are truly excited to be able to introduce it to many more who stand to benefit.

Weve seen this system positively impact not only patients [], but also their caregivers who are experiencing a new sense of security. The constant vigilance that this chronic medical condition imposes on both patients and their families is now relaxed and caregivers have a new level of independence and freedom.
The drug class SGLT2 inhibitors have again been linked with an increased risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in a new study.

SGLT2 inhibitors have been approved to treat type 2 diabetes in the UK since 2013, but regular links with DKA, a dangerous short-term complication of diabetes if left untreated, have persisted.

In 2015 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning about the drugs association with DKA, and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency last year urged healthcare professionals to test for raised ketones in patients with DKA symptoms, even if their blood glucose levels were near normal.

In a new study scientists from Brigham and Womens Hospital found that patients treated with SGLT2s are twice as likely to experience DKA compared to another class of diabetes medication.

However, the researchers stressed that this risk is still very rare: around one in every 1,000 patients will take an SGLT2 inhibitor will experience DKA.

A total of 40,000 patients taking SGLT2 inhibitors were reviewed by the researchers, and compared to patients who took a different type of medication, DPP4 inhibitors.

After 180 days, 55 SGLT2-treated patients had experienced DKA, compared to 26 of the DPP4 group.

Lead author Dr Michael Fralik said that while DKA is uncommon amongst SGLT2 patients, doctors need to be on the lookout for signs and symptoms of DKA among patients. These symptoms include dehydration, rapid heartbeat and vomiting.

This is a side effect thats usually seen in patients with type 1 diabetes []  not type 2 diabetes  so doctors are not on the lookout for it, said Fralik.

That means that the risk of this side effect might actually be even higher than what we found due to misdiagnosis/under recording.

The study was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
A new study suggests that adults with type 1 diabetes may be setting their total basal insulin dose (TBD) higher than required if and when trying to achieve HbA1c levels of 7% (58 mmol/mol) or less.

The findings indicate that they may benefit from lowering TBD down to 30 per cent of their total daily insulin dose (TDD) and that the latter should also factor in bodyweight.

Fine-tuning insulin needs accordingly could help people with type 1 diabetes improve their HbA1c levels and lower their risks for complications like eye and kidney disease.

Japanese researchers from Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine conducted the study on 92 adults with type 1 diabetes trying to achieve an HbA1c of 7.5% or less.

When comparing well-controlled participants with those aiming for the above target HbA1c, researchers noticed differences in their insulin dosing requirements.

Specifically, the amount of TBD to TDD was set much lower in the well-controlled group and was, according to the researchers estimations, equal to around 30 per cent of TDD.

These observations are in line with reports from a similar study ran in 2011, which suggested that TBD requirements should be revised downwards on a case-by-case basis.

The second important takeaway of the study is that TDD and, to a larger extent, optimal blood glucose control was greatly influenced by variations in body weight.

Although the study is of small size, the results suggest that better blood glucose control may, in part, rely upon finding the right TBD to TDD ratio, which may need to be reduced in some people with type 1 diabetes.

The findings support the view of the DAFNE course, which also states that many people take too high levels of basal insulin. DAFNE advises that most people with type 1 diabetes will benefit from 24 units of TBD per day.

Note that insulin requirements need to be individualised. If you have questions about whether your basal insulin dose is set up correctly, it is best to speak to your diabetes team before making any changes.
The American state of Nevada is close to passing a landmark bill to tackle the diabetes pharmaceutical industry over insulin price hikes.

The proposed legislation is part of a campaign to lower prescription prices for the treatment in the US which has faced fierce opposition from lobbyists and pharmaceutical firms.

The western American state, which is controlled by Democrats, is one of 23 trying to fight the growing expense of prescription drugs, with insulin prices rising by 300 per cent over the last ten years.

The bill, known as SB 265, passed the Senate on May 19 and the Assembly on May 25 and on June 1 it will go before Governor for Nevada, Brian Sandoval, to sign it.

Specifically, it aims to force pharmaceutical companies to disclose insulin data, register sales reps and make public the funding of patient organisations. Also, it would require drugmakers to inform the state about any price hikes 90 days before making them.

Under the proposals, the countrys insulin producers would face $5,000 fines for each day they do not provide data without giving an explanation.

It comes following a new law introduced in Vermont demanding that the pharmaceutical industry to justify any increases in price by 15 per cent or higher.

As well as insulin, the proposed regulations would also cover oral drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes known as biguanides, a class which includes metformin.

The bill was proposed by Senator Yvanna Cancela, a who is a Democrat from Las Vegas, with a view that transparency would force down insulin prices.

She said: It is a testament to them recognizing that there is a problem, a lack of transparency, in drug costs, and I am very grateful for their support. I hope that this is the beginning of what will probably be a decade-long discussion on how to make drugs more affordable.

As well as proposing new rules covering insulin, the legislation would also call on all drug manufacturers to register sales representatives.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 9, 2017. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Friday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for closer cooperation between the two countries.

Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, so as to instill more momentum into each other's development and contribute to world peace, stability and common development, said the Chinese president.

The two leaders are in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, to attend the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India and stands ready to work with the Indian side to enhance political mutual trust, link their development strategies, deepen practical cooperation and maintain coordination and collaboration in international and regional affairs, so as to advance their strategic cooperative partnership in a sustained, healthy and stable way.

The Chinese president called for more high-level interactions, institutionalized exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries.

China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large-scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said.

Xi said the two countries should make joint efforts to promote regional connectivity and shared development, align their development initiatives, advance the building of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor with a view to substantial progress at an early date, and boost cooperation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The president said the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems.

He also called for more sub-national, cultural and tourism exchanges, among others, between the two neighbors.

Noting that India is about to become a full member of the SCO at the Astana summit, Xi offered congratulations to the Indian side, adding that China is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organization.

Hailing the long-lasting friendship between the two countries with ancient civilizations, Modi said a sound India-China relationship will help stabilize the volatile international situation.

The prime minister said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

The Indian side is grateful for China's support for India's accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organization, Modi said.

The SCO, established in 2001, is a regional political, economic and security organization that groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as full members.

In 2016, India and Pakistan, two SCO observers, signed the SCO Memorandum of Obligations, thereby kick-starting the formal process of joining the SCO as full members.
Telescreening peoples eyes has increased diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening rates in rural areas of America to 40 per cent, according to new research.

During a three-year study a team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, focused on 1,661 people with diabetes and their eyes.

They wanted to see whether telescreening could help increase early detection because currently 50 per cent of people with diabetes are not being screened for DR.

Speaking to MedPage Today, Dr Seema Garg who led the study, said: Reducing vision loss from DR is a public health imperative. Telemedicine screening can increase rates of surveillance, reduce socioeconomic disparities, and increase access to care, ultimately preventing vision-threatening DR and improving visual outcomes and quality of life for patients with diabetes.

I was seeing many patients coming in to my clinic blind from diabetes, and as retinal specialists we know this is a completely preventable disease. We can prevent 90 per cent of severe blinding disease from diabetic retinopathy.

Telescreening for the study involved training nurses and technicians as retinal camera operators. They used special digital cameras to capture single 45-degree macular-centered images in both eyes which were then sent for evaluation by retinal specialists.

Within 24 hours a report on the persons eyes had been compiled which was then sent to their doctor and included a diagnosis and recommendations for treatment or management of the condition.

By working in this way, Dr Garg said by the end of the trial 80 per cent of the participants had no trace of DR, they detected 11 per cent of people with a mild to moderate version of the condition and only nine per cent were found to have a severe form.

Of those people who were referred to an ophthalmologist for further recommendations of their condition 60 per cent completed the referral appointment.

Dr Garg added: We can improve access to care for patients with diabetic retinopathy, because we are not even screening half of the patients with diabetes in the current paradigm, where we send our patients from the primary care setting to an ophthalmologist for retinal evaluation.

The barriers to care are increasing. There are more economic pressures for patients, there are a greater number of diabetics, theres an epidemic proportion of diabetes. We know that in the current paradigm, our healthcare system will not be able to meet the needs of these patients.

Note that the UK has a very good retinopathy screening programme. All people with diabetes over 12 years-old are entitled, and encouraged, to attend a retinopathy screening appointment at least once a year.

The findings were published in the JAMA Ophthalmology journal.
Total global Internet traffic is projected to rise to 3,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes of data in 2021, while there will be more M2M communications than humans using machines.

Consider this the next time you whip out your shiny new phone to cast to the Chromecast. A new report by Cisco (called the Cisco Visual Networking Index) says that by 2021, there will be more machines talking to each other, than humans using machines. According to Cisco, these machines will account for over half of the 27.1 billion devices and connections by that year. These machines and other Internet traffic will increase to 3 zettabyes (3,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes) by 2021.

Wait, are you talking about machine voices?

No, actually, although voices like Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant and Bixby have a lot to do with it. When you tell the Google Assistant to turn on the lights in your room, or turn on the television, the artificial intelligence sends a string of binary code to the television, telling it Hey, turn on, will ya. With the Internet of Things ecosystem growing, this talking amongst machines is only going to increase. These are known as M2M (Machine-to-Machine) connections.

What Cisco is saying is that the Internet of Things ecosystem is going to drive technological innovation in the coming days. The (approximately) 14 billion devices mentioned above includes everything with the word smart in it. So, your smartphones will be talking to smart TVs, smart refrigerators, security systems like Nest, home automation speakers like Google Home and Amazon Echo, and more.

Why does this matter to you?

The Cisco Visual Networking Index also projects increase in IP traffic in India to 829 million in 2021, from 373 million in 2016. The report says 59 percent of the Indian population will contribute to the global IP traffic by 2021. Furthermore, There will be 2 billion networked devices in 2021, up from 1.4 billion in 2016, says the report.

So, a big part of the 3 zettabyte Internet traffic is going to come from India. When you consider that alongside the fact that India is the fastest growing Internet market in the world, our contribution to global Internet traffic is going to be awfully important. Ciscos report makes projections for 2021, but with markets like US, China etc. saturating fast, India stands to possibly contribute the most amount of data to global traffic beyond 2021.

Mobile networks, devices and connections in India are not only getting smarter in their computing capabilities but are also evolving from lower-generation network connectivity (2G) to higher-generation network connectivity (3G, 3.5G, and 4G or LTE). Combining device capabilities with faster, higher bandwidth and more intelligent networks is leading to wide adoption of high bandwidth data, video and advanced multimedia applications that contribute to increased mobile and Wi-Fi traffic said Sanjay Kaul, Managing Director, Service Provider Business, Cisco India & SAARC.

This, in turn means that companies will be flooding to our borders. Evolving technology opens doors for more advanced products to be sold in the country. So, while were in the nascent stages of media streaming, cloud support and more, we should be at the forefront by 2021 and beyond.

Of course, Ciscos report doesnt necessarily confirm all of the above, but it paints a picture of a much more technologically evolved India, and of course the globe. If all other parameters, like growth in income etc. improve substantially, youre headed towards a pretty tech evolved period in your life.
Samsung's next Note phone is likely to feature a similar hardware setup as the Galaxy S8, but with a larger display

After the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, the Korean phone maker is preparing for its next big launch, the Galaxy Note 8. Previously, the phone was rumored to feature an all new fingerprint sensor embedded right into the display. However, a report from South Korean website, Naver, suggests that Samsung may not ship the phone with an in-display fingerprint scanner. The website claims to have got this information from Samsung Electronics official, who said We made every effort to install a display-integrated fingerprint sensor on Galaxy Note 8, but we decided not to install it on this strategic phone due to various technical limitations such as security.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is also rumored to feature a 6.3-inch QHD+ infinity display. This could mean that the device will be a bit taller than its predecessor with minimum bezels. The phone is expected to be powered by the same SoCs as the Galaxy S8 and S8+, namely Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Exynos 8895, depending on the region. The upcoming phone is also rumored to feature a dual camera setup at the back. Previous reports suggest that the phone might have a 12MP + 13MP camera setup. The 12MP camera may use a wide-angle lens supporting dual photodiode (2PD), while the 13MP camera might be fitted with a telephoto lens.

It was reported earlier that Samsung might be planning to launch the Galaxy Note 8 in August, ahead of Apples next iPhone launch. Besides that, Samsung might have to reassure its customer base that the next Note will be safe to use and has no risk of catching fire like its precedessor.

Source: Naver
Boston Dynamics, known for its robots such as Atlas and BigDog, has been sold by Google to Japanese telecoms giant Softbank for an undisclosed sum. Boston Dynamics robots, which also include the dog-like Spot and the sprinting Cheetah, have become sensations on YouTube but have failed to become marketable products and Alphabet put the business []

Boston Dynamics, known for its robots such as Atlas and BigDog, has been sold by Google to Japanese telecoms giant Softbank for an undisclosed sum.





Boston Dynamics robots, which also include the dog-like Spot and the sprinting Cheetah, have become sensations on YouTube but have failed to become marketable products and Alphabet put the business up for sale last year.

SoftBank confirmed the deal along with the news that it is buying Schaft, a Japanese group that makes bipedal robots, bought by Google in 2013. The size of Fridays deal was not disclosed but is believed to be over $100m (79m).

The company, which last year bought British microchip company ARM Holdings and has recently set up a $93bn technology fund in London, is known for its outlandish bets on long-term ideas.

Softbank began as a Japanese telecoms company but moved into robotics and developed the human-like Pepper in 2014.

Founder Masayoshi Son has since built the Japanese firm into a massive technology conglomerate through some big deals.

They range from buying UK chip firm ARM Holdings for 24bn ($32bn), investing $1bn in satellite startup OneWeb, to setting up a venture fund with Saudi Arabia.
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Congressman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, says uncertainty about whether federal subsidies will continue is causing insurers to propose higher premiums for 2018.



By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

Associated Press

WASHINGTON  A senior House Republican on Thursday called for immediate action to stabilize shaky health insurance markets around the country, amid concerns that the GOP could get blamed for rising premiums and dwindling choice next year.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said the government should keep paying billions of dollars in cost-sharing subsidies that help low-income people with deductibles and copayments. The $7 billion is under a cloud because of mixed signals from the Trump administration and a lawsuit originally filed by House Republicans.





. . .
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By JAMES BROOKS

Associated Press

Crystal Pepsi, Segways and Harley-Davidson's eau-du-toilette are among the notable failures in this unique exhibit.

HELSINGBORG, Sweden  Green Heinz ketchup? Fat-free Pringles? Colgate frozen lasagna? You don't need to be an expert to know these products weren't successful.





. . .
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  A new Kansas museum is giving enthusiasts of late motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel a jump on appreciating his death-defying, bone-breaking exploits.

The $5-million, 13,000-square-foot homage to the hard-living man who became a global pop icon in the 1970s with rocket-powered and motorbike stunts has launched in Topeka, of all places.





. . .
The Donegal Democrat has been informed of the following deaths:

- Annie Laverty, Drumboe, Stranorlar

- Baby Caolan Melaugh, Cronalaghy, Crossroads, Killygordon

- Thomas Hirrell, Clonmany/Carndonagh

- Kevin OHagan, Castleforward , Newtowncunningham

- Carolyn Swiney, Moyagh, Ramelton

- Julie Dooher, Gortlee and Yorkshire

- Gerard Doyle, Bray and Buncrana

Annie Laverty, Drumboe, Stranorlar

The death has taken place of Annie Laverty, Drumboe, Stranorlar at the Donegal Hospice, Letterkenny.

Her remains will repose at her home from 5pm today, Friday, leaving her home at 10.15am tomorrow, Saturday, for Requiem Mass at 11am in the Church of Mary Immaculate, Stranorlar, followed by interment in Drumboe Cemetery.

Donations in lieu of flowers, if so desired, to the Donegal Hospice, Letterkenny, c/o any family member. Family time from 11pm to 10am and on the morning of the funeral.

Baby Caolan Melaugh, Cronalaghy, Crossroads, Killygordon

The peaceful death has taken place of Baby Caolan Melaugh, Cronalaghy, Crossroads, Killygordon, aged two, after a long illness.

His remains will leave his home on Saturday, June 10th, at 12.15pm for Mass of The Angels at 1pm in St. Patrick's Church, Crossroads, Killygordon, with interment afterwards in the adjoining churchyard.

House private please. Family and friends welcome.

Thomas Hirrell, Clonmany/Carndonagh

The death has taken place of Thomas Hirrell, late of Rashenny, Clonmany, formerly Tul-Na-Ri, Carndonagh.

His remains are in repose at Joyce Cookes residence, Rashenny, Clonmany.

Removal at 9.30am on Saturday, June 10th, to St. Marys Church, Clonmany for Requiem Mass at 10am followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery.

Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu, if desired, to Carndonagh Community Hospital Patients Comfort Fund.

House private from 10pm to 11am.

Kevin OHagan, Castleforward , Newtowncunningham



The sudden death has taken place at his residence of Kevin OHagan, late of Castleforward, Newtowncunningham.

Requiem Funeral Mass will take place in The Church of All Saints, Newtowncunningham at 11am on Saturday, June 10th, with interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu to Chest Heart and Stroke Association c/o any family member or Charlie McClafferty Funeral Director Churchill and Letterkenny.

House strictly private at the request of the deceased.

Carolyn Swiney, Moyagh, Ramelton

The death has taken place of Carolyn Swiney, late of Moyagh, Ramelton.

House private. Service of committal at Roselawn Crematorium, Belfast, today, Friday, June 9th, family only.

There will be a gathering to celebrate Carolyns life from 3pm to 6pm on Sunday, the 11th of June, at the family home at Moyagh, Ramelton. Friends welcome.

Donations in lieu of flowers to the Donegal Hospice c/o Sweeney Funeral Directors, Moyle Hill, Milford.

Julie Dooher, Gortlee and Yorkshire

The death has occurred at Letterkenny University Hospital of Julie Dooher, late of No.8 Culdoire, Gortlee, Letterkenny and formerly Senior, Wakefield West, Yorkshire, England.#

Her remains are reposing at her home.

Funeral on Saturday, June 10th, going to the Church of the Irish Martyrs, Ballyraine for funeral Mass at 2pm, with burial afterwards in New Leck cemetery.

Family flowers only please, donations in lieu if desired to the Oncology Unit, Letterkenny University Hospital c/o Paschal Blake Funeral Director, Stoney Arch, New Line Road, Letterkenny.

House strictly private, family only please.

Gerard Doyle, Bray and Buncrana

The sudden death has taken place of Gerard Doyle, late of Bray and Buncrana.

His remains are reposing at his home and is strictly private.

Remains leaving his home at 10.15am on Saturday, June 10th, for 11am requiem Mass in St. Marys Church, Cockhill.

Burial afterwards in the adjoining graveyard. Family flowers only.

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 Donegal Democrat has been informed of the following deaths:

- Annie Laverty, Drumboe, Stranorlar

- Baby Caolan Melaugh, Cronalaghy, Crossroads, Killygordon

- Thomas Hirrell, Clonmany/Carndonagh

- Kevin OHagan, Castleforward , Newtowncunningham

- Carolyn Swiney, Moyagh, Ramelton

- Ethna Golden. Dublin, and formerly of Fallask

- Julie Dooher, Gortlee and Yorkshire

- Gerard Doyle, Bray and Buncrana

Annie Laverty, Drumboe, Stranorlar

The death has occurred of Annie Laverty, Drumboe, Stranorlar at the Donegal Hospice, Letterkenny.

Her remains will reposed at her home from 5 pm today, Friday, leaving her home tomorrow, Saturday at 10.15am for Requiem Mass at 11am in the Church of Mary Immaculate, Stranorlar, followed by interment in Drumboe Cemetery. Donations in lieu of flowers, if so desired, to the Donegal Hospice, Letterkenny, c/o any family member. Family time from 11pm to 10am and on the morning of the funeral.

Baby Caolan Melaugh, Cronalaghy, Crossroads, Killygordon

The peaceful death has taken place of Baby Caolan Melaugh, Cronalaghy, Crossroads, Killygordon, aged two, after a long illness.

His remains will leave his home on Saturday, June 10th, at 12.15pm for Mass of The Angels at 1pm in St. Patrick's Church, Crossroads, Killygordon, with interment afterwards in the adjoining churchyard. House private please. Family and friends welcome.

Thomas Hirrell, Clonmany/Carndonagh



The death has occurred of Thomas Hirrell late of Rashenny, Clonmany formerly Tul-Na-Ri, Carndonagh.

His remains are in repose at Joyce Cookes residence, Rashenny, Clonmany.

Removal on Saturday, June 10, at 9.30am to St. Marys Church, Clonmany for Requiem Mass at 10am followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery.

Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu, if desired, to Carndonagh Community Hospital Patients Comfort Fund.

House private from 10pm to 11am.

Kevin OHagan, Castleforward , Newtowncunningham



The sudden death has taken place at his residence of Kevin OHagan, late of Castleforward, Newtowncunningham.

Requiem Funeral Mass will take place in The Church of All Saints, Newtowncunningham on Saturday June 10th at 11am with interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu to Chest Heart and Stroke Association c/o any family member or Charlie McClafferty Funeral Director Churchill and Letterkenny.

House strictly private at the request of the deceased.

Carolyn Swiney, Moyagh, Ramelton



The death has taken place of Carolyn Swiney, late of Moyagh, Ramelton.

House private.

Service of committal at Roselawn Crematorium, Belfast, today, Friday, June 9, family only.

There will be a gathering to celebrate Carolyns life on Sunday the 11th of June at the family home at Moyagh, Ramelton from 3pm to 6pm. Friends welcome.

Donations in lieu of flowers to the Donegal Hospice c/o Sweeney Funeral Directors, Moyle Hill, Milford.

Ethna Golden, Dublin, and formerly of Fallask

The death has occurred at St. Vincents University Hospital, Dublin of Ethna Golden, nee McKinney, late of Blackrock, Dublin, and formerly of Fallask, Donegal.

Requiem Mass today, Friday, June 9, at 10.00am, at Church of the Assumption, Booterstown in Dublin and afterwards going to Mount Jerome Crematorium.

Family flowers only, please. Donations, if desired, to Our Ladys Hospice, Harolds Cross, Dublin 6W, or www.olh.ie.



Julie Dooher, Gortlee and Yorkshire



The death has occurred at Letterkenny University Hospital of Julie Dooher, late of No.8 Culdoire, Gortlee, Letterkenny and formerly Senior, Wakefield West, Yorkshire, England.

Her remains are reposing at her home.

Funeral on Saturday, June 10, going to the Church of the Irish Martyrs, Ballyraine for funeral Mass at 2pm, with burial afterwards in New Leck cemetery.

Family flowers only please, donations in lieu if desired to the Oncology Unit, Letterkenny University Hospital c/o Paschal Blake Funeral Director, Stoney Arch, New Line Road, Letterkenny.

House Strictly Private, family only please.

Gerard Doyle, Bray and Buncrana



The sudden death has taken place of Gerard Doyle, late of Bray and Buncrana.

His remains are reposing at his home andis strictly private.

Remains leaving his home at 10.15am on Saturday, June 10, morning for 11am requiem Mass in St. Marys Church, Cockhill.

Burial afterwards in the adjoining graveyard. Family flowers only.



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.
Bishop elect Alan McGuckian was born on February 26th, 1953, the youngest of six children of the late Brian and Pauline McGuckian in Cloughmills, Co Antrim. Two of his brothers, Fathers Bernard and Michael are also Jesuit priests. His sister Mary Dynan lives in Newry and his brother John B McGuckian lives in Cloughmills. His other sister, Paula Haughey died in 2013.

Schooling in Cloughmills and in Saint MacNissis College, Garron Tower was followed by a year of First Arts in Queens University, Belfast, where he studied Irish and Scholastic Philosophy.

In October 1972 he joined the Jesuit novitiate in Clontarf in Dublin.

Father McGuckian has studied languages and has a BA in Latin and Spanish from UCD and an MA in Irish Translation from QUB. His training for the priesthood involved Philosophy in the Milltown Institute in Dublin and Theology in the Toronto School of Theology (M.Div and STL).

After ordination to the priesthood in 1984, Father McGuckian worked in secondary education for four years in Clongowes Wood College SJ.

After that came a six month period of spiritual renewal in southern India and an experience of serving in a shanty town in Quezon City in the Philippines.

In the 1990s Father McGuckian ran the Jesuit Communication Centre in Dublin. During this period he was involved in setting up the web sites www.sacredspace.ie and www.catholicireland.net. Along with Mr Tony Bolger he set up Church Resources and Church Services TV. At the same time his commitment to the Irish language led him to serve for over ten years as editor of both An Timire and Foilseachain Abhair Spioradalta. Later, when already living in Belfast, he translated the autobiography of Saint Ignatius Loyola from the Spanish original into the Irish language under the title Sceal an Oilithrigh (Foilseachain Abhair Spioradalta).

In 2011 he collaborated with Philip Orr in writing the drama 1912; one hundred years on, marking the centenary of the fateful year that saw the Home Rule Bill accepted by the House of Commons and the signing of the Ulster Covenant.

Was Chaplain in the University of Ulster

In Belfast, Father McGuckian has served as chaplain to many of the Gaelscoileanna in the Diocese of Down and Connor and was, for a few years, Chaplain in the University of Ulster at Jordanstown and Belfast.

For the last six years Father McGuckian has worked closely with the Diocese of Down and Connor in the Living Church project. This began in 2011 with a Listening Process which aimed to hear the hopes and fears of the priests, religious and the lay faithful in all 87 parishes. This process led to the publication of a document known as the Living Church Report in 2012. On foot of this report Bishop Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down and Connor, asked Father McGuckian to set up and lead the Living Church Office whose goal has been to make concrete the hopes and aspirations expressed first of all in the Living Church Report and then in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan which was commissioned by Bishop Treanor.

Established pastoral communities

In recent years Father McGuckian and his team have worked closely with clergy and laity in the establishment of Pastoral Communities all across the Diocese of Down and Connor. In the Pastoral Communities parishes will work to co-operate more closely together pooling energies and resources to support each other into the future.

A key element of this work has been the rolling out of Facilitative and Discerning Leadership training which aims to foster a culture of co-responsibility for the mission of the Church between clergy and laity.
A Donegal TD says Bank of Ireland have confirmed to him that four of their branches in Bundoran, Bunbeg, Glenties and Moville will become automated.

Deputy Pearse Doherty told the Donegal Democrat that as well as those branches becoming automated, he understands that over-the-counter cash services at eight other branches in the county are to be scaled back from a full service three times a week, to a part time service Monday to Friday.

Commenting on the Bank of Ireland move, Deputy Doherty said that the move represents yet another blow to the county, adding that the Government continues to stand idly by while rural communities suffer.

Todays announcement from Bank of Ireland that it is to remove over-the-counter cash services from its branches at Bunbeg, Bundoran, Glenties and Moville is very disappointing. and it will come as a major blow to customers of those branches, stated Deputy Doherty.

He added: The bank has confirmed that it shall no longer offer over-the-counter cash lodgements or over-the-counter cash withdrawals, as well as no longer providing currency exchange or coin exchange at these four bank branches.

Bank of Ireland has claimed that as part of these plans, these four branches will now be converted into advice and self-service branches only.

A spokesperson for Bank of Ireland told the Democrat there will be staff in those branches to assist people using automated banking systems. "There will be staff there to assist, same as today," the spokesperson said, adding, "customers who need coin or foreign exchange who will be impacted".

Reaction

Hotelier Brian McEniff told the Donegal Democrat that following the closure of the Allied Irish Bank branch in the town the change to an automated system for Bank of Ireland would be a backward step for the tourist town of Bundoran.

This could turn into a huge problem for tourists and businesses in busy towns like Bundoran and elsewhere, the Bundoran hotelier said.

We have already lost AIB in Bundoran, it would be a huge concern as a businessman in the town if this was to happen in terms of Bank of Ireland.

During the summer weeks we have anything between 6,000 and 8,000 visitors here in peak season and that increases at weekends. I think the town needs a bank with staff at the counter. I appreciate much can be done using automated systems, but this would be a concern.

Im very worried what impact it may have on us and indeed on the other towns mentioned, the All Ireland winning manager added.

Bank of Ireland response

A spokesperson for Bank of Ireland said there will be staff there in those four branches (Bundoran, Bunbeg, Moville and Glenties).

Its not fair to suggest that it will be people dealing with automated banking systems, there will be staff there to assist, same as today.

There will be a small number of customers who need coin or foreign exchange who will be impacted, those services will no longer be provided. Those services will be provided in a neighbouring branch if required.

In a more detailed statement released a short time ago, Bank of Ireland say they are making the changes in response to a "consistent decrease in counter activity".

Their statement in full is as follows: "Our customers are rapidly changing the way they bank, just as they are changing the way they buy goods or services online and communicate with each other. Today, only 3% of our customers total transactions are conducted over the counter  97% of all transactions take place through other channels. When we look at trends over time within a branchs catchment area and see a consistent decrease in counter activity, we reconfigure the branch to support how our customers are using it.

"Our branches in Bunbeg, Bundoran, Glenties and Moville are adopting the Advice & Self Service model, where staff will move from behind the counter onto the floor. Customers will continue to be provided with a comprehensive range of products and services, the ability to lodge and withdraw cash from easy to use self-service devices and access to online and 365 phone services. This will also enable greater availability of branch staff to provide personalised financial and banking advice.

"While foreign currency exchange and coin transaction services will no longer be available in the branches, cash services are available through the self-service options inbranch. The use of credit and debit card and contactless banking continues to grow, with demand for cheques, foreign currency and coin services continuing to significantly reduce.

"This change has been very successful in a growing number of our branches, where we have seen an increase in transactions happening in branch through the enhanced availability of self-service options.

"Implementation of these changes will be taking place on a phased basis with a two-month period for comprehensive customer notification."
There was widespread sadness throughout Donegal and beyond following the news yesterday that the little red-haired toddler from Killygordon, Caolan Melaugh, had passed away.

The two-year-old died in at home on Thursday afternoon, in the company of his loving parents, Gerard and Stacey, and his little brother, Eoghan.

Caolan endured a battle with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer, since he was just 10 weeks old. Over the last two years friends of the family organised countless fundraisers to help provide the necessary treatment which included chemotherapy, surgery, stem cell transplant, radiotherapy and six months of immunotherapy.

Caolan was enrolled on a preventative trial Michigan last summer. But while in America for a trial in September, he suffered a relapse. After suffering a seizure, Caolan had two life-saving brain surgeries in Michigan. In April, Caolan had an emergency trip to Temple Street Childrens Hospital where he had fluid removed from his brain, and in May the family visited Medjugorje.

In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, his family said, Sorry for the lack of updates. We were to busy enjoying our time with Caolan.

Unfortunately things took a very bad turn, and today poor Caolan left this cruel world, he passed away peacefully, surrounded by all our family.

They said, We are totally heartbroken but so proud of our wee man.

Thank you for all the support and we please ask everyone to respect our privacy at this hard time. Sleep tight darling, free from pain and suffering from now on.
BMW has accused the federal government of having its "head in the sand" when it comes to encouraging greater use of low emission vehicles in Australia.

Speaking at the launch of the new BMW 530e plug-in hybrid in Sydney on the day before Labour leader Bill Shorten issued an olive branch to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a bid to resolve a stalemate over future emission policies, BMW Australia boss Marc Werner slammed the government for its lack of vision to set out a road map that would dictate a wider spread introduction of fully-electric and low-emission plug-in hybrid vehicles in Australia.

"We have talked about this before and not in isolation either," he said.

"There have been strong comments from a number of brands in the automotive industry. And these comments are embraced by the rest of the industrialised world yet fall on deaf ears here in Australia. The reason is clear; our government is so far behind the times in their view of climate change that they probably think we are getting around in horses and carts.

"For a developed country, Australia has shocking emission levels - worse than 34 other countries in the world. Worse than what we would call non-industrialised or third-world countries.

"The government subscribes to a policy of avoidance, rhetoric and inaction, particularly inaction - that seems to be the key behaviour."
Now the Russian team is getting ready for the Silk Way Rally to be held in July 2017. Nikolaev took the Kamaz rally truck to the Transpolar region of Murmansk to test the truck under extreme snow conditions.

The Kamaz-4326 rally truck is popularly known as the Terminator'. It is a fitting name as the ruck weighs a massive 10 tonnes.

The Kamaz-4326 truck draws power from a monstrous 16.2-litre V8 diesel engine producing 1,000bhp. To Test the new Continental 14.00 R20 164/160K HC tyres, Nikolaev reached a speed of 14km/h and jumped from the snow for 37-metres with a force of 12G.

It feels unreal to watch such a heavy truck getting airborne for such a distance. Especially the slow-mo video looks stunning as we get a peek into the skeleton of the truck. The team stated that tyres gripped the snow very well.

The suspension with a travel of 30cm withstood the impact and at the time of landing the truck was at its maximum speed. Nikolaev said, "To test the truck we went to Kirovsk, in the Murmansk region, to one of the snowiest regions in Russia."

Nikolaev added, "There, right through to the late spring, there's a lot of deep snow. For our KAMAZ-4326, these conditions are very similar to driving on the sands of South America or Africa."

The 2017 Silk Way Rally will commence from July 7 at Moscow's Red Square. The Kamaz team will tackle 14 stages and cover a distance of 9,608km across Russia, Kazakhstan, and China.
Dundalk metal band Words That Burn, are certainly making their mark internationally, with the news that they are to play EXIT festival in Serbia, as part of a European tour this summer.

Founded in 2010 in Dundalk, Words That Burn are Roni MacRuairi (vocals & guitar), Ger Murphy (bass & vocals), Jason Christy (drums) and Shane Martin (guitars). They got together through a mutual desire to create something different to the scene bands that flood the genre - heavy, melodic, crushing, beautiful music.

2010  2013 saw tours across Ireland and the UK taking in many venues, meeting many people and causing many sore necks, heads and other limbs.

Words That Burns first studio release Praey (June 2013), introduced them as one of Irelands most intense alt-metal bands. Renowned for their searing live shows, Words That Burn consider each of the songs to be a sonically visual montage of hopes, fears, pain and redemption.

In late 2014 WTB signed International record, distribution and publishing deal with Wormholedeath / Aural Records / Warner Chappell Holland (BV).

The band hit the rehearsal rooms in January 2015 to hone their sound further and take it to the next level. In July of the same year, they flew to beautiful Tuscany in Italy, where they spent a month recording their first full-length offering.

Taking musical & sonic influence from bands such as Deftones, Bring me the Horizon, Slipknot, Northlane, Killswitch Engage, Architects and The Defiled they have compiled an album of hook-laden tracks.

Since the release of Regret is for the Dead in June 2016, album reviews have been very positive from online rock & metal magazines worldwide. The first day of release saw the album go to Number 1 in the Irish Metal, Irish Rock and Irish mainstream iTunes download charts.

Over the course of June to October 2016 Words That Burn completed an Irish tour with shows across the length and breadth of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as a European tour with dates in Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Poland and the Czech Republic. 2017 will see another Irish, UK and European tour including a slot at EXIT festival in Serbia.

Talking to the Dundalk Democrat, it is clear to see Words That Burn are fully aware of where they are going.

"We are currently in serious practice mode to sharpen up the set for EXIT", says Roni MacRuairi.

"Aside from our album going to number 1 in the rock, metal and mainstream iTunes charts the day that it was released this time last year - which was so surreal for a metal band from Dundalk to achieve - and an amazing European tour last summer, this is the defining milestone of our career."

"Sharing a bill with global megastars like the Killers, Liam Gallagher and Rag'n'Bone man, we get to play the same stage with metal monsters like The Black Dahlia Murder & Destruction so we are beyond excited to bring our noise to the table."

The Irish music press have certainly become fans of Words That Burn, with Burning Metal Ireland suggesting it is "maybe one of the best albums ever released by an Irish Band", Sonic Circus Ireland calling it a "masterpiece of an album" and Metal Ireland stating "Its a massive, confident effort from a band clearly going places."

To keep up to date with Words That Burn releases, tour dates and news, visit www.facebook.com/wordsthatburn
Volunteers with Clogherhead RNLI, including lifeboat crew, station management, fundraisers and supporters will be on hand this Sunday at The Irish Maritime Festival in Drogheda Port to launch the stations Shannon appeal.

The Shannon is the latest class of all weather lifeboat in the RNLI fleet and the most technologically advanced. This will be the second Shannon class lifeboat to go on service in Ireland, with the first based at Lough Swilly in Donegal.



The total cost of the new Shannon will be in the region of 2.5 million and the majority of the funding will be provided through an Irish legacy. The charity is asking Clogherhead RNLI to raise 150,000 towards the cost of the project through a community appeal. The launch marks the official start of the fundraising which the organisers hope will bring in the funds needed before the lifeboat is due to go on service in 2019.



The current lifeboat based at Clogherhead, Doris Bleasdale, is a Mersey class lifeboat that can reach a top speed of 15 knots. The Mersey was introduced into the RNLI fleet in 1988 and the last Mersey class lifeboat was built in 1993, the same year Clogherhead RNLI received their lifeboat.

In the last five years lifeboat crew in Clogherhead have launched their lifeboat 58 times and brought 60 people to safety. With the Shannon class lifeboat those launches will be even faster with the new top speed of 25 knots. Advances in technology and design mean the new lifeboat was developed to operate in the worst of sea conditions and is self-righting, automatically turning the right side up in the event of a capsize.

Commenting on the launch of the appeal Coxswain Tomas Whelehan said, We are delighted that this day is finally here and we can announce the news of a new Shannon class lifeboat for the east coast. We have been overwhelmed with the goodwill of people and offers of support. This new lifeboat will represent everyone in our communities as well as those who visit our shores for work or pleasure.

Our lifeboat crew launch in all conditions at any time of night or day to bring loved ones home. Not all callouts are rescues and sometimes there is tragedy and loss of life but whatever the call our lifeboat and our crews are always ready to answer it. The least we can do is give them the very best in lifeboat technology.
MENOMONIE  Gerrymandering of voting districts in Wisconsin is one of the worst in the nation, said Jay Heck last week.

Heck, executive director of Wisconsin Common Cause, explained to an audience of nearly 80 people what was meant by gerrymandering and how it distorts citizens votes. He spoke at the first public forum held by the newly-formed local branch of Wisconsin League of Women Voters.

After the 10-year census of U.S. population, each state must re-draw electoral districts to reflect population shifts. Wisconsins constitution requires that the state legislative and congressional districts be re-drawn by the state legislature.

Redistricting, as the redesign of voting districts is called, used to be an issue that bored people. Now, its one of the hot issues, not just in Wisconsin but in the nation, Heck said, noting that voting districts determine public policy.

Usually  it was done in a fairly even-handed manner, Heck said. For five redistricting events in Wisconsin  more than 50 years  Republicans and Democrats worked out a compromise even though they both had partisan interests at heart.

It worked because government was divided where one party had one house and the other party had the other house. No one party had a huge advantage, he said.

With the Republican wave of 2010 in which the party won both houses and the governorship of Wisconsin, Heck explained, Republicans employed a plan developed years earlier where legislative lines guaranteed Republican control of state government. Republican legislators packed Milwaukee and Madison into safe democratic seats, and designed other regions of the state to lock in the Republican advantage of 2011.

Disenfranchised

The result was that in the 2012 election, although 52 percent of the population cast ballots for Democrats, only 39 of the 99 Assembly seats went to Democrats, Heck reported. The Republican minority vote took a majority, 60 of 99, seats.

According to Heck, none of the Wisconsin Congressional districts are now competitive and only nine of the 99 Assembly seats are remotely competitive. While gerrymandering  distorted redistricting  has always been part of the process, its never been to this excess.

Young people now realize their vote doesnt matter, he told the group: People in Wisconsin have been effectively disenfranchised.

A lawsuit over Wisconsins gerrymandering is now before the U.S. Supreme Court and awaits the justices decision to accept it for review. Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel appealed a federal court ruled that the state legislature must redraw voting districts by November 2017.

In the lawsuit, Whitford v. Gill, a three-judge federal panel found Wisconsins redistricting to be an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander violating both the Equal Protection Clause and the plaintiffs First Amendment rights to freedom of association.

The districts were designed in secrecy inside the law offices of the Republican leaders in 2011. The minority party was locked out, the public had no chance to review the plan, and Republicans were forced to sign an oath of secrecy, Heck said: We have effectively in Wisconsin disenfranchised many voters.

While racial gerrymandering is recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court as unconstitutional, partisan gerrymandering has until now been exempt from recognition. Wisconsins suit asks the Supreme Court to recognize partisan redistricting as violations of the First and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.

The solution, says Heck, is to adopt the Iowa method for redistricting. Iowas nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency places civil employees in charge of redrawing voting districts according to strict criteria. The criteria respect town and city boundaries and maintain counties, with no input from legislators. The resulting maps are then voted upon by the legislature.

Iowa mandates only the criteria into law, and competitiveness flows naturally out of it, Heck said.

Wisconsins redistricting has cost taxpayers $2.2 million so far to defend hyper-partisan redistricting, Heck said. Iowas redistricting process costs $640 every 10 years.

The state is on track to pay another $175,000 for an amicus brief for Attorney General Schimels appeal to the Supreme Court. In addition, Wisconsin taxpayers will pay $300 an hour to attorneys with no cap on the total, to assist in defending these indefensible maps, Heck said, adding, Iowans want to save the taxpayers money. Theres no such consideration in Wisconsin.

The Dunn County Board went on record at its April meeting in support of nonpartisan redistricting. In addition, two redistricting measures are currently stalled in the state Legislature. Both measures, SB13 and AB44, require fair and impartial, nonpartisan redistricting.
What is being called an accidental time capsule was uncovered at the Lake Holcombe School District building on Monday.

Superintendent Jeff Mastin said the school is replacing 175 lockers in the middle and high schools. While doing that, some materials fell out, seeing the light of day for the first time in over four decades.

We have stuff as far back as 1973, Mastin said.

Theres an old English quiz, along with a token for a beverage at Country Jam, in Eau Claire.

Among the stash is a card for students to join the Future Farmers of America that was issued in 1978, and a necklace with the Eiffel Tower printed on it.

In a tribute to the late 1970s and 1980s, a poster of Eddie Van Halen was unearthed.

We found a pair of earrings that looked like handheld telephones, he said.

Plus, a couple dollars in change was found, along with photos from people who were students in 1988.

The items for now are being kept at the school. Just in case anyone needs an Eddie Van Halen poster for their wall.
It was December 2016 when HMD Global announced the redirection of Nokia with the release of the reinvented classic NOKIA 3310. But it was only this June 2017 when the new NOKIA reached Philippines shores as it held its official launch in the country in Manila.

If you have seen the new NOKIA 3310 being sold prior to this launch, I am disgusted to tell you they are all fake.

The original and official new NOKIA 3310, together with the other new NOKIA Android phones Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 will be available in the Philippine market starting at the end of June 2017!

Price range at jaw-dropping rate starting at Php2,490 for the new NOKIA 3310, Php6,990 for Nokia 3, Php9,990 for Nokia 5 and Php11,990 for Nokia 6.

Here is a glimpse of what happened at the NEW NOKIA 3310 launch plus a quick review of this much awaited it mobile phone for those who want a social media detox, play the Snake again and hear that iconic ringtone and have a ringback again!

I know the suspense is too much but I believe it is worth the wait. Meanwhile lets keep you anticipating.

This is a glimpse of the new NOKIA 5. All the new mobile phones have dual SIM.



P. S. HMD Global, the one who redirected the new NOKIA is not responsible for any Nokia windows phone of any original NOKIA mobile phones sold before December 2016. Let us all make that clear.

So, which led the new Nokia are you dying to get your hands on?

Stay gorgeous everyone!
The presidents new at this. Hes new to government, and so he probably wasnt steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between DOJ, FBI and White Houses. Hes just new to this.  U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (D-Wisc.), at a Thursday press conference held during former FBI Director James Comeys Capitol Hill testimony

For years, weve been accustomed to Republicans chest-beating about their strength. The perception of this has been one of the partys greatest assets, as many of their policy proposals, like cutting taxes for the rich and ripping health care away from 23 million Americans, poll terribly.

There was Ronald Reagan telling Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down that wall and end communism in the late 1980s. There was George W. Bush strutting across an aircraft carrier to (prematurely) celebrate victory in the Iraq war in 2003. There was John McCain declaring hed put the Country First during the 08 election, which everyone believed because hed survived the Hanoi Hilton.

In 2016, Donald Trump campaigned as the ultimate alpha male. I alone can fix it, he promised with his trademark braggadocio, while disparaging his rivals for failing to compete with his virility (remember his digs at Little Marco Rubio and calling Jeb Bush low energy?) During a March 2016 campaign rally, Trump made a big point of stressing he was 63, not 62. And at the GOP debate in Detroit, Trump bragged about the size of his hands in such an awkward soliloquy that CNN cast subtlety aside and ran this headline: Donald Trump defends size of his penis.

Now the president finds himself engulfed in a growing scandal over his campaigns ties to Russia, which is the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation, and a possible coverup. He admitted in a TV interview that the Russia thing was on his mind as he decided to fire FBI Director James Comey.

Comey was on Capitol Hill Thursday to testify and it was riveting. The former director said that Trump told lies, plain and simple, about he and the FBI as part of a coverup for his firing. He revealed the president had said he hoped he would drop his investigation, which Comey took as direction. Comey also said there was no doubt that the Russians were behind the Democratic National Committee hacking last year, which sowed party divisions between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton supporters that Republicans exploited.

So its somewhat breathtaking that as the walls close in on Trump and his allies, Republicans are launching a Fredo defense. Like the slow brother in The Godfather, the president just doesnt really know what hes doing (although, fittingly, Fredo insisted until the day he was whacked that he was really the smart one).

This is not an exaggeration, as you can see by the quote from U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) above. Hes really arguing that Trump is new at this and therefore what he did was OK. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a former proud Never Trumper, tried out a version of the Fredo defense before the hearing: I dont think [Trump] colluded with the Russians because he doesnt collude with his own staff. Look for this to become a popular talking point from the same folks that excoriated former President Barack Obama as Obambi.

In case youre looking for a laugh through your tears, Democratic activist Kaivan Shroff sums the whole thing up nicely.
Billionaires from New York city can count on Walbergs vote, Michiganders cant

Like Donald Trump, Tim Walberg always seems to be on the lookout for ways to hurt the voters of Michigans 7th district, which Walberg allegedly serves.

Hes already voted to uninsure 33,700 of his constituents, putting 14,390 with pre-existing conditions at risk of never being able to find affordable coverage again, by supporting Trumpcare both in committee and in the full House vote. And on Thursday he voted to put Michigan and America back at risk of suffering a financial crisis like the one that began in 2008 and from which were still recovering.

The so-called CHOICE Act, which passed the House with only one Republican defection, allows banks to evade all the consumer protections in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill and regulate themselves if they keep a 10 percent leverage ratio. Thats about one-third of what Anat Admati, a professor at Stanford, says is sufficient to keep theses institutions solvent during a crisis. Banks would then have the ability to continually delay meeting that 10 percent requirement so liberally that they may never have to satisfy it, David Dayen explained on The Dig podcast.

The CHOICE Act also eliminates key consumer victories like the Volcker Rule, which prevents banks from gambling with deposits, and the fiduciary rule, which prevents financial advisors from screwing over their clients.

And thats not all!

The law also targets the most consumer friendly portion of Dodd-Frank  the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  which was inspired by Elizabeth Warren and has already returned more than $11.8 billion to individual Americans.

It also gives Congress purview over the CFPBs budget, meaning lawmakers could defund the agency entirely, CNN Money notes. The president would also be able to fire the Bureaus Director, especially if the Director is doing an excellent job protecting consumers, the way current chief Richard Cordray is.

Thanks, Tim!

Nothing will ever cost America more then unregulated bankers did by killing millions of jobs and trillions in wealth when they nearly tanked the global economy in 2008. Home values in Jackson County are still down as much as 28.4 percent compared to what they were just a decade ago.

Now Walberg wants to set Donald Trump and the big banks free to run government like a failing casino.

Youll note that Republicans took this vote on Thursday as the nation was Comey-tosed by the dramatic testimony of fired FBI Director. The Speaker of the House moved it up a day early to make sure it was drowned out by the hubbub.

Paul Ryan is just savvy enough to know that the pain created by the failure of conservative economics both last decade and over and over again in places like Kansas help feed Donald Trumps rise. And now, instead of becoming a new populist version of the party determined to learn from their mistakes, theyve decided that the real lesson of Trump is to behave like Trump  lie and then do whatever you like in private.

And what these Republicans like to do in private is transfer trillions of dollars of wealth in the form tax breaks and erased consumer protections.

Thats exactly what Tim Walberg was hired to do.

Yes, he was rightfully elected by the people of the 7th district but his real employers are deep-pocketed donors from the financial sector exemplified by the Club for Growth, which helped buy him the Republican nomination in the only competitive primary the congressman has faced. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Walberg has recently received over half a million dollars from that sector.

Activists from Michigan United showed up at Walbergs office in Jackson on Thursday to deliver petitions asking him not to undo the modest but underrated reforms designed to prevent another financial crisis. They also presented him a giant check representing his generous backing from Americas financial industry.

We thought he might show up if we had a check, Ryan Flaherty told me.

Unfortunately, Walberg was in Washington DC representing the bankers whove learned nothing from the last financial crisis.
Essential, a company founded by Andy Rubin, the father of Android, on Tuesday pulled off the wraps on a new high-end smartphone.

The Essential Phone, priced at US$699, includes radios for connecting to all major U.S. carriers.

The unit has an almost edge-to-edge display (theres a bit of bezel at the bottom of its screen) that wraps around the 8-MP selfie camera at the front.

Built around a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, the Essential Phone comes with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.

For durability, the phone has a titanium and ceramic body, which allows it to survive drops with nary a blemish, according to the company.

Magnetic Accessories

Accessories can be added to the phone via a magnetic connector on its backside. Two accessories are included with the unit  a 360-degree camera and a charging dock.

Also on the phones back is 13-MP dual sensor camera. Unlike other phones with dual-sensor cameras, which use the second sensor to take telephoto pictures or create bokeh effects, Essential uses its second sensor to boost low-light performance.

Like some other high-end phone models, the Essential mobile doesnt have a headphone jack.

In addition to its smartphone, Essential announced Home, a smart home hub. It runs on Ambient OS, an operating system that Essential hopes will become the Android of the IoT world.

Home is designed to tie together all the disparate protocols now in the space  SmartThings, HomeKit, Nest and others  as well as the various digital assistants  Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant  into a seamless user experience.

I like that Rubin announced both the new phone and the home hub, said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.

It reinforces that the company isnt just a point player, and that matters to distribution channels, he told TechNewsWorld.

Tough Road Ahead

Despite the quality of its build and some intriguing features, the Essential Phone likely faces a tough road ahead.

I have some doubts about the impact it can have without a big brand behind it, said Bob ODonnell, chief analyst at Technalysis Research.

Itll appeal to tech folks who want the coolest and latest and greatest, but I dont see it becoming a mainstream product, so I think it will be challenged, he told TechNewsWorld.

The audience for the Essential Phone may be limited, said Kevin Krewell, a principal analyst at Tirias Research.

It seems to appeal to people who are suspicious of Googles use of their data, he told TechNewsWorld. Its also going to appeal to the tech elite who want something a little different.

From a hardware perspective, the Essential Phone looks very good, Krewell said.

The edge-to-edge screen is impressive and the materials are top notch  but the difference is the ecosystem and distribution channels the big companies have, he pointed out. Im skeptical that it can make a significant impact. While the tech community is interested in it because its Andy Rubin, the larger market will not know who Andy Rubin is.

Pushing Innovation

There are those who have a more sanguine view of Essentials prospects, however.

If the new phone delivers on everything it promises, I believe it can compete, Moorhead said.

Its vital, though, that theres a very long road map of modules to connect, he added.

The going will be tough for Essential, when you consider the money and marketing muscle that Apple, Samsung and Google have, Moorhead acknowledged.

Then again, Rubin has considerable resources of his own and a reputation that overshadows at least some of the competition. If any entrepreneur could pull this off, Rubin can, he said.

Essentials assumption that theres room for true innovation at the top of the smartphone market is appealing, said Charles King, the principal analyst at Pund-IT.

The vendors in that space, particularly Apple, have been content to become providers of incremental improvements rather than forward-looking visionaries, he told TechNewsWorld.

If Rubin forces competitors to dig deeper, King said, so much the better for consumers and the industry.
Pegasystems has deepened its 7-year-old relationship with Amazon AWS, and also has teamed up with Microsoft Azure, company officials told Pegaworld attendees on Tuesday.

The deals are part of a series of planned partnerships aimed at giving Pegas clients choice in their cloud environment and avoiding lock-in. Pega last month inked an agreement to deliver Pega software on Pivotal Cloud Foundry.

These partnerships enable us to optimize all of our solutions within different cloud provider environments, said Ying Chen, head of product strategy at Pegasystems.

Pega has taken an approach of giving customers the choice of whether or not they want to go to the cloud  and if so, what cloud platform is best for them, noted Rebecca Wettemann, VP of research at Nucleus Research.

Given Pegas size and diverse client base with varying degrees of cloud acceptance, this makes a lot of sense, she told CRM Buyer. Pega building its own cloud wouldnt be cost-effective.

What Customers Will Get

The collaboration with AWS lets Pega customers embed AWS Amazon Connect cloud-based contact center management service for real-time customer interactions directly into Pegas artificial intelligence-based customer service management solution.

That integration will give agents full customer context and let them easily manage telephone-based interactions.

Customers can choose whether to run on Pegas fully managed cloud platform powered by AWS and optimized for Pega software  the Pega Cloud  or to deploy Pega technology directly on their own AWS cloud, maintaining full control of their environment. In both cases, theyll get 24/7 Pega support.

The tie-in with Microsoft lets organizations seamlessly run and deploy Pega solutions on Azure as a fully supported cloud platform.

The partnership represents the first time Pega software has been fully optimized for the Azure environment, making it an extension of our cloud choice offerings, Pegas Chen told CRM Buyer.

AWS and Microsoft Azure both incorporate machine learning, and Microsoft announced plans at Build 17 last month to give developers access to a combination of AI and the Microsoft cloud.

While Microsoft and others offer toolkits and capabilities such as Azure Machine Learning to support AI, Pega has integrated its AI into its Customer Decision Hub  operationalizing AI in a way thats a real differentiator for the company, said Nucleus Researchs Wettemann.

Unlike the black box approach that delivers recommendations based on a somewhat unknown mix of models and techniques, Pega enables customers to select from different models and algorithms based on how opaque or transparent they want the bait for the recommendations to be, she said. Pega lets customers choose how much they want to trust algorithms they dont necessarily understand as a business tool.

Pegas Ultimate Goal

Pega clearly has Salesforce  and more broadly, digital transformation with AI  in its sights, noted Wettemann, and is differentiating its offering playing on its strengths of structure and process.

Its challenges are to get its message out to a broader market, given competitors with much larger megaphones, and drive adoption with existing customers, she said.

Microsoft itself offers the Dynamics CRM package, but on a positive note, theres already a lot of coopetition in this space, and its not going away, Wettemann said.

The partnership is about giving our clients that have selected our solutions the choice to run them on Azure, rather than targeting Dynamics, noted Pegas Chen.

AWS and Azure are No. 1 and No. 2 in the cloud services provider market, which raises the question of what they get out of teaming with Pega.

Another badge on their ecosystem belt, Wettemann suggested.

As we see Oracle, Microsoft, AWS and others compete more aggressively to be the cloud infrastructure platform of choice, she said, more ISVs on their platform means more bragging rights.
MADISON  The benefits of Wisconsins dairy industry reach far beyond the barn doors. While our Wisconsin farm families rely on the dairy business for their livelihood, we all rely on dairy for the impact it has on our states economy, culture and future.

We see Americas Dairyland on our license plates every day while driving down the highway, but we likely take what that really means for granted. Dairy contributes $43.4 billion to Wisconsins economy annually. That is more than if you combine the value of citrus to Florida, potatoes to Idaho, apples to Washington and raisins to California. These dollars support local communities, businesses and schools.

Our friends and neighbors, in urban and rural areas of the state, have jobs that are related to the states dairy industry. The dairy industry employs 78,900 people in the state. Jobs created by dairy businesses bring long-term stability to local employment bases. Every job in agriculture supports an additional 1.46 jobs elsewhere in Wisconsin.

Wisconsins universities and technical schools prepare young people for future careers in the dairy business, from animal science and biotechnology to equipment engineering and marketing. There is a place for everyone who wants to work in Wisconsins dairy industry.

Wisconsins dairy industry may be changing but it continues to be strong. Every farm is unique. When you drive down the road, you wont see any two farms that are identical. Some farms are small and rely on robotic technology to get the milking done. Others are large and produce organic milk. Our diversity is our states greatest strength. With more than 9,000 dairy farms and 400 dairy processors, we all benefit from these beautiful bovines and the quality products created from their milk.

More than a quarter of the nations cheese is made right here in our state by our cheeseheads. Our dairy processors create more than 600 types, styles and varieties of cheese, and they continue to do research to ensure they are meeting our customer needs in the future. At national and international award events, Wisconsins cheesemakers are recognized for their quality work, taking home top prizes again and again.

Wisconsins reputation as a dairy state has spread around the world. Wisconsin sells its agricultural products to 150 different countries. When you say you are from Wisconsin, international government officials and business leaders are immediately engaged in how they can learn from our expertise or buy our products. Wisconsins cows produce milk every day of the week. One day out of seven, this milk is being made into products that will go beyond our countrys borders. Dairy is a worldwide business we are lucky to have in Wisconsin.

It is fitting that the World Dairy Expo calls Wisconsin home. Each fall, the dairy industry comes to Madison to meet for the five-day event. World Dairy Expo features a premier dairy show with more than 2,000 elite dairy cattle. The enormous trade show allows agribusinesses to showcase the latest in technology and research. The business meetings and farm tours that occur during World Dairy Expo build connections that continue to grow throughout the year.

Its June Dairy Month. Lets celebrate. Visit www.dairydaysofsummer.com to find a dairy breakfast or event near you. The best thing you can do to support our hardworking family farmers is to come out to the farm, take a tour and enjoy a meal together. Every time you drink a glass of milk, grab a string cheese or have yogurt with lunch, you are contributing to the continued success and the future of Wisconsins dairy industry.
Ever wonder how the cable television industry would get back into the wireless business? Charter Spectrum has announced it will resell Comcasts Xfinity Mobile wireless service to customers inside its region. The good news is that this deal lets Charter get quick access to wireless without competing with Comcast.

Comcast and Charter Communications last week said they had reached an operational agreement about working together on wireless communications going forward. My understanding is that both agreed to sell wireless only to their existing customers in their existing regions.

While this is limiting in one sense, it does open a growth opportunity for Comcast. On one hand, it means there will be no national expansion for Charter or for Comcast. On the other hand, it could allow Comcast to move more deeply into the reseller business with all the smaller cable television companies nationwide.

Wireless Success Stories

The important question going forward is this: Will Comcast and Charter be successful with wireless this time around? You see, they tried wireless plays before and failed. Now they are trying again. However, we may not know whether this gambit will be successful for at least a quarter or two.

Wireless is a complicated business. AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile are the only successful big-time players. The others struggle for a smaller market share. In the past, various companies  among them, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Amazon and Facebook  tried to compete with the leaders but failed.

Even Google is still struggling in wireless. Android is a hit, but Googles Pixel phone and its Project Fi service are not.

Charter, Comcast and Verizon

It will be interesting to see what strategy Comcast and Charter use to grow in wireless. Success is not guaranteed  especially if you do not follow the leaders, which neither Comcast or Charter seems to be doing.

Will limiting the size and scope of their addressable markets work? Will not focusing on wireless as a standalone product work? These are two of the mistakes they made years ago. Will it be different this time?

Its important to remember that even though Charter will resell Comcast, Xfinity Mobile is already a reseller of Verizon Wireless. What this means is that Charter will be a reseller of Verizon Wireless  two steps removed. This arrangement raises an interesting question: Why didnt Charter deal directly with Verizon?

Cracking the Code

Selling Verizon services limits Comcast, and selling Comcast limits Charter. That said, wireless is a huge growth opportunity for any company that can crack the code. So, the critical question is whether Charter and Comcast can crack the code this time.

Congratulations to Charter on entering wireless through Comcast Xfinity Mobile. There is an enormous opportunity for real growth, if it can crack the code. Only time will tell, but I wish both Charter and Comcast success.
(Photo:  Peter Kenny)Sign on a window at the International Museum of the Reformation (MIR) in Geneva, Switzerland on May 31, 2017.

The 500th anniversary of the Reformation was not just the time when Martin Luther rebelled against his Church, penning 95 theses or protests against corruption such as the sale of indulgences to the faithful in exchange for their salvation.

The era also saw the first of the printing revolution which helped fuel the Reformation.

To commemorate the 500th anniversary of this movement, the International Museum of the Reformation (MIR) in Geneva is taking a closer look at a technology that both transformed Christianity and profoundly changed attitudes.

It is titled, "Print! The first pages of a revolution - An interactive exhibition," that is running at the Geneva museum next to the cathedral of St. Pierre from June 4 to Oct. 31.

Over 130 days, from June 4 Oct. 31, an entire Bible will be hand-printed using period techniques, on a replica of a Gutenberg press built especially for the exhibition and placed inside a spectacular glass cube.

There will also be a series of events and discussion relating to the Reformation, the even the had such an impact on peace and conflict in Europe.

"The Gutenberg Revolution was as influential in its time as the invention of the Internet is today. Without printing, the Reformation would probably not have spread so widely or so fast. The movement initiated by Luther and his contemporaries has been described as the first media campaign in history," says the MIR.

"The radical transformations that took place of the 16th century are in many ways similar to those we observe today, with the digital revolution," says museum director and curator, Gabriel de Montmollin. "Understanding what happened back then may help us better understand what we are experiencing today."

"When addressing the printing revolution, the fact that the Reformation was first and foremost a 'confession of the book' presents another challenge."

BEST SELLING AUTHOR MARTIN LUTHER

Luther was from the eastern German town of Wittenberg, but was a best-selling author of his day and he saw printing "as the greatest and most extraordinary act of Divine Grace." Some 300,000 copies of his works were in circulation between 1517 and 1520, and around 3,700 editions were published in the 30 final years of his life.

The printing press did not only leave its mark on the Reformation, but many other cultural movements or currents of thought took advantage of it as well, radically transforming humanity's relationship to education, science, literature and religion.

"Thanks to the multiplier effect of printing  a technology that in 1517 had been around for less than a century  Luther was able to rally followers throughout Germany and Europe and respond to their questions through a continuous flow of revolutionary writings," said

"The Gutenberg Press was to Martin Luther what the Internet is to Julian Assange!" said de Montmollin referring to the founder of WikiLeaks who is in hiding at the Ecuador Embassy in London.

De Montmollin explained that the influence of printing was not limited to Protestantism.

"In literature, science and philosophy, too, the Gutenberg revolution brought ideas that were once the preserve of elites to a much wider audience. This is clearly explained in a section we decided to call 'The Gutenberg Galaxy' in tribute to Marshall McLuhan, where we present 17 best-sellers from the 16th century."

He said these include "several priceless first editions" generously loaned to the museum by the Bodmer Foundation and the Geneva Library.

The museum has invited four contemporary artists to illustrate the hand-printed Bible.

"In Luther's time, Bibles were often illustrated by famous artists following an imposed model. Those constraints no longer exist, and we look forward to seeing how these artists will freely reflect the complexity of the Bible today."
When 17-year-old Robbie Maher stood in front of the Vermont House judiciary committee this spring to make his case for student-press freedoms, he credited his high school journalism adviser for his ability to report on issues that matter.

It all starts at the top with the Mercury [student newspaper] adviser, Peter Riegelman, said Robbie, a student at Bellows Free Academy in St. Albans, Vt. Mr. Riegelman ... learned the ins and outs, dos and donts, of journalism. As our adviser, he has passed this knowledge down to each and every BFA journalism student.

The bill Robbie was testifying for grants free-speech and free-press protections for student journalists at public K-12 schools and state colleges and universities. It also protects media advisers from being dismissed, suspended, reassigned, or otherwise disciplined for protecting their students journalism. The bill is among more than a dozen such efforts across the country seeking to expand free-press protections to both student journalists and their teachersand meeting with varying degrees of success.

The Vermont measure was signed into law last month by Republican Gov. Phil Scott.

But the day before, 2,600 miles away, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, also a Republican, vetoed an equivalent bill. In his response to the state legislature , Ducey wrote that while he supports free speech and a free press, he worries that this bill could create unintended consequences, especially on high school campuses where adult supervision and mentoring is most important.

The New Voices movement, led by the Washington-based nonprofit Student Press Law Center, started with a law passed in North Dakota in 2015. Last year, such laws were victorious in Illinois and Maryland but failed in a handful of other states, including Michigan and Missouri.

In addition to the newly signed law in Vermont, legislation has passed this year in Nevada, and bills are moving through the legislatures in New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Frank LoMonte, the executive director of the Student Press Law Center , said bills are also on the runway in New York and Wisconsin, and once again in Michigan, Missouri, Washington, Texas and Indiana for next years legislative sessions.

While there are small differences between states, New Voices bills are mostly based on model legislation from the Student Press Law Center.

The argument for opponents gets weaker and weaker every time a state moves into the New Voices column, LoMonte said. Once half of America is governed by this standard, you cant call it radical or extreme or experimental anymore.

While only 11 states have student press-freedom laws, LoMonte estimates that one-third of high school students have New Voices protections, thanks to the large populations of states like California.

Empowering Students

In some states, the bills have garnered opposition from administrator groups, school lobbyists, or state school boards, who fear that the legislation could lead to unchecked, irresponsible student journalism.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals hasnt gotten involved yet, but NASSP President Jayne Ellspermann said the organization has been monitoring the bills and has some hesitation about them.

As school leaders, we want to empower our students and support our teachers, she said. To make the assumption that there has to be laws created that [assume] that we would stand in the way of thatI think that takes away from the relationship and the culture that principals really work hard at building at the school level.

Her concern, she said, is that a law could create a situation in which the principal is restricted from engaging in a responsible dialogue with the student newspaper, and that could take away from the instructional empowerment.

New Voices legislation does not protect student journalism that is libelous or slanderous, constitutes an unwarranted invasion of privacy, or causes a substantial disruption of the schools operations. Most states bills allow school districts to draft policies that prohibit speech that is lewd or obscene.

Melanie Allen, the president of the Arizona Interscholastic Press Association, said advisers are certified teachers who take seriously the responsibility of teaching students the importance of sound journalism.

The governors statement when vetoing the bill almost makes it sound like high school newspapers are very loosely supervised; that is not the case at all, she said. Our job as adviserswhether it be yearbook advisers, newspaper advisers, or with any [school-sponsored] mediais that we teach our students how to objectively and fairly provide the news.

New Voices legislation seeks to reverse the landmark 1988 U.S. Supreme Court case, Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier , which ruled that educators usually do not violate the First Amendment when they exercise control over student speech in school-sponsored activities, such as a school newspaper.

Since then, many high schools across the country have implemented the practice of prior review, in which a school administrator, often the principal, can review students work before publication.

That is not an empowering professional environment for a teacher to be in, said Sarah Nichols, the president of the Journalism Education Association.

The journalism teacher has worked to create a prepared staff with a lot of good training and preparation, she continued, but it doesnt matter because someone else is going to be in control, other than the student.

The NASSPs Ellspermann said the prior-review practice doesnt have to be heavy-handed, but reviewing students work before publication is part of the instructional process. She said that review can come from an administrator, the adviser, other faculty members, or even a panel of studentsbut it should align with the review process put in place for anything else published by the school.

We have to be careful not to overmonitor student work just because theyre students, she said.

Battling Censorship

But the concern for many student-journalism advocates is that a principal will not allow a story to be published if it reflects poorly on the school. And once a controversial story has been published, there is fear of administrative retaliation against student-media advisers.

While teachers have been fired or have had their advising duties instantly removed, Nichols said that most of the time, the reprisals are more subtle.

Administrators might cut the school newspapers budget, change the advisers class schedule, ask him or her to suddenly share a classroom, or add so many responsibilities to a teachers plate that, eventually, the teacher caves and quits as adviser, Nichols said.

That subtlety is hard to document, she said, and while New Voices legislation might not explicitly protect against that, it demonstrates support for the teacher, it emphasizes good teaching, and it makes it much harder for the administrator to take some kinds of action.

Having these laws on the books also boosts student journalists confidence, advocates say.

In a lot of states, the argument is not that we have individual horror stories that need to be prevented, but that students are prone to censor themselves when they know they have no rights, said LoMonte of the Student Press Law Center.

Students will choose not to write about issues of substance because theyve been made aware their advisers job is precarious, he said. I get that question all the time: Students will ask me, Can you assure me that if I pursue this story, my adviser will not be fired? And in most of America, I cannot give them that assurance.

In Vermont, at least, student-media advisers will be protected under the new law, which went into effect immediately. Thats a relief for Riegelman, the student-newspaper adviser at Bellows Free Academy. He said that if there was ever prior review at his school, he would quit his advising duties.

That is unconscionable if you ask me, he said. Administrators dont want us to talk about things that arent rainbows and butterflies and puppies, but thats our job. Thats the job of the kids.

And the Mercury student newspaper has not shied away from reporting on tough issues: Last year, Robbie reported that school administrators were receiving pay raises while cutting school programs.

Robbie, who wants to study journalism in college, said he hopes the law allows students in the state to feel more confident when reporting on controversial issues.

In my opinion, if its controversial, and its something that most people dont want to hear, he said, then its something that should be covered.
During the past decade, the idea of education as a 21st-century civil rights issue has surged. Many of our nations public schools that serve large numbers of low-income communities frequently face funding challenges that result in inadequate facilities and educational resources. While efforts have been made to address these disparities, one of the cornerstones of a quality education has largely gone overlooked: access to curricula, textbooks, and other instructional and self-directed learning materials that drive rigorous academics.

Less affluent districts often struggle to provide their students with quality, up-to-date materials aligned with todays more demanding state standards. Research in the past few decades has shown that teachers in schools with predominantly minority or poor populations are more likely to consider their teaching materials inadequate. One 2015 report from nonprofit organization The Education Trust found that the highest-poverty public school districts nationwide receive about $1,200 less per student in state and local funding than the lowest-poverty districts.

And in about half of the 100 largest U.S. cities, most African-American and Latino students go to public schools where at least 75 percent of all students are low-income, according to The Atlantics 2016 analysis of federal data. Without access to quality instructional materials, high standards and high expectations represent an empty promise to students of color and traditionally underserved students.

But there are solutions. Open educational resources, or OER, could begin to help bridge this gap in learning materials for students of color. Last fall, the NAACP issued a resolution advocating that state education agencies encourage and support local school districts in using open resources. The resolution asserts that teachers and schools must have high-quality academic resources, which has not been the situation for many African-American students.

The use of OER in K-12 education has been growing for more than a decade. While the resources have often been used as supplemental learning material, they also include a broad range of high-quality, freely available or openly licensed materials that deepen the learning programfrom complete curricula and textbooks to lesson plans. They are also produced by thousands of organizations and individualsfrom NASA and museums to school districts, and individual educators themselves. And they often include curricula and course guidelines that states and districts can use to ensure that teachers have the best tools available to improve their instruction at scale.

Emerging research demonstrates that K-12 and higher education students perform just as wellif not betterwhen teachers use high-quality OER in the classroom. A 2014 study by researchers at Brigham Young University of more than 3,000 students in grades 9-12 found that using OER in place of textbooks improved academic performance in chemistry. And a 2015 study of more than 16,000 college and university students across the country found that students performed as well or better when using OER instead of traditional materials.

National coalitions should advocate to ensure that OER gains support at the federal level."

Significantly, many of the K-12 resources have been aligned to a variety of state curriculum standards and evaluation rubrics; several states have also created OER hubs that are available to all teachers to adapt, revise, and share as they wish. This gives states and districts more local control of content and curriculum.

The NAACPs recent ratification of the resolution to advocate and promote the use of OER suggests a way forward that brings together the resources of state education agencies and the grassroots influence of civil rights advocates. Now, the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (a leading OER nonprofit of which Lisa Petrides is the founder and CEO) and the NAACP (for which Barbara Dezmon serves as a state education chair) are working to identify key policy changes that need to be made. Together, we are coordinating state efforts to expand the availability and use of these resources to address the persistent achievement gaps facing our schools. Our goal is to advance an education agenda that encourages states and districts to:

 Bring together a broad coalition. This alliance should explore how open educational resources are being used in states and work with civil rights groups, teachers and union leaders, heads of parent organizations, and community leaders to create a shared agenda that ensures that those resources are responsive to community needs. State coalitions should help ensure that state education leaders, policymakers, and legislators understand the value of making OER more broadly accessible. National coalitions should advocate to ensure that OER gains support at the federal level. They can do this by reinforcing the emphasis on technology in learning found in the Every Student Succeeds Act and changing long-standing procurement policies that presume resources are available only from commercial publishers.

 Learn from existing users of OERboth in and out of schools. Classroom teachers, librarians, college faculty, cultural agencies, education technology companies, and other stakeholders can help advance the use of open resources in ways that meet the needs of all students. Vermont, Wisconsin, and Washington are among the states that have assembled teams of educators to evaluate materials to ensure that resources align with state standards. These teams also help evaluate and curate materials that have been shown to be particularly effective in increasing success in teaching state standards in subjects, including STEM.

 Invest in training for teachers, librarians, and other school professionals. Make recommendations for increasing awareness, investment, and training in the use of OER. In schools across the country, we have seen teams of librarians and teachers work together to curate and learn to use OER content. While ESSA provides new flexibility for technology-focused professional development, providing resources and materials to encourage school-level use of open resources is one of the strongest levers to encourage their adoption at scale.

 Provide technical support to districts. The biggest issue for some districts is that technology is not availabletheres little support to help educators access and use OER, which can often be found online. State education agencies should provide both technical support and training to empower districts and schools to help educators work with the technology to access these materials.

 Shift resource allocations. While OER should not be treated as merely a replacement for more-expensive textbooks, states and districts can take advantage of cost savings on classroom materials to support professional development, technical support, and OER training.

Thanks to a renewed focus on education as a civil rights issue, high expectations for all students are gradually replacing the soft bigotry of low expectations. But until we level the playing field with a realistic plan to provide learning resources at scale, a quality education will remain another unfulfilled promise for the students who need it the most.




Cobb Zambia seminar looks to technology advances





Thirty-five delegates attended a three-day Cobb broiler, breeder, hatchery and veterinary seminar at Lusaka, Zambia.

The event was hosted by African Poultry Development, the group name of Hybrid Poultry of Zambia, Kenchic of Kenya and Tanbreed of Tanzania.

"The seminar was a truly international conference and experience for the people of African Poultry Developoment," commented Pieter Oosthuysen, Cobb senior manager for accounts and technical services for Africa.



"It was a great networking opportunity for them to meet new people from other African countries in the same business," Oosthuysen added. "The participation and enthusiasm of the delegates was great, and we had six speakers who were really experts in their fields. I'm sure the delegates will have learned something new to take home and help improve Cobb performance even further."

Simon Wilde, managing director of Hybrid Poultry Farm, said the event provided the opportunity to learn about the latest techniques and advances. "Through a series of talks, practical visits and workshops, all the delegates were shown how to measure performance on their own units against the latest Cobb standards and how to make improvements where necessary. Our group are thoroughly looking forward to the next event in two years."

In a presentation about innovation in poultry housing, Martijn Gruyters, Cobb Europe senior technical manager, spoke about the importance of maintaining a good environment to achieve a balance between ventilation and temperature control.

He then took the delegates on a tour of the Eureka broiler complex of Hybrid Poultry where a new broiler house was used to explain how design and management of inlets and fans, and proper sealing, affected ventilation. They also visited a new broiler house with a complete tunnel ventilation system.

The emphasis throughout was on hands-on learning with the delegates spilt into different groups for broiler, breeder, hatchery and veterinary sessions. The programme featured the importance of good quality light of the right frequency and colour, the need for high water quality in terms of temperature as well as hygiene, the significance of the first seven day weight, hatchery efficiency and optimising hatchability through improved male management.

Among the comments from delegates, 'The power of data analysis' presentation by Edward Diehl, Cobb nutritionist, was singled out by Kenchic management trainee Kelvin Osore who said he now intended to use data "to arrive at a proper diagnosis of challenges facing our farms; I intend to make this a norm in my work."

- Cobb




Aviagen Anadolu hosts Ross customers for vet laboratory training in Turkey



Aviagen's commitment to "training the trainer" was demonstrated recently at the biennial Middle East and Africa (MEA) Laboratory Training, held at Aviagen Anadolu's state-of-the-art veterinary laboratory in Ankara, Turkey.

Ross customers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Libya attended the event to enhance their knowledge of best-practice flock monitoring.

In line with Aviagen's "global reach, local touch" principles, attendees were provided with an ideal environment on their doorsteps in which to refine and test practical flock sampling procedures and bacteriology, serology and real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) techniques. They also discussed diagnostic case studies and received expert opinions from presenters including Mehmet Uvey, Aviagen Anadolu's laboratory director; Pavel Shkarlat, regional veterinarian; and Luuk Stooker, senior product manager at BioChek.

"We were delighted to welcome our MEA customers to the ISO-accredited Aviagen Anadolu lab and would like to thank Mehmet and his colleagues for their excellent teaching and assistance," Shkarlat said. "Our veterinary team is committed to passing on knowledge and the lab provided the ideal facility to do this. The quality of Aviagen products supplied by regional distributors is always a top priority and we want to make sure that the best possible laboratory diagnostics are provided to our customers to equip them with tools for monitoring and quality assurance."

One of the attendees, Jeyaprakash Thakku Krishnamoorthy of Pure Breed Poultry Company, Saudi Arabia, said: "Having the opportunity to learn and work in a laboratory with such modern techniques was a great experience. The one-to-one training, in particular, has shown me how to enhance support of flock health and the important part it plays in the quality assurance process."

- Aviagen
WASHINGTON  President Trump, on his recent European trip, literally shoved aside Prime Minister Dusko Markovic of Montenegro in order to get to the front of a group of leaders. On Monday, Vice President Pence hosted the shoving victim at the White House, then praised Markovic publicly.

"I had the privilege of welcoming the prime minister to the White House today," Pence said at an Atlantic Council dinner. "I was very humbled to be able to share a few moments with him on the very day that Montenegro became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization."

On that same European trip, Trump surprised his own aides and unsettled allies when he refused to affirm NATO's collective-defense obligations. On Monday night, Pence expressed his "unwavering" support: "The United States is resolved, as we were at NATO's founding and in every hour since, to live by that principle that an attack on one of us is an attack on us all."

John Nance Garner, one of Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice presidents, famously compared the office to "a bucket of warm piss." For Pence, the vice presidency is a bucket of Clorox and a mop.

Tuesday morning found the vice president doing what he does frequently these days: cleaning up Trump's messes. Pence, speaking at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, offered a soothing contrast to Trump's recent outbursts.

Where Trump alienated allies and opened a dispute with the mayor of London, Pence vowed to "continue to stand with our allies" and praised "our cherished ally," Britain. Where Trump has largely removed human rights from the agenda, Pence called for "an America standing tall in the world again for our values and our ideals."

Trump, at the National Prayer Breakfast earlier this year, told attendees to pray for Arnold Schwarzenegger and his "Apprentice" ratings. Pence aimed higher. "Don't so much pray for a cause as for country," he said, paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln. "Just pray for America."

Amen.

The contrast between the reckless president and his responsible understudy has me thinking, not for the first time, how much better things would be if Pence were president. Trump shows no ability to correct course, to pull himself out of a self-destructive spiral. It may be premature to talk of impeachment or resignation, but Trump's path is unsustainable. Republicans in Congress would be sensible to start thinking about an endgame, and the former Indiana governor may be the their best hope  and all of ours.

Many liberals correctly call Pence a doctrinaire conservative, particularly on gay rights and other social issues. He'll be forever tarnished because of his role in legitimizing Trump for mainstream conservatives, a calculation based on the vain hope that he could influence Trump. He has embarrassed himself in office by parroting Trump's untruths and cheerleading for the boss.

But Pence is, at core, a small-d democrat, not a demagogue. The world would be safer with him in charge. We would still have fierce divisions about the nation's direction. But Pence, in the nearly two decades I've known him, has been an honorable man. Opponents can disagree with him yet sleep well knowing he's unlikely to be irrational.

This was supposed to have been "infrastructure week" for Trump, but he has been using his Twitter account to impair further the infrastructure of his presidency: burning bridges, building bunkers and going off the rails. He has vented unfiltered rage at the courts, the media, the mayor of London, Qatar and his own administration.

Meanwhile, Pence governs. He visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday to have a luncheon talk with GOP senators about health care reform. He hosted female entrepreneurs at the White House on Monday and said seven words to them that likely never passed his boss's lips: "I'm here to listen, not to talk."

At the Atlantic Council dinner, he gave a statesmanlike response to the London attacks that contrasted dramatically with Trump's. He repeatedly hailed NATO and European allies. He criticized Russian expansionism. He was diplomatic about areas of disagreement with Europe.

Trump could not have given that speech, nor the one Pence gave at the Catholic Prayer Breakfast, asking for prayers to heal a divided country  at almost the exact moment Trump was railing on Twitter about fake news and political correctness. Pence urged the Catholics to "continue to be the hands and feet of our Savior, reaching in with love and compassion, embracing the dignity of all people of every background and every experience."

A noble -- even presidential -- aspiration. Under Trump we don't have a prayer.
Thai Turkey with Carrot Noodles

Ive been slow to hop on the veggies-as-noodles train, but this recipe for Thai Turkey with Carrot Noodles really piqued my interest. I dont have a fancy spiralizer and I havent felt passionately about any zucchini noodles Ive tried. I also dont really love spaghetti squash, though I have been known to buy delicious and expensive-but-worth-it packs of pre-spiralized butternut squash noodles from Wegmans (theyre the best). But, like I said, the veggie noodle trend mostly passed me by.

Then a couple months ago I received a cookbook in the mail out of the blue, One Pan & Done by Molly Gilbert. I searched my email and found no reference to the book, though I believe it was sent by the publisher. I decided to flip through it and by the time I was done I had bookmarked almost half the pages. The book has breakfasts, starters, sides, desserts and a wide variety of main courses, all made in just one pan. I love cooking but I hate doing dishes so one-pan meals are always appealing to me. The recipes in this book all use either a sheet pan, a cast iron skillet, a dutch oven, a 913 baking dish, a muffin tin or a cake pan. Id imagine most kitchens have many of those items!

Of the recipes in the cookbook, many stood out to me (Baked Spring Risotto, Lemon Chicken with Olives and Herbs, Sweet Potato and Sausage Breakfast Hash and Manchego Spinach Pies to name a few), but I kept coming back to this Thai Turkey with Carrot Noodles. My husband and I both really like Thai food and he especially loves coconut milk so I thought this could be a real hit. Armed with my trusty vegetable peeler, I set off to make my own carrot noodles (Wegmans sells these too but I like the wide, flat ribbons you get using a peeler, kind of like carrot pappardelle) and it was pretty easy. I made a few light changes to the recipe, using more carrots, meat and soy sauce, light coconut milk and leaner turkey, but mostly followed the instructions and I thought it was good! The carrot noodles were tasty and different and I liked their sweetness. I did end up wanting to stir in a little extra sriracha at the end to kick up the spice, so youll have to see if you want that as well. To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

I received this book from the publisher (Im pretty sure) but was under no obligation to post about it, share it or review it. Im sharing because I think its genuinely well done and the recipes look delicious. All opinions in this post are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

For more Asian-inspired recipes, try my Asian Sesame Chicken Salad, Lemon Sesame Snow Peas, Teriyaki Chicken & Rice Casserole, Chicken Fried Quinoa, Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce, Spicy Sesame Noodles with Chicken, Thai Chicken Pizza and many more in the Asian section of my recipe index!

Print Recipe Thai Turkey with Carrot Noodles This Thai Turkey with Carrot Noodles is a one-pan meal and no spiralizer required! Ingredients 1 tablespoon canola oil

1  lbs 99% lean ground turkey breast

2 medium shallots , thinly sliced or minced

, 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves , minced

, 3 packed cups carrot noodles , you can use a spiralizer, buy them spiralized or just use a vegetable peeler like I did

, 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 cup canned light unsweetened coconut milk , shake the can before opening as milk may have separated

, 1/3 cup low sodium fat free chicken broth

1-2 teaspoons sriracha , (you can start with one and stir in more at the end to taste if you want more)

,  cup chopped cilantro , (I know lots of people hate cilantro, I think basil would be a good substitute!)

, 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice Instructions Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Drizzle the oil in a cast iron or otherwise oven-safe walled skillet or saute pan and bring over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through.

Add the shallots, ginger, garlic and carrot noodles to the turkey and stir to combine. Add the soy sauce, coconut milk, broth and sriracha and stir to combine. Transfer the skillet to the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until the carrot noodles are tender and some of the liquid has reduced.

Stir in the cilantro and the lime juice. You may taste to see if youd like more heat and add sriracha if you prefer. Serve hot. Notes To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here! Nutrition Information per (1  cups) serving: 310 calories, 16 g carbs, 6 g sugars, 9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 41 g protein, 3 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com) MyWW SmartPoints per (1  cups) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) Green: 6 SmartPoints/ Blue: 3 SmartPoints/ Purple: 3 SmartPoints Weight Watchers Points Plus:

8 per (1  cups) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition information below) Adapted from One Pan & Done by Molly Gilbert Author: Emily Bites
Nazo stands by his grandson at the Emergency Hospital in Helmand. WHO/G.Elham

Without this hospital, I would have lost my life

8 June 2017  60-year-old Nazo stands at the bedside of his grandson Rahmatullah, 19, who was badly injured by a roadside bomb in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. Rahmatullah lost both of his legs in the blast, and received treatment at the Surgical Centre for War Victims run by Emergency, an Italian NGO.

There is a fight going on everywhere and you can hear gun shots from everywhere. I fear that peace will never come, Nazo says.

For the past 3 years, WHO has supported the provision of trauma care services in Helmand province through Emergencys 90-bed Surgical Centre and 6 first aid trauma posts operated by the NGO. Funding from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) has enabled WHO to support the full operation of the hospital, including the provision of essential medical supplies, equipment and medicines and training health workers on mass casualty management and first aid.

We do this work to save Afghan lives

From June 2016 to March 2017, the Emergency Surgical Centre treated over 6500 trauma patients while Emergencys first aid trauma posts supported by WHO and ECHO stabilized and treated over 10 000 casualties and referred over 500 patients to the main hospital in Lashkar Gah.

Nooryalis lungs sustained serious injuries in an attack on his checkpoint. WHO/G.ElhamHelmand has long been among the provinces most badly affected by conflict.

Nooryali, 28, a police officer from Helmands Gereshk district, received treatment at the hospital after his checkpoint was attacked by anti-government elements. He was shot in the chest and sustained serious injuries to his lungs.

After the attack was over, Nooryalis colleagues brought him into the Emergency hospital for treatment.

Without this hospital, I would have lost my life, Nooryali said. Too many people in Helmand and other parts of Afghanistan die because they cannot access these kinds of hospitals. The Afghan and foreign doctors and staff here are doing a great job, this place feels like a home to me.

Babu, 60, was injured when a rocket hit her home in volatile Marjah district. She was hospitalized for 7 days and returned for regular check-ups.

After the blast, I woke up here at this hospital, I dont know who brought me here then. Im very happy with the services I received at this hospital, all the staff were looking after me. I wasnt able to do anything and they supported me with everything, Babu says.

Nurse Zahra checks on a patient. WHO/G.ElhamThe lack of trained medical personnel, particularly women, remains a major challenge throughout Afghanistan, especially in the south. Emergencys international staff focus on extensive on-the-job training, both theoretical and practical, to build the capacity of local staff to effectively stabilize and treat trauma cases.

Life is very difficult in Helmand, we always live in fear and my family even cannot sleep properly at nights. Sometimes there are many victims who come into this hospital, and we all feel very tired by the end of the day. But we do this work to save Afghan lives, says Zahra, a nurse at the Emergency Surgical Centre.

Bringing trauma care closer to communities

Many areas suffering from conflict in Helmand lack health facilities, highlighting the need for stronger treatment and referral interventions at the community level. As fighting moves into civilian-populated areas, women and children often bear the brutal consequences.

To address these gaps, through ECHO funding WHO has supported the training of 36 community health workers in Helmand and 306 in other provinces in first aid, stabilization and support during referrals.

In the past year through ECHO funding, WHO supported the establishment of 6 first aid trauma posts in 6 districts in Helmand province. These trauma posts provide life-saving first aid and stabilize trauma victims, and they are connected to Lashkar Gahs Surgical Centre by a free ambulance service operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Increased needs for specialized trauma care

Babu waits for a check-up outside the Emergency Surgical Centre in Lashkar Gah. WHO/G.ElhamIntensifying conflict increases the need for specialized trauma care in Helmand and other provinces suffering from the dire consequences of ongoing war. Currently around 4.5 million Afghans live in conflict-affected districts with extremely constrained access to health services.

The number of civilian casualties claimed by the war continues to rise. In 2016, UNAMA documented 11 418 civilian casualties, an overall 3% increase compared to the previous record-high documented in 2015. In the first quarter of 2017, 2181 civilian casualties were documented - 715 dead and 1466 injured.

The provision of life-saving emergency health services to the most vulnerable is among the top priorities in Afghanistans 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan. The Health Cluster, led by WHO, continues to strengthen trauma care services around the country, with a focus on so-called white areas that are lacking government-run health centres and hospitals.

Related links

European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)

Emergency
Chief Minister vows to work with British Government



Chief Minister Howard Quayle MHK

The Chief Minister is promising to continue to engage with British politicians following the UK's General Election.

It's not yet known how the new British Government will look with a hung parliament, but Howard Quayle insists there will be no change in the Island's policy.

Mr Quayle plans to continue to promote the Island's position in Westminster and Whitehall with whoever is in charge of the UK Government.

The Manx Government has recently been working to promote the Island's position through the Brexit process, as well as the Island's relation to the British economy.
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The budget session 2017 came to an end on 13 April. It brought in a few reforms, such as advancing the union budget to 1 February instead of 28 February, merging the railway budget into the general budget, merging plan and non-plan allocations, and the passage of key reforms in the Goods and Services Tax Bill. It is notable that the quality and comprehensiveness of the budget scrutiny process, through the debate and the standing committees, is weak. Due to the lack of analytical knowledge support, members of Parliament (MPs) are unable to properly scrutinise the demands for grants in the respective standing committees. On occasion, MPs seek to reach out to external experts for credible analysis and inputs. Such practices help in adding depth to the committees work and their reports. While this results in better assessment of demands, it is an ad hoc way of bridging the gap in knowledge and analysis. An institutional mechanism, such as a parliamentary budget office (PBO), is necessary to provide continuous assistance to MPs and their committees.

The above example suggests that, in India, the effectiveness of parliamentary oversight in public finance is an unsettled concern. Strengthening Parliaments oversight apparatus calls for proper attention and requires a thorough overhaul. Establishing a PBO is a fitting response to this concern. A PBO is an independent and impartial body linked directly to the Parliament.1 It provides high-quality technical, objective and non-partisan analysis of budgets and public finance to the Parliament and its committees. A PBO is an instrument for addressing bias towards spending and deficits and, more significantly, for enhancing fiscal discipline and promoting accountability. Further, it can generate quality public debate on budget policy and public finance (OECD 2014),2 enabling parliamentarians to engage more meaningfully in the budget process.
Access to basic amenities such as safe drinking water and sanitation is not only an important measure of socio-economic status of the household, but also a fundamental element for the health of people. The latter is directly linked to the availability of safe drinking water and sanitation. Inadequate and poor quality drinking water not only results in severe morbidity and large-scale mortality, but also augments health costs, causes low worker productivity and declining school enrolment rates (Haq et al 2007). As a result, an estimated 180 million personworkdays are lost each year due to the incidence of waterborne diseases (Chaplin 2011). The existence of waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea is due to the contamination of drinking water through faecal matter, particularly human faecal and pathogenic organisms (Fawell and Nieuwenhuijsen 2003). For example, the contamination of drinking water with arsenic in West Bengal resulted in cases of cough, chest sounds in the lungs, and shortness of breath among both males and females (Mazumdar et al 2000). Furthermore, the poor are more susceptible to ill health than the non-poor due to the formers lack of access to adequate and safe drinking water, and the prevalence of malnutrition and unhealthy living conditions (Phansalkar 2007).

This article assesses the impact the socio-economic status of a household has on using various sources for drinking water, and how this has an impact on waterborne diseases and the dynamism in the adoption of purification methods. Primary-level household data is collected from four zonestwo zones in each districtin the districts of Lucknow and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Using the multistage sampling technique, 50 households are selected from each zone with a total of 200 households across all four zones, covering every section of society. In each household, the main female member of the household was interviewed. Using the Herfindahl index, a bivariate and multivariate analysis is conducted to measure the diversities in the purification behaviour and methods for purifying water, among different social and income groups in both districts.
The National Food Security Act (NFSA), enacted by Parliament in 2013, brought the public distribution system (PDS) under its fold. In Delhi, the groundwork for the implementation of the revised PDS started before the enactment of the NFSA, when the National Food Security Ordinance, 2013 was promulgated. This was a positive head start. Several states such as Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura and Telangana, initiated the implementation of the NFSA only in 2015, whereas some others, such as Gujarat, did so much later, in April 2016. As part of implementing the PDS under the NFSA, the Government of Delhi identified the mandated 72.78 lakh beneficiaries by 2015. Despite the new rights-based framework for PDS implementation, the paradoxical per state cap on beneficiaries was adopted in keeping with the Government of India PDS Control Order of March 2015.

Gains under NFSA

A survey of 320 PDS beneficiary households was conducted across four districts in Delhi (North-West, West, East, and South) during MayJuly 2016, as part of a research project funded by Ambedkar University Delhi. Sample households were randomly selected from the beneficiary lists of three fair price shops (FPSs) in each of the above-mentioned districts. It was found that, among the sample households, access to the PDS had expanded after the implementation of the NFSA began, with 26.5% of sample households stating that they did not have PDS ration cards pre-NFSA. Of the sample households, 87% stated they had purchased PDS foodgrain at least once in the four months preceding the survey. This includes 68% of the total sample households who stated that they had purchased PDS foodgrain in all four months preceding the survey. Of the sample households, 8% had not tried to access PDS foodgrains at all, primarily for reasons such as the FPS was too far, the quality of grain poor, or the FPS did not open during its mandated timings, while a few others had not received their new (NFSA) ration cards.

A positive aspect of the implementation is adherence to Section 13 of the NFSA, which states that the eldest adult female will be recorded as the head of the household for the purpose of the PDS ration card, unless such a person does not exist. The head of the household on the ration card was a woman in 98% of the sample households. The potential significance of the NFSA as a source of social security can be gauged by looking at the profile of these respondents. Of the sample households covered, 69% of household heads had undergone schooling till Class 8 or lower. Of the heads of households, 67% stated they were homemakers and did not have a regular source of income. Of the remaining heads of households, 20% indicated they had precarious access to work, including as domestic household workers, or were currently unemployed. Only 4% of heads of households stated they had a regular source of income, though none were in contractually secure employment. For these households, foodgrain accessed from the PDS was a significant means of coping with vulnerability.

Failures of Aadhaar-enabled PDS

Having said the above, there are several critical problems with the PDS implementation under the new rights-based framework. The revised PDS does away with the former below/above poverty line (BPL/APL) categories and classifies a majority of beneficiary households as priority households who get 5kg foodgrain per person per month for all household members listed on the ration card. Under the rationale of increasing transparency and reducing corruption in PDS implementation, the all-new NFSAPDS ration cards issued in Delhi from 2013 onwards are seeded with Aadhaar numbers of household members. A parallel process of FPS automation or use of Aadhaar and internet-enabled point of sale (PoS) devices at PDS shops has also been unfolding in Delhi. This is similar to developments in other states, such as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, a process that Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has taken pride in speaking about on more than one occasion. In Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced in October 2016 that all FPSs in the state will be equipped with PoS devices by March 2017.

While Aadhaar-enabled PDS is being touted as being the key to an efficient and fraud-free system, reliance on this can be problematic in critical ways: (i) the system excludes individuals who do not have an Aadhaar number; (ii) where a beneficiary has an Aadhaar number, the biometrics and internet-dependent delivery system may still not work, for instance, when biometrics are not recognised by the PoS device; or (iii) the machine does not work due to electricity or internet connectivity issues.

The Delhi NFSA survey found that of the sample households, 44% have 14 household members missing from their ration card. In 48% of the households that had at least one person missing from the ration card, a cited reason for exclusion of household members was the absence of an Aadhaar number. Importantly, for each missing member, households lose out on 5 kg of foodgrain per person per month.

Further, of the 47.5% sample households that accessed ration from an FPS equipped with an Aadhaar-enabled device, 52% said they have faced problems accessing their rations. These problems included non-recognition of fingerprints of the person going to collect rations, and the inability to purchase rations due to problems with internet connectivity at the FPS. This, of course, highlights all too well the potential problems of reliance on technology for critical service delivery that can routinely fail even in the national capital.

Rather than prioritising expansion of Aadhaar-enabled distribution, the area where the PDS system needs significant intervention is in reigning in PDS dealers and regulating the running of shops. Of the sample households, 60% stated that their ration shop opens irregularly, and not as mandatedopen on all weekdays with one weekly off. Another problem that cannot be corrected by Aadhaar includes instances where ration dealers disburse less than the full quota of ration against a card. This was reported by about 9% of households accessing foodgrain from Aadhaar-enabled shops. Worryingly, 62% sample households stated they did not know where to file a complaint if faced with a problem of access. A robust grievance redressal system is critical for the implementation of a rights-based programme such as the PDS under the NFSA. Whether there is adequate political will to strengthen the same remains to be seen
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The people of Essex headed to the polls yesterday and we have brought you unrivaled coverage throughout the night as the results arrived.

With the shadow of Brexit looming large, the NHS in crisis and the economy facing an uncertain future, the outcome of the 2017 general election was set to determine the direction of the UK for the next 50 years.

The contrast between the Conservatives and the Labour Party during the campaign was the most stark it has been since the 1980s, with each offering a vastly different vision of the future of our country.

Theresa May's decision to hold a snap election backfired on her, and voters this morning have woken up to the news that the UK has a hung parliament, after no party achieved a majority.

Essex maintained a Conservative stronghold, with every constituency voting in a Conservative MP.

Here are the results for Essex:

Basildon and Billericay: Conservative hold (John Baron)

Braintree: Conservative hold (James Cleverly)

Brentwood and Ongar: Conservative hold (Alex Burghart)

Castle Point: Conservative hold (Rebecca Harris)

Chelmsford: Conservative hold (Vicky Ford)

Clacton: Conservative gain (Giles Watling)

Colchester: Conservative hold (Will Quince)

Epping Forest: Conservative hold (Eleanor Laing)

Harlow: Conservative hold (Robert Halfon)

Harwich and North Essex: Conservative hold (Bernard Jenkin)

Maldon: Conservative hold (John Whittingdale)

Rayleigh and Wickford: Conservative hold (Mark Francois)

Rochford and Southend East: Conservative hold (James Duddridge)

Saffron Walden: Conservative hold (Kemi Badenoch)

South Basildon and East Thurrock: Conservative hold (Stephen Metcalfe)

Southend West: Conservative hold (David Amess)

Thurrock: Conservative hold (Jackie Doyle-Price)

Witham: Conservative hold (Priti Patel)
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Chelmsford remains a Conservative stronghold after Vicky Ford became the constituency's first ever female Member of Parliament, replacing Sir Simon Burns.

In a General Election that saw 70.34 per cent of the constituency's eligible voters turn out, Mrs Ford received 30,525 votes, a strong majority of just under 14,000.

Mrs Ford, who has been the Member of European Parliament for the East of England since 2009, was tipped as the favourite to win the seat.

The Labour Party's Chris Vince came in second place, taking 16,943 votes, followed by Liberal Democrat candidate Stephen Robinson, who received 6,916 votes.

It was a disappointing night for UKIP's Nigel Carter, who was backed by only 1,645 people, but ahead of Green Party candidate Reza Hossain, who won 821 voters over.

While the candidates lined-up on the dais awaiting the official announcement from the Returning Officer, Mr Carter was nowhere to be seen.

As the results were announced, Mrs Ford, beamed with pride before addressing the crowd at the Riverside Ice and Leisure Centre shortly after 1.30am.

Standing at the podium after shaking hands with three of her opponents, Mrs Ford thanked those who ran the election, the police, her family and the Chelmsford Conservatives.

She said: "I would like to thank the people of Chelmsford.

"Chelmsford is a brilliant city and during the few weeks I've been knocking on doors, now but also previous times I've been knocking on doors as your MEP, I have met so many people who are so committed to this city and to this community in so many ways.

"It's a real, real honour to represent one of Britain's youngest cities and a place that is going places in so many ways.

"I'm so excited to be representing you. This is a very challenging time for the future of Britain, decisions that we make over the next few months and years will set the future for the next generation and beyond and I promise that Chelmsford will have a very strong voice in all those decisions."

She then thanked Sir Simon Burns, commending him for his thirty years of service to the constituency and hoping she could be "half as good a constituency MP".

Following on from Mrs Ford, Labour's Chris Vince added his thanks to those who assisted in the running of the election.

He said: "I didn't expect to be standing and fighting a general election this year but here we are.

"I have to say that the Chelmsford Labour Party have been fantastic, you've rallied around and I think we've done a fantastic job."

Mr Vince went on to thank his family for their support as well as his campaign manager Richard Hyland.

He added: "We can see that Theresa May's hard Brexit has been thoroughly rejected by the electorate."

Echoing the message of thanks to those who spoke before him, Stephen Robinson voiced his congratulations for Mrs Ford's success, before launching an attack on the Conservatives.

"This general election was one we weren't supposed to have. We were promised five times that we weren't going to have a general election but we've had it," he said.

"My concern is that the Conservative Party has put party before country; they had a half-hearted contribution to the referendum last year and now this election that we weren't supposed to have and it has failed.

"Mrs May's gamble has failed. The media presented this election as more of a presidential election that we've ever seen before."

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With UKIP coming in fourth place, Mr Carter did not stand on the stage as the results were announced, nor was he around after the candidates finished addressing the hall.

But speaking to Essex Live before the announcement, Mr Carter said: "I've just seen the exit poll and it looks a bit bleak.

"But on the other hand the exit poll disagrees with a couple of results - It's far too early to tell.

"But the main thing we've done is to prove that the Tory story that we're dead is completely wrong."

Coming in last, Mr Hossain expressed his disappointment in the vote, expressing his view that the Green Party did not have a fair chance under the First Past the Post system.

He said: "We were just very happy we were able to raise some positive issues in terms of being about to get our message out about Green issues to the people of Chelmsford."

Mr Hossain spoke about the need during a campaign to address issues surrounding the environment and not just public services and the economy.

"We do have to remember the environment too because it's so important," said Mr Hossain.

"We didn't do very well in this particular election, but we're hoping this will be a foundation for the future and especially if we can get a change in the voting system in the future."

The count, which saw 103 ballot papers rejected, was finalised comfortably ahead of the expected completion time of between 3am and 4am.
The European Union and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) yesterday (7 June) signed a Joint Declaration on EU support to UNRWA for 2017-2020. Both parties also signed a financial agreement for the EU funding to the UNRWA program budget for this year, which covers the Agencys essential services in terms of education, health care, relief, and social services. The 2017-2020 Declaration boosts the political nature of the EU-UNRWA partnership and reaffirms the European Unions commitment to promoting the rights of Palestine refugees and supporting the long-term financial health of the agency amidst operational challenges and budgetary constraints.

The EU will contribute to the funding of quality education for about half a million children, primary health care for about 3.5 million patients and assistance to more than 250,000 vulnerable Palestine refugees. The EU and UNRWA also announced to finance a 82 million commitment to the UNRWA Program Budget for 2017, which will cover salaries of 32,000 local UNRWA personnel, most of whom are Palestinian refugees themselves. The money will also contribute to the running costs of close to 700 UNRWA schools and 140 health-care centers.

Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, praised the UNRWAs role in the Middle East. With its tireless work, UNRWA keeps supporting Palestine refugees, providing education, promoting socio-economic development and stability in the Middle East, she said and stressed that the international support is key to UNRWA: the European Union will keep investing in one of the pillars of its Middle East peace policy. EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood also reiterated the EUs commitment to support UNRWA in its further reform efforts, thus drawing on the important work that is already underway.




In 1855, an Illinois railroad lawyer named Abraham Lincoln wrote to his longtime friend, Joshua Speed, who had moved back to their native Kentucky. Lincoln focused on the slavery question, already tearing the country apart.

As a nation, we began by declaring that 'all men are created equal.'" the future president wrote. "We now practically read it 'all men are created equal, except negroes.' When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty  to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.

Russia, "where despotism can be taken pure." Long before the Communist revolution roiled Russia, that nation was notorious for its repression, its medieval cruelty, the misery of its serfs, and its backward ways. In Lincoln's time, the thinking was: Americans might hold slaves, but Russians are slaves.

That scorn hardened over the 20th century into fear of deep intensity, as Russia's repressive nature became married to the philosophy of communism. Yes, there were periods of reduced tension. While supporting the Russian Revolution was enough to get an American deported in 1919, by the 1930s romanticizing Stalin was a common fault of the liberal left  turning a blind eye to Russian menace certainly wasn't invented by Donald Trump. We were allies for a few awkward years, after Stalin's pal Adolf Hitler turned against him.

But by 1947 the Iron Curtain was drawn across Europe and half a century of Cold War had set in. Kind words for Russia would cost you your career in the 1950s, and by the 1960s, we feared the Commies would kill us all. The notion of our government being in collusion with them was the stuff of John Birch paranoid delusions and Hollywood thrillers.
As foreign exchange markets had been confident of the Conservatives returning to power with an increased majority the actual results of the UK general election prompted the Euro Pound exchange rate to surge higher.

Once the exit polls indicated that a hung parliament was the likely result the appeal of the Pound weakened sharply, raising fears that the UK could be facing a fresh period of political instability and uncertainty.

While Sterling stabilised somewhat on Friday morning confidence was fundamentally shaken by the outcome, with the Conservatives having failed to expand or even hold onto their majority in the Commons.

However, as Theresa May quickly reached out to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland with a view to forming a working partnership the EUR GBP exchange rate reversed some of its earlier gains.

Even if May is able to form a minority government, though, the sense of political uncertainty is unlikely to ease in the near term.

With the formal start of Brexit negotiations mere days away the chances of the UK securing a positive deal seem to have weakened, with the threat of a hard exit continuing to hang over the economy.

As Allan von Mehren, Chief Analyst at Danske Bank, noted:

What matters for sterling near term is the strength of the government that goes to Brussels to negotiate Brexit terms on behalf of the UK  and with any possible governing coalition set to be weak, so will GBP be.

Confidence in the Euro, meanwhile, weakened in response to a larger-than-expected narrowing of the German trade surplus.

As imports rose sharply in April this dented optimism in the outlook of the Eurozones powerhouse economy, particularly as the European Central Bank (ECB) remains on course to leave monetary policy loose for longer.

The first round of the French parliamentary elections could offer a rallying point to the single currency, however, as President Emmanuel Macrons En Marche movement is expected to have a strong showing.

If the centrist looks set to gain a parliamentary majority market confidence is likely to improve, increasing Macrons ability to push through his political agenda.

On the other hand, worries over Greece could maintain downside pressure on the EUR GBP exchange rate as the June Eurogroup meeting approaches.

If creditors are unable to reach an agreement over the Greek bailout this could give rise to fears of a fresh Eurozone debt crisis, given that the Hellenic nation faces a significant loan repayment in July.


While many expats from Europe may be considering leaving the UK due to Brexit, Americans could be set to find living in Britain is more tax effective.London already has a large number of wealthier American expats and tax plans by US President Donald Trump is set to end the practice of having to pay income tax to both London and Washington.According to Bambridge Accountants, which specialises in handling the tax affairs of US citizens living in Britain, up to 15% of the 225,000 US expats in the UK could benefit from the scrapping of the Net Investment Income Tax, also known as the Medicare tax.Since January 2013, high earning US citizens have been subject to a 3.8% surtax on investments when their net income is above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples.This additional charge is one of the main reasons some UK based American expats end up having to pay US income tax in addition to UK tax because US citizens cannot offset their UK tax credits against the additional tax charge.The repeal of the Medicare tax is one of a raft of tax reforms announced by President Trump, which in typically understated style he has described as the biggest in a generation. The plan was approved in May by the US House of Representatives but still needs the green light from the Senate before to become law.If it gets through then the chartered accountants reckon that the repeal of the tax is likely to save wealthier US expats between $500 and $1,000 each.Tax cuts are a big priority for President Trump and while its unlikely he set out specifically to help Britains US expat community, they will emerge as big winners if the Senate gives this plan the nod, said Alistair Bambridge, senior partner at Bambridge Accountants.While the status of EU citizens in a post-Brexit Britain remains unclear, life for many in Britains US expat community could be about to get a little easier. The repeal of this surtax will spare thousands of Americans living here the bizarre and costly experience of having to pay income tax to both London and Washington, he explained.With most of the wealthiest US expats in Britain living and working in London, its likely the capital will receive the biggest windfall, both in tax dollar terms and in Londons improved prospects of retaining US high fliers, he added.The US is the only country in the world apart from Eritrea which taxes expats on the income they earn overseas. What is paid depends on the tax agreements with individual countries. For example in the UK Americans get a credit for income tax paid to avoid double taxation but they must fill in a tax return for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).However, the Foreign Account Tax Compliant Act (Fatca) requires British banks, brokers and other financial firms to report customer details to the IRS.
Okay this may be a dumb question but say you work for company with a couple of offices, on the employer address section of the form do you put the address of the office you work at or the head office address?





sorry if this is a really dumb question.
Hello, we are moving to SA this summer. Hubby is South African so me and our sons will be applying for relatives visas. My question is for anyone that has recently gone through this process, how long did it take you to get your visa??

We were hoping to go mid August so I made an appointment today thinking I had loads of time, but the soonest appointment they have at the VFS is 25th of July!

That is at the London centre, has anyone applied through the Manchester centre as they have better dates available.
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President Donald Trump rolled out a novel idea to Republican leaders this week: Build his Mexican border wall even higher than planned and pay for it by covering the wall in solar panels that would have the twofold benefit of generating power and making beautiful structures.

Trump said the electricity generated from the panels would pay for the construction costs, online news outlet Axios reported.

Trumps idea may not be all that practical, and it would add a minimum of $500 million and possibly billions of dollars more to the projects cost, according to solar industry executives.

It would take years of power generation just to cover the initial costs of the panels. The costs would run about $422,400 a mile, coming to roughly

$840 million for 1,989 miles of modules before anything is installed, according to Laura Waldrum, spokeswoman for San Antonio-based Mission Solar.

This (cost per mile) does not include trackers, inverters, installation, wall construction or anything else. Just the modules, Waldrum said in an email.

Each mile would produce just over a megawatt of power, enough to run 200 Texas homes in the Rio Grande Valley heat, according to the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT. The average U.S. home consumed an average of 901,000 watts of power a month, according to 2015 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration .

Elemental Energy, a solar design and installation company based in Portland, Oregon, estimated that only 1,000 miles of the border need to be developed, with natural barriers taking care of the rest. That would lower the cost of the modules to

$422 million over 1,000 miles.

Adding all the components needed to install the modules and pull the power off them would significantly increase the cost. As a rough benchmark, Mission Solars parent company sold the 110-megawatt Alamo 6 solar installation west of Iraan in West Texas in December for $385 million. At that price, a 1,000-megawatt border wall system would cost

$3.5 billion.

When the Homeland Security Department solicited bids for prototypes of the wall, Las Vegas-based Gleason Partners submitted a proposal that integrated solar panels into the original design.

If theres going to be a wall, lets make it green, owner Thomas Gleason said in a phone interview from Shanghai, China, on Wednesday. Lets have it pay for itself so its not a burden on us.

Gleasons design called for a sloped wall of solar panels facing Mexico, topped with another row that would tilt with the suns movement. The solar panels on top would double as a further impediment to anyone trying to get over the 30-foot tall structure, and security infrastructure would be powered by the panels.

The wall would produce 2 megawatts of electricity per mile, or 2 gigawatts of power across 1,000 miles, and cost

$7.5 million per mile to build, Gleason said. Of that cost, Gleason estimated that the solar portion  including the purchase and installation of both sets of solar panels  would cost $2 million per megawatt, or 43 percent less than what OCI Solar received for Alamo 6.

Gleasons plan would cost $7.5 billion for 1,000 miles of border wall, he said. The power output could, hypothetically, generate more than

$150 million in revenue a year, according to data from Elemental Energy.

Yet estimates of the walls costs  without solar panels  range from $21.6 billion by the Homeland Security Department to as much as $70 billion by Senate Democrats.

Gleason said his plan is cheaper because it wouldnt need an environmental impact study, the materials are lighter and less expensive to transport and the cost to provide power to the wall would be reduced because its generating enough on its own.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Jim Eyer, an Oakland, California-based principal analyst with E&I Consulting, which specializes in distributed and renewable energy, questioned Gleasons estimates.

Why would it be any less expensive than one of these solar farms to do it on the wall? I cant imagine it would be just by virtue of the fact that a solar plant is designed to be a solar plant, Eyer said. What youre talking about is a wall designed to be a wall with solar on it.

He said installing solar panels along the wall faces logistical challenges, such as moving the power from the border to cities where it would be used, further raising doubt about the feasibility of the project.

Im a big solar guy, but I like real solar, not goofy ones like this, he said.

Michael Webber of the University of Texas agreed, calling the idea a red herring.

It sounds to me kind of funny, said Webber, deputy director of the UT-Austin Energy Institute. The way to make solar unnecessarily expensive is to shove a wall underneath it, and it sounds like the way to make a wall very expensive is to shove solar on top.

He added that if the U.S. wanted to use solar panels to produce power and potentially sell it into Mexico, it would make more sense to build a large solar farm in one area and then pump the power into Americas southern neighbor. To build a wall topped with solar  much of it in some of the most remote stretches of the country  would require extensive high-voltage power line infrastructure to be built to pull the power off the panels.

Its like really? It seems like such a joke, Webber said. The engineer in me and the policy guy in me thinks, youve got to be kidding me. It just seems so silly.

rdruzin@express-news.net
WASHINGTON - In a politically charged hearing on possible Trump campaign collusion in Russian election meddling, Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn turned the focus on Hillary Clinton and Thursdays star witness: fired FBI Director James Comey.

Democrats honed in on Comeys dramatic testimony that President Donald Trump privately requested his loyalty and urged him to drop the investigation of ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn.

But Cornyn, taking his turn in a nationally-televised Senate Intelligence panel hearing, used his time to build a legal bulwark around Trump, questioning Comeys response.

As a general matter, if an FBI agent has reason to believe a crime has been committed, do they have the duty to report it? he asked.

After some hesitation, Comey answered: I would expect any FBI agent who has information about a crime being committed to report it.

Me too, Cornyn interjected.

The exchange, one of the more difficult ones for Comey, highlighted the Republican rejoinder to the Democrats charges of White House interference - or possibly even impeachable offenses - surrounding the Russia probe.

Exhibit A in the Democrats case is Comey himself, who was abruptly fired by Trump with a flurry of conflicting explanations, from the Clinton emails to frustration with the ongoing accusations of Trump campaign collusion with the Russians.

Cornyn sought to undermine the Democratic narrative of a cover-up.

If youre trying to make an investigation go away, is firing an FBI director a good way to make that happen? Cornyn asked.

It doesnt make a lot of sense to me, Comey answered, but Im obviously hopelessly biased, given that I was the one fired.

I understand that its personal, Cornyn said.

Cornyn, a former Texas attorney general and state supreme court judge, also focused on the apparent conflicts of interest involving Loretta Lynch, former President Obamas attorney general, who was criticized for meeting privately with former President Bill Clinton during the FBI probe of Hillary Clintons emails.

Like other Republicans on the panel, Cornyn sought to stick up for Trump, getting Comey to agree that nothing in his testimony suggested that the White House had impeded the investigations by the FBI or special counsel Robert Mueller.

Cornyn also suggested that it was reasonable for a president who had been assured at various points that he wasnt the subject of an FBI investigation to want the agencys director to publicly announce it so that this cloud over his administration would be removed.

Thats a reasonable point of view, Comey answered. The concern would be, obviously, if that boomerang comes back, it will be a very big deal, because there will be a duty to correct.

Cornyn has consistently defended Comeys firing, backing up Trumps assertion that new leadership was needed at the FBI in the wake of the controversies surrounding Comeys handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe during the election.

The episode has cast the genial, 65-year-old senator in a strikingly partisan role.

Despite his position as the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, Cornyn has long toiled in the shadow of the Lone Star States more outspoken junior senator, Ted Cruz.

That changed on Thursday, when Cornyn took his place in a crowded hearing room to ask questions of Comey.

Cornyns questions came amid a broader Republican effort to discredit or undermine Comey, who testified that he was disturbed by the shifting White House accounts of his dismissal and worried that Trump might lie about their private conversations.

The attacks were led by members of a hard-right faction in the House, including Texas U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, who said on Fox News over the weekend, I dont really care what Comey says - he cant be trusted.

Texas Democrats echoed the concerns of their party leaders who have suggested that Comeys firing was an effort to head off or quash the FBI investigation of Trump campaign contacts with the Russians.

Since the early days of his presidency, Donald Trump has inserted himself into the FBIs work, publicly commenting on an ongoing investigation and privately expressing his desire for the agencys leadership to clear his name, said San Antonio U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro.
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A day after the detonation of a suspicious package near the Alamo, details emerged about the incident and the three men who were detained and later released.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday, officials said three men tried to mail a package at the post office in the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in the 600 block of East Houston Street. The package was flagged when it went through an X-ray machine, prompting evacuations, street closures and stay-in-place orders at nearby buildings.

Anyone who follows current events understands that we live in a new day and age in which safety cannot be taken for granted. Places that were once considered safe must now address multidimensional security precautions, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said Thursday in a statement.

Officials said the three men did not know what was in the package; they were shipping it as a favor for a friend who had apparently traveled out of town.

Law enforcement sources at another courthouse who are familiar with the situation confirmed that the men were of Turkish descent. Those sources also confirmed that the package may have contained something electronic.

The men were cooperative with the FBI, officials said, and were released after they were deemed to not be a threat late Wednesday night as agents gathered pieces of the detonated package for processing.

The package was detonated outside the Federal Building, on Alamo Street, by the San Antonio Police Department bomb squad. It did not contain explosives, but something benign, according to Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the FBI in San Antonio.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who assisted the bomb squad during the early moments of the incident, said the package was too heavy for a bomb robot to pick up and place in a containment vessel.

Nicole Strong, an ATF spokeswoman, said the packages detonation did not affect the Alamo because the package was surrounded by concrete.

But Brittany Eck, spokeswoman for the Texas General Land Office, pointed out that a historic structural analysis of the Alamo found that reverberations, including those emitted by cannon fire and passing delivery trucks, have had an effect over time. However, exactly how much on an effect each type of disturbance has on the shrine has not been established, she said.

Any possibility of loss of structural integrity to the shrine by an explosion such as the detonation Wednesday would have occurred in the Long Barrack, Eck said.

Discussions taking place over the Alamo redesign have included security concerns that the Alamo, much like any other historic monument, is at risk for a terrorist attack.

When we began the Alamo master planning process, we made protection of visitors and the site a top priority. From day one, I have been clear that we must be fully committed to improving communications, security of the site, and establish emergency response protocols, Bushs statement said.

The master planning process has provided an opportunity for a comprehensive analysis of security for the complex, while simultaneously the GLO and Alamo staff have worked over the past two years on improving security protocols and procedures at all levels.

Although officials could not divulge specifics of their protocols for security reasons, Eck did say that visitors were taken to a secure location as authorities investigated the package.

An all-clear was given later that evening, and normal operations resumed.

jbeltran@express-news.net

gcontreras@express-news.net
The same San Antonio federal judge who will hear the lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the states new sanctuary cities law ruled earlier this week in a separate case that the Bexar County sheriff violated the constitutional rights of a Mexican citizen when he was held in jail on an immigration detainer after his criminal charges were dismissed.

In a summary judgment, Judge Orlando Garcia found the Bexar County Jail regularly honors ICE detainers, which are requests that the jail hold for 48 hours people who were arrested on state criminal charges and were ordered released but are suspected of violating immigration laws.

Because immigration violations for the most part are civil matters that dont incur criminal penalties, the Sheriffs Office does not have probable cause to hold them, he ruled.

In short, the county's assumption that probable cause must exist to detain any individual for whom it receives an ICE detainer request was unreasonable, Garcia wrote. Its routine detention of such individuals made it inevitable that it would engage in warrantless detention of individuals who were not suspected of any criminal offense, but who became the subjects of ICE detainer requests either because they fell within a noncriminal  enforcement priority or because a detainer request was lodged despite their nonpriority status.

Sheriff Javier Salazar has said he honors ICE detainers to avoid losing state law enforcement grants. On Thursday, Salazar said he was consulting with the District Attorneys Office about how to proceed and noted that the lawsuit was filed during his predecessors administration.

Gov. Greg Abbott has cut state grants to Travis County over its unwillingness to hold some immigrants after theyve been ordered released from jail. The county can appeal the decision.

Compelling county jails to honor immigration detainers is part of the new law, Senate Bill 4, which San Antonio, Bexar County and other plaintiffs are challenging in lawsuits against the state. It goes into effect Sept. 1.

The law creates penalties for jurisdictions that dont honor ICE detainers and prevent their law enforcement officers from asking about immigration status.

The local governments allege the law is unconstitutional. A hearing on a request for a preliminary injunction to block the law is scheduled for June 26.

I think every county in the state that has a jail and is honoring ICE detainers should read this case very closely, because theyre on notice of the legality of (honoring detainers) and they could be sued and have to pay damages for it, said San Antonio immigration attorney Lance Curtright, whos representing plaintiff Julio Trujillo Santoyo in the case.

Trujillo, who has been ordered deported by an immigration judge, sued because he was held in Bexar County Jail for more than two months after his misdemeanor assault charge was dismissed March 24, 2016.

Trujillo initially alleged the jail had a policy of holding indefinitely anyone for whom ICE requested a detainer, but Garcia found he was held beyond the initial 48 hours because of a clerical error and dismissed that claim.

Garcia did, however, find that Bexar Countys policy of holding for 48 hours immigrants who dont face criminal charges violated Trujillos Fourth Amendment rights to protection from unreasonable search and seizure.

What if any damages Trujillo is entitled to will be determined in future proceedings. Another case he filed against the federal government remains pending.

The use of detainers increased dramatically at the start of the President Barack Obama administration before falling off, but the agency still issues more than 5,600 detainers every month, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Other district judges around the country have reached conclusions similar to Garcias, but those cases have yet to advance to appellate courts, said Cesar Garcia Hernandez, a law professor at the University of Denver.

The Fourth Amendment is a complicated area of law, so advocates have focused on challenging detainer use on a number of fronts over the years, Garcia Hernandez said. But the Fourth Amendment has been around for over two centuries and we still havent finished resolving how it is to be interpreted.

For example, he said, just as Judge Garcia limited under under what circumstances the Bexar County Jail can detain people, there are limits on whom ICE can detain.

Immigration officials can detain someone whos not suspected of a crime, but only if ICE is detaining people for the purpose of determining if theyre allowed to stay in the United States, Garcia Hernandez said. ICE is not allowed to go around detaining people if theyre suspected of criminal activity in the way the Bexar County sheriff is.

ICE wouldnt comment because the case is pending.

Taking immigrants into custody at the jail is safer than after theyve been released, said Julian Calderas, the former deputy field office director for ICE in San Antonio and the CEO of the consulting firm XFed.

You always want to have the opportunity to take them into custody with the least amount of risk as possible, not only to the officers, but the general public, Calderas said. In a controlled environment like that would be the best-case scenario.

jbuch@express-news.net

Twitter: @jlbuch
A former Mexican federal prosecutor and director of intelligence for the Mexican state of Jalisco, who also served as an important U.S. informant, pleaded guilty Thursday to making false statements on a loan and credit application, while a pair of companies run by his son pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money.

Sergio Adame Ochoa Sr., 66, was arrested last year during a federal investigation into a drug-trafficking Villareal Arelis family in the Rio Grande Valley known as Los Piojos, or the lice. Besides Adame, several members of the family were indicted on drug and/or money laundering charges, along with corporate entities linked to Adame and his son.

Adame owed $1.7 million on a loan for the mixed-use Riverside Plaza development in McAllen, which was at risk of foreclosure, and sought money from Gilberto Villarreal Arelis, whom Adame had helped escape from the Zetas drug cartel, federal agents previously said in court testimony. In the interim, Adame lied to a bank about how much money he was being paid by the U.S. government, according to court records.

Several other charges against Adame were dropped earlier this year. Under his plea deal, his sentence will be capped at four years, and he could possibly get less when U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez sentences him Sept. 26, the judge announced during a hearing Thursday.

Jailed since his arrest, Adame was granted release on $50,000 unsecured bail after pleading guilty.

His lawyer, Jason Davis, wouldnt comment.

In hearings last year, an IRS agent testified that Adame recruited informants for the U.S. government, and former U.S. officials have said Adame was a valuable asset for U.S. investigators looking into Mexicos drug cartels.

If Adame provided information to investigators that they used to obtain search warrants, and if those agents knew about his involvement in criminal activity, defense attorneys might be able to suppress information gleaned from the searches, San Antonio lawyer Scott McCrum said.

It depends on whether he was the basis for any kind of probable cause affidavits, wiretaps or search warrants, McCrum said. If they knew he was committing acts that ultimately led to him pleading, well that could effect anything that he was vouching for. ... Otherwise, it would be just like a co-conspirator ending up flipping for the government and testifying for the government. Almost all informants have some criminal history.

About a dozen members of the Villarreal Arelis family faced charges in the same case, and all but two have pleaded guilty for their roles. One of the two, Reymundo Villarreal Arelis, is set for trial Monday, and the other, Gilberto Villarreal Arelis, is a fugitive.

Also Thursday, Adames son Sergio A. Adame Jr. entered a guilty plea on behalf of Allen Land LP and Allen Management LLC to a single count of conspiracy to launder money. Federal agents alleged the entities were used to launder money provided to Adame Sr. by the Villarreal Arelis family. Adame Jr. told the judge that he was the general manager of the entities partnership.

At a bail hearing last year for Adame Sr., IRS Criminal Investigations Agent Steve Pennington alleged that the Villarreal Arelis family laundered money from its drug supply operations through real estate purchases in the Valley and in buying quarter horses.

At the hearing, an agent testified that Gilberto Villarreals cocaine and marijuana supplier, Javier El Gato Uriostegui, was killed in 2009 at a horse track in Saltillo, Mexico, on the orders of Zetas leaders. Gunmen attacked Uriosteguis funeral procession, and Villarreal broke an ankle while fleeing, Pennington testified.

Adame knew that the Zetas wanted to kill Villarreal, and he arranged for the trafficker to meet with FBI agents, Pennington said. The next year, he went to Villarreal for help on his land deal. Villarreal and his family members eventually gave Adame more than $6 million to develop or purchase commercial properties in the Valley, Pennington testified.

The agent said there was an additional benefit for the traffickers whom Adame turned into informants. By providing information to the United States, they could take some of the heat off themselves and put it on their rivals. For example, Pennington said, Villarreal had sided with the Gulf Cartel when it split with the Zetas, both of which control territory on the border with Texas. Among the people Villarreal provided information about, he said, was Omar Trevino Morales, brother of jailed Zetas leader Miguel Trevino Morales.

gcontreras@express-news.net

jbuch@express-news.net
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WASHINGTON - Former FBI Director James Comeys words will provide more fuel for the politically charged debates surrounding the White House and investigations into Russias meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Here are five takeaways from Comeys extraordinary testimony:

Questions of whether President Donald Trump obstructed justice likely will persist

In his opening remarks distributed ahead of time and his remarks during the hearing, Comey made clear his belief that Trump pressed him to end the FBI investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

He was stunned, Comey said, when others were asked to leave the Oval Office and Trump told him behind closed doors that he hoped you can let this go with regard to Flynn.

I took it as a direction, Comey said. This is the president of the United States, with me alone, saying I hope this.

Yet Comey conceded when questioned by Idaho Republican Sen. James Risch that he received no explicit order from Trump.

U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-San Antonio, observed after the hearing that Trump made inappropriate comments related to Flynn but that that it will be up to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is conducting a criminal investigation related to the Russian intrusion, to determine the intent of those comments and decide whether they broke the law.

Theres also the political question of impeachment related to the presidents conduct, and American University political historian Allan Lichtman believes Comey made a strong case.

Presuming that Comey is telling the truth and the White House spinning, we have an obstruction of justice case at least as strong, if not stronger, than was brought against Bill Clinton, which most Republicans voted for, said Lichtman, among a few analysts who predicted Trumps victory in November.

Somebody is not telling the truth

Senators questioned the fired FBI directors inferences but none disputed the exceptionally detailed accounts of his meetings with the president.

When the door by the grandfather clock closed and we were alone, the president began by saying: I want to talk about Mike Flynn Comey began in his written account of the critical Feb. 14 meeting in the Oval Office.

After the hearing, Trumps personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, disputed Comeys recollection of the meeting where Trump allegedly pressured him to drop the Flynn investigation.

In addition, Kasowitz asserted that Comeys assertions about the president demanding loyalty never happened.

The president also never told Mr. Comey, I need loyalty, I expect loyalty in form or substance, Kasowitz said, reading from a prepared statement.

Richmond University Law School professor Carl Tobias posed a question that may or may not have a bearing on what people take from the Comey testimony: Do you believe Jim Comey, who was under oath, or do you believe the president, who was not? he asked.

Comey is a canny operator - and a leaker

Comey, a registered Republican for most of his life who was brought to the Justice Department by George W. Bush, is highly skilled in the ways of Washington. He requested that his opening statement be released a day earlier, enabling him to establish the narrative from which senators formed their questions.

Then he immediately went on the offensive rather than playing defense, professing outrage at Trumps efforts to defame not just him but all of the FBI. Those were lies, plain and simple, he said.

Comey discussed his motivation for making notes of his sessions with Trump, not something he was moved to do with Barack Obama or Bush.

I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting, he said, referring to why he hastened to write down the details after meeting with the president-elect at Trump Tower.

U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, noted that Comey wrote memos about his conversations with the president because he believed the president would lie about their discussions in the future, and acknowledged that he took the president at his word that the reason for his firing was the Russia investigation.

"If President Trump does in fact have the recordings of his conversations with Director Comey, he should provide them to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees and Special Counsel Mueller," Castro added.

Comey testified, too, that he arranged for a friend, later identified as Columbia University professor Daniel Richman, to pass along the substance of his written memos to the New York Times, a revelation that speaks to his willingness to manipulate public opinion.

And he was thinking ahead: "I thought it might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, he said.

A day after the disclosure, Muellers appointment as special counsel was announced.

Intelligence services believe the Russia threat is ongoing

Amid the ongoing revelations about Comeys firing, Flynns exit from government and Trumps conduct, Russias hacking during the presidential election has at times seemed a back story rather than the reason for the spate of investigations.

Comeys passionate words about the cyber threat conveyed real concern that the United States and other nations havent seen the last of Russias attempt to disrupt democracies.

Were talking about a foreign government using technical intrusion and lots of other methods tried to shape the way we think, we vote, we act. That is a big deal. And people need to recognize it, he said.

Its not about Republicans or Democrats. Theyre coming after America, Comey added. And they will be back. We remain that shining city on the hill and they dont like it.

The Obama Justice Department emerged from the hearing tarnished

Much of the hearing dealt with an alleged GOP effort to shape an FBI investigation. But Comey also said that when he was investigating Hillary Clinton last year, he was pressured by Democrats.

He testified that Loretta Lynch, Obamas last attorney general, directed me not to call it an investigation but instead to call it a matter."

Comey said he was moved to announce the FBIs findings earlier than planned partly because of a meeting between Lynch and Bill Clinton on an airport tarmac.

That was one of the bricks in the load that led me to conclude I have to step away from the (Justice) department if were to close this case credibly, Comey said.

blambrecht@express-news.net
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A second arson investigator testified Thursday that a 2013 fire in a pickup where the body of a toddler was found was set with gas and that it originated in the passenger compartment, disputing what the defendant originally told police.

Ryan McCormick, a fire investigator with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told the Bexar County jury hearing the murder case against Joel Soto that numerous plastic and rubber components were intact in the engine compartment, which showed that the fire did not start there.

Soto, 55, is accused of murder in the death of Jeremy Soto, his 2-year-old grandson, whose body was recovered from the inside of Sotos Chevrolet pickup Nov. 16, 2013. He also is charged with arson and injury to a child by omission.

Soto and his grandson were at Mount Evans and Rogers Road on the far West Side when the pickup caught fire. Soto told police that he was having engine trouble and had pulled over to take a look underneath the hood. He said something caused a flash fire and that the engine just blew up.

Prosecutors allege that Soto used gasoline in the vehicle to start the fire to hide that the child, who lived with Soto, already was dead from ingesting methamphetamine. The defense disputes that assertion, saying the state cant prove that Soto was in possession of the substance.

Under questioning by prosecutor Stephanie Boyd, McCormick went through numerous photos to show the jury how white burn marks on the pickups body helped him reach his conclusion.

Radial burn patterns emanating from the passengers side (of the hood) are indicative of the fire originating in the passenger compartment, he said.

When Boyd asked McCormick what started the fire, he said, gasoline by open flame.

The response prompted defense attorney Justin Fischer to ask McCormick how he knew it was an open flame.

We concluded open flame was applied to ignitable vapors in the compartment, McCormick said, adding that the source was removed from the scene.

Fischer asked, So you dont know?

No, McCormick said.

Rebecca Moreno, a Child Protective Services investigator assigned to the case after learning that the child died, testified that Soto admitted the day after the child died that he had taken methamphetamine in capsule form for two weeks before the child died and that the last day he used it was two days before his grandson died.

Testimony is expected to continue at 10 a.m. today in the 379th state District Court, presided by Judge Ron Rangel.

If convicted of murder, Soto faces up to life in prison.

ezavala@express-news.net

Twitter: @elizabeth2863
A former government contractor at San Antonio Military Medical Center pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud and structuring bank deposits in an attempt to evade detection.

Opal Charles, 67, of Cibolo clasped her hands in front of her in Judge Xavier Rodriguezs courtroom as she admitted to a scheme to defraud funds meant for wounded warriors.

Charles agreed to pay $260,000 in restitution, and she faces up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 6.

A grand jury indicted Charles, a former employee of the Warrior Transition Battalion, on charges involving lying to donors and using confidential information to make false requests for donations as part of a scheme from 2004 to 2016.

Investigators said Charles lied to donors by asking for donations on behalf of soldiers who had never asked for help. The essence of the scheme was for defendant Charles to lie to and steal from donors trying to help Warrior Transition Battalion soldiers and soldier families, the indictment reads.

The indictment also states that Charles tried to evade federal reporting requirements when she split up a $19,256 deposit into two smaller sums, each below $10,000. Any transaction more than $10,000 is required to be reported by a bank.

One of the nonprofits Charles exploited, according to a complaint from the Armys Criminal Investigation Command, was the Air Warrior Courage Foundation.

A few years ago, Gary Baber, director of the foundations San Antonio chapter, began writing foundation checks directly to Charles to help wounded soldiers, the complaint states.

The complaint lists 11 checks written by AWCF, totaling $6,793.82 in May and June last year, to Charles for service members.

The foundations national director, David Brog, said the charity had worked with Charles for so long that it trusted her implicitly. As a result, he said, the foundation deviated from its normal procedures to help what it thought were soldiers with emergency cases.

When told that a Wounded Warrior needed immediate assistance, we sometimes provided checks directly to her, though that is not our normal procedure, AWCF said in a statement.

Were moving on, were still trying to take care of the kids, Brog said.

Charles arrest in December led to a meeting between Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Johnson, commander of Brooke Army Medical Center, and around two dozen representatives of nonprofit organizations.

The hospital reiterated to nonprofits the proper procedures for handling donations, according to a spokesman.

jlawrence@express-news.net
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Hey, Texas Democrats: Its the second week of June in 2017. Less than nine months away from our next state primary. Do you have any idea who your gubernatorial candidates will be?

Thats good, because I dont either. Over the past few days, Ive talked to several local Dems with decades of political experience between them. Not one of them could offer a viable option for the party in the 2018 gubernatorial race.

In one sense, this hardly qualifies as shocking news. Texas Dems have a 23-year winless streak in statewide elections and have only once come within 12 points of winning a gubernatorial race during that long drought. Theyve learned, the hard way, that viability is just another word for something more to lose.

On the other hand, Democrats have usually been able to find some cause for optimism in the months leading up to a gubernatorial election cycle.

Around this time in 2001, they were hitching their wagon to Tony Sanchez, a Laredo oil-and-banking magnate that the late columnist Molly Ivins dubbed the Great Brown Hope. Sanchez proved to be a dud on the stump, but for a while at least, his deep pockets and potential appeal to Latino voters had Democrats thinking upset.

Four years later, Democrats could dredge up some optimism over the ballot chaos emerging with the independent campaign of musician/writer Kinky Friedman (and the eventual independent run of GOP state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn).

In the next two elections, Democrats pinned their hopes on the bipartisan, technocratic steadiness of then-Houston Mayor Bill White and the grassroots-energizing filibuster phenomenon of then-state Sen. Wendy Davis.

While its true that neither White nor Davis was set for the governors race this early in the process, there were at least other options on the table.

Former state Rep. (and ambassador to Japan and Australia) Tom Schieffer declared early for the 2010 race, with White  who initially planned to run for the U.S. Senate in a special election that never materialized  a possibility lurking in the background. And who can forget Houston hair-care mogul Farouk Shami.

And even before Daviss star-making June 2013 filibuster against a restrictive anti-abortion bill, Democrats could at least talk themselves off the ledge with the notion that then-San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro could be persuaded to give it a go.

This time around, Democrats options range from slim to non-existent. Castro, who returned to S.A. early this year after a two-and-a-half year stint in Washington D.C. as housing secretary, has been emphatic about his disinclination to run for anything next year. No other serious prospects have emerged.

This is happening (or not happening) at a time when Democrats across the country are hoping that the low poll numbers for Republican President Donald Trump will carry over into next year and create a tea-party-in-reverse wave election. We see local Indivisible groups pushing to oust Republican congressmen Lamar Smith and Will Hurd, among others. But the governors race is a big fat question mark.

This has to be particularly frustrating for Dems because Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has drifted through his first 29 months in office, firmly in the shadow of attention-getting Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

George W. Bush put his stamp on education. Rick Perry built his 14-year tenure around the effort to lure business investment to the state, getting considerable credit for what came to be known as the Texas Miracle.

The closest Abbott has come to creating an issue for himself comes from his repeated calls for an Article V Convention of States, a pipe dream even more remote than a 2018 Democratic gubernatorial victory. His most memorable legislation signing was memorable for all the wrong reasons: enacting a controversial (and now legally challenged) sanctuary cities ban on a Sunday night away from the public, and seen only on Facebook Live video.

In a different state, at a different time, Abbott would be politically vulnerable. But hes not.

Texas Democrats are stymied by many factors: a thin bench brought on by years of losing; the financial challenges (probably around $50 million) of running a credible gubernatorial campaign; and the unwillingness of promising figures to damage their brand by putting themselves on the line for an extreme long-shot.

One veteran San Antonio Dem put it this way: There is so much Democratic PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) in this state.

Paging Farouk Shami.

ggarcia@express-news.net

Twitter: @gilgamesh470
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  If everyone in the farm business owned a similar amount of business assets, worked the same number of hours, and provided management expertise, the answer to the question in the title would be very straightforward. In this unlikely scenario, business income could be split equally.

Unfortunately, asset ownership, hours worked, and management responsibilities vary across managers, operators, and owners of the business. This increases the importance of coming up with a conceptual framework to divide farm business income.

Im offering a model that can be used to divide farm business income and provides an illustration of how this model can be used in practice.

Contributions model

In 2016, Don Hofstrand, retired Extension agriculture specialist, described two methods that can be used to divide business income between parties in the business in an equitable manner  the contributions model and the 50/50 model.

With the contributions model, which is the focus of this article, an annual contribution is computed and allocated to each party before splitting net income.

Annual contributions are computed using the relative value of each partys contribution of resources to the farm business. The discussion below will focus on farm resources that need to be included in the contributions model and possible ways to value these resources.

Where to start

Resources that need to be included in the contributions model include land, buildings, machinery and equipment, breeding livestock, working capital, and labor and management.

Here, we are focusing on resources that are owned by each party. Owned resources are typically valued at their opportunity cost.

For example, if we have two generations, and the older generation owns 500 acres and the younger generation does not own any acres, the older generation should receive compensation for their owned acres.

The easiest way to compensate the older generation for the owned acres would be to use a current rental rate for the area. The annual value of buildings and machinery and equipment can be estimated using a rental rate or the cost of ownership.

The opportunity cost approach is often used to compute the cost of ownership. This approach typically uses economic depreciation (estimated useful life and straight-line depreciation are often used as proxies) and an opportunity interest charge, which is computed regardless of whether there are debt obligations pertaining to specific assets.

What about buildings?

Buildings include machine sheds, general storage buildings, office space, and grain storage. Assuming that the owner of the buildings covers insurance and repairs, economic depreciation and the opportunity interest charge could be used to value the annual contributions for the buildings.

For example, if the buildings have a 20-year useful life, the total annual value of the buildings owned by each party could be multiplied by 10 percent (5 percent for economic depreciation and 5 percent for the opportunity interest charge).

A similar approach could be used for machinery and equipment. If the owner of the machinery and equipment pays for insurance and repairs, the value of the machinery and equipment could be multiplied by 15 percent.

This assumes an average machine life of 10 years, use of straight-line economic depreciation, and a 5 percent opportunity charge for interest.

Breeding livestock could be valued at its current sale value.

Working capital

Working capital; which includes cash, accounts receivable, purchased inputs, grain inventories, and market livestock inventories; contributed by each party to cover the cash flow needs of the business can be valued using the rate of return that would have been received from alternative investments.

Investing in production agriculture is certainly not risk-free, so I recommend using an opportunity charge for working capital of at least 5 percent.

Note that annual contributions for buildings, machinery and equipment, and working capital can be computed using balance sheet values for these items at the beginning of the year, the end of the year, or the average of the beginning and end of year values.

Labor, management

Labor and management can be valued using typical wages for performing comparable work or the opportunity cost associated with other employment opportunities.

For example, if one of the parties could work for a local agribusiness for a salary with benefits of $50,000, this figure could be used to estimate their labor and management contribution.

Add it up

The annual value of the contributions for each party is computed by adding up their opportunity costs for land, buildings, machinery and equipment, breeding livestock, working capital, and labor and management.

The annual value of each partys contribution is paid before net income is split between the parties.

Net income can be split using a corporate, a partnership, or some other type of agreement.

When theres not enough money

The above conceptual framework works well when there is sufficient income to pay all of the resources, but U.S. net farm income is expected to be relatively low again in 2017. How should income be divided in years when income is very low?

This is not an easy question to answer, which means that it is important to plan for this event.

In years with low income, it would make sense to have a hierarchy with regard to which resources are going to be covered, first, second, third, etc. This hierarchy would likely vary among farms. However, it would make sense for labor and management to be the first resource covered.

Any resources that are not fully compensated could receive extra compensation in later years. This is similar to how sweat equity is often treated.

Case study

Table 1 contains an illustration of how the contributions model can be used to divide business income. This illustration assumes that there are two parties involved, a younger and an older generation.

In this illustration, the older generation owns the vast majority of the land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and working capital. The farm operates 2000 acres, of which 500 acres are owned by the older generation.

The annual contribution for land is computed using current cash rent values, the annual building contribution is computed by multiplying building investment by 10 percent, the annual machinery and equipment contribution is computed by multiplying machinery and equipment investment by 15 percent, and the annual working capital contribution is computed by multiplying working capital investment by 5 percent.

The investments in buildings, machinery and equipment, and working capital were obtained by averaging the beginning and end of the year balance sheet values.

In this example, the owner of each asset is covering insurance and repairs on the portion of the buildings and machinery and equipment they own. If this is not the case, the percentages used for buildings, and machinery and equipment above may need to be modified.

The opportunity cost associated with labor and management is assumed the same for both parties. The lower contribution for the older generation reflects the fact that this individual is working a fraction of the year.

It is important to note that the annual contributions reported in Table 1 are distributed before net income is split between the parties.

Recalculate every year

The annual value of the contributions will need to be updated every year to account for changes in owned acres, building values, machinery and equipment values, and working capital.

When dealing with a younger generation and an older generation, what typically happens is the annual contribution of the younger generation increases over time while the annual contribution of the older generation decreases over time.

If assets were purchased together, the ownership shares would need to be divided accordingly. It is also important to note that if assets are disposed of, the sales amount needs to be divided using the ownership percentages.

The author is a professor of ag economics at Purdue University. This information was originally published in March 2017 on farmdoc daily, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Four Canadian youths under 25 years old will travel to Belgium in October

By Diego Flammini

Assistant Editor, North American Content

Farms.com

One hundred of the futures brightest agricultural minds will converge in Brussels, Belgium from October 9 to 14 to participate in the 2017 Youth Ag Summit.

Representatives from 49 countries will take part in themed discussions of Feeding a Hungry Planet and address the United Nations 17 Sustainability Goals. Participants range from 18 to 25 years old.

Cassandra Hayward of Nova Scotia, Brandon Hebor from Toronto, Cameron Olson from Alberta and Alexis Wagner from Newfoundland and Labrador will represent Canada.

Farms.com caught up with Wagner, a biological and food engineering graduate from the University of Guelph. Shes currently pursuing her Masters Degree in Environmental Policy from the University of Cambridge in England.

She is also the head brewer at Mill Street Brewery in St. Johns, Newfoundland.

Farms.com (Farms): What inspired you to think about participating in the Youth Ag Summit?

Alexis Wagner (AW): As someone who works very closely with products from Canadian farms, Ive seen first-hand how differences in climate and weather can change the specifications in the grain we use. I had the chance to go to China and realized some of the issues (the country) had with its production was related to challenges with their grain supply from France.

It was there I realized how interconnected the global supply of grain was and how much of an impact it has on large corporations.

Farms: A big term in agri-food is sustainability. What is an important element to ensure sustainability?

AW: For me, one word that comes to mind is diversification. When Im thinking about food supply, Im actually thinking about the supply chain that goes into food production.

I think theres a huge link between sustainability and diversification, whether that means people are more educated on how to use a diverse array of foods from different streams or diversity in what farmers are able to produce.



Alexis Wagner

Farms: Part of the application process included writing an essay about the UNs Sustainability Goals. What did your entry include?

AW: My essay focused on Goal 12, which is ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. My essay (discussed) changes consumers and the food industry can make, including how food waste is an important issue at the consumer level.

Farms: What do you hope to contribute to the summit?

AW: I think, since the summit is for youths, I can bring the perspective of the industrial side of food production and the understanding that reducing waste is easier said than done when some production plants have a lot of capital invested in their current procedures.

More information can be found on the summits website or by following @YouthAgSummit on Twitter.
Wheat: Net sales for the 2017/2018 marketing year, which began June 1, totaled 461,000 metric tons. Increases were reported for unknown destinations (147,200 MT), Peru (78,500 MT), Mexico (64,500 MT, including decreases of 11,300 MT), Italy (47,300 MT), Japan (35,400 MT), and Yemen (28,300 MT, switched from unknown). Reductions were reported for Honduras (200 MT). A total of 1,883,400 MT in sales were carried over from the 2016/2017 marketing year, which ended May 31. Exports for the period ending May 31 of 470,900 MT brought accumulated exports to 26,512,800 MT, up 36 percent from the prior years total of 19,473,100 MT. The primary destinations were Japan (115,000 MT), Mexico (101,700 MT), Saudi Arabia (59,800 MT), the Philippines (49,500 MT), and Nigeria (32,000 MT). Exports for June 1 totaled 93,900 MT, with Peru (48,500 MT), Thailand (29,000 MT), Colombia (11,600 MT), and Guatemala (2,400 MT) being the primary destinations.

Exports for Own Account: The current exports for own account outstanding balance of 24,900 MT is for Canada.

Corn: Net sales of 348,600 MT for 2016/2017 were down 15 percent from the previous week and 25 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Saudi Arabia (139,300 MT, including 136,900 MT switched from unknown destinations), Japan (69,800 MT, including 50,000 MT switched from unknown destinations and decreases of 900 MT), China (68,400 MT, including 63,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), Mexico (63,100 MT, including decreases of 300 MT), and Colombia (42,800 MT, including 27,400 MT switched from unknown destinations). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (194,200 MT) and the Dominican Republic (2,000 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 128,000 MT were reported for unknown destinations (94,000 MT), Panama (16,500 MT), and Mexico (10,000 MT). Exports of 1,213,800 MT were down 9 percent from the previous week, but up 4 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Mexico (273,100 MT), South Korea (269,100 MT), Japan (261,500 MT), Saudi Arabia (139,300 MT), and China (121,400 MT).

Optional Origin Sales: For 2016/2017, new optional origin sales of 100 MT were reported for South Korea. Options were exercised to export 69,100 MT to South Korea from the United States. The current optional origin outstanding balance for 2016/2017 of 122,000 MT is for unknown destinations (54,000 MT) and South Korea (68,000 MT). The current outstanding balance for 2017/2018 of 112,000 MT is for unknown destinations.

Barley: There were no sales or exports for the 2017/2018 marketing year, which began June 1. A total of 600 MT in sales were carried over from the 2016/2017 marketing year, which ended May 31. There were exports for the period ending May 31 of 7,600 MT to Japan. Accumulated exports were 25,400 MT, up 3 percent from the prior years total of 26,200 MT. There were no exports for June 1.

Sorghum: Net sales reductions of 2,000 MT for 2016/2017 resulted as increases for China (50,000 MT, switched from unknown destinations) and Mexico (1,000 MT), were more than offset by reductions for unknown destinations (53,000 MT). Exports of 76,700 MT were down 42 percent from the previous week and 32 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were China (60,000 MT), Mexico (11,600 MT), and Japan (5,100 MT).

Rice: Net sales of 34,600 MT for 2016/2017 were down 22 percent from the previous week and 16 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico (14,800 MT, including decreases of 11,800 MT), Panama (9,700 MT), Honduras (4,000 MT), Canada (1,400 MT, including decreases of 200 MT), and Jordan (1,000 MT). Reductions were reported for El Salvador (500 MT). Exports of 30,200 MT were down 27 percent from the previous week and 56 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Mexico (19,000 MT), Canada (2,400 MT), Jordan (2,000 MT), South Korea (1,200 MT), and Liberia (1,000 MT).



Exports for Own Account: The current exports for own account outstanding balance of 200 MT is for Canada.



Soybeans: Net sales of 159,100 MT for 2016/2017 were down 74 percent from the previous week and 64 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Spain (200,000 MT, including 130,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), Egypt (112,500 MT, including 50,000 MT switched from unknown destinations), Indonesia (35,800 MT, including decreases of 300 MT), Canada (28,500 MT), and Colombia (10,000 MT, including 8,000 MT switched from unknown destinations). Reductions were reported for China (172,600 MT), unknown destinations (85,000 MT), and Japan (2,000 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 221,800 MT were reported for Spain (130,000 MT), Pakistan (66,000 MT), and Mexico (18,000 MT). Exports of 319,500 MT were down 8 percent from the previous week and 3 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Mexico (114,900 MT), China (78,600 MT), Egypt (52,500 MT), Indonesia (19,800 MT), and Vietnam (10,000 MT).



Exports for Own Account: The current outstanding balance of 69,900 MT is for Canada.

Soybean Cake and Meal: Net sales of 84,900 MT for 2016/2017 were down 31 percent from the previous week and 32 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Colombia (22,700 MT), Mexico (15,400 MT)Venezuela (15,000 MT, switched from unknown destinations), Canada (12,300 MT), and the Philippines (11,400 MT). Reductions were reported for unknown destinations (39,300 MT) and Israel (900 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 14,800 MT were reported for Canada (7,200 MT), Panama (6,800 MT), and Mexico (800 MT). Exports of 124,300 MT were down 47 percent from the previous week and 26 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Mexico (43,200 MT), Venezuela (15,000 MT), Canada (14,100 MT), Israel (10,100 MT), the Dominican Republic (9,300 MT), and Honduras (7,500 MT).

Soybean Oil: Net sales of 17,600 MT for 2016/2017 were down 23 percent from the previous week and 8 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Algeria (15,000 MT, switched from unknown destinations), the Dominican Republic (6,100 MT), Mexico (4,600 MT), and Guatemala (4,000 MT). Reductions of 15,000 MT were reported for unknown destinations. Exports of 20,400 MT were up noticeably from the previous week and 30 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Algeria (15,000 MT), Mexico (4,500 MT), and Canada (700 MT).

Cotton: Net upland sales of 82,700 RB for 2016/2017 were down 26 percent from the previous week and 19 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Turkey (19,800 RB, including decreases of 100 RB), Vietnam (19,400 RB, including 300 RB switched from Japan and decreases of 100 RB), Indonesia (14,400 RB, including decreases of 1,700 RB), India (10,800 RB, including decreases of 100 RB), and China (7,400 RB, including decreases of 100 RB). Reductions were reported for Switzerland (4,400 RB) and Japan (2,600 RB). For 2017/2018, net sales of 187,500 RB reported primarily for Vietnam (104,400 RB), Indonesia (30,600 RB), and China (30,500 RB), were partially offset by reductions for El Salvador (2,600 RB). Exports of 316,100 RB were down 15 percent from the previous week and 16 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Turkey (63,800 RB), India (54,300 RB), Vietnam (43,000 RB), Indonesia (25,700 RB), and Bangladesh (22,700 RB). Net sales of Pima totaling 9,400 RB for 2016/2017 were down noticeably from the previous week, but up noticeably from the prior 4-week average. Increases were primarily for India (5,300 RB, including decreases of 200 RB), China (2,400 RB), Japan (1,300 RB), and Peru (900 RB), were partially offset by reductions for Hong Kong (900 RB). For 2017/2018, net sales of 3,900 RB were reported for China (2,600 RB), Switzerland (900 RB), and Peru (400 RB). Exports of 8,300 RB were down 22 percent from the previous week and 34 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily India (3,600 RB), Peru (1,700 RB), China (1,500 RB), and Indonesia (500 RB).

Exports for Own Account: New exports for own account were reported to Vietnam (16,400 RB), Bangladesh (3,800 RB), Indonesia (1,200 RB), South Korea (1,200 RB), Taiwan (500 RB), Thailand (500 RB), and India (300 RB). Exports to Vietnam (5,600 RB), Taiwan (2,400 RB), South Korea (1,600 RB), and Thailand (500 RB) were applied to new or outstanding sales. Decreases were reported for Bangladesh (4,300 RB), Indonesia (800 RB), and Vietnam (300 RB). The current outstanding balance of 111,900 RB is for Indonesia (62,400 RB), Vietnam (14,900 RB), Taiwan (14,400 RB), Bangladesh (6,600 RB), India (6,100 RB), South Korea (5,100 RB), Thailand (1,900 RB), and Pakistan (500 RB).

Hides and Skins: Net sales of 608,300 pieces reported for 2017, all whole cattle hides, were up 11 percent from the previous week and 27 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were primarily for China (371,700 pieces, including decreases of 2,600 pieces), South Korea (93,100 pieces, including decreases of 10,400 pieces), Thailand (76,800 pieces), Mexico (28,600 pieces, including decreases of 6,400 pieces), and Brazil (11,900 pieces). Exports of 398,500 pieces reported for 2017 were up 15 percent from the previous week and 13 percent from the prior 4-week average. Whole cattle hides exports of 394,700 pieces were primarily to China (231,300 pieces), South Korea (88,200 pieces), Mexico (20,900 pieces), Thailand (18,700 pieces), and Taiwan (16,600 pieces).

Net sales of 56,800 wet blues for 2017 were down 82 percent from the previous week and 70 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Italy (19,200 unsplit), China (12,800 unsplit and 3,500 grain splits), Taiwan (9,600 unsplit), Vietnam (4,600 unsplit), and South Korea (2,500 grain splits). Reductions were reported for Mexico (100 grain splits). Exports of 180,000 wet blues for 2017 were down 1 percent from the previous week, but up 15 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Italy (75,100 unsplit and 3,600 grain splits), China (44,300 unsplit and 1,900 grain splits), and Vietnam (13,400 unsplit and 5,900 grain splits). Net sales of splits totaling 140,000 pounds for 2017 were reported for Taiwan (50,000 pounds), Vietnam (44,500 pounds), China (33,600 pounds), and South Korea (12,000 pounds). Exports of 381,900 pounds were up 70 percent from the previous week and 51 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were China (251,100 pounds), Vietnam (120,800 pounds), and South Korea (10,000 pounds).

Beef: Net sales of 13,800 MT reported for 2017 were up 15 percent from the previous week and 47 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Japan (9,100 MT, including decreases of 2,000 MT), Canada (1,100 MT, including decreases of 100 MT), South Korea (800 MT, including decreases of 300 MT), Egypt (700 MT), and Mexico (600 MT, including decreases of 100 MT). For 2017/2018, net sales of 200 MT were reported for Canada. Exports of 12,400 MT were down 16 percent from the previous week and 10 percent from the prior 4-week average. The primary destinations were Japan (4,200 MT), South Korea (2,900 MT), Mexico (1,500 MT), Hong Kong (1,300 MT), and Canada (800 MT).

Pork: Net sales of 22,600 MT reported for 2017 were up 65 percent from the previous week and 40 percent from the prior 4-week average. Increases were reported for Mexico (16,000 MT), Hong Kong (2,600 MT), Japan (1,700 MT), Canada (1,000 MT), and South Korea (300 MT). Exports of 19,800 MT were down 18 percent from the previous week and 13 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily Mexico (6,800 MT), Japan (3,100 MT), China (2,400 MT), South Korea (1,900 MT), and Canada (1,400 MT).

Source: USDA WASDA
The sooner you can pick up mastitis and know that the cows actually got mastitis (and) the more information youve got on the bugs that actually cause the mastitis, you know what antibiotics to treat it with and you dont have to use as many because shes not as advanced  the cure is actually quicker.
We are trying to get the setting of the pilot malting facility to match those of the new InterMalt facility in Vietnam and in that we can hopefully road test grain before it goes on a ship to Vietnam so we understand its quality parameters better, Mr Metz said.
In particular tertiary and VET students will be able to understand what is involved in these career pathways, what career progression is available, and what qualifications will help aid career progression, along with where the qualifications can be obtained, Dr Thorpe said.
The more people you can bring in, the more information you can disseminate to your members and hopefully that actually leads to them having increased production and profit in their business in the long run.
I never said I want to eliminate the open cry system, I think the system is good and fair, but what I am thinking is that the wool price and market is like a roller coaster, Mr Wen said.
Prof Andy SpaldingThe anti-corruption movement is plainly a global net gain. Were working together to make economies more efficient, governments more representative, companies more ethical, and people more trustworthy and trusting.

But as with any major change, it comes at a cost. This is not to say or even imply that the cost outweighs the benefit; not at all. But how do we understand that cost, particularly in countries where anti-corruption reforms are most radical?

Consider South Korea, which recently enacted a watershed anti-corruption law (the Kim Young Ran Act) that confronts a centuries-old tradition of gift-giving. By many Koreans own account, these gifts often served to thinly disguise the purchasing of influence. Their prohibition is thus a step forward in the anti-corruption effort.

Uniquely, the act defines the prohibited recipients to include journalists, teachers, and university professors. Interviewing a young (and partly western trained) academic at one of Koreas elite universities, I was shocked to find him speaking of this new law with a strange sort of bitterness, even resentment. It took me some time to figure out why.

Some gifts to Korean professors may well have been intended to purchase grades. But not all, and not only. So too were gifts  alternatively, or even simultaneously  gestures of genuine respect and a symbolic affirmation of the professors social status. The new prohibition on these gifts thus had two effects: it clamped down on the purchase of undeserved grades; and it deprived this professor of a social status he had worked many, many years to attain. This was his pain.

Korean culture may well adapt and find alternative ways to symbolically affirm social status without corrupting education. As another Korean corporate lawyer told us, the Kim Young Ran Act forces us to find new ways to express our feelings. But in the meantime, a pain is felt. It may well be a growing pang.

But sometimes growth really hurts.

While teaching recently at the International Anti-Corruption Academys Master in Anti-Corruption Studies program, a conversation took a similar, and similarly unexpected, turn. We were speaking of the rule of law, and the importance of adopting rules and procedures in place of the unbridled human discretion that, when paired with power, so often breeds corruption.

Kehinde  a senior Nigerian anti-corruption professional piped up. He recounted a story of receiving an invitation to lunch from a western businessperson. Kehinde was in a position of considerable influence, but this meeting presented no risk of corruption. When lunch concluded, he was shocked to realize that, though he had been invited, he would pay his own way. He couldnt believe it. In his culture, this was a major affront.

Then Ayman, an Egyptian risk advisory consultant, protested. The anti-corruption movement does not prohibit gifts, he said, only gifts given to public officials in their public capacity. He was of course right in places like the new South Korea, though not even the FCPA prohibits all gifts to public officials. But Shine, a civil society practitioner from Liberia and a deep thinker with genuine intellectual honesty, inquired, how do we put public officials in a box?

Ah yes, the box. The founding-era U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall spoke of this box when he wrote, we are a government of laws, not of men. He was describing constitutionalism and the rule of law; a society governed by rules and procedures, duly promulgated, written down, transparent, predictable, and nondiscriminatory. This is the box we now construct the world over. And we must.

But as Chief Justice Marshalls quote plainly implies, the rule of law removes from government something distinctively human. That which we seek to extricate is, of course, the temptation to engage in corruption: the universal human tendency to abuse public office for private gain. But in so doing, is anything lost?

Waiter, can you split that bill?

James Madison (the principle genius behind the U.S. Constitution) famously observed that if men were angels, no government would be necessary. Though we humans may have our angelic moments, history has shown that we will not consistently use unchecked discretion for good. The angelic moments are too few; the lapses too frequent and the harms far too great. We dont trust the human heart when paired with power, so we replace discretion with policy and procedure. We are right to do so. It is imperative that we do so.

But what of that angelic impulse  of the human capacity, however rare, to use discretion for good, to show generosity and respect without risking the improper quid pro quo? Do we deny opportunities for its expression? My Egyptian student answered, only for eight hours a day.

Such is the cost of reform.

Plato famously envisioned the rule of philosopher kings, who would possess the intellect to discern true justice and the character to implement it uncorrupted by self-interest. What now of Platos dream  of a government comprised not of checks and balances and rules and policies and procedures and recordkeeping, but founded on a faith in human judgment?

R.I.P., Plato. The world now reads your eulogy.

____

Andy Spalding is a lecturer at the International Anti-Corruption Academy, Professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, and Senior Editor of the FCPA Blog.
Sandra Bullock has been granted another restraining order against her stalker.

Sandra Bullock

The 'Blind Side' actress locked herself in her bedroom cupboard after discovering Joshua Corbett in her house in the early hours of the morning in June 2014, and last month, he was ordered to stay away from her for the next 10 years, and continue with his in-patient treatment at a mental health facility.

However, this week, Sandra's lawyers successfully argued for another restraining order against Corbett after it was revealed that when he was arrested, police found a notebook detailing his plans to sexually assault the star, TMZ reports.

According to the website, police also found 24 firearms at his home, including "machine guns, assault rifles and explosive devices".

According to LAPD, Corbett suffers from bipolar schizophrenia.

In early hearings in the case, the panicked call to the emergency services which Sandra, 52, made after discovering an intruder in her home was played in court.

Breathing heavily, Sandra - who has children Louis, seven, and Laila, five - told the dispatcher: "I'm in my closet. I have a safe door. I'm locked in the closet right now."

The 'Gravity' actress went on to give a description of the man and explained she had got out of bed after hearing a noise.

She added: "I thought it was a wind blowing. Then I saw the person."

Sandra tried to navigate police through security but was unable to open a gate at her driveway with her cellphone.

She said: "Now my phone is not working so maybe they know how to override my system."

When officers got in to the property, the 'Speed' star was heard tearfully thanking the dispatcher.

Other evidence submitted included testimony from Los Angeles Police Officer Jose Bermudez, who described how Corbett was clutching a notebook containing a two-page letter to the actress and magazine photos of her when he was arrested.

Corbett said: "I'm sorry. I love you Sandy."

Security footage showed Joshua outside the actress' gate on each of the three days before his arrest, while entries read from his notebook begged the star - who he described as his wife and said he wanted to have sex with her - to open the "two large impervious gates" at the front of her property for him.
The church where Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge was baptised has been put up for sale.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

The 35-year-old royal was baptised at St Andrew's Church in Bradfield - but the Grade II listed building has now been put up for sale for 500,000.

Agents Kempton Carr Croft - who have been marketing the building - has clarified that the sale price is for the building alone and not the surrounding churchyard.

The church has been closed since 2014, due to a range of different factors, including a falling number of worshippers and spiralling repair costs.

A spokesman for The Diocese of Oxford said, according to getreading.com: "St Andrew's Church in Bradfield will be advertised as for sale as part of the process of exploring the future of the building.

"Worship stopped there in 2014 because of the high cost of maintenance and a falling congregation, with plans for a new parish church on the site of St Peter's Church in Bradfield Southend.

"Any money from the sale of the site would be ring-fenced for Christian ministry in Bradfield."

St Andrew's Church is situated in the grounds of Bradfield College and Paddy Burrowes, the bursar of the academic institution, revealed the college is currently developing a 25-year plan for its ambition.

Burrowes revealed the college has not yet ruled out the prospect of including the church as part of their long-term plan for the site.

He said: "We are and have been engaged in ongoing dialogue with the diocese about St Andrew's and its potential for future use by Bradfield College."
Roy Barraclough has been laid to rest.

Roy Barraclough

The past and present cast and crew from 'Coronation Street' gathered at Oldham crematorium today (09.06.17) to pay their respects to the soap legend, who is best known for playing Rovers Return landlord Alec Gilroy, after he passed away earlier this month at the age of 81 following a short battle with an illness.

Beverley Callard and Julie Goodyear, who played his on-screen wife Bet Lynch, were among those who attended the emotional service in Great Manchester this afternoon.

Julie was one of the first people to comment on Roy's death after the news broke and admitted she was "devastated" by the loss because they always remained close.

Remembering Roy, the actress said in a statement: "I have no words to describe how devastated I feel. We were just like a married couple. We kept in close touch and spoke to each other at least two or three times every week. I will treasure all the happy times we had working and laughing together. Rest in peace Roy. I will always love you."

Roy was also known for his partnership with Les Dawson, starring alongside the TV icon as one half of the gossip-loving northern housewives Cissie and Ada.

The comedy creation was a big hit on British TV in the 1970s and 80s, and Charlotte Dawson, Les' daughter, has paid her condolences on Twitter.

She wrote: "I'm devastated. At least you get to be reunited with my daddy."

During his lengthy career, Roy also appeared in a 2016 revival of the sitcom 'Are You Being Served?', as well as 'Last of the Summer Wine', 'Casualty' and a production of the Arthur Miller play 'Death of a Salesman'.
What's gonna be next..I love them all.. #scriptnights #homework #champagneproblems  #mumbaidiaries #globalentertaimment #crosscontinentalchoices A post shared by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Jun 8, 2017 at 12:10pm PDT

After promoting her new Hollywood film, Baywatch, from Miami to London all of last month, Priyanka Chopra returned to her Mumbai home this week to a much-deserved break and plot her new move. She posted a picture of the scripts she is currently reading via Instagram.But no trip is complete without a bit of fun. The actor who has fondly spoken of Mumbai rains in her interviews enjoyed a walk in the rain yesterday evening. She seemed in good spirits and waved out to fans before leaving in her Rolls Royce.Yogen Shah
Style Group Brands, the UKs largest concession based retailer which trades as Jacques Vert, Precis Petite, Eastex and Dash, has been sold to a subsidiary of Calvetron Style Holdings. Style Group Brands operates 318 concessions based in the UK and Ireland, seven in Belgium, 51 in Canada and 14 in the Middle East. It also has 22 standalone stores in the UK.As part of the sales process, Will Wright and Rob Croxen of KPMG LLP have been appointed joint administrators of Style Group Brands.

Style Group Brands, the UK's largest concession based retailer which trades as Jacques Vert, Precis Petite, Eastex and Dash, has been sold to a subsidiary of Calvetron Style Holdings. Style Group Brands operates 318 concessions based in the UK and Ireland, seven in Belgium, 51 in Canada and 14 in the Middle East. It also has 22 standalone stores in the UK.#

Following their appointment, the joint administrators completed an agreement to sell the majority of the business and assets to a subsidiary of Calvetron Style Holdings Limited. The deal sees them acquire all assets of the company and trading is expected to continue in the concessions based in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the Middle East, and five standalone stores, securing around 1,719 jobs in those locations. Of these, 1,272 are UK based employees.The seven concessions in Belgium and 17 standalone stores in the UK are not part of the sale and will close immediately, resulting in 272 job losses including 98 staff at the head office in Shoreditch and warehouses in County Durham.Will Wright, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, commented: The deal rescues one of the UKs leading concession retailers and will see the continued trading of four high street brands, preserving a large number of jobs. It is a positive outcome given the challenging economic pressures faced by retailers across the UK.Whilst a significant number of jobs have been preserved, sadly redundancies will be made. Over the coming days, our priority is to ensure all employees who have been affected by redundancy receive the information and guidance they need in order to claim their entitlement from the Redundancy Payments Office, Wright added. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The latest Google virtual exhibition project has added textiles and the fashion heritage of India, allowing people to explore the rich culture of the country. Google is working with over 180 cultural institutions from around the world for 'We Wear Culture', a new project on Google Arts & Culture that brings the stories behind the clothes people wear.

More than 180 museums, fashion institutions, schools, archives and other organisations from the fashion hubs of New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and elsewhere came together to put three millennia of fashion at people's fingertips. Users can browse 30,000 fashion pieces. In over 450 exhibits, there are stories from the ancient Silk Road to the ferocious fashion of the British punk. Users can also meet icons and trendsetters like Coco Chanel, Cristobal Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent or Vivienne Westwood, says the official Google blog.

The Google's online project boasts varied weaves from across India including collections from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Gharchola, Patola, Ikat sarees, Paithani and more.

The latest Google virtual exhibition project has added textiles and the fashion heritage of India, allowing people to explore the rich culture of the country. Google is working with over 180 cultural institutions from around the world for 'We Wear Culture', a new project on Google Arts & Culture that brings the stories behind the clothes people wear.#

"The unique colourful and rich embroidery arts, applique and mirror work from different communities such as the Ahir, Rabari, Chaudhury, Patel and many others from the western part of India have also been brought online by SEWA Hansiba Museum as part of this exhibit. The exhibition by Salar Jung Museum brings alive the Sherwani and how it became the royal fashion of the Nizams from 19th century Hyderabad. Colonial Indian attires can be revisited with Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum," said media reports quoting the company. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The six-nation East African Community (EAC) comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda has agreed to a three-year tax waiver of duties and value added tax (VAT) on textile raw materials, fabrics and accessories that are not available locally. This step is expected to reduce the cost of production and also boost local manufacturing.

The three-year tax waiver was suggested in a report on the textiles and footwear sector, commissioned by the EAC.

As per the EAC directive, the EAC will now shift to a four-band tariff structure for cotton, textiles and apparels to promote cotton yarn and fabric production. While imported raw materials not available in the region would attract zero duty, intermediate inputs would be taxed at 10 per cent, fabrics at 25 per cent, and readymade garments at 40 per cent or $5 per kg.

The six-nation East African Community (EAC) comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda has agreed to a three-year tax waiver of duties and value added tax (VAT) on textile raw materials, fabrics and accessories that are not available locally. This step is expected to reduce the cost of production and also boost local manufacturing.#

The EAC partner countries have also agreed to adopt a three-year strategy (2017-19) for gradual phase out of used clothing and shoe imports. This will be done through increased tax on these products, compliance with EAC Standards licensing of importers, and categorisation of products per bale of imports, African media reports said.

The partner states have also decided to establish Cotton Lint Banks modelled around Uganda cotton buffer stock model to ensure availability of cotton lint for spinning mills and downstream value addition.

All partner states producing cotton lint will set a target of at least 30 per cent local value addition to domestic cotton lint. This threshold would be increased to 50 per cent within five years, according to the recommendations on the modalities for promotion of textile and leather industries in EAC. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The silk factory at Rajbagh in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu & Kashmir, will receive Rs 23 crore by the World Bank for its revival and restoration. The factory was damaged due to the devastating floods of 2014. All the available resources will be pooled together to revive the factory, said Chander Parkash Ganga, minister of industries and commerce.

Ganga visited the factory in Srinagar and said that the World Bank has already approved Rs 23 crore for its restoration. The fund has been approved under the Livelihood for Composite Market Implementation Centre for Whole chain of Silk Activity at Silk Factory Rajbagh Srinagar scheme, according to J&K local media reports.

The factory's looms, raw material as well as finished silk products had deteriorated during the floods of 2014, concerned officials told Ganga during his visit.

The silk factory at Rajbagh in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu & Kashmir, will receive Rs 23 crore by the World Bank for its revival and restoration. The factory was damaged due to the devastating floods of 2014. All the available resources will be pooled together to revive the factory, said Chander Parkash Ganga, minister of industries and commerce.#

The officials also said that monetary support from World Bank will help in the upgradation of the factory's infrastructure and increasing its manufacturing capacity to 5 lakh metres from 12,000 metres per year. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Stitch Labs, the leading inventory management and operations platform for high-growth retailers, has been selected for the Shopify Plus Technology Partner Program, the centralised commerce platform for the next-generation of retail. Stitch Labs has also launched agency partner programme to provide high-growth retailers with resources to scale rapidly.

Of the inclusion, Brandon Levey, CEO of Stitch Labs, said, "We are honoured to be part of the Technology Partner Program. The brands we serve realise that retail is changing and the landscape is more consumer-driven than ever before. Customers want to shop for anything, anywhere, at any time, and they expect retailers to keep up with that high level of demand. It is our goal through our relationship with Shopify Plus and with our other partners is that our customers have the tools they need to scale their operations while providing an exceptional customer experience no matter where and how they sell their goods."

Shopify Plus is changing the commerce landscape for high-growth, high-volume brands, offering them a unique model to align their commerce strategies with consumer needs.

Stitch Labs, the leading inventory management and operations platform for high-growth retailers, has been selected for the Shopify Plus Technology Partner Program, the centralised commerce platform for the next-generation of retail. Stitch Labs has also launched agency partner programme to provide high-growth retailers with resources to scale rapidly.#

"We are thrilled to welcome Stitch Labs to the Shopify Plus Technology Partner Program. This programme recognises the best-in-class solutions that, together with Shopify Plus, further enable the rapid growth and innovation possibilities of todays modern merchant," said Jamie Sutton, head of technology partnerships at Shopify Plus.

Along with the Shopify Plus preferred partner announcement, Stitch Labs is announcing their agency partner programme, which provides support and exclusive resources for agencies during the client sales process. Stitch Labs is honoured to launch this programme with top-tier Shopify Plus agencies to ensure customers have the support they need when replatforming, optimising current operations, or exploring new technologies. Members of Stitch Labs agency partner ecosystem include Port80, eHouse Studios, Lemonade NY, BVAccel, Command C and Cascadia Consulting.

"We had used Stitch Labs for several projects already and knew how stellar the platform was. We are excited to formalise our relationship with Stitch Labs through their agency partner programme to receive exclusive resources and client support. We have already been able to pass customers to each other when we have identified a good fit, so it is a win for both of our companies and certainly for the customer," said Mike Gordon, director of Port80, a Vancouver-based Shopify Plus development agency.

One such client of Port 80 is Ruffle Girl, a Kentucky-based purveyor of womens and childrens clothing.

"We knew we needed an e-commerce platform that could keep up with our rapid growth, so we went with Shopify Plus. We asked them to recommend a web developer agency and were put in contact with Port 80, who suggested Stitch Labs. It is helpful that these companies are all connected so they can make the best possible recommendations for growing brands like Ruffle Girl," said Wendy Bellew, CEO at Ruffle Girl. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has deposited the instrument of ratification for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, formally committing Fiji before the international body to guarantee equal rights and dignity to people with disabilities.



The Prime Minister deposited the instruments at the UN Headquarters in New York during a ceremony at which he spoke of Fijis commitment to full equality for all citizens.



"Today marks another historic chapter for my government in our pursuit of creating equal opportunities and rights for every Fijian especially those Fijians living with disabilities, Prime Minister Bainimarama said.



"We cannot have a progressive Fiji if one section of our community is unable to participate in this process because of their disability. We must always be inclusive if we want to progress together as a nation and today's event is a step further in realising that."


HON PM VOREQE BAINIMARAMA REMARKS FORMALLY CLOSING CELEBRATIONS FOR WORLD OCEANS DAY





Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,Bula vinaka and a very good afternoon to you all.It falls to me to formally close the celebrations for World Oceans Day. And as I do so, I want to thank the organisers on behalf of all of us for a very instructive and entertaining three hours.We still have great cause to celebrate our oceans and the role they play in all our lives even as we discuss the unprecedented threat that they are under. I want to pay particular tribute to Parley on Ocean  the NGO responsible for the presentation we have just witnessed. Thank you for reminding us again of the responsibility we all share to keep our seas and oceans healthy.On World Oceans Day  June 8, 2017  we send a special message to the world as delegates to the World Ocean Conference. And it is this:The community of nations has gathered here in New York this week to try to find answers to the grave threat our seas and oceans are under from pollution, overfishing and climate change. We have worked hard to make this conference a success. Many of us have made commitments that will spearhead our effort to tackle this crisis. Many of us are embarking on courses of action within our own maritime borders to roll back the tide  to begin the long, slow process of reversing the degradation we have all witnessed.The nations of the world are finally beginning to act. But we can only do so effectively if we can marshal every single one of our own citizens to fight for the quality of our oceans and seas.So I want to close this celebration of World Oceans Day with a very simple message to men, woman and children everywhere. Make this fight personal. Make it your own fight. Band together with your families and friends and become warriors for change. Positive change in defence of our oceans and seas.Do what you can personally to reduce the pollution that is choking our creeks, rivers and coastlines and is drifting out to sea to be carried by the currents elsewhere. If you see someone littering, tell them that what they are doing is wrong. If you see litter on or near a beach, pick it up and dispose of it properly.Take a basket to the supermarket or shop and say no when someone offers you a plastic bag. Make a special effort to dispose of plastic bottles properly so they dont end up at sea. And seek out products that are in containers that are biodegradable.I began this week by making a special appeal to the young people of the world to lead this fight. Our schools, universities and youth groups of all kinds are powerful agents for change. And the notion of protecting our seas and oceans  protecting our environment  can even begin with very small children at home or in day care and our kindergartens.Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, when we begin leaving here tomorrow, let us all rededicate ourselves to making a difference. Lets return to our homes determine to persuade others to make a difference. Because with passion and commitment, the power of one can easily become the power of many.We do not have the right in our own lifetimes to squander the earths resources. Just as we do not have the right to alter the ecological balance or have an adverse impact on climate. It doesnt belong to us. It belongs to all time. And we are not owners but custodians.Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, our aim should be to make all 7.5 billion people on earth defenders of our seas. Protectors of the great natural asset that we have inherited and merely hold in trust for future generations.I close by again thanking my co-chair, the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, for the wonderful partnership our nations have formed this week to defend our common cause. Our Oceans are truly our future and we have gone to the world with a very strong message this week that they must be defended.Again, thank you to Parley on Ocean for a wonderful event. Thank you to the UN Division for Ocean Affairs. And I now have the honour to formally close this formal celebration of World Oceans Day 2017.Vinaka vakalevu. Thank you.
The death of Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar brought on a gloom to the Kannada Film Industry. She was known for her strength, patience and perseverance. She was widely regarded as the guiding light of Sandalwood and fondly called 'Amma' by her followers.

Following her departure, the President of Karnataka Film Academy, S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu, has plans of starting a 1 Lakh rupees award in the name of Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar for women achievers in Sandalwood.

Yesterday, June 8, during the event 'Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar - A Memory' in Gandhi Bhavan, Bengaluru, organised jointly by Karnataka Film Academy and Department of Information and Public Relations, Rahendra Singh Babu revealed his plans in front of a big audience.

S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu addressed the gathering and said, "One and only woman producer in India who produced 80 movies was Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar. Her contribution to Kannada Film Industry is enormous and shall be remembered forever. We have hence decided to instill an award in her name and reward the highest women achievers of our industry. We will shortly submit a request regarding this to the Government of Karnataka."

He further added, "It would not be too wrong to say that Dr. Rajkumar's family is the power house of KFI. One of the reasons of our film industry's growth has to be Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar. If at all any producers would like to pay homage to her, they would just have to read the scripts before thinking of funding a film. It was her exceptional quality of script selection that made her stand out from the other producers. Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar has undoubtedly produced only best films till date."

Lyricist and thinker, Baraguru Ramachandrappa spoke about Parvathamma Rajkumar too. He said, "Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar had both city style and village style thinking in her personality. It was the perfect mixture of both city and village life styles that made her successful as a producer as well as a home-maker who helped raise and keep the gigantic family of Dr. Rajkumar's, intact."

"She had taken to Dr. Rajkumar's influence on her, which helped her to be a successful producer. She later went on to become an epitome of female power in the KFI. In this modern day of patriarchal society, it is difficult for any women to rise up in society. But she crossed all the hurdles and went on to produce 80 films in her life span which is no less than an achievement."

The Director of Department of Information and Public Relations, N R Vishukumar, spoke a few words about Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar. He said, "I take this privilege to say that it was Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar who gifted her talented husband to the industry. I have never seen a dedicated family like this in my entire life. Dr. Parvathamma Rajkumar has successfully propagated the family ideals to her entire family. This family stands as an example to all of us and we have a lot to learn from them."

Along with Shivarajkumar, Raghavendra Rajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar, the entire family of Dr. Rajkumar and several artists from the film fraternity attended the ceremony.
Kichcha Sudeep and director Prem, have taken a selfie that is trending all over the media since day before yesterday. Apparently, the selfie was taken on day before yesterday, June 7, when they got down in Bangkok.

The foreign shooting schedule was supposed to begin from London where the actress of the movie Amy Jackson was supposed to join the team. But, apparently due to the terrorist attacks in Manchester, the London shooting part is postponed to July.

Therefore, the team has now moved on to Thailand. The actor and the director clicked a selfie as soon as they landed in Bangkok, on Wednesday early morning.

After their Bangkok schedule, the team will be flying to London to finish off their London shoot schedule after which, they will be heading to Australia. Amy Jackson is reported to join the crew in Australia.

The selfie is now being shared across the internet on various social media networking sites and have received best wishes from supporters, fans and alike. Meanwhile, Sudeep surprised Prem by cooking his favourite chocolate cake while in Bangkok.
Abhinaya Chakravarthy Kichcha Sudeep is undoubtedly one of the major stars of our Kannada Film Industry. The actor, having an umpteen number of followers, is a proof for the fact that he is not just a hero on screen, but a hero in real life too.

Hat-trick Director Prem, who is one of the leading directors of Sandalwood, having directed super hits like Jogi, DK, Kariya, Excuse Me, etc., has also declared that he too, is a fan of Kichcha Sudeep.

This is the first time Prem will be directing Abhinaya Chakravarthy for the movie, The Villain. The two have apparently been friends in the film fraternity for many years but this is the first time they have collaborated together for a movie.

Since they share a good rapport, it comes as no surprise when these two friends were found to be very joyful and playful on the sets of The Villain.

Read more to find out how Prem thanked Sudeep..

Filming In Bangkok

Presently, the team of The Villain are finishing their Bangkok schedule. We had reported a couple of days earlier, that the filming would start from London and then move to Bangkok and Australia. Due to the Manchester terrorist attacks, the filming in London has been delayed.

Chef Sudeep

Meanwhile, while filming in Bangkok, Sudeep has baked a cake for director Prem, who then posted a picture of the cake on Twitter to acknowledge the sweet gesture from Kichcha Sudeep.

Sudeep, a man of great culinary skills, is a cook by passion. Everybody knows that he is a great cook. What's even better is that the entirety of Karnataka got to watch him display his cooking skills on Big Boss Kannada show, a few months ago.

Prem's Favourite Chocolate Cake

Now, Sudeep has baked Prem's favourite chocolate cake for him during their shooting break in Thailand. During a friendly chat, Prem happened to mention to Sudeep that he loves chocolate cakes.

Sudeep, immediately procured the required ingredients and baked the cake, specially for the talented director. Prem, ecstatic about the cake, posted a photo of it and expressed his excitement and happiness on Twitter.

Prem has thanked Kichcha Sudeep, as shown in the photo, by telling Sudeep, "Love you darling."
NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) announced preliminary results of its special meeting of stockholders held today, noting that its stockholders approved the previously announced proposed sale of the company's operating business to Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) for $4.48 billion. The company anticipates that the sale transaction will close on June 13, 2017. In addition, Yahoo stockholders voted to approve the advisory vote on the compensation payable to the company's named executive officers in connection with the completion of the sale transaction. Yahoo will report the final voting results for each of the proposals voted on at the Special Meeting on a Current Report on Form 8-K. In July last year, Verizon agreed to acquire Yahoo's core internet business. 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.
Syngenta and DLF Seeds announced today that they have entered into a sale agreement in relation to the acquisition of Syngenta's global Sugar Beet seeds business by DLF Seeds. The transaction is subject to customary approval requirements (including local employee consultation procedures) and expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2017. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170608006435/en/

Jeff Rowe, President Global Seeds and North America for Syngenta, said: "This agreement with DLF Seeds, a strong and expanding global player, will leverage the leading germplasm and growth potential of Syngenta's Sugar Beet seeds worldwide. DLF Seeds has a strong record in specialized seeds and in the integration of strategic acquisitions and offers excellent prospects for the Sugar Beet seeds business, enabling it to build on its expertise in serving industrial sugar producers."

Truels Damsgaard, CEO of DLF Seeds, commented: "Sugar Beet seeds is a natural extension of our seeds business and it is an interesting high value crop. We see significant synergies within our technology and plant breeding tools benefiting both the sugar beet business and the forage turf seed business. We consider the Syngenta Sugar Beet seeds business a good match with the strategic goals and vision for DLF Seeds."

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 DLF Seeds

DLF Seeds is a global seed company dealing in forage and turf seeds, and other crops. The company is a leading player providing grass and clover seeds to more than 80 countries. With headquarters in Roskilde, Denmark, and a strong focus on science and plant breeding, approximately 10% of the company's 800 employees are dedicated to research. The company is owned by a cooperative of Danish farmers. To learn more visit www.dlf.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements, which can be identified by terminology such as 'expect', 'would', 'will', 'potential', 'plans', 'prospects', 'estimated', 'aiming', 'on track' and similar expressions. Such statements may be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from these statements. We refer you to Syngenta's publicly available filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for information about these and other risks and uncertainties. Syngenta assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changed assumptions or other factors. This document does not constitute, or form part of, any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer, to purchase or subscribe for any ordinary shares in Syngenta AG, or Syngenta ADSs, nor shall it form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract there for.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170608006435/en/

Contacts:

Syngenta International AG

Media Office

Telephone: +41 61 323 23 23

Fax: +41 61 323 24 24

www.syngenta.com

or

Syngenta Media contact:

Leandro Conti, +41 61 323 2323

Switzerland

media.relations@syngenta.com

or

Paul Minehart, +1 202 737 8913

USA

or

Syngenta Analyst/Investor contact:

Jennifer Gough

Switzerland, +41 61 323 5059

USA, +1 202 737 6521

or

DLF Seeds:

Ny Oestergade 9

4000 Rolskilde

Denmark

Tel: +45 46 330 300

or

DLF Seeds Media contact:

Stig Oddershede, +45 40 30 3248

Denmark

so@dlf.dk
Regulatory News:

Kiadis Pharma N.V. ("Kiadis Pharma" or the "Company") (Euronext Amsterdam and Brussels: KDS), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative products to make bone marrow transplantations safer and more effective for patients suffering from blood cancers and inherited blood disorders, today announces its unaudited financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2017, which have been prepared in accordance with the IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting" as adopted by the European Union.

Operating highlights (including post reporting period)

A Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) was submitted in April 2017 to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for approval of Kiadis Pharma's lead product for blood cancers, ATIR101, across the European Union. The submission follows support from EMA Rapporteurs for filing based on the single dose Phase II trial CR-AIR-007. The MAA was validated by EMA in May 2017 and in accordance with applicable timelines, day-120 questions from EMA are expected in September 2017 with (conditional) marketing approval potentially following in the second half of 2018.

The clinical protocol for a randomized, controlled, pivotal Phase III trial with a single dose of ATIR101 CR-AIR-009 has been submitted to national authorities in the United States, Canada and Europe and has received regulatory approval in multiple countries to perform the trial. Kiadis Pharma aims to enroll the first patients in 2017.

In the ATIR101 second dose Phase II trial CR-AIR-008, a total of five patients have been treated with a single dose of ATIR101 only, more than six months ago. Results so far (Graft-versus-Host-Disease, Overall Survival) are in line with the single dose Phase II trial CR-AIR-007.

In April 2017 Mr. Arthur Lahr succeeded Dr. Manfred Rudiger as Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Jan Feijen was appointed as Chief Operations Officer.

The Supervisory Board was strengthened with an additional independent member, Dr. Otto Schwarz.

Financial highlights (including post reporting period)

A private placement of shares with a small group of existing and new institutional investors in June 2017 raised gross proceeds of EUR5 million.

A debt facility of up to EUR15 million was obtained from Kreos Capital in August 2017. The first tranche of EUR10 million was drawn down immediately, with a second tranche of EUR5 million being available conditionally. Part of the first tranche was used to repay the remaining EUR5.3 million of existing Dutch Government Loans.

(Amounts in EUR million, except per share data) 30 June 2017 30 June 2016 Change Total revenue and other income Total operating expenses (8.2) (5.1) (3.1) Research and development (5.9) (3.8) (2.1) General and administrative (2.3) (1.3) (1.0) Operating result (8.2) (5.1) (3.1) Net financial result (0.4) (1.4) 1.0 Net result (8.5) (6.4) (2.1) Net operating cash flow (7.6) (5.3) (2.3) Cash position at end of period 10.7 23.7 (13.0) Earnings per share before dilution (EUR) (0.61) (0.48) (0.13)

A full financial report for the six months ended June 30, 2017 is available on Kiadis Pharma's website at http://www.kiadis.com/financial-news/.

Commenting on the financial results, Arthur Lahr, CEO of Kiadis Pharma, said: "We have made good operational progress during the period whilst also strengthening the Company in preparation for the next stage of its development. Our operating expenses are as expected and we have bolstered our cash position through dilutive and non-dilutive financing in June and August. As Kiadis Pharma now moves further towards commercialization I would like to thank our shareholders for their continued support."

About ATIR101

For patients suffering from blood cancers and inherited blood disorders, an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can offer a cure, yet it has considerable risks. During an HSCT treatment, the patient's diseased blood and immune system are destroyed and subsequently replaced by a healthy system from a donor. The key challenge with HSCT is that mature lymphocytes from the donor are required to provide immediate protection against infections and relapse, but may attack patient tissue, causing life threatening Graft-versus-Host-Disease (GVHD).

ATIR101 (Allodepleted T-cell ImmunotheRapeutics) provides for a single dose donor lymphocyte infusion, with functional, mature immune cells from a haploidentical family member, given as an adjunctive to a haploidentical HSCT. The lymphocytes in ATIR101 are very potent in fighting infections and remaining tumor cells, yet do so with minimal risk of causing severe GVHD. To provide protection to patients without attacking patient tissue, ATIR101 is manufactured by depleting patient specific alloreactive lymphocytes ex vivo from donor material. ATIR101 offers a strong improvement in relapse rates and GVHD over literature for other HSCT protocols, such as the Post Transplant Cyclophosphamide (PTCy) or 'Baltimore' protocol.

About Kiadis Pharma

Kiadis Pharma is focused on cell-based immunotherapy products, as an adjunctive to a haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), for the treatment of blood cancers and inherited blood disorders. The Company's product candidates have the potential to make allogeneic HSCT safer and more effective for patients.

Based on the positive results from the single dose Phase II trial with lead product ATIR101 in patients with blood cancer, the Company submitted a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in April 2017, for approval of ATIR101 across the European Union as an adjunctive treatment in HSCT for malignant disease. In addition, Kiadis Pharma has received regulatory approval in various countries to start dosing patients in a Phase III trial with ATIR101 that will be performed across Europe and North America. ATIR101 has been granted Orphan Drug Designations both in the US and Europe.

The Company's second product candidate, ATIR201, will address beta thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder.

Kiadis Pharma was granted an Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product (ATMP) certificate for manufacturing quality and non-clinical data by the EMA.

The Company's shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels. For more information visit www.kiadis.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect Kiadis Pharma's or, as appropriate, Kiadis Pharma's directors' current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, Kiadis Pharma expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither Kiadis Pharma nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person's officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170824006063/en/

Contacts:

Kiadis Pharma:

Arthur Lahr, CEO

Tel. +31 20 314 02 50

communication@kiadis.com

or

International Media and Investor Contact:

Consilium Strategic Communications

Mary-Jane Elliott, Philippa Gardner, Lindsey Neville, Hendrik Thys

Tel: +44 (0) 203 709 5708

kiadis@consilium-comms.com
PARIS, NEW YORK, LONDON, AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, and PUNE, India, 2017-06-09 09:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Synechron, a global financial services consulting and technology service provider, today announced that it will join the Misys InFusion Partner Program. Synechron will develop two Centres of Excellence focused on Capital Markets and Corporate Banking to support clients across the United States, Europe, Middle-East and India.



The Capital Markets sites will cover the Misys FusionCapital suite of products for Treasury and Capital Markets. Corporate Banking will include the Misys FusionBanking solutions in Lending and Transaction Banking. This will complement Synechron's prominent track record in these markets and its long-standing systems integration capability.



Brian Gibson, Vice President, Partners and Ecosystem at Misys states: "Synechron has a very strong capacity to innovate with robust digital expertise and its leading-edge Accelerators for Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence developed in its global Financial Innovation Labs (FinLabs). We were impressed with their deep knowledge in digital, business consulting and technology and are thrilled to work on combined solutions in Transaction Banking, Lending and Capital Markets."



Faisal Husain, Synechron CEO and Co-founder adds: "Misys is a leading global financial software company, and we are impressed by its ability to offer the broadest and deepest portfolio of financial software on the market. We have worked on several projects using FusionCapital technologies and have been inspired by the company's open and componentised software. Synechron is eager to grow its experience with integrating Misys solutions across our shared clients. We are sure that this partnership will be beneficial not only for both companies, but for our clients."



About Misys



We provide the broadest, deepest portfolio of financial services software on the market. Our solutions cover retail and corporate banking, lending, treasury, capital markets, investment management and enterprise risk. With more than 2,000 customers across 125 countries our team of domain experts and partners has an unparalleled ability to address industry requirements at both a global and local level. We deliver market leading solutions by putting customer needs at the centre of everything we do. We offer a unique componentised, open architecture to enable our clients to innovate, connect and expand their existing services and increase value faster. To learn more about how our Fusion software portfolio can deliver a holistic view of your operations, and help you to solve your most complex challenges, please visit www.misys.com and follow @MisysFS on Twitter.



About Synechron



Synechron is a global consulting and technology organization providing innovative solutions to the financial services industry through its three main business focus areas: digital, business consulting, and technology. Based in New York, the company has 18 offices around the globe, with over 7,500 employees producing over $450m in annual revenue. For more information on the company please visit the website or our LinkedIn community.



Misys: Caroline Duff Senior PR Manager, Misys T: +44 (0)20 3320 5892 E: caroline.duff@misys.com www.misys.com Synechron Diana Kearns-Manolatos Communications Director Diana.kearns@synechron.com m: +1 347-721-8223

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TOKYO, June 9, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - JCB International Co., Ltd. (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB, is pleased to announce that CardPay, a global player and a European leader in e-commerce and transactional services, has signed a direct License Agreement to acquire JCB's e-commerce card transactions across the SEPA region. With this agreement in place, JCB and CardPay will develop connectivity during Q3'17 and target to go live during Q4'17.JCBI's acquiring strategy is to aggressively increase its acceptance footprint across the SEPA region by expanding its merchant acceptance network, including the e-commerce channel. Currently JCB cards are accepted at merchants worldwide. This important partnership between JCB and CardPay will give CardPay's clients the potential to attract over 100 million JCB cardmembers to their businesses creating new customers and sales at their websites. CardPay is a European leader in the e-commerce payment and transactional services industry and is active in e-commerce merchant acquiring and card issuing services. As a European leading payment service provider, CardPay delivers bespoke simplified and secure online card payment solutions via a state of the art secure platform to its customers.Mr. Tsuyoshi Notani, Managing Director of JCB International (Europe) Ltd, said, "We are delighted to sign this License Agreement for JCB e-commerce acquiring with CardPay. We are both aiming to capture the growth in crossborder e-commerce generated by Asian consumers. This is a great opportunity to give JCB cardmembers greater freedom to spend in more e-commerce retailers across Europe than ever before."Mr. Stanislav Podolyanchuk, Head of Acquiring and Issuing of CardPay, said, "We at CardPay are proud to join the JCB scheme and offer their payment solutions to our e-commerce clients. There is a constantly growing demand for JCB acceptance by European merchants and our cooperation with JCB will provide e-commerce merchants with a bespoke instrument for increasing online sales and expanding our clients' base".ABOUT JCBJCB is a major global payment brand and a leading payment card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and card member base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/ or www.jcbeurope.euNote: Statistics in About JCB are as of March 2017.ABOUT CARDPAYCardPay is an e-commerce company established in 2009 to boost and develop Internet businesses, as well as to address and overcome any issues encountered in an ever-changing online and regulatory environment. CardPay is a fully licensed and regulated European financial institution and a Principal Member of other payment schemes. The core services CardPay offer include the acceptance and processing of online payments, the acquisition and issuing of payment cards. For more information, please visit: www.cardpay.comContactJCB International Co., Ltd.Kae MitsudaGlobal Business PlanningTel: 81-3-5778-7963Email: jcbinternational-pr@info.jcb.co.jpSource: JCBCopyright 2017 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
STOCKHOLM, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

EQT Mid Market Europe acquires a majority stake in Open Systems AG, one of the largest pure-play managed security services providers in Europe

Intention is to support continued global growth through development of new technical capabilities and services, enhanced go-to-market approach and pushing expansion in the European and US markets

The existing executive team, led by Martin Bosshardt as CEO, will remain with Open Systems and continue to lead its growth. The current shareholders remain invested in the company

The EQT Mid Market Europe Fund ("EQT Mid Market Europe") acquires a majority stake in Open Systems AG ("Open Systems" or "the Company") from its current private owners. They will remain shareholders and continue to contribute to the continuity and future success of Open Systems in different roles within the company. Open Systems' current executive team, with Martin Bosshardt as CEO, will continue to lead the company. Management will continue to build on a long track record of growth, based on a highly skilled team of currently 150 employees delivering technical and operational excellence that results in high service quality and high customer satisfaction.

Open Systems was founded in 1990 by Florian Gutzwiller in Basel, Switzerland. Since then, Open Systems has achieved consistent sustainable growth and transitioned from a security integrator into one of the largest pure-play Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) in Europe. The Company offers security enabled networks by fully integrating SD-WAN, Network Security, Web and Application Security as well as Incident Handling and Response. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Open Systems currently operates in more than 180 countries, with operations centers in Zurich and Sydney, Australia, and an office in New York, USA.

EQT Mid Market Europe is excited to support the continued development and growth of Open Systems, both in Europe and the US, through its extensive knowledge and global network in the IT services industry. The strategy is to implement expertise as well as additional investment in Open Systems' technology and service portfolio, in the expansion into new geographies, in its salesforce and in targeted marketing spending. In addition, it is intended to pursue M&A via complementary service providers or products.

"It is impressive how the selling shareholders and the Open System employees have built one of the largest pure-play managed security service providers in Europe. Testimonial of this growth is the outstanding customer satisfaction and the unique corporate culture of the Company. This provides an excellent base for the next growth step and I am convinced that EQT is the right partner to support Open Systems in unlocking its full potential in the future", says Florian Funk, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market Europe.

"Open Systems is an excellent opportunity to invest at the tipping point of the managed security service market which benefits from strong secular growth drivers and increased customer awareness", adds Jens Zuber, Director at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market Europe.

Florian Gutzwiller, founder of Open Systems and member of the Board of Directors, says: "We are very excited to join forces. EQT brings the experience and network of its Industrial Advisors, as well as the necessary financial resources to the table to grow our company's capabilities and global market reach. The chemistry among the team is a perfect fit and I am certain, that I'm passing my company into very capable hands."

Martin Bosshardt, CEO Open Systems says: "I am delighted to continue my work as CEO with the current team. I'm convinced that together we can guarantee the necessary stability, continuity and growth in the support of our existing customers. I am also very much looking forward to benefitting from EQT's extensive knowledge, network and global presence. This partnership will give us the necessary resources and expertise to strengthen our position as the leading provider of Security as a Service and stay up front with regard to technology, automation and processes - to the benefit of our employees in Switzerland as well as our clients all over the world."

Florian Funk, Partner at EQT Partners, Investment Advisor to EQT Mid Market Europe, +1-917-281-0865

EQT Press Office, +46-8-506-55-334

Martin Bosshardt, CEO Open Systems, +41-58-100-15-15

Open Systems Press Office, +41-79-744-03-14

About EQT

EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 36 billion in raised capital across 23 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About Open Systems

As one of the leading Managed Security Services Provider in Europe, Open Systems secures and monitors IT networks and business-critical applications for global enterprises, NGOs and institutions. Founded in 1990, the company offers security enabled networks by fully integrating SD-WAN, Network Security, Web and Application Security as well as Incident Handling and Response. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, Open Systems currently operates in more than 180 countries, with operations centers in Zurich and Sydney, Australia, and an office in New York, USA.

More info: www.open.ch

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/eqt-ab/r/eqt-mid-market-europe-invests-in-open-systems-ag,c2284920

The following files are available for download:
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Snap general election called by British Prime Minister turned out to be a set back for the Conservative party, which lost their majority in the Parliament. The ruling party is 10 seats short of the 326 seats required for a majority in the 650-member House of Commons. With just a handful of seats left to declare, its all set for a hung parliament. Opposition Labor Party made the biggest gains in Thursday's poll, winning 261 seats. Their leader Jeremy Corbyn demanded May's resignation, but she rejected the call saying her party would ensure stability in the country. 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.
Hitachi Ltd Corporate Communications Tel: +81-3-3258-1111

TOKYO, June 9, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - Ansaldo STS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Metroselskabet to develop a Proof of Concept for a new Dynamic Headway solution leveraging Hitachi technologies for the Copenhagen Metro M1/M2.The new Dynamic Headway solution will be designed using both Ansaldo STS's train control systems and Hitachi's digitalization and IoT (Internet of Things) technology to detect congestion through sensors at stations in order to analyse demand. And based on the demand analysis, the number of trains can be optimized automatically, responding dynamically to sudden change in passenger numbers.This is particularly useful during increases in demand due to events along the route. A dynamic solution will help resolve congestion before it impacts on passengers, thereby increasing passenger satisfaction. For the operator, this highly responsive solution, which adapts the number of trains to real-time demand, means saving energy and operation costs by increasing utilisation of services.Quote from Metroselskabet spokesperson: Henrik Plougmann Olsen CEO of Metroselskabet said "Exploring ways to optimise delivered capacity to make it as efficient as possible is critical to minimising the cost of provision of public transportation. Metroselskabet is keen to encourage and participate in activities that can yield economies to our services. We are happy to contribute to this initiative with Ansaldo STS that will combine the latest advances in data management and control systems to create a solution that could improve the services we provide."Quote from Alistair Dormer, Chairman of the Board, Ansaldo STS and Group CEO of Hitachi Rail said: "Hitachi's Dynamic Headway Solution combined with Ansaldo STS's driverless technology is developed based on our joint Digitalisation strategy by utilising Hitachi's IoT platform "Lumada". In the long term, we plan to integrate the Dynamic Headway technology in our CBTC offering. As a global technology provider, we bring innovative solutions like this to our customers, combining the world-class know-how of Ansaldo STS and its majority shareholder Hitachi."Quote from Andy Barr, CEO of Ansaldo STS, said: "Having worked closely with Metroselskabet for 18 years now, we are delighted to sign today's MoU for the provision of a new, passenger-focused system. With automation technology such as the Dynamic Headway Solution, both passengers and operators benefit from timely trains automatically adapting to demand. We are delighted to continue our close partnership with Metroselskabet to keep Copenhagen Metro on the forefront of passenger-friendly travel."A prototype solution will be available on site by the end of 2017, potentially followed by full development and implementation targeting Copenhagen M1/M2 and Cityringen project.Copenhagen's driverless metro system became operational in October 2002, and Ansaldo STS has managed the system ever since. This partnership has been highly successful: the metro system won the awards for "Best metro in the world" and "Best metro in Europe" by the International Metrorail 2008 Conference, as well as being named "Best driverless metro" in 2009.The Copenhagen Metro line consists of 21 km of double track (10 km underground and 11 km of elevated track) and passes through 22 stations connecting the various parts of the city centre, the area of slashed o restad and the airport. Its 34 unattended trains travel at a maximum speed of 80 km/h, ensuring that passengers have two minutes to wait during peak hours, and are guaranteed a 24-hour service.About Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer society's challenges with our talented team and proven experience in global markets. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2014 (ended March 31, 2015) totaled 9,761 billion yen ($81.3 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes power & infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems, construction machinery, high functional materials & components, automotive systems, healthcare and others. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at www.hitachi.com.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Contact:Copyright 2017 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL / ACCESSWIRE / December 1, 2017 / First Bitcoin Capital Corp. (OTC PINK: BITCF), the world's most prolific generator of cryptocurrencies, utilizes a portion of its WEED coin inventory to acquire $1,000,000 worth of PERKSCOIN from marijuana social media leader CannaSOS.

PerksCoin will be an Ethereum token with a limit of 100,000,000 coins totally issued and outstanding upon completion of its ICO.

WEED coin utilizes the Bitcoin Blockchain as its underpinnings for tx confirmations.

$WEED trades on several exchanges, including the New Zealand cryptocurrency exchange: https://www.cryptopia.co.nz/Exchange/?market=WEED_BTC

The ICO purchase is based on a valuation of $WEED at US$1.80 per token. As an early participant in the $PCT Initial Coin Offering (ICO), First Bitcoin Capital is acquiring Perkscoin at US$0.48 per token

First Bitcoin Capital Corp is developing a consortium of cannabis businesses (CannaBloq) which will include 7 initial member Companies. Ownership in $WEED will be a prerequisite to joining CannaBloq Consortium.

First Bitcoin Capital has already launched a similar consortium for the petroleum industry at www.PetroBloq.com.

About First Bitcoin Capital Corp.

First Bitcoin Capital Corp (OTC PINK: BITCF) (COIN: BITCF) is engaged in developing digital currencies, proprietary Blockchain technologies, and the digital currency exchange - www.CoinQX.com (in Beta). We see this step as a tremendous opportunity to create further shareholder value by leveraging management's experience in developing and managing complex Blockchain technologies and in developing new types of digital assets. Being the first publicly-traded cryptocurrency and blockchain-centered company, we provide our shareholders with diversified exposure to digital cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.

About CannaSOS and PerksCoin

CannaSOS is a social network for the cannabis industry that has over 315,000 members, more than 980 registered businesses, and has the world's most comprehensive strain database. CannaSOS is a Canadian based company that has been running since 2014 and has also just recently been trademarked. CannaSOS is also the founder of the PerksCoin token (PCT), which is an ERC20 utility token that is set to run on decentralized blockchain technology; ensuring transparency and security of all financial transactions in the cannabis industry. The PerksCoin token will be used in the cannabis industry for both transactional purposes and as a loyalty program, and will also have the capability to be used in other industries as well. CannaSOS is already partnered with 3 POS companies and 2 payment processing companies, all which will be implementing PerksCoin into their platforms and will be promoting it to their networks.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCMarkets.com.

Contact us via: info@bitcoincapitalcorp.com or visit http://www.bitcoincapitalcorp.com.

SOURCE: First Bitcoin Capital Corp.


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The euro remained lower against its key counterparts in early European deals on Monday, as support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's alliance declined in the federal election on Sunday and she will have to build up a coalition to form a government in the wake of growing votes for the Alternative for Germany.



The lead for Merkel's centre-right CDU collapsed eight points to around 33 per cent, as the AfD is set to become the third largest party in the Parliament.



Merkel's current coalition partner, the social democratic SPD, ruled out of forming a coalition and said that they will become an opposition party.



Merkel's conservative bloc must look to form a government with the Free Democrats, the Greens and other smaller parties to remain in power.



Survey results from Ifo Institute showed that Germany's business confidence weakened in September.



The business confidence index fell to 115.2 in September. Economists had forecast the indicator to remain at August's initially estimated value of 115.9.



The current situation index came in at 123.6 in September, below the expected reading of 124.6



The euro fell back to 1.1899 against the greenback, just few pips short of its early Asian session's 4-day low of 1.1897. The next possible support for the euro-greenback pair is seen around the 1.18 region.



The single currency retreated to 133.52 versus the Japanese yen, heading to pierce a 4-day low of 133.43 set at the beginning of Asian deals. If the euro-yen pair extends decline, 132.00 is possibly seen as its next support level.



Data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index decreased less than initially estimated in July.



The leading index, which measures the future economic activity, dropped to 105.2 in July from 105.7 in June. The reading for July was revised up from 105.0.



The euro pulled back to 1.1565 against the Swiss franc, from a high of 1.1591 hit at 8:15 pm ET. This may be compared to a 4-day low of 1.1548 hit at the commencement of Asian deals. Continuation of the euro's downtrend may see it challenging support around the 1.14 mark.



The 19-nation currency dropped to 0.8787 against the pound and held steady thereafter. The pair finished last week's trading at 0.8852.



Extending early decline, the euro slid to a 4-day low of 1.4952 against the aussie. The euro is poised to locate 1.48 as the next support level.



The euro pared gains to 1.4679 against the loonie, off its early high of 1.4730. Further weakness may take the euro to a support around the 1.45 region.



Looking ahead, at 8:30 am ET, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley speaks on 'Workforce Development' at Onondaga Community College.



Half an hour later, the ECB President Mario Draghi gives testimony before the European Parliament Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Belgium.



Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans speaks before the Economic Club of Grand Rapids in Michigan at 12:40 pm ET.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Ingersoll-Rand plc (NYSE:IR), a world leader in creating comfortable, sustainable and efficient environments, held its 2017 Annual General Meeting of shareholders in Straffan, Ireland.

During the Annual General Meeting, the company's shareholders considered seven proposals: nominations to re-elect 10 members of Ingersoll Rand's board of directors; advisory approval of the compensation of the company's named executive officers; an advisory vote on whether an advisory vote on executive compensation should be held every one, two or three years; appointment of independent auditors and authorization of the Audit Committee to set the auditors' remuneration; renewal of the Board of Directors' existing authority to issue shares; renewal of the Board of Directors' existing authority to issue shares for cash without first offering shares to existing shareholders; and determination of the price range at which the company can re-allot shares that it holds as treasury shares.

The results of the Annual General Meeting voting are as follows:

All 10 individuals nominated for the board of directors Ann C. Berzin, John Bruton, Jared L. Cohon, Gary D. Forsee, Linda P. Hudson, Michael W. Lamach, Myles P. Lee, John P. Surma, Richard J. Swift, and Tony L. White were elected to a one-year term, which expires at the company's next Annual General Meeting.

The proposal to give advisory approval of the compensation of the company's named executive officers received approximately 94 percent of votes cast in favor.

The proposal to consider an advisory vote on whether an advisory vote on executive compensation should be held every one, two or three years received approximately 91 percent of votes in favor of an annual advisory vote on executive compensation.

The proposal to approve the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the independent auditors of the company and to authorize the Audit Committee to set the auditor's remuneration received approximately 98 percent of the votes cast in favor.

The proposal to approve renewal of the Board of Directors' existing authority to issue shares received approximately 95 percent of the votes cast in favor.

The proposal to approve renewal of the Board of Directors' existing authority to issue shares for cash without first offering shared to existing shareholders received approximately 97 percent of the votes cast in favor.

The proposal to determine the price range at which the company can re-allot shares that it holds as treasury shares received approximately 98 percent of the votes cast in favor.

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) advances the quality of life by creating comfortable, sustainable and efficient environments. Our people and our family of brands- including Club Car, Ingersoll Rand, Thermo King and Trane -work together to enhance the quality and comfort of air in homes and buildings; transport and protect food and perishables; and increase industrial productivity and efficiency. We are a $13 global business committed to a world of sustainable progress and enduring results. For more information, visit www.ingersollrand.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170609005016/en/

Contacts:

Ingersoll-Rand

Media:

Misty Zelent, 704-655-5324

mzelent@irco.com

or

Investors:

Zac Nagle, 704-990-3001

investorrelations@irco.com


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Digital Realty (DLR), a provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, Friday announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. (DFT) in an all-stock transaction.



Under the terms of the agreement, DuPont Fabros shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.545 Digital Realty shares per DuPont Fabros share, for a transaction valued at approximately $7.6 billion in enterprise value. This includes $1.6 billion of assumed debt and excluding transaction costs.



The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2017, subject to the approval of DuPont Fabros and Digital Realty shareholders and other customary closing conditions. The deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.



Upon closing, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to financial metrics, and is expected to further improve balance sheet strength.



The combination of the two companies is expected to create an opportunity to realize up to $18 million of annualized overhead savings, resulting from both companies' complementary business operations.



DuPont Fabros is an owner, developer, operator and manager of enterprise-class, carrier-neutral, large scale multi-tenant data centers.



Digital Realty said it has obtained a fully committed bridge loan facility from BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup which will be available, if needed, to finance the transaction.



It is expected that the combination will help grow Digital Realty's presence in strategic, high-demand metro areas with strong growth prospects. It will help in achieving significant diversification benefits for DuPont Fabros' shareholders from the combination with Digital Realty's existing footprint of 145 properties across 33 global metropolitan areas.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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TEL AVIV, ISRAEL -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- InspireMD, Inc. (NYSE MKT: NSPR) (NYSE MKT: NSPR.WS) ("InspireMD" or the "Company"), a leader in embolic prevention systems (EPS) / thrombus management technologies and neurovascular devices, today announced it will be presenting at the 2017 Marcum MicroCap Conference on Friday, June 16th at 10:30 AM EST. James Barry, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of InspireMD will be presenting and meeting with investors.

The Marcum MicroCap Conference (www.marcummicrocap.com) is a nationally recognized forum for publicly traded companies with less than $500 million in market capitalization to network with fund managers and high net worth investors who focus on small cap equities. More than 2000 investors and other participants from every segment of the microcap marketplace attend each year, including venture and lower middle-market private equity investors, institutional investors, directors, investment bankers, and buy- and sell-side analysts, as well as senior executive teams from presenting companies and service providers to the microcap marketplace.

About InspireMD, Inc.

InspireMD seeks to utilize its proprietary MicroNet technology to make its products the industry standard for embolic protection and to provide a superior solution to the key clinical issues of current stenting in patients with a high risk of distal embolization, no reflow and major adverse cardiac events.

InspireMD intends to pursue applications of this MicroNet technology in coronary, carotid (CGuard), neurovascular, and peripheral artery procedures. InspireMD's common stock is quoted on the NYSE MKT under the ticker symbol NSPR and certain warrants are quoted on the NYSE MKT under the ticker symbol NSPR.WS.

Investor Contacts:

InspireMD, Inc.

Craig Shore

Chief Financial Officer

Phone: 1-888-776-6804 FREE

Email: craigs@inspiremd.com



Crescendo Communications, LLC

David Waldman

Phone: (212) 671-1021

Email: NSPR@crescendo-ir.com




Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Global market research company Euromonitor International released today new toys and games industry data. According to the new research, games and puzzles registered 8 percent growth in 2016 not only outpacing construction toys as the fastest growing toy category globally, but also recording the highest growth for the category since 2002.

North America accounts for one-third of global games and puzzles sales at US$3.2 billion, propelling the category ahead of construction toys with 14 percent growth in 2016. Construction toys experienced a 1.6 percent decline in North America last year the first negative growth for the category in the region over the past five years.

"Games and puzzles continued to gain popularity among adults, especially in North America," says Matthew Hudak, toys and games analyst at Euromonitor International. "This surge in popularity made games and puzzles the fastest growing category overall in 2016."

Globally, construction toys grew 7.8 percent in 2016 compared to double-digit growth from 2015, but continued to hold the largest share of the traditional toys and games market at US$10 billion, followed by games and puzzles at US$9.5 billion.

Construction toys are expected to make a comeback as the fastest growing toys category globally with a forecasted compound annual growth rate of 6.8 percent from 2016 to 2021.

"Continued growth in sales to adults illustrates that children are retaining interest in toys into adulthood on a scale not seen in previous generations," says Hudak. "Categories with proven multi-generational appeal like construction, remote control, and action figures are therefore expected to see the fastest growth over the next five years."

To learn more, visit: http://www.euromonitor.com/toys-and-games.

About Euromonitor International

Euromonitor International is the world's leading provider for global business intelligence and strategic market analysis. We have more than 40 years of experience publishing international market reports, business reference books and online databases on consumer markets.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170608005564/en/

Contacts:

Euromonitor International

Marissa Bosler, +1 312-477-8908

Communications Executive

marissa.bosler@euromonitor.com
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 07/24/17 -- Sparton Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SRI) ("Sparton" or the "Company") announced today that its 89.8% owned subsidiary VanSpar Mining Inc. has received a Financing Notice and Subscription Agreement from JD Holding Inc. ("JDH") whereunder JDH will raise US $5 million through the sale of 38,759,690 Shares at a deemed value of USD$0.129 per share.

JD Holding Inc. is the parent company owning 100% of PuNeng Energy, a PRC based manufacturer of advanced technology vanadium flow batteries.

VanSpar will initially subscribe to a total of 6,976,740 shares for a total investment of US $900,000, to be drawn down in monthly closings by JDH in a series of five equal tranches until the end of 2017.

Financing for VanSpar's JDH share purchases has been arranged through a private investment organization with the initial closing purchase of 1,395,348 JDH shares finalized on July 19, 2017.

The investment funding will allow VanSpar to maintain its current 18% investment interest in JDH.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release involves forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, financings and transactions being pursued, and all such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date hereof and 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, except as expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although the Company believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and, accordingly, undue reliance should not be put on such forward-looking statements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein.

We Seek Safe Harbour

Contacts:

A. Lee Barker, M.A Sc., P. Eng., P.Geo.

President and CEO

Tel./Fax: 647-344-7734 or Mobile: 416-716-5762

info@spartonres.ca

www.spartonres.ca




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- Reservoir Capital Corp. (TSX VENTURE: REO) ("Reservoir" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an unsecured loan agreement (the "Loan Agreement") to borrow a total of $200,000 (the "Loan"). The Loan will mature and be repayable in full without interest six (6) months from the date of the Loan Agreement and is convertible at the Company's discretion into units at a conversion price of 20 units per borrowed dollar. Each unit shall consist of one common share and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall be exercisable to acquire one common share for two years from the date of the Loan Agreement at an exercise price of $0.05. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Loan for general corporate and working capital purposes. The conversion of the Loan into units is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

The Company also announces that it has agreed with the majority of its creditors to convert approximately $530,000 in outstanding debt into approximately 10,600,000 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $0.05 per share. The Company wishes to settle this outstanding indebtedness with common shares in order to preserve its cash for operations. The shares for debt transaction is also subject to the approval of the TSXV.

The financing and debt restructuring are necessary to provide the Company with a clean balance sheet in order to position the Company to undertake future transactions. Over the past three years, management has provided the capital for Reservoir to operate by way of cash loans and the provision of services for little or no consideration. Reservoir recognizes that small undercapitalized companies need to consolidate to be successful. Accordingly, management will continue to evaluate business combinations with hydro and power companies sharing a vison for growth at a reasonable price.

Pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), the shares for debt transaction constitutes a "related party transaction" as related parties of the Company will receive 9,412,200 common shares of the Company in connection with the debt settlement. The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101, which are available since the securities of the Company are only listed on the TSXV and based on a determination that the fair market value of the transaction, insofar as it involves related parties, does not exceed $2,500,000 or 25% of the market capitalization of the Company. The shares for debt transaction was approved unanimously by all non-interested directors of the Company. A material change report will be filed less than 21 days before the closing date of the two transactions. This shorter period is reasonable and necessary in the circumstances as the Company wishes to improve its financial position by reducing its accrued liabilities as soon as possible.

As a result of the Loan and the shares for debt transaction and excluding any options and warrants held by them,

-- Miles Thompson, a director of the Company, will beneficially own and control 5,847,708 common shares of the Company, representing approximately 19.9% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company. -- Seabord Services Corp., a professional services firm that provides ongoing accounting, regulatory and back-office services to the Company, will beneficially own and control 5,307,200 common shares of the Company, representing approximately 18.15% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company. -- Michael Winn, the sole shareholder of Seabord, will beneficially own and control (including the foregoing shares held by Seabord) 5,525,200 common shares of the Company, representing approximately 18.89% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company.

Reservoir understands Mr. Thompson and Seabord are acquiring the common shares for investment purposes and may, in the future, acquire or dispose of the common shares through the market, private or otherwise as circumstances or market conditions warrant.

The common shares issued to the lender before the expiry of four months from the date of the Loan and to the creditors will be subject to four month hold (restricted resale) periods.

About Reservoir

Reservoir is a renewable energy company engaged in the development of hydroelectric projects in Serbia and other eastern European jurisdictions. Reservoir's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange (symbol "REO").

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Reservoir Capital Corp.

www.reservoircapitalcorp.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE: RHT)(OTCQB: RQHTF) ("Reliq" or the "Company"), a technology company focused on developing innovative mobile health (mHealth) and telemedicine solutions for Community-Based Healthcare, is pleased to announce that it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement offering of up to 4,545,454 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.11 per Unit for gross proceeds of up to $500,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one (1) common share in the capital of the Company (a "Share") and one-half (1/2) transferable common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"), with each Warrant exercisable into one additional Share at a price of $0.165 for a period of two years from the date of closing. Reliq is also pleased to announce entry into an Advisory Agreement with Gravitas Securities Inc. ("Gravitas").

The Company may pay a finder's fee on the Offering within the amount permitted by the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"). Closing of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including the Exchange. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of six months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The Company anticipates that there may be insider participation in the Offering.

The net proceeds from the Offering will be used for general corporate working capital.

Advisory Agreement with Gravitas Securities Inc.

"We are pleased to announce that Reliq has entered into an Advisory Agreement with Gravitas Securities," announced Dr. Lisa Crossley, CEO of Reliq. "We are excited by the strategic partnerships and strong track record the Gravitas team has established in the technology industry and we look forward to having them work with us to develop a capital markets strategy as our strategic advisors."

About Gravitas Securities Inc.

Gravitas is known for sophisticated sector expertise, tactical individuals with a commitment to excellence, global integration and innovation, and as a leading independent wealth management and capital markets firm. Gravitas provides a wide range of investment mandates and services for retail and corporate clients globally from offices in Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary, and is represented in the United States through its FINRA representative, Gravitas Capital International, in New York and San Francisco.

Company Overview

Reliq Health Technologies is a healthcare technology company that specializes in developing innovative software solutions for the Community Care market. Reliq's powerful iUGO Care platform supports care coordination and community-based healthcare. The iUGO Care platform integrates wearables, sensors, voice technology and intuitive mobile apps and desktop user interfaces for patients, clinicians and healthcare administrators. iUGO Care allows complex patients to receive high quality care at home, improving health outcomes, enhancing quality of life for patients and families and reducing the cost of care delivery. Our platform provides real-time access to remote patient monitoring data, allowing for timely interventions by the care team to prevent costly hospital readmissions and ER visits. Reliq Health Technologies trades on the TSX Venture under the symbol RHT and on the OTCQB as RQHTF.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

Dr. Lisa Crossley, CEO and Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements".

We caution you that such "forward-looking statements" involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to commercial operations, including technology development, anticipated revenues, projected size of market, and other information that is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management.

Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (the "Company") does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, technology development and marketing activities, the Company's historical experience with technology development, uninsured risks. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Renmark Financial Communications Inc.

Laura Welsh

(416) 644-2020 or (514) 939-3989

lwelsh@renmarkfinancial.com

www.renmarkfinancial.com



CORE Capital Partners

604-566-9233

investors@ccpartnersinc.com






LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Snap general election called by British Prime Minister Theresa May turned out to be a setback for the Conservative party, which lost their majority in the Parliament.



The ruling party is 10 seats short of the 326 seats required for a majority in the 650-member House of Commons.



With just a handful of seats left to declare, its all set for a hung parliament.



Opposition Labor Party made the biggest gains in Thursday's poll, winning 261 seats. Their leader Jeremy Corbyn demanded May's resignation, but she rejected the call saying her party would ensure stability in the country.



May later struck a deal with DUP, a minority party, and visited Buckingham Palace to stake claim to form a government.



Asked if Labor will attempt to form a minority government, Corbyn said the party will put forward its point of view when the Parliament meets, and 'take a decision on what happens when a government puts forward a Queen's Speech.'



Paul Nuttall resigned as UKIP leader after the party won no seats.



The pound fell in the wake of the results.



The devastating result for May plunges Britain into a period of political uncertainty, with Brexit talks likely to be delayed in the absence of a Government.



Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said the country is 'in a bit of a mess at the moment' over Brexit.



Brexit negotiations will have to go ahead because Article 50 has been invoked, and the new government will have to conduct them within 11 days.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Taking significant steps to fast-track Marimaca toward early copper production

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2017) - Coro Mining Corp, (TSX: COP) ("Coro or the Company") is pleased to announce the initiation of a Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") for its Marimaca copper project, located 22km E of the port of Mejillones in the II Region of Chile.

The DFS will be undertaken and led by ProPipe S.A., a Chilean engineering company which recently and successfully implemented the Berta project under an EPCM contract for Coro. The mine plan will be undertaken by NCL Ingenieria y Construccion S.A. ("NCL"), INGEROCK will conduct the geotechnical work, and environmental and permitting work will be undertaken by Bordoli Consultores Asociados. The Company will conduct additional metallurgical test work as required. Coro anticipates that the DFS will be completed during Q1 2018.

The Company's strategic plan defines the staged development of Marimaca, following Coro's philosophy of achieving a short and cost effective timeline to production with capital costs which are financeable relative to the Company's market capitalization at any given time.

Phase 1 will be the completion of the DFS for production of 10,000 tonnes (22,046,030 lbs) of copper cathode per year via the Ivan Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning ("SXEW") plant. The study will evaluate the alternatives of trucking ore in the initial years and the installation of crushing and agglomeration facilities and heap leach pads near the mine site together with approximately 15 kilometres of pregnant leach solution ("PLS"), raffinate and water pipelines to and from the Ivan plant. As part of the DFS, the Company will complete infill and geotechnical drilling and intends to expedite the permitting process with the objective of starting production at the end of 2018 or early 2019.

Phase 2 will be the continuing exploration and development of the Marimaca deposit and its potential extensions with the objective of significantly increasing the resource base. This work will involve the consolidation of the mining property in the area, and will start with the exploration of the newly-optioned La Atomica property.

Phase 3 anticipates a significant increase in the Marimaca resource base which will determine the optimum future production rate and/or staged production scenarios.

"We are extremely pleased with the rapid progress we have made with the Marimaca project," commented CEO Luis Tondo. "Since its discovery in April 2016 we have announced a maiden resource estimate in January 2017, we have purchased the 10,000 tonne (22,046,030 lbs) per year Ivan SXEW plant in June 2017 and we are now initiating the DFS. We will acquire our 75% interest in Marimaca with the completion of the DFS and the transfer of the Ivan plant to the project. We look forward to having early copper production, possibly as soon as the end of 2018, depending on the timing of the permitting process."

About Coro Mining Corp.:

Coro's strategy is to grow a mining business through the discovery, development and operation of "Coro type" deposits. These are defined as projects at any stage of development, which are well located with respect to infrastructure and water, have low permitting risk, and have the potential to achieve a short and cost effective timeline to production with capital costs which are financeable relative to the Company's market capitalization and operation of mining projects in the safest and most cost effective manner possible. The Company's assets include the Marimaca development project and the nearby Ivan SXEW copper processing plant and its surrounding mining properties; its 65% interest in the SCM Berta company, which includes the Berta and nearby Nora operations and the Llancahue exploration prospect.

For further information:

Contact Naomi Nemeth, VP Communications/IR at +1 (647) 556 1023, +1 (604) 682 5546, Toll free +1 877 702 2676 or nnemeth@coromining.com

Visit our website site at www.coromining.com

Email us at investor.info@coromining.com

Follow us on Twitter @coromining1

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements or information, include but are not limited to production estimates. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are beyond Coro's ability to predict or control and may cause Coro's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any of its future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the future operation of the Ivan Plant, the Nora plant, copper price volatility, and changes in debt and equity markets. Such forward-looking statements are also based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the securities regulators in the Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Coro undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 11/14/17 -- Revelo Resources Corp. ("Revelo" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: RVL) is pleased to announce that it has signed definitive documentation in Chile for the sale of a 100% interest in Revelo's gold-silver projects at San Guillermo and Reprado, both located in the emerging Amancaya precious metals district of northern Chile, to Austral Gold Ltd ("Austral") (TSX VENTURE: AGLD)(ASX: AGD), as previously announced (see Company's news release dated July 17, 2017).

It is anticipated that Austral, which currently owns and operates the Amancaya gold-silver mine that started producing during 2017, will expand its exploration activities into the surrounding San Guillermo and Reprado properties where potential for yet further precious metals vein discoveries exists. Austral currently transports ores mined from Amancaya to a new plant at its Guanaco mine, located approximately 70 km to the northeast.

In exchange for the sale, Revelo has received 10,000,000 common shares in Austral, valued at approximately C$1.5 Million at current market price, and has retained Net Smelter Return (NSR) Royalties on future metals production of 1% and 0.5% at Reprado and San Guillermo, respectively.

The existing Option, Sale and Royalty Agreement between Revelo and Austral relating to the San Guillermo project (See Company's news release dated February 8, 2016) has been cancelled. Austral has assumed responsibility for paying underlying NSR production royalties at San Guillermo and Reprado.

ABOUT REVELO

Revelo has interests in an outstanding portfolio of projects prospective for copper, gold and silver located along proven mineral belts in one of the world's top mining jurisdictions - Chile. The Company has a combination of wholly-owned projects (available for option, JV or sale), option agreements, royalty interests (non-producing to date), and equity interests in mining and exploration companies. Revelo's total exposure to mineral tenements in northern Chile, either wholly-owned or through royalty interests, is around 300,000 hectares, which makes Revelo one of the larger exploration groups in the country.

Revelo is a Canadian company and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE: RVL). For more information, please visit Revelo's website at www.reveloresources.com.

ABOUT AUSTRAL

Austral Gold Limited is a growing precious metals mining, development and exploration company building a portfolio of quality assets in Chile and Argentina. The Company's flagship Guanaco mine in Chile is operated with the Amancaya mine with processing of ore from both mines at a new agitation leach plant at Guanaco. There is significant exploration upside at and around both operations, with a new vein discovery at Amancaya. The Company also owns 70% and is operator of the underground silver-gold Casposo mine in San Juan, Argentina. With an experienced local technical team and highly regarded major shareholder, Austral's goal is to continue to strengthen its asset base through acquisition and discovery. Austral Gold Limited is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE: AGLD), and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: AGD). For more information, please consult the company's website: www.australgold.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Timothy J. Beale, President & CEO

Dr. Demetrius Pohl, Ph.D., Certified Professional Geoscientist (CPG), an independent consultant, is the Company's Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosures for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators, and has approved the written disclosure of the technical information contained in this news release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

This news release contains 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 Revelo 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", "indicate" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Revelo 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.

Contacts:

Investor Contact

Chiara Orrigoni

Investor Relations Manager

+1 604 687-5544

info@reveloresources.com

www.reveloresources.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- Banro Corporation (the "Company" or "Banro") (NYSE MKT: BAA)(TSX: BAA) announces that David Langille has stepped down from his role as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The Company thanks Mr. Langille for his service to the Company and wishes him well in his future endeavours. The board has appointed Michael Hankin Li as Banro's Interim Chief Financial Officer, and will conduct a search for a new Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Langille is assisting in the transition to Mr. Li.

Mr. Li is currently a director of the Company, having been appointed a director upon the implementation of the recapitalization transactions on April 19, 2017 (reference is made to the Company's press release dated April 19, 2017). Mr. Li is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 20 years of experience in finance and accounting, capital-raising, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and international business development. He was the head of corporate finance of GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; and was previously general manager of investor relations & mergers and acquisitions at Newton Resources Limited, also a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Mr. Li has worked at several international banks, where he led numerous capital raising exercises in Hong Kong and the United States. During the period between March 1994 and June 2004, he was the executive director, Corporate Finance, at BNP Paribas Capital (Asia Pacific) Limited. From July 2004 to December 2005, Mr. Li was employed at GoldBond Capital (Asia) Limited and was a managing director, investment banking, at Rothschild (Hong Kong) Limited during the period March 2007 to May 2011. Mr. Li obtained a bachelor's degree in accountancy from California State University, Los Angeles in June 1985, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia University in May 1992. He is also an independent non-executive Director of COFCO Meat Holdings Limited, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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:

Investor Relations

+1 (416) 366-2221

+1-800-714-7938

info@banro.com




LAVAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- 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 two (2) new Affiliate Program agreements with real estate photographer agencies for the use of Urbanimmersive's visual content marketing platform for 100% of their real estate business transactions. New Affiliate vendors' 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.

Urbanimmersive is also proud to announce that our first photographer agency located in Toronto, Elevated Photos Canada, is joining Urbanimmersive's visual content Marketplace. The Company will continue to recruit visual content providers in Toronto with the objective of launching its Marketplace as soon as the number of providers reaches the proper threshold to ensure a successful launch.

The Company is also pleased to announce the launch of its new suite of products dedicated to photographers developed by Urbanimmersive, UiProHDR. This new suite of products will be offered to Urbanimmersive's Affiliated photographers and aims at attracting new photographers in the program as an added value.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) Imaging is a widely used technology in real estate photography. HDR technologies reproduce a better dynamic range of luminosity than what is achievable with standard photographic techniques. There are several HDR softwares on the market, however, the Company believes its technology is the only solution available today that provides a fully integrated solution enabling control of the camera to clients' orders management and images delivery. UiProHDR comes with a custom WIFI camera remote controller hardware and an integrated suite of software in Urbanimmersive marketing platform that increases photographers' productivity and image quality.

"HDR technology is part of our DNA at Urbanimmersive," stated Ghislain Lemire, CEO of Urbanimmersive. "Our immersive technology, AVU3D, used HDR since 2008 and therefore it was natural to use our expertise and intellectual property to bring this new solution to life. Our new UiProHDR solution is for real estate photographers who are unhappy dealing with multiple pieces of software and processes in order to produce a large volume of HDR images." M. Lemire added, "With UiProHDR, our Affiliated Program is now offering photographers an HDR solution that will increase their productivity and reduce their cost while providing great real estate pictures. We expect this solution to contribute greatly in our photographers Affiliated Program adoption which already has a great reception on the market."

As the Affiliated Program for photographers has now become part of Urbanimmersive's ordinary business activities, the Company wishes to inform investors that it will no longer announce new Affiliate Agreements with photographers signed in Quebec. This information will be contained in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) in subsequent quarters. However, Urbanimmersive will continue to disclose new Affiliated Programs with vendors and partners for which the Company believes will mark important milestones in its growth strategy.

Since April 2017, the Company has signed seven (7) Affiliate agreements with visual content providers. 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.

The Company wishes to provide further clarification on the terms of its first Affiliate agreement with GraphicID announced on April 12, 2017. In consideration for being the first to join and start the Affiliate Program and also in consideration for GraphicID's exclusive use of Urbanimmersive's solution and the transfer by GraphicID of its customers on the Marketplace, the Company issued 75,000 of its common shares listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol UI (the "Issued Shares") to GraphicID, for a total equity value of C$13,500 based on the April 12, 2017 (Issued Date) closing price of C$0.18. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both companies. In addition to any statutory restriction, all Issued Shares are subject to a mandatory holding period and restriction on the transfer of eighteen (18) months and one day from the Issue Date.

About Urbanimmersive

Urbanimmersive is a content marketing marketplace for real estate professionals. The Company connect 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




BUENOS AIRES (dpa-AFX) - (Agencia CMA Latam) German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed during a state visit that Germany is an important partner for Argentina and expressed its will to promote the alliance between Mercosur and the European Union (EU). In a joint press conference with the Argentinean President Mauricio Macri at the Casa Rosada, Merkel noted, however, that 'free trade is never easy' and warned that Germany would 'negotiate hard.' 'Argentina is not going to see all its wishes fulfilled. Each party will have to make concessions, but it will result in mutual benefits,' she clarified. Regarding bilateral relationship and possible investments by German companies in Argentina, the Chancellor said that she is 'convinced that Argentina is going to grow' and that under Macri investments in Argentina become more reliable. 'You [Macri] undertook a significant reform path, strengthening the economy and opening up Argentina to the world,' Merkel told the press conference. Merkel's visit aims to relaunch bilateral relations and move forward in the transfer of the G20's pro-tempore presidency to Argentina from 2018. 'I would like to thank the close cooperation within the G20 agenda, and of course next year we will return this collaboration,' she said. Before her meeting with Macri, Merkel met German companies executives with interests in Argentina. This is the first official visit by Merkel to Argentina as Chancellor. The last time a German leader visited Argentina was in 2002 when Gerhard Schroder was Chancellor. 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.
POMPANO BEACH, FL -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- BioStem Technologies, Inc. (OTC PINK: BSEM) ("BSEM" or "the company"), a global corporation providing world-class solutions focused on Regenerative Medicines, Pharmaceuticals and Blue Technologies, is eager to announce that its Oakland Park, Florida based subsidiary, BioBlue Technologies Inc. ("BioBlue"), has signed a Letter of Intent ("LOI") with Watermakers, Inc. for industrial water treatment.

Staniel Cay Yacht Club (a sister company of Watermakers, Inc.) uses a Watermakers, Inc. Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) system to deliver consistent water to its facility and to the entire Island. This system is maintained by Watermakers, Inc. technicians. Seawater is naturally fed from the ocean into an aquifer on the Island. After being pumped out of the aquifer, the seawater passes through a pretreatment system filtering out suspended matter that occurs naturally in seawater and then flows through the SWRO membranes to separate the dissolved salts in the seawater. This Reverse Osmosis process provides fresh water for the island.

"We are excited to announce this collaboration with Watermakers and look forward to positive testing results in the coming months," stated Henry Van Vurst, CEO of BioStem Technologies. The Watermakers team along with the BioBlue technologies team will start implementing the system within the next few weeks. Our initial testing will be focused on increasing the efficiency of the current Watermakers Reverse Osmois system along with creating sustainable alkalinity of the Potable water without the use of chemical additives.

This LOI will allow BioBlue to implement the technologies they have acquired into Watermakers, Inc.'s operations. This is the first major step that propels BioBlue forward to licensing the technologies into the Industrial applications of water treatment and desalination. Pending positive testing results, BioBlue and Watermakers, Inc. will begin the process of certifying the results in order to develop a licensing agreement with Watermakers, Inc. to start the commercialization of the technologies.

About Staniel Cay Yacth Club, Inc. The island of Staniel Cay is nestled in the magnificent chain of Bahamian Islands called The Exuma Cays (a.k.a. "Exumas"). Staniel Cay lies approximately 75 miles south of Nassau and 250 miles of southeast of Florida. The island itself is less than 2 square miles in area. A small Bahamian village lies on the western shore, just a short walk south from the Staniel Cay Yacht Club. Although small, (the island has a population of less than 90 full-time residents) the island has most of what anyone could need: a church, post office, library, three small retail shops and a marine supply store. The Yacht Club has been an established part of the Staniel Cay community since 1956. Today there are 14 charming bungalows, an 18-slip marina, a 3,000-foot airstrip and a clubhouse with a wonderful restaurant and casual island bar.

About Watermakers, Inc. Watermakers provides marine and land-based systems -- creating fresh drinking water for boats, yachts, homes, hotels, marinas, other businesses (e.g. commercial shipping & fishing, oil rigs, construction), and islands worldwide. The current line of standard machines ranges from 200 gallons per day (GPD) to 50,000 GPD. Our designs are derived from over 25 years of field experience and in fact, our original component design was the first of its kind and still represents the industry standard as the simplest, most rugged, user-friendly design available. Our team of field technicians and engineers is dedicated to constantly improving our products by incorporating the latest in technology, innovation and design. This leads to not only superior, cutting-edge products, but also ensures that our designs will remain the easiest to service and maintain.

About BioStem Technologies, Inc. (OTC PINK: BSEM): BioStem Technologies, Inc. (OTC PINK: BSEM) is a global corporation providing world-class solutions focused on regenerative medicines, pharmaceuticals and Blue technologies which improves the overall healthy lifespan of our consumers. We continuously incorporate and innovate thru the inclusion of complementary companies and a diversified technology portfolio. This improves the Quality of Life of our Consumers and as a result, maximizes shareholder value.

Forward-Looking Statements: Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "future," "plan" or "planned," "expects," believe" or "projected." These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. These risk factors include, among others, limited operating history, difficulty in developing, exploiting and protecting proprietary technologies, intense competition and additional risks factors as discussed in reports filed by the company with OTC Markets.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3147207



BioStem Technologies, Inc.:

Phone: 954-380-8342

Website: http://www.biostemtech.com

Email: info@biostemtech.com

Twitter: @Biostemtech

Facebook: BioStem Technologies



Investor Relations:

Andrew Van Vurst

info@biostemtech.com

954.380.8342




OTTAWA, ON--(Marketwired - June 30, 2017) - Ackroo Inc. (TSX VENTURE: AKR) (OTC: AKRFF) ("Ackroo" or the "Company"), a gift card, loyalty and rewards technology and services provider, is pleased to announce that it has received orders for 11,575,364 units of its ongoing private placement. These orders have come from strategic investors, many of which are long-standing shareholders of the Company. The placement is now fully-subscribed and the Company anticipates closing occurring on or about Wednesday, July 5th.

In connection with these orders, the Company has elected to restructure the terms of the private placement as announced on June 13th, 2017. Each unit will now be offered at a price of $0.055, and will consist of one common share and one share purchase warrant entitling the holder to acquire a further common share at a price of $0.10 per a period of sixty months. The warrants are subject to accelerated expiry in the event the closing price of the Company's shares is $0.20 or more for thirty consecutive trading days. No finders' fees will be paid in connection with the placement, and it will result in proceeds to the Company of $636,645.

Completion of the private placement remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued on closing of the private placement will be subject to a four month and one day hold period.

About Ackroo

Ackroo provides gift card and loyalty processing solutions to help retail and hospitality merchants attract, retain and grow their customers and their revenues. Through a SaaS based business model Ackroo provides an in-store and online automated solution to help merchants process gift card & loyalty transactions at the point of sale, provide key administrative and marketing data, and to allow customers to access and manage their gift card and loyalty accounts. Ackroo also provides important marketing services to assist their merchants with utilizing Ackroo's technology solution. Ackroo is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. For more information, visit: www.ackroo.com.

The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

These forecasts and forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and activities and are subject to risks and uncertainties. The company has based these forward-looking statements on assumptions and assessments made by its management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Important factors that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the company's ability to raise enough capital to support the company's go forward plans; the overall global economic environment; the impact of competition and new technologies; general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the company operates; projected capital expenditures and liquidity; changes in the company's strategy; government regulations and approvals; changes in customers' budgeting priorities; plus other factors that may arise. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

For information, please contact:



Steve Levely

Chief Executive Officer

Ackroo

Tel: 613-599-2396 x730

Email: slevely@ackroo.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After a relatively prolonged absence from social media, President Donald Trump responded to former FBI Director James Comey's congressional testimony in a post on Twitter on Friday. Trump claimed he was completely vindicated by Comey's testimony even though some legal experts say the president still faces possible obstruction of justice charges. 'Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!' Trump tweeted. Trump's claim of 'complete vindication' may stem from the fact that Comey acknowledged he repeatedly told the president he was not under investigation. However, Comey also provided details of a conversation during which Trump allegedly asked the ex-FBI chief to drop an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's contact with Russian officials. 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go,' Trump said, according to Comey. Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee he took the comment from Trump as a directive but said the determination of whether the request amounted to obstruction of justice would be up to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Trump's personal attorney Marc Kasowitz has denied the allegation Trump called for an end of the investigation of Flynn as well as Comey's claim that Trump demanded loyalty. Kasowitz suggested that Comey should be investigated after the FBI Director admitted he asked a friend to share memos regarding his conversations with Trump with the media. 'Comey admitted that he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the President,' Kasowitz said. He added, 'We will leave it the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated.' Comey suggested that he leaked the memos in response to a tweet from Trump in an effort to encourage the appointment of a special counsel. (Photo: Michael Candelori) 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.
CRESCO, PA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- NSAV Holding, Inc. (OTC: NSAV), announced today that the Company will develop and market a premium line of hemp beer. NSAV will use a proprietary formula that it will jointly develop with a leading U.S. hemp company. This will ensure both the quality and uniqueness of the Company's hemp beer brand. NSAV will also market its premium hemp beer online and has already registered a premium domain name for the project. The Company's hemp beer e-commerce website will begin construction next week. NSAV will release additional details in the coming weeks.

James Tilton, president of NSAV, stated, "I am extremely pleased that we are entering the hemp beer market. We feel that it represents a major opportunity for the Company. This is our second major endeavor in the hemp arena and I can assure you, it won't be our last."

NSAV's vision is the establishment of a fully integrated technology company that provides turnkey technological solutions to the legal medical cannabis and hemp industries, 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.

The NSAV corporate website can be accessed at http://nsavholdinginc.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/NSAVHolding/

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 NSAV Holding, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. NSAV Holding, 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 NSAV Holding, Inc. or any other person.

For further information please contact

NSAV

1 (570- 595-2432)

info@nsavholdinginc.com




MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz has denied allegations made by former FBI director James Comey, saying Trump never sought to thwart the investigation of alleged Russian intervention in the US presidential election. Marc Kasowitz suggested that the authorities investigate Comey's leaking to the media the privileged communications with the President, 'one of which he testified was classified'. 'We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether this leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated,' Kasowitz told reporters. Comey himself suggested during his three-hour sworn testimony Thursday that Trump told him, 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.' But the President never said so in form or substance, according to Trump's outside lawyer. He described Comey as one of the leakers who was actively attempting to undermine the Trump administration with 'selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications'. Comey had testified that Trump had a shaky commitment to telling the truth, but Kasowitz insisted that it was Comey who lied. He added that the President feels completely vindicated and is eager to continue moving forward with his agenda with this public cloud removed. Described by CNBC as the 'toughest lawyer on Wall Street,' Kasowitz is a Manhattan-based corporate attorney and longtime legal fixer for Trump. Meanwhile, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Thursday's testimony proved that President Trump is not under investigation, there's still no evidence of collusion, and he did not hinder the investigations in any way. 'Nobody thinks more of James Comey than James Comey, and his testimony today was simply a last ditch attempt to save face with the American people,' McDaniel said in a statement. 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.
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- As a proud Canadian company, Sobeys Inc. is celebrating Canada's 150th with a special fundraising campaign called Canada Screams for Ice Cream. On Saturday, June 24, customers can visit their local Sobeys, Safeway or IGA store in Western Canada and make a $2 donation in exchange for a tasty ice cream treat. One hundred per cent of funds raised will help provide healthy meals and snacks for more than 100 local youth-based charities across Western Canada. Sobeys Inc. will match donations raised on June 24, to a total of $100,000. The Canada Screams for Ice Cream event will also mark the launch of Sobeys Inc.'s Kids Paying-it-Forward program, which will provide 150 kids from participating charities each with a $500 gift card to donate to a community group that has helped their family, friends or neighbours. Through this initiative, a total of $75,000 will be donated, allowing Sobeys Inc. to help Canadian charities shape future leaders and continue its long-standing commitment to community giving.

"Sobeys Inc. has deep roots in Western Canada, and we can't think of a better way to celebrate our country's 150th birthday than with a fun ice cream event for our customers that will directly benefit the communities we proudly serve," said Renee Hopfner, Director, Community Investment, Sobeys Inc. "We also have a unique opportunity to invest in future generations through the Kids Paying-It-Forward program and empower local youth who are passionate about making better food possible."

Sobeys Inc. will be partnering with more than 100 charities across Western Canada to bring the Canada Screams for Ice Cream and Kids Paying-It-Forward program to life.

Donation presentations will be made in local communities throughout the summer.

More information about the Canada Screams for Ice Cream campaign, the Kids Paying-It-Forward program, and participating Sobeys, Safeway and IGA locations, can be found at sobeys.com, safeway.ca or west.iga.ca.

About Sobeys

Proudly Canadian, with headquarters in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, Sobeys has been serving the food shopping needs of Canadians since 1907. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited (TSX: EMP.A), Sobeys owns or franchises approximately 1,500 stores in all 10 provinces under retail banners that include Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, and Lawton's Drug Stores as well as more than 350 retail fuel locations. Sobeys, its franchisees and affiliates employ more than 125,000 people. The company's purpose is to help Canadians Eat Better, Feel Better and Do Better. More information on Sobeys Inc. can be found at www.sobeyscorporate.com.

Contacts:

For media inquiries please contact:

Lisa Libin

Brookline Public Relations

llibin@brooklinepr.com

(403) 538-5641 ext. 104




Company Ranks20th on the Great Place to Work Institute List

RACINE, Wisconsin, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --SC Johnson, the maker of trusted brands like Glade, Duck, Raid, Mr Muscle, Pledge and Kiwi, has been recognized for the 12th time as a Best Multinational Workplace by the Great Place to Work Institute in Europe. This regional recognition is a result of individual Best Workplace recognitions received for operations in France, Germany, Poland, Greece, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. SC Johnson Europe ranked20 among 25 companies on the 2017 list.

"SC Johnson's success is built by talented and committed people," said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. "Congratulations to our European team for being recognized as a best workplace and for their continued success in providing great work environments."

In 2014, SC Johnson Europe ranked 25th on the list of top 100 places to work in Europe.

SC Johnson began operating in Europe in 1914. The company remains committed to its operations in the region and to making positive differences in the communities where it does business.

Companies appearing on the Best Workplace list in each country are evaluated against one another by the Great Place to Work Institute to determine the top multinational workplaces in Europe. To be eligible for the European Multinational list, a company must have operations in at least three countries, must have at least 1,000 employees globally, and 40 percent of its global workforce must work outside the home country.

This recognition for SC Johnson Europe is one of several recognitions SC Johnson has received in 2017 from the Great Place to Work Institute. SC Johnson Venezuela, France, Germany, Poland, Greece, Mexico, Canada, Central America, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Turkey and Latin America have also earned Best Workplace rankings.

In the United States, SC Johnson has been included 28 times in Working Mother magazine's list of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" and in 2016 received a perfect score of 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index.

Also in 2016, SC Johnson was named one of the 25 World's Best Multinational Workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute, earning the 20th spot in the ranking. It was the company's fifth year to be included on the list.

About SC Johnson

SC Johnson is a family company dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care, as well as professional products. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE, KIWI, OFF!, PLEDGE, RAID, SCRUBBING BUBBLES, SHOUT, WINDEX and ZIPLOC in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN, TANA, BAMA, BAYGON, BRISE, KABIKILLER, KLEAR, MR MUSCLE and RIDSECT. The 131-year-old company, which generates $10 billion in sales, employs approximately 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/163090/sc_johnson_logo.jpg
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- IGM Financial Inc. (TSX: IGM) has been ranked in the top 10 of Corporate Knights' Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada. The company improved its ranking to 8th overall in 2017, up from 21st position last year.

IGM Financial is one of Canada's premier personal financial services companies, with business carried out principally through Investors Group, Mackenzie Investments and Investment Planning Counsel.

"IGM Financial is proud to be recognized among Canada's top 10 corporate citizens, which has been a shared effort between our companies, financial advisors and employees across the country" said Andrea Carlson, Vice-President, Finance & Corporate Responsibility for IGM Financial. "We make a positive difference in the communities where we live and work through our charitable giving, volunteer work and our commitment to environmental and social responsibility."

Carlson said this recognition comes as a result of IGM Financial's continued enhancements to its corporate responsibility reporting and the introduction of environmental and social initiatives which further demonstrate the company's longstanding commitment in this area. These efforts have contributed to recognition by Corporate Knights and other groups as follows:

-- IGM Financial was accepted into the internationally renowned FTSE4Good Index Series in 2016 for demonstrating strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices. -- In 2015, IGM Financial earned a spot on the Jantzi Social Index (JSI), a leading Canadian sustainability index consisting of 50 Canadian companies measured on ESG rating criteria. -- IGM Financial has been recognized by the CDP as a leader in Canadian climate disclosure for the quality of its reporting on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. In 2016, the company received a Leadership level score of A-.

See the IGM Financial website for more information about the company's commitment to corporate responsibility.

Corporate Knights Inc. produces corporate rankings, research reports and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance.

The methodology for the 2017 Best 50 Corporate Citizens of Canada is based on 12 key performance indicators (KPIs) covering resource, employee and financial management. See the Corporate Knights website for more details.

IGM Financial Inc. is one of Canada's premier personal financial services companies, and one of the country's largest managers and distributors of mutual funds and other managed asset products, with approximately $149 billion in total assets under management as of May 31, 2017. Its activities are carried out principally through Investors Group, Mackenzie Financial Corporation and Investment Planning Counsel. IGM Financial is listed on the FTSE4Good Index Series, the Jantzi Social Index, it participates in climate disclosure through the CDP and is one of Corporate Knights' Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada.

A MEMBER OF THE POWER FINANCIAL CORPORATION GROUP OF COMPANIES.

Contacts:

Media Relations:

Ron Arnst

(204) 956-3364

ron.arnst@igmfinancial.com



Investor Relations:

Paul Hancock

204-956-8103

investor.relations@igmfinancial.com




CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/09/17 -- Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc. (formerly known as Talisman Energy Inc.), a Canadian-based upstream oil and gas company (the "Company"), announced today that it commenced solicitations of consents (the "Consent Solicitations") from holders of its outstanding

-- 7.75% Senior Notes due 2019 (CUSIP No. 87425E AL7 and ISIN No. US87425EAL74) (the "2019 Notes"), -- 3.75% Senior Notes due 2021 (CUSIP No. 87425E AM5 and ISIN No. US87425EAM57) (the "2021 Notes"), -- 5.85% Senior Notes due 2037 (CUSIP No. 87425E AJ2 and ISIN No. US87425EAJ29) (the "2037 Notes"), -- 6.25% Senior Notes due 2038 (CUSIP No. 87425E AK9 and ISIN No. US87425EAK91) (the "2038 Notes"), -- 5.50% Senior Notes due 2042 (CUSIP No. 87425E AN3 and ISIN No. US87425EAN31) (the "2042 Notes"), -- 5.75% Senior Notes due 2035 (CUSIP No. 87425E AH6 and ISIN No. US87425EAH62) (the "2035 Notes") and -- 7.25% Debentures due 2027 (CUSIP No. 87425E AE3 and ISIN No. US87425EAE32) (the "2027 Debentures" and together with the 2019 Notes, the 2021 Notes, the 2037 Notes, the 2038 Notes, the 2042 Notes and the 2035 Notes, the "Notes"; and each, a "series of Notes")

for proposed amendments (the "Proposed Amendments") to certain provisions of the indentures governing the Notes (the "Indentures"), and also commenced tender offers to purchase for cash (the "Tender Offers" and each a "Tender Offer") any and all of the outstanding Notes.

The Company also announced that Repsol, S.A., a sociedad anonima organized in Spain (the "Guarantor"), has fully and unconditionally guaranteed the due and punctual payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on each series of Notes, when and as the same shall become due and payable (the "Guarantees"). The Guarantees will remain effective regardless of the outcome of the Consent Solicitations and the Tender Offers.

Holders have the option to either:

(1) deliver consents at or prior to the Consent/Early Tender Deadline (as defined below) without tendering the related Notes; or

(2) tender Notes and thereby deliver the related consents at or prior to the Expiration Time (as defined below), provided that holders must tender at or prior to the Consent/Early Tender Deadline (as defined below) to be eligible to receive the Total Consideration (as defined below).

Holders may validly deliver consents without also tendering Notes.

Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the Consent Solicitations, holders delivering consents without tendering the related Notes will receive the Consent Only Payment of U.S.$2.50 per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes (the "Consent Only Payment") on the initial settlement date, which is expected to be June 27, 2017 (the "Initial Settlement Date"), provided that such holders validly deliver consents (without also tendering the related Notes) at or prior to the consent/early tender deadline of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 22, 2017, unless extended or earlier terminated by the Company in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law (such time and date, as the same may be extended or earlier terminated with respect to each series of Notes, the "Consent/Early Tender Deadline").

The Proposed Amendments would amend the reporting covenant and eliminate the merger covenant in the Indentures, as well as make certain other related changes. The purpose of the Consent Solicitations is to effect the Proposed Amendments to reduce administrative complexity and provide operational and financial flexibility for the Company and its affiliates.

Adoption of the Proposed Amendments requires the consent of the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of each series of Notes then outstanding affected thereby (or in the case of the Proposed Amendments with respect to the 2027 Debentures, holders of at least 66 2/3% in principal amount of the 2027 Debentures then outstanding).

Holders of Notes who validly deliver consents at or prior to the Consent/Early Tender Deadline, without also tendering the related Notes, and do not validly revoke their consents at or prior to the revocation/withdrawal deadline of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 22, 2017, unless extended with respect to a series of Notes by the Company in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law (the "Revocation/Withdrawal Time"), will be eligible to receive the Consent Only Payment in respect of their Notes.

The following table summarizes, with respect to each series of Notes, the applicable Consent Only Payment for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes.

Outstanding Consent Principal Only Title Security CUSIP Number ISIN Number Amount(1) Payment(2) 2006 Indenture 7.75% Senior Notes due 2019 87425E AL7 US87425EAL74 U.S.$363,935,000 U.S.$2.50 3.75% Senior Notes due 2021 87425E AM5 US87425EAM57 U.S.$240,726,000 U.S.$2.50 5.85% Senior Notes due 2037 87425E AJ2 US87425EAJ29 U.S.$131,145,000 U.S.$2.50 6.25% Senior Notes due 2038 87425E AK9 US87425EAK91 U.S.$118,813,000 U.S.$2.50 5.50% Senior Notes due 2042 87425E AN3 US87425EAN31 U.S.$96,685,000 U.S.$2.50 2005 Indenture 5.75% Senior Notes due 2035 87425E AH6 US87425EAH62 U.S.$89,494,000 U.S.$2.50 1997 Indenture 7.25% Debentures due 2027 87425E AE3 US87425EAE32 U.S.$54,464,000 U.S.$2.50 (1) As of June 9, 2017. (2) Per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes as to which consents are validly delivered and not revoked at or prior to the Consent/Early Tender Deadline without the related Notes being tendered.

Holders may tender Notes and thereby deliver the related consents.

Upon the terms and subject to the conditions of the Tender Offers, holders tendering Notes in a Tender Offer will receive in respect of Notes accepted for purchase the applicable Total Consideration (as defined below) or Tender Offer Consideration (as defined below), as the case may be, and accrued and unpaid interest from the applicable last interest payment date to, but not including, the applicable settlement date ("Accrued Interest"), but will not receive the Consent Only Payment. Holders that tender Notes will be automatically deemed to have delivered consents to the Proposed Amendments in respect of such Notes.

Each Tender Offer will expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, on July 7, 2017, unless such Tender Offer is extended or earlier terminated by the Company in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law (such time and date with respect to each Tender Offer, as the same may be extended or earlier terminated, the "Expiration Time"). For the avoidance of doubt, as used in this press release, midnight on a particular day refers to the time one minute after 11:59 p.m. on such day.

The following table summarizes, with respect to each series of notes, the applicable Tender Offer Consideration (as defined below) and Total Consideration (as defined below) for each U.S$1,000 principal amount of Notes. Holders tendering Notes will not receive the Consent Only Payment, and instead will receive the Tender Offer Consideration or Total Consideration, as applicable, and Accrued Interest in respect of Notes accepted for purchase.

Outstanding Title Security CUSIP Number ISIN Number Principal Amount(1) 2006 Indenture 7.75% Senior Notes due 2019 87425E AL7 US87425EAL74 U.S.$363,935,000 3.75% Senior Notes due 2021 87425E AM5 US87425EAM57 U.S.$240,726,000 5.85% Senior Notes due 2037 87425E AJ2 US87425EAJ29 U.S.$131,145,000 6.25% Senior Notes due 2038 87425E AK9 US87425EAK91 U.S.$118,813,000 5.50% Senior Notes due 2042 87425E AN3 US87425EAN31 U.S.$96,685,000 2005 Indenture 5.75% Senior Notes due 2035 87425E AH6 US87425EAH62 U.S.$89,494,000 1997 Indenture 7.25% Debentures due 2027 87425E AE3 US87425EAE32 U.S.$54,464,000 Tender Offer Total Title Security Consideration(2)(3) Consideration(2)(3) 2006 Indenture 7.75% Senior Notes due 2019 U.S.$1,057.50 U.S.$1,087.50 3.75% Senior Notes due 2021 U.S.$970.00 U.S.$1,000.00 5.85% Senior Notes due 2037 U.S.$970.00 U.S.$1,000.00 6.25% Senior Notes due 2038 U.S.$970.00 U.S.$1,000.00 5.50% Senior Notes due 2042 U.S.$925.00 U.S.$955.00 2005 Indenture 5.75% Senior Notes due 2035 U.S.$930.00 U.S.$960.00 1997 Indenture 7.25% Debentures due 2027 U.S.$1,105.00 U.S.$1,135.00 (1) As of June 9, 2017. (2) Per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes accepted for purchase. (3) Excludes Accrued Interest, which will be paid in addition to the Tender Offer Consideration or the Total Consideration, as applicable.

Holders that validly tender their Notes and thereby deliver their consents at or prior to the Consent/Early Tender Deadline, and do not validly revoke such consents and concurrently withdraw such Notes at or prior to the Revocation/Withdrawal Time, will be eligible to receive on the Initial Settlement Date the amount set forth under the column "Total Consideration" in the table above with respect to their Notes (the "Total Consideration"), plus Accrued Interest.

Holders of Notes that are validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn), and who validly deliver Consents to the Proposed Amendments, after the Consent/Early Tender Deadline but at or prior to the Expiration Time, and accepted for purchase, will be entitled to receive on the final settlement date, which is expected to be July 12, 2017, the amount set forth under the column "Tender Offer Consideration" in the table above with respect to their Notes accepted for purchase (the "Tender Offer Consideration"), plus Accrued Interest.

A holder that has previously tendered Notes may not revoke a consent without withdrawing the previously tendered Notes to which such consent relates. Consents may only be revoked, and Notes withdrawn, prior to the Revocation/Withdrawal Time, unless extended by the Company in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law. The Company will not be required to extend the Revocation/Withdrawal Time, or to reinstate revocation or withdrawal rights, in the event that it, in its sole discretion, waives one or more conditions to the Consent Solicitations and/or the Tender Offers, which conditions may relate to one or more series of Notes.

The Consent Solicitations and the Tender Offers are being made on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement and Offer to Purchase dated June 9, 2017 (the "Consent Solicitation Statement and Offer to Purchase"), and related consent and letter of transmittal.

Consummation of the Consent Solicitations and the Tender Offers are subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in the Consent Solicitation Statement and Offer to Purchase, including but not limited to the receipt of the requisite consents in respect of all series of Notes. The Company may amend, extend or terminate the Consent Solicitations and the Tender Offers with respect to one or more series of Notes in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law.

This press release is not a solicitation of consents with respect to the Proposed Amendments or any Notes. In addition, this press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any Notes. The Consent Solicitations and the Tender Offers are being made only pursuant to the Consent Solicitation Statement and Offer to Purchase and related consent and letter of transmittal, copies of which will be delivered to holders of the Notes. Persons with questions regarding the Consent Solicitations and the Tender Offers should contact the solicitation agents and dealer managers, Barclays Capital Inc. at (800) 438-3242 (U.S. toll free), (212) 528-7581 (collect) or +44 20 3134 8515 (international) and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated at (888) 292-0070 (U.S. toll free), (980) 387-2907 (collect) or +44 20 7996 5420 (international) or the information agent, tabulation agent and tender agent D.F. King & Co., Inc., at (212) 269-5550 (banks and brokers) or (800) 499-8541 (toll-free) or email at repsol@dfking.com.

About Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc.

Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc. is an upstream oil and gas company, incorporated in Canada and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Spanish integrated energy company Repsol, S.A.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains information that constitutes "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking information"). This forward-looking information includes, among others, statements regarding the terms and timing for completion of the Consent Solicitations and the Tender Offers.

Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of risks which could cause actual results to vary and in some instances to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company and described in the forward-looking information contained in this news release. The material risk factors include, but are not limited to risks related to the successful consummation of the Consent Solicitations and the Tender Offers.

The above-mentioned risk factors are not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other factors which could affect the Company's operations or financial results or strategy are included in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form, dated February 23, 2017 (included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 40-F, dated February 23, 2017), and Restated Management's Discussion and Analysis, dated May 12, 2017 (included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 40-F/A, dated May 12, 2017) and Interim Management's Discussion and Analysis dated May 12, 2017 (included in the Company's Report of Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K, dated May 12, 2017). In addition, information is available in the Company's other reports on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-looking information is based on the estimates and opinions of the Company's management at the time the information is presented. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change, except as required by law.

Contacts:

34 917 538 100

34 917 538 000

34 913 489 000 (FAX)

www.repsol.com




TORONTO, 2017-06-20 06:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation ("Mandalay" or the "Company") (TSX:MND) is providing an update and further information on the flooding at the Cerro Bayo operation that was originally announced on June 9, 2017, and updated on June 14, 2017.



On June 9, 2017, between 3:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. local time, a catastrophic inundation event occurred in the Delia NW mine, one of three producing mines at the operation. The Delia NW vein in the area of the event is situated approximately 100 metres landward from the original shore of Laguna Verde. The subsidence of the original lake shore created a new bay on the lake that measures approximately 100 metres by 100 metres.



Immediately following the inundation, underground and surface operations at the mine were curtailed in a safe, orderly way and they remain curtailed. On June 16, the Government of Chile declared a "State of Constitutional Exception" for the commune of Chile Chico (in which Cerro Bayo is located), which allows the government to control the site and coordinate the search efforts described below. Mandalay supports and respects the State of Constitutional Exception as it assists in ensuring the safety of the site as well as the search efforts.



Two miners remain missing in the Delia NW mine, Jorge Sanchez and Enrique Ojeda. Efforts to search for them to date include:



-- Pumping from the flooded ramp and escapeway. This has not achieved any water level reduction due to hydraulic conductivity with the lake. -- Drilling multiple holes to the bottom level of the mine, approximately 200 metres below the surface. -- Two of these holes intersected the target mine workings on Saturday, June 17, finding them to contain water and mud, but no trapped air. -- Two more holes are being drilled to intersect the area of the mine with the closest rescue chamber to where the miners were working. These holes are expected to reach target on Wednesday morning, June 21. However, the rescue chambers are designed to protect against contaminated air and not the significant amount of water pressure that Mandalay now believes is present in the area. -- In addition, construction of a berm began with the aim of isolating the new bay of the lake from the main volume of the lake and perhaps enable pumping of water out of the mine. Construction of this berm was halted for safety reasons. -- Military expert divers and submarine drones from the Chilean government have explored down the flooded ramp and in the new bay. Limited visibility in the muddy water prevented useful information from being obtained.



Mandalay has been receiving abundant resources and support from various levels of Chilean government, including the military, the police, Sernageomin and the Minister of Mines. In addition, local mining companies, drilling companies, and contractors have been engaged in the search efforts.



With respect to the possible impacts of this event on Cerro Bayo operations, Mandalay notes that:



-- Approximately 12,000 tonnes of ore remained on the bottom of the level at the time of the event, or approximately 12 days of mill throughput at the current 1,000 tonnes per day rate. Therefore, the immediate impact on reserves and ultimate total production at the property is expected to be small. -- The remaining two producing mines at the current time are Coyita and Delia SE, both located close to and under Laguna Verde. These mines are planned to supply a significant portion of the remaining life of mine plan and are entirely unflooded and intact. The Company confirms that the reopening of any mine at Cerro Bayo is dependent on the results of detailed investigations into the root causes of the Delia NW event, resulting risk analysis of the possibility of reopening and government permits to reopen. This work is likely to take several months. -- The Marcela and the Raul mines, both mined in the past by a previous owner and in the process of permitting at this time for future restart, are the two other mines contained in the current Life of Mine plan. These are located far from the lake, and are isolated from inundation risk. These mines will not be operated until the investigation and risk analysis is completed for the Life of Mine plan as a whole.



Once the intensive search phase is completed, Mandalay will begin consultations with its unions and government on the future of the mine.



Dr. Mark Sander, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mandalay, commented "Our thoughts and prayers are with Jorge's and Enrique's families, friends and co-workers. We are continuing to do everything possible to locate them. The Company is extremely grateful to all our employees, contractors, suppliers, Ministry of Mining, Armed Forces, Government of Aysen, Sernageomin, Firemen of Chile Chico, among other active participants, for all their effort, solidarity and support."



About Mandalay Resources Corporation:



Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia, Chile, and Sweden, and a development project in Chile. The Company is focused on executing a roll-up strategy, creating critical mass by aggregating advanced or in-production gold, copper, silver and antimony projects in Australia, the Americas, and Europe to generate near-term cash flow and shareholder value.



Forward-Looking Statements:



This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the Company's production of gold, silver and antimony for the 2017 fiscal year. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, changes in commodity prices and general market and economic conditions. The factors identified above are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect Mandalay. A description of additional risks that could result in actual results and developments differing from those contemplated by forward-looking statements in this news release can be found under the heading "Risk Factors" in Mandalay's annual information form dated March 31, 2017, a copy of which is available under Mandalay's profile at www.sedar.com. In addition, there can be no assurance that any inferred resources that are discovered as a result of additional drilling will ever be upgraded to proven or probable reserves. Although Mandalay has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.



For Further Information: Mark Sander President and Chief Executive Officer Greg DiTomaso Director of Investor Relations Contact: +1.647.260.1566

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BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session with a small increase, but ended a the trading week with a loss. The market got off to a positive start Friday, but pared its early gains and briefly dipped into negative territory around midday. The positive opening on Wall Street helped to drive the market higher in the afternoon. The inconclusive result of the UK election failed to have much of an impact on the market. The snap general election called by British Prime Minister Theresa May turned out to be a setback for the Conservative party, which lost their majority in the Parliament. The Swiss Market Index increased by 0.39 percent Friday and finished at 8,845.85. The SMI ended the overall trading week with a loss of 2.2 percent. The Swiss Leader Index climbed 0.60 percent and the Swiss Performance Index added 0.41 percent. Clariant climbed 2.0 percent after Baader Helvea confirmed its 'Buy' rating on the stock. Lonza also gained 2.0 percent and Sika added 0.6 percent. Kuehne + Nagel rose 1.6 percent and reached a new all-time high during the session. Kepler Cheuvreux upgraded its rating on the stock to a 'Buy.' Swatch increased 1.1 percent and Dufry gained 1.3 percent. Sonova and LafargeHolcim rose 1.2 percent each. Credit Suisse advanced 1.7 percent and UBS added 1.0 percent. Among the index heavyweight, Novartis increased by 0.4 percent and Roche by 0.1 percent. Nestle ended the session unchanged. 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) - Democrat Jon Ossoff has a sizable lead in Georgia's closely watched special House election, according to the results of an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released Friday. The poll showed Ossoff with a 51 percent to 44 percent lead over Republican Karen Handel ahead of the June 20th runoff. About 5 percent of voters are undecided. Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker and former congressional staffer, benefits from a 60 percent to 34 percent lead among women as well as a solid advantage among younger voters. Meanwhile, men and voters over 65 are leaning toward Handel, who previously served as Georgia's Secretary of State. Ossoff and Handel are competing to fill the House seat previously held by Health And Human Services Secretary Tom Price. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said several recent polls show Ossoff with an advantage in the contest but noted most other surveys show a tighter race. The race in the conservative-leaning district is seen as an early referendum on President Donald Trump's performance in the White House. The poll found that Ossoff is supported by about 13 percent of Republican voters and 50 percent of independents, while only 3 percent of Democrats back Handel. The AJC survey of 745 likely voters was conducted by Abt Associates from June 5th through 8th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. 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.
Procurement market intelligence firm SpendEdge recently examined the benefits associated with waste to energy (WtE) in its blog WtE - The New Energy Trend on the Block

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170609005659/en/

SpendEdge helps organizations achieve procurement excellence. (Graphic: Business Wire)

SpendEdge observes that, "In developed countries such as the United States, the prime motivator for WtE are the growing environmental concerns, while in developing economies the sole purpose is energy recovery."

However, "WtE or Energy from Waste is still at a nascent stage, and finding its application into organizations, industries and households will take a longer time. Besides that, high investment of money and time is required for building up a WtE plant."

For more insights, get in touch with SpendEdge

Despite the high investments required, the advantages WtE adoption provides negates the disadvantages associated with it. The benefits include: prevention of emission of carbon dioxide and elimination of methane leakage because of landfill disposal, reduction of dependency on energy imports, cost-effective waste management, sustainability promotion, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Read more: https://www.spendedge.com/blogs/wte-new-energy-trend-block

SpendEdge Energy Procurement Solutions Portfolio:

SpendEdge's energy procurement solutions experts specialize in power generation, transmission, and distribution, oil and gas and oil field services, and nuclear and renewable energy. Many leading firms and Fortune 500 companies leverage our granular market and category specific insights to identify new markets and expand their business across several geographies.

Recent SpendEdge Energy Procurement Studies

Supply Market for the Oil and Gas Industry

https://www.spendedge.com/casestudy/supply-market-intelligence-oil-gas-industry

Assessment of Engineering Services Industry

https://www.spendedge.com/casestudy/leading-power-utilities-company-gains-deep-understanding-engineering-services-category-landscape

About SpendEdge

SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are a preferred market intelligence partner for Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across industries. Our strength lies in delivering actionable insights that help sourcing and procurement professionals get the right information in the right format, without any unnecessary frills.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170609005659/en/

Contacts:

SpendEdge

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

https://www.spendedge.com/

hello@spendedge.com
HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / June 9, 2017 / Environmental Packaging Technologies Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") (OTC PINK: EPTI), a Nevada corporation, announced today that it has completed a reverse merger on June 8, 2017, in which Environmental Packaging Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation, became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. "This is an exciting new chapter for EPT," said David Skriloff, CEO. "Being a public company will allow us to have further access to the capital markets such that we can globally expand our production capabilities and continue to grow our business."

Shares of the Company's common stock are quoted on the OTC Markets under the symbol: EPTI

Visit the Company website: www.eptpac.com

ABOUT EPT

Environmental Packaging Technologies (EPT) (www.eptpac.com) is a publicly traded USA based global logistics company (OTC: EPTI). It is the only US manufacturer of flexitanks, and one of the first in the field. A flexitank is a soft sided single use container for the bulk shipment of non-hazardous liquids within a 20' intermodal shipping container. Flexitanks are generally considered the least expensive and most environmentally conscious way to ship bulk non-hazardous liquids over long distances. One flexitanks can hold up to 24,000 liters of liquids.

With the introduction of its patent-pending LiquiRide product in 2016, EPT opened the market for flexitanks to be utilized in 40' and 53' containers and trailers in both dry and refrigerated configurations allowing for the first time shipments of liquid requiring temperature controls. EPT's customers have utilized the Company's state-of-the-art Flexitanks to ship a wide variety of liquids including liquid latex and other chemicals, fruit juices and concentrates, edible oils, milk, wine, petroleum based products, and many others. EPT provides its products to shippers, logistics companies, and end users in more than 50 countries around the world. It has offices in the US, South Korea, the Netherlands, and Argentina.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains projections and other forward-looking statements regarding future events or our future financial performance. All statements other than present and historical facts and conditions contained in this release, including any statements regarding our future results of operations and financial positions, business strategy, plans and our objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). These statements are only predictions and reflect our current beliefs and expectations with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risk and uncertainties and subject to change at any time. New risks emerge from time to time. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the projections or forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein include, without limitation: (i) the contraction or lack of growth of markets in which we compete and in which our products are sold (ii) unexpected increases in our expenses, including manufacturing expenses, (iii) our inability to adjust spending quickly enough to offset any unexpected revenue shortfall, (iv) delays or cancellations in spending by our customers, (v) unexpected average selling price reductions, (vi) the significant fluctuation to which our quarterly revenue and operating results are subject due to cyclicality in the transport/ logistics industry, (vii) our inability to anticipate the future market demands and future needs of our customers, and (viii) other factors detailed in documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

SOURCE: Environmental Packaging Technologies Holdings, Inc.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus have called for reductions in spending on two major welfare programs to partly offset the cost of tax reform legislation.



Leaders of the HFC have suggested changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families could save $400 billion over ten years.



Congressman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has called for a requirement of 100 hours of work activity a month for able-bodied adults to receive benefits from the programs.



'The idea is if you're able-bodied, you can't be living on the taxpayer, getting help from the taxpayer, forever,' Jordan told USA Today.



Members of the HFC have argued the changes to the program would help offset the cost of a tax reform package that includes a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 20 percent.



However, Democrats are opposed to the proposed changes, accusing the HFC of seeking to take away food from children and support from families to give tax cuts to their wealthy friends.



'That's not going to fly with the American people,' Caroline Behringer, a spokeswoman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told USA Today.



House Republican leaders have proposed instituting a border-adjustment tax on imports to offset the cost of tax cuts, although the HFC is opposed to that idea.



'The political facts are that there is not consensus for the border-adjustment tax,' HFC Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said at a Heritage Foundation event on Friday.



Members of the HFC flexed their muscles during the debate over legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare and were able to win major changes to the bill.



Earlier this week, the HFC called on congressional leaders to cancel the August recess in order to address tax reform, repealing Obamacare, addressing the debt ceiling, and funding the government.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump struck back at former FBI Director James Comey in remarks on Friday, denying several of the claims the ex-FBI chief made about their private conversations.



In a news conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Trump denied Comey's claim that he asked for a pledge of loyalty, adding, 'I hardly know the man.'



Trump also once again declared that he never asked Comey to drop an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russian officials



The president claimed Comey's testimony proved that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia and no obstruction of justice.



Trump said he would be willing to speak under oath about his conversations with Comey and would 'gladly' meet with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.



'He's a leaker,' Trump said of Comey, who acknowledged that he asked a friend to leak his memos of his conversations with the president to the press.



Trump was repeatedly asked about recordings of his meetings with Comey and stated he would discuss the issue 'sometime in the near future' but suggested the media would be 'very disappointed.'



In his opening statement, Trump also addressed the diplomatic crisis regarding Qatar, urging the Persian Gulf country to immediately halt its funding of terrorism.



Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also spoke about the situation with Qatar earlier in the day, saying the country has a history of supporting groups that have spanned the spectrum of political expression, from activism to violence.



'The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country, but he must do more and he must do it more quickly,' Tillerson said.



At the same time, Tillerson called on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar.



Tillerson said there are humanitarian consequences to the blockade, which he said is also impairing U.S. and international business activities as well as U.S. military actions in the region.



(Photo: Marc Nozell)



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (NA:PSH) today announces that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's ordinary shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"):

Date of purchase: 9 June 2017 Number of Shares purchased: 11,768 Shares Highest price paid per Share: 1,241 pence 15.81 USD Lowest price paid per Share: 1,228 pence 15.64 USD Average price paid per Share: 1,233.02 pence 15.70 USD

PSH intends to cancel these Shares. The net asset value per Share related to this Share buyback is USD 18.86 GBP 14.61 which was calculated as of 6 June 2017. After giving effect to the above Share buyback, PSH has 239,463,162 outstanding Shares. The prices per share in USD were calculated by Jefferies.

The number of PSH Management Shares and the 1 special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) has not been affected.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170609005598/en/

Contacts:

Maitland

James Devas, +44 20 7379 5151

Media-pershingsquareholdings@maitland.co.uk
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 9, 2017) - DNI Metals Inc. (DNI: CSE) (FSE: DG7N) (OTC Pink: DMNKF) ("DNI" or the "Company") DNI Is pleased to announce the following:

Further to its news release dated April 5th, 2017, the Company has closed, subject to final Regulatory approval, the final tranche (the "final Tranche") of its non-brokered private placement financing (the "Private Placement"). The final Tranche comprises 3,024,599 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of CDN$0.065 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of CDN$196,599.00. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one half common share purchase warrant of the Company ("Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at a price of CDN$0.10 per Common Share for a period of 18 months following the date of the closing. All securities issued are subject to a four month hold period expiring on October 9th, 2017.

An aggregate cash commission of $2,369.57, in lieu of cash 144,607 units were issued, plus an aggregate of 27,160 common share purchase warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") are, subject to final Regulatory approval, payable in connection with the closing. Each Finder's Warrant will be exercisable into one Common Share at an exercise price of CDN$.10 for a period of 18 months following issuance.

The Company expects to use the proceeds raised to fund general and operating working capital.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About DNI Metals

Certain advisors and directors of DNI have significant operational experience at historical hard rock graphite mines in Canada (e.g. Ontario and Quebec) and Australia.Between them, they have built three (3) processing plants and designed two (2) others; all, which were shut down in the 1990,'s due to increased Chinese competition. Keith Minty, director, worked at Cal Graphite near Kearny, Ontario.

It was our team's understanding of the high production and capital expenditure costs associated with so-called "hard rock" graphite mining that inspired DNI to search for saprolite-hosted graphite deposits.

Certain parts Madagascar and Brazil, produce graphite from weathered material called saprolite.

According to Dictionary.com, saprolite is described as:

"Soft, thoroughly decomposed and porous rock, often rich in clay, formed by the in place chemical weathering of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks. Saprolite is especially common in humid and tropical climates. It is usually reddish brown or grayish white and contains those structures (such as cross-stratification) that were present in the original rock from which it formed."

DNI owns a commercially permitted, saprolite-hosted graphite deposit in Madagascar; located 50kms from the country's main seaport. The deposit is located less than two (2) kms from the paved national highway. DNI intends to develop the Vohitsara project, should the economic viability and technical feasibility be established. DNI has not yet established mineral resources or mineral reserves supported by a PEA or mining study (PFS or FS).

DNI has a graphite wholesale business, in which it buys and sells high quality graphite. This business has shown a steady increase in volume over the past year.

Steven Goertz (MAusIMM, MAIG), who is a qualified person, approved the technical disclosure in this news release.

DNI - Canadian Securities Exchange

DG7N - Frankfurt

DMNKF - OTC

Issued: 62,968,155

For further information, contact:

DNI Metals Inc. - Dan Weir, CEO 416-595-1195

DanWeir@dnimetals.com

Also visit www.dnimetals.com

We seek Safe Harbour. This announcement may include forward looking statements. While these statements represent DNI's best current judgment, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary, including risk factors listed in DNI's Annual Information Form and its MD&A's, all of which are available from SEDAR and on its website.
CAHRA meeting at Central

COLUMBUS -- The Columbus Area Human Resources Association will hold a meeting 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday at the Central Community College-Columbus West Education Building, Room 209.

Presenter Elizabeth Smith will discuss how to grow talent internally and retain talent for the future. RSVP by Monday to mmmeyer@columbushosp.org. Lunch will be provided at the college. Cost is $10 for CAHRA members, $20 for non-CAHRA members and free for Drive for Five members.

Right to Life hosting lunch

HUMPHREY -- The Humphrey Right to Life will hold a salad luncheon from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday at the Humphrey St. Francis Parish Hall, 203 S. Fifth St.

Cost is $7 for adults, $4 for kids ages 5-10 and free for kids 4 and younger. Proceeds will go toward the Humphrey Right to Life organization.

Casino bus trip planned

SCHUYLER -- The Colfax County Senior Center in Schuyler is sponsoring a fundraiser bus trip to WinnaVegas Casino on June 19.

Pickup locations are Columbus, Schuyler, North Bend and Fremont. Cost is $10 per person, payable when boarding.

For reservations, cancellations or other information, call Betty at 402-615-0857 or Lloyd at 402-615-0353. Reservations are required by Thursday.

Ex-school official sentenced

GRAND ISLAND (AP)  A former Shelton school superintendent accused of attacking his wife has been sentenced to 18 months' probation and fined $500.

Brian Redinger, 46, was sentenced Thursday in Hall County District Court. He pleaded no contest in April to two misdemeanors: domestic assault and reckless driving after originally pleading not guilty to making terroristic threats, strangulation, domestic assault and criminal attempt at assault.

Sheriff's investigators say Redinger attacked his wife last year, hitting her head on a car dashboard and later driving at her before she escaped to safety at a Hall County truck stop.

He resigned his position as superintendent of Shelton Public Schools weeks after his arrest.

Wrong-way driver killed in crash

COZAD (AP)  Authorities say a wrong-way driver died after a collision on Interstate 80 at Cozad in south-central Nebraska.

The collision was reported around 1 a.m. Thursday. The Nebraska State Patrol says a car driven by 89-year-old Deloyce Robinson of North Platte entered the westbound I-80 lanes and headed east. The car soon collided with a westbound pickup truck driven by 28-year-old Nicholas Yonce of Garner, North Carolina.

The patrol says Robinson was killed. Yonce was treated at a Cozad hospital for injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.

Boy finds skull along creek

ASHLAND (AP)  Authorities say a boy has found what's believed to be a human skull along an eastern Nebraska creek.

The boy spotted the skull Wednesday evening while walking along a trail at Carol Joy Holling Camp south of Ashland.

Cass County Sheriff's Capt. Dave Lamprecht says it unclear how old the skull is and how the person died. An investigation has begun.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / June 9, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Ocwen Financial Corporation ("Ocwen" or the "Company") (NYSE: OCN) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, and docketed under 17-cv-80500, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Ocwen securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Ocwen securities between May 11, 2015 and April 19, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until June 20, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

[Click here to join this class action]

Ocwen Financial Corporation is diversified financial services holding company. The Company's primary businesses are the acquisition, servicing, and resolution of sub-performing and nonperforming residential and commercial mortgage loans, as well as the related development of loan servicing technology and business-to-business e-commerce solutions for the mortgage and real estate industries.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Ocwen engaged in significant and systemic misconduct at nearly every stage of the mortgage servicing process; (ii) the foregoing conduct, when it became known would subject the Company to heightened regulatory scrutiny and potential criminal sanctions; (iii) as a result of the foregoing, Ocwen's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On April 20, 2017, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a press release entitled, "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sues Ocwen for failing borrowers throughout mortgage servicing process," reporting that the Company had generated errors in borrowers' accounts, failed to credit payments, illegally foreclosed on homeowners, and charged borrowers for add-on products without their consent.

On that same day, it was further reported that the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks and state regulators from more than twenty states issued a cease-and-desist order to Ocwen's subsidiaries as a result of the Company's mishandling of consumer escrow accounts and a deficient financial condition. The Order "specifically prohibits the acquisition of new mortgage servicing rights and the origination of mortgage loans by Ocwen Loan Servicing (NMLS number 1852), a subsidiary of Ocwen, until the company is able to prove it can appropriately manage its consumer mortgage escrow accounts."

On this news, Ocwen's share price fell $2.91, or 53.89%, to close at $2.49 on April 20, 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.

SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
Biocomposites, a Keele, UK-based maker of calcium compound biologics, received an investment from TA Associates.

Barings provided senior loans to back the transaction. No financial terms were disclosed.

Biocomposites focuses on the development of innovative calcium compounds for surgical use. Their bone graft matrices can be used in the presence of infection for regenerating bone and managing dead space in a range of orthopedic procedures. Biocomposites sells directly to hospitals and through independent distributors, with the United States representing its largest market. Research, manufacturing and distribution is handled in-house at the companys headquarters in Keele, UK.

Sales representative offices are also maintained in Wilmington, North Carolina and Shanghai, China.

FinSMEs

09/06/2017
CityMD, a New York metro area-based urgent care provider, raised funding from Warburg Pincus.

The amount of the funding was undisclosed.

CityMD is a urgent care provider in the New York Metro Area offering a wide range of comprehensive care by highly qualified physicians, as well as other clinical support staff.

The company has over one million patient visits per year and operates more than 70 locations in New York, New Jersey and Washington State with a growing team of over 300 medical professionals.

Warburg Pincus will support CityMDs expansion through new site openings and strategic acquisitions and partnerships.

FinSMEs

09/06/2017
Jodel, the Berlin, Germany-based local app to instantly engage with the community around you, closed a $6m funding round.

The round was led by Silicon Valley VC Floodgate with participation from Kima Ventures, existing investors and Adam dAngelo, ex-CTO of Facebook and founder of knowledge-sharing platform Quora.

The company intends to use the funds to further grow globally.

Led by Jodel Founder and CEO Alessio Borgmeyer, Jodel provides an app that allows users to communicate with others in their vicinity, limited to a perimeter of not more than 10 kilometres. Contributions appear in an anonymous feed and users can engage with and comment on each piece of content.

Currently, more than five million Jodels are shared globally every day.

FinSMEs

09/06/2017
Platelet BioGenesis, a Boston, MA-based biotech startup developing a process to produce life-saving human platelets from stem cells for therapeutic applications, raised $10m in Series A financing.

The round was led by Qiming U.S. Healthcare Fund and included Vivo Capital, VI Ventures, Adena Partners, eCoast Angels, and others.

Led by Dr. Jonathan Thon, Co-Founder and incoming CEO, and Sven Karlsson, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Platelet BioGenesis is a pre-clinical stage biotech company that was spun out the academic labs at Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard. Platelet has developed and patented a microfluidic bioreactor and shown that functional platelets can be generated from human stem cell cultures at scale. Platelets are the band-aids of the blood and a critical first-line treatment for cancer and surgery.

The company was selected to participate in MassCONNECT (run by MassBio), was a 2014 MassChallenge Finalist, and has received support from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and the National Institutes of Health.

FinSMEs

09/06/2017
COLUMBUS  A 41-year-old Columbus man is accused of a financial scheme to secure loans from a local bank and Lincoln-based credit union using the same 2016 GMC Yukon Denali as collateral without disclosing that information to the lenders.

Jason Svoboda has been charged with theft by deception over $5,000 and certificate of title violations by using false information to apply for a title in connection with the September 2015 purchase of the luxury SUV at Husker Auto Group in Lincoln.

Platte County Court Judge Frank Skorupa scheduled Svoboda for a June 8 status hearing on the two felony charges.

The theft charge is a Class 2A felony, punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. The title violations, which involve certificate of origin documents, are Class IV felonies that each carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison and 12 months of post-release supervision.

Defense attorney Erik Klutman argued during a brief bond hearing Monday that his clients serious medical issues called for a substantial reduction in his $200,000 bond, 10 percent allowed for release.

Svoboda has undergone four back surgeries and is reliant on several prescription medications, Klutman told the judge. His client, who has been in custody since May 22, also has longtime family ties to the area, the defense counsel said.

Chief Deputy Platte County Attorney Breanna Anderson countered that the defendant has an extensive history of theft-related convictions, including three cases since 2003 that resulted in prison sentences.

Skorupa reduced Svobodas bond to $100,000, 10 percent allowed for release.

According to court documents, Svoboda received a personal loan in September 2015 for $72,950 from Liberty First Credit Union in Lincoln, pledging the GMC Yukon Denali as collateral.

Court records also document Svoboda securing a $50,000 loan in October 2015 from First Nebraska Bank in Columbus, with the SUV again pledged as collateral.

Svoboda did not advise First Nebraska Bank of the existence of the first loan with Liberty First Credit Union, wrote Investigator Marlan Hohnstein, deputy state sheriff assigned the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Fraud Unit, in his probable cause arrest statement.
The governments decision to implement dynamic auto fuel pricing mechanism pan India from 16 June is likely to make consumers and dealers' life difficult, with adequate infrastructure system not in place yet.

It has raised concerns for petroleum dealers who are planning their next move: Should they go in for an all-India strike or have meetings with the ministry are some of the decisions the dealers are pondering over. Nothing has been decided so far.

The dynamic auto fuel pricing mechanism refers to the governments decision to change petrol and diesel prices on a daily basis depending on the movement of crude oil prices in international markets and variation in foreign exchange rates.

Rates will vary from city to city as well as from petrol pump to petrol pump with Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) deciding to follow a marginal differential pricing, PTI reported.

How it will play out

On midnight of 15 June, the price of fuel will be changed across 58,000 petrol pumps in the country. Of the total petrol pumps, only 40 percent have been automated. Of this 20 percent do not function fully, said Ravi Shinde, president, petrol dealers association, Mumbai.

The government ran a pilot project for dynamic auto fuel pricing mechanism in five cities in the country from 1 May -- Puducherry, Visakhapatnam, Udaipur, Jamshedpur and Chandigarh. The dealers who were part of the project in Chandigarh were put to much hardship and financial loss, said Sandeep Sehgal, president, petrol dealers association, Punjab.

The petrol dealers commission are on a fixed basis and on volume. In the pilot run by the government, the dealers had to physically come to the petrol pumps and change prices at midnight. Coming to the petrol pump daily at midnight to change prices is just not practical as many of the dealers stay far away from the petrol pump stations, said Sehgal.

Also, there were instances where dealers were at the receiving end of consumers' ire as they started arguing with the attendants after they found the price had changed by the time they moved ahead in the queue.

The petrol pump owners could ask their managers to change prices manually which could lead to occasional errors, says Shinde.

The new system to be introduced is likely to create confusion for consumers, too. For one, how do you ascertain whether the rate displayed is indeed the updated one? How do you ensure that you are not cheated? There is no way to check that, says Kaushik Madhavan, director, automotive and transportation, Frost & Sullivan. There will be scope for errors when the price is changed daily.

What the government has not spelt out is a monitoring mechanism on how they will ensure the right prices are being displayed at the petrol pumps. As of now the oil companies conduct surprise checks at petrol pumps to monitor quality and quantity of the fuel but this cannot be a solution to ascertain price fluctuations.

The transparency is suspect, effectiveness of the daily price change mechanism is also suspect and until that can be ensured it will be difficult for both consumers and dealers, said Madhavan.

However, dealers try to allay these fears. They say the price fluctuation is usually only in a few paise terms and on rare occasions could be a few rupees, not drastic enough to be manipulated. Consumers could also ensure their fuel tanks are full, just as they do in the case of a strike. But it will be the freight carriers who will have to bear the brunt of the daily price changes, they said.

With regard to oil companies and the consumer, the impact will be neutral, say analysts but for transport companies, it could go either way, they said.

Government vehicles too take fuel from petrol pumps and clear their bills fortnightly. With the daily price fluctuation, the dealer will have to make a separate bill and that can be bothersome, they pointed out.

Dealers' problems

The dealers met with the oil companies on 29 May in Mumbai. With all petrol pumps in the country not being fully automated, the oil companies were asked to hold a seminar to explain the ground realities and also hear the difficulties faced by the dealers.

"The oil companies havent provided us any infrastructure. If only they could talk to the government to postpone the auto fuel pricing mechanism rollout till all the petrol pumps are automated, this plan can work out well," suggested Shinde.

The world over this system - daily fuel price revision mechanism, is followed though it is a new change for consumers and dealers in the country. Abroad, the oil companies and big buyers of fuel enter into a contract on pricing so that both are in a win-win situation, said Jaspal Singh, Partner and co-founder Valorise Consultants. The dealer get a fixed price despite the daily price fluctuation. Maybe as the market evolves in India, the oil companies here too may put up a markup to protect the dealers.

Way out

One of the ways to prevent fuel stations from fleecing consumers is to fully automate them and ensure that all the 58,000 petrol pumps are functioning. Another way is to let the oil companies be the sole owners of the fuel which are stored in underground tanks in the petrol pumps like it is abroad.

When I buy fuel at a certain price and fill my tanks, the produce is mine now, said Shinde. With the proposed daily fluctuation in price, the dealers margins will be eroded.

Let the dealer be responsible for only sale of fuel through dispensing units and commissions depend on how much fuel is sold. Independent of crude oil price, let the dealer be ensured of his commission, said Shinde.
It must be difficult being N R Narayana Murthy -- but there is another side to the story.

The founder of software giant Infosys, whose campus former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee once compared to the Taj Mahal for its tendency to be on the agenda of VIP visitors from abroad, has denied reports that he and other key co-founders are set to sell their stakes at a collective valuation that could touch Rs 28,000 crore, but even if he does, it should not surprise observers after the events of the past four years in the company.

The fact is that after Murthy returned as executive chairman to nourish the company back to health in difficult times, he has at best been listened to politely and at worst been criticised for his intrusions -- in a house that he built from scratch. But shareholder capitalism is merciless: They who control the stakes calls the shots. Therefore, of what use is a minority stake in which moral suasions and boardroom battles are all you have got when a new chief executive officer (CEO) and a diverse set of institutional shareholders march to different beats?

Events over the past two years, especially the past few months, show that Vishal Sikka, the CEO with a mind of his own and board support to match, has diverging opinions on how to run the company. Murthy has already let go of the title of Chairman Emeritus earlier conferred upon him. In the current state of play, he wields less influence over Infosys than the president of India wields over an elected government.

Like a traditional Indian father handing over his daughter to a son-in-law, Murthy has done his bit to keep the shine on the latter-day Taj Mahal he has founded. What is the point in being in in a company where your views are no longer gospel but just "inputs" for a bunch of directors long on management concepts and short on sentiment? He might as well be cheering his Tory son-in-law Rishi Sunak in this week's British elections -- and that is precisely what he is doing.

The other co-founders must feel much the same as Murthy, albeit in lesser degrees. Nandan Nilekani, in hindsight, is likely to be viewed by future historians more as the initiator of the Aadhar identity number that dramatically reformed governance in India than as the shining CEO of a path-breaking software company.

However, as Infosys moves to a new era, there is plenty to celebrate for its founders. Having started a leading symbol of resurgent India, there is a lot they can look forward to in the present and the future. Quietly, Murthy's Catamaran Ventures -- effectively run by his bright son Rohan -- has emerged as a successful investment vehicle. Hector Beverages, the soft drink venture that offers traditional Indian drinks under a millennial brand called Paper Boat, and Cloudtail India, its online retail merchant joint venture with Amazon, are already much-talked-about stories.

Co-founders SD Shibulal and Kris Gopalakrishnan are busy meanwhile, putting slices of their fortunes into into everything from trendy restaurants to brain science research and incubating new age startups in their venture, Axilor.

More importantly, a whole lot of new age areas beckon rich moneybags who also have management and scientific knowledge. From data science to virtual reality, from renewable energy to robotics, there are many fish in the startup sea for investors with seasoned minds. Why should/would they be playing third fiddle in an orchestra they used to conduct once?

(The author is a senior journalist. He tweets as @madversity)
New Delhi: Farmers' protest will spread in more states till the BJP-led government fulfills its poll promise of 50 percent more profit on cost of production and announce farm loan waiver, a farmers' body warned today.

Farmers, distressed over price fall following bumper crop this year, have been protesting peacefully in 162 districts in nine states, including Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, since 1 June. However, the protest turned violent in Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh, killing five persons in police firing, Rashtriya Kisan Mahasabha (RKM) said.

The newly formed RKM comprises 50-odd farmers bodies, including RSS' satellite organisation  the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) and its break-away group Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh (RKMS).

"Farmers protest was planned and did not occur all of a sudden. We started from Malwa region. The protest turned violent as Mandsaur farmers were upset when BKU withdrew the protest without consulting fellow farmers," RKM national convenor and RKMS chief Shivkumar Sharma told reporters.

It is "shameful" on the part of the government to allow police firing on innocent farmers. The killing of five persons will not discourage farmers as the protest will continue peacefully till the demands are met, he said.

Asked if sowing of kharif crops like paddy will not be affected due to protest, Sharma said, "Farmers will wear black band on their arms as mark of protest and continue sowing operation".

Sowing of kharif (summer) crops has already started in some places and will pick up pace in the coming days as monsoon progresses across the country.

On key demands, Sharma said that the Modi-led government had made a poll promise of giving 50 percent more profit on cost of production. "We want that to be implemented as farmers conditions in the country is very bad. They are throwing their produce on streets as prices have fallen sharply."

"We also want the government to guarantee procurement of agri-commodities to ensure farmers get assured price. That apart, we want the government to waive farm loan. If the government can waive crores of corporate debt, why not farm loans," he said.

A representation, seeking these demands, has been made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, but has not received any response.

In the last three years, the prime minister has not even given time to farmer's organisations to discuss the issue. "Is not the government anti-farmers," he asked.
Demand for gold in Asia was muted this week as the bullion's rebound in prices curbed purchases, with discounts in India widening to the highest in more than five months.

Spot gold hit a seven-month peak earlier this week, primarily boosted by safe-haven demand stemming from political uncertainties in the United States and Europe.

"Gold markets in Asia have been quiet... The rise in price did encourage destocking in some markets, but purchases have been slow," said Cameron Alexander, an analyst said.

Dealers in India, the second-biggest gold consumer, were offering a discount of up to $3.5 an ounce this week over official domestic prices, the highest since the last week of December.

Last week, they were offering a discount of $1 an ounce. The domestic price includes a 10 percent import tax.

"Demand is very weak. Traditionally, business comes down in June and now with the price rise, gold is trading in discount," said Mukul Sonawala, proprietor of wholesaler Narrondass Manordass in Mumbai.

India's gold imports in May surged four-fold from a year ago to 103 tonnes as jewellers increased purchases to replenish inventory and stock up ahead of a new national sales tax, provisional data from Thomson Reuters' consultancy GFMS showed.

"For the next few weeks, market will trade in discount. In the supply chain, almost everyone is carrying higher stocks than the demand," said a Mumbai-based dealer with a private bank.

On Saturday, India said it will tax gold at a rate of 3 percent under the new tax, which was lower than industry expectations of around 5 percent.

The impact of the new goods and services tax (GST) in India is likely to be less severe as the lower-than-expected tax rate may encourage a higher level of imports than what was anticipated earlier in the second-half of this year, Alexander said

Demand in top consumer China remained weak with premiums dipping to $4-$6 per ounce this week versus $7 last week.

In Singapore, gold was being sold at a premium of $1, nearly flat from previous week, while Hong Kong premiums ranged between 40 cents to $1, compared with 60 cents to $1 an ounce last week, traders said.

"On the retail side (in Singapore), there's more selling at this point because prices are high. People who trade physical hope to buy when prices come down again," said Brian Lan, managing director at gold dealer GoldSilver Central in Singapore.

Prices in Tokyo were quoted at a discount of 25 cents-50 cents, unchanged from last week.
Mumbai: After raising Rs 15,000 crore through the largest-ever equity issuance in the country, State Bank of India today said it is comfortable on the capital front and will not seek any capital infusion from the government in the current fiscal.

The bank recently raised Rs 15,000 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP). It issued around 52.21 crore new shares at a price of Rs 287.25.

"As per the plan we have put in place, we are quite comfortable on the capital front till next year. We will not require government funds (in FY18). At this point we have not asked for capital (from the government).

"Even without this capital raising, we can meet all the regulatory capital requirements up to 2019, including Basel III need. This is over and above that," SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya told reporters here today.

Bhattacharya said in the current fiscal the bank will be focusing on listing its life insurance arm.

"We have plans of unlocking value by listing at least the life insurance subsidiary. So there will be some more (capital) that we (will) get through our non-core

divestments," she said.

It may also consider some stake sale in its non-core assets including CCIL, NSE and UTI MF.

SBI's QIP was over-subscribed and demand exceeded Rs 27,000 crore.

"There was huge demand from DIIs, FIIs, sovereign wealth funds and many investors who have never invested in the country. Most of the investors are those who have never invested in a public sector institution earlier," Bhattacharya said.

The issue received an overall FII demand in excess of Rs 11,000 crore. Domestic institutional investors' (DIIs) demand was of Rs 8,500 crore excluding one DII, she said.

LIC had asked for 38 percent share in the total QIP but Bhattacharya said only 77 percent of its total demand was allotted.

LIC's stake after this investment would be 10.4 percent, up from 8.6 percent.

Bhattacharya said the QIP was aimed at supporting growth which seems to be around the corner.

The bank expects a credit growth of 10-12 percent in the current fiscal and 14 percent in fiscal 2018-19.

Post issue, the bank's CRAR (for the merged entity) is at 13.64 percent and CET 1 at 10.20 percent.
As Raabta opens in theatres on Friday, 9 June 2017, all eyes are on its lead pair Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon. Raabta could be the big ticket that both these fairly new, but partly-successful, actors need.

While Sanon's last release was Dilwale, Raabta will finally be a platform for her to shine and show what she can do as an actor.

This is a litmus test for Sushant because his last film was MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. A lot of the film's success was attributed to the fact that Dhoni has such a massive fan following. With Raabta, we'll finally get to see how he manages to make the content and character his own.

Will Raabta meet the expectations that it has created? I'm also curious to see how the film explores the theme of reincarnation. If it isn't, in fact, similar to the Telugu film Magadheera (whose makers withdrew their plagiarism plaint against the Raabta team on Thursday), then it raises much curiosity about the second narrative in the film. What's also going to be interesting to see is how these two actors hold their own across different narratives and settings, and against the amazing Jim Sarbh and Rajkummar Rao. Their chemistry so far has been touch and go.

Sushant's 'entry' is a shot of him rising out of a water body in a gurudwara, with his six pack abs prominently in focus. We find he's moving to Budapest for work. He's Punjabi (although his accent is a little put on and forced). He's also supposed to be a 'romantic' boy. Which basically means he hits on the first white girl he finds. Through a montage of his fun times in Budapest (lots of dancing, lots of drinking) we find that he's warming up to his loud, over dramatic character (called Shiv). Sushant definitely has screen presence.

There's an air of karmic retribution through this all. We're constantly told how this is a special month according to the the stars.. Enter Saira (Kriti). Her first scene is of her talking to the mirror. A bit cliched, but we subsequently find out more about her: She's scared of water, she's a bit of a klutz and works as a chef/chocolatier.

Both Saira and Shiv are in Budapest, but haven't met each other yet. When they do, the meet-cute is quite predictable. It happens at her chocolate shop, where Shiv and Saira have a moment and can't take their eyes off each other (obviously).

Kriti reminds you of an early Deepika Padukone. She's poised and articulate but not as emotive. At least not as yet.

Saira plays hard to get in the beginning but there's clearly some chemistry between them. Hindi and Bollywood is what they have in common with one another. With the help of the background score and some intense acting (that doesn't come naturally to either but they're both trying very hard), an attraction is established and it hooks you in. There's something there and you want to find out more, even though the surroundings and the situations are a tad cliched.

Water seems to play an important role in these two's lives. They both have flashes about drowning and a past life but we only get blurry flashes. Nothing coherent as of now.

Shiv's a bit too much of an extrovert (trying very hard to channel a Delhi boy) and she's an introvert. Therein lies their basic attraction point. Both claim to be different around the other. They also have their respective partners but can't stay away from each other. It's all a bit flaky at this point. At times you feel their chemistry, at others, you feel it's forced.

Sushant especially has his hits and misses. It doesn't help that his last role was that of Dhoni's  a calm, Zen character. Shiv, by contrast, is the complete opposite. Show off-y, loud, sometimes even nasal/whiny but he has moments of spark.

Kriti has a pleasant vibe to her, even as she's playing a layered character. Time is taken to establish exactly what this connection is between Shiv and Saira. Songs, dramatic but comedic scenes involving a break-up with their current partners  it's all there.

They're both warming up to their characters. The pace of Raabta so far is working, because it's not trying too hard to force the story down your throats.

There's a scene involving a psychic that proves to be the plot point in this love story. Something is going to happen. Real soon, we're told.

And here enters Jim Sarbh. Might I add, with a three-second entry scene, he changes the tone to a high-drama level without saying one word. A good actor, clearly, doesn't have to try too hard.

I know no one asked for a comparison, but Jim Sarbh is turning out to be far better, altogether, than Sushant. This could be a good sign for a film, to elevate its antagonist to a point where audiences get confused. Saira may be attracted to Shiv, but I'm super attracted to Jim Sarbh's character.

A triangle has been established. All three characters are at the same party, and this karmic connection seems to have permeated through, to each other. The music comes at the right points in the film, adding to the narrative  which is a pleasant surprise for a commercial film like this.

Jim Sarbh plays a business tycoon called Zakir Merchant. While Shiv is away at a conference, he tries to charm Saira. And slowly, there's a conflict  in Saira's mind as well as ours. She has a karmic connection with Shiv but Zakir is very, very charming.

What I love about this, is that these few scenes have been dealt with very differently than most Hindi films. We know Zakir is not the main character and yet the film, Saira and us as an audience, can indulge while she makes her choice. Who does she want to be with? It all pans off very playfully and not dramatically. A lot of credit for this goes to Sarbh, who is a complete natural on screen.

The midway break comes at a very crucial point.

I won't give much away but so far if the vibe of Raabta was slightly playful and mysterious, it is now all about the suspense and questions.

Some observations: Sushant is far better as a serious actor. The jovial, playboy image doesn't suit him. He does a much better job as an actor when there's a real conflict.

There's also no agency given to Saira, Kriti's character. I'm patiently waiting for her to make a move/decision rather than Zakir and Shiv taking all the calls.

All I'll tell you right now is that there's a clear evil, clear good and clear damsel-in-distress, and I'm waiting for the secrets to be unveiled.

The past life scenes are very unique, with a Baahubali aftertaste. It's a whole other kingdom, a whole other setting, with its own people and traditions.

All three characters belong to the past life and have their own conflicts. Remnants of it stay back in their current lives. While both Jim Sarbh and Kriti seem somewhat similar even in their past life avatars, Sushant has completely taken a U-turn. He plays a warrior in the past life and is just as serious as he was playful, in contemporary life. This suits him a lot more.

Kriti's character from the past life is also fierce and powerful. The conflicts in this life are a lot more political and the tone is drastically different. It's more feudal, intense and darker.

There's a lot that doesn't make sense in the past life segments. For example, the chemistry between Sushant and Kriti's characters in contemporary life is attributed to their past life connection, but in the past life it isn't explored as much. Where does this connection come from? Both belong to opposing warrior clans and they eventually fall for each other. But I wish there was a deeper reason given.

In their defense, both Kriti and Sushant play their parts perfectly. Jim Sarbh acts as the perfect foil and catalyst. For all the buzz around Rajkummar Rao, I wish he got more screen time.

The idea is there in Raabta. It's all you see. It's an interesting idea, one that has worked in Bollywood for decades. Karmic connections, past life conflicts, love, loyalty and passion. But there's something missing. Some questions are left unanswered. Some plot points, unexplored.

The bridge between the two lives could have been a bit more defined. But right now a lot of the audience's questions are kept at bay in wake of the larger story.

Raabta has potential. And it's good to see a film that takes itself seriously in the right way  a lot of effort has been taken to establish authenticity. But I wish for more. Now whether that's a good thing or bad, you'll have to watch and decide.

Personally, the film worked for me in bits, and didn't in bits. It's interesting in parts and cliched in others. Whether or not audiences will like it seems to be dependent on personal taste.

Watch the trailer here:
Judwaa 2 has been making headlines for quite some time. A reprisal of Salman Khan's 1997 blockbuster Judwaa, this remake is directed by David Dhawan and the movie sees his son Varun Dhawan in the lead. Varun will be essaying the double role of Khan from the original.

This will be junior Dhawan's first double role of his Bollywood career. The film also sees Jacqueline Fernandez and Taapsee Pannu as the female leads. The two actresses will be replicating the roles of Karishma Kapoor and Rambha respectively, from the original movie.

The cast and crew recently completed the London leg of the film's 40-day shooting schedule and now the trio of Varun, Jacqueline and Tapsee is all set to fly to Portugal in the month of July to shoot a romantic song for the movie.

Its a five-day schedule. The makers will leave for a reccee around mid-June to lock the final locations in Portugal. It will be a glamorous number for which the team is on the lookout for a choreographer. They are finalising a name in a week and will subsequently kick off rehearsals, reported the Mumbai Mirror.

The three stars have already completed their shooting for the remake of the blockbuster song 'Oonchi Hai Building', and 'Tan Tana Tan'  another Bollywood anthem back in the day  will be shot in Mumbai at a later date, the same Mumbai Mirror report states.

Khan, who portrayed the double role of Raja and Prem in the '97 original of the movie, is going to be a part of Judwaa 2 in the same capacity. Salman will appear as both Raja and Prem, his twin characters from the film, who have aged by 20 years. His 'judwaa' will come face-to-face with Varuns double role, possibly bantering in the climax scene. The team recently wrapped up the London schedule. They will begin the final leg of shoot in Mumbai next month with Khan joining them for a few hours," reported Mid-Day.

The original also saw Shakti Kapoor in the role of Nandu (Khan's best friend and the comic element of the movie). This role is being played by Rajpal Yadav in Judwaa 2.

Joining the new cast and crew is Anupam Kher  the only member from the original cast of Judwaa who has been retained in the upcoming film. Anupam had essayed the role of Inspector Havaldar Vidyarthi in the original.

Varun Dhawan had previously shared an Instagram post announcing the same

#Anupamkher is the only memeber of the original cast of #Judwaa who is part of #judwaa2. My second film with him and he's a lot more fitter and better looking now. He's one crazy dude  but also one of the best actors of our country. Let the craziness begin A post shared by Varun Dhawan (@varundvn) on May 1, 2017 at 12:48am PDT

As of now, Varun is said to have started his work on Shiddat, his upcoming movie starring Alia Bhatt in the female lead. Taapsee Pannu, who gained fame after her Bollywood movie Naam Shabana got critical acclaim, has returned her focus to her projects from the South and Fernandez has begun promoting her next with Sidharth Malhotra titled A Gentleman.

Judwaa 2 is slated for release on September 29, 2017.
A court in Chennai on Thursday sought the response of superstar Rajinikanth and others on a petition by a producer claiming that the title and story of the actor's upcoming film Kaala Karikaalan belonged to him.

Assistant City Civil Judge RKP Tamilarasi issued notice to Rajinikanth, the director and producer of the movie and South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce to file their replies by 15 June.

Petitioner K Rajashekaran, proprietor of GSR Vinmeen Creations, sought a direction to restrain the respondents from producing Kaala@ Karikalan till the disposal of his petition.

City-based Wonderbar Films Private Limited has announced it was producing the movie to be directed by PA Ranjith. The first schedule shoot for the film was completed in Mumbai.

The petitioner, who has a production unit GSR Vinmeen Creations and composed music for some TV serials, submitted that the 'title, knot and story of Karikalan absolutely belonged' to him.

He contended that the title Karikalan was already registered by him with the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce.

Further, on the occasion of releasing a music album Mayile Kuyilae, composed by him, he had announced his plans to produce the movie about the Chola emperor Karikalan by adopting the same to the present social trend, he said.

He claimed that he had narrated the story to Rajinikanth Fans Association leader Sathyanarayana. Though he met Rajinikanth, because of his busy schedule, he was unable to hear the story, the petitioner added.

He alleged that the chamber had not renewed the title registration and was misusing the rules of registration, renewal and cancellation of the titles to favour some influential persons and disfavouring indigent persons.

Rajashekaran claimed the one year validity of the title registration clause itself was vogue and the film chamber cannot fix the time frame to complete the creativity of a person.

He also contended that another dispute over the title and knot of the story Karikalan was pending in the city civil court and hence the matter was subjudice. Hence, the producers using the name, was illegal.

The petitioner prayed the court to grant interim injunction restraining the producers, director or any other agents of them from conducting any shooting in progress of the film.

Meanwhile, the film is continuing its shooting schedule and we know that Nana Patekar will play the prime antagonist in the film.

"Nana Patekar plays a conniving, ruthless politician and he takes Rajinikanth head on. It's a very powerful role and audiences are going to love the face-off between him and Rajini sir," IANS quoted a source from the film's unit as saying. Huma Qureshi and Pankaj Tripathi also co-star with Rajinikanth and Nana Patekar in the gangster drama.

(With inputs from agencies)
The Kapil Sharma Show has seen a dip in viewership ever since the news of the Kapil Sharma-Sunil Grover brawl broke out and it was rumoured that Salman Khan's Dus Ka Dum would replace the show in the primetime slot.

The show recently completed 100 episodes in May but was not able to recover from the loss in TRPs which began following the fight Sharma and Grover. Sharma threw a shoe at Grover aboard a flight from Australia to India, and the latter left the show and never returned.

Within one month, The Kapil Sharma Show dropped from 7 million impressions to 3.9 million impressions, as per a report by BARC India. This might be because of the exit of the beloved characters that Sunil Grover played on the show.

But after the split from Sunil Grover, and Kapil Sharma's run of bad health, it looks like the comedian can breathe a sigh of relief because his show is back in the TRP race.

Kiku Sharda, who is one of the most prominent comedians on the show apart from Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover, recently tweeted the new BARC ratings.

Back to top 5 Hindi shows of the country #TKSS @SonyTV thanks for all the love doston. We love to entertain and will continue to do so. pic.twitter.com/7EVoTbSeNV  kiku sharda (@kikusharda) June 8, 2017

As Times of India noted, their recent Baahubali act was loved by fans and Kapil seems to be back in full form.
COLUMBUS  A 60-year-old man is accused of acting as a go-between while participating in a handful of drug transactions in Columbus earlier this year.

Gene Johnson of St. Edward was bound over to district court on three counts of delivery of methamphetamine and two counts of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver stemming from five separate drug deals in February and March.

County Court Judge Frank Skorupa scheduled Johnson, who waived his preliminary hearing Thursday, for a June 23 arraignment on the felony charges.

The meth distribution charges are Class II felonies, each punishable by up to 50 years imprisonment. The marijuana charges are 2A felonies, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars.

Johnson has been free for more than a month on a $200,000 bond, 10 percent allowed for release.

His co-defendant in the case, 34-year-old Trent Miller of Columbus, was arraigned earlier this week in district court on similar drug charges.

Miller is facing five counts of meth distribution and two counts of possession. He has been in custody at the county jail since May 4 on a $350,000 bond, 10 percent allowed for release.

According to court documents, a Columbus Police and Nebraska State Patrol investigation of the case began about mid-February in a fast-food restaurants parking lot and ended in the same lot in late March.

Miller is accused of driving to local parking lots for drug deals while taking along Johnson as a middleman to make some of the drops and collect the cash from buyers.

What the defendants were unaware of is they were meeting up with an undercover police informant equipped with a digital recording device.
Another reboot, another attempt at building a giant cinematic universe, and another bland, tedious misfire. This pattern feels like the story of the week nowadays with Hollywood obsessed with rendering the formula, and more often than not, failing spectacularly at it. This weeks casualty, The Mummy, is not just a bad movie  it is a scintillating demonstration of how mainstream blockbuster filmmaking has devolved over the years.

The 1999 film with Brendan Fraser was a classic for one simple reason  it was a giant horror film executed with self-aware schlocky comedy and never before seen visual effects. The original 1930s film was also famous for the same reason, minus the comedy. This new remake, directed by Alex Kurtzman, throws everything that made those two movies great under the bus and turns into a bland action movie with Tom Cruise. It neither scares, thrills or entertains  it just moves loudly from one set piece to another without an iota of charm or intelligence.

An unknown scientist (Russell Crowe) finds a medieval artifact in London, while a renegade bounty hunter Nick (Tom Cruise) along with his pal Chris (Jake Johnson) find another archaeological site housing the tomb of a Mummy. Frustratingly, theres no mystery surrounding the tomb, because were already given the information, in Crowes snooze inducing voiceover, right in the opening scene, that the tomb belongs to a Princess named Ahmanet (Boutella) who tried to kill a bunch of people and was entombed, and that her escape would cause chaos. Already knowing this puts the audience three steps ahead of the protagonists, so it becomes a long slog for Cruise and gang to ultimately free the Mummy and wait for her to destroy buildings.

The biggest problem is not the fact that the film isnt scary at all  its how rushed it feels when it comes to building the cinematic universe. Theres little mystery surrounding the identity of Crowes character  Dr Jeckyl  and theres an unintentionally hilarious scene right in his intro just to prove that he too can become a monster. And after already playing that card so early the film never gives you a memorable version of Mr Hyde  the transformation from human to monster is almost negligible, which is strange considering how much CGI is thrown into the rest of the film.

At every turn the film continuously tries to establish future movies, without focusing on improving itself as one remarkable story. The titular character itself becomes an insipid bore as a result. Boutella is nice to look at but is never threatening the way Imhotep was in the 1999 movie, and her presence is further ruined by Mr Pahlaj Nihalani who adds a giant black censored blob over her body because shes scantily clad. Crowe delivers the worst performance of his career, and Johnson appears as a ghost out of a stoner movie. Theres also a British scientist love interest (Annabelle Wallis) whose character is as exciting as a tax form.

The film also commits the grave mistake of wasting Cruises natural charisma by turning him into a set piece that neither adds nor subtracts from the story. Its probably the first time his presence doesnt make a lick of a difference to a film. Many have called it the worst Cruise film to date  I would bestow that honour to Cocktail, but this movie comes a very close second.
By Tom Miles

| GENEVA

GENEVA The world's highest court for resolving international trade disputes is clogged up with big and complex cases, and the congestion is unlikely to clear soon, its most senior member said in a speech on Thursday.Ujal Singh Bhatia, chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization, said he and his six fellow appeals judges were already dealing with five big appeals and five more were likely to land in their laps in the next six months."By the end of the year, if all five of the projected appeals materialize, there will be further delays of several months in fully staffing and taking up these appeals," Bhatia told an audience at the WTO in Geneva."This problem cannot be expected to go away by itself."The WTO is run by its 164 members, and any change to its rules or working practices needs to be agreed unanimously. Even the smallest tweak to the rules can be contentious.

Reform of the WTO's dispute settlement rules has been on the table for years, but there is no sign of progress. Bhatia said the rules were set up to ensure prompt resolution of disputes, because "in the world of commerce, time really is money". But in recent years, the system had "substantially ceded ground on this", he added.

More disputes were now being appealed, especially the more complicated ones, and more cases went on to a second stage where the parties argued over whether or not the defendant had complied with the original ruling, he said. The largest WTO cases include a dispute between the European Union and the United States over funding for aircraft giants Boeing and Airbus, and a four-country attempt to stop Australia's stringent anti-tobacco laws. Recent appeals have covered diverse areas of trade law, including environmental protection, renewable energy subsidies, tax evasion, money laundering, patent protection, food safety, animal welfare, consumer information and more, Bhatia said.

During the tobacco dispute, Australia complained that the countries that brought the litigation were deliberately holding up proceedings to discourage other countries from introducing similar anti-tobacco legislation. "To the extent that delays in dispute resolution involve delays in the assertion of the rule of law, they provide an incentive to those who benefit from those delays," Bhatia said.He added that slow resolution of disputes would encourage member countries to "look for other solutions, potentially elsewhere". (Reporting by Tom Miles; editing by Andrew Roche)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Chandigarh: The government has informed families of 39 Indians, believed to have been abducted by Islamic State militants in Iraq in 2014, that they may be in Mosul in the north of the country, a family member said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the families the government had received information that some Indian men were in Mosul, from where the 39 men had gone missing three years ago.

The minister told the family in a meeting that lasted 45 minutes the Indians seen in Mosul were in all likelihood the missing men.

The families said they had last heard from the men on 14 June, 2014, when they all called home to say they were being taken away by Islamic State fighters.

Now that Mosul, earlier in the control of the Islamic State, had been liberated, the Indian government discussed the issue of the stranded men with the Iraqi government, the family quoted Swaraj as saying.

"The Indian government has taken the matter up with the Iraqi government, which has assured it that once things become normal, they will be sent back," Gurpinder Kaur, sister of one of the missing men, Manjinder Singh, told PTI.

Kaur, a resident of Bhoewal village in Amritsar district, said this was the families' 11th meeting with the minister since the men's disappearance.

"Earlier, the government was silent on the issue. But now Swaraj has assured us that the missing people have been traced," she said.

The families asked the minister what the government was doing to bring them back.

"She told us that Iraqi forces had recaptured 90 percent of the area and the Indian men were in the area that was yet to be freed from IS militants," Gurpinder said.

Amritsar's Seema Devi, whose husband Sonu Masih is among the missing men, said they were elated when they heard that the men were safe.
New Delhi: The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), the farmers' wing of the CPM, has announced a 'rail roko' agitation in Maharashtra on 13 June, while continuing its demand to rollback the central government's "anti-farmer" cattle trade notification.

The members of the farmers wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and other activists addressed a gathering of farmers at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, pointing out the consequences the notification is going to have on the farmers' lives.

"The notification is anti-farmer. Thousands of farmers stand to lose their livelihood. This government is retracting on all its promises one by one. We will continue our struggle and launch a 'rail roko sadak roko' agitation in Maharashtra on 13 June, " said Hannan Mollah, General Secretary, AIKS.

The agitation would be joined by independent farmers and other like-minded groups.

Several other civil society members also voiced their concern saying the move would affect women as well.

"Women have been the primary caretakers of the cattle in any farming community. The notification will spell loss of livelihood for them. This is democracy. The government cannot impose such decisions on us," Mariyam Dhawle, General Secretary, All India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA) said.

She continued denouncing the government saying that the latter has not even implemented the Swaminathan Report recommendations which had suggested a Minimum Support Price (MSP) including an additional 50 percent over and above the total expenses incurred on farming.

"The central government has retracted all its promises. Look what happened in Madhya Pradesh, in Punjab and sometime back in Tamil Nadu," she added.

Another women's rights activist underlined the pro-corporate aspect of the notification.

"The notification fulfils two agenda. It will wipe out all competition from the small time farmers in cattle trading, giving a boost to industrial meat exporters. Secondly, it will bring the Muslim and Dalit community to their knees since by and large, the majority of cattle traders are from these communities," Annie Raja, General Secretary, National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) said.

She said the "notification commensurates with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's aim of making India a 'Hindu Rashtra' by 2025".

The notification was brought on 23 May under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017, banning cattle trading in markets for slaughtering. It, however, allows farmers to trade from their farms and houses.

The notification has since been challenged and a hearing is slated in the Supreme Court on 15 June on its constitutionality.
New Delhi: Comparing army chief Bipin Rawat to General Dyer, who had earned notoriety for ordering the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, is a "sad comparison", Rawat's naval counterpart Admiral Sunil Lanba said on Thursday.

Academician Partha Chatterjee, in a piece published on a news website, had drawn comparison between Rawat and Dyer after the former commended Major Leetul Gogoi's action of using a civilian as a human shield in Kashmir.

"It is a sad comparison and is uncalled for," Lanba said.

On 13 April, 1919, Dyer had ordered firing on unarmed people gathered at the Jallianwala Baug in Amritsar.

The Navy chief was speaking on the sidelines of a flag-in ceremony of Indian Naval Mountaineering Team.

In an interview, Rawat had also said that the Indian Army is fully ready for a "two-and-a-half front (China, Pakistan and internal security requirements simultaneously) war".

Lanba sought to buttress the point, saying that "the Indian armed forces are always ready for any contingency".

The Navy chief will visit Israel soon and meet chiefs of the three services of the Jewish nation. His visit comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel.

"We have an in-depth defence relationship. We will exchange notes," Lanba said, but did not elaborate further on his scheduled visit.

Reacting to a report by US Department of Defence (DoD) that China is likely to establish additional military bases in Pakistan and other countries with which it has longstanding friendly ties and similar strategic interests, he said the Navy was monitoring the development.

"It is an assessment which is there in the report. We have our own assessment and we will see what happens in the future," Lanba said.

In its annual report to the Congress on China's military build-up, the DoD said China's construction of military base in the strategic location of Djibouti is just the first of what will likely be an ongoing expansion in friendly foreign ports around the world.

"They are making their first overseas base in Djibouti. The report is an assessment of what may happen in the future.

"There is this huge CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) project which is happening. There is a port of Gwadar which is being built with Chinese assistance. Time will tell what happens in the future on whether it will be converted into a military base," Lanba said.

On China providing submarines to India's neighbours such as Bangladesh, he said it is the capability that these nations wish to aspire and the Navy is prepared in its plan to counter this.

Downplaying Chinese concerns over Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) in the disputed South China Sea, he said the annual exercise takes place in the Indian waters and the South China Sea every alternate year.

"We are going to continue to follow this process," he said.

After the drill, China had said such activities should not hurt the "interests of other countries".
New Delhi: Delhi Police's Special Cell has arrested an aide of notorious gangster Chhota Shakeel.

Sources said that Junaid Chowdhry was arrested on Wednesday night in east Delhi.

He was earlier arrested last year in June along with three others with arms and hawala money sent by Shakeel. They had been planning to kill a Hindu Sabha chief Swami Chakrapani at that time.

Chowdhry remained in jail for three-four months and was later released on bail.

He contacted Shakeel again but after his bail was cancelled, he was sent to Tihar. Later, he was again released on bail and once more got in touch with Shakeel.

Chowdhry then started carrying out the gangster's Delhi-based activities. He is currently being interrogated.
Dhanaji Jadhav, a 45-year-old debt-ridden farmer from Maharashtra's Solapur, ended his life by hanging himself from a tree near his house in Veet village on Wednesday. He left a suicide note with instructions stating, "don't cremate me till (Maharashtra) chief minister Devendra Fadnavis comes here (to visit his family)".

He also demanded loan waivers for the farmers in the note. Firstpost spoke to his father Chandrakant and brother Santosh. Here are excerpts from the interview:

What exactly happened that day?

Chandrakant Jadhav (father): He was under a lot of pressure because of debt. We were unable to repay our loans. He was following the news about the ongoing farmers' strike and listening to the statements made by political leaders about loan waivers.

He had started to lose hope and used to say that nothing will change. We had no idea about what was going on in his mind. He was not home throughout the day on Wednesday. When Dhanaji came back in the evening, his mother asked him if he wanted a cup of tea. He refused and left the house again immediately. We then went to one of our relatives' house for a while. When we came back, we found his body hanging from a tree.

What problems was he facing? What was the amount of the loan?

Santosh Jadhav (brother): My father had first taken a loan of Rs 50,000 about four-five years ago and we couldn't repay that amount. So, Dhanaji applied for another loan of Rs 50,000. We then had a total loan of Rs one lakh and despite trying hard, we couldn't repay the amount.

This loan was taken against the two acres of land we owned. My brother used to get notices from banks and a few days ago, the bank officials visited our home. Both my father and my brother were not there. Dhanaji was tense when he came to know about the visit and that might have led to his decision.

Why was he facing difficulties in repaying the loan?

Santosh: We barely get any money out of the crops we sow. This has been the situation since the last five years. We have to depend on rainfall for farming and severe drought in the state had affected the crops badly.

We spent Rs 50,000 to grow jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millets) but we barely got Rs 10,000 in return. Dhanaji even tried to plant pomegranate but the plants barely survived for a year and didn't yield any fruits. There was no income. Debt kept on increasing and income was decreasing. I had to work on a farm in a nearby village, earning daily wages. But my income was barely sufficient to take care of our daily needs. All we had was the farm land. But, because of the loan Dhanaji had taken against it, he was worried that we would lose our only source of income.

But rainfall was good this year. Didn't that help in improving the situation?

Chandrakant: We have to depend on the water released from the nearby dam along with rainfall as the quality of soil here isn't very good. But because we are far away from the source, we did not get any water. People dig canals midway and put pumps to pull out water for their farms. How will the water reach here, under these conditions?

And when these practices were uncovered, the irrigation department decided to stop the supply altogether. A lot of work was done in our village under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyaan, but how will that help if there is no water?

Was farming your only source of income?

Santosh: My father and Dhanaji used to look after the farm. I had already quit farming because we needed another source of income. But when the debts started mounting, Dhanaji and my father also started working on daily wages around the village in a hope to get some additional income.

But that did not help in repaying the loan. Dhanaji had to borrow money from nearby villagers as the banks were not ready to approve another loan. The condition was so bad that he couldn't even pay the school fees of his children. One of them is studying in Class 9th and the other in Class 12th.

The elder one had to go to Pune to work in an ice factory, in hopes of earning enough to cover his school fees. But after Dhanaji's suicide, even he has come back here. My brother was the strongest of us all and was a big support for our family. We never expected he would end his life.

Dhanaji demanded that the chief minister visit your family before his last rites are performed. The entire village called for a bandh in protest against the government. But, so far, only a guardian minister has visited. Did you get any assurances from the government?

Santosh: We spoke to Fadnavis over the phone with the help of guardian minister Subhash Deshmukh. He promised that he will ensure a loan waiver and that the government will take care of our family. He also said that the government will pay for the education of my nephews. But this was just a telephonic conversation. Despite repetitive demands, we did not get anything in writing.

So, what are you expecting now?

Santosh: The government has said that they will waive off loans for small land-holders. But, in our experience, nothing ever comes out of such announcements  they never get fulfilled. We want firm assurances. Dhanaji ended his life demanding a loan waiver for farmers. His last wish should be fulfilled. Fadnavis should keep his word.

My brother had lost faith in the government. Now we want the government to fulfil his demands.

Chandrakant: I came to know that they have announced a loan waiver. But we don't know if we will ever get those benefits.
New York: Seas cannot be turned into zones of contention, India has said as it reiterated the importance of freedom of navigation on the high seas and resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means.

"The rapid and sustained economic growth across oceans is proof that the world's economic engines are purring to a new tune in the 21st century. We must turn this into the harmony of a great choir, where each of us is an equal voice", Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said on Friday, addressing the UN Ocean Conference in the General Assembly in New York.

The Ocean Conference, which opened at the world bodys headquarters on 5 June and will wrap up on Friday, is the first ever such summit convened by the UN.

The conference focuses on the targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by Governments in 2015. It aims to presents a platform for the world to reverse the precipitous decline of the health of the oceans and seas with concrete solutions.



Addressing the conference on World Oceans Day, Akbar stressed that the 21st century will be shaped by the principles of "equality and sovereignty" and those who believe in discord have no place in a choir.

"The nations of oceans are often called small. We do not believe in small or big; every nation is sovereign. Capacities might vary, but all nations have equal rights", he said.

He emphasised that seas cannot be turned into zones of contention, adding that secure and open sea lanes are critical for peace, stability, prosperity and development.

"We cannot allow our seas to turn into zones of contention. An age of shared prosperity demands co-operation. In this context, India reiterates the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight on the high seas, unimpeded lawful commerce, as well as resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Akbar said.

Given that India has over 7,500 km of coast, more than a thousand islands and with more than a third of Indians living along the coast, Akbar said that India is acutely aware of the challenges and opportunities that oceans represent  from sustainable fisheries to prevention and control of marine litter and plastic pollution, from affordable renewable energy to eco-tourism and early warning systems for disaster risk reduction and management, building resilience and adaptation to climate change.



Warning that the negative impact of overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and climate change are becoming increasingly clear, Akbar said that the time for action is "already long overdue".

Akbar stressed that fishermen deserve to be at the core of any action plan that is arrived at in global summits such as the Ocean Conference.

"We must devise actionable means to improve their lives; to minimise the conflicts that arise from competition, and, most of all, end the exploitation that is often their fate. Our rules, regulations and laws must serve the impoverished first", he said.



He cited the ambitious Sagarmala project launched in last November in India that focuses on port modernisation, connectivity and coastal community development involving more than 400 projects over the next two decades.

He informed the global summit that India continues to expand its development partnership, especially with Small Island Developing States (SIDS). India has committed a sum of 500 million dollars as grant-in-aid and a billion dollars in soft loans for its SIDS partners over the next three years.

"India also believes that there cannot be sustainable development without sustainable engagement among blue nations. The framework for such sustainable engagement needs to be reinforced", he said.
New Delhi: An umbrella body of outfits working on land issues, the Bhoomi Adhikar Andolan on Friday burned the copies of the Centre's notification relating to cattle slaughter and demanded its withdrawal during a protest.

Farmers' body affiliated to the RSS-BJP combine too participated in the protest against the "anti-farmer" government's notification banning trade of cattle for slaughter purpose, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) claimed in a statement.

The AIKS is a farmers' body backed by the CPM.

In Delhi, the protest was held at Jantar Mantar. AIKS general secretary Hannah Mollah, its joint secretary Vijoo Krishnan, National Federation for Indian Women (NFIW) general secretary Annie Raja, All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) general secretary Mariam Dhawale and others took part in the protest here.

"The massive participation and fury denotes the deep contempt of the peasantry against the anti-farmer government

order that makes the cattle worthless.

"Even farmers belonging to RSS-BJP families participated in the protest action," the AIKS claimed.

The Andolan now mulls organising protests in more parts of the country to mount pressure on the government to rollback the notification, the statement said.

The government had last month issued the notification banning sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter.

It also prohibited practices that are cruel to animals including painting of horns and putting ornaments or decorative materials on them.

The environment ministry has notified the stringent 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017' under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
A Class IX Hindi textbook has referred to Jesus Christ as a demon. The Hindi textbook belonged to the Gujarat State School Textbook Board (GSSTB). The erroneous sentence states that stories of this 'demon' will never be forgotten. The education minister and the chairman of the textbook board have said that the error will soon be rectified. A misprint was the cause of the error, officials reportedly said, according to News 18.

The erroneous reference can be seen in chapter 16 of the textbook titled Bharatiya Sanskriti Mein Guru-Shishya Sambandh (relationship between a guru and his disciples in Indian culture).

According to The Deccan Herald, page 70 carries the error, wherein the line goes: Iss sambandh mein haivan Isa ka ek kathan sadaa smaraniya hain", which when translated, means, In the given context, words of demon Jesus shall always be remembered.

The Times of India mentioned that the Christian community flagged the error when spokesperson of the Catholic Church of Gujarat Fr Vinayak Jhadav said a month back that the error was pointed out to relevant authorities, namely the chairman of the GSSTB, the principal secretary of education and the chairman of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI).

Nitin Pethani, chairman of the Gujarat State Board of School Textbooks, said, The word haiva, a disciple of Jesus Christ, got misprinted as haivan, meaning a demon, adding that Aadam Isa and Haiva Isa were the two disciples of Christ and an n was accidentally printed in the book, as per News 18.

News 18 further mentioned that "advocate Subramaniam Iyer, who noticed the mistake, said that the error attracts section 295 (a) of the IPC, which pertains to deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class." Iyer added that although the error may be unintentional, it could lead to a rift between communities and also cause a law and order problem.

As per the report, this is not the first instance wherein such errors have been found in Gujarat textbooks. In previous instances, a textbook had claimed that Japan had dropped an atom bomb on the United States during World War II.

The Times of India reported that Class X social studies textbook contained chapters on ''Hitler, the Supremo'' and ''Internal Achievements of Nazism''.

In more instances, as per The Hindu, some social science textbooks contained the line: All south Indians are Madrasis.
COLUMBUS  Union Pacific Railroad will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the railroad reaching Columbus with a community celebration at 2 p.m. Monday.

The event includes a display of Union Pacifics historic No. 844 steam locomotive, which will serve as the backdrop for a commemorative golden spike presentation from the railroad to Mayor Jim Bulkley. It's also part of the Great Race celebration, commemorating the transcontinental railroads completion nearly 150 years ago.

A traveling 7-by-7-foot exhibit detailing the communitys railroad connection and kid-friendly photo-op backdrop are also part of the local event.

Union Pacific is proud to serve the mission given to us by our founding father, President Abraham Lincoln  to connect and support this country and the communities, like Columbus, that define it, said Kelli OBrien, director of public affairs for Union Pacific. The commemorative golden spike presentation to Mayor Jim Bulkley and the steam locomotive display dually commemorate our shared past and vibrant future together.

Settlers from Columbus, Ohio, founded the area known as Columbus, Nebraska, in May 1856. The settlers, primarily English, German, Swiss, Irish, Scandinavian, Welsh and Polish, chose the site because it would be along the route of the nation's first transcontinental railroad. Union Pacific crews reached Columbus in June 1866, and the community quickly became a service point for the railroad, providing supplies, fuel and water during construction of the railroad.

In more-recent history, on April 27, 1939, Cecil B. DeMille's train stopped in Columbus on its way to Omaha for the premier of the movie "Union Pacific" starring Barbara Stanwyck. Both Stanwyck and DeMille addressed the crowd gathered on the platform.

Steam locomotive No. 844s stop in Columbus is part of a multi-state journey from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Omaha, where it will be part of a 12-day display at Union Pacifics Home Plate, across the street from TD Ameritrade Park.

The historic locomotive is scheduled to arrive in Columbus at 2 p.m. Monday at the 26th Avenue crossing. Following remarks from Union Pacific and community leaders, the locomotive will depart at 2:30 p.m. to continue its trek east.

A tentative schedule for 844s journey is available at http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/steam/details.shtml.
Thiruvananthapuram: The one-day special Kerala Assembly session on Thursday called to discuss the Centre's new cattle trade and slaughter rules ended with a resolution being passed against it.

The resolution was passed with the lone veteran BJP legislator O Rajagopal opposing it, while the traditional rivals - the ruling CPM led Left and the Congress-led UDF jointly opposed the new central rule.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan began the daylong session by moving a resolution against the manner in which the Centre has gone ahead floating the new rule in May.

"This new rule is nothing but a blatant violation on the rights of individuals to eat what they wish and want. This new rule will hugely affect the agrarian society of our state and also our country," Vijayan said.

"To take care of a cow that has stopped giving milk, a farmer has to spend Rs 40,000. A huge majority of our society are non-vegetarians and this new law is in no way acceptable to us," the Chief Minister added.

Former Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan also slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (BJP-RSS) combine for the "senseless" new law on cattle trade and slaughter.

"This is nothing but a fraud. It has been supported by fraud Swamis for various reasons best known to them. The BJP has an agenda," Achuthanandan said.

"The need of the hour is we should encourage people to produce value added beef, through which we can earn precious export earnings. The BJP is trying to bring in corporate houses to engage in this business, and in no way can we allow our people to suffer," Achuthanandan said.

"This law should be circumvented by our own new law on this," added Achuthanandan.

Former Kerala Minister and senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said what many failed to realise was that the BJP-RSS combine has a vested agenda in bringing this new law.

"What has come to light is that major beef exporting companies in our country are based in north India and some of them are lawmakers of the BJP. This new rule is helping them to continue to increase their business. This cannot be accepted in any manner," said Radhakrishnan.

Former Kerala Minister and senior CPI leader Mulakara Ratnakaran pointed out that the BJP-RSS combine has a huge support base among thousands of "godmen", who will instantly support any such move by the BJP government.

"They support this government and their strange new radical laws because the BJP government is supporting such godmen in various ways. So it's a give and take strategy being adopted to push this specific agenda," said Ratnakaran.

BJP legislator O Rajagopal said the only objective of the daylong session was meant as publicity against the Centre.

"The Centre brought out this rule to see that for agrarian needs, healthy bovines are needed. Four months back the Centre had come out with rules with regard to preventing cruelty towards animals and at that time none came forward with suggestions. The court is the competent authority to take legal measures and it's not the role of the legislature," said Rajagopal.

In all 17 legislators spoke and the lone dissent came from Rajagopal. At the end, the House passed the resolution.
Islamabad: Pakistan has urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to expedite hearing in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

This was conveyed to ICJ president Ronny Abrahim during a meeting on Thursday with delegations from Pakistan and India to discuss the timeline of the case of alleged Indian spy Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for espionage.

The ICJ registrar and other officials were present in the meeting which lasted 45 minutes.

The court is set to announce the timetable of the hearing shortly, the News International reported.

A statement from the office of the Pakistan attorney general said the meeting was not a hearing to discuss on the substance or merits of the case, but only to discuss procedural matters, including the timelines for submission of written memorials and to enable a hearing to be listed.

Jadhav was sentenced to death on 10 April on charges of spying. However, his execution was stayed by the ICJ on 18 May on India's request.

The delegation from Pakistan was led by Pakistan attorney general Ashtar Ausaf Ali. Other members of the delegation included Foreign Office Director General for South Asia Muhammad Faisal, Foreign Office's Head of International Disputes Unit Ahmad Irfan Aslam and Pakistan's counsel Khawar Qureshi.

The statement said the ICJ president sought views of the parties as to the time required for submission of their written pleadings and supporting evidence, called memorials.

The AGP also informed the ICJ about Pakistan's intent to appoint an ad-hoc judge who will sit on the bench for all proceedings in the case, including the substantive hearing.

The statement said Indian application seeks "at least release or acquittal" of Jadhav. "As was made clear by Pakistan's counsel Khawar Qureshi QC on 15 May, India can never obtain this from the ICJ."

It said the court on 18 May made a procedural order to enable a full hearing to take place and it did not make any finding on jurisdiction or merits.

"Pakistan is fully confident that India can never succeed in its application," it said, adding that India "can never obtain acquittal or release" of Jadhav on the basis of its application to the international court.

India moved the ICJ against the death penalty on 8 May. The next day, the international court gave Jadhav, 46, a lease of life and stayed the death sentence as a provisional measure.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on 3 March last year after he reportedly entered from Iran.
An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) team on Friday left for Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur to meet the families of the farmers who were killed in police firing, but authorities said nobody would be allowed to visit the violence-hit district.

AAP leaders Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Sadhu Singh and Somnath Bharti reached Indore in the afternoon on their way to the tense Mandsaur.

But Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Manoj Singh said the AAP leaders would not be allowed to visit Mandsaur town, where curfew was partially lifted on Friday.

"We will not allow anybody to visit Mandsaur. It will create law and order situation for us," Singh said.

Five farmers, according to the government, were killed in police firing on Tuesday when hundreds of farmers staged protests, demanding debt relief and price hike of their produce.

However, farmers' association said that at least eight protesters were killed when the police opened fire at them.

The AAP said its leaders would meet the families of the victims to express solidarity.
As India focusses on the tragic deaths of farmers who died in police firing in Madhya Pradesh and the subsequent violent protests in the state, other states  Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra  have been and are in an agitation mode as well. There are state-specific issues in each case  and very real ones  but here is the larger point  no government (state or central) and no political party (whether in power or out of it) really has a clue about addressing the problems plaguing the agriculture sector and farmers.

The Narendra Modi government is probably realising that it is easier to make glib promises about doubling farmers' incomes than to deliver on it and that's simply because it's not something any central government can deliver on its own; state governments need to be on board as well. And the opposition is not realising that merely ranting about the callousness showed by the government and mindlessly repeating demands for loan waivers and procurement price hikes will not do. All it will do is expose the utter bankruptcy of ideas on their part.

The film fraternity has also got into the act. Last year, Nana Patekar and Makarand Anaspure set up a foundation to provide financial assistance to farmers and their families. Akshay Kumar also earmarked Rs 90 lakh for at least 200 farmers' families. They need to be commended for having their heart in the right place, but the problems that farmers face, need solutions. Solutions which are driven by the head as well. They need to become spokespersons for the right kind of policies instead of merely repeating what politicians say.

The violent agitations in Madhya Pradesh have been particularly shocking because just a few months earlier, the state was being toasted for its stupendous performance on the agriculture front  almost 14 percent annual growth for the past five years. But, as Shyam Ashtekar of the Shetkari Sanghatan points out, growth in yields doesn't mean growth in income. NITI Aayog's member, agriculture, Ramesh Chand, pointed out recently, that the farm income per cultivator is Rs 9,761, which means that more than half the farmers will be below the poverty line.

The pat solution proffered to deal with this problem is to increase the minimum support price (MSP) or bring more crops under its ambit. While this may be needed in some instances  like the hike in MSP for pulses last year to encourage cultivation  there are limits to this. Increase in procurement prices need to be accompanied by steps for procurement by the state, storage and processing facilities and the like. Else, if there is a glut in production, farmers will be forced into distress sales, as is happening in Maharashtra in the case of arhar dal. Out of 20 million tonnes of production, the government bought only 6 million tonnes and that too with deferred payments, Ashtekar points out.

What's more necessary is for farmers to be freed of the many shackles on where and how they sell their produce.

The Modi government has been pushing for agricultural market reforms far more aggressively than previous ones. It has had success in setting up the e-National Agricultural Market (E-NAM). Figures given out by the agriculture ministry in end-April showed that 417 regulated markets from 13 states are part of the scheme, that 42.18 lakh farmers and 89,199 traders have registered on the E-NAM portal and the turnover in 69 commodities notified for trade touched Rs 16,163 crores.

While this is a significant milestone, these are just the initial steps. E-NAM has not yet allowed farmers to trade across mandis. Electronic bidding takes place only within mandis and not even among different mandis in a state and there are reports that in many markets physical trading is being logged as electronic trading. The onus of meaningful implementation lies squarely with the state governments. That also holds true for other reforms relating to marketing, contract farming and land leasing.

But many of these will require going against entrenched vested interests and political elites. It is far easier to announce MSP hikes, even if farmers don't always get more money in their hands.

Ditto for announcement of loan waivers, which precede almost every election. The Congress always makes it a point to boast about its humungous loan waiver during the UPA-1 regime. But as agriculture economist Ashok Gulati pithily said in this article: "If a loan waiver was the solution to the problems of the peasantry, there should not have been any farm distress after 2008-09. But those problems still persist, simply because their answers lie somewhere else."

Unfortunately any criticism of agricultural loan waivers is met with whatboutery over corporate loan write-offs. But even if one concedes that both are equally harmful for the economy, there is ample evidence that loan waivers don't help even the farmers very much.

Take the case of the 2008-09 one. A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report found that 13.5 per cent of loan accounts were denied the waiver though they were eligible for it, while as much as Rs 20.5 crore was spent on waiving debts of non-eligible farmers. Worse, many of them had taken loans for non-agricultural purposes. Debt waiver receipts were not issued, records were tampered in over 2,000 cases with claims totalling Rs 8.6 crore. Eminent agricultural economists like Abhijit Sen and S. Mahendra Dev have cautioned against indiscriminate loan waivers.

The late Sharad Joshi, who set up Shetkari Sanghatan and was an ardent advocate of freeing agriculture of all government regulation, was in favour of loan waivers and restructuring of loans because, he argued, government policies were responsible for pushing farmers into debt. "Whatever a farmer sows, ultimately he reaps debt," he used to say. That is why he was also in favour of waiving electricity dues of farmers. Give farmers freedom and they will not need waivers of loans or electricity dues waivers and would even be ready to pay income tax.

Unfortunately, politicians talk of only one part of what Joshi advocated - the waivers - and completely ignored the call for freeing agriculture. That is why Chand, in his address quoted earlier, railed against political populism spoiling farmers even as there is little progress on marketing reforms.

The laundry list of what is needed to be done to better the lot of farmers is well known but there is little action on this. And that is simply because the returns on populism are immediate and that on investment in infrastructure, extension and research and even marketing reforms come with a lag. When advised to undertake some agricultural reforms, the chief minister of a northern state where agriculture was ailing is supposed to have asked - when will I see the results. When told it will take some years to see the benefits, he dismissed the suggestions and wanted new ones which will show results and get him votes in a few months.

If political parties of all hues are genuinely interested in the plight of farmers, they will sit down together and work out short term and long term solutions. Unfortunately, most of them are like the chief minister mentioned above. The farmer, unfortunately, will be nothing more than a political plaything.

Click here to follow live blog on farmers' unrest in Madhya Pradesh
Mandsaur: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliated farmers' union Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) agrees with the opinion that the violent outburst among the farmers in Madhya Pradesh, that has led to a large-scale destruction of public property and death of six farmers, was all but inevitable. However, the farmers' body doesn't approve of the violent means adopted by the farmers in the state.

Speaking at length with Firstpost, the all-India vice-president of BKS, Prabhakar Kelkar, said that the union  a body with a strength of 20 lakh  which works at the ground-level amongst the farmers, has seen how their anger got accumulated due to a failure in implementation of policies of the government.

In an earlier interaction with Firstpost, during a day-long demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in April, Kelkar, who has been a senior pracharak in the RSS, had cautioned and foretold that 'if the demands of the farmers across the country was unheard by the government, it might take the shape of a stronger large-scale agitation across the country'.

Excerpts from the interview:

How were you so confident that the farmers' agitation would become stronger, aggressive and spread across the country?

Bharatiya Kisan Sangh works at the ground-level amongst the farmers for their issues. Wherever we visited, we found deep frustration and anger amongst the farmers. It was reaching a boiling point and somewhere it had to explode. Unfortunately, it happened in Mandsaur.

Do you approve of the violent means employed by the farmers?

Personally, neither I nor our organisation approves to such violent means. But, it was an outcome of an accumulated anger that the farmers have been harbouring within themselves. It was inevitable and was bound to happen. We had cautioned the government several times and apprised them about the deteriorating condition of the farmers and the agricultural sector.

The new generation young farmers are impatient. The income of farmers is declining and instead of being a 'profitable venture'  as promised by the government  it has turned into a ghaate ka sauda (bad deal).

What factors precipitated this large-scale agitation?

Though Madhya Pradesh has witnessed growth in agricultural production, the income of farmers has gone down drastically. The farmers in this state are unable to get the right price for pulses, gram, mustard, potato, onion etc.

There are several factors. First, the farmers have failed to get the right price for their produce. They are not getting the minimum support price (MSP) for their produce. At grain mandis, the traders are buying at a much lesser price. Second, considering the forthcoming monsoon, the farmers are compelled to sell at a lower price  because he needs to buy seeds, fertilisers, etc. If the government has announced MSP, it should also ensure buying crops from farmers at that price. The absence of an effective buying mechanism has compelled farmers to go for a distress sale.

Third, in spite of the fact that there has been a bumper production of Tuar dal (pulses), the government imported it in large quantities. As a result, the domestic produce has failed to get the right price. There is an export-import imbalance. The Ministry of Agriculture and Civil Supplies department are unaware of the ground realities.

Fourth, at mandis, the traders are exploiting farmers by delaying their payments against the sale of crops on the pretext of payments made by cheques.

Fifth, the BJP, in its election manifesto, had promised that it would implement Swaminathan committees formula under which the MSP would be the total cost of production plus 50 percent of the weighted average. But, it didnt happen.

Sixth, the government doesn't have the budget to buy produce from farmers; resultantly, traders and middlemen have been exploiting farmers.

There is a fault in state government's policy as well. For example, it announced Moong as a third crop and put it in the commercial category. There's bumper production of Moong this year but, due to this policy, the farmers failed to get the right price.

There are several other issues bothering the farmers. The government talked about doubling farmers' income. Instead, it has virtually been halved. Disillusionment, frustration, anger and trust deficit, all got compounded and resulted in this large-scale violent agitation.

During the initial phase of the farmers' agitation, that began on 1 June, BKS was a part of it along with other farmer unions but later withdrew. Why?

The decision was taken by our state unit. Probably, they felt that the movement was getting directionless and decided to withdraw. The way this agitation has got murkier proves that there was a lack of unanimity between the unions.

The agitation has now turned into hooliganism and the common man has been attacked. Life in this western belt of Madhya Pradesh has come to a sudden halt.

Do you see any conspiracy of political forces behind this act?

Politics comes later, especially in this farmers' agitation. The basic reason of this violent outburst, as I have told, is the growing anger among farmers. They needed an outlet and it took an unfortunate turn. How long can a poor farmer continue fighting for his rights? However, there are opportunists who have now jumped into the fray to fulfil their ulterior motives. There are hooligans, too, who want take advantage of this agitation under the garb of protecting farmers. Farmers may have angst within themselves but they cant resort to criminal acts of this kind.

In spite of the Madhya Pradesh government's assurances to the farmers, this agitation is spreading beyond Mandsaur. How do you see this?

In the last 10 years, the condition of agriculture has improved in Madhya Pradesh. But, due to the government's failure to redress the grievances of farmers and non-implementation of several measures announced by the state government, the farmers have lost faith in the government. Assurances wont do. The government needs to act faster. The agitation is not only spreading to other districts of western Madhya Pradesh but in other states as well.

What is your opinion on waiving loans of farmers?

The newly formed Uttar Pradesh government under Yogi Adityanath announced loan waivers to farmers. This led to farmers from other parts demanding the same. Maharashtra government has also announced that a committee would study the modalities of the loan waiver scheme. Now, this fire will spread in other states as well. How can a decision taken by Uttar Pradesh, be replicated for the rest of India?

The UPA government waived loans of farmers; but its not a permanent solution. I feel that instead of waiving the loan, the government should ensure that a farmer can utilise the said amount for purchasing seeds, fertiliser and agricultural inputs for his benefit.

Considering the present situation, what's your suggestion to the state and central governments?

As we had proposed earlier, Members of Parliament have to rise above petty politics and chalk out a comprehensive roadmap for the next 25 years and devise a national policy by calling a special Parliament session, so that the decline in agricultural growth and impoverishment of farmers can be prevented. We have sent this proposal to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.

Meanwhile, the state government has to patiently hear from the farmers by visiting village panchayats. Proper dialogue has to be initiated with various stakeholders. They should ensure that any kind of assurances made now, need to be implemented in word and spirit. The government has to take responsibility and mere promises won't work anymore.
Bhopal: Facing heat over farmers' agitation, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday said he will sit on a fast on Saturday at the Dussehra Maidan in the state capital and hear the grievances of the cultivators.

The chief minister said the state government will bring in a loan-settlement scheme for farmers who defaulted on the repayment of their loans. There are 25 percent farmers across Madhya Pradesh who have failed to repay their loans, he said. "I will sit on a fast in the open and run my government so that farmers can approach me for discussion," Chouhan said.

Chouhan, who appealed for peace, said the government will deal sternly with anti-social elements who are resorting to violence amid the farmers' agitation.

He said the government has constituted a Rs 1,000 crore price stabilisation fund to help farmers secure a better price for their crops.

An Agricultural Cost and Marketing Commission will also be set up by the state government to ensure better prices for farm produce vis-a-vis the crop cost, Chouhan said.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since 1 June, seeking loan waiver and higher prices for the farm produce among other things amid widespread violence including several incidents of arson.

On 6 June, five protesters were killed in police firing in Mandsaur district, the epicentre of the agitation.
Nagpur: Workers of the Congress on Friday held a demonstration against Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Fetri village, adopted by him under 'Dattak Gram Yojana' in the district, demanding a complete loan waiver for farmers.

Meanwhile, workers of the BJP held a counter-protest near the venue of the Congress' sit-in demonstration.

Farmers in Maharashtra launched protests for various demands, including a complete loan waiver, on 1 June.

Police stepped up security in the village in view of the protests held by both the parties.

While the BJP workers were led by Hingna MLA Sameer Meghe, Youth Congress leader Kunda Raut spearheaded the Congress protest.

Meghe alleged that Congress was doing only drama and was trying to derive a political mileage of the loan waiver issue by staging the protest at the village adopted of the chief minister.

"The chief minister has already announced a loan waiver for small and marginal farmers," he said.

Raut said the demonstration was organised in a peaceful manner in support of a complete loan waiver for farmers.

"We didn't gather here to level allegations against anybody," she said.
Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh): A 26-year-old farmer died in Badavan village of violence-hit Mandsaur district, with locals alleging that was beaten up by policemen. However, police said the circumstances of his death were unclear and they were investigating the matter.

Ghanashyam Dhakad was on his way to a temple last evening when some policemen stopped him and thrashed him with sticks, villagers claimed. The farmer was taken to the MY hospital in Indore where he died, they said.

Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh and collector Swatantra Kumar Singh reached the spot today and talked to villagers there. The collector said the cause of his death was being investigated. Angry villagers in the area claimed that they were being beaten up and arrested by the police without cause. The SP assured them that their grievances would be looked into.

Former Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan, who is at the spot, said she would meet the SP to demand compensation for the deceased farmer. Violence has rocked the district after five farmers were killed in police firing in the district on Tuesday.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ( MDMK) chief V Gopalswamy, better known as Vaiko, on Friday was stopped at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and questioned for several hours on his alleged links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), reports said. Vaiko he was also denied entry into Malaysia, according to ANI.

MDMK Chief Vaiko denied entry into Malaysia, stopped at Kuala Lumpur Airport, questioned for several hours on his alleged links with LTTE. pic.twitter.com/I1KRESGFW7  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

As per another ANI tweet, Vaiko was invited by Penang's deputy chief minister Ramasamy Palanisamy:

Vaiko was invited by Malaysian state Penang's deputy CM Ramasamy Palanisamy to attend his daughter's wedding on June 10.  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

The party stated that when Vaiko landed at the Kuala Lumpur airport Friday morning, immigration authorities told him that he had been banned from entering the country since his name figured "in the list of persons dangerous to Malaysia." Officials told him that "he belonged to the LTTE in Sri Lanka," and quizzed him over the outfit, the party said.

When Vaiko was told that there were "several cases against him in Sri Lanka," he denied it and told them that he was an Indian citizen and showed them his passport too.

According to The Times of India, several officials questioned Vaiko and his passport was seized. Vaiko was stopped at Kuala Lumpur airport at 6.30 am. The officials there told him that he could not enter the country since he had connections with the LTTE. The MDMK chief will be sent back to India in a flight that reaches Chennai at 10.45 pm on Friday, The Times of India reported further.

Despite Ramasamy and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's efforts, officials did not permit the pro-Tamil leader to enter Malaysia, saying they "have got an order from the office of Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister," the party stated.

It is uncertain whether the detention could turn into a diplomatic incident, particularly since the invitation was received by Vaiko from a state-level elected representative of the Malaysian people, as reported by The International Business Times.

Earlier, in 2009, the MDMK chief was granted bail in a sedition case. A case against Vaiko was registered under IPC sections 124 (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, place of birth, residence, language). Later, Vaiko was then lodged in the Central Prison in Chennai. Financial Express reported that back then Vaiko refused to apply for bail although the magistrate had offered to release him. Hence, he was remanded in judicial custody.

In 2014, NDA ally, MDMK chief Vaiko and pro-Tamil outfits were seen celebrating the 60th birth anniversary of slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. Other pro-Tamil leaders like Kolathur Mani issued celebratory messages on the occasion. Police said that several workers of MDMK were detained in Namakkal and Tirupur when an attempt was made to celebrate the birthday in important road junctions of the town without permission.

According to a previous article by Firstpost, Vaiko, to establish his own space, wanted to gain popularity on the basis of LTTEHe wanted the LTTEs support, since Tamil Nadu people are emotional, and they were behind the LTTEHe (Vaiko) even violated the law and came here and met Prabhakaran.
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Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has given in to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pressure, issuing a directive that residents of the state would not be eligible to become police officers, with deputy inspector general (DIG) ranks and above, unless their names were cleared by the Centre.

Following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Mehbooba, an order was issued by the state home department that renamed Kashmir Police Services as Jammu and Kashmir Police Service (JKPS) and spelled out new eligibility criteria for Inspector General (IG) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) posts  to make local police cadre officers ineligible for them.

As per the new cadre revision of the JKPS, it was made necessary that officers will be promoted to the rank of DIG and above level only after they are inducted into the Indian Police Service (IPS) by the Centre, in consultation with the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

State's home department, which is headed by Mehbooba, had earlier proposed that parity be brought in the police and administrative service in the state and officers who are appointed through local cadre be elevated to the ranks of DIGs and IGs without being inducted into the IPS.

However, BJP opposed the proposal in a cabinet meeting  from which Mehbooba walked out  following which a cabinet subcommittee was constituted by the state government comprising ministers from both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and BJP, to sort out the differences.

Even as PDP ministers pressed for reserving DIG and IG posts for Kashmir Police officers, the committee  which was headed by BJP minister Chander Prakash Ganga  recommended that DIG and IG level posts be earmarked for IPS officers only. Mehbooba relented and agreed in the cabinet meeting held recently.

BJP saw the new order as a vindication of its stand to revoke Article 370  that grants special autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir  to enable the people from outside to get employed in the state and own properties as well.

The BJP had also been opposing the nomenclature used for the local police service  as Kashmir Police service  and got it renamed to Jammu and Kashmir Police service. The party had bagged all seats in the Hindu-majority Jammu region on the plank that governments representing Muslim-dominated Kashmir had discriminated against the Jammu region.

As per the home department order, the local cadre officers in the Gazette service would begin as deputy superintendents of police in the junior scale and rise up to the super time scale position. However, six posts which were of the DIG and IG rank and figure in the super time scale pay grade one and two will now be re-designated. The posts of DIG Vigilance, DIG Home Guards, Divisional Commandant Home Guards and Civil Defence and IGP Civil-Military Liason and IGP Human Rights will now be re-designated.

BJP chief spokesman, Sunil Sethi, said that the party had been pressing for the appointment of DIG and IG rank officers only after IPS induction. "What is wrong if the officers get inducted into IPS and then become eligible for the DIG and IG rank posts? They are judged on their abilities and also follow certain criteria,'' he said.

Local police officers, who didn't wish to be named, however, said that the order was discriminatory. "After 1999, none of the police officers has been inducted into IPS from Jammu and Kashmir," a local officer said.

According to officials, as many as 50 positions of IPS reserved for Jammu and Kashmir remain vacant as the government has not been able to fix the seniority of the local officers due to the row between those who were directly employed as DSP rank officers and those who were promoted.

For nearly 15 years, from 1984 till 1999, Kashmir Police services exams were not held and the vacancies were only filled by promoting inspector-rank officers. But after 1999, when the first batch of the DSPs was appointed by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC), inspector-rank officers who got promoted as DSPs moved court contending that they deserve better chances of promotion as they were senior to new DSPs. The row has not been settled as of now.

But the new government order to rename the cadre and fix new eligibility criteria has even left the senior officers in a fix. "As per the new orders, two senior local cadre officers in super time scale would have to swap positions every few years, when they become eligible for transfers. This is a mockery of the rules," a top government official said.

Local police officers said that they see the government proposal to appoint only IPS officers to DIG and above positions as a directive that they "can't be trusted for sensitive posts to deal with law and order problems."

"In the IPS cadre, a number of factors are checked including a clearance from different security agencies,'' said an official, adding that in the new cadre review, monetary benefits would be given to very few officers in the junior ranks.

"Only 25 percent of the junior scale posts are eligible for non-functional selection grade, in which officers will receive higher monetary benefits but will not get promoted to the higher rank. It should have been at least made 50 percent," an official said.

Unlike the local administrative service officers in the Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) cadre, for whom there is no bar on their promotion and they can even rise up to the level of Secretaries without being inducted into the IAS, the clearance of IPS for even lower rank posts of DIG has left the officers miffed.

State revenue minister, AR Veeri, said that the government has tried to help out the local officers by fixing their cadre. "We need to do more so that the promotional avenues of the local cadre officers improve," he said.
Raipur: BJP president Amit Shah on Friday said the NDA government has proved that it can simultaneously develop villages and industry, and not even the opposition can accuse it of corruption after three years.

He was speaking at the inauguration of `Modi Fest', an exhibition showcasing achievements of three years of Narendra Modi-led government, at Gauss Memorial grounds in Raipur.

"Earlier, it would be asked whether the government of the day was pro-farmers or pro-industry. But the Modi government has proved that it can develop farmers as well as the industry," Shah said.

"This government has completed three years, but neither the media nor the opposition can accuse it of corruption. This is a transparent and decisive government," Shah said.

The NDA government is aiming to bring not just economic reforms but an economic transformation, he said.

"This government has ensured construction of toilets, availability of gas cylinders in the houses of poor. The poor now have bank accounts," he said.

"Modi has presented a development model based on inclusive growth which aims at taking development to everyone in the society. India has become the fastest growing economy in the world under the Modi-led BJP government," he said.

"Through Yoga day, this government increased the prestige of the country and its traditions," he said.

A befitting reply was given to Pakistan through the surgical strikes, he added.

In UPA government, "every minister considered himself to be the prime minister", the BJP chief said.

"People then waited for long to hear the prime minister (Manmohan Singh). He had to wait for a call from 10 Janpath (Congress president's residence) before saying anything," Shah said, in a jibe at the Congress-led regime.
Around 10,000 hectares of land, most if it homestead and farms, is being acquired for the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway, to bring "prosperity" to the poorer regions of eastern Maharashtra. But the agitating farmers in Nashik are sceptical about the promised prosperity.

I grew 25 trucks full of onions this season. But my farmland will be taken away to build the Samruddhi Expressway. I will lose everything, says Ananda Kalunge, one of the 3,000 farmers in Nashik whose farmlands are set to be acquired by the government under the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway Project.

At a projected cost of Rs 46,000 crore, the expressway is being touted as a logistical, industrial, tourism, and communication corridor that would trigger economic and industrial opportunities for the poorer districts of eastern Maharashtra.

Maharashtra has seen over 700 farmers committing suicide since January this year. The worst hit are the regions of Vidarbha and Marathwada  the poorer districts that the expressway seeks to connect to the more prosperous regions of the state. Since the beginning of June, farmers across the state have been agitating with a list of demands from the government  farm loan waivers, minimum price guarantee for produce, free provisions for electricity and irrigation are some of their major demands. The agitations have often taken a violent turn, and truckloads of produce have been dumped by the farmers in a show of protest. To pacify the farmers, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced the biggest farm loan waiver even as farmers, particularly in the districts of Nashik and Kolhapur continue their agitation.

The farmers discontent has been simmering across the state for a while. On the one hand, three consecutive droughts in Maharashtra led to massive crop failures and forced farmers to borrow heavily, under severely exploitative terms from informal money lenders. The process was further exacerbated by the governments move to demonitise the cash economy in November 2016. The farmers couldnt plant crops at the right time due to shortage of cash. The farmers of Nashik, generally a prosperous lot, with larger land holdings and cultivating some of the most commercially viable crops, were also affected. In April, a grape farmer from the district committed suicide.

Nashik is the largest producer of onions in the country and exports large amounts of both grapes and onions to Europe. As of February, onion prices had dropped to Re 1 per kilograms.

Added to these woes came the bid by the government to forcibly acquire land, from 353 villages in Nashik district for the Samruddhi Expressway. Raju Deshle, president of the Shetkari Sangthan, a local farmers association informed community correspondent Maya Khodve that of these, 70 villages are inhabited by adivasis. This is a violation of the traditional land rights guaranteed to the indigenous people under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA 1996) which mandates that local gram sabhas need to approve of any project that involves land acquisition. The government is using the Land Acquisition Act of 2013 which offers compensation for the land acquired. Land being acquired in Nashik produce multiple crops and some are orchards producing grapes and pomegranates. As Deshle points out, under the provision of the act, land that produces two crops or are orchards, require 70 percent of the farmers to consent before acquisition can proceed.

Not only is the government violating multiple legal provision, it is also bulldozing an entire way of life and livelihoods in the name of "prosperity". Neeta Pawar has tears in her eyes as she recounts her struggle to build her house. I don't have much land, I bought three thousand square feet of land to build my house. And now I am going to lose both my house and my farm. We work hard the whole day and spend the night in sorrow, she says. In her neighbouring village, Kalunge adds, The officials told me this Samruddhi (prosperity) Expressway is the chief ministers dream project. I am very sad, he seeks to fulfill his dreams by crushing ours.

The expressway is touted as one of Indias biggest public infrastructure projects, but what kind of prosperity is it promising? Government officials have cited the example of Mumbai-Pune Expressway as new opportunities for employment creation. Radhesham Mopalwar, vice-chairman and managing director of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, has cited industrial and IT hubs along the Pune Expressway as the kind of development the government is envisioning for Marathwada and Vidarbha replacing farming as a livelihood option.

But how does the government expect farmers to get employment in IT industry exactly? Or are the farmers entirely dispensable in the scheme of bringing prosperity to the region?

Kachru Patil, a farmer from Igatpuri in Nashik points out that the new expressway is only shorter by 3 kilometres in comparison with the existing road. Why does the government need to acquire thousands of hectares of land, destroying so many livelihoods for that? No one wants to listen to us farmers. The government should think before it crosses all limits of injustice, Patil adds.

The farmers agitation saw top dailies and the social media aflame with debates about food wastage as vegetable and milk prices skyrocketed in urban areas following the farmers refusal to sell their produce. How, then, can the government be so shortsighted to treat the primary food producers with so much disdain? In the name of bringing "prosperity" the government is destroying food security in the region, paving the way for yet more farmer suicides. The continued and forcible impoverishment of farmers in Maharashtra is no way to usher in prosperity. The farmers in Nashik are continuing their agitation, but will the urban middle classes think beyond the price of their daily vegetables and join in their fight for justice?

Firstpost is publishing this piece in association with Video Volunteers.
New Delhi: The competence of Parliament to make a provision mandatory under the Income Tax law for curbing black money, tax evasion and money laundering cannot be questioned only because Aadhaar is not mandatory under the statute, the Supreme Court said on Friday.

It is the prerogative of Parliament to make a particular provision "directory" in one statute and mandatory in the other, it said.

The observations came while dealing with the contentions advanced that the government cannot make Aadhaar mandatory under the Income Tax Act when the Aadhaar Act itself has stated that it is voluntary.

"For achieving the said purpose, viz, to curb black money, money laundering and tax evasion etc, if Parliament chooses to make the provision mandatory under the Income Tax Act, the competence of Parliament cannot be questioned on the ground that it is impermissible only because under the Aadhaar Act, the provision is directory in nature," a bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said.

"After all, the Aadhaar Act is not a mother Act. Two laws, i.e. Aadhaar Act on the one hand, and the law in the form of section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, on the other hand, are two different stand alone provisions/laws and validity of one cannot be examined in the light of provisions of other Acts," the apex court said.

The bench noted the Aadhaar Act has been enacted to enable the government identify individuals for delivery of benefits, subsidies and services under various welfare schemes.

"This is so mentioned in section seven of the Aadhaar Act which states that proof of Aadhaar number is necessary for receipt of such subsidies, benefits and services.

"At the same time, it cannot be disputed that once a person enrols himself and obtains Aadhaar number as mentioned in section three of the Aadhaar Act, such Aadhaar number can be used for many other purposes," it said.

It said Aadhaar number becomes the unique identity of a person and it is clear that there is no provision in this Act which makes enrolment compulsory.

"May be, for the purpose of obtaining benefits, proof of Aadhaar card is necessary as per section seven of the Act. Proviso to section seven stipulates that if an Aadhaar number is not assigned to enable an individual, he shall be offered alternate and viable means of identification for delivery of the subsidy, benefit or service," the bench noted.

The bench also observed that according to the Centre and the UIDAI, the requirement of obtaining Aadhaar is voluntary.

"The contention that since enrolment under Aadhaar Act is voluntary, it cannot be compulsory under the Income Tax Act, cannot be countenanced," it said.

The bench also noted that the purpose behind enacting section 139AA of the Income Tax Act is to check the menace of black money as well as money laundering and also to widen the income tax net so as to cover those persons who are evading tax payment.

"In the process, the Constitution Bench is also called upon to decide as to whether Right to Privacy is a part of Article 21 of the Constitution at all. Therefore, no final decision has been taken.

"In a situation like this, it cannot be said that Parliament is precluded from or it is rendered incompetent to pass such a law," it said.

Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of income tax returns and making application for allotment of PAN with effect from 1 July 2017.
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena, which has consistently been pushing for RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the next president, on Friday said a "Hindutva rubber stamp" should be installed at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Shiv Sena, the BJP's oldest ally, said the nation needs a person who can seal its fate as a 'Hindu Rashtra' and who can resolve issues like the "Ram mandir" and Article 370.

"So far, rubber stamps with secular credentials resided at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Now, to resolve the issues of Ram Mandir, Uniform Civil Code and Article 370 of the Constitution, it is required that a Hindutva rubber stamp assumes the post of president," an editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said.

The Sena has repeatedly said that its choice for the the highest office is the RSS chief. Bhagwat, 66, however, has said he is not interested in the president's post.

With the presidential contest, if required, scheduled to be held on 17 July, the BJP is hopeful of securing the support of the Shiv Sena's contingent of 18 MPs and 63 MLAs.

The BJP's oldest pro-Hindutva ally has been playing hardball over the issue so far.

It said that according to calculations on paper, 23 constituents of the NDA have 48 per cent vote share for the president's post among themselves while the UPA, with its 17 constituents, has 26 per cent vote.

The Shiv Sena, which had embarrassed BJP in the last two presidential elections by backing rival candidates, on Thursday said it may take an "independent" stand in the upcoming poll.

It had in the 2012 presidential poll backed UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee while the BJP supported P A Sangma for the post.

In 2007 as well, the Shiv Sena ignored NDA's presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and instead voted for UPA candidate Pratibha Patil, who hailed from Maharashtra.

Praising President Pranab Mukherjee, the Shiv Sena said people like him and Dr A P J Abdul Kalam have ensured that the honour of the post is maintained.

"Though Pranab Mukherjee hails from the Congress lineage, he has been an able and a strong president. His wide experience in various fields has proved immensely beneficial for the country," said the editorial
Nagpur: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday hit out at the US for its decision to exit the Paris climate deal.

"Those who talk about coordinating development with environment were recently seen exiting... When their country's selfish interests are affected, they move out..like the Paris deal," Bhagwat said.

"The Hindu community and the Hindu nations pursue these roads even at the cost of their personal loss. India lives for the world. It is the guru (mentor) of the world. India should stand up take its responsibility, which it had left earlier," Bhagwat said.

US president Donald Trump recently announced that the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gasses will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, saying the deal agreed by more than 190 nations unfairly benefited countries like India and China.

"Many countries can become super power. Even India can become a super power and it should strive to become a super power so as to become a vishwa guru (world leader)," he said.

The RSS chief said some elements, whose selfish interests were hit by the rise of the Hindu community across the world over, were creating obstacles, dividing the society, wreaking havoc in some way or the other.

Bhagwat was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the RSS training programme in Nagpur.
New Delhi: It is well known that human gut is home to hundreds of bacteria. Now a group of Indian scientists have isolated an edible bacterium that promises to help deal with vitamin-B12 deficiency.

Researchers from National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) at Karnal have isolated two novel strains of food-grade bacteria called Lactobacillus plantarum, which produces vitamin B12, after screening close to 59 strains using a new screening method. The vitamin-producing strains have been isolated from mothers milk and childs faecal matter.

Dr Bharat Bhushan, a member of the research team told India Science Wire that both the strains are safe for human consumption in the form of any food formulation. The vitamin B12 producer bacteria isolated from human milk sample highlights the positive role of breastfeeding for healthy gut of infants, he added.

B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that has a key role in normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and formation of red blood cells. It is involved as a cofactor in a variety of enzymatic reactions in humans and its deficiency causes haematological, neurological, psychiatric and cardiovascular manifestations. It is estimated that B12 deficiency is common in Indian population and its supplementation in the form of food or other product could help alleviate the situation.

Researchers said the use of vitamin-producing edible micro-organisms will be advantageous as it will offer a natural and economically sustainable alternative to elevating vitamin concentration in food. Such novel vitamin B12 producing strains can be exploited in future for increasing B12 content of the deficient food bases using bio-fortification strategy, researchers said.

Besides Dr Bhushan, the research team included Dr Sudhir Kumar Tomar and Dr Surajit Mandal.
Astana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Thursday exchanged pleasantries at a cultural gala in Astana, amid frosty bilateral ties, deadlocked talks and escalation of hostilities along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

It was the first encounter between Modi and Sharif after their last meeting in Lahore on 25 December, 2015, when the Indian prime minister made a surprise stopover at the historic city.

Modi and Sharif are here to attend the summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) where India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the bloc on Friday.

Official sources said Modi and Sharif were in the Leaders Lounge at the Astana Opera tonight before the SCO concert where they exchanged greetings.

Since it was the first occasion when the two leaders came across each other after Sharif's operation, PM Modi enquired about his health. He also enquired about Sharif's mother and family, a top source said. Sharif had undergone an open-heart surgery in June 2016.

The brief exchange of words between the two prime ministers came at a time when bilateral ties have nosedived over a range of issues including beheading of two soldiers by Pakistan military along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and death sentence given to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan on charges of spying.

The International Court of Justice has stayed Jadhavs execution.

The Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed rising tension.

In December 2015, Modi had made a surprise stopover at Lahore on his way back home after a day-long trip to Afghanistan which was the first visit to Pakistan by an Indian premier in more than 10 years.

However, positivity from Modis visit was shortlived as Pakistan-based terror groups carried out an attack on Pathankot base of Indian Air Force base on 2 January, 2016.

Earlier, asked whether there is a possibility of a bilateral meeting between Modi and Sharif, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said neither Pakistani side has requested for it nor India has any proposal for such a meeting.

He said there were couple of moments when leaders were at the same place, adding he was not aware whether they met.

Modi, Sharif, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping were among top leaders who attended the reception hosted by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

At the cultural evening, both Modi and Sharif were sitting apart.

The cultural event had a Kathak dance performance by an Indian team. It was the only performance from a country which is not yet member of the SCO.

Earlier in the day, when asked whether he will have a meeting with Modi, Sharif, before leaving for the reception, only smiled and waved at the media persons, which many interpreted as an indication of a possible meeting or at least a pull-aside between the two leaders.
Astana: India and China on Friday acknowledged that they have differences on issues like One Belt One Road, Nuclear Suppliers Group and Masood Azhar which have to be addressed seriously by them even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that sovereignty and regional integrity should be respected on connectivity, in remarks that come against the backdrop of opposition to Beijing's One Belt, One Road initiative.

Modi met Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit and held discussions on a range of issues, including China's reservations over India's entry into the NSG and UN sanctioning of Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar.

"The sense of the meeting was that the two countries have great benefit, great interest in working with each other and we will have differences. But where we have differences, how do we work through those differences, find common ground where they are possible. And also a sense that wherever we have concerns, each side will look at it with a degree of seriousness," Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said while briefing the media about the talks between the two leaders.

He was asked about the various areas of differences between the two countries including India's reservations on OBOR, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Beijing's opposition to India's membership of the NSG and UN sanctions on Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar.

Jaishankar said the broad thrust of the meeting was that at a time of global uncertainty, India-China relations are a factor of stability.

"I think there was also an understanding that where we have differences, it was important that these differences should not become disputes and, in fact, if they were handled well, they could even be opportunities," he said.

On India keeping away from the OBOR forum, the foreign secretary said there was discussion on connectivity and how the two countries could work together. In fact, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BCIM corridor came up for discussion, he said.

With Xi listening to him, Modi, in his speech at the summit, made oblique reference to India's concerns over OBOR and CPEC saying sovereignty and regional integrity should be respected while Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whose country is partnering with China, hailed the project.

"For connectivity initiatives and for success and approval of the projects, sovereignty and regional integrity must be respected while inclusivity and sustainability are essential," Modi said.

Avoiding any direct reference to OBOR and CPEC, he said India joining the International North South Transport Corridor and the Chabahar port agreement and the decision to join the Ashgabat Agreement will bring India closer to these places.

Sharif said the Belt and Road Initiative transforms the global economic landscape. "And in Pakistan we are diligently implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is the flagship of the BRI. What is more, these mega projects will benefit the entire SCO community," he said.

The issue of terror also figured at the summit. Amidst the ongoing India-Pakistan chill, Modi called for coordinated and strong efforts to fight terror and radicalisation, particularly recruitment, training and financing, giving a veiled message to Islamabad.

"Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values. The fight against terrorism is an important part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is not possible to find a solution," Modi said.

On Thursday night, Modi and Sharif exchanged pleasantries at a cultural function hosted by Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev. The informal interaction came 17 months after Modi's surprise stop over in Lahore to greet Sharif on his birthday and attend a pre-marriage function at his residence on 25 December, 2015.

Hailing the SCO's efforts in the fight against terror, Modi expressed the hope that the eight-member Eurasian bloc will give a new direction and strength to this fight.

Sharif, whose speech followed that of Modi, said: "We fully endorse the SCO's resolve to fight the twin evils of terrorism and extremism."

"Pakistan has fought its own fierce war in the fight against international terrorism and, with the grace of God, it has been able to achieve a turnaround in the security and economic situation in our country," Sharif said.
Astana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and conveyed India's firm support to the war-ravaged country in "resolutely and effectively" combating the challenge of terrorism.

The Prime Minister strongly condemned the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan, and expressed India's sincere condolences on loss of hundreds of innocent lives.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

The two leaders discussed the current situation in Afghanistan with specific reference to fighting terrorism, and promoting peace, stability and reconciliation in the country.

"Modi highly appreciated the sacrifices made by the brave Afghan people and assured President Ghani that 1.25 billion Indians stood by the friendly people of Afghanistan in resolutely and effectively addressing the challenge of terrorism imposed on that country, sources said.

Both leaders agreed that India's entry into the SCO as a full member on Friday would promote closer cooperation within the bloc, including in fighting terrorism, they said.
To the editor:

The Nebraska Rod and Custom Tour Nebraska rolled through Columbus on Sunday, June 4, at 8 a.m. with ease thanks to all the help from the Columbus Police Department and Civil Defense workers. A great showing for Columbus  we are extremely appreciative of the support and Columbus should be proud of their efforts to help guests. This is the spirit that is rural Nebraska.

While we have many logistics to cover, we found that the six stoplights which would have delayed our tour were not considered at the last minute. One of our members contacted your police department just a week ahead of time and they found a way to make it work. We also appreciate the work of the media in getting word out on our arrival time and route. There was a fantastic greeting from residents and one of our tour members from Columbus even had his own fan club there with signs.

Our tour contained 480 vehicles with participants from all surrounding states, Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas and even Michigan. Nebraska has left a wonderful impression on these guests. It is hard to define the good life in Nebraska, but you sure know it when you see.

Gary Hedman

President

Nebraska Rod and Custom Association

To the editor:

As a member of the Nebraska Rod and Custom Association (NRCA), Id like to thank The Columbus Telegram for the nice article published in the June 2 issue. That article was instrumental in getting the word out to Columbus residents about the tour coming their way on Sunday.

The common interest that binds our members together is our love of classic cars and special interest vehicles. Once a year we get together to share this common interest with Tour Nebraska, during which we travel 600 miles on the first weekend in June. It is best described as a rolling car show." As car enthusiasts we enjoy all aspects of owning these special vehicles, but during the tour we get to do what we enjoy most, driving them.

Each year we travel through many different communities during the tour. In some communities there is little interest, in others, it seems the whole town comes out to watch the show. When the route is lined with people who are waving, smiling, taking videos and obviously enjoying the rolling show, it makes our trek through the state a truly enjoyable one.

That is what we found on our route through Columbus on Sunday. For all those who came out and lined the route through Columbus on Sunday morning, thank you! I hope you enjoyed the show!

Also, many thanks to the Columbus Police Department, Platte County Sheriff's Office and Civil Defense for manning the intersections to make our route as safe and interruption free as possible.

Steve Schnieders

Columbus
Astana (Kazakhstan): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazakhstan ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. "PM Narendra Modi meets President of China Xi Jinping on margins of SCO Summit in Astana," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted with pictures of both the leaders.

PM @narendramodi meets President of China #XiJinping on margins of SCO Summit in Astana pic.twitter.com/E0FO6au6uc  Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) June 9, 2017

After participating in the summit on Friday, Modi will also attend the World Exposition hosted by Kazakhstan, before returning to India. As per an ANI tweet, Modi was grateful for the support during the summit:

Got the opportunity to meet you again during SCO summit, grateful to you for your efforts and support for India's SCO membership: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/7aNmEgtqsu  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

#WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana. pic.twitter.com/wQ8XnnVTfH  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

According to PTI, Modi will be deliberating ways to contain terrorism and boost trade at the SCO Summit in the backdrop of a series of major terror strikes in several countries. Modi is likely to pitch for a concerted global action plan to contain terrorism at the summit which is also being attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani are among the prominent leaders who will participate in the Summit where India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the grouping, in its first ever expansion.

This summit is particularly important for India and Pakistan because they will be formally admitted into the group. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying hopes that the admission of New Delhi and Islamabad as full members would help improve their bilateral relations.

The SCO was founded with the aim to strengthen relations among member states and promote cooperation in political affairs, economics and trade. China hopes that India and Pakistan will also mend their ties and uphold the spirit of the SCO after becoming members.

However, Chinese experts have said that Beijing won't back any attempts to internationalise the two countries' bilateral disputes. "SCO members will support them and offer help if the two countries need it, rather than internationalise their dispute within the organisation," said Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

This was the the first time the leaders met since New Delhi abstained from Beijing's One Belt One Road (OBOR) forum. The SCO members were also expected to back China's OBOR initiative "All SCO members are participating in the Belt and Road initiative, and this organisation is the initiative's security guarantee," India Today quoted Wang Yiwei, a scholar at Renmin University, as saying.

China also supports Iran's membership to the SCO security bloc and the subject is expected to be discussed at the summit on Thursday. The SCO refused to initiate Iran's accession last year despite a request from Russia which backs Tehran's bid. "China highly appraises this. China welcomes and supports Iran's wish to become a formal member of the SCO, said Assistant Chinese foreign minister Li Huilai.

With inputs from agencies
Kohima: Chairman of Naga rebel group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland  Khaplang (NSCN-K), SS Khaplang, who had engineered many attacks on the security forces including the killing of 18 Indian Army soldiers in Manipur, died on Friday night at Takka in the Kachin state of Myanmar. He was 77 years old.

Official sources said that the leader of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) who had been ailing for quite some time, died following a cardiac arrest.

Shangwang Shangyung Khaplang was a Hemi Naga from Myanmar and was based mostly in that country where the outfit maintains several camps.

Since 1980s, the outfit has engaged in subversive activities, including attacks on security forces, extortion and looting.

The NSCN-K was involved in the killing of 18 army soldiers in an ambush in Manipur on 4 June, 2015.

Following the Manipur ambush in 2015, the Indian Army carried out cross-border raids on NSCN-K camps located inside Myanmar killing several militants.

The ambush on the army convoy was carried out by the group despite it being involved in peace negotiations with an interlocutor of the central government.

Subsequently, the government has snapped the dialogue and in September 2015, the NSCN-K was declared as an unlawful organisation for five years.

Born in April 1940 in Waktham village, east of Myanmar's Pangsau Pass, Khaplang joined the Naga nationalist movement as early as 1964 and was one of the key people in the formation of the NSCN.

However, Khaplang split and formed his own group NSCN(K) in 1988.

He formed the group following differences with the NSCN (IM) leaders Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah. Swu died in June 2016 in a Delhi hospital.

Khaplang also entered into a ceasefire with the central government in 1997 but abrogated it on 28 March, 2015.

Meanwhile, Naga Peoples' Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR) Secretary General Neingulo Krome said the news of Khaplang's sudden demise has come as a "rude shock".

This was so especially at a time when the Naga people are extremely in need of elderly and experienced wisdom of their national movement leaders, to set right the course of the Naga destiny, which is being misinterpreted and re-interpreted in the present day scenario of internal conflicts, he said.

"We will always treasure and cherish his commitment to do what the upcoming Naga generation wants as the Naga national movement is for the well-being of future Naga generation who should live in dignity and peace," he said in his condolence message.

There was no immediate reaction from the rebel group or key tribal bodies including Naga Hoho and Naga Mothers' Association.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce its verdict on the petitions challenging constitutional validity of a newly-inserted section in the Income Tax Act that makes linking of Aadhaar number with Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory.

The bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan had on 4 May reserved the order on the pleas by senior Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Binoy Visman, former major general SG Vombatkere and convenor of Safai Karamchari Andolan, Bezwada Wilson, who had challenged the validity of Section 139AA.

The petitioners had told the court that the provision mandating the linking of Aadhaar number with the PAN would have "extremely far-reaching consequences not only for individuals but small businesses too".

The petitioners had told the court that the government had an agenda to push Aadhaar and pointed to the dichotomy between Aadhaar Act, 2016 that makes possessing Aadhaar optional and the Section 139AA of the Income Tax Act that makes its linking with PAN compulsory.

"A right that is voluntary under Aadhaar Act can't be made a penal provision under the Income Tax Act," petitioner Visman had told the court.

The court was told that "slowly, step by step, the government is making it compulsory by linking it with various things. Is it not a contempt of court?"

The top court by its earlier orders had said that the government could insist upon Aadhaar only for distribution of food grains, LPG and other schemes including MNREGA, old-age pension scheme, provident fund and Prime Minister's Jan-Dhan Yojana.
In what can be dubbed as a racist attack, 26-year-old Mubeen Ahmed of Telangana, who was in US to pursue his masters in engineering and had completed his course two months ago, was shot at by unknown assailants in California. Mubeen works at a gas station near California, reports have said. Reports added that Mubeen was critical but was out of danger and admitted at the Eden Medical Centre in California.

Mubeen had been working in a California departmental store where he was shot on 4 June. Mubeen's father Mujeeb Ahmed, speaking to ANI, said that his son was critical and the local government was helpful. "My son Mubeen went to the USA for higher studies. It is unfortunate that my son was severely injured in firing. We got to know the day after the incident occurred in California. My son went to a general store for some work and some unidentified person shot at him with a gun," ANI quoted Mujeeb as saying.

Mujeeb works in a defence institute in Secunderabad and is currently residing in Hyderabad. Mujeeb and other relatives called on Telangana irrigation minister T Harish Rao and Medak MP Prabhakar Reddy seeking help. Mujeeb is awaiting his visa to travel to the US, Qasmi said.

Mujeeb also requested Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj for help.

Had received a letter from hospital where he is admitted, saying that my son is critical & a family member should come here: Mubeen's father pic.twitter.com/l5rS0k8Daj  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

Appeal Sushma ji to help us, visa process be expedited so that we can visit California: Father of Mubeen (shot at by gunman in California) pic.twitter.com/t7ZnxpTKuH  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

Swaraj, in a series of tweets, responded and said that she has asked the Indian Embassy in Washington to forward a report and to work with the US police to find out the perpetrator. The Telangana government is arranging for passports for Mubeen's family members to enable them to fly to the US.

I have received the report from our Consulate in San Francisco. https://t.co/k7C1MS18Ft /1  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 8, 2017

He is admitted in the Eden Medical Centre CA. Fortunately Mubeen is now out of danger. We are following up the case with the police./3  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 8, 2017Racial attacks on Indians in US have increased.

Mubeen's relative told PTI that the 26-year-old had sustained injuries to his lungs, liver and kidney, and was in ICU of a hospital at Castro Valley near California. He underwent emergency surgeries and his condition was still very critical.

Mubeen's family said that some men went to his work place posing as customers and got into an argument with Mubeen before firing at him. An injured Mubeen was rushed to the California hospital, where he underwent surgery. His relatives from Chicago were attending on him at the hospital.
Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) will announce the results for Class X and Class XII Intermediate Exams on 9 June, 2017 at 12.30 pm. Students can check the results on the official websites, upmspresults.up.nic.in and upresults.nic.in.

If the candidates are unable to visit the official websites due to increased web traffic, they can visit alternate result portals like examresults.net and indiaresults.com.

According to News18, more than 34 lakh students appeared for the Class X exam while more than 26 lakh students appeared for the Class XII exam.

The exams were conducted from 16 March till 1 April, 2017.

Steps to obtain results:

Log on to the official result website: upmspresults.up.nic.in and upresults.nic.in. Click on the appropriate link for Class X Results or Class XII 2017. Enter your roll number and click 'submit'. Download the result and take a printout for future reference.

As has been observed over the course of the past few weeks, the dates and times of result announcements have been frequently changed. The information above has not been independently verified. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's bitter political rivals  the ruling LDF and the UDF  on Thursday closed ranks in the State Assembly to oppose the Central Governments notification on sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter, calling it a 'fascist' move that also saw the House adopt a resolution asking the Centre to withdraw its notification.

During the one-day session, convened exclusively to discuss the controversial notification, members of the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition Congress-headed United Democratic Front (UDF) condemned it as not only an "intrusion" into the rights of states but also an "infringement" on the rights of people on the choice of their food habits.

The lone BJP MLA O Rajagopal opposed the resolution.

Members of both the fronts said the ban on sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets was not only communal, but also essentially anti-working class and anti-farmer.

It thus has to be withdrawn, they said.

The members also alleged that the move was an attempt at corporatisation of the meat-trading sector, which was now an additional source of income for small and medium farmers.

Moving the resolution, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the Centre, saying the ban was to implement the political agenda of the Sangh Parivar.

"The NDA government, that has failed to fulfil any of its promises, was raking up issues such as cattle slaughter to divide the people through communal polarisation for political gains," he said.

Vijayan also brought to the notice of the assembly the serious 'adverse' consequences the ban would have on various sectors including agriculture, dairy, leather industry and meat export trade.

"The notification is impractical in Kerala where 95 per cent of the population is non-vegetarian. It is clearly an intrusion into the citizens' choice of food," he said.

On the impact on state's meat trade, Vijayan said 2.5 lakh tonnes of meat worth Rs 6,552 crore was sold in Kerala annually.

Vijayan also mentioned about the farmers unrest in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and said the community was already in crisis and the new rules would further add to their woes.

The chief minister said the state government would implead in the connected case pending in the Supreme Court.

Describing the notification as another "surgical strike" by the Modi government "like the note ban", opposition leader in assembly Ramesh Chennithala said this was "a sign of arrival of fascism" in the country.

"Modi has transformed himself into 'abhinava Hitler' (neo Hitler)," he alleged.

Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan said there seems to be an "indirect interest" behind the notification.

CPM veteran and former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, KC-M leader K M Mani were among those who spoke on the occasion.

Rajagopal said the coming together of LDF and UDF in the assembly was a sign of a "grand alliance" forming at the national level to take on the BJP.

He said the House has been "misused" for political purposes as the Centre has already made it clear that it was ready to make changes in the notification after getting suggestions from states.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) notified the stringent Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 on May 25, banning the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter.

Kerala government was the first to protest against the Centre's notification. It has also decided to convene a meeting of all chief ministers to discuss the issue.

Vijayan has also written to his counterparts in other states asking them to "stand together" and "oppose" the ban and urged the Prime Minister to withdraw the new regulations.

He has written to Modi opposing the ban and urging him to withdraw the new regulations.

Beef fests were held in various parts of the state last month to protest against the ban with some youth Congress activists in Kannur publicly slaughtering a calf to register their protest.

The attack on CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury at party headquarters A K G Centre in New Delhi on Wednesday also had its echo in the Assembly with the party members alleging that the Sangh Parivar was trying to "silence" political rivals through "muscle power".
The Election Commission announced on Wednesday that if elections are required to choose the next President of India, they will take place on 17 July. The nomination process for the same will begin from 14 June, with the issuance of a notification; 28 June is the deadline day for submitting nominations, while candidates have until 1 July to withdraw their names. If there is consensus among parties over the choice of president, there may not be an election.

The EC also said that if there is no consensus among the ruling NDA and the Opposition parties, the number of serious candidates in the fray will be clear by the evening of 1 July. Counting of votes will take place in New Delhi on 20 July.

Incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee's term will end on 24 July.

NDTV reported that BJP and its allies are positioned to have their pick after Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured the support of regional parties like TRS, which makes up for the shortfall in votes that the ruling coalition needed.

The names being considered include Cabinet ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj, Thawar Chand Gehlot and Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu.

The report further added that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has been negotiating with other opposition parties to decide on a joint candidate.

The process

The post of president is a constitutional one, and the presidential election is governed by articles 54-59 of the Constitution.

Article 54 lays down that the president will be elected by an electoral college. This is made up of the elected members from both Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of all states. Therefore, all members of the central and state legislatures are part of the electoral college except the following: Nominated members of Parliament, nominated members of the Legislative Assemblies, and members of the Legislative Council.

Article 58 of the Constitution puts in place certain qualifications on who can become President of India. In order to be eligible to become president, one must:

Be a citizen of India

Be over 35 years of age

Be qualified to be a member of the Lok Sabha

Must not hold an office of profit

The election itself is held by the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote. There are two things to understand in this:

- Firstly, proportional representation: The value of votes of different members of the electoral college will also vary. For an MLA, it is dependent on the population of their state and the number of elected members in the state's Legislative Assembly. The value is fixed for each state, and varies from Uttar Pradesh (208) to Goa (8) as per a report in The Financial Express. For an MP, it depends on the total value of the votes of all MLAs and the number of elected MPs. Currently the value is fixed at 708.

This year, a total of 4,896 voters  4,120 MLAs and 776 MPs  are eligible to cast their ballot.

- Secondly, the system incorporates preferential voting. This means that the electors don't just choose the best candidate but also indicate their preference regarding the others. Thus, even if an elector's first preference does not win, the rest of their ballot influences the election.

This is done by the system of vote quota. In order to win, the candidate must obtain a certain number of votes, which is determined by the total number of valid votes cast. Thus, for the 2017 presidential election, the winning candidate must obtain (4,896/2)+1  2,449 votes. In case no candidate reaches this number, the one with the minimum number of votes will be eliminated.

But preferential voting ensures that another vote is not required. The votes received by the eliminated candidate are distributed to the others on the basis of the voter's second preference. The process continues till one of the candidates achieves the required number.

Finally, the election is held by a secret ballot in which no one knows who has voted for whom. This also means that parties cannot issue whips to their members and electors are free to vote for whoever they want.

With inputs from PTI
We have seen the impact the Humans of New York Facebook page has had. The stories of individuals who seem like 'just part of the crowd' have brought out accounts of pain, suffering, happiness and triumph, and the positivity spread through the initiative has inspired a lot of people around the world to start something similar themselves.

One such initiative from India is already getting recognition for their work. The similarly-named Humans of Bombay has been following the same model as Humans of New York, by covering people from all walks of lives and inviting them to share their stories. Their stories are heart-warming and beautiful, but one recent post stands out for the sheer willpower and strength of the person profiled.

Ashwini shared her harrowing story, starting from an abusive childhood at the hands of her mother who was a sex worker and then running away to a Christian hostel with an equally abusive environment, during her teenage years. If we didnt follow even one of their rules we would be beaten and starved for days. My mother passed away during this time, so I took this abuse for 10 years because I didnt know any better," she told the page.

Fortunately, a few of her hostel acquaintances helped her to run away to an NGO called Kranti which looks after girls like Ashwini. Her decision to escape to the NGO changed her life. Ashwini's rehabilitation and experience with the NGO even helped her get through to New York University with a full scholarship!

However her accommodation and day-to-day expenses were not being covered by the University. The Humans of Bombay page decided to use their massive reach and appealed at the end of the photos caption to donate any sum for Ashwini with a link to the donation website. In four days, her funding page has raised over Rs 11 lakh in total, with people donating from all around the world.

It is amazing to see the power of social media and how initiatives like Humans of Bombay have used their popularity to help real people in need. If you want to help Ashwini pursue her education in New York, click here to donate.
Ranchi: Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that the last three years have been important for the country with regard to development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a public meeting in Raipur as part of the 'Modi Fest' here, Gadkari said that since 1947 the Congress had ruled for 75 to 80 per cent, be it in the states, Centre or in the districts, and had always raised the slogan of 'Garibi hatao' (poverty alleviation).

"But poverty could not be eradicated, the unemployed could not get jobs and the country could not develop", Gadkari said adding that, the poor only became poorer.

The special thing under the Narendra Modi government is how to eradicate poverty; how to give the poor some relief, and "I feel happy to inform you" that only 3.5 crore people had bank accounts since Independence, but under the Jan Dhan Yojana, it has risen by ten times with 29 crore people now having bank accounts  60 per cent in the villages and 40 per cent in urban areas, Gadkari added.

"Not only the poor opened accounts in banks, but deposited Rs 64,164 crore", the Minister said.

Referring to the Make in India initiative, innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, research, use of science and technology, Gadkari said the government has laid emphasis on skill development.

Speaking about other schemes introduced by the Centre, he described irrigation as the most important one and said that Jharkhand has the least irrigation facility in the country as the earlier governments did not pay attention to it.

"I feel happy that the Centre has made a provision  Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana  to augment irrigation facilities", Gadkari said.

Speaking on roads, the Minister said his department has doubled the NH roads from 96,000 km to 2,00,000 km and during the UPA regime, road construction which was only 2 km per day, is now 23 km per day.

"By March, 16,800 km road contract has been given. When I went to London, World Bank officials said no other country has done it. They said it is a record", Gadkari said.

Gadkari added, "India will grow, people have belief in the BJP government. So, we are getting people's support in every election".
Raipur: BJP president Amit Shah has asked the party workers in Chhattisgarh to aim for almost a three-fourths majority in the next year's Assembly elections.

Shah, who arrived in Raipur on Thursday on a three-day visit to the BJP-ruled state, held meetings with party leaders and workers.

"He exhorted workers and leaders to ensure victory in at least 65 seats while focusing on winning all 90 seats in Assembly in 2018 elections", a senior state BJP leader said.

Shah also asked BJP office-bearers to make extensive booth-level tours to take a stock of situation.

BJP, in power in Chhattisgarh since 2003 under the leadership of chief minister Raman Singh, it is now eyeing a fourth consecutive term.

Shah also held a meeting with state BJP's core group, MPs, MLAs, general secretaries, Mayors, presidents of Zila Panchayats, etc.

Later he interacted with party's district unit presidents and asked them to focus on the polling booths where party had fared badly in 2013 Assembly elections.
Page Content

The CIVEX commission will hold its 14th meeting on 6 July 2017, in Brussels. The CIVEX members will discuss and adopt the opinions on:

EU Citizenship Report 2017, Rapporteur Guillermo Martinez Suarez (ES/PES)

(ES/PES) Protection of children in migration, Rapporteur Helene Fritzon (SE/PES)

(SE/PES) Legal acts providing for the use of the regulatory procedure with scrutiny, Rapporteur Francois Decoster (FR/ALDE)



The meeting will provide an opportunity to CIVEX members to have an exchange of views on the Future of Europe, Erasmus for Local and Regional Representatives and the 2017 EU Citizenship Report, and also includes the Annual dialogue with the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights on the Inclusion and participation of migrants and their descendants in society.


Kolkata: The Congress on Friday expressed concern over the situation in the Darjeeling hills and hoped that both parties would chalk out a strategy to restore peace and normalcy in the hills.

"We express our concern over the prevailing situation in the hills and hope that the situation will soon normalize and peace will be restored," Congress national spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi told reporters.

The army staged flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong as a 12-hour bandh sponsored by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) got underway on Friday, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee describing the bandh as "illegal".

State Congress president Adhir Chowdhury on Friday blamed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the unrest in the hills.

"She should now apologize to the people of Bengal for fooling them by saying 'hills are smiling'. Now we can see the hills are burning. It is a complete administrative failure of the TMC government. The GJM wanted to protest in a peaceful way, but TMC, which doesn't believe in democracy, triggered violence in the hills by using police and goons," Chowdhury said.
Ahmedabad: Congress' Gujarat affairs in-charge Ashok Gehlot on Friday said the party will "not bow down to any one leader" and hoped that Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Shankersinh Vaghela would not leave the party.

Vaghela is reportedly sulking and has not been attending the party meetings for the last few days after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, at a recent meeting in Delhi, refused to declare him as the party's chief ministerial face for the Gujarat Assembly polls, due later this year, or give a free hand to him in running the affairs of the party in the run-up to the election.

Gujarat Congress is grappling with infighting with months to go for the polls.

"The party will not bow down to any one leader," Gehlot said.

"Vaghela is a very senior leader. He has been a party (Gujarat unit) president, a Union minister and he now holds the post of LoP (in the Gujarat Assembly).

"He (Vaghela) is with the party and not going anywhere. He has said on numerous occasions that he will not leave the Congress. At the time of elections, it is the duty of every party member to fight unitedly," he added.

Vaghela has repeatedly said he should be declared as the party's chief ministerial face for the Gujarat polls and given a "free hand" in running the party's affairs in the run-up to the election.

However, Gehlot had earlier refused to declare the chief ministerial face of the party saying it was "not the Congress tradition".

Gehlot, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, said he would pay Vaghela a visit soon.

The former Rajasthan chief minister demanded a CBI inquiry into the custodial death of a Patel youth in Mehsana district and said he would visit the family tomorrow.

"If a man dies in police custody, how will the local police be able to conduct an impartial inquiry? The CBI should investigate the case," he said.

Ketan Patel (28), who was arrested for theft, died in custody last Monday.
Darjeeling: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has extended her stay in this hill town following the violence and arson by Gorkhaland activists, on Friday walked along Mall Road here to enquire about the welfare of thousands of stranded tourists and arrangements made for their transport.

Banerjee, the supremo of the Trinamool Congress party, termed the vandalism by the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha and its shutdown call as "hurting" the goddess of prosperity, as tourism is the mainstay of the hill areas. Thursday's violence left 45,000 tourists stranded  15,000 in Darjeeling town, and around 30,000 in the other parts of the hills.

"The tourists are Darjeeling's Laxmi (Hindu Goddess of prosperity). By doing this vandalism they are driving away the Laxmi of Darjeeling. I do not understand what kind of movement they are indulging in," Banerjee said.

The GJM has called a 12-hour shutdown in the North Bengal hills, including Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Mirik subdivision, in protest against "indiscriminate police action on our peaceful demonstration".

Moving along Darjeeling's Mall Road along with her officers to check the transport arrangements for the stranded tourists, Banerjee occasionally stopped by to listen to the complaints of the distressed visitors and asked them not to worry.

"Please go to the Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus (in the plains of Siliguri). There would be 8-10 buses for travelling to Siliguri. We have arranged direct buses from Siliguri to Kolkata free of cost. You need not worry," she advised some tourists.

"The state government is taking all necessary steps to ensure their safety. Not just from Bengal, we have tourists from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and even from many foreign countries in the area. We will help all of them," she said.

Taking a swipe at GJM chief Bimal Gurung for trying to spur violence in the hills, Banerjee assured full support to the locals and appealed to them not to follow Gurung's ideology.

"We are with the brothers and sisters of Darjeeling. We will give them full support and ask them not to support this Bimal Gurung ideology," she added.

Banerjee on Thursday held a cabinet meeting in Darjeeling  the first time in 45 years that the state cabinet was held in this hill district. She and two other ministers stayed back in Darjeeling after the cabinet meeting in view of the volatile situation and the plight of the tourists.
New Delhi: High drama unfolded outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence when sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, along with his supporters, tried to meet the chief minister, but was stopped by the police.

Irked at being prevented entry into Kejriwal's home, Mishra and his supporters raised slogans and sat on a protest.

Mishra was seeking a hearing with Kejriwal at his 'janta darbar' (public meeting) to raise "corruption" charges against him and his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain. Mishra said, "I have come here with just 15 to 20 people. What is a janata darbar when the janata itself is not welcome here?"

As Mishra had earlier said that he would attend the public meeting, police had barricaded the area around the chief minister's residence to prevent the sacked minister and his supporters.

"We have come with a demand to convene a special session of the Delhi Assembly at the Ram Lila Maidan to discuss corruption charges against Kejriwal and Jain, but we were not allowed to proceed," Mishra told reporters.

He also sought the resignation of Kejriwal and Jain, saying that they don't have the "moral right" to continue after corruption charges emerged against them. Mishra was accompanied by the mother of late AAP leader Santosh Koli, who also demanded a CBI probe into the death of her daughter.

Koli, an AAP candidate from Seemapuri, had met with an accident in June 2013 and died. The party calls her a "martyr" who took on the ration mafia in the national capital.
Shimla: Senior Congress leader and former home minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde has called for resumption of talks with Kashmiri leaders and also favoured dialogue with separatists for restoration of peace and normalcy in the Valley.

Talking to mediapersons in Shimla on Thursday, he recalled that during his tenure as home minister, the situation had improved in the Kashmir Valley and he could go to the Lal Chowk in Srinagar with the then chief minister of the state.

Accusing the NDA government of deviating from the dialogue process started by the previous governments for restoration of peace, he said since the BJP and PDP have formed a coalition government, they should work for improving the situation rather than openly criticising each other.

Stressing on his point for a need to start the dialogue process, Shinde recalled how former prime minister late Indira Gandhi held talks with the then Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto after creation of Bangladesh.

Dubbing the foreign policy of the NDA government a failure, Shinde said that China has "turned against" India, Nepal, a friendly nation, too was also "not totally with India" and attacks on Indian soldiers had "increased substantially".

Militant attacks on army establishments have gone up in the past three years and Maoists violence has also taken heavy toll, he said.

He criticised the government for the farmer unrest in states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and also for the use of "repressive means" on agitating farmers.

"When the government can waive loans worth thousands of crores of rupees of corporate sector defaulters why the farmers cannot be extended the same benefit", he said.
Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM, which is leading the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala, alleged on Friday that attacks against party cadre and offices by the RSS and the BJP increased after Amit Shah's recent visit to the state.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) state Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan claimed that the BJP national president, during his visit to Kerala, had stated that he has got a "trick" and if his party members use it they can capture power in the state.

"This (violence) is that trick", he told reporters after the party's secretariat meeting here.

Balakrishnan alleged that the Sangh Parivar's motive was to create a law-and-order problem by triggering violence and added that the attack on the CPM's district office in Kozhikode on Friday was part of its agenda.

He claimed the attackers had actually targeted the party's Kozhikode district secretary P Mohanan, but he escaped unhurt.

Some unidentified persons had hurled two bombs at the CPM's district office, but no one was injured.

Balakrishnan urged the party cadre not to be provoked by the "violence of the BJP and the RSS, and maintain self-restraint.

Asked about the recent attack on the BJP's district office here and the charge that the CPM was behind it, he expressed his suspicion about the incident and demanded a probe into it.

Balakrishnan alleged that the attack on CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, allegedly by Hindu Sena workers at AKG Bhavan in New Delhi, was also a "planned one".

"The attack on the CPM General Secretary took place with the tacit understanding of Delhi police under the control of the Centre. The Hindu Sena is part of the Sangh Parivar. It is the modus operandi of the RSS and they carry out violence in different names," he alleged.

He referred to reports about the statement of an accused Sudheesh, reportedly an RSS activist, to police, that the RSS had killed Mohammed Fazal, a former CPM activist who later joined National Development Front (NDF), in 2006.

Sudheesh was arrested by Kerala police in connection with another case, while the CBI is investigating the Fazal murder case.

Balakrishnan said the CBI had arrested two CPM leaders Karayil Chandrashekharan and Kannur district secretariat member Karayil Rajan in connection with the case.

"Now is it clear that the CBI had arrested the wrong persons," he said, adding, "Despite the revelation by Sudheesh, the CBI is acting in a politically motivated manner and continuing to target CPM leaders."
Madhya Pradesh Congress has refuted the allegations made by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government against them of instigating farmers to resort to violence during their agitation in Mandsaur and in other parts of the state. A Congress team led by former MP from Mandsaur, Meenakshi Natrajan and former minister Narendra Nahata met officials of the Mandsaur district administration on Friday and demanded a fair inquiry and punishment for those found guilty of committing crime, even if they are found to be from the Congress party.

Natrajan, who is also a member of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's core team, spoke to Firstpost on the farmer agitation and her party's plan.

What do you have to say on the allegations levelled against the Congress by the state government?

These allegations are completely false. Congress doesn't not believe in instigating farmers to resort to violence. By making such allegations, the BJP government in the state wants to divert the attention of people from its own failures. First, the government said that the police didn't fire at farmers during the agitation. Next, they said there are anti-social elements behind it. They changed their stance again and claimed it was done by opium smugglers. Later, they took a u-turn again. How can a 10-year-old government make such irresponsible statements without verifying the facts?

Who are behind this agitation?

There is no particular group or union or political party behind this agitation. The call was given by the farmers who are frustrated and angry as the state government has failed to address their grievances. It all started in a village in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra. The villagers passed a proposal of waiving their loans and implementation of Swaminathan Committee's recommendation under which the Minimum Support Price (MSP) would be the total cost of production plus 50 percent of the weighted average. Other villages also followed suit, following which, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan farmers extended support to the movement. Things worsened in MP, when police fired at the innocent farmers in Pipaliya Mandi, Mandsaur and five farmers got killed. It was cold blooded murder. To disperse the mob, the police should have fired in the air and then used tear gas shells, instead they pumped bullets into the chest of two farmers. This enraged the agitating farmers.

What demands did you make after meeting with the district administration?

We met Mandsaur collector and superintendent of police. We have asked for an impartial and fair inquiry into the violent incident. Demanded compensation for the family of Ghanshyam Dhakad, a farmer from Badwan who died on Friday due to police excesses during the protest and to find the missing villagers. Our vice-president Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders were illegally and undemocratically barred from entering Mandsaur. This should be stopped. Restore internet connectivity in districts as it has been causing students problems.

The MP government received Krishi Karman Award for five years in a row for its stellar performance in agriculture sector. It has registered 13.9 percent average agricultural growth rate between 2010 and 2015. Despite all this, why did the farmers start large-scale agitation?

You can read statistics as much as you want but numbers can be fudged  it is evident if you compare the price charts of agricultural produce of the last three years. Farmers are unable to get the right price for their produce. While yield and average production have gone up, prices have dipped. The chief minister did not pay heed to the farmers' demands like waiving of loans. Both the Centre and the state are silent on this issue. The farmers are suffering and the chief minister has no solution for them.

What is the Congress planning to do next?

On Thursday, Rahul (Gandhi) said that he would take these issues at the national level. We'll reach out to people, hold discussions with farmers and create nationwide awareness on issues bothering farmers.
Ratlam: A delegation of the Aam Aadmi Party was on Friday stopped by the police from entering Mandsaur, hit by violent farmers' agitation, a day after Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders were turned back by authorities.

The delegation consisting of Sanjay Singh, Bhagwant Mann, Somnath Bharti, Ashutosh and the party's Madhya Pradesh unit convener Alok Aggarwal sat on a dharna in Dhodhar area of Ratlam district after officials denied them entry into Mandsaur as curfew had been imposed there and told them it would not be safe.

Jaora city SP Deepak Kumar Shukla said the AAP leaders were not allowed to enter Mandsaur and sent back from Ratlam.

The AAP leaders also spoke to some of the farmers who have been protesting since 1 June, seeking loan waiver and higher prices for the farm produce among other things.

Mandsaur has been kept out of bounds for political leaders by the state administration in the wake of wide spread violence following the death of five farmers in police firing during the agitation. "We were going to meet the families of the deceased farmers and did not have any intention to disrupt the law and order in Mandsaur but even then we were stopped," Sanjay Singh said. He demanded Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's resignation and also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "keeping mum" on the issue.

"He (Modi) tweets immediately on issues from all over the world but has not uttered a single word in solidarity with the farmers in Mandsaur," Singh said.

"The farmers in the country are facing tough times. Those from Tamil Nadu had to protest in Delhi while the ones in Mandsaur had to face the bullets. It's high time that the Centre waives loans of farmers across the country," he added.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday arrested as he tried to enter Mandsaur from Neemuch district, about 400 kilometres from the state capital Bhopal. He was later released along with his 250 supporters on the border with Rajasthan.

Earlier in the day, Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh had said prohibitory orders are in place in the entire district and entry of outsiders will be restricted.

The SP had said the AAP leaders will be arrested if they try to enter the district. He said anti-social elements were involved in the breach of peace in the district and 156 persons have been arrested so far in connection with cases of arson and vandalism.

"We are with the farmers but will take action against those who resort to violence. Anti-social elements were involved in violence," he said.
Even as curfew was on Friday relaxed for the day in Mandsaur and Pipliamandi as the situation in the areas hit by violent protests by farmers improved, rifts appeared in the BJP as some leaders criticised the government over the violent protests.

While BJP MLA in Madhya Pradesh Assembly Babulal Gaur said that the farmers were genuinely angry across the country and Congress did not have the capability to instigate a farmer's protest of this scale, the party's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya criticised state home minister Bhupendra Singh, whose U-turn on an earlier statement that police had not opened fire on farmers had embarrassed the government.

"What Bhupendra Singh said earlier must have been on first information received from the scene of the incident. But a home minister should show more responsibility when giving statements after an incident like this. A senior cabinet minister of his stature should not make any random statement without knowing and cross-checking facts," The Times of India quoted Vijayvargiya as saying.

This is not the first time that Vijayvargiya has spoken out against the state government.

In September 2016, Vijayvargiya had targeted the Chouhan government and the BJP state party chief Nandkumar Chouhan and had alleged that corruption was rising in the state.

"Corruption was always there, but in the first 10 years of BJP rule, it was under control. However, it is now rampant at lower level The bureaucrats dont respect (party) workers. Some workers complain to me when I am in Delhi, but not everyone can come to Delhi," The Indian Express had quoted Vijayvargiya as saying.

At least 56 people have been arrested and over 100 detained in connection with violence during the farmers' agitation in Mandsaur.

The state's home minister Bhupendra Singh had told PTI that the five farmers had been killed in police firing, a remark that assumes significance as the authorities had earlier claimed the police did not fire during the protests.

To bring back normalcy, the chief minister had made a fresh attempt to reach out to the agitating farmers, saying the state government was open to a dialogue to iron out the differences and once again appealed them to maintain peace.

With inputs from PTI
New Delhi: The Congress on Friday accused the government of working for the rich but neglecting the poor and said the country's farmers are in the "throes of a serious crisis but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is paying no attention to their plight".

Congress workers will fully support party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's battle in favour of farmers, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said.

The Opposition party also protested against Rahul Gandhi's detention while on the way to Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur town to meet the kin of five farmers killed in police firing on Tuesday. The party said the preventive detention is "akin to murder of democracy".

Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday detained by police in Neemuch district bordering Rajasthan when he tried to defy ban orders enforced in Mandsaur district.

"Madhya Pradesh farmers are holding a peaceful protest to seek redressal of their demands, but police used bullets to silence their voice," Maken said at a public meeting held to protest against the killing of five Madhya Pradesh farmers.

Slamming the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh, Maken said: "When Rahul Gandhi went to meet the family members of the dead farmers to express condolence, he was illegally arrested, which is akin to murder of democracy."

Maken also accused the Narendra Modi government of working for the benefit of the rich.

"On the one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working for the benefit of only the rich, on the other hand, Rahul Gandhi is waging a battle for farmers, labourers, tribals and the weaker sections, not only inside Parliament but also at the ground level," the former Union minister said.

"The Centre has written off debts of Rs 1,54,000 crore of rich friends of Modi, but it has not written off even Rs 70 crore debt of farmers."

Maken said the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the helm, had written off farmer debts of Rs 70,000 crore to reduce the burden on them.

He alleged that the government earlier remained unmoved by farmer protests from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at Jantar Mantar.

Maken said the government had done nothing to write off farmer debts and ensure remunerative prices for farm produce.
Page Content

In his remarks, First Vice-President Karl-Heinz Lambertz referred to the recent appeal to launch Alliance for cohesion policy, " Europe must focus its efforts on delivering prosperity and on the issues that matter most to every citizen. It must visibly demonstrate that the EU does benefit all our communities, can respond the challenges of today and ready itself for the challenges of tomorrow. The EU's cohesion policy has proved its worth tackling issues such as migration, creating jobs and building sustainable resilient cities and regions. We call on all EU member states to join the growing number of supporters of the #CohesionAlliance who are determined to ensure its future as a cornerstone of the European Union."

During the meeting, the European Commission presented its roadmap Bringing opportunities to European: communicating together the results of EU cohesion policy . The approach was welcomed by the European Committee of the Regions as it also relies on its contribution to involve representatives of Europe's regions and cities, civil society, alongside the other EU institutions and member states, in a 'cohesion policy coalition', giving voice to all funds beneficiaries.

The Committee recently published its proposals for the future of the EU's cohesion policy and committed to providing a platform to share experiences, further proposals and concerns, and make sure the needs of all EU regions and cities will be given sufficient attention during the forthcoming negotiations on the EU budget after 2020.

Making explicit reference to the current debate on strengthening the legal requirements for access to cohesion policy funding (so called "conditionalities"), Vice-President Lambertz reiterated the Committee's support for ex ante conditionalities guaranteeing member states' legal compliance in fields such as environment and public procurement.

He stressed however that EU regions and cities reject the idea of jeopardising EU structural funds in a carrot and stick approach, downgrading the whole policy to a mere incentive tools for reforms or other objectives which are not directly related to the growth and convergence of European territories.

Note for editors

The European Committee of Regions delivered on 11 May its position on the cohesion policy after 2020. EU regions and cities showed how EU cohesion policy has worked in the past, alleviating the worst effects of the crisis (see infographic) and highlighted its role in tackling the challenges of today (migration, territorial resilience and smart cities/regions, in addition to infrastructure). The Committee considers that cohesion policy is needed in the future more than ever to safeguard our prosperity for the future of the 27, and, in the next EU budget, it should be provided with adequate funding, with the same percentage share allocated today (1/3 of total resources).

The Committee will contribute with its proposals to the forthcoming 7th Cohesion Forum, organised by the European Commission on 26 and 27 June.

Pierluigi Boda

Tel. +32 2 282 2461

GSM +32 473 85 17 43

pierluigi.boda@cor.europa.eu
Mumbai: Condemning the detention of the party vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress in Maharashtra on Thursday said the incident shows the BJP government is moving towards autocracy from democracy.

"The incident of Rahul Gandhi's detention has blackened the face of democracy today. It shows that this government is moving towards autocracy from democracy," Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Chavan said.

He was speaking to reporters in Mumbai after the Congress organised a protest against the BJP government at the party office.

"Soldiers are dying while farmers are committing suicide due to the ineffective policies of this government. Over nine thousand farmers in Maharashtra have committed suicide. While the chief minister of Maharashtra tried to create a rift between striking farmers, his counterpart (in Madhya Pradesh) ordered firing of bullets that killed five farmers," Chavan said.

He also said that the firing on farmers in Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh is a clear indicator that the BJP government is following in the footsteps of General Dyer (responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919).

"The BJP is trying to bring dictatorship in the nation. But we will not let that happen. We will take Rahul Gandhi's message to farmers across the state and will face lathi charge and even bullets if need be. We will sacrifice everything for farmers," Chavan said.
Kolkata: Congress spokesperson and Member of Parliament Gaurav Gogoi on Friday criticized the BJP for preventing Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday from visiting Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh where five farmers were killed in police firing during a violent protest.

"Under the BJP regime, the basic democratic rights of the people and opposition parties are scuttled. Whenever any incident happens it is the duty of the opposition parties to visit the area and express solidarity with the victims. But Rahul Gandhi was stopped," Gogoi told reporters.

Gogoi also criticized the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh and at the Centre for not giving enough attention to the needs of the farmers.

"The Modi government is spending crores of public money to propagate about what has been done by them in the last three years. But they don't have time and money to solve the problems of farmers. The Modi government is a complete failure in the last three years," Gogoi said.
Raipur: Police on Thursday arrested over 200 Congress workers as they took out a protest march towards the Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh's house in Raipur.

Chhattisgarh Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel addressed party workers at Gandhi Maidan in Raipur earlier.

"Every department in Raman Singh government is riddled with corruption. Commission is taken by the ruling party for every work," Baghel alleged.

"We wanted to present these facts before BJP national president Amit Shah who is on three-day visit here, but we were stopped," Baghel said.

Congress workers later marched towards CM's official bungalow, but were stopped by police near Akashvani Chowk.

Baghel, leader of opposition in Assembly, TS Singhdeo and some 200 workers were arrested. They were released later, Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Shukla told PTI.
Union Textile Minister Smriti Z Irani isn't coy about her image that she maintains. A feisty leader, Irani essays her new assignment after her abrupt exit from the Ministry of Human Resource Development with usual aplomb. She has learnt on the job that weaving of yarn is intricately linked to Indias social, political and spiritual legacy. Did she know about it when she was moved to this department? My boss knew it, she tells Firstposts Pallavi Rebbapragada and Ajay Singh.

When you were given the Ministry of Textiles after the Cabinet reshuffle in July 2016, people declared it a demotion. What did you feel about the switch?

Had I remained in the HRD, my view of administration would have remained myopic. My previous ministry offered me a social sector overview of the country, but education is just one social aspect. This new assignment gives me a more expansive economic perspective on India as it involves dealing with a high-end industry and large corporations, small and medium scale enterprises, and weavers and artisans. On the one hand, you are discussing viscose with the Aditya Birla Group, on the other hand, youre talking to a Benarasi weaver about craft.

What were your first impressions about the sector?

To understand why the sector was stagnating, we combed government files of the last five years and detected misgovernance. Of approximately 40 schemes, 22 used to be surrendered each year. To ensure that authorised funds reach the weavers, we enrolled them in Direct Benefit Transfer schemes and eliminated middle-men. For instance, NGOs that had been receiving government funds for years were asked to disclose details of the communities they had been supporting. I travelled to places like Bhiwandi in Maharashtra and Surat in Gujarat to invite medium-level weavers to become a part of policy-making and implementation because it is entrepreneurship that will drive the economic revolution. In Benaras, I noticed that the weavers took loans to buy new looms. In order to establish comprehensive outreach, the government now offers 90 percent on the purchase of a new loom to weavers who have adapted their skill set to include new design and marketing techniques taught at government centres.

The National Textile Policy will soon be implemented. How will it consolidate a sector as intricately diverse as this one?

A one-size-fits-all policy will not work. Policy takes time in terms of consultation, but the government cannot remain stagnant while consultations are on. While developing the PowerTex India, a comprehensive scheme for powerloom sector development (that features in-situ upgradation of plain powerlooms, group workshed scheme, yarn bank scheme and pradhan mantri credit scheme for powerloom weavers, facilitation, IT, awareness and market development), we ensured that it was implemented on 1 April and no time was wasted. The scheme gave impetus to smaller units wherein shut downs were much more compared to the larger units. We will soon be coming out with a knitwear package. In both cases, stakeholders have been invited to be part of policy-making, especially small- and medium-scale enterprises that need a healthy environment to prosper in. Ours is not a ministry working independently of what is happening on ground.

In order to standardise quality and protect weavers, why doesnt the National Handloom Act make the handloom mark compulsory? Thousands of workers who are falling out of work because technology is disrupting the industry  from digital block printing done on rotary machines in Sanganer in Rajasthan to the invasion of Chinese silk in the Benaras and Tamil Nadus Kanjivaram silk markets.

A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products, which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g. a town, region, or country) and we have been emphasising on the GI tag. A lot of protectionism can be ensured without going to Parliament and tweaking the National Handloom Act. Law and order is a state issue and when governments are alerted about spurious articles being promoted, they alert the state. Similarly, regarding dumping of fabric from an international venue, we alert our colleagues in commerce and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade takes action. We cannot interfere because of World Trade Organisation constraints, but we ensure that the DGFT is in conversation with the industry. We ensure that weavers and artisans registered on our portal can put out their products on commercial sites so the buyers know these products are quality-certified. The Indian Handloom Brand lets manufacturers pick up the weavers produce directly. Biba, a womens clothing brand, picked up 8 lakh metres of cloth directly from the weaver. We now have Allen Solly and Peter England shirts being made by Indian weavers.

Will legalising the use of powerlooms for handloom threads further weaken the handloom sector? The raw material base of the handloom industry  several region-specific cotton varieties suitable for handloom weaving  has been destroyed. Cotton cultivation is now dominated by American cotton varieties not suitable for handlooms and, more recently, by the problematic genetically modified BT cotton.

Theres more and more desire in the world for a sustainable developed product. For instance, Suvin is a long staple cotton variety that is better than Egyptian cotton, which design patrons in London and New York swear by. Like a mother cannot differentiate between her children, I cant pick cotton over man-made fibre. We benefit as a nation if we make India the global sourcing hub. For too long, the poverty and drudgery behind handloom has been sold internationally. There are economic issues confronting industries abroad too, but you only hear stories of pride and legacy. What we need to do is sell our pride and legacy in a handcrafted market that stands at Rs 37,000 crore. (Anant Kumar Singh, secretary, Ministry of Textiles, sat by Irani's side in a cotton dhoti and kurta, validating and reinforcing her beliefs through his presence). Sabyasachi Mukherjee, a name famous in international design circles, says he is snobbish about his Indian legacy.

The Narendra Modi government has made big efforts to make khadi a "zero-effect, zero-defect" global product by harnessing solar energy to power charkhas across the country to enable hand-spun khadi to become the zero-carbon footprint green fabric of India. How has it made khadi competitive in terms of reducing the cost of yarn and production? In 2017, does khadi symbolise self-reliance yet again?

Ive watched the growth of khadi, it's done tremendously well because the prime minister has continuously appealed to the public to embrace the fabric. Once you have a larger consumer base, industry shows interest in being a part of a trend that is popular nationally, larger volumes are demanded, and as a result, prices of raw materials becomes competitive.

The government has fixed a 5 percent GST rate on cotton fibre, yarn and fabric against the current prevailing rate of nil. Silk and jute have been kept in the nil category under the GST. Man-made or synthetic fibre yarn will attract 18 percent GST. Instead of uniformity, is the differential treatment for cotton and synthetic fibre on GST rate an opportunity lost for a uniform rate for textile sector?

Man-made fibre, synthetics and cotton have never been on the same platform in our country. Weve never had fibre neutrality. Earlier, if you included state and national taxes and mandi taxes, you would pay around 35 percent. Now, GST has fixed it at 18 percent. Industry should be celebrating. One of the biggest advantages of the GST regimes starting 1 July is that garments below Rs 1,000 will come in the five percent bracket. Its a big opportunity and boon for the consumer.

How can the role of state-owned emporiums, like Mrignayanee in Madhya Pradesh, Garvi Gurjari in Gujarat and Gangotri in Uttar Pradesh, go beyond showcasing local produce? Instead of museumising handicrafts and textiles, how can a stronger, wider and more sustainable internal market be developed by these institutions?

It is incumbent on the state to take measures to promote its crafts. Ive seen Mrignayanee and Biswa Bangla from Bengal (which was a niche, high-end brand) do well. Today, tourists coming from the UK and the EU want to understand the life of a weaver or an artisan, and even international tour operators want to offer that experience. We've had a meeting with the Ministry of Tourism and have said that if there's any tourist circuit you want to do in conjunction with all the textile clusters, we are more than happy to do this.

The Indian fashion market is already worth $67 billion, making it as valuable as the combined size of 15 of the biggest West Asian countries, or about a fifth the size of the US or China. By 2020, it should reach $88 billion. The design fraternity feels that textile revivalism is a slow process and involves a great deal of investment of time and money, some invest up to two years to understand and revive a weave. What kind of support will be extended to the big and small private players?

The government has no role when a designer wants to go work with a weaver. We have had situations where a particular weaver has told us that the designer has stolen his design, as he had no Intellectual Property Right (IPR) over his creations. In such a situation, it is not the designer but the weaver who needs handholding. Each weaving centre has a desk that ensures that the weavers ancestral patterns are protected.

Anavila Misra (known for her linen sarees) went to Bengal to work with weaver communities and catalogued it. The designer did not ask for protection. Sanjay Garg (founder of contemporary Indian textile brand Raw Mango) accompanied me to Surendranagar district in Gujarat and expressed an interest in wanting to work with the Tangaliya tribes. Rajesh Pratap Singh (who excels in menswear) has been using Suvin for quite some time, but The Cotton Association of India wasnt aware of this till recently.

What is the challenge of bringing young people into the weaving fold, and the importance of developing service centres in the states  with good infrastructure and equipment  to empower the youth with technical skills?

The only way you can make craft a passion is if you emphasise on productivity and economic impact. Some families are recognising the value of this by ensuring that each successive generation has broader skill sets, from being able to engage their customers in English or explain the history and origin of the product they are interested in. New people must also come forward, learn and make textile a part of their legacy. Speaking of weaving service centres in states, those are 28 in number and a committee that features Laila Tyabji and Jaya Jaitley (craft reformers), Anavila Misra and Sabyasachi, is coming forward, inspecting and ensuring that material is made available. Meetings are being held on high levels to ensure threads reach the weavers on time.
By Parisa Hafezi

| ANKARA

ANKARA When Islamic State called on members of Iran's Sunni Muslim minority in March to wage a religious war on their Shi'ite rulers, few people took the threat seriously. And yet within three months, militants have breached security at the very heart of the nation, killing at least 17 people.This week's attacks at parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini have exposed shortcomings among the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) which was supposed to be protecting these potent symbols of Iran's revolution.They have also undermined Tehran's belief that by backing offensives against Islamic State across the Middle East, it can keep the militant Sunni group away from Iran.Undaunted, officials say Iran will step up the strategy, which includes sending fighters to battle Islamic State in Syria and Iraq alongside allied Shi'ite militia groups.And with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the IRGC blaming Saudi Arabia for the attacks, tensions are only likely to deepen between the two arch rivals competing for influence in an already chaotic region. Riyadh denies the charges, describing Tehran instead as "the number one state sponsor of terrorism".Wednesday's killings in Tehran by Iranian members of Islamic State drew a shocked response similar to that in Western countries when they too have been attacked by locally-born jihadists. Now Iranians are worrying about how many others are out there, planning similar assaults.One senior Iranian official told Reuters that Islamic State had established a network of support in the country, and suggested that members' motivation was as much political and economic as to do with Sunni radicals' belief that Shi'ites are infidels."Sunni extremism is spreading in Iran like many other countries. And not all of these young people who join extremist groups are necessarily religious people," said the official, who asked not to be named. "But the establishment is well aware of the problem and is trying to tackle it."Most Iranian Sunnis, who form up to 10 percent of the population, reject Islamic State's ideology. But some young Sunnis seem to regard policies of Shi'ite-led Iran as oppressive at home or aggressive abroad, such as in Iraq and Syria, pushing more of them into the arms of jihadist groups.

Iran has been trying to stem the spread of radicalism into Sunni majority regions, which are usually less economically developed. Authorities said 1,500 young Iranians were prevented from joining Islamic State in 2016.Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to the Balouch minority and has long been a hotbed of Sunni insurgents.Two Sunni groups, Jaish al-Adl and Jundallah, have been fighting the IRGC for over a decade. This has mostly been in remote areas but some say it was almost inevitable that violence would eventually spread to Tehran, as it did this week."It's not the attacks that are surprising. It's that Iran has been able to avoid one for so long. The attacks were a wake-up call for Iran's security apparatus," said senior Iran analyst Ali Vaez of the International Crisis Group. "But so too will they probably serve as one for jihadists, who will be encouraged to exploit Iran's vulnerabilities.""STRATEGIC FOLLY"

Since its creation shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution, the IRGC has functioned as Iran's most powerful internal and external security force, with a sophisticated intelligence and surveillance network.The IRGC has vowed revenge on Islamic State - known by its opponents under the Arab acronym of Daesh - but a top security official said this won't be easy."The attacks showed the vulnerability of our security system, at the borders and within Iran," the official said, asking not to be named. However, he added: "Many planned attacks by Daesh have been foiled by our security forces in the past years. Many terrorist cells were dismantled. Our Guards have been vigilant."Syrian rebels and Iraqi forces are closing in on Islamic State in those countries, and the official said the group appeared to have tried to strike back in Tehran."The attacks are the result of Daesh being weakened in the region. They blame Iran for that ... But Iran will not abandon its fight against terrorism," he added.

Open discussion of security vulnerabilities is taboo in Iran. However, Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior Iran analyst at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, criticised the idea that Syria and Iraq could form an effective first line of defence for Iran."Iranian officials have long justified their country's active military presence in Iraq and Syria as a way to keep the homeland safe," he said. "Wednesday's attacks expose the folly of that strategy."SPIRALING TENSIONS

A senior official, who also asked not to be named, said the attacks would push Iran toward "a harsher regional policy".Sanam Vakil, associate fellow with Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa Programme, dismissed any expectation that Tehran might try to ease spiraling tensions with Riyadh. "If we are expecting to see any change in Iran's regional policy or a retreat in any way - that is not going to happen," she said.Newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani has said the attacks will make Iran more united. Analysts, however, believe they will exacerbate domestic tensions between Rouhani, a pragmatist, and his rivals among hardline clergy and the IRGC. They have repeatedly criticised Rouhani's attempts to improve relations with the outside world. Rouhani has generally lost out to the hardliners, who through the IRGC's Al Quds force - expeditionary units which are fighting in Iraq and Syria as well as organising Shi'ite allies - continue to call the shots. In the view of the hardliners' critics, they are helping to drive alienated Sunnis towards militant groups. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul in London, Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Samia Nakhoul and David Stamp)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
China is "gravely concerned" about the reported killing of two kidnapped Chinese nationals in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province late last month, state news agency Xinhua said on Friday.

Islamic State killed two Chinese teachers in the province last month, the militant group's Amaq news agency said Thursday. A Baluchistan government spokesman had said officials were trying to confirm if the report was true.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern. We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," Xinhua quoted Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying as saying.

"The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities," Xinhua quoted her as saying. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Yimou Lee and Wa Lone

| KYAUK PYU, Myanmar

KYAUK PYU, Myanmar Days before the first supertanker carrying 140,000 tonnes of Chinese-bound crude oil arrived in Myanmar's Kyauk Pyu port, local officials confiscated Nyein Aye's fishing nets.The 36-year-old fisherman was among hundreds banned from fishing a stretch of water near the entry point for a pipeline that pumps oil 770 km (480 miles) across Myanmar to southwest China and forms a crucial part of Beijing's "Belt and Road" project to deepen its economic links with Asia and beyond."How can we make a living if we're not allowed to catch fish?" said Nyein Aye, who bought a bigger boat just four months ago but now says his income has dropped by two-thirds due to a decreased catch resulting from restrictions on when and where he can fish. Last month he joined more than 100 people in a protest demanding compensation from pipeline operator Petrochina (601857.SS).The pipeline is part of the nearly $10 billion Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone, a scheme at the heart of fast-warming Myanmar-China relations and whose success is crucial for the Southeast Asian nation's leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Embattled Suu Kyi needs a big economic win to stem criticism that her first year in office has seen little progress on reform. China's support is also key to stabilising their shared border, where a spike in fighting with ethnic armed groups threatens the peace process Suu Kyi says is her top priority.China's state-run CITIC Group [CITIC.UL], the main developer of the Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone, says it will create 100,000 jobs in the northwestern state of Rakhine, one of Myanmar's poorest regions.But many local people say the project is being rushed through without consultation or regard for their way of life.Suspicion of China runs deep in Myanmar, and public hostility due to environmental and other concerns has delayed or derailed Chinese mega-projects in the country in the past.China says the Kyauk Pyu development is based on "win-win" co-operation between the two countries."AVOIDING PANIC"

Since Beijing signalled it may abandon the huge Myitsone Dam hydroelectric project in Myanmar earlier this year, it has pushed for concessions on other strategic undertakings - including the Bay of Bengal port at Kyauk Pyu, which gives it an alternative route for energy imports from the Middle East.Internal planning documents reviewed by Reuters and more than two dozen interviews with officials show work on contracts and land acquisition has already begun before the completion of studies on the impact on local people and the environment, which legal experts said could breach development laws.

The Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone will cover more than 4,200 acres (17 sq km). It includes the $7.3 billion deep sea port and a $2.3 billion industrial park, with plans to attract industries such as textiles and oil refining.A Reuters' tally based on internal planning documents and census data suggests 20,000 villagers, most of whom now depend on agriculture and fishing, are at risk of being relocated to make way for the project."There will be a huge project in the zone and many buildings will be built, so people who live in the area will be relocated," said Than Htut Oo, administrator of Kyauk Pyu, who also sits on the management committee of the economic zone.He said the government has not publicly announced the plan, because it didn't want to "create panic" while it was still negotiating with the Chinese developer.AMBITIOUS DEADLINE

In April, Myanmar's President Htin Kyaw signed two agreements on the pipeline and the Kyauk Pyu port with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as Beijing pushed to revive a project that had stalled since its inception in 2009.

The agreements call for environmental and social assessments to be carried out as soon as possible.While the studies are expected to take up to 15 months and have not yet started, CITIC has asked Myanmar to finalise contract terms by the end of this year so that the construction can start in 2018, said Soe Win, who leads the Myanmar management committee of the zone. Such a schedule has alarmed experts who fear the project is being rushed."The environmental and social preparations for a project of these dimensions take years to complete and not months," said Vicky Bowman, head of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business and a former British ambassador to the country.CITIC said in an email to Reuters it would engage "a world-renowned consulting firm" to carry out assessments.Although large-scale land demarcation for the project has not yet started, 26 families have been displaced from farmland due to acquisitions that took place in 2014 for the construction of two dams, according to land documents and the land owners.

Experts say this violates Myanmar's environmental laws. "Carrying out land acquisition before completing environmental impact assessments and resettlement plans is incompatible with national law," said Sean Bain, Myanmar-based legal consultant for human rights watchdog International Commission of Jurists. JOB OPPORTUNITIES?CITIC says it will build a vocational school to provide training for skills needed by companies in the economic zone. It has given $1.5 million to local villages to develop businesses.Reuters spoke to several villagers who had borrowed small sums from the village funds set up with this money."The CITIC money was very useful for us because most people in the village need money," said fisherman Thar Sai Aung, who borrowed $66 to buy new nets. Chinese investors say they also plan to spend $1 million during the first five years of the development, and $500,000 per year thereafter to improve local living standards. But villagers in Kyauk Pyu say they fear the project would not contribute to the development of the area because the operating companies employ mostly Chinese workers. From more than 3,000 people living on the Maday island, the entry point for the oil pipeline, only 47 have landed a job with the Petrochina, while the number of Chinese workers stood at more than double that number, data from labour authorities showed.Petrochina did not respond to requests for comment. In a recent report it said Myanmar citizens made up 72 percent of its workforce in the country overall and it would continue to hire locally."I don't think there's hope for me to get a job at the zone," said fisherman Nyein Aye. He had been turned down 12 times for job applications with the pipeline operator. "Chinese companies said they would develop our village and improve our livelihoods, but it turned out we are suffering every day." (Additional reporting by Shwe Yee Saw Myint and Aizhu Chen and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Alex Richardson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Abdalla Al Omari's 'The Vulnerability Series' is a set of paintings that couldn't have been more relevant at any other time. As a divisive atmosphere has taken over most of the world, Omar's work attempts to look at world leaders beyond their positions of power.

The Syrian refugee artist has spent over 19 months creating a series of paintings in his Brussels studio showing world leaders as displaced or disenfranchised people. "My aim somehow shifted from an expression of anger to a more vivid desire of disarming these figures, (to) picture them outside their positions of power", Omari told Al Jazeera.

Omari's series of includes paintings of US president Donald Trump, Russian president Vladimir Putin, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, Kim Jong-un, former US president Barack Obama and other world leaders as the homeless and as refugees.

Besides his oil/mixed media on canvas paintings, the Syrian artist has also made a short film on this idea.

On his website, Omari has a simple message for the leaders who have been portrayed in this series,

"Intimate hours I spent with them have taught me more than I could imagine. Just as easily as everything worth defending can become defenceless, moments of absolute powerlessness can give you superpowers. Even I felt sorry for (my version of) Assad. In this universe without gravity, all we can hold on to is our vulnerability. This invisible wind makes our chest heavy, yet, mysteriously propels us back on our feet again. I have convinced myself it is the strongest weapon humankind possesses, way more powerful than the trail of power games, bomb craters and bullet holes in our collective memories. Vulnerability is a gift we should all celebrate."

With this small note, he puts across his point clearly:

Hello. Let's say it clear, I'm weak. And you, officially the strongest, are not that strong either. So, lets all celebrate this. Yours truly, Abdalla Al Omari

Here are some of Omari's paintings from the series:

A post shared by Abdalla Al Omari (@abdalla.al.omari) on Feb 16, 2016 at 1:11am PST

A post shared by Abdalla Al Omari (@abdalla.al.omari) on Apr 18, 2017 at 2:22am PDT

A post shared by Abdalla Al Omari (@abdalla.al.omari) on Jun 3, 2017 at 2:16am PDT

A post shared by Abdalla Al Omari (@abdalla.al.omari) on Jun 1, 2017 at 1:57am PDT
By Alastair Macdonald

| BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS European Union leaders fear Prime Minister Theresa May's shock loss of her parliamentary majority raises the risk of failure in Brexit negotiations due to start this month that will usher Britain out of the EU in March 2019. There was concern that a weak minority administration and a possible leadership challenge to May after her electoral gamble backfired might mean further delay to the start of talks scheduled for June 19. But the prime minister said her new government would now prepare for discussions in 10 days time.However, Guenther Oettinger, the German member of the EU executive, was among those warning that a weak British leader may be a problem once talks start. "We need a government that can act," he told German radio. "With a weak negotiating partner, there's a danger the negotiations will turn out badly."Oettinger's boss, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, said his Brexit negotiating team under Michel Barnier was ready: "The clock is ticking," Juncker said.Barnier sounded conciliatory: "Brexit negotiations should start when UK is ready," he tweeted. "Timetable and EU positions are clear. Let's put our minds together on striking a deal."Donald Tusk, the former Polish premier who will oversee the process as chair of EU national leaders' summits, also stressed there was "no time to lose" and a need for London and Brussels to cooperate to minimise disruption for people, businesses and governments across Europe when Britain walks out in 22 months."Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations ... in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome," said Tusk, who warned last month that emotions stirred up on either side of the English Channel during the British election campaign were jeopardising agreement.French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was quick to scotch a suggestion Britain might do a U-turn and ask to stay in the bloc - something that would need EU agreement - and a Commission spokesman resisted a barrage of questions at a press briefing on whether the Union might agree to extend the two-year deadline.Few Europeans voiced much sympathy for May. Some compared her to her predecessor David Cameron, who sought to silence Eurosceptic fellow Conservatives by calling the referendum on EU membership which ended his career and shocked Europe.

"YET ANOTHER OWN GOAL"

"Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May, will make already complex negotiations even more complicated," tweeted Guy Verhofstadt, the liberal former Belgian premier who is the European Parliament's point man for the Brexit process.German conservative Markus Ferber, an EU lawmaker involved in discussions on access to EU markets for Britain's financial sector, was scathing: "At the most untimely point," he said, "The British political system is in total disarray. Instead of strong and stable leadership we witness chaos and uncertainty."May, who had campaigned against Brexit last year, delivered her terms for withdrawal on March 29 that included a clean break from the EU single market. She then called a snap election hoping for a big majority to strengthen her negotiating hand.

That was also the broadly desired outcome in Brussels, where leaders believed that a stronger May would be better able to cut compromise deals with the EU and resist pressure from hardline pro-Brexit factions in her party to walk out without a deal.European leaders have largely given up considering the possibility that Britain might change its mind and ask to stay, something May made clear was not her intention.Most now appear to prefer that the bloc's second-biggest economy leave smoothly and quickly. Having recovered from last year's shock, Germany, France and other powers see Brexit as a chance to tighten EU integration without the awkward British. As news of British mayhem broke, Juncker was launching a new push for an expanded EU defence project which Britain has long opposed, fearing a clash with the U.S.-led NATO alliance.FEAR OF COLLAPSE

A breakdown in negotiations could mean Britain ceasing to be an EU member without having in place the legal agreements that would avoid a chaotic limbo for people and businesses. That would also make it improbable that Britain could secure the rapid free trade agreement it wants with the EU after it leaves.In a note to clients, UBS wrote that a breakdown in talks was now more likely and would make it harder to reach a trade deal: "A tighter political balance could make it easier for Eurosceptics ... to prevent the government from offering the compromises needed to secure a trade deal."Barnier aims to start with talks on residence rights for expatriates, on how much Britain will owe the Union on departure and on EU-UK border arrangements in Northern Ireland. He hopes outline agreements on those issues by the end of this year can open the way for discussion on a future trade deal. However, May and her allies have questioned the EU's negotiating proposals.May's reappointment and determination to soldier on without a clear majority has muted talk of a different ruling coalition taking power with a mission to seek a "softer" Brexit than May is pursuing, possibly seeking to remain in the single market.While the other 27 states would quite possibly be willing to extend to Britain the same kind of access to EU markets they offer to Norway or Switzerland, they have made clear that would mean Britain continuing to pay into the EU budget and obey EU rules, including on free migration across the bloc, while no longer having any say in how the Union's policies are set."Maybe there wont be a hard Brexit," Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende said. "Maybe Britain will have to show greater flexibility in the negotiations."But EU officials question how any British government could persuade voters to accept a Norway-style package and so would be wary of starting down the path of negotiating it for fear of ending up without a deal that both sides could ratify in 2019. (Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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By Mica Rosenberg and Reade Levinson

In September 2014, Gilberto Velasquez, a 38-year-old house painter from El Salvador, received life-changing news: The U.S. government had decided to shelve its deportation action against him.The move was part of a policy change initiated by then-President Barack Obama in 2011 to pull back from deporting immigrants who had formed deep ties in the United States and whom the government considered no threat to public safety. Instead, the administration would prioritize illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes. Last month, things changed again for the painter, who has lived in the United States illegally since 2005 and has a U.S.-born child. He received news that the government wanted to put his deportation case back on the court calendar, citing another shift in priorities, this time by President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has moved to reopen the cases of hundreds of illegal immigrants who, like Velasquez, had been given a reprieve from deportation, according to government data and court documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with immigration lawyers.Trump signaled in January that he planned to dramatically widen the net of illegal immigrants targeted for deportation, but his administration has not publicized its efforts to reopen immigration cases.It represents one of the first concrete examples of the crackdown promised by Trump and is likely to stir fears among tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who thought they were safe from deportation.While cases were reopened during the Obama administration as well, it was generally only if an immigrant had committed a serious crime, immigration attorneys say. The Trump administration has sharply increased the number of cases it is asking the courts to reopen, and its targets appear to include at least some people who have not committed any crimes since their cases were closed.Between March 1 and May 31, prosecutors moved to reopen 1,329 cases, according to a Reuters' analysis of data from the Executive Office of Immigration Review, or EOIR. The Obama administration filed 430 similar motions during the same period in 2016. (For a graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2s8csUZ) Jennifer Elzea, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed the agency was now filing motions with immigration courts to reopen cases where illegal immigrants had "since been arrested for or convicted of a crime." It is not possible to tell from the EOIR data how many of the cases the Trump administration is seeking to reopen involve immigrants who committed crimes after their cases were closed. Attorneys interviewed by Reuters say indeed some of the cases being reopened are because immigrants were arrested for serious crimes, but they are also seeing cases involving people who haven't committed crimes or who were cited for minor violations, like traffic tickets.

"This is a sea change, said attorney David Leopold, former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "Before, if someone did something after the case was closed out that showed that person was a threat, then it would be reopened. Now they are opening cases just because they want to deport people." Elzea said the agency reviews cases, "to see if the basis for prosecutorial discretion is still appropriate." POLICY SHIFTS

After Obama announced his shift toward targeting illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes, prosecutors embraced their new discretion to close cases. Between January 2012 and Trumps inauguration on Jan. 20, the government shelved some 81,000 cases, according to Reuters' data analysis. These so-called "administrative closures" did not extend full legal status to those whose cases were closed, but they did remove the threat of imminent deportation. Trump signed an executive order overturning the Obama-era policy on Jan. 25. Under the new guidelines, while criminals remain the highest priority for deportation, anyone in the country illegally is a potential target.

In cases reviewed by Reuters, the administration explicitly cited Trump's executive order in 30 separate motions as a reason to put the immigrant back on the court docket. (For a link to an excerpted document: tmsnrt.rs/2sI6aby) Since immigration cases aren't generally public, Reuters was able to review only cases made available by attorneys.In the 32 reopened cases examined by Reuters:--22 involved immigrants who, according to their attorneys, had not been in trouble with the law since their cases were closed.--Two of the cases involved serious crimes committed after their cases were closed: domestic violence and driving under the influence. --At least six of the cases involved minor infractions, including speeding after having unpaid traffic tickets, or driving without a valid license, according to the attorneys.

In Velasquez's case, for example, he was cited for driving without a license in Tennessee, where illegal immigrants cannot get licenses, he said."I respect the law and just dedicate myself to my work," he said. "I don't understand why this is happening." Motions to reopen closed cases have been filed in 32 states, with the highest numbers in California, Florida and Virginia, according to Reuters' review of EOIR data. The bulk of the examples reviewed by Reuters were two dozen motions sent over the span of a couple days by the New Orleans ICE office.PUMPKIN SEED ARREST

Sally Joyner, an immigration attorney in Memphis, Tennessee said one of her Central American clients, who crossed the border with her children in 2013, was allowed to stay in the United States after the government filed a motion to close her case in December 2015. Since crossing the border, the woman has not been arrested or had trouble with law enforcement, said Joyner, who asked that her client's name not be used because of the pending legal action.Nevertheless, on March 29, ICE filed a two-page motion to reopen the case against the woman and her children. When Joyner queried ICE, an official said the agency had been notified that her client had a criminal history in El Salvador, according to documents seen by Reuters.The woman had been arrested for selling pumpkin seeds as an unauthorized street vendor. Government documents show U.S. authorities knew about the arrest before her case was closed.Dana Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said that revisiting previously closed matters will add to a record backlog of 580,000 pending immigration cases. "If we have to go back and review all of those decisions that were already made, it clearly generates more work," she said. "It's a judicial do-over." (Reporting by Mica Rosenberg and Reade Levinson in New York; Additional reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley in Washington; Editing by Sue Horton and Ross Colvin)

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United Nations: Egypt has asked the United Nations to investigate an enormous ransom that Qatar allegedly paid an Islamic State-linked "terrorist group" in order to free members of its royal family detained in Iraq.

Speaking during a Security Council debate on the threat of terrorism on Thursday, Egypt's deputy ambassador to the UN Ihab Moustafa accused Qatar of paying "up to $1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq in order to release members of its royal family kidnapped and detained in Iraq while on a hunting trip."

"If proved correct, it is a clear support to terrorism," he said, noting that the group was linked to the Islamic State group.

Several UN resolutions call on member countries not to pay such ransoms or make political concessions to terrorist groups, he said.

The diplomat did not provide evidence or details, but said the press had spoken of it.

"We propose that the Security Council launch a comprehensive investigation into this incident and similar incidents," Moustafa said.

Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, have severed diplomatic relations with Doha, which they accuse of supporting extremists.
Egypt and Bahrain kept up pressure on Qatar on Thursday, giving no indication after talks in Cairo between their leaders that they were ready to soften their stance on the Gulf diplomatic crisis.

The two countries, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of backing Islamist militants and their enemy Iran - charges Qatar denies. Several other countries followed suit.

King Hamad of Bahrain met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Thursday. In a statement issued by the Egyptian presidency, they gave no sign they were ready to compromise.

"The leaders agreed the decision came after Qatar insisted on taking a path that is harmful to Arab states and after attempts to prevent it from supporting terrorist groups," the statement said.

"Qatar insisted on interfering in the domestic affairs of Egypt, Bahrain, and other Arab countries in a way that threatens their safety and security and harms Arab national security and unity," it added.

Qatar has backed Islamist movements but strongly denies supporting terrorism. Sisi has been angered by Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which Egypt says is a terrorist organisation. The Brotherhood denies the accusation.

Qatar said on Thursday the action against it was endangering stability in Gulf but it was not prepared to compromise to settle the dispute.
Washington: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US later this month, a top Indian diplomat here has said that "partnership" is the best way to describe India-US relationship.

"I think ultimately perhaps in my mind, the best way to describe and qualify this relationship is a partnership," Indian ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna said at an event organised by the Meridian International Center.

Other than a partnership, Sarna said, "it's very difficult to see, where does India fit in with the US".

"It is not an ally in the classical sense and neither it is part of an umbrella grouping. India's relationship with the US is many ways that of a partnership, as the countries who have a lot to offer each other at the moment," he said.

"I think that is the sort of perspective that if you put that spotlight on the relationship you tend to get the most out of it, and then that governs how you treat each other, how you relate to each other, how you plan to move ahead together," Sarna said ahead of Modi's maiden trip to the US under the Trump administration.

And frankly, he said, it's very difficult to think of another partner for the US, which is such a thriving and huge democracy with very deep democratic roots. "If you are looking at that sort of partner who understands these, then I don't think frankly, on the scale of India, there is any other country in the world," Sarna said.

Sarna said that he believes that it would be reflective of the continuation of the strong Indian-US relationship momentum.

"When the two leaders meet, I think the idea would be to not only continue what India and the US have been doing at least for the better part of the last two decades, but also to see how we can focus our energies much better in alignment with the priorities of the administrations in both the countries," Sarna said, adding that there will be a continuation of the relationship.

The diplomat said that Indian diaspora and the industry have played a key role in strengthening this relationship.

"What people may know less is that a large number of Indian corporates are invested in the United States, and are investing money and technology and also sharing very highly skilled professions, which frankly are a crucial factor in making American companies globally competitive," he said.
Tehran: Iran's supreme leader hit out at the United States and Saudi Arabia during the funerals on Thursday for those slain in the first attacks in the country claimed by the Islamic State group.

The assault by gunmen and suicide bombers on Wednesday on Tehran's parliament complex and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini killed 17 people and wounded more than 50.

Mourners were paying respects to those killed at a ceremony in parliament on Friday morning, in the presence of newly re-elected moderate President Hassan Rouhani.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei initially played down the attacks this week, describing them as "firecrackers" that "will not have the slightest effect on the will of the people".

At the funeral, however, he turned his wrath for the attacks on the United States and Saudi Arabia, his country's fiercest rivals.

"Such acts will have no other result than to reinforce hatred for the US government and its agents in the region, like the Saudi (government)," Khamenei wrote in a message of condolence to the families of the dead.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani also attacked the United States and Saudi Arabia, which he called "a tribal state very far from anything like a democracy".

In a speech at the ceremony, Larijani denounced US sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile programme.

The US "knows that the Revolutionary Guard and its Quds force are the most important regional forces fighting terrorists", he said.

The imposition of such sanctions "demonstrates their alignment with terrorists in the region", said the speaker, a moderate conservative.

After prayers, a procession was to leave Tehran University for the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery, near the Khomeini mausoleum 13 kilometres south of the Iranian capital.

The attacks, which struck two of the country's most symbolic landmarks, were carried out by five armed men, including suicide bombers who blew themselves up.

The intelligence ministry said they were Iranians who had joined the Islamic State group and travelled to its strongholds in Iraq and Syria before returning home.

Iran is a key fighting force against IS and other groups in Iraq and Syria, and the Sunni jihadists consider Shiite Muslims to be apostates.

Shiites make up roughly 90 percent of Iran's population, but the country also has a sizeable Sunni minority, particularly around its restive borders with Iraq and Pakistan.
Islamabad: The Islamic State (IS) terror group has claimed it killed two Chinese nationals who were abducted from Pakistan's Balochistan region in May, the media reported on Friday.

The IS-linked Amaq news agency made the claim on Thursday night in an Arabic statement on the Telegram messaging app, reports the BBC.

A senior Pakistani government official, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn news that an investigation is underway into the IS claim that the Chinese couple has been killed.

The claim came hours after the military's press wing Inter-Services Public Relations released details of a three-day operation in the Mastung area of Balochistan earlier this month targeting "IS facilitators", in which security forces had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists, including two suicide bombers".

The official said that the vehicle used in the kidnapping of the couple was found during the Mastung operation.

"We cannot confirm the claims made by the IS right now," the official told Dawn news.

The two Chinese nationals, a man and a woman, were teachers at a private language school in Quetta city.

They were kidnapped from the Jinnah town neighbourhood on 24 May by gunmen dressed as police who stopped their car.

A bystander who attempted to intervene was shot and injured while rescuing a third person.

Following the abduction, 11 Chinese nationals also living in Quetta were shifted to Karachi for their evacuation to Beijing.
Islamabad: The Islamic State terror group has claimed that it had killed two Chinese hostages, including a woman, who were abducted by armed gunmen from Pakistan's restive Balochistan province recently.

The hostages were studying Urdu language at a local teaching center in the provincial capital of Quetta when they were forcibly kidnapped by unknown gunmen in May.

Another Chinese woman had escaped the abduction.

The IS on its propaganda news agency Amaq uploaded a statement in Arabic on Thursday, saying it had killed the two abducted Chinese nationals.

Confirming reports of the killing of its nationals, China on Friday said the murders have not been connected to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor but asserted that such risks are unavoidable as its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) goes global.

China had worked closely with Pakistan to rescue them but "the two may have unfortunately been killed", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in Beijing, stating that Pakistan has informed China about their deaths.

This incident will not have any connection with the BRI, nor with the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting being held in Astana, Hua said.

China has deployed hundreds of its workers to work for the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is being opposed by the Baloch nationalists.

Hua said contrary to reports the two were not married and hailed from different provinces in China.

"Pakistan pays great attention to the protection of Chinese citizens in the institutions there and made great efforts for their security," she said.

After this incident, the Pakistan side had made their utmost efforts to rescue the hostage. Pakistan has also pledged to continue to take necessity actions to protect the Chinese citizens and institutions in the country, she said.

She, however, said Chinese people should be prepared to take risks as the multi-billion BRI spreads to different parts of the country. "As per BRI we should be prepared for risks if want to go global," she said.

"The world today is far from tranquil. In the process of promoting BRI it is inevitable that we will counter all kind of security issues and it should be taken seriously all the countries promoting economic cooperation," she said.

The IS claim came a day after the Pakistan Army said that it had carried out an operation against IS in Balochistan, killing at least 12 militants.

Local media reported that the operation was launched after intelligence reports suggested that the militants were hiding there with the Chinese hostages.

Pakistan has been grappling with Islamist and nationalist insurgencies in Balochistan since 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and militants killed in the fighting.

IS has been making inroads in Pakistan with the help of its ties with local militant outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. However, the government has largely downplayed the presence of the dreaded terror outfit.
CAIRO/QUETTA, Pakistan Islamic State has killed two Chinese teachers it kidnapped in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province last month, the militant group's Amaq news agency said on Thursday, in a blow to Islamabad's efforts to safeguard Chinese workers.China's Foreign Ministry said it was "gravely concerned" about the report and working to verify the information.Armed men pretending to be policemen kidnapped the two language teachers in the provincial capital, Quetta, on May 24. The kidnapping was a rare security incident involving Chinese nationals in Pakistan, where Beijing has pledged $57 billion for its "Belt and Road" plan."Islamic State fighters killed two Chinese people they had been holding in Baluchistan province, southwest Pakistan," Amaq said.

A Baluchistan government spokesman said officials were in the process of confirming "whether the report is true".China's Foreign Ministry said it noted the report and expressed "grave concern". "We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," the ministry said in a short statement.

"The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities," it added."The Chinese side is firmly opposed to the acts of kidnapping civilians in any form, as well as terrorism and extreme violence in any form."

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's interior ministry or its foreign office.Islamic State, which controls some territory in neighbouring Afghanistan, has struggled to establish a presence in Pakistan. But it has claimed several major attacks, including one on the deputy chairman of the Senate last month in Baluchistan, in which 25 people were killed.Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan's military published details of a three-day raid on a militant hideout in a cave not far from Quetta, saying it had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists" from a banned local Islamist group and prevented Islamic State from gaining a "foothold" in Baluchistan.China's ambassador to Pakistan and other officials have often urged Islamabad to improve security, especially in Baluchistan, where China is building a new port and funding roads to link its western regions with the Arabian Sea. (Reporting by Ali Abdelaty in CAIRO and Gul Yousufzai in Quetta; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein, Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Giles Elgood, Larry King and Jonathan Oatis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
James Comey may stand at the center of a political maelstrom, but the ousted FBI chief turned nemesis of the president did not flinch as he laid down devastating accusations against Donald Trump.

With the eyes of the world upon him, the former top investigator was a paragon of self-control from the moment he walked into the hearing room on Thursday morning.

His face was frozen in a neutral, impenetrable gaze as he swore to tell the truth, then sat ramrod straight for nearly three hours of riveting testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Comey was an island, alone at the witness table, grilled by 17 senators including some who no doubt see their careers rising or falling on the fate of the investigation into Russian election meddling, and possible collusion with Trump associates.

One by one, he delivered blistering  and potentially very damaging  details about interactions with his former boss, accusing the president of sacking him because of the ongoing Russia probe.

Quotes from former FBI Director James Comey during his testimony Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee:

With inputs from agencies
Ousted FBI chief James Comey accused Donald Trump's White House of lies and defamation on Thursday in a wounding sworn testimony that plunged the US leader's already troubled presidency deeper into peril.

Comey said that he was stunned, disturbed and concerned by the president's behaviour in the several meetings he had conducted during his tenure as the FBI chief. Detailing one-on-one talks with a sitting president  which under normal circumstances are private  Comey said he took painstaking notes for fear Trump might "lie" about the unusual encounters. The testimony painted a devastating picture of a president, who at best unknowingly shred the norms of office by pressing Comey on the probe into Russian election meddling, and at worst may have criminally obstructed justice.

But it's important to note that Comey withheld judgment on whether Trump's behaviour amounted to obstruction of justice. He indicated that it was up to a high-powered special prosecutor to determine whether the president's behavior constituted the potentially impeachable offence.

The Guardians opinion piece called Comeys testimony devastating and the beginning of the end because it revealed dysfunction in the White House and the full extent of Russias connections with the Trump family.

While most networks have called the testimony "explosive," not everybody saw Comey's testimony that way.

Of course, Trump's personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz said that the president felt vindicated, because Comey had said that Trump was not under investigation relation to Russia's interference in the election and hoped to clear Trump from accusations of being a liar.

But Comey's comments have been interpreted differently by Republicans and the Democrats. In an analysis by ABC news, the author claims that in an attempt to discredit Comey, Republicans are questioning as to why he did not voice his concerns earlier, especially if he found the Presidents actions troubling.

An opinion piece in Politico magazine furthers the argument by saying that Comeys actions are dictated by a subjective standard for talking publicly. The author writes that even though Comey had assured Trump in person that he was not under investigation in the Russia probe, he refused to publicly acknowledge this when asked to do so by Trump. In contrast, during the probe into Hillary Clintons email usage, Comey had no qualms about speaking publicly.

Comeys inconsistency about bringing information to light is also tackled in this piece in the The New York Times that contrasts his act of willingly leaking the memo about his meetings with Trump with his seeming lack of interest in alerting Attorney General Jeff Sessions of his concerns regarding Trumps actions, which he found disturbing. All in all, despite affirming that Comeys testimony has exposed some serious issues with Trumps administration, the authors call Comeys behaviour bizarre.

Comeys credibility has been repeatedly called into question; Bloombergs opinion piece claims that Comey couldnt have been as uncomfortable as he said he was because he did not come forward to voice his opinions sooner. Perhaps, there are other possible motivations at play in Comeys decision to wait for Trump to strike first (ie Trumps tweet about tapes).

At the heart of Comeys testimony was Trumps oft quoted sentence about Michael Flynn  I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go"  which cuts both ways. Comeys interpretation of Trumps 'desire' is that of a direct order, according to another op-ed in The New York Times.

On the other hand, Donald Trump Jrs tweet about how there is no ambiguity about his fathers orders represents the other point of view. To that end, Senator Jim Risch probed into the nature of Trumps words when he asked Comey, Do you know of any case where a person has been charged for obstruction of justice or, for that matter, any other criminal offense, where they said or thought they hoped for an outcome?

In this public showdown of credibility, The New Yorker writes that House Speaker Paul Ryan came to Trumps defence with the argument that Trump wasnt steeped in the long-running protocols of how to interact with the Director of the FBI. Hence, no intent of stopping investigations or obstructing justice can or should be attributed to Trump.

This very lack of intent, hinted at by Paul Ryan, is key to those who oppose Trumps alleged obstruction of justice. For example, this piece by the The Washington Post calls for an incontrovertible proof (that is not found yet) that Trumps order to stop investigating Flynn was issued intentionally but also with an awareness that his actions violated the law. Further, the piece makes the case for executive discretion through which an executive officer (and the president is the chief executive) may weigh the seriousness of the crime against the implications of an investigation and choose an alternative to criminal prosecution. It is quite possibly this kind of thinking, the author claims, that was behind Trumps desire to let Flynn off the hook.

The final argument in the The Washington Posts op-ed is that while Trump may have wanted to let Flynn off the hook, he did not want to halt the Russia investigation all together. This last point is integral when lawyers consider the grounds for qualifying this as an obstruction of justice. Vox has put together a collection of expert responses on the precise legal details of determining whether this counts as obstruction. With a few equivocal affirmations but generally more perhaps, and could be, the exact consequences of Comeys testimony are still to be fully determined.

With inputs from AFP
Former FBI director James Comey rocked Washington Thursday in testimony before Congress on alleged efforts by President Donald Trump to influence the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

The key issue before the Senate Intelligence Committee was whether Trump sought to obstruct the investigation in nine conversations with Comey this year, leading up to his dismissal of the FBI chief on 9 May.

During almost three hours of extraordinarily frank televised statements, Comey described himself as "stunned" by Trump's "very disturbing" and "very concerning" behavior in several private meetings.

Detailing one-on-one talks with a sitting president, which under normal circumstances would never see the light of day, Comey said he took painstaking notes for fear Trump might "lie" about the extraordinary encounters.

That account painted a devastating picture of an untrustworthy president, who at best unknowingly shred the norms of office by pressing him on the probe into Russian election meddling, and at worst may have criminally obstructed justice.

During one White House dinner, Comey recalled that the president asked him for "loyalty" and to lay off his former national security adviser Michael Flynn  who is under criminal investigation over his Russia ties  imploring Comey to "let this go."

Comey indicated that it was now up to a high-powered special prosecutor to determine whether that behavior, and his own sacking, constituted an obstruction of justice, a potentially impeachable offence. Easing months of speculation, Comey did confirm that Trump was not personally the subject of a counterterror or criminal probe when he left the FBI last month.

The White House and Trump's lawyers expressed vindication at some parts of Comey's testimony and lashed out at others. "I can definitely say the president is not a liar and frankly am insulted by that question," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Trump avoided directly responding to the explosive accusations, defiantly telling supporters at a religious event in the capital: "We are going to fight and win."

After solemnly raising his right hand and vowing to tell the whole truth, a visibly aggrieved Comey kicked-off his testimony with a bid to set the record straight about the state of the bureau he led until he was sacked last month. Lawmakers started the hearing with a call for unity of purpose but the pretense of bipartisanship soon fell away.

Democrats are intent on determining whether Trump's actions amounted to obstruction of justice, while Republicans have zeroed in on Comey's admission he assured the president he was not personally an FBI investigation target.

Harvard law School professor Mark Tushnet said onlookers should keep in mind that Comey knows much more than he can say. "He's saying that when he looks at all the evidence that he knows, that he draws the conclusion that the president was trying to pull him off the investigation of Flynn."

"It's a pretty powerful statement that an investigator with his background, (says) when I look at this investigation, this is what I conclude. So his statement is a big deal." Networks and cable news stations provided blanket coverage of the testimony, and hundreds of people turned out at Washington bars for watch parties, glued to live TV broadcasts of the hearing.

'There's been so much media hype, it's good to actually hear this from the source,' said Sadie Cornelius, 33. "It's good to hear the facts."

Here are the key points of what Comey had to say in his first public appearance since his ouster:

'Direction,' but no order to end probe



Asked if Trump ever demanded the Russia investigation be shut down, Comey flatly replied "No".

But he said that Trump's request at a February 14 Oval Office meeting for him to ease the probe of former national security advisor Michael Flynn sounded like an order.

Trump said, Comey recalled, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy."

"I took it as a direction. He's the president of the United States, with me alone, saying 'I hope this.'... I took it as this is what he wants me to do."

"I was so stunned by the conversation that I just took it in."

Obstruction of justice?

Comey said it was not up to him but instead the independent special counsel in the Russian probe, Robert Mueller, to decide whether Trump broke a law.

"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning."

At the same time, he strongly suggested obstruction.

"It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation," he told senators. "I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. That is a very big deal."

White House 'lied' over Comey firing

Comey recalled that Trump and the White House gave shifting explanations for why he was dismissed, first saying it was over his handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe last year, then saying it was the Russia investigation, and finally declaring Comey was a poor leader disliked by the FBI staff.

"The administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organisation was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the work force had lost confidence in its leader. Those were lies, plain and simple."

Memos on Trump meetings

Comey said his distrust of Trump prompted him to take meticulous notes immediately after each of their nine discussions this year.

"I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document," he said of one such occasion.

He was later surprised when Trump suggested he had taped the conversations.

"I've seen the tweet about tapes. Lordy, I hope there are tapes."

Comey's leaks

Under attack by Trump, Comey wanted to get his side of the story out. So he leaked his memorandums on the Trump discussions to the New York Times.

"I didn't do it myself for a variety of reasons," he said, instead asking a friendly law professor to share his written recollection of those conversations with a reporter.

"I asked him to, because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel."

Trump disinterested in Russia probe

Comey said there was no doubt, in his mind, about the Russian government's covert attempt to interfere in last year's presidential election. But Trump showed no interest.

"I don't remember any conversations with the president about the Russian election interference," he said.

"We're talking about a foreign government that using technical intrusion, lots of other methods, tried to shape the way we think, we vote, we act. That is a big deal."

A missed date

Comey said Trump himself called him to a dinner on 27 January, during which he asked him for a pledge of loyalty.

"He said, how about 6:30? I said whatever works for you, sir," Comey recalled.

"Then I hung up and called my wife and broke a date with her. I was supposed to take her out to dinner."

"That's one of the all-time great excuses for breaking it," quipped one of the senators at the hearing.

With inputs from AFP
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif addressed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit on Friday before their formal induction into the bloc.

Modi thanked all the members of the SCO for supporting India and granting it the membership of the group after 12 years of observership. "We may have gotten the membership now but our relations with this group are long, around 12 years long. The relationship we share with the members of SCO are historical. We will continue to work together," said Modi.

He also stressed on the importance of connectivity for India and mentioned Chabahar port, which will connect New Delhi to the region.

Referring to terrorism, Modi said that it is a major threat to humanity and we will have to make coordinated efforts to counter its menace. He condemned all forms of terrorism and radicalisation. Recruitment of terrorists and even financing of terrorist groups is a major issue which needs to be tackled, said Modi. He believes that Indias membership will help give a new direction to SCOs fight against terrorism.

Impossible to reach a solution till all make concerted efforts, on radicalization, terrorist recruitment/ training/financing issues: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/GEIJ9BQnDo  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

Modi also applauded Kazakhstan for choosing 'Future Energy' as the theme for this years SCO Summit. He expressed hope that the group will devote more attention towards climate change. After Modi, Sharif began his address by thanking the member countries for Pakistans membership to the group. He also congratulated India, which will also be inducted as a full member with Pakistan. Sharif said that we must all leave a legacy of peace and unity for our future generations and not a toxic harvest of conflict and animosity. He further said that Islamabad is not unfamiliar with the working of the SCO but, it has a lot to learn. Sharif also referred to Pakistan's deep historical and cultural ties with all SCO members.

We mst leave a legacy of peace fr future generations;not toxic harvest of conflict&animosity;let's create shared spaces for all:Nawaz Sharif pic.twitter.com/0bTCAX4GV5  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

SCO gives us a platform to combat terrorism and climate change and Islamabad fully supports its fight against terror, said Sharif. "Pakistan has fought its own fierce war in the fight against international terrorism and with the grace of God, it has been able to achieve a turnaround in the security and economic situation in our country," he added.

Earlier in the day, Modi met Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Summit. "India and China should strengthen multilateral communication and consultation, and appropriately control and manage differences and sensitive issues," Xi told Modi. He also told Modi that New Delhi and Beijing should increase trade and investment cooperation.

India reportedly made it clear that it wants to be a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) during the meeting with Xi and also expressed some unease at the 'silk road' initiative.

However, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said that at a time of global uncertainty, India and China's relations are a factor of stability.
With India becoming a full-fledged member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) along with Pakistan, now there is a regional organisation which covers the widest land area with the biggest population in the world  it constitutes nearly three-fifths of the Eurasian continent, 43 percent of the world's population and accounts for 24 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP). Obviously, if the SCO works towards the common prosperity and stability of the member countries, it will emerge as the biggest contributor towards global peace, co-operation and prosperity.

But the big question is: will it? Let us remember that the world is full of such regional organisations. But how many of them have really lived up to their expectations, save European Union (EU), Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and military entities such as North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? Take the case of India. We are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), an association of five major emerging national economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and the Forum of India, Brazil, South Africa (IBSA) to promote international cooperation. But what exactly have they achieved?

Let us see the contradictions within the SCO. Originating as Shanghai Pact to be a "Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation", consisting of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, in 1996, it was renamed as the SCO after the inclusion of Uzbekistan on 15 June, 2001. With India and Pakistan joining the organisation on Friday, there are now eight member countries. Indias association with the SCO dates back to 2005 when it attended it as an observer for the first time. The issue of expanding the SCO was decided by the group in 2010. Discussions within the group started in the same year. The decision on actually expanding the SCO was taken by the SCO in 2014 and the same year India applied to join it as a member. But here is a catch. In 2014, the SCO had indicated to admit Iran and Mongolia as well.

Ostensibly Iran has been excluded because it has been under some international sanctions or the other following its nuclear programme. Mongolias case is said to be that of its "loss of interests in SCO" after 2014. However, the reality could be different, given the fact that memberships in the SCO have always been a matter of geopolitical or a global rebalancing game.

The SCOs origin should be looked at from the angle of the commonality of interests between Russia and China to balance the hegemony of the West led by the United States in world politics. They wanted to avoid conflicts that would allow the US to intervene in areas near both Russia and China. In fact, some observers described it as an "Asian NATO" when the SCO countries decided in 2003 to have joint military exercises from time to time. Such an observation might have been a hyperbole given Chinas intricate economic ties with the United States, but the fact remains that the SCO has been viewed as a small step in the direction of creating a multipolar world.

However, the problem has been the type of the multipolar world that the SCO wants to promote. And that is because Russias multipolar world is not necessarily the same as the one promoted by China. And this basic difference between Russia and China is fully reflected when they decide on who should be granted membership (or for that matter, the status of an observer) in the SCO. For example, the United States application for being an observer in SCO has been rejected. If India is there in the SCO, it is solely due to Russian support, nothing else. In fact, Russia was never in favour of Pakistan joining the group. But China would have none of it until Pakistan was also allowed to join along with India. And it seems that the Chinese have prevailed over the Russians, though it will be utterly simplistic to view that Russia will now do whatever China wants.

In the true sense, India and Pakistan becoming members of the SCO simultaneously is the outcome of a Sino-Russian compromise in which China had to make its membership formula flexible, particularly the criteria of "location factor", "cordial ties among prospective members", and "signing the NPT". It will be foolhardy to say that India and Pakistan have "cordial relations". Neither of them has acceded to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). And most importantly, "location wise", they do not exactly share the border with other SCO members (unless one makes a case of Tibet that has been forcibly annexed by China). In fact, one may point out, and this is a great irony, Turkmenistan, one of the original five central Asian republics  others being Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan  is not a member of the SCO, following what it says is "positive neutrality".

Another noticeable feature of the SCO now will be the fact that India is the only democracy in the true sense of the term in the group that otherwise is composed of, essentially, countries with autocratic or authoritarian regimes. Let alone Pakistan, China and Russia, the four central Asian republics have essentially been trying to preserve the illiberal patterns since the times they were constituents of the then Soviet Union. In other words, India is an odd member of the group.

Another contradictory feature is that the SCO has always talked of "maintaining and reinforcing peace" and "ensuring security and stability in the region", by organising joint efforts against terrorism, separatism and extremism, or "fighting the three evils", as they call it. In fact, The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote co-operation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. How does then Pakistan, the hotbed of all the three evils, fit into this scheme of the things?

And what is more, as a part of 'security cooperation' the SCO, from time to time, conducts joint military exercises (first of its kind was held in 2003). Now imagine a situation when India will have to, as per the SCO norms, conduct joint military exercises with Pakistani troops (it will be different in nature of the two countries' troops working together in United Nations peace operations).

Finally, Indias membership in the SCO gives a little confusing signal about what is Indias priority area of interest. As C Raja Mohan asks, Where should Delhi pitch its tent? In the continental or maritime domain? Should it align with the heartland powers or stitch together a rimland coalition? Must India define itself as a Eurasian or Indo-Pacific power?"

In the book Rediscovering Asia: Evolution of Indias Look East Policy, this author had argued that Indias preeminence as a major power in ancient times stemmed from its undoubted civilisational and economic influences in the Far East and Southeast Asia. No wonder the region was called Farther India. If Indias decline as a major power started in the medieval period, it was essentially because of the Mughals  then rulers of India  who came from Central Asia, turned their attention from the "seas" and focused on land power. The trend was reversed during the British rule. If Britain was the undisputed power in the region stretching from Suez to China and Singapore, it was because of the fact that India was "the jewel in the Crown". But after Independence, the importance of seas diminished again until its resurrection by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao through his Look East Policy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given further impetus to this trend through his Act-East Policy. Of course, one could argue that India could well be as much a Eurasian power as an Indo-pacific power like China and Russia are. Let us hope that it is so. But for that to happen, the SCO has to resolve its inner contradictions that have been pointed out and not get reduced to becoming a talking shop such as SAARC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis decision to travel to Astana in Kazakhstan where India and Pakistan will become full-fledged members of Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, is a welcome change after New Delhis boycott of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) summit in Beijing last month.

The SCO is a grouping originally meant to ensure Russias sphere of influence in Central Asia and a Eurasian counter to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Now, the platform is being used by China, among other things, to promote President Xi Jinping's OBOR initiative. The aim is to involve Central Asian countries, prone to the influence of radical Islamists, to think of connectivity and development. Russia has its concerns about Muslim-dominated Chechnya, while Chinas worries are about Islamists in Xinjiang province.

India is well aware of Beijings intentions to use the SCO to promote its ancient Silk Route which traversed through the region. Perhaps it has realised now that boycott does not serve any purpose, as many European countries who see OBOR as a move to project Chinas growing clout in the world were present at the Beijing summit. Indias pragmatic plan now is to be part of the SCO and work from within the system. Whether anything substantial can be achieved will depend on India. "How we use our entry into the SCO, will depend on the deftness of Indian diplomacy. It will certainly raise India's profile in Central Asia," said Nandan Unnikrishnan, an expert on Russia and Central Asia, from the Observer Research Foundation. As part of SCO Indian ministers and diplomats will be visiting the region more often and help strengthen political ties with these countries.

India joining the SCO gives additional weight to the group as well. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted before leaving for Astana, after Indias inclusion, the SCO will represent 40 percent of humanity and 20 percent of global GDP.

The twin pillars on which the SCO stands is furthering trade, economy and connectivity in Central Asia and fighting terrorism through cooperation and exchange of intelligence as well as military exercises. At press briefing ahead of the SCO, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)was quick to point out that "the joint exercises are not a defence pact".

Expectations on SCO are not high, however. New Delhi is aware of the ground reality. The China-Pakistan axis will ensure that India does not reap many advantages from the SCO. Fighting terrorism jointly with Pakistan is a no-go, considering New Delhi regards Islamabad as the promoter of terror groups aimed at bleeding India. Will Pakistan stop funding and nurturing these outfits? Where will the interests of New Delhi and Islamabad meet within the SCO in fighting terrorism? This is a throwback to the anti-terror talks that India and Pakistan have initiated during one of the numerous peace initiatives between them. The Pakistan military and its spy agency ISI ensured that there was no cooperation. The SCO, of course, be a multilateral platform and some broad parameters may be followed by both countries, but when it comes to nuts and bolts on terror against India, there will be no action.

Ever since the break-up of the former Soviet Union, New Delhi had ambitions of rekindling its ties with the newly-independent republics. But because of geography and the fact that Pakistan had consistently opposed Indias overland trade with these nations, there was little forward movement. The SCO seems like a good opportunity to get things moving. Pakistan has been a spoiler for India in Central Asia. After all the South Asian Freed Trade Agreement got scuttled due to Pakistans reluctance to allow transit of goods through its territory to Afghanistan. New Delhis commitment to the Chabahar port in Iran for trade with Afghanistan and other central Asian nations was basically to work around this problem. So, even with regards to trade with Afghanistan and other countries, Pakistan is expected to be a stumbling block. So, where are the benefits for India in the SCO?

Afghanistan may just be one issue where India, China and Russia will find common ground. All three countries want stability in Afghanistan. Pakistan does too, but the country has a very different approach as it tries to strengthen the section of the Taliban it trusts. But as it's for India as well as Russia and China, an unstable Afghanistan could lead to an escalation of jihadi forces. Development of central Asian nations will help Afghanistan immeasurably, and perhaps, get the entire SCO to work towards it. This may take time, but can help bring back some semblance of order to this unstable country. "I think Russia, India and China can play a much more positive role in Afghanistan," said Unnikrishnan.

Both Modi and Nawaz Sharif are in Kazakhstans capital for the summit. The chances of any forward movement between the South Asian rivals appear dim. Both sides have already made it clear that no bilateral meetings between the two countries have been planned. But with India and Pakistan nothing can be taken for granted. Despite denials by both sides, Modi and Sharif may do more than just exchanging pleasantries in Astana.
Seoul: North Korea said on Friday it has tested a new type of cruise missile that is a powerful means of attacking enemy warships, a day after South Korea's military detected projectiles fired from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan.

The missiles represent the fourth new missile system North Korea said it has introduced and successfully tested this year alone, sending a defiant message to its enemies that it will continue to pursue a weapons program that has rattled its neighbours and Washington.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the launches, according to Korean Central News Agency, which said the missiles "accurately detected and hit" floating targets at sea after making "circular flights".

The missiles, which the South said flew about 200 kilometers, were tested in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, where United States aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan participated in joint exercises with the South Korean navy that ended earlier this week.

"This new-type cruise rocket is a powerful attack means capable of striking any enemy group of battleships" attempting to attack North Korea and can be used "at will", the KCNA report said.

The North's missile tests present a difficult challenge to new South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who has expressed a desire to reach out to the North. North Korea, which could have a working nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile in the next several years, may also be the most urgent foreign policy concern for the Trump administration, which has been distracted by domestic political turmoil and has insisted China do more to rein in the North's weapons activities.

South Korean military spokesman Roh Jae-cheon said the launch was intended to show off Pyongyang's widening arrange of missiles and also its "precision strike capabilities" on ships in response to the joint drills.

Bolivia's United Nations ambassador Sacha Llorentty Soliz, the current United Nations Security Council president, told reporters on Thursday he had not received any requests for a meeting on the latest launches.

Britain's United Nations ambassador Matthew Rycroft condemned North Korea's "latest provocations" and said "we look forward to working with our council colleagues about the best way to respond to them." He added that it was possible the launches were "underneath a threshold to count as a violation" of United Nations sanctions against North Korea that ban certain nuclear and missile tests.

The Security Council voted unanimously on 2 June to add 15 individuals and four entities linked to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs to a United Nations sanctions blacklist. That was in response to previous ballistic missile tests that violate United Nations sanctions.

North Korea's weapons tests are meant to build a nuclear and missile program that can stand up to what it sees as United States and South Korean hostility, but they are also considered by outside analysts as ways to make its political demands clear to leaders in Washington and Seoul. Analysts say the latest test appeared to be aimed at keeping up pressures on Moon to wrest concessions.

Moon has sought to expand cross-border civilian exchanges as a way to improve ties, but North Korea on Monday rejected a Seoul civic group's offer to provide anti-malaria supplies to protest South Korea's support of fresh United Nations sanctions adopted last week.

In what will likely become another source of animosities, Moon's government said it will let two of the four North Korean fishermen recently rescued at sea resettle in the South in accordance with their wishes. The two other fishermen who want to return home were repatriated on Friday.

Pyongyang is expected to demand the return of all four fishermen by accusing Seoul of enticing them to defect to the South.

In May, North Korea premiered a powerful new mid-range missile that outside experts said flew higher than any other missile previously tested by North Korea.

The North, in following weeks launched a solid-fuel mid-range missile that can be fired on shorter notice than liquid fuel missiles, and also what it descried a new "precision-guided" missile, which experts say is designed with a maneuverable terminal stage meant to frustrate missile defense systems like the United States Terminal High Altitude Area Defense that is being deployed in South Korea.
By Ju-min Park and Soyoung Kim

| SEOUL

SEOUL North Korea fired what appeared to be several land-to-ship missiles off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after the South postponed full deployment of a controversial U.S. anti-missile system designed to deter a North Korean attack.The launches, the latest in a fast-paced series of missile tests by North Korea defying world pressure to rein in its weapons programme, come less than a week after the United Nations Security Council passed fresh sanctions on the reclusive state. South Korea on Wednesday said it will hold off on installing remaining components of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system that has angered North Korea's main ally, China, amid early signs of easing tensions between the two countries.U.S. President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson discussed the Korean situation, including THAAD, at the White House on Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a news briefing.North Korea missile launches showed that THAAD was "important to, not only to protect U.S. forces, to protect our alliance and to ... help to further strengthen the region," Nauert said."We are aware, certainly, of the situation and the suspension of additional launchers," she said. "We would continue to say that THAAD was an alliance decision at the time, and we continue to work closely with (South Korea) throughout their process."Nauert called the latest North Korean missile launches "provocative." The missiles were launched Thursday morning from the North Korean coastal city of Wonsan and flew about 200 km (124 miles), South Korea's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said.Under third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has been conducting missile tests at an unprecedented pace in an effort to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the mainland United States. Compared to the different types of ballistic missiles Pyongyang has recently tested, the missiles launched on Thursday are considered to be more defensive in nature, designed to defend against threats such as enemy warships.

North Korea unveiled a number of new weapons at a massive military parade on April 15 to mark the birth anniversary of the state's founding leader and has since tested some of them. "What appeared to be a new type of land-to-ship missile equipped with four launching canisters was unveiled at the parade," said Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Kyungnam Universitys Far Eastern Studies in Seoul. "I think this might be what was used today."THAAD DEFENCE DELAYED

Thursday's launch is the fourth missile test by North Korea since South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office on May 10 pledging to engage in dialogue with Pyongyang. He says sanctions and pressure alone have failed to resolve the growing North Korean threat.North Korea has conducted dozens of missile tests and tested two nuclear bombs since the beginning of 2016 in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions. It says its weapons programmes are necessary to counter U.S. aggression.

Moon had also promised to review the deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea, a decision that was made by the government of his conservative predecessor, Park Geun-hye. On Wednesday, Moon's office said installation of four additional launchers would be halted until an assessment of the system's impact on the environment was completed.Two launchers of the full six-launcher THAAD battery, as well as the system's far-reaching radar that China worries could upset the regional security balance, have already been installed at a deployment site in the southeastern city of Seongju. The elements will stay in place, South Korea said.The introduction of the THAAD system has sparked protests in South Korea and a backlash in China against South Korean business interests.The Global Times, published by China's official People's Daily, said in an editorial that no matter the outcome of the environmental study, South Korea's announcement could reduce friction."Obviously, the pressure China puts on South Korea has taken effect. Seoul's will has been shaken," the paper said. "However, attitude is not everything. Without solving the problem of THAAD, the pain it has brought to bilateral relations will not disappear, and South Korea must swallow some of the bitter results."

China should work with Russia on counter-measures to THAAD, the Global Times added.Asked about the latest missile test, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying called for all parties to exercise restraint."The UN Security Council resolution has clear rules on (North Korea's) use of ballistic missiles technologies," she said. "All sides should work together to de-escalate tensions and take active steps to stabilize the region." Trump has been pressing China to rein in North Korea, warning that all options, including a pre-emptive military strike, are on the table if Pyongyang persists with its nuclear and missile development.Seoul, Tokyo and Washington were analysing the launches for further information, officials said.Japan's navy and air force conducted military drills with two U.S. aircraft carriers in the Sea of Japan last week, following similar joint U.S.-South Korea exercises. "North Korea likely wanted to show off its ability to precisely target a large warship, in relation to the joint military drills involving U.S. aircraft carriers," Roh Jae-cheon, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman, told a media briefing."By testing different types of missiles, North Korea also appears to be aiming to secure the upper hand in relations with South Korea and the United States." (Additional reporting by Christine Kim in Seoul, Christian Shepherd and Ben Blanchard in Beijing and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Leslie Adler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Islamabad: The Inter-Services Public Relations, the Pakistan military's media wing, on Thursday released details of an operation in Balochistan's Mastung area in which security forces killed 12 "hardcore terrorists".

Special commandos participated in the three-day operation to destroy a several-kilometre-long cave complex used by banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Almi (LeJA) group to plan attacks across Pakistan, Dawn reported.

The military said on Thursday that the successful operation by security forces in Mastung denied the establishment of any direct or indirect Islamic State-organised infrastructure in Pakistan.

The statement issued by ISPR said that security forces conducted an operation in Mastung based on reports that 10-15 terrorists of banned LeJA were hiding in caves near Isplingi, 36 km south-east of Mastung.

The said organisation was reportedly making efforts to communicate with IS militants and intended to facilitate the establishment of IS's foothold in Balochistan.

The suicide bomber who targeted Senate Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri on 12 May was also sent by LeJA group from the same hideout. Five security forces personnel, including two officers, were injured in the offensive.

The operation for clearance of the target area, spread over 10 km, started on 1 June with the landing of a heliborne force.

Terrorists hiding in caves offered stiff resistance and a 250-metre-long gorge with steep heights and multiple caves made the clearance operation difficult and challenging.

Intelligence and security forces personnel cleared the hideout by 3 June. During an exchange of fire, 12 terrorists, including two suicide bombers, were killed.

Security Forces destroyed an IED-making facility inside the cave and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition which included 50 kg of explosives, three suicide bomber jackets, 18 grenades, six rocket launchers, four light machine guns and huge ammunition of various types.
Washington: America will continue to lead the world on environmental protection but would not be dictated by others on this issue, President Donald Trump has said as he justified his decision to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate deal.

"From now on, we will follow a very simple rule: Every day I am president, we are going to make America first, not somebody else, not some other country. We are going to make America first," Trump said.

"America will continue to lead the world on environmental protection. We're going to have clean water, crystal clean. We're going to have clean air. But what we won't do is let other countries take advantage of the United States anymore, and dictate what we are doing and dictate our future," he said in his address at the Faith and Freedom Coalitions Road to Majority Conference in Washington.

No federal worker, he stressed, should be censoring sermons or targeting pastors.

"As long as I'm president, no one is going to stop you from practicing your faith or from preaching what is in your heart, and from preaching - and really this is so important, from the bottom of my heart, from preaching from the people that you most want to hear and that you so respect, so we have taken a very, very strong position, and you picked a winner," Trump said.

"We want our pastors thinking out. We want their voices in our public discourse, and we want our children to know the blessings of God. School should not be a place that drives out faith and religion. But that should welcome faith and religion with wide, open, beautiful arms, he said.

Trump said in May he travelled to Saudi Arabia to speak to the leaders of more than 50 Muslim and Arab countries and to rally them in the common fight against terrorism, which is a menace to people of all religions.

There can be no coexistence with this violence, he asserted.
Doha: Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera said on Thursday that it was under a wide scale cyber attack which had targeted "all systems", according to a statement released on social media by the broadcaster.

"Al Jazeera Media Network under cyber attack on all systems, websites & social media platforms," it said on Twitter. The attack was also confirmed by a source at Al Jazeera, who said the broadcaster was attempting to repel the hack. "An attempt has been made, and we are trying to battle it," said the source.

Following the initial reports of a cyber attack, some viewers in the region said they could no longer receive Al Jazeera television. Al Jazeera, one of the largest news organisations in the world, has long been a source of conflict between Qatar and its neighbours, who accuse the broadcaster of bias and fomenting trouble in the region.

The alleged cyber attack comes during a time of heightened tensions in the Gulf, which has seen Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and other allies cut ties with Qatar.

They severed relations over what they said is Doha's alleged financing of extremist groups and its ties to Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional arch-rival. Long-running tensions broke out into the open last month after Qatar claimed its state news site was hacked by unknown parties who posted "false" statements attributed to the emir in which he speaks favourably of Iran and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

The remarks were widely reported as true across the region. Earlier this month, Qatar said the FBI was helping it investigate the source of the alleged hacking. Subsequently, there was a media report suggesting that Qatar had been targeted by Russian hackers, a claim dismissed by Moscow.
Astana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday underscored the need to respect each other's "core concerns" and appropriately handle the disputes as he held "cordial" talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions in ties over a host of issues including the CPEC and India's NSG bid.

The two leaders met in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. It is their first meeting after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

During the meeting, Modi said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

The Indian side is grateful for China's support for India's accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organisation, Modi said.

Giving broad outcome of the meeting, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said the broad thrust of it was that at the time of global uncertainty, India-China relations are a factor of stability and as the world becomes more multi-polar it was important for the two countries to work together more closely.

"There was an understanding that where we have differences, it is important that differences should not become disputes and in fact, if they were handled well, could even be opportunities," Jaishankar told reporters describing the meeting as "cordial" and "very positive".

Jaishankar said Modi and Xi also deliberated on defence exchanges, counter-terrorism cooperation and security cooperation. He said issues relating to trade and investment were a major highlight.

"Entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation was discussed," said Jaishankar.

It is learnt that Modi and Xi discussed importance of connectivity including the Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar Corridor (BCIM) but there was no direct reference to OBOR.

Relations between India and China has witnessed a downturn owing to differences over a series of issues including China blocking India's move to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN, its opposition to India's bid for NSG membership and China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Asked whether the NSG, OBOR and Azhar issues were raised, Jaishankar did not give a direct reply and said the meeting was for taking a broad assessment of the relationship.

"You should be rest assured that there was a sense that both sides would address each others concerns very seriously," said the Foreign Secretary.

He said both the countries may have differences, but it is important to find "common grounds" and address each other's concerns "with a degree of seriousness".

"There was discussion on connectivity, how we could work together. In fact, to my recollection, the AIIB i.e. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BCIM Corridor came up for discussion," he said when asked if China raised the issue of India's boycott of the OBOR.

Asked about the Chinese stand on Mansarovar Yatra, he said the broad signal from the Chinese side was that "they accord us facilities which are very appreciated by the public in India and they understand that and they would continue to facilitate and expand its possibility."

When asked whether the recent airspace violation by China was raised by the Indian side, he evaded a reply, saying "you people must see this summit level meeting for what it is."

During the meeting, Xi told Modi that the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that both the countries "should also address sensitive and major issues" as she highlighted the issues figured in the meeting.

"India should focus more cooperation and work alongside to provide assistance to each other's developmental goals," Hua said.

"The two sides should strengthen the complementarities of the development strategies and press ahead with the major cooperation projects such as energy and railways," Hua said.

She also said the two sides should press ahead in a major way on Bangladesh, China, India Myanmar Corridor (BCIM) besides tourism, culture and other fields. BCIM is part of the China's multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative (BRI).

Xi also congratulated India on becoming an official member of the SCO, she said. "We hope that the two countries will work together to ensure the development of the SCO," he told Modi.

The SCO is a security grouping increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, so as to instill more momentum into each other's development and contribute to world peace, stability and common development, said the Chinese president.

Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India. He called for more high-level interactions, institutionalised exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries, Xinhua reported.

China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large-scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said.

The Chinese president said his country is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organisation. China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.
Astana: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Astana.

"Had a fruitful meeting with President @ashrafghani," Modi tweeted soon after the meeting

I thank the SCO for making India a part of this esteemed organisation, which now represents 40% of humanity and nearly 20% of global GDP.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 9, 2017

India, along with Pakistan, was granted full membership of the SCO, the influential Eurasian political, economic and military bloc that also includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the inclusion of his country in the SCO would give fresh impetus to the fight against terrorism in the region.

His Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif said the organization's anti-terrorist initiatives would help improve security in Pakistan.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said at the inauguration ceremony that the entry of the new members would give fresh impetus to the organization's development and further boost its relevance internationally.

The fundamental interests of the SCO members point to the need to deepen their cooperation in a format larger than eight countries, Nazarbayev said, adding that it was only through joint efforts that significant strides can be made in achieving the grouping's objectives.

Nazarbayev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said it was important for the organization to bring on board new members but he did not mention any country in particular, reports Efe news.

Earlier in the day, Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the summit.
By Kate Holton and David Milliken

| LONDON

LONDON Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party will fail to win a parliamentary majority in Britain's election, according to an exit poll on Thursday, a shock result that would plunge domestic politics into turmoil and could delay Brexit talks.The exit poll predicted the Conservatives would win 314 seats in the 650-member parliament and the opposition Labour Party 266, meaning no clear winner and a "hung parliament".The BBC reported that 76 seats appeared too close to call.Until the final results become clear, it is hard to predict whether May has a chance of surviving as prime minister and who might end up leading the next government and steering Britain into divorce talks with the European Union."MAYHEM" screamed the headline in the tabloid Sun newspaper. "Britain on a knife edge," said the Daily Mail.Sterling fell initially by more than two cents against the U.S. dollar as markets digested the prospect of extreme political uncertainty and even the risk of a second election this year, though the currency later recovered some ground.The exit poll pointed to an extraordinary failure for May, who was enjoying opinion poll leads of 20 points and more when she called the snap election just seven weeks ago.That margin shrank over the course of the campaign, during which she backtracked on a major social care proposal, opted not to debate her opponents on television and faced questions over her record on security after Britain was hit by two Islamist militant attacks that killed 30 people.By contrast, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist who had initially been written off as a no-hoper, was widely deemed to have run a strong, policy-rich campaign that enthused many followers.If the exit poll is correct, Corbyn could attempt to form a government with smaller parties which, like Labour, strongly oppose most of May's policies on domestic issues such as public spending cuts.

The poll forecast the Scottish National Party (SNP) would win 34 seats, the centre-left Liberal Democrats 14, the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru three and the Greens one. Other parties were projected to win 18 seats."If the poll is anything like accurate, this is completely catastrophic for the Conservatives and for Theresa May," George Osborne, who was the Conservative finance minister from 2010 to 2016 when he was sacked by May, said on ITV.BREXIT TALKS LOOM

Political deadlock in London could derail negotiations with the other 27 EU countries ahead of Britain's exit from the bloc, due in March 2019, before they even begin in earnest. Brexit talks are scheduled to start on June 19 but could now be delayed, a source of major uncertainty and concern for investors."The market will be praying that this exit poll has got it wrong," said currency analyst Lee Hardman of Japanese financial MUFG in a note.Analysts were treating the exit poll with caution, however.

In the last election, in 2015, the corresponding poll predicted May's predecessor David Cameron would fall short of a majority. But as the night wore on and the actual results came in from constituencies, it became clear he had in fact won a majority, albeit a small one of just 12 seats.That outcome was a triumph for Cameron though, because he had been predicted to fall well short. For May, who went into the campaign expecting to win a landslide, even a narrow win later in the night would leave her badly damaged."It's difficult to see, if these numbers were right, how they (the Conservatives) would put together the coalition to remain in office," said Osborne."But equally it's quite difficult looking at those numbers to see how Labour could put together a coalition, so it's on a real knife edge."May herself had said during her campaign: "Its a fact that if we lose just six seats, we will lose our majority and Jeremy Corbyn will become prime minister," predicting that the Scottish Nationalists and Liberal Democrats would back him.

Whilst this was campaign rhetoric designed to drive support for her party, it also suggested she saw little prospect of forming a coalition with other parties, almost all of whom are opposed to her Brexit strategy built around leaving the EU's single market, controlling immigration and escaping the jurisdiction of EU courts. The centre-left, pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who were in coalition with the Conservatives between 2010 and 2015, looked unlikely to go down that route again. They were close to wiped out in the 2015 election."(Party leader) Tim Farron made it very clear. He said no pact, no deal, no coalition," former Lib Dem leader Menzies Campbell told the BBC."We've had our fingers burnt by coalition, I don't need to tell you that. I find it very, very difficult to see how Tim Farron would be able to go back on what he previously said."In Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), a natural ally of the Conservatives, said it would negotiate with the Conservatives if they fell short of a majority, as both parties had common ground.Any delay in Brexit talks would reduce the time available for what are expected to be the most complex negotiations in post-World War Two European history.If Corbyn's Labour does take power with the backing of the Scottish nationalists and the Liberal Democrats, both parties adamantly opposed to Brexit, Britain's future will be very different to the course the Conservatives were planning and could even raise the possibility of a second referendum.Labour has said it would push ahead with Brexit but would scrap May's negotiating plans and make its priority maintaining the benefits of both the EU single market and its customs union, arguing no deal with the EU would be the worst possible outcome.It also proposed raising taxes for the richest 5 percent of Britons, scrapping university tuition fees and investing 250 billion pounds ($315 billion) in infrastructure plans. (Additional reporting by Paul Sandle, William Schomberg, Andy Bruce, William James, Alistair Smout, Paddy Graham, writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Steve Holland and Yeganeh Torbati

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday called on Qatar to stop funding terrorism as his state department urged Arab states to ease their blockade on the country and calm tensions that intensified with a Turkish offer to send military forces to aid its Qatari ally.Trump said he spoke with regional leaders in the wake of a recent meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and he had decided it was time to call on Qatar to end its support of terrorist groups. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain severed ties with Qatar on Monday over long-standing allegations that Doha was courting Iran and fomenting instability in the region. "The nation of Qatar unfortunately has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We had a decision to make, do we take the easy road or do we finally take a hard but necessary action. We have to stop the funding of terrorism. I decided ... the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding." Gulf allies tightened their squeeze on Qatar on Friday by putting dozens of figures with links to the tiny, wealthy nation on terrorism blacklists.

Taking what appeared to be a different position to Trump's hard line, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made clear on Friday he expected all parties to end the crisis."We call on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar," he said in Washington.Tillerson told reporters at the State Department that the crisis, which has cut transportation links and trade, had begun to hurt ordinary people in Qatar, impaired business dealings and harmed the U.S. battle against the Islamic State militant group.Qatar is home to a vital U.S. military base. Shortly after Tillerson's remarks, the Pentagon said that while the Qatar blockade was not affecting current operations against Islamic State, it was "hindering" the ability to plan for long-term operations.

He demanded that Qatar, as well as the other nations, take steps to curtail support for terrorism. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states accuse Doha of supporting extremist groups, but Tillerson suggested that all sides needed to do more."The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country, but he must do more and he must do it more quickly," Tillerson said. "Others must also continue to eliminate factions of support for violent organizations within their own borders."In an apparent escalation of the crisis, staff at Al Jazeera, Qatar's influential satellite television news channel which often infuriates the rulers of the Arab world, said its computer systems had come under cyber attack.

Riyadh, Cairo and their allies accuse Qatar, the world's richest country per capita, of supporting militant Islamist movements across the region. They have imposed what Qatar says is a blockade of shipping and air traffic and closed Qatar's only land border, causing panic buying at supermarkets and provoking confusion and anxiety across the population.Qatar, which has developed an assertive foreign policy over the past decade, denies that it supports militants and says it is helping to reduce the threat of terrorism by backing groups that fight poverty and seek political reform.Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called the moves by Arab neighbours and others "clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law."They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one," the minister said during a visit to Germany.Qatar has vowed to ride out the isolation imposed on it by fellow Arab states and said it would not compromise its sovereignty over foreign policy to resolve the region's biggest diplomatic crisis in years. (Additional reporting by William Maclean and Rania Gamal in Dubai, Andrea Shalal in Germany; David Alexander and Yeganeh Torbati in Washington; Writing by Peter Graff' Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Andrew Hay)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Daniel Twining, a leading expert on India-US relations who worked in the Bush administration during the thick of the landmark civilian nuclear deal agreement between the two countries spoke with Firstpost on the coming Modi-Trump summit in the US. June 26, 27, 28 are the dates pencilled in as of now.

Twining also spoke on Comey testimony, Donald Trump and why abandoning a liberal world order for a 'spheres-of-influence' method is a trap both for America and its allies. Catch the full conversation here.

Daniel Twining on a Modi-Trump meeting and whether the US pullout from the Paris climate deal matters to the overall relationship:

"So Im optimistic. Trump had a rocky set of meetings in Europe with traditional US allies. In contrast, he had very strong, very positive meetings with Prime Minister Abe of Japan, with Xi Jinping of China and I think Modi will be added to that list of strong Asian leaders who want to build a vibrant relationship with the US. Trump brought up India in one of the Presidential debates last Fall. He spoke of India in very positive terms, so I think he looks out at Asia and looks at these rising cultural powers. He looks at India and sees economic dynamism and great potential. Modi and Trump will have a lot to talk about in terms of their mutual scepticism of Chinese power, on what roles India and the US can play in the Middle East together and separately and how do you mutually grow each others economies. India is reducing carbon emissions and switching from dirty coal. India is actually a leader in renewable energy. India is doing that for India, not because of what the US is doing or not. Indian governments are going to continue doing what's good for India. One way for PM Modi to speak to President Trump about this is to talk about the innovation and economic opportunities to make the switch to wind, solar, hydro. Even if US is out of Paris (deal), India and the US will continue to collaborate on clean energy - you have to remember that India and US have a history here. They did that big civil nuclear agreement 10 years ago when I was working with the Bush administrationIndia suffers from these energy bottlenecks which are a big constraint on Indian growth. Nuclear may or may not be the solution. I suspect you need an all of the above strategy for energy in India but I think we have been on this before and we will continue to be on even if the US is not part of Paris (climate deal), there are going to be huge opportunities for India and the US to collaborate on clean energy."
Beijing: China on Friday said it was "gravely concerned" about the killing of two Chinese citizens in Pakistan's restive Balochistan.

"According to initial information from the Pakistani side, the two Chinese citizens kidnapped may have already unfortunately been killed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern. We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," Hua said.

A Chinese man and a woman, who taught Mandarin in Balochistan, were kidnapped from Jinnah in Quetta last month. The Islamic State terror group has reportedly owned up responsibility for killing the two Chinese nationals.

However, Beijing said that it stands by Pakistan in the fight against terror and sought to dispel fears about its multi-billion dollar economic corridor being hit.

The $46 billion project, which connects China's Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar port, is the "flagship" project of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.

"We strongly condemn all forms of terrorism and support Pakistan in its fight (against terrorism) and for peace and tranquillity in the region and beyond," Hua said.

"I think this incident has no connection with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting," she said.

The incident comes at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting.

China has in the past expressed concern over the safety and security of its citizens in Pakistan.
By Stephen Kalin and Tom Finn

| DUBAI/DOHA

DUBAI/DOHA The United States on Friday called on Arab states to ease their blockade on Qatar and demanded all sides move to calm tensions that intensified with a Turkish offer to send troops, warships and planes to aid its Qatari ally.Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain, which on Monday cut ties with Qatar and accused it of fomenting instability, tightened their squeeze by putting dozens of figures with links to the tiny, wealthy nation on terrorism blacklists.In something of a reversal of U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion earlier this week that he sided with Saudi Arabia and other countries against Qatar, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made clear on Friday that he expected all parties to end the crisis."We call on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar," he said in Washington.Tillerson told reporters at the State Department that the crisis, which has cut transportation links and trade, had begun to hurt ordinary people in Qatar, impaired business dealings and harmed the U.S. battle against the Islamic State militant group.

He demanded that Qatar, as well as the other nations, take steps to curtail support for terrorism. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states accuse Doha of supporting extremist groups, but Tillerson suggested that all sides needed to do more."The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country, but he must do more and he must do it more quickly," Tillerson said. "Others must also continue to eliminate factions of support for violent organizations within their own borders."

In an apparent escalation of the crisis, staff at Al Jazeera, Qatar's influential satellite television news channel which often infuriates the rulers of the Arab world, said its computer systems had come under cyber attack.Riyadh, Cairo and their allies accuse Qatar, the world's richest country per capita, of supporting militant Islamist movements across the region. They have imposed what Qatar says is a blockade of shipping and air traffic and closed Qatar's only land border, causing panic buying at supermarkets and provoking confusion and anxiety across the population.Qatar, which has developed an assertive foreign policy over the past decade, denies that it supports militants and says it is helping to reduce the threat of terrorism by backing groups that fight poverty and seek political reform.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called the moves by Arab neighbours and others "clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law."They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one," the minister said during a visit to Germany.Qatar has vowed to ride out the isolation imposed on it by fellow Arab states and said it would not compromise its sovereignty over foreign policy to resolve the region's biggest diplomatic crisis in years. (Additional reporting by William Maclean and Rania Gamal in Dubai, Andrea Shalal in Germany; David Alexander and Yeganeh Torbati in Washington; Writing by Peter Graff, editing by Peter Millership and Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New York: British billionaire Richard Branson presented a petition to the UN General Assembly, urging governments to protect at least 30 per cent of oceans by 2030.

The founder of the Virgin Group, also a famous investor and philanthropist, presented the petition on Thursday backed by over 1 million citizens from around the world to UNGA President Peter Thomson at the UN Oceans Conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

The commitment was made in September 2016 at the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress, where 180 governments and over 600 NGOs voted to strongly protect at least a third of the world's ocean by 2030.

"Now citizens are calling on governments to execute on this," Branson said.

"The ocean covers two thirds of the planet yet today less than 3 percent is strongly protected. The science says we need to protect at least 30 percent."

"Through this petition, over 1 million people from around the world have called for action to reach this ambitious target. I am pleased to add my voice and look forward to working with political and business leaders and citizens to make it a reality," he said.

The UN Ocean Conference is ongoing at the UN headquarters in New York, coinciding with World Oceans Day, which falls on 8 June.

Co-chaired by Fiji and Sweden, the Conference aims to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is looking to Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) for support in forming a new government now that the Conservative Party failed to get a majority.

The DUP, which won 10 seats in Thursday's voting, has emerged as the most likely partner to form a coalition government. The party has a bit of a reputation for its strong views.

May said that she looks forward to working with "our friends and allies" in the DUP. The party is the largest unionist political party in Northern Ireland. "Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom," May said, according to AP.

In recent history, the Conservative Party under John Major relied on the support of the Ulster Unionist Party to garner a majority in 1992-1997.

An interesting point to note is that Northern Irelands take on Brexit. It voted in favour of remaining inside the European Union in the EU referendum, going against the national trend.

Despite this trend, DUP is pro-Brexit, however, the party would prefer a "soft Brexit" over the "hard Brexit" that May favours, as it wants to preserve its open border with an EU member, the Republic of Ireland. I make no apology for wanting the best for Northern Ireland and all of the union, Guardian reports Arlene Fosters statement in Belfast. Following Brexit, the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would become an EU frontier and the DUP is not in favour of this hard border, which would enforce checkpoints and other intrusive measures. It would also impose tariffs and barriers between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, the Guardian report adds.

Despite this fact, BBC reports that DUP was the most Eurosceptic party in the UK, before the UK Independence Party (UKIP) took over the mantle. Similar to Mays party, the DUP is socially conservative. The party is controversial for its views on same-sex marriage. The party once championed a campaign called Save Ulster from Sodomy. It staunchly believes that the "traditional" definition of marriage should be upheld. The Independent chronicles party leader Forsters views on this issue, I could not care less what people get up to in terms of their sexuality, thats not a matter for me  when it becomes a matter for me is when people try to redefine marriage.

Another pressure point for the party is abortion. BBC states that abortion remains illegal in Northern Ireland, except in specific medical cases. On these lines, DUP remains anti-abortion.

DUP's climate change views were also under the spotlight when the party appointed climate change denier Sammy Wilson as its environment minister. As quoted by Independent, Wilson said in 2014 that the United Kingdom was, putting our agricultural industry in jeopardy because there is no greater producer of greenhouse gases than cows.

With regards to their party manifesto, DUP has a five-point plan that it abides by. They are:

Prioritise spending on health service

Create more jobs and increase incomes

Protect family budgets

Raise standards in education for everyone

Invest in infrastructure

The five-point plan is further expanded to 10 elements:

More jobs and rising incomes

A world class health service

Education  every child the opportunity to succeed

Rebuilding Northern Ireland

Rewarding hard work

Safer streets and smarter justice

Creating stronger communities

A friend of the farmer and our natural heritage

Changing politics and government in Northern Ireland

Taking pride in Northern Ireland

The DUP could put pressure on the Conservative Party to boost public spending in Northern Ireland, it will wish to ensure that Northern Ireland is given the same importance as the United Kingdom during Brexit talks.

Foster has not yet made a public commitment to joining a formal coalition or an informal alliance with the weakened Conservatives. "I certainly think that there will be contact made over the weekend but I think it is too soon to talk about what we're going to do," she said about the coalition.

With inputs from agencies.
Welcome Rishi Sunak, first UK PM of Indian origin, in worst than hell time It's not only the domestic front that the UK is struggling economically, on the global front Britain is at its worst. British economy is in doldrums, not much better than the time of the great economic depression of 1929
Belfast: Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionists were in talks Friday to become kingmakers by lending British Prime Minister Theresa May enough backing for a parliamentary majority  support that throws the spotlight on the party's deeply right-wing outlook.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she had spoken with Conservative leader May and would start talks on propping up the party, declaring that keeping Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom would be "our guiding star".

"We will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge," Foster told a press conference in Belfast.

The DUP holds just 10 seats in the British parliament but this would be enough to give May's Conservatives a working majority. The precise nature of the relationship they are targeting is not yet clear.

"We will continue to work with our friends and allies in the DUP," May said as she began to formulate her new government.

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."

More conservative than Conservatives

The DUP now finds itself centre stage  a long way from its foundation in 1971 by firebrand Protestant evangelical preacher Ian Paisley to defend Northern Ireland's union with Britain against demands for a united Ireland.

Early in his political career, the colourful cleric became a byword for bigotry and intolerance of Catholics.

The party is now more secular and attracts a wider demographic than when it was founded, shifting from fundamentalist outsider to political pragmatists.

However, its roots are apparent in its vehement opposition to gay marriage, abortion and Irish language rights.

And although it has a female leader, it remains an overwhelmingly male, white bastion and is certainly more conservative than the Conservatives.

Foster did not elaborate on the DUP's wish list of concessions but it will likely try to extract more money from the central government for public services in Northern Ireland.

The party will also probably seek more guarantees for agriculture post-Brexit to assuage the concern of farmers after the current deal runs out in five years' time.

The DUP, however, will have to contend with the new political realities in Northern Ireland where concern about Brexit and the possible return of a hard border with the Republic of Ireland have raised fears.

In Thursday's election, the DUP won 10 of Northern Ireland's 18 seats in the 650-member British parliament.

Catholic Irish republicans Sinn Fein won seven, with a sitting independent unionist winning another, as a more moderate Irish nationalist and British unionist parties were wiped out.

Sinn Fein does not take its seats in the British parliament, with MPs refusing to swear allegiance to the British head of state, Queen Elizabeth II. This is the first time since 1964 that there will be no nationalist representation in the Commons.

Acrimony between DUP, SF

In the South Belfast constituency won by the DUP, voters expressed dismay at the obliteration of the centre ground.

"We've gone back decades  we're further apart than ever," said John Foster, 72, a retired English lecturer.

Liam Kennedy, 64, a history professor at Queen's University, said the result had "crystallised the reality of politics in Northern Ireland".

"Instead of peace we have confrontation by other means," he said.

Office worker Christina Kelly, 38, described the result as "not exactly an ideal situation" but said it would likely focus more attention on Northern Ireland and particularly how Brexit would affect the region.

"I voted for a person who I thought would fight for a better deal for Northern Ireland and although the DUP campaigned to leave, some voice in government will surely be better than none."

The DUP and Sinn Fein, the two largest parties in Northern Ireland, are due to resume talks on Monday to form a regional government after power-sharing collapsed in acrimony in January.

The distraction of ongoing negotiations in London and the strength of the vote for each party in Thursday's election will do little to encourage compromise, according to political analysts.
Britain: German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said Friday that the United Kingdom vote reflected popular discontent over Prime Minister Theresa May's hard Brexit strategy, which he said should be reconsidered.

"The message from this vote is  hold fair talks with the European Union and think again whether it is really good for Britain to leave the European Union in this manner," he told reporters.

He added that he hoped "a new government will be formed quickly with which we can hold serious negotiations".

A foreign ministry spokesman said that May had campaigned for "a strong majority for a hard Brexit" and that this "was not the outcome of the election", in which the British prime minister lost her majority.

A spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile declined to comment on the election until a new government is formed, while the German leader was a on a tour of Argentina and Mexico.

Meanwhile, May said on Friday that she planned to stick to the timetable for starting Brexit negotiations in 10 days, with a new government that would lead Britain out of the European Union.

"We will fulfill the promise of Brexit," May said, speaking outside her official residence in Downing Street after meeting Queen Elizabeth II to seek permission to form a new government despite losing her majority in a snap general election.
London: With Brexit talks due to begin in just over a week, Britain's shock election results may soften the government's strategy  if there is even a government formed to negotiate in Brussels by then.

The country could be plunged into uncertainty for weeks as Theresa May seeks to form a government, if her Conservative party has lost its overall majority as an exit poll and near-complete results indicate.

Current plans to start negotiations in the week of 19 June may have to be delayed, experts said.

When the talks do begin, there could be a very different approach from the "hard Brexit" advocated by May that would involve leaving Europe's single market and curbing European immigration.

"What the UK asks for might not be quite as hard, quite as tough as she was asking for before. We might see a softening of the stance in response to this election result," said Simon Hix, politics professor at the London School of Economics.

"The terms of us leaving are so much more up for grabs than they were before," he said.

His LSE colleague Paul Kelly said the result would weaken May's hand in Brussels, where she is due to attend a summit on June 22 and 23.

German Chancellor Angela "Merkel will notice that, (French President Emmanuel) Macron will notice that. Everybody will notice that and that changes the dynamic," Kelly said.

"She has to go and ask for things now and they can say 'well we'll see'."

Paula Surridge, senior lecturer at Bristol University, said it may take time to get to the negotiations in the first place.

"The offer of the EU to extend the period before negotiations start may well be very necessary," she said.

'The Brexit election'

Britain voted 52 percent in favour of leaving the EU in a shock referendum last year, becoming the first ever member state ever to do so, but the regional breakdown of the results varied hugely.

Among Friday's election surprises were the spike in support for the opposition Labour party in London, which voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, and a strong showing for the pro-European Liberal Democrats.

The Lib Dems, which had campaigned for a second referendum on the terms of Brexit that could mean Britain staying in the bloc, was forecast to gain several seats in areas that voted for "Remain".

May called the snap election in April saying she wanted to increase her majority in order to have a stronger position in Brexit negotiations.

At the time she was riding high in the polls and she pushed a tough message on Brexit on the campaign trail, saying she was planning to be a "bloody difficult woman" in Brussels.

But a series of campaign missteps followed and instead of boosting her party in Labour-held seats that voted for Brexit, her rhetoric may have turned voters off.

"Looks like it was the Brexit election after all. But not quite the Brexit election we expected," said Rob Ford, political science professor at Manchester University.

Brexit in trouble?

Brexit backers on Friday voiced concern about the possibility of a full reversal, even after May triggered Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to begin the formal Brexit process in March.

"Article 50 has been triggered and we were on our way. May has put all this in jeopardy," said Nigel Farage, a leading campaigner for Brexit in last year's referendum.

"The timetable, whatever happens here, is likely to be pushed back," the former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader said.

Farage warned that in the event that May cannot form a government and Labour creates a coalition "then I think Brexit is in some trouble".

"We may well be looking down the barrel of a second referendum," he said.

Gina Miller, a leading voice for Britain staying in the EU, said the vote was a sign that voters were rejecting May's proposition of a "hard Brexit".

"I think that Brexit actually is going to have to be negotiated in a very different way," she told ITV.

Alistair Campbell, Labour prime minister Tony Blair's former spokesman and a strong EU supporter, said: "This election is a rejection of May and hard Brexit. A vote for one to go and the other to be revisited".

Some EU officials had voiced hope that a stronger majority for May could allow her to make more concessions in the negotiations.

Preliminary results indicate she will instead face a far tougher balancing act between europhiles and eurosceptics within her own party.

"She will need to worry about maintaining the support of Conservative MPs who are both critical of Europe and critical of her decision to hold an election and squander the Conservative party's majority," said John Bartle from the University of Essex.
Theresa May didnt lose the UK General Election, but then she didnt exactly win either.

For a campaign that was expected to increase the Conservative Party's majority by another 30 or 40 seats, it instead lost out on gaining a full majority. At the time of writing, the Tories had won in around 315 seats  just short of a majority by about 11 seats. On the other hand, the Labour Party headed by the abominable Jeremy Corbyn helped his party increase its tally to 261, an increase of 31 seats from the last time.

Now, the country is in state of flux with a hung Parliament, uncertainty over the leadership within Tories and the threat from Brussels standing at its door. All of this has happened within a year and watching it from far-away gives you a sense of comfort about how politically stable India is at the moment (yes, it's true despite the daily political circus showcased by the mainstream media).

The immediate reactions to the election results have obviously been manifold. The most common theme has been to compare it with the shock that many witnessed with a Donald Trump victory and vote for Brexit. Although it makes little sense to mix and analyse the three results in the same vein  all happened because of a variety of different reasons, the most obvious conclusion and lesson is to never take voters for granted.

When May called for the election two months back, she was on a high and many did view her as an unconventional politician. She spoke with authority and with calmness that the nation expected amidst the Brexit turmoil. May, realising this, turned the campaign around to a presidential style battle with most attention (if not all) given to her and not the party. This, as Charles W Cooke of National Review notes was a surprise: "Where traditionally it would be Conservatives fighting for this or that issue, this year it was all about Theresa".

Undoubtedly, such was her disastrous campaign that she went from being compared to Thatcher to Trump within a short span of two months, when finally it became all about not voting for Corbyn. Just as how David Cameron tried to win the 'Remain' vote with the force of his personality, it was time voters reminded May again that they care more about issues than personalities.

Which is why the Conservatives failed to match the Labours leftward turn of increasing spending and promises of nationalisation or his mindless slogan to workers to take your wealth back  (as if it were stolen from them). It not only failed to respond critically to such ludicrous promises/policies by Labour, it also spectacularly failed to convince young voters of its unintended damaging consequences. If the grandparent vote won it for Brexit, it was the young that made sure the Tories didnt win a majority for they voted in such large numbers.

The uncertainty with voters is also unmissable in the election analysis. When many predicted 'Remain' last year, they predicted a comfortable Tory win this year. There remains a huge disconnect between the way analysts want voters to vote and the way voters actually vote. If large pockets of Labour sympathisers voted for Brexit last year, many of those frustrated with Brexit responded angrily by voting Labour this year. Voters, unlike parties, have no fixed loyalties and can often shock/please their representatives in ways they can never imagine.

The amount of criticism that May will face over the next few weeks may well be justified, especially from those who fear it will hamper Brexit negotiations. Labour, on the other hand, will be given undue credit (even though they have won fewer seats than the Tories) for their performance. Thats precisely because the results were different from what was expected.

In any case, if May decides to stay or someone else from the party replaces her (assuming that the Conservatives form a government with the support of DUP), it is critical that a pragmatic and sensible approach to Brexit is taken without derailing the EU or the British economy. Voters, who voted based on their own premonitions, do not of course want that to happen  otherwise rest assured, the next election will spring up even more surprises.
The Conservative Partys rather unspectacular show in the 2017 General Election in the United Kingdom  the results of which trickled in on Friday morning  has shown that Theresa Mays gamble on a snap election has backfired. It is likely to weaken, rather than strengthen, Mays profile in the British politics.

After all, there was an expectation that the 2017 election would enhance Mays standing in international politics and augment her position in navigating through Brexit talks.

When May took what she thought was a bold decision in April this year to call for elections long ahead of the scheduled time, and the opinion polls then predicted a landslide victory for her Conservative Party, there was a general feeling that she was carving a path just as Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher had done before her.

People found a certain commonality among these leaders. All three, women leaders, have been prime ministers of their respective countries  Gandhi being the prime minister of the largest democracy in the world, and Thatcher and May being prime ministers of the oldest democracy of the world.

Gandhi and Thatcher had, of course, presided over the destiny of their respective countries for over a decade; May has, however, been in office for less than a year.

But one political action is common to all three women leaders: All three assumed office with a limited majority in the legislature and all three called for a General Election well before the completion of their tenure.

Gandhi, plagued by dissension and a split within her party, the Indian National Congress, advanced the election by a year in 1971 and changed her political fortune from leading a minority government (propped up by the Communist Party of India) to a government with a handsome majority of around 90 seats (Congress won 352 out of 518 seats in the Lok Sabha). Post-1971, Gandhi came to be known as the Iron Lady of Indian politics.

Thatcher who came to power as Leader of the Conservative Party in 1979 too advanced the General Election by a year in 1983 and increased her partys majority in the House of Commons from a modest 43 seats in 1979 election to a spectacular lead of 144 seats in the 1983 election. After 1983, Margaret Thatcher too earned the sobriquet of Iron Lady in the United Kingdom.

May had the opportunity to rule till 2020, as the Conservative Party had won more than 50 percent seats on its own in the 2015 general election, but she felt constrained by a majority of just 16 seats in the House of Commons to effectively undertake the gargantuan task of Brexit negotiations with the European Union; she took a calculated risk and advanced election by three years. But that has turned out to be a disaster.

By leading United Kingdom to a hung Parliament, her election gamble clearly went wrong.

Why has May failed where Thatcher or Gandhi succeeded? It could be because when Gandhi or Thatcher called for early elections by a year, they had already been in power for four years and had taken some policy decisions and implemented certain astute programmes that had captured the imagination of the voters. Voters had no hesitation in reinforcing their faith and hope in these leaders.

But May had been in office for just around 10 months when she called for elections. She had not taken any major decisions during this period to capture the attention of the voters. Throughout this period, she was largely preoccupied with setting in motion the process of Britains withdrawal from the European Union, as mandated by the British citizens in a referendum last year.

In fact, when the Brexit referendum was held, May was the interior minister in David Camerons government. Both Cameron and May were at the forefront of the Remain campaign that urged the British electorate to vote in favour of the status quo  for the UK to remain a part of the EU. But a majority of the British voters supported the Leave campaign.

Cameron demonstrated his moral standing by tendering resignation as prime minister after the loss of face with the referendum result; he was legally not required to do so. But as a fervent EU supporter, he did not want to preside over the liquidation of the British ties with the EU. So he honourably walked out. May was in the same boat as Cameron; she had vigorously campaigned for the UK to remain with EU. But she felt no moral conflict in joining the race to succeed Cameron as prime minister when the time came to execute the decision to leave the EU.

It was an oddity, a moral compromise that could not have escaped the attention of the average voter in UK. It was in the fitness of things that she should have carried out the given task  of leading Britain out of the EU  in a low-key manner.

The Brexit decision was a popular mandate. It did not need a large majority in the House of Commons to effectively pilot the provisions. The Conservative Party had a majority of 16, enough to make essential legislation.

But May turned out to be ambitious; she felt that the majority of 16 in the House had been attained by the Conservative Party under the leadership of Cameron. She appeared to be in the chair by default. She thought she would be able to improve her personal standing by winning an election under her own leadership. She was encouraged to take this risk as the main Opposition, the Labour Party, appeared to be in the doldrums. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, was derided by the major section of the media as uninspiring and un-prime-minister-like.

Corbyn was also mocked for his loony left ideas. He was branded unpatriotic for his long years of support to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) that advocated unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom. Corbyn, who had been consigned to the backbench of Labour Party politics for over three decades due to his no-more-fashionable radical ideas, was catapulted to the leadership position after the humiliating defeat of the Labour Party in the 2015 general elections. But he refused to mend ways  he refused to mould his views to be prime-minister-like.

As a matter of fact, Corbyns election manifesto last month was compared to the manifesto that was released by Michael Foot who had led the Labour Party campaign against Thatchers Conservative Party in that eventful 1983 election.

Foots 39-page election manifesto has been dubbed as the longest suicide note in British history (it contained such radical ideas that it supposedly made Labour unelectable); the Labour Party could not come to power for next 14 years after that 1983 debacle. Corbyn was seen as toeing the line of Foot, the loser and not Tony Blair, the winner, who led the Labour to three successive victories in General Elections in the 1990s. Nobody minded that, in the process, Blair hollowed out the core ideological postulates for which the Labour Party was known for most part in the 20th Century.

May was confident that Corbyn would do a Foot to the Labour; that she would remain in saddle for long years, just as Thatcher did in the 1980s.

But British voters this time put a dampener on Mays hopes. The terrorist strike twice in quick succession added to Mays woes. The British voter did not hand down an outright victory to Corbyn; they did not bless May with a majority either. By giving a verdict for a hung Parliament, the electorate there has opened an uncertain chapter in the British history. Its contours will unfold in the days to come.
London: Ireland's first Indian-origin prime minister-designate Leo Varadkar said on Friday the UK general election outcome indicates there is no strong mandate to proceed with a hard Brexit and that it represents an opportunity for Dublin.

Vardkar, a first openly gay prime minister in waiting who is the son of a Mumbai-born father and Irish mother, is due to be formally voted in as Taoiseach, or Irish prime minister, next week.

UK prime minister Theresa May's "failure to get a majority" showed there is no strong support for a hard Brexit, he said.

"The Irish government is ready to participate in negotiations on Brexit and to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland. We must ensure that the Brexit talks are handled in a smooth and coherent manner to secure the best possible outcome for Ireland, for Europe and the UK," Varadkar said.

He said another priority is the early restoration of the Stormont Executive in Northern Ireland, the devolved administration.

"There is now a strong opportunity for the parties in Northern Ireland to re-engage in discussions to form an executive," he said.

Varadkar became Ireland's Taoiseach designate last week after winning the leadership of the ruling Fine Gael following Enda Kenny's decision to step down after six years at the head of government in Dublin.

May's gamble of calling snap polls spectacularly backfired on Friday with the British electorate delivering a hung Parliament and forcing her to seek the support of a small Northern Irish party  Democratic Unionist Party  for staying in power, as the country braces for hard Brexit talks.
President Vladimir Putin has said United States' Republican Senator John McCain, known for his anti-Kremlin rhetoric, lives in the "Old World" and that Russia and the United States must work together on common challenges.

McCain said last week that Putin was a bigger threat to global security than the Islamic State, and warned the Senate would push for tougher sanctions against Moscow for its alleged interference in the US election last year.

In an interview with US film director Oliver Stone, excerpts of which were released on Thursday ahead of its broadcast by Showtime, Putin praised the senator's "patriotism".

"I like McCain to a certain extent. And I'm not joking. I like him because of his patriotism, and I can relate to his consistency in fighting for the interests of his own country," Putin told Stone in the interview, recorded in February.

But he added: "People with such convictions like the senator you mentioned, they still live in the Old World. And theyre reluctant to look into the future, they are unwilling to recognise how fast the world is changing."

He urged the United States to work with Russia on global problems.

"Right now there are common threats we are both facing, like international terrorism. We've got to fight poverty across the world," Putin said.

"After all, we've piled up so many nuclear weapons that it has become a threat to the whole world as well. And it would be good for us to give it some thought. There are many issues to address," he added.
Astana: Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday warned that the Islamic State (IS) terror group is trying to expand its terror network in countries of Central Asia and southern Russia.

Putin, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Kazakhastan's capital Astana, said that they have information that the Islamic State has set up clandestine cells in Central Asia, some regions in southern Russia and SCO countries.

Putin called on SCO member countries to strengthen cooperation, especially among the secret services, and put up a common front against the Islamic State threat, Efe news reported.

He underlined that a major priority of the SCO is to ensure security and stability at the borders of member countries amid a growing threat of terrorism and extremism.
Among the 12 astronauts chosen by NASA for its 22nd class of American spaceflight trainees is an us Iowa native Indian-American Raja Chari, 39.

A father of three, US Air Force fighter pilot Colonel Chari is the first Indian-American after Kalpana Chawla to join NASA for its 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class.

An experienced pilot with more than 2,000 hours of flight time under his belt, Chari has flown in F-35, F-15, F-16, and F-18, including F-15E combat missions in 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' and deployments in support of the Korean peninsula.

A distinguished pilot, Chari has been awarded the Defence Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Aerial Achievement Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, an Iraq Campaign Medal, a Korean Defence Service Medal and the Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal.

Presently a commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California, Col Chari will report for Astronaut Class in August this year for two years training as an Astronaut Candidate.

Upon completion, he will be assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office while he awaits a flight assignment.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Chari was raised in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where his mother still lives. Chari has a Masters degree in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT and bachelors degrees in astronautical engineering and engineering science from US Air Force Academy.

The seven men and five women comprising the 22nd class of American spaceflight trainees is the largest group Nasa has selected in almost two decades.

It was selected from a record 18,300 applicants  more than Nasa has ever had during an open astronaut call.

To get picked, people had to meet some physical requirements as well as certain education and experience criteria  such as having a bachelor's degree in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) field or have accumulated up to 1,000 hours of piloting jets.

After completing two years of training, the new astronaut candidates could be assigned to missions performing research on the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, and flying on deep space missions on Nasa's new Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.

With inputs from agencies
Microsoft has signed an agreement to acquire cybersecurity firm Hexadite. The Israeli based company was founded in 2014 and specializes in delivering automatic incident investigation and remediation solutions. In May, Israeli financial news website Calcalist said Microsoft would pay $100 million for Hexadite. Neither of the companies has revealed terms of the deal.



Microsoft says Hexadites technology will help commercial Windows 10 customers detect, investigate and respond to advanced attacks on their networks with Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP). Hexadite also confirmed that its cybersecurity technology will be used by users as part of Microsofts security portfolio. With Hexadite, WDATP will include endpoint security automated remediation, while continuing the incredible growth in activations of WDATP, which now protects almost 2 million devices.

Hexadite headquarters are based in Boston, with a team of researchers in Tel-Aviv, Israel. Following the close of the deal and after a period of integration, Hexadite will be fully absorbed into Microsoft as part of the Windows and Devices Group.

Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Windows and Devices Group, Microsoft said in a blog post,

Our vision is to deliver a new generation of security capabilities that helps our customers protect, detect and respond to the constantly evolving and ever-changing cyberthreat landscape. Hexadites technology and talent will augment our existing capabilities and enable our ability to add new tools and services to Microsofts robust enterprise security offerings.

Last month, WannaCry ransomware attack seemingly based on leaked NSA hacking tools affected more than 300,000 computers in over 150 countries. According to a data from Kaspersky Lab, about 98 percent of the computers affected by the ransomware were running some version of Windows 7, with less than one in a thousand running Windows XP.

Source
Motorola launched the Moto Z2 Play smartphone yesterday in India. However, the company is gearing up to release new smartphones that had surfaced some time back. Now, a tipster on Twitter has revealed pricing of Moto G5S Plus, Moto X4, and Moto Z2 Force smartphones that will soon release in India.

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Tipster Andri Yatim has tweeted that Moto G5S+ will be priced at Rs. 17,999, the Moto X4 will be priced at Rs. 20,999, and the Moto Z2 Force will be priced at Rs. 38,999. Specifications of these phones have been already leaked. The Moto G5S+ G5S Plus is expected to sport an all-metal unibody design and feature a 5.5-inch Full HD display, dual camera and a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC.

The Moto Z2 Force on the other hand is expected to be powered by the latest Snapdragon 835 SoC. It is tipped to feature a ShatterShield, shatterproof display and will likely come with a Quad HD screen, similar to the predecessor. There is also fingerprint sensor at the front. Motorola roadmap already confirmed 1Gbps LTE support. Finally, the Moto X4 is said to sport a 5.2-inch Full HD display, 2.2 GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 660. Running Android 7.1 (Nougat), it will come with 4GB RAM, 64GB internal memory. The phone will sport Dual rear cameras with dual-tone LED flash, 4K video recording.

It is not known when will Motorola release these three smartphones in India.
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Environmental advocacy groups launched a new attempt Thursday to halt the expansion of Montana's largest coal mine over its effects on climate change, after federal officials said it wouldn't contribute significantly to the nation's greenhouse gas emissions.

WildEarth Guardians and the Montana Environmental Information Center say in their lawsuit that the U.S. Interior Department's environmental review was shoddy, and argue the federal official who authorized the Spring Creek Mine expansion didn't have the authority to do so.

"From our perspective, they fell miserably short in accounting for the environmental implications of rubber-stamping more coal mining," said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians' climate and energy program director. "It's scandalous that the coal industry seems able to survive only because of the federal government cutting corners and turning its back on climate change."

The Spring Creek Mine is the seventh-largest coal mine in the nation, and the largest in Montana. It is part of the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming, which produces 40 percent of the nation's coal annually. The coal in the 1.7 square mile (4.4 square kilometer) expansion area, like most of the coal mined in the area, comes from publicly owned reserves leased to companies by the federal government.

The expansion could double Cloud Peak Energy's production of 18 million tons of coal a year from Spring Creek, according to the lawsuit. That coal would spew millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the air, which would contribute to climate change and air pollution, the environmental groups argue.

It would also mean an increase in train cars carrying the coal through towns and cities on their way to market, which the environmental review didn't consider, according to the lawsuit.

Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift referred questions about the lawsuit to the U.S. Department of Justice. That agency did not return a request for comment.

WildEarth Guardians led a previous attempt to block the expansion when it was first proposed in 2012. In that case, U.S. District Judge Susan Watters of Billings ordered federal officials to re-examine the environmental impacts, but did not halt the expansion.

Last fall, Interior Department officials determined the expansion would have only a minor impact on the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. That prompted the new lawsuit, which argues a more thorough environmental review is needed.

This time, the groups added a new argument to their environmental claims. They say the acting field office manager who approved the expansion did not have the authority to do so.

The groups cited recent decisions that set aside approved coal leases in Wyoming and Colorado because lower-level officials had signed off on them.

In those cases, the Interior board of Land Appeals ruled that coal lease modifications could only be approved by higher-ranking officials, such as the BLM's deputy state director.
Anyone who has waited on a long, snaking line to get into a fashion exhibit at a top museum knows just how popular they've become  and more broadly, how fashion is increasingly seen as a form of artistic and cultural expression.

Google Inc. is acknowledging this reality by expanding its Google Art Project  launched in 2011 to link users with art collections around the world, online  to include fashion.

The new initiative , "We Wear Culture," which launched Thursday, uses Google's technology to connect fashion lovers to collections and exhibits at museums and other institutions, giving them the ability to not only view a garment, but to zoom in on the hem of a dress, examine a sleeve or a bit of embroidery on a gown up close, wander around an atelier, or sit down with Metropolitan Museum of Art costume restorers.

The project partners with more 180 cultural institutions, including the Met's Costume Institute, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Japan's Kyoto Costume Institute, and the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. It comprises over 30,000 garments.

The site also offers specially curated exhibits. You can click your way to, for example, a curated photo exhibit on Tokyo Street Style, or an exploration of women's gowns in the 18th century. You can search by designer, or by their muse  examining, say, Marilyn Monroe's love of Ferragamo stiletto heels, via the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo in Florence, Italy.

At a preview demonstration this week, Amit Sood, director of the Google Cultural Institute and designer of the Google Art Project (now called Google Arts & Culture) explained that he wasn't initially clued into the possibilities for fashion, because at the tech giant, "we all wear hoodies."

But, he said, collaborating with an institution like the Met showed him that "art and fashion have a long history together." The idea behind the new project, he said, is to tell the story  or rather, the multiple stories  behind fashion.

There are several virtual reality films included in the project. A 360-degree video displays the Met's conservation studio, with conservators explaining how they keep delicate clothing strong enough for display  one of them explaining, for example, how the team uses needles designed for eye surgeons.

It is the ultimate fragility of clothes, though, that makes the project appealing to museum curators, explained Andrew Bolton, the Costume Institute's head curator  whereas many garments are too delicate to be permanently displayed, digitizing a collection makes it viewable forever. The Costume Institute has provided 500 of the objects on display, noted Loic Tallon, the Met's chief digital officer.

Making a pitch to young users, the site also features YouTube personality Ingrid Nilsen in short videos, in which she explains the evolution of the hoodie, the choker, or colorful Japanese "Sukajan" jackets.

___

Online: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/project/fashion
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative Party lost its majority in parliament in Thursdays election. European Parliament Member Nigel Farage discusses what it means for Mays political future and the future of Brexit, telling the FOX Business Networks Maria Bartiromo, Shes forced this fresh election upon the country and shes failed.

And even though she has been able to garner a little more support since, Farage views it as too little, too late.

While shes just about creeped back with the support of some Northern Irish unionists, I think her credibility is completely and fatally damaged, not just here, but in the eyes of the European Union too.

Farage then responded to questions over why May called for the snap election in the first place.

At one point they were 24 points ahead of the Labour Party in the polls, Jeremy Corbyn, the hard-left leader of the Labour was doing very badly and I think for hubristic reasons she thought this was a moment of very great victory.

But Farage says Mays opponent, Jeremy Corbyn would have been incredibly bad for British relations with the U.S.

He is basically a Marxist, hes cozied up over the years to Hamas, he called his friends, Hezbollah, the IRA and he absolutely loathes the United States of America. Him becoming Prime Minister would have been a disaster for relations between our two countries.

Farage says Mays days are numbered as prime minister, predicting two potential replacements to take her place.

I think she will not be there for very long at all. Who will it be? My guess is two front runners would be Boris Johnson or David Davis both of whom were on the Brexit side.

Leading into the election May was hurt by a lack of sincerity according to Farage.

Mrs. May was for staying in the European Union and yet became leader of a Brexit party. She went into this election lacking sincerity because she did not believe the words that she was speaking.
Science is worthless if it isn't motivated by basic human values and the desire to help people, Apple CEO Tim Cook told graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday, urging them to use their powers for good.

In a commencement address, Cook  who as Apple's chief executive since 2011 has overseen the rollout of the iPhone 7 and the Apple Watch  said the company is constantly looking for ways to combine tech with a sense of humanity and compassion.

"Whatever you do in your life, and whatever we do at Apple, we must infuse it with the humanity that we are born with," said Cook, who previously served as chief operating officer and headed the Macintosh division.

"That responsibility is immense. But so is the opportunity," he said.

Cook said Apple wants to make products that help people. As examples, he cited iPhone technology that can help a blind athlete run a marathon and an iPad that connects an autistic child to the world around them.

"When you keep people at the center of what you do, it can impact," he said.

Cook said he isn't worried about artificial intelligence giving computers the ability to think like humans.

"I'm more concerned about people thinking like computers without values or compassion or concern for the consequences," he said. "That is what we need you to help us guard against. Because if science is a search in the darkness, then the humanities are a candle that shows us where we have been and the danger that lies ahead."

Cook also urged graduates to resist becoming cynical.

"The internet enabled so much and empowered so many, but it can also be a place where basic rules of decency are suspended and pettiness and negativity thrive," he said.

"Don't let that noise knock you off course. Don't get caught up in the trivial aspects of life. Don't listen to trolls, and don't become one. Measure impact in humanity; not in the likes, but the lives you touch and the people you serve."
A prominent Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer is aiming to return to the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges next year in several states, including big markets like Texas and Illinois.

Health Care Service Corp. says it also intends to sell coverage in Oklahoma, where it is the only insurer on the exchange, as well as in New Mexico and Montana. But a spokeswoman also cautioned that the insurer won't make any final decisions on exchange participation until the fall.

Companies still have a couple more months to sort out their 2018 coverage plans.

Options are growing thin for next year in many parts of the country on the exchanges, the only place where people can buy insurance with help from income-based tax credits. Several insurers have already said they are retreating from this market, some after losing more than $100 million.

The pullback has left some counties in Missouri, Ohio and Washington with no choices on the exchanges next year if another insurer does not step in.

Insurers are hesitant to return to the market in part because of uncertainty over the fate of some federal funding.

The government has been giving insurers money to help customers with modest incomes cover out-of-pocket expenses like co-payments and deductibles. But the future of those payments, which are separate from the income-based tax credits that help people buy coverage, is in political limbo. President Donald Trump has talked about potentially stopping the payments, and insurers want a guarantee that they will last through next year.

Health Care Service Corp. and other insurers that are planning to return say they have to factor this uncertainty into their prices.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina recently requested a nearly 23 percent increase in average premiums next year. The company said that increase would have been about 9 percent if it had a guarantee that the government would continue to make those payments.

Health Care Service Corp. spokeswoman Kristen Cunningham did not offer details about rates the insurer plans to charge next year. The company covered more than 1.2 million people in the individual market last year, and more than half of that business came from the exchanges.

"Once we finalize the level of participation and rates early this fall, we'll share more details," she said.

Health Care Service Corp. is the second-biggest insurer selling Blue Cross-Blue Shield coverage, the most common brand in insurance. These so-called "Blues" plans are seen as a key to the future of the exchanges because they tend to specialize in individual insurance, and many have a long-standing presence in their markets.

The biggest Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer, Anthem Inc., said earlier this week that it was leaving the exchange in Ohio. Anthem covers more than a million people through the exchanges in states like New York and California. It said it is still talking to regulators in other states about its plans for next year.

Blue Cross-Blue Shield plans in Alabama, Kansas and Michigan have already said they are planning to return next year.

The Trump administration has repeatedly said that the Affordable Care Act is collapsing. But health care researchers have said they don't expect the exchanges to implode, though they do anticipate coverage holes to develop, especially in rural markets with smaller populations.
Egyptian billionaire investor Naguib Sawiris on Friday discussed why Arab investors should pull their money out of the oil rich country of Qatar.

Im not just advising them to take their money out of Qatar, Im advising them not to deal with Qatar All intelligence services of the world have all material showing that they [Qatar] are supporting all the terrorists and extremist groups in the Middle East, from Libya, in Syria, in Iraq and everywhere, he told Wall Street Week host Maria Bartiromo.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Yemen have all cut their ties with Qatar, but Sawiris explained why countries arent being more proactive in dealing with Qatar.

Nobody is doing anything because they are the richest country in the world because of their oil situation, he said.

The billionaire developer would change his stance on Qatar if they own up to their alleged dealings with terrorist organizations.

I want them to stop hosting terrorists in their countries... They need to come straight and say yes we did that in the past for whatever reasonThey have blood on their hands. Why is Qatar the only country in the world that no single incident of terrorism happened there?, he said.

Catch the full interview on the FOX Business Network at 8 p.m. et.
A man who disrupted an American Airlines flight from the Los Angeles area, forcing it to make an unscheduled landing in Lubbock, Texas, has been sentenced to 36 months in federal custody.

Jerry Ba Nguyen (win) pleaded guilty in February 2017 in district court to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants. The incident happened aboard a Sept. 22 flight from Ontario, California, to Dallas-Fort Worth. The Boeing 737 was carrying 143 passengers and six crew members.

The 25-year-old Las Vegas man had behaved erratically since the start of the flight, but his proximity to the cockpit door and suicidal statements finally led to fellow passengers subduing him until the captain made an emergency landing.

Nguyen has been in custody since his arrest in September 2016.
Medical marijuana dispensaries are beginning to open in Hawaii, but they're not allowed to sell their products.

Instead, the leafy medicinal greens they've harvested are sitting on a shelf unsold because nearly a year after dispensaries were legally allowed to open, the state has not yet certified any labs to run required safety tests.

That means dispensaries such as Aloha Green on Oahu have no income despite payroll, rent and operations expenses that top $100,000 a month.

"For us it's a little frustrating, having so many people on board, but it has to be done," said James H.Q. Lee, CEO of Aloha Green. "I'm more concerned for the patients, because people have been calling: 'We see it online, when are you going to open? We need our medical cannabis.'"

Hawaii was among the first states to legalize medical marijuana 17 years ago, but dispensaries were only legalized in 2015. The state's 17,000 registered patients have been left to grow marijuana plants on their own or buy it on the black market.

The delays have been frustrating to potential customers, executives and employees in the nascent industry.

Since they're paying for the space, Aloha Green decided to open their doors to the public Thursday for education and outreach.

"That's indicative of how creative the licensees are having to be, because they're bleeding money," said Carl Bergquist, executive director of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii.

By law, dispensaries were allowed to open in July 2016, but none could open their doors or even begin growing cannabis because the state had not approved software to track the product from seed-to-sale.

"People are hoping for dispensaries to open, but they're just waiting and waiting," said Jari Sugano, whose 8-year-old daughter suffers from a form of severe epilepsy that can be treated with medical cannabis. "In the end, the delays are going to come back on the patient to pay back."

But state officials and lawmakers say they're working as fast as they can to set up an industry from scratch while ensuring patient safety.

"The dates that were in the legislation were unrealistic," said Keith Ridley of the Department of Health. "I think we need to reset our timeframes."

Nationwide, it often takes states a year-and-a-half to two years to open medical marijuana dispensaries after passing a law, said Becky Dansky, legislative analyst for the national Marijuana Policy Project. The fastest state to set up dispensaries was Minnesota, which took about 13 months to open a narrow program; on the other hand, Maryland has no dispensaries open nearly five years after passing a law, she added.

"The idea of having dispensaries open in a year was extremely ambitious," Dansky said of Hawaii.

Hawaii also faces unique challenges as an isolated island state with a small population, which makes opening a testing lab difficult.

"Everything's inflated. Lease areas, getting expensive equipment shipped on-island, finding the space," said Michael Rollins, chief administrative officer of PharmLabs, a lab based on Maui that is awaiting certification from the Department of Health.

Given Hawaii's small population, it's not a certainty that labs will earn enough revenue to cover costs, unlike Seattle, with its large population and laws permitting recreational marijuana, Dansky said. Some states with small populations, such as Rhode Island, do not require lab testing, she said.

Changes in Hawaii's regulations are also complicating the process for labs that are trying to open, Rollins said. For example, labs were originally required to test for 700 different pesticides, but the rule was changed to require testing for about 150 pesticides, he said. "That changes what type of equipment you need," he said.

State officials say they are waiting on documents from the three laboratories that have applied, and are likely to approve at least one lab sometime this summer. But they don't want to rush and risk approving an unsafe product.

Aloha Green had expected labs to open in May, Lee said. The crop can keep for up to one year in a cool, dark environment, but over time it loses potency, said Tai Cheng, chief operating officer of Aloha Green.

"I understand people's frustration, but building an industry up from the bottom up, requiring as much regulation as we have, is going to take time," said Hawaii Rep. Della Au Bellati, who pushed for the dispensary law.
Satellite radio provider SiriusXM (NASDAQ:SIRI) announced Friday it had made a $480 million strategic cash investment in streaming service, Pandora (NYSE:P).

Under the deal, SiriusXM, through a subsidiary, purchased $172.5 million of Series A shares  representing a 19% stake in outstanding common stock  and agreed to buy newly issued Series A convertible preferred Pandora shares at a second closing. Whats more, Sirius will name three individuals to Pandoras board of directors, one of whom will serve as chairman.

Pandoras large user base and its ability to provide listeners with a personalized music experience are tremendous assets. With its strong technology and new product offerings, we believe there are exciting opportunities for Pandora to accelerate its growth and increase value for Pandora and SiriusXM stockholders, SiriusXM CEO Jim Meyer said in a statement.

Following the deal with Sirius, Pandora and private-equity firm KKR agreed to terminate a $150 million investment agreement. KKR will pay a termination fee of $22.5 million as a result.

As Pandora faces increased competition from large-scale competitors including Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Spotify, it has been seen as a target for acquisition. Before agreeing to the investment deal, Sirius had been rumored to be in talks to buy Pandora.

The investment from Sirius XM infuses resources to help Pandora continue to grow and innovate. With the strategic review behind us and a strong balance sheet, we look forward to focusing on business execution and the optimization of our strategy, Pandora founder and CEO Tim Westergren said in a statement.

Shares of Pandora jumped 55 cents, or 6.5% on Friday to $8.97. So far this year, the companys stock price has taken a more than 35% hit.
Former FBI Assistant Director Bill Gavin on Thursday said the biggest bombshell from former FBI Director James Comeyas testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee was the revelation that then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch urged him to classify the Hillary Clinton email probe as a "matter" and not an "investigation."

aWhen she [Lynch] told him [Comey] not to call this an investigation, but to call it a matter, this was a nefarious way of her making sure that the bureau and Jim Comeyas investigators had no way of obtaining subpoenas to subpoena people before a grand jury, because you are not going to subpoena them off the kind of moniker that she put on this investigation,a Gavin told FOX Business, adding that Russiaas involvement in the U.S. election was another crucial detail coming out of the hearing.

During the testimony, Comey said that the Arizona airport tarmac meeting between Lynch and former president Bill Clinton was a adeciding factora in his decision to update the public on the Hillary Clinton email probe.

aThat was the thing that kept it for me that I had to do separately to protect the credibility of the investigation, which meant both the FBI and the Justice Department,a Comey told the Senate committee.

Eric OaNeill, a former FBI counterterrorism operative and Carbon Black National Security Strategist, told FOX Businessa Connell McShane that what has been lost from Comeyas testimony is Russiaas involvement in the U.S. election.

aWe have to be concerned with foreign intelligence services that are launching cyberattacks at us,a he said, adding that awhile we are looking back at this investigation of what happened during the election, Russia is planning their next attack and the next one after that.a
Former FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom on Thursday said former FBI Director James Comey made a fool of himself during his Senate Intelligence Committee testimony.

In an interview on the FOX Business After the Bell, Kallstrom said Comey chose to dance with the devil and was not up to the task to handle the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

On that day, he should have seriously considered resigning because you dont conduct major investigations by calling it something else. You dont conduct major investigations by not impaneling a grand jury because then you cannot compel any kind of testimony or get search warrants, he said.

On Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey revealed that former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch told him to downplay the investigation into Clintons emails.

At one point the attorney general had directed me not to call it an investigation, but instead to call it a matter, which confused me and concerned me, Comey told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, referring to his statements about the investigation during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Kallstrom said Lynchs instructions to call the investigation of Clintons emails a matter is obstruction of justice.

It was obstruction when President Obama said publically on numerous occasions there is no evidence to investigate Hillary Clinton. They have nothing. He said that numerous times, Kallstrom stated.

Robert Mueller, who served as FBI director for the Bush and Obama administrations from 2001 to 2013, has been appointed as a special counsel to oversee the investigation into the Russia probe.

Kallstrom finds the decision to appoint a special counsel as weak and said Comeys relationship with Mueller is problematic.

The problem with Bob Mueller being involved here is hes got a 25-year close friendship with Comey. I mean whats that about? Thats a clear conflict of interest if he goes there and looks at Comeys activities while he was director, Kallstrom said.
Nile Gardiner, a former special adviser to former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, on Thursday discussed the British election campaigns of Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

With regard to Theresa May there was certainly an element of complacency on the part of the conservatives at the beginning of the campaign The Labour Party fought a very, very ferocious campaign lead by a hard-left leader Jeremy Corbyn, he told FOX Business Charles Payne.

Gardiner also explained that the recent terror attacks in London and Manchester had negatively impacted May during the election race.

The terror attacks didnt help Theresa May actually after all. She was the Home Secretary before becoming the prime minister she came under quite heavy fire, ironically from the Labour Party of all people, actually about being soft on terrorism. And I think that the Labour Party actually perhaps gained a bit from the security situation, he said.
Hedge fund impresario Anthony Scaramucci is finally getting his job in the Trump administration.

FOX Business can confirm that Scaramucci has been nominated by President Trump to be the ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has a mission statement to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

On Wednesday, FOX Business was first to report that Scaramucci, a Trump fundraiser and unofficial adviser, was likely to get a job in the administration, including an ambassadorship or an ambassador-level post after being rebuffed for months by White House officials. Scaramuccis appointment was delayed amid the controversy over the sale of his asset-management business, SkyBridge Capital, to HNA Group, an outfit with ties to the Chinese government, and after he rankled Trump administration officials with some of his public comments.

The office, which is located in Paris, also is said to have a role in handing out economic development contracts among other matters. A spokesman for the outfit didnt return a call for comment. Scaramucci didnt return a call for comment.

Two people with direct knowledge of the nomination have confirmed his appointment to the position and that an announcement will be coming shortly if Scaramucci decides to take the job. Scaramucci has been discussing setting up a new asset management business in recent weeks, people with knowledge of the matter say.
Lawyers for Donald Trump have been investigating potential leaks coming out of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including its former director James Comey, going back to at least March, as they prepare to take legal action against the former FBI chief following his bombshell testimony Thursday, FOX Business has learned.

Trumps private legal team, led by super attorney, Marc Kasowitz, launched its investigation into potential leaks from Comey and his underlings, after a raft of stories began appearing in various publications. Reporters and legal bloggers were citing details on the FBIs investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and the possibility that Trump associates were involved in the matter, FOX Business has learned.

Additionally, Kasowitz and his legal team are preparing a civil complaint against Comey that charges he violated a number of federal laws involving his private conversations with Trump just before his firing in May. The complaint will likely be filed next week with the Department of Justices Inspector Generals office and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The focus of the complaint will be based on the testimony Comey gave to being the person who leaks the information and the way he did it, said a person involved in the drafting of the complaint who spoke on the condition of anonymity to FOX Business.

Kasowitz didnt return a call for comment; Comey didnt return a call to his home in suburban Washington, DC. The FBI had no comment.

The aggressive stance by Kasowitz against Comey represents a change in strategy for Trumps legal team; initially the power attorney had backed off going to war with Comey after reading the former FBI chiefs written statements on his interactions with the president that were presented to the Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, in advance of the hearing.

Kasowitz believed the prepared remarks exonerated Trump, because Comey conceded that Trump wasnt a target of the Russian interference probe. But he changed course over comments Comey made Thursday in response to questions from the committee, where the former FBI chief accused Trump of slandering him, and possibly obstructing justice before he fired him in May.

During his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Comey disclosed publicly for the first time that he leaked memos about his meetings with Trump, alleging that the president sought to impede the FBIs inquiry into whether members of the Trump campaign were involved in a Russian government attempt to sway the 2016 election and defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

With that, Kasowitz began planning a three-pronged legal attack against Comey, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

A key part of the complaint will be the notion that Comey and his senior staff have been leaking classified information to reporters and legal bloggers for some time; in the complaint Kasowitz is likely to cite alleged conversations with a legal blogger who claims he spoke with Comey about the conversations with Trump involving his investigation.

Still, legal experts say its unlikely the complaints by Trumps legal team will lead to any investigation, let alone future charges.

Stanley Arkin, veteran white collar attorney told FOX Business that the complaint is a crock of sh*t.

He went on to say, They may try because theyre vengeful people. I dont think what Comey did at this particular point is illegal. Its just an attempt at a distraction to get away from one of the most open charges ever made against a sitting president.

John Coffee, professor at Columbia Law School, concurred. For the inspector general, I would like to know if this is an improper leak, Coffee said. These were not governmental records. This was just the personal property of Mr. Comey. If its his personal property, its not a leak Coffee said.

Comeys testimony before the committee represented a seminal event in the smoldering Russian leak investigation as he methodically described what he called pressure by President Trump to impede the FBI investigations and whether Trump associates , including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, colluded with the Russians.

During Comeys testimony he described a series of meetings that he memorialized in memos where he alleges Trump pressured him to drop the investigation into Flynn and demanded loyalty from him, even though as head of the FBI he runs what is considered an independent investigative agency.

Comey raised eyebrows about his own conduct when he admitted that after his firing by Trump in May he leaked the memos to the New York Times through Dan Richman, a Columbia Law School professor. Kasowitz termed the move as a violation of "unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communication with the president on Thursday at his press conference.

Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2017

Trump, himself, has remained largely silent about Comeys disclosures to the committee except for a single tweet on Friday, calling the former FBI director a leaker and that he feels complete vindication.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 2022 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.
CNN has parted ways with "Believer" host Reza Aslan less than a week after the religious scholar came under fire for a series of heated tweets he made about President Trump.

"CNN has decided to not move forward with production on the acquired series 'Believer with Reza Aslan' (season two)," a CNN rep told Fox News. "We wish Reza and his production team all the best."

Aslan responded, Obviously I am very disappointed in this decision. 'Believer' means a great deal to me and to the countless viewers its reached. Its message of religious tolerance and exploration is extremely important right now.

Aslan's tweets came after Trump's June 3 remarks regarding the terrorist attacks in London, calling Trump an "embarrassment to America and a stain on the presidency" and a "piece of s--t."

He later apologized for his language.

Aslan's CNN show faced controversy earlier this year when the 45-year-old ate a human brain with a Hindu cannibalistic sect in an episode that aired in March.

"Believer" was meant to explore a variety of faith-based groups around the world. But his exploration of the cannibalistic sect in India had many people up in arms over what they saw is a misrepresentation of Hinduism.

He apologized on Facebook saying at the time he made it clear on the show that the Aghoris are an "extreme Hindu sect" and "are not representative of Hinduism."

CNN also recently cut ties with Kathy Griffin after the comedian posed with a bloodied Trump mask for a photo shoot. Griffin had previously co-hosted the network's New Years Eve broadcast alongside Anderson Cooper.
Glenne Headly died Thursday night, the actress' agent confirmed. She was 62.

No cause of death or location was immediately available.

Headly was an early member of the renowned Steppenwolf Theatre Company who went on to star in films and on TV.

Headly was known from performances in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "Mr. Holland's Opus," "Dick Tracy" and the miniseries "Lonesome Dove." She had recurring roles on "ER" and "Monk," and played the daughter of Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in the 2001 live telecast of the play "On Golden Pond."

STARS WE'VE LOST IN RECENT YEARS

She was set to appear in the upcoming Hulu sitcom "Future Man."

In 1979 she was recruited by Chicago's budding Steppenwolf Theatre, joining John Malkovich, her first husband.

Headly is survived by husband Byron McCulloch, whom she wedded in 1993, and their son.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The newest edible from a Boston-area marijuana dispensary isn't just a snack-- it's a full on meal.

Meet the weed pizza.

Ermont Inc., a dispensary in Quincy, Mass., has created a new pizza sauce infused with 125 milligrams of THC and theyre using that sauce to top their homemade personal pizzas. The pizzas are then baked and frozen on-site in Ermont Inc.s kitchen.

But, for dispensary visitors, these weed pizzas might be too good to be true. There are some downsides to the THC-infused snack, the biggest of which may be the high cost. The personal weed pizzas will cost $40, they cannot be delivered and in order to purchase one of these pizzas, a valid Department of Public Health-issued patient or caregiver card is necessary.

DENVER'S POT INDUSTRY IS EATING INTO AREA'S RESTAURANT JOBS

Furthermore, the THC-content of the pizza is far too high for a single serving.

According to Vice, the suggested dosage is 10 milligrams of THC every two hours, not 125 milligrams in the time it normally takes to consume a 6-inch personal pizza.

Emront Inc. says their new weed pizza was not designed for the average stoner to indulge in: It was created for the medical marijuana patients that dont feel comfortable smoking or vaping, reports Boston magazine.

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We are pleased to offer a new, more appetizing way for our patients to alleviate pain and discomfort, Ermont CEO and founder Jack Hudson said in a press release obtained by Boston magazine.

The combination of a food as popular as pizza with the medicinal benefits of marijuana represents an important milestone in the evolution of our high-quality marijuana infused products menu.

Along with the personal pizza, Ermont Inc. also offers THC-infused macaroni and cheese, cookies, hot sauce, chocolates, olive oils and a pleathora baked goods to satisfy any sort of sweet munchies craving.
Even if youre not related to the queen, that doesnt mean you cant have a royal wedding in a castle.

The mini-burger chain White Castle wants to give one lucky couple a complete wedding package, including a royal wedding at its Las Vegas location. The couple will also receive a honeymoon in Belgium.

The package includes a rehearsal dinner, ceremony and reception with cake, flowers, decor, music and a professional photographer to document the unforgettable event. The couple will then get to enjoy a luxurious five-night honeymoon at a historic castle in Brussels, plus a food and travel allowance.

BRIDE-TO-BE MAKES DRESS FROM TACO BELL WRAPPERS, BECOMES INSTANT INTERNET SENSATION

Winners of this royal wedding wont be the first to get married inside a White Castle.

Over 75 couples have been married in White Castle restaurants across the U.S. over the last 10 years, however none have taken place at the Las Vegas location, according to a statement from the chain.

For any burger lovers looking to make their fast-food wedding dreams a reality, you have until July 31 to enter the contest. Visit www.whitecastlewedding.com and share your very own royal love story for a chance to win.

White Castle isnt the only restaurant chain to get into the wedding business. Earlier this year, Taco Bell announced it would allow customers to get married at the onsite chapel at its Las Vegas Cantina location.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

The Taco Bell wedding package, available for $600, covers the cost of the ceremony and officiant, a Taco Bell garter, a bow-tie, a bouquet made from Taco Bell sauce packets, t-shirts reading Just Married and custom Taco Bell Champagne flutes.
Days after a counterfeit street version of a prescription painkiller caused dozens of overdoses in Georgia and as many as four deaths, authorities say they are still trying to identify the source of the new drug.

Our investigators have been following some leads, said Sheriff David Davis of Bibb County, Georgia. We dont have any suspects at this time.

The drugs were being sold on the street as Percocet, said Dr. Chris Hendry, chief medical officer at Navicent Health, a non-profit corporation that runs a Level I trauma center in Macon.

However, when its taken, the patients are experiencing significant and severe decreased levels of consciousness and respiratory failure.

4 DEAD, DOZENS HOSPITALIZED IN MASSIVE OVERDOSE, GEORGIA AUTHORITIES SAY

Preliminary results from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab suggest the counterfeit pills contained a mixture of two synthetic opioids, including a previously unidentified drug thats chemically similar to fentanyl. The pain medication is 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, and about one fifth the cost, according to Daniel Salter, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agencys Atlanta Division.

It all comes down to dollars and cents, Salter told Fox News. These cartels can make a huge profit off selling fentanyl. And thats what theyre doing.

As few as two grams of fentanyl can be lethal. That makes its use on the black market especially dangerous.

These are not chemists producing these things. These are idiots in a garage that are manufacturing a drug thats gonna be used and abused. We call it manufacturing death.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, the street drugs are so potent that overdose victims require massive doses of the emergency treatment naloxone (Narcan).

6 NEW CASES REPORTED IN MASSIVE OVERDOSE IN GEORGIA

According to the DEA, many synthetic opioids are produced in China and smuggled into the U.S. through Mexico, Canada and the mail.

The spike in overdoses in central Georgia is just the latest chapter in the nations growing opioid epidemic.

I dont know if its a gateway drug, said Salter of the DEA. But I know its the near death experience that many of these users are looking for. Its crazy!"

Law enforcement authorities and public health officials are urging people to call 911 immediately if they suspect someone has come in contact with the drugs. Because the ingredients are still not fully understood authorities say even touching the pills could be dangerous.

Fox News David Lewkowict and Emily Wakeman contributed to this report.
After all the excuses, one bar parton was still left with the tab.

A Canadian man was busted late Wednesday after he faked being sick  twice  in failed bids to escape paying his bar tab, police said.

"Before he paid for his drinks, he appeared to develop some medical distress and an ambulance was called to assist him," Guelph police said about the unidentified man, according to the CBC.

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Medical responders called police after they found that the Ontario man tried the same trick earlier in the night at a different establishment.

EMS staff confirmed the 39-year-old man was just fine.

He was charged with fraudulently obtaining food and will appear in court at a future date, the CBC reported.

Click for more from the CBC.
First they came for the wedding planners and the bakers. Then they came for the Catholic farmers and the Baptist high school valedictorians. And now, the secularists are coming after the evangelical public servants.

On Wednesday, Russell Vought, President Trumps nominee to be deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, was viciously attacked by Sen. Bernie Sanders over his Christian faith.

Click here for a free subscription to Todds newsletter: a must-read for Conservatives!

Sen. Sanders deemed Vought unsuitable for office because he believes that salvation is found alone through Jesus Christ. He said someone with that kind of a religious belief system is really not someone who this country is supposed to be about.

Sen. James Lankford warned that Sanders comments dangerously close to crossing a clear constitutional line for how we evaluate qualifications for public service.

The First Amendment is crystal clear that the federal government must protect every Americans right to the peaceful and free exercise of religion, the Oklahoma Republican said. We cannot say we have the free exercise of religion and also require people to practice their faith only in a way that government officials prefer.

The Vermont senators comments brought strong condemnation from Christians across the nation  including Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

Senator Sanders is taking the Obama eras religious hostility and putting it on steroids, Perkins said.

Thousands have signed a Family Research Council petition demanding Sanders apologize for his outburst of religious bigotry.

Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas (and a Fox News contributor), said that there are only two choices for the senator: "Apologize to the country for his foolhardy attempt to introduce an unconstitutional litmus test that would exclude 41 percent of the country, or resign."

The controversy stems from an article Vought wrote in 2016 defending his alma mater, Wheaton College. In that article, he described Islam as a deficient theology.

This is a fundamental problem, he wrote in The Resurgent. Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned.

Sanders confronted Vought during the congressional hearing. The following is a transcript provided by FRC:

Sen. Sanders: "'Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned.' Do you believe that that statement is Islamophobic?"

Mr. Vought: "Absolutely not, Senator. I'm a Christian, and I believe in a Christian set of principles based on my faith...

Sanders: "...Forgive me, we just don't have a lot of time. Do you believe people in the Muslim religion stand condemned? Is that your view?"

Vought: "Again, Senator, I'm a Christian, and I wrote that piece in accordance with the statement of faith at Wheaton College..."

Sanders: "I understand that. I don't know how many Muslims there are in America. Maybe a couple million. Are you suggesting that these people stand condemned? What about Jews? Do they stand condemned too?"

Vought: "Senator, I'm a Christian..."

Sanders [shouting]: "I understand you are a Christian, but this country [is] made of people who are not just -- I understand that Christianity is the majority religion, but there are other people of different religions in this country and around the world. In your judgment, do you think that people who are not Christians are going to be condemned?"

Vought: "Thank you for probing on that question. As a Christian, I believe that all individuals are made in the image of God and are worthy of dignity and respect regardless of their religious beliefs. I believe that as a Christian that's how I should treat all individuals..."

Sanders: "...Do you think that's respectful of other religions?... I would simply say, Mr. Chairman that this nominee is really not someone who this country is supposed to be about."

As Perkins pointed out, salvation through Jesus Christ is a core biblical tenet held by Christians for millennia.

Yet Senator Sanders is making it clear that he believes the U.S. Senate should disqualify nominees who express this most basic biblical belief, Perkins said.

Americans should never be forced to choose between their faith and public service. Nor should the U.S. Senate try to impose a stealth litmus test that says you can be religious as long as you dont actually believe or talk about what the Bible teaches.'"

After Sanders' wrapped up his rant, David French wrote a powerful rebuke of Sanders for National Review. There is nothing extreme about his statements, and they mirror the statements of faith of countless Christian churches and schools across the land, French wrote. Are these believers also not fit for public office?

Its a fair question and one that I posed to Sen. Sanders office. Does he believe Christians are unfit to hold public office?

The senators press office did not answer that question directly.

The question at hand is not about Mr. Voughts freedom to hold certain religious beliefs, the senators spokesman told me. The question that concerns Sen. Sanders is whether Mr. Vought will carry out the duties of his office in a way that treats all Americans equally, even those whose beliefs he has criticized.

It was an ugly moment in American politics, but it was also an instructional moment for American Christians.

Progressives and secularists are waging a brutal assault on people of faith  and its only gotten worse since President Trump took office. I predicted that would happen in my latest book, The Deplorables Guide to Making America Great Again.

People of faith must stand together and renounce anti-Christian bigots and bigotry  especially when those bigots walk the halls of Congress.
If the media werent so desperate to beat their anti-Trump drum, the only headlines wed see today would deliver harsh indictments of the Obama Justice Department.

In his testimony yesterday, former FBI Director James Comey dropped the bombshell that former Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked him to publicly lie to the American people about the investigation into Hillary Clintons emails.

Yet Democrats and liberal talking heads are solely focused on twisting Comeys testimony to impose their own negative narrative when the facts that just dont support them. Despite the huge disappointment to the liberal media machine, the testimony Thursday reaffirmed exactly what we already knew: at no point has there been any evidence of the alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian actors, nor any effort to impede the FBI investigation into the matter.

In a political atmosphere driven by unsubstantiated leaks it is often hard to cut through the constant, deafening din of unsourced rumors often reported as facts. The only way to cut through the noise was to have Comey himself to speak openly about the facts of the case. President Trump knew this, which is why he didnt invoke executive privilege and members of the administration encouraged Comeys testimony.

Democrats across the board have criticized Comeys decision making abilities, questioned his fitness for the job, or outright called for removal from his post. A large part of this, in the words of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was due to the fact that they believed he had caved to political pressure in ways that might make him unfit to lead an independent FBI.

My friends on the left are right about one thing: an FBI director must insulate himself from political winds. Thursday, James Comey further underscored his inability to do just that. In fact, even members of the media admitted that Comey was extremely political and knew exactly what he was doing during his testimony in order to get a desired outcome.

What was even more alarming was Comeys admission that he intentionally leaked the memos he wrote in an attempt to compel the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel. This outright confession of his manipulative intent is as out of the ordinary as it is proof that Comey has become nothing but another D.C. political operative.

This just reinforces that President Trumps decision to remove Comey from his post at the FBI was based solely on the overwhelming lack of public confidence in his inability to carry out the job.

From his gross misstatement of facts regarding evidence to his showboating throughout the entire Clinton email investigation, this is not a man that instills confidence in his judgment.

In fact, the most potentially damning indictment of Comeys judgment is the allegation that he used a crucial piece of information related to the Hillary Clinton investigation that he knew to be fabricated by Russian intelligence.

The pernicious influence of James Comeys carelessness has eroded all trust in his integrity and ability to lead.

For months Democrats have demanded answers from James Comey and Thursday they got the answer they are still reluctant to accept: there is no there there.

Yet they will continue to fan the flames of faux outrage, and their allies in the liberal media will dump fuel where there is no fire.
These are tough times for Republicansbe they moderates or aligned with the more conservative Freedom Caucus. Controlling Congress and nominally the Presidency, they are on the dime to head off the collapse of Obamacare and raise family incomes.

President Trump lacks a strong economics team. The Administration has a bevy of dealmakers but few well-respected economists and public-policy analysts with experience applying conservative principles to drafting legislation.

Instead, on health care, taxes, deregulation and overall federal spending, Mr. Trump has embraced approaches that have been percolating for years among Republican lawmakers.

The one exception is infrastructure, where White House dealmaking expertise is on display through proposals to update the air traffic control system and pay for other public projects with private investments.

On foreign policy, the White House is firmly in controla more aggressive policy toward terrorism and North Korea, encouraging Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States to deal more constructively with Israel and pressuring Germany and others in NATO to shoulder their fair share of the responsibility for maintaining western defenses.

Undermining this are the damaging testimony of former FBI director Comey, and Trumps intemperate tweets about Londons mayor in the wake of recent terrorist attacks, the Justice Departments handling of his executive orders on immigration and whatever else pops into his head at 2 am.

The distractions these createand the resulting lack of consistent messaging and media focus on his legislative agendapermit Minority Leaders Schumer and Pelosi to behave irresponsibly. They deny his legitimacy as president and behave more like the underground resistance in an enemy occupied capital than a principled, loyal opposition in a constitutional democracy.

Mr. Trump, by dint of his behavior and sinking public approval, lacks the gravitas to force compromise among Republican lawmakers to ultimately enact critical legislation. For example, on Medicaid funding to accomplish a final health care bill, border tax adjustments to lower corporate taxes, and to reach across the aisle on regulatory reforms that require changes in law and 60 votes in the Senate to effect.

Domestically, Mr. Trumps presidency is paralyzed.

Emotive statements from the campaign could more reasonably be relegated to history if he behaved more like a head of government and less like a student activist upset about everything from the war against terrorism to the food in the dining hall.

Yet, some of this business requires immediate attention.

Next year, the federal health insurance exchanges will collapse for lack of companies willing to offer policies in many states. Americans without employer coverage will not qualify for federal subsidies or be able to purchase health insurance at reasonable prices.

American businesses face some of the highest taxes in the world. Without relief, they will continue to look offshore for investment opportunitiesand the jobs and growth will continue to follow their dollars.

Simply, its time for Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell to take charge of the economic agenda and confront their caucuses with the choice of either compromising on health care and taxes or losing their once in a generation opportunity to get most, even if not all, of what they want.

Similarly, it will be nearly impossible to accomplish stronger growth without better schools and immigration reform to attract more skilled workersillegal immigrants and migrants from places that may pose a terrorist threat are only a small portion of the 1.5 million new arrivals each year. On these issues, respectively, Education Secretary DeVos and Senator Tom Cotton have sound ideas that demand thoughtful consideration.

To survive, Messrs. Ryan and McConnell may have to give the country de facto parliamentary government by agreeing on a legislative agenda and putting it before their caucuses as existential imperatives.

Otherwise, when Obamacare collapses, voters will blame the GOP for not fixing whats broke and as mediocre growth continues, they will turn elsewhere for solutions.

Either the GOP leadership steps up or the Democrats will win the House in 2018 and the presidency two years later, if they have the sense to nominate a governor like Andrew Cuomo.
In British politics, its not whether you win or lose, but by how much. Theresa Mays humbling scrape-by victory in this weeks general election is going to cost her her job. It could also bring Britain its most entertaining prime minister since Winston Churchill.

Far from extending her Conservative Partys majority in Parliament, the Tories lost 12 seats. The blame rests squarely with May, who badly miscalculated the national mood.

Now, she must try to form a government with help from the Democratic Unionist Party, a Northern Ireland bloc that has taken controversial stands against abortion and gay marriage. That coalition government probably wont last more than a few months, as the government confronts the thorny parts of Britains withdrawal from the European Union  Brexit. That will only increase dissatisfaction with May.

Having cost her party its absolute majority in Parliament, May might feel compelled to step down from the helm. Just as likely, her leadership could be challenged from within. Mays lone female predecessor, Margaret Thatcher, resigned her leadership in 1990 after she was nearly toppled by an internal coup attempt. Following political protocol, May will probably do the same.

Which raises the very real and colorful possibility that she will be succeeded as prime minister by Boris Johnson, the closest answer Britain has to Donald Trump.

A onetime journalist and author who parlayed his wit and eccentric personality into election in 2008 as Londons mayor, Johnson, currently the foreign minister, has outraged and entertained Britons for years. His shaggy blond hair even looks a bit like Trumps mane, and his public antics and outlandish utterances bear a resemblance to the 45th presidents.

Johnson knows how far out of the mainstream he is. My chances of being prime minister are about as good as the chances of finding Elvis on Mars, he once said, or my being reincarnated as an olive.

Of his tenuous relationship with standard grammar, he remarked, My speaking style was criticized by no less an authority than Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was a very low moment, my friends, to have my rhetorical skills denounced by a monosyllabic Austrian cyborg.

Like Trump, Johnson is an unrepentant nationalist. He loudly favored leaving the European Union, unlike May. And when he and an Italian minister got into an argument about the wisdom of the Brexit vote, Johnson threatened to ban imports of prosecco into the U.K.

He has called for Britain to double down on its already warm relations with the United States. If he becomes prime minister, he and Trump would make a decidedly odd couple, but there wont be as many disagreements.

In a world where nothing  absolutely nothing  can be predicted with certainty, that might actually be a good thing.
Here's what we learned today from James Comey's testimony: The president of the United States never obstructed justice, and in fact encouraged the FBI director to go forward with any and all investigations into campaign associates potential involvement with Russia.

And we learned that James Comey is a political hack.

Comey confirmed several times that the president and the White House did not ask him to stop the Russia investigation. Comey said multiple times that President Trump was not and never was under investigation. Why the FBI director couldnt have come out sooner to lift this cloud remains unclear.

We also learned that Comey was selectively leaking information to the press to try and damage the president. What so-called champion of law and justice would ever do that to the president of the United States?

But the biggest news out of Comeys testimony was the indictment of the Obama administration and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch. Comey admitted that Lynch was able to pressure him into toning down his own language when speaking publicly about Hillary Clinton's email investigation. Wow!

Comey has failed the American people at every single turn. He disrespected our Constitution. He didn't care about equal application of the rule of law. He created a two-tiered justice system, one for Hillary and Bill Clinton, and one for the rest of America, by ignoring the many, many crimes we know she committed.

From whitewashing Hillary Clintons illegal email server to ignoring the Clinton Foundations pay-to-play schemes, Comey has been a no-show.

He was obsessed with Russia, but only when it came to Trump. He couldnt care less when the Clintons gave Moscow control of 20 percent of our uranium. Sadly, James Comey is nothing more than a partisan and a political hack, and his testimony once again proved that.

From the very beginning, it was very clear that he was seeking revenge and was only out to create smoke and confuse people and confuse the issues around all of this. Comey admitted that he was bitter and upset about being fired, disgruntled at being called out by the White House for failing miserably at his job.

And the disgruntled, fired employee admitted he leaked details of his own memo, allegedly written after meeting with Trump, hoping that it would bring about a special counsel. This is beyond ridiculous, beyond inappropriate. And it shows how calculating and political this guy really is.

From clearing Clinton, to obeying Loretta Lynchs orders to soft-peddle the server investigation to his inexcusable treatment of the president, James Comey has proven time and time again that he is unfit to serve our country.

It's time for so-called journalists to take off their tinfoil hats and put their black helicopters back in the hangars. The Russia-collusion scam is over because it's over. The real story is how Deep State dolts like James Comey have been manipulating facts, leaking information and blocking the duly elected president from doing his job.

Adapted from Sean Hannity's monologue on "Hannity," June 8, 2017
When it comes to North Korea there is only one thing you need to know: Pyongyang could kill millions of people in South Korea or Japan within minutes. And in just a few years, that threat will spread to the U.S. homeland.

How we got to this point is no mystery. Multiple U.S. administrationsDemocrat and Republican alikeconsistently kicked the can down the road when it came to the Kim regime and its efforts to build not only nuclear weapons but chemical and biological weapons along with the missiles to carry them into battle.

And to make matters worse, just as Pyongyang was testing anti-ship weapons Wednesday that could put our navy in harms way, South Korea has decided to suspend the THAAD missile defense systems deployment, one of the few weapons that could negate some, but not all, of North Koreas growing military advancements.

Just a cursory exploration of the damage the Kim regime could do if it decided to launch a preemptive strike on U.S. allies in the region only underscores why President Trump was correct to tackle this issue head on.

For our purposes, let us consider a scenario where tensions are buildinglike now, for examplewith Washington sending more and more firepower into the region. Kim Jong Un feels threatened, believing a U.S. strike on his growing nuclear arsenal is inevitable. He decides he must attack firstor risk ending up like Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gadhafi, a casualty of war and regime change.

Kim decides he must show the world what his military can do, and to do it with a demonstration of power against one of the biggest targets possible. He attacks Seoul, the South Korean capital, with a massive artillery and missile strike.

While Kims weapons arent the most sophisticated  and while not all of the ordinance hits or even detonates the desired targets  the impact is clear: millions of civilians clog any means of escape out of the city; roads, bridges, tunnels buses and trains are completely overwhelmed; and the South Korean government is thrown into chaos.

South Korea, however, has the technological edge. Along with U.S. forces in the region, it launches a devastating counterattack, destroying most of Kims artillery and rocket launches  their positions having been given away by their deadly volleys.

Leaders around the region appeal for calm and call for a ceasefire. Russia and China both offer to mediate the dispute. But Kim Jong Un must respondany sign now of weakness and he could face challenges from his own generals that he has turned soft in the face of American or allied aggression.

So, Kim strikes back, ordering over 100 missiles armed with VX, the same weapon used to kill his own half-brother just months ago, towards South Korean and Japanese cities. Just as in Seoul, millions of people flee their homes as warheads rain down upon them. Over 30,000 people alone die in the assault with countless others left gravely ill. First responders and hospitals from around the region are simply overwhelmed by the carnage.

A Second Korean War is now in full swing. American and allied counterstrikes are swift and devastating. President Trump orders U.S. forces in the region to attack all North Korean military installations to degrade and destroy Pyongyangs offensive capabilities as fully as possible. Trump also orders specialized strikes using American B-2 Bombers and cruise missiles to take out Pyongyangs nuclear weapons arsenal, knowing Kim could very well decide to use such weapons or eventually lose them as more U.S. and allied forces move into the region.

There is only one problem: the allies attack, while devastating, was not enough. Not one, but two low-yield North Korean nuclear weapons survived the carnage. Kim, before a U.S. cruise missile kills him in a decapitation strike, gives his final order  a nuclear attack on Seoul and Tokyo. Minutes later, over 10 million people are killed in both megacities. The number injured, thanks to the lingering effects of radiation poisoning, wont be fully known for decades, but is likely millions more. Both cities will be uninhabitable for decades.

To be fair, the above scenario is a simple one and leaves out strategic, operational, tactical and political considerations that would guide events. However, that does not change the fact that with every passing day North Korea is amassing the means to threaten not only our closest allies but soon the United States itself.

Considering the above, the Trump Administrations path is clear. It must not only press forward with the most crippling of all sanctions possible but make China understand that it can no longer sit idly by while its ally North Korea develops more and more nuclear weapons and missiles. It is long past time that Washington sanctions Chinese companies and individuals who aid Kim Jong Uns build-up of deadly weapons of mass destruction.

Maybe then, with Beijing finally feeling some real pressure, we will get some real progress on this most critical of issues.
British Prime Minister Theresa Mays massive gamble in calling a snap general election has not paid off.

British voters delivered a stunning political upset when they just failed to return the Conservatives with an overall majority in the 350 seat House of Commons. The Conservatives secured just 318 seats, not enough to reach the 326 seat threshold for a parliamentary majority.

The Conservatives remain the largest party in Britain, but now face the prospect of a hung parliament.

The Tories, as they are commonly known in the UK, will now have to govern as a minority party, or try to form a coalition government, or force another general election. In light of such a deeply disappointing result, Mrs. Mays own future as leader of the Conservative Party could be in question.

While Britains voters sent a clear signal of dissatisfaction to the ruling Conservatives, they were not prepared to put the opposition Labour Party into power.

Theresa May defeated her hard left Socialist opponent, Jeremy Corbyn, whose big government, high tax, heavy spending agenda promised to return the UK to the dark days of the 1970s, when Britains economy was dubbed the sick man of Europe.

An admirer of Karl Marx and Hugo Chavez, Mr. Corbyn is arguably the most radical left-wing party leader in British electoral history.

A Labour victory would have been a disaster for Britains economy and its standing in the world. Had Corbyn won, there would have been no guarantee of a successful Brexit, not least because the Labour leadership had fiercely opposed Britain leaving the European Union ahead of the UKs 2016 referendum on EU membership.

The political uncertainty generated by this election must not derail the Brexit process. The Conservative government has pledged to deliver Brexit by the end of March 2019, and negotiations with the European Union are due to formally begin on June 19, with Britains negotiators seeking to ensure the best possible free trade deal with the EU.

If the Brexit negotiations are a success, Britain can emerge two years from now as a truly sovereign global power while maintaining strong economic and trading ties to European partners.

The British government will also need to negotiate a series of free trade agreements with partners across the world, from Canada and India to Australia and New Zealand. A free trade deal with the United States will be a top priority. Both the White House and Congress have already expressed strong support for such an agreement, which would advance prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.

Brexit offers the promise of a revitalized Britain, one that is far better able to stand alongside the United States in the defense of the free world. Whatever the outcome from the hung parliament scenario, Britains leaders must guarantee that they will implement the will of the British people by ensuring that their nation completely leaves the European Union by the end of March 2019.

A Brexit Britain will be a powerful force for freedom and prosperity on the world stage, and a robust ally for the United States.
Lets be honest: nobody won on Thursday. Any day that the president of the United States, the Justice Department, the FBI and the national media are shown to be untrustworthy and are slimed on worldwide TV is not a good day.

As millions watched, James Comey, former head of the FBI, threw everyone but himself and his agency under the bus, but from his testimony we know that he, too, is ethically compromised, as was the FBI.

What Russias news media is calling Comey Day will not be celebrated in the years to come.

Where do we go from here? As pundits on the left and right continue to burrow into Comeys written testimony, his answers, his twitches and psyche, claiming victories and vindications, most Americans might be experiencing the kind of hangover you get from drinking too many mojitos. All that sugar and tequila tastes great going down, but theres a nauseous aftertaste the day after. For sure, it will be a while before we want to go through it all over again.

Unhappily, the multiple investigations into theoretical collusion between Trump aides and shadowy Russians will plod on, Democrats will continue to search for evidence that Trump tried to obstruct the inquiries, Republicans will hunt down leakers like bloodhounds on the scent  and most of us will go back to work pretty convinced that it is all a giant waste of time. We will have concluded, based on the hearings and the anonymous sources and the rumors and speculation, that no one has hard proof of any of the allegations. And never will have.

Just as Republicans will forever see Hillary Clinton as guilty of multiple criminal misdeeds, including obstruction of justice, and excused only because of political favoritism, Democrats will always be sure that Donald Trump pushed Comey to abandon his investigation into Michael Flynn and that somebody on his team asked the Russians to undermine Hillarys campaign. Thats where we are, and most likely nothing will change those assumptions.

Meanwhile, Americas frustration will continue to build. The issues that elected Donald Trump  sluggish wage growth, wariness of globalization, outrage over political correctness that steps on common sense, our obviously failing infrastructure, concerns about terror  have not receded.

As in the UK, where voters shocked the establishment by calling for Brexit but then just turned on a dime and tossed out the party set to deliver on that demand, Americans could continue to surprise us. If Republicans and President Trump fail to deliver on election promises, they could be pummeled in 2018 and again in 2020.

The savaging of President Trump by the media and the smoke enveloping the White House does not give the GOP a license to stall. They are on the clock. Many in Congress are concerned that the presidents falling approval ratings will hurt their own reelection prospects come 2018, and Democrats certainly expect that to be true.

They should give American voters more credit. They are tired of the presidents careless tweeting, and they enthusiasm has waned, but they still look to Republicans to fix what is most broken.

In the latest Morning Consult/Politico poll, voters list economic and security issues as their top concerns; they also credit the GOP as better equipped to deal with those concerns. On jobs, the GOP is favored 44% to 38%; on the economy the advantage is 44%-37%. On national security, voters also give the GOP the edge: 47% to 35%, while on immigration Republicans come out on top as well: 44% to 39%.

That doesnt mean the GOP can relax. The third most important issue for voters, not surprisingly, is healthcare. Here, despite the unraveling of Obamacare, Democrats are the clear winners: 48% to 35%. We are facing a hard truth: once the country enjoys an entitlement, it never wants to let it go.

Republicans have not exactly covered themselves in glory here. After years of blasting the not-so-Affordable Care Act, the country was stunned that the GOPs cupboard was bare when it came to a replacement plan. It is true that no one should see legislation being made, but in this case the resulting sausage is even uglier than usual.

Many have thought the Republican leadership erred in first targeting the repeal and replacement of ObamaCare. It was a mistake only if they cant come up with a reasonable compromise that makes life better for the majority of the country. And then sell it to voters. Given the soaring premiums flowing from ObamaCare, that should not be impossible.

Democrats are also winners on handling the environment; after President Trump bowed out of the Paris accord, this is a headliner, but historically climate change does not rank high on the list of Americans concerns. The GOP has done an especially terrible job of explaining why the Paris treaty was not beneficial to the U.S. Rather, President Obama and the compliant media did an excellent job pretending the agreement is meaningful and helpful; it is, in fact, neither. But Americans dont know that.

The country needs strong leadership to remind us that our nation has survived much greater tests than a presidents furious tweeting or James Comeys vengeance or Hillary Clintons bitter excuses tour. Right now, that must come from Republicans; they are the party in charge and they must take the reins.

The best way to allay Americans concerns about the durability and effectiveness of our messy Democracy is to show it in action. Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and others in leadership positions need to move the Trump agenda forward.

Their futures, and the future of the country, depends on it.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, told Fox News Thursday night that former FBI Director James Comey had not made the case that President Trump obstructed justice when he told Comey in February that he hoped the bureau would drop its probe of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

"I am a prosecutor. I prosecuted lots and lots of cases," Risch told host Martha MacCallum. "You cant prosecute somebody for hoping something. It doesnt work. Ive never heard of a case like that."

Risch claimed that Comey should have asked Trump to clarify his request if the FBI chief was worried that the president was trying to halt the investigation.

"This cant be mushy. If he thought the president meant something different than what he actually said, he should have said, Well, Mr. President, exactly what do you mean? or Mr. President, are you telling me I should do this?'" said Risch, a member of the Senate intelligence committee.

"Jim Comey had to do more than what he did, if indeed he believed that the president was giving him some direction that was different then what his words were."

Risch also criticized Comey for passing his memos about his meetings with Trump to a friend, who subsequently leaked them to The New York Times.

"If Mr. Comey wanted to put those out, he should have just put out a press release and put them out," Risch said. "Kudos to him for admitting that he did it, but it should have been done a different way."
A federal judge ordered a young woman charged with leaking classified U.S. documents to remain jailed until her trial after prosecutors argued Thursday she might possess more stolen government secrets.

Prosecutors also said 25-year-old Reality Winner might try to flee the U.S. if released on bond. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Solari told the judge Winner had written in a notebook: "I want to burn the White House Down ... find somewhere in Kurdistan to live. Ha-ha!"

Wearing an orange jumpsuit and leg shackles, Winner pleaded not guilty in U.S. district court to charges that she illegally retained and transmitted national defense information. The federal crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if she's convicted.

The former Air Force linguist, who speaks Arabic and Farsi and had a top-secret security clearance, was working as a government contractor in Augusta when she copied and mailed a classified report containing top-secret material to an online news organization, prosecutors say.

Authorities haven't described the report or named the news outlet. But the Justice Department announced Winner's arrest Monday as The Intercept reported it had obtained a classified National Security Agency report suggesting Russian hackers attacked a U.S. voting software supplier before last year's presidential election. The NSA report was dated May 5, the same as the document Winner is charged with leaking.

Prosecutors warned U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian Epps that Winner might have more stolen secrets. Solari said investigators have learned Winner inserted a portable hard drive in a top-secret Air Force computer before she left the military last year. She said authorities don't know what happened to the drive or what was on it.

Solari said Winner's laptop also contained software that could enable her to access online black-markets and buy items -- such as a fake ID or passport -- without revealing her identity or location.

"We don't know how much more she knows and how much more she remembers," Solari said. "But we do know she's very intelligent. So she's got a lot of valuable information in her head."

Winner's mother and stepfather told the judge she had no criminal history and they would use their 20-acre home in Kingsville, Texas, to finance her bond with confidence she would never run.

"Because my client is a millennial and she knows how to use technology, that's somehow proof of evil intent," said Titus Nichols, Winner's defense attorney. "The government is scraping and clawing to build a mountain out of a molehill."

Solari argued that Winner isn't the upstanding young woman her parents believe her to be. She said that during one of her jailhouse phone calls, which were recorded, Winner said she

The judge said he was worried about what happened to the portable hard drive prosecutors mentioned, as well as references Winner had made in her notebook about the Middle East. He also mentioned her written comment about burning the White House.

"Whether that's a jest or not, it still concerns me," Epps said.

Solari cautioned that prosecutors were not trying to link Winner to terrorism.

"The government is not in any way suggesting the defendant has become a jihadist or that she is a Taliban sympathizer," Solari told the judge.

An FBI affidavit says Winner confessed to copying and mailing the classified report when agents searched her home Saturday. They seized items including cellphones, computers and Winner's passport.

Solari said Winner also confessed to her mother during a recorded jailhouse phone call, saying: "Mom, those documents. I screwed up."
The 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona has canceled local flying operations for F-35A Lightning II aircraft after pilots reported suffering symptoms similar to hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation.

There have been five incidents since May 2, but Air Force officials tell Fox News the aircraft have not been grounded.

"In order to synchronize operations and maintenance efforts toward safe flying operations we have cancelled local F-35A flying. The Air Force takes these physiological incidents seriously, and our focus is on the safety and well-being of our pilots," said Brig. Gen. Brook Leonard, 56th Fighter Wing commander in a press release.

The cancellation of flying is limited to F-35s at Luke Air Force Base.

All of the pilots were able to land their aircraft safely by using the aircraft's backup oxygen system.

Pilots will also be briefed on all the incidents that have occurred and the successful actions taken by the pilots to safely recover their aircraft.

The F-35 Joint Program Office has put brought together an action team of engineers, maintainers and aeromedical specialists to examine the incidents.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report
Twelve employees of an Indiana group tied to former Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and former President Bill Clinton were charged Friday for allegedly submitting fake or fraudulent voter registration applications before the 2016 presidential election.

The Indiana Voter Registration Project, an Indiana-based group focused on mobilizing and registering black voters, allegedly submitted an unknown number of falsified applications, according to a probable cause affidavit. Eleven canvassers temporarily employed by the group were charged by Marion County prosecutors, along with their supervisor Holiday Burke -- with one count each of procuring or submitting voter registration applications known to be false, fictitious, or fraudulent.

If convicted, each faces up to two-and-a-half years in prison. The group as a whole is also charged, and could face a $10,000 fine.

President Trump for months has suggested there could have been widespread voter fraud in the last election -- though to date, most public cases have involved voter registration fraud.

In Indiana, state police began investigating the group in August after a clerk in Hendricks County, near Indianapolis, flagged about a dozen registration forms with missing or suspicious information. The investigation expanded to 56 counties.

The Indiana Voter Registration Project is overseen by Patriot Majority USA, a group that is tied to the Democratic Party and has relationships with Reid and former President Clinton. Patriot Majority said it had collected about 45,000 voter registration applications before the November 2016 general election.

Patriot Majority asked the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights division to determine whether the police investigation was an attempt to suppress black voters.

Marion County prosecutor Terry Curry, a Democrat, said the police investigation found no evidence of voter fraud or voter suppression and that the charges against the workers came from a very bad, ill-advised business practice of setting a quota for canvassers.

By giving someone a financial motive to (meet a quota) is what caused these canvassers to cut corners and do things that not only undermined the goal of having legitimate registered voters but let to a situation where we allege it bled over into criminal conduct, Curry said.

The investigation found that workers had submitted fake applications for imaginary residents, submitted new applications for people who had already been registered, and at least one application was submitted on behalf of a minor, according to Curry.

We do not believe this was a widespread effort to infringe voters, intentionally register ineligible individuals, or to impact the election," Curry said. "Instead we allege that a bad business practice led to illegal actions by the local association and these twelve individuals."

The search warrant, unsealed on Nov. 14, 2016, said some workers admitted to falsifying registrations, but for fear of potentially losing their temporary jobs as canvassers if they didnt register at least 10 new voters a day.

The probable cause affidavit says the workers were paid $10 an hour and worked five-hour shifts.

The warrant indicates that Patriot Majority submitted several hundred voter registration applications that included false, incomplete or fraudulent information. The warrant's contents allowed State Police to raid the offices of Patriot Majority USA in October. Patriot Majority has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing.

Curry said it's unclear how many problematic applications were submitted, but that it was "a relatively small number" of the 45,000 applications the group said it collected in Indiana.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Donald Trump Jr. told Fox News' "Hannity" Thursday night that former FBI Director James Comey's testimony before the Senate intelligence committee Thursday was the culmination of a "10-month witch hunt."

"This is the only thing that they had on Trump," the president's eldest son said of Comey's role in the investigation into Russian actions during the 2016 election. "This is what they did to distract him from being able to get the stuff done that he was elected to ultimately do, and I think now that this has all passed, he can go back to doing what he promised he was going to do."

The younger Trump said Comey's credibility "has to be shot" after his testimony, which centered on a Feb. 14 meeting between the president and the then-FBI director after the resignation of Michael Flynn as national security adviser.

Referencing Comey's failure to confront Trump after allegedly being pressured to end the FBI probe of Flynn, Trump Jr. said, "The head of the FBI goes, Well, if I was a stronger man' ... I mean, what kind of response is that? ... Not, Hey, maybe I should follow the law and procedure and say that Trump was doing this. Maybe I should let him know that this was happening. But instead, he decides to do this."

The president's son claimed the spectacle of the hearing was likely to turn off voters and make them more sympathetic to Trump.

"Reasonable people are seeing that this has just been one big witch hunt. They see how disgusting the swamp really is," he said. "They see the teeth that are there, and I think theyre going to realize that, Hey, give the guy a chance. Let him do what he was elected to do, and hell do a phenomenal job.'"
The House intelligence committee is asking the White House counsel whether there are any tape recordings or memos of former FBI director James Comey's conversations with President Donald Trump.

The committee's chairman, Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, and the ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, sent a letter Friday to White House Counsel Don McGahn, asking him whether any such tapes or memos exist now, or had existed in the past.

The committee also has sent a letter to Comey, asking for any notes or memoranda in his possession that would describe discussions he had with Trump.

The committee is seeking the materials by June 23.

Earlier in the day, a Republican member of the Senate Intelligence committee said Congress should obtain any tapes that Trump might have of his conversations with Comey.

Comey testified before that committee on Thursday, and Sen. Susan Collins told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that she found him "credible, candid and thorough."

The Maine Republican said Comey was wrong to leak his private conversation with the president. Collins said Comey's motivation "may have been a good one," but said Comey should have given that document to the Senate committee.
Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

The infamous chant bellowed by the audience of The Jerry Springer when a mans wife reveals that she is a prostitute  and actually not even a she -- could soon be heard on the campaign trail in Ohio if rumors prove true.

Springer, a Democrat who believes he appeals to the same working class and rural voters that helped President Trump win the Buckeye state, and ultimately the White House, is considering a 2018 run for Ohios 2nd Congressional District, according to the Cincinnati Inquirer.

Tim Burke, chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party and a close friend of Springer, said that a phone poll was conducted in the region this week to gauge the longtime talk show hosts chances against incumbent Republican Rep. Brad Wenstrup. Burke did not know any other details about the poll.

Fox News did not hear back from spokespeople with The Jerry Springer show when asked for comment.

While rumors have swirled for years about Springer running for governor in Ohio, the former Cincinnati mayor has always denied that he would leave his television gig to return to life as an elected official. But Springer has recently headlined a number of Democratic fundraisers in Ohios 2nd District and confidants speculate that he could be looking to upset Wenstrup, who is currently in his third term, in 2018.

"A lot of people believe he has stepped up the amount of doing that this year," Burke told the Inquirer. "I think thats just his own personal reaction to Donald Trump. I think hes feeling if Donald Trump can do it, why cant I?"

A spokesperson for Wenstrup said that the congressman was aware of the poll, but said it would be a tall order to unseat the lawmaker. Ohios 2nd Congressional District spans numerous Appalachian counties and has been a Republican stronghold for decades.

"You cant ignore anybody who is well known, but it would be a surprise to us if Jerry Springer has even been to all the counties in the 2nd District," Mark Weaver, Wenstrup's campaign spokesman, told the Inquirer. Brad Wenstrup has deep ties and strong relationships with people in every corner in this district. Its going to take more than a talk show to replace that type of connection.

Springer may so far be remaining quiet when it comes to the rumors, but the talk show hosts official Twitter account has recently been scathingly critical of the Trump administration. He slammed the presidents response to the London terror attacks and the exit of the Paris Climate Accord.

He also took out a full-page newspaper ad opposing the decision to repeal Obamacare to 9/11, saying it would "end up killing many more Americans than Osama bin Laden ever did. He also posted a video on social media where he labeled the American Health Care Act an act of war on Americans.

Springer was the mayor of Cincinnati in the late 1970s and previously served on the city council. When his show first went on air in 1991 it was geared toward politics with guests ranging from Oliver North and Jesse Jackson, and topics including homelessness and gun control. The show, however, switched to a more sensationalist, tabloid feel in 1994 and quickly gained a cult following with ratings in 1998 beating The Oprah Winfrey Show in many cities and reaching more than 6.7 million viewers.
With just one arrest to date after months of damaging leaks traced to the intelligence community, Congress says it is looking at new safeguards to prevent more such breaches.

But in every case in recent history, extensive leaks or thefts of highly classified material have prompted new safeguards that have nevertheless failed to stop the problem. Most recently, 25 year-old security contractor Reality Winner was arrested for allegedly leaking a top-secret intelligence report on Russian interference in the U.S. election to an online news outlet.

Her case followed extensive leaks by Army Pfc. Bradley Manning and National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, as well as a lesser known case of alleged intelligence hoarding by a NSA contractor named Harold Martin III.

In Winners case, there were many clues the former Air Force linguist was deeply uncomfortable with Donald Trump as commander in chief. The Texas native was working for a private contractor in Augusta, Ga. when she tweeted about the orange fascist we let in the White House and called Attorney General Jeff Sessions a Confederate General who encourages racism.

Reality Winner: Accused leaker wanted to 'burn the White House down'

She was sympathetic with Black Lives Matter, expressed concerns about climate change, and in a tweet aimed at Irans foreign minister, said: There are many Americans protesting U.S. govt aggression towards Iran. If our Tangerine in Chief declares war, we stand with you!

How such comments went unnoticed in a time when the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is taking steps to scrutinize social media is still an open question. Neither ODNI nor Winners employer, Pluribus International, would comment on her case.

Sources tell Fox News there is no current policy in place to monitor the social media of individuals like Winner who already have security clearances, or even question them about their social media presence when they renew their clearances.

Meanwhile, there are discussions in the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence about including new measures related to security clearances in next years Intelligence Authorization Act. The committee would not get into specifics on the preliminary discussions.

Rosie O'Donnell: Reality Winner is a 'brave young patriot,' gives her $1000

How is someone like Winner able to get and maintain a security clearance? asked Morgan Wright, a senior fellow at the Center for Digital Government. Have we not learned anything since Snowden?

The governments policy on social media is fairly recent and focused on new applications for security clearances. It may surprise people to know the government is only now codifying its approach to the virtual lives of the people it entrusts with real secrets, William Evanina, a senior FBI agent, wrote in the Hill in May 2016.

Lawmakers pressed Evanina in hearings last year on whether the government would look too far into peoples social media worlds with the new policy.

How do we flag the serious from the trivia? asked Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), the ranking Democrat on the Oversight Government Operations subcommittee. How do we make sure we dont have some enormous depository of government information?

Evanina replied that the government would not keep musings, comments or opinions deemed irrelevant to a security clearance.

Disqualifying a person from access to classified information solely because that person's ideology is considered extreme, but not unlawful or a threat to the government, would be Constitutionally questionable, said Robert Eatinger, former CIA Acting General Counsel, It could violate the First Amendment.

Wright told Fox News the government right now is at an inflection point.

When do we decide, he asked, your personal ideology hurts your ability to execute your oath of office to the United States of America?

Reality Winners Twitter feed revealed her hostility to the president she had a duty to serve under the executive branch. Prosecutors are expected to argue that her motive was to bolster the narrative that Mr. Trumps victory was illegitimate due to Russian interference in the vote.

Security experts say its time to look at similar ideologically motivated social media comments by individuals already possessing high-level security clearances.

Reality Winner: Woman accused of NSA leak ordered to remain jailed pending trial

Were turning people into folk heroes who 20 years ago would have been called traitors, by anybody left or right, Wright said. I dont think she should get a free pass because of the First Amendment. When you get a security clearance you understand youre going to go under certain scrutiny. Thats a fact of life. If you dont it like it, too bad  you signed up for it.

Wright said the Winner case should be a red flag for a new case study on how to monitor and detect government employees who may be prone to steal and pass on government secrets.

If there is reason to question your loyalty to the commander in chief, it should trigger additional scrutiny. Especially people who have access to highly sensitive material, Wright said.

But Eatinger, who is now in private practice at a firm called SpyLaw Consulting, said resisting a particular president is protected by the First Amendment.

It is the method of resistance, if any, that would raise security concerns, he said. Is the person resisting by committing unlawful acts or refusing to follow orders, or simply by wearing pink and marching on the Capital Mall?
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is firing back at former FBI Director James Comey, after he suggested in Thursday's hearing that there might be more than meets the eye to the AG's recusal from the Russia probe.

Sessions recused himself from any existing or future investigations regarding the 2016 presidential race in early March, after facing bipartisan pressure to step aside from the probe due to his involvement with the Trump campaign.

But in his long-awaited testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Comey told lawmakers he believed it was inevitable that Sessions would recuse himself from Russia probe.

We also were aware of facts that I cant discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic, Comey said.

The Department of Justice, however, issued a statement standing by the original explanation.

Spokesman Ian Prior said Sessions "began consulting with career Department of Justice ethics officials to determine whether he should recuse himself" shortly after taking office.

The DOJ said Sessions discussions with ethics officials were focused on a regulation that prohibits DOJ attorneys from participating in investigations that involve entities or individuals with whom the person has a political or personal relationship.

"Given Attorney General Sessions participation in President Trumps campaign, it was for that reason, and that reason alone Sessions made the March 2 decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, Prior said.

In the wake of Comey's testimony, Sessions already is facing scrutiny from Democrats interested in hearing from him next. And with the AG already scheduled to testify before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, lawmakers are preparing to head into Russia territory.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., top Democrat on the appropriations committee, specifically cited Comey's recusal comments in a statement Thursday: "Former Director Comey testified today that he expected the Attorney General to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, weeks before the Attorney General made that decision himself, because of matters that could not be discussed publicly. This raises even more questions about the Attorney Generals actions."

The DOJ, meanwhile, took issue Thursday with several parts of Comey's testimony.

Comey also had testified that he was not aware of any memorandum sent to the FBI on behalf of the DOJ providing information as to why Sessions recused himself.

But on Thursday night, the DOJ released the email sent by Chief of Staff Jody Hunt to then-Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente, Comey and others. The DOJ said the email was sent "specifically informing Mr. Comey and other relevant Department officials of the recusal and its parameters."

Hunt's email said: "You should instruct members of your staff not to brief the Attorney General" on related matters.

Tuesday's hearing, meanwhile, is likely to delve into Sessions' past contacts with Russian officials, something Leahy also mentioned in his statement after Comey testified.

During his January confirmation hearing, Sessions told Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., that he did not have communications with the Russians. But as first reported by The Washington Post, Sessions spoke twice last year with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyakonce in July at a Heritage Foundation event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention, and another in then-Sen. Sessions office.

Justice Department officials said that Sessions met with ambassadors in his capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

According to a schedule provided to Fox News, Sessions met with numerous ambassadors from April 14, 2016 through Nov. 11, 2016. Russia appeared on the schedule only once.
President Trumps lawyer will file a complaint with the Department of Justices Inspector General's Office and the Senate Judiciary Committee after it was revealed Thursday that former FBI director James Comey leaked memos to a friend in order to inform the media about conversations with the president, a source told Fox News.

It is not clear when the attorney, Marc Kasowitz, will file the complaint. But the move appears to show that team Trump is trying to go on the offensive after Comeys testimony.

Kasowitz is focusing on part of the testimony where Comey said he leaked the private conversation he had with Trump in order to prompt the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russian interference.

7 BIG MOMENTS DURING THE TESTIMONY

I woke up in the middle of the night on Monday night, cause it didnt dawn on me originally that there might be corroboration for our conversation; there might be a tape, Comey said. And my judgment was I needed to get that out in the public square so I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. Didnt do it myself for a variety of reasons but I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel. So I asked a close friend of mine to do it.

Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law professor and close friend of Comey, has confirmed he leaked contents of one of Comeys memos to The New York Times. Richman served with Comey in the Southern District of New York and at the FBI.

Kasowitz said in a statement that "Comeys excuse for this unauthorized disclosure of privileged information and appears to entirely retaliatory. We will leave it the appropriate authorities to determine whether this leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated."

Comey, during his testimony, accused the Trump administration of spreading lies, plain and simple about him and the FBI in the aftermath of his abrupt firing last month, declaring that the administration defamed him and more importantly the FBI.

In that testimony he had already disclosed that Trump demanded his "loyalty" and directly pushed him to "lift the cloud" of investigation by declaring publicly the president was not the target of the FBI probe into his campaign's Russia ties.

Comey said that he declined to do so in large part because of the "duty to correct" that would be created if that situation changed. Comey also said in his written testimony that Trump, in a strange private encounter near the grandfather clock in the Oval Office, pushed him to end his investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Fox News' John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report
President Trump was uncharacteristically quiet during James Comeys thundering Senate testimony, but hell have a big opportunity to respond Friday afternoon during a joint press conference with Romanias visiting leader.

The counter-punching U.S. president gave a taste of his Comey rebuttal in a tart tweet Friday morning. He hit the key points previously outlined by his personal lawyer in a lengthier statement issued after Thursdays hearing  that Comey gave misleading testimony in parts, but also backed up the presidents claims that he never sought to impede the Russia investigation.

"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" Trump tweeted.

How far Trump might go in personally going after Comey will become clear Friday afternoon. Trump is welcoming Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to the White House, and is set for a post-meeting press conference at 2:45 p.m. ET.

WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE ON FOX NEW CHANNEL AND FOXNEWS.COM

The leaker charge, though, now appears to be a key part of the Trump teams response to Comey.

Comey, who was fired by Trump on May 9, revealed during Thursdays testimony that he had a friend, later identified as Columbia University Law Professor Dan Richman, leak contents of his private memos to the media in hopes of prompting the "appointment of a special counsel."

According to a source close to the president's legal team, Kasowitz was set to file a complaint with the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General and send a letter of complaint to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding Comey's testimony that he orchestrated the leak.

We will leave it the appropriate authorities to determine whether this leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated, Kasowitz said.

Kasowitz also said Trump denies key accusations from those notes, including Comeys claim that Trump sought his loyalty.

Comeys testimony stopped short of accusing Trump of obstruction of justice and said he didnt try to shut down the broader probe of Russian meddling in the election or possible coordination with Trump associates. However, Comey said he thought Trump tried to get him to lay off former national security adviser Michael Flynn and personally sought a loyalty pledge during an uncomfortable dinner meeting.

Further, Comey accused the Trump team of lying about his performance as FBI director in rationalizing the decision to fire him last month.

Lies, plain and simple, Comey said.
Niantic on Thursday confirmed the rumors of a Solstice Event to begin on Tuesday, June 13th. As expected, Fire-type and Ice-type Pokemon will spawn more often during the event, while trainers will be able to XP bonuses for in-game actions and Lucky Eggs will be discounted in the shop. But that's not all that Niantic has planned for its one-year anniversary. Not even close.

Shortly after the Solstice Event begins, Niantic plans to release "a new update focused on collaborative group gameplay features that will get you playing Pokmon GO in fun new ways." In order to prepare for the update, the developer will disable Gyms in-game for a short period of time.

Niantic didn't share any more details about the update, but this certainly sounds like the long-awaited Gym overhaul that has been rumored for the past several months. In interviews, Niantic executives have repeatedly discussed three major updates coming to Pokemon Go this summer: cooperative gameplay experiences, Legendary Pokemon and something relating to the teams.

While we're anxiously awaiting more news about the update, Niantic is hosting its first real-world Pokemon Go event in Chicago on July 22nd. Pokemon GO Fest will take place at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, where trainers will be able to meet up and participate in a variety of activities. Tickets will be available from PokemonGoLive.com/Fest starting on July 19th at 10:00AM PT. Niantic also plans to hold more events in Europe from June through September, making Pokemon Go Fest international.
Matthew Wojciechowski, a fit and healthy retired U.S. Navy SEAL, was working as a contractor for the CIAs Global Response Staff in a Middle East outpost. Suddenly on Dec. 21, 2011, he was struck with crippling chest pain and was soon shaking violently.

I felt like I was going to die, and as an American citizen, I was trying to get some help, he told Fox News. But was told because I was a contractor I was under a different set of rules for care.

So instead of being examined by a U.S. medical professional at the consulate, Wojciechowski said he was shocked that he was sent to a local hospital  and seen by a doctor who did not speak English  who misdiagnosed him simply as having heartburn.

As his condition worsened, Wojciechowski was finally sent home via a commercial flight, with no medical oversight. Some two weeks later, on Jan. 6, he was barely able to walk. In excruciating pain, he was soon rushed into open heart surgery and diagnosed with chronic, recurrent pericarditis. The serious heart condition, in which the tissue surrounding the heart becomes inflamed, typically develops from a viral or respiratory infection, but its initial cause is often hard to determine.

By law of the Defense Base Act (DBA), Wojciechowski assumed his health was covered, but receiving any help or compensation remains an ongoing nightmare with endless bills going to debt collections and life-saving prescriptions not paid for.

My credit is so ruined I cant even qualify for a Veterans Affairs (VA) loan, he said, highlighting that he is continuing to fight his case with legal assistance.

The DBA, a World War II era legislation, mandates that the U.S government and its overseas contractors must be provided with life insurance and workers compensation insurance. Yet Wojciechowski claims that his provider, the Continental Insurance of Chicago (CNA), is not paying up under the guise he contracted an illness abroad, and thus cannot be directly attributed to his line of work.

This week, his girlfriend Kristin Camacho set up a GoFundMe in the hopes of covering some of his medical bills.

"He has lost everything. We sold everything and we are still struggling to make ends meet," she said.

The U.S. State Department, as well as CNA, did not respond to a request for comment.

The government has no obligation to take care of you as a contractor. That's the tragic truth.  Thomas Williams, former Blackwater officer

Wojciechowski's case is far from unique. The precarious health coverage has increasingly become one of the silent perils of privatizing war. Contractors have played fundamental and often highly risky roles in several seemingly intractable U.S.-led wars against terrorism, from delivering fuel, weapons and aid to troops to guarding diplomats and bases to language interpretation and providing food and manual labor. Thousands have lost their lives and tens of thousands have been left with life-altering injuries.

In 2012, Frank Gallagher developed a weird virus while working as a security contractor in counterterrorism operations for the U.S. State Department in Pakistan. The former Force Reconnaissance Marine battled through as he was due to return home the following week. Back on U.S. soil, he learned that he had acquired the heart condition known as myocardiopathy and was urgently placed on the list for a heart transplant. Gallagher spent the next two weeks accumulating massive hospital bills as professionals purported to stabilize his health, only to learn that his insurer would not cover a dime of the expenses as he had not reported his illness in Pakistan.

But the horror was only beginning.

It took over a year of fighting, he told Fox News, adding that he was one of the few lucky ones who eventually prevailed and his medical costs covered only thanks to support from his state of Connecticut and the VA.

Some contractors fall back on their VA benefits  yet that system is far from reliable or accessible to all. And those who have retired from working as contractors have no TRICARE medical benefits, such as retired U.S. military personnel receive, if they havent served 20 or more years. Beyond that, some contractors undertaking these important roles have not worked for the military before.

In 2014, Willie Myers, a trained medic who was assigned to protect the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, endured a bruised vertebra and lost his ability to walk while preparing for a fitness test, but his claim was denied under the guise he was not in a "Zone of Special Danger."

Myers, 52, who was contracting for International Development Solutions, said he remains confined to a wheelchair and although a judge finally awarded him the case in October, the insurance company has filed an appeal.

"You shouldn't have to fight to be taken care of," Myers said. "Guys are getting injured and losing everything because the insurance companies are playing games."

However, even those directly wounded have returned stateside to chronic battles just to get basic medical bills paid, prosthetic limbs to be made and psychological counseling to be covered. When patients fight back, they often must do so by hiring their own lawyers. The mediation or court process can extend from months to years. Many also return from combat with mental health afflictions like post-traumatic stress disorder, and coverage for treatment of such disorders often becomes a fight of its own.

ISIS THREAT IN AFGHANISTAN SHOWS NO END IN SIGHT

POST-ISIS, IRAQIS DEBATE US TROOPS REMAINING IN THEIR COUNTRY

Although the issue is hardly new, it is still rarely raised by representatives and politicians, many U.S. military contractors say. A 2009 study revealed that insurance companies initially dismissed more than 40 percent of contractors war zone claims, despite collecting hundreds of millions in profits  effectively paid for by U.S. taxpayers  from their contracts with the government.

Thomas Williams, a former Blackwater officer, also cautioned that anyone mulling a supposedly big salary of a military contract should be well aware of the dark side before signing.

"You assume your commitment is reciprocated in the form of support; it isn't. The DBA notwithstanding, the government has no obligation to take care of you as a contractor," he added. "That is the tragic truth."
He was not an easy dog, not remotely warm or fuzzy.

Rex had been through various handlers, some of whom he had bitten.

He was everyones secondary dog, said former Marine Cpl. Megan Leavey, who herself had a rocky start with the bomb-sniffing German shepherd when she met him during her time at military police school in Texas.

Sgt. Rex, as he was officially known, bit Leavey at least once.

But Leavey was not fazed, and eventually found herself bonding with Rex, who became her fierce protector. Leavey and Rex  whose bond forms the basis of a movie Megan Leavey that will open in theaters Friday, with actress Kate Mara playing the Marine -- went on more than 100 missions together in Iraq between 2003 and 2006.

Rex remained aggressive, even as he learned to be gentle with his favorite human.

I wouldnt say I got him to soften up, Leavey, who is 33, told Fox News. Our personalities happened to mesh well. He was not soft. He was very protective of me. He was great when he was with me.

Rex helped spot hidden explosives and was critical in ensuring that paths were clear for troops to travel on. But in one instance, Rex and Leavey were injured by shrapnel in the Ramadi area. The incident left Leavey, who was awarded the Purple Heart, with a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and her four-legged comrade with an injured shoulder and neurological conditions.

Leavey came back to the United States, where she spent time at Camp Pendleton in California healing and helping Rex through rehabilitation.

He wasnt friendly with anyone else, Leavey said. It was up to me to make sure he got MRIs done and taking care of other things [regarding his treatment] myself.

Then it came time to part. Leavey was honorably discharged, but Rex continued on duty, though because of neurological problems stemming from the explosive that hurt him and his Marine partner, his duties were modified.

The separation was heartbreaking for Leavey, for whom the time with the Marines, which she joined during a difficult, aimless period in her own home life, helped anchor her and give her a fresh perspective on life.

But perhaps most of all it was Rex who gave her life a whole new meaning  they helped each other and drew so much from their mutual trust and bond.

Rex was the one constant in my life, Leavey said.

Leavey was driven to bring Rex to live with her, but ran into roadblocks.

Rex was the one constant in my life.  Megan Leavey

She said she is not bitter about those obstacles. She understands that military dogs have an important function and there cannot be an efficient system that gives up dogs when their handlers leave and want to take them back with them.

At one point, Leavey learned that Rexs health was deteriorating, a situation hastened by his advancing age.

She learned that military medical records categorized him as unadoptable because of his aggression toward some handlers.

That put him at risk of being euthanized, and Leavey could not let that happen, she said. She approached several people in Rockland County, New York, where she lives. Among them was Jerry Donnellan, director of the Rockland County Veterans Service Agency.

I went into his office and I was crying, she told the Journal News. And he was like Wow, this problem has never come up before. This is a first.

Leaveys plight caught the attention of Mindy Franklin Levine, whose husband is New York Yankees President Randy Levine, and who is active in many animal rights causes and a strong supporter of veterans.

The Levines reached out to their contacts and pushed for the reunion between Leavey and Rex.

Her story broke my heart, Mindy Levine said to Fox News. She said to me, Ill do anything to get him back. I told her Its going to be a wild ride, but I was very optimistic. I knew she needed this dog to make her complete. I could hear the fear in her voice, of knowing on some level how sick Rex was, perhaps much more ill than we realized at the time.

Finally, with the Levines and others rallying around Leavey, Rex received approval to be reunited with his Marine. He basked in retirement, loving real dog toys, taking dips in pools, being handed scraps of non-canine food and just lounging around, being pampered.

Her story broke my heart. I knew she needed this dog to make her complete.  Mindy Levine, who helped reunite Leavey and Rex

Surprisingly, he took to [civilian life] pretty easy, Leavey said.

They had only eight months together. Rex died at the end of 2012 at the age of 12.

Earlier that year, Rex and Leavey were honored at Yankee Stadium, where the former Marine was presented with a jersey autographed by the team and then-player Alex Rodriguez gave her a charm engraved with the name Rex.

Leavey, who comes from a family of Yankees fans, now is an account executive for the Bronx Bombers, as the team is known, and maintains a close bond with Mindy Levine, who helped get the ball rolling on reuniting the former Marine and her canine partner.

They were so kind to take care of my travel, to pick up Rex and pay for his medical bills when we got home, she said of the Levines.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the movies director, said that above all else, Megan Leavey is a movie about loyalty and friendship, and it's a film about someone who comes to value herself because she begins to value something else, in this case Rex."

"Those are the themes that will hit you at your core," said Cowperthwaite, who usually works on documentaries.

'Megan Leavey' is a movie about loyalty and friendship, and it's a film about someone who comes to value herself because she begins to value something else.  Gabriela Cowperthwaite, movie director

Leavey served as a consultant during the script, and even appears in a scene in the movie, playing a boot-camp drill instructor.

"I'm on cloud nine," Leavey said about having a film about her and the best friend she lost. "It's hard [to relive], but they did a very good job of getting the bonding that Rex and I had."
A bottle labeled Dads ashes was found at a North Carolina Goodwill store, and some employees have made it their mission to get the ashes back to his family.

Last month, a Thomasville Goodwill store employee came across a small bottle with the words Dads ashes, as well as the name Missy written on it.

SHIRT WITH $8G IN POCKET ACCIDENTALLY DONATED TO GOODWILL

The employee gave the ashes to Jessica Cranford, a participant in Goodwills WorkFirst training program, who offered to take the ashes home.

He doesnt belong here, Cranford told FOX8, referring to the bottle of cremated ashes. He needs to be with his family.

Cranford posted a picture of the bottle to Facebook, along with her phone number and where it was found  but so far, she hasnt had any luck finding its owner.

STOLEN CROSS NECKLACE CONTAINING TEEN'S ASHES RETURNED TO FATHER

Although no one has claimed the ashes, Cranford said shes not going to stop trying.

The ashes are being kept at Northwest North Carolina's Goodwill corporate office. Anyone with information regarding the remains is asked to call Goodwills corporate number at 336-714-303 or email info@goodwillnwnc.org.
Inside a mosque in the college town of Eugene, a half-dozen men prostrated themselves on a carpet while another man led the midday prayers. Over his melodic recitation came a tapping sound as a locksmith installed higher-grade locks on the front door.

The worshippers at the Eugene Islamic Center are worried about their security. A man recently appeared outside the mosque and threatened to kill Muslims.

Barely two weeks later, an assailant stabbed two men to death and wounded a third on a commuter train in Portland, 110 miles (180 kilometers) to the north. The victims were trying to protect two teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, as the man shouted anti-Islamic slurs.

Looking ahead, Muslim leaders and others are concerned about anti-Shariah, or Islamic law, marches planned for Saturday in Seattle and about two-dozen other U.S. cities, saying the marches are really anti-Muslim. They consider the Portland and Eugene incidents, and other recent anti-Muslim crimes in America, part of an alarming trend that came to the forefront in last year's presidential election with far-right activists portraying Islam  and all Muslims  as a threat.

"Our Muslim community is feeling a tremendous amount of stress and pressure," said former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, who plans to attend a counter-rally Saturday. "It's important for local leaders to express solidarity and make clear we stand against bigotry, against racism and with our Muslim neighbors in the state and beyond."

The group organizing the rallies, ACT for America, has chapters around the country and says it is focused on fighting terrorism and promoting national security. It says it condemns bias against religious groups and is "proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with peaceful Western Muslims as well as peaceful Muslims worldwide."

Yet many Muslims and others say the group promotes a distorted and prejudiced view of Islam.

ACT for America activists portray Shariah as largely incompatible with American democracy and often warn of a stealth effort to replace U.S. law with Islamic law. Muslims call the claims ludicrous and say Islamic law plays a role similar to Jewish law, as a guide to religious life rooted in the Quran.

Aneelah Afzali, who heads a Seattle-area group that works against discrimination and hate crimes, said she will be putting up an "ask a Muslim booth" near Seattle's anti-Shariah rally, "so people can ask questions directly about Islam, and we can counter conspiracy theories, accusations and lies that come from that hate rally."

She said she has noticed increased hostility toward Muslims, evidenced by the destruction of a granite sign in front of the mosque she attends in Redmond, Washington, by someone apparently wielding a sledgehammer. A temporary sign was destroyed a few weeks later.

"What was so beautiful was the outpouring of community support," she said, explaining that many community and business leaders showed up for a ceremony and left their handprints in the concrete base that holds the new sign.

The marches come amid a rise in reports of anti-Muslim incidents in the U.S., including arson attacks and vandalism at mosques, harassment of women wearing Muslim head coverings and bullying of Muslim schoolchildren.

Two far-right groups, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, are to provide security at some of the rallies, apparently the first simultaneous anti-Shariah rallies in the U.S. Members of a third group also confirmed they'll attend, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups.

"With the recruitment of anti-government groups and the Proud Boys, the potential for violence increases," the center said.

The Seattle rally originally was planned for Portland, but an organizer canceled it after Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler called on the federal government to deny a permit, with Wheeler saying the rally would exacerbate tensions after the stabbings. The organizer said "inflammatory comments" by Wheeler put participants at risk of violence.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon said trying to deny a permit without concrete evidence of an imminent threat of violence amounted to unconstitutional government censorship.

Muslim leaders hear echoes of the views of groups like ACT for America in President Donald Trump's temporary ban on entry into the U.S. from six Muslim-majority countries  a measure currently blocked by federal courts  and in his claims of dangers posed by immigrants and Muslim refugees. Trump has said his policies are critical for protecting national security.

Those who attend the Eugene Islamic Center, in an off-white building in a lower-income neighborhood, are still coming to grips with the May 10 threat from a man who was arrested the next day while carrying a knife.

Mosque member Drew Williams said the man claimed to have killed Muslims while serving in the military in Iraq and told witnesses, "I have no problem killing you." The man was charged with intimidation, menacing and harassment.

"Many people are worried and saddened and very shocked, but we still hope to be able to practice and to be part of the Eugene community," Williams said as the locksmith worked next to him.

Besides installing stronger locks, the mosque is raising funds to erect a fence around the building and possibly hire a security guard for Friday prayers, when the number of worshippers peaks.

___

This story has been corrected to show the mosque that was damaged was in Redmond, Washington, not Everett.

___

AP Religion Writer Rachel Zoll in New York contributed to this report.

___

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky
A U.S. Army colonel, along with his wife and a former defense contractor have been accused by a federal grand jury of a bribery scheme to defraud the government of more than $20 million.

Prosecutors allege Col. Anthony Roper and his wife began a bribery and kickback scheme in 2008 in which they would seek and accept bribes in exchange for more than $20 million in Army contracts to individuals and companies.

NAVY ADMIRAL, 8 OTHERS CHARGED WITH CORRUPTION IN 'FAT LEONARD' BRIBERY CASE

Roper, 55, and his wife, Audra, 49, have both been charged with conspiracy, obstruction and making false statements. Roper was also charged with bribery and faces up to 85 years in prison if convicted.

Former defense contractor Dwayne Oswald Fulton, 58, worked as an officer for a large defense contracting company and has been charged with conspiracy and obstruction for the schemes.

Roper was stationed at Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia, where he worked to build and modernize the Army's information and communication networks, according to the indictment.

CONVICTED SOLDIER CHELSEA MANNING WILL STAY ON ACTIVE DUTY

The indictment alleges that in trying to hide the schemes, the three accused attempted to obstruct an official investigation looking into their conduct.

Audra Roper operates Quadar Group, which prosecutors said was a shell company used to funnel bribe payments to her husband, according to the indictment. Prosecutors said the Group was one of multiple shell companies used to defraud the government.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
California cops have arrested a man in connection with a cereal crime.

Eureka cops responded to a report of shots fired Wednesday afternoon and found a man who had been struck in the hand with a shotgun shell filled with Rice Krispies, KRCR-TV reports. The weapon turned out to be a flare gun.

Police said they were told the assailant was Timothy Glass Jr., 29, of Eureka, and that he had fled the scene on a bicycle.

The victim was taken to the hospital.

Shortly after, detectives said they detained Glass at a homeless encampment.

Glass resisted apprehension causing minor injury to a detective, police said in press release.

Police contacted the victim who positively identified Glass as the shooter.

However, the victim said he did not want to press charges.

Nevertheless, Glass was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. He was charged with resisting arrest and probation violation, police said.

Based on the investigation it appears Glass fired a flare gun loaded with a shotgun shell filled with Rice Krispies, police said.

Police referred the case to the Humboldt County District Attorneys Office for review.
Officials found no information that indicated terrorism as a motive in a hit-and-run in Washington, D.C. Thursday night that injured two officers and a transportation worker, police said Friday.

"Right now we do not have any information to suggest this was a terrorist-related event," D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said in a news conference Friday. Newsham initially said they were looking "very closely" at terrorism as a possible motive.

The white pickup truck sped into two bicycle patrol officers and a District Department of Transportation employee on 18th Street in the Adams Morgan neighborhood just before 9 p.m., Fox 5 DC reported. Witnesses said one officer was dragged down several blocks before the vehicle then crashed into an unoccupied dump truck. Police later found an assault rifle inside the truck.

The two injured officers and worker were rushed to the hospital. One officer remains in critical but stable condition. The other officer sustained serious injuries and is expected to be released from the hospital on Friday. The transportation worker was released from the hospital after he was treated for his injuries.

Two suspects, Brandon Figures-Mormon, 22, and Dwayne Taylor, 23, were arrested and taken to the hospital. Figures-Mormon was charged with assault with intent to kill. Both men also face weapons charges, The Associated Press reported.

Several FBI agents were also investigating the incident.

Click here for more from Fox 5 DC.
A Florida sergeant dived into a river on Tuesday to save a woman from drowning.

Jacksonville Sheriffs Office Sergeant Billy Irvin jumped into the St. Johns River after police responded to a call about a body in the water, the sheriff's office said.

FLORIDA POLICE SAFELTY LOCATE TWIN SISTERS WHO WENT MISSING

Sgt. Irvin dove in after the body was heading south and the current was picking up, the sheriffs office wrote in a Facebook post.

Irvin determined that the woman was still alive and signaled for help. Three construction workers nearby the incident offered a helping hand and pulled the sergeant and the woman into their boat.

FLORIDA AIRPORT SHOOTING SUSPECT DUE BACK IN COURT

He is a hero to all of us and all the people who witness this going on, the sheriffs office said about Irvin. Numerous citizens came up to Sgt. Irvin just to shake his hand thanking him for his heroic effort and jumping in the river.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office's post about the rescue also included a photo of a drenched Sgt. Irvin after his heroic swim.

There was no immediate information on the womans identity or condition.
Behind rows of suitcases once bound for a youth missionary trip to Africa, and flanked by friends, family and South Fulton city officials, the mother of 17-year-old Sarah Harmening described her daughter, who only hours before died in a bus crash in the city of South Fulton.

We asked to have the opportunity to speak because our daughter Sarah was a gift to us that was given on December 20, 1999. And she loved the Lord with a love that was tangible, Karen Harmening started. I hope you will listen to it because its what she lived and breathed for.

1 DEAD, DOZENS HURT AFTER BUS OVERTURNS OUTSIDE ATLANTA

Visibly holding back a flood of emotion and standing beside her husband Scott, the Alabama mother explained why her daughter was headed to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Thursday afternoon.

They were on the mission trip to Botswana, she said. And she was so excited. She earned all the money to go and share Christ with children of Botswana.

Sarah was part of a youth group from Mount Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama, which was on the first leg of its mission trip to Africa, a 3-hour trip to Atlantas airport, when the churchs bus tangled with two other vehicles, causing it to overturn.

Sarahs mother said her daughter was biding her time on the bus, writing one final journal entry. It was an entry her mother wanted to read aloud to those gathered in the sanctuary of the Kingdom of God Church late Thursday evening, so Sarahs heart could be shared with the world:

I was just sitting here on the bus feeling a little sad. I guess because Im going to be gone so long and I was a little uncomfortable. Then I decided to read my Bible. I prayed and opened up to 1 Peter 5 and 2 Peter 1. Pretty much everything I read applied to me now. It talked about watching over the flock entrusted to you which would be my little buddies in Botswana.

Read more at Fox 5 Atlanta.
The Latest on the U.S. response to the Arab blockade of Qatar (all times local):

3:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump is accusing Qatar of funding terrorism at a "very high level" and says it must stop now.

Trump says the country, which hosts roughly 10,000 U.S. troops and serves as a major staging base, has "historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level"

He says that funding has to end.

Qatar has long denied supporting or funding terror groups. But Western diplomats accuse the country of allowing or even encouraging the funding of some Sunni extremists.

Trump's comments came shortly after Trump's Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on Arab nations to immediately ease their blockade on Qatar. He warned that the Persian Gulf crisis is hindering U.S. efforts to fight the Islamic State group.

Saudi Arabia and other nations cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar earlier this week.

___

2:53 p.m.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is calling on Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to immediately ease their blockade on Qatar.

Tillerson says the blockade is hindering U.S. military efforts and the campaign against the Islamic State group. Previously, the U.S. had insisted the Qatar crisis wouldn't affect U.S. military efforts in the Middle East.

Tillerson says the U.S. will support efforts to mediate the crisis along with Kuwait. He says the elements of a resolution are available. He says the U.S. asks that there be "no further escalation."

Tillerson is also calling on Qatar to address the concerns of other Arab nations. He says Qatar has a history of supporting violent groups. He says Qatar has taken steps to address that concern but must do more.
A judge has temporarily suspended the license of a Washington, D.C., cab driver accused of harassing a Muslim legislator from Minnesota.

State Rep. Ilhan Omar says she was in a taxi with her sister last December when the driver threatened to remove her headscarf and used offensive language toward them. A District of Columbia judge recently fined the driver $1,000, suspended his license for 45 days and ordered him to take cultural sensitivity classes.

The administrative ruling says the cab driver denied using offensive language and threatening Omar and said she was insulting to him. The driver has 30 days to file a petition for review.

Omar is the nation's first Somali-American legislator. She immigrated to the U.S. after spending part of her childhood in a Kenyan refugee camp.
An Arizona man has been arrested on suspicion of first degree murder in the disappearance of his girlfriend, according to media reports.

Phoenix cops suspect Robert Interval Jr. killed 34-year-old Christine Mustafa a month ago after he accused her of cheating on him, the Arizona Republic reported.

Mustafa was last seen on May 10 when she left work. She and Interval had an 8-month-old daughter and lived in Phoenix. Mustafa also had a 15-year-old son.

Interval, 37, was arrested Thursday and is being held in the Maricopa County Jail.

Her body has not been found, according to the paper.

Family friend Erin Neathery said Mustafas family was relieved Interval had been arrested, the paper reported.

Theyve been waiting for this since the first day she went missing, she said.

Fox 10 Phoenix reported that police have been building a case since the day Mustafa disappeared.

"We're talking about physical evidence," Police Sgt. Jonathan Howard told the station. "We're talking about technological evidence, witness statements, and the case continued to build over the last 30 days."
British Prime Minister Theresa May has no intention of resigning after her Conservative Party lost outright majority in Parliament on Friday, Sky News reported, citing unnamed sources.

Mays gamble to call an early election appeared to backfire. According to Sky News projections, Conservatives were expected to win 315 seats, while the opposition Labour Party was expected to garner 261 seats. To have majority in the House of Commons, a party would need to hold 326 seats.

UK ELECTIONS ENDED AS A REFERENDUM ON MAY'S TERROR POLICIES

HEAT ON COMEY

President Trumps lawyer will file a complaint with the Department of Justices Inspector General's Office and the Senate Judiciary Committee after it was revealed Thursday that former FBI director James Comey leaked memos to a friend in order to inform the media about conversations with the president, a source told Fox News.

It is not clear when the attorney, Marc Kasowitz, will file the complaint. But the move appears to show that team Trump is trying to go on the offensive after Comeys testimony.

TRUMP JR TO 'HANNITY'

Donald Trump Jr. told Fox News' "Hannity" Thursday night that former FBI Director James Comey's testimony before the Senate intelligence committee Thursday was the culmination of a "10-month witch hunt."

'SPECIAL REPORT' ALL-STAR PANEL BREAKS DOWN COMEY HEARING

GREGG JARRETT: COMEY EXONERATES TRUMP

'HANNITY': HOST ASKS IF THE MEDIA WILL ADMIT IT WAS DEAD WRONG ON RUSSIA?

'NO GREATER THREAT'

Just days before North Korea fired land-to-ship missiles off its east coast, Pyongyang slammed President Trumps decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, calling Trumps move a shortsighted and silly decision.

North Koreas Ministry of Foreign Affairs called global warming one of the gravest challenges humankind is facing today.

COMING UP ON FOX NEWS CHANNEL

2: 45 AM ET: President Trump holds a joint press conference with the President of Romania. Watch live on FoxNews.com

COMING UP ON FOX BUSINESS

7:00 AM ET: Nigel Farage, European Parliament Member, will visit "Mornings with Maria"

8:20 AM ET: Dr. Ben Carson will be on "Mornings with Maria"
Philadelphia Police have offered preliminary information regarding a police-involved shooting that took place in North Philadelphia on Thursday evening which left one suspect dead.

Around 6:40 p.m., a 15th District Police officer was working along the 4100 block of Whitaker Avenue while transporting witnesses to the Special Victims Unit.

While in transit, the officer came across a man, 30, operating a dirt bike in an erratic manner. The dirt bike soon stalled out, and the officer pulled next to him to investigate. As the officer began speaking with the operator, the man began backing away from the officer's vehicle.

The officer was alarmed at this behavior, exited his vehicle and began to conduct a Terry frisk on the operator. During the frisk, the officer identified a gun in the operator's waistband.

The officer drew his service weapon and ordered the man several times not to touch the gun in his waistband.

The operator then pulled away from the officer and pulled out his gun, which was also observed by the witnesses in the back of the police vehicle. Police Commissioner Richard Ross says the officer discharged his weapon and the man was struck at least once and collapsed.

Click here for more from Fox 29.
Phoenix Fire officials said Friday a one-year-old boy has died, following an attack by a dog.

According to Captain Rob McDade, the incident happened at approximately 1:20 p.m. at the 1900 block of E. Sunland. The child was reportedly taken to a local pediatric trauma hospital, where he later died.

The dog was identified by officials with Maricopa County Animal Care and Control as a Rottweiler that belonged to a relative of the victim. The dog, according to Animal Care and Control officials, has been impounded and brought to their Phoenix shelter.

Phoenix Police will reportedly handle the investigation.

READ MORE FROM FOX 10 PHOENIX.
A robber at an Ohio Subway restaurant was told to get a job instead of demanding money from the cash register.

Worker Cathy Stafford was in charge of the register on Tuesday when a man walked into the Warren, Ohio restaurant demanding money. Her shocking response was caught on camera and viewed more than 290,000 times, Fox 19 reported.

I guess, some people just have the courage, here and there, she told the station. I dont know what took over me, I guess sometimes I do things I shouldnt do. And I speak  just whatever comes to my mind, it just comes out.

SUSPECT USES STOLEN BACKHOE TRY TO ROB ATM

Staffords interaction with the robber didnt end there. She even questioned him about other robberies recently happening in the area.

I was really shocked what she was saying at that time, said co-worker Sierra Harper, who recorded the entire exchange. It was scary because you dont know in that mindset what hes thinking, if he could jump over the counter.

According to Fox 19, this was the second time in less than a week the restaurant had been robbed. On Tuesday, the suspect only got away with $13 in the tip jar.

Police said they are investigating the case. It's unclear if the suspect had a weapon on him.

Read more at Fox 19.
A Virginia man and his half-sister received a combined 108 years in prison after being convicted Tuesday of sexually abusing two young girls.

Robert Eugene Clark, 39, was sentenced to 65 years in prison on nine counts that included rape, aggravated sexual battery and taking indecent liberties, according to Fox 8.

Clarks half-sister, Samantha Simmons, 30, was sentenced to 43 years on 11 counts that included aggravated sexual battery, sodomy and endangerment of a child.

The two sisters, ages 8 and 3, were removed from the home in Arnold Valley in Rockbridge County by social workers after being pushed by the countys sheriffs office to take action. In 2015, the sheriffs office received a call from a neighbor about the home and the well-being of the girls, according to People.

VIRGINIA MAN WHO TRAVELED TO JOIN ISIS GUILTY ON TERROR CHARGES

She was a feral child; thats the only way I could describe her, Peggy Sigler, a Rockbridge Area Department of Social Services caseworker, said to describe the younger girl.

The girls reportedly lived in filthy, bug-infested conditions and the whims of incest in a family that spanned three generations of sexual abuse.

They were taught to perform sexual acts more so than they were taught to brush their teeth, Chief Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Jared Moon said.

VIRGINIA IMAM PLACED ON LEAVE AFTER ENDORSING FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

The two girls are in foster care and are reportedly making progress, but have displayed signals of the abuse they underwent.

The defense argued in court that Simmons male family members had sexually abused her a while back, so the deviancy to her became the normal.

Ive been here 39 years and this has been the most disturbing and disgusting thing Ive ever heard in the courtroom, Bruce Patterson, Rockbridge County Circuit Court Clerk, told People.
The Latest on developments concerning Iraq (all times local):

1:45 p.m.

Police and medical officials say a suicide attacker has blown himself up in a market south of the capital Baghdad killing at least 21 people.

The officials said the Friday morning blast in the village of Musayyib also wounded 30. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The blast came hours after a bomb exploded in the Shiite holy city of Karbala near Mussayyib wounding five people.

Explosions are common in Iraq and have killed hundreds of people this year alone.

The Islamic State group usually claims responsibility for such blasts.

By Bassem Mroue

____

12:40 a.m.

Several rights organizations are warning that large numbers of civilians are being killed and injured in western Mosul because Iraqi and U.S.-backed coalition forces are relying on the use of heavy weapons.

The forces are working to push Islamic State group militants from the city.

Heavy ordnance, such as 500-pound (227-kilogram) air-delivered bombs, are causing excessive and disproportionate damage to civilian life and property, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law, organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Center for Civilians in Conflict warned.

Their report was released Thursday.

___

11:25 a.m.

Turkey is criticizing Iraqi Kurdish officials' decision to hold a referendum in Iraq's autonomous northern region, calling it "a grave mistake."

In a statement released Friday, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said Iraq's territorial integrity was a "precondition" for lasting stability for the country and called on Iraqi Kurds to be part of efforts to strengthen Iraq's unity.

This week, Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, announced plans for a referendum on Sept. 25 on whether to secede from Iraq. The vote would be held in three governorates that make up the Kurdish region and in the areas that are disputed by the Kurdish and Iraqi governments.

Turkey, which is battling a Kurdish insurgency on its territory, is strongly opposed to moves toward Kurdish independence.
Britain's general election has ended with no party winning an outright majority, bringing the second so-called hung Parliament in the last three elections.

Here are a few questions over what it means and its implications for the country.

QUESTION: WHAT IS A HUNG PARLIAMENT?

Answer: It's an unusual situation in which no political party wins more than half of the 650 seats in the House of Commons  326 is the ostensible mark for a majority, but since the seven Sinn Fein MPs in Northern Ireland aren't expected to take up their seats in the London chamber, the threshold is more like 323. Without a majority, the government cannot be assured of passing legislation and often has to rely on the support of other parties.

___

Q: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? WHO FORMS THE GOVERNMENT?

A: Prime Minister Theresa May has gone to Queen Elizabeth II to get permission to form a government with the help of the smaller Democratic Unionist Party. She didn't specify how her Conservative Party would "work together" with the Northern-Ireland-based party. As the leader of the largest single party in the House of Commons, May got the first chance to put together a government and present a formal program, known as the Queen's Speech. Instead of a formal coalition, May could seek to govern through a so-called "confidence and supply" arrangement with the DUP, in which the Northern Irish party agrees to support the minority Conservative government on vital matters, such as the budget, in return for concessions.

___

Q: WHAT DOES THE DUP POTENTIALLY PROVIDE?

A: Votes. With all but one seat counted, the DUP won 10 seats in the House of Commons and the Conservatives 318  enough to form a working majority, albeit a very small one. While the parties are closely aligned on some issues, they differ on matters as pensions and the details of Britain's exit from the European Union. May will likely have to make compromises to win the DUP's backing.

___

Q: WHAT HAPPENS IF THE PRIME MINISTER CAN'T FORM A GOVERNMENT?

A: If May fails to get a deal with the DUP that will allow her to govern, then the queen, following advice, could ask the main opposition Labour Party to try to form a government. Given the election arithmetic, Labour would struggle to get the numbers to form a coalition government. Based on current seat projections, Labour and its potential allies fall short of the 326 required to form a majority. However, Labour could govern as a minority government, too, even though it came second in the election in terms of seats, should other parties give it the leeway in key votes.

___

Q: WHAT HAPPENS IF NO PARTY IS ABLE TO FORM A GOVERNMENT?

A: New elections will be called.

___

Q: HOW COMMON ARE HUNG PARLIAMENTS?

A: There have been six hung Parliaments since 1900. No party won a majority in elections in 1909, 1929, 1974 and 2010.

In 2010, the Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, the first formal coalition since Winston Churchill's government during World War II. In 1974, a minority Labour government was in charge for eight months because the Conservatives were willing to abstain on key votes. In the other four instances minority governments were able to survive as a result of agreements with other parties.
Just days before North Korea fired land-to-ship missiles off its east coast, Pyongyang slammed President Trumps decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, calling Trumps move a shortsighted and silly decision.

North Koreas Ministry of Foreign Affairs called global warming one of the gravest challenges humankind is facing today.

This is the height of egotism and moral vacuum seeking only their own well-being at the cost of the entire planet, the statement read, according to the Korean Central News Agency. Whoever chooses to blindly follow the Trump administration overpowered by its bravado should be fully aware that the judgment of history shall take them all as one.

The Washington Post reported that North Korea signed on to the agreement. Its leader, Kim Jong Un, reportedly declared war on deforestation back in 2015.

Trump's decision drew heavy criticism within the U.S. and internationally, including in China, which swiftly recommitted itself to the agreement forged with the administration of former President Obama. Trump argued that the Paris agreement favors emerging economies such as China's and India's at the expense of U.S. workers.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt touted U.S. emissions reductions over past years and said that despite withdrawing from the Paris accord, the Trump administration would continue to engage others, particularly developing nations, on the effort.

"We have a strong, strong approach to reducing emissions. We have nothing to be apologetic about," Pruitt said. "America is not going to be disengaged, we are going to maintain engagement."

The Associated Press contributed to this report
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who in March vowed an all-out war on the plague of sexual abuse by U.N.-sponsored peacekeepers in vulnerable, strife-torn nations, is apparently locked in a major, closed-door chapter in that campaigna struggle he so far does not appear to have won.

At issue is what to do with at least 650 troops from the Republic of the Congo, currently stationed as peacekeepers in the battered Central African Republic (CAR), whose alleged indiscipline, poor leadership, repeated involvement in sexual exploitation and abuse cases, and overall threadbare competence make them a special peacekeeping disaster.

A confidential memorandum and internal report, made public this week by the U.N.s most persistent critic on the sexual abuse issue, reveals that the problem has become a full-blown internal crisis that not only adds to the years-old U.N. sexual abuse chronicles but severely undercuts the $900 million, 10,750-troop peacekeeping mission in CAR, known by the acronym MINUSCA.

Yet the same report, and the U.N.s circumspection surrounding its unexpected release, show that the world organization is still caught up in a self-made conundrum of how to act decisively against a culture of impunity surrounding peacekeeper crimes, when the powers of disciplinary action largely remain with the troop-contributing countries that supply its forces.

But now, matters seem to be coming to a head. In the confidential memo, written on May 12, the U.N.s top commander in CAR, Lt. General Balla Keita, declares that he considers the notorious Congolese unit no longer trustable and unable and even unwilling to fulfill operational tasks, thus putting the [entire peacekeeping] Forces efficiency and credibility at risk.

Keita, who has commanded MINUSCA since February 2016, recommends the removal and replacement of the rogue battalion if the troop-supplying Congolese government wont commit itself to improving without delay the standard of the unit.

CLICK HERE FOR THE MEMO

Just how likely that is, Keita indicates by noting that more than five Congolese delegations have already visited CAR with the objective to correct the shortcomings without making enough of a difference.

In fact, a 66-page confidential report known as an operational readiness assessment that is referenced in Keitas memo and was also made public, says that 120 people from the battalion have already been repatriated on disciplinary grounds, cutting its strength to the current 650.

The report goes on at length to describe the almost endless maladies of the Congolese unit: idleness, feuding commanders, lack of effective equipmentincluding workable vehicles, which means they cant patrol the huge territory they are meant to cover-- poor communications with other peacekeeping units, lack of ground-to-air radios, laughable camp defenses, lack of water treatment facilities (despite the presence of cholera in CAR, and high-profile U.N. cholera scandals elsewhere) and other unsanitary conditions.

It also notes that the battalion is incapable, as matters stand, of bringing a halt to depredations by armed gangs that are one major sign of a deteriorating security situation in CAR, a country U.N. officials have been lauding for its efforts to return to stability after years of violence and civil strife.

More importantly from the point of stopping sexual abuse, the report notes that the undisciplined soldiers have casual access to the neighboring town of Berberati, where they buy food since they do not have a regular military kitchen.

That, and the lack of perimeter defenses around the camp, including even secure fences, make for the kind of constant casual contact that can lead to sexual abuse casesnot to mention a dangerously slack security situation.

Some of the problems, the report says, result from a move by the Congolese to a new camp that was, it seems, dramatically incomplete at the time of the shift, including the fact that it did not have an electrical power supply, but the bigger problem, it insists, is a leadership vacuum that has made the battalion is currently close to ungovernable.

The mission inspection report includes more than two full pages of recommendations on how to improve the situation, but declares that there are major issues that still need to be finalized.

It also asserts, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that the Congolese officers and troops are capable and willing to perform assigned tasks from MINUSCA.

Perhaps most astonishingly of all, amid its focus on all of the Congolese battalions disastrous shortcomings, the assessment still rates the overall capabilities of the rogue unit, based on elaborate checklist, to be about average for peacekeeping units.

And the U.N. appears, on the surface anyway, to be trying to give the impression that not much is out of the ordinary at the Berberati campat least until the leaked documents showed otherwise.

Queried by Fox News, a spokesperson for the U.N.s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in New York on Wednesday blandly described the assessment report, based on a visit made to the Congolese battalions camp on March 14-16, as one of several routine evaluations that we are conducting for all deployed contingents as per our policy framework for operational readiness assurance.

At a regular daily press conference, the Secretary Generals spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, offered the same routine evaluation theme, and declared, The result of the evaluation, which was done not too long ago, has been shared with the Member State, and were following up on various options.

He also said that what the report shows is that the Force Commander [Keita] is doing his job.

The question posed by the organization that published the leaked documents, a gadfly non-government organization named AIDS-Free World, whose Code Blue campaign against U.N. peacekeeper sexual abuse has brought enormous pressure on the U.N. to reform its ugly sexual abuse track record, was whether Guterres would now do his.

In an open letter on their website, the Code Blue campaigners, led by activist Paula Donovan and onetime Canadian Ambassador to the U.N. Stephen Lewis, urged Guterres to act to protect civilians in the area near the Congolese camp, and said that official statements from U.N. headquarters about game-changing strategies will do nothing to prevent further sexual exploitation and abuse if the U.N. fails at the basic job of due diligence.

Surely, the duo declared, U.N. headquarters does not require even more evidence before it will act.

What will it take for the U.N. to institute real reforms? Donovan later told Fox News in an email exchange. How many more reports have to come out?

Code Blue has long proposed a solution that cuts the U.N. out of investigating sex crimes and other offense committed by its own force, and proposed instead an independent court mechanism that would bypass the U.N.s notorious culture of impunity when it comes to investigating peacekeeper offenses.

The latest Code Blue postings of internal documents were clearly intended to push Secretary General Guterres into dramatic action that would back up his March 9 pledge of a relentless effort to end impunity for sex crimes.

The timing of the controversial assessment report visitit started three days after Guterres speechindicates that the exercise may well be part of the Secretary Generals reformist action plan, intended to take a hard look at the most blatant example yet of the peacekeeper debacle.

Trouble is, if the disturbingly average capabilities of the rogue CAR battalion dont draw drastic action from Guterres to draw the line on peacekeeping discipline, what will average in the rest of U.N. peacekeeping look like?

George Russell is editor-at-large of Fox News and can be found on Twitter: @GeorgeRussell or on Facebook.com/GeorgeRussell
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is encouraged by the peace process seeking to put an end to the war in Syria.

Russia along with Turkey and Iran sponsored talks in the Kazakh capital Astana bringing together the Syrian government and the opposition and focused on reducing violence. The next round of the talks is set for later this month.

Speaking at a security summit in Kazakhstan on Friday, Putin hailed the talks as providing "a genuine chance to strengthen the cease-fire and give impetus" to U.N.-brokered talks in Geneva.

Russia has conducted an air campaign in Syria since September 2015, helping turn the tide in the conflict in favor of President Bashar Assad's forces.
Sergey Kislyak, the Russian diplomat at the center of allegations of Russian ties to the Trump campaign, could soon have a new job: Counter-terrorism czar for UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres.

In February, Guterres outlined his plan to create the new office and position for counter-terrorism to be headed by an Under-Secretary-General in order to coordinate the UNs anti-terrorism policies. Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S. since 2008, is believed to be the frontrunner for the job.

Hugh Dugan, a professor at Seton Halls Center for UN and Global Governance Studies, told Fox News that the deal to let a Russian get the position was, a closed process, when the new Secretary General was voted upon last October.

Russia was the chair of that process and it seems that they made a deal on the side to select Secretary-General (Guterres) in exchange for creating a new office dedicated to Russia in the Secretariat's highest levels.

Four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council hold a senior position within the UN Secretariat - its executive branch - in New York. While a Russian heads the UN office in Vienna, the expected appointment would give Putins Russia a seat at the Secretary Generals table in New York.

"I don't want to see them get it," U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told Fox News. "That's not something we would cheer for but I wouldn't be surprised if they got it."

Haley told Fox News that Guterres is aware of her concerns on the matter.

This will be a new position that they have not had before so we have the possibility to shape what it is, and what it isn't, she said.

"There are Russians and there are Russians," one Western diplomat told Fox News. "I don't think that we, or anyone else, have given the Secretary General a blank check to appoint whichever Russian he likes to this job and of course he wouldn't."

"There will be some Russians that will be unacceptable, but there are plenty of Russians who will be acceptable, the Western diplomat told Fox News.

While not speculating on who the candidate might be the Western diplomat acknowledged that Russia is under-represented at the highest level of the organization compared to other permanent members of the UN Security Council, and that of all the top jobs counter-terrorism was one that could be discussed with the Russians despite some differences.

The Russian mission to the UN did not offer comment to Fox News when asked about the matter.

Dugan, who served 11 US ambassadors at the UN, said its unfortunate for the Trump administration to inherit this situation, given that it happened under President Obamas watch. He said the appointment would result in Russia re-establishing itself at the heart of the organization.

After 30 years of Soviet decomposition, this would be a Russian redux throughout the UN Secretariat's highest levels. With a new, managerially challenged Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, already compromised by dealing this gig to Russia, Kislyak will find it a surprisingly easy walk, right from the red carpet directly to the control booth, Dugan said.

The Secretary Generals spokesman wouldnt confirm to Fox News whether Kislyak was the Secretary Generals choice for the position, but said an announcement should come soon.

Fox News Channel's Eric Shawn contributed to this report
British Prime Minister Theresa May will ask the queen Friday to form a government despite her Conservative Party losing majority in Parliament.

Mays gamble to call an early election appeared to have backfired and now she will have to seek the support of another party or group of parties to command a majority in the House of Commons. May has no intention of resigning as prime minister, despite calls from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to do so, according to Sky News.

The Conservatives held 330 seats in Parliament heading into Thursdays general election. But by early Friday, the party only garnered 318 seats. The party would have needed 326 seats to hold a majority.

The Labour Party gained 29 seats in the general election, totaling 261.

The Conservatives remain in position to form a coalition government with the help of several Unionist Members of Parliament for North Ireland. However, if coalition negotiations fail, the outcome raises the possibility of the two major parties attempting to form minority governments  an outcome that could lead to a second general-election in the months ahead.

This country needs a period of stability, May told supporters after she was re-elected to her own seat in the House of Commons on Thursday. If the Conservative Party has won the most seats, it will be incumbent on us to deliver this period of stability.

Earlier Thursday, Corbyn had called on May to step down, saying that her attempt to seek a big mandate for her government to negotiate the U.K.s departure from the European Union had ended in lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

"I would have thought thats enough to go, actually and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country, he added.

May, who went into the election with a reputation for quiet competence, was criticized for a lackluster campaigning style and for a plan to force elderly people to pay more for their care, a proposal her opponents dubbed the "dementia tax." As the polls suggested a tightening race, pollsters spoke less often of a landslide and raised the possibility that May's majority would be eroded.

"This is completely catastrophic for the Conservatives and for Theresa May," former Conservative Treasury chief George Osborne told ITV. "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government, then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative Party leader."

The forecast was a victory in all but name for Labour, which had been expected to lose seats.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, who easily won re-election in his seat, made a savage attack on May in a speech to his supporters.

She said she was strong and stable, the public saw that she was weak and wobbly, said Watson, playing off the prime minister's campaign slogan. She said she was a bloody difficult woman ... the public saw she was just a woman finding it all a bit too bloody difficult.

The next few days look very uncertain but one thing is sure, Watson said. Theresa May's authority has been undermined in this election."

The result was also bad news for the Scottish National Party, which by early Friday had lost 21 of its 54 seats. Among the casualties was Alex Salmond, a former first minister of Scotland and one of the party's highest-profile lawmakers.

A big loss could complicate the SNP's plans to push for a new referendum on Scottish independence as Britain prepares to leave the EU.

"Indy Ref 2 is dead in Scotland," said Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, using a short form for a second independence referendum.

U.K. Independence Party leader Paul Nuttall announced his decision to resign Friday. UKIP made no dents in the election, losing one seat.

May called the election seven weeks ago, when her party was well ahead in the polls.

But things didn't go to plan.

Brexit failed to emerge as a major issue in the campaign, as both the Conservatives and Labour said they would respect voters' wishes and go through with the divorce.

Then, attacks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London twice brought the campaign to a halt, sent a wave of anxiety through Britain and forced May to defend the government's record on fighting terrorism. Corbyn accused the Conservatives of undermining Britain's security by cutting the number of police on the streets.

Eight people were killed near London Bridge on Saturday when three men drove a van into pedestrians and then stabbed revelers in an area filled with bars and restaurants. Two weeks earlier, a suicide bomber killed 22 people as they were leaving a concert in Manchester. Before the election, five people died during a vehicle and knife attack near Parliament on March 22.

Rachel Sheard, who cast her vote near the site of the London Bridge attack, said the election hadn't gone as expected  and that it certainly wasn't about Brexit.

"I don't think that's in the hearts and minds of Londoners at the minute, (not) nearly as much as security is," said Sheard, 22. "It was very scary on Saturday."

While security was on many voters' minds, it was far from the only issue.

"It's important, but it's only one issue amongst several," said 68-year-old Mike Peacroft. "I wouldn't necessarily say it's at the top. Obviously at my end of the (age) spectrum I'm more interested in things like pensions and so forth, NHS health care  plus schooling, those are really my main concerns."

Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
When Theresa May made her shock announcement on 18 April calling a General Election, she said it was "to make a success of Brexit".

That task looks much harder now, even if the stunning exit poll underestimates Conservative support and she scrapes home with a slim majority.

A hung parliament of the kind produced by the 2010 election must surely throw the Prime Minister's preferred Brexit timetable into doubt.

First, a government may not be in place by 19 June, when detailed negotiations with Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier are due to begin.

And if there is to be another General Election later this year or early next year, the whole two-year plan for Brexit could be wrecked.

Justifying her decision to call a "Brexit election", the PM said back in April: "The country is coming together, but Westminster is not."

And accusing the Opposition parties of "political game playing", she said: "Division in Westminster will risk our ability to make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country."

Well, if the exit poll is anywhere near correct, Westminster is going to be more divided than it was before Mrs May took her gamble.

In the palaces and chancelleries of Europe - not to mention in Brussels - the presidents, prime ministers and European Commission bureaucrats will no doubt be chortling with uncontrolled glee at the humiliation that Mrs May could be heading for.

Throughout the election campaign, the PM has repeated over and over again that Brexit negotiations begin just 11 days after the General Election.

In her final rally of the campaign, in Birmingham on Wednesday, she said it again and claimed once more that only she could offer the "strong and stable leadership to get the best deal in Europe".

The other Brexit slogan she kept repeating during the campaign was that "no deal is better than a bad deal".

With the benefit of hindsight, she perhaps should have been careful what she wished for.

Click for more from Sky News.
The United Nation's children agency warned Friday that the fight for the Islamic State group's stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria is threatening the lives of more than 40,000 children, as overnight airstrikes on the city claimed the lives of more than a dozen people.

UNICEF said in a statement that the violence has resulted in massive displacement in and around the city, with some 80,000 children now internally displaced and living in temporary shelters and camps.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces launched their attack on Raqqa earlier this week and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have intensified since then.

"An estimated 40,000 children remain trapped in extremely dangerous conditions in Raqqa. Many are caught in the crossfire," said UNICEF regional director Geert Cappelaere. He called on all parties to provide safe passage to those wishing to leave the city.

PUTIN SAYS HE'S ENCOURAGED BY PEACE PROCESS IN SYRIA

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported more than 25 airstrikes overnight on Raqqa saying they killed 17 people, including 12 who were killed at an Internet cafe. It said one of those killed was an activist with the group.

The activist collective Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently said that in addition to the airstrikes the city was subjected to artillery and missile attacks. The group said the U.S.-led coalition used white phosphorous in the night attacks on Raqqa.

IS also alleged that the U.S.-led coalition used white phosphorous munitions over Raqqa on Thursday at dusk, when Muslims would breaking their fasts during the holy month of Ramadan. White phosphorous is a form of incendiary munition that burns at extremely high temperatures and can be used to illuminate conflict zones or obscure them with smoke.

International law prohibits the use of white phosphorous in civilian zones because of its indiscriminate effects  from starting fires to causing excruciating burns for bystanders over a large area  according to Human Rights Watch, which said it was investigating the allegations.

US SAYS DRONE FIRED ON ITS FORCES NEAR SYRIAN CAMP

The U.S. CENTCOM military command refused to comment on specific allegations but said it uses white phosphorous rounds "in accordance with the law of armed conflict... in a way that fully considers the possible incidental effects on civilians and civilian structures."

The violence in Raqqa comes amid tensions in southeastern Syria where Syrian troops and their allies have been clashing with U.S.-backed rebels near the border with Iraq. The Observatory said rebels launched an attack on government forces near the area where the Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders meet.

On Thursday, a drone that U.S. officials say was likely connected to Iranian-supported Hezbollah forces fired on U.S.-backed troops and was shot down by an American fighter jet in southern Syria near a base where the U.S.-led coalition is training Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group.

U.S. defense officials said the weapon fired by the drone did not detonate and no one was hurt.

Earlier this week the U.S. bombed similar forces inside the protected zone, after they came under attack by another unaffiliated group of Syrian rebels. The pro-government forces brought in additional equipment and called in airstrikes to repel the assault, and the U.S. was informed of those developments through the "deconfliction" phone line it has set up with Russian military officials.
Venezuela's chief prosecutor asked the Supreme Court to block President Nicolas Maduro's plan to convene an assembly to revise the constitution, further deepening her divide with the government.

Luisa Ortega Diaz accused Maduro and his administration of "destroying the legacy" of the late President Hugo Chavez, the founder of the governing leftist PSUV party and mentor of the incumbent head of state.

"Chavismo is a current of thought, it's a philosophy of life, and this is the principal legacy of President Hugo Chavez," the attorney general said.

Ortega Diaz's remarks were her strongest repudiation yet of Maduro's effort to rewrite the nation's constitution.

ALL EYES ON VENEZUELAN MILITARY AS COUNTRY TEETERS

A long-time government loyalist, Ortega Diaz first broke publicly with the Maduro administration in late March when she decried a Supreme Court decision gutting congress of its last remaining powers. Since then, the gulf between Ortega Diaz and the government has only grown, with has repeatedly questioning the validity of convoking a constitutional assembly without the proposal first facing a referendum.

Maduro ordered the National Electoral Council to convene the assembly, stating it was his constitutional right, a position the opposition rejects. He also designed the rules by which delegates to the assembly would be elected. The government-stacked council quickly rubber stamped both requests and is moving forward to hold the elections in late July.

PROTESTER AND GUARDSMAN KILLED AS VENEZUELA UNREST PERSISTS

Ortega Diaz is accusing the National Electoral Council of breaking key democratic principles such as universal suffrage in approving Maduro's constitutional assembly. Maduro's terms call for allotting a specific number of votes to specific population sectors such as the disabled, fishermen and retirees, as well as one per municipality. Analysts say those terms will heavily favor the government.

"The appeal I am attempting is to defend the rule of the people," she said.

STOSSEL: WHAT VENEZUELA NEEDS MOST RIGHT NOW. HINT: IT'S CALLED CAPITALISM

Her actions were immediately embraced by members of the opposition who until the current crisis accused her of being Maduro's enabler.

"If hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans join the chief prosecutor it would represent a huge act of pressure and protest," said Freddy Guevara, who has been spearheading the anti-government demonstrations as vice president of the opposition-controlled congress.

The Associated Press and EFE contributed to this report.
An Iraqi Christian girl, who was kidnapped by ISIS in northern Iraq three years ago when she was just 3, has been reunited with her family.

Christina Abada was welcomed back by family and other well-wishers Friday after she was rescued and released by Iraqi Special Forces. She was only 3 when she was abducted as she and her family fled the city of Qaraqosh in 2014.

My family of nine has lived in a caravan for over two years, Yaz Khedher, Christinas brother, said in a statement provided to Fox News by the Iraqi Christian Relief Council. With all that we have been through, we are overjoyed that our Christina has been returned to us safely. I thank all those who have prayed for her safe return.

Little Christina was returned to her family at a refugee camp near Erbil, where her parents have been living.

With the freedom of Christina, now 6 years old, we have renewed hope for a brighter future for all those who paid a heavy price for being Christian, Juliana Taimoorazy, ICRCs founder and president, said to Fox News. In every presentation, across the globe, I have spoken of baby Christina and the heartache her parents lived with since the time of her capture. [T]his is a happy day.

Others at the camp described the joyous family reunion.

It is a very happy moment; everybody is dancing and clapping and singing, one Christian woman at the camp told World Watch Monitor. She looks OK, quite healthy. I believe she must have been in the house of a family who took good care of her.

According to sources on the ground in Mosul, the young girl lived in the Tanak neighborhood of the city for almost three years with a Muslim family that found her all alone in a mosque.

The woman added that Christina looked in shock by all the well-wishers surrounding her at the camp.

Everybody is asking questions and speaking to her, but she does not say anything back, really. She also seems to be overwhelmed by the huge crowd of people welcoming her, she said.

It was in August 2014 when Christina was abducted by ISIS fighters as they stormed the city of Mosul and Qaraqosh in the northern region of Iraq known at the Nineveh Plain.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians had already fled, but Christinas family had stayed behind because her father, Khader, is blind. Like many of the older and frailer people who stayed behind, they were hoping for mercy from the Islamic State.

During their invasion, ISIS militants rounded up the remaining Christians under the false pretense of medical checkups. Christinas mother, Ayda, said that several times during the lineup, fighters pointed at her, while Christina was in her lap.

The militants were then ordered to remove everyones valuables before they were forced into dingy, dirt-covered buses. As Ayda was entering the bus with her young daughter in tow, one of the jihadists snatched the young girl out of her mothers arms.

Then one of the Daesh [ISIS members] came and inspected the people on the bus, Ayda said to humanitarian organization Open Doors International in July 2015. He walked up to us. He took my little girl from my arms and just walked away.

That was the last time that Christinas parents saw her until this Friday.

My biggest joy would be when my child Christine would return to us, she also told Open Doors at the time.






They drive on the opposite side of the road. This can be a bit scary, especially the first time you have to go around a roundabout (which there are heaps of)! I would say if you are a confident driver at home, it won't take very long for you to get used to driving on the wrong side of the road. Many guides say that having a good navigator is key to driving here, and as the navigator of our car, I agree ;) Because I was focusing on where we were going, CR could focus on where to drive. CR actually really took to driving on the left, and I think will miss it!

Most people will tell you to book an automatic car if you aren't used to driving on the left side. We booked an automatic, but ended up with a manual car when we picked it up because we weren't really paying attention to that detail when getting the car. CR and I are both manual car drivers at home, so it ended up not being a problem for us. But if you do not drive a manual car every day, then definitely make sure you get an automatic!

Insurance issues are somewhat confusing. Ireland is one of the few countries where credit card insurance typically won't cover rental cars. When booking online, we chose to basically take all the insurance we could (so the CDW and then the excess insurance offered online). When we went to pick up our car, we also paid an additional ~$75 to lower the potential deductible from $1200 to $100 - we both agreed that we'd rather pay a little more in the chance that something happened, especially on the tight roads we were going to encounter later on in our trip. In the end, renting a car cost us about $440 for one week with unlimited miles.

Some of the roads, especially in the Ring of Kerry, are pretty incredibly tight. If you follow along on instastories, you know what I mean! Take it slow, pull over to let locals pass when possible, and be on the lookout for sheep ;)

Day 1: Fly into Dublin. Check into your hotel/AirBnB, take a quick shower and change, and then go out and explore the city (more on that to come).

Day 2: Explore Dublin

Day 3: Dublin > explore along the way (we loved Killiney Hill south of Dublin and Port Louise) > visit Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone > stay in Killarney overnight

Day 4: visit Killarney State Park and then drive clockwise around the Ring of Kerry. Stay in a bed and breakfast towards the end of the Ring of Kerry

Day 5: Drive to and around the Dingle Peninsula > Cliffs of Moher > Galway (stay in hotel/Air BnB)

Day 6: Explore Galway and/or go to Aran Islands for the day.

Day 7: Drive up to Kylemoore Abbey. Drive back to Galway and back to Dublin

Day 8: Cry about leaving Ireland



We were discussing how disappointed we were that we couldn't spend more time in Ireland as there is so so so much more to see than we were able to, but as CR put it best, if we saw everything on this trip, we'd have nothing to come back for! So here's looking forward to future trips to the Emerald Isle!

Our recent trip to Ireland was one of the first trips where I was going to and traveling in a country where I didn't know anyone or have someone else make the plans. I've done a bit of traveling over the years, but I've always either stayed with people who lived there or traveled with my family. This was really the first time I've travelled somewhere completely new and without knowing a local! So it was exciting to completely make up our itinerary from scratch, but it was also a bit overwhelming to figure out where we wanted to go in Ireland. There is just SO much to see, and every place is more interesting and beautiful than the next. You could spend a year exploring all of Ireland and still not have seen it all. On top of that, there are so many different ways of traveling through the country. From hopping on a tour bus and having it shuttle you to all the highlights to backpacking across the country camping, there are so many options. We went pretty middle of the road when it came to all aspects of our trip - we visited three cities, saw a lot of the major things to see, and just thoroughly enjoyed our time in the country.It seems that so many of you guys are going to Ireland in the near future, so I am going to talk about the logistics of planning our trip and an overview of where we went. I'll have a few more posts about our time specifically in Dublin, the Ring of Kerry, and Galway in the near future!Ideally the way to fly to Ireland is overnight - that way you "sleep" on the plane (sleep used loosely as I don't know how anyone gets a good amount of sleep on the plane), land in the morning, drink a large coffee, and then spend all day exploring! Stay up all day, and by the time it's 9 PM, you'll fall into bed, and then you'll be on normal Ireland time the next day!One VERY important note about flying back into the US is that Ireland is one of a few countries that has pre-clearance customs . I had never heard of such a thing in all of my travels, so I was shocked when we spent about two hoursour flight back to the US going through customs (on every other international flight I've ever gone on, you go through customs in the airport in the US you land in). Even though we got to the Dublin airport about 2.5 hours before boarding started (I'm a bit nervous about missing flights), we were running to the gate and were one of the last people to board because I got randomly chosen for extra screening. So really take that into account when coming back! I would plan for at least an extra 1.5 hours more than you normally do.We went to Ireland in the beginning of June, and boy did we get incredibly lucky with the weather! It was like the perfect early fall weather I wish I lived in all year round - cool enough to wear jeans and a shirt, and really only needing a lighter jacket at night. We discusse d packing plans a few weeks ago , and for the most part, what I showed there was what I brought! For packing, I would suggest the followingOn other international trips I've gone on, I've always purchased the international data plan from Verizon...which frankly, isn't too great. When I went to Santorini, I got 1 GB of data for like $50 - I basically couldn't use my phone other than to quickly check our location. One of my readers suggested getting an Irish SIM card instead, which was such a great suggestion. Before you leave the US, make sure you phone is unlocked (I just called Verizon and asked). If you are flying into Dublin, you can buy a SIM card at the airport. There's a SimLocal in the terminals (they supposedly install it for you), or you can buy a card from the little convenience store outside of the arrivals gate/baggage claim (which is what I did - here's how you put one in yourself ). I got a 7 GB card for 20 euros - I didn't get texting or calling, but our data lasted us the whole week, which included a ton of navigating and instagramming. We really couldn't have done anything if it weren't for having that data!Ireland uses the Euro for money (note that Northern Ireland uses pounds though, so be aware of that if you are traveling there - we did not, so it didn't matter for our trip). We ended up using about100 in cash for things like parking, tipping (10% is considered the norm), and smaller purchases. Just about every place takes Visa and Mastercard though, now typically the "chip and pin" version of cards that most of us probably are already forced to use the US. Some places will offer you to pay in euros or dollars - our banks didn't charge us for using our cards internationally, so we just paid in euros. Check with your bank to see what their policy is, and make sure you let them know of your travel plans.There are a bunch of different ways to travel, from public transportation to tour buses, to renting a car, even biking the whole country! We chose to drive so we could be on our own timeline, and even though we didn't take a tour bus on this trip so I can't compare the two, I am so happy that we had our own car for this trip. We could stop when we wanted, could stay in locations as long as we desired, and really got to actually experience the country rather than just being bussed through it.We rented through Enterprise - we booked our car online, and picked up the car at the Dublin Airport (we had spent two days in Dublin first where we relied on ubers/taxis). Things to note about renting and driving a car in Ireland:I have really enjoyed using Air BnBs on my travels - it is really nice to come back to a home where you have a bit more space and where you can "live like a local", even just for a few days. There are a range of other options, of course - hostels are a big thing in Europe, and you can get a bed for like $45 in most cities, and hotels are always an option as well. For the AirBnBs, typically you have to book them for at least two nights. We had great experiences in all three of ours (email me if you want the specific places!). I just make sure to read the reviews and keep open communication with the hosts - it really was a wonderful way to experience "living" in Ireland for a week!Before we left, Katie said to enjoy all the scones and seafood chowder, and boy did I take that to heart! European bakeries are really the best in the world, and so we had a great time sampling various croissants and scones with jam every day. I'm going to cover specific restaurants when I cover the cities we visited, but some of the food items we had the most were scones with jam, fish & chips (my favorite!), guinness stew, seafood chowder, and all the bread. There are all sorts of restaurants, obviously, but we tried to stick with more "traditional" food. If you are gluten-free, a lot of restaurants have GF options, and all have really clearly labelled allergy information. If you are a beer drinker, CR always asked about local breweries and had those, or went with Guinness. I'm a cider girl, and quickly grew fond of Orchard Thieves (technically a Heiniken cider, but not something sold in the US).I had such a hard time figuring out where in Ireland we wanted to go. By size, Ireland is the size of Indiana, and no offense to Indiana (I live in Ohio and am from Wisconsin #midwestisbest) but there is SO much to see and do in Ireland that the size of the island is very...misleading. We could have spent a week in every city we stayed in, and still not have seen everything we wanted to! Another big thing was trying to figure out what was worth seeing and how much time we wanted to spend there. We could have really rushed around and seen more cities and managed to make it to Northern Ireland too, but I really wanted to also have it be relaxing and have time to explore, so we decided on a mix of somewhat popular touristy things and the relaxing exploring things.So what wewas to fly in Dublin, stay overnight two days, drive down to the west coast and stay in Killarney for two days as a jumping point for the Ring of Kerry and Dingle Peninsula, and then drive to Galway to spend two days in that area before heading back. We ended up losing a whole day in Dublin due to a flight cancellation, and during the trip we wish we had done things a little differently, so based off our experiences, here are my recommendations if you want to go to similar places:
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Farmers who fall foul of asbestos regulations could find themselves facing hefty fines.

A creamery in Northern Ireland was fined 30,000 in January 2016 because workers were exposed to asbestos.

The company pleaded guilty of failing to create an asbestos management plan and inform the workers of the hazardous material.

David Canty, farm consultant and health and safety expert at Strutt & Parker, said farmers should be aware of the Control of Asbestos Regulations, which came into effect in April 2012 and updated all earlier regulations.

See also: Family of asbestos victim awarded 152,000

These rules require that businesses commit themselves to identifying and managing asbestos and asbestos-containing materials in the workplace.

The law also requires farmers to establish an asbestos management plan, which is monitored and reviewed, which makes it clear what the risks are and how they can be managed.

It also means keeping records up to date, carrying out risk assessments, ensuring that all employees are fully aware of asbestos and the risks of exposure to it.

Training should also be provided to all employees to prevent and minimise their exposure to asbestos dust.

Management plan

Mr Canty said a paid contractor can prepare an asbestos management plan with the costs ranging from 1,500 to 5,000 for a 480ha farm with a couple of cottages.

However, farmers can also establish their own plan, as long as they know where the asbestos is, what condition it is in and arrange to have it removed or inspected on annual basis.

Asbestos tips Know your asbestos. What type do you have, what condition is it in and where is it?

Make sure tenants and workers are aware of the asbestos on your site and have been trained to minimise risk.

Keep your asbestos plan up to date and if something needs checking annually, label it for inspection with check boxes.

Never attempt to dispose of asbestos yourself, hire a licensed contractor if you find broken roof tiles or asbestos fly-tipped on your site,

Unsure if a material on your farm is asbestos? Do not drill a hole in it to find out, potentially fatal fibres will be instantly created if asbestos is disturbed.

A fundamental question for farmers was identifying what sort of asbestos they had and that could only be determined by having it tested, he said.

Testing costs were typically upwards of 125, which included a site visit and singular sample test. Each sample after would cost around 25 or more, and that was before removal costs.

The Health and Safety Executive says if existing asbestos-containing materials are in good condition and are not likely to be damaged, they may be left in place and their condition monitored and managed to ensure they are not disturbed.

Mr Canty said materials containing asbestos only presented a hazard when asbestos fibres were released and dispersed so that they could be inhaled.

Therefore, if you do have to move asbestos you must do carefully and wearing the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The best option is to leave it alone if you can or have it disposed of by a competent contractor.

If the asbestos is damaged and broken then you need to get it removed if you intend to use the structure or area.

But always use a licensed contractor to work with and dispose of asbestos-containing materials and suspected asbestos-containing materials.

The legislation also covers any residential housing on your farm in order to protect yourself, your tenants and any workers, added Mr Canty.

If youre having work done, you must notify contractors that there could be asbestos in that area.

The management plan will identify exactly where any asbestos is which can then be used to advise contractors and also allow the asbestos to be monitored properly.
The farming community is mourning the loss of distinguished agricultural academic, professor John Alliston, who has been tragically killed.

The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) announced with great sadness that Prof Alliston died on Thursday (8 June).

As a mark of respect, the flag was being flown at half mast at the Cirencester-based institution on Friday (9 June) and a minutes silence was observed at 1.00pm.

See also: Professor John Alliston honoured with FW Lifetime Achievement Award

In a statement, the university said: John was part of the fabric of the RAU, a valued colleague and a loyal friend, full of enthusiasm and passion for life.

We appreciate that this news will come as a terrible surprise to staff, students, alumni, and friends of the university alike, but we know that the RAU community will support each other at this very sad time.

Our thoughts and prayers must be with Johns family at this incredibly difficult time. They have asked that people do not phone or make direct contact for the time being while they come to terms with their loss.

Devoted to helping others

Prof Alliston devoted more than 50 years of his life to agriculture, research and education. He had a real passion for improving the lives of others in the industry.

Prof Alliston was awarded the Farmers Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award last year, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to British agriculture.

Through the RAU, where he was emeritus professor of agriculture, he also ran the leadership and management courses for the John Edgar Trust and the Worshipful Company of Farmers.

Prof Alliston founded the Institute of Agricultural Management (IAgrM) leadership development programme, which first ran in 2002.

Passion for life

IAgrM said in a statement: John was a such great friend to so many of us, being full of fun, enthusiasm and a passion for life.

This very sad news will come as a terrible shock to so many. Our thoughts and prayers must be with Petey and Johns family at this incredibly difficult time.

Arable farmer and FW Farmer Focus writer Andrew Blenkiron, estate director of the Euston Estate, in Suffolk, led farmer tributes.

We are all very sad, he said. John certainly assisted me in a great many ways throughout my career.

RAU has asked anyone with a message, email, card, or letter for Prof Allistons family to address the Alumni Office, who will pass them on via email at: alumni@rau.ac.uk or Alumni Office, Royal Agricultural University, Stroud Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1WA.
BROWNSVILLE  At first blush, being a school superintendent and a metal artist might not seem to have much in common, but Lori Garcy says her former vocation and current avocation require many of the same disciplines.

To be an effective administrator, one has to know how to plan well, know where you are going and how to bring others with you and to know when you have reached your destination, she said. To create art, you have to be organized, know where you are going and be able to trace your steps backwards to determine how to create each piece.

Today, instead of developing long-term plans to guide students in the Lake Tahoe School District, Garcy crafts whimsical sea creatures and jewelry from sheets of copper at her home studio east of Brownsville.

Garcys route to full-time artist took a long path full of detours, although she emphasized art classes in high school in upstate New York and then majored in art at the University of New York-Oswego.

She went on to earn a masters degree from the University of California-Santa Barbara and a doctorate from the University of Southern California.

She spent years in the classroom and then went into administration, co-authoring three books about the profession.

But seven years ago, Garcy and her husband Tom, a retired businessman, began looking for a place to retire in Oregon or Washington. Their three-year quest ended when they found 34 acres bordering the Calapooia River near Brownsville.

We both grew up in the country, Garcy said of their search for rural roots. We love it here. Its even better than we had hoped. The people are so friendly and it is so easy to become involved in the community.

The couple lived in the farmhouse that came with the property until they built a new home. Garcy turned the farmhouse into her studio, where she works nearly every day to feed her companys inventory  LMG Designs.

Her works are shown at the Brownsville Art Center, Gallery Calapooia in Albany and a gallery in California.

Her inspirations come from nature, but she is especially in love with circular shapes  think a corrugated snail shell  an image found throughout nature and wildlife.

Garcy focuses on metal work because she enjoys the feel of the medium. She works primarily in copper because it is beautiful and can be manipulated easily, although once she runs it through a corrugator, it becomes quite rigid.

Until moving to Linn County, Garcys artwork was a hobby, but now she considers it a job  really, her passion.

I cant wait to get into the studio and to play with metal every day, Garcy said. I see things in 3D, so Im not painting-oriented, even though I have taken painting classes. I see in three dimensions and can imagine in my mind what something is going to look like.

She admires painters who use paper, water and colors to create their artworks, but said thats now how she thinks.

Garcy said it's easy to find circular shapes in flowers, animals and plants.

Garcy added that her work has grown to the point that she may have to give up some of her volunteer efforts and become a bit more focused on my artwork.

In addition to its feel, Garcy said she relishes the thought that her yard artworks will last for decades or even hundreds of years.

Her sea creature works (each takes about three hours to make) stem in part from a class she took a decade ago. She likes the idea that the sea creatures and copper share the trait of longevity.

I sometimes make several bodies, then the tentacles and then color the copper before putting everything together, Garcy said. Tom helps prepare the wooden bases.

Garcys studio is filled with rows of hand tools and she admits to being a tool junkie. She said most of her work is done with fewer than a dozen hand tools, an anvil, and a couple of torches that are used to give the copper strength and to create colors.

I get excited when I find tools I can use to make new designs, Garcy said.

Garcy said there is a bit of trial and error in her work.

I have boxes of projects I have started and then tossed into a box, Garcy said. I often then go back and pull things out of the box once I get a better idea of what I want to do.

Garcy said she often dreams about a new art piece and then crafts it the next morning.

In addition to her sea creature and fire tubes, Garcy enjoys creating bracelets, necklaces and earrings out of copper, silver and gold.

Although she sees a number of similarities between her work as an educator and as an artist, Garcy identified one critical difference: No one makes her work in her studio.

I want to do it, she said. As a superintendent, there are certain things you have to do, even if you dont want to.
Trent Suing ate lunch at Tommys 4th Street Bar & Grill in Corvallis on Thursday. Hed already eaten breakfast at the restaurant and would be there for dinner as well.

Suing wanted to contribute as much as possible to a fundraiser at the restaurant for the victims of a May 22 stabbing at a central Corvallis home. Five people were injured in the early morning stabbing when a man broke into the house and attacked the sleeping roommates with a knife.

One of the victims, Jesus Valencia-Camacho, was a cook at Tommys, restaurant owner Bill Enwright said.

Hes a friend and a worker, Enwright said. Here, were kind of a little family.

Enwright donated half of all of the restaurants sales on Thursday to Valencia-Camacho and the other victims. Enwright said many customers were making special trips to the diner to participate in the fundraiser. Enwright also was collecting bags of clothing and toiletries to be donated to Valencia-Camacho and his roommates.

I feel sorry for them all, he said. I wish we didnt have to do this, to tell you the truth.

Susan Klinkhammer, who was Valencia-Camachos fifth-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, ate lunch Thursday at Tommys.

Hes a hard-working, kind, just really sweet person, Klinkhammer said.

She said she was sad to think this happened to young people who were starting to build their lives. She was thrilled when she heard of the fundraiser and Enwrights generosity.

Alison Clement, who ate lunch with Klinkhammer, worked in the library at Lincoln while Valencia-Camacho was a student.

Whenever you have a bad thing happen, there are so many more people who are helpers, Clement said.

Roy Marchesi, who sat in the lounge at Tommys on Thursday afternoon, said he didnt know Valencia-Camacho or the other victims.

If you can help somebody out whos lost everything, you help out, Marchesi said.

He said he hopes the fundraiser makes a difference.

Anytime theres a tragedy in this community, people stand up and help out, Marchesi said. I think thats one of the best things about Corvallis  people care.

The suspect, who has been identified as 22-year-old Benjamin Leland Bucknell, is accused of stabbing Valencia-Camacho in the side of his head. Prosecutors said late last month Valencia-Camacho could lose his left eye. He was taken by helicopter from Good Samaritan to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, prosecutors reported.

Two of Valencia-Camachos roommates, Catherine Lisman and Dan Rinkevich, sustained serious stab wounds to their heads and shoulders, as well as skull fractures, prosecutors said. They underwent emergency surgery at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis.

Another roommate, Nolan Butuso, received a cut to his face. A fifth roommate, Evan Burns, sustained cuts to his nose and torso, prosecutors reported.

Authorities say Bucknell also poured gasoline on the ground outside the basement bedroom windows at 413 NW 27th St. and started a fire before breaking into the house and attacking the roommates.

The money from the fundraiser at Tommys will go toward the victims GoFundMe account, which will be used for medical bills and to replace belongings damaged during the fire and attack.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
An opportunity for foodies and beer lovers to get lost in a world of food and drink from a hand-selected range of food trucks and breweries from around New Zealand.
Article

Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
kacylee at 9-06-2017 08:19 AM (5 years ago) (f)

Like the Nnamdi Kanu led IPOB, a new group from Niger Delta has demanded that it gains independence from Nigeria. The group named 'Region of the Niger Delta' (Rondel) has demanded the sovereignty of the region. In a statement by its spokesman, Efe Edet-Tamuno, the group said its demands are made on a non-violent struggle. Read the statement after the cut..

Like the Nnamdi Kanu led IPOB, a new group from Niger Delta has demanded that it gains independence from Nigeria. The group named 'Region of the Niger Delta' (Rondel) has demanded the sovereignty of the region. In a statement by its spokesman, Efe Edet-Tamuno, the group said its demands are made on a non-violent struggle. Read the statement after the cut..



Quote A Demand for the Independence of Rondel from Nigeria in 2018.

We the people of the Region of the Niger Delta (Rondel), represented by members of Rondel Solidarity Movement (RSM) - a newly born aggressive but non-violent umbrella body for all intellectuals, groups and associations in the Niger Delta Region, having lived together in the past as a loose federation under the Benin Empire and the great Ijaw and other kingdoms, desirous of searching for our own country since northerners in Nigeria have decided to evacuate southerners from 'their Nigeria' - we today, 07.06.2017 wish to announce the fusion of our various groups into one strong and united non self seeking group to champion our developmental causes and help build our region into a nation of justice, freedom, peace and prosperity.

We have, after over 6 hours of a well attended meeting held at a secret location in Rivers State, met and made Resolutions which will be remembered as The Rondel Covenant.

The Resolutions are in response to the threat by lazy and ignorant Arewa Youths to divide and destroy Nigeria (disguising as evicting the Igbos - an injury to any Southerner is an injury to all Southerners - the days of divide and conquer has ended) and noting the obvious foot dragging of the Nigerian government over this issue with no one arrested, tried or jailed despite the fact that the treasonable felons are well known and they are all not hiding whereas a certain Nnamdi Kanu of Biafra was incarcerated for over two years for daring to discuss Biafra and a certain Kola Edokpayi of Rondel is currently incarcerated for daring to challenge the government in Edo state.

Following the treasonable ultimatum issued by the Arewa Youths with tacit backing of the Arewa Consultative Forum and Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs led by Sultan of Sokoto either of who has not openly condemned the felons and call for their incarceration like they would do when the table turned, and being fed up of being described by the President of Nigeria as 5% undeserving of the benefits of Nigeria, thus desirous to found our own country where we will be treated as citizens with full rights, not some species with 5% rights,

We hereby make the following declarations and resolve as follows:

1. That all the intellectuals, groups and associations in the Niger Delta should fuse into Rondel Solidarity Movement and our demands shift from Resource Control to Independence Movement

2. That in our country, we shall return power to the true owners of the lands, the monarchs, in English-style power sharing between the Royals and the people in a Parliamentary system.

3. That we demand Independence for Rondel from Nigeria from 2018.

4. That Rondel comprises all the six states in the present South-South of Nigeria.

5. That Rondel is an acronym derived from the Region of Niger Delta, later Republic of Niger Delta, if the Arewa groups make good their threats.

6. That Rondel is our name, Rondish will be our Language and Rondland shall be our capital city. Details of these, including the locations of Rondland, shall be in our October 1 book.

7. That no inch of Rondel in the six states of Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River, Edo, and Rivers States shall ever be ceded to any other people or nation for any reason whatsoever and all those people drawing maps up and down are hereby warned to desist forthwith or risk our disproportionate vengeance including present and future social and economic sanctions.

8. That our motivations for decision to leave Nigeria are first President Buhari's treatment of our people as 5%, Northerner's nearly exclusive illegal and immoral occupation of our oil wells destroying our ecosystems and the eviction notice by Arewa Youths with tacit support of government and the Arewa leaders.

9. That since that treasonable order by Arewa youths, and because no one was arrested, tried and convicted for the high treason, the same matter for which Nnamdi Kalu was imprisoned for about two years, we no longer have faith in one indissoluble Nigeria.

That we state emphatically and without equivocation, that in the likely event of the disintegration of Nigeria, we have resolved to live together in the Region of Niger Delta', which we henceforth now wish to call RONDEL.

That we wish henceforth, as a people, to be known and addressed as Rondelites and our languages to be known as dialects of Rondish, which shall be our Official Language, side by side English.

That our capital city shall be a portion carved out of an existing area in the Region of Niger Delta and to be renamed Rondland. Details, including out national anthem, flag, coat of arms and interim Constitution, will be published in our book, "RONDEL MANIFESTO: The Making of a Nation" to be released on October 1, 2017.

That the Igbo people, and indeed all Africans and foreigners, are heartily welcome to visit, stay, live in or do legitimate business unencumbered anywhere in Rondel now and in the future.

14. That in the event of a breakup and the Biafrans, the Omoluabis, Middle Beltans, etc have their separate countries, we will be willing to enter into economic partnerships to help each other grow their economies and societies to achieve the Millennium Developed Goals.

15. That this Resolution serves as a warning and a Notice to the Nigerian government, the International community, including all the northern states of Nigeria that henceforth, if any Igbo or indeed any Southerner or Middle Beltan Nigerian is ever attacked or killed again anywhere in the north in a hate or xenophobic attack, we shall declare our Independence within three months.

This is not a threat but self preservation.

That since the Arewa youths have given the Igbos (that implies all southerners, we are not fooled) three months notice to vacate their Nigeria, we give all northern oil bloc owners three months notice from October 1, 2017 for them to leave the Niger Delta Region or face unpredictable adverse consequences.

17. That we are now ready to take our destiny in our own hands and end this parasitic forced marriage of perpetual disaster since 1914.

18. That we in the Region of Niger Delta declare today 07.06.2017 as the commencement date for our Independence struggle.

19. That the minimum demand for negotiation is arrest, prosecution and conviction of all those who were involved in the provocative treasonable felony. Condemning their action or threat to arrest them will not suffice this time.

20. That we wish to declare to the troublesome northerners that Enough is Enough.

Thank you.

Signed,

Efe Edet-Tamuno

(Spokesperson RSM)



Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 9-06-2017 08:19 AM (5 years ago) | Addicted Hero
Microsoft signs agreement to acquire Hexadite News oi -Priyanka Microsoft has signed an agreement to acquire Hexadite, a company delivering agentless, automatic incident investigation and remediation solutions.

Microsoft has signed an agreement to acquire Hexadite, a company delivering agentless, automatic incident investigation and remediation solutions.

However, the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but according to the report in Tech Crunch, the deal was finalized for a price of $100 million.

"Our vision is to deliver a new generation of security capabilities that helps our customers protect, detect and respond to the constantly evolving and ever-changing cyberthreat landscape," said Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Windows and Devices Group, Microsoft. "Hexadite's technology and talent will augment our existing capabilities and enable our ability to add new tools and services to Microsoft's robust enterprise security offerings."

Microsoft said once closed, the acquisition will build on the successful work Microsoft was already doing to help commercial Windows 10 customers detect, investigate and respond to advanced attacks on their networks with Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP).

WDATP continues to prove its value in detecting high-profile security cases such as zero-day attacks, ransomware, and other advanced cyber threats.

With Hexadite, WDATP will include endpoint security automated remediation, while continuing the incredible growth in activations of WDATP, which now protects almost two million devices.

The company further mentions on its blog that Windows 10 is the most secure version of Windows ever, and with ongoing investments in the areas of automating detection and remediation, Windows 10 will continue to drive deployments with customers like the U.S. Department of Defense, Australian Department of Human Services, Kimberly-Clark, MARS Inc., Crystal Group and many others.

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Best smartphones expected to receive Android O update: OnePlus 5, Nokia 6, 5, 3, Google Pixel Features oi -Harish Kumar These smartphones will soon get Android O update.

Back in May, soon after the Google I/O 2017 conference, Google released the first public beta of Android O, the next iteration of the operating system.

This new version rumored to be dubbed Android Oreo has a slew of new features and changes in store for us. The changes include revamped looks and under-the-hood improvements.

The platform is aimed to render a struggle-free user experience. Though the name is yet to be confirmed, there are rumors that it could be the Android 8.0 Oreo. Until Google releases this version to the public, there will not be any clarity on the update.

While we are yet to know the name of the update, we have come up with a slew of eligible handsets that might get the Android O update as soon as the build is rolled out officially.

Some of the notable devices that will receive the Android O update are Nokia 6, Nokia 5, Nokia 3, OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T and Google Pixel lineup.

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Fluid Experiences

With the new Android version, users will get better notifications experience with Notification Dots. Users will be easily able to view notifications by long pressing an app's respective icon. Further, the new OS will come with Picture in picture support, wherein users can multitask between watching YouTube videos which will be minimized into a small window while navigating through other apps. Android O will also have a feature called Autofill which when enabled will remember your usernames and passwords and you can quickly login to your account. And there's more, Android O will also come with a feature called Smart text selection. Well, this basic text highlight feature will be using Google AI to easily identify and copy useful text intelligently. Google also talked about the TensorFlow Lite Tech.

It is the company's new neural network API, that will power the next generation Android devices. According to Google, the tech will support features such as speech recognition, augmented reality apps and devices.

Vitals

Google had said that Google Play Protect will come with Android O and the feature is basically a virus scanner for Android apps. And with this Google will allow users to scan each app uploaded to the Play Store. Further Android O will bring in optimizations in the OS and according to Google the new OS will have twice as fast boot time than before. There are extensive changes to the runtime also including things like concurrent, compacting garbage collection and code locality. As a result, the apps will run faster Google said.

Moreover, there will be wise limits applied to background services and this will prevent apps from running in the background for too long. Therefore users will get better battery efficiency with their devices.

New programming language

Kotlin While Java has been the standard programming language for Android, many have deemed it to be limiting. So Google has added support for a different programming language called the Kotlin. Google will be offering "first class support for Kotlin" and the company will be working with JetBrains (Kotlin was written by the JetBrains). However, the new programming language will be a tool to help developers build great apps.

Additional information

Google will release one more developer preview before the final launch, which is slated for Q3. We may get to see the fourth developer preview in the next month. Thanks to the third developer preview, developers can start prepping their apps for Android O and even begin publishing them on Google Play Store for users.

Currently, Android O is available for the all the Google devices which include the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, Nexus 5X, and Nexus 6P in the Android Beta program.
Apple suppliers arrested for selling iPhone user data illegally News oi -Samden Sherpa Apple distributors have been caught by the police for allegedly selling iPhone user data.

Well, Apple might not have expected this but millions of dollars worth of iPhone user data were reportedly leaked by Apple suppliers in China. Reports have suggested that a group of people extracted data from Apple databases and sold it to Chinese black market vendors.

However, the good news is that the people responsible for the data theft have been caught by the Chinese authorities. According to reports from several media agencies, police have arrested 20 employees working for Apple's suppliers and vendors and they were involved in the underground data trading network.

The convicted workers reportedly had managed to get access to data, including names, phone numbers, Apple IDs and other information. With data in hand, the criminals sold them for between 10 and 80 yuan, or about $2 to $27. Shockingly, the thieves had managed to rake in 50 million yuan, which is about $7.36 million.

While the case seems to have been finally solved, reports say that the Chinese police had been working on the Apple data trading case since January. The police had made arrests starting May 3 across Guangdong, Jiangsu and Fujian provinces in China.

Notably, the police have disclosed that thieves worked in for Apple's suppliers and they had access to company's databases and other tools containing sensitive customer information. So the scammers were using Apple's internal systems. What's unclear is that whether the stolen data was specifically for customers in China or that it included users from other parts as well.

More importantly, Apple is known for maintaining strict user privacy. But it seems that sometimes it is not enough. With such case, the third-party employees and suppliers have somewhat created a point of concern for Apple. The Cupertino-based company will have to look into the streamlining who will have access to data.

Meanwhile, the arrested thieves have been charged and most likely they will serve some time in jail. Police have stated that the thieves' sales and online network have been taken down.

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HTC U11 gets listed on official site as Coming soon; India launch imminent News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu HTC U11 is coming soon to India.

It was in the last month that HTC unveiled the new flagship smartphone dubbed HTC U11. Now, it looks like this smartphone will be released in India soon.

Previous rumors pointed out at a June 9 (that is today) launch date for the HTC U11 in India. This seems to be unfeasible as there has been no confirmation from the company regarding the same. But the chances of the smartphone to be launched soon are high as the device has been listed on official HTC India website as 'Coming Soon'. Though the pricing is not revealed, it is expected to be priced in the premium range as it is a flagship smartphone.

The official listing

The listing on the HTC India official website does not divulge details regarding when the HTC U11 will be released in the country. But the coming soon status makes us believe that it will be launched in the days to come. Moreover, the listing shows the HTC U11 in two color options - Brilliant Black and Amazing Silver while the device has been unveiled in five color variants.

HTC U11 key specs

The HTC U11 that was launched on May 16 comes with a 5.5-inch QHD 1440p LCD 5 display topped with 3D Corning Gorilla Glass coating on top. At its core, there lies a Snapdragon 835 SoC paired with 4GB/6GB RAM and 64GB/128GB internal storage capacity. The smartphone bestows a 12MP main snapper at its rear with f/1.7 aperture and a 16MP selfie camera at the front. Booting on Android 7.1.1 Nougat, the HTC U11 gets the power from a 3000mAh battery.

Edge Sense is the notable highlight

The major highlight of the HTC U11 flagship smartphone is the Edge Sense feature. This feature adds the ability to squeeze the edges of the smartphone in order to invoke various functions.

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Qualcomm Snapdragon 836 to go official in July; Snapdragon 845 will arrive in January 2018 News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Qualcomm is unleash two more processors.

Earlier this year, at the CES 2017 in January, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 835 SoC aimed at the high-end devices. Following the launch of this chipset, the flagship smartphones including Galaxy S8/S8+ and Xiaomi Mi 6 have been unveiled with this SoC.

Following the release of the powerful Snapdragon 835 SoC, it looks like chip maker is all set to come up with the next generation processor. The SoC in question is dubbed Snapdragon 836 and it will be the successor to the Snapdragon 835. A recent port on Weibo, the Chinese micro-blogging site has revealed that the Snapdragon 836 SoC might be released in July.

Qualcomm followed the trend in 2016 too

This is not the first time for the chip maker to release an incremental successor to the existing SoC. Back in 2016, the company did release the Snapdragon 821 as the successor to the Snapdragon 820. The Snapdragon 821 SoCwas used by the Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones released last year and the LG G6 that was released earlier this year.

Snapdragon 845 to be launched next year

Besides the Snapdragon 836 SoC, Qualcomm is also tipped to be working on the Snapdragon 845 SoC that might be announced in January 2018. It is said that this one will be the next SoC aimed for the high-end devices.

10nm FinFET process

It is said that the Snapdragon 836 will not have many significant enhancements over the Snapdragon 835 SoC. It makes sense as the improvements will be saved for the next year's Snapdragon 845 Soc. Moreover, the Snapdragon 836 SoC is claimed to be based on Samsung's 10nm FinFET process as its predecessor.

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Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro to receive Android Nougat update soon News oi -Samden Sherpa Nougat-powered Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro spotted in benchmarks.

Looks like Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro is getting updated to Android Nougat soon.

The smartphone with model number SM-A910x has just appeared on GFXBench and it shows that it is running Android 7.0. Moreover, Galaxy A9 Pro with model number SM-A910F has also been spotted on Geekbench with Android 7.0 OS.

Well, this could only mean one thing. Samsung is testing Galaxy A9 Pro with a stable version of Nougat OS. Further making an appearance in Benchmarking websites only suggests that Samsung is testing the performance of the handset while running it on Nougat OS.

In any case, while we are expecting Samsung to roll out the update in the coming days, Galaxy A9 Pro users will soon be able to experience Andriod Nougat features like bundled notifications, night mode, multi-window options, improved battery optimization, and more.

Besides Android Nougat features, we are also expecting Samsung to add several of its own features like personalization options including Always On Display, lock screen personalization to get improved notifications on display, revamped calendar app, card dynamic adjustment of the display size, enhanced accessibility and new font options.

So Galaxy A9 Pro users might have something to look forward to. Meanwhile, Samsung has already rolled out the Nougat update for Galaxy A5 2016 variant recently and there are few other smartphones that are likely to receive the update as well. Apart from Galaxy A9 Pro, smartphones like Galaxy A7 (2016 and 2017), Galaxy A3 (2016 and 2017) and the Galaxy A8 are also slated to get the update in the coming weeks.

Via

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Samsung Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM, 128GB storage sale debuts at Rs. 74,900 News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM goes on sale in India.

Samsung announced the launch of the high-end variant of the Galaxy S8+ in India in the last week. Now, the device with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage space is available for purchase.

Interested users can purchase the Galaxy S8+ with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage can be purchased via both Flipkart and the official Samsung online store. The device is priced at a whopping Rs. 74,900. While the Galaxy S8 and S8+ were released in India in April, only the variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB of these phones were launched at Rs. 57,900 and Rs. 64,900 respectively.

Introductory offers

Samsung has come up with introductory offers on the Galaxy S8+ 6GB RAM variant. The buyers will get a bundled wireless charger worth Rs. 4,499 for free. Notably, the new variant will be available only in the Midnight Black color. Samsung will offer Rs. 2,500 cash back for ICICI credit card users.

Those who choose to avail the exchange offer can get up to Rs. 15,000 discount on their purchase. When it comes to Flipkart, the Galaxy S8+ 6GB RAM variant is available with the same ICICI cash back offer and Reliance Jio double data offer that provides 56GB (28GB+28GB) 4G data at Rs. 309.

Galaxy S8+ specs

The Galaxy S8+ has been launched with the Exynos 8895 SoC in India. The display is a 6.2-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 14402960 pixels. The dual-edge curved display has an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 and the tech is called Infinity Display.

The camera department comprises of a 12MP Dual Pixel main snapper with f/1.7 aperture and OIS. Up front, there is an 8MP selfie camera with a similar aperture and auto focus. The storage space can be expanded up to 256GB in the hybrid dual SIM card slot.

The connectivity aspects of the Galaxy S8+ include 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C port and NFC. There is support for Samsung Pay as well. The smartphone has an iris scanner, facial recognition and a fingerprint scanner on board. The battery is a 3500mAh unit that supports wireless charging and fast charging. Furthermore, the device has the IP68 rating that makes it water and dust resistant.

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Recovery is expected in 2017-18 in telecom sector Report News oi -Priyanka Aditya Birla group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has blamed new entrant Reliance Jio for causing " unprecedented disruption" in the telecom industry.

Aditya Birla group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has blamed new entrant Reliance Jio for causing " unprecedented disruption" in the telecom industry, PTI reported.

According to the report, without taking Jio names, he said in a letter to shareholders that the industry has witnessed a 2 percent decline in revenues in the last financial year.

The report also mentions that he seems hopeful and said recovery is expected in 2017- 18 with the new entrant starting to charge for its services, "albeit very slowly.

To recall the company has reported revenue dropped to an unforeseen level in Q4FY17 at Rs. 81,261 million, a sequential quarterly decline of 6.2 percent. This was the second quarter of decline in revenues for Idea.

The company says "the Indian wireless industry witnessed an unprecedented disruption in the second half of the financial year 2016-17 on account of free voice and mobile data promotions by the new entrant. The October-April interval can be best described as a period of telecom discontinuity, permanently changing mobility business parameters."

Adding that with the new entrant starting to charge for its services, albeit very slowly, the sector is expected to return to growth in the next financial year. Its consolidated loss for the quarter was Rs 328 crore.

The company had posted a profit of Rs 452 crore in the same period a year ago. The idea had reduced its average voice rate by 12.5 per cent to 25.9 paise a minute, compared with 29.6 paise in Q3FY17.

The company has also reported a steep drop in its average mobile data rate - 27.6 per cent - to 11.5 paise per MB, compared to 15.9 paise in Q3FY17. But despite lower rates, customers made fewer calls on the Idea network leading to lower growth in billing minutes.

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Vodafone launches Rs 786 plan for postpaid users News oi -Priyanka The company has also launched plans for Bengal the Fast Recharge Card 91 (FRC) plan is offering talk time up to Rs 120.

India's second largest telecom operator Vodafone has launched its new plan called Ramzan 786 for its post paid users.

According to the company, the Ramzan exclusive plan offers unlimited voice calling, unlimited national roaming, and 25 GB data for Rs 786.

The company further said it will also offer 50 percent discount on all the premium number series with 786 as part of the mobile number. This offer is applicable for both pre-paid and post-paid customers in the circle.

However, this plan is only for users in Assam and North East.

Nidhi Lauria, Business Head, Assam & North East, Vodafone India said, "Extending her Ramzan greetings to the residents of the region."

Luria said, "We at Vodafone wish our customer an enjoyable and fulfilling month of Ramzan. Keeping the Ramzan spirit in mind, we have introduced this new offer to enable our customers to stay connected with their loved ones and share their emotional and spiritual experiences."

The company has also launched plans for Bengal the Fast Recharge Card 91 (FRC) plan is offering talk time up to Rs 120, free unlimited Sehri calling from 2 AM to 4 AM on the same network along with 92 MB of 4G/ 3G data for 30 days. The company is also providing ISD packs on discounted rates to countries like Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yaman, Qatar, and UAE.

To recall the company has recently announced special offers on the festive occasion of Ramzan. With its belief in Unlimited Sharing, Unlimited Caring, Vodafone is offering unlimited local and STD calling with free data bundled. These Special Ramzan Packs are available, for customers across UP West & Uttarakhand.

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Army installation chief asks for new BRAC round to improve readiness, morale

By C. Todd Lopez June 9, 2017

WASHINGTON -- There's a lot of excess infrastructure in the Army -- about 161 million square feet of it. And paying to maintain that is costing the Army a lot of money. These vital resources could instead be used to reduce maintenance backlogs on about 33,000 facilities across the force that are now deemed in "poor or failing condition."

Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham, the Army's assistant chief of staff for installation management, told lawmakers during a June 6 hearing on Capitol Hill that the Army has a deferred maintenance backlog on infrastructure of about $10.8 billion. That accounts for about 22 percent of the Army's buildings and means more than one in five buildings are in poor condition.

"The condition of these mission facilities -- airfields, training areas, maintenance facilities, roads, ports, dams, bridges, housing and barracks -- directly impacts the readiness of our units and the morale of our Soldiers, civilians and families," Bingham said.

Bingham testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee -- Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans' Affairs and Related Agencies.

Another round of base realignment and closure, or BRAC, she said, would mean that excess facilities around the Army could be closed, and would no longer need to be maintained -- they could be demolished. Additionally, dollars saved from no longer having to maintain those facilities could also be applied toward repairing facilities that the Army continues to need, and toward other readiness priorities of the Army.

"The Army has infrastructure capacity in excess of any foreseeable future force structure, not always located where it is needed, but consuming precious dollars that could be better invested elsewhere," Bingham said. "BRAC preserves irreplaceable training land and airspace, while eliminating unneeded assets and excess buildings to efficiently facilitate future growth."

The fiscal year 2018 budget request for the Army, released May 23, includes about $1.79 billion for facilities. That's allocation for $1.2 billion for military construction, $529 million for family housing, and $58 million to continue execution of the last BRAC round, which happened in 2005.

Bingham said she's grateful for the budget request, and hopes Congress will approve it, but that the request is still lower than what is needed. Because the Army continues to prioritize readiness over everything else, she said, it is taking risks in facilities maintenance. Still, she said, the budget request for military construction this year is 40 percent more than what it was in 2015.

"This increase demonstrates the Army's intention to reverse past underfunding, admittedly over an extended timeframe," Bingham said. "When you combine the sustainment funding, the restoration and modernization, coupled with the [military construction], this FY18 budget request, if approved, will be able to arrest the accelerated trend in facility degradation. We are grateful for that."

Bingham also explained to lawmakers the Army's "three-pronged" effort to reset its backlog of facilities that are in poor condition.

First, she said, resources are being directed now to sustain facilities that are currently in good condition, so that those facilities don't fall into a state of disrepair.

Additionally, she said, the Army is applying resources to go after the $10.8 billion deferred maintenance backlog. "We apply resources to modernize and upgrade our facilities to keep pace with our execution of our missions," she explained. As part of that, the Army will demolish some buildings as funds are available.

Finally, she said, the Army started a new initiative about a year ago called "'Reduce the Footprint."

"We are consolidating all of our men and women into our best facilities first, and then being able to rid ourselves of facilities that are in failed conditions," she explained. "We know we have about 161 million square feet of excess capacity. We programmed that we could probably account for about 33 million in excess."

Even with the "Reduce the Footprint" initiative, she said, the Army will be left with about 128 million square feet of excess facility space. And she said that the Army would like to stop worrying about maintaining that space.

"Save from having a BRAC, that's about all we'll be able to do as it relates to diminishing our excess," she said.

Bingham also told lawmakers that the return of sequestration or another continuing resolution would "have a devastating impact on our men and women. Not only the morale, but also the state of affairs of our infrastructure."

She said that Army installations can only be ready and resilient with "adequate, predictable, and sustained funding -- and the authority to implement efficiency measures such as closing and realigning our installations."

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Juncker Says Europe Can No Longer 'Outsource' Its Protection

Alan Crosby June 09, 2017

PRAGUE -- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says European Union members must increase their military cooperation and rely less on the United States because the protection of Europe "can no longer be outsourced."

Speaking at a defense conference in Prague on June 9, Juncker said the United States is "no longer interested in guaranteeing Europe's security in our place."

"Our deference to NATO can no longer be used as a convenient alibi to argue against greater European efforts," he told conference delegates.

Only five of NATO's 29 members have reached the 2 percent of economic output military spending target.

"The protection of Europe can no longer be outsourced," he said.

Juncker's remarks echoed the words of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said last month that Europe could no longer "completely depend" on the United States and Britain following the election of President Donald Trump and the triggering of the Brexit process.

'No Other Choice'

"We have no other choice than to defend our own interests in the Middle East, in climate change, in our trade agreements," Juncker said.

"The way forward starts with making sure that we spend what is needed on our defense," he said, adding that the EU and NATO were not competitors.

During a meeting with EU leaders in Brussels on May 26, Trump sharply criticized many NATO members for failing to meet military spending targets.

Trump also caused concern among NATO members at that Brussels meeting by giving a speech in which he did not specifically endorse Article 5, the keystone NATO principle that an attack on one alliance member is an attack against all.

Trump and the EU also are split on trade issues and the question of refugees.

On June 1, Trump announced the United States would pull out of the Paris climate accord, at treaty in which countries around the world agreed on emissions cuts aimed at fighting climate change.

NATO Deputy Secretary-General Rose Gottemoeller welcomed Junker's call for greater cooperation on defense by EU countries, saying at the June 9 defense conference in Prague that a "stronger European defense means a stronger NATO and a stronger NATO means a stronger European defense."

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/juncker-great-eu- defense-cooperation-nato/28537609.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Trump Claims 'Vindication' After Comey Testimony

RFE/RL June 09, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump has asserted on Twitter that he received "total and complete vindication" from former FBI chief James Comey's testimony in a congressional probe into alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election in 2016.

Trump's tweet on June 9 was his first public comment on the testimony from Comey, who accused the president and his team of lying about the reasons for his dismissal and seeking to undermine the FBI's investigation of possible collusion by Trump's campaign with the alleged Russian attempt to sway the vote in his favor.

"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" Trump tweeted.

Trump's tweet echoed remarks made by his personal lawyer in response to Comey's testimony on June 8.

'Irritating' Investigation

The lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, stressed that Comey confirmed that he had told Trump that the president himself was not under investigation, and suggested that Comey could be prosecuted for the release of "privileged information."

In his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey said it seemed that the investigation, which focused on interactions between Trump associates and Russian officials, "was irritating" for Trump and that was why he decided to fire Comey.

"I know I was fired because of something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on him, in some way irritating him," Comey said.

Comey also said that Trump pressured him to drop an investigation into Michael Flynn, who served briefly as Trump's national security adviser, and that the White House lied about the reasons for Comey's own dismissal on May 9.

"The administration chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader," he said. "Those were lies, plain and simple."

Kasowitz said that Trump "never, in form or substance" directed Comey to halt the probe into Flynn.

In his tweet, Trump stopped short of directly accusing Comey of lying under oath at the hearing.

'Very Disturbing'

In his public testimony, Comey said he had no doubt that Russia meddled in the election but did not disclose any specific links between Trump advisers and the alleged Russian interference.

Russia has denied interfering and the White House has denied collusion with Moscow.

Comey said he shared an unclassified memo of a conversation with Trump with a friend, who conveyed the information to the media, because he hoped it would lead to the appointment of a special counsel.

Comey's dismissal stoked suspicions among Democrats and others that the White House was trying to undermine the FBI probe. Another former FBI director, Robert Mueller, was appointed as special counsel the week after Comey was fired.

In his testimony, Comey would not say whether he thought Trump tried to obstruct justice -- an accusation that could potentially form the basis of impeachment proceedings.

"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct," Comey testified. "I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning."

In January, the U.S. intelligence community issued an assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin "ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election," with goals including undermining faith in the U.S. democratic system, denigrating Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, and improving Trump's chances of winning the presidency.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-comey- testimony-vindication/28537905.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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China Says it Monitors Military Activities in S China Sea Amid US Jets' Drills

Sputnik News

21:15 09.06.2017(updated 21:46 09.06.2017)

China is closely monitoring the activities of other counties' military forces in the South China Sea, Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday.

BEIJING (Sputnik)  The Defense Ministry's statement followed the reports about the United States conducting aviation drills in the South China Sea. According to the announcement made by US Pacific Command on Thursday, two US Air Force B-1B bombers flew through the South China Sea during a 10-hour mission.

"China always remains vigilant and keeps effective surveillance over the military activities of the related countries in the South China Sea," the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

The ministry added that China "will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security, and maintain regional peace and stability."

China and several US allies in the region  namely Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines  have competing claims to the maritime borders and responsibility areas in the South China and East China seas. In January 2013, the Philippines formally initiated arbitration proceedings against China's claim on the Spratly Islands, also known as the Nansha Islands, with the the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling out in 2016 that the islands were not an exclusive economic zone for China. However, China refused to recognize the tribunal's ruling.

 Sputnik

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Austrian Defense Ministry Awards Contract for Helicopter Upgrade

Sputnik News

03:46 09.06.2017(updated 10:52 09.06.2017)

Ace Aeronautics was awarded a $40 million contract on the first of June by the Austrian Ministry of Defense, so the country's Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk helicopters can receive an upgrade to their cockpits.

The improvements will resolve obsolescence issues and make nine S-70A42 (UH-60L-standard) Black Hawk helicopters more reliable.

A subsidiary of US-based Global Aviation Solution, Ace Aeronautics will integrate its recently showcased Acehawk cockpit, which features a human-machine interface (HMI) and a new tactical mission system, along with Garmin G5000H wide-screen displays and Garmin GTC570 touch screens, according to IHS Janes.

"One of the most intuitive pilot-vehicle interfaces (PVI) available on the market, the G5000H provides the next generation of pilots the ability to more efficiently manage and control navigation and communication systems, traffic surveillance systems, flight management systems, electronic checklist entries, and remote audio/intercom systems, as well as optional charting, traffic, weather and custom display options," Ace Aeronautics details on its website.

The helicopters will also get new weather radars, and despite having no forward-looking infrared (FLIR) gimbal, footage will be viewed on a video interface from the Bell OH-58B helicopters and Pilatus PC-6 turboprops fitted with (FLIR), according to Janes.

Civilian systems will be integrated with tactical radios using an ACM9454 Cockpit Management Unit (CMU), along with a Mode 4 identification friend-or-foe (IFF) transponder.

Work is set to begin in the third quarter of the year at Ace Aeronautics' facility in Huntsville, Alabama for the first aircraft, while the second will be outfitted in Austria.

 Sputnik

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UN Seeks Investigation of Mass Violations in DRC's Kasai Region

By Lisa Schlein June 09, 2017

The United Nations high commissioner for human rights is seeking to draw attention to reports of massive rights violations in Democratic Republic of Congo's Kasai Central and Kasai Oriental provinces.

High Commissioner Zeid Ra-ad al-Hussein is calling on the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an international investigation because, he says, the DRC government has failed to mount a credible inquiry.

The U.N. reports an estimated 1.3 million people from Kasai have been internally displaced and 30,000 have fled to neighboring Angola since a flare-up of violence in August.

The killing of a tribal chief by police and members of the army-triggered revenge attacks and counterattacks between the chief's Kamuina Nsapu militia and government security forces.

The high commissioner's spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, says her office has documented 42 mass graves, allegedly dug by the Congolese army  although the number may be much higher.

"Reports of summary executions and other killings  including of children  as well as allegations of sexual violence, have been documented since August 2016," Shamdasani said. "The U.N. Joint Human Rights Office of the DRC continues to receive allegations of serious human rights violations, but security constraints have hindered further investigations on our part."

Shamdasani tells VOA the government has conducted some investigations into crimes committed by the Kamuina Nsapu militia, but none into crimes allegedly committed by the army and police.

"Given the gravity and the scale of these crimes and given the history of endemic impunity in the DRC, the high commissioner feels that it is essential for the international community to throw its weight behind this investigation, to ensure that the victims receive justice and that the perpetrators know that we are watching," she said.

Shamdasani says the high commissioner has offered to help the government mount a credible, transparent investigation since early May, but that the government's response has fallen short of what is expected.

Therefore, she says, the high commissioner feels obliged to call worldwide attention to this situation.

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Officials Want to Arm Civilians After Militant Attacks in Kenya

By Mohammed Yusuf June 09, 2017

After a wave of attacks on security forces in northeastern Kenya, local officials are threatening to arm civilians.

The officials blame the national government for failing to protect them, and say they are losing essential services after teachers and health workers stopped coming to work.

Barre Shill, a member of parliament from Garissa County, says locals are tired of terror attacks and concerned about the future of their children.

"You cannot always be killed and maimed by armed terrorists, and yet we are not being protected," Shill said. "We have lost teachers, we have lost medical staff. Now we are not getting those basics services. So why should we be suffering for the last almost four years?"

Shill and other four legislators from northeastern Kenya have called on the government to arm the community to defend themselves against al-Shabab militants who have claimed responsibility for the recent attacks.

Kenya police spokesman Charles Owino told VOA the request cannot be implemented, but the government will recruit and provide more security forces to guard the population.

Richard Tuta, a homeland security expert, says the population can be armed, but the right procedures have to be followed.

"Arming the community is not a bad concept," said Tuta, who adds that a key concern is how to arm people. "Like, for instance, there is a law as far as police reservists are concerned that there is a systematic way on how it should be done right from recruiting, vetting those who have been recruited, training them, giving them equipment, and having a structure of operation. If it's one that way, then it will be OK."

In the last three weeks, al-Shabab has killed 17 security officers. Some of them were killed when their vehicles hit roadside bombs.

Civilians have died as well, including a teacher killed last week in the Fafi area of Garissa County.

Attending a memorial service held for the slain security officers Thursday, Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said the government will hunt down the terrorists behind the attacks.

"Criminals and terrorists whose despicable action caused the loss of these lives," Nkaissery said. "We have one message for you: you can run, but you cannot hide. One way or the other, we shall get you and when we get you, you will pay the price."

George Musumali, director of the Center for Risk Management in Africa, says some parts of the country are getting dangerous even for the police.

"You talk to the police on the ground they are saying that there are certain areas they cannot go to patrol because those areas are dominated by the al-Shabab," he said, "and unless we take drastic action to stop this, then definitely, we are seeing al-Shabab will be gaining more ground in northern Kenya and this is not going to augur well for the country."

The attacks come less than two months before Kenya holds presidential and parliamentary elections.

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South Korea Confirms Plans to Continue THAAD Deployment

Sputnik News

18:37 09.06.2017

The new South Korean administration confirmed that it will not abandon the agreement with the US on the deployment of the THAAD system amid claims by the president about the possible suspension of the deployment of the launchers to further study their environmental impact, Chung Eui-yong, national adviser to Korean President Moon Jae-in said.

TOKY (Sputnik)  On Wednesday, the presidential office announced deployment suspension of the new THAAD launchers, currently stored at a US army base, until the completion of environmental impact assessments, denying the reports the withdrawal of already deployed launchers, including two installed in Seongju [county in the north] during the election campaign. The move apparently raised questions in Washington whether Seoul's new liberal administration may be seeking withdrawal from THAAD.

"Our government does not intend to fundamentally change what was promised under the Korea-U.S. alliance," South Korean President's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong said, as quoted by Korean news agency Yonhap, adding that the government is "fully aware of North Korea's nuclear and missile threats."

The THAAD system deployment was agreed on by the United States and South Korea in July 2016, following five months of negotiations with the previous Korean administration. Before being elected president, Moon had often criticized THAAD deployment, calling for its approval by the parliament.

THAAD is designed for high-altitude extra-atmospheric interception of short and medium-ranged missiles and can be potentially used against North Korean ballistic missiles. According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, the range of THAAD does not exceed 200 kilometers.

The THAAD deployment system has been triggering concerns among China and Russia over increased activity of the United States on the Korean Peninsula. Japan, on the other hand, has been expressing support of the program, underlining that THAAD deployment will contribute to peace and stability in the region.

 Sputnik

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Air Force to recruit female fighter pilots

People's Daily Online

By Zhao Lei (China Daily) 09:59, June 08, 2017

The PLA Air Force will begin recruiting this year for a new generation of female pilots, the official PLA Daily reported on Wednesday.

Sources with the Air Force's pilot recruitment bureau quoted by the paper said 35 candidates will be selected from high school graduates in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

The recruits who pass years of stringent training will go on to become the People's Liberation Army planned 11th generation of female pilots.

Applicants need to have been born between Aug 31, 1997, and Aug 31, 2000, and be between 165 and 185 centimeters tall. Acceptable weight is between 85 and 120 percent of the Chinese people's standard weight, which varies in accordance with age and height. There are also vision requirements, according to the report.

The last time the Air Force recruited female pilots was in 2013. The most notable differences between this year's recruitment and the one in 2013 are that the height ceiling has been raised from 175 cm to 185 cm, and the area where candidates are being drawn from has expanded to 31 provincial-level regions instead of 20.

Wang Ya'nan, editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told China Daily that the height restriction has been relaxed because Chinese women on average have gotten taller and the military does not want to narrow the field.

Applicants must take part in the national college entrance exam and their total scores must meet requirements set by local education authorities to qualify them for Air Force selection, which will start this month and end in July, PLA Daily said.

Fu Qianshao, an aircraft expert with the PLA Air Force, said the courses and training for female pilot candidates are same as those for male candidates. They will learn from textbooks, take part in flight training on basic and advanced trainer aircraft and will graduate after at least six years at the Air Force Aviation University and flight academies.

China enrolled its first female pilots in 1951 and since then about 580 belonging to 10 generations have joined the Air Force. The first seven generations of female pilots flew only transport planes.

In the selection for the eighth generation in 2005, the Air Force began to open the post of fighter jet pilot to applicants and more than 200,000 female graduates from high schools around the country applied. A total of 35 were selected and sent to the PLA Air Force No 3 Flight Academy and 16 of them graduated and became fighter jet pilots.

The ninth generation of female pilots, also numbering 16, were taught to fly fighter jets, graduated in 2013 and also joined the Air Force's combat units.

The most recent generation, the 10th, including 40 women, joined the Air Force in 2013. By now, 13 have been disqualified in training while 27 completed their first solo flight in March, according to the Air Force.

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Report: North Korea Has Successful 'Ground-to-sea Cruise Rocket' Launch

By VOA News June 08, 2017

North Korea successfully tested a new "ground-to-sea cruise rocket" that is capable of striking enemy battleships staging a military attack, the country's KCNA news agency said Friday.

Pyongyang launched several land-to-sea missiles early Thursday, under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un, KCNA said.

The missiles "accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea," it reported.

The missile test was North Korea's fourth in the span of a month, and comes after the United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions on Kim's government last week.

The three previous tests were of ballistic missiles, with North Korea appearing determined to develop a missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon and reaching the U.S. mainland.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Thursday the resumption of talks with North Korea on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is made more difficult by Pyongyang's increasingly frequent missile tests.

"We hope, at some point, the talks could resume, but we are nowhere near that point," Nauert said.

The latest missile firing came just one day after South Korea suspended the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system.

Nauert said the suspension of THAAD deployment is "part of the conversations" that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had with President Donald Trump at an Oval Office meeting on Thursday.

"This is a conversation that's taken place at the highest level. We are committed to our South Korean ally. That commitment remains ironclad. We are aware, certainly, of the situation and the suspension of additional launchers," Nauert said.

Seoul said it would delay the installation of remaining components of the THAAD anti-missile system until it completes an assessment of the system's environmental impact.

Under Secretary of State Tom Shannon "affirmed the strength of the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance" and "the need to sustain close coordination in addressing the threat from North Korea," during his meeting with South Korea's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong on June 1, a spokesperson told VOA.

Trump has called on China to use its relationship as North Korea's chief ally to exert pressure on Kim to rein in his nuclear ambitions.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that North Korea "should immediately halt its nuclear and missile provocations," following a test launch of suspected anti-ship missiles earlier in the day.

"Our government, as I have already clarified multiple times, will not back off at all or compromise regarding national security and people's safety," Moon said. "The government will unwaveringly make efforts for complete denuclearization of North Korea's nuclear weapons through both sanctions and dialogue.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea launched the missiles early Thursday from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan, and that they flew about 200 kilometers before falling into the Sea of Japan.

Rand Corporation defense analyst Bruce Bennett told VOA that the missiles in Thursday's test were probably too small to be able to carry a nuclear warhead.

"These are to demonstrate new capabilities, to suggest that they are advancing and covering new areas, but also to give Kim Jong Un some internal cover from the hits he's taking from the Security Council and elsewhere, from China in particular on their coal import cutoff, trying to demonstrate that Kim Jong Un is still a god, he's still very powerful and capable of doing important things," Bennett said.

Nike Ching at the State Department contributed to this article.

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Government awards Contracts for completion of Kaladan project in Myanmar

Published: June 9, 2017

Government has awarded a Rs 1,600-crore contract for constructing 109-km road connecting Paletwa river terminal to Zorinpui in Mizoram border as a part of the $484-million Kaladan multi-modal transport (KMTT) projects in Myanmar which will offer connectivity to Mizoram.

Salient Highlights

Kaladan multi-modal transport projects was the first major project undertaken by the Indian government in Myanmar.

India has finished constructing Sittwe port in the trouble-prone Rakhine state of Myanmar. Also, the extension of the Aizawl-Saiha National Highway by 90 km to the international border at Zorinpui at the Indian side is nearing completion. In addition, four-laning of the 300 km Aizawl-Tuipang highway to ensure faster movement of goods between Sittwe and Aizawl is also nearing completion.

KMTT

KMTT is essentially a multi-modal transport project having three different stretches involving shipping, Inland Water and road transport stretches. The longest among them is Shipping segment from Kolkata to Sittwe port in Myanmar.

Government of India is funding this project and it is considered as an important investment of India in its neighbourhood.

The cargo will start from Kolkata port and reach Sittwe port in Myanmar by ship. The Sittwe Port would be linked to Lashio (also in Maynmar) via the Kaladan river transport route. Lashio would be connected to Mizoram via road transport (National Highway 54).



Background Background

The idea for Kaladan multi-modal transport projects was mooted in 2003. However, India and Myanmar signed the framework agreement for Kaladan project only in 2008. Construction began in 2010 but inadequate fund allocation and planning failure delayed the completion of the project.

In 2015, the present government revised the budget estimates by nearly six times and has involved the State-owned Ircon Infrastructure and Services Ltd as consultant with an objective to complete the project in 2019.

As per the terms of the framework agreement, India should also set up an SEZ at Sittwe. The setting up of SEZ at Sittwe is important to promote Indian investment in the region which has overwhelming Chinese influence.

Significance

The completion of KMTT project will play a major role in economic development of the North-East India and it will improve the bilateral relations between India and Myanmar.

When completed, the KMTT will shorten the current time taken to transport goods from Kolkata to Mizoram by three-four days, and the distance by around 950 km. KMMT is hailed as Future gateway to South East Asia.

Month: Current Affairs - June, 2017

Topics: Bilateral Relations  India-International Relations  India-Myanmar  International  Kaladan multi-modal transport projects  Mizoram

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India to Use 'Divine Eye' Radars to Catch Terrorists in Kashmir

Sputnik News

10:02 09.06.2017(updated 10:52 09.06.2017)

The Indian Army has deployed 'Divyachakshu' (Divine Eye) radars in Kashmir to monitor the movement and location of terrorists. The through-the-wall radars can detect terrorists, who usually hide in wall cavities and false ceilings.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik)  'Divyachakshu' (Divine Eye) through barrier imaging radar has been developed by Bangalore-based Electronics and Radar Development Establishment unit of the Defense Research and Development Organisation, the premier defense research unit of the Indian government.

The radar can track persons who are hiding behind 20-30 cm thick walls. It can precisely locate the movements of terrorists, which can help Indian Army personnel during counter-insurgency and hostage rescue operations.

"Indian Army has been increasingly facing the situation in which terrorists attack soldiers while hiding behind walls resulting in heavy casualties. It has also been found that generally a few terrorist prolong the counter-insurgency operation by taking shelter behind the walls. Therefore, it was necessary for the Indian Army to deploy these through-the-wall radars. It will help the Army get an upper hand against terrorists. The fact is that, we must deploy modern weapons to fight terrorists as they are changing their tactics and using more sophisticated weapons," Colonel Danvir Singh (Retd.) told Sputnik.

 Sputnik

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Turkey Says Iraq's Kurdistan Independence Vote 'Grave Mistake'

RFE/RL June 09, 2017

Turkey has criticized a plan by Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region to hold a referendum on independence, calling it a "grave mistake."

Turkey's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on June 9 that Iraq's territorial integrity was a "precondition" for lasting stability for the country and urged Iraqi Kurds to be part of efforts to strengthen Iraq's unity.

Iraqi Kurdish officials said on June 7 that the region would hold a referendum on September 25, a move unlikely to be welcomed by the federal government in Baghdad.

Turkey, which is facing a Kurdish insurgency on its territory, is opposed to moves toward Kurdish independence.

The U.S. State Department said on June 8 that it opposed Iraqi Kurdish authorities' referendum plan.

It said the vote would be a distraction from more urgent priorities, including the fight against the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

"The United States supports a unified, federal, stable, and democratic Iraq," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Iraqi Kurds currently enjoy almost total autonomy, but tensions with the Baghdad government remain over control of oil reserves.

Though Kurds have proved to be tough and reliable allies in the fight against the IS, the United States is wary of the Kurds' longstanding dream of full independence, fearing a split could provoke a new round of conflict in Iraq.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-opposes-kurdish -iraq-independence-vote/28537236.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Baghdad Would Not Support Any Unilateral Kurdish Steps Aimed at Independence

Sputnik News

15:52 09.06.2017(updated 15:53 09.06.2017)

Iraqi authorities will not back any unilateral steps taken by Iraqi Kurdistan that are aimed at gaining independence, as such moves would violate the country's Constitution, Iraqi government spokesman Saad Hadithi said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Baghdad has to rely on the Constitution to regulate relations with Kurdish authorities, Hadithi noted.

"Any decision that concerns the future of Iraq must take into consideration the constitutional texts as it is an Iraqi decision All Iraqis must have their say over the future of their homeland. It is not possible for one party to determine its fate independent of others," Hadithi was quoted as saying by the Rudaw news agency.

On June 7, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani set September 25 as the date for an independence referendum.

The referendum will be held throughout Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as in disputed territory, such as the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which was rescued from Daesh takeover by Kurdish Peshmerga forces after Iraqi forces fled the city in 2014.

Iraqi Kurdistan is nation's only autonomous region. The autonomy agreement between the Kurdish opposition and the Iraqi government was reached in March 1970 after military clashes. The Iraqi constitution of 2005 defines the Kurdistan region as a federal entity of Iraq.

 Sputnik

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Syrian government soldiers make new advances against Daesh

Iran Press TV

Fri Jun 9, 2017 2:7PM

Syrian government forces have reportedly managed to establish complete control over dozens of areas across the war-ravaged Arab country following intense clashes with members of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Syria's official news agency SANA that Syrian Air Force fighter jets pounded Daesh positions and armored vehicles in Deir Malihan, Dibsi Afnan and al-Qadisiyah villages of the troubled and militant-held northern province of Raqqah, killing and injuring dozens of terrorists.

Separately, Syrian army troops, backed by volunteer fighters from popular defense groups, regained full control over the hilly regions of Tal Dakwa, Tal Dukhan, Tal Abu al-Nayyas, Tal al-Hallak and Tal al-Matallah on the eastern of the capital Damascus.

A large number of terrorists was killed during the liberation operations.

Elsewhere in the southeastern flank of Syria's northern province of Aleppo, army troops and allied fighters restored security and stability to 37 villages, killing more than 500 Daesh extremists in the process.

An unnamed military official said Syrian forces also injured hundreds of the Takfiris, and destroyed six battle tanks and two armored vehicles. Syrian government soldiers and their allies shot down three unmanned aerial vehicles as well.

Meanwhile, army units, in cooperation with pro-government forces, fought the last pockets of Daesh terrorists in al-Badayah district southeast of the ancient city of Palmyra in the west-central Homs Province.

The forces also established control over al-Abassiyah region as well as the historic Hammamat al-Zonoubiyah area.

Furthermore, Syrian warplanes bombarded Daesh vehicles and positions in the west-central province of Hama, killing and injuring many terrorists.

And, Syrian army units foiled Daesh attacks on a number of military posts in the southern outskirts of Dayr al-Zawr city, inflicting heavy losses upon the Takfiris in terms of military equipment and personnel.

Syria has been fighting different foreign-sponsored militant groups since March 2011. UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimated last August that more than 400,000 people had been killed in the crisis until then.

Syrian army, allies gain control over part of border with Jordan

Meanwhile, the Russian General Staff announced on Friday that Syrian government troops and allied fighters have established control over a part of the country's border with Jordan.

Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russian forces in Syria, said army soldiers now control 105 kilometers of the Syria-Jordan border, and have already installed nine checkpoints there.

"As part of the advance of the Syrian army and militia on Daesh's positions, the control over 105 kilometers of the Syrian-Jordanian border has been restored," he stated.

Also on Friday, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi, the head of the Russian General Staff's Main Operations Directorate, leveled strident criticism at the US-led coalition for bombing the Syrian army, letting Daesh terrorists escape encirclement and enhancing terrorists in Palmyra and Dayr al-Zawr.

"We see that coalition's actions only prevent the government forces from defeating Daesh terrorists," he said.

Rudskoi highlighted that the Russian military sees no significant results of the coalition's fight against terrorism, and calls on it to focus on the fight against terror instead of bombing the Syrian army.

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U.K. Prime Minister Will Try To Form Minority Government

RFE/RL June 09, 2017

British Prime Minister Theresa May says she will work with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland (DUP) to try to form a minority government after her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority in a snap election.

May spoke on June 9 after going to Buckingham Palace and securing Queen Elizabeth II's permission to form a minority government.

May did not specify whether she would make a formal coalition with the DUP or would try to work with it through a so-called "confidence and supply" arrangement whereby the DUP would support the government in exchange for concessions.

But standing in front of 10 Downing Street, May said her Conservatives and the DUP would work together to "fulfill the promise of Brexit."

May is seeking to stay in office and guide Britain through crucial talks on exiting the European Union that are set to begin on June 19.

With 649 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons declared on June 9, the Conservatives had secured 318 seats -- eight short of the 326-seat minimum needed to command a parliamentary majority.

The DUP secured 10 seats in the June 8 vote.

May 'Should Be Ashamed'

Sky News reported on June 9 that the DUP was considering a "confidence and supply" arrangement that allows the Conservatives to form a new government.

But the Conservatives and the DUP differ on some key issues including details of Britain's exit from the EU.

The Conservatives could be forced to compromise in order to secure the DUP's support.

May faced calls to quit from the opposition and her own party, but vowed to stay on and provide "stability" for the country as her depleted party seeks to build support for a new government.

The opposition Labour Party came in second place in the June 8 vote to secure 261 parliamentary seats.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said those results were a victory for his opposition party and that May should resign.

Liberal Democratic leader Tim Farron said May "should be ashamed" and should resign "if she has an ounce of self respect."

Clock Ticking On Brexit Deal

May had called the June 8 early election in an attempt to strengthen her negotiating position at the Brexit talks but instead lost the Conservatives' overall majority in Parliament.

The Conservative Party is expected to have 12 fewer seats in the House of Commons than it had in April, when May called the early election.

Meanwhile, the clock has already begun ticking toward a March 2019 deadline for Britain to successfully negotiate a Brexit deal with Brussels.

Some EU leaders say the Conservatives' loss of their majority weakens Britain's negotiating position in the Brexit talks and could delay the talks, which are due to start on June 19.

They say the election results also raise the risk that the negotiations will fail.

EU Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger told German radio on June 9 that the talks, which the EU wants to ensure a legally smooth British departure in March 2019, would be more uncertain without a strong negotiating partner.

"We need a government that can act," Oettinger said. "With a weak negotiating partner, there's the danger than the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides...I expect more uncertainty now."

French politician Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said the election result would affect the negotiations but declined to be drawn on whether the EU executive hoped Britain might ask to stay.

Moscovici told Europe 1 radio that Brexit was supported by most of the last parliament following the 2016 referendum and that the timetable for leaving in 2019 was not "optional" but fixed in treaty law.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on June 9 that he hopes Britain's election results won't cause further delays in the start of the Brexit talks.

But Michael Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, said the talks should start when Britain is ready.

With reporting by Reuters, BBC, Sky News, AP, dpa, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/u-k-conservatives- lose-majority/28537221.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Petrol and Diesel Prices to be revised Daily from June 16

Published: June 9, 2017

State-run oil marketing companies such as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) will revise the prices of petrol and diesel daily from June 16 throughout the country. The move is aimed at countering the practice of undercutting by private retailers as well as to bring India at par with the US oil market. Private retailers such as RIL and Essar are also expected to switch to the new pricing mechanism.

At present, State-run oil marketing companies revise rates of petrol and diesel on the 1st and 16th of every month by taking into account the average international crude price in the preceding fortnight and the currency exchange rate.

Contents Significance

Background

Significance

Daily revision of prices will insulate the retailers from volatility of global crude prices.

Daily revision of prices will result in small hikes rather than a steep rise which often attracts customer ire.

It has the potential to initiate a price war and bring competition in a market which is 95% dominated by the public sector retailers. it will give the state run retailers an opportunity to match private companies who have been undercutting them in a free market.

It will free the state run retailers from government interventions while fixing prices to suit political considerations. Although, technically public retailers have a free hand in fixing the prices of petrol and diesel, in practice political considerations often guide the public retailers.



Background

Government has decided to implement the model throughout the country following the success of the a month-long pilot run in Udaipur, Jamshedpur, Puducherry, Chandigarh and Vishakhapatnam from May 1. In fact, the government has been planning for making daily revisions since 2012, but then the state run companies were not willing to implement citing lack of connectivity and infrastructure. Petrol pricing was freed from government control in 2010 and the diesel pricing was deregulated in 2014.



Month: Current Affairs - June, 2017

Topics: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL)  Fuel prices  Hindustan Petroleum (HP)  Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)  National  Petrol and Diesel Price

Latest E-Books
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA and JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA--(Marketwired - Jun 9, 2017) - Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (TSX:PTM)(NYSE MKT:PLG) ("Platinum Group" or the "Company") reports that during May 2017 the Maseve Mine produced approximately 2,480 ounces of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold ("4E") in concentrate. Production is increasing and May 2017 was the best monthly level achieved since commissioning; however, ramp-up continues to be behind schedule. Further improvement in the ramp-up rate and effective mining grade is required.

Mining and Milling Overview

Delivered tonnes from Block 11 increased in May 2017 to almost 37,000 tonnes. Of the tonnes delivered from Block 11, approximately 50% were from on reef development to further open Block 11. Development tonnes have the effect of reducing overall delivered head grade. Overbreak in mechanized stopes continues to be a focus area for improvement. Company engineers are developing plans towards the commencement of hybrid mining in Block 11. Hybrid mining consists of trackless development and conventional breasting as the mining method; conventional breasting allows for better grade control by reducing overbreak and off reef mining. Grades sampled in the mining faces and from the boreholes in Block 11 are in the range expected from the resource model. Equipment availability, which had been limiting production, has been improving. Improved tramming capacity has resulted in higher delivered tonnes to the mill, due in part to a conveyor belt completion in late May towards Block 11, reducing a 2-kilometre trucking distance to 1-kilometre. Mill performance is in-line with or in excess of design specifications and expectations on throughput capacity and recoveries.

A summary of monthly production for calendar 2017 follows:

Month Dry Tonnes

Milled Average Grade

gms/tonne Recovery % 4E Ounces in

Concentrate January, 2017 34,661 1.53 79.2 1,351 February, 2017(1) 36,848 1.59 80.3 1,651 March, 2017(1) 43,961 1.88 83.3 2,140 April, 2017 41,853 2.00 83.8 2,256 May, 2017 50,484 1.81 84.3 2,480

(1) Approximately 7,825 dry tonnes of ore mined in February 2017 were milled in March 2017 due to severe weather events. This table adjusts the results of milling these 7,825 dry tonnes from March 2017 back into February 2017 results.

Although the ounces for April and May show an increase, the overall performance on ounces produced is lower than targeted.

Outlook

The technical team at the Maseve Mine is focussed on improving performance. The Company highlights that additional working capital will be required to maintain its covenants with its lenders and to continue its operations. The Company is in discussions with its lenders for waivers of the minimum working capital provisions and is actively pursuing further funding. Financing methods in consideration by the Company include but are not limited to sale of assets, debt or equity. While the Company believes that further funding and waivers for debt conditions will be achieved, there is no assurance that such will be concluded on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all.

The Company continues to work with BMO Capital Markets and Macquarie Capital to review and assess corporate and asset strategic alternatives as well as potential further financing opportunities.

About Platinum Group Metals Ltd.

Platinum Group, based in Johannesburg, South Africa and Vancouver, Canada, has a successful track record with more than 20 years of experience in exploration, mine discovery, mine construction and mine operations.

Formed in 2002, Platinum Group holds significant mineral rights and large-scale reserves of platinum and palladium in the Bushveld Igneous Complex of South Africa, which is host to over 70% of the world's primary platinum production. The Company is currently focused on ramping up the Maseve Mine, its first near-surface platinum mine, to commercial production.

Platinum Group has delineated new low cost, near surface reserves on the North Limb of the Bushveld Complex on the Waterberg Project. Waterberg represents a new bulk type of large scale, shallow low-cost platinum, palladium and gold deposit. Waterberg is one of the only large scale dominantly palladium deposits in the world.

Qualified Person

R. Michael Jones, P.Eng., the Company's President, Chief Executive Officer and a significant shareholder of the Company, is a non-independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and is responsible for preparing the technical information contained in this news release. He has verified the data by reviewing the detailed information of the geological and engineering staff and the Independent Qualified Person reports as well as visiting the site regularly.

On behalf of the Board of Platinum Group Metals Ltd.

Frank R. Hallam, CFO and Director

The Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE MKT LLC have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this news release, which has been prepared by management.

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. securities laws (collectively "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, estimates of May 2017 monthly production data, statements regarding anticipated or potential developments at the Maseve Mine including improvements in ramp-up rate, effective mining grade, overbreak in mechanized slopes, equipment availability and mine performance, and the commencement of hybrid mining in Block 11 and the anticipated effects thereof; financing requirements; compliance with working capital covenants and potential waivers thereof; corporate and asset level strategic alternatives; potential sales of debt, equity or assets; the potential economics of the Waterberg Project, if developed; ramp-up and potential achievement of commercial production at the Maseve Mine; and the Company's key objectives. Statements of mineral resources and mineral reserves also constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they represent estimates of mineralization that will be encountered on a property and/or estimates regarding future costs, revenues and other matters. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct. 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 risks related to indebtedness; the Company's capital requirements may exceed its current expectations; the uncertainty of cost, operational and economic projections; the ability of the Company to negotiate and complete future funding transactions; variations in market conditions; the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located; metal prices; other prices and costs; currency exchange rates; the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities; the Company's ability to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, or to be fully able to implement its business strategies; risks related to contractor performance and labour disruptions; and other risk factors described in the Company's Form 40-F annual report, annual information form and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov and www.sedar.com, respectively.

Cautionary Note to U.S. and other Investors

Estimates of mineralization and other technical information included or referenced in this press release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The definitions of proven and probable reserves used in NI 43-101 differ from the definitions in SEC Industry Guide 7. Under SEC Industry Guide 7 standards, a "final" or "bankable" feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical average price is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis to designate reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority. As a result, the reserves reported by the Company in accordance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as "reserves" under SEC standards. In addition, the terms "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" are defined in and required to be disclosed by NI 43-101; however, these terms are not defined terms under SEC Industry Guide 7 and normally are not permitted to be used in reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. Additionally, disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian securities laws; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measurements. Accordingly, information contained or referenced in this press release containing descriptions of the Company's mineral deposits may not be comparable to similar information made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of United States federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Toronto, June 9, 2017 - DNI Metals Inc. (DNI: CSE) (FSE: DG7N) (OTC Pink: DMNKF) ("DNI" or the "Company") DNI Is pleased to announce the following:

Further to its news release dated April 5th, 2017, the Company has closed, subject to final Regulatory approval, the final tranche (the "final Tranche") of its non-brokered private placement financing (the "Private Placement"). The final Tranche comprises 3,024,599 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of CDN$0.065 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of CDN$196,599.00. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one half common share purchase warrant of the Company ("Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional Common Share at a price of CDN$0.10 per Common Share for a period of 18 months following the date of the closing. All securities issued are subject to a four month hold period expiring on October 9th, 2017.

An aggregate cash commission of $2,369.57, in lieu of cash 144,607 units were issued, plus an aggregate of 27,160 common share purchase warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") are, subject to final Regulatory approval, payable in connection with the closing. Each Finder's Warrant will be exercisable into one Common Share at an exercise price of CDN$.10 for a period of 18 months following issuance.

The Company expects to use the proceeds raised to fund general and operating working capital.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About DNI Metals

Certain advisors and directors of DNI have significant operational experience at historical hard rock graphite mines in Canada (e.g. Ontario and Quebec) and Australia. Between them, they have built three (3) processing plants and designed two (2) others; all, which were shut down in the 1990,'s due to increased Chinese competition. Keith Minty, director, worked at Cal Graphite near Kearny, Ontario.

It was our team's understanding of the high production and capital expenditure costs associated with so-called "hard rock" graphite mining that inspired DNI to search for saprolite-hosted graphite deposits.

Certain parts Madagascar and Brazil, produce graphite from weathered material called saprolite.

According to Dictionary.com, saprolite is described as:

"Soft, thoroughly decomposed and porous rock, often rich in clay, formed by the in place chemical weathering of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks. Saprolite is especially common in humid and tropical climates. It is usually reddish brown or grayish white and contains those structures (such as cross-stratification) that were present in the original rock from which it formed."

DNI owns a commercially permitted, saprolite-hosted graphite deposit in Madagascar; located 50kms from the country's main seaport. The deposit is located less than two (2) kms from the paved national highway. DNI intends to develop the Vohitsara project, should the economic viability and technical feasibility be established. DNI has not yet established mineral resources or mineral reserves supported by a PEA or mining study (PFS or FS).

DNI has a graphite wholesale business, in which it buys and sells high quality graphite. This business has shown a steady increase in volume over the past year.

Steven Goertz (MAusIMM, MAIG), who is a qualified person, approved the technical disclosure in this news release.

DNI  Canadian Securities Exchange

DG7N  Frankfurt

DMNKF - OTC

Issued: 62,968,155







For further information, contact:



DNI Metals Inc.

Dan Weir, CEO 416-595-1195

DanWeir@dnimetals.com

Also visit www.dnimetals.com







We seek Safe Harbour. This announcement may include forward looking statements. While these statements represent DNI's best current judgment, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary, including risk factors listed in DNI's Annual Information Form and its MD&A's, all of which are available from SEDAR and on its website.


JNU        -:        ,  -    
Most teleworkers report that they get more done and are more satisfied with their jobs as a result of teleworking.

The shortened commute decreases employee travel expenses and commuting stress ... while increasing the amount of time teleworkers have for professional and personal pursuits.

Teleworkers also enjoy a greater degree of work-related autonomy and responsibility.

"Properly handled, teleworking can make it easier to manage dependent-care arrangements and create job opportunities for employees with disabilities.

Weight loss is hard. In San Jose, Calif., though, people who work for the city say their employer is making it easier.How? Teleworking. In 2014, San Jose formally started letting its employees work some days from home. One municipal worker claims to have lost 15 pounds and four inches since she started with the program. "My cholesterol level is under control now, and I sleep better," says Reena Brilliot, the point person on the city's efforts to expand its teleworking program.As the public sector seeks to improve how it recruits and retains employees, human resources officials say teleworking is growing as a way to offer a better work-life balance. The option has never been more important: Competition for the best and the brightest is intense thanks to low unemployment rates and reduced public service benefits, among other things.According to the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, a nonprofit research organization, 22 percent of state and local governments offer telecommuting for eligible positions. (Obviously, that doesn't include essential personnel such as firefighters, police officers and sanitation workers).Teleworking is still catching on as people realize that they can do a lot of their jobs at home as easily as at work, says Karen Marshall, director of human resources for Rockville, Md.As more and more government employees begin their work days inside their homes, it's worth considering the pros and cons of telecommuting.In San Jose, the option has improved relations between employees and their managers. The city's formal program requires employees to specify the days they plan to telework, although most employees have made informal arrangements with their supervisors. This has created an environment in which people feel that they can talk to their supervisors," says Brilliot, "and thats changed the culture here."The Maryland Department of Budget and Management recently published a brief that touts the benefits of telework:Of course, like most things, there are a few obstacles to telecommuting that have impeded many employers and employees from taking advantage of the opportunity.For one, employees may not be able to do all of their work at home. Expanding access to the databases and systems that government workers use to their home computers could prove time-consuming, costly and impossible. Letting employees work on personal devices may also raise security concerns.Whats more, the alternatives to face-to-face contact can be less than perfect. Emails often lack nuance and clarity, and when it comes to conference calls, you cant read the faces, says Karen Niparko, human resources director for Denver. Problems can also arise when workers suffer from a lack of comradery, says Marshall.Others worry that teleworking employees might slack off. But those fears are generally not valid. According to a study by Mary Noonan, associate professor at the University of Iowa, people typically work three hours more each week when theyre putting in some of their time at home.
Cantua Creek is a tiny unincorporated community in rural California, some 45 miles from the city of Fresno. Its surrounded by open space and farmland; there are no doctors or grocery stores, no large retail shops or lawyers offices.Of its 466 occupants, 461 identify as Hispanic or Latino, and most of them work in the nearby fields as pickers or doing other agricultural work. Many dont have daily access to a car, making simple trips to the grocery store or a doctors appointment punishingly complicated.This is the life we lead, this is what it is to live in the countryside, says Julia, a resident of Cantua Creek who speaks only Spanish and asked to be identified by first name only. Its at least 20 minutes to get to the store, and it never has everything you need. I travel 35 minutes to get to the doctor. Its an hour to the nearest city.This situation is not exactly unique; living far away from amenities is more or less a fact of rural life. But for the unincorporated communities of the San Joaquin Valley, the absence of critical infrastructure adds to the trouble -- these areas often lack functional roads and even access to clean water . Community organizations like the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability are fighting against long-standing land use practices that they say have created systemic inequalities for unincorporated and rural communities in Californias agricultural epicenter. One of the issues theyre most deeply concerned with is transportation.Many of the communities we work with are very isolated, says Veronica Garibay, the co-founder and co-director of the Leadership Counsel. Were really focused on unincorporated areas in Fresno County, where sometimes there are dirt roads and no sidewalks. We try to add needed infrastructure [for mobility], and also advocate policies for transportation solutions.In Cantua Creek, the community came up with its own solution, albeit an informal and makeshift one. Everyone is always asking for rides, Julia says. If people know you have a car, they ask you all the time, 'Can you take me to the doctor? Can you take me to the store?'Residents eventually organized an informal vanpool. It worked OK, but there were snags, Julia says. Twice, her elderly aunt was left waiting at an agreed-upon pickup point for two hours and never made it to her appointment. There is only so much an informal system can do to cover the needs of a whole community, Julia says.We knew that the community wanted to give this informal vanpool system more structure and financial support, says Amanda Monaco, a policy advocate at the Leadership Counsel. So we helped them apply for a grant.In March, Cantua Creek and nearby El Porvenir were named winners of the Just Transit Challenge , a contest hosted by the 11th Hour Project that is meant to bring equitable and climate-friendly transportation solutions to cities across America. The tiny communities won enough money to purchase a seven-passenger Tesla van and begin a formal pilot electric rideshare program. The grant will fund the van purchase, insurance and all program costs for one year, Monaco says. After that, the hope is that modest ridership fees (which have yet to be calculated exactly) should cover the cost of the program; for now, the programs planned start date is the end of July.Importantly, residents won't need to use a smartphone to organize a ride for themselves. They'll be able to call in to a Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission dispatch line, which will organize pickup timing for people's rides. The van will be in operation five days per week, and it will be available for rent in the community on the weekends.Julia says that if people are able to use the rideshare service consistently, it could change their lives and expand mobility for the community in a meaningful way. Back when she did not have a car, she says, she used to have to wait to go places until her husband could take the day off work to drive her, which wasnt feasible for frequent trips. The bosses dont like it when you miss work, she says.Monaco, too, thinks this program has the potential to substantially improve life in Cantua Creek and El Porvenir. With this increased mobility, youll see improved health, theyll be able to get better-quality food and go to the doctor more often, she says. On a broader scale, community-based and community-driven transit projects [like this] are vital for showing local transportation agencies and local government that these solutions are good investments, and they should pay for these kinds of projects in rural unincorporated areas.The clean energy aspect is no small part of the project, either. With these kinds of projects, rural areas can show that they too can be a part of the climate solution, Monaco says. And we can all start moving toward more equity and [government] investment in rural unincorporated areas.
Mammoth Lakes, California, filed for bankruptcy in June, 2012, after a property development dispute resulted in a $43 million legal judgment. Mammoth Lakes later settled with the land acquisition company out of court.

Boise County, Idaho, was ordered to pay $5.4 million in damages and attorneys fees to a developer for violating the federal Fair Housing Act. The county filed for bankruptcy in March 2011, but failed to prove in court that it was insolvent and the bankruptcy was dismissed. The county spent $2.25 million from its cash reserves and used bond financing to pay the rest. In addition, the Idaho Legislature passed a law to enable the county to levy additional property taxes to repay the bond.

Washington Park, Illinois, filed for bankruptcy in 2009 after accumulating debts totaling over $1 million. The village struggled with numerous problems, including public employees stealing money and numerous lawsuits. A federal judge dismissed the bankruptcy, which followed another bankruptcy filing in 2004.

Westfall Township, Pennsylvania, filed for bankruptcy in April, 2009, after a federal court decided in favor of a developer who had argued that township supervisors illegally halted development of a 1,500-unit residential project.

A small rural county in southeast Nebraska might have to declare bankruptcy, not because of mismanagement or high labor costs but because of an unexpected legal judgment that the county government cannot pay.Gage County on the Nebraska-Kansas border could be the next local government in the nation to file for bankruptcy protection after a federal jury awarded $28.1 million in damages plus attorneys fees last July to six people wrongly convicted of a brutal rape and murder.Leaders from the farming community of about 22,000 people said they cant afford that amount. The countys insurance carriers have declined to cover the verdict.No county could prepare for that, Myron Dorn, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said in an interview.Increasing taxes to cover the judgment would be difficult, because Nebraskas property tax cap limits the county from raising taxes by more than about $3.7 million. Residents could theoretically vote to exceed the state-imposed limit, but that is unlikely.The county has appealed the verdict and is awaiting a decision; in the meantime, officials have hired bankruptcy attorneys to explore their options in case they lose the appeal.While municipal bankruptcies are generally rareonly 54 counties, cities, towns, and villages nationwide have filed for bankruptcy since 1980its not unusual for lawsuits to contribute to Chapter 9 filings. Of the 18 general purpose local government bankruptcies filed since 2006, legal judgments have been an important factor in five, or nearly 30 percent, according to research by The Pew Charitable Trusts. [General purpose local governments include entities such as counties, cities, towns, and villages and exclude special purpose districts such as school districts or and fire districts, which account for a much larger proportion of municipal bankruptcies. Nebraska historically has led the nation in special district bankruptcy filings.]The legal judgments underscore the importance of local governments maintaining a healthy reserve fund balance to absorb unforeseen expenses. They also reinforce the need for states to be aware of the fiscal health of their local governments, so officials can prepare for situations when the state may need to step in to help. Washington state, for example, asks local governments about litigation costs or pending legal judgments that risk depleting available fund reserves, to try to anticipate and to plan for potential fiscal shocks.Elsewhere around the country, Hillview, Kentucky, filed for Chapter 9 in August, 2015, after losing a lawsuit filed by a local truck driving school over a property dispute and being ordered to pay $15 million. The bankruptcy was dismissed in May, 2016 after city leaders agreed to raise taxes and sell bonds as part of a settlement with Truck America.Other municipal bankruptcies that were prompted at least in part by lawsuits include:
John Minor of Manhattan Beach epitomized the active Californian. The retired psychologist was a distance runner, a cyclist and an avid outdoorsman, says his daughter Jackie Minor of San Mateo.He and my mom were both members of the Sierra Club, Jackie said. They went on tons of backpacking trips  climbing mountains and trekking through the desert. He was just a very active person.But in September 2014, he fell ill with terminal pulmonary fibrosis  a lung disease that his family says slowly eroded his quality of life.Two years after that diagnosis, last September 15, John Minor, surrounded by his family, sipped his last drink: apple juice laced with a lethal dose of medication his doctor had prescribed for him. He was 80.He laid down and went to sleep and he was in a coma for about two hours and then he passed, Jackie said. It was very peaceful.This story is part of a partnership that includes NPR and Kaiser Health News. It can be republished for free. (details)logo nprSince Californias End of Life Option Act law took effect a year ago on June 9, 2016 at least 500 Californians have received life-ending prescriptions, according to data collected by Compassion & Choices, an advocacy group for aid-in-dying laws nationwide. (The State of California is scheduled to release its official accounting on or before July 1.)The organization reports that nearly 500 hospitals and health systems and more than 100 hospice organizations allow aid-in-dying to be offered to their patients and 80 percent of insurers statewide cover expenses related to it. The California law created a process for dying patients to ask their doctors for a lethal prescription that they can then take privately, at home.What the numbers are showing is that the law is working incredibly well, said Matt Whitaker, the organizations point person for California and Oregon which both have aid-in-dying laws. That its working as the lawmakers intended.Still, for some patients, finding a doctor willing to prescribe the life-ending drugs can be difficult, in part because the law allows doctors to opt out of prescribing  even when the hospital where they work has agreed to participate in assisting patients.Its a very nuanced decision, said Dr. Elizabeth Dzeng, an assistant professor of hospital medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where, she estimates, about three dozen patients have made the request so far.Dzeng said the decision to prescribe doesnt come easy for many doctors.Even if theyre in support of aid-in-dying they dont necessarily want to be the person identified as the go-to person for aid-in-dying because thats a very different implication, she said.Dr. Stephanie Harman, medical director of palliative care services for Stanford Health Care, has taken a deep dive into the issue at Stanford. In a recently published paper, she and her co-author reported that 6 of the 13 patients had taken the medicine to end their lives. Harman said about half of those 13 patients couldnt get the lethal drugs from their own doctor.One reason, she said: There is a certain stigma for being known as a physician who writes these prescriptions. There is in the field, in medicine, a question of whether this is an ethical act for a physician.Other hospitals and health systems statewide are also trying to get a sense of what their terminally ill patients are experiencing. At UCLA, about 20 patients so far have received prescriptions  but only about half of them have gone on to take the meds, said Dr. Neil Wenger, a professor of medicine at UCLA and director of the UCLA Health Ethics Center.Wenger has helped develop the UCLA protocol that guides doctors through the requirements of administering the medication to qualified patients.John Minor with daughter Jackie Minor on July 4, 1982, in Virginia Lakes, Calif. Jackie calls her dads death last September very peaceful. (Courtesy of the Minor family)Among the physicians hes spoken with, there is a whole range of preferences regarding how and whether to participate in the process.A relatively small number oppose the law, he said. Many others, however, believe patients should have access to aid-in-dying but dont want to be involved themselves. Complying with the law is not easy; doctors must ensure that the patient is likely to die within six months, mentally competent to make an informed decision and physically able to take the medicine. A second doctor has to agree. Patients must make two oral requests at least 15 days apart and a written request. And doctors have to document the whole process with various forms and paperwork along the way.It raises a lot of feelings on the part of the doctor, he said. It is something very, very different than what a doctor does  which is saving people. And its complicated. It takes a whole lot of time.Dr. Catherine S. Forest is one doctor who is committed to taking that time to assist patients who want the prescription.She practices family medicine in the Stanford health system. Since the law passed, shes assisted five patients who came to her after their own doctors refused.Forest said whats happening now in California is reminiscent of what happened in the 1970s, when abortion became legal. Even among doctors who agreed with Roe v. Wade, there was a reluctance to perform abortions.It takes a while for people to train, to feel comfortable and to provide. And that was because it was not legal and then it was legal  and there are very few instances where we do that in medicine, she said.Aid-in-dying is one of those challenging moments for doctors, she said. It will take time for California to catch up with other states, like Oregon, that have well-established training resources to help doctors learn the process.Until that happens, some terminally ill patients who want a lethal prescription may find it challenging to get one. Thats what happened with John Minor.After he learned his doctors would not prescribe, his family started scrambling.I started cold-calling  different hospitals and different departments within different hospitals, said Jackie.Ultimately, the family was able to enroll her father in a Kaiser Permanente plan where he received the prescription that he took last fall.Mentally he was ready, said his widow, Sherry Minor. It was an easy day for him.
Description

GIS 9 June 2017:

The 2017-2018 Budget which was presented yesterday by the Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, sets the stage for Mauritius to rise to the challenge of its ambition to shape a new destiny for the country and the population.

The budget hinges around five central challenges: fostering higher growth for more and better jobs; investing massively in the infrastructure of the future; improving the quality of life of the people; ushering in a New Social Paradigm; and consolidating macro-economic fundamentals.

Our aim is for Mauritius to be a high income country by 2023, with an income per capita of around USD 13,600 against the current level of USD 9,740, said Mr Jugnauth in the National Assembly.

With a view to strengthening the institutional capacity to support our growth objectives, the budget makes provision for an Economic Development Board which will ensure greater coherence and effectiveness in implementing our policies and actions. Mauritius will consolidate its diplomatic footprint in the export sector and cross-border investments in Africa. Our embassies and consulates will channel more of their resources to export and investment-driven diplomacy in strategic markets.

The 2017-2018 budget focuses on the key role of research and development as the bedrock for innovation to attain greater global competitiveness, higher value added production and the creation of better jobs. To encourage SMEs to expand their export capacity and seek new markets, profits from exports of goods will be taxed at 3 per cent, instead of 15 per cent. An 8-year income tax holiday will be provided to new companies engaged in new poles of growth such as manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, medical devices and high tech products.

The budget outlines the strategy for ensuring the long-term viability of the sugar cane industry, boosting activities of the ocean economy with great potential for export and job opportunities. To consolidate the global business sector to gear up to emerging challenges and ensure respect to international norms, standards and compliance, a blueprint focused over the next 10 years will be elaborated.

With regard to IT sector, the 15% decrease in prices of International Private Leased Circuits and Global Multiprotocol Label Switching service as from 1st July 2017 will enable the development of the right environment, nurture the growth of digital entrepreneurs, and build capacity in new technologies like robotics, Big Data and Internet of Things.

In addition to the Metro Express project which is underway, Rs 4.9 billion will be invested over the next three years in various infrastructure projects, including an Urban and Rural Regeneration Master Plan. Other major works comprise the increase in capacity of the Mauritius Container Terminal and a new Passenger Terminal Building at Les Salines.

As a measure to improve the daily life of the population, a People Facilitation Bill will be introduced. This will spare the population the hassles of office-hopping to get public services, reduce costs and enable them to use fully their rights. On that score Rs 1 billion and 85 million for 2017/18 will be allocated to the National Development Unit and an exceptional capital grant of Rs 500 million to local authorities to address long outstanding minor infrastructural works.

With regard to the new social paradigm to combat absolute poverty and reduce inequality, over 8,000 families are now benefitting from subsistence allowance under the Marshall Plan Against Poverty. A negative income tax system will provide financial support to some 150,000 employees in full time employment with a monthly income of less than Rs 10,000. This policy will take effect as from 1st January 2018 and will cost about Rs 1.3 billion.

In a bid to build more resilient macro-economic fundamentals, all revenues and expenses of the Build Mauritius Fund and the National Resilience Fund will be consolidated in the National Budget. The Public Debt Management Act will be amended so as to establish the gross debt rather than the net debt as the public sector debt ceiling.

Budget outturn 2017-2018

As regards the budget outlook for 2017/18, total expenditure will amount to Rs 127.7 billion, of which Rs 108.9 billion for recurrent expenditure. Capital expenditure will amount to Rs 18.8 billion, including Rs 3.1 billion from the Build Mauritius Fund. Total revenue will increase to Rs 112.2 billion, of which Rs 92.3 billion from tax receipts, Rs 6.9 billion from external grants and Rs 5.7 billion from the closure of the two Special Funds. The overall budget deficit will fall to Rs 15.5 billion.

The budget 2017/18 takes us another stride forward - building on our strengths as a nation - on a past that makes us proud so as to shape a more prosperous and just society for the future, said the Prime Minister in his concluding remarks.
Description

 GIS  09 June 2017: Indian vessel INSV Tarini, with her all-women crew, preparing to undertake a historic circumnavigation of the globe in August 2017, arrived yesterday on her maiden visit to Mauritius since her induction into the Indian Navy in February 2017. The circumnavigation on INSV Tarini is scheduled to be completed at Mumbai in April 2018.

The Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Mrs Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo, visited the vessel yesterday in Port Louis. Speaking of gender equality, one of the main concerns of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, the Minister lauded the courage and spirit of this all-women crew who are setting forth the way for women around the globe to follow.

This crew of six women undertaking the circumnavigation, Mrs Jeewa-Daureeawoo underpinned will set an example and a new trend for women by cutting across barriers of gender inequality, hence promoting women empowerment.

The circumnavigation on INSV Tarini will last around seven months and t his all-women team has already sailed INSV Mhadei, Indian Navys first sailing vessel, to Visakhapatnam from Goa for the International Fleet Review 2016 and thereafter to Mauritius and back.

INSV Tarini is 55 feet long and built in India in line with the 'Make in India' initiative of the Indian Navy at Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd at Divar, Goa. The vessel has been built to a stock design by Van de Stadt of the Netherlands. The hull is made of wooden core fiberglass sandwich construction for a better performance than aluminum and steel and the vessel carries a suite of six sails. The mast of the boat is 25 metres tall and has been custom built by Southern Spars, Cape Town, for sailing in extreme conditions.

The vessel which reached Mauritius after 40 days, is skippered by Lieutenant Commander, a naval architect, and other crew members are Lieutenant Commander Jamwal, and Lieutenants Swathi, Devi, Gupta and Aishwarya.
Mauritius will sign the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting by the 30th of June 2017, thus demonstrating its dedication to curb base erosion and fight international tax avoidance.

With regards to Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements that will not be covered by the Multilateral Convention, discussions will be held on a bilateral basis with the concerned countries to ensure the countrys compliance with the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) recommendations while safeguarding the legitimate interest of Mauritius.

Mauritius, as a fully collaborative and responsible International Financial Centre (IFC), has always supported the implementation of best practices as set by leading globally recognised institutions.

It is recalled that in June 2015, Mauritius signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, jointly developed by the Council of Europe and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Mauritius is equally a member of the Early Adopters Group committed to the early implementation of the Common Reporting Standard on the automatic exchange of financial account information.

Moreover, the country was the first in Africa to have signed up to the Intergovernmental Agreement with the United States for the implementation of the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act.
Description

 GIS  09 June, 2017: An Agreement of Cooperation between the Lok Sabha of the Republic of India and the National Assembly was signed this morning in the Receptorium of the National Assembly by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Smt Sumitra Mahajan, and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Mrs Santi Bai Hanoomanjee.

The Agreement aims at strengthening cooperation between the Lok Sabha and the National Assembly through the establishment of closer links that will promote regular parliamentary interactions, capacity building, sharing on good practices and other cognate activities.

On this occasion, Mrs Hanoomanjee highlighted that the signing of the Agreement inaugurates a new era of cooperation in the relations between the two National Parliaments. She stated that the Agreement also translates the will of the Mauritius National Assembly for more exchange with its Indian counterpart in several areas for the mutual benefit of the two institutions.

For her part, Smt Mahajan pointed out that parliamentary diplomacy is an important channel to strengthen bilateral relations between countries and the signing of this Agreement shows the will of Mauritius and India to further work together. She also underscored that the ties between Mauritius and India not only represent a Nation to Nation connexion, but rather a heart to heart relation.

The Agreement of Cooperation was signed in the margin of a five-day official visit of a Parliamentary delegation led by the Speaker of Lok Sabha to Mauritius.
Description

GIS  9 June 2017: The Speaker of Lok Sabha (the House of People), Smt Sumitra Mahajan, paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, today at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis.

The courtesy call was followed by a meeting between the Mauritian Prime Minister and an Indian Parliamentary delegation led by Smt Mahajan. Smt Mahajan is leading a Parliamentary delegation of 20 members and will be in Mauritius till 11 June 2017.

In his address, the Prime Minister stated that the visit of Smt Mahajan and her delegation is another testimony of the special relations that exist between Mauritius and India. He expressed gratitude for the collaboration extended by the Lok Sabha to the Mauritius National Assembly as well as for all the support in terms of training and exchange of information. The Prime Minister also thanked India for all the assistance provided in making Mauritius move towards Vision 2020 and achieve a number of projects.

Moreover, Prime Minister Jugnauth stated that he was honored that the Speaker of Lok Sabha was present for Budget Speech 2017-2018 presentation and that he is looking forward to welcoming the Speaker again since this was her first visit to Mauritius as well as for members of her delegation.

For her part, Smt Mahajan stated that all members of her delegation have affection and love for Mauritius as the country is very close to India though very far geographically. Smt Mahajan also congratulated the Prime Minister for the presentation of Budget Speech yesterday. Whatever India has done for Mauritius it is really the feelings of Indians for Mauritians and not only the development of the country, she added.

Smt Mahajan holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB), and MA (Psychology). She was elected for the first time to the 9th Lok Sabha in 1989. On 18 May 2014, Smt Mahajan was re-elected to the 16th Lok Sabha (8th term) and on 6 June 2014 was she unanimously elected as Speaker, Lok Sabha.

The Speaker of Lok Sabha is currently on an official visit in Mauritius. Her visit was marked earlier today by the signature of an Agreement of Cooperation between the Lok Sabha and the National Assembly of Mauritius.
Kentucky Wired , a state-sponsored initiative to build an open-access fiber network for the delivery of high-speed Internet throughout Kentucky, is on the verge of being approved. And to ensure that it is, civic technologists have turned to the use of a platform that makes it easier for citizens to tell their representatives that they support it.

The platform, dubbed The Glass Capitol , makes it simple for users to support Kentucky Wired by helping them find and contact their representatives. It also provides a sample script to be followed during phone messages and calls.

Louisville Metro is partnering with Kentucky Wired and encouraging residents to support it, writing a Medium post on the matter . In the post, the benefits of the initiative are laid out alongside three steps supportive citizens can take:

Call Metro Council Members and tell them to fund the Kentucky Wired Project. Attend the Metro Council budget hearing. Sign an open letter voicing support.

The city budget that includes funding for Kentucky Wired is slated to be finalized on June 22, giving residents about two weeks to express their opinions on this matter. Supporters say 25 of Louisvilles 26 districts will benefit from the project, which also stands to enhance city services such as traffic signals, public safety cameras and smart city technology.

Chicago Expands Data About its Beaches in Time for Summer

Chicago can be a humid, sweltering city in the summer, filled with older buildings that dont necessarily have central AC. Most anyone who has lived through a Chicago summer knows the utter glory of trading a hot summer day somewhere in the city for a trip to North Avenue Beach.

With that season upon the Second City, officials are working to ensure the health of these respite-seeking beachgoers by expanding the use of a rapid testing method to evaluate water safety. This method was used at nine beaches in 2016, and will now be expanded to all 20 of the citys Lake Michigan beaches, providing results within 3 to 4 hours, instead of the 18 to 24 hours inherent to previous testing.

These test results are then available through Chicago Data Portal . A team of city, park district, and volunteer data scientists organized out of Chi Hack Night are now also working on an experimental technique to predict water safety at Chicagos beaches based on DNA testing from a subset of them. City officials wrote in a release that the hope is that in future summers they will be able to manage their beaches more economically.

LAs Office of City Controller Maps Locations of Marijuana Dispensaries

As recreational marijuana is set to become legal in California as of January 2018, the Los Angeles City Controllers Office has created a map of the locations of medical marijuana dispensaries operating within the city, based on 2017 Business Tax Registration Certificates, prior BTRCs and information about criminal cases from the Los Angeles City Attorneys Office as of May 2017.

The office detailed the reasoning and methods behind the creation of the map on its website . The site reports that economists estimate that first-year retail sales in Los Angeles for marijuana will likely approach $700 million. With voters in the city recently approving a business tax of up to 10 percent of gross receipts on recreational sales and 5 percent of medical sales of marijuana, the city may collect $50 million or more in resultant tax revenues for marijuana sales in 2018.

The map includes more than 1,500 locations. It also has a layer for the average household income by Census tract, and a toolbar at the top left corner of the map allows users to zoom in and out of a location, choose a layer to view, change the topography, or print it out and share it.

There is also a timeline here of the progress of marijuana laws in California , as well as a request for those who know of marijuana dispensaries operating illegally to avoid taxes to email atty.medicalmarijuana@lacity.org

Data is for the Dogs: Anchorage, Alaska Maps Most Common Names for Local Pooches

The headline for this item is really self explanatory, dont you think? Visit the map here , and have all your curiosity about dog monikers in Anchorage, Ala. satisfied. This project is a near-exact copy of a similar doggie data map launched by New York City, which you can visit here

For those wondering, the top dog name in Anchorage is Bella, which also happens to be the top dog name in New York City. Without the wonders of data, we may have never realized the commonality between these two disparate cities.
(TNS) - Growing up boating in Annapolis, Jan Majer remembers his father marking up his nautical charts by hand each year with the latest information on buoy and shoal movements.Majers father taught him how to read the paper charts, and he still buys them as backups. But with two laptops, two tablets, a built-in plotter, a hand-held GPS tracker and as many as a dozen cellphones aboard, the captain of the Warrior Volvo 70 racing sailboat hasnt used the 3-foot-by-4-foot charts in 15 years.Still, he said, Its a skill Im really glad I have.U.S. mariners have relied on paper nautical charts  displaying water depth, coastlines, obstacles and other navigational information  produced by the government since President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 ordered the charting of U.S. coastal waters to allow the nascent countrys shipping industry to grow and thrive.But as with cars and planes, GPS technology and advanced on-board navigational systems have largely replaced paper as the first point of reference for many boaters. In a potential sea change for a nautical industry heavy on tradition, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations recent National Charting Plan suggested that, eventually, the reduction or elimination of traditional paper nautical charts seems likely.The 30-page plan says it seeks comprehensive improvements across the entire suite of NOAA nautical chart products for the 3.4 million square nautical miles of water and 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline the agency charts.The Office of Coast Survey, which released the report, offered no timeline for when a move away from paper charts might occur. It recently extended the public comment period on the charting plan until July 1.The notion of relying solely on electronics, which could fail with as little as an inopportune wave crashing over the side of a boat, is ludicrous to Lee Estes, president of Maptech, a New Bedford, Mass.-based firm that sells pocket-sized, waterproof charts of converted NOAA charting data.If your car GPS breaks, you can pull over and get directions, he said. Youre not necessarily going to lose your ability to stay safe. If you lose your electronic screen (on a boat) in the middle of being close to hazards, its a lot more difficult.If something goes wrong, you want to have that paper chart available to you immediately, Estes added. The sea can be an unforgiving place, and having the right tools available can be the difference between safety and being in harms way.NOAA hasnt printed and distributed the charts for years, ceding those functions instead to a handful of certified private companies, including Maptech. The agency also puts them online to be downloaded  and printed  for free. That wont change, said John Nyberg, chief of NOAAs National Ocean Service marine chart division.When you talk about a paper backup to an electronic system, were keeping that in mind and continuing to provide options, he said.The agency releases charting data in two formats: raster charts, which resemble PDF maps that can be easily printed, and vector charts, which are a more dynamic GPS display, overlaid with hyperlinks and other interactive features tailored to computers, smartphones and navigational systems.NOAA eventually expects to phase out the raster charts, dedicating its resources instead to making the vector charts the premier nautical guide, Nyberg said. That transition will require improving the detail in the vector charts, he said, to make them comparable to the raster charts so they can be printed and used in the same way charts are today.The vector charting, NOAA acknowledged in a follow-up clarification to its Charting Plan, is still relatively new and needs some improvement.While theyre good as backups to electronic systems, paper charts are not without their own pitfalls.Bill Brandon, who works at Tidewater Yacht Service marina in Port Covington, remembered a customer who had reserved a boat slip for a weekend calling him from the Inner Harbor to say he couldnt find it. The customer, it turned out, had followed an old chart to Tidewaters previous location, near Domino Sugar. The company moved in 2005.People dont think about updating their charts, Brandon said.Keeping paper charts up-to-date either requires regularly buying new ones or correcting them by hand, like Majers father used to do. Thats a problem digital ones dont have, Nyberg said.If youre using a digital version of a chart, your system will update your charts automatically, Nyberg said.Brian McDermott, dockmaster at Hendersons Wharf, a 280-slip marina in Fells Point, has had a captains license for 35 years and sailed the Intracoastal Waterway along the East Coast more than 80 times. For each trip, he spread out a paper chart in the bridge of his boat.For any prudent mariner, a typical traditional chart will always play a very important role in navigating, without a doubt, he said. These electronics  you cannot rely on them 100 percent.Larger vessels are required to have up-to-date charts aboard, but McDermott said he sometimes sees novices take their recreational boats out into the Baltimore Harbor without buying charts. They usually get back without incident, but, despite his years of experience, he wont chance it.To ever not have a hard chart on the bridge? Thatll never happen with me, he said.Majers sailboat was tied up in Baltimore last week between a 1,000-mile race from Antigua to Bermuda and a 475-mile race from Annapolis to Newport, R.I. He ducked into a seat in a dark crawl space below deck on a recent morning, where his two laptops displayed charts, winds and blips representing nearby boats. Using only paper charts for either race, he said, we would have a hard time being competitive.Still, racing rules  and common sense  dictate having paper charts aboard, he said.The more we take advantage of modern technology, the easier its going to be to do our jobs well and better, Majer said. But if and when it stops working, you have to have paper and you should practice to use those skills.Joe Parvana, manager of the West Marine supply store in Canton, said he recently printed NOAA charts for a customer planning a trip from Egg Harbor, N.J., to Fenwick Island, Del.Boaters still come in looking for paper charts and chart books, but not nearly as frequently as they used to, he said.In this digital age, were getting less and less people looking for paper charts because theyre relying on their electronics, Parvana said.The Boat Owners Association of the U.S., a recreational boaters organization known as BoatUS, recommends having a range of charting and other navigational tools aboard, said David Kennedy, the groups government affairs manager. But he didnt write off the idea of eventually moving in a digital direction.We appreciate that NOAA is working to be forward thinking in what theyre doing when it comes to charting, he said.The Office of Coastal Surveys, which received $88.6 million in federal funding last year, is working to adapt and improve how it supplies critical chart data to mariners, Nyberg said. He emphasized that the Charting Plan was a draft document and any changes could be a decade or more away.We wanted to talk about possibilities for the future, he said. Its irresponsible to not discuss moving toward an electronic world.2017 The Baltimore SunVisit The Baltimore Sun at www.baltimoresun.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) - The Edmond school district recently tested its severe weather readiness and staff members' understanding of what their roles would be in an emergency.I think it brought up some interesting questions and some places where we can refine our procedures, Public Information Officer Susan Parks-Schlepp said.The example scenario during last week's training involved severe weather developing throughout the day, a tornado striking schools during dismissal time, leaving damage and injuring students, and heavy rain that prohibited transportation to and from schools.As portions of the scenario unfolded, participants were asked to discuss questions such as what should you be doing, how are you preparing and what happens tomorrow?Leaders from the district's 28 schools worked in groups to assess the situation and each person's responsibility.Discussions included communication between schools and the main office, and better procedures to account for students after a disaster occurs.We had a lot of conversations about, How do we make sure every child is accounted for?' Parks-Schlepp said.Participants shared ideas of how they could accomplish this, such as by storing the school roster on a USB drive in case there is no power.The district now is gathering notes from the training and plans to have additional communication with schools about what was learned and how policies could be altered.We also want the sites to communicate with us about what ideas they have to improve our procedures, Parks-Schlepp said.Staff members from various departments participated in the training. Maintenance, child nutrition and technology employees and superintendent Bret Towne were present, among others.In the event of a natural disaster, such as a strong tornado, it would take everyone in the district working together, Parks-Schlepp said.The Edmond Police Department and Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security assisted with the training. Jennifer Newell, program manager of the Oklahoma School Security Institute at Homeland Security, served as facilitator.Any time we can work with schools we are excited and honored, Newell said.Newell said she leads such training to help schools develop emergency procedures or to test existing policies and identify potential problem areas.It's making sure that the faculty, staff and students are going to the school in the safest environment possible, she said.She was excellent in helping us stay on task and think of things that have actually come up similar to this in the state of Oklahoma and what communities learned from it," Parks-Schlepp said.I think the participants gained a lot of good information from one another that they can take back to their school sites."The district is adding campus storm shelters with proceeds from bond issues approved by voters in 2015 and this year.Storm shelters can now house more than half of the district's students. Schools built after 1990 had shelters installed during construction.All shelters are expected to be finished by the 2020 school year and will have the capacity to hold the district's 24,400 students and 2,800 staff members, Parks-Schlepp said.The district plans to build rooms that each school needs and reinforce those rooms to serve as storm shelters.2017 The OklahomanVisit The Oklahoman at www.newsok.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS) - Black Hawk helicopters took to the skies Thursday over DuPont State Recreational Forest as part of a disaster training exercise mimicking a plane crash in the woods.Local agencies joined the N.C. National Guard and state and federal emergency management agencies in an all-day domestic and homeland security exercise around Guion Farm.Dubbed Operation Vigilant Catamount, the multi-county disaster exercise led by the N.C. National Guard involved dozens of local, state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Air Force from Seymour Johnson Air Base in Goldsboro.Throughout the day, the North Carolina Helicopter and Aquatic Rescue Team conducted search and rescue training exercises using the Black Hawk helicopters.What theyre exercising is how to respond if there was a plane crash in the forest, said Lt. Col. Matt DeVivo of the N.C. National Guard. Weve got local law enforcement, search and rescue teams, emergency management from the county, Highway Patrol, fire and rescue, and theyre all working together to deal with that situation.Helicopters were flown in from the Army National Guards base in Salisbury to work with rescue technicians from Asheville, Henderson and Transylvania counties, DeVivo said.This type of exercise is critical because it allows local, state and federal agencies to work together in a controlled environment, said Henderson County Emergency Services Director Jimmy Brissie. So when a real event occurs, its second nature.One exercise involved putting out a vehicle fire. In another, emergency personnel scanned a clearing in the woods for plane debris and a body to simulate the aftermath of a plane crash.Another exercise involved helicopter hoist operations to simulate the rescue of a downed pilot or civilian stranded in the woods. Air Force members were stationed on the ground with an injured person. They had to coordinate their location with planes in the air so that a helicopter could come in to rescue the injured person, hoisting them back up in a stretcher.Theyll be on the aircraft, theyll go down to deal with that injured person and successfully get them back on the helicopter, DeVivo said. Its a big team effort from emergency management on down to the local level here in Henderson County.Maj. Frank Stout with the Henderson County Sheriffs Office said the training allows local agencies to sharpen their skills and gives Henderson County the ability to assist other agencies, depending on a situation that arises in Western North Carolina.We train a lot together with our incident management team in Henderson County, said Stout. But by being able to have the assets from the Guard, the Army and everybody else here really ramps our training up to a higher level.Thursday kicked off a multi-day training session by the National Guard for agencies in the western part of the state. Similar exercises will be conducted throughout the week in the mountains, involving agencies from Buncombe, Swain, Graham and Haywood counties.From the Guards point of view, we dont get train out here often, DeVivo said. The goal is to work with the county, emergency managers and incident management teams to work out our capabilities and procedures. So DuPont was just a nice place away from the public where could do some helicopter operations and firefighting and tactical roles together.2017 Times-News, Hendersonville, N.C.Visit Times-News, Hendersonville, N.C. at www.blueridgenow.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
individuals

New York City is rolling out an app called StreetSmart, which enables homelessness outreach workers in all five boroughs to communicate and log data seamlessly in real time while in the field.City officials estimate there about 400 people who work daily with homeless individuals in New York, interacting and collecting data about their situations and needs. With StreetSmart, these workers will be able to enter that information into a single citywide database as they collect it, a stark contrast to the prior system, which saw individual outreach workers keeping their own files in systems that were generally not interconnected.This app basically allows us to help outreach workers communicate better with each other, said Jaclyn Rothenberg, a spokeswoman for the New York City mayors office.StreetSmart presents a particularly useful set of benefits for efforts in New York, where it is not uncommon forto move between boroughs, meaning outreach workers run the risk of duplicating each others work. Rothenberg said steady, knowledgeable contact and building trust is key to reducing homelessness there, and this app will improve workers abilities to accomplish just that.It can take anywhere between one and 200 contacts to encourage someone to come off the streets, she said.New York City has deployed StreetSmart in the Bronx and Staten Island, with plans to expand through the rest of the city by the end of June. The app has been well received by outreach professionals in those two areas.Juan Rivera, who directs homeless outreach for the nonprofit organization BronxWorks, said StreetSmart has the potential to greatly enhance his groups ability to do its job.The work that we do with homeless individuals in a big borough and in the city  a huge piece of that is tracking folks, Rivera said. You need a system that can help you keep track of whats going on, of who youre encountering, whats happening with them, what youre doing with them, progress. StreetSmart gives us that one system we can use to do all that work. The more information youre armed with, the better you can do things.Rivera described the app as user-friendly, and ascribed a big part of its usefulness to an IT team that stayed in constant communication with outreach workers while developing it.
Public servants who work to reduce homelessness often have similar lists of challenges.

The most common of these are data sharing between groups involved with the homeless, the ability to track interactions between individuals and outreach providers, and a system that makes it easier to enter information about the population. Recently, we spoke with more than a half-dozen government officials who are involved with the homeless, and while obstacles and conditions varied among cities, all agreed that their work would be much easier with better tech-based solutions for the problems cited above.

These officials, however, were uniformly optimistic that such solutions were becoming more readily available  solutions with potential to solve the logistical hurdles that most often hamstring government, community and nonprofit efforts to help the homeless find jobs, residences and medical care. Some agencies, in fact, have already had success implementing tech as components in larger campaigns, while others are testing new platforms that may bolster organization and efficiency.

2. Aurora, Colo.

Below are a few brief vignettes that detail some  but far from all  ongoing governmental efforts to use tech to aid and reduce the homeless population.One of the best examples of government using tech to address homelessness can be found in Bergen County, N.J., where officials recently certified their jurisdiction as first in the nation to end chronic homelessness. READ MORE Aurora, Colo., in the Denver metropolitan, area uses the Homeless Management Information System required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, but those involved with addressing homelessness there have also developed tech-based efforts that are specifically tailored to the areas needs. READ MORE

4. New York City

About a year and a half ago, Seattle decided to put measures in place to get a better overall sense of how its many homelessness outreach programs were functioning, and accomplished this by asking outreach providers to begin contributing data in five key areas: exits to permanent housing; average length of stay in shelters; returns to homelessness entries from homelessness; and the utilization rate of shelters and services. The idea, one official said, is that by using a dashboard to examine the data, they can foster a more efficient and effective system in terms of addressing homelessness. READ MORE New York City is rolling out an app called StreetSmart, which enables homelessness outreach workers in all five boroughs to communicate and log data seamlessly in real time while in the field.

With StreetSmart, these workers will be able to enter that information into a single citywide database as they collect it. READ MORE

6. Asheville, N.C.

San Francisco is in the process of launching a platform that will consolidate all of the data that outreach workers collect while serving the homeless, thus making it available in real time to enhance collaboration and efficiency. READ MORE Unlike many of the cities making advancements in reducing homelessness via tech, Asheville, N.C., is doing so primarily with the aid of nonprofit volunteers, rather than only doing so within city government.

Code for Asheville, a Code for America brigade, recently began working with the Asheville-Buncombe Homeless Coalition after noting it had little to no Web presence. Code for Asheville is now working to change that. READ MORE




Thanks to an extraordinary response to an RFP issued earlier this year, a Pennsylvania broadband aggregation group called the Monroe Gigabit Project, which unites more than three dozen public agencies and private companies, will continue through 2017.Four local and national providers submitted bids to 44 organizations across Monroe County, AcceleratePA  a statewide pro-business and technology organization  said after the close of business on Wednesday, June 7.As a result, the project , which likely would have wrapped before the end of the year, will instead continue through Dec. 31 so consultants can help participants  including the Monroe County 911 Call Center; a regional police force; several townships, boroughs and hospitals; East Stroudsburg University; and Pocono Raceway  shape the best possible deals on broadband.The companies are PenTeleData, the nations oldest cable company and a longtime county provider; GoNetspeed, a telecommunications firm based in Rochester, N.Y.; NCN Data, a local firm headquartered in Stroudsburg, Pa.; and national provider Sprint Communications.The endeavor is one of probably close to 50 similar broadband aggregations that Kelly Lewis, president of Mechanicsburg, Pa.-based Lewis Strategic, said hes worked on during the past 15 years, and he credited its collective buying power with helping generate a profound response.Maybe 18 of the 20 largest organizations in the county were in the RFP, so for any of those companies with a presence in our county, it was a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win some contracts, Lewis, director of AcceleratePA, toldHe estimated some of the 44 companies behind the RFP could begin to sign contracts within 90 days.According to Lewis, along with others at Lewis Strategic and consultant Dellicker Strategies, which issued the RFP in April, broadband aggregations are a way for disparate entities to leverage their buying power.Availability is less of a problem than value, Dellicker Strategies President Kevin Dellicker told. By injecting that competition and demand aggregation into the marketplace, we can usually succeed.The companies or agencies arent linked indefinitely, and forge individual contracts with providers once bids are in  but at rates that are typically lower because the aggregation effectively creates a one-stop shop for providers. But Lewis and other officials said its also common for contracts reached through aggregation to sustain lower rates even after their initial terms expire.The Monroe Gigabit Projects goals include tripling the number of organizations using gigabit-speed Internet, reducing broadband prices for the aggregate by 50 percent or more, and attracting private investment of more than $1 million in new broadband infrastructure countywide.Vendors have the option to submit bids to any or all of the 44 members, and to any or all of the 102 service locations they represent.Lewis, whose other aggregation projects have included a focus on Pennsylvania school districts, said responses to the RFP show organizations should see their gigabit-per-second prices drop by an average of 88 percent, with the steepest reduction reaching 94 percent.David Parker, director of sales and business development for Lewis Strategic, said one bid in response to this RFP offers a potential client Internet speeds of 1 gigabit for what it had paid for 100 megabit speed. Another bid, he said, offers another project member 1 gigabit speeds for only 50 percent more than it had paid for 10 megabit speeds.Much of Monroe County still operates on private septic systems and well water, and would greatly benefit from this and infrastructure updates, said Dr. Matt Connell, chairman of the Monroe 2030 Action Team , a group of volunteers working on an economic development plan for 2030.I am aware second- and third-hand that the development of a broadband network throughout the county is something that would benefit not just businesses and those seeking employment but the whole community, said Connell, a dean at Northampton Community College, noting that he has attempted to establish an infrastructure taskforce.The county, in the Pocono Mountains, has long had reception compromised by its rugged topography, but being less than 100 miles from New York City makes it increasingly attractive to commuters.State Sen. Mario Scavello, whose district includes 17 of Monroe Countys 20 municipalities, said improving broadband speeds and penetration will only further the area's commercial and residential growth.First you need the business to help fund it, help pay for it. The advantage is itll be there for the residents to use as well. Its almost like putting a guest line down the street. But if it was just for the homes, it wouldnt happen, Scavello, R-Monroe-Northampton, toldThe project, Dellicker said, will make buyers into more effective consumers and help them become market shapers instead of price takers.These organizations are not inclined to look to their neighbors before they go out and purchase their Internet access. However, what their neighbors buy and dont buy does impact access and price, he added.
Verizon and Sacramento, Calif., sitting in a tree, giving park-goers Wi-Fi for free?! Its true  the Sacramento City Council approved a contract with Verizon this week.The contract allows Verizon to install small cell towers on utility poles throughout the city. In return, Verizon has pledged to provide free Wi-Fi, via digital kiosks, in 27 Sacramento parks. So far, Land Park and McKinley Park are the first two of the 27 parks to be chosen.This agreement means that Verizons planned expansion of its fiber-optic network can happen faster, be more efficient, and cost the company less since it will be adding to existing city infrastructure and have an easier time obtaining permits.This contract will also create many internship opportunities with Verizon in coming years, but despite all of the positive prospects, the contract has garnered some criticism from potential competitors. Since the contract was agreed upon five days prior to proper city procedure, companies such as anyCOMM and Siemens wrote the City Council to express their dissatisfaction.I think you should urge caution before signing a contract, said Rob Praske, founder and CEO of anyCOMM. We were hoping wed have the opportunity to present an alternative.Sacramento CIO Maria MacGunigal explained that the City Councils decision to waive the 10-day waiting period in this situation was due to the citys deadline to apply for a federal transportation grant. The deadline to apply is Monday, June 12, and the council felt the agreement with Verizon would help the city obtain the transportation grant. MacGunigal added that Verizon is only entitled to a portion of Sacramentos utility poles, so other companies would still be able to have similar contracts.For the citizens of Sacramento, this simply means that free, fast Wi-Fi is coming to a park near you.
(TNS) Spectrum Internet has pledged to bring broadband internet to 95 percent of Niagara and Orleans county households. Now, some county legislators are asking: who will bring broadband to the remaining 5 percent?Bidding opened June 6 for the final phase of the states $500 million broadband push, which local officials hope will see broadband internet brought to every last household in the two counties.Niagara County Legislator David Godfrey, R-Newfane, and Orleans County Legislator Lynne Johnson, R-Ridgeway, say they may need help from outside vendors to get to 100 percent broadband coverage.You get to 95-97 percent; what about the group thats left? Godfrey said.But with only 1,020 households expected to remain unserved after Spectrums buildout, Godfrey and Johnson worry few vendors will be interested in bidding. The remaining unserved homes will be in areas with low-population densities  rural stretches of Royalton and Somerset, for example.Godfrey wonders whether vendors will be willing to build infrastructure across miles of country roads to reach, in some cases, only a handful of households.Theres got to be vendors to cover it. Were hoping to get enough vendors, he said.The two are looking into possible alternatives to entice vendors to put in bids. One is to push Spectrum to allow a wireless internet vendor to tap into the companys existing fiber optic cable lines and bring wifi to unserved households.Another is to include the counties in Genesee Countys request for proposals. The two have been in contact with Genesee County leaders, asking them to tell prospective vendors about the work opportunities to the north and northwest.We dont have enough homes to get a vendor to bid, Johnson said. Were hoping nearby counties will go out for a (request for proposals), and a vendor will say, While were in your neck of the woods, why not bring broadband to these residents.Spectrum Internet  formed by the Time Warner Cable-Charter Communications merger in 2016  grabbed the lions share of the bids in the first two rounds of funding because they have the largest footprint in Niagara and Orleans counties.The New York State Broadband Program Offices bidding rules favored vendors who could expand broadband at the lowest cost per household. That played into the hands of large companies like Spectrum, which already had the infrastructure in place and could expand at the lowest cost.That was devastating, Godfrey said. They basically froze census blocks. ... They bid so heavily there was too little left to bid on.But as a condition of the merger, the state Public Service Commission required Spectrum to significantly boost internet speeds upstate and also expand broadband service to 145,000 residential units that currently dont have it. In Niagara and Orleans counties, Spectrum pledged to expand broadband to 95 percent of residential units.Before the initiative, about 25 percent of Niagara County and 40 percent of Orleans county residential units lacked broadband access, Godfrey said.Spectrum was given four years to complete the buildout.Godfrey and Johnson say they have been working with State Sen. Rob Ortt to hold Spectrums feet to the fire, and that it appears the company has listened. A report to the state Broadband Program showed Spectrum was on track to complete its broadband expansion in the counties by the years end, according to Godfrey and Johnson.Were lucky in the fact were going to get picked up but it bears the question, whos controlling us? Johnson said.Meantime, the legislators say they are looking at all possible options to expand access, with libraries and schools given top priority. To that end, they are considering a program to bring wireless Internet to all school buses.Watkins Glen, N.Y., currently has wireless on its school buses, which has allowed students to do their homework during long rural commutes.The two brought the idea to Dr. Clark Godshall, superintendent of Boards of Cooperative Education Services for Orleans/Niagara, and say he is exploring the idea.Anything that brings internet access to our children is a huge step in the right direction, Johnson said.They add lack of high-speed Internet is a major problem in the countys rural areas. Many rural residents have taken to parking outside local libraries to connect with the free wireless internet available there.Its a sad state of affairs, Johnson said. You get into rural area, and you cant hook up.
(TNS) -- More opponents are lining up against congressional Republicans online privacy bill, including a trade group representing Facebook and Google  whose user data collection would be limited by the legislation  and the ACLU, which says it will limit states ability to pass their own restrictions.NetChoice, a trade group that includes targeted ad giants Google, Facebook, and Yahoo, says a bill proposed by Republican Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn to make web services and internet access providers like Comcast and Verizon get permission from users before collecting their data will end free services online.[I]magine a world where the next time you use a search engine, instead of seeing results, you see a requirement to enter a credit card. Or the next time you visit USA Today there is fewer content and even more ads on the screen, NetChoice senior policy counsel Carl Szabo wrote in a blog post this week In this alternate world, he continued, you are bombarded with pop-ups and interstitials, all of which are asking for consent in various ways: blanket consent for use of all sensitive information, consent for use of some sensitive information, consent for use of sensitive and non-sensitive information, and so on.Szabo warns that will be the fate of the web if Congress advances the BROWSER Act. Under the law, companies on both sides of the online ecosystem would have to obtain opt-in consent from users before collecting and monetizing their sensitive data, a reversal of the current, largely opt-out requirement set down by the Federal Trade Commission. The definition of sensitive includes web browsing history, a category previously left unregulated before the FCC passed privacy rules aimed exclusively at internet service providers (ISPs) last year.According to NetChoice, the bill would erase $340 billion in advertising revenue over the next five years, citing studies that show opt-in regimes are 65 percent less effective. The loss of targeted ads will mean a greater volume of ads, less content, and more paywalls across popular websites, consequences that will hit low-income Americans and small businesses hardest.The group argues the FTC already enforces privacy standards and that the industry regulates itself. But the FTC rules only require opt-in consent for the most sensitive information, like health and financial data. Meanwhile, efforts by edge providers themselves, like Google Chromes Do Not Track feature, are largely ignored by other websites. Theres no law requiring they comply with the browsers request.Blackburn, who chairs a committee overseeing the FCC, sponsored the House repeal of the agencys privacy rules. She and other Republicans said the FCC rules focused on only one part of the internet ecosystem and ignored edge provider services that collect as much, if not more data, than ISPs.Many of the Republicans who voted for the repeal count ISPs among some of their largest donors, and became the target of a groundswell of constituent criticism. Blackburns bill invited another wave of criticism, including from consumer advocate groups who say the legislation is at best a disingenuous attempt at saving political face with little chance of passing, and at worst cover for preventing states from passing their own privacy standards.[O]ur skepticism comes from a provision buried at very end of the bill that would explicitly preempt state legislation on these issues  even if a state passes legislation requiring higher privacy standards than Congress, ACLU legislative counsel Neema Singh Guliani wrote of the bill . The provision appears to be a naked attempt to undercut state privacy efforts.Some 17 states are working on online privacy legislation in the wake of the repeal of the FCC privacy rules. Those efforts would likely prove problematic for internet service and edge providers, who would have to adhere to different privacy standards across multiple states.States like New Hampshire are considering rules tougher than those passed by the FCC, including barring ISPs from offering discounts to subscribers choosing to waive privacy protections. Other states are considering a ban on collection altogether.Rep. Blackburns bill would do precisely what industry wants, which is prevent states from taking their own actions to ensure high privacy standards, the ACLU attorney wrote.The pro-net neutrality group Public Knowledge has yet to stake out a position on the bill. Other groups that track privacy issues including Fight for the Future, TechFreedom, and the Association of National Advertisers oppose the bill.
The St. Francois County Commission has hired Michael Alesandrini and his company, Leverage Management Solutions (LMS), to provide liaison and advisory services to the commission related to state and federal agency administration of natural resource damages, including policy development and funding decisions, affecting the county.

Prior to starting his new business, Alesandrini was a senior consultant for URS Corporation. In 2011, Jefferson, St. Francois and Washington County officials joined forces to discuss lead and other contaminants affecting the Big River Watershed with state and federal regulatory agencies. The three counties signed an agreement with URS Corporation to develop a master plan for the approximately 92-mile stretch of the watershed that runs from Leadwood to near Eureka, where the Big and Meramec rivers meet.

At a recent county commission's meeting, Commissioner Patrick Mullins explained that he had received the proposal to provide the county liaison and advisory services from Alesandrini.

This will be related to on-going state and federal agency discussions specific to the use of funds remaining in the trust created to support the restoration of natural resources damaged as a result of the historic mining activities in the region, he said. Various discussions and deliberations are underway that will inform state and federal policy decisions related to when, where and how limited natural resource damages financial resources may be expended throughout southeast Missouri.

Mullins explained that much of those limited financial resources are associated with environmental damages specific to St. Francois County.

In other words, we have an abundance of mine waste, he said. You remember the old chat piles  Leadwood, Flat River, Park Hills, Bonne Terre. There are recent examples of significant sums being spent outside of this county without direct benefit to the citizens of the county.

The most alarming would be the current discussions related to further expenditures of substantial portions of the remainder of those resources  again, outside of St. Francois County. One of the perfect examples that youll recall was last year and the Oregon County purchase. You can see what kind of fiasco that was. The citizens of this county didnt benefit from those funds being diverted to the park.

And its ironic because all of the citizens in that area and all three commissioners are against that proposal. Weve been down that road before. So, LMS  Michael Alesandrini  can serve as a liaison in agency discussions where St. Francois County officials wouldnt be present. LMS will be available on an advisory capacity to the county commission to contemplate the form of content of such direct input into any deliberations.

Mullins noted that most of the industrialized mining operations that served as the basis for the litigation that culminated in millions of dollars in settlement proceeds happened in and around St. Francois County.

A natural resource damages assessment has been conducted in the region in late 2009 as part of the bankruptcy settlement related to former smelting operations by ASARCO, he said. Tens of millions of dollars were awarded for damages incurred. The EPA has used and is using part of that settlement for remediation efforts throughout the region. A group of trustees  U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Missouri DNR, U.S. Forest Service, the Conservation Department  they have utilized a part of the settlement proceeds for work provided for in the SEMO restoration plan  and, again, including the purchase of a park in Oregon County.

Mullins explained that there is a feasibility study being performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with a number of other agencies involved, for construction projects that are being contemplated in the Big River Watershed.

But they are to be situated in Jefferson County, he said. Local, state and federal elected officials are in the process of trying to extend the mandated service area for this study that will include counties upstream from Jefferson County up to Big River. So, that effort requiring congressional approval is unlikely to be accomplished with the timeline in which those construction projects are planned and funded. Prevailing agency discussions suggest that those construction projects are likely to be funded with the remaining settlement proceeds regardless of the extension of the Corps services area into St. Francois County. Thats why Id like to bring on a professional.

Mullins read off the number of times that Alesandrini had addressed the commissioners to inform them of projects under consideration or approved at meetings regarding use of the settlement money. At the conclusion of the listing, he said, In August of 2015, he attended the meeting held down at Johnsons Shut-Ins and this dealt with the public discussion on moneys being diverted for the Oregon County park. It was after that in September that Mr. Alesandrini addressed this commission about those concerns that we wouldnt have known about. In May of 2016, he addressed the commission again about ideas for restoration projects.

Mullins told the commissioners that before the previous presiding commissioner  Dr. David Cramp  left office, a Big River Watershed line item of $5,000 was placed in the county budget.

With help from our auditor, Mr. Seiberlich, I think its a fair deal to look at bringing Leverage on board, he said. We would pay him in the amount of $2,500  $1,250 upfront and then $1,250 at the end of the year. I talked with Mr. Alesandrini and I think its very fair considering his past work. Most importantly, at the end of this year we can look and we can say, You know, we want to keep you on for another year at the same rate. Or, option two, We want to keep you on and give you an increase. Or  the third option  Michael, youve done us a great job, but were not going to renew your contract.

As part of the agreement, Alesandrini will address the commission on a quarterly basis and keep Mullins informed of any information he receives and there will be no mileage paid.

Following the unanimous vote, Alesandrini said, The nature of my business is to attend a lot of meetings that DNR is already in and they tend to invite me to meetings that involve Big River issues and the natural resource damage issues in southeast Missouri. Thats what really prompted this discussion with the commission.

Its the role Ive been playing just as a private citizen and informed stakeholder in those conversations pretty much dating back to 2009. In the last couple of months I was involved in meetings where the future of the funding and a lot of policies were being discussed that had potential impact on this county and there was nobody in the room voicing concern for the county. I did, but I was only doing it as a citizen and it seemed appropriate to formalize a little bit of standing so I could assert the interests of the county in a little more formal standing than just saying, I live here.
(TNS) -- TALLAHASSEE - State and local election officials across the country reported numerous hacking alerts last year from suspicious emails sent to their systems, including at least eight Florida counties that received one tied to what U.S. intelligence officials say was a Russian effort to disrupt the presidential campaign.While election officials contacted by the USA TODAY NETWORK said there were no successful hacks into their voting systems or offices, some noted that suspicious activity directed through a Tallahassee-based election software company came amid a flurry of other threats routinely blocked by election offices.Election offices divert spam, phishing attempts and other suspicious emails into quarantine systems on a regular basis and may not know about specific hacking attempts unless notified, officials said.Theres thousands of them every day, said Clay County Elections Supervisor Chris Chambless, who also serves as president of the Florida State Association of Election Supervisors.But the details about specific efforts by suspected Russian hackers show just how far and wide those attempts stretched.A National Security Agency report published by the website The Intercept said Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. supplier of voting software and sent deceptive emails to more than 100 local election officials in the days leading up to the November election.The supplier, identified by the website as VR Systems of Tallahassee, contacted Florida counties it serves last year with guidance on what to do if they received the suspicious email from "vr.elections@gmail.com." The notice came before the November election last year and after federal officials alerted election offices about the threat.Most Florida counties use VR Systems software to manage voter information and rolls, not for voting machines or tabulation. But a breach of the systems could have disrupted elections by manipulating voter information used at local precincts, according to The Intercept report.USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida asked election supervisors in the state's 67 counties if they had received the suspicious emails and received 39 responses. Eight counties  Clay, Collier, Citrus, Escambia, Hillsborough, Pasco, Putnam, and Vousia  said they received the email, and it was quarantined and did not give hackers access.Brian Corley, Pasco County's supervisor, said his staff caught the threatening email last year and it was quarantined.Even with all of the technology out there, our staff knows what to look for, he said.Citrus County Supervisor of Elections Susan Gill said she discovered the suspicious email Tuesday after media accounts about the NSA report. It was tucked away on a quarantine log like the other threats, Gill said.There it was, just sitting there, she said. Theyre so common we usually dont worry about them unless we get an alert, and those come in from our association of elections supervisors or the National Security Agency.Virginia Sen. Mark Warner has called for declassifying the names and number of states affected by the Russian hacking attempt as a way to prevent such attempts in next year's midterm elections.States already monitor for suspicious activity in their computer systems, including election networks.Wisconsin reported a spike in attempts to break into state computer systems just before the state's primary and general elections last year, according to records obtained by USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin. It's not clear, however, if any of those were tied to the Russian effort identified by U.S. intelligence.Two days before the state's April 5, 2016, presidential primary, the reports show, state security analysts logged more than 150,000 alerts in a single day for attempts to find holes in state systems. Wisconsin has typically logged fewer than 60,000 of these alerts per day over the past two years.Even more unusual, the number of alerts logged on a single November day spiked to more than 800,000  a more than tenfold increase over the normal daily peak. It was the largest single-day spike in the past two years.Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's administration said the spikes in April 2016 and November were "spread across all of our servers," including  but not limited to  election systems. It attributed the November spike to international malware but didn't provide an explanation for the April surge.Election offices across the country were on high alert last year after U.S. intelligence identified potential Russian threats. In Arizona and Illinois, election officials reported breaches of voter registration databases but said systems involved in counting votes were not affected. The FBI then warned other states to check their protections against attacks.Jeanne Atkins, who was Oregon secretary of state during the election, said Homeland Security tested the states voter registration database, which is connected to the internet.There were concerns. We were in constant monitoring mode, Atkins said.Homeland Security made the same offer to all states, through the National Association of Secretaries of State, she said.David McManus, a Republican chairman of Maryland's State Board of Elections, said while no hacking attempts were identified in his state, he's concerned enough about the NSA report's findings to have state election systems reviewed for security.
When Justin Timberlake put out a call for videos of fans dancing to his hit songDana Berchman, chief digital officer (CDO) of Gilbert, Ariz., saw an invaluable opportunity for her community.

Berchman knew the quick-hit nature of the Internet meant that she and her staff had about 48 hours to strike. So, they issued a call on social media for dancers to meet them, and they rushed around their Phoenix suburb with a camcorder, bumping the catchy JT tune from a Bluetooth speaker while shooting video of city staff, police officers, firefighters, kids at the park, sanitation workers, seniors, a guy who dressed like Chewbacca (for some reason), and the list goes on. Throughout, they showcased Gilbert , from its parks to its city center to its small businesses.

The effort paid off. Justin himself tweeted a link to the video , with the caption Gilbert, AZ!! plus a praying hands emoji. The four-minute clip accumulated nearly 100,000 views on YouTube, and a comment section filled with people talking about the town. With views through Facebook and Twitter, nearly 500,000 people saw it. Berchman even got a call from a recent retiree in Oklahoma, saying he saw and loved it. Hed been wanting to move to Arizona but hadnt picked a city. Could she please send him some info about Gilbert?

It was just crazy. It was a year ago at the end of May that this happened, and still I go places and people are like, Did you guys make that Justin Timberlake video? Berchman said. Something like that takes community pride, and people really love it, and then they share it and say, This is where I live! This is where I work! Its really an amazing, amazing tool, just using video and social media.

The viral video, however, is far from the only forward-thinking tech initiative within Gilberts local government. The city laid out a digital road map two years ago, its technologists host a weekly podcast and theyve all but eliminated traditional communication models, instead putting the vast majority of correspondence with citizens online.

Gilbert has accomplished this through a near-ideal combination of circumstance and personnel. In terms of circumstance, the town has a double punch of factors enabling efficient use of technology. Its a young community, with a median age of residents between 32 and 33 years. It has also grown significantly, from around 50,000 residents as recently as the '90s to about 240,000 today. Its young population is primed to embrace tech, and the recent growth means the local government is not saddled with many outdated systems or staid ways of doing things.

Meanwhile, Gilberts political leadership and its city manager, Patrick Banger, fully support models in which the first method of interacting and communicating with citizens is digital, and Berchman herself is a secret weapon of sorts for Gilbert.

She spent years working in the media in New York City, first during the reality boom at MTV and later with NBC News, where as a producer she helped Andrea Mitchell, one of the programs anchors, embrace social media.

In five years as CDO for Gilbert, Berchman has built a significant social media following for the town, opened data channels with the fire department and police, and built an expert seven-member team of digital and multimedia journalists, among other accomplishments.

As a result of some of her video-driven efforts, she now fields calls from others in government wanting to know what production company she uses, and she regularly hears stories about larger cities spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on flyers and mailers to reach residents, hoping to foster even a small fraction of the interactions her department gets with a well-timed tweet.

Were using video and social media in a lot of ways I dont think other cities are because theyre still stuck doing printing, or other old-school methods, Berchman said. Its hard in government to make change because of that, because thats the way theyve always done it. You hear a lot of that. Weve been at the forefront of being innovative but also being lean and cost effective.

She said key to that cost efficiency has been keeping her department small while hiring the right people, which she has accomplished by expanding hiring efforts to places like Indeed and LinkedIn rather than the usual government boards.

Another common question asked of Berchman is whether she plans to jump to a larger city, maybe to nearby Phoenix. Her answer is a stern no. Berchman grew up in Gilbert, and helping the city forge digital channels of communication with residents as it grows is personally rewarding.

She remembers the days where the most notable thing about tiny Gilbert was that it was the hay capital of the world (this is no joke, look it up ), and she remembers being teased by kids from larger towns who asked if she ever rode a horse to school.

Honestly I never would have seen myself working in government and I was very apprehensive, Berchman said. I thought, I dont know if Im cut out to work in government, but it was the best decision I ever made. Im here because its Gilbert, Im from here, and I love this community. Its so gratifying for me to see the place where I grew up grow up too.
Pascal Wehrlein has confirmed reports that he is back to full fitness after his early-season back injury.

The German had to miss the start of the 2017 season with fractured vertebrae, and he got another scare in Monaco when his helmet struck the barrier in a clash with Jenson Button.

So before he was cleared to race in Canada this week, he returned to the doctor.

"I made a check to ensure the old injury was not hurt again," Wehrlein is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

"Of course I am very happy that I am 100 per cent fig again. So I don't have to worry about that anymore," the Sauber driver added.

(GMM)
Robert Kubica appears to be serious about a potential return to F1.

That is the claim of Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, following the former F1 driver's surprise Renault test in Valencia this week.

Despite earlier saying his 2011 arm injury was permanent, both Renault and the now 32-year-old Pole took the outing with the 2012 Lotus car seriously.

Luigi Perna, the Gazzetta correspondent, says Kubica did a "condensed programme of an entire race weekend" at Valencia, including race starts and pitstops.

"It seems that Kubica was faster than the official tester Sergey Sirotkin," he claimed.

"The limitations in movement of his right arm, which was operated on 18 times since the accident, is an obstacle Kubica has been able to compensate for and overcome over time," said Perna.

The report said the only modification to the Renault car was the single gearshift lever, so that Kubica could change both up and down with his left hand.

And Perna said Kubica started preparing for a serious comeback 12 months ago, when he "began to train like crazy on the bike, slimming more than 10kg".

"The next goal, one might hope, is another test or a free practice session at a grand prix," he said. "The sensational F1 return of Robert Kubica is no longer a forbidden dream."

(GMM)
Nico Hulkenberg says he would welcome the arrival of Fernando Alonso at Renault next year.

With struggling Jolyon Palmer's future in doubt, there have been rumours Sergey Sirotkin or even Robert Kubica are in the running to replace him.

But another rumour is that former two-time Renault world champion, Alonso, could leave McLaren-Honda and return to the French marque.

"I think it would be great," German Hulkenberg, currently Renault's top driver on a multi-year contract, is quoted by Speed Week.

"It would be great not only for the whole team, but for me as well to compete with one of the best drivers in the world.

"I could learn a lot for him and without a doubt Fernando would be a huge boost for the whole Renault project," he added.

Hulkenberg also said he was "very impressed" with how competitive Alonso was at the recent Indy 500.

"I think the example of Alonso at Indy and also my Le Mans adventure with Porsche showed that the driver level in formula one is very high," he said.

(GMM)
Red Bull has dismissed rumours it might make a change to its driver lineup for 2018.

Currently, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen drive for the premier energy drink owned team, but rumours of potential moves are always bubbling.

However, team boss Christian Horner is quoted by Kleine Zeitung newspaper: "Both have uncomplicated, clean contracts.

"I have no doubt that Max and Daniel will drive the RB14 next year," he insisted.

(GMM)
Hachigo said that Honda aims to electrify two-thirds of global automobile unit sales in 2030. The company will put a central focus on hybrid-based models utilizing a high-efficiency plug-in hybrid system unique to Honda. As for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), Honda will strengthen the development of battery-electric vehicles in addition to fuel cell electric vehicles (FCV).

At a press meeting in Tokyo, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. President & CEO Takahiro Hachigo discussed the future direction of Honda, including various products and technologies and the companys new 2030 Vision.

In addition to a China-exclusive model scheduled to go on sale in 2018, a dedicated EV model for other regions is also currently under development. Honda will introduce this model at an auto show this fall.

Hachigo noted that to increase development speed further, the company is strengthening its system and capability for the development of electrified vehicles. In October of last year, it established within Honda R&D an Electric Vehicle Development Division, a specialized team which will be in charge of developing the entire vehicle including the powertrain and body.

On the two-wheel front, Honda is striving to promote the electrification of commuter models, and plans to introduce some new models including an electric scooter in 2018.

Honda is currently working on the research and development of a highly-convenient system for electric commuters, which features a detachable mobile battery that is easy to replace and/or recharge. Honda is considering demonstration testing of this mobile battery in collaboration with the Japan Post Co., Ltd. in Japan.
GREENSBORO  The $10 million more Guilford County Schools requested from the county is more about treading water than embarking on reform, Superintendent Sharon Contreras said Thursday.

Contreras made her budget-request debut before the Guilford County commissioners, hoping to secure an additional $10.2 million a year in operating funds, as well as a separate $10 million for facilities needs.

I would like to say that by fully funding this budget request we can start addressing the vision Ive laid out for you regarding where we need to go as a school system and as a community, she told the commissioners during a budget work session. However, the reality is that such a request would have exceeded $40 million or more.

In contrast, County Manager Marty Lawing has proposed $5 million more a year for school operations, and $500,000 for maintenance and repairs.

Contreras had a respectful, sometimes blunt message. She said some of the systems schools are doing extremely well  gaining national recognition from The Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report  while some others have deep, long-standing challenges.

We know how to turn these schools around. We have enough research to turn them around, but making the changes that are needed is tough and requires political capital and will, she said. Most people want better schools, but they dont want the painful changes and decisions, you cannot drive one without the other.

The school systems budget, she said, includes $10 million in cuts. A few of the examples she gave include closing High School Ahead Academy for a $1.2 million savings; raising class sizes in sixth through 12th grade,saving another $2.6 million; and cutting central office staff positions and expenses by $750,000.

Those cuts come in the midst of some expected rising costs: more than $7 million in salary and benefit increases, $3.6 million more for rising enrollment at charter schools, a $6.6 million deficit from a state class-size increase, and the loss of some federal grant money.

Commissioners asked thoughtful questions about the schools and the budget request but didnt give any real indication of what level of funding they would provide.

Thats no small money, very challenging, given other demands of services, all services for citizens, Commissioner Jeff Phillips said.
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A Turkish textile company pledged Thursday to create up to 390 jobs in Winston-Salem as the next step following its February purchase of the assets of defunct Microfibres Inc.

In exchange, Tukek Holding Inc. is requesting up to $125,000 in performance-based incentives from the city over seven years to help offset capital expenses for its startup company, HBFabrics Inc.

It is likely Forsyth County will be asked for a similar incentive amount.

Tukek told Winston-Salem economic development officials it would spend $3.85 million over five years to upgrade the former Microfibres facility at 3821 Kimwell Drive, along with buying new equipment and machinery.

The council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. June 19 at City Hall.

HPFabrics was formed on Feb. 21, according to the N.C. Secretary of States website. The top executive is Rafet Tukek, listed as president.

Microfibres, which was based in Pawtucket, R.I., filed for Chapter 7 voluntary bankruptcy protection Jan. 27, 2016  the same day it closed its Pawtucket, Winston-Salem and Lee County, Miss., facilities and ceased production.

Microfibres said it ended its U.S. manufacturing presence in response to domestic and global textiles challenges. The company made high-performance, stain-resistant flocked fabrics for the upholstery, furniture and specialty-products markets.

The Winston-Salem plant had 125 employees when it closed. The local workforce was at 270 as recently as 2004. The Pawtucket facility had 58 employees, and the Mississippi facility had two.

In February, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved a Turkish textile company, Tukek Holding Anonim Sikretiased, spending $5.92 million to buy Microfibres assets, including its plants in Winston-Salem. Tukek was identified as owner of Flokser Inc., and a strategic buyer in the international textile sector.

According to the incentive request, Tukek says it became the worlds largest manufacturer of flock production upon acquiring the Microfibres assets, which the company valued at $9.5 million.

Tukek told the city it plans to make greige goods and finished flock products at the Winston-Salem plant. Those products would either be used to make fabrics locally for domestic and international Tukek customers, or shipped to Tukek facilities worldwide for similar processing.

Tukek says it has more than 1,100 employees at three plants in Istanbul, with annual revenue of $140 million in 2016.

Tukek told Winston-Salem economic development officials the average salary for the local jobs would be $30,310, plus benefits.

That could be the main reason why the incentive request is low compared with other recent economic projects with similar or larger job pledges such as Herbalife Ltd., Corning Optical Communications LLC and the defunct North State Aviation LLC.

The median individual wage for Forsyth County was $33,153 in 2014  the latest data available.

Typically, companies whose average wages pledge falls below a county average are limited in what they can request in local incentives as well as incentives from the One North Carolina Fund, which require local matches.

The company said it is considering the Pawtucket facilities for the project, which could allow it to qualify for a larger state incentive package through the Job Development Investment Grant program.

According to an economic incentive presentation to council, the city incentive package represents 50 percent of the estimated $66,840 in annual property and sales taxes generated from the HPFabrics project over seven years.

The local Microfibres assets included 473,000 square feet of space in Winston-Salem, featuring five buildings on 25 acres. The main manufacturing plant at 3821 Kimwell Drive is 219,500 square feet. The other local properties are at 3760, 3803 and 3811 Kimwell.

Bankruptcy trustee Joseph DiOrio had valued the Microfibres assets at $7.46 million, of which $3.78 million is inventory, some of which could have been sold in separate transactions. Also sold were 300,000 square feet of space on 10.2 acres in Pawtucket and a 31,000-square-foot warehouse in Lee County, Miss.

Equipment and machinery in the Winston-Salem plant were valued at $580,394 while equipment and machinery in Pawtucket were valued at $499,425. The land value for each plant was $1.2 million.
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REIDSVILLE  The Penn Nursing Center courtyard became a fair on May 19 for National Nursing Home Week with funnel cake frying in oil, plastic trinkets floating in kiddie pools and buckets of prizes ripe for the taking.

Residents sat quietly in the comfort of shade, but all eyes turned to the arbor as the afternoons guest of honor walked through: Mrs. North Carolina 2017.

Wendy Jordan, who will compete for the Mrs. America title in August, toured the center, greeting each resident she passed, shaking hands and taking photos with them.

It was a pleasure, she said. I think I enjoyed it more than they did. They were very, very sweet and friendly and welcoming and it was just so fun getting to go around and meet everyone.

Jordans start in pageantry and first victory was the pageant that earned her the title of Mrs. North Carolina 2017. In her first year, shes focusing on advocating for the elderly.

My platform is the Twilight Wish Foundation and they honor the low-income elderly, Jordan said. They grant wishes to them, so its right in line with what I'm already promoting. I love to show honor and respect to the older generation, so anytime I have a chance to do that I try to jump at it.

The visit from Mrs. North Carolina was planned as a special surprise in culmination of National Nursing Home Week.

I always try to do something special on the last day of National Nursing Home Week, said Juliette Miller, PNC activity director. We always have Marlo the Magician in the morning time to do magic, so I was trying to think of something that relates to what you would see at a North Carolina fair.

Prior to the Friday fair, the residents enjoyed a week of special events, including a social for Mothers Day, a performance by the Carolina Girls dance group and a program focused on American fashion through the decades.

The most important thing is just showing the residents that we care, Miller said. That's the most important thing.
Following an investigation by a former U.S. attorney general into accusations of rampant sexual harassment at the ride-hailing company, Uber fired 20 employees for inappropriate behavior earlier this week. Then, after Recode inquired about Eric Alexander, the company's former president of business in the Asia Pacific, obtaining the medical records of a woman who was raped by her driver in India, Uber fired him. Alexander reportedly also shared those records with Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Senior Vice President Emil Michael.

It's clear that there's something very wrong with the multi-billion-dollar company's culture.

Related: Uber Fires More Than 20 Employees for Harassment

Now, possibly as a result of those firings, Uber is experiencing leaks. One document that is now seeing the light of day is a 2013 letter from Kalanick to employees, in which he discusses "rules" for a party the company held in Miami. The contents and language of the letter are what you'd expect from the president of a college frat -- not the leader of a global business. In it, Kalanick sets rules for puking, throwing kegs off of buildings, doing drugs and even having sex with co-workers.

You have to wonder why it took until these recent firings for something like this to go public. It's also hard to believe that the company's investors weren't privy to this letter, or others like it, and if they were, that they still gave the company money. And if this is the first of many leaks, will this be the worst of them?

Here's the full email from Kalanick, originally obtained by Recode:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Travis Kalanick

Date: Friday, October 25, 2013

Subject: ? Info: URGENT, URGENT - READ THIS NOW OR ELSE!!!!!

To: Uber Team

Hey guys, I wanted to get some important information out there. I've put together a Q&A that we can use when other folks ask what we're doing here, and have some DOs and DON'Ts for our time here in Miami.

You better read this or I'll kick your ass.

__________________________________________

Q&A - If I've missed anything, or you just have a random question, please reply to all on this thread!

Q: What is Uber doing here?

A: Uber has recently rolled out to its 50th global city. We are celebrating this company milestone and others and have organized a local grassroots movement to help bring Uber to Miami. #MiamiNeedsUber

Q: What does the Chinese symbol ? stand for?

A: ? translates to the number 9. It is a symbol that has internal meaning at Uber but is something we do not discuss externally.

Q: Is this an Internet bubble boondoggle?

A: It's a celebration of a major milestone for the company, as well as a chance for us to hold a company-wide retreat and organize our efforts globally. It's the one time that everyone in the company can meet in person all the people we work with every day.

_________________

I have gotten a list of concerns from the legal department. I have translated these concerns into a clear set of common sense guidelines. I've also added a few items of my own.

DON'Ts:

1) No lives should begin or end at ?

2) We do not have a budget to bail anyone out of jail. Don't be that guy. #CLM

3) Do not throw large kegs off of tall buildings. Please talk to Ryan McKillen and Amos Barreto for specific insights on this topic.

4) Do not have sex with another employee UNLESS a) you have asked that person for that privilege and they have responded with an emphatic "YES! I will have sex with you" AND b) the two (or more) of you do not work in the same chain of command. Yes, that means that Travis will be celibate on this trip. #CEOLife #FML

5) Drugs and narcotics will not be tolerated unless you have the appropriate medicinal licensing.

6) There will be a $200 puke charge for any public displays on the Shore Club premises. Shore Club will be required to send pictures as proof.

7) DO NOT TALK TO PRESS. Send all press inquiries to Andrew - anoyes@uber.com Additionally, stay vigilant about making sure people don't infiltrate our event. If and when you find yourself talking to a non-Uber (look for the wristband), keep confidential stuff confidential... no rev figures, driver figures, trip figures... don't talk about internal process, and don't talk about initiatives that have not already launched.

___________

DO's:

1) Have a great fucking time. This is a celebration! We've all earned it.

2) Share good music. Digital DJs are encouraged to share their beats poolside.

3) Go out of your way to meet as many of your fellow uberettos as you can.

4) If you haven't figured it out yet, Miami's transportation sucks ass. #Slang as many Miamians, drivers, influencers as you can as passionately as you can and let them know why Uber will make this great city an even better place. Every slang matters. #MiamiNeedsUber

5) If someone asks to meet the CEO and Founder of Uber, kindly introduce him to Max Crowley.

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Entrepreneurs are always on the go, working around the clock to build their vision and work towards their goals. In contrast, Accountemps Executive Director Michael Steinitz warns that its crucial to let employees disconnect after a hard days work. Going further, Steinitz explains why letting your employees enjoy a well-earned vacation can actually improve overall productivity. Then, our favorite "guerilla investor," Nathan Latka, is back to discuss the differences between soft power and hard power. Find out which will help your business run smoother. Are you ready to invest in your future? Listen now.

Related: Discover Untapped Talent and Find Fresh Branding Ideas

Discover more about segments and guests below . . .

[00:00:00] Take a Break! Let Employees Disconnect During Off-hours

As an entrepreneur you are always on the go. Host Alan Taylor even jokes about taking his phone in the shower! We understand. When charged with leading a company, its hard to know when to call it a day and take a break. This 24/7 mentality has some interesting ramifications on corporate culture when it comes to your employees. Accountemps Executive Director Michael Steinitz divulges the latest research on how employees are staying connected while out of the office. The results may surprise you.

[00:05:39] Vacation Improves Productivity, Refreshes Mental State

We are living in an extremely connected world with always-on smart devices. Between emails, social media notifications, app alerts, phone calls and texts, were constantly receiving the latest updates. Todays 9-5 warriors are using their days off to get away and unplug from the daily grind (to the chagrin of some employers). Steinitz tells us that this time is invaluable to reset your mind in order to approach the next work day with an enlivened outlook. If you want to see fresh opposed to frustrated faces on Monday morning, listen now.

[00:11:30] Have a Business Emergency? Accountemps to the Rescue

Do you run a small business with a modest sized crew? Odds are youve run into a staffing emergency a time or two. Accountemps can help. Steinitz says you can avoid unnecessary employee burnout, boost morale and get projects completed quickly by utilizing the highly skilled candidates at Accountemps. Simplify the hiring experience and find the right temp for your needs, learn how.

[00:17:21] Dont Look for Equity, Look for Return, Says Nathan Latka

We had the host of The Top Entrepreneurs podcast, Nathan Latka, on the show a few weeks ago to tell us the story of how he acquired an Austin-based food truck, Yummy Thai Food. Latka tells us, When you understand expenses, then you understand opportunity. Inspired by Latka's hutzpah, Taylor tried his luck at his local farmers market, hoping to partner with a small honey business. Taylor and Latka share the critical questions to ask when vetting a potential opportunity. Tune in for excellent tips on how to look at business from a different angle.

[00:27:44] Soft Power vs. Hard Power: How to Seal the Deal

Latka recently made a sweet deal with a popular Austin food truck. Latka credits the success of his bold business approach to what he calls "soft power." Soft power is an ability to shape a situation based on attraction and appeal. This is often preferred in business transactions over "hard power," which utilizes money as the primary form of persuasion. Latka tells us there are many reasons that deals can fall apart at the last second.

[00:32:21] Increase the Spread Between Earning and Spending

It seems to be a universal idea that if you want to get out of debt or be more successful, you need to make more money. Latka tells us that we need to change the way we look at this age old equation. Instead of simply increasing earnings, we also need to minimize expenses. With personal anecdotes and helpful tips to shift our perspective on the importance of money, we learn how to make each paycheck stretch.

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In a night full of shocks and surprises, the United Kingdom has awoken to a hung parliament following yesterday's vote in the 2017 General Election.

Pressure is growing on Theresa May to tender her resignation after the Conservatives lost their majority in government - the very thing the Prime Minister was hoping to strengthen when she first announced the snap election back in April.

Mrs May is expected to make a statement at 10am this morning (June 9).

With votes still to be declared in a number of constituencies, the Conservatives are forecast to fall short of the magic 326 seats needed to form a majority government.

So what does it all mean and where do we go from here? Below, we try to make sense of these tumultuous political times...

What is a hung parliament?

A hung parliament is when no party has an overall majority - more seats than all the other parties put together.

There are 650 seats in the House of Commons, so an overall majority would mean winning 326.

In reality it's said to be 323 because Northern Ireland's Sinn Fein MPs don't attend Parliament.

Without these seats, the government won't be able to pass laws if all the other MPs gang up on it.

These laws include the Queen's Speech, when the government declares its plans for the next year. It's due on June 19, and there'll be a crisis if it's voted down.

Early indications suggest the Conservative party will try and form a government with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

Why are people calling for Theresa May to resign as Prime Minister?

Theresa May raised eyebrows when she announced a surprise snap general election back in April this year.

She said it was necessary in order to strengthen her hand in the Brexit negotiation talks, which are due to commence in the coming weeks.

But a Labour surge has meant Mrs May's party has actually lost seats, not gained them, meaning the government's negotiating position will arguably be weaker.

Many political commentators have said she should step aside, including the former Chancellor George Osborne, who labelled the night "completely catastrophic."

Why did Labour do so well?

The Labour party's success in this snap election has taken many pollsters and political analysts by surprise. The party gained 29 seats and retained many it already held - including Great Grimsby.

Many are citing Jeremy Corbyn's 'positive' campaign and the support he has received from the nation's young voters as the reason behind their success.

Who are the Democratic Unionist Party?

Based in Northern Ireland they are the fifth largest party in Westminster with 10 seats.

They are where the Conservatives are likely to look for help forming a Government which stands any chance of getting legislation through.

The party are known for their controversial policies, including blocking gay marriage as well as lifting the ban on abortion.

Their party leader Arlene Foster declared last night's election as a "good night for the Union."

What will this mean for Brexit?

Coalitions ultimately mean compromise, even if the Conservatives form a majority government with the Democratic Unionist Party, who share some key beliefs with the Tories. Theresa May has not achieved the mandate she expected and many say this could dilute the chance of a so-called 'hard Brexit.'

The Prime Minister repeatedly said that 'no deal was better than a bad deal' if Brexit negotiations turn sour but those plans are in doubt now thanks to a stronger opposition in Westminster.
Aguachile ceviche with sea scallops, tomatillo, cucumber, jicama, chile serrano, cilantro, and lime. Photo: Melissa Hom

Tired debates about the New YorkversusLos Angeles taco war aside, its been an exciting year for Mexican food in this city. In February, the owners of El Atoradero Brooklyn branched out with mezcal and cocktail bar Madre Mezcaleria. The next month, Alex Stupak opened a palatial midtown branch of Empellon, recent recipient of two stars from New York critic Adam Platt. Enrique Olvera and Daniela Soto-Innes quickly followed up with Atla, their version of a neighborhood, all-day restaurant. The masa wave will strike Williamsburg next, when Casa Publica opens on June 2.

The restaurants design is influenced by Mexico Citys rich history of Art Deco architecture. There are floor-to-ceiling windows; Saltillo clay tiles cover the floor; and the decorations include old Mexican newspapers. The restaurant is brought to Brooklyn by the trio of chef Bob Truitt, formerly the head pastry chef of the Altamarea Group; beverage director and general manager Meaghan Montagano, whos worked at La Sirena and Extra Fancy; and managing partner Daniel Ortiz de Montellano. There wont be any tropical trompe loeil in Truitts kitchen. Hes keeping things relatively traditional with a menu that blends Mexican home cooking and market dishes.

Theres a trompo Truitt will use to make proper al pastor tacos, also offered with fillings like steak with melted cheese, and stuffed squash blossoms with huitlacoche mayo. Tostadas will be topped with crab, uni, and peanut salsa, while more substantial dishes will include chilaquiles with mole, and crispy soft-shell crab with hominy polenta. The desserts will be simple sweets, including a flan made with goats-milk caramel, strawberry sorbet, and an ice-cream version of tascalate, the toasted maize-and-chocolate drink from Chiapas.

Eventually, theyll start serving a late-night menu, when youll be able to preemptively fight the next days hangover with a Mexican-style hot dog topped with pico de gallo, pickled jalapenos, queso fresco, and morita mayo. But until then, theres a substantial list of original cocktails to drink through. Think Micheladas like the Cerveza Sucio, salt-crusted Tecate with chipotle and citrus; a Mexican Mudslide with tequila, Avion Espresso liqueur, charred pineapple, and almond milk; and punches like the Polanco Sangria with rose, blanco tequila, Cocchi Americano, strawberry, and citrus.

Carne encebollada with rib eye, melted onions, chile meco, bone marrow, mushrooms, and fried yucca. Photo: Melissa Hom

Carnitas tacos with nopales and avocado. Photo: Melissa Hom

Crab tostadas with uni, avocado, hearts of palm, and spicy peanut salsa. Photo: Melissa Hom

Tascalate ice cream with Mexican chocolate caramel and canelitas. Photo: Melissa Hom

Youre My Boy Blue: Peruvian blue-corn, fat-washed Hudson Corn Whiskey; Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth; creme de cacao; and mole bitters. Photo: Melissa Hom

The Go Getter: tequila, Punt e Mes, grapefruit, and cherrywood salt. Photo: Melissa Hom

Paloma de Mis Suenos: blanco tequila, piquin-chili-infused Amara dArancia Rossa, Q grapefruit soda. Photo: Melissa Hom

Casa Publica, 594 Union Ave., nr. Richardson St.; 718-388-3555
Out of this world, no doubt.

Neil deGrasse Tyson cant complain about his week. The beloved astrophysicist became the first American to win the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication on Tuesday, and now comes the even more prestigious distinction of getting his very own beer! Asheville Brewing Company, a microbrewery in North Carolina, has created Bier LemonGrass Tyson, a 5.5 percent ABV white ale that has lemongrass, coriander, and a real stretch of a name.

Asheville Brewings president Mike Rangel proudly notes that, like all beer, creating it required a good deal of science that he hopes will be appreciated by Tyson, who once proclaimed his love for German weissbier, Belgian beer, local beer, and Blue Moon in a video for National Geographic:

Leaving nothing to chance, Asheville Brewing basically tried to fuse all of those styles he lists off together: They concocted an American-style Belgian wit brewed with German wheat and Belgian yeast. They also dry-hopped it with Galaxy hops, because, since such a type of hops exists, how could they not?



Rangel says its a beer meant to celebrate science and to honor one of sciences rock stars. Bier LemonGrass Tyson is available on draft and in a very limited number of 22-ounce bottles starting June 13, not coincidentally the same day that Tysons in town for his An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies talk, where he calmly spells out the scientific inaccuracies found in films like Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind for two and a half hours.
Rest in peas. Photo: Pirate Joes/Facebook

Pour one out for Vancouvers supplies of Speculoos Cookie Butter. The five-plus-year reign of Pirate Joes, Canadas rogue Trader Joes, has come to a sad, permanent end. Mike Hallatt started his unsanctioned resell shop in 2012, after moving to Vancouver from California. He couldnt believe his favorite grocery store didnt have any Canada locations, so he did the obvious thing: He went into the import-export business, and started hauling Trader Joes products across the border by the vanload. (The customs agents know who I am, he told Grub Street in 2014. They love the story. As long as I do the paperwork, theyre good.) He also tacked a buck or two onto the price of each product and made a nice profit.

Naturally, his illegitimate operation quickly came onto Trader Joes radar, and the company sued Hallatt for trademark infringement and unfair competition, among several other things. The company banned him outright from all stores, so Hallatt would don wigs, put on a pinstripe suit, or even dress in drag to sneak in and shop. He eventually started posting Craigslist ads for what he jokingly called day laborers  undercover shoppers who, for $25 an hour, would go buy up vast supplies of food, usually under the guise of it being for an event or party, so they didnt raise suspicions.



He scored a big legal win in 2013, when a federal appeals court ruled that because Hallatts alleged high supermarket crimes had occurred north of the border, Trader Joes couldnt prove any adverse effect on its U.S. business. The case got remanded to the lower court, and was scheduled for a new trial in November. Hallatt was trying to raise money for his defense, which he guessed would cost $250,000. As of this week, though, hed only cobbled together about $5,900 on Crowd Justice, an online fundraising platform. Trader Joes hasnt released a public statement, but the New York Times reports that the closure was a result of the two sides finally reaching a settlement.

Hallatt posted a thank-you note to Facebook supporters on Wednesday, with a picture of the storefront, whose sign was missing the P, so that it read, Irate Joes:


Uni with Cape Cod scallop and uni jus. Photo: Sophie Fabbri

New York may be, as New York critic Adam Platt argues, in the late stages of peak omakase. The latest major Japanese opening is Sushi Ishikawa, on the Upper East Side. The chef, Don Pham, has worked in the citys sushi scene for nearly two decades, paying his dues as the sushi chef at Morimoto, executive chef at (the now-shuttered) Geisha, and, most recently, as executive sushi chef at O Ya.

At Sushi Ishikawa, there will be just 23 seats, with 11 primo slots at the counter and the rest at tables. Two menus will be offered, with one at 12 courses for $85  considerably less than recently opened competitors, like Suzuki and Ichimura and another at 15 courses for $125. And Pham is going beyond raw fish  whats served will change consistently, but right now, you can expect the likes of black abalone with mushroom soup, hairy crab, and octopus with green-tea salt. Take a look:



Kengani, or hairy crab, with pen shell scallop. Photo: Sophie Fabbri

Isaki, or Japanese grunt, with smoked salt and bonito flakes. Photo: Sophie Fabbri

Nama tako, or live octopus, with green-tea salt. Photo: Sophie Fabbri

Kuro awabi, or black abalone, with mushroom soup. Photo: Sophie Fabbri

Sushi time. Photo: Sophie Fabbri

Sushi Ishikawa, 419 E. 74th St., nr. 1st Ave.; 212-651-7292
Back in March Google released the first Android O Developer Preview (AODP). Then last month during the Google IO developer conference, AODP2 got out - and this was the first preview build to also be available through the Android Beta program. Today AODP3 has been released.

This comes with the final O APIs, so third party developers can pretty much start working on finalizing their apps for the next iteration of Android. Hundreds of bug fixes and optimizations are included in the latest AODP too. Like previous releases, it can be installed only on the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel C, LG Nexus 5X, Huawei Nexus 6P, and Asus Nexus Player.

If you have a device enrolled in the Android Beta program you'll get an update to the new build soon. Otherwise, if you have a supported device you can jump straight to AODP3 by enrolling it at this website. You can also flash a factory image with the new software, or sideload an OTA zip if you can't wait for the update notification.

A final AODP will be coming in July, ahead of the rumored August release of the finalized Android O build for the aforementioned devices. With AODP3, Google has confirmed that Android O is Android 8.0.0, and not 7.2 or 7.5. The proof is in the image you can see above, displaying the About section of Settings on a handset with AODP3 installed.

Source | Via 1 | Via 2
For those in India who are waiting for the HTC U11 smartphone to arrive in the country, here's some good news: the device is now listed on the Taiwanese company's official India website, suggesting an imminent launch.

The listing reveals both 4GB/64GB and 6GB/128GB memory configurations, confirming LlabTooFeR's recent claim that the 6GB version will be available in India.

Sadly, there is currently no information on exactly when the device will be launched in the Asian country, and what price tag it will carry. But given the development (availability of official listing), at-least the launch-related information should be out sooner than later.

Meanwhile, you can read our hands-on of the device here.

Source | Via
LG is looking to expand its G6 smartphone lineup, a rumor from its home country of South Korea told us at the beginning of this month. Today a new report also originating there is letting us know exactly when this will happen. Starting on June 27, the G6 we already know won't be the only G6 in the company's portfolio. On that day it is to be joined by the G6 Pro and the G6 Plus, both handsets that will go on sale in Korea first.

The G6 Plus is said to ship with 128GB of built-in storage, as well as wireless charging support (which is present in the G6 but only for the US market). On the other hand, the G6 Pro will come with 32GB of storage (half of what the vanilla G6 has in Korea), which makes it unclear what the reason for the "Pro" branding might be.

Both the Pro and the Plus are going to be available in a new Optical Astro Black color version, which will show different black hues depending on the angle at which light hits it. This definitely doesn't sound like something new for the mobile world, but it is new for LG.

The company expects the release of these two new handsets to contribute to the success of LG Pay, its mobile payment system that recently got launched in South Korea. The G6 Plus is said to cost KRW 999,800 ($890 or 793 at the current exchange rates), while the G6 Pro will retail for KRW 799,800 ($712 or 634). The G6 that's already out is priced at KRW 899,800 ($801 or 714). It's unclear if the G6 Plus and G6 Pro will ever be sold elsewhere.

Source (in Korean) | Via
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The Galaxy C10 is expected to be launched in Q3 2017 and become the first Samsung smartphone with dual camera. Better yet, we got to learn its specs and pricing ahead of the actual announcement.





Asia Business Daily reports that Samsung China is already testing the Galaxy C10. It will be powered by Snapdragon 660 chipset and will be coupled with 6 GB RAM. Sources say that if there are not enough Qualcomm chipsets on time, the SoC might be Samsungs in-house Exynos 7872 with six CPU cores.

Some rumors say the Galaxy C10 dual camera might be wide-angle + telephoto lens, although that's yet to be confirmed.

The display of the device will be 6 with Full HD resolution. The storage options are two - 64 GB or 128 GB. Galaxy C10 will have a 4,000 mAh non-removable battery. The phone could also arrive with Bixby button, according to latest leaks and renders.

The starting price of the 64 GB version will be CNY3,499 or about $515.

Source 1 (in Korean)  Source 2 (in Chinese)
Almost one month ago Sony's Xperia L1 became available in the US in unlocked form, priced at $199.99. And today it's finally time for it to go on sale across the pond too. As expected, it's landed in the UK, where you can purchase one straight from Sony's online store for 169.

But that's not all. The budget device is also available in Ireland, as well as continental Europe - in places such as Germany and France, for example. Basically if you have an official Sony online store in your EU country, you should see the Xperia L1 listed already. The phone is priced at 199 in Eurozone countries, unlocked and SIM-free of course.

The Xperia L1 boasts a 5.5-inch 720p display, a 13 MP main camera, a 5 MP selfie shooter, the MediaTek MT6737T chipset (with a 1.45 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU), 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage, and a 2,620 mAh battery. It runs Android 7.0 Nougat.

Via
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Haiti - USA : List of Fulbright Haitian Scholars 2017-2019





The Public Affairs Office would like to wish farewell to 6 selected 2017-2019 Fulbright candidates as they depart Haiti to complete their master's degrees at various universities in the United States. The Fulbright Program is the keystone exchange program of the U.S. Government and reflects U.S. commitment to educational excellence and cultural exchange. The Program selects academically-gifted students from around the world to pursue master's degrees at universities in the United States.



This group of Haitian scholars participated in a rigorous selection process in order to be chosen from more than 150 applicants this year. The process consisted of an interview, an English exam, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).



The Embassy of the United States congratulates them for their dedication, commitment, and hard-work during this arduous process. The Embassy wish them success and bon voyage as they get ready to experience this life changing experience.



Recall that Fulbright is more than a scholarship; It is a program that changes the lives and conceptions of participants. This scholarship brings them the best and helps them to succeed professionally and grow personally.



The Fulbright Scholars for 2017 are :



Ms. Bethanie Saint Louis

Master of Science in Public Policy

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo; Michigan



Ms. Bethanie Saint Louis graduated from Madonna University with a bachelor's degree in business management and leadership in 2015. In 2012 Ms. Saint Louis became a founding member and Coordinator of an association of professional volunteers "Youth Vision" which supports the academic and vocational training of children and young adults living in disadvantaged rural communities across the country. She is currently working as a Human Resources Officer at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)



Mr. Paul-Emile Brice

Master of Science in Urban Planing - Architecture

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta; Georgia



Mr. Paul-Emile Brice earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre Maestra (PUCMM) and has completed several courses in project management. His involvement in development project led him to collaborate in the planning of infrastructures and urban equipment in the area of Wharf Jeremie and Cite Soleil, to manage a social housing project for low income families, as well designing and building public spaces for marginalized communities. For the past two years, Mr. Brice for J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO.



Ms. Daphney Richemond

Master of Science in Environmental Engineering

Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington; Indiana



Ms. Daphney Richemond earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from ''Institut Superieur Technique d'Haiti'' (Kay Leconte), and completed a certificate in Water and Sanitation, and Sustainable Development. With over 6 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, she contributed to improve water and sanitation access for vulnerable communities in several regions of Haiti and ensured the sustainability of interventions by engaging actively the National Authorities.



Mr. Leon S. Jonathan Perodin

Master of Fine Arts - Arts Management

American University, Washington; D.C



Mr. Perodin obtained a degree in Finance from Universite Quisqueya (UniQ) and is currently working at the Banque de la Republique d'Haiti as a Financial Controller.



He is also is a professional violinist who teaches classical music to children. Mr. Perodin is a founding member of VIBRAYITI Chamber Orchestra, whose mission is to promote classical music in Haiti.



Ms. Anne Martine Augustin

Master of Science in Software Engineering

George Masson University, Fairfax; Virginia



Ms. Anne Martine Augustin studied electronic engineering at the Faculty of Science of The State University of Haiti. She worked as programmer analyst at Solutions S.A. and is now a Project Manager Assistant at Turbo System S.A. She is also co-founder and current General Coordinator of ACTIVEH, an organization that is promoting volunteer work and community service among university students while providing them practical experience to complete their theoretical knowledge.



Mr. Daniel Dupervil

Field of study: master in public health

Harvard University, Cambridge; Massachussets



Doctor Daniel Dupervil is a medical doctor with a specialty in pediatrics from the Latin American School of Medicine. He was a professor at the National school of medicine of Les Cayes, attending physician at Hopital Immaculee Conception of Les Cayes. He is presently an attending physician at the University hospital of Mirebalais.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Culture : 3rd edition of the Festival Rencontres des Musiques du monde





From Friday 16th to Saturday 24th June 2017, Tamise in collaboration with Caracoli presents the 3rd edition of the  Rencontres des musiques du monde  (Encounters of World Music) which brings together local artists but also from the Caribbean (St Lucia), Europe (Belgium, France), Africa (Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire) and the USA.



Workshops, meetings, screenings and concerts take place during 10 days in the different partner locations: FOKAL and Institut Francais in Haiti. This edition will also be the occasion to celebrate the 20 years of the cooperation agreement between the Governments of Wallonia Brussels and the Republic of Haiti.



Each year, the "Encounters of world music" follow each year a double concern: the promotion of current music related to traditional music and the reflection on the market of world music, especially Caribbean music. Thus, Tamise is committed to maintaining the Haitian culture by allowing them to interact with artists from elsewhere, sharing their history with respect for cultural diversity.



Festival concerts are given to FOKAL and the French Institute of Haiti.



All concerts are free. For concerts of the FOKAL, the entry is by invitation to be withdrawn prior to the reception



The Festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the International Organization of La Francophonie, the Embassy of Switzerland in Haiti, Wallonia-Brussels International, the French Embassy in Haiti, the Institut Francais a Paris, the General Delegation of the Alliances Francaises in Haiti, the European Union through the PEC and Air Caraibes.



Download the 2017 Program : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/mdm-2017.pdf



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politics : Visit of Moise to Petit-Goave





Thursday in preparation for the arrival of the Caravan of Change, President Moise, accompanied by the Minister of Public Works, Fritz Caillot, went in the commune of Petit-Goave, where he was greeted warmly by the Deputy Germain and the members of the Municipal Council.



On foot for several kilometers under a heavy sun, the Head of State visited, several vulnerable localities of Petit-Goave as well as various places on the River La Digue, the river of Provence, the river of Barettes and the river of Vialet that suffered extensive damage as a result of Hurricane Matthew, where he was able to see the extent of damage caused by rainwater and environmental degradation.



Before returning by helicopter, President Jovenel Moise promised that he would send the Minister of Agriculture and a team of technicians to Petit-Goave next week to assess the damage so that the work repair of the La Digue Bridge and irrigation dams of more than 1,000 hectares of land in Barettes could begin in one month, adding "I hope that in early July, the rehabilitation of the dams will allow the canals to water the plants. Beacuse where there is water, there is life."



HL/ HaitiLibre / Guyto Mathieu (Correspondant Petit-Goave)
























Haiti - News : Zapping...





Corrective Budget : Emergency benefit

Thursday the Minister of Economy and Finance, Jude Alix Patrick Salomon officially tabled the bill of amending finance to the Senate of the Republic, at the time of the deposit he pleaded for the benefit of the emergency, because the adoption of this law will enable the administration to redress the current situation in the country.



Beginning of the Hurricane Season

Efforts have been made to strengthen the Communal Committees of Civil Protection and of brigadiers, as well as to review and increase the capacities of the Communication System of the Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) through the joint technical project BRH/MICT, VIASAT, setting up an effective satellite communication network, linking the command structures to all communes, in order to better organize the response in this hurricane season.



France : Donation of 50 computers

The Information Systems Department of the Quai d'Orsay donated 50 computers to the Alliances francaises of Les Cayes, Jacmel and Jeremie. Carried free of charge by Air Caraibes, these computers were officially handed over by the Ambassador in the presence of the deputy head of the information systems of the Embassy who was completing a mission in the South.



Tour of Minister of Culture in the North

Limond Toussaint, the Minister of Culture, was on a tour of the North, where he visited, among others, the premises of the Departmental Department of the Ministry and also met with a number of officials from the Office of the National Heritage Preservation Institute (ISPAN) of the department.



Martine Moise and the National Children's Day

Thursday, First Lady Martine Moise, accompanied by ministers: Pierre Josue Agenor Cadet (Education) and Pierre Simon Georges (Environment) took part in a ceremony organized as a prelude to the official celebration of the National Day of the Child. This activity, which took place in the presence of the National Coordinator of the PNCS, Mrs. Phanese R. Laguerre, was an opportunity for students of the National Schools of Canada, Fortuna Guery and of Tabarre, to offer artistic performances in the honor of the various guests.



Visit to the Therapy Center HHH

A team from the Office of the Secretary of State for the Integration of People with Disabilities (BSEIPH) recently visited the Healing Hands for Haiti (HHH) Therapy Center in Bourdon. During the visit, the team met with administrative and medical staff. Recall that since 1999, HHH is dedicated to the rehabilitation and care of people with physical disabilities in the country. Among other things, the Center has a laboratory for the manufacture of orthotics and prostheses with modern equipment, of physiotherapy and physical therapy rooms. Note that HHH also facilitates the acquisition of materials adapted to its patients.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2017/06/08 | Source

The new tvN drama "Bride of the Water God 2017" is based on the bestselling novel "Bride of the Water God". Fans of the original can't wait to see it in drama.

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While "Bride of the Water God 2017" begins on the 3rd of July at 10:50PM, we compare the original novel to the spinoff of "Bride of the Water God 2017".

"Bride of the Water God 2017" is a comical fantasy romantic drama about a god of water named Ha Baek (Nam Joo-hyuk) and a realist female doctor named So-ah (Shin Se-kyung).

- What will the new "Bride of the Water God 2017" be like?

"Bride of the Water God 2017" focuses mainly the romance of Ha Baek the God of water and human So-ah.

"Bride of the Water God" was modernized for the fun of the viewers and was based in Seoul. God of water Ha Baek meets So-ah and falls in love.

- The formation of a new world!

"Bride of the Water God 2017" is going to appear in 3 structures. If "Bride of the Water God" happens in the underwater world, "Bride of the Water God 2017" happens in water, the heavens and land. Each structure has a god with responsibilities.

Ha Baek comes down to the human world to retrieve something that acknowledges the successor to the throne. Gods that live in the human world experience new and interesting experiences.

- Realistic characters are reborn

Characters have been newly created. Ha Baek in the original novel is in the form of a little boy who doesn't know anything and turns into a high spirited young man at night. "Bride of the Water God 2017" is more realistic than that.

Ha Baek is bad tempered but he's a God Fatale in the drama. So-ah is an unlucky psychiatrist who becomes a servant of the god. She's made her own fortune and constructs the probability of the story.

"Bride of the Water God 2017" claims to have increased the intensity of Ha Baek and So-ah's romance while creating three-dimensional characters to enhance engagement in the drama.
Published on 2017/06/09 | Source

Actress Lee Young-ae donated W56 million to help Sri Lankan flood victims, local media said Thursday (US$1=W1,123).

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The Korea Foundation for Persons with Disabilities delivered the money to the Ski Lankan Embassy in Seoul on Lee's behalf.

According to the charity, Lee was deeply saddened by the scale of the loss of life and property caused by the recent flooding in Ski Lanka, and wanted to help survivors, whose problems have been compounded by continued heavy rain.
Published on 2017/06/09 | Source

Added episode 3 captures for the Korean drama "Queen for 7 Days" (2017)

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Directed by Lee Jung-seob

Written by Choi Jin-yeong

Network : KBS

With Park Min-young, Yeon Woo-jin, Lee Dong-gun, Jang Hyun-sung, Kang Shin-il, Son Eun-seo,...

20 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:00

Synopsis

A period drama about Queen Dangyeong who was on the throne for 7 days before she was disposed.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/05/31

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Published on 2017/06/09 | Source

Added episodes 17 and 18 captures for the Korean drama "Suspicious Partner" (2017)

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Directed by Park Seon-ho-I

Written by Kwon Ki-yeong

Network : SBS

With Ji Chang-wook, Nam Ji-hyun, Choi Tae-joon, Kwon Nara, Lee Deok-hwa, Nam Gi-ae,...

Formerly known as "Watch out for this Woman" (  , i yeo-ja-leul jo-sim-ha-se-yo)

40 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:00

Synopsis

"Suspicious Partner" will be a romantic comedy in a judicial setting with a killer thrown into the mix. A Taekwondo practitioner turned judicial trainee turned murder suspect.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/05/10

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Gonzalo Pedrosa steps down as head of Sogevinus

By Andrew Catchpole

Gonzalo Pedrosa has stepped down as head of Port company Sogevinus in what has been described as a mutually agreed decision between the board and the former CEO.

Pedrosa, who spoke enthusiastically about his ambitions for the company in an interview published in the June issue of Harpers, is to be temporarily replaced by acting CEO Daniel Nomdedeu Rodal while a new incumbent is sought for the role.

A spokesperson for the company told Harpers: The board felt that Gonzalo had done excellent work restructuring the company but that his role had come to a natural end, and this was a mutually agreed decision between the board and Gonzalo Pedrosa.

They added: The board is looking for someone with more wine knowledge, staff have been informed and trading continues as planned.

Under Pedrosas direction this dynamic port company, which specialises in single vintage Colheita wines, doubled its global sales in 2016, with a 25% increase in the UK market, and plans to grow its UK presence by another 30% through 2017.
2017s Safest States in America

From Wallet Hub, June 6, 2017

With every new headline about a mass shooting, terrorist attack, hate crime or natural disaster, many of us fear for our safety and that of our loved ones. Safety is a fundamental human need. And we require some form of it, such as personal and financial protection, in every setting of daily life. But were likely to feel more secure in some states than in others.

In order to determine the safest states in America, WalletHubs analysts compared the 50 states across 37 key safety indicators grouped into five different categories. Their data set ranges from assaults per capita to unemployment rate to total loss amounts from climate disasters per capita. Read on ... LINK

HAWAII
The firm dispelled a persisting myth that more work hours lead to more productivity. It cited Japans case, which has consistently reduced working hours since the 70s but has also seen a rise in productivity. Similarly it said a miners strike in the UK during the 70s forced the country to a three-day work week, but experts saw production fall by just 6%.

Most studies indicate with significant fall-off in productivity after 8 hours of working, and the majority of productivity tends to occur between the 2nd and 6th hours of work. Office workers were found to be especially susceptible to deterioration in performance after 6 useful hours of work per day, compared with 8 hours for more manual jobs, said the firm.

OSC said greater control over workloads and schedules can boost well-being. It called on employers to encourage employees to work more hours when and where they will feel comfortable during the holy month.

Flexibility is key: team building exercises, meetings and brainstorming workshops can take place around Iftar and other social events, while less essential tasks can be done remotely from home. Breaking the monotony of routine helps formulate new ideas within an organisation and also build stronger bonds between employees.

The firm said Ramadan does not have to be an unproductive period for GCC businesses. Instead, business leaders can derive value from the holy month by focusing on improving well-being, increasing engagement and embracing flexibility within the organisation.
These rising prices are an important source of income for owners of residential real estate, tax revenue for local governments and an engine of economic growth for cities. Yet, these inflated prices have also become a brake for the economic and sustainable growth of many cities around the world.

Lack of affordable housing often hinders businesses since it is hard to attract employees if they cannot find a decent place to live. Key workers, such as teachers, nurses and emergency responders, are increasingly being priced out of a dwelling in the proximity of their work. Vulnerable people searching for work in cities are at risk of being excluded by soaring housing markets.

Columbia University professor Elliott Sclar once stated: Cities exist for one reason: they create easy access. He emphasised the need for transportation: I believe that housing is another such basic need.

Across the world, policies were developed to make housing affordable for lower and middle income groups. In Europe and the United States, policies were meant to help protect low income households from poverty through such initiatives as public housing, housing subsidies and rent regulation.

However, thats since changed.

Since the 1990s, financial or marketized thinking has hijacked the conversation on housing across most continents. Policies to support affordable housing were considerably reduced. Public housing was considered inefficient and privatization was emphasized. The right to buy: scheme in Britain is an early example where tenants of public rental dwellings were offered the right to buy their house at a sharply reduced price. The transition of former communist societies, such as China and the countries of Eastern Europe, often included large country-wide sales of public rental houses at reduced prices.

Government support for housing shifted from public provision and regulation toward income dependent housing subsidies that could be spent in the open market.

In the Netherlands, social housing models providing housing to low and middle-income families were considered false competition by the European Commission and were shrunk in size and scope. In countries such as Finland and Spain, rent regulation policies were considerably loosened in order to free up local rental markets and increase capital in-flows into the local economy. Top-down affordable housing policies were increasingly considered as a disturbance of residential real estate markets by international bodies, such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and national governments.

Deregulation of financial markets was a new way to make mortgages more accessible and affordable. Innovation in mortgage products, such as subprime loans and interest-only mortgages, enabled low-income households to buy a house in the United States and Europe. However, the 2008 global financial crisis demonstrated that innovations for low-income households, when coupled with laissez-faire housing markets, do not provide sustainable solutions for affordable housing.

As prices soar and it becomes harder to get a mortgage, it becomes more necessary, and at the same time more expensive, to provide housing subsidies. High pressure on government budgets therefore become topic of political debate!

Since the early 2000s, the idea of a big society is often brought up as an alternative solution to solving governance issues in Europe. Initially a libertarian idea, it has been embraced by progressive parties as a way to take power away from politicians and hand it to the citizenry. It includes less top-down government policies in solving problems and more institutional and informal room for citizens to find local, community-driven solutions to issues such as affordable housing.

When market and government solutions fail, people are forced to find their own solutions outside of the market. Solutions for affordable housing are emerging all over the world  including housing co-operatives occupying vacant dwellings in Spain, informal gecekondus communities in Turkey and small property housing in China. While such solutions are often considered illegal and undesirable in a strict market sense, in practice they are often accepted because, for many people, they provide the only roof over their head.

A second strand of solutions comes from innovations in technology and design  think micro or tiny housing. New technology for small and affordable zero-energy housing is a novel way to ensure that a home is more affordable by reducing energy costs. However, these solutions will require adjustment of building codes.

Thirdly, finding creative ways to use dwellings as a source of income is another way to make housing more affordable. People can create additional income by letting rooms in their homes to students and tourists, and this income can be considered as reduction of housing expenses. Airbnb is a typical and worldwide example; however, it became too successful and harms the liveability in particular tourist cities. Citizens complain about the unrelenting tide of tourists clogging their once-quiet neighbourhoods. Moreover, when investors buy dwellings with the implicit intention of renting them on Airbnb, it reduces the amount of available dwelling space for local residents.

Innovative housing solutions will require creativity from both people and companies, but even more so from our governments. It is the challenge to find a balance between removing regulations that hinder innovation and introducing regulations that address negative side-effects. Governments should be more responsive to change and accommodate localized, community-driven solutions to affordable housing by proper regulations and, if necessary, financial support. The basic right to housing must come before everything else.

Marja Elsinga is Professor of Housing Institutions and Governance at Delft University of Technology. She is an expert in comparative housing research and has years of experience in leading international and interdisciplinary teams. She also lectures on housing issues for the School for Architecture and the Built Environment in Delft University of Technology, as well as in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University in Shanghai.
The experiment will be carried out by means of a so-called social impact bond, a performance-based funding agreement where the return on investment is contingent on the achievement of pre-determined social outcomes.

The Ministry of Employment and the Economy is gearing up to launch an experiment aimed at finding employment for a total of 2,500 immigrants in Finland.

The financial risks associated with the experiment will thus be borne entirely by the investors, while the public sector will only pay for the measurable outcomes  in this case, whenever an immigrant finds employment, explains Jari Gustafsson, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.

A total of 13.5 million euros has already been invested in the social impact bond, making it the largest social impact bond in terms of invested capital in Europe. The European Investment Fund (EIF) alone has invested ten million euros in the experiment.

Related posts: Valmet Automotive hiring immigrants at Uusikaupunki plant (24 April, 2017)

The participating businesses include the S Group and Valmet Automotive, which has already recruited immigrants at its assembly plant in Uusikaupunki, Finland.

Tomi Salo, the director of human resources at Valmet Automotive, revealed that the automotive manufacturer has been delighted with the high level of motivation and commitment shown by its current immigrant employees.

I believe we will find more of them in the future, he states in a press release. The way we see it, we also have an important role in supporting the integration of immigrants by employing them.

The commitment of businesses to resolving societal challenges is the greatest element of [the experiment], Jyrki Katainen, the Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness at the European Commission, commented in a press conference held in Helsinki on 2 June, 2017.

The European Union, he estimated, will monitor the outcomes of the experiment closely, as many of the member states are faced with the exact same challenges as Finland.

The integration of immigrants is a major societal challenge. The countries that succeed the best in integrating immigrants will be the ones who succeed the best also in other respects. [Integration] is a way to promote competitiveness, innovation and other benefits arising from multi-cultural environments  and thus [a way to promote] economic growth and social cohesion, he said.

Gustafsson: More innovative instruments needed

The objective of the experiment is to facilitate and expedite the entry of immigrants to the labour markets by providing integration training, customised for the requirements of the job, at workplaces.

The unemployment rate for immigrants has for years been more than two times as high as that for the native-born population in Finland.

The businesses participating in the experiment are largely from sectors plagued by a labour shortage, such as the retail, service construction and manufacturing sectors. The experiment will initially be launched in Uusimaa and Varsinais-Suomi and, as considered necessary, expanded to other regions of Finland.

Gustafsson conceded that finding employment for 2,500 immigrants over a three-year period is an ambitious objective in light of the 13.5 million euro budget of the experiment.

He also reminded that the experiment will be launched under circumstances in which the government has introduced considerable cuts in public spending. The greater the cuts in public spending, he argued, the greater the demand for such innovative instruments will be in the future.

Our total integration expenditure in the field of education is currently some 150 million euros. This [social impact bond] alone represents ten per cent of the funding we wouldve had to take from the pockets of taxpayers had it not been for the project, says Gustafsson.

The Finnish government agreed to launch the social impact bond in its mid-term policy review session in April.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
DOZENS of people took part in a third public protest against the potential closure of Chiltern Edge School in Sonning Common.

The demonstration took place at the shopping precinct in Emmer Green on Saturday and many of the demonstrators held up placards reading Save Our Edge.

A banner which had been signed by hundreds of children in support of the 507-pupil school was unfurled.

The secondary school in Reades Lane was placed in special measures in April following an Ofsted inspection in which it was rated inadequate.

Oxfordshire County Council, the education authority, is now consulting on possible closure while the regional schools commissioner is trying to find an academy sponsor for the school, backed by Henley MP John Howell and Reading East MP Rob Wilson.

More than 2,500 people have signed a petition opposing closure.

Campaigner Dave Robinson, from Caversham Park, said: Following the excellent coverage in the Henley Standard, the momentum is really gathering.

Both MPs have repeatedly said they are against the closure and we have had positive meetings with Oxfordshire County Council and Reading Borough Council.

Mr Robinson, who retired from the school last year after 30 years as a history teacher, added: We are optimistic that there is a future for Chiltern Edge.

We are delighted that there is strong support from Sonning Common because the impact of closure would be disastrous.

Jo Lawson, a former pupil who lives in Sonning Common and works at the village pre-school, said: My son Jasper is in year 7 and my daughter Tilly is in year 11.

I have a lot of passion for the school and it needs time, we cant just get rid of it.

Its a strong part of the community and I dont want my children to go anywhere else.

My daughter has been very happy there and its more than just a school. Its part of the village and means something to everyone. For that to go would be criminal. Elspeth Denchfield, from Caversham, said her son Charlie was in year 8 and loved the school.

He has achieved more academically, which has been a big boost for his self-confidence, she said.

The teachers are amazing. I think it would be utterly ridiculous if it closes.

Julie Barnett, from Peppard Common, has a daughter, Isobel, in year 10 at Chiltern Edge, while her son Scott graduated last year.

She said: My son got a good education there and did well. We are very lucky to have a local school and I dont want it to close.

Mrs Barnett welcomed interim headteacher Moira Green who officially took over on Monday.

She said: We have faith in her and believe she can turn it around. Mr Robinson added: All the parents have been very impressed with the new headteacher who has a proven track record of turning schools around.

She has got plans to balance the budget and she will be issuing an action plan.

The campaign has always said that we believe, with strong leadership, Chiltern Edge has the capacity to improve.

Last week, Miss Green said the support for the school was overwhelmingly astonishing and that parents should be optimistic.

The consultation on the future of the school will run until June 30 with the decision on July 18. To respond, visit www.oxfordshire.

gov.uk/chilternedge

To donate to the campaign, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/

saveouredge
Our Man in Havana | Theatre Royal, Windsor | Wednesday, June 7

A GREAT spy story has an aura of tension and mystery, a smattering of comedy and most importantly, a team of invisible characters  so invisible they may not, in fact exist, their names borrowed from elsewhere.

In Graham Greenes farce, hard up vacuum-cleaner salesman Wormold has a young daughter, Milly, with expensive tastes to provide for. Local police chief Segura has half an eye on Milly, but could prove a useful comrade.

Wormold falls into the world of espionage and apparently easy money when he is recruited by Secret Intelligence Service agent Hawthorne and fabricates a list of spies in order to keep up appearances for the London office.

He sends blueprints of his inventions of giant, scaled-up spy machinery, not dissimilar to his vacuum cleaners, in an era of nations being concerned over the secret technology of their rivals.

However, when a real-life namesake is killed, things take a turn for the worse and he finds his life may be in danger, leading to musical chairs, plates and flasks at a trading convention.

Within the setting of a sultry, lively Havana, with colourful grand old hotels and fabulous Latin American music, the team at Creative Cow, who last year brought us Greenes Travels With My Aunt, again demonstrated their skill in spreading a multitude of roles among a cast of just four, in another picaresque tale.

There were flawless and swift segues from character to character, never missing a beat, and with comic outcomes  for example Milly jumping into character as Wormolds new secretary, Beatrice, leading to the comment You remind me a lot of my daughter.

With this strong framework, James Dinsmore was marvellous as Hawthorne, as Wormolds acquaintance Dr Hasselbacher, and as assorted bowler-hatted men, Latina ladies and more.

Michael Onslow brought out a highly credible gruff South American in Police Chief Segura, with a filthy laugh and a constant cigar.

There were some hilarious skits, with a quick transformation into a car using just some torches and a window frame, a food-tasting dog, and a man dressed as the Queen.

In a classic spy scene, Wormold persuaded Segura to play draughts with the added proviso that the pieces comprised miniature Scotch and Bourbon bottles, to be downed with each winning move, which we knew would not end well.

A nod to upwards promotion for the useless had me chuckling. With women, drink and guns, all with an underlying Cuban beat, this was hot stuff.

Until Saturday.

Natalie Aldred
No, it is not any "mental gymnastics" at all.



Indeed, the Green Climate Fund was essentially setup with an overall goal of financially assisting climate change-related mitigation and adaptation projects for undeveloped/underdeveloped countries.



So, instead of those undeveloped/underdeveloped countries having to pay the entire currently ongoing external costs and future external costs related to the use of fossil fuels by the developed nations, those developed nations would essentially be paying a portion of those inevitable bills, instead, thru that fund.



For example, the project I cited earlier relating to Vietnam essentially helps offset somewhat the costs that Vietnam inevitably has to pay regarding its adaptation and mitigation efforts towards climate change, of which happens to be related to rising sea level. Thus, in short, the use of fossil fuels by developed nations is the primary root cause why sea level is rising along the Vietnamese coast and the developed nation funding of that Green Climate Fund project helps to offset some of the bill that Vietnam inevitably has to pay regarding their adaptation and mitigation efforts related to that rising sea level. And, this scenario isn't much different than if I were to give my neighbor some money to help offset the clean up costs that my neighbor would have to pay if my garbage was to somehow end up in my neighbor's yard as a result of my negligence.
Homeless families will move into a 2m "hub" in Clontarf from next month, despite an outcry from residents.

The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive (DRHE) has said 13 families will be accommodated in a former B&B on St Lawrence Road.

However, the property - bought for almost 2m by the Housing Agency on the DRHE's behalf - has been labelled as "absolutely ridiculous" by a leading homelessness campaigner.

Two red-brick homes that formerly operated as a B&B are being converted into a hub for homeless families currently living in hotels. People with substance abuse problems will not be accommodated.

Unsuitable

The DRHE said the use of commercial hotels was "unsuitable", and the new hubs would provide play spaces, cooking and laundry facilities and communal recreation spaces.

Sixty families present as homeless every month, and the cost of the property was "weighted against the cost of commercial hotels for homeless families which was 40m in 2016", a spokeswoman said.

Anthony Flynn, of Inner City Helping Homeless, expressed his disappointment at the amount spent on the properties, saying it would have been better spent on apartments.

"The price they purchased the two properties for is absolutely ridiculous," he said.

"The money could have been reinvested into purchasing apartments and could have housed a lot more families.

"There is no long-term prospect in it. A lot of these families are going to be left in these units for a long time, even though they're told they're not going to be.

"Families are looking for long-term homes, homes for life."

Local residents have complained that they were not consulted about the project, but insisted they were not opposed to housing homeless families.

They said the property was unsuitable and individual apartments in the area should have been bought instead.

The Clontarf Residents' Asso- ciation said six apartments were currently for sale in the area which would cost 1.52m.

The DHRE, which is part of Dublin City Council, said it was committed to developing community relations with local residents.

The Housing Agency said the property was good value, and as it operated as a B&B there was no requirement to seek new planning permission.
Dublin City Council has issued a public safety warning over rickshaw drivers currently operating in the city centre.

In a public notice, the local authority said it wished "to advise members of the public, for their own safety and the safety of others, that rickshaw drivers operating in Dublin City are not regulated by Dublin City Council".

The council added that some rickshaw operators "appear not to have public liability insurance".

Earlier this year chief executive Owen Keegan admitted it was not possible to regulate rickshaws as new legislation did not cover vehicles with motors.

Regulations

Mr Keegan said that during the legislative process for the Road Traffic Act 2016, a new section was inserted into the Taxi Regulation Act 2013 which let the National Transport Authority (NTA) make regulations.

While this has not yet been implemented, it would not work for the majority of rickshaws because most have an electric motor.

He said legal advice given to the NTA means it is unlikely the regulations will hold up in court without the type of vehicle being specified.

Fianna Fail councillor Daithi de Roiste said that rickshaws are "ruining the city" and that regulation is urgently needed.

"They are a disgrace and the way things are they are ruining the city. There is currently no way of controlling these vehicles.

"Legislation needs to be brought in where people are registered and insured to operate them, because at the moment most rickshaw drivers are a law unto themselves," Mr de Roiste said.

"It's not good enough that they are operating freely and predominately serving people who are under the influence of alcohol on busy streets at night," he added.
A young girl leaves a message of support on the base of the obelisk on London Bridge, after an unknown 21 year-old man left a box of tape, sticky notes and marker pens with an invite to write a message, following the terror attack in which eight people died. Photo: Nick Ansell/PA Wire

The British and US embassies would be the likely targets of any Islamist terror attack in Dublin, a respected British security expert has said.

Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute, said it was symbols of the United States and the UK that would be targeted here if such an attack were to take place.

However, he said that while terrorist incidents were "inherently unpredictable", he would be very surprised if there was an incident in Ireland similar to the atrocities in London and Manchester.

"That's because the nature of the threat you have is not that substantial," he said.

Radicalised

"The numbers of people you've had going off to fight, the numbers of radicalised people - they're just nowhere near the volumes you're talking about.

"Now, within that could you get someone who's alone inspired to attack? Yes, you could.

"It would have to be a random individual because you couldn't see groups deciding to make an active choice of targeting Ireland.

"You have to conceptualise in a different way - maybe they could strike something in Ireland that's symbolic of the UK, or symbolic of the United States."

Mr Pantucci pointed to an embassy as such a target.

"You're striking the 'evil foreigner', but you can't get into the UK so you strike them somewhere else," he said.

However, he added that it was more likely that someone would travel from Ireland to mainland Britain to carry out an attack because it would have more impact.

When asked by the Herald if security had been increased in the wake of the Manchester and London Bridge attacks, neither the British nor US embassy would comment.

"We always review our security, but we can't discuss that," a spokesperson for the British embassy told the Herald.

"As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on security matters," a US embassy spokesperson said.

Both embassies are within 1km of each other in Ballsbridge.

A garda spokesman declined to specify if the number of officers has been increased in the area in the wake of the UK attacks.

"The threat level in this jur- isdiction remains unchanged where an attack is possible but not likely," he said.

He added that the situation was always under review.

Mr Pantucci, who wrote the book We Love Death As You Love Life: Britain's Suburban Terrorists, also said it was "disgraceful" that the impact of Brexit on the border was not being discussed seriously.

"No one is talking about it sensibly. No one has offered a solution to this because the economic damage if you have a hard border would be very high, but on the flip side the fact is you're leaving an open border," he said.

Disaster

"There is no serious engagement with the issue and then the impact it could have on the peace deal, on the Good Friday Agreement and everything else."

He predicted that if a soft border remained, at some point it would be used to attack the UK.

"It will become a major issue, because someone will get through and there will be a disaster crisis response," he said.
A judge has struck down a number of motions to dismiss a $1.4 billion class-action lawsuit against the Oregon Department of Forestry, a move that could clear the way for the case to go to trial next summer.

The June 7 ruling from Linn County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Murphy came in response to arguments raised at an April 20 hearing in the lawsuit.

The suit argues that changes in management practices on state forest trust lands have resulted in declining timber harvests, and a drop in payments to government entities in the counties that include the lands. The suit was filed by the Linn County Board of Commissioners but now also includes about 140 other members in the class as plaintiffs.

We moved against 12 of their defenses and we prevailed on all 12, said John DiLorenzo, who represents the plaintiffs in the class action, which was originally brought by the Linn County Board of Commissioners. That means those defenses are no longer available to the state at trial."

Dilorenzo said Murphys latest ruling makes it appear, This case is destined for trial next summer. Im looking forward to vindicating the interests of rural Oregon.

DiLorenzo said that Murphys previous ruling that the statue of limitations does not apply was critical.

Otherwise, we could only seek damages back six years, he said. Now, we can go back to when dirt was formed.

The state did not respond to requests for comment.

In the suit, Linn County and other taxing districts assert that the Oregon Department of Forestry has breached a decades-old contract to manage some 700,000 acres of state forest lands for the greatest permanent value.

About 21,000 acres of those lands are in Linn County and are known as the Santiam State Forest.

Class members assert that the phrase "greatest permanent value" should have been interpreted to maximize timber harvests. The lawsuit charges that for at least 17 years the Oregon Department of Forestry has increasingly managed those lands by giving other values, such as recreation or fisheries, greater value and therefore did not provide the counties and other taxing districts with an additional $35 million per year.

Among Murphys latest rulings:

 Although the Oregon Department of Forestry has the authority to make and change rules regarding timber harvesting and management, that does not constitute a defense to the consequential breach of contract assertion that allegedly flowed from those rules.

 That even though the taxing districts involved in the class action lawsuit have been receiving payments for years without filing a lawsuit, they still have the right to seek remedies for nonperformance by the state.

 That although the state was working within federal Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act regulations, the class action participants still have the right to allege breach of contract and that the amount of damages can be calculated.

There was discussion about the difficulty in proving future damages in this case in defendants memorandum, Murphy wrote in a letter to legal counsel. The court agrees that this could be a problem for the plaintiff but it is a question of proof, not of law.

He added, Future damages, as plead, assumes that the defendants conduct does not change in the future, that they will continue with the same timber policies as well as in the recent past and that there will not be any other change of circumstances that could affect damage (e.g., forest fire, tree disease, etc.)."

Roger Nyquist, chairman of the Linn County Board of Commissioners said of the judge's decisions, "This is a welcome step toward resolution of the state's breach of contract with the counties and other taxing districts."

Attorneys for the state did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

A status conference in the case will be held on Sept. 14.

The parties are in the discovery phase and are scheduling depositions. Although a court date has not been scheduled, parties anticipate the projected three-week trial will occur in late summer or fall 2018.
With a title like "Captain Underpants," you expect kid-friendly fart jokes and toilet humor. What you may not expect is a sweet story that touches on adult loneliness, the importance of arts education and how laughter and friendship are life essentials at any age.

Based on the popular children's book series, "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie " condenses four volumes into one brisk and colorful tale, but no prior knowledge of the books or characters is necessary. Honestly, you don't even need to bring a kid with you to have fun watching this film.

The story centers on fourth graders Harold and George, who are best friends and the most popular pranksters at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School. When they aren't playing tricks or being admonished by mean-spirited Principal Krupp, they're hanging out in George's treehouse writing comic books.

That's where they come up with their signature superhero, the dimwitted but joyous Captain Underpants.

Imagining kooky adventures for their caped character keeps the boys creating comics and laughing for hours  sometimes in class, which draws ire from the already-angry Principal Krupp. He's determined to catch Harold and George misbehaving, and threatens to put them in separate classrooms when he does.

In a desperate attempt to avoid punishment, the boys hypnotize Krupp and convince him he's actually the valiant Captain Underpants.

Ed Helms voices both Krupp and the Captain, the latter with soaring optimism. Kevin Hart dials down his usual outrageousness to play George, and Thomas Middleditch of TV's "Silicon Valley" voices Harold.

The villain here is the mysterious new science teacher, Professor P (Nick Kroll), who wants to eradicate all laughter from the school, and eventually the planet. When the students find out the "P'' stands for Poopypants, they can't stop laughing, and the professor is furious.

An ensuing showdown between Poopypants, Underpants, Krupp and the kids involves an army of angry, robotic toilets, because of course it does. The "Captain Underpants" books are aimed at 8 to 10-year-olds.

"Captain Underpants" connects with its key demographic through fart sounds, rogue toilets and funny names delivered in bright, saturated colors. But like the best children's movies, it offers enough substance for ticket-buying parents, too.

Krupp, for example, lives on Curmudgeon Boulevard and keeps a sign on his school desk that reads "Hope dies here." When Harold and George fear he'll report their misdeeds to their parents, Krupp demurs, saying, "Your parents are obviously total failures."

Meanwhile, Professor P is looking for a humorless mindset he can duplicate throughout the school. When he finds it in class kiss-up, Marvin (Jordan Peele), the professor says, "You have no sense of humor, like a chair or a supermodel."

Director David Soren captures the simple drawing style of Dav Pilkey's books but keeps the animation inventive with unexpected flourishes, including a sequence told through live-action sock puppets and another with flip-book animation "made" by George and Harold.

Creative parents' hearts are sure to be warmed when the school arts program is reinstated, and anyone who's ever been a kid can appreciate the fourth graders' mission to "make school fun again."

With its clever approach and volumes of source material, not to mention an ending (and title) that set up a possible sequel, Captain Underpants could be back, and he'd be welcome, farts and all.

"Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie," a Twentieth Century Fox release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for "mild rude humor throughout." Running time: 89 minutes. Three stars out of four.

MPAA Definition of PG: Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn.  Northeast State Community College President Janice Gilliam announced her retirement Thursday, effective June 30.

The announcement comes amid an investigation of the college and Gilliam by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The probe was the boards response to a no-confidence vote in Gilliam and concerns voiced by Northeast States faculty members earlier this year.

Rick Locker, spokesman for TBR Chancellor Flora Tydings, said hes not sure how the boards investigation will be affected by Gilliams retirement.

Gilliam announced her retirement in a letter dated Thursday. It was sent to Tydings, Gov. Bill Haslam, other TBR officials and Northeast States board members.

I have reflected and analyzed on many occasions these last few months and as objectively as possible, on the best solutions for the situation at Northeast State, the letter states. The decision to announce my retirement ... seems to be in the best interest for the college in moving forward. This has been a very difficult decision given the good things going on in Tennessee and at NeState.

Gilliam could not be reached Thursday for comment.

Gilliam will receive her state retirement benefits and will be compensated for any annual leave she has accumulated, according to Locker. She will receive her monthly salary of more than $14,000 for three months beginning in July. Gilliam makes $168,305 a year, according to her contract.

Northeast States faculty voted no confidence in Gilliams leadership by a large margin, 98-16 with one abstention on Feb. 2. The college has 127 full-time faculty members, and 115 of them cast ballots. The colleges faculty Senate called for the vote on Jan. 30.

The resolution calling for the vote cited unrealistic expansion projections, enrollment issues and loss of key staff during Gilliams tenure.

On Feb. 9-10, a team of six TBR officials visited the campus to gather information. The team recommended three interim actions in the areas of financial management, academic management and shared governance on Feb. 21.

In April, the faculty Senate sent a letter to Tydings asking that Gilliam be placed on paid administrative leave pending TBRs ongoing investigation. Tydings responded that the faculty Senate doesnt dictate the terms of the investigation and that TBR is following the appropriate policies and procedures.

In a written statement, the faculty Senate said it learned of Gilliams retirement in an email Thursday. We wish her well, it states.

Tydings approved Gilliams retirement on Thursday and thanked her for her service to students.

She has led Northeast through its 50th anniversary celebration and its development into a comprehensive community college serving the entire Northeast Tennessee region, she said in a written statement. She also led the college through its successful five-year continuation of its accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Most of all, she is passionate about the success of her students.

Tydings plans to appoint TBR Executive Vice Chancellor James King to serve as interim president of Northeast State until a national search for a permanent successor can be conducted, according to a TBR news release. King has worked in the TBR system since 1983 and served as TBR vice chancellor for the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology from 1999 until June 1, when Tydings elevated him to executive vice chancellor.

Gilliam has served as Northeast States president since August 2009. Her career in higher education spans nearly 37 years. She is one of the longest-serving current presidents in Tennessees community college system, according to TBR.

TBR will approve the search criteria and qualifications for the next president and appoint a search advisory committee made up of the colleges faculty, staff, administration, students, alumni and the community.

During Gilliams tenure, according to TBR, Northeast State had a 70 percent increase in graduates, several new associate degree programs of study were launched, dual enrollment opportunities were expanded to all 16 of the high schools within the colleges service area, and a career academy was launched in 2015 for high school students in career technical education programs.

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BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn.  Northeast State Community College President Janice Gilliam has announced her retirement effective June 30.

The college president's announcement comes during an investigation of the college and Gilliam by the Tennessee Board of Regents. Northeast States faculty members voted no confidence in Gilliams leadership by a large margin, 98-16 with one abstention on Feb. 2.

Gilliam announced her retirement in a letter obtained by the Bristol Herald Courier. It was sent to Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora Tydings, Gov. Bill Haslam, and other TBR officials today.

"I have reflected and analyzed on many occasions these last few months and as objectively as possible, on the best solutions for the situation at Northeast State," said Gilliam, in the letter. "The decision to announce my retirement ... seems to be in the best interest for the college in moving forward. This has been a very difficult decision given the good things going on in Tennessee and at NeState."

Return to heraldcourier.com and read Friday's edition of the Bristol Herald Courier for more.
The State of Tennessee's handgun reciprocity with Virginia is a bad joke, a lie, a lesson in governmental doublespeak, whatever you can think of to label it.

Last year, I decided to get my conceal carry permit. Being a resident of Tennessee and having sat through a handgun carry class several years ago, the state required me to go through yet another class, like I had somehow forgotten what I had supposedly learned at the first one. If that were the case, should not permit holders be required to take classes every so often because they "forgot"? Something about that stinks to high heaven.

Virginia did not require me to take that class over and because I was a veteran, I was allowed to apply for a nonresident concealed carry license, or CCL. Since Tennessee recognized Virginia handgun permits, this should be perfectly legal, right?

As it turns out, Tennessee penalizes its citizens. If you live here, a nonresident permit from any state is legal anywhere but Tennessee. Carrying here is illegal; you must have a Tennessee CCL. I am asking this state's politicians WHY? Greed! There seems to be no other answer, just greed. Virginia's requirements are just as stringent. My health makes it impossible to sit through another class and besides, I refuse. I would love to hear responses from Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, Sen. Timothy Hill, R-Blountville, and any state representative as to why reciprocity is a lie and is bound to cause many people like myself a legal nightmare.
NEW YORK (JTA)-When Michael Twitty dressed in the outfit that slaves wore in the American South-wool stockings, waistcoat and kerchief tied around his neck-to cook meat in an open-hearth oven on a historic Virginia plantation, more than one memory of slavery flashed through his mind.

One memory, of his African-American ancestors in the South, seems obvious The other, of Jews enslaved thousands of years ago in Egypt, perhaps less so.

Cooking on the Virginia plantation as part of his research into black and Southern foodways, the African-American Jew by choice thought of the Passover injunction that each Jew remember the Exodus from Egypt as if he or she had been there. And passing by a colonial-style house near the historic plantation brought to mind both slavery and Nazi concentration camps.

In 2012, Twitty embarked on a "Southern Discomfort Tour" to trace the history of his black ancestors through food. On the journey, which he documents in his forthcoming book, "The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African-American Culinary History in the Old South," he also saw parallels to Jewish history.

The book, which is set for publication in August, explores the history of soul food and its relationship to the larger category of Southern cuisine. It also documents Twitty's personal journey as he learns about his ancestors' fates, works on historic plantations and takes DNA tests to learn more about his heritage.

The 40-year-old former Hebrew school teacher, food writer and creator of the food blog Afroculinaria also writes about his Jewish journey in the book, and it turns out that-no surprise here!-food plays a big role.

"How I became Jewish began through food," Twitty told JTA during an interview in the lobby of a trendy New York hotel. His Christian mother, whom Twitty describes in his book as "the best challah braider I have ever known," introduced him to the Shabbat staple early on. At the age of 7, Twitty, who grew up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., declared himself to be Jewish.

"[T]here are some things that science cannot explain, it's a calling, it's a connection, it's above us," Twitty said of his childhood interest in Judaism.

Food continued to inform his Jewish journey, which culminated in his conversion at 25. He chose a Sephardi Mizrahi synagogue because he found it the most welcoming as a person of color-and because of its culinary traditions.

"[T]he food was better-and [you can eat] rice on Pesach," he said, referring to the Sephardi custom of eating rice and other legumes from which Ashkenazic Jews abstain during Passover.

Asked to describe himself, Twitty invents a new word: "Afro-ashke-phardi."

"I feel African-American brings in the Southern, brings in the mixture of heritage that is African-American and African diaspora," he said. "I feel like the Ashkenazi, I really do appeal to Hasidic culture, dabbled with it before in my life. And Sephardic and Mizrahi heritage will always be a part of me because it's where I converted, in a Sephardic and Mizrahi synagogue."

The kitchen also served as a place for Twitty to discover another identity: as a gay man.

"There was a lot of gay culture in our kitchen," Twitty writes, citing the show tunes that family members would play while cooking. The kitchen was also the place where he first came out to his mother and aunt.

Twitty's background is reflected in his unique takes on traditional Jewish food. A Shabbat dinner at his house might include such dishes as "kosher soul-rolls"-spring rolls stuffed with collared greens and pastrami-and Senegalese chicken soup featuring matzah balls and peanut butter.

The food writer keeps a kosher kitchen, but that doesn't stop him from cooking soul food dishes featuring pork or catfish on the outside. He relies on tasters to ensure the food is delicious, so he doesn't have to eat the non-kosher ingredients.

That workaround is symbolic of Twitty's larger approach to his different identities. Instead of pitting them against each other or prioritizing one over another, Twitty embraces the nuances that come along with belonging to different communities.

"It's not a hierarchy, it's a circle, and in that circle are all these different elements that work together like a chain, and if one of them is broken, there is no circle, it's incomplete," he said.

After "The Cooking Gene" is published this summer, Twitty hopes to do a similar project about his Jewish identity, which he said will "probably" amount to a second book.

"I'm even more convinced now that in addition to going to Medinat Yisrael, people need to go to Europe," he said, referring to the State of Israel in Hebrew.

"[O]ne of the things that got me [is] all those gravestones that were turned upside down, all those shtetls that used to exist. You've got to see it with your own eyes because you've got to know and understand and feel it in your gut: This is where the debt was paid so I could exist."
TEL AVIV (JTA)-Middle East peace may remain out of reach, but at least the Hebrew and Arabic languages have found a compromise.

Israeli typography designer Liron Lavi Turkenich has created a stylized writing system that merges the two ancient alphabets, allowing Hebrew and Arabic speakers to read the same words. Her hope is that Aravrit will promote coexistence in Israel and beyond.

"I believe Aravrit sends a message that we're both here, and we might as well acknowledge each other," Turkenich told JTA. "That applies to Jews and Arab Israelis, but also to Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Arab world."

Israelis have been receptive. Over 1 million people have watched a Hebrew-language video introducing Aravrit since it was posted last week on Facebook by Kan, Israel's new broadcasting authority. Dozens left positive comments. A version of the video with English subtitles was released Monday.

"I think maybe this explains the crazy success of the Hebrew video: We can do something caring for the other side just by reading, without having a solution," Turkenich said.

Turkenich, 32, was inspired to create Aravrit by the road signs in Haifa, the mixed Jewish and Arab city where she was born and has lived most of her life. Although many of the signs feature Arabic-along with Hebrew and English-she realized that she had always ignored the lettering. Arabic tends to appear smaller on official signage and, like most Israeli Jews, she cannot read it.

For her final undergraduate project, Turkenich set out to combine Hebrew and Arabic lettering in a way that would allow them to "live together," as she put it She started by revisiting the work of French ophthalmologist Louis Emile Javal, who in the late 19th century found that people can read pretty well using only the top half of Latin letters. With some experimenting, Turkenich discovered that the same is true of Arabic-and by happy coincidence, the opposite holds for Hebrew.

"In Hebrew, most of the identifying characteristics of letters' forms are near the bottom part," she said. "When I went to check Arabic, I crossed my fingers that they would be on the top half-and they were!"

Based on this insight, Turkenich combined each of the 22 letters in Hebrew with each of the 29 in Arabic to create an Aravrit alphabet with 638 characters. Vowels are used as needed for legibility-below the Hebrew letters and above the Arabic ones, per the languages' respective rules. Turkenich tested the Hebrew elements on herself and her friends. For advice on the Arabic, she turned to Arab-Israeli commuters on her daily train ride from Haifa to Tel Aviv.

"Whenever I heard someone speaking Arabic, I would ask them if they had time to answer a few questions. They always said yes," she recalled, noting that she now has Arab friends who help.

Since graduating in 2012 from Shenkar, a college of engineering, design and art in Ramat Gan, Turkenich has further developed Aravit into a writing system. She has incorporated alternative forms of letters in both languages - some Hebrew letters take on a different form at the end of words-and connected the Arabic elements in traditional cursive style. The changes have given her the flexibility to craft each word in a unique way, and she is working on writing down the rules.

Turkenich said she gets lots of requests to write Aravrit, including recently from the head of a small mostly Jewish city in Israel that she declined to name. She also teaches and gives lectures about her work in Israel and around the world. Last year, Aravrit was exhibited at The Museum of Islamic and Near Eastern Cultures in Beersheba.

Language of course can be a political issue in the Jewish state. Hebrew and Arabic both have sacred roots, and are central to the identities at stake in the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Earlier this month, Israeli ministers backed a bill that would constitutionally enshrine the country's Jewish status and make Hebrew the only official language, demoting Arabic from that status-and, critics say, further marginalizing the 20 percent of Israelis who are Arab.

But Turkenich said her goal is to build on the languages, not subvert them. In Aravrit-itself a hybrid of the Hebrew words for Arabic and Hebrew-sentences follow the grammar rules of Arabic on top and Hebrew on the bottom, she noted, and the lettering retains the most prominent features of each script. A word like "peace," for example, would read as "salaam" on top and "shalom" on bottom.

"Both Hebrew and Arabic have incredible histories. We should not erase them," she said. "It's the same as the political situation: We can't start from scratch."

Arabs are not the only Israeli minority group Turkenich is interested in. While earning a master's degree in typeface design from England's University of Reading in 2015, she developed a typeface called Makeda, the name Ethiopians use for the Queen of Sheba, which works for Amharic, Hebrew and Latin letters. She hopes it will be used for Israeli government and legal documents relevant to the country's 135,000 Ethiopian Jews.

"Makeda is a little less idealistic than Aravrit," Turkenich said, laughing. "That was me growing up."
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," wrote philosopher George Santayana in 1905. Today, Western civilization's impaired memory is only part of a bigger problem.

From the United Nations to university campuses, when history conflicts with progressives' agenda, they simply change the past. Disparate leftist forces, banded together by "intersectionality," stake their legitimacy on a history they've revised to suit their purposes.

No past is more under siege than the history of the Jewish people and their connection to the land of Israel. While countless books have been written on Judaism's connection to the Holy Land, author David Brog's recent release, "Reclaiming Israel's History: Roots, Rights, and the Struggle for Peace," may be the most important book on the subject written in a post-9/11 world.

Full disclosure: I have interviewed Mr. Brog numerous times in his capacities as founding director of Christians United for Israel (CUFI) and executive director of the Maccabee Task Force. I have always found his no-holds-barred perspective refreshingly honest. It's that same approach to his writing that makes this book so gripping.

Beginning with the first chapter, "The Jewish Claim," Brog captures the reader's interest by dispelling a widely accepted myth. He addresses the 70 A.D. rebellion against Rome and how the Jewish revolt resulted in the death, enslavement and exile of hundreds of thousands of Jews, thus beginning "an exile of the Jewish people from their ancestral homeland that would last almost 2,000 years."

Noting "a certain romance to this story," Brog piques the reader's interest by adding, "There's just one problem: it isn't true." He goes on to clarify that the Romans did massacre, enslave and exiled hundreds of thousands of Jews, yet "even after the Romans had done their worst, millions of Jews remained in their land. These Jews would continue to cling to their native soil-and constitute a majority in it-for many centuries to come. There was no 2,000-year separation."

Documenting the Jewish people's historical connection to the land of Israel, Brog takes the reader through the Bar Kokhba revolt, Byzantine rule, Persian conquest, Muslim persecution and so on. The point is that Jews have been the majority population in Israel for the greater part of the past 2,000, and even during the limited time when Jews were a minority in the Holy Land, they always had a significant presence.

Much of the argument against the state of Israel's existence and the Jewish connection to the land is based on the fallacy that Jews had little presence there until the advent of mass immigration from Europe a century ago. Too many academics and anti-Semites want the world to believe that. They claim the Jews stole the land-a lie exposed and refuted early on in "Reclaiming Israel's History."

A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Brog could easily have written a book geared toward academics and intellectuals. Instead, the book is a simple, straightforward read, targeted for the most vulnerable and impressionable of our society.

"Through my work with CUFI and the Maccabee Task Force, I've been educating college-age students and young people about the conflict for years," Brog told the Haym Salomon Center. "What I learned years ago was that most kids, Jewish and Christian, have very little knowledge of the real history."

"With so much anti-Israel activity taking place on college campuses, pro-Israel activists need to know the facts about the Jewish connection to the land," he said. "They need this knowledge to be able to win the hearts and minds of students who are being inundated by lies taught in classrooms and propagated by groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine."

Three years in the making, "Reclaiming Israel's History" cannot be described as a one-sided look at history. Brog offers a refreshingly honest look at Palestinian claims. "Not every family, tribe and ethnic group has the right to an independent state. This right arises only once a community has developed into what we commonly call a 'people' or a 'nation,'" he writes.

Brog goes on to explain that even by the most "generous definition of nationhood," Palestinians are at best a new collective that did not exist until sometime after 1967. While this does not "invalidate their claim," Israel cannot be blamed for not recognizing a people before they recognize themselves.

Relying on historical facts and accurate definitions, Brog does a brilliant job explaining the inclusiveness that is "Zionism" and how even the most zealous Zionists, such as Ze'ev Jabotinsky, agreed with more moderate leaders David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann that British Palestine's Arabs deserved human and civil rights.

With anti-Israel and anti-Semitic forces working to redefine Zionism as "racism" and worse yet, "genocide," Brog decimates their bigotry-driven claims, a message that every millennial Jew and Israel advocate needs to understand.

Replete with facts that Israel's detractors don't want people to know, Brog's book is a nightmare for academics teaching revisionist history to impressionable college students. I only wish it were required reading.

Paul Miller is president and executive director of the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center.
LOS ANGELES (JTA)-When movie star Kirk Douglas married Anne Buydens in Las Vegas, the justice of the peace asked Anne to raise her hand and repeat after him, "I take thee, Kirk, for my lawful husband."

Anne, who had recently arrived in the United States from Europe, raised her hand and proudly proclaimed, "I take thee, Kirk, as my AWFUL husband."

At the time, the mispronunciation was not too far off the mark. In Hollywood, the handsome, muscular actor was already notorious for his inflated ego and the endless parade of women-from movie queens to casual pickups-whom he bedded at a record pace.

Four years later, in 1958, Kirk was away shooting a movie when he wrote to his wife, "If I live to be 100, there will still be so many things unsaid."

Douglas celebrated his 100th birthday on Dec. 9, 2016. And he sent a follow-up note, "As I have now reached that milestone, I can attest that it is still true."

Both declarations are included in the couple's newly published book, "Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood," which was written with Marcia Newberger. The book, which is Kirk's 12th and Anne's first, draws upon the couple's decades of correspondence to chronicle the ardent, if sometimes stormy, relationship between the two strong personalities-he the son of a hard-drinking Jewish immigrant ragman and junk collector, she the daughter of a prosperous German family.

The enduring bond between the Douglases is palpable to a reporter who recently visited the couple at their spacious but not ostentatious Beverly Hills home for an interview.

During the lively conversation, Anne, 98, reminisced that while living in Europe, "my dream had always been to come to the United States, the country that had everything."

Asked whether her vision of America had been fulfilled, Kirk, with his characteristic dry humor, quickly interjected with a smile: "Sure, she married a rich movie star."

Throughout his long film career-during which he has appeared in some 90 movies-and the couple's 63-year marriage, Kirk was away frequently for long periods on location shoots. But the husband and wife wrote to each other constantly, using paper stationary even as the era of email set in.

Anne kept every letter the couple exchanged, along with an impressive cache of photos. One stack she preserved in the couple's temperature-controlled wine cellar in the Beverly Hills home; another was secreted away in the couple's bedroom in their second home in Montecito, on California's coast.

The memoir is a complication of the couple's letters and photos. In its 221 pages, the reader learns about their love life, including Kirk's infidelities, and is treated as well to some graphic accounts of the affairs of other Hollywood stars.

But that's only part of the book. The pair befriended several U.S presidents and their wives, from John and Jackie Kennedy and Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson to Ronald and Nancy Reagan and Barack and Michelle Obama.

The Douglases, of course, also played and worked with Los Angeles' rich and famous. They cast a frequently jaundiced eye on the predominantly Jewish-and often imperious-magnates who dominated Hollywood, in a time before studios transformed into bland corporations.

Anne addressed her love letters to Isidore or Izzy; Douglas wrote back to Stolz. Thereby-like almost every other entry in the book-hangs an intriguing back story.

Kirk's father was named Hershel Danielovitch, but upon arriving in New York from Russia, he Americanized his name-sort of-to Harry Demsky. When his son entered St. Lawrence University in northern New York state on a wrestling scholarship, he enrolled as Isidore Demsky. Kirk was usually called Izzy by his friends, a salutation adopted later by his wife.

Anne's family had left Germany shortly after the Nazis came to power; she was living in Brussels when the German army invaded Belgium. With the help of a friend, Albert Buydens, she escaped by car to France, where the two joined in a marriage of convenience and she was able to gain Belgian citizenship

A multi-linguist, Anne quickly found public relations work in the French movie industry; she also was a writer of movie subtitles. When Kirk, who had divorced his first wife, actress Dianne Dill, came to Paris in 1953 to star in "Act of Love," he met Anne, who was pretty, brainy and divorced.

Though he was already engaged to Italian-American actress Pier Angeli, Kirk made a play for Anne and immediately asked her out for dinner. He was stunned when she declined this and subsequent invitations. That's when Kirk started to label her "Stolz"-a German word usually translated as "proud," but also means "stubborn," according to Anne.

In 2003, after 49 years of marriage, Anne decided, on her own, to convert to Judaism under the tutorship of Rabbi David Wolpe of Sinai Temple in West Los Angeles. During the interview, she described her mikvah experience.

"After removing all nail polish, I entered the swimming pool and put my head under the water," she recalled. "I came out looking like a wet dog-but I was Jewish."

She announced her new status at a large party marking the Douglas's 50th wedding anniversary.

"Kirk has been married to two shiksas," she said at the time. "It is time he got a nice Jewish girl."

One immediate impact was that Kirk-who had lit Friday evening candles at their home throughout the marriage-now transferred the honor to his wife.

Over his life, Kirk has developed his own definition of Judaism.

"I grew up praying in the morning and laying tefillin, but I gave up much of the formal aspect of religion," he said. "I believe in God and I'm happy to be a Jew. But I think too much religion has not helped civilization. Caring for other people is my religion."

The couple has put these words into action. The Kirk and Anne Douglas Foundation has contributed some $120 million to charitable projects, among them numerous playgrounds for poor communities in the United States and Israel.

Kirk learned about anti-Semitism early on, he said. His father couldn't get a job at the local mills because they didn't hire Jews, and young Issur was turned down for a newspaper delivery route for the same reason. And when he was elected class president at St. Lawrence College, a major donor threatened to withhold major donations unless the election result was nullified.

Even as a bona fide movie star, Kirk-along with the likes of Walter Matthau, Peter Lorre and Billy Wilder-could not escape prejudice in the 1950s and '60s.

As Kirk writes in the book, "Sometimes it was easy in Hollywood to forget that anti-Semitism, polite or overt, was still mainstream. Jews ran the major studios. With Anglicized names and beautiful blonde shiksas replacing their starter wives, they lived like the wealthy WASPS of their movies: entertaining lavishly at their grand estates; presiding over screenings in projection rooms hung with museum-quality art; voting Republican."

In the mid-1950s, Kirk formed his own independent production company, naming it Bryna, in honor of his mother, who also gave birth to six daughters. Among the company's first productions were "Paths of Glory" and "Spartacus," arguably Kirk's most famous film.

In the book, Kirk recalls the time he took his mother to one of his film premieres, with the words "Bryna Productions Present" high up on the marquee. When the mother saw her name in bright lights, she turned to her son and whispered in Yiddish, "Isn't America a wonderful country?"
(JTA)-On a recent Sunday, eight far-right activists filmed themselves on what they called a "raid" on the Aurora Jewish community center in Budapest.

Sporting crewcuts and black clothes, the men affixed posters with a crossed-out picture of the Hungary-born Jewish American billionaire George Soros to the entrance of the building, which along with having a Masorti, or Conservative, synagogue, also serves as the headquarters for a gay rights group, a Roma advocacy lobby, a hotline for immigrants and several other nongovernmental organizations with liberal agendas.

The activists then spray-painted the words "Stop Operation Soros" on the sidewalk opposite Aurora's front door.

"Time permitting, we will say hello again," read an article published about the action on May 2 on the website of the ultranationalist Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement. The menacing article did not mention Jews, but did note the Roma and gay rights activity at Aurora, which it falsely claimed is financed by Soros.

To Adam Schonberger, a Hungarian Jew who runs Aurora, the raid was an anti-Semitic attack arising from a campaign that is being led in billboards, television ads and speeches by Hungary's right-wing government against Soros. In recent months Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is critical of the European Union's federalist and progressive agendas, has flagged as "dangerous" Soros' promotion of those plans by funding grassroots activism and some higher education frameworks in Hungary.

Occurring in a conservative society that is still struggling with the complicity of its wartime governments in the murder of nearly half a million Jews during the Holocaust, the campaign against a Jewish billionaire has prompted warnings that Orban's crusade against Soros is anti-Semitic. Earlier this month Frans Timmermans, a senior EU official, suggested that the Hungarian government is channeling anti-Semitic sentiment to delegitimize a powerful critic of its nationalist policies.

That view, however, is not shared by the main leaders of Hungary's 100,000-strong Jewish community. In interviews with JTA, its leaders rejected allegations that the government is using anti-Semitic dog whistles consciously. At the same time, they warned that the campaign against Soros may embolden anti-Semites regardless of the government's intentions.

"Orban is not anti-Semitic. His government is not anti-Semitic," said Rabbi Zoltan Radnoti, the chairman of the rabbinical council of the Mazsihisz Jewish umbrella group in Hungary. "I believe that Soros was selected as a target because he is a progressive billionaire regardless of the fact that he's Jewish."

Yet Orban failed to stop the anti-Soros campaign even after it appeared that the rhetoric "may have a possible anti-Semitic interpretation," Radnoti added, saying the prime minister "should have known that this campaign of hatred and scapegoating would increase anti-Semitic feelings."

Soros, an 86-year-old banking and investment magnate who survived the Holocaust in hiding in Budapest, is not particularly known for funding Jewish causes in Hungary-or anywhere else.

In Hungary, Soros has given away approximately $400 million since the early 1990s-part of a $12 billion expenditure, according to the Open Society Foundations, which is Soros' network of organizations throughout Eastern and Central Europe. Much of the money has gone to supporting progressive causes, including the promotion of minorities and multiculturalism. But other programs offered tuition to needy students-including Orban, who studied at Oxford in 1989 on a scholarship provided by a Soros-funded organization.

Soros is best known in Hungary for opening the Central European University, which he founded in 1991. Orban's government is promoting legislation that could lead to its closure.

The conflict between Soros and Orban, who have long tried to avoid a collision, escalated in 2015 when the prime minister clashed publicly with leaders of the European Union over Hungary's refusal to take or let in hundreds of thousands of immigrants, including refugees, from the war-torn Middle East.

Under attack from Brussels over the migrant crisis, as well as his crackdown on foreign funding from Norway and beyond for Hungarian nongovernmental organizations, Orban lashed out at Soros, accusing him of trying to flood Europe with foreigners. Soros hit back with a defiant statement that won him some acclaim, but also deepened resentment toward him on a continent where Muslim immigration and extremism is leading far-right parties to unprecedented gains.

"Our plan treats the protection of refugees as the objective and national borders as the obstacle," Soros said.

Upping the ante, Orban gave a speech last month at the European Parliament calling Soros a "financial speculator" who is now "attacking Hungary and who-despite ruining the lives of millions of European people with his financial speculations" is nonetheless "received by the EU's top leaders." The scathing rhetoric was followed by the appearance in Hungary of posters demonizing Soros, which are widely believed to be printed and distributed by nationalists with the government's blessing.

And that's a problem, according to Radnoti, because it risks awakening anti-Semitic sentiments that Radnoti believes Orban neither shares nor seeks to embolden.

"The problem is not that Soros was selected as a public enemy because he is Jewish," Radnoti said. "The problem is that in a country like Hungary, which has a xenophobia and anti-Semitism problem, the government should have known better than to take someone who happens to be Jewish and make him a public enemy over his globalist politics. It's not anti-Semitic, it's just irresponsible."

Compared to the Hungarian Jewish leaders, Timmermans went too far, said Janos Gado, an editor of the Hungarian Jewish monthly Szombat.

"The leftist, Social Democrat EU politicians are failing to understand the nature of the new right wing to which Orban belongs," he said. "It's not dictatorial, it's authoritarian. It's not racist, but it is illiberal. So they refer to it in anti-fascist terminology that frankly does not apply to the situation."

Notwithstanding, Soros has inspired much anti-Semitic rhetoric in Hungary and beyond. In Poland, a far-right nationalist at an anti-immigration rally in Poland set fire to an effigy of an Orthodox Jew that he later said represented Soros. And in March, the American radio host Alex Jones, a Donald Trump supporter, ranted about "the Jewish mafia" that he said was run by Soros.

But Hungary has not seen any significant increase in anti-Semitic rhetoric or incidents since the escalation of the fight between Orban and Soros, according to Daniel Bodnar, chairman of the board of the TEV watchdog on anti-Semitism in the country. The group's annual report, which was published this month, noted surveys suggesting hostility toward Jews has not increased this year.

"The government's motivations are definitely not anti-Semitc," Slomo Koves, the leader of the Chabad-affiliated EMIH Jewish group, told JTA. "So when Jewish community leaders inject themselves into the debate about Soros, they are in a sense appropriating his politics and associating them with the Jewish community. Not only is this a misrepresentation of the spectrum of opinions held by Hungarian Jews, it is also a dangerous game."

While many Hungarian Jews who support liberal causes view Soros favorably, other Hungarian Jews take issue with some of his positions and actions-including his funding for groups seen as anti-Israel.

In addition to funding Israel-based organizations critical of their country's policies-notably Breaking the Silence and B'Tselem-Soros' Open Society Foundations have donated millions of dollars to groups that NGO Monitor, a right-leaning group in Israel, calls anti-Israel. They include Al-Haq and Al Mezan, Palestinian groups that promote boycotts against Israel.

Hungarian Jews were widely critical when Soros' Central European University extended an invitation in 2015 to Joseph Massad, a Palestinian academic from Columbia University who has said Israel does not have a right to exist as a Jewish state.

"It was absolutely scandalous," said Laszlo Seres, a Jewish journalist for the Heti Vilaggazdasag who has written critically about Soros, calling him a "self-hating Jew."

(In 1995, Soros wrote that "I am proud of being a Jew," but added that in the past he had "suffered from the low self-esteem that is the bane of the assimilationist Jew.")

Yet even Soros' Jewish critics feel uncomfortable in the face of the government-led campaign against him, Seres said.

"First of all, Soros despite all the problems connected to the man has donated to a lot of worthy causes in Hungary," Seres told JTA. "And the government's hysteria around him, well, it's ugly and counterproductive. It makes it very difficult to criticize him."
The staff at The Commons holds a Shabbat lunch each month for its Jewish residents, as well as for the Jewish residents from nearby Windsor Place. Jewish Pavilion Program Director Walter Goldstein joins in to say the blessings over the candles, Challah and "wine," discuss the current holidays, traditions, culture as everyone enjoys one another's company.
Fifty years after the original "Summer of Love" ushered in a counterculture revolution in America, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando is launching its own Summer of Love, though with a very different goal.

Marking the final weeks of Federation's 2017 Annual Campaign, the Summer of Love launch on June 19 will kick off a full season of special programs and events for members of the Greater Orlando Jewish community. The kickoff week will be a busy one as Federation staff and volunteers show their appreciation to the people who are the lifeblood of the local Jewish community while encouraging others to "share the love." Among the Summer of Love events planned:

 Mitzvah Monday (June 19): Federation staff will say "thank you" to local Jewish agencies with an early-morning delivery of sweet treats to their offices.

 That same evening, Federation's Cardozo Legal Society will throw a Happy Hour mixer for legal professionals at Winter Park's Bear and Peacock Brewstillery.

 On Tuesday, June 20, Federation staff will distribute refreshing snacks for visitors to the Maitland Jewish Community Campus.

 A Virtual Lemonade Stand online fundraiser will be going on throughout the week. Supporters can buy a virtual glass of lemonade and receive a "sweet" lemonade badge to display on social media.

 On Wednesday, June 21, Federation Board members and volunteers will take part in the first "Phone a Friend Challenge," a new twist on the traditional Super Sunday phone-a-thon.

 On Thursday, June 22, Our Jewish Orlando, Federation's young adult division, will have a Community Mitzvah Lake Cleanup at Paddleboard Orlando (Lake Killarney), followed by a special Torah on Tap.

 Summer of Love launch week concludes Sunday morning, June 25, with the PJ Library Orlando/Shalom Families Tikkun Olam Park Cleanup Day at Fort Mellon Park in Sanford.

Federation's leadership will continue to "share the love" in July, but on the other side of the world. President Rhonda Forest, Board member Larry Haber and Executive Director Olga Yorish will represent Orlando during the Jewish Federations of North America's leadership mission to the Ukraine and Israel.

The Summer of Love officially winds down on Sunday, Aug. 27, with Federation's 2017 Annual Meeting. Of course, the meeting will have a special Summer of Love twist.

Keep up with these and other Summer of Love events by visiting http://www.jfgo.org/love
It was the summer before ninth grade and I was invited to a BBG and AZA membership party at the home of the Behr family. The home was filled with other kids new to Bnai Brith, as well as members that we met and learned from about the opportunity to be part of this organization and its legacy. In the year that followed, I attended many meetings and learned everything I could about BBG (Bnai Brith Girls) and the boys group AZA. I also attended a couple of conventions in North Florida Council. These conventions confirmed that I had made the right decision to join this amazing organization. Four years of fun, friendships, community service (tikkun olam), citizenship, philanthropy, leadership skills and Jewish heritage were instilled at every meeting and convention. The sisterhood and brotherhood was so strong that many of the friends I have today, were friends that I met in Bnai Brith as a 14-year-old.

When I put out the word that a Florida Region Reunion was taking place in Orlando this summer, I began hearing from Alumni BBG and AZA members that now live all over the country that want to be here. Many of us have grown children and some have grandchildren, but those memories that we shared back in the 1970s are so vivid that being together to sing songs and share our memories and memorabilia will bring us together this summer.

We are trying to reach all AZA and BBG members from the memberships years of 19691983 in Florida Region. A reunion has been planned for the weekend of June 30July 2, 2017. If you are on Facebook join the group page Florida Region BBYO 1969-1980 for information. All hotel needs, dinners and activities have been planned for the weekend, and will be in the Altamonte Springs and Orlando area, if you would like to see old friends and make new memories you may also contact e-mail: rbloom1@cfl.rr.com for more information.

So far, alumni are coming in from Georgia, Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and all over Florida. Remember the fun conventions, the brother and sisterhood, the singing, the dancing and the laughs. Bring your memorabilia and join in the fun!!

Robyn B. Heyman is the former Robyn Galkin, who has served as president of Orlando Waldflowers BBG, Sweetheart of Orlando Rebels AZA and North Florida Council Programming vice president 1974-1975.
Florida Governor Rick Scott, joined by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and State Representative Randy Fine, visited Orlando Torah Academy on Tuesday to highlight his new bill providing security funding for Jewish schools throughout Florida.

For the first time ever, the State of Florida, led by Governor Scott, will be providing $654,000 in funding for the security needs of Jewish schools throughout Florida. The money will be used to install security cameras, bulletproof glass, alarm systems and to provide security officers. The governor took a tour of the school building and got to meet and shmooze with the children of OTA who were very excited to meet him. Rabbi Avraham Wachsman, Dean of Orlando Torah Academy, began the press conference and spoke about the importance of Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship, which provided scholarships to more than 100,000 children this year, including 2,400 students in Jewish day schools. He continued by thanking the governor, Rep. Fine and the Florida Legislature for their support of the new groundbreaking security measure. He also recognized Teach Florida, a project of the Orthodox Union, for spearheading the campaign for security and equitable funding for nonpublic schools.

After Gov. Scott was introduced and he explained to the students why they should strive to be governor one day (privileges such as pizza whenever you want, ice cream whenever you want, and getting to meet kings and queens!), he commended and thanked Rep. Fine for championing the initiative. He then pointed out that "It is hard to learn if you don't feel safe," and we've all seen the unfortunate incidents and the rise of anti-Semitism of late and "there is zero tolerance for that, there is zero tolerance for anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic acts."

The governor also told the kids standing at his side that they can be anything they want to be in life, including governor, and even president of the United States.

Mayor Dyer thanked Gov. Scott for providing additional means to keep the children of Orlando safe and for choosing Orlando as the location to speak out against hate.

Rep. Fine added, "As a Jew and as a father, I believe that every student has the right to go to school in a safe and secure environment."

At the conclusion of the press conference, the governor posed for pictures, spoke with the students of OTA again and took questions from the press.

Last week, Gov. Scott met with leaders at The Roth Family Jewish Community Center to pledge his support in the wake of the anti-Semitic acts.

Since the beginning of the year, the Jewish Academy of Orlando; The Roth Family JCC; and the Orlando Jewish Day School in Dr. Phillips, which is operated by Chabad of South Orlando, received numerous bomb threats.

"That's not acceptable in the United States of America," Rep. Fine said. "No child should have to go to a school where they feel unsafe."

"This is just the beginning," Scott told the group at OTA. "I will work for all our children to be safe, public or nonpublic. If anybody is the subject of threats, we should look into how to protect them. We have to work on keeping everyone safe."

"Security in school is a public good that merits public support," said Mimi Jankovits, executive director of Teach Florida. "We commend Gov. Scott and the Florida legislature for this funding, and for this important first step to providing safe schools for all Florida's students."

To see more pictures of the historic event at OTA visit http://www.orlandotorah.com.
It is that time of year once again when Heritage Florida Jewish News is putting out feelers for one outstanding person in the Jewish community who has given his or her time or talent or monetary gifts to better the Orlando Jewish community. Nominations for the 2017 Heritage Human Service Award are now being accepted and the award will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, which will be held Aug. 27.

For more than 27 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award, said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last years recipient was Susie Bierman. Former recipients have included Loren London (2014) Bob Yarmuth (2004), and Claire Mercer (2003).

According Gaeser, Each recipient chose their own path, but made considerable and long-lasting contributions to the Jewish community. Nominees for the 2017 award are individuals who do not look for recognition, but perform tikun olanrepairing the worldout of internal motivation.

Nominations should be emailed to news@orlandoheritage.com with the subject Human Service Award, or typed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and sent by mail to Heritage Florida Jewish News, Human Service Award, 207 OBrien Road, Suite 101, Fern Park, FL 32730. Included should be the name and phone number of the nominee, a documented list of his or her accomplishments, and the name and phone number of the nominator(s).

The Heritage is accepting nominations until Monday, June 12.
Solar panels in the Bedouin Arab village of Darajat in Israel's Negev desert seen on Nov. 23, 2009.

(JTA)-One of Israel's strongest condemnations of Donald Trump wasn't about the peace process. It didn't concern Trump's broken promise to relocate the U.S. embassy, or his reported leak of Israeli intelligence.

It was about climate change.

After President Trump announced the United States' withdrawal from the Paris accords, the landmark 2015 agreement to fight global warming, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz joined the chorus of international leaders criticizing his decision.

"Even if there's a 50 percent likelihood that climate change and global warming are caused by human activity, it is our duty to act to minimize risks," Steinitz posted on Facebook Thursday, the same day as Trump's announcement. "The Paris accords were a rare occurrence in which the world united-save for Syria and Nicaragua-to care for the welfare and health of future generations."

Like the U.S., Israel has a right-leaning government, with left-wing parties largely limited to protest votes. The American and Israeli governments appear to agree on the dangers of extremist Islamism, and their leaders have heaped praise on each other with regards to everything from military action to economic policy.

But Israel's stance on climate change shows that, in some ways, it's more like the rest of the world than like the United States.

After Israel signed on to the Paris accords in 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to his cabinet sounded like it could have been given by then-President Barack Obama. Netanyahu called the accords an "important agreement." He acknowledged the reality of global warming and pledged to combat it. Enforcing the agreement, he said, "demands international discipline, which is not easy, but for the good of humanity, I hope that it will be found."

To that end, Israel promised, by 2030, to keep greenhouse gas emissions at about their current levels. Taking population growth into account, the plan amounts to a per-capita reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 26 percent. Israel's plan also included an eightfold increase in renewable energy sources, implementing greener building codes to promote energy efficiency and investing in public transit.

At the time, Israeli climate activists called the commitments insufficient. But they welcomed the plan as a first step.

Israel's climate change pledge also played into its self-image as a leader in environmentalism, a country whose founding story includes "making the desert bloom" and rejuvenating forests from north to south. Israel recycles the vast majority of its water, lines its apartment buildings with solar water heaters and has pioneered agritech innovations to save water and energy. The country boasts massive offshore natural gas fields that can provide cleaner energy than coal or oil.

In supporting the agreement, Netanyahu wasn't an outlier among conservative leaders. Right-wing governments, from the United Kingdom to Russia to Turkey, have remained committed to the global fight against human-caused climate change, even as America's conservative president has questioned its existence.

Fighting climate change is one of many domestic issues that's politicized in the U.S. but is supported by the right-wing in Israel and elsewhere. Shared feelings between Republicans and Likudniks on halting Iran's nuclear ambitions don't extend to contentious domestic issues in America like gun control, universal health care or abortion.

For example, despite mandatory military conscription, private gun ownership is a privilege with strict limits in Israel, not a right. Last year, Netanyahu's government trumpeted its expansion of federally funded health benefits. Abortion in Israel is covered by health insurance and available in 99 percent of cases. The closest thing Israel has to an American-style pro-life group is a nonprofit called Efrat, which offers financial support to dissuade women from abortion, but which does not campaign for legislative restrictions.

Netanyahu and Trump may be engaged in a public lovefest when it comes to combating terrorism in the Middle East. But as for the future of the planet, Israel is standing with everyone from Lebanon to Luxembourg-and not with the United States.
JFS Orlando, the Winter Park-based nonprofit, human service agency, has collected over 7,500 pounds of food and over $18,000 in cash donations during its annual Pantry Restock Challenge. The Challenge ran for one month and the goal was to restock the Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry, which provides emergency food assistance to Central Florida families in need.

The Weiner Family and Winter Park Wealth Group once again provided a generous $5,000 matching gift while the Fern Park Winn-Dixie and Personal Mini Storage donated collection bags and boxes.

There is large need for food within our community and we are so appreciative of the communitys response to help address this need, said JFS Orlando Executive Director Eric Geboff. We continue our fight to end hunger and we are so grateful for all our donors, sponsors and partners that allow us to help provide meals to those in need.

Major Restock Challenge partners included Arthurs Catering; Coldwell Banker; CNS Healthcare; Congregation Beth Am; Congregation Ohev Shalom; Congregation of Reform Judaism; FastSigns Orlando Central; Femmes de Coeur; Infantino and Berman; Law Offices of Richard A. Heller; Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A .; MAGAL; Michigan Mini Storage; Moxe; Orange County Fire Department; Personal Mini Storage; Publix Supermarkets; The Roth Family JCC; Schwam-Wilcox and Assoc .; Social Bridges; Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation; Temple Israel; and Tommy Hilfiger.

Nearly 49 million Americans suffer from food insecurity. Last year alone, JFS Orlando provided over 66,000 meals to needy Central Floridians in an effort to alleviate hunger in Greater Orlando. To learn more about the Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry, JFS Orlando or to make a donation, visit our site at http://www.jfsorlando.org.
NEW YORK (JTA)Voluntary dues may sound like an oxymoron, but the idea may soon be coming to a synagogue near you.

According to a new study by the UJA-Federation of New York, the number of non-Orthodox synagogues nationwide that have eliminated fixed annual dues has more than doubled in the past two years. Instead of charging a set membership fee, these synagogues are telling congregants to pay what they wantand theyre succeeding.

The nearly 60 Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues that have stopped charging mandatory dues are just a minuscule percentage of the countrys 1,500 or so Conservative and Reform synagogues. But the number is more than twice the 26 synagogues that had voluntary dues as of 2015. On average, the synagogues reported increases in both membership and total revenue since they switched to the voluntary model. They join nearly 1,000 Chabad centers in North America that have always worked on the voluntary model.

According to the report, the synagogues adopted the new model due to a mix of financial and values-based reasons. Synagogue members appeared increasingly reticent to pay mandatory dues following the 2008 financial crisis, and a pay-what-you-can system was more appealing to families with less spare cash.

In addition, the report said mandatory dues may have alienated families who want to feel unconditionally welcomed at synagogue or who may have felt uncomfortable explaining to a board why they couldnt pay the full fee. Engaging members with voluntary dues has caused synagogues to build relationships with congregants so they feel invested in the synagogue, as opposed to feeling obligated to pay an annual bill. The model, according to the report, also drives synagogues to increase financial transparency, so members know what theyre paying for.

The existing model is no longer really aligning with the values and culture of the synagogue, said Adina Frydman, executive director of Synergy, a division of the New York federation that advises synagogues on strategy and produced the report. The process of asking for a [dues] adjustment becomes all about the money, as opposed to you are a member of this congregation and community.

Of the 57 synagogues included in the report, more than half are Reform, while about a third are Conservative. The remainder are either Reconstructionist or unaffiliated. None are Orthodox. Most have between 100 and 500 member unitsfamilies or individuals who belong.

While the synagogues dont charge a fixed fee, many do indicate a sustaining level donationthe average amount the synagogue needs from each member unit to reach its goal. On average, the synagogues reported increases of 3.6 percent in total membership and 1.8 percent in dues. What that means is that more total money is coming in from more people but the average annual membership contribution has fallen.

At the Conservative Temple Israel of Sharon, Massachusetts, in suburban Boston, which adopted the voluntary model in 2008 due to the recession, revenue and membership have remained steady. But only about 45 percent of members pay dues at or above the sustaining levela bit above the average of 38 percent across the 57 synagogues.

The original goals of switching to this system, creating a model that was financially welcoming and sustainable for both the synagogue and our membership, continue to be met, Benjamin Maron, Temple Israels executive director, wrote in one of the reports case studies. In other ways, however, challenges have grown over the last few years. While our membership has grown, the overall income from our voluntary dues has not.

The 57 synagogues are still less than 5 percent of the countrys Conservative and Reform synagogues, but Frydman believes the number will continue to grow. About 100 synagogues tuned in via livestream to a recent conference on the report.

Studies suggest that millennials are less inclined to become members of old institutions. Jack Wertheimer, a history professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary, said that free Jewish programs like Birthrightthe 10-day trip to Israel for young adultsget young Jews used to the idea of no- and low-cost Jewish services.

Were living in a time when some Jews dont want to pay anything to go to synagogue and benefit from synagogue, Wertheimer said. Were living in a time today when institutions are held suspect and also seen as rather cold and distant. This whole idea of membership dues reinforces that point.

Why arent Orthodox synagogues adopting the model?

Both Wertheimer and Frydman suggested that because Orthodox Jews view prayer as mandatory, the obligation carries over to synagogue membership. Even so, Frydmans office is embarking on a study of young Orthodox Jewish professionals on Manhattans Upper West Side, who often bounce between a few synagogues rather than sticking to one and becoming a member of it.

One large Orthodox organization that doesnt charge dues, however, is Chabad, whose centers worldwide rely entirely on voluntary donations. While that means that the emissaries who run the Hasidic movements outreach efforts spend a significant amount of time fundraising, Chabad spokesman Rabbi Motti Seligson said it also removes a barrier to participation in Jewish lifeand forces Chabad centers to run programs people want.

This isnt a technique or a model thats devised through a focus group, Seligson said. This is about whats at the [movements] core, which is love of Israel.

Chabad emissary couples, he added, are not living in an ivory tower. Theyre beholden to the community that theyre serving. They need to actually be serving the community.

While Frydman emphasized that UJA-Federation does not endorse any one dues model, she said that the voluntary model is appealing to some synagogues because it ensures that the synagogue has an active relationship with its congregants.

Theyre cultivating the relationship so that people feel a connection, enough to want to be a part of something bigger, she said. Its about that the synagogue should take the time to ensure that they know all the members, that they understand what people are looking for.
Upon the 50th anniversary of the Jewish state of Israels reunification of Jerusalem, there is no better time to end the propaganda myth that Jerusalem is a holy city to Muslims.

The Muslim fixation and clamor on Jerusalem is actually a very recent historical developmenta product of political conflict, not historical truth.

Jerusalem rates not a single mention in the Quran, and Muslims face Mecca in prayer. In the 7th century A.D., the Damascus-based Umayyad rulers built up Jerusalem as a counterweight to Mecca. This is when the important Muslim shrines, the Dome of the Rock (691) and the Al-Aqsa mosque (705), were intentionally built on the site of the destroyed biblical Jewish templesa time-honored practice to physically signal the predominance of Islam.

Yet references in the Quran and hadith to Muhammads night journey to heaven on his steed Buraq from the farthest mosque couldnt mean Jerusalem, because the Quran refers to the land of Israel as the nearest place. It couldnt have been a reference to the Al-Aqsa mosque, for the simple reason that Al-Aqsa didnt exist in Muhammads day.

With the demise of the Umayyad dynasty and the shift of the caliphate to Baghdad, Jerusalem fell into a long decline, scarcely interrupted by occasional bursts of Muslim interest in the city during the Crusader period and the Ottoman conquest. Mark Twain, visiting in 1867, described it as a pauper village.

Jerusalem did, however, become a Jewish-majority city during the 19th century. The 1907 Baedekers Travel Guide lists Jerusalem with a population of 40,000 Jews, 13,000 Muslims and 7,000 Christians. Jerusalem meant so little to the Ottomans that, during World War I, they let it fall into British hands without a fight and even contemplated entirely destroying the city before pulling out.

When did Jerusalem become a passionate Islamic issue? Only with the Arab confrontation with Zionism in the 20th century. It was Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, a vociferous anti-Semite and later Nazi collaborator, who expended enormous energy to focus Islamic attention on the city.

Seeking to foment a Muslim war on British Palestines Jews, he fabricated a tradition that the wall to which Muhammad was believed to have tethered his steed Buraq was not the southern or eastern walls, as Muslims had asserted for centuries, but the Western Wall, Judaisms holiest prayer site. (The Israeli-Jordanian-Palestinian status quo agreement forbids Jewish prayer at the religions holiest site, the Temple Mount.) This turned the Western Wall into a flashpoint.

The massive Arab assault on Jews across British Palestine in 1929, in which 133 Jews were murdered and hundreds more maimed, was triggered by false rumors that Jews had attacked, or were intending to attack, the mosques atop the Temple Mount.

Strangely, even under the mufti, the Temple Mount was still recognized by Muslims as the site of the biblical Jewish temples. Thus, the Jerusalem Muslim Supreme Councils publication, A Brief Guide to the Haram Al-Sharif, states regarding Jerusalems Temple Mount, Its identity with the site of Solomons Temple is beyond dispute. (After 1954, all such references to the biblical temples were excised from this publication.)

During Jordans illegal occupation and annexation of eastern Jerusalem from 1948-1967, Amman remained the Jordanian capital, not Jerusalem. No Arab rulers, other than Jordans kings, ever visited.

Neither the PLOs National Charter nor the Fatah Constitution (the latter drafted during Jordanian rule) even mention Jerusalem, let alone call for its establishment as a Palestinian capital.

But today, Palestinian Authority (PA) officials deny Judaisms connection to Jerusalem. PA Mufti Muhammad Hussein sneers at Jews alleged Temple and insists Palestinians have an exclusive right...which they share with no one to the Temple Mount. Sheikh Tayseer Tamimi, former chief justice of the PAs religious court, insists he does not know of any Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem.

Today, the PA uses Jerusalem as a propaganda instrument to incite violence. In 1996, Yasser Arafat used Israels opening of an archaeological tunnel near the Temple Mount to incite riots on the basis of the lie that the tunnel threatened the stability of the Al-Aqsa mosque. Twenty-five Israeli soldiers and 100 Palestinian rioters were killed in the ensuing violence.

In 2015, PA President Mahmoud Abbas urged violence over Jews visiting the Temple Mount, borrowing from Haj Amin al-Husseinis playbook the fabricated claims of Jewish assaults on the mosques. More than 30 Israelis were murdered and more than 200 Palestinians, the vast majority terrorists or rioters, were killed in subsequent attacks and clashes.

When a senior White House official told Bloomberg News this month that President Donald Trumpreneging on his pre-election promisewould not move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem at this time because were not looking to provoke anyone when everyones playing really nice, it gave the Palestinians their latest reason to believe violence over Jerusalem reaps rewards. Far from aiding the cause of peace, the fabrication of Jerusalems importance to Islam enables the instigation of bloodshed. If the propaganda myth persists, expect no change.

Morton A. Klein is national president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA). Dr. Daniel Mandel is director of the ZOA s Center for Middle East Policy and author of H.V. Evatt & the Establisment of Israel.
On Thursday, less than 48 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump completed his successful visit to Israel, his chief negotiator Jason Greenblatt was back in town.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson set the tone for Greenblatts mission when he told reporters aboard Air Force One that during his visit, Trump was putting a lot of pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas to get back to the table and negotiate a peace deal.

Tillerson went on to explain why Trump is so keen to make a deal.

We solve the Israeli-Palestinian peace dilemma, we start solving a lot of the peace throughout the Middle East region, he said.

Trump apparently agrees with his secretary of state.

At his joint appearance with Abbas in Bethlehem, Trump said, I firmly believe that if Israel and the Palestinians can make peace, it will begin a process of peace all throughout the Middle East.

These statements, and Greenblatts swift return here indicate that as of now, on a substantive, strategic level, Trump is maintaining Obamas policies on Israel and the Palestinians. And Obamas policies on the issue, it bears noting, were substantively all but indistinguishable from those of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush before him.

Like his predecessors, Trump is advancing a policy that assumes that the Palestinian conflict with Israel is the key issue that the U.S. must grapple with in the Middle East. He is advancing the view that the U.S.s power in the region, and its ability to foster stability and security, are tied to what happens or does not happen in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to a degree, in Hamas-controlled Gaza. In short, like his predecessors, Trump believes that putting pressure on Israel to give land to the PLO is the key to resolving the conflicts of the Middle East.

This position stands incongruously next to the pledge that Trump made in his speech before Sunni leaders in Riyadh on Sunday. There, Trump explained the fundamental nature of his foreign policy as follows: America, he said, is committed to adjusting our strategies to meet evolving threats and new facts. We will discard those strategies that have not workedand will apply new approaches informed by experience and judgment. We are adopting a principled realism, rooted in common values and shared interests.

In adopting his predecessors policies on Israel and the Palestinians, Trump is ignoring his own maxim. He is not adjusting Americas strategies to meet evolving threats and new facts.

He is not discard[ing] those strategies that have not worked or apply[ing] new approaches informed by experience and judgment.

To be sure, there are contrary indicators that give Israelis reason to hope that a significant revision of the U.S. strategic approach is afoot.

Trump for instance did not mention the issue of Jewish construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.

Trump visited Israel to show that he is a Zionist and a friend of the Jewish state. Had he gotten into a fight with the government about whether Jewish property rights should be respected in Israels capital and heartland, he would have failed to achieve his goal.

Moreover, why should he get his hands dirty? Thats what he has Greenblatt for.

There are a lot of people in Washington who are working diligently to ensure that Trump maintains his predecessors policy on Israel and the Palestinians.

But from Israels perspective, the man whose job it is to move Trump in a new direction is Prime Minister Netanyahu. Clearly, to date, Netanyahu has failed to secure this objective.

Netanyahu failed to convince Trump to abandon the anti-Israel two-state model and the anti-Israel notion that there is a direct correlation between the pathologies of the Islamic world and the absence of a Palestinian state, because Netanyahu refused to offer an alternative strategy for dealing with Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.

Netanyahu didnt fail to offer an alternative to the two-state model because he believes it is the right model to follow. He doesnt believe it is the right model to follow.

Netanyahus failed to offer an alternative to the two-state model because he has bought into a different false notion. Netanyahu has come to believe that the only alternative to the establishment of a Palestinian terror state in Israels capital city and its heartland (in addition to the Palestinian terror state in Gaza), is the one-state model.

According to adherents of the two-state model, a one-state model is a recipe for Israels demographic collapse. If Israel applies its laws to Judea and Samaria, they argue, the Palestinians who live there must all immediately receive Israeli citizenship. Given that they number 1.5 million to 2.5 million people, if Israel were to confer citizenship on all the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, its Jewish majority would shrink significantly, or even be lost. And if Israel doesnt naturalize them, it will cease to be a democracy.

The two-state model is a utopian fantasy. For its adherents, history will end the minute the PLO receives sovereignty over all of Judea, Samaria and over eastern, southern and northern Jerusalem.

And since it is a utopian fantasy, despite the fact that it has never done anything but fail, adherents of the two-state model never reassess their faith in it. To the contrary, with each failure, they think of new and creative ways to ensure that it is never abandoned.

The demographic threat is a key component of this effort. And just as the two-state formula has brought war and instability not peace and stability, so its implementation will not remove a demographic sword from Israels neck. It will cause Israels demographic and strategic destruction.

If a Palestinian state is ever established, in short order it will be flooded with millions of immigrants from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and beyond. These immigrants include the so-called Palestinian refugees who dwell in UN camps controlled by Hezbollah, ISIS, al-Qaida and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. They will be joined by jihadists who will march on Jerusalem.

None of these immigrants will take kindly to the idea of Israel or its peace partners. They can be expected to overthrow the treacherous PLO and Hamas and then make war against a shrunken Israel with new permeable borders it is incapable of defending.

In other words, the establishment of a Palestinian state is an existential demographic and strategic threat that Israel has no means of countering.

Given the stakes, it is clear that if, as the two-state faithful insist, Israel has but two options going forward, then it is better off with the one-state option.

But the fact is that just as the two-state model is not a strategy, so its adherents presentation of Israels strategic options as a binary choice between a two-state and one-state model is a false choice. Israel doesnt have a binary choice. Between the one-state and two-state models is a vast expanse of strategic options that Israel can choose from.

To recognize those choices and decide among them, our leaders must simply break down the problem in Judea and Samaria to its component parts.

From a security perspective, Israel cannot defend itself without permanent control over the Jordan Valley, the Samarian and Hebron mountain ranges and the southern and northern outskirts of Jerusalem. In other words, to long survive, Israel requires perpetual control over Area C.

From a societal and civil rights perspective, it is untenable and wrong to maintain Israels now 50-year-old military government in Area C. Today nearly half a million Israelis are treated as second-class citizens. They lack basic due process rights in property disputes. They cannot register their land purchases if they purchase land from Palestinians or prove ownership if that ownership is disputed.

Finally, the people of Israel rationally fear the consequences of naturalizing 1.5 million to 2.5 million Palestinians who have been indoctrinated for more than 25 years to seek their annihilation.

In summary, we need to maintain perpetual control over the areas because we cannot survive without them from a military perspective. We need to change the system of governance in Area C to correct the civil rights infringement of the military government on the Israelis who live in the areas.

And we dont want to naturalize 1.5 million to 2.5 million Palestinians.

Fortuitously, as far as the first two issues are concerned, the answer is the same. If Israel applies its laws to Area C it both ensures its military control of the areas critical to its survival for the long haul and it ends the inequitable and undemocratic civil rights infringement on its citizens who live there

As for the Palestinians in Areas A and B, which are under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, one of the things that no one ever mentions is that these peoplesome 98 percent of the Palestinians in Judea and Samariahave not lived under Israeli control since 1996.

For the past 21 years, all Palestinians in Judea and Samaria have lived under Palestinian rule. They carry Palestinian passports. Their births and deaths are recorded in the Palestinian population registry. They vote in Palestinian elections.

No one has ever explained why the Palestinians cannot continue to live under Palestinian autonomy in the future. Why must Israel cancel their autonomous rule?

This brings us to another point, which is a secondary issue for Israel but a primary one for the Palestinians: Palestinian economic prosperity.

Trump said in Bethlehem that he is interested in spurring Palestinian economic growth. The fact is that the Palestinian economy grew the most when it was integrated in the Israeli economy. Integration with the Israeli economy, rather than handouts to PLO kleptocrats, is the key to Palestinian prosperity.

In all of his speeches during his recent visit, as well as during his joint appearance with Netanyahu at the White House in February, Trump made clear that he is not wedded to the two-state model. Indeed, despite the entreaties of some of his advisers, Trump has refused to endorse Palestinian statehood even as he implements a policy whose goal is the establishment of such a state.

In Riyadh, Trump said, We will make decisions based on real-world outcomesnot inflexible ideology. We will be guided by the lessons of experience, not the confines of rigid thinking.

It isnt too late for Netanyahu to come forward. He can offer an alternative to the failed two-state fantasy. He can release himself, his country and Trump from the two-state/one-state cognitive straitjacket.

Trump doesnt want to repeat the mistakes of his predecessors. But absent a clear strategic plan of action from Netanyahu, he will have no choice but to do so.

Caroline Glick is an American-born Israeli journalist, newspaper editor, and writer. She writes for Makor Rishon and is the deputy managing editor of The Jerusalem Post
Very few people were true Nazis, he said, but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.

We are told again and again by experts and talking heads that Islam is a religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa, and it is the fanatics who are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.

The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority, the silent majority, is cowed and extraneous. Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. Chinas huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across Southeast Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians, most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet. And who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery? Could it not be sad that the majority of Rwandans were peace loving?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points: peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they dont speak up, because like my friends from Germany, they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun. Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.

Now Islamic prayers have been introduced in Toronto and other public schools in Ontario, and, yes, in Ottawa, too, while the Lords Prayer was removed (due to being so offensive?). The Islamic way may be peaceful for the time being in our country until the fanatics move in.

In Australia, and indeed in many countries around the world, many of the most commonly consumed food items have the halal emblem on them. Just look at the back of some of the most popular chocolate bars, and at other food items in your local supermarket. Food on aircraft has the halal emblem just to appease the privileged minority who are now rapidly expanding within the nations shores.

In the U.K., the Muslim communities refuse to integrate and there are now dozens of no-go zones within major cities across the country that the police force dare not intrude upon. Sharia law prevails there because the Muslim communities in those areas refuse to acknowledge British law.

As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that countsthe fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Anyone who doubts that this issue is serious and just deletes this email without sending it on is contributing to the passiveness that allows these problems to expand.

We are silenced because we are silent!!

Dr. Emanuel Tanay, a well-known and well-respected psychiatrist. His family was made up of German aristocrats who owned a number of large industries and estates prior to World War II. When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.
According to a new study, drug dealers are either reverse ageists, treating young people more harshly than their older counterparts, or they respect their buzz-seeking elders.

So, if you stereotypically drive slowly in the left lane with your blinker on for five consecutive miles, you may get a better deal on weed than the punk on the scooter who passed you on the right and flipped you the bird.

According to a new study published on the website addictions.com and reported by Rolling Stone and AARP The Magazine (OK, Rolling Stone reported it but AARP really didnt, choosing instead a riveting expose on FICA), new code words are all the rage for buying illicit drugs and older people often get cut some slack for not keeping up with the latest trendy monikers. Also, anyone using the term trendy monikers can just forget about buying drugs altogether.

To understand the kinds of verbiage people use to describe drugs today, and how prevalent they really are in the drug community, we surveyed over 2,000 people for their insight into these underground trends, wrote the authors of the study which I swear is a real study and not something I made up for comedic purposes.

They list a number of drugs and what they are currently known as on the street, as Huggy Bear often told Starsky and Hutch. The celebrity names for drugs are Nixon (marijuana), Lady Gaga (cocaine), Kim Jong-Il (crack), Chuck Norris (heroin), Chris Farley (opiates), Nancy Pelosi (LSD), Mario (mushrooms), Donald Trump (meth), Ben Franklin (benzodiazepines), Malcolm X (ecstasy) and Justin Bieber (baby aspirin). One of those names is not in the actual study. Its a test to see if you are still paying attention or if you are all gooned out on Ben Franklin.

According to the survey, more than a third of participants between the ages of 18 and 29 told us theyd been denied drugs because they didnt use the proper code words to describe them.

The study indicated drug dealers seemed to go a little easier on those more likely to injure a hip than be hip.

Older participants were less likely to be required to utilize slang terminology in order to purchase narcotics. Slightly more than one in four respondents between the age of 30 and 39 said theyd been denied drugs for not using the proper colloquialisms, while 14 percent or less of respondents between the ages of 40 to 49 or 50 to 59 said the same, the authors noted.

If the study reflects reality, the following scenarios are commonplace:

Young Johnny pays a visit to his friendly neighborhood drug dealer.

Hello sir, I would like to purchase a small amount of your finest marijuana, he says.

Oh gosh, Im sorry, replies the drug dealer, but you did not use the current code word for marijuana so, according to the strict dealers ethical rules to which I adhere, I must say no. I suggest you dont do drugs and stay in school.

Johnnys grandpa visits the friendly neighborhood drug dealer.

Whats up, dawg? Ill take some Doans Pills, a bottle of horse liniment and some reefer, Grandpa says.

Welluhon the marijuana, you didnt exactly use the right code word.

What? Why, you little snot-nose punk. My ancestors smoked hemp with George Washington at Valley Forge, hit the peace pipe with Cochise and were extras in the movie Reefer Madness. If I cant get my buzz on for the Blue Oyster Cult reunion show I will beat you down to the ground with my cane and curb stomp you.

Sorry, sir. My bad. Here you go.

Thanks. And if my grandson Johnny comes around here, tell him not to do drugs and stay in school.

Yes, sir.

Scott Hollifield is editor/GM of The McDowell News in Marion and a humor columnist.
STATESVILLE  U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Jill Westmoreland Rose announced a total of 16 defendants were handed prison terms ranging from 21 months to 18 years for trafficking methamphetamine, according to a press release.

U.S. District Judge Richard L. Voorhees presided over the court hearings, which began Monday and concluded Friday with the sentencing of the last defendant.

Rose; Nick Annan, special agent in charge of ICEs Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Atlanta and the Carolinas; Audria C. Bridges, special agent in charge of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations Western District Office; Colonel Glenn McNiell of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol; Chief Thurman Whisnant of the Hickory Police Department; Sheriff Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriffs Office; Sheriff Chris Bowman of the Alexander County Sheriffs Office; Chief Damon D. Williams of the Mooresville Police Department; Sheriff Darren Campbell of the Iredell County Sheriffs Office; and the Caldwell County Sheriffs Office assisted in the operation.

The 16 defendants sentenced in U.S. District Court in Statesville are:

 Jerry Wayne Grant, 45, of Mooresville, was sentenced to 216 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 James Edward Russell, III, 38, of Hudson, was sentenced to 188 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Teddy Dwane McGee, 41, of Hickory, was sentenced to 120 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Larry Chad Roberts, 39, of Taylorsville, was sentenced to 120 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Richard Lee Knight, 41, of China Grove, was sentenced to 120 months, followed by three years of supervised release.

 Jason Mathew Beasley, 36, of North Wilkesboro, was sentenced to 120 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Davey Yang, 35, of Conover, was sentenced to 110 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Troy Lynn Bell, 48, of Taylorsville, was sentenced to 108 months, followed by four years of supervised release.

 Jamie Lee Grigg, 44, of Kings Mountain, was sentenced to 100 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Steven Matthew Donaldson, 25, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 96 months, followed by four years of supervised release.

 Josue Abraham Robles, 19, of Mexico, was sentenced to 86 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Jesus Cristino-Perales, 26, of Mexico, was sentenced to 78 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Norberto Macedo, Jr., 23, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 78 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Wendy Michelle Pennington, 39, of Hickory, was sentenced to 46 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Ritchie Allen Shook, 38, of Granite Falls, was sentenced to 37 months, followed by five years of supervised release.

 Shana Elyse Teague, 28, of Taylorsville, was sentenced to 21 months, followed by one year of supervised release.

The defendants were involved in methamphetamine trafficking organizations worth millions of dollars, according to the release.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement officers seized more than 20 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, $500,000 in cash and other assets, and dozens of firearms, according to court records.

The defendants were charged as part of an ongoing Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), which, since 2015, has resulted in the prosecution of more than 165 individuals.
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Repeated electoral failures of the AAP have forced a paradigm shift in the organisation that once targeted only the urban working classes; to try and build a rural base simultaneously by taking up the farmers cause, party leaders say.

The partys support base in Punjab, where it won nearly 24% votes in the assembly polls, is largely rural. At the partys recently concluded annual meeting of the national executive, it decided to launch a farmers agitation from June 10. On Friday, four party leaders will travel to Mandsaur in MP where a farmers agitation is raging.

The Delhi municipal elections and the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls both showed Prime Minister Narendra Modis appeal among the urban voters is not diminishing, a senior leader admitted. Targeting Modi and the BJP over social media just wasnt enough, the party discovered when it lost the municipal polls in its own backyard. Our volunteers were completely dismayed by the UP results and the effects showed in the Delhi MCD polls, he added.

At least three senior AAP leaders said the party had never prepared itself or its volunteers for defeat in Punjab. We had only thought of winning and forming a government in Punjab. As a result, even when we went from zero to 22 seats in the assembly and became the principal opposition, we could not celebrate, a senior leader said.

For the future, we will teach our volunteers that polls should be fought with all our strength but there will be wins and losses, his colleague said.

Experts say the change could be an opportunity for the AAP to get out of the social media political space and work on the ground to create a more federal party that can be seen as a long-term player.

The AAP cannot think of itself as a serious political player outside of Delhi without a rural base, they add. If it wants to become a party of significance beyond Delhi, it has to work on it. Their activists are still urban and so is the partys language. AAP leaders need to be far more federal in their vision, if they are serious about the partys future in politics, said Prof Surinder Jodhka of Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Last November, the AAP launched a 20-day programme in PM Narendra Modis Gujarat to target 10,000 villages and spread awareness about the party. It planned to go all out in this years assembly elections in the western state but its performance in the Punjab and Goa assembly polls halted the partys bid. Though a final decision is pending, the party will not contest all 182 seats there and it could give the Himachal Pradesh a complete miss, sources said.

During the course of organisation building in largely agrarian and rural states, we discovered people are upset with their governments, said a senior leader associated with expanding the partys reach.

(Views expressed are personal)

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A farmer who was injured during the ongoing farmers agitation in Madhya Pradesh passed away at an Indore hospital on Friday, taking the death toll to six.

The victim, identified as 25-year-old Ghanshyam Dhakkad, was protesting at Daloda village on Tuesday when a policeman struck him on the head with a baton. They took him to MY government hospital in Indore, but he succumbed to his injuries, said Durga, Ghanshyams father.

Mandsaur MLA Yashpal Sisodiya said the exact cause of the farmers death was uncertain. Only a postmortem will reveal that, he added.

Five people had died in police firing at Mandsaur the same day, putting the BJP government in the state on the backfoot. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was briefly arrested for trying to enter the strife-torn district on Thursday, despite the authorities warning him against trying to foment trouble.

Taking note of the escalating violence, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that he would observe an indefinite fast at the BHEL Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal from 11 am on Saturday to bring farmer leaders to the table for peaceful negotiations.

Meanwhile, the agitation continued to spread across the state. Farmers pelted stones at police personnel trying to prevent them from entering the state capital, blocking the Indore-Bhopal highway and setting a truck on fire.

No one was injured and we have deployed adequate security forces to prevent any further violence, a senior police officer in Bhopal said.

Farmers in Damoh surrounded the collectors office to decry the killing of their counterparts in Mandsaur and demand higher compensation for farm produce. Sporadic clashes between police and farmers were also reported from other districts.

A video of Congress legislator Shakuntla Khatik exhorting farmers in Shivpuri district to burn a police station surfaced on the social media, giving the BJP more ammunition to accuse the Opposition party of spurring the agitators on. Police also prevented a few Congress workers from burning chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan in effigy.

In Sehore, protesters vandalised a highway toll plaza and set a few vehicles on fire. This resulted in a massive jam, inconveniencing hundreds of commuters. When police tried to intervene, the farmers pelted stones at them  resulting in yet another baton-charge.

No untoward incident was reported from Mandsaur, with police securing the entry and exit points of every village in the troubled region. The curfew imposed on the district was also relaxed from 10 am to 6 pm.

Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia decided to cut short his overseas trip and return to India in view of the farmers agitation. He had gone abroad for his sons medical treatment, a press release issued by Congress leader Pankaj Chaturvedi stated.
My brother died in my arms, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Madhusudan Patidar (22) has tears in his eyes as he recalls the horror of seeing his brother, 17-year-old Abhishek, shot down in Mandsaur on June 5. They had gone together to put forth their demands before the administration that fateful day, but only Madhusudan was left standing when the dust settled.

Abhishek was shot twice, the first time in his stomach. He turned towards me and said, Bhaiya, I have been shot, and that was when another bullet pierced his back. We took him to Pipliyamandi hospital, but that was of no use. He was gone, says Madhusudan. Abhishek wanted to become a doctor he was everybodys little darling.

Many farmers present at the site allege that the police issued no announcement or warning shot before opening fire. Do you think we would have just stood there to get shot? asks Madhusudan, bewildered. Nobody expected that. To think that our chief minister calls himself a friend of the farmer!

Incidentally, all the five victims of the Mandsaur shooting were Patidars  members of a community thats wealthy, landed and devoted to the ruling BJP. Things, however, havent been looking up for the last few years. While farm produce doesnt fetch as much in the market, input costs have increased almost in tandem with the reduction in subsidies.

Whenever we have a bumper crop, the prices come crashing down, says farmer leader Mahesh Patidar, referring to the time when onions were being sold for 50 paise per kilo last year. Many frustrated agriculturists preferred throwing their crop away in protest.

Villagers stage a chakka jam on the Mhow-Neemuch highway with the body of Abhishek Patidar, who was killed in police firing, in Mandsaur on Wednesday. (Mujeeb Faruqui/ HT Photo)

It was for this very reason that the farmers decided to raise a collective demand for a minimum support price. The agitation turned unruly, and police firing followed.

Bablu Patidar (22) was another casualty of that dreaded day. We had married Bablu off six months ago, and he was only getting settled into his family life. We took him to the protest with us, and now I feel both guilty and angry. How do I face his wife? asks Mohanlal, his elder brother.

Radheshyam, his uncle, is equally furious. I am angry at the chief minister. All he does is make false promises and shed crocodile tears, he fumes.

The family of 25-year-old Satyanarayan relates a similar story. Who knew he was heading to his death that day? We were three siblings, and now were just two, bemoans Kanhaiyalal Patidar, his brother.

All of them met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday. I hope his visit forces the government to help us, says Kanhaiyalal, recalling how the politician became emotional while hearing their stories. I was touched by his attitude.

However, not all agitators approve of the violence that has engulfed the state. Kanhaiyalal is especially scornful of an incident where agitating farmers set a passenger bus afire in Dewas. They may be angry, says he. But it is ruining our cause.

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Saif Ali Khan has been juggling a hectic schedule these days. After shooting an entire day for Bazaar, the actor comes back and spends time reading scripts.

We have spotted many directors including Vikramaditya Motwani and writer Varun Grover paying a visit to Saif at his house, where they sit together and discuss scripts with him. Currently, there lies a stack of scripts on Saifs bedside table. He gives two to three hours each day to reading them, says a source.

Apparently, the actor has also been lately engaging in a lot of brainstorming sessions with film-makers.

The source further adds, Saif has always explored diverse genres with films such as Omkara (2006), Being Cyrus (2006) and Cocktail (2012). The actor has three projects in the pipeline  Hollywood remake of Chef (2014), Kalakandi and Bazaar. None of them are similar in anyway. And now he wants to explore myriad subjects. He wants to build an incredible line-up of good, content-driven films.

Saif Ali Khan has three projects in the pipeline. (HT Photo)

Saif couldnt be reached for a comment.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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Actors Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar have averted what possibly could have been the biggest box-office clash this year. After much anticipation, the title of the Shah Rukh and Anushka Sharma starrer was revealed yesterday night, and the Imtiaz Ali directorial will be called Jab Harry Met Sejal and not The Ring, Rehnuma or Raula, as rumoured for months now.

Amid reports that the film was to clash with Akshay and Bhumi Pednekars film, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, trade analyst announced the release date of the film on Twitter, hence confirming that the clash has been avoided. Jab Harry Met Sejal will hit the theatres on August 4, 2017 whereas, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha is scheduled to release a week later, on August 11, 2017.

Earlier, when the reports surfaced that both SRK and Akshays films will release during the Independence Day weekend, rumour mills were abuzz that filmmakers were planning to postpone SRKs movie. These reports were rubbished by Adarsh in his tweet. Strangely, for SRK, the year started with yet another big clash when his film Raees locked horns with Hrithik Roshan-starrer Kaabil, however both the films fared well at the box-office.

No postponement... SRK-Anushka starrer, directed by Imtiaz Ali, arriving on 11 Aug 2017, as per schedule. Title not finalised yet... Poster: pic.twitter.com/H5phG8gc9c  taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) April 26, 2017

Soon after the title of the film was revealedJab Harry Met Sejalsocial media users went crazy calling it an obvious take on Meg Ryan and Billy Crystals Harry met Sally (1989). Interestingly, it also reminded fans of Imtiazs hit film Jab We Met (2007), starring Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shahid Kapoor. It was rather interesting to see how Shah Rukh and Anushka shared the names of each others characters on Twitter.

Strangely, many claimed that the title of the film was suggested by none other than Imtiazs favourite actor, Ranbir Kapoor, who starred in Rockstar (2011) and Tamasha (2015). However, SRK, in his witty way, refuted reports and set the record straight through one tweet.

Just in case Ranbir Kapoor ever claims itthe title Jab Harry met Sejal was never ever suggested by him!So he doesnt win the Rs.5000 reward  Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) June 8, 2017

A romantic film, Jab Harry Met Sejal, has been widely shot in Prague, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Budapest and parts of Punjab too. According to reports, SRK plays the role of a tourist guide and Anushka plays a Gujarati girl and the film will see both the actors being paired on the big screen for the third time after Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012).

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Actor Swara Bhaskar doesnt shy away from learning new things. Whether its for the roles she portrays in her films or anything that she comes across in real life, the actor is always ready to pick up new skill sets. Joining the nationwide frenzy for Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, the actor, who watched the Telugu version of the film, decided to learn the language. According to a source, the actor has watched the film 10 times and to get her dialect right, Swara sought help from her father, who is fluent in Telugu.

Ask her what pushed her to learn the language, and she says, My dad is from Andhra, so Im half Telugu. However, since we lived in Delhi, we never spoke the language at home and I couldnt pick it up well. It was a shortcoming that I used to feel bad about. Though the 29-year-old says that the desire to learn Telugu was rekindled after watching Baahubali 2, it wasnt the only reason. I always had a desire to learn, as the language is a part of my cultural heritage. The obsession for the film acted as a catalyst, says Swara.

Now that Swara has picked up the language, is she open to doing Telugu films also? Answering this query, Swara says, Well, I think now I will actively pursue the same. Though Ive not got any offers for regional films till now, Id never turn down a film for its language. Id take it as a challenge and opportunity and learn new things.

Swara also feels its the right time that more Bollywood actors should try doing regional films as such collaborations are turning out to be successful. It would be great if there is more sharing of talent and audiences across all language films in India. I feel, films, such as, Sairat and Baahubali point to the direction that for a good story, language is no bar, she adds.

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Infosys Ltd denied a media report on Friday that the founders of Indias second-biggest software services exporter were looking to sell their entire 12.75% stake in the company.

Infosys would like clarify reports in the media speculating on plans of stake sale by the promoters. This speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters, the IT major said in a statement.

The statement also appealed to the media against speculative stories.

Following the media report, Infosys shares took a hit falling as much as 3.5%, they were still down 1.7% at 1:15pm, on Wednesday.

Infosys founders, led by Narayana Murthy, have publicly accused the companys board of lapses in corporate governance, forcing the company to appoint a co-chairman to the board and a $2 billion payout to shareholders in the fiscal year to March 2018.

Murthy has also criticised pay hikes given to chief executive Vishal Sikka and operations chief Pravin Rao, and severance payouts given to executives, including former finance head Rajiv Bansal.

The row comes at a time when the Indian IT sector is facing headwinds in its biggest market, the United States, as President Donald Trump and his administration lean towards changing visa rules and hiking wages that could hit outsourcing firms.

Sikka has said that Infosys was likely to struggle to reach its ambitious $20 billion revenue target by 2020 due to a challenging environment.

Deven Choksey, promoter at KR Choksey Investment Managers, said markets would take any potential exit by promoters in stride, noting investors were more concerned about the broader outlook for Indias IT sector.

The business situation for IT companies remains uncertain. Thats a larger concern than that of promoters trying to walk out of the company, he said.

Infosys was founded in 1981 by seven engineers, including Murthy, who pooled $250, mostly borrowed from their wives. The companys rapid growth kick-started outsourcing in India.

(With inputs from Reuters)
Irans oil exports to the West surged in May to their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in early 2016 and almost caught up with volumes exported to Asia, a source familiar with Iranian oil exports said.

Iran, which used to be OPECs second biggest oil exporter, has been raising output since 2016 to recoup market share lost to regional rivals including Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

While many Asian nations continued to purchase oil from Iran during sanctions, Western nations halted imports, halving Irans overall exports to as little as one million barrels per day (bpd).

Last month, Iran exported about 1.1 million bpd to Europe including Turkey, almost reaching pre-sanction levels and only slightly below the 1.2 million bpd supplied to Asia, the source told Reuters.

Irans exports to Asia last month were the lowest since February 2016, Reuters calculations showed.

Oil exports to Asia fell as South Korea and Japan stepped up oil condensate purchases and bought less oil, said the source, who asked not to be identified as the information is confidential.

Irans condensate parked in floating storage has almost been exhausted because of higher purchases by Japan and Korea, the source said.

Exports to Asia were also hit by Indias decision to cut annual purchases from Iran by a fifth for the fiscal year to March 2018.

After the lifting of sanctions, Tehran added new clients such as Litasco and Lotos and won back customers such as Total, ENI, Tupras, Repsol, Cepsa and Hellenic Petroleum.

OPEC member Iran was allowed a small production increase under a December deal to limit output.

Irans overall May oil production totalled 3.9 million bpd, the source said.

Iran is currently producing about 200,000 bpd of West Karoun grade, which the nation blends with other Iranian heavy grades for export, he said.
Would you be surprised if I told you India was already a leader in clean energy, the most important technology of the future? Dont worry you are not alone. In fact its more surprising the Indian government doesnt brag about its achievements given it has shown no such shyness on other issues.

Across India, right now there are villages where households get loans to buy a solar power system for a few light bulbs inside. They dont need to pay for power, only the initial cost. It is helping children study at night, saving farmers money on their crop, letting remote hospitals do necessary operations.

Renewable energy can not only transform thousands of villages and towns across this vast country, it can put also India on an accelerator into the future. The opportunities for transformation are vast. The only complaint is the BJP government is not going far enough.

Last month the New York Times even praised India (and China) for leading the world in clean energy investment, as it complained that Donald Trumps America now looked like a laggard. With the Americans now planning to leave the Paris climate agreement the opportunity for Modi to lead the world is even greater.

In the last few years the global price of solar energy has fallen so fast it has left heads spinning. A lot of that drop has come from here. Five year ago solar companies in India were producing a kilowatt-hour for Rs.7. Its now down to Rs.2.44 - even cheaper than coal. The world is watching in amazement.

The strides being made here are manifold: first the price of supplying solar power to the grid is falling fast. That in turn gets more companies to invest more money and create more jobs. And storing power for cloudy days has become less of a problem as the price of batteries has fallen. Being able to produce cheaper energy helps Indian companies export parts to all over the world.

Secondly, falling prices have encouraged the centre to set ambitious targets to expand clean energy capacity: from 36 gigawatts now to 175 gigawatts in five years. They even want to ensure only electric cars are sold by 2030. This could mean an end to blackouts and bottlenecks, and an economy that grows even quicker.

Indias strides are encouraging Europe to follow suit. Switzerland voted last month to phase out fossil fuels and focus on clean power. The new President of France has announced a similar plan. Germany has already set itself very high targets. China is investing more in clean energy than anyone else and expects to create 13 million new jobs in the sector by 2020.

This is a race to dominate the most important industry of the future. It is also a race to save the planet before climate change overwhelms us. Farming-heavy states like Punjab and Chhattisgarh are already feeling the effects as monsoon patterns keep changing. Climate change affects farming and crops and thus will hit India particularly badly.

India is the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Indian cities dominate the list of the most polluted on the planet. It needs clean energy so Indians can breathe properly, but also to power growth, educate the youth and create more opportunities.

Whats happening with solar in India gives hope for the future, I was told by Alasdair Cameron at Friends of the Earth. He added: As the costs of solar continue to fall India has a real opportunity to become a world leader in the transition to a clean, 21st century energy system.

This boom is changing our world so quickly it may look unrecognisable soon. But it needs the Modi government to get ambitious and deliver. If India wanted it could not only become a world energy leader but save the planet in the process.

Sunny Hundal is a writer and lecturer on digital journalism based in London

The views expressed are personal

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Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Friday granted 3 crore for conservation of dying Naini Lake in Nainital.

The chief minister was in the town for opening of a three-day Modi festival.

The conservation of the worldwide famous Naini Lake is our top priority. I have been coming to here for 30 years. This lake is not only a significant entity for people of Uttarakhand, but for world as well, he told the media.

He said the state government would make all possible efforts to restore the sanctity of the Lake. If needed, we will seek help of the central government.

The level of lake this year has drastically gone down to minus seven feet which became a major national concern.

A barefoot walk by thousands of local residents was held on June 3 from Gandhi statue to Pant statue on the Mall Road to highlight the dying condition of the lake.

Meetings at different levels are being carried out regarding the water level of the Naini Lake. The high court is also serious regarding the dropping of the lake water level.

The chief minister met environment experts and discussed reasons behind depletion in water level.

Experts were asked to survey and submit a report on reviving the lake and it further conservation.

Talking about the hyped NH74 scam, Rawat said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would process the case in next three months.

The government has already suspended 6 officers and arrested them in connection with the case.

He said commissioner D Senthil Pandiyan, who was replaced few days back, has completed his investigation and has submitted a detailed report to the state government.

Giving opportunity to farmers for discussing their problem, he said special assistance would be provided to them. He will also talk to them directly every week to strengthen farming and agricultural practices in hills.
The Congress on Friday accused the BJP government in Uttarakhand of presenting a cut--copy-paste budget by just renaming many schemes launched during its rule.

The BJP governments maiden budget lacks originality, former chief minister Harish Rawat said.

It is nothing but a cut-copy-paste budget they (the BJP) have copied many of our old projects and have chosen to relaunch them with new names, Rawat told HT over phone from Haridwar.

The ruling party, however, rejected the allegation. They (the Congress government) only believed in making announcements and hardly executed anything, said Madan Kauhshik, a cabinet minister and government spokesperson.

The former chief minister asserted that his governments pet project - the Mukhyamantri Swasthya Beema Yojana that promised health cover of up to 1.75 lakh per family - has been reintroduced as Mukhyamantri Swasthya Kalyan Card Yojana with some changes.

We wish them well (for the schemes execution) but the budget clearly shows how the BJP lacks its own vision for the hill state, he said.

Some of the BJP governments other budgetary plans which the Congress claims have been out rightly lifted or inspired from its erstwhile government include a decision to come up with residential schools and hostels in hill areas, distribution of free laptops and smart phones to meritorious students, Wi-Fi in universities, hostels for working women, modernisation of madrasas and plans to introduce air ambulance.

Congress state unit president Pritam Singh said: We (the erstwhile Congress govt) had taken a number of steps to curb migration from the hills this (BJP) governments budget is all talk and no action.

Party spokesperson Manish Karnawal alleged that a close look at the budget exhibited how several plans announced by the government were ones that had been carried over from the Harish Rawat government.

It clearly vindicates our (Congress) stand and proves that those (schemes) were pro-people and thats the reason theyve been taken forward by the BJP regime, either with a new name or some changes here and there, he said.

In his first reaction after the budget was tabled in the assembly on Thursday, chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said his government laid the foundation for rise of a new Uttarakhand by focusing on TASK -- (T)ourism and (A)griculture, (S)kill and (K)nowledge.

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A 19-year-old woman has been allegedly raped by two persons, including a juvenile, in west Delhis Naraina.

The accused Kashif (20) and the victim were working as labourers at an under-construction building in Naraina.

Kashif and the juvenile took her to a place in Delhi Cantonment on Wednesday afternoon where they allegedly raped her, police said.

The woman approached the police following which both accused were nabbed.

Kashif was arrested on Thursday while the juvenile was apprehended a day ago, they added.

Amethi horror

A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped in Uttar Pradeshs Amethi district, police said.

Police have lodged a case of rape.

SHO Rekha Singh said a named FIR has been lodged on complaint of the victims father against Anas of village Pure Murti.

The victim has been sent for medical examination and Musafirkhana circle officer Siddharth Tomar is investigating the case, she said
The Delhi government has asked Delhi University colleges funded by it to not go ahead with appointment of faculty till governing bodies are formed.

It also threatened to withhold funds to colleges if there is non-compliance of its orders.

The government asked the university to duly constitute the governing bodies, which will include five members nominated by the government, before making any appointments.

DU colleges have been advertising vacant faculty positions following a Delhi high court order.

The director of higher education on Thursday sent a letter to the DU registrar and said the move to advertise for posts had been viewed adversely by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, keeping in view his earlier direction in this regard.

in this context it may be recalled that it was instructed that appointments to various posts in these colleges should not happen as this may lead to allegations of misuse by the truncated governing bodies, the letter said.

The letter said, Any appointment should ideally be made once the governing bodies are duly reconstituted.

The letter said that in case of non-compliance of directions, the grant-in-aid of the concerned Delhi Government funded colleges may be withheld.

The university said faculty will be appointed will after governing bodies are formed. The colleges have only advertised the positions as per a HC order. It will take a couple of weeks for the final process to start. By the end of this month, the governing bodies will be constituted, a top DU official said.

There are 28 DU colleges fully and partially funded by the government. The governing body of each college has 15 members out of which five are nominated by the government.

Another five members are selected by the government out of a list of nominations sent by the colleges. There are two university nominees, two teachers representatives and a principal in the committee, a university official said.

Government sources said the formation of governing bodies had been delayed as the university was late in sending the list of names and after that it asked the government to send the final names again in a different format.

University sources said the government did not send the final names in proper format on time. It will be now taken up for approval in the executive council meeting soon, a source said.

Twelve DU colleges are fully funded by the Delhi government, including Shaheed Raj Guru College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Maharaja Agarsen College, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.

Sixteen DU colleges are partially funded by the Delhi government, including Gargi College, Kamla Nehru College, Shivaji College and Delhi College of Arts & Commerce.

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A 41-year-old Delhi Police head constable shot himself dead with his service pistol at a police beat box, near Shahabad Dairy police station late Thursday night. The bullet pierced through his neck and hit another constable in his shoulder. The injured constable has been identified as Rajesh.

Rishipal, deputy commissioner of police (Rohini district), said the head constable, Har Bhagwan, was depressed because of personal reasons.

The head constables wife suspected him of having an extra-marital affair and they fought often, said the DCP. Bhagwan was a native of Punjab. He is survived by his parents, wife, and three children who live in Rohini area. His parents live in Punjab.

A senior police officer said the incident took place around 11pm. Three more policemen, including Constable Rajesh, were present in the beat box when the incident occurred.

Head constable Bhagwan was talking to his wife over telephone. He was arguing with her over some issue and after a few minutes he disconnected in anger, said the officer.

When one of the policemen asked Bhagwan if he would leave for home, he took out his service pistol and cocked it. Constable Rajesh rushed to snatch the weapon from his hand. But before he could reach him, Bhagwan shot a bullet in his neck. It pierced his head and hit Rajeshs shoulder.

The two were rushed to Baba Saheb Ambedkar hospital where Bhagwan was declared brought dead. The condition of the injured cop was stated to be out of danger.
The Delhi High Court has asked the Lieutenant Governor to convey to the court his decision on a representation challenging the reappointment of the director of Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS).

A Delhi-based RTI activist, Balbir Singh, has alleged in his petition that the appointment of Dr Nimesh G Desai as director of the institute was illegal as it was not approved by the LG.

Desai was appointed as director in 2010 and his tenure ended in April 2015. After extending his tenure for about a year, Desai was selected as director of IHBAS again.

The petition, represented by advocate Siddhartha Singh, alleged a fresh selection process was initiated by the Delhi governments health minister only to benefit and appoint Desai in a pre-determined manner.

It alleged that the appointment process, initiated earlier in which other eligible candidates were selected, was abruptly cancelled and a fresh selection process was initiated with relaxation in rules to suit Desai.

After issuing a fresh advertisement in February 2016, Desai was not eligible for consideration for appointment the post of director, having crossed 60 year of age, the said requirement of age was relaxed so that he could apply for the post of director under the fresh advertisement issued in February 2016, the petition said.

The petitioner said though he made a representation to the LG last September informing him of the alleged irregularities committed in the selection of the director, no action has been taken to date.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Navin Chawla has asked for the decision of the LG to the representation made by Singh to be presented before the court.

The respondents shall place before this Court the consideration of the representation on the next date of hearing, the court said posting the case for hearing on July 31.

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Taxation on the stock of goods which remained unsold by June 30 under the Goods & Services Tax regime was one of the biggest concerns raised by the city traders with deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who along with the VAT department officers, addressed queries through Facebook live on Friday.

Considered as the biggest indirect tax reform in the country post independence, the GST regime will kick in from July 1.

During the discussion, several traders queried about the taxation that will apply to the left over stocks, as on June 30, and whether the traders would get any input credit against the tax paid over them under the current tax regime.

All traders will get input credit, depending on the documents available with respective traders. If all documents are in place, traders would get 100% tax credit. If not, 60% tax credit will be given on goods which would be above 18% tax slab, while 40% tax credit will be granted for goods falling under 18% tax slab, said H Rajesh Prasad, VAT Commissioner.

Other traders also raised queries about fitment of tax rates for different goods, for which the traders were advised to check the CBEC website for the rate card. The deputy chief minister also directed the VAT department to post the rate card on the Delhi government website.

The deputy CM assured the traders that he would take up the concerns raised by the traders, both online and offline, in the next GST Council meeting on June 11.
Delhi Police on Friday arrested gangster Chhota Shakeels aide Junaid Chaudhary, who was allegedly planning to assassinate Pakistan-born Canadian writer Tarek Fateh and jailed underworld don Chhota Rajan.

Shakeel is deputy of fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim, believed to be in Pakistan.

Chaudhary, 21, a resident of northeast Delhi, was caught late Wednesday night with a pistol and four cartridges near Gagan Cinema in Nand Nagri, MM Oberoi, joint commissioner of police (special cell), said.

Special cell sleuths were looking for Chaudhary after they intercepted telephonic conversation between him and Shakeel.

Police said Shakeel was allegedly heard directing Chaudhary to assassinate Fateh, known for his controversial remarks, and Dawoods former aide and rival Chhota Rajan, presently lodged in Tihar jail.

Chaudhary said he was directed by Shakeel to target the writer in Delhi. He claims Shakeel asked him to collect information about Chhota Rajans visits to hospitals from jail and kill him whenever he gets an opportunity. We are verifying his claims, said Oberoi.

Chaudhary received R1.5 lakh in four installments through hawala and other money transfer means from Shakeel to execute the assassination plan, Oberoi said.

Of the amount, Chaudhary claimed he spent R1 lakh to buy the pistol and cartridges. The firearm and ammunition were delivered to him by a Uttar Pradesh-based illegal arms dealer, who is now on the radar of the police.

Even though Fatah, a secularist and liberal activist, was not in Delhi, Junaid was directed to carry out a recce and look for opportunities to kill him, said an officer.

Chaudhary was last arrested in May-June last year with three others for allegedly plotting to assassinate Ghaziabad-based godman Swami Chakrapani, chief of Hindu Mahasabha. Their interrogation had revealed that the assassination plot was hatched by Dawood and Shakeel.

They said Dawood was angry with Chakrapani because he bought an old car allegedly belonging to the don in 2015 and later publically burning it in Ghaziabad.

Chakrapani was provided Z-category security cover after threats from D-company.

Chaudhary was bailed out in less than two months. His bail was then cancelled on the request of the investigating officer. In October, he was again released on bail and he once again established contact with Shakeel, police said. Special cell sleuths kept their surveillance on him and his activities.

Unlike the previous time when he was contacting Shakeel through phone calls and text messages, Chaudhary this time used internet calling and messaging options to avoid detection. He often used WhatsApp, Viber and other mobile applications to communicate with Shakeel. He also used emails.

Choudhary claimed that he met Shakeels around two years through his aide in Delhi, said the officer.
Rebel AAP leader Kapil Mishra was not allowed to meet Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal when he arrived at the CMs Janta Darbar on Friday. He and his supporters were stopped 150 metres before the CMs residence by the police, after which they started protesting.

Mishra arrived at the CMs residence at Flagstaff Road, Civil Lines, around 10.30am accompanied by supporters and a drum troupe. Addressing the media and his supporters, Mishra said the CM should read his own book Swaraj, hinting at the alleged nepotism in the party.

I had brought this book on Swaraj written by him. You have written it, might as well read it. The day you read it, you will quit the CMs post in shame, Mishra said.

He also raised slogans against Kejriwal saying that the CM is scared to confront them.

Chor ki sabse pehli pehchaan ye hai ki woh aankhein milane se darta hai (A thief is scared to make eye contact) Same with Kejriwal With me, with Kolis mother with autowallahs of Delhi with taxi drivers residents who have come with complaints, he is scared to look into their eyes.

Kalavati, the mother of Santosh Kohli, also accompanied Mishra. Ive come to demand CBI inquiry. Why is he not coming out? she said.

Kohli, an AAP leader from Seemapuri, had passed away a month after an accident in June 2013. The party calls her a martyr who took on the ration mafia in the Capital.

The protesters, including Mishra, also climbed the barricades in their bid to reach the CMs residence.

Earlier, the sacked Delhi minister had claimed he would start round two of the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement and sought to begin the campaign by demanding resignation of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and health minister Satyendar Jain.

I will not rest until I send Kejriwal to Tihar. I am making all the evidence against Kejriwal public through this website, Mishra had said.

He along with his supporters passed a seven-point resolution and announced the launch of India Against Corruption-2. Mishra and Kejriwal had first collaborated under the India Against Corruption movement which began in 2011.

The resolution now mooted by Mishra includes a Right to Recall hearing against Arvind Kejriwal in his New Delhi constituency and health minister Satyendar Jain.

Mishra is also demanding a special session of the Delhi Assembly at the Ram Lila Maidan to discuss corruption charges against Kejriwal and Jain and resignation of the two. Mishra claims that they dont have the moral right to continue after corruption charges emerged against them.

Today we came with a handful of people. Next time we will come with more people. We will be back, the former Delhi water minister said.

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The Union government has planned to introduce a joint entrance test on the lines of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for courses in Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (Ayush).

The move comes close on the heels of the Centre introducing a common entrance exam for studies in modern medicine. The ministry of Ayush has sent an advisory to all states, intimating them about the new plans.

We are also moving towards a common entrance for courses in Indian system of medicine on the lines of NEET. We have written to states to take candidates from NEET this year, if possible, but since it is too short a notice we plan to roll it out from next year, said Ayush minister Shripad Yesso Naik. He was talking on the sidelines of a conference held in the run-up to the International Day of Yoga that is observed on June 21.

Last year, the Union health ministry had implemented NEET, which makes it mandatory for all medical colleges in the country to admit students in medicine and dental courses through a common entrance examination.

The aim behind the governments latest directive is to maintain the quality of students at the undergraduate and post-graduate level.

All colleges and institutions offering courses in the Ayush discipline will come under this new test pattern, said Naik.

The test will be mandatory even for the private institutions.

It will be implemented in all recognised colleges and institutions, including the private ones, said Naik.

There are close to 500 institutions offering courses in Ayush system, and the government has plans to increase the numbers, given the huge interest of people in traditional medicines.

Our ministry has been focusing on the quality of AYUSH education, and we have advised state governments to closely monitor and ensure the quality of education is being imparted in AYUSH colleges. Introduction of a test on the lines of NEET is a step in that direction, said Naik.

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New Delhi

Delhi University is likely to start a Delhi School of Journalism that will offer a five-year integrated degree, from this academic session. Admission to the course will be based on cutoffs and application forms will be released soon.

Some papers will be on data journalism, investigative journalism, foreign languages and regional languages. Thirty students will be admitted this year.

The universitys standing committee on academic affairs approved proposals to start the Journalism school, another School of Transnational Affairs and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Cyber Law and Security, said Nachiketa Khalsa, member of the standing committee.

The proposals will now be placed at the Academic Council for final approval.

All about DU admissions

The five-year integrated degree will have the option to exit after three years with an undergraduate degree in Journalism.

Students will be taught discipline-specific and elective courses. There will be a paper on data and investigative journalism along with papers on media and psychology, media and history, editing, writing, and documentary making, said Savita Datta, chairperson of the committee on structure and syllabus for the five-year integrated Journalism programme.

Datta said students will have two study two compulsory languages, which will help them report from different regions.

There will be four foreign language options Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and French. There will be two regional languages as well Tamil and Bengali. Students will have to learn one foreign and one regional language, she said.

Datta said students will learn to read, write and comprehend the language. The aim is to equip the prospective journalist with basics of the language so that if she goes to cover the Middle East, for instance, she is able to communicate with people, she said.

The School may go for entrance exams from next year. The initial plan was to admit students based on an entrance test but it is not feasible this year. If the governing body of the school decides, then they can go for the entrance test next year, she said.

Six colleges in the university offer Journalism at the undergraduate levelLady Sri Ram College for Women, Kalindi College, Kamla Nehru College, Delhi College of Arts and Commerce and Maharaja Agrasen College, and The Institute of Home Economics.

The process for applying for the undergraduate course is same as other courses. Applicants have to fill the centralized registration form and opt for the course. Admissions will be based on cutoff. BA (hons) Journalism, one of the popular courses at the university, has already received 45,000 applications.

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New Delhi

Delhi University is likely to conduct entrance exams for postgraduate and research courses from July 1. The exams for over 70 courses will be conducted till July 6 at six locations across the country.

The online registration for admissions to postgraduate, MPhil and PhD courses will begin next Monday, after a delay of over a month.

There are about 9,000-10,000 seats at the postgraduate level in courses such as MA, MSc and Master in Computer Applications (MCA).

The number of seats in MPhil and PhD is still being calculated as each department has to send the number of research students a faculty member can take.

The entrance exams will be conducted from July 1 to July 6. There are 72 subjects at the postgraduate level for which the entrance exams will be conducted. The exams will be in the offline mode, said a university official.

Another official said the entrance exams will be conducted in six locations, including Delhi and Varanasi.

All you wanted to know about DU admissions

The university reserves 50% of the total seats for direct admission to most postgraduate courses for students who have completed their undergraduate degree from DU.

The admission is based on the marks scored by the applicants in their undergraduate courses.

The remaining 50% seats are given to applicants who clear entrance exams. Some departments also an interview after the entrance exams.

This years postgraduate entrance exams have been delayed due to uncertainty over conducting the entrance exams online. The university had earlier decided to conduct the exams at 18 centres in the online mode.

But the move did not go well with a section of teachers and students. They said the online entrance test will put many students, especially from rural and backward areas, at a disadvantage. They asked the university to conduct offline tests.

Giving into the demands, the university decided to conduct only offline tests for PG admission this year.

The online registration process for the undergraduate courses is going on and will finish on June 12. The first cut-off will be announced on June 20 after which students can take admission in college depending on their score.

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Contemporary age is marked by multidisciplinarily for gaining knowledge in the universities across the globe. Liberal arts and humanities focusing on the interdependence of societal problems are gaining ascendency over classical normative and specialised courses. BA program in Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) that the University of Delhi offers is most meticulously designed curriculum that encourages students to study a combination of subjects of their own choice. It offers, therefore, a vast array of diversified disciplines aimed at holistic cognitive development.

The scheme for the restructured BA program course enables students to orient towards three important knowledge areas. They are typically nomenclatured as core courses (including its specific elective and the generic elective areas), ability enhancement compulsory courses, and skill enhancement courses.

All about DU admissions

The bucket-list for three years would be two core subjects of ones choice, for instance political science and economics, two compulsory ability enhancement courses, one being language (English/Hindi/Modern Indian Language) and the other environmental science and the optional skill enhancement courses from a wide range of choices such as computers, project management, public opinion and survey methods, financial economics, research methodology and so on.

The idea behind such architecture of BA is to allow students to explore the possibilities, whilst studying, to either go in for further studies or to gain employment after graduation. The core courses kindles interest in higher studies and research prospects including teaching, both at university and school levels. The papers offered in the core courses are foundational in character and also applied in a sense market-based. For instance, in political science the student studies political theory, Indian politics and administration and public policy.

Of course, language and environmental science would enhance ability in analytical and communications skills. The skill based courses are aimed at gaining technical skills which helps in gaining employment in the concerned field, such as stock exchange, non-governmental organizations and so on and partly helps in understanding and making the core courses more relevant.

Given the IAS exam course structure, BA Program is the best suited course to take the exam after graduation. The program actually prepares one to become a generalist that the civil services exam requires. The other interesting fields such as Journalism and mass- communication, Law, management, NGOs, Education, film making etc are open for further explorations. It may also happen that the students get empowered enough with the skills needed to begin with their own start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures.

Associate Professor, Ramjas College, University of Delhi
E-mail messages should be like skirts  short enough to be interesting and long enough to cover all the vital points. Does the analogy irk you? The line is from a book  written by former Shri Ram College of Commerce professor CB Gupta  thats often used by professors to teach business communication to sixth- semester students in Delhi University. The comparison recently went viral on social media, and has been drawing flak for being inappropriate and sexist.

Raghuvendra Singh, a final-year B. Com (Hons) student at Hans Raj College, says, Its plain sexism. Such examples give others the confidence to use pathetic ideas in the domain of education, and that just beats the whole point of education. Publishers should make sure that such content doesnt see the light of day.

Professors, too, agree that such content should not be promoted. Rama Sharma, principal of Hans Raj College, doesnt want teachers in her college to recommend the book to students. Im not sure if professors are referring to the book, but if they are, Ill ask them to stop. Im against the use of such language in a book, as it promotes wrong ideas in the minds of the students. JP Mahajan, associate professor, Commerce Department, Kirori Mal College, also condemns descriptions like these in a book used to teach students.

The author could have used any example; why did he have to use one about a girls skirt? says a livid Shachi Yadav, guest faculty member at Faculty of Management Studies. I dont know why a girls modesty is always dragged into various scenarios, she adds.

A college principal, wishing not to be named says that sometimes people end up using the wrong example without realising it. What one wants to convey and what they end up implying has to be in sync. Aaj kal anyway sabka mind galat direction mein hi chalta hai, she says.

Some others argue that if teachers do ask students to refer to the book, then its not for such analogies but its content which is pertinent to the subject. We are professors, we have to refer to a lot of books and we always try to pick up the positive points, says Sonal Gupta, assistant professor, Commerce Department, Hans Raj College. She adds, One shouldnt think that if theres such a line, the book shouldnt be referred to at all. Professors can ask students to ignore such examples and refrain from using them in exams.

What does author CB Gupta have to say in his defence? Ive already deleted the statement from my book. Ill also advise the publisher to remove the content before publishing a latest edition. It [the comparison] was not [meant] to hurt anyone. I took the analogy from an article by a foreign author, he says.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Michelle Obama, widely regarded as one of the most stylish first ladies, has been constantly critiqued for her sartorial choices. Speaking at Apples Worldwide Developers Conference, she revealed how former President Barack Obama wore the same tuxedo (and shoes!) for two terms - eight years - of his presidency and no one noticed.

Putting the spotlight on the fashion industrys sexist double standards, Michelle Obama said, This is the unfair thing; You talk about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. No matter what we do, he puts on that same tux. People take pictures of the shoes I wear, the bracelets, the necklace. He wore the same tux for eight years, same shoes.

He was proud of it too; hes like, Mmm, Im ready. I got ready in 10 minutes. How long did it take you? and Im like Get out of here, the former US first lady said.

Michelle Obama has said that her brave choice of clothes and styles have always depended on comfort level they offer and not on who made them.

Here are some of Michelle Obamas looks through eight years as the Commander-in-Chiefs right-hand woman:

The First Lady in a one-shouldered white gown by designer Jason Wu.

Michelle Obama in a coat and dress by American designer Thom Browne.

Beautiful in blue! Michelle Obama had yet another best-dressed moment when she wore this gorgeous blue gown in 2012.

Here, she wears a chiffonand-velvet Jason Wu gown at the Inaugural Ball in Washington DC on January 21, 2013.

She accompanies the US President to greet former PM Manmohan Singh at the White House, wearing a silver-applique Naeem Khan gown.

Her stunning off-the-shoulder gown at the Kennedy Centers Honor Gala, 2013 is Marchesa.
The findings, published recently in the journal Food Research International, revealed that red onions contain high levels of quercetin -- a plant polyphenol from the flavonoid group, found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, and grains -- and include benefits such as lowering inflammation and fighting allergies, among others.

We found that onions are excellent at killing cancer cells, said Abdulmonem Murayyan, doctoral student at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

Onions activate pathways that encourage cancer cells to undergo cell death. They promote an unfavourable environment for cancer cells and disrupt communication between cancer cells, which inhibits growth, Murayyan added. Red onions were also found to have high amounts of anthocyanin, which enriches the scavenging properties of quercetin molecules.

Anthocyanin is instrumental in providing colour to fruits and vegetables so it makes sense that the red onions, which are darkest in colour, would have the most cancer-fighting power, said Murayyan. In the first study, to examine how effective onions are at killing cancer cells, researchers have found that not all onions are created equal.

The team tested five onion types grown in Ontario and discovered that the Ruby Ring onion variety -- that has hard, firm, tall globe-shaped bulbs with dark red colour features -- came out on top. When cells of the colon and breast cancer were placed in direct contact with quercetin extracted from the five different onion varieties, the team found them effective at killing the cancerous cells.

The next step will be to test the vegetables cancer-fighting powers in human trials, said Murayyan. While currently this superfood can be included in salads and on burgers as a preventative measure, researchers expect onion extract will eventually be added to food products such as juice or baked goods and be sold in pill form as a type of natural cancer treatment.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more
A week after the shocking gang-rape of a woman and murder of her eight-month-old infant in Manesar, the Gurgaon police on Friday arrested a man for allegedly raping a widow and her minor daughter.

Police said the accused, identified as 20-year-old Ashish Kumar, was arrested from Rajendra Park area around 11.30 am on Friday. He is the son of a sub-inspector of Delhi Police.

The victim lodged a complaint with the police on Thursday night and a case was registered at Rajendra Park police station, said assistant commissioner of police Manish Sehgal, a spokesperson of the Gurgaon police. He said the case against the accused was registered under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as section 4/12 of the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

The accused has been arrested and the police are investigating the matter, he said.

The woman, who hails from Uttarakhand, works in a car manufacturing company in Gurgaon. For the last one year, she had been living in a rented accommodation in Gurgaon along with her 15-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son.

The accused held them hostage for the last one month and threatened them repeatedly. He even escorted her to office and back. He raped the minor daughter in her mothers absence, a relative of the woman said.

The relative said he came to know about the incident only when the womans father, along with the two children, came to their house around 10.30pm on Thursday and revealed the shocking details to them.

On hearing this, the family members, along with a few neighbours, cordoned off the womans house and confronted the accused, who tried to escape through the roof but was caught and thrashed by the people.

Then, her family members called the police and had him arrested.

In her complaint to the police, the victim said a month ago, she went to Rajendra Park market where she met the accused, a resident of Amar Colony, Gokul Pur, in Delhi.

The woman said she shared her address with him during that first meeting.

Realising that she was a widow and was living with her daughter and son, the accused visited them the next day around 6.30pm and, on finding her alone, forced himself on her, the woman alleged.

When I tried to raise my voice, he stifled me. The next day, he again visited me around 9pm and raped me several times that night. He also made a video using his phone, the woman told the police.

Thereafter, he allegedly blackmailed her using the video. He raped and molested both the mother and daughter repeatedly, a police officer said.

The accused also threatened to kill the womans family if she dared to reveal her ordeal to anyone. He also threatened to circulate the videos on social media. The woman said she kept the abuse to herself, fearing further humiliation.

On the night of May 29, a 19-year-old woman was gang-raped by three persons in Manesar. Her infant daughter was choked to death.

The police arrested two of the accused on Wednesday, while the third man was nabbed on Thursday

Fed up with being abused and blackmailed, the widow approached the police on Thursday.

On the night of May 29, a 19-year-old woman was gang-raped by three persons in Manesar. Her infant daughter was choked to death.

The police arrested two of the accused on Wednesday, while the third was nabbed on Thursday.

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The Gurgaon police has drawn the ire of womens activists for exposing the Manesar gang-rape survivor to television cameras while she was at the womens police station and being taken for counselling.

A video of the 19-year-old, who was gang-raped in Manesar and whose eight-month-old daughter was choked to death by the accused, surfaced on Wednesday.

In the video, which has a run time of nearly five minutes and was shot by a satellite news channel, she is shown narrating her ordeal while being repeatedly interrupted by the reporter. Another short video of about a minute emerged later and it was attributed to a Hindi news channel.

The press claimed that the Gurgaon Commissioner of Police (CP), Sandeep Khirwar, had arranged for a meeting of TV news reporters with the victim. It is shocking as the victims identity and her privacy was compromised, Rekha Sharma, member of the National Commission for Women told HT.

Sharma met Khirwar, other police officers and the gang-rape victim on Thursday.

The NCW member took up the matter with the Gurgaon CP, but he denied the police had any role to play. Khirwar told Sharma that the victim was at the mahila thana (womens police station) when the press barged in.

I dont know who is telling the truth, but the Gurgaon police should have been more careful. It is the responsibility of the police to ensure privacy of any victim, particularly that of rape and sexual assault, Sharma said.

Ranjana Kumari, a womens rights activist and director of the Centre for Social Research, agreed. The privacy of a victim is extremely crucial and it is the polices responsibility to give her the protection she needs. However, the police has been irresponsible and insensitive in dealing with the Manesar case, Kumari said.

She said that if reports are to be believed that Khirwar himself had arranged a meeting of the victim with TV news reporters, then he should be booked under law.

Both Kumari and the NCW member, however, said that the media should have exercised restraint as well and should be more sensitive in covering such cases.

Kamlesh Panchal, former chairperson of the Haryana Women Commission, also questioned the Gurgaon police. She claimed that the police always delays investigation in cases of sexual assault and tries to convince the victim to withdraw her complaint.

Both the police and the media have exploited the victim here. The victim had to relive the horror again and again, Panchal said.

However, assistant commissioner of police, Manish Sehgal, a spokesperson Gurgaon police, denied Khirwar had arranged for the reporters to meet the victim.

Read I Gurgaon gang rape: Victim, husband fled from home after tiff with neighbours

Why would the police allow (reporters of) only one or two channels to meet the victim? Sehgal asked.

He said that the police was busy with the investigation and the meeting happened while the victim was inside the police station. Perhaps, there werent enough personnel at the womens police station at the time and some reporters sneaked in for a quick byte or two. We have taken note of the matter and will ensure that theres adequate police personnel around the victim in future, Sehgal said.

The Gurgaon police have arrested all the three accused in the Manesar gang-rape case. While Yogender and Amit were arrested on Wednesday from Manesar and Gurgaon respectively, the third accused and the alleged mastermind, Jaikesh, was nabbed from Bulandshahr in the wee hours of Thursday.
A retired Haryana judge, who fired gun shots at electricity staff on Wednesday evening, was sent to the jail after a court remanded him to the judicial custody for 14 days on Thursday.

AK Raghav, a retired additional sessions judge, was arrested late Wednesday night after he fired gun shots at workers rectifying electricity faults at Civil Lines area on Wednesday. The staff is employed with a contractor hired by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN).

Top bureaucrats, government officials, politicians, and a state Cabinet minister live at the upscale Civil Lines area.

According to the workers, Raghav took out his revolver and shot in the air as he was annoyed with the frequent power cuts. No one was injured in the incident but the bullets hit the workers tractor puncturing a tyre. The accused was drunk when he fired at the discom staffs who were working near his house in Civil Lines, the police said.

Devender Kumar, an employee eyewitness to the incident, said they had cut the electricity supply between 12pm and 6pm on Wednesday to change a faulty power cable. After rectifying the fault they went to restart power in the evening when Raghav came out of his house and abused the workers and went inside the house.

Kumar said the judge returned with a revolver and fired five shots, four of which hit the tyres of a tractor. He said the workers saved by hiding behind the tractor trolley.

The police had booked Raghav and a case was lodged at Civil Lines police station under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 353 (assault), 186 (obstructing public servant), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Arms Act.

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The 19-year-old Haryana woman, who was gang raped by three men and witnessed her eight-month-old daughter being murdered by them, said the fight with her neighbour proved to be a nightmare for her and her family.

She ran away from her house in Bas Kusla village in Manesar, nearly 22 km from Gurgaon, after the tiff with her neighbour and husband at around midnight on May 29 to avoid the police. And what followed was the horrific incident.

I wish I hadnt argued with my neighbour that day. My daughter would have been by my side and I would have been spared the horror, she told the Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview.

My daughter was playing outside my neighbours house while I was busy doing household chores. I heard my daughter wailing and when I ran outside, I realised that she (neighbour) had pushed her from the stairs, Sunita (name changed) said.

Sunita rushed towards her daughter and saw she was bleeding. She called up her husband and took the baby to a nearby clinic.

I didnt even have money to take my child to any hospital. I first borrowed Rs 30 from a nearby shop and then took her to a clinic where the doctor did a dressing on my daughters hand. She had bruises on her neck as well, she said.

By the time my neighbour returned to her house, her husband had also arrived around 2pm.

Her husband told HT that he only asked why she had pushed the infant when she and her husband started abusing them and even threatened to kill his wife and daughter

She (my neighbour) suddenly grabbed me by my collar and I pushed her and slapped her. She fell on the floor, and her nose started bleeding. But what would one do in such a case? the 21-year-old asked.

Sunita then asked her husband to run and said that she would manage. While the husband fled from the spot and went to Naharpur village in Gurgaon to his friend,her husband called up the police.

I too climbed up to the terrace and jumped onto the other side with my daughter. I asked for help from the neighbours on that side, and stayed at their place till night. But the women then asked me to leave their place and suggested that I too run away, Sunita recalled.

There was no one. I had to go, she said.

She took a lift in a truck to go to Khandsa village in Gurgaon to her in-laws house. When the driver of the truck molested her, she jumped out of the truck with her daughter.

Sunita was then given a lift by the three men in their four-wheeler Tata Magic vehicle and instead of dropping her to Khandsa, they took turns to rape her at a vacant plot in Manesar. During the incident, the men allegedly smothered her daughter because she was crying. Police said that she died of asphyxia.

HT also contacted Sunitas neighbour, who corroborated the sequence of events. The neighbour, however, said that she hadnt pushed the infant and that she fell from the stairs herself.

Sunitas husband wasnt talking. He was beating me up and even broke my nose. I kept telling him that I hadnt done anything, but he wouldnt listen, the neighbour said.

The neighbours husband claimed her wife even suffered a miscarriage after Sunitas husband kicked her on her stomach during the fight.

The three accused have been arrested and sent on remand for two days for further questioning, the police said.
Memoirs of a Geisha star Zhang Ziyi is the latest addition to the star cast of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

The 38-year-old actor is set to join the film which is being directed by Michael Dougherty, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The movie is a follow-up to the 2014s Godzilla, which has been penned by Zach Shields, along with Dougherty.

Zhang has also been roped in for other installments of the film franchise, including Godzilla vs Kong, as her character is a key figure in the covert, creature-cataloguing Monarch organisation whose premise has been established in the films.

Apart from Zhang, the film also features Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown.

The movie is slated to release on March 22, 2019, while Godzilla vs Kong will the screens in 2020.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
The Army was deployed in the Darjeeling town after Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters clashed with police, damaging police vehicles and setting vehicles ablaze as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a cabinet meeting there. Things to know about the run-up to the Darjeeling clashes

1.Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM)president Bimal Gurung called for agitation against chief minister Mamata Banerjees decision to teach Bengali in school in the hills, terming it an assault on the Nepali-speaking population.

2.In a public meeting in Mirik on Tuesday, the chief minister stepped up the pressure on GJM by announcing a special audit of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the autonomous body controlled by the Morcha. The term of GTA is set to end in July and elections will be held soon.

3.Bimal Gurung began stepping up his opposition in a calibrated manner, starting out with a two-day shutdown of all educational institutions in the hills on June 1 and 2.

4.Gurung decided to exploit the presence of chief minister Mamata Banerjee and more than two dozen of her ministers in Darjeeling on Thursday to step up his agitation.

5.While GJM leaders insisted that the state cabinet must pass a resolution that Bengali should be optional in the hills, it was not discussed in the cabinet meeting.

6.Though the chief minister had said earlier that Bengali would not be compulsory, on Thursday she evaded the issue and told media that it was a minor matter and that one could learn any language one wanted.

7.The flare-up on Thursday afternoon took place after Banerjee chaired a meeting of the state cabinet, the first in 45 years, at the Raj Bhavan. Thousands of GJM supporters had gathered near the venue, shouting slogans. Even as the chief minister emerged from the meet to address mediapersons, the agitators tried to burn her effigy and began pelting stones at the police contingent posted outside.

8.The police resorted to a lathi-charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob. But that failed to quell the GJM agitators, who set fire to four police vehicles and a public transport bus. Banerjee was barely half-a-kilometre away from the scene of the clashes.

9.Bimal Gurung has blamed Trinamool Congress supporters for triggering the clash by resorting to violence. Trinamool leaders denied the allegation.

10.The GJM has called for a 12-hour strike in the region on Friday. Gurung is expected to announce further plans at a press conference this evening.
On February 11, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) woke up to a public disclosure of an existential vulnerability in Aadhaar, the identification system that has recorded the biometric details of over 1 billion Indians.

In public, UIDAI claimed Aadhaar was completely secure as a user had to physically press her finger onto a biometric reader connected to the authoritys impregnable servers to conduct any transaction.

But UIDAIs experts had long known of one critical weakness: if an unscrupulous operator saved a copy of a users biometric fingerprints on his computer, he could transact on the users behalf by simply replaying the fingerprint stored on his computer.

On February 11, a YouTube clip illustrating such a replay attack was leaked online. On February 24, UIDAI filed a criminal complaint, alleging that an employee of Suvidhaa Infoserve had used Axis Banks gateway to UIDAIs servers to conduct 397 biometric transactions between July 2016 and February 2017 using a stored fingerprint. Axis Bank representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

The transaction went through because one of their own developers was trying to do this, said UIDAI chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey, who told HT that such breaches were very rare, much like aeroplane crashes, Can somebody say a plane wont crash? Question is how we minimise the risk.

This vulnerability, Pandey said, would be eliminated by new security measures. The Registered Device Notification issued on January 25, mandated the registration and encryption of each of millions of biometric readers currently in use in Aadhaars sprawling infrastructure by June 1. But on May 24, UIDAI pushed the deadline to September 30 citing logistical limitations. It is unclear if the new deadline will be met.

Aadhaar assumes that all the service providers are trustworthy, and will keep all the keys, certificates etc safe and away from prying eyes, said Dr Sandeep Shukla, head of the Computer Science department at IIT Kanpur. However, if one of the Aadhar-enabled service providers go rogue, all the security they have suggested will be compromised.

Today, Aadhaar is defenceless against replay attacks even as the Union government pushes for its use to register everything from infant children to bank accounts. Worse, experts like Dr Shukla warn that even implementing the security upgrades will not safeguard the identities of 1 billion Indians.

Private companies enrol new users on behalf of UIDAI and authenticate enrolled users when they access an Aadhaar-enabled service.

Enrollment software is owned and written by UIDAI, so trust in the process is high, said a cyber security expert who examined the Suvidhaa-Axis Bank breach. The biggest problem with authentication is UIDAI must work with private companies, deploying proprietary software on public internet services.

In any kind of system, the basic core will always be secure, but any such core system has to interact with a larger ecosystem and this ecosystem always bring the problem to the table, said Vinayak Godse, director of the Data Security Council of India, NASSCOMs premier data protection organisation.

Godse said UIDAI tries to control this ecosystem (see box) by publishing software specifications, and pushing entities like banks to comply with these guidelines.

Authentication software must receive a fingerprint from a biometric reader, process it and send it on to UIDAI for authentication. By law, fingerprint copies cannot be stored. But banking software is complex, making it hard to spot vulnerabilities hidden amidst millions of lines of code.

In the Suvidhaa-Axis Bank case, the expert said, a developer had illegally added a feature where an engineer could test the software by using a stored fingerprint rather than pressing his thumb onto a biometric reader each time he ran the test.

The new regulations try to secure the biometric reader, rather than the banking software.

By September 30, banks must pair their existing biometric readers with new software that registers each device with UIDAIs servers. Once registered, the device must mark each fingerprint it records with a unique signature and encrypt it.

But Shukla, the expert from IIT Kanpur, said registering each biometric reader with UIDAI isnt enough as readers can be cloned, the way that hackers routinely clone phone SIM cards.

Ultimately, UIDAI wants manufacturers to develop a reader with a chip to perform authentication functions. But all hardware, Shukla said, can be cloned, raising the question if Aadhaar can ever be truly secure.

The debate over biometric reader security, some experts say, is a consequence of UIDAIs conceptual misunderstanding about biometrics. Fingerprints are personal but public information, in the way that someones name is personal because it is their name, but is known to everyone and hence public.

One must be careful in using biometrics as an authenticator, said Shweta Agarwal, a Computer Science professor at IIT Madras. There is technology to lift a persons fingerprint, say from a book she is reading or from high resolution images posted on social media.

In 2014, for instance, hacker Jan Krissler recreated the fingerprints of Germanys defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen from close-up photographs in a government press release.Advances in technology mean stolen prints can be used to make three-dimensional replicas.

Ive actually seen someone do that on my reader, said a UIDAI-certified biometric device vendor, describing a test in which an Aadhaar transaction was performed using a fingerprint etched onto a fake plastic thumb. I couldnt believe my eyes.

Rather than confront these vulnerabilities, UIDAI has obfuscated facts.

In a UIDAI document titled Facts about Aadhaar, published in August 2016, UIDAI claimed the Aadhaar ecosystem already used registered biometric devices despite the fact that such devices will be introduced in October this year at the earliest.

The document also claims that biometric sensors are increasingly implementing liveness detection to ensure any attempt at making fake fingers/iris etc are prevented. Yet none of the biometric readers certified by UIDAI have been tested for liveness detection, according to documents reviewed by HT.

Ultimately, the governments decision to force 1.2 billion Indians to surrender their information to an opaque and unaccountable system like UIDAI is a political rather than a technological choice.

Godse from the DSCI said society must weigh Aadhaars risks against its benefits. Giving choice to the consumer is a very important kind of expectation that a modern day society should enjoy on any system, be it private or public, said Godse. Choice and freedom associated with it.
Five militants were killed in north Kashmirs Uri sector while trying to infiltrate into India, the army said on Friday.

It was the latest infiltration attempt to the restive valley and at least 12 militants have been killed by Indian soldiers since Wednesday.

An infiltration bid was foiled in the Uri sector in which five terrorists have been killed. Operation is still in progress, an army spokesperson said in Srinagar.

Details were not immediately available.

The army said, the total number of militants killed trying to enter India this year was 39.

The armys northern command said on Thursday it has been tackling multiple infiltration bids along the line of control (LoC) in north Kashmir.

The army has been engaged with armed militants in four sectors  Machhil, Naugam, Gurez and Uri  in the three frontier districts of north Kashmir since Wednesday morning, it tweeted on Thursday.

While three militants were killed on Thursday in Naugam sector of Kupwara district, four more were killed in the districts Machhil sector on Wednesday. A soldier was also killed in Naugam.

The army said several armed intruders ran back leaving behind their rucksacks in Gurez sector of Bandipora district.

The militants were being provided active support including covering fire (heavy calibre artillery) by Pakistan army posts on the LoC.

In the current year, 22 infiltration attempts have been foiled and 34 army intruders eliminated on LoC . Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and its agents to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan, the tweet said.
The Mumbai girl, who miraculously escaped death after being hit by a train, has said she was listening to music when the incident happened at the Bhandup railway station last month and asked people not to use earphones while waiting for trains, a report said.

Pratiksha Natekar was crossing the tracks on May 13 when a goods train ran over her but she survived with just minor injuries. A video capturing the chilling moment was widely circulated on social media, with many calling her the miracle girl.

In an interview with NDTV, she urged people not to wear earphones while using the railways and cross the tracks on foot overbridges.

I would appeal to everyone to not plug in earphones while using the railways. Dont use headphones while boarding a train or waiting for a train, the 19-year-old told NDTV on Thursday.

Crossing or trespassing the railway lines is a punishable offence. Violation of this rule could fetch a hefty fine or imprisonment under section 147 of the railways act.

Although the law is not clear about the use of earphones, the police repeatedly warn citizens to avoid this dangerous habit.

Nine people die on Mumbai local train tracks every day, according to an independent analysis by IndiaSpend.

Watch the full video here

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Around 8,000 students of 72 colleges of Magadh University (MU) will set out to transform 80 Bihar villages and slums into model cashless villages by sensitising villagers on cashless transactions post demonetisation.

The students will take up seven of the 38 districts of Bihar. Twenty-five villages of Patna also figure on their list.

The students will motivate and convince villagers to use PayTM, ATM and debit cards for small payments to encourage people use minimum cash transactions and help the Centres drive against corruption and black-marketing.

The advisory committee of the National Service Scheme (NSS) of MU took this decision at its meeting held Tuesday.

Presiding over the meeting, MU vice chancellor (VC) Qamar Ahsan said, since mobile phones had penetrated into villages, people only had to be motivated to promote cashless transaction.

As soon as colleges reopen after summer vacation, NSS volunteers will apprise villagers with Jan Dhan accounts in banks, said Ahsan.

He directed NSS coordinator Brajesh Rai to coordinate with banks which have branches around the villages the varsity would take up.

Rai said, NSS units of 72 colleges had already adopted 80 villages in Patna, Jehanabad, Gaya, Arwal, Nalanda, Nawada and Aurangabad, but they mostly focussed on plantation, sanitation and health awareness.

MU registrar NK Shastri would write to principals of all its 72 colleges, including 44 constituent units, to revitalise their NSS wing, arrange special training for volunteers and monitor their activities through a WhatsApp group on mobile phones.
PURNIA The Purnia civil surgeon has placed under suspension two grade four employees of the sadar hospital and transferred two pharmacists in connection with an incident on June 2, wherein a daily wages labourer carried home the corpse of his wife on a motorcycle after he was denied a mortuary van by the hospital personnel.

Confirming this. Purnia civil surgeon M M Wasim said the four persons attracted action because they knew of the plight of the victim, Shankar Sah, 60, whose wife had died at the hospital, but did not bother to inform the hospital higher authorities.

The four are guilty of negligence on duty, said the civil surgeon, who has himself been given a show cause notice about the incident after media images of victim Sah carrying the body of his wife on a motorcycle went viral and caused severe embarrassment to the Bihar government.

The civil surgeon identified the suspended employees as Uday Shankar Paswan and Birendra Kumar Thakur . The transferred pharmacists are Rajeev Kumar and Prabhat Kumar.

The civil surgeon remained tight-lipped over the role of hospital manager Simpi Kumari. She was in one of the wards when the incident happened, he said about Kumari, who is alleged to enjoy political patronage.

Other hospital sources claimed Kumari did not even come out of her chamber, adjacent to emergency ward, where the body of the woman was lying, after its release certificate was issued by the doctor on duty.

The suspended employees said they had been made scapegoats and vowed to move court against their suspension order. Similarly, the transferred pharmacists declared themselves innocent and termed the action against them as mockery of justice.

We are small people. We dont even come into the picture in matters such as one in hand, was their argument.

Protests were also in the offing on the governments earlier decision to suspend Dr S K Verma, the medical officer who was on duty when the incident happened.

Expressing solidarity with Dr S K Verma, the district unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Bihar State Health Services Association (BSHSA), have demanded immediate revocation of suspension of the doctor and threatened of taking to streets if their demand was not met.

A fact finding team of the BSHSA is reaching Purnia in a couple of days to get a first hand report on the incident. Our exact course of action will be decided on the basis of the teams report, said a senior doctor and BSHSA member.

There is, however, no word on the responses to show-cause notices issued to the civil surgeon, Dr Sushila Das, (deputy superintendent of the hospital), Simpi Kumari (hospital manager) and to Brajesh Kumar Singh (district programme manager).

They were directed to explain the circumstances under which daily wager Shankar Sah was forced to carry the body of his wife on a motorcycle, after she died at the Purnia sadar hospital, on June 2.

A two-member probe team, constituted by the Purnia district magistrate, to investigate the incident has submitted its report but its contents are not known.

Its contents cannot be revealed said officiating district magistrate (DM) Ram Shankar, adding the report was being forwarded to the state government for suitable action.

An additional DM, Ravindra Kumar, and CS M M Wasim, himself under cloud and facing a show cause notice, comprised the DM appointed probe committee.
Apart from setting an under-construction ITI building on fire at Mungpoo, the 12-hour bandh in Darjeeling hills called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) on Friday passed off peacefully.

Despite the calm on the streets, there was a war of words between CM Mamata Banerjee and GJM president Bimal Gurung. Banerjee alleged that GJM was trying to divert peoples attention from their non-performance in Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the semi-autonomous body that runs the hills.

A team of six officers, who are supposed to conduct special audit of GTA also reached Darjeeling and started their work. This (the violence) is just to turn the attention of people from the real issues. Whenever elections come after five years, they start flexing muscles, Banerjee said.

Gurung, however, claimed that the state is indulging in terror politics. But they cannot crush our political movement.

Incidentally, police did not arrest any GJM supporter though they set ablaze three vehicles, a government bus and injured dozens of policemen on Thursday .

The bandh called against Thursdays police action on the GJM supporters, paralysed normal life as thousands of tourists remained stranded. Many of them were taken down to Siliguri by the district administration that arranged free buses. The government also arranged for special buses between Siliguri and Kolkata to ferry stranded tourists.

The army on Friday deployed four additional columns in the hills as precautionary measure. Three companies of the CRPF were also sent to Darjeeling.

Banerjee, who is in the town to oversee the development, on Friday announced that there is limit to tolerate and no one crossing the limit would be spared. She said that the state government would not tolerate any separatist movement and act of vandalism.

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The sight of burning vehicles and buildings, exploding tear gas shells, stone-pelting protesters and bleeding policemen appear a little incongruous in peak tourist season in one of the countrys most popular hill stations. But the precipitating factors for the mayhem in Darjeeling dates back decades with a trigger in the immediate past.

The reason for the violent protests appears to be Gorkha Janmukti Morchas (GJM) resistance to the announcement by chief minister Mamata Banerjee that Bengali will be taught to all students in the state till class 10. GJM leaders described it as an imposition that was assault to their identity and vowed to oppose it.

On Friday, a day after the violence, Mamata Banerjee refused to agree that teaching of Bengali was a non-issue.

She claimed the reason for the violence was to divert the attention of the people from the non-performance in Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the semi-autonomous body that runs the affairs of the Darjeeling hills.

Try to understand that the GTA term has come to an end and the elections are near. This is just to turn the attention of people from the real issues. Whenever elections come after five years, they start flexing muscles, Mamata Banerjee said on Friday. At a public meeting on June 5 in Mirik, she said Bengali would be an optional subject in the hills.

But to mount pressure on GJM president Bimal Gurung, who is also the CEO of GTA, the chief minister also announced a special audit of GTA finances. The idea is to highlight financial misconduct, if any.

All these pressures have come against the backdrop of Trinamool Congress posting its first victory in the civic elections in the hills in Mirik municipality -- a first by a party of the plains in decades.

That Gurung was under pressure was evident before the May 14 civic elections, and he pitched the polls in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik on the Gorkhaland-versus-Bengal platform.

Darjeeling parliamentarian SS Ahluwalia, who won the 2014 Lok Sabha election with GJM support, blamed Banerjee for Thursdays trouble. There was no need to hold the cabinet meeting in Darjeeling and the meeting was held just to serve a special purpose of the chief minster -- to crush GJM, he said adding former chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray held the last cabinet meeting Darjeeling in 1972 when the Naxalite movement was at its peak in Kolkata.

Ray had then claimed that Bengal was not bleeding. The chief minister is now claiming that Darjeeling is smiling. Both were far from ground reality, Ahluwalia told Hindustan Times.

CPI (M) politburo member and Lok Sabha MP Md Salim said the chief minister is playing with fire.

In 1972, the state cabinet meeting was held in Darjeeling to crush the Naxalites and this time to crush the GJM, the BJP MP alleged.

Darjeeling : A police vehicle in flames after being torched by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters in Darjeeling on Thursday. (PTI)

The state government already knew the situation was bad over the Bengali language issue and the decision to hold the cabinet meeting only aggravated the situation. The vindictive attitude will not serve the purpose, the BJP leader said.

GJM has been alleging that the state government was interfering in the functioning of the GTA and not abiding by the GTA agreement.

The GJM-government relation deteriorated after the state government formed 15 development boards for different hill communities. GJM leaders interpreted it as a move to divide the hills communities and to weaken the movement for Gorkhaland, a separate state for the Gorkhas. Mamata Banerjee argued that these long neglected communities urgently needed development.

The chief minister has labelled GJMs agitation as similar to Kalidass famous act of chopping off the very branch of tree on which he was sitting.

Tourists are the Lakshmi of Darjeeling. If tourists cannot come to the hills, how will people earn here, the chief minister said.

The previous Left government compromised and encouraged GJM, so did the Centre, said the chief minister.

Nepali is the official language in Darjeeling hills -- recognised as state language in 1961 and in 1992 it was recognised under the eight schedule of the Constitution. GJM was formed in 2007 with the principal demand of Gorkhaland.

The first violent struggle for a separate state was launched in the mid-eighties by Gorkha National Liberation Front leader Shubhas Ghising.

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Aiming to reduce emissions and promote sustainability to help Indias smart city programme, France and the European Union on Friday extended a grant of 3.5 million euros under the Moblise Your City (MYC) initiative.

Three Indian cities -- Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad -- will get the grant as part of the EUs commitment under the Paris Climate agreement, French Development Agency (AFD) officials said.

More funds would be provided to India as loan to take forward the smart city and sustainable transport initiatives in the three cities on pilot basis.

Recently Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Emmanuel Macron. Both the leaders shared warmth... India is the very first country to benefit from the MYC initiative, said Claire Thuaudet, Deputy Chief of Mission, at the French Embassy here.

The MYC, supported by the French and German government, also has financial support from the European Union (EU).

MYC aims to extend help to 100 cities globally to reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by promoting sustainable urban transport and to promote sustainability in urban spaces.

Smart city programme and urban transport is surely one of the most important programmes here. And if its successful in India then extension of this idea will promote such initiatives in other countries, Pascal Pacaut, Director Asia, AFD told IANS.

AFD has been associated with several projects in India and conservation of biodiversity, and is currently also funding the Vijayawada, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Kochi and Nagpur metro rail projects.

France is the ninth largest foreign investor in India and our FDI policies had been simplified for ease of doing business with the French companies. We appreciate this financial assistance. Both the governments have a common mission and we look forward to strengthen our relationship further, Selvakumar, Joint Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) said at a signing ceremony here.

Reiterating the EUs commitment to the climate change and Paris Agreement no matter what, Ambassador of the EU to India, Tomasz Kozlowski said the MYC initiative among many others were emphasised by the Indian and European leaders during Modis visit to Europe earlier this month.

Investment in energy, water, waste, climate and smart cities are investment in sustainability and address priorities under the flagship programmes of the Indian government. They are also part of our strategic partnership, the Ambassador told IANS.
An English textbook for Class 10 of the Rajasthan secondary education board, in an interpretation of a poem titled Lotus, describes the flower as the representation of the Indian culture.

The poem by Toru Dutt (1856-77) reads:

Love came to flora asking for a flower

That would of flowers be undisputed queen,

The lily and the rose, long, long had been

Rivals for that high honour.

The poem depicts victory of the lotus in a contest between the lotus, the lily and the rose. The interpretation of the poem reads, Symbolically, the victory of the lotus is the victory of Indian culture over the western world, since the lily and the rose are the western flowers.

The analysis of the poem says that Flora, the goddess of flowers chooses the lotus for its supreme beauty as it has whiteness of the lily and the redness of the rose.

Lotus is also the poll symbol of the BJP government in power in Rajasthan and the Centre.

The interpretation of the poem further says that the lotus has been a favourite flower with Indian gods and goddesses.

Both Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi love this flower. In present times, many prizes have been named after the lotus  the Padam Shri, Padam Bhushan, Padam Vibhushan among others, it says.

Padam in Sanskrit means lotus.

Describing the poet, the book says that authors family was impressed by the glitter of the West and embraced Christianity. But Toru Dutt had a deep attraction for the Indian epics and mythology, it reads.

She read the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagvata. Her imagination was shaped by these Indian classics.

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The oil rich Gulf countries and European countries fund Muslim and Christian groups respectively in India, but the money, instead of being utilised for educational and economic development, is used to spread communalism and carry out religious conversions, the new Class 12 political science textbook of Rajasthan board says.

The content is from a chapter  Challenges before Indian Democracy  and is mentioned under Reasons for Communal Problem in the country.

The book further states that the conversion of Harijans to Christianity was one such example where funds that came from Europe were misutilised. Such situations create communal tension, says the book.

The same chapter also says that Pakistani media in its portrayal exaggerates the tension between Hindus and Muslims in India and under the influence of which, not just illiterate Muslims but literate Muslims also consider the neighbouring country as their well-wisher.

It further says that Pakistan propagandizes the atrocities on Muslims in Kashmir by the Indian forces.

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The BJP-led Goa government on Friday said it will rercall 13,000 Class 2 Marathi textbooks that contained incomplete version of the national anthem, a day after Congress accused it of insulting the anthem.

Speaking to reporters State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) Director Nagaraj Honnekeri said a technological error led to the mistake.

In our original CD there was no mistake. While printing, may be due to some software or other problem, last two lines of the anthem got deleted, he said.

To rectify the mistake, the textbooks titled Gomant Bharati will be recalled to replace the erroneous page with a corrigendum, Honnekeri said, adding fresh books will be given to the students soon.

No additional expenditure will be incurred by the education department for reprinting the 13,000 pages of the books because the mistake was on the part of the printer, he said.

Opposition Congress on Thursday said the error was an insult to the national anthem and the government should fix accountability for the mistake.

The latest controversy comes amid a debate over whether an increasingly assertive brand of nationalistic pride is stifling civil liberties. The debate was sparked after the Supreme Court last year asked all cinemas to play the national anthem before a film is screened for the love of the motherland.

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The followers of controversial godman Rampal, who is in jail for murder and sedition, put up a show of strength in Rohtak on Kabir Jayanti on Friday, wooing people with sweets.

More than 3.5 lakh kg of laddoos and jalebis were prepared and distributed among followers, who thronged the mega event aimed at flaunting the clout he wields three years after his arrest.

Supporters carrying sweets to be distributed among the followers on Friday. (Manoj Dhaka/HT Photo)

More than 350 cooks prepared 3,000 quintals of sweets for four days for the gathering, comprising 20 lakh devotees, says Aman Dass, one of the organisers.

Ever since his arrest in 2014, Rampals supporters have put up a show of strength during court hearings by gathering in thousands. As a result, he deposes via video conferencing.

But commuters faced the brunt on Friday as his supporters from across Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh arrived in buses and private vehicles, forcing the police to divert traffic from the highway.

The organisers pitched tents on 25 acres adjoining Gohana road, where they played Rampals recorded message on projectors for three hours.

Rampal supporters solemnised weddings without exchange of dowry during the event on Friday. (Manoj Dhaka/HT Photo)

During the event, the organisers solemnised the wedding of 50 women from a humble background without dowry.

POLICE ON ALERT

The opposition to the event from Arya Samajis put the police on alert. The godmans supporters have had a history of clashes with the Arya Samajis. They forced Rampal supporters to shift base from Karontha village in Rohtak to Barwala in Hisar after clashes between 2006 and 2013.

Fridays gathering saw a boost with supporters of the All India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti lending support by reaching in large numbers. They said they were returning the favour of Rampal supporters who backed them in March during the Jat agitation for job quota. The bonhomie surprised everyone since Jats, mostly Arya Samajis, dont get along with Rampal supporters.

VIOLENT PAST

Rampal has been at loggerheads with the Arya Samaj since 2000. In 2006, his remarks for an Arya Samaj leader resulted in a clash at his ashram in Rohtaks Karontha village in which 20-year-old Arya Samaji Sonu was killed

Rampal was booked for murder and attempt to murder, and was jailed. Similar clashes have erupted in Haryana. After Rampal got bail in 2008, he skipped court hearings 40 times, forcing the court to issue non-bailable warrants against him in 2014.

When the police reached to arrest him at his ashram in Hisar, his armed followers formed a human shield and prevented cops for arresting him for several days

The supporters of the founder of Satlok Ashram, once a popular socio-culture movement in Haryana, consider him a reincarnation of 15th century mystic poet and saint Kabir.
A juvenile justice board in Bihar has asked a 17-year-old boy to serve water for a month to lawyers as a punishment for trying to rape a six-year-old girl.

Holding the boy guilty of rape bid, the chief magistrate of the juvenile justice board in the states Biharsharif on Thursday asked the accused to serve water to lawyers and visitors to the lawyers association building there.

The family members of the convict have agreed to make available pitcher and glasses so that the juvenile delinquent could serve the punishment.

Prosecution lawyer Ram Narayan Paswan was circumspect, when he said, The court took a lenient view considering the age of the accused and gave him an opportunity to correct himself.

The judgement, however, came in for severe criticism from Vikram Srivastava, a practising lawyer at the Delhi high court and founder of Independent Thought, a national organisation working on child rights law.

The order is in bad taste. It contravenes the premise and basic principles of juvenile justice  dignity and worth, positive measure, privacy and confidentiality, fresh start and most importantly best interest, he said.

This is a fit case for State to respond responsibly by providing the child reformative services and behaviour modification therapies. However, inflicting constant humiliation and encouraging child labour would only defeat the purposes of the Act. While community service within institutions, etc. can be ordered in such cases, it seems, an attempt to sound out of the box, the order was delivered, which is not in the best interest of the child, he added.

The minor boy had tried to rape a six-year-old girl at Panhar village under Biharsharif in Nalanda district, 80 kms south-east of Patna on January 31, 2016.

The boy, a neighbour, had lured the victim into his house by telling her that he would show her fathers photograph on his mobile phone.

The boy, however, fled when the victims family members rushed into the house on hearing the screams of the girl. He later surrendered in court.

This is not the first time the juvenile justice board has delivered such an order.

In December 2016, a juvenile court in Aurangabad had asked a child delinquent to wipe for six months the floor of the Sun temple in Deo as a penance for firing at cops while supposedly working for the Maoists.

In March 2015, another juvenile court had asked a child rapist to clean the floor of Hanuman temple in Patna for six months and also serve food to the poor. The 15-year-old boy was convicted of raping and killing a five-year-old girl.

After the furore over the December 16, 2012 Delhi gang rape, the President on December 31, 2015 gave his assent to the bill that proposed adult-like treatment for juveniles between 16 and 18 years of age committing heinous crimes like murder and rape.

A juvenile under 16 years of age can be sentenced to a maximum of three years in a reform home.

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Last week, as I began to co-write this piece with clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, Prachi Vaish, I called my father.

I needed answers to questions Id never dared to ask. Specifically, what was it like dealing with the police each of the three times I had attempted suicide.

Even 14 years later, I could sense the discomfort in his voice. He talked about how he had to deal with their questions even before he could talk to his son in hospital.

What else could I say? I kept saying, I dont know. What happened? I dont know. Why did he do this? I had no answer.

Too many parents of people with mental illness have had to go through this.

I was 24 the first time. I still feel like ending it all almost every night.

This is one of the major symptoms of the illness Ive been diagnosed with, Borderline Personality Disorder. It has nothing to do with my day-to-day problems; it is not a cry for help. It is a symptom.

In March, the Lok Sabha passed the Mental Health Bill, 2016, which will replace the Mental Health Act of 1987. The best thing about the bill, for me, is the decriminalisation of suicide.

People with mental illness will no longer be penalised, barred from travelling abroad, given criminal records.

Their families will not have, added to their sense of shock, disbelief and extreme emotional stress, the burden of dealing with interrogations and FIRs.

Decriminalising attempted suicide also takes away the shame and guilt that survivors have had to face.

***

2014 haunts me every day. Not because I had a severe mental breakdown. Not because I look at my arm each day and the unfathomable damage I did to it. Not because I am ashamed to meet people who knew me then and know I was in a mental facility.

It haunts me because I know that the only reason I got the treatment I needed was because my family could afford it. Mental illness is evenly distributed, but treatment is not.

Its criminally expensive. Even those who earn well will barely be able to afford it.

One month of hospitalisation cost my family close to Rs 10 lakh and one month of rehabilitation after that cost them Rs 3 lakh.

There is relief for patients and families now, in the fact that they can potentially avail of medical insurance to help treat mental conditions.

Chapter 5 of the Bill states: Every insurer shall make provision for medical insurance for treatment of mental illness on the same basis as is available for treatment of physical illness.

However, mental health care doesnt end at hospitalisation and medication. Many disorders require sustained non-medical but highly crucial services such as counselling. Others need sporadic treatment. Often, two people with the same diagnosis may be treated differently, even in controlled hospital settings.

Im interested to know how the law will accommodate this range of alternatives. How one would, for example, categorise repeated hospitalisation after self-harm, psychosis or suicide attempts; how premiums will go up or down based on various factors; and how claims will be handled in the area of mental health.

***

I remember the morning in 2014 when I woke up with the sense that I needed help so desperately, that I went to a hospital some distance away, on my own, and tried to check myself in. This hospital had one of the few psychiatric wards in the city. When I got there, I was particularly disoriented. I was talking to myself. I was extremely paranoid and trusted no one.

I told the doctor I just wanted to stop feeling the way I did and would do anything to take the pain away.

At that point the last resort was Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and one of the side effects of ECT is retrograde amnesia. It is a controversial form of treatment only made worse by its depictions in popular culture, but when administered correctly can be sufficiently mild, completely painless, and can help.

When I was discharged after a month, though, I was angry because I didnt remember having consented to the 12-odd ECT sessions. The fact is that I did.

Three years later, Im here. I believe it helped. I know that it was a decision taken in my best interest.

Now, the new bill does not make adequate allowances for such ambiguities.

Its Advance Directive clause is a good step towards recognising the agency and dignity of the patient. It allows a person to appoint someone or state their preferences on future healthcare decisions in the event that they become unable to make those decisions themselves.

But what of patients suffering from paranoid / persecutory delusions that form a part of certain psychiatric disorders. Wont their treatment decisions be affected?

An article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law beautifully outlines the ethical and legal dilemmas regarding psychiatric advance directives, both from the point of view of the patient and the mental health professional.

The bill does provide for caregivers to contest an advance directive if they find it unreasonable, points out Vaish, but that involves a lengthy and cumbersome process and holds great potential for misuse. A simpler solution would be to have specially trained lawyers appointed by the central authority who have expertise in drawing up these advance directives.

I hope the bill moves towards this in future amendments.

***

Over the years, I have realised why I never felt helped by any of the dozen or so therapists and counsellors Ive visited. Most were either very young and inexperienced, or were not qualified to handle my case but took it on anyway.

Each came highly recommended by a friend or well-wisher. I spent a lot of money. Most of the time all I got in return were vague shots in the dark  ranging from vague and undefined therapy goals to downright misinformation.

Borderline Personality Disorder is admittedly a very tricky illness to treat. The young shrinks I met could have said so. I wish they had.

What did eventually help me was the medication I took for a few months after my hospitalisation, which succeeded in stabilising my moods to a great extent.

The idea of a proposed Central Mental Health Authority governing state-level Mental Health Authorities is a welcome move because, in principle, it will address the confusion and ambiguity that surrounds finding the right professional help.

Anyone who has ever tried to pick a psychologist knows that there are hundreds of under-qualified graduates and postgraduates working as clinical psychologists with no one asking if or where they have interned, no one overseeing their work.

Young doctors are not allowed to practice before completing a residency and then procuring a licence, but young and inexperienced psychologists can freely practice privately almost as soon as they are done with their degrees without any mandatory supervision. This must change.

A layperson may not know, for instance, that there is a huge difference between an MA in psychology and an MPhil, says Vaish.

One concern I have is that the bill includes under mental health professional practitioners from the homeopathy, Unani and Ayurvedic systems of medicine. Maybe the CMHA can look into defining the qualifications best suited to each condition, so the patient can make a truly informed choice.

***

Last year, an acquaintance sent me a message congratulating me on the work I was doing. People with depression are generally quite unreliable, she said.

I smiled and replied that people without depression were extremely unreliable too.

But her comment stayed with me, because it represented so clearly the two extremes I encounter when it comes to mental illness  a romanticised view at one end of the spectrum, a bunch of misconceptions at the other.

Nowhere in the bill does the right to live a life free of stigma appear. The patients rights it stipulates should extend to aspects such as employment.

I have always found it hard to get work even though Im suitably qualified and my work is meticulous.

While researching and shooting my documentary on mental health in India, I came across several people with mental illnesses who had either not been hired because they had declared their condition, or been fired upon declaring it.

Others had not sought help because they did not want to deal with the tags that come with every diagnosis.

The mentally ill are not pariahs who are being allowed to re-integrate into mainstream society; they are important citizens and many of them are educated, qualified and contributing denizens  like actors, filmmakers, artists and writers, says Vaish. The focus needs to be redirected towards making sure they achieve smooth transitions from hospitalisation to halfway homes to real employment worthy of their qualifications.

Rohan Sabharwal is a filmmaker, stand-up comedian and mental health advocate
New textbooks for Rajasthan state board schools being taught from this year have an extra dose of nationalism, with Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar pushing to the margins the role of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.

One of the textbooks introduced in the BJP-ruled state even describes the first crop of Congress leaders as mostly moderates who were prosperous, middle-class intellectuals hailing from big cities and having no connection with the masses.

The revised textbooks for classes 10, 11 and 12 also bring students up to speed on current hot topics such as the Uniform Civil Code, Hindi as the countrys contact language and Prime Minister Narendra Modis foreign policies, especially with reference to Pakistan.

But what is bound to raise more eyebrows is Savarkar getting a big chuck of space, even edging out Jawahar Lal Nehru from the social science textbook of Class 10 and decimating Mahatma Gandhi to a passing reference. Education experts are calling these history revisions as Hinduisation of the countrys freedom struggle.

Last year, Indias first Prime Minister Nehru was erased from the Class 8 textbook.

The government, however, defends the revisions saying that Nehru has been given ample space in the Class 9 textbook. Every hero cant be included in every book, says Vasudev Devnani, state education minister.

There is more. The Class 10 social science textbook describes the first crop of Congress leaders as moderates, adding that they wanted to prolong British rule in India because they felt the latters exit will lead to lawlessness in the country.

This narrative is taken a step further in the Class 11 political science textbook. Here, the Congress party is described as a nurtured baby of the British, and that it was established by the capitalists and representatives of the upper middle class.

In the Class 10 book, Savarkar has been described as a great revolutionary, a great patriot, and a great sangathanwaadi (organisation man). The lifelong sacrifices he made for the countrys independence is beyond words, says the textbook.

A chapter on the moderates, extremists and revolutionaries of the struggle gives about three pages each to Gopal Krishna Gokhale (a moderate) and Bal Gangadhar Tilak (an extremist), and one-and-a-half page each on Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, and Subhash Chandra Bose. It also explains their ideologies at length.

The subsequent chapter on the Non Cooperation, Civil Disobedience and the Quit India movements dwells on these events while relegating Mahatma Gandhis role to the periphery. The chapter does mention Nehru though.

A chapter in the book on the torch bearers of the Indian independence movement lists them in the following order: Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekanand, Maharshi Arvind Ghosh, Mahatma Gandhi, Veer Savarkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, BR Ambedkar, Jawahar Lal Nehru and Deendayal Upadhyay.

Commenting on the changes, Rajiv Gupta, retired professor of sociology at University of Rajasthan, says that those who supported the colonial empire and succumbed to it, like Savarkar, have been glorified in the revisions.

RBSE head: Books will promote original thinking

The new syllabus will provide students a platform for an overall personality development and establishing a meaningful relationship between their roots and academics, RBSE chairman Prof BL Choudhary writes in the acknowledgement of the new text books for classes 10-12.

As per the directive of state government, new syllabus has been prepared by Board of Secondary Education, on the basis of major social, historical, and cultural events at national and state level, he says.

Under the programme, text books were prepared for classes 9 and 11 of the 2016-17 session, and for classes 10 and 12 for the 2017-18 session.

The books will promote creativity, original thinking, contemplation and expression... The modern techniques and teaching aids will also make learning more effective, interesting and result-oriented, Choudhary says.

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China and India should work together to address sensitive issues and help each other in meeting developmental goals, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

In his first meeting with the Chinese leader in eight months, Modi told Xi the two countries needed to properly deal with sensitive issues.

China and India are two major countries and should focus on more cooperation alongside providing assistance to each other on developmental goals, Chinese foreign ministry Hua Chunying quoted Xi as saying.

The two leaders met in Astana, Kazakhstan on the sidelines on the Shanghai Corporation Organisation summit.

Last eight months have tested ties.

China has repeatedly blocked New Delhis efforts to get Jaish chief Masood Azhar designated as a terrorist. It has also thwarted Indias bid to join nuclear suppliers group even as it overlooked New Delhis objections to press ahead with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) that runs through Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

Xi also said China and India should increase trade and investment cooperation to ensure that the two countries enjoyed more early stage profits from large-scale projects in infrastructure and industry.

He also made a case for the Bangladesh, China, India Myanmar corridor that is part of his ambitious multi-billion dollar One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative that aims to build a new Silk Route.

The two sides should strengthen the complementarities of the development strategies and press ahead with the major cooperation projects such as energy and railways, Hua quoted the President as saying.

India has kept away from the Silk Route push as its centrepiece is the CPEC, which New Delhi says challenges its sovereignty by lending legitimacy to Pakistans claim over PoK.

The world was undergoing a profound change. China and India should step up cooperation and also assist each other on developmental goals, Xi told Modi.

China attached great importance to its relationship with India. The two sides should communication and coordination closely on major international and regional affairs while maintaining steady growth of bilateral relationship, she said.

Xi also congratulated India on becoming a member of the SCO and expressed hope that two would work together to strengthen the Eurasian grouping.

Modi said the two countries enjoyed friendship and steady development of bilateral relationship would be conducive to peace and stability of the whole world, Hua said.
Iran released 25 Indian fishermen, who were detained with their Bahraini boats since March, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said.

The fishermen, hailing from Tamil Nadu, have been repatriated to Bahrain.

I am happy to inform that 25 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were detained by Iranian Coast Guards since March 2017 /1  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 8, 2017

I appreciate the relentless efforts of Indian Embassy in Tehran for securing their release. /3  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 8, 2017

I appreciate the relentless efforts of Indian Embassy in Tehran for securing their release. /3  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 8, 2017

I am happy to inform that 25 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were detained by Iranian Coast Guards since March 2017 with 5 Bahraini boats have been released and repatriated to Bahrain, Swaraj tweeted Thursday night..
Amid tense diplomatic relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinas President Xi Jinping ahead of the start of the SCO summit at Astana in Kazakhstan on Friday.

Both leaders are meeting for the first time in nearly eight months, and is after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beiing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

Modi is expected to flag a host of issues that have bedevilled India-China ties, including Beijings consistent blocking New Delhis efforts to sanction JeM chief Masood Azhar at the UN, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC) that runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In April, China renamed six places in Arunachal Pradesh days after it protested to the Dalai Lamas visit to the state.

PM @narendramodi meets President of China #XiJinping on margins of SCO Summit in Astana pic.twitter.com/E0FO6au6uc  Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) June 9, 2017

Despite these contentious issues, officials on both sides expressed some hope that Modi and Xi would at least try to put bilateral ties back on track in the lead-up to the BRICS Summit in Xiamen in September. Among other things, the two leaders are expected to stress the need for regular high-level interactions.

Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif earlier exchanged pleasantries amid frosty bilateral ties, deadlocked talks and escalation of hostilities along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.

The PM arrived in the Kazakh capital on Thursday on a two-day visit to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit where India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the bloc.

After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.

(With inputs from PTI)
UK election exit poll points to no clear winner in stunning blow for Theresa May

British Prime Minister Theresa May spectacularly lost her electoral gamble as results which are still coming in suggest that the Conservatives would fall short of a majority in parliament, throwing her Brexit plans into disarray. May is expected to fall short of 326 she needs to form a government. Analysts are not sure if she will stay as Prime Minister even though the Conservatives will emerge as the largest party.

Read related story here

UK election 2017: What happens in case of a hung parliament?

An exit poll following Britains general election on Thursday suggested the country could be heading for a hung parliament, in which no party has an overall majority. Here is what would happen next if the forecast is confirmed by the full results. If this does translate into a hung parliament when results come through, Theresa May as incumbent prime minister will have the first shot at trying to form a government  either as a minority or in coalition with others. If May did manage to do this, she would then go to the House of Commons to see if her government could survive a motion of confidence, probably after the state opening of parliament on June 19.

Read the story here

UK election: Preet Gill becomes first Sikh woman MP, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi first turban-wearing winner

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi became the first turban-wearing Sikh and Preet Kaur Gill the first Sikh woman to be elected to the British parliaments House of Commons, results from the mid-term general elections showed on Friday. The victories of Dhesi and Gill, though not a first for Sikhs in general, is part of a significant milestone for Sikh politicians in United Kingdom this election. They add to the 10 Indian-origin MPs in the last parliament  five each from Labour and Conservative  who have retained their seats.

Read the story here

Supreme Court verdict on pleas against linking Aadhaar, PAN today

The Supreme Court will today pronounce its judgement on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of a provision in the Income Tax Act making Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns and allotment of PAN. A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan had on May 4 reserved the verdict on the pleas, challenging section 139AA of the Income Tax (I-T) Act, which was introduced through the latest budget and the Finance Act, 2017.

Read the story here

PM Modi meets Xi Jinping ahead of SCO Summit

Amid tense diplomatic relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinas President Xi Jinping ahead of the start of the SCO summit at Astana in Kazakhstan on Friday. Both leaders are meeting for the first time in nearly eight months, and is after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beiing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

Read the story here

In new Rajasthan textbooks, Veer Savarkar overshadows Gandhi and Nehru

New textbooks for Rajasthan state board schools being taught from this year have an extra dose of nationalism, with Hindutva ideologue Veer Savarkar pushing to the margins the role of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. what is bound to raise more eyebrows is Savarkar getting a big chuck of space, even edging out Jawahar Lal Nehru from the social science textbook of Class 10 and decimating Mahatma Gandhi to a passing reference. Education experts are calling these history revisions as Hinduisation of the countrys freedom struggle. Last year, Indias first Prime Minister Nehru was erased from the Class 8 textbook.

Read the story here

MP farmers protest: AAP delegation set to visit Mandsaur today

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh of going back on its poll promises for the agriculture sector, as it condemned the Mandsaur incident where five farmers were killed in alleged police firing. A five-member delegation of the AAP, comprising senior party leaders Sanjay Singh, Ashutosh, Somnath Bharti, Bhagwant Mann and Sadhu Singh, will interact with farmers in Mandsaur today. The party has demanded immediate arrest of officials who allegedly opened fire on the agitating farmers, besides waiver of loans of the farmers in the state.

Young India put out the stub: Tobacco use declines by 81 lakh, fewer youth smoke

Fewer youngsters seem to find smoking cool in India. Government data reveal a drop of six percentage points in young people using tobacco products. The highlights of the second Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), released by the Union health ministry on Thursday, show prevalence of tobacco use among people between 15 and 24 years has reduced from 18.4% in 2009-10 to 12.4% in 2016-17.

Read the story here
The initial enthusiasm of opposition party leaders about putting up a spirited fight against the BJP nominee for next months presidential elections seems to be petering out, as regional satraps have been pulled back into the vortex of intra- and inner-party feuds.

The presidential election will be held on July 17 and the counting will take place on July 20 before the tenure of incumbent Pranab Mukherjee ends on July 24.

After the electoral steamrolling at the hands of the BJP in repeated elections, the opposition leaders have understood that they need to unite for their own political survival. But a real meeting of minds remains a distant dream, a senior opposition leader admitted.

Within Uttar Pradeshs Samajwadi Party (SP), disquiet and resentment prevail over the continued isolation of party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. The senior Yadav neither travelled down to Chennai at the conclave of opposition leaders on DMK supremo M Karunanidhis 94th birthday nor was he invited to the all-party meeting convened recently by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadavs estranged uncle Shivpal has revived plans to float a parallel Samajwadi Manch (Socialist Forum) in August while coming out once again in open criticism of his nephew for not honouring his commitment to restore Mulayams position as the party chief.

Following the raids by the income tax department on Lalu Prasad and his family members, relations between the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief and Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar have taken a turn for the worse.

Kumar did not attend the lunch hosted for the two leaders last month by the Congress chief. Prasad hit back by staying away from the Chennai rally, while Kumar was present.

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Nothing happens until it has happened. The axiom best captures the rollercoaster that India-Pakistan ties are.

Going against the script yet again, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday had a pull-aside with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the annual Shangahi Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana on Thursday. It was more than an exchange of pleasantries, sources said. Modi inquired about Sharifs health. The Pakistan premier had a heart surgery on May 31, 2016 and had called Modi ahead of the procedure in a hospital in the UK.

My best wishes to PM Nawaz Sharif Sahab for his open heart surgery on Tuesday. And for his speedy recovery & good health, Modi had then tweeted.

The meeting in the Kazak capital was their first after the surgery and year of worsening bilateral ties.

Modi also inquired after Sharifs mother and family when he spoke to the Pakistani leader moments before the customary SCO concert.

There couldnt have been a better setting and timing for the ice-breaker even though a meaningful dialogue is some distance away.

India and Pakistan will on Friday be admitted to the SCO, a Eurasian alliance which aims for greater security and military cooperation among member countries. The two squabbling neighbours, with a great deal of mutual mistrust, would struggle to work together unless they keep bilateral hostilities under check.

No script

Going against the script is nothing unusual in India-Pakistan ties fraught with uncertainties even at the best of times.

Sharif became the first Pakistani PM to attend the swearing -in of an Indian counterpart when Modi invited him and other South Asian leaders to Delhi in May 2014.

Modi took everyone by surprise when he made an unannounced stopover at the Lahore residence of Sharif on December 25, 2015 on way back from Kabul.

The Christmas visit came a few days after the two leaders had a brief unplanned meeting on November 30 on the sidelines of the 21st UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.

The encounter set the stage for two national security advisers to meet in Bangkok on December 6, 2015. The meeting was kept a secret till it was done.

A joint press release announced the meeting between Indian NSA Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Lt Gen (retired) Nasir Khan Janjua and foreign secretaries S Jaishankar and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhury. The discussions covered peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, and other issues, including tranquility along the LoC, the ministry of external affairs said.

But then came a series of terror strikes starting with the audacious attack on the Pathankot airbase in January 2016, a week after Modis Lahore surprise, and ties were in a free fall again.

In the March of the same year, Pakistan announced the arrest of former Indian naval officer Kulbushan Jadhav on charges of spying. A military court on April 10, 2017 sentenced him to death, vitiating the atmosphere further. India turned to International Court of Justice after 18 years to save Jadhav.

And nothing captures the complexity of India-Pakistan ties better than Jadhavs case.

As the prime ministers met in Astana, the two sides were taking on each other again at the ICJ, with Pakistan pushing for an earlier hearing.

The ICJ has put Jadhavs death sentence on hold but Pakistan says it a security issue, something the world court cant decide on.

Modi, sources say, believes undermining the civilian leadership is not the right way to address bilateral problems though the Pakistan army calls the shots when it comes to the ties with India.

Truly, there is no ready script when it comes to the two south Asian neighbours.

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Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will begin an indefinite fast from Saturday for peace and possible talks with farmers who have launched a violent agitation demanding loan waivers and better prices for their produce.

Chouhan made the announcement at a hurriedly-called and brief press conference on Friday, three days after five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur district.

The agitation has since then spread to several other districts, putting the BJP government under pressure.

From Saturday, I will not sit at the Mantralaya or the CMs house. I have decided to start an indefinite fast for peace in the state, he said. He will hold the fast at the Dussehra Ground in Bhopal.

There I will hold talks with the farmers on their issues and genuine demands. I will run the government from there and monitor the situation in the state, he said, adding he was not heartless.

The opposition led by the Congress has accused him of failing to address the farmers woes and turning the police on the protesters.

Dont go anywhere. Come to me. Whosoever wants to come there to talk to me is welcome, he said, adding. Whatever decisions are to be taken would be taken from there.

I have also decided to get into indefinite fast from tomorrow. It will continue till the time peace is restored in MP: CM @ChouhanShivraj pic.twitter.com/vjzEU6FDvx  CMO Madhya Pradesh (@CMMadhyaPradesh) June 9, 2017

He also accused some elements of trying to create instability in the state. There will be no compromise on the security aspect. Such elements who are trying to create disturbances and chaos will be dealt sternly, he added.

The chief minister said he had been at the helm of affairs as chief minister of the state for last eleven and a half years. All through, his focus had been development and welfare of the people, especially farmers.

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The owner of the firecracker factory in Madhya Pradeshs Balaghat where 25 people were killed in a fire incident on Wednesday was arrested from neighbouring Chhattisgarh on Friday, police said.

Balaghat superintendent of police Amit Sanghi told HT Waheed Ahmed Warsi was arrested from Chhattisgarhs capital Raipur after an FIR was lodged against him under IPC section 304.

During the course of investigation we learnt that he had escaped to Raipur. We sent a team there and arrested him, Sanghi said.

He said the government announced a compensation of Rs 6.5 lakh each for the next of kin of those killed.

The fire was caused by an explosion at the factory. A probe has been ordered to ascertain what caused the explosion.

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Gaurishankar Bisen told HT that he had decided to adopt 21 girls whose either of the parents were killed in the incident.

19 girls lost their mothers in the incident and one girl lost her both parents. As 23 of the 25 killed are from my assembly segment, I have decided to raise these daughters, sponsor their education and arrange for their marriage when they grow up.

As for the 20 boys who lost either of the parents, minister decided to spend Rs 50,000 each on their education for the next three years.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday used Indias new membership of the SCO to pitch for coordinated efforts to combat terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity, indirectly flagging key concerns with Pakistan and China.

In his address at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Kazakhstan capital of Astana, where Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping were part of the audience, Modi hoped Indias entry into the grouping will give new momentum to dealing with terror.

Modi did not name any country but it was clear he was referring to Indias concerns about Pakistan-backed terror groups and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values...Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is not possible to find a solution, he said.

I have full confidence that the India-SCO cooperation will give a new direction and strength to the fight against terrorism, he added.

India has maintained cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan is the biggest threat to regional peace and security.

Modi also spoke about enhancing connectivity in the region, saying it was the key to more trade and investment. But he made it clear that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be key factors in such cooperation.

We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity, he said.

For connectivity initiatives and for success and approval of the projects, sovereignty and regional integrity must be respected while inclusivity and sustainability are essential, Modi said.

Connectivity with SCO countries is our priority. We fully support it. And we want connectivity (to) pave the way for cooperation and trust among our future generations and society.

His remarks were significant as they came weeks after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in which 29 world leaders took part. India abstained from the meet to highlight its concerns over the $46-billion CPEC, which is part of Xis Belt and Road Initiative and passes through PoK.

Prime Minister Sharif, who spoke after Modi, said Pakistan is diligently implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which the flagship of BRI.

India was admitted to the SCO, seen a counter to the US-led security alliance NATO, as a full member along with Pakistan on Friday.

SCO provides for greater military and counter-terrorism cooperation among its members. Besides India and Pakistan, the SCO has China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as its members.
A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed in the Madras High Court on Friday seeking that the issue of attacks on Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy be referred to International Court of Justice (ICJ) .

When the PIL by an NGO came up, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sunder directed Assistant Solicitor General Su Sreenivasan and state government pleader M K Subramanian to get instructions on the plea.

The petitioner, Fisherman Care, represented by Peter Royan, prayed for a direction from the court to refer the matter of human rights violation committed by Sri Lankan Navy with impunity for the past 34 years against fishermen of India to ICJ for taking action.

He also alleged that the Lankan Navy had all these years violated the 1974 agreement entered into between India and Sri Lanka.

On his part, the Assistant Solicitor General submitted that in the past three years, one fisherman from India had lost his life, that too because of crossing the territorial jurisdiction.

Due to effective steps taken by the Union government and continuous negotiations held at the diplomatic level, damage is under control now, he submitted.

Sreenivasan said that he would file a detailed counter in this regard.

The counsel for the petitioner, Raghavachari, submitted that in a similar case as per the Gujarat High Courts order, the Indian government was directed to approach the ICJ, which was also upheld by the Supreme Court.

In the case of Tamil Nadu fishermen, though they faced human rights violation by the Lankan Navy and several had lost their lives, the Centre had not approached he ICJ.

Hence, a direction to this effect was needed to the Union and state governments, the counsel for the petitioner submitted.
Amid tensions in Sino-India ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the need to respect each other's core concerns" and appropriately handle the disputes in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In the meeting at Kazakh capital, Astana, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Xi said the two countries should also cooperate more and provide assistance to each other in meeting the development goals.

The leaders met for the first time in nearly eight months, and after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum (BRF) held in Beiing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

Modi told the Chinese President that it would not have been possible for India to become member of SCO without China's backing.

There was an understanding that where we have differences, it is important that the differences should not become dispute, foreign secretary S Jaishankar told reporters after the meeting.

Relations between India and China has witnessed a downturn owing to differences over a series of issues, including the latter blocking India's move to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN, its opposition to India's bid for NSG membership and China's Belt and Road initiative.

Asked whether the NSG, OBOR and Azhar issues were raised, Jaishankar did not give a direct reply and said the meeting was for taking a broad assessment of the relationship. You should be rest assured that there was a sense that both sides should address their concerns sincerely, said the foreign secretary.

He said both the countries may have differences but it is important to find "common grounds" and address each other's concerns "with a degree of seriousness". Giving a broad outcome of the meeting, he said India and China are factors of stability when the world is going through economic uncertainty.

Jaishankar said Modi and Xi also deliberated on defence exchanges. Issues relating to trade and investments were a major highlight, he added.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that both the countries should also address sensitive and major issues as she highlighted the issues figured in the meeting.

India should focus more cooperation and work alongside to provide assistance to each other's developmental goals, Hua said.

Asserting that China attaches great importance to its ties with India, Xi called for more high-level interaction, Xinhua reported.
A Ranchi court restored charges of conspiracy, cheating and corruption against Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad in a fodder scam case during an unusually early morning hearing on Friday.

Prasad appeared in person before the court of special CBI judge Shivpal Singh at 6.55am, possibly in an attempt to avoid the media and a rush.

The charges were brought back in keeping with a May 8 ruling by the Supreme Court that said Prasad must be tried for the three allegations in all of the remaining fodder scam cases, rejecting his contention that a conviction in one was enough.

The fodder scam related to a systematic bleeding of public funds in Bihar between 1990 and 1995 when money was taken from the different treasuries for fictitious spends on fodder and other expenses for cattle. Six cases were filed against Prasad in the scam, with the trial in one resulting in Lalus conviction in 2013 that lost him his seat in Parliament.

Fridays hearing was in connection with the fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 90 lakh from the Deoghar treasury.

The case is in the final argument stage and the Central Bureau of Investigation, the prosecution agency, expects a judgement in a couple of months.

Are you a fool? Its the courts premises and I will not speak anything here, Prasad told media personnel here on Friday while being escorted out of the court room where he waited at least for 15 minutes for the judges arrival.

He is understood to have been instructed by his lawyer to not speak to the media, as ordered by an earlier SC order banning Lalu from talking to the press and holding euphoric demonstrations with regard to fodder scam cases.

With folded hands, the Bihar strongman dressed in a light blue and white stripe Kurta and white pyjama wished the judge on his arrival. He was made to sign on the attendance sheet soon after he nodded in affirmative to the judges question whether he was aware of the SCs order.

Prasads advocate Prabhat Kumar submitted to the court that his client wished to produce some defence witnesses for examination for which a list would be furnished. Granting permission, the court allowed Prasad to leave the court room.

The court restored sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and section 13 (1)(d) (corruption, abusing his office as public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Prasad and fixed the next date of hearing.

The three sections were dropped by the Jharkhand High Court in 2014 but the SC quashed that order in response to a CBI appeal on May 8.

Prasad also appeared before another CBI court to register his attendance as an accused in another fodder scam case. This one was related to withdrawal of Rs 139 crore from Doranda treasury.

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Authorities imposed restrictions in several areas of Kashmir on Friday to foil a march called by separatists to Shopian against the killing of a 22-year-old student by security forces earlier this week.

The valleys separatist leaders called for a shutdown after Adil Ahmed of the southern district of Shopian was killed on Tuesday night. Ahmed was hit by a bullet in the chest when a stone-pelting mob clashed with forces to distract them from a cordon and search operation in the area.

Joint resistance leadership said that to express peoples resentment and indignation against the brutal killing of young Adil Ahmed Magray by the Indian forces and to express complete solidarity with the bereaved family complete strike will be observed on Friday the 9th of June across the valley and after Friday prayers peaceful protest will be held across the valley against the killing, the separatists said in a statement.

They also asked people from all over south Kashmir to march towards Shopian to Ahmeds residence.

In Srinagar, restrictions have been imposed in Nowhatta, Rainawari, Khanyar, MR Gunj, Kralkhud, Maisuma and Safa Kadal areas. Similar restrictions were also reported from Anantnag, Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam, Baramulla, Badgam, Ganderbal, Bandipora and Kupwara districts in the violence-hit state.

Most shops and business establishments remained closed, while a few vehicles were seen on the streets. All educational institutions were shut down to prevent students from protesting and the Kashmir University postponed all exams scheduled for the day.

A woman walks with her child during the strike in Srinagar on Friday. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)

Train services between Baramulla and Bannihal towns were also suspended.

Authorities also cut off high-speed mobile internet service in Kashmir late on Tuesday night and continue to be suspended. People could use 2G services only.

The militancy-hit state has been rocked by months of unrest and stone pelting over alleged human rights abuses by security forces.

The valley witnessed a fresh spell of protests after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Sabzar Bhat last month. Curfew was imposed and a shutdown observed for three days after the killing of Bhat and an accomplice.

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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday hit out at the US for its decision to exit the Paris climate deal.

Those who talk about coordinating development with environment were recently seen exiting... When their countrys selfish interests are affected, they move out..like the Paris deal, Bhagwat said.

The Hindu community and the Hindu nations pursue these roads even at the cost of their personal loss. India lives for the world. It is the guru (mentor) of the world. India should stand up take its responsibility, which it had left earlier, Bhagwat said.

US president Donald Trump recently announced that the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, saying the deal agreed by more than 190 nations unfairly benefited countries like India and China.

Many countries can become super power. Even India can become a super power and it should strive to become a super power so as to become a vishwa guru (world leader), said Bhagwat.

The RSS chief said some elements, whose selfish interests were hit by the rise of the Hindu community across the world over, were creating obstacles, dividing the society, wreaking havoc in some way or the other.

Bhagwat was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the RSS training programme here.
Close on the heels of farmers unrest in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, a group of cultivators led by P Ayyakannu, who had spearheaded a 40-day stir in New Delhi, launched an indefinite protest pressing for their charter of demands including comprehensive drought relief.

The agitators began their protest by paying homage to the farmers killed in police firing in Madhya Pradesh recently.

Raising slogans seeking justice for farmers, Ayakkanu emphasised that they faced a slew of problems and urged the government to look into their demands.

He hit out at the Tamil Nadu government for going against a recent Madras High Court directive asking it to extend farm loan waiver to all categories of farmers.

The government should immediately take steps to disburse comprehensive drought relief and stop dragging its feet on the issue, he told PTI.

Ayyakannu, president of National South Indian Rivers Inter-Linking Farmers Association, alleged that the farmers who had sold paddy to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore seven months ago at a regulated market at Chetpet in Tiruvannamalai district were yet to get paid, pushing them into a debt trap.

He had staged an unusual protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi before temporarily calling it off on April 23 after Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami promised to meet their demands.

The farmers had then demanded a loan waiver, drought-relief package of Rs 40,000 crore and setting up of Cauvery Management Board.

The group led by Ayyakannu had protested by holding up human skulls outside the Prime Ministers house, stripping naked outside the presidents and drinking urine.

While announcing the withdrawal of the protest then, they had threatened to resume the agitation in Delhi from May 25 if their demands were not met.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asked Indias voters to throw the BJP out of power if the government fails to double farmers income by 2022, a statement which came amid a violent agitation by agriculturists in Madhya Pradesh.

He was addressing a rally at Dudu, about 60 km from Jaipur, to mark the completion of three years of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre.

Farmers are not only the largest producers but also the largest consumers, and when they will have money in their pocket then everyone will start earning, be it a shopkeeper, a doctor or a teacher, he said in his speech which was mostly devoted to farmers issues.

He said farmers comprise more than 50% of Indias population and unless they prosper the country cannot become prosperous.

Prime Minster Narendra Modi has said that the government was taking steps to double farmers income by 2022, and let me say that if we fail to do so then you can kick the BJP out of power, he added.

At least six farmers were killed in police firing on farmers demanding loan waivers and better prices of their produce, in Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur district on Tuesday. Farmers in Maharashtra are also agitating over similar demands.

Singh accused some political parties of fanning the farmers unrest in MP and Maharashtra for their own selfish reasons.

Both the chief ministers are very sensitive and are taking steps to address the farmers problems, he said.

Calling farmers annadata  one who provides food -- Singh said people had shown faith in BJP in 2014 and the party will not let them down.

I am not saying all the problems will be solved immediately but we are taking steps to bring down input costs and improve infrastructure. The focus now is on drip irrigation, providing soil cards to all the farmers and adopting modern farming methods, he said.

Singh said efforts were being made to increase the area under irrigation and urged BJP leaders present to prepare a proposal for interlinking of rivers in Rajasthan to the Union government.

We cant give government jobs to all youths but can develop their skills so that they can start their work. For this, the government has opened skill development centers and providing them loans on low interest, he said. Singh also had lunch at a Dalits home in Dudu after the rally.

Earlier in the day, Singh visited the Muhana mandi in Jaipur and said the borders of the country are more secured at present.

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Rahul Gandhi meets protesting farmers in Mandsaur, PM Modi exchanges pleasantries with Nawaz Sharif, UK election counting continues as polls predict hung parliament, James Comey provides more details about Trumps lies, unique ID may soon be compulsory for booking flight tickets.

Top stories to bring you up to date:

1- Mandsaur farmers stir: Violence spreads, Rahul meets victims amid high drama

A political storm over violent farmer protests in Madhya Pradesh intensified on Thursday as Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was arrested and held for hours before finally meeting families of five farmers who died in police firing two days ago. Gandhi, who met the families at Doria on the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border, is believed to have discussed prices of vegetables and produce. I am being stopped everywhere from UP to MP. I just wanted to meet the family of the deceased. Dont I have the right? The MP government has created problems for everyone, said Gandhi in Doria.

Read the story here.

2- Narendra Modi greets Nawaz Sharif in Astana, enquires about his health: Report

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Thursday exchanged pleasantries at a cultural gala in Astana, amid frosty bilateral ties, deadlocked talks and escalation of hostilities along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. It was the first encounter between Modi and Sharif after their last meeting in Lahore on December 25, 2015, when the Indian prime minister made a surprise stopover at the historic city. Modi and Sharif are in Astana to attend the summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) where India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the bloc on Friday.

Read the story here.

3- UK election 2017 LIVE: Counting begins as exit poll predicts catastrophic setback to Theresa May

Britons voted on Thursday in the UK general election 2017, with an exit poll predicting that British Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative party will be shy of winning a majority. The exit poll projected 314 seats for the Conservative party, down by 17 seats won by the party in the 2015 general election. The Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour Party is expected to bag 266 seats, up from its last tally of 232.The shock exit poll result could plunge domestic politics into turmoil and delay Brexit talks.

Follow live updates on the UK elections here.

4- UK general election 2017: What happens with Brexit if theres no clear winner?

Failure to win an outright Conservative majority would leave May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn scrambling to find partners to support a new government. As incumbent, May has the right to make the first attempt to form a coalition, though her tough stance on Brexit is likely to make finding a suitable partner difficult. Until a new government is formed, May and her team of ministers remain in charge and retain their full legal powers to act on behalf of the country, although by convention they would be expected to avoid taking major decisions.

For other post-election scenarios see story here.

5- James Comeys testimony creates more complications for Trump

Former FBI director James Comey accused President Donald Trump on Thursday of firing him to try to undermine its investigation into possible collusion by his campaign team with Russias alleged efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. In the most eagerly anticipated U.S. congressional hearing in years, Comey told lawmakers the Trump administration had lied and defamed him and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the president dismissed him on May 9. During more than two hours of testimony, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee he believed Trump had directed him in February to drop an FBI probe into the Republican presidents former national security adviser Michael Flynn as part of the broader Russia investigation.

Read related story here.

6- Twitter loves James Comeys Lordy, I hope there are tapes as ex-FBI director testifies

Former FBI director James Comeys long-anticipated congressional testimony set off a social media storm on Thursday with millions of people jumping into the fray but there was one notable absence -- the tweeter in chief himself. Twitter had a field day with other moments of Comeys testimony, including his revelation that he broke a date with his wife in order to have dinner with Trump and his use of the exclamation Lordy.

See some of the Twitter reactions to Comeys testimony here.

7- Unique ID like Aadhaar or passport may soon be made mandatory for booking flight tickets

In the next three to four months air travellers in the country will have to mandatorily provide a unique identification (UID) like an Aadhaar card, passport or PAN at the time of booking tickets. The government has constituted a technical committee that will prepare a white paper on this proposal in 30 days, said minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha at a press briefing. There are various ways of securing that unique identification. Clearly, the best way of doing it is by using Aadhaar and other ways are by using a passport or PAN card, said Sinha.

Read the story here.

8- RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat takes a dig at US over exit from Paris deal

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday hit out at the US for its decision to exit the Paris climate deal. Those who talk about coordinating development with environment were recently seen exiting... When their countrys selfish interests are affected, they move out..like the Paris deal, Bhagwat said.The Hindu community and the Hindu nations pursue these roads even at the cost of their personal loss. India lives for the world. It is the guru (mentor) of the world. India should stand up take its responsibility, which it had left earlier, Bhagwat said.

Read the story here.

9- Goa school textbooks carry incomplete national anthem, BJP nationalism exposed: Congress

The Marathi textbooks of Class II published by Goas Education Department carry incomplete national anthem, Congress party alleged on Thursday. According to the opposition party, the Class II Marathi books titled Gomant Bharati carry incomplete national anthem. However, the education department authorities denied knowledge about the alleged printing error. The Class II Marathi books, published by the state education department, carry incomplete national anthem. The state government should fix the responsibility over the error, Goa Congress spokesman Sunil Kawathankar told PTI.

Read the story here.

10- Sri Lanka stun India, keep ICC Champions Trophy semis hopes alive

Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis were the heroes as Sri Lanka chased down 322 runs to upset India by seven wickets at the Oval on Thursday and throw ICC Champions Trophy Group B wide open. Shikhar Dhawans superb 125 had led India to an imposing total of 321 for six but Gunathilaka (76) and Mendis (89) shared a second-wicket partnership of 159 to set up an unlikely win for Sri Lanka, who achieved the highest successful run chase in the tournaments history.

Read the story here.
The Congress took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, asking why he did not raise the issues of Kulbhushan Jadhav and ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the Line of Control when he met Nawaz Sharif at Astana.

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said Modi had asked the Pakistan Prime Minister about his and his mothers health, instead of giving a befitting reply to him for killing Indian soldiers.

She said Modi had in 2014 questioned the dialogue with Pakistan when soldiers were being killed, but when it came to asking tough questions, he only queried about Sharifs health.

I want to ask the Prime Minister, when he spoke about Nawaz Sharifs health and asked about his mother, did the prime minister also speak about Kulbhushan Jadhav, she said.

Chaturvedi asked whether the prime minister thought it fit enough to ask his Pakistani counterpart about why Pakistan continues to violate the Line of Control.

Why is it that our Army jawans are dying almost on a daily basis. Beheading has happened and yet we do not give an answer to the Pakistani prime minister, she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged greetings with his Pakistani counterpart in the leaders lounge at a reception at Astana Opera in the Kazakh capital organised to welcome leaders participating in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

The meeting came amid escalating Indo-Pak tensions over a range of issues.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath started a controversy on Wednesday by referring to students who stopped his motorcade at Lucknow University as followers of Naxal ideology.

Adityanath was at the university to commemorate the memory of the Maratha king Shivaji. He made his comment about Naxal ideology at the event.

The protest was led by student outfits of the Left and the Samajwadi Party. Adityanaths remarks drew criticism from a variety of student organisations across the country. How can the CM call students extremists and Naxalite? asked Shehla Rashid, the former vice president of the JNU Students Union (JNUSU), in a phone interview. Yogi Adityanath should withdraw his statement.

The young Dalit rights activist from Gujarat, Jignesh Mevani, also criticised Adityanath. I was not surprised when Yogi used those words for students. I also tried to stop PM Modis vehicle; then should I also be called a Naxalite? In a democracy people have every right to protest.

Student leaders from Allahabad University and Lucknow University expressed similar sentiments. Richa Singha, the former student president of Allahabad University, said the chief ministers statement exemplified a larger, and disturbing, trend.

All these examples show how the BJP is trying hard to suppress voices of protest by using terms like anti-national and Naxal, she said. We are moving towards an era of emergency. UP under Yogi is going to be the laboratory of this emergency.

Shreyat Boudh, a Dalit student at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), suggested that Adityanath follow the example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who spoke at BBAU last year and faced student protesters without denigrating them.

Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad did not see anything wrong with the chief ministers statement. The chief minister should not have been stopped from going to the campus, said Vinay Bidre, the general secretary of the student group. He went there to attend a function, and student leaders should not have protested it.

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In the history of the Indian economy, demonetisation is known as the campaign to wipe out the black money, a Class 12 political science textbook of the Rajasthan government claims.

The book terms the surprise move by the Narendra Modi government in November 2016 to abolish Rs500 and Rs1,000 currency notes as Kale Dhan Ki Safai Abhiyan.

The recently-released textbooks also say that the illiterate and less literate people in the country were the greatest hindrance towards a cashless economy. The books will be taught in thousands of schools across Rajasthan.

The Class 12 economics textbook, which has a chapter on demonetisation, says that less literate people try to evade entering into cashless transactions.

The books list the objective of demonetisation as to end corruption and to stop the use of black money in elections.

Rajasthan education minister Vasudev Devnani had told HT last year that a chapter on cashless economy will be introduced in the textbooks.

In the aftermath of demonetisation, in order to encourage cashless transactions, the government has spent Rs94 crore in advertisements. Digital transaction is a much easier medium and is important for the growing economy of India, reads the chapter from the economics book.

Similarly, the political science book explains that along with solving the problem of black money, demonetisation will be instrumental in reining in terrorist activities across India.

The books come at a time when the effects of demonetisation are being widely-debated even as the opposition has termed the move as dictatorial.

Congress: Politicisation of academics unacceptable

The opposition Congress in Rajasthan on Thursday condemned revised textbooks of the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education.

This is being done with a political agenda. Distorting history in school textbooks and academics has become their (the BJPs) habit, state Congress chief Sachin Pilot said.

Politicising young children is absolutely unacceptableWe condemn this... we wont let them succeed, he added.

Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot said, History will never forgive them. Truth will prevail, he said.

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President of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), Bimal Gurung, has never been under so much pressure as he has been since Thursday evening. He is up against the full might of the state government with the chief minister accusing him of wanton violence. Recently, he also witnessed Trinamool Congress posting its first victory in the Darjeeling hills in Mirik municipality. He has been pilloried by the opposition parties for his alleged love for power and for compromising with the demand of a separate state. On Friday, Gurung spoke to HT.

Q. GJM seems to be on the backfoot after Thursdays violence during which your supporters set fire to police vehicles and a government bus. What do you have to say?

A. GJM is not responsible for the violence. The trouble was triggered by some Trinamool Congress supporters, who first threw stones at the peaceful GJM workers. GJM was formed to fight for a separate state of Gorkhaland, and I will rest only after our dream comes true. The hill people have understood the policies of the state government and they want separation from West Bengal. The state government only wants to divide the hill people.

GJM supporters at Darjeeling rail station on October 3, 2015. (Samir Jana)

Q. At a public meeting in Mirik on June 5 the chief minister said that learning Bengali will be optional in the hills. Why did you still continue your agitation?

A. Though she said so, we are still confused, and are not convinced. But if she indeed meant what she said, she could have easily taken a cabinet resolution to that effect, which we demanded.

Q. The state government has already started special audit into the functioning of the GTA. Are you prepared for the eventualities?

A. I welcome the audit. We did not indulge in any financial misconduct. The state government should introspect and think about the Saradha, Narada and Rose Valley cases.

Locals distributing food to tourists in Darjeeling on Friday morning. (Bikram Sashanker)

Q. State ministers have alleged that GTA is mired in corruption?

A. They have been saying so without any basis. Actually, it is the state government that has constantly interfered into the functioning of the GTA that was formed through a tripartite agreement. Forming as many as 15 development boards and not transferring the departments, as per the GTA Accord, to the body are some of examples of how the state created roadblocks.

Q. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has squarely blamed your party for Thursdays trouble. She has indicated stern action against those indulging in vandalism. How would you escape?

A. It is the chief minister who is actually fomenting trouble. Every time she comes to the hills she creates problems. We have been restrained all along.

A soldier stands guard on a Darjeeling street on Friday. During the day the armed forces dispatched four more columns to Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. (Bikram Sashanker)

Q. GTAs tenure is coming to an end and the chief minister indicated that elections would be held soon. Are you prepared?

A. The election is a non issue. GJM is for creation of Gorkhaland and we are concerned about our ultimate goal. I am not attaching much importance to the election. We might resign from GTA anytime.

Q. Does this mean you are not going to contest the GTA election?

A. Bimal Gurung was born to fight for Gorkhaland and I will not ditch my people by compromising with something else. If I do not spearhead the movement for Gorkhaland, the hill people will not spare me. I have been reiterating that GTA is a temporary shelter for the GJM. We always tried our best to run the GTA in true spirit while working for our ultimate goal.

Q. Have you discussed the situation in the hills with leaders of the BJP that is an ally of GJM?

A. I have already briefed the Union home minister and defense minister about the situation here.

Q. Senior BJP leaders have not committed themselves to the cause of Gorkhaland. If the BJP does not back you, what will you do?

A. It is a hypothetical question. The time for that question has not arrived yet.

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Over 50% of funds allocated for digitization of official records in different districts of Uttar Pradesh between 2013 and 2016 remained unutilized and has been surrendered back to the government.

As per records of recently released report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), out of 41.05 crore  23.40 crore (57.01%) remained unused.

Allahabad had the highest amount of funds allocated for digitization. Out of 1.91 crore 1.24 crore remained unused, said the report.

Bahraich had the maximum of 91.41% unused money followed by Azamgarh with 88.94% (HT)

Records showed, Bahraich had the maximum of 91.41% unused money followed by Azamgarh with 88.94%. Shahjahanpur remained on third spot with 87.71% unused funds.

Other defaulter districts include Mau (85.27%), Kanpur Nagar (79.65%), Shamli (79.22%), Kanpur Dehat (79.11%), Auraiya (78.34%), Gorakhpur (78.02%) and Banda (75.41%).

Uttar Pradeshs capital Lucknow stood on 53rd spot on the defaulter list with 49.96% unused funds while Allahabad was present on 24th spot with 65.08% funds remaining unutilized.

The Central as well as the State governments had repeatedly stressed on complete digitization of records, including land registration documents, ration cards among others that would help the government in maintaining data of different departments and their smooth functioning.

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Bheem Army founder Chandrashekhar, the main accused in the Saharanpur caste violence case, was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days on Thursday.

The police produced Chandrashekhar before the additional chief judicial magistrates court at 10.30 pm that night, said Dinesh, PRO at the senior superintendent of polices office in Saharanpur. Though police had planned to bring him before the court on Friday, they later changed their mind to minimise the possibility of further agitations.

Chandrashekhar, who is wanted in connection with caste clashes at Saharanpur between May 9 and 23, was nabbed from Dalhousie in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday. Police had announced a reward of Rs 12,000 for information leading to his arrest.

The Saharanpur administration blocked Internet services for two days after Chandrashekhars arrest to prevent Bheem Army supporters from mobilising agitations through the social media. The district administration had earlier snapped web connectivity for nine days, restoring it only on June 3.
Raabta

Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon, Jim Sarabh, Rajkummar Rao

Director: Dinesh Vijan

Rating: 3/5

Reincarnation is still a sought-after theme for the Hindi film industry despite its fondness for modern clothes, gadgets and locations. Commercially successful films and shows like Baahubali and Game Of Thrones also influence choices. Sometimes, then, filmmakers appear stuck in a dilemma. Debutant director Dinesh Vijan is probably one of them.

Vijans Raabta (Urdu for connection) is thematically a love-never-dies sort of a film, and it wants to look glossy, which means the characters are likely to make transitions in time and space. With such predictability comes the challenge of striking a balance between two different time zones. Raabta struggles real hard there.

Facebook Live discussion on Raabta, Behen Hogi Teri and The Mummy:

Shiv (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Shaira (Kriti Sanon), which seems Bollywoods current favourite name for NRI girls, meet in picturesque Budapest and realise they might have a history, from a previous birth maybe.

Shaira, a non-committal chocolate maker, gets inexplicable flashes, but then she meets a globe-trotting, cynical yet charming business tycoon Zak Merchant (Jim Sarbh) and her world turns upside down, literally.

Nobody knows where things are headed till Vijan decides to go all out on cheesy lines, saturated colours and a dash of hastily planned flashback.

To his credit, he manages to assemble the desired ingredients of a masala Bollywood film: A hardworking lead fresh out of a sizeable success (MS Dhoni - The Untold Story), a fairly recognisable heroine, Deepika Padukone for a cameo, and a bankable antagonist in Jim Sarbh. But the mixture doesnt quite shape up in something very exciting.

Vijans vision is cliched and that hampers the film more than anything else. The guy and the girl have to look up-market and thus are a banker and a chocolate maker. The cynical one has to creepily sing old Hindi songs and paint.

Sushant and Kriti play Shiv and Shaira in Raabta.

At some point, they would also talk how they knew they would meet. The good yet valiant guy and the rich yet hysterical cynic would also engage in a tussle to impress the heroine somewhere during the first half. They would do it the old fashioned way by actually saying, Ladki to main hi le ke jaaunga. In all of this, the girl would mostly play coy and keep giggling.

Such films also need an indispensable friend for occasional comic relief and good-natured flower sellers to make us believe in the beauty of mankind.

Nothing wrong, just cliched.

But thats also wasting terrifically talented actors such as Sushant Singh Rajput and Jim Sarbh. They are capable of more than simply repeating what we have already seen.

Rajput and Sarbh try despite striking loopholes in the screenplay, and that saves Raabta to a good extent. Rajput, in particular, rises and does what is expected of him. He is pleasant and performs action sequences with aplomb. His cockiness may appeal to some.

Sarbh makes the most of the opportunity and shines as a person struggling to come to terms with the reality.

Raabta lacks the finesse required to pull off a theme like this, but it is definitely good to look at. From Budapest to colour blasts during flashback scenes, it features some captivating moments. Sadly that doesnt seem enough.

Poor writing is Raabtas nemesis provided you dont want to settle for a being there done that kind of a story.

Interact with Rohit Vats at Twitter/@nawabjha

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop

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Naresh Kamath

Mumbai: Even as 150 Hindu outfits are all set to meet in Goa this week to draw up a programme to establish a Hindu Rashtra in India by 2023, the BJP, the RSS and the VHP have distanced themselves from this event.

The conclave is being organised by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), the sister outfit of Sanatan Sanstha some of whose activists were accused of the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar in August 2013.

Political analysts called the whole programme a pipedream, saying the HJS and the Sanathan Sansthan were fringe organisations that thrived on controversies and that the outfits that were participating were little known organisations.

The BJP has distanced itself from the HJS. We have no connection with the Sanathan Sanstha or the HJS as we differ from them in the very philosophy of Hinduism. For us, religion cannot be the basis for any nation or state. We treat Hindutva as a way of life, said BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari.

The RSS said it have nothing to do with the convention. Our country is already a Hindu Rashtra for centuries and we are identified by this, said a RSS senior activist who refused to come on record.

The VHP also expressed differences with the HJS saying the VHPs concept of Hindu Rashtra dealt with the cultural aspect and not the political. We are interested in the cultural aspect [of a Hindu Rashtra] and not the political one, said Ashok Chowgule, all-India vice-president of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, making clear his organisations differences with the views of the HJS, which is organising the convention.

According to Surendra Jondhale, a political analyst who has studied right-wing outfits, the HJS is both organizationally and politically weak outfit and has only nuisance value.

The Shiv Sena despite having such a strong organization and clout could not succeed in its mission of political Hindutva and here we have HJS which talks of Hindu Rashtra without any base. The HJS needs to understand they will have to get their members elected to parliament and affect a change in the constitution for their mission, said Jondhale.

The HJS, which organised a press meet in Mumbai to announce its Goa conclave, has defended itself saying that bringing such changes did not always need political majority. Public will is supreme and this was proved during the Anna Hazare agitation where the Lokpal was introduced due to public demand, said Ramesh Shinde, national spokesperson, HJS.

Today we are seeing that public sentiment is in favour of Hindu Rashtra. This was seen in Uttar Pradesh where the people voted for Hindutva, he added. He also objected to the characterisation of the HJS as a fringe outfit. It is the fashion to term those advocating Hinduism as fringe elements whereas we are a registered outfit with dedicated cadres and we file our returns regularly, said Shinde.

The four-day convention organized by the HJS from June 14 will have discussions on topics such as love jihad, religious conversions, protection of Hindu religious places, defamation of Hindu saints and changes in the demography of villages with Hindus being forced out.

The HJS was established by psychiatrist Dr Jayant Balaji Athavale, who was also the founder of Sanatan Sanstha, on October 7, 2002, and its aim is to establish a Hindu nation and protect Hindu culture.

According to Uday Dhuri, spokesperson, HJS, the people of India are amenable to the idea of Hindu Rashtra. The recent election of Yogi Adityanath, who is a strong proponent of Hindu Rashtra with a brute majority shows that people want a Hindu Rashtra in India. Our conclave will provide direction on how to proceed in this mission, said Dhuri.

Although the HJS described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their own man, they expressed reservations that the BJP-led Government was not able to do much for the Hindus. There are so many pending issues like uniform civil code, abolition of Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, as well as construction of Ram Mandir in Ahyodya which has not been tackled so far, rued Dhuri.

According to Rahul Kaul, national youth coordinator for Panun Kashmir, which is attending the conclave, making it a Hindu Rashtra will bring back the glory India enjoyed in ancient times. It was Hindutva which attracted people from all across the globe and this will happen again if we adopt the Hindu way of life, said Kaul.

Similar was the view of Bharat Raksha Manch, another outfit that is attending, which said that the move had the potential to make India a superpower. This will create in a country where no one will be appeased and there will be the same law for everyone, said Anil Dhir, National Secretary, Bharat Raksha Manch.

The Congress said the entire Hindutva programme of HJS has the blessings of the BJP. These outfits carry out subversive activities with impunity, thanks to the support from the BJP-led government. The government has enough material and proof to ban the Sanatan Sansthan and its sister outfits like HJS, but it turns a blind eye towards them and allows them to take law into their own hands, said Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant.

In 2013, anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar, who pursued the Anti-Superstition and Eradication of Black magic Bill was shot dead. This bill was described by his opponents as an anti-Hindu bill. Last year, the CBI arrested Virendra Tawde, who was associated with both Sanatan Sanstha and HJS for this murder.

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Intraocular lenses used in cataract surgeries are being sold at a rate, which is 10 times higher than the market price, said Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) officials in a report submitted to department of pharmaceuticals.

Consumers are charged Rs8,000 for a brand of intraocular lens, which has a landing cost of Rs800. Another brand which costs Rs 7,000, is being sold for Rs11,350.

After the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority capped the prices of cardiac stents, authorities like the FDA, the legal metrology department and non-government organisations have demanded a price cap on other medical devices too. FDA officials said that they had sent the report with the investigation report on balloons (used to inflate the artery to insert stents in angioplasty) and guiding catheters (a thin tube used to guide stents through arteries).

The supply chain, similar to that of catheters and stents, changes the MRP for hospitals, distributors and manufacturers to profit, said an FDA official.

Last week, the officials had revealed that inflating the MRP for catheters earned a profit of more than 500%.

RPY Rao, president of SACR, said that along with intraocular lenses and catheters, orthopedic implants, dental implants and ophthalmic medication need to be brought under National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM).

Eye drops and injections are sold 500-1,200% above the manufacturing cost and some products like Dexamethansone, used to treat short term inflammatory eye conditions, are sold at Rs35,000. Its better to bring them all under NLEM with one single circular, said Rao.
The Dahisar school, which expelled 70 students for not paying fees after a hike, has agreed to readmit them only if they clear their dues by Saturday.

Around 15 of the 70 pupils, who went to school on Thursday, were barred from classes for a few hours. The school called and informed the parents that the children would not be allowed to attend classes unless fees were paid.

Parents were upset with the school because it refused to readmit the children although the states divisional fee regulatory panel had asked them to admit the students on June 1.

We had agreed to pay the fee if the school guarantees that the amount will not be used until the issue is resolved. But our children were made to wait in the lobby on their first day back, said one of the parents.

The parents also said that the children were allowed to enter the classrooms only after they had met the management.

Justifying the schools actions, director Jesus Lall said that the children will not be allowed inside the school till they pay the fees. The defaulting parents came to the school on Thursday with a local politician and a police inspector, said Lall. We explained to them that we will not accept the children until the dues were cleared.

He added that of the 70 students, three had paid the fees and one had left school. We have given them till June 10 to clear their dues, said Lall.

For the past four months, the school management and parents have been locked in a dispute over a 14% hike in school fees  from Rs 96,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh. On May 26, the school wrote to the students parents informing them that their children had been de-enrolled for not paying the fees.

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Congress leader Baba Siddique was questioned by the ED on Friday in connection with a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in a Rs 400 crore slum rehabilitation project in Bandra.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials said the former Maharashtra minister was grilled for over eight hours and his statement was recorded by the investigating officer (IO) of the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Siddique was asked about his role in the case and the slum rehabilitation project in suburban Bandra, they said.

The ED may summon him again to confront him with certain documents that the agency has gathered during the course of the investigation, they said.

The central probe agency had conducted raids on May 31 at about seven locations in Mumbai, including Siddiques premises, a real estate firm and a builder connected to him.

Based on a local police FIR, the ED had recently registered a criminal case under PMLA against Siddique and about dozen others.

Bandra police had registered an FIR in 2014, on the direction of a local court, to probe the financial irregularities in the slum rehabilitation project in which Siddique is alleged to have been involved.

Siddique was chairman of the Mumbai-based the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) between 2000 and 2004.

In 2012, a complainant had approached a local court stating that the flats allotted in the residential buildings constructed after demolishing a slum in Bandra were granted on the basis of alleged fake documents. There were other irregularities as well, he had claimed.

The agency also suspects use of certain fronts or benami companies in committing the alleged irregularities.

Siddique had denied allegations made against him in this case in the past.

He has been a three-time Congress legislator, minister of state for food and civil supplies (during 2004-08) in the Maharashtra government and also served as a municipal corporator.

Known for his links with Bollywood celebrities, he also made news when he reportedly got Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan into a much talked about patch-up hug in 2013 after years of apparently frosty relations.
Schools in the city have asked the Council of Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) to re-evaluate the elective English papers, after a study showed a significant drop in scores.

The council conducts ICSE (class 10) and ISC (class 12) exams.

An analysis by The Learning Point, an education website, on Friday showed that only one Mumbai school featured in the list of top 10 schools in India, based on ISC-2017 scores.

Rishi Valley School, Chittoor, toppled The Cathedral and John Connon School, Fort, to record the best scores across India. Rishi Valleys class average was 88.8%, while Cathedral stood at 88%.

The overall performance of schools was also much lower when compared with last year, when Cathedral ranked first in the country with an average of 93.2%, followed by Smt Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane at 91.1%.

Principals blamed English (elective) for the lower scores.

We were disappointed with how students performed in this subject. It was one of the poorest ever, said Meera Isaacs, principal of Cathedral School. She added that they were perplexed as students usually excel in the subject. Our students have consistently scored in the 90s, but this year, the English scores dropped to 80 and lower, she said. It is strange because the same faculty has been teaching for the past 16 years.

The school has complained to the CISCE. We have informed the council, we sent the scores of all our students to be re-evaluated by the board, said Isaacs.

Elective English is the advanced version of Core English and tests a students analytical skills.

Vedant Podar, one of the ISC Maharashtra toppers this year, scored 100 in commerce, economics and accountancy, but ended up five marks short of a perfect score in English. I was expecting a better score in English because I wrote a very good paper, said Podar, who secured 98.75%.

Chandrakanta Pathak, principal of HVB Global Academy, Marine Lines, said that English had pulled down ICSE scores too. Many scored 100 in math and computer science, and 98 in social studies, which is usually tough, she said. English and Hindi pulled down scores.

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Police busted a fake loan racket and detained eight people after raiding a call centre in Ambernath MIDC late on Thursday. Police said the accused would call US nationals and offer them loans, which they had to pay a token amount for. Once the victims paid, the accused would cut contact with them.

Sources said the call centre has as many as 25 employees. Police seized their computers and hard disks. A probe is ongoing.

On October 4, the Thane crime branch had busted a racket in Mira Road, in which call centre employees would pose as American revenue officials. They would make threatening calls to loan defaulters in the US and force them to pay up. The accused were charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code for extortion, cheating, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy, apart from sections of the Indian Telegraph Act and IT Act.

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Overnight showers not only brought down temperatures in Mumbai, but also cleared the air you breathe.

The pollutant measuring indicator  air quality index (AQI)  was 48 on Friday, which falls under the good category and was the cleanest air day for the city in 2017 so far. Singapore had an AQI of 55. An AQI of 49 (good) has been predicted for Saturday. The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) said AQI levels between 0-50 is good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101- 200 moderate.

Pollution levels of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), which are small pollutants 2.5 micron to 10 micron in size can enter the respiratory system are the primary cause of pollution problems in Mumbai. As against a safe limit of 60 microgrammes per cubic metre (g/m3) for PM2.5, Mumbai recorded 28g/m3. For PM10 the safe limit is 100g/m3, and the city recorded 46g/m3.

READ: First showers hit Mumbai, complaints of traffic snarls, water-logging pour in

Officials from SAFAR, which records the AQI levels at 10 locations in the city said Mumbai can expect good air quality for the next four months. As there is a prediction of a normal monsoon, the financial capital can expect relief from pollution till September, said Gufran Beig, director, SAFAR. The rain washes away pollutants from the earths surface, while strong winds wont allow pollutants to settle.

The city and suburbs saw light rain on Friday afternoon. The Colaba weather station recorded 2.2mm of rain, while 0.4 mm rain was recorded at Santacruz. Between 8.30am on Thursday and 8.30am on Friday, the suburbs and south Mumbai recorded moderate rainfall at 26.6 mm and 24 mm rain. Moisture levels was high, with Colaba recording 94% humidity (21% above normal) and Santacruz recording 85% , 14% above normal. Heavy overnight rain reduced the deficit the city facied since the beginning of the month. The weather bureau said light to moderate rain is expected in the weekend. These are pre-monsoon showers. The southwest monsoon is stable over north Goa and south Konkan, said a duty officer from IMD.

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Mumbais first showers brought with them complaints of water-logging at several areas on Friday morning. While civic officials said the problem did not persist for long, people took to Twitter to complain about traffic snarls owing to the inundation.

Currently, traffic is slow-moving at the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road owing to water-logging near Seepz. There are reports of water-logging at the Malad subway and between the Kherwadi and Kalanagar flyovers.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said they received complaints from Sahar Road, Andheri (East), Malvani Gate 6 and Jari Mari lane in Malad, Saki Naka, Seepz in Powai, areas near the Reliance office in JVLR and the Srikrishana Nagar, Borivli.

Experts who conducted an audit of the citys monsoon preparedness for Hindustan Times said several areas of the city were prone to floods during heavy rains.

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The Maharashtra government has selected a cooperative bank under the scanner for a Rs123-crore scam to disburse salaries of teachers in government-aided and partially aided schools in Mumbai.

The Union Bank of India used to handle the job from 2011. From July 1, the Mumbai District Co-operative Bank (MDCB) will do it.

The government resolution (GR) issued on June 3 said the decision was taken to strengthen the states

co-operative movement and because the MDCB had computer software programme comparable to nationalised banks.

What the GR doesnt state is that the bank is led by BJP MLC and Mumbai unit vice-president, Pravin Darekar, who was booked by Mumbai police in 2015 for having caused loss of Rs123 crore to the bank through embezzlement of funds. Darekar was a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena legislator who crossed over to the BJP soon after the 2014 elections. He is currently facing an inquiry by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the case. The complaint in this case was filed by another BJP functionary, Vivekanand Gupta.

The bank was also indicted by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) earlier for several irregularities and giving out bad loans. Despite several calls and text messages, Darekar was not available for comment.

So why would the state government entrust the wage bill of its teachers to a bank with such a reputation?

The decision was taken because of what the MDCB is offering as sops to the teachers, including on home loans. This is not at the risk to the teaching staff but to benefit them. Across the state we use 25 co-operative banks for such wage bill disbursal, said school education minister Vinod Tawde.

Sources told HT that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was on board while taking this decision and a senior BJP leader hinted that a clean chit from the EOW was on the cards for Darekar. A section within the BJP said Darekar was seen as a good investment by the party when he was inducted to make inroads in the co-operative sector so far controlled by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In the last two years, Darekar has managed to survive and has built bridges with senior BJP leaders. For starters, despite a police complaint he got his panel elected to the board of the bank.

The Mumbai Bank is a strong bank and has lent to several government projects. Its financial parameters are strong so taking such a decision is not illegal. Also, no substance has been found in the complaint by the EOW, said a senior BJP functionary.

However, the decision is likely to get slammed by teachers organisations. Kapil Patil, journalist turned politician, who was elected to the Legislative Council from the teachers constituency told HT, This is a purely political decision to shield and give afresh lease of life to the corrupt. There is an FIR filed against the bank director and an inquiry is underway. Why should teachers salaries be put at risk ? We will take this up and oppose this decision. We have seen the risks first hand with other banks like the Nagpur co-op bank scam, where teachers lost their savings.

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Following unrest among farmers, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has decided not to celebrate its 18th foundation day in Maharashtra on June 10. Instead, the partys district presidents will show solidarity with the farmers by submitting a charter of demands, including that of a farm loan waiver, to all collectors.

In Mumbai, city president Sachin Ahir will lead a delegation to meet chief secretary Sumeet Mullick and give him the charter.

We have decided not to celebrate in Maharashtra as the agrarian crisis is ongoing, said a senior party leader, who did not wish to be identified.

The NCP was formed on March 25, 1999 and officially launched on June 10. The party, which remained in power for 15 years till 2014, celebrates its foundation day on a large scale. However, this is the second time the NCP has decided to keep celebrations low-key.

Last year, the party held only a small gathering in Mumbai, following the drought that left Maharashtras farmers reeling. This year, there will be a single gathering in New Delhi, where the party chief and senior leaders will assemble.

Pawar had taken just five days to form the party after he, PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from the Congress for disputing the origins of party president Sonia Gandhi.The partys performance had improved with every coming Assembly and general elections in Maharashtra.

However, it was badly hit during the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly polls, with its tally coming down to 41 seats from 63. It consequently lost power in the state and is still struggling to stay afloat.

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To deal with the shortage of blood in the citys blood banks, the State Blood Transfusion Council has asked them to conduct collection drives at railway stations.

Experts said that the advice had come late.

Dr Vinay Shetty, founder of NGO Think Foundation, said that blood banks were tackling the serious shortage for over 90 days. The shortage hurts in May and June because schools and colleges are shut in this period and so there are no camps. Outdoor camps are also not conducted because of the rains, he said

Technicians at Bombay Red Cross Blood Centre in Fort said that they had been referring people to other blood banks because of the shortfall. Normally we have 300 units of blood but for a month now, we have had only 50 units. Most of this is used for thalassemia patients registered with us, said a technician.

Many thalassemia patients are also having a hard time finding blood.

Karan Sanghvi from Kurla said that he had called 10 blood banks in the city last week to arrange for blood for his 19-year old daughter who has thalassemia (an inherited genetic disorder, which required blood transfusions).

My daughter needs three units of B positive blood every 15 days. We will be travelling in a few days and we still dont have the blood, he said.

Doctors said with the onset on monsoon, a lot of people will be down with viral infections. If donors are on treatment, we cannot accept blood from them, said a doctor from a blood bank in Ghatkopar.
Jolted by the farmers agitation seeking a complete loan waiver, the state has gone into an overdrive mode to ensure every possible help to farmers in the ensuing kharif season. It has roped in commercial and nationalised banks in 16 districts where the co-operative banks are less likely to give loans.

In a review meeting held by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday, the government identified five commercial, private and nationalised banks for disbursing crop loans. Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and IDBI are three of the five banks the state has roped in.

Crop loans needs to be extended to farmers in 16 districts, including Nandurbar, Nashik, Yavatmal, Wardha, Beed and Jalna. It is about Rs 540 crore. Since cooperative banks in these districts are financially weak, we decided to take help of commercial banks. Funds provided by them will bridge the gap between the requirement and the capacity of the district cooperative banks, said an officer from the cooperative department.

Fadnavis has also directed officials from agriculture and cooperative departments to organise farmers meet to facilitate crop loans for the upcoming kharif season. He also reviewed schemes for cold storage and marketing chains for the effective marketing of farm products.

He also took stock of the policy under consideration to acquire sugar factories that have been liquidated instead of selling them in the open market. The state is considering acquisition of such sugar factories and then allotting them to cooperative societies on lease.

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The anti-narcotics cell (ANC) received a setback on Friday as the special court for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (NDPS) Act rejected their plea to retest drugs seized from Kandivli students in April.

The cell had approached the court on Tuesday after more than half of the samples tested negative for drugs.

On April 28, the agency had arrested five college students with LSD drug worth Rs70 lakh. According to the police, 1,400 strips of LSD were found on them, each of which costs Rs5,000.

They were sent for chemical analysis and the agency received the report last month. According to it, only 660 strips tested positive for LSD. The report revealed that the total quantity of LSD in all the strips was of 0.5167 grams.

On Wednesday, the ANC moved a plea to retest the strips at a forensic lab in Hyderabad. The court on Friday rejected the plea.

Further the court granted bail to all the five students arrested in the case as the agency has failed to file a charge sheet against them within the stipulated period of 60 days.

Case background:

Acting on a tip off, ANC officials laid a trap and arrested five college students near Infinity Mall in Malad (West). The five accused were Arbaaz Taj Mohammad Khan (20); Khans cousin Farhan Ali Khan (26); Admay Modi (22), Chirag Jain, (24); Laxman alias Nikhil Rajan (24).

The agency claimed that Arbaaz had hired the rest and used to give them Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 to sell the strips. They were on their way to sell them when they were caught. They targeted college students at pubs, discos and rave parties.

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Walking around Mumbai is a dangerous thing. And, a global panel of experts agree.

To find out how safe Mumbais roads are, experts from the World Bank and World Health Organisation walked a 5-km stretch. They said Mumbais pedestrians have it the worst. HT joined the walk to see the situation on the ground. Nearly 100 representatives from the World Bank, WHO and John Hopkins University working with Bloomberg Philantrophies took part in the field visit, which saw them walk from Lower Parel to Worli Sea Face and back. During the two-hour walk, all of them agreed on two things  pedestrian safety is grossly neglected in Mumbai and footpaths are not accessible.

Sources said the observations will be given to the civic authorities to help them improve roads.

At the junction between Tulsi Pipe Road and Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, one group observed how the footpath started at 4.6 metres wide, but narrowed to 3 metres. It becomes difficult for children and the elderly to use such sidewalks. Worse still, for someone on a wheelchair, these sidewalks are out of reach as there are no ramps, said one representative.

At traffic signals, pedestrians have little time to cross. After a while, they will get impatient. It may encourage them to cross through traffic, said Geoffrey Kurgan, a transport specialist with the World Bank.

To tackle the problem of bikers riding on footpaths, Columbias capital Bogota put up barricades, said Segundo Lopez, a civil engineer with the World Resources Institute in Bogota, Columbia. This is being done in Mumbai, but it should be more consistent.

Mumbais streets are designed for cars, not pedestrians. This has to change, said Kelly Larson, director, Global Road Safety Program, Bloomberg Philantrophies .

Over two hours, the groups navigated narrow sidewalks and small bylanes. At Annie Besant Road, the groups were exasperated with vehicles not slowing down at pedestrian crossings. You have equal right to the streets. Pedestrians have to put up a fight, put a hand out to cross", said Ankita Chachra, NACTO based, New York.

Speeding caused 941 deaths in city last year

Speed really kills.

At the Global Road Safety Programme meet in Mumbai, experts from around the world explained just how dangerous speeding can be.

For instance, speeding by just 1% increases the chances of a fatal accident, said Soames Job, World Banks Global Road Safety Lead at the panel discussion.

In Mumbai, of 1,154 fatalities that took place between 2015 and 2016, 941 deaths were caused by motorists going over the speed limit, according to data released by Bloomberg as part of a crash analysis data with the Mumbai traffic police.

Job pointed out that drivers attitudes was a crucial factor. The majority of drivers who believe they are better than the average often present the argument that they have been speeding for years and have never caused a fatal crash, said Job.

Ranjit Gadgil associated with Parisar, an Indian road safety NGO, said it is the responsibility of civil society groups to take up the fight for road safety and demand a seat at the table in implementing laws. The Indian government can launch rockets into space, so can very well build better, safer roads, he said.

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Drawing a parallel to the loan waiver offered by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader and former union minister Sachin Pilot accused the Narendra Modi government of discrimination towards the farmers from Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and other states. He held the failed policies of the state and the Centre responsible for the plight of the farmers in the country.

Pilot, while talking to the journalists in Mumbai on Friday, said the BJP announced a loan waiver in UP only to garner votes. He added that the loan waiver announced by the Manmohan Singh government in 2008 was without keeping an eye on the vote bank and was issued to ensure maximum benefits reached the farmers.

Pilot alleged that the ruling party was playing politics at the cost of farmers lives. He said that the government was running away from the real issues of farmers suicides, Naxal attacks, unemployment and has been shifting the focus on non-issues such as anti-romeo squads and ghar wapasi, among others. Pilot also questioned why Modi or the union agriculture minister Radhe Mohan Singh did not condemn the killing of the farmers in Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress leader also alleged that the BJP government at the Centre had spent Rs22,00 crore on publicity and advertisement to highlight its achievements of the past three years. The government, which has been busy gathering credit for the schemes originally initiated by our government, has failed in curbing deaths of innocent people in the country, Pilot added.

Pilot also took a dig at Shiv Sena for being critical of the government policies in the state but not opting out of power. The Sena is hungry of power and hence not been able to take a stern stand despite differences with the BJP on various issues, he added.

Pilot also said that the opposition parties at the national level are working to collate an united front against BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. All the parties have started realizing the need to present a formidable opposition in the next general election, Pilot said.

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A passenger nodded off on an airport shuttle bus and missed his flight but nobody noticed the sleeping man for at least six hours at the Mumbai airport earlier this month, officials said Friday.

The June 4 incident also highlights multiple security lapses at the busy terminal, as the bus staff and airline crew didnt realise that a passenger who had checked in was missing till another driver noticed the man locked up in the bus.

Police and Bureau for Civil Aviation Security were informed about the lapses, the Central Industrial Security Force, which is responsible for the security of airports across the country, has said.

The passenger was to board an IndiGo flight (6E 799) to Bengaluru from Mumbai airports domestic terminal 1 and boarded the shuttle with other passengers at about 6.30pm, sources said.

This passenger sat at the back seat and probably fell asleep. At the ladder point, all passengers deboarded except him, the source said.

Without checking the bus, the driver took the vehicle to the maintenance area and parked it there.

On the ladder, the airline crew, too, didnt realise that a passenger was missing though they have to tally their manifest and travellers boarding cards.

The boarding pass is checked at the boarding gate and then airlines are suppose to check it at the ladder point as well, said a CISF official whose team was called in at midnight when another driver noticed the passenger locked in the shuttle and alerted the control room.

The airlines are responsible for their passengers once boarding cards are issued, the CISF official said. The bar code on the card allows airlines to identify which passenger is missing.

In this case, the procedure was not followed and police and Bureau for Civil Aviation Security have been informed, the official said.

Indigo spokesperson refused comment.

In his statement to the airport authorities, the flier said woke up after four or five hours and started looking around for people who could rescue him from the bus.

It was a lapse on the part of airline and we have told them, the CISF official said.

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15,556, a design exhibition WHERE: Pundoles Art Gallery, Ballard Estate WHEN: June 9 to July 7, 10.30 am to 6.30 pm (Closed on weekends) CALL: 6114-6464 ENTRY IS FREE

When you see 35-year-old architect Rooshad Shroffs hand-made wooden chairs embroidered with colourful cotton threads, you wonder if theyre actually for sitting?

The chair is supported only on two sides, not four, with what looks like C-shaped handles rather than conventional chair legs. The marble tables of his Crack Me Up series also seem supported from just one side of the circle. These are perfectly stable and usable, says Shroff reassuringly.

Whats furniture doing in an art gallery? None of the pieces has any nuts and bolts or metal straps, but are interlocked by the virtue of the different shapes. Showing visitors that clever design, an emphasis on craft and hand-made processes can create modern and minimalistic woks that are as much art as furniture.

Some of the works in Rooshad Shroffs show use threads 2.5 kilometres long to create embroidery.

Shroff has used threads 2.5 kilometres long to create embroidery patterns on one chair. His delicate, but robust marble bulbs also hand carved are another highlight of the exhibition along with tables with a collage of sand art covered in lacquer.

The show, titled 15,556, represents the total man hours taken to create the 55 odd works using zardosi and wooden joinery. Shroffs engagement with crafts began in 2011, upon his return from the US and UK, where he studied and worked for a decade.

I was using a lot of technology where I worked, says Shroff. At the time I was completely enamoured by it and enjoyed working with it. But when you look at it critically, you realise the tools are so readily available, that objects start almost becoming similar. One way of making something special is having a sense of place. Thats where handmade comes in.
Last week, a 35-year-old woman professor from a private university in the city was allegedly molested by the conductor and helper of a bus on which she travelling to Greater Noida from Lucknow.

The woman immediately called the police helpline number and the bus was intercepted by the police near the Jewar toll plaza.

The woman, a resident of Ghaziabad, was travelling alone when the conductor and helper started misbehaving with her. She tried asking for help from her co-passengers but nobody came to her aid. She then called on the police helpline number 100. The incident took place in the wee hours when the bus was crossing Mathura toll plaza.

Read more: Women gang-raped, man killed: Police launch hunt for suspects in highway robbery near UPs Bulandshahr

Jewar polices patrolling van was immediately informed by the control room. The police acted quickly and stopped the bus near the toll plaza. The bus was taken to the police station and a case was registered against the helper and conductor of the vehicle. The accused have been booked under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code.

We got a call from a distressed woman travelling on a bus from Lucknow. We were informed by the control room and our patrolling van intercepted the bus. The bus was taken to the police station and the accused were arrested. Women safety is our priority and we are taking all the efforts to stop such incidents, said Suniti, superintendent of police, rural.

The co-passengers confirmed the incident. The accused were arrested and produced before the court. The duo has been sent to judicial custody, said Rajpal Tomar, station house officer.

The Noida police has been trying to maintain law and order in the area after the recent instructions from chief minister Yogi Adityanath Yogi in the wake of the Jewar rape robbery and murder case.

Read more: Police claim to have detained one in Jewar rape case

After that tragic incident, we have increased the number of patrolling vans and stepped up vigil on roads to keep a tab on anti-social elements. In the coming days, more measures will be taken for women safety, Suniti said.

On May 25, around 1.30am, eight members of the family travelling in a car from Jewar to Bulandshahr were stopped on the Jewar-Bulandshahr road by six men. The gang looted around Rs50,000 cash and valuables and shot dead a man who tried to resist them. They also allegedly dragged the four women to a nearby field and gang-raped them.
Almost a month after Ishwar Tyagi (65), the father of UP cadre IPS Sanjeev Tyagi, was allegedly shot dead by his son inside his house at Raj Nagar on May 11, the victims family has alleged lax investigation by police in the case. They have also alleged that the police are trying to shield two suspects who they say provided a pistol and 20 cartridges to their brother.

They also alleged the police are resorting to ways such as approaching an astrologer to find their brothers location through his horoscope.

The victim, Ishwar Tyagi, was found shot in the head and his family named his son, Anuj Tyagi alias Dabbu, for the murder. Dabbu, the fourth of five brothers, went absconding with Rs5 lakh in cash and his Fortuner after the incident. He suffers from schizophrenia and is yet to be arrested.

My brother Dabbu was provided the weapon and cartridges by his two friends, Rahul and Johnny, who are brothers. Around 20 cartridges were provided to him a day before the murder. The police have failed to arrest or rigorously question the two men, who are politically connected. They have bowed down to pressure and failed to track my brother who is on the run, said Praveen Tyagi, Dabbus elder brother, who runs IIT Pace Academy in Mumbai.

Read more: Ishwar Tyagi murder: We were suspicious of him the night before, says brother of suspect

He added that Dabbu was sleeping in his fathers room the night before the incident. Later, he allegedly shot his father dead before escaping in his Toyota Fortuner.

He is a schizophrenia patient, but not a criminal. Still, the police have failed to track him. He is not using his mobile phone or anything that could lead to his arrest. There were rumors that he surrendered at Chanakyapuri police station in Delhi a couple of days ago. On Friday, there were reports that he was arrested by the Ghaziabad crime branch. However, the police have failed to arrest him so far. We suspect that he is being shielded by some people and the entire incident was planned, Praveen added.

He said that the family had been supporting Dabbu financially for the past several years.

Apart from the Fortuner our father gave him, I also gifted him a Mercedes. My father was also going to open a Rs50-crore rice mill in his name in our village. On the morning of the incident, Dabbu escaped from our house around 4.30am. Around 5.30am, when my mother returned from the temple, she found my fathers body on the blood-soaked bed, he added.

He also said that a Ghaziabad police officer had asked him for Dabbus date of birth.

When I asked why, he said he wanted to visit a pandit who would tell him Dabbus location by looking at his horoscope. This is absurd, he said.

I spoke to Rahul and Johnny who said that they arranged for a pistol to be given to Dabbu. The police have failed to rigorously question them as a number of calls from politicians landed in their support, Parveen alleged. He refused to reveal when and where he spoke to the two.

However, senior superintendent of police, HN Singh, defended the investigation process and said they have two suspects on their radar.

They are being questioned in connection with the incident. Our teams, including the crime branch, are trying hard to trace Dabbu. We are hopeful that he will be nabbed in a day or two. If we find him, he will be questioned. Any persons involved in the conspiracy or who helped him carry out the crime will also be arrested as per law,

Singh said.

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The family of Ishwar Tyagi, father of IPS officer Sanjeev Tyagi, who was allegedly shot dead by his schizophrenic son Anuj alias Dabbu said that Dabbus activities were suspicious on the night before the murder.

His eldest brother Praveen Tyagi said his mother had noted Dabbu acting suspiciously on the night before the murder and alerted her husband. She told him that Dabbu was not in a proper frame of mind and he should keep an eye out on his movements.

However, my father told her to lock her room from inside before sleeping. He and Dabbu slept in the same room, and Dabbu shot him dead and escaped early next morning. He had also told my sisters and his friends that he wanted to get rid of me, said Praveen.

Once when he was in Mumbai, he suspected that his friends had poisoned his meal. But that was not the case. In fact, it was his schizophrenia that made him believe this. He thinks that I tried to get him poisoned, said Praveen, who is based in Mumbai.

Read more: Father of IPS officer Sanjeev Tyagi found dead in Ghaziabad home

He said that he and his mother were also under threat from Dabbu, who is still absconding.

He added that Dabbu had opened a contractors firm with three partners a few years ago, but when he beat up his partners over finances, Praveen had intervened. He had also helped Dabbu set his financial affairs in order, he said.

I dont know what happened to his company later. His schizophrenia too increased. My father also rebuked his friend Johnny around three months ago and had asked him not to meet Dabbu. Johnny and his brother Rahul helped Dabbu get a weapon despite knowing that he was suffering from schizophrenia, Praveen said.

However, the actual motive behind the murder of the 65-year-old Tyagi is yet to be revealed as the police are yet to lay their hands on the absconding Dabbu. On Friday, there were speculations that he had been arrested, but the senior superintendent of police HN Singh denied the reports.
Two persons were killed in a crossfire when two groups clashed late Thursday night in Bamheta village, under the municipal corporation area, near NH-24 in Ghaziabad.

The groups comprised supporters of two opposing candidates in the upcoming local body elections. One of three men arrested so far include a former councillor as well.

The incident took place around 9.40pm on Thursday after men from both groups attended a jagran (all-night religious event) held at the village. While returning, Babu and his cousins, Kapil, Joginder and Jugni, were cornered and fired upon by a rival group of 8-10 men.

Joginder and Jugni sustained severe bullet injuries. They were rushed to nearby Columbia Asia hospital where they were declared brought dead, the police said.

The families of the two men gunned down in Bamheta village, Ghaziabad, on Thursday night. (Sakib Ali/HT)

The men used illegal weapons. We suspect that firing took place from both sides. We recovered five empty cartridges from the scene of crime. So far, we have arrested three persons in connection with the murders and a hunt is on to trace the others as well. During the jagran, the two groups were trying to convince locals to vote for their respective leader. This led to a commotion and firing ensued, said HN Singh, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Ghaziabad.

Following the incident, an FIR was lodged for rioting, attempt to murder, murder and criminal conspiracy at Kavi Nagar police station. Police also invoked provisions of 7 Criminal Law Amendment Act against former councillor Phool Kunwar, Gajendra Yadav, Amit Yadav, Titu, Kapil Yadav, Nikku, Akash, Devender and several unidentified persons.

Bamheta, located near Kavi Nagar industrial area, is famous for its wrestlers and is a Yadav stronghold. Senior police officers visited the spot late night and also deployed a heavy contingent of civil police and Provincial Armed Constabulary at the village. The entire village was deserted on Friday.

The murders took place due to the upcoming election. The conspiracy was hatched by Phool Kunwar and he masterminded the attack. While we were returning from the jagran, we were cornered in a lane and fired upon indiscriminately. Locals rushed inside homes and the entire village is now in the grip of fear, Babu said in his police complaint.

Police sources said both groups supported a different political party. Nearly 20-25 rounds were fired during the attack which seems to have been planned.

The men from the two groups had contested the previous local body election. However, they both lost. Since then, they developed a rivalry. Since local elections are to be held soon, the accused group decided to eliminate the victims who were preparing to field Joginder, a senior police officer said.

SSP said the police arrested Devender, Phool Kunwar and Akash in connection with the incident. Accused Akash also sustained a gunshot wound and is admitted to a hospital.

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The news reader was in the middle of a news bulletin, giving a blow-by-blow account of Egyptian army tanks storming a Cairo mosque inside which Muslim Brotherhood members were reportedly holed up. It was high drama at prime time and Al Jazeera was at the top of its game covering the tumult in Egypt in the wake of the military takeover some years ago.

But then the script went wrong. The news reader got carried away and said gunshots were also being fired from inside the besieged mosque. What she said went against the narrative that the Qatar-owned, Doha-based channel long accused of being a Muslim Brotherhood sympathiser wanted to build and she was quickly replaced. After a brief news break, the bulletin continued with a different anchor in place.

The alacrity with which Al Jazeera acted that night in 2013 also exemplifies why other nations in its neighbourhood such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and UAE are alarmed. The channels output is sleek and the journalism stellar, but also often rabid and raucous for a region that has little press freedom.

The channels rousing rolling coverage is also at the heart of the ongoing diplomatic dispute between Qatar and the Saudi-led bloc of nations. Among everything else they want Qatar to do before ties could be normalised, the countries want Al Jazeera to be shut down and the menace to be stopped.

Why so many countries see red on watching Al Jazeera is not hard to guess. The Gulf is no place for press freedom and that includes Qatar, which blocked an independent news website, Doha News, only recently.

Reporting on even an unkempt pet market in a local souq or anything that portrays the kingdom in somewhat bad light can invite a visit from the dreaded CID. A Qatari poet sentenced to life for writing a poem against the king got only a perfunctory mention in the local media, including Al Jazeera; the deportation of a foreign journalist after being stripped and locked up in prison for being diagnosed with HIV some years ago showed the media its true place in the country.

Much of Al Jazeeras opprobrium is reserved instead for rest of the region where rulers, mostly despots, are open to paeans but loath criticism. Name the country and they all have either jailed Al Jazeera journalists or kicked out the channel altogether at some point or the other over its reportage.

A couple of years ago, broadcaster Peter Greste and two others spent months in Egyptian prison for their reportage. At the moment, Al Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein has been behind bars in Egypt for nearly six months.

The journalism that the channel practices is mostly exemplary. Al Jazeeras very deep pockets allow it to hire the best and brightest and the newsroom drawn from all continents and across nationalities is a mini-United Nations. More boots on the ground in places such as the Arab world and Africa gives it a cutting edge over other international rivals.

But the fault lines simmer underneath and it is mostly related to religion. Beneath its veneer of multiculturalism and globalism, Al Jazeera in its core remains a Muslim Arab channel. Top executives and many senior-level editors could be westerners, but critical editorial calls are necessarily taken by those who are from the region.

There are therefore many shades of Al Jazeera on offer. Its English arm, started in 2006, is suave and sophisticated. The original Arabic channel that first courted international fame and notoriety at the same time with the Osama bin Laden tapes some couple of years after its launch in 1996 is a little more direct. Mubashr Misr, the local variant of the Arabic channel, was far more stormy and acerbic.

That the line between journalism and activism is often blurred is well to be expected given the backgrounds and personal preferences of senior staff. Many in the Al Jazeera newsroom were aghast and outraged seeing Muslim Brotherhoods Mohamed Morsi being toppled by the military as Egypts president, primarily for being both Muslims and Egyptians. The staff also shares the pain of Palestinians more than anyone else every time the conflict with Israel escalates. Al Jazeera has Qataris on the rolls, but they are far outnumbered by Palestinians, Jordanians, Iraqis and others.

Getting emotional is human nature and raw emotions swept the Al Jazeera newsroom during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Tens of thousands of civilians died, but woofs of excitement broke out in the Doha newsroom only when news trickled in about the death of an American soldier. No wonder leaked documents later showed that top-ranking US officials such as Donald Rumsfeld had talked about bombing the channels headquarters.

Taking positions on issues and events, however, do not take away any shine off the breathtaking exploits of the Al Jazeera journalists. Tareq Ayyoub died in Kabul; hit by an American tank shell just when he was readying to go live. Several others, including cameramen, have been killed in the line of duty. Journalist Sami al-Hajj spent years in the Guantanamo jail; picked up from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on the unproven suspicion of being a member of the Taliban.

To stifle the voice of Al Jazeera, which prides itself for being the voice of the voiceless, will be criminal.

However hypocritical it may be when it comes to covering Qatar, the channel undoubtedly has given voice to at least some in the Arab streets ruled by some of the worst despots.

Like every other organization, Al Jazeera suffers from cliques and cabals. A translator in its online department rose to become the virtual deputy managing editor, only to revert to his old position in two months after a particular boss left. But these blemishes notwithstanding, Al Jazeera remains a beacon in a region where freedom of expression is at a premium.

(The author has worked with Al Jazeera in Doha for 12 years. Views expressed are personal)

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There was an audible gasp in the packed hearing room of the United States Senate intelligence committee when ex-FBI director James Comey accused President Donald Trump of telling lies, plan and simple. The foremost law enforcement officer in the country had called the chief executive a purveyor of untruths. And he said it more than once. The question about Russian interference in the last US presidential elections is now almost a moot point. With Comeys testimony, Washington is now descending into a battle over the future of the Trump presidency. The struggle will be fought on a number of levels.

One is the political. Comey can say whatever he wants against Trump, but ultimately only the US Congress decides the legal fate of a sitting US president. In a legislature dominated by members of Trumps own Republican party, the congressmen will only act when the weight of public opinion is overwhelmingly against him. Comeys testimony is damaging, but not enough to crack the 30% of voters who still stand by Trump. In an ABC/Washington Post polls taken before the testimony, 71% of Republicans said the president had done the right in sacking the FBI director. But this inquiry, another Senate investigation and a legal investigation by another FBI alumnus, Special Counsel Bob Mueller, are have just begun and each may take months if not years to conclude. Beltway sources say the midterm election results next year will be the real determinant of whether Congress decides to contemplate the I word: impeachment.

No Republican senator was prepared to question Comeys credibility or integrity. Many seem to take his comments at face value. The Republican speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, seemed to admit Trump lied by saying only, The presidents new to this. Hes new to government. The Republican National Committee was more partisan, calling Comeys statement a last minute attempt to save face.

Another level is the legal. Recent US presidents who have faced impeachment, namely Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, have been tripped up less by the original criminal charge than by the lesser charge of covering up. Nixon was nailed on an obstruction of justice claim. Clinton by perjury. There had been an expectation Comey would accuse Trump, after laying out how the president tried to block his Russian investigation, of obstruction. Comey did lay out what happened, gave minimal interpretation but made it clear he was leaving the criminal legal part of it all to Special Counsel Mueller. I dont think its for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct, he said. Comey sees his testimony and the Senate investigations as being preliminaries to Muellers inquiry. His job was to lay out the evidence, helpfully naming people who can be called to testify in his favour and then letting the law takes it course. As Politico.com commented, West Wing fears Mueller way more than Comey.

Trumps personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, publicly denied parts of Comeys testimony including the ex-FBI directors claim that Trump told him, I need loyalty, I expect loyalty. This pits Comeys version of events directly against Trumps. If the president is ever forced to speak under oath and it is judged that Comeys version is correct, Trump is guilty of perjury  a felony that is actionable by impeachment. In fact, Comeys laid several perjury traps. The US presidents Twitter account was silent during the testimony but statements like Kasowitzs may come back to haunt him.

The third level is credibility. Comeys remarkable testimony will ultimately be compared with Trumps version of events. A long line of people will now slowly follow. Comey noted that his chief of staff and the FBI leadership team were party to some of what he talked about with Trump. The US president may have other people who will testify in his favour. As the two narratives are increasingly fleshed out and then run against each other, the credibility of each side will be tested in the court of public opinion. Each side will fear a witness in their camp who will, fearful of a felony charge or experiencing a change of heart, who turn against them and sink their credibility. Trump may be his sides greatest liability as he seems to have difficulty distinguishing between fact and fantasy. The court of credibility is a major input into where congressional opinion goes.

Comey confessed he leaked to the media against the president. The Trump team will use this to portray him as something other than the squeaky-clean civil servant he claims to be. The FBI director seems to have decided it would be best to come clean on this because, in a protracted triple inquiry, it was likely to come out anyway.

Whatever else is clear, RussiaGate will now consume the Trump presidency. Legislation will be hard to pass, Congress will be difficult to work with, a staff exodus from the White House can be expected and, most important, the president will be even more distracted and dysfunctional than he already is. The rest of the world is hereby warned. Washington will be closed for business for two years because of court duty.

pchaudhuri@hindustantimes.com
As the Goods and Services Tax (GST), dubbed the biggest tax reform since independence, nears its proposed July 1 roll out, small traders here fear migration to the new system will be a nightmarish experience during the first couple of quarters, if not for a longer period.

Given to filing hand written receipts, dealers with an annual turnover of more than Rs 20 lakh will have to register on the GST Network. More than registration and migration issues, they will have to do real-time daily filing of transactions. Monthly returns will replace the old practice of quarterly, six monthly and annual returns.

It will definitely be a nightmare for a lot of businessmen dependant on part-time book keepers, who shared their skills for a host of traders and, thus, proved a cost effective proposition, said Ramavtar Bansal, a dealer, apparently at sea how to factor in the additional cost of employing a full-time accountant.

Said businessman Sanjay Goenka, several items and commodities have become taxable. Now all sale invoices have to be uploaded. If there is a mismatch, the system will throw it up. It has to be rectified by 15th of the month and challan paid by 20th. There will be an acute shortage of trained manpower.

The challenge will be formidable for the less educated small dealers, who are not computer savvy and operate their businesses in semi-urban or rural pockets of the state. The provisions for real time upload of transactions and online input credit will prove to be a real challenge for dealers having to contend with power and network issues, said N K Thakur, vice president, Bihar Chamber of Commerce.

PHDCCI state head Satyajit Kumar Singh said difficulties might keep cropping up for next two years as all the stakeholderstrade and industry, departments and the banksare not fully equipped to handle the reforms. But the destination based tax will benefit the state to the tune of Rs 4000-5000 crore, while consumers will gain from rationalisation of taxes, he said, adding, out of the 160 GST compliant countries, 148 have gone through initial hiccups.

Yet, the commercial taxes department is leaving no stone unturned to facilitate the smooth migration. We have set up help desks in every circle, besides organising awareness camps for discussing issues related to transitional provisions, invoicing, e-way bill, returns, payment, migration and input tax credit, with stakeholders, said Udayan Mishra, deputy commissioner, commercial taxes, north circle, Patna.

Mishra, who also heads the control room-cum-facilitation centre for resolving migration issues, said nearly 1.25 lakh VAT registered dealers have come on board. But only 30,000 have secured permanent migration by successfully uploading digital signature. We urge all to avail the last window for migration that will close on June 15. We will assist anyone facing problems.

While the GST council has decided tax rates for all goods and services, another meeting is slated for June 11 to discuss various representations from trade bodies and associations for change in tax rates of certain items.

West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra has also raised serious doubts over the preparedness of GSTN for handling large volumes of forms that would flood the digital platform from July 1.

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With at least 10 Delhi-based Nigerian nationals having been arrested for drug peddling in Chandigarh and SAS Nagar since January, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) says a bulk of drugs, especially heroin, to Chandigarh area is being brought from the national capital.

The NCB on Wednesday nabbed a Nigerian national in Sector 17, the latest such incident. The accused, Eze Uchenna James, stayed in Delhi.

The recent arrests made by NCB and other agencies make it clear that drugs to Chandigarh, Panchkula, SAS Nagar and Punjab are being brought from Delhi, NCB zonal director Kaustubh Sharma said.

It was for third time that Eze Uchenna James came to supply drugs to his clients in the city on Wednesday evening, he is learnt to have told the investigators. The accused, who had kept the contraband in a small bag, was arrested near Mela Ground, Sector-17, Chandigarh.

NCB officials said James along with his wife and child came to India in April this year. He has told NCB that he is into the trading clothes which he used from purchase from Tamil Nadu. Preliminary probe has revealed that earlier, Jamess friend Refel was arrested in Haryanas Sirsa district in a drug peddling case. The police had seized 13 gram heroin from him.

African nationals with Delhi connect are figuring time and again in cases of drug smuggling. Contraband reaches Delhi and then sent for consumption to Chandigarh, Panchkula, SAS Nagar and Punjab, said the NCB director.

Atul Soni, in-charge, Crime Investigation Agency (CIA), SAS Nagar, said, We have arrested nine Nigerian national, including a woman, in the past four months. In all cases, the accused were getting heroin from Delhi.

Delhi-based Nigerians held in Chandigarh

On April 21, the SAS Nagar police had arrested Delhi-based Nigerian national Colin Chukvamunia for drug peddling. His aide Taranjit Singh was arrested on April 19 with 100 gm heroin.

Taranjit told the police that he got the contraband from Colin who had come to India on medical visa. He moved from Mumbai to Delhi in 2013. Colins friend used to send him the contraband in a gift pack from Nigeria.

On April 11, the SAS Nagar police arrested Nigerian man Michael and claimed to have recovered 50 gram heroin from him. Cops said he supplied drugs to students of private colleges at Landran. Michael, who had come to India on study visa, did a two-year tourism course from Punjab Technical University. He was staying at Landran illegally after his visa had expired.

On March 29, the SAS Nagar CIA had arrested Nigerian national Nwabueze Anyigor and his accomplice Heilen. The two were staying in Delhi since February 2016. They had come to India on six-month tourist visa. The duo under garb of selling imported clothes were supplying drugs to select clients.

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Vinod Kumar, a habitual offender lynched by a suspected angry mob on suspicion of supplying drugs at Bhagi Wander village on Thursday, was released on bail just five days ago.

Vinod, alias Monu Arora, faced two cases of drug peddling after recovery of 5 grams of heroin from his possession on March 3 last year and 250-gram narcotic powder on March 22 this year. He also faced three other cases, one each for rape, theft and under the Excise Act.

Countering the allegation of Bhagi Wander village residents that cops had not acted against Vinod, superintendent of police (SP, headquarters) Bhupinder Singh said the victim was released on bail on May 8, but being a habitual offender he was rearrested, and later released on June 3.

Also read | Bulk of drug supply to Chandigarh, Punjab comes from Delhi: Narcotics Control Bureau

Meanwhile, the police handed over Vinods body to his family after the postmortem at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot, where he succumbed to injuries on Thursday evening.

The victims sister-in-law Khushpreet Kaur alleged he was picked by Bhagi Wander village sarpanchs son from their house in Talwandi Sabo and taken to the village where he was murdered.

The family, hailed from the same village, but was forced out allegedly for being involved in drug peddling. Vinods father, Vijay, is undergoing trial in a drugs case. Waiting for Vijay to come out of jail on parole, Khushpreet said the family will not cremate Vinods body until the accused are named in the FIR registered against unknown persons.

Talwandi Sabo deputy superintendent of police Barinder Singh said they received no formal complaint from Vinods family, and his statement could not be recorded while he was undergoing treatment. He said the villagers are also keeping mum on the issue.
Seven farmer unions in Punjab on Thursday came together in support of those killed in Madhya Pradesh police firing on farmers agitating for better prices for their produce in the drought-ravaged region.

In a meeting held at Moga, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) Ekta-Ugrahan decided to call of its Friday protest for debt waiver in Punjab, and instead join hands with other unions to raise the issue along with demanding justice for the MP farmers in statewide protests on June 12.

During the day-long protests outside offices of all district commissioners (DCs) in the state, the farmers will submit two memorandums: one on MP police firing addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the other to Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on his governments failure to fulfil the poll promise of farm loan waiver.

Besides BKU Ekta Ugrahan, representatives of BKU Ekta Dakondha, Kirti Kisan Union, Kisan Sangarsh Committee (KSC) Punjab, KSC Azad, Krantikari Kisan Union Punjab and BKU Krantikar attended the meeting.

Condemning the MP police firing, BKU Ekta-Ugrahan senior vice-president Jhanda Singh Jethuke demanded registration of a first information report (FIR) on charge of murder against the police and civil authorities responsible for the incident.

We also demand withdrawal of FIRs against farmers agitating for their rights, and compensation for the families of deceased and injured farmers, he said.

Pass debt waiver in budget session

Slamming the Capt Amarinder Singh government for delay in debt waiver, he said: The government should pass a resolution on debt waiver in the upcoming budget session to stop farmers from committing suicide. Jethuke alleged the government that promised karza-kurki khatam in its poll manifesto is now finding excuses for not implementing it.

Besides demanding cancellation of all cheque-bounce cases lodged by banks and commission agents against farmers for failing to repay loans, the unions sought compensation for families of farmer suicide victims. Jethuke said if the government fails to fulfil their demands by June-end, they will hold a state-level farmers convention in Jalandhar on July 7 to plan wider protests.

Shivraj Chouhans effigy burnt

Members of the BKU (Sidhupur) burnt an effigy of MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Bathinda. They said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in MP and at the Centre should take action against those responsible for killing farmers.

Union leader Resham Singh said farmers across the nation are in a dire state, but the BJP government is celebrating its three years in power. He said various organisations working for the rights of farmers will hold a meeting at Delhi on Saturday to launch coordinated protests.
Chandigarh residents will no longer have to shell out heavy amounts to reach office or college daily, with the idea of bike taxis, popularly known as baxis, coming to the city soon.

The project will start in a month.

Rajiv Tewari, the State Transport Authority secretary, says, The transport department is finalising the policy regarding baxis. It wont take more than a month.

The fare of baxi will be determined on the basis of time and distance covered.

BAXI OR TAXI?

The idea has received a mixed response from residents.

Kavya Kriti, 20, student of commerce in Chandigarh, says she would rather go for a public transport than a baxi. While Ishita Aggarwal, 20-year-old student of SD College in Chandigarh, says that baxis are safer than cabs as they are open and reduce the risk of harassment of women.

The baxis will be cost-effective and will come with an additional factor of saving time by beating traffic. It is expected to be most useful for single commuters in the city.

Having witnessed baxis in other states, we feel that they are quite eco-friendly, says Nabhaneel Tiwari and Vaibhav Nagesh, both students of journalism.

Taxi fares in different states According to reports, in Gurgaon, Uber ride starts at Rs 15 (base fare) + Rs 3/km + Rs 1/minute, with Rs 20 as the minimum fare. In Hyderabad, Uber charges Rs 20 for the first three kilometres and Rs 5 per kilometre after that. In Jaipur, Ola bikes are available at Rs 3 per km with Rs 20 as base fare. In Bangalore, Ola charges Rs 2 for every km apart from Rs 1 per minute ride time charge, on a base fare of Rs 30.

Countering this argument, Tamanna Sahoo, 20, says, It will be less preferred as we travel with our friends and family and are rarely alone.

It will be weird as Chandigarh is a small place. People have a confined mentality at places, says Sampada Sharma, a resident of Chandigarh said in Facebook post.

The idea is to have tie-ups with major taxi operators such as Uber and Ola, to ensure success of the scheme.

Motorcycle owners will be able to get commercial permits and licence for two-wheeler taxis.

POPULAR IN GOA, GURUGRAM

Bike taxis is not a new concept and is successful in Vietnam and Thailand. In India, baxis are functional in Rajasthan, Goa, Gujarat, Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad. They are cheaper and easier option for commuters but require minimum investment. They are expected to create opportunities for the unemployed youth.

Malvi Rikhi, another resident of Chandigarh, says that the city is already too crowded and bringing more bikes will add to the clutter.

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh recently gave a thumbs up to the idea of bike taxis under the Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar Yojana.

Whether or not, the idea of commuting through a two-wheeler instead of the usual four-wheeler taxi will gain positive response from residents in Chandigarh will be an interesting thing to wait for.
Life is all about balance. Since I have only one leg, I understand that well.

 Sandy Fussell, Author

Did you ever wonder if any of the current online dating apps in India like Tinder or Truly Madly cater to the differently-abled? Or about whether the disabled population in India actually has decent avenues for matchmaking or dating? This is why we spoke with Kalyani Khona, co-founder of Inclov (Inclusive Love), the worlds first match making app for people with disabilities and health disorders, and came away with a new perspective on the issue.

Co founders Kalyani Khona (L) and Shankar Srinivasan (R)

What kind of challenges did you face while starting Inclov?

Kalyani: We launched Inclov in January 2016. Initial challenges included getting people to use the app. For example, every disability has certain limitations. If you are hearing impaired you cannot converse on the phone, or if you are blind then how would you see the profiles? We made sure that the app is made in such a way that a person with any kind of disability can use this app without depending upon friends or family.

We also have an offline meetup program called Social Spaces which takes place once a month in Delhi, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Chennai and Bangalore; we shall also be holding them at Pune and Hyderabad. But people travel to different cities for this - so you shall have someone travelling from Bangalore will go to Chennai Social Space or somebody from Delhi would go to Jaipur Social Space- because they also want to meet new people.

Our meetups are totally inclusive, in the sense that there are ramps at the entry and exit points, washrooms are accessible at a certain height and there are sign language instructors for the help of the hearing impaired- so that everyone can participate.

Could you tell us about some of the success stories on Inclov?

Kalyani: In terms of marriage, Anu (she is a Miss Wheelchair runners-up and a gold medalist in rifle shooting) and Imran got married within 10 days of our launch, theyre both from Gujarat and Anu was looking for someone for 8 years. They both have movement related difficulties due to being afflicted with polio. Anu was very hesitant about joining the app and said she would try it out for 5-6 days and if nothing happens shall delete it. Within 10 days we got a call from her saying that she had found someone  in fact they just celebrated their first anniversary recently!

Some are engaged while others have remained in touch as friends and I keep seeing their Facebook posts where they are hanging out together. The point of all of this is to get them out of that social isolation and help them make more friends. Were not saying that you should just go to this social space and meet your life partner, were saying that this is an interesting way of meeting new people and if you find someone interesting then feel free to take things forward with them.

How did your parents, friends, relatives react when you said you were going to make a dating app for differently able people?

Kalyani: Everyone was super supportive- in fact one of my very close friends ended up becoming the co founder (Shankar Srinivasan). There are also people on the app who do not have any disability and arent hesitant of finding a life partner who has a disability. We also have people with health disorders who are interested in exploring what the entire app is about.

How many people are there on Inclov?

Kalyani: We have 10,000 people who have downloaded the app and around 3,000 use it regularly (numbers as of 2017). We have very strict curation laws and are not into the whole quantity of profiles. In fact we only show five profiles everyday and say that these are the most active profiles in your area who match your criteria.

What are the different kinds of differently abled people on the app?

Kalyani: There are people from 300 cities in India with the basic disabilities being hearing impaired, vision impaired, and paraplegic- but there are also people with mental disorders, depression, autism, thalassaemia and kidney failure. The list would probably go into the thousands, in fact according to the World Health Organization (WHO) one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives.

The author tweets at @shadowwarior and can be reached at kabir.bhandari@htdigital.in

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New Austrian legislation came into force Friday that will ban the full-face Islamic veil in public places from October 1.

The outlawing of the burqa or other clothing concealing the face follows similar moves in other countries in the European Union, starting with France in 2011.

In Austria, people who break the new law could be fined up to 150 euros ($168), according to the legislation approved by parliament in May and signed into law by the president this week.

Other measures include a clampdown on distributing extremist material, and immigrants being obliged to sign an integration contract.

A 12-month integration programme will include courses in values and the German language. Failure to attend can result in cuts to social security payments.

The legislation was hammered out by the centrist government amid strong support for the far-right and the arrival of 90,000 asylum-seekers since 2015.

The grand coalition under Chancellor Christian Kern collapsed last month and early elections were called for October 15.

The far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), whose candidate came close to winning the largely ceremonial presidency last year, is riding high in opinion polls ahead of the vote.
China on Friday played down security concerns over its economic corridor passing through Pakistan after it emerged that two of its nationals were killed by Islamic State militants in the restive Balochistan province.

A Chinese man and a woman - teaching Mandarin in Balochistan, a region at the centre of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - were kidnapped from Jinnah Town area of Quetta in the last week of May, triggering alarm in Beijing.

According to information from Pakistan, they (the two) may have already been unfortunately killed, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing.

She said the incident would not have any impact on the security of projects being constructed under the CPEC.

The IS claimed responsibility for the abduction-murder of the Chinese nationals though its Amaq news agency on Thursday, hours after the Pakistan Army said it had conducted a three-day operation against IS-linked fighters in Balochistan.

We strongly condemn all forms of terrorism and support Pakistan in its fight (against terrorism) and for peace and tranquillity in the region and beyond, Hua said.

Hua clarified the two Chinese nationals were not a couple and were from different provinces. She had earlier said the government was gravely concerned when initial reports of the duos death came in.

I think this incident has no connection with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or the Shanghai Cooperation Organistion (SCO) meeting (in Astana), Hua said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the Kazakhstan capital of Astana on the margins of the SCO summit that began on Friday.

The BRI is a larger Chinese project creating an international trade corridor of which the CPEC is a part.

Hua said China is prepared for the risks involved in the BRI. The world today is far from a tranquil place. It is inevitable that we will encounter risks (in the BRI). The BRI requires the concerted efforts of all parties concerned, she said.

She added that the Chinese government had advised its citizens not to visit highly risky regions but did not say any specific travel advisory will be issued for Pakistan.

Pakistan, she said, had made great efforts to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals working in the country.

But the killings highlight the risks involved in building the CPEC, which will connect Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the southern coast of Balochistan.

The Chinese state media had noted the risks involved in the CPEC following the abduction. The Global Times tabloid said in an article that it was worth noting that Islamic militants have often carried out abductions of foreigners on Pakistani soil, either for ransom or to get publicity for their cause. Chinese people have also been targeted occasionally, despite the friendly relations between the two countries.

It added, But the restive region has seen frequent violence committed by Islamic terrorists and separatists and the Belt and Road program is often be exposed to potential threats. Last year, a Chinese engineer was injured in a bomb attack in southern Pakistan and a separatist group, the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they were targeting the CPEC.

A recent report by a Chinese university had referred to Indias so-called role in trying to destabilise the CPEC.

The CPEC passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and India has repeatedly raised concerns over it with China.

India is most anxious about the construction of the CPEC and the opening and operation of the Gwadar port by China, said the report compiled by scholars from Renmin Universitys Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies and Caijing magazine after a two-week field trip to CPEC sites including Gwadar port and the Bin Qasim coal-fired plant.
Charles Sobhraj, the serial killer serving time in Nepals central jail in Kathmandu for the past 12 years, is undergoing an open heart surgery at the Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre in Kathmandu on Saturday.

The 73-year-old was diagnosed with leakage in a valve and was admitted to the hospital on Friday. Due to security reasons, police and the hospital have not revealed his health status.

The French national had recently fainted in the central jail and was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with a mitral valve leakage for which surgery was recommended.

A senior doctor of the hospital confirmed to HT that preparations have been completed for the surgery and for removal or replacement of the valve.

The mitral valve is a dual-flap that controls the flow of blood in the left section of the heart. If it fails to function adequately, patients exhibit symptoms including palpitation, exertion and shortness of breath.

Given his criminal background, Sobhraj is closely guarded in hospital and a dozen security personnel are deployed around his cabin, said the hospital sources

The man known as bikini killer was ill for some time. After confirmation of his operation date, the hospital had written to the home ministry to provide additional security to guard him.

Sobhraj has been serving term in Kathmandu after the Supreme Court sentenced him to life for murdering an American tourist, Connie Joe Bronzich, in 1975 in Nepal.

He had been linked to multiple killings of backpackers.

Sobhraj, who had earlier spent 21 years in prison in India and escaped from Tihar jail in 1986 after drugging the security guards, after serving them sweets in the name of his own birthday.

According to a biography, he is believed to have killed 20 people up to the late 1970s, including in Nepal and India.
Unknown attackers fatally shot a human rights activist in northern Colombia, officials said Thursday.

Bernardo Cuero died Wednesday at his home in the town of Malambo, according to a statement by the National Association of Displaced Afrodescendants (AFRODES), for which he worked as a lawyer.

We strongly reject the murder of Bernardo Cuero Bravo, human rights defender, father, brother, friend, who gave his life for victims and finally became one, the organization said in a statement.

Two gunmen, who arrived at Cueros home on a motorcycle, shot him in the presence of his partner and other relatives and then fled, the group said.

Cuero belonged to several other regional human rights groups.

Amnesty Internationals director for the Americas, Erika Guevara-Rosas, condemned Cueros brutal assassination, saying in a statement that the government must take necessary protective measures to guarantee the life and integrity of people fighting for the rights of Afro-Colombians in the country.

Colombias ombudsmans office, which monitors human rights, also condemned the killing, saying Cuero repeatedly denounced threats against his life.

The activist had previously survived an assassination attempt, AFRODES said.

The state National Protection Unit issued him a bullet-proof vest and a cellphone, which were later withdrawn, the organization added.

Interior minister Guillermo Rivera condemned the killing on Twitter, saying prosecutors would investigate the crime.

Some 156 activists have been killed in Colombia between January 1, 2016 and March 1 of this year, according to official figures.

Colombia is seeking to end a half-century conflict that has drawn in various rebel and paramilitary forces and drug gangs, and left at least 260,000 people dead and displaced more than seven million, according to the authorities.
Former FBI director James Comeys testimony on Thursday before a Senate committee produced a string of revelations that shed more light on the investigation into possible Russian collusion with President Donald Trumps campaign and its political fallout.

Here are some of the top disclosures from Comeys appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

1) THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

Comey said Trump fired him on May 9 to try to undercut the Federal Bureau of Investigations probe. While the firing almost immediately prompted allegations that this was the case, this was the first time Comey made the accusation in a public forum.

Comey said the Trump administration had lied and defamed him and the FBI after his firing by saying the agency was in disarray and that the workforce had lost confidence in him.

Comey also said he started writing memos about his meetings with Trump after an encounter with the president-elect on January 6 because he was concerned Trump might lie about it. Comey said he never felt the need for such a record from meetings with Trumps two predecessors, Barack Obama and George W Bush.

2) THE FLYNN INVESTIGATION

Comey confirmed that when Michael Flynn was fired as national security adviser on February 13, the retired lieutenant general was under criminal investigation for statements in connection with Russian contacts and for the contacts themselves.

3) ATTORNEY GENERAL SESSIONS

Comey said the FBI knew Attorney General Jeff Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia investigation following reports that Sessions had met with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak during the campaign. Comey said there was more he could say about Sessions that he could not discuss in an open hearing.

4) SHARING MEMOS

Comey said he shared memos of his nine conversations with Trump with investigators for Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The former FBI director said he also showed copies of a memo memorialising talks with Trump to people outside the Justice Department. He said he asked a close friend, a Columbia Law School professor, to share the memos content with a reporter. Comey said he was prompted to make that request by a tweet from Trump following his firing.

The professor, Daniel Richman, confirmed to Reuters on Thursday that Comey was referring to him.

5) CLINTON EMAIL INVESTIGATION

Comey said Obamas attorney general, Loretta Lynch, directed him to refer to the probe of Hillary Clintons emails as a matter rather than an investigation. That and her private tarmac meeting with former president Bill Clinton before the FBIs decision on whether Hillary Clinton may have criminally mishandled government information led Comey to disclose the agencys findings ahead of schedule last summer.
US President Donald Trump has claimed total and complete vindication in former FBI director James Comeys testimony, but his detractors insisted the deposition showed he tried to improperly stop and potentially obstruct the investigation into his then national security adviser Michael Flynns Russia dealings.

In a blunt and dramatic three-hour testimony before the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday, Comey called Trump a liar multiple times and said he had asked him to drop the Flynn probe but repeated, in oral and written submissions, that the president was never under investigation personally.

The former FBI director also admitted to releasing notes of his conversations with Trump. My judgment was I needed to get that out in the public square so I asked a friend of mine to share the contents of the memos with a reporter  (also) because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, he said.

That was probably Trumps reason to feel vindicated.  Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker! he tweeted on Friday morning, in his first public response to the hearing.

Comeys memos were not classified as secret and their release could not be called a leak in the strictest sense of the word, but Trump and his outside lawyer Marc Kasowitz have sought to portray it as such based on Comeys own admission. Today, Mr Comey admitted that he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorised disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president, he said.

Kasowitz, who has been a personal lawyer to Trump for years, also explained the vindication claimed by Trump in the tweet. In sum, it is now established that the president was not being investigated for colluding with the Russians or attempting to obstruct that investigation.

But Trumps critics and detractors found enough reasons in Comeys testimony to allege the president might have crossed the line, leaving himself open to charges of obstructing an ongoing investigation into Flynn.

In my view, this testimony constitutes evidence of an intention to interfere or potentially obstruct at least a portion of the Russia investigation, if not more, Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the house intelligence committee  which is conducting a parallel Russia probe  wrote in a statement.

When asked by a Senator at the hearing if the presidents request to Comey to let this go in reference to the Flynn probe amounted to obstructing justice, the former FBI director said, I dont think its for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but thats a conclusion Im sure the special counsel will work towards to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether thats an offense.

For Preet Bharara  the US attorney sacked by Trump after being asked to continue  Trumps request on Flynn was the key issue. Main Comey hearing takeaway: POTUS (an acronym for president of the United States) improperly said drop Flynn case & only refutation is 2nd-hand, error-filled stmt from paid atty Kasowitz, he tweeted.
Delhi Polices Special Cell has arrested an aide of gangster Chhota Shakeel, who was planning to target Pakistan-born Canadian writer Tarek Fatah.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) P S Kushwah said Junaid Chaudhary (21) was nabbed on the intervening night of June 7 and 8 from Wazirabad road in north-east Delhi.

The DCP said Chaudhary was planning to target the writer, known for his controversial remarks. Even though Fatah was not in Delhi, the aide was here to carry out a recce, he said.

A pistol and four live cartridges were seized from him, the police officer said.

Chaudhary was arrested in June last year along with three others with arms and hawala money sent by Shakeel, but was released on bail within four months. They had been planning to kill Hindu Mahasabha chief Swami Chakrapani at that time.

He contacted Shakeel again but after his bail was cancelled he was sent to Tihar. Later, he was again released on bail and once again got in touch with Shakeel.

Chaudhary then started carrying out the gangsters Delhi- based activities. He is currently being interrogated.
Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday began forming a minority government after a bruising election result that saw her party losing its majority and a hung parliament, throwing British politics into turmoil and uncertainty in forthcoming Brexit talks.

A grim-faced May announced the decision to form the government after meeting Queen Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace, soon after election results again proved opinion polls and bookmakers wrong. The pound took a beating, while EU leaders watched London closely.

The Conservative party won 318 seats, short by eight from the majority mark of 326 in the 650-member House of Commons. A politically diminished May entered into an understanding with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which won 10 seats, to remain in power.

Labour increased its tally from 232 in 2015 to 261, building on a resurgence led by its leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

Liberal Democrats also increased strength from eight to 12, while the Scottish National Party was reduced from 56 to 35 in the election that many believed was unnecessary and that saw Mays gamble to gain a large majority fail spectacularly. Questions were soon raised about the longevity of the minority government, the possibility of another election in the near future, the approach to Brexit talks that will inevitably be influenced by the election results, and the role the resurgent Labour will play in future.

The Labour party and DUP have worked together in the past, but the latter joining hands with Labour was ruled out due to Corbyn being its leader: Corbyn has long been associated with DUPs rival in trouble-torn Northern Ireland politics, Sinn Fein.

Corbyn and Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron criticised May for not resigning after not only failing to achieve her intended large mandate but also failing to retain the number of seats the party had in the last parliament: 331. Farron said May should be ashamed and should resign if she has an ounce of self respectshe called this election expecting a coronation, and took each and every one of us for granted in the most cynical way possibleshe has put the future of the country at risk with arrogance and vanity.

European Union leaders fear Mays loss of majority raises the risk of failure in Brexit negotiations due to start this month that will usher Britain out of the EU in March 2019.

Guenther Oettinger, the German member of the EU executive, was among those warning that a weak British leader may be a problem once talks start.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Former FBI director James Comey said Thursday he took the controversial decision to speak out publicly on the probe into Hillary Clintons email last year because he thought his boss, the attorney general, had become politically compromised.

Comeys unilateral decision to announce last July he was closing the probe -- which turned out to be premature -- infuriated Republicans who thought the Democratic presidential candidate deserved to be prosecuted for mishandling classified information.

Tables were turned on Democrats just weeks before the US election, however, when Comey, again acting on his own, briefly reopened the probe -- a decision Clinton believes cost her the vote.

Asked about the episode at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Comey said a deciding factor was attorney general Loretta Lynchs unusual meeting Bill Clinton June 27, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona where she joined the former president on his waiting jet when their flights coincided.

Comey also said he was concerned that Lynch was seeking to align the Justice Department with wording that Clintons presidential campaign using when referring to the email probe.

The attorney general directed me not to call it an investigation and call it a matter -- which confused me, Comey said, adding that he felt he needed to step away from the department in order to protect the FBI.

That was a queasy feeling, he recalled.

You look back in hindsight, you think, Should I have resisted harder? I said this isnt a hill worth dying on.

Republican Senator John Cornyn, grilling Comey, said it appeared he believed Lynch had an appearance of a conflict of interest on the Clinton email investigation. Is that correct?

I think thats fair. I didnt believe she could credibly decline that investigation, Comey replied.

Comey said that after the tarmac meeting he considered whether a special counsel should be appointed, and decided not.

I knew there was no case there, he said. Calling for the appointment of a special counsel would be brutally unfair.

In announcing on July 5, 2016 that he was closing the email probe, Comey called Hillary Clintons actions extremely careless but said he did not recommend filing charges.

Comey said he was driven to act as he did to protect the credibility of the investigation.
Egypt on Thursday asked the United Nations to investigate an enormous ransom that Qatar allegedly paid an IS-linked terrorist group in order to free members of its royal family detained in Iraq.

Speaking during a Security Council debate on the threat of terrorism, Egypts deputy ambassador to the UN Ihab Moustafa accused Qatar of paying up to $1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq in order to release members of its royal family kidnapped and detained in Iraq while on a hunting trip.

If proved correct, it is a clear support to terrorism, he said, noting that the group was linked to the Islamic State group.

Several UN resolutions call on member countries not to pay such ransoms or make political concessions to terrorist groups, he said.

The diplomat did not provide evidence or details, but said the press had spoken of it.

We propose that the Security Council launch a comprehensive investigation into this incident and similar incidents, Moustafa said.

Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, have severed diplomatic relations with Doha, which they accuse of supporting extremists.
Qatar on Friday dismissed as baseless a terrorism blacklist published by Saudi Arabia and its allies which linked individuals and organisations in Doha to support for Islamist militant groups.

The emirate was responding just hours after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain published a list of 59 people and entities linked to terrorism.

The recent joint statement issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE regarding a terror finance watch list once again reinforces baseless allegations that hold no foundation in fact, Qatars government said in a statement.

Qatar does not support terrorist groups, it stressed, pointing out that our position on countering terrorism is stronger than many of the signatories of the joint statement -- a fact that has been conveniently ignored by the authors.

Included on the list were Doha-based Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Qatari-funded charities.

The list and response add to the diplomatic and political tensions in the Gulf that have erupted since Saudi Arabia and its allies severed ties with Qatar over its alleged support for extremism.

Qatar has vehemently denied the claims and on Thursday its foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said his country would not surrender.

- Hour of diplomacy -

In a bid to drum up support for his country with the crisis showing no signs of abating, the minister made a surprise visit Friday to Germany where he pledged to pursue a diplomatic path out of the deadlock.

The actions taken by Saudi Arabia and its allies amounted to a clear breach of the international law and wont result in a positive impact on the region but will have a negative one, he said, also hitting out at the terrorism blacklist.

There is a continuous escalation from these countries ... but our strategic options are still diplomacy and dialogue, added Sheikh Mohammed, after holding talks with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.

There are ongoing efforts from friendly countries to contain the crisis and lift the unjust blockade on Qatar and start negotiations, added the Qatari minister, who is travelling to Moscow on Saturday to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Kuwait has taken on the mediator role in the crisis, and French President Emmanuel Macron has also reached out to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran in a bid to kick off talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also spoken to Qatars emir over the crisis.

Gabriel stressed that this is the hour of diplomacy as he vowed to do everything, along with our European friends, to ensure that this conflict does not further escalate.
Dozens of suspected agents of the Islamic State group have been arrested following the deadly attacks in Tehran, Irans intelligence ministry and a website close to the judiciary said Friday.

The jihadist group claimed responsibility for Wednesdays attacks that killed 17 people.

The intelligence ministry said 41 suspects were arrested in Tehran, in the northwestern provinces of Kermanshah and Kurdistan, and in West Azerbaijan, near the borders with Iraq and Turkey.

It described the suspects as agents of Daesh, an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group, and said they included operational teams.

Documents and equipment for carrying out terrorist operations were also seized, the ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, the Mizanonline website close to the judiciary said nine people suspected of links to IS were arrested on Thursday and Friday in the southern province of Fars and in Kermanshah.

The attacks on Tehrans parliament complex and the shrine of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini also wounded more than 50 people and were the first claimed by IS in Iran.

Iran has said five Iranians, who had joined IS and travelled to its Iraq and Syria bastions, carried out the attack.

It also announced just after the attack the arrest of five suspects at the parliament complex and the Khomeini shrine, in addition to the arrests announced on Friday.

Security forces have launched a nationwide hunt for suspected accomplices of the attackers.

Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi has said Iran identified several jihadists, where they meet and where they hide.

Security forces have found explosive vests and other equipment, as well as an abandoned car, packed with at least 22 pistols, in Kermanshah province.
Japans parliament passed a law Friday that clears the way for its ageing Emperor Akihito to step down, in what would be the first imperial abdication in more than two centuries.

The popular 83-year-old monarch shocked the country last summer when he signalled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades on the Chrysanthemum Throne, citing his age and health problems.

The unexpected move presented a challenge since there was no law to deal with an emperor retiring from what is usually a job for life.

The one-off rule was passed in the last-stage upper house on Friday in a unanimous decision after the lower chamber gave its stamp of approval last week.

The abdication must take place within three years of the new law taking effect or it expires -- and it only applies to Akihito.

Japanese media have said the government is eyeing the end of 2018 as a likely timeline for his retirement.

The status of the emperor is sensitive in Japan given its 20th century history of war waged in the name of Akihitos father Hirohito, who died in 1989.

Some scholars and politicians worried that changing the law to allow any emperor to abdicate could put Japans future monarchs at risk of being subject to political manipulation.

Akihito, who has been treated for prostate cancer and had heart surgery, is expected to step aside in favour of his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito.

There have been abdications in Japans long imperial history, but the last one was more than 200 years ago, so politicians had to craft new legislation to make it possible.

The one-off law is a result of political compromises, but it will become a precedent for future abdications, said Setsu Kobayashi, a constitutional expert and professor emeritus at Japans Keio University.

Casual image

Akihito was born in 1933 just as Japan was embarking on its militaristic sweep across Asia, and was 11 when the war ended in defeat.

His father was allowed to remain on the throne after Japans defeat, but his status was downgraded from semi-devine sovereign to a figurehead with no political power.

Akihito embraced the role and tried to use it to help heal the scars of the war while remoulding one of the worlds oldest monarchies for a democratic age.

The emperor prefers the more casual image of himself as a symbol of the Japanese people, Kobayashi said.

Even before he assumed the throne, Akihito broke with tradition when he married the daughter of a wealthy flour magnate in 1959, becoming the first imperial heir to wed a commoner.

The emperor and his wife Empress Michiko are seen as being the more accessible face of a monarchy that largely remains in the shadows, unlike the British royals.

The couple have frequently attended public events and console victims of natural disasters, including Japans 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.

Akihito is officially barred from commenting on politics, but he has over the years hinted at his own anti-nationalist views.

Speaking at a memorial marking the 70th anniversary of Japans surrender, Akihito expressed deep remorse for the countrys actions in World War II.

Some saw this as a rebuke to nationalist Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pushed to change Japans pacifist constitution and prevent Japanese from having to apologise again for the nations warring past.

Akihitos pending abdication had reignited concerns about a potential succession crisis.

There are no more eligible male heirs after the 10-year-old son of Crown Prince Naruhitos younger brother Akishino.

Japans centuries-old succession would be broken if that son, Hisahito, does not have a male child.

In response, Japans parliament has called for a debate on giving women a bigger role in the male-dominated monarchy.

The idea -- including the possibility of letting women ascend the throne -- is popular among ordinary Japanese, but it is vehemently opposed by traditionalists including the current prime minister and likeminded conservatives.

Female imperial family members lose their royal status upon marriage to a commoner, a point highlighted by recent news that one of Akihitos granddaughters, Princess Mako, plans to marry her college sweetheart.
Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Friday made it clear that amendments in Constitution to address the demands of Madhes- based parties will only be made after the second phase of local polls are over.

It is unfortunate that we cant endorse the Constitution amendment bill at the time as the second phase of local level polls is approaching, Deuba said, responding to questions raised by lawmakers in Parliament.

Assuring the disgruntled parties of passing the bill after the second phase of the polls, he urged the agitating political parties to not doubt his commitment and to support the government in holding the elections.

The prime ministers statement has put the Madhes-based parties in a dilemma on whether to join the polls. Nearly 60 people were killed and dozens injured since they started their anti-Constitution protest in 2015, but no headway was made in several rounds of talks with successive governments.

It is also said that there is split within the Madhes-based parties over whether to join the local elections, which is largely taking place in their home turf, the Tarai region.

An amendment in the Constitution requires two-third votes in Parliament, which the present government does not have. For this, Deuba will have to bring on board the main opposition, CPN-UML, or take fringe and independent lawmakers in confidence, which is a tall order.

Madhesi parties have demanded an increase in the numbers of local units according to the population ratio  more than 50% of the countrys population lives in the Tarai area and the parties are looking for a bigger share of the pie.
A Syrian refugee artist has spent 19 months creating a series of paintings in his Brussels studio showing world leaders as displaced or disenfranchised people and is showcasing them in a Dubai gallery.

Abdalla Al Omaris The Vulnerability Series includes paintings of US President Donald Trump as a bedraggled refugee with a sleeping child in his arms, Russian President Vladimir Putin as a beggar, as well as former British Prime Minister David Cameron and former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

A post shared by Abdalla Al Omari (@abdalla.al.omari) on Apr 18, 2017 at 2:22am PDT

My aim somehow shifted from an expression of anger to a more vivid desire of disarming these figures, (to) picture them outside their positions of power, Omari told Al Jazeera.

Omari started painting in Damascus shortly after the start of the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011. He fled and was granted asylum in Belgium.

Gallery visitor Sami Azraq said the portraits were a unique take on the refugee crisis.

I think its an interesting way or its a nicer way to look at the problem rather than our usual news or social media or other outlets, he said.

Here is a glimpse of some of Omaris work:

A post shared by Abdalla Al Omari (@abdalla.al.omari) on Jun 5, 2017 at 2:27am PDT

David from #thevulnerabilityseries 200x150cm oil-acrylic on canvas #abdallaalomari @ayyamgallery #ayyamgallery #ayyamgallerydubai #dubai #davidcameron A post shared by Abdalla Al Omari (@abdalla.al.omari) on Jun 3, 2017 at 2:16am PDT

"Kim" from #thevulnerabilityseries 200x150cm oil and acrylic on canvas #abdallaalomari @ayyamgallery #ayyamgallery #ayyamgallerydubai #kimjonghyun #dubai A post shared by Abdalla Al Omari (@abdalla.al.omari) on Jun 1, 2017 at 1:57am PDT
Pakistanis looking for news about the killing of two Chinese nationals by the Islamic State in Balochistan were surprised when they didnt find any mention of the development in the countrys leading newspapers on Friday morning.

The issue was apparently blacked out after editors and reporters of the countrys Urdu and English newspapers were told by the powerful security establishment late on Thursday not to carry any news on the killings.

On Thursday, the Amaq news agency claimed the IS had killed the two Chinese nationals, hours after the Pakistan Army issued a statement about a successful three-day operation against IS-linked terrorists in Mastung area of Balochistan.

Though the operation was conducted during June 1-3, the army released details only five days after it was completed. The army said it killed 12 terrorists and destroyed their hideouts within caves in Mastung region.

The armys statement was followed by Amaqs claim that IS fighters had killed the Chinese nationals in Mastung. Some Pakistani social media users questioned whether the army had revealed details about the operation because it had possibly learnt about the death of the Chinese.

The Chinese nationals  a man and a woman  were kidnapped from the Balochistan capital of Quetta on May 24. At the time, no one had claimed responsibility for the abductions.

Soon after the claim from Amaq, the Pakistan Army forced the media not to carry the story about the deaths of the Chinese. Sources said army officials told the editors and reporters that such a news report would be disrespectful to the Chinese.

The front pages of all newspapers made no mention of the executions though the anti-IS operation featured on the front pages of The Express Tribune and The News. On Friday, the websites of the newspapers reported in an oblique manner on the killing of the Chinese, using copies from international news wires or quoting Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson as saying that the Chinese nationals were likely dead.

Sources said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs presence alongside President Xi Jinping at the SCO Summit in Astana could have prompted the media blackout.

Others noted that the Pakistan Army had been pushing for a code of conduct following the inquiry into Dawn journalist Cyril Almeidas report last year on differences between the civilian government and the military on countering terror groups.

When the two sides settled their differences over the Dawn Leaks issue last month, the civilian government had agreed to frame a code of conduct for the print media, especially on issues of national security.
Pakistans top diplomat in the US was laughed at by a Washington audience when he repeatedly insisted that there are no safe sanctuaries for terrorists in Pakistan and that the Taliban leader, who reportedly died in a hospital in Karachi, never left Afghanistan.

What is there funny about, a visibly irritated Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, the Pakistan ambassador to the US, told a Washington think-tank audience which burst into laughter when he repeatedly argued that Mullah Omar never left Afghanistan to visit Pakistan.

The reality is, however, different, argued former US diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad, who served as his countrys ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the UN.

We have very firm evidence of his (Mullah Omar) presence in Pakistan, where he went, lived, ..hospital, he said, adding that for a long time there was the idea that bin Laden never left Afghanistan.

There is ample evidence that while the operation was going on, Haqqani network was being evacuated to safer location, the former US ambassador to Pakistan said during a panel discussion on Regional Perspectives on the US Strategy in Afghanistan, at the Atlantic Councils South Asia Center.

Chaudhry appeared to be isolated as two other panellists - former Indian minister Manish Tewari and top American think-tank expert Ashley Tellis - joined Khalilzad to say that terrorist safe havens continued to exist in Pakistan and there was a level of support from the Pakistani establishment.

What sanctuaries you are talking about? If you want to live in the past, you cannot solve the present. Haqqani and the Taliban are not our friends. They are not our proxies. What Quetta Shura you are talking about? What Peshawar Shura? the Pakistan ambassador questioned. The panel discussion had an abrupt end as Khalilzad and Chaudhry exchanged words.

Tellis said while the safe havens continue to exist in Pakistan, a great deal of financial and personnel supply does come from Afghanistan. But there is no denying that the Taliban leadership were based in Pakistan, he said.

Tewari said it was time that Pakistan should introspect as to why the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who went to Rawalpindi to meet the Pakistan Army chief, turned against Pakistan. Ghani was actually constrained to say Pakistan is having an undeclared war with Afghanistan.

Those are extremely strong statements coming from the head of state, he said.

During the question and answer session, an Afghan diplomat, Muhammad Asad, and an Afghan woman journalist Nazira Karimi of Ariana television joined the three other panellists to challenge Chaudhrys assertion about terrorist safe havens.

Our allegation is evidence-based, Asad said adding that while the carrot formula has not worked, it is time for the US to look the other way around.

The Pakistan ambassador said his country wanted a peaceful, stable, sovereign and prosperous Afghanistan.

Afghan soil should not be used against Pakistan. Other than that, we want to facilitate reconciliation. ..Just blaming Pakistan all the time will not help. What will help is recognise what Pakistan has done for Afghanistan, he said.

Chaudhry accused India of being a part of a double squeeze strategy.

India does have strategic interest in Afghanistan. It could be part of the double squeeze strategy against Pakistan. To that end an Afghanistan that is not stable would serve Indias purpose and that is why India is opposing reconciliation with Taliban of any kind, Chaudhry said.

Chaudhry also accused India of trying to be a hegemonic power in the region.
A supermarket employee brought two guns to work overnight on Thursday, blocked the stores entrances and exits so no one could flee and fatally shot three fellow employees before turning the weapon on himself, Pennsylvania state police said.

State police say it remains unclear why 24-year-old Randy Stair, of Dallas, shot the others and himself in a Weis Market shortly before 1am on Thursday.

Stairs shift started when the store closed at 11 p.m. Police said he later took a duffel bag from his car containing two pistol-grip shotguns, brought them into the store and started firing.

At a news conference outside the store in Eaton Township, northwest of Scranton, troopers said Stair spent the first 90 minutes of his shift blocking the entrances and exits with pallets and other items before he started shooting. He fired 59 shots before killing himself, they said.

Stair fatally shot Terry Sterling, 63, of South Montrose; Victoria Brong, 26, of Factoryville; and Brian Hayes, 47, of Springville.

One witness managed to escape the rampage and call 911.

Police stressed that the store was closed to the public when the shooting occurred, and only workers were inside. The stores posted hours are from 6 am to 11 pm.

We are deeply saddened by the events of this morning, Weis spokesman Dennis Curtin said in a statement. The safety of our associates, our customers, and the surrounding community is our top priority.

Investigators were looking at Stairs online activity for clues to his motive, troopers said.
A suspected Saudi-led coalition air strike on Yemens rebel-held capital Sanaa has killed four members of the same family, medics and witnesses said on Friday.

They said the overnight air strike hit a house in the south of the city.

The four civilians, including two teenagers, died in a strike by the coalition that targeted a civilian house behind the presidential palace in the south of the capital, a medical source said.

Witnesses said the building was totally destroyed and three neighbouring houses were damaged in the strike.

We were at home when the air strike occurred and destroyed our neighbours house, said Najad Ahmad.

Ahmad Nasser al-Orami, whose house was one of three damaged in the raid, said he was out with his family having dinner and discovered on his return what had happened.

Shame on them, he said.

There was no immediate reaction from the Saudi-led coalition, which has been battling the Shiite Huthi rebels who control Sanaa and oppose the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

The coalition, which intervened on the government side two years ago, has come under repeated criticism over civilian casualties in Yemen.

It has acknowledged responsibility in some cases, including for an air strike in October 2016 that killed 140 people and wounded 525 others at a funeral in Sanaa.

Coalition planes have used banned cluster munitions and killed two times more civilians than other forces, according to the United Nations.

The conflict in Yemen has killed more than 8,000 people and wounded around 40,000, the UNs World Health Organization says.
A woman detonated her explosive belt in a market east of the Shia holy city of Kerbala on Friday, killing at least 30 and wounding 35, Iraqi security sources said.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in Musayyib market, causing 20 civilian martyrs, an interior ministry spokesman said.

At least 34 other people were wounded in the attack in the centre of Musayyib, a town that lies about 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of the capital, a police officer and a medic at the local hospital said.

A source at Musayyib hospital said at least four of the wounded were in very serious condition following the blast, which rocked the market at around 11:30 am (0830 GMT).

The attack in Musayyib came hours after another, apparently failed attack in the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, a few kilometres (couple of miles) to the southwest.

Four civilians were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the citys main bus station early Friday, police sources said.

Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group through its propaganda agency Amaq, which in both cases spoke of a martyrdom-seeking operation using an explosive vest.

IS has carried out dozens of deadly suicide bombings targeting civilians but Iraq has been on heightened alert since the start of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

More than 40 people were killed and dozens wounded in a spate of attacks on May 30, a few days after the beginning of Ramadan, including a devastating blast at an ice cream shop in central Baghdads Karrada neighbourhood.

It was during Ramadan last year that IS carried out its deadliest ever attack in the Iraqi capital with a truck bomb that set two shopping arcades ablaze, also in Karrada, resulting in more than 320 deaths.

The bombings in Baghdad come as Iraqi forces fight to retake the last IS-held areas of Mosul, a city that was the jihadist groups emblematic stronghold.

Iraqi forces are almost eight months into a massive operation to recapture the second city and have already taken back its whole eastern side and much of the west.

The hardline Sunni Muslim insurgents are on the brink of losing Mosul, their de-facto capital in Iraq, to a U.S.-backed Iraqi offensive launched in October.

The group is also on the backfoot in neighbouring Syria, retreating in the face of a U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led military coalition attacking Raqqa, its capital there.

Iranian-backed paramilitaries are taking part in the campaign against Islamic State in Iraq, attacking the group in the border region near Syria.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test launch of a new type of anti-ship cruise missiles that can accurately hit targets such as an enemy battleship, the countrys official KCNA news agency reported on Friday.

The new cruise rocket is a powerful attack means capable of striking any enemy group of battleships attempting at military attack on the DPRK from the ground at will, KCNA said. DPRK is short for the Norths official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

Pyongyang launched what appeared to be several land-to-sea missiles early on Thursday off its east coast, which flew about 200 km (124 miles), South Koreas military said.

The missile launch came less than a week after the United Nations Security Council imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea, and drew condemnation from South Korean President Moon Jae-in who has hoped to engage Pyongyang in dialogue.

North Koreas official media routinely report on such missile launches the following day. The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea after making circular flights, KCNA said, referring to the sea that divides the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

The rocket, tested from a tracked mobile launcher, was a new weapon North Korea displayed for the first time in a military parade earlier this year, KCNA said. Experts said the new anti-ship missile has four launching canisters.

North Korea unveiled a number of new weapons at a massive military parade on April 15 to mark the anniversary of the birth of the states founding leader and has since tested some of them.

Under third-generation leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has been conducting missile tests at an unprecedented pace in an effort to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the mainland United States.

The isolated country, which has conducted dozens of missile tests and tested two nuclear bombs since the beginning of 2016 in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, says the programme is necessary to counter US aggression.
As Britain woke up to a hung parliament on Friday, newspaper front pages across the country reflected the shock and confusion. May had declared the election early, hoping to get a stronger mandate for Brexit negotiations, but she ended up losing the majority in Parliament.

Here is how 8 newspaper front pages across the UK broke the news:

1) Daily Mail : Britains leading tabloid splashed the backfiring of Theresa Mays election gamble on its front page.

2) The Sun: The Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid had been assiduously campaigning against Corbyn, but went ahead with this two-word pronouncement after the poll twist.

On Thursday, just ahead of the verdict, the paper had made this appeal to the voters:

THE SUN FRONT PAGE 'Don't chuck Britain in the Cor-bin' #skypapers pic.twitter.com/bzJOOvu1lT  Sky News (@SkyNews) June 7, 2017

3) Daily Mirror: The Mirror tried to come to terms with Corbyns sudden change in fortunes. Cor Blimey is English slang for God blind me, an exclamation of surprise and shock.

4) Daily Star: The Star also went ahead with a suitably apocalyptic headline screaming across its front page.

5) Metro: The Metros headline was a testament to how Jeremy Corbyn, once reviled even within the Labour ranks for his left-leaning ideology, has emerged as the hero of this election turnaround.

6) The Times: The British institution spelt out what was on the minds of most people.

7) The Independent: The newspapers front page summed up the current political mood in the country.

8) The Scotsman: The 200-year old paper went for Mayday, mayday, reflecting the panic in Mays camp.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will form a government supported by a small Northern Irish party after her Conservative Party lost its parliamentary majority in an election debacle days before talks on Britains EU departure are due to begin.

A stony-faced May, speaking on the doorstep of her official Downing Street residence, said the government would provide certainty and lead Britain in talks with the European Union to secure a successful Brexit deal.

May said she could rely in parliament on the support of her friends in Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party after her governing Conservatives failed to emerge as clear winners.

Confident of securing a sweeping victory, May had called the snap election to strengthen her hand in the European Union divorce talks. But in one of the most sensational nights in British electoral history, a resurgent Labour Party denied her an outright win, throwing the country into political turmoil.

EU leaders expressed fears that Mays shock loss of her majority would delay the Brexit talks, due to begin on June 19, and so raise the risk of negotiations failing.

Her Labour rival Jeremy Corbyn, once written off by his opponents as a no-hoper, said May should step down and he wanted to form a minority government.

But May, facing scorn for running a lacklustre campaign, was determined to hang on. Just after noon, she was driven the short distance from Downing Street to Buckingham Palace to ask Queen Elizabeth for permission to form a government - a formality under the British system.

With 649 of 650 seats declared, the Conservatives had won 318 seats and Labour 261 followed by the pro-independence Scottish National Party on 34.

The shock result thrust Northern Irelands centre-right DUP into the role of kingmaker, with its 10 seats enough to give the Conservatives a fragile but workable partnership.

Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom, May said.

This was likely to involve an arrangement in which the DUP would support a Conservative minority government on key votes in parliament but not form a formal coalition.

But with the complex talks on the divorce from the EU due to start in 10 days, it was unclear what their direction would now be and if the so-called Hard Brexit taking Britain out of a single market could still be pursued.

After winning his own seat in north London, Corbyn said Mays attempt to win a bigger mandate had backfired.

The mandate shes got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence, he said. I would have thought thats enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all of the people of this country.

Brexit risks

We need a government that can act, EU Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk. With a weak negotiating partner, theres a danger that the (Brexit) negotiations will turn out badly for both sides.

The EUs chief negotiator said the blocs stance on Brexit and the timetable for the talks were clear, but the divorce negotiations should only start when Britain is ready. Lets put our minds together on striking a deal, Michel Barnier said.

But there was little sympathy from some other Europeans.

Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May, will make already complex negotiations even more complicated, tweeted Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian premier who is the European Parliaments point man for the Brexit process.

Mays predecessor David Cameron sought to silence Eurosceptic fellow Conservatives by calling the referendum on EU membership. The result ended his career and shocked Europe.

German conservative Markus Ferber, an EU lawmaker involved in discussions on access to EU markets for Britains financial sector, was scathing.

The British political system is in total disarray. Instead of strong and stable leadership we witness chaos and uncertainty, he said, mocking Mays campaign slogan.

Sterling tumbled as much as 2.5 percent on the result while the FTSE share index opened higher. The pound hit an eight-week low against the dollar and its lowest levels in seven months versus the euro.

A working government is needed as soon as possible to avoid a further drop in the pound, said ING currency strategist Viraj Patel in London.

Dreadful campaign

Conservative member of parliament Anna Soubry was the first in the party to disavow May in public, calling on the prime minister to consider her position.

Im afraid we ran a pretty dreadful campaign, Soubry said.

May had unexpectedly called the snap election seven weeks ago, even though no vote was due until 2020. At that point, polls predicted she would massively increase the slim majority she had inherited from Cameron.

May had spent the campaign denouncing Corbyn as the weak leader of a spendthrift party that would crash Britains economy and flounder in Brexit talks, while she would provide strong and stable leadership to clinch a good deal for Britain.

But her campaign unravelled after a policy u-turn on care for the elderly, while Corbyns old-school socialist platform and more impassioned campaigning style won wider support than anyone had foreseen.

In the late stages of the campaign, Britain was hit by two Islamist militant attacks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London, temporarily shifting the focus onto security issues.

That did not help May, who in her previous role as interior minister for six years had overseen cuts in the number of police officers. She sought to deflect pressure onto Corbyn, arguing he had a weak record on security matters.

What tonight is about is the rejection of Theresa Mays version of extreme Brexit, said Keir Starmer, Labours policy chief on Brexit, saying his party wanted to retain the benefits of the European single market and customs union.

Analysis suggested Labour had benefited from a strong turnout among young voters.

The campaign had played out differently in Scotland, the main faultline being the SNPs drive for a second referendum on independence from Britain, having lost a plebiscite in 2014.

SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it had been a disappointing night for her party, which lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said Sturgeon should take the prospect of a new independence referendum off the table.
SunShine McCurry, a tattoo artist living in Forest city, North Carolina was in for a rather unusual surprise when she returned home only to find a five-foot snake casually resting in her living room. A week ago, she posted a video on her Facebook account which in no time became viral.

The four-minute long video shows the woman handling the snake with utmost confidence. She bravely sneaked behind and placed the snake into a pillow cover. After this, the snake was taken outside of her house where she set it free in the right direction.

The video has already been viewed by more than 4,44,000 people and has hit around 16,696 likes on YouTube.

Social media users were all praise for the women for being cheerful throughout the drill and appreciated her for her sensitivity. One Facebook user, on SunShine McCurrys account, commented  You go girl!! I scream just from seeing them from my car on the side of the road. Another user added  GIRL,DONT KNOW YA.BUT YOURE MY HERO.
US President Donald Trump has claimed total and complete vindication in former FBI James Comeys testimony that his detractors insisted showed he had tried improperly to stop and potentially obstruct the investigation into his then NSA Michael Flynns Russia dealings.

In a blunt and dramatic three-hour testimony before the senate intelligence committee on Thursday, Comey called Trump a liar multiple times and said he had asked him to drop the Flynn probe but repeated, in oral and written submissions, that the president was never under investigation personally.

That was probably the presidents reason to feel vindicated. Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication, Trump wrote on Twitter Friday morning in his first public response to the hearing, adding, in the same post, and WOW, Comey is a leaker!

The former FBI director had admitted to releasing his memos  notes of his conversations with Trump  he said my judgment was I needed to get that out in the public square so I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter  (also) because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.

The memos were not classified as secret and their release could not be called a leak in the strictest sense of the word, but the president and his outside layer Marc Kasowitz have sought to portray it as such based on Comeys own admission. Today, Mr. Comey admitted that he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the President, Kasowitz said in a statement after the hearing went to characterize them as leaks.

Kasowitz, who has been a personal lawyer to Trump for years, also explained the vindication claimed by Trump in the Tweet. In sum, he said in the statement, it is now established that the President was not being investigated for colluding with the Russians or attempting to obstruct that investigation.

Trump is not a subject of any investigation indeed. But his critics and detractors found enough reasons in Comeys testimony to allege the president might have crossed the line, leaving himself open to charges of obstructing an ongoing investigation into his former NSA Flynn.

In my view, this testimony constitutes evidence of an intention to interfere or potentially obstruct at least a portion of the Russia investigation, if not more, Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee which is conducting a parallel Russia probe, wrote in a statement.

When asked by a senator at the hearing if the presidents request to Comey to let this go, in reference to the Flynn probe, amounted to obstructing justice, the former FBI director said, I dont think its for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning, but thats a conclusion Im sure the special counsel will work towards to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether thats an offense.

For Preet Bharara, the US attorney sacked by Trump after being asked to continue, the Trumps request on Flynn was the key issue. Main Comey hearing takeaway: POTUS (short for president of the United States) improperly said drop Flynn case & only refutation is 2nd-hand, error-filled stmt from paid atty Kasowitz, he wrote in a Tweet.

...............

US President Donald Trump called James Comey a leaker on Friday, the day after his former FBI director accused him in congressional testimony of trying to quash an investigation and lying.

Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication ... and WOW, Comey is a leaker! Trump tweeted in his first comments since the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday.

Trump broke his silence on Comeys testimony with a single tweet that echoed the points made by his private lawyer after Comeys appearance: The Republican president himself was not under investigation, and Comey gave an account of his conversation with him to a lawyer friend who shared it with a news outlet.

Trump stopped short of saying that Comey lied under oath at the hearing, which occurred a month after Trump fired him on May 9.

Comey delivered a scathing indictment of his former boss, accusing him of trying to block an investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and saying the White House defamed him and the FBI in trying to explain his dismissal.

He told the Senate panel he took meticulous notes of each meeting or conversation he had with Trump because I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, and so I thought it really important to document.
Arrivals in the United States from the six mostly Muslim countries in President Donald Trumps travel ban have plunged despite a legal freeze on the bans implementation.

Government data received Thursday showed that arrivals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen were down by nearly half in March and April from a year ago 6,372 for the two months compared to 12,100 in 2016.

Arrivals were little changed in the first month after the rollout of the original January 27 travel ban, which also included Iraq.

That ban was quickly blocked in a legal challenge by immigration rights advocates that was supported on appeal. The courts ruled that in its focus on Muslim-majority countries, the Trump administration was violating the Constitutions ban on religious discrimination.

At the time, however, many in those countries with legal US travel documents rushed to travel or return to the US in fear that a revised ban would pass the courts and they would be locked out.

The result was 4,277 arrivals from the six countries in February, slightly slower than a year before, according to the Customs and Border Patrol data. Iraq data was not immediately available.

On March 6 a new version of the travel ban was announced, with Iraq removed. Again implementation was blocked by two court orders, which the Trump administration last week said it will appeal to the Supreme Court.

But in the meantime visa processing in the six countries has slowed and arrivals have fallen sharply: 3,462 in March and just 2,910 in April, mostly from Iran and Syria.
British Prime Minister Theresa May was dealt a crushing blow on Friday when results of an election that she called out of turn for a stronger mandate to conduct Brexit talks showed that she had lost majority in Parliament.

With no clear winner emerging from Thursdays parliamentary election, Mays opponents asked her to step down, a suggestion made more carefully by her Conservative party colleagues.

With just 9 seats left to declare, the Conservatives won 311 seats, meaning they cannot get an overall majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.

In the seven weeks since she announced the election in April, the Conservatives frittered away a big lead over the opposition Labour.

The pound took a beating soon after the exit poll suggested a hung parliament on Thursday night.

A resurgent Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn asked May to go, while Conservative leaders were soon suggesting that she reconsider her position as party leader. Names of the next possible leader were also being mentioned as results came in.

The uncertainty spawned by a hung parliament has major implications for Brexit talks scheduled to begin in Brussels on June 19. The next government  even if a minority government led by May  will be hobbled by the lack of a clear mandate.

Mays fortunes dwindled as the campaign progressed after a series of her U-turns on sensitive issues such as tax and social care. Contributing to her woes was the strides Corbyn made, both in terms of a popular manifesto and his energetic appearances on live television.

From a Labour leader in whom his own party MPs had expressed no confidence, Corbyn added inches and feet to his political stature to the point that he may well form a minority government supported by the Scottish National Party, Liberal Democrats and others.

Corbyn said after being elected in Islington North: Politics has changed. Politics isnt going back into the box where it was before. Whats happened is people have said theyve had quite enough of austerity politics.

She wanted a mandate. Well the mandate shes got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that is enough for her to go, he added, to much applause from his supporters.

May appeared disappointed, saying after winning her Maidenhead seat: If the Conservative party has won the most seats and most votes then it will be incumbent that we will have that period of stability and that is what we will do.

But there were already demands for her to reconsider her position. Anna Soubry, Conservative MP, said: It is bad. She is in a very difficult place ... It was a dreadful night. Ive lost some excellent and remarkable friends. This is a very bad moment for the Conservative party and we need to take stock and our leader needs to take stock.

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An exit poll following Britains general election on Thursday suggested the country could be heading for a hung parliament, in which no party has an overall majority. (Live updates)

Here is what would happen next if the forecast is confirmed by the full results, most likely due on Friday.

 There are 650 seats in the House of Commons up for grabs at the election. One party needs to win at least 326 to secure an overall majority. The exit poll  which must be treated with caution given the poor reliability of forecasts in recent British elections  indicates the Conservatives have won 314, Labour 266, the Scottish Nationalists 34 and the Liberal Democrats 14.

 If this does translate into a hung parliament when results come through, Theresa May as incumbent prime minister will have the first shot at trying to form a government  either as a minority or in coalition with others.

 If May did manage to do this, she would then go to the House of Commons to see if her government could survive a motion of confidence, probably after the state opening of parliament on June 19.

 But if May could not form a government or did not survive the motion of confidence, she would be expected to hand in her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II.

 The monarch would then be likely to invite Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, to try to form a government. That, again, could be a minority or coalition administration.

 If no government can command the confidence of the House of Commons, parliament can be dissolved and another election held.

Britains first-past-the-post voting system means hung parliaments are relatively rare  there have been only five since the end of the 19th century.

The last five hung parliaments were:

May 2010

Prime Minister: David Cameron (Conservatives)

Composition: Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition

Lasted: Five years

February 1974

Prime Minister: Harold Wilson (Labour)

Composition: Labour minority government

Lasted: Eight months

1929

Prime Minister: Ramsey MacDonald (Labour)

Composition: Minority Labour government backed by Liberals

Lasted: until 1931, but amid the Great Depression, MacDonald formed National coalition government of Conservatives, Liberals and small number of Labour MPs which won 1931 and 1935 elections.

1923

Prime Minister: Ramsey MacDonald (Labour)

Composition: Prime Minister Stanley Baldwins Conservatives won more seats than Labour but stepped aside for Labours MacDonald

Lasted: 10 months

1910

Prime Minister: Herbert Asquith (Liberal Party)

Composition: Liberal Party in a minority government, with support of Labour and the Irish Nationalists. Then a coalition government from 1915.

Lasted: Six years
How often does one see the air of victory around a leader whose party finishes second, and the dark cloud of gloom around the leader whose party emerges as the single largest one in Parliament? This unlikely spectre marks the politics of Brexit-bound Britain after Thursdays election.

The altered political halos around Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn symbolise the political flux reflected in the delight, mockery and ridicule over the past 12 hours as election results came in.

May was ashen faced in the counting hall after winning in her constituency of Maindenhead, while Corbyn had the gait and look of a victor in Islington North, not just because of his win but the unlikely strides Labour had made under his leadership.

British Prime Minister Theresa May waits for the results to be declared at the counting centre in her constituency of Maidenhead early in the morning of June 9, 2017, hours after polls closed in Britain's general election. (AFP)

Political pundits and journalists reached for superlatives to describe Mays scale of error in calling the mid-term election, ostensibly to strengthen her hands in Brexit negotiations, and the scale of Corbyns achievement from the doldrums in which the party was until recently.

Mays overuse of the phrase strong and stable during the campaign became a joke. Until she became prime minister in 2016 in the aftermath of the EU referendum, people had not seen her up close and personal. Many believe what they saw often during the campaign was described in typical British understatement as interesting.

For one who was compared too soon to Margaret Thatcher, Mays electoral debacle has gladdened many within her Conservative Party, famous for being unforgiving of leaders who do not lead it to power.

Known as a tough, no-nonsense leader who does not do small talk, former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg once described her as the ice maiden. She already faces fire for leading a presidential-style campaign focusing on her image as a bloody difficult woman and the only one who can face down tough EU negotiators.

The contrast between May and Corbyn could not be starker. Had Corbyn been active in Indian politics, he would most certainly be called a jholawala, the perennial protestor-rebel always seen at protests, handing out campaign leaflets.

Britain's opposition Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn gives a thumbs up as he arrives at the party headquarters in central London on June 9, 2017 after results in a snap general election showed a hung parliament with Labour gains and the Conservatives losing their majority. (AFP)

His transformation, and Labours transformation under his leadership, is the most remarkable story in contemporary British politics.

From facing a no-confidence motion from his own MPs, to facing and winning two party leadership elections, to being constantly ridiculed for his socialist views, to being called unfit for politics in the age of television, Corbyn has gone through the wash.

Corbyn has now been elected eight times from the London constituency of Islington North, considered a bastion of the left-leaning middle class. Under Tony Blairs New Labour, he was among the most rebellious party MPs, voting against his party whip more than 500 times.

In an era marked by Americanisation of British politics with its focus on spin and television-friendly politicians, Corbyn came across as a sober, honest and reasonable man wedded to conviction politics who did not indulge in personal attacks and focused on the many, not the few.

Even his most ardent supporters would not have imagined he would so energise Labour that he may well end up as the prime minister of a minority government.

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The United Nations children agency warned Friday that the fight for the Islamic State groups stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria is threatening the lives of more than 40,000 children, as overnight airstrikes on the city claimed the lives of more than a dozen people.

UNICEF said in a statement that the violence has resulted in massive displacement in and around the city, with some 80,000 children now internally displaced and living in temporary shelters and camps.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces launched their attack on Raqqa earlier this week and U.S.-led coalition airstrikes have intensified since then.

An estimated 40,000 children remain trapped in extremely dangerous conditions in Raqqa. Many are caught in the crossfire, said UNICEF regional director Geert Cappelaere. He called on all parties to provide safe passage to those wishing to leave the city.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported more than 25 airstrikes overnight on Raqqa saying they killed 17 people, including 12 who were killed at an Internet cafe. It said one of those killed was an activist with the group.

The activist collective Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently said that in addition to the airstrikes the city was subjected to artillery and missile attacks. The group said the U.S.-led coalition used white phosphorous in the night attacks on Raqqa.

In a video posted on its Aamaq news agency, IS also alleged that the U.S.-led coalition used white phosphorous munitions over Raqqa on Thursday at dusk, when Muslims would breaking their fasts during the holy month of Ramadan. White phosphorous is a form of incendiary munition that burns at extremely high temperatures and can be used to illuminate conflict zones or obscure them with smoke.

International law prohibits the use of white phosphorous in civilian zones because of its indiscriminate effects  from starting fires to causing excruciating burns for bystanders over a large area  according to Human Rights Watch, which said it was investigating the allegations.

The U.S. CENTCOM military command refused to comment on specific allegations but said it uses white phosphorous rounds in accordance with the law of armed conflict... in a way that fully considers the possible incidental effects on civilians and civilian structures.

The violence in Raqqa comes amid tensions in southeastern Syria where Syrian troops and their allies have been clashing with U.S.-backed rebels near the border with Iraq. The Observatory said rebels launched an attack on government forces near the area where the Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders meet.

On Thursday, a drone that U.S. officials say was likely connected to Iranian-supported Hezbollah forces fired on U.S.-backed troops and was shot down by an American fighter jet in southern Syria near a base where the U.S.-led coalition is training Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group.

U.S. defense officials said the weapon fired by the drone did not detonate and no one was hurt.

Earlier this week the U.S. bombed similar forces inside the protected zone, after they came under attack by another unaffiliated group of Syrian rebels. The pro-government forces brought in additional equipment and called in airstrikes to repel the assault, and the U.S. was informed of those developments through the so-called deconfliction line it has set up with Russian military officials.
Inside a mosque in the college town of Eugene, a half-dozen men prostrated themselves on a carpet while another man led the midday prayers. Over their melodic recitation came a tapping sound as a locksmith installed higher-grade locks on the front door.

The worshippers at the Eugene Islamic Center are worried about their security. A man recently appeared outside the mosque and threatened to kill Muslims.

Barely two weeks later, an assailant stabbed two men to death and wounded a third on a commuter train in Portland, 110 miles (180 kilometers) to the north. The victims were trying to protect two teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, as the man shouted anti-Islamic slurs.

Looking ahead, Muslim leaders and others are concerned about anti-Shariah, or Islamic law, marches planned for Saturday in Seattle and about two-dozen other U.S. cities, saying the marches are really anti-Muslim. They consider the incidents in Portland and Eugene, and other recent anti-Muslim crimes in America, part of an alarming trend that came to the forefront in last years presidential election with far-right activists portraying Islam  and all Muslims  as a threat.

Our Muslim community is feeling a tremendous amount of stress and pressure, said former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, who plans to attend a counter-rally Saturday. Its important for local leaders to express solidarity and make clear we stand against bigotry, against racism and with our Muslim neighbors in the state and beyond.

The group organizing the rallies, ACT for America, has chapters around the country and says it is focused on fighting terrorism and promoting national security. It says it condemns bias against religious groups and is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with peaceful Western Muslims as well as peaceful Muslims worldwide.

Yet many Muslims and others say the group promotes a distorted and prejudiced view of Islam.

ACT for America activists portray Shariah as largely incompatible with American democracy and often warn of a stealth effort to replace U.S. law with Islamic law. Muslims call the claims ludicrous and say Islamic law plays a role similar to Jewish law, as a guide to religious life rooted in the Quran.

Aneelah Afzali, who heads a Seattle-area group that works against discrimination and hate crimes, said she will be putting up an ask a Muslim booth near Seattles anti-Shariah rally, so people can ask questions directly about Islam, and we can counter conspiracy theories, accusations and lies that come from that hate rally.

She said she has noticed increased hostility toward Muslims, evidenced by the destruction of a granite sign in front of the mosque she attends in Everett, Washington, by someone apparently wielding a sledgehammer. A temporary sign was destroyed a few weeks later.

What was so beautiful was the outpouring of community support, she said, explaining that many community and business leaders showed up for a ceremony and left their handprints in the concrete base that holds the new sign.

Two far-right groups, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, are to provide security at some of the rallies, apparently the first simultaneous anti-Shariah rallies in the U.S. Members of a third group also confirmed theyll attend, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups.

With the recruitment of anti-government groups and the Proud Boys, the potential for violence increases, the center said.

The marches come amid a rise in reports of anti-Muslim incidents in the U.S., including arson attacks and vandalism at mosques, harassment of women wearing Muslim head-coverings and bullying of Muslim schoolchildren.

Things happen so fast, its so hard to keep up, said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on Islamic-American Relations.

Muslim leaders hear echoes of the views of groups like ACT for America in President Donald Trumps temporary ban on entry into the U.S. from six Muslim-majority countries  a measure currently blocked by federal courts  and in his claims of dangers posed by immigrants and Muslim refugees. Trump has said his policies are critical for protecting national security.

Those who attend the Eugene Islamic Center, in an off-white building in a lower-income neighborhood, are still coming to grips with the May 10 threat from a man who was arrested the next day while carrying a knife.

Mosque member Drew Williams said the man claimed to have killed Muslims while serving in the military in Iraq and told witnesses, I have no problem killing you. The man was charged with intimidation, menacing and harassment.

Many people are worried and saddened and very shocked, but we still hope to be able to practice and to be part of the Eugene community, Williams said as the locksmith worked next to him.

Besides installing stronger locks, the mosque is raising funds to erect a fence around the building and possibly hire a security guard for Friday prayers, when the number of worshippers peaks.
Islamic State (IS) threatened attacks in Saudi Arabia after the militant group claimed responsibility for assaults in Tehran that killed at least 17 people, Site Intelligence monitoring group reported on Friday.

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeinis mausoleum in Tehran on Wednesday. Scores of people were also wounded.

IS claimed responsibility and threatened more attacks against Irans majority Shiite population, seen by the hardline Sunni militants as heretics.

In a video that appeared to have been recorded before the attack on Tehran, five masked fighters were shown threatening Shiites in Iran as well as the Saudi Arabian government saying their turn will come.

Allah permitting, this brigade will be the first of jihad in Iran, and we ask our brothers the Muslims to follow us, as the fire that was ignited will not be put out, Allah permitting, one of the masked fighters said, according to SITE.

At the end of the video, he sent a message to the Saudi government.

Know that after Iran, your turn will come. By Allah, we will strike you in your own homes... We are the agents of nobody. We obey Allah and His Messenger, and we are fighting for the sake of this religion, not for the sake of Iran or the Arabian Peninsula.

IS, which controls territory in Syria and Iraq, had carried on attacks on Saudi security forces as well as deadly bombings and shootings that target the kingdoms Shiites in the past.

Iranian authorities said five of the attackers were Iranian nationals recruited by IS, while Irans powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps blamed the assault on regional rival Saudi Arabia and has threatened revenge. Sunni Saudi Arabia denied any involvement in the attacks.

Tensions have been high in the Middle East since Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the accusation.

On Friday, the US embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a security notice to U.S. citizens recommending that they exercise caution in places frequented by foreigners due to the continuing risk of terrorist attacks... across the Kingdom.
On Tuesday, Pentagon released a report, which predicts that in the coming days, Pakistan could turn to a Chinese military base. The 97-pages long report forecasts that in future Beijing would build more overseas bases after it has established its base in Djibouti, an African nation.

According to a report from the Pentagon, the United States has forecasted that in future, China might build a military base in Pakistan. The advances made by Beijing were tracked since 2106 and it is estimated that the defence spending would amount to over $180 billion, Reuters reported. Notably, this is way higher than its official budget of $140.4 billion. Moreover, it also highlights that the Chinese leaders are focusing on defense even though if it means a slower economic growth.

The report states that China's overseas base in Djibouti is situated near the Red Sea and is on the route to the Suez Canal. The strategic location of Djibouti in the Indian Ocean also has India worried as it could be another addition to China's military alliances. The report further states, "China most likely will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan."

It must be mentioned here that China and Pakistan are known to have friendly ties. In the Asian-Pacific region, Pakistan is the main market for Chinese arms and from the year 2011 to 2015, the Chinese arms export rose from $9 billion to $20 billion. Moreover, it was last year that an agreement was signed by China, which had Pakistan purchasing eight submarines.

However, the Pentagon report has been rebuffed by China. China has criticized the contents of the reports stating that it is pure conjecture. The statement issues by China further states that China believes in peaceful development and it has "open and transparent" defense expenditure.

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The Myanmar army aircraft that went missing on Wednesday has been found. The wreckage of the plane and bodies were found by the search team in the Andaman Sea, around 40 miles away from the Myeik Air Base. It is speculated that it was the bad weather that led to the aircraft's crash.

On Thursday morning, the wreckage of the Myanmar army plane that went missing on Wednesday was found in the Andaman Sea. The military transport aircraft had 122 people on board that included 106 soldiers and their families as well as a team of 14 crew members. The aircraft took off on Wednesday from the Myeik Air Base, at 1:06 p.m. However, when the plane was flying over the Andaman Sea, it lost contact, ABS CBN reported.

The Navy, as well as the air force, had deployed ships and planes in search of the missing military aircraft, which was to land in Yangon before it disappeared. According to reports from New York Times, 10 bodies of people have so far been found, however, it is not yet known whether there are any survivors.

Notably, the military aircraft was a China made Y-8, that was purchased last year from China National Aero-Technology Import and Export. The company has agreed to extend full support for investigating the case. The Y-8 aircraft is widely used for transporting, investigating as well as searching and rescuing in the case of air disasters.

It must be mentioned here that the death toll of this air disaster in Myanmar is the highest as the plane is said to have 122 people on board and there are no reports of survivors. However, it is not the first air crash in Myanmar. Since the year 1988, the country has witnessed 17 air crashes, totaling a death toll of 105 people and Myanmar is also said to have a low air safety record.

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Some officials of the U.S. government were expressing their concern regarding the possibility of having bombs and explosives disguised as laptops inside the plane. It was also reported that what made this worse was that these explosives can be detonated while on board a plane.

Despite this fear and concern, some authorities think and believe that there is a less possibility that these explosives will be detonated inside the plane. The reason why detonating these bombs can be less risky was due to the fact that the danger of lithium batteries overheating on stored laptops is somehow dangerous too.

Meanwhile, because of the danger that this can bring and the aftermath of this, Reuters reported that the U.S. government just implemented a ban on large electronic devices in aircraft. It can be recalled that this was imposed on flights from almost 10 airports like Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

With this, the U.S. government was also considering to expand the ban on laptops which will also include other large electronics in cabins. However, it was recently reported that this was opposed after the meeting of the European officials the previous week.

Still, the officials of the U.S. government think that these bombs and explosives disguised as laptops can be directly detonated while passengers are on board an aircraft. If this is the case, there is a possibility that the government will do all means to expand laptop ban across the country.

According to METRO US, the U.S government was after national security and the prevention of possible attack of terrorism. The country can be a great target for terrorists after the aftermath of terrorists' attacks in almost every part of the world.

Possibly, the U.S. can start from implementing programs that will not only consider the expansion of laptops ban but also see to it that it will be implemented effectively. The threat of terrorism is just lurking around the corner, that's why a need for a tighter and stringent security laws must also be considered.

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Latest reports confirmed that Qatar has been accused of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region. With this, it was then claimed that the United Arab Emirates, especially Bahrain was trying to isolate the country.

Just this Thursday, the United Arab Emirates confirmed that it supported the moves against Qatar like shutting its airspace. Worse, this might not only affect the Qatari flights but all the air traffic that travels to and from Doha, Qatar.

Because of these latest happenings, experts were saying that this is the worst diplomatic crisis that hit the Gulf Arab states in decades. According to News OK, this all started when it was speculated that Qatar has been supporting acts of terrorism which threatened the whole region.

Most countries in the said region reportedly cut their ties with Qatar namely, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Maldives. However, the country claimed that the accusations were baseless and were unjustified.

It was reported that it was Bahrain which started to take a move against Qatar and was said to be followed by the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. If these countries under this organization stopped its ties with Qatar, still some countries their ties with the country like Oman and Kuwait.

The said strained relationship between Qatar and the mentioned countries started with Bahrain. It was then claimed by Eyewitness News that Qatar had hostile activities and any way to support or to show sympathy to the Qatari government will be considered a crime.

Because of these negative outcomes, there is a possibility that Qatar's economy will suffer like fuel and trade. Since some countries already said that they will isolate Qatar from all their activities and ties, there is a tendency that country's economic state will have its greatest blow.

Moreover, it was also reported that Qatari citizens were asked to leave Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. In opposite, these countries also banned their people from entering the said country. But the United Nations recently said that this needs to be resolved immediately in a diplomatic way.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
 Britain is home to some of the finest heritage brands. From Burberry and Smythson, to Ercol and Conran, our hand-crafted fashion and furniture gives us global clout.

Bed manufacturer Hypnos is one of the many brands also known for artisanal flair. The family owned company has been weaving its mattresses for more than 100 years.

Its Princes Risborough factory employs third-generation master craftsmen, while their beds, sealed with a Royal Warrant, are showcased in top hotels around the world.

Around 18 months ago I was approached by Hypnos to design a bed collection.

I saw this as a brilliant opportunity to combine traditional furniture making skills with modern fabric techniques and styles, which would appeal to the design conscious.

Fast-forward to June 2017 and we have a boutique range of three beds; The Sand, The Med and The Swan. The full collection, named Amira Hashish x Hypnos: The Art of Sleep, is now on sale at six Furniture Village stores across the UK.

The Swan is for fans of monochrome, minimalism and edgy Stockholm style

SEVEN THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE COLLECTION:

The headboard fabric is bespoke

It was incredibly important to work with fresh talent from the British fabric industry to create three bespoke prints so we approached Insley & Nash, whose previous work has been fashion focused, and digital fabric producer Flock, which represents young textile maker Angela Jane Johnston.

While the Insley & Nash patterns are screen printed by hand in their London workshop, the fabric from Angela Jane Johnston at Flock uses digital printing methods to give the headboards contrasting finishes.

Each design reflects a personality

What we wear says a lot and the same method of thinking should be applied to the way we dress our homes. I wanted to approach the design as if this was a fashion item that you would buy because it suited your taste and made you feel special. I drew on personal inspiration to create standout looks, each matching a different personality.

The Sand encapsulates bold, contemporary luxury with Ikat and tribal influences. The headboard showcases the Insley and Nash skill of hand screen-printing with a metallic ink.

The Med reflects a nautical theme with impressionistic patterns for creating an abstract effect. The four-colour print swirls in soothing colours and should add a sense of calm to a space.

Stripped of colour and inspired by Scandinavian design, The Swan is for fans of monochrome, minimalism and edgy Stockholm style.

The Med reflects a nautical theme with impressionistic patterns

A good nights sleep is key

Sleep is an essential part of our wellbeing so choosing the right mattress is of real importance. Each bed is hand crafted to offer maximum support and comfort, with mattresses that create a good environment for sleep through natural fibres and pocket spring technology.

Marketing director Chris Ward explains: "Each mattress has intelligent pocket spring technology, which minimises pressure points on the body, helping to increase blood circulation and alleviate tension, which in turn allows muscles to relax. The springs mould to the sleeper's body, leading to a natural alignment of the spine and a truly restful night's sleep."

Sustainability plays a big role

Hypnos was the first British bed and mattress manufacturer to become Carbon Neutral and comply with the PAS 206 and every part of the process had to meet sustainability standards. Each of the beds is recyclable at the end of their lives, ensuring that they never go to landfill sites.

Luxury lies in the little details

True luxury can be found in little details so pay close attention to the headboard shape and the statement divan feet. The touch of the fabric was also closely monitored. It had to feel soft and sumptuous.

The collection marks a double debut

This is the first time Hypnos has embarked on a collaboration and it also marks my furniture design debut so this project means a great deal to both of us. Months of research and energy has been dedicated to creating a collection which fuses our approach to design, marrying age old methods with new concepts.

The retailer had to be right

The project is a celebration of British craftsmanship so it made perfect sense to launch it with a British retailer. Furniture Village has spread its wings since the opening in 1989 of its first store in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Today it is the UKs largest privately-owned business of its type, employing 950 staff across 50 stores and an ever growing website www.furniturevillage.co.uk.

When we approached Furniture Village with the collection they were as enthused by what it represented as we had hoped. In each of the six stores in which the beds are retailing (Kingston, Tunbridge Wells, Croydon, Enfield, Friern Barnet and Brighton) there are staff representatives who have embarked on a special training scheme to learn how the collection came to fruition and understand the design specification for each of the beds.

For more details, visit FurnitureVillage.co.uk.
The Gap has a new advertising campaign out and theyre getting the help of one of hip-hops realest personalities.

According to ELLE, the Gap have released a new video short entitled Bridging the Gap, which uses the basic T-shirt to visually unify a diverse cast of 14 that includes Wiz Khalifa, Priyanka Chopra, Olympic fencer Miles Chamley-Watson and model Christie Brinkley. They all model those classic white tops and sing-along to Sunny by Boney M.

This project is about authenticity and people living their truths, said Edward Enninful, who is the creative brains behind the campaign. I love the optimistic American style that Gap celebrates and the simplicity of the basic white T-shirt that allows you to be yourself.

You can watch the video clip below.
Ahead of their performance together at Trinity this summer, All Tvvins and James Vincent McMorrow have collaborated with new track "Alone Together".

All Tvvins are back with a special guest, releasing new track "Alone Together" featuring James Vincent McMorrow. The first new material they've released since their LP IIVV, the track brings together layers of eclectic All Tvvins sound with James Vincent McMorrow's powerful vocals.

All Tvvins and James Vincent McMorrow play the Trinity College Summer Series on July 7. Hopefully the live setting will create more opportunities for collaboration. Tickets are available via ticketmaster.ie. Listen to "Alone Together below.
The stunning looking new movie is being made by the same team that created Finding Nemo and Toy Story 3.

Coco will be based on the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead, where the spirits of dead family members are said to return to Earth to spend time with their living loved ones.

However, a 12 year old boy has accidentally gone the other way, and now his dead relatives must find a way to return hi and his dog back to the land of the living.

The film features an all-Mexican voice cast, and is due for release in Ireland on January 19, 2018.
The band originally released the song via their mobile app, before uploading it to streaming services.

The video for the track samples the infamous anti-drugs advertisement, 'This Is Your Brain On Drugs', before morphing into a trippy ambient disco track. Virtual band member 2D is the only one of the Gorillaz to feature in the video for the track.

Having released Humanz in April, and currently touring the US and Canada, Damon Albarn and comapany are enjoying a very productive time under the guise of the Gorillaz.
The Wellington Weekender returns to the Workmans Club from June 16-18, promising live acts, DJs and spicy chicken wings - and all for free.

The Irish queen of ambient folk Katie Kim will headline the Workmans main venue on Friday June 16 - shell be supported by Aoife Nessa Frances. Katie is still touring last years Choice nominated album Salt.

Saturdays headliners in the main venue are Pleasure Beach, who hit the big time last year with their single Go!, which was nominated for Choice Song of the Year. It has now notched up more than 1 million plays on streaming services around the world.

In the Liqour Rooms on Saturday is Katie Laffan, whose lo-fi bedroom pop swiftly thrust her onto the cover of Hot Press last year.

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Earlier on Saturday, therell be an acoustic stage in the Workmans Club Terrace, while the adjoining Bison Bar & BBQ will host a spicy chicken wing eating contest at 2pm.

The Weekender will wrap up on Sunday as the Workmans Comedy Club, hosted by Ruth Hunter and Conor OToole, takes over the venues Vintage room for the night.
A prominent doctor alleged in a lawsuit filed in state district court that Houston Methodist Hospital secretly recorded telephone conversations between patients and nurses without their knowledge for as long as eight years.

The practice, if true, may violate state and federal privacy laws, legal specialists said.

Eric Haufrect, who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology, said he complained to top Methodist officials when he learned of the recordings from his nurse and believed it was his duty to report the breach of confidentiality to executives, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in state district court in Harris County.

Less than two months later he was removed as vice chairman of the obstetrics and gynecology department and became the target of a "whisper campaign" by the hospital to damage his reputation, according to the lawsuit.

Methodist denied retaliating against Haufrect or attacking his reputation, but did not specifically address the allegations of recording nurses and patients without their knowledge or consent. In a letter sent to board members and provided to the Houston Chronicle in response to requests for comment, Houston Methodist chief executive Marc Boom said the hospital was "saddened and surprised" by Haufrect's lawsuit.

His letter said an investigation was launched after Haufrect raised his concerns and "appropriate actions were taken." He added that recordings are made on some appointment lines to improve patient service, which is legal under Texas law.

Boom said that Haufrect was removed as vice chairman of the ob-gyn department "because he did not fulfill his duties," noting that Haufrect remains on staff at the same salary and benefits he received before he lost his leadership post.

"There was no retaliation - this is completely false," Boom said in the letter. "We regret that Dr. Haufrect has chosen to take such a negative and spiteful action after a long-distinguished career."

Wayne Fisher, the Houston lawyer representing Haufrect, said he would not comment outside of what is in the lawsuit.

Invasion of privacy

Rogge Dunn, an employment lawyer who handles privacy and wiretapping claims in Dallas, said that secret taping without the knowledge of either party is an invasion of privacy and a violation of wiretapping laws. If there were retaliation against the doctor who exposed the practice, it would make the situation "doubly appalling," he said.

Dunn said it's difficult to know why Methodist, a sophisticated organization, might tape calls between patients and providers. It could be for quality control purposes, defense against malpractice claims or to gather evidence to refute harassment or other allegations, he said.

But, he added, "You just can't do that."

Haufrect has been on staff at Houston Methodist since 1977 and at one time served as president of the medical staff. He is known for treating famous patients, delivering the babies of many Houston Astros players including Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt and Brad Lidge. He told the Chronicle in 2008 that there were times when he looked out on the playing field and realized he had delivered babies for all nine Astros in the lineup.

In his suit, Haufrect alleged the hospital violated the Texas Occupational Code, which protects confidential communication between patients and health care providers and the Texas Health and Safety Code, which forbids hospitals from disciplining employees for reporting a violation.

Haufrect said in the lawsuit that he discovered the recordings in October when his nurse heard about it from a phone technician. Assuming there was some mistake, Haufrect sent an email to hospital administrators asking for more information.

What he heard back set off warning bells for Haufrect: It turned out the recordings were hospital policy, had been taking place hospital-wide for eight years and were made without the consent or knowledge of physicians, nurses or patients, according to his lawsuit. Individual departments such as obstetrics and gynecology could not opt out.

"He was subsequently informed that the recordings were legal, that he had 'no true privacy' at the office and all recorded conversations at work were the property of Houston Methodist Hospital," according to the lawsuit.

Email trail draws criticism

Alarmed the secret recordings could violate state and federal privacy laws, Haufrect raised the issue with partners in his medical practice, the chair of the ob-gyn department and the head of the Houston Methodist Physician Organization, the group of physicians who work for Methodist. The hospital's human resources policy manual requires "all alleged, apparent or potential breaches of confidentiality must (emphasis intended) be reported as soon as possible," according to the lawsuit.

The following day, Robert Phillips, the CEO of the physician organization and a cardiologist at Houston Methodist, reprimanded Haufrect for discussing the phone recording issue with his partners and was "furious" that an email trail had been created, according to the lawsuit. Phillips did not return a call for comment.

Haufrect went directly to the president of the medical staff, who called a meeting with the hospital chairman, hospital CEO and legal counsel for Houston Methodist Hospital, according to the lawsuit. Haufrect, along with the others, were told during that meeting, according to the lawsuit, that the recordings were launched in mid-October but had since been erased and that there was "no harm, no foul."

Haufrect suggested an investigation, but was rebuffed, the lawsuit said.

Less than two months later, in mid-December, Haufrect was asked to resign as vice chairman of the obstetrics and gynecology department, a position he held for eight years. Haufrect refused and immediately was removed from the position by Phillips.

Within a month, several physicians told Haufrect that word was going around that he would be dismissed from the department, according to the lawsuit.
Chuck Carlberg, a co-principal of the Richards/Carlberg advertising agency with his wife, Gayl, came to Houston as a 17-year-old when his parents moved from Los Angeles for a job in the oil and gas business.

Initially unexcited about the move, he soon embraced the city, getting an advertising degree from the University of Houston and starting Smith, Smith, Baldwin & Carlberg in 1971 at age 27.

His creative campaigns have helped shape perceptions of companies, products and the city itself. An avid outdoorsman and conservationist, Carlberg is a member of the Houston Parks Board, a founding member of the Quality of Life Coalition, chairman emeritus of The Buffalo Bayou Partnership and a board member of the Memorial Park Conservancy.

Carlberg spoke with the Chronicle recently about his passions. Edited excerpts follow.

Q: What are some of the top slogans you've come up with?

A: For Mahindra tractors, our largest client, our new campaign is "Get your work done America." A tractor is a tool for your land. We say "Get your work done Texas" or "Get your work done Oklahoma."

We call Buffalo Bayou "Houston's most significant natural resource." What I love about that is, in the city of oil and gas, we consider our most significant natural resource the Buffalo Bayou.

Q: There are so many channels for advertising now. How do you get your message to stand out?

A: It's not which media works best, it's that all media works best. Since the day the internet came down the pipe, it's just been an amazing medium to use. That's where the eyeballs are going. People are looking at our clients' brands on the web via their smartphones. All your websites are designed for mobile first. TV is still that mass medium. When we buy television for our clients, we buy only appointment TV, which are the news, national news and sports. You don't tend to DVR a Rockets game. We buy news talk on radio as well where people are not pushing the button and leaving the station. When you go to the web, millennials give you like eight seconds max to get their attention on anything. You better be relevant and have the right message to them within eight seconds.

Q: If you were to market Houston, do you have a slogan?

A: We're probably the most diverse large city in the U.S., and we're very healthy about it. Eighty percent of us have moved here from someplace. We just fell in love with this Bayou City. If I had a line for Houston, it would be: "Houston is what America was meant to be." Business is flourishing here. We're doing so many things in parks and green spaces. We're a relatively young city with all of our diversity. There are great families and foundations that give back. What a model of the future this city is.

Q: Have people's perceptions outside of Houston changed?

A: We did the Super Bowl work for the host committee. It was a two-year project. People who came here fell in love with the city, especially folks in the NFL. We looked our best we've ever looked. You've got to give a party to clean up your house. I think you have to convince the people who live here that it's a great place to live. This is a great quality of life here. It really has become that. The Houston Parks Board has done so much with their Bayou Greenways, where they've taken our nine major bayous and have done linear parks on them. That's the great thing about bayous. They cut across all of Houston. Everybody will be affected by this. We have to take care of all Houstonians and give everybody the best quality of life we can.

Q: You recently added Houston Zoo as a client to handle its branding. Can you tell me about it?

A: At the end of last year, they did a 12-agency design firm search to give them a new identity. The Houston Zoo, on their own, their goal is to become Houston's conservation leader. They have literally become that. They've got all the plastic bags out of the zoo. You can't get a plastic water bottle out of the zoo anymore. They're trying to make everything environmentally sensitive and correct. When we did the pitch, one of the logos they've always loved is the Buffalo Bayou logo. It's a buffalo reflected in the water. It helps being a green soul and then also being able to win business from that.

It is the second-highest paid attendance zoo in the country after the San Diego Zoo. We have this 55 acres that 2.5 million people visit every year, and the number is growing. I've always been very conservation-oriented. It's tough in the petrochemical capital of the world, but it can be done, and the zoo is doing it. I love the fact they've gotten plastic bags out of the zoo.

Q: What are your thoughts on the now canceled University of Texas campus south of the Texas Medical Center?

A: I'm a graduate of U of H. I think that more is better. I thought it was a great idea they were coming to town. It may come back. It may not. I thought it was great for the city.

Q: Are you going to retire?

A: No. We sold our company to the Richards Group in Dallas. Stan Richards is 11 years older than I am. He asked me when I wanted to retire and I said never. He said, don't worry you never have to.
SAN FRANCISCO - Verizon plans to lay off 2,100 people once it completes its acquisition of Yahoo's internet business Tuesday.

The sting will be soothed a bit for some of the Yahoo employees who lose their jobs: A 10 percent surge in the company's share price Thursday enhanced the value of their accumulated stock compensation.

The layoffs, which were described by a person briefed on Verizon's plans, represent about 15 percent of the workforce at Yahoo and AOL, the Verizon unit with which it is to be combined.

Yahoo, which had 8,600 full-time employees as of March 31, has already endured many rounds of cuts. During the five years that Marissa Mayer, the chief executive, has led the company, its workforce dropped by 46 percent. AOL has also gone through repeated layoffs, most recently in November, when it cut 500 jobs.

Both companies declined to comment on the layoff plans. But the steady shrinking of Yahoo and AOL underscores the major challenges faced by both companies as they compete against the two behemoths of the internet, Google and Facebook, for advertising dollars.

On Thursday, Yahoo shareholders approved the sale of the business to Verizon and the related compensation arrangements. After the deal's close Tuesday, the remainder of Yahoo will be renamed Altaba and will hold the cash from the sale as well as Yahoo's significant stock holdings in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan.

Yahoo's share price rose by $5.16 after the vote Thursday, to close at $55.71. That will raise the payouts to Yahoo employees who are terminated.

Based on the increased stock price, Mayer will depart with $264 million for her five years of work at Yahoo, up from $239 million last Friday.

Other senior Yahoo executives who are laid off will also get big severance packages, including up to two years of pay and accelerated vesting of all stock compensation. For example, Lisa Utzschneider, the chief revenue officer, will receive about $22 million, and Ken Goldman, the chief financial officer, will get about $12 million, based on the current stock price and securities filings by the company.

Lower-level Yahoo employees will also receive enhanced severance benefits that were established before the Verizon deal was struck last summer.
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In a world that seems bent on embracing visual as well as verbal ugliness, Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist offers a moment of quietly rebellious beauty.

A person could go quite woo-woo in Rist's sublimely colorful cosmos - a swirling world of permeable earth, water, sky and human flesh. A whole roomful of people could turn deliriously happy there, together. Maybe even forget politics for a while.

On Sunday, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston unveils two signature Rist works that could have just that effect. They're the latest acquisitions in a hit parade of installations that have made the museum's Cullinan Hall a full-immersion summer sensation for the past four years.

Rist's intricate two-channel video "Worry Will Vanish" runs about 10 minutes across two walls. To access it, visitors traverse the dangling lights of "Pixel Forest Transformer," which consume much of the cavernous room. If heaven had a beaded curtain, it would look something like this.

Rist has been a leader in the movement to extend the possibilities of video art for 30 years, although she seems to have more officially arrived in the U.S. only last fall, with a major retrospective at the New Museum in New York. The show broke attendance records, bringing the kind of exposure that can make an artist a household name.

When MFAH director Gary Tinterow saw Rist's New York show, he urged curator Alison de Lima Greene to fast-track a purchase. No hesitation there: Greene has wanted to acquire a Rist piece since 1997, when former director Peter Marzio was alive.

More Information Pipilotti Rist: 'Pixel Forest' and 'Worry Will Vanish' When: 12:15-6 p.m. Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, through Sept. 17 Where: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1001 Bissonnet Info: $13-$18 (children 12 and younger free), includes general admission; 713-639-7300, mfah.org See More Collapse

She was awed then by the cheerful, pretty car-bashing video "Ever Is Over All," an iconic work that got a pop-culture boost last year when people accused Beyonce of copying it for her "Hold Up" video.

Rist's tools have evolved continuously; she employs every new camera technology that suits her purposes. Yet her vision has remained consistent: She focuses unapologetically and eagerly on imagery so lush and feminine, contemporary art insiders consider it provocative.

"I try not to be afraid of beauty," she said a few days before the Houston show opened, as we settled into a sea of beanbag chairs where visitors are encouraged to lollygag while viewing the exhibit. "If we don't have anything to call beautiful, we would go crazy. It's evolutionary; our brain needs it."

The sparkly spectacle of "Pixel Forest" might remind visitors of Yayoi Kusama's "Aftermath of the Obliteration of Eternity," which the MFAH featured last summer. They are utterly different experiences, though.

Kusama's closed environment was intense and ephemeral by design - visitors were allowed in for only a few minutes. Rist invites community. The more the merrier, this time around.

"This work comes alive best when you're in here with more than one person," Greene said.

"Pixel Forest" also has the walk-through tangibility of Jesus Rafael Soto's "Houston Penetrable," shown in 2014.

While the fancy technology Rist employs isn't the point, it is fascinating.

"Pixel Forest" is composed of 3,000 LEDs in cocoonlike structures of clear, textured plastic. Each is programmed as one pixel of a 3,000-pixel image that's synchronized to the "Worry Will Vanish" video projection. Sometimes the LEDs literally reflect the light and colors of the video; sometimes they contrast.

Though viewers won't discern any pictures within "Pixel Forest" because of the distance between the cocoons, the whole contains an image that's actually been "exploded" into space. Lighting designer/developer Kaori Kuwabara has filled thousands of Excel spreadsheets to map the exact "addressing" of the pixels.

Rist hopes visitors might realize how "pixelated" the world has become. Her light strings also evoke brain synapses.

"Our thinking and speaking is all low-voltage signals. Even the heart," Rist said. "Everything in the body is electric impulses."

Birds sang in the background as she spoke. Anders Guggisberg's soundscape for "Worry Will Vanish" also melds watery magic, some vaguely Asian-tinged flute and mysterious electronics. It imbues the space with a contemplative aura that's just about perfect for imagining one is swimming inside oneself.

That is where Rist has always yearned to take viewers. We are closer to our bodies than anything else in the world, yet we can't really see them, she reasons.

"Worry Will Vanish" combines 3-D animations with live action. It's a gazillion images without the frenetic pace of music videos, rendered in poetically slow motion. Naked female bodies float and cavort in the live video snippets, toward rapturous close-ups of a critter-free natural world: Dew-dusted ferns. The horizon line of a calm sea in a red sunset.

The animations, created with the Swiss studio Elefant, "travel" through the interior of an imaginary body like the submarine of the 1966 film "Fantastic Voyage," minus the miniaturized crew. Some of the coloring and surfaces are inspired by veiny embryonic tissue.

Rist's innovative lighting (with animations lit by video projections) and onion-skinlike layering contribute to the seamless effect.

Ultimately, "Worry Will Vanish" evokes not just the wonder of being at one with oneself but of being at one with the universe.

Yet Rist doesn't want to appear pretentious. She bounces, bare-breasted, in one scene that is more about joy than sex.

"This scene was not planned," she said. "I wanted to do a little sequence to make fun of myself."

Greene said the innovation of "Pixel Forest" made it the museum's must-have out of all the possible Rist works the institution could have acquired. She also likes how it speaks to the Kusama and Soto works.

For Rist, this is more than an introduction. It's a return, although many of the faces have changed. The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston hosted her first U.S. solo show, a midcareer survey, in 2009.

"To me, it's really nice that the museum across the street would give me their trust," she said. "It's super emotional."

'If we don't have anything to call beautiful, we would go crazy. It's evolutionary; our brain needs it.'Pipilotti Rist
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Fiction

1. Into the Water: By Paula Hawkins. In this psychological thriller by the author of "The Girl on the Train," women are found drowned in a river in an English town.

2. Dragon Teeth: By Michael Crichton. A college student joins a fossil-hunting expedition in the 19th-century West and is caught up in the rivalry between two paleontologists. A recently discovered manuscript by Crichton, who died in 2008.

3. No Middle Name: By Lee Child. A complete collection of Jack Reacher stories.

4. 16th Seduction:By James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. In San Francisco, Detective Lindsay Boxer and the Women's Murder Club face their toughest case yet.

5. The Fix: By David Baldacci. Detective Amos Decker ("Memory Man") witnesses a murder-suicide that turns out to be a matter of national security.

6. Same Beach, Next Year:By Dorothea Benton Frank. Two couples form a lifelong friendship during annual reunions on one of South Carolina's barrier islands.

7. Testimony:By Scott Turow. A former Illinois prosecutor joins the International Criminal Court to investigate a massacre in Bosnia.

8. The Frozen Hours:By Jeff Shaara. A fictional account of the Battle of Choisin Reservoir during the Korean War, where Americans battled Chinese forces and brutal temperatures.

9. Golden Prey:By John Sandford. Lucas Davenport, now a U.S. marshal, pursues a thief who robbed a drug cartel and killed a child in Biloxi, Miss.

10. Against All Odds:By Danielle Steel. A mother must learn to let her adult children make their own decisions.

Nonfiction

1. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry:By Neil deGrasse Tyson. A straightforward, easy-to-understand introduction to the universe.

2. Option B:By Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant. Sandberg's experience after her husband's sudden death and Grant's psychological research combine to provide insight on facing adversity and building resilience.

3. The Vanishing American Adult:By Ben Sasse. The Nebraska senator's advice on how to raise resilient, responsible children.

4. Hillbilly Elegy:By J.D. Vance. A Yale Law School graduate looks at the struggles of America's white working class through his own childhood.

5. Killers of the Flower Moon:By David Grann. The story of a murder spree in 1920s Oklahoma that targeted Osage Indians, whose lands contained oil. The fledgling FBI intervened, ineffectively.

6. Shattered:By Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes. An examination of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

7. The American Spirit:By David McCullough. A collection of speeches by the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, focused on American values.

8. This Fight is Our Fight:By Elizabeth Warren. The Massachusetts senator offers a program for Democratic resistance to President Donald Trump.

9. The Operator:By Robert O'Neill. The 400-mission career of a SEAL Team operator.

10. Churchill and Orwell:By Thomas E. Ricks. A dual biography of two independent thinkers.

New York Times
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If you thought furniture and home decor items made of acrylic or polycarbonate were a fad soon to be over, try again.

Molded sofas, chairs, lamps and smaller touches such as objets d'art come in every color and every style and are still in big demand. Don't worry about a room full of Lucite; just a touch can make you feel so on-trend.

Some pieces, such as Kartell's furniture, with prices ranging from $200 to $1,000, can make your room dazzle. Others, including Jonathan Adler's conversation pieces, add just a wink of modern style.

Here are a few favorite pieces to consider.

Louis Ghost chair: Kartell's design by Philippe Starck comes in transparent or colored polycarbonate, meant to captivate in the style of Louis XV. It may look fragile, but it's stable and durable, and weather-resistant, too. price in-store; at the flagship Kartell Houston, 2013 W. Gray

Victoria Ghost chair: Perhaps the sleekest indoor-outdoor chair you'll find, this polycarbonate style comes transparent or in a variety of colors. price in-store; at the flagship Kartell Houston, 2013 W. Gray

Ghost Buster shelves: Philippe Starck and Eugeni Quitllet designed this three-shelf commode for Kartell, full of corners and curves for a classic look in any room. price in-store; at the flagship Kartell Houston, 2013 W. Gray

Jacques game table: Crystal clear acrylic and brass corners will make any old card game feel brand new. $1,995; Jonathan Adler at West Avenue, 2800 Kirby

Giant Hand Bowl: Come hither, says this food-safe acrylic hand sculpture. Fill it with something worthy. $1,295; Jonathan Adler at West Avenue, 2800 Kirby

Caddy: Count the ways you could use this eye-popping caddy, made of Lucite and metal. It's 16 inches tall, 16 inches wide and 12 inches deep. $800; Back Row Home, 8570 Interstate 10, Suite 111

Green velvet club chairs: These sleek chairs are made of soft loden velvet with a mod touch of Lucite in its curvy arms and legs. $2,800; Lynn Goode Vintage, 3637 W. Alabama

Uncle Jack sofa: Designed by Philippe Starck, this single-mold, transparent polycarbonate sofa comes in four other colors - orange, blue, smoke and green. Don't forget that the Uncle collection also includes an accompanying Uncle Jim armchair, for a seating group good for any room or your outdoor pavilion. price in-store; at the flagship Kartell Houston, 2013 W. Gray Kartell

Lucite lamp: Graduated slices of Lucite stack up for a lamp that will add some dazzle to any room. They're 28 inches tall with the shade. $950, Back Row Home, 8570 Interstate 10, Suite 111

Clear tumbler: Mario Luca Giusti's acrylic Milly tumbler adds gravitas to your outdoor cocktail party. It looks like heavy crystal but is light as a feather. Another gin and tonic, please. $34; Kuhl-Linscomb, 2424 W. Alabama

Gray lacquered credenza: Made in the style of Karl Springer, this credenza with Lucite and brass hardware and an inch-thick top of glass brings back the '70s in one fell swoop. It's recently been relacquered in dove gray and is 72 inches long and 28 inches tall. $6,000; Lynn Goode Vintage, 3637 W. Alabama

Neo Geo Bookend set: Purple and blue acrylic blend to look different at every angle. You just might be so taken with the set that you forget what book you were looking for. $398; Jonathan Adler at West Avenue, 2800 Kirby

Pierre Cardin lamps: Custom shades have been added to this pair of vintage Lucite and chrome lamps made by Cardin, known by many as couture fashion designer. They're signed and have been recently rewired. $3,600; Lynn Goode Vintage, 3637 W. Alabama

Jacques game table: Crystal clear acrylic and brass corners will make any old card game feel brand new. $1,995; Jonathan Adler at West Avenue, 2800 Kirby

Giant Hand Bowl: Come hither, says this food-safe acrylic hand sculpture. Fill it with something worthy. $1,295; Jonathan Adler at West Avenue, 2800 Kirby
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On Saturday afternoons, Borough Market is a glorious clash of aromas and chatter, as hordes of ravenous Londoners queue for the city's best street food.

The smells waft, tantalizingly unidentifiable, out of the partially open-air market that has fed the city for a thousand years.

Vendor stalls squeezed side-by-side hawk a variety of offerings  Indian cuisine, British pies, Turkish deli food, German sausages  as diverse as the city it serves.

I stumbled upon it by accident in March. My family and I came to the area just south of the fabled London Bridge to visit the Gothic Southwark Cathedral, which backs up to the cavernous glass building that houses Borough Market.

We had planned on a sit-down lunch, but the bustling market  with its tempting smells and plenty of choices  lured us into the midst of the chaos.

Louise LeGresley / Getty Images

Last Saturday night, those who were out enjoying the market experienced true chaos when terrorists attacked the area, killing seven people and wounding dozens of others.

I don't want to imagine what went through the minds of the attackers. But I can see why they might have chosen Borough Market as a target. Throughout history, food has brought people together. To share a meal was to make a friend. Borough Market  both historic and dynamic, diverse and harmonious  is a threat to the hateful propaganda that terrorists hope to sow with fear.

They attack where people should feel safe.

On another Saturday in March, I stood on the crowded sidewalk lining Westminster Bridge, struggling to capture a selfie with Big Ben that didn't have someone else's selfie in the background.

Two days later, a terrorist barreled into pedestrians on that bridge before stabbing a police officer.

And a month later in April, two days after I had strolled down the Champs Elysee, a terrorist opened fire on police officers on the famous Parisian street.

But I never saw fear in the faces on the street the next day.

In London, passersby paused by the display of flowers and signs of support set up next to Westminster Cathedral, but the same thick crowds still congregated for their photo ops. In France, the halls of Versailles were still jam-packed with tourists.

Jack Taylor / Getty Images

The fear showed, instead, on social media and other platforms where some people assigned the guilt of a few onto many. In many cases, the wedge that the terrorists sought to drive between people of different cultures and religions was hammered deeper.

As world leaders and politicians squabble over how to combat Islamist extremism, I was struck by British Prime Minister Theresa May's words in her speech following Saturday's attack.

She condemned the Islamist extremism that she called "a perversion of Islam, and perversion of the truth," according to a transcript of the speech.

"We need to live our lives not in a series of separated, segregated communities, but as one truly United Kingdom," she said.

While the U.K.  and the rest of the world  has a long way to go to be truly unified, I trust that the next Saturday Borough Market is reopened, in spite of it all, Londoners of different religions, races and cultural backgrounds will come together to share a meal.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It lures you into the midst of the chaos.
The Army's 1st Infantry Division - the storied "Big Red One" - is celebrating its 100th birthday this week.

It's the oldest continuously serving division in the Army. The 1st Infantry Division was officially organized on June 8, 1917 on Governor's Island in New York. Less than a week later, the troops set sail for Europe and the battlefields of World War I.
On Tuesday night, June 6, Dayton city council members voted unanimously to hire Theogene Melancon as their new city manager to lead the city into the next phase of growth.

According to Dayton Mayor Jeff Lambright, it was enthusiasm he showed toward the job and the community that solidified the vote.

"His attitude, his experience - he just seemed like a good fit for our city and our area," Lambright said.

"He jelled with everybody. We all had the same opinion of him."

Faced with exponential growth within the next 10 years, the council was looking for someone who had the expertise to help navigate the waters.

"He's done a lot of the things that we're going to be facing. He's already had some experience with that. He was a really good fit for Dayton," Lambright said.

The new city manager was in Dayton and was able to see the city and make his own assessments.

"We toured Dayton and my wife fell in love with it almost immediately," he said. "The schools are good and we saw so many highways that feed into and out of Dayton that provide possibility. We saw very positive signs for economic development and for me it was a no-brainer to throw my hat in the ring. I'm just grateful for the opportunity that the city council believes in me enough to bring me in to lead the staff and the community forward."

He said his philosophy is to observe for a while and let the flow go on and then decide if there are any changes that need to be made.

"I like to make sure that I'm fully educated on things before I make any changes," he said.

Melancon has a diverse background having graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2008 with a degree in history. He also earned a law degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University and a master's in public administration, state and local government administration in 2012.

Following graduation, he went to work for LSU as a program manager where he helped develop the Student Financial Management Center and created a network of universities for knowledge sharing and feedback of student financial planning education.

In June 2010, he gained employment with the State of Louisiana in the Division of Administration for just more than two years where he advised state agencies and municipalities on legal matters concerning construction, employment and related legal work.

He returned to his beloved LSU after two years to accept a position as the Human Resources/SACS Manager where he managed the transition of faculty credentials from a paper format to electronic for SACS accreditation purposes. He also assisted the HR department with legal issues concerning Title IX, benefits administration, and requests for proposals.

But his heart was in city administration.

He left that spot two years later to take the position of city administrator at the city of Eldorado, Texas, a town with just over 1,900 residents. There Melancon learned the challenges facing small towns with aging infrastructure.

After nearly three years at Eldorado, he left the Central Texas town for the piney woods of northeast Texas and Gladewater where he has remained the city manager until his acceptance of the job in Dayton.

"He wants to be a city manager," Lambright said. "It's exciting to him."

Melancon, who lives in Gladewater, was selected from an applicant pool of 27 submissions.

"That's how many we received in the first round," the mayor said.

Some additional applications were submitted after the deadline, but Lambright said they really didn't need them and didn't consider them.

The city manager position attracted applicants mostly from Texas, but there were some from around the country, Lambright said.

"We had some from Oklahoma, two from California and even one from Maine," he said. "Two of them were from Texas and I guess they were looking for a way to get back to Texas now."

Most of the out-of-state applicants, he said, were in a similar pickle, taking a job out of Texas and looking for an opening to come home.

Melancon is currently serving as the city manager for the city of Gladewater.

Council seemed to share Lambright's hopes for the new city manager after hearing his ideas and visions for the growth of the city.

Councilman Josh Townsend jumped onto the Dayton News Facebook to say, "We are super excited to have this gentleman come and represent Dayton. He is exactly what this city needs with the growth expected. He is very energetic and a real go-getter with the mind set of forward-thinking. He has all the right experience and the tools needed to progress Dayton to the next level while keeping our small town charm which is exactly his goal as well as the current council. Once he gets on the job, I invite you to get to know this gentleman and his family, he fits right in with us."

Melancon has already signed a contract and will begin on July 3.

There is no length of time on the contract as it would violate the city charter.

"We're looking forward to him meeting the staff and getting started," Lambright said. "We're excited to have him."

Melancon has already informed his current mayor and city council of his intentions and has returned to Gladewater to pack his bags and tie up loose ends.

"We have a quick turn-around and we're excited to get there. There's a lot of things going on and I'm excited to be a part of it," he told the Dayton News.

The new city manager is married to Cecilia and they have a 2-year-old named Jeremiah.

The council also expressed their gratitude to Texas First Group, the hiring firm retained by council, and Interim City Manager Kerry Lacy for providing their services during the transition period and in assisting the city in the search.
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For decades, Pearland remained on Houston's outskirts. But, as elsewhere, urban sprawl inevitably reached the town 16 miles to the south. Master-planned communities emerged. The population grew. People of a myriad of backgrounds arrived.

Runoff elections for Pearland mayor and a newly established city council seat on June 10 embody a city grappling with change. Campaign rhetoric has highlighted the challenges. Concerns about mobility, an odorous landfill and city finances are talking points - as are, to the disappointment of some, issues of race and religion.

In ways, the election pits the status quo against the shakeup: two older, white, conservative-backed men who have held office before, face two younger, minority newcomers filled with ideas for new initiatives.

Changes in Pearland's demographics have mirrored those in Houston, amplifying the effects of what this election will show, University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus said.

"This election will tell us a lot about where the future of Houston will go and, therefore, where the future of Texas will go," he said.

More Information Mayoral candidates Candidate: Tom Reid Incumbent: Yes Age: 91 Profession: Retired from Johnson Space Center Candidate: Quentin Wiltz Incumbent: No Age: 36 Profession: Works in pipeline coating industry See More Collapse

In the mayor's race, 91-year-old incumbent Tom Reid faces a challenge from Quentin Wiltz, a 36-year-old project manager whom the mayor once recommended for a city park board position. In the council race, businessman and former city council member Woody Owens, 69, is running against 30-year-old pharmacist Dalia Kasseb, the first openly Muslim candidate for public office in Brazoria County history. She has never before run for elective office in the city, but Wiltz encouraged her run.

Owens says his past experience on council and professionally will be a benefit. He maintained that Pearland grew from a solid foundation and that the diverse city still has a united, small-town atmosphere. The campaign of the mayor, who has supported Owens, did not provide comment.

"We're all Pearlanders," Owens said.

Wiltz and Kasseb, who have been campaigning together, insist they have much to offer. They knocked on thousands of doors, they said, discussing with residents their ideas on mobility (HOV lanes, park and ride, a rail line), a nearby landfill that has been the subject of residents' complaints and overall quality of life. They derided anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim social media posts that surfaced.

"Pearland has changed," Wiltz said. "The challenges have changed."

City faces growing pains

Pearland's story mirrors that of suburban Houston. The community touts its school system, little league and proximity to the Texas Medical Center - not to mention its famed barbecue restaurant, Killen's. Memorial Hermann opened a hospital there, and UH is expanding its campus.

But rapid development, as with elsewhere, also brought growing pains to a community assuming a new identity.

Framed printouts in Pearland City Hall document the city's origins. Crews constructed a rail line there in 1873. A post office followed, then a Polish man filed a plat for what's now Old Pearland. (His family coat of arms hangs next to his portrait.)

In 1900 came the train station. The relocated depot now sits near City Hall, marked by a state plaque. A town developer planted pear trees to attract residents, the plaque explains.

Reid moved to Pearland in 1965, as the population was surging from around 1,500 in 1960 to 37,600 in 2000, according to his recent State of the City presentation. He worked at Johnson Space Center from 1965 to 1997.

Residents elected Reid in the late 1970s. He has remained at the helm, except for around five years in the 1990s. A plaque commemorating the construction of City Hall bears his name. So does the library across the street.

Pearland now spans from its old town on the east to a cluster of new master-planned communities, including Shadow Creek Ranch, to the west. Traditional American fast food is juxtaposed against restaurants offering tacos or pho. It dead-ends at the controversial Blue Ridge landfill. City officials estimate Pearland has around 120,000 residents. It encompasses parts of three counties - Harris, Fort Bend and Brazoria - and covers 48 square miles.

With this growth, City Hall is set to be renovated and the library expanded.

Mobility, facilitating ties among all residents and encouraging economic development remain among the top priorities for Reid, he told Community Impact News in an interview earlier this year.

"It's not a full-time job," Reid said of his role. "But I'm making it one. Because that's what is needed at this point."

Candidates stress different themes

The May 6 election results are also posted at City Hall. Wiltz trailed Reid by 249 votes out of nearly 7,600 cast. A third candidate was far behind. But Reid fell just shy of the necessary 50 percent of the vote required to avoid a runoff.

Kasseb was well ahead of the five council candidates she faced but also failed to get the needed 50 percent.

A military veteran, Owens has urged voters to support his platform focused on debt, taxes and roadway congestion. The 27-year Pearland resident has served multiple stints as a council member and previously ran unsuccessfully for mayor. Still working part-time in engineering, he cut back his hours to campaign.

Wiltz said the city lacks representation of working families. He works in the pipeline industry, and his commute can take an hour, even with the added expense of tolls. He moved to Pearland in 2007 and has run twice unsuccessfully for city council.

For Kasseb, her emphasis has been on listening to residents, she said. She moved to Pearland in 2013 because family members lived here. She liked the atmosphere and the town's diversity. "It's just amazing how much Pearland can offer," she said.

The race, officially, is nonpartisan. But local Republican groups have supported Reid and Owens. U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, a Republican, made calls on Reid's behalf. Democratic organizations have embraced Wiltz and Kasseb.

Some see the Democratic party as building a base of candidates for higher offices. But the political party involvement has stirred controversy. In particular, a video from the Brazoria County Democratic Party showed anti-Islamic posts from Owens' Facebook page. Owens denies posting them. He says Kasseb, who wears a hijab, has as much right to run for office as he does. The posts have been removed from his page.

A Reid campaign volunteer, Layni Cade, standing by a polling station in the rising Tuesday morning heat, lamented that the election had turned ugly. It has created a divide, pitting neighbor against neighbor: "It's been a lot of mudslinging and calling people bigots who are not bigots."

Cade, 49, praised the mayor's performance in what many here consider a ceremonial job, saying he always tried to be at Eagle Scout ceremonies, weddings or funerals. (The mayor has no voting power, except in a tie.)

A steady stream of cars flowed into the parking lot where Cade stood. As of the end of Wednesday, 9,740 votes had been cast during early voting since it began May 30, ahead of the June 10 election day. They would make their own opinions heard.
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Former FBI Director James Comey's testimony Thursday about possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump prompted calls from Democrats and Republicans for an expansion of ongoing probes examining the actions of other senior administration officials.

Democrats said they're especially eager to examine the roles played in Comey's firing by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. And members of both parties said they want copies of memos and other documents Comey said he has turned over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, detailing his interactions with the president.

Nearly three hours of testimony by Comey - in which he detailed his interactions with Trump before his May 9 firing - raised the prospect of new lines of inquiry for at least four Senate and House committees looking into various aspects of the matter. It also suggested that principal characters in the drama, like Sessions, are likely to face pointed questions from Democrats when they come to Capitol Hill for other business.

Sessions is scheduled to appear Tuesday before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee to discuss the Justice Department's budget.

Comey's testimony left some lawmakers wanting more.

"Every good movie has a sequel," quipped Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who first came to national attention as a House lawmaker involved in former president Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.

Some Democratic senators reacted to Comey's testimony saying they believe there is credible evidence that Trump may have obstructed justice in trying to convince Comey to drop the FBI probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. But they cautioned that it will be up to Mueller to present such charges to Congress.

"Everybody wants to jump to a conclusion - we're nowhere near a conclusion," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Precedent dictates that a sitting president won't be indicted on obstruction of justice charges, according to legal experts. Congress must ultimately determine if matters raise the specter of impeachment.

"The evidence just keeps piling up that there has been a very real presidential abuse of power," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., a senior member of the Intelligence Committee. But when asked whether Trump's actions amounted to obstruction of justice, he deferred to Mueller and his legal team.

"I'll leave the lawyers to make those decisions," added Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the Intelligence Committee's top Democrat.

Comey did not say that he believed Trump's conversations with him were an effort to obstruct justice. But his narration of events - that Trump made a point of speaking with him alone and pressured him to drop the Flynn investigation - suggested that if they didn't amount to obstruction of justice, they certainly came close.

There is "certainly a building, mounting, unfolding case of obstruction of justice" against the president, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Republican leaders would only pledge to "take what we heard, and figure out how that moves our investigation forward," according to Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., who said later that he "didn't hear" Comey answer questions in a way that "alluded to anybody obstructing justice."

Other Republicans said they believe they have to learn more about how Trump tried to shape the FBI investigation.

"Whether it rises to criminality . . . I'm not prepared to reach a conclusion on that because we're not done with all the other pieces that are missing," Sen. Marco Rubio R-Fla., an Intelligence Committee member, said after the hearing.

Rubio said that the committee had yet to hear a full accounting from Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats or Adm. Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, about whether Trump also asked them to pressure Comey to drop the FBI's probe. Coats and Rogers appeared before the intelligence panel on Wednesday, but refused to answer questions about their conversations with Trump or Comey - leading Burr to warn them that "at no time should you be in a position where you come to Congress without an answer" to questions.

Neither had been told not to speak about those conversations by the president or by Mueller.

Rubio said it is important to understand what Trump's advisers had and had not told him, to understand whether people are dealing with "a concerned orchestrated effort to impede justice, or is this an unconventional non-politician who, because he has not worked in government before, either doesn't understand or quite frankly, is not interested in convention."

That line or argument - that Trump is a first-time politician worthy of leeway and understanding - was repeated across Capitol Hill on Thursday by senior Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said that Comey's comments "raise serious questions about Attorney General Sessions that he and the Justice Department must answer immediately."

Democrats warned that Sessions will face questions about his involvement in the Russia investigation during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday.

Blumenthal and Graham are members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has pushed to have Comey appear to answer more questions about his interactions with Trump and other senior officials. But aides and senators said it may be difficult to compel Comey, now a private citizen, to return for more questions - this time from a panel packed with former federal prosecutors and state attorneys general whose queries may be more pointed.

A spokesman for Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, didn't return requests for comment.

The future work of the Senate Intelligence Committee, regarded across Capitol Hill as the most studious and advanced congressional probe, may be determined in large part by a meeting leaders are having with Mueller next week. The committee is also sorting through some documents that Flynn provided in response to subpoenas for his business and personal records.

Flynn has also provided some documents to the House Intelligence Committee in response to a subpoena, according to that panel's ranking member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Both Burr and Schiff have indicated that more subpoenas may be coming in their respective probes.

Burr also said earlier this week that the committee will soon issue more subpoenas for witnesses' documents. In the House, members are still waiting on a response to subpoenas issued for documents and testimony from Flynn and Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

In the House, aides to the chairmen of the Intelligence, Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform Committees said they had nothing to say about whether Comey's testimony might reshape their investigations. The House Judiciary Committee has said it will conduct oversight of Mueller's probe but has no plans to launch a fresh inquiry.

Graham warned that any expansion of the controversies swirling around Trump will likely lead to more political fallout. He recalled how initial investigations of Clinton's involvement with the Whitewater land deal led to revelations of his extramarital affair with a White House intern.

"You start with Whitewater and you end up with the blue dress? This is going to happen here," Graham said. "You start with one thing, you're going to wind up with another."
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One of two capital murder suspects charged in the robbery and slaying of a Conroe man in May 2015 pleaded guilty Thursday.

Everett Earl Hieden Jr., who was 46 at the time of the shooting, pleaded guilty to a first-degree aggravated robbery charge in exchange for a recommended 30-year prison sentence. That sentence, however, will not become official until a district court hearing Aug. 31.

Hieden and Michael Irion Decker, who was 42 at the time of the shooting, were initially charged and then indicted for capital murder in the May 14, 2015, shooting death of Joel Aponte, 48, in Conroe.

FRAUD: Woodlands financial adviser pleads guilty in $1.9 million case

A key witness for prosecutors allegedly saw one of the two men shoot Aponte in the torso at a location on Woodlands Hills Drive in Conroe. The two allegedly moved Aponte's body from Woodlands Hills Drive to another location in the 9000 block of North Crystal Springs Circle, according to earlier reports in The Courier.

Conroe officers eventually found Aponte's body and arrested the two men days later.

Hieden, however, pleaded guilty Thursday to an aggravated robbery charge filed late Wednesday that alleges he robbed Aponte with a firearm on the day of the shooting. While the capital murder charge against Hieden is still active, Major Crimes Chief Prosecutor Jim Prewitt said it will be dropped after 435th state District Court Judge Patty Maginnis formally sentences him Aug. 31.

Although prosecutors recommended a 30-year sentence as part of the plea agreement, Hieden is facing up to life in prison for the first-degree felony. He was facing life without parole on the capital murder charge.

"We're glad there's a disposition on this case," Prewitt said. "The final disposition won't be until the sentencing, of course. We're moving forward and getting ready for the other case."

Decker is set for trial Aug. 14. He is facing life without parole, if convicted.
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DALLAS - Nobody at Southwest told Louis Freeman he would be the first black pilot in the airline's history when he was hired in 1980.

"It never occurred to me," Freeman said, "but when I got here I was the only pilot of color - it didn't take long to figure out."

Freeman went on to become the first black chief pilot - a management job - at a major U.S. airline. His most memorable flight carried the body of civil rights icon Rosa Parks to her final resting place. The NAACP had asked the airline to put together an African-American crew.

Freeman made his last flight as a Southwest Airlines captain on Thursday, a few days before turning 65, the federal retirement age for airline pilots.

As he strode toward the gate at Dallas Love Field, Freeman donned his captain's cap for the last time and reminisced about joining Southwest after six years flying for the Air Force.

'Had to get it right'

On Freeman's first flight as co-pilot, he had a moment of panic when the captain gave him a routine command. The weight of being an airline pilot had suddenly hit him. It went beyond that first flight.

"I put a whole lot of pressure on myself because I had to get it right," Freeman said. "I had to be perfect because I wanted them to hire more of us."

The color barrier in airline cockpits wasn't broken until the mid-1960s. Southwest was less than a decade old when Freeman joined and had just 20 planes and fewer than 200 pilots.

Southwest didn't immediately say how many of its current pilots are black. Nationally, it's 3 percent, according to the Labor Department. Blacks make up 13 percent of the U.S. population.

"It used to be 1 percent. It has increased, but it's been awfully slow," Freeman said. Part of the problem, he said, is the high cost of learning and gaining the required 1,500 hours of flight experience to qualify as a co-pilot for a small regional airline.

Freeman believes that signing bonuses, better pay and help with training costs will address the pilot shortage and help raise the number of black pilots.

Maybe Christopher Goods of Frisco will be one of them. The 10-year-old stopped to shake Freeman's hand. Freeman chatted briefly with the boy and waved to his parents.

"That kind of thing happens all the time," Freeman said, "because young black kids, they don't see black pilots very often."

Freeman said he never had problems with white pilots, but some passengers seemed surprised to see him. Particularly if the co-pilot was a woman, Freeman liked to position her where passengers boarding the plane would see her, and he would hang back near the cockpit door.

"They're looking for some older white guy to make sure he's keeping her out of trouble," Freeman said. "When they turned to look, there's big old me standing there, grinning. You should have seen the looks. To me it was a game."

Another barrier broken

In 1992, Southwest named Freeman its chief pilot in Chicago - the first black person to hold that job at any major U.S. airline. It's a management job that meant fewer flights for Freeman, "but I got to use my brain for other stuff."

In 2005, Freeman flew the plane that carried the body of Parks, the black woman who in 1955 refused an order to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery, Ala., to a white passenger, an act that became a touchstone of the civil rights movement. He took his daughter and son on the trip to impress upon them the importance of Parks' act.
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Shirley Davidson knew something was wrong when she didn't hear from her reliable 26-year-old son for two days.

Gerean Brown was close to his family, including his two young children and their mother. He always called, even if it was just to say he was running late from work.

Davidson suspected foul play, and Houston Police Department investigators on Wednesday afternoon categorized his disappearance as suspicious.

In an attempt to gather clues, Davidson, concerned friends and community activist Quanell X gathered Thursday afternoon near the northbound feeder road of the Eastex Freeway, just south of Loop 610, where Brown was last seen May 29 on his motorcycle.

An already tearful Davidson hoped to find a witness. Instead, she was met with her worst fear: a dozen police cars with lights flashing and officers cordoning off an area where maintenance crews mowing the grass had just found a body believed to be her son's.

Davidson screamed and fell to the ground.

While Houston police did not confirm the identity of the body on Thursday afternoon, a motorcycle at the scene matched Brown's. Red shoes and a red belt matched what Brown was wearing the night he disappeared after leaving a club just blocks away, Quanell said.

"Everything fits Mr. Gerean Brown's description," Quanell said.

TxDOT spokesman Danny Perez said the crew was performing routine maintenance - about once every three months the grass is mowed.

When they stumbled across the body, it was severely decomposed.

The grass appeared to have obscured the corpse and motorcycle from neighborhood search crews who had combed the feeder roads in days prior, said HPD Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner.

About 70 relatives and neighbors watched around 2 p.m. Thursday from the opposite side of the feeder road as the medical examiner loaded the body in the van.

Tears ran down the face of Cortney Lee, 24, the mother of Brown's children.

"He was a good father," she said, shaking her head.

Friends and family embraced Lee, who sat in the back of a parked pickup, intently watching the police officers. She and Davidson held the couple's two children - a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.

Screams and sobs could be heard as relatives and neighbors heard the news.

"Oh my God, oh my God, he's just a baby," Sandra Eleby, one of his friends, yelled.

Brown was last seen May 29 at a club at 3409 Cavalcade, just a few blocks from the feeder road where the body was found and near his home in the Fifth Ward.

He left the club with a friend, Brown riding a newly purchased, custom-built motorcycle, Quanell said.

He told the friend he was heading home.

Davidson and others gathered along the feeder road suspect the expensive motorcycle made Brown a target.

They think he was robbed, killed and dumped on the side of the highway.

By Thursday afternoon, police said the crash was likely an accident, though they were still unsure of the time and date of his death, Finner said.

The motorcycle had flipped over at least once. The body landed nearby the vehicle, Finner said.

"That's my baby," his mother sobbed.

Brooke Lewis contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - In a politically charged hearing on possible Trump campaign collusion in Russian election meddling, Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn turned the focus on Hillary Clinton and Thursday's star witness: fired FBI director James Comey.

Democrats homed in on Comey's dramatic testimony that President Donald Trump privately requested his loyalty and urged him to drop the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

But Cornyn, taking his turn in a nationally televised Senate Intelligence panel hearing, used his time to build a legal bulwark around Trump, questioning Comey's response.

"As a general matter, if an FBI agent has reason to believe a crime has been committed, do they have the duty to report it?" he said.

After some hesitation, Comey answered: "I would expect any FBI agent who has information about a crime being committed to report it."

"Me too," Cornyn said.

The exchange, one of the more difficult ones for Comey, highlighted the Republican rejoinder to the Democrats' charges of White House interference - or possibly impeachable offenses - surrounding the Russia investigation.

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Exhibit A in the Democrats' case is Comey himself, who was abruptly fired by Trump with a flurry of conflicting explanations, from the Clinton emails to frustration with the ongoing accusations of Trump campaign collusion with the Russians.

Cornyn sought to undermine the Democratic narrative of a cover-up.

"If you're trying to make an investigation go away, is firing an FBI director a good way to make that happen?" Cornyn said.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense to me," Comey answered, "but I'm obviously hopelessly biased, given that I was the one fired."

"I understand that it's personal," Cornyn said.

Cornyn fires back

Cornyn, a former Texas attorney general and state supreme court judge, also focused on the apparent conflicts of interest involving Loretta Lynch, former President Barack Obama's attorney general, who was criticized for meeting privately with former President Bill Clinton during the FBI probe of Hillary Clinton's emails.

Like other Republicans on the panel, Cornyn sought to stick up for Trump, getting Comey, 56, to agree that nothing in his testimony suggested the White House had impeded the investigations by the FBI or special counsel Robert Mueller.

Cornyn also suggested it was reasonable for a president who had been assured at various points that he wasn't the subject of an FBI investigation to want the agency's director to publicly announce it "so that this cloud over his administration would be removed."

"That's a reasonable point of view," Comey said. "The concern would be, obviously, if that boomerang comes back, it will be a very big deal, because there will be a duty to correct."

Cornyn's role on the committee has been particularly sensitive, since he was also interviewed as a top prospect to replace Comey at the FBI, until he removed himself from consideration last month.

Cornyn has defended Comey's firing, backing up Trump's assertion new leadership was needed at the FBI in the wake of the controversies surrounding Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe during the election.

The episode has cast the genial, 65-year-old senator in a strikingly partisan role, particularly in questioning Comey's account of Trump's alleged loyalty request.

"He was the sharpest in that line of criticism," said Brandon Rottinghaus, who teaches political science at the University of Houston. "That is probably their best line of defense."

Despite his position as the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, Cornyn has long toiled in the shadow of the Lone Star State's more outspoken junior senator, Ted Cruz.

That changed Thursday, when Cornyn took his place in a crowded hearing room to ask questions of Comey, whose testimony about his firing by President Donald Trump has cast a long shadow on the administration.

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The hearing was built up as one of the most electric television events of Capitol Hill in modern times, recalling similar moments during the Iran-Contra and Watergate investigations.

Local bars ran drink specials with Russian vodka and spectators lined up around the Senate office buildings to get seats in the hearing room.

Cornyn's questions came amid a broader Republican effort to discredit or undermine Comey, who testified that he was disturbed by the shifting White House accounts of his dismissal and worried that Trump might "lie" about their private conversations.

The attacks were led by members of a hard-right faction in the House, including Texas U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, who said on Fox News over the weekend, "I don't really care what Comey says - he can't be trusted."

The Republican Party leadership also went on the offensive.

"There's still no evidence of collusion, and [Trump] did not hinder the investigations in any way," said Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. "Nobody thinks more of James Comey than James Comey, and his testimony today was simply a last-ditch attempt to save face with the American people."

Respect for Comey

In his questioning, Cornyn tempered his remarks with signs of respect for Comey's long service in the FBI: "I believe you're a good and decent man who's been dealt a very difficult hand, starting back with the Clinton email investigation."

Texas Democrats echoed the concerns of their party leaders who have suggested Comey's firing was an effort to head off or quash the FBI investigation of Trump campaign contacts with the Russians.

"Since the early days of his presidency, Donald Trump has inserted himself into the FBI's work, publicly commenting on an ongoing investigation and privately expressing his desire for the agency's leadership to clear his name," said San Antonio U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro.

Castro called for the public release of Comey's personal notes of his conversations with Trump.

Fellow San Antonio Democrat Lloyd Doggett called it an "obvious abuse of power."

But few Democrats have followed the lead of Houston U.S. Rep. Al Green, who began preparing articles of impeachment Tuesday alleging obstruction of justice.
WASHINGTON - Russian hackers attacked at least one U.S. voting software supplier days before last year's presidential election, according to a government intelligence report leaked Monday that suggests election-related hacking penetrated further into U.S. voting systems than previously known.

The classified National Security Agency report, which was published online by The Intercept, says Russian military intelligence attacked a U.S. voting software company and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials at the end of October or beginning of November.

U.S. intelligence agencies declined to comment.

The document said Russian military intelligence "executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016 evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions, according to information that became available in April 2017."

Create email accounts

The hackers are believed to have then used data from that operation to create a new email account to launch a spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations, the document said. "Lastly, the actors send test emails to two non-existent accounts ostensibly associated with absentee balloting, presumably with the purpose of creating those accounts to mimic legitimate services."

The document did not name any state.

The information in the leaked document seems to go further than the U.S. intelligence agencies' January assessment of the hacking that occurred.

"Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple U.S. state or local electoral boards," the assessment said. The Department of Homeland Security "assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying."

U.S. agencies step in

The Intercept contacted NSA and the national intelligence director's office about the document and both agencies asked that it not be published. U.S. officials then asked The Intercept to redact certain sections. The Intercept said some material was withheld at U.S. intelligence agencies' request.

The Associated Press could not confirm the authenticity of the May 5 NSA document, which The Intercept said it obtained anonymously. But also Monday, the Justice Department announced it had charged a government contractor in Georgia with leaking a classified report containing "Top Secret level" information to an online news organization. The report the contractor allegedly leaked is dated May 5, the same date as the document The Intercept posted online.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, of Augusta, Ga., was charged in U.S. district court with copying classified documents and mailing them to an unnamed news organization. Prosecutors did not say which federal agency Winner worked for, but FBI agent Justin Garrick said in an affidavit filed with the court that she held a top-secret security clearance.

In affidavits filed with the court, Garrick said the agency that housed the report determined six employees had made physical copies. Winner was one. Garrick said investigators found Winner exchanged email with the outlet on her work computer.
HOGP

AUGUSTA, Ga. - A young woman accused of leaking U.S. government secrets to a reporter was indicted by a federal grand jury as she awaited a court hearing Thursday to determine whether she must remain jailed pending a trial.

Prosecutors plan to ask a judge to deny bond for Reality Winner, 25, according to court records filed in the case. A grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday in U.S. District Court charging her with a single count of illegally retaining and transmitting national defense information.
WASHINGTON - James Comey, the recently fired FBI director, said Thursday in an extraordinary Senate hearing that he believed President Donald Trump had tried to derail an investigation into his national security adviser, and he accused the president of lying and defaming him and the FBI.

Comey, no longer constrained by the formalities of a government job, offered a blunt, plain-spoken assessment of a president whose conversations unnerved him from the day they met, weeks before Trump took office.

The James Comey who emerged during the hearing was by turns humble, folksy and matter-of-fact, but at the same time, he proved that underneath was a shrewd politician not afraid to play the Washington game by leaking information on his own.

In testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, he provided an unflattering back story to his abrupt dismissal and raised the question of whether Trump had tried to obstruct justice.

Answering that falls to the Justice Department special counsel, Robert Mueller. Comey said he had given all his memos about his interactions with the president to Mueller, who he believes will look into the possibility of obstruction. It was the first public suggestion that prosecutors would investigate the president.

"That's a conclusion I'm sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there and whether that's an offense," he said.

Firing Comey ignited a political fire for Trump, and Comey acknowledged helping fan the flames. He said he had encouraged a friend to provide the New York Times with details from one of his memos, a move he hoped would lead to the appointment of a special counsel. It did.

Before firing Comey, Trump was dogged by the FBI inquiry into his campaign's ties to Russia. But he was never personally under investigation.

Now, he faces the prospect of an obstruction investigation, inquiries by emboldened congressional officials, and questions from members of both parties about whether he tried inappropriately to end the FBI investigation into Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser.

Trump's personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, flatly denied any obstruction. "The president never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone," he said.

But Kasowitz's involvement was itself a reflection of how Comey's firing had deepened the president's political and legal difficulties. Trump hired him recently to help contain the fallout.

The Senate hearing did not help that effort. It was the most highly anticipated and crowded congressional event in recent memory.

Frank and emotional

Over a long career, Comey has excelled at telling his story while tiptoeing around Washington's bureaucratic minefields. He has been so at ease before Congress that some staff members have jokingly called him "Senator Comey." But this time, he offered more frank, emotional introspection than he had before.

He set that tone from the beginning, opening with a goodbye to his former employees, whom he was unable to personally bid farewell. And he said Trump had lied - a word that is often soft-pedaled in Washington - when he justified the firing by saying Comey had lost the confidence of an FBI in disarray. "Those were lies, plain and simple," Comey said.

He said the president had defamed him, an apparent reference to Trump's calling him a "nut job" in a private meeting with Russian diplomats.

When Republicans asked why he had not told the president he was out of line for asking Comey to "see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go," Comey said perhaps he should have.

"I don't want to sound like I'm Captain Courageous," he replied. "I don't know whether, even if I had the presence of mind, I would have said to the president, 'Sir, that's wrong.'"

But he said he had no doubt about Trump's intentions. "I took it as a direction," he said. If the president had his way, Comey said, "we would have dropped an open criminal investigation."

Comey's testimony forced Trump's supporters into the uncomfortable position of drawing a distinction between suggesting that the FBI close an investigation into a friend and outright ordering it.

"Knowing my father for 39 years when he 'orders or tells' you to do something there is no ambiguity, you will know exactly what he means," the president's son Donald Trump Jr. wrote on Twitter during the hearing.

Mueller, the special counsel, is investigating Flynn along with the broad question of whether the Trump campaign helped Russian operatives meddle in the presidential election.

Comey placed the origins of the special counsel investigation squarely on Trump's Twitter account, a frequent source of controversy and conflict for the president. Two days after Comey was ousted, the Times reported that Trump had asked Comey to pledge loyalty to him. The president then tweeted that Comey had "better hope that there are no 'tapes'" of their meetings.

That tweet inspired Comey to allow a friend to read portions of his memo to the Times. A day after the Times revealed the contents of that memo, which described the conversation about Flynn, the Justice Department appointed Mueller to take over the investigation.

The White House has not commented on whether recordings exist. But Comey baited Trump to produce them if they did. "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," he said at the hearing. "The president surely knows if there are tapes. If there are, my feelings aren't hurt. Release the tapes."

About the firing

Trump has offered changing explanations for why he fired Comey. The White House originally cited Comey's controversial handling of last year's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, saying that Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, had recommended he be dismissed. But Trump quickly undercut that argument, telling NBC News that he had been thinking about the Russia investigation when he fired Comey.

Asked why he was fired, Comey replied: "I take the president at his word - that I was fired because of the Russia investigation. Something about the way I was conducting it, the president felt, created pressure on him that he wanted to relieve."

Kasowitz said Trump had never sought a loyalty pledge, as Comey told the Senate. And he portrayed Comey as part of a stealth campaign to undermine Trump. "It is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications," he said. "Mr. Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers."

Comey's memo was not classified, and the White House did not assert executive privilege over his conversations with Trump.
Mayor Sylvester Turner on Thursday said he would ask City Council to vote this month on whether to join lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Texas' new "sanctuary cities" law, ending months of equivocation on the controversial immigration enforcement measure.

His announcement, via an early morning tweet, was an abrupt reversal from Wednesday, when the mayor said city staff still were evaluating the law and encouraged residents to voice their concerns at the Capitol.

"I will ask this month City Council to consider and vote to join the lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of SB4," he tweeted.

If City Council votes to sue over the law known as Senate Bill 4, Houston would join San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and several other local governments and nonprofits already challenging the state or planning to do so. The consolidated case in San Antonio is scheduled for a preliminary hearing June 26.

The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment on why Turner decided to put the matter before City Council.

SB4, which goes into effect Sept. 1, allows police to ask people their immigration status if detained, even for a routine traffic stop.

Sheriffs and police chiefs who refuse federal requests to hold undocumented immigrants detained for other alleged crimes could face jail time and fines under the law.

More Information How they will likely vote How members of City Council say they likely will vote: Mayor Sylvester Turner: yes District A (Brenda Stardig): declined to comment District B (Jerry Davis): did not respond District C (Ellen Cohen): yes District D (Dwight Boykins): yes District E (Dave Martin): no District F (Steve Le): no District G (Greg Travis): no District H (Karla Cisneros): yes District I (Robert Gallegos): yes District J (Mike Laster): declined to comment District K (Larry Green): yes At large 1 (Mike Knox): no At large 2 (David Robinson): yes At large 3 (Michael Kubosh): no At large 4 (Amanda Edwards): yes At large 5 (Jack Christie): plans to abstain See More Collapse

Houston could sue over SB4 without City Council approval, but Turner nonetheless promised a vote. City Council is in recess next week, meaning a vote would come June 21 at the earliest.

As of Thursday, the left-leaning City Council appeared to be breaking along party lines, with Democratic members largely favoring a lawsuit and Republican members generally opposed.

District I Councilman Robert Gallegos, who supports a lawsuit, said he worried the law could tear families apart if it causes more parents to be deported, calling it "an open door for racial profiling."

Concerns on both sides

District C Councilwoman Ellen Cohen also plans to vote to sue, citing concerns that the law could discourage victims from reporting crimes, echoing law enforcement leaders across the state, including Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo.

"We now have a percentage of the population that, out of fear for their own lives and deportation, won't report, and it jeopardizes women's lives and others," Cohen said.

At-large Councilman Michael Kubosh said he opposes a lawsuit because of the potential cost.

"I don't want to spend the money on a lawsuit that's already been well-funded by other cities," Kubosh said. "It won't have an effect on the outcome of the case."

He and others also worried that suing the state could put Houston at risk for losing federal funding.

Two council members, Mike Laster and Brenda Stardig, declined to say how they would vote, and at-large Councilman Jack Christie said he was likely to abstain.

"I'm not in favor of suing people to just show where we stand," Christie said. "We show where we stand by example."

President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to withhold federal grants from so-called sanctuary cities that do not fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities - a move that temporarily has been blocked in court.

There was no indication, however, that a lawsuit would be accompanied by changes in local policy regarding immigration enforcement.

'A great big political mess'

The Houston area is home to the third-largest population of immigrants in the country illegally, behind New York City and Los Angeles, according to Pew Research Center.

"It's a great big political mess that the mayor has been, up until this point, been careful to stay out of," At-large Councilman Mike Knox said. "It seems like an unnecessary risk that is going to take care of itself in the long run anyway."

Beyond City Hall, news of the mayor's plan predictably was met with cheers from the left and condemnation from the right.

"We're very happy to see that he has listened to the community and is moving forward with this," said Mary Moreno, communications director for the Texas Organizing Project, an advocacy group that has sued the state over SB4. "Mayor Turner loves to say we're a welcoming city. How can we be a welcoming city when we're not standing up for the biggest threat currently facing the Latino community?"

Harris County Republican Party Chair Paul Simpson disagreed.

"It's improper for the mayor or the city to pander to the Democrat base and oppose a very reasonable law - a law that just asks law enforcement officials to enforce the law," he said.

Rice University political scientist Mark Jones said he views bringing a lawsuit now as relatively low-risk for the mayor.

"I don't think Turner getting on the bandwagon at this point would cost him many political points," Jones said. "The more he stays out and the more other blue cities and counties get involved, the more isolated he looks."
Former FBI Director James Comey's written and spoken testimony on Thursday presented the American people with an account of a president acting with a disregard for law and office that our nation hasn't seen since the days of Watergate.

In sworn testimony that streamed over laptops and iPhones and in bars across the nation, Comey accused the sitting president of using "lies, plain and simple" to defame him and to discredit the FBI.

From his own words, we learned Comey felt pressured by Trump to drop the investigation into Michael Flynn, who had lied about his relationship with the Russian government. This testimony follows reports that Trump had also asked NSA Director Mike Rogers and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats to suppress or refute the FBI's probe - a claim that both men didn't deny in carefully parsed statements before Congress on Wednesday.

When Richard Nixon tried to interfere with the FBI's Watergate investigation, the House of Representatives declared it to be an obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

Comey also described how Trump asked for his "loyalty" and felt the president expected a "patronage relationship."

That is language we'd expect to hear about a third-world strongman or mafia boss. In the United States, government officials swear their loyalty to the Constitution, not the president.

Now, more than ever, the American people need a Congress that takes seriously its responsibility of checking and balancing the White House. Unfortunately, Texas' own U.S. Sen. John Cornyn looks like he'd rather play defense attorney for Trump. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee panel that questioned Comey, Cornyn used his few minutes with the microphone to raise the now-closed investigation into Hillary Clinton's misuse of a private email server - a topic that would be distinctly more relevant if Clinton had not lost the 2016 election.

U.S. intelligence agencies assert that Russia interfered with that election, and Comey reminded Congress that Russia will do it again. We have a president in the Oval Office who, at best, is deeply ignorant about the role that the president is supposed to play in our republic. And yet Cornyn is prioritizing partisan potshots.

The Republican Party has made no secret of its intent to spin Comey's testimony as nothing more than fodder for cable TV talking heads - another opportunity to define political deviancy downward. Partisan pundits are already accusing Comey of breaking the law for leaking personal memos that rebutted Trump's narrative about the FBI. Perhaps they also think the Watergate investigation should have gone after Deep Throat instead of Nixon.

Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., even tried to argue that this is all merely a matter of ignorance, claiming "the president's new at this."

Sorry, but "it's my first day" is an argument for people who work at White Castle, not the White House.

Texas deserves better. Texas deserves answers. Among the answers that we're calling for:

A public disclosure of any recordings that might exist of meetings between the president and Comey.

An investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice and abused his office, with answers released before the 2018 election.

An independent commission that will investigate and report on Russian interference into the 2016 election.

A fully staffed and funded U.S. Department of State that can push back against Russian intrusions into U.S. interests.

A full investigation of both U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner for allegedly lying about their relationships with Russian figures.

Testimony from Trump under oath about his own account of meeting with Comey.

And, finally, we need to know where our senators and representatives draw the line for the president's actions.

"I suppose there is a certain amount of amorality that almost all politicians will tolerate. But there is also a threshold, and that is the president's problem."

That's what U.S. Sen. John Tower, Texas' first Republican senator since Reconstruction, had to say during Watergate. We wonder where he would put the threshold today.
Republicans usually like to stay away from anything that can be described as Chicago-style politics, so voters should be confused to see Donald Trump pitching an infrastructure plan that borrows from one of the Windy City's worst experiments in public policy.

Back in 2008, Chicago tried to fill a funding gap by selling 75-year contract that allowed a private consortium to run its downtown parking meter system. The result was nothing short of a disaster. The new owners raised prices by 800 percent and started charging for parking where it had once been free. Businesses were hurt. People were outraged. And the parking meters broke down in winter.

Turns out that private profit and public interests don't always line up.

Nevertheless, Trump has put these sorts of questionable public-private partnerships at the core of his national infrastructure plan.

Gone is the campaign season proposal for a $1 trillion program. In a brazen bait-and-switch, Trump would actually cut infrastructure spending in the long run, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. He even proposed slashing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' construction account by more than 50 percent.

Instead, Trump wants the nation to rely on private investors to fund projects. These wealthy investors would be repaid with $137 billion in tax breaks and then be allowed to collect tolls from users.

You could probably list "private tolls roads" alongside " mosquito bites" and " sunburns" on the short list of things that make your average Texan curse and spit in anger.

Voters made their opinion perfectly clear when Rick Perry's attempt at a public-private Trans-Texas Corridor failed in the face of public scrutiny.

Nor were Texans keen on a local version of Trump's public-private plan with State Highway 130 east of San Antonio. After four years of operations, the private toll-road operator ended up filing for bankruptcy. Turns out that people didn't like paying tolls, and low traffic meant missed revenue projections.

All across the country there's a pattern of public-private infrastructure plans resulting in sky-high bills for users and conflicts between local governments and private investors. These problems arise from the same core conflict: The goals of public infrastructure and private investors are often irreconcilable. Public infrastructure exists to move people and commerce. Investors exist to make money.

And because these public-private deals only make sense where the private investors can find profit, Trump's plan sticks local governments with the bill on necessary but unlucrative projects. Investors aren't exactly lining up to replacing lead-contaminated water systems in poor neighborhoods. Wall Street banks aren't champing at the bit to build a multi-billion-dollar Ike Dike to protect Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel.

No doubt that there is a role for private enterprise to play in public transit. For example, Mayor Sylvester Turner touted the Texas Central Partners' high-speed rail project in his State of Mobility speech on Thursday. But those opportunities for private investment cannot cover the vast infrastructure needs facing our nation.

Trump had an opportunity to take the lead on a 21st century version of a national infrastructure program. Democrats and Republicans alike have been calling for a infrastructure bill - and Trump's promise of a $1 trillion program was one of his most popular applause-lines during the campaign. Now it is just another politician's broken promise.
Scientific research, a critical national investment, provides strong economic and societal benefits. We should be very proud that Houston has the largest medical center in the world, training the next generation of physicians, scientists and health professionals and advancing science to identify and tackle the most important and prevalent diseases afflicting populations in our communities and globally.

More than 54 nonprofit health-science institutions making up our Texas Medical Center are daily addressing patient-care needs and are at the forefront of innovative basic science and translational research discoveries leading to new public health interventions.

Yet the White House's budget proposal seeks to pivot away from research and development investments. The recent news is that up to 22 percent in cuts are being proposed to the budget of the National Institutes of Health, the major supporter of biomedical research in America. Currently TMC receives almost $1 billion annually in NIH support, such that the proposed cuts would dramatically threaten our state and city's ability to train scientists and develop innovative tools to identify, prevent and treat diseases.

Multiple examples show how reductions to the NIH on the order of 20 percent would directly affect much of the science that goes on at TMC. Young scientists are turned down for funding at a record rate. Even with no budget cuts, prospects of waiting more than a decade following receipt of a Ph.D. to receive the first NIH grant, is starting to turn away young people from scientific careers. In contrast, from 2000-2013, China's investments in R&D grew 17 percent, South Korea's 8.3 percent, and Russia's 8.2 percent, while the U.S. stagnated.

Another impact could be the loss of specific R&D for life-saving interventions. For example, our National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine is leading global efforts to study diseases of poverty or neglected tropical diseases, which collectively describe diseases more prevalent among poor populations in the United States and globally. For instance, Chagas disease has emerged as one of the most important "neglected tropical diseases" in Latin America and the United States. It is a parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi and transmitted by triatomine kissing bugs. Current disease burden estimates indicate Chagas disease affects 6.65 million people, including 353,000 patients with heart failure, resulting in 8,000 deaths annually. Further estimates indicate approximately 200,000 people could die from Chagas disease over the next five years. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 238,091 people living with Chagas disease in the U.S. due to autochthonous transmission (in Texas and elsewhere) and via immigration. Federal funding is essential to further the development of new interventions such as vaccines, drugs and diagnostics.

Beyond the lost science and scientific training, as the largest employer and leading economic driver in Houston, TMC and Houston are at risk of suffering major damage from the proposed NIH cuts. Overall, U.S. research investments have created millions of jobs and improved state economies. According to a Congressional Research Service report, scientists and engineers account for about 5 percent of the nation's workforce, but they help create jobs across the rest of the economy. Scientists' discoveries and products extend far beyond the research laboratory, affecting people across the business sector - from designers to builders to consumers.

When considering the 2018 budget, Congress must continue to uphold and protect its bipartisan support for investment in scientific research for the U.S. to maintain leadership in innovation. Other countries recognize the enormous value of R&D and the foundation it lays for enhancing 21st century economic growth and global competitiveness. The trend among global leaders is that investing in scientific research determines a nation's ability to grow its economy and help solve challenging global problems.

For generations, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have supported continued investment in research because they witnessed and celebrated the profound and positive impacts these investments have on health, economy and global leadership. Across every industry and sector, research investment provides clear opportunities for Americans and advances economic prosperity.

Bottazzi is the associate dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and professor in pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.
These days, many people are sick of politics. They think partisan posturing and political gridlock make it impossible to get anything done. But local and state leaders recently proved those naysayers wrong. Our elected officials showed the people of Houston, and indeed the nation, that they can - and will - come together when the future of our city is at stake.

Rising pension costs could all but bankrupt Houston. The $8.2 billion pension debt is four times more than the city's total general fund revenue - and last year, Houston closed its books with an operating deficit for the first time in history. The city's estimates indicated that in order to deliver on benefit promises, its pension contributions would total nearly 60 percent of payroll for the police department and close to a whopping 70 percent for the fire department. Facing the prospect of massive tax hikes, sweeping layoffs and deep benefit cuts, the need for reform took on a new sense of urgency.

The entire Houston community - including area business executives, labor leaders, finance experts, members of the Houston legislative delegation and city officials - knew there was no easy fix. They would need to work together to make extensive changes in order to solve the problem.

Mayor Sylvester Turner made pensions a top priority during his first year in office. From the outset, he engaged police officers, firefighters and municipal employees in efforts to develop a solution. To their great credit, members of the police and municipal employees pension plans acknowledged that the current systems are unsustainable. They agreed to significant benefit modifications that will reduce pension costs and help keep the systems from going broke.

The Turner administration announced in September that it had reached a deal. However, the mayor did not have the authority to implement it because Houston's pension systems, like those in other major cities across the state, are controlled by the Texas Legislature. The city needed to navigate legislative politics in order to make changes. As the session progressed, there were attempts to remove key elements of the plan and even to kill the effort outright. Negotiations among legislators - some of who know little to nothing about Houston's finances - ran down to the wire. Finally, just days before the end of the session, state leaders approved the deal.

Houston's pension solution is one of the most comprehensive reform packages that we have seen, and legislators should be commended for supporting the local effort. It incorporates key elements of responsible reform that will help to stabilize the pension systems and provide safeguards to keep the city from accruing debt in the future. The measure also includes a pathway to place new employees in a "cash balance" plan, which would be simpler and easier to manage. Yet for all of its attributes, Houston's package will only work if everyone sticks to it.

The city, for its part, must follow through on its promise to issue $1 billion in pension obligation bonds to shore up the police and municipal employees systems. If it fails to issue the promised bonds, then many of the benefit changes would likely be rescinded and the associated savings would be lost.

Both the city and state need to scrutinize the pension funds' investments. Members will be taking on more risk under the plan, and our public officials must ensure that the pension boards are making prudent decisions that protect workers and limit costly fees. Legislators, meanwhile, should take note of Houston's responsible approach to pension funding. Texas should implement the best aspects of the plan, including minimum funding requirements, statewide. In addition, legislators should give cities, such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth, the flexibility to negotiate changes to their pension systems and the ability to implement those changes locally.

Clearly, there is a lot more to do - but let's take a moment to acknowledge the significance of what local and state leaders have accomplished. Despite opposition from firefighters, city leaders and members of the police and municipal employee pension plans put the collective good before their own interests. They took on a contentious issue and did what their predecessors could not do. In an era of political polarization, they set aside their differences and figured out how to not only pay down the debt, but protect the city's financial future.

As an economist with a focus on retirement security, I've worked with numerous cities and states facing similar pension challenges. They all want to know: How do we get people to come together and address this? I now have a new answer to that question: Look at Houston.

McGee is vice president of results-driven government at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, chair of the State Pension Review Board and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
State Auditor Nicole Galloway issued a letter last week calling on the director of the Missouri Department of Revenue to take quick action and address taxpayers complaints.

Over the last six weeks, more than 1,000 Missourians have contacted my whistleblower hotline seeking information on the status of their tax refund, Galloway said. They report long wait times, disconnected calls, the inability to speak to a representative when seeking status information on their refunds, and receiving a refund after 45 days without receiving interest.

Missourians are becoming understandably frustrated by the delay and I urge the department of revenue to take all necessary steps to complete refund processing as quickly as possible.

Missouri law requires that any personal income tax refunds issued after 45 days past filing be paid to taxpayers with interest. Refunds were due on June 2 to all taxpayers who filed income tax returns by the April 18 deadline.

Galloway is auditing the Missouri Department of Revenue. It includes a review of the processes used to ensure refunds are paid timely and with all appropriate interest. The audit will review the departments compliance and timeliness over the past two years.

Updated information on the amount refunded by the state is available online at auditor.mo.gov/statedailyspending.

Citizens can request an update on the status of their refund by contacting the Missouri Department of Revenue directly at 573-751-3505.
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Women of the world! Scarlett Johansson wants you to let your freak flag fly high.

Gracing the cover of Cosmopolitan's July issue, the 32-year-old star got real about everything from her political views to sex. And to be totally honest, ScarJo isn't thrilled with the way women who talk about sex are stigmatized.

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"When women talk about enjoying sex, its almost forbidden," the actress, who is one of the highest paid women in Hollywood, said.

"Just having a healthy sexual attitude, you are labeled as loose, wild, a slut. You have no morals, and youre seen as some kind of sexual deviant or someone who cant be in a monogamous relationship."

The blond beauty is vocally pro-porn, having said in 2013 it can be "productive for both men and women."

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In Cosmo, she noted that "the minute you talk about enjoying yourself, being curious, that is still taboo."

A post shared by Frankie Boyd (@frankieboyd) on Mar 16, 2017 at 8:34am PDT

After splitting from her husband of two years, Romain Dauriac, in January, Johansson confessed that she is not sure monogamy is natural. In a interview with Playboy, she said the idea of marriage is "very romantic, very beautiful," but she doesn't think "its natural to be a monogamous person."

"I might be skewered for that, but I think its work," she said. "Its a lot of work. And the fact that it is such work for so many people  for everyone  the fact of that proves that it is not a natural thing. Its something I have a lot of respect for and have participated in, but I think it definitely goes against some instinct to look beyond."

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With the defunding of Planned Parenthood this past year, the "Rough Night" star is also using her celebrity status to publicize the cause, one that she says is close to her heart. During the Womens March in Washington D.C. in January, Johansson revealed she first used Planned Parenthood when she was 15.

"Have you been to the gynecologist yet?" Johansson said to the crowd of nearly 485,000. "That was the question my mom asked me at 15 when I informed her about a change I'd noticed in my body."

She thanked Planned Parenthood for providing her with a safe place where she could be treated with gentle guidance.

Of the experience, the mother of 3-year-old Rose, told Cosmo, "I hope it normalizes the conversation. Theres no reason we shouldnt be talking about our reproductive rights."

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"Theyre something we have to fight for and continue to protect. Theres nothing icky about talking about that stuff. Of course, its private and its your body, but we should take the stigma away."

Johansson notes that she grew up in an environment that encourage activism, so it's only right she uses her star power to stand up for women and women's rights.

Stay On Top Of The Trends Get the biggest lifestyle news sent to your inbox

"Whenever you speak publicly, its always a risk, right? Maybe youll lose some followers. But if you have something to say, it can be really impactful," she said. "I hope my daughter finds her voice and feels like she can engage anyone in any number of topics. I grew up in an environment that encouraged activism, so I never thought about the effect that it would have on my career at any stage. But I know its a luxury, and not everybody has that luxury."

Also on HuffPost

Scarlett Johansson 100 Sexiest Photos See Gallery
About 46 per cent of the work done in Canada is at risk of being taken by machines, according to a report that seeks to identify the industries and places across the country that are most vulnerable to automation.

The report from the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship doesnt argue that automation is a bad thing.

In the long run, technology has often helped to produce more jobs than it destroyed, researchers Creig Lamb and Matthew Lo wrote.

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But in the short run, automation can displace large numbers of employees whose skills have become redundant.

Current predictions suggest that these technologies are likely to disproportionately affect lower paying, lower skilled jobs, the report said.

Automation could replace the equivalent of 7.7 million jobs in Canada, the report estimates.

But that doesnt mean 7.7 million people will simply lose their jobs. Automation usually replaces only certain parts of a job  which still reduces the overall demand for people doing that job.

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Small regional economies specializing in manufacturing or mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction are most susceptible to automation, including Woodstock, Ont., Tillsonburg, Ont. and Quesnel, B.C., the researchers found.

In those places, about 50 per cent of all work is at risk.

Those areas most immune to automation are those that rely heavily on hospitals, post-secondary schools and government for employment.

Petawawa, Ont., comes out on top as the town with the least work at risk of automation, with 42.5 per cent of its jobs vulnerable. Thats followed by Ottawa-Gatineau and Fredericton, N.B.

Looking at jobs by industry, the differences are much more striking.

Accommodation and food service jobs have the highest risk of automation, the study found, followed by jobs in manufacturing and transportation and warehousing.

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About 62 per cent of work activities could be automated within these industries, the researchers wrote  somewhat concerning, given that these sectors are among the countrys largest employers.

At the other end of the spectrum, jobs in education have the lowest risk of automation. But that still means about 30 per cent of the work done in education could be automated.
Welcome to our housing newsletter. This week's newsletter is written by Ron Nurwisah, who appreciates the home cooking at the bank of Mom and Dad.

The CMHC released numbers this week showing that nearly one in five first-time homebuyers in Canada got money to help with their downpayments. It's a stat that's not that surprising. "The bank of Mom and Dad" is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in cities like Vancouver and Toronto, cities that have seen real estate prices balloon over the last few years.

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According to a RateHub survey published earlier this year, more than 40% of British Columbians buying a home said they got help from family. A BMO survey also found that almost half of young Canadians expect help from family or their parents when purchasing their first home.

It's not easy for millennials or their parents. There's the stigma of full-grown adults (often those with well-paying jobs) asking for help with a milestone purchase. The average middle class Baby Boomer was probably able to afford their first home comfortably in the 1960s and 1970s. That's not always the case, even for those younger Canadians with well-paying jobs (blame it on the avocado toast, or don't).

There are also larger issues. Not all young Canadians have access to families that can loan them thousands of dollars, locking many hard-working young Canadians out of the property market and leading to a greater stratification in this country's largest cities. Journalist Leah McLaren, in a 2014 feature, also argues that this transfer of wealth from Baby Boomers to the younger generation is helping prop up the market. It also has the potential to add more debt on the shoulders of soon-to-retire boomers and already debt-ladened millennials should the market crash. Nobody wins in that scenario.

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On HuffPost Canada

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With Torontos housing market showing signs of cooling, and Vancouvers days of heady price increases now well behind it, a new top dog is emerging in Canadas real estate market: Montreal. Read the story.

Nearly one in five first-time homebuyers received help with a down payment from a family member, according to a survey conducted by the federal housing agency released Tuesday. Read the story.

Neighbouring Reads

StatsCan gets Vancouver home prices very wrong (Better Dwelling)

Meet America's first urbanist (Citylab)

Why Torontos foreign buyers tax might have a bigger impact (Buzz Buzz Home)

Are investors fleeing Canada? (Bloomberg)

What to do about Torontos falling prices (Globe and Mail)

Cooling Toronto market just a return to normal, realtors say (Toronto Star)

Watch: An homage to IKEAs blue bag (Dezeen)

Quoted

"The thing about the bank of Mom and Dad is that once youve made one withdrawal, youll likely return for another."  Leah McLaren on the bank of Mom and Dad
Bad Girl RiRi is on a mission.

Rihanna visited Malawi earlier this year as part of her philanthropic work for her Clara Lionel Foundation, in collaboration with Global Citizen and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), for which she is an ambassador.

The pop superstar said she wanted to come see what education was like in the country.

I'm really here to see it, she said. Its one thing to read statistics, but I want to see it firsthand and find out all that can be done and where to start first.

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My time in Malawi was so inspiring! Working with my @ClaraLionelFdn to improve the lives of students globally, alongside @GPforEducation watch the clip on my YouTube ---> link in bio. A post shared by badgalriri (@badgalriri) on Jun 7, 2017 at 9:02am PDT

She was accompanied by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, a board chair for the GPE, and Hugh Evans, Global Citizens CEO.

GPE just released this powerful short documentary about their time in the southeastern African nation, which includes sweet scenes of the pop star teaching some students at Muzu primary school math.

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Of course, not even teachers are immune to mistakes. At one point, the board states that 3-0=0. Whoops!

Nevertheless, Rihannas efforts certainly arent going to waste. As the poignant video points out, education in Malawi faces several challenges.

Class sizes are huge, with one solitary teacher often being responsible for around 100 students in a cramped classroom that lacks chalk and books, and of the 70 to 75 per cent of children who attend primary school, only eight per cent make it to secondary education.

Children often have to travel long distances, which also puts them at risk. Girls especially suffer from the dangerous trek to school, and can often be married at young ages, making them unable to complete their education. Half the countrys population lives below the poverty line, and the average income is 90 cents a day.

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"It's such a pity that they have to drop out, because they are so smart," Rihanna comments in the clip. "Everybody's learning together and learning at the same pace, it seems. It's sad that has to end for some of them because they could probably do so much if they had the resources to continue and complete."

But more than anything, the video shines with positivity. One student, 14-year-old Wongani Nyirenda, shares that while he and his classmates often dont have enough food to eat right now, he doesnt mind because he knows one day they will.

I believe in the future when I will be a businessman I will have more food, he says confidently.

The video also shows Rihanna singing with the students in class as they learn.

Thats like my favourite thing because kids, they adopt melody really, really quickly. And so if you can use that as a learning tool, I think thats the most brilliant, brilliant thing," the 29-year-old says.

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She also leads some girls into an enthusiastic chant of Girls! Girls! Girls!

Her trip to Malawi was far from Rihannas first venture into the philanthropic realm. Earlier this year, she was honoured as Harvards Humanitarian of the Year. With her Clara Lionel Foundation, which she created in 2012, she has worked on education programs, as well as built a cancer treatment centre in her native home Barbados.

The trip was part of GPEs current goal to persuade global leaders to raise $3.1 billion by 2020 to help bring quality education to kids around the world, according to Cosmopolitan.

As part of this mission, earlier this year she encouraged her followers to contact Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and push him towards investing in the Education Cannot Wait Fund. The government eventually agreed to invest $20 million into the fund.

According to Billboard, the video will be shown at the Global Citizen Unplugged event tonight in Ottawa, to call on Canada to further support education.

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Sadly, Rihanna wont be there. Shes probably out there still being a real superhero.

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Once a dad, always a dad  that's exactly what Kids Cancer Care is reminding us this Father's Day.

For children who have lost their dad, Father's Day can be particularly tough. But for fathers who have lost a child, the day can be downright devastating.

The Alberta-based non-profit just released a touching video in which fathers who lost a child to cancer talk about what Father's Day means to them.

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Simply titled "Father's Day," the short ad filmed by Calgary-based production company Five Foot Five Video & Creative shows six fathers sharing how they envision their Father's Day celebrations before revealing when their child passed away.

"Father's Day should just be a day where dads spend with their kids," says Paul Carrington, whose 23-month-old son Ryan died on January 24, 2012.

Ryan endured weekly chemotherapy, daily radiation treatments and consulted with over seventeen different clinics at a childrens hospital over the course of 18 months.

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After Ryan's death, Carrington, his wife Amanda and other son Matthew joined Kids Cancer Care's bereavement camp. "We meet other parents and it's just relaxed and we can talk," Amanda said in a 2016 campaign for Kids Cancer Care.

"Being pampered by your children," says Kevin Heaton with a laugh. "They should look after you all day!"

When Heaton's daughter Jessica was just two days old, an MRI confirmed a mass in one of the ventricles in her brain was a tumour.

At seven weeks and two days, Jessica underwent brain surgery and the tumour was successfully fully removed. Then at three months old, Jessica underwent a second surgery to have a line inserted into her chest. The following day, she started her first round of chemotherapy. Though her treatments were successful, she relapsed and passed away when she was just over a year old.

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Kids Cancer Care offers support and educational programs not just for kids battling cancer, but for their entire family.The programs help guide families through every step of the process, from diagnosis through treatment and beyond.

Ed Zukowski's family had a close relationship with Kids Cancer Care. His son, Joel, 16, was a Kids Cancer Care spokeskid and spoke at many Kids Cancer Care events about childhood cancer.

Joel was diagnosed with medulloblastoma at age 10. He underwent several stem cell transplants and went on to enjoy five cancer-free years, but the disease returned and ultimately took his life in October of 2015.

For Ed, Father's Day will forever be cherished as a day dedicated to spending together as a family.

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PeopleImages via Getty Images Cropped shot of a person holding an elderly womanas hands

People who support and care for loved ones with dementia experience many ups and downs throughout their caregiving journey. It can be heartbreaking to watch someone they love decline and become someone that they no longer understand or recognize. While some become easier to be with, others may become increasingly difficult, and of course there is everything in between. There can definitely be the best of times -- and the worst of times.

Either way, the demands on the caregiver can become overwhelming and lead to the ultimate decision to put the person with dementia on a waiting list for a nursing home. While that initial decision to place someone in a nursing home is, for many, nothing less than devastating, the decision may be rationalized as being somewhat like a safety net: the name is on the list should we ever need it. Central to this discussion is the fact that caregivers must be reminded to look after their own needs -- not just the needs of the person in their care.

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For some, there may be great comfort knowing that this decision has been made, but there is also comfort knowing that the nursing home placement is not yet real. Guilt prevails for those who promised to never put their loved ones in a home.

However, the reality of the situation takes hold, and loved ones often come to terms with the fact that nursing home placement is (or may be) the best decision for all involved.

Now they wait, often feeling quite conflicted -- or quite satisfied -- that their loved one is "on the list." However, they may not be expecting the amalgam of feelings they encounter the day the call arrives.

Perhaps one of the most difficult days in the dementia caregiving journey is the day that one receives that long anticipated call:

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"We have a bed available for _____. You will have to make a commitment to the bed within the next 24 hours. Do you have any questions?"

This is good... right?

The first question that may come to mind is, "Are you kidding?" While some caregivers are ready to do a happy dance, others may feel blind-sided, and some will encounter a mix of both of these reactions. The reality of the situation, for many, may make their hearts sink.

This is good... right?

Well, maybe.

Where are the supports for loved ones at that dreaded moment that the call arrives? Quite frankly, most people say that no one truly understands that moment unless they have lived it.

If you are in the situation of caring for a loved one and have made a commitment to placing a loved one on a nursing home placement list, be prepared for the vast array of mixed emotions that might arise when you get that much awaited (or dreaded) call. While you may look forward to lightening the burden that has accompanied your caregiving commitments, you may also feel a deep loss, much like grief.

You may also feel guilty, because you feel you should be doing more, or you should never have agreed to the placement in the first place. Go easy on yourself. Caregiving statistics clearly show that the physical and mental health of caregivers can decline while caring for those living with dementia.

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Balance is key. Once your loved one is placed in a nursing home, you can begin to take comfort in knowing that someone else will take over the many tasks that you have been looking after each day (ranging from dispensing medications to assisting with tasks such as bathing and toileting). You can now turn the focus to leisure interactions -- not just the tasks.

Your job has not come to an end. It will just be different.

Sharing the news can also be difficult. Very few will say, "Wow, this must be hard on you." Rather, you will hear, "Oh! Isn't that great! You will have so much freedom now!" What many don't realize is that you may be devastated, as this is a final stage, a prolonged goodbye.

You may also fear the unknown. Will this facility be willing to provide the care you have provided? Will your loved one be unhappy, or even angry? Loved ones who embrace the news with joy are to be commended. It is important to let go and realize that others will take over the tasks that you so lovingly have undertaken. Your job has not come to an end. It will just be different. If you are grief-stricken, find people to talk to that will validate how difficult this is.

Some of the comments I have had from people who placed loved ones in long-term care follow.

"That was the most difficult day of my life. It was even harder than losing my father." "My grandmother lived with us before she moved into a nursing home. When we got the call my mom and I cried for days. We did all we could to support her but after years of putting out fires (literally), protecting her from many dangers - we had no other choice. We made her first days the best days possible. She was happy when we left her, but we cried. Now, months later, we are happy to know she is safe and happy, and that is all that really matters."

In closing, I want to say that although the move to a nursing home may be difficult, most people do settle in and caregivers eventually adjust to this new, and difficult, change in status. If you need support, reach out to your community to learn more about support groups (such as the Alzheimer's Society).

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At a recent meeting of the Sexual Health Network of Ontario, health care providers came together to examine and extol the virtues of the Intra Uterine Device (IUD). The IUD is a plastic device wrapped with copper that is inserted into the uterus. I have always been a proponent of this method of birth control, especially for women looking for an alternative to hormonal methods.

The IUD had to overcome a terrible reputation from the bad old days of the Dalkon Shield.

I remember the Shield well. I was a very young married woman when I had one inserted. I complained to my gynecologist that I had ongoing pain on one side which lasted several days a month. It felt like there was a plumb line attached to my ovary. It wasn't until returning from overseas that I had it taken out -- or rather dug out -- because that's what it felt like. The little claws were embedded in my uterus.

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It was a deadly device. The Dalkon Shield's strings acted like a wick, drawing bacteria into the uterus, causing infections -- and in nearly two dozen cases in the U.S. -- death. The deaths in developing countries continued as "developed" countries offloaded their products abroad.

However, in the early 1980s, long after the discredited Shield had tarnished the reputation of all IUDs, new research indicated that the newer copper IUDs were both safe and effective and, in particular, did not cause ectopic pregnancies. It also became clear that they functioned as a true contraceptive by creating an unfriendly environment in the uterus which repelled sperm. This opened the door to women who had worried it was an abortifacient.

Copper IUDs

Copper IUDs are 99 to 99.8 per cent effective. In those rare cases where pregnancy occurs with an IUD in place, the pregnancy can continue as long as it is not ectopic. Statistically, pregnancy outside the uterus is more likely with an IUD; but given its high effectiveness rate, the risk is very low. A copper IUD can usually be removed if there is a pregnancy; but that would increase the risk of miscarriage.

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A woman with average or no cramps and average bleeding is a good candidate. She can expect a 10 to 20 per cent increase in cramping and bleeding with a copper IUD. Counselling has changed over the years with regard to multiple partners. Health care providers were concerned about untreated Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) causing Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) with an IUD in place. However, now STIs can be treated without removing the IUD; although, clearly, a woman with more than one partner is encouraged to use condoms.

Adolescents and women who have not been pregnant can also use the IUD.

Copper IUDs can also be used as emergency contraception up to seven days after unprotected intercourse.

There were a number of questions asked during the presentation; for example, the reason why some IUDs can stay inside the uterus longer than others. Copper IUDs vary in the number of years they can stay in place: three, five or 10 years. The main difference between one copper IUD and another is the quantity of copper used. Although Nova-T is a five year IUD, one practitioner said that they do not use it beyond 30 months because, after that point, they have found an increased risk of pregnancy. Ten year IUDs are larger and more difficult to insert and may cause more cramping on insertion.

The only contraindications to the use of a copper IUD include allergy to copper or other components of the IUD, pregnancy, endometriosis, an abnormally shaped uterus, very heavy bleeding or cramping; or active Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. There are a few risk factors, like perforation of the uterus with insertion, but perforation is rare and the uterus often repairs itself.

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Intra Uterine System (IUS)

This progestin-releasing device can assist women with severely heavy bleeding as well as women with endometriosis. By three to six months, most women who use Mirena (the first IUS on the market) experience dramatically reduced bleeding. About one third of women will stop having periods after 12 months.

Because it uses the synthetic progestin levonorgestrel, it causes similar effects to Depo Provera which also uses a synthetic progestin; i.e., changes in the cervical mucus and uterine lining, making it harder for sperm to reach the uterus. And similar to Depo Provera, there may be side effects, including:

bleeding and spotting between periods

heavier bleeding during the first few weeks after device insertion

headache/migraine

nausea

bloating

breast tenderness or pain

weight gain

changes in hair growth

acne

depression

changes in mood

As always, it is important that health care providers explain fully what a woman may expect.

I learned about some newer IUS devices aside from the more commonly known Mirena: Jaydess, a smaller, low-dose version, good for three years; and Kyleena, which releases the lowest dose of hormones for the longest amount of time. Mirena has the highest dose of progestin of the three and is approved for five years, although data indicate it is effective up to seven.

The IUS can cause spotting for two to six months. During the presentation, I had noticed two Orthodox Jewish women and a Muslim woman in attendance. I made a comment about my birth control counselling at clinic regarding spotting. Because there may be religious strictures about having intercourse in the presence of blood, I always made sure that women for whom this was an issue were well informed.

Speaking of blood, there was an interesting discussion around using a menstrual cup with the IUD. Because of the suction on the vaginal walls with a cup, to avoid expulsion it is best to gently break the suction before removing the cup. Another precaution would be not to use a menstrual cup for two months after an IUD insertion because the risk of expulsion is highest in those first two months.

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The copper IUD is an excellent choice for women who want long-term, safe and effective contraception, but prefer not to use hormones. Make sure that your health care provider has plenty of experience with insertion.

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We shield our children and young teenagers (16 and under) from many things: overt portrayals of sex and violence on TV and in movies, drinking alcohol, smoking, owning guns and signing contracts, to name a few.

The reasons we do this are sound. We hope to keep our youth from physical and psychological harm, prevent them from falling into bad habits or taking actions with long-term consequences they may not fully understand.

We protect them so they can have the best possible future.

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Yet we let them down in one vital area: a healthy relationship with food. In this we leave our youth alone and exposed to find their own way in a brutal marketplace.

Failing to set our youth on a path to a healthy relationship with food is leading to significant health problems now -- and promising shorter and sicker lives in the future.

Since 1979, the number of Canadian children with obesity has tripled, with almost one in three children now having excess weight. Increases have been highest among youth aged 12 to 17.

Evidence shows that obesity rates are influenced by the amount of marketing kids are exposed to, and it puts them at risk for many health problems, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

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Marketing is big business and it is sophisticated. Millions of dollars are spent targeting children and youth through multiple channels, including via TV and social media. New Canadian research reveals that over 90 per cent of food and beverage product ads viewed by kids and teens online are for unhealthy products. The most frequently advertised products on sites frequented by teens include cakes, cookies and ice cream, cereal, restaurants and sugary drinks.

We need to give healthy eating habits a fighting chance.

Against this backdrop of pervasive marketing is the fact that less than half of Canadian youth ages 12 to 19 eat the recommended minimum of five servings of fruit and vegetables daily.

It has been found that children who view fast-food television ads are approximately 50 per cent more likely to eat fast food. Regular consumption of fast food is associated with ingesting an extra 800 calories a week for boys and 660 calories for girls, translating into a possible weight gain of 10 pounds or more per year.

Quebec saw the light many years ago. Since 1980, Quebec has banned all commercial advertising directed at children under age 13.

Current legislation before the Senate of Canada similarly proposes a ban on the advertising of food and beverages to Canadian children age 13 and under. The proposed legislation is an excellent first step. But crucially, the legislation needs to go further and be amended to protect children up to age 16. We need to give healthy eating habits a fighting chance.

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We would not be alone. Other countries, like the United Kingdom, have followed the evidence and have similar restrictions on food and beverage advertising to children up to age 16.

There is increasing evidence that teens are particularly vulnerable to food and beverage marketing and consume more of it than children. The actions and reactions of teenagers are often guided by the parts of the brain connected to emotion and reward/gratification; this makes teenagers very susceptible to unhealthy impulses -- a fact that will surprise no parent. Research also shows teens can critique advertisements when prompted to do so, but on their own, are likely to believe advertising and accept misleading claims.

There is no longer any doubt that exposing teens to unhealthy food and beverage marketing puts them at risk.

In a survey of 128 international experts on food, nutrition and obesity, most respondents recommend restrictions on food and beverage advertising until at least until age 16, and more than half recommended an age 18 restriction.

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When we want a young person to grow up with certain values and behaviours, we ensure that is what they are taught, see consistently from role models and experience themselves. It is called good parenting and good education.

So why do we allow our young people to be continuously bombarded with the opposite of good eating messages and then expect them to grow up with healthy eating habits?

It's time we added food and beverage advertising to the list of protections we afford our children and teenagers.

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Let's face it -- each of us brings our personal life to work to some extent. While most of the time this doesn't impact our work, family stress and events such as separation and divorce can have significantly negative consequences on productivity. And with stress-induced conditions being an important cause of long-term disability claims, it's important that organizations provide tools to empower their employees to deal effectively with these issues.

When a family is unraveling, couples are overcome with strong emotions that threaten their sense of security. Parents will often fear damaged relationships with their children, through lost time or connection. They have anxiety around their financial obligations and whether they can maintain their lifestyle once their assets and income are divided. They are confronted by how to cope with increased child-care responsibilities when parenting independently, as well as how to survive the parenting and financial disagreements that almost always come with a divorce. Friendships, too, may be impacted.

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Add to this burden the numerous hours needed to meet with lawyers and other professionals, prepare documents and attend court or negotiation meetings during the legal process which, on average, typically lasts one to three years -- if things go well.

The process can take far longer if a separation becomes acrimonious, which only increases the severity of the emotional and physical impact for both partners. Not surprisingly, employees who are suffering emotionally -- and even physically -- find it hard to keep up their productivity at work, and their stress and anger may be unconsciously projected towards coworkers and customers.

So what can organizations do to support their employees during this challenging time to promote well-being, while minimizing the impact on workplace productivity?

A separation or divorce can consume one's life for several years.

Understand the process

Many employees have access to legal services through their Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). The type of lawyer they choose at the outset will likely shape how the divorce will go. Many lawyers on EAP rosters are not trained in collaborative law, but rather focus on traditional negotiation that often ends up in court. Even the option of mediation, a well-known separation process, may not be presented to employees if the lawyers on the EAP roster do not support this process.

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By encouraging their EAP providers to offer collaborative lawyers and to promote mediation, employers can help guide employees to the most efficient and respectful processes for separation and divorce. It's a good idea for HR personnel, and managers who may be in a position to provide guidance to employees, to be knowledgeable about the different legal processes so that employees are aware of their choices. There are five legal processes available to separating families: collaborative law, mediation, traditional negotiation, arbitration and court.

Collaborative law and mediation are well suited for resolving marital disputes. In these private out-of-court systems, separating spouses constructively address their personal, business and financial affairs and, by working together, craft solutions that reflect their personal wants and needs. By contrast, in traditional lawyer negotiation, the lawyers are not trained in collaborative law so "negotiations" often involve threatening and aggressive tactics, which quickly renders the separation process adversarial and more costly.

Arbitration and court are a last resort for spouses who cannot reach an agreement. These systems are extremely stressful, expensive and adversarial, serving only to prolong the conflict while increasing financial strain.

Promote flexibility

Employees are often reluctant to tell their employer that they are in difficulty. Openly promoting flexibility through modified work schedules, sick leave and telecommuting can reduce the stress for the employee while the work still gets done and the team remains productive and engaged.

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Privacy best practices

Many people facing a marital breakdown can feel a sense of shame and they may hide the separation from their employer for fear of being demoted or disciplined if their work performance is impacted. Or they may be embarrassed if the employer is required to garnish necessary child and spousal support from the employee's wages. On the other hand, some people need validation and support from co-workers and do not miss an opportunity to share their private life with them.

The employee has a right to privacy and should be able to restrict who can know about their circumstances, whether only human resources, their manager or other co-workers. Best practice for employers is to promote a culture that is respectful of, and ensures a right to privacy and discretion, for employees who divulge their personal circumstances.

If there is a history of violence in the family, statistics show that there is a heightened risk of domestic violence around the time of a separation. It may be necessary to work with the separating employee to ensure their safety at the work place. For example, the employer can ask for the employee's permission to make co-workers and reception aware of the situation and provide a picture of the estranged spouse in case they show up at the office.

Culture matters

A separation or divorce can consume one's life for several years. With separation and divorce rates that range from 40 to 60 per cent, employers and employees who work together to create a culture that constructively embraces the inevitable challenges can only stand to benefit in the short and long term.

Nathalie Boutet is an experienced family law lawyer, mediator and certified Family Enterprise Advisor skilled at providing unique strategies and out-of-court results to the complex human, legal and financial matters related to separation or divorce within businesses and family enterprises. She can be reached at nboutet@boutetfamilylaw.com

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In contrast to the United States' regressive moves on climate change, British Columbia appears ready to embrace the clean economy after a roller-coaster provincial election in May. Days before U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S.'s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, opposition party leaders in B.C. inked an accord that has the potential to, among other things, jumpstart clean growth and green jobs in Canada's westernmost province.

On May 30, New Democratic Party leader John Horgan and Green Party leader Andrew Weaver signed a four-year confidence and supply agreement, setting the stage for an NDP minority government supported by the three-member Green caucus. The NDP-Green alliance will meet its first test when Premier Christy Clark of the B.C. Liberal Party (one seat short of a majority) recalls the legislative assembly on June 22.

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For all of us who want to build a strong, future-proof and inclusive B.C., the NDP-Green agreement is a promising start. Here are nine policy initiatives linked to clean growth that the NDP-Green alliance has committed to pursue.

1. Put forth a climate action strategy to meet B.C.'s targets for reducing carbon pollution.

2. Strengthen the B.C. carbon tax by $5 per tonne per year, starting April 1, 2018.

Close the loophole for fugitive emissions (such as in the oil and gas sector) and slash-pile burning.

3. Create a new annual climate action rebate cheque for low- and middle-income households.

4. Improve transit and transportation infrastructure, in partnership with the Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation and the federal government, to reduce carbon pollution and create jobs.

Work with Metro Vancouver's mayors to find a long-term funding solution.

5. Strike an Emerging Economy Task Force to address the changing business context over the next 10 to 25 years.

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6. Create an Innovation Commission to support the technology sector.

Appoint an innovation commissioner to advocate for the B.C. tech sector in Ottawa and internationally.

7. Improve environmental standards in the forest sector and create local jobs.

8. Fix the environmental assessment process for resource development in B.C.

9. Build infrastructure that reduces carbon pollution and increases energy efficiency.

We need more details in order to assess the potential impact of these nine shared policy initiatives. However, it's a positive sign that these commitments reflect some of the recommendations made in the Pembina Institute's Vision for Clean Growth in B.C.

Our recently released action plan puts forward five priorities for the next B.C. government. These key priorities are: (1) Build a strong clean tech sector, (2) Position B.C. to be competitive in the changing global economy, (3) Make clean choices more affordable, (4) Stand up for healthy and safe communities, and (5) Grow sustainable resource jobs.

As the Greens' Weaver stated in response to Trump's Paris Agreement announcement, "climate action is an economic opportunity." Taking action on these clean growth priorities will ensure tomorrow's B.C. has a prosperous economy, thriving communities and healthy families. So let's get to work.

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Stephen Hui is the B.C. communications lead at the Pembina Institute, Canada's leading clean energy think-tank.

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The UK seems set to enter a period of minority government with Theresa May remaining in office, supported by some form of cooperation arrangement with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Akash Paun looks at 'confidence and supply' agreements

What is a pure minority government?

Governments without a parliamentary majority can sustain themselves in different ways. In a pure or unsupported minority government, where the Government has no formal relationship with any other party, the ruling party must build a majority on an issue-by-issue basis.

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Despite the apparent fragility of this position, it can work. The SNP's former party leader, Alex Salmond, governed in this way for four years in Scotland. The Conservative Stephen Harper did likewise in Canada (both later won an outright majority).

Successful minority government is based on a combination of approaches, including:

expectation management - recognising and even making a virtue of the fact that government legislation would be amended or even defeated

- recognising and even making a virtue of the fact that government legislation would be amended or even defeated strategic focus - notably true for the SNP, which reorganised government around a set of strategic outcomes instead of concentrating on legislation

- notably true for the SNP, which reorganised government around a set of strategic outcomes instead of concentrating on legislation building relationships and channels of communication with opposition parties and backbenchers, raising the importance of effective parliamentary whips

with opposition parties and backbenchers, raising the importance of effective parliamentary whips divide and rule - conceding small but symbolically important things to other parties to keep enough of parliament on-side while advancing your core agenda

- conceding small but symbolically important things to other parties to keep enough of parliament on-side while advancing your core agenda brinkmanship - when necessary, both Harper and Salmond raised the spectre of resignation and/or an unpopular early election if their plans were blocked

The other option for the biggest party is to negotiate a 'confidence and supply' agreement - which the Conservatives may seek to do now with the DUP.

What is a 'confidence and supply' agreement?

A 'confidence and supply agreement' is a formalised cooperation arrangement guaranteeing support for a minority government on parliamentary votes critical to its survival, whether for a full parliamentary term or a defined period. Confidence and supply agreements are a middle ground between coalition and pure minority government with a distinct set of advantages and challenges.

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Such agreements have grown more common internationally. They have been used to sustain minority governments in New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands and elsewhere. At Westminster, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats each drafted confidence and supply agreements in 2010 as fall-back options if their coalition deal had fallen apart. The Lib-Lab Pact of 1977-78 was an earlier, more limited version of such a deal.

Confidence deals typically make clear that the support party or parties must back the Government on explicit confidence votes, and votes on budgets and supply (government spending). In return, the support parties are given government support for specific policy priorities.

In New Zealand, for instance, the National Government has a confidence deal with the Maori Party, which includes a commitment to investment in a major indigenous community health initiative. In Australia, an agreement between Julia Gillard's minority government and an independent MP included a commitment to fund hospital redevelopment in the MP's constituency.

Smaller parties may negotiate other kinds of concessions too. A 2007 deal in Scotland granted the Scottish Green Party the chair of a committee in the Scottish Parliament in exchange for supporting the election of Alex Salmond as First Minister. In Australia, the Labor agreement with the Green Party committed to a range of procedural reforms such as additional time for private member's legislation and the creation of a new Parliamentary Budget Office to enable smaller parties to access an independent policy costing facility.

Do 'confidence and supply' deals work?

'Confidence and supply' agreements can provide for effective government that offers advantages to both governing and support parties. For the Government, they provide the security of knowing they are not in danger of defeat at every key vote, and without having to give up ministerial posts or negotiate the entire policy programme with another party.

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The downside is that in areas not covered by the agreement, the Government still needs to build an issue-by-issue coalition to get business through Parliament. If core elements of the deal need to be renegotiated later on, this can cause problems. In the Netherlands in 2012, the minority government needed to impose additional budget cuts but failed to reach agreement with its support party, triggering government collapse and an early election.

For smaller parties, 'confidence and supply' deals allow them to achieve specific policy objectives without having to support the entire government programme, and thereby lose their independent voice in Parliament and wider public debate. But they do have to back the Government on often politically difficult budget plans and have less ability to influence policy than if they enter government as junior coalition partners.

How minority government and any new 'confidence and supply' arrangement works will be up to the politicians in Westminster, who have to weigh up these trade-offs. But the parties choose to organise their relationship. International experience can provide useful guidance about the challenges ahead.
200 organisations have come together this week to highlight National Infant Mental Health Week which focuses on raising awareness of the importance of giving every child the best possible start in life, beginning from conception.

Begin before birth is the theme of the week to particularly highlight the importance of supporting a healthy pregnancy experience for expectant parents and strengthening the opportunity for the next generation to have a best start in life.

Around 2.4 million babies will be born in the UK before 2020. This also represents our future workforce - the next generation to have their potential nurtured through family and community life - to become the next generation of leaders, thinkers and innovators.

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Early childhood development matters. By the time these babies turn three, the foundations for all learning and relationships have been formed. Their brain development in this time is critical to later success in life and school with around 100 billion neural connections being formed.

The quality of everyday physical and emotional experiences they have with parents, families, caregivers and communities all determine the strength of the foundation. The strength of the foundation we give babies now will help determine the strength of our nation's potential in the future. All of this begins in pregnancy.

Key areas of pregnancy that continue to require further support are:

Supporting couple relationships - Supporting the relationship between parents contributes to their impact on their child during pregnancy and potential after birth and throughout childhood. Access to relationship support pre-and post-birth is critical to a child's life opportunities, as this is where the highest proportion of relationship breakdown occurs.

Improved antenatal assessment and classes - Ante-natal assessment should be more holistic and focus on the expectant parents physical and mental health as well as equipping parents with tips on how to build a positive bond with their baby.

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Improved workplace culture -Pregnancy discrimination in the workplace is at record levels, fathers-to-be have less opportunities to attend antenatal classes and there is a greater commitment required to ensure flexible working and support is offered to families with young children to ensure the health and wellbeing of the family.

Andy Cook, Chief Executive for the Centre for Social Justice says "Social justice begins before birth to give every child the best start in life. Science shows that right from the beginning a healthy pregnancy provides the opportunity to significantly tackle poverty, disadvantage and social inequalities"

Professor Vivette Glover from Imperial College London says "We now know that the environment of the womb and during the first two years of life can alter the development of the brain. Infant mental health can set the trajectory for the rest of life. Although it is never too late to help, it is best to get things right from the beginning"

Researchers at King's College London led by Professor Carmine Pariante have shown that depression in pregnancy increases the risk of the offspring being more sensitive to stress, more likely to experience stressful life events in childhood, and more prone to depression in adolescence and early adulthood.

Alain Gregoire, Chair of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance said: "The Maternal Mental Health Alliance welcomes the focus on pregnancy for this year's Infant Mental Health Awareness Week. It is so important for us all to understand the sensitivity of the baby, both during pregnancy and after, to relationships in the family and to the mother's mental wellbeing."

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Barnardo's Chief Executive, Javed Khan, said: "Working with babies and their parents across our services, Barnardo's knows the importance of giving children a healthy start in life to put them on the best path to a positive future.

"We welcome the focus on pregnancy for this year's Infant Mental Health Awareness Week because bonding can start even while the baby is still in the womb.

"Barnardo's stresses to all the mums and dads who we work with that parenthood begins before birth because many don't realise they can start making a difference even before their child is born."

Dr Cheryll Adams from the Institute of Health Visiting says that the link between emotional wellbeing in the very first years of life and later physical, mental and social health outcomes is now well evidenced. As a nation we should not hesitate in realigning investment and attention onto early childhood when it can make the greatest difference to future health, social care and fiscal spending and ensure that every child meets their potential.

Dawn Cannon of AIMH (UK) says the relationship between parents and their child begins in the ante natal period. The unborn baby being held in the mind of the mother and the father.

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The causes that led to yesterday's election and today's hung Parliament, are numerous and complex. As the votes finish being counted, it seems that the UK has returned to a two-party system, with both Labour and the Tories receiving around 13million votes. Let's draw five more lessons from a night of tension:

1. Scottish Independence is dead in the water

The Scottish National Party has had a bad night. By 2:00am Angus Robertson, leader of the SNP in Westminster, had lost his seat. Across the board, sustained success by Labour and the Tories has crushed their huge success of 56 seats. This culminated in the loss of Alex Salmon's seat by the time the sun rose on a blue Scotland. It is true that they remain the largest Scottish party. But is seriously doubtful to suggest that they have a clear mandate given that all the Unionist parties did well across Scotland.

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That said, the SNP has a clear line. First, they point to the fact that they have more votes than the Unionist parties put together. Secondly, they have isolated themselves from the "tsunami" of 2015. By arguing that 2015 was a once in a lifetime result they're trying to suggest that they're still in a position of strength. Certainly, coupled with Labour, they do have muscles in Westminster. But they're highwater mark is behind them. What can they achieve next?

2. Focusing on Brexit was a mistake

Ignore the collapse of UKIP. Nigel Farage, MEP, was spot on when he pointed to the lack of time that the party has had to recreate its image. Despite Paul Nuttall's insistence that the party offers a full suite of policies, for voters who viewed the party as singularly focused on Brexit, this was not convincing.

Look instead to the fact that, in many seats, the UKIP vote was split equally between Labour and Tories. The two are distinct. But they are not polar opposites because the Labour Brexit policy is not as clear as the iron pledge of hard Brexit from the Tories. Sure in some areas the Remain vote was fundamental. In Bath, a 9.8% swing allowed the Liberal Democrats to win the seat. This was an area with over 60% pro-Remain vote. There are two possible conclusions.

Firstly, people who were united in Brexit are now divided over how to balance access to the single market with the economic risk that would come back from leaving. Some are happy to take the potential hit (and went Conservative) whilst others want more flexibility (and went Labour). Alternatively this general election could underline the fact that the British people want to hear things about other than Europe - and the politician most able to do this was Corbyn. He reaps the rewards.

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3. Corbyn triumphant

Watching the results of an election makes the very best television. Tonight, the icing on the cake was watching various Labour politicians being asked whether they regretted criticising Corbyn. Squirming, shying, and silence were the overwhelming responses. So let's take a moment to make sure that we're clear: Labour did as well as they did tonight because of Jeremy Corbyn's actions.

Dame Margaret Beckett, on being interviewed, stated that Labour's night was "infinitely better than anyone expected". She added, that Corbyn himself probably wasn't expecting such a good night. But she is wrong. Corbyn must have expected this because, unlike what his critics raved, he isn't an idealist but a populist. Populism can have negative connotations. But the key meaning here is an understanding of the concerns of ordinary people. Corbyn had his fingers on the pulse of public feeling.

4. Tactical voting

The term "shy remainer" was thrown around, at around 6:00am by the BBC's election centre to explain some of the results. But this doesn't hit the mark. Remainers have been loud and proud with regard to their disillusionment. And they've been organised. This election must surely have been effect by the numerous tactical voting efforts that have flooded the social media sphere.

In Norfolk North, the Greens did not field a candidate in order to support the Liberal Democrat attack on the seat. It paid off, with a gain of nearly 6,000 votes. Another example is Oxford West where the electorate were exhorted to vote Lib Dem. Once again, no Green candidate stood.

There have been some suggestions that tactical voting doesn't work. But this assertion shouldn't be made too confidently. Estimates put Lib Dem at -0.8% in terms of the popular vote (when compared to 2015) but have gained four seats. Some will view the half a million votes for the Green returning only one Member of Parliament as failure. This is unfair because they were the first to be willing to sacrifice themselves in order to defeat the Tories. As society, and the issues facing society evolves, so too will democracy.

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5. Youth vote

The voter turnout was around 66%. A solid showing in the post 1997-landscape (between 1997 and 2001 the turnout collapsed by 10%). If turnout increases amongst the lowest age bracket then they will begin to claw back some political influence. And if it increases it suggests that the young do care. When faced with a threat to their opportunities (Brexit) the world they inherit (green policies) and cuts to services (with austerity) they turn out to vote. In this sense, the snap election following quickly on the heels of the EU referendum provided a way to keep individuals engaged in the political process. Long may this continue.
The title picture of this weblog shows the watch floor of the NSA's National Security Operations Center (NSOC) in 2006

. The URL of this weblog recalls Electrospace Systems Inc., the company which made most of the top level communications equipment for the US Government. All information on this weblog is obtained from unclassified or publicly available sources.



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Normal levels of British public disinterest in Northern Irish politics is well shown by the crashing of the Democratic Unionist Party's website today as people in England, Scotland and Wales woke up to the news they are likely to be governed by a coalition of Theresa May's deflated Tories and the DUP.

Those already aware of the party will likely owe this to bad memories of 'the Troubles' (ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century) and associated recollections of the Rev. Ian Paisley, founder of the fundamentalist Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

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The Church and the party provided Paisley with platforms to attack all those deemed a threat to Northern Ireland's union with the United Kingdom. For decades this included not only the Irish Republican Army and its political wing Sinn Fein, but also those 'sell outs', fellow Protestant Unionists and British politicians, including Margaret Thatcher, who sought to 'betray Ulster' by considering power-sharing initiatives with moderate nationalists/Catholics and who dared to suggest the Republic of Ireland should have a say in affairs across the border. Indeed, one of the great ironies of modern Irish/British history is that following thirty years of the Troubles, and the bedding-in of a 'peace process' Paisley had initially railed against, the man renowned for saying 'Never' to compromise became the First Minister of Northern Ireland in a devolved power-sharing government alongside Sinn Fein's Martin McGuiness as Deputy First Minister.

Paisley stepped down in 2008 but the DUP has remained the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland under the leadership first of Peter Robinson, and subsequently of Arlene Foster. Under the tenure of Paisley's successors, the links with the Free Presbyterian church have weakened but the party remains deeply socially conservative, and to a far greater degree than the British Conservative Party. Theresa May will probably be in a coalition government with a party hostile to the LGBT community and which opposes same-sex-marriage. The DUP also opposes women's right to abortion, which remains illegal in Northern Ireland. The party also denies climate change. It is almost exclusively supported by Protestants in Northern Ireland and can be accurately described as sectarian.

Robinson's leadership suffered from the whiff of corruption, and Foster's reputation for political astuteness has recently been undermined by a poorly managed renewable heating scandal, which ultimately led Sinn Fein to collapse the Executive. In the subsequent Northern Irish election, held in March, the DUP lost ten Assembly seats and came close to being overtaken by Sinn Fein as the largest party. Foster's reputation was further diminished by her sexist description of Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill as a 'blonde' and, like Theresa May, she 'ducked' televised debates during the recent campaign. All that is changed today, however, with the election results seemingly heralding a remarkable change in the recent political fortunes of the DUP.

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The DUP's campaign was fought on the need for a strong retort to Sinn Fein's electoral advance in March, and in particular to stop in its tracks any suggestion of a 'border poll' on the future of Northern Ireland in its tracks. This focus on the 'national question' suited Sinn Fein also, and as a consequence, today saw the more moderate parties in Northern Ireland wiped off the Westminster electoral map. The DUP's ten seats will potentially allow Theresa May to stay in power, especially as Sinn Fein, in the Irish republican tradition, will abstain from taking its seven seats at Westminster.

By holding the balance of power at Westminster, the DUP can block a border poll on Northern Ireland's future as this cannot happen without British government approval. In these times of austerity, the DUP will also be able to demand, and probably get, economic advances for Northern Ireland. On public spending the party's manifesto was closer to Labour's than May's. However, the DUP's leverage will be limited. The alternative to Theresa May is Jeremy Corbyn, a political enemy of the DUP, due to his past close relationship with Sinn Fein.
Stefan Wermuth / Reuters

In May 1832 following a series of resignations, elections, and a political transformation unseen in generations, Britain experienced a short but savage period of instability - the notorious 'Days of May'. In June 2017, less than one year after the chaos following the Brexit decision, Theresa May has generated her own short, savage instability which has slashed the Conservatives' majority and which is likely to create Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Theresa May called an unnecessary election in order to strengthen her mandate, avoid domestic political campaigning at the same time as the effects of Brexit begin to be felt in 2020, and wipe out the Labour Party on the assumption that Jeremy Corbyn was unelectable. Far from giving May the 100-seat majority predicted in April, her gamble has backfired spectacularly. Her own position is no longer tenable and it is likely she will resign as Prime Minister in the coming week. May took control of the government in the aftermath of a short, vicious Tory civil war after her predecessor's own gamble also backfired, and this gave her a substantial degree of legitimacy and popularity as the leader who took control of Britain in the chaos of June 2016. The image of Theresa May as a new Margaret Thatcher, a strong and stable leader who could unite the warring parties of post-Scottish independence, post-Coalition, post-Brexit Britain collapsed in a campaign marked by Theresa May's weak and hesitant style. Her refusal to participate in televised debates communicated a sense of contempt for the electorate, her performances on the campaign trail and in television studios showed an uncomfortable and cold Prime Minister, and her over-confidence of victory caused her to flirt with policies targeting the Conservatives' strongest voters - middle-class pensioners. Meanwhile the apparently unelectable Jeremy Corbyn astonished commentators by managing a campaign which survived disastrous media interviews, hostility over defence policy, and continuous questions about Corbyn's previous links to organisations whose motives and actions are, at best, highly questionable.

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The campaign showed a marked difference between Corbyn's charisma and May's mediocrity. With his gain of 29 seats - the first Labour gains in twenty years - Corbyn is guaranteed to stay on as Labour leader. The Conservatives need a leader who can match Corbyn's energy, charisma, and passion, all of which were integral in attracting millions of votes to a man who has faced constant criticism since becoming leader. And given the criticism May received for having first supported Remain and then wished for a Hard Brexit, it is only logical that the Conservatives will push for a leader who is not only charismatic and popular, but a Leaver too. There is only one candidate.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now a distinct probability. Theresa May will form a loose agreement with the Democratic Union Party in Northern Ireland, one which allows the Conservatives to govern as a minority with behind-the-scenes support from the DUP. this will suit both parties. Once this deal has been agreed Theresa May will resign, and soon we will see Boris Johnson leading Britain's negotiations with the EU.

As incumbent Foreign Secretary, Johnson will be able to start Brexit negotiations on a slightly more secure footing than a minority under May would. The clock is ticking and the sheer bureaucratic scale of Brexit requires urgent action. As Prime Minister of a country which is angry at Tory cuts, wary of economic problems after leaving the EU, and now mostly resigned to Brexit (observe the failure of the anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats to make a resurgence), Boris Johnson will negotiate a Soft Brexit. His charisma will be useful against a significantly larger Labour opposition headed by a genuinely popular leader, and a Conservative minority government will depend on a skilful and nuanced deal. The Tories' DUP allies will push for a softer deal on Northern Ireland's border with the Republic of Ireland while simultaneously quashing demands that Northern Ireland unite with Ireland, or receive some sort of special status with the EU. The subsequent border deal could then provide a template for a similar deal over Gibraltar. Meanwhile, the annihilation of UKIP and the collapse of the SNP will allow Johnson to focus on a Brexit for the whole of the UK without the constant threat of a more right-wing rival or demands for #indyref2. Thursday's vote is not all bad news.

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Next year will mark 100 years since women were first allowed to vote in the UK. But women could only vote if they were over the age of 30. In terms of voting rights there remained huge inequality between men and women and it was not until 1928 that women achieved the same voting rights as men.

Following the General Election yesterday we have the highest-ever number of female MPs with the number over 200 for the first time with a few results still to declare. Women however remain under represented and the main political parties need to continue to address this.

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Thirty years ago prior to the General Election in 1987 it is difficult to imagine that there was not a single non-white MP. In 1987 four non-white MPs - Dianne Abbott, Paul Boateng, Bernie Grant and Keith Vaz were elected and all were Labour. The number of ethnic minority MPs now stands at around 50 but under representation of BAME MPs is worse than that of women.

In the last 15 years there have only been a total of five Sikh MPs (three Labour, one Conservative and one Liberal Democrat), none have been visible identity Sikhs (i.e. turban-wearing) or women. Following the General Election in 2015 there were for the first time no Sikh MPs since 1992. This was a damning indictment on our democracy. Theresa May's snap General Election has enabled two Sikh MPs to be elected, although there needs to be another five or six for proper representation.

History has been made as we not only have the first ever turban wearing Sikh in Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi from Slough, but also the first ever female Sikh MP in Preet Kaur Gill from Birmingham Edgbaston. Since the results from Slough and Birmingham Edgbaston in the early hours there has been a buzz in the Sikh community.

Preet was featured in the top 10 inspirational Sikh women in the UK, recognised for encouraging more women from BAME backgrounds into politics. Many that have come across Preet for the first time in the last few weeks of campaigning or followed her on social media have described her as a rising star. She is a passionate and courageous human rights activist and definitely one to watch in the next few years.

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The Labour leadership has lived up to its promise of selecting Sikh candidates in winnable seats and many believe the likes of Preet will prove to be an excellent MP and role model that other young women will follow. One of Preet's role models is suffrogette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh who was a revolutionary like her grandfather Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the last ruler of the Sikh Kingdom.

Preet is and will remain on the Board of the Sikh Network that developed and produced the Sikh Manifesto in January 2015. One of the key demands was: 'more Sikhs, especially visible Sikh men and Sikh women, should be encouraged to enter politics and barriers removed that prevent them from getting elected."

It is fair to say Labour has made a huge stride in this direction, but the same can not be said for the Conservatives. Labour unlike the Conservatives for the first time included specific manifesto commitments towards the Sikh community. The post-mortem of the Conservative manifesto has started and they could easily learn from Labour with regards to the Sikh community.

Whilst other minorities are reasonably well represented in the House of Lords this is not case for the Sikh community. The Labour leadership has also promised to address its complete lack of Sikh representation in the House of Lords at the earliest opportunity.

Sikhs are a role model community and provide an exceptionally interesting example of successful integration whilst maintaining a very visible and distinctive religious identity that others can learn from. Sikhs make an immense contribution in virtually all spheres of public life in the UK through honest hard work, promoting equality and tolerance towards others, charitable work and interfaith dialogue. Many believe Sikhs in sufficient numbers in Parliament can bring new enthusiasm and energy to improve politics.

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Former Labour MEP Mark Watts argues 'Hard' Brexit is now dead and Brexit has been dealt a near fatal blow.

'Hard' Brexit is dead and Brexit has been dealt a near fatal blow. Will businesses in Britain now step forward and put it out of its misery?

The people of Britain were asked by Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, (at the time of writing this) to give her a strong mandate for the Brexit negotiations. They declined to do so.

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This leaves Brexit in a near-death limbo in the UK, but not in Brussels. Let's not forget the Article 50 clock is relentlessly ticking down, and if we don't do something we go over the cliff on 30 March 2019. But in reality it will happen sooner because most businesses need to plan ahead. We've already lost 45 days of negotiations. Now we will lose many more. The referendum result was close. Very close indeed given it was on a major constitutional issue. That narrow victory appears to have been reversed in this 'brexit election', with a surge of new voters, young voters and even, ironically, many former UKIP voters backing Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party. The anti-Brexit or anti-hard Brexit parties winnning a majority of the votes, denying May a Parliamentary majority, even under Britain's no longer fit for purpose first-past-the-post voting system.

To prevent a period of unprecedented uncertainty , or worse, business needs to act, not just wait this one out on the sidelines. Because this is about business. Business largely kept it's head down during the referendum, and has steered clear of the post referendum debate on the type of Brexit we should seek to negotiate. They feared being accused, like Britain's Supreme Court judges, of being 'enemies of the people' for defying their will. Now the will of the people is at at the very least in the 'don't know' camp, they must now come forward to inject some sanity into the Brexit debate and spell out the hard truths about a hard Brexit. Realistically that could lead to some sort of EEA or Swiss relationship, and it may even stop Brexit completely.

For let's not forget all of this is but symptom of a disease, and not the disease itself. And the disease is like a contagion, spreading across Europe and the US. Many voters are angry and looking for alternatives to what they consider to be a failed business, economic and political system.

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So the real question arising from yesterday's election (and indeed Trump and Brexit) is will business work with politicians to deliver a new social market economy, where the proceeds of growth are much more fairly shared and no one is left behind. And people no longer feel the system is rigged in favour of an elite? And business has nothing to lose, because the Corbyn phenomena is actually more akin to Macron than Trump, and reflects a rejection of right wing populism, as much as it is a rejection of the status quo.
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Who saw that coming? Six weeks of slogans, scandals and squabbles - topped off by an open threat to tear up our human rights laws - culminated in a hectic night and a morning of uncertainty.

But now it's over, and it looks like we've got a minority Conservative Government - propped up by the DUP.

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This has been my first general election as Liberty's director - but the 21st since our foundation way back in 1934.

Liberty was founded to protect the people's right to protest. We've been the watchdog for the people's rights in the UK ever since, taking action when the powerful overstep the mark - which the powerful often tend to do. As our ex-president EM Forster said, it's the fight that's never done.

Now here we are, 83 years later, with Theresa May in No 10. Just like we've done with everyone who's come before, we'll be watching her.

And we've a feeling we'll be needed more than ever in the months ahead.

In a week blighted by brutality as we mourn the lives lost near London Bridge, the Prime Minister responded with an apparent determination to do exactly what these violent murderers want: abandon everything that makes our country great and keeps us free.

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She failed to do what we look to her to do: stick up for our freedom, democracy and rights. Instead, she announced the reintroduction of long-ago discredited control orders and extended pre-charge detention - unsafe and unfair measures abandoned by previous governments and campaigned against by Theresa May's Conservatives in opposition.

On Tuesday, for cheap political points and headlines, she announced she would rip up our Human Rights Act if it got in her way. In a few casual words, the abandonment of the law that embodies fairness, compassion and accountability, designed to keep us safe and free - the law that helped the Hillsborough families expose the truth.

She finished by saying: "If I am elected as Prime Minister on Thursday, I can tell you that this vital work begins on Friday."

Well, Liberty's work begins today too. And if she goes ahead with these dangerous plans, we'll make sure she doesn't succeed. There are many principled MPs - Conservatives among them - who will join that fight.

Sadly in recent years compassion, respect for people's dignity, fairness, basic decency have all been collateral damage in the desperate bid to look tough on immigration and strong on security, at any cost.

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In the two seismic years since the 2015 election, we've seen politicians spread fear, hate and discrimination through their words and their laws.

Home Office tentacles have crept into every part of life. Schools are forced to build foreign children lists to aid deportation of families, doctors made to pass sensitive data to immigration officers and no longer able to promise confidentiality.

Landlords face jail if they let a home to the "wrong" person. Homelessness charities are being roped in to shop vulnerable rough sleepers. Police must now demand people's nationality on arrest and a new offence of "driving while illegal" seems sure to lead to racial profiling and discrimination - causing major damage to police-community relations.

Our Government has reacted disgracefully to the refugee crisis - shirking its responsibilities at every turn and shaming our proud history of offering sanctuary. Meanwhile, on our own soil more than 30,000 people are locked up indefinitely having committed no crime, hidden in immigration detention centres we rarely see.

I'm not going to sugar-coat it: the prospect of this nasty, divisive programme continuing feels grim. Already, the new Government's agenda is at bursting point - Brexit, counter-terrorism, creaking public services at home, humanitarian and diplomatic crises overseas.

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And at Liberty we're re-reading the Conservative manifesto with a sinking feeling. A minority Government it may be, but there's still the sense that a perfect storm is brewing for human rights.

As Brexit negotiations kick off, our rights are on shaky ground. The Conservative manifesto talks a good game about securing the rights of EU citizens who've built their lives here and those of British people abroad - but it's hard to take their word for it when they've so far refused every opportunity to do just that.

They say our rights as workers and consumers will remain "at the point at which we leave the EU" - but promise nothing of the days, weeks and years afterwards.

Victims of crime are promised legal protections for the support they ought to expect. But with Theresa May's track record of arguing that police shouldn't have to investigate rape allegations, even those warm words ring hollow.

On top of all that, the Government trumpets plans to "review the international legal definitions of asylum and refugee status" - alongside attempts to reduce their numbers.

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In short, our new leaders intend to turn their backs on the world's most vulnerable people, including thousands of lone children in the most desperate need.

This is more than a crisis of compassion, it's a loss of humanity. But it doesn't need to be this way.

What better day to say enough is enough? What better day to shout from the rooftops - 'not in my name'? What better day to begin the fight to take us down a different path?

Politicians, of all parties, work for us - and this isn't the kind of country we want to be. If you want things to change, now's the time to get practical.

For however long it takes, Liberty will work to dismantle laws that divide and discriminate, and campaign to block any plans that threaten our rights or attack vulnerable people - through the courts, in Parliament, and on the streets. And we need your help.

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As a Conservative, I am of course disappointed to see the party lose seats in yesterday's General Election, especially Ben Howlett who was a champion for equality, in particular in his role on the Women and Equalities Committee. The hung parliament presents a challenge for the whole country, not just for the Conservative Party. Theresa May and the Conservatives fought this election on the basis of stability ahead of the Brexit negotiations due to begin in just over a week. And the party has a duty to fulfil this commitment to the 42% of the electorate who voted for the Conservatives and certainty.

Clearly the Conservatives, albeit as the largest party by more than 50 seats, cannot form a majority government. This will mean, unfortunately, that the Prime Minister is likely to need to enter into an informal arrangement with the Democratic Unionist Party. Let me be clear from the outset, the DUP and some of its MLAs hold some pretty appalling views on LGBT rights. The party's entrenched opposition to equal marriage has prevented the LGBT population in Northern Ireland from benefitting for the same rights as LGBT people in the rest of the United Kingdom and this is unacceptable. It is right, therefore that, as a modern, pro-equality party, that the Conservatives are not even considering entering into a coalition with the DUP.

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Nevertheless, given the need for stability ahead of the Brexit negotiations, I can understand why Theresa May is considering seeking loose co-operation from the DUP, to ensure that Britain is able to get the right deal as it prepares to leave the European Union. Getting Brexit right has to be the number one priority for any government. A Prime Minister who is not able to pass legislation is most likely to find it more difficult to get the best deal for Britain's future in the negotiations. As such, the Prime Minister is right to consider options that will allow her to get a Brexit deal through the House of Commons, even unpalatable options such as informally working with the DUP. While I find it hard to categorise the DUP as either a friend or an ally, I do agree with the Prime Minister when she says that we need to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom.

The Conservative Party has come so far on LGBT rights in a relatively short period of time and it is inconceivable that it would even consider gambling away its status as the true party of equality. Yesterday's General Election saw the Conservatives field 42 LGBT+ Candidates across the country with 19 being returned to the House of Commons. One of the standout figures in the General Election campaign has been the out leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, who led the Conservatives into second place in Scotland gaining 12 seats, including out MSP Ross Thomson in Aberdeen South.

For anyone to suggest that the Conservative Party would begin to erode its strong support for LGBT rights is ridiculous verging on the contemptible. I cannot imagine a situation in which the DUP will have any influence on the Conservative Party or the Government's policies on equality. And, I even hope, that closer co-operation between the DUP and the Conservative Party will lead to a change in the DUP's attitude towards LGBT rights, especially with a view to unblocking the issue of equal marriage Northern Ireland. After all, it was a Conservative Prime Minister who introduced same-sex marriage in England and Wales and, in 2015, his bold decision was rewarded at the ballot box.

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Toby Melville / Reuters

As I prepared to travel to Manchester last Saturday, I was full of hope. In the face of the horrific attack at the Manchester Arena, the best of humanity was shining through.

From the British Red Cross volunteers who helped comfort people in the aftermath, to the taxi drivers who gave stranded people free rides home, these little acts of kindness lifted me.

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And now, I was getting ready to join people from across Manchester, the UK and even the world, for a mass show of solidarity at the One Love Manchester benefit concert.

Then the news from London reached me. Just twelve days on from the attack in Manchester, people enjoying a night out in the capital had been similarly targeted.

No one should go out for a night with friends and not come back. The attack on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market was an attack on the spirit of London.

Suddenly, the concert in Manchester felt even more significant. More than ever, we needed to unite and come together.

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In keeping with the Red Cross principles of humanity, unity and neutrality, the British Red Cross is committed to doing all it can to help those affected by these recent attacks and bring people together.

This is why we are encouraging people to join us for a 'Saturday Night for London' this weekend.

Get involved to raise funds

A Saturday Night for London is an opportunity for people to pay tribute and raise funds for those affected in last week's attacks.

Organised by the Red Cross and backed by Borough Market and a host of businesses across the city, people will be able to get involved through three main activities: Dish for London, Cheers for London and Ride for London.

As part of Dish for London, restaurants - including those in the area of the attacks and the chain Eat - will be donating money from a chosen dish.

Cheers for London will see cafes, pubs and bars, including all 120 Greene King Pubs in the capital, asking patrons to donate the cost of their drink.

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And as part of Ride for London, Uber is giving a pound for every journey taken on Saturday night.

For those planning a night in instead, Deliveroo will make a 1 donation for every single order placed across the city from 6pm onwards.

How your money helps

The money raised through this night of activity will go to the UK Solidarity Fund, launched by the British Red Cross in response to the recent attacks.

The fund will support people who have been injured, bereaved or traumatised by terror attacks in the UK, helping to alleviate immediate suffering and ensure that victims and their families do not face short-term financial difficulties.

People may have medical expenses to cover, they may be out of work through injuries sustained, or families may have funeral costs to cover. Financial support cannot heal wounds or the grief felt by so many, but it will make a difference.

With a separate fund successfully raising money for the victims of the Manchester attack, donations to the UK Solidarity Fund will help victims of terror attacks anywhere in the UK, in the first instance those affected by the London Bridge attack.

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More than fundraising

Raising vital funds for victims of terror is important, but this night is also about reclaiming the tragic end to last Saturday.

I hope it will help to bring some solace and send a reminder to those who seek to divide us that the power of humanity only grows stronger when threatened.

The British Red Cross is proud to be part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement that seeks to protect humanity by supporting people in crises, whoever and wherever they are.

This weekend, we do that by standing together with the people of London. Join us.

Help victims of terror attacks in the UK. Support the UK Solidarity Fund. Text UNITY to 70607 to give 10 or donate online at redcross.org.uk/unity
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This blog is adapted from the Friday 9 May edition of The Waugh Zone, which can be read here, and subscribed to here

"Nothing has changed! Nothing has changed!" In full Maybot malfunction mode, that's what Theresa May famously said during her manifesto meltdown just a few weeks ago. Something's changed alright. And it may well mean Britain's Prime Minister is changed too.

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It was 5.52am when it was officially confirmed that the UK now had a hung Parliament (were you up for Southampton Test and Alan Whitehead?), and that May had lost the precious Commons majority that David Cameron had slogged through five years to achieve. Yet just like Cameron's reckless gamble on an EU referendum, May's hubristic decision to call a snap election has failed and failed spectacularly.

The woman whom we were told was the very opposite of a gambler ended up trashing her own brand after listening to the siren voices of her advisers and betting the house on a snap poll. Like Cameron, she was a Remainer who played with Eurosceptic fire and ended up getting badly burned. The cautious pragmatist allowed herself to be portrayed both as a Leave-loving zealot and a flip-flopper.

May was a long way from "strong and stable" at her own count in Maidenhead in the early hours, her voice shaky, her eyes flicking about like a lost rabbit. She said it was "incumbent" on "us" to ensure we have a "period of stability". That sounded very much like her fighting for breathing space, but had a faint hint she could go after a 'period'. Sources close to her insisted since then that she has "no intention" of resigning, but her fate may not be in her hands.

The Tory ministers are privately saying May has to go, some think she should stay only as 'caretaker' PM while a Tory leadership contest takes place. 'Team Theresa' looks dead (manifesto man Ben Gummer lost his seat, Amber Rudd's majority is so tight she can't be leader, policy chief Nick Timothy is seen as a bearded Rasputin whose own radical ideas did as much damage as Corbyn's). George Osborne couldn't hide his glee about the "catastrophic" campaign. Boris Johnson, who may become favourite to take the crown, texted his sister soon after the shock exit poll with the joke 'MayDay!' If she is ousted, May's 330 days in office would be the shortest of any PM since Andrew Bonar Law in 1923.

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The fact is that May tried to turn the whole general election into a referendum on herself. She tried asked Ted Heath's question, 'Who governs Britain?' and, just as it did back in 1974, Britain replied 'Not you!' In 43 of the marginal seats which she personally visited, Labour held on to 20, took two from the Tories and one seat from the SNP. The Tories gained just five. Her fear of meeting real voters, her unease with small talk, her 'computer-says-no' refusal to detail her policies or costings, all seem to have caught up with her.

Britons hate being taken for fools and hate being taken for granted even more. Brenda in Bristol started this campaign with "Not another one! I honestly can't stand it" and she seemed to speak for the nation. Brits also seem to mistrust Presidential politics and have reverted to good old-fashioned Parliamentary democracy, voting for parties not just leaders. That is just one of the many lessons of the night.

For Jeremy Corbyn, a new day has dawned, has it not? Tony Blair's morning glory in 1997 seems a long, long time ago now, and his party has moved a long way from the one that won that first landslide 20 years ago.

If May was the Hillary Clinton of this election (a terrible campaigner with a sense of entitlement), Corbyn was Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders rolled into one. He had a Trump-like feel for the pain of many voters suffering from globalisation, a dogged defiance of the mainstream media and 'experts' and - most important of all - a message of hope (yes Trump gave rustbelt voters hope, folks). But he also had a Sanders-like mass movement and left-wing policy platform.

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Corbyn was ridiculed when he said earlier this week May should resign over police cuts. Yet he's having the last laugh now, repeating that call for her to go at his own count in Islington in the early hours. Armed with a Zen-like calm and a hide thicker than a rhino, he has shown that campaigning actually can make a difference in elections. He just said he's 'ready to serve' as a minority Government PM.

Having promised to 'rewrite the rules' of politics, he's done just that in many ways, not least in partially disproving the theory that elections are decided over years not weeks. Just last month his party was trashed in the local elections. Corbyn should take much of the credit for depriving May of her majority despite being massively outspent by the Conservatives, despite millions of free Tory billboards in the form of daily newspapers, despite all those Facebook attack ads.

Some of Labour's victories over the Tories are truly stunning (Plymouth where the anti-defence card didn't work at all). The party won Canterbury, for crying out loud. In places like Walthamstow, Stella Creasy clocked up 83% of the vote. Many of Corbyn's critics had expected to set out leadership ambitions but people like Yvette Cooper and Chuka Umunna are instead being asked if they will be prepared to join his Shadow Cabinet. Many critics are chewing on their words. Owen Smith said: "He's definitely got something. He beat me fair and square and he's done very well in this election."
Rebecca Strickson

This truly is an election when people woke up, it seems. The youth vote galvanised! An electorate that again, in keeping with the theme of the last 12 months that hasn't played ball with anyone's forecasts. It really feels like the rulebook has been drawn all over, ripped up, stamped on, burnt, picked up, burnt a bit more, stamped on again and then maybe chucked in a bin. Then sent to landfill. Twice.

As an illustrator, and especially when working in editorial, the job is adding nuanced visuals to someone else words. But this election I wanted to try my own words, and say what I thinking. Ive always been political, and unashamedly so. I think it's probably telling when your Valentines gift from your partner is a visual history of the Miner's strike. But I've not made work before now thats been really about 'my' politics. And this new super-charged people driven political landscape has really galvanised me to do so.

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The exit poll last night was extraordinary. As they say - its the hope that kills you - and this week has been a lurching drunks-stagger from deep pessimism, anxiety-fuelled late night terror to daring to dream. The whole crazy seven weeks since the election was called has felt dreamlike, no more so than when my friend met JC on the train coming home after the Cambridge debate. The three of us in the WhatsApp group where she pretty much live streamed it were screaming like she'd met Harry Styles. Now I remember the heady days of 1997 but Blair never did THAT - and we are very much old enough to not be giddy teenagers.

Yet - giddy teenagers it seems are the future, and thank god for that. I will never demonise the older voter for what has happened in politics lately - long chats with my own mother about her fears as she reaches later life and all that will hold keep me balanced. Her fears and hopes in a Lincolnshire village are very different to mine, in a city. But fear - FEAR (for it always feels capitalised) has been such a dark and horrible presence in this campaign that has threatened to colour everything before it. The divisive politics practised for so long has to stop.

This feels like a whole new political landscape now and we are creating the politician's dialogue. Jeremy Corbyn, regardless of how you feel about him, has fundamentally shifted the dusty Westminster institutions and created something new and interesting. There is a chink in the heavy velvet curtains through which people can see that something different may not only just be possible but palpable - politicians that listen, and act, and stick to their principles. And that those principles aren't self serving. It sounds so simple and great because... it is.

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Carl Court via Getty Images

We share the concerns of countless LGBT people, and our friends, of all political persuasions who are deeply anxious about the potential Democratic Unionist Party involvement in the new government.

The DUP have a poor record on LGBT rights. Although the party leader claims they are not anti-LGBT, the DUP have vetoed same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland five times, despite a majority of public and representatives being in favour.

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A party than constantly misuses its veto in this way is not a party that shares Stonewall's values or the values of most people across the UK.

The Conservatives have shown during the past two governments that they are committed to improving LGBT equality. And at the LGBT hustings that Stonewall, PinkNews and Pride in London hosted on 30 May, Justine Greening MP, said the Tories would not "backslide" on that commitment.

However, it's important to remember that our values are defined as much by who we stand with as what we stand for.

The Conservative Party, and the Prime Minister, have been on an incredible journey in the past 20 years recognising the importance of achieving equality for LGBT people in the UK and around the world.

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They now count LGBT people as some of their fiercest supporters.

If such a partnership is pursued, The Conservatives - at the very least - have an opportunity and an obligation to demonstrate to their partners in the DUP why they too need to think again about LGBT people, our rights and our needs, and start actively working to achieve equality for LGBT people in Northern Ireland.

It's vital that the Conservative Party stand firm on LGBT equality, and the Prime Minister makes that clear from the outset.

We've made excellent progress over the past 50 years, but many LGBT people still face discrimination and abuse every day.

This government must actively continue to work for a world where everyone is accepted for who they are.

Stonewall outlined to all parties our six priorities for LGBT equality in the run up to the election. We asked them:

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 Will you protect LGBT rights, and commit to improving them?

 Will you take hate crimes against LGBT people seriously, and give them the punishments they deserve?

 Will you take a zero-tolerance approach to bullying in schools?

 Will you make the NHS a better service for LGBT people?

 Will you commit to kicking homophobia out of sport?

 Will you stand up for LGBT people abroad?

We now have a further ask.

 Will you give equality to LGBT people in Northern Ireland?

LGBT rights need to be protected and extended under this government, not threatened.

That's the sort of government that the UK voted for on 8 June.

LGBT people exist in every community and we must not forget that, or let others suggest that they don't.

We stand by the side of every LGBT person, wherever they live, work, socialise or pray.

We'll be working with the government, and all elected parties and MPs, to ensure that together we can make the changes we've called for in our manifesto a reality.

We will continue to call for acceptance - without exception.
This months Business After Hours will be hosted by the Northeastern Nevada Radiation Oncology Center and the Ruby Mountain Resource Center. The event will be held at the Northeastern Radiation Oncology Center at 2003 Errecart Blvd. on June 15 from 5:30-7 p.m.

The Northeastern Nevada Radiation Oncology Center is committed to providing cancer patients with state-of-the-art radiation cancer therapy without the burden of needing to travel great distances away from home. They understand that cancer can be overwhelming and frightening. That is why they are committed to providing patients with excellent radiation oncology care and support. They provide their patients with radiation therapy services and cancer care navigation services. They strive to bring hope, a healing environment, and support to Northeastern Nevada.

The Ruby Mountain Resource Center is a great place to go for a clean, fun, and organized shopping experience. They offer clothes, shoes, furniture, appliances, and much more between the two stores. Ruby Mountain Resource Center mainly employs adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They work with RMRC as a training unit. They also employ several sales associates, and a team of management who all work together to make the programs work. Other initiatives include the Hunger One-Stop Shop grant, vocational rehabilitation, and family and community assistance.

The event will be catered by the Red Lion, and will include great networking opportunities and raffles. If you bring in a can of food for the RMRC, you will be entered into the Chambers raffle with a chance to win a gift certificate to Diamond Chippers. If it is your first time attending a Business After Hours, you may enter the Chambers other raffle with a chance to win a gift certificate to Pure Joy.

Business After Hours is free and open to the public. Please contact the Chamber at 738-7135 with questions. We look forward to seeing you there!
Jack Taylor via Getty Images

What a night. Theresa May, who became the longest serving Home Secretary in a century now looks to be the shortest serving Prime Minister in 300 years. After failing to win a majority in an election that by all measures she should have won, her position looks untenable as prominent Conservative MPs - such as Anna Soubry - have called on her to "consider her position" (a polite euphemism for step down) on national television. There's every possibility that the Democratic Unionist Party - Northern Ireland's far-right, homophobic party - could prop up a minority Tory government, but even if so, May looks unlikely to be leading it.

This is the third British general election I've covered as a journalist and it is, without a doubt, the most shocking of my life. Few, including myself, saw this coming. Yet here we are, and whilst it's still incredibly early, there are five things we can take away from Thursday's vote:

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1.This is a very bad result for Brexit

Let's start with the obvious: it's clear that Brexit negotiations must be put on hold, or Article 50 temporarily rescinded altogether. Negotiations were due to start on 19 June, but that seems all but impossible now. May is likely to step down, which means we're going to have a Tory leadership contest. That will take weeks, at least. No matter who fills her kitten heels, it's hard to imagine that they'll immediately be ready to go to Brussels. Even the Sun is reporting - quite uncritically - that EU officials are already suggesting they may put the brakes on any negotiations. It's untelling when they may go forward.

Beyond that though, Theresa May's loss is a blow to a Tory hard Brexit. The Prime Minister called this election to "strengthen her hand" in the Brexit negotiations. The Daily Mail famously called on her to "crush the saboteurs" on its front page, but the saboteurs ended up crushing her. The British people have made it clear that a hard Brexit is not what they voted for. Britain is likely to remain in the single market, and the entire Tory Brexit plan will have to be scrapped and rewritten. Labour's Brexit plan resonated, and soft-Brexit Tories must certainly feel emboldened to take on their more Eurosceptic colleagues.

2.This is a very good result for Corbyn

Nobody saw this coming, not even - I'm told - the Labour leader himself. Yet Jeremy Corbyn has achieved the greatest political upset in modern British history, even though he technically lost the election. Literally everyone, including his own party officials, had all but accepted a massive defeat was in the cards. This morning, though, Labour MPs who were expected to lose their seats - like moderate Wes Streeting - have actually increased their majority. This is the best result for Labour since 2010. I cannot stress how incredible this is. When everyone - including me - had written Corbyn off as a loser, he's proven is he, well, a loser, but not quite as big a one as any of us thought he was.

Normally a Labour leader in his position would be called on to step down. But there are a few things working in Corbyn's favour here. For starters, expectations were so low that this loss actually looks very good. Beyond that, though, he was bolstered by the people he brought into the party and, crucially, the youth vote. Corbyn has emboldened Millennials and Gen Z in a way no other politician on either side of the Atlantic has. Labour won't want to lose that momentum going into future elections. He also had little time to prepare for this snap election - six weeks or so - and faced an unbelievably hostile media.

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His performance tonight proves Labour is trending in the right direction and that his vision resonates with voters in a way Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband never did. They may grumble privately, but expect Labour moderates to fall in line over the next several months.

3.Lynton Crosby has lost his magic touch

The Tory Svengali who won David Cameron two elections should never have been brought in to run Theresa May's campaign. Not only do reports from CCHQ indicate that he never really "got" her or what to do with her, but he had also lost a campaign the Tories expected to win just last year - the London mayoral campaign. That campaign should have shown that Crosby's unique blend of fearmongering and soundbites no longer worked. The Tories made the fatal mistake of thinking London was one thing but the country another. It became apparent that Crosby's reluctance to send May out into the field and his attacks on Corbyn as a terrorist sympathiser never resonated with the British public. This is possibly because there were two attacks on May's watch at the height of the campaign, but it's more likely that the British people have wised up to his tricks.

4.The tide of right wing nationalism seems to be waning

After Brexit and Donald Trump, a lot of us were bracing for the nasty re-emergence of a right-wing nationalism the West hadn't seen since the 1930s. But with the defeat of Le Pen and Britain's rejection of a hard Brexit this week, it seems that the tides are turning. By voting so overwhelmingly for internationalist, left-of-centre parties (Labour, the Lib Dems, the SNP, the Greens), Britain has rejected an inward looking, isolationist, xenophobic worldview and shown it is still open and accepting and ready to act on the global stage. It's hard to see how any reactionary populist wins going forward, which will be a massive relief to fair-minded people in Britain and beyond. (And, you must imagine, to the Democrats who must campaign in the US midterms in 2018.)

5.The future is more uncertain than ever

As I type this the Tories are currently tearing themselves apart (privately, of course) over whether Mrs May can remain on as Prime Minister. Meanwhile, John McDonnell is calling on the SNP, the Lib Dems, the Greens, and other parties to help Labour form a minority government. It's more likely the Conservatives will be joined, or at least bolstered, by the DUP to form a right-leaning coalition or minority government, but anyone who tells you they know is lying. Assuming someone does form a coalition or minority government, though, there's no telling how long it might last. Many are predicting an autumn election (please don't tell Brenda from Bristol), but others are saying the Tories - should they succeed - will cling on until 2022, when they Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2010 mandates the next election happen. The truth is, we simply don't know what will happen. This level of uncertainty is not only bad for Brexit, but bad for the markets - which, though as I type is early in London and the middle of the night in New York - have already reacted with volatility throughout Asia.

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I don't know what's going to happen next. No one does. But whatever happens, we can all be assured we have witnessed one of the most galling political upsets in British history - and that the country may never be the same again.
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A tapas restaurant has outraged some customers by announcing it will no longer stock halal meat.

El Molino in Hedon stated on its Facebook page halal meat will no longer be served because before long no one will have any choice and we'll be living in a Sharia state.

Some customers have been outraged by the stance, which they say is effectively telling Muslims they are not welcome at the restaurant.

Owner of the restaurant Ben Fisher, disagrees that it is barring Muslims and says the decision was based on customers asking about the origin of the meat.

He said: Quite a few people who came into the restaurant asked about it. They wanted to know where the meat came from and I wanted to make people aware of the fact it is British.

Its not the case at all that its against Muslims, its just about freedom of choice. When I go to big suppliers they dont have that choice, and now Ive gone back to using local butchers.

However, when people on the post objected to the anti-halal stance, the restaurant replied: Nothing at all to do with provenance, or marketing. Simply making a stand against the ritual practices which have been largely sneaked into common practice in this country.

What I'm standing up to is the proliferation of Islam into this country.

But some customers have said they are outraged

Yazmin, 25, from Hull says she would have considered going to the restaurant in Hedon, where her partner lives, until reading the statements on Facebook.

Miss Khan said: "I saw the post and I understand that some people don't like halal because of the method of slaughter used, but I find the justification about Sharia law completely uneducated and wrong.

"I commented on the post to say I thought it was misinformed and would lose them business and it was deleted. Some of my friends did similar and they had comments deleted too, while keeping some that I think are hateful and racist.

"I'm not Muslim but I'm outraged by the connection between Sharia and halal. My mum's a British Christian and my dad's a British Muslim born in London. He will eat halal but their reasoning seems like an attack on muslims."

When asked whether the proliferation of Islam is an issue in Hedon, Mr Fisher said: I dont think it is in Hedon, or in Hull but it is nationally. Its not to pin it on everyone but people are becoming more and more aware of it.

Theres been quite a lot of support for what we did. I was quite surprised actually and thought Id get a lot of flak for it.

Business has actually increased since. I was really busy for breakfast and in the evening yesterday after we posted about it.

Halal meat is blessed as it is killed, and according to Islamic law involves the animals being cut at the windpipe. Major supermarkets, such as Tesco, have said that animals are stunned and are halal because they are blessed.

El Molino posted on their Facebook: In the catering industry its quite hard these days to find chicken breast that is non-halal, something that has always disappointed us.

Therefore we've decided to take a stand, because resistance to people's beliefs in made up sky friends quite simply starts at home.

If everyone keeps leaving it to someone else then before long no one will have any choice and we'll be living in a Sharia state.

Ismael Ibrahim, director of the halal Madina Butchers in Spring Bank, says there is a large, growing market in England for halal meat and that it is no worse than other methods of slaughter.

Halal is a type of slaughter where payer is said before it is cut and then hanged," he said. "All the blood then drops out of the body of the animal.

Halal is no worse than slaughter by English butchers. The meat is good quality, and we stock a lot of restaurants, in Hull and Beverley, without problems.

We have Muslim customers, European customers, and English customers. We have been here nine years and not had any issue with people about us selling halal.

When we were first here the market was quite small, but it has really gotten a lot of bigger and lots of places use it. If you go to KFC you will be served halal chicken.
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Voters in Hull believe the shock election result "hasn't solved anything" for people living in the city - as many said "robotic" Theresa May should take the blame.

People up and down the country woke up on Friday morning to the news the UK had hung parliament - meaning no party had an outright majority to form a government.

It came after Theresa May's snap election turned into a disaster, with the Conservatives losing seats and Labour gaining, narrowing the gap between the two parties.

Sharon Bowler, 59, said she disagreed with Mrs May's policies.

She said: "The problem with Theresa May is I think she looks like a robot, the way she talks, the way she moves.

"The problem for me is she wants to make too many cuts to the NHS, schools. We all understand that cuts need to be made, but for me health and our children should be a priority.

"Especially with everything that has happened recently in Manchester with all the children and London, it shows things like policing should be a priority and that has proved it."

Raymond and Marina Beaver said they predicted the election might result in a hung parliament.

Raymond, 77, said: "Nothing has been resolved after this election, we are still in the same position.

"I don't think Theresa May has much confidence, she needed more experience first."

Marina, 72, added: "They say she's an excellent negotiator but after this I can't see things going anywhere."

Doug Terenzio, 34, also said he felt the election provided no resolution to the problems it tried to address.

He said: "It hasn't really provided an answer. I don't really know what I can say on it - you just think 'what's next after this?'

"It hasn't solved anything - you just think where are we going to go from here?"

However, not all voters in Hull put the blame on the under-pressure Prime Minister.

Rebecca Lesley, 23, and her partner, James, say they think the election was an opportunity for un-elected Theresa May to ask for a chance to stay - and we should give her a chance.

Rebecca, 23, said: "We knew that Hull was going to stay Labour.

"My view is she wasn't elected, but we elected the Conservatives during the last election.

"She is basically asking if she's allowed to stay.

"I think a lot of people were swayed by the terror attacks, but they happened three weeks ago. She has done her best, she can't change everything in three weeks, she wouldn't have chance to.

"She should be given the chance to finish the job."

James, 34, added he was also a supporter because he agreed more with her policies than Labour.
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The general election 2017 has ended with a second hung parliament in the last three elections.

Theresa Mays decision to call a snap election has spectacularly backfired, losing her majority in Parliament.

Although the Conservatives have the largest party at Westminster, they did not hit the magic mark of 326 seats to form a majority government.

It means there could be days or weeks of political wrangling and deal-making before we find out what form the next government will take.

When a hung parliament was called in 2010, Gordon Brown held onto the premiership for six days as frantic negotiations took place, resigning only when it became clear that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats had reached agreement on a viable coalition.

Heres some of the possibilities of what could happen next this time around:

Conservative coalition government

At present, the incumbent Conservative Government stays in office while Theresa May tries to do do a deal.

With the Lib Dems ruling out another coalition, it most likely the Conservatives will go to the Belfast DUP to prop up her administration. The Brexit-supporting party has boosted its number of MPs to 10 with two gains, giving it a potentially pivotal role.

Conservative minority government

If no deal can be found, the Prime Minister can try and run her government as a minority.

(Image: PA)

This would mean they would have to win support in the Commons on a vote-by-vote basis. It will be very hard to present a complete legislative programme to be set out at the next Queens Speech on June 19, however, with a minority government having to ensure the policies have the support of the majority of the Commons.

Conservative resignation

If no coalition can be found and a minority government cannot be formed, Mrs May will have to go to the Queen to tender her resignation and that of her administration.

Labour coalition

If that happens and the Conservatives resign, Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the largest opposition party may be invited by the Queen to form a government either as a minority or in coalition with another party or parties.

Mr Corbyn's Labour would be expected to explore the potential for co-operation with other "progressive" parties like the Lib Dems, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party's sole MP Caroline Lucas.

But, in sharp contrast to 2010, a whole series of parties have already forsworn any involvement in a formal coalition, apparently making this outcome unlikely.

Labour has said it will not seek a coalition, instead looking to govern as a minority government if possible. And Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron pledged during the election not to go into coalition with either the Tories or Labour.

Labour minority

If no coalition can be found, Labour could attempt to rule as a minority. However, this will be an incredibly hard task given the party only have just over 260 seats - and not all the Labour MPs support Mr Corbyn.

Another General Election

It is looking likely, if no coalition between the Tories and DUP can be found, another general election could be called.

With Brexit talks due to start in weeks, it would be an option as far from strong and stable as possible.
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Pupils at Hymers College have been allowed to leave school after being put in lockdown for a second time as police hunted a man with a knife.

Police were initially called to the area around the west Hull school shortly after 2pm.

Officers said they were responding to reports of a theft in the Spring Bank area.

The headteacher told the Mail at about 3.15pm that the school had been taken out of lockdown and reports of an intruder had been false.

However, at about 4pm, the school was placed back in lockdown and students were locked inside the school buildings.

Pupils were eventually allowed to leave at about 5pm and were reunited with their families, who were waiting on school buses outside.

At the same time, Wolfreton, Sirius and Ganton schools were evacuated after hoax bomb threats were made.

One woman said her partner was working in Sunny Bank, which overlooks Hymers, when the incident there happened.

"There were lots of armed police and they were after a man with a knife," she said.

"He's working on Sunny Bank and was just letting me know he was safe inside in case I heard it on the radio.

"He said he thinks the man was on Hymers playing field with the weapon."

One other witness said the area was surrounded by police officers.

"Saw police over the gates and in the grass verge at the back of Walton Street car park as we drove down Walton Street," a woman said.

"There was three cars and a helicopter."

A Humberside Police spokeswoman said: "Following the earlier incident, we can confirm that children at Hymers College were kept indoors for the second time today whilst further precautionary searches of the ground took place.

"This followed reports from a member of staff that a man had been seen in the grounds.

"The school returned the children safely to their parents from around 4.30pm."
Cheshire Annual Town Meeting Set Monday

CHESHIRE, Mass.  Town meeting will vote on 19 articles Monday, June 12, at 7 p.m. at Cheshire Elementary school.

The major articles on the warrant address the closure of Cheshire Elementary School and funding for it, and the town's budget for fiscal 2018.

The first, Article 10, is a citizens' petition that would act as an emergency amendment to the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District agreement that would allow Cheshire to pay additional costs to keep the school without triggering a proportional increase for Adams.

It requires that Grades prekindergarten through 5 remain in the building instead of being consolidated at Plunkett School and Hoosac Valley High School according to the district's new organization plan.

Adams, too, must approve this article at its town meeting as well as the Department of Education.

Article 11, also a citizens' petition, asks town meeting to appropriate $150,000 from free cash to fund the school's operation. This article is nonbinding because the district amendment must first be approved.

Article 12, another citizens' petition, asks town meeting to appropriate the sum of $150,000 from the Stabilization Fund to fund the continued operation of Cheshire Elementary. This article is nonbinding because the district amendment must first be approved.

Article 13 is also part of the same block of citizens' petitions aimed at keeping open Cheshire Elementary and asks town meeting to vote to appropriate the sum of $300,000 to that effort. If Articles 11 and 12 are approved this article will not be necessary.

This article also is nonbinding because the district amendment must first be approved.

Article 14 will see if the town will vote to allow outside fundraising to offset and reduce the cost of continued operation of the Cheshire Elementary School and Article 15 will see if town meeting will vote to use $100,000 from free cash to fund the maintenance and safekeeping of Cheshire Elementary while it is closed.

Article 2 asks the town to appropriate $5.9 million to fund the fiscal 2018 budget and Article 3 would appropriate $170,000 from free cash to reduce the tax rate.

Article 5 asks town meeting to vote to appropriate $14,000 from free cash to purchase and install an emergency power generator for the Cheshire Fire Department.

Article 6 will see if the town will appropriate $40,000 from free cash to purchase a new model year 4-wheel drive police cruiser and donate the old 2008 decommissioned cruiser to the charitable organization Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Massachusetts.

Article 7 will ask town meeting to use $11,000 from free cash to purchase and install a new dump body and sander for a 2011 Highway Department truck.

Article 8 will see if town meeting will vote to appropriate $60,000 from free cash to fund the town's share of the Department of Housing and Community Development Housing Rehabilitation grant. The Selectmen voted to apply for this grant that would allow applicable residents to make use of grant funds to make improvements to their homes.

Article 9 will see if town meeting will vote to adopt the provisions of Massachusetts General Law Chapter40, Section 6C, which allows the town to plow snow and ice on private roads. The town has practiced this in the past to make sure roads are open for emergency vehicles, however, the Selectmen decided to place this on town meeting to codify past practice.

If approved Article 16 would allow the Board of Selectmen to petition the Legislature for special legislation to increase its size from three to five members. This change was set forth a few years ago via a citizens' petition, however, the original petition was not the correct process.

Article 17 will see if the town will use $11,514 from cemetery lot sales to purchase a new lawn mower and burial-lowering device equipment.

Article 18 will see if the town will rescind Article 34 of the town bylaws that sets fee schedules for the town clerk. These fees were approved in 1995 and are now obsolete.

Articles 1, 4 and 14 are standard town meeting articles

The Advisory Board approved all the articles.
Dear Doctor: My doctor recently made such an insensitive remark to me about my dogs death that I still havent gotten over it. This is the clinic most accessible to me, and it wont let me change doctors. Do I even bother to bring this up at my next appointment, or just try to forget about it?

Dear Reader: I can understand why you would be upset. The relationship humans have with dogs is one of simple love, without the degree of complexity that isolates humans from one another. Because I have experienced the death of a dog, I know that it can be like losing a family member.

Your doctor, however, may not have had that experience, may never even have had a dog, may be indifferent to dogs or may just plain dislike them. We dont know. Nor do we know exactly what he or she was thinking at the time of the appointment. Clearly, however, your doctor could have done a better job of acknowledging your suffering.

But keep in mind, if you can, that your doctor has many patients and must give attention to each one of them. This includes not just listening, but getting a thorough history of the current problem, making an accurate diagnosis and providing an appropriate treatment. Then there are the other duties: taking phone calls from patients, refilling medications and ensuring documentation on electronic medical records.

Also, like everyone, doctors personal lives can intrude on their professional lives. Like their patients, doctors suffer from the maladies of life, including coping with the illnesses of loved ones and maybe even their own health problems.

What I know from working with doctors over the last 20 years is that most are good-intentioned  but not perfect. We try to be. But we do make mistakes sometimes in dealing with people. Although its difficult to admit that we could have done better, we nonetheless want to know how to do so next time.

In my own practice on occasion, a patient has confronted me when they thought that I hadnt listened to their problems appropriately. Ive had to swallow my pride at these times, stay calm and realize that I could have done better. This isnt easy in any profession, but its critical in the doctor-patient relationship: We have to keep the lines of communication open.

My recommendation is to talk to your doctor about how much your dog meant to you. I would stress how long you had your dog, how it was a source of comfort and how in many ways your dog made your house feel much more like a home.

We can only hope that your doctor will understand and sympathize with your loss. If he or she doesnt, take a step back and look at the relationship overall. If this is an isolated event, try not to focus on the reaction to your dogs death.

If this isnt an isolated event, and you feel that the relationship between you and your doctor is strained, you should consider finding a new primary doctor. You may need to travel farther, but it may be worth the trouble. After all, a good doctor-patient relationship starts with good communication.
Five things to remember about the new downtown parking system:

1. Always enter your license plate number - even for the FREE first 30 minutes.

2. On-street parking is $1 per hour; lot parking is 50 cents per hour. There are also nearly 400 free parking spaces on the city's side streets.

3. You can pay by coin, credit card, or by downloading the Passport parking app.

4. You do not need to display the parking receipt on your dashboard.

5. Parking is FREE on evenings and weekends!
Doctor Returns to Provide Hematology Oncology Care at BMC Cancer Center

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Berkshire Health Systems has announced the appointment of Dr. Sean D. Mullally, a board-certified and fellowship-trained Hematology Oncologist to the BMC medical staff and to the physician staff of the BMC Cancer Center.



Dr. Mullally had previously served with Berkshire Hematology Oncology from 2007 to 2010, and most recently was medical director of the Massachusetts General Cancer Program at Cooley-Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.



Mullally is accepting new patients in need of hematology oncology services and is partnered with Drs. Trevor Bayliss, Michael DeLeo, Paul Rosenthal and Harvey Zimbler at Berkshire Hematology Oncology, located at the BMC Cancer Center, Hillcrest Campus of BMC.


Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition will honor Superintendent of North Adams Schools Barbara Malkas.

Malkas Honored by Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition will honor Superintendent of North Adams Schools Barbara Malkas at its 25th annual, statewide Against the Tide Swim, Kayak, Walk, Run and/or Aquathon fundraising event on June 17.



Proceeds benefit MBCC, which is the state's leading breast cancer organization that seeks to understand the causes of breast cancer in order to find ways to prevent the disease.



"Dr. Malkas is dedicated educator," MBCC's Executive Director Cheryl Osimo said. "We are grateful for her guidance as MBCC expands our award-winning 'Let's Talk Prevention: Reducing Toxic Exposure' program into high schools. We are very fortunate to have such tremendous support from individuals like Dr. Malkas, and her passion for involving young people in the process of creating a safer future, helping us work towards our important goal of cancer prevention for future generations."



The Statewide Metro-Boston Against the Tide will be held for the 25th commemorative year at DCR's Hopkinton State Park on June 17. This family-friendly and inspirational event bring people from all demographics together with one goal in mind: breast cancer prevention. The event consists of several components: competitive and recreational swims, recreational kayak, a fitness walk, and USA Track & Field certified 5K/10K runs.



MBCC is inviting people throughout Massachusetts to register online or by calling 800-649-MBCC. Those who cannot attend are invited to make a pledge to Malkas online. Participants may register as an individual or as part of a team. Registration is $40 per adult per event activity ($80 for Aquathon) and $25 per student per event activity ($50 for Aquathon) up to a maximum of three events. We encourage all participants to fundraise beyond the registration minimum, as all proceeds support the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition. Prizes will be awarded to the podium finishers and top fundraisers.
'Wonder Woman': You Go Girl

With Gal Gadot's depiction of the title character in director Patty Jenkins' "Wonder Woman," we at long last have a superhero who is, well, really super. The beauty breathes revivifying life into a genre that has of late become contrived, overburdened with character minutiae only zealots care about, and saddled with storylines that mistake convolution for ingenuity. While doubtless the merchandisers will make a fortune selling the lunchboxes, pajamas and other tchotchkes celebrating the franchise, for once the commercial hype can't approach the artistic triumph.

Harking back to the original, uplifting purpose of superheroes, Jenkins' superbly directed meld of adventure, social conscience and eye-filling visuals should deservedly attract those filmgoers who otherwise wouldn't think twice of considering such fare. But there has been much buzz about its humanitarian notions regarding gender equality, civil rights and other sacred values our better instincts attempt to find in art whenever dark forces threaten to cloud them in reality. One can make a case for the film as a grand metaphor in the cause of democracy.

While "Wonder Woman" cannot jump from the screen a la Woody Allen's "Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985) to restore civility and dignity to our national image, her heartening example reminds us what that looks like, and that it's worth fighting to reinstate our better self. Just speculating here, but I've little doubt the Founding Fathers would expect no less. Of course Diana, Princess of Themyscira  Wonder Woman or Diana Prince to us  answers to a higher authority.

A demigoddess with roots in Hellenic theology, she's all about justice and reason. She needs little prodding. Still, it hurts neither her nor our romantic sense when Steve Trevor, a handsome, World War I aviator/spy on a secret mission played by Chris Pine, crash lands just off her shore. After Diana saves him and he tells her how the mortal world is in the grips of evil, she figures that it's her fight, too. You see, she's heard of this legendary threat her whole life. Surely it's that accursed Ares, the god of war, who's causing all the misery, death and destruction.

Naturally, Steve wants to get back to the fray alone. But you know how it goes when a goddess sets her mind to something, especially if she's become protective of, and curious about, a brave, dashing mortal from another world. Hence the stage is set for a great and virtuous partnership in the name of ending the war to end all wars. Screenwriter Allan Heinberg, working from a story he created with Jason Fuchs and Zack Snyder, fashions a splendid mix of actual history, Greek mythology and comic book lore that director Jenkins molds into an action-packed civics lesson.

But it's Gadot, whose persona, it is said, was sculpted from clay by her mom, Hippolyta, with a little help from Zeus, who gives the film its magic spark of enchantment. Aside from being beautiful, she possesses all the superhero gimmicks and trappings that capture the youthful portion of our imaginations: the lasso of truth, the bullet-stopping bracelets, and the projectile tiara.

At 5-foot-10 and the majestic stature befitting a demigod, her alluring embodiment of honor and morality gives credence to the philosophical ideal that truth is beauty and all that entails.

Complementing the traffic-stopping ingenue's stellar portrayal, Pine's gallant patriot is the perfect, mortal counterpart. Adding a smart note of levity between the challenges that befall them, the pair's getting-to-know-you tutorial is engagingly dreamy-eyed. Mutually charmed, but knowing they have a whole bunch of world saving to do before they can fully commit to their attraction, for now they must be content in epitomizing the thought that love conquers all.

Playing a Greek chorus to their heroic idealism, three Sancho Panzas provide added portraits of whimsy and courage while supplying the script with a fancifully winning slice of comic book sensibility and inclusion. Said Taghmaoui's diminutive Sameer, a spy who really wanted to be an actor, but was "the wrong color," comically ogles Diana whenever he's not scheming; Ewen Bremner's Charlie is a Scottish sharpshooter who drowns his posttraumatic syndrome in booze; and Eugene Brave Rock's Chief has a profound talent for smuggling people across front lines.

Facilitated through virtually seamless special effects, combined with award-worthy art direction, all of these exquisite ingredients are stunningly fitted into the WWI scenario with a period piece legitimacy that dramatically underlines the film's egalitarian message. That is, there is such a thing as objective truth; people are indeed capable of noble deeds even in the threatening face of corrupt, moneyed interests; and, despite what bigoted authoritarians might dictate to divide us, we are all one people.

Thus, while a defiantly obstructionist majority of our Congress has of late forgotten that they swore to uphold those principles and ideals, we can only hope their children or grandchildren will take them to see "Wonder Woman," who will entertainingly remind them of their duty.

"Wonder Woman," rated PG-13, is a Warner Bros. release directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and David Thewlis. Running time: 141 minutes




Haiti - Security : Minister Cadet visits schools victims of protesters attacks





This week Pierre Josue Agenor Cadet, the Minister of National Education, visited the Immaculate School of Mary (CIM) and the Lycee Marie Jeanne, who are among the schools in Port-au-Prince, victims of attacks by demonstrators during the movements of teachers' demands.



The Minister expressed his solidarity and expressed his sympathies to the schools and denounced these unacceptable attacks in a democratic society which presupposes respect for the other. He promised to consult with the authorities concerned to ensure the protection of the schools after hearing the testimonies of those still traumatized.



The Minister also took the opportunity to reiterate the government's commitments to meet teachers' demands while condemning these unacceptable schools attacks.



IH/ iciHaiti


















Bottoms are in for oil, gold, copper, silver and mining jobs  its steady to up from here!

Few things are certain in markets. Theyre like Northern Nevada weather; hard to predict snow or shine  especially in the spring. There is, however, one reliable barometer for the price of metals and the oil that makes things go: if I pack my truck for an early road trip in May, you can bet all hell will break loose. Staring at the Smoky Valley through my windshield instead of a computer screen filled with numbers is guaranteed to shave $40 off the price of gold and shove the red metal down the shaft. That expensive gas in Tonopah wont reflect the new low-low bid for West Texas crude that has traders headed for the exits. I remain oblivious to such drama until the last travel gear is unpacked and the laptop awakes to Bill Gates music. Why ruin a good road trip with a sell-off?

What the..?

The shock at the end of a long happy trip is watching gold head for the low side of $1,200 per ounce on May 4th. Before checking on copper, I dash a quick e-mail to commodity maven Janet Mirasola at Sucden Futures Inc., New York.

Do you have a new oh-oh level for Cu?

With characteristic British wit she replies, All the bully bulls from $6,200 are saying oh-oh here at $5,500.

Out West, $5,500 per tonne is $2.49 per pound. My screen reports Comex July futures are indeed at oh-ohfalling 11 percent from that lofty $6,200 ($2.81) mid-February bluff.

Funny, that bull I passed at Hay Ranch didnt seem too bothered.

A second email reads Crude Oil Breaks Key Support. An oil expert warns that if West Texas Intermediate falls below $47 per barrel it will be a bad day for more bulls. My screen says, $44 per barrel. The road trip barometer proved right againcommodity storm underway. Get those bulls to safe pasture!

Spring storms pass quickly, recovery takes longer

Maybe youll be chatting with me at the upcoming 2017 Elko Mining Expo. Hopefully, Im explaining that the May dust-up was just that, an overreaction to Chinas slowing manufacturing sector and a persistent oversupply of such industrial metals as copper. Heck, China has been in the slow lane for a long time compared to those heady days when the dragons hunger boosted the red metal above $4.50 per pound and packed oil into $100-plus barrels. Folks then were saying $2,000 gold was just north of Lone Mountain.

Mirasola summarized the recent challenge, The Black, the Red and the Shiny Onesare not faring so well as they all suffer the recent sell off in the commodity sector reflecting a high level of inventory coupled with a low level of demand, a lethal combination for Oil and Copper.

A review of where weve come from lends perspective to these recent price fluctuations. The first chart shows the percent price change for oil and the some key Nevada metals from Jan. 1, 2011 to the present. Thats an important date for comparison since many mining company stocks were at record prices then  times couldnt be better at the start of 2011.

That optimism quickly faded. 2011 proved a very volatile year of extreme price highs and lows as the markets worked through a stalling Chinese economy, Arab Spring and the U.S. debt crisis. Gold alternated from commodity to safe haven with numerous market scares, record prices and a bad sell-off in 2013. Silver had its madman dash to $50 in 2011 but for the most part obediently followed its yellow metal companion lower. Copper fell and fell as traders tried to gauge real demand and as price supportive U.S. Federal Reserve accommodation diminished. By the end of 2014, oil began its descent to new lows given the U.S. fracking revolution and defensive response from major producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Against this backdrop, there is some good news. As shown in the chart, oil, gold, copper and silver prices appear to have bottomed in late-2015 and early-2016. Even the broader Bloomberg Commodity Index1, which includes everything from crude oil to live cattle futures, scored a low in mid-January of last year.

Whats up? Aprils IMF World Economic Outlook 2017 provides a clue:

Global economic activity is picking up with a long-awaited cyclical recovery in investment, manufacturing, and tradeWorld growth is expected to rise from 3.1 percent in 2016 to 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018. Stronger activity, expectations of more robust global demand, reduced deflationary pressures, and optimistic financial markets are all upside developments.

China, the worlds largest commodity consumer, is still important but recovering economies elsewhere coupled with anticipated infrastructure spending in the U.S. will create new sources of demand. The stability of the Chinese currency further suggests their economy is coming slowly into balance and not heading off a cliff.

Ill conclude my conversation with you at the Expo with a beer bet  even with recent sell-offs, the commodity bottoms are in!

Mining employment steady to up from here

The day after the May 4th sell-off, the U.S. Labor Department reported some welcome news  mining jobs are coming back. Their Mining category tracks all the U.S. jobs associated with extracting wealth from the earth. The second chart spans the same period as the first and shows all mining jobs less those associated with the oil & gas industry.

August 2008, one month before the fateful Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, U.S. mining employment peaked at 228,000. With the help of exploding Chinese demand, mining jobs recovered quickly from the financial crisis entering 2011 just below 210,000. They continued to rise until the market sell-off that fall, topping at 224,000 for October 2011. After that, employment followed price declines and a shrinking Chinese economy plumbing a bottom last summer at 177,900  six months after the commodity low and more than 20% down form the 2011 top.

U.S mining employment has since risen for eight consecutive months including the most recent report for April at 186,200. I live part time in Eureka, Nevada and drillers are starting to return, the local Pan Mine has restarted under the new ownership of GRP Minerals, LLC, and McEwen Mining Inc. plans to reopen the Gold Bar mine north of town later this year  all positive signs after a long dry spell.

In April, I checked with Nigel Bain, Executive Director for Barrick U.S.A., and with Cindy Adams, Director of Talent Acquisition for Newmont North America, to get their take on large mining operations in Nevada:

Question: Has your employment followed national trends?

Barrick: The national trend does not reflect the case for our operations in Nevada, our workforce has remained basically the same although a minor redistribution of roles have taken place over that period.

Newmont: Our employment trends have been reasonably consistent during the recent past including our typical slow-down during the holiday season.

Question: What is your employment outlook?

Barrick: We dont foresee any significant changes in headcount. In the nature of the jobs: the short to mid-term, no major changes; in the longer terms, roles will become more technical in nature, hence the strong drive for training for our staff.

Newmont: We anticipate that our employment outlook will remain steady for the foreseeable future now that weve brought our Long Canyon mine into operation.

Encouraging words indeed given the challenges of the last few years.

Bottoms Up!




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!
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Edgar Wright has sparked rumours of a Hot Fuzz sequel by refusing to rule out the possibility.

The comedy which stars his Shaun of the Dead leads Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as policemen in the small town of Sandford has endured as something of a cult classic since its release in 2007.

Naturally, MovieWeb asked if he'd be game for directing a sequel during the promotional trail of his new film Baby Driver which hits cinemas on 16 August.

Films to get excited about in 2017 Show all 13 1 /13 Films to get excited about in 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Director: Rian Johnson Rian Johnson Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and Lupita Nyong'o Plot: No details yet, but it will continue directly on from Rey coming face-to-face with Luke at the end of The Force Awakens. Release Date: 15 December 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Thor: Ragnarok Director: Taika Waititi Taika Waititi Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, and Mark Ruffalo Plot: Story details are minimal as of now, but Thor's third return to screen has already been teased to feature a loose adaptation of the famous 'Planet Hulk' storyline. Release Date: 27 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 You Were Never Really Here Director: Lynne Ramsay Lynne Ramsay Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Alessandro Nivola Plot: A war veteran's attempt to save a young girl from a sex trafficking ring goes horribly wrong. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Annihilation Director: Alex Garland Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A biologist's husband disappears. She thus puts her name forward for an expedition into an environmental disaster zone, but does not quite find what she's expecting. The expedition team is made up of the biologist, an anthropologist, a psychologist, and a surveyor. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Wonderstruck (image from Far From Heaven) Director: Todd Haynes Cast: Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Amy Hargreaves Plot: The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Mother (image of Darren Aronofsky) Director: Darren Aronofsky Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, and Ed Harris Plot: A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Killing of a Sacred Deer (image from The Lobster) Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Alicia Silverstone Plot: A surgeon forms a familial bond with a sinister teenage boy, with disastrous results. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 Blade Runner 2049 Director: Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, and Jared Leto Plot: Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years. Release Date: 6 October 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Lady Bird (image of director Greta Gerwig) Director: Greta Gerwig Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Lucas Hedges Plot: The adventures of a young woman living in Northern California for a year. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (image of director Steven Spielberg and star Mark Rylance) Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Mark Rylance, Oscar Isaac Plot: The Kidnapping Of Edgardo Mortara recounts the story of a young Jewish boy in Bologna, Italy in 1858 who, having been secretly baptized, is forcibly taken from his family to be raised as a Christian. His parents' struggle to free their son becomes part of a larger political battle that pits the Papacy against forces of democracy and Italian unification. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 How to Talk to Girls at Parties Director: John Cameron Mitchell John Cameron Mitchell Cast: Elle Fanning, Ruth Wilson, and Nicole Kidman Plot: An alien touring the galaxy breaks away from her group and meets two young inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the universe: the London suburb of Croydon. Release Date: Unknown Films to get excited about in 2017 The Dark Tower Director: Nikolaj Arcel Nikolaj Arcel Cast: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor Plot: Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world. Release Date: 28 July 2017 Films to get excited about in 2017 Suburbicon Director: George Clooney George Clooney Cast: Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin, and Oscar Isaac Plot: A crime mystery set in the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, where the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and betrayal. Release Date: 24 November

I've definitely had some ideas and me and Simon have even talked about it at points, he revealed, but it's that thing of, do I want to spend three years of my life doing that? Or do I wanna - if I have the opportunity to tell a new story, would I do that?

He added: I would never say never, and you're not wrong to say that that's the one that you could do further instalments.

The one thing appearing to keep Wright from committing to a follow-up is because he is struggling to find the right reason.

 Baby Driver Clip - That's My Baby

The tricky thing with a lot of sequels, and especially comedy sequels, is once characters have finished an arc. Nicholas Angel becomes less of an automaton and becomes more human and Nick Frost's character becomes less of a simpleton and more of a badass. So then the thing is like, when that's your starting point for the next one. Where do you go from there?

Baby Driver stars Ansel Elgort as a getaway driver who is thrown into a predicament after his life collides with that of Lily Collins' Deborah.
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The woman who was raped by Roman Polanski when she was 13-years-old is set to ask a court to end the case against him, the film director's lawyer has said.

Samantha Geimer said previously that she had forgiven Polanski, but this will be the first time she appears in court on his behalf.

Polanski's lawyer Harland Braun told the BBC: "She is coming with her husband because she is tired of this case going on for 40 years. She wants it over."

A court hearing in Los Angeles is set to get access to plea deal testimony from the 70s, Braun said.

Polanski, 83, is currently wanted by US authorities over the rape, which took place in 1977.

He admitted statutory rape and served 42 days in prison after accepting a plea bargain, but fled the US over fears that the judge hearing his case would overrule.

Polanski, who has dual Polish and French citizenship, was re-arrested in Switzerland in 2009 and spent time in prison and under house arrest before being released.

Swiss authorities and Polish courts have rejected requests from the US to extradite him.
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The chief executive of UK Music has promised to hold the new Government's "feet to the fire" to make sure they deliver on pledges to the creative industries.

Theresa May has clung onto power despite a shock result for the Labour party that saw it increase its share of the vote by 9.6 per cent.

After visiting the Queen, the Prime Minister claimed there was a "strong relationship" between the Conservatives and the DUP, despite concern over the latter's controversial policies over abortion and LGBT rights.

Prolific figures in the music industry have nonetheless reacted positively to Labour's success, and Michael Dugher, chief executive of UK music, has now said it is paramount that the interests of the industry are considered in conversations that will take place over the coming weeks.

UK Music congratulates all those elected at the General Election," he said. "Clearly the dust is settling and the situation will continue to unfold in the coming days, so we await developments.

"But over the coming weeks there will be many discussions about the future direction the country will take. It is paramount that the interests of the music industry are fully considered in those conversations and we look forward to engaging positively and working closely with the new parliament and the next government.

"The political parties each made welcome commitments to build on the successes of creative industries, and music in particular, throughout the election campaign. We will be holding their feet to the fire to ensure that they deliver on those pledges. Brexit is clearly the biggest issue facing the country  and our industry  and we will ensure that the interests of our members across the music industry are protected."

Corbyn has been especially passionate about supporting the UK music industry, which brings an annual 4 billion to the economy.

Recommended How UK rappers helped Jeremy Corbyn

"Every Adele or Stormzy has to start somewhere," he said in a recent speech. He also told The Independent in an exclusive interview that live music venues were "absolutely crucial" to Britain and that he wanted to encourage music in schools.

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

Meanwhile Matt Hancock, who last year was made Minister of State for Digital and Culture, has been re-elected as MP for West Suffolk, winning 31,649 votes.

Hancock wrote to London Mayor Sadiq Khan in March urging him to tackle the controversial risk assessment form 696, which has been accused of targeting grime artists.

In an interview with Music Week before the election took place, he claimed that there was "no better party" for the music industry than the Conservatives.

Among his pledges, he said that he wanted to ensure that "our vibrant live music scene continues" and said that the Tories had put 300 million into music education in the last six months.

He cited his work fighting the secondary ticketing market, and also said that he felt music tourism would be able to continue to thrive after Brexit.
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Celebrating its 5th anniversary, We Are FSTVL made a triumphant return to the Damyns Hall Aerodome in Upminster, Essex.

The three-day festival celebrating the best in grime, dance, house and techno marked the start of the UK festival season with thirty thousand revellers descending to the site to - lets be honest - become inebriated, partake in somewhat questionable dancing and ultimately have a good time.

Now Im a huge fan of Craig David and his second coming has been nothing short of an absolute feat - his set at We Are FSTVL paid testament to this. Bringing his hugely successful R&B/hip hop mash up TS5 to the festival, partygoers packed into the huge Terminal 1 stage (a new 450ft long, 45ft high and 150ft wide stage) making it look tiny as Craig David delivered tracks from TLC, Dr Dre and Drake amongst many more alongside his own archive.

BBC's People Just Do Nothing and 2017 BAFTA winners, Kurupt FM also played to a packed-out Terminal 1 Stage with their unique blend of comedy and garage, whilst Detroit native, MK marked his much anticipated set with a tribute to those affected by the Manchester terrorist attack, with hundreds of red balloons released from the stage.

Smaller stages, such as The Little Festival, welcomed up and coming artists such as Lewis Jimenez to give crowds samples of the breadth of talent on show.

Taking on more of a house and techno vibe, the Saturday night saw heavyweight DJ Marco Carola take to stage, whilst Seth Troxler, joined by the equally talented Martinez Brothers, closed the evening on the CircoLoco stage with a display of confetti, fireworks and incredible drops to an audience that would clearly have carried on long into the night.

The final leg of We Are FSTVL brought with it an adverse change in weather following the abundance of sunshine the previous day, however the at times, biblical weather failed to dampen the spirits of festival goers as they turned up in their thousands, still wearing sunglasses, you have to give it to them really  sterling effort.

The UK grime scene has exploded over the last couple of years with the likes of new releases from stalwarts such as Stormzy, Kano and Skepta, along with a cluster of newcomers, however it was the godfather of grime, Wiley who took to the stage at We Are FSTVL, enforcing the friendship between grime and dance.

Recommended How UK rappers helped Jeremy Corbyn

Dizzee Rascal delved into his now incredibly rich archive, performing tracks including Fix Up, Look Sharp and Jus a Rascal, with Giggs and Mist also present.

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Veterans of the electro house scene, Basement Jaxx kicked off their set with weather appropriate track Raindrops as the heavens opened up on an audience that from the looks of things, couldnt have cared less  too busy were they enjoying themselves with what was a meticulously curated set. Consisting of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe the duo kept crowds moving amongst rain and confetti with renditions of 'Good Luck', 'Romeo' and a remix of track 'Smile.

We Are FSTVL is getting a lot bigger as it gets older and the fifth anniversary of it saw a continuation of the trend, attracting bigger and better DJs whilst combining that with the best and brightest of upcoming British talent, its easy to see why it can be heralded as the start of the UK festival season.


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Piers Morgan might have both predicted Donald Trumps shock victory and relished in doing so but he has been less prophetic in his forecast for the UK general election.

The presenter, who is also editor-at-large of the US Mail Online, was adamant Theresa May would win a majority hours before the polls. It goes without saying that the outcome has been rather different. The Prime Minister failed to secure a parliamentary majority and Britain has been left with a hung parliament.

Making his prediction at 4.30pm on Thursday, Morgan tweeted: "Prediction: Conservatives will win by 90-100 seat majority."

But Lord Alan Sugar, the business mogul whom Morgan has had an ongoing public feud with, questioned Morgans confidence.

The Apprentice star chipped in: We will see who is advising you of this mystic meg.

Morgan then touted his prediction again just minutes before the exit poll closed, saying: As exit poll looms, I repeat my prediction: Conservatives to win by 90-100 seat majority.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

After the shock exit polls came in and indicated Britain was heading for a hung parliament, Lord Sugar was unable to restrain himself, saying: You seem to have it wrong Piersy.

The controversial columnist had been well off the mark with his prognosis but somehow managed to blame the mistake on Lord Sugar.

Other critics have chimed in to correct Morgan on his miscalculation, using it as an example of why people should not listen to his predictions.

Not good at the prediction lark then! said Mark Bradshaw.

Go on Piers Morgan repeat it again. Go on.., quipped Simon Le Vans.

Looks like you may be out by approximately 90-100 seats, chipped in another.

Ms May's decision to call a snap election has resulted in a seriously disastrous result for her. With just one seat left to be called, the Conservatives have 318 seats while Labour currently have 261 - with 326 required for a majority.

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Morgan has confessed that he missed the mark, later saying: I think Mr Corbyn has proved a lot of people, including me, completely wrong.

He applauded the Labour leader for the result and argued he had fought the best campaign so wholly deserved his partys election performance.

As with Trump, the more viciously media beat up Corbyn the more popular he became. #Ge2017, he said.

I assumed when push came to ballot box shove, Britain would vote (as usual) with its wallets. It didn't...

Mr Corbyn, who increased his majority in his own constituency of Islington North by 10,430 votes, has called for Ms May to stand down as Prime Minister.

During his victory speech in his north London constituency, he said: The Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. Well the mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

I would have thought thats enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country.

Nevertheless, Ms May has made it clear she is intent on attempting to clutch on to power despite of course failing to secure a Commons majority and mounting calls from both senior Labour and Tory figures for her to step aside.
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Technology giants such as Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter need to collaborate in order to catch pirates and terrorists, says a new report.

It calls on the companies to start sharing information about users, in a similar manner to how casinos share information with each other to catch cheats.

According to the document, doing so could help combat a wide variety of issues including hacking, malware, fake news and child pornography.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

The controversial suggestions are laid out in the Digital Citizens Alliances new Trouble in Our Digital Midst report.

While digital platforms collaborate on policy and technical issues, there is no evidence that they are sharing information about the bad actors themselves, it reads. That enables criminals and bad actors to move seamlessly from platform to platform.

There are numerous examples of industry working together to identify and share information about exploitive behavior. For example, casinos share information about card sharks and cheats, and for decades the retail industry has shared information about fraudulent credit cards.

A similar model would enable digital platforms and law enforcement to more quickly identify and combat those seeking to leverage the platforms to harm consumers.

The idea of extensive data-sharing between large companies and government agencies is a hugely concerning one, as it puts citizens' rights at risk.

Theresa May fiercely criticised technology companies in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack, accusing them of providing terrorists with safe spaces online.

Recommended Theresa May says the internet must be regulated to stop terrorism

She has also called for the internet to be strictly regulated, and wants to introduce tight restrictions on what people can do online.

The Digital Citizens Alliances report focuses on a number of illicit activities, but suggests that the same measures can be used to tackle all manner of problems.

Our best hope is both greater coordination among law enforcement and digital platforms  for example when a digital pirate is caught on Facebook, all other platforms should be alerted to be on the lookout for him or her so they can take action to block the pirate quickly, adds the report.


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Business groups have urged politicians to act quickly to provide economic stability in the wake of the shock election result, as Britain heads towards the uncertainty of a hung parliament with Brexit talks looming.

Confederation of British Industry director general Carolyn Fairbairn warned that this is a serious moment for the UK economy and politicians must get their house in order and form a functioning government, reassure the markets and protect our resilient economy.

Politicians must act responsibly, putting the interests of the country first and showing the world that the UK remains a safe destination for business. It's time to put the economy back to the top of the agenda, she said.

The British Chambers of Commerce struck a similar tone, with director general Adam Marshall saying: After two long years of elections, referenda and wider uncertainty, many businesses were doing their best to ignore the noise of politics  up until today.

He added: The electorate's split decision generates further uncertainty for business communities, who are already grappling with currency fluctuations, rising costs, and the potential impacts of Brexit.

The formation of a workable administration that can give voters and businesses confidence around economic management must be the immediate priority. Businesses are adept at forming alliances and coalitions when important interests are at stake. We should expect the same of our politicians.

Stephen Martin, director general of the Institute of Directors, said businesses had been thrown into political limbo, by the result. With crucial Brexit negotiations coming up fast, in addition to the significant domestic challenges we face, the lack of a government with a majority undeniably creates uncertainty, he said. The majority of British business will be waiting to see whether a stable government can be formed in short order.

If the Conservatives govern as a minority, they must recognise that they have not earned a mandate to implement their manifesto in full.

Now is the time to move on from the rhetoric of the election campaign and focus on preparing for Brexit talks. The issues of access to EU markets and the need for skilled workers are still paramount, and Brussels will be keen to get negotiations underway soon.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

The Federation of Small Businesses urged more caution, saying that Brexit talks should be postponed.

FSB chairman Mike Cherry said: Negotiations should be led by a government and a prime minister that will be in place for the duration, and so we call for a delay to the scheduled start of negotiations rather than a rush to begin in 11 days' time. The need for a transition period now becomes even stronger, providing the time to get Brexit right.

Robert Gordon, chief executive of of Hitachi Capital UK put forward a more positive view: Uncertainty is always bad for business and investment, but we need to remind ourselves that we have been here before. While we hope that the political situation is resolved in a timely fashion, I have great confidence that the enterprising spirit of the populace will prevail and that we will continue to create new jobs, generate greater wealth and remain a key player on the global stage, whoever eventually assumes power.

After all, it is businesses first and foremost, and not politicians, which dictate the health of our economy.
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Jack Mas net worth surged $2.8bn overnight as Alibaba forecast sales growth that topped every analysts estimate, despite Chinas decelerating economy.

Mr Ma, 52, is now the richest person in Asia and 14th wealthiest in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His net worth has climbed $8.5bn this year to $41.8bn.

The latest surge came after Chinas largest e-commerce company forecast 45 to 49 per cent revenue growth in the year ending March, demonstrating how investments beyond online shopping are paying off. Shares in Alibaba, where Mr Ma is chairman, rose 13 per cent to a record high.

Recommended Jack Ma sees decades of pain because of automation and the internet

Alibaba and Tencent - which dominate online shopping and social media, respectively - have ventured deeper into new areas from cloud computing services to streaming music and video as the countrys economy slows. Alibaba is capturing more digital advertising spending by incorporating social elements such as video in its shopping sites.

Alibaba is holding meetings with investors this week. On Friday, the former English teacher said he wasnt going to discuss corporate forecasts. He took the stage instead to describe how his company had become effectively the worlds 22nd largest economy - just after Argentina - in terms of transactions by never fearing to think big. Mr Ma, who said Alibaba revises 10-year plans annually, foresaw the company becoming the fifth-largest eventually by 2036 by serving a burgeoning Chinese middle classes, taking advantage of global trade and making use of its valuable trove of data.

Mas comments about the evolution of data-driven technology echoed Masayoshi Son, Chairman of Japans SoftBank. SoftBank - Alibabas largest shareholder - has invested billions in companies such as ARM with the intention of staking out a leading position in the future Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things is gonna be big because in the past, machines drink electricity, Mr Ma told investors. In the next 20 years, machines will drink data.

In the future, no company, no country, no business can survive without data.

Bloomberg
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Grammars are out

The DUP is very much pro grammar, and schools in Northern Ireland are intrinsically selective  with a structure thats closer to the pre-Blair system that was long the standard in the rest of the UK.

But the Conservative Party is left in such a weak position that, even if they form a government with the DUP, ministers will in no way be able to push forward with the much contested selective school proposals outlaid in their election manifesto.

Only seven Conservative ministers need to oppose such a bill, and we know there are around 15 who are outspokenly opposed to grammar schools specifically.

Recommended What the DUP stands for and will bring to parliament

As a source close to Number 10 reportedly put it to TES early on Friday morning, grammar school plans are f***ed  something that will come as a relief to campaigners who have voiced opposition over Theresa Mays plans for months.

Free school expansions will continue

The minority result may also have come as a blow to New Schools Network head and free schools advocate, Toby Young, who has championed Theresa Mays plans to build at least 100 new free schools  including selective grammars  each year.

Everyone can more or less agree that new school places are needed  especially given the forecasted population increase  and this has been Mr Youngs strongest argument in favour of free schools expansion.

But they remain something of a contentious issue, with some arguing free schools are too costly and unaccountable, receiving huge budgets while local authority schools are neglected.

As director of NSN, Mr Young was tasked with helping to deliver the new free schools, which are autonomous from local authority.

Speaking to The Independent on Friday, he remained positive the plans would go through, stating that the free schools programme remains the main delivery mechanism for much needed school places, regardless of the stance on grammars.

It remains to be seen what impact the election result will have on individual education policies, but I expect the free schools programme to continue, he said.

Free schools are more popular with parents than council-run schools, more likely to be rated Outstanding by Ofsted and get better results. They also remain the most cost effective way of providing much-needed new school places.

Responding to the outcome on Friday morning, Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: The Conservative party was hugely divided over grammar schools.

The initiative for them came directly from Theresa May and her advisor Nick Timothy  perhaps only introduced in a misguided attempt to gain voters from Ukip.

This policy cant possibly survive this calamitous election. Government education policy now needs to urgently concentrate on and address school funding cuts.

School funding will have to be readdressed

Schools are already facing very real and immediate consequences as a result of the squeeze on school funding.

Weve heard and read stories about schools closing half an hour early to save money, parents being sent begging letters asking for donations, and teachers buying art materials and textbooks using money from their own pocket.

Speaking on Radio 4s Womans Hour in the run-up to election day, Home Secretary Amber Rudd admitted that a Conservative government would not increase per pupil funding in England  a disclosure union leaders said confirmed their worst fears.

The future of school funding now hangs in the air: Voters have undoubtedly reacted against the Conservatives real terms cuts of 7 per cent per pupil, as well as the much criticised plans to scrap universal free lunches for infants.

By comparison, Labour pledged to increase school spending per pupil by 6 per cent compared with present levels, and the Liberal Democrat plan would protect spending in real terms at the 2017-18 level.

In its party manifesto, the DUP highlights that Northern Irelands direct spending by schools is the lowest in the UK  something it endeavours to change.

The party also states it wants to empower its schools principles and governors to end the top-down culture of the Department for Education by giving control over budgets and resources back to schools.

Interestingly, the DUP makes far more mention of special needs schools and SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) diagnosis than the Conservatives.

Schools and universities are in comparatively good places, said Sir Anthony Seldon, vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham.

What they absolutely dont need is any more initiatives from governments from the left or the right which will only damage the direction in which they are going.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA 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 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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 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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

That said, the cuts to the school programme needs to be urgently eased out, or the quality of education will really suffer.

Research published on the School Cuts website shows that, in reality, 93 per cent of schools will experience real-terms cuts by 2022 under the current plans.

The NUT and ATL unions warned that if the Government decides to press ahead with these cuts, campaigns will intensify over the coming weeks and months  so we could see some more strike action.

Funding for universities and further education remains unclear

While schools have made headlines for their financial struggles, top UK universities have been slipping down the ranks of recent global league tables  an issue experts have blamed on cuts to funding within higher education.

Despite this, Universities Minister Jo Johnson appears to remain in favour, with vice chancellors, including Sir Anthony, commending his efforts to pilot new university legislation, including the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Dropping him would be folly and dangerous, the Buckingham head warned.

 2017 General Election in numbers

Now, it seems, is the time for industry leaders to place increasing pressure on ministers to protect the rights of overseas students by allowing free movement following Brexit, and by discounting them from UK migration statistics.

The government needs to start welcoming and celebrating overseas students, not deterring them, and it needs to ensure the softest of soft Brexits that will not inflict significant damage on British higher education and science.

The University and College Union, which represents higher and further education institutions across the UK, said the next government must prioritise investment in further and higher education and act swiftly to end the uncertainty over the position of EU nationals.

It could be good news for international students

Responding to early indications of high youth turnout, UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: It is encouraging to see that a positive message, particularly after the unpleasant Brexit campaign last year, can still inspire voters.

Theresa May called this election expecting to secure a mandate for a hard Brexit. She has signally failed to achieve that and the next government must bring some stability in these chaotic times.

We believe an important first step is to now guarantee the rights of EU citizens currently in the UK, including thousands of university and college staff and students who contribute so much to our economy and society.

The outgoing president of the National Union of Students, Malia Bouattia, added: Students have influenced the outcome right across the country and in key university towns. There have been claims that this can be attributed solely to the issue of tuition fees, but doing so is disingenuous and only tells part of the story.

Students want a government that recognises the importance of education and properly invests in it, rather than consistently cuts it. Over the last seven years, funding for both further and higher education has radically reduced; colleges have closed, adult education budgets have been slashed and student debt has continued to rise. This cant continue.

Theresa Mays refusal to guarantee the rights of EU citizens, the impact of leaving the European Union and regressive Home Office policies have made the UK a less attractive place to study, she warned, but surveys show the vast majority of students believe the loss of international students would have a negative impact their university experience.

One positive view is that the DUP is keen to avoid a hard border with Ireland, and is therefore unlikely to want to jeopardise the UKs intake of international students post-Brexit.

It remains to be seen whether Theresa May will back down on her insistence for international students to be included within migration figures.
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On the eve of the Arab-Israeli war, 50 years ago this week, Israeli officials raced to assemble an atomic device and developed a plan to detonate it atop a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula as a warning to Egyptian and other Arab forces, according to interviews with a key organiser of the effort that were published last Monday.

The secret contingency plan, called a doomsday operation by Itzhak Yaakov, the retired brigadier general who described it in the interviews, would have been invoked if Israel feared it was going to lose the 1967 conflict. The demonstration blast, Israeli officials believed, would intimidate Egypt and surrounding Arab states  Syria, Iraq and Jordan  into backing off.

Israel won the war so quickly that the atomic device was never moved to Sinai. But Yaakovs account, which sheds new light on a clash that shaped the contours of the modern Middle East conflict, reveals Israels early consideration of how it might use its nuclear arsenal to preserve itself.

Its the last secret of the 1967 war, said Avner Cohen, a leading scholar of Israels nuclear history who conducted the interviews. Yaakov, who oversaw weapons development for the Israeli military, detailed the plan to Cohen in 1999 and 2000, years before he died in 2013 at 87.

Look, it was so natural, said Yaakov, according to a transcription of a taped interview. Youve got an enemy, and he says hes going to throw you to the sea. You believe him.

How can you stop him? he asked. You scare him. If youve got something you can scare him with, you scare him.

Israel has never acknowledged the existence of its nuclear arsenal, in an effort to preserve nuclear ambiguity and forestall periodic calls for a nuclear-free Middle East. In 2001, Yaakov was arrested, aged 75, on charges that he had imperiled the countrys security by talking about the nuclear programme to an Israeli reporter, whose work was censored. At various moments, US officials, including former president Jimmy Carter long after he left office, have acknowledged the existence of the Israeli programme, though they have never given details.

A spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Washington said the Israeli government would not comment on Yaakovs role.

If the Israeli leadership had detonated the atomic device, it would have been the first nuclear explosion used for military purposes since the US attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 22 years earlier.

The plan had a precedent: the US considered the same thing during the Manhattan Project, as the programmes scientists hotly debated whether to set off a blast near Japan in an effort to scare Emperor Hirohito into a quick surrender. The military vetoed the idea, convinced that it would not be enough to end the war.

According to Yaakov, the Israeli plan was code-named Shimshon, or Samson, after the biblical hero of immense strength. Israels nuclear deterrence strategy has long been called the Samson option because Samson brought down the roof of a Philistine temple, killing his enemies and himself. Yaakov said he feared that if Israel, as a last resort, went ahead with the demonstration nuclear blast in Egyptian territory, it could have killed him and his commando team.

Cohen, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and the author of Israel and the Bomb and The Worst-Kept Secret, described the idea behind the atomic demonstration as giving the prime minister an ultimate option if everything else failed. Cohen, who was born in Israel and educated in part in the US, has pushed the frontiers of public discourse on a fiercely hidden subject: how Israel became an unacknowledged nuclear power in the 1960s.

On Monday, the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project of the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington  where Cohen is a global fellow  released on a special website a series of documents related to the atomic plan. The project maintains a digital archive of his work known as the Avner Cohen Collection. (President Donald Trumps proposed budget calls for the elimination of all federal funding for the centre, which Congress created as a living memorial to Wilson.)

It has long been known that Israel, fearful for its existence, rushed to complete its first atomic device on the eve of the Arab-Israeli war. But the planned demonstration remained secret in a country where it is taboo to discuss even half-century-old nuclear plans, and where fears persist that Iran will eventually obtain a nuclear weapon, despite its deal with world powers.

Itzhak Yaakov never fully recovered from his legal ordeal

Shimon Peres, the former Israeli president and prime minister who died last year, hinted at the plans existence in his memoirs. He referred to an unnamed proposal that would have deterred the Arabs and prevented the war.

At the time of the 1967 war, the worlds main nuclear powers were observing an accord known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty. To curb radiation hazards, it prohibited all test detonations of nuclear arms except for those conducted underground. That Israel considered an open explosion was a measure of its desperation.

The goal, Yaakov says on the transcribed tape, was to create a new situation on the ground, a situation which would force the great powers to intervene, or a situation which would force the Egyptians to stop and say, Wait a minute, we didnt prepare for that. The objective was to change the picture.

Cohen said he struck up a relationship with Yaakov after he published Israel and the Bomb in 1998. He interviewed him for hours in the summer and autumn of 1999 and in early 2000, always in Hebrew and mainly in midtown Manhattan, where the former general lived.

Those interviews paint a picture of Israels recognition in the early 1960s that it needed a crash programme to get the bomb. In 1963, Yaakov, a freshly minted colonel with engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and from Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, became the senior liaison officer between the Israel Defence Forces and the countrys civilian defence units, including the project to make an atomic bomb.

As Yaakov recounted the story, in May 1967, as tensions rose with Egypt over its decision to close the Straits of Tiran between the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea, he was half a world away, visiting the Rand Corp, in California. He was suddenly summoned back to Israel. With it clear that war was imminent, Yaakov said, he initiated, drafted and promoted a plan aimed at detonating a nuclear device in the sparsely populated Eastern Sinai Desert in a display of force.

The site chosen for the proposed explosion was a mountain top about 12 miles from an Egyptian military complex at Abu Ageila, a critical crossroads where, on June 5, Ariel Sharon commanded Israeli troops in a battle against the Egyptians. (Sharon later became prime minister, and died in 2014.)

The plan, if activated by order of the prime minister and military chief of staff, was to send a small paratrooper force to divert the Egyptian army in the desert area so that a team could lay preparations for the atomic blast. Two large helicopters were to land, deliver the nuclear device, and then create a command post in a mountain creek or canyon. If the order came to detonate, the blinding flash and mushroom cloud would have been seen throughout the Sinai and Negev deserts, and perhaps as far away as Cairo.

Yaakov described a helicopter reconnaissance flight he made with Israel Dostrovsky, the first director general of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, the civilian arm of the bomb programme. The helicopter had to turn back after the pilots learnt that Egyptian jets were taking off, perhaps to intercept them. We got very close, Yaakov recalled. We saw the mountain, and we saw that there is a place to hide there, in some canyon.

On the eve of the war, Yaakov said, he was filled with the same doubts that had gnawed at the American scientists during the Manhattan Project. Would the bomb explode? Would he survive the blast? He never got to find out. Israel defeated three Arab armies, gained territory four times its original size and became the regions foremost military power using conventional arms.

Nonetheless, Yaakov continued to lobby for an atomic demonstration to make clear the countrys new status as a nuclear power. But the idea went nowhere. I still think to this day that we should have done it, he told Cohen.

During a visit to Israel, a year after telling his story to Cohen in New York, where he had worked as a venture capitalist after having played a key role in the founding of Israels technology industry, Yaakov was arrested on charges of high espionage that carried a maximum penalty of life behind bars. The exact charges were a mystery, and he was put on a secret trial.

We see this as a very sad story of a person who dedicates his life to the security of Israel and ends up caught in a huge story that gets blown out of proportion and jeopardises his reputation, his career, his legacy, everything, Jack Chen, one of his lawyers, told The New York Times at the time.

It turned out that the charges centred on his conversations with an Israeli reporter, whose account of the 1967 plan was censored by the military. Yaakov was found guilty of handing over secret information without authorisation, the lesser of the charges against him. He was given a two-year suspended sentence.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, in its obituary of Yaakov, said he had never fully recovered from his legal ordeal and, during his final days, bitterly discussed its details with fellow retired officers.

Cohen said he and Yaakov continued to get together long after the interviews and the secret trial  for instance, in a restaurant in Tel Aviv around 2009. He said he had promised Yaakov he would find the right time and the right place to make his story public. Now, he said, on the 50th anniversary of the war  with Yaakov and so many other witnesses long dead  it seemed like the right time.

 New York Times
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A new suspect linked to the London Bridge attack has been arrested as investigations into how the terrorists planned their massacre continue.

At 2am a 28-year-old man was detained by armed police in Barking on suspicion of being concerned in the preparation of acts of terrorism.

Searches of the residential address where he was arrested continue.

The suspect is one of seven people who remain in custody almost a week after the atrocity, which left eight people dead and dozens injured.

Twelve people held in the initial stages of the probe were released without charge earlier this week, while a man arrested in Ilford on suspicion of drugs offences has been bailed.

Police continue to appeal on information on the attackers and their movements, following revelations that they held a midnight meeting at a gym in Ilford five days before launching the attack.

Relatives of suspected ringleader Khuram Butt said he was partly radicalised by extremist videos he watched on YouTube.

Fahad Khan, 36, the cousin of Butt's wife, claimed his relative watched hate preachers sermons and openly supported Isis.

 CCTV footage police shows police open fire on London Bridge attackers

Khuram, I know he was inspired by one of the sheikhs who was giving lectures on YouTube, and he belonged to one specific sector of Islam which had very rigid and strict views, he added.

"Videos about fighting non-Muslims for no reasons, innocent non-Muslims.

Among Butts suspected influence is American-born Ahmad Musa Jibril, who lives in Dearborn, Michigan. His lectures remain online.

Mr Khan added that Butt wanted to join Isis in Syria as a foreign fighter but was dissuaded by his family.

British intelligence services have come under scrutiny over revelations he had already been cautioned over an extremist assault and was known for associating with Anjem Choudarys network of Islamists.

Butt appeared alongside Choudary, who has since been jailed for inviting support for Isis, and openly associated with his successors in a television documentary that saw him praying towards a black flag associated with jihadi groups in a London park.

He lived with his wife and children in Barking near fellow attacker Rachid Redouane, while the third attacker Youssef Zaghba lived in Ilford.

London Bridge Terror Attack Show all 16 1 /16 London Bridge Terror Attack London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police Officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police deal with a 'major incident' at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services near the scene of the incident Screengrab London Bridge Terror Attack People run down Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services arrive at the scene near Borough market at London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack A second helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Officers are dealing with reports of stabbings in Borough Market, where armed officers attended and shots were fired. They are also at an incident in the Vauxhall area PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London REUTERS London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack A police officer escorts members of the public to safety at London Bridge Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident near London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters

The district of east London has become a focus of inquiries after it was revealed that the attackers met at the Ummah Fitness Centre on 29 May.

They were caught on CCTV laughing and embracing after disappearing off-camera, leaving a phone behind in behaviour suggesting they were wary of surveillance while planning the atrocity.

The Ummah Fitness Centre admitted Butt occasionally trained at the segregated gym but could not be reached to confirm locals claims he taught mixed marital arts classes.

A man who works near the Ummah Fitness Centre told The Independent a man unrelated to the London Bridge attack showed him videos of lessons.

The martial arts that were being taught were aggressive-looking and they were doing weapons training, said Wilson Chowdhry, chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association.

The man told me he was providing jihadi training to people at a gym in Ilford.

He was joking that you should join us [Muslims], youll be safer this way. It was very intimidating.

Mr Chowdhry said the man showed him the videos two years ago and he reported the incident to the police, although he did not know where the footage was taken at the time.

People gather by a Police cordon, near to the Ummah Fitness Centre, in Ilford, east of London, following a raid on the gym, as police continue their investigations into June 3 terror attack (Getty Images)

The Ummah Fitness Centre could not be reached for comment, with its Facebook page and website having been taken down.

In a notice posted on the door of the closed gym, which operates a gender-segregated timetable and remains open until 3am for fasting Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan, managers said they were shocked and saddened by the London Bridge attack.

While Mr Butt did occasionally train here at UFC gym we do not know him well nor did we see anything of concern, we will of course help the police in any way we can, it continued.

A member of the Ummah Fitness Centre said Butt had enrolled him three weeks ago looked troubled in the lead-up to the attack.

The man said Butt, who previously worked on the Tube and at KFC, would normally be friendly, greeting him when he arrived for sessions, but increasingly appeared blank.

Neighbours told The Independent Butt hired the van used to mow down pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday, seeing it speeding the wrong way down his residential street hours before the attack.

How he met his two fellow attackers remain unclear, but a European intelligence official told the New York Times Zaghba was introduced to Butt by an Italian faction of Al-Muhajiroun

Youssef Zaghba was born to a Moroccan father an Italian mother

Italian police said they had alerted European partners after the 22-year-old was prevented from travelling to join Isis in Syria last year, telling officers at Bologna airport he wanted to be a terrorist.

Redouane, a 30-year-old man who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, was not known to authorities but had been denied asylum in the UK before gaining residency through his marriage to a woman in Dublin.

Isis hailed the trio as soldiers of the Islamic State in claim of responsibility for the attack, having released detailed instructions on how to carry out massacres using vehicles and knives.

All eight people killed have been identified, including three Frenchmen, two Australian women, one Canadian woman, one Spanish man and one British man.

NHS England has revealed that all victims who made it to hospital with their injuries survived, following tireless efforts by surgeons, doctors, nurses and staff.

More than 20 injured patients were initially in a critical condition, but 10 now remain in critical care.

Borough Market has launched a fund-raising drive to help businesses suffering financial losses as the area remains locked down following Saturday's massacre.

The popular market's trust is aiming to raise 50,000 to support companies unable to make money while police maintain strict cordons around their premises.
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The veteran Labour MP Dennis Skinner has fought off a concerted effort to unseat him, holding on to the seat he has occupied for the last 47 years.

Mr Skinner has been the MP for Bolsover since he first won the seat in 1970. This time round he took 24,153 votes, keeping his seat with a majority 52 per cent vote.

The victory was hard won, with the Conservative candidate Helen Harrison gaining 41 per cent of the 46,519 electors who cast their ballots, the Liberal Democrats received under three per cent of the vote.

Recommended Tories to ask who might be the next leader

Speaking to the Derbyshire Times at the ballot count, Mr Skinner said that the campaign trail took him to every village, admitting that he fights it like a marginal.

The former chairman of the Labour Party generally voted in favour of gay rights, and consistently voted for allowing marriage between two people of the same sex.

He voted for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.

The Labour MP is known for his fiery rhetoric in parliamentary sessions: he was famously kicked out of parliament in 2016 for calling David Cameron dodgy Dave after the then Prime Minister defended his financial affairs in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal.

He accused Theresa May of walking "hand-in-hand [with a] fascist" during her visit with US President Donald Trump in January.

The latest results suggest the Conservatives are on course to be the largest party with 319 seats, a loss of 12 seats in comparison to Labours gain of 29, bringing their total seats to 261.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

This will mean a hung parliament, and the Prime Minister is likely to try to form a government with the help of the DUP.

The results mark a terrible night for Theresa May, who began her campaign with a strong lead but saw her advantage narrow. Members of her party are suggesting she might stand down as Prime Minister, but Conservative sources insist she has no intention of resigning.
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The European Parliament's chief Brexit coordinator, Guy Verhofstadt, has called the general election results an own goal for Prime Minister Theresa May.

In a Twitter post he wrote: "Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May, will make already complex negotiations even more complicated."

Mr Verhofstadt was referring to Ms Mays decision to hold another election in a failed attempt to solidify her mandate.

Romanian-born Serge Moscovici, the European Commissioner for economic and financial affairs, echoed his sentiments, saying Ms May had lost her bet".

Rather than the majority she had hoped for, the Conservatives have been left with a hung parliament and will now have to rely on the support of Northern Irelands Democratic Party (DUP).

According to Politics Home, Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, doesn't believe the future of the Conservative Party lies with Theresa May.

She said she believes "it will be difficult for [Theresa May] to survive".

Sources in Brussels told The Independent the UK election results have thrust Brexit negotiations into unchartered territory".

Michel Barnier, another lead Brexit negotiator, is calling for a halt in talks, and said they should only start when the UK is ready; timetable and EU positions are clear. Lets put our minds together on striking a deal".

The European Unions budget commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, said Brexit talks will likely be delayed, and told Germanys Deutschlandfunk that a weak British negotiating partner was bad for talks.

Swedens former Foreign Minister Carl Bildts blamed the outcome on Ms May, saying it was the price to be paid for the lack of true leadership".

The socialist leader in the European Parliament, Gianna Pitella, praised Jeremy Corbyn for running a "strong and positive campaign", and said he wanted the Prime Minister to resign, calling the election a disaster for her.

Despite calls from both Labour and Tory figures to quit, Ms May has said she will remain in charge of her party and the country.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

Germanys minister for Europe, Michael Roth, expressed his happiness about the election results, in particular praising the young British".

The turnout for 18 to 24-year-olds was 66.4 per cent, according to Sky News data.
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Pictures of the pink-bladed knives which the London Bridge terrorists used to slaughter innocent pedestrians have been released by police.

Bound with black tape, the 12-inch weapons which helped kill and maim revellers last Saturday were ceramic, possibly so the murderers could avoid metal detectors, investigators believe.

Each of the men carried an identical blade as they inflicted the outrage on Borough Market.

Material tethered to one hilt is shown saturated with blood and was apparently designed so killer Khuram Butt could strap it to his wrist, commander Dean Haydon said.

Petrol bombs were also found littered alongside the van used to run down victims on London Bridge, suggesting the plot was intended to be more destructive.

In an image of the white rented vehicle, at least two of the crude explosives could be seen at the door of the passenger seat, alongside two blow torches.

The flammable liquid was put inside 13 wine bottles, some of which were labelled "Baywood: Fruity Rose", and had rags tied to their lids, Scotland Yard said.

Inside the van, gravel, chairs and a red suitcase can be seen, which detectives believe were props for a cover story the terrorists used to justify the rental to their families.

And strapped to the trio's waists as they leapt from its doors were fake suicide belts, composed of plastic water bottles wrapped in grey duct tape.

Mr Haydon, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter-Terrorism Command, said: "We've been working round the clock to understand what these men did in the lead-up to the attack but we need to know more about these unusual knives.

London Attack victims Show all 8 1 /8 London Attack victims London Attack victims Christine Archibald, a Canadian woman who was killed in the latest London attack PA London Attack victims James McMullan, 32, who is believed to be one of victims who died in the London Bridge terror attack after his bank card was found on a body at the scene PA London Attack victims Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, aged 28. a staff nurse at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, England, who died in the 03 June 2017 terror attack on London Bridge and Borough Market EPA London Attack victims Darren Mole Twitter / DarrenMole London Attack victims Oliver Dowling and his girlfriend Marie Bondeville were injured in the london terror attacks Facebook London Attack victims Candice Hedge London Attack victims Alexandre Pigeard, from Normandy, was knifed to death at Boro Bistro after three terrorists went on the rampage on Saturday night DoyouBuzz London Attack victims Geoff Ho Facebook

"Where have they come from? Where might the attackers have bought them from?

"If you know anything about these particular types of knives, please let us know - it could prove a crucial lead in our investigation.

"There were three identical knives - each attacker had one of those in their hand, wrapped with some kind of leather binding.

"The leather binding actually went around the attackers' wrist so in essence it was almost strapped to their wrist.

"It appears to be some kind of kitchen knife, and there is an indication they are ceramic and you could potentially avoid metal detection systems."

Anyone with information can reach police on 0800 789 321 or visit gov.uk/ACT and complete a secure form.
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Amber Rudd clung onto her seat by the narrowest of margins following a knife-edge full recount in Hastings and Rye.

The Home Secretary did not speak to the media and was spirited away into the early dawn by her aides after she emerged victorious with a greatly reduced majority of just 346, defeating her Labour rival. by 25,668 to 25,322.

After the recount was announced, Ms Rudd relaxed visibly having spent most of the evening looking tense.

 Increased voter turnout sees big boost for Labour

On a better than expected night for Labour, its candidate Peter Chowney, leader of Hastings borough council, could not overturn the Conservative majority of 4,796 in the Brexit-leaning constituency despite his popularity locally and a well-organised campaign.

Some had anticipated Hastings and Rue could deliver the Michael Portillo moment of the campaign but the result when it came through at around 4.45am meant the Conservatives avoided an embarrassing defeat on a disastrous night for the Government.

Ms Rudd delivered only a brief speech, in which she paid tribute to Mr Chowney for having run a good campaign and thanked her own team and made no mention of Prime Minister Theresa May.

I'm deeply honoured to have been re-elected for the third time by the residents of Hastings and Rye.

This is a fantastic place to live and work and I'm going to continue my hope to build on the opportunities and great regeneration that has been taking place in this area.

Improving our schools, improving our NHS and getting the infrastructure investment that we need.

This is what really matters to me and this is what I hope to continue to deliver for the fantastic constituency of Hastings and Rye.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

The Home Secretary played a high-profile role in the Conservative campaign, standing in for Ms May in the seven-way television debate of party leaders after she declined to appear. She was praised by some for her performance and has been tipped as a possible Chancellor, with Philip Hammond rumoured to be at risk of losing the job in an anticipated reshuffle.

But Ms Rudd has faced difficult questions over security and policing following the recent terrorist attacks in Manchester and London after it emerged two of those responsible had been on the radar of the security forces, of which she has overall charge.

The Home Secretary has enjoyed a rapid ascent since entering politics in 2010, when she won the East Sussex seat of Hastings and Rue from Labour. The constituency was held by Labour during the Blair years and is considered a Labour-Tory swing.

It was believed Ms Rudd might have alienated Leave voters in the relatively deprived constituency where 55 per cent of voters opted to leave after playing a key role in the cross-party campaign to remain in the EU, although Mr Chowney is also a pro-Remain politician.

The Labour candidate was given a boost when the Green Party decided not to field a candidate in order to give Mr Chowney a better chance as part of their bid to form a progressive alliance  but in the end this was not to be.
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Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, has said she is disappointed following a dismal set of results in the general election, including the loss of the SNPs leader in Westminster, Angus Robertson.

Ms Sturgeon, who is also the SNP leader, added she would reflect on the partys loses and her demand for a second independence referendum but claimed the result was the second best ever for the party that has pinned its hopes on a second independence referendum.

The party are projected to win 32 seats, down from the 56 they achieved in 2015.

She continued: "This has been a disaster for Theresa May. She called an election clearly very arrogantly thinking she was going to crush the opposition, sweep everybody aside and cruise to a landslide majority.

Recommended Tories distance themselves from Theresa May as hung parliament looms

"Her position I think is very, very difficult. We have to wait and see how things shake out. I've always said the SNP would want to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government.

"I'm disappointed at the SNP losses but I'm pleased that we've won the election."

Mr Robertson, who was the party's leader at Westminster and also its deputy leader, was beaten in Moray by former MSP Douglas Ross by 18,478 votes to 22,637.

The nationalist had held the seat since 2001 and was defending a majority of 9,065.

Mr Robertson became one of the SNP's most high-profile figures after the 2015 election, thanks to a weekly platform at Prime Minister's Questions.

As group leader at Westminster, and as a result of the SNP's newly-acquired third-party status, he was handed the task of challenging the UK Government on everything from welfare reforms to Brexit and foreign affairs.

Mr Robertson - who also took over as SNP depute leader in 2016 - has often been lauded for his PMQs performances, earning a reputation as a formidable opponent and potential future leadership contender.

Born in London to Scottish and German parents, he grew up in Edinburgh before attending university in Aberdeen.

He worked as a journalist and then as a European and international affairs adviser to SNP MSPs at Holyrood before he was elected to Westminster in 2001 to represent Moray.

He served as the party's defence spokesman and, in 2015, was appointed as a member of the Privy Council and the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

He was the party's campaigns director for the 2007 and 2011 Scottish elections and previously served as business convener, chairing the SNP's National Executive Committee, the annual national conference and the policy-making forum National Council.

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond said no one had expected a repeat of the SNP's 56-seat win in 2015 but the result would still be a victory for the party. He added: "Theresa May would love to be in a position just now that she could say she's going to win a majority of seats across the UK.

"So given that the SNP looks like we might well have done it again in Scotland, I think you have to afford the SNP some credit, despite losing many fine parliamentary colleagues."

A second independence referendum is still on the table, which would be helped by a smaller Tory majority, allowing the SNP to wield greater influence, Mr Salmond said.
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With the Conservatives on course to win only around 320 seats in the general election - a failure by any measure, though they will remain the largest single party - questions are turning to Theresa May's future.

The Prime Minister refused to respond when, as she arrived at the declaration of her own seat in Maidenhead, she was asked: "Are you going to resign?"

Anna Soubry was one of many Conservative MPs who faced a tight race in Thursday's vote. Labour sources were briefing journalists early on in the count that they thought she might lose it.

Recommended May asked if she is going to resign on arriving at Maidenhead count

In the end, Ms Soubry took her seat of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire with almost 26,000 votes, a majority of just 863 ahead of Labour's Greg Marshall, way down from her 2015 majority of 4,287.

Speaking on the BBC News channel shortly afterwards, Ms Soubry said Theresa May should "consider her position".

"It was a dreadful campaign," Ms Soubry said. When asked to explain what she meant by that, she added: "Well, where do you want me to begin?"

The MP said the party "actually had some very good policies", but criticised the "appalling" way they were presented and the "deeply flawed" U-turn on social care costs.

She also criticised "the way the campaign was being run. It was about her and what she wanted to do, and she absolutely put her mark on this campaign."

Asked if Ms May should stay on as Prime Minister, Ms Soubry said: "That is a matter for her... It's bad.

"She is in a very difficult place. She is a remarkable and very talented woman and she doesn't shy from difficult decisions, but she now has to, obviously, consider her position."
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As Britain reeled from the shock election result which saw the Conservatives lose their majority, attention turned to the party that will prop them up in the House of Commons.

The Democratic Unionist Party will enter into a confidence and supply arrangement with Theresa Mays Government  offering support in the Commons, but falling short of a formal coalition.

Early indications showed Ms May had been forced to ditch election manifesto commitments, promise 1bn of extra spending and even lucrative new tax powers to Northern Ireland to secure the DUP's support.

Speaking after the formal announcement that the parties had reached a deal, DUP leader Arlene Foster said: "Our aim in these negotiations has been to deliver for all of the people of Northern Ireland and the support measures which we are announcing will be to the benefit of all our people."

But who is party leader Arlene Foster - the new power behind Theresa May?

The 46-year-old was almost killed when she was a teenager after the IRA targeted her school bus, being driven by a soldier in the Ulster Defence Regiment.

The former First Minister of Northern Ireland has served as the leader of the DUP since December 2015.

She became First Minister in January 2016 and served until Martin McGuinness resigned in protest at her cash for ash scheme in January 2017, resulting in the collapse of power-sharing.

Ms Foster faced accusations of mishandling over an ill-conceived renewable energy scheme which overpaid businesses for using green heating systems, costing taxpayers in excess of 490m.

Ms Foster led her party in the campaign for Brexit, the only party in the Stormont executive to campaign for Leave. She is against a hard brexit, to avoid any hard border with the Republic of Ireland and new customs operations.

Ms Foster opposes same-sex marriage and abortion, and has campaigned against both.

I would not want abortion to be as freely available here as it is in England and dont support the extension of the 1967 act, she told The Guardian in 2016.

Ms Foster is a lawyer by training, and is married with three children.
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The most senior Conservatives are refusing to appear on TV in the wake of their disappointing election results, according to the BBC.

Many top Tories  including potential leadership candidates Boris Johnson, Philip Hammond and David Davis  are not taking up offers of interviews, David Dimbleby said live on TV.

Both are usually happy to talk on TV but do not wish to appear after it became clear that their party was heading for a hung parliament, Mr Dimbleby suggested.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

The silence came as a number of Tories suggested that Theresa May could have to resign after the disappointing results. Though the Conservatives are still expected to be the biggest party, she is not going to win enough seats to get the necessary majority.

If she does, Mr Johnson and Mr Davis are expected to launch leadership bids, and may be joined by home secretary Amber Rudd.
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Conservative politicians and activists are venting their dismay at the absolute disaster facing the party following shock losses in the general election.

MP Nigel Evans said the Tory campaign had been hijacked by ourselves, after the partys poorly-received social care policies took a full frontal assault on their core vote.

It was an amazing own goal, we didn't shoot ourselves in the foot, we shot ourselves in the head, he told BBC Radio 5 live.

The grand design at the beginning has been shot off course, and we did it ourselves.

Tory MP Anna Soubry also spoke out against Theresa Mays dreadful campaign", calling for the prime minister to "consider her position."

Ms Soubry took her seat of Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire with almost 26,000 votes, a majority of just 863 ahead of Labour's Greg Marshall, way down from her 2015 majority of 4,287.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

"It was a dreadful campaign," she told BBC News. When asked to explain what she meant by that, she added: "Well, where do you want me to begin?"

The MP said the party "actually had some very good policies", but criticised the "appalling" way they were presented and the "deeply flawed" U-turn on social care costs.

Two of David Camerons former communications chiefs, Andy Coulson and Craig Oliver, also hit out at the party's performance.

Its degrees of chaos, but its chaos, Mr Coulson told ITV. The campaign has not been a success, I dont think anyone can argue otherwise.

Mr Oliver said there would be a big, big post-mortem to understand why Ms May decided to take those gambles on unpopular manifesto pledges.
Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed the New Voices Senate Bill 420 into law in Carson City at Nevada's 79th legislative session, extending press freedom for high-school and college journalists and advisers.

Effective Oct. 1, SB 420 will protect student journalists and advisers from administrative censorship as well as protect advisers from punishment for what their students write or say; it will also prohibit shutting down stories (including stopping printing or distribution) or penalizing whistleblowing speech that could make a school look bad, says the Student Press Law Center.

"Although many students in our state have not experienced outright censorship, working under the Hazelwood standard, there always loomed the idea that censorship could at any moment rear its head," said Christy Briggs, who teaches English and journalism and advises the student newspaper at Reno High School.

Previously, schools could censor their student media in the name of image control based on a 1980s U.S. Supreme Court decision, Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.

Briggs added the clarifying language that exists in SB 420 emboldens students to investigate more avenues of journalism and explore the various angles each story idea inevitably presents.

Patrick File, a University of Nevada, Reno journalism professor who pushed for the bill, said it was "thrilling to see so many folks from all around the state come together to support" student journalism.

"It was really a movement to make sure active, engaged citizenship can happen in our schools," File said. "From the beginning, I think students, parents, teachers, administrators and lawmakers appreciated the context here: we need responsible and accountable journalism in times of political fervor or on uncomfortable or controversial issues, and we need the First Amendment to make that happen."

The professor said it was a pleasure to work with the bill's sponsor, State Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, and added he thought she saw the bill as a way students could take a more lively and meaningful role in their education.

"Thank you to everyone who has worked on this bill," the senator said, "from helping to draft language, to reviewing language, to showing up to hearings, to calling representatives and the governor urging support! I could not have helped to get this legislation passed without all of the hard work so many people have put into this effort.

"I am thrilled to see the governor sign SB 420, and proud to be a part of what I truly believe is really wonderful legislation."

File thanked Student Press Law Center Executive Director, attorney Frank LoMonte, for his "tireless enthusiasm and on-the-spot expertise" as well as for "planting the seed of an idea with a handful of us a little over a year ago."

The bill will not put students in the same category as professional journalists. Schools can still punish speech that is defamatory, invades privacy, indicates disruptive or unlawful conduct, or interferes with orderly school operation  "the same common-sense level of authority that schools have over expression on students' T-shirts," says the Student Press Law Center.

A related case that gained national attention occurred in 2010 in Fallon when Churchill County High School editor Lauren McLean (now Draper) researched, wrote and published a story on the selection of CCHS students for the state honor choir. The administration supported her right to publish despite Churchill County Education Association's objection.

"The state of Nevada passing SB 420 is not only a victory for student journalism rights but also a victory for the local communities and schools those students serve," said Draper, who testified at the legislature.

Through a series of Fallon newspaper stories, columns and editorials, the Lahontan Valley News supported both the First Amendment rights of Draper to exercise her responsibility as a student journalist and the Churchill County School District  to include former Superintendent Carolyn Ross and high-school principal Kevin Lords.

The LVN received an NPA First Amendment Award in 2010 for supporting Draper and CCSD's rights.

The LVN, Nevada Appeal and Record Courier avidly supported SB 420 while the Nevada Appeal's Geoff Dornan contributed to the issue's coverage and continued reporting, said LVN editor and general manager Steve Ranson.

Ranson testified twice before the Assembly and Senate education committees on behalf of the Nevada Press Association and the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, both organizations strongly supporting the bill. He also wrote and called numerous legislatures in the Assembly and Senate. (Ranson is the past NPA president and the incoming ISWNE president.)

"Patrick File put together a great team that was dedicated in seeking passage of SB 420, so that young journalists could enjoy some of the protection their older counterparts in professional journalism receive," Ranson said. "The NPA and ISWNE are vigorous defenders of the First Amendment, and through testimony and letters from both organizations and friends of the bill, we were able to gain bi-partisan support."

LoMonte said he hoped the reform would continue to reverberate beyond the state. Ten states already have New Voices laws and another 20 have active campaigns.

"As an adviser," Briggs added, "it is encouraging to know that with this new law, I can encourage students to more freely dive into writing about controversial topics; I can, without fear of retaliation, support students who want to thoughtfully criticize policies, practices and decisions they disagree with. I am proud to be a journalism teacher in a state that has decided that the voices of our students matter."

Draper described how the bill encourages students to seek and report truthful information for public interest instead of being terrified to do so due to unnecessary censorship.

"I was once called a 'zealous child' for seeking and reporting the truth," she said, "but now can proudly say, 'fear no more!'"

Supporters look forward to past censorship capabilities falling away in schools nationwide and unnecessary censorship examples disappearing, including moving away from less structured discussion via social media.

"Personally, I'm excited to see how students in the First Amendment classes I teach bring a more fulsome and active understanding of their rights into my classroom," File said. "I just hope the law isn't so effective I put myself out of a job!"
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The odds on Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister have crashed in to as low as 9-4 with SkyBet upon the release of the exit poll suggesting a hung parliament could be on the way.

Mr Corbyn had drifted out to as long as 12-1 with bookmakers as late opinion polls pointed to a Conservative landslide with campaigning drawing to a close.

The exit poll changed that in a heartbeat, leaving nervous bookies fearing what could yet be the biggest loss in British political betting history, rivalling even the shock election victory of Donald Trump.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Lee Price, head of PR at Paddy Power, which was at 4-1 when he spoke to The Independent, a matter of minutes before the odds almost halved again, said: Weve had 84 per cent of all of our bets on Jeremy Corbyn to become PM. If he does win we are going to be skint. Well need a magic money-tree if it happens!

Mr Price said the bookies loss would be the biggest the industry has faced on a UK election.

Like Mr Trump, Mr Corbyn has been heavily backed by small punters, pinning their hopes on the outsider.

It would take a rainbow coalition for Mr Corbyn to be in No 10 by 1 July, the cut off date with most bookies, assuming results mirror the poll. But bookmakers are starting to run scared.

The loss were looking at isnt quite as bad as what we took on Trump, said Mr Price. But we could get there by the end of the evening. It all depends on what happens when the results start coming in.

Mr Price pointed out that Theresa May remained the odds on favourite at the time of writing, which could save bookmakers bacon.

However, her odds had stood at 1-10, and even shorter, as it appeared Britain was poised to back her much mocked strong and stable government after all. They are now out to 1-2 and lengthening.
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Gavin Barwell, the Conservative Housing Minister, has lost his Croydon Central seat to Labour.

Mr Barwell, the author of a book titled 'How to Win a Marginal Seat', saw a majority of just 165 in his marginal seat overturned by Labour candidate Sarah Jones.

Ms Jones received 29,873 votes to Mr Barwell's 24,221 - giving her a majority of 6,652.

Mr Barwell has served as Housing Minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government since Ms May became Prime Minister last summer.

He was responsible for one of the Tory's campaign U-turns after admitting that a pledge to build thousands of new social homes actually related to a much less affordable type of housing.

The Croydon Central MP became the third minister to lose their seat after Ben Gummer, the Cabinet Office Minister, and Jane Ellison, who serves in the Department for Health, saw their constituencies switch to Labour.

Polls predict the Conservatives are on course to win 318 seats to Labour's 267, leaving both parties short of an overall majority. As leader of the party with the most seats, Ms May will be given the first opportunity to try to form a government. She may just manage to achieve this by joining forces with the Northern Irish DUP.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

If she is unable to, however, then Jeremy Corbyn could be given the chance to cobble together a "rainbow coalition" that may include the Liberal Democrats, SNP and Green Party.

The result marks a disastrous night for Theresa May, who started the campaign with a commanding poll lead but saw her advantage narrow following a lacklustre campaign.

Ms May's position as Conservative leader is now at risk, with some sources suggesting Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, is already holding conversations about a possible leadership bid.
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The Democratic Unionist Party, whose support looks set to keep Theresa May in Downing Street at least for the time being, are a far-right party with a track record of Donald Trump-style climate change denial.

While the US President has described global warming as a hoax, the DUPs former environment minister once claimed it was a con.

In addition to controversial views on science, the DUP is known for its links to Loyalist paramilitary groups, anti-abortion stance and accusations of a prejudiced attitude towards the LGBT community.

Leading environmentalist and author George Monbiot was among those to condemn the party and the Conservatives decision to rely on their support to continue in office.

The DUP is stuffed with climate change deniers, homophobes and misogynists. Mays alliance is a dishonourable coalition of chaos, he tweeted.

Perhaps the leading climate change denier in the party is Sammy Wilson, the DUPs newly re-elected MP for East Antrim.

He previously served as Northern Irelands environment minister despite insisting that people would eventually look back at this whole climate change debate and ask ourselves how on Earth were we ever conned into spending the billions of pounds on the issue.

Mr Wilson described Mr Trumps decision last month to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change as very wise, saying the accord was totally flawed and pointless.

The Paris Agreement itself is a delusion  So pulling out of the agreement, which was only a piece of window dressing for climate chancers who wished to pretend that they were doing something about an issue which they cant affect anyhow, is not the disaster which the green lefties are getting hysterical about, Mr Wilson wrote on his website.

He has also described Barack Obamas policy to promote low-carbon energies as mad and lauded the benefits of fracking for shale gas.

He could find a friend among the Conservatives in Nick Timothy, Ms Mays influential policy chief, if the latter survives calls for his sacking after the partys general election performance. Only last year Mr Timothy described the UKs 2008 Climate Change Act as a monstrous act of self-harm.

In December last year, Michelle McIlveen, the DUPs environment minister in Northern Irelands Assembly, ruled out introducing legislation to tackle climate change, leaving it as the only part of the UK not to have passed legislation designed to cut carbon emissions.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

The DUP politician said she was satisfied that progress has been made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Northern Ireland and that this would continue so there was no need for a Climate Change Bill.

Another Northern Ireland environment minister, Mark Durkan, of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, has described the lack of a policies to address climate change as an embarrassment to Stormont.

The DUPs manifesto does not mention the words climate change, global warming or even environment, despite discussing issues such as the threat posed by North Korea and the defence of the Falkland Islands.

However climate scepticism is not their official policy. And the manifesto, which was difficult to access online after the election result, possibly because of the surge in traffic, does talk about the need for an energy strategy to deal with  the future of renewable energy policy in Northern Ireland.

In what way the party wants renewables to be dealt with is left unsaid.
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The Democratic Unionist Party has indicated it is willing to form a government with Theresa May's Conservatives without the need for a formal coalition deal.

The Prime Minister visited the Queen just after noon to tell her a deal has been put in place and request permission to form a new minority government.

Despite failing to secure a Commons majority and mounting calls from senior Labour and Tory figures for Ms May to step aside, the Conservative party has carried out extensive talks with the DUP throughout the night.

The DUP, who are the largest unionist political party in Northern Ireland, said their desire to form a coalition with Ms May is driven by concerns about Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister.

Although no party has an overall majority, the Conservatives remain the largest party with 318 seats so far while Labour currently have 261 - with 326 required for a majority and just one seat left to be called.

Mr Corbyn's party increased its share of the vote by 9.6 per cent, winning a larger share of the vote in last night's election than Tony Blair achieved when he took power in 2005. While the Tories were up 5.5 per cent, the Lib Democrats, Greens and SNP witnessed small loses and Ukip's vote was left in tatters.

But with the general election delivering a hung parliament - a result few expected - the DUP has been catapulted into a position of surprising power and influence despite being one of the smaller parties in the Commons.

The Northern Irish party, who are arguably the most socially conservative party in Britain, said they would consider coming to a confidence and supply agreement. This means they will cease to reach a formal coalition but provide support in the House of Commons.

If the DUP were to supply votes on policy and support in any Commons vote of confidence, the Tories could ultimately hold an effective majority of around 13.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

We would consider a supply and confidence arrangement to make sure Theresa May would have sufficient support to keep her in government, one DUP MP told Sky News.

Nevertheless, the party said their support would come at a cost and they would demand more resources for Northern Ireland and clout in trade deals and Brexit talks.

The reports came despite DUP leader Arlene Foster earlier arguing it would be "difficult" for Ms May to clutch on to power in her position. In spite of Mr Corbyn's calls for Ms May to step aside after a seriously disastrous election result, the Prime Minister appears adamant to remain in Number Ten.

Ms Foster has also declared the general election result as a "good night for the Union". The DUP, whose controversial policies include blocking gay marriage and lifting the ban on abortion, made significant gains on election night at the expense of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Alliance Party.

The party passionately campaigned to Leave in the Brexit referendum but has said it is keen to avoid a "hard Brexit" situation which would result in a hard border with Ireland.

She has said: No-one wants to see a hard Brexit, what we want to see is a workable plan to leave the European Union, and thats what the national vote was about  therefore we need to get on with that.

However, we need to do it in a way that respects the specific circumstances of Northern Ireland, and, of course, our shared history and geography with the Republic of Ireland."

More follows
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Theresa May has secured a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) after shock election losses saw the Conservatives fail to win a Commons majority.

The deal comes after weeks of negotiations and will secure the DUP's backing on confidence and supply votes, preventing the weakened Conservatives from being brought down by motions of no confidence.

However the agreement has sparked a furious backlash over the DUPs record on issues including LGBTQ+ rights and abortion, and how the arrangement could jeopardise Northern Ireland's peace process.

Here are some of the most controversial positions held by the party:

LGBT rights

Ian Paisley Jr, son of the partys founder Ian Paisley, has previously called homosexuality immoral, offensive and obnoxious and said he was repulsed by gays and lesbians.

The party once championed a campaign called Save Ulster from Sodomy.

Former DUP health minister Jim Wells told a South Down hustings in 2015: The gay lobby is insatiable, they dont know when enough is enough.

He also said children who were raised in a homosexual relationship were more likely to be abused or neglected. He later apologised for the comments.

DUP politician Trevor Clarke last year said he thought only gay people could contract AIDS or HIV, but has since admitted he "did not understand the stigma attached to it" and has campaigned for greater awareness and prevention.

Gay marriage

The party staunchly opposes same-sex marriage, believing in what they call the traditional definition of the union, and has vetoed several attempts to pass new legislation.

Speaking of the pro-marriage equality movement, party leader Arlene Foster said in 2016: They are not going to influence me by sending me abuse  in fact, they are going to send me in the opposite direction and people need to reflect on that.

She added: I could not care less what people get up to in terms of their sexuality, thats not a matter for me  when it becomes a matter for me is when people try to redefine marriage.

 Arlene Foster on gay marriage: "I believe in union between a man and a woman"

Abortion

The DUP has long opposed abortion and any attempts to liberalise the law. Ms Foster last year vowed to prevent terminations being made available in Northern Ireland.

I would not want abortion to be as freely available here as it is in England and dont support the extension of the 1967 act, she told The Guardian in 2016.

Climate change

The party once appointed climate change denier Sammy Wilson as its environment minister.

Mr Wilson said it was a con to suggest humans had changed weather patterns.

He also said in 2014: We are already paying through the nose for electricity because we go down the route of the dearest electricity possible through renewable energy and are putting our agricultural industry in jeopardy because there is no greater producer of greenhouse gases than cows.

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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 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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

Evolution and creationism

The party counts a number of creationists among its senior members.

DUP assembly member for West Tyrone, Thomas Buchanan, last year endorsed an event promoting creationism to be taught in every school.

The event included presenting the biblical case for the sound teaching of children that will offer helpful practical advice on how to counter evolutionary teaching.

DUP politician Edwin Poots has expressed his views that the planet is a young earth created just 4,000 years ago.

Youre telling me that cosmic balls of dust gathered and there was an explosion. Weve had lots of explosions in Northern Ireland and Ive never seen anything come out of that that was good, he told the Radio Times.

Sexism

Ms Foster was embroiled in a sexism scandal when she described Sinn Feins leader in Northern ireland, Michelle ONeil, as blonde.

I dont want to be sexist because I cant... she told the Sunday Independent.

Michelle is very attractive. She presents herself very well and she is  you know  her appearance is always very the same.

You never see her without her make-up. You never see her without her hair [looking] perfect.

Brexit

The DUP was the only party in the Stormont power executive to campaign for leave.

However the party want to avoid a hard border with Ireland and has spoken against a hard Brexit.

Ms Foster said: No-one wants to see a hard Brexit, what we want to see is a workable plan to leave the European Union, and thats what the national vote was about  therefore we need to get on with that.

However, we need to do it in a way that respects the specific circumstances of Northern Ireland, and, of course, our shared history and geography with the Republic of Ireland.

Renewable energy scheme

As environment minister, Ms Foster introduced a poorly-executed renewable energy scheme known as cash for ash that could result in the taxpayer footing a 490m bill.
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The Democratic Unionist Party, whose controversial policies include blocking gay marriage, could hold the balance of power in the new Parliament.

The Northern Irish party looks likely to give the Conservatives its support to form a government.

If it manages to become part of the government and hold it up, however, it may be able to introduce the kinds of policies that have become controversial in Northern Ireland.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. 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Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

That has included moves by the party to oppose the introduction of same sex marriage in Northern Ireland, as well as lifting the ban on abortion. Those laws have been in place across the rest of the UK, but the DUP has helped block them in Northern Ireland in recent years.

Leader Arlene Foster all but confirmed that the DUP would never join a coalition with Labour. She said that she had always said the party would find it hard to work with Jeremy Corbyn.

The party, alongside Sinn Fein, has made strong gains in the election at the expense of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Alliance Party.

The DUP replaced the SDLP in South Belfast, wrested back South Antrim from the Ulster Unionist Party and saw off the challenge of the Alliance Party and Sinn Fein in East and North Belfast respectively.

With speculation the DUP could hold an influential position in Westminster, party leader Arlene Foster declared it a good night for the Union.

 What is a hung parliament?

She said: Well wait to hear what the results actually are, but we are very pleased with the way in which people have reacted to the positive message of the campaign  it was about the Union, the importance of the Union, and unionists have really come out in their numbers.

We fought this election on the importance of the Union and I think people really responded to that.
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Jeremy Corbyn might be busy celebrating the fact Labour won a larger share of the election vote than Tony Blair gained when he took power in 2005 but for other MPs it has been a rather less triumphant day.

Theresa Mays decision to call a snap election has spectacularly backfired and left the Prime Minister with a seriously battered authority, no overall Commons majority and a hung parliament to play with.

As such, the political landscape has dramatically shifted in less than a day, with many Tory MPs being left seatless.

While there has not quite been a Portillo moment - in the early hours of May 1997 a shock result saw Mr Portillo lose his seat and his hopes of becoming Conservative party leader ruined  the Conservative treasury team has suffered a serious blow. Nearly half of its ministers lost their seats on election night.

Here is a selection of some of those big name MPs who have been stripped of their seats and left with just five working days to clear out their office.

Nick Clegg

The former Lib Dem leader has come along way since his days of being Deputy Prime Minister. Last night, Mr Clegg lost his seat in Sheffield Hallam after not managing to ward off competition from Labour candidate and disability campaigner Jared OMara who managed to gain a majority of 2,125 votes.

Students in the constituency made concerted efforts to rally against him, having not forgotten his broken promise over tuition fees.

The Lib Dems faced heavy criticism after they abandoned their flagship pledge to oppose any increase in tuition fees and restore free education. Performing a drastic U-turn, the cap on fees was trebled from 3000 to 9000 under the coalition.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

Alex Salmond

The former Scottish first minister lost his Gordon seat in Scotland to the Conservatives. Mr Salmond fell into second place with a majority of 2,607.

Angus Robertson

It was not a good night for the fellow veteran SNP politician either. The SNPs deputy party leader lost his Moray seat to Conservative Douglas Ross.

Ben Gummer

While less of a political heavyweight than some others who lost their seats, the rising star in Conservative politics was one of the engineers of Ms Mays widely criticised manifesto. Mr Gunmer lost his Ipswich which he had previously held with a majority of 3,000.

Jane Ellison

Labour snatched the Conservative ministers majority of almost 8,000 in the London seat of Battersea. The first major Labour win of the general election saw Marsha De Cordova win with a 9.1 per cent swing in the vote in the increasingly affluent, gentrified seat.

Gavin Barwell

The Conservative Housing Minister lost his Croydon Central seat to Labour in the most hotly contested seat in the capital. Mr Barwell, the author of a book titled 'How to Win a Marginal Seat', witnessed his majority of just 165 in his marginal seat overturned by Labour candidate Sarah Jones.

Rob Wilson

Charities minister, who had a majority of 6,520 in the 2015 general election, was defeated by Labour candidate Matt Rodda after a 16 per cent swing to Labour.

Nicola Blackwood

The health minister is another Conservative frontbencher who lost their seat. Ms Blackwood lost in Oxford West and Abingdon, to Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, by 816 votes.

James Wharton

Labour took Stockton South from the Conservatives by just 888 votes. Paul Williams, a local GP who has spent the majority of his career working in the North East, took the seat from Mr Wharton in yet another result which confounded expectations.
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It is a strange tale involving Theresa Mays new friends in the Democratic Unionist Party, the Brexit referendum campaign and a mysterious donation of 425,000.

And, while those involved have refused to reveal more than a few details, there has been allegedly fanciful talk of an arms drop in India and the involvement of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi intelligence.

The story began with a four-page, wrap-around cover advert in the Metro newspaper promoting the Leave campaign ahead of the Brexit referendum in June 2016, an extraordinary move that cost some 282,000.

This turned out to have been paid for by the DUP, which was odd as the party only stands in Northern Ireland where the Metro is not published.

Under Northern Irelands electoral laws, political donations do not need to be publicly declared, a legacy from the regions Troubles, when funding a political party might make someone a target for terrorists.

However in February, after some political pressure over the issue, the DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson revealed that the adverts had been paid using a 425,000 donation from a group called the Constitutional Research Council (CRC), chaired by former Scottish Conservative vice-chairman and Glasgow-based businessman, Richard Cook.

This sparked further questions about the ultimate source of the money. Mr Cook told The Sunday Times that the CRC had three other members, but declined to identify them.

He did decide to try to dampen down some of the speculation about who had been involved.

There have been rumours that the DUP got this money from Vladimir Putin, dark shadowy groups, then Saudi intelligence and even from beneficiaries of an arms drop in India. It is all fanciful nonsense, he told the paper.

He said the group had not received foreign funding and added that he was in touch with business people prepared to donate six-figure sums to help the Union campaign in the event of a second Scottish independence referendum.

The Saudi intelligence link was suggested by Adam Ramsay, co-editor of the openDemocracyUK website.

By examining documents held by Companies House, he discovered Mr Cook and the former director-general of the Saudi intelligence service, the late Prince Nawwaf bin Abdul Aziz, had founded a company called Five Star Investment Management in 2013, which was dissolved the following year.

Mr Ramsay said he had no evidence that the 425,000 had come from a Saudi source.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

But he added: Saudi Arabia is a country flush with a huge amount of cash and I dont think its crazy to think they would a, have an interest in a major event like Brexit and b, try to influence it in some way.

Saudi economists, he noted, had argued that the referendum result was good for the country because of the subsequent fall in the value of the pound.

The routing of the money via the DUP effectively maintained the anonymity of the donor.

The DUPs press office could not be reached for comment on Friday. The Independent contacted Sir Jeffrey Donaldsons constituency office and was told attempts would be made to pass a message to him.

Kellie Armstrong, a member of the Stormont Assembly representing Strangford, said her party, the non-sectarian Alliance, and the Greens were the only ones in Northern Ireland to publish their donations.

She said, given it was 19 years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, the time had come to be open about the sources of political funding.

Ive challenged the DUP as to why they do not publish their donations, she said.

A number [of other parties] have said they would go forward and publish their donations. The DUP has said that, but they havent done it yet.

She said it was strange for the DUP to pay for political adverts people who might vote for them would never see.

Why are they advertising something there? Ms Armstrong said.
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Former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell has accused Theresa May of threatening the peace process in Northern Ireland by negotiating a "sordid, dangerous and distasteful" deal with the DUP.

Speaking on the BBC's Question Time, he said he was "really, really" worried about the potential deal between the Tories and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) after the prime minister failed to get a majority in the election.

Despite many predicting the party would win a majority of as many as 70 seats, Ms May fell eight seats short of a majority with 318 seats.

She has now entered into negotiations with the unionist party, which won 10 seats, to form a "confidence and supply" alliance which would help them pass legislation on a case by case basis.

Mr Campbell accused Ms May of "playing fast and loose, on Brexit, on Margaret Thatchers greatest achievement the single market and now Tony Blair and John Majors greatest achievement which is the peace in Northern Ireland".

He said: "She is putting that at risk with a sordid, dangerous distasteful deal."

There has been no government in Stormont since January when Sinn Fein withdrew from the power sharing agreement agreed in 2007 after current DUP First Minister Arlene Foster refused to resign over a financial scandal.

After assembly elections in March where the nationalist party won its highest ever number of seats they still refused to re-enter a power sharing government with the DUP while Ms Foster remained in her post.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Under the terms of the power sharing agreement, while the DUP leader is First Minister the Sinn Fein leader must be Deputy First Minister.

Some have criticised Ms May is willing to get into bed with the party which is notorious for its anti-LGBT rights, anti-abortion and anti-women policies as well as its alleged links to unionist terrorists.

The Conservatives, whose full formal name is the Conservative and Unionist party, has had long links with unionist parties in Northern Ireland but its former traditional partner in the region  the more moderate Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)  was wiped out.

Mr Campbell has called into question whether the Government can include the DUP without threatening the delicate power sharing agreement between them and Irish nationalists Sinn Fein which has helped end The Troubles.

The newer DUP became the largest unionist party in Northern Ireland in 2005 and Reverend Ian Paisley, the Protestant evangelical minister who founded the party in 1971, became First Minister in 2007.

Recommended The Tories are forming a coalition with a party backed by terrorists

Mr Campbell, who worked with Tony Blair and Mo Mowlam to get the Good Friday agreement signed, said: "I really, really have a worry about this. When John Major was weak and he could have done a deal with the DUP he absolutely and steadfastly refused to do so for very good reasons.

"He said 'I do not what to be in hoc that government'....We have a situation in the Northern Ireland right now where there has been a political crisis where the Government is the mediator with the Irish government between the DUP and Sinn Fein.

"How can our government be the mediator when the DUP are going to be part of our government?"

He said she was destroying New Labour's legacy of peace in Northern Ireland to prop herself up in government.
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The Democratic Unionist Party has cooled talk of a done deal to prop up Theresa May in Downing Street, insisting it has yet to enter discussions.

Arlene Foster, DUPs leader, said her party needed to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge.

Nevertheless, the expectation is that a deal will be struck after Jeffrey Donaldson, the party's chief whip, said the hung parliament puts us in a very strong negotiating position.

Recommended May to remain Prime Minster after forming government with DUP

In her speech in Downing Street, the Prime Minister announced she had the backing of the DUP to provide the certainty the country badly needed.

Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom, she added.

However, some saw the short speech as an attempt to bounce the Conservative party into accepting Ms May should stay in power  even as her Cabinet remained silent.

Some Conservative MPs believe her position is untenable. Overnight, George Osborne, no longer an MP, said: Personally I dont see how she can survive for the long term.

And, earlier, Ms Foster herself doubted Ms May could stay in No 10, telling the BBC: I don't know, adding: I think it will be difficult for her to survive.

Later, at a news conference, Ms Foster said the DUP would go into talks with the Conservatives, with the future of the Union as our guiding star.

We may represent Northern Ireland constituencies in the House of Commons, but we are as seized of the interests of the United Kingdom as a whole, as we are for Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister has spoken with me this morning and we will enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge.

With the DUPs support, Ms May would enjoy an effective majority of at least 12, but faces big hurdles to impose her programme and to reassert her battered authority.

Underlining the extraordinary make-up of the new government, she would be the first Prime Minister to rely on Irish MPs for their majority since the Liberal Herbert Asquith, way back in 1910.

There will be questions asked about the DUPs opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion and its flirtation with denying climate change.

Although the DUP campaigned for Leave, Ms Foster has spoken out against a hard Brexit, to maintain a frictionless border with the Irish Republic in the vital interests of trade.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader said an agreement with the DUP would have profound implications for both Brexit and the peace process in Northern Ireland.

It is clear that the Prime Minister has done a deal with the DUP. She must now make clear what the terms of that deal are. The British people have a right to know, he said.

Some in Northern Ireland worry about the impact on the all-party talks to restore devolution in Belfast, which are scheduled to restart on Monday.

If they fail, it could see direct rule imposed from Westminster again in Northern Ireland, potentially by a Tory government shored up by the DUP  to the likely anger of Sinn Fein.
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A chastened Theresa May is attempting to move on from her botched election gamble, under intense pressure from members of her own cabinet and Tory backbenchers to dramatically improve her game.

The Prime Minister spent the day in difficult conversations with senior ministers, whose support she now desperately needs despite having likely planned to sack some just 48 hours ago when she expected to win the election outright.

The Independent understands a key issue raised was that of the role of her two most senior aides Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, who many Tories see as having undue power at the centre of government.

Ahead of what is promising to be a bruising meeting with Tory backbenchers next week, MPs publicly questioned Ms Mays position and her campaign, with one even branding it madness, while others demanded changes to her Brexit strategy and raised concerns about a deal with the Northern Irish DUP.

Government sources also told The Independent Ms Mays need to win the unionists support to govern could cause her problems in Westminster, as it may commit her to spending on public services in Ulster that she cannot replicate elsewhere.

In contrast, Jeremy Corbyns position as Labour leader appeared rock-solid, with former critics admitting his more open and engaging campaign had been an effective foil to Ms Mays stale, stage-managed appearances.

Going into the election, reports emerged of Ms Mays post-vote plans to reshuffle her top team, with prominent figures like Chancellor Philip Hammond, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson either facing the sack or being moved.

But the tables were turned after Ms Mays credibility was damaged following the election result  which saw the Tories lose 12 seats, eight held by ministers. By Friday morning it was the Prime Ministers job in question.

Just after 5pm Downing Street confirmed Mr Hammond, Mr Johnson, Mr Davis, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon had all retained their posts. Allies of Mr Johnson's denied reports he had been on manoeuvres to replace Ms May and said, along with colleagues, that the top ministers primary concern was to ensure the stability of the Government going into Brexit talks.

But The Independent understands other concerns were raised about the handling of the campaign and the role of Ms Mays all-powerful aides, who some blame for its failures. In particular the humiliating U-turn on a social care policy said to have been dropped into the manifesto at the last minute without proper consultation. A source said: It was raised. Theresa is Prime Minister and its right that she grasps the nettle of difficult policy, but there is a wisdom to not doing detailed stuff in the middle of campaign that was lost.

The criticism was not reserved to the Cabinet. One ousted MP who had been a minister, Rob Wilson, said of the social care U-turn: Looking back on it, it was madness to do it, particularly as it had never, as I understand it, been floated before.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

By Friday afternoon two MPs, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen, had already questioned the Prime Ministers chances of remaining in post in radio and television interviews. On Tuesday the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee will meet, where all angry backbenchers will interrogate Ms May over her failures.

One MP said: If shes got sense, and I think she does, she will want to come and explain herself, get over the pain and difficulty and try and get people behind her.

Another backbencher commented: MPs have already been receiving mail from constituents about a possible coalition with DUP and what that might mean. Theres an issue with LGBT rights and there will be a full and frank exchange.

At lunchtime on Friday Ms May gave a workmanlike speech outside Downing Street, setting out her plans for a DUP deal, but failing to acknowledge the problems with her campaign. In an apparent effort to ensure MPs saw her showing contrition, she later did an interview giving a full apology to those who lost seats.

A visibly nervous Prime Minister said: I am sorry for those candidates and hard-working party workers who weren't successful, but also particularly sorry for those colleagues who were MPs or ministers who had contributed so much to our country and who lost their seats and didn't deserve to lose their seats.

She went on to promise that in the wake of her losses she would reflect on what we need to do in the future to take the party forward.

 Who are the DUP?

Former Cabinet minister Baroness Warsi also questioned a deal with the DUP, tweeting: Short term political gain will lead to long term toxic Conservatives brand on #climatechange #LGBT rights #abortion and other imp issues.

After frantic consultations with DUP leader Arlene Foster, the Prime Minister headed to Buckingham Palace to seek the formal permission of the Queen to form a new government, returning to No 10 to announce she had the legitimacy to continue in office.

Senior DUP figures made clear they were looking at a limited confidence and supply arrangement  rather than a more formal coalition  leading to some MPs to predict that there could another general election before the year is out.

One government source told The Independent that their demands were likely to be for more money, with infrastructure and services likely to be at the top of the party's wish-list. Asked if giving favoured spending to Northern Ireland might be a problem elsewhere, the source said: It doesnt matter. Theyll do it, Its only a small nation in the grand scheme of things.

The DUP are experts at playing this game. They know exactly what they want, but are never going to get too close to us.
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Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston has called for Theresa May's special advisers to be sacked following the party's failure to achieve a majority in the general election.

The Prime Minister's joint chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hall, were widely seen as the masterminds of a lacklustre election campaign that saw 20-point poll leads for the Conservatives evaporate and the failure to achieve a Tory majority in the Commons.

While some Conservatives have started briefing privately against them, Dr Wollaston, re-elected as MP for Totnes in Devon, tweeted her feelings about their continued employment.

"I cannot see how the inner circle of special advisers can continue in post. Needs to be far more inclusive in future," she wrote.

She criticised several aspects of the Conservative campaign, from special policies like the 'dementia tax' to the aggressive tone adopted by some in her party.

"Overall I'm very concerned about consequences of a hung Parliament and what this means for the future and crucial negotiations with the EU," Dr Wollaston tweeted.

"[Ms May's support for] fox hunting and changes to social care were turning points in how people felt about the Prime Minister in highly personalised campaign.

"Hope we never again have such a negative campaign. The public just don't want US-style attack politics."

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

Mr Timothy was described as the Prime Minister's "thinker-in chief" by the Conservative Home website, which hailed him as a "fluent and industrious drafter of words" and an adviser capable of "spotting ... problems which could turn out to be serious".

The latter aspect of his reputation may have been somewhat tarnished by the election result.

Ms Hill, once a reporter at The Scotsman newspaper, has a reputation for toughness that led her to be christened Ms May's "bruiser-in-chief", although the Telegraph's James Kirkup, a friend who also once worked at The Scotsman, insisted this was a flawed caricature of a capable political operator.
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British politics and Brexit are in disarray as it became clear on Friday that Theresa Mays election gamble has gone catastrophically wrong.

At the final count the country was bogged down in a hung parliament, with Tories admitting the result blows the Prime Ministers Brexit strategy to pieces.

Ms Mays position was also in doubt with Labour calling for her to quit and senior Conservatives questioning her position and distancing themselves from the leader, amid reports of potential successors jockeying for position.

Recommended Labour hold onto seat where Theresa May launched campaign

Perhaps the only lifeline available to Ms May was a potential coalition with Northern Ireland's DUP, which would provide a miniscule majority, substantially smaller than the one she claimed was not stable enough to carry off Brexit when she called the election.

Results showed the Conservatives failing to gain key target seats, while five Tory ministers were among those who lost their seats. Home Secretary Amber Rudd held on to her seat by the skin of her teeth.

With 14 constituencies left to declare, the Tories were on 310 seats, making it mathematically impossible for them to reach the magic 326 number of seats needed to govern with a majority.

Labour was set to increase its count by at least 28 seats, to 258 or more, the Liber Democrats gained four to win 12, and the SNP won 34, a major drop from the 56 they won in 2015.

In an early sign of repercussions the result would have, sterling fell more than 1.5 per cent to 1.27 and plummeted more than 1 per cent to 1.13.

Shocked sources in Brussels told The Independent the result would mean Brexit negotiations are now in uncharted territory, with it unclear how a strong coalition could be formed between parties bitterly opposed over their approach to EU withdrawal.

One former Tory minister said: There is still a majority for Brexit, but how on earth does it work.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

I think the kind of Brexit she was talking about may have to change, some of the questions that Theresa answered before her Lancaster House speech may have to be revisited.

Brexit Secretary David Davis indicated the Tories would lose their mandate to take the UK out of the single market without a majority, saying of British voters, that will be their decision.

Another senior Tory figure told The Independent: If these results play out, then the most obvious answer is that we would need another election, probably within six months.

I find it difficult to see how Brexit negotiations could continue, how anyone could form a coalition to do it.

 General Election 2017: Nick Clegg loses seat in Sheffield

Ms May would have the right to try to form a coalition first if the Tories are the biggest party. But with many rivals ruling out a deal, a politically strong union of parties looks unlikely. Northern Irelands DUP could give Ms May power, but only with a majority of around two, making it incredibly hard to pass the complex legislation needed for Brexit.

Any attempt to rule with a minority would leave her in an impossibly difficult position  needing the votes of parties who have roundly rejected her approach to Brexit.

Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell and Emily Thornberry openly demanded Ms May resign, while Conservative sources reported she could if she fails to win the majority she wanted to effectively negotiate with Brussels.

Ex-Tory business minister Anna Soubry said Ms May's campaign had been "dreadful", adding: "She is in a very difficult place. She is a remarkable and very talented woman and she doesn't shy from difficult decisions, but she now has to, obviously, consider her position."

As the pressure mounted, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox sidestepped questions about whether Ms May would be forced to resign.

Pressed on whether Ms May is irrevocably damaged soon after the damning exit poll predicted the result, he told BBC News: Well its very early in the evening and I think we have to wait and see.

Another Tory MP told The Independent: Its down to her. She has the right to form a coalition if she can. After that the questions about what happens next to the party, to her, are out there and they are being asked by people.

Ex-Chancellor George Osborne, fired by Ms May after she took office, was scathing about the Prime Minister and her campaign.

 John McDonnell: Theresa May's position as PM untenable

He said: Is the Conservative Party likely to want her fighting the next general election, theres a very large question mark over that at the moment if these are what the results are.

She called this election. She didnt really frame the question. The manifesto which was drafted by her and about two other people, was a total disaster and must go down now as one of the worst manifestos in history by a governing party.

I say one of the worst, I cant really think of a worse one.

Ex-Tory MP and former minister Gerald Howarth said: I think the campaign did not concentrate on why the general election was being held.

 Prime Minister Theresa May casts her vote

Other Tories suggested potential leadership candidates including Boris Johnson are already making manoeuvres, sounding out potential support.

At his own count, preempting questions over what must happen next, he said: It is early to comment on events unfolding tonight.

But one thing is clear to all of us. Weve got to listen to our constituents and listen to their concerns.

Early results appeared to play to the exit poll, with Conservatives failing to take key target seats like Darlington and Wrexham.

Mr Johnsons own majority was slashed in half in Uxbridge, while Treasury minister Jane Ellison lost her Battersea seat to Labours Marsha De Cordova, on a 10 per cent swing from the Tories to Labour.

Former Lib Dem Leader and former deputy PM Nick Clegg lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to Labours Jared OMara. Vince Cable and Jo Swinson won their seats back for the Lib Dems.

The SNPs leader in Westminster Angus Robertson lost his seat to the Conservative Douglas Ross, who won 48 per cent of the vote. Nicola Sturgeon said she had things to think about.
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While the UK has been a global leader in the fight against climate change, it has shown signs of faltering in its commitments since the Brexit referendum.

And the added political turmoil caused by an indecisive general election now risks a dangerous drift on the issue of our age, just as scientists are warning that time is starting to run out to prevent the worst effects of global warming.

Under Theresa May, the Government adopted ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions but then delayed publication of the legally required plan to achieve them, prompting ClientEarth  a group of activist lawyers who are taking ministers to court for a third time to force them to improve their latest attempt at an Air Quality Plan that abides by the law  to threaten to sue.

The deal between the Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist Party, which together would command a slim majority, will enable Ms May to stay in Downing Street for now, but the uneasy political alliance could easily collapse, potentially causing a fresh election. The DUP is a party that once appointed an environment minister who does not believe humans are responsible for climate change and fresh election would see further drift.

Ms May was reportedly insisting she would not stand down but looks unlikely to last, given her disastrous decision to call the election, lacklustre performance during the campaign and the Tories history of ruthlessness with failure.

Her potential replacements include people with strong track records on taking climate science seriously and others set in the Donald Trump mould.

Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, has questioned whether climate change is real; Michael Gove, the former Justice Secretary, has talked about ripping up environmental regulations after Brexit; and Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, once railed against unthinking climate change worship that had damaged British industry while he was energy minister.

But Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, who stood in for Ms May during the BBC leaders debate, is regarded as a genuine green blue, a politician capable of seeing past the politicisation of global warming, understanding the science and the need to take action. During the last Tory leadership contest, she promised to hold Mr Johnsons feet to the fire if his apparent climate science denial became a problem.

And Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, has said it is wholly consistent with Conservative values to tackle the challenge of climate change, quoting Margaret Thatcher as saying the last thing we want is to leave environmental debts for our children to clear up.

He may have a low profile, but Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, is highly regarded within environmental circles and could be just the safe and competent, if rather boring, pair of hands the UK needs in these tumultuous times.

It has been noted by others that many leading Tory Brexiteers are also climate science sceptics or deniers, with some campaigners so close that they share the same address.

Amid the apparently inevitable Tory party infighting, possible attempts by Labour to cobble together an unlikely coalition, and the chance of a weakened government stumbling on for a few months before calling another election, the world keeps turning and warming.

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

The most pressing issue for the UK is the publication of the long-delayed but legally required Emissions Reduction Plan, aka the Clean Growth Plan, which will involve making massive and potentially controversial decisions.

Among the most significant involve decarbonising transport  by facilitating the switch to electric vehicles  and heating, most of which is currently done by gas. Norways approach to the sort of issues that will be covered in the plan was to announce a complete ban on petrol-powered cars by 2025.

The government must also decide how it will replace ageing coal-fired and nuclear power stations due to come to the end of their working lives in the mid-2020s. Ministers have also promised a 25-Year Environment Plan to help achieve a much-repeated pledge to leave the natural world in a better state than they found it.

Gareth Redmond-King, a former civil servant who is now head of climate and energy policy at environmental group WWF-UK, said it was possible that Ms May would simply reappoint her existing ministerial team and Nick Hurd, the climate change minister, would carry on with his job of producing the Emissions Reduction Plan.

But he added this was almost hard to imagine, given the political infighting widely expected to break out.

That intriguing is going to distract people and the Clean Growth Plan is just not going to be top of peoples agenda, Mr Redmond-King said. [Theresa May] is also not going to feel she can stand up to Trump as we have asked her to do. I dont think anything will change for the better.

James Orr, Friends of the Earth's Northern Ireland Director, said the Conservatives' decision to carry on in Government with the support of the DUP was alarming.

"Under the DUP leadership, Northern Ireland has become a wild west for the environment. Northern Ireland is the dirty corner of the UK with some of the biggest illegal waste sites and mines in Europe. The pro-fracking DUP is a climate pariah," he said.

When we need clear leadership they are muddled over Brexit. They want to have their cake and eat it. On the one hand they are active Brexiteers but on the other they are desperate to preserve the economic benefits of ties with Europe.

Their manifesto had hardly a positive word on the environment and nothing at all on climate change. Theresa May must not allow the DUP to further weaken her already inadequate manifesto commitments to maintain environmental protections and preserve nature.

Oxfam has been campaigning on climate change as it has become an increasingly pressing issue for many developing countries around the world.

Matthew Spencer, Oxfam GB's director of policy, influencing and campaigns, said he now feared British drift on the issue.

Whatever the outcome [of the election], the risk is that Britain spends the next few months internally focused, not playing its role in the world  which has traditionally been very positive, both in terms of development and climate action  at a time when theres a real challenge to climate action coming from the Trump administration and investors are waiting for clarity about the clean energy plan, he said.

Both on the international stage and the domestic front, there is some really important government business. The uncertainty of a hung parliament and the Brexit negotiations means we could become very parochial.

Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said the Emissions Reduction Plan would be the big thing that is going to be on the desk of whoever comes in.

We are going to need to really accelerate the development of electric vehicles, and there are going to have to be big decisions on how to replace gas central heating systems, he said.

Both of these will require significant policy development and are likely to be controversial."

One concern before the election was that Brexit was taking up civil servants time so much it was impacting their work on climate change and environment.

Mr Ward said he suspected that following the election the relevant departments "are going to spend even more time trying to work out our Brexit position".

At stake is the UKs transition to a low-carbon economy.

Dr Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said despite the uncertain times, the main parties were all agreed on the need to reduce greenhouse gases, create jobs and cut energy bills.

The renewable and clean tech industry has been waiting for nearly a year for the release of the Clean Growth Plan and its now critical for us that we have a clear commitment and direction, no matter what shade of government, she said.

However, Ben Caldecott, an associate fellow at liberal Conservative think tank Bright Blue, saw a potential silver lining.

There is a deep cross-party consensus on the need to tackle climate change and to make our country cleaner and greener. This will be a fertile area for cross-party collaboration in a hung parliament, he said.

It is also important for the Conservative Party to lead on this issue, not least because of its importance to younger voters, who have belatedly made their voice heard in our electoral system.
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The general election has dealt a severe knock to Theresa Mays credibility, but it has also left a major question mark over Brexit.

Ms Mays entire reason for calling the vote was to give her a strong majority with which her party could confidently negotiate with Brussels and pass necessary legislation.

But instead the Tories must now rely on outside support and this could embolden anti-Brexit parties needed to form a coalition or provide informal support.

As the result began to become clear, a senior EU source telling The Independent: Everyone here is shocked.

We werent planning for this at all. We were expecting Ms May to have a 30 or 40-seat majority.

Its not clear how a coalition in Britain could work. There are suggestions there may have to be another election  we are in uncharted territory.

While Britain has already started the clock ticking on leaving the EU by triggering the two-year negotiation period with Brussels, European Commission officials have suggested they could delay the opening of talks beyond the planned June 19 start date  but it is unlikely a few more days would help the UK get its act together.

As the biggest party, the Conservatives have the right to try and stay on either through a coalition deal or without a majority in the Commons.

But if the Prime Minister does choose to try and govern with a minority, it would leave her in an almost impossibly difficult situation.

She would need the votes of other parties  such as the Democratic Unionist Party  which have roundly rejected her approach to Brexit, in order to get one of the most complex and divisive legislative programmes in history through two chambers of Parliament  without having a majority in either.

Even if she could reach the point where she successfully passes the myriad laws needed before Brexit, and then agrees a deal with an EU, any final settlement would have to be put to a vote in a House of Commons with no united position.

Almost every other party believes Ms Mays Brexit plan would result in a hard rupture with Europe that would damage the economy, making a coalition very difficult.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

Jeremy Corbyn has called for Ms May to resign, while some Conservatives have suggested she should "consider her position". The idea of a grand Brexit coalition between the Tories and Labour with the current Prime Minister at the helm is highly unlikely.

Even with another Tory leader, the compromises they would have to make to win Labour support for Brexit may make any deal untenable to the Conservative right.

A panicked Ukip leader Paul Nuttall said Brexit is in jeopardy, while ex-Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Danny Blanchflower took to Twitter to say: If the exit polls are right Brexit is done best news ever.

 Emily Thornberry calls for May to resign after exit poll shock

A potential coalition involving Labour, the SNP or the Liberal Democrats  looking past the fact that some parties have ruled out deals and pacts  could mean any Brexit deal would have to be put to a second referendum.

Figures in both the EU and in London have indicated that Article 50  the triggering of which began the Brexit process  is reversible.

But turning it round now would take a huge amount of political will in both the UK and Brussels.
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The UK is still heading for a hung parliament, according to the latest results.

Exit polls and YouGov projections showed no party winning a majority but the Conservatives becoming the biggest party.

There had been some initial scepticism about the exit poll, after a couple of results that showed less of a swing to Labour than had been expected. But that now appears to be have been unfounded, with both projections accurately predicting many of the recent results.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Recent results, like Kettering and Nuneaton, have been almost entirely in line with the YouGov prediction. That model had been mocked by many pollsters  but appears to have been the most accurate prediction ahead of the result.

There does appear to be some problems with the assumptions that the model made  Labour are doing better in Remain seats than expected and less well in Leave ones. But those appear to be balancing each other out so far.
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Theresa May will visit Buckingham Palace at 12.30pm to seek permission from the Queen to form a government, a Downing Street spokesman said.

She has struck a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to form a small working majority in coalition. The DUP said the deal would work on a vote-by-vote basis called "confidence and supply" and they would not form a formal coalition.

It follows calls for Ms May to resign after a disastrous election for the Conservatives. They emerged eight seats short of a majority, with one seat left to declare.

 Election 2017: How the night unfolded

"We would consider a supply and confidence arrangement to make sure Theresa May would have sufficient support to keep her in government, one DUP MP told Sky News.

Support for the DUP has grown, with the party increasing their number of seats from 8 to ten. The Tories and DUP combined would have 329 MPs in the Commons.

The party has series of demands from the Conservatives in exchange for its support. Among them is an assurance that Ireland is not granted special status after Brexit.

Nigel Dodds, who retained the North Belfast seat, reportedly said the DUP would insist there was no separate deal for Ireland that would in essence keep in inside the EU. The DUP backed Brexit in last year's referendum.

The DUP objects to special status for the region, one of Sinn Fein's key demands, fearing it could break-up Ireland from the rest of the UK.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

The DUP, the largest unionist political party in Northern Ireland, said their desire to form a coalition with Ms May is driven by concerns about Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister.

Mr Corbyn, who has called on Ms May to resign, has well publicised links with Sinn Fein. The Labour leader has said he is "ready to serve" and the party is willing to form alliances with other smaller parties.

Yet even if Labour joined forces with the SNP, Lib Dems, Green Party and Plaid Cymru, it would only have 313 seats, short of the 326 figure it needs.
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Britain's next parliament will definitely be hung.

The Tories would need 20 seats to win a majority and there are only 19 left  meaning that it will not be possible for it or any other party to win a majority.

The Conservatives are now expected to try and form a government with the help of the DUP.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

But Theresa May  who called the snap election early, apparently on the basis of strong polls  has faced repeated calls to quit from her own party.

Recommended Labour hold onto seat where Theresa May launched campaign

A hung parliament had been predicted by the exit poll after votes closed. But throughout the night it appeared that data might not be correct  but it then proved to have predicted the vote nearly completely correctly.

With only a few seats left to call, the Conservatives were expected to get 318 votes  six votes short of the number they need for a working majority. Labour is expected to get 262 seats, the SNP area is projected to get 34, with other parties taking the rest.

The deciding seat was Labour's win in Southampton Test, which made it impossible for the Tories to win enough seats and came just before 6am.

More follows
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Paul Nuttall has come third in the Boston and Skegness constituency, trailing both Labour and the Conservatives by a huge margin.

The seat was held by the Tories with a majority of 16,600. Matt Warman, the Conservative candidate, received 27,271 votes to Labour's 10,699.

Mr Nuttall was a distant third, picking up just 3,308 votes - 7.7 per cent of the total. Ukip had come second in the constituency in 2015, trailing the Tories by just 4,300 votes.

Recommended Election results could mean that Brexit is over

The defeat marks a disastrous night for Ukip, with the party's vote share having collapsed across the UK.

As of 3.40am on Friday, Mr Nuttalls party had won just 1.9 per cent of the vote  a fall of 10.9 per cent on its 2015 share.

The party got less than 5 per cent of the vote in many of the seats declared so far, meaning it will lose the 500 deposit all parties must pay to field a candidate.

Ukip sources had begun the evening talking privately of the possibility of the party gaining two seats.

They now look set to win none, with the Clacton seat that was previously held by former Ukip MP Douglas Carswell looking likely to be retaken by the Conservatives.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Mr Nuttall claimed the exit poll suggested Theresa May had put Brexit in jeopardy.

Writing on Twitter, he said: If the exit poll is true then Theresa May has put Brexit in jeopardy. I said at the start this election was wrong. Hubris.

Voters who previously backed Ukip appear to have switched to both Labour and the Tories, with both of the main parties seeing swings towards them in all of the seats that have so far announced results.

According to the general election exit poll, more Ukip voters will transfer their backing to Labour than the Tories, helping Jeremy Corbyn to increase the number of his partys House of Commons seats from 229 to 266 and depriving Ms May of an overall majority.

The shock poll suggests the Conservatives have won 314 seats  12 short, crucially, of the 326 threshold needed to command a parliamentary majority.

Experts suggested Ukip could be losing support among Brexit-supporting voters who are now confident that Brexit will take place whoever is in power, and therefore believe a party founded to campaign for Britains withdrawal from the EU is now largely redundant.

Mr Nuttall is also widely considered to be less popular among voters than former Ukip leader Nigel Farage.
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In the wake of the extraordinary general election exit poll, here are the outcomes that still might happen.

Conservative majority

The exit poll figure for the Conservatives of 314 is only two below the 2015 figure of 316, when David Cameron ended the night with a slim majority. Such a result is still distinctly possible. In 2015 the Conservatives ended the night with 331. Anything less than that would be, unquestionably, a disaster for Theresa May.

A coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party may not be enough

The Northern Irish DUP would essentially join the Conservatives, but based on the exit poll results, that would not get Theresa May over the 326 line. The 18 Northern Irish constituencies are not part of the exit poll. In 2015 the DUP returned nine MPs. A similar number would be expected, but earlier this year their rivals, Sinn Fein, won the most seats in a Northern Ireland Assembly election for the first time ever. For the Conservatives and the DUP to get over the line together, the Conservatives will almost certainly need 317 or more.

Recommended Britain heading for a hung parliament

What about with the Liberal Democrats?

Nope, probably not. In 2010 they offered more than 50 seats to David Cameron, to make a comfortable majority. This poll has them on 14, and the Conservatives on 314. That makes 328. It would be the thinnest of majorities.

Oh, and the former leader Menzies Campbell has already been on the television saying the party would not join another coalition with the Conservatives. It decimated them last time.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Is Theresa May finished?

If it transpires that Theresa May called an election solely to smash the Labour Party and has ended up unable to form a majority government, it is hard to see the Conservatives tolerating her as leader. As a party, they are not historically tolerant of failure.

Another general election, under a different leader, before Christmas is a highly likely outcome. Prime Minister Rudd? Well she might lose her seat in Hastings. Prime Minister Boris? It could happen.

Could there be a Liberal Alliance?

Labours 266, plus the SNPs 34, the Liberal Democrats' 14 and the Greens' 1 makes 315, and then you really do get into a mess. Sinn Fein would theoretically support Labour, but their MPs do not come to Westminster. Labour and the Liberal Democrats fundamentally do not agree on Brexit and negotiations start in 11 days.

The numbers in the exit poll make anything possible. It is going to be a long night. And a very very bad one for the Prime Minister.
Between 1995 and 2015, the death toll from natural disasters in Spain was 1,215. Flooding, for example, killed 328 people, and heat waves caused 178 deaths, according to figures from the Directorate General for Civil Protection and Emergencies.

As Pontes in A Coruna province is the biggest coal-fired thermal power plant in the country. OSCAR CORRAL

The UN and a wide range of scientific bodies warn that climate change not only affects average temperatures, but also increases the number and intensity of natural disasters: they are a knock-on effect like the transformation of land into desert, and land loss due to rising sea levels.

As a member of the EU and a signatory of the Paris climate agreement, Spain is aware of the need to eliminate the fossil fuels responsible for greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining economic growth. But the governments own forecasts indicate that, far from reducing emissions, Spain is on course to increase them over the next 20 years. In 2040, the country will spill the equivalent of 353.7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CDE) into the atmosphere, which will be 18 million tons more than in 2015.

This is a unique opportunity. We have all the ingredients, we just have to see how they get cooked

Mario Rodriguez, head of Greenpeace Spain

This is why Spain needs a roadmap that will help it meet the objectives set out in Paris. The EU is committed to reducing the 1990 level of emissions by 40% by the year 2030. Now the Spanish government is drawing up a bill on climate change and energy transition that should help the country meet these goals and which, according to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, should be ready during his current term in office.

This is a unique opportunity, says Mario Rodriguez, head of Greenpeace in Spain. We have all the ingredients, we just have to see how they get cooked.

Curiously, Rodriguez includes US President Donald Trumps exit from the Paris Agreement as a positive factor for the new law. Europe is emerging now as the world climate leader and Spain needs to assume a role in this, he says. Climate change is on the political agenda.

Rodriguez also believes that the fragmented state of Spanish Congress is beneficial. Most parties have introduced proposals on energy and environmental taxation in their manifestos, says Xavier Labandeira, director of Economics for Energy.

Electric cars still represent a negligible share of the total in Spain. EFE

Environmentalists, businesspeople and energy providers all want to see a stable consensus reached among politicians, to avoid amendments being introduced with every new government. Representatives of each sector made this point at an event entitled Spain, together for the climate, which took place in late May.

Above all, climate change policies need to be long-term, with objectives set for 2030 and 2050. The EU, for example, has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% by 2050, which means getting almost entirely rid of fossil fuels as an energy source.

The main players

Energy is responsible for almost 80% of Spanish CO 2 emissions. Within that sphere, electricity generation accounted for 26% of emissions in 2015, while transportation represented 25%. In order to reach the Paris objectives, the emissions from these sectors need to be tackled. Hence, both the Environment and Energy ministries are involved in drafting the new law before it is sent to Brussels.

As far as electricity is concerned, technological progress coupled with lower costs for renewables brings closer the prospect of clean energy production. But parties and industry representatives must still reach consensus on matters such as the role of nuclear power, a schedule for the phaseout of fossil fuels, and the role of home generation.

Meanwhile, clean transportation presents a challenge, with electric cars still representing a negligible share of vehicles on Spanish roads. Between 1990 and 2015, transportation emissions grew by 41%. If nothing is done, the government forecasts an increase of another 15% by 2030.

The exorbitant cost of clean coal In order to justify his exit from the 2015 Paris Agreement, US President Donald Trump cited the need to support the national coal industry with a promise to back clean coal. But what exactly is clean coal? The term refers to a technique that allows the CO 2 emitted by coal-fired thermal power stations to be trapped and stored. After years of research, this expensive and unpopular method does not cover even 1% of the world's electricity production. Spain is also involved in a debate over the future of coal-generated electricity, which is responsible for 15% of all CO 2 emissions in the country. But Repsol recently suggested that the cost of storing a ton of CO 2 would be between 60 and 80. Spain's 15 active coal-fired power stations emitted 52,09 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2015. If they stored this, it would cost between 3.1 billion and 4.2 billion, which would send the price of electricity through the roof at a time when renewables are increasingly cheap and competitive. As the most contaminating way of generating electricity, coal is currently demonized in Europe. However, the Spanish Energy Ministry opposes the closure of energy provider Endesas power stations in Compostilla and Teruel, which are fired by national coal, by 2020. And a number of politicians, particularly in Castilla y Leon and Aragon, are lobbying for them to remain open.

English version by Heather Galloway.
(Getty)

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Theresa May has said she will form a Conservative government backed by the DUP, claiming it can bring "certainty" to the UK.

After visiting the Queen, the Prime Minister claimed there was a "strong relationship" between the two parties, amid concern over the DUP's controversial anti-abortion and anti-LGBT policies.

The PM has also apologised to Conservatives who lost last night. She said: "I'm sorry for all those colleagues who lost their seats." She will "reflect on what we need to do in the future to take the party forward" after the result, she added.

The UK voted for a hung parliament after shock losses for the Conservatives in the 2017 general election. With 649 of 650 seats declared, the Tories had 318 seats - eight short of the figure needed to win outright - with Labour on 261, the SNP on 35 and Liberal Democrats on 12.

Jeremy Corbyn's party increase its share of the vote by 9.6 per cent, while the Tories were up 5.5 per cent, the Liberal Democrats, Greens and SNP saw small loses and Ukip's vote collapsed.

The live blog has now ended

 Who are the DUP?

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Politicians, voters, and even their pets have been heading to polling stations and are posing for the cameras at every opportunity.

The Prime Minister has made clear that she would rely on the support of the Democratic Unionist Party in order to get her programme through Parliament, despite concern over its stance on issues including equal marriage, abortion and climate change.

Making no allusion to losses suffered by the Conservatives, Ms May said she intended to press ahead with her plans for Brexit.

She faced calls from within her own party to consider her own position after the election, which she brought forward by three years in the hope it would deliver an increased majority in the Commons.

Jeremy Corbyn urged her to resign and allow him to form a minority administration, declaring: We are ready to serve this country.

But, after intensive talks with the DUP, the Prime Minister instead drove the short distance to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen for permission to form a new government.

The final election results came in late on Friday, after Kensington finally declared a Labour win  with a tiny 20-vote majority. They were:

Out of 650 seats

Conservatives 318 (-13)

Labour 262 (+30)

SNP 35 (-21)

Lib Dems 12 (+4)

DUP 10 (+2)

Sinn Fein 7 (+3)

Plaid Cymru 4 (+1)

Green 1 (--)

Ukip 0 (-1)
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Theresa May has suffered a heavy blow after the official exit poll indicated Britain is heading for a hung parliament.

The survey of some 20,000 people leaving polling stations suggested Ms May's party has taken just 314 seats in total, 12 short of an overall majority.

The unexpected result would see Labour increase its number of seats by 34 to 266, while the Liberal Democrats would take 14. Nicola Sturgeon's SNP appear to have suffered heavy losses.

Recommended Pound value drops after UK election exit poll predicts hung parliament

If borne out, the figures would throw a huge question mark over Ms May's future as Prime Minister  with Labour figures already demanding her resignation.

But the result threatened to throw Britain's Brexit negotiating strategy into chaos, with talks due to begin in just 11 days and British parties bitterly divided over what to do.

In an early sign of repercussions the result would have, sterling fell over 1.5 per cent to 1.27 and plummeted over one per cent to 1.13.

Conservatives attempted to play down the poll, with Defence Secretary Michael Fallon saying it was just a "projection".

He went on: "These exit polls have been wrong in the past. I think we do need to see some actual results before this can be interpreted one way or another.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

"I never believed the original poll showing us 20 points ahead  in an election you get a tightening between the major parties, that was clearly happening this time."

Despite a faltering campaign, punctuated by a humiliating U-turn over social care, most Conservatives still believed their party was on course for a decent majority, bigger than the one David Cameron secured in 2015.

The poll leaves the Conservatives with 17 fewer seats than they currently have, while Labour appears to have won 34 more seats than the party did under Ed Miliband two years ago.

 Jeremy Corbyn speaks to huge crowd at Birmingham rally

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said if the poll is right, it would "change the nature of political discourse in this country".

"I think people have got tired of the ya-boo politics and some of the nasty tactics that have some out in recent years," he said.

Describing the Tory campaign as "gutter", he added: "If the result is anywhere near like this I think it means positive politics has actually succeeded."

Mr Corbyn's less polished, more open campaign contrasted well with Ms May's, but a string of opinion polls still predicted a Tory majority.

Both Mr McDonnell and shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry suggested Ms May could no longer continue as Prime Minister, if her gamble falls through.

Another key feature of the exit poll is the reduction in seats for the SNP, with the party taking 34 after having won 56 in 2015.

 Prime Minister Theresa May casts her vote

With Lib Dem leader Tim Farron almost doubling his party's tally to 14, enough to provide a majority with the Conservatives, coalition government could be a possibility  as could a progressive alliance of centre left parties.

But ex-leader Menzies Campbell said Mr Farron had made it clear there would be no pacts and no coalitions.

He went on: "We've had our fingers burned by coalition, I don't need to tell you that, so I find it very difficult to see how Tim Farron would go back on what he has already said and indeed to persuade the membership of the Lib Dems that a coalition was a good idea from our point of view."

The poll indicated the Greens would retain their seat, while Ukip would lose their only place on the Commons benches.

Before the survey was even released Ukip spinners were playing down expectations for the party, suggesting nobody believes party leader Paul Nuttall would emerge victorious in Boston and Skegness  despite the constituency voting heavily to Leave at last years referendum.

"In all seriousness its not one of our target seats," one Ukip source added.
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The Liberal Democrats will make "no pact, no deal, no coalition" with either Labour or the Conservatives in the event of a hung parliament, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats has said.

A senior Lib Dem source confirmed to The Independent that there would be "no coalitions" or other deals with any other party.

Ming Campbell made the comments following the exit poll that showed Theresa May losing her majority in what would be a major electoral upset.

"Tim Farron made it very clear: he said no pact, no deal, no coalition. Weve had our fingers burned by coalition, I dont need to tell you that," he told the BBC.

"I find it very, very difficult to see how Tim Farron would be able to go back on what hes previously said and indeed to persuade the membership of the Liberal Democrats that a coalition would be a good idea from our point of view."

Lord Campbell, who led the party in 2006 and 2007, said differences on Brexit would make it difficult for the Lib Dems to do any deal with Labour or the Conservatives.

He continued: "I would be astonished if he countenanced any kind of coalition with with Labour or the Conservatives."

The Green Party, which currently has 1 MP, said it would never back a Tory government but could support Labour on a vote-by-vote basis. The SNP and DUP would also likely be king-makers in a hung parliament.

The Lib Dems suffered badly from the 2010 coalition with the Conservatives, losing scores of seats across the country and being reduced to a small parliamentary rump.

Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria (PA)

The party is tonight bullish about its chances in south London  where Ed Davey is try to re-take Kingston and Surbiton from the Conservatives, Vince Cable is looking for a comeback in Twickenham, and the party wants to regain Paul Burstow's old seat of Sutton and Cheam.

The liberals are also hoping to unseat Tory MP Ben Howlett in Bath, a seat they held until 2015  though the rest of the south west is expected to be difficult terrain for the party.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

A party source described the situation in Scotland  where the party could pick up a number of seats  as tight.

The BBC/Sky/ITV exit poll shows the Tories on 314 seats, just short of the 326 needed to win. The poll poll Labour on 266, the Lib Dems on 14, the SNP on 34 and other parties on 22.
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The Conservatives have failed to take one of their top target seats in Wales, casting further doubt about whether Theresa May will win a substantial majority.

Labour MP Ian Lucas held on in Wrexham, with both Jeremy Corbyn's party and Theresa May's party up around 5,000 votes.

The ConservativeHome website described the seat as "one of the partys top targets" because of the area's high Leave vote, estimated to be 58 per cent.

Recommended Tories fail to take crucial bellwether seat in Darlington

Labour ultimately increased its majority by one vote in the seat from 1,831 to 1,832.

The Conservatives won 15,321 votes, up from 10,350 in 2015, while Labour won 17,153 votes, up from 12,181.

Elsewhere in Wales, in Llanelli, Labour increased its majority, up 12 per cent, with the Tories up 9 per cent. Plaid Cymru, Ukip, and the Lib Dems were both down.

A rollercoaster of polls during the election campaign initially showed the Conservatives up significantly in Wales, knocking Labour from first place.

However more recent polls conducted after Labour's manifesto launch showed an equally dramatic turnaround, with Jeremy Corbyn and Carwyn Jones's party re-taking and consolidating their lead.

Seat projections from the University of Cardiff based on YouGov polling suggested that Labour could even take seats off the Conservatives in the principality.
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The British public "saw through the lies of the Murdoch machine" that tried to "frighten" people into voting for the Tories, Labour's deputy leader has said.

Addressing his constituents at the count for his West Bromwich East seat, Mr Watson tore into Theresa May, branding her campaign one of the most "negative, defensive, and pessimistic" in British history.

He was speaking after the election's exit poll showed the Tories losing their majority, in a shock result.

"She said she was strong and stable, the public saw she was weak and wobbly. She said she was a bloody difficult woman, she boasted about it, the public saw that she was just a woman who was finding it all a bit too bloody difficult," he said.

He added: "Labour fought a people-powered campaign, putting passion and principle against the Tories corporate millions and we did better than many said we would.

"People responded well to Jeremy Corbyns energy, honesty, candour, and energy  just as they saw Theresa May run away from holding herself to account.

"They saw through the lies of the Murdoch machine who tried to frighten people into voting Tory."

Papers owned by News UK, Mr Murdoch's company, tended to endorse the Conservatives during the campaign.

The Sun newspaper featured a lurid election day front page featuring Jeremy Corbyn living in a rubbish bin, because his name rhymes with "bin".

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Mr Watson has had a mixed relationship with party leader Mr Corbyn, with reports of a split between the two behind the scenes.

The deputy leader was all but invisible during the general election campaign.

In the 2010-2015 Parliament West Bromwich East MP was at the forefront of the campaign against phone hacking and came to blows with Mr Murdoch's newspapers.
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John Curtice, the UK's most prominent psephologist and the man behind the general election exit poll, says there is not now "any way at all that the Conservatives can get to the 326 mark" and win an outright majority.

Mr Curtice's team provided the polling model as voting closed at 10pm on Thursday night that suggested the Tories would take 314 votes, with Labour taking 266 and the SNP on 34.

And speaking at 5.20am on Friday morning, Mr Curtice said it looked like the exit poll would prove to be one of the most accurate ever produced.

Asked by the BBC's David Dimbleby if there was any way Theresa May could crawl over the line to victory, with some 40 seats still to declare, he said there was not.

"One always has to be cautious about these things," he said. "But it looks as though this time we might be one, two or three seats out, but that's about it.

"It looks as though our forecast is going to prove remarkably accurate, maybe in the end the most accurate exit poll yet. But we'll wait and see whether that proves to be the case."

"We cannot see any way at all that the Conservatives can get to the 326 mark, we think it is pretty clear that it is going to be a hung parliament."

After his reelection was confirmed in Islington North, Jeremy Corbyn said the election result should mean the end of Ms May's tenure as Prime Minister.

And arriving at Maidenhead for her own constituency declaration, Ms May was forced to dodge Sky News presenter Kay Burley asking if she would resign.

Mr Curtice told the BBC: "Some of those questions about Theresa May's future are clearly going to become important later today."
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Labour expects to oust Theresa May from No 10 and to form a minority government, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has said.

We're ready to form a government.we are willing to serve the country, he told the BBC.

I don't think the Conservative Government is stable, I don't think the Prime Minister is stable. I don't want to be derogatory, but I think she is a lame duck now.

Mr McDonnell insisted there would be no deals  instead Labour would put forward a Queens Speech and urge the SNP and minor parties to back it.

Labour would not attempt to delay the Brexit talks, he said, which the EU hopes to start within two weeks.

However, the Conservatives, as the existing government, will have the first opportunity to win the confidence of the House of Commons.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

And the numbers are in the Tories favour. With around 318 seats, Ms May  unless she resigns  could expect to have a Commons majority with the support of 10 Democratic Unionist MPs.

Speaking outside Labour headquarters, Jeremy Corbyn said Labour had won a huge mandate to challenge austerity. Asked if the uncertainty created by a hung parliament was good for Britain, he replied: A hung parliament is what we've been given, it's up to MPs to deal with that.

"We have a huge mandate from a huge increase in our support to carry forward a programme that challenges austerity, that challenges poverty and challenges inequality and gives opportunities for young people, for people in the middle, and gives protection for older people.

"That surely is a very important message that the people in this country, in every part of this country, have given us all today.
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The 2017 general election has delivered a result few expected - a hung parliament. With just seven seats still to declare, the Conservatives have 313 seats to Labour's 260. The SNP are on 34 and the Liberal Democrats 12. But what does it mean, and what happens now? Could Jeremy Corbyn become Prime Minister, or will Theresa May remain in Number 10?

What is a hung parliament?

When no political party wins enough seats to secure a majority in the House of Commons, the outcome is known as a hung parliament. With 650 MPs sitting in Westminster, a party needs to win at least 326 seats to be sure of a majority. The 2017 general election result means no one party has passed that threshold; the Conservatives have so far won 313 seats and Labour 260.

The UKs first-past-the-post electoral system means hung parliaments rarely happen in Britain, but it was the case following the 1974 election and most recently, of course, in 2010.

In the case of a hung parliament, the leader of the party with the most seats is given the opportunity to try to form a government. This can take two forms: one option is a formal coalition with other parties, in which the coalition partners share ministerial jobs and push through a shared agenda. The other possibility is a more informal arrangement, known as confidence and supply, in which the smaller parties agree to support the main legislation, such as a budget and Queens Speech, put forward by the largest party but do formally take part in government.

What happens now?

The Conservatives have won the most seats by some margin. As a result, and as the incumbent, Theresa May will now have the chance to try to form a government. She could attempt to scramble together a formal coalition of other parties, most likely the Northern Irish DUP, that would take her over the threshold needed to obtain a House of Commons majority. Alternatively she may try to lead a minority government if she can convince other parties to back her in a vote of confidence.

Either way, it is difficult to see how Theresa May will be able to remain as Conservative leader for long. She began the election campaign with a sizeable lead and was widely predicted to extend her majority. However, a lacklustre campaign and criticism of the Prime Minister has denied the Tories the majority that once looked so certain.

Should Ms May prove unable to form a government that can pass key laws when Parliament meets on 13 June, Jeremy Corbyn, as leader of the second biggest party, would then be given the opportunity to govern.

He would most likely attempt to do so as leader of a minority government, with the Lib Dems, SNP and Greens backing him on issues, such as Brexit and the economy, where they have shared ground.

What have the other parties said about a possible coalition?

The Liberal Democrats have consistently ruled out any coalition, creating the possibility of neither the Conservatives nor Labour being able to secure the parliamentary numbers need to guarantee a majority in the House of Commons.

Former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell re-iterated the party's position on Thursday night, telling the BBC: "Tim Farron made it very clear: he said no pact, no deal, no coalition. Weve had our fingers burned by coalition, I dont need to tell you that."

"I find it very, very difficult to see how Tim Farron would be able to go back on what hes previously said and indeed to persuade the membership of the Liberal Democrats that a coalition would be a good idea from our point of view."

The SNP has shown more openness towards the idea of coalition government. Nicola Sturgeon, the party's leader, previously told the BBC: If there was to be a hung Parliament of course we would look to be part of a progressive alliance that pursued progressive policies.

That will come at a cost, though  likely to be a guarantee from whoever is Prime Minister that they will allow a second referendum on Scottish independence.

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas has also said she would be willing to enter a coalition with Labour.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

How long will it take to sort out?

No one knows. Negotiations will likely begin immediately, with the Conservatives assessing whether they can assemble the number needed to pass legislation and survive any vote of confidence.

Theresa May is likely to argue that such an arrangement is crucial to the national interest, with Brexit negotiations due to start in just 11 days time, although it is highly possible that those talks will now be delayed.

In 2010 it took five days for the Conservatives and Lib Dems to negotiate a coalition agreement. Some kind of agreement will most likely need to be in place before Parliament reconvenes on 13 June.

What happens if no party can form a viable government?

In that situation there is likely to be a second election  possibly later this year. However, under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, passed in 2011, that would require a two-thirds majority of MPs to vote for a second election.

Under the provisions of that act, if a government loses a vote of confidence then other parties get two weeks to try to form a government. Only if a second confidence vote is lost is an early election held.

What does this mean for Brexit?

Its unclear. Whatever happens, it seems likely that the Brexit process will be held up and the eventual outcome of negotiations with the EU possibly altered. Apart from the Tories, almost all of the other parties are either opposed to Brexit or want a much softer Brexit than Theresa May has advocated. Ms May could be forced to change tack in order to, say, convince the Lib Dems to back her in a budget or Queens Speech vote. If she is unable to govern, a more pro-EU coalition incorporating Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP and the Green Party could be assembled to take Britain into talks with the EU.

The start of Brexit negotiations, scheduled for 19 June, could be delayed while a government is formed.
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Jeremy Corbyn has hailed his partys election performance as a vote for hope and demanded Theresa May quit as Prime Minister.

In his victory speech at his own Islington North count he said the time had come for a government that is truly representative of all of the people of this country.

His shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would try to form a government at the earliest possible opportunity, even if it was in a minority.

Recommended Nick Clegg loses his seat to Labour

With results pointing to his party performing considerably better than it had in 2015 under Ed Miliband, Mr Corbyn said the UK could be a different and fundamentally better place.

He went on: Politics is not going back into the box where it was before.

Whats happened is people have said they have had quite enough of austerity politics, they have had quite enough of cuts in public expenditure, underfunding our health service, underfunding our schools and our education service and not giving our young people the chance they deserve in our society.

People were voting for hope for the future and turning their backs on austerity, he said.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

Turning his fire on Ms May, he said: The Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. Well the mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

I would have thought thats enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country.

He added: In the new parliament we will do everything we can to ensure that everything we have said in this campaign and everything that is included in our manifesto is put before Parliament so that this country can be a different, and I believe, fundamentally better place.

Mr McDonnell arrived at the count for Hayes and Harlington to back his leaders call up, pointing out Ms Mays U-turn over calling an election.

He said: I think Theresa May actually called a general election despite promising some seven times not to. And people thought this was unnecessary. And she put party before country.

I think even some Conservative MPs now consider her position is increasingly untenable. I think she has committed a  political error for her own political career.

More importantly she has put us through a general election which was unnecessary. She put party before country and thats unacceptable.

 John McDonnell: Theresa May's position as PM untenable

Underlining his partys intention to form a government, he said: Whenever we get the opportunity we will do.

If its a minority government we will. But we dont know the results of this election yet.

We are extremely cautious, lets see what the results are.
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British voters returned a record number of LGBTQ MPs to Parliament in the general election.

Forty-five gay, lesbian or bi MPs were elected on Thursday  six more than in the previous parliament.

The SNP registered the largest proportion of LGBTQ elected members in its parliamentary party, with seven of its 35 MPs identifying as such.

A total of 19 Conservative MPs and 19 Labour MPs made up the list, with no other parties represented by an LGBTQ member of Parliament.

Recommended Record number of female MPs voted in to Parliament

Among them were education secretary Justine Greening and foreign minister Alan Duncan.

Labour candidate Sophie Cook, who was vying to become the first openly transgender MP, missed out by more than 5,000 votes in the Tory seat of Worthing East & Shoreham.

Andrew Reynolds, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who carried out the analysis, called it a global record.

Another milestone was reached with the election of Parliaments highest-ever number of female MPs.

Protestors gather outside Downing Street calling for May to resign

A record 200 women were elected, with Labour performing best of all the parties. Despite the apparent progress, charities have called for political parties to be more inclusive.

Recommended Labour candidate hopes to become first openly transgender MP

The announcement that Theresa May would form a new government with support from Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) raised concerns from LGBT and womens rights campaigners.

The DUP, one of the most socially conservative parties in Europe, has fought to maintain tight restrictions on abortion and opposes gay marriage.

We are moving forward at a snails pace and this is embarrassingly slow, Sam Smethers, chief executive of womens rights organisation the Fawcett Society, said in a statement.

If the UK only improves by this much at each election, we will not see equal representation in parliament until 2062.
The sum of 100,000 has been invested in a digital platform to investigate DNA data related to Spains stolen baby scandal, which involved the alleged theft and trafficking of thousands of babies in a scheme run by nuns, priests and doctors from 1940 until 1990.

Sor Maria, the nun charged with running the illegal adoption scheme. CRISTOBAL MANUEL

This symbolic amount allocated by the government in its 2017 budget is the result of a historic agreement between the Popular Party and Podemos, and it opens a new chapter in a case that has attracted the attention of the European Parliament.

Towards the end of May, a group of MEPs came to Spain on a fact-finding mission that involved meetings with Attorney General Jose Manuel Maza, as well as representatives of the Spanish judiciary, members of a commission set up by Congress, and Church officials with a view to reviving the investigation into thousands of claims from families affected by a scam in which mothers were told their babies had died shortly after birth.

There comes a time when its not words we want, but action SOS Stolen Babies spokesperson

Personally, I believe we are dealing with often contradictory evidence, including the scale of the scandal and whether we are looking at isolated cases or baby trafficking networks, said Jude Kirton-Darling, a British Labour MEP and head of the delegation that was set up to deal with the flood of claims sent to the European Parliaments Petitions Committee.

The victims completely distrust the religious and political authorities," she said in an e-mail. They have had to fulfill a demanding set of requirements for their claims to be considered valid and have frequently felt obliged to investigate their own cases alone, with little or no legal or psychological support. Some progress has been made since the scandal broke in 200910, but victim support needs to be improved. What has become clear is that the scandal is the rawest of the wounds left by the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship.

One of the babies believed to have been the victim of trafficking.

Highlighting the fact that the EU commissions official stance will be revealed in a report published between July and September, MEP and Popular Party member Rosa Estaras says: We support anything that will uncover the truth but nothing that may be used for political leverage. That would be undermining the seriousness of the matter. The Attorney General and the attorney specializing in the case explained that there was no organized trafficking network. I know the victims don't see it like that and I also know there are different points of view. So far, there is no proof that this is a consequence of the Spanish Civil War. The report shouldn't contain personal opinions, she concluded after meeting the European commission in Madrid.

In 2011, 261 people came forward to support the initial charge that put the scandal under the spotlight. Since then, various provincial prosecutor offices have received a total of 2,095 claims, of which 522 have been processed. However, time is not on the victims side. In 2013, Sor Maria, the nun accused of orchestrating the trafficking, died. Meanwhile, a doctor charged in 2016 is still awaiting trial.

We dont have much faith anymore, says a spokesman for SOS Stolen Babies, a group of 400 affected families. There comes a time when its not words we want, but action.

People are feeling demoralized, says Enrique Vila, a lawyer for one of the associations that met the MEPs in Madrid. The session [in Madrid] kicked off powerfully [as the claims were presented], but then there was a significant halt to the proceedings because the cases were filed, and getting a lawyer costs money. The state should process the claims and allocate state-appointed lawyers as they do with victims of domestic violence. But instead, each victim has to find the financial resources to take his or her claim to court, which isnt right.

I believe we are dealing with often contradictory evidence, including the scale of the scandal and whether we are looking at isolated cases or baby trafficking networks

Jude Kirton-Darling, MEP

State prosecutors, meanwhile, told MEPs that they would make every effort to find a solution and were already exploring ways to ensure the claims would be upheld. The MEPs will make recommendations in the report concerning both the claims and victim support. They will also make sure that the Spanish authorities keep any promises they make.

The Catholic Church has agreed to open its files under certain conditions related to data protection, says Kirton-Darling who met Jose Maria Gil Tamayo, Secretary-General of the Spanish Episcopal Conference during his visit. Subsequently, this Church body declined to comment on its collaboration, which could allow for cross-referencing between religious and public databases, facilitating the search between biological parents and their children.

English version by Heather Galloway.
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Mhairi Black could be on track to lose her seat as exit polls suggest a close result for her constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire South.

The 22-year-old Scottish National Party (SNP) candidate became Britains youngest MP when she entered the House of Commons in 2015.

According to the exit poll, Ms Black has a 46 per cent of victory in her seat near Glasgow  lower than Labour candidate Alison Dowling, who has a 54 per cent chance of victory.

Paisley & Renfrewshire South looking close. Mhairi Black (SNP) in trouble, tweeted the Britain Elects account.

The shock exit poll suggests Ms May, who triggered the election with a huge majority in opinion polls over her main opponent Jeremy Corbyn, will lose her overall majority and only take 314 seats in total.

If the poll is correct, it would be a significant setback for SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, whose party won a historic 56 out of 59 seats north of the border just two years ago.

Ms Black won the seat from Labour in 2015 with 51 per cent of the vote, compared to Labour's 39 per cent, the Conservatives' eight per cent and the Lib Dems' two per cent.

She confirmed she would stand in this year's election despite admitting she "hates" Westminster and claiming that "a lot of the time, it is just a waste of time."

In April she said she would nonetheless seek re-election, saying the vote was our opportunity to once again reject the Tories agenda and provide a strong voice for Scotland.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. 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Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

As leader of the party that seems certain to win the most seats, Ms May will have the first opportunity to form a government.

However, should she prove unable to pass key legislation such as a budget or Queen's Speech, Mr Corbyn could be asked by the Queen to attempt to form a government in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, SNP and Greens.

The exit poll suggests such a coalition would have 323 seats, which, if Sinn Fein follows its tradition of not taking its seats in Parliament, would be enough for a tiny majority.

The poll, conducted by election expert Professor John Curtice for the BBC, Sky and ITV, stunned the country by predicting Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election could have backfired.

However, the 2015 exit poll underestimated support for the Conservatives and predicted they would win 15 fewer seats than they actually did. Should that prove to be true again, Ms May would have a majority similar to the one she held before the election.

The poll suggests the Tories would be down 17 seats on their result in the 2015 general election, while Labour gains 34, the SNP loses 22 and the Liberal Democrats gain six.

However, even after 30,000 voters were questioned at 144 polling stations, there is always a possibility that the exit polls may be misleading.

In 2015, they significantly underestimated the Tory tally, putting David Cameron's party on 316 when it finally emerged with 331.

 General Election 2017: 12AM results

Emily Thornberry has called on Theresa May to resign if she loses her overall majority as predicted.

Labours shadow Foreign Secretary said the Prime Minister should consider her position after exit polls suggested the UK could be heading for a hung parliament.

I think she should go, because I think she has manifestly failed, she told Sky News.
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Former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has lost his seat to Labour, the nadir of a mixed night for the liberals.

The party made gains in Scotland and Bath, and returned former finance spokesperson Vince Cable to Parliament in Twickenham.

But they struggled in other areas of the country with leader Tim Farron narrowly avoiding losing his seat in Cumbria by just 777 votes.

Recommended Vince Cable retakes Twickenham seat from Conservatives

Labour's Jared O'Mara is the new MP for Mr Clegg's Sheffield Hallam seat, the first time Labour has ever won the seat since its creation in 1885. Mr O'Mara won 38.4 per cent of the vote compared to Mr Clegg's 34.6 per cent.

It is thought that a surge of student votes in the university-heavy seat carried the day for Jeremy Corbyn's party.

Mr Clegg narrowly held on to Sheffield Hallam in 2015 by 40 per cent to 35 per cent after taking his party into coalition and facing a near wipe-out.

As the possibility of a hung parliament loomed the party ruled out doing a coalition or formal supply and confidence deal with either Labour or the Conservatives.

"Tim Farron made it very clear: he said no pact, no deal, no coalition. Weve had our fingers burned by coalition, I dont need to tell you that," former leader Sir Ming Campbell told the BBC early on in the night.

The liberals are expected to end up with at least a dozen seats, a small improvement on the eight they won at the 2015 election - which was itself a historic low. The party's best result was in 2005 under Charles Kennedy when they won 62 seats.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. 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If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. 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Other Lib Dems to return to Parliament include Ed Davey, former energy secretary, in Kingston and Surbiton.

Jo Swinson also won Dunbartonshire East from the SNP's John Nicholson, but Greg Mullholland lost out to Labour in Leeds North West.

The liberals may find themselves the kingmakers in a possibly hung parliament.
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Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to "reflect carefully" on the disappointing result that saw her party lose 21 seats, amid mounting pressure on the SNP to shelve a plan for a second independence referendum.

The Scottish First Minister acknowledged the looming prospect of another vote on independence was undoubtedly a factor in the partys dismal showing, but also warned against rushing to overly simplistic judgements".

"I strongly suspect there were independence supporters amongst those who voted for Jeremy Corbyn," she said.

Recommended SNP wins Scottish marginal seat by just two votes

"Undoubtedly the issue of an independence referendum was a factor in this election result, but I think there were other factors in this election result as well. [There is] a lot of thinking for the SNP to do."

The SNP saw its vote drop by 13 percentage points on Thursday, a drubbing that handed 12 seats to the Tories, six to Labour and three to the Liberal Democrats.

Ms Sturgeons party ended the night with 35 MPs and just under 37 per cent of the vote  a result substantially down on the 50 per cent they secured in 2015, which gave them 56 MPs.

Praise fell to Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, whose strong performance north of the border  the best since 1983  was credited with keeping the Tories in government.

The biggest scalp of the night came when former SNP leader Alex Salmond was unseated in Gordon by Tory candidate Colin Clark.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson also fell more than 4,000 votes short of his Tory rival Douglas Ross.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said plans for a second referendum were a "significant motivator" which lost the SNP support, adding the party would "have to be attentive to that".

Commenting on the results, Ms Davidson said the Scottish nationalists should now agree to take a second referendum off the table.

Recommended Alex Salmond loses Gordon seat to Conservatives

Branding the demand for IndyRef2 a massive political miscalculation, she said: This morning, we have heard SNP figures acknowledge that the referendum demands were behind its bad result.

We have heard the First Minister say she will 'reflect' on the matter. I'm afraid that's not enough.

Nobody will condemn the First Minister if she now decides to reset her course.

This is her opportunity to do so  and I urge her to take it immediately. She must take it off the table.

 General Election 2017: Alex Salmond loses Aberdeen seat

The Scottish Liberal Democrats, who won four seats, having been reduced to just one Scottish MP in 2015, also backed calls for the SNP to rule out a second independence referendum.

Leader Willie Rennie said a vote should be held in Holyrood to delay and stop another referendum in the current parliamentary term.

Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson, who regained her seat from the SNP's John Nicolson, said the result sent a clear message that East Dunbartonshire does not want another divisive independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeons apparent willingness to reconsider her demand for an imminent Scottish independence referendum contrasts with a more bullish tone in recent months.

In March, Ms Sturgeon fired the starting gun on IndyRef2, announcing plans to hold a second vote between autumn 2018 and spring 2019  before the final deal on Brexit was due to have been reached.

She said at the time: What Scotland deserves, in the light of the material change of circumstances brought about by the Brexit vote, is the chance to decide our future in a fair, free and democratic way  and at a time when we are equipped with the facts we need.

Political commentator David Torrance said the union between Scotland the rest of the UK was now safer following the general election.
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A hugely strengthened Jeremy Corbyn has been praised by friend and foe alike, after his stunning success in denying Theresa May a Commons majority.

The Labour leader was hailed by everybody from trade union leaders and a Hollywood star to former Blairite giants Peter Mandelson and David Miliband.

One exiled Labour rising star, Chuka Umunna, said he would like to return to the shadow cabinet, admitting he had changed his mind about Mr Corbyn, because of the election result.

However, it was thought unlikely that he would turn to MPs who had refused to serve him, having strengthened the hold of the Corbynistas on the Labour party, probably for years to come.

One analysis was that Mr Corbyn had increased Labour's share of the vote by more than any other leader in any election since Clement Attlee in the 1945 post-war landslide.

Mr Corbyn celebrated defying the pollsters and gaining 29 seats in what an aide called characteristic style, with lunch in an Italian cafe in his North London constituency.

Having demanded that Theresa May resign  stating Labour was ready to serve  he argued it was pretty clear who has won this election.

And he heaped praise on Labour supporters, saying: Your vote for us was a vote for change, a vote for our country, and a vote for hope. Theresa May underestimated our party and she underestimated you.

The unthinkable happened when Lord Mandelson acknowledged it had been Mr Corbyns very sure footed campaigning which had delivered the political earthquake.

Just four months ago, the former Cabinet minister had described himself as working every single day to bring down Mr Corbyn who had no idea how to be a 21st century leader.

Labour's former foreign secretary David Miliband tweeted: Wow. So good Labour stronger. So good Brutal Brexit rejected. So good next generation realized the stakes and spoke up.

The US actor Danny DeVito celebrated Labour's gains with a Twitter post saying: Way to go U.K. Congrats! Recognize the real deal! Jeremy Corbyn showing us how it's done! London Calling.

And the left-wing US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders described Labours strong showing as part of growing protest against inequality all over the world.

People in the UK the US and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the one per cent. I congratulate Jeremy Corbyn for running a very effective campaign.

Even Michael Fabricant, returned as the Conservative MP for Lichfield, said Mr Corbyn had fought a brilliant campaign, particularly on social media, and had mobilised young voters.

Labour's dramatic turnaround was traced back to the week in which the party's draft manifesto was leaked, amplifying coverage of policies that proved truly popular with the public.

Nationalising key industries, spending more on the NHS and education, abolishing university tuition fees and taxing the top five per cent of earners and big corporations to pay for it hit home on the doorstep.

As the Tories hit turmoil over the dementia tax, Mr Corbyn delivered impassioned speeches to ever-growing rallies while Ms May was ridiculed for robotic performances in front of hand-picked activists.

When the focus switched to security, after the terror attacks, his attacks on her record of presiding over cuts in police officer numbers while Home Secretary appeared to get cut through.
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Theresa May has been warned by EU officials that the clock is ticking on Brexit negotiations, while others openly mocked her for yet another own goal following the calamitous result for the Conservatives at the general election.

I thought surrealism was a Belgian invention, said Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliaments Brexit negotiator, as he responded to the result that left Britain with a hung parliament.

He continued: Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May. This result will make the already complex negotiations even more complicated. I hope the UK will soon have a stable government to start negotiations. This is not only about the UK, but also about the future of Europe.

His comments came as EU leaders woke up stunned at the British election result, but quickly made clear who holds the whip hand in the looming talks. Publicly, they stressed it was up to Britain to decide whether the negotiations start, as planned, in under a fortnight, but the message was that the clock is ticking  on Britain, and its chances of a successful deal.

We dont know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a no deal as result of no negotiations, tweeted Donald Tusk, the European Council President.

The leader of the socialist grouping in the European Parliament, Gianni Pittella, said that British voters had punished the clear incompetence of Theresa May. She wanted the UK to have a stronger and harder negotiating position, but has the chaos of a hung parliament.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker added he hoped there would be no further delay to the negotiations. As far as the Commission is concerned, we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half-past nine, he said.

I do hope that the result of the election will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for.

The point being rammed home is that only the EU can agree to extend the two-year Article 50 timetable and prevent Britain crashing out with no deal  with the threat of enormous economic damage. Having triggered Article 50 in March, Theresa May then delayed the talks by staging an unnecessary election. Will they now be delayed again?

During the night, Brexit Secretary David Davis appeared to concede that the Conservatives had lost their mandate to leave the EU single market and customs union. Given that those hard Brexit policies lay at the heart of Ms Mays 12-point plan, it suggested ministers recognised they would have to start again. After all, the Commons is likely to have a majority of MPs who, at least privately, support staying in the single market. And, in a hung parliament, MPs have much more power.

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But, in the cold light of day  and bolstered by key Brexiteers such as Iain Duncan Smith  the Prime Minister appears determined, not only to stay in No 10, but also to press ahead with the withdrawal talks. It appears clear that, whatever their private fury with Ms May for putting Brexit in peril, the Brexiteers believe the only way to save the exit timetable is to shore her up.

The Democratic Unionist Party campaigned hard for Leave and can be expected to give the Tories the Commons votes to plough on, as part of propping the party up. Its price for propping up the Tories is likely to be a promise of no special status for Northern Ireland that would see the region half-in-half-out of the EU.
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Theresa May has apologised to Conservative MPs and ministers who lost their jobs amid the turmoil of her botched election gamble.

In a short interview from Downing Street Ms May said she was "sorry" and that loyal colleagues - including eight ministers - had not deserved to be ousted from their seats.

Her comments which also acknowledged her failure to win a majority, came shortly after a formal statement outside No10 which appeared to completely gloss over the shortcomings of Ms May's ill fated election campaign.

A visibly nervous Prime Minister said: "I am sorry for those candidates and hard-working party workers who weren't successful, but also particularly sorry for those colleagues who were MPs or ministers who had contributed so much to our country and who lost their seats and didn't deserve to lose their seats."

She went on to promise that in the wake of her losses she would "reflect on what we need to do in the future to take the party forward".

Earlier, following an audience with the Queen, Ms May said she would seek to lead a minority government supported by the Democratic Unionists.

"What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons," she said on the steps of No 10.

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The contrition in her new words comes amid what are likely to be difficult conversations between Ms May and her senior Conservative ministers, as she attempts to form her cabinet in the wake of an election which many Tories see as having squandered what was a workable majority.

It was noticeable as the results came in on Friday morning that almost none of her cabinet colleagues were wiling to speak publicly in support of their leader.

Only Brexit Secretary David Davis gave unflinching support, while Trade Secretary Liam Fox said earlier in the night that it was too early to "make any assumptions" when asked if the PM had been damaged.

Allies of Boris Johnson denied that he was "on manoeuvres", following claims he was sounding out colleagues ahead of a leadership contest, saying that the Foreign Secretary was committed to making Ms May's plans for a deal with the DUP a success.
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EU leaders were quick to warn Theresa May that the clock is ticking on her hopes of a successful Brexit deal  as one senior MEP said she should resign.

The presidents of both the European Council and the European Commission rammed home the message that the Article 50 exit talks must end in two years, unless the EU agrees an extension.

If Britain crashes out of the bloc with no deal, it will inflict huge economic damage, according to the Treasurys pre-referendum analysis.

Recommended No matter who forms a government this is the end of hard Brexit

We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a no deal as result of no negotiations, tweeted Donald Tusk, the Council president.

On behalf of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker restated the EU's determination that the talks must settle the so-called divorce bill, before future trade could be discussed.

He said: We are waiting for visitors coming from London. I hope that we will not experience a further delay in the conclusion of these negotiations.

One Brussels source said the comments reflected the EUs view that  while it was up to London to decide the next steps  in the meantime the clock is ticking.

From across the Channel, it appeared clear that she had no mandate for the hard Brexit she had been pursuing, but it was up to Britain to decide how to change course.

The view was stated by most starkly by Gianni Pittella, the Socialist leader in the European Parliament, who tweeted: Its a disaster for May.

Her huge gamble has backfired spectacularly. She has no credibility in UK or Europe. She should resign.

Some Conservative MPs appeared to agree Ms May would have to change her Brexit plan. Mark Field said: It would be foolish not to have a pauseother voices have their part to play.

A second, Phillip Lee said: I cannot see how we can continue on the same path... as we haven't received a mandate for that.

Dominic Grieve, a prominent Remain-backing Conservative MP, said: We once again see how Brexit has destabilised the British political system.

Michel Barnier, the Commissions chief Brexit negotiator, stressed that the EUs negotiating mandate  first requiring progress on the bill and EU citizens future rights  was set in stone.

He tweeted: Negotiations should start when UK is ready; timetable and EU positions are clear. Lets put our minds together on striking a deal.

Mr Barnier has suggested he could meet Brexit Secretary David Davis  or his successor  in Brussels in the week after next, to start the talks.

However, because of election purdah, Britain has not responded to that suggestion and the negotiations could be delayed.

Mr Juncker added that Brussels wanted the talks to start, saying: As far as the Commission is concerned, we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half-past nine.

I do hope that the result of the election will have no major impact on the negotiations we are desperately waiting for.
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Theresa May has confirmed she plans to stay on as Britain's prime minister to provide certainty to the country, with support from Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party.

After a brief meeting with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, Ms May said the new government will guide Britain's exit talks from the European Union, which are set to begin in just 10 days.

Standing in front of 10 Downing Street, Ms May said her Conservatives and the DUP will work together to "fulfill the promise of Brexit."

The Prime Minister did not mention the result of the election once.

Read her speech in full:

"I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen, and I will now form a government  a government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country.

"This Government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union.

"It will work to keep our nation safe and secure by delivering the change that I set out following the appalling attacks in Manchester and London  cracking down on the ideology of Islamist extremism and all those who support it. And giving the police and the authorities the powers they need to keep our country safe.

"The Government I lead will put fairness and opportunity at the heart of everything we do, so that we fulfil the promise of Brexit together and - over the next five years - build a country in which no one and no community is left behind.

"A country in which prosperity and opportunity are shared right across this United Kingdom.

"What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election, it is clear that only the Conservative & Unionist Party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons.

"As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular. Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom.

"This will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful Brexit deal that works for everyone in this country  securing a new partnership with the EU which guarantees our long term prosperity

"Thats what people voted for last June.

"Thats what we will deliver.

"Now lets get to work."
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Labour has won the majority of seats where turnout was up by more than 5 per cent in the general election.

A large number of people casting their vote is good news for Labour, whose election day hopes have historically hinged on a high turnout.

The overall turnout of the election was 68.7 per cent  up 2.6 per cent from 2015.

As of 1.30am, just three seats had seen a reduced turnout: Nuneaton, Rutherglen and Hamilton West, and Paisley and Renfrewshire South, held by the SNP's Mhairi Black.

A hung parliament has been declared amid calls for Theresa May to resign after her decision to call a snap election disastrously backfired.

With no party holding an absolute majority in the House of Commons, Ms May pledged to offer stability if the Tories end up as the largest party with the most votes.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

Record numbers of people signed up to vote on deadline day before registrations closed, with more than 600,000 names added to the electoral roll in the final 24 hours.

The figures point to a sharp increase in young voters adding their names to the register, with around two-thirds  453,000  of the new voters to sign up on deadline day aged between 18 and 34.

Jeremy Corbyns party has traditionally attracted more support from young voters, many of whom will be attracted to Labours promise to scrap university tuition fees.
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Labour has won the seat of Vale of Clwyd in Wales from the Conservative party, the first seat of the night it has taken from the Tories.

It means the veteran politician Chris Ruane, who was the MP for Vale of Clwyd for 19 years until Labour's disastrous election result in 2015, returns to Westminster.

Mr Ruane took the seat with a majority of 2,379 votes ahead of the Tories' James Davies.

UK Election Day 2017 Show all 38 1 /38 UK Election Day 2017 UK Election Day 2017 Door of Number 10 Downing Street is seen on the morning after Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn leaves his home in north London after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country" PA UK Election Day 2017 Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell arrives at Labour Headquarters on June 9, 2017 in London, England. After a snap election was called by Prime Minister Theresa May the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday. The closely fought election has failed to return a clear overall majority winner and a hung parliament has been declared Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britain's Green Party, speaks after retaining her seat in the general election, in Brighton REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey (R) following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre on June 9, 2017 in Kendal, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Paul Nuttal, leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party reacts after failing to win the seat of Boston and Skegness at the counting centre for Britain's general election in Boston REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. PA UK Election Day 2017 Anna McMorrin hugs Jo Stevens MP after winning Cardiff North for Labour at the Sport Wales National Centre on June 9, 2017 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. After a snap election was called, the United Kingdom went to the polls yesterday following a closely fought election. The results from across the country are being counted and an overall result is expected in the early hours Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 Vince Cable wins the Twickenham election for the Liberal Democrats. Richmond and Twickenham election Rex Features UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn rubs his face after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Emily Thornberry speaks after holding her Islington South and Finsbury seat at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May listens as the declaration at her constituency is made for in the general election in Maidenhead, England, Friday, June 9, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble in calling an early election appeared Friday to have backfired spectacularly, after an exit poll suggested her Conservative Party could lose its majority in Parliament AP UK Election Day 2017 Labour Party candidate Emily Thornberry smiles at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 A picture shows the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 8, 2017, on the night of Britain's general election. Prime Minister Theresa May is poised to win Britain's snap election but lose her parliamentary majority, a shock exit poll suggested on June 8, in what would be a major blow for her leadership as Brexit talks loom AFP/Getty Images UK Election Day 2017 DUP candidate for Lagan Valley Jeffrey Donaldson celebrates following his election at the Eikon Exhibition Centre in Lisburn as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK Election Day 2017 Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd attends the count for her seat at a counting centre for Britain's general election in Hastings REUTERS UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for BritainaAAs general election in London Reuters UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in blue, representing the Conservative Party, after the first exit polls announced in Britain's general election AP UK Election Day 2017 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 The London Eye is illuminated in red, the color of the Labour Party, after first exit polls of Britain's national election announced in London AP UK Election Day 2017 BBC Television centre is illuminated with the exit poll results for Britains general election Eddie Keogh/Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Labours Bridget Phillipson (centre) smiles after being announced as the winner of the election for the constituency of Houghton and Sunderland South at a counting centre Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Members of the election staff prepare to count ballots, in Theresa Mays constituency in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Ballot papers are checked ahead of the count at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Getty UK Election Day 2017 Ballots are counted at a counting centre for Britains general election in Kendal Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Theresa May arrives to vote at a polling station in Maidenhead AP UK Election Day 2017 Jeremy Corbyn arrives to cast his ballot at a polling station in north London EPA UK Election Day 2017 Lib Dems leader Tim Farron outside a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria PA UK Election Day 2017 The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) Paul Nuttall arrives to vote at a polling station in Congleton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon with her husband Peter Murrell (left) the CEO of the SNP after casting their votes at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK Election Day 2017 Caroline Lucas, co-leader of Britains Green Party, arrives with her husband Richard Savage, to vote in Brighton Reuters UK Election Day 2017 An advertising van showing caricatures of Tim Farron, Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Nuttall with the message who will be looking for a new job as Britain goes to the polls to elect a new government Rex UK Election Day 2017 Performers pose with puppet caricatures of Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Tim Farron and leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn, in front of the Palace of Westminster Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Dogs wait for their owner outside a polling station in Penally, Wales Reuters UK Election Day 2017 Police officers speak with a Labour Party activist outside a polling station in London AP UK Election Day 2017 Benedictine nuns from Tyburn Convent leave after voting in Britain's general election at a polling station in St John's Parish Hall, London AP UK Election Day 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty

Mr Davies had won the seat in 2015 with a majority of just 237.

Mr Ruane was the Parliamentary Private Secretary to minister Peter Hain from 2003 until 2007, when he resigned in protest against the decision to replace Trident.

Results continue to come in. As of 1.50am, Labour have 30 seats to the Conservatives' 22 with 58 seats declared.
Whatever thoughts went through Ignacio Echeverrias head on the night of the London attack on June 3, he took them to the grave with him. He and his friends Guillermo and Javier were looking for a place to have dinner after a skating session near Tate Modern, where theyd filmed some of their moves.

A tribute to Ignacio Echeverria in Las Rozas, Spain. Getty Images

They had met eight months earlier at a skate park in London. On the night of the terrorist attack, the three skating pals rented public bicycles and headed for Whitechapel to grab a bite. But two kilometers into their ride, they saw something that made them stop.

A man was hitting a police officer. According to relatives accounts, the friends saw that the officer was unarmed and that his helmet had slid over his face. But he was not being punched  he was being stabbed. When the officer lay motionless on the ground, the attacker turned on a nearby woman. That is when Echeverria stepped in.

I never used the word hero before, but now I will use it every time I talk about him

Rafael Duarte, friend

It all happened in a matter of seconds. Rafael Duarte, a friend of his, says he is convinced that Ignacio did not know there were two more terrorists in the vicinity. He did not see them coming. His family has heard two versions of events: Guillermo says he saw Ignacio get stabbed once. Other witnesses assert that he was stabbed twice.

Guillermo and Javier decided to run for their lives. Now they worry that people back in Spain will think that they abandoned their friend to his fate. Echeverrias family has sought to put their minds at ease: who could expect someone to take on three armed terrorists with their bare hands?

Other people attempted to help Echeverria. A few youths who had taken refuge in nearby bars tried to go out and assist him, but establishment owners refused to open their doors.

Two of Ignacio' siblings speaking to the press in London. Atlas

Ignacio Echeverria died in Borough Market at the age of 39, but his family takes consolation in the fact that in the approximately 40 seconds that the attack lasted, most of the people in the crowded street were able to take cover. In this sense, he may have saved dozens of lives.

I never used the word hero before, but now I will use it every time I talk about him, said Duarte.

From Galicia to Madrid

Known as Echeve to his friends, the victim was born in the Galician city of El Ferrol and lived until the age of nine in As Pontes, around 30 kilometers inland, where his father Joaquin worked as an engineer at the local power plant. His teenage years were spent in the upscale Madrid suburb of Las Rozas, where he developed a passion for skating.

He had a bachelors degree in law, spoke four languages and followed current affairs with great interest. His friends say that he was shy and somewhat reserved, but did not shy away from political debate. A close friend remembers him as pro-European through and through; he could not stand populism and celebrated Macrons victory [in the French election] because it prevented [National Front leader Marine] Le Pen from reaching power.

He was a guy with very clear ideas who would not keep quiet even if he was standing in front of someone with 40 years experience

Paco Soler, friend

His professional career began at the Madrid branch of the French bank Natixis. He was later hired by Banco Popular, where his former colleagues remember that he would read the Financial Times every morning. He was the only one, says a friend with a nostalgic laugh.

His new duties involved adapting EU directives against corruption, money laundering and terrorist funding. Echeverria monitored and assessed suspicious transactions, and spent hours poring over the paper trail of large financial movements from Yemen, Lebanon, Iran ana Saudi Arabia. He was familiar with the dealings of terrorist groups, and had traveled on several occasions to Algeria to negotiate with other banks.

He next worked for the Spanish Arab Bank, but disagreement with his superiors led him to quit. He was a guy with very clear ideas who would not keep quiet even if he was standing in front of someone with 40 years experience, recalls Paco Soler, another friend of the deceased.

People pay homage to Echeverria in Madrid on Thursday. carlos rosillo

Soler remembers how one day, Echeverria got into an argument with a superior to defend the work he was doing. He followed his ideas through to their conclusion. That is why I am not surprised at what he did.

Echevarria stood in line outside the unemployment office until a little more than a year ago, when he moved to London. His two sisters were already living there. He landed a job at HSBC, and went down to the City every day. On many afternoons, he would go skating.

Outside of work he was a real skater, says a friend from Las Rozas. So elegant and serious-looking at work, and then youd see him in his sneakers, holding his skateboard. He was a great guy.

But good is the adjective that crops up the most in reference to Echeverria. A relative who would rather not give out his name insisted that he was a principled person, all goodness. He was the most upright person I have ever met.

Guillermo and Javier are worried people back in Spain will think that they abandoned their friend to his fate

He was a practicing Catholic, as are his parents, and often spoke proudly about his great uncle Antonio Hornedo, who had been a Jesuit missionary in Peru.

After days of uncertainty when Ignacio was officially described as missing, the family can now start to mourn. They are now waiting for Ignacios body to be repatriated, so they can start to get some closure.

English version by Susana Urra.
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Sir Vince Cable has won back his Twickenham seat from the Conservatives.

The Liberal Democrat politician had held the constituency since 1997, but was beaten by Tory Dr Tania Mathias in 2015 with a majority of just 2,017.

The 74-year-old wrested back his seat with 52.7 per cent of the vote, compared to Dr Mathias's 38 per cent.

Sir Vince, who was made business secretary in the 2010 coalition, took 34,969 votes overall  9,762 more than Dr Mathias. The turnout in Twickenham was 79.5 per cent.

As soon as he arrived at the count he was clear he had won. We've obviously done very well, he told The Independent shortly after conferring with the defeated Conservative candidate.

After the result was announced, he said: "We've all underestimated the force of the younger generation."

The Lib Dems are "back in play" and will have a "significant role" in Parliament, he said. Dr Mathias praised Sir Vince and said being an MP had been "sheer joy".

The party's leader Tim Farron held his seat in Westmorland & Lonsdale with a slim majority of 777, but former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg was ousted from Sheffield Hallam by Labour.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. 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Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

Exit polls suggest the UK is heading for a hung parliament. The Conservatives are predicted to emerge as the largest party with 314 seats, a loss of 17 seats, with Jeremy Corbyn's Labour on 266, a gain of 34.

As leader of the party that seems very likely to win the most seats, Ms May will have the first opportunity to form a government.

However, should she prove unable to pass key legislation such as a budget or Queen's Speech, Mr Corbyn could be asked by the Queen to attempt to form a government in coalition with the Liberal Democrats, SNP and Greens.

Asked what Labour's surge meant for the prospect of a coalition, Sir Vince told The Independent: It's absolutely clear, we're not budging from that. We've said we're not going into coalition with either side.

 General Election 2017: 4AM results

We will look at issues on their merits. The major parties can't just shout at each other. Issues like Brexit are now going to require a fundamentally different approach.

A lot of other issues are going to have to be tackled in a much more consensual way.

He added: We've all underestimated the force of the younger generation. Mr Corbyn, to his credit, understood that.
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Inside a mosque in the college town of Eugene, a half-dozen men prostrated themselves on a carpet while another man led the midday prayers. Over their melodic recitation came a tapping sound as a locksmith installed higher-grade locks on the front door.

The worshippers at the Eugene Islamic Center are worried about their security. A man recently appeared outside the mosque and threatened to kill Muslims.

Barely two weeks later, an assailant stabbed two men to death and wounded a third on a commuter train in Portland, 110 miles (180 kilometers) to the north. The victims were trying to protect two teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, as the man shouted anti-Islamic slurs.

Looking ahead, Muslim leaders and others are concerned about anti-Sharia, or Islamic law, marches planned for Saturday in Seattle and about two-dozen other U.S. cities, saying the marches are really anti-Muslim. They consider the incidents in Portland and Eugene, and other recent anti-Muslim crimes in America, part of an alarming trend that came to the forefront in last year's presidential election with far-right activists portraying Islam  and all Muslims  as a threat.

Our Muslim community is feeling a tremendous amount of stress and pressure, said former Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, who plans to attend a counter-rally on Saturday. It's important for local leaders to express solidarity and make clear we stand against bigotry, against racism and with our Muslim neighbors in the state and beyond.

The group organizing the rallies, ACT for America, has chapters around the country and says it is focused on fighting terrorism and promoting national security. It says it condemns bias against religious groups and is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with peaceful Western Muslims as well as peaceful Muslims worldwide.

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

Yet many Muslims and others say the group promotes a distorted and prejudiced view of Islam.

ACT for America activists portray Sharia as largely incompatible with American democracy and often warn of a stealth effort to replace U.S. law with Islamic law. Muslims call the claims ludicrous and say Islamic law plays a role similar to Jewish law, as a guide to religious life rooted in the Quran.

Aneelah Afzali, who heads a Seattle-area group that works against discrimination and hate crimes, said she will be putting up an ask a Muslim booth near Seattle's anti-Sharia rally, so people can ask questions directly about Islam, and we can counter conspiracy theories, accusations and lies that come from that hate rally.

She said she has noticed increased hostility to Muslims, evidenced by the destruction of a granite sign in front of the mosque she attends in Everett, Washington, by someone apparently wielding a sledgehammer. A temporary sign was destroyed a few weeks later.

What was so beautiful was the outpouring of community support, she said, explaining that many community and business leaders showed up for a ceremony and left their handprints in the concrete base that holds the new sign.

Two far-right groups, the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, are to provide security at some of the rallies, apparently the first simultaneous anti-Sharia rallies in the U.S. Members of a third group also confirmed they'll attend, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups.

With the recruitment of anti-government groups and the Proud Boys, the potential for violence increases, the center said.

The marches come amid a rise in reports of anti-Muslim incidents in the U.S., including arson attacks and vandalism at mosques, harassment of women wearing Muslim head-coverings and bullying of Muslim schoolchildren.

Things happen so fast, it's so hard to keep up, said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on Islamic-American Relations.

Muslim leaders hear echoes of the views of groups like ACT for America in President Donald Trump's temporary ban on entry into the U.S. from six Muslim-majority countries  a measure currently blocked by federal courts  and in his claims of dangers posed by immigrants and Muslim refugees. Trump has said his policies are critical for protecting national security.

Those who attend the Eugene Islamic Center, in an off-white building in a lower-income neighborhood, are still coming to grips with the May 10 threat from a man who was arrested the next day while carrying a knife.

Mosque member Drew Williams said the man claimed to have killed Muslims while serving in the military in Iraq and told witnesses, I have no problem killing you. The man was charged with intimidation, menacing and harassment.

Many people are worried and saddened and very shocked, but we still hope to be able to practice and to be part of the Eugene community, Williams said as the locksmith worked next to him.

Besides installing stronger locks, the mosque is raising funds to erect a fence around the building and possibly hire a security guard for Friday prayers, when the number of worshippers peaks.

-AP
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A civil rights group is suing police for allegedly groping teenagers' private parts during a search for drugs that found nothing.

According to the students legal complaint, approximately 40 uniformed officers from five law enforcement agencies arrived at Worth County High School in the US state of Georgia, whereupon they indiscriminately searched some 900 students for drug possession.

No illegal substances or drug paraphernalia were found.

Nine students, who are unnamed for legal reasons, gave first-hand accounts of intrusive searches.

In a statement about the incident, the Worth County sheriff's office admitted at least one deputy had touched students inappropriately.

After the pat down was conducted it was discovered that one of the deputies had exceeded the instructions given by the Sheriff and conducted a pat down of some students that was more intrusive than instructed by the Sheriff.

Upon discovery of the deputy's actions, the Sheriff has taken corrective action to insure that this behaviour will not occur again.

It is not clear how the officer in question had been inappropriate, nor how he was disciplined.

A sixteen-year-old claimant referred to only as 'K A' wrote she was ordered to line up along the wall where Deputy Whiddon, one of the defendants named, "kicked her legs to open them wider".

The deputy proceeded to pull the front of her bra away from her body, and look down the back and front of her dress.

"Whiddon slid her hands from one of K A's ankles up to her pelvic area. Whiddon's hands stopped on and cupped K A's vaginal area and buttocks", the suit reads.

Other deputies allegedly "touched and manipulated students' breasts and genitals.

Children claimed that they also pulled up young girls' bras and exposed their bare breasts, as well as touch their underwear by "placing hands inside the waistbands of their pants or reaching up their dresses."

Female police officers searched the young girls, and male officers searched the young boys.

According to the complaint, the sheriff had no warrant.

The lawyer for the school district said that the sheriffs office had informed school officials that 13 students were suspected of possessing drugs, The Washington Post reports.

Only three of those 13 students were in school and it is unclear why he decided to go ahead and search hundreds of students.

He said probably won't attempt to search students again, because of the community response.

Initially speaking to WALB 10 News, Mr Hobby said that the school administrator was present for all the searches, and based on that they were legal.

He had ordered the search after the Sylvester Police Department conducted its own weeks before - and found no drugs.

The sheriff's office has 60 days to formally respond to the lawsuit.
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The US Food and Drug Administration is making an unprecedented move, and has ordered a drug manufacturer to pull a pain killer from shelves for the first time as the nations opioid crisis escalates to terrifying levels.

The administration ordered the drug company Endo to pull the extended release drug Opana ER from pharmacies because people have been smashing up the drug and injecting it. The drug company is pushing back, but the FDA is threatening to withdraw approval if the drug isnt voluntarily pulled from the market.

The unprecedented decision comes as the opioid crisis in America is killing more and more young Americans. A recent analysis of mortality rates across the country by the Washington Post shows that a decline in deaths since the 1990s reversed around 2010 when prescription drug abuse really began taking its toll.

Since 2010, mortality rates in every state have risen.

While most of the media coverage of the issue concerns young, poor, white people, the crisis has impacted all demographics. Deaths among African Americans have jumped 4 percent, and deaths among Hispanic people have jumped seven percent. Native American populations have seen an 18 percent increase, a higher rate than the 16 percent jump white people saw. Native Americans hadnt enjoyed a drop or relative stagnation of deaths in the past two decades, however. Asian Americans have seen a slight increase of 3 percent, but it is statistically insignificant.

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 crisis, in other words, is seeing a statistical uptick in mortality rates that shadow the number of deaths in the 1980s and 1990s when HIV ravaged communities alongside the crack-cocaine epidemic.

What it reflects is an out-of-control epidemic right now, Josh Sharfstein, director of Bloomber American Health Initiative at Johns Hopkins, told the Washington Post. Its affecting the economy. Its affecting the entire community. This is an absolute call to action for public health.
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When Angela Cardinal was sexually assaulted at knife point in 2014, she thought the worst of her ordeal was over. She was wrong.

After reporting her rape to local authorities, Ms Cardinal was forced to spend five nights in a jail cell next to her attacker while she testified against him.

Judge Raymond Bodnarek ordered Ms Cardinal into a provisional detention centre to ensure she appeared at preliminary trial. At the time of her testimony, the aboriginal Canadian was homeless, and the judge said she appeared clearly agitated and aggressive.

A review of the case, however, found Ms Cardinal had followed police orders perfectly, and had never lied about her whereabouts or attempted to leave town.

One of the questions that keeps me up at night is whether it would have been the case that if this woman was Caucasian, and housed, and not addicted, whether this would have happened to her, Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said at a news conference.

Instead, Ms Cardinal  who was named by Canadian media after her death  was kept in shackles throughout her own trial; housed in the same facility as her attacker. She remained in custody even while the trail was delayed so her attacker could receive emergency dental work.

On two occasions, the 28-year-old and her assailant were forced to ride to court in the same vehicle.

Im the victim and look at me, Im in shackles, Ms Cardinal told the judge. Arent you supposed to commit a crime to go to jail?

Ms Ganley has launched an investigation into the incident.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. 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Ms Cardinal was 27 and homeless when her assailant, Lance Blanchard, found her sleeping in a public area of his apartment building. According to court records, the six-foot-seven, 205-pound convicted felon dragged Ms Cardinal to his room by her hair.

Once inside, Blanchard undressed and molested Ms Cardinal, holding her at knife point. When she fought back, Blanchard threw her to the floor and started stabbing her.

"He said he was going to make me ugly and stick me in a closet and keep me, Ms Cardinal testified.

When authorities arrived on the scene, they found Ms Cardinal covered in bruises and lacerations. One cut on her hand required 27 stitches to close.

Ruling on her case in 2016, Justice Eric Macklin was horrified at her treatment by the court.

Her treatment by the Justice system in this respect was appalling, he wrote. She is owed an apology.

But Ms Cardinal would never get her apology. The young woman was killed in an unrelated shooting just six months after her preliminary trial. A recording of her testimony was allowed into evidence in the final proceedings against Blanchard.

Last December, Justice Macklin found Blanchard guilty of aggravated assault, kidnapping, unlawful confinement, aggravated sexual assault, possession of a weapon and threatening to cause death or bodily harm.

Still, the young womans case haunts Ms Ganley.

"She was the victim. We should have treated her as the victim, she said. It definitely speaks to a series of wrong decisions and a series of systemic failures that would have allowed us to do something like this to this young woman."
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Former FBI Director James Comey testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding his conversations with Donald Trump and the bureau's investigation into the alleged ties between the Trump campaign team and Russia as well Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

Here are the main takeaways from the roughly two hours of testimony which included questioning by Senators.

I take the president at his word that I was fired because of the Russia investigation

Mr Comey, who found out he was sacked while watching television in the Los Angeles bureau of the agency, was confused at first as to why he was let go.

Initial statements and comments from the White House suggested that a memo from Deputy Attorney General Rodney Rosenstein was what swayed the President. The memo stated that public distrust in the bureau had grown since Mr Comey's 28 October letter regarding an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private sever to send classified emails while she served as Secretary of State.

Many in Washington believed that the letter had a profound impact on the election, which took place just a week after that.

Then the President said on NBC's Nightly News programme that "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 have won.'"

"I was gonna fire regardless of recommendation" from the DOJ memo, Mr Trump noted.

Per detailed memos based on their conversations, Mr Comey said he had been asked repeatedly by Mr Trump to stay on Director and finish his ten-year term which began in 2013.

Mr Comey said he believed his termination was to relieve "pressure" the President was feeling about aides' ties to Russia.

The day after Mr Comey was let go, Mr Trump hosted the Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the White House.

 Comey testimony: Trump administration 'told lies and defamed me'

"I thought it might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, Mr Comey said about having a friend leak his memos to the media

Mr Trump's tweeting has stirred controversy several times. One of the most notable was in the wake of Mr Comey's firing. On 12 May the President tweeted that Mr Comey "better hope there are no 'tapes'" of the conversations between the two. It fed into the narrative comparing the Russia probe to President Nixon's Watergate scandal. In the 1970s, President Richard Nixons administration tried to cover up their involvement in the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC. Tapes of Oval Office conversations had to be released as ruled by the Supreme Court at the time and eventually Mr Nixon resigned. Mr Comey testified that he woke up in the middle of the night after the President's tweet and decided he could not trust the White House to tell the truth about the conversations. He asked a "good friend" - later confirmed as Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman - to send the unclassified memos Mr Comey had written to a reporter. The classified memos Mr Comey wrote on the conversations are property of the FBI now that Mr Comey is a private citizen and all of them have since been turned over to the Special Prosecutor team.

Mr Comey took the President's "loyalty" request "as a direction" to drop the investigation into former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, but not the entire Russia probe

Did anyone ever ask you to stop the Russia investigation? Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr asked.

Mr Comey replied: "Not to my understanding, no.

However, that was not how he felt about Mr Trump's comments on the investigation involving former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn allegeldy receiving illegal payments as a foreign agent of the Turkish government and his possible ties to Russian officials before Mr Trump took office.

Mr Flynn was fired in February 2017 for supposedly lying to Vice President Mike Pence about a meeting he held with the Russian Ambassador to the US.

 Comey on his conversations with Trump: "Lordy, I hope there are tapes"

"I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go," Mr Trump said according to Mr Comey.

Mr Comey testified: I took it as a direction. Its the President of the United States...saying this is what he is hoping Im going to do,

Though he did not "obey it" that is how he interpreted the statement during a dinner when Mr Trump also sought the then-Director's loyalty.

"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct.

Mr Comey testified that Mr Trump's behaviour in asking for "loyalty" was "concerning...and disturbing" but stopped short of making a legal determination on whether the President actually obstructed justice, which is an impeachable offence.

"A really significant fact for me: why did he kick everyone out of the Oval Office...to talk to me?" Mr Comey testified.

The former FBI Director said his "common sense" said that it made him feel as if Mr Trump was "looking for something in exchange for granting my request to stay in the job" of FBI Director.

Mr Comey said that the determination of obstruction of justice should be left up to the Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, who was appointed as an independent counsel in the overall Russia investigation.

Obstruction of justice is a tricky legal issue because it has to do with Mr Trump's actions rather than his intent or how Mr Trump's actions made Mr Comey feel. As a lawyer himself, Mr Comey is aware of this and likely why he is leaving that determination up to Mr Mueller.

 Trump denies that he urged Comey to close Flynn investigation

Philip Allen Lacovara, who was counsel to Watergate special prosecutors Archibald Cox and Leon Jaworski, wrote in the Washington Post that Mr Comeys "statement lays out a case against the president that consists of a tidy pattern, beginning with the demand for loyalty, the threat to terminate Comeys job, the repeated requests to turn off the investigation into Flynn and the final infliction of career punishment for failing to succumb to the presidents requests, all followed by the presidents own concession about his motive."

However, Mr Lacovara said that whether Mr Trump would be indicted on such a crime as a sitting President is an "open question" up to Mr Mueller to answer.

Mr Comey's testimony that he is "sure" Mr Mueller is determining the legality of Mr Trump's actions implied that the President under the purview of the Special Counsel's investigation.

Maybe if I were stronger, I would have, confronted Mr Trump about his inappropriate request for loyalty, Mr Comey said

I was so stunned by the conversation that I just took it in," said Mr Comey in response to Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein's question about why he did not say something to the President when Mr Trump said he hoped the FBI would drop the Flynn investigation.

Mr Comey said he regretted not speaking up in that circumstance, "but thats how I conducted myself. I hope Ill never have another opportunity."

Marco Rubio, the Senator from Florida and erstwhile 2016 Republican presidential candidate, also called Mr Comey's behaviour about not coming forward with the information earlier into question. Mr Comey responded again that he "was a bit stunned and didnt have the presence of mind.

 Paul Ryan: "Obviously" its not appropriate for Trump to ask for Comey's loyalty

Mr Comey and other FBI senior staff had decided not to release the request for the Flynn investigation to be dropped in order not to put undue pressure on agents assigned to the case.

Oklahoma Senator James Lankford asked what difference that made if the President had already tweeted about his displeasure with the FBI investigation into Mr Flynn.

The former Director said there was a big difference between tweeting and private conversations during which the President was pressuring him.

Senator John Cornyn said Mr Trump's request for Mr Comey to "lift the cloud" around the President and tell the public that the President himself was not under investigation was a reasonable one given the situation.

Senator Roy Blunt stressed that Mr Comey was the one who told the President on many occasions that Mr Trump was not a person of interest in the Russia probe and questioned Mr Comey's motivations for writing the memos about the pair's conversations.
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The shock UK election result has inspired Bernie Sanders supporters to begin re-circulating their favourite rallying cry on social media - the hashtag #BernieWouldHaveWon".

The phrase became popular after the US presidential election as it suggested that the veteran Vermont Senator would have defeated Donald Trump if he had been the Democratic nominee instead of Hillary Clinton.

Mr Sanders supporters feel the independent politician was written off, stereotyped and maligned by the establishment  traits he shares with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

But after Mr Corbyn's party won considerably more seats than predicted in the recent general election, the claim about Mr Sanders has re-emerged.

Corbyn is way to the left of Bernie, smeared more by the media (& Bernie has way more legislative accomplishments), Lee Fang, a reporter with the Intercept website, tweeted. Bernie would have won.

Both Mr Sanders and Mr Corbyn call themselves socialists and both generated impressive grassroots support during their campaigns. Both are more left wing than the average politician in their home countries.

Mr Corbyn wants to nationalise all British railways; Mr Sanders advocated for a single-payer healthcare system. Both men want to make university tuition free.

And both, it turns out, had massive support from younger voters.

The latest polling shows British voters ages 18-34 voted Labour by a margin of 63-27 per cent. More young voters in the US voted for Mr Sanders than Mr Trump and Ms Clinton  combined.

General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Show all 7 1 /7 General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nick Clegg Darren O'Brien General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Gavin Barwell Getty General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Angus Robertson General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Nicola Blackwood PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Alex Salmond PA General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Rob Wilson Rex Features General Election 2017: Big beasts who lost their seats Ben Gummer PA

But Sanders supporters say their candidates far-left views drove the Democratic establishment to undercut his campaign.

Leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) showed there may have been some bias against Mr Sanders, in favour of Hillary Clinton.

Mr Sanders' fans see the UK election as an example of what could have been, had the Democratic establishment accept their candidate.

Wow it's almost like people would vote for a socialist candidate if he wasn't blocked by a liberal oligarch! one frustrated US voter tweeted.

More broadly, the UK election results show that support exists for more radical, lefitist views. After a year dominated by words like populism and nationalism, many Sanders supporters  and even Mr Sanders himself  see this as an encouraging sign.

"All over the world people are rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality," Mr Sanders told The Washington Post. "People in the UK, the US and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the one per cent.

I congratulate Jeremy Corbyn for running a very positive and effective campaign."
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The director of the FBI was so concerned about Donald Trumps lying that he made detailed and contemporaneous notes after each of their meeting - something he never felt he had to do with Presidents Obama and Bush or any other member of past and present administrations.

The damning view from James Comey about the honesty and veracity of the current President of the United States by the one of the countrys chief law officers was one of the most memorable moments from one of the most eagerly anticipated evidence sessions on Capitol Hill in recent times.

The former FBI director confirmed for the first time that the FBI was scrutinising Mr Trumps actions in relation to Russia. Although he was not specifically under investigation himself, the Presidents conduct fell within the scope of the FBI investigation as well as that of the newly appointed special counsel Robert Mueller. The notes made by Mr Comey have been handed over to Mr Mueller and are also likely to be given to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Recommended Comey has a martyr complex and Trump is an amateur

Directly, forcefully, and often emotionally, Mr Comey described how he was fired by the President because of his refusal to back off from the investigation into the Trump campaigns links with Russia. After he was dismissed, the White House tried to smear him, said the former director. They chose to defame me, and more importantly, the FBI by falsely claiming that the Agency was in disarray, Mr Comey said. Those were lies, plain and simple, and I am so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them and I am so sorry the American people were told them.

In the hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee the word lies repeatedly came from Mr Comey in his account of dealing with Mr Trump and his coterie and what he saw as an attempt by the President to make him cover up the potential Russia connection.

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

Mr Comey described a meeting in which Mr Trump asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner to leave before asking him to shelve an investigation into Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who had to resign after lying about his links with Moscow. The FBI director was stunned by the request and chose not to reveal it to his colleagues at the FBI because of fear that it would have a real chilling effect on the Russia investigation. He was fired soon afterwards. He said Mr Trumps endeavour was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.

The former director refused to say whether that and other interventions in the Russia investigation amounted to obstruction of justice. That, he said, was up to Mr Mueller who, among other allegations, was investigating whether Mr Trump personally colluded with the Russians to get to the White House. Mr Trump had attempted to dismiss claims of Russian hacking of the US Presidential election as a hoax and fake news. Describing the vast range and reach of Kremlins covert operation, Mr Comey observed it was as unfake as it gets.

Depth charges were placed by Mr Comey during his testimony, about possible secrets which may emerge by saying he could not answer a number of questions in an open hearing. One was about the dossier produced by former MI6 officer Christopher Steele who had claimed that the Kremlin held sexual and financial secrets about Mr Trump. Was the FBI able to confirm any criminal allegations concerning the Steele document he was asked. The former director responded  I dont think thats a question I can answer in an open setting because it goes into the details of the investigation.

Mr Trump had sought to threaten Mr Comey after sacking him by hinting that there may be secret tape recordings of his conversation with the FBI chief. Lordy I hope there are tapes, Mr Comey told the hearing.

The threat may have backfired spectacularly for Mr Trump as it led to Mr Comey organising a leak to the media of the President asking him to drop the investigation into Lt Gen Flynn. He said he did so with the explicit hope of triggering the appointment of special counsel to investigate Russian election interference. That has now happened, and the many enemies the President has made will be hoping that more of his secrets and lies will be exposed in the future.
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Democrat Jon Ossoff is leading Republican Karen Handel in the special election race for Georgias traditionally conservative sixth district, a new poll finds.

The poll, conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, shows the 30-year-old Democrat leading by seven points: 51 per cent to Ms Handels 44.

Mr Ossoff, a first-time candidate, boasts a large majority with women voters. His Republican challenger has a small lead with men. Mr Ossoff also scores better with younger voters, while Ms Handel has a small advantage among those over 65.

The Georgia sixth district House race has been billed as an early referendum on Republican President Donald Trump, and a predictor of what could come from the 2018 mid-term elections.

This is the first competitive race in the country since the presidential election, its the first chance to make a statement about what we stand for, and the eyes of the country are on us, Mr Ossoff told New York Magazine in April.

The media buzz around the race has also lead to a massive increase in fundraising. Mr Ossoff has raised an impressive $23.6m over the course of his campaign. Ms Handel has yet to release her latest campaign totals, but outside Republican groups have contributed about $12m.

It is now the most expensive House race in US history.

In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Show all 32 1 /32 In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London An image of President Donald Trump is seen on a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A view of the skywriting word reading 'Trump' as thousands rally in support of equal rights in Sydney, New South Wales EPA In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome People shout and hold signs during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A protester holds a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille A placard ready 'Pussy grabs back' is attached to the handle bar of a bike during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A young Thai girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Womens March participants gathered in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A Thai woman takes a photo of a "hate is not great" sign at the women's solidarity gathering in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok American expats and travellers gather with the international community in Bangkok at the Roadhouse BBQ restaurant to stand in solidarity in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protetesters gather outside The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Women's March at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Protestors hold placards reading 'My body my choice, my vote my voice' during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome A person holds a sign during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activist Sarah Annay Williamson holds a placard and shouts slogan during the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activists participate in the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A Women's March placards are rested on a bench outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A women carries her placard ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila Women protesters shout slogans while displaying placards during a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President Donald Trump, in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Protesters take part in the Melbourne rally to protest against the Trump Inauguration in Melbourne, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters take part in the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Womens march on Melbourne protestors marching during a rally where rights groups marched in solidarity with Americans to speak out against misogyny, bigotry and hatred Rex In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau, Macau. The Women's March originated in Washington DC but soon spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila A mother carries her son as they join a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney An infant is held up at a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman attends a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman expresses her Anti-Trump views in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydeney Protesters demonstrate against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia. The marches in Australia were organised to show solidarity with those marching on Washington DC and around the world in defense of women's rights and human rights Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters march from The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square towards Trafalgar Square during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters carrying banners take part in the Women's March on London, as they stand in Trafalgar Square, in central London Reuters

Georgia's sixth district voted for Republican Mitt Romney over Barack Obama by more than 20 percentage points in 2012, and for Mr Trump by 1.5 per cent. Democrats hope that flipping the sixth will send a message to conservative politicians that they are falling out of favour.

Republicans, meanwhile, are eager to show strength going into the 2018 midterms  in which all House seats are on the table.

Republicans cant afford to lose this because it changes the narrative and it makes it easier for Democrats to recruit candidates and fundraise, republican Representative Tom Davis told Politico.

Mr Trump has recorded robocalls to support Ms Handels campaign, and Vice President Mike Pence will campaign alongside her on Friday.

Ms Handel and Mr Ossoff emerged as the top candidates from each party in a crowded primary race in April. Because neither obtained 50 per cent of the vote, the race goes to a runoff on 20 June.
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have had a third, undisclosed interaction with Russian officials, former FBI Director James Comey has reportedly told senators.

In a closed hearing, Mr Comey told senators it is possible the Attorney General spoke with Russian officials three times over the course of the Trump campaign  interactions Mr Sessions neglected to mention when asked about his contact with Russians in a Senate confirmation hearing.

Mr Comey did not want to discuss the possibility during his public Senate testimony, a source familiar with the briefing told CNN.

Mr Sessions has previously come under fire for failing to disclose his meetings with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The Attorney General had two publicly reported meetings with Mr Kislyak in 2016: once at the Republican National Convention, and once at his office in Washington.

In his confirmation hearing, however, Mr Sessions said, I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in [the Trump] campaign, and I did not have communications with the Russians."

Now, Mr Comey  who was investigating the Trump campaigns possible ties to Russia before Mr Trump fired him  has raised the possibility of an additional meeting.

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

Congressional investigators are already on the case, according to CNN. They are looking into a possible meeting on 27 April, 2016 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. Mr Sessions and Mr Kislyak both attended a VIP reception at the hotel that day.

Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores denied any private interactions between Mr Sessions and the Russian ambassador at the hotel.

"The facts haven't changed; the then-Senator did not have any private or side conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel," she said.

Mr Comey hinted at the meeting in his public testimony on Thursday, saying the FBI had purposely kept information regarding the Russian investigation from the attorney general.

We ... were aware of facts that I cant discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic, Mr Comey said.

Mr Sessions recused himself from the Justice Departments Russia investigation in March.

The Attorney General will testify in front of the a Senate appropriations subcommittee next week, where he is expected to face questions on his role in Mr Comeys firing.

"I am deeply concerned about the Attorney Generals role in firing Director Comey in light of his recusal from the Russia investigation," senior Appropriations Committee Democrat Patrick Leahy said in a statement. "...As Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, I have many important questions for him to answer.
Catalan premier Puigdemont (c) announces referendum date. T.A. (EFE)

Voters in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia have been asked to cast their ballot on October 1 in a referendum that will ask them: Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic?

Regional premier Carles Puigdemont announced on Friday morning that he is planning to call a independence referendum for Catalonia on that day, despite lacking consent from the Spanish government.

The problem is real and profound, said Puigdemont in a statement at the Catalan governments headquarters in Barcelona in which he outlined the details of the planned referendum.

We have explained it all over the world, but we are reaching the end of the term and we are still without an answer Catalan premier Carles Puigdemont

We have explained it all over the world, but we are reaching the end of the term and we are still without an answer

Catalan premier Carles Puigdemont

The pro-sovereignty leader said that his administration has attempted to reach a negotiated deal with a hostile central government in Madrid up until the last day and repeatedly.

We sent proposals to agree on holding a negotiation, he said. We have explained it all over the world, but we are reaching the end of the term and we are still without an answer.

Meanwhile, Puigdemonts deputy, Oriol Junqueras  a longtime leader of the small, pro-sovereignty party Catalan Republican Left (ERC)  went further in his criticism of Madrid officials.

We think it is opportune to provide context for the moment we find ourselves in, facing a State which has denied the citizens of Catalonia [the right to] vote, he said. A Spanish government that assaults fundamental democratic rights, and has ministers who conspire against the Catalan health system.

No guarantees

The announcement does not guarantee that the referendum can be held. In all likelihood it will be annulled by Spains Constitutional Court, which has already struck down regional resolutions fleshing out the secessionist road map that was approved by the Catalan assembly on November 9, 2015.

The central government has already stated that the referendum will not take place and that all necessary mechanisms will be activated to prevent it.

The Catalan governments decree officially calling the referendum is expected to be approved in the second half of August.

Former Catalan premier Artur Mas and two top aides were tried for their role in organizing a previous vote on independence. Atlas

Despite Fridays announcement, the Catalan government is not completely closing the door on a negotiated way out. At his recent speech in Madrid, Puigdemont said he was willing to negotiate up until the last minute of overtime. And there are voices within pro-sovereignty circles that still hope for a last-minute offer that will prevent a head-on collision.

Madrid says no

Puigdemonts announcement of the date and the question of the referendum on Friday morning comes in the face of unwavering opposition from the central government of the conservative Popular Party (PP) which has consistently appealed to the Constitutional Court in a bid to block a referendum it believes is unconstitutional, arguing that the sovereignty resides with all Spaniards.

It also comes several weeks after this newspaper revealed secret Catalan government plans to unilaterally declare independence in the event that a referendum is not held  a decision labeled by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as intolerable blackmail.

4,000 recruits D.C./C.S.B. If the referendum announced this Friday does take place, it will require active participation by over 4,000 government employees. Recruiting that many workers will be a challenge for the Catalan government, considering that Spains Constitutional Court is likely to rule the consultation illegal. Added to this is the fact that most large cities in the region are governed by parties that reject the referendum, such as the Catalan Socialist Party in LHospitalet de Llobregat, Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Tarragona. In the capital, the ruling Barcelona en Comu has not yet taken a stand on the referendum.

But Catalan government spokeswoman Neus Munte recently justified the move citing Madrids refusal to negotiate a legal referendum that all parties could accept.

Rajoys position throughout the Catalan nationalists independence drive has been that Spanish Congress must approve a referendum on self-rule, as its outcome affects all Spaniards, not just Catalans.

This was his attitude when Catalonia held an earlier, non-binding vote on November 9, 2014. The regional premier at the time, Artur Mas, was later tried for his role in organizing what the courts deemed to be an illegal consultation, and barred from office for two years.

Seven months ago, his successor Carles Puigdemont promised his supporters a new referendum for late 2017. But his foot-dragging when it came to the specifics had been worrying secessionists in the region.

Meanwhile, opinion polls show the lowest support for the independence cause since the process began.

English version by George Mills and Susana Urra.
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Donald Trump abused his power by seemingly asking then-FBI James Comey to drop a criminal investigation into his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, a senior Democrat has claimed.

Nancy Pelosi said the US President had  given reason to believe that this should be looked into.

I think its an abuse of power, and as far as obstruction of justice, the House Democratic leader told US broadcaster MSNBC, adding that special counsel Robert Mueller should look into this.

Mr Mueller was appointed by the US Justice Department to oversee the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States election.

Recommended James Comey says he could not trust Donald Trump in damning testimony

Mr Comey, fired by the President last month, testified before a Senate committee that he believed Mr Trump had ordered him to end the probe into Mr Flynn's alleged ties to Russia.

Mr Flynn was forced to resign from his post in February after it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with a Russian official.

In his opening statement, Mr Comey said the President had privately told him in the Oval Office a day after Mr Flynn's resignation: I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.

Ms Pelosi also criticised House Speaker Paul Ryan for appearing to excuse the Presidents behaviour because he is new to government and may not know the relationships between the various branches.

The FBI director is a political appointee nominated by the president, and can be removed by the US leader at any time. However, the bureau is meant to be insulated from the political pressure of the White House.

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

Mr Comey had first recorded details of his interactions with the President in a series of memos.

After Mr Trump tweeted that there may be recordings of their conversations, Mr Comey said he felt the need to reveal his written account of their Oval Office meeting.

So I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter, Mr Comey said during the hearing. The friend was later identified as Daniel Richman, a professor at Columbia Law School.

Mr Trump has accused Mr Comey of leaking information, writing in an early morning tweet the day after the hearing: Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!

Ms Pelosi also said she has concerns about Mr Trumps fitness for office, saying he needs more sleep.

Mr Trump has said that he sleeps very little, only about four to five hours a night. He also has a habit of launching Twitter attacks in the early hours of the morning.

When asked about what advice shed give Mr Trump on how to become a stronger leader, Ms Pelosi said she has advised him to get some sleep.

Bring yourself to a place where the synapses are working, she added.
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Donald Trump has accused Qatar of funding terrorism at a "very high level", and says that the world wants the small country to rejoin "the unity of responsible nations" in bringing about "the beginning of the end" of the global threat.

However, his remarks appeared at odds with his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who just hours before urged Gulf nations to go easier on Qatar. Several countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, have imposed a diplomatic blockade on Qatar, and have said that the nation needs to meet several demands  including ending alleged support for terrorism  before it can restart diplomatic ties.

"The nation of Qatar has unfortunately been a funder of terrorism, and at a very high level", Mr Trump said during an appearance alongside the President of Romania  Klaus Iohannis  at the White House. Mr Tillerson was sitting just few away watching as he was seemingly contradicted by the President.

Launching an extraordinary allegation against a key US military partner, Mr Trump derided what he called Qatar's extremist ideology in terms of funding terrorist groups, an accusation Qatar has repeatedly and vehemently denied. His comments were a forceful endorsement of this week's move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to cut off ties to Qatar.

Just a couple of hours earlier, Mr Tillerson delivered his own remarks on Qatar's crisis. He urged the Gulf nations to work together and ease up on the blockade. At that time, he also criticised Qatar for its extremist ties.

"There are humanitarian consequences to this blockade", Mr Tillerson said. "The blockade is also impairing US and other international business activities in the region and has created a hardship on the people of Qatar and the peoples whose livelihoods depend on commerce with Qatar. The blockade is hindering US military actions in the region and the campaign against Isis".

Mr Trump's position on the blockade has seesawed, and he initially celebrated its announcement. Soon after doing so this week, he changed his tone to bring him closer to statements made by Mr Tillerson. Qatar is where the US has its largest military base in the Middle East stationed. Most US air attacks on Isis originate from Qatar.

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

Saudi Arabia and several other countries imposed a diplomatic blockade after the government's state-owned media published an interview with the Qatari emir  which the government has since disputed  in which he reportedly criticised hostility to Iran, sympathised with three Islamist groups, accused Saudi Arabia of adopting extremist ideologies, and said that Mr Trump might not last long in the Oval Office.

The Gulf States have demanded several actions to be made by Qatar before they will reestablish those diplomatic ties. That wish list includes cutting off ties with Iran, expelling resident members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood group, and an end to funding terrorism.

Increasing the pressure on Friday, those nations put 12 organisations and 59 people on a terror sanctions list and described them as being associated with Qatar, which called the allegations baseless.

Notwithstanding Qatar's denials, Western diplomats accuse Qatar's government of allowing or even encouraging the funding of some Sunni extremists, such as al-Qaeda's branch in Syria.

Mr Trump said Arab leaders he met with in Saudi Arabia last month had urged him to confront Qatar over its behaviour.

The time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding, Mr Trump said. They have to end that funding.

Mr Tillerson, speaking at the State Department, said the US would help support efforts to mediate the crisis, along with Kuwait  another Gulf country that has stepped up to try to broker a resolution. Urging all sides to avoid further escalation of the conflict, Mr Tillerson said the elements were available to resolve it.
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Japans parliament has passed a law allowing Emperor Akihito to abdicate, meaning he will be the first monarch to do so in 200 years.

The special, single-use act will allow 83-year-old to renounce his thrown and let his oldest son Crown Prince Naruhito, 57, to take the reins.

He will have three years to do so, but will likely step down at the end of 2018.

Recommended Japan PM wants to raise North Korean missile launches at G7

During a rare televised video message which aired last August, the Emperor implied he wanted to step aside because of health concerns which he felt were interfering with his duties.

The new act will alter Japans era name. The country currently uses both Western and traditional calendars, the latter of which refers to the current nengo (year) as Heisei 29  the 29th year of the era of Emperor Akihito.

It is highly unusual for a succession to occur in this way.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters: A stable succession of the imperial throne is a momentous issue. The government will advance debate with respect for the resolution.

The topic has garnered some criticism and many are questioning whether Mr Abe will reform the Imperial succession system to allow female members of the royal family to ascend to the throne.

Currently, the Imperial family has one young male air, Prince Hisahito, and seven unmarried female children.

There are concerns the imperial family members are decreasing in numbers because of the marriage of female members.

If they marry a commoner, they are forced to give up their royal status. This isnt the case for male heirs.

However, Mr Abe is unlikely to change the system for fear of offending conservative politicians, who prefer the traditional, male-only, paternal-line system.
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An alleged Isis militant accused of linking terrorists in Europe to the groups propaganda agency has been arrested in Germany.

The federal prosecutors office said the 23-year-old Syrian man, named only as Mohammed G, arrived in the country at the height of the refugee crisis in September 2015.

A spokesperson said Mohammed G was strongly suspected to be a member of Isis, adding: He arrived here as a contact person between the Isis-linked news agency Amaq and potential attackers from the terrorist group.

Specifically, Mohammed G had been in contact with a person who committed an arson attack on a Shia community centre in Sweden on 11 October, by mid-September at the latest.

One day after the attack, the accused demanded a personal claim of responsibility from his contact person.

The reason for this was that Amaq did not want to publish a report on the attack without such evidence.

Amaq has published text 'reports', photos and videos made by terrorists including the Normandy church attackers

The arsonist, a man in his 30s who was arrested in Sweden on terror charges, complied and claims of responsibility were published by Amaq and in Isis al-Naba propaganda newspaper.

Experts were surprised at the claims appearance, as the attack in Malmo had barely made national news, leaving only smoke damage and smashed windows from Molotov cocktails.

Recommended Isis claims responsibility for London terror attack

But Isis propaganda hailed the attack by a soldier of the Islamic State  a phrase frequently used for deadly terror attacks  and said it targeted infidels.

The terrorist group, which claims to base its ideology on Sunni Islam, is waging attacks on Shia Muslims around the world after declaring them to be heretics.

The firebombing was the first attack claimed by Isis in Sweden, being followed by a lorry attack that killed five people in central Stockholm in April.

German prosecutors did not detail Mohammed Gs links with any other attacks, but said he also spreads propaganda for Isis in various online chat groups.

Several Isis members have been arrested since the start of the refugee crisis in Germany, which has suffered three terror attacks in the past year, including militants deployed from Syria to carry out a foiled bombing plot.

In pictures: Stockholm truck attack Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: Stockholm truck attack In pictures: Stockholm truck attack 3 people dead when a truck crashed into Ahlens department store in central Stockholm, Sweden Rex In pictures: Stockholm truck attack People were killed when a truck crashed into department store Ahlens on Drottninggatan, in central Stockholm Reuters In pictures: Stockholm truck attack Special Police forces work at the scene where a truck crashed into the Ahlens department store at Drottninggatan in central Stockholm Getty Images In pictures: Stockholm truck attack Woman is assisted at the scene after a truck crashed into an Ahlens department store in Stockholm Rex In pictures: Stockholm truck attack A policewoman in a gas mask operates at the scene where a truck crashed into the Ahlens department store at Drottninggatan in central Stockholm Getty Images In pictures: Stockholm truck attack People react at the scene where a truck crashed into the Ahlens department store at Drottninggatan in central Stockholm Rex In pictures: Stockholm truck attack Reports say three people have died after a truck crashed into an Ahlens department store in Stockholm Rex In pictures: Stockholm truck attack Armed police operates at the scene where a truck crashed into the Ahlens department store at Drottninggatan in central Stockholm Getty Images In pictures: Stockholm truck attack People react at the scene where a truck crashed into the Ahlens department store at Drottninggatan in central Stockholm Getty Images In pictures: Stockholm truck attack Emergency services close to the scene of an incident in Drottninggatan, a street in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden Lasse Gare/PA Wire In pictures: Stockholm truck attack Passers react at the scene where a truck crashed into the Ahlens department store at Drottninggatan in central Stockholm Getty Images In pictures: Stockholm truck attack People killed in incident when a truck was driven into a department store in central Stockholm Reuters In pictures: Stockholm truck attack Police officers work at the scene where a truck crashed into the Ahlens department store at Drottninggatan in central Stockholm Getty Images In pictures: Stockholm truck attack A general view shows a Ahlens department store after a truck reportedly crashed into it, at Drottninggatan in central Stockholm, Sweden EPA In pictures: Stockholm truck attack A view of a street after a truck reportedly crashed into a department store in central Stockholm, Sweden EPA

The latest case is the first official confirmation of suspicions that Isis waits for communication from terrorists in Europe to claim responsibility for attacks.

It has been accused of opportunistically or falsely linking itself to atrocities, but no investigations have so far disproved Isis claims and analysts say it is in the groups interest to maintain Amaqs apparent credibility.

The outlet frequently uses the phrase source to Amaq agency to preface early claims.

It was assumed to be a largely irrelevant point of style, but the German investigation suggests the caveat may indicate an attacker has communicated directly with Isis propagandists.

Some perpetrators are known to have sent final messages to the groups members, while others have recorded videos that are subsequently published by Isis.

The Malmo attacker allegedly claimed he was following the instructions of late Isis spokesman Abu Muhammed al-Adnani, who was killed in a drone strike in Syria last year.

His calls to launch terror attacks against the West have been linked to a series of atrocities, including the Orlando shooting, Nice attack and murders of a French police officer and his wife.

Amaq, one of several propaganda outlets linked to the terrorist group, is normally the first to issue brief statements and operates websites, social media accounts, a phone app and channels on the encrypted Telegram messaging service - in multiple languages.

Amaq issued the first claim of responsibility for the London Bridge attack on Sunday night (Getty Images)

Its accounts are frequently taken down but resurface quickly to continue spreading Isis message on both foreign terror and battles in Iraq and Syria, publishing text, photos and footage.

Amaq has carried claims of responsibility for Isis after attacks including in London Bridge, Manchester, Westminster, Paris, Berlin, Baghdad, Kabul and across the world.

The founder of the outlet, Rayan Meshaal, was reportedly killed alongside his daughter in an air strike last month.

His brother said the propagandist achieved martyrdom in al-Mayadin, Deir Ezzor province, where Isis is battling troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad and being bombed by the US-led coalition.

The terrorist groups media outlets did not acknowledge the death, which came as it continues to suffer huge territorial losses in Syria and Iraq, where the Mosul offensive is near its end.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces coalition is also advancing on Raqqa, Isis largest remaining stronghold in Syria, as humanitarian groups caution over the threat of huge civilian casualties.

Analysts have warned that Isis will increasingly use terror attacks as a means of maintaining momentum as its proto-state shrinks on the ground.

Isis annual call for increased attacks in Ramadan last month has been followed by the London Bridge attack, an advance by allied militants in the Philippines, bombings in Iraq, Jakarta and Tehran, a massacre of Coptic Christians in Egypt and a deadly hostage-taking in Melbourne.


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Norway's top court has rejected an appeal by mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, saying the country did not violate his human rights by isolating him in jail.

The Hoeyesterett court ruled there was no basis for a different conclusion than the one reached by the Borgarting Court of Appeal in January.

Breivik, serving a 21-year sentence for killing 77 people in a 2011 bomb-and-shooting rampage, had claimed his solitary confinement has deeply damaged him and made him even more radical in his neo-Nazi beliefs.

At this point, there are no prospects for Breivik winning an appeal in the Supreme Court, the court said in a statement.

The appeal committee added that Breivik still represents an unusually high risk of (committing) very serious events.

His defence lawyer Oystein Storrvikk told Norwegian news agency NTB that they would appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Last year, the Norwegian government had appealed against a lower court ruling that Breivik's isolation in prison violates his rights.

He had also claimed his solitary confinement, the frequent strip searches and the fact that he was often handcuffed during the early part of his incarceration violated his human rights.

Breivik is held in isolation in a three-cell complex where he can play video games, watch TV and exercise.

He has also complained about the quality of the prison food, having to eat with plastic utensils and not being able to communicate with sympathisers.

The government had said he is treated humanely despite the severity of his crimes.

Breivik had meticulously planned the deadly July 22 2011 attacks, setting off a car bomb outside the government headquarters in Oslo, killing eight people and wounding dozens.

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

He then drove to the island of Utoya, 40 kilometres (25 miles) away, where he opened fire on the annual summer camp of the left-wing Labour Party's youth wing.

Sixty-nine people there were killed, most of them teenagers, before Breivik surrendered to police.

Associated Press
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Humanitarian ships rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean Sea are not acting as a pull factor driving increasing refugee boat crossings or colluding with smugglers, research has found.

A report by the Forensic Oceanography department at Goldsmiths, University of London, rejected a toxic narrative seeking to blame NGOs for the worsening crisis.

Experts dismantled allegations made by agencies such as Frontex and leading European politicians, who claimed charities were encouraging smugglers to use more dangerous tactics on the treacherous passage between Libya and Italy.

The Blaming the Rescuers reports author, Lorenzo Pezzani, said: The evidence simply does not support the idea that rescues by NGOs are to blame for an increase in migrants crossing.

The argument against NGOs deliberately ignores the worsening economic and political crisis across several regions in Africa that has driven up the numbers of crossings in 2016.

The violence against migrants in Libya is so extreme that they attempt the sea crossing with or without search and rescue being available.

 Desperate journeys: Rescued at sea, refugees detail abuse in Libya

The United Nations has documented slave auctions where African migrants are openly bought and sold in the war-torn country, as well as endemic rates of rape, abuse, torture and forced labour.

Despite the dire situation, the EU has been giving funding, training and equipment to the Libyan coastguard in efforts to turn back migrant boats and prevent the crossings.

Humanitarian groups, which have documented the coastguard abusing migrants and attacking their ships, say forcing refugees from international waters back into Libya is a violation of international law.

Increasing co-operation with Libyas fragile Government of National Accord has coincided with record crossings and deaths in the Central Mediterranean, where almost 1,800 refugees have lost their lives so far this year.

Researchers found no evidence that the rocketing figures  181,500 migrants were rescued and taken to Italy in 2016  were caused by humanitarian search-and-rescue missions.

As Frontex recognised, the increase was consistent with previous year-on-year trends of increasing crossings by African migrants, which cannot be attributed to the presence of search-and-rescue NGOs who stepped in after the EU and its member states pulled out in late 2014, the report said.

As evidence, it pointed to increased migrant boats on routes that were not patrolled by rescue ships, including a 46 per cent spike in crossings from Morocco.

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

The report also examined accusations that rescue groups are helping criminals, finding no evidence of the allegations after reviewing official documents, statistics, qualitative interviews, photographs and maps.

Right-wing groups have seized on unsubstantiated claims made by a prosecutor in Sicily that NGOs were colluding with criminal gangs and allegedly making phone calls to Libya.

The Italian parliament has also launched a fact-finding mission into the issue, which is hearing evidence from law-enforcement agencies and aid workers.

The accusations having resulted in efforts by the French far-right group Generation Identitaire to raise thousands of pounds for their own ship to intercept refugee rescues and stop a supposed invasion by enemies and criminals.

A trial run off the coast of Sicily last month disrupted a rescue ship until Italian authorities, who deploy rescue ships on their operations, intervened and drove the anti-immigration activists off.

Campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez set up a crowdfunding counter-campaign that has so far raised more than 70,000 for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which runs two rescue ships.

Researchers also dismissed claims that NGOs were causing smugglers to switch from wooden vessels to flimsy rubber dinghies that are incapable of reaching Europe.

They found that tactics used by gangs profiting from the lucrative human trade have worsened steadily since the outbreak of Libyas civil war, when the UK was among the countries backing the removal of dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Rescuers place a dead migrant into a body bag after some 20 migrants drowned in international waters off the coast of Libya (Reuters)

Barack Obama described the ensuing chaos as a sh*t show, seeing rival governments and countless armed groups including Isis rush into the power vacuum, where they are still battling for control.

The Goldsmiths report also placed partial blame on the EUs Operation Sophia mission, which had a major impact on smugglers tactics by intercepting and destroying larger and safer wooden boats.

The Libyan coastguards use of violence when intercepting vessels also affected smugglers tactics and at times led to boats capsizing, endangering everyone on board, it added.

It concluded that those blaming NGOs are choosing to ignore the role other actors, including EU agencies and national governments, have played in making migrant crossings more dangerous.

We believe that the toxic narrative falsely claiming that NGO search and rescue is to blame for the migrant crossing situation is part of a worrying tendency to criminalise solidarity initiatives towards migrants, Mr Pezzani said.

It is also a convenient distraction, as it diverts attention from the failures of the states involved to deal with the real issues.

One has to ask: why is there such a gap in search-and-rescue activities in the first place that makes NGO rescues so essential?

Charles Heller, another researcher from Goldsmiths, said if mounting pressure and far-right campaigns stopped humanitarian operations in the Mediterranean Sea, many more refugees would die on the crossing.

The crew of Jugend Rettet's Iuventa rescue ship photographed what appears to be a Libyan coastguard officer pointing a weapon at refugees (far right) (Jugend Rettet)

That is precisely what happened when attacks led to the ending of the Italian Mare Nostrum operation in 2014, he added.

Charities have previously rejected claims of collusion with smugglers as baseless, while calling for the EU to provide safe and legal routes for refugees to reach safety.

Stefano Argenziano, MSFs operations manager for migration, said: The real problem is that people are dying. Theres a gap in assistance and were starting to wonder whether this is part of a deliberate plan to step the migration flow a deadly deterrent.

A recent Oxford University study also found rescues have little or no effect on the number of arrivals, while research by the Unravelling the Mediterranean Migration Crisis project found European policy on the refuge crisis had been an absolute failure.

Sophie Beau, the co-founder of rescue charity SOS Mediterranee, said NGOs were being forced to act by the failure of European states, who should be increasing capacity themselves.

NGOs are being blamed for our presence, when authorities should be blamed for their absence, she added.

Theres a humanitarian tragedy unfolding in front of our eyes at the door of Europe and we cannot just remain blind.

More than 61,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year and 7,600 in Greece, mostly from Nigeria, Bangladesh, Syria and sub-Saharan African nations.
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At least 30 people have been killed in a suicide bombing south of Baghdad, Iraqi officials have said, in an attack claimed by Isis.

The female assailant blew herself up on Friday in Musayab, just east of the holy Shia city of Karbala, killing 30 civilians and wounding another 35.

Initial reports said the incident either happened in a market or bus station. Security forces said the attacker managed to hid the explosive under her full-body veil.

The attack follows Isis' bombing of a Baghdad ice cream parlour last month that left 25 civilians dead.

 CCTV shows bomb exploding outside Baghdad ice-cream shop during Ramadan

Isis has called for increased attacks on unbelievers Ramadan, a period in which it says the rewards for jihadi in heaven are multiplied.

Friday's events in Iraq mark the fifth major attack worldwide claimed by the group since the holy month began on 27 May.

Twin suicide bombs in Tehran, the car-ramming and stabbings in London Bridge, the Baghdad ice cream shop and storming of a casino in Manila have all been claimed by Isis, as well as the attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on 22 May.

Isis continues to lose control of territory across Syria and Iraq in the face of US-backed operations to destroy its so-called caliphate.

Experts believe it will increasingly turn towards insurgency and terror tactics around the world to prove its enduring legitimacy. Iraqi civilians have borne the brunt of many such attacks since Isis swept across the country three years ago.
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The UNs human rights office has said that an initial investigation has confirmed that between 50 - 80 Iraqi civilians were killed in a recent US-led coalition bombing of Mosul, while hundreds more died at the hands of Isis militants.

Strikes on 31 May were reported to have caused civilians deaths, but the death toll was not clear. Around 231 more people are thought to have died from Isis shelling, snipers and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) fleeing the west of the city at around the same time.

The UN is still seeking additional information, a statement said on Thursday.

News of the investigation emerges at the same time rights groups are stepping up calls for the coalition to do more to protect civilians in the fight to eliminate Isis from the last neighbourhoods of their Iraqi stronghold.

 Children of Mosul describe life under Islamic State

Heavy ordnance, such as 500 pound (227 kilogramme) air-delivered bombs, are causing excessive and disproportionate damage to civilian life and property, organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Centre for Civilians in Conflict warned in a report published Thursday.

The groups said the use of such weaponry - and the bombing of densely populated areas where civilians are used as human shields - could amount to war crimes.

US Central Command (CentCom) insists it takes extraordinary efforts to strike military targets in a manner that minimises the risk of civilian casualties, although In some incidents casualties are unavoidable.

The US-led coalition has admitted killing at least 484 civilians in air strikes in Syria and Iraq since the bombing campaign began in 2014.

Independent monitors say the death toll actually runs into the thousands, with transparency project Airwars claiming at least 3,800 civilians have been killed.

In pictures: Mosul offensive Show all 40 1 /40 In pictures: Mosul offensive In pictures: Mosul offensive A doctor carries an Iraqi newborn baby at a hospital in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi girls play at a yard of a school in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017alal Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A woman on crutches who is a relative of men accused of being Islamic State militants is seen at a camp in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq July 15, 2017. Picture taken July 15, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A displaced girl, who fled from home carries a doll at Hamam al-Alil camp south of Mosul, Iraq July 13, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi federal police members and civilians celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on 9 July 2017 after the government's announcement of the "liberation" of the embattled city. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said he was in "liberated" Mosul to congratulate "the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory" AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken on 9 July 2017, shows a general view of the destruction in Mosul's Old City. Iraq will announce imminently a final victory in the nearly nine-month offensive to retake Mosul from jihadists, a US general said Saturday, as celebrations broke out among police forces in the city. AFP In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of the Iraqi federal police raise the victory gesture as they ride on a humvee while advancing through the Old City of Mosul on 28 June 2017, as the offensive continues to retake the last district held by Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Smoke billows as Iraqi forces advance through the Old City of Mosul on 26 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district held by the Islamic State (IS) group. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi man wearing the green scarf of the Shi'ite faith kisses an Iraqi Army soldier on safely reaching the Iraqi forces position as Iraqi civilians flee the Old City of west Mosul where heavy fighting continues on 23 June 2017. Iraqi forces continue to encounter stiff resistance with improvised explosive devices, car bombs, heavy mortar fire and snipers hampering their advance. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken from the inside of an Iraqi forces armoured vehicle shows residents walking through a damaged street as troops advance towards Mosul's Old City on 18 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district still held by the Islamic State (IS) group. Military commanders told AFP the assault had begun at dawn after overnight air strikes by the US-led coalition backing Iraqi forces. They said the jihadists were putting up fierce resistance. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi Army soldiers advance in a destroyed street after an Iraqi forces airstrike targeted an Islamic State sniper position 17 June 2017 in al-Shifa, the last district of west Mosul under Islamic State control. IS snipers, as well as car and suicide bomb attacks continue to hinder the Iraqi forces efforts to retake the final district. A series of airstrikes by Iraqi helicopter gunships attempted to hit multiple Islamic State sniper positions in al-Shifa. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier frisks a displaced Iraqi man at a temporary camp in the compound of the closed Nineveh International Hotel in Mosul on 16 June 2017 which was recovered by Iraqi troops from Islamic State group fighters earlier in the year. A screening centre set up in the compound's fairgrounds sees a constant stream of Iraqis fleeing the battle for Mosul, awaiting their turn to be checked by the Iraqi forces who are searching for suspected Islamic State (IS) group members. The small fairground lies at the end of a pontoon bridge across the Tigris recently opened to civilians that is the only physical link between the two banks of the river. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis staying at the al-Khazir camp swim in a river near the camp for internally displaced people, located between Arbil and Mosul on 11 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi government forces drive on a road leading to Tal Afar on 9 June 2017, during ongoing battles to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi policeman carries a poster bearing an image of Mosul's iconic leaning minaret, known as the "Hadba" (Hunchback), on 22 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis stand in line to receive food aid in western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood on 7 June 2017, during ongoing battles as Iraqi forces try to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. Living conditions in Mosul have again deteriorated since the start of the Iraqi government's offensive on the city in October in which they retook a large part of the west of the city. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced Iraqis carry lightbulbs and sacks as they evacuate from western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood as government forces advance in the area during their ongoing battle against Islamic State (IS) group fighters on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) flashes the victory gesture as he patrols in western Mosul's al-Islah al-Zaraye neighbourhood on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi army soldiers from the 9th armoured division on a truck flash the sign of victory as they drive back from Mosul to the town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya) Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of Iraqi forces flash the sign of victory on their vehicle as they advance towards Hammam al-Alil area south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi security forces gestures in Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi children, one flashing the sign of victory, greet Iraqi army's soldiers from the 9th armoured division in the area of Ali Rash, adjacent to the eastern Al-Intissar neighbourhood of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Peshmerga forces look at a tunnel used by Islamic State militants near the town of Bashiqa, east of Mosul, during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier takes a photograph with his phone as his comrade stands next to a detained man, whom the Iraqi army soldiers accused of being an Islamic State fighter, who was fleeing with his family in the Intisar disrict of eastern Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iranian Kurdish female members of the Freedom Party of Kurdistan (PAK) hold a position in an area near the town of Bashiqa, some 25 kilometres north east of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families, who fled their homes in Hamam al-Alil, gather on the outskirts of their town Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced people walk past a checkpoint near Qayara, south of Mosul, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families who were displaced by the ongoing operation by Iraqi forces against jihadists of the Islamic State group to retake the city of Mosul, are seen gathering in an area near Qayyarah In pictures: Mosul offensive A boy who just fled Abu Jarbuah village is seen with his family at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi child eats a pomegranate upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive People who just fled Abu Jarbuah village sit as they eat at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A couple who just fled Abu Jarbuah village are escorted by Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Women carry a boy over a wall as civilians flee their houses in the village of Tob Zawa, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier and a civilian ride a motorbike as smoke rises behind them, on the road between Qayyarah and Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces, wearing a skull mask, waits at a checkpoint for people fleeing the main hub city of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier sits at a checkpoint in an area near Qayyarah Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi men prepare food portions for Iraqi forces deployed in areas south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi forces celebrate upon the arrival of vehicles bringing food to them Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi childen smoke cigarettes upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces distributes drinks to children in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty

According to Airwars data there has been a 400 per cent increase in civilian casualties caused by US-led bombing since the twin assaults on Mosul and Raqqa in neighbouring Syria got underway last autumn.

US President Donald Trump promised on the election campaign trail to to focus his foreign policy on eliminating the group, and his administration has given the Pentagon greater executive control over anti-Isis military operations.

Defence Secretary James Mattis said last week that the US is accelerating the tempo of the fight against Isis and the battle has shifted from attrition to annihilation tactics.

Rights groups fear that this amounts to the lifting of some protections for civilian life.

Around 200,000 people are still trapped by jihadists in Mosuls old city, running out of food and water and with scarce access to medical help.

Over the border in Syria, the battle for Isis de facto capital of Raqqa began in earnest this week.

At least 21 civilians died as families trying to escape the all-out attack were hit by US-led bombing and artillery fire on boats on the Euphrates River, both Syrian state media and opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Women and children were reportedly among the dead.

Around half of the citys 220,000 population is expected to try and flee the coming fighting.
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A cholera epidemic is spreading like wildfire across war-ravaged Yemen, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said, with a total of 100,000 suspected cases identified around the country.

A total of 798 deaths have now been attributed to the disease, which is affecting people in 19 of Yemens 22 provinces  equivalent to almost one death every hour since 27 April, Oxfam said, adding to the suffering of Yemens 27-million strong population.

Over the past two years, Saudi Arabia and its regional partners have used the spectre of Iran to justify an extensive bombing campaign on Yemens Shia Houthi rebels at the request of the exiled, internationally recognised Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

 The child victims of Yemens civil war

The Saudi economic strangulation, blockades on Yemens air and seaports preventing the import of food and medicine and the targeting of vital infrastructure such as roads and bridges  and in some cases civilian buildings such as hospitals, and funeral gatherings  have contributed to the dire situation Yemenis are now facing.

Cholera  an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera  can kill the vulnerable, such as the very old, young and otherwise sick in hours if fluids are not replaced.

Children under the age of 15 account for 46 per cent of cases, WHO said.

The cholera outbreak is making a bad situation for children drastically worse. Many of the children who have died from the disease were also acutely malnourished, Dr Meritxell Relano, Unicefs representative in Yemen, said in a statement.

The situation in Yemen Show all 14 1 /14 The situation in Yemen The situation in Yemen Houthi supporters trample on a US flag during a gathering mobilizing more fighters into several Yemeni battlefronts, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen People carry the coffins of men, who were killed in the recent Saudi-led airstrikes during their funeral, in the Old City of Sanaa, Yemen AP The situation in Yemen Pro-government fighters give food to Yemeni children on the road leading to the southwestern port city of Mokha. Yemeni rebels are putting up fierce resistance in a key Red Sea port city where they are encircled by pro-government force Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni stands in front of a graffiti protesting US military operations in war-affected Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen. According to reports, US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen US Special Forces troops allegedly disembarked from US helicopters in the Yemeni town of Yakla and attacked several houses belonging to members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, killing three high-ranking Al-Qaeda members and nine civilians, six women and three children. One American serviceman has been killed and three injured in the attack EPA The situation in Yemen A Yemeni female fighter supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, takes part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen Yemeni female fighters supporting the Shiite Huthi rebels, and carrying weapons used for ceremonial purposes, take part in an anti-Saudi rally in the capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A boy shouts slogans next to pro-Houthi fighters, who have been injured during recent fighting, during a rally held to honour those injured or maimed while fighting in Houthi ranks in Sanaa, Yemen Reuters The situation in Yemen Balls of fire and smoke rise from a Houthi-held military camp following alleged Saudi-led airstrikes, in Sana'a, Yemen EPA The situation in Yemen Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty Images The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy looks on as Yemenis search under the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa Getty The situation in Yemen A Yemeni boy sits amidst the rubble of damaged houses following reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Sanaa AFP/Getty The situation in Yemen Marine One with US President Donald Trump flies with a decoy and support helicopters to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, for the dignified transfer of Navy Seal Chief Petty Officer William 'Ryan' Owens who was killed in Yemen Getty Images The situation in Yemen US President Donald Trump aboard the Marine One to greet the remains of a US military commando killed during a raid on the al Qaeda militant group in southern Yemen on Sunday, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, US Reuters

Today, life for children in Yemen is a desperate struggle for survival, with cholera, malnutrition and the relentless violence constantly sounding a death knell at their doorsteps, she added.

While easily treatable and preventable with proper sanitation procedures, the countrys health, water and sanitation systems are on the verge of collapse.

Less than half of Yemens medical centres are still functional, 14.5 million dont have regular access to clean water, and in several cases health and sanitation workers have not been paid in the past eight months.

In the past four weeks cases of cholera have broken out at a rate three times higher than when the outbreak was first confirmed in October 2016.

 Michael Fallon claims Saudi Arabia is only 'defending itself' when attacking Yemen

Houthis in charge of much of the country declared a state of emergency in the capital of Sanaa last month.

The UN estimates $2.1bn (1.6bn) is needed to bring Yemen back from the brink of full-scale state failure, but donor governments only pledged half that amount at an aid conference in Geneva in April.

Cholera is simple to treat and prevent but while the fighting continues the task is made doubly difficult. A massive aid effort is needed now, Sajjad Mohammed Sajid, Oxfams Yemen country director said.

Those backers of this war in Western and Middle Eastern capitals need to put pressure on parties to the fighting to agree a ceasefire to allow public health and aid workers to get on with the task.

Western governments including the UK have been heavily criticised for selling weapons export licences to Saudi Arabia, which rights groups say are destined for use in Yemens war.

Officials within former US President Barack Obamas administration worried the sales could amount to complicity in war crimes.

Drought, food insecurity and conflict have created conditions for cholera to thrive across both Yemen and East Africa, the International Rescue Committee said in a statement on Thursday.

In May alone cases of cholera almost doubled in Yemen and South Sudan, and more than 130,000 cases and 2,100 deaths in total have been confirmed across the two countries as well as Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia.
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After Trump in America and Macron in France now it is the turn of British voters to astonish themselves and the world with an election result that was unthinkable a few weeks ago.

Last year David Cameron believed that his cynical plebiscite on Europe could not be lost. This year Theresa May believed her opportunistic early election would result in Labour being crushed. Never have two British prime ministers shown such lack of judgement in just 12 months.

Theresa May has suffered a humiliating defeat after less than a year in office. The 48 per cent of the British voters who said Yes to Europe a year ago have risen up and told the Conservative Party that they cannot be ignored.

 General Election 2017: The biggest shocks

Far from leaving Europe, Britain seems more continental than ever as the nation has no stable government, a parliament of many parties and could face new elections.

May says she will stay as Prime Minister but she is massively weakened as she loses her majority in the House of Commons. Her decision to embrace the anti-European ideology of Ukip and put into her cabinet populist anti-EU demagogues like the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, has backfired.

Most polls show that the British people do not support leaving the EU single market and customs union and want to keep the right to live, work and retire in other European countries where two million Brits have a home. May however has opted for a hard-line on Brexit, but she no longer has a majority in the House of Commons for this policy. Britain is caught between the decision of voters in last years plebiscite to say No to Europe and the decision of the election to say No to a hard Brexit.

Jeremy Corbyn, the leftist Labour leader, has saved his honour and his focus on domestic issues like austerity, cuts to public services like health care and the police found an echo.

Recommended How UK rappers helped Corbyn win the election

May and the pro-Brexit press in Britain tried to portray Corbyn as a friend of terrorists, a left-wing extremist and even someone who had met Yanis Varoufakis. But voters saw an elderly man with a white beard talking about injustice and inequality at home and abroad and young voters in particular liked the message and gave Corbyn their support.

But the Labour leader only added 31 Labour MPs and Labour is still far short of a majority in the Commons. In London, where many Labour candidates defied Corbyns support for leaving the single market and imposing immigration controls on fellow Europeans and campaigned to stay in Europe, Labour did very well.

The losers of the election were English and Scottish nationalisms. The Ukip vote disappeared and pro-European Liberal Democrats won seats from the Conservatives in London even if the partys former leader, Nick Clegg, was defeated by the Conservatives in Sheffield.

In Scotland, Scottish nationalism suffered major blows as Scottish Nationalist Party seats fell to Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats. The partys leader in the House of Commons and the former Scottish Nationalist leader, Alex Salmond, were both defeated as Scottish voters rejected calls for independence and separation from the rest of the United Kingdom.

UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images

All the assumptions about British politics have turned out to be false. May was an accidental Prime Minister who arrived in Downing Street after the Brexit plebiscite because all the main anti-European Tory MPs who expected to take over after David Cameron resigned stabbed each other in the back, front, top and bottom and she was the only senior Tory minister left standing as her colleagues destroyed each other.

She had no clear programme for government. She made a powerful pro-European speech in April 2016 but then adopted Ukip policy on Europe. She refused to explain to the public what the costs and consequence of a hard Brexit would be. In exchange, the public refused to endorse her when she asked for a personal mandate in the general election many saw as opportunistic and cynical.

Recommended Theresa May to seek permission from Queen to form government

The assumption that Corbyns leftism would destroy Labour has been shown to be false. The assumption that the mass circulation British press with its daily fake news propaganda attacks on the European Union spoke for Britain is also false.

Since 2014 Britain has had two major referendums  on Scottish independence and Brexit  and two general elections. But nothing has been finally decided. Anti-European Conservatives were hoping to be joined by dozens of pro-Brexit candidate but the reverse has happened. A clear majority of British MPs want Britain to stay as fully in Europe as possible. The cause of Europe lost in Britain in the referendum in June 2016 but won in the election of June 2017.

When May met President Trump as the first European leader to go and pay homage to the new US president she was seen holding his hand. Now Trumps best friend in Europe has been mortally wounded. As in the Netherlands, Austria and France, Europe has emerged as the winner in the British election.

Denis MacShane is the UKs former Minister of Europe and has written three books on Brexit
Ignacio Echeverria. EL PAIS

Cartoonists have been paying tribute to Ignacio Echeverria, the 39-year-old Spanish resident of London who was killed on June 3 while using a skateboard to try and defend a woman being stabbed by the terrorists who carried out Saturdays atrocity in the Borough Market area of the UK capital.

The most-shared cartoon is that of Jose Rubio, known as Malagon. The message reads: Not all superheroes wear a cape  some have a skateboard. This image, with its accompanying caption, was retweeted more than 7,000 times in a day.

Malagon created the cartoon on the same afternoon that the death of Echeverria was finally confirmed after a delay of several days. The wait [for confirmation of his death] created a mixture of tension, anger and uncertainty, the 44-year-old cartoonist told EL PAIS. When I read the news, I felt sadness but also pride because of his heroic and selfless action, and I got to work on the cartoon.

Not all heroes wear a cape, some travel by skateboard. RIP Ignacio Echeverria, my humble tribute.

I didnt have any great aims except to create a personal and simple homage to Ignacio, he said.

Grandee of Spain with skateboard. Indeed, @humorjmnieto Grandee, very grande from Spain, the very honorable Ignacio Echevarria.

The cartoonist works for media outlets including the online news site CTXT, Yahoo and the Spanish daily ABC but chose to publish the image directly on social media.  I could have kept it aside and published it the following day, but it was something personal that I wanted to share, he said. But the cartoons popularity isnt just down to Malagons posting of it online. Spains National Police also shared the picture via their Twitter account, which has nearly 2.7 million followers.

To Ignacio Echevarria. another Spanish hero.

I suppose it worked because people can relate to it: we all had the same felling and people identified with it and shared it, says Malagon, who said he had no intention of making the image go viral.

Published by Gallego & Rey in El Mundo.

The expression Not all heroes wear capes is an ongoing joke online. Because I was thinking about the skateboard, and because I think Echeverria is a hero, it occurred to me to form a link between the two ideas, Malagon explains. Simple things usually work best in cartoons.

Thank you Ignacio Echevarria. RIP. (In his memory, accompanied by his family and friends).

Other cartoonists have also paid tribute to the heroism of Echeverria. Here are some examples published in the last few hours.

Drawings and cartoons have become a common way of expressing pain felt after terror attacks. Many of them have since become iconic, such as that of French artist Jean Jullien whose image combined the peace symbol and the Eiffel Tower after the 2015 terror attack in Paris, or the cartoons based on the image of the Brussels Manneken Pis statue.

English version by George Mills.
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Northern Irish politics has been thrust from the sidelines into centre stage this morning, as the UK woke up to a hung parliament and a DUP-Conservative coalition. After a disastrous election for Theresa May in which her gamble failed to secure the majority she sought, the obscure Northern Irish partys support is now required for her to enter No 10.

A partnership between the Conservatives and the DUP will be deeply harmful and destabilising for the peace process in Northern Ireland, which is now being risked by the Tories in an unconscionable way in order to retain power.

Most striking about the Conservatives new stablemates is that after running a campaign based on fearmongering and whipping up false hysteria about Jeremy Corbyn and his alleged IRA sympathies, the Conservatives will enter government with the DUP, which is backed by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA).

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The UDA is less known in England than the IRA, largely because they killed Northern Irish Catholics during the Troubles, which didnt make the news as often as the killing of English people or security personnel. The UDA is a violent loyalist paramilitary group, which is still active today. Just weeks ago, it murdered a man in broad daylight in Northern Ireland. The man was shot dead in a Sainsburys car park in front of horrified shoppers and his three-year-old son.

The UDA backed the DUP in this election by issuing a statement in support of the partys South Belfast candidate Emma Little Pengelly, strongly urging people to back her. The news drew sharp criticism from political opponents, including former Northern Ireland Justice Minister David Ford, who said: Arlene Foster needs to make clear if her party accepts an endorsement by a group closely connected to the UDA. The electorate, particularly in South Belfast where this endorsement was given, deserve to know.

It is now 2017  paramilitaries should not even exist, never mind be giving ringing endorsements of political candidates.

There is no suggestion that the DUP actively sought the endorsement from the group or that it in turn supports the UDA.

However, concerns were further fuelled when it emerged that the DUPs leader Arlene Foster met with the UDAs chief during the election campaign, just 48 hours after the murder of a local man in a supermarket car park. She defended the meeting, saying that the party did not support any terrorist groups or actively seek endorsement from them: If people want to move away from criminality, from terrorism, we will help them to do that, but anyone who is engaged in this sort of activity should stop, should desist, and if they dont they should be open to the full rigour of the law.

When challenged on the issue during the live TV debates, the DUPs Jeffrey Donaldson said that the party would divorce itself from any association with terrorist or paramilitary groups.

However, considering all the Conservatives talk about Corbyn and the IRA, it is now they who are entering coalition with a political party that has been backed by a terrorist organisation.

Such a move will have dire consequences for the peace process. In so doing, the Conservatives are essentially telling the DUP that they will turn a blind eye to it returning to the dark days, when Northern Irish politics was intertwined with bloody violence. This may embolden paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland who feel that they have been given a get-out-of-jail-free card from the Tories deal with the DUP.

The uncomfortable coalition of the Conservatives and the DUP has many more worrying implications for the peace process. An essential element of the peace process has been that the British government is, ostensibly at least, a neutral broker in talks between the Catholic and Protestant parties. Now however, the power balance has been permanently toppled as the DUP hold the cards in deciding whether the Conservatives remain in office. They no longer have any credibility of being neutral brokers in the Northern Ireland peace process. This will alienate Catholic/nationalist people in Northern Ireland who can no longer consider their position and status as equal in the British governments eyes.

Recommended What the DUP stands for and will bring to parliament

Lastly, amid all the general-election buzz it has been easy for many to forget that power-sharing had collapsed in Northern Ireland. Stormont fell in January when Sinn Fein pulled out of government with the DUP. Fresh elections were called in March in a bid to elect a new government willing to share power, but the same parties were returned and they have continued to refuse to come back to power-sharing. The latest deadline for an agreement is the end of this month.

Under a DUP-Conservative coalition, any chance of resolve is reduced even further. The DUP has little incentive to return to Stormont if it has far more power and influence than it could have ever dreamed of across the Irish Sea at Westminster. Similarly, Sinn Fein (which is vehemently anti-Conservative) is likely to feel alienated and mistrustful of the Conservatives and may boycott talks.

When she called the general election, it was clear that Theresa May had little idea of the damage such a poll could cause Northern Ireland at a crucial time for power-sharing. By entering into a coalition with the DUP, it is even more apparent that she does not consider peace or stability in Northern Ireland a priority. Instead, she is sacrificing years of work on the peace process in order to get the keys to No 10.
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Theresa May might still be in office, just. But she is barely in power and might not be in office for very long. Europe has now wrecked the careers of the last four Conservative prime ministers  Margaret Thatcher, John Major and May.

She can never recover her authority, after calling a general election to show her strength which only exposed her fragility. She will limp on, with the help of the Democratic Unionist Party; nevertheless, the end of her time in Downing Street cannot be very far away. Her furious MPs have little or no respect for her, and would never allow her to lead it into another election  and there could easily be another soon.

Rarely has a politician fallen from grace so quickly. Seven weeks ago, the Tories had a 20-point lead in the opinion polls. They allowed expectations of a landslide to run out of control. Some believed Jeremy Corbyn was so weak that they could even match Tony Blairs 179 majority in 1997. Now the working majority of 17 that May inherited has vanished.

 General Election 2017: 6AM results - hung parliament confirmed

There is no one else to blame. Philip Hammond and then David Davis both urged her to call a snap election but thought they had got nowhere. But May decided to go for it, despite her previous denials that there would be no early election. At first, a presidential campaign built on May seemed to be working.

But the Tory manifesto was a disaster. Mays secretive, dictatorial way of working allowed a shake-up of social care funding into her programme without her consulting her Cabinet colleagues. Nick Timothy, one of two all-powerful joint chiefs with Fiona Hill, was the architect of a policy that would hurt natural Tory voters.

May U-turned four days later, announcing a cap on individuals lifetime care bills. To make matters worse, she ludicrously claimed that nothing has changed. It was the nadir of a bad campaign.

Her robotic style meant she was in denial in public about the blindingly obvious. She did not want a soundbite admitting she had made a mistake replayed over and over again. But denying the unprecedented U-turn was worse.

The misjudgment led to chatter among senior Tories that May was just not very good at politics  a remarkable statement that was to prove more prophetic than they realised. May was an awkward campaigner who rarely gave a straight answer to a question and couldnt lighten up or look relaxed, as a normally tetchy Corbyn somehow managed to do. Asked what the naughtiest thing she did, she told ITV it was running through farmers wheat fields.

She headed what MPs in all parties regard as the worst election campaign they can remember. May thought she was responding to the publics cry for change by asking them, in effect, to rubber-stamp the decision of last years EU referendum. But Corbyn trumped her by offering a different change  an end to austerity. Many people wanted that more than they wanted Brexit. Labour offered hope; Mays negative campaign only fear.

Even when the ambitious vicars daughter was at Oxford University, friends recall that she spoke of her desire to become prime minister, even suggesting she had a pang of jealousy when Margaret Thatcher became Britains first woman prime minister in 1979. May, naturally, does not recall any of that.

Allies believe she had blown her chances of leading the Conservatives when, while Tory chairman in 2002, she said it was seen as the nasty party. She was insulting the party members whose votes she would need one day lead if she was to realise her ambition. She got flak from Tory activists for years afterwards.

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After a succession of Shadow Cabinet jobs, she was a surprise choice as Home Secretary in 2010. There had been six holders of the office in the past six years, yet May stayed for six years, becoming the longest-serving Home Secretary in modern times.

May deservedly won plaudits for her work on tackling modern slavery and domestic violence, and limiting the use of stop and search powers after the police were accused of targeting black people. She stood up to the United States by refusing to extradite Gary McKinnon, a computer hacker who had Aspergers syndrome. She grasped the nettle on historical injustices such as the Hillsborough disaster.

The downside of Mays time at the Home Office was her decision to axe 20,000 police as part of the Coalitions drive to reduce the deficit. Although crime fell by a third, the police cuts returned to haunt her after the terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, which punctuated the election campaign.

She took a tough line on immigration, epitomised by sending vans emblazoned with a Go Home message around areas with large numbers of migrants. Only 11 people left Britain and the campaign was dropped.

Home Office ministers grumbled that May micro-managed the smallest decisions, foreshadowing the criticism now aimed at Timothy and Hill as Tory MPs and ministers demand that she sack them or clip their wings and govern more collegiately.

During the Coalition, she had tense relations with the Liberal Democrats, who found her difficult to work with. She clashed with Nick Clegg, who chaired the Cabinets home affairs committee and blocked her so-called snoopers charter. She had differences with Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, over the sentencing of criminals. I lock them up. He lets them out, she explained. She clashed with Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, who believed she was not tough enough on Muslim extremism, but appeared to adopt his view after the London Bridge atrocity.

During the EU referendum, May declined David Camerons repeated requests for her to bat for the Remain camp. She was dubbed Submarine May in Downing Street. In a clever piece of positioning, she was a Reluctant Remainer who said the sky would not fall in if the public voted for Brexit. That left her well-placed when Cameron quit after losing the referendum.

Her rivals for the Tory leadership  including Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom  all fell by the wayside and she was the last one standing. She had two days to prepare for entering Number 10 instead of the two months she had expected.

May pledged to govern for the ordinary working families who were just about managing rather than the privileged few  a dig at the old Cameron-Osborne regime. Their allies, mostly sacked by May, are bound to feel a sense of schadenfreude today. Less than a year later, the new regime looks like being remarkably short-lived.
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Before the election, the only MPs who were talking about their partys leadership were Labour. One told me that if Jeremy Corbyn were still leader by Christmas, they would be off, sitting in Parliament as an independent, and that there were plenty of others who would do so too.

Labour MPs speculated about whether Tom Watson could persuade Yvette Cooper to hold back from launching a leadership challenge Friday  Watsons view being, apparently, that it would be best to delay. The deputy leader was said to want to change the party rules to bring back the electoral college to give the MPs a bigger say in the choice of leader.

Instead, this morning it is Conservative MPs who are hurriedly consulting each other about names and the timetable. Theresa May has to go, they all know that. But who will replace her, and when?

 Tory MP Anna Soubry says it's 'up to Theresa May' to decide if she resigns

The first instinct of most MPs is to take their time. They would rather have the full leadership contest that they failed to have last time; many of them think it was a mistake not to put May and Leadsom through the test of hustings in front of party members in the country. Many of them are bitterly critical of Mays lack of campaigning experience, which they think was exposed in the general election campaign.

The problem is that, as May repeatedly said during that campaign, the Brexit talks in Brussels start in 11 days time. It seems that officials will have to start those talks under a caretaker prime minister, unsure about what will happen to their negotiating mandate when she is replaced. After the British Governments preparation for Brexit talks was delayed for seven weeks because of the general election, it will now be distracted by several more weeks of leadership election.

Then there is the question of who the new prime minister will be. Boris Johnson, David Davis, Amber Rudd and Philip Hammond are the obvious candidates. Rudd, having only just held her seat at Hastings after two recounts, might seem a little precarious; if she were the right choice that shouldnt matter.

The question that Conservative MPs have to ask is whether someone who was an out-and-out Remainer could negotiate Brexit, as opposed to May, who was a reluctant Remainer. And that depends on what effect they think this election has on the kind of Brexit they should be trying to negotiate.

Just as May interpreted the EU referendum to mean a particular kind of Brexit  ending the free movement of people  could a new prime minister interpret this election as a hesitation about the rigours of a hard Brexit?

Rudd had a good election, but she is hardly a seasoned campaigner with a following among the voters. Yet the obvious candidate in that category, Johnson, arrives trailing a cloud of doubts and cavils. He showed that  unlike May  he really could appeal to Labour voters as Mayor of London. He is not as popular as he once was, however, having hardly put a foot right as Foreign Secretary.

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Davis has been the most successful of the trio of Brexit ministers, surprisingly pragmatic and consensual in his approach, but is he really the leader to broaden the partys appeal? Then there is Hammond, who at 21:59 yesterday looked as if he might be about to lose his job, and who might now be a contender, as the safe pair of hands candidate, for the one more senior post in government. Again, though, if May tried and failed to widen the Tory partys appeal from its supposedly narrow base under the Cameron-Osborne posh boys, why would Hammond succeed?

If I were a Conservative MP, I would be looking admiringly at Ruth Davidson, who has led the Scottish Conservatives to such as stunning recovery. I would note that she is a Member of the Scottish Parliament and not of the House of Commons. And I would be suggesting that, when there is a by-election in Maidenhead, the Conservative Association there should look to Scotland for its candidate.
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The Conservative government largely avoided being blamed during the election campaign for its failure to stop the terrorist attacks. It appealed to British communal solidarity in defiance of those who carried out the atrocities, which was a perfectly reasonable stance, though one that conveniently enables the Conservatives to pillory any critics for dividing the nation at a time of crisis. When Jeremy Corbyn correctly pointed out that the UK policy of regime change in Iraq, Syria and Libya had destroyed state authority and provided sanctuaries for al-Qaeda and Isis, he was furiously accused of seeking to downplay the culpability of the terrorists. Nobody made the charge stick that it was mistaken British foreign policies that empowered the terrorists by giving them the space in which to operate.

A big mistake in British anti-terrorist strategy is to pretend that terrorism by extreme Salafi-jihadi movements can be detected and eliminated within the confines of the UK. The inspiration and organisation for terrorist attacks comes from the Middle East and particularly from Isis base areas in Syria, Iraq and Libya. Their terrorism will not end so long as these monstrous but effective movements continue to exist. That said, counter-terrorism within the UK is much weaker than it need be.

The attacks in London and Manchester come very much from the Isis playbook: minimum human resources deployed to maximum effect. Overall direction is distant and at a minimum, no professional military skills on the part of the killers are necessary, and the absence of guns makes them almost impossible to forestall. Tracing the movement of a small number of weapons is usually easier than following a large number of people.

There is a self-interested motive for British governments to portray terrorism as essentially home-grown cancers within the Muslim community. Western governments as a whole like to pretend that their policy blunders, notably those of military intervention in the Middle East since 2001, did not prepare the soil for al-Qaeda and Isis. This enables them to keep good relations with authoritarian Sunni states like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, which are notorious for aiding Salafi-jihadi movements. Placing the blame for terrorism on something vague and indefinable like radicalisation and extremism avoids embarrassing finger-pointing at Saudi-financed Wahhabism which has made 1.6 billion Sunni Muslims, a quarter of the worlds population, so much more receptive to al-Qaeda type movements today than it was 60 years ago.

 London Bridge terror attack: All murder victims named

Deliberate blindness to very specific places and people  Sunni states, Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia, Syrian and Libyan armed opposition  is a main reason why the War on Terror has failed since 9/11. Instead, much vaguer cultural processes within Muslim communities are targeted: President Bush invaded Iraq, which certainly had nothing to do with al-Qaeda, and today President Trump is denouncing Iran as the source of terrorism at the very moment that Isis gunmen are killing people in Tehran. In Britain the main monument to this politically convenient lack of realism is the ill-considered and counter-effective Prevent programme. This not only fails to find terrorists, but actively assists them, by pointing the security agencies and police in the wrong direction. It also poisons the waters for anybody trying to improve relations between the British state and 2.8 million Muslims in the UK by generating a mood of generalised suspicion and persecution.

Under the 2015 Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, people who work in public bodies  teachers, doctors, social workers  have a legal duty to report signs of terrorist sympathy among those they encounter, even though nobody knows what these are. The disastrous consequences of this are explained, with a wealth of devastating supporting evidence, by Karma Nabulsi in a recent article on the Prevent programme in the London Review of Books entitled Dont Go to the Doctor. She tells the story of Syrian refugees, a man and his wife, who sent their small son, who spoke almost no English, to a nursery school. Because of his recent traumatic experiences in Syria he spent much of his time there drawing planes dropping bombs. The staff of the nursery might have been expected to comfort the young war victim, but instead they called the police. These went to see the parents and questioned them separately, shouting questions like: How many times a day do you pray? Do you support President Assad? Who do you support? What side are you on?

If Isis or al Qaeda were asked to devise a programme least likely to hamper their attacks and most liable to send the police off on wild goose hunts, they would find it difficult to devise anything more helpful to themselves than Prevent and the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act. The great majority British people have as much idea about how to identify a potential terrorist as their ancestors 400 years ago did about detecting witches. The psychology is much the same in both cases and 2015 Act is in effect a crackpots charter in which five per cent of the British population are vaguely regarded as suspicious. Nabulsi writes that a Freedom of Information request to the police revealed that more than 80 per cent of the reports on individuals suspected of extremism were dismissed as unfounded.

 Boris Johnson criticises Jeremy Corbyn for voting against an anti-terrorism law he also opposed

The Government may persuade the gullible that turning everybody working for the state into a potential informant produces lots of useful intelligence. In fact, it serves to clog up the system with useless and misleading information. On the rare occasion it produces a nugget, there is a good chance that it will be overlooked.

The oversupply of information explains why many who say they reported genuinely suspicious behaviour found that they were ignored. Often this action was very blatant and revealing such as the Manchester bomber Salman Abedi shouting down a preacher in a mosque who criticised Isis. He was also associated with the extreme jihadi Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. One of three killers on London Bridge and in Borough Market, Khuram Butt, had even expressed his pro-Isis views on television and another of the three, the Italian-Moroccan Youssef Zaghba, was stopped by Italian police at Bologna Airport on suspicion of trying to go to fight for Isis or al-Qaeda in Syria. Yet none of these were picked up by the police.

In most cases, potential terrorists do not have to be sniffed out, but have made their Isis sympathies only too apparent. The government's obsessive belief that terrorists are isolated individuals radicalised by the internet without being a member of any network is simply untrue. Dr Peter Neumann of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College London is quoted as saying that the number of cases where people have been entirely radicalised by the internet is tiny, tiny, tiny.

Absurdities like the Prevent programme mask the fact that Isis and al-Qaeda type terrorists are closely interlinked, mostly by participation in or sympathy for the jihadi armed opposition in the Libyan and Syrian wars. If you start connecting the dots, says Professor Neumann, a very large number of those in Britain who went to Syria were connected to each other, people who had already known each other. Contrary to conventional and governmental wisdom, terrorist conspiracies have not changed much since Brutus, Cassius and their friends plotted to murder Julius Caesar.
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There is one person in the country who knows how Theresa May feels now and that is David Cameron. We have now had two Prime Ministers in a row who took a gamble on a vote they didnt need to hold and who lost.

Because even if this exit poll has understated the Conservative total, as the last one did (it was 15 seats out), we are in hung parliament territory or very close to it. She may need the DUP, which won eight seats last time, to hold on to No 10, but we may be in the sort of hung parliament where a minority Labour government will be able to piece together enough support to put through a Queens Speech.

Unless the exit poll is a long way out, it is hard to see how May can stay on as leader. Her party would never forgive her for holding an unnecessary election and losing seats. Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd may find themselves arguing about who is fit to drive the other home after a party once more, in a leadership election in which David Davis might be the surprise candidate who comes through the middle.

It is impossible to tell from the raw numbers what might have happened, but it would seem that most of the opinion pollsters over-corrected for their error last time. Survation, whose final poll gave the Conservatives a one-point lead, will have won the contest.

Something extraordinary has happened. Nothing has ever happened like this in British politics: to start from so far ahead in the polls and go down to defeat or something so close to it is unprecedented. The only comparable case is Edward Heath in 1974 who called an election over his dispute with the unions. He didnt have to have an election then and the British people punished him for it. There may be an element of that today, that people thought it was arrogant to take them for granted and they have decided to remind May who is boss.

It means that the Conservatives didnt know what they were doing all along. I thought their campaign seemed lacking in edge, but I assumed that their polling showed it was on track. The Prime Minister went to all the seats you would expect her to go to if the numbers were telling her that she could gain 20-40 seats. As ever, her operation was extremely tight: if there was panic at Tory HQ, it never leaked out to us journalists. Jim Messina and Mark Textor, the Tories pollsters even publicly mocked YouGov on Twitter for coming up with its model suggesting the Tories would lose seats.

 Emily Thornberry calls for May to resign after exit poll shock

It was obvious that no one was really in charge of the campaign: Lynton Crosby was a semi-detached adviser rather than the supreme commander who ran the 2015 campaign, with all Cameron and George Osbornes authority behind him, blaring out Queens One Vision from his computer in the Tory war room. I thought it didnt matter because the Tory campaign seemed to be running smoothly. It turns out it was running on autopilot and the Prime Minister was visiting Potemkin villages that looked winnable but were really enemy territory.

The consequences of this election are unclear until we know who the prime minister will be at the end of it, but it throws the Brexit question, which most voters seemed to accept was settled, back into the kind of uncertainty that will spook the markets. If this was a second referendum on Brexit, then it was as close as the first.

Now everyone will have to stay up all night to find out what exactly will happen.
Britain is preparing to grant nearly a million EU citizens the right to remain in the UK even though they have not achieved the five-year residency qualification as part of plans to kick-start Brexit negotiations, the Telegraph can reveal.

The proposal is part of a generous package of measures that will offer to guarantee the rights of all the 3m European Union citizens currently in the UK and build positive momentum in the coming talks that could begin as early as June 19.

Cabinet ministers are expected to debate the measures next week as they make final preparations for talks in Brussels where the fate of British and EU expats on both sides of the Channel will be top of the agenda.

Official sources added that the UK will offer to grant EU citizens full equivalence with the rights of UK citizens after Brexit Day at the end of March 2019.

In a third olive branch to Brussels, the UK is also preparing to create a light touch approach to establishing whether EU citizens are eligible to remain in the UK in a bid to alleviate the EUs concerns over a hostile Home Office immigration bureaucracy.

EU citizens have already raised worries over an 85-page residency form, but Whitehall sources said this had been radically simplified so that applicants automatically skipped sections that were not relevant to their circumstances.

To make things even easier for EU migrants affected by Brexit, sources said that a new system would rely on HMRC tax databases in order to establish if someone has been resident much more rapidly and easily.

This would go a long way to meeting the EU demand that EU migrants in Britain should be given residence after Brexit even if they do not actually have documents evidencing that right.

The Telegraph also understands - subject to political decision to be taken by the new government - that Britain is prepared to compromise over the so-called cut off date when EU citizens should be eligible for full rights.

Hardliners have argued that anyone who arrived after the Brexit vote on June 24 last year should have known that rules were about to change, but British negotiators are expected to take a softer approach, perhaps with the cut-off date being the day Article 50 was declared in March this year.

It would be reasonable to argue anyone who arrived after that date could reasonably have foreseen that the rules were going to change, a second source with knowledge of the Brexit preparations said.

The EU side is demanding that any EU citizen who arrives in Britain up until Brexit day in March 2019 should be granted full rights, but Britain fears this could provoke a last minute rush into the country by EU nationals seeking residency.

Even so, officials say that the UK has not ruled out conceding this to the EU as a goodwill gesture that will enable EU residents to fairly make plans for the future.

Whatever date is finally agreed upon, figures from Oxford-based Migration Observatory estimate that there are some 975,000 EU migrants who will be in the UK who have not met the five-year residency test. Even so, this group will be allowed to remain under the plans.

Officials said that the four key planks of the UK offer would enable the vast majority of EU migrants to carry on their lives in the UK uninterrupted.

Britain will, however, stick to several red lines during the talks on Citizens' Rights, most notably refusing to submit to EU demands that the European Court of Justice should be the ultimate arbiter of any Article 50 agreement.

Instead, the UK side is expected to argue that any EU-UK agreement should be policed as part of a future bilateral framework to regulate and settle disputes that arise in future relations between London and the 27 remaining EU member states.

The UK will also balk at any attempts by the EU to create a special class of EU citizens after Brexit who enjoy better rights than UK citizens, or tie the hands of future governments who want to amend rights and benefits.

We cant have a situation where, if the UK government changed the rules on, say child benefit, then EU citizens would end up with better rights than UK citizens. That is clearly not fair, the source added.

This is expected to include removing the rights of EU migrants to claim child benefit for children who are not living in Britain, and removing the automatic right of EU migrants to bring non-EU spouses into Britain - something Theresa May fought against in her time as Home Secretary.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
1) Will Brexit negotiations be delayed?

A hung British parliament is possibly the worst result in the eyes of the European Union. While Theresa May's decision to hold a snap election initially frustrated EU officials, the aim for a clear mandate to negotiate Brexit was appreciated.

Rather than establishing clarity, this shock election result has created a kind of chaos - and yet more uncertainty in terms of reaching a reasonable deal on Brexit.

Expand Close Jeremy Corbyn gives a thumbs up as he arrives at Labour Party headquarters / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jeremy Corbyn gives a thumbs up as he arrives at Labour Party headquarters

However, the Prime Minister confirmed after her meeting with the Queen that she would be sticking to the initial Brexit schedule, and talks are still due to begin on June 19.

Comments from Brussels' chief negotiator Michel Barnier suggest that he is ready to delay the opening of official negotiations.

"Brexit negotiations should start when UK is ready; timetable and EU positions are clear. Let's put our minds together on striking a deal," he tweeted.

2) What will happen to Theresa May's Brexit vision?

Mrs May left no doubt when it came to clarifying the way she expected UK to leave the single market. "The UK is not looking to be half in and half out of the EU; Brexit means Brexit," she announced in her speech in January.

But this election result throws this vision for a hard Brexit, with the UK leaving the Single Market and the Customs Union, into question.

Expand Close British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count / Facebook

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Whatsapp British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count

The Brexit talks formally begin in two weeks time, the options are a weakened PM still trying to push for a hard exit - or a new (minority)government scrambling to build a coherent argument for a softer agreement.

European Commissioner Gunther Oettinger has warned that the inconclusive result of the General Election could lead to a worse result for both sides.

Mr Oettinger told German radio station Deutschlandfunk that in negotiations "a weaker partner weakens the whole thing", while if both sides were strong "you get results more quickly".

"We stand ready," said Mr Oettinger. "Michel Barnier is well prepared. We will be hard but fair in our dealings.

"But whether the other side can even begin remains to be seen in the next few hours or the next few days, because without a government, no negotiations."

3) What will this mean for our relationship with UK and Northern Ireland?

On June 23 last year, Northern Ireland voted Remain by a majority of 56pc to 44pc - and it has been warned that a hardening of border controls between the south could threaten peace and cross-border trade here.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) have now become very important in a scenario where no one party has an overall majority.

Mrs May said she was confident that the Tories would be able to work together with the Democratic Unionist Party in the "interests of the whole UK".

Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, is keen to avoid a hard border with Ireland and has spoken against a "hard Brexit."

"No-one wants to see a hard border, Sinn Fein talk about it a lot, but nobody wants a hard border," she has said.

Certainly thats not what the Dublin government want to see, not what the London government wants to see and not what Stormont want to see.

4) How will Irish emigrants heading to the UK in the future be impacted?

More than 300,000 Irish people currently living and working in the UK looked to an uncertain future after Prime Minister Theresa May invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

"The UK is an extension of the Irish labour market in many ways. Many people don't even think of it [moving to the UK] as emigration," Ibec director of policy Fergal O'Brien has said.

Any retention of a 'soft' border and the Common Travel Area (CTA) would be welcome for economic, mobility and practical reasons.

However, it is still unclear whether the CTA will continue following Brexit - but the issue is likely to feature significantly in the negotiations on immigration matters between Ireland and the UK.
As the UK election bombshell unfolds this morning, business owners in Ireland already having to deal with the uncertainty around Brexit will be waking up to further reasons for concern.

Below are three things that Irish businesses should monitor.

1. Falling sterling

Falling sterling  for now the market is reacting very sensitively to developments.

Initially the sterling fell to almost 88p against the euro as the first exit polls came out, however they have recovered slightly on the news that it is unlikely that Jeremy Corbyn will be Prime Minister.

Markets were poorly prepared for this surprise result in UK. While the dramatic narrowing in polls prior to the vote had introduced an element of doubt, an outright Conservative victory was still the base case scenario for most, Michael Metcalfe, global head of macro strategy at State Street Global Markets said.

However markets hate uncertainty and if the sterling continues to falls it will hammer Irish exports as Irish goods become more expensive for consumers in the UK.

2. Shopping 'over the border'

A weak sterling may lead to increasing numbers shopping over the border in Northern Ireland which will affect Irish businesses in the Republic, with many businesses already having to deal with increasing numbers of consumers shunning them in preference of shopping online.

3. 'Soft Brexit' unlikely

With the Brexit negotiations due to start in 10 days a soft Brexit is looking more unlikely, this could have a detrimental affect on future trade between Ireland and the UK.

Earlier this month the British Irish Chamber of Commerce warned that a hard Brexit could result in a 20pc drop in the level of UK trade to Ireland, lead to 40,000 job losses and reduce Irish GDP by up to 4pc within a decade.
Theresa Mays definition of Brexit may have to change significantly to ensure the Democratic Unionist Party prop up her depleted government.

After losing her majority in the UK Parliament, the Conservative Party leader has turned to Arlene Foster and the DUP in a bid to ensure she remains Prime Minister.

The development shifts Northern Ireland to the centre of UK politics for the first time since the Good Friday Agreement.

Todays London Evening Standard is running a frontpage headline reading: Mays Irish Bailout.

All eyes will now be on what concessions Ms Foster will demand from the Tories in return for a confidence and supply arrangement similar to the deal between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in Dail Eireann.

Throughout the election campaign Mrs May has indicated that Britain would move towards a hard Brexit, saying that no deal would be better than a bad deal.

By contrast the DUP, while pro-Brexit, adopts a softer attitude. Many of its voters are farmers who rely heavily on EU grants for their income.

Read More

The DUP has produced a list of priorities it wants include in a Brexit deal:

- Ease of trade with the Irish Republic and throughout the EU

- Particular circumstances of Northern Ireland with a land border with the EU fully reflected

- Frictionless border with Irish Republic assisting those working or travelling in the other jurisdiction

- Comprehensive free trade and customs agreement with the EU

- Northern Ireland established as a hub for trade from Irish Republic into the broader UK market

- Strong protections for agri-food to guard against vulnerabilities to cheap inferior imports

Speaking this afternoon Mrs May said the UK needs certainty and the only way to achieve this is by the Conservatives and Unionists working together.

Incoming Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the result means Mrs May has no strong mandate to proceed with a hard Brexit.

He said the shock outcome represents an opportunity for Ireland and that the Irish government is ready to participate in the negotiations on Brexit.

We must ensure that the Brexit talks are handled in a smooth and coherent manner to secure the best possible outcome for Ireland, for Europe and the UK, he said.
More than 387 million people. Thats the objective that Facebook has for Latin America , and the social network founded by Mark Zuckerberg wants to team up with the media to reach that figure. During the Journalism Project day on Thursday in Mexico City, a number of representatives from the company stated their commitment to improving the news content on the platform via two different actions: fighting against fake news , and helping the press with distribution. The event was attended by mostly Mexican journalists, but there were also representatives from Colombia, Argentina and Peru.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Eric Risberg (AP)

More information Facebook apuesta por los medios de comunicacion latinoamericanos

The most important thing for Facebook is to create an informed community, explained Luis Olivares, the head of media partnership in Latin America, at an even attended by around 60 people. Although some of the newer strategies to combat fake news using artificial intelligence are still not available in the region, the company explained that they are already fighting against content that is just seeking to monetize user traffic without providing verified information. The newsfeed has become the biggest mail box in the world, explained Olivares. And like all mailboxes, it is susceptible to spam.

The newsfeed has become the biggest mail box in the world, and like all mailboxes, it is susceptible to spam Facebooks Luis Olivares

Noemi Ramirez Garcia, the head of digital development at EL PAIS, also took part in the event at a conference in which she explained the technological strategy of the newspaper. From the redesign of mobile applications, to a commitment to video, Ramirez explained the constant transformation in which the publication finds itself, seeking to go further than just keeping up to date with the tools that social networks offer, and paying close attention to what people are asking for.

Representatives from the different areas of Facebook and Instagram also attended the Journalism Project Day, to answer questions from journalists. Toward the end of the day a number of work stations were put in place to look for practical solutions to the problems people find when trying to sell their content through the social network. In accordance with figures from the company itself, in Mexico 76 million people are connected to Facebook, followed by Argentina with 30 million, Colombia with 27, Peru with 20 and Chile with 12. As well as being united by the same language, Zuckerbergs company also wants to unite them under the same network.

English version by Simon Hunter.
EU agriculture minsters will next week discuss new proposals which will restrict the use of certain antibiotics on farms.

Ministers will be informed on the state of play of the proposal on veterinary medicinal products and on the worked carried out at technical level in the last six months.

The proposed regulation on veterinary medicinal products was tabled by the Commission in September 2014 and aims to: increase the availability of veterinary medicinal products, reduce the administrative burden, stimulate competitiveness and innovation, improve the functioning of the internal market, and also to address the public health risk of antimicrobial resistance.

To that end, the existing rules - in particular the ones on the procedures for granting marketing authorisations as well as the procedures for the monitoring of side effects of veterinary medicinal products, are simplified with a view to enhance the development of suitable medicines for animals in the EU and their availability for all animal species from horses to bees or aquatic animals.

However, in order to best fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to help keep antibiotics effective in both animals and humans, the proposal also introduces the possibility of restricting the authorisation and use in animals of certain antimicrobials that are reserved to treat life threatening human infections.

A recent EU report shows Irish farmers use one-eighth the amount of antibiotics used by farmers in Spain on a per animal basis - the Spanish are the highest users of antibiotics in the EU.

Although the use of antibiotics in Irish livestock is among the lowest in Europe, Conor Geraghty, food animal chair of Veterinary Ireland, says upskilling farmers is necessary to drive further change.

Speaking at a major veterinary conference, organised by MSD Animal Health at the RDS in Dublin recently, Mr Geraghty called for formal training to be added to the Government's Knowledge Transfer programme.

"Farmers have to do training courses to spray nettles at the back of their farm but they can use antimicrobials without any training, so training is an important next step.

"We need to update the way we are doing it and make sure we are doing it correctly because you fall into habits over the years.

"It should be brought into the next half of the Knowledge Transfer, and everyone should attend workshop training on the responsible and safe use of medicines," he said.
Shares in UK airline Flybe, headed by Christine Ourmieres-Widener, rose 5pc on the back of the latest results

Shares in UK regional carrier Flybe jumped 5pc in early trading yesterday after it reported full-year figures that were in line with expectations.

The airline, headed by former CityJet boss Christine Ourmieres-Widener, posted an adjusted pre-tax loss of 6.7m (7.7m) loss, compared to a 5.5m profit in the previous financial year. Its reported loss in the latest period was 26.7m. Revenue rose 13.4pc to 707.4m (815.8m).

It confirmed that its fleet size is now at its peak, and that it will contract during the remainder of 2017 and into 2018.

The airline said that its loss for the year came after it included a 4.8m writedown related to its IT systems, and that it will incur another 6m in IT costs in the current financial year relating to cancellation penalties on existing contracts.

Its passenger yield in the year to the end of March was flat at 70.20, while its load factor fell three percentage points to 69.3pc, reflecting a 12.3pc increase in capacity.

Flybe saw its capacity increase to 12.7 million available seats in the last financial year as its fleet size increased as a result of legacy commitments to acquire aircraft. Passenger numbers rose 7.6pc to 8.8 million. This year, Flybe will return six end-of-lease Q400s.

"This will enable Flybe to become a more customer centric business and for the first time concentrate the business on profitable routes," it said.

"Becoming a truly demand and customer-focused business is the key plank of our strategy."

The company also has a franchise deal with Stobart Air, which operates the Aer Lingus Regional service.
Every cloud has a silver lining, and the day after the UK's surprise election results, the Irish consumers is the consequent drop in Sterling.

Currency markets hate uncertainty and the UKs nose-dived as it became clear that a hung parliament was in the offing.

While they sort themselves out across the water, what does it mean for us? Can we cash in on their upheaval, even if only temporarily?

The answer is yes, but only in certain circumstances. Before the 2016 Brexit referendum, Sterling was trading at 1.31 against the Euro; by this morning it was as low as 1.13. That means buying anything from the UK will now be cheaper. However, there are some rules:

1) Shoppers

If youre shopping online on a UK website (e.g. Amazon, Asos), only buy products in Sterling. Many sites automatically detect youre in Ireland and redirect you to the Euro currency. If theres a drop down box to change to Sterling, use it. This is because retail sites build in a bump for currency fluctuations just like this. Heres an example: a Needle & Thread white embroidery dress is currently selling for 304.04 on Asos. Selecting Sterling shows it at 225.00. Let your own bank do the exchange, which, today, will be around 254.25  a saving of nearly 50.

2) Motorists

There was a huge increase in UK car imports since Brexit. While there are definite savings to be made, its generally only on higher spec, top cars. Always check the cars history and there may be no comeback if you buy a clocked or damaged model.

Read More

3) Students

Many students will be heading to the UK for college in September and are now looking at accommodation or fee payments. Both are cheaper now, so its worth doing a deal if youre in this position and need to pay a deposit.

Promoted: See the latest Amazon offers and deals on Independent Discounts

4) Tourists

Travelling to the UK will mean cheaper hotels, theatre tickets and restaurant bills, but dont make the mistake of buying your currency at the airport, or at any of the currency kiosks around London  they charge a massive fee built into the exchange rate. Buy in a main street bank, post office or credit union before you leave. Or, put everything on your card and leave your bank sort it out.

5) Pensioners

If youre in receipt of a pension from the UK, expect a rocky ride. It will be worth less now, and theres little you can do about it. However, your tax bill will also be reduced.
Changes to ensure public sector workers permanently contribute more to their pensions have been dismissed as inadequate.

The pensions levy is to be renamed and become permanent.

But a leading business group said the State's 320,000 public servants would still not be making a big enough contribution to what are regarded as "gold-plated" pension arrangements if the deal is agreed.

Neil McDonnell of lobby group Isme said the changes to the pensions levy were not enough. He questioned the sustainability of the deal.

"The Government has set the bar too low in terms of public servants making a meaningful contribution to their pensions. Even after this deal the contribution will only be nominal," he said.

Chief executive of the Irish Brokers Association Ciaran Phelan said it was only right that gardai, judges and firefighters would end up having to contribute up to 10.5pc of their salaries to fund their pensions.

"Public servants who are members of fast-accrual pension schemes face contributions of up to 10.5pc, but it should be remembered that they have one of the best pension schemes in the whole world.

"The cost of providing comparable pension benefits, often with a relatively young retirement age, would be unaffordable for almost all workers and their employers in the private sector."

Employers' body Ibec said it was pleased the pension levy, introduced as a temporary measure during the downturn, was effectively to stay in place under the proposed deal.

Officially known as the pension related deduction, the levy will be replaced by what is to be called an additional superannuation contribution (ASC).

Director of employer relations at Ibec Maeve McElwee said: "This is an issue that Ibec has consistently called for to be addressed as part of the deal."

In a key change, the new pension contribution will apply to higher levels of salary than the pensions levy. This will mean its impact will be less severe than the levy, under proposals agreed as part of a three-year extension to the Lansdowne Road Agreement. It also means the new pension contribution will not wipe out the pay rises for the majority of public servants.

Those who joined after 2013 will have to pay a smaller percentage of their salary in the new contribution than the current levy. This is to reflect the fact they have less generous pensions.
ONE out of every 10 borrowers is in some form of arrears on their mortgage.

A total of 76,400 mortgages on homes were in arrears in the first three months of this year, new Central Bank figures show.

This is a fall of just over 1,000 accounts in arrears compared with the last three months of last year.

Of the total in arrears, almost 34,000 mortgage accounts are more than two years behind on their payments.

This is a fall of less than 500 since the end of last year.

People who have fallen more than two years behind on their payments are most at risk of losing their homes.

These accounts have average arrears of 73,710 built up on them.

Banks and other lenders told the Central Bank that the number of accounts in arrears over 90 days at the end of the first quarter was 53,100.

This represents 7pc of all residential mortgages, and was down slightly on the previous quarter.

The Central Bank said this represented the 14th consecutive decline in the number of principal homes with accounts in arrears over 90 days.

At the end of March some 120,894 mortgages on residences were classified as restructured.

Most of these were deemed to be meeting the terms of their current restructure arrangement, down slightly from previous quarter.

Lenders held 1,740 properties in possession at the end of the third quarter, a rise of 47 on the previous quarter.

They obtained 142 of these on foot of a repossession order, and some 228 were voluntarily surrendered.

The number of buy-to-let mortgages with arrears of more than 90 days fell by 2.4pc in the first three months of the year. Some 14,367 buy-to-let loans were in arrears for more than 720 days.

David Hall, of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation said progress in resolving arrears cases is "pathetically slow". He said the blame for this lies firmly at the door of banks and vulture funds.
Almost a quarter of Irish small and medium-sized companies are completely offline, despite half of them acknowledging that an online presence is important for generating business awareness, according to a new report by the IE Domain Registry (IEDR).

The research further found that of those SMEs which do not have a web presence, 68pc of them felt that there was "no need'" to have a website.

When questioned in further detail, 78pc of SMEs that are offline said that the majority of their business is word-of-mouth, while others said that they already have lots of business.

Meanwhile, 17pc said that they were happy with the current scale of their business.

Interestingly, of those surveyed, more cited concerns over cyber security (17pc) rather than a lack of a reliable internet connection (13pc) as being a deterrent to them having an online presence. Only 17pc of SMEs which are offline said it was because they saw no value in having a website.

However, consumer attitudes in Ireland towards an online presence are completely at odds with firms which see no value in having a web presence.

The IEDR research found that 83pc of Irish consumers feel that SMEs should have at least a basic website that lists contact details, while 68pc believe that a business is "outdated" if it doesn't have an online presence.

A massive 71pc of consumers surveyed for the latest research said that they are more likely to buy from a business that has a website.

And while the majority of SMEs are online, it's a concern that few are actually engaging in e-commerce.

When it comes to taking sales orders or processing payments online, only 30pc of online SMEs are able to do this, while just 29pc are able to accept bookings or reservations online.

Meanwhile, only 37pc of SMEs promote their businesses online, spending an average of 161 per year on search engine and social media marketing.

"While it is very encouraging to see more SMEs with websites and improved confidence in their digital assets, most are failing to take advantage of the full benefits of an online presence and e-commerce," David Curtin, chief executive of IEDR, said.

With the Irish e-commerce market set to grow to 14bn by 2021, according to the Virgin Media Digital Insights Report 2016, Curtin warned that most of this spend is predicted to go abroad.

"We live in an age of convenience. With so many international retailers online and offering complete shopping experiences already, offline SMEs in this country face an uphill battle winning back the loyalty of Irish consumers.

"This is a huge and ongoing loss, considering Irish consumers' willingness to buy Irish," he said.

Despite this, the odds are stacked in Irish businesses' favour, with 77pc of consumers saying that buying Irish is important to them.

The research also found that there is reason to be optimistic. The latest edition of the IEDR dot ie Digital Health Index shows an overall improvement in Ireland's digital health, with the Index score rising to 45.4, the second highest since research began in 2014.

The biannual research report assesses the number and quality of digital assets owned by 500 Irish SMEs, like websites, social media pages and e-commerce tools. IEDR is the company responsible for managing and maintaining Ireland's official domain name (ie).
There was a time when covering the European Union (EU) as a journalist meant attending tedious conferences and wading through long reports in the search for details on political measures that could perhaps affect one country or another. That was an era when no one doubted the inherit benefits of the European project and Brussels was voted, year after year, as the most boring city on the continent. Not anymore.

Matthew Kaminski, executive editor of the European edition of Politico. Luis Sevillano

Since Polish-born Matthew Kaminski founded the European edition of the online politics site Politico in 2015, the media outlet has reported on Brexit, the rise of populism, the worst immigration crisis on the continent since the Second World War and the devastation wreaked by terrorism in various European capitals, Brussels included. These are exceptional times for a digital media outlet that has antagonized many. The director of Politico boasts about not being part of the system and of coming from a culture  like that of the United States  where the relationship between the press and the power is bruising by its very nature. In this interview, Kaminski goes as far as saying he is not concerned about whether the European project succeeds of fails and that the arrival of politicians such as the leader of Frances National Front party Marine Le Pen and US President Donald Trump presage a golden age for journalism.

Question. The European edition of Politico was founded to provide coverage of the European Union (EU). What does that mean in practical terms?

As the Politico editor, I dont care whether the European project survives or not

Answer. For us, European coverage is about understanding who the power players are at the European level. Who is in charge? Who is trying to influence who is in charge? Who is trying to gain influence or take power from them? Some days, Brussels really does matter and things are really decided at the Brussels level. Some days, things are decided on a phone line between Merkel and Hollande. Some days, small countries have a bigger influence on any given topic.

Q. Traditionally, European-level outlets that have covered European politics from Brussels have tended to be too focused on bureaucracy. But you have blown apart the idea that politics in Brussels is boring.

A. Brussels is a place full of really ambitious, flawed, arrogant, noble people full of interest, bucked up by billions and billions of euros, who are fighting for something. There are lawyers, there are journalists, there are bureaucrats. So we approached Brussels no differently than we approached Washington, London or Sacramento. Actually, covering a small provincial political center is no different than the way you should cover Brussels. And for us ultimately it comes down to following: what people are trying to do. What are they fighting over? You personalize it and you actually make it interesting.

Q. It seems the reaction to your coverage does not always go down well. Im thinking about Junker. They criticized you for reporting on one of his ailments.

A. He said we were practicing peep-show journalism.

I mean, the same thing happened in Washington when we started there. People said: This is terrible. Its debasing the political debate. In reality, no one read Politico early on as avidly as people on the Obama Administration. We cannot allow ourselves to be co-opted by the institutions. As the Politico editor, I dont care whether the European project survives or not. If it survives and prospers, we are going to cover it day to day. If it unravels, we are going to cover that too. There is a weird but understandable consensual approach in Brussels. We are all for Europe, therefore we dont criticize. Actually, Europe needs that scrutiny, it needs that criticism because it has actually made a lot of mistakes and it hasnt had the press to hold it accountable in the way their national governments have been held accountable.

You have a very clear idea of who your customer base is. Whos your audience? Who are you to serve?

Q. Why did Marine Le Pen not give Politico press accreditation for the party at National Front headquarters on election night?

A. They have not been happy with a lot of our coverage. We broke the story of their funding scandal at the European Parliament. They are like Donald Trump. I dont really care, but I do think, in a Western democracy, the press should have access to politicians who are running for public office. I suppose, a bit like Donald Trump, they probably do this because they see a political advantage in being hostile with the press.

Q. Trump also banned EL PAIS from his electoral night celebrations in New York.

A. So we are in good company.

Q. Would you say these are trying times for journalism?

A. I think its a golden age, at least for political journalism. When has political journalism ever been as visible?

Q. These times allow for people to play with many different formats but we still havent found a golden rule for profitability in the digital era.

A. I just think its not that complicated. There are many different business models, many different models of approaches to journalism that clearly are working. There is the Buzzfeed model, which is an ad agency, with a news division tacked on. The news division doesnt make you any money, but it adds value. Theres a Bloomberg model which is slightly different: selling terminals and messaging services. The one common denominator is that you have a very clear idea of who your customer base is. Whos your audience? Who are you to serve? Who do you think you need to have as your customer for this to work? And then, you build a business model that complements your editorial model exactly.

Q. What is the Politico model?

Fake news is something we kind of have to think about, but it's not particularly new

A. It is journalism for influential people. We are trying to maintain a direct relationship with this group. And thats where I see some of the development in the future too  we build these communities that are, in a sense, political communities. Theyre quite small, but if were smart about advertising or events  or who knows what down the road  then well figure out how to make money of it.

Q. A lot has been said recently about fake news and its effect on elections.

A. In reality it is something that has been happening for a long time. It was disinformation that was whipping up kind of a certain sentiment in the US to go into Cuba [and fight against the Spanish in 1898]. How did Joseph Pulitzer rise up through the ranks of journalism before he gave its name to several prestigious prizes? He produced sensationalist news at the end of the 19th century of the type that gave rise to fake news.

Q. They were appealing to the emotions, as they do now.

A. The Russians play this game now, but they also played it during the Cold War. The difference now obviously is the speed of these things. But the world is generally faster, in any case, so I think this [fake news] is something we kind of have to think about, but it's not particularly new. What is new is the fact that the old institutional media brands are no longer the mediators they were. There is direct contact between the fake news item and the consumer. And this happens instantaneously among millions of Facebook users. But I also think that it is a problem that has perhaps been overstated.

Q. Does Donald Trump pose a threat to Europe?

A. The world has to learn to live with him. But for Europe its still the same story. It continues to see the United States as essentially the biggest European military power: a country that can guarantee Europes security. European leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UK Prime Minster Theresa May are trying to work with Trump.

There were two big shocks to the European system last year. One was Brexit and the other was Trump. Europe can probably survive without Britain in the EU. I am not sure how the European system we have in place now can if the United States actually does pull out of NATO. Although I dont see any indication that Trump is necessary going in this direction. He is very flexible in his thinking, he can even be generous.

English version by George Mills.
In 2012, the Irish Independent revealed that members of the CIRA planned to murder a British soldier as he returned to Limerick on home leave for Christmas but the plot was foiled by gardai. Stock picture

Gardai are assessing a statement claiming that dissident republican group the Continuity IRA (CIRA) has disbanded from midnight.

The CIRA has been riven by faction fights over the past few years following penetration by the Gardai and, more recently, by British security agency MI5.

A statement released in Limerick said the group had decided to end its "futile" armed campaign. However, gardai were not certain whether the statement had the full support of the terrorist organisation or related only to one faction, which in the past was prominent in Limerick.

The alleged 'army council' of that faction was arrested in November 2014 after the suspects met in a house in Newry, which had been bugged by MI5 for three months. Seven men subsequently appeared in court on terrorism charges.

The Continuity IRA's political wing, Republican Sinn Fein, emerged after a major row within Provisional Sinn Fein in 1986 and a walkout from an ard fheis.

It began its terrorist operations in 1994 when detonating a 2lb Semtex bomb in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

Two years later, it claimed responsibility for a massive bomb blast at the Killyhevlin hotel in Enniskillen during a Catholic wedding reception. Seventeen people were injured.

Among its worst atrocities was the murder of PSNI Constable Stephen Carroll in Craigavon, Co Armagh, in 2009. He was the first member of the PSNI to be murdered by terrorists.

In 2012, the Irish Independent revealed that members of the CIRA planned to murder a British soldier as he returned to Limerick on home leave for Christmas but the plot was foiled by gardai. The plot was well advanced when it was disrupted and the CIRA had sourced a weapon, and chosen the location and the gunman.

As a result, the soldier remained in the UK for Christmas. Following the arrests in Newry, it emerged in court that MI5 had recorded 65 hours of meetings.

Penetration of its ranks by gardai resulted in the seizure of weapons and explosives belonged to the dissidents and led to internal fighting over the identity of garda "spies".

The statement issued last night to the 'Limerick Leader' thanked members of the clergy for helping them to reach the decision to disband.

It added: "We know the great hurt and pain we have afflicted on communities both North and South and, for that, we offer our sincerest apology and hope by this action, no more pain or loss will visit them."
An Algerian man who was recently arrested by Gardai on suspicion of being involved in terrorism has secured a temporary High Court preventing his deportation from the state.

The man who has been living in Ireland since 2012 has challenged the deportation made against him over fears he may be tortured and subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights if returned to Algeria due to his "imputed political opinion."

The man was tried and acquitted of a terrorist offence in Algeria in 2009. In recent weeks he was arrested and detained by the Gardai in Dublin, before being released.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, denies he has any "connection or interest in terrorist activities" and says he is a "peace loving person." He is currently in custody on foot of the deportation order.

At the High Court on Friday lawyers acting for the man sought permission to challenge a decision made by the Minister for Justice on April 28th last to issue a deportation order in respect of the man.

The man wants the deportation order quashed on several grounds including the decision is irrational, and that irrelevant considerations were taken into account by the Minister.

It was also argued that the Minister did not properly examine the risks that might be faced by the man upon his return to Algeria.

He also sought an injunction preventing his deportation on the basis he fears he will be tortured if returned to Algeria.

His action is against the Minister and the State.

Mr Justice Tony O'Connor is his ruling dismissed the application to challenge the Minister's decision.

The Judge said while a good argument had been made on the man's behalf by his legal team a "sufficient argument" that would "allow the case go forward" had not been made out.

However the Judge said he was prepared to allow the man appeal his decision to the Court of Appeal.

In order to facilitate the appeal the judge granted the man a temporary injunction preventing the state from deporting the man. The injunction is to remain in place until next Friday.

Seeking the orders the man's barrister Paul O'Shea Bl, instructed by Travers and Company Solicitors, said the man arrived in Ireland in 2012, having left Algeria a year previously, and applied for asylum.

In his application the man claimed he worked for an Algerian charity, whose head supported Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in Algeria.

Arising out of the his former bosses activities the man says he was arrested, detained and tortured by the Algerian authorities.

Following his release he claims he was approached by terrorists wanting him to join. He also claims that the Algerian secret service also approached him and asked him to work for it as a spy.

When he refused to do so he claimed the secret service harassed him.

The man's application for asylum was refused in 2013.

He then made an application for subsidiary protection, which was deemed withdrawn after the man failed to turn up for an interview with the authorities.

Counsel said it was accepted that the man had "not behaved well" while in Ireland. The man had been involved in a marriage to an EU citizen which was found to be a sham.

Arising out of the marriage he had obtained certain residency rights, which were subsequently revoked by the state.

Quoting several reports from various bodies, including Amnesty International, counsel said there was sufficient information about Algeria to show it was arguable his client is at risk of being detained and ill treated on his arrival back to Algeria.

The man in a sworn statement to the court said that fact he was tried for terrorism offences in Algeria coupled with the fact he was arrested in Ireland would draw the Algerian authorities attention to him.

He said he does not know why the Irish authorities had suspicions he was involved in terrorist related activities. He speculated that it was based on information that came from a third party.

He suspects that there is every chance that the same information that was given to the Gardai was also given to the Algerian authorities, which he says places him "in grave danger."

He said that he believes that if deported he would most likely on arrival "be taken into custody and mistreated" in one of "the notorious places of detention" where the Algerian authorities "are known to carry out with immunity acts contrary to the ECHR."
A man has told the High Court how he pulled former Mr Ireland Padraig Hearns from under a bin truck in Dublin's Temple Bar.

David L'Estrange, who was waiting with his brother on Sycamore Street for a lift in the early hours of April 23, 2007, said he heard a woman's high pitched scream.

"I saw legs sticking out from the truck. I ran over and grabbed the legs and pulled him out." he said. He thought he had got Mr Hearns before the accident but then realised he was unconscious and saw blood on the cobblestones.

Mr L'Estrange said he stayed with Mr Hearns until the ambulance arrived telling him he he would be ok, in case he could hear him.

He said everybody was in a panic and people were shouting Mr Hearns was dead. One person shouted at the bin lorry driver to turn off the engine.

Mr L'Estrange was giving evidence on the second day of Mr Hearns' action against Dublin City Council as a result of the accident in the early hours of April 23, 2007.

Mr Hearns, the court has heard, was stooped over on the side of a street in the early hours of the morning bleeding after he had been assaulted and punched five or six times in the nose when the accident happened.

The court heard Mr Hearns, who was the country's first male model, represented Ireland at the Mr World contest.

He suffered various fractures including a skull fracture and was in an induced coma for over a week due to his injuries. He had tyre marks on his back and head.

He spent over seven months in hospital and the court heard he suffered significant cognitive impairments a result of the brain injury.

Mr Hearns (39) of Lower Hollywood Cross, Hollywood, Co Wicklow has sued Dublin City Council as a result of the accident with the bin lorry at around 2.45am.

Mr Hearns' side contends that under the bye laws introduced by the City Council, refuse collection should only take place between 6am and midnight unless otherwise authorised by the council.

The council denies all the claims.

The case resumes next week.
Students will have a mixed reaction to the Leaving Certificate higher level maths paper, according go teacher Aidan Roantree.

There was enough to get a pass grade in Section A, but some of the questions, especially in Section B, were quite challenging,  he said.

Mr Roantree of the Institute of Education, Dublin said many students would have been thrown by the occurrence of trigonometric functions in Question 9, as this topic would have been expected on Mondays Paper 2.

He said that after a complete absence last year, financial maths made its widely predicted return in a long question in Section B.

Mr Roantree said the paper will forever be known as the exponential paper, because exponential functions appeared in numerous places.

Among his comments on Section A, Mr Roantree said the algebra question was a nice one for students who had taken the trouble to review this method.

He described Question 2 as nice , while Question 4 was possibly the most difficult question in Section A

He said Question 5 was straight forward question and overall, Question 6 wasnt too difficult

In Section B, Mr Roantree said Question 7 was accessible and an interesting deviation in Question 8, on financial maths, was the requirement for a weekly rate of interest

Question 9, on trigonometric functions, was the one most students would have expected to appear on Paper 2, he said. Although it was straight forward , some students may not have prepared for this yet..

Eamonn Toland of TheMathsTutor.ie described the paper as mostly straightforward with a few testing elements and some  interesting twists for the high fliers to show off

He thought Question 4, about a science experiment, was probably the trickiest question in the Concepts and Skills section. Quite a wordy question which tested students' ability to apply their knowledge of exponentials and geometric series,  he said

He described Question 8 as nice and said it would make up for last year when there was some controversy because financial maths was largely ignored.

He said Question 9, about tidal ranges in a harbour, was similar to questions from previous year.
More than half of the money universities got this year to employ extra staff to deal with rising student numbers was absorbed by the Government decision to bring forward the 1,000 pay rise in the public service to April.

The university sector received about 7m in the Budget specifically to cater for growing enrolments as part of the first additional State investment in higher education in a decade.

Overall, Budget 2017 included 36m extra for higher education, but according to the Irish Universities Association (IUA) most of that was not directed at addressing the underlying financial crisis in the sector.

While the 7m for staffing would have gone some way to meeting its needs, the IUA says 4m of it is now funding the 1,000 pay restoration measure that was brought forward by five months, rather than for the recruitment of more staff.

The Government decision to pay the increase earlier came after the Budget, so was not included in the arithmetic, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has made no commitment to reimburse the money diverted to the pay rise.

The financing of higher education is under the spotlight after a warning by UCD president Professor Andrew Deeks that if the issue is not resolved it would have to consider reducing the number of places for Irish students.

Prof Deeks said the only way for the university to increase the number of staff has been through using non-Exchequer income, raised primarily by recruiting additional non-EU students.

Non-EU students pay typically between 18,000-24,000 a year at UCD for undergraduate study, and up to 52,000 a year for post-graduate medical school.

IUA chief executive Ned Costello said there was a systematic sustainability crisis in higher education funding which needed hundreds of millions of euro to fix.

"The crisis is the result of cutbacks in funding during austerity, combined with rising student numbers. This is what has put the student-staff ratio totally out of kilter," he said.

Mr Costello said the UCD president's comments were an indication of the general sense of frustration in the sector.

The Cassells report has set out options for putting higher education funding on a sustainable footing, and the big issue is whether students should be asked to pay more through a loan scheme or whether the State should pay a higher contribution.
The funeral of Galway woman who died tragically at the weekend after being attacked by two dogs, was told her grandchildren were the joy of her life.

Hundreds of mourners, as they had for the removal on Wednesday evening, packed into the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Moycullen, ten kilometres west of Galway city.

Teresa McDonagh (64), who died after she was attacked by two dogs while visiting a relative on Sunday afternoon, was laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery following the requiem service.

Local parish priest, Canon Micheal McLoughlin, who was joined by fellow Gaeltacht and An Cheahthru Rua parish priest Fr Ciaran Blake, said that the community had been plunged into darkness.

Ms McDonagh was part of a farming family and survived by husband Eddie, who she had been married to for 40 years, and five sons and a daughter. The family were well known and highly regarded in the community.

Last Sunday I had the joy of being with my family in Dublin for my nieces christening. At 5pm I got a telephone call telling me about the sadness and tragedy that happened in Knockarasser and a darkness and depth of sadness came over me, said Fr McLoughlin.

Thats just me and then I look at this family gathered here before me. I know darkness fell on you on Sunday afternoon.

We all know that feeling of when the power goes out in the middle of winter, you know it better than anyone up in Knockarasser. You go searching in drawers for a candle or torch.

You would be saying to mom wheres the candle? You would be running down the road to her because she would know where everything was. But all of a sudden shes not there and theres darkness.

Ms McDonaghs husband Eddie, her five sons Martin, Eamon, Gerry, Christy and Brendan and daughter Rosaleen led the mourners along with her sisters; Mary-Anne, Barbara and Nora, and brothers; Colman, Martin, Mattie, Bartley, Tommy, Gerald.

Her grandchildren read the prayers of the faithful and Fr McLoughlin thanked the community for rallying around the family at this tough time.

Mummy is not going away. Theresa is not going away. She will always be part and parcel of your life, said Fr McLoughlin.

The memories of Teresa, the person whose brown bread you loved to taste. She loved the simple lifestyle. She loved going into town, into the fashion shops, having a look at the bits and pieces. You will have those memories.

For the grandchildren, a stack of pancakes would be wonderful now and you would love her to be making them for you. You have to turn to your moms and say you better do it right. Thats not how granny did it.

But I can tell you this now, there is no one like granny. She was the best person in the world and she was your granny.

The highlights of her life were the communions and confirmations and her presence at them. One of the fondest memories that she had was going to England with Brendan. She thoroughly enjoyed it.

Every single one of you have had your own unique and special relationship with her. You will hold on them and treasure them, and at your darkness moment you will say what would mommy want of me here and now?
A NEW report has rejected a 440 million super council for Cork.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney revealed details today of the MacKinnon Report which was ordered after a bitter controversy over an earlier study by business consultant Alf Smiddy which recommended that Cork City and County Councils merge to create a 'super' authority.

That controversy reached a peak when Cork City Council threatened High Court action over the merger in 2015 - and several Lord Mayors of Cork slated it as an attack on local democracy and a disaster for Cork city.

Now, the 'super council' proposal is dismissed and, instead, Cork City Council will get its first boundary extension for half a century.

A 'dual authority' will continue into the future - though Cork City Council's area will increase, in population terms, by around 100,000.

Major areas including Little Island, Cork Airport, Ballincollig, Blarney and Carrigtwohill will be subsumed into the city council area.

A critical boost will be the addition to the city council area of the key industrial zones around Little Island and Cork Airport.

However, major areas like Cobh, Carrigaline and Midleton will remain within county council control.

Cork Co Council will also retain control of the major industrial hub of Ringaskiddy which boasts Ireland's greatest concentration of pharmaceutical industries.

Given the population shift from county council to city council areas, City Hall will see its number of councillors increase while the number of county councillors will reduce.

It is expected that the county council will be compensated for any rate losses it suffers as a result of the boundary changes.

Mr Coveney said the overriding priority had to be the economic development and expansion of Cork both for the county and region.

"It is vital that Cork city act as an engine to drive the economic growth of not just the city and county but the entire south west region," Mr Coveney said.

"Ireland needs Cork to act as a counterweight to Dublin and the eastern seaboard."

"We need to see Cork as major economic growth centre to balance Dublin."

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin signalled that his party will back the proposal.

"I have consistently been opposed to the merger of Cork City and County Councils," he said.

"The reality is that cities are the drivers for economic growth in regions. That is what we need to see now with Cork city."

"I believe this is a common sense approach to the issue."

"I think people also need to remember that the single most successful development plan in Irish council history, the Land Use and Transport Study (LUTS), was developed by both Cork City Council and Cork County Council."

However, some Cork Co Council members weren't impressed by the new report and its recommendations.

"It is a fudge, pure and simple," Councillor Frank O'Flynn said.

The previous Local Government Review (LGR) study, chaired by former Beamish & Crawford boss, Alf Smiddy, bitterly split Cork opinion.

Cork Chamber of Commerce and leading businessmen including Leslie Buckley, Michael OFlynn and Ernest Cantillon backed the super council concept as best for Corks future development.

However, others including Cork Business Association and developers Owen OCallaghan and John Cleary have expressed major concerns.

Former Environment Minister Alan Kelly backed the council merger in 2015, pointing to the success of similar measures in Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.

However, the recommendation was never enacted due to the 2016 General Election.
Islamic extremists now number "100 or more" in Ireland, a leading Muslim cleric has warned. Shaykh Dr Muhammad Umar al-Qadri said he warned two years ago that extremism posed a problem to Ireland "but nobody listened".

Those warnings were laid bare this week when it emerged that London Bridge attacker Rachid Redouane had lived in Dublin for some time.

"Now it has been proven. The truth is that hate narratives must be called out and sidelined by the Muslim leadership," added Dr al-Qadri.

The Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council (IMPIC) believes there is now clear proof that extremism in Ireland is far greater than initially believed - and that some Irish-based radicals have had contact with such UK extremists as Anjem Choudary and Khurram Butt.

Choudary, a leading figure in the radical group al-Muhajiroun founded by Omar Bakri Muhammad, is now serving a prison sentence in the UK for inviting support for Isil.

Butt was one of the three attackers shot dead by police after the terrorist atrocity near London Bridge last weekend.

Dr al-Qadri said he feared extremists and their sympathisers could now number "100 or more" in Ireland.

"Not being aware of it or being ignorant of it is not enough. I want Muslim leaders in Ireland to take the lead in speaking out against extremism, of providing a counter-narrative to the messages of hate and of telling people you can be a good Muslim and a good Irish citizen," he said.

The Islamic cleric said it was now clear that extremism had been dangerously underestimated in Ireland. There is concern that extremists have deliberately relocated here for travel and logistical purposes.

Read More

Dr al-Qadri said that all Irish Muslims must "call out" anyone they suspect of being an extremist. But he admitted he was not shocked to learn that one of the London attackers had lived in Ireland for almost two years.

He said Redouane was not widely known within the Irish Muslim population.

"We have asked within our community to members who come from a Libyan and Moroccan background and no-one knows him," he said.

"Had I known him, he would have been reported to the gardai."

Redouane married his London-born wife, Charisse O'Leary, in Dublin in 2012 and worked as a pastry chef.

Dr al-Qadri said there had been ample warnings that Ireland needed to take extremism seriously.

"It is shocking that extremists in Ireland propagate their hate narratives openly on social media. They even have a public page," he said.

He warned the only way such fanatics can be defeated is if individual Muslims stand up to extremism.

"[Isil] 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."

His comments came as a relative of Redouane's accomplice Khuram Butt told how the terrorist was inspired by watching videos on YouTube, was a fervent supporter of Isil, and wanted to leave his pregnant wife to fight in Syria.

Fahad Khan said: "Khuram, I know he was inspired by one of the sheikhs who was giving lectures on YouTube, and he belonged to one specific sector of Islam which had very rigid and strict views.

"Videos about fighting non-Muslims for no reasons, innocent non-Muslims."
Police and firefighters deal with a suspected stolen car ablaze just yards from a polling station in the Poleglass area of West Belfast on June 8th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

Police and firefighters deal with a suspected stolen car ablaze just yards from a polling station in the Poleglass area of West Belfast on June 8th 2017 (Photo by Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph)

A car has been set on fire outside the polling station at St Kieran's Primary School in the Dunmurry area of west Belfast.

There were unconfirmed reports of the car being driven erratically in the area before it was set ablaze at about 7.30pm on Thursday.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service dealt with the fire that had been started in the rear of the Renault Clio before the polls had closed.

After the fire was extinguished voters returned to the polls to submit their ballots as the deadline for voting loomed.
Only 18% of the 200 Million USD Worth Weapons Have Arrived in Armenia

As it is known, the Russian-Armenian agreement on Providing a State Export Loan to the RA Government was signed in Yerevan on June 26, 2015, according to which Armenia was to purchase 200 million USD worth weapons and ammunition from Russia, paying back the loan amount during 10 years. The agreement on purchasing weapons on credit came into force only in February 2016. The weapons purchased within the framework of the agreement were due to be supplied to Armenia during 2016 and 2017. And though, as previously informed, the types of weapons to be supplied by the agreement were quite old (technologies of 80s, 70s, and even 60s), delivery of some relatively modern (10-20 years old) weapons was also envisaged. Examples include TOS-1 Solntsepyok heavy artilleries and Smerch multiple rocket launchers. Union of Informed Citizens tried to find out from the Government how much of the weapons and other items of military significance the RA Armed Forces have received within the framework of the agreement. In response to our enquiry, we were informed that the loan obligations of the Armenian side by the agreement formed 35.6 million USD by June 1, 2017. In other words, according to Clause 2 of Article 2 of the Agreement, almost two years after signing the agreement the Armenian side has received only about 35 million USD worth weapons and other items of military significance from the envisaged 200 million worth items. Such a slow delivery of weapons to Armenia is difficult to explain taking into account the speed with which Russia is supplying weapons to Azerbaijan, Iraq, Syria and other countries involved in military conflicts. Anyhow, according to the agreement, only 7 months remain for the delivery of the rest of the weapons (worth 165 million USD). P.S. Note that Iskander tactical missiles were obtained from Russia outside of the scope of this agreement. You can find more information about them here. Union of Informed Citizens
A CHEF died in a freak accident after being overcome by carbon monoxide fumes from barbecue equipment while he slept in his parked van during an Irish festival.

A Cork Coroner's inquest returned a verdict of accidental death for Frank Murphy (43) who was found unconscious in his Ford Transit van parked on Cornmarket Street in Cork during the 2016 Jazz Festival.

Mr Murphy was a well-known figure within the Cork culinary world and worked with food operations at many festivals across the city and county.

He started his catering operation from Skibbereen Farmer's Market and traded under the name 'Frankie's Badass Burgers.'

The inquest was told it has not been possible to ascertain the precise source of the gas involved and whether it was the propane gas cylinders or the barbecue equipment itself that was responsible.

Coroner Philip Comyn was told that Mr Murphy of Gubbeen, Schull, Co Cork had been operating a barbecue stall outside the Bodega Bar on Cornmarket street during the last October Bank Holiday weekend.

He finished cleaning and storing his equipment at 4.30am on October 30 and decided to get a few hours sleep before he resumed work at 7.30am.

Several propane gas cylinders were also stored in his van.

Mr Murphy got into the front of his parked van and went to sleep with all the windows closed and the doors locked.

The engine was not running.

He had sent a text to his wife, Julie, the previous evening when he finished serving.

Tragically, Mr Murphy had not been feeling well and his wife had previously urged him not to work that bank holiday weekend.

She sent him a text on the morning of October 30 and became concerned when she didn't get a reply.

Mr Murphy was scheduled to meet his sister, Paula, and her family on October 30 during the Cork festival.

When he didn't meet her outside the Bodega as arranged, his sister spotted his parked van and went to check on her brother.

Mr Murphy was spotted lying slumped and unresponsive across the front driver and passenger seats.

She raised the alarm and, despite locals breaking into the van and Mr Murphy being given emergency treatment at the scene, he was pronounced dead before he could be rushed to hospital.

Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, said Mr Murphy was found to have a blood carbon monoxide concentration of 63pc, far above the fatal threshold of 50pc.

Dr Bolster ruled that Mr Murphy died from acute carbon monoxide poisoning but she stressed she could not comment on the possible source of the gas.

A Garda test found that the exhaust system of the van was operating perfectly and it was not the source of the carbon monoxide.

It was unclear whether the gas came from the propane cylinders or the barbecue equipment, both stored in the rear of the van.

"The circumstances are clearly evident," Mr Comyn said.

"This was an accidental death. It was an unfortunate accident to befall Mr Murphy.

"There is very little one can say by way of consolation but I will refer to what Dr Bolster said which is that the death was painless and Mr Murphy would have known nothing about it."
The late father of fashion designer Brendan Courtney was praised for sharing the story of his illness with the nation at his funeral this morning.

Over a hundred mourners turned out at St Kilian's Church, Kingwood, Dublin to pay tribute to father-of-four Frank Courtney (75).

As the funeral procession gathered outside the church Brendan stayed close to his mother Nuala, holding onto her for emotional support.

The simple, yet dignified ceremony formed a poignant memorial to the beloved father, husband and friend.

Frank came to public prominence in January after the broadcast of documentary 'We Need To Talk About Dad' on RTE.

It was narrated by his son Brendan and featured their family struggling to access the 'Fair Deal' scheme as they cared for Frank, who suffered a stroke and was left paralysed.

Expand Close Brendan Courtney and his mother Nuala / Facebook

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Local deacon, Padraic O'Sullivan, who was joined by Reverend Fergus McGlynn, described how the documentary affected him.

"My wife and I were watching the programme about the challenges of caring for parents who were ill and in need of special care.

"This was of course Frank's story and we identified with it straight away, as we both had similar experiences.

"The difficulties of finding a suitable place, the advantages of caring for someone at home, the complications of the Fair Deal Scheme, and the balancing of the dynamics of the family.

Expand Close Designer Sonya Lennon and Brendan Courtney pictured at the funeral of Frank Courtney / Facebook

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Whatsapp Designer Sonya Lennon and Brendan Courtney pictured at the funeral of Frank Courtney

"All of these issues were very familiar to us.

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"But [Frank] pushed on. He didnt just describe his challenges, he actually explored the political dimensions of them in order to improve the situation for all families in the future.

"It was a great programme and we were glad we watched it.

"However, there was one particular moment in the programme when Brendan and Deboragh [his sister] were on the Tallaght bypass in a car.

"Their frustration, their helplessness, their hopelessness was palpable.

"We [could both relate] to it because we were there and knew what this felt like," he said.

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After the service, Frank was taken to Mount Jerome Crematorium, Harolds Cross, accompanied by close friends and family.

Following the passing of his father's death, Brendan told the Irish Independent that the documentary "started a conversation" in this country about caring for elderly relatives.

"That documentary, it marked a beautiful time and we were really proud of it and Dad. Of course my dad was suspicious, wanting to know how if he came across strange. But I told him 'no Dad - you're a hero'," he said.

The documentary prompted a huge public response. In March, Minister for Older People Helen McEntee said the first public consultation to gather views on a proposed statutory home care scheme and was due to be launched last month.
A night of drama has changed the political narrative in the UK and will have major implications for Ireland.

1. Leo will sit on his hands for a while

Since Leo Varadkars election as incoming Taoiseach there has been plenty of speculation in political circles that he might call a snap election of his own.

There are some parallels between Mr Varadkars and Theresa Mays rise to power in that neither led their party into the last election. Mrs May decided she wanted a proper mandate but the move has spectacularly backfired.

Mr Varadkar said he would be glued to the television overnight  no doubt he has taken some notes.

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2. We still dont know what Brexit means

Theresa May has repeatedly told us that Brexit means Brexit  but her definition of Brexit might now be irrelevant.

Her main purpose for calling an election was that she needed a stable majority in order to negotiate the UKs way out of the EU. Talks on Brexit were due to begin in 11 days. Whether that now happens is questionable.

And if Theresa May does manage to pull a government together its likely she will be pushed towards a hard Brexit policy. This is not good news for Ireland.

3. Talks on the Northern Ireland Executive are going nowhere fast

Its been 100 days since voters in the North went to the polls in a snap Assembly election of their own. The DUP and Sinn Fein struggled to reach a deal on power-sharing and eventually postponed talks after the UK election was called.

The hung parliament in the UK is now likely to delay things even further.

The DUP hold the balance of power and may well find themselves preoccupied by coalition talks with the Conservative Party.

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4. A vote for Sinn Fein might be symbolic but achieves little

Sinn Fein won seven seats which should put them in a very strong position  but Gerry Adams said overnight that there is no danger of them actually taking up their positions in London.

The likely result of this is that their rival, the DUP, will have the numbers to become a junior coalition partner for the Conservatives  and pursue a Brexit agenda.

At the same time Sinn Fein is calling for an election in the Republic, even though it sat on the fence after last years one. All in all, it seems Sinn Fein love elections but not dealing with the results.

Expand Close Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams arrives at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast where counting is taking place in the 2017 General Election. Niall Carson/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams arrives at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast where counting is taking place in the 2017 General Election. Niall Carson/PA Wire

5. Campaigns matter

The chairman of Fine Gaels National Executive Gerry OConnell tweeted after the exit poll was released that If the Tories blow this tonight it'll make Keep the Recovery Going look like John Kennedy's New Frontier.

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Theresa May had essentially a two-pronged approach to her election strategy. She offered something strong and stable while Jeremy Corbyn could create a coalition of chaos.

And it was suppose to be all about Brexit. It was a serious misjudgement. UK voters already showed a penchant for chaos when they voted for Brexit 12 months ago, and it appears Mrs May hadnt factored in a bite back from the Remainers. Then there is the problem that setting the narrative of an election campaign is never as easy as an incumbent might hope. A major debate on security was never part of the plan but the terrorist attacks put in on the agenda.

Aside from anything refusing to debate your rival during the campaign is a seriously bad move that should ensure we get plenty of head to heads between Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin when the time comes.

6. Good for online shoppers, bad for exporters

With analysts fretting over a hung parliament the pound has fallen dramatically. In early trading it plunged to a seven-month low and by as much as 2.2pc against the Euro. At the moment 1stg is worth around 1.13.

This nosedive is good news for online shoppers who will be able to get some bargains. However, the uncertainty creates a major problem for Irish exporters who will be hammered when trying to sell their goods into the UK over the coming days.
So, it seems that within a year, boringly stable Britain has gone bonkers. Two shocks in a row, and it feels like the British are heading for a crisis of confidence not far from what Ireland experienced with the bailout.

We can only look on with bemusement, and struggle not to flavour that with a hint of schadenfreude. It has been difficult to hear the talk of booming Britain with its bumper Brexit boost - A Nation Once Again set to bestride the world, a beacon of free trade.

Now we will see less austerity; policies will be more centrist. But for the Irish in Britain, the import of this hung parliament is almost all about what it means for Brexit.

The likely hardness of Brexit across a range of election outcomes went from low to high and back again.

A large Tory majority wouldve given Theresa May the room to negotiate a softer outcome. That wouldve become more difficult as her majority reduced, before swinging the other direction under Labour and the SNP.

Now it seems, at the time of writing, that there will be a Tory government staunchly supported by the hard-Brexit DUP. But it will also need the support of both the Eurosceptic wing and the continuity remain section of the Conservative party.

Expand Close Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Conservative leader Theresa May cast their votes early on Thursday / Facebook

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There is no negotiating stance which will satisfy all of these groups. And the clock is ticking. Is it the job of the EU to save Britain from itself?

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Meanwhile, citizens of the world, so derided by Theresa May last year as citizens of nowhere, will feel less uncomfortable. For the many of us in Britain for whom Irishness is only one strand of our identity, it will be a relief.

Will businesses, particularly financial institutions, still want to move, in whole or in part, to the rest of Europe? I suspect they will.

They will continue to work quietly on their plans, but announcements will be delayed until the political mood becomes clearer.

Those of us looking to take our experience back home will need to be patient  but not for too long.

You know, for the great British public, Brexit was never really a thing until it became a thing  the solution to everything, almost. But of course it isnt.

I suspect it will soon become a distraction, an irritant. Many voted for Jeremy Corbyns people-before-profit agenda, which is far more concrete than the vague (and in many cases false) promises which carried the leave vote to victory.

The abolishing of university fees will not be down to Jean-Claude Juncker and his band of Brussels bureaucrats.

Of course Brexit will impact Ireland more than the UK. So could we have a (patriotic) role to play? To perhaps do everyone a favour, and respectfully point out to our British friends and colleagues where their real problems lie?
Irish jihadis fighting for Isil and other terror groups should have their citizenship revoked, a senior Fianna Fail TD has said.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Darragh O'Brien said "there should be no haven in Ireland" for people who fight for such organisations.

His remarks come amid a renewed focus on the Irish response to the threat of terror due to the revelation that one of the London attackers, Rachid Redouane, had lived in Dublin.

Mr O'Brien has accused the Government of being "complacent" about the likelihood of an attack here. His party colleague Willie O'Dea has also spoken of the need to deport people associated with terrorism.

Mr O'Brien said some countries did not allow citizens fighting for terror organisations to return from war-zones, citing Australia. It has begun stripping citizenship from dual-nationals fighting for Isil.

Mr O'Brien said several fighters had returned from wars in the Middle East, albeit some fought for rebel groups not linked to terror organisations.

He also referred to the case of Khalid Kelly, who died in a suicide attack in Iraq last year, saying he had been "hiding in plain sight" in Ireland espousing extremist ideology.

Mr O'Brien pointed out that the "vast bulk" of Ireland's Muslim population oppose extremist ideology as "an affront to Islam and an affront to any normal right-minded people".

He said there shouldn't just be a "big stick approach" and that there must be proper engagement with marginalised communities to make sure people don't become marginalised.

A spokesman for Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald said the Government was "determined to do everything it can in the fight against terrorism and will continue to use all the powers available to it".

He insisted there was "no complacency", that the expert assessment was that "an attack here is possible, but unlikely", and that gardai would continue to be supported with all the resources they needed.

Gardai believe about 20 people have travelled from Ireland to fight in Iraq and Syria since 2011. Gardai monitor and engage with people when they return to "assess the level of threat and they take all necessary measures in response to any threat".

The spokesman said there were provisions to revoke citizenship "in certain circumstances", including where evidence of terrorist activity is brought to the attention of the Justice Minister, who can invoke the process. He said it was "a complex matter which gives rise to considerable Constitutional issues as well as international considerations that must be taken into account".

Meanwhile, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) security expert Raffaello Pantucci has said a terror attack in Ireland would most likely be targeted at a symbol of the US or UK like an embassy, rather than a London Bridge-style attack.

A British Embassy spokesperson said: "We always review our security, but we can't discuss that" while the US embassy said "we do not comment on security matters".
Tributes have been paid to Fr Jack Finucane, a humanitarian and leading member of Concern, following his death.

Along with his late brother, Fr Aengus Finucane, the Limerick-born priest was at the heart of famine relief efforts in Biafra in the 1960s and Ethiopia in the 1980s.

He advised Bob Geldof on the Live Aid appeal and brought Bono to the East African nation in 1985.

The U2 frontman said he was a huge influence on his thinking.

Fr Jack Finucane died on Wednesday in Kimmage Manor in Dublin at the age of 80.

President Michael D Higgins said: "Jack Finucane's lifelong commitment to protecting the dignity of some of the world's poorest and most marginalised people will stand not only as a lasting tribute to all that is good about mankind, but is exemplary in its invitation not to avert our gaze from our current challenges of global hunger and poverty."

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Concern Worldwide chief executive Dominic MacSorley said: "An unassuming leader, he brought intelligence, drive and passion to what is now Ireland's leading humanitarian and development organisation.

"Along with his brother Aengus, they were a bridge between Ireland's long tradition of missionary work defining contemporary humanitarian response characterised by professional, practical, compassionate solutions on the ground."

Mr MacSorley said the true extent of Fr Finucane's achievements may never be fully understood.

Fr Finucane was ordained in 1963 and sent to Nigeria with the Holy Ghost Fathers and was at the heart of the distribution of aid being flown into Biafra by Concern and other relief organisations.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said: "He saved many lives and inspired others to join the struggle for global justice.

"His legacy will endure in the work of the organisation (Concern) he helped."
Provocations are possible in the border with Artsakh (video)

Armen Israyelyan, specialist in Iranian studies, after the terrorist attack in Iran says that provocations are possible on the border with Artsakh. Of course not by Saudi Arabia or any other third party. But by the special services, which aim at destabilizing the northern regions of Iran, I think Azerbaijan is interested in it, specialist in Iranian studies told the journalists. Those provocations may harm our borders. Armen Israyelyan links the terrorist attack in Iran to economic, political and security factors. In economic terms, he says, it may affect bilateral relations. First it is conditioned by Irans economic situation, after nuclear agreement, the expectations relating to involvement of Iran in foreign investments etc, unfortunately, they werent fulfilled. According to the specialist in Iranian studies, during the recent one-two years we have been able to create such preconditions, which will serve as a ground to develop bilateral economic relations- tourism, joint small enterprises etc. In the international relations, according to the words of Armen Israyeyan, Iran has lost its reputation, and if formerly nuclear agreement was on the agenda, now terrorist attacks are on the agenda. In political terms, according to the specialist in Iranian studies, the authorities of Iran will toughen their policy with Azerbaijan and Turkey. Armen Israyelyan is sure that the role of Armenia will increase for Iran.
Teachers take to the streets to highlight their pay claim. Photo: Arthur Carron

The Public Service Stability Agreement on pay and pensions between the Government and public sector unions, announced yesterday at the Workplace Relations Commission, is affordable, sustainable and fair - for everyone.

It allows for the pay reductions, introduced to deal with the economic crisis, to be restored for all civil and public servants earning less than 70,000 by 2020.

It also sees public sector pensions put on a more sustainable footing by ensuring that public servants, except for the lowest paid, make a permanent additional superannuation contribution.

This will apply in different ways for different groups, with those who will receive the most valuable pensions paying the most.

The total cost of the agreement is about the same as the previous deal, known as the Lansdowne Road Agreement, at 887m for the next three years.

It means the lowest paid civil and public servants will receive pay rises of almost 7.5pc between now and 2020, with those on higher salaries receiving just over 6pc.

The agreement recognises that without public servants, there can be no public services, and recognises, also, the huge contribution those working in the civil and public service have made to the improvement in our public finances and our economy.

But as Public Expenditure and Reform Minister, I am acutely aware that I am the guardian of the public's money and any agreement reached has to be fair to everyone - including taxpayers and those reliant on public services.

For that reason, I am satisfied that we have made a good deal.

The agreement gives us certainty for the future and means we will still be able to pursue the other policies in the Programme for Partnership Government - policies that are vital to the social and economic future for our country.

By striking a deal that is affordable, we can continue to plan for increased investment in capital infrastructure that will improve public transport, upgrade our roads, and build homes, schools and hospitals.

It also means we can continue to hire more teachers as more children reach school-going age, and pay pensions to the increasing number of retiring workers.

The pay proposals contained in the agreement reflect wage trends in the wider economy.

Those working in the private sector should note the comments of Ibec which said yesterday that "it appears that the proposed pay awards in the agreement are on average in line with increases of between 2pc and 2.6pc [per annum] being seen in the private sector".

Further, as is common in many private sector companies, most civil and public servants will now make a substantial, permanent contribution to the cost of their pension to ensure that they are properly provided for in their old age.

I am aware the issue of new entrant pay is of particular concern for many people.

That is why the agreement sees the greatest pay rises awarded to lower paid public servants, who are usually new entrants.

It is also why, in recognition of the fact that newer entrants to the public service will receive lower pensions, they will make lower pension contributions.

What is more, the agreement includes a further measure that "envisages an examination of the remaining salary scale issues in respect of post-January 2011 recruitswithin 12 months of the commencement of this agreement".

I am also aware that specific sectors of our public service believe that recruitment and retention of staff is impacting upon service delivery.

To deal with this, the agreement charges the Public Service Pay Commission with conducting a comprehensive examination and analysis of specific sectors to objectively ascertain if such issues exist, and how best to deal with them.

The agreement recognises that as an economy, we face a number of threats to our future.

As well as the continued high level of public debt, Ireland must - and will - ensure it is ready to face the challenge of Brexit.

To do so, we must keep our public finances on a sustainable footing and invest as much as possible in our physical and social infrastructure.

The agreement allows us to do just that.

Government and unions have devised a deal that is fair, that ensures the sustainability of the public finances and that allows us to invest in our economy.

I believe it deserves the support of us all.
A young girl leaves a message of support on the base of the obelisk on London Bridge following the terror attack in which eight people died. Photo: PA

It is time to put the Catholic Church "in the dustbin, where it belongs", left-wing TD Brid Smith announced in the Dail last week. There are strong echoes here of former US president Ronald Reagan, who once memorably said communism belonged in the dustbin of history.

There was barely a murmur of protest in response to Ms Smith's statement. Approached by 'The Irish Catholic' newspaper, Micheal Martin said it was an example of "intolerant populism". It was at least that. If Ms Smith had said it was time to put Islam "in the dustbin where it belongs", the denunciation of her fellow politicians, and the commentariat generally, would be ringing in her ears. She would be asked on to radio shows to defend herself against her accusers.

But she would never say such a thing about Islam, and it would not be out of fear of retaliation by a jihadist. It would be out of concern for the Muslim community as a minority. Catholicism is not considered a minority even in countries like Britain where Catholics are in a minority. It is considered fair game (as is Christianity) for every kind of attack, no matter how extreme, whereas almost any criticism of Islam is condemned as 'Islamophobic'.

This is how political correctness works. Its defensible wish to defend anything it considers to be a minority spills over very quickly into a wish to defend minorities even from justifiable criticism, as well as the silencing of critics as 'bigots' of one kind or another.

Worse than this, it has led to cover-ups of the most appalling crimes and abuses by minorities. Voter fraud in Tower Hamlets in London was covered up by the authorities because those responsible belonged to an ethnic minority.

On a much worse level, the systematic sexual abuse and rape of hundreds of young teenage girls in British towns like Rotherham and Rochdale, dramatised very recently in the BBC series 'Three Girls', was also covered up because the guilty parties were mainly of Pakistani origin.

This is reminiscent of the cover-ups by the Catholic Church. We cover things up when we don't want our reputations damaged, or the reputations of whatever it is we respect or revere.

Racial and religious minorities, especially Muslims, are currently placed above almost all criticism and anything that might subject these minorities to criticism is covered up and those who would throw a light on abuses are silenced and demonised.

Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan this week declared that "we should not link terrorism with any specific religion". This is classic PC-speak, a refusal to look something in the face and call it what it is. The Commissioner spoke the opposite of the truth. The terrorist atrocities carried out in London, Manchester, Paris, Brussels, Berlin etc are linked to a particular religion, namely Islam. All of the terrorists in these cases were acting on behalf of Islam. Are Buddhists or Christians or Hindus terrorising our cities like this?

'Islamophobia' is now considered an even greater sin than anti-Semitism. This is why the targeting of synagogues and Jewish graveyards, and Jews themselves, by Islamist fanatics does not draw the ire it should, nor does the routine and revolting depiction of Jews in the Middle East.

Jews are a vastly smaller minority than Muslims, but despite the Holocaust, and despite the growing number of attacks on Jews in Europe, they are considered to be a less vulnerable minority than Muslims. This, I think, is because of the existence of the state of Israel, which is a far bigger bogeyman for the left than Isil, never mind Hamas or Hezbollah. (How many anti-Isil demonstrations has the left in Ireland ever organised?)

Islam will never be vilified the way Catholicism and Christianity are. The misdeeds of Christians are held against all Christians, and many people are angrier by far at wrongs committed by the Church decades, or even centuries ago than at what is being done today in the name of Islam.

Anything bad that happens in the name of Islam is an 'aberration', a 'perversion' of the faith, not 'true Islam'. The more terrorist attacks are carried out in the name of Islam, the more we are told Islam is a 'religion of peace', and the very name Islam means 'peace', when in fact it means 'submission', as in submission to the will of God.

One commentator this week told us, in effect, to get used to terrorism. Islam wasn't even mentioned in the article.

Ms Smith made her comment about the Church in the context of an exchange in the Dail about the mother and baby homes. What happened in those places is considered a true manifestation of Catholicism, which is why the Church must be destroyed.

It will be said that these places were run by nuns, who are official representatives of the Church, which is true. But where did Jesus say, 'cast the first stone'? Didn't he tell us not to cast the first stone?

Mother and baby homes existed in Britain, in America, in Social Democratic Sweden where unmarried mothers were also treated appallingly until the 1960s or so. Was this a true expression of social democracy, or an aberration?

In any event, even though it is true that Isil is a perversion of Islam, can the same be said of Saudi Arabia or Iran? These are the leading Sunni and Shia countries respectively and both enforce very harsh versions of Sharia law. Both export radical, violent versions of their respective versions of Islam, as the Soviet Union once exported violent, socialist revolution.

Are Saudi Arabia and Iran 'aberrations' because if they are, then a very great deal of Islam in the present age is an 'aberration'.

The truth is that Islam is in need of reform. Muslims need to tell us whether Sharia law can be reformed in such a way that apostates from Islam, or blasphemers, or adulterers are not subject to the death penalty as they are in some countries.

They must tell us whether Saudi Arabia's attitude to women is an aberration or a true expression of Islam.

Above all, ordinary Muslims must take the lead in stamping out Muslim radicalism. This means not alone stamping out the violence, it also means ensuring that in the Muslim communities of the West, only moderate versions of Islam, compatible with broad Western values, take root and nothing else. Radical Islam is what must be defeated.
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John Downing Opinion New British prime minister Rishi Sunaks succession proves an important milestone in British political inclusivity

There is an old saying in British politics that goes: The right looks for converts while the left seeks out traitors. It comes to mind when one reflects upon the election of Rishi Sunak as the UKs first non-white prime minister in a party traditionally seen as most opposed to mass immigration and the dilution of national identity via multiculturalism.
All too often, people when deciding where to live after graduating from college choose to ignore the amazing opportunities that living in our rich, vibrant and close communities in North Cork provide. In too many cases, they believe that they won't have the same quality of life as those living in cities, or that they won't access to the same amenities and services.

Unfortunately, after years of under-funding and neglect, they are right. The simple fact is that living in small towns in north Cork is not as attractive as living in the city or in the large suburbs. When people weigh up the pros and cons of both, the Duhallow area falls down.

It doesn't fall down because of the beauty of the area, or the decency of the people. It falls down because it doesn't have the services and amenities that communities in the city have, and that has to stop.

There are too many gaps in the provision of services in North Cork, and that it causing more and more people to move to the larger towns, and leave smaller towns.

Rural Ireland is at risk of sleepwalking into oblivion unless a radical approach to how services and amenities are provided.

Cork's population is growing, but its growth is concentrating in the larger towns in, and around, the city. Unless we improve the delivery of services, enhance connectivity and above all else, match the quality of life that is available in the city and larger towns, then the drain on rural Ireland will continue.

So what do we need to see happen? We need to rethink what it means to live in rural Ireland and, before we go any further, rural Ireland isn't small isolated villages, it's everywhere in between major cities and urban areas, so it affects everyone in North Cork.

There are five core issues that need to be addressed if we are to stop the hollowing out of rural Ireland: Improving our road infrastructure; delivering fibre-optic, high speed, broadband; building the houses we need; investing in healthcare; and protecting farm family incomes.

If these five things are addressed, we will ensure that more people chose to move to, or remain, in North Cork. If not, the flow of people from rural to large urban will continue, and rural communities will face decimation.

Broadband and Connectivity

High quality broadband is critical for every aspect of life now - be it work, social, travel, banking, farming and administration. The delay in rolling out the National Broadband Plan has been nothing short of an abject failure. It's time that all stakeholders push on and roll it out as quickly as possible. Further delays will only increase the gap between rural and urban Ireland.

Why is it that some people seem to think that it is ok to ignore the connectivity needs of rural communities in North Cork? The M20 project, if delivered as per the original plan, would not only link Cork and Limerick, but would also open up north Cork to business. Those advocating replacing the proposed project with a spur off the M8 via Tipperary don't care or understand the needs of towns such as Charleville which desperately need bypasses and links to Munster's two cities. Those who want to live in north Cork, but have jobs in Cork City or Limerick need a direct motorway.

Housing and Planning

In any objective analysis of housing construction, the State is failing its citizens. Be it public or private housing, supply is nowhere near what's needed to meet demand. Increasing private rent costs, reduced social housing construction, debilitating planning rules that stop one-off housing all mean that those wanting to live in north Cork have limited options. The old adage that the further away you go from the cities, the cheaper the cost of housing just doesn't hold up anymore.

Major changes are required in planning laws to make it easier for those wishing to build a home in our communities to do so. There are too many hurdles for them to jump over to get planning permission. It's unfair and counter-productive in the long term.

Healthcare

Too many of our health services are being delivered centrally in Cork City. Of course, there are some, such as 24/7 Emergency Departments, surgeries or maternity services, that must be provided in that way. However, the necessity of travelling to the city for every test and procedure needs to be looked at.

Can we provide some of these services in our communities through enhanced Primary Care facilities that reduce the need for going to hospitals? Decentralised health services that provide better, more efficient care for people is what needs to be focused on.

Let's ensure that if someone decides to live in north Cork that they don't need to worry about having a local GP service or delays in an ambulance arriving in an emergency.

Protecting Farm Incomes

The last 10 years have seen continued reductions in family farm incomes. Lower prices, increased competition from European farmers and severe market volatility have made it more and more difficult for farmers to earn the income they need to keep their businesses going, and provide for their families.

Direct payments to farm families under CAP sustain rural communities and family farms. Future reviews of CAP must not only safeguard existing family farms, but prepare the way for young farmers to stay on their family farms, earn a decent living and look after their families.

We need to address the challenge of land abandonment. Too many young farmers are choosing to give up their land rather than working it. Longer term, this will have major implications for food production. It's time we give young farmers positive reasons to stay working on the land.

Outside of primary producers, there is a wealth of opportunities to develop new jobs in agri-business to make living in north Cork more attractive. This requires us fixing the problems for those who want to set up new businesses, or those who want to expand their existing businesses.

Rural Ireland needs a new deal from government. It needs to be prioritised, and provided with the tools it needs to grow and prosper. A change in mind-set is required at all levels of government if we are to stem the damage in rural Ireland and allow it to recover in a way that makes it attractive to people and families.

Our communities want a level playing field on which to fight to attract and retain families, businesses and services. North Cork is my home and it's something I will fight for, for as long as I am in Dail Eireann. My priority over the next number of months is to ensure that those making decisions in government recognise the crisis that is engulfing rural Ireland.
My conversation with Ballyheigue's native film maker Patrick O' Neill starts off on a very good note as he informs me that his film 'The Uncountable Laughter Of The Sea' has just been renewed by Killarney cinema for two weekly screenings on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7pm and 4:30pm respectively from June 27 onwards.

"Now that mightn't sound such a big deal for you but for anyone that makes a feature film and gets it into a cinema, that's the crown jewel," he says speaking to me The Kerryman on Thursday.

"Getting a second chance at a cinema run then, that's an astronomical thing to me - this is a film that was designed to be experienced in the cinema."

A film director and two-time feature film producer, Patrick rose to national prominence last year with the release of his debut feature film, the previously mentioned 'The Uncountable Laughter Of The Sea', a film that was shot entirely in Kerry. The movie has since drawn the praise of President Michael D Higgins and Hollywood actress, Susan Sarandon, both of whom praised the beautiful artistic vision of the piece.

An 'overthinker' by his own admittance, Patrick says that he is someone who is utterly fascinated by the technical and creative process of filmmaking, something which he says was instilled in him in a small room in London, many years ago.

"I remember being in a room listening to a man talking about films and I mean, it was just general conversation and I just remember being utterly fascinated by all this knowledge that this man had; I mean, normally when we consider film, we think about actors - we don't name directors or producers or the cameramen - we only really consider films in relation to the actors - we never give thought to the technical side of things or to the artistic mind behind the script or the directing of the actor."

"I was listening to this man talking and he was mentioning these names and I was all ears, I was hearing these names like Felini and Antonini and I was just mesmerised because I had never considered this aspect of film before," he continued.

"I left that course and went and stayed in London for a while and I started getting more and more interested in chasing up these names and I then became an avid follower of directors and significantly, when I was living in London, I lived near the 'Everyman Cinema' in West Hampstead which is a very famous and old cinema."

"I used to go there and watch films, I became a member of the cinema, I think you had to pay 30 a month or something, and sometimes I would watch three or four films there in a row in a single day. What was happening as I was watching all of these films was that I was getting a 'cinematic education'."

"Instead of theoretically learning about the theory and the techniques of film, I was seeing it unfold on the screen as it was designed to be seen and experienced - I was seeing all these great masterpiece films from all the great directors and how they brought their own work to life. I was seeing so many on such a constant basis that my memory was just being flooded with all these techniques subconsciously."

The requisite skills acquired, it was now time for Patrick to put these skills to the test and when his friend in London came to him with a script for a feature film, Patrick put the challenge to him to make the film and out of this came his first ever film, 'Spider Hole'.

"We had a film crew from Toronto, actors in London and we filmed for 19 days in Ireland and 4 more in London, I raised the finance myself; I had never done anything like this before, I was totally winging it the whole way!" he laughed.

"It was all shot in London except that we shot all the interior shots and it was 90% interiors, we shot all of these in an old mansion just outside Tralee in an old house in Ballard."

"I was winging it and learning at the same time, I was winging it but I was also being educated as I was dealing with agents and lawyers and solicitors and literally, I'd be on the phone to all of these people, listening to what they were saying to me and I was learning because the questions they were asking me, I had to be able to answer them - it was a great learning curve."

This learning curve was to prove vital for Patrick as he set to work on his most ambitious project, a film that embodies the very definition of a 'passion project', a film which celebrated the life and vision of Patrick's dear friend, Kerry priest Fr. Padraig O'Fiannachta, whom he first met in Dingle many years ago.

"I was out in Dingle on New Years Eve a number of years ago and I remember taking a walk across to the most beautiful church and I remember seeing this small man and this man was Fr. Padraig O'Fiannachta."

"Myself and Fr. Padraig became great friends over the years and his priesthood, in my opinion, was something very much animated by beauty, in other words, he saw the manifestation of God in his eyes through things like nature and beauty and art and creativity. He was a man who was a master of languages, he knew Latin, Greek, Welsh and Irish."

"I loved spending time with him because we had great fun together and we'd have a lot of craic blaggarding each other and winding each other up you know? We were like two peas in a pod at times. Seeing how this man viewed the world and how he interacted with it, all of this this led me to want to make a film about the different things that animated his life."

As a fellow enthusiast of nature and more specifically, the spectacular beauty that we have here in Kerry, Patrick set out to film what he saw as a true tribute to both Kerry and the universal language of nature in our world.

"I said to him that I wanted to make a Caravaggio in Kerry, Caravaggio was one of the most famous Italian painters of the Renaissance and he was known for his epic paintings," he continued.

"In the film, I wanted to shoot each scene of natural landscape of Kerry as an epic scene because it is epic, it's all there for us to see and sometimes it takes framing that beauty through a cinema lens for people to see what something thay they've always seen, but now in a deeper way - so much so that they are almost seeing it again for the first time."

"The film is a slow and gentle process in which you really just have to let yourself go into it - we're venerating age, wisdom, beauty and enviornmental consciousness in it - it's a very meditative process."

"This film is unique because it's such a rare thing to be able to go into a cinema and see your county in such a powerful way - I mean, the score was composed by a three time Oscar winner."

"Our film brings you right home, it wants to show you the beauty of your mountain ranges, your valleys, your rivers - they're all yours to see and enjoy as much as you want. You don't have to go away to see something spetacular. it's right there on your doorstep."

'The Uncountable Laughter of The Sea' is set to begin a month of screenings at the Carnegie Arts Centre in Kenmare on Thursday June 8 at 8pm, it will then be shown again on June 15, June 22 and June 29 at 8pm also.
A Limerick youth who travelled into North Kerry to play a role in the theft of two cars from outside a Ballybunion house has been ordered to pay 2,000 in compensation to the car owners.

Edward Woodland, 68 Cois Luachra, Dooradoyle, Limerick, appeared in custody before Judge James O'Connor on charges relating to the crime which occurred on August 17 of 2015. He pleaded guilty to the matter - which occurred at a home on the Kit Ahern Road in Ballybunion.

The court heard how two cars from stolen from the one household after their home was burgled and the car keys to both vehicles taken.

Garda Inspector Liam Williams informed Judge O'Connor the cars were recovered by gardai at separate locations on a later date and that, as a result, there was no loss to the injured parties. Subsequent fingerprint analysis led gardai to question Mr Woodland.

The court heard Woodland was 16 at the time of the incident, which occurred during what was for him a 'rare foray' into Kerry. He has 47 previous convictions and is due for release on the five-month sentence he is currently serving for another matter on July 27 next.

Solicitor Pat Enright suggested the theft did not involve breaking and entering:

"There was easy access and the keys were on the hall table."

He said his client was not the sole agent in the crime: "Obviously, he wasn't alone but there's nobody else before the court."

"Fingerprint analysis showed up his fingers on both cars. They were on the passenger side but so be it.." Mr Enright said.

He reiterated the fact there was 'no loss' to the injured parties. "I've told him that this is desperate carry-on, coming down here and taking two cars from the one house."

Judge O'Connor said he had heard enough to suggest Woodland would be facing a two-year jail sentence. "These are people who got up on the morning and not one, but two cars were missing. The first thing you have to do is compensate these people," Judge O'Connor told the defendant. Questioned by Mr Enright, Woodland suggested offering a total of 1,000 in compensation.

"1,000 for each car? That's fine. This stuff has to be stamped out," the Judge said, adjourning the case to September 1.
Antje Rothemund, Head of Youth Department, Council of Europe, presenting the Council of Europe European Quality Labelfor Youth Centres to eurOgs Tim ODonoghue CEO KDYS with Amy Flynn and Ronan Galvin with the new eurOg logo with Deputy Brendan Griffin and (right) Ferghal Lynch, Principal Officer Department of Children and Youth Affairs, at the KDYS, Killarney on Tuesday. Photo by Michelle Cooper Galvin

When KDYS Killarney Chief Executive Tim O'Donoghue spoke to The Kerryman last September, it was hard not to admire his ambition, but arguably harder to envisage that ambition becoming reality.

He wanted Killarney to become Ireland's first European Youth Centre. Nobody doubted the Fairhill centre's excellence, but it was chasing a status only previously obtained by Strasbourg and Budapest, and Tim's hopes might have seemed fanciful.

But they've done it. Some eight months ago, a delegation from the Council of Europe visited the KDYS headquarters to assess the centre - and the results were excellent.

In January, Killarney was confirmed as a European Youth Centre on what was one of its greatest days since its opening in 2001. Last evening (June 6), Head of Youth Development of the Council of Europe Antje Rothemund and Minister of Children and Youth Affairs Dr Katherine Zappone visited the town for a special presentation ceremony, formally confirming the Killarney centre -- launched last night as "Eurog" -- as the first Irish centre to receive the Quality Label for Youth Centres from the Council of Europe.

"It's taken lots of hard work, imagination and hope, but now it has been achieved," Tim said.

"The award recognised the quality of our service, and it's honour to be the first Irish youth centre to achieve this."

Among KDYS' main functions are organising youth activities; a Comhairle na nOg; youth centres; support systems; awareness programmes; training and educational programmes; and more, and Tim went on to explain to The Kerryman that the new recognition will connect the Kerry service to the rest of the continent.

"It means we'll be working with the Council of Europe in new and exciting ways," he said.

"Killarney will open opportunities to many young people. They can learn, co-design, and co-create opportunities and services, develop leadership skills, and explore Europe through a variety of programmes.

"For example, young people in Ireland will be able to engage with the European Voluntary Service and volunteer abroad, while young people from Europe and elsewhere will have opportunities to source volunteering opportunities in Kerry."

The centre opened its doors to the public yesterday evening prior to the main celebration. Tim described the KDYS as "somewhere to stay, to hang out, to experience, to grow", and called upon the public to support the centre as it steps onto the European stage.

"We have a strong vision and really big plans to develop EurOg, and we'll always appreciate support," he said.

"If you would like to make a donation to KDYS, you can do so at www.kdys.ie, but you can also help by joining our team.

"With this new status, we're very open to hearing from members of the public interested in joining us, and our website provides all necessary details on how you can volunteer.
Kerry emigrant organisations in London are advising members to avoid crowded areas in the city and to exercise extreme caution in the wake of Saturday' night's terror attacks at London Bridge and Borough Market in which seven people were killed and scores more injured.

"I was down in Devon when I got word of Saturday night's attack. It was a shock. We spent the day ringing our people and thankfully they were all okay," said Danny Tim O'Sullivan of The Kerry London Association.

The Borough Market area of the city is well known to Danny Tim as he had 100 men working in construction at the location for the past three years; a job which they finished six months ago.

"Thank God we didn't have anyone caught up in it. It's getting serious now but you've got to keep getting up in the morning and doing your day's work. It's going to affect the city a lot as people won't go near it. I would just urge people to be careful. We can't leave them get to us. People will have to watch the city from now on though," Danny Tim added.

Derrynane native Ger O'Shea is involved with the St Kerins GAA club in London; a club with many players from south Kerry and Tralee area on its books.

"Thankfully no one we know was caught up in it. We're certainly telling our members to avoid crowded areas for the time being. There's a big concert coming up this weekend in Wembley and we've advised people to stay away from it. These are dangerous times and all you can do is ask people to be vigilant and careful," Ger said.

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Tralee-based Kerry Islamic Outreach Society has described Tralee as one of the best parts of the country in terms of showing solidarity with the Muslim community.

Dr Rizwan Khan said he and other members of the local Muslim community have been hurt by negative online comments levelled against Muslims, particularly in the aftermath of recent attacks in the UK. He said the people of Tralee, however, have a better understanding of Muslim people than most.

"Since the attacks in Manchester and London, our Facebook page has been inundated with very understanding messages. Everyone here says 'I know those horrible people don't represent you,' and none of our society has said they've been subject to any anti-Muslim sentiment from members of the Tralee public.

"It's in stark contrast to what you see posted to other websites. I was disgusted to see that people threw stones through the window of a Mosque in Galway during Monday prayer-time, but it made me think 'I couldn't see something like that happening in Tralee.' I hope I'm not proven wrong."

He added that the local Muslim community has integrated very well with the town. "Everyone can see how hard we work in the hospital and other local services. When there's a community clean-up or a fun social event, many local Muslims are there. We're parents, we're friends, we're a part of Tralee, and Tralee knows that."
All bills under discussion adopted (video)

At the NA session convened by the Government today the bill on the enlargement of the communities was discussed at the second reading. Naira Zohrabyan, lawmaker from Tsarukyan alliance, noted that in the morning the residents of Gegharkunik marz applied to Gagik Tsarukyan, I know that you will accept that draft as it is a political decision. The elections of local self-government bodies are due in the near future and you have decided to fit the local self-government bodies to your candidates. Meet with the villagers; they have other proposals, they have more correct logic. We cannot see any logic of optimal government in this bill. Edmon Marukyan, lawmaker from Yelk alliance, said that first he supported the bill on the enlargement of the communities, but during this period there is no advancement, particularly in Lori marz, The Government hasnt carried out any efficient step, and good ideas have been spoilt. Bring an example of a success story as it has been a while since the previous enlargement. Vache Terteryan, deputy minister of Territorial Administration and Development, noted that the issue of residents should be touched upon in the NA and not give qualifications, Yesterday during the whole day we were with the residents. This proposal is a project discussed with them. We have success stories, if you want to see them, look through our website. I will do my best so that they become more public. Nikol Pashinyan, Head of Yelk alliance faction, said that they support the bill, I hope that after Edmon Marukyans speech the HHK will not vote against the bill. The bill on prevention of corruption was adopted with 92-0 votes. The bill on privatization of state property was adopted with 58-31 votes. Before the voting on the bill on the enlargement of the communities, Nikol Pashinyan noted that it will be right that there be an inclusive report on the first group of enlargement. The bill on enlargement of the communities was adopted with 57-24 votes. The NA session convened by the Government ended.
The General Election saw shock upheavals that nobody couldve predicted after the Scottish National Party, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats faced unexpected losses in Parliament.

Here are eight big names who lost their seats after Britons cast their votes in the General Election 2017.

1. Nick Clegg

The former deputy prime minister and Liberal Democrat leader lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to Labour rival Jared OMara who took the victory with over 2,000 votes on Clegg.

OMara accumulated 21,881 votes to Cleggs 19,756, who said it was the greatest privilege of my political life to represent Sheffield Hallam for the last 12 years.

Clegg became the leader of the Lib Dems in 2007 and led the party into government in a coalition deal with David Camerons Conservatives in 2010.

His party helped secure increases in the personal tax allowance and providing free school meals, but they abandoned promises to oppose tuition fee increases, which almost trebled.

After the Lib Dems suffered heavy losses in the 2015 general election  with seats dwindling from 57 to eight  people wondered whether Clegg would take a step back from politics and his Sheffield Hallam seat. But he was appointed Brexit spokesman for the Lib Dems in 2016, which saw him play a prominent role in the current general election.

2. Angus Robertson

The deputy leader of the SNP was ousted from his Moray seat  which hes held since 2001  to the Conservatives Douglas Ross by 18,478 votes to 22,637.

Roberston said after the defeat: Im confident the SNP is going to win the General Election in Scotland and I wish my colleagues all the best.

Robertson became one of the SNPs most high-profile figures thanks to a weekly platform at Prime Ministers Questions, which he was often praised for. He earned a reputation as a formidable opponent and potential future leadership contender.

He was elected into Westminster 16 years ago to represent Moray, and was the SNPs campaigns director for the 2007 and 2011 Scottish elections.

He also served as the partys defence spokesman and, in 2015, was appointed as a member of the Privy Council and the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee, before becoming a party deputy leader in 2016.

3. Alex Salmond

Salmonds defeat in Gordon delivered yet another blow to the SNP after he was beaten by the Conservatives Colin Clark. The former party leader had swept to power in the seat with a 8,687 majority in 2015, overturning decades of Liberal Democrat rule.

In his speech, Salmond said: The SNP has lost a number of fine parliamentarians this evening, that is a grievous blow for us.

But overall results show the SNP will win a majority of the seats in this country and a majority of the votes.

4. Sarah Olney

Olney lost her Richmond Park seat of just six months to the Conservatives Zac Goldsmith by just 45 votes.

Goldsmith had held the seat since the 2010 general election before resigning as a Tory MP in October over his objection to an expansion at Heathrow Airport, triggering a by-election.

He then ran for the seat as an independent candidate instead of a Conservative against Olney, but she was elected MP in December, receiving 20,510 votes to Goldsmiths 18,638. She was was the only female Liberal Democrat MP in the 2015-2017 parliament.

Goldsmith had promised not to stand as a Conservative candidate if they continued to back the third runway at Heathrow, yet rejoined the party and won back the Richmond Park seat as a Tory.

5. Ben Gummer

One of the co-authors of the Tory manifesto, his Ipswich seat was won by Labour by a 5% swing.

Gummer was elected as MP for Ipswich in 2010, taking the seat from Labour, and increased his majority to 3,733 in 2015.

The cabinet office minister played a key role in the team responsible for the manifesto and had been tipped for promotion if the Prime Minister returned to Number 10, but lost out on the opportunity thanks to 831 votes.

6. Jane Ellison

The Tories junior minister lost her Battersea seat on a 10% swing to Labours Marsha De Cordova, who took 25,292 votes to Ellisons 22,876.

The defeat marks the end of Ellisons seven-year parliamentary career, which saw her swiftly rise up the ranks since her election to Parliament in 2010 after she won the south-west London seat from Labour.

Cameron appointed her public health minister in 2013, a role which she continued in until June 2016 until she moved to the Treasury in the role of financial secretary in Mays government.

7. Gavin Barwell

The Conservatives housing minister lost his marginal Croydon Central seat to Labours Sarah Jones by more than 5,000 votes.

Barwell  who penned a book entitled How to Win a Marginal Seat: My Year Fighting For My Political Life  had beaten Jones to the seat by 165 votes in the 2015 election.

8. John Nicolson

The SNPs Nicolson suffered a defeat in East Dunbartonshire where the former government minister, Jo Swinson, won back the seat she had lost to him in 2015 general election.

Nicolson secured 15,684 votes to Swinsons 21,023. She had held the seat for a decade before Nicolson took it over.
More than 200 women MPs have been elected in the 2017 General Election, a record number which means that just under one in three MPs (32%) are female.

Some 207 women, out of 649 (minus Kensington) have been elected to seats around the country, a gain of 11 since the 2015 poll and by-elections since, which saw a total of 196 women voted into Parliament.

Previously, the highest number of women elected in a single general election was 191, in 2015.

There was a stark difference in gender balance between Labour and the Tories, with women MPs in Jeremy Corbyns party representing almost half (45%) of Labours constituencies. For Theresa Mays Conservatives, just over one in five MPs elected were female.

For Labour, this represents an increase of 1%, while the Tories faced no change.

This may come as a surprise to some as Theresa May has often championed her party as a beacon for gender representation in Parliament, having produced the UKs only female prime ministers  Margaret Thatcher and herself.

In terms of smaller parties, the Liberal Democrats have tripled their number of female MPs, from 11% to 33%, a total of four women representatives.

The SNP have slightly increased their share of female MPs as, although they lost seats, just over one third (34%) of their remaining constituencies were held by women.

The key MPs who are new to Westminster

Here is a look at some of the freshly elected women MPs in this years poll.

Preet Gill

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This election produced the UKs first ever female Sikh MP, Preet Gill, who was elected MP for Birmingham Edgbaston with a majority of 6,917 votes, up 10% on Labour former MP Gisela Stuarts majority. Uniquely, the seat has historically been represented by women MPs both Labour and Tory since 1953.

Gill, a Labour Co-op representative, was previously a councillor for Sandwell in the West Midlands and championed mental health issues during her tenure. She was born and raised in Edgbaston as the daughter of a bus driver, she says on her website.

Her journey into politics was inspired by her fathers friend and the UKs first Sikh peer, Lord King, who she says pushed her to make a difference.

During her career, she has campaigned passionately for the representation of Sikh and BAME women in society.

Marsha de Cordova

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In one of many shocks turned up by this years result, Labours Marsha De Cordova surmounted an 8,000 Tory majority to represent Battersea, a seat held by Jane Ellison since 2010.

The MP, who is visually-impaired, is a campaigner for disability rights and in her victory speech vowed to lobby Parliament to improve accessibility in public places.

She prided her team on running a grassroots campaign and on her Twitter, expressed her honour at being elected, saying: I will work for a better future for all my constituents.

Kirstene Hair

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In Scotland, where the Conservatives emerged with the most gains, newly-elected MP for Angus Kirstene Hair took over from the SNPs Mike Weir, who has held the seat since 2001. The constituency was traditionally a Scottish Nationalist stronghold, secured by the party since 1997.

Hairs win, with a majority of 2,644 after overturning an SNP majority of over 11,000, was praised on Twitter by Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson. In her speech, Hair said she would serve the public, and not be a party servant.

Following the result shortly before 2am, she told the Courier Angus paper that she was absolutely delighted to be representing the area that I was born and brought up in.

Key MPs who retained their seats

Home Secretary Amber Rudd retained her Hastings and Rye seat by a slim majority of 346, following two recounts after being closely contested by Labours Peter Chowney. Her return tipped the number of women MPs in the Commons to a record 197.

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas win in her Brighton Pavilion seat led the number of women MPs to surpass the 200 mark. She almost doubled her majority in the constituency and earned nearly double the number of votes than her closest competitor, Labours Solomon Curtis.

Diane Abbott, who was taken ill in the final leg of Labours campaign and temporarily replaced as Shadow Home Secretary, held on to her Hackney seat with a stomping majority and 75% of the vote, with many on Twitter lauding her success in the face of adversity:

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It was 99 years ago that the first woman MP, Constance Markievicz, was elected to the Commons following the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act, which gave women aged 21 and over the right to stand for election.

However she did not take up her seat as she was a member of Sinn Fein.

UK politics has come a long way since then.
Its been a night of highs and lows for the main parties, but smaller parties and independents have struggled in this election.

In order to make the ballot paper, candidates have to have 10 nominations from constituents and pay 500, a deposit which is not returned if they fail to reach 5% of the vote.

Here are the 10 candidates with the lowest amount of votes.

10. Mark Shuker (Compass Party) /Joe Westridge (Social Democratic Party)  38 votes each

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Mark Shuker, an engineer from Worcester, is a former Liberal Democrat who ran for newly formed party Compass on Thursday. He stood in the 2015 election gaining almost double what he managed this time with 69 votes.

He is tied with Joe Westridge, who stood for the Social Democratic Party in Sheffield Central.

9. Gavan Reynolds (Independent)  37 votes

Gavan Reynolds stood as an independent in Down North. The seat was swiped by another independent, ex-Ulster Unionist Sylvia Hermon.

8. Daniel Lambert (Socialist Party of Great Britain)  32 votes

Daniel Lambert represented the Socialist Party of Great Britain in the constituency of Battersea on Thursday. He told the BBC in May that the party is the most democratic organisation you will find in the world and, as such, has no leader.

7. Rodney Maile (The New Society of Worth)  31 votes

The candidate for the New Society of Worth stood in Preseli Pembrokeshire. The partys policies included a system of email referendums, curbing mind control for political purposes and wages for women bringing up children.

6. DaleKalamazad (Independent)  29 votes

Independent parliamentary candidate for Hackney South & Shoreditch Dale Kalamazad failed to win back his deposit. Labours Meg Hillier ended up taking the seat with 43,974 votes  considerably more than 29.

5. Peter Clifford (Communist League)  27 votes

Communist League candidate Peter Clifford struggled in the Manchester Gorton constituency following an unsuccessful bid for mayor. The butcher campaigned on issues such as combating anti-Semitism and improving health care.

4. BillMartin (Socialist Party of Great Britain)  21 votes

The Socialist Party of Great Britain made the bottom 10 again with Bill Martin. Its not surprising  he stood against Jeremy Corbyn, who was returned with 40,086 votes. In fact, the four lowest vote totals were for people standing against the two main party leaders.

3. YemiHailemariam (Independent)  16 votes

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Yemi Hailemariam stood in Maidenhead in the hopes of securing a meeting Theresa May to talk about the imprisonment of her husband, human rights activist Andy Tsege, in Ethiopia.

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She wore a t-shirt bearing the slogan Free Andy Tsege for the count.

2. Andres Mendoza (Communist League)  7 votes

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Another entry from the Communist League, as Andres Mendoza stood in Islington, bringing in fewer votes than the number of nominations required to stand.

1. Bobby Smith (Independent)  3

Bobby Smith, dressed as Sesame Street character Elmo, stood against Prime Minister Theresa May. He brought in what is thought to be the second lowest amount of votes ever.

Its a significant slide from his last general election: in 2015 the fathers rights activist stood against David Cameron in Witney, pulling in 37 votes.

Catherine Taylor-Dawson from the Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket still holds the title. She achieved two votes in the Cardiff North constituency in 2005.
David Dimbleby was perplexed while hosting the BBC election broadcast  by a fly trapped in the television studio.

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As news broke that the UK could be heading for a hung parliament, the stalwart political journalist became confounded by the unwelcome creature, which he said had been buzzing around for days.

Breaking off mid-sentence, Dimbleby said: Theres a fly in this studio which is rather irritating me: weve been trying to get rid of it for the last three days but its still coming round.

His annoyance about the sound quality from count broadcasts was also noted by those watching at home.

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For many, the episode proved to be the defining moment of the evening.

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It could be a long night for poor David.
On May 20, Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted: If I lose just six seats I will lose this election and Jeremy Corbyn will be sitting down to negotiate with Europe.

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Once the exit poll revealed the UK could be in for a hung parliament, predicting a loss of 17 seats for the Tories, some wanted to remind her about this particular statement.

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Its important to remember that exit polls arent always right, though. In 1992 a hung parliament was predicted, but the Tories won 336 seats.

However, that didnt stop some from jumping the gun and speculating what the Conservative leader is up to right now.

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As results trickle in, May will have to wait and see if the tweet will haunt her forever, or just tonight.
Theresa May might be coming to regret her choice of words in a tweet posted in the middle of the election campaign.

On May 20, the Prime Minister tweeted: If I lose just six seats I will lose this election and Jeremy Corbyn will be sitting down to negotiate with Europe.

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As it stands, the Tories have lost double that number at 12, failing to secure the 326 seats needed to gain overall majority of parliament.

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The exit polls predicted a hung parliament and as soon as they were released at 10pm, Twitter users began reminding the Conservative leader of her earlier words.

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Think twice before you tweet, folks.
Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum

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Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

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There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

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This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

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The Democratic Unionist Party is Northern Irelands largest party.

Founded in 1971 by loyalist and Protestant minister Ian Paisley, its 45-year history has not been without controversy as it espouses right-wing views, including its opposition to same-sex marriage.

Currently, it is the fifth largest party in the Commons with 10 seats, following the 2017 General Election. It holds 28 seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

It now stands in the unique position to complete Theresa Mays minority government.

Who is it led by?

Arlene Foster has been at the helm of the party since December 2015 and served as First Minister of Northern Ireland between January 2016 and January 2017.

Born in 1970, Foster was exposed to attacks during the Troubles, including an attempt on her fathers life by the IRA.

She began her career in politics after joining the Queens Unionist Association at Queens University, Belfast, where she read law. The unionist association formed part of the centre-right Ulster Unionist Party, where she held prominent positions in the partys youth wing and ruling body.

She courted controversy in her 2003 election to the Northern Ireland Assembly, as a member of the baby barristers, a right-wing group within the party who were said to be a thorn in the side of then-party leader, David Trimble due to his support for the Good Friday Agreement.

She joined the DUP in 2004 and has since held ministerial positions including Minister for the Environment.

In January 2017, she was forced to step down after presiding over a cash for ash scandal, a failed Renewable Heat Incentive scheme which cost the Northern Ireland budget some 490 million.

The solicitor, who has emerged as the kingmaker in the hung parliament, is married with two sons and a daughter.

Where does the party stand on key issues?

The party has been described as far-right in its views, especially on abortion and rights for the LGBT community.

Same-sex marriage

Marriage between same-sex couples remains illegal in Northern Ireland, and the party has been criticised as homophobic. Party founder Ian Paisley campaigned against legalising homosexuality.

The DUP has tried several times to frustrate and prevent the legalisation of gay marriage with a veto mechanism.

The party actively campaigned against the legalisation of gay sex, and were at the forefront of the Save Ulster from Sodomy movement in the 1980s.

Abortion

Foster has been an outspoken opponent of abortion, stating previously that she did not support the extension of the Abortion Act 1967 to Northern Ireland, which would legalise terminations.

Ending a pregnancy is permitted on very restrictive rules, including when a womans life is at risk. However, rape and incest are not grounds for abortion.

Climate Change

The partys former Environment Minister, Sammy Wilson, has dubbed environmental decline a myth based on dodgy science, adding that he believed it to be an hysterical pseudo-religion.

Critics have denounced the partys approach to climate change in Northern Ireland as a wild west for the environment, with Friends of the Earth labelling Wilson as a climate pariah.

He calls for a reactive approach to fighting climate change, as opposed to working definitively to stop it by investing in resources to slow down its effects.

Brexit

Although the party campaigned to leave the EU, it opposes a hard Brexit and favours a frictionless border with the Republic of Ireland, along with easier movement of people, goods and services between borders.
The General Election has served up some surprising upheavals but none as shocking as the return of Zac Goldsmith to parliament.

The Conservative candidate managed to reclaim his Richmond Park seat after scraping to victory over the Liberal Democrats Sarah Olney by just 45 votes  a win that has divided the nation.

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Constituents shared their disappointment and disbelief at the news of Goldsmiths victory by one of the smallest margins in the country.

Many expressed anger at those who didnt exercise their right to vote and Labour supporters who perhaps chose not to use their ballot to vote tactically for Olney and keep Goldsmith at bay.

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Goldsmiths decision to run as a Conservative candidate for the seat was questioned by some, given his resignation as a Tory MP in October 2016.

He objected to a third runway being built at Heathrow Airport  a move his party supported  and triggered a by-election in the Richmond Park constituency, where hed served as MP since 2010.

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He promised to never run as a Conservative candidate again until the Tories changed the stance on the airport expansion, and so ran as an independent candidate for the seat against Olney. She dealt him an embarrassing blow, beating him with 20,510 votes to his 18,638.

However, when Theresa May called the snap election, Goldsmith decided to rejoin and represent the Tories in Richmond Park, despite the fact that the party still very much backed the expansion of Heathrow.

Goldsmiths doomed campaign to become London mayor drew widespread criticism last year as he was accused of using divisive to gain votes over Sadiq Khan.

Nevertheless, some voters were happy to see him reclaim his place in Parliament.
Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson has called US president Donald Trump "very naive" for withdrawing from the Paris climate accord.

The entrepreneur said the American leader had failed to recognise that clean energy is cheaper than coal and oil and is going to create "massively more jobs".

The business magnate, climate activist and philanthropist also questioned Mr Trump's decision to put "America First" when there are no barriers to the world's climate.

Sir Richard said on World Oceans Day that many supporters of the Paris agreement "cried" when Mr Trump went against 99% of scientists and business leaders.

He added: "We wanted the United States of America to not talk selfishly, but to talk about being part of this world which doesn't have walls, and help us ... save it."
Theresa May's future as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservatives was being openly questioned after her decision to hold a snap election disastrously backfired.

As the June 8 poll ended in a hung parliament, with no party holding an absolute majority in the House of Commons, Mrs May pledged to offer "stability" if the Tories end up as the largest party with the most votes.

Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said she should "consider her position" and take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign and a "deeply flawed" manifesto after choosing to go to the country three years early in the hope of extending her majority.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

Former chancellor George Osborne, sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May and now editor of the Evening Standard, told ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

Sky News reports this morning that the UK Prime Minister Theresa May has "no intention" of resigning.

With 630 out of 650 constituencies declared, a Press Association forecast predicted that Tories would end up with 320 seats, 10 fewer than when the election was called and six short of an absolute majority.

Labour was heading for 260 seats, the Liberal Democrats for 14, the Scottish National Party 34, Plaid Cymru three and Greens one, according to the PA analysis.

Read More

A BBC projection put the Tories on 43% overall, about six points up on David Cameron's result in 2015, and Labour on 40%, spectacularly outpolling Ed Miliband and Gordon Brown's results and even racking up more votes than Tony Blair did when he won power in 2005.

The Democratic Unionist Party, which increased its representation at Westminster from eight to 10, signalled it was ready to discuss working with Tories on issues such as Brexit and keeping the UK together.

With the party in a position to hold the balance of power at Westminster, senior MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the DUP would be "serious players" in the hung parliament, telling the BBC: "This is perfect territory for the DUP because obviously if the Conservatives are just short of an overall majority it puts us in a very strong negotiating position and certainly that is one we would take up with relish."

Three gains by Sinn Fein, which does not take up seats in Westminster, made it slightly easier for a combination of parties to achieve a working majority.

The pound plummeted as the shock figures set the scene for political turmoil at Westminster, disruption to upcoming Brexit negotiations and the possibility of a second election later in the year.

The night was marked by a collapse in Ukip support and a rash of high-profile losses for the SNP, as British politics returned to a two-party system on the greatest scale since the 1970s.

The Tories lost seven frontbenchers, with ministers Jane Ellison, Simon Kirby, Gavin Barwell, James Wharton, Nicola Blackwood and Rob Wilson going down to defeat, along with Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer, the author of the widely criticised Tory manifesto.

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Ukip leader Paul Nuttall faced humiliation in Boston & Skegness, where he came in a distant third, and the eurosceptic party lost its only Westminster seat in Clacton.

As Ukip voters switched to Labour and the Tories across the country, Mr Nuttall said Mrs May had put the Brexit process in "jeopardy" just 10 days before talks were due to begin in Brussels.

High-profile casualties of a night of shock defeats included Liberal Democrat former leader and ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in Sheffield Hallam, Scotland's former first minister Alex Salmond in Banff & Buchan and the SNP's leader in Westminster Angus Robertson in Moray.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Education Secretary Justine Greening hung onto their seats by the skin of their teeth with much reduced majorities.

Read More

Accepting victory in Islington North, Mr Corbyn said voters had opted for hope and "turned their backs on the politics of austerity".

In an attack on Mrs May he said: "The Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate.

"Well the mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

"I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country."

Speaking as she was re-elected MP for Maidenhead, Mrs May said: "At this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability.

"If, as the indications have shown and if this is correct, the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes, then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do."

Asked if Mrs May could remain as Tory leader, Ms Soubry told the BBC: "That is a matter for her. It is bad. She is in a very difficult place.

"She's a remarkable and very talented woman and she doesn't shy away from difficult decisions, but she now has to obviously consider her position."

Mrs May drove direct from the Maidenhead count to Conservative HQ in London, where she was hunkered down in talks with aides as dawn broke before moving on to 10 Downing Street.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said: "Theresa May's authority has been undermined by this election. She is a damaged Prime Minister whose reputation may never recover."

Mr Osborne said there would be "a very big post mortem coming."

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Brexit Secretary David Davis said he would "fight tooth and nail" to keep Mrs May in post, and dismissed suggestions he might be a contender to replace her.

"The simple truth is we have a Prime Minister, she is a very good leader, I'm a big supporter of hers," Mr Davis told the Press Association.

"I'll fight tooth and nail to keep her in place."

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, often tipped as a potential successor to Mrs May as Tory leader, said: "We've got to listen to our constituents and listen to their concerns."

Liberal Democrats were celebrating the return of former ministers Sir Vince Cable, Sir Ed Davey and Jo Swinson two years after they lost their parliamentary seats.

And Tim Farron's party took Bath back from the Conservatives and regained Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross and Edinburgh West, which were lost to the SNP in 2015.

Mr Farron held on to his Westmorland & Lonsdale seat in Cumbria on a much-reduced majority, down from 8,949 in 2015 to just 777 now.

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Labour took Canterbury, a seat which had been held by Conservatives since 1918, and claimed Tory scalps in a string of seats including Bristol North West, Stroud, Warwick & Leamington, Stockton South and Vale of Clwyd.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said Labour "could form the next government" and would attempt to do so as a minority government if results allowed, rather than seeking to form a coalition with other progressive parties like the Lib Dems.
The European Union's budget commissioner Guenther Oettinger on Friday said he was unsure if Britain's negotiations about leaving the bloc could begin on time after Thursday's U.K. parliamentary election failed to elect a clear winner.

Oettinger told Germany's Deutschlandfunk broadcaster a weak negotiating partner in Britain could result in a poor outcome.
As dawn breaks across the UK, people are waking up to a thunderstorm. Here is what has happened while you were sleeping.

1. Theresa May's gamble has backfired spectacularly:

She promised "strong and stable" government going into Brexit negotiations but as the election results flood in it looks like the UK is set for a period of flux and uncertainty.

The writing was on the wall from early in the night after an Exit Poll predicted they would win 314 seats and the Labour Party 266.

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Later Sky predicted that the number of the Conservatives would be between 315 and 325. After winning her seat in Maidenhead Theresa May promised "stability" in goverment. But her body language and the polls are telling a very different story.

Shortly before 6am it was confirmed that the Conservatives could no longer gain a majority and so there will be a hung parliament in the UK.

Mrs May's only positive from the night is that the Conservatives have made some gains in Scotland where the SNP has lost a number of seats.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has put pressure on May to resign but, according to PA sources, the current PM said she has "no intention" of stepping down.

2. Jeremy Corbyn has energised a young vote:

Expand Close Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, reacts at a counting centre for Britains general election in London. REUTERS/Darren Staples / Facebook

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Whatsapp Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, reacts at a counting centre for Britains general election in London. REUTERS/Darren Staples

The much maligned Labour leader took a massive personal vote of 40,086 in his London constituency of Islington and in his victory speech he called on Theresa May to step down as Prime Minister.

He said politics is "not going back into the box where it was before".

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"What's happened is people have said they have had quite enough of austerity politics, they have had quite enough of cuts in public expenditure, underfunding our health service, underfunding our schools and our education service and not giving our young people the chance they deserve in our society."

In an attack on Mrs May he said: "The Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate.

"Well the mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

"I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country."

The overall turnout is approximately 66 per cent - up 4pc on 2015. it is believed that this is largely down to an increased youth vote.

3. Northern Ireland holds the keys to power

Expand Close Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams arrives at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast where counting is taking place in the 2017 General Election. Niall Carson/PA Wire / Facebook

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With neither party reaching the necessary majority it now falls to Mrs May and Mr Corbyn to try and form a coalition government.

The Liberal Democrats have repeatedly said they will not go into coalition. The Scottish National Party took a kicking in the election and are unlikely to side with the Conservatives.

This means that Theresa May must now look to Northern Ireland to make the crucial 326 majority.

Up North it is has been a big night for Sinn Fein after they won a further three seats to bring their total to seven. The SDLP and the UUP now have no seats in Westminster.

SF President Gerry Adams confirmed early in the night that they will continue their policy of abstention and they will not be taking their seats at Westminster.

Read More

Mrs May is then left with the DUP to shore up support.

Arlene Foster's party has taken ten seats in the election (holding eight and winning one from the UUP and a second from the SDLP) and this may be enough for the Conservatives to seize power.

It now waits to be seen what this will mean for those living in Northern Ireland where the assembly has still not been formed.

Read More

4. Scottish Nationalism has taken a hammering

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has taken heavy losses in the election with Alex Salmond among the most high profile losses in the election.

The party is predicted to lose 22 seats in the election bringing it down to 34, according to the exit polls.

The Conservatives and Labour both made gains in Scotland. The SNP remain the largest party in the country but with a diminished number Nicola Sturgeon must now regroup.

5. UKIP now has no MPs

After the high of Brexit UKIP has suffered lost all its seats in the UK parliament. The party has won just 3.89pc of the overall votes so far.

Its leader Paul Nuttall came third in the Boston and Skegness constituency, trailing both Labour and the Conservatives by a huge margin.

The party got less than 5 per cent of the vote in many of the seats declared so far, meaning it will lose the 500 (569) deposit all parties must pay to field a candidate.
Labour expects to oust Theresa May from No 10 and to form a minority government, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has said.

We're ready to form a government.we are willing to serve the country, he told the BBC.

I don't think the Conservative Government is stable, I don't think the Prime Minister is stable. I don't want to be derogatory, but I think she is a lame duck now.

Mr McDonnell insisted there would be no deals  instead Labour would put forward a Queens Speech and urge the SNP and minor parties to back it.

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Labour would not attempt to delay the Brexit talks, he said, which the EU hopes to start within two weeks.

However, the Conservatives, as the existing government, will have the first opportunity to win the confidence of the House of Commons.

And the numbers are in the Tories favour. With around 318 seats, Ms May  unless she resigns  could expect to have a Commons majority with the support of 10 Democratic Unionist MPs.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election. Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Alex Salmond and Angus Robertson have been dramatically ousted from Westminster as the SNP lost 21 seats across Scotland - putting plans for a second vote on independence in jeopardy.

After making stunning gains in 2015, Nicola Sturgeon's party lost seats to the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats to see their numbers slashed to 35 MPs.

Stephen Gethins held on to his North East Fife seat by just two votes, as the SNP came under severe pressure from the Liberal Democrats, and nationalists saw their majorities massively reduced in several constituencies.

The Tories returned 13 MPs in their best result in Scotland since 1983.

Ruth Davidson, whose Scottish Conservatives ejected both Mr Salmond from Gordon and Mr Robertson from Moray, said her party had enjoyed an "historic night".

She told BBC Scotland: "Indyref2 is dead, that's what we have seen tonight."

Expand Close First Minister Nicola Sturgeon casts her vote in the General Election at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall in Glasgow. PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp First Minister Nicola Sturgeon casts her vote in the General Election at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall in Glasgow. PA

Ms Sturgeon admitted she was "disappointed" by the results, but said she would not make any "rash decisions" on her plan for another independence vote.

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The Tory success in Scotland is in stark contrast to the situation south of the border, with Theresa May losing her majority and the election resulting in a hung parliament.

The First Minister told BBC Scotland: ''This has been a disaster for Theresa May. She called an election clearly very arrogantly thinking she was going to crush the opposition, sweep everybody aside and cruise to a landslide majority.

''Her position I think is very, very difficult. We have to wait and see how things shake out. I've always said the SNP would want to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government.

''I'm disappointed at the SNP losses but I'm pleased that we've won the election.''

That was echoed by Mr Salmond, who said the SNP would now seek to "build a progressive alliance to take this country forward and to avoid the calamity of hard Brexit".

The former nationalist leader, who was first elected as an MP 30 years ago in 1987, was defeated by Tory Colin Clark, who said in his victory speech: "The silent majority have spoken. We're proud to be part of the United Kingdom."

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Mr Salmond blamed a late surge in support for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour for the SNP's defeat in many seats, with the nationalists also losing John Nicolson, Mike Weir and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.

Pete Wishart, who was the chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee in the last parliament, held on to his Perth and North Perthshire seat by just 21 votes, with Tory MEP Ian Duncan coming close to ousting him.

Read More

Labour gained a number of seats back from the SNP, with the party making a return to winning ways in Scotland's largest city as they took Glasgow North East from Anne McLaughlin.

Ian Murray, who had been the only Labour MP in 2015, retained Edinburgh South with a massively increased majority as the party won a total of seven seats.

The Liberal Democrats took their tally of MPs in Scotland from one to four, with former UK government minister Jo Swinson one of the victors after winning back the East Dunbartonshire seat she had lost in 2015.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said she was "hugely encouraged" by the results.

"I think everybody had written us off and what we've got is six fantastic Labour MPs joining Ian Murray in the House of Commons, she said.

"I think it's very clear that any plan Nicola Sturgeon had for a second independence referendum has to disappear as a result of this election.

"What we've got is a crushing result for the SNP, they've lost 20 seats if not more and further than that they've watched their majorities crumble. There were so many SNP MPs who had 10,000 or larger majorities who now find they are sitting on perhaps a dozen or just under 100. That's a crushing result for the SNP.

"We've hit peak SNP and we've certainly hit peak Nicola Sturgeon."
Sharmazanov to fight against corruption by looking in the eyes (video)

The Informers system was invested by the Republican still before the elections, when the voters, who took money, could inform law enforcement authorities about the attempt to bribe them. -Was there any case, when any voter informed about an attempt?- I cannot remember such a case, says the NA Deputy Speaker Arpine Hovhannisyan. The voter, according to Arpine Hovhannisyan, today can inform that during the elections, for example, Mihran Poghosyans headquarters bribed him or her. Head of Department of State Property Management can imagine that there will be people in his department, who will inform about corruption steps of the authorities. Arman Sahakyan, Head of the Department of the State Property Management, says, If there are accusations, we are ready to listen to those accusations as well. Armen Rustamyan, Head of Dashnaktsutyun faction, believes that the committee on prevention of corruption will certainly activate the fight against the corruption, for example, a lawmaker can inform about his or her colleagues illegalities. Dashnak lawmaker is sure that fight against corruption in Armenia would be meaningless, if the state bodies did their job well. According to Armen Rustamyan, the establishment of this independent anti-corruption committee shows that in the fight against corruption, law enforcement authorities arent reliable. The NA Deputy Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov in the fight against corruption proposes eyes instead of committees and laws. Especially when it relates to the lawmakers, who must inform about each others offenses, The lawmakers, if there is such an issue, should look in the eyes of his or her colleague and speak to them directly, and not secretly inform another body. If the fight against corruption should be carried out by looking in each others eyes, why do we need to invest the Informers system? Mr Sharmazanov simply thinks that the Informers system must be used in a right way.
People are revolting against austerity at the polls, Bernie Sanders has claimed.

The former US Democratic presidential candidate said he is "delighted" for the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn after the party's best election result in years.

As a hung parliament is confirmed and rumours circulate that Theresa May could step down as prime minister, Sanders congratulated Corbyn.

He told The Washington Post: "I am delighted to see Labour do so well.

"All over the world people are rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality.

"People in the UK, the US and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the 1 per cent.

Expand Close Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London, where counting is taking place for the General Election. Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives at the Sobell Leisure Centre in Islington, north London, where counting is taking place for the General Election. Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

"I congratulate Jeremy Corbyn for running a very positive and effective campaign."

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Sanders has previously said that he supports Corbyn's stance on certain economic issues.

He told the Independent: "Corbyn has shown a lot of courage in dealing with some of the economic issues.

"I applaud Jeremy Corbyn for raising those issues because at the end of the day if we are going to create governments that work for all of us, if were going to deal with healthcare and create great education systems and protect the environment and combat climate change

"We need to have a government of what Abraham Lincoln described as of the people, by the people and for the people, and not a government of billionaires and large, multinational corporations.

"So I applaud Corbyn for raising those issues."
Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, after she held her seat. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Prime Minister Theresa May at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, after she held her seat. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at a counting centre for Britain's general election in London, June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on Prime Minister Theresa May to resign saying that people had rejected her policies of "austerity".

Mr Corbyn was speaking after he received a massive personal vote of 40,086 in his constituency of Islington.

He said he was humbled by the large vote he has received after being elected for the ninth time.

He spoke about his gratitude to his family and friends.

Corbyn re-elected: May has 'lost' bid for mandate as PM and should resign #GE2017 pic.twitter.com/xGih9bzk4y  ITV News (@itvnews) June 9, 2017

Mr Corbyn said: "Politics has changed.

"Politics is not going back into the box where it was before.

"What's happened is people have said they have had quite enough of austerity politics, they have had quite enough of cuts in public expenditure, underfunding our health service, underfunding our schools and our education service and not giving our young people the chance they deserve in our society."

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People were "voting for hope for the future and turning their backs on austerity", he said.

In an attack on Mrs May he said: "The Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate.

"Well the mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

"I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country."

He added: "In the new parliament we will do everything we can to ensure that everything we have said in this campaign and everything that is included in our manifesto is put before parliament so that this country can be a different, and I believe, fundamentally better place."

A shorty time later Theresa May was elected in Maidenhead and in a short victory speech vowed to act to ensure "a period of stability".

She said that it looks like the Conservative party will be the largest party and it will be "incumbent on us to provide that stability".

Mrs May's comments appeared to indicate she is preparing for the possibility of a hung parliament, after her massive gamble on a snap election backfired sensationally.

After going into the June 8 poll on the back of opinion polls suggesting she was heading for a substantially increased majority, Mrs May has lost two ministers, including the author of her manifesto, among a string of Conservative casualties.

The pound plummeted more than 1.5pc against the US dollar and 1pc against the euro as the shock figures set the scene for political turmoil at Westminster, disruption to upcoming Brexit negotiations and the possibility of a second election later in the year.

Former chancellor George Osborne, sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May when she took office last July, told ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said the party would hold Mrs May to her campaign statement that if she lost six or more seats she would no longer be Prime Minister.

"Theresa May's authority has been undermined by this election," said Mr Watson.

"She is a damaged Prime Minister whose reputation may never recover."

Mr Osborne said there would be "a very big post mortem coming" in the party after the loss of Treasury minister Jane Ellison in Battersea.

Her defeat was followed by the loss of Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer in Ipswich.

Mr Gummer was the author of the manifesto which was blamed for driving away older voters furious at its plans to sell elderly people's homes after their deaths to pay for social care.

Labour took Canterbury, a seat which had been held by Conservatives since 1918.

Other prominent departures from the House of Commons included former deputy prime minister and ex-Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who lost Sheffield Hallam to Labour after 12 years, and the Scottish National Party's Westminster leader Angus Robertson, whose Moray seat was taken by Tories.

Liberal Democrats were celebrating the return of former ministers Sir Vince Cable, Sir Ed Davey and Jo Swinson two years after they lost their parliamentary seats.

And Tim Farron's party took Bath back from Conservatives.

Mr Farron held on to his Westmorland and Lonsdale seat in Cumbria on a much-reduced majority, down from 8,949 in 2015 to just 777 now.

Ukip suffered a collapse in its support across the country following its best ever showing two years ago, with former voters switching to both Labour and the Tories.

Leader Paul Nuttall came a distant third in Boston & Skegness, taking little more than 3,000 votes.

With just 10 days to go before talks on Britain's EU withdrawal are due to begin in Brussels, Mr Nuttall said Mrs May had put Brexit "in jeopardy" by her decision to call a snap election.

"I said at the start this election was wrong. Hubris," he said.

Mr Nuttall's predecessor Nigel Farage said the Brexit project would be "in some trouble" if a Corbyn-led administration took office, and suggested he might return to frontline politics if doubts were raised about the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

He questioned Mrs May's position, saying: "Whatever the true result, the Conservative party needs a leader that believes in Brexit."

Mr Corbyn's party claimed Tory scalps in Stockton South and Vale of Clwyd and took Rutherglen & Hamilton West from the SNP, one of a series of reversals for the nationalists following their historic tally of 56 out of 59 seats north of the border in 2015.

Education Secretary Justine Greening scraped home in Putney, but saw her 2015 majority of more than 10,000 shrink to little more than 1,500.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said Labour "could form the next government" and would attempt to do so as a minority government if results allowed, rather than seeking to form a coalition with other progressive parties like the Lib Dems.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, often tipped as a potential successor to Mrs May as Tory leader, said: "We've got to listen to our constituents and listen to their concerns."

Expand Close Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson Picture: Eddie Keogh / Facebook

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Whatsapp Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson Picture: Eddie Keogh

Mrs May suffered another ministerial casualty as Gavin Barwell lost his Croydon Central seat to Labour.

Mr Barwell, who was housing minister, lost by 5,652 votes to Labour's Sarah Jones.
President Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner is expected to meet with staff from the Senate Intelligence committee in coming days, according to a senator on the panel.

Mr Kushner is likely to be asked about his meetings with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

Sen Angus King, who is a member of the committee, says Mr Kushner will have a face-to-face meeting with panel staff as early as next week.

A spokeswoman for Sen King on Friday confirmed the senator's comments in an earlier interview on CNN.

A Trump administration official says no meeting had been formally scheduled and discussions about possible dates were ongoing.

Congressional staffers say the committee would reserve the opportunity to ask Mr Kushner for documents or to answer further questions at a later date.

AP
Commandant Tommy Wickham, left, was shot dead on duty at the Golan Heights in 1969

A memorial service has been held by the Defence Forces at Camp Ziounai on the Golan Heights to mark the 50th anniversary of the fatal shooting of the most senior Irish officer to die while on overseas service.

Comdt Tommy Wickham was shot dead two days after the start of the six day war between Israel and Syria in 1967.

At the time, he was deployed as an unarmed United Nations military observer and he was killed while trying to relieve his comrades at a position on the Golan Heights.

He was the only member of the Defence Forces to die on active service in Syria.

The Syrian soldier, who fired the fatal shot, was subsequently sentenced and jailed for 18 years.

Lieut Col Robert Kiely told those at the service: "It is important we remember those soldiers of the Irish Defence Forces, who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of peace.

"Fifty years after his tragic death, we have 658 personnel serving in 12 missions around the world, often in dangerous conflict zones.

"As well as remembering Comdt Wickham and his service to Ireland and the UN, this memorial service is a timely reminder of Ireland's and the Irish Defence Forces' long standing and historical commitment to the United Nations and to peace in the Middle East.

Comdt Wickham was an artillery officer and instructor from the Defence Forces training centre at the Curragh, Co Kildare.

He completed several international military courses throughout Europe and also served with the UN in the Congo in 1962 and 1963.

Comdt Wickham's father was secretary of the FAI for 30 years and he had been the Army representative to the association before he deployed to the Golan Heights.

Tragedy struck the Wickham family again in 1996 when one of his three children, Joyce Quinn, who was married to Army officer Ray Quinn, was murdered in Kildare by unemployed butcher, Kenneth O'Reilly, who was later sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime.

Among those who attended the memorial service were Irish observers current serving on the Golan Heights and in Jerusalem and South Lebanon as well as a large number of Irish troops serving with the 55th infantry group on the Golan.

It included a prayer service led by chaplain, Fr Pat Mernegh, following by the laying of a wreath by Lieut Col Kiely and the raising of the national flag.
Spectators and patrons at Shaws Tavern in Washington, DC, watch as former FBI director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Photo: Getty Images

Some people in Washington skipped work yesterday to watch former FBI director James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

That wasn't necessary for Lillyanne Daigle, who simply followed the rest of her office to a bar.

Ms Daigle, a 29-year-old who works at a nuclear non-proliferation advocacy group, wasn't playing hookey as she stood in line with hundreds of other people outside Shaw's Tavern, a DC bar that opened at 9.30am to show the Comey hearing on its big-screen televisions.

All of her co-workers were there on an official field trip.

"I've been in DC three years. This is my first DC scandal," Ms Daigle said, occasionally peeking at the block-long line of like-minded political spectators between herself and the door.

"This is the most DC thing - watch a political scandal, at a bar."

"At work", added Jennifer Knox, one of Ms Daigle's colleagues.

Hangovers, power breakfasts, sporting events in distant time zones - people have many motives for walking through a saloon door before lunch.

In most cities, the opportunity to watch jargon-studded Congressional testimony by a fired bureaucrat with the haircut of a 1950s Boy Scout is not among them.

But anyone looking for evidence that Washington truly is a place apart from the rest of the country needed look no further yesterday morning than Shaw's, one of at least a half-dozen District watering holes that opened early to show Mr Comey's testimony.

The crowd was a mix of young and old. Some, in ties or pantsuits, kept up a pretence of weekday seriousness. Others were at their summertime ease in salmon slacks and chequered linen shirts.

Inside the bar, the crowd was not raucous. By mid-morning, most were still eating breakfast and favouring coffee to stronger beverages.

But, in between long stretches of silence as Mr Comey spoke, the patrons weren't above an occasional demonstrative outburst - most of it, in a city that voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton, directed against US President Donald Trump.

When Mr Comey referred to some of Mr Trump's statements as "lies, plain and simple," the room burst out in applause.

Mr Comey's dry laugh-lines - "Yes, because I've heard the president say so," he deadpanned at one point when asked whether the FBI's investigation of Russian meddling in the election played a role in his firing - were duly met with guffaws.

This being Washington, some people sought to fill the role of anonymous sources.

Crazy

"This is crazy, and just a total testament to how different DC is as a city," a lawyer told a reporter before remembering his government clients and catching himself. "I think it's probably best that we stay off the record," he added.

Mohammad Al-Rousan, a 22-year-old intern freshly arrived in the capital from Dallas and still not practiced in the dark arts of not-for-attribution quotes, was less guarded.

"I've never seen anything like this," he said, looking wide-eyed around the tavern. The closest he could recall, he said, was a mob scene at the mall for the release of the iPhone 7.

Sasha Ghosh-Siminoff, Mr Al-Rousan's boss at an international aid and development outfit, said he wasn't expecting any smoking gun moments during Mr Comey's testimony.

Nevertheless, he said he had decided a trip to the bar would be a fitting orientation for his new crop of interns.

"What's more DC," Mr Ghosh-Siminoff said, "than making a huge political circus out of dry testimony in the Senate?" ( Washington Post Syndication)
Qatar's foreign minister says that sanctions imposed upon his country violate international law, calling the moves by Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations an "unjust siege".

Speaking in the German town of Wolfenbuettel on Friday alongside German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also said that his nation's hope was for diplomacy and dialogue.

He asked: "What crime did Qatar commit to deserve such a punishment that violates international law?"

Mr Gabriel said it was important to prevent any "further escalation" and that Germany was willing to help with any negotiations, noting that other diplomatic efforts were already being made by the US, Kuwait and others - and that he was "optimistic" they would be able to organise talks.
Colonel General Sergei Surovikin, Commander of the Russian forces in Syria and Col Gen Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian General Staff, attend a briefing. (AP/Pavel Golovkin)

The Russian military has accused the US-led coalition in Syria of providing safe corridors for the Islamic State group to leave the area around its stronghold of Raqqa.

Col Gen Sergei Surovikin, the commander of Russian forces in Syria, said IS made a deal earlier this month with the Kurdish forces to leave two villages south west of Raqqa and move toward Palmyra.

Mr Surovikin said the US-led coalition along with the allied Kurds "collude with the leaders of the IS, who surrender the areas under their control and head to provinces where Syrian government forces operate".

"There is an impression that under the slogan of fighting international terrorism in Syria the Americans are using IS to offer resistance to government forces' advances," he said at a briefing.

Mr Surovikin said Russian forces had struck several IS convoys as they were leaving Raqqa.

Russian warplanes struck an IS convoy heading toward Palmyra on May 25 and another on May 30, killing 80 militants and destroying many of their vehicles, he said.

Mr Surovikin also criticised the US for trying to block Syrian government forces from taking control of the country's southern border.

He said that Syrian government troops had secured territorial gains in the southern Suwayda province near the Jordanian border, but encountered resistance from the US-led coalition.

The US has dealt the Syrian government and its allied troops several blows near Tanf close to the border with Jordan, where the US trains Syrian opposition forces.

Mr Surovikin dismissed the US argument that Syrian government forces there posed a threat to the training camp as "absurd" and criticised Washington's action as a violation of Syria's sovereign right to protect its border.

Col Gen Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military's General Staff also questioned the US role in Syria.

"Having declared the goal of fighting international terrorism, the coalition strikes Syrian troops while letting IS militants exit the encircled areas unhampered, thus boosting terrorist groupings around Palmyra and Deir el-Zour," he said.

"It raises a question why they do it and what their real goals are."

Mr Rudskoi hailed an effort by Russia, Turkey and Iran to establish safe zones in Syria, saying that it has "practically ended a civil war in Syria".

He added that the specifics related to safe zones boundaries and monitoring mechanisms are to be approved at a summit in Kazakhstan's capital Astana later this month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday described the creation of safe zones as a "qualitative change" in Syria.

"There is now a real chance to strengthen the cease-fire and give impetus to Syria talks in Geneva," he said on a trip to Kazakhstan.

AP
A senior Russian politician has dismissed the testimony of former FBI director James Comey as insignificant.

Mr Comey, who testified before a Senate committee on Thursday, asserted that President Donald Trump had fired him to interfere with an investigation of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign and reaffirmed the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia meddled in the election.

Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the information policy committee at the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, dismissed Mr Comey's testimony as a "big bubble", adding that it "will not help Trump's adversaries to start impeachment proceedings".

Russian officials have vehemently denied any role in hacking attacks on the Democratic National Convention and voter-registration databases.
US President Donald Trump has said he's "100%" willing to testify under oath about his interactions with fired FBI director James Comey.

Mr Trump insists that Mr Comey lied in some parts of the testimony he gave on Thursday to the Senate intelligence committee.

Mr Comey testified under oath.

The president said that he never asked the former FBI chief for a pledge of loyalty and never told him he hoped the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn would go away.

He said no-one would ask a man he hardly knew to pledge loyalty to him

But Mr Trump's c laimed other parts of Mr Comey's testimony represented "total and complete vindication" in the Russian election-meddling political scandal.

The president, who had not posted on his Twitter account on Thursday as Mr Comey accused the administration of spreading "lies", struck back with an early morning tweet in which he said: "Wow, Comey is a leaker."

Mr Comey had laid bare on Capitol Hill months of distrust of the president, bluntly asserting that President Trump had fired him for interfering with the probe of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.

At his first congressional appearance since his abrupt firing last month, Mr Comey also revealed that he had orchestrated the public release of information about his private conversations with the president in an effort to further the investigation.

President Trump's tweet said: "Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication ... and WOW, Comey is a leaker."

Mr Comey's testimony provided a gripping account of his interactions with President Trump and underscored the discord that had soured their relationship.

He portrayed President Trump as a chief executive dismissive of the FBI's independence and made clear that he interpreted Mr Trump's request to end an investigation into his former national security adviser as an order coming from the president.

Though Republicans worked to discredit Mr Comey and to blunt the impact of his testimony, the ex-director's statement deepened questions about the basis for his May 9 dismissal and about whether President Trump's actions constituted obstruction of justice.

The veteran lawman expressed confidence that could be a matter ripe for investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, though he declined to offer an opinion on whether it met such a threshold.

President Trump's private lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, seized on Mr Comey's admission that he had told President Trump on multiple occasions that he was not personally under investigation and maintained the testimony made clear that Mr Trump "never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr Comey stop investigating anyone".

Mr Kasowitz also jumped on Mr Comey's revelation that he had released details of his private conversations with the president, casting the former FBI director as one of the "leakers" set on undermining the Trump administration.

Still, there was no doubt the veteran lawman made for a challenging adversary.

"It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation," Mr Comey said toward the end of more than two hours of testimony before the Senate intelligence committee.

"I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavour was to change, the way the Russia investigation was being conducted.

"That is a very big deal, and not just because it involves me."

At one point, he practically dared President Trump to release any recordings of their conversations, a prospect the president once alluded to in a tweet.

"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Mr Comey said, suggesting such evidence would back up his account over the president's.

Thursday's hearing brought Washington and other parts of the country to a standstill as Americans sat glued to their screens.

In his opening statement, Mr Comey sombrely accused the Trump administration of spreading "lies, plain and simple" in the aftermath of his abrupt sacking, declaring that the administration "chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI" by claiming the bureau was in disorder.

He then dove into the heart of the fraught political controversy around his firing and whether President Trump interfered in the bureau's Russia investigation, as he elaborated on written testimony released a day earlier.

In that testimony, Mr Comey said that President Trump demanded his "loyalty" and directly pushed him to "lift the cloud" of investigation by declaring publicly the president was not a target of the FBI probe into his campaign's Russia ties.

He said that when President Trump told him he hoped he would terminate an investigation into Mr Flynn, he interpreted that as a directive.

"I mean, this is the president of the United States, with me alone, saying, 'I hope' this," he said.

"I took it as, this is what he wants me to do."

He said that while he found the February exchange in the Oval Office disturbing, "that's a conclusion I'm sure the special counsel will work towards, to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether that's an offence".

Mr Comey said that after his firing he actually tried to spur the special counsel's appointment by giving a damning memo he had written about a meeting with Trump to a friend to release to the media.

"My judgment was I need to get that out into the public square," he said.

The February meeting was one of several one-on-one encounters that Mr Comey said made him feel such intense discomfort that he felt compelled to document them in memos.

"I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document," he said.

"I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself but to protect the FBI."

AP

Later it emerged the intelligence committee is asking White House lawyers whether there are any tape recordings or memos of Mr Comey's conversations with Mr Trump.

The committee's chairman, RepbuMike Conaway and Adam Schiff, sent a letter to White House counsel Don McGahn, asking him whether any such tapes or memos exist now, or had existed in the past.

The committee has also sent a letter to Mr Comey, asking for any notes or memoranda in his possession that would describe discussions he had with Mr Trump.

The committee is seeking the materials by June 23.

A friend of Mr Comey's is also being asked to hand over any memos the former FBI chief has given him.

Mr Comey testified that he'd given a memo including details about a conversation with President Donald Trump to a friend, who was later identified as law professor Daniel Richman.

Mr Comey said he'd asked Mr Richman to share the content of the memo with a reporter.

Mr Richman has now been asked to provide the memo to the panel.
Keystone Realtors (Rustomjee) IPO to open on 14th November The IPO of Keystone Realtors will open on November 14th. It will close on November 16th. The issue size is of Rs 635 crore. Price band has been set at Rs 514 - 541 per share. Mi... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 3:51 pm

GST officials detected Rs 55,575 crore worth of tax evasion, arrested over 700 people, in the past 2 Over the previous two years, the GST officials have discovered fraud totalling Rs55,575 crore and have detained over 700 people for defrauding the exchequer, an official told ET on Thursday. Th... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 2:58 pm

Bharat Electronics inks agreement with Goa Shipyard for development of autonomous navigation Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has signed an MoU with Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for joint development of products/solutions in the area of Autonomous Navigation an... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 12:54 pm

PSP Projects secures work order worth Rs200 crore; Stock rises PSP Projects Limited has informed to the exchanges regarding receipt of work order. In a regulatory filing, the company said, "We are pleased to inform that we are in receipt of... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 12:37 pm

Five Star Business Finance IPO receives .02 times subscription application at the end of day 1 Five Star Business Finance IPO has received .02 times subscription application at the end of day 1. Five Star Business Finance, a non-banking financial organization with headqu... November 10, 2022 | 10-11-2022 11:39 am
Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum

Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights

Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh

Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom

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Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

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There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

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STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex
We know a lady has immense strength and goes through a lot of pain while giving birth to a baby. But this one crossed all the limits. Chrissy Corbitt mother of four gave birth to her daughter Carleigh, who is a beautiful six kg bundle of joy!

Courtesy Larry and Chrissy Corbitt

Chrissys daughter Carleigh weighed almost 13 pounds and 5 ounces when she was born  thats nearly double the weight of a usual newborn baby. When the doctor was pulling her out of me I just start hearing them all laughing and excited in the operating room, Chrissy told ABC News.

Courtesy Larry and Chrissy Corbitt

They were throwing out numbers and when they showed her to me and said 13.5, I couldnt believe it. It looked like they pulled a toddler out of my belly. Shes so big.

Courtesy Larry and Chrissy Corbitt

Shes like a 6-month-old baby, said Larry Corbitt. We even contacted Pampers and Huggies to help us out because everything we got to prepare is just out the door. None of it fits. Shes in size 3 diapers. The clothes she had on yesterday was a 9-month outfit. Shes huge,  as told to ABC News.

Parents of this big bundle of joy who were obviously so happy decided to have a dreamy photo shoot with photographer Debby Benson.
Even as the bilateral ties between India and Pakistan continue to be in turbulence, the prime minister of the two countries made their first contact in over a year in Kazakhstan's capital Astana.

The two leaders are in Astana to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

bccl/ File

Indian Prime Minister Modi exchanged pleasantries with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at a reception for leaders. PTI quoting official sources reported that Modi and Sharif exchanged greetings in the brief meeting.

Since it was the first occasion when the two leaders came across each other after Sharif's heart surgery, Modi enquired about his health, the sources said.

Modi also enquired about Sharif's mother and family, they said.

bccl/ File

Earlier, asked whether Modi and Sharif will have a bilateral meeting, External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said, "Our position has not changed. There is no proposal from their side. There is no proposal either from our side."

India has been maintaining that there was neither any request from the Pakistani side nor any such proposal from the Indian side for a Modi-Sharif meeting.

Both Modi and Sharif are in Astana to participate in the SCO Summit which will induct both India and Pakistan as its full members.

bccl/ Fiel

Ties between India and Pakistan have nosedived over a range of issues including the beheading of two soldiers by the Pakistan military along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and the death sentence handed down to former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by a military court in Pakistan on charges of spying. The International Court of Justice has stayed Jadhav's execution.
The British Parliament may be approaching a hung status, but there is a good news coming for the candidates of Indian origin. The country will have its first ever turban wearing man and a Sikh woman as Members of Parliament.

According to reports, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, known as Tan, has won his Slough seat. Tan, a Labour Party candidate defeated his Conservative party rival by a whopping 16,998 votes.

AFP/ File

Dhesi said he was "humbled" and wanted to serve the town where he was born and raised.

"Credit to the Labour Party leadership for taking the bold step of giving Sikhs the opportunity to fight for winnable seats. Labour now needs to turn its attention to having visible Sikh representation in the House of Lords at the first opportunity so Sikhs are better represented and can bring fresh thinking and ideas," Sikh Federation UK said in a statement.

"Although it is early in terms of results declared this appears to be a disastrous night for the Conservatives and Theresa May given what she had hoped to achieve and a good night for the Labour Party. Labour is taking some important Conservative scalps," it added.

Friday's election results had another first too... The country's first female Sikh MP.

twitter/PREET4EDGBASTON

Labour Party candidate Preet Kaur Gill won her Birmingham Edgbaston seat by polling 24,124 votes, defeating ruling Conservative party rival Caroline Squire by 6,917 votes.

facebook

"I am delighted I have been given the opportunity to become the next MP for Edgbaston where I was born and raised. I want to engage with the people of Edgbaston and with hard work, passion and determination I think we can achieve great things together," she said.

A second turban-wearing Sikh of the Labour Party Kuldip Sahota lost out to his Conservative rival by just 720 votes.

Among some of the other Indian-origin contestants' Conservative party's Priti Patel has held on to her stronghold of Witham in Essex with a solid majority of 18,646 votes.

Alok Sharma has held on to Reading West by 2,876 votes and Shailesh Vara has won in Cambridgeshire North West by 18,008 votes.
The University of Oxford has introduced a new compulsory exam paper for history students to include Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern affairs as part of a wider move to make its curriculum more inclusive.

Possible topics include the Indian independence movement and the 1960s civil rights movement, highlighting figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

wikimedia

There will still be two compulsory papers on British history but from the autumn semester this year, the university's history undergraduates will have to take a paper that covers neither British nor European topics as part of their three-year degree, The Sunday Times reported.

The move comes as universities across the country face protests as part of a wider "Why is my curriculum white?" campaign and demand that syllabus is "decolonised".

Martin Conway, head of the faculty at the world's leading university, said the change was being made to "bring in diversity in terms of the teaching of history" after consulting students.

Other UK universities are also revising the way they teach history in the face of student demands.

wikimedia

At Leeds University, a module on black British history is in development and the university's Raphael Hallett said academics wanted to "audit" the syllabus to see whether it was designed from a "western or hegemonic perspective".

A university spokesperson said: "We are always open to academically sound suggestions for augmenting our curriculum."

At Cambridge University, Professor Sir Richard Evans told the newspaper that they were changing the way the British Empire was taught.

"It is being studied in a more balanced way," he said.

Earlier this year, the Student Union at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), well-known as among the few European institutions dedicated to the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, had launched their own decolonisation drive demanding that "white philosophers" should be studied only if required and solely from a "critical standpoint".

Representational Image

The union's proposal to the university reads:"To make sure that the majority of the philosophers on our courses are from the Global South or it's diaspora."

"SOAS' focus is on Asia and Africa and therefore the foundations of its theories should be presented by Asian or African philosophers (or the diaspora). If white philosophers are required, then to teach their work from a critical standpoint. For example, acknowledging the colonial context in which so-called 'Enlightenment' philosophers wrote within," the proposal said.

According to the union, "DecolonisingSOAS" is a campaign that aims to address the "structural and epistemological legacy" of colonialism within the university.
Sacked FBI Director, James Comey, confirmed on Thursday that Russia had interfered with the US presidential polls and that President Trump later directed him to lay off an investigation into his (Trump's) aides' ties to Moscow.

"It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,"

ap

However, Comey left no doubt that he would have been allowed to stay on as FBI director in return for dropping the Russia probe. Trump reacted by saying,"We're under siege but we know how to fight and never give up."

In an astonishing takedown of President Trump and what he (Comey) saw as Trump's dodgy methods and shifty character, the former FBI director told 15 Senators arrayed on the panel that he was fired after declining to affirm personal loyalty to Trump, despite the President having told him repeatedly that he was doing a good job, and after they had agreed he would remain in his position at Trump's request.

Comey also revealed that he orchestrated a leak of his memos through a personal friend to trigger the appointment of a special counsel because he was concerned that the Trump White House was being dishonest about the reasons for his firing.

reuters

In one of the more dramatic moments during the hearing, Comey said

"Lordy, I hope there are tapes!"

On the President's tweets that there could be a recording of their conversations. He said he would be glad if tapes and memos of their conversations are released to establish the truth.

While some Republican lawmakers and Trump supporters focused on Comey's affirmation that President Trump himself was not under investigation and there were no explicit instructions to stop the Russia probe, attention centered on the President's language when, according to Comey, Trump told him at a meeting in the White House in February, "

I HOPE you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go."

Comey says he took that comment as a direction, but some legal eagles argued that expressing "hope" would give the President wiggle room to argue it was just an idea, not an order.

ap

Still, the testimony was extremely damaging to the image of the President, showing the former FBI director mistrusted Trump from the get-go. In a blistering opening statement, Comey accused Trump and his administration of defaming him and lying by telling the public he was fired because he had led the organisation poorly and was disliked.

"Although the law required no reason at all to fire the FBI director the administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organisation was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader. Those were lies, plain and simple. And I am so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them."

Comey came out strongly on the issue of Russian interference in the Presidential elections, saying there was absolutely no doubt that Moscow was messing around in the United States.

"There should be no fuzz on this: The Russians interfered in our election... that's about as un-fake as you can get."

Comey maintained, adding that the US was a "shining city on the hill," and the Russians did not like it.

reuters

On his decision to document the conversation with the then president-elect, Comey said;

"I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting so I thought it important to document."
UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, took a high-risk gamble and called an early election, which has completely backfired as her Conservative Party lost its majority in Parliament, throwing British politics into chaos and blurring Brexit talks.

UK media, citing sources they did not identify, reported that May has no intention of resigning despite calls for her to step down. She, in fact, will go ahead and seek to form government.

Reuters

The result is shocking and could send Brexit talks, due to start on June 19, into a disarray. In the House of Commons, 636 of 650 seats have been declared. The Conservatives won 317 to the Labour Partys, under Jeremy Corbons leadership, 261. Even if the Conservatives won all the remaining seats, the party would fall short of the 326 needed for a clear majority. Before the election, the Conservatives had 330 seats and Labour 229.

Indiatimes/Information source: PA

Call for snap polls didn't work

May called the snap election in the hope of increasing her majority and strengthening Britain's hand in exit talks with the European Union with a "strong and stable government." Instead, the result means the Conservatives will need to rely on support from smaller parties to govern, with more instability and the chance of yet another early election.

Corbyn may also claim to form minority government

Left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was among those calling on May to resign, said Friday morning that people have had enough of austerity politics and cuts in public spending. He ruled out the potential for deals or pacts with other progressive parties in Parliament.

"Politics has changed.'' he said.

"Politics is not going back into the box where it was before."

Reuters

The results confounded those who said Corbyn was electorally toxic. Written off by many pollsters, Labour surged in the final weeks of the campaign. It drew strong support from young people, who appeared to have turned out to vote in bigger-than-expected numbers.

As she was resoundingly re-elected to her Maidenhead seat in southern England, May looked tense and did not spell out what she planned to do.

The country needs a period of stability, and whatever the results are the Conservative Party will ensure we fulfill our duty in ensuring that stability, she said.

Many predicted she would soon be gone.

May had hoped the election would focus on Brexit, but that never happened, as both the Conservatives and Labour said they would respect voters' wishes and go through with the divorce.

Reuters

Despite the surprise election result, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said he doesn't believe voters have changed their minds about leaving.

But speaking Friday on Europe 1 radio, he said "the tone'' of negotiations may be affected.

These are discussions that will be long and that will be complex. So let's not kid ourselves,'' he said.

I'm not sure that we should read, from the results of this vote, that Britons' sovereign decision on Brexit has been cast into doubt in any way.

May, who went into the election with a reputation for quiet competence, was criticised for a lacklustre campaigning style and for a plan to force elderly people to pay more for their care, a proposal her opponents dubbed the "dementia tax.'' As the polls suggested a tightening race, pollsters spoke less often of a landslide and raised the possibility that May's majority would be eroded.

Reuters

Then, attacks that killed 30 people in Manchester and London twice brought the campaign to a halt, sent a wave of anxiety through Britain and forced May to defend the government's record on fighting terrorism. Corbyn accused the Conservatives of undermining Britain's security by cutting the number of police on the streets.

Eight people were killed near London Bridge on Saturday when three men drove a van into pedestrians and then stabbed revellers in an area filled with bars and restaurants. Two weeks earlier, a suicide bomber killed 22 people as they were leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

Steven Fielding, a professor of politics at the University of Nottingham, said Britain had seen an election "In which the personal authority of a party leader has disappeared in an unprecedented way.

Reuters

If she had got the majority she wanted, she would have been a supreme political colossus, he said.

She did not get that and she's a hugely diminished figure. She's a zombie prime minister.
Russian hackers are finding innovative ways to infect people's computers. Security researchers have uncovered a Russian cyber espionage group known as Turla, thats using comments on Britney Spears Instagram to hide locations for command and control (C&C) servers of one of its Trojans.

Image courtesy: ESET

Believed to be the cyber arm of Russian intelligence, ESET researchers say Turla is experimenting with a Firefox extension Trojan, just part of a larger arsenal of hacking tools at its disposal.

A Trojan is a malicious computer program that hacks into a computer by pretending to be another software. The name comes from the Trojan horse the Greeks used to infiltrate the city of Troy. The Trojan in question here is a Firefox extension thats been spotted on compromised websites. When a user visits one of these websites, theyre asked to download the extension, which is misleadingly name HTML5 Encoding. The Trojan then downloads other malicious software, in this case one to create a backdoor in the system, allowing it to report back on the activities of the computer. While this malware isnt being spread by force, the Trojan has been spotted on numerous websites, including that of a Swiss security company.

ESET researchers realised this particular Firefox extension was downloading a backdoor known as Skipper, one commonly used by other Turla malware. However, aside from previous cyber espionage campaigns carried out by Turla, ESET believes this particular Trojan is just a test.

According to ESET, the malware in question uses a Bit.ly short URL that connects it to its C&C servers. Command and Control servers are whats used to control malware or botnets, either run directly by the malwares creators or running on compromised systems. The weird part is that this particular URL directs the Trojan to check the comments on a photo uploaded to Britney Spears Instagram and search for a comment with a hash value of 183 (hash values represent large amounts of data as much smaller numeric values). The researchers say that only one of the comments matches that value, and it contained hidden characters used to resolve the C&C domain, thus redirecting the malware so it could receive orders.

This particular Firefox extension is quite intrusive, capable of letting Turla read a directory's content, download and upload files from and to the C&C server, and execute files on the infected computer; very basic features compares to other backdoors Still, its thankfully only been used about 17 times so far.
Waste plastic thats dumped in rivers across the world end up in our oceans every day, becoming on of the major sources of marine pollution. A recent study now claims that Asian countries are the biggest culprits when it comes to polluting our waterways.

According to researchers at The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch foundation working on new technologies to rid the oceans of plastic, rivers carry an estimated 1.15-2.41 million tonnes of plastic into the sea every year. To put that into perspective, wed need anywhere between 48,000 to 100,000 dump trucks to carry away all that trash if we cleaned it out of the ocean. And India is one of the biggest contributors of that pollution.

The study states that two-thirds of the pollution entering our oceans from across the world come from the 20 most polluting rivers, a majority of which are in Asia.

Chinas Yangtze River tops that list, dumping approximately 333,000 tonnes of plastic into the East China Sea every year. India meanwhile comes in distant second, with just the Ganga river responsible for 115,000 tonnes of plastic output, with another Chinese river, Xi, coming in third.

Mass of river plastic flowing into oceans in tonnes per year - The Ocean Cleanup

In fact, six of Chinas rivers are on the list of top polluters, with three in the top five. Beyond the top twenty worst rivers, the rest of the world shares 14 percent of plastic pollution in the oceans.

Most of this river plastic input is coming from Asia, which emphasises the need to focus on monitoring and mitigation efforts in Asian countries with rapid economic development and poor waste management, The Ocean Cleanup said. They say their estimates are rough, as theres very little data to be had. Yet, the relatively high concentrations of ocean plastic found at the surface of the North Pacific Ocean where buoyant plastics originating from Asia can accumulate, suggest that our assumptions are plausible, the team added.
Chinese authorities say theyve broken up a massive black market operation in the country, where Apple users' data was being illegally sold to buyers.

According to AFP, local police say 22 people in the southern Zhejiang province have been detained on suspicion of infringing individuals privacy and illegally obtaining their digital personal information.

Of the 22, 20 suspects are employees of Apple distributors who allegedly used internal Apple systems to gather personal and contact details of Mac and iPhone users, which they sold as part of a scam totalling approximately $7.36 million. The police report doesnt mention if the data stolen was of Chinese users or Apple customers around the world.

After months of investigations, the police arrested suspects across four provinces over the weekend, seizing their tools and dismantling their network. The criminals, who were outsourced to work for Apple, allegedly charged between $1.50 and $26.50 for the illegally gathered data.

Though selling personal user information has been fairly common in China, the country recently implemented a new law on June 1, to specifically tackle the issue and protect citizens privacy online.
Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

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Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

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Without the jihadists, the U.S. would have to resort to massive deployment of its own troops to the region -- a mission that the American people will not accept.

June 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The international Islamic jihadist network, created nearly four decades ago in Afghanistan by the United States, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, is unraveling in full view of a planetary audience. Donald Trump thinks its all his doing -- but hes wrong, of course.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has rallied most of the Gulf Cooperative Council to isolate -- and possibly overthrow -- the emir of neighboring Qatar, the worlds third largest natural gas producer. The dispute between Qatar and the House of Saud -- the two main funders of al Qaida and its spawn, the Islamic State -- is rooted in rivalries beyond the mental grasp of the idiot in the White House, but Trump nevertheless takes full credit. During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology, Trump tweeted. Leaders pointed to Qatar  look!

Trump appears to actually believe that the Saudis -- the godfathers, along with U.S., of international jihadism - have renounced their bankrolling of Islamist holy wars.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off, tweeted Trump. They said they would take a hard line on funding. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!

The dispute between Qatar and the House of Saud is rooted in rivalries beyond the mental grasp of the idiot in the White House.

The Saudis are blaming their fellow Wahhabist, the Emir of Qatar, for adopting various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region including the Muslim Brotherhood Group, Daesh (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, promoting the ethics and plans of these groups through its media...supporting the activities of Iranian-backed terrorist groups in the governorate of Qatif of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Bahrain, financing, adopting and sheltering extremists who seek to undermine the stability and unity of the homeland at home and abroad, and using the media that seek to fuel the strife internally....

In addition to shutting off trade, travel and diplomatic relations with Qatar, a tiny peninsula jutting out from the Persian Gulf side of Saudi Arabia, the House of Saud has excommunicated Qatars emir from the Wahhabist fold -- a heavy sanction among hereditary rulers whose legitimacy is bound up in their relationship to The Faith. However, the key point of the Saudi indictment involves Qatars support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Saudi royal family opposes all forms of political Islam as a threat to its own legitimacy as Protector of the Two Holy Cities, Mecca and Medina. Since its final conquest of most of the Arabian peninsula in the early 20th century, and in subsequent alliance with British imperialism, the House of Saud has ruled with the assent of the Wahhabi clerical class. It is a delicate arrangement, in which the hereditary royals are allowed control of the state and national resources in return for the Saudi states support of the clerics ultra-fundamentalist Wahhabi ideology, which sanctions the killing of Muslims deemed heretics and idolators, mainly Shia. The House of Saud views the Muslim Brotherhood, the godfather of modern political Islam, as a challenge to the legitimacy absolute royal rule. The Brotherhood has influenced the widest range of Islamist political tendencies, from bourgeois electoral party politics to advocacy of a unified, Muslim-wide caliphate. But Saudi Arabia does not tolerate political pluralism, and royal rule is ultimately antithetical to a caliphate. And therein lies the political-theological contradiction.

The hereditary royals are allowed control of the state and national resources in return for the Saudi states support of the clerics ultra-fundamentalist Wahhabi ideology.

The House of Saud has trod a perilous path to maintain its familys monopoly on the riches beneath its soil. (Actually, most of the oil lies in land populated by the Kingdoms Shia minority.) The deal requires the Saudi state to provide massive support for the export of the clerical classs Wahhabist ideology to the far reaches of the Muslim world, yet it holds temporal power firmly in the hands of the princes, not the clerics.

The other pillar of royal rule is western imperialism. The Brits, and then the Americans, partnered with the House of Saud as a bulwark against secular nationalism in the Arab and Muslim world. It was only logical that the Saudis would ally with the American CIA to create the worlds first international jihadist network to overthrow a secular leftist government in Afghanistan in the late 1970s, thus bringing forth al Qaida and its many offspring.

The royal family of Qatar, with a citizen population of only 200,000 (the rest of the 2 million inhabitants are non-citizens, mostly low-wage workers, a plurality from India), is also nominally Wahhabist. But they chose a different path to political legitimacy -- while also becoming exporters of jihadist terror. The tiny states emirs tried to establish a pan-Arab and pan-Muslim political presence commensurate with their wealth -- the highest per capita in the world -- through an aggressive strategy including generous support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar gave billions to the short-lived government of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, before he was overthrown by the military in 2013. (The Saudis then funneled billions to his jailer, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who, predictably, has joined in the isolation of Qatar.)

They wishfully believe that by exporting terror, they insulate themselves from jihadist wrath.

The emirs garnered considerable global prestige through their news and analysis outlet, but Al-Jazeera was often a source of irritation to the Saudi, Kuwaiti and Emirati royals, as well as western imperialists. Al-Jazeera was accused of blatantly favoring the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt, and kicked out of the country. The next year, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states severed relations with Qatar for eight months, as punishment.

Despite their differences, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are all partners with the U.S. in the proxy, terror war against Syria. Its a matter of self-preservation. As hereditary regimes, they reject democracy of any flavor. As clients of western imperialism, they oppose Arab nationalism and are ultimately subservient to Washington. They are allied with the most reactionary elements of the clergy, who demand support for Islamist war. And, they wishfully believe that by exporting terror, they insulate themselves from jihadist wrath. But, the weight of contradictions spell doom for all of these autocrats -- and looming defeat for the United States.

Donald Trump seems honestly giddy, apparently believing he has forced the Saudis to reject jihadist terror and to punish Qatar for its support of ISIS and al-Qaida. Perhaps he truly does not know that the main actor in the proxy war is not Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, or Qatar - it is the CIA, the other, and most important, godfather of Islamist jihad. (The CIA is not a friend of Trump, so maybe they are not talking to each other.) The United States has become dependent on al-Qaida and its cousins as foot soldiers of imperialism in southwest Asia. If the fighters are decommissioned, through the denial of arms, money and protection, then the war against Syria is lost, and the U.S. military offensive begun by President Obama in 2011, with the unprovoked attack on Libya, will have ended in defeat. Without the jihadists, the U.S. would have to resort to massive deployment of its own troops to the region -- a mission that the American people will not accept.

The main actor in the proxy war is not Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Kuwait, or Qatar - it is the CIA, the other, and most important, godfather of Islamist jihad.

The Saudi regime, in particular, may not survive an end to the Syria war. During the course of the conflict, the Islamic State faction of al-Qaida crossed a political Rubicon, declaring war on Saudi Arabia in 2014 and proclaiming itself a caliphate. The only ideological difference between the Islamic State and al-Qaida in Syria is that al-Qaida is willing to postpone the establishment of a caliphate, while ISIS is not. Otherwise, the two factions are identical in their political theology. If the jihadists are defeated in Syria -- and, especially, if they feel they have been betrayed -- they will vent their most intense fury on their co-religionists and former sugar daddies in the Gulf. Al-Qaida will become an ISIS, with no mercy on its former patrons.

So, dont believe for a second that the Saudis are abandoning ISIS and al-Qaida, or are attempting to force Qatar to do the same. Neither is the CIA, which simply rebrands its jihadists when their names become too notorious.

Does Donald Trump know that the Saudis are blowing smoke in his face? Does he realize that his own CIA and military have no intention of giving up their jihadists, whom they cannot do without? Who knows? Does it really matter? The criminal U.S. war against Syria will unravel from the weight of its own contradictions. In the end, Washingtons Gulf partners necks will be on the chopping block.
Understanding the Geopolitics of Terrorism



By Bill Van Auken

June 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The latest in a long series of bloody terrorist attacks attributed to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) unfolded in Iran early Wednesday with coordinated armed assaults on the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) and the mausoleum of the late supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini. At least 12 people were killed and 43 wounded.

The reactions of the US government and the Western media to the attacks in Tehran stand in stark contrast to their response to the May 22 bombing that killed 22 people at the Manchester Arena and the London Bridge attacks that claimed nine lives last Saturday.

The Trump White House released a vicious statement that effectively justified the killings in Iran, declaring, We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote, an attitude that found its reflection in the relative indifference of the media to the loss of Iranian lives.

It is clearly understood that terrorism against Iran serves definite political aims that are in sync with those of US imperialism and its regional allies.

For its part, Tehrans reaction to the attacks was unambiguous. It laid the responsibility at the door of the US and its principal regional ally, Saudi Arabia. This terrorist attack happened only a week after the meeting between the US president (Donald Trump) and the (Saudi) backward leaders who support terrorists, Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement, published by Iranian media. The attack was understood in Tehran as a political act carried out in conjunction with identifiable state actors and aimed at furthering definite geostrategic objectives.

The same can be said of the earlier acts of terrorism carried out in Manchester and London, as well as those in Paris, Brussels and elsewhere before them.

The Western media routinely treats each of these atrocities as isolated manifestations of evil or religious hatred, irrational acts carried out by madmen. In reality, they are part of an internationally coordinated campaign in pursuit of definite political objectives.

Underlying the violence on the streets of Europe is the far greater violence inflicted upon the Middle East by US, British and French imperialism, working in conjunction with right-wing bourgeois regimes and the Islamist forces they promote, finance and arm.

ISIS is itself the direct product of a series of imperialist wars, emerging as a split-off from Al Qaeda, which got its start in the CIA-orchestrated war by Islamist fundamentalists against the Soviet-backed government in Afghanistan. It was forged in the US war of aggression against Iraq that killed close to a million Iraqis, and then utilized in the 2011 war to topple Libyas leader Muammar Gaddafi. Fighters and arms were then funneled with the aid of the CIA into the war for regime change in Syria.

The latest round of terror has its source in growing dissatisfaction among Washingtons Middle Eastern allies and its Islamist proxy forces over the slow pace of the US intervention in Syria and Washingtons failure to bring the six-year war for regime change to a victorious conclusion.

The people giving the orders for these attacks live in upper-class neighborhoods in London, Paris and elsewhere, enjoying close connections with intelligence agencies and government officials. Far from being unknown, they will be found among the top ministers and government officials in Damascus if the US-backed war in Syria achieves its objectives.

Those who carry out the terrorist atrocities are expendable assets, foot soldiers who are easily replaced from among the broad layers enraged by the slaughter carried out by imperialism in the Middle East.

The mass media always presents the failure to prevent these attacks as a matter of the security forces failing to connect the dots, a phrase that should by now be permanently banned. In virtually every case, those involved are well known to the authorities.

In the latest attacks in the UK, the connections are astonishing, even given the similar facts that have emerged in previous terrorist actions. One of the attackers in the London Bridge killings, Yousseff Zaghba, was stopped at an Italian airport while attempting to travel to Syria, freely admitting that he wanted to be a terrorist and carrying ISIS literature. Another was featured in a British television documentary that chronicled his confrontation with and detention by police after he unfurled an ISIS flag in Regents Park.

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The Manchester suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, was likewise well known to British authorities. His parents were members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), who were allowed to return to Libya in 2011 to participate in the US-NATO regime-change operation against Muammar Gaddafi. He himself met with Libyan Islamic State operatives in Libya, veterans of the Syrian civil war, and maintained close connections with them while in Manchester.

What has become clear after 16 years of the so-called war on terrorismgoing all the way back to the hijackers of 9/11is that these elements move in and out of the Middle East, Europe and the US itself not only without hindrance, but under what amounts to state protection.

When they arrive at passport control, their names come up with definite instructions that they are not to be stopped. Welcome home, sir, enjoy your vacation in Libya? Bit of tourism in Syria?

Why have they enjoyed this carte blanche? Because they are auxiliaries of US and European intelligence, necessary proxies in wars for regime change from Libya to Syria and beyond that are being waged to further imperialist interests.

If from time to time these elements turn against their sponsors, with innocent civilians paying with their lives, that is part of the price of doing business.

In the aftermath of terrorist actions, governments respond with stepped-up measures of repression and surveillance. Troops are deployed in the streets, democratic rights are suspended, and, as in France, a state of emergency is made the overriding law of the land. All of these measures are useless in terms of preventing future attacks, but serve very well to control the domestic population and suppress social unrest.

If the mass media refuses to state what has become obvious after more than a decade and a half of these incidents, it is a measure of how fully the linkage between terrorism, the Western intelligence agencies and the unending wars in the Middle East has become institutionalized.

Innocent men, women and children, whether in London, Manchester, Paris, Tehran, Baghdad or Kabul, are paying the terrible price for these imperialist operations, which leave a trail of blood and destruction everywhere.

Putting a stop to terrorist attacks begins with a fight to put an end to the so-called war on terrorism, the fraudulent pretext for predatory wars in which Al Qaeda and its offshoots are employed as proxy ground forces, operating in intimate collaboration with imperialist intelligence services and military commands.

This article was first published by WSWS -

Copyright  1998-2017 World Socialist Web Site - All rights reserved
Tyranny At Home By Fred Reed

The consolidation of the states into one vast empire, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all that preceded it. Robert E. Lee

June 08, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The man was perceptive. Amalgamation of the states under a central government has led to exactly the effects foreseen by General Lee.

In, say, 1950, to an appreciable though imperfect extent America resembled a confederacy. Different regions of the America had little contact with each other, and almost no influence over one another. The federal government was small and remote. Interstates did not exist, nor of course the internet, nor even direct long-distance telephone dialing. West Virginia, Alabama, Massachusetts, New York City, Texas, and California had little in common, but little conflict arose since for practical purposes they were almost different countries. They chiefly governed themselves. The proportion of federal to state law was small.

It is important to note that regional differences were great. In 1964 in rural Virginia, the boys brought shotguns to school during deer season. Nobody shot anybody because it wasnt in the culture. The culture was uniform, so no one was upset. It is when cultures are mixed, or one rules another, that antagonism comes. Such shotgun freedom would not have worked in New York City with its variegated and often mutually hostile ethnicities.

Regions differed importantly in degree of freedom, not just in the freedom of local populations to govern themselves but also in individual freedom. It made a large difference in the tenor of life. If in Texas, rural Virginia, or West Virginia you wanted to build an addition to your house, you did. You didnt need licenses, permits, inspections, union-certified electricians. Speed limits? Largely ignored. Federal requirements for Coast Guard approved flotation devices on your canoe? What the hell kind of crazy idea was that?

Democracy works better the smaller the group practicing it. In a town, people can actually understand the questions of the day. They know what matters to them. Do we build a new school, or expand the existing one? Do we want our children to recite the pledge of allegiance, or dont we? Reenact the Battle of Antietam? Sing Christmas carols in the town square? We can decide these things. Leave us alone.

States similarly knew what their people wanted and, within the limits of human frailty, governed accordingly.

Then came the vast empire, the phenomenal increase in the power and reach of the federal government, which really means the Northeast Corridor. The Supreme Court expanded and expanded and expanded the authority of Washington, New Yorks store-front operation. The federals now decided what could be taught in the schools, what religious practices could be permitted, what standards employers could use in hiring, who they had to hire. The media coalesced into a small number of corporations, controlled from New York but with national reach. More recently we have added surveillance of everything by Washingtons intelligence agencies.

Tyranny at home, said General Lee . Just so. This could happen only with the consolidation of the states into one vast empire.

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Tyranny comes easily when those seeking it need only corrupt a single Congress, appoint a single Supreme Court, or control the departments of one executive branch. In a confederation of largely self-governing states, those hungry to domineer would have to suborn fifty congresses. It could not be done. State governments are accessible to the governed. They can be ejected. They are much more likely to be sympathetic to the desires of their constituents since they are of the same culture.

Aggressive abroad, said General Lee. Is this not exactly what we see? At this moment Washington has the better part of a thousand military bases around the world, unnecessary except for the maintenance of empire. America exists in a state of constant war, bombing Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, recently having destroyed Iraq and Libya. Washington threatens Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China. Its military moves deeper into Africa. Washington sanctions Cuba, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, to no effect. It constantly tries to dominate other nations, for example adding to NATO.

None of these wars and little if any of the imperial aggression interests more than a tiny fraction of the countrys people. To whom can the war against Afghanistan matter? Libya? Few people have heard of Montenegro. Does its membership in NATO or lack of it affect Idaho?

In a confederacy, states would have to approve a war. Few would unless the United States itself were threatened. They might well refuse to pay for wars not in their benefit, or to allow their sons, daughters, and transgenders to be conscripted.

But with a central government, those benefiting from war can concentrate money and influence only on that government. For example, military industry, Israel, big oil, Wall Street. Wars might carry the votes of states with arms factories. Other states would decline.

In principle, the Constitution should have prevented the hijacking of the military that we now suffer. As we all should know, and some do, America cannot under the Constitution go to war without a declaration by Congress, the last one of which occurred in 1941. But a single central government can be corrupted more easily than fifty state governments. A few billionaires, well-funded lobbies, and the remoteness of Washington from the common consciousness make controlling the legislature as easy as buying a pair of shoes.

And thus, just as Marse Bob expected, the federals are out of control and make war without the least reference to the nation. If America attacks North Korea, or Russia, or China, we will read of it the day after. The central government, and only the central government, decides. A few days ago I read that the Pentagon contemplates sending thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan. This combines tyranny at home and aggression abroad. Who wants to send them? A few neocons in New York, the arms industry, a few generals, and several senators. It could not happen in a confederacy.

Will this, as General Lee predicted, prove the certain precursor of ruin which has overwhelmed all that preceded it.  ? Wait.

Freds Biography, As He Tells It: - Fred, a keyboard mercenary with a disorganized past, has worked on staff for Army Times, The Washingtonian, Soldier of Fortune, Federal Computer Week, and The Washington Times. https://fredoneverything.org

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The Northern youths have insisted that the Igbos must leave the all the states in the Northern part of the country.

In a statement on Thursday, the group denied considering violence as a means of achieving their aim, accusing merchants of mischief of misrepresenting their thoughts.

In strict observance of that tradition we never employ violence as a means of pursuing our interest and at every opportunity, we opt for peaceful engagements and implore people to eschew violence in all its ramifications, the coalition said in a statement signed by Abdulazeez Suleiman, one of its leaders.

This informs why a majority of discerning Nigerians, not necessarily northerners alone, understood and identified with our express call for the Biafrans to be allowed to actualise their long-held secessionist aspiration.

We restate that we have never called anybody to violence and that people should discountenance the elements of fear and threat introduced by the distortions of merchants of mischief.

We wholeheartedly endorse the moves made variously by our leaders to allay those fears and urge people to be peaceful and law-abiding while at the same time resolutely insisting on having the right thing done by allowing the Igbo to have and move to their dream country in accordance with the universal fundamental right to self-determination.

We restate our determination and commitment to ensuring that the north will never partake in any contrived arrangement that would still have the Biafran Igbo as a component.:

The groups called on the federal government and international organisations to facilitate a referendum that would quicken the exit of the Igbo from Nigeria.

We reiterate our call on Nigerian authorities and recognised international bodies such as the ECOWAS, AU and UN to hasten the initiation of the process for the final actualisation of the Biafran nation and with it the excision of the Igbo out of the present federation, the statement read.

Despite the minor distortions that caused some measure of anxiety, we make bold to say that the cheerful responses to our position which flowed through the internet and by way of personal telephone conversations nationally and universally has resonated that peace-loving Nigerians who have been tormented and menaced by the irredentist proclivities of the Igbos are overwhelmingly desirous to put an end to it.

As we acknowledge this outpouring of patriotic support across the nation, we implore people, particularly our cultured northerners to remain restraint in the face of any provocation from any quarter and to debate intelligently.

We assure them that we shall be firm and resolute in honestly and painstakingly pursuing what we all know is a noble and just cause without hurting anyone.

Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, had earlier ordered their arrest, while Kashim Shettima, governor of Borno, said their position did not represent the view of the north.

Source: ( PM News )
A man identified as Prince Momoh Enema has been arrested for using the name of the Minister of Interior, General Abdulraman Dambazau (rtd), to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians. Enema was arrested after he and members of his syndicate pretended to be Dambazau, his Chief of Staff and his Personal Assistant.

Enema defrauded the Seriki of Gwandabawa, Sokoto of N1m and again attempted to scoop $10,000. The leader of the syndicate, who is currently on the run, has been identified as Dr. Usman.

According to the Police : In April 2017, Usman contacted the Seriki, and introduced himself as General Abdulraman Dambazau, Minister of Interior. He told the Seriki that Pres. Buhari had decided to reward the Seriki and his people for their support during the 2015 elections.

The reward would be employment for 20 people from Gwadanbawa into the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Nigerian Customs Service. Usman instructed the Seriki to forward names and curriculum vitae of the 20 persons.

He also insisted that a sum of N45,000 should be paid on each applicant. He said the money was for training kits. Seriki sent N1m and a date was given, which the applicants would commence training.

Some days later, the minister told the Seriki that the Ministry of Interior was about to issue contract for the supply of equipment to the NPF, Customs Service and other paramilitaries under the ministry.

The contract was pegged at N3billion. Usman asked the Seriki to send him his companys profile and $10,000 to his bogus Personnel Assistant to ensure he got the contract. This latest demand caused the Seriki to suspect foul play, but played along until Enema was arrested while posing as the ministers P.A.

Source: ( Instablog9ja)
The continuous assault and killings by the soldiers on civilians has continued on the rise, the latest of this incident was in Kaduna when a soldier shot a boy to death in front of Command Secondary School in Command Junction By Sabo Express Road, Kaduna. The deceased was said to be packing sand in front of the school when the soldier ordered him to stop.

The boy allegedly pleaded to be allowed to pack the sand so as to get something to eat today as the place belongs to nobody. This angered soldier and shouted, Who the hell is this bloody civilian to argue with me?. As the boy was approaching him, the soldier again said, And you advancing towards me? and shot him dead.

Source: ( Instablog9ja)
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), has backed the Northern youths warning for Igbos to leave the region within 3 months.

NEF expressed disappointment with the Northern Governors Forum for disowning the youth groups. The spokesman of NEF, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, the former V.C of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria said he remained in support of the youths demand.

He said it was hypocritical for the Igbos to continue to live in other parts of the country while agitating for Nigerias break up. His words: The northern youths are voicing out their anger and frustration over the irresponsible behaviour of Igbo youths and elders.

The Igbo elders cannot pretend or say that they do not know the history of this country. We all know how the first coup was hatched against the north. We know who masterminded that political coup and the aftermath.

But we the northerners endured it and carried on as if nothing happened in the spirit of brotherhood. That was why in the Second Republic, an Igbo man, Chief Alex Ekwueme, became a deputy to President Shehu Shagari.

I have never seen a country where there was a civil war and somebody from the part of the country that waged the war against the nation became a leader in the country so quickly. The Igbo should remember that politics of democracy is politics of election, not agitation.

These people always pretend that the North is cheating them, not minding the fact that Southern Nigeria was developed by resources from the North. Up to the time Nigeria gained its independence, none of the two regions, West and East, was able to provide for itself.

It was the same money from the North that was used to construct Nigerian Railways, refineries and other facilities. First oil exploration was conducted using money from groundnut pyramid, cotton, hide and skin among other cash crops from Northern Nigeria.

However, these people tend to forget all these goodies provided by the North toward ensuring the unity and coexistence of Nigeria. They always look down on us, as if we are parasites in this country.

Source: ( Instablog9ja)
A 20-year old cashier was sentenced to six months imprisonment by a Ogudu Magistrates Court in Lagos State on Friday, with no option of fine.

The sentence came after the convict pleaded guilty to stealing N45, 000 from his employers company and using it to gamble but lost out in the process.

The convict, Imoh John, of Ilaje Road, Bariga in Lagos State, was arraigned on a one-count charge of stealing.

The Magistrate, Mrs O. Sule Amzat, before giving her judgment, had found out from the prosecutor that Imoh was employed by the said company, Bet Naija, Ifako Branch, just two weeks from the day of the crime.

The prosecutor, Sergeant Lucky Ihiehie, had earlier told the court that Imoh committed the offence on June 12 at No 1, Diya St., Ifako- Gbagada, Lagos.

Ihiehe said the complainant, Mr Konigbabe Ibrahim , a Manager with the Bet Naija branch, reported the matter at Ifako Police Post.

On June 2, the accused went away with the sales of the day amounting to N45,000.

He said he waited for him till 9 p.m. on that day to come and give account but the accused never showed up but instead, kept lying on the phone that he was on his way.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
A young lady identified as Mrs Ifeyinwa Udeh of Ugboezeji Abakpa Nike Enugu state, died on the 2nd of June, 2017, Coal City Connect reports.

The deceased with her lover, Joel Ugwu, also of Abakpa in Enugu state, had allegedly checked into a hotel located around Nowas Junction of Transekulu. Shortly after, she allegedly, fell ill and became unconscious and was rushed to St Leos hospital, at about 11:15 pm, but was declared dead on arrival.

In an interview with CCC, the lover, Ugwu, who is now helping the police in their investigations, revealed that they had comfortably checked into the hotel, but later, Udeh started complaining of ill health.

He added that she took a bottle of malt drink and bottled water which he bought for her. He further disclosed that following the development, she collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.

The body of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue of the Parklane specialist hospital Enugu for autopsy, which will assist the police in their investigation.

According to CCC, recovered from the scene of the incident at the hotel room, were remains of some tablets/capsules and other likely evidential materials which will aid operatives in their investigations.

Crdt: @coal_city
Adey Orla on Facebook, has shared how despite her struggles while growing up, from hawking pepper to support the financial inflow of her home, shes emerged as the first Black person to bag a PhD in Biomedical Engineering in the University Of Saskatchewan, Canada.

She shared her quite inspiring story on Facebook, which most certainly all ladies should take a cue from. Read below:

As the 5th child of 5, I always had to wait for my turn. I was the last, a girl child and raised by a mother who is farmer and a father who has little, I hawked pepper on the streets of Ibadan as early as age 10 to help my mum. Went to public primary and secondary school in Ibadan. Attended OOU and studied Physics. Because I had a 2.1, it opened the door for me to proceed to Finland for a Masters Degree in Biomedical Engineering. During this masters degree, I worked part-time as a cleaner and did this after my Masters as well. Out of determination, I applied to over 100 schools for my PhD and finally got a full 3 year scholarship (later extended to 4 years scholarship) at University of Saskatchewan, Canada to pursue a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. While in that PhD program, I worked part-time as a makeup artist, teaching assistant, braided hair and fix weaves to make extra money.

Today I walked the stage as the first black person to bag a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from University of Saskatchewan, Canada!!! I walked this stage for you Mama Africa and for my Motherland Nigeria!!! I walked the stage for all of you black women disrespected and looked down on!!!! I walked for all of you from my ghetto hood Mokola, Ibadan. I walked for all OSU students and ex-students that got that look from people who think we are not brilliant!! I walked for all of you Africans in Finland wondering what is next for you!!

Specially, I walked for you my parents. siblings and extended family in fulfillment of your dreams! Specially, I walked the stage for you my late sister Omoleye Olubamiji and my late mentor Ayodele Olatunbosun. Today I walked for my future husband and my unborn children who patiently waited for me to fulfill my dreams so that he can have a wife he will be proud of and they can have a role model to look up to. I walked for all immigrants and all young adults who strived everyday chasing their dreams!!! I walked in celebration of the unfailing love of my first and one truly true love Jesus Christ (in you I walk in you I live and in you I have had and will continue to have my being)!!!

Be bold, be innovative, be different, be you, be everything you want to be but remember to put God first!!! Let no man, upbringing, money, circumstance, colorism, past mistakes, institution, company, partner, background, let nothing tell you you cant do it. Go smart! Go hard!! Go for Gold!!! Go with God!!! Just Get Going!!!!! #Grad2017 #PhDConvocation #UofS
The Lagos State Office of Civic Engagement has concluded plans to mark the 24th Anniversary of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Elections won by the late Moshood Abiola. The Lagos State Office of Civic Engagement has concluded plans to mark the 24Anniversary of the June 12, 1993 Presidential Elections won by the late Moshood Abiola.

The government is holding the event in conjunction with June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations.

A statement by the Special Adviser on Civic Engagement, Mr. Kehinde Joseph said that the Theme for this years anniversary Development Strategy in Lagos State; A Blue Print for National Development was precipitated by decisive measures on people-oriented programmes by the State Government which has yielded positive results in the State.

Mr. Joseph noted that the event which held annually has become a converging point for all progressives where issues germane to successful transition of one democratic administration to another and the development of the nation are discussed.

He, therefore, called on all stakeholders to make the day available in order to gather and honour the memory of the acclaimed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, Late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

Source: ( PM News )
Nigerian pastor who spent a month in South African jail for human trafficking has been thrown back to jail by the court.

Controversial televangelist Timothy Omotoso has been refused bail in the Port Elizabeth Magistrates court today and ordered back to the St Albans Prison after staying there for more than a month following his dramatic arrest inside an airport toilet in May 2017.

The court found Omotoso to be a flight risk with no real ties to South Africa. In addition, in the event that Omotoso is released on bail, the court said, there was a strong likelihood the alleged victims would be threatened and intimidated.

Omotoso faces 22 charges related to contravening the Sexual Offences Act with two definite charges of rape contained in the charge sheet.

Dramatic scenes played out at the Port Elizabeth International Airport on 20 April, 2017. Omotoso had allegedly trafficked women and girls from various branches of his church to a house in Umhlanga Rocks, Kwa-Zulu-Natal, where they were sexually exploited.

The Nigerian televangelist is a senior pastor of Jesus Dominion International, whose headquarters are in Durban, with a Port Elizabeth branch in Govan Mbeki Avenue.

Magistrate, Thandeka Mashini, refused the Omotoso bail after various findings that concluded that he was as a flight risk.

The Magistrate said that she considered the fact that Omotoso is in South Africa illegally with no fixed property under his name.

His wife and children are citizens of the United Kingdom, and that he has international branches, which he visits from time to time.

The court heard that he is an illegal immigrant in the country and there is nothing tying him to South Africa.

The Magistrate also said she had considered the publics view point of the case.

The public has been crying to these crimes of Human Trafficking, Rape, and sexual assault on young girls and women which are frowned upon by the community.

I find that the applicants personal circumstances are commonplace, and not constitute ordinary. They do not constitute exceptional circumstances which justify his realise on bail, Magistrate Mashini said.
No less than two people were said to have lost their lives, while some others suffered varying degrees of injury, following a bloody clash between drugs dealers and Security Agencies, including the State Police Force, Kano State Transport Road Agency (KAROTA), Civil Defence and Hisbah in the commercial city of Kano.

According to The Nation, the security agencies were said to have reportedly stormed the Sabon Gari market, Kano and impounded large quantities of drugs and hospital equipment been sold in the market.

Reacting to the development, the Caretaker Chairman of the Nigeria Association of Patent and Drug Dealers Association (NAPDDA), Nnamdi Dozie, who made the disclosure, said the unarmed drug dealers confronted the Security operatives, who invaded the market on the claims that the dealers were involved in the sale of fake and unregistered drugs in the market.

While describing the allegations as stage-managed, so as to tarnish the image of the drug dealers and their businesses, Dozie however called on the Kano State Government, including the Emirate Council to intervene, so as to amicably resolve the dispute.

According to Dozie, numerous efforts by the Drug dealers to table their petition before the authorities proved futile, explaining that the combined security operatives cordoned the market, preventing sellers and buyers from gaining entry into the market.

Also, Dozie alleged that the police, alongside other security agencies, not only barricaded the market but prevented buyers and sellers from gaining entry into and out of the market.

Apart from that, he alleged that the Security operatives also harassed them with the butt of their guns, lamenting that in the ensuing scuffle, two people lost their lives.

There is no way that they can fight and defeat the government but we are only pleading for the appropriate authorities to tamper justice with mercy. We are not selling banned drugs, as claimed by the security operatives. We are selling genuine drugs.

Meanwhile, the drug and hospital equipment dealers in the market have expressed dismay over the ill-treatment meted on them by security agencies.

What really happened is that, as soon as you gain entry into the market, with your goods, the security agencies will impound and seize the goods. Sometimes, they will not care to screen the goods one is carrying, whether it is among banned goods or not. They seize products, ranging from cotton wool to powder, as well as allegedly collect money from sellers.

For me, I do not deal on drugs but only sell disposable and hospital equipment. The bottom line is that all the security operatives dont care. We have agencies that can sanitize the market, such as NAFDAC, NDLEA but certainly not the police, who invaded the market vicinity when people started arguing and started shooting into the air. The expended about 24 cartridges, at the end of which two people died.

Contacted, the Police Command spokesman, DSP Musa Magaji Majiya, said investigations have commenced to unravel the cause of the clash between security agents and the traders.
Artificial intelligencein the guises of personal assistants, bots, self-driving cars, and machine learningis hot again, dominating Silicon Valley conversations, tech media reports, and vendor trade shows.

AI is one of those technologies whose promise is resurrected periodically, but only slowly advances into the real world. I remember the dog-and-pony AI shows at IBM, MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, Thinking Machines, and the like in the mid-1980s, as well as the technohippie proponents like Jaron Lanier who often graced the covers of the eras gee-whiz magazine like Omni.

AI is an area where much of the science is well established, but the implementation is still quite immature. Its not that the emperor has no clothesrather, the emperor is only now wearing underwear. Theres a lot more dressing to be done.

Thus, take all these intelligent machine/software promises with a big grain of salt. Were decades away from a Star Trek-style conversational computer, much less the artificial intelligence of Stephen Spielbergs A.I.

Still, theres a lot happening in general AI. Smart developers and companies will focus on the specific areas that have real current potential and leave the rest to sci-fi writers and the gee-whiz press.

Robotics and AI are separate disciplines

For years, popular fiction has fused robots with artificial intelligence, from Gort of The Day the Earth Stood Still to the Cylons of Battlestar Galactica, from the pseudo-human robots of Isaac Asimovs I Robot novel to Data of Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, robots are not silicon intelligences but machines that can perform mechanical tasks formerly handled by peopleoften more reliably, faster, and without demands for a living wage or benefits.

Robots are common in manufacturing and becoming used in hospitals for delivery and drug fulfillment (since they wont steal drugs for personal use), but not so much in office buildings and homes.

Thereve been incredible advances lately in the field of bionics, largely driven by war veterans whove lost limbs in the several wars of the last two decades. We now see limbs that can respond to neural impulses and brain waves as if they were natural appendages, and its clear they soon wont need all those wires and external computers to work.

Maybe one day well fuse AI with robots and end up slaves to the Cylonsor worse. But not for a very long while. In the meantime, some advances in AI will help robots work better, because their software can become more sophisticated.

Pattern matching is todays focus but often unsophisticated

Most of what is now positioned as the base of AIproduct recommendations at Amazon, content recommendations at Facebook, voice recognition by Apples Siri, driving suggestions from Google Maps, and so onis simply pattern matching.

Thanks to the ongoing advances in data storage and computational capacity, boosted by cloud computing, more patterns can be stored, identified, and acted on then ever before. Much of what people do is based on pattern matchingto solve an issue, you first try to figure out what it is like that you already know, then try the solutions you already know. The faster the pattern matching to likeliest actions or outcomes, the more intelligent the system seems.

But were still in early days. There are some cases, such as navigation, where systems have become very good, to the point where (some) people will now drive onto an airport tarmac, into a lake, or onto a snowed-in country road because their GPS told them to, contrary to all the signals the people themselves have to the contrary.

But mostly, these systems are dumb. Thats why when you go to Amazon and look at products, many websites you visit feature those products in their ads. Thats especially silly if you bought the product or decided not tobut all these systems know is you looked at X product, so theyll keep showing you more of the same. Thats anything but intelligent. And its not only Amazon product ads; Apples Genius music-matching feature and Googles Now recommendations are similarly clueless about the context, so they lead you into a sea of sameness very quickly.

They can actually work against you, as Apples autocorrection now does. It epitomizes a failure of the crowdsourcing, where peoples bad grammar, lack of clarity on how to form plurals or use apostrophes, inconsistent capitalization, and typos are imposed on everyone else. (Ive found that turning it off can result in fewer errors, even for horrible typists like myself.)

Missing is the nuance of more context, such as knowing what you bought or rejected, so you dont get advertisements for more of the same but another item you may be more interested in. Ditto with musicif your playlists is varied, so should be the recommendations. And ditto with, say, recommendation of where to eat that Google Now makesI like Indian food, but I dont want it every time I go out. What else do I like and have not had lately? And what about the patterns and preferences of the people Im dining with?

Autocorrect is another example of where context is needed. First, someone should tell Apple the difference between its and its, as well as explain that there are legitimate, correct variations in English that people should be allowed to specify. For example, prefixes can be made part of a word (like preconfigured) or hyphenated (like pre-configured), and users should be allowed to specify that preference. (Putting a space after them is always wrong, such as pre configured, yet thats what Apple autocorrect imposes unless you hyphenate.)

Dont expect botsautomated software assistants that do stuff for you based on all the data theyve monitoredto be useful for anything but the simplest tasks until problem domains like autocorrection work. They are, in fact, the same kinds of problems.

Pattern identification is on the rise as machine learning

Pattern matching, even with rich context, is not enough. Because it must be predefined. Thats where pattern identification comes in, meaning that the software detects new patterns or changed patterns by monitoring your activities.

Thats not easy, because something has to define the parameters for the rules that undergird such systems. Its easy to either try to boil the ocean and end up with an undifferentiated mess or be too narrow and end up not being useful in the real world.

This identification effort is a big part of what machine learning is today, whether its to get you to click more ads or buy more products, better diagnose failures in photocopiers and aircraft engines, reroute delivery trucks based on weather and traffic, or respond to dangers while driving (the collision-avoidance technology soon to be standard in U.S. cars).

Because machine learning is so hardespecially outside highly defined, engineered domainsyou should expect slow progress, where systems get better but you dont notice it for a while.

Voice recognition is a great examplethe first systems (for phone-based help systems) were horrible, but now we have Siri, Google Now, Alexa, and Cortana that are pretty good for many people for many phrases. Theyre still error-pronebad at complex phrasing and niche domains, and bad at many accents and pronunciation patternsbut usable in enough contexts where they can be helpful. Some people actually can use them as if they were a human transcriber.

But the messier the context, the harder it is for machines to learn, because their models are incomplete or are too warped by the world in which they function. Self-driving cars are a good example: A car may learn to drive based on patterns and signals from the road and other cars, but outside forces like weather, pedestrian and cyclist behaviors, double-parked cars, construction adjustments, and so on will confound much of that learningand be hard to pick up, given their idiosyncracies and variability. Is it possible to overcome all that? Yesthe crash-avoidance technology coming into wider use is clearly a step to the self-driving futurebut not at the pace the blogosphere seems to think.

Predictive analytics follows machine learning

For many years, IT has been sold the concept of predictive analytics, which has had other guises such as operational business intelligence. Its a great concept, but requires pattern matching, machine learning, and insight. Insight is what lets people take the mental leap into a new area.

For predictive analytics, that doesnt go so far as out-of-the-box thinking but does go to identifying and accepting unusual patterns and outcomes. Thats hard, because pattern-based intelligencefrom what search result to display to what route take to what moves to make in chessis based on the assumption that the majority patterns and paths are the best ones. Otherwise, people wouldnt use them so much.

Most assistive systems use current conditions to steer you to a proven path. Predictive systems combine current and derivable future conditions using all sorts of probablistic mathematics. But those are the easy predictions. The ones that really matter are the ones that are hard to see, usually for a handful of reasons: the context is too complex for most people to get their heads around, or the calculated path is an outlier and thus rejected as suchby the algorithm or the user.

As you can see, theres a lot to be done, so take the gee-whiz future we see in the popular press and at technology conferences with a big grain of salt. The future will come, but slowly and unevenly.
Hog Futures Weaken on Thursday Barchart - 27 minutes ago Front month lean hog prices closed the Thursday session with 32 to 82 cent losses, but are still in the black on net for the week due to the Monday strength. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price was... HEZ22 : 84.875 (-0.47%) HEJ23 : 94.225s (-0.42%) KMZ22 : 95.500s (+0.05%)

Mixed Close for Thursday Cotton Barchart - 27 minutes ago Cotton futures worked both sides of UNCH on Thursday, and settled the day mixed. December traded in a 251 point range on the day to close 12 points red. May 23 through the new crop futures were higher,... CTZ22 : 86.38s (-0.14%) CTH23 : 84.56s (-0.20%) CTK23 : 83.97s (+0.21%)

Cattle Rise on Weaker Grains Barchart - 27 minutes ago Live cattle futures firmed up after a red midweek trade, erasing yesterdays action and going home back up by $0.72 to $1.50 in the front months. USDA reported cash sales from $149 to $150 in the South... LEZ22 : 153.075s (+0.99%) LEG23 : 155.025s (+0.57%) LEJ23 : 158.500s (+0.46%) GFX22 : 178.625s (+0.51%) GFF23 : 181.700s (+1.14%)

Wheat Holds Relatively Firm Barchart - 27 minutes ago As corn and soybean futures fell 1-2% on Thursday, wheat markets were relatively firm on 1 1/2 to 8 cent losses across the complex. MGE wheat faired the worse of the domestic classes, and went home 6 3/4... ZWZ22 : 803-0 (-0.43%) ZWH23 : 824-6 (-0.36%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.3619 (-0.41%) KEZ22 : 925-4 (-0.48%) KEPAWS.CM : 8.8355 (-0.51%) MWZ22 : 931-2 (-0.75%)

Double Digit Drop in Corn Market Barchart - 27 minutes ago Corn futures faded the Thursday session with double digit losses and closed near the low. December dropped the most on an 11 1/4 cent pullback to lows not seen since mid/late August. USDA announced a... ZCZ22 : 657-4 (-1.05%) ZCPAUS.CM : 6.5135 (-1.71%) ZCH23 : 663-2 (-1.08%) ZCK23 : 663-0 (-1.12%)

Beans Close 2% in Red Barchart - 27 minutes ago Soybean futures ended the Thursday session with losses of 22 3/4 to 29 1/2 cents, and closed near their daily low. For Jan futures that was nearly a new low for the month of November. Products were mixed... ZSX22 : 1439-0 (-1.42%) ZSPAUS.CM : 13.9431 (-1.91%) ZSF23 : 1427-6 (-1.67%) ZSH23 : 1432-6 (-1.68%)

Shootin' the Bull about wild markets Swift Trading Company - Thu Nov 10, 2:45PM CST The whopping two tenths of a percent decline in CPI set equities, bonds, and currencies on fire this morning. Unfortunately, if you weren't privy to the coming action, or did not get in until after the...
Who doesnt want that? Free resources that will make your self-storage operation purr like a kitten and kick out gobs of cash? Its pure zombie aftermaththat is, a no-brainer!

(I know, I know  I can hear the moans and eye rolls from here.)

But trust me  Weve had a very busy spring here at ISS, rolling out all kinds of informational materials that will make the lives of self-storage owners and managers easier, faster and more rewarding. Below is a list of offerings of which to take advantage. Why not? Theyll cost you nothing except time to learn, and may earn you great dividends.

Online Marketing Summit: Weve just signed on as a media partner for a two-day Web event, June 27-28, that will give you access to 18 education sessions on digital marketing strategies including e-mail campaigns, local search, online advertising, reviews and ratings, social media, and websites. Produced by the Local Marketing Institute, the Local Business Marketing Summit will include more than a dozen experts whove been regular contributors to hard-hitters like Forbes magazine, Google My Business, Moz, Search Engine Land, Social Media Examiner, SMX and The Wall Street Journal. Sign up for free at LocalBusinessMarketingSummit.com. You can participate in as many or as few of the sessions as you like, and VIP options are available.

Mobile-Technology Case Study: This free, downloadable PDF by PTI Security Systems focuses on the companys EasyCode mobile app and how it helped SpaceMax Storage add value to its property while delivering convenience to customers. The study provides details about the operators experience using the technology for its vehicle storage. It also explains how the app works and what self-storage operators can gain by incorporating it into their business, giving three return-on-investment scenarios.

Cloud Storage Case Study: This free paper by VaultDrop shows how self-storage operators can gain profit and improve occupancy by offering their customers cloud storage as an added amenity. It demonstrates how Right Move Self Storage increased occupancy levels and property values with this ancillary. Youll learn why and how tenants are using cloud storage, and how the offering can help you distinguish your facility in busy markets.

Real Estate Podcast: In this informative audio, we interviewed Michael Mele, senior managing director of investments for Marcus & Millichap, about self-storage real estate trends and how the Trump Administration may affect them moving forward. Mele offers insight on how the sector is performing, whats changed in the past year, and how legislative variations might impact the playing field. Finally, he offers advice on how to prepare for rate increases.

Facility-Renovation Case Study: Explore facility upgrades that can improve a storage propertys aesthetics and rentability in this free study by Janus International Group LLC. The publication shows how Top Self Storage in Miami was transformed from an underperforming property that lacked space and curb appeal to a successful facility that garners rave reviews. It provides details about the project, including enhancements such as new doors and hallways, an improved rental office, advanced technology, and more.

Lending Case Study: Every new self-storage project needs money. Do you know how to get it? This downloadable PDF by Live Oak Bank tells the story of Mike Castleman, owner of Castlerock Interests, and his quest to secure funding for a facility in Pflugerville, Texas. It provides an overview of the self-storage lending process, including opportunity initiation, underwriting and closing. It even gives a detailed timeline and insider advice for new owner/investors.

Design Image Gallery: Our readers clamor for this resource very year. They use it to get ideas for their own storage projects as well as to help convince planning and zoning boards of a facilitys potential to blend with and enhance any community. Its our annual design showcase! This years collection provides a tour of industry facades and grounds including architectural elements and focal points, building techniques and materials, color palettes, landscaping, and other innovative ideas for properties of all sizes.

Buyers Guide: Weve just completed data collection for this annual compendiumthe most comprehensive list of product and service suppliers in the self-storage business. The guide organizes hundreds of companies by alphabetical order and geography as well as by category. Groupings include building components, finance, legal, management and operation, marketing, real estate, and many others. The 2017 listings are immediately viewable online, while the print guide will appear in the August issue of ISS magazine.

Best of Business: Voting is now open for our annual Best of Business reader-choice poll in which industry professionals are invited to identify their favorite suppliers. Participants can vote once in each category after verifying their e-mail address. Now in its seventh year, the campaign covers more than 35 categories. Winners will be announced on the ISS website on Aug. 1 and featured in the November issue of ISS magazine. This is your chance to recognize your favs and see who reigns supreme on the vendor side.

Top-Operators List: Finally, data collection for the ISS 2017 Top-Operators List will begin on July 3. Each year, the list identifies 100 of the industry's leading operators based on total net-rentable square footage. It includes facility and brand owners, independents, and property-management companies. Dont miss your chance to be included! If youd like to be considered for the new list, please update your company's existing listing or submit a new listing via this page. If youre not sure if your company has an existing listing, reach out to me and I can look it up for you. To view last years list, click here.

Theres always something good cookin in the ISS kitchen. Watch the website for announcements regarding additional free resources, or subscribe to our weekly newsletter. To do so, scroll down on this page to the Free E-Mail Updates box at the bottom of the right-hand column.

Are there other materials youd like us to create or offer in the future? Id love your suggestions. You can post them in the Comments box below or e-mail me directly.
James Anderson, who owns a self-storage facility and a car dealership in Dundee, Ill., recently received $108,167 in village grants to offset the cost of improvements he made to both properties last year. Anderson applied for the grants in 2015, but didnt receive compensation from the villages commercial facade-improvement program until trustees voted this week to approve the funding. The money was paid through tax increment financing (TIF) funds, according to the source.

Exterior renovations to Superior Self Storage at 888 Richardson Road and Superior Car Credit at 777 Dundee Ave. included new pavement, gutters and lighting. About $75,000 in grants went to the car dealership, while the remainder went to the storage facility, the source reported.

The village staff had accepted Anderson's proposal two years ago, but the board never reviewed the projects or voted to award the grant money, the source reported. Although a former village employee agreed to reimburse Anderson for half of the renovation costs, the approval process and proposed renovations werent in line with the programs guidelines, said Lael Miller, village president. "The business owner was told this was approved and everything was going to go through, and the village promised him that. I can't undo that," Miller said. "We have to make [him] whole on this."

New applications for the facade-improvement program arent being accepted pending a revamp of the program to improve its management. However, the villages 2018 budget includes TIF funds for previously authorized grants. "What I can do is promise this isn't going to happen again," Miller said. "We're going to clean up our policies and regulations, and from now on, anything like this would have to go to the board for approval."

Anderson operates a second Superior Self Storage facility in Rockford, Ill. Both properties offer vehicle storage, U-Haul truck rentals, and moving and packing supplies.
When hedge fund manager Bill Ackman entered the Park Avenue Armory on Monday night for a glittering ten-year-anniversary celebration of his Pershing Square Foundation, he had more than one reason to party. That morning his big and long-suffering Herbalife short had surged on news that the multilevel-marketing companys sales were tanking.

Ackmans short bet gained momentum after Herbalife admitted its sales were falling more than expected since new rules mandated by the Federal Trade Commission went into effect on May 25. The rules were part of a settlement with the FTC that required Herbalife to start operating legitimately. The stocks subsequent decline marked a welcome shift for the famed activist investor, whose main hedge funds had fallen on hard times over the past two years.

Until Monday, Herbalifes seemingly unstoppable rise had kept a lid on Ackmans efforts to turn around the funds, which are up between 4 and 5.9 percent this year, depending on the fund. Since the lows reached with last years collapse in the share price of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International  a longtime Pershing Square holding until Ackman liquidated the position in March  the funds have gained about 20 percent from the bottom in March 2016. Still, Pershing Squares investors are smarting from double-digit losses in 2015 and 2016, and Ackman has a long way to go to make investors whole, which he has vowed to do.

One major obstacle has been Herbalife, at least until this week. The company, which has lost a number of senior executives in recent weeks, said on Monday that volume points  a proxy for sales  could decline by as much as 8 percent this quarter, almost double what it had predicted just weeks earlier. That news sent the stock down more than 7 percent on Monday, to close at $68.88, and led to a handful of potential lawsuit announcements. The share price decline marked a sudden shift for a stock that had been on a tear since the company raised its guidance on May 4, and insiders including former CEO Michael Johnson began selling stock and options. As of Thursday, the stock was still down about 7 percent for the week.

Fewer than three weeks after the stock sales, the company is now lowering guidance, somehow claiming that it is surprised by reduced volumes the first month the FTC settlement takes effect, Pershing Square said in a statement. Other short sellers took notice: Herbalife short interest rose to $1.8 billion, according to S3 Research, which said it was up $635 million, or 55 percent, for the year and getting closer to its historical high of $2 billion set in July 2013.

While Ackmans investors may still be feeling glum given the steep losses the funds have suffered, the more than 150 recipients of his foundations gifts have a different view, as they shared at Monday nights gala. Famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma praised the foundations work following a performance of his Silk Road ensemble at the anniversary party, a view numerous other speakers echoed that evening. Mas relationship with Ackman stretches back to 2007 and includes Ackmans financing of an HBO documentary on the Silk Road ensemble, The Music of Strangers, that explores the role of music in preserving cultural traditions and promoting understanding.

The group is only one recipient of the $400 million the foundation has granted, and was among several honored that night. Ackman, who is now estimated to be worth $1.4 billion, has given to such well-known and varied nonprofits as the Innocence Project, Human Rights Watch, Friends of the High Line, and TheDream.US, in addition to scores of more obscure causes. Ackmans 2015 donation of $25 million to the Dream organization, which awards scholarships to undocumented immigrant youth, came as a result of his battle against Herbalife, which he believes has targeted undocumented Hispanics, and his promise to donate any profits from his short bet to charity. (So far, there have been no profits.)

In a Q&A with Ackman moderated by one of his former Harvard professors, Peter Tufano, the manager said he has had to pull back from his nonprofit board commitments in recent months. I really have to focus on business, he said  noting that if Pershing Square isnt successful, the foundation wont be either.
After the governing Conservative party lost its parliamentary majority, asset managers say a swift and total exit from the European Union is less likely.

Fund managers see Britain taking a possibly softer approach to withdrawing from the European Union now that the Conservative Party has lost its parliamentary majority in the U.K.s snap general election.

The Conservatives saw their 17-seat parliamentary majority vanish as Britons voted for a hung parliament where no one party got the 326 seats required to govern on its own. This is only the second time this has happened since 1974, creating upheaval in the government as it prepares for its divorce from the E.U. in 2019.

In order to remain in power, British Prime Minister May, who had called for an early election in an effort to grab more seats for her party, is seeking to form a coalition government with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party. A hard Brexit  or a swift and total withdrawal from the E.U.  looked more likely before the election, raising new questions about an already shifting financial landscape for British asset managers worried about losing their ability to sell funds in the Eurozone.

The reality is Conservatives had been expected to pursue a fairly hard Brexit approach and its no longer clear if the U.K. will be following that path, Roger Hallam, chief investment officer of currencies at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said in an emailed statement. There is equally a risk that very little politically gets done in the next several months as uncertainty reigns.

Mark Dowding, co-head of investment grade debt at BlueBay Asset Management, said the voting results make a "hard" Brexit less likely and that he expects a new general election to be called at the earliest opportunity.

The British pound began falling June 8 amid the political shock, recovering slightly Friday morning from its sharp decline against the U.S. dollar, as the Conservatives repositioned to build a coalition with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party.

Sterling was down around two percent at $1.27 at 11:00 a.m. Friday in London. The FTSE 100 index  which includes many international companies that convert their earnings into Sterling  was up 0.7 percent at 11:15 a.m. London time.

A softer approach to Brexit may end up being good news for the British pound in the long run, according to Trevor Greetham, head of multi-asset at Royal London Asset Management. Erik Norland, senior economist at CME Group, agreed, saying the election outcome might not be as bad for the U.K. currency as the initial reaction suggests.

After the vote, asset managers on the London Stock Exchange saw a slight dip in their share prices before recovering. At 11:15 a.m. London time on Friday, Aberdeen Asset Management was trading up by 0.3 percent at 288.5 pence, Aviva was up by 0.3 percent at 526.14 pence and Schroders was up 0.13 percent at 3,109 pence.

The uncertainty in financial markets after the stunning outcome of the U.K. election doesn't merit any immediate intervention by the British central bank, according to Mark Burgess, chief investment officer at Columbia Threadneedle Investments.

We dont expect the Bank of England to respond directly to the result, but it will be keeping a close eye on consumer confidence, particularly if the decline in the value of sterling extends further from here, Burgess said.
This content is from: Portfolio

The online used car dealer has hit a new low, making it the most profitable short of the year.
An official from Irelands Finance Department is crying foul over what he believes is black propaganda amid stiff competition among Europes financial centres to become the next London.Speaking at a Financial Services Ireland event in Dublin on Thursday, Paul Ryan, head of the departments international finance division, said feedback from financial industry sources has highlighted that some jurisdictions seeking to win Brexit business have resorted to highlighting negatives about moving to Ireland, reported The Irish Times.The report said centres such as Luxembourg, Brussels, and Frankfurt appear to be leading the race to snatch up firms moving out of the UK post-Brexit. In Irelands defence, Ryan described the countrys independent regulator as strong  a positive which he thinks companies should look at when they make their decisions.Meanwhile, according to a source quoted in The Times, Ireland is losing out on opportunities related to Brexit due to insufficient expertise in the Central Bank as well as a lack of engagement by senior cabinet ministers.The source, who advises firms currently considering Ireland, said, The lack of political engagement at cabinet level is a factor for the insurance companies, who feel the red carpet is being rolled out in Brussels and Luxembourg, but not in Dublin.Denying the claim, a spokesperson for the regulator said the Central Bank has a deep level of expertise that it is deploying in the context of Brexit relocation activity.So far Lloyds of London and QBE have picked Brussels, while Luxembourg is the choice for CNA Hardy, RSA , and AIG
Connecticut insurance commissioner Katharine Wade has been slapped with a proposed maximum fine by the state Freedom of Information Commission for allegedly withholding her agencys analysis of the botched Aetna-Humana merger from health and consumer organizations.The Hartford Courant reports that the fine was the result of a complaint by three civic organizations in the state. Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group and the Universal Healthcare Foundation of Connecticut filed the complaint against the beleaguered commissioner.A decision from a federal court shot down the proposed merger of the two insurance giants, upholding the arguments of the US Department of Justice and eight states that sued against the deal.The court did not give weight to the companies arguments that the Aetna-Humana merger would create millions of dollars in efficiencies and ultimately benefit their clients. Aetna dropped its $37 billion offer for Humana a month after the January court decision.According to the Courant report, staff attorney and hearing officer Lisa Fein Siegel wrote on the proposed decision against Wade: Commissioner Wade, acting in part through her deputy commissioners, is the official directly responsible for denying the complainant of its right of prompt access to non-exempt public records.It is found that the exemptions claimed by Commissioner Wade were entirely without merit, and it is also found that the Commissioners refusal to submit records for in camera inspection and to provide an index of exempt records demonstrates an unreasonable attempt to avoid a long established process of determining whether a public record is subject to disclosure.The proposal also recommended that the commissioner be fined the maximum penalty of $1,000.Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the insurance department, Donna Tommelleo, said that the department takes its obligations under the freedom of information law seriously.
American companies are turning to technology to give incentives to employees to encourage them to adopt healthier lifestyles, that is: eat right and exercise.Because Fitbits have become popular, the tracking device has been adopted to provide discounts and freebies on health insurance packages to employees who walk the extra mile for a healthier lifestyle.Do you deserve an award for Digital Innovation? Nominate yourself or a colleague for the Insurance Business Awards now it's free to enter and takes just a few minutes. Companies benefit from a healthier workforce and the devices are a means to track activity and pass on the savings to employees.However, media outlet CBS reports that there are individuals who have found a way around the system and have devised ways and means to make themselves look healthier on the computer than they actually are.An individual who asked not to be identified told the publication that putting the Fitbit in a sock and letting it spin for an hour and a half on a no heat setting will get you 11,000 steps on your tracker.A power drill is also a good tool for getting those steps on your Fitbit. Some have tried attaching it to a stationary bicycle and spinning the wheel.Woody the dog wore his humans Fitbit for a day and logged 2,500 proxy steps.However, Dr James Morgan said that when employees resort to these techniques and skip on actual physical activity, theyre really just cheating themselves.
Legislation creating rules for ride-hailing services for the first time in Connecticut is heading to the governor.

After three years of the debate, the bill finally passed the Senate on a 28-8 vote late Tuesday. It previously cleared the House of Representatives.

Both Uber and Lyft, which now operate unregulated in Connecticut, supported the legislation, which requires criminal background checks for drivers and $1 million in liability insurance coverage once a passenger gets in the vehicle. It also sets limits on surge pricing.

Uber General Manager Matthew Powers says the legislation marks a monumental step forward to maintaining safe, affordable and reliable transportation for riders and flexible economic opportunities for drivers.

Republican Sen. Michael McLachlan complained the background checks and insurance requirements are less strict than those affecting taxis.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Connecticut
Prime Minister Theresa May will plow ahead with her plan to withdraw Britain from the European Union even as her electoral defeat raised questions over whether she will have to soften her approach or even if she will last the distance.

Seven weeks after she called a snap election to strengthen her hand for the looming negotiations, May formed a new government with the backing of Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party. She was forced to seek an ally after her Conservatives fell short of the seats needed to rule alone.

The shock result plunged the country back into political chaos even as May insisted that the Brexit negotiations will open in two weeks as planned. European officials did little to hide their frustration that her botching of the election had likely complicated the already-thorny process.

Some even appeared to gloat.

Evidently, the confidence of citizens that many things will get better and easier after leaving the EU is waning  even among Brexit supporters, Juergen Hardt, foreign-affairs spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkels parliamentary caucus, said in a statement. The European Parliaments Guy Verhofstadt said May had scored an own goal.

The election also threw into question the form of Brexit voters want. May campaigned to remove the U.K. from the single market so she could regain control of immigration and law-making.

She may now struggle to find majority support for that stance in the new House of Commons although she gave no indication that she will change tack as she promised to deliver the will of the British people. Her threat to walk away from the talks if provoked is now also diminished given Parliament might not endorse such a gambit.

Rubbish Bin

Hard Brexit went in the rubbish bin tonight, former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who campaigned to stay in the EU before being fired by May, said on ITV. The Evening Standard, which he now edits, ran a front page with the headline May Hung Out To Dry which was later switched to Queen of Denial.

The views of Northern Irelands DUP will have to be taken into account in exchange for their support of Mays government. The DUP wants a comprehensive free trade and customs agreement, and a frictionless border with the Irish Republic.

Some in the Tory ranks will still urge May to maintain her push toward a hard Brexit and she might need to do so to keep them onside. That would leave May or her successor with less scope for horse-trading with the EU in return for a trade accord or post-Brexit transitional arrangement.

The pound headed for its biggest decline in a year amid another bout of British political uncertainty and instability 12 months since the narrow vote to leave the EU. The Eurasia Group said the election result meant the likelihoods of a softer Brexit and no deal at all had both increased.

Clock Ticking

The EU and U.K. were already racing against the clock with an agreement needed by the end of 2018 so that their Parliaments can rubber-stamp it. The two sides are also at odds over multiple matters ranging from how the talks will be structured to whether the U.K. should pay an exit fee. Theres also the issue of finding common ground on a complicated trade accord.

That threat and the rejuvenation of Jeremy Corbyns opposition Labour Party will intensify demands on the government to do more to preserve access to Britains biggest market than May was previously willing to.

About 44 percent of British goods and services flow to the EU tariff-free, but that link comes at the price of allowing free movement of EU workers into the country and letting the continents courts have a say in British laws. May balked at both.

The prime minister called this election because she wanted to force through an extreme version of Brexit, Labours shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer said. It is clear already that she has failed in that endeavour.

Pro-Brexit politicians also sensed a shift. The clean Brexit that everyone in UKIP hoped for is now in jeopardy, said Patrick OFlynn, who represents the U.K. Independence Party in the European Parliament. UKIPs leader quit after failing to win any seats.

The prime minister will remain under pressure to stand down after calling an early election that ended up squandering a 10 seat majority in Parliament. If she clings on, then she will make for a weakened negotiator given that she had declared that every vote for the Conservatives will make me stronger in Brussels. Her campaign also revealed a personal brittleness and willingness to reverse course when on the defensive, flaws the Europeans may seek to take advantage of.

Could be messy for the United Kingdom in the years ahead, Carl Bildt, a former Swedish foreign minister, wrote on Twitter. One mess risks following another. Price to be paid for lack of true leadership.

Mays failure to secure a sizable majority will still disappoint some in the EU who banked on her winning by enough to prove a stable and familiar counterpart able to make compromises. The EU side has long said it doesnt matter how Britain voted because it has set its own negotiation position although it may now need to prepare for a different approach.

A hung Parliament also runs the risk of another election midway through the talks, further squeezing the time available for them. One reason for May holding this weeks ballot was to delay another vote until 2022 and provide leeway to cut deals over money and citizens rights without the threat of a public backlash.

Deadline Stays

The EU is unlikely to extend the March 2019 deadline for fear of Brexit conflicting with regional elections later that year. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the fact that the British democracy expressed itself the way it did yesterday has no influence at all on the cap.

The election had been expected to effectively ratify the referendum with polls repeatedly showing that those who wanted to leave the EU still do so, and that many who voted to stay in it are now keen to get on with the withdrawal.

An early test of whether the anti-EU or pro-EU wings of the Tories will be in charge will be how the government addresses Europes demands to pay a financial settlement before leaving the bloc and how the talks are sequenced.

Mujtaba Rahman, managing director at Eurasia, said May could stage a symbolic show of strength to show the EU and domestic doubters that she is still the self-styled bloody difficult woman standing up for the U.K.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Europe
Second of Two Articles

There has been a lot of press  and perhaps hype  about blockchain and its potential to revolutionize the industrys processes and ultimately improve the customer experience.

However, the efforts of the industrys B3i initiative shows the real commitment of major industry participants to put the blockchain  or distributed ledger technology  to the test. (See the first part of this series, What Is Blockchain and How Does It Work?, for a high-level explanation of blockchain.)

The 15 members of B3i are now in the midst of developing a minimum viable product, which means during the summer of 2017 we will have blockchained a reinsurance property excess of loss contract, said Paul Meeusen, head of finance and treasury services, Swiss Re. Meeusen is leading Swiss Res involvement in B3i.

If all goes according to plan, the blockchain will facilitate the reinsurance post-placement from closing written lines all the way to settlement, which involves the payment of premium and claims being reported and settled, he explained.

Blockchains, also known as mutual distributed ledgers, are defined as a common set of records of transactions, which are mutual (shared), cant be changed and are stored in multiple locations with no central ownership. The technology is being touted as a solution to the industrys inefficient back-office processes.

Only time and testing will tell, but the members of B3i, known formally as Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative, are working hard  expending resources of time, money and people  to prove the concept works for the insurance industry.

After all, the industrys age-old inefficiencies increase expenses and often litigation. Just look at the case of Sept. 11. The coverage for the World Trade Center had just been agreed but the paperwork wasnt finalizedand then the planes hit. Years of legal proceedings followed, which culminated in a court verdict.

What a difference it would have made if the policy had been entered into one common, underlying ledger where both parties acceptance could have been verified, rather than weeks spent with paperwork and emails passing back and forth to agree on final terms and wording.

Its just these types of problems that B3i is hoping to resolve with its blockchain project.

The current members of B3i are Achmea, Aegon, Ageas, Allianz, Generali, Hannover Re, Liberty Mutual, Munich Re, RGA, SCOR, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, Swiss Re, Tokio Marine Holdings, XL Catlin and Zurich Insurance Group.

Can it succeed? Observers are very optimistic.

B3is Market Clout

Mark McLaughlin, IBMs global insurance director, said B3i has a great chance for success, simply because its members have market clout.

If you add up the premiums of the entities in that enterprise, theyve got close to half the worlds reinsurance premium in that organization, said McLaughlin. They are pretty seriously committed to driving insurance and reinsurance transactions into a common blockchain standard, and theyve got the critical mass to make that stick.

They are moving from kicking the tires to early stage build-out, he affirmed. When you see initiatives like B3i get rolling, I think youll see a pretty rapid adoption.

McLaughlin said IBM has received a ton of insurer inquiries about the blockchain space.

Insurers are fast followers. They dont like to get too far out in front, but they also hate being left behind, he said. Were at that unique point in our industry where we are coalescing around the blockchain concept. Were settling in on a couple of use cases, and those will drive a couple of technology adoption standards.

That will be the signal when the rest of the market will jump on board, McLaughlin emphasized.

Early Mover Advantage

The early adopters of blockchain are going to be the ones that benefit because theres a learning curve involved in understanding the technology and how it can be implemented, said Patrick Schmid, assistant vice president of enterprise research for The Institutes, an industry educational and research organization based in Malvern, Pa.

Schmid provides blockchain thought leadership and is overseeing The Institutes blockchain working groups for 28 companies involved in developing four separate proofs of concept for blockchain and insurance. (These companies include brokers, insurers, reinsurers and third-party administrators).

Ultimately, there will be a prize for companies and industries that embrace the technology because it increases efficiency in areas such as automation of manual processes as well as disintermediation of those that dont contribute to the value chain, he said.

Schmid is encouraged by industry initiatives, such as The Institutes blockchain initiative and B3i, which are looking at the technology and how to apply it. The industry is working hard to understand the issues and how we can work together to solve some existing industrywide problems. Thats all positive.

Interest Is Growing

Indeed, it looks like the industrys interest in the applications for distributed ledger technology is growing. Meeusen said B3i is in constant dialogue with about 50 other firms that have approached us in the last months to discuss how they could join.

Once they join, B3is critical mass will be even greater. In the short term, however, B3i is closed to new members.

We decided to limit the admission to the 15 existing members because we didnt think it would be fair to have people jump on a running train, Meeusen affirmed.

Once we decided on the scope of the project, we really started working and people started to rally their resources and get organized. It would not have been very practical in the midst of the course to have new members join, he said.

We are telling people to bear with us. We are keen to have you join us because its difficult to operate a distributed ledger with just a small club, Meeusen went on to say.

Until they formally join B3i, weve invited them to help us with beta testing. We will come out with a beta product this summer, which wed like to open up to market testing, running a contract on the blockchain platform in a sandbox environment.

Brokers are also being kept in the loop, although they are not yet formal members, he said.

Initial Reinsurance Focus

Meeusen noted that his expertise is in reinsurance and not in technology. In hindsight, however, I think perhaps this is a good thing because I came to this project with knowledge of the real business issues or problems the industry faces, he said.

For a long time, Ive seen that it takes too long for the industry to settle transactions. Its too cumbersome for us to do cross-border payments and so forth, Meeusen affirmed. When we came together with other firms in the B3i project, these issues seemed to be common throughout the group.

As a result, in the early days of B3i, Swiss Re and the other 14 members sat down to prioritize the problems that they hoped to resolve with the use of blockchain.

The group decided to focus on reinsurance, rather than primary insurance, because it quickly became clear that it would be easier to develop consensus on common standards for business-to-business products because they are international programs, he said.

A homeowners or motor insurance product in the U.S. will always be very different from the UK or continental Europe, Meeusen explained.

He noted that B3i has built its business case around four key pillars, which are the benefits the group hopes to achieve by using blockchain in post-placement activities. We will pick up the process at the point where the cedents are closing their written lines with their reinsurer, and there may be a broker involved as well. Then we are at risk and the post-placement process starts.

He described the four pillars as:

Working capital.With blockchain, the group aims to achieve certainty about when cash will flow and due dates when premium is collected and claims are paid. Optimization of foreign exchange efficiencies.We are truly a cross-border global business, and the foreign exchange handling is often also cumbersome and not cost-effective, Meeusen said. General operational efficiencies and risk reduction.If you do efficient straight-through processing, then you get more operationally efficient, which reduces the expense ratio, he said. Lack of standard data and too much reconciliation and pushing paper and data back and forth is a source of operational risk. Data integrity improvements.While the project uses ACORD, the industrys data standard, it will make improvements when needed. By putting that standard on a standard platform, we hope we will bring improved data integrity and quality.

These four pillars of benefits will help the group measure the benefits of placing the reinsurance contract on the platform. Thats why we call it a proof of concept.

The first blockchained reinsurance contract will help B3i understand the types of applications that will work as well as those that dont work with blockchain, he affirmed.

We have a long list of use cases across the 15 members. While we are getting our first product done, we have started to prioritize the portfolio of next applications, he said.

There is really no limit across the value chain, starting with the private policyholderthe individualall the way to the reinsurer, although there will be different legal and regulatory constraints in each country.

The key thing that I see, especially when looking at primary insurance, is to improve the customer experience.

Opportunity vs. Threat

Are there dangers of disintermediation of brokers?

All of those interviewed agreed that parties who dont provide value-add in the process could be threatened in the long term.

In the pre-placement of reinsurance, the essential broking is helping cedents get the best coverage. That market-making role, especially in international programs, provides real value-add, Meeusen continued.

They manage these programs and bring the cedents together with the candidate reinsurers and manage the placement process. Clearly, its easy to see how there will always be a role for brokers in that process, he said.

With good use of technology, the placement process can also improve from todays world where theres still a lot of paper and emails going back and forth, until finally we all have the same version of the contract.

Brokers can also add value in the post-placement area. Once reinsurers are at risk, brokers sometimes handle the administrative aspect of the process, collecting premiums and paying claims, which provides a value-add, Meeusen confirmed.

He said he often hears cedents complain that brokers and reinsurers want them to use their proprietary platforms. So, they end up having to feed all these different systems from different brokers and reinsurers, which isnt very helpful for the cedents for the customer experience.

So, with the brokers in this post-placement, we need to come to one uniform platform, rather than everyone pushing a proprietary one.

The industry should look at blockchain as an opportunity rather than a threat, said Schmid, repeating his prediction that the early adopters will benefit. That will be the case across all the various segments of the industry, whether its brokers, insurers or reinsurers.

IBMs McLaughlin acknowledged, however, that blockchain probably is a threat if an intermediary is not adding value to the process by coming up with a unique way to hand over that risk or a unique way to structure that risk

Schmid said he was pleased to report that the brokers he has worked with are embracing the technology because they also see the need to improve industry efficiencies.

McLaughlin used the analogy of the travel industry. Before the advent of online travel brokers, many travel agents were very transactional in nature. As a result, when online travel brokers were launched, within a few years probably 80 percent of those travel agents had disappeared, he said. But the remaining 20 percent are actually doing just fine because they now provide very highly differentiated value-added services for more complicated trips.

Similar to the experience of the travel industry, blockchain will take out a lot of the routine, transactional costs, he said.

There are probably some players that are going to be under threat when that happens, but its going to enable a lot more differentiated service for the players that are left. And its going to take out a lot of needless cost from the value chain. On balance, its going to be better for everybody, McLaughlin emphasized.

Schmid said he is excited about new technologies that are being developed for the industry  and blockchain will provide a means for their applications. For example, he explained, shared data is key for the development of artificial intelligence or machine learning.

Issues like fraud or uninsured motorists, which are universal issues that affect consumers, insurers and public policymakers, are difficult to overcome without sharing data  and blockchain is a perfect vehicle with its shared ledger, Schmid continued.

Thats why I think blockchain is exciting: It provides a means for companies to feel secure about sharing information with each another. It will help us work together to solve existing industry problems, he said.

Schmid admitted that blockchain will be an evolution rather than a revolution, recalling the Worldwide Web and other technologies that moved forward, sometimes slowly, only when they became accessible and accepted by userswhen the technology was ripe for picking.

I believe the blockchain technology is going to be adopted one way or another, although I cant predict what its going to look like. But it will happen, he said.

Everyone is trying to figure it out  including the experts. Tech people dont necessarily have the business knowledge and vice versa for the business people. As a result, were in the middle of a transfer of knowledge that will take a little bit of time to shake out, Schmid explained.

I really think its an exciting time to be in insurance.

A version of this article first appeared in Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management.

Resources:

Z/Yen, a London-based technology company and think tank, has produced a short video to discuss the benefits of distributed ledgers. The companys executive chairman, Michael Mainelli, was quoted in the first article of this two-part series.

Related:

Topics Reinsurance
Ed, the London-based reinsurance, wholesale and specialty broker, announced the appointments of Mike Hernandez to the role of chairman and Agustin de Freitas as CEO of Ed Broking LatAm. They take up their roles with immediate effect.

Hernandez, who previously served as CEO of Ed Broking LatAm, brings nearly three decades of experience in the Latin American insurance market to the newly created role. Hernandez is tasked with overseeing Eds plans to expand its presence by developing partnerships with local experts throughout the region.

Agustin de Freitas has over 20 years of reinsurance experience in the Latin American and Caribbean regions. He joined Ed in 2014 from Redbridge where he served as head of business development. Prior to this, he had a decade of regional roles for Gallagher Re as AVP facultative business Latin American, and at International Reinsurance Managers as AVP responsible for business operations in Latin America. He began his insurance career in 1994 as a P&C broker with De Freitas Insurance Brokers in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The opportunity in LatAm is clear. This is a dynamic region with a growing demand for products which genuinely reflect local requirements, said Steve Hearn, CEO of Ed.

Our strategy will facilitate rather than hinder the development of local expertise. We will not compete with domestic brokers, but will partner with those intermediaries who share our aspirations for this region and provide access to global capital and international expertise, he explained.

Source: Ed
Ryan Specialty Group (RSG) announced that Debra Goldberg has joined RSGs managing general underwriting company, Sapphire Blue, as chief underwriting officer. Goldberg is based at Sapphire Blues headquarters in Chicago.

Prior to joining Sapphire Blue, Goldberg was the managing director of Medical Underwriting for Markel Corp. In this role, she was focused on the strategic growth and profitability of Markels medical professional liability business including allied health care, medical facility, and physician, surgeon and dentist professional liability. In addition to underwriting, Goldberg has held positions as claims attorney and medical claims manager for Markel before joining the professional liability underwriting staff.

Goldberg began her career as a medical malpractice defense attorney representing hospitals and healthcare providers in Cook County, Illinois, and the surrounding area. She additionally worked as an insurance coverage attorney with a focus on professional liability E&O coverage and reinsurance.

Sapphire Blue is a managing general underwriter that specializes in developing sophisticated solutions to complex healthcare risks.

Source: Ryan Specialty Group LLC

Topics Underwriting Medical Professional Liability Human Resources
Forecasters again lowered the odds of El Nino forming by years end, a scenario that may mean more Atlantic hurricanes at a time when federal agencies charged with predicting and responding to natural disasters lack top administrators.

The updated forecast, which is more reliable than earlier versions, sees a 36 percent chance El Nino will emerge between October and December, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. Thats down from 46 percent last month and 53 percent in March.

The forecast comes one week into the Atlantic hurricane season and as the Federal Emergency Management Administration lacks an administrator to replace Craig Fugate, who left office in January. President Donald Trump has nominated Brock Long, who led the Alabama Emergency Management Agency from 2008 to 2011, though he has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. Robert Fenton is serving as acting administrator.

For El Nino to form, there are certain things you are looking for and we are not seeing them, said Michelle LHeureux, a forecaster with the climate center in College Park, Maryland. This month is a little bit clearer. Now we are beyond the spring barrier and the models have shifted.

El Nino, a warming of the equatorial Pacific that triggers a change in weather patterns, fuels winds that weaken Atlantic storms. Without that brake, more powerful systems may form, increasing the risk of a hit for the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean and Central American. Forecasters at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have cited El Ninos weakening prospects in calling for an above-average Atlantic storm season.

FEMAs primary role is to coordinate the response to disasters that overwhelm state and local authorities. No one knows the political perils of even the perception of a poor federal response better than President George W. Bush, who was widely criticized for FEMAs performance after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005.

NOAA, the federal agency responsible for weather forecasting, also lacks an administrator. Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said leadership gaps shouldnt be a major issue as hurricane season heats up.

We are probably okay for this hurricane season, Masters said. There was talk that we should be scared. I dont feel that way. We have enough momentum from the previous infrastructure.

Fenton, a 20-year FEMA veteran, has responded to more than 50 federal disasters, including the four Florida hurricanes of 2004, the Southern California wildfires of 2003 and 2007, the Super Typhoon Pongsona in Guam, and the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorists attacks, William Booher, FEMA spokesman said in an emailed statement.

Ben Friedman has been acting director of NOAA, which oversees the National Weather Service, since Kathryn Sullivan left office in January.

NOAA is fully prepared for the hurricane season, said Chris Vaccaro, spokesman for the agency.

Energy Markets

Hurricanes can wreak havoc on energy and agriculture markets. The Gulf of Mexico, a frequent target of Atlantic storms, is home to 4.1 percent of U.S. natural gas production while Florida is the worlds second-largest orange juice producer behind Brazil and the largest U.S. grower of cane sugar.

El Ninos impacts extend beyond the U.S. hurricane season. An El Nino that ended about a year ago dried up rice crops across Southeast Asia, cocoa fields in Ghana and sugar cane in Thailand. It also hurt coffee growers in Vietnam and sent choking smoke from wildfires into Singapore.

U.S. forecasters have lowered the weather phenomenons chances after models began to favor a neutral Pacific Ocean, between abnormally warm and cool conditions, LHeureux said. Thats a break from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, which has maintained its El Nino watch. Australia uses different criteria to determine what an El Nino is.

With assistance from Christopher Flavelle.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters USA Hurricane
Federal disaster assistance is now available for some businesses and homeowners in Oklahomas Beckham County who had property losses as a result of severe weather last month.

Gov. Mary Fallin said that the U.S. Small Business Administration is providing low-interest disaster loans to replace property damaged by the May 16-18 storm that isnt covered by insurance or other assistance programs.

Loans are also available to businesses that had economic losses due to the storm. Under SBA rules, the adjacent counties of Custer, Greer, Harmon, Kiowa, Roger Mills and Washita are also eligible for assistance.

The state requested disaster assistance on June 2 for more than 160 homes and businesses damaged by the storms, which are blamed for one death.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Windstorm Numbers Oklahoma
Higginbotham has hired insurance brokers John Garcia and Jordan Lewis in its McAllen, Texas, office.

Garcia was added as an associate of employee benefits and Lewis as an associate of business insurance. They join the offices four existing brokers and support staff to expand the groups capacity to serve local businesses with insurance and financial services.

Garcia was most recently an agent at New York Life managing life insurance and annuities accounts.

Lewis came toHigginbotham from United Airlines where he was the general manager for operations and airport terminal services.

Fort Worth-based Higginbotham operates 27 offices inTexas andOklahoma that provide a broad range of insurance, risk management and benefit plan administration services to employers and individuals.

Source: Higginbotham

Topics Agencies Texas
Kansas City-based insurance broker, Lockton, has namedJeff Henningsenas president of its Houston Property & Casualty Insurance Operation.

Henningsen will take on an expanded leadership role in business development for the team that provides risk management advice and insurance brokerage services.

Henningsen has more than 20 years of experience in insurance. He is known as a leader in the private equity community and in merger and acquisition insurance services.

Henningsen has been with Lockton for 15 years.

Locktons Texas Property & Casualty and Lockton Dunning Benefits operations have a combined team of more than 700 Texas-based associates and fiscal 2017 revenue of more than$225 million, serving risk management and employee benefits clients from offices inHouston,Dallas,San Antonio andFort Worth.

Source: Lockton

Topics Property Casualty
A Texas attorney been released on $20,000 bond after being indicted on charges of organized criminal activity, legal misconduct, and insurance fraud related to hail claims, the Texas Department of Insurance announced.

A Tarrant County grand jury on June 5 issued a 16-count indictment for R. Kent Livesay, an attorney with offices in McAllen and Arlington. If convicted, he faces between 15 and 99 years in prison.

The charges stem from a TDI investigation that found multiple cases where Livesay filed lawsuits from 2014 to 2016 against insurance companies over roof claims after hail storms without the homeowners knowledge or consent.

The case was presented to the grand jury by Tarrant County Special Assistant Criminal District Attorney Doug Wallace, who is one of six prosecutors paid by TDI who work in district attorneys offices across the state to fight insurance fraud.

You had homeowners learning they were parties to a lawsuit brought by an attorney they had never heard of, TDI Fraud Director Chris Davis said in the departments announcement. When insurance fraud occurs, were all victims because it leads to higher rates for consumers.

TDI investigators are certified peace officers and work closely with law enforcement authorities around the state when investigating fraud cases.

Source: Texas Department of Insurance

Topics Texas Claims Fraud
National wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agent Worldwide Facilities has announced that Shavarra Davis will be joining its Atlanta office as a broker specializing in the healthcare industry.

Davis brings more than a decade of experience in the healthcare industry to the role, as well as an additional 10 as a retail agent and wholesale broker.

Prior to joining Worldwide Facilities, Davis worked as a production underwriter at Ultra Risk Advisors. While there, she established a strong customer service culture while serving as a key point of contact for more than 60 high-revenue accounts.

She also served as an account manager for Arthur J. Gallagher RMS, Inc.

Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. It provides a range of specialty lines, as well as extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas.

Topics Agencies
Arrest warrants were issued this week for 26 suspects in connection with an automobile insurance fraud ring centered in the Columbus, Georgia area, according to a statement from Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens.

According to the statement, the fraud ring allegedly staged automobile collision and filed false claims which resulted in payouts of approximately $155,925 from 12 different insurance companies.

The warrants are the culmination of a 16-month investigation by the Georgia Department of Insurances Special Fraud Division.

The 26 suspects face a total of 326 charges, which range from insurance fraud, racketeering, theft by deception, identity fraud, and exploitation of an elder person.

The investigation revealed that the suspects are alleged to have been involved in an organized auto insurance fraud ring that submitted more than 50 suspicious claims to multiple insurance companies for damage to vehicles that occurred before the vehicle was insured. Also, the suspects allegedly used multiple aliases and stole identities on the insurance claims to avoid detection by insurers. Fraud investigators allege that the ring attempted to get payouts totaling more than $500,000.

Insurance companies victimized by the scam included GEICO, State Farm, Nationwide, Safe Auto, Allstate, Progressive, USAA, Georgia Farm Bureau, Safeway, Everest National, Direct Auto and General Insurance.

This fraud ring staged phony accidents and filed fraudulent claims collecting thousands of dollars. Hudgens said. I said my office was going to be tough on insurance fraud, and hopefully these arrests will send a strong message that I am serious about cracking down on insurance fraud.

The Muscogee County Sheriffs Office, the Webster County Sheriffs Office, the Stewart County Sheriffs Office, the Lumpkin Police Department, the Richland Police Department and the National Insurance Crime Bureau assisted with the investigation. The Muscogee County District Attorneys office is prosecuting this case.

The names of the individuals for whom warrants were issued are available on the GADOI website.

Source: Georgia Department of Insurance

Topics Auto Fraud Georgia
A former insurance agent in Washington has been charged with stealing premiums from his clients.

Levi Watson, 44, of Bothell, Wash., faces one count of first-degree theft and one count of money laundering, both felonies.

Watson was licensed to sell insurance and was an agent for American Family Insurance from 2011 to 2014 in Mill Creek. According to an investigation, Watson stole more than $21,000 in premiums from his clients;

Investigators working on behalf of Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler investigators identified nearly $29,000 in additional possible theft. Watson stopped selling insurance in December 2014 and Kreidler revoked Watsons insurance producer license in August 2015.

Kreidlers criminal investigations unit investigates insurance fraud and works with the Attorney Generals Office and local prosecutors to prosecute criminal cases.

Topics Agencies Fraud Washington
The owner of a huge apartment complex that went up in flames in downtown Los Angeles will pay the city $400,000 to settle a $20 million lawsuit.

The Los Angeles Daily News reported the City Council this week approved a settlement with Geoffrey H. Palmer over the 2014 blaze at the Da Vinci Apartments.

The city already received $62 million from the insurance carrier.

The arson fire engulfed the 1.3 million-square-foot complex, which was unfinished. Heat cracked or shattered hundreds of windows in nearby city buildings, which also received water damage from sprinklers.

The city attorneys office sued, claiming Palmer and his company used defective construction methods and the project lacked proper fire protection.

The arsonist pleaded no contest in April and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A Colorado pot farms neighbor can sue them for smells and other nuisances that could harm their property values, a federal appeals court ruled.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling revives a lawsuit between a Colorado horse farm and a neighboring marijuana-growing warehouse.

The horse farms owners, the Reillys, sued in 2015, claiming that the pot-growing warehouse would diminish their lands value by emitting noxious odors and attracting unsavory visitors. A federal district court dismissed the Reillys claim, and the pot warehouse opened in 2016.

The horse farm owners appealed, and a three-judge appeals panel agreed Wednesday that their claims should be heard. But the judges said the Reillys cant sue Colorado to force the state to enforce federal drug law and not allow the pot warehouse in the first place.

The southern Colorado horse-vs-pot case is interesting because the horse farm owners are trying to use a 1970 federal law crafted to fight organized crime. The Reillys say that federal racketeering laws entitle them to collect damages from the pot farm, even though the pot farm is legal under state law.

The landowners have plausibly alleged at least one (racketeering) claim, the judges wrote.

Pot opponents say the racketeering strategy gives them a possible tool to break an industry they oppose. It could give private citizens who oppose pot legalization a way to sue the industry out of business, even as federal officials have so far declined to shut down most pot businesses operating in violation of federal drug law.

This is a tremendous victory for opponents of the marijuana industry, said Brian Barnes, a Washington-based lawyer who represents the Reillys on behalf of the anti-crime nonprofit group Safe Streets Alliance.

Owners of the pot warehouse, owned by a company called Alternative Holistic Healing, did not immediately return a call for comment Wednesday. An attorney representing them in the case could not be reached, either.

The case now goes to back to a federal district court that had earlier dismissed it.

The appeals panel handed pot opponents a defeat on another case Wednesday, however. The judges ruled that a lower court was right to dismiss a claim from a group of sheriffs in Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma, who had asked the federal court to block Colorados pot law.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Legislation Agribusiness Colorado
Higher taxes in India may kill the cryptocurrency trade in the country, according to Binances CEO, while the UK government faces calls from BT to extend its 130% super-deduction.
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Update 9.24pm: The executive council of the Teachers Union of Ireland has decided it will not recommend the new public pay deal to its members.

The Executive Committee unanimously decided to recommend rejection after their meeting tonight.

TUI President Joanne Irwin said that it would be unconscionable for the union to recommend acceptance of an agreement that effectively copper-fastened a system of pay inequality for its duration.

The union described the draft documents failure to properly address the "discriminatory, inequitable" two-tier pay system as completely unacceptable and said that the process of pay equalisation requires acceleration rather than further delay.

TUI has more than 17,000 members who will be balloted on the draft agreement in September.

Ms Irwin said: "We acknowledge the pay restoration elements in the proposed document.

"However, an unwinding of the unacceptable, unfair and inequitable two-tier pay system was the key priority for TUI on entering the recent negotiations. Wherever and whenever possible, we vigorously pushed the issue forward.

"It remains completely unacceptable to us that two colleagues, recruited within days of one another, are paid significantly different rates for carrying out the same work. TUI has prioritised and campaigned on this issue and some progress has been made.

"The draft proposed agreement would have the effect of blocking further progress for at least three years. At a time when schools are struggling to attract teachers for an increasing number of subjects due to more lucrative options in other employments, the process of full pay equalisation requires urgent acceleration, not delay.

"Regrettably, the draft agreements provision that new entrant pay be examined over a twelve month period in 2018, with application of any outcome no sooner than 2021 is wholly inadequate.

"The unions members will be balloted on the proposed agreement in September, and the Executive Committee will be strongly advocating that they reject it."

Update 6.28pm: The executive council of the Teachers Union of Ireland has said it will meet this evening to discuss the agreement.

The TUI General Secretary John MacGabhann said he cannot say for certain, but it is likely the union will recommend to their members to reject the new deal, because it does not address pay equality for new members.

Mr MacGabhann said: "The indications are very strong that the executive will, in line with the prioritisation we've given to this issue, take a very dim view of the absence of provision for this.

"And there is a likelihood, I can't pre-empt what the executive might decide, but there is a likelihood, a strong likelihood that their decision will be that it is not possible to recommend this agreement in those circumstances.

"Right now, I can speculate but I can't be certain in my speculation about the executive's decision."

Update 4pm: Sinn Fein has said the the proposed public sector pay deal is grossly unfair because it does not address a two tier pay structure amnd ensure equal pay for equal work.

If approved in its ballots of members public sector workers will get increases of up to 10% over three years from 2018, though the pension levy introduced during the recession will only be lowered rather than abolished.

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe insists the proposals are fair for workers and taxpayers.

But Sinn Feins David Cullinane says thats not the case and that not addressing the two tier pay structiure was a mistake.

"Its .. grossly unfair that those who came into system are being asked again to operate to a two tier pay structure as far as 2022"

Update 2.30pm: The Minister for Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe, has said the proposed new public pay deal is fair for both workers and taxpayers.

Paschal Donohoe said he hoped public workers would approve the new deal agreed overnight, which will increase the pay of some newer workers by up to 10% a year.

In exchange, the pension levy introduced during the recession will become permanent, although at a lower rate.

Minister Donohoe said the deal proved the value of entering talks to achieve a fair deal.

Update 12 noon: Siptus health division organiser Paul Bell has said the "key objective" of protecting jobs from being outsourced has been satisfied by the new draft pay agreement.

Speaking on RTEs Today with Sean ORourke, Mr Bell (pictured) said it was imperative that members have job security and no compulsory redundancies over the next three years.

He said this is important for all members, but especially low-paid workers.

"A key objective was to ensure the clause within the Landsdowne Toad agreement protecting members jobs from being outsourced was retained in full, which ensures our members have job security and no compulsory redundancy," he said.

"Thats very key for low paid workers because theyre the ones who always feel under pressure from budgetary cuts and where theres a situation where jobs can be outsourced."

Other key issues for Siptu were the removal of the majority of members from the effects of FEMPI legislation. He said this legislation has been used to cut members salaries since 2009.

He said: "You can now see a clear roadmap where we can dismantle such cuts for people (some of whom are on ) 30,000 euro or less, and up to 34,500, which over the course of the agreement will become fully exempt from that levy. Thats a big development."

Mr Bell added that the stability that comes from this draft agreement is very important for members. He acknowledged that not everything can be achieved in negotiations over public pay.

Update 9.30am: Unions have said no one is "high-fiving" over the proposed new public sector pay deal, but it is the best they could negotiate.

Talks between the Government and more than 30 unions ran into the early hours of this morning, culminating in agreement on a 880m draft pay deal which will now be put to members.

The unions say this deal would work out as around a 7% pay increase over the next three years, for three quarters of public servants.

It is scaled to benefit those on lower incomes more. The deal will also see the threshold for the pension levy rise.

The deal follows two and a half weeks of negotiations between unions and management.

Impacts Bernard Harbor said: "Nobody is doing high-fives, but I think its the best that we can achieve. It will see pay increases over the coming year in line with the better deals that have been done in the private sector."

There are no changes in a number of areas the Government had been targeting, such as outsourcing and Saturday working, but also no provisions on recruitment and retention issues, which a number of unions face.

Liam Doran from the Nurses and Midwives Organisation said the deal "is still being digested" and that further talks would have to take place.

"Progress has been made on pay restoration, but there is still work to be done on recruitment and retention initiatives, which is our other key issue," he said.

Earlier:

The Government and public service unions have reached a draft agreement on a pay deal to succeed the Lansdowne Road Agreement.

RTE reports that almost 250,000 public sector workers recruited before 2013 are set to receive pay hikes of between 6.2% and 7.4% over the next three years, and that about 50,000 recruited after 2013 will receive increases of between 7% and 10% over the same time period.

This latter group has less generous pension entitlements than their colleagues with longer service. Employees with smaller pensions will get the biggest pay increases.

The pension levy introduced in 2009 will also be abolished, with public sector workers instead making higher pension contributions on a phased basis.

The deal is reported to be worth more than 880m - 180m and a total of 887m over three years.

90% of all public servants will be out of emergency FEMPI pay provisions by the year 2020.

Talks continued late into the night at the WRC as government and trade union representatives sought agreement on a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement.

Discussions yesterday are believed to have centred on pay, pensions and the possibility of Saturday working hours.

The draft proposals will now be considered by union leaders before they are put to a ballot.
A Co Monaghan farmer is facing trial accused of unlawfully importing a hallucinogenic drug.

Marcus McCabe (aged 56) with an address of Burdautien, in Clones, appeared at Dublin District Court on Friday to face a charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

He is accused of unlawfully importing the banned substance N,N-Dimethyltryptamine at Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport on November 13, 2014.

When the case was called he told Judge Miriam Malone that he was representing himself and wanted to know what directions have been given by the Director of Public Prosecution.

He also said he was seeking an order for disclosure of evidence.

The judge said the charge related to importation of a controlled drug and given the nature of the charge he could be entitled to legal aid.

Mr McCabe told the court he ran a small business which was supplied by a farm he owned.

Garda Liam Mangan said there was no objection to legal aid which was granted by Judge Malone who assigned solicitor Michael French to represent the accused.

No evidence was given as to the value or quantity of substance allegedly seized.

Todays hearing was Mr McCabe's first court appearance on the charge and he has not yet indicated how he will plead.

He was ordered to appear again on a date in September.
Irish Muslim students are encouraging people of all faiths to come together this weekend.

'Under One Tent' is a community project hoping to achieve social unity.
Update 4.45pm: Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald has said if Micheal Martin is concerned about Irelands representation at Westminster then he should stand candidates in the northern constituencies.

Responding to criticism of Sinn Feins long-standing abstentionist policy from the Fianna Fail leader today, she said: Micheal Martin is a hurler on the ditch in this election. We will not take lectures from him.

Sinn Fein represents the nationalist and republican people in the North of our country, Fianna Fail dont even attempt to represent people there, so Micheal Martin should either put up or shut up.

We put our position to the people and it has been overwhelmingly endorsed.

We are mandated not to take our seats at Westminster and we will honour that mandate.

We know Fianna Fail has issues with keeping promises and respecting mandates, but we dont.

Micheal Martin says Sinn Feins position is incomprehensible. What is really incomprehensible is that a so-called Republican Party doesnt stand in elections in the North of our country.

Instead of worrying about representation in Westminster Fianna Fail should work with Sinn Fein to secure speaking rights for Irish MPs, representing Irish people, in the Dail.

Update 12.10pm: Businesses in the North have called for no hard border with the Republic in the wake of the UK election.

President of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ellvena Graham says the election result adds more uncertainty on an already struggling industry.

This result has accomplished the unlikely feat of piling more uncertainty on business communities already grappling with a number of issues including a shortage of skilled workers, currency fluctuations, high up-front costs, and the Brexit process," she said.

In terms of Northern Ireland, our political parties must now resume talks and come to an agreement whereby government can re-start again. It is now time to put the Northern Ireland economy first.

It is crucial that whatever agreement is reached with the EU results in no hard border with the Republic of Ireland. This would be a major setback in economic, social and political relations between Northern Ireland and its neighbour."

Update 11.15am: Fine Gael Leader, Minister Leo Varadkar, says the outcome of the UK election "represents an opportunity for Ireland" and added that the restoration of power sharing in the North is a priority.

"The Irish Government is ready to participate in negotiations on Brexit and to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland," he said.

"We must ensure that the Brexit talks are handled in a smooth and coherent manner to secure the best possible outcome for Ireland, for Europe and the UK.

"The results of the UK election indicate to me that there is no strong mandate to proceed with a hard Brexit, which represents an opportunity for Ireland.

"The early restoration of the Executive in Northern Ireland is also a priority. There is now a strong opportunity for the parties in Northern Ireland to re-engage in discussions to form an Executive."

Update 11am: Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, has said it is too early to predict what impact the outcome of the UK election will have on Brexit negotiations.

He admitted it has caused uncertainty and it has been a challenging couple of weeks.

"It is important talks are up and running at the earliest opportunity, we have already lost some time with this election. It is vital negotiations on Brexit begin as soon as possible," he said on Today with Sean ORourke.

Minister Flanagan said what has been learned from this election is there is a golden rule in politics and that is never take people for granted.

"The government went into an election three years before it was necessary ... and we saw what happened during the course of the campaign."

He said from Ireland's perspective, our interests are to the fore, firstly relating to Brexit and secondly on the matter of the North.

"I am pleased to note that all the parties express a desire that an executive should be re-established in Northern Ireland."

He said he welcomes the comments of Arlene Foster and Gerry Adams and looks forward to being in Northern Ireland next week with a statutory deadline to form an executive.

Minister Flanagan said there remains a large absence of detail relating to Brexit from the UK perspective.

He said the uncertainty is damaging to trade, business and society and has destabilised the situation in the UK.

"Brexit has destabilised British politics and we haven't seen the real details offered."

He thinks the first job of the minority government is providing certainty and clarity.

Minister Flanagan said he thinks there will a further emergence of common ground among the parties on the matter of Brexit if talks in the North proceed next weeks with views to forming an executive.

"Everybody agrees that Northern Ireland needs a devolved government."

Earlier: Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin says the UK election result is potentially good news for Ireland.

He believes the capacity for 'hard Brexit' is now gone.

Martin says Ireland has a responsibility to push for the UK to stay in some form in the single market and customs union.

"I think we have to seize the opportunity in terms of our presentation at a European level, to make sure that the Europeans, the European institution, the commission, the German and the French in particular, respond appropriately to the message that's eminating from the British public."
Qatar's foreign minister says that sanctions imposed upon his country violate international law, calling the moves by Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations an "unjust siege".

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced four days ago that they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar, further deepening a rift between the Gulf Arab nations over the countrys support for Islamist groups.

Speaking in the German town of Wolfenbuettel on Friday alongside German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also said that his nation's hope was for diplomacy and dialogue.

He asked: "What crime did Qatar commit to deserve such a punishment that violates international law?"

Mr Gabriel said it was important to prevent any "further escalation" and that Germany was willing to help with any negotiations, noting that other diplomatic efforts were already being made by the US, Kuwait and others - and that he was "optimistic" they would be able to organise talks.

For its part, Bahrain blamed Qatars media incitement, support for armed terrorist activities and funding linked to Iranian groups to carry out sabotage and spreading chaos in Bahrain for its decision to cut ties.

The countries are most worried about Qatars support for the Muslim Brotherhood  a Sunni Islamist political group outlawed by both Saudi Arabia and the UAE as it challenges those nations hereditary rule.

Qatar has strongly denied funding extremist groups but remains a key financial patron of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and has been the home of exiled Hamas official Khaled Mashaal since 2012.

Western officials have also accused Qatar of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like al-Qaidas branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.
In 2014 the sister companies  both chaired by John Teeling  had reached agreement for land compensation, after a rival US/Nigerian company (Erin Energy, formerly known as CAMAC Energy) was wrongly awarded part of their existing Tano 2A onshore block, but that was never formally approved by Ghanas authorities.

The saga has been ongoing for nine years, but Ghanas pro-business party is back in power and Clontarf and Petrel have reopened talks over a solution.
The victim had been the defendants line manager at the Apple prooduction plant in Cork.

The case was listed for trial at Cork District Court yesterday, but Jean Charbonnier, aged 31, formerly of Coppingers View, Popes Quay, Cork, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault, causing harm, to Julie Clermont, aged 24, at an apartment in Cork City.

Judge Aingil Ni Chonduin noted the accused had no previous convictions and said he would not be jailed. Instead of imposing the maximum possible fine of 2,500, the judge said she would prefer if the defendant paid that sum in compensation to the injured party, and he would then be given the benefit of a dismissal, under the Probation of Offenders Act.

Solicitor Frank Buttimer said the accused would be glad of the opportunity, as he had a real fear of being jailed. The defendant apologised through his solicitor.

Detective Garda Padraig Harrington said the injured woman was at a party in a friends apartment and fell asleep in a bedroom at around 2am.

The accused had been drinking elsewhere and did not attend the party.

Jean Charbonnier entered the room and caught her around the throat and started squeezing.

She was caught for breath and could not scream, the officer said.

Mr Charbonnier is alleged to have threatened the injured party with a knife, before other partygoers came into the bedroom and broke up the incident.

The injured party had bruising around her neck and was brought to Mercy University Hospital for treatment.

Det Garda Harrington said the accused co-operated with the investigation and said he did not have a knife, but picked up something like a make-up pencil in the room and was trying to frighten the injured party.

Mr Buttimer said that while the accused admitted putting his hands to her throat, he denied going into the room with that intention, and had actually intended to air the differences between them. The solicitor said the injured party was Charbonniers line manager and there had been some issues between them at work.

Ms Clermont said she was leaving Apple to travel the world. Some weeks beforehand, she noted the defendant had become distant and she had tried to talk to him, but it had not worked out.

She recalled going to a bedroom, for a rest, in the apartment. She said she woke to feel enormous pressure around her neck.

I tried to struggle. I had no strength. I tried to understand why Jean was doing this. I realised he had a knife in his hand. I could see it coming closer to my face. I tried to scream. My friends were in the living room, she said in a victim impact statement. She was petrified and eventually got the strength to scream. Her friends came to her assistance.

Ms Clermont said the attack had an unbearably oppressive effect on her.

Charbonnier is not presently working and is living in Dublin.
Frank Murphy, aged 43, of Heather Lodge, Gubbeen, Co Cork was well known in West Cork for Frankies BadAss Burgers, the stall he had set up at Skibbereen market after he had given up his day job.

He had also begun expanding the brand, having started a new venture running the grill at the Bodega Bar and restaurant on the Coal Quay in Cork.

He was working on the busy October bank holiday weekend last year when he lost his life.

His sister, Paula Larkin, told coroner Philip Comyn at Cork Coroners Court that she called to see Frank at the Bodega on the morning of October 30, 2016.

She saw Franks van and noticed that he was lying on the floor of the van. He was found to be unresponsive.

James Kelleher, a carpenter who was doing maintenance work at the Bodega, said he got a hammer and broke the window of the van. Froth was coming from Mr Murphys mouth.

Two gardai arrived and Frank was brought out of the van and on to the ground.

Paramedics who attended at the scene tried to revive the chef. However, their efforts failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Murphys wife, Julia, said he had finished work on the stall at about 4am on the day he died.

His habit was to sleep in the van for about three hours before starting work again. The inquest heard that he had a strong work ethic.

Scenes of crime investigator, Garda James OSullivan, carried out an examination of the van after the sudden passing of the chef. He found that the exhaust system was working properly and that it was not a cause of concern.

Coroner Philip Comyn said there was a possibility that gas might have escaped from the propane cylinders which Mr Murphy loaded in to his van after his day of work. He ruled out the possibility of the van causing his death: It is clear that the source of the carbon monoxide was not the van itself.

Assistant state pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, said Mr Murphy died from carbon monoxide poisoning. She said the source of the gas had not been clarified. A verdict of accidental death was recorded in the case.

Tragically, the Murphy family suffered a double tragedy as they had lost their mother just days before Franks passing.
The complaint was made by Mari Steed after the Irish Examiner revealed in November that the files of mothers and children used in the 1960/61 4-in-1 vaccine trial were altered in 2002  just weeks after the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse sought discovery of records from the religious order running the home.

Ms Steed was one of the children used in the trial and was subsequently adopted in the US. Her natural mothers file is one of those listed as having been changed. Gardai investigating the matter have written to her to say the complaint has been forwarded for the personal attention of Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon.
The 30-year-old Moroccan was one of the three attackers who murdered eight people in London last Saturday.

Sources said there is no evidence, as of yet, that Redouane was in contact with people here with a view to preparing for a terrorist act or that he was radicalised here.

But sources did emphasise that they are still building up a picture of his time in Ireland and that they hadnt quite nailed down completely when he was here and if it was in the last year.

Detectives suspect the recent period could be key, as he broke up from his wife six months ago, an event he may have used to spur on his murderous actions.

Video images were circulated yesterday showing Redouane and his two accomplices stabbing people who were out socialising in Borough Market area.

The images also show arriving armed police opening fire on the terrorists. Two of them, including, it is thought, Redouane, ran at the officers brandishing knives.

In the clip, Redouane knocks over an officer, who only manages to get away after a colleague opens fire on Redouane.

Police fire at the terrorists Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, who had killed eight people in London.

It is not yet clear how Redouane came in contact with the other two terrorists, Khuram Butt and Youssef Zaghba. All three at some stage lived in Barking, east London.

Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan has said that within two hours of the London attack gardai were able to identify Redouane.

Redouane was in Ireland at some stage in 2012 and married British woman Charisse OLeary in Dublin in November 2012.

This allowed him to apply for EU residency which enabled him to travel from Ireland to the UK, which he had repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to get into.

The couple went to England in 2013, where they lived for a number of years. In 2015 they returned to Ireland when Ms OLeary was pregnant and went back to London again in early 2016.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ms OLeary said they broke up six months ago and gardai are establishing if Redouane was in Ireland after that.

Everything he did here, on the evidence uncovered so far, was to obtain immigration status, said a garda source. What occurred here in relation to him was to obtain status to move back to the UK.

As part of the garda investigation, involving both immigration and anti-terrorism units, gardai arrested two men, both also Moroccans, in Limerick and Wexford. The arrests were in relation to fraudulent documentation, involving the use of Redouanes PPSN.

Investigators stressed that the individuals were involved in suspected criminality (it is an offence to use someone elses PPSN) and not terrorism in any way.

The Counter-Terrorism International Unit is investigating if Redouanes radicalisation may have happened while in Ireland.

But one source said: Theres no evidence available to us or from external agencies that any radicalisation happened here.

Detectives will try and check his known mobile phone for traffic data and endeavour to identify people he was in contact with.

But sources said there was no current intention of conducting further arrests.

A lot of enquiries are yet to be done, but no arrests are planned, said one source. If the need arises, if evidence of criminality arises and someone is identified, we will consider our options.

Gardai said there was nothing from their investigations to increase our concern or threat level.

The threat level remains at moderate, meaning an attack is possible, but not likely. It is the second of five stages.

As reported in yesterdays Irish Examiner, 24 new officers are joining the Special Detective Unit  divided between CTI and Counter Terrorism Domestic. The Dublin Armed Support Unit is getting 20 more and regional ASUs should operate 24/7 by years end.
A discussion of descriptions of Hamlet as a disturbing psychological thriller might have spooked some Shakespeare students, but teacher Kate Barry felt those who knew the play well should have done fine with it.

As Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) spokesperson, she said this and another on the dramatic functions of Laertes and Horatio were not the kind of questions which students could answer with pre- prepared answers.

She also noted the use of the same question about a statement on female characters powerlessness in relation to three of the five single texts.

She felt it was quite fair as no student might feel disadvantaged for focusing on a particular text, but stronger students might have preferred a question that examined more specific aspects of their chosen text.

The use of prepared essays would also have been difficult to use in response to a comparative study question on general vision and view point, Ms Barry said.

The usual straightforward kind of questions were asked in the unseen poetry section.

Ms Barry said prescribed poetry questions on Eavan Boland, John Donne, John Keats and Elizabeth Bishop were all fine, with the most student-friendly ones set around Bishops work.

Teachers Union of Irelands Thomas Ahern said a theme of power struggles within and between characters ran through the higher and ordinary level English exams, in relation to single texts and poetry.

At higher level, he felt students definitely needed to apply their knowledge and to have mastered chosen texts or poets to do very well.

Mr Ahern said the questions on unseen poems were very straightforward, and the prescribed poetry questions were very fair.

Leaving Certificate engineering students were examined in the morning. ASTIs Eamon Dennehy said there were plenty of examples in the higher-level exam of the use of technology in everyday things, such as bicycle helmets, Lego bricks and golf clubs, so its not the eternal thing of engines and machinery.

Students got to apply knowledge of tests in some questions, such as one about a safety frame in a Formula One racing car.

There were also the usual maths elements, such as drawing graphs and extracting information from them, and well-prepared students should have been fine with questions on this years special topic of automobile manufacturing robotics.

Mr Dennehy said that both papers had questions on environmental issues such as solar-powered flight and renewable energy for higher and ordinary-level students, respectively.

He said the ordinary level was familiar in its layout, and safety themes were prominent.

One question that may have challenged some students asked to explain how a metal had the same solidification and melting points, but the paper had plenty of visual cues to keep candidates on track.
The high level of spending on TVs at the Mulgrave St jail is among a litany of allegations at the prison.

It has been sent to Ms Fitzgerald, the Public Accounts Committee, the Department of Public Expenditure, and a number of other government departments.

The Prison Service confirmed it has received allegations of improper conduct at Limerick Prison, which are now under investigation.

It also confirmed that over 130,000 has been spent on providing 780 TVs in Limerick Prison over the past five years, for 250 prisoners between both male and female wings.

The whistleblower alleges:

staff come and go as the please and some are untouchable;

others attended rugby and GAA matched while on duty

others go to the pub during work hours;

staff use prison vans for personal use.

The chairman of the PAC, Fianna Fails Sean Fleming, said they have received correspondence on the case, which they forwarded to the Prison Service. He said they are very concerned by the variety of allegations outlined in a five-page submission to them, which was printed on Irish Prison Service headed-paper.

In response to queries, the Prison Service confirmed 132,677 was spent on televisions between 2012 and 2016, with 780 bought in that period for Limerick Prison. The highest number was purchased in 2013, with 298 televisions varying from 16in to 40in bought for a total cost of 48,250.44, inclusive of Vat.

Over the five years, 325 22in TVs were bought, 436 at 16in, nine 32in TVs, nine 40in TVs, and one 50in TV.

A spokesperson for the Prison Service said the volume of purchases is higher in prisons than in other facilities within the public sector, such as hospitals, due to damage caused by inmates.

Televisions are provided in all prisoners cells, and under the prisoner gratuity policy, a daily charge of 15c is levied on all prisoners to cover the cost of providing the in-cell television service. This charge is deducted from an incentivised regimes policy, which provides for a differentiation of privileges between prisoners according to their level of engagement with services and behaviour.

There are 194 staff assigned to Limerick Prison, which has a bed capacity of 210 for males and 28 females. Both facilities in Limerick were operating at 100% capacity or over, based on the most recent figures for this week. To alleviate over-crowding, a percentage of prisoners are routinely on temporary release or on remand from the prison.

The Prison Service would not confirm if there has been any update in another investigation of an alleged breach of social media policy by employees at Limerick Prison, saying they do not comment on individual investigations.

Thrones popular with prisoners

Gordon Deegan

Book lovers in our prisons are big fans of Game of Thrones, it has emerged.

The Irish Prison Service has confirmed the popularity of the US author, George RR Martin, amongst bookworm inmates across the prison system in new tender documents where the IPS is seeking a supplier to provide 25,000 worth of books to the IPSs library service.

In the tender, the IPS state that it also occasionally receives requests for non-book items such as meditation/relaxation CDs and poetry on CD.

In the documentation, Mr Martin gets special mention along with the authors of other fantasy novels, David Gemmell and Raymond E Feist.

The IPS state that the three writers are particularly popular and we would put a particular emphasis on the tenderers ability to supply complete sets of, or missing volume from fantasy series, as in our experience they can go out of print unexpectedly.

The IPS notes that 90% of borrowers from the prison services library service are male and many are young and may have limited education.

The IPS states: Our service is strongly customer-driven and we place a particular emphasis on satisfying stock requests.

The IPS goes on to state that other popular genres for inmates are true crime books, self-help books and science fiction novels.

The tender also states: There will be a strong emphasis on Irish-published titles and titles of Irish interest.

We may also require books in the Irish language, particularly those aimed at readers wishing to refresh their knowledge of the language having learned it in school.

Those seeking to tender for the business have until June 28 to do so.
Ruth Morrissey, the Teachers Union of Ireland subject spokeswoman, said it is unusual that students were asked about a place featured in any of their chosen novels, plays or short stories. They would be more used to questions about themes or issues in the prescribed literature.

She said the letters in Paper 2 were also challenging, with very specific information required in two of the choices about a school celebration or a meeting with a hero.

Ms Morrissey also considered that some vocabulary in the opening unseen prose section was tough.

Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland Irish spokesman, Robbie Cronin, agreed on the difficulty of the question about types of places in their studied stories, and reported that even students in all-Irish schools were angry about it. He was pleased with the choice of unseen poems, but thought it was too much to expect students to find two reasons why the narrator of one poem pulled in to the side of the road.

The morning exam for higher level students was quite fair, in Mr Cronins view. He said some difficult vocabulary in the aural and comprehension questions was balanced by some standard tasks in a later grammar question.

He said essays on topics such as holidays, mobile phones and a house party gave students plenty of variety. However, an account of being lost in Dublin might have been too limiting for students of this age or who are not familiar with the city.

Ms Morrissey said the morning paper was much less challenging, with reading comprehensions about teenage diet and a train journey. While some vocabulary may have been tough, questions were fair.

Ordinary level Irish students had just a morning exam, which Ms Morrissey said had a good mix of questions and topics. It featured reading passages about homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry and singer Imelda May. She felt students might not have understood a sign about water shortages during a heatwave, but might have been able to match it to the appropriate picture of a dried-out river by process of elimination. A postcard about a cycling holiday and a blog article about a beach trip were among the writing tasks.

Mr Cronin agreed on the difficulty of some vocabulary, and thought a question on the Peter McVerry article was quite difficult, in which students needed to identify unemployment and drug misuse as major problems. Otherwise, he felt the exam was relatively problem-free.
Investigating gardai said that criminal proceedings are being considered in relation to the murder of Aidan ODriscoll, who was shot dead on the northside of Cork City on December 7, 2016.

Mr ODriscoll, aged 37, of Glenview Heights, Ballyvolane, in Cork was shot four times as he was walking along the Old Commons Road in Blackpool shortly after he had finished work at a local builders.

He was approached by two men wearing balaclavas. Mr ODriscoll was shot once and then three more times while he was on the ground. He was rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital (CUH) where he underwent emergency surgery. However, he died of his injuries.

At Cork Coroners Court yesterday gardai told coroner Philip Comyn that criminal proceedings are being considered in relation to the murder. A file on the case is being sent to the DPP. Mr Comyn agreed to adjourn the case until November 30.

The inquest also heard from assistant state pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, who carried out an autopsy on the deceased. She said Mr ODriscoll died of haemorrhage and shock due to multiple gun shot wounds.

Mr ODriscoll was engaged and was due to marry his fiancee this year. He played football with Delaneys GAA and managed a soccer team.

He was the victim of a punishment attack in 2014 by former associates. The then 34-year-old, known as The Beast, was attacked near his Ballyvolane home on the northside of Cork City.

The IRA claimed it was responsible for that shooting in a statement released through the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. The group said Mr ODriscoll was targeted for his unrepublican conduct.

Mr ODriscoll was previously convicted of RIRA membership and served time in jail. However, his conviction was quashed on a technicality after an appeal.
Along with his late brother, Fr Aengus Finucane, the Limerick-born priest was at the heart of famine relief efforts in Biafra in the 1960s and Ethiopia in the 1980s.

He advised Bob Geldof on the Live Aid appeal and brought Bono to the East African nation in 1985. The U2 frontman said he was a huge influence on his thinking on international development.

Fr Jack Finucane died on Wednesday in Kimmage Manor in Dublin. He was 80.

President Michael D Higgins said: Jack Finucanes lifelong commitment to protecting the dignity of some of the worlds poorest and most marginalised people will stand not only as a lasting tribute to all that is good about mankind, but is exemplary in its invitation not to avert our gaze from our current challenges of global hunger and poverty.

Concern Worldwide chief Dominic MacSorley said: An unassuming leader, he brought intelligence, drive and passion to what is now Irelands leading humanitarian and development organisation.

Along with his brother, Aengus, they were a bridge between Irelands long tradition of missionary work defining contemporary humanitarian response characterised by professional, practical, compassionate solutions on the ground. Together, they brought a nation with them.

Mr MacSorley said the true extent of Fr Finucanes achievements may never be fully understood.

He was ordained in 1963 and sent to Nigeria with the Holy Ghost Fathers and was at the heart of the distribution of aid being flown into Biafra by Concern and other relief organisations.

In 1994, he witnessed more than one million flee Rwanda into Goma, Zaire, and two years later he saw the same population stream across the border to return home.

He retired in 2002 but in 2004 flew to Sudan to lead Concerns response to the Darfur crisis and later oversaw operations in tsunami-affected Sri Lanka.
Ireland legalised same-sex marriage in 2015, and is on the verge of having its first gay Taoiseach; some of us have even come so far that were considering the possibility that Leo Varadkars policies might be more pertinent than the gender of his chosen partners.

It may feel like pats on the back all-round for Ireland when it comes to LGBT rights, but one young artist feels weve a way to go  and hes got Stephen Frys backing.

Crawford College of Art and Design final year fine arts student Stephen Doyle, 22, travelled to Moscow to discover what it was like for members of the LGBT community in a country with oppressive laws surrounding homosexuality.

Although homosexuality itself is not a crime, a law enacted in 2013 makes it a criminal offence to advertise non-traditional sexual relationships.

Doyle stayed with, and painted, gay Russian men and women whose lifestyle is, as a result, cloistered and secretive.

Portraits of his subjects form the core of his contribution to the Crawford degree show.

Rory ONeill to Open CIT CCAD Degree Show - The Annual CIT Crawford College of Art and Design Degree Show, will... https://t.co/YcUhipJA3T  Munster Technological University (@MTU_ie) June 2, 2017

His canvasses, large and vividly coloured, depict his subjects in private moments: reading, working out after work, or sitting in contemplation.

I wanted to use the frame in a way that gives a sense of isolation and enclosure, Doyle says.

Because each individual deals with the isolation in their own way. Some find it easier, while some struggle more. The three people that I met were very different; one guy was out to everybody and was willing to go to prison for his activism, while others didnt want family or work colleagues to know, for fear of jeopardising their relationships."

"Everybody was very polite and helpful, yet I did have the feeling that I had to hide while I was there. I felt constrained, and it reminded me of years when I was still closeted," he says.

In exhibiting his work in Cork, his home town, Doyle is not only commenting on life for gay people in Russia, but also reflecting the state of play in Ireland, quite literally: His paintings are contained in a mirrored installation, the rest of which contrasts unsettlingly with the peaceful mood of the portraits.

Thank you to all the wonderful organizations supporting the arts @BeyondDialogue Open to the public 6pm Fri 9 June #art #cork #appliedart pic.twitter.com/WjiNkwxRsJ  MTU CRAWFORD (@MTU_Crawford) June 8, 2017

Viewers entering the mirrored space see not only a reflection of themselves and Doyles subjects, but also abusive and threatening phrases which are graffitied on to the mirrors.

Once the viewer comes into the space, they become a part of the conversation, he says.

Regardless of your orientation, you have a dialogue and its your responsibility to be open with that; if it makes you feel uncomfortable then you must voice it. Its an exchange, and an education I guess, to a degree.

Doyle came out to his family at 20, two days before the referendum.

I wondered if it would change my relationships with my family, especially my father, he says.

Theres always that relationship between a son and his father, and my father is very much the alpha-male packet of football, DIY and army all rolled into one. I thought that relationship would change, and I was really happy to be entirely wrong about that.

The result was a liberation, and a turning point in his art; he felt constraints drop, as though he was finally free to address queer culture as a subject matter.

Finishing touches   Beyond Dialogue (@BeyondDialogue) June 8, 2017

Doyles work has garnered the support of one patron that is particularly high-profile; he emailed examples of his work to Stephen Fry, who responded.

Our community doesnt live in a bubble, nothing human does, and I hope our straight friends can see that what happens to us is a warning to all. Stephen Doyles work here is part of a tragically necessary resistance movement and I am proud to support and endorse his vision.

For someone as well respected in the queer community to acknowledge somebody like me whos only starting out is incredible, Doyle says. Im just lost for words that he took the time to acknowledge me like that.

Beyond Dialogue, CIT Crawford College of Art and Design 2017 degree show, opens today at Sharman Crawford St, Cork, and runs until June 16.
Hello old stock. Ive taken my wife Marjorie on a grand tour around Italy, after she caught me in Kinsale with a beauty therapist. The only other Irish people on the bus are Donie and his wife Marie, from Ballyvolane. How can I persuade the other people on the bus I have nothing in common with this couple? -Reggie, Blackrock, Marie turned around in the bus the other day and started singing, Yere all a pack of langers down the back!

And were ye? I had a similar problem in Italy last year, with a couple called Gerry and Phil from Fairhill. When we were driving through Rome, Gerry said, Look Phil girl, they have a Coliseum here as well! My Posh Cousin was with me and said, I think youll find now Gerry that the Coliseum here, has more going for it than the one in Cork. He said, I think that depends on whether or not you fancy a game of pool, girl. My Posh Cousin said, whats pool? We were the ones who ended up as a laughing stock.

Howre oo goin on? Herself is after falling in with a bunch of intellectuals inside in Killorglin and didnt they convince her that Im some kind of savage. Anyway, the upshot is Ive been told I need to attend a literary festival soon, or shell leave me for a guy in Castlemaine who keeps organic bees. Where would a fella find such a festival around here? -John Mick Mike, head out towards Fossa until you see a 1998 Ford Fiesta for sale by the side of the road, Ill be asleep inside of her.

Are you sure your wife is telling the whole story? I looked up gullible in the dictionary there and it says, Someone who believes there is an intellectual in Killorglin. I then looked up intellectual in the Killorglin Book of Big Words and it reads You know, your man Beardy Mike who passed the Inter Cert. If you think going to a festival might save your marriage, the West Cork Literary Festival is on in July. They allow in a small number of Kerry people, as long as ye stand in the back and dont interrupt the poetry readings with Chryst, lads, youd think shed at least make it rhyme.

Hi. Im taking my daughter out of school early next week for our summer holidays. My only concern is that the other parents will think I am doing it to save money, when in fact we are both loaded and on first-name terms with Simon Coveney. (Or Simon, as I call him.) Is there some kind of ad I can take out in the Examiner to let our neighbours know that we are, if anything, richer than them? -Tara, Douglas Road, I wouldnt mind but well be spending July and August in Crookhaven.

I hear Crook has gone a bit common alright. There is actually a popular method to show off your wealth in the Examiner. Its called Tommy Barker. You put your house up for sale and get our property editor, Tommy, to do an article about it. It usually takes about three months for him to get around to you, so thats plenty of time to get a slightly bigger hot-tub than Monica in the tennis club. A side-tip for you. Posh Cork has stopped name-dropping Simon for a few months, after he lost to someone from Dublin. (Imagine!)

Im down in Cork this weekend, supporting Tipp in the football match Saturday night. Where could I go out to score with a few Cork birds? -Tony, Borrisokane, you live in Ballinlough, is it alright if I park across your drive?

It depends on your car. If its worth over 50 grand, and you take the bales of hay out of the back so my neighbours might mistake you for a dentist, then Im up for anything. (And I mean anything.) If you still think youll do better in town, I suppose you could always try Crane Lane. Its popular with Cork women looking for men who speak English as a second language, so youll fit in as long as you dont wear your pointy, tan shoes. Tell the DJ you are a fan of Tipperary GAA and hell probably play Rumours. (He has an awful cheek.)

Hi, I started my Leaving Cert this week. My Mom rang me from her girls week away in Valencia to wish me luck and to remind me that if I did badly, Id probably end up living in a council house. Is that true? -Amy, Montenotte, I love the view from our house.

I know, you can look down on everyone. Dont mind your Mom. With the length of the housing list these days, there isnt a Norrys chance in Pres that youll get your hands on a place from the council. So, it looks like youll be stuck living with her. Sorry about that. And good luck.
MR John Conneely is a consultant surgeon at Mater Private Hospital, Dublin, and has a specialist interest in the management of weight loss and minimally invasive bariatric surgery: In Ireland today, one in 20 adults have an obesity-related disease such as diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnoea and fertility problems.

"We are quickly becoming the most obese country in Europe. Worldwide it is estimated that as many as 700m people are obese.

A healthy weight is one that is right for your body shape and height and is based on your body mass index (BMI) and your waist circumference.

"There are lots of calculators available to check your BMI which involves measuring your height and weight to calculate your bodys surface area. You can check these online or next time you visit the family doctor ask the nurse to calculate it for you.

"In conjunction with your BMI, also measure your waist circumference.

Measuring your waist can help you find out how much fat you store around your stomach. People who store fat around their stomach are more likely to develop weight-related health conditions.

Weight management is a lifelong programme that starts in childhood with creating a normal attitude to diet and exercise. Regular physical activity burns calories and builds muscle, both of which help you look and feel good and keep weight off.

"Walking the family dog, cycling to school, and doing other things that increase your daily level of activity can all make a difference. If you want to burn more calories, increase the intensity of your workout and add some strength exercises to build muscle.

"The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when you arent exercising.

An unintended side effect of modern technological progress is that we tend to spend a lot of time in front of screens. Set reasonable limits for your children on the amount of time they spend watching TV, and using computers and tablets.

"When planning meals avoid big portions and sugary drinks, which are empty calories that contribute to obesity. Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

Fruits and vegetables are about more than just vitamins and minerals they also contain fibre, which means you will feel full.

"Dont skip breakfast. Breakfast kick starts your metabolism, burning calories from the start of the day and giving you the energy to do more. People who skip breakfast tend to eat more later on. In fact, people who skip breakfast tend to have higher BMIs.

For some, traditional weight management strategies fail and other avenues need to be explored such as surgery. In this case, a lot of discussion is required. The first step is to discuss this with your doctor and if you meet the criteria it is okay to get a referral to a specialist surgeon and discuss your options.

"Many of the patients we will see have been dieting for most of their lives without success and are at a stage where weight loss surgery is considered the best option for them.

Weight loss surgery services in Ireland are underdeveloped. The bariatric surgery programme at The Mater Private is a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary service spanning 18 months.

"A personalised multi-disciplinary team works with potential patients for a minimum of 6 months before surgery, and up to 18 months post-surgery to ensure their weight-loss journey is a success. Bariatric teams succeed by helping obese patients who have struggled for years to realise their goal of a healthy weight.

Surgery is of course not the first option in managing weight loss and anyone who is concerned about their weight and the impact it may have on their general health should discuss that with their family doctor.

"Your doctors ultimate goal is to prevent ill-health through education in lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise however they understand surgical options are available to adults who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 45 or more, or who have a BMI between 40 and 45 with other significant diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia or sleep apnoea.
THE constant presence of Capuchin friars at key moments of Irelands revolution a century ago is being placed under a historic microscope.

From the infamous 1915 funeral of fabled Fenian Jeremiah ODonovan Rossa to the bloody 1922 street-fighting of the Civil War, members of the Capuchin Franciscan order were regularly seen amid the famous faces of Irish history.

Their participation in the events and close associations with many figures will be examined at University College Cork tomorrow.

Members of the Capuchin order in Ireland were closely associated in their pastoral ministry with practically every significant stage of the struggle for independence, said Gabriel Doherty of UCCs School of History.

He helped organise the event, run in association with Capuchin Franciscan Friary in Rochestown, and Douglas-Rochestowns Catholic parish assembly. The conference tomorrow morning will be followed by a 3pm Mass at the friary in honour of the orders deceased members.

Mr Doherty will speak about Catholic theology and the hunger strike  a key weapon used in the political and propaganda war by republican prisoners. It began as early as late 1917 when Irish Volunteers prisoners in Cork, Dublin, and elsewhere won their release, or concessions as political prisoners, by refusing to take food.

During Cork Lord Mayor Terence MacSwineys fateful hunger strike in 1920, Fr Dominic OConnor who was chaplain to MacSwineys Cork No 1 Brigade, became a public figure. He kept constant vigil with MacSwineys family by his bedside, and is seen in many photos of his funeral.

Another Capuchin friar, Fr Augustine Hayden, performed the ceremony 100 years ago today at the marriage of MacSwiney, then a prominent Cork Irish Volunteers officer, to Muriel Murphy. The wedding on June 9, 1917, took place though Irish in the English village of Bromyard, where MacSwiney had been deported by the British military for the previous three months because of his ongoing separatist activities.

The wedding party at the marriage of Terence MacSwiney and Muriel Murphy in Bromyard, England, June 9, 1917, where MacSwiney had been deported in February 1917. Terence MacSwiney and his wife Muriel (nee Murphy) Back (left to right): Mary MacSwiney, Annie MacSwiney, Fr Augustine Hayden OFM (Capuchin friar), bridesmaid Geraldine OSullivan (later Geraldine Neeson), best man Richard Mulcahy. Picture courtesy of Cork Public Museum Front

As reported in yesterdays Irish Examiner, a silver dish ring given to the couple as a wedding gift has gone on permanent display at Independence Museum Kilmurry, in Co Cork.

Fr Augustine was one of many Capuchins who ministered to wounded and dying fighters and civilians during the Easter Rising. He gave spiritual assistance to Con Colbert, one of 14 men executed in Dublin after the rebellion in May 1916.

At the September 1917 funeral of Kerry-born Irish Volunteers and Irish Republican Brotherhood leader Thomas Ashe, Fr Augustine was also present. Ashe died after being force-fed while on hunger strike at Mountjoy.

The Capuchin is seen in a famous crowd photo behind the Volunteers who fired a volley of gunshots over the grave, moments before Michael Collins stepped forward to make a short oration that marked his public emergence as a key revolutionary leader.

In the same Glasnevin Cemetery two years earlier, two Capuchins stood yards from Patrick Pearse as he delivered his famous the fools, the fools, the fools speech at the graveside of ODonovan Rossa. Fr Albert Bibby is seen with his head bowed in a photograph of the August 1915 scene where the Irish Volunteers demonstrated their strength eight months before the Rising, with Fr Aloysius Travers from Cork behind him.

The friars participation in such events were well documented at the time, making the Capuchin Archives in Dublin a valuable source for many scholars of the period. The orders archivist Brian Kirby will talk about their role in the revolutionary decade at the UCC conference.

The same Four Courts area where the Capuchins gave most help during the 1916 Rising was also where anti-Treaty IRA forces began the military campaign in the Civil War in June 1922. Fr Augustine was among those who acted as intermediaries with the National Army.

The Capuchins monastery in Rochestown was also in the heart of a battle zone when the National Army fought their way into rebel-held Cork City in August 1922, after a surprise sea landing at Passage West.

The grounds of the Rochestown monastery are also where Fr Albert and Fr Dominic were buried in 1958, following the repatriation of their remains from the US through arrangements by the Old IRA. The reasons behind their exile and their return for burial in Cork will be detailed by UCC historian John Borgonovo.

Many of the famous images of the orders members during the period have appeared in its Capuchin Annual. It has recently been digitised and uploaded to the orders website. Trinity College Dublin art historian Ruth Sheehy will speak about Richard Kings illustrations for the Capuchin Annual between 1940 and 1972.

The free public conference takes place at UCCs Boole 4 from 9.20am to 1pm tomorrow. More details available by emailing: g.doherty@ucc.ie

Hearing a century of Womens Voices

From Irish womens first votes in 1918 to a prospective 2018 abortion referendum  a century of female activism is being discussed and dramatised in Cork this weekend.

Womens Voices combines various disciplines including history, theatre, film, activism, music, and poetry in talks, workshops, and screenings at University College Cork and the Farmgate Cafe in the citys English Market.

A range of womens movements in Ireland will be analysed through the lenses of sociology, literature, philosophy, and politics from today until Sunday.

Among the myriad topics on the agenda are famous and unknown women participants in the Irish revolution, through the 1930s Womens League of Health and Beauty, and todays campaigns against water charges and problems for immigrant women in direct provision centres.

Speakers from as far afield as Australia are among those giving talks, readings, and sharing their research.

The programme is on the UCC Womens Studies website and all events are free but advance online registration is required at: uccconferencing.ie/product/womens-voices
The ubiquitous Russian hackers are now accused of providing the spark for a diplomatic fire between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

While the facts remain vague, its hard to understand why it would be in Russias interest to undermine Qatar.

According to CNN, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, when invited to look into the May 24 hacking of Qatars official news agency, alleged that Russians were involved.

It was they who supposedly placed on the agencys website a fake story quoting the emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, boasting of his countrys good relations with Iran, Israel, and the US, despite the unfavourable orientation of the current American administration. (The story, of course, has gone from the Qatar News Agency site, but pick-ups in the Saudi press are still live).

Punching holes in this case is not difficult, starting with its flash point. Its not clear what role the story played in Saudi Arabias recent decision to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar. Officially, the kingdom accused Qatar of supporting terrorists, such as Islamic State and al-Qaeda, but also the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that isnt universally recognised as terrorist (the UK designates it as such, but the US does not, despite the efforts of the Trump administration).

The Saudi governments statement also blamed Qatar for supporting Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Saudi Arabia, and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

These grievances, real or imagined, are not new. They didnt come to the boil immediately after the fake news item was published. On May 29, Saudi newspapers accused the emir of Qatar of duplicity for a different remark, which wasnt fake.

After Hassan Rouhani won the presidential election in Iran, the Qatari monarch made a congratulatory call to him, saying: Our relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are longstanding, historical, and well-established, and we call for further strengthening of these relations.

And the Financial Times recently reported that the break-off of diplomatic relations was triggered by Qatars decision to ransom members of its royal family, kidnapped while on a hunting trip to Iraq, for $1bn. The Saudis saw that huge payment as an excuse for funding terrorist groups.

But even if the fake news story had contributed to the attempt to isolate Qatar, its hard to imagine why Russia would want this outcome.

Like Saudi Arabia, Russia is deeply interested in driving up the price of oil. Thats why both countries are parties to a supply-reduction deal.

But the Qatar crisis only briefly drove Brent oil above the $50 mark. As it became clear there would be no disruption to supply, it dipped back again.

As a power broker in the Middle East, Russia is obviously interested in driving wedges between major Arab nations and the US.

In recent years, Russian president Vladimir Putin has built up a cordial relationship with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to the extent that, in October 2016, Egypt voted with Russia on a UN Security Council resolution that would have allowed the continued bombing of Aleppo. That decision that caused consternation in Saudi Arabia.

But the Saudis have also found a willing partner in Mr Putin. Russia had never helped the Saudi-led Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in the oil market, but now its part of the unprecedented deal on oil-production cuts. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was in Moscow on May 30.

With Qatar, too, what was a hostile relationship  mostly over Moscows support for Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, but also because Russia and the emirate are the biggest competitors in the global natural-gas market  has recently thawed.

Now, it is arguably warmer than with all other Persian Gulf nations, save Iran, whose troops fight on Mr Assads side alongside Russian forces.

Last year, as Russia struggled to close a budget gap, Qatars sovereign wealth fund provided 2.5bn toward the purchase of a 19.5% stake in Russias state-controlled oil company, Rosneft.

The fund joined a consortium with the commodities trader, Glencore, which only contributed 300m, and the Italian bank, Intesa SanPaolo, loaned the rest of the 10.2bn price.

This means Qatar took on the biggest exposure to Rosneft, at a time when Mr Putin needed the money  and the recognition that his regime wasnt in international isolation.

Recent reports  denied by Glencore and Qatar  suggest that Mr Putin and the emir inserted a buy-back clause for Russia into the deal, as a way of building a political bridge between the two countries. The sovereign fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, is in the midst of negotiating the purchase of a stake in another Russian oil business, the Independent Oil and Gas Company, of former Rosneft CEO Eduard Khudainatov, which is under US sanctions for dealing with North Korea.

It is also looking at other Russian projects worth up to 12bn, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said in April.

Since deciding to take a stand in the Middle East, Mr Putin has tried to be the friend of every important leader in the region. They, too, have been eager to strengthen ties, despite their traditional closeness to the US.

Mr Putin would throw away years of patient relationship-building if he tried to pit Gulf nations against each other. The strategic role he sees for Russia in the Middle East, both as a military power and as a conflict mediator, would be harder to play if the emir came to hold a grudge. Since Saudi Arabia cut off relations with Qatar, the Russian and Qatari foreign ministers, as well as Mr Putin and the emir, have spoken on the phone. Mr Putin has probably offered help as a mediator; unlike Trump, who tweeted his approval of the Saudi action against Qatar, the Russian leader hasnt taken an official stand on the conflict.

Its a matter of these states bilateral relations, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told a press conference. We dont interfere with these decisions. Though were suspected of being behind every event in the world, I assure you that is not so.

The Kremlins denials tend to get stale very fast, but, in this particular case, Russia has nothing to gain from destabilising Qatar or from pitting it against Arab neighbours.

The US interest in sowing distrust between Qatar and Russia is far more obvious: Qatar is a key ally, which hosts a large US military base, and the Russian inroads in the country are unpleasant to the Washington military and foreign policy establishment.

Russian hackers tend to appear where this establishment  as distinct from the Trump administration  fears Russia might make gains at US expense.

The Trump-Russia scandal, so far, has prevented a rapprochement between the White House and the Kremlin. Its doubtful, however, that it can work with Qatar.

The tiny, rich emirate is doing its best to be friends with everyone  Arab neighbours, Iran, Russia, and the US.

The current crisis shows this policy can be hard to pursue, but with a potentially hostile Donald Trump in the White House, the emir isnt interested in making an enemy of Mr Putin.
It is going to be great, positive, energetic, dynamic.

Life in Varadkars Ireland will be a bright new dawn, Leo informed us in a sunny courtyard outside Government Buildings.

A new start, confident were are moving in the right direction, he said.

But enough of all that guff, all the media wanted to know was who will sit in his Cabinet and who will lose out.

Health Minister Simon Harris has assumed a toxicity in recent days given his support for losing candidate Simon Coveney  there have been strong suggestions that he is for the chop.

Realising this, Coveney made it clear on 96FM on Tuesday that he would not be a happy bunny if Harris is dumped. But Varadkar gave him little succour yesterday. Mr Varadkar would only say he has considered different options, but he has not made any decisions yet  leading some to think that Mr Harris job is under threat. He said he will take a degree of regional balance and gender balance into account when selecting ministers, he said, but the core issue is trust: Anyone who runs a cabinet, and anyone who heads up a government, who heads up a football team, needs to know that everyone on that team is going to be fully behind your programme.

The clear implication is that he does not fully trust Harris, with whom the new leader is not close. Such is the antipathy there, that Varadkar may seek to leave Harris in health as punishment.

Given Varadkars repeated talk of generational change at cabinet, the names of Charlie Flanagan, Mary Mitchell OConnor and even Frances Fitzgerald spring to mind pretty immediately.

Fitzgerald is facing a double demotion as she is almost certain to be moved out of justice and a sure bet to lose the Tanaiste title, which is expected to go to Coveney. But her backing of Varadkar could see her stay at the top table for a while. However, if Varadkar is struggling to accommodate the demands of those who supported him, then she could find herself put out to pasture.

One other possible demotee is Education Minister Richard Bruton. But his early declaration for Varadkar appears to have secured his future. Bruton has been linked with Noonans finance job but there is talk Paschal Donohoe will take control of both finance departments and Bruton could be asked to take on the crisis-engulfed justice department.

The name of long-time rebel Waterford TD John Deasy has been doing the rounds in respect to the junior justice ministry, as he has retained close links with Varadkar for a long time.

Junior finance minister and Varadkar campaign manager Eoghan Murphy is a dead cert to be elevated into Cabinet and he has been linked with the jobs portfolio which is likely to see a major Brexit element added to its brief.

Kilkenny TD and another Varadkar loyalist John Paul Phelan has been mentioned in connection with the chief whips job which would see Regina Doherty elevated into Cabinet.

The big problem for Varadkar is that the Cabinet will have an increased Dublin-centric feel to it and to combat that, it has been suggested that junior Mayo minister Michael Ring could become the Minister for the West.

But as Leo said himself yesterday, come Wednesday there are likely to be far more disappointments than appointments.

Reality bites.
Its not that the new leader of Fine Gael and Taoiseach-in-waiting grimaced, but it was just too easy to imagine his internal disquiet at being given the political equivalent of the birthday bumps. That was too much tactility and spontanteity.

Varadkars not, by traditional criteria, a natural politician, and yet he has won the highest political mantle in the land. The glad-handling, pint-buying, and flesh-pressing, which would mark out what Irish people recognise as a political animal, are not Varadkars forte. Sure, hes been working on these things, on his own personal and political journey, to use the modern parlance, but they dont come naturally.

I heard of someone meeting Varadkar at a function. To break the ice, the person said they were from near where some of Varadkars down-the-country relatives live. Now, this would be grasped as a golden opportunity for a typical Irish politician to break into a seed, breed and generation type of discussion. But the response from Leo? Dead air.

Last week, at the tender age of 38, he achieved his ambition after a really well-executed campaign. That is young for political leadership, but, as far as life goes, youve usually got a fairly good handle on yourself at that point; youve worked out who you are, what you stand for, and what your attitudes are to certain things.

But not so Leo Varadkar and that is the kernel of what is fascinating about him. He remains a work in progress. As he said himself, at his first Q&A with journalists, last Friday night, he is evolving.

This comment was in response to a question (from me) asking how he felt about senior colleagues saying, during the leadership campaign, that he had changed a lot in the last two to three years. Many of them had commented: Hes matured.

Its interesting to think of senior cabinet members handing the top job to a colleague they believe had only recently matured.

The obvious question is whether there might be more maturing to be done, on the job, as it were, and how this could affect attitudes to policy, or indeed relationships within government.

On Varadkars website, it says: Is Mise Leo, a nod to another change, his newfound ability to speak Irish, after taking classes. But despite having worked with him for a number of years, his colleagues dont really know which Leo they have signed on for.

This is a concern/curiosity they have chosen to overlook, in opting for Leos X factor and his ability to communicate so effectively with the public.

He may have to practice the back-slapping, but when it comes to an ability to directly talk to the voters, his political skills are virtually incomparable.

That the Leo project continues to evolve is hardly a surprise. After all, it is just over two years since he said publicly that he was gay, and he played a big role in the same-sex marriage referendum. Just seven years ago, Varadkar gave an interview to Hot Press in which he made it clear he was not in favour of gay marriage, and, possibly, reading the comments, not assisted reproduction, either.

Marriage in our Constitution is very clear that its a man marrying a woman, largely with a view to having a natural family, and if they are unable to do that, obviously then they can adopt.

And I would be of the view that it doesnt have to be the case for everyone, but that the preferable construct in a society is the traditional family, and the State, through its laws, should protect that and promote that, said Varadkar.

In recent weeks, Varadkar indicated that he would be in favour of abortion, in instances of fatal foetal abnormalities and rape. But in another interview, in 2010, he said he was against a woman being allowed to terminate a pregnancy in a case of rape.

The conservative TD and medical doctor, as he was described at that time, in a report in this newspaper, went on to give a really good example of why his colleagues would have considered him immature.

Elaborating on the abortion question and the thousands of Irishwomen who travel to the UK for terminations each year, he resorted to the offensive flippancy that used to be one of his hallmarks. He essentially compared abortion to gambling and prostitution. It was rather a wow moment.

New party leader of @FineGael: Congrats to Leo #Varadkar. Good luck & let's fight together for a strong #Ireland in Europe. @campaignforleo  Manfred Weber (@ManfredWeber) June 2, 2017

People travel overseas to do things overseas that arent legal in Ireland all the time, he said. You know, are we going to stop people going to Las Vegas? Are we going to stop people going to Amsterdam? There are things that are illegal in Ireland and we dont prevent people from travelling overseas to avail of them.

Its worth a final, further delve into that interview to remember how he said that, as then Fine Gael frontbench spokesman on enterprise, he went easier on tanaiste and enterprise minister Mary Coughlan in the Dail, because she is a woman. This was in an effort to dismiss claims that he had been sexist towards her.

These handful of examples show the personal and professional journey that the new Fine Gael leader has been on. It is a pity we live in a society in which he felt he had to make an announcement on radio about his sexuality, but it did push him further along a particular road, freed him, changed him, made him more comfortable in his own skin, confident in going after what he wanted.

Speaking of which, we havent imagined seeing him looking fitter of late, either  he has lost 25kg  so the change has not just been internal.

Its always interesting to observe a new leader of the country, but it is impossible to say how anyone, despite their record, longevity, or even their consistency, will perform in that role.

But in the case of Leo Varadkar, it feels like it might be more interesting than most.

The obvious question is whether there might be more maturing to be done, on the job
It seems clear at this point that the future will involve large numbers of drones buzzing around. They will be taking video of the inside of a burning house to assess the situation here, delivering a package there. The priority, of course, is to perform all these tasks safely and efficiently.

Recently, the regulatory structure that was thought well on the way to creation was disrupted when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) cannot regulate drones. At the same time, the Senate took steps to create a regulatory regime. And, by the way, a drone crashed into a set during a Padres game at Petco Park in San Diego.

sUSA reported that the Nevada UAS Test Site and NASA trialed five traffic control systems at the Reno-Stead Test Range this week. Operational parameters, including parachute, initiated emergency supply deliveries and aerial survey operations were tested. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (the technical name for drones) were also flown outside the pilots line of sight using strategically placed visual observers and sophisticated command and control (VO and C2) communication, detect and avoid technologies.

Telcos Eat Their Own AI Cooking

Telecommunications companies have made moves to offer artificial intelligence (AI) to their subscribers. They are using AI internally as well, according to a survey from Infosys Technologies.

The firm queried 932 enterprises from 138 telecom service providers. The companies, according to Light Reading, are using AI in a number of ways: for machine learning (86 percent of respondents), to build applications to amplify and improve products and services (80 percent), to automate decision making (71 percent), to build chatbots (66 percent), for completing cognitive AI-led process for tasks (65 percent), and to automate predictive analytics (62 percent).

Several Skills Will Be Hot in the IIoT

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), as the name implies, is the use of IoT techniques and technologies on factory floors and in other industrial settings. In many ways, this use has even more of an upside than the consumer version because factories and similar venues use so much power and other resources that reducing utilization by even a small percentage leads to huge savings.

The good news for the work force  which is under pressure from the growing use of robots  is that a good deal of expertise will be needed to run the IIoT, according to Network World:

A good way to envision all the skills that could be required to bring about an Industry 4.0 transformation is to think about IoT in the context of a highly-autonomous assembly line. It could include 3D printers and other additive manufacturing techniques running alongside computer numerical controlled (CNC) lathes and newer machines capable of executing highly variable, multi-step processes using robotic vision and artificial intelligence.

Writer Allen Bernard added collaborative robots (cobots) into the mix. The areas expected to generate the most jobs are related to cybersecurity, data science, networking, software engineering, application development and programming and IT architects.

Blending Risk Management into Strategic Planning

Its obvious that risk management is an important and growing priority for organizations. The world is simply getting more dangerous. Alexei Sidoreko from the Institute for Strategic Risk Analysis in Decision Making, details four key steps in integrating risk management into strategic planning.

It is important, he writes, to translate high-level objectives into tactical and operational key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets. The second step is to identify factors linked to uncertainty. The third is the performance of a risk analysis and, finally, the essence of that risk analysis must be translated into action.

The piece goes into some depth about each of these steps. It is clearly a very complex undertaking that is growing increasingly important.

FCC to Look at MDU Broadband Contracts

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released a notice of inquiry (NOI) aimed at determining if exclusive arrangements entered into by owners of multiple dwelling units (MDUs) are anticompetitive. FierceTelecom says that the NOI will cover all types of broadband-delivered services.

MDU sales are considered very important for broadband providers simply because a single sale to a building owner can generate great amounts of revenue. In some cases, a realty company can award multiple buildings to a provider, which ups the ante even further.

Carl Weinschenk covers telecom for IT Business Edge. He writes about wireless technology, disaster recovery/business continuity, cellular services, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communications and other emerging technologies and platforms. He also covers net neutrality and related regulatory issues. Weinschenk has written about the phone companies, cable operators and related companies for decades and is senior editor of Broadband Technology Report. He can be reached at [email protected] and via twitter at @DailyMusicBrk.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is rumored to be the company's next flagship after the Galaxy S8. The Korean tech giant already confirmed a few months ago that its not killing the Note series despite what happened on its Galaxy Note 7 last year. This make sense since weve already seen a slew of reports regarding some of the Galaxy Note 8s new features.

Galaxy Note 8 Features

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is rumored to feature an Infinity display just like the gorgeous screen of the Korean firm's Galaxy S8. If theres only one very sure feature of the Galaxy Note 8, it is the screen and display. After all, the very amazing Infinity display is the Samsung Galaxy S8s best feature. The Galaxy Note 8 will also use a 4K OLED panel for a very stunning display.

In addition to that, VlaueWalk also reported that the most-awaited Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be tested running Google's Android 7.1.1 Nougat. Thats an important information because it indicates that the anticipated smartphone will not launch with Android O, which will be the latest version soon. It could also imply that Samsung wont have access to Android O in the release of the Galaxy Note 8.

Galaxy Note 8 Launch Date

Aside from confirming that they are not killing the Note series, Samsung also confirmed that the next Galaxy Note smartphone will be so much better compared to the Note 7. In fact, the newest rumor may bring on the best news of all, according to BGR. This new report seems to indicate that the anticipated smartphone could hit stores even sooner than we all expected.

If the report happens to be true, this means that Samsung doesnt plan to interrupt the Galaxy Note 8s launch date for too long. In fact, earlier reports said that the smartphone may be unveiled in late August or early September because Samsung wants to take extra care to prevent additional mistakes like last year's Samsung Galaxy Note 7 debacle.
Andy Rubin is a well-known entrepreneur and the man who found Android, which was later acquired by Google. Rubin left Google several years ago to build a new business. And now, he is back in the Android market with a startup company named as Essential. According to news, Rubin's smartphone will take on OnePlus 5 and Samsung Galaxy S8. Here is a quick review to see the different specs of each flagship mobile device.

Samsung Galaxy S8

Samsungs latest flagship, the Galaxy S8 has a 5.8-inch curved AMOLED panel display, which is taller than other phones. It has 18.5:9 aspect ratio that offers more space than the regular 16:9 display. Because of that, it fills more of the available space and the curve edges help users to make the smartphone more comfortable to hold. This feature calls by Samsung as the infinity display" with the resolution of 2960 x 1440, the highest available on a mobile device.

Samsung Galaxy S8 have the minimum storage of 64GB. Its rear camera is 12MP and implement dual cameras. As of now, the Galaxy S8 is tuned to be the most powerful flagship in the market.

OnePlus 5

On the other hand, OnePlus will produce the "thinnest flagship" once it unleashed its OnePlus 5. The most awaited smartphone will be the thinnest yet a high-end handset on the market. It is rumored to come with a 5.5-inch display, a full-HD or quad-HD resolution and a flat screen rather than the curved display.

According to Tom's Guide, OnePlus 5 will sport Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor. Carl Pei, OnePlus co-founder, posted a photo to Instagram that recommended the mobile device might have a dual-lens rear-facing camera. Aside from that, it is already confirmed that OnePlus will keep the headphone jack, not like the other flagship phones.

Essential Phone

According to Extreme Tech, Essential has the same goal of reviewing as much screen into its smartphone as possible. The expected smartphone has a 5.7-inch flat LCD panel and has 2560 x 1312 with a 19:10 ratio. However, the Essential Phone goes all the way to the edge design, and this time it's for real as it was already confirmed.

The Essential Phone will ship with 128GB of storage. It might be able to meet the needs of most users with so much built-in storage, but some people will never give up the microSD card slot. Still, a Snapdragon 835 tuned for performance could be enough to put Essential over the top.
The recently leaked image of Google Pixel 2 is suggesting for a nearly bezel-free screen design for the smartphone. Although the image is small and very challenging to see in order to create with bigger details, still, it is clear enough to show that the smartphone is mostly similar when compared with its predecessor.

According to Android Headline, Google Pixel and Pixel XL are the two smartphones that have the two-toned look on the rear part that features a matte finish. In the same manner, the leaked image of the Google Pixel 2 looks exactly the same with black metal at the back as the cover and Black glass on the top portion.

This specific part of the handset is what should be of interest in the image that has been leaked, as the top of the smartphone is where the rear-facing camera is located. Aside from that, the image also shows that the Pixel 2 will come with dual rear camera sensors just like other flagship smartphones from rival brands. The camera of the upcoming Pixel 2 is said to be 16-megapixel and paired with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera.

Apart from the design, the leak alleges that the anticipated Google Pixel 2 will come powered by Qualcomm's latest chip, the Snapdragon 835 processor, which was recently affirmed to possibly be in development. As reported by BGR, the Pixel 2 will also be unveiled running Android O. This information comes from a reliable source, but release dates are always, always subject to change, said Android Polices David Ruddock on Twitter.

Apple's iOS 11 might be the discussion on the internet right now, but its not the only anticipated operating system update. Googles Android O is actually assumed to be released before iOS 11 arrives, still, a new report confirms that Googles Pixel phones might take it as soon as early to mid-August. Does this mean that Google Pixel 2 and Android O will be unveiled simultaneously in August?
The battle of the operating systems is heating up as Apple recently announced its new iOS 11 to match the previously unveiled Android O. However, both OS are far from being market-ready so it's quite difficult to say which one is actually better. We can, however, make a temporary decision based on what we know right now.

The Android O was announced a few weeks ago at the Google I/O 2017. Some of the features of the follow-up to the Android Nougat OS that were unveiled include the ability to auto-select information such as name, address, phone number, or business to copy/paste. The Android O will also allow users to create a thumbnail of a video or Google Maps navigation by shrinking them. This feature, called picture-in-picture, will let the user do other stuff while still able to see the thumbnail. In other words, it's great for multi-taskers.

As for the iOS 11, Apple has yet to unveil most of its features. The few ones that were announced include the capacity to pay through iMessage using Apple Pay. The iOS 11 will also allow audio to be played on a number of speakers in the home.

As Business Insider reported, Apple addressed one of the most common complaints from fans regarding the previous iOS. The tech giant will now allow users to access the iPhone's low-power mode from the Control Center. In other words, iPhone users can now easily turn the low-power mode on or off provided they have the new iOS 11.

CNET has already decided on which is the better operating system by far. According to the tech website, the Android O is winning this battle thanks to AI or artificial intelligence. The Android O allows Google Assistant to perform various tasks. It also comes with a new feature that lets the user copy a Wi-Fi password just by pointing the device's camera at it.

With so little to go with, the winner at this stage is indeed Android O. However, expect Apple to reveal more impressive features by the time the iOS 11 is officially launched in September. The Android O is expected to follow in October.
As the blockchain continues to mature and find adoption in areas other than cryptocurrency, ERP vendors are working to integrate the distributed ledger technology as a trackable, immutable record for everything from shipping manifests and supply chains to equipment maintenance and dispute-resolution systems.

"This is very real and something we're aggressively excited about," said Brigid McDermott, vice president of Blockchain Business Development at IBM. "What blockchain does is provide a trust system of record between disparate companies."

The value achieved through integrating blockchain with ERP systems comes not by creating and porting new information into the distributed ledger, but by drawing existing data from enterprise systems and being able to tightly control with whom it is shared.

Eighty percent of the world's corporate data resides in silos, according to McDermott. While the promise of big data has always been the ability to glean greater insights, owners of that information keep it close to their collective chests, concerned that once it's released, they'll lose a competitive advantage.

Blockchain doesn't simply solve the data access or sharing issue; it also solves a confidence problem.

"Permission blockchain gives you that confidence that you can control your information and grant access only to those you want to grant access to," McDermott said. "It's the freedom of feeling like I'm doing what's in my business' best interest by being able to share whatever I want, whenever I want it, in a way that's immutable, trusted, secure."

What's blockchain

Blockchain is an electronic ledger -- similar to a relational database -- that can be openly shared among public or private users and that creates an unchangeable record of transactions, each one time-stamped and linked to the previous one.

Each digital record or transaction in the thread is called a block (hence the name), and it allows either an open or controlled set of users to participate in the electronic ledger. Each block is linked to a specific participant.

Maersk Ninety percent of goods in global trade are carried by the ocean shipping industry each year. A new blockchain system from IBM and Maersk aims to manage and track the paper trail of tens of millions of shipping containers by digitizing the supply chain.

Blockchain can only be updated by consensus between participants in the system, and when new data is entered, it can never be erased. The blockchain contains a true and verifiable record of each and every transaction ever made in that system.

The leading platforms for blockchain development today are Hyperledger, an open-source industry consortium formed by the Linux Foundation, and Ethereum, a custom-built platform that was introduced in 2013 by then 19-year-old software developer Vitalik Buterin.

The Ethereum platform was originally used for verifying online payments, but its capabilities grew under the Swiss nonprofit Ethereum Foundation.

"There are a number of others emerging as well, though they don't yet have the same level of developer support," said Paul Brody, Global Innovation Leader for Blockchain at EY (formerly Ernst & Young). "Both are open source and while companies like IBM and SAP as well as EY are working closely with the governing foundations for these platforms, they are not controlled by a major vendor."

The Linux Foundation announced a new software project under its Hyperledger open consortium aimed at creating a collaboration tool for building blockchain business networks -- or smart contracts -- and their deployment across a distributed ledger.

The new project, called Hyperledger Composer, is a modeling language based on JavaScript and with REST API support, that allows non-developers and developers to model their business network. The language also supports modeling of relationships and data validation rules.

For example, all blockchain business networks share certain elements, such as assets, participants, identities, transactions and registries. With existing distributed ledger technologies, it can be difficult for organizations to take a blockchain business use case and map the concepts into running code.

Like the internet itself, blockchain's capabilities are continually evolving with new features or add-on applications. Since it is not regulated by a single control center as there might be with a system administration, there's no single point of failure. In an enterprise, theoretically, there would be no need for an IT professional to monitor security on a blockchain database.

There are several general uses for blockchain platforms. Public blockchains allow anyone to see or send transactions as long as they're part of the consensus process; private blockchains have only a pre-selected number of nodes authorized to use the distributed ledger.

For companies wary of being locked into a single platform or vendor, the open-source nature of the technology should boost adoption, Brody said. "Additionally, open-source platforms with strong developer communities will mature more quickly and have higher security than closed-source competition. At EY, we have made it a priority to focus on open-source platforms," Brody said.

ERP pilots are ongoing

As marketplaces struggle with how best to deploy the technology, IT vendors are beginning to test it in their products -- in some cases, as a reaction to customer inquiries rather than a proactive move.

"It's a very hot topic right now," said Zulfikar Ramzan, CTO of RSA Security, a subsidiary of the Dell EMC Infrastructure Solutions Group. "We are definitely getting a lot of inbound inquiries around blockchain and its implication within enterprise environments. I think it's driven largely by the fact that when there's a new technology out there, to some degree people want to be buzzword compliant with the latest and greatest."

Ramzan said his customers are asking about blockchain for audit logging and or verifiable logs, which is viewed as a reliable way of tracking what happened in an organization to satisfy regulatory auditors. Other RSA customers are interested in it for user authentication to ensure users are accessing the correct digital records at the right time.

At Walmart's shareholder's summit last week, for example, IBM demonstrated a Hyperledger-based blockchain integrated with the retail corporation's safety system that tracks shipments of fresh produce. Specifically, the system was tuned to track multiple shipment of mangoes. The pilot blockchain tracked where a mango had been, what branch it came from, what packing house it went through, in what cold storage facility was it kept, and what distribution center it passed through.

Much of the information about the mango shipments came directly from Walmart's ERP system, McDermott said, eliminating the need to create a secondary record or recreate shipment information. Being able to track the mango shipments enables Walmart to determine where, if there's a food illness outbreak, any bad fruit originated.

The importance of being able to closely track produce is evidenced in a 2013 E. coli incident that saw Taylor Farms Retail Inc. recall spinach from five retail outlets in 39 U.S. states. The recall was initiated after a random test of a single bag of spinach by the Washington Department of Agriculture found there was potential salmonella contamination.

Because Taylor Farms didn't have an accurate method of tracking each bag of spinach, it recalled all of its shipments.

"We absolutely understand this is a ripe opportunity in the market. We know this is something people need.... 3,000 people die every year in the U.S. because of food-borne illnesses," McDermott said. "SAP just joined [the Hyperledger consortium] as premium member. Everyone I'm encountering is looking at how to build out solutions so they can get data as efficiently as possible onto blockchain.

"Right now we're talking to a group of influential players in the market about how quickly we can expand this...," she added.

Managing the supply chain and maintenance

Another company, Sweden-based enterprise software provider IFS, has created a new proof-of-concept to demonstrate how Blockchain can be integrated with organizations' ERP systems, and used in the aviation and energy industries.

A large number of IFS's client base is commercial airlines, such as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Emirates Airline, Southwest and South China Airlines.

Bas de Vos, director of IFS Labs, the company's R&D arm, said the project has demonstrated how blockchain can be used for asset management, including tracking supply chains, parts shipments and even to log and verify commercial airline maintenance work, to include everyone from airline pilots and maintenance workers to parts vendors.

A modern aircraft, de Vos pointed out, is comprised of 2 million to 3 million parts. Due to regulation, each part is tracked, and when maintenance is performed, that work must be logged. The problem is that every entity in the maintenance chain, from airline operator and maintenance group to the parts suppliers and regulators, is often on disparate software systems. Even when they use integrated systems, communications may not be standardized and could be verbal or paper-based, leaving many single points of failure in tracking operations.

For the airline industry, blockchain offers consensus among parties, provenance of data, immutability and finality, de Vos said.

"It could create a single version of truth where all...the underlying IT systems go through a simplified integration through the blockchain, getting a transcript of the asset history into the blockchain to make sure all the systems instead of talking to each other talk through blockchain," de Vos said. "That leads to much simpler integration between IT systems."

Blockchain will not replace ERP systems, de Vos said, but be a complementary application that can simplify integration between parties and reduce vulnerability because of its innate security.

Not all the kinks worked out

Not all of the challenges in creating a regulated supply blockchain have been met, de Vos said. For example, what percentage of those parties in a blockchain must approve a transaction before it's verified currently varies. And, there's no way to ensure those on a blockchain can be notified in real time of the completion of an event; those and other issues will have to be addressed by software vendors.

"It's not going to happen tomorrow," de Vos said. "I think simpler applications might happen tomorrow, but something as complex as an entire aviation chain -- that's a couple years away."

EY's Brody believes the key challenge in scaling up blockchain technology for the enterprise is in managing security and privacy. The original blockchains were entirely public (BitCoin and Ethereum), "and that's not ideal for most enterprise business transactions," Brody said.

"Building sophisticated tools for managing privacy and security while sharing information selectively is key for enterprise adoption at scale. While we see companies eventually wanting to use public blockchains for their business operations, most early implementations will be private blockchains where it is easier to control and manage privacy and security," Brody said.

What won't be difficult is integrating blockchain with ERP systems. That, Brody said, is a solution that has been well developed for past add-ons to enterprise platforms like analytics and other tools.

"We are using many of the same tools we did for XML, EDI and analytics to do integration," Brody said. "So that seems like less of a huge challenge and more of a well-known and well-understood problem."
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Boosted by the 32 college credits she received as a student at Middle College High School, Camryn Hutchens has a bit of a head start.

By the time she finishes her first semester in college, the 18-year-old will already have an associates degree.

I still dont think its hit me, said Hutchens, who graduated in late May. My teachers have been really great and helped keep me grounded.

Hutchens had to miss several weeks of school each year due to an autoimmune disease that required frequent doctors and hospital visits.

Despite it all, she maintained good grades, a part-time job at Starbucks, a self-run photography business and extracurricular activities.

Hutchens, who was born in Charleston, S.C., served on her schools student government association, the Superintendents Student Advisory Council and the Youth Advisory Council under Mayor Allen Joines.

I made the most out of what I was handed, Hutchens said. Ive had a really strong support system and its made all the difference.

Hutchens plans to double major in mass communication and psychology at UNC-Asheville and pursue a career in public relations.

Camryn overcame a lot, Principal William Wynn said. She will excel at whatever she does.
Sophie Campbell has always been a fighter.

As a newborn, she was abandoned at a train station in Russia and after a stay in the hospital was placed in an orphanage.

She was adopted by a family in Virginia when she was 17 months old and struggled with adapting to the English language.

There was the language barrier and in first-grade I had chronic ear problems and couldnt hear very well, so I missed out on sounds, Reagan High School graduate Campbell said. Sometimes it could be hard growing up because people wouldnt include me in groups because they said I wasnt American.

Campbell, 18, transferred from a Charlotte high school to attend Reagan in her junior year.

While it was hard to make friends at first, Campbell praised the guidance of the teachers and support of her peers.

Ive learned to not let people tell me I cant do something because Im not from here, Campbell said. When I want something I go for it, and it makes me realize how lucky I am to be given these opportunities.

Campbell said she has realized her passion for volunteering, amassing more than 300 service hours in high school.

She is considering several universities, including High Point, and plans to study neuropsychology.

My family and friends have instilled in me that while it is nice to have money and success, true happiness is in giving of my time and talents to others, she said. I like helping people and making them smile.
The Connecticut General Assembly [official website] on Tuesday passed HB 5743 [text, PDF], an anti-hate crime bill that could be the strongest in the country. The legislation makes any hate crime an automatic felony rather than a misdemeanor. The bill is also more inclusive as to what constitutes a hate crime by adding violence or threats based on someones gender. Additionally, the bill increases penalties for threats against certain facilities such as religious institutions and day cares. A provision for a minimum penalty of a $1,000 fine is included as well as the ability to impose relevant community service on any convicted of a hate crime. Democratic and Republican Senators voted unanimously on the new legislation which is now headed to Governor Dannel Malloy [official website] for consideration.

An increase in hate crimes has been reported around the globe. In November the FBI said [JURIST report] that hate crimes, especially against Muslims, were on the rise in the US. In the UK, prosecutors have been encouraged [JURIST report] to use tougher sentences against hate crimes [BBC report] in response to the nations increasingly hostile environment since the EU referendum. Since the middle of June more than 6,000 hate crimes and incidents have been reported to the authorities.
Former FBI [official website] director James Comey testified on Thursday in front of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence [official website]. During more than two hours of testimony, Comey recounted [prepared remarks] nine encounters with President Donald Trump. Comey had documented each time he met with the president in private. While he did not make any new revelations about links between the Trump administration and Russia, he did tell the committee that he believed Trump had directed him to drop the probe into former security advisor Michael Flynn and, when he refused, the president lied about Comeys subsequent dismissal and defamed the FBI. Comey said that he knew he was fired because the Russia investigation was in some way putting pressure on Trump. Comey recalled Trump telling him, I need loyalty. I expect loyalty, after Comey had explained to the President that he was not on anybodys side politically and that the FBI was independent of the executive branch.

Trumps personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, responded [statement, PDF] to Comeys testimony by saying that Trump had been vindicated in that the President was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference. He also rebutted Comeys loyalty statement saying that Trump had never said those words but the Office of the President is entitled to expect loyalty from those who are serving in an administration. Kasowitz went on to raise alarm about Comeys admitted leaking of privileged communications. Comey had stated that he leaked the content of the memos he kept as record of his private communications with Trump to prompt the appointment of special counsel. Robert Mueller was selected [JURIST report] as special counsel shortly after.

Comey began his testimony stating that he was confused and concerned about the wavering explanations offered by the White House after his dismissal [JURIST report] in May. In an official letter of termination, Trump said that Comey is not able to effectively lead the Bureau and that It is essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission. The letter was published in a press release [text, PDF] that included recommendations for Comeys ouster from Attorney General Jeff Sessions [official website] and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. On Tuesday, Sean Spicer pointed to Rosenstein as the prime mover [WP report] of the decision to fire Comey. In a memorandum, Rosenstein criticized Comeys decision to close the investigation into Secretary Clintons use of a private email server without prosecution, but he never specifically recommends firing Comey. White House deputy press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said on Wednesday that Trump did not ask [USNews report] for the recommendation but The president had lost confidence in Director Comey, and frankly hed been considering letting Director Comey go since the day he was elected. Democratic Senator of California Dianne Feinstien [official website] is skeptical of the memo [NYT report], saying, The memo appears to have been hastily assembled to justify a preordained outcome. Republican Senator Richard Burr also expressed concerns with the timing [CNN report] of Comeys firing. Last week, federal prosecutors issued grand jury subpoenas [CNN report] for the business records of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn who is being investigated for financial ties to Russia and Turkey. According to the CNN report, The subpoenas represent the first sign of a significant escalation of activity in the FBIs broader investigation begun last July into possible ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia. The Senate Intelligence Committee has requested for Comey to testify as a private citizen in a closed hearing next week.
[JURIST] Attorneys for Guantanamo detainee Abu Zubaydah have filed a lawsuit against the two psychologists, James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, who developed the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA, including waterboarding and sleep deprivation. The UK human rights group Reprieve [advocacy website] announced the case on Wednesday. The attorneys are seeking to subpoena [advocacy website] the psychologists in order to uncover evidence about the American-led torture that allegedly went on in Poland. According to US law, a federal district court may [discovery order, PDF] order discovery of documents and testimony for use in a foreign proceeding from any person who

resides or is found in the courts district. The case will be heard in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington [official website]. The CIA had detained [AP report] the plaintiff in a secret Polish prison from 2002 to 2003 on suspicions that he was a facilitator for al Qaeda. Zubaydah has been held at Guantanamo since 2006. In April 2016 a federal judge ruled [JURIST report] that another lawsuit against the same psychologists with different plaintiffs could proceed.

Guantanamo Bay remains [JURIST backgrounder] a controversial issue due to allegations of torture and lack of legal rights for detainees. In January a federal judge declined [JURIST report] to intervene in the release of a Guantanamo prisoner. In November then-president Barack Obama blamed [JURIST report] the failure to close Guantanamo Bay on Congressional restrictions. In August a federal appeals court threw out [JURIST report] a former Guantanamo detainees torture claim.
[JURIST] Japans lower legislative house [official website] approved changes to Japans century-old rape laws on Thursday that would expand the definition of rape, lengthen prison sentences to five years and allow prosecutions to occur in instances where a victim did not press charges. The amendments would redefine [Reuters report] rape to include more forms of forced sexual penetration, which would acknowledge male victims. The amendment would also eliminate the requirement for violence or intimidation in cases where parents or guardians were sexually abusing minors. The amendments were proposed due to lobbying by victims rights advocates. According to a 2014 study, only five percent of Japanese female victims went to the police following a rape and only one-third told anyone because of societal pressure. The amendments must now be sent [official website] to the House of Councillors (upper house) in the next step of the legislative process.

Rape and other sex crimes are frequent issues in the international legal community and have made headlines several times within the past month. In May Australia announced [JURIST report] plans to decrease child sex trafficking by prohibiting registered sex offenders from traveling overseas. The same day, the US Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that the federal age of consent was 16. Also in May Sweden dropped [JURIST report] Julian Assanges rape investigation. Earlier that month, Indias Supreme Court upheld [JURIST report] the death penalty in the case of a gang rape which led to the victims death.
The US Supreme Court [official website] lifted the stay of execution [order, PDF] granted last week by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] for Robert Melson late Tuesday. The brief order was issued by [AL report] Justice Clarence Thomas and noted that Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer opposed the decision. Melson challenged the use of midazolam in the three-drug cocktail used in Alabama executions, arguing that it does not properly insensate prisoners to the pain of lethal injection. Melson was convicted of the murders of three fast-food restaurant employees during a robbery in 1994. The execution is set for 6 PM Thursday at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.

The death penalty continues to be a point of contention across the US. In May the Delaware House of Representatives passed a bill [JURIST report] that would reinstate the death penalty. In April the Texas Department of Criminal Justice sued [JURIST report] the Food and Drug Administration [official website] for banning a shipment of lethal injection drugs to prison officials. Earlier in April Amnesty International released an annual report [text, PDF] revealing the US to not be among the worlds top five executioners since 2006. However, in March the Mississippi house approved a bill [JURIST report] allowing firing squad executions. In March, Florida Governor Rick Scott [official website] signed a new bill [SB 280, materials] which stated that the death penalty may only be imposed [JURIST report] by a judge upon unanimous recommendation from the jury. In January the US Supreme Court refused to consider [JURIST report] a challenge to Alabamas death penalty system. That same month, Ohios lethal injection protocol was deemed [JURIST report] unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment.
The US Supreme Court [official website] on Wednesday refused to block [docket] a finding that a Texas countys bail system discriminates against the poor. Officials of Harris County petitioned the court on Tuesday [AP report] for an emergency order to block the ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] which called for the release of inmates who were incarcerated for not being able to afford bail. District Judge Lee Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas [official website] ruled in April that inmates who signed affidavits swearing to their financial situations could be released from the county jail as the bail system was in violation of equal protection rights and due process safeguards against incarceration without proper procedure or affording those held the opportunity to be heard. The country jail began releasing inmates late Tuesday and will continue to do so. The county will continue its appeal of the ruling.

The issue of finance as a factor for revocation or imprisonment is controversial. In April Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] issued a report [JURIST report] saying Californias bail system pressures the poor into pleading guilty in order to be released from jail. Earlier in April the Supreme Court of Missouri ruled [JURIST report] that a parolees ability to pay court costs should be considered. The Maryland Court of Appeals adopted a rule [JURIST report] in February ending the practice of holding criminal defendants in jail before trial when they cannot afford bail. Last June a lawsuit accused [JURIST report] a Louisiana judge of running a modern-day debtors prison for sentencing people to jail when they could not afford fees. Last March the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reached a settlement [JURIST report] with the city of Biloxi, Mississippi, in a lawsuit alleging that the detention of defendants unable to pay fines for misdemeanor charges exhibited deliberate indifference to their constitutional rights. Also last March the US Department of Justice urged [JURIST report] state court systems to stop using procedural routines and hefty fines to profit off poor defendants.
BMW Group, which built 2.37m vehicles in 2016, has an internal target of expanding this to three million by 2020 and in so doing outpace Mercedes-Benz. Mini has a supporting role in the plan but the heavy lifting will have to be done by the BMW brand, and that should fall mainly on the shoulders of multiple as yet unseen SUVs.

Where is BMW to manufacture all these extra vehicles? Insiders claim that BBA, the Chinese JV with Brilliance Auto, will have its plants annual production capacity almost doubled. A new plant in Mexico is due to come on line in 2019 too, while

Spartanburg will soon be BMWs largest factory, capable of producing 750,000 SUVs per annum.

Spartanburg in the US will soon be the Groups largest single factory, capable of producing 750,000 SUVs per annum, up from 400,000. Despite the capacity expansion, Spartanburg still lacks a stamping operation; nor is there an engine plant.

SAVs

BMW prefers the abbreviation SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) to SUV. Its current smallest one of these, the second generation X1, isnt in fact very small at all. The company currently has no official plans to introduce a model below this one, but should that change, due perhaps to the development of an Audi X1, the X0 model name might well be brought into use.

The X1 has BMW Groups front- and all-wheel drive Untere Fahrzeugklasse (UKL1) architecture as its basis. There will be an additional variant, the X2, in the same way that the X5 and X6, as well as the X3 and X4, are related. This will be a sportier crossover and challenger for the Audi Q2.

Chinas Brilliance BMW joint venture builds the X1 L. This long-wheelbase variant had its world premiere at the Beijing motor show in April 2016. As noted in the previous report, Brilliance and BMWs Zinoro electric car brand also makes a PHEV version of the long-wheelbase X1: the 60H.

In addition to being built in China (Shenyang) and Germany (Regensburg), the X1 is also made in Brazil (Araquari) and the Netherlands (Born). German production commenced in August 2015. The car was announced to the media in June 2015 and had its public debut at September 2015s Frankfurt IAA. In May 2015, BMW do Brasil announced that it would export the X1 to the USA.

The third generation X1 is expected to appear in early 2022. It should use an evolution of the current models front- and all-wheel drive platform.

The X2 will have its public world debut at the Frankfurt IAA motor show in September.

Due to there being an obvious numerical gap below the X3, an X2 is no surprise. It is due for market release later in the final quarter of this year after a public debut at the Frankfurt IAA motor show in September. The prototype pictured above appeared at the 2016 Paris motor show.

A convertible seems unlikely but there should be three-door and five-door variants  rivals for two of the three body styles which Land Rover offers the similarly sized Range Rover Evoque in. As well as production in Germany, there should be assembly in Brazil from 2018.

The current X3 is, unlike the first generation model, built by BMW in the USA, not by Magna Steyr in Austria. Production of this SUV started in September 2010 at BMWs Spartanburg plant in South Carolina. The facility, which also makes the X5 and X6, had its capacity expanded by 50% to 240,000 vehicles per annum ahead of the start of X3 build.

Larger than the previous model, F25 is in fact only slightly smaller than the first generation X5. It was launched in Europe in November 2010.

BMW began assembling the X3 at its Chennai plant in June 2011. The facility, which formerly had a capacity of 10,000 vehicles, was expanded to 11,000 per annum in August 2011, partly as a result of demand for the X3. BMWs Malaysian plant then began assembling the X3 in January 2013.

A styling update was announced in February 2014 and a new BMW Group engine also made its debut. Its first appearance was in the X3 xDrive20d, where this 140kW (190hp) 2.0-litre diesel replaced the 135kW (184hp) 2.0-litre. The facelifted X3 had its world premiere at the 2014 Chicago auto show.

BMW will cease making the 3 Series at its South African plant and replace it with the next generation X3.

BMW announced in November 2016 that it would cease making the 3 Series sedan at its South African plant and replace it with production of the next generation X3.

The next X3 is expected later in 2017. Rather than F25s L7 platform, it should use the 35up RWD/AWD architecture. BBA, the Brilliance Automotive and BMW Group joint venture, will also make the X3 at its Da Dong plant in the Chinese city of Shenyang.

In the same way that there is a second Mercedes-Benz SUV to supplement the GLC-Class, so too BMW has another model very close in size to the X3. This is F26, the X4. A sleeker, restyled version of the second generation X3, it is meant to tempt buyers who might otherwise choose a GLC-Class Coupe. The X3 and X4 models share front doors, bonnet, front bumper, grille, and front wings.

A concept version premiered at the Shanghai motor show in April 2013 with the X4 production model having its debut at April 2014s New York auto show. Both rear- and all-wheel drive variants are available, depending on the market. X4 series production commenced at Spartanburg in March 2014. European market sales followed from three months later.

Assembly by AvtoTOR at its Kaliningrad plant commenced in June 2015. As well as in Russia, the X4 is also assembled in Brazil. This commenced in September 2016.

The M40i variant was announced in October 2015. It is powered by a 265kW (360PS) 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder petrol engine, which has 465Nm of torque. This is the fastest X4 and it was the first BMW to be powered by this engine.

The X4 will not have a mid-life update; instead it will be replaced in 2018.

The X4 will not have a mid-life update; instead it will be replaced in 2018. The second generation X4 will swap the outdated L7 architecture for 35up. It might also be larger, not only so as to place some distance between it and the X3 in buyers minds, but also to give BMW dealers an SUV which can challenge the Range Rover Velar.

Meanwhile, the third generation X5 is in need of a refresh and this should happen soon. This model had its public debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September 2013, with cars reaching US and European dealers two months later.

The launch range was as follows: xDrive50i, 330kW (450hp) 4,395cc new generation turbo petrol V8; xDrive30d, 190kW (258hp) 2,993cc revised six-cylinder turbo diesel; M50d M Performance Automobile 280kW (381hp) 2,993cc tri-turbo diesel. Four more variants followed for some markets from December 2013: sDrive25d (the first RWD variant, with claimed CO2 emissions of 149g/km), xDrive25d, xDrive40d & xDrive35i.

Despite featuring the same 2,933mm wheelbase, the current model is claimed to be roomier inside. In addition, the boots capacity is up by 30 litres to 650, or 1,870 cubic litres with the seats folded (a rise of 120l over the second generation X5). The X5 can be ordered with five or seven seats.

The use of ultra-high-tensile steels in the body structure, thermoplastics in the side panels, aluminium in the bonnet and magnesium in the instrument panel support are said to be the main factors behind a weight reduction compared to the old model. Length, width and height are 4,886mm/1,938mm/1,762mm.

Although all production is in the US, kits are supplied to BMW India. Assembly got underway at the Chennai plant in May 2014.

The X5 M (and X6 M, which has the same 423kW (567hp) 4.4-litre biturbo petrol V8) had its world premiere at the LA auto show in November 2014. These went on sale in the US and Europe from March 2015.

For the first time in the history of the X5 model series, build will also be in China.

The fourth generation X5, due for release in 2020, will switch platforms and use an evolution of the 35up as introduced in 2015 by the 7 Series. Production will not only take place in the USA, but for the first time in the history of the X5 model series, build will also be in China.

F16, the second generation X6, was announced in June 2014 ahead of its world debut at the Paris motor show four months later. The current model is bigger than its predecessor: 4,909mm long (+34mm), 1,989mm wide (+4mm) and 1,702mm high (+12mm). The rear seat has 40:20:40 split/folding backrests, which allow load compartment capacity to expand from 580 litres to as much as 1,525 litres (75 litres more than the predecessor model).

The line-up of engines available from the December 2014 launch consisted of a 330kW (450hp) V8 for the X6 xDrive50i, a 190kW (255 hp) six-cylinder diesel for the X6 xDrive30d and another straight-six diesel with three turbochargers and 280kW (381hp) in the X6 M50d. The X6 xDrive35i 225kW (306hp) and X6 xDrive40d 230kW (313hp) were added to the range in relevant markets from May 2015, as was F86, the X6 M. This has the same 423kW (567hp) 4.4-litre biturbo petrol V8 as the X5 M. Each had its world premiere at the LA auto show in November 2014.

The X7, BMWs largest SUV, will premiere in pre-production form at the Frankfurt IAA.

Expect a package of new and revised engines to be added to the X6 range from late 2017 or early 2018. That will include the quad-turbo diesel which premiered in the 7 Series and which is also available in the new 5 Series.

The third generation X6 should be on sale in 2021. It will use an evolution of the 35up platform which debuted with 2015s BMW 7 Series. This means it will weigh far less than the second generation model. As well as US build, there should be additional assembly at AvtoTORs Kaliningrad plant. Its also entirely possible that BBA might build the X6 in China for the first time, should there be sufficient demand.

The project to create an X7 was officially announced in March 2014 on the 20th anniversary of the opening of its Spartanburg plant in South Carolina. The largest SAV yet will be pitched against the Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class, Lincoln Navigator, Cadillac Escalade, Range Rover, Infiniti Q80 and Lexus LX. The Volvo XC90, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7 and Maserati Levante are yet more considerations for those in the 5-metre+ segment of the market.

As well as five- and seven-seat versions, there should also be a long wheelbase X7 bodystyle, though this may not appear until 2019 or 2020. All will be manufactured at the expanded Spartanburg plant in South Carolina. Well see the X7 in prototype form at the Frankfurt show in September, ahead of the arrival of the series production model in 2018.

The mid-life facelift for this largest of BMWs SAVs should come in 2022, and a second generation X7 in 2025 or 2026.

Future model plan reports for other manufacturers can be viewed in the OEM product strategy summaries section of just-auto.com.

Future product program intelligence

Additional data on vehicle lifetime and future product plans, such as model code names, are available in PLDB from QUBE.

The final feature in the series on current and future models from BMW Group will look at electric BMWs.
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The delegates at the reception (Photo: voh.com.vn)

He said at the reception of Mr. Robert Pelikan, Minister of Justice of the Czech Republic on June 8th.

In 2014, the Czech Republic was the first country to recognize the Vietnamese community as a minority community. Mr. Phong hoped that the Czech Republic would continue to support the more than 60,000 Vietnamese people living and working in the Czech Republic.

Ho Chi Minh city is looking forward to strengthening the cooperation between the two countries. Through this visit, more and more Czech businesses would seek investment opportunities in the city based on their strengths and the needs of the city, such as infrastructure, power generation, electrical equipment, machinery, crystal and glass, he said.

The Chairman also supported the opening of direct flights from Ho Chi Minh city to Prague, because this is an opportunity to develop tourism and strengthen exchanges between the two peoples.

Mr. Robert Pelikan expressed his sympathy for the good relationship between the two countries and he hoped that relationship would become better and better. He is looking forward to the support of the city leaders on open direct flights from Ho Chi Minh city to Prague, soon to be implemented to contribute to tourism development between the two sides./.
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Boca Raton, FL, USA, 06/09/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/

A head on collision with a truck on a highway would be a nightmare come true. Unfortunately it was the reality for a Fernandina Beach man who was driving on I-95 in southern Georgia last month. A vehicle going the wrong way on a highway could have a number of causes, but negligence would almost certainly be a factor says Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne.

Head on collisions, especially when they involve a passenger vehicle and a much larger commercial truck, have a high rate of serious injuries and fatalities. This accident took the life of the driver of an SUV, which was struck by a Federal Express semi-truck hauling tandem trailers that crossed a divider barrier and went into the opposite lanes, reports the Florida Times-Union. The driver and a passenger in the truck were not injured.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) issued a report of a study of wrong way crashes occurring on interstate freeways and expressways throughout the state from 2009 to 2013. During that time 280 crashes occurred causing more than 400 injuries and 75 deaths.

Study results include:

The majority of wrong way travel starts from entering the freeway/expressway from an exit ramp.

Weekends and early morning hours were more common times for wrong way crashes.

Alcohol and/or drugs were involved in 45% of wrong way crashes. Thats more than 16 times the proportion for freeway/expressway crashes in general for Florida.

The majority of wrong way crashes (71%) happened when in dark conditions, while overall only 29% of accidents happened when it was dark.

Drivers younger than 30 years old accounted for 42% of the wrong way crashes, which is 8% less than the number of all crashes attributable to that age group.

Drivers 75 years old and older accounted for 4.6% of all the wrong way crashes in the study. This is more than three times the proportion from statewide trends on overall freeway/expressway crashes (1.4%). FDOT concluded these older drivers are more at higher risk of being in, if not causing, a wrong way-related crash.

About 75% of wrong way crashes happened in urban areas and 25% in rural areas.

The areas where wrong way crashes were most common were District 2 (49, Northeastern Florida), Turnpike System (49), District 6 (37, South Florida) and District 5 (35, Central Florida).

If youre driving down the highway or street and see another vehicle headed towards you, you literally might not believe your eyes, especially if youre driving at night or when visibility is poor. But these accidents happen and we represent those who suffer injuries, and the families of people killed, due to negligent drivers traveling the wrong way.

If you or a loved one suffered an injury caused in a vehicle accident involving a head on collision, contact Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne at (561) 800-4011 or fill out this online contact form. You can discuss your case, how the law may apply and your best legal options to protect your rights and obtain compensation for your injuries.

Media Contact:

Joe Osborne personal injury attorney

561-800-4011

source: http://www.oa-lawfirm.com/head-crash-i95-kills-florida-man-says-boca-car-accident-lawyer-joe-osborne/

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NSF grant to support engineering professors' development of triboelectric nanogenerators

Friday, June 9, 2017

James Chen, Kansas State University assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering. | Download this photo.





MANHATTAN  The triboelectric effect, a phenomenon where a material becomes electrically charged after it contacts a different material through friction, has been understood since ancient times. Today, two Kansas State University engineers are seeking a way to harvest the energy from this effect when produced by mechanical contact between dissimilar surfaces.



With the world's increasing demand for energy, harvesting of this buildup of electrical charge may hold an opportunity for generation of electricity.



Using computational techniques with supercomputers, James Chen, assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering and lead investigator, and Zayd Leseman, associate professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering, will undertake a project to provide a theoretical framework for engineering triboelectric nanogenerators capable of harvesting significant amounts of this power in a controlled way.



The professors have been awarded a three-year, $400,000 National Science Foundation award from the foundation's Mechanics of Materials and Structures Program for their work.



"Harvesting of energy inherent in everyday life is central to this research and very important for the U.S. economy and society," Chen said. "Our work will involve many disciplines, including contact mechanics, solid mechanics, materials science, electrical engineering and manufacturing."



Chen and Leseman will perform simulations in conjunction with carefully designed experiments to derive an atomistic electrodynamic theory and integrate it into the simulations. They will investigate the charging mechanism of contact-mode triboelectrification, relating this with shear strain, surface roughness, friction cycles and harvesting efficiency.



"Outcomes of this project will not only unmask lurking mysteries of the triboelectric phenomenon," Chen said, but provide a platform for students  middle schoolers to college  to understand energy harvesting."



The project will bolster three centers in the College of Engineering  the SMART Lab, Kansas State Microanalysis Lab and Beocat  while enhancing the research program of the mechanical and nuclear engineering department. It will also directly impact the 2025 initiative and its goal of Kansas State University being recognized as a Top 50 public research university.
Community celebrates K-State Office Park phase II groundbreaking

Friday, June 9, 2017



Construction of phase II of the K-State Office Park is set to begin July 5 and be ready for occupancy in August 2018. | Download this photo.





MANHATTAN  To mark the next stage in development of Kansas State University's north campus research and academic corridor, the Kansas State University Foundation broke ground and began excavation for phase II of the K-State Office Park in a June 8 ceremony.



"We are excited to launch construction on phase II of the K-State Office Park and continue to attract corporate partners who desire to locate to our Manhattan campus and maximize their company's access to K-State talent and innovation," said Richard Myers, university president."This groundbreaking reaffirms our promise to the K-State family and partners that we are committed to offering superior student academic experiences and achieving national recognition as a Top 50 public research university by 2025."



Construction of phase II will cost $15.8 million and add 59,000 square feet of on-campus, flexible, move-in ready lease space to accommodate up to 35 tenants, intentional co-working areas and the Bluestem Grill, a locally owned restaurant. Financing of this phase includes a $13.7 million private investment by the Kansas State University Foundation. No donor funds will be used to build phase two. In addition to the KSU Foundation commitment and Federal New Markets Tax Credits, the Manhattan City Commission unanimously approved $800,000 in economic development loans and incentives toward the expansion. The city's investment is projected to deliver $93 million in economic impact over 20 years according to data provided by city staff.



Completion of phase II will add to the combined 56-acre world-class ecosystem of innovative research and academic growth adjacent to Kansas State University in its office and research parks.



"The city of Manhattan and K-State are not only partners, but are family and understand the solid growth of the K-State Office Park benefits our community," said Usha Reddi, mayor of Manhattan. "With the commission's unanimous support, we look forward to growing and strengthening our economic development relationship."



Construction on this phase of the overall $60 million K-State Office Park will begin July 5 and be occupant ready by August 2018. Local general contractor McCownGordon Construction, in partnership with Hoefer Wysocki Architects, will lead the project.

"McCownGordon is proud to partner with K-State and the KSU Foundation in building the next generation of university development," said Ramin Cherafat, chief operations officer for McCownGordon. "Our commitment to the people we serve goes beyond creating an excellent built environment; we endeavor to help move the community forward for the future of K-State and the Manhattan area."



Phase II will expand on dedicated flexible and collaborative professional work space and  with the addition of the Bluestem Grill as a new restaurant partner  community engagement.



"In a world of intense global competition, today's groundbreaking signifies a bold investment on behalf of the KSU Foundation that strategically advances the university, said Greg Lohrentz, KSU Foundation senior vice president of operations and finance. "With our research and academic partnerships solidly in place and a state-of-the-art space to build upon, the K-State Office Park is where cutting-edge innovation develops and diverse industry partners benefit."



Philanthropic contributions to Kansas State University are coordinated by the KSU Foundation. The foundation is leading Innovation and Inspiration: The Campaign for Kansas State University to raise $1.4 billion for student success, faculty development, facility enhancement and programmatic success.






Three doctoral students earn 2017 University Distinguished Professors Graduate Student Awards

Friday, June 9, 2017

MANHATTAN  Outstanding achievements in their academic work and scholarship have earned three Kansas State University doctoral students awards from the university's highest-ranking professors.



The winners of the University Distinguished Professors Graduate Student Awards are Stuart Miller, doctoral student in psychological sciences, Bettendorf, Iowa, who receives $4,000; Weldensie Embaye, doctoral student in agricultural economics, Eritrea, East Africa, who receives $3,000; and Bhupinder Sandhu, doctoral student in chemistry, Punjab, India, who receives $3,000.



They will be honored at a University Distinguished Professors Group meeting on Sept. 19.



The awards recognize graduate students who have shown exceptional achievement in their graduate studies and demonstrate excellence in scholarship through publications and other accomplishments appropriate for their academic fields. The University Distinguished Professors Group has established guidelines and criteria for the evaluation of candidates, and Carol Shanklin, dean of the Graduate School, coordinates the selection process.

Miller's dissertation is "Promoting Positive Interracial Contact Through Focusing on the Structural Rather Than the Individual Components of Racism." His research examines how interracial interactions between black individuals and white individuals can be structured to reduce the anxiety often experienced. When interracial anxiety is reduced, intergroup contact can improve interracial attitudes. Miller's goal is to improve interracial interactions while fostering motivations to address issues of social justice and the racial disparities that stratify our society. His advisor is Donald Saucier, professor of psychological sciences.

"Being awarded the University Distinguished Professors Graduate Student Award is extremely validating and a little overwhelming," Miller said. "I appreciate that the university distinguished professors recognize the great work that graduate students do to contribute to the scholarly excellence at K-State. I plan to use the funds from this award to get the training and resources for using physiological measures of stress in my research on the different factors that influence anxiety in intergroup interactions. Physiological indicators will allow me to measure stress responses that may not be detectable through cognitive or behavioral measures, and these measures will add greater confidence in my findings."

Embaye's dissertation is "Farm Technical Efficiency and Economic Development." His research looks at identifying the most appropriate methods for evaluation of agricultural development programs. Embaye will evaluate the impact of agricultural extension programs on farm productivity and development, and study how these methods could be used on other related agricultural development programs. His advisor is Jason Bergtold, professor and graduate program director of agricultural economics.



"It is a great honor to receive this award," Embaye said. "It encourages me to put more effort into my research and helps bolster my career so others can see the contribution of my research. The award funds will be used to cover costs for travel expenses to attend and present at the International Association of Agricultural Economics and Agricultural and Applied Economics Association conferences."



Sandhu's dissertation is "Crystal Engineering From Fundamentals to Applications." Her research seeks to develop reliable and transferable guidelines for how molecules recognize each other, and how they subsequently aggregate and form crystalline materials. A large number of potentially beneficial cancer drugs and other pharmaceutically active ingredients fail simply because of their poor solubility in water. Sandhu is developing a technology based on co-crystals that may allow physical properties to be "dialed-in," thereby providing opportunities for more drugs to reach clinical trials. Her advisor is Christer Aakeroy, university distinguished professor of chemistry.

"I feel extremely honored and appreciative for receiving a 2017 University Distinguished Professors Graduate Student Award," Sandhu said. "This award has encouraged me to keep moving forward with my future endeavors in my research work and to keep working hard each day. The funding from the award will allow me to travel to Cambridge, U.K., to visit the Cambridge Crystallographic Database Center, which is a leader in education, materials production and development of software for pharmaceutical research. I will get an opportunity to interact with other researchers working on developing new tools to predict and understand structure and stability of pharmaceutically important and complex molecules."



"We are pleased to partner with the Office of the Vice President for Research to recognize and encourage outstanding graduate students, said Gary Pierzynski, president of the University Distinguished Professors Group. "Graduate Students are essential to the research and creative activities at K-State."



The awards are made possible through a combination of donations from individual university distinguished professors and support from the university's vice president for research.
President Tran Dai Quang and President Milos Zeman (Photo: VNA)

During the visit, the overseas Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic spent a lot of time getting regular updates and information about the visit.

Social websites which usually only publish personal images and statuses also solemnly published the Joint Declaration between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Czech Republic, with the following contents: State President Tran Dai Quang affirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to the development of friendly relations and multi-faceted cooperation with the Czech Republic; thanked the Czech Republic for creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic.

President Milos Zeman reaffirmed the strong interest of the Czech Republic in promoting friendly and mutually beneficial relations with Vietnam; and appreciated the contributions of the overseas Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic in promoting the friendship between the two countries.

Mr. Nhien shared that he and the overseas Vietnamese in the Czech Republic are very pleased with the results achieved during President Zeman's visit to Vietnam.

Notably, the two sides formally signed the Agreement on Transfer of Persons Sentenced to Imprisonment and the Crime Prevention Cooperation Agreement, in order to strengthen and perfect the legal basis for bilateral cooperation between the legal protection agencies of the two countries.

The agreement has created a legal corridor to remove a small number of law offenders that worsen the common image of the Vietnamese community in the local country./.
A representative of Vinpearl Da Nang Resort & Villas receives the Vietnam's Leading Beach Resort 2017 award granted

by World Travel Award (WTA). (Photo: Vingroup)

Vinpearl Da Nang nestles in the prime location of Non Nuoc beach, one of the six most beautiful beaches on the planet as voted by Forbes magazine, with the majestic Marble Mountain Range at its back.

Boasting 200 high-end rooms and 39 villas all with stunning pool and sea view together with top-notch tourism services, the five-star resort is an ideal holiday destination for vacationers.

WTA is the worlds most prestigious travel awards and touted as the Oscar award in the tourism industry. It was set up in 1993 to acknowledge and reward excellence across all key sectors of travel, tourism and hospitality industry based on comprehensive criteria of landscape, environment, infrastructure and service quality, among others.

The annual WTA is voted on website worldtravelawards.com, attracting leading tourism experts, travel agents and holiday makers all over the world. This year, Vinpearl Da Nang Resort and Villas was nominated for Asias Leading Beach Resort, Asias Leading Resort and Vietnams Leading Beach Resort.

Other Vietnamese hotels and resorts were also honoured at 18 other categories of the WTA./.
: A considerable part of economic activity relies on marine and maritime resources: tourism, leisure activities, fishing and aquaculture, offshore energy, shipping and port facilities and sea-bed mining. These sectors are growing at different rates, with varying job creation figures, but they need to grow in a sustainable and inclusive manner.For many experts, this represents a new frontier, a new world El Dorado, with some predicting that added value from the ocean economy will treble between 2010 and 2030. The Mediterranean already attracts 30% of the world's tourists each year, some 400 million visitors and is traversed by 30% of the world's sea shipments. This economic development must be channelled to make sure it is sustainable and inclusive. Such economic growth is not without danger for the marine resources and ecosystems. Which is why Plan Bleu designed a set of available indicators and intends creating a "nursery" for future indicators..: The blue economy is just the green economy applied to coastal zones and the sea. We need to accompany change to ensure the blue really is blue. We would like a Klein blue.: The governments of countries and heads of international institutions are taking an interest in the marine economy and blue economy. Slow economic growth worldwide has led to research into how to better exploit the blue economy's potential, both nationally and internationally. We need to reinforce regional cooperation between the various international organizations so that they work for the Mediterranean. We need a better implementation of international commitments (for example, the Barcelona Convention and its protocols or the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development) and therefore for countries to sign and ratify these commitments and transform them into actions. We also need to keep moving forward on international environmental and maritime law.
Portugal has turned its economy around, slashing the deficit and creating jobs. This should boost investor confidence, but the rating agencies will not take Lisbon off the junk pile so easily.

Portugal is no longer in breach of EU deficit rules and has left behind the excessive deficit procedure (EDP), in which it had been trapped for the past eight years. This was recently announced by EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici.

This moment represents a turning point in the economic situation of the country, but oversight is required in order to secure the achievement. Today the exit of the EDP leads us into what is the preventive arm of the treaty, in which we have to maintain a rigorous trajectory in the public accounts and to make a more efficient use of public spending, said Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno, who became part of Antonio Costas Socialist government in October 2015 amid criticism from the overthrown right-wing opposition.

Costas left-wing government took power in October 2015, after ousting the Social Democrats (PSD) in coalition with the Popular Party (CDS-PP), following a censorship motion in parliament. Costa, the former mayor from Lisbon, vowed to reset wages and pensions as well as to reverse the austerity cycle that had pushed the country to its knees. Many deemed this coalition a failure, as it seemed, at first glance, unworkable  but significant progress has been achieved since the Socialist Party, backed by the left, took control over the country.

In 2011, Portugal had to borrow more than 70 million from the EU and the IMF in a daunting attempt to avoid insolvency. The years that followed were of great social and economic unrest but Portugals economy seems to be healing.

Effective taxation

In 2015, Portugals public deficit reached an alarming 4.4% of GDP but the government effectively reversed the spiral with measures such as tax increases on alcohol and tobacco, high-value real estate, vehicles and vacation rentals, as well as by introducing a sugar tax on soft drinks. Furthermore, fuelled by a booming tourism industry and a rise on exports, Portugal saw its deficit fall underpinned by an increase of confidence and private consumption.

According to the spring forecast released by the European Commission last week, Portugals economic growth is set to rise further in 2017 before easing off in 2018. The labour market is also expected to improve with unemployment falling from 11.2% in 2016 to 9.2% in 2018. After turning out at 2.0% of GDP in 2016 the general government deficit is set to remain below 2% over the forecast horizon.

The government has successfully reduced the deficit to 2% of GDP in 2016, well below the 3% defined by the Maastricht Treaty, and the lowest since Portugal joined the eurozone in 1999. Additionally, Portuguese authorities have guaranteed that work on the stabilisation of the public debt will continue as the recapitalisation of the bank Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD) is still underway  yet this did not influence the Commissions decision as the injection of capital is not supposed to be accounted for in the deficit.

The executive is hopeful of a positive turnout for next years budget. A growth rate of 2.8% was registered after the first three months of 2017 and an increase to 3.2% is expected by the end of the year, according to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. Additionally, Centeno told Reuters that the governments message is that economic growth is strong and sustained, and it is accelerating. The fact is that we are converging with the European Union, we are finally converging.

Public debt

However, Portugal still carries a high general public debt as a proportion of GDP; it rose slightly to 130.4% in 2016, mainly due to higher issuance of government debt for the ongoing recapitalisation of the state-owned bank CGD. However, the ratio is forecast to decline to 128.5% in 2017 and to 126.2% in 2018, due to primary budget surpluses and continued economic growth.

The governments reaction

According to PM Costa, despite significant gains the budgetary margin is still too narrow for better salaries and public services.

Brussels validated the work of the Socialist Party, the major party in government, thereby giving it the legitimacy to continue its endeavours. The remaining left parties in power  the Left Bloc, the Communist Party and the Greens  are delighted with the significant gains achieved in the country  the meaningful exit from the Excessive Deficit procedure  while reiterating the necessity for a better redistribution of the countrys wealth through better salaries and public services. To this, Prime Minister Costa replied that despite the financial release the budgetary margin is still narrow.

Whats next?

With a better reputation, leaving the corrective arm for the preventive arm enshrined in the Stability and Growth Pact, Portugal is eyeing the rating agencies, hoping for an upgrade. Indeed, with Portugal leaving the corrective arm  a model designed by the EU to guide member states in correcting their public finances  to the preventive arm  a similar model, yet based on economic and financial surveillance to ensure the continuation of stability  rating agencies may look at the country with fresh eyes: new investment opportunities might be just over the horizon.

Although the recent accomplishments do not signal an imminent rise in the countrys investment rating and agencies anticipate several difficulties in the near future, the rating agency Moodys notes that the evolution of the budgetary situation and Brussels recent decision will have a positive impact on the confidence of future investors.

Having junked Portugal at the height of its crisis seven years ago, Moodys currently ranks Portugals debt at BA1  one level below investment grade. Nevertheless, an upgrade is not on the cards in the foreseeable future.
HOLDREGE  Veterans, family members and other beneficiaries will have the opportunity to provide feedback about veterans services at a town hall at 5:45 p.m. June 22.

According to a Department of Veterans Affairs news release, VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System senior leadership and other experts from the local VA health system will lead the town hall meeting to open communication and hear directly from veterans and their families. Following the town hall, representatives from various VA programs will be available to provide assistance to veterans who may not be enrolled in the health care system.
A rose to ... teens who take their responsibilities seriously when theyre driving. We salute young motorists who try their best to be safe and courteous, and who try each time they drive to develop and hone their skills. Its important for all drivers to continually improve their abilities, but according to recent stats from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, inexperienced teens are especially susceptible to accidents because of their inexperience.

Drivers ages 19 and younger constitute just 7.2 percent of drivers in Nebraska, but they are disproportionately involved in a wide range of accidents: 21 percent of crashes on wet or snowy road conditions; 25 percent of rear-end type collisions; 26 percent of crashes using a cell phone; 35 percent of exceeding the speed limit crashes.

In fact, teens are involved in 21 percent of all crashes in Nebraska. The likelihood that teen drivers will be in a crash are so elevated, its a wonder that seatbelt usage is so low in that age group. One of the wisest actions young, inexperienced drivers can do is to buckle up.

Why? Because according to the DHHS statistics, 100 percent of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2016 werent using seatbelts.

A raspberry to ... cavities, gum disease and bad breath. They dont take a vacation. Thats an important fact for children and teenagers who are on summer break from school. Just because their daily schedules have changed doesnt mean they can take a vacation from their dental care routine.

Summer break might allow kids to sleep in late, take trips and camp out in the great outdoors, but slipping into vacation mode on oral health is hard on toothy smiles.

Parents need to keep their children and teenagers on track. Daily exercise, household chores and other activities should be a part of the summer routine, and so should brushing, flossing and general care of teeth. Kids may need reminders to care for their teeth and gums. Parents also should see that their kids stay clear of sugary drinks and snacks, which can promote the process of tooth rot.
Nebraska lawmakers, Attorney General Doug Peterson and Gov. Pete Ricketts are standing shoulder to shoulder on a new state priority: Cracking down on the coercion of young adults and children into prostitution.

New legislation, approved unanimously in the Legislature and signed into law, will greatly increase the allowable penalties against pimps as well as patrons. In particular, penalties will be steeper for trafficking a minor younger than 16 or using force to traffic a minor.

These changes, under legislation by Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln, are intended to give the state greater leverage to deter pimps from forcing young people and children into the sex trade. An additional goal is dissuading patrons from exploiting these vulnerable young people.

The Attorney Generals Office under Petersons leadership has taken strong steps on this issue. Peterson has assigned full-time staff to combat trafficking and created a task force that has provided training to more than 600 law enforcement personnel and service providers.

Such training helps police and prosecutors take more effective action in human trafficking cases and better enables the state to help victims.

As the Omaha World-Heralds Joe Duggan explained in a recent news story, Pansing Brooks legislation is the latest in a series of efforts by Nebraska to address sex trafficking, going back to the early work on the issue in 2006 by then-Sen. Amanda McGill Johnson.

Over the years, Nebraska has created a task force to help define the extent of trafficking in the state; increased penalties for children compelled into prostitution; and given adult victims of sex trafficking immunity from prostitution charges.

Omaha World-Herald
Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn waves after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London, Friday, June 9, 2017. Britain voted Thursday in an election that started out as an attempt by Prime Minister Theresa May to increase her party's majority in Parliament ahead of Brexit negotiations but was upended by terror attacks in Manchester and London during the campaign's closing days. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
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Quality of medical services will be monitored by Ukraine's National Health Service (NHS) along with the Health Ministry of Ukraine, Deputy Health Minister Pavlo Kovtoniuk has said.

"Statements that the NHS will along order [medical services] and control everything on its own are false," Kovtoniuk told the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

Kovtoniuk said Health Ministry initiatives provide for the NHS to control the quality of services on the level of contracts it will conclude with health institutions, while the Health Ministry will control the quality of licensed medical services.

"If a doctor or a hospital does something that contradicts the status of doctor of the statute of a health organization, it is not a matter for the NHS, but a matter for the license issuing agency. It will be the ministry's job. That's how we see the mechanism for the short and medium term," he said.

The deputy minister said the mechanism is enshrined in law.

"Licensing medical institutions is the prerogative of the health ministry. That does not change. It relates to the control over, for example, a doctor's mistake. There is another level of control, for example, the quality of service. The NHS will oversee this, based on the contract with the medical institution," he said.

As earlier reported, 227 Verkhovna Rada members on Thursday voted to adopt bill No. 6327 on state financial guarantees for medical services and medicines, but failed to pass bill No. 6329 on introducing changes to the Budget Code in the part on financing health care. Both pieces of legislation are part of Ukraine's health reform.
FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2017 file photo, Taylor Swift performs at the DIRECTV NOW Super Saturday Night Concert in Houston, Texas. Swift is getting back together with a few of her famous exes, including Spotify and Pandora. The pop starAos representative confirms her full catalog will return to all streaming platforms Friday, June 9. Her official Instagram fan account, Taylor Nation, posted the news Thursday. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)
The protocols of sanitary and phytosanitary requirements for the supply of Ukrainian beet pulp and sunflower meal to China were approved on June 8.

Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumers' Rights Protection Volodymyr Lapa and representatives of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China endorsed the relevant documents during his working visit to China, the Ukrainian agency's press service said.

As reported, Chinese delegates inspected Ukrainian sunflower meal production facilities in 2015 and visited beet pulp production ones in January 2017.
The National Bank of Ukraine has allowed businesses to invest abroad up to $2 million in equivalent on the basis of one currency license for one calendar year, whereas up to now the total amount of such transactions was $50,000 for one calendar month.

According to the regulator, relevant resolution No. 51 dated June 8 will come into force on June 12.

It also differentiates requirements for obtaining licenses depending on the amount of investment abroad, investment of up to $50,000 will be subject to simplified requirements for the list of documents for obtaining a license.

The NBU said in addition to an application it will be sufficient to provide several other documents depending on the type of investment and the type of investor (an agreement on implementation of investment, documents on the registration of an investment object, etc.).

At the same time, investments exceeding $50,000 will require an expanded list of documents that will help the NBU prevent the use of currency licenses for capital outflow. In particular, residents must additionally confirm the economic meaning of the operation, the availability of transparent funding sources and provide detailed information about the ultimate beneficial owners of investment operation subjects.
DTEK records attempts to illegally sell coal from uncontrolled area to Turkey and Spain

DTEK energy holding has recorded the attempts to illegally sell coal from the mines located in the temporarily uncontrolled territories of Ukraine to Turkey and Spain, acting CEO of DTEK Energy Dmytro Sakharuk has said.

"What we see is they are trying to supply about 50,000 tonnes of anthracite a month to Turkey. They are also loading a vessel with 30,000 tonnes for Spain," he told journalists in Kyiv.

Sakharuk stressed DTEK had already informed the Turkish and Spanish sides about the consequences of buying such counterfeit resources.

At the same time, according to the holding, coal from the temporarily uncontrolled territories is sold at a discount of 30-50%.

According to the expert, the mines belonging to the holding and captured by the militants could potentially this year produce about 5 million tonnes of anthracite, which they will try to sell abroad.

As reported, DTEK previously warned all potential customers of anthracite of the illegality of acquiring such fuel from the temporarily uncontrolled territories.
Kazakh businessmen continue to work with Ukraine, despite anti-Ukraine propaganda aired by media in Kazakhstan, Charge d'Affaires of Ukraine to Kazakhstan Volodymyr Dzhydzhora has said.

"Despite the enormous negative [propaganda], which the people of Kazakhstan hear in media, Kazakh businessmen continue to work with Ukraine  Interest in Ukraine is growing," he told journalists in Astana.

Dzhydzhora said there are few Ukrainian news sources in Kazakhstan and many pro-Russia news sources.

"After Russia's invasion of Ukraine following the Revolution of Dignity pro-Russia media aired a lot of anti-Ukrainian news. Ukraine's embassy in Kazakhstan is waging war for Ukrainian land not with weapons, but with words, for the minds of people, political and business support," the diplomat said.
The HSE has said the serious concerns raised by HIQA reports published today regarding the Ballytobin residential care facility in Callan will be addressed, and the centre will remain open with its residents remaining in their home if they wish.

On Tuesday, the HSE took over management of ongoing operations at Ballytobin. Today, it issued a statement saying the welfare of 19 service users (with intellectual disabilities and other kinds of special needs) at the facility is a priority.

The HSE became the provider following a recent decision by Camphill Communities of Ireland to accept, and not to appeal, a Notice of Decision issued to them by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA), as regards cancelling the registration of its premises in Ballytobin. The HSE says it is ensuring that the serious concerns noted by HIQA will be fully addressed, with an immediate focus on safeguarding, says the statement.

Earlier last month, the HSE was made aware of deliberations between HIQA and the Camphill Communities of Ireland Ltd, arising from the authoritys inspections of the Camphill centre at Ballytobin. At a subsequent meeting, HIQA issued Camphill with a Notice of Decision to cancel the registration of its premises at Ballytobin. Camphill management accepted the decision of the independent regulator in this regard and waived their right of appeal.

The HSE subsequently prepared an Action Plan and submitted it to the Chief Inspector in HIQA. The Action Plan set out interim measures being taken with the consent of the provider at Ballytobin to improve safeguarding in the centre. The actions included the allocation of an experienced HSE manager to the centre, in addition to that of additional, experienced professional staff in each of the houses on a 24 hour basis and the deployment of two HSE safeguarding officers to be based in the centre. These measures were put in place to mitigate risk.

The HSE is now managing Ballytobin and wishes to assure the public that the residential care centre will be kept open. It is the intention of the HSE to ensure that all 19 service users will remain in their home at Ballytobin, if they so wish.

The HSE says it will ensure that any concerns raised in the HIQA Inspection Report on Ballytobin are addressed and will liaise accordingly with all relevant parties including the National office of Camphill Communities of Ireland, Tusla and An Garda Siochana," says the statement.

The HSE are working closely with the Camphill Communities of Ireland, employees, co-workers, residents and their families, as regards agreeing future planning and actions required at Ballytobin.

An independent advocacy agency is co-ordinating family forums, to meet with parents and families of the 19 residents at Camphill, Ballytobin. The HSE attend these independently managed forums and will continue to do so. It is intended to convene a weekly forum with parents, to ensure that there is input and collaboration with parents and families at this time.

The HSE will ensure that residents, their families and those employed and providing support at Ballytobin are kept fully informed as matters progress.

The HSE works closely with the Camphill Communities of Ireland and (through Section 39 of the Health Act 2007) provides funding support to the organisation.

A HSE review is under way, examining Camphill Communities of Ireland (CCI) across all of its locations in the Republic of Ireland. The review has a particular emphasis on improving governance within CCI at regional and national level and ensuring that services are provided, now and into the future, on a safe and sustainable basis in line with HIQA standards.
The sun smiled on Mullinavat over the Bank Holiday Weekend as the south Kilkenny village saw the old and the new combine for a fantastic summer festival.

Mullinavat Community Centre came together with Mullinavat GAA to host the festival, which was inspired by the old days of the summer fetes. There hasnt been such an event since those heady days of the summer fetes which came to an end in the 1980s after nearly three decades.

Activities and attractions included a fair with live music and various artisan, art and craft stalls, food stalls, make up stalls, fashion, art exhibitions, holistic health stalls, face painting, grand raffle, childrens activities, techno treasure hunt and childrens fancy dress to name but a few. On Sunday, there was a seven-a-side hurling tournament,childrens activities and games, stalls, barbeque and more live music.

The community centre played host to live music on both nights with headlining acts Art Supple on Saturday night and culminating with the band Big Generator on Sunday night. There was a smartphone treasure hunt challenge for teenagers, and a childrens fancy dress for under 12s judged by a special guest the newly crowned Kilkenny Rose, Tara Roche.

The people of Mullinavat and surrounding communities have always been extremely generous supporting many a charity fundraiser held in recent years, and this was in part a means to reward their efforts. It was truly a fun packed weekend for all the family.

Well done to the festival organisers for taking the initiative to put it all together. Thanks must go to main sponsors Suir Engineering, Manor Properties, Speedy Hire and Greenstar waste Disposal, without whose support the event would not be possible.

Thanks also to the local community and the local businesses for their support, and for turning out at the weekend.
500 CLUB DRAW....Tickets are now on sale for St. Kierans Community Hall 500 Club Draw. The cost of the ticket is E7.50 per month and are available in Morrisseys , Sharkeys or any of the committee members. The draw is limited to a max of 500 members. The prizes for each of the 6 months draws are 1st E600, 2nd E250, 3rd, 4th 5th E100 and 6th E75. First two draws and a special draw for fully paid up members (E150) will be held on July 8th. Funds raised will be used for the upkeep of the hall. Your support will be greatly appreciated.

HERITAGE GROUP annual trip on June 29th. This year the trip is to Clonakilty beginning with a visit to the Michael Collins Museum and a bus tour to all the placed associated with Michael Collins from his birth to his death. The tour will be led by a local guide. Cost E20 and information from 0863272288.

CARETAKERS COLLECTION...a special collection, the second of two, will be taken up at all the masses next weekend June 10/11th for the caretakers of both churches. This collection needs particular attention since contributions have declined over the years. The churches are kept in pristine condition by the hard work of the caretakers. Your support would be appreciated.

CONGRATULATIONS to William and Michelle Dooley Queally on the birth of their baby daughter Mila Rose who was baptised recently in St. Kierans Church.

PRIESTS INCOME the June collection for the priests income is now due. Envelopes for same included in the bundle issued at the beginning of the year.

MRS CHRISSIS MURPHY RIP... The death recently of Mrs Chrissie Murphy, Urlingford Road, Johnstown was a great source of sorrow to her husband Frank, her sons James and Patrick and daughters Frances and Helena, her extended family Brodericks of Urlingford and Murphys of Tullyvolty. A comparatively young woman Chrissie was very well known and popular in the community. She was a very friendly and outgoing person and a great neighbour. A member of the Broderick Family, Urlingford, she resided in Johnstown all her married life. When illness visited her, she bore it with great dignity and perseverance. She will be sadly missed by her husband, sons, daughters, grandchildren, brothers in law, sisters in law, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, neighbours and friends. Chrissie was laid to rest in Johnstown Cemetery after Requiem Mass in St. Kierans Church. May her soul rest in peace.

SPA DEVELOPMENT/FENIANS LOTTO June 1st winning numbers 7,8,18,21. There was no jackpot winner and three match threes Vincent Morrissey, Noel Doran and Conor Stapleton. Promoters Prize Morrisseys. Next weeks jackpot E 5,200 and the draw is in Paschals.

FINALLY all the very best to the boys and girls from the parish who are sitting their Leaving and Junior Certificate Exams on Wed next. Do your best and remember there is life after the Leaving Cert!! Good Luck to all!!
Ukraine's 'Ukrainians' social media platform, which was developed by a Canadian start-up incubator with assets in Ukraine's StartupSoft, has gained 100,000 registered users in five days. The service has announced new features, which will be rolled out in the coming days.

Co-founder of the platform Oleksandra Strumchynska said on June 22 Ukrainians plans to add a search system and a friend-adding system, and on June 30 to roll out publication and content-sharing functions. Currently, the platform only allows users to register and change their profile pictures.

"StartupSoft is currently bankrolling the project, but we are looking at the possibility of attracting investment in the future," Strumchynska said.

StartupSoft is a Canadian start-up incubator founded by natives of Ukraine's Ternopil region in western Ukraine, where its headquarters are located. About 30 people work for the company.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on May 15 signed a decree blocking access in Ukraine to popular Russian social media platforms, including Mail.ru, Yandex and VKontakte.
By Cecile Lefort and Charlotte Greenfield

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, June 9 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars jumped to multi-week highs against a battered pound after early results of UK elections suggested a much closer race than anticipated, leaving both currencies with likely hefty weekly gains.

The Aussie however took a backseat against its U.S. counterpart at $0.7534, from $0.7549 in early trade.

It was still up 1.2 percent this week, not far from a six-week peak of $0.7568 set on Wednesday following better-than-expected economic growth at home.

Resistance was at $0.7589 and support at $0.7478.

Sterling was the clear session loser, down around 1.3 percent on both the Aussie and New Zealand dollars.

It was last at A$1.6934 , having dipped to A$1.6861, the lowest since mid-April and was on track for a weekly drop of 1.9 percent.

Ray Attrill, a strategist at National Australia Bank, said he saw room for further slippage in the pound should the Conservative Party of British Prime Minister Theresa May fail to win a majority.

"We should see a full retracement of the April rally with the pound back around the A$1.6600 area," he said.

Likewise, the pound skidded to NZ$1.7723 , not far from a trough of NZ$1.7627, a level not seen since late March. It has shed 12 pence since mid-May to last trade at NZ$1.7688.

The Aussie and New Zealand dollars were poised for large weekly gains versus the euro and the Canadian dollar.

The New Zealand dollar steadied at $0.7215, near Thursday's three-month peak of $0.7223 and set for a weekly gain of 1 percent.

New Zealand government bonds gained, sending yields 0.5 basis points lower at the long end of the curve.

Australian government bond futures were soft, with the three-year bond contract off 1 tick at 98.250. The 10-year contract edged down just under one tick to 97.5625.

(Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)
(Updates to close)

June 9 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended little changed on Friday as no clear winner emerged from Britain's parliamentary election.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.02 percent, or 1.023 points to 5,677.8 at close of trade. For the week, it lost 1.9 percent, its first such loss in three weeks.

With 633 out of 650 seats declared in the UK elections, the Conservatives had won 308 seats and were therefore no longer able to reach the 326-mark they would need to command a parliamentary majority. Labour had won 258 seats. Among Aussie stocks, miners BHP and Rio Tinto contributed most to gains on the benchmark, rising 1 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively, with Rio hitting its highest close in over a week. Gains in Qantas Airways of 3.3 percent also buoyed the benchmark. National Australia Bank , Woodside Petroleum and Telstra shares were the biggest drags on the index, falling between 0.7 percent and 2.3 percent.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended 0.3 percent, or 22.56 points, to 7,436.1, posting its fourth straight session of losses.

On the week, the index lost 0.9 percent, its worst week since late March.

Industrial stocks led the falls as Auckland International Airport and Port of Tauranga shed 1.4 percent and 1.6 percent.

Australia's stock market will be closed on Monday for a public holiday and will resume trading on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)
* China investors seek better-yielding Hong Kong shares

* Mainland market hurt by tighter regulations, slowdown fears

* Hong Kong stocks may correct, dry up flows - analyst

By Luoyan Liu and John Ruwitch

SHANGHAI, June 9 (Reuters) - Chinese money has helped Hong Kong stocks power to near two-year highs just when mainland markets appear to have stalled on China's slowing economic growth and policy tightening.

The divergence in flows via the "Connect" schemes between the two markets became prominent in recent months with the Hong Kong leg seeing much greater usage compared with China-bound traffic.

"(Mainland) investors have been worried about economic growth, which possibly peaked in the first quarter, and also tighter financial regulations as the government stepped up deleveraging efforts," said Yan Kaiwen, an analyst with China Fortune Securities.

Lopsided equity flows put the spotlight on Beijing's efforts to attract investments and the progress it is making in reforms that have promised to open up its capital markets. They also come at a time when China has imposed tighter restrictions on taking funds out of the country to staunch outflows.

From January to May, a total of 168 billion yuan ($24.7 billion) flowed into Hong Kong via the pipelines, while northbound usage in the same period was 86 billion yuan.

The southbound leg of the Shanghai-Hong Kong connect dominated, recording a net flow of 133 billion yuan ($19.6 billion) in the first five months of the year, up nearly 80 percent from the same period in 2016.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index , meanwhile, has jumped about 18 percent since the start of the year, in stark contrast to a gain of about 1.8 percent in the Shanghai Composite Index .

China kicked off the landmark scheme connecting Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets in November 2014 and the long-awaited link between Shenzhen and Hong Kong went live in December.

Analysts say demand for Hong Kong shares will likely continue as mainland markets come under greater regulatory scrutiny from a crackdown on risky lending practices and as the authorities tighten credit to ward off debt bubbles.

Chinese investors are also increasingly seeking companies with better valuations and the opportunity to diversify into non-yuan assets.

"Hong Kong stocks are favoured for their lower valuations and higher dividend payments compared with mainland peers, as institutional investors who emphasize fundamentals and valuations participate more in the southbound legs," said Linus Yip, Hong Kong-based chief strategist at First Shanghai Securities.

The Shanghai stock market trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of around 16 times and the Shenzhen market at 34 times. In contrast, the Hang Seng index trades at 14 times earnings.

Hong Kong exchange data shows investors prefer large-cap dual-listed financial firms and industry leaders, including Bank of China , New China Life Insurance , Tencent Holdings and China Evergrande .

The index measuring price differences between dual-listed companies in Shanghai and Hong Kong stood at 122.23, 2.7 percent lower than the peak of 125.58 early this year.

Yip said investors should be wary of sharp gains in Hong Kong.

"If Hong Kong stocks go higher too rapidly, there could be a chance of a short-term correction and the (southbound) Connect flows could scale back."

($1 = 6.7985 Chinese yuan)

(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
ACCRA, June 9 (Reuters) - The Bank of Ghana said the yield on its weekly 91-day bill fell to 11.9077 percent at an auction on Friday, from 12.3903 percent at the last sale on June 2. The bank said it had accepted 452.88 million cedis ($103.28 million) worth of bids out of the 506.88 cedis tendered for the 91-day paper, which will be issued on June 12. For full details, click here: ($1 = 4.3850 Ghanaian cedis)

(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo)

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.
(Kitco News) - Outside of what has happened in gold and other precious metals this week, there were a lot of global events that may have slipped through your radars.

Aside from turmoil in the Middle East, a divide in the United Kingdom, and congressional drama in the United States, social media was flooded with posts and stories that are worth highlighting.

Here's what you missed:

A Diplomatic Crisis in Qatar

In an unforeseen move, the Saudi Arabian government accused Qatar of funding terrorism and cut all diplomatic ties with the small peninsula. But they weren't alone - 8 more countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and even the Maldives relieved ties with the Qatari government.

Saudi Arabia is accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism and sectarianism.



In other news, the pot has called the kettle black.  Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) June 5, 2017

...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

Trump to Privatize Air Control

President Trump kicked off "infrastructure week" by revealing plans to privatize the nation's air-traffic control system, proposing new principles to reform the system and make it "quicker, safer, and more reliable."

This air traffic control reform rollout is uncharacteristically competent -- detailed policy, key outside support, a Hill constituency.  Jason Plautz (@Jason_Plautz) June 5, 2017

Bill Cosby in Court

Bill Cosby's highly-anticipated trial began early this week, where he is being tried for one of the more than fifty sexual assault cases he has been accused of.

Bill Cosby departs court on day 2 of his trial after testimony from woman accuser. #cosbytrial pic.twitter.com/VUdie489Mz  Craig Helfant (@chelfant) June 6, 2017

POTUS Tweets are Official White House Statements

At a White House briefing on Tuesday, Press Secretary Sean Spicer confirmed to the public that they can treat President Trump`s tweets as official White House statements...140 characters and all.

Are Trump's tweets considered official WH statements?



Spicer: "They're considered official statements" by President https://t.co/F4FYsdyMXK  CNN (@CNN) June 6, 2017

New York Subways Will Never Be the Same

For you dog lovers out there, you might want to close your eyes for this one...

This week, the MTA officially banned dogs on NY subways. Of course, New Yorkers found a way to compromise.

the New York City Subway banned dogs unless they fit in a bag and the people of New York did not disappoint. pic.twitter.com/vluNcZHBmW  C (@meanboysclub) June 6, 2017

My favorite picture EVER of someone bringing a dog "in a bag" on the subway ?????? pic.twitter.com/4PTUNofv68  Pamela (@PamelasRageLove) June 7, 2017

Why Ivanka Disagrees

The latest issue of US Weekly Magazine presents itself as a tell-all article by Ivanka Trump. In reality, the First Daughter had nothing to do with the article, which relied on a source close to her. That did not stop the Twitter-verse from having their fun.

This cover is fascinating, rhetorically speaking. It also sets up a life raft for Ivanka-as-celebrity when/if presidency explodes pic.twitter.com/4YMqqRA82l  Anne Helen Petersen (@annehelen) June 7, 2017

Putin: I Am Not a Woman, So I Don`t Have Bad Days

Whenever presented with a question, the Russian President does not disappoint. This time was no exception, as Oliver Stone revealed in his most recent documentary, where Putin admits that he has no bad days, as he does not go through `certain natural cycles`.

Trump`s `Repugnant` Response to Tehran Terror Attack

Following an attack on the Iranian Parliament in Tehran, ISIS claimed responsibility for the incident. The White House released a statement which read that, `states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote`. In response, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, denounced the comments as `repugnant`.

Repugnant WH statement & Senate sanctions as Iranians counter terror backed by US clients.Iranian people reject such US claims of friendship  Javad Zarif (@JZarif) June 8, 2017

James Comey Testifies Before Senate Intelligence Committee

In what was considered to be one of the most anticipated televised events of the year -- some calling it the "Super Bowl of Washington" -- James Comey took the stand before Congress, to discuss the specifics of the final months of his employment as FBI Director. President Trump did not make any appearance on Twitter, whereas Donald Jr. joined the discussion. The internet, however, was most intrigued by Sen. John McCain`s choice of questioning.

In case you missed it. Good times! ?? Donald Trump Jr. has a lot of thoughts about the Comey hearinghttps://t.co/sHHYDrFtEe  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 8, 2017

The #ComeyHearing is about one thing: the truth. We know Russia attacked our democracy. Now we need the full story. We need the truth.  Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) June 8, 2017

Getting sense my q's today went over ppls heads - maybe going fwd I shouldnt stay up late watching @Dbacks games... https://t.co/r5cnX0yypm  John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) June 8, 2017

U.K. General Election - Conservatives Lose Majority

Theresa May`s decision to call a snap election three years early may have only caused more chaos. As the Conservatives lost their majority, Theresa May was left clinging to her seat.

Break - PM has no intention of resigning - working to form a govt based on being largest party in seats and votes  Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) June 9, 2017

Grand Prix Weekend Kicks Off in Montreal

Montreal Grand Prix weekend has kicked off and the annual Formula One race bring with it a flood of luxury cars. Tourists from all over the world have come to catch a glimpse of this high-profile sporting event.

It's getting real down here at the Montreal Grand Prix. pic.twitter.com/uIHEqzEGo0  Kris Mychasiw (@Mychasiw) June 8, 2017

Trump`s Lawyer Will File Complaint Against Comey for Leaking Memos

Following Comey's congressional testimony, where he admitted to leaking memos to the media with the help of a "friend," President Trump's lawyer is said to file a complaint against the former FBI director.
FRANKFURT, June 9 (Reuters) - Qatar's row with its powerful Gulf neighbours should not scupper the just-agreed merger of German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd with sector peer United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) that is owned by six Arab states of the Gulf region, a source close to Hapag-Lloyd said.

He said there were currently no signs that the diplomatic crisis would impact the deal that the states had made last month as one party, vis-a-vis Hapag-Lloyd, bilaterally.

The source, a senior manager close to the German firm's current owners, said there was no disagreement between the Arab shareholder parties.

(Reporting by Jan Schwartz; Writing by Vera Eckert; Editing by Jonathan Saul and Harro ten Wolde)
AMSTERDAM, June 9 (Reuters) - Elliott Advisors has increased its stake in Dutch paint maker Akzo Nobel to at least 5 percent from 3.25 percent, according to a filing with the Dutch financial markets regulator AFM dated Wednesday.

A spokesman for the hedge fund declined to comment on the reason for the increase.

Under Dutch market rules, investors must report their holdings when they pass certain thresholds. Elliott could in theory own anywhere between 5 percent and 10 percent of Akzo's outstanding share capital.

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by David Clarke)
By Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch

SHANGHAI, June 9 (Reuters) - Around two dozen mainly small listed Chinese companies have taken the unusual step of urging their employees to buy shares in a bid to prop up stock prices and help fend off collateral calls on stock-backed loans.

In many cases, workers are stepping up, attracted in part by guarantees that their principal is safe.

It's far from clear how these guarantees would work, with employees in some cases being asked to buy shares and hold them for at least 12 months.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange - where all but one of the companies are listed - has taken notice, and has issued guidelines requiring companies to provide details on their guarantee plans, the Securities Times reported.

Wu Kan, head of equity trading at Shanshan Finance, says that however well intentioned these efforts are, usually by the companies' founders or big shareholders, there is a question mark over their financial ability to make such guarantees.

"It could be driven by the genuine belief that the stocks are worth investing in. But it could be a desperate move to prop up share prices to avoid margin calls," he said.

"The promise to take any losses isn't legally binding and largely depends on big shareholders' virtue. And you can't rule out insider trading during the process, which is why regulators are demanding better disclosure,' he added.

There were similar efforts during the 2015 China stock market crash, but then it was the government appealing to major shareholders' patriotism to buy and hold shares in what Beijing framed as a battle against speculators, both domestic and foreign.

The scramble to raise share prices highlights the risks in using securities as loan collateral, a practice that by some estimates has quadrupled in China over the past two years. For the most part, the companies involved are private, small, and have seen their founders or major shareholders post large batches of stock as loan collateral in recent months.

But falling share prices have eroded the value of that collateral, raising the spectre of forced liquidation - where lenders, often Chinese brokerages, make borrowers sell the pledged shares. Selling the stock can further dent share prices, triggering a downward spiral.

SHARE BOUNCE

Shenzhen Fenda Technology Co , which makes speakers and electronic accessories, was among the first to issue a statement, a week ago, encouraging staff to buy shares.

At the end of March, Xiao Fen, the company's chairman and top shareholder with a 44.5 percent stake, or 416.4 million shares, had put up 84 percent of his holding as collateral for a loan, the company said. It did not say what the loan was for.

Trading in the company's shares was suspended in late December pending a reorganisation, but resumed in mid-April, when the stock price slumped to near their 2015 market crash low.

Last Friday, Xiao promised any employee who bought shares in the company by June 6 and held them for at least a year would be shielded from losses.

"A lot of colleagues I know have bought shares. I have too," said one worker, who gave only his family name, Li. "The company is quite good and the chairman has guaranteed principal, so, of course, we're interested. I know some colleagues even bought shares with borrowed money."

Shenzhen Fenda Technology shares jumped by a tenth after the announcement, but have since edged back down.

The price of Guangdong Biolight Meditech Co Ltd stock fell by a quarter this year, undercutting the value of the 14.6 million shares that its chairman Yan Jinyuan posted as collateral as of the end of the first quarter.

On Monday, Yan made a promise like Fenda's Xiao, and the share price also rose.

Sun Xishan, a sales worker at Biolight, said he missed the chance to buy stock on the day of the announcement, but would try to get in on the shares later.

"I know the company well, it's in pretty good shape and its performance is growing. The chairman promised to cover losses if any, so it's hard not to be interested if one has money," Sun said.

(Reporting by Samuel Shen and John Ruwitch; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
Dragon Capital Investments Limited, a Cypriot subsidiary of Dragon Capital Group, has made an offer to the shareholders of Dragon Ukrainian Properties and Development Plc (DUPD, the Isle of Man) to buy back their securities at a price of GBP 0.13 per share.

According to a report by Dragon Capital on the London Stock Exchange, thus, the entire share capital of DUPD is valued at GBP 14.22 million.

Currently, the offer on buyback is voluntary. If Dragon Capital manages to concentrate 90% of the securities this way, it intends to buy back the remaining shares being in circulation without fail.

DUPD was founded in late February 2007. Its portfolio includes Kyiv-based Obolon Residences residential complex (the area of premises for sale without parking lots is 45,593 square meters), the Riviera Villas housing estate in the suburbs of Kyiv (the total land area is 14.3 hectares, the share of DUPD is 59.6%) and the Green Hills housing estate (16.2 hectares, 100%), a share in Arricano development company, 38 apartments in the Sadok Vyshnevy housing estate, as well as a number of land plots in different regions of Ukraine.
By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, June 9 (Reuters) - Iran's oil exports to the West surged in May to their highest level since the lifting of sanctions in early 2016 and almost caught up with volumes exported to Asia, a source familiar with Iranian oil exports said.

Iran, which used to be OPEC's second biggest oil exporter, has been raising output since 2016 to recoup market share lost to regional rivals including Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

While many Asian nations continued to purchase oil from Iran during sanctions, Western nations halted imports, halving Iran's overall exports to as little as one million barrels per day (bpd).

Last month, Iran exported about 1.1 million bpd to Europe including Turkey, almost reaching pre-sanction levels and only slightly below the 1.2 million bpd supplied to Asia, the source told Reuters.

Iran's exports to Asia last month were the lowest since February 2016, Reuters' calculations showed.

Oil exports to Asia fell as South Korea and Japan stepped up oil condensate purchases and bought less oil, said the source, who asked not to be identified as the information is confidential.

"Iran's condensate parked in floating storage has almost been exhausted because of higher purchases by Japan and Korea," the source said.

Exports to Asia were also hit by India's decision to cut annual purchases from Iran by a fifth for the fiscal year to March 2018. After the lifting of sanctions, Tehran added new clients such as Litasco and Lotos and won back customers such as Total , ENI , Tupras , Repsol , Cepsa and Hellenic Petroleum .

OPEC member Iran was allowed a small production increase under a December deal to limit output. Iran's overall May oil production totalled 3.9 million bpd, the source said.

Iran is currently producing about 200,000 bpd of West Karoun grade, which the nation blends with other Iranian heavy grades for export, he said.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Asia's Iranian oil imports ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Editing by Jason Neely)
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - The leader of the anti-EU United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Paul Nuttall said on Friday he would resign after the party failed to win any lawmakers in the British parliament and saw its vote share fall dramatically.

UKIP, which under its most prominent former leader Nigel Farage helped secure Britain's exit from the European Union, was seen as increasingly irrelevant during the campaign, with many of its voters deserting the party.

"I am standing down today as the leader of UKIP with immediate effect. This will allow the party to have a new leader in place by the conference in September," Nuttall said.

Farage earlier hinted he might return to front-line politics.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Friday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 2 hours):

DEBT TENDER

The finance ministry will offer 3.0 billion zlotys in bonds due April 2019, April 2022, November 2022, January 2026, July 2027, April 2047 at a tender on Friday. Results of the tender are expected to be published at 0930 GMT.

PZU Poland's biggest insurer PZU's supervisory board has invited former head of staff in presidential palace Malgorzata Sadurska for a hearing as she is a candidate for a post in the state-run company's management board, top government official told private radio RMF FM.

BRASTER Polish producer of breast self-examination equipment Braster has filed a motion this week to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to register its system in the United States, Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported.

COAL GASIFICATION

It may not be possible to complete a planned investment in a coal gasification plant by chemical company Grupa Azoty and utility Tauron without the support of the state, Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported.

EBRD EBRD plans to keep investments in Poland at a level of 700 million euro ($784.56 million) a year, its regional director told Puls Biznesu daily. The bank wants to support development of energetic efficiency, innovations and Warsaw bourse.

SMYK

Smyk, a chain of clothing and toys stores, plans to triple its 100-strong shops chain abroad within two years, while in Poland it plans to add 15-20 shops a year on top of 130 existing ones, Puls Biznesu said.

UKRAINIANS

Last year, 1.2 million Ukrainians worked in Poland, a country of 38 million, Puls Biznesu said.

****Reuters has not verified stories reported by Polish media and does not vouch for their accuracy.****

For other related news, double click on: Polish equities E.Europe equities Polish money Polish debt Eastern Europe All emerging markets Hot stocks Stock markets Market debt news Forex news For real-time index quotes, double click on: Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX (Reporting by Warsaw Bureau)
By Claire Milhench

LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Global bond funds attracted their biggest inflows in more than two years, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) said on Friday, as a the UK election and a Gulf political crisis sparked a dash for safe-haven assets.

Investors shovelled $16 billion into bonds in the week to Wednesday, with investment grade bond funds attracting $9.6 billion and high yield bond funds $1.4 billion, according to BAML data.

Together, the $11 billion "monster" inflows are corporate bonds' highest since February 2015, BAML said. Year to date, inflows to corporate bonds are at $119 billion.

BAML also noted that precious metals enjoyed their largest inflows in 11 weeks at $800 million, and said the shift into safe-haven bonds and gold reflected rising event risk.

The bank's analysts pointed to the diplomatic crisis in the Middle East, where Qatar has been isolated by its neighbours , and the June 8 British election, which has resulted in a hung parliament .

BAML also highlighted nervousness ahead of former FBI Director James Comey's testimony to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, which also took place this week.

Comey was fired by President Donald Trump over his handling of the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump election campaign and Russia. The inflows even extended to low-yielding government bonds and Treasuries, which attracted $600 million, the largest inflows in 19 weeks.

Emerging debt funds pulled in $2.3 billion, their 19th straight week of inflows.

Conversely, equities suffered $1.3 billion of outflows, with $5.4 billion of outflows from mutual funds outweighing $4.1 billion of inflows into equity exchange traded funds.

Once again, it was U.S. equity funds that saw the biggest outflows, with $5.1 billion of redemptions. U.S. stocks have now suffered outflows in six out of the past eight weeks.

European equities, however, attracted $900 million and emerging market equity funds received $1.2 billion.

The latter continues to top BAML's league table of cross-asset winners, returning 18.6 percent in dollar terms in the year to date. European equities are second, returning 17.2 percent, and gold third with 12.2 percent.

(Reporting by Claire Milhench; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
MOSCOW, June 9 (Reuters) - The Russian Finance Ministry provisionally plans to issue a new sovereign Eurobond on June 23, a financial market source told Reuters on Friday.

Two other financial market sources said the ministry planned to offer an outstanding sovereign Eurobond - maturing in 2028 - as a swap for a new paper, but the timing of the swap was unclear.

Russia plans to issue a sovereign Eurobond after the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision on June 15 but will not act as soon as next week, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier on Friday. (Reporting by Elena Orekhova; Kira Zavyalova and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Jack Stubbs)
BRATISLAVA, June 9 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial markets on Friday.

ALL TIMES GMT (Slovak Republic: GMT + 2 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA========================

Real-time economic data releases.................. Summary of economic data and forecasts......... Recently released economic data................ Previous stories on Slovak data.......... **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: ========================NEWS====================================

ASYLUM SEEKERS: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged the Czech Republic on Thursday to reconsider its decision to stop accepting migrants under an EU scheme to share asylum seekers who arrived in Greece and Italy.

Story: Related stories: =======================PRESS DIGEST=============================

OPINION POLL: Prime Minister Robert Fico's leftist party Smer would win an election with 26.2 percent of the vote, according to a Focus poll. However, the ruling coalition it leads would lose its parliamentary majority after a drop in support for a junior coalition member Slovak National Party.

Hospodarske Noviny, page 4

(Reuters has not verified the stories, nor does it vouch for their accuracy.)

For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets:

Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX Main currency report TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets News editor of the day: Jan Lopatka on +420 224 190 474

E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com

(Reporting by Prague Newsroom)
HANOI, June 9 (Reuters) - Following is a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0404 GMT.

June 9 USD/VND mid-point 22,406 USD/VND interbank 22,687/22,690 USD/VND unofficial 22,680/22,700 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.27/36.49

Interbank offered rates Overnight 2.0-2.5

1 week 2.4-2.7

1 month 3.3-3.7

3 months 4.1-4.5

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.

For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)
JOHANNESBURG, June 9 (Reuters) - South Africa sold 2.555 billion rand ($198 million) worth of three-month Treasury bills on Friday, at an average yield of 7.47 percent compared with 7.5 percent last week, central bank data showed. The bid-to-cover ratio fell to 1.6 from 1.9. Auction date: 09/06/2017 Settlement date: 14/06/2017 Days 91 182 273 364 Amount received (R'bln) 4.163 7.249 6.55 5.428 Amount on offer (R'bln) 2.555 2.26 2.1 2.0 Amount allotted (R'bln) 2.555 2.26 2.1 2.0 Bid-to-cover ratio 1.6 3.2 3.1 2.7 Avg discount rate (pct) 7.33 7.22 7.17 7.04 Average yield (pct) 7.47 7.49 7.58 7.57 ($1 = 12.9335 rand)

(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)

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.
ISTANBUL, June 9 (Reuters) - Here are news, reports and events that may affect Turkish financial markets on Friday.

The lira stood at 3.5240 against the U.S. dollar at 0541 GMT, easing from 3.5200 at Thursday's close.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was at 10.53 percent in spot trade on Thursday and was at 10.49 percent in Friday-dated trade.

The main BIST 100 share index rose 0.37 percent to 97,977.54 points on Thursday.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Sterling slumped in Asia on Friday as British elections seemed to leave no single party with a clear claim to power, sideswiping investors who had already weathered major risk events in the United States and Europe. The shock outcome saw the pound shed as much as three U.S. cents at one point, or close to 2 percent, on fears that it would plunge domestic politics into turmoil and delay Brexit talks. QATAR

President Tayyip Erdogan has approved legislation on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar in a move signalling support for the Gulf state as it faces isolation imposed by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism. TAV'S SAUDI DEAL Turkey's TAV said on Friday it had signed a deal with Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority GACA on operating the country's Yanbu, Qassim and Hail airports in partnership with Al Rajhi Holding. TAV will hold a news conference to announce its targets (0630 GMT).

ERDOGAN

President Tayyip Erdogan will visit an Islamic exhibition at Istanbul's Topkapi palace (1130 GMT).

For other related news, double click on:

Turkish politics Turkish equities Turkish money Turkish debt Turkish hot stocks Forex news All emerging market news All Turkish news For real-time quotes, double click on:

Istanbul National-100 stock index , interbank lira trading , lira bond trading (Writing by Daren Butler)
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to appoint government ministers to senior positions later on Friday, broadcaster Sky News reported, citing unspecified sources. May will ask Queen Elizabeth for permission to form a government at 1130 GMT, a spokesman from the Conservative Party leader's office said, after she failed to win an outright majority at a national election. (Reporting by Costas Pitas, writing by Georgina Prodhan, editing by David Milliken)

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.
Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said interesting decisions "concerning U.S. participation in the settlement of the situation in Donbas have been discussed.

"Unfortunately, I can not talk about this without first checking with our friends, but we are working on these issues ... Creative decisions [have been discussed]. Maybe, you will hear about them in the near future," the minister said on 112.ua TV channel on Thursday evening.

He said that Kyiv is well aware that it would be difficult to make decisive progress in the settlement of Donbas conflict without the participation of the U.S.
(Adds economist's quote, details)

MANILA, June 9 (Reuters) - Philippine exports expanded for a fifth straight month in April, in line with strength in shipments elsewhere in Asia and giving an extra boost to one of the world's fastest growing economies.

Improving global trade could complement robust domestic demand as the government aims to lift growth to as much as 7.5 percent this year from 6.9 percent in 2016.

April exports rose 12.1 percent from a year earlier to $4.81 billion, while imports dropped 0.1 percent, the first fall in 14 months, data showed on Friday.

That produced a trade deficit of $2.05 billion, narrower than a year ago.

Demand for eight of the country's top export items remained firm.

Shipments of electronics products, which accounted for 51 percent of total exports in April, rose 6.8 percent from last year, slower than the previous month's 19 percent annual climb.

But economists were unfazed by the apparent slowdown, saying that an electronics "super-cycle" which has boosted global hi-tech companies this year still has legs.

"I am not too worried about fading in electronics demand this year," said Vaninder Singh, economist at NatWest Markets, as several important consumer and business devices have been launched and announced in the last few months.

South Korea's exports grew at a double-digit pace in May, expanding for the seventh consecutive month on strong world demand, while Taiwan's exports in May expanded for the eighth straight month as factories churned out supplies for Apple Inc's new iPhone. China's exports expanded by a better-than-expected 8.7 percent, data showed on Thursday.

"For electronics, the cycle is still going strong," Singh said.

Philippine exports to Japan and the United States, its two biggest markets, shrank 16.6 percent and 6.7 percent from a year earlier, respectively. But shipments to Hong Kong and China rose 36.8 percent and 26.4 percent, respectively.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's economic managers are hopeful that government's efforts to expand trade relations with other markets, like China and Russia, would eventually give the export sector a further boost.

(Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz and Karen Lema; Editing by Kim Coghill)
(Adds analyst quote, background)

BRATISLAVA, June 9 (Reuters) - Slovakia's industrial output dropped by 3.2 percent year-on-year in April, defying analysts' expectations for a 2.9 percent rise due to fewer working days, statistics office data showed on Friday.

The result follows a 13.0 percent rise in March, a figure revised lower from a previously reported increase of 13.4 percent, the statistics office said.

"The drop was influenced by fewer working days in April due to Easter holidays. There are no signs of the Slovak industry slowing down," Tatra Banka analyst Juraj Valachy told Reuters.

Slovakia's economy is fueled mostly by car manufacturing at plants run by Volkswagen , Peugeot and Kia with most of their output exported to EU markets.

Jaguar Land Rover is expected to launch production next year.

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT 04/17 03/17 03/16 pct change yr/yr -3.2 13.0 (13.4) 8.4 The data is adjusted for the impact of the number of working days. - For past economic data and analysts' forecasts, double click on: (Reporting by Mirka Krufova; Editing by Jason Hovet and Tom Heneghan)
* Brazil's Natura makes firm offer for Body Shop

* L'Oreal shares rise, price tag pleases investors

* Natura shares fall, to finance deal via loans

(Adds detail on Natura's financing, fund manager comment)

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS, June 9 (Reuters) - French cosmetics and luxury goods group L'Oreal has started exclusive talks to sell The Body Shop business to Brazilian make-up company Natura Cosmeticos in a possible 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) deal.

Earlier this year, L'Oreal had announced it was reviewing its strategy for The Body Shop, which it bought for 652 million pounds in 2006, and the sale of the business had attracted a wide range of bidders. L'Oreal said on Friday it had received a firm offer from Natura Cosmeticos, and the proposed deal put an enterprise value (equity plus debt) of 1 billion euros on the four decades old beauty brand - an innovator in the mass marketing of cosmetics made without animal testing and with natural ingredients.

Founded in 1976 by British entrepreneur Anita Roddick, The Body Shop was a pioneer in its field but had since fallen victim to increased competition from newcomers offering similar products based on natural ingredients with no animal testing.

L'Oreal shares were up 0.7 percent in late session trading, as investors welcomed progress towards a deal and the price tag.

"It's a good move, given that The Body Shop had been one of the least profitable parts of the L'Oreal business," said Roche Brune Asset Management fund manager Gregoire Laverne.

Keren Finance fund manager Gregory Moore said the price tag had pleased L'Oreal investors, since earlier reports had stated it could be sold for around 800 million euros.

"The stock has reacted well to the news, because there were some people who thought it could be sold for less," said Moore, whose firm owns L'Oreal shares in its portfolio.

Shares in Natura fell 2.4 percent on the Brazil stock exchange, with Natura saying it would take on loans to finance the deal. Natura chief executive Joao Paulo Ferreira said The Body Shop would fit in well with Natura's similar businesses, such as its "Aesop" brand.

L'Oreal shares are up around 10 percent so far in 2017, broadly in line with the CAC-40, with the stock having touched a record high earlier this month.

($1 = 0.8930 euros)

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Mello and Bruno Federowski in Sao Paulo; Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Callus and Mark Potter)
VIENNA, June 9 (Reuters) - The main shareholders of Austrian textiles company Wolford are looking to sell an undefined majority stake in the company, the group, which is in the process of restructuring to turn around its current loss-making business, said on Friday.

"WMP Familien-Privatstiftung, Sesam Privatstiftung and its subsidiary the M. Erthal & Co. Beteiligungsgesellschaft ... as well as related parties announced today the intention to sell their stake, which is a majority stake, in Wolford AG," it said.

Wolford, which makes high-end tights, bras and shirts, said it and its shareholders together with Deloitte are starting to look for a new investor.

"The purchase of the majority stake by a future core shareholder shall be combined with an equity financing transaction that shall strengthen the company's liquidity on a long-term basis. The issue size has not yet been determined."

In the meantime, Wolford is negotiating with its banks to secure the money to meet its liquidity requirements, it said, without giving details.

(Reporting By Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
With just one seat to declare the UK results are:

Conservatives 318 (-12)

Labour 261 (+29)

SNP 35 (-21)

Lib Dems 12 (+4)

DUP 10 (+2)

Sinn Fein 7 (+3)

Plaid Cymru 4 (+1)

Greens 1 (nc)

Independent 1 (nc)

Speaker 1 (nc)

The SDLP and UUP lost all five of their seats between them and UKIP its one seat.

Take away Sinn Feins 7 seats (as they dont take them up_ and you have 643 which means 322 to govern. Conservatives are four short so they will rely on the votes of the DUP. This will make things difficult in Northern Ireland as the UK Giovernment will no longer be able to be the honest broker there between DUP and Sinn Fein when things get tense, as they will be dependent on DUP.

It is a disaster for Theresa May who will be gone soon rather than later and a triump for Jeremy Corbyn who is safe as Leader. It is not that Corbyn was at all a good campaigner  but that he exceeded such low expectations and Theresa May had an awful campaign. They gained votes from UKIP but also lost them to Labour.

For the UK it is a terrible result as a minority Government will make it near impossible to have a sensible position for Brexit negotiations, so expect to see a hard Brexit and/or another election next year.

It would have been better for the UK to have even had a majority Labour Government, than a minority one. And the rest of us could have been amused watching Venezuela style polices implemented in the UK.

In terms of the vote share, the results are:

Conseratives 42.4% (+5.5%)

Labour 40.0% (+9.5%)

Lib Dems 7.4% (-0.5%)

SNP 3.0% (-1.7%)

UKIP 1.8% (-10.8%)

Greens 1.6% (-2.1%)

If we look at Scotland, it was the one bright light for the Tories:

SNP 35 seats (-21)

Conservatives 13 (+12)

Labour 7 (+6)

Lib Dems 4 (+3)

The Scottish Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson is a real rockstar and could even become First Minister of Scotland in the future.

So if Theresa May goes, who could be the next Tory leader:

Boris Johnson  has the genuine quality  what you see is what you get  popular but divisive

Philip Hammond  Chancellor and former Foreign Minister. Safe but boring. Had fallen out with May.

Amber Rudd  Home Secretary, high profile but almost lost her seat

David Davis  Brexit Secretary. Hated by Cameronites

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Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said that the ministry is ready to implement a decision on the introduction of a visa regime with the Russian Federation in case it is adopted.

"I believe it is not enough for us to introduce a visa regime to control those who arrive from Russia. We need to introduce biometric passports to this end, but then also control those who come," he said on 112. Ukraine TV channel on Thursday evening.

According to the minister, today there are almost three million Ukrainians on the territory of the Russian Federation. "And at the same time we must understand what steps to take concerning our citizens who are present in the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea? What will Russia do for these contacts to be limited?" Klimkin said.

He said that he was not against the introduction of a visa regime with Russia, but he needed a clear approach and a vision of what would happen next.

"My answer is definitely yes. But this is the issue that needs to be solved both from the point of view of time frames and in terms of these procedures based on a clear approach and understanding of how Russia will try to impede this process and its attempts to draw our citizens into compulsory Russian citizenship. It must be definitely prevented," the minister said.

"As for the procedures, the Foreign Ministry will do everything in a proper way. We are getting ready and we have the appropriate experience, so you do not need to worry about the Foreign Ministry in this regard," he said.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 21F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 21F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
The introduction of a visa regime with the Russian Federation will cost Ukraine about UAH 1.5-2 billion, which is not practicable for today, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's representative in Ukraine's parliament and member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc (PPB) faction Iryna Lutsenko has said.

"This will cause more problems than benefits ... I do not understand why we need to do this today. Ukraine has many challenges and needs to spend this money," Lutsenko said on 112.Ukraine TV channel on Thursday.

"If we say that we are introducing a visa regime, we need at least UAH 1.5-2 billion - this is a preliminary calculation - to create different consulates of institutions. If we create new border control in the "grey zone"  Does this mean that we are stretching the border into Ukraine?" she said.

The MP explained that such a measure would not force the Russian Federation to stop the aggression against Ukraine. The introduction of visas for Russians would not completely prevent the penetration of saboteurs from Russia into Ukraine due to 400 kilometers of uncontrolled border with Russia.

In addition, Lutsenko said that the introduction of a visa regime with the Russian Federation might indicate that Ukraine agrees with the annexation of Crimea.

According to her, the introduction of visas will restrict freedom of movement for residents of border regions, as well as the opportunities for Ukrainians to work in Russia. "And we can not provide them with work now," she said.

At the same time, the politician said: "There is no need for today [in the introduction of a visa regime with Russia]."
By Nam Hyun-woo



A number of insurers were stingy in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) donations in the first quarter despite enjoying handsome profits, according to their financial statements Thursday.



Among them, PCA Life, AIA Life, Tong Yang Life, BNP Paribas Cardif Life and AXA General Insurance are facing calls to improve their CSR awareness.



PCA Life did not donate anything in the first quarter though its net profit grew to 2.34 billion won ($2.08 million), up from 1.9 billion a year earlier.



BNP Paribas Cardif Life made a 130,000 won ($116) donation through a charity bazaar, which accounted for 0.002 percent of its 8.4 billion won net profit in the quarter. The company netted a 3.2 billion won loss a year ago.



Larger insurers were not so different. AIA Life made a 5.78 million won donation in the first quarter, or 0.007 percent of its 80.37 billion won net profit. Tong Yang Life donated 8 million won, also 0.007 percent of 115.88 billion won net profit.



AXA General Insurance made a 5 million won donation, or 0.03 percent of its 16.56 billion won net profit.

Leading insurers such as Samsung Life and Samsung Fire made donations of 0.1 percent and 0.43 percent, respectively, of their net profits.



Insurers argue that they typically make big donations in the final months of the year. Still, critics point out that they are too tight-fisted.



"They don't have an obligation to contribute a part of their profits to society, but the donations they make are very disappointing," said Cho Nam-hee, head of local civic group Financial Consumer Agency.



"More stunning is the fact that foreign insurers whose head offices are in advanced nations are reluctant to donate. They seem to just care about making profits here, which I think is tantamount to ignoring Korea and the Korean people. I hope they change their policies from now on."





He pointed out that people need to know exactly which companies donate and which don't.



"The regulators and the media will put forth more efforts to let consumers know the amount of donations to put more pressure on insurance companies," he said.



"For example, the financial regulator may make a dedicated website, which shows the social responsibility programs of financial companies, especially insurance firms."

Some insurance companies tried to be responsible corporate citizens.



Lina Life Korea made a 7.59 billion won donation in the first quarter -- 11.73 percent of its 64.68 billion won net profit. The ratios for Hanwha General Insurance, Mirae Asset Life, Prudential Life and AIG were 4.15 percent, 3.79 percent, 1.97 percent and 1.97 percent, respectively.
The cover of "The New Koreans" / Courtesy of Michael Breen

'The New Koreans' is an updated overview of the 'land of miracle'

By Yun Suh-young





Michael Breen, author of "The News Koreans"

"Defiance," said Michael Breen.

"That was actually how I wanted to title the book. 'Defiance  The Story of South Koreans,' or somewhere along those lines."

"Defiance is the key word that best explains South Korea's growth. It was the defiance of the Koreans that brought them here, to this stage. Defiance was the engine that propelled the country to growth," said Breen, author of the recent book, "The New Koreans," during an interview with The Korea Times last week.

"The main point I'm trying to make in the book is that Korea developed because of a certain emotion driving the country and it was identified as an angry defiance. They only had one way to go and that was to improve. The South Koreans were very angry toward the North Koreans and even toward the Americans. They defied circumstances and history and the way people looked at them."

He makes this claim upfront in the preface of the book: "I fear that I missed something that now strikes me as obvious about the modern development of South Korea: that the source energy driving it was defiance, not of the Japanese who colonized them, but of an entire history that had delivered them to a broken present. They refused to accept the place the world thought they occupied. Their defiance was set alight by anger against their brothers and sisters in the North and drove them to find the right way to compete."

The book started out as an update of his previous publication, "The Koreans" released in 2004, which was written in the late 1990s. A decade after its release, Breen felt a need to update the book as so much has changed from that time, but as he started writing, he realized it would no longer be an update. It took him 18 months to write it and 30 months to have it published.

"The idea was to update it because the references were old. It began as an update of the previous book I wrote in the late 1990s but sort of turned into a new book basically," he said.

What has changed in his new book, is the prediction of Korea's unification, which he initially predicted would have happened by now.

"I anticipated the sequel by this time to be The Unified Koreans," he writes in the preface of the book.

He thought the miracle on the Han River would be complete in three stages  economic development, democratic development, and reunification with North Korea. Not only does he admit being wrong on timing, he says he has refined his views.

"The third miracle is cultural. It would be the acceptance of Korean culture by the world in the sense that they're familiar with Koreans," he said.

He has renewed his prediction about unification as well. He proposed the date to be 2028, like a 40-year plan per turn of events  The first being the 40-year colonial period (1910 -1948), the second, war recovery and economic growth (1948-1988), the third, period of democratization (1988-2028), and fourth, period of unification (2028- 2068).

"The actual moment of reconciliation should ideally begin in 2028. It can happen then or after that, but this is going to take a generation," he said.

He even has some interesting suggestions for Korea. The first is to honor the people born in the 1940s and 50s and build a statue to that generation which made the country what it is today. The second is to change Korea's English name to "Hanguk."

"There are countries in the world that don't call their country the same name in English, like Korea. For instance, Guatamala would be Guatamala in their own language. I propose the name change because the two Koreas insist that the world calls them both 'Korea' when the two are completely different. I think the association with North Korea is damaging to the reputation of South Korea," he said, explaining his argument.

However, Korea's catapulted reputation doesn't necessarily mean its people's happiness has catapulted as well. Breen finds that its success hasn't led to individual happiness.

"Koreans suffer from depression and unhappiness at a greater level than people do in most other countries. I go into why that is, why that should be," he said.

According to Breen, there are two main factors: 1. The changing ethics. "It's much more an individualistic society now. It's a scarier place." 2. Koreans are sensitive to what other people think of them.

"People act, think and feel in reaction to what they think other people are thinking of them, which for some people in other democracies, is rather extraordinary. Koreans are exquisitely sensitive to that and that can be a formula for misery because it makes you do things that lack authenticity," said Breen.

This is the other side of growth, to which Breen says we need "attitude change."

"There was a Buddhist monk I interviewed who said one solution is to realize that we are happy. It's an attitude. (People's) instinct is to start thinking about what the government should do. I think it's more what individuals can do for themselves," said Breen.

"People need to realize that you're responsible for yourself. You live with yourself all your life, nobody else does. So you have to act with authenticity and you can't let yourself be ordered around by other people."

The book is not aimed for an audience who is completely new to Korean culture and history, but to someone who is "familiar with Korea and can recognize what I'm talking about," according to Breen.

"It's not for a complete beginner nor aimed at Koreans themselves," but it would be a helpful guide for non-Koreans who have a basic knowledge about the country but would like to learn more.
By Choi Ha-young



When the liberal Moon Jae-in government was installed, many expected North Korea would take a softer stance toward the South and that the two Koreas would have a better chance to revive dialogue and exchanges.



Contrary to expectations, North Korea continues to test missiles and is also refusing humanitarian aid from the South.



Experts said Pyongyang is aiming to take the initiative in its relationship with Seoul, and so it will be difficult for Moon to welcome it with open arms, considering the North's continuous nuclear threats.



On Monday, three political parties here vowed to push for a reunion of families who have been separated in the two Koreas following the Korean War (1950-53) on Liberation Day, Aug. 15.



But a North Korean official told AFP Wednesday that Seoul should repatriate some North Korean citizens "being detained by force" in the South before talking about family reunions. This is not the first time that the North has set prerequisites for an event that the South has proposed.



Following President Moon's inauguration, May 10, the Ministry of Unification allowed 15 aid organizations and religious groups to contact their counterparts in the North for humanitarian aid.



The Korean Sharing Movement was supposed to visit North Korea this week to deliver medical supplies, but Pyongyang did not permit their entry, Monday, taking issue with the United Nations' sanctions that South Korea is also participating in.



The reclusive country also refused to invite a South Korean civic group to a joint event to mark the June 15 inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, even though the group accepted the North's wish to hold it in its capital city of Pyongyang instead of Gaeseong. The group decided to hold its own event separately here.



Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow from the Korea Institute for National Unification, said that North Korea is obviously interested in inter-Korean talks, as seen in its planned participation in the World Taekwondo Federation event in four cities in South Korea later this month.



"However, it wants to restore the relationship back to that of the Roh Moo-hyun administration," Cho said.



This is in line with Pyongyang's state-run Rodong Sinmun's Tuesday editorial that read: "The measures to solve the fundamental conflict and pave the way for unification are in the historic June 15 Joint Declaration signed in 2000 and the Oct. 4 Declaration in 2007."



During the Roh administration, the two Koreas had a summit and announced the 2007 declaration that outlined inter-Korean reconciliation and economic cooperation.



Cho said North Korea eyes "practical benefits" including the resumption of Mount Geumgang tourism and the reopening of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, rather than humanitarian aid.



While seeking dialogue, Moon is also under pressure to maintain international sanctions against North Korea's escalating military threats.



"Furthermore, the government is aware of the Korea-U.S. summit this month, which makes it difficult for Moon to go beyond resuming humanitarian aid," Cho said.



The "war of nerves" between the two Koreas may last longer than expected, Prof. Yang Moo-jin at the University of North Korean Studies said. "While Moon seeks gradual steps beginning with humanitarian aid, Pyongyang wants much bigger steps, such as the measures stated in the past joint declarations," he said.



Yang said the Moon government will not get a breakthrough if it demands the North give up its nuclear programs as a precondition for resuming work at the Gaeseong Complex and the Mount Geumgang tours, as his predecessors did.



"He needs to draw up plans to resume the projects within the boundary of U.N. sanctions. For example, South Korean firms in the complex can directly pay North Korean workers' salaries to avoid the money being used for nuclear development," Yang said.








4 offered to resign in protest







By Lee Kyung-min







The government has reshuffled prosecutors who were criticized for selectively exercising investigative discretion due to their close relationship with scandal-ridden former presidential secretary Woo Byung-woo.



The Ministry of Justice, in a rare reshuffle Thursday, demoted six prosecutors and moved one, holding them responsible for "inept" handling of important cases.



"The Ministry of Justice carried out a reshuffle in an effort to restore public faith in the prosecution. Those who had been in charge of overseeing tthe investigation were demoted to either a scholarly position or one unrelated to investigation," the ministry said in a statement.



Of the seven, four were posted at the Institute of Justice including Yoon Kab-keun, Daegu High Prosecutors' Office head; Jeong Jum-shik, Supreme Prosecutors' Office public security unit head; Kim Jin-mo, Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office head; and Jeon Hyun-jun, Daegu District Prosecutors Office head.



The four offered to resign immediately.



Yoo Sang-bum, Changwon District Prosecutors' Office head, and Jeong Soo-bong, Supreme Prosecutors' Office criminal intelligence unit head, were demoted to Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office and Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, respectively.



Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office senior-level Prosecutor Noh Seung-kwon was posted at the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office.



Yoon is Woo's closest friends. Yoon led the investigation into Woo for four months over alleged embezzlement involving his family-owned company Jeonggang.



At the beginning of the investigation, Yoon vowed that he would investigate fairly regardless of any outside pressure, but he failed to indict Woo. The four month investigation ended with a photo in which Woo was smirking with his arms crossed with two prosecutors bowing in a polite posture in a room at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.



Yoo led the 2014 investigation into an influence-peddling scandal involving Chung Yoon-hoe, the former husband of Choi Soon-sil, the central figure in the corruption scandal that removed former President Park Geun-hye from office.



The scandal was about the so-called "Chung Yoon-hoe documents," which described how Chung was deeply involved in wide-ranging state affairs despite not holding any official government post, an allegation uncannily all too similar to that of Choi's.



In the document written by the presidential civil affairs office, Chung frequently met with three key aides to former President Park and was briefed on important issues and Cheong Wa Dae's countermeasures.



At the time, it was revealed that former presidential chief of staff Kim Ki-choon ordered a Cheong Wa Dae official, Cho Eung-chun, to confirm whether Chung was really pulling strings behind the curtain. After Cho wrote and delivered the report to Kim, Kim gave it to Park Ji-man, the younger brother of the former President.



Yoo, instead of investigating Chung, only indicted Cho and his subordinate Park Gwan-cheon, a police officer.



Jeong Jum-shik was the task force head leading the prosecutorial panel at the Constitutional Court seeking to disband the then far-left United Progressive Party. Its members included Lee Jeong-mi, a former lawyer who humiliated former President Park on a nationally televised presidential debate by pointing out her ignorance on multiple social issues and alleged tax evasion.



Jeon Hyun-jun indicted four journalists at broadcaster MBC for airing a documentary that criticized the former President Lee Myung-bak for not fully disclosing the bilateral deal on importing U.S. beef which was widely believed to possibly cause mad cow disease.



The rest of the prosecutors were involved in impeding investigation into the Sewol sinking, going easy on loyalists to former President Park for election law violations.



Meanwhile, the seven were among ten prosecutors cited by Rep. Park Young-sun of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea as "Woo Byung-woo's men."



She disclosed the list during a National Assembly interpellation session last November on the Choi scandal, telling then Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong thorough investigation would be impossible unless the people she called Woo loyalists were removed from their posts.



The other three are former Prosecutor General Kim Soo-nam, former Deputy Prosecutor General Kim Joo-hyun and former Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office head Lee Young-ryeol.








President Moon Jae-in takes photo with residents in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, May 21, as he visited his hometown to take a day off. / Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae



One month in office, he successfully breaks convention

By Kim Rahn

A month into his presidency following his May 10 inauguration, President Moon Jae-in has shown a non-bureaucratic, convention-breaking attitude in his relationship with his staff and the people.

Before being elected, he promised to become a president who communicated with the people, and he has been keeping the promise pretty well so far.

Moon focuses on direct and frequent contact with his staff and citizens in a more comfortable way without formality and people have accepted this positively.

The image of "a friendly man of the neighborhood" is highly recognized, especially because it is the complete opposite to that of his ousted predecessor Park Geun-hye who was notorious for lacking communication and sympathy with the people.

Moon has shown a non-authoritarian attitude from the day of his inauguration. After taking the oath of office at the National Assembly, he accepted people's requests for photos before getting in a car to head for Cheong Wa Dae.

It was rare for a president to mingle with the public during and after an official ceremony. This was possible as Moon asked his security staff to have a "soft" guard over him and not stop citizens from approaching, a request that embarrassed the head of the presidential security team.

As it took time to have the residence in the Cheong Wa Dae complex prepared for the new President who was inaugurated without a transition period, Moon commuted between his private home and the presidential office for three days. People visited his house during that time to see him, and he accepted their requests for selfies, handshakes and autographs before going to work or after coming back from work.

When a group of children visited Cheong Wa Dae, Moon, who was passing by them in a car, got out and had an impromptu meeting with them. When he visited an elementary school, a boy was hurriedly searching for paper and a pen from his backpack to get Moon's autograph. Despite his tight schedule, Moon squatted down in front of him and waited until he finally found some paper.





President Moon Jae-in prepares his own coffee before a meeting with secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday. / Yonhap

With his staff, Moon also does not stand on formality.

He had a 3,000-won lunch at a Cheong Wa Dae cafeteria with the janitors, cleaners, cooks and technicians there. When they were told in the morning that the President would have lunch with them, they did not believe it for hours, Cheong Wa Dae officials said.

In meetings with secretaries, lower-ranking staffers do not prepare coffee for Moon as the President does it himself. After lunch with newly-appointed senior secretaries, Moon went on a stroll with them in the Cheong Wa Dae compound. In meetings, they sit at a round table for free discussion without any order of who sits where and who sits next to whom.

People here have never seen such scenes before  when former presidents had meetings with staffers, they took the seat of honor and other attendants stayed stiff in posture while looking serious.

While former President Park made orders unilaterally and secretaries were busy jotting down her orders, Moon pronounced that there would be no "dictation" in his meetings.

Such moves come from Moon's belief that the country belongs to the people.

"We have a clear purpose of making a country which belongs to the people," chief presidential secretary Yoon Young-chan said Thursday. "So we're trying to break down authoritarianism and communicate with them."

Citizens react positively to the "new wave," but concerns are also rising that this may be regarded as only a populist move and merely showing off if it does not help the government perform well in state management.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party said, "Moon is only making a show of things for his avid supporters."





Moon to deliver address

In the meantime, Moon will deliver a speech at the National Assembly, Monday, to seek cooperation to pass a bill on a supplementary budget.

It will be his first parliamentary address since his inauguration.

The Moon government drew up an 11.2 trillion won additional budget mainly to support job creation, but the opposition parties have been negative about it, saying this aim is not a valid reason to draft an extra budget.
A man wears a mask to keep out the fine dust as he walks from Gwanghwamun Square to Sejongdaero intersection in central Seoul during the annual street parade celebrating the Royal Ancestral Memorial Rite of Joseon, also known as Jongmyodaeje, on May 7. / Korea Times file



By Ko Dong-hwan





Rep. Lee Eun-joo

Gyeonggi Province is set to form a special committee to investigate the harm that the unprecedented fine-dust-driven air pollution causes to the health of vulnerable people.

A decision on whether to set up the committee  which Rep. Lee Eun-joo of the Minjoo Party of Korea proposed on Thursday  will be decided during the Gyeonggi Province Assembly's plenary meeting period from June 13 until 27.

The committee will investigate how the cancer-inducing particles have affected children, youth, students and the elderly.

The committee, once approved, will have up to 20 members and have one year to investigate and report on its findings.

"We will propose solutions in terms of policies and financial capacity so that fine dusts' harm to the vulnerable social group can be minimized and their quality of life is improved," Rep. Lee said.

The province this year had 16 alerts for fine dust (PM10, 10 micrograms or lighter) and 20 on ultrafine dust (PM2.5, 2.5 micrograms or lighter) from January to March.












Aid groups, civic organizations speak up for FM nominee

By Choi Ha-young

President Moon Jae-in pleaded with the opposition parties Friday to endorse Foreign Minister-designate Kang Kyung-wha.

The plea came as the opposition bloc is refusing to approve not only Kang but also other nominees. The President can appoint her regardless of the National Assembly's approval, but a unilateral decision could make it harder for him to get parliamentary support for other nominees and his policies.

"We sincerely ask the Assembly to endorse her as soon as possible," presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun said. "We request it to help Kang open a new era in diplomacy with a new leadership based on her experience at the foreign ministry and the U.N."

Park said a summit with the United States is at hand, and there is a mountain of diplomatic issues to deal with including meetings with other heads of the states at next month's G20 summit.

"As is widely known, Kang is a proven figure in international society, being given important positions by former U.N. secretary-generals Kofi Anan and Ban Ki-moon and incumbent head Antonio Guterres," Park said.

He added this appeal came at the request of President Moon himself.

Besides Moon's plea, Cheong Wa Dae also sent senior presidential secretary for political affairs Jun Byung-hun to the legislature to persuade opposition party leaders. Not only the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) but also the two minor opposition parties  the People's Party and the Bareun Party  are against Kang's appointment.












Klitschko says he sent NABU all required information about his property, assets

Kyiv Mayor and head of Kyiv City State Administration Vitali Klitschko has said he long ago declared to the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) all property, according to the law, and information and explanations.

"About 'revelations' concerning an alleged probe into allegedly undeclared houses belonging to me Is NABU checking my [asset] declaration? Yes, it is. This is their job to check information, including inquiries from non-governmental organizations, parliament members or journalists. To check information even when there is no case and when they are made to do it again  I sent NABU all the relevant information long ago," Klitschko said on his Facebook page.

Kyiv's mayor said he had declared everything that belongs to him honestly and in accordance with the law.

"Is someone interested in the houses? I also talked about them belonging to companies of my brother. How did my brother and I earn money? The whole world knows how. Therefore, friends, don't look for a black cat in a dark room," Klitschko said.

On June 8, Radio Free Liberty/Radio Europe, citing a response from NABU to NGO Anti-Corruption Action Centre (AntAC), reported NABU agents had registered a criminal case involving the possible incorrect reporting of information (Article 366-1 of Ukraine's Criminal Code) by Kyiv's mayor.

"The criminal case, which involves undeclared property in Hamburg and Los Angeles not entered in the Klitschko family's e-declaration, was opened after an inquiry filed by lawyers from NGO AntAC," it reported.
On the June 6 Memorial Day, a state exam institute in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, is packed with people preparing for the police exam slated for Sept. 2. / Korea Times photo by You Soo-sun

By Kim Se-jeong, You Soo-sun

On the June 6 Memorial Day, a national holiday in Korea, one academy in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, was packed with people preparing for the civil service exam.

Lee Sang-su, 30, has been preparing for the exam for the past three years. Recently, he has witnessed a greater influx of people joining the academy.

"I see more than five new faces every day," Lee said.

Even so, he feels optimistic about taking the exam to become a police officer in September, after the new government announced a plan to recruit more government employees.

"It's definitely a good thing, especially for those who have been preparing for a while," Lee said. "Early this year I had planned to give up, but I decided to give it one more shot after hearing the news."

Choi So-yeon, 26, decided to resume her studies just a few days ago. She said that the government's plan played a crucial role in persuading her parents who were previously opposed to the move.

"It was my life-long dream, but I was discouraged after failing the exam a few times. My parents were also against it, so I gave up. But the government's plan to hire more civil servants changed our minds," Choi said.

Last week, Cheong Wa Dae pledged to add 12,000 jobs in the safety, health and education sectors among other fields this year alone. This puts the total number of vacancies at 64,000 for this year.

Most notably, the police and fire department are expected to recruit about 1,500 people each, with their written exams slated for September and October, respectively. Around 7,500 new posts are expected at the local level. Official announcements for all job openings are expected to be out in July.

The announcement was a follow-up to President Moon Jae-in's pledge to create more job opportunities in the public sector to tackle youth unemployment. Earlier this week, Cheong Wa Dae requested the National Assembly to approve an extra budget designed for more job creation.

The surge of jobseekers taking the civil service exam started after Moon's victory was clear. Private institutes in Noryangjin and Sillim in Seoul grew busier with phone inquires and people who dropped by for information. State exam prep book sales hiked and so did the number of online class subscribers.

The popularity of civil servant jobs in Korea is not new.

Traditionally, landing a government job is considered an honor for a person's entire family in Korea. The popularity reflects the difficulty in getting decent jobs in the private sector. After the 1997 financial crisis, the number of full-time jobs with full employment benefits decreased quickly, pushing many young jobseekers to turn to the public sector that offered higher job security.

According to Statistics Korea, almost half of 692,000 jobseekers answered they were preparing for the civil service exam.

Although the general sentiment was optimistic, many were also distressed due to the increasing pressure because of a possible change.

"Others think that if we don't pass this time, then we're really not qualified," said Ra Jung-wook, 28.

Almost everyone agreed that only a small number of people would benefit from the new job plan, as new posts will be allocated in different regions and positions.

"The impact is especially limited for female applicants to become police officers," Choi said. According to Choi, only around one tenth of the posts are offered to women.

Those who began studying recently seemed nonchalant about the news.

Na Ho-won, 28, who began preparing less than a year ago, doesn't think he will be affected.

"I don't really pay attention to it. The threshold score for passing will be similar, so it won't really impact me," Na said.

Others said it was undesirable for a policy to draw the unemployed previously uninterested in the civil service exam.

A 34-year-old man, who was taking a break from his studies at the rooftop of the institute, said, "I don't like to see more young desperate jobseekers flocking here."

The owner of a private state exam institute, Shin Ho-chang, while agreeing that the government plan is giving more hope to people preparing for the test, thinks there are major drawbacks.

"There's a consensus among academy directors that the plan is attracting people who are already employed or those who previously gave up," he said. "In a way, it's taking jobs away from small- and medium-sized companies, and not necessarily making new ones."

Prof. Wi Jong-hyun at Chung-Ang University's College of Business Economics said the new government's push was too focused on the public sector jobs. "Private sectors jobs are more important to (curb unemployment), and the government must act from early on to lay the foundations for creating jobs in the private sector."
Juny Nam wears a mask during a protest at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul in March./Courtesy of the Hankyoreh



By Kim Se-jeong

Juny Nam, 51, is a junk car business owner.

His company "Goodbye Car" employees 33 people to disassemble vehicles in northern Gyeonggi Province  15 vehicles a day on average  and sell car parts in and outside Korea.

But, he dreams of a day without cars as indicated in the name of his company.

"I am not talking about all types of cars. I hope cars with combustion engines will disappear. Then we will breathe better air and have lower greenhouse gas emissions." Pollutants from combustion engines are blamed for air pollution.

That is what pushed him to activism.

He is currently a member of Korea Electric Vehicle Association, giving the government policy recommendations. He is also a member of the Green Party Korea and chaired the fine dust committee. From time to time, he protests the government's insufficient measures against air pollution  he did it in March at Gwangwhamun Square in Seoul.

He also wrote a book, "Goodbye Fine Dust." Released in April, the book explained fine dust and laid out his recommendations for curbing the fine dust level. He also tours around the country in his spare time to talk about the book and the issue.

Nam believes the current regulations on diesel-run vehicles are too loose and incentives are inadequate. He calls on the government to start regulating all military vehicles.

His actions came at a cost at times.

"It was in 2005. When you recycled a car engine, you just let the refrigerant gas, which is one of the greenhouse gases, go into the air. I went around telling lawmakers and government officials that they had to collect the gas and make car companies pay for it. I was doing business with Hyundai Motors back then and I lost the contract," he said.

He has many similar stories that put him in a dilemma.

What kept him going, though, was his two children.

"Imagine all these pollutants are accumulating inside their bodies. I need to do something as a father."

His wife and children moved to Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province because of her work. "I didn't like the idea of separation, but was relieved with the thought that they would have better air," but now, he isn't sure of that.

Another motivation for him is the desire to do the right thing. He doesn't feel right being silent because he has to make money. "I want to do the right thing and make a good business. It's not easy. I feel challenged every day. But, I have managed so far and will try to continue to do so."
By Walt Gardner





Preparing teachers to be effective in K-12 classrooms has always been a challenge. But it's become even harder as the student population has slowly but dramatically changed. South Korea and the United States serve as cases in point.

South Korea was largely homogenous until the influx of immigrant workers in the 1990s and immigrant brides in the 2000s. Public schools, which are the most sensitive barometer of societal change, began to feel pressure to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills to meet the needs and interests of these newcomers, whose numbers increased more than 200 percent between 2010 and 2016.

Although the education ministry initially provided funding for classes in multiculturalism at universities for teacher candidates, subsidies were subsequently cut, resulting in their elimination. The timing couldn't have come at a worse time, with the presence of 99,186 multicultural children enrolled in schools, and prospects for even further growth a certainty.

The situation in the U.S. is somewhat better but still far from encouraging. The Civil Rights Act of the 1960s set the stage for the establishment of multicultural courses for candidates for a teaching license. The goal was to create a climate of inclusion for all students. Textbooks began to reflect the contributions made by blacks, Hispanics and Asians, who previously were excluded or treated as an afterthought.

California, where immigrants now make up roughly 25 percent of the population, is in the vanguard of the change. More than 200 languages are spoken in the state, and about 40 percent of residents older than five speak a language other than English.

Recognizing that students are at risk of dropping out when they don't feel a connection to their classes, voters in November approved a ballot measure that allows bilingual education to once again be used. They belatedly realized that English-only instruction amounted to a form of cultural erasure.

What events in South Korea and the U.S. demonstrate is that subject-matter expertise alone is not enough for effective instruction. Teachers in both countries have to be sensitive to the different ways that students learn. If that were not so, then all university professors who are luminaries in their fields would automatically be successful in K-12 classes.

Multicultural education aims to make all students from all backgrounds feel affirmed and respected. When properly implemented, it can enrich learning by exposing students to different ways of thinking. The devil, of course, is in the details. Teachers have to be given the necessary tools to bring aspects of different cultures into the classroom.

The problem is that tradition dies hard in education. Teachers who were taught a certain way in K-123 are often reluctant to modify their lessons. They need support in tailoring their attitudes, policies, assessment, and counseling to the backgrounds of their students. What worked so well in the past is no assurance of success in the present.





Walt Gardner writes the Reality Check blog for Education Week in the U.S. Write to walt.gard376@gmail.com.
Pyongyang's ICBM test to trigger US retaliation



It increasingly appears that before long North Korea will test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States mainland.



The test will cross the unofficial but psychologically important red line that will, in one form or another, trigger U.S. retaliatory measures. The U.S. has not ruled out force to deal with the North's nuclear and missile weapon programs. The Moon Jae-in government should have a contingency plan to prevent any increase in tension and to deter a conflict.



One noteworthy case is the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003 under then President George W. Bush. The stated goal was to separate Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from his stockpiles of chemical weapons.



What really motivated Bush was to discharge the pent-up anger of the U.S. public after the 9/11 terrorist attack. It was the first major attack on the U.S. proper. No weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were found.



There are striking resemblances between the cases of Iraq and the North, which Bush designated as part of an axis of evil together with Iran. First, as in the lead-up to the invasion, there is an incessant buildup of public consensus about the danger of the North.



Experts are beating drums to stoke fear about a North armed with nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. Vice Adm. James Syring, head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, made it an avoidable, clear and present danger, Thursday, saying, "It is incumbent on us to assume that North Korea today can range the United States with an ICBM carrying a nuclear warhead."



Bush's spokesman was his respected four-star general-turned Secretary of State Colin Powell, who lied to the United Nations to get its support.



The 9/11 attacks shattered the sense of security for Americans. So could the North's combination of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. The U.S. conducted its first ICBM interception test on May 30. The interceptor was fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, which would be within the North's ICBM target range. This test shows just how seriously the U.S. takes the North Korean threat.



The post-traumatic U.S. collective anger moved Bush to wage a war on terror, the Iraq campaign being part of it. The cause for confrontation with the North includes the instability of President Trump, who vowed not to tolerate the North's ICBM tests, taking them as a direct threat to his country even before he took office. As leaders in trouble often do, the fear is that Trump may resort to extreme measures, using the North's WMD as his 9/11 and an exit plan.



China sends conflicting signals. As the North's supposed guardian, Beijing stands in the way of changing the status quo. But it has also indicated through state media that it will not stand aside, if a surgical strike is conducted to take out the North's asymmetric weaponry.



So far, the fear of millions of casualties in the South from the North's retaliation has played a key role in preventing a preemptive attack. But President Moon should disarm this hair-trigger situation before that apocalyptic scenario is used once too often and loses its charm.




By Park Jae-hyuk





Korean reporters inevitably played hide-and-seek with LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault, during his two-day stay here.

The chairman came to Korea, Wednesday, to check the "Volez, Voguez, Voyagez  Louis Vuitton" exhibition, which opened Thursday and will run through Aug. 27 at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul. Louis Vuitton is an LVMH brand, along with Dior, Fendi and other popular luxury brands.

Amid Louis Vuitton's declining popularity in Korea over the past few years and recent dwindling sales at local duty free stores, Arnault's visit drew special attention from the public who expected his insights and vision to grapple with the challenges.

The richest man in France, however, avoided reporters, refusing to deliver any message to Korean consumers.

From beginning to end, his schedule in Korea remained secret.

The global luxury house's Korean branch behaved improperly, shifting all of its responsibilities to its PR agency. The local affiliate has long been criticized for evading reporters' questions and for hiding its PR department's telephone numbers, even before the chairman's visit.

When the billionaire showed up at the DDP early Wednesday afternoon, local news outlets therefore called it a "surprise visit." He was initially expected to appear at that evening's VIP banquet hosted by LVMH at the Shilla Seoul, which was not open to the press.

Due to the strict security, however, his schedule at the DDP was also a de facto closed-door event.

Journalists at the venue were unable to ask the chairman any questions and they even had difficulty in photographing the public figure.

Although Louis Vuitton's PR agency told reporters that Arnault would leave via a specific exit where reporters were waiting, he left the venue through another one.

Then, the businessman reportedly looked around LVMH brand shops at Lotte Department Store's main branch and Shinsegae Department Store's Gangnam branch for about three hours. Of course, his visits to the local department stores were not open to public. The list of VIPs who attended the banquet is confidential as well.

Domestic consumers criticized that the chairman's attitude demonstrated that the luxury house looks down on Korean society.

Louis Vuitton has been under fire in Korea for years for its disappointing social contributions, after-sales service and pricing policies. So, many consumers expected an apology or a promise to change policies.

But the global brand disappointed Korean consumers again.

Fortunately, there is also good news for local consumers. Retail giants gave the chairman a bit of a "cold" welcome compared to his previous visits, according to industry sources.

Korean retailers have recently displayed less interest in duty free stores because of their low profitability.

Bidding for fashion accessories zones for new duty free stores in the second passenger terminal at Incheon International Airport has failed five times. Hotel Shilla has declined to take control of the "unprofitable" Dongwha Duty Free in downtown Seoul.

Because Korean consumers remain reluctant to buy the luxury brand, Louis Vuitton has seen its sales growth rate fall at major department stores here for years as well.

If he wants to see Louis Vuitton recovering its glory in Korea, the 68-year-old Frenchman may have to keep an English proverb in his mind from now on  Manners maketh the man.


By Oh Young-jin





For those who feel uneasy about hiccups in the deployment of a U.S. missile interceptor, or Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, here is the lowdown.

The late President Roh Moo-hyun settled for a theoretical level on his diplomacy of equidistance  getting away from the orbit of U.S. influence and bringing it closer to China to gain mediating power.

But his protege and friend, President Moon Jae-in, is now putting the so-called "balancer" theory into practice.

Now, the supposed gallery  Moon's conservative foes, government and pundits in the U.S. , and the media on both sides of the Pacific  may feel bewildered but the chance is that Moon knows what he is doing when he kicked up the dust over THAAD. Of course, the success is not guaranteed.

Now, two launchers are deployed plus the radar system. But the remaining four launchers are in storage and will be there for the coming months.

Full deployment this year is out of question, considering a full-range environmental impact assessment survey, ordered by Moon, which some say may take two years to complete, is underway. Now Moon backed down with his aides indicating that the survey may be scaled down.

When he goes to Washington for his first summit with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, Moon will likely hold the trump card against the politically embattled U.S. leader whose impeachment appears to be a strong possibility.

Moon's advantage comes from two factors.

First, Moon has driven Washington into a corner by making the ally look as if it was an accomplice in a crime. How? All the THAAD brouhaha started when the presidential office raised an issue over the omission of the four launchers in the Defense Ministry's report and Moon subsequently called it "shocking."

The ministry argued that it didn't hoodwink the new government, saying that the launchers were brought in as part of the agreement with the U.S. In other words, this could have been considered as part of the routine following the agreement made in the previous administration, but there appears to be grounds for reasonable suspicion that Chong Wa Dae intentionally blew it out of all proportion.

Then, Moon made it a double whammy for the U.S. by finding fault with the ministry for cutting corners to make the speedy deployment possible with Washington's nod.

The fuss over the omitted report and environmental survey could make more sense, if they had been plotted in advance. Why would Moon have gone that far?

The results can explain Moon's moves.

Above all, the U.S. has found itself on the defensive. The U.S. government had first claimed there was nothing wrong with the process. Now, it hopes with a sense of concern that there would be no going back on the THAAD deployment. Trump and the top U.S. brass joined the call.

It is worth noting the shift in the U.S. tone from surprise to concern. If the system is pulled out, it could give a black eye to the U.S. reputation as well as give strategic constraints to the theater missile defense for South Korea.

True, it would get Korea behind the eight ball as well but Koreans feel less threatened by the North's missile attacks because their country is already with the target of thousands of rockets and guns.

Moon's move can have other repercussions as well.

First Moon can strengthen his support base. Roh got alienated from his core supporters on two issues  the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. and the dispatch of soldiers to Iraq as part of a U.S.-led coalition. Now, Moon apparently has learned from Roh's example, not deviating from his ideological line at the risk of angering his backers. His approval ratings belong in the stratospheric levels.

His THAAD decision is also strengthening Moon's hand with China.

It is said that Xi Jinping had been upset with the disgraced former President Park Geun-hye for pressing ahead with the THAAD deployment without advance notice. Although the Chinese government calls for the complete THAAD withdrawal, China may come to its senses and settle for the half in the deployment. China sees THAAD as a piece in its board game of hegemony with the U.S. In this zero-sum game, China will see a half victory better than a complete loss.

It would be no surprise that some China hands in the Moon camp are speaking to Beijing to find ways of moving on from the THAAD standoff.

Conservatives and right-of-center media appear puzzled about Moon's moves, sounding the alarm.

To their conventional eyes Moon looks to be recklessly departing from the ROK-U.S. alliance, which has long served as Korea's diplomatic and security anchor. They fear a repetition of what had transpired during the Roh presidency  alienation from Washington, and still worse, U.S. disengagement from the Korean Peninsula.

Ahead of his important summit with Trump, the media say that Moon has revealed his hand and putting Korea between a rock  the United States  and a hard place China.

Not necessarily. On the flip side of this old defeatist thinking is a Korea that plays the role of go-between for the two big powers.

This is a dream that his friend, Roh, came short of realizing. Moon has trodden the path before, knowing pitfalls and shortcuts.

As with Roh, Moon is seeing it as an inevitable choice. Would the second time turn out to be a charm?

Oh Young-jin is The Korea Times' chief editorial writer. Contact foolsdie5@ktimes.com and foolsdie@gmail.com.
By Yoon Sung-won



Seoul Semiconductor has withdrawn the patent suit on light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs against Kmart, as the U.S. retain chain agreed to stop selling the products related to the infringement claim, the company said Friday.



On Sept. 11 last year, the Korean LED maker and its subsidiary Seoul Viosys filed a lawsuit against Kmart with a federal district court in California, claiming the retail enterprise was selling products which violated its eight LED-related patents.



"Now that we have resolved one litigation in this area, we will devote more resources to actively protecting our valuable intellectual property rights relating to LED products," Seoul Semiconductor Executive Vice President Nam Ki-bum said.



Seoul Semiconductor has claimed that one of the eight patents was owned by Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Nakamura Shuji. The Japanese-American engineer, who received the prize in 2014 for developing the blue LED, has been working at Seoul Semiconductor as a technology consultant.



Meanwhile, expectations are that Seoul Semiconductor's victory against Kmart will have a positive influence in an ongoing suit against electronic components retailer Mouser Electronics.



In May, Seoul Semiconductor filed a patent-infringement suit against Mouser Electronics at a Dusseldorf court in Germany. The electronic components retailer sold products made by the Taiwan-based LED maker Everlight. Seoul Semiconductor alleges that the products violated its mid-power LED patent.



Besides the lawsuits against Kmart and Mouser Electronics, Seoul Semiconductor has been active to urge LED bulb makers to stop violating its patent rights.



Seoul Semiconductor has won over 50 suits since its first legal fight against Taiwan's Advanced Optoelectronic Technology in 2003. In 2015, the company won a patent lawsuit against U.S. LED television maker Craig Electronics. A year later, it won another case against Japanese LED lens manufacturer Enplas in the United States.



The company pledged to strictly cope with any infringement on its patent rights in the future.



"Seoul Semiconductor will maintain a hard-line stance and continue to take all necessary actions to stop such infringement and protect our intellectual property," a Seoul Semiconductor official said.




By Park Jae-hyuk



Kia Motors has demonstrated its superiority in the U.S. market again, as its three models were selected as the most satisfying vehicles, according to a recent survey.



The carmaker said Friday that its K5, K7 and Sportage vehicles won the 2017 AutoPacific Vehicle Satisfaction Awards in each of their classes.



The K5 sedan, which is called Optima in the United States, has been selected as the best mid-size car for two consecutive years. The sedan has topped the list four times over the past five years.



It was also selected as this year's best mid-size sedan in March by Consumer Reports, a U.S.-based consumer magazine.



The K7 sedan, which is named Cadenza there, was picked as the best vehicle in the class of large passenger cars. The Sportage was ranked as the best compact crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) in the survey.



"Six of the seven redesigned vehicles, the Genesis G90, Kia Cadenza, Ford Super Duty, Honda Ridgeline, Kia Sportage and Chrysler Pacifica, greatly exceed the scores of their nearest segment competitors  big wins in such a competitive industry," AutoPacific President George Peterson was quoted as saying.



The U.S.-based automotive marketing research and product-consulting firm's survey has been regarded as the industry benchmark for objectively measuring how satisfied an owner is with their new vehicle.



This year, about 54,000 respondents, who purchased cars released in 2016 and 2017, rated 50 attributes for importance in the purchase decision and satisfaction after purchase.



Kia has also been recognized for its quality in the U.S. market, because it placed sixth among 19 brands in the 2017 Vehicle Dependability Study by J.D. Power, an American-based global marketing information services company.



In the AutoPacific survey, Genesis EQ900, which is named G90 in the U.S., was selected as the best luxury passenger car. The luxury sedan made by Hyundai Motor, a bigger affiliate of Kia, beat Lincoln Continental and Mercedes-Benz S-Class in the same category.



EQ900 was picked as the most satisfying vehicle overall as well, earning 818 points. As it broke the previous record high of the 2016 Cadillac Escalade, the EQ900 won the President's Award.




POSCO Daewoo CEO Kim Young-sang, fourth from left, and other guests attend a tape-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a trade exhibition center in Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, China, Thursday. In cooperation with the Busan and Incheon municipal administrations, the trading arm of steelmaker POSCO opened the center, displaying cosmetics, kitchenware and other consumer goods manufactured by 543 small domestic exporters. Yiwu City, some 280 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, is the world's largest wholesale market for consumer products. / Courtesy of POSCO Daewoo
Former FBI Director James Comey delivers his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on the FBI's investigation into the Trump administration, and its possible collusion with Russia during the campaign, in the Hart Senate office Building in Washington, DC, June 8. / AP-Yonhap



By Ko Dong-hwan

Ousted FBI chief James Comey accused American President Donald Trump's White House of lies and defamation Thursday in sworn testimony that plunged his already troubled presidency deeper into peril, according to AFP.

During almost three hours of televised statements, Comey described himself as "stunned" by Trump's "very disturbing" and "very concerning" behavior in several private meetings.

Detailing the talks, Comey said he took notes for fear Trump might "lie" about the unusual encounters.

Comey recalled that during one White House dinner, the president asked him for "loyalty" and to lay off his former national security advisor Mike Flynn  who is under criminal investigation over his Russia ties  imploring Comey to "let this go."

Comey indicated that it was now up to a special prosecutor to determine whether that behavior, and his own sacking, constituted an obstruction of justice, a potentially impeachable offense.

"It's my judgment that I was fired because of the Russia investigation," he told senators. "I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. That is a very big deal."

The White House and Trump's lawyers expressed vindication over some parts of Comey's testimony and lashed out at others.

"I can definitely say the president is not a liar and frankly am insulted by that question," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee.

Lawyer Marc Kasowitz said Trump "never told Comey 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty' in form or substance."

Deploying Trump's trademark bare-knuckle style, Kasowitz also suggested the ousted FBI chief should be prosecuted for leaking "privileged information."

Trump avoided directly responding to the allegations, defiantly telling supporters at a religious event in the capital, "We are going to fight and win."
Ukrainian army positions in Donbas have come under 45 attacks in the past 24 hours, the Anti-Terrorist operation (ATO) staff said on Facebook on Friday morning.

"One Ukrainian serviceman was killed in the hostilities during the day, and six more servicemen sustained injuries. In addition, an attack of the hostiles inflicted traumas on seven Ukrainian border guards," the staff said.

According to Ukrainian border guards, eight officers suffered concussions and buildings and vehicles were damaged in an artillery attack on positions of the Donetsk border unit stationed in the urban-type settlement of Sartana (under the jurisdiction of the Kalmiusky District Council of Mariupol).

"More than 40 artillery shells were fired on the border unit in the period from 6:30 p.m. till 7 p.m. Buildings and, partially, vehicles were damaged. None of the border guards was killed, but eight border officers suffered concussions," the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service said.
There is no doubt that Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo are two of the most popular celebrities in the K-pop industry because of the success of their drama series entitled, "Descendants of the Sun."

However, there are numerous reports that say that they might have already parted ways. This started because a photo of Song Joong Ki and an unidentified woman has shown up in the actor's Instagram account.

What makes it mysterious is that the face of the woman is covered with an emoticon. The woman is also carrying a baby. Some say that it is the real life girlfriend of Song Joong Ki, while others say that the woman might just be a family member or relative.

According to Christian Post, this is the reason why most people believe that Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo might have already parted ways and broke up with each other. Knowing that "The Heirs 2" won't happen with Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye because Lee Min Ho is currently enlisted in the military, it makes perfect sense for Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo to replace the roles.

However, if the two might have really broken up with each other, it would be hard to offer the role to them as they will be working together again. According to Korea Portal, the two Hallyu celebrities have strongly denied that there is nothing romantic happening between them.

But because of the very good chemistry that they show on and off screen, people doubt it. Whichever the case is, let's just hope that Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo will remain professional and would hopefully accept any project offered to them. It's because there are a lot of people wanting to see them on the small and big screen.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is holding talks with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskayte on Friday.

The meeting is taking place in Kharkiv which will be followed by a press conference of the two leaders, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reports.

According to the press service of the Ukrainian president, Poroshenko and Grybauskayte will discuss preparations for the Ukraine-EU summit, further cooperation with NATO, as well as bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation to counteract Russian aggression.

According to the program of the visit, the presidents will also meet with the Ukrainian servicemen of the ATO who underwent rehabilitation in Lithuania.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry says it is troubled by attempts made by certain forces to use the ethnic Bulgarian minority to destabilize the situation in the south of Ukraine's Odesa region.

"The latest incidents that involved individual representatives of the Bulgarian community are in no way related to their ethnicity but were provoked by remarks that are treated in a very sensitive way amid the continuing Russian aggression," the ministry said in a commentary circulated by its press service on Friday.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemns any violent measures to resolve arguments between people. Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are already taking all necessary investigative measures, and "those guilty will be held to account in accordance with the law" based on the results of the inquiry, the ministry said.

On May 18, 2017, activists from some pro-Ukrainian organizations splashed an antiseptic green liquid on Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky City Council member Vasyl Kashchi, dragged him out of the City Hall building and tried to put him in a garbage bin because he voted against issuing permission to draw up a construction plan for a church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. Police tried to protect the official from the activists.

Around 40 activists took part in the disturbances in Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky, the press service of the Ukrainian National Police branch for the Odesa region said. A criminal inquiry has been launched on the count of hooliganism following those events.

In early June, the ethnic Bulgarian community held a protest in Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky over the pro-Ukrainian activists' mistreatment of Kashchi and demanded the Ukrainian president's resignation.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko is convinced that the U.S. will not abolish the sanctions against Russia.

"The U.S. is present in the Normandy format. We have full information and the Americans will have all the information. We do not see the threat that the sanctions policy will be abolished," he said at a press conference in Kharkiv on Friday.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has said that he will sign a law on the restoration of Ukraine's course for NATO membership, since this initiative had been agreed with him.

"Of course, I will sign, because this legislative initiative had been agreed with me. The coalition took an active part in passing this law," Poroshenko told journalists in Kharkiv on Friday.

The goal of entry into NATO is not new for Ukraine, which is simply going back to its original objectives, Poroshenko said.

"Being the president of this country, I am supposed to look after national security but when will this [entry into NATO] happen? We have a great deal of work to do, as the criteria of aspiration for NATO membership are extremely high," Poroshenko said.

At the same time he emphasizes the priority of carrying out reforms in order to bring the state in line with the criteria of NATO before applying for membership in this organization.

"Let's talk today not about the formal side of filing the application, but about what Ukraine needs to do in order to reform our state so that it meets the criteria that are necessary for membership," Poroshenko said.

Ukraine should start with reforms, which will bring it in compliance with the NATO criteria, before applying for membership in the alliance, Poroshenko said.

"Let us not speak about the formal filing of this application but discuss what Ukraine should do to reform our country so that it meets the membership criteria," Poroshenko said.

The former plan of action for entry into NATO, which Ukraine had in place (in 2008-2010), fully coincided with the measures envisaged by the Agreement of Association with the European Union and the criteria of NATO membership, he said.
Almost 6,000 ceasefire breaches were registered on the contact line in eastern Ukraine over the past week, OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) Principal Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug told a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

The monitors also registered 28 weapons deployed in breach of the agreements on weapons withdrawal from the contact line in the past week: five weapons on the Kyiv-controlled territories and 23 weapons on the territories of the self-proclaimed republics, he said.

On Wednesday, SMM monitors registered a motorcade composed of 50 road vehicles, including armored vehicles, which was heading northwest from Luhansk in the direction of the populated area of Zholobok, Hug said.

Monitors registered the presence of two anti-aircraft systems in Muratovo yesterday, he said.

Hug said the monitors continue seeing situations of travel restrictions. Fourteen such situations were registered on the territories uncontrolled by Kyiv and three were registered on the territories controlled by Kyiv in the past week, he said. The LPR has long declined to give monitors access to the entire R-66 motorway, he said. Monitors also faced such restrictions from the DPR in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk, he said.

SMM patrols sometimes see situations of intimidation, Hug said.

Seven road vehicles, which had no number plates and were carrying armed people, blocked the way of an OSCE SMM patrol in Novoazovsk on Wednesday. The vehicles surrounded the monitors for 20 minutes, after which they were ordered to leave the area, he said.

Hug also said that today the SMM has 653 monitors, of which 565 are working in eastern Ukraine.
An unoccupied car was pushed off a cliff in La Jolla and fell 100 to 200 feet, landing on the beach below. San Diego Police believe the incident was deliberate. This morning (Thursday, June 8) at 7:36 a.m., a man was walking by the intersection of Torrey Pines Road and Coast Walk when he noticed a vehicle on its roof at the bottom of a cliff, Communications Officer Billy Hernandez told La Jolla Light.

The incident happened between the popular tourist spot of La Jolla Cove and La Jolla Shores Beach, in the area known as The Caves. The beach where the car landed, was empty at the time, and has no pedestrian access.

The vehicle was empty, and the license plates had been removed. Lifeguards used a heavy crane to tow the car out. The vehicle was recovered and (we) have not been able to locate the owner, Hernandez added.

The Light will update this report as new information emerges.
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...

An easier-than-expected first mammogram experience HUNTERSVILLE  Scheduling a cancer screening probably ranks somewhere on your to-do list between "clean out the garage" and "donate those clothes that don't fit." Sure, you'll get to it at...
NATO has been informed of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada's decision to codify Kyiv's course toward entry into the alliance, but has not so far received any official application for membership from the Ukrainian government, Barbora Maronkova, the Director of the NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, said.

Efforts continue to be made today to implement the decisions adopted at the NATO summit in Warsaw to focus on defense sector reforms and introducing the 2020 Strategic Defense Bulletin as a priority for Ukraine and NATO, Maronkova said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday when commenting on the Verkhovna Rada's relevant decision and Ukraine's chances of becoming a NATO member in general.

It was reported that on June 8, 2017, the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada voted in favor of forging deeper ties with NATO with the aim of gaining membership in this organization as a central goal of Ukraine's foreign policy. The relevant bill No. 6470, which amends several legislative acts regulating Ukraine's foreign policy, was supported by 276 deputies during a parliamentary session on Thursday.
This editorial appears in the June 9, 2017 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche: The World

Looks Much Different from China

[Print version of this editorial]

June 1Schiller Institute founder and President Helga Zepp-LaRouche has just completed a major trip to China, which began with her participation in the May 14-15 Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. She gave the following briefing today to her American associates, which is also posted on the LaRouche PAC website.

I want to make sure that you get a first impression of my trip from me, because I think the worst mistake we could make would be to respond to the absolutely incredible psywar propaganda coming from the U.S. mainstream media and the neoliberal media in Europe, such as Spiegel Online, with its Chief Editors piece which was really out of this way! It is very clear that people who are primarily relying on such media have a completely, totally, 100% wrong idea of what the reality is, of whats going on. And we should really get that out of our heads and not try to swim within the bounds of a fishbowl that is an artificially created environment. Because, from my standpoint, the world looks very, very different.

First of all, I have said this already, and I reiterate it: With the Belt and Road Forum, the world has dramatically consolidated the beginning of the new era, and I dont think at all, thatshort of World War IIIthis is going to go away, because the majority of the world is moving in a completely liberated way. And first of all, this was the highest level conference I have ever participated in. There were 28 heads of state, speaking one after the other, and obviously, the speech by Xi Jinping was absolutely outstanding. Whoever has time to listen to it, should do so, because it was a very, very Confucian speech, which set the tone for the two-day conference in a very clear way. So, please listen to it when you have some time.

To understand what is going on, you have to think what this organization, and Lyn [LaRouche] in particular, has done for the last, almost 50 years. In 1971 Lyn recognized, for the first time, what the significance of the dismantling of the Bretton Woods system was. Consider all of the many, many things we have done in the more than 40 years since then. Lyn came back from the Iraqi Baath Party celebration in 1975 and then proposed the International Development Bank (IDB) to foster a new world economic order. For one year we campaigned with this IDB proposal which then basically became part of the Colombo, Sri Lanka resolution of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1976. Then, at the end of the 1970s, we worked with Indira Gandhi on a 40-year development plan for India.

In 1976, we published a book on the industrialization of Africa. We worked with Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo on Operation Juarez. We put out a fifty-year Pacific Basin development plan. Lyn proposed the Oasis Plan for developing the Middle East, in 1975. And then, naturally, when the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union disintegrated, we proposed the Productive Triangle and the Eurasian Land-Bridge. All of these proposals!

Viewfull size

CGTN

And just think of the many, many activities we carried out, conferences all over five continents, all of this was on the level of ideas, on the level of program. But only when Xi Jinping put the New Silk Road on the agenda in 2013and in the subsequent four years of breathtaking developments of the One Belt, One Road initiativehave these ideas begun to be realized! And now the genie is out of the bottle!

LaRouche, China, Trump

Now you have the Bi-Oceanic Railway discussion and the tunnels and bridges connecting the Atlantic and Pacific in Latin America, and railways are now being opened up in Africathis is unprecedented! This was not done by the IMF or the World Bank. They suppressed it with their conditionalities. But with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the New Development Bank of the BRICS, the New Silk Road Fund, the Maritime Silk Road Fund, the direct investment of the China Exim Bank, the Bank of Chinaall of these projects are now proceeding, and they have completely changed the attitude and the built the self-confidence of all participating countries.

The way people in China look at President Trump is absolutely different from what the western media are trying to say. They are very positive about Trump, in the same way that people in Russia think that Trump is somebody you can absolutely have a decent relationship with, and that is reality.

Forget the media! Forget these whores in the press who are really just prostitutes for the British Empire. Dont pay any attention to what they say, and dont allow the people you are talking to, to do it either.

When Trump promised $1 trillion infrastructure investments, this was the right thing, and we put out the right program saying the United States must join the Silk Road, and that should be our focus and nothing else. Everything else should be a subsumed aspect of that. This is the strategically important thing, and when the head of the China Investment Corporation (CIC), Ding Xuedong, said its not $1 trillion but $8 trillion that the United States needs, he was absolutely on the mark; you know it yourself from the condition of the roads other infrastructure in all of the United States.

The fact that the CIC has now set up an office in New York, advising Chinese investors on investing in the United States, and vice versa, helping U.S. investors to invest in China; the fact that the Chinese are invited to participate in this infrastructure conference in June, all of this is absolutely going in the right direction.

What happened at the Belt and Road Forum and the many meetings I had afterwards, after all, I spent two full weeks in Beijing, in Nanjing, in Shanghaimany of these things Im not reporting on, because theyre just works in progress. But in the many interviews, many published quotes, and the general viewyou can ask Kasia Kruczkowski and Stefan Tolksdorf, or Bill Joneswe were treated with the highest possible respect. People are fully aware of Lyns significance as a theoretician of physical economy, his ideas are highly respected, and people treated me as we should be treated, namely as people who have devoted their entire lives to the common good of humanity. And this is absolutely in stark contrast to the shitty behavior that we are normally getting from the neoliberals in the trans-Atlantic region.

Stay On the Offensive!

You should understand what the attack on Trump is supposed to do: It is to make it difficult for him to focus on the positive tasks, and there are quite a number of themincluding his working relationship with Russia and Chinathat are strategically most important. So instead, he has to defend himself, and everybody thinks they have to spend all their time defending themselves. Just think back, for those of you who were around then, how our lives as an organization changed with the attack in 1986. Up to that point, we were all positive, we were winning primaries in Illinois, we were thinking in terms of creating three private universities because we had a network of around a hundred professors who wanted to implement Lyns ideas in the form of a curriculum in universities.

And then, after the attack came in 1986, carried out by the same apparatus that is now going after Trump, we had to spend all this money on lawyers, and we had to defend ourselves, and it changed the life of the organization completely, and thats what theyre trying to do to Trump!

So dont fall for it. The idea that we are losing is completely off! Mankind is on the winning track, and we have to pull the American people up, bring the American people into this, to create the kind of ferment necessary to ensure that the infrastructure program, as a first step, is on the agenda, and on everybodys mind, and nothing else.

I just wanted to say that because from the initial discussions I had today, I got the impression that people are much too underneath it, and even if Europe is still in the grip of the EU Commission, I mean, if Merkel wants to be the leader of the free West, forget it. Macron just had an excellent meeting with Putin, defining a cordial relationship with Russia! This is not what Merkel and Obama have been cooking upfor example, when Obama addressed the Kirchentag, the Protestant Church Assembly in Berlin on May 25. But Merkel is pretty isolated.

Just look around Europe: French President Emmanuel Macron sends Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the former Prime Minister, to the Belt and Road Forum, and he gave an excellent speech on why China and France must work together. Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said China and Italy will work together on the development of Africa. All of the East EuropeansTsipras of Greece, Serbia, Hungary, Czechias Zeman, Orban of Hungaryall of them were absolutely enthusiastic about the Belt and Road Initiative. And now even Germanyit shows that German industry is actually getting it, that their interest is to work on joint ventures in third countries together with China. So I think even Germany will change.

I have a strong conviction that by the end of this year, it will look completely different, because the development perspective is so contagious, that I think all the efforts of the British Empire to somehow throw in a monkey wrench, will not work!

So take the winning perspective, take the high ground, think strategically. And realize that what is happening in reality, in many, many development projects around the world, is what this organization has been fighting for, for almost half a century. The worst thing we could do would be to look at it from inside the United States, from within the box, when the whole world has moved out of the box decisively, with the Belt and Road Forum, which is not going to be stopped by anything.
Dr. Craig Idso, Carbon Dioxide Specialist June 3Below are excerpts from a March 23, 2017 interview with Dr. Craig Idso, conducted at the Heartland Institutes 12th International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC-12). Dr. Idso is the founder of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; of the American Geophysical Union; of the American Meteorological Society; and of the CO 2 Coalition. Dr. Craig Idso: There are three main benefits which result from increasing carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere: The first is that it increases plant productivity for biomass of the plant. On average, what we see is that for a doubling of CO 2 , something thats going to happen by the end of this century, most are herbaceous plants, non-woody plants like crops and things like that, will experience anywhere from a 25% to a 55% increase in biomass per yield. And thats a phenomenal result and thats something thats going to happen just because we raise the CO 2 concentration and nothing else. . . . Second is that higher CO 2 concentrations help increase the plants water use efficiency. Again, a doubling of CO 2 allows plants to use about half as much water as they need to produce the same amount of tissue, so that is another phenomenal benefit. And then the third benefit is that higher CO 2 concentrations help to ameliorate environmental stresses. So if you have a stress from hot air temperature, maybe low light, low levels of soil fertility, those sorts of things, if you have higher CO 2 concentrations, the higher levels tend to reduce or lessen that stress, if not completely ameliorate it under a doubling of CO 2 . You put all those three benefits together, and what you get is a tremendous benefit to the biosphere, to the growth. And were seeing that already: We see it in tree-ring cores, you can look at how their water use efficiency has improved over time, and we see anywhere from 35% to 40% increase already, as the CO 2 concentration has increased by about 40%.... So the satellites have been up measuring reflectivity of vegetation, over the entire globe ever since about the early 1980s. And what they find consistently, whether theyre focusing on a particular region of the globe or the globe as a whole, you get anywhere from about 6% to 15% increase in biomass in that period of time.... The globe as a whole, or in total, is actually in a better off condition now than it was when those measurements began.... I did the first approximation to determine what is the net monetary benefit on crop production globally, in the past and then also projected into the future, and what I found was that over the 50-year period from 1961 to 2011, it amounts to about $3.2 trillion on the global economy, a phenomenal benefit. And then, projecting that forward in time, as the CO 2 concentration is going to continue to rise, from about 2012 to 2050, we expect it to be about $10 trillion to the economy. And thats just really scratching the surface, because you could look at studiesfor example, Ill take rice, where theres a number of genotypes of rice, and scientists have looked at, for examplein one study Im thinking ofthey looked at 16 different genotypes of rice, and how those genotypes responded to a doubling of CO 2 , and they received values that ranged from about zero all the way to a whopping 265%. So, if governments and scientists focused on those specific genotypes that we received the greatest increase in biomass per unit of CO 2 rise, and then grew them, we could have this phenomenal increase in agriculture and have no problem in feeding the planet in the future. Based on the controlled greenhouse studies, Dr. Idso has been able to determine that the rising CO 2 levels in recent decades have increased agricultural crop yields by over $3 trillionmore food and more efficient agriculture production. And another benefitwhich is a big irony, in a certain senseis the effects of higher CO 2 levels on plant water use efficiency. You actually get a highly significant boost for certain plant species in their ability to produce more biomass with less water use. This has rather interesting implications for drier regions in particular, where water is the limiting factor in plant growth. And now, all of a sudden, with higher concentrations of plant food in the atmosphere, CO 2 , they can grow in regions they couldnt grow in before; they can be healthier in regions they couldnt be healthy in before. And you just take a look at places weve had water issueslike Californiaand we have our crazy governor in California, running around pretending hes the world leader on CO 2 , when his state is actually benefiting from the fact theres been higher CO 2 levels in the context of the recent droughts. The ironies are just all over the place. A Top-Down, Imperial Policy Youve really got to ask yourself, why are none of these basic scientific facts even being added into the discussion about effects of CO 2 rise? All you hear are these flimsy scare stories, presented by the media as if they were scientific facts, but basic, unambiguous scientific data and studies demonstrating the positive effects of CO 2 rise are completely left out of the discussion. People need to let that irony sink in. Lets talk about reality. For decades, Helga and Lyndon LaRouche have warned you, the whole global warming issue is not really about global warming. Thats just the latest scare story certain people have grabbed onto and pushed to bolster a Malthusian ideology (before global warming it was ozone holes, and overpopulation, and global cooling). In 2015 Executive Intelligence Review released an updated report exposing the forces pushing this climate change scare, Global Warming Scare Is Population Reduction, Not Science, which details the origins, not just of the climate-change scare, but more broadly, of this whole environmentalist movement, demonstrating that it comes from an oligarchical, Malthusian ideology. Look at the climate issue in that context. The Founding Fathers of the Environmentalist Movement Prince Philip Prince Philip 1930sHis siblings married into pro-Nazi aristocratic families in Germany.

1933He studied under the Nazi race-science curriculum in Germany.

Late 1930sHe maintained a secretive relation with the pro-Nazi king of England (Edward VIII) after the king was forced to abdicate.

1961He became the United Kingdom President of the World Wildlife Fund from 1961 to 1982.

1981He was president of International World Wildlife Fund 1981-1996.

1996He became President Emeritus of the World Wildlife Fund. Sir Julian Huxley Sir Julian Huxley 1937He was vice-president of the British Eugenics Society 1937 to 1944.

1948After the world was exposed to the horrors of Hitlers eugenics program, Huxley continued to promote the development of eugenics as the first director of UNESCO (placing a call in support of eugenics in UNESCOs founding document).

1958He became Sir Julian Huxley upon being knighted by the Queen.

1959He was president of the British Eugenics Society from 1959 to 1962.

1961He was a co-founder of World Wildlife Fund. Prince Bernhard Prince Bernhard 1930sHe was a member of the Nazi SS, then worked with a special Nazi SS Intelligence Unit in IG Farbenindustrie. The Nazi concentration camp/slave-labor system was later pioneered there.

1936He resigned from Nazi SS to marry the future Queen Juliana, signing his resignation, Heil Hitler! Hitler sent congratulations to their wedding.

1940sHe was director of KLM airlines during the time that the airlines were covertly flying Nazi war criminals out of Germany and into Argentina to escape prosecution,

1961He was co-founder of the World Wildlife Fund.

1961-1976He was president of the World Wildlife Fund.

1970He founded The 1001: A Nature Trust to organize financial support for the funding of the environmentalist movement. Just look at the founders of the modern environmentalist movement, the people who created the entire structure that pushed this whole environmentalist movement globally. Just highlight the top figures: Sir Julian Huxley, a lifelong proponent of eugenics, who was head of the British Eugenics Society. After World War II, after Hitlers horrific war crimes and crimes against humanity were exposed, along with their connection to eugenics, Huxley still promoted eugenics in his position in the UN, as the head of UNESCO at the time. Prince Philip, whenever he gets the chance, talks about how terrible population growth is, and the fact that population growth is the number one problem on the planet. He has said that if he could be reincarnated, hed like to come back as a deadly virus to reduce world population. Thats his view, thats his belief-system. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands was actually a Nazi, and then worked for Nazi intelligence (and there are credible accusations that he helped Nazi war criminals escape after World War II). These people came together and started the environmentalist movement in the immediate post-World War II period, and in the 50s and 60s it started to take off. This is the ideology behind this. Its not about the debates you see on the media, about this claim or that claim on supposed science of CO 2 . If you really want to understand the issue, its this oligarchical, Malthusian ideology thats been campaigning for generations against economic development, against population growth, against the development of so-called Third World nations. These are people who have said we cannot allow the world to rise to the living standards of America and the West. Think of Obama traveling to Africa, telling students in Africa, if you all had air conditioning and cars the planet would boil over, so thats not an option for you. Dump the Past, Get into the Future And thats the issue. Despite what many may believe, the Paris Climate Accord is an expression of the old Malthusian, geopolitical paradigmits the pastand what were seeing emerging with everything around Chinas New Silk Road/Belt and Road Initiative (and its recent breakthrough leadership forum) is the future. So Trumps dumping of this climate change issue is completely coherent with the fight to get the United States to break from this old geopolitical, zero-sum game, Malthusian paradigm, and get into building the future again. Energy is certainly critical. Mr. LaRouche has defined the next steps: Concentrate on fusion and on nuclear fission as needed for the time being. The key is not only utilizing existing infrastructure for energy sources such as coal and natural gas, but developing the future energy sources that are going to do much more than allow moderate growth in energy use. What kind of energy production will enable nations around the world to come up to the same per capita energy use that we have in the United States now? What will support even higher levels, including in the United States? How can we dramatically increase the total energy-flux density of the entire global economy? Thats the future. The entire history of the development of mankind has always been intimately connected with, and tied to these kinds of increases in energy-flux density. Thats got to be the next step in development. With Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, the world is moving in that direction, and if the U.S.A. joins that process, we can secure this shiftthis cant be stressed enough. We are on the verge of a global, historical paradigm shift, this provides the perspective of the end of a geopolitical system. We have to get Americans to understand the depth of this ongoing revolution, and the importance of the United States jumping on board with this, immediately. If you now get the United States on board with Russia and China, and the nations allied with them, thats it. We can have the future, we can create the future we want with that alliance.
PRESS RELEASE

Japan Comes Out in Support of Belt and Road as SCO Meets

June 8, 2017 (EIRNS)Asked today whether President Putins staff will be glued to their television sets watching fired FBI head James Comeys U.S. Senate testimony, Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin has no special interest in it, because Russia has another international agenda. "The summit of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) being held today and tomorrow in Astana is of far greater interest to us," he said.

"Hes right," said Lyndon LaRouche.

The SCO heads of state are meeting in Kazakhstans capital of Astana, and will be expanding the membership of the organization for the first time since its founding in 1996. When India and Pakistan are brought in during this summit, the SCO will have expanded to cover about 60% of the entire Eurasian landmass, and 43% of the worlds population. Presidents Putin and Xi Jinping met in Astana yesterday; their discussion emphasized the Korean problem. Indian President Modi arrived today. He will meet with President Putin and may meet with President Xi as well.

In a related development which is likewise part of the New Paradigm for which Lyndon and Helga LaRouche have been fighting for almost half a century, Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking June 5 at a "Future of Asia" conference in Tokyo, offered official Japanese support, for the first time, to the Belt and Road initiativealthough joined with conditions such as "transparent and fair" procurement. The next day, Chinas Global Times newspaper, owned by Peoples Daily of the Chinese ruling party, published an unsigned editorial, "Abes Belt and Road Change of Heart a Welcome Step." Global Times noted Abes reservations, but wrote that "Japan used to hold the most passive attitude toward the China-led Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road initiative, two signature programs that are symbolic of Chinas rise. Abes new attitude reflects a certain change in Tokyos mentality, and this change is welcome.
Weve all done it: The exits up ahead, but theres a tractor-trailer in the way, lumbering along, blocking the turn. Zoom ahead, pass quickly, make it just in time  but what weve unknowingly executed is a suicide squeeze. The tractor-trailer (fully loaded at 80,000 pounds) can struggle to stop, and if a front tire blows, the tractor might veer violently, sucking the big rig and every car nearby into a mayhem we dont really want to comprehend.

With his hand on the wheel, our guide to this largely unexplored subculture is Finn Murphy: college dropout, long-haul trucker and the Great White Mover, cruising on what he estimates is his 3,000th job since acquiring a commercial drivers license in July of 1980.

Ive got a hard-muscled body, a big, comfortable, new tractor hauling a 53-foot moving trailer, he writes in his first book, the memoir Long Haul. Theres the whistle of the supercharger as I shift into the thirteenth gear, the whoosh of the air dryer, my mouth slightly sour, arms shaking from the pounding of the wheel, making money, setting my own schedule, the Manhattan skyline on my right, flying fast and furious....

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As a young man in Connecticut, Murphy first encounters road warriors while pumping gas for an angry station owner: Dan, he observes, had ended up on the wrong treadmill, and he hated that. Across the lot, meanwhile, there was a shipping agent who employed a bevy of strong and proud men who didnt seem nearly as dissatisfied.

Murphys a mover (a bedbugger); not a car hauler (parking lot attendant), animal transporter (chicken choker) or hazmat hauler (suicide jockey)

After a brief apprenticeship, Murphy tells his parents hes dropping out of Colby College for the open road  and in response his dad promptly hands over a bill for three years tuition and rent for three previous summers.

What hooks Murphy so thoroughly, despite societys apparent disapproval, is that in addition to the money and freedom, the rough-and-tumble underworld of big trucks and long drives actually feels like a meaningful lesson in the pride and purity of hard work. When you hired movers, he writes, they moved it. Execution was the imperative. This unequivocation was very attractive to me then, as it is now.

There are all kinds of truckers. Murphys a mover (or a bedbugger), not to be confused with car haulers (parking lot attendants), animal transporters (chicken chokers), refrigerated food haulers (reefers) or hazmat haulers (suicide jockeys.) What unites most of them, Murphy explains with some distaste, is how happily they communicate with each other over CB radios, in a kind of private social network Murphy doesnt seem to relish like he does all that time alone.

The way Murphy thinks of it, most of the other long-haul drivers are all too happy to gather around the gas station and guffaw. What theyre probably missing out on, Murphy suggests, are lonelier and more poetic thoughts, such as the way the engines themselves, want to work hard. What they like is a full load and twenty-hour run at 65. When you maintain one properly, he writes, the thing can run a million miles.

But its his rich perspective as a mover that makes this story of trucking life so insightful, given how many times life choices are tested with each family he helps relocate. When you move people and pack their stuff, he writes, you see how people really live, not how they want the neighbors to think they live.

The lessons Murphy offers are not without some sharpness. Most of us, Murphy explains, should simply throw everything away when we relocate. Moreover, in everywhere but the richest homes, theres simply nothing worth stealing; only cheap electronics and disposable furniture. While in the wealthiest homes, Murphy says, a move is especially poignant: its that brief and chilling moment of vulnerability, when an echelon of America that can usually ignore anyone else suddenly needs strangers carrying your sacred marriage bed into the master bedroom suite.

The one time Murphy tells us about his own vulnerability is when he sleeps with the wife of a military commander, furious because her cold husband no longer loves her. We root for Murphy to make it work, but he admits his real crush: National Public Radios Terry Gross, because Ive spent more time with her than anyone else in my life. More truckers than youd think, he says, listen to NPR.

What does the future hold? Truckers, Murphy writes, are just wagon trains for a modern world, and when robots replace all the human labor, which they will, all that will hark back to the original movers is likely the way engines will still be measured in horsepower.

For what seems like forever, John McPhee and professional nonfiction writers like him have been the ones to explain things like trucking to us. For now, in a well-written story that rarely slows down, the driver can go it alone.

Deuel is the author of Friday Was the Bomb: Five Years in the Middle East.

The Long Haul: A Truckers Tales of Life on the Road

Finn Murphy

W.W. Norton: 256 pp., $26.95
When we meet Kevin Pace, the protagonist/narrator of Percival Everetts new novel, So Much Blue, hes 56 years old and has found the space and medium for fashioning himself finally. Since the bulk of this kind of measuring happens in the unassailable privacy of the soul, as James Baldwin names it in No Name in the Street, we might think of Everetts novel as Paces memoir or confession. Everetts complex exposition offers Paces private self, his secret self, to us through three interlaced narratives that telescope Paces present, his near past and distant past: House, Paris and 1979, respectively.

In May 1979, while graduate students at the University of Pennsylvania, Pace, a painter, and his best friend, Richard, a medievalist, travel to Central America. They leave their Philadelphia digs in search of Tad, Richards drug-addled drug-dealing brother. They track him down in El Salvador, then on the brink of civil war. What Pace experiences on that trip rearranges him existentially. Though ambivalent about his relationship with his girlfriend, Linda, Pace is so troubled that he proposes marriage, hoping it will save him from the unspeakable traumas that breach his sleep.

I married Linda. She was happy. I was content. We set about life. Years passed and my arrested development stalled our having children. But all of us finally develop and I did too and so we did have children. I loved both my daughter and my son. I felt normal. I felt safe. But the dreams persisted. I drank too much on occasion but was always excused, disappeared on occasion but was forgiven.

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In the late 1990s, while helping his gallerist in Paris launch an exhibition of his works, Pace  46 years old, on-the-wagon, a successful abstract painter and studio art professor at Rhode Island School of Design  disappears into a three-week affair with Victoire, a young French watercolorist. Planning all along to return to Linda and their children, Paces new romance offers him psychological release, the freedom to reveal the secret self he cannot at home. Back in Rhode Island, both missing his 22-year-old lover and acknowledging that his affair is a cliche, Pace feels different enough to initiate a large-scale, autobiographical painting that some call his masterpiece even though he keeps the piece hidden from view.

No one else has seen the painting and it has a name that he keeps secret, Pace hopes that whats emerging from the blues is a legible portrait of himself.

This intricately structured novel opens 30 years after the Salvadoran expedition and a decade beyond Paces Parisian peccadillo. The middle-aged Pace wants little else than to tuck himself away in his private backyard art studio, an outbuilding designed specifically for his still in-process painting. No one can enter Paces workspace, neither his family members nor Richard. Nailed along one studio wall, Pace has stretched a canvas twelve feet high and twenty-one feet and three inches across. This is my painting, Pace explains, colors on raw linen. Working with powders and linseed oil, Pace mixes a pallet of blues  phthalo blue, Prussian mixed with indigo. cerulean blending into cobalt  for his abstract image, a painting large enough to reckon all secrets about El Salvador, Paris, family life and himself. His narrating and painting are not nostalgia driven. Rather, out of the chaos of his experience, hes arranging an abstract form that allows him to weigh his personal history privately and identify himself in the present. Though no one else has seen the painting and it has a name that he keeps secret, Pace hopes that whats emerging from the blues is a legible portrait of himself.

While my synopsis makes So Much Blue seem linear, Paces storytelling is more like a three-suit deck of cards shuffled so that a card from each suit appears alternately, each card its own short story. With 25 books of fiction and poetry to his name, Everett doesnt have the broad audience his writing deserves. Nonetheless, among his fans, he has a reputation for writing humorous, philosophical, innovative and formally challenging works such as Erasure (2000), I Am Not Sidney Poitier (2009) and Percival Everett by Virgil Russell (2013).

In So Much Blue, two sections (1979 and Paris) have progressive plotlines arcing toward revealed secrets. But House has no plot and shifts into its own past in order to illuminate a new secret animating the Pace familys present. Writing in straightforward, seemingly effortless prose, Everett puts these secrets in conversation. He creates suspense by subtly withholding information.

Everett has done this before; it worked in Assumption (2011), with the protagonist, a sheriff, trying to solve a murder mystery. Its harder to pull this off with Pace, who we expect, as narrator, to have control of the story hes telling and its meaning. The crosstalk and suspense Everett creates switching among So Much Blues narrative tracks delays both revelations of the secrets and how they explain each other. Pace must first earn control of each short narrative burst before he can learn the truths they hold collectively. Though I dont think that the short story form accentuates the breadth of Everetts talents, he has carried over from the best pieces in Half an Inch of Water (2015) his skill for brisk character construction and for making character motivation rise from scene and action.

Writing in straightforward, seemingly effortless prose, Everett puts these secrets in conversation. He creates suspense by subtly withholding information.

In Salvador (1980), Joan Didion writes that when she first experienced demoralizing, humiliating fear in post-revolution El Salvador, she recognized the exact mechanism of terror. Similarly, Pace must identify and narrate his terror in that country to launch his painting. Yet he wants to ward off any easy comparisons between painting and storytelling: A painting has many surfaces. To say that a painting is like a story is a pedestrian utterance, not altogether untrue, but uninspired. He knows that the shapes in the painting were unique element in unique situations .... organisms with volition and a desire for self-assertion. But he doesnt press these notions beyond his canvas because that would move him in contact with the world.

Though he means to keep the autobiographical painting to himself, Pace wonders if its purpose  a certain connective or explicating energy  might be lost. Abstract as it was, the protagonist offers, it was essentially a time line, simple as that, but time didnt move along it, there were no intervals, nothing changed, accelerated or stopped. The fact that it was secret served its secrets, my secrets, and suddenly I understood at least one rather simple perhaps obvious forehead-flattening truth, that a secret can exist only if its revelations, discovery, even betrayal is possible. Through his art, Pace earns an emotional intelligence that unburdens him from his secrets.

At first glance, So Much Blue seems to be Everett doing what hes known for: crafting a complicated, cerebral but funny narrative. Early in the novel, however, Pace recalls his grandfathers appraisal of one of his apprentice canvases:

It was medium-sized canvas, perhaps three by four feet, with lots of greens and blues, the colors applied beside each other in rough, quick strokes, a sphere of ocher and Indian yellow loosely mixed with white trying to erupt near the center. Stenciled across the bottom of the canvas in a fairly straight line was the word depiction in lowercase letters. My grandfather smiled at me, said, I like it. But Kevin, do any roads lead home from irony?

This critique implicates both the massive canvas Pace is in the midst of creating and the novel itself. So Much Blue presents Everett, one of our cultures preeminent novelists, a nonpareil ironist-satirist, turning away from the familiar terrain of his recent fictions. On this new turf, however, a problem arises for the author: Though ironic art may not lead the protagonist home, irony is a basic component of the kind of self-critique that will. Yet this crucial element  necessary to the characters development and his realizations about secrets and art  is lost in the shuffle somewhat. Nonetheless, captivating and pleasurable, especially those pages devoted to El Salvador, So Much Blue is a coming of middle-age story worth gazing into.

Muyumba is writer and sits on the board of the National Book Critic Circle. Hes a professor at Indiana University and is on Twitter @wmuyumba.

So Much Blue

Percival Everett

Graywolf: 236 pp., $16 paper
When Walter Hopps went to pick up painter Frank Lobdell to bring him to his 1966 opening at the Pasadena Art Museum, he found Lobdell soused in his hotel room. Hopps, who had become the youngest museum director in the United States when he took the helm at the Pasadena museum at age 31 in 1964, was high on speed that night, even before he helped himself to some of Lobdells bourbon. Theyre going to kill me if I dont get you to the opening, Hopps told Lobdell, so the two men got into the car and Hopps started driving toward the museum through residential neighborhoods. Hopps commented that the road felt unusually rough and bumpy, and Lobdell pointed out that theyd been driving along peoples lawns. [P]eople have had to run out of the way.

This anecdote takes up all of one paragraph in The Dream Colony: A Life in Art, the collected musings of Hopps, edited by New Yorker fiction editor Deborah Treisman and published this month, 12 years after the prolific, eccentric curators death. The book is an unusual beast: pieced together interviews, an oral history as autobiography. The words of this elusive but extremely verbose man, prone to long, detail-rich monologue but disinterested in self-reflection, fill the entirety of The Dream Colony.

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Immediately before and after describing his drunken car ride, Hopps talks about art, in his characteristically granular way: Lobdells paintings are full of blunt and atavistic biomorphism, hovering right on the edge of abstraction. Joseph Cornell, whose 1966 show at the Pasadena Art Museum was the last Hopps put on before being fired for his unpredictability, worked only with found objects and created a cosmology from everyday parts, a whole reality that is both quotidian and, somehow, mysteriously, other.

Journalist Calvin Tomkins, who profiled Hopps for the New Yorker in 1991, described a man who gives away very little of himself in conversation besides the contents of his extremely well-stocked mind. For devoted art lovers who appreciate the role Hopps played in championing Pop art and shaping local and national institutions, the slog of The Dream Colony might be worth it  certain anecdotes and observations do reward the patient reader. But others may want to hold out for the smart biographer who better contextualizes the curators idiosyncrasies.

Hopps was born in Glendale, Calif., in 1932 and spent parts of his childhood in Tampico, Mexico, with his grandparents. His grandfather started a citrus plantation there and tried for a while to introduce to the locals a product he considered inspired but they hated: peanut-butter tacos. As a teenager back in Los Angeles, Hopps enrolled in a special weekend humanities class for gifted math and science students. The class took a field trip to the home of Walter and Louise Arensberg, among Los Angeles first committed collectors of contemporary art and early champions of Marcel Duchamp, the French Conceptualist who famously exhibited a urinal as art. [I]t was as if Id passed through the looking glass, Hopps wrote about seeing important art in their house hung everywhere, even on a coatroom door. He invited himself back and, on a subsequent visit, Louise Arensberg allowed him to take a small marble sculpture by Constantin Brancusi with him to the lunch table so he could continue admiring it while eating.

Hopps attended Stanford and then UCLA but never acquired a college degree. He started his first gallery in a rented storefront near Brentwood in 1952, when he was 20. He called it Syndell Studio after a man named Maurice Sindel, who committed suicide by jumping in front of L.A. artist Jim Newmans car. I decided that Maurice Syndell had been an artist, said Hopps, who didnt know at the time hed misspelled the mans last name. His later, more famous gallery would get its name similarly: a man named Jim Farris had been a fan of Syndell Studio but shot himself in the head before Hopps could properly meet him. Hence the name Ferus, a phonetic tribute.

During the initial Ferus years, Shirley Nielsen, the art historian who married Hopps at the base of the Watts Towers in 1955, used her teaching salary to foot the bills while Hopps and his first partner, artist Ed Kienholz, hosted poetry readings, movie nights and let young, broke artists sleep in the storage room while they discovered a California vanguard. Now-iconic Craig Kauffman, Wallace Berman, Jay DeFeo, Bruce Conner and John Altoon all got their start at Ferus. In The Dream Colony, Hopps describes these artists work and recounts comic interactions with all of them  early Ferus was chaos, with fistfights at openings  but, even with the benefit of hindsight, it always feels like Hopps is too close to the art he loved to give us any greater insights into how his experiences shaped him.

In 1983, after a series of short stints at Washington, D.C., institutions, Hopps served as the founding director of the Menil Collection in Houston. He lived with his boss, collector Dominique de Menil, in a small, spare bedroom until he married his third wife, Caroline Huber. Hopps took Caroline to France for their honeymoon; Mrs. De Menil came too, and they all stayed together in her Paris apartment. One morning, they all went to meet the aging Surrealist artist Meret Oppenheim, Carolines favorite artist. Hopps describes this visit and Oppenheims extraordinary sexual vibrancy and cat-like gaze with more excitement and presence than he does his own wedding. Perhaps the book lacks a sense of perspective because he truly had none.

It is difficult to write a curatorial memoir. The job of curating itself, discovering and displaying the art of others, already requires some remove from oneself. Marcia Tucker, the founder of the New Museum, did a decent job balancing personal insight with art talk in hers. But though published posthumously, she actually wrote it herself. Not so with The Dream Colony, which relies on recorded interviews between Hopps and artist Anne Doran, done with this book in mind, then edited, expanded and painstakingly reorganized by Treisman after Hopps unexpected death from pneumonia. In essence, its an extremely long as told to, that may or may not read as Hopps would have intended. However, the curator, known for never finishing exhibition catalogs and never showing up when he said he would (during his tenure as director of the Corcoran in D.C., staff wore buttons that said Walter Hopps will be here in 20 minutes), may not have been capable of finishing a book in his lifetime.

Wagley writes about the arts and visual culture in Los Angeles. She can be found on Twitter @cgwagley.

The Dream Colony: A Life in Art

Walter Hopps, edited by Deborah Treisman and Anne Doran

Bloomsbury: 336 pp., $30
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has sent a bill on the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (6427-d) back for revision to the parliamentary committee on legal policy and justice.

The corresponding decision was supported by 267 lawmakers at a plenary session on Thursday evening after MPs did not have enough votes to pass it, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.

The adoption of this bill is required for enacting the constitutional changes dealing with the justice system that the Verkhovna Rada had passed, head of the relevant committee, one of the authors of the legislative initiative, Ruslan Kniazevych of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction said before the vote.

According to the bill, the Constitutional Court is composed of 18 judges: the president of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada and the Congress of Judges of Ukraine appoint six judges each. At the same time, the Constitutional Court will receive the authority to carry out constitutional proceedings provided that at least two-thirds of the judges take their offices.

The bill states that the Constitutional Court of Ukraine includes the Grand Chamber, two senates and six collegiums.
Two summers ago, Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Durheimer promised that his company was going to make the fastest, quickest and most luxurious production car ever built.

He declared that the Chiron, named after a celebrated French race car driver who piloted Bugattis to victory during the 1930s, would be a marriage of beauty and beast.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But beast isnt. The Chiron is inarguably the most powerful production car on the planet and its performance is heart-stopping.

The $3-million luxury rocket is powered by a 16-cylinder turbocharged engine that makes 1,500 horsepower, accelerates from zero to 60 miles per hour in under 2.5 seconds and hits a top speed of 261 miles per hour  before an electronic speed limiter prevents it from going any faster.

Its a preposterous vehicle, in other words, a singularly silly car so overbuilt and so achingly gorgeous that it is bound to become one of the most sought-after Bugattis of all time.

What do you get in a $3-million car? If it's the Bugatti Chiron, you get a 16-cylinder, 1,500 horsepower street rocket that can go 261 mph and make it from zero to 60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds.

Bugatti, a division of the huge Volkswagen Group , shares corporate ownership with top motoring brands Porsche, Audi , Lamborghini, Bentley and Ducati.

The historic marque, founded in 1909 by the Italian-born French designer Ettore Bugatti, boasts a glorious racing history. The signature red and white oval logo, acquired by Volkswagen in 1998, was a dominant Grand Prix marque during the 1920s and 1930s.

In modern times, its previous hypercar under VW ownership, the Veyron, captured the official Guinness record for the worlds fastest street legal car when it was clocked at 268 miles per hour.

Despite a $1.5-million price tag, which made it then the worlds most expensive new car, the company sold the Veyrons as fast as it could make them, and had no trouble finding customers for each of the 450 units produced between 2005 and 2013.

Durheimers promise to build the worlds premiere hypercar, then, was a plan to best himself, and design a car that could out-perform the Veyron.

Could that even be done?

I went to Malibu to find out, to meet the Chiron at an exclusive invitational drive event this week.

Each monocoque body unit, made entirely of layer upon layer of carbon fiber, requires 500 man-hours to build. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Beauty, beast  or both?

The Malibu event was a chaperoned affair. The company didnt just hand over the keys and say, See you next week, as is typically the case, even with some exotic cars.

Instead, they introduced me to Andy Wallace. The soft-spoken Englishman, a professional driver who raced at Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona for McLaren, Jaguar, Bentley, Audi and others, would be my co-pilot.

I slid into the low-slung passenger seat as Wallace walked me through the Chirons controls. On the left side of the steering wheel were the settings for drive modes  EB for normal driving, Autobahn for high-speed driving, Handling for racing and drifting, and Transport, which raises the vehicle to clear speed bumps or steep driveways.

Near the bottom of the steering wheel was the launch control, for what Wallace called maximum attack acceleration.

Below the seat was the speed key, which would allow the driver, under certain conditions, to raise the vehicles maximum allowed speed from 236 miles per hour to 261 miles per hour. On a dial in the center console was a screen that would record data such as top speed.

The car chortled to life, its 8-liter W-16 engine, inches behind our heads, gurgling smoothly, as Wallace eased the car up the driveway and onto Pacific Coast Highway.

Heading south, he said, For such a powerful hypercar, its surprisingly easy to drive. Its unbelievably quick, but youre not afraid its going to bite you.

The Chirons principal engineer, Martin Grabowski, had explained in a morning presentation that the cars tractability was the result of dozens of technological innovations.

The power is created by a complex arrangement of four two-stage turbochargers that use captured exhaust gases to increase horsepower. It is delivered to the wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that offers the option of automatic or manual paddle-shift modes.

The wheels are kept on the ground by a very stiff carbon fiber monocoque body and an advanced suspension system. Stopping power is supplied by massive carbon fiber brakes.

This was academic, if interesting, until Wallace turned off PCH and headed up Kanan Dume Road.

Well just give these cars a chance to pass us, he said. Then you can get a better idea of the acceleration.

Moments later, the pro driver pressed the gas pedal to the floor. With a rush of turbo inhalation, the Chiron rocketed forward, pressing my spine against the seat and emptying the air from my lungs.

Wallace braked hard as we approached the end of the straightaway. He pointed at a dial on the center console and said, Theres the number.

The dial said 136 mph.

The Chiron is electronically limited to 236 miles per hour, but has a speed key that can raise that number to 260 mph. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

OK, now you

Wallace pulled off the road at the next vista point, got out of the car and said, Ready to give it a try?

I saw at once what he meant about the Chirons good manners. Despite the hideous horsepower, the car accelerated and braked smoothly, requiring none of the race-car-driver expertise that I do not possess.

It felt incredibly sticky, clinging to the road as it arced around the tighter turns. Though the asphalt was a little damp from a low fog hanging over us, the tires  developed by Michelin specifically for the Chiron and not found on any other car  didnt slip or squeal as they gripped the road.

As we turned from Kanan onto Mulholland, Wallace said, Now, put it in first and go.

I downshifted into first and put the pedal to the floor, turning the roadside brush and scrub into a beige blur for the next several seconds.

After Id lifted my foot from the accelerator and began applying the brakes, and found my eyes functioning properly again, Wallace drew my attention to the center console gauge. It bore a number somewhat below the 136 mph figure he had achieved.

It doesnt feel that fast, does it? he said, as my pulse dropped to normal. Quite smooth, really.

Wallace, who has been with Bugatti six years and has logged more than 30,000 miles testing the Chiron, said he felt the car was quicker to 124 mph  about 6.5 seconds  than any car hed ever raced.

Though not authorized to make official predictions on behalf of Bugatti, the former pro driver said his experience with both the Veyron and the Chiron left him believing the new car could far outpace the old.

Top speed, he said, could be above 280 miles per hour. The zero to 60 number could end up below 2.25 seconds.

The interior of the Bugatti Chiron is available in 31 leather colors. Each hand-stitched interior requires 16 hides to complete. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

No expense spared

Bugatti has draped its hypercar in unparalleled luxury. The setting for the Chirons West Coast debut was equally lavish, at a $23-million Malibu estate where an infinity pool dropped away to a view of curling waves, surfers and passing dolphins.

A pair of Chirons were in town for a week, mainly to be driven by customers who had already put down deposits and by other rich folks who Bugatti hopes will buy one. Although the company doesnt break out sales figures by city, officials said they chose the L.A. area as the first U.S. stop because of its importance as a key market.

So far, 270 of the 500 planned cars have been spoken for, and 19 have already been delivered. Thirty percent of the deposits to date came from North American customers.

Under a gray June-gloom sky, the Chirons stood like patient supermodels, posing for photographs in the driveway while their designers gave a slideshow presentation to highlight the cars unique or unusual features.

Each monocoque body unit, made entirely of layer upon layer of carbon fiber, requires 500 man-hours to build.

Each leather interior, available in 31 colors of calfskin, requires 16 hides to complete. Eight colors of alcantara are also available.

The wide, thin taillight is made from a single piece of hand-brushed aluminum and contains 82 individual LED lights.

The macaron Bugatti emblem on the radiator grill is made from solid silver  the only piece on the Chiron that weighs more than its Veyron counterpart.

Bugatti Chiron by the numbers:

Horsepower: 1,500

Torque: 1,180 pound feet

Top speed: 261 miles per hour

Zero to 60: under 2.5 seconds

Price to U.S. customers: $2.998 million

Production rate: 2 per week

Number to be built: 500

Number to be built this year: 70

Number sold already: 270

Delivery date if you order now: late 2020

The Chiron can be ordered in a wide variety of paint colors, including combinations that evoke the two-tone Bugattis from the companys golden era in the 1930s. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Bugatti head of design Achim Anscheidt stressed that his marching orders always include one central question  the creation of value.

Though the design included iconic Bugatti language, from the horseshoe grill to the slender tail, Anscheidt insisted that form always follows performance.

More horsepower required a larger engine, which demanded larger wheels (20-inch in front, 21-inch in the rear), which in turn allowed for larger brakes, which then demanded superior airflow and better brake cooling.

A more powerful engine also creates more heat. The French curve C-bar that encircles the driver and passenger doors may hark back to Bugattis of old, but it is also the system by which cooling air is directed onto the massive V-16 power plant.

Anscheidt observed that the overall design, while quite modern, was entirely classical in its dimensions, whose appeal may extend beyond the automotive realm.

A small waist and wide hips also works on cars, he said.

Anscheidt, head of Bugattis design team since 2004, said the early drawings for the Chiron were made as far back as 2006, a full decade before it was ready for its global debut.

How long before he must be ready to present the next Bugatti, successor to the Veyron and Chiron?

Its finished, Anscheidt said. Its in my studio.

charles.fleming@latimes.com

@misterfleming

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Diabetes doctor Irl B. Hirsch has watched with dismay as more of his Seattle-area patients take life-threatening steps to deal with the soaring price of insulin.

Some need two vials a week of the crucial medicine, at $300 per vial. Many pay full price because theyre uninsured or enrolled in health plans with high deductibles. So theyre cutting back. Its becoming very, very common to see patients intentionally withholding their insulin, says Hirsch, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of Washington.

He also knows where a good share of the blame lies: on pharmacy benefit management firms. Theyre middlemen we thought originally would make the distribution of medications easier, and more efficient, and even cheaper. he says. But now they want a cut of the money, and over the decades, theyve wanted more.

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The PBMs are sitting at the center of a big black box. Theyre the only ones who have knowledge of all the moving pieces.  Linda Cahn, pharmacy consultant

Complaints about PBMs driving up drug prices have become increasingly common. A lawsuit filed May 23 in Los Angeles federal court, for example, alleges that Irvine-based PBM OptumRx and drug company Novo Nordisk joined in an illegal pricing scheme in which the drugmaker inflated the price of Victoza, a diabetes drug, to pay for illegal kickbacks to Optum. From 2009 through 2016, the lawsuit asserts, the average wholesale price per package of Victoza rose from less than $450 to $897.16 for roughly a one-month supply. The lawsuit seeks class certification to cover Victoza users who paid for the drug at least partially out-of-pocket.

Novo Nordisk said through a spokesman, Were aware of the complaint and disagree with the allegations. OptumRx called the allegations without merit. Both companies said they would defend themselves vigorously.

The three PBMs that dominate the field collect more than $200 billion a year to manage prescription services for insurance carriers covering 180 million Americans and government programs serving about 110 million more. The companies are publicly-traded Express Scripts; OptumRx, a subsidiary of the insurer UnitedHealth Group; and CVS Caremark, a subsidiary of the CVS drugstore chain.

The expansions of the PBMs role and income illustrate the opportunities for profiteering in Americas fragmented healthcare system. PBMs originated as intermediaries to help health plans process claims, steer doctors and hospitals to the cheapest drug alternatives, and allow insurers to combine their customer bases for greater leverage in negotiations with drug manufacturers.

But over time they became just another special interest. In the 1990s, some of the biggest PBMs were acquired by drug companies, creating conflicts of interest that led to federal orders for divestment. The next phase was a wave of mergers and acquisitions within the field, followed by acquisitions by insurers and pharmacy companies  CVS acquired Caremark, then the biggest PBM, in 2007 and UnitedHealth merged CatamaranRx, then the fourth-largest PBM, into OptumRx in 2015.

The position of the three major PBMs at the center of the drug distribution system appears to be unassailable for now. Last year CalPERS, Californias public employee benefits system, awarded OptumRx a five-year, $4.9-billion contract to manage prescriptions for nearly 500,000 members and their families enrolled in non-HMO health plans. The only other finalists in the bidding were CVS Caremark and Express Scripts.

Express Scripts reported profit of $3.4 billion last year, up 34% from 2015, on $100.2 billion in revenue, down slightly from $101.8 billion in revenue the year before. OptumRx reported operating profit of $2.7 billion last year, up from $1.7 billion the year before. CVS doesnt break out its PBM financials.

Today the firms extract billions of dollars in price concessions from drug companies eager to remain in their good graces. The drugmakers goal is to secure spots on the PBMs formularies, the rosters of approved drugs the PBMs maintain for their health plan clients. To do so, the drugmakers offer PBMs rebates for each prescription filled and agree to a dizzying list of other fees. The PBMs say that since most of those rebates and fees are passed on to health plans and subsequently to patients, they fulfill their promise to reduce drug costs all along the line.

But no one can be sure thats really happening, because the size of the rebates and the degree to which theyre passed along is guarded by the PBMs as trade secrets. Each PBM contract for each health plan, moreover, is concealed from other health plans.

The PBMs are sitting at the center of a big black box, says Linda Cahn, a drug pricing consultant to health insurers. Theyre the only ones who have knowledge of all the moving pieces. Among the murky areas are how much in rebates and other fees the PBMs collect from drug companies, and what share gets passed on to health plans.

Whatever the pass-through, critics say the rebate process forces up prices. Its not a secret anymore that the drug companies are just raising prices to pay for the rebates, says Derek Loeser, a Seattle lawyer who filed the Los Angeles lawsuit and others around the country making similar allegations.

The PBMs dispute that. Rebates do not raise drug prices; drug companies raise drug prices, says Brian Henry, a spokesman for Express Scripts, repeating a common industry mantra. He says every client contract is clear about how much of the rebates the PBMs keep for themselves. These clients are sophisticated buyers of services, he says.

Experts say that overstates how much health plans really know about the rebates. The insurers generally dont have the right to audit PBMs rebate collections and distribution, says Susan Hayes, another insurance industry consultant. The PBMs will say the rebate contracts are between them and the pharmaceutical companies, and its none of our business, she says.

PBMs claim to save American consumers an average of $941 per year each by applying sophisticated tools and strategies to secure rebates and discounts and encourage the use of generic drugs. Thats according to the Pharmaceutical Care Management Assn., their trade group. Drug companies, health plans and retail pharmacies, however, all blame PBMs for the run-up in drug prices, albeit sometimes to deflect criticism about their own role in the system.

Last September, Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, took this approach against attacks on her company for the sharp run-up in the price of the EpiPen, a dose of anti-allergy medicine used in emergencies. Of the $608 list price Mylan charged for a two-pack of EpiPens, she told a House committee, $334 went to middlemen. Industry experts say most of that money was pocketed by PBMs or at least passed through their hands. Bresch asserted Mylan had little choice but to jack up the EpiPen list price to accommodate the middlemens demands for rebates and fees.

PBMs and their clients even have begun squabbling over their shares of a piece that amounts to about $320 billion annually, or 10% of the overall U.S. healthcare bill of $3.2 trillion a year  the fastest-growing spending category.

In a lawsuit filed last year, Anthem, the nations second-largest health insurer, charged that Express Scripts extracted an obscene profit windfall of about $3 billion a year by failing to pass on all the savings it squeezed from drug companies in Anthems name. Anthem is thought likely to move to another PBM after the contract expires in 2019 or even to bring pharmacy services in-house. Express Scripts has said in response that its in full compliance with the contract.

Evidence that PBMs consistently protect insurance companies and their members from price increases is scanty. A University of Chicago study published this year found that EpiPen patients out-of-pocket spending, including copayments and deductibles, more than doubled to an average $75.50 from 2007 through 2014, even though the number of prescriptions filled per patient barely budged. Per-patient spending by insurers, meanwhile, more than quadrupled to $393. The main driver of the increased costs to consumers, the researchers found, was the aggressive pricing by Mylan.

There are some signs that the PBMs have become so greedy that theyve opened the door for a new breed of rival.

Its very feasible for an entity like Amazon or Wal-Mart to create a different kind of PBM, says Cahn, a competitive marketplace that will force manufacturers to reduce their prices.

That may already be happening. Amazon is reportedly pondering an entry into the pharmacy business. And as insulin prices have soared, Wal-Mart began selling varieties of the medicine  NPH and regular insulin, which are short- and intermediate-acting  for as little as $25 a vial.

Those drugs arent the right choice for all patients, says Hirsch of the University of Washington. But hes heartened by signs that other drug distributors are falling into line, including CVS, which is matching Wal-Marts price. Patients have to be educated about the lifestyle changes needed to take those forms of insulin and doctors how to prescribe them, Hirsch says. But the good of it is that we may get insulin for everybody at a cheaper price.

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.
Having learned from their colleagues in the House that the best way  possibly the only way  to pass a grossly unpopular healthcare repeal bill is to hide the details, the Senate GOP used the cover of the Comey hearing Thursday to move the repeal along.

While the eyes of political wonks across Washington, D.C., and the nation were glued to telecasts of former FBI Director James Comeys testimony about his closed-door encounters with President Trump, Senate Republicans worked to fast-track their version of the American Health Care Act, the measure to repeal the Affordable Care Act that was passed by the House GOP on May 4.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., invoked Senate Rule 14, which allows a bill to bypass committee consideration and be brought to the floor for a vote. That means no hearings and no debate, and improves the prospect of a vote before the Senate leaves Washington for its August recess.

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Were not even going to have a hearing on a bill that impacts one-sixth of our economy.  Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

As it happens, the Senates work on a measure to cut back the health coverage gains secured by the ACA took place as California budget negotiators reached agreement on restoring dental and optical coverage cut from the states Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal, in 2009. The plan is to restore dental coverage for Medicaid patients in 2018 and eyeglasses in 2020. Some details are still being negotiated, but this is what political leaders do when theyre serious about improving the health of their constituents.

McConnells goal is to present a bill to the Congressional Budget Office for analysis as soon as next week, so a final vote can be held before Sept. 30. Thats the deadline for a measure to be passed this year under Senate budget reconciliation rules, which would prevent a Democratic filibuster and allow passage by the GOPs razor-thin 52-48 majority  with Vice President Mike Pence casting the deciding vote if two Republican senators bail out and produce a tie. (Amanda Michelle Gomez of Think Progress has a good rundown of the procedural complexities here.) Unlike the House, the Senate cant vote on a bill that hasnt first been scored by the CBO.

The Senates 13-member, all-male healthcare working group labored on the repeal measure Thursday while the Comey hearing was taking place. They might have pulled off the attempt at secrecy had not Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., raised hell about the process at a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee.

Will we have a hearing on the healthcare proposal? she asked committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a member of the working group. A befuddled Hatch replied, Weve invited you to participate and give your ideas.

For what? McCaskill shot back. We have no idea whats being proposed. Theres a group of guys in a back room somewhere that are making these decisions Were not even going to have a hearing on a bill that impacts one-sixth of our economy. It is all being done with an eye to try to get it by with 50 votes and the vice president.

Republicans often point to the all-Democratic vote to enact the ACA in 2010. But what often goes unmentioned is that that bill was subjected to multiple public hearings and amendments  as McCaskill observed, amendments proposed by Hatch and other Republican lawmakers made it into the bill.

Despite the procedural shroud, a few details have leaked out about what the GOP working group is considering. Its goal is to soften some of the more egregious elements of the House GOPs American Health Care Act without losing the support of right-wingers such as Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah.

Theyre walking a tightrope because the House bill, which the CBO says would cost 23 million Americans their health coverage, is hopelessly unpopular. A Quinnipac University poll released Thursday found that American voters disapprove of the measure by 62%-17%. Its unpopularity has only deepened over time; the disapproval split was 57%-20% on May 25. Even among Republicans the measure cant muster more than a plurality in favor, with approval-disapproval at 42-25. Every other listed party, gender, education, age or racial group disapproves by wide margins, the pollsters say.

"Will there be a hearing on the health care proposal?" Senator @clairecmc asked today in the Finance Cmte. You should watch: #Trumpcare pic.twitter.com/rmKB0rGnTM  Senate Democrats (@SenateDems) June 9, 2017

One provision under consideration by the Senate group is to protect people with pre-existing conditions from insurance rejections or rate hikes, though the mechanism of that guarantee is unclear. The House bill allows states to obtain waivers allowing insurers to reject applicants with medical conditions or surcharge them heavily under certain circumstances.

According to reports from Jonathan Cohn of Huffington Post and others, the working group is toying with slowing down the AHCAs effective repeal of the Affordable Care Acts Medicaid expansion. Under the AHCA, the federal share of Medicaid expansion, which will never fall below 90%, would be reduced to traditional Medicaids rate, which averages 57%, starting in 2020.

Existing enrollees would be funded at the old rate until they leave the program, and new enrollees would be subject to the lower rate. The CBO concluded that states would lose most of the expansion dollars within two years. The provision would triple the annual state cost of maintaining expansion in the 31 expansion states and the District of Columbia to a total of more than $30 billion a year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Thats unsustainable for any state budget, which means the effective death of the program.

The Senates idea is to stretch out that transition to seven years to give states and their Medicaid enrollees more breathing room. The idea is to settle the stomachs of Republican senators from 10 expansion states with Republican statehouses. But the CBPP calculates that the effect on Medicaid expansion enrollment and state costs would be identical, even with the delayby 2027, only 100,000 of the 11.1 million Americans currently enrolled in expanded Medicaid would still be on the program.

Who would gain? The savings from cutting expansion, along with the AHCAs provision converting traditional Medicaid to a skimpy per-capita or block-grant formula, would help pay for the AHCAs large tax cuts for people with very high incomes, drug companies, insurance companies, and other industries, the CBPP says.

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.
Former FBI Director James Comeys highly anticipated testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee was watched by an estimated 19.5 million television viewers on Thursday, according to Nielsen data.

The figure for the hearing, touted as Washingtons Super Bowl, includes viewers across all ad-supported broadcast and cable networks that carried it from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time. It does not count people who watched at viewing parties at bars and restaurants or through online streaming on computers and digital devices.

Cable news networks CNN, Fox News and MSNBC typically broadcast congressional hearings. But Comeys session  in which he called President Trump a liar  was a bona fide major media spectacle and received live coverage across the four major broadcast networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

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The broadcast network carriage boosted the ratings for the hearing, but its weekday morning airtime limited the size of the audience available to watch on TV.

Ratings for the hearing did not approach the 30.6 million viewers who watched the Jan. 20 inauguration of President Trump, the last major news event to air across all of the broadcast networks and cable news channels.

But Thursdays testimony made for some dramatic television and drew a healthy audience for daytime TV.

The viewership numbers may understate how many people actually watched the testimony. There is no official total for online viewing, as many outlets dont disclose their streaming numbers. CNN said its online audience peaked at 11:35 a.m. Eastern, with 767,000 simultaneous users watching its coverage, an indication that it was a significant audience across all available streams. CNN said there were 3.9 million starts to its online stream of the testimony. Bloomberg said it had an average of 129,000 users watching its live stream of the coverage on Twitter.

Those who tuned Thursday saw Comey tell the committee that Trump tried to impede an FBI probe into his fired national security advisor Michael Flynns contacts with a Russian ambassador during the new administrations transition. Comey, who was dismissed by Trump on May 9, also accused the president and his administration of lying about him and defaming the FBI.

Comeys testimony raised the possibility that Trump could be investigated for obstruction of justice.

ABC had the largest audience, with 3.295 million viewers, followed by CBS (3.286 million viewers), Fox News (3.096 million), CNN (3.049 million), NBC (2.73 million), MSNBC (2.719 million), Univision (624,000), Fox Business Network (210,000), CNBC (164,000) and HLN (140,000). The hearing was also carried by Telemundo, PBS and was offered to Fox broadcast affiliates, which had the option to air it.

stephen.battaglio@latimes.com

Twitter: @SteveBattaglio

ALSO

Trump contradicts Comeys testimony, says hes willing to testify under oath

Watch: Highlights from Comeys testimony

Other times America has been riveted by congressional hearings

UPDATES:

2:50 p.m.: This article was updated with Nielsen data.

This article was originally published at 1:25 p.m.
L.A.s biggest center of showrooms serving apparel industry insiders will soon open its doors to tenants outside of the rag trade.

Office landlord Brookfield, the king of high-rises in downtown Los Angeles financial core, has taken over the hulking California Market Center in the fashion district. The sale closed Thursday and was valued at close to $440 million, according to a source familiar with the transaction.



For the record: An earlier version of this story implied that Brookfield paid nearly $440 million for an ownership stake in California Market Center. In fact, the transaction valued the property at nearly $440 million.

The blockbuster deal, which gives Brookfield a controlling interest in the property, further diffuses downtown L.A.s office market from the gleaming skyscrapers of Bunker Hill and Figueroa Street to newly emerging neighborhoods such as the Arts District and blocks near Staples Center.

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Now Brookfield, a publicly held New York real estate company that rents out upscale offices, promises to spend millions of dollars to make the scruffy-edged fashion district another destination for prosperous creative firms that shy away from conventional glass towers.

For Brookfield, the 1.8-million-square-foot California Market Center presents an opportunity to take a historic building complex for L.A. fashion and apparel and trade events and make it a forward-thinking office and mart for creative users, said Bert Dezzutti, head of the Western region for Brookfields office properties.

California Market Center is the largest wholesale mart in the region, with more than 1,000 showrooms in three main, interconnected 13-story buildings at 9th and Los Angeles streets. The mart, which opened in 1963, was once so popular that it had a waiting list of tenants for many years.

Consolidations and bankruptcies in the department store industry in the 1980s significantly reduced the number of wholesale buyers that patronized the mart. Today the fashion industry faces upheaval from changes wrought by Internet clothing sales, and the mart is less than 50% leased.

Brookfield intends to boost the marts appeal to the fashion trade as well as reach out to non-apparel businesses, Dezzutti said.

We think there is a big population not mart-related who may want to locate there, he said. It could be tenants from a variety of creative industries.

Some big companies have already begun to look past the skyscrapers of Bunker Hill for offices downtown. Warner Music Group, for example, agreed to move hundreds of employees from Burbank and the Westside into a former Ford auto plant in the Arts District that is being renovated for occupancy this summer.

The coming upgrade of California Market Center is further proof that the downtown office markets fortunes are improving with the rapid influx of residences, hotels, restaurants and stores that has been going on for well over a decade, said Petra Durnin, regional director of research at real estate brokerage CBRE Group Inc.

Downtowns new vibrancy is capturing the attention of businesses such as Warner Music that wouldnt have considered it in the past, she said.

People are looking hard at downtown, and its not just your typical legal and banking tenants, Durnin said. Its all types of tenants now.

Vacancy in downtown offices decreased from 17.2% in the first quarter a year ago to 16.5% this year but remains a tenants market, Durnin said.

Brookfields move into the garment district offers the landlord a bigger shot at creative firms coming downtown, said real estate broker Kevin Shannon of Newmark Knight Frank, who helped negotiate the deal with Jamison Realty Inc., which remains a co-owner and is one of L.A.'s largest commercial landlords.

This is a great addition to what they already own, Shannon said. This is a cooler, edgier product.

Brookfield is the largest Class A office landlord downtown, with 8.6 million square feet of offices in addition to California Market Center. Among its buildings are Bank of America Plaza, Figueroa at Wilshire and 777 Tower.

Brookfield bought an undisclosed majority stake. The new nearly $440-million valuation of the California Market Center reflects the run-up in the value of downtown real estate since its recent renaissance. Jamison reportedly paid $135 million for the center in 2004. It sold for about $90 million in 2000.

Jamison Chief Executive Jamie Lee said she supports Brookfields plans to upgrade the property, which is inwardly focused and mostly walled off from city sidewalks.

We want to open it up literally and figuratively to the street and to pedestrian flow, Dezzutti said, to invite people into space that is somewhat blocked off and difficult to access now.

Major changes will get underway after about a year of planning, he said, but cosmetic and mechanical upgrades to the buildings will begin shortly.

The center lies at a key intersection where historic downtown meets the fashion district, said Rena Masten Leddy, executive director of the L.A. Fashion District Business Improvement District.

The district typically shuts down at the end of the day, but thousands of new residents will soon occupy apartments nearby that have recently been completed or are under construction.

The fashion district is changing, she said.

roger.vincent@latimes.com

Twitter: @rogervincent
House Republicans this week threatened Richard Cordray, the embattled director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with contempt of Congress, saying his agency has not complied with a demand to provide documents related to Wells Fargo & Co.s unauthorized accounts scandal.

In a staff report released Tuesday, just days before Thursdays crucial House vote on a bill that would weaken the CFPB, GOP members of the House Financial Services Committee accused the agency of failing to respond to requests for documents, including an April subpoena related to the bureaus investigation of Wells Fargo.

Staff for the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations wrote that the investigation of the bank  and of regulators actions in the years before the banks practice of opening unauthorized accounts was exposed  has been stymied by the lack of cooperation.

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Due to CFPB Director Richard Cordrays failure to honor his legal obligation to produce all records responsive to the committees subpoena, the committees Wells Fargo investigation is at an impasse, the report states. Committee staff recommends that the chairman takes steps, up to and including preparing for possible contempt proceedings against Director Cordray should they prove necessary.

A CFPB spokesman said the agency is reviewing the report and has tried to be responsive.

The CFPB has produced more than 57,000 pages of materials thus far in response to the committees document requests. We continue to stand ready to work with the committee staff to satisfy its oversight processes, the spokesman said in an emailed statement.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, called the report just the latest Republican attack on the financial regulator.

Republicans have been clamoring to weaken, impede, and ultimately destroy the consumer bureau since its creation, Waters said in a statement Thursday. The consumer bureau charged Wells Fargo with a record $100-million fine for opening fake accounts and yet, committee Republicans havent done anything to hold Wells Fargo accountable. This report is an insult to the millions of Americans who were harmed by Wells Fargo.

Republicans, and in particular Rep. Jeb Hensarling, the Texas conservative who chairs the House Financial Services committee, have been fierce opponents of the bureau. On Thursday, they voted overwhelmingly in favor of Hensarlings Financial Choice Act, a bill that would weaken the bureau and roll back elements of the post-crisis Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future. It would allow the bureaus chief to be terminated by the president at will. Currently, Cordray only can be fired for inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.

All but one House Republican supported the bill, and no Democrats voted in favor of it.

In attacking the CFPB for an alleged lack of cooperation, the report hews to a Republican orthodoxy: that the CFPBs director is too powerful and that its powers should be curbed. In a statement last year, Hensarling called the bureau arguably the most powerful and least accountable Washington bureaucracy in American history.

Jeff Emerson, a committee spokesman, said the CFPB has not given the committee any internal agency documents and instead has provided documents already available from either Wells Fargo or other regulatory agencies.

The CFPB generally doesnt want to produce anything that we dont already have  most notably their internal records, Emerson said. Does Director Cordray have something to hide?

Yet the report also seems to suggest that the CFPB, at least in the case of Wells Fargo, was a do-nothing agency, one that levied a huge fine against the bank but otherwise had little involvement in the investigation. The reports title is Was the Cop on the Beat? 

In September, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $185 million  $100 million of it to the CFPB  to settle investigations into its sales practices. Though the bank did not admit legal wrongdoing, it acknowledged that its employees had opened millions of potentially unauthorized accounts and that it had fired 5,300 workers over that practice.

The banks opening of unauthorized accounts was first uncovered by a 2013 Los Angeles Times investigation.

Last years deal with regulators settled a lawsuit filed in 2015 by Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer and investigations by the CFPB and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a federal bank regulator.

Republicans have said it appears the CFPB did not start looking into Wells Fargos practices until after Feuers suit was filed, though Cordray has said the bureau was looking into the matter before that.

The subcommittee report said it appears the bureau had little to do with the investigation and relied significantly on the other two agencies. The report went on to suggest that Cordray may have taken too much credit for the bureaus role.

The records currently available to the committee raise important questions about whether Director Cordray has made misleading claims about the work the CFPB did to discover and investigate Wells Fargos consumer banking sales practices, or took credit for work that was performed by others, the report said.

Feuer called the subcommittee report baloney, saying the CFPB was a key player in pushing for fines, penalties and customer restitution in the Wells Fargo case.

Without the CFPB, thousands of consumers from coast to coast would not have gotten relief, especially since my office has no jurisdiction outside California, he said. But House Republicans struggling to find a rationale for emasculating the CFPB contort the bureaus work with my office into a failing.

james.koren@latimes.com

Follow me: @jrkoren
Family can be a source of love, support and emotional comfort. But those benefits can be overshadowed when loved ones leave us with maxed-out credit cards, debt and other money-related maladies.

Heres what you can do to keep family and partners from damaging your finances beyond repair.

Joint account? Avoid overdrafts

Moving in with a significant other isnt always seamless, and combining your money in the same checking account can complicate things even more. With a joint bank account, youll both be on the hook to pay overdraft fees. If you dont, your bank might close the account, which can make it difficult for you to open checking and savings accounts in the future.

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While couples can use a joint account for shared expenses like groceries, using that accounts debit card for a solo night out with friends may not be as wise. Partners should set ground rules on when its OK to dip into the shared funds.

Use online and mobile banking to monitor balances in shared accounts, and sign up for text alerts that warn you when the account is approaching overdraft territory.

Sharing a credit card? Protect your score

Sharing a credit card with anyone, even a spouse, can be risky. Depending on the type of account you have, you may be responsible for the bills even if you didnt make the purchases.

If youre a co-signer or have a joint account, youre both liable for paying the bill. Both of your credit scores may be damaged if one of you maxes out the credit line or misses a payment. If your spouse is an authorized user on your credit card, youre ultimately responsible for the bills, but the card may also show up on your partners credit report.

The best course of action is to have separate credit cards in each of your names. Your purchases are private and you each pay your own bill. Many couples, though, want to manage shared expenses. Having a joint credit card for household purchases solves the problem, as long as you agree on its use and payment.

Sibling business partners? Proceed with caution

Getting a small-business loan is tough, and co-owning a business with a sibling with poor credit can make it even tougher. While personal credit scores are just one of the criteria lenders look at, bad credit can hurt your loan approval chances and may increase the cost of financing.

One way to guard against that is for you and your sibling to build up your credit scores before applying for a business loan. Besides paying bills on time, check your personal credit reports for errors that could be hurting your score. Contact the three main bureaus  Experian, Equifax and TransUnion  to have them removed.

More established businesses seeking bank loans should check the three major business credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and Dun & Bradstreet. You can improve those scores by correcting errors, keeping your information current, making on-time payments and keeping your public records clean.

Helping pay for college? Know your options

Whether youre co-signing a private student loan for your child or taking out a parent loan to help pay for their college education, the impact on your finances can be significant.

If a student stops making payments on a co-signed loan, the co-signing parent is legally responsible. To avoid a hit to your credit rating, see if your child can refinance the loan. Shell need good credit and a stable income to qualify on her own. Alternatively, some lenders will release the co-signer if the primary borrower makes on-time payments for a certain period.

Some parents take out a federal direct PLUS loans in their own names to help pay their childs education costs. These loans cant be transferred to the child, but if you want to remove yourself from that obligation, your child can refinance the loan through a private lender. Not all student loan refinance lenders offer this option, however, and refinancing erases federal loan perks like access to income-driven repayment.

Loved ones have enormous influence on our lives, including our finances. These tips can help prevent relatively minor headaches from becoming more painful.

Tony Armstrong is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website.

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With the financial system imploding in 2008, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke implored Congress to authorize $700 billion to bail out the banks or risk a total meltdown.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling would have none of it.

His actions then represented a key milepost on the Texas Republicans path to becoming a powerful House committee chairman and a pivotal player in the GOP effort to reduce financial regulation in the Trump era.

Hensarling was among the rebellious House conservatives who helped torpedo the first attempt to create the Troubled Asset Relief Program on Sept. 29, 2008, triggering a record stock market plunge.

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As Wall Street nervously awaited a second vote four days later, he acknowledged that many Americans could lose their jobs and homes if Congress didnt act.

But the man who diverted beer money in college to subscribe to a leading libertarian journal said he had an even greater fear: The bailouts would put the nation on the slippery slope to socialism.

The thought of my children growing up in an America with less freedom, less opportunity, and a lower standard of living is a long-term pain I cannot and will not bear, Hensarling declared on the House floor.

He bucked his partys leaders and President George W. Bush  a fellow Texas conservative  and opposed the TARP legislation again.

This time, though, it was approved. The program has been credited with helping halt the crisis while cementing the belief that some institutions are too big to fail.

He fought against it when others caved, said J.W. Verret, an assistant professor at George Mason University and expert on financial regulation.

Those votes highlighted the fervent free-market ideology that has made Hensarling, now chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, the proud leader of the drive by congressional Republicans to roll back tougher federal oversight of the financial system. Those rules were put in place to prevent another crisis.

The House took a major step in that effort Thursday when it passed legislation crafted by Hensarling  the Financial Choice Act  that would dismantle many of the Dodd-Frank regulatory reforms enacted in 2010. But the Senate is expected to draft a more moderate bill to try to draw Democrats needed to avoid a filibuster.

Under Dodd-Frank, consumers are paying more and getting less. Their costs have gone up, and they have fewer choices, more hassles and less access to credit, Hensarling declared in introducing his legislation in April, decrying new regulations on credit cards, mortgages and other financial products.

True consumer protection comes from competitive, transparent and innovative markets that are vigorously policed for fraud and deception, he said.

Hensarling  a polite and low-decibel conservative with a deadpan sense of humor and an occasionally sharp tongue  has become a tea party favorite by relentlessly striving to cut federal spending and shrink the federal government.

He preferred to let financial institutions fail in 2008 rather than risk taxpayer money to rescue them.

How can we have capitalism on the way up and socialism on the way down? he asked his colleagues in urging them to reject TARP. The program ultimately produced a modest profit for taxpayers.

He angered many businesses, including Boeing Corp. and General Electric Co., in 2015 by forcing a six-month shutdown of the Export-Import Bank, which provides loans and other financing to foreign buyers of U.S. products. Hensarling disparaged the taxpayer-backed aid as an example of crony capitalism.

And Hensarling has been the chief antagonist of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by Dodd-Frank to oversee credit cards, mortgages and other financial products. He views the agency as the epitome of government intrusion into the marketplace and has crusaded to reduce its authority and oust its powerful Democratic director.

Thats in keeping with his overall philosophy.

I have a great concern about the rise of an unaccountable administrative state, Hensarling said in an interview. The fate of your paycheck, the fate of your small business should not rest on what side of the bed a Washington bureaucrat wakes up on.

Hensarlings supporters praise his ideological consistency and dedication to free markets.

Jeb has strong values. Its the reason he got into government to begin with, said former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas), who has been a mentor since Hensarlings college days. He could leave government and make a pot full of money. Hes not going to do anything he doesnt believe in.

Critics, however, say Hensarling is out-of-touch with the complex world of 21st century finance, where consumers need protection from predatory lenders and the financial system is vulnerable to gaming by sophisticated players.

If youre going to have free markets, theyve got to be fair, said Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. If you take apart the CFPB and leave it unable to do its job, then youre not going to have fair, free markets. Youre going to have a system that is weighted completely on one side.

Hensarling sticks to his approach  even if that means risking a financial catastrophe, as in 2008.

You dont ever really see him, when theres a financial interest or theres a big lobbying effort, where he abandons his principles, said Edward Mills, a financial policy research analyst with FBR Capital Markets & Co.

Theres a lot of frustration around town from those trade associations and different financial services lobbyists that he has been so beholden to his philosophy, said Mills, who was a staffer for the Financial Services Committee from 2007 to 2009.

The biggest contributors to Hensarling are employees and political action committees of banks, securities and investment firms and other financial companies, which have given him about $6.9 million since he first ran for Congress in 2002.

But in some financial industry sectors, Hensarling isnt even the top recipient of campaign contributions on his own committee.

He certainly doesnt have to worry about reelection in his district, which stretches from the Dallas suburbs into rural east Texas.

Hensarlings smallest margin of victory was 18 percentage points in his first race in 2002. In his last two campaigns, the Democrats didnt even put up a challenger. Last fall, he won reelection with 81% of the vote.

Although Democrats have painted him as being in the pocket of Wall Street, former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said thats unfair.

Hes just a very rigid ideologue. I dont think he does it for the money, said Frank, the co-author of the Dodd-Frank legislation who sparred with Hensarling for years on the Financial Services Committee.

Hensarling challenges anyone accusing him of doing the bidding of contributors to look at his record, including his opposition to the Export-Import Bank and Wall Streets failure to embrace the Financial Choice Act.

Ive been dedicated to the proposition that theres been no greater wealth-creation system in the history of mankind than the American free enterprise system, he said in the interview.

Small banks are strong supporters of the bill because it scales back many of the Dodd-Frank rules that are much more expensive for them to comply with than the big banks that have large compliance operations.

But the biggest banks arent thrilled with it.

A leading feature is the ability for any bank to avoid strict federal regulatory oversight if it holds capital of at least 10% of assets. The current requirement is 3% for most banks and 6% for institutions considered systemically important.

An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the eight largest banks  including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp.  would be unlikely to choose the option because they would have to raise large amounts of capital given their size.

Large banks would love to get a broad pass from Dodd-Franks regulations, which are tougher on them because they pose a greater risk to the financial system than smaller banks.

The legislation also would eliminate the ability of regulators to shut down large financial firms if they were on the verge of failing if they threaten the stability of the financial system, a safety net that the big banks would like to keep in place.

Hensarling and other Dodd-Frank critics have called that ability known as orderly liquidation authority  a bailout, even though any taxpayer money used is supposed to be recouped from the sale of the companys assets or an assessment on the financial industry.

He would replace the authority by enhancing bankruptcy laws that effectively would leave struggling banks to collapse, as he advocated in 2008  removing any chance taxpayers would be on the hook for another bailout.

In many respects, you can argue Dodd-Frank isnt even law. Its a license for unaccountable, un-elected officials to make law, Hensarling said in the interview. There are many federal workers who I know to be good people, but none of them are accountable to the citizens of the Fifth District of Texas. My job contract comes up for renewal every two years.

Mills said the option for banks to raise capital to get a broad pass from oversight was a total red herring. It allows Hensarling to tout that Wall Street doesnt like his bill even though there are other regulatory changes that would benefit them even if they reject the option.

Those include sharply reducing the authority of the CFPB and repealing the so-called Volcker Rule, which prohibits federally insured banks from trading for their own profit and limits their ownership of risky investments.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), the top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, said Hensarlings goal is to make it easier for Wall Street and the banking industry to have their way.

He believes that the banks should be able to operate in the fashion that they operate and somehow the kind of trickle-down theories will work for the average Americans and we should not interfere with that at all, she said.

Hensarling grew up on his familys poultry farm near College Station, Texas. He attended nearby Texas A&M University, where he was strongly influenced by Gramm, then an economics professor who taught a class on money and banking that Hensarling took.

He stood out in the class. I took a special interest in him, said Gramm, a free-market advocate whom critics blame for loosening bank and trading regulations that they say helped set up the financial disaster.

The 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, signed by President Clinton, repealed what was left of Depression-era restrictions that effectively separated commercial banking from riskier investment banking.

Hensarling said Gramm has loomed large in my life and introduced him to the works of free-market economists such as Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek.

Hensarling felt so strongly about free markets that he said he spent $25 to subscribe to the academic journal produced by the libertarian Cato Institute.

That was honest-to-God college beer money that I gave up to be associated with Cato, so you know about my commitment to the cause of liberty, he said during a forum at the think tank last year.

Hensarling worked on Gramms Senate staff, mostly in Texas, from 1985 to 1989. Then Hensarling served as executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to get GOP candidates elected, while Gramm was its chairman.

He returned to the private sector in the early 1990s until winning his congressional seat in 2002.

Hensarlings colleagues voted him into the House leadership for the 2011-12 session as head of the entire Republican caucus. But he gave up that position in 2013 to take the gavel on the House Financial Services Committee, which has allowed him to reshape regulatory policy.

The tougher rules and expanded regulatory powers in Dodd-Frank made it the perfect target for Hensarling.

He opposed the bill when it passed Congress in 2010 and last year produced his first version of the Financial Choice Act to dramatically scale it back. The legislation was approved by his committee. But major obstacles in the Senate and a surefire veto from then-President Obama helped keep the bill from even getting a vote by the full House.

Hensarling has made revisions to the bill and was open to suggestions from small bankers, said Camden Fine, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America. He estimated hes had 15-20 meetings with Hensarling since he became chairman.

At first I was a little apprehensive because he sort of has a reputation for being dogmatic, Fine said. But I have to say, genuinely, hes always been very open with me, open to suggestions, and weve had good dialogues.

Waters had a different experience. She said Hensarling wasnt open to changes from Democrats on the committee.

The committee approved the legislation last month on a party line 34-26 vote. It passed the House on Thursday with a similar partisan breakdown  all but one Republican voted for it, while no Democrats did.

jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com

Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera
You know its an interesting year for the Tony Awards when a critic is still arguing with himself in June over what should win best musical and best play.

Im divided between Dear Evan Hansen and Natasha, Pierre and & the Great Comet of 1812, the two leading contenders in a musical category that also includes Groundhog Day and Come From Away. As for best play, Im down to flipping a coin between A Dolls House, Part 2 and Oslo, though just admitting that brings a twinge of regret for Sweat and Indecent, the other worthy plays in contention.

My indecision shouldnt be mistaken for halfheartedness. I admire these works, but they succeed and stumble on their own terms. Singling out a winner seems indefensibly capricious, like deciding a pet beauty contest that includes dogs, cats, birds, hamsters and goldfish.

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TONY NOMINATIONS: The complete list for all categories 

The Tony Awards this year dont have the same buzz as last years Hamilton coronation. How could they? But Sundays ceremony (broadcast as usual on old reliable CBS) promises to compensate with some genuine competition.

Certain awards are in the bag. Bette Midler will be taking home the prize for lead actress in a musical for her ecstatic turn in Hello, Dolly!, which will certainly win for best musical revival. And Ben Platt, the emotionally searing star of the new musical Dear Evan Hansen, is pretty much a sure bet now that hes become a bona fide Broadway phenomenon.

Other likely winners include Laurie Metcalf for her sensational turn as Nora in Lucas Hnaths sequel to Ibsens A Dolls House, and Kevin Kline for his comic aplomb as rakish actor Garry Essendine in Noel Cowards Present Laughter. I might prefer to see the prize for lead actor in a play go to Jefferson Mays. His discreetly moving performance in J.T. Rogers Oslo as the Norwegian social scientist who improbably facilitated back-channel talks that led to the 1993 Oslo Accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization is particularly stirring in these undiplomatic times. But Oslo is truly an ensemble piece, while Present Laughter affords Kline a delectable star turn.

Laura Linney won the Drama Desk for her performance as Regina in Lillian Hellmans The Little Foxes. The production is notable for the way Linney and her costar, Cynthia Nixon, swap roles. Nixon was nominated in the featured actress category for her portrayal of kindly, meek, alcoholic Birdie, and its heartening to see these two pros given the opportunity to challenge their acting prowess in the way of their ambitious male peers, such as Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly, who memorably alternated the brother roles in Sam Shepards True West in 2000.

But Metcalf, redeeming a lifetime of experience in adventurous new plays, is putting on a Broadway master class. And in a production in which every cast member was nominated, it would be gratifying if she and Condola Rashad (who plays Noras daughter with a magnificently ambivalent grace) would be rewarded for their superlative work.

Not that Id mind if Metcalf and Rashads fellow cast member Jayne Houdyshell (who won a featured Tony last year for her performance in The Humans) or Nixon in The Little Foxes or either Johanna Day or Michelle Wilson in Lynn Nottages Sweat should hear their name called. Drawing straws might be the fairest way to decide the featured actress in a play award.

My impartiality, however, abandons me in the featured actor in a play race. Michael Aronovs kinetic performance in Oslo as an Israeli power broker given to stomping on tables to make a negotiating point infuses this three-hour historical drama with the electricity it needs. Id hate to see such fearless theatricality passed over, but the inimitable Danny DeVito, who made his Broadway debut in a revival of Arthur Millers The Price playing an elderly antique appraiser called in to settle a family estate with a ton of baggage, seems to have the inside track that fame bestows on talent.

Gavin Creel in Hello, Dolly! and Rachel Bay Jones in Dear Evan Hansen would be my picks for featured actors in a musical. But these categories are once again so crowded with talent that there can be no wrong choice.

Few women have won Tonys for direction because historically too few women have been given the opportunity to direct on Broadway. But this year Rebecca Taichman has a solid shot for her darkly lyrical staging of Paula Vogels Indecent. In a category that also includes Ruben Santiago-Hudsons highly praised staging of August Wilsons Jitney, the award for play direction could very well go to Tony-winning veteran Bartlett Sher for his perfect staging of Oslo. Regardless of the outcome, lets hope this will be the first of many directing nominations for Taichman as well as for Santiago-Hudson, who having won a Tony for his performance in Seven Guitars has become one of Wilsons most distinguished interpreters.

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The most inventive staging of a musical by far was Rachel Chavkins production of Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. I experienced the enchanting postmodern swirl of this musical adaptation of part of Leo Tolstoys novel War and Peace from one of the onstage cafe tables at the Imperial Theatre. The exhilaration was dizzying. But Chavkin faces stiff competition from Jerry Zaks, whose staging of Hello, Dolly! is the most potent antidepressant in the Broadway pharmacy, and Michael Greif, who could be part of a Dear Evan Hansen sweep, which some are predicting.

The Great Comet received the most nominations of any production, but the momentum this spring has clearly shifted to Dear Evan Hansen. Some readers of the Broadway tea-leaves, however, are cautioning, that Come From Away, the stirring 9/11-themed musical that had its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse, could steal the best musical prize in a coup that would be as shocking as the Avenue Q upset win over Wicked in 2004. I doubt that will happen, but Come From Away administers a healing dose of musical theater uplift that in these politically fractious times has found a grateful audience.

Dear Evan Hansen, which tells the emotionally complicated tale of a vulnerable high school senior who gets caught up in a lie that turns him into a social media hero, doesnt traffic in the usual Broadway sentiment. But Steven Levenson should win for his book, which trusts that an audience will be open to an unorthodox journey if the experience is authentic and handled with deep sensitivity.

As for original score, I would be delighted if Benj Pasek and Justin Paul of Dear Evan Hansen were to win a Tony the same year they won an Oscar for La La Land. But Id be just as pleased if Dave Malloy, the mastermind of The Great Comet, were to receive his due for an off-Broadway experiment that has proved that Broadway can accommodate new forms. The songs from Dear Evan Hansen have stayed with me longer, but the ingenious way in which Malloys music is integrated into the storytelling of his book is nothing short of astonishing. Dear Evan Hansen is ultimately a more enduring musical, but The Great Comet is for me the more thrilling musical production.

So how about we call that race a tie? And while were being generous, would anyone would object if the best play award were shared by A Dolls House, Part 2 and Oslo? These works are so dissimilar that they might as well be in different categories.

Not that Im complaining. Its a good year when the arbitrariness of artistic awards is thrown into relief. Im still deliberating, which is a sign that no one has a monopoly on all this glory.

charles.mcnulty@latimes.com

Follow me @charlesmcnulty

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The Ojai Music Festival began Thursday night by demonstrating three sides of Vijay Iyer. There are more, which the festival promises to unveil over the weekend. But three is a start.

Iyer is the first jazz musician to be the festivals music director. He comes from a long line of jazz musicians who have moved out of the category, notably back to Gershwin and Ellington, but with roots as far back as the 19th century Gottschalk. Indeed identity has been so much an issue of jazz for so long that many have come to dislike the term, stuck with it we pretty much are.

In Iyers afternoon talk Thursday, the elegant, soft-spoken 45-year-old pianist and Harvard professor cattily noted that he found music critics to be homogenous, no doubt a term of some disparagement for this multitasker. There is probably some truth to it, and he seems to know of which he speaks. The pressure for homogeny has ever been an obstacle for progressive jazz musicians who attempt to collaborate with the classical world.

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Where do you find common ground that doesnt lead, as it usually does, to bland homogeny? If uncommon is more productive, how do you get away with it?

The evening began with the American premiere of Emergence, in which Iyers jazz trio interacts with a chamber ensemble. The world premiere of what you might say is Iyers classical violin concerto, Trouble, with Jennifer Koh as the dazzling soloist, followed. After intermission, Iyer joined the great West Coast trumpet player Wadada Leo Smith for an intimate, meditative set of very personal, very jazz duos.

In Emergence, which had its first performance in Poland last year, Iyer has more success than most have had in combining a jazz ensemble with an orchestra. That was to a considerable degree due to the trust his fine trio  on bass Stephan Crump and, significantly, on drums Tyshawn Sorey, himself a genre-busting composer of notable promise and an attraction for this years festival.

The heart of Emergence, which begins and ends with a pulsing piano heartbeat, is Iyers dialogue with Sorey. In their interaction, for instance, a commonplace melodic motif becomes less commonplace, whereas it remains commonplace in the orchestras hands.

Each member of the trio has a solo. Crump stays flashy; Iyer takes off from his luminously large tone into cautiously exploratory realms; Sorey throws caution to the winds of sonic imagination.

The chamber ensemble, composed of the crack International Contemporary Ensemble and the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble, enjoyed the advantage of highly flexible non-dogmatic players and, in Steven Schick, a conductor whose strong suit is his acute rhythmic sense.

Still, the awkwardness of orchestra and jazz ensemble can never be overcome. Iyer gets away with a certain amount of interaction between big band and trio, but the big band is simply not as interesting in a jazz context as are the jazz players, so it must always serve as either orchestral support or foil.

Although Iyer says that Trouble is not a programmatic concerto, it takes its title from U.S. Rep. John Lewis explanation of good trouble and necessary trouble as strategies for the civil rights movement. Beyond that, though, little can be said, since the half-hour score has six movements with descriptive, but unexplained, titles.

The prelude, Erasure, begins like Emergence, by getting into a groove  here Koh and droning orchestral flute. Each movement has its mood and style. Normale is a Minimalist elaboration of a phrase that sounds like it could have come from Terry Rileys In C. Later in the concerto there is a repetitive elaboration of a downward scale more in the manner of Philip Glass.

Iyer writes in the program notes that he rejects the concerto cliche of individual against the masses. But the fact is he clearly recognizes and he clearly relishes writing for a remarkable individual.

The show belongs to Koh, whether playing soulful melody, making the raspy scraping sound of strings into poetry, or just tossing off plain, fabulous old-fashioned virtuosity. Next to her, the orchestra, sorry to say, sounds homogenous. Not that the players are critics, but theyre not equals either.

Nor really are Iyer and Smith, who played the seven numbers of A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke, their luminous recent ECM recording. Smith stood on one side of the stage, never looking up, getting to what is now the reductive essence of his once wild side. He demands deep listening  the taking of each utterance, each sound, having immediate expression but ineffable meaning.

Switching between grand piano and electric, Iyer, 30 years Smiths junior, seemed in this context like the kind of acolyte whose own brilliance brings forth a wisdom in his old master. Once more, issues of identity and equality were too interesting to be resolved, because Smith was, on his own, simply too engrossing for that. He was too engrossing, period.

At the end of the inspired 40-minute set, the trumpet player collapsed in Iyers arms as they hugged. Smith had become dehydrated and was rushed to the hospital. The Friday report was that he was to be released and is fine.

mark.swed@latimes.com

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Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy expects that Ukraine's integration into NATO will be among the main topics of his meeting with Speaker of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress Paul Ryan, during his visit to the U.S. on June 12-17.

"The key meeting [during Parubiy's visit to the U.S.] will be with Speaker of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress Paul Ryan. We will prepare a document on cooperation between our parliaments, but the conversation will deal with a wider topic of issues than just inter-parliamentary cooperation. The issue of speeding Ukraine's integration into the North Atlantic Alliance, and increasing assistance to Ukraine in the security area," he said in an interview with the Rada TV channel on Friday.

According to the speaker, during his visit to the United States Parubiy will raise the issue of energy security not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe.

"We will speak about the construction of the Nord Stream, which, in my opinion, is not only an energy project of Russia, but is also a security issue... and I will talk about this in the United States  that we must prevent the implementation of this project," Parubiy said.

He also said that he intends to invite Ryan to Ukraine.

Parubiy will visit Washington on June 12-17, Interfax-Ukraine learnt at the office of the Verkhovna Rada.
Jerrod Carmichaels edgy, semiautobiographical NBC sitcom, The Carmichael Show, tackles topical issues through the unfiltered conversations of his TV family and minces no words about the African American perspective on hot-button issues such as the N-word, assisted suicide, depression and the Bill Cosby scandal. That was just Season 2. And thats just the tip of the iceberg going into Season 3 last month.

Carmichael co-created and stars in the show, and he is among the many current creators taking part in TVs revival of the socially conscious sitcom.

The good thing about people being so outspoken is that its starting to bleed into art, the star said when he stopped by The Times for an Emmy contenders chat. The obligation as a creator, as a writer, as a producer  or whatever you do  is to make sure that you pause and you make sure you feel this way. That youre not just having this knee-jerk reaction to things  even if [your opinion] is going to change, make sure that you really feel this way in the moment and youre not just getting swept up. Its really easy to get swept up in a hashtag. Make sure that you feel what youre actually saying.

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He added that the series objectives and opinions are all rooted in truth.

If youre going to do it, be honest with your perspective. Again, it is really easy to say, Well, this is what the people want to hear, and writers have a tendency to write aspirationally, the world that they want to see, which can be very interesting. But if youre going to touch on social things, the obligation is to be a reflection, to hold up a mirror to tell the truth. So I think that is a thing that may be missing if someone tries to talk about something going on in the world.

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With a cast that includes Loretta Devine as his mother, Cynthia, and David Alan Grier as his father, Joe, Carmichael is often strengthened in his convictions and the seemingly outlandish opinions his fictional parents convey.

The actors hold you accountable to the perspective of the character, he said. The issues they tackle are more personal than topical. Its stuff the staff or crew has dealt with.

Devines saccharine-sounding voice lends itself to the humor of her saying the most heinous things, and Carmichael writes Griers parts as if they were delivered by his own father.

Writing the scripts I do every voice in the privacy of the writers room. I act out the entire thing, and you can tell if a thing fits or it doesnt  I dont do impressions but I do emulate all the characters on the show. Its like music, you hear it. They then bring an entirely different light to it, Carmichael said.

But theres a caveat: Except when I read Joes parts. I read it as my father. Hes really a showman, he has a very specific way of talking.

Carmichaels parents, who have appeared as background characters in a few episodes, have no fear about their opinions making it into the sitcom.

The great thing about my family is that nothing can stop them from sharing their view points, he quipped. If I ran for office, my biggest fear would be my father to have a camera in front of his face. Or my mom, because theyre very honest. It would destroy my campaign. It would destroy everything. It would be insane.

Watch Carmichaels full interview below:

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Celebrating #HarryPotter20: How Harry Potter and his blockbuster films came of age on screen

The Boy Who Lived has cast his spell on the box office since Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, the first film in Warner Bros. blockbuster franchise, hit theaters in 2001.

The bestselling, seven-book series was adapted into eight record-breaking films -- and a two-part play -- as the boy wizard ventured through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the wizarding world with his pals Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, taking on the enigmatic Lord Voldemort and his magical henchmen each school year.

As J.K. Rowlings debut novel Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone -- the first of the books from which the decade-spanning films were adapted -- marks its 20th anniversary, heres a reminder of how Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviewed the Harry Potter films. (Spoiler alert: He didnt always like them.)

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone film is imaginative and faithful but shuns any risk-taking (2001)

As his 11th birthday approaches, orphan Harry Potter learns that hes a wizard and enrolls at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where his reputation as the Boy Who Lived precedes him during his magical training.

The result is a remarkably faithful copy of the book that treats the text like holy writ (hence its 2-hour-and-33-minute length), wrote The Times film critic Kenneth Turan. From the gold in Gringotts, the safe-as-houses goblin-run bank, to the centaur lurking in the forbidden forest that adjoins Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, so much is presented just as written that Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone starts to resemble one of those fiendishly exact replicas of great works of art that Sunday painters can be seen working on in galleries of museums.

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets doesnt capture the well-balanced tone of the book (2002)

In their second year at Hogwarts, Harry and his pals Ron and Hermione contend with a celebrity author professor and a well-meaning house elf named Dobby who thwart the trio in unexpected ways.

The darkness that invades Chamber of Secrets underlines how well the books managed to exactly balance good and evil, dark and light, so that within their pages you seemed to be experiencing both at the same time. Not so here, Turan wrote. Because Chamber of Secrets cant seem to get the balance right, it ends up broadly overdoing things on both ends of the spectrum. The films scary moments are too monstrous and its happy times have too much idiotic beaming, making the film feel like the illegitimate offspring of Alien and The Absent-Minded Professor.

3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban film comes close to capturing the essence of the books (2004)

The wizarding world gets markedly darker as convicted murderer Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who is believed to have killed Harrys parents, escapes from the Azkaban prison and the soul-sucking Dementors are loosed to chase him down. Director Alfonso Cuaron takes the helm from Chris Columbus, who directed the two previous films.

"[T]he final hour of the two-hour-and-21-minute Azkaban is the closest any of the films has gotten to capturing the enormously pleasing essence of the Potter books, wrote Turan, adding, Those three leads (Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Emma Watson as Hermione, Rupert Grint as Ron) play characters who are now 13, an age when anger and frustration are more publicly expressed. One of the benefits of Cuarons direction, his expertise with younger actors, means that the constant determination and occasional fury exhibited by the characters, especially Harry and Hermione, are completely convincing.

4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire finally gets Harry Potter right (2005)

Harrys surprising inclusion in the prestigious Triwizard Tournament, as a fourth-year student, raises concerns and brings danger to the Hogwarts castle.

Its taken them long enough, but the movies have finally gotten Harry Potter right, wrote Turan. It has fallen to the veteran [director] Mike Newell, eager, in his own words, to break out of this goody-two-shoes feel, to make the first Harry Potter film to be wire-to-wire satisfying.

Though memorable acting is neither called for nor delivered on the part of Goblets collection of juveniles, Radcliffes Harry does get one thing exactly right. Watching him face myriad challenges, were convinced that Harrys heart will lead him to do the right thing. He does good in the most natural way and, like so much of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, thats just how it should be.

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix cant shake an episodic feeling (2007)

With the Ministry of Magic refusing to acknowledge Lord Voldemorts (Ralph Fiennes) return, fifth-year Harry is brooding at school as he contends with spooky visions and Ministry transplant Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton). His knowledge of the dark magic-fighting organization, the Order of the Phoenix, and a prophecy further complicate matters.

"[Director David] Yates and his team handle the films visuals well, including the impressive sets for the atrium of the Ministry of Magic and its Hall of Prophecy, as well as fine flying sequences involving either broomsticks or equine creatures called Thestrals, Turan wrote. The director also works well with the films juvenile leads, which is important, because these are the raging hormone years at Hogwarts School, and that is especially true where Harry is concerned. Looking so disgruntled in his gray hoodie that you fear he might start rapping, Harry comes off as more Grumpy Potter than the bright light of the wizarding world.

6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is well-crafted but sometimes hard to endure (2009)

As dark magic spills into the Muggle world, Harrys mentor, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), tasks him with bringing down Lord Voldemort. But Harrys discovery of an old textbook teaches him more than he expected about his past.

Now in its sixth episode shot over an eight-year span, with two more features still to come, this one-of-a-kind film cycle has become as comfortable and reliable as an old shoe, providing a degree of dependability thats becoming increasingly rare, Turan wrote. As directed by David Yates, who did the previous film and is on tap for the final two, Half-Blood Prince demonstrates the ways that the Potter pictures have become the modern exemplars of establishment moviemaking. We dont turn to these films for thrilling or original cinema, we look for a level of craft, consistency and, most of all, fidelity to the originals -- all of which we get.

7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 1" (2010)

The penultimate film sees Harry, Hermione and Ron venturing out into the real world to locate and destroy Lord Voldemorts soul-encapsulating Horcruxes as Hogwarts and the wizarding world fall to He Who Must Not Be Named.

Much of the plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows involves the attempt to find and destroy a series of Horcruxes, and if you havent a clue about what they are or why theyre important, you might as well stay home, Turan wrote. There is something different, however, about this Potter movie, and that is the words Part 1' that end the title. Understandably distraught about Hallows being the last of the phenomenally popular J.K. Rowling novels, Warner Bros. has split the final effort into two films and is likely kicking itself for not having thought of that with the earlier books.

(It should be noted that the studio reboots the wizarding world with the forthcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series. The first film hit theaters in 2016.)

8. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" (2011)

Harry goes wand-to-wand with Lord Voldemort, concluding Harrys final year at the wizarding school with the epic Battle of Hogwarts.

In a classic storybook finish, however, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2' turns out to be more than the last of its kind. Almost magically, it ends up being one of the best of the series as well, Turan wrote. The Harry Potter films, like the boy wizard himself, have had their creative ups and downs, so its especially satisfying that this final film, ungainly title and all, has been worth the wait. Though no expense has been spared in its production, it succeeds because it brings us back to the combination of magic, adventure and emotion that created the books popularity in the first place.

For more of The Times Harry Potter anniversary coverage, go here.
Leashes and heartstrings get pulled in Megan Leavey, an even-tempered slice of pro-animal sentimentality that may not be the smoothest piece of filmmaking, but wears its emotions honestly and benefits from offering a look at a rarely explored arena of human-animal relationships: dogs trained for combat.

The story is based on the true experiences of a young woman (Kate Mara) who, in 2003, traded in a dead-end existence in upstate New York for the life of a Marine and found her calling with a four-legged German Shepherd named Rex sniffing out IEDs in Iraq. Their bond, which combines the recognizably aww-inspiring contours of pet stewardship with the deeper connection that being in combat together brings, is the emotional core of Megan Leavey. It also marks the narrative feature debut of director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, whose Blackfish was a non-fiction sensation, and who seems to single-handedly be looking to change the definition of creature feature.

As the movie opens, we see Megan bristling at being under the same roof as her divorced, self-centered mom (Edie Falco), whos living with a dumb-grin boyfriend (Will Patton). Joining the Marines is certainly a change, but a drunken night with gal pals signals behavioral issues to her superiors, and shes relegated to kennel-cleaning duty as a result. The fate of one irascible canine, however, spurs her to vie for a spot on the training team. Eventually assigned to Rex, the pair hit it off, and theyre deployed to Ramadi and Fallujah, completing multiple missions that keep their fellow soldiers alive. The horrors of war eventually take their toll, and back home Megan has to find an extra reserve of fortitude to get through an especially trying separation from Rex.

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You can grasp the thought process behind giving this material to Cowperthwaite: Blackfish felt like a movie first, a documentary second. Yet, early on, Megan Leavey has the opposite crackle  it plays real rather than massaged. It trusts youll follow it, and that creates its own goodwill. Theres a breezy, day-to-day verisimilitude to its protagonists road from disaffected layabout to half-there recruit and, finally, once she locks eyes with Rex  an adorably commanding presence throughout  Marine with a purpose.

Its also a movie that doesnt wear its issues on its stripes. Without feeling the need to brand itself either a woman-in-the-military movie or animal-activism yarn, Cowperthwaite quietly goes about humanizing everything so that both of these elements, which might get treated as hot-button topics elsewhere, gain a kind of understated momentum all their own. Sure, that gives it the slight tinge of a chummy, politics-free, armed-services recruitment video  especially when Commons around to play the supportive sergeant always this-close from breaking into a smile. But the battle scenes are direct and tense, if not exactly original, and even when the screenplay tosses in a burgeoning flirtation with a fellow K-9er (the charming Ramon Rodriguez), Megan Leavey makes it feel like an extra color in a soldiers story, not a predictable story beat for a heroine.

The home front second half is choppier, though, as if it cant quite figure out how to pull all its strands together into a satisfying conclusion beyond the generically heartwarming one. Its a shame Mara is enlisted to cry so much, too, which suggests a lack of ingenuity about how to dramatize Megans specialized cocktail of PTSD and fear for Rex. Maras up for it all, but the nudge toward sappiness over messiness feels like the slightest step backward. And yet the characters efforts to get political about combat-scarred animals, and treating them no differently than any human veteran, is legitimately stirring. It helps Megan Leavey ultimately become a rarity in military-themed cinema: an affecting portrait of two war heroes, neither of whom is a human male. Will wonder women never cease? One hopes not.

-------------

Megan Leavey

Rating: PG-13, for war violence, language, suggestive material, and thematic elements

Running time: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Playing: In general release

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Abacus: Small Enough to Jail Steve James compelling documentary on how a small bank in New Yorks Chinatown became the only one to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. (Kenneth Turan) NR.

Beatriz at Dinner Salma Hayek gives perhaps the best performance of her career as an empathetic holistic healer who comes face-to-face with a rotten billionaire real-estate mogul (a marvelous John Lithgow) in this queasily funny and suspenseful dark comedy from director Miguel Arteta and screenwriter Mike White. (Justin Chang) R.

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Churchill Brian Cox, in a towering, Oscar-caliber performance, proves the literal beating heart of this superb look at iconic statesman Winston Churchills torturous days leading up to the pivotal D-Day landings of June 6, 1944. (Gary Goldstein) PG.

The Death of Louis XIV A mesmerizing performance by Jean-Pierre Leaud is the centerpiece of director Albert Serras hypnotically grueling and often darkly funny portrait of the Sun Kings final weeks. (Justin Chang) NR.

It Comes at Night Confirming the filmmaking skill of writer-director Trey Edward Shults (Krisha), this nightmarish post-apocalyptic thriller about two families seeking refuge in the wilderness is a tour de force of narrative economy, etched in dim light and implacable shadows. (Justin Chang) R.

The Lost City of Z Based on David Granns nonfiction bestseller about the British explorer Percy Fawcett (well played by Charlie Hunnam), James Grays rich, meditative and deeply transporting adventure epic is the sort of classical filmmaking that feels positively radical. (Justin Chang) PG-13.

The Lovers Azazel Jacobs exquisitely funny-sad romance stars a superbly matched Debra Winger and Tracy Letts as a long-married couple whose feelings for each other are rekindled at the most inconvenient possible moment. (Justin Chang) R.

My Cousin Rachel Daphne Du Mauriers melodramatic thriller of a novel is turned into a triumphant exercise in dark and delicious romantic ambiguity courtesy of an extremely persuasive performance by Rachel Weisz. (Kenneth Turan) PG-13.

Norman: The Modern Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer Subtle, unsettling, slyly amusing, Israeli director Joseph Cedars first English-language film provides Richard Gere with a splendid role as a hustler forever on the make in Manhattan. (Kenneth Turan) R.

Their Finest Genial and engaging with a fine sense of humor, this story of making movies in World War II Britain stars Gemma Arterton and a marvelous Bill Nighy and makes blending the comedic with the serious look simpler than it actually is. (Kenneth Turan) R.

Wonder Woman With forthright emotion, spirited humor and a surprisingly purposeful sense of spectacle, director Patty Jenkins and her superb star, Gal Gadot, have made a thrilling new superhero saga that might just save the typically non-thrilling DC Extended Universe. (Justin Chang) PG-13.

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Gregg Turkington, the comedian, was speaking of Tim Heidecker, the comedian.

Tim is just such a busy creative guy and always has stuff up his sleeve. Hes the kind of guy when hes got some leisure time, he would call up and say, Hey, you want to work on something? You want to write a screenplay?

Heidecker is best known as the Tim of Tim and Eric, with Eric Wareheim; Tom Goes to the Mayor, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Tim and Erics Bedtime Stories are among the series they have created for Adult Swim. Its an ongoing collaboration: Their summer Ten Year Anniversary Awesome Tour ends Aug. 9 at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, and they are assembling a new series of Bedtime Stories.

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But its not an exclusive relationship. Heidecker and Turkington, also known as the argumentative bad comic Neil Hamburger, are also collaborators. They were working together in 2012 as actors on Rick Alversons film drama The Comedy, and between takes, Turkington recalled, Tim just gets out his phone and says, Lets do a podcast.

That podcast became the Web series On Cinema at the Cinema, a narrative tale of passive-aggressive co-dependence and intermittent disaster disguised as a movie-review show, whose ninth season has just concluded on AdultSwim.com. Its magnificently off-kilter spinoff, Decker, born in 2014, is currently airing on the Adult Swim cable TV block.

In the world the shows share, Heidecker plays a character named Tim Heidecker, who hosts On Cinema and who has also created an ultra-low-budget, poorly acted series in which he plays a character named Jack Decker, an all-American superspy who is suspicious of the government he is grudgingly sworn to protect. Tim Heidecker is Tim Heidecker is Jack Decker would be the Hollywood way of putting it.

In Decker, Gregg, Tims constant guest on On Cinema, plays a character named Jonathan Kington, whose mastery of codes reflects his On Cinema characters obsessive cataloging of his library of videotapes. Both in On Cinema and Decker, Tim and Gregg are locked in a kind of quantum state of cooperation and conflict. Gregg wants to talk about movies; Tim, who doesnt even bother to watch them, wants to talk about himself, which forces Gregg to talk about Tim.

The fans contribute so much by the way they talk about it and the sides they take.  Tim Heidecker

As Heidecker put it to me, The dynamic is, if there was anybody else for us wed be out of there.

We were sitting off his kitchen on a recent sunny day. Although he plays disturbing and difficult people at work, Heidecker is offstage a friendly family man who lives in the hilly, leafy northern reaches of Glendale. (In Glendale is the name of the album he released last year  there is a musical component to his career, as well. He has a podcast, too, Office Hours, in which he takes calls from listeners.)

Though either series can stand alone  I was won over by the first season of Decker before I had ever seen On Cinema at the Cinema  its impossible to fully appreciate the workings of one series without knowledge of the other.

There are things in the new season of Decker that will be confusing to you unless you understood that [Tim] was recently in a fire, for example  this guy has only one working hand, said Heidecker. Theres a scene where Gregg walks into a big mansion were shooting in and hes like, Oh, this reminds me of Citizen Kane, a movie Ive seen over 15 times. And if you know [On Cinema] well, you know that I claim that hes never seen Citizen Kane. And so thats his way of correcting the record.

The Deckersphere doesnt stop with the series. In between shows it lives on Twitter, where Heidecker and Turkington post as their On Cinema alter egos, and in the YouTube comments section, where fans add their support for Tim or Gregg.

They realize its all character-driven and they become a character as well, said Turkington. Were trying to produce the Decker episodes as if the On Cinema guys are really making them, and that the audience is willing to play along so deep blows me away. They totally get that for everything to work everyone has to be on the same page. Thats the way it is with the crew we work with down to the grips, everyones on the same page as to what the mission is.

Heidecker agrees: The fans contribute so much by the way they talk about it and the sides they take. And we give them lots of material to discuss -- we create problems for them to argue about.

It manifests in the physical world in events like the annual Decker-Con, where new episodes are screened and the cast appears as their On Cinema characters. The most recent, which included actor Joe Estevez (who plays the president on Decker) and members of Tims in-the-series rock band Dekkar, took place at the end of May in downtown Los Angeles before a packed crowd at the Regent Theater. (Note: I moderated, to use a word that implies more control than is actually involved, two previous Decker-Cons at the more compact Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theatre.)

The evening was full of conflict and manipulation and power plays, of guarded silences and stormings offstage. Fans asked questions designed to poke the bear, and the panelists did not disappoint them. How sour was that? Heidecker said, laughing happily while coming offstage afterward.

In the course of On Cinema, Tim has endured brain surgery, infection from dirty acupuncture needles; he has been married and divorced, had a child and lost that child, a death upon which he built a self-serving charitable foundation. He has been burned in a fire. As the last season ended, he was facing possible prison time over deaths from poisoned vape pens at a rave he hosted, in his sideline as an EDM deejay.

Some people are like, Its gotten too dark for me, says Heidecker. And I totally understand that. I dont know, its just always been in our work  its funny to us because its wrong. Its not that a kid dying is funny. The comedy comes in the way that I [that is, the character Tim] exploit it. Its not, Hey, that kid died  that would be weird.

The world, meanwhile, has supplied a new context. Jack Decker is right-wing paranoia personified as the On Cinema Tim endorsed the candidacy of Donald Trump. It is not an opinion Heidecker shares, although a few viewers suspect otherwise: We did notice there are some people commenting that they think its like a 4-D chess, double-agent kind of thing where Im subversively signaling that these are the right beliefs, Heidecker said. But its not that sophisticated.

Indeed, Heidecker remembered of the presidential campaign, which coincided with filming the current season of Decker, It was stressful the whole time. Everybody was watching the news; it was all we were talking about. When it went down it was really nuts. The first scene we were going to do [the morning after the election] was where Decker becomes president, and its me saying, The first thing were going to do is cut the EPA and get rid of all federal regulations. That was like the first setup of that day. And I gave a speech to the crew, and it was very emotional, because everyone felt fully unmoored. And I just was like, Were here to make fun of this guy. Thats what were here to do. So lets do that today.

robert.lloyd@latimes.com

Follow Robert Lloyd on Twitter @LATimesTVLloyd

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An employee felt uncomfortable being alone in a room with the boss.

The boss, who is a very powerful man, made an inappropriate request.

The employee tried to placate him, but ultimately resisted and was fired.

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And then, months later while being cross-examined in public about the incident, the former employee is shamed again when asked: Why didnt you tell anyone?

No, its not the Bill Cosby trial or a new, sordid allegation against Roger Ailes.

Its the testimony of former FBI director James Comey, who appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. In a written seven-page statement released a day earlier, Comey said hed felt pressured by his then-boss, President Donald Trump, who hoped he would drop a criminal investigation against former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Comey didnt push back during the talk, but he also didnt drop the investigation.

Why didnt you stop and say, Mr. President, this is wrong? Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked the 6-foot-8 Comey on Thursday. Youre big, youre strong. I know the Oval Office, and I know what happens to people when they walk in. There is a certain amount of intimidation. But why didnt you stop and say, Mr. President, this is wrong  I cannot discuss that with you?

Maybe if I were stronger, I would have, Comey said.

And in that statement a great truth was revealed: the head of the FBI  an organization wed all always assumed was full of stoic, foreboding men who spoke in code (the red dog flies at night)  is, in fact, human, and even a little self-deprecating.

Comey sounded like he should have been sitting on a Southern porch sipping lemonade in a heat wave: Lordy, I hope there are tapes!

Even when recounting how hed ultimately defied Trump by refusing to drop the Flynn investigation, Comey didnt want to overstate his power.

I dont want to make it sound like Im Captain Courageous, Comey said.

Up against the hubris of his former boss and other Capitol Hill types whove sat in that same chair while being grilled by congressional committees, Comey appeared more like one of us than one of them.

He walked into the Senate chamber to the sound of a billion cameras shuttering, looking self-conscious, like a gawky teen who still hasnt mastered full motor-control of his tall, lanky body.

He sat stoned-faced, hands clasped on desktop, thumbs slightly moving, waiting for the onslaught of questions.

Former FBI Director James Comey at Thursdays Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. (Andrew Harnik / AP)

A great truth was revealed: the head of the FBIan organization wed all always assumed was full of foreboding menis human.

There were hints that his testimony was not going to be the usual tight-lipped affair of a former G-Man, and it wasnt because he lacked a gray trenchcoat, black shades and a fedora.

His written testimony released on Wednesday was described by anchors and reporters across news platforms as screenplay-like, part romantic novel, part spy thriller: When the door by the grandfather clock closed, and we were alone, the President began by saying, I want to talk about Mike Flynn, he wrote.

CNN, MSNBC and Fox all had countdown clocks that ticked away the hours and minutes to Comeys testimony Thursday.

Panels of talking heads on all the networks tried to glean as much as possible from the written testimony he released Wednesday: After he had spoken for a few minutes about leaks, Reince Priebus leaned in through the door by the grandfather clock, and I could see a group of people waiting behind him. The President waved at him to close the door, saying he would be done shortly. The door closed.

The colorful and candid testimony ramped up expectations for the hearing. Minutes before the televised event kicked off at 7 a.m., a Fox reporter teed viewers up for the D.C. scandal extravaganza: Some critics have suggested Comey is a showboat, he said, even though that critic was Trump. The stage is his today.

But the Comey who appeared on the stand was a different character than wed seen in old footage, when he moved silently across the oval office to greet the president before he was fired last May, or stealthily dodged reporters.

His testimony was emotional when he spoke of his colleagues at the FBI, dramatic when he used shorthand to describe speaking with Trump about a potentially damaging dossier (I was worried it would be a kind of a J. Edgar Hoover-type situation) and surprisingly human when he recounted the conversation with the president in which they went back and forth on what time to meet for dinner: 6 or 6:30?

At one point, when the subject of possible tape recordings existing of his conversations with the president arose, Comey sounded like he should have been sitting on a Southern porch sipping lemonade in a heat wave rather than on a Beltway hot seat: Lordy, I hope there are tapes, he exclaimed.

As to why he didnt leak his notes on those uncomfortable meetings with Trump to the press himself instead of going through a friend as an intermediary, Comey replied it would have been like feeding seagulls at the beach.

But the repeated questions from both Republican and Democratic senators  Why didnt you tell someone? Why didnt you tell him what he was doing was wrong? Why did you keep working for him?  were harder for Comey to answer.

It appeared to knock his confidence down a peg or two, and all of a sudden there were similarities between one of the most powerful men in America and the relatively unknown women testifying this week against Cosby.

Who ever thought wed be here?

Former FBI director James Comey recounts a series of conversations with President Donald Trump as he testifies before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP)

Comey answered more than once that he didnt know why he reacted the way he did. He was stunned at times by the presidents unprecedented behavior, protective of his job and the reputation of the FBI in other moments.

He said he took Trumps request about Flynn as a directive, but wrote down everything they said after each meeting because he didnt trust Trump to tell the truth.

Trumps lawyer shot back after the televised senate testimony, calling Comey A leaking liar.

Comey would have settled for Captain Courageous.

lorraine.ali@latimes.com

@lorraineali

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Los Angeles County health officials on Friday again urged gay and bisexual men to get vaccinated against meningitis, as an outbreak that began last year continues to grow.

Twenty-nine people in the county have been diagnosed with meningitis since March 2016, with the latest case identified a few weeks ago. Earlier this year, one patient died from the infection.

Anyone can contract meningitis, which is transmitted through swapping saliva, like kissing or sharing drinks and cigarettes. It makes people fall suddenly ill and can cause swelling in the brain and spinal cord. The disease can leave people permanently deaf, with brain damage or without limbs. It can kill within a few hours.

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Health officials think the current L.A. outbreak is rooted in the gay community because 10 of the 29 infected people in Los Angeles County were either gay or bisexual men, according to county data.

Many of the cases carry the same strain of meningococcus bacteria, known as serotype C, and have been linked through social connections, according to the health department.

Theres no medical knowledge of why meningitis would spread more among gay and bisexual men. Yet over the past decade, gay communities in Chicago, New York, Berlin, Paris, Toronto and L.A. County have been disproportionately affected by the disease.

L.A. officials initially thought the uptick was caused by HIV-positive patients becoming infected because of weakened immune systems. But few in this latest outbreak have been HIV-positive, they say.

So they are recommending that all gay and bisexual men get vaccinated, especially considering the annual L.A. Pride Festival this weekend. The events begin Friday night and continue through Sunday.

The vaccine isnt typically recommended because meningitis is so rare  about 4,000 people contract the infection a year in the U.S. Instead, it is administered to specific groups considered high-risk, including teens, college students and military recruits.

L.A. County has distributed thousands of vaccines since the outbreak began. Free vaccines are available at several locations.

The upcoming Pride festivities are a great time to remind those at risk for meningococcal disease to get vaccinated, Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, the countys interim health officer, said in a statement Friday. Because this vaccine is highly effective against this disease, we want to make it as easily available as possible for those who need it.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla

ALSO

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Amid meningitis outbreak, officials urge vaccination  but not for everyone
Forty years ago, a 13-year-old girl clutched a heart charm her friend gave her as a prosecutor made her describe in explicit detail to a grand jury her alleged rape by director Roman Polanski.

On Friday, Samantha Geimer testified in the criminal case for the first time since that day, this time pleading with a judge to sentence Polanski, 83, to time served, so that her family can be released from the media spectacle that has haunted her life since that day.

Geimer, 54, said freeing the fugitive director of his international warrant would be an act of mercy to myself and my family.

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Samantha Geimer is surrounded by cameras as she arrives at Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

She said she did not want her grandchildren exposed to what she and her sons have faced for decades now.

I imagine that if Roman wins another Oscar or Roman eventually passes away, as we all must, I will not be able to go out my front door and my granddaughter will get an introduction to how horrible this can be, she told a pack of reporters and camera crews outside court in a scene that underscored the continuing fascination with the case four decades later.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon, like previous judges in the case, had already ruled against sentencing Polanski until he turns himself in on U.S. soil, and he gave no sign that the legal odyssey was coming to an end.

Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful intercourse with a minor in 1977 and was sent to the state prison in Chino for a 90-day psychiatric study that he believed was his sentence. He was released after 42 days after the prison psychiatrist deemed his crime playful mutual eroticism. That finding was in stark contrast to Geimers uncontested claims that she was drugged and repeatedly tried to ward off Polanskis advances before he forced her to have anal sex to avoid a pregnancy. Judge Laurence J. Rittenband called the report a whitewash.

Under intense public scrutiny, the judge reneged on his promise, telling the attorneys in chambers that he would send Polanski back to prison for the remaining 48 days, after which the director would have to voluntarily deport himself or face a much lengthier sentence.

Polanski fled, getting the last seat on the next British Airways flight to London.

Ever since, his lawyers have alleged numerous acts of misconduct by the court, arguing he would not get a fair hearing if he returned.

In 2008, a documentary, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired explored the allegations and reignited interest in the case. The next year, he was arrested in Switzerland and spent nine months in prison and under house arrest before Swiss officials denied the United States extradition request.

On Friday, his attorney, Harland Braun, argued to unseal testimony from 2010 by the original prosecutor, Roger Gunson, who has said that Rittenband acted in bad faith. Braun said he hoped he can use the affidavit to get the Interpol warrant lifted so that Polanski can travel freely outside the United States.

His concern is that if hes traveling with his family, he gets arrested, Braun told reporters.

Gordon said he would issue a written ruling on the motion.

Since the beginning, Geimer has said she did not want Polanski to serve time, but simply admit his wrongdoing.

At a news conference after the court hearing Friday, she said she was offended when she read his 1984 autobiography, in which he described their encounter as consensual.

In 1988, she sued him for sexual assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment. The trial judge in the case found substantial evidence of oppressive conduct by Polanski and a strong likelihood that a jury would find despicable conduct on the part of Polanski.

He settled with Geimer in 1993. Documents in the file are missing, but on a record of the days proceedings were circled notations of 250,000 + 500,000 + maybe 500,000 and the words settled and confidential. In 1995, her attorneys were back in court trying to collect $500,000.

She said on Friday that the settlement did not influence her decision to speak on Polanskis behalf and that she was offended by the notion she was bought and paid for.

Geimer described the ordeal she faced from the moment the charges went public, when Polanski was the acclaimed director of Chinatown and Rosemarys Baby whose wife and unborn child had been murdered by the Manson family. At the time, his attorney promised to dig into her sexual history and use of drugs.

Judge Rittenband asked if my mother and I were a mother-daughter hooker team in court. . . .When this happened, my mother and I were lying gold diggers who were attacking poor unfortunate Roman. It was a much different story. I was [called] a drug-doing Lolita that had cornered him into this. And I was lying.

Now he endures it. Now everyone calls him a pedophile and says terrible things about him, which arent true. The insults have switched, but I have empathy for the way hes treated because I was treated the same way when this first happened.

Asked why she didnt consider Polanski a pedophile for the crime, Geimer said, I was almost 14, I wasnt 10. . . . I was a teenager.

She said she has felt that the media have wanted her to play the role of victim for the last 40 years, even though she had long ago gotten over it.

I just wasnt as traumatized as everybody thinks I should have been. To other sex crime victims, she said: Do your best to recover. Dont let people tell you cant recover.

joe.mozingo@latimes.com

jack.flemming@latimes.com

ALSO

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Roman Polanskis legal team taking another run at closing rape case, report says

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UPDATES:

3:20 p.m.: This post was updated throughout with more details about background.
Compton College, which lost its accreditation more than a decade ago during a time of serious administrative failure and widespread corruption, has been granted initial accreditation status and is one step away from winning back its full standing.

In a meeting late Wednesday, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges reviewed recent evaluations and agreed to the initial status  a major acknowledgement of the colleges efforts to rebuild.

On behalf of the commission, I wish to express our appreciation for the significant scope and quality of work that Compton College undertook, Richard Winn, the commissions interim president, wrote in a letter to Compton College leaders.

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Comptons troubles began to draw serious public attention in May 2004 when the state  in a rare action  took over the college in an effort to restore it to financial solvency. The takeover followed an investigation by the state chancellors office amid concerns about the schools accounting practices. Federal and local authorities were investigating possible corruption.

Compton Colleges accreditation was revoked in 2005, and state legislators also stripped the colleges board of trustees of its power. In 2006, Compton became a satellite campus of El Camino College in Torrance.

Over the years, trustees have worked to regain their influence and oversight responsibilities. In February, the board won back the authority to govern itself. The accrediting commission visited in March to evaluate the campus. In its report, the evaluation team commended the partnership with the El Camino district as well as the level of student engagement in campus initiatives and the participatory governance process.

State and local officials are celebrating the initial accreditation as the end of a difficult era for the community of Compton and the California Community Colleges. The college system is the largest in the country, with 114 colleges serving 2.1 million students each year.

This is an extraordinary accomplishment and joyous moment, said Cecilia V. Estolano, president of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. The accreditation commission recognized the remarkable progress on the part of faculty, staff, administrators, students and community leaders.

The Compton district covers about 29 square miles, serving residents of Compton, Lynwood, Paramount and Willowbrook, as well as portions of surrounding neighborhoods. Since it was founded in 1927, it has educated generations of students and become a community point of pride. Compton has been referred to as Californias historically black college, and the citys mayor, Aja Brown, has spoken about how her mother received her nursing credential there.

With this weeks decision, Keith Curry, provost of the El Camino Compton satellite campus and the Compton Community College District chief executive, becomes president of Compton College  the first of many changes, school officials said. Curry and leaders of El Camino College are developing a transition plan to make Compton College an independent school again. The college also must submit a special report to the accrediting commission within a year.

Thank you to all of our community leaders  at the federal, state and local levels  for your steadfast support, Curry said. We look forward to continuing to provide comprehensive educational programs and support services to our diverse communities.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

rosanna.xia@latimes.com

Follow @RosannaXia for more education news

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Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite has said her country will continue to support Ukraine in its battle for territorial integrity and freedom.

"I believe assistance from people is much more important than help from politicians. My responsibility is to send you all the love and respect from simple people for fighting for your country," she said during a meeting with Ukrainian soldiers from the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) on Friday in Kharkiv.

According to Grybauskaite, Ukraine is fighting not only for its own freedom, but for the freedom of all Europe. "Therefore, assisting you is our obligation," she said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, in turn, thanked the Lithuanian president for assistance. He said 153 wounded Ukrainian soldiers had been treated in Lithuanian hospitals.
As they responded to a shooting near Compton on Wednesday, three Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies came upon a heart-rending scene.

A 4-year-old boy lay inside a car, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. He wasnt moving or breathing.

Knowing the boy was in desperate need of medical attention, and unsure how long it might take an ambulance to respond, deputies Art Gonzalez, Brian Reza and Sergio Jimenez made a split-second decision and carried the victim to the nearest police cruiser.

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Two of them raced to St. Francis Medical Center, following directions from a helicopter above, as Gonzalez cradled the child in his arms.

It was like we were reading each others thoughts and minds, Reza said Thursday at a news conference. It was instantaneous.

Hospital officials said the deputies quick decision may have helped save the life of the child, who remains in critical condition after he was struck by a bullet meant for someone else.

The boy was shot shortly before noon Wednesday during what Sheriffs Capt. Mike Thatcher described as a violent dispute between two groups in the 4600 block of Compton Boulevard. Thatcher said the incident was gang-related but declined to comment further on a motive for the shooting.

They ran into each other, and it went boom from there, Thatcher said of the two groups involved in the dispute.

No one else was injured in the shooting, he said. The boys mother was driving her children through the neighborhood, and they were innocent bystanders caught in the gunfire, Thatcher said.

Driving down the street, minding your own business, and then all of a sudden something like this happens, he said. Its very tragic and its very instantaneous.

Thatcher said the suspected shooter, described only as an adult male, has been arrested. He declined to identify the victim, the suspect or the gangs involved in the dispute, or say when or where the arrest took place.

Investigators believe five to six people were involved in the dispute, and Thatcher asked for the publics help to identify other suspects. The man who was arrested is the only person believed to have fired a gun, Thatcher said.

The deputies, who all have children of their own, said the sight of the wounded child deeply affected them.

Being a father who has a 4-year-old himself, its hard not to imagine your own child sitting in that, and going, Man, I could have just been driving home, and that could have happened to my kid, Reza said.

Gonzalez said the deputies made it from the shooting scene to the hospital in about 90 seconds.

Dr. Edward Kwon, an emergency room physician at St. Francis, said at Thursdays news conference that the deputies quick thinking might have saved the childs life and could help spare him from permanent injury.

The boy was unconscious and not breathing on his own when the deputies arrived, according to Kwon, who said the bullet became lodged in the 4-year-olds brain. Doctors were able to remove it, but Kwon declined to give a prognosis about the boys long-term health.

I think that the officers did an incredible job, Kwon said. The quickness with which they arrived  was partially directly responsible for the child being able to make it to [another hospital] in order to have the definitive care.

The child was transferred from St. Francis to another hospital, but Thatcher asked that the location not be revealed for the sake of his familys privacy.

Thatcher said the family was on their way home when the shots rang out, adding that the victims mother was in a fog as to what happened on Wednesday.

Jimenez, who is expecting a child soon, said the deputies had to wrestle with their own reactions and the need to move quickly when they discovered the wounded 4-year-old.

I think the public, they see us as a uniform and that we dont have any emotions, Jimenez said. Yeah, it affects us. But at the moment, when we arrived on scene, you have to just block that.

james.queally@latimes.com

For more breaking crime and cops news in Southern California, follow me on Twitter: @JamesQueallyLAT
Los Angeles police shot and wounded an 18-year-old man Thursday in Montecito Heights, authorities said.

The shooting was reported about 3:15 p.m. in the 4400 block of Turquoise Street, said LAPD Officer Aareon Jefferson, a spokesman for the department.

Police said a gun was found at the scene but have not said if the man was holding or reached for the weapon.

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Its unclear what led to the shooting.

The man was taken to a hospital, and his condition was not available.

No officers were injured in the shooting, Jefferson said.

A multi-agency investigation was underway late Thursday, which is standard procedure when an LAPD officer opens fire.

The incident will be reviewed by the Los Angeles County district attorneys office, the Police Commission and its inspector general.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

UPDATES:

8:50 p.m.: This article was updated with the age of the man shot by police and the recovery of the weapon, and to note that the neighborhood is Montecito Heights, not El Sereno as authorities said previously.

This article was originally published at 6 p.m.
A 22-year-old immigration activist and Cal State Los Angeles student detained by Border Patrol agents last month was released from custody Friday.

Claudia Rueda walked out of the Otay Mesa Detention Center near San Diego after a federal judge ordered her freed on her own recognizance pending further review of her immigration case. She had been in custody since her arrest.

I just want to say thank you to everyone across the state that has been helping me  and to not forget about other people that are detained, that are in my shoes, and that we need to keep fighting for everyone thats being detained in this unjust immigration system, Rueda said in a video statement Friday.

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Rueda had been moving her familys car outside their Boyle Heights home in May when she was detained and taken to the Otay Mesa facility. Her arrest sparked claims that she was targeted in retaliation for protesting the arrest of her mother, Teresa Vidal-Jaime, who had been swept up by federal agents during a massive cocaine bust in April.

Today, the judge did what ICE and the Border Patrol had unfairly refused to do and freed Claudia from detention, said Monika Langarica, Ruedas attorney.

Rueda is in the country illegally but is eligible for so-called Dreamer status because she was brought to the U.S. as a minor.

Although U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not involved in Ruedas initial arrest, the judge in her case said the agencys decision to hold her without bond was unduly severe, according to a news release from activists advocating for her release.

In response, ICE said it would comply with the decision to release Rueda on her own recognizance while her case undergoes further review by the immigration courts.

Meanwhile, per agency policy, ICE will review any requests submitted by Ms. Ruedas legal representatives related to her case, the agency said in a statement. However, given that Ms. Ruedas case is now before the immigration courts, [the Executive Office for Immigration Review] has the primary jurisdiction in the matter.

At the time of her arrest, Border Patrol officials said Rueda was one of seven people detained as part of an investigation into a cross-border narcotics smuggling operation. All seven, however, were arrested on suspicion of immigration violations, not drug offenses, according to a Border Patrol statement.

Rueda had violated the terms of her visa, the statement said. The others arrested were not named and identified only as five Mexican nationals and one Guatemalan national. The statement also described Vidal-Jaime as connected to the drug trafficking organization, though a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, which was involved in the April arrests, previously told The Times that the woman was not a subject of the narcotics investigation.

Rueda is focusing on Latin American studies at Cal State L.A. and has lived in the U.S. most of her life, friends said.

Claudias detention deeply concerned our campus community. We are very pleased that the judge has ordered her release and look forward to her resuming her studies at Cal State L.A., the universitys president, William A. Covino, said in a statement.

Langarica said Rueda is eligible for protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, but had not been able to cobble together the money for her application.

She and Rueda were working on the application Friday, Langarica said, adding that she hoped ICE officials would exercise their authority to terminate the proceedings against her client.

The shadow of deportation should not hang over Claudia as she continues her vital studies and activism, Langarica said.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

Twitter: @sarahparvini

Times staff writer Kim Christensen contributed to this report.

ALSO

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UPDATES:

6:35 p.m.: This article has been updated with Ruedas release.

This article originally was published at 1:30 p.m.
Federal authorities have arrested two California men and a Mexican national in connection with a $6-million scheme to defraud victims seeking immigration status in the United States.

Two of the defendants, Hardev Panesar, of El Cajon, and Rafael Hastie, of Tijuana, had posed as officers of the Department of Homeland Security for at least three years, the U.S. attorneys office in San Diego said Wednesday. Prosecutors said the pair promised they could obtain immigration status for people in exchange for exorbitant fees.

Gurdev Singh, 56, of Bakersfield, was also charged with assisting in the scheme.

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Panesar, 69, was charged with structuring domestic financial institutions. Both Panesar and Hastie, 47, were charged with false personation of an officer or employee of the United States. All three defendants were charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

In addition to posing as federal agents, Panesar and Hastie also claimed they had the power to stop deportation proceedings, according to a federal grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday. They were able to convince people that they were agents because they showed fake agency credentials when they met, prosecutors said.

The men defrauded more than 150 victims out of about $6 million by collecting fees under the guise that they would be able to provide immigration documents, according to the indictment. Prosecutors allege the defendants collected thousands of dollars from each victim. They solicited people across the country  including in California and Indiana  and in Mexico, according to prosecutors.

Panesar and Hastie also provided immigration applications to victims and took fingerprints that they said were for immigration forms, authorities said. They often demanded more money to speed up the process or guarantee the immigration documents by a certain date, prosecutors said.

Authorities said they are still seeking other possible victims.

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

For more California news follow me on Twitter: @sarahparvini

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Los Angeles unveiled a new set of proposed regulations Thursday on how and where marijuana businesses can operate within city limits, the latest step toward reworking its rules after Californians voted to legalize recreational pot.

The draft rules would impose restrictions on where pot shops that sell marijuana to customers on site can operate, limiting them to most commercial and industrial zones and barring them from opening within 800 feet of one another.

Marijuana retailers would also be prohibited from operating within 800 feet of schools, public libraries, parks and drug and alcohol treatment facilities. Other kinds of marijuana businesses, including indoor cultivation facilities, would be restricted to most industrial zones.

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City officials also released a set of proposed regulations on application requirements and operating rules for cannabis businesses. Those draft rules prohibit marijuana or alcohol from being consumed on site, require security and video surveillance, and mandate that businesses allow inspections and audits, among many other requirements.

To apply to operate in Los Angeles, cannabis businesses would have to provide detailed information about their ownership, loans and investors. Marijuana shops that registered to pay business taxes this or last year and are in substantial compliance with an earlier set of restrictions would be first in line to get city certificates.

The proposed rules also impose some hiring and labor requirements: Marijuana businesses must set forward a detailed plan for hiring local residents when they apply to operate in L.A. If they have at least 10 employees, they must have a labor peace agreement. Such agreements prohibit employers from interfering with any potential labor organizing by their employees, said Vanessa Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for City Council President Herb Wesson.

The draft regulations will be available for public review and comment for 60 days before city officials take any action. We will continue to have a robust dialogue about the regulatory framework and a healthy debate of Los Angeles growing cannabis industry before the council votes on final recommendations, Wesson said in a written statement Thursday.

Cannabis industry and advocacy groups applauded the city for taking the step but said they were still reviewing the proposed rules.

Releasing the draft rules is a positive step towards fully licensing and regulating the cannabis industry in Los Angeles, so that our businesses have a shot at getting local authority, remain eligible to apply for state licensing, and are not left out of the state process, Southern California Coalition president and co-founder Virgil Grant said in a written statement.

Others have already begun to voice some concerns. Ruben Honig, executive director of the Los Angeles Cannabis Task Force, said in a written statement that under the proposed regulations, many existing and new businesses in L.A. will face long delays before they can apply for a city permit and legally operate.

Honig nonetheless called the draft rules a good step forward.

All in all, L.A.s proposed rules allow for a fairly free and open market, which is what I think people want  to have a real economic engine here in Southern California, said Matt Stang, chief revenue officer for the cannabis media and event company High Times.

Los Angeles is rewriting its rules after Californians voted in November to legalize the recreational use of marijuana and start issuing state licenses by January.

Four years ago, Los Angeles voters approved Proposition D, which imposed restrictions that were estimated to allow fewer than 140 medical pot shops to continue doing business without risk of city prosecution. But critics complain that hundreds more have continued to operate despite those rules.

In March, after the statewide vote, L.A. passed another ballot measure to kick off the process of rolling back Proposition D and updating its marijuana regulations.

The new measure also set tax rates for the cannabis industry, which could pump new revenue into the citys coffers. City Controller Ron Galperin has estimated that Los Angeles could collect at least $50 million in tax revenue from marijuana businesses next year, based on economic estimates that medical and newly legalized recreational sales citywide could approach $700 million.

Galperin called L.A.s newly proposed regulations an excellent start but said the city should consider some additional safeguards.

For instance, Galperin recently advised city leaders that they should consider requiring smart safes or other devices that count cash for marijuana businesses seeking to operate in L.A. Doing so, he said, would make it much easier to track cash and audit the businesses.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesEmily

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One person was killed and three others were injured early Friday after a van peppered with bullet holes crashed in Panorama City, authorities said.

The crash occurred at 2:04 a.m. in the 14700 block of West Plummer Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Early stages of an investigation by the Los Angles Police Department indicates that the van and its occupants were shot in the course of a drive-by shooting, Capt. Peter Casey said.

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The driver was fatally shot prior to the crash, police said, causing him to drive into parked cars. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Three others were injured in the wreck, one critically, police said. The front-seat passenger was shot and was listed in critical condition, officials said. A passenger in the back seat suffered a broken back and was in surgery Friday morning, according to KTLA.

 Peter Casey, commanding officer LAPD Mission Patrol Division

The driver was fatally shot prior to the crash, police said. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

Twitter: @sarahparvini
It is the coldest of cold cases with few clues.

He was known as John Doe No. 80 for a quarter-century after his charred remains were found inside a Pep Boys torched at the height of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

But with his identity now confirmed and the release of a photograph of a dark-haired youth with a serious expression, investigators say they are intent on solving the mystery of his death, which was ruled a homicide.

In April, using a single print from his left middle finger and records of a prior arrest, authorities identified the man as Armando Hernandez, a Mexican citizen.

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On Thursday, officials said family members revealed that his real name is Miguel Armando Quiroz Ortiz, who was 18 at the time of his death.

Armed with a positive identification and a handful of clues, the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Divisions Cold Case Unit, which cracked the Grim Sleeper serial killer case and dozens of other decades-old murders, is looking for answers.

This is one of the toughest cases, Det. Luis Rivera said. All we have is a single shell case near the body, and we dont know if it is connected to his death.

Rivera said there is no evidence Ortiz was shot and so far no match of the spent .38 casing to other crimes in a national shell casings database.

Ortiz officially died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning as flames consumed the Pep Boys auto shop on Vermont Avenue. Rivera said evidence suggests Ortiz was alive when the fire started.

Because the fire at the Pep Boys was deliberately set, his death was ruled a homicide. He joined the list of 23 riot-related homicides that have never been solved.

Rivera said they hope the photo triggers a recollection from someone who may have known Ortiz or may have seen him at the auto store.

Maybe someone saw something that day of what happened to him inside the store, Rivera said. Somewhere out there is someone who knows what happened to Miguel Ortiz.

Family members told investigators that Ortiz came to the U.S. in 1989 to find work. But after several contacts, he was never heard from again. Rivera said Ortiz was accompanied north by another man, whom police would like to identify and interview.

Ortiz was the only remaining unidentified victim among the more than 60 people who lost their lives in one of the deadliest riots in U.S. history.

His body was so badly burned that coroners investigators were left with only some teeth and the partial fingerprint. Every few years, they would try to match the fingerprint.

This year investigators sent the print to an FBI squad that specializes in identifying victims of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Ortiz had a few minor arrests in Los Angeles County and Anaheim, allowing FBI investigators to make a match.

Mexican officials distributed his photo across the nation to see if it matched that of any missing people.

A connection was made to a Facebook page for Miguel Ortiz, a man who had gone missing from Oaxaca, Mexico. Family members exchanged documents with investigators and a positive identification was finally made for John Doe No. 80. Although Ortiz was reported missing in Mexico, no missing persons report was ever made in the United States, Rivera said.

Ortiz was working at a bakery on Florence Avenue, near the auto store, at the time he died, officials said.

He had been sending money back to his family in Mexico, and it suddenly stopped in April 1992. They had a phone number and address and the mother tried calling. There was one phone in their village back in Mexico, Rivera said.

Ortiz was inside the auto repair shop, just north of Slauson Avenue, when it was set on fire sometime after the riots started on April 29, 1992. His body was not found until May 2 about 30 feet from the building entrance.

Jorge Macias, now an LAPD lieutenant, was a young officer patrolling the area at the time when he was flagged down by a 10-year-old boy.

He pointed to a burnt-out pile of rubble on the west side of the street, Macias recalled. The boy pointed beyond some fallen girders, which had fallen at acute angles ostensibly from the roof, when the roof had given way, sealing the victims fate. I had to duck-walk under the maze of obstacles, including the blackened steel beams, until I reached the remains.

Rivera and partner Det. Veronica Conrado ask that anyone with information on Ortiz contact them at 1-877-527-3247 or outside business hours at 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Tips can also be made anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.

richard.winton@latimes.com

Twitter: @lacrimes
Twenty-two people have been accused of operating a cross-border drug trafficking organization in a scheme that used houses in the San Gabriel Valley to store illicit merchandise, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.

The prosecution follows a two-year wiretap investigation into associates of the Sinaloa cartel, which was previously led by the notorious drug kingpin Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, now jailed in the U.S.

During the investigation, a team of federal and local agents seized nearly 300 pounds of methamphetamine, 280 pounds of cocaine and 30 pounds of heroin, along with $1.3 million in cash, according to the U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles.

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Of those charged, seven people were arrested Thursday and one was already in a California state prison. Fourteen others  four of whom have unknown identities  remain at large and investigators suspect they are in Mexico.

The lead defendant, Jeuri Limon Elenes, is accused of obtaining the drugs in Mexico and arranging their transport, prosecutors said.

Limon, as he is referred to in court papers, remains at large, but his mother, Maria Ernestina Limone Elenes, 64, was arrested Thursday in Azusa and was described by prosecutors as an alleged facilitator of the trafficking ring.

Prosecutors said Limon, who is also known as Prude, Fox and Royal Nuevo, was accused of orchestrating deposits of money derived from drug sales in Memphis, Tenn.; San Francisco; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix and Baldwin Park, among other areas.

Audrey Rose Urrea, of Chula Vista, who allegedly attempted to transport narcotics across the international border, was arrested Thursday morning.

Others taken into custody Thursday include a Bakersfield man who allegedly transported drugs; a Long Beach man who allegedly moved narcotics across the U.S.-Mexico border; and Froilan Villarreal, whose El Monte home had large amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine as well as seven illegal firearms, all of which investigators seized.

The 19-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury on April 7 painstakingly documents how the group used Blackberry phones and discussed  often in coded language  smuggling drugs across the border in cars like a Mini Cooper or Chevy Cavalier.

Investigators also monitored the defendants as they allegedly set up drug deliveries and reacted to associates arrests.

Once in the U.S., the drugs were kept in homes and apartments in Modesto, El Monte and Azusa, where vacuum-sealing equipment and bags were also found, according to court papers.

The case is the first major drug trafficking case for the Los Angeles Strike Force, a multiagency team including FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration agents as well as representatives of the Department of Homeland Security, IRS and Azusa Police Department. The team was launched in 2014 to focus on Mexican drug cartels that base their U.S. drug distribution in the greater Los Angeles area.

The indictment and todays arrests demonstrate the strike forces ability to reach both sides of the border, impacting the Sinaloa cartel by disrupting their drug supply chain and neutralizing key players in the organization, said DEA Special Agent in Charge David J. Downing.

Weve sent a message to the cartels  they wont be allowed to operate freely in Los Angeles or conduct business as usual, Downing said.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno
For most of her life, Angela Vera never imagined herself at the University of California. She grew up in a low-income Santa Ana neighborhood, the daughter of a Mexico-born carpenter with second-grade schooling who stressed the value of education but didnt know how to guide her.

I always thought UC was for students up here, she said, holding her hand above her head. I never saw myself as capable.

But after a Santa Ana College counselor encouraged her to raise her sights, Vera transferred to UC Irvine two years ago. The campus, she said, gave her the financial aid, academic support and leadership opportunities she needed to thrive  and fueled her ambitions to pursue a graduate degree after she completes a double major in criminology law and society and social ecology next year.

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Mariela Hernandez, left, Angela Vera and Jennifer Lima of Ballet Folklorico de UCI get ready for a performance on campus. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

UC Irvine may seem an unlikely haven for Latino students. The campus is located in what used to be a largely white Republican community, home now to so many Asians that people joke that UCI stands for University of Chinese Immigrants.

But the Irvine campus is now the most popular UC choice for Latino freshmen applicants, topping longtime leader UCLA for the first time last fall. And last month the campus won federal recognition for serving Latinos  a still-rare distinction among elite research universities.

In all, 492 campuses in 19 states and Puerto Rico have been designated Hispanic Serving Institutions, which allows them to apply for about $100 million annually in federal research grants. To qualify, the campus student population must be 25% Latino, with more than half financially needy.

In California, nearly all Cal State campuses, at least half of California Community Colleges and half of UC campuses have received the recognition. But UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara are the only HSI campuses among the 62 members of the Assn. of American Universities  an elite network of public and private research universities that includes the Ivy League, UC, Stanford and USC.

Just three of the nations 100 universities with the largest federal research portfolios are HSI campuses  UC Irvine ranking second to a specialized cancer center at the University of Texas, said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, which represents 1,600 colleges and universities.

Angela Vera, 21, of Ballet Folklorico de UCI, gets ready to perform on the campus of UC Irvine. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

One concern about major research universities is that they dont necessarily look like the population of the United States, Hartle said. They are overrepresented with whites and Asians and underrepresented with African Americans and Hispanics.

What youre seeing at UC Irvine  is a conscious decision to make certain they expand the nature of the population theyre serving.

UC Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman said the campus has pushed to diversify its campus as part of its public mission and urged other top institutions to do the same.

We think its important to show that great higher education can be there for all of the people, he said. The demographics of the state are changing, and great institutions that were there for generations past should also be there for generations of the future.

For the first time ever, more than half of UC Irvines graduating class this year are first-generation college students.

UC Irvine, Gillman said, is not only admitting more Latino students but also helping them succeed. Eight of 10 freshmen who entered in 2010-11 graduated within six years, about equal to whites and blacks and just below Asians. Graduation rates for transfer students are even higher.

Success took time. The campus began laying the groundwork in 1983, when it created the Santa Ana Partnership with local schools, Santa Ana College and Cal State Fullerton to improve college-going rates in the area. It intensified the efforts after state voters in 1996 passed Proposition 209 banning race-based affirmative action, said Stephanie Reyes-Tuccio, executive director of the Center for Educational Partnerships.

One concern about major research universities is that they dont necessarily look like the population of the United States.  Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education

The center serves 12,000 largely low-income students a year, three-fourths of them Latino, with programs to prepare them for college and help them succeed. It supports those interested in science, technology, engineering and math and helped develop a college-going plan for every high school student in the Santa Ana Unified School District. Affiliated faculty also conduct research and offer teacher training.

About 85% of high school students who work with the center complete the college prep coursework required for UC and Cal State, compared with the statewide average of 43%, Reyes-Tuccio said. She raises about three-fourths of her $10-million annual budget from public grants, private gifts.

Several Latino students said they chose UC Irvine because of generous financial aid and proximity to their families in surrounding cities. But many said they experienced culture shock moving from largely Latino neighborhoods and schools to the university, where only a quarter of students share their ethnic background.

Gloria Ochoa and David Cosme, both transfer students from Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, said they initially were taken aback by conservative student rallies against immigrants and Muslims, featuring signs such as Build That Wall and Youre Not Welcome Here.

I was wondering if I chose the right school, said Cosme, a third-year sociology major who was born in Mexico and is the first in his family to attend college. I wondered if I would fit in. Would I have to hide my identity?

But he and Ochoa said they soon discovered supportive faculty and staff, more than 25 Latino student organizations and campus centers offering many support services.

Cosme found a comfort zone volunteering with the campus food pantry and a Chicano student organization, MEChA. UCI provides a lot of spaces for my community to feel safe and express ourselves, he said.

Ochoa, a third-year psychology and social behavior major, said she was amazed by the offerings at the Cross-Cultural Center, where she attended a workshop on trans Latina activism. Her disappointment at being wait-listed at UCLA vanished, she said, when she discovered the rich research opportunities at UC Irvine, where she is applying for positions to study autism and developmental disabilities.

One great thing about UCI that they dont get a lot of recognition and credit for is that a lot of faculty do research and there are so many labs to apply to, Ochoa said.

Stephanie Gonzalez, 22, discovered her family as she calls it, at the Student Outreach and Retention Center, where she was able to find friends, leadership opportunities and food  peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that eased hunger pains since she could not afford a campus meal plan. She was hired by the center to develop mentorship programs and trained peer advisers to help students through such hardships as homesickness, breakups and academic struggles.

Daniela Estrada, daughter of a cook and hospital worker from Mexico, credited much of her success to campus mentors.

A counselor with the SAGE Scholars program for academically gifted, low-income students helped her craft a resume that landed her a law firm job when she thought she was unqualified. Mark Petracca, the associate dean for undergraduate studies in the School of Social Sciences, passed along research opportunities and nominated her for the prestigious Truman Scholarship, which provides up to $30,000 for graduate studies leading to a public service job. She plans to attend law school to become a public defender after completing a Fulbright program teaching English in Colombia.

Professor Petracca changed my experience and trajectory and future by believing in me more than I did in myself, said Estrada, a political science major who will graduate this month. Thats what so many students want: someone to believe in them.

UC Irvines performance reviews reward faculty who contribute to inclusive excellence. The campus has created a database to connect faculty to opportunities to advance diversity and equity and has set a goal for at least half of them to be involved by 2020-21.

Some students said the campus could do more  offer more scholarships, for instance, and expand the food pantry. Administrators say they aim to do both with more funding opportunities as an HSI campus. A few students said they were being marginalized by a plan to relocate space for immigrant and LGBTQ students to a less central part of campus, although a university spokesman said the facilities will be upgraded and more spacious.

As for Vera, UC Irvine gave her a full ride and a chancellors scholarship to volunteer in Peru. She has found friends and a way to express her cultural identity, especially dancing for the Ballet Folklorico de UCI.

The once insecure Latina who never dreamed she could attend UC Irvine is now its irrepressible evangelist.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

teresa.watanabe@latimes.com

Twitter: @teresawatanabe

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Jim Stewart, an innovative Scripps Institution of Oceanography diver-educator who helped open the worlds oceans to scientists in the 1950s and 60s by training them to use some of the first scuba equipment, has died. He was 89.

Stewart died from natural causes Wednesday in Irvine, according to Scripps.

During a career that lasted five decades, Stewart helped design and carry out some of the most rigorous training ever done for scuba gear, which revolutionized science and military diving after it was introduced in the United States in the late 1940s.

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Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan created the so-called aqualung underwater breathing device to enable divers to roam the depths without being tethered to air hoses attached to boats. The device was a godsend to Stewart, who had spent much of his childhood free-diving and spear fishing in the marine wonderland that is La Jolla Cove.

He would later spend 30 years as the dive officer at Scripps, where he trained thousands of divers and did pioneering underwater exploration in the Channel Islands and the submarine canyon off the Scripps Pier. He also descended 600 feet in a saturation bell.

In 1962, Stewart helped rescue famed Swiss deep diver Hannes Keller, who got into trouble after descending 1,000 feet in a diving bell off Santa Catalina Island.

Historians also note that Stewart explored an underwater crater in the Pacific only days after it was hit by a hydrogen bomb, and he helped standardize the protocol for safe dives in the Antarctic.

Among scientific and technical divers, Jim Stewart enjoys the status that Chuck Yeager has among professional pilots, San Diego dive historian Eric Hanauer wrote in a 1999 book about diving pioneers.  he organized it, standardized it and spread that knowledge around the country and around the world. In the process, he made a lot of history and had a lot of fun.

Hanauer repeated that sentiment Thursday, adding: Jim was a divers diver.

Stewart also was praised by Paul Dayton, a veteran Scripps researcher. Dayton said that instead of projecting a macho attitude, Stewart respected scientists and the fact that young student scientists were not the reincarnation of Navy divers, but very smart students who may have just been OK in the water.

Jims goal was not to make scientists out of macho divers but to make safe divers of good scientists.

Cary Humphries, a dive boat captain in San Diego, said, Jim was always willing to lend a hand, no matter the situation. On research trips, hed be the senior diver. But he didnt want to be waited on. Hed go into the galley and wash dishes. He always wanted to help.

James Ronald Stewart was born Sept. 5, 1927, in National City and fell in love with the ocean early. In a 2000 interview. Stewart keenly remembered fishing with his father from the Scripps Pier.

When hed catch a fish, I would take a look at it and run up to the old Scripps aquarium and see what that fish was, Stewart recalled. Little did I think I would spend 50 years of my life here.

A turning point occurred on Memorial Day, 1941, when he took a date to La Jolla Cove. They ran into one of Stewarts junior high school friends, who claimed to have a face mask for looking into the sea.

I put his mask on, and I could see underwater, he recalled. Well, the next week I had me a face mask, and thats how it all started.

He became an accomplished spear fisherman and was later invited to join the elite San Diego Bottom Scratchers free-diving club, which deepened his passion for the ocean.

Stewart learned the fundamentals of scuba diving in 1951 and became a volunteer at Scripps the following year, where he worked with pioneering divers Connie Limbaugh and Andy Rechnitzer.

He was soon helping with diver training, and he expanded into research, exploring kelp beds, whose long, luminous blades formed small amber forests off the California coast.

In the mid-1950s, Stewart helped explore and evaluate Pacific atolls that had been the site of hydrogen bomb tests. He joined Scripps full time in 1957, and was with Limbaugh and researcher Wheeler North in 1959 when the trio discovered underwater sandfalls off Cabo San Lucas. The discovery was the subject of the award-winning documentary, Rivers of Sand.

Tragedy struck a year later, in 1960, when Limbaugh died in a cave-diving accident. Stewart succeeded him as Scripps dive officer.

The following year, Stewart was attacked by a shark off Wake Island. A colleague got him to shore, and flagged down a dump truck, which took Stewart to a hospital.

The attack was an odd counterpoint to the work Stewart had done testing shark repellents.

Stewart has also experienced good fortune, notably in 1967, when he was among the first divers in Truk Lagoon in the Pacific.

We went in there because we had the tail end of a typhoon and we needed a place to hide, Stewart told interviewer Ron Rainger. So we ran in there, and just happened to anchor in the old Japanese harbor, masts sticking out. We went out and looked at that, and there were all kinds of artifacts on the bottom. That was fun.

Two years later, he was making his first dives beneath the ice in Antarctica, an experience he compared to floating above the Grand Canyon during a 1991 interview with the San Diego Tribune.

Stewart said, Its almost like youre going to fall; the water is very, very clear. You dont really have a concept of being in water.

Stewart continued to dive for decades, experiencing great adventure, which he loved to talk about.

Sit down with him over a beer, and you will be treated to diving history, told vividly by someone who made it and lived it, Hanauer said of Stewart in his book, Diving Pioneers.

But his greatest legacy is his students, and the students of those he has trained. No one else has influenced more diving leaders, directly and indirectly, both in the world of scientific and sport diving.

Stewart is survived by wife of 64 years, Joan; his son Craig; his daughter Meredith; and four grandchildren.

gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com

Robbins writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Bill Cosby said he gave Benadryl to Andrea Constand on the night in 2004 when she claims he assaulted her. But theres reason to think the substance could have been far more potent, prosecutors at his sexual assault trial suggested Friday.

The supposition was part of a day of testimony in which the one-and-a-half pills the entertainer gave the former Temple University basketball staffer were intensely scrutinized.

The district attorney in Montgomery County, where Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault, revealed pieces of the 2005 civil deposition in which Cosby was asked why he concealed the pills identity in a later phone conversation with Constand and her mother, Gianna.

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Why didnt you just say it was Benadryl? a questioner had asked Cosby of the pills he supplied Constand before she claims he assaulted her in January 2004.

The performer had answered that it was self-protection, not deceit  he worried how Gianna Constand might use the information against him if he admitted it or sent the pills to her home in Ontario, as she had requested.

Im first thinking the mother is coming at me for being a dirty old man, which is bad, he said in the deposition regarding his conversation with the Constands. But also: What did you give my daughter? I put these things in the mail [to] Canada, what are they going to say if they receive it? What are they going to do if I tell them?

Cosby said in the deposition that he gave Andrea Constand the Benadryl from his own reserve because she had complained about stress and neck pain and he wanted to help her relax.

Constand said the pills Cosby gave her were blue, yet when he voluntarily turned over Benadryl pills to police in January 2005 to demonstrate he kept a cache at hand, they were pink. James Reape, a Montgomery County police officer who investigated the case, said on the stand he found that to be odd.

Prosecutors later in the day also read parts of the deposition in which Cosby acknowledged that decades ago he would buy Quaaludes hed give to women before he would have sex with them.

I used them the same as a person would, say, have a drink, he said in the deposition, adding that there were times I wanted to have them just in case.

When asked whether he would use them for young women you wanted to have sex with, he answered, Yes, but said he never gave the drugs to a woman without her knowledge.

The Quaalude testimony is central to the prosecutions effort to shape the jurys impression of Cosby as someone who dispenses drugs to pave the way for sexual encounters. The defense had opposed the admission of the deposition in part because of that testimony, saying it wasnt relevant to the Constand incident.

Prosecutors on Friday also called a forensic toxicology expert, Timothy Rohrig, to testify that Constands symptoms could be linked to a number of drugs, including both Quaaludes and Benadryl.

Rohrig said that even if the pills were Benadryl, one or one-and-a-half tablets would have a very sleep-inducing effect.

Most people think of it as an antihistamine  but one of the actions is it can cause significant sedation, he said. He was asked whether the pills would be powerful enough for a specific criminal purpose.

It has been used in a drug to facilitate sexual assault, Rohrig said, citing such cases.

Meanwhile, in the phone conversation with Gianna Constand, Cosby separately suggested setting up an educational trust for her daughter, who had expressed an interest in graduate school. Prosecutors implied that Cosby was trying to buy her silence.

Have you ever used this vehicle of an educational trust  as a way of giving money to any other woman with whom you had a relationship? he was asked in the deposition. He answered that he hadnt.

The jury on Friday also heard testimony from expert Veronique Valliere about why Constand didnt come forward for a year after the attack and maintained contact with Cosby, a key piece of the defenses strategy.

Called by the prosecution, Valliere, an expert on victim response to sexual assault, said that assumptions that a victim would end a relationship with an attacker are false.

We have expectations that are misguided about how people react to sexual assault [by a non-stranger] she said. Instead of cutting off all contact with a perpetrator, the victim often wants to get that relationship right back to where it was nice and comfortable again.

She also said that reporting an assault to authorities is not necessarily a persons first response.

Sometimes victims just want to forget about it, get through it and pretend it didnt happen for as long as they can.

Lead Cosby lawyer Brian McMonagle sought to discredit Valliere as biased, showing a Facebook post in which she cheered on an anti-Cosby pretrial ruling by writing, Victory! The case goes on.

The prosecution rested after Rohrig, the toxicology witness, testified. The defense is likely to call several experts when the case resumes Monday. It remains an open question whether Cosby himself might testify. Most experts have long thought it extremely unlikely.

Outside the courthouse Friday afternoon, Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt left open the possibility. Weve not yet ruled out any of our options, he said.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

steve.zeitchik@latimes.com

Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT

UPDATES:

3:10 p.m.: This article was updated with information on the lead defense lawyer attempting to discredit a sexual assault expert as biased.

1:25 p.m.: This article was updated with details about a deposition in which Cosby acknowledged buying Quaaludes he would give to women before having sex with them.

This article was originally published at 11:15 a.m.
There are no hard feelings, apparently, between Montanas newest member of Congress and the reporter he allegedly body-slammed.

Greg Gianforte, the Republican who flew into a rage when asked a question about the GOP healthcare plan, apologized to journalist Ben Jacobs of Britains Guardian newspaper and agreed to enter a no-contest plea when he goes to court in the misdemeanor assault case on Monday.

Still, it may be premature to say that everyone is fine with the incident, which took place one day before the special election to fill a House vacancy left by the appointment of Ryan Zinke as Interior secretary. It has led to questions about whether Gianforte, a wealthy businessman, has the temperament or professionalism necessary to succeed on Capitol Hill. And despite Jacobs willingness to forgive, it still could lead to jail time.

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On Wednesday, Gianforte, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in November, issued a formal apology in which he took full responsibility for body slamming Jacobs after he asked him a question about the Republican healthcare policy.

In his letter, Gianforte described his physical response toward Jacobs as unprofessional, unacceptable and unlawful.

As both a candidate for office and a public official, I should be held to a high standard in my interactions with the press and the public. My treatment of you did not meet that standard, Gianfortes letter said. I had no right to respond the way I did to your legitimate question about healthcare policy. You were doing your job.

Gianfortes apology stands in sharp contrast to the statement his campaign spokesman, Shane Scanlon, released the night of the encounter, which said it was Jacobs aggressive behavior that created this scene.

I think if hes able to win loyalty from people in Montana and persuade people he is good, then he might be able to win the election in 2018.  Christopher Muste, a political science professor at the University of Montana

Jacobs accepted Gianfortes apology and said in a statement he hopes the incident encourages people to have more civil forms of discussion. I have accepted Mr. Gianfortes apology and his willingness to take responsibility for his actions and statement, Jacobs said. I hope the constructive resolution of this incident reinforces for all the importance of respecting the freedom of the press and the 1st Amendment and encourages more civil and thoughtful discourse in our country.

As part of a settlement, Jacobs agreed not to sue the 56-year-old Republican and will not object to Gianfortes no-contest plea to the misdemeanor charged stemming from the May 24 incident. Gianforte said he would donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

If convicted, Gianforte could face a fine of $500 and up to six months in jail. His first court appearance is Monday in Gallatin County, where he is expected to enter his plea.

But some people question whether Gianforte has the professionalism to be in the House of Representatives. In early June, a coalition of news media groups filed a formal complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics asking it to investigate and take disciplinary action against Gianforte. The coalition, which includes PEN America, Free Press Action Fund, Reporters Without Borders and the Society of Professional Journalists, issued a letter to President Trump asking him to denounce violence against reporters, particularly when it is committed by government officials.

Gianforte is expected to be sworn in this month.

Christopher Muste, a political science professor at the University of Montana, said its too early to see how Gianfortes criminal charge will affect his political future.

People in Montana arent that impressed, Muste said in reference to Gianfortes assault charge. But voters were willing to give him some slack. I think if hes able to win loyalty from people in Montana and persuade people he is good, then he might be able to win the election in 2018.

Muste said that if the altercation had happened one or two weeks before the election, then it might have altered the results. But more than 250,00 absentee ballots had been cast by the time the incident occurred, which means it was too late for some residents to change their minds.

If there was a groundswell of pressure from political leaders in both parties and voters in Montana, then I think Gianforte would have to seriously reconsider, Muste said. But what will happen if people ask him tough questions and he gets frustrated? How will he be able to handle that going forward?

After the incident, two newspapers, the Missoulian and the Billings Gazette, rescinded their endorsement of the GOP candidate.

The attack instantly thrust front-runner Gianfortes campaign into the spotlight.

The incident occurred at Gianfortes headquarters in Bozeman, where a Fox News crew was preparing a story to air on television.

Jacobs was in the room with the crew when he approached Gianforte with a voice recorder to ask him a question about the Republican healthcare plan.

In an audio recording, Jacobs persistently asks Gianforte about the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act. Gianforte says he will get back to him later.

And then things took a dark turn.

Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him, Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna, who was in the room, recalled.

Gianforte can be heard on the recording shouting at Jacobs: Im sick and tired of you guys. The last time you came in here you did the same thing! Get the hell out of here!

Jacobs said his glasses were broken during the encounter, and he was taken to a hospital.

That night, Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault. Speculation as to whether the incident would jeopardize Gianfortes win was put to rest when he secured a little over 50% of the vote.

When you make a mistake, you have to own up to it, Gianforte said the next day during his victory speech. I should not have responded in the way that I did, and for that I am sorry.

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melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad
In the days leading up to James B. Comey s appearance Thursday before a Senate panel, White House officials raised the prospect that President Trump might invoke executive privilege to prevent the fired FBI director from testifying.

The presidents lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, raised the same issue after Comeys testimony, issuing a statement accusing Comey of unauthorized disclosures to the press of privileged communications.

Kasowitz was referring to a document that Comey wrote memorializing a meeting with Trump that Comey then passed along to the press through a friend.

We will leave it [to] the appropriate authorities to determine whether the leaks should be investigated along with all those others being investigated, he wrote.

The discussion renewed long-standing questions about the legal privileges that may be invoked by the president and his advisors.

Does the president have an executive privilege?

Yes. It is not written in the Constitution or federal law, but Congress and the courts have assumed that the president, who heads the executive branch of the government, has a right and a privilege to maintain some privacy as he goes about his work. Just as the president could not tell the Supreme Court justices to tell him what was discussed in one of their private conferences, judges and senators cannot tell the president he must disclose what he discussed in the Oval Office.

But these unwritten privileges are understandings, not hard-and-fast rules of law. In the most famous case of executive privilege, President Nixon invoked this doctrine in 1974 to shield from disclosure the tape recordings of his conversations in the Oval Office. And while the Supreme Court acknowledged there is such a thing as executive privilege, the justices ruled unanimously that Nixon had to turn over the Watergate tapes to the special prosecutor because they were needed as evidence in a criminal case. The president did as directed, and a few days later, he resigned.

Could the White House invoke a presidential communications privilege to prevent the presidents aides from testifying in Congress?

Probably yes, say former White House lawyers. They say that during Bush and Obama administrations, the White House objected on occasion when congressional committees insisted on hearing testimony from an executive branch official. But these concerns were usually worked out by narrowing the subjects to be discussed.

Did Comey violate executive privilege by testifying in the Senate and disclosing his conversations with the president?

No, according to experts on executive privilege, in part because Comey is no longer an administration official. Moreover, the president may have waived any privilege by also publicly discussing his contacts with Comey.

Executive privilege does not apply to a private citizen who is called to testify before the Senate, said Mark J. Rozell, dean of the school of policy and government at George Mason University and the author of a 2010 book on executive privilege. Trump tripped himself up, first by speaking about his conversation and by firing Comey.

Typically, legal privileges are invoked by people who have evidence or documents that someone else is seeking. By invoking their privilege, they are saying they are refusing to turn over the material. But in this instance, Comey was a private citizen who was willing to speak to the Senate. There is no legal prohibition on him, as a private citizen, discussing his conversations with the president, Rozell said, so long as he was not revealing information that was classified as secret.

And Comey said Thursday that he intentionally ensured that nothing in his memos about the Trump meetings contained anything that could be considered classified material

So did Comey violate any law or privilege by releasing the memo recounting his conversations with Trump?

Probably not. Several lawyers said he was free to reveal the information. But some were troubled by Comey disclosing the actual memo.

These were unclassified notes made by Comey himself. I know of no legal bar to his releasing them to the press, said Walter Dellinger, a former White House lawyer under President Clinton.

Lawyers pointed to the dozens of books written in which former White House aides described their times working with the president, including details about their confidential conversations. The 1st Amendment and its protection for the freedom of speech would probably stand in the way of any effort to block such a book, assuming it did not reveal classified information.

But some lawyers said government employees are prohibited from taking documents from their agencies and releasing them to the public. They said Comey may have left himself open to criticism if he released to the press the memos he wrote while employed at the FBI.

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Two teens, each of them not 130 pounds, walked down Troy Street toward 47th and stopped next to a van where a man was talking through the window to his girlfriend and kids.

The weather was beautiful and they talked of going to the park. Up the street, a few children were out front with their parents and grandparents.

One of the teens, a boy in dark gray and a black hat, asked the man what he was about, or what gang he belonged to, according to police and several witnesses.

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Im with my kids, the man told him.

The teen turned to the other and told him to shoot the man, using a racial epithet for blacks.

Im with my kids, the man repeated. His girlfriend made the same plea: Hes with his kids.

But the other teen, who witnesses said looked the younger of the two, raised a pistol and shot the man in the forehead. The man fell to the ground and the teen stood over him and fired two more times, police and witnesses said.

The mans 2-year-old son cried, but his 5-month-old daughter didnt register what happened. The girlfriend kept screaming Wake up! Wake up!

Her aunt rushed the children inside, where she tried to calm the 2-year-old, who remained hysterical nearly an hour after the shooting Thursday afternoon in the 4600 block of South Troy Street in the Brighton Park neighborhood.

In the home, a childrens cartoon was on TV, loud enough to be heard outside.

A neighbor walked up the block to see what happened. He moved the mans head to see if he was responsive, then stepped back, made the sign of the cross and walked back home. His girlfriend asked him to do something and he shook his head.

The man on the ground appeared dead, but paramedics rushed him to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was initially listed in critical condition with wounds to the head, shoulder and back, according to police.

He later died. No one was reported in custody.

Neighbors who talked to the Chicago Tribune asked that their full names not be used out of fear of retaliation. They did not want to draw attention to themselves.

Chicago police stand at the scene where a father was shot in Chicagos Brighton Park neighborhood on Thursday. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

All of them described the erosion of a sense of community over the years as their neighborhood has grown more violent. The violence has become more frequent and intense as a gang conflict from neighboring Back of the Yards grew into Brighton Park and gangs have used rifles, wounding dozens over the last year.

Right now, everybody is scared, said the man who attended to the victim. Nobody on this block is going to let their kids go outside unless theyre outside with them, and theyre not going to let them out of their sight. No bikes, no park.

Another neighbor, Olivia, described the problem that parents have been facing over the last few years.

Either you have your kid in the house, or you let them go outside and they join a gang, Olivia said. We kept ours in the house.

For years, Olivia said she has organized the 4600 South Troy Avenue block party. She gathers signatures and files the paperwork. The tradition is one that children look forward to.

She gave instructions to others on the block to pull the permit, if they wanted, but nobody has yet. Its too dangerous. I dont want something to happen, she said. I dont want that on my conscience.

She and other neighbors call the police on the relatively minor transgressions  suspicious cars, drug sales  but the police seem unresponsive to their calls until something major happens.

Juanita sat on her porch with her husband, an American flag hanging from a flagpole and another on the front door. Her contribution to the block party is coffee, homemade pastries, juice for children. Last Fourth of July, she rolled out a popcorn machine and hot dog cart.

Ive been a community person since I can remember, she said. Shes considered the blocks grandmother. The block parties were good, because in the winter, the neighbors rarely see each other. They were a good time to catch up.

Relatives of the father who was shot talk on the phone at the crime scene on Thursday. (Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune)

As officers worked, parents walked their kids home from an elementary school around the corner. Students in Chicago Public Schools khakis and blue polo shirts walked from Columbia Explorers Academy a few blocks away.

A boy lugging a green backpack was warned by two older women on the block: Go inside, lock your doors, stay away from the windows.

And if I see you in the window, one woman warned, Im going to call your mom.

More than a dozen kids live on the block, but they all stayed inside when they got home.

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Even though his prepared statement had been released and read by millions of Americans a day earlier, former FBI Director James B. Comeys testimony Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee was sensational, riveting and sickening.

Not only did Comey, as expected, say that President Trump repeatedly demanded his loyalty and beseeched him to abandon an investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. He also told the committee that he made detailed notes of their conversations because he was honestly concerned that [Trump] might lie about it later. And he said he concluded that he was fired because of the FBIs investigation of possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. The administrations alternative explanations  including that the FBI was in disarray and was being poorly led  were, he said, lies, plain and simple.

Comeys performance was believable and deeply troubling, as he responded calmly and confidently to questions from members of the committee, including Republicans who acted more as defense counsel for Trump than as impartial investigators. Sen. James Risch of Idaho, for instance, tried to dismiss Comeys claim that Trump had told him, in a one-on-one meeting in the Oval Office, that I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. Risch said: He didnt direct you to drop the case, to which Comey replied, Not in those words [but] I took it as a direction. Given the context  the president of the United States leaning on a subordinate in a room from which everyone else has been dismissed  who wouldnt?

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Marc Kasowitz, a lawyer for Trump, contradicted Comeys assertions, saying the president had never sought a loyalty pledge from the director or tried to stop the investigation of Flynn. That strikes us, frankly, as far-fetched. Kasowitz also noted  correctly  that Comey had confirmed that he privately had told Trump at various times that he himself wasnt then under investigation by the FBI as part of its Russia probe.

The problem for Trump is that Comey is an experienced public servant with a reputation for rectitude, while Trump is a serial prevaricator whose campaign is currently being investigated not only by two congressional committees but by a special counsel whose mandate could be expanded to include the circumstances of Comeys dismissal. Trump shouldnt be surprised that hes the one with the credibility problem.

Trumps behavior toward Comey may or may not meet the legal definition of obstruction of justice, but any American can see that it was grossly inappropriate. Its yet another misstep by an undisciplined, arrogant president who appears to have no compunction about breaking the rules when it comes to advancing his own interests.

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Weeks after voters passed Proposition 54, the California Legislature Transparency Act last November, the state Assembly declared its intention to flout one of the key parts of the initiative: the requirement that the final text of a bill be printed and posted online at least 72 hours before it is passed. Assembly leaders asserted that the mandate didnt apply to resolutions because they dont have the force of law, or to final votes in the Assembly if the bill has yet to be approved by the Senate.

Thats ridiculous, and appears to be a deliberate misinterpretation of the proposition. Though the measure included a number of provisions designed to make it easier for the public to keep track of the legislative process, its most important was the three-day rule. The intent was to curb the practice of slipping in changes right before a vote  and before the public had any idea what just happened.

A coalition of good government and taxpayer groups that supported Proposition 54, including the League of Women Voters of California, California Forward and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., appealed to the Assembly to play by the new rules, even if lawmakers didnt like them. (We did too.) Yet, last week the Assembly passed dozens of bills  more than 50 by one count  that Proposition 54 proponents say did not meet the 72-hour requirement.

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Not only is this an affront to voters, its a step backward for transparency and good government  a capitulation to Assembly leaders eager to do business with as little scrutiny and oversight as possible. The last-minute passage of bills that even the lawmakers voting on them havent read or digested is an egregious practice. Having been rebuked by the voters, the Assemblys leaders are now thumbing their noses back by refusing to live up to the law.

Failing to comply with Proposition 54 may also make those bills vulnerable to legal challenge. Why cast a bills legitimacy into doubt just to make a point? State senators didnt like the new law any more than their Assembly counterparts, but still met the 72-hour mandate with their bills this session with no apparent detriment to their ability to legislate effectively. Indeed, the Senates passage of a bill to raise fuel taxes and vehicle fees for transportation funding should assuage legislators concerns that the rule would make it tough to pass important but controversial new laws.

The Proposition 54 coalition this week sent letters to the Senate and the governor complaining about the Assemblys non-compliance. But complaints are not likely to sway Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) and his colleagues, who are unrelenting in their position that the text of the law allows their take on it. Perhaps its time for Proposition 54 supporters to ask a court to settle the question and to stop the Assembly from dodging the transparency law.

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California voters faced a binary choice in Novembers election over the states death penalty system. Proposition 62 aimed to end capital punishment and convert all existing death sentences to life in prison without parole. Proposition 66, on the other hand, sought to speed up the system so that more people could be executed faster.

Both campaigns acknowledged that the states death penalty system is dysfunctional. Thanks to underfunding and legal challenges to the system, no one has been executed in a decade, even as the death row population has grown to 747 people. In fact, only 13 people have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated in California in 1978.

Of the two propositions, voters opted for the speed-it-up measure. That was a bad choice. It would trample defendants rights to due process and increase the chances that an innocent person will be executed. But first, it has to go into effect, which is not a sure thing. The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday that Proposition 66 violates the state constitution by usurping the courts authority and independence. Plaintiffs argued that it violates the separation of powers doctrine by requiring courts to finish hearing death penalty appeals within five years and that it contravenes a ban on overly broad and multi-pronged initiatives. Proposition 66 does all of those things, and more  and would not serve justice or the public interest.

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More broadly, the death penalty is a stain on the United States, one of the few countries in the developed world that still allows it. The European Union even bars European pharmaceutical companies from exporting drugs to the U.S. for executions. Many American pharmaceutical companies similarly balk at having their products, designed to aid the ill, used to kill the condemned. Beyond its inherent immorality, the death penalty disproportionately affects the poor and minorities through a process in which human failure  including lies, innocently relayed untruths, evidentiary errors, mistaken identities, and malevolent prosecutors and police  can determine whether someone lives or dies. Since 1973, at least 159 death row inmates have been exonerated, and a National Academy of Sciences study estimates that at least 4% of people now on death row are innocent.

The reality is that innocent people have already been put to death. That is an outrage, and the only way to ensure it doesnt happen again is to end the practice.

Even if the Supreme Court lets Proposition 66 stand, the measure still faces other likely challenges. So an already-expensive death penalty system will cost taxpayers even more as the state is forced to defend it in court. The irony here is that the effort to speed up the death penalty by shortening appeals could very well suffer through a prolonged appeals process itself before ultimately being struck down. It should be put out of its misery now.

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Five Arab countries cut ties to Qatar on Monday, deepening a rift among Persian Gulf nations over that countrys support for radical Islamist groups. The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen all announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar and cut air and sea traffic to the country.

As part of what former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice termed the New Middle East, Qatar has emerged as one of the regions most consequential players and one of the richest countries in the world. It has also positioned itself as one of the strongest supporters of the Arab Spring, preaching democracy abroad. But behind the polished facade of skyscrapers and luxury shopping malls lies a dark reality. Ruled by the Al-Thani clan, the onetime British protectorate has become a financier of terrorism.

One week after welcoming U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in April, Qatar hosted a conference by Hamas. The Al-Thani family is a major backer of the terrorist organization, pouring millions every year into the Gaza Strip to cement Hamas grip on power. Last year alone, Qatar transferred $31 million to Hamas, and the country is expected to pledge an additional $100 million to Gaza.

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Western leaders have largely turned a blind eye to Qatars abysmal human rights record at home and malevolent behavior abroad.

Also on the list of Qatars beneficiaries is the radical Muslim Brotherhood, the parent organization of Hamas. The Qatari government has bankrolled the Muslim Brotherhood and affiliated groups with billions of dollars across the Middle East. Qatar was a key supporter of the Mohamed Morsi-led regime in Egypt, and members of the Egyptian Brotherhood have lived in Doha for decades. Brotherhood figures are frequently featured on the Qatari-owned Al Jazeera network, spreading their anti-Western world view to more than 60 million people.

Qatar has emerged as a key financier of the Syrian opposition, including Salafi jihadist groups as well as Sunni Islamist organizations. Diplomatic sources estimate that Qatar has invested at least $1 billion in anti-Bashar Assad forces, with people close to the Qatari government putting the number as high as $3 billion. Qatar has channeled weapons and money to Islamist rebels, notably to the notorious organization Ahrar al-Sham, which has known ties to Al Qaeda. Far from being a force of moderation, Ahrar al-Sham has fought alongside Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as Al Qaeda in Syria. Qatars ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, has been trying to get Jabhat al-Nusra off Americas terror list by championing a cosmetic separation between the group and the umbrella Al Qaeda branch. It now operates under the banner of Fateh al-Sham.

In a smart PR move, the government in Doha has financed Western research institutions and think thanks with hundreds of millions of dollars to push the myth of moderate Islamist groups in Syria. Qatar cites Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat al-Nusra as examples, claiming that their sole purpose is to remove Assad. Too many Western leaders accept this rhetoric. One exception is Germany, which has gone so far as to implicate Qatar as a sponsor of Islamic State.

Qatars close cooperation with Iran puts the country at odds with Gulf powers that are firmly aligned against the theocratic regime in Tehran. Iran represents a regional and Islamic power that cannot be ignored and it is unwise to face up against it, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani reportedly said at a military ceremony in May. It is a big power in the stabilization of the region. He also reportedly described Hamas and Hezbollah as a resistance movement, calling Hamas the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. (The Qatari government later claimed that the Qatar News Agencys website was hacked.)

Western leaders have largely turned a blind eye to Qatars abysmal human rights record at home and malevolent behavior abroad. This is partly due to the significance of the al-Udeid air base, from which nearly all coalition airstrikes against Islamic State are being conducted. But there may be more costs to our ongoing partnership with Qatar than benefits. Now that our allies are publicly breaking with the Gulf state, Washington should put pressure on the government in Doha to pick a side. Qatar has gotten away with its opportunistic, two-faced foreign policy for too long.

Joshua S. Block is president and CEO of the Israel Project.

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In this social media age, when every minutia of our lives can be voted thumbs up or down, the notion of there being too much democracy offends modern sensibilities. So conditioned are we to exalt individual choice that anyone who suggests certain policy decisions are best left to elected representatives (or  gasp  experts) risks the accusation of being a dread elitist.

But Britains election last week reminds us that there is, in fact, such a thing as too much democracy.



For the record: This article originally stated that Jeremy Corbyn expressed sympathy for the Argentinian junta. He only did so in the context of doubting Britains intentions in the Falklands War.

That some things should not be put up to popular vote  membership in the European Union, for instance  is a lesson youd think theyd have learned in Britain. The tussle over Brexit has led to political and economic instability for months. And it will now be prolonged by the surprising results of Thursdays snap general election, which wiped out Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative Party majority and resulted in a hung Parliament.

Democratic mania creates democratic exhaustion, discouraging citizens from participating in the elections that truly matter.

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In 2013, when Mays predecessor, David Cameron, announced a national referendum on Britains EU membership, he hoped to settle a long-running intra-party feud over Europe. But the decision to put it up to a plebiscite was completely arbitrary. Of all issues, surely a countrys involvement in a multinational institution  a 40-year relationship comprising many complex arrangements that affect everything from fisheries to security cooperation  should not be determined by something so reductionist as a stay-or-go popular vote. Economists, trade experts, and security officials  not to mention parliamentarians (whose job it is to understand such matters more deeply than those who elect them)  all agreed that leaving the EU carried few discernible benefits, yet entailed great risks.

No matter. This country has had enough of experts, one pro-Leave politician infamously said on the eve of Brexits success.

The people  that expression beloved of Third World tyrants and increasingly adopted by leaders in advanced industrial democracies  got their say. The vote was purely advisory; Parliament could have ignored the result. When Britains High Court ruled that the government required parliamentary assent for a measure initiating Brexit, the tabloid Daily Mail excoriated the judges with a front-page headline screaming, ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE.

Its not just the nationalist right that has a fetish for the masses. Until 2015, the Labor Party had chosen its leaders through an electoral college that gave equal weight to the votes of elected MPs, union members, and dues-paying party members. All that changed when the party decided to let anyone register and vote online for a one-time, 3-pound fee. In swarmed over 100,000 leftist activists, many of them members of fringe parties historically opposed to Labor. They in turn propelled the hard-left backbencher Jeremy Corbyn to power.

Beneath Corbyns avuncular exterior lies an extremist, one who, from the very beginning of his political career, has expressed alarming sympathy for his countrys enemies, from the fascist Argentinian junta during the Falklands War to the Irish Republican Army to Vladimir Putins Russia. That this man today has even a chance of becoming prime minister of the worlds fifth largest military power is clearly traceable to two instances of democratic overzealousness: the opening of the Labor leadership race to every Tom, Dick and Harry, as well as Mays unnecessary and opportunistic decision to call a snap election. Like Camerons Brexit referendum, which was disguised as serving the national interest even though its origins lay in partisan politics, Mays desire for a mandate from the people will have chaotic consequences.

The United States, and California especially, is no stranger to this plebiscitary obsession. Golden Staters waste a great deal of time and money voting on everything from plastic bags to requiring condoms on porn sets. Such democratic mania creates democratic exhaustion, discouraging citizens from participating in the elections that truly matter. In the recent special congressional election to replace Xavier Becerra, for instance, just over 10% of registered voters turned out.

This is a shame, because we live in a representative democracy, not a pure one. In that vein, its worth revisiting the words of Edmund Burke, the British MP whose elegantly brief Speech to the Electors of Bristol in 1774 remains the finest elucidation of republican government ever written. While it ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents, Burke ultimately believed that Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays you instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.

Amidst the global populist insurgency, our duly elected representatives should depend more upon their own judgment and worry less about the uninformed opinion of the masses.

James Kirchick is author of The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues and the Coming Dark Age. He is filling in for Doyle McManus.

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We won! President Trumps lawyer Marc Kasowitz reportedly enthused after former FBI director James Comey released his opening statement in advance of Thursdays televised Senate hearing. Comey delivers dramatic rebuke of Trump, read the post-testimony headline in The Hill.

What if both sides are right?

Comey did confirm that the president was not under investigation, and that theres no known evidence of Russia tampering with votes in last Novembers election. At the same time, the nations former top cop painted a damning portrait of an erratic, lying president whose ham-fisted interactions skirted up to the edge of obstruction of justice.

Whether the latter charge rises to the level of criminality will be a question for special prosecutor Robert Mueller. As Comey himself pointed out back when he declined to prosecute Hillary Clinton over her use of a personal email server, criminal intent matters.

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But in the meantime, and in the absence of potentially damning information about, say, Trumps financial relationships with Russian entities, we may be blundering into a kind of worst-case scenario. What if under all that smoke theres just smoke? What if the presidents misbehavior is due to incompetence and boorishness, not corruption and collusion? Are we really prepared to impeach a guy over a tweet?

Being ignorant and/or contemptuous of the mores and rituals of the political class was arguably Trumps biggest selling point as a candidate.

Democrats call foul  and with justification  when Republicans like House Speaker Paul Ryan shrug and say Trump is just new to this governing stuff.

Still, Ryans not wrong. Being ignorant and/or contemptuous of the mores and rituals of the political class was arguably Trumps biggest selling point as a candidate during 2016s virulently anti-establishment election. Anxiety-stricken commentators treated each new violation of norms  from the Mexican rapists to the Access Hollywood tape to the Muslim ban  as either a campaign-killer, or proof that the country has fallen into moral decay. Trump voters, meantime, viewed the news medias hyperventilation as validation that their candidate was not one of them.

This is not presented here as an excuse for Trump, but rather as a practical political problem for America. We know, definitively, that Donald Trump will lie, contradict himself, and step all over the conventions of presidential behavior. We also know thats what a significant percentage of voters liked, and still like, about the guy.

This administration is almost excruciatingly inexperienced, in part because there isnt a deep bench of political talent who believe in the rough tenets of Trumpism: skepticism of multilateral institutions, mercantilist ideas on trade, belligerence toward radical Islam, suspicion of immigrants. Plenty of administration officials share the presidents inability to color inside the lines.

What else do we know? That with the exception of Republican office-holders, who are reluctant to cross swords with the guy, much of official, institutional Washington despises Donald Trump.

The press hates him: Only 20 newspapers nationwide endorsed him for president, compared with more than 240 for Hillary Clinton, and that was before Fake News became a hashtag. The intelligence community is no great fan, what with his comparing the CIA to Nazis and all. Wherever you see the establishment in Washington  the Brookings Institute, the Washington Post editorial page, even the organs of establishment conservatism  you see the strongest condemnations of Trump.

Can all these facets of the establishment collude to help derail this presidency? If so, there well better be fire underneath that smoke. Having Michael Flynn call the Russians during a transition to talk about sanctions, and then lie about it, is bad behavior, but only that. Having multiple inappropriate and highly suggestive conversations with the FBI director is a serious breach of conduct, but not Nixonian.

The institutions that Trump disdains are now watching his every move. He will lash back, fire people, write dumb tweets, attempt to influence things he should not. But if that is all he does, and there no secret corruption or financial ties exist underneath all that squirrelly behavior by administration incompetents, then seizing on those mistakes to prematurely end even the most distasteful of presidencies would come with real danger.

The country is in a kind of emotional state of hyper division that most Americans have never experienced. If people vote for a president to confront the establishment they despise, and then that establishment forces him out on ticky-tack fouls, we may look back on 2016 as a high-water mark in comity.

Matt Welch is editor at large of Reason, a magazine published by the libertarian Reason Foundation, and a contributing writer to Opinion.

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To the editor: The model identified in the cover story on USC and transfer students should be the basis for all universities within Californias post-secondary education system. (Most private colleges take very few transfers. At USC, about 1,500 get a spot each year, June 5)

California has developed a community college system that allows for everyone (not just low-income students) to tick off many of the lower division credits necessary for an undergraduate degree. What is the benefit of having such a system if universities dont want to focus on transfer students?

The experiences, knowledge bases and different perspective these students bring represent Californias diversity. These students are successful not because of their circumstances, but in spite of their circumstances, and that type of grit deserves every chance to express itself in students who become contributing members of our society.

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Sjon Woodlyn, Sacramento

..

To the editor: As a transfer student from Fullerton College to USC (as was First Lady Pat Nixon, who worked multiple jobs while attending the university), I ask The Times to stop using the antiquated sobriquet University of Spoiled Children.

Using it is in poor taste and further degrades the oldest research university in Southern California. It certainly does not reflect the majority of current students, alumni and those associated with USC.

Charlie Fixa, Yorba Linda

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A deadly serious conclusion can be drawn from former FBI Director James Comeys testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee: Donald Trump cares more about himself than about the security of the United States.

That disturbing reality is getting scant attention, however, as Republicans and Democrats cull through the various things Comey said to find further justifications for their predisposed and opposing positions. Comey told the senators that the president had improperly urged him to pull back from the FBI investigation into ex-National Security Advisor Mike Flynns dealings with the Russians while pushing the director to give him a pledge of personal loyalty. Democrats insist Trumps actions showed clear intent to obstruct justice. Republicans are shrugging it all off as a rookie mistake.

Republicans are also making a big deal out of Comeys acknowledgement that Trump was not a target of the FBI probe. Meanwhile, Democrats have latched onto Trumps firing of Comey as another example of Trump trying to subvert the investigation into his campaign aides.

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1 / 51 la-1491523602-y7ephyarj1-snap-image (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 51 la-1491368625-0bgh58ihw8-snap-image (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los angeles Times) 6 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 51 Trump inspires millions to take to the streets -- to oppose him. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 51 Cartoon caption contest winner at the DENT conference in Sun Valley, Idaho: Jon Duval, executive director of the Ketchum Community Development Corporation. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 51 Old radicals and big media descend on Selma (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 51 Horsey imagined the creation of the Ann Coulter phenomenon in this cartoon from 2007. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 51 This David Horsey drawing is a reconfiguration of a cartoon he first published in 2006. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 51 Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers, should give Cliven Bundy a call. After Sterling loses his NBA franchise and the deadbeat Nevada rancher loses his cattle, the two old racists will both need a buddy. Maybe they can team up together and open an all-white rodeo. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 51 Besides sending a chill up the spine of the international community, Vladimir Putin has accomplished one other thing by seizing Crimea and threatening the rest of Ukraine: Putin has brought back the bear. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 51 The right-wing insurrection at the Bundy ranch in Bunkerville, Nev., has taken another weird turn with new revelations about the family history of Cliven Bundy. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 51 David Horsey / Los Angeles Times (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

Comey made the point that Trump himself confirmed his dismissal was driven by the presidents concerns about the Russia inquiry, not by alleged poor management.

The administration chose to defame me and, more importantly, the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the workforce had lost confidence in its leader, Comey said. Those were lies, plain and simple.

The assertion that the president is a major league liar is hard to dispute, but being caught in a lie has never hurt Trump. The bottom line after Comeys testimony: Unless the special prosecutor or one of the congressional committees finds a hot, smoking gun, the Republicans will never start an impeachment proceeding against Trump, no matter how fervently liberals across America long for it. Comey did not provide that gun.

What he did provide was a reminder of the core concern that has been nearly ignored in all the partisan jockeying: The Russian assault on the American electoral system is real.

The reason this is such a big deal is we have this big, messy, wonderful country where we fight with each other all the time, but nobody tells us what to think, what to fight about, what to vote for except other Americans, Comey said. And thats wonderful and often painful. But were talking about a foreign government, using technical intrusion and lots of other methods, that tried to shape the way we think, we vote, we act. That is a big deal.

And people need to recognize it. Its not about Republicans or Democrats. [The Russians are] coming after America, which I hope we all love equally. They want to undermine our credibility in the face of the world. They think that this great experiment of ours is a threat to them, and so theyre going to try to run it down and dirty it up as much as possible.

Despite his rookie failings and mendacious ways, Trump could redeem himself in the eyes of many people if he would start taking the Russian meddling seriously. Instead, he has gone out of his way to make excuses for Vladmir Putins hackers and spies. He has asserted that no one really knows who hacked what, despite the universal conclusion of U.S. intelligence services that it was the Russians. He has repeatedly alleged that the concern about Russian activities is being manufactured by the Democrats to provide an excuse for Hillary Clintons defeat in November. Other than disingenuous pro forma statements in favor of getting the facts about Russian interference, Trump has done nothing but undermine efforts to uncover the extent of Russias attack on American democracy.

Instead of caring about the country, Trump has been concerned only about himself. That is what came through in Comeys testimony. The president is obsessed with his own reputation, not the nations security. He did not ask Comey to fill him in on Russian subversion, he only wanted to know if anyone was coming after him.

Trumps true crime may not be obstruction of justice, but dereliction of duty.

David.Horsey@latimes.com

Follow me at @davidhorsey on Twitter

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Uber and Lyft continue to expand their dominance in California, and taxi companies are looking to the state Legislature for some relief.

If communities value taxicabs, then were going to have to have a regulatory environment that allows cab companies to thrive, said William Rouse, general manager of Yellow Cab of Los Angeles. Right now, thats just not the case.

Rouse and others in the taxi industry have turned to Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) for help. Low has introduced AB 1069, which aims to ease taxi regulations to make the companies more competitive with their ride-hailing rivals.

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Under Lows legislation, which overwhelmingly passed the Assembly last month, taxi regulation would occur regionally rather than city by city. This means, for instance, cabs could pick up passengers in Los Angeles, drop them off in Santa Monica and vice versa without needing multiple permits.

Taxis also could lower or raise their prices  similar to Uber and Lyfts surge-pricing models  in response to demand, with a maximum price set by each region.

If we dont do anything now, they will completely be annihilated, Low said.

In California, numbers show the extent of the taxi industrys decline and the ride-hailing boom. Taxi trips dropped nearly 30% in Los Angeles from 2012, right before Uber and Lyft began operating, to 2015. New research from the Brookings Institution shows that the number of ride-hailing drivers doubled in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Jose in 2015.

Uber and Lyfts business models rely on using public pressure and lobbying to shape and change laws and regulations, said Elizabeth Pollman, a professor at Loyola Law School who has written about how Uber and Lyft have challenged existing state and local rules.

Their business model wasnt just to replicate the world we had, but rather to create a new model, Pollman said.

Uber and Lyft have succeeded at the state Capitol in getting regulations and laws passed to benefit their industry and shooting down those that dont. Even if Lows bill passes, major regulatory disparities between ride-hailing companies and taxis will remain.

Taxi drivers still will have to pass fingerprint-based background checks, while Uber and Lyft drivers face less onerous rules. After years of delays, the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates ride-hailing statewide, is scheduled in the fall to decide whether ride-hailing drivers will need to pass fingerprint checks as well. Neither Uber nor Lyft has taken a position on Lows bill, but each company has been generally supportive of loosening taxi regulations.

Still, cab companies and transportation experts said the legislation could have clear benefits for the taxi industry. Currently, it costs more than $3,000 a year for taxi permits to operate in four cities  Torrance, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach  that stretch roughly six miles along the Los Angeles County coast. In Silicon Valley, similar annual city-by-city fees can run $13,000. Lows bill aims to wipe away such charges and replace them with a single payment.

The measure would promote greater competition by allowing taxis to grow their own on-demand apps and other dispatch services with fewer restrictions, said Bruce Schaller, a New York-based consultant who monitors both industries.

Schaller said the taxi industrys problems go beyond regulation, and cabs will need to dramatically improve their service and reduce their fares.

Why do people use Uber and Lyft? Schaller said. Its because theyre cheap and they show up. Thats it.

Lows bill faces many obstacles. Last year, he wrote legislation that would have turned over taxi regulation to the state, but Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it. The governors veto message said he didnt believe such a major change was warranted. Lows current bill shifts the burden from cities to counties, but counties dont want the responsibility.

In a May letter opposing the bill, a representative of the California State Assn. of Counties wrote that counties were ill-equipped to handle taxi regulations without help from cities.

AB 1069 confuses the relationship between counties and cities by arbitrarily placing the entire burden on the county for taxicab licensure, the letter said.

Low said hes open to another entity, such as regional agencies including the Southern California Assn. of Governments in the Los Angeles area, to regulate taxis instead of counties handling them. But he warned that local governments shouldnt be shortsighted in maintaining strict regulations and high fees that could continue driving taxis out of business.

In that case, Low said, cities wont get any of their revenues whatsoever.

liam.dillon@latimes.com

@dillonliam

ALSO

An overhaul of Californias taxi regulations passes the Legislature

With Uber battle raging, one state lawmaker wants to deregulate the taxi industry

Uber and Lyft are winning at the state Capitol  heres why

Updates on California politics
A Placentia pizza restaurant was recently honored by state Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) with a Small Business of the Year Award.

Craftsman Wood Fired Pizza, owned by Joe Rasic, was noted for its community contributions, including its support for local schools and students.

The restaurant at 148 E. Yorba Linda Blvd. opened in November 2013. It has supported more than 80 local community groups since then, according to a news release.

Rasics wife, Jenner, is a teacher. The couple also has been recognized by the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified Council of PTAs.

Craftsman was one of 85 small businesses in California to receive the honor.

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint
In a classroom tucked in the back of Danbrook Elementary School in Anaheim, a set of cubbies held a row of different kids drinks.

Among the selection of items: Gatorade, Coca-Cola and Hi-C juice.

Each drink had a strip of small sugar packets taped onto them. The number of packets taped on showed how many grams of sugar each drink had. A can of soda had 14 packets; a bottle of Gatorade had nine.

The drink display was one of the many educational tools the mobile teledentistry program  provided by Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County  uses to teach students about dental health while also providing them with dental services.

With a focus on serving low-income youth who may not have transportation to a dental office or whose parents cannot miss work to take them to appointments, the program has set up shop in Danbrook school, Centralia Elementary School in Anaheim and Wilson Elementary School in Santa Ana.

The services have been offered at the schools since September.

Dental hygienists and assistants from the organization routinely visit each school to offer cleanings, X-rays and other services to students while also sending appointment results to a licensed dentist for evaluation.

Imagine having a dental exam without meeting the dentist in-person, and in a classroom setting, Ria Berger, chief executive of Healthy Smiles, said. [The students] meet with trained dental hygienists, the hygienists take their X-rays, upload them to a cloud-based system to a dentist and based on the data, they have 24 hours to confirm if kids need to be seen for a follow-up.

To help expand the program, Healthy Smiles will receive part of a grant of up to $12.4 million given last month to the Children and Families Commission of Orange County, one of the organizations funders.

Healthy Smiles portion of the grant will allow them to organize 11 teledentistry units on 80 sites  primarily schools  in Orange County over the next several years.

Its for this population who often have a uniquely difficult time accessing dental services, said Ilia Rolon, the Commissions director of health program and policy, of the grant, which was awarded to them through a Dental Transformation Initiative Grant from the California Department of Health Care Services.

According to a survey conducted by the Pomona-based Center for Oral Health, one of every three children carries untreated tooth decay. That rate is higher than the California state average, Berger said.

Its rather strange being in Orange County because people have this conception about who we are  a glossy magazine coastline where everyone has straight teeth, Berger said. To the contrary, theres a dental health epidemic and [the American Dental Assn.] has said that tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease.

Last month, 6-year-old Jared Gomez, a student at Danbrook, was scheduled to get his teeth cleaned in the morning before attending his classes.

His mother, Maria Gomez, said she is currently not working and does not have a car to take her son or daughter to a clinic. Their family lives in an apartment near the school.

Jared lay back on a small dental chair in the Danbrook classroom.

While telling him to open his mouth wide like an alligator, dental assistant Laura Solorio and hygienist Esther Le brushed, flossed and took photographs of his teeth.

Even baby teeth are important in dental development, Le said. Whether its baby teeth or adult teeth, both can affect how were able to communicate and eat.

By the end of the appointment, the Healthy Smiles staff showed Jared a model resembling a set of teeth and taught him how to best brush his own.

Beneath the cubbies holding the sugary drink display were shelves that stored different prizes for patients.

As the staff cleaned up their patient station, they encouraged Jared to take a prize for doing well in his appointment.

He reached for a set of small toy airplanes and went to class.

Alexandra.Chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10
Its been 37 years since Alan Greeley first opened the doors of the Golden Truffle in Costa Mesa that, according to a 1988 Los Angeles Times reviewer, is an eccentric restaurant with an eclectic menu that defies rhythm or logic.

Things havent changed. Greeley still does what he wants at his accidental restaurant noteworthy for its ever-changing menu.

But, after nearly four decades, what he wants now is to be done with it. The boisterously outspoken 64-year-old Costa Mesa resident is closing the Golden Truffle this summer, possibly in August. He isnt sure of the exact timing yet.

As for why, in a recent interview Greeley said hes sick of the hassles of running a business  the tax man, lawyers, health inspectors and all. He still enjoys cooking, though.

Greeley has been letting his customers in on the news recently in the form of distributed papers explaining his future plan: I am opening a church in Utah with a full-service liquor license, which is strictly for medicinal purposes.

Hes kidding.

The Golden Truffle opened in 1980 at 1767 Newport Blvd. It started out as, primarily, a catering business with a deli-like front. Then came some positive press. That led to people sitting down to eat. Lots of them.

In an interview, Greeley recalled how high-class folks initially had nowhere to put their hats or coats once seated.

Without a coat rack, Greeley stuffed them in the back. But then staff got a hold of them.

I had dishwashers working and wearing mink coats, Greeley said with a laugh.

Catering still takes up a large chunk of Golden Truffles business, about 70%, Greeley said.

Among the luminaries in Greeleys fan base  aside from, perhaps, the four U.S. presidents hes served and the Segerstrom family of South Coast Plaza notoriety  is Elton John and his band. They love his meat pies and, in the good ol rocker days, he joked, Theyd spend about $20,000 in gas to pick up $200 in meat pies.

That was before the accountants got em, he added.

There was also the time Greeley cooked for Steven Spielbergs 50th birthday party.

Greeley, born at Hoag Hospital and raised in Costa Mesa, where he still lives, originally studied engineering. He went to Estancia High School and Orange Coast College but got sucked into the restaurant world and never turned back. He has no formal culinary training.

Greeley has two sons and eight grandchildren. There are no cooks or future cooks among them, he noted.

Theyre smarter, he said with a laugh.

If the Golden Truffle had to get a label, it could be called a French-Caribbean restaurant, but that wouldnt give the true picture.

We dont follow any gizmo, he said. Since its my place, we can do anything.

Golden Truffles website warns that, while theres a posted menu  including Russian cabbage soup, shucked Maine lobster, chicken fried steak and Alaskan halibut  it can change daily and remains subject to the freshest ingredients and the whim of the chef.

Thus, a Golden Truffle entree may be one thing, but it could come served on a plate with dabs of infused olive oil and peppered with, say, canary carrot and beat powder. The result makes for a colorful smattering.

Theres always a little zip and zang and lots of color, he said.

The decor is eclectic, with plenty of personal mementos of Greeleys travels and travails. There are Caribbean influences, but theres also a semi-hidden wine cellar-esque dining room with bookshelves and a painting of a monkey reading The Wall Street Journal. On a recent afternoon, it was rented out for a group of Russians who wanted to eat Russian food.

Around the corner are some Elton John memorabilia and a cartoon sketch of Greeley.

When Greeley leaves, hes taking the Golden Truffle name with him. Hes not sure what the new owners are going to do, but it will involve using some of Greeleys staff. He wanted to make sure they still had jobs.

Besides, he added, there would be nothing left to give new ownership. The Golden Truffle doesnt keep recipes.

Theyre going to get their own piano, play their own songs, Greeley said.

Meanwhile, the Golden Truffle cooks told their boss theyre aiming for their best ever in the coming weeks. The pressure is on to close out with culinary flair.

For Greeley, this make him wonder: Why did they wait so long?

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint
A Laguna Beach woman who authorities say befriended small-business owners and then stole more than $1.5 million from them over seven years is facing up to 23 years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud.

Elizabeth Lizzie Mulder, 34, pleaded guilty May 15 to wire fraud and subscribing to a false tax return, both felonies, as part of a deal with federal prosecutors in exchange for a potentially reduced prison sentence, according to court documents.

Mulder is expected to be sentenced in federal court Oct. 16.

Her attorney, Kate Corrigan, did not return a call seeking comment June 8.

According to authorities, Mulder devised a scheme in which she gained the trust of local small-business owners, agreed to act as their accountant and then embezzled money from them between July 2009 and May 2016.

Mulder told the business owners she was an accountant and president of Mulder Financial Consulting, authorities said. Actually, however, she was a saleswoman for a soil and fertilizer company, Laguna Beach police said.

Police alleged Mulder deceived clients into making checks payable to a phony business she created called Income Tax Payments under the guise that those payments would satisfy the clients outstanding federal tax obligations.

Mulder became the subject of a police fraud investigation in January 2016 after the owner of JAC Wines in Laguna Beach told police that he suspected his accountant had stolen $200,000 from him.

During the 18-month investigation, police identified five other businesses that Mulder is believed to have embezzled from  Toni & Guy Hair Salon in Newport Beach, the Kurtz-Ahlers travel agency in San Juan Capistrano, Bella Pilates in San Clemente, Andra Builders Inc. in Costa Mesa and California Print 2 Copy in Irvine.

According to police, Mulder used the money for personal expenses including a luxury rental home overlooking the beach in Laguna, cosmetic surgery, vacations, horse rentals and horse equipment.

Mulder also was accused of filing tax returns from 2011 to 2016 that did not show the true amount of her income for those years, according to court documents.

Laguna Beach police Det. Jordan Mirakian, who investigated the case, said one of the most troubling aspects of the situation was how Mulder got people to trust her before she betrayed them. Mulder frequently would attend the business owners weddings, holidays and parties.

I think the biggest problem I have is that Lizzie not only stole money from these people but she became ingrained in their lives, Mirakian said. Through charisma and gaining their trust, she became part of their family.

Its one thing to steal from people, but its another thing to steal from them when youre having a glass of wine with them over Thanksgiving dinner, he added.

During a search of Mulders home, police found an app on her phone that she could use to disguise her voice, Mirakian said. Police and business owners suspect she used the software to call the victims pretending to be other people in an effort to cover her tracks.

As long as her mouth was moving, she was lying, Mirakian said.

Lauren Scaccia, one of the owners of the Toni & Guy salon, said she was surprised when she received a notice that she had a large workers compensation insurance bill from 2015 that was past due.

She said she discussed it with Mulder, who was acting as her accountant, and that Mulder said it was being handled. Soon after, Scaccia received a call from a woman who said she was from the company that handled the salons workers compensation insurance. The woman said her account was in good standing.

But the woman said something that struck Scaccia as eerily familiar: Youre totally fine. It was a phrase Mulder often would use to calm her nerves, Scaccia said.

Suspicious, Scaccia called the number back. It routed her to the insurance company handling her account.

Scaccia believes Mulder stole the money that was to be used to pay the bill.

A few weeks after the suspicious conversation, Scaccia received a call from Mulders husband, who said he suspected his wife was stealing.

She went after friends and family, people that trusted her, people who wouldnt question her credentials, Scaccia said. The whole thing is just madness. Its disgusting. What shes done to us on so many levels we will suffer from for years to come.

Scaccia and Mulder attended high school together and reconnected at a friends wedding in Italy in 2010. The two became close friends.

She has painted herself into so many of our memories. There she was in photos of my bridal shower, Scaccia said. Every picture of me walking down the aisle at my wedding, shes right there. She made sure she was positioned in our lives in every aspect.

When Scaccia and her business partner wanted to open a Toni & Guy salon in 2015 but were having trouble finding an accountant, Scaccia went to Mulder for advice.

She said Mulder agreed to help establish and ultimately manage the business accounts.

We believed wholeheartedly that she was who she said she was, Scaccia said. To find out that she didnt have credentials from anywhere and is 100% a fraud, its still hard for me to wrap my head around.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

UPDATES:

June 13, 11:50 a.m.: This article was updated with a new sentencing date of Oct. 16.

This article was originally published June 8 at 6:20 p.m.
A man and a woman suspected of stealing merchandise from an outlet store in Costa Mesa were arrested Thursday after a brief police pursuit.

Costa Mesa police received a call at 8:39 p.m. reporting a theft from Saks Off 5th at 901 South Coast Drive.

The caller said a man and a woman were concealing merchandise and trying to leave the store when they were confronted by an employee, according to police Sgt. Doug Johnson.

The woman struggled with the employee before leaving, Johnson said.

Police said the pair climbed into a white SUV and fled south on Bear Street. Police pursued the car on the southbound 55 Freeway to the Victoria Street exit, where it struck another vehicle, Johnson said.

The SUV returned to the 55 heading south and got stuck in traffic. Officers surrounded the car and took two people into custody.

Daniela Inostroza-Olate, 43, of Chile was arrested on suspicion of robbery and commercial burglary. Maximo Sandoval, 22, of Van Nuys was arrested on suspicion of commercial burglary.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
With all the restoration the yacht had in its 64 years under different owners up and down California, it would have been hard for someone to recognize.

It also would have been unlikely that one of the few people who remembered the vessel in its original form would have pulled his own boat next to it in Newport Beach while visiting from out of town.

But thats what happened.

As a member of the Classic Yacht Assn., Jim Kroeger enjoys heritage boats. He grew up on the water and was familiar with Newport. His grandfather William Thompson kept a bespoke 42-foot cruiser of teak and mahogany named Sea Boarder docked outside his home on Little Balboa Island, and young Kroeger visited often.

In 2015, Kroeger took his vintage 21-foot steam launch  think the African Queen  from his Pasadena home to the Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival. He pulled his trailer up to the Balboa Yacht Club, next to a boat with familiar lines.

I said, Oh, it looks like the Sea Boarder,  Kroeger said. But oh, it cant be.

Walk-throughs are encouraged at boat shows, so Kroeger climbed aboard. The owner wasnt there, and he felt sneaky as he looked for the boats hull number, just to be sure. He remembered a 912. When he found the registration, he saw the three numbers he was looking for, and he cried.

The yacht had a new owner who hadnt given it a name yet.

But to Kroeger, it already had a name. Its name was Sea Boarder.

***

The Wooden Boat Festival returns to Newport Harbor on Saturday. The show will feature up to 50 classic boats on land and in the water  motor-, sail- and human-powered.

Two larger craft will host passengers for harbor cruises. The 100-foot fantail yacht Electra, built in 1930, is a regular party boat in the harbor and was Ronald Reagans official yacht when he visited Newport during his presidential years. The 82-foot schooner Curlew, built in 1926, is visiting from Dana Point.

The Mei Wen Ti, a Chinese junk and winner of last years Peoples Choice award for larger sailboats, will offer tours at Discovery Cubes Ocean Quest dock Saturday.

Also in the water: the Sea Boarder.

***

The Sea Boarder left Thompsons family after he died in 1970, when Kroeger was 11. It eventually landed in a barn in Stockton on the Sacramento Delta and underwent a major restoration in 1998. But it didnt see much action.

Wooden boats are hard to maintain. The elements are hard on them, and theyre heavy.

Usually old boats like that are chopped up for firewood, Kroeger said.

Chad Ware, a Costa Mesa RV dealer, rescued the yacht in 2014 and stripped the paint and varnish for his own refresh. It was nearly complete when he took it to the Newport Beach show in 2015.

Stephens Bros. built the vessel and keeps impeccable records. Ware had gotten hold of correspondence between Thompson and the shipwrights and started tracing Thompsons family but hadnt found a living descendant.

Then he found Kroeger in the boat. The two kept in touch, and a few months later, Kroeger called Ware when he was visiting Orange County. He thought they could meet for lunch.

Then he found out the Sea Boarder was for sale. Wares wife wanted something with newer amenities.

Kroeger wanted to buy the boat and sought advice from his brother, who promptly approved. Its now docked at an aunts home in Huntington Beach.

Ware doesnt remember how much he sold it for, but he knows he took a bath on it. He said it was worth it.

The outcome for the old girl couldnt have been better, he said.

Kroeger sold his sailboat to a friend when the Sea Boarder came back into his life. He still has his steam launch. Its just like one his grandfather had.

Thompson was a quiet man with smiling eyes who was a good provider for his family. If he wasnt smoking his pipe, he was holding it. The Sea Boarder always smelled sweetly of tobacco, Kroeger said.

Kroeger, who is in sales, didnt go into the family business. The company Thompson founded, Seaboard Finance, was acquired long ago and doesnt exist anymore.

But the Sea Boarder does. Thats the tradition Kroeger plans to uphold.

He made a copy of Thompsons insignia  a pipe with a curl of smoke  and it waves from the top of the pilot house. He put a photo of Thompson in the boat, and when he goes out to sea, he asks it a question.

I say, Granddaddy, will you guarantee us good sailing today? 

If You go

What: Fourth annual Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival

When: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Balboa Yacht Club, 1801 Bayside Drive

Admission: Free

Parking: Free parking and shuttle from Corporate Plaza, 1600 Newport Center Drive, to Balboa Yacht Club

Also: Free water taxi around Newport Harbor; parade of entrants and sail-by open to any heritage/retro boat (Sunday); rides aboard the Electra and Curlew (separate admission)

Information: newportbeachwoodenboatfestival.com

hillary.davis@latimes.com

Twitter: @Daily_PilotHD
As Newport enters new waters with the Councilman Scott Peotter recall effort, the first in the citys history, there has been some innovation alongside the continued controversy.

Tasked with obtaining about 8,500 signatures by October to bring the issue to the voters, the Recall Scott Peotter Committee is taking advantage of the digital age.

Typically, petition drives in the past set up tables in front of grocery stores and other high-traffic public areas with volunteers collecting signatures.

And the committee is doing this, but its added another component by launching a massive email campaign with the actual petition.

Supporters are sending the petition, along with specific instructions as to how to fill it out, print it and mail it back to the committee at 2618 San Miguel Drive, No. 1708, Newport Beach, Calif. 92660. The petition can also be downloaded at recallscottpeotter.com.

This move is groundbreaking. Theyve made it convenient to sign in private , and theyre urging supporters to forward it to their friends. If successful, this could change the way petition drives are conducted from here on out.

But even with the modernized method of signature gathering in addition to manning tables in the community, the recall effort still has a way to go.

I will continue to examine the complexities of the issues surrounding the recall effort. In my last column I raised the notion that with only one candidate at the moment running against Peotter, his former opponent in the 2014 election Mike Toerge, there were those in the community who questioned Toerges past decisions on high-density development.

Toerge supported Measure Y in 2014, while residents overwhelmingly did not.

Toerge and I spoke about that this week.

Reflecting on 2014, Toerge admitted that not supporting No on Y cost him the election.

I got bad advice, he said in reference to political consultants who urged him to support Y, though his initial instinct was not to.

I made a mistake, he said. I made the decision, and I own it.

He went on to say hes always been a residents-first guy, and I compromised my ideals. Ive dealt with it, Im past it and moving on.

Toerge tells me this experience will make him a better councilman, should he prevail in this recall.

But I had to ask, is this recall really just sour grapes, as Peotter and his supporters claim?

Absolutely not, I didnt organize this recall, but I am supporting it, Toerge said.

Now is the time to replace Peotter, as a new General Plan update is being discussed, Toerge said.

Toerge served with Peotter for a time, when both were planning commissioners, and says Peotter voted overwhelmingly for land-use changes and development during that time.

With little land-use expertise on the current council, Peotter, an architect, could have undue influence over current council members, Toerge said, adding that Peotters propensity toward high-density development worries him.

Toerge said that as a planning commissioner he made his decisions based on residents first and city economic gain second.

He also touts his past experience working on the last General Plan update in 2006, zoning codes and the current local coastal plan. His expertise in review, and analysis of code compliance, is what he feels the city needs in the council mix right now.

In this political arena people want to label you either pro- or anti-development, he said. I support the General Plan.

But even if Peotter is recalled, Team Newport would still dominate the council.

Toerge said hes not worried, feels he has a good relationship with Brad Avery -- they hike together -- is impressed with Councilman Will ONeill and has no issues with working with Councilwoman Diane Dixon or Mayor Kevin Muldoon.

Jeff Herdman is going to need someone with conviction who is realistically prepared to change his mind when confronted with compelling factual information, he said.

Toerge believes all on the council would welcome his planning experience and says he can work with anyone who is rational and wants to help community  but not someone with an agenda.

And Peotter has been accused of having a very specific agenda, according a Fair Political Practices Commission complaint filed by activist Susan Skinner.

Among her allegations, Skinner questioned Peotters alleged financial ties to Capitol Ministries in Washington, D.C., which according to its website, plants and develops biblical ministries of evangelism and discipleship to public servants.

As a strong believer in separation of church and state, I found what I read on the organizations site, capmin.org, regarding its political and religious agenda disturbing.

Skinner also raises questions about Peotters 700 financial reporting forms, as Newport Beach planning commissioner from 2006-10, where he reported no reportable interests, including income, spousal income, business interests, investment income and gifts received, yet he managed to live in Newport.

Peotter later told the Daily Pilot he was out of work during the recession and didnt have income to report. He was living off savings.

He also explained to the Pilot that he stands by everything on his forms and has no problem answering any questions by the Fair Political Practices Commission.

I dont have anything to hide, he said. Thats why we file these things publicly.

BARBARA VENEZIA lives in Newport Beach. She can be reached at bvontv1@gmail.com.
Glendale residents living in the Casa Verdugo and South Cumberland Heights areas have applied to add their early-20th-century neighborhoods to the seven designated historic districts in the city.

The residents there have a sense that their neighborhoods are special, that theyre historic, and there is a desire there to preserve the unique character and architectural integrity of their neighborhood[s], said Greg Grammer, president of the Glendale Historical Society.

The organization has provided guidance and financial assistance to the grassroots, neighborhood-led effort, contributing $1,000 toward the application fee for each proposed district.

The boundaries of the proposed historic district in the Casa Verdugo neighborhood would include 112 houses along North Maryland Avenue, North Louise Street, Campbell Street, East Randolph Street and East Mountain Street as well as Lorraine and Ross streets, according to the historical societys newsletter.

Casa Verdugo, which takes its name from a popular restaurant that operated in the neighborhood more than a century ago, is near Glendales largest historic district, Rossmoyne.

Grammer said the historical society previously tried to generate interest in historic designation for the Casa Verdugo neighborhood when it featured a tour of five Casa Verdugo homes for a 2013 architectural and design event.

Casa Verdugo is just a really wonderful mix of almost every architectural style, he said.

For the proposed South Cumberland Heights Historic District, 209 homes are considered for designation. The area is south of the Ard Eevin-Highlands and North Cumberland Heights historic districts, from Grandview Avenue on the west to Highland Avenue on the east, according to the historical society.

The homes in the neighborhood are described by the society as having several types of designs, including Spanish Colonial Revival, French, Tudor, Mediterranean and Monterey Revival.

If granted historic designation by the city, the properties in the two neighborhoods would benefit from the preservation of their architectural character imposed by regulation of proposed changes by the citys Historic Preservation Committee instead of the Design Review Board.

All seven of the historic districts in Glendale were established within the past decade. The most recent historic district, made up of 32 single-family homes in the Verdugo Woodlands neighborhood, was designated to Niodrara Drive in 2013.

The application for both neighborhoods is scheduled for consideration by the Historic Preservation Commission around the end of July, Grammer said.

If approved, applicants would have three months to circulate a petition and collect the signatures of 25% or more of neighborhoods homeowners requesting a formal historic resources survey.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
A group of residents has filed an appeal against a proposed home approved by the citys Design Review Board in April that would cover a total of 9,000 square feet near the Ard Eevin-Highlands Historic District.

The two-story home  proposed by owner Zareh Issakhanian, whos owned the vacant property since 2006  would have 7,562 square-foot of residential space and 1,540 square feet for a garage. The project is located at 1732 Ard Eevin Ave., a hillside lot adjacent to the Ard Eevin historic home.

The appeal, filed by residents living near the project and local historic preservationists, contends that the projects current modern exterior and large size is incompatible with surrounding historic homes.

At more than 7,500 square feet, the residence is much larger than the average home in the neighborhood, which is 2,852 square feet. There is only one other residence in the neighborhood that is similar in size.

Issakhanian said the residences size is reasonable and well within the citys code, considering the more than 8-acre lot on which he is building. He added that the modern design moves forward, while maintaining the beauty of the area.

This is vacant land. Im not demolishing anything, Issakhanian said in a phone interview Friday. It is a dream home of mine that Ive dreamt for many years...Im not asking more than Im allowed to build.

The appellants also claim that the staff report recommending the project incorrectly relied on a mitigated-negative declaration, or MND, adopted by the citys Planning Commission in 2010 for a previous project proposed by the same property owner. In that project, the property owner sought to divide the lot in two, a request that has since been abandoned.

According to the appeal, the 2010 MND did not analyze the aesthetic and historic resource impacts of these design elements in the historic neighborhood.

In a letter sent to the Design Review Board before the April 13 meeting by the Glendale Historical Society, Greg Grammar, the societys president, wrote that the proposed project has changed significantly enough since the 2010 MND to to be considered a major revision and, under California Environmental Quality Act guidelines, a new environmental review document should be prepared.

However, at the start of the Design Review Board meeting on April 13, Chris Baghdikian, planner with the citys Community Development Department, said there were no new impacts since the 2010 MND.

The proposed area of construction is similar to what was initially reviewed and approved, Baghdikian said. Staffs determination was the adopted MND would apply to the current project.

Issakhanian said his attorney has done a review of what the appellants are claiming and found that they have absolutely no basis and will present that finding at the appeal hearing.

Appellant Judy Roa, who lives in the historic Ard Eevin home located near the project site, spoke out against the project during the public comment portion of the Design Review Board meeting.

Theres a lot of community concern and support for them not doing the project in this way, Roa said in a phone interview on Monday. [The owners] should be considering where theyre building and put something more appropriate to the compatibility with the neighborhood up instead of what theyre doing.

Nearly everyone who spoke during public comment portion of the April meeting opposed approval of the project with its current design for similar reasons argued in the appeal.

However, many said they did not oppose development on the site in general and said the design on its own is beautiful.

At the April meeting, the Northwest Glendale Homeowners Assn., represented by Philip Keller, opposed the project on its scale alone.

We support the applicants right to build their dream home  but theres a right that comes with it, a responsibility with that right to do so with a design that is compatible with the surrounding properties, Keller said before the project was approved.

The appeal will be heard by the City Council, but no hearing date has been set. However, the group arguing against the project has hired a land-use attorney to spearhead the appeal, according to Roa.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda

UPDATES:

2:10 p.m.: This article was updated to add comments from property owner, Zareh Issakhanian.

This article was originally published on June 8, 2:15 p.m.
After a 20-year marriage and a separation, I decided to try online dating.

I quickly learned to keep the first meeting short, not dinner, in case things didnt go well. On one date I arranged to meet a UCLA law school graduate at a Santa Monica coffee house. As a lawyer myself, I anticipated at least some interesting conversation with a well-educated woman. At first sight, I thought she had sent her mother, not the woman pictured in her dating profile.

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But I kept an optimistic attitude, said hello and asked an open-ended question: How was your week?

Are you a veteran of L.A.'s current dating scene? We want to publish your story

To my surprise, she proceeded to tell me all about how she injured her toe. I wanted to ask where in my profile it said I liked whiners, but instead asked what she would like to drink. After I delivered the drinks, she asked if she could suggest our conversation topic.

I said sure. I had high hopes that this intelligent woman was going to take me far away from the toe. She was ready with the topic: Her electricity bill! Oh, the overcharges! I took the quick exit from this date.

Meanwhile, an elderly doctor who used to live across the street from me in Rolling Hills Estates died. Although Id moved out after the divorce, my children still lived there with their mother, and I had my office in that house. I knew several of his sons and happened to run into one of them as I was walking out, and offered my condolences. He asked if I would come to the wake that was scheduled a couple of days later. When I showed up, all his children were there, and I ended up introducing myself to one of the deceaseds daughters. I will call her M.

She was very attractive, vibrant, slender with short hair and shocking deep blue eyes. She was also recently divorced. She had come to the funeral from Colorado, where she lived. She was in town for a couple of days. We talked for about 20 minutes and then she moved on to do something with the family.

As I was leaving the wake, she was sitting on the porch with some relatives and a friend. I said goodbye to all, but looked M. in the eyes and said that I was particularly glad to have met her. I later found out that the group had just been ribbing her because of our extended conversation earlier. I later learned that as soon as I was out of earshot, one of her young nieces said to her: You have a boyfriend! She was quite embarrassed.

The next day, I was walking by the late doctors house and she was in the driveway. We struck up a conversation. I noticed that her eyes were a different color. I had a feeling she did not wear colored contacts. I asked if her eyes changed color. She said that they did. We somehow got to talking about dating, and I told her the toe story and we both laughed. She said dating was even more of a challenge in the rural area in which she lived.

Over the course of the next couple of days, I asked her out to lunch, then dinner, but she couldnt make either. Another day, I found her in the kitchen of her dads house, on the phone. She couldnt put the phone down, but all the while those beautiful eyes, which had turned green, were sparkling at me. She left town shortly after that. But I didnt have her phone or email.

More L.A. Affairs columns

I had a hunch, though, that the town was small enough that I could get her phone number with just her name, looking in the White Pages online. After waiting a couple of days, I tried and succeeded. I sat on the number for another day or two and thought Id better call while she remembered me. She later told me that when she saw the area code, she thought it was one of her brothers, so she picked up. I immediately explained that I could not be a stalker because I lived across the street from her dad for 10 years. I dont know if she bought that, but she did not hang up.

That began about three months of increasingly frequent phone calls. Instead of a first date or any date, our calls got longer and more frequent. We shared a similar sense of humor and made each other laugh. M. was also very insightful and caring. I could tell the latter by how she talked about her family and her students. (She is a teacher.) I began to fall for her. Finally, I called to say that I wanted to visit her.

We were both very nervous, but had a great long weekend together in the Colorado mountains. We went hiking, but mostly focused on getting to know each other. By this time, I knew that I was in love with her.

I invited her to visit me in Los Angeles. She made a series of trips, and I tried to take her places she hadnt been before. She loves colors, so I took her to the flower mart in downtown Los Angeles. She was stunned with the variety, colors and beauty of the flowers. From there, we went to eat in Chinatown, where we had delicious scallops.

During Christmas, we went to Naples in Long Beach to see the Christmas lights, which were gorgeous. The gondola ride, with just the two of us, was very romantic. We went to both Getty museums, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. After enjoying the museum, we went to the outdoor cafe and listened to jazz play on the plaza. We also went to Terranea in Rancho Palos Verdes, which was built long after she moved away from Southern California. We strolled the grounds, had a snack and enjoyed the wonderful ocean views. Since M.s sister was married at the nearby Wayfarers Chapel, we stopped there as well.

We have now been seeing each other for a couple of years and plan to live together soon in south Redondo Beach -- not far from where she was raised.

When people ask how we met, I tell them that I gave up on Match.com and found her on Wake.com.

L.A. Affairs chronicles the current dating scene in and around Los Angeles. If you have comments or a true story to tell, email us at LAAffairs@latimes.com.

MORE L.A. LOVE STORIES 

I got caught on AshleyMadison.com

8 lessons I learned about being single in L.A.

I finally asked her: Are we dating, or just hanging out?

L.A. Affairs chronicles the current dating scene in and around Los Angeles. If you have comments, or a true story to tell, email us at LAAffairs@latimes.com.


You can get to Manila from LAX for as little as $610 round trip, including all taxes and fees, thanks to this fare on Philippine Airlines.

The fare, subject to availability, must be purchased by June 22. It is for departures Sundays through Thursdays from Sept. 3 through Dec. 5 and again from Jan. 16 through March 15.

You must stay at least three nights, but may not stay more than a month.

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Info: Philippine Airlines, (800) 435-9725

Source: Airfarewatchdog

travel@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimestravel

ALSO:

Philippines travel: courage and legacy

Step up to the Biltmores bar in downtown L.A. and remember the Black Dahlia

Besalu, the most interesting Spanish Village youve never heard of
A suicide attacker blew himself up in a market south of the capital of Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 21 people, while another bomb in a nearby city wounded five others, police and medical officials said.

Explosions are common in Iraq and have killed hundreds of people this year alone. The blasts have been ongoing as government forces and their allies have scored victories against the Islamic State group, which has claimed responsibility for much of the attacks.

The officials said the Friday morning blast in a market in the village of Musayyib killed 21 and wounded 30. The medical officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

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It was a very ugly incident, said Falah Khafaji, head of the security committee in the southern province of Babil where Musayyib is located. He added that the attack occurred as people were out shopping during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.

The blast came hours after a bomb exploded in the Shiite holy city of Karbala near Mussayyib, wounding five people.

Shortly after the two blasts occurred, the Islamic State-linked Aamaq news agency said the group was behind both attacks. It said both were carried out by suicide attackers wearing explosive vests.

Musayyib and Karbala are predominantly Shiite Muslim, a sect that Islamic State reviles and considers heretics.

Also Friday, the Iraqi government criticized the announcement by the Kurdish autonomous government that it will hold a referendum on independence in September.

Earlier this week, Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraqs autonomous Kurdish region, announced plans for a referendum on Sept. 25 on whether to secede from Iraq.

The vote would be held in three governorates that make up the Kurdish region and in the areas that are disputed by the Kurdish and Iraqi governments.

In Baghdads first comment on the Kurdish move, government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi said Friday the Kurds cannot make such a move alone.

Al-Hadithi said: All Iraqis must have a say in defining the future of their nation. No single party can determine the future of Iraq in isolation from the other. Any decision on this issue must be taken in consultation with other parties and safeguard national consensus.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also commented on the announcement, saying the Iraqi Kurd plans to hold a referendum on independence was an irresponsible decision that will add to the regions problems.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Yildirim reiterated Turkeys support for Iraqs territorial integrity.

Yildirim said: There are sufficient problem areas in our region, and we dont think it is right to create new problem areas.

Turkeys Foreign Ministry also criticized the move earlier, calling it a grave mistake.
An armed drone fired on U.S.-backed coalition forces on patrol Thursday outside a small military garrison in southern Syria where American special operations forces train Syrian rebels.

The drone, believed to be an Iranian-made Shahed-129, missed the ground forces, and the bomb itself failed to explode, according to U.S. officials.

A U.S. F-15 fighter jet, scrambled from a nearby airfield, shot down the drone  the first time an American fighter destroyed an enemy aircraft in air-to-air combat since February 2009.

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Earlier in the day, coalition warplanes destroyed two trucks mounted with machine guns that were advancing toward the Tanf garrison.

The incidents are part of a steady escalation of the U.S. militarys role in Syria  one that runs the risk of putting American forces on a collision course with Iran, a close Syrian ally.

The Pentagon is not sure Iranian military piloted the aircraft.

It was clearly meant as an attack, U.S. Army Col. Ryan Dillon, the Baghdad-based spokesman for the campaign against Islamic State, told reporters at the Pentagon via teleconference. We do not see it as a warning shot.

The U.S. military has now conducted three airstrikes in less than a month against what it says are Syrian forces directed by the Iranian government and loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad. The forces have amassed for the last several weeks just outside  and have repeatedly encroached inside  a 35-mile de-confliction zone that rings the base and was negotiated with Syrian ally Russia.

We wont allow the Americans to control the borders, and weve informed them of this.  Hadi Ameri, head of Iraqs Badr Organization

In recent months, the U.S. has ramped up the number of special operations advisors, weapons and other support for Syrian rebels battling to deny Islamic State militants access to the Badia, a desolate swath of territory in Syrias southeast that has long been a conduit for the jihadis moving east into Iraq and on to Iran and back. The rebels also want to overthrow Syrias government, even though the two sides share a common enemy in Islamic State.

With support from a U.S.-led coalition, the rebels have snatched hundreds of square miles there from Islamic State. The desert fighting is a prelude to campaigns for oil-rich Dair Alzour province, which is largely in the hands of the extremists, as well as the city of Raqqah, the groups de facto Syrian capital.

Dozens of shiny new U.S.-supplied Toyota Land Cruisers, equipped with platforms that can take a heavy gun, lay on flatbed trucks rumbling into Tanf, a small base that U.S., British and Norwegian special forces use as a staging ground to train, equip and fight alongside their rebel partners. Advanced U.S. weapons, including drones and projectiles designed for clearing minefields, have been used in recent confrontations between rebels in Syrias south and forces loyal to Assad.

But the campaign has spurred Assad and his allies  who include Iranian military advisors as well as irregular military forces from Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan  to launch their own offensive in Badia against Islamic State and the rebels. In addition, Russia has deployed warplanes and special forces to bolster Assads battered ground troops.

All sides, the Americans, the Iraqis, the Syrians, the Iranians, are in a race against time to consolidate their strategic positions between Iraq and Syria, Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East studies at the London School of Economics, said in a phone interview on Tuesday. It was a matter of who will reach the Iraqi-Syrian border first, he added.

Further complicating the situation, Central Combat Media, a news channel affiliated with the Lebanese faction Hezbollah, last week issued a statement from the Syrian army and its allies saying it had launched the Great Dawn operations aimed at controlling the eastern desert of Syria and liberating it from the presence of Islamic State militants. Hezbollah is supported by Iran and is allied with Assad.

The U.S., which has favored Assad stepping down, has given varying degrees of support to the rebels over the six-year civil war.

The pro-government troops approached Tanf on Tuesday with a tank, artillery, antiaircraft weapons, trucks mounted with machine guns, and more than 60 soldiers, according to a statement by the coalition.

The U.S. military said it issued several warnings before destroying two artillery pieces and an antiaircraft weapon and damaging a tank.

The U.S. military does not speak with the Syrian government. So U.S. military officers at an air command center in Qatar called their Russian counterparts on a special hotline set up to ensure the two countries pilots do not mistakenly run into  or fire upon  one another in the skies above Syria.

After warning the Russians of the impending strikes, the ground forces continued their activity, the U.S. military said. The coalition then carried out the airstrike.

The U.S. military launched the first airstrike May 18 against the ground forces. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis said afterward that the fighters were believed to be Iranian-directed forces.

After that strike, the coalition dropped leaflets warning pro-government forces they were within the de-confliction zone and commanding Syrian forces to leave this area now.

But the threat to Tanf may also come from across the border in Iraq, where paramilitary factions backed by Iran, known as the Popular Mobilization Units, or Hashd al Shaabi, have begun to push Islamic State into Syria.

Although those militias are in a reluctant alliance with the coalition against Islamic State, the U.S. views these factions as little more than Iranian proxies.

Hadi Ameri, head of Iraqs Badr Organization and a leader in the militias, said in an interview on Lebanese news broadcaster Al Mayadeen that his forces would clear the Iraqi side of the border with Syria.

We wont allow the Americans to control the borders, and weve informed them of this, he said, adding that although his forces would chase Daesh wherever it is, they would not enter Syrian territory without coordination with Damascus. Daesh is a pejorative Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

If the militias did cross into Syria, it would strengthen Damascuss bid for the east and, Washington and its allies say, give Iran unprecedented influence in the area by creating a land route linking Tehran to Beirut.

Such a link would allow easier transfer of weapons and support to Iranian proxies in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, said in a phone interview.

Iranian officials dismissed those claims, saying there was no need for such a geographic link.

Why make this land corridor in these risky areas? Are we mad? Americans do not understand the reality on the ground, said Hussein Sheikholeslam, a senior advisor to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Bulos, a special correspondent, reported from Amman and Hennigan, a staff writer, from Washington. Special correspondent Ramin Mostaghim in Tehran contributed to this report.

@nabihbulos

twitter:@nabihbulos

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Thousands filled the streets of the capital Friday to mourn 17 victims of two attacks this week by Islamic State militants, the first time in recent memory Sunni jihadists managed to strike the heart of the Shiite Islamic Republic.

Six attackers died  including five men and a woman who blew herself up  and several were detained in connection with the attacks Wednesday at Irans parliament and the tomb of Irans revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. More than 50 people were wounded in the morning attack on parliament, which was in session.

According to an Iranian government statement, the male attackers had returned to the country last summer after fighting for Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqah, Syria, and had intended to carry out terrorist operations in religious cities. The statement did not say whether the attackers were Iranian citizens.

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Reza Seifollahi, deputy chief of the Supreme National Security Council, told the independent newspaper Shargh that the male attackers were Iranian.

Irans Intelligence Ministry said Friday that more than three dozen suspects had been arrested across the country in connection with the attacks.

With the help of security forces and families of the suspects, 41 people linked to the attacks and to Daesh have been arrested in different provinces, state television quoted the interior ministry as saying, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. Lots of documents and weaponry have been seized as well.

The attacks came at a particularly charged time in the region, days after Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing Tehran and militant groups.

Before a funeral procession at parliament early Friday for guards killed there, Irans supreme leader said the attacks will add to Iranians hatred of the United States and Saudi Arabia. In the wake of the attacks, Irans powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard also released a statement implying that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were to blame.

Supreme leader Ali Khamenei said the attacks will not damage the Iranian nations determination, and the obvious result is nothing except an increase in hate for the governments of the United States and their stooges in the region like Saudi.

Saudi Arabia has denied responsibility for the attacks.

Ali Larijani, the speaker of Irans parliament, also spoke out ahead of the funerals.

Daesh is an international danger, he said.

Mourners gathered outside the parliament complex Friday to watch the funeral procession. Some cried, while others chanted, Death to Saudi Arabia, Death to America and God is greatest. Some carried pictures of Khamenei that said, We are ready to sacrifice our blood for you. Onlookers reached out to touch passing victims coffins, wrapped in Iranian flags.

Mohammad Rasouli, 66, sitting on the ground with a group across the street, said it was his duty to attend the procession and an afternoon funeral expected at 2 p.m. during weekly prayers.

I came with my friends to show our solidarity with our supreme leader and nation. From here, we go to Friday prayers. If we do not go there, Daesh will be emboldened, he said.

During the procession through parliament, the heads of Irans executive, legislative and judiciary branches all paid their respects, including President Hassan Rouhani, Larijani and the head of the judiciary, Sadeq Amoli Larijani. Unlike other leaders, Rouhani, a moderate, didnt blame foreign powers, but rather said the attacks targeted peace and democracy.

Parliamentary staff who survived the attack also attended the procession under tight security. They stood alongside friends and family of the victims, who dressed in black.

Special correspondent Mostaghim reported from Tehran. Times staff reporter Hennessy-Fiske reported from Beirut.

UPDATES:

10:30 a.m.: This article was updated with details about the funeral.

This article was originally published at 8:20 a.m.
When terrorists strike Iran, they usually target the Sistan-Baluchistan province on the countrys border with Pakistan.

It was there in April that Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni Muslim insurgent group, killed 10 Iranian border guards. Between 2013 to 2015, the group killed at least 22 other border guards in a bid to call attention to religious discrimination against Irans Sunni population.

Terrorist attacks in major Iranian cities are rare, which is one reason the near-simultaneous assaults Wednesday in Tehran were so remarkable.

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They struck at the heart of the capital  the parliament building and the shrine of the founder of the Islamic Republic  leaving 17 people dead and dozens more injured. Islamic State quickly claimed responsibility for what would be its first successful terrorist operation on Iranian soil.

Irans Intelligence Ministry said five of the assailants were Iranians who had left the country to join the militant group, then returned last year, according to the state news agency.

So how has the Iranian government generally managed to avoid violence on such a scale?

For starters, demographics. The majority of Iranians are Shiite Muslims.

That makes them prime targets for Islamic State militants, who are Sunnis and consider Shiites to be apostates. But it also makes it difficult for the extremist group to successfully recruit Iranians to carry out attacks in their homeland.

About 9% of Iranians are Sunni, but most live in impoverished hinterlands. It is difficult for them to carry out attacks in more populated areas because of the travel, expense and logistics involved.

Iran also has a strong grip on domestic security. The police force, state Basij militia and border guards are deployed throughout the country, including the sensitive border region where many Sunnis live. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also has its own counter-terrorism unit responsible for gathering intelligence and carrying out covert operations within the country and abroad.

After Islamic State rose to prominence in 2014, Iran had to come up with a new counter-terrorism strategy, according to Ariane Tabatabai, an assistant professor of security studies at Georgetown University

Iran noticed the Islamic State was more brutal and had a clear anti-Shiite and anti-Iran agenda, she said.

Part of Irans strategy included a military offensive in Iraq and Syria to prevent fighting from spilling over into Iran. Iran sends military advisors to Iraq to help fight Islamic State and money and equipment to Syria to prop up President Bashar Assad.

In March 2016, the Iranian parliament voted to increase its counter-terrorism and cybersecurity budget with the aim of increasing surveillance to identify potential Islamic State operatives. Not long after, Iranian officials said they had prevented 1,500 Iranians from joining Islamic State and uncovered and stopped a terrorist operation that was planning attacks on 50 different targets in Tehran.

Iran also runs a propaganda campaign aimed at deterring Sunnis from radicalization.

It puts out messages both domestically and across its borders to counter Islamic States use of Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites to recruit fighters. While the militant group plays up sectarian divides to appeal to Sunni minorities who face discrimination, Iranian propaganda downplays religious differences.

Iran is reaching out to people beyond its border to say that the Islamic State is not actually Islamic and that there is no difference between Sunnis and Shiites, Tabatabai said. Iran has had a tough time selling that message to people, but its trying.

In March, Islamic State released a 36-minute video message in Persian urging Irans Sunni population to attack the countrys Shiite-led government.

Its unclear whether that inspired any of the assailants in the attack this week. But it is clear that Iran is a desirable target for the extremists.

This attack shows us how Iran is no longer immune, said Vali Nasr, dean of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Attacks that we have seen in other Middle East cities and Western capitals [are] now happening in Tehran. Citizens cannot trust it wont happen again.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad

ALSO

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Do you think we will go away? Islamic State says after attacks in Iran that leave 12 dead

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Before anyone gets excited over New York State being the first in the nation to offer tuition-less college, there are seven things to know before applying to the Excelsior Scholarship.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's scholarship program that offers free tuition to City University of New York and State University of New York students, is now accepting applications until the deadline, July 21.

On Wednesday, June 7, the Excelsior Scholarship program officially opened in New York, and about 3,000 students signed up.

According to the governor's office, about 85 percent of the more than 460,000 college-ready families would be eligible for the plan and 940,000 residents around the state would qualify once the program is fully phased in.

But to be eligible, you need to know a few things about the program that was signed into law by Cuomo along with Hillary Clinton in April.

To be eligible:

Must attend a two-year or four-year CUNY or SUNY college

Students must be New York State residents for 12 continuous months

Only students whose family earn less than $100,000 a year, which will increase to families earning less than $125,000 when the program is fully phased in

Must enroll as a fulltime student, which is at least 30 credits per year

The program is not offered to undocumented students

Excelsior recipients must agree to continue living in New York State after they graduate for the same length of time the award was received

Private university students in New York State can apply for the $6,000 tuition assistance called the Enhanced Tuition Award

For more information go to ny.gov.
Jun 8, 2017, 4:28pm ET

City official says Musk's Boring Company an 'absurd pipe dream'

Santa Monica city manager Rick Cole says the permitting and environmental review litigation could go on for decades.

A California city official has dismissed Elon Musk's tunneling ambition as patently unattainable due to bureaucratic red tape.

Frustrated with the 'soul-destroying' traffic the Los Angeles area -- home to both SpaceX and Tesla -- Musk recently formed The Boring Company to revolutionize tunneling and move some of the city's traffic underground.

The startup wants to shrink tunnel diameters and improve boring machines to significantly slash construction costs below the current level of around a billion dollars per mile.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Business Journal, Santa Monica city manager Rick Cole did not address Musk's technological proposals but rather the idea that any tunneling, especially by a private company, could clear permitting and environmental review hurdles.

"We would laugh them out of our office," he said. "It's a completely absurd pipe dream."

The city official suggests the complexity, regulatory hurdles and challenges with rights-of-way could stretch the approval process out "for decades." The newspaper points to LA's 2012 attempt to extend a subway tunnel under Beverly Hills. The effort encountered fierce opposition from the community and has now been stalled until 2024 at a cost of $6.3 billion.

The Boring Company is apparently getting its feet wet with tunnels under SpaceX' headquarters, but the company is undoubtedly aware of the bureaucratic challenges it will face if it wants to extend its underground network onto city property. California's environmental regulations kept the state out of the running for Tesla's Gigafactory and would discourage The Boring Company from building its first serious transportation tunnel there.

Although Musk has a personal interest in alleviating Los Angeles traffic, The Boring Company has not officially confirmed any intention to only operate in LA. If the startup follows Tesla's lead and survives to a mature company ready to start digging, it could seek a project that balances the highest bidder and minimal red tape.
A landmark Lehigh Valley concert venue could be razed if a local developer has its way.

Plans call for the demolition of Crocodile Rock at 520 W. Hamilton St. in Allentown. The property is listed on the city's zoning hearing board agenda for June 19. The agenda says City Center Investment Corp. wants permission to demolish the club and put in a multi-story residential and office building.

But City Center Investments doesn't own the club, according to Lehigh county online property records. Lehigh Landholdings Inc. has owned it since 1999.

The Morning Call of Allentown reports that Lehigh Landholdings owner Joe Clark is negotiating with City Center Investment Corp. The newspaper says the item will be yanked from the zoning agenda because the sale isn't complete.

Clark didn't return a phone message left at his business office. Nor did a spokesperson for City Center Investments. J.B. Reilly is the president of that company.

City spokesman Mike Moore said he couldn't confirm any pending sale of Crocodile Rock.

"City Center has not yet asked the zoning office for a continuance," Moore said.

The once popular music venue

in 2012. The state cited a shooting

outside the venue after a rap concert on Aug. 23, 2009 and eight additional liquor code violations between September 2005 and October 2009 as reasons to pull the license.



The venue remained open as a non-alcoholc club, but Clark's promoter, SLP Concerts, pulled shows from the venue in March 2013. As a result, some tickets sold weren't honored.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the liquor license ban in May 2014. Clark was smacked with a judgment in July 2014 for which he owed more than $100,000. Court documents say he let his license lapse to play five copyrighted classic rock songs at the club but played them anyway.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
The duo behind Bethlehem's Tapas on Main and Easton's Mesa Modern Mexican have a new taqueria in the works for downtown Bethlehem.

Rafael Palomino and Juan Carlos Paredes hope to open Urbano, a Mexican taqueria, in the former Little Italy on Main, 526 Main St., by late summer, Palomino confirmed Friday.

"We feel that the concept has a lot of legs," Palomino said. "We are very excited."

This will be their fourth restaurant -- they also own Cahcette Bistro and Creperie -- on Bethlehem's Main Street. The team is currently working to open a breakfast spot, The Flying Egg, at 451 Main St. in the former Artfully Elegant shop, later this summer as well.

Little Italy on Main has sat empty since a September 2014 fire, just months after it opened. Downtown merchants had called for a new tenant that would drive foot traffic on the streets.

After surveying existing customers, Palomino said they saw demand for this new restaurant in the historic downtown corridor. He expects it will draw more people to Bethlehem.

"I think it creates opportunities for everybody," Palomino said.

Palomino said customers can expect a casual dining experience similar to what they would find in a New York City Mexican spot. The eatery will serve up both lunch and dinner and offer a full bar.

The first hint of the new venture came back in March when Paredes snapped up one of Northampton County's so-called "zombie" liquor licenses.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board auctioned off the expired restaurant licenses in compliance with Act 39 of 2016, which liberalized booze sales in Pennsylvania and required about 1,200 expired licenses be auctioned off to new owners.

Paredes bid $125,499 for a license in Bethlehem, but had not said what he planned to do with it.

Their attorney Theodore Zeller said that no public hearing is required for the liquor license since it was already in existence. The restaurant just must post notice of its application, which it did on June 1.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Why?

Randy Stair, 24, of Franklin Township, Wyoming County, apparently spent months creating the justification for three killings he would carry out early Thursday morning in a northeastern Pennsylvania grocery store, according to a published report.

The Press & Sun-Bulletin in central New York state said Stair offered his video explanation that was "part of a massive, highly disturbing series of uploads that included videos, photographs, audio and journal entries post just before the killings."

Wyoming County District Attorney Jeff Mitchell summed it up as "a mental health situation that utterly spiraled out of control," according to the Associated Press.

The dead included fellow Weis employees Terry Sterling, 63; Victoria Brong, 26, and Brian Hayes, 47, authorities said. Stair fired 59 shots from two pistol-grip, 12-gauge shotguns and took his own life, authorities said. The store is in Eaton Township.

Stair began planning months ago, according to the Press & Sun-Bulletin.

He figured out how to block most of the emergency exits with pallets, but he struggled with one door, the newspaper said. He ended up parking his car against it.

"That is the greatest idea I've ever had. ... That idea just changed everything," the newspaper quoted Stair saying on video.

But Stair "had been planning to die for more than four years," the Press & Sun-Bulletin said. He experienced depression, the newspaper said. As for getting help and medication, "That's not me, never would be," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

He hid his depression, but added in a video, the newspaper said, "I hated life. I hated meeting people. I just hated going through everyday life."

He created an online identity of Andrew Blaze in animations featuring Ember McLain, Nickelodeon villain from the "Danny Phantom" series that ended nearly 10 years ago. the newspaper said. He had 428 subscribers to his YouTube channel, the Press & Sun-Bulletin said.

"If it weren't for YouTube, I'd probably just been a teenager sitting in his room all day doing nothing," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

On June 6, he suggested on Twitter that "you won't want to miss this one ... It's going to be historic," the newspaper said. His Wednesday video upload ranted against "all of the people (who) screwed me over and left me hanging on this video," the Press & Sun-Bulletin quoted him as saying.

At the end of a May 11 video, Stair asks "What's going to happen in the future after this to prevent this from happening again," the newspaper reports. "And the answers is you can't prevent it. You can only endure it."

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Not so fast, Ocean City, Md., says: Cops to enforce tops

Beaches in Ocean City, Maryland, at least temporarily, are topless, according to a published report.

An advocate for women to be topless in public contacted the Worcester County State's Attorney's Office last year to ask why women need to cover up but men don't on the resort's beaches, the CBS station in Baltimore said.

While they wait for an opinion from Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh, the Ocean City Beach Patrol will note the occurrences of female toplessness but not ask the women to put on a top, according to a memo from patrol Capt. Butch Arbin, the television station said.

A commenter of tripadvisor.com wasn't happy on Thursday.

"Parents of young kids going to OC MD as a family vacation... women can now go topless... BEWARE!!!!" the commenter wrote.

Indecent exposure isn't directly spelled out in the state law, a legal expert told the television station.

While they wait, the mayor and city council are not thrilled, the television station said. They are "strongly opposed" to the idea put forth by the "top freedom" movement advocate identified by the Associated Press as Chelsea Covington, the television station said.

They "are exploring what legal actions they can take to prevent topless women on the beach," the CBS station said.

The new policy has been in place since May 20, the television station said.

About 8 million people visit the resort city each year, according to its website.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Many Pennsylvanians trust their beloved pets to the care of their veterinarian because they know veterinarians provide compassionate care for companion animals. However, few Pennsylvanians are aware of the role veterinarians play in protecting the food supply.



Penn Vet, the only school of veterinary medicine in Pennsylvania, has received funding from Pennsylvania until the most recent state budget proposal. The funding Penn Vet receives is critical to protecting both public health and Pennsylvania's food supply. Consider:

Penn Vet has both the personnel and facilities to

Penn Vet's Swine Center collects data on where swine viruses occur, helping farmers and truckers see where disease is present to prevent its spread. The program maintains a map covering 1.29 million hogs in the state and has resulted in a 30 percent reduction in the number of pigs in the program with viruses.

During the last budget impasse, Penn Vet

Penn Vet's role in developing an egg quality assurance program in Pennsylvania results in 99.99 percent of Pennsylvania eggs making it to market without salmonella.

Let's take the steps to ensure Pennsylvania has a safe food supply by restoring funding for Penn Vet.

Joan C. Hendricks

Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia
The average cost of installing a roundabout is up to 350,000, but Laois County Council has said there is no funding available for proposed roundabouts at a number of locations in Portlaoise.

The news emerged at the recent meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal District, where a number of separate notices of motion were raised by local councillors.

Cllr Willie Aird asked the council as a matter of urgency to request the Transport Infrastructure Ireland, (TII), to install a roundabout on the Dublin Road at the junction of Ballyclider.

He received a written response from Farhan Nasiem, acting senior executive engineer, saying that this junction is not on the national route therefore the TII will not be providing funding for construction of a roundabout at this junction. There is no other source of funding available at present.

Cllr Aird took issue with this response, saying that Mr Nasiem had no right to say there was no other funding available. He said the local councillors had funding for such works, and remarked he was glad their hands were not tied by the TII.

He asked his fellow councillors to commit to the roundabout, as it is badly needed.

Supporting, Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald said the road was extremely dangerous, while Cllr Mary Sweeney described it as a nightmare road with very heavy traffic.

Director of services, Mr Kieran Kehoe said that the average cost of a roundabout was between 250,000 and 350,000.

In a separate motion, Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley asked the council to install roundabouts on the Mountmellick Road at the junctions of Ballyfin Road, Dunnes Stores, and Harpers Lane.

She received a response from Mr Nasiem saying the TII has not approved installation of roundabouts at these locations. TII may consider funding for traffic lights on these junction.

Thats a bizarre response, there are three sets of traffic lights there already, said Cllr Dwane Stanley.

Agreeing, Cllr Noel Tuohy said that something other than lights was needed.
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Team recruitment is continuing for Kildare Relay for Life 2017, but the organisers are concerned there are still serious omissions from some areas in the County.

At present, 27 teams are confirmed to take part with another 10 waiting in the wings.

We are encouraging groups, clubs, and families especially from the north and south of County Kildare to consider supporting this Irish Cancer Society Fundraiser, said one of the organisers, Peter ONeill.

The Relay takes place at Punchestown Racecourse on August 19 and 20.

At the Relay we celebrate those who have survived cancer, we remember those have died and we are continuing the fight back and indeed there is hardly a family anywhere who has not been touched by this disease, added Mr ONeill.

This year, the National Screening Service will be available at the Relay to arrange appointments for that service, which is a bonus for those attending.

There will also be a special Survivor Coffee/Tea afternoon in Newbridge Silverware with Relay Ambassador, Keith Walsh in attendance. A date for this will be confirmed shortly.

Information on team recruitment can be found on the Relay for Kildare facebook page and the contacts for teams are Caroline at 087 4499903 and Sharon at 087 6590480.

For other queries contact Chairman Ozzie O Toole at 087 2408086 or Peter O Neill at 087 2422380
On the morning of Monday, 22nd May, we were tipped off that Theresa May was coming to the Memorial Hall in Gresford, an old mining village just outside Wrexham where we live. My wife, Joan (Baroness) Walmsley, and I headed off immediately to be part of this unusual and unheralded event  the last PM in Gresford was Ted Heath in 1970.

The entrance to the hall was manned by anonymous young men in dark suits and unsurprisingly our names were not on the printed list of expected attendees from the local Tory faithful. However, I pointed out that I was President of the Trust which built and owned the building and they obviously thought there would be more trouble if we were excluded. The local Tory candidate reluctantly agreed.

Joan was clued up about the dementia tax, since she had been debating it with Jeremy Hunt at Alzheimers Society meeting in London four days earlier. We thought we might raise the issue with Mrs May.

For the first fifteen minutes, the PM attacked Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell and Diane Abbot in highly personal and insulting terms. The election was apparently between her personally and these reprobates. She was still in strong and stable mode. There was no conservative on the back cloth.

And then something surprising happened.

She slipped in that due to the lies and falsehoods of these dreadful people over the weekend, she needed to clarify the Tory proposals on funding care services: there would of course be a cap  to be determined by consultation after a Green paper. Joan and I looked at each other  this was utterly new.

The media waded in: Laura Kuenssberg asserted this was a U turn, weak and wobbly. Others followed strongly. Mrs May grimaced nothing has changed over and over. We added to the clamour  Oh yes it has, we chanted. She denied she had changed her mind. Joan put up her hand for a question but Theresa had no intention of taking questions from mere members of the public. She soon left to a standing ovation from the faithful.

We spilled out into the forecourt and gave our views to BBC, ITV, S4C and Sky News camera teams. A small crowd of locals had been drawn there by the unusual security activity and were waiting to meet Mrs May face to face. She left by a back door and swept past in a car with darkened windows at speed.

The seeds of her subsequent disaster were there that morning. It was so stupid to pretend she had always intended a cap. Jeremy Hunt had firmly rejected a cap at the Alzheimers meeting. She was fibbing. She could not deal with it. Far from wanting to meet the people, she could not get away quick enough. Further, she was outrageously personal in attacking her opponents.but could not take criticism herself.

The expected Tory gains in North East Wales failed to materialise yesterday. Gresford had witnessed the turning point of the 2017 election.

* Martin Thomas is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords and the party's Shadow Attorney General
Imagine its Bank Holiday Monday in 2027. Were not going to be out in the sunshine. We nerds will be watching the rerun of the results of the (June) 2017 election. Ten years on, the drama will be just as nail biting as we relive some incredible moments. I cant imagine the North East Fife or Richmond Park results ever becoming less tense. Maybe well look on it and the events of the past year as a season of a hard-hitting political drama.

Well also be asking each other if we were still up for Salmond.

I have spent the last 51 days under the impression that we were going to end up with a massive Tory majority which would be interpreted as a mandate to do whatever they liked on Brexit. I thought we would end up with somewhere between 10 and 20 seats. I was right about one of those things. That movement in the polls was not, as I thought, a cynical manipulation of models to create a climate where the Tories could repeat the effective Coalition of Chaos nonsense from 2015. Turns out that the people are over that given the chaos that has ensued.

I have been pretty much neglecting you, dear readers, for the last few weeks because Ive been putting everything Ive got into the Edinburgh West campaign. It was thrilling to be part of a winning campaign. Two years ago, we had two councillors in the constituency. That was all. Now we have the MSP and the MP and five councillors. How did we do it? Well, Alex Cole-Hamilton, Kevin Lang and Tom Utting started as soon as we lost in 2015 and built it back up. And do you know what? It was worth the strained knee that has been really painful these last few days. It was worth getting absolutely soaked for several hours today. To add insult to injury, as I left one polling station in the pouring rain to go to another, a van drove through a puddle and I was soaked from head to foot.

Its incredible to think that Christine wasnt even selected until 28 April. In a few short weeks, her name recognition was phenomenal. She will be a fantastic MP.

Who would have thought that wed have 12 MPs, but only 4 from the previous Parliament?

Here are are new Golden Dozen:

And a third of them are women. Its good but not good enough. We still have work to do in this area.

Another 150 or so votes and wed have had 15. 463 and wed have had 16. For Sarah Olney to lose by just 45, or Elizabeth Riches to lose by 2 is absolutely heartbreaking. Thats not so far from the exit poll which seemed so bizarre when it was first announced.

I am absolutely distraught to lose Nick Clegg. His expertise, wisdom and authority on Brexit is much needed and I hope that a way will quickly be found to enable him to contribute to our national debate. The return of Vince and Ed is great but they dont have Nicks direct knowledge and experience.

While we have had a revival in Scotland, we lost our only MP in Wales. Thats a huge blow.

Daisy Cooper had a cracking result in St Albans  up nearly 14 points and a clear second place behind the Tories. Its a great springboard for next time.

The Conservatives and the SNP both had their worst nightmares. The public saw through Mays power grabbing ploy and declined to go along with it. The SNP lost not far off half their seats. That has to put a second referendum on independence not just off the back burner but back in the deep freeze.

The Tories in particular won their seats on the basis of opposing indyref2 and not much else. They will have to come up with more for next time or they will lose all their gains.

We had a lot of very positive messaging in Scotland which we will now have to develop further.

How we navigate our way through a new set of political circumstances will be much discussed over the next few days. I see it as a huge opportunity for sensible, progressive individuals in all parties to work together in the national interests when the need arises. As politics polarises, lets look at how to bring people together, how to listen to and respond to their concerns. Thats why I think that there may be hope.

Over the next few days, well be looking at what went right and what went wrong in the campaign and how we go forward from here.

But, firstSLEEP!

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
OVER 130,000 has been spent on providing 780 TVs in Limerick Prison over the past five years, new figures obtained by the Limerick Leader show.

The high level of spending on TVs at the Mulgrave Street jail  for 250 prisoners between both male and female wings - has been highlighted in a dossier of complaints containing allegations of theft and fraud at the prison.

It has been sent to the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Department of Public Expenditure, a number of other Government departments and deputies to highlight certain employees alleged to have defrauded the State.

The Irish Prison Service confirmed to the Limerick Leader that it has received allegations of improper conduct at Limerick Prison, which are under investigation.

Examples of alleged tax evasion and employees drinking in a public house during work hours have also been highlighted by an unnamed whistleblower.

This whole country has seen what the gardai put Garda Maurice McCabe through when he stood up and bravely told the truth about what was happening in the guards, and the horrible treatment he has had to deal with since, he wrote.

He said that due to the smear campaign against Garda McCabe he is not prepared to put his wife or family in any position where they  and I  can be targeted by anybody in the Irish Prison Service.

We are sick and tired of what is happening in Limerick Prison and we beg you for help, he wrote.

The whistleblower alleges that some staff within Limerick Prison are committing theft, fraud and tax evasion on a daily basis, yet nothing is done to them.

Among the other allegations concern employees using prison vans for their own personal use outside of work hours, while using the prison fuel card.

The whistleblower also details that some staff members in Limerick are untouchables within the system, who come and go as they please to matches in Thomond Park, or the Gaelic Grounds while they are still getting paid to be in work and nothing is being said to them.

Chairman of the PAC, Fianna Fail deputy Sean Fleming said they have received correspondence on the case, which they forwarded to the Prison Service.

Deputy Fleming said they are awaiting a response from the Prison Service and will determine their position then.

He said they are very concerned by the variety of allegations outlined in a five-page report, which was printed on Irish Prison Service paper.

Among the spending allegations raised was the amount spent on television sets.

In response to queries, the Irish Prison Service confirmed that a total of 132,677 was spent on televisions between 2012 and 2016, with 780 TVs purchased in that period for Limerick Prison.

The highest number of TVs were purchased in 2013, with 298 televisions varying in size from 16 inches to 40 inches purchased for a total cost of 48,250.44.

In all, 325 22 TVs were purchased, 436 at 16, nine 32 TVs, nine 40 TVs, and one 50 TV between 2012 and 2016.

Televisions are provided in all prisoners' cells, and a spokesperson outlined that as part of the prisoner gratuity policy, a charge of 15 cent is levied on all prisoners to cover the cost of providing the in-cell television service.

This charge is deduced from an incentivised regimes policy which provides for a differentiation of privileges between prisoners according to their level of engagement with services and quality of behaviour.

There are three levels of privilege - basic, standard and enhanced  for a daily gratuity ranging from 0.95 to 2.20.

TVs of 16 and 22 are provided in the cells, with Saorview channels available.

The larger sized televisions would be used in areas like the control room for monitoring purposes and recreational areas where the smaller screens would be insufficient, said the spokesperson.

There are currently 194 staff assigned to Limerick Prison, which has a bed capacity of 210 for males, and 28 for female prisoners.

Both facilities in Limerick were operating at 100% capacity or over, based on the most recent figures for this week. To alleviate over-crowding, a percentage of prisoners are routinely on temporary release or on remand from the prison.

The Prison Service would not confirm whether there has been any update in another investigation for an alleged breach of the Irish Prison Service's Social Media Policy at Limerick Prison, saying they do not comment on individual investigations.
ONE COUNTY Limerick-based garda cleared three pubs in one night.

Neillys Bar, Main Street, Oola; Michael Buckley, Main Street, Doon and Pat Whelan, Bank Place, Doon, were all fined 200 for selling intoxicating liquor after hours.

Garda John Ryan said at 1.15am on December 31 he inspected Neillys Bar in Oola.

There were around 35 patrons on the premises. There was fresh alcohol in glasses and on tables. There were some staff there. I spoke to the licensee. It was the night before New Years Eve, said Garda Ryan.

Brendan Gill, solicitor, said the company is the license holder.

Neil Ryan is the single company director. It was a race night - a fundraiser for the local GAA club. The crowd exceeded expectations. It is the time of year when people are home for Christmas. He succumbed to pressure to keep serving longer than he should have. He takes the matter seriously. He cleared the premises as quickly as he could, said Mr Gill.

Garda Ryan found around 10 in Buckleys, Doon, at 1.40am. There was still a lady behind the bar, said Garda Ryan.

Solicitor for Mr Buckley, Conn Barry said drinking up time was 1am.

It was Christmas spirit. He tried to move them on as quickly as possible, said Mr Barry.

At 1.30am, Garda Ryan visited Whelans in Doon. There were 22 people on the premises. There was no exemption in place, said Garda Ryan.

Mr Barry, representing Mr Whelan, said it was Christmas time. He co-operated fully on the night, said Mr Barry.
THE COUNTY Limerick teacher caught up in a school shooting in Saudi Arabia is back home with her loving family.

Annie Selwyn, from Doon, had to run and hide in an underground cupboard after a disgruntled former employee opened fire in the Kingdom School in Riyadh.

A vice-principal and maintenance supervisor were killed while a worker was injured. The attack occurred last week and now Annie is back in east Limerick. She flew home at the weekend said her dad, Pakie OBrien.

She get a very special welcome when she came home on Sunday. Were very glad to have her back home and she is glad to be home. She is home now for the school holidays, said Pakie. However, the brave young woman in her thirties isnt letting what happened stop her returning for the new term.

She will go back again. Her husband Jon is working in Saudi Arabia. She is going back to the very same school. She is teaching the princes and princesses of Saudi Arabia, said Pakie.

Like many young Irish teachers she couldnt get a full-time job after qualifying and was forced to emigrate. Annie taught in England before moving to Riyadh.

Pakie described what happened as a scary situation.

She and other teachers hid in an underground cupboard after they heard the gunshots. She was very upset, naturally. It is very worrying  she was so far away but thank God she is alright.

"Our sympathies go out to the people who were killed. You hear about these stories so often but they never come to your own door, said Pakie.

It wasnt a terrorist attack and no children were present in the exclusive fee-paying school at the time of the shooting. A disgruntled former employee who according to one Middle East website is still at large is the chief suspect.

CEO of Kingdom Holding and chairman of Kingdom Schools, Talal Al-Maiman said: "It is with regret that the administration building of Kingdom Schools witnessed a shooting incident by an Arab national who was dismissed from the school four years ago on the basis of anger issues and an unstable personality."

Annie is one of seven siblings and is from a very popular and well known family in Doon. Pakie, his wife Anne and daughter Mary English ran Annes shop in the village until very recently.
THERE were dramatic scenes outside Limerick's courts complex this Friday morning, with dozens of people standing back in horror as two women engaged in a vicious fight.

The women, aged in their 30s, began fighting on the steps of Limerick District Court but the fracas dramatically escalated within a short space of time.

One woman attacked another, who was on crutches, with her own crutch, beating her across her body and head.

Blood gushed from the woman's forehead, as one member of Roxboro Road garda station ran from the court to intervene and forced the women apart.

One woman was removed from the scene by the garda, and was ordered to leave the area without facing any charges of assault.

However, a short time later, the woman on crutches spotted her attacker across the courtyard, promptly dropped her crutches to the ground and began a desperate bid to race after her, whilst limping and shouting vitrolic abuse.

The woman managed to leave the scene, while the other was also ordered not to return inside the court, where Judge Marian O'Leary was sitting.
A LIMERICKMAN has been charged with falsely imprisoning his own 80 year-old father over a number of days and stealing more than 8,000 from him through his post office and credit union accounts in the city.

Limerick District Court heard that James O'Connor, 40, residing at Edward Street in the city, made no reply to each of the eight charges at Roxboro Road garda station, following his arrest by Garda Brian Culbert on June 7 last.

Son, 40, charged with falsely imprisoning his father, 80, and stealing over 8K from him via credit union & post office @Limerick_Leader pic.twitter.com/9jJJJ95lUa  Anne Sheridan (@annesheridan1) June 9, 2017

Judge Marian O'Leary heard evidence from Garda Culbert that he was brought to Roxboro Road at 7.15pm that evening, was cautioned, and handed a copy of the charge sheets.

Mr O'Connor has been charged with one count of false imprisonment of his father, Jimmy O'Connor, 80, also of Edward Street, on dates between May 19 and June 2 last.

He has also been charged with eight counts of theft - five of which relate to his father's pension in the post office on Henry Street in the city, in five sums of 230 amounting to 1,150.

Three further theft charges relate to his credit union account on Glentworth Street, between May 1 and May 19 last, totalling a sum of 7,000.

Garda Culbert outlined that the State would be objecting to bail.

Solicitor Darach McCarthy said he was not seeking bail for his client on his occasion, and that matter will be heard on Tuesday next, June 13.

Mr McCarthy asked to be assigned for free legal aid on behalf of his client.

He also requested that Mr O'Connor receive medical attention in custody for asthma and other health conditions.
AN AUDITOR working in a County Limerick business kissed an employee on the cheek and slapped her bottom, Kilmallock Court heard.

Frank OConnell, aged 67, of Rathmacknee, Killinick, Wexford pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman, aged in her forties, at the companys premises in south Limerick. It was the first time he had ever met her.

Tom Kiely, solicitor for OConnell, said it is hard for him to explain what he did and his good name is ruined.

On April 25, 2016, Sergeant Michelle Leahy said OConnell was performing an audit in the business premises where the injured party worked.

He kissed her on the cheek. He slapped her on the bottom. He rubbed her bottom with his hand before moving up to the small of her back.

She moved away. He attempted to kiss her again and left the office. She reported it to gardai, said Sgt Leahy. The investigation was carried out by Garda Brendan Daly, of Bruff Garda Station.

In mitigation, Mr Kiely told Judge Marian OLeary that OConnell is a 67-year-old gentleman who comes before her with no previous convictions.

He is married with two children in their thirties, both doing well. He is deeply ashamed of his actions, is deeply remorseful and wholeheartedly apologises to the victim. It is something he has wished to do for some time. In the immediate aftermath he was advised not to do so in Wexford, which he regrets, said Mr Kiely.

Judge OLeary asked was it the first time he met the woman?

Yes, the first time, said Mr Kiely.

The solicitor said OConnell indicated a plea of guilty from the start.

We asked for the victim impact statement to be prepared for today to cause as less stress as possible. He has being doing audits for over 40 years and has an exemplary record.

He has worked in various different institutions and has had upto 40 staff under him. He dealt with staff on a daily basis and never has had any complaints made against him, said Mr Kiely, who handed in a number of good references to the judge.

He has never had disciplinary action taken against him. He has been involved with the local retirement club, social club and GAA club. He is very much an active participant in the local community and has done lots of voluntary work. He has done a lot in the community.

That said he has to take responsibility. I am not seeking to minimise the effect this has had on the injured party - this incident has led to his retirement. He was self-employed, contracts were cancelled when they became aware of this. His family are aware of the allegations. This has caused great distress, including to his children. He is deeply ashamed and embarrassed. This is now common knowledge and has affected his role in the community, said Mr Kiely.

It is hard for him to explain what he did, he said.

It is completely out of character, a complete aberration. I am not seeking to justify it any way - it is sad that a man reached 67 with an unblemished record to be before you on such a serious matter. It has caused him significant stress.

He is throwing himself at the mercy of the court. He has been punished from a local perspective - the embarrassment of it. His good name is ruined - it is difficult to mix in the same circles and the effect it has had on his employment and family, said Mr Kiely.

Sgt Leahy said the victim impact statement shows how OConnells actions affected the injured party.

Judge OLeary, who ordered reporting restrictions on the victim, said she had to take into account the injured party having no previous convictions. She asked the Probation Service to do a suitability report for 240 hours of community service in lieu of six months in jail. The case was adjourned for a month.
THE EMERGENCY department at University Hospital Limerick has endured significant overcrowding this Friday afternoon.

According to figures published by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), there were 51 patients being treated on ED trolleys and on additional trolleys and beds in the new 24m facility.

Friday marks the 11th day of operations at the new emergency department in Dooradoyle, which opened its doors to the Mid-West on May 29.

According to figures received by the Limerick Leader, there were 250 patients attending the ED in the first 24 hours of the ED operations, and 205 on the following day.

Commenting on the first two days of the emergency department, the UL Hospitals Groups chief executive officer, Prof Colette Cowan said: It has been a busy first couple of days at our new Emergency Department but activity has been in line with expectations.

It is too early to talk about trends but there is international evidence that suggests activity increases once a facility such as this opens. With this in mind we would encourage people to continue to use the Injury Units in St Johns, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals for appropriate unscheduled care.

She added: The initial reaction of patients and staff has been positive. Staff are still adapting to the new environment and workflow but I want to pay tribute to the professionalism they have shown in making the transition as seamless as possible for our patients. I also wish to thank everybody who worked behind the scenes on ensuring our physical and ICT infrastructure responded to the challenge.
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The surprise result of the 2017 General Election caught a lot of people on the hop - including much of the national media, many political commentators and a number of politicians.

No-one can say for certain which party will form the next Government, who will be our next Prime Minister and what that means for the huge issues facing the country.

Here are some of the big questions we face now:

How can Brexit happen now with no prospect of a stable government to negotiate it?

It's the huge question. Who has the mandate and ability to negotiate Brexit now?

Who has the authority to negotiate with Brussels and get any deal, which is bound to be controversial, through Parliament?

The big reason Theresa May gambled and called an election was that she knew she was hugely vulnerable to a Tory rebellion over any controversial Brexit deal with a majority of just 12.

Now that no party will have a majority, how can anyone get a deal through Parliament?

The Conservatives are irreconcilably divided over Brexit and many Labour MPs passionately supported Remain.

Which ever party ends up in power faces an enormous headache.

What are the options for forming a government?

If the current projections are right and the Conservatives end up with 318 seats, the party could conceivably form a government with the support of the Northern Irish unionist party the DUP, which looks set to have 10 seats.

However that would be an almost ungovernably small majority - even though Sinn Fein's MPs are not likely to occupy the seven seats they are expected to win at Westminster.

If Labour, currently on course for 262 seats, were to ally with the SNP (projected for 35), the Lib Dems (13), Plaid Cymru (4) and Greens (1). It would have 314 seats.

Can Theresa May survive as Tory leader?

In her speech after being re-elected in Maidenhead, the Prime Minister appeared to be making a pitch explaining why she should remain the party leader.

She said that the country needed stability more than anything else at the moment.

Yet she is likely to face significant unrest in her party. Many of the problems over the last seven weeks are of her own making.

Read more UKIP leader Paul Nuttall misses out on Boston and Skegness seat by more than 20,000 votes

In the last seven weeks, she has gone from being a hugely popular leader on course for a landslide win to someone whose popularity has fallen dramatically and whose gamble backfired.

The reasons for this - her refusal to debate on television, her non-answers to interview questions and the social care funding debacle and her subsequent U-turn - are all her mistakes.

If she goes who could succeed her?

These are the odds on the next Tory leader:

Boris Johnson - 2/1

Phillip Hammond - 7/1

Sajid Javid - 12/1

Michael Gove - 14/1

Amber Rudd - 16/1

Ruth Davidson - 20/1

Jeremy Hunt - 20/1

Liz Truss - 25/1

George Osborne - 25/1

Matthew Hancock - 25/1

Could Labour conceivably put together a grand coalition to oust the Tories?

The answer to that is, probably not.

As we mentioned earlier, if Labour, currently on course for 262 seats, were to ally with the SNP (projected for 35), the Lib Dems (13), Plaid Cymru (3) and Greens (1). It would have 314 seats.

That is 12 short of the number needed to govern.

Are we set for another election?

Given how hard it will be for either of the major parties to govern effectively, the answer to that question is that there almost certainly will have to be another election before long

Could there be a second Brexit referendum?

Put it this way, unless there is another General Election that delivers a very different and much more decisive result, it is hard to see how any government would have the authority to pass a Brexit deal without a second referendum on its terms.
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Uncertainty generated by the hung parliament vote saw the pound crash - but it was quick to recover.

The pound fell by more than 1.5% to 1.27 US dollars and more than 1% to 1.13 euros in trading in the wake of the exit poll that first suggested Theresa May was not going to get the resounding majority she was after.

The uncertainty of a potential hung parliament has given sterling yet another hit, with a 2% drop overnight. For many; the worst result for confidence in currency," said Jon Ostler, CEO of finder UK told the Mirror.

But it had soon stabilised, rising to 1.14 and $1.28 by the time a hung Parliament was confirmed.

As the results have rolled in and confirmed the exit poll result, the pound has remained relatively stable, suggesting that the prospect of a hung parliament and a second vote is not triggering market panic," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index, told Mirror Money.

Perhaps the market is looking at this result as a vote for a softer Brexit, which could boost the pound in the long run."

And while uncertainty is normally bad for markets, this time it might be a good thing.

The British people may have voted to leave the EU last year, but it seems like they want a trade deal and don't want an exit to hurt the prospects for the economy," Brooks said.

Ironically the uncertainty formed by this election result is not causing market panic, even though who governs the UK now hangs in the balance."

What does it mean for you?

Well, in the short term little has changed since the day before the election.

For people looking to buy holiday money this is how to get the best deal you can on holiday cash:

1. Opt for more than one payment method

The best thing is to buy when you feel comfortable to do so, and follow rules to make sure you get the most for your cash," explained Emma Coulthurst at TravelSupermarket.

Carry a market-leading credit or debit card for use overseas, a pre-paid card and also some cash. Don't rely on just one form of payment.

Compare online to get the best rates - find the place where you have to hand over as little sterling in exchange as possible."

An online comparison by TravelSupermarket found a holidaymaker could save 106.49 by buying 1,000 with the best-buy company (Thomas Exchange UK) versus the most expensive (Heathrow's Travelex) - so a couple of minutes comparing rates is always a good idea.

Make sure you get credit and debit cards that are specifically designed for overseas usage with minimal (if any) charges," Coulthurst said.

Many credit and debit cards carry a 2.99% transaction fee with some having additional one-off fees for purchases. That's an extra 2.99 to pay for every 100 you spend.

Debit cards also tend to include a hidden currency loading fee which can add as much as 3% to the cost - so watch out."

There's also eye-watering ATM fees which could add as much as 5% of your withdrawal to your bank statement.

Metrobank, Norwich & Peterborough and Nationwide all offer accounts with debit cards that don't charge for use in some countries.

Halifax, Saga and Nationwide are amongst a handful of providers who offer credit cards with no fees for spending abroad.

2. Purchase a buyback guarantee

Whether you choose to exchange today or nearer the time to your holiday, a 'buyback guarantee' will cover you should the rates fall even further, while you're away.

This gives you the option to return any remaining currency back into sterling, at the same rate you initially paid for.

Ask for this at the checkout before exchanging your money. You may have to pay more for the service, but, it means if the currency worsens while you're abroad, you won't lose out any more.

As Moneycorp retail director Pauline Maguire explained: This means that if the rate has fallen against your favour on your return, you can still swap any remaining currency back at the same rate you bought it."

3. Set up a tracker - and cash in on the spike

If it's the risk factor that's worrying you, keep an eye on rates in the run up to your holiday, and when the pound does start to improve (even just slightly) cash in on it.

Order your currency online, and you'll also be able to reverse this decision if the rate gets even better in the run up to your holiday (more on this later).

Travelex global head of retail Vincent Arcuri said: When it comes to buying your travel money, getting the best value is all about finding the most purse-friendly exchange rate.

One way to get the best deal is to use a Travel Rate Tracker . This monitors exchange rates so you don't have to, and helps you get the most foreign currency for your pounds.

Remember, it's important here to look at the total price that a transaction is going to be and not just at the exchange rate, since there can sometimes be additional fees added to your purchase.

4. Don't buy currency at the airport

The worst decision you can possibly make is to trade your money the airport.

That's because airport concessions offer some of the highest rates around - and you could end up flushing half of your holiday savings down the drain.

 Don't leave changing money to the last minute. You'll miss out on better rates and end up paying as much as 19% more at the airport meaning you could lose 150 for every 1,000 exchanged," FairFX chief executive Ian Strafford-Taylor told Mirror Money.

If you leave it as late as the airport, you'll face among the worst exchange rates in the country."

If you have left it to the last minute, you can buy online the day before and pick up cash at the airport if needed. The rates might not be the best available, but it will be a lot better than if you just turn up.

Firms such as Travelex ad Tesco Money offer you the option to reserve a rate - for up to 30-days - when you order online.

This means you can buy your currency now for collection after the election results are announced.

If the value of the pound improves, you can cancel the order - for free - to get your money back and buy again when the rate is more favourable down the line.

If the pound drops, you can collect your currency at the exchange rate that you locked in when you made your order.

If you are cancelling, be sure to double check any fees before exchanging anything.
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Conservative Sir Edward Leigh insists it's time for the country to turn its attention to Brexit after being elected Gainsborough MP for the ninth time.

The veteran Tory stormed to another victory, increasing his majority by 1,574 after first running in the constituency in 1983.

Mr Leigh, 66, amassed an enormous 31,790 votes, handily defeating his nearest rival, Labour's Catherine Tite, who garnered 14,767 votes.

A passionate supporter of the Leave campaign in 2016, Mr Leigh has now called on the country to unite and focus on getting the best deal for Britain in upcoming talks with the European Union.

He said: "It is very humbling and reassuring.

"We work hard and do not take people for granted.

"This election should have been about Brexit, we have now got to look at that and deliver it for people  I am committed to doing it."

The father-of-six said he will fight fiercely for additional funding for the area, with more cash for the police being a major priority.

He has also pledged to fight for improved broadband and told voters he would champion local businesses.

Closest competitor Catherine Tite went on the attack during the campaign, lambasting a Tory Government she claimed had overseen the biggest public service cuts in a generation, but it wasn't enough - and was never likely to be.

Despite championing her party as the Government which would invest in jobs, it was a predictably disappointing night for the Labour candidate, although she increased the party's vote.

Experts had predicted a low turnout throughout the campaign, with a weary public unlikely to turn out in full force following a General Election in 2015 and a referendum on Europe in 2016, but they were wrong.

Turnout was 67.96 per cent and the total number of votes cast was 51,575, compared to a 66.2 per cent turnout in 2015 and 49,261 votes.

There was no shortage of support for Mr Leigh, with party officials cheering his success as the result was announced in the early hours of Friday morning.

Many were delighted to see the Conservative shore up his support in the region and have high hopes for the future.

Janet Smith, 82, from Gainsborough said: "I think Theresa May is the candidate to be Prime Minister and I do not like Corbyn.

"I think she will get us a better Brexit deal.

"I like Edward Leigh and I always have done and he has done right by Gainsborough.

"I think he should focus on improving the NHS in the area because I know that it is not good here."

Laura Wright from Gainsborough voted for Labour and was disappointed with the result.

The 25-year-old said: "I support what Jeremy Corbyn is trying to do and think the Labour party are the best bet for making the NHS a better service.

"I haven't been convinced by the Tories and worry about the future with them in charge."

Lesley Rollings secured 3,630 votes for the Liberal Democrats, while Green party candidate, Vicky Pearson, got 1,238 votes.

The total number of votes for each candidate is as follows:
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A man has been killed and another man taken to hospital with serious injuries after a car careered off the road before overturning.

Police were called to the scene of the crash at High Road, Londonthorpe, near Grantham at 11.35pm on June 8 after a black Toyota Yaris left the road and overturned.

The driver, a 20 year-old man from the Grantham area, died at the scene.

A 19 year-old local man, who was a passenger in the car, was taken to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham where police say he remains in a very serious condition.

The road was closed after the accident but was later reopened at 4.45am today.

A police appeal says: "We are asking any witnesses who saw the Yaris being driven prior to the collision, or who saw the collision itself, to call 101, quoting incident number 504 of 8th June."
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Victoria Atkins has been returned as Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle by an increased majority of more than 17,000 votes.

Her total of 33,733 votes was announced to a large cheer from her supporters.

While the national outlook was shaky for the Tories, her victory was never in doubt.

The closest challenger was Julie Speed, the Labour candidate , who got 14,092 votes.

Victoria Atkins said: "I'm delighted and incredibly honoured to be re-elected. My priorities back in Parliament will be continuing to campaign for better broadband and jobs and making sure Louth and Horncastle is still a wonderful place to live."

In 2015, the Tory candidate had a majority of around 15,000 votes.

Almost 2,000 more people voted in the large rural constituency this year, although the percentage of turnout was technically down.

The count was expected to be completed around 4:30am but finished ahead of schedule just after 3am.

Julie Speed said: "I'm going to dive right back into the community now. I'm still going to be campaigning to protect the hospitals in Louth and Skegness, and I'll be back in the kitchens cooking food to feed the homeless.

"I haven't ruled out running in the next election here. It depends when that is  with all this uncertainty, we may have one sooner rather than later."

The key issue of the night was Brexit, with all candidates either campaigning for or against it.

Victoria Atkins said it was the most important issue facing the country.

She said: "When I talked to people, they were always concerned to ensure that the country is in safe hands. There are only 11 days until Brexit negotiations begins.

"Even though this area voted to Leave, I don't think that people have an issue with my campaigning to Remain in the Referendum. I was clear that I wanted a Referendum and would honour the result, which I have done. I was worried about the economic risks of it."

Jonathan Noble of UKIP, who secured 2,460 votes, said: "The key issue for people I've spoken to has been hard Brexit. If Conservatives fail to get a majority and we have a coalition of Labour and the other left-wing parties, Brexit will be in serious doubt.

" Conservatives have run an atrocious election campaign. They will find it even harder to leave Europe now."

Lisa Gabriel of the Lib Dems got 1,990 votes.

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party candidate was the main source of amusement throughout the night. The Iconic Arty-Pole, as he preferred to be called, presented Victoria Atkins with a badge of her that he had worn on his top hat all night.

He said he was delighted with his 496 votes, an 85 per cent increase on the previous election.

"This has been my largest showing ever," he said.

"I am therefore taking the opportunity to retire from national politics."
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Prime Minister Theresa May is to make a statement at 10am after her decision to hold a snap General Election spectacularly backfired.

May's future as MP and leader of the Conservatives is under threat after she saw her party's majority wiped out as the June 8 poll ended in a hung parliament.

Mrs May pledged to offer "stability" if the Tories end up as the largest party with the most votes.

Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said she should "consider her position" and take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign and a "deeply flawed" manifesto after choosing to go to the country three years early in the hope of extending her majority.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

Former chancellor George Osborne, sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May and now editor of the Evening Standard, told ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

With 630 out of 650 constituencies declared, a Press Association forecast predicted that Tories would end up with 320 seats, 10 fewer than when the election was called and six short of an absolute majority.

Labour was heading for 260 seats, the Liberal Democrats for 14, the Scottish National Party 34, Plaid Cymru three and Greens one, according to the PA analysis.

A BBC projection put the Tories on 43% overall, about six points up on David Cameron's result in 2015, and Labour on 40%, spectacularly outpolling Ed Miliband and Gordon Brown's results and even racking up more votes than Tony Blair did when he won power in 2005.

The Democratic Unionist Party, which increased its representation at Westminster from eight to 10, signalled it was ready to discuss working with Tories on issues such as Brexit and keeping the UK together.

With the party in a position to hold the balance of power at Westminster, senior MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the DUP would be "serious players" in the hung parliament, telling the BBC: "This is perfect territory for the DUP because obviously if the Conservatives are just short of an overall majority it puts us in a very strong negotiating position and certainly that is one we would take up with relish."

Three gains by Sinn Fein, which does not take up seats in Westminster, made it slightly easier for a combination of parties to achieve a working majority.

The pound plummeted as the shock figures set the scene for political turmoil at Westminster, disruption to upcoming Brexit negotiations and the possibility of a second election later in the year.

The night was marked by a collapse in Ukip support and a rash of high-profile losses for the SNP, as British politics returned to a two-party system on the greatest scale since the 1970s.

The Tories lost seven frontbenchers, with ministers Jane Ellison, Simon Kirby, Gavin Barwell, James Wharton, Nicola Blackwood and Rob Wilson going down to defeat, along with Cabinet Office minister Ben Gummer, the author of the widely criticised Tory manifesto.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall faced humiliation in Boston & Skegness, where he came in a distant third, and the eurosceptic party lost its only Westminster seat in Clacton.

As Ukip voters switched to Labour and the Tories across the country, Mr Nuttall said Mrs May had put the Brexit process in "jeopardy" just 10 days before talks were due to begin in Brussels.

High-profile casualties of a night of shock defeats included Liberal Democrat former leader and ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg in Sheffield Hallam, Scotland's former first minister Alex

Salmond in Banff & Buchan and the SNP's leader in Westminster Angus Robertson in Moray.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Education Secretary Justine Greening hung onto their seats by the skin of their teeth with much reduced majorities.

Accepting victory in Islington North, Mr Corbyn said voters had opted for hope and "turned their backs on the politics of austerity".

In an attack on Mrs May he said: "The Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate.

"Well the mandate she has got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence.

"I would have thought that's enough to go, actually, and make way for a government that will be truly representative of all the people of this country."

Speaking as she was re-elected MP for Maidenhead, Mrs May said: "At this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability.

"If, as the indications have shown and if this is correct, the Conservative Party has won the most seats and probably the most votes, then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do."

Asked if Mrs May could remain as Tory leader, Ms Soubry told the BBC: "That is a matter for her. It is bad. She is in a very difficult place.

"She's a remarkable and very talented woman and she doesn't shy away from difficult decisions, but she now has to obviously consider her position."

Mrs May drove direct from the Maidenhead count to Conservative HQ in London, where she was hunkered down in talks with aides as dawn broke before moving on to 10 Downing Street.

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson said: "Theresa May's authority has been undermined by this election. She is a damaged Prime Minister whose reputation may never recover."



Mr Osborne said there would be "a very big post mortem coming."

Brexit Secretary David Davis said he would "fight tooth and nail" to keep Mrs May in post, and dismissed suggestions he might be a contender to replace her.

"The simple truth is we have a Prime Minister, she is a very good leader, I'm a big supporter of hers," Mr Davis told the Press Association.

"I'll fight tooth and nail to keep her in place."

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, often tipped as a potential successor to Mrs May as Tory leader, said: "We've got to listen to our constituents and listen to their concerns."

Liberal Democrats were celebrating the return of former ministers Sir Vince Cable, Sir Ed Davey and Jo Swinson two years after they lost their parliamentary seats.

And Tim Farron's party took Bath back from the Conservatives and regained Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross and Edinburgh West, which were lost to the SNP in 2015.
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Two teenage killers who murdered a Spalding mum, Elizabeth Edwards and her daughter, Katie can now be identified after High Court ruling as Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham.

Kim, is Elizabeths daughter and Katies sister, and Lucas, were both 14 when they stabbed to death the pair in their beds in April 2016.

They were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum 20-year jail term.

Their identities had been protected due to their age but that restriction has today been lifted by three judges presiding at Londons Court of Appeal.

During the trial at Nottingham Crown Court, the court heard how Kim Edwards and Markham has sex directly after sharing a bath and watching vampire-themed films following their murders of dinner lady, Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and 13-year-old Katie Edwards as they slept in their beds in Dawson Avenue, Spalding.

It was also revealed that the pair had slashed their victims through their voice boxes to stop them screaming after the planning the attack in a local McDonalds resterant.

Elizabeth was stabbed eight times - including five times in the hands as she desperately tried to defend herself. One of the two blows to her neck almost completely cut through her windpipe.

When Katie was killed she was still soundly asleep, with her toys laid out just inches away.

Post-mortem results suggested the teenager managed to put up a struggle but was unable to fight off her attacker.

Lincolnshire Police found the victims bodies in their blood-spattered bedrooms - two days after they were murdered by the couple.

The pair are believed to be Britains youngest double murderers and when sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the case had "few parallels in modern criminal history".

He added they had a "toxic" relationship, and had acted in a grotesque way after the stabbings.

He told the teenagers when standing trial: "The killings were brutal in the form of executions and both victims, particularly Elizabeth Edwards, must have suffered terribly in the last minutes of their lives."

The Crown Court heard that the boy, who admitted murder, used a kitchen knife to stab both victims in the neck after attacking them as they slept at their home last April.

Today, the couple had their minimum jail sentences reduced to 17-and-a-half years.

A year previously on October 17, 2015, police had issued an appeal after the parents of the pair reported them as missing.

The youngsters had taken food, clothes, bicycles and a tent with them.

They were found three days later.

Speaking today, after judges ruled Edwards and Markham could be named, Detective Superintendent Martin Holvey head of EMSOU of Major Crime said: "The judges have ruled that there is a strong public interest in the full facts of this exceptional case being known, meaning that Lucas Markham and Kim Edwards can now be named.

The murders of Elizabeth and Katie Edwards were horrific and brutal and the whole country shared a sense of shock that two juveniles, who were only 14 years old at the time, could have carried out such a horrendous act.

Im sure that sense of disbelief and horror will be deepened now it is known that it was Elizabeths own daughter who was responsible for plotting with her boyfriend to carry out the murders.

Evidence heard in court that was previously restricted can now be reported. These include details about the behaviour and actions of Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham afterwards, which was chilling. They remained downstairs in the house, watching TV and eating food, whilst the bodies were upstairs. They showed no remorse at all when they were eventually found by officers and during their police interviews.

These new revelations about the case will undoubtedly focus attention on Spalding once again and I would like to repeat sentiments I have made earlier, thanking the community for their cooperation throughout the case and paying tribute to the courage of Elizabeth and Katies family.

"They have endured a terrible ordeal and faced the additional anguish of knowing that this horrific crime was committed by a family member.
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Labour's Karen Lee said it was 'time for change' as she was elected MP for Lincoln with a 1,583 majority.

There were cheers at Lincoln Drill Hall as the NHS nurse and city councillor claimed victory with 23,333 votes, compared to her nearest rival, Karl McCartney, who had been Lincoln's MP since 2010. He polled 21,795 votes.

Mr McCartney, 48, first entered Parliament seven years ago with 17,163 votes on his second attempt after ousting Labour's Gillian Merron by 1,058 votes.

Then at the 2015 election, he increased his majority to 1,443 with a win over the Labour candidate Lucy Rigby.

This time around, the married dad-of-two, originally from Birkenhead, simply tweeted: "I lost", having tweeted: "I won" after his re-election 2015.

He then added: "Thank you to all my team and supporters and voters, across the beautiful and friendly constituency of Lincoln. It has been an honour and a privilege."

Karen, who had campaigned to fight for a fully funded and staffed health and social care service, the scrapping of tuition fees, better road and rail links, and an expansion of the existing city council housing programme, told Lincolnshire Live: "I'm excited and looking forward to the future and to representing Lincoln.

"I feel very proud and privileged. Lincoln is where I was born  it's all about Lincoln for me.

"People have had enough of the Tories. We've had seven years of austerity  well, some people have.

"It's time for change. I'm very humbled by the amount of people that turned out to canvass for me  we had 40 a day.

"We offered people a choice between more austerity or a different way."

Mr McCartney left the Drill Hall as soon as the results were announced and had earlier refused media requests for interviews.

However, Hilton Spratt, a Conservative county councillor for Lincoln, said he was disappointed to see Mr McCartney's exit and branded the national party's campaign "absolutely appalling".

He said: "In Lincoln we are very disappointed. Karl was an excellent candidate who fought like a Trojan.

"I think the national campaign has been absolutely appalling. It's been too concerned about one person.

"We have a strong economy at the moment and they did not mention that once throughout the campaign."

Tom Roche, 29, a Conservative voter from Lincoln who works as an NHS physiotherapist, said: "We are going into complex negotiations on Brexit and we need stability.

"I think Karl was a brilliant candidate. He represents the various views around Lincoln."

Mr McCartney campaigned to develop "an improved" park and ride for Lincoln and said that only the Conservatives would get the best Brexit deal for Britain.

He also cited his involvement in getting better train connections regionally and to the capital as well helping secure the 100m for Lincoln Eastern Bypass.

Eddie Strengiel, a city councillor for Bircxhwood, had predicted a 50-seat majority for the Conservatives, whereas George Ashton, 88, a counting agent and Conservative Party member since he was 17, had forecast the contest in Lincoln would be close considering Mr McCartney's 1,443 majority.

In the evening, before results came in, Mr Ashton said: "I've been coming to election counts for the past 60 years.

"At one time I thought Theresa May would have a landslide. If students know they'll get something for free, as Labour are saying, they'll vote that way."

Mr McCartney is no stranger to being in the headlines. During his first term, his pledge to revive horse racing in Lincoln fell at the first hurdle, then in 2013 he was forced to apologise to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority for "abusive" notes sent to staff.

In 2014 he claimed a hacker had tweeted porn from his Twitter account. In the run-up to the 2017 election he was cleared by the CPS of any wrongdoing concerning alleged election fraud surrounding the Conservatives use of the 'Battle Bus' in 2015.

He wrote a letter warning the other six Lincoln candidates that he would not tolerate any "false, misleading or defamatory" statements about his involvement in this issue during campaigning.

But this time, he did not get enough support from voters who trusted him with the 76,011-a-year job of representing them.

Labour voter Liz Massey, a retired nurse, said: "I worry for the NHS and for job security of my children and grandchildren.

"Karen is so hard-working and that's how she will be as our MP."

Turnout was 66.75 per cent and the total number of votes cast was 48,801, compared to a 63.2 per cent turnout in 2015 and 46,852 votes.

Lincoln busker Phil Gray, pictured above, who stood as an independent candidate on a ticket of love, joy and peace, said: "I think the reaction I received was a mixture of amusement, bemusement and being a breath of fresh air.

"I was in Castle Hill at about 5pm on polling day and I offered a man sitting outside a cafe one of my election sweets. I suddenly realised it was Edward Leigh and I asked him why he wasn't campaigning in Gainsborough.

"He chuckled and we had a photo taken together."

In Lincoln, as elsewhere, it was a dismal night for UKIP as people who wanted Brexit turned elsewhere now that has been achieved.

UKIP candidate Nick Smith, who stood for election as the MP for Lincoln for the fourth time, said: "It's important to keep going. I believe in democracy, that's the most important thing.

"We have to have a choice. We have not moved any further towards Brexit at the moment. If we are not in the background urging the Conservatives to give the country the Brexit people voted for then they won't."

Liberal Democrat Caroline Kenyon Lib Dem said the main issue she heard about while campaigning was mental health , often linked to low pay.

She said she had thoroughly enjoyed the experience of standing for election and that her campaign for the next General Election begins on Friday.

"I will win next time," she said.

The total number of votes for each candidate is as follows:

Phil Gray, Independent 312

Caroline Kenyon, Liberal Democrats 1,284

Karen Lee, Labour 23,333

Benjamin Loryman, Green 583

Karl McCartney, Conservative 21,795

Iain Scott-Burdon, Independent 124

Nick Smith, UKIP 1,287
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A Boston Wildlife park have issued an appeal for help after their company road sign mysteriously disappeared.

The expensive road sign that had to be approved by Lincolnshire County Council was used to direct passers-by to the ARK Wildlife Park, which is located in Friskney.

However, the yellow sign that reads: ARK Wildlife Park, straight on strangely vanished from the post it was stapled onto at the crossover between Horbling lane and Main Road late at night on June 7, much to the bemusement of the animal sanctuarys owners.

Jamie Mintram, 42, and his wife, Michelle, 34, took to the businesss official Facebook page to appeal over the missing sign, adding that they were left disgusted by its removal.

Mr Mintram said: We are in the process of replacing it, as it was put up officially with council approval - this will take extra money that as an animal sanctuary could be spent elsewhere.

We have been in touch with both the council and the police who were very helpful, but unfortunately without an eyewitness the police can't prosecute.

We are asking the local community to come forward if anyone spotted anything suspicious - on police recommendation we'll be placing a camera trap in the vicinity.

The council has since agreed to put up a temporary sign and the couple are planning to install CCTV in the area to protect against similar incidents in the future.

If you have any information on who may have taken down the sign, please contact them via their Facebook page, ARK, Boston Wildlife Park, or call their number: 01205 481468.
Apr 29, 2021, 7 PM

Each month, Linns publishes Rick Millers Stamps of Eastern Europe column. In the June 26 issue, he writes about Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, a Russian prince featured on a 2011 Estonia stamp.

By Charles Snee

Its Friday afternoon, and the editors are winding down another busy week of philatelic reporting. The presses, however, are cranking up to print the June 26 issue Linns Stamp News that goes in the mail Monday, June 12 to subscribers. Here we present a few teasers of exclusive content to whet your philatelic appetite.

Why is a Russian born in Lithuania depicted on an Estonian stamp?

Rick Miller, In Stamps of Eastern Europe, answers this intriguing question via his engaging review of the fascinating, multifaceted life of Field Marshal Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (1761-1818), who is depicted on a handsome 1 stamp issued by Estonia in 2011.

Myriad sources available to research cacheted first-day covers

Do you have United States cacheted first-day covers in your collection? Are you curious about who produced the artwork on your covers? In this months First-Day Covers column, Lloyd de Vries points readers to resources that will give them a fuller appreciation of the beauty captured on these compact works of art.

Ancient Palmyra: preserved forever on a Syrian stamp issued in 1940

Middle East Stamps columnist Ghassan Riachi showcases the stamp portraying the ruins of the ancient city. At the height of its glory, Riachi explains, Palmyra had more than 200,000 inhabitants. It was home to Arabs, Jews, Greeks, and various other clans.

Want to subscribe?

Get access to all of these articles, and so much more, with a Linns Stamp News print or digital edition subscription!

Sign up and start reading now!
U.S. exhibitors strike gold at Finlandia 2017 held May 24-28 in Tampere

Jun 9, 2017, 9 AM

This Finnish souvenir sheet for the May 24-28 Finlandia stamp show and exhibition was readily available at less than $3. A different sheet from 1998, newly surcharged, became an instant rarity.

By Christer Brunstrom

Finlandia 2017 in the city of Tampere was in many ways part of the celebrations marking Finlands centenary as an independent nation.

The stamp show and exhibition was held May 24-28 at Tampere Hall, a complex featuring various concert halls and the Moomin Museum.

The exhibition occupied four floors of the building. This made it somewhat difficult to locate the various exhibition rooms and some of the participating dealers and philatelic services.

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Finlandia 2017 was organized under the auspices of the Federation of European Philatelic Associations (FEPA), the umbrella organization of European philatelic federations.

However, it very much looked like a world exhibition, with exhibitors from all parts of the world including the United States. The quality of the exhibits was extremely high and numerous large gold medals were awarded.

U.S. collector George Kramers exhibit Vignettes of Western Trails and Routes obtained a large gold in the FEPA grand prix class. The exhibit allowed visitors to study a wide-ranging selection of exceptional covers carried by the legendary Pony Express and other Western express companies.

A large gold also was awarded to U.S. collector Gregory Frantz for his exhibit Steamship Companies and their Stamps. It contained most of the rarities in this particular area, including a number of very rare Finnish stamps and covers.

Another U.S. collector exhibited duck stamps. Will Csasplar was awarded a gold for A License and Stamp System for Waterfowl Conservation in the 20th Century.

Coinciding with the exhibition, Hellman Auctions Ltd. launched a new book titled Agathon Faberge  Portrait of a Philatelist, by Kaj Hellman and Jeffrey C. Stone.

Faberge (1876-1951) was a famous Russian philatelist who spent the latter part of his life in Finland. He amassed huge collections of Russia, Russian Levant, and Finland, but he is particularly well known for his collections of Zemstvo stamps.

The book was awarded a large gold. Fortunately it is entirely in English, because Finnish is quite different from most other languages.

Posti, the Finnish postal service, had released a number of stamps in connection with the show. A souvenir sheet with two NVI (no value indicator, or nondenominated) stamps sold at face value, 2.60 (about $2.92).

However, there was another far more costly issue that sold for 30 (roughly $33.70). It was a new variety of the 1988 Agathon Faberge booklet (Finland Scott 769) which at the time sold for 5 markka+25 markka.

A very limited number of remaining quantities had been surcharged with the current inland first-class rate. It seems Posti wanted to create an instant rarity.

Finlandia 2017 was well attended and hugely successful (except, perhaps, for some of the dealers who were far from pleased with the location of their stands).
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Understanding the relationship between Indian women and skirts From school uniforms to dressing feminine for brand positioning the life cycle of an Indian skirt /relationships/it-s-complicated/understanding-the-relationship-between-indian-women-and-skirts-111646914097311.html 111646914097311 story

If a skirt makes a man uncomfortable, maybe its because it reminds him of how he is addicted to underage girls. Photo: iStockphoto

Politicians and their overzealous Twitter followers should stay away from discussing skirts and their length. You never know how it might backfire. Most Indian women I know carry a lot of baggage about this loaded garment. Maybe its because so many were wearing one of these frilly creations when a predator first pounced and ensured we would view our bodies differently for the rest of our lives. Who forgets what they were wearing when they were abused, right?

Before you know it, youre older and every time you wear a skirt you hear the line: Sit properly, cross your legs, your panty is showing."

Ill let you in on a secret: Crossing ones legs never stopped anyone from preying on a little girl.

Soon enough the voices graduate to cover up", wheres your dupatta?" and youre going to go out in that?"

Before you try to shame an Indian woman in a skirt, you should understand the backstory of our relationship with this garment.

The most common skirt we remember wearing when we were mauled or harassed is our school uniform. Men have always found the uniform an invitation to attack.

Their gaze travels up and down our bare pre-teen legs, lingering until we feel extreme shame and disgustnot at the harasser but at ourselves. Though we learn to toughen up, ignore this gaze and be alert in public spaces before we learn our multiplication tables, it takes a lifetime to erase all this growing-up guilt. Adjusting our clothes is a habit we never outgrow.

If a skirt makes a man uncomfortable, maybe its because it reminds him of how he is addicted to underage girls. Remember to troll him, not the wearer of the skirt. Hell back off when he realizes you know his sick little secret.

Anyway, some of us eventually graduate to jeansbecause of the thickness of the garment, it feels just a little less dirty when someone accidentally" rubs against you on your commute. Jeans have a protective aura. A couple of years ago, two Indian women even designed a pair of anti-rape" jeans that came equipped with a small button that, when pressed, apparently sent a distress signal to the nearest police station.

Wearing a pair of jeans made me feel in control and confident in my 20s. Maybe its this very quality of jeans that worries conservatives who routinely elevate this workmanlike garment to attire-of-evil-seductress status.

Earlier this year, a Catholic priest (a man who goes to work every day in a maxi dress) said women who wear jeans should be drowned in the sea".

I wonder if he knows that these days even men who live in the Western hemisphere are clamouring for the right to wear skirts. Of course, its not about skirts as much as it is about dictating what women wear. Those of us who prefer wearing saris or salwar kameez face the same issues.

A Belgian university recently sent its female students a note suggesting a dress code for their graduation ceremony: From an aesthetic point of view," it read, it is better for young women to wear a dress or skirt, and a nice revealing neckline."

Out in the real world, female employees are routinely asked to wear skirts, and dress feminine" for brand positioning. You dont need to look further than airline-industry dress codes for women.

Workplace sexual harassment hits us in the face as soon as we enter an officeor maybe even when we go for our first job interview. This is a world filled with seasoned, repeat offenders who know that even in 2017, many women keep quiet because they dont have the stomach for what will follow their complaint. Others still cling to an antiquated rule: As long as hes not touching me, I wont say anything.

Hell we live in a time where theres a thriving industry of taking pictures up womens skirts from cellphone cameras. Its no wonder that after a few years out there, some of us opt to go the Katherine Hepburn route, wearing pants to work. Others continue to dress as they please, ignoring the white noise around them. Once again: Not that it ever matters what we wear.

By the time we are successful career womenand we usually are despite all the effort we must waste in pushing away the hands and eyes while we go about doing our jobwe finally realize that nobody can hold us back.

Lets call it the Priyanka Chopra phase.

The Prime Minister invites you. You browse through your wardrobe. Pick out a floaty dress by Australian label Zimmermann. Its long sleeves, zero cleavage and knee-skimming length make you look formal without being overdressed. Add minimal accessories. Look in the mirror. Perfect for that Bollywood-star-turned-Hollywood-hotshot.

Yet, you get trolled on Twitter for not dressing respectfully enough for your meeting. Luckily, you no longer worry about what assorted strangers think about the way you dress.

Your Instagram comeback, where your mum and you both strike a leggy pose, is a smarter response than any insult hurled at you on social media. You idly wonder what would have happened if you had picked your white pant suit from a Danish label and the Giuseppe Zanotti stilettos (thank you High Heel Confidential) you wore to the Time 100 Gala last year. Would they have thought it too sexy or too aggressive? It doesnt matter. You move on.

PS: By the time youre my age (older than Chopra), you rediscover the joys of sitting with your legs splayed any which way in a skirt. Life has come full circle.

So every time an Indian woman wears a skirt confidently, remember shes been through all these phases and finally reached the point of being comfortable in her skin. She couldnt care less if her skirt offends you.

Priya Ramani shares whats making her feel angsty/agreeable. The writer tweets at @priyaramani
Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) shakes hands with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev as they signed a China-Kazakhstan joint statement and witnessed the inking of a series of bilateral cooperation documents after their talks in Astana, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling)

ASTANA, June 8 (Xinhua) -- China and Kazakhstan vowed Thursday to enhance cross-border connectivity and boost cooperation in security and international affairs as Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying a state visit to the Central Asian country.

Consolidating the bilateral relationship is a diplomatic priority for both countries and that the alignment of the development strategies, namely the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Kazakhstan's "Nurly Zhol," or "Bright Path" in the Kazakh language, has far-reaching significance, said a joint statement released after Xi and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev held talks.

The two countries agreed to develop more international cargo train services, starting from China via Kazakhstan to Central Asia, Europe and Gulf countries and to effectively lower the logistics cost, making railway freight a major solution for cargo transportation between Asia and Europe by 2025, it said.

The two countries will strengthen cooperation in cross-border railway, road and port development, inspection and quarantine as well as in improving customs clearance efficiency, the statement said.

The statement said that a stable, secure and progressing Central Asia serves the interests of China and Kazakhstan. The two countries will work with other regional members bilaterally and within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and fight the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism.

Both sides said that they will deepen exchanges between their defense and law enforcement departments in sharing intelligence and combating the "three evil forces" and transnational organized crime, according to the statement.

China and Kazakhstan will enhance border control, prevent and fight against terrorists sneaking in and out and smuggling of drugs and weapons, it said.

As the United Nations plays an irreplaceable role in maintaining world peace and security, the two countries believe the UN Security Council reform should be based on extensive consultation and consensus, and they are against reform plans that remain sharply divided between parties, the statement said.

Meanwhile, both sides stressed in the statement that political settlement is the only correct solution for the Syrian crisis.

China applauded Kazakhstan's efforts to resolve the issue and regarded the Astana talks on Syria as an important platform for the reconciliation process, while Kazakhstan said that it supports China's constructive role in pushing for a political settlement.

The two sides also discussed institutionalizing the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and the possibility of transforming it into an international organization, according to the statement.

CICA is a forum aimed at strengthening cooperation for peace, security and stability in Asia. It has 26 members, including China, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, Thailand and others.

The idea of CICA was first proposed by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in October 1992 at the 47th Session of the UN General Assembly and China hosted the fourth CICA summit in Shanghai in 2014.

Xi arrived here Wednesday for a state visit to Kazakhstan and the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO.
I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad

By Souad Mekhennet

Holt. 354 pp. $30

---

The question "why do they hate us?" has been asked, usually in headline form, after every major jihadist attack in the past two decades. Fareed Zakaria posed it on the cover of Newsweek after Sept. 11, 2001, and again, about the Islamic State, on a CNN special one year ago. Politico ran it as a headline after the Brussels attack in March 2016. One would think that the genre reached its natural conclusion last July, when the Islamic State's magazine, Dabiq, published its own entry - "Why We Fight You & Why We Hate You" - answering the question authoritatively, like Columbo in the minutes before the credits roll. But the question persists, and the London attacks keep it current.

The latest attempted answer is "I Was Told to Come Alone," a memoir by Washington Post national security correspondent Souad Mekhennet. In late 2002, Mekhennet met Maureen Fanning, widow of a firefighter killed on 9/11, who asked a version of the familiar question. Mekhennet "stammered something about Western foreign policy being unpopular in the Arab world." Her book is an acknowledgment of the poverty of her initial answer and an attempt to give Fanning and others a more satisfying one, after 15 years on the jihadism beat.

One could hardly imagine a more suited writer to examine the possible answers. Mekhennet appears to have been assembled in a Frankenstein-like lab, perhaps in a basement at Columbia's journalism school. She is, first and foremost, a brave, resourceful, canny and tireless reporter. Additionally, she is Muslim (a fact that endears her to some sources) and a woman (which endears her to some of those same sources and others). By nationality and birth, she is German, with a Moroccan Sunni father and a Turkish Shiite mother, and she speaks English, German, French and Arabic. Jihadism in the past five years has been principally a European and Arab story, and Mekhennet is geographically, linguistically and personally poised to tell it.

Most of her memoir is less about jihad than about the process of reporting it. She spends a great deal of time as reporters do - waiting for sources to call back, puzzling over whom to trust, haggling with editors about when to publish and when to hold out for more confirmation. On several occasions, the calls she gets are anonymous tips about imminent danger to her own life, and whether jihadists or hostile governments intend to kidnap, torture or rape her. (They don't. But the memory of Daniel Pearl, the murdered South Asia bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal, is a constant presence in these pages.) Journalists will admire her. Readers unfamiliar with the painstaking and unglamorous process of newsgathering may also admire her, but they will find their alternative career choices validated by this account.

The jihadists, when she finds them, are vividly and humanely portrayed. She wheedles her way into interviews with al-Qaeda and Islamic State fighters and sympathizers in Algeria, Jordan and Lebanon, and in Germany she briefly but memorably meets the tattooed rapper Deso Dogg (real name: Denis Cuspert), now famous in Syria as the only Islamic State fighter to have opened for the American rapper DMX. Another jihadist, a pimply 18-year-old female convert, says she divorced her first husband, a fellow convert, to find a "real man" who would take her to live in an Islamic state, out of the "unbearable" country of Germany.

At other times the jihadists appear as phantoms, and the best Mekhennet or anyone else can do is describe the vapors they leave behind. She deduced the identity of Mohammed "Jihadi John" Emwazi, the recreational sadist who executed James Foley and several other Islamic State prisoners on camera before being obliterated by an American drone in November 2015. Emwazi's friends and acquaintances tell her he turned to violence after harassment by British authorities. But most people who allege abuse by the government do not commit mass murder, so the biography she collects explains very little.

The most alarming portraits are not of jihadists at all. Khaled el-Masri, a hapless German of Lebanese descent who shares a name with an al-Qaeda operative, contacts her and alleges that the CIA kidnapped and tortured him for several months in 2004. His evidence is strong and the official reaction of the U.S. government evasively incriminating. Mekhennet acknowledges that el-Masri went berserk after returning to Germany - he burned down a store after it refused to let him return an iPod, and he later assaulted others in separate incidents - but she makes plain that these might be mild reactions to the trauma of being abducted and sodomized by the most powerful government on earth.

And then there are the guilty. The most menacing figures are Egyptian spies who hint that they will torture and rape Mekhennet for reporting during the Arab Spring. The most scurrilous, perhaps, are parasites who have joined the refugee flow, hidden among real victims of persecution, and have overrun central Europe in the past two years. Rather than sentimentalize the migrants, she walks among them and reports that many are dangerous, lazy, criminal or worse. They are, she says, often frauds - "Syrians" who don't look Syrian but North African, and who change the subject when asked which neighborhoods of Damascus they have fled - and more often peasants than the educated elites that Angela Merkel's government has claimed make up a large portion of the recent arrivals. Their intentions range from freeloading, in the case of those who expect to live off welfare, to murder, in the case of a few who have brought sectarian hatreds against fellow Syrians or Iraqis to European soil. Mekhennet's sympathies elsewhere in the book make her distrust here potent, and worrisome for those who imagine the dangers of the migrant flow to be a fever dream of xenophobes.

These portrayals by themselves make Mekhennet's memoir a work of significant merit. But what of the original question? The hate remains largely mysterious - and, as Mekhennet points out, it is her own example that confounds most attempts to explain it. The root of hate is not Islam: She is Muslim and feels no compulsion to detonate herself in a German crowd. Nor is it U.S. politics or foreign policy: She too criticizes it, with conventional liberal European annoyance at the decisions of the George W. Bush administration in particular. Nor does it suffice to point to racism or Islamophobia: As an Arab and Turk and Muslim, she has lived in Germany and survived into adulthood without murderous impulses. Her failure to venture a clear positive hypothesis is hardly a fault of her memoir. To note that most other hypotheses are wrong, and to show that even the most ghoulish of the jihadis she profiles is human, is a good start.

But the hypothesis offered in Dabiq still strikes me as requiring a response more sophisticated than she provides. "We hate you because you are disbelievers," writes the Islamic State author, who I believe is an American convert named John Georgelas. "You reject the oneness of Allah. ... Your secular, liberal societies permit the very things Allah has prohibited while banning many of the things He has permitted." He continues, providing accurate quotations from scripture and citations from Islamic history and scholarship, to argue that Muslims must hate and fight.

Mekhennet claims that "religion doesn't radicalize people; people radicalize religion." From the evidence she provides, the jihadists appear to have malignant religious beliefs that distinguish them from others who are not violent but have similar backgrounds or are similarly aggrieved. There are bad people and bad ideas - including religious ideas that have been around for a long time - and in Mekhennet's world of jihadists, their symbiosis is on elegant display.

---

Wood is a correspondent for the Atlantic.
Almost Human: The Astonishing Tale of Homo Naledi and the Discovery That Changed Our Human Story

By Lee Berger and John Hawks

National Geographic. 240 pp. $26

---

A 9-year-old boy stumbles upon a 2 million-year-old hominin clavicle while exploring in a field in South Africa. A paleoanthropologist, kayaking with his family on the Pacific island of Palau, finds a burial chamber full of ancient remains that he suspects might be a previously undocumented race of tiny people. A swashbuckling former diamond hunter discovers a treasure trove of humanlike fossils in a network of caves accessible only to people small enough to slither through an 18-centimeter opening.

In "Almost Human," the search for hominin fossils reads like an extreme sport. Written by Lee Berger with fellow paleoanthropologist John Hawks, the book documents with riveting intensity Berger's lifelong fascination with fossil hunting and the contributions he has made to our understanding of human origins.

In contemporary paleoanthropological circles, Berger, who grew up in the United States and is based in South Africa, is considered something of a maverick. He invites National Geographic to document his expeditions for social media, puts out calls on Facebook to invite scientists to join his teams and, rather than hoarding his finds so he alone can analyze them, makes replicas and photos of fossils available for other scientists to study. Traditionally, the journey from fossil discovery to publication has been a slow and laborious one, but Berger is known for speeding everything up. Critical of establishment paleoanthropologists, he views them as "an exclusive club" that refuses to share with others. "I represented a generation that didn't just want the keys to the club," Berger writes, "we wanted to open the doors to everyone. We were impatient for a faster pace of discovery and science, and sought collaborations with larger and larger groups of experts outside the traditional schools of thought."

Other scientists have sharply criticized Berger for being a relentless self-promoter, too quick to announce to the world that his fossils are rewriting human history. Paleoanthropologist Tim White of the University of California at Berkeley has accused Berger of engaging in "selfie science" and suggested that he is more interested in telling a good story than in sharing scientifically validated facts.

Criticisms of Berger aside, "Almost Human" is a fascinating and dramatically paced book that translates for a lay audience the excitement of paleoanthropology, its debates and its scandals. Berger provides a crash course in the field's often rocky history, shares his own tales of discovery and offers his version of feuds he has had with other paleoanthropologists. The hominin clavicle, found by Berger's son, who was only 9 at the time, turned out to be part of several skeletons that were later dated as 2 million years old, representing a previously undiscovered variant of a hominin species that Berger named Australopithecus sediba. Australopiths, first discovered in 1925 in South Africa, lived roughly between 4.2 million and 1.5 million years ago and are believed to be an intermediate species between apes and humans, sharing a bone structure similar to modern humans' but a brain that was one-third the size of ours. Although Berger asserted that sediba may have been a direct ancestor to modern humans, other anthropologists have disputed this, suggesting that sediba lived contemporaneously with the earliest species of Homo or perhaps was a variant of Homo. Nonetheless, there is little doubt in the paleoanthropological community that sediba was highly significant. Finding skeletons this old yet this complete in itself is astonishing, and Berger has consistently been open about allowing others to study sediba and draw their own conclusions.

Sediba alone would have been a sufficiently exciting discovery for one career, but more was to come. In 2013, Pedro Boshoff, a former student of Berger's who had gone off to hunt for diamonds and never finished his degree, showed up at Berger's office looking for work. Knowing that Boshoff was a skilled caver, Berger hired him to explore some promising fossil sites in the area. After several weeks of working with a team of cavers, Boshoff came to Berger's home late one evening with photos of a mandible and a tiny skull that appeared humanlike but did not resemble anything Berger had seen before. The bones came from a nearly inaccessible chamber in a network of caves known locally as Rising Star, and Berger immediately contacted National Geographic about funding an expedition. He then put out a call on Facebook recruiting paleoanthropologists small enough to slip through the 18-centimeter-wide hole leading into the fossil chamber to come to South Africa. National Geographic covered the entire expedition on social media. After collecting more than 1,300 fossil fragments in 21 days, Berger assembled another team of scholars to collectively analyze them and quickly write papers publicizing their finds.

Here the story grows more controversial. Dating the fossils proved challenging, because they were not found with surrounding geological evidence to help determine their age. What, then, were they?A previously undiscovered form of human, or a type of australopith? Why was it so urgent for Berger to publish his findings so quickly? And how had these ancient hominins ended up in such an out-of-the-way cave? Berger had his theories, but as usual, not everyone would agree with him. To say more would be to give away much of the suspense of this entertaining read. While many in the paleoanthropological community dispute Berger's theories and methods, there is no doubt that his book's lively prose will win new fans for paleoanthropology. And in an era when funding for scientific research is constantly under threat, could more advocates in the general public be such a bad thing?

---

Newcomb is an anthropologist and the Diane and Michael Maher distinguished professor of teaching and learning at Rollins College. She is the author of "Everyday Life in Global Morocco," due out in October.
No Is Not Enough: Resisting Trump's Shock Politics and Winning the World We Need

By Naomi Klein

Haymarket. 273 pp. $16.95

---

Naomi Klein's new book, "No Is Not Enough," is a bit of a told-you-so. And here's the thing: She really did tell us.

Klein's past writings - "No Logo" (1999), on the rise of corporate super-brands; "The Shock Doctrine" (2007), on how governments and industries exploit natural and manufactured crises to impose pro-corporate policies; and "This Changes Everything" (2014), on the battle between business interests and the environment - form a trilogy of left-wing, anti-globalist manifestos. Unlike those works, her latest offering did not take long to research and write. "Just a few months," Klein admits. That's because, in her view, all the forces she has been chronicling for two decades come together in the ascent of one Donald J. Trump.

"Trump is not a rupture at all, but rather the culmination - the logical end point - of a great many dangerous stories our culture has been telling for a very long time," Klein writes. "That greed is good. That the market rules. That money is what matters in life. That white men are better than the rest. That the natural world is there for us to pillage. That the vulnerable deserve their fate and the one percent deserve their golden towers. That anything public or commonly held is sinister and not worth protecting. That we are surrounded by danger and should only look after our own."

So she's been expecting Trump, or something like him, and now looks upon him with disdain and weary recognition. Trump the mega-brand. Trump the neoliberal standard-bearer for the entitled rich. Trump the disaster capitalist. Trump the climate-change denier. If he truly embodies the worst nightmares of the Klein oeuvre, now Trump the president has the chance to make them real. No wonder Klein wrote this book quickly.

The constant crisis mode characterizing the Trump presidency thus far may reflect the incompetence of an administration that is overreaching and underprepared, but Klein sees something more nefarious at work. Trump's vision "can be counted on to generate wave after wave of crises and shocks," she writes, and the administration "can be relied upon to exploit these shocks to push through the more radical planks of its agenda."

We know, of course, that White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon has ominously called for the deconstruction of the administrative state. But when aides and agencies are constantly being undermined by the president and policy is made and unmade via tweetstorm, it's hard to spot an underlying master plan, let alone see a 3-D chess match underway. (I think it's more like tic-tac-toe.) Whatever agenda Trump is pushing at any given moment, however, Klein argues convincingly that it is entirely self-serving - because 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is but the latest set for the Trump show.

"The presidency is in fact the crowning extension of the Trump brand," she writes. "His brand is being the ultimate boss, the guy who is so rich he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and to whomever he wants." In this context, Trump's endless conflicts of interest are not pitfalls, they are the point of it all.

"The conflicts are omnipresent and continuous, embedded in the mere fact of Trump being president," Klein explains. "That's because the value of lifestyle brands fluctuates wildly depending on the space they occupy in the culture. So anything that increases Donald Trump's visibility, and the perception of him as all-powerful, actively increases the value of the Trump brand, and therefore increases how much clients will pay to be associated with it."

His prior reality show, "The Apprentice," capitalized on and even glamorized income and wealth inequality, so it's little surprise that as candidate and president Trump would prey upon the financial and cultural insecurities of the American worker. But what happens, Klein wonders, when the jobs don't come back, and when Trump's trade deals boost corporate fortunes rather than factory wages?

"In all likelihood," she writes, "Trump will then fall back on the only other tools he has: he'll double down on pitting white workers against immigrant workers, do more to rile up fears about Black crime, more to whip up an absurd frenzy about transgendered people and bathrooms, and launch fiercer attacks on reproductive rights and on the press."

And if that's not enough to stoke the base, "of course, there's always war."

Yes, Klein worries that Trump, obsessed with flashing his alpha male credentials to the world, will play the commander in chief card. "There is little reason to hope he will be able to resist putting on the show of shows - the televised apocalyptic violence of a full-blown war, complete with its guaranteed blockbuster ratings." Klein writes that a terrorist attack on U.S. soil could propel Trump to launch a large-scale conflict abroad as well as severely restrict freedoms at home. This is one of the shocks she fears most, and her scenarios are dire.

"We should be prepared for security shocks to be exploited as excuses to increase the rounding up and incarceration of large numbers of people from the communities this administration is already targeting: Latino immigrants, Muslims, Black Lives Matter organizers, climate activists. It's all possible. And, in the name of freeing the hands of law enforcement officials, [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions would have his excuse to do away with federal oversight of state and local police. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that, in the aftermath of an attack, judges would show the same courage in standing up to Trump as they did immediately after his inauguration."

At one point, Klein even suggests Trump is treating the United States the way U.S. envoy Paul Bremer treated Iraq. That's cold.

Klein's prose feels overwritten at times; actions are not just unjust or corrupt, for instance, but "defiantly" unjust or "manifestly" corrupt. The hyperbole is unnecessary, and she is more persuasive when she simply outlines what the president does or proposes. "The Trump administration does not choose between amping up law and order, attacking women's reproductive rights, escalating foreign conflicts, scapegoating immigrants, setting off a fossil fuel frenzy, and otherwise deregulating the economy in the interests of the super-rich," she writes. "They are proceeding on all these fronts (and others) simultaneously." Trump embodies a sort of reverse intersectionality, linking and assailing all progressive causes at once.

"No Is Not Enough" is one of the bigger-name works so far in the emerging resistance-lit genre, and the barrage of high-profile left-wing endorsements - from Arundhati Roy, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Bill McKibben, Danny Glover and more - signals the intended audience. (I must say, though, 11 blurbs on the back cover may be too much virtue to take.) Klein, whose liberal proclivities fall in the Bernie-pining and Hillary-maligning camp, argues that American progressives were largely silenced after 9/11, washed away by the moment's patriotic fervor. "That left the economic-populist space open to abuse," she writes. "Politics hates a vacuum; if it isn't filled with hope, someone will fill it with fear."

But the left's new call to resistance is insufficient on its own. Klein prefers a new kind of shock doctrine, one that capitalizes on the crisis of Trump's presidency to unite liberals in a radical and comprehensive policy platform - the affirmative counterpoint to her book's title. A $15 minimum wage. A carbon tax. Demilitarization of police. Free college tuition. One hundred percent renewable energy. A Marshall Plan to fight violence against women. Reparations for slavery and colonialism. The abolition of prison. The abandonment of "growth" as a measure of improvement. Hey, Trump is going for it all, so why not her side, too?

Klein understands that liberals can be their own worst enemies - she regards the Obama years as a massive missed opportunity and worries that the left is too inclined to compete rather than collaborate, and shame rather than sympathize - but she still feels that the time to strike alliances may never be more propitious, paradoxically because conditions are so grim. "After decades of 'siloed' politics, more and more people understand that we can only beat Trumpism in cooperation with one another - no one movement can win on its own," she writes. "The trick is going to be to stick together, and have each other's backs as never before."

This book is a "road map for shock resistance," the author writes, one that celebrates the "rekindling of the kind of utopian dreaming that has been sorely missing from social movements in recent decades." So for all her concerns about shock tactics, Klein is not above taking advantage of a crisis to push through radical ideas. They just need to be radical ideas that she likes.
When it comes to addressing the gender discrepancy in Hollywood, there's been a lot of talk - symposiums, panel discussions, acceptance speeches - but not a lot of action. Men still get hired for jobs, especially behind the camera, much more frequently than women. In 2016, for example, only 17 percent of directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors and cinematographers for the top 250 domestic grossing films were women.

So when Zoe Lister-Jones decided to direct her first movie, "Band Aid," she embraced her power as the director-producer and focused on results instead of promises. She hired an all-female crew, from the cinematographer to the boom operator to the grip, because, as she put it, "there's something amazing that happens when women are alone together."

It wasn't entirely easy. In certain departments - lighting and electric, for example - some positions were a challenge to fill.

"It's not because there aren't a lot of women who have the skill set," Lister-Jones said recently over the phone. "It was more because even my female department heads were afraid to take a risk on someone who might not have as much experience as her male counterpart."

Ah yes, the familiar Catch-22: Women don't have the experience to get hired, and since they never get hired, they can't get the experience.

"I just knew that I had to push back against those fears," she said. "Because if we weren't going to take the risk then who is?"

There appears to be movement in a more equitable direction. "Band Aid" hits theaters just as Patty Jenkins' "Wonder Woman" has become the highest grossing debut for a female director ever, with $103 million domestically.

"Band Aid" won't make quite that big of a splash. The small-budget Sundance favorite stars Lister-Jones and Adam Pally as a married couple who find a unique solution to their constant fighting: They start a band, along with their neighbor (Fred Armisen), and turn their bickering into songs. (Sample lyric: "Please do not ask me if you've gained weight, especially when we're going out on a date.") The movie is charming and funny, but also poignant at times, especially when the story delves into the topic of miscarriage - a theme that doesn't pop up much in movies, probably because of the people creating them.

That's one benefit of diversifying the field of those telling the stories we see on screen. We get more authentic portrayals. Television has leapfrogged ahead of movies in this department, resulting in such acclaimed series as "Transparent" (Jill Soloway), "Queen Sugar" (Ava DuVernay) and "Insecure" (Issa Rae). Thanks to a diverse slate of writers and directors, there are more realistic depictions of what it's like to be many different types of people, including a transgender woman and a black millennial. In a recent episode of "Fargo," two strangers in a public bathroom go through a ritual familiar to any woman when one asks the other for a tampon. It's a jarring moment precisely because it's so credible for female viewers; of course the episode was written by a woman, Monica Beletsky.

Actress Jessica Chastain made a splash at the Cannes Film Festival last month when she said she was disturbed by the way movies at the fest painted female characters. She didn't recognize any of them from reality.

"I hope that when we include more female storytellers, we will have more of the women I recognize in my day-to-day life," she said. "Ones that are proactive, have their own agency, don't just react to the men around them. They have their own point of view."

Does working on a movie where the entire crew is women feel different?

"Yeah," "Band Aid" producer Natalia Anderson said with an air of wonder. (She has also collaborated with Lister-Jones on the television series "Life in Pieces.") "There's been many times where I've been on sets or in meetings or some form of interfacing about a project, and I'm either the only female or one of few in the room, and to be involved in something where that's completely flipped and you're only with other females who have had that same experience made it that much more special."

Anderson said the atmosphere was collaborative and welcoming, which Lister-Jones made a point of fostering during a state of the union at the beginning of the project. People were pitching in, even on tasks outside of their departments. And Anderson was amazed at how efficiently the crew got everything done.

"The beauty of women - and of course I'm speaking generally, there are exceptions to every rule - my experience at least is that there's a consideration that goes into decision-making," Lister-Jones said. "I think women tend to view the world with a lot of periphery in their viewpoint and kind of like to consider things and talk things through and so it felt like there was a really amazing lack of ego, which was something I'd never experienced before."

There was also none of that unwarranted apologizing, a tic of the female worker that's become a meme.

Even Pally noticed the difference. During an interview with Bustle, he said, "I got to see just the difference between what it was like for a woman in all of the areas of producing a movie when they're surrounded by other women who are supporting them, versus when they are kind of apologizing for just existing."

Descriptions of the project sound like another female-led set - that of Soloway's "I Love Dick."

"Nobody has to worry about getting anything wrong," Soloway said in a New York Magazine profile, which described her set as "inclusive, chill and collaborative." Every day starts with an inspirational speech from the showrunner, after which anyone from the cast and crew can get up and add anything they'd like.

That doesn't mean that differences between female and male filmmakers are always what you'd expect. During an interview last summer for Meera Menon's movie "Equity," which was written and directed by women, actress and co-writer Alysia Reiner said that gender has little bearing on a director's temperament. Having worked with two high-profile directors, one male, one female, she said, "the man was more gentle and more traditionally feminine than the woman. So, isn't that interesting?"

With the success of "Wonder Woman," you'd imagine that Hollywood's decision-makers would realize the potential in movies made by and about women. But the same conversation happened after director-producer Kathryn Bigelow won two Oscars in 2010 for "The Hurt Locker." And yet here we are.

"Band Aid" might not be a huge movie but Lister-Jones' big hiring decision at least has one ripple effect. All the members of the female crew have another title to add to their resume.
There was some kind of diabolical kismet at work this week when, in between the release of former FBI director James Comey's six-page written testimony recounting his tense encounters with President Donald Trump and his actual appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Oliver Stone's upcoming documentary "The Putin Interviews," landed in my inbox.

I'm old enough to remember a time when the prospect of Stone, as rightfully revered for his command of film language and emotionally immersive storytelling as he is reviled for historical revisionism and provocation, going toe-to-toe with the Russian leader would have been considered a can't-miss cinematic event. Who better than Stone, whose films have so boldly challenged American military hegemony, capitalist greed and shadowy abuses of power, to bring his singular brand of the American paranoid style to bear on the opaque authoritarian leader of a Russian government that itself stands accused of corruption, bellicose adventurism and, most recently, cyberwarfare on a global scale?

But what might have once promised to be an explosive on-screen matching-of-wits instead arrives just in time to be colossally irrelevant: an erstwhile scoop made instantly negligible by the breaking news it's been engulfed by, and the imaginative and ideological limits of its director.

Showtime, the cable network that will begin showing "The Putin Interviews" on Monday, only made two episodes of the four-hour series available for viewing; perhaps Stone ends with some bona fide confrontational bombshells. But that prospect seems dim, judging from the first two installments, in which Stone never brings up Russia's involvement in Syria, media censorship in Russia or the mysterious murders of dissidents and journalists. After a benign review of Putin's political career, he engages the poker-faced leader in a collection of interviews - which started in 2015 and continued through February of this year - that don't challenge Putin but allow him to have his say, whether he's calling for the dissolution of NATO, portraying Russia as a nascent but robust democracy, accusing the United States of aiding terrorists in the Caucasus and, in the second episode's breathtaking final moment, stating that Russia "never interferes within the domestic affairs of other countries."

That last whopper - which Stone seems to accept at face value - strikes a particularly preposterous note coming in the light of Comey offering persuasive testimony that Russia indeed did hack the U.S. election last year. "There should be no fuzz on this whatsoever," he told the committee in a Thursday hearing that spanned 21/2 hours. "The Russians interfered in our election during the 2016 cycle. They did it with purpose. They did it with sophistication. They did it with overwhelming technical efforts."

That moment and many others made for far more riveting cinema than the alternately static and stagy visual and narrative design of "The Putin Interviews," which consists mostly of talking-head shots of Stone lobbing softballs ("Do you ever have a bad day?") and Putin dutifully, dispassionately hitting them back. Despite Showtime's best efforts to hype Stone's access, the film feels startlingly inert, not only compared with the filmmaker's better work (including last year's "Snowden") but also to the screenplay-like world-building of Comey's written testimony, written with such dramatic thrust and detail that it couldn't help but conjure a taut political thriller in the imagination of anyone who read it.

To be fair: There's a useful, even necessary place for revisionism in the cinematic canon. As Stone himself proved with "JFK," a brazen, self-consciously stylized reframing of consensus history can be great art even at its most outrageous, inviting viewers to question official verities and their own most precious assumptions. And documentary filmmakers have allowed subjects to run the table before with riveting results, most notably in "The Fog of War," when Errol Morris filmed former defense secretary Robert McNamara engaging in a rambling, unintentionally revealing recollection of how he prosecuted the Vietnam War. Even in "South of the Border," Stone's admiring portrait of South American leaders opposing U.S. neo-liberal economic policies, his credulity made room for genuinely enlightening observations about the vexed legacies of Western colonialism and economic exploitation.

Early in "The Putin Interviews," Stone announces there will be "no rules" during their times together. But it becomes clear that Putin didn't see the need for any, as the filmmaker continually declines to probe or push back on even the most dubious of his subject's assertions. As this column was being written, Comey was conducting classified testimony before his congressional interlocutors, with the various investigations of Russian malfeasance continuing apace. And "The Putin Interviews," which in tougher hands might have provided valuable insights alongside those processes, instead has relegated itself to the sidelines. What might have been the cinematic event of its time has been quickly outpaced by time and events themselves.

- - -

The Putin Interviews airs in one-hour installments Monday-Thursday at 9 p.m. on Showtime.
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For the second time in NASA's history, a Houston native has been selected to be one of the space agency's astronaut candidates.

Loral O'Hara, who graduated from Fort Bend ISD's Clements High School in 2001, was one of 12 astronaut candidates chosen from more than 18,300 applicants, according to the space agency.

O'Hara and 11 other members of NASA's 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class will report for duty at the Johnson Space Center in August. They were welcomed Wednesday by Vice President Mike Pence.

The 34-year-old couldn't be reached for comment Thursday afternoon, but told the media this week that growing up in the Houston area afforded her early opportunities to get involved with space, like when her second-grade class grew tomato seeds that ultimately flew in a space shuttle.

"Opportunities like that were kind of unique to growing up in Houston," O'Hara said. "That set me on the path to taking advantage of opportunities with NASA down the road too, like in high school I used to watch the space shuttle debriefings when they used to do those in the space center."

O'Hara said she met the first Houstonian to become an astronaut - Shannon Walker - while she interviewed for the astronaut position.

OHara was born in Houston before her family moved to Sugar Land, where she attended Quail Valley Elementary, First Colony Middle School and Clements High School. She told Fort Bend ISD's media relations department that she credits her community, schools and teachers with preparing her to get to where she is today, although she struggled with one subject in particular.



My favorite subjects in school when I was younger were probably English and art. I also loved science, but my worst subject was actually math. I struggled with math the whole way through, OHara told the Fort Bend ISD.

After graduating from Clements, O'Hara earned a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Kansas. She also received a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University in 2009.

More recently, O'Hara worked for Stone Aerospace in Austin, Texas as a design engineer and as a project engineer at Rocketplane Limited in Oklahoma City, Okla. She was a research engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts when she was selected to become an astronaut candidate.

She said her parents and sister still live in the Houston area, although she herself has not called the area home since her high school days.

"I'm really excited to move back to Houston," O'Hara said.
U.S. urges DPRK to refrain from "provocative" actions following latest missile tests

WASHINGTON, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. on Thursday called on Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to refrain from "provocative" actions after Pyongyang test-fired multiple ground-to-ship cruise missiles.

"We continue to call on them to stop those destabilizing activities," said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert. "That only serves to undermine the situation in the Korean Peninsula."

Nauert also expressed Washington's hope that talks on the Korean Peninsula issue could resume, but she added that "we are nowhere near that point."

The DPRK fired several suspected short-range anti-ship missiles Thursday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Pyongyang has conducted missile test-launches five times over the past month.
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Washington

Former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday accused the Trump White House of lying about the reasons for his dismissal last month, and said it was clearly because of the bureau's investigation of links between the Trump campaign and Russia.

In hours of riveting testimony, Comey was by turns angry over his treatment by Trump, and almost apologetic for not challenging the president more forcefully  especially when Trump asked about "letting Flynn go," a reference to dismissed National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he started writing memos of his interactions with Trump from Jan. 6 this year through April 11 because "I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting(s)."

Much of the back and forth between senators of both parties focused on why he resisted Trump's effort to get the FBI to issue a statement that Trump himself was not under investigation, and why he tried to smooth over the president's demand for "loyalty."

Comey told senators he refused to issue such a statement because it might lead to a "slippery slope" of retraction if evidence were to come up implicating the president. And at his Jan. 27 White House dinner where Trump asked for "loyalty," Comey said he agreed to "honest loyalty" as a way of ending "a very awkward conversation."

The investigation is focusing on Trump campaign contacts with Russian intelligence as part of a wider probe of Russian efforts to swing the 2016 election to Trump.

Comey was emphatic that the Russian hacking under investigation was real, and neither a "hoax" nor "fake news" as Trump himself labeled it.

"They did it with purpose, they did it with sophistication, they did it with overwhelming technical efforts, and it was an active-measure campaign driven from the top of the government," Comey said in response to questioning by Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. "There is no fuzz on that."

Comey said he made a logical conclusion that Trump was making his continued service as FBI director contingent on short-circuiting the Russia investigation in general, and Flynn's possible jeopardy in particular.

"I took (Trump's words) as a direction," Comey said. "It is the president of the United States with me alone ... I took it as this is what he wants me to do. I didn't obey it, but I took it that way."

He concluded that Trump fired him because of the Russia probe because he saw "the president say so."

Comey grew incensed when after firing him on May 9, Trump suggested it was because the FBI was in disarray, Comey was a poor leader and the FBI rank-and-file had lost confidence in him.

"Those were lies, plain and simple," he said.

The hearing in combination with Comey's written statement released Wednesday cast Trump as a possible perpetrator of obstruction of justice.

Asked whether he considered Trump's actions a case of legal obstruction, Comey answered that would be for special prosecutor Robert Mueller to decide.

The hearings brought business in Washington and much of a nation to a virtual standstill. The eyes of all lawmakers were on the hearings, whether they are part of the congressional intelligence committees conducting investigations or not.

The testimony "reaffirmed a vital pillar of American law enforcement  no one is above the law," said Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam. "For the sake of our republic and to protect future elections, we need to get this right. The American people deserve to know the truth."

The comments of Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, dovetailed those of Tonko.

"Former FBI Director Comey's testimony is troubling," he said. "The American people deserve to know the truth about any Russian interference in the 2016 election, and they expect investigators to follow the evidence wherever it leads."

And on the Senate floor after the hearing, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said after hearing Comey's testimony, "America is stunned. The cloud hanging over this administration has just gotten a whole lot darker."

New York's junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, said she was stunned to hear the ex-FBI director testify under oath that the president "defamed" him and the bureau and told lies about them.

"Even more shocking was his (Comey's) testimony that President Trump didn't have any conversations with him about how a foreign government interfered in our election at a time when Russia 'is coming after America' " she said.

"... Director Comey's testimony that he took the president's comments regarding the Flynn investigation 'as a direction' is alarming."

Thursday's hearing also raised serious questions concerning the actions of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to Gillibrand, who added that the American people need to know what led Comey to believe Sessions' engagement in the Russia-related investigation was 'problematic.' "

Comey's testimony evoked a strident response from Trump's New York City lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, brought in to represent the president on the Russia investigation.

"Mr. Comey has now finally confirmed publicly ... that the president is not under investigation as part of any probe of Russian interference," Kasowitz said at an impromptu news conference at which he answered no questions.

Kasowitz also denied that Trump ever said that Comey should "let Flynn go."

Kasowitz took aim at Comey for leaking to the press, including one of his memos after Trump fired him. Comey said at the hearing he did so to spur appointment of a special prosecutor and "to get that out into the public square."

"We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated," he said.

Comey expressed hope that Trump's previous suggestion that the president had tape recordings to back up his version of their conversations proved true.

"Release all the tapes!" Comey said. "I'm good with it."

Republicans on the panel for the most part commended Comey and acknowledged the seriousness of Russian interference in the election.

But Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said to Comey that by the former director's own account, Trump never ordered him to terminate the probe of Flynn, who was fired just weeks into his job for failing to fully report contacts with Russian officials to Vice President Mike Pence. Comey acknowledged that Trump said "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go."

That prompted a sharp response later on from Sen. Kamala Harris, R-Calif., herself a former state attorney general.

"In my experience of prosecuting cases, when a robber held a gun to someone's head and said 'I hope you will give me your wallet,' the word 'hope' was not the most operative word at that moment," she said.

dan@hearstdc.com
Two men have pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy charges for their alleged involvement in a large narcotics trafficking organization that spanned worldwide.

Bede Hawkins Jr. and Martin Ramirez entered guilty pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Guillermo R. Garcia after reaching plea agreements with the government, records state.

Both defendants admit to laundering between $15,000 to $40,000 during the course of the conspiracy, according to their plea agreements.

The defendants are two of 35 individuals indicted for their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl through the use of the U.S. Postal Service or other means such as Federal Express.

In April, co-defendants Hector Ortiz, Stephanie Ozuna and Maria Lilia Ozuna pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy charges.

The remaining 30 defendants face various charges including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl, conspiracy to launder drug proceeds and numerous other money laundering violations.

They allegedly used various U.S. bank accounts to transfer drug proceeds from U.S. distribution hub cities to U.S. cities along the Mexican border, including Laredo, and to places outside the United States, such as Mexico, Ecuador and Peru, the Attorney Generals Office said.

Laredoan Antonio Romero Jr., 30, was identified as the head of the drug trafficking cell that operated out of Orlando, Florida.

An investigation into the organization, dubbed Operation Tres Equis, is a long-term, worldwide investigation spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Funnel account holders

Records state agents identified Hawkins and Ramirez as assisting with the conspiracy in April after they began intercepting communications between Laredo resident Oscar Mancillas, a co-defendant, and others discussing drug proceeds being deposited into bank accounts from different geographic locations for immediate withdrawal in Laredo.

Through the intercepted communications, agents identified Hawkins and Ramirez as funnel account holders.

On April 18, 2014, agents saw drug proceeded delivered to Oscar Mancillas through the funneling of Hawkins and Ramirezs personal bank accounts, plea agreements for Hawkins and Ramirez state.

Wells Fargo bank records show that (Hawkins) opened two bank accounts  that collectively received $266,450 of unexplained deposits of which $244,856 was immediately withdrawn; amounts personally removed by (Hawkins) is $27,700, Hawkins plea agreement states.

According to Ramirezs plea agreement, bank records show that from July 26, 2013 to April 21, 2014, he received 9 deposits totalling $89,700, of which $89,499 were immediately withdrawn.

On Sept. 30, 2014, agents seized 10 bundles, approximately 9.84 kilograms, of methamphetamine found within plain view of Hawkins residence, records state.

The duo face up to 20 years in prison and a possible $500,000 fine for the laundering charges. Sentencing hearings have not yet been set.

Taryn Walters may be reached at 956-728-2528 or twalters@lmtonline.com.
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Seven months have passed since the disappearance of Donna Kay Cloud, 19, of Splendora. Authorities say they have exhausted their leads but are continuing to follow new information as it is reported.

"We are doing everything we can," said Lt. Scott Spencer, spokesperson for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. "We have no new information and have nothing to suggest she has been harmed. The detective has checked into every aspect of the case but has had no luck."

TEXAS MYSTERIES: The Texas Rangers' top 12 unsolved homicides

Cloud was last seen by her family on Oct. 25, 2016. Several sightings of a woman matching Cloud's description have been reported to authorities but to no avail.

Initially it was reported that Cloud had gone on a date with an unknown male; however, law enforcement has been unable to corroborate that claim.

Her father, Darrel Beaty, in previous interviews with the Advocate, says his daughter told him she was meeting the man at a restaurant in Kingwood. Detectives checked the surveillance video from the restaurant but found no signs of Cloud.

With each passing day, Beaty's hope for a good outcome erodes.

"I am starting to believe she is not out there, that she is not okay," he said. "Part of me just wants to find her, just to get closure. I know it's only been seven months but it's tearing my life apart."

Beaty says he is angry and feels that not enough is being done to find his daughter.

"I have written both of our U.S. senators from Texas and the governor and asked that they form a missing person task force. People who have missing persons in their family get the same response from law enforcement that I am getting," Beaty said. "They (the agencies) don't have the resources to devote enough time to missing person cases. They get handed over to detectives who are overloaded with violent crime cases and other things take priority."

While that might be the case with other agencies, Spencer said it is not an accurate opinion of the sheriff's office.

"The detective who is working the case is in constant communication with her grandmother. Some of the family members have hurt our investigation more than they have helped. They logged into her social media accounts that we could have used to develop leads," Spencer said. "We get that they are frustrated. We get that they are upset but we are doing everything we can to find her."

According to Spencer, the sheriff's office is still considering the possibility that she might have voluntarily walked away from her family, a claim her father vehemently denies.

Beaty admits the two had a strained relationship but says she would not have disappeared without a word to him or the grandmother who raised her.

"She wouldn't just disappear. Donna was free to come and go from my home. She is not a runaway," he said.

Cloud is described as a white female, 5' 1", weighing 120 pounds. She has dark hair and dark brown eyes.

Some of her distinguishing characteristics are deep dimples on both cheeks and a piercing in her right nostril. She has a tattoo on her right forearm with the word "Faith," a cross tattoo on the middle finger of her right hand, a diamond tattoo on her right ring finger, and a tattoo that says "Love is Enough" on her right collarbone.

Anyone with information regarding Cloud's whereabouts is asked to contact the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office at 936-760-5800.
LONDON -- The U.K. Independence Party, which saw the heart of its platform ratified when British voters chose last year to take the country out of the European Union, appears to have lost its raison d'etre. And its leadership now fears that its prized goal may be in doubt.

An exit poll late Thursday predicted that the fiercely Euroskeptic party would lose its single seat in Parliament, as its support fell by 11 percent across the country.

The ruling Conservatives were expected to absorb much of UKIP's support, as Theresa May, the prime minister, embraced a severe version of Brexit. She called the snap election in April with the aim of strengthening her hand going into difficult divorce negotiations with Europe.

Her majority, however, could be in doubt, as the poll, which is subject to possible revision, suggested that the Conservatives may fall short of the necessary 326 seats.

As the early results came in, UKIP's leader, Paul Nuttall, tweeted that May had "put Brexit in jeopardy." He accused the prime minister, who had backed the remain position before ascending to the premiership and reversing her stance, of "hubris."

"Brexit means Brexit," May famously declared, in explaining her resolve to move forward with the split despite her initial preference that Britain remain in the bloc. Having called the election at a time when polls showed her party in a commanding lead over Labour, she led what observers described as a thoroughly uninspiring campaign.

"When voters see May rather than just hear her described as strong and stable, she's a bloody terrible performer," said Geoffrey Evans, a political scientist at the University of Oxford.

The uncertainty of the early predictions throws the conditions surrounding the departure into doubt. Brexit negotiations were expected to begin in about 10 days. Britain has already triggered Article 50, the formal notice of withdrawal, and opinions differ on whether that is reversible. Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, believes it is.

In the event that May does not eke out a majority, it is a virtual unknown what sort of position a new, coalition government would adopt. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party, has been accused of failing to stake out a clear position on Brexit, even facing a vote of no confidence last year over his lackluster defense of the remain position. The center-left Liberal Democrats, who appeared poised Thursday to expand their influence modestly, were the only party to campaign on a redo referendum.

Even if May retains a majority, her position will be severely weakened, Evans said. And she could be axed by her own party.

"If May actually fails to increase her support level, having gone for this as some sort of coronation, then they get rid of her," he predicted. "She won't last."
LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May's bet that she could strengthen her grip on power by calling an early election backfired spectacularly on Friday, with her Conservative Party losing its parliamentary majority and May facing calls to resign.

The outcome - an astonishing turn following a campaign that began with predictions that May would win in a historic landslide - immediately raised questions even among her fellow Tories about whether she could maintain her hold on 10 Downing Street.

It also threw into disarray the country's plans for leaving the European Union, threatening to render Britain rudderless just days before talks were to begin with European leaders over the terms of the nation's exit.

As of 5 a.m., a projection based on a combination of exit polls and official results put the Conservatives at 318 seats - eight short of what they would need for a working majority in the 650-member Parliament and well down from the 331 they won just two years ago.

The Labour Party was forecast to win 262 seats - an unexpected gain of dozens of seats under far-left leader Jeremy Corbyn. The outcome gave him at least a chance, albeit a remote one, of becoming prime minister - something virtually no one had thought possible before Thursday's vote.

The results mark the second time in as many years that the British body politic has defied predictions, scrambled the country's direction and bucked the will of a prime minister who had gambled by calling a vote when none had been required.

But unlike last year's E.U. referendum - which delivered a clear if close verdict to get out of the bloc - the will of the voters who cast ballots on Thursday was not nearly as easy to decipher.

There was little doubt that the Conservatives would emerge, again, as the largest party. But as Labour unexpectedly picked off seats - especially in areas of London that had voted last year to remain in the EU - May's once-undisputed political authority was being called into question.

A triumphant Corbyn, crowing that the country had "had enough of austerity politics," demanded that she resign.

"The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate," Corbyn said in an early morning speech after winning reelection to his north London district. "Well, the mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that is enough for her to go, actually."

Minutes later, May - her voice trembling - delivered her own speech in which she said that as long as the Conservatives remain the largest party, they should be allowed to govern.

"The country needs a period of stability," she said.

But it was not a given that May would be allowed to stay on. Within her own party, Thursday's results represented a catastrophic outcome that may prompt a search for a new leader - even if the Tories ultimately have the votes necessary to continue to govern.

"It was a dreadful campaign - and that's me being generous," Anna Soubry, a Tory member of Parliament who narrowly won reelection, told the BBC.

Asked whether May should resign, Soubry replied: "It's bad. She's in a very difficult place."

Other top Tories were declining to appear on television to discuss May's fate amid internal party discussions over whether Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson or another senior figure should be brought in to replace her, BBC anchors reported as dawn broke on Friday.

The election results suggested no party is likely to win a majority - a scenario known as a hung parliament.

If the Conservatives fall short of 236 seats, it will set off a free-for-all, with both Labour and the Tories seeking to forge alliances that get them to the magic number for a majority.

It is far from clear which parties would team up, or under what arrangements, to try to govern. A "progressive alliance" - including Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh nationalists, and others - may have as many seats as the Conservatives. But the Conservatives would also have potential coalition partners if they fall short of a majority, including Unionists in Northern Ireland.

The results - and the turmoil they portend - prompted an immediate drop in the pound, which fell 2 percent against the dollar within minutes after exit polls were released following the end of voting Thursday night.

Tories were incredulous at the early numbers, saying that they thought the results had undersold the party's performance and that official tallies would give them a higher total.

But as the results rolled in, they grew more somber and acknowledged suffering losses that virtually no one had foreseen.

In Europe, observers were bracing for yet more instability out of Britain.

"Could be messy for the United Kingdom in the years ahead," tweeted former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt. "One mess risks following another. Price to be paid for lack of true leadership."

The results drew intense scrutiny to May's choice to gamble by going back on repeated promises not to call an election before the one that had been due in 2020.

In April, with her popularly spiking and the country seeming to rally around her vow to be a "bloody difficult woman" in talks with European leaders, May stunned Britain with her call for a snap vote that she believed would give her a stronger mandate before the negotiations began.

Observers hailed the move as a cunning bit of political strategy and predicted she would secure the sort of overwhelming parliamentary majority that predecessors Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair had enjoyed.

But after that, little went according to plan.

Thursday's vote follows a turbulent campaign that was interrupted by two mass-casualty terrorist attacks, and that was marked by a faltering performance by May even as Corbyn exceeded expectations.

May - known for her resolute and no-nonsense persona - claimed the nation's top job only last year, emerging from the political wreckage of the country's choice to leave the EU.

Since then she has had only a slender majority in Parliament - won in a 2015 election when the country was governed by her predecessor, David Cameron - and she had feared that without a bigger cushion she would lack the latitude she needs in steering the country to Brexit.

But the approval May enjoyed in office didn't translate to the campaign trail. A politician who endlessly touted herself as a "strong and stable" finished the race being tagged by critics as "weak and wobbly" after high-profile U-turns, including a particularly disastrous bid to force senior citizens to pay more for social care - a measure derisively dubbed "the dementia tax."

She also ducked debates, and rarely mingled with voters in unscripted moments.

"We've learned what we suspected all along: She's not particularly fast on her feet, she's not a natural campaigner, she's not really a people person," said Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London.

Lacking the common touch, May's strategy was to focus the campaign on a presidential-style choice between her leadership skills and those of Corbyn. She relentlessly hammered her rival as a far-left throwback to another era who would leave the country vulnerable in both the Brexit talks and at a time of growing terrorist threats.

Corbyn - for decades a backbencher who unexpectedly vaulted to the party's leadership in 2015 with his Bernie Sanders-style message of taking on the 1 percent - faced a steeply uphill challenge to sell himself as a potential prime minister.

But he was widely seen to have mounted a far more credible challenge than many thought possible, running a nothing-to-lose campaign focused on ending seven years of Tory austerity policies and shrinking the gap between rich and poor.

Even if he doesn't prevail, his performance has undoubtedly saved his job as Labour leader - a stinging blow for more-centrist party figures who had quietly hoped the harsh glare of a national campaign would leave him exposed and force him to step aside.

Deep into Friday morning, Labour lawmakers who had spent nearly two years trying to overthrow Corbyn lined up to appear on television and sing his praises.

The results are a vindication of Corbyn's decision to focus the campaign on Tory budget cuts, rather than allow it to be defined by Brexit.

May had wanted the vote to be a referendum on her Brexit plan. But Corbyn spent little time discussing the issue.

Like the prime minister, Corbyn halfheartedly favored a vote to "remain" in the EU during the Brexit referendum. But also like May, he promised not to obstruct the will of voters and to follow through on their desires if they approved an exit.

Negotiations with the remaining 27 members of the EU are due to kick off in a little over a week. Even before Thursday's vote, May had faced long odds in delivering the successful exit she has promised. If she is still in office, her job has become even harder following the rejection of her plea for a broader mandate.

May had vowed a hard break with the bloc that leaves Britain outside the single market, the customs union and the European Court of Justice. But she has also promised to deliver a free-trade deal that will preserve the best elements of membership without many of the onerous burdens.

European leaders scoff at such a notion, and say that Britain's demands for EU benefits without responsibilities will have to be denied lest the country's departure trigger a rush to the exits by other nations demanding the same sweetheart deal.

If she prevails, May also will be under pressure to deliver on pledges to expand the powers of police and other security services following three deadly terrorist attacks this spring, including two in the midst of the campaign.

After the most recent attack - a van-and-knife rampage in London that left eight dead - May said "enough is enough" and promised a sweeping review of the nation's counterterrorism rules.

Many observers thought the attacks would play to May's advantage. But Corbyn managed to flip one of his potential areas of weakness - security - to a strength by hitting out at May for the cuts to police budgets she had authorized as the nation's home secretary, the top domestic security official.

He promised to put more cops back on the beat - a message that aligned with his broader mantra.

"It's sort of like Labour offering a huge platter of beautiful juicy burgers and steak and fried food in front of voters. And the Tories are like, 'Think about the bill!' and the voters are like, 'We don't want cold radish again!' " said Rob Ford, a politics professor at the University of Manchester. "You can see why people find that appealing."
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A dozen foster youths had a chance to test drive the car-buying experience at Wiesner in Conroe as part of a series of summer events to help prepare them for the future.

CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County teamed up with the automotive dealership as part of the "Fostering Futures" program launched in 2013 to give the youths a glimpse of the real world.

"Any time we are able to provide education in the form of real-life experience, it is only going to benefit them in the future," Wiesner General Sales Manager Chris Stamm said.

The youths, who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect, climbed into the front and passenger seats of a GMC Yukon Denali SUV Thursday morning as Finance Manager Justin Lewis and Sales Consultant Josh Ables discussed convenience and safety features.

One of the young, prospective clients asked how a trade-in would work. Another asked to see a Corvette. Later, the group sat inside filling out a mock credit application asking for proof of income, an active driver's license and insurance. The youths were asked to write down where they want to work and how much their annual salary would be. One child estimated he would make a million dollars a year as a mechanic at Wiesner.

"You might be president one day," Lewis encouraged the youth. "You might even own your own dealership."

While the scenario did not require the youths' Social Security number or documents in this case, one day they will have to meet these stipulations, like proof of income and residence, to buy their first car.

Many foster youths face a wall of challenges as they enter adulthood without a family's foundation to provide stability, according to CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) Development Director Shannon Wilson and Case Supervisor Fawn Dennis. The youths often lack a permanent address for proof of residence, an active driver's license for not only a car, but a bank account, or a job to even have proof of income, a down payment or a monthly car note or rent.

"It's very difficult," said Dennis, who frequently sees the youth face the challenges out of CASA, which addressed the needs of children involved in about 500 cases per year. "They don't know where to begin. They may couch surf or end up homeless."

The case workers often do not know the outcome of the youths after they have aged out of the system as it is not an obligation to remain in communication. Some transitional services are working to help, including Angel Reach and Hope's Path.

By offering the "Fostering Futures" program, both Dennis and Wilson hope to expose the children to realistic expectations and processes they will face as adults.

"We have to start somewhere," Wilson said.

On Monday, the children toured the University of Houston. The program also is planning trips to Lone Star College-Kingwood, Sam Houston State University and Stephen F. Austin University. Cooking classes will be held in June by the Montgomery County Food Bank at the Lone Star Family Health Center in Conroe. The youths will take a tour of LSFHC, which accepts Medicaid insurance they will transition into, Dennis said. In July, Cadence Bank in The Woodlands will offer finance classes for the program.

The GIFT Project

CASA also is working with case supervisors Kim Vest, Patti Sexton and Pat Creighton to launch the next big project this summer.

The GIFT Project, short for Guiding Infants, Parents and Toddlers, will offer specialized training for advocates with children under the age of 5 in foster care, according to information from Dennis and Sexton.

"Training will include recognizing appropriate milestones for children of that age, the resources for assessing children and making recommendations to help in their road to growing up ...," Sexton stated. "Each of our advocates brings something special to the table. We want them to feel well trained and ready to meet and conquer any challenges facing them while assigned their cases."

CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County is seeking volunteers and accepts donations. For more information about getting involved or supporting the program, email Development Director Shannon Wilson at Shannon@CASASpeaks4Kids.com or call 936-441-5437, ext. 212.
Each year the Edwardsville High School FFA club hosts an end-of-the year banquet where students are recognized for their accomplishments that year. Part of this years big recognitions were EHS junior Trevor Huene, who is receiving his FFA state degree, and 2015 EHS graduate Katie Zelechowski, who will be receiving her American FFA degree. The State and American degrees are the FFAs highest honors.

But this years banquet, which took place on May 9, also had an extra recognition component. EHS FFA Alumni Club Treasurer Dana Hellmann and FFA Alumni Jill Bertels tracked down 19 EHS FFA Alumni who had previously received their State and American FFA degrees between 1942 and 1984 before the program was dismantled. They invited these alumni to attend the banquet to be recognized.

The original EHS Ag program was started in the early '40s at a time when the agriculture industry was flourishing. That program continued until the mid-'80s when the agriculture industry was struggling and few students were pursuing a career in the this industry. The EHS program eventually was discontinued in the mid-'80s but was reborn in the early 2000s.

EHS Ag Program Teacher John Davin explained that he was hired to develop the new EHS Ag program for the 2005-06 school year. It started technically the year before, and they had one agriculture class. I think they added the class to gauge the interest. And then when they saw how many kids showed up they hired a full time teacher, he explained.

Since restarting the EHS program, Davin has had several students receive their State and American FFA degrees, two of the FFAs highest honors. When you go around to most other schools, you always see either the state of Illinois or the map of the U.S. and they have the name and dates on it when people received those awards, but we had nothing, Davin noted.

He pointed out that the records from the first agriculture program naturally had been lost after the program ended. There was also a school change from the junior high (Woodland) building to the new high school. Im sure most of the stuff just got thrown away which is understandable but unfortunately then all of that history of our program was lost, Davin said.

So I contacted our state office and asked if they could get me a copy of all of our past members. And by doing so and then by working with our alumni, they were able to reach out and contact a lot of the past members, Davin said.

He credited Hellman and Bertels for locating the 19 former FFA Alumni who had earned either state or American degrees and attended the banquet.

After receiving permission from the District 7 administration to mount plaques at EHS to recognize these outstanding FFA alumni, Bunge, Inc, a regional grain elevator, offered to sponsor and pay for the plaques. Then we invited them to the banquet to show them basically our wall of fame and to give them some recognition which we thought they deserved, Davin added. So this was our way of kind of reconnecting with those past members and honoring them for their success.

Davin pointed out that the current EHS students enjoyed interacting with the alumni from the original ag program. It was really kind of cool, too, because a lot of them (alumni) brought their old FFA jackets. There were at least five or six of the guys that held up their old jackets which was kind of neat for the kids to see that the tradition is still there, he said.

And many of them made comments about how they were so impressed that the official FFA dress was still a time honored tradition  that even our kids looked the same way they did when they were in high school, Davin added. It hadnt changed and that tradition was still there. So they were very honored and very happy with being recognized.

Also recognized during the banquet was Huene, who has earned his State FFA degree for his poultry production operation at his familys home as well as 2015 EHS graduate Zelechowski, who has earned her American FFA degree. Its a pretty big deal to go from your State FFA degree to your American FFA degree, Davin said. You have to actually be out of high school one full year before you can apply for your American degree. Theres only one person in the past (original ag program) who has ever achieved that. And since Ive been here, our third one (Zelechowski) will get their American degree this year.

In addition, Zelechowski is the first ever EHS alumni female to receive her American FFA degree.

Huene and Zelechowski will also be recognized for their achievements at the FFA National convention that takes place in Indianapolis in the fall.

Plaques recognizing those EHS alumni who have achieved State or American FFA degrees can be viewed in the entry hallway at EHS.
Authorities in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh deployed extra security forces in an attempt to quell violent farmer protests, as the agitation spread around the country.

Protests expanded into Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra while farmers in Madhya Pradesh continued to demand loan waivers and higher crop prices. Demonstrators this week blocked roads and vandalized property, posing a major challenge to the local government, ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.

Farmers in other states, including Rajasthan, will join the strike in few days, said P. Chengal Reddy, chief adviser to the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, arguing farmers should receive 50 percent profit over the cost of production of their agricultural crops and a loan waiver.

"It's just a matter of time," said Reddy. "The agitation will spread to other states."

The flare-ups worsened after five farmers were killed on Tuesday when police fired on protests that had turned violent in the Mandsaur district. Backtracking from his earlier claim, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh,said on Thursday the farmers' deaths were caused by police firing.

"The clamor for crop loan waivers appears to be spreading: Punjab, Karnataka, MP, Haryana and Rajasthan may join UP and Maharashtra in being forced to announce waivers," Credit Suisse said in a note released on Thursday. "While there may be a political aspect to farmers' protests too, rising agri debt when agri income growth is slowing is likely a supporting factor."

Keeping a key election promise, the newly-formed state government in Uttar Pradesh decided to waive farm loans worth 363.59 billion rupees ($5.6 billion) for over 21.5 million farmers at its first cabinet meeting in April.

Following the Uttar Pradesh's announcement of the waiver, some other state governments and farmers organizations have been demanding Modi to bailout loans through out the country.

"Farmers should be freed from loans. They have already done it in Uttar Pradesh," a senior leader of farmer's group Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, Trilok Gothi, said by phone from Madhya Pradesh. "Our costs of cultivation have been rising and we should get 50 percent profit over our cost of production."

Members of another farmer's organization, Bharatiya Kisan Union, were also planning a strike in India's north. "Our members have already started staging protests outside offices of district authorities in Haryana," senior leader, Dharmendra Malik, said by phone from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

Farmers are also getting support from some political parties. Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and other senior party leaders were detained by police Thursday when they tried to make their way to the heart of the protests in Mandsaur, the Press Trust of India reported.

Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh on Thursday termed the agitation in Madhya Pradesh as "unfortunate." He said in a tweet that those "politicising" the issue were not concerned about the welfare of farmers.

Meanwhile, officials in Madhya Pradesh said the situation was under control. "We have deployed enough force," deputy inspector general of police Avinash Sharma said by phone on Thursday.

Prices of soybean, mustard and peanuts have dropped to a five-year low after production rebounded in 2016-17 on normal monsoon showers in 2016 that followed two years of drought, according to Solvent Extractors' Association. Wholesale prices of food grains including rice, wheat and pulses fell for four straight months through March and were about 10 percent lower compared with November, according to government data.

Madhya Pradesh is India's biggest producer of oilseeds and pulses and No. 2 grower of wheat and corn, according to the agriculture ministry.

While high levels of household debts have been recognized as a significant cause of farmers' distress, the use of unconditional debt relief to improve living conditions, crop productivity and to reduce suicides is controversial. About 52 percent of India's 90 million agricultural households are indebted.
Candidates waiting to take the College Entrance Examination (file photo/Xinhua)

Chinas annual National College Entrance Examination, or Gaokao, took place on June 6-7, 2017, and has generated a heated discussion among people not only in China but also all over the world. No one has ever gotten a perfect score on the gaokaoChina uses a drone to curb cheating on College Placement Exams A foreign reporter was fascinated by some of the essay questions and said, I will be stumped on all of it, (and) Im not sure how Id answer that.

In 1977, China resumed the college entrance exams. To better prepare themselves for the gaokao, many Chinese people at that time would work full time during the day and study by the kerosene lamp at night. About 5.7 million students participated in the exams in 1977, but only 5% of them got offer from the universities. Today, the total number of the students who took the gaokao has risen significantly. More than 9.4 million students took the exams this year, with the university enrollment rate jumping to 75%. Chinas college entrance examination is no longer like a single-plank bridge bearing the load of millions of students dream, but more and more people today have the opportunity to achieve their life goal though the exams.

Before 2001, it was stipulated that only people who ware unmarried and younger than 25-year-old could take the gaokao. Later, the provision was canceled. And in 2015, an 86-year-old candidate who has always dreamed of going to university was found sitting in that years exam.

From 1977 to 2017, China has never stopped the adjustment on the college entrance examination. Multiple ways to improve university admissions has emerged, such as university independent recruitment, comprehensive evaluation, and etc. And yet, the end goal of the gaokao, to let more people receive a better education and have the chance for a wonderful life, has never changed.
Around the time former FBI director James Comey finished his blockbuster hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill, President Donald Trump got his eighth standing ovation at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Road to Majority conference.

"We're under siege," he told a rapt audience of religious voters across town from the Capitol at the Omni Shoreham hotel.

And they believed him. For what were these convoluted accusations of collusion with the Russians or obstruction of justice, if not an attempt from the left to delegitimize the president?

Nearby, citizens of "the swamp" sat glued to C-SPAN - in neighborhood bars that opened early, in conference rooms with co-workers, or in a Starbucks line watching on iPhones - but here, the spectacle didn't rank.

"When they see Washington consumed with something that they don't believe ultimately that there's anything there, they really just discount it," Ralph Reed, the event's organizer and a longtime leader of the religious right, said at a lunch briefing for journalists Friday.

The world may feel like chaos to even the casual reader of the news, but Reed looked sharp in a tight suit, pocket square perfectly ironed, hair gelled to the side. Like the last happy man in Washington, he spent most of the day smiling.

Trump's overall approval ratings are at 34 percent, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, but he is still wildly popular among white evangelicals. A Pew Research Center survey taken to mark Trump's first 100 days in office found that three-fourths of that group (which gave him 80 percent of their vote in 2016) approved of his performance as president.

"As strong as this vote was for him in 2016," Reed said, "I think if he keeps on the track he's going it will be even bigger in 2020."

What, exactly, are they seeing that others are missing? Perhaps it's an opportunity.

Trump never has been the most devout person. He's never stuck to an ideology, or shown the "character" that religious voters seemed to care so much about during President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial.

But maybe none of that matters.

"It took a Manhattan billionaire male, who for most of his life was pro-choice, to deliver the most impassioned defense of life I've ever heard from a presidential candidate," Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to the president, said on stage Thursday.

For much of the 1990s, leaders of the religious right, including Reed, repeated the phrase "character counts" as if it were a mantra. He still believes this to be true, he said, but all things considered, a tape of the president bragging about sexually assaulting women might now "rank low on the hierarchy of concerns."

Trump is fighting to defund Planned Parenthood, move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, get out of the Iran nuclear deal and repeal the Affordable Care Act. The "Access Hollywood" tape was "totally inappropriate," Reed said at lunch, but it's not the Trump he's gotten to know. That Trump will also pick properly conservative justices to the Supreme Court - like Neil Gorsuch, who sailed onto the court earlier this year.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who helped orchestrate Gorsuch's nomination, helped promote the narrative that Trump was a friend to those at the conference, echoing from the stage Friday the "siege" narrative that the president had used the day before.

"In some ways the threat seems to have grown even more dangerous," even with Republicans in control of Congress and the White House, McConnell said. "Americans should not have to live in fear because they donated to the quote-unquote wrong candidate."

Reed acknowledged that he couldn't say for sure whether Trump has changed since his comments on the tape. But he's sure of something else.

"I've known every Republican nominee since Reagan," he said at lunch. "In terms of telling me they were going to do something and doing it, and being a person I could trust and believe in as a person of their word, Donald Trump is the top of that list."

Reed, like many religious voters, said he had reservations about Trump as a candidate early on. But then he picked Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as a running mate, attacked Hillary Clinton for wanting to "rip" babies out of the womb and picked Gorsuch. He's got Conway, a real-deal social conservative, as a right-hand woman, and perhaps most important, he realizes just how important Reed's constituency is to his presidency.

"He believes that he would not be president today without the strong support he received from evangelicals," Reed said. "Even if it weren't true, I'm happy he thinks that."

These were the kind of moves that made his shortcomings seem small.

Now, when you ask Reed whether he has any concerns about the president's character, this is what he says: "I don't have any reservations at all."
An armed-robbery suspect was killed and a police officer and bystander were wounded Wednesday after a gun battle that began aboard a Maryland Transit Authority bus and spilled onto a suburban Maryland street, Baltimore County officials said.

Officers were called about 3 p.m. to a report of an armed robbery in progress along Dundalk Avenue and Avon Beach Road in Dundalk, according to a police statement. Police said arriving officers were told a male gunman had robbed two people at gunpoint and fled on an MTA bus.

Officers stopped the bus near the Logan Village Shopping Center, about seven blocks away. The gunman then fired several times from the bus as officers approached, authorities said, and police returned fire.

The gunman ran from the bus and continued to fire at police but later collapsed after being shot at least once, police said. The man, whom police did not immediately identify, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A video posted to Facebook appears to show the assailant shooting at police from both the front and rear doors of the bus and officers returning fire from behind their cruisers. The video could not be immediately verified by police.

A message to the person who posted the video was not immediately returned.

The wounded officer, who was identified only as female, was listed in serious condition Wednesday evening, police said. The wounded civilian, also a woman, was said to have suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Police said they have body-camera footage from the officers involved as well as video from the bus surveillance cameras.
Francisco Vera / Staff Photographer

Doctors Hospital is inviting the community to get informed at the free Health Smart Fair that will be held on Saturday.

It will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Outlet Shoppes at Laredo, located at 1600 Water St.
WASHINGTON - Congressional investigators demanded Friday that the president turn over within two weeks any recordings he made of his conversations with former FBI Director James Comey, as President Donald Trump refused to answer questions about whether such recordings exist.

The House Intelligence Committee's letter comes just one day after Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee about notes and memos he kept to document interactions with the president that made him uncomfortable - memos he slipped to the press, using a friend as intermediary, after Trump suggested via Twitter that he might have taped their discussions. Comey said he hoped their contents would compel the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate the administration over possible links to Russia.

The House Intelligence Committee also sent a second letter Friday to Comey, asking him to turn over his memos. The committee gave Comey and White House Counsel Don McGahn until June 23 to produce the requested memos and tapes.

The Senate Judiciary Committee also has requested a copy of Comey's memos - but from the intermediary, Columbia Law professor Daniel Richman. They sent a letter Thursday night insisting that he turn the memos over to the committee by Friday in the format in which he received them.

Richman has been in touch with the committees through Special Counsel Robert Mueller III, who is handling the issue, said a person familiar with the matter. Richman declined to comment.

Trump spent Friday claiming "vindication" after Comey's testimony, while still accusing the former FBI director of lying about their interactions. At a news conference, Trump said that "some of the stuff [Comey] said just wasn't true."

But during his testimony, Comey invited Trump to "release all the tapes" he may have made, a sign that he believed they would corroborate his rendition of events, if they exist.

Comey recalled many details of his memos in written and spoken statements he gave to the Senate Intelligence Committee, testifying as part of their investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The president has instead remained cagey about the existence of the "tapes" - he referred to them in quotes in his initial tweet - that he hinted at just days after he fired Comey.

"I'll tell you about that maybe sometime in the very near future," Trump said Friday, in response to a reporter's question about whether the tapes exist.

When pressed by reporters to better specify when he intended to address the issue, Trump added: "I'm not hinting anything about it, I'll tell you about it over a fairly short period of time."

And then noted: "Oh, you're going to be very disappointed when you hear the answer, don't worry."

The continued mystery surrounding the tapes is fueling everything from confusion to Richard Nixon comparisons, as Trump rejects calls to set the record straight swiftly. It's not just the press, however, that is wondering whether these tapes exist.

Across Capitol Hill, congressional leaders and committee members of both parties are clamoring for the president to pony up the tapes of his Feb. 14 conversation with Comey in the Oval Office, if he even made them.

The most vocal demands are being raised by Democratic leaders, such as Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., all of whom have called for issuing the White House a subpoena to procure the tapes, if the administration doesn't provide them freely - or tell the public they simply don't exist.

Republicans have not yet joined the chorus of leading Democrats demanding stringent legal measures to unearth the recordings. But they, too, have been issuing formal and increasingly insistent requests for the recordings.

Before the House Intelligence Committee's Friday letter giving the White House a deadline of June 23, the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote to the FBI and the White House in May, demanding documents and records related to Comey and Trump's interactions - including any tapes or memos. The FBI and White House informed the committee recently that they would need more time to work on the request, according to a spokesman for the panel.

The House Oversight Committee also sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus in March requesting "all documents" and "all other components" relating to former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russian officials after last year's election. A Democratic committee aide said Friday that request also would apply to any tapes of Comey and Trump's Oval Office conversation, given that the conversations focused on Flynn. A spokeswoman for panel chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, did not return a request for comment.

Whether these requests for materials are eventually enforced, however, depends on a more committed bipartisan effort to force the president's hand - something that to date, most leading Republican lawmakers have been loathe to do.

A spokesman for Judiciary committee chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, stressed that the panel's effort to procure more information about the recordings was bipartisan, adding that the senator still had no knowledge about whether the tapes existed.

A spokeswoman for Senate Intelligence Committee Richard Burr, R-N.C., however, would not say Friday whether Burr knew that the tapes exist - or whether he felt the committee should have access to that information.
LONDON -- British Prime Minister Theresa May needs to take 326 seats in parliament to hold onto the majority, but exit polls suggest that the Conservative Party might only end up with fewer.

An election once expected to lead to an almost certain victory for the prime minister, who called early elections, turned into a major defeat for the Tories.

Near-final results from the voting gave the Conservatives 318 seats, with 262 for Labour.

With the Conservatives failing to get a majority, here are some of the coalitions or arrangements that could result. Most scenarios are either unlikely or would be extremely fragile - possibly paving the way for another general election.

--Minority coalition: Labour & Liberal Democrats

The last time the Liberal Democrats entered a coalition with a much bigger party in 2010, it did not end well for them. Being forced into major concessions by the Tories, the Liberal Democrats lost much support among many of their core voters and never quite recovered.

It is nevertheless possible that the Liberal Democrats could form a minority coalition with the Labour Party that would, for instance, aim at a softer exit from the European Union. The odds for such a coalition are low, though. The Liberal Democrats' former leader, Ming Campbell, indicated an unwillingness to form such an alliance, telling the BBC on Thursday night: "We've had our fingers burned by coalition."

--Minority coalition: Labour & Scottish National Party (SNP)

Instead of forming an alliance with the coalition-skeptical Liberal Democrats, Labour could also join forces with the Scottish National Party to topple the Conservative Party.

In May, Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon said she preferred having Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister. Although Sturgeon added that she did not consider Corbyn a credible choice, she told the BBC that in the case of a hung parliament "of course we would look to be part of a progressive alliance that pursued progressive policies." Corbyn, however, has so far rejected any suggestions that his party could form an alliance with the SNP.

--Minority coalition: Labour & Scottish National Party & Liberal Democrats

Although it remains an unlikely scenario, it would probably be the preferred choice of many continental Europeans who still hope that Britain will make a U-turn in its decision to leave the European Union. Together, the Labour Party, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats would have 314 seats in parliament - as many as Theresa May's Tories are currently predicted to have.

What unites members of all three parties is a certain degree of skepticism that the decision to leave the European Union was the right one. However, as a minority coalition, the three parties would still rely on the support of other, smaller parties.

--Minority government with a 'confidence-and-supply' deal: Labour & 'supply'

To solve that problem, a certain characteristic of Britain's electoral system could offer a solution. A hung parliament - in which no single party has a majority - does not necessarily mean that a coalition would have to be formed. Instead, the next British prime minister could potentially also rely on a flexible arrangement in which one party sets up a so-called 'confidence-and-supply'deal with several smaller parties, such as the SNP.

Its leader Nicola Sturgeon suggested in March that she might be willing to agree to a "looser arrangement" with Labour under the framework of 'confidence-and-supply'.

Under that kind of agreement, the smaller parties would not be part of the government, but they would guarantee the prime minister their support on matters such as finances or confidence votes. In return, they would be able to hope for governmental concessions on some of their demands.

Such an arrangement would be extremely fragile, however, as the government would have to unite policymakers from various sides of the political spectrum, including liberals and center-leftist Labour voters as well as Scottish independence supporters, since Labour and the SNP combined would not have enough votes for a majority if exit polls turn out to be correct.

--Minority government: Conservatives

Theoretically, Prime Minister Theresa May could also decide to try to continue to stay in power despite the loss of a majority. However, her political strategy in recent months has alienated many of the parties she would have to rely on for parliamentary votes.

The Labour Party considers itself the main alternative to May's conservative vision for Britain, whereas the Liberal Democrats would like to see Britain remain part of the European Union. The Scottish National Party remains frustrated by May's earlier announcement not to grant Scotland another independence referendum anytime soon.
Chelsea Manning, the Army private who spent seven years behind bars and was convicted of disclosing classified government information to WikiLeaks, said she felt compelled to leak information because of "a responsibility to the public."

Manning, 29, left prison last month after her 35-year sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama earlier this year.

In her first televised interview since walking out of the barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Manning told ABC News that she takes responsibility for her decisions.

"No one told me to do this, nobody directed me to do this," Manning told the network in the interview, a portion of which aired Friday on "Good Morning America." "This is me. It's on me."

While serving as an Army intelligence analyst, Manning was arrested in May 2010 after sending to WikiLeaks a collection of materials that included scores of documents, video of a U.S. Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed two journalists, about 250,000 State Department cables and other information. In 2013, Manning was acquitted of aiding the enemy but was found guilty of espionage, resulting in the sentence of 35 years in prison.

Manning said she did not believe her leaks would threaten national security.

"You're getting all this information and it's just death, destruction, mayhem," she told ABC News. "And eventually you just stop, I stopped seeing just statistics and information, and I started seeing people."

She added, "I have a responsibility to the public. We all have a responsibility."

The new interview with Manning arrives days after the Trump administration, which has railed against leaks, announced its first public criminal charges in a leak case, arresting Reality Leigh Winner, a government contractor in Georgia, and accusing her of sending classified information to a news organization.

Manning entered federal custody as a male Army private named Bradley. Not long after being sentenced, Manning - who was held at an all-male prison - announced that she was a transgender woman and planned to seek hormone therapy.

"I had to be who I am," she said in the new interview. Manning said the treatment is "literally what keeps me alive, what keeps me from feeling like I'm in the wrong body." Before the treatment began, she recalled, she felt as if she wanted to "rip my body apart."

In January, Manning was among those granted commutations during Obama's final days in office. Obama's administration was particularly tough on government leakers, but he had also advocated for overall reforms to the country's sentencing practices. Obama commuted Manning's sentence in January, saying that she would be freed in May, rather than in 2045. A day after the commutation was announced, Obama defended the decision during a White House news conference.

"Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence," he said, adding later: "It has been my view that given she went to trial, that due process was carried out, that she took responsibility for her crime . . . I feel very comfortable that justice has been served."

President Donald Trump was critical of Obama's decision, calling Manning an "ungrateful traitor" in a tweet days after taking office, an apparent reference to a Guardian column Manning wrote arguing for "a strong and apologetic progressive to lead us" and saying that Obama, in seeking compromise, ultimately left behind "very few permanent accomplishments."

In the ABC News interview, Manning quickly grew emotional when asked what she would say to Obama.

"Thank you," she said. "Another chance, it's all I wanted . . . that's all I asked for, was a chance. That's it. And this is my chance."

Asked about critics, including Trump, who call her a traitor, Manning had a plain response.

"I'm just me," Manning said. "It's as simple as that."
WASHINGTON - The Labor Department announced Thursday night that it was taking steps to reverse an Obama-era rule to require that companies disclose their initial contacts with outside consultants on how to respond to unionizing efforts.

The regulation, known as "the persuader rule," has yet to take effect because of ongoing litigation. But the move to take new public comment on it marks a victory for business groups and a setback for organized labor and underscores the extent to which the department is starting to shift course under its new secretary, Alexander Acosta.

The regulation, which was finalized in March 2016, would require companies to report any "actions, conduct or communications" they've pursued to "affect an employee's decisions regarding his or her representation or collective bargaining rights."

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide permanent injunction against the rule in November. And on Monday the Labor Department will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will take public comment on rescinding it altogether.

Under the 1959 Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, employers only need to report their contacts with outside groups during union organizing efforts if these consultants contact employees directly. But most never do such direct outreach, since that is often less effective than having a company's managers speak to workers themselves.

In its statement announcing the move, the Labor Department did not explain why it was moving to revoke the rule. Labor officials did not respond immediately to a request for comment, but groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers, which had sued to block the regulation, have called it overly intrusive.

"Manufacturers are pleased the administration is working with us to address this harmful regulation," Rosario Palmieri, NAM's vice president of labor, legal, regulatory policy, said in statement Friday.

In an interview earlier this year, Palmieri said it was unfair to make an employer disclose when it "seeks advice from association or law firm on union organizing."

"The old standard was unless you hired a law firm, consultant or trade association, you didn't have to report it," he added.

But Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, said in an interview Friday that the old standard "had a loophole that you can drive a truck through" because outside firms focus on providing strategic advice. Noting that such consultants were not used back when the 1959 law was passed, she said, "The landscape has evolved, and so in a fully functioning government, those regulations should catch up with a changing landscape."

Shierholz, who served as the Labor Department's chief economist from 2014 to 2017, said that "the primary reason" that the average median wage in the U.S. has risen less than 7 percent in the last four decades is "because of the decline of unions." Reversing this regulation, she added, would further contribute to that decline.

AFL-CIO spokesperson Josh Goldstein also criticized the proposal, saying in a statement, "Corporate CEOs may not like people knowing who they're paying to script their union-busting, but working people do."
LUBBOCK -- Sidney Caleb Lanier, 36, and Jamie Marie Robertson, 32, both of Lubbock, were sentenced Friday before Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings for their roles in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Lanier was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in February 2017 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Robertson was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison following her guilty plea also in February 2017 to one count of unlawful use of a communications facility.

Co-defendant Jessica Christine Holl, 29, of Lubbock, pleaded guilty in March 2017 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and furanyl fentanyl and is scheduled to be sentenced June 30.

Fentanyl is responsible for a sharp increase in overdoses and deaths across the country and poses a very high risk of death to not only users, but law enforcement and first responders as well, said U.S. Attorney Parker. Our local, state and federal partners will continue to push back hard on those who peddle this poison in our communities.

The defendants have been in custody since their arrest in October 2016 following a law enforcement operation led by Lubbock Police Department and special agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration focused on the distribution in the Lubbock area of the highly potent synthetic opioid, fentanyl.

While fentanyl can serve as a direct substitute for heroin in opioid-dependent individuals, it is a dangerous substitute as it is 50 times more potent than heroin and results in frequent overdoses that can lead to respiratory depression and death. Cheaper than heroin, fentanyl can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin; just a few milligrams, equivalent to a few grains of table salt, may be deadly.

According to documents filed in this case, from approximately Jan. 2013 to Oct. 27, 2016, Lanier, Holl and Robertson did knowingly and intentionally combine, conspire, confederate and agree with each other to intentionally distribute and possess with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance. Lanier supplied Holl and Robertson with large amounts of Fentanyl he purchased online on the Darknet from China using Bitcoin, a digital currency. The fentanyl was shipped to various addresses in the Lubbock area, prepared by the defendants and sold for use.

The case was investigated by the Lubbock Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Haag is in charge of the prosecution.
Washington

Politics-obsessed Americans gathered at bars and restaurants Thursday with an excitement normally reserved for the Super Bowl or the World Series, ordering "FBI sandwiches" and hots of Russian vodka as James Comey testified about his dealings with President Donald Trump.

Shaw's Tavern in Washington opened early and attracted a line of customers seeking to watch the former FBI director's congressional appearance.

A special menu was offered for the occasion, with the sandwiches, the vodka and "Covfefe coffee"  a coffee with whipped cream and cinnamon, with a name derived from a recent tweet by the president.

"This is massive," said Dani Robillard, 42, of San Francisco, who lined up outside. She said she was in town to officiate a wedding and wanted to watch the hearing with people. Like others in line, she said she did not support Trump.

The excitement was palpable at Shaw's, where many said they took time away from work or school because they wanted to watch with a crowd.

"I thought it was a place where I could come and watch with a bunch of liberals," said Heather Dade, 44.

Todd Shaffer, 55, a commercial real estate agent, predicted little would get done in the nation's workplaces. "No one is working today," he said.

The crowd grew quiet when the hearing began but some applauded when Comey said Trump's administration had spread "lies, plain and simple" and "defamed" him and the FBI.

"When he called the president a liar basically, that was impressive," said Caitrin McKee, 35, of Silver Spring, Md.

J.C. Fulse, 39, who lives in Washington, said Comey was doing a "great job," adding "he's much more credible than our president."

The hearing did not attract the same enthusiasm in the historic district of Roswell, Ga., restaurants kept their regular hours, and boutiques and art galleries took little notice.

"One thing I've learned is to stay away from politics, said Karen Stickney, the 61-year-old owner of an antiques shop.
London

British Prime Minister Theresa May has lost credibility and could be forced to step down, after an exit poll suggested a snap election she called in a bid to boost her majority could result in a hung Parliament, analysts and rival politicians said early Friday.

"May's credibility is shot," even if her Conservative party does "haul over the line" by keeping a small majority, Simon Usherwood, a political analyst at the University of Surrey, said on Twitter.

Usherwood said there is a "big question of what the party will do about it: Can it afford another leadership contest?"

The BBC Sky/ITV poll suggested the Conservatives will win about 314 seats, down 17 from the last election in 2015.

The poll forecast that Labour will win 266 seats, up 34 seats; while the Scottish National Party is set to lose 22 seats, ending on 34 seats; and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats are expected to increase their share from eight to 14 seats.

Reacting to the polls, many Conservative and Labour politicians cautioned that the picture could change as results are declared overnight, but the seat distribution changed by less than 10 percent after a similar exit poll in 2015.

But Clive Lewis, a Labour lawmaker who stood for re-election in the eastern city of Norwich, said on Twitter: "Whatever happens, May is toast!"

Colin Talbot a professor of government at Manchester University, said Conservatives were still defending May.

"She's toast but they can't admit it," Talbot tweeted.

"At some point it becomes about the other senior Tories positioning themselves for the next leadership election and future Cabinet," Matthew Goodwin, an academic author of several books on Brexit and British politics, replied to Talbot.

Speaking to the BBC, John McDonnell, Labour's shadow chancellor, said May's decision to call a snap election had been a "catastrophic error."

Britain's two most popular newspapers, the right-wing tabloids The Daily Mail and The Sun, appeared to agree, questioning May's future in commentaries saying her gamble in calling the snap election appeared to have "spectacularly misfired" and caused a "disastrous loss of seats."

The exit poll came as a surprise after a final opinion poll had suggested the Conservatives were on course to increase their parliamentary majority despite a surge by Labour.

Usherwood said the likely options for forming a new government in Britain, if the exit poll is accurate, are "all highly problematic."

The options include a minority government formed by May's Conservatives, or an informal "confidence and supply" arrangement with Unionist lawmakers from Northern Ireland, he said.
Meadows Church of Christ, which bought the building last year, has completed their move into a building that sat vacant and unfinished since 2010. The Beaumont YMCA, which was building the new facility on Dishman Road, filed for bankruptcy in 2010, leaving the building unfinished. The church, which had previously been called Ridgewood Church of Christ, purchased the building and finished the construction.

The church has maintained the building's contemporary design, with matte black and fiery red walls. The YMCA logo cut into a wall near the entrance has been replaced with a cross and trimmed with wood.
There are two steps involved in President Donald Trump's defense of the allegations leveled against him by former FBI director James B. Comey. The first is to make the question a he-said, he-said contest between the two men. The second is to make himself seem more believable.

If that seems familiar, it should. It was precisely the strategy Trump and his team used during the 2016 campaign, fighting hard against Hillary Clinton until she was viewed as unfavorably as him and then squeaking past her in just enough places to win the presidency.

Here's how this works in the case of Comey.

During a news conference with the president of Romania on Friday, the Washington Times' Dave Boyer asked Trump how the president was "vindicated" by Comey's testimony - as he claimed on Twitter Friday morning - given that Comey's testimony boiled down to "his word against your word."

In broad strokes, Trump's tweet was accurate. Comey says that Trump tried to convince him to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn; Trump says that he didn't. But Comey also claims to have contemporaneous notes documenting the conversation, which he has provided to special counsel Robert Mueller - notes that shift the balance in Comey's favor. Trump, of course, has hinted that he has recordings of his conversations with Comey - but refuses to confirm whether such recordings exist. (On Friday, he said he would let the world know "in a short period of time" if they do.)

Trump's answer to Boyer's question happily accepted the he-said, he-said premise.

"No collusion. No obstruction. He's a leaker," the president said in his response, tersely summarizing what he felt was learned during Comey's testimony. Trump then again claimed that the Russia investigation was just an effort to distract from the Democrats' electoral college loss last year, though the investigation itself began back in July of 2016.

"James Comey confirmed a lot of what I said, and a lot of the things that he said just weren't true," Trump continued.

That's a significant statement for Trump to make, given that Comey was testifying under oath. If Comey said untrue things under oath - and knew that they were untrue - that's perjury. Trump is accusing Comey of a crime.

But that comment also reinforces another way in which this isn't just a he-said, he-said. Comey was testifying under oath, something that wasn't true of either Trump or his attorney (who released an error-riddled statement about Comey's testimony).

ABC's Jonathan Karl asked at the news conference if Trump would be willing to testify under oath about what happened with Comey.

"He said those things under oath," Karl said. "Would you be willing to speak under oath to give your version of those events?"

"100 percent," Trump said. (The full response was a little muddled, as you can see above, but this point was unequivocal.)

Would he be willing to talk to Mueller, Karl continued, a conversation which would likely require sworn testimony? "I would be glad to tell him exactly what I just told you," Trump replied.

The importance of Trump's unwavering assertion that he would tell the special counsel the same thing under oath is important. Again, Trump's goal is force people to choose who they trust, him or Comey. For those who might be swayed by Comey's under-oath testimony, here's an out: Hey, Trump would be willing to swear under oath, too!

But there is a very, very big difference between saying you'd be happy to testify under oath and actually testifying under oath, the same difference as saying you'll give most of your income to charity and actually doing it - something else Trump knows about.

Trump knows very well that sworn testimony is a whole different ballgame. Last year, The Washington Post documented a deposition in which Trump was forced to admit to 30 distinct falsehoods he'd made when not under oath. Perhaps Trump will subject himself to the same scrutiny with Mueller, who knows. But until he does, it's premature to give him the benefit of the doubt on honesty.

(An aside: The last president to be impeached, Bill Clinton, was tripped up by testimony he gave in a sworn deposition.)

Even if it were a he-said, he-said contest with Comey, Trump has far more reasons to be dishonest than does Comey. Trump's presidency is at stake, and if there is a pattern of obstruction of justice in his behavior - the sort of thing that Comey's testimony could reinforce - the repercussions could be severe. Trump would have Americans believe that Comey is the one lying, motivated by . . . Anger? Revenge? It's not clear.

Trump can lie with literal impunity at this point and has a motive to do so. Comey faces legal repercussions for lying - and it's not really clear why he would.

One key reason Trump won the presidency is, again, why he's faring as well as he is when positioned against Comey: Partisanship. A Post-ABC poll this week found that more than half the country distrusted Comey, a figure powered by strong skepticism from Republicans. Trump's presidency has been all about playing to his base so far, and his base, in this instance, is returning the favor.

It's very possible that Trump is telling the truth, that the conversation didn't go as Comey presented. We should remember, though, that Trump hasn't earned the benefit of that doubt. In the first 137 days of his presidency, our fact-checkers caught him saying 623 false or misleading things.

Even in the story of the boy who cried wolf, most of the time the boy was lying.
Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2017

---

As former FBI director James B. Comey tells it, the president pursued him with an almost singular focus to say one thing publicly: President Trump is not under investigation.

Trump finally got what he wanted Thursday, when Comey testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Here's an excerpt of an exchange between Comey and Trump ally Sen. James E. Risch, R-Idaho:

---

RISCH: I gather from all this that you're willing to say now that, while you were director, the president of the United States was not under investigation. Is that a fair statement?

COMEY: That's correct.

---

See? In Trump's view, that's "complete and total vindication."

Except the president is completely missing the point of Comey's testimony in the first place.

As usual with Trump's tweets, there's so much packed into 140 characters. So let's take things one by one.

-- Reason No. 1 Trump shouldn't feel vindicated: Comey wasn't testifying about whether Trump was under investigation

Comey didn't agree to nearly three hours public of hearings to talk about whether the president was/is under investigation by the FBI, as it relates to Russia meddling in the U.S. election. He was testifying that the president tried to interfere in that investigation, especially as it relates to Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Comey made clear he's pretty sure the president inappropriately meddled in the FBI investigation. And Comey did everything but directly accuse the president of obstruction of justice.

"I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning," Comey testified when he says the president asked him in a private Oval Office meeting to drop the investigation into Flynn. "But that's a conclusion I'm sure the special counsel will work toward to try and understand what the intention was there, and whether that's an offense."

-- Reason No. 2: Comey may be a "leaker," but it didn't turn out well for the president

Comey said he decided to take the extraordinary step to share with the New York Times his secret memos of the president's conversations because the president was so out of his lane. "I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel," Comey told senators.

Guess what? Now we have a special counsel, who has wide latitude and the FBI's resources to investigate whatever he wants under the umbrella of Trump and Russia, including any potential obstruction of justice.

-- Reason No. 3: Others in the FBI opposed telling Trump he wasn't under investigation

If Comey hadn't been FBI director, Trump might have never received assurance, privately or publicly, that he wasn't under investigation.

Comey testified Thursday that it was a controversial decision among senior FBI leadership to tell the president he wasn't under investigation. But Comey ultimately decided to oblige if the president asked.

"I thought it was fair to say what was literally true," Comey said. "There was not a counterintelligence investigation of Mr. Trump, and I decided in the moment to say it, given the nature of our conversation."

-- Reason No. 4: Votes cast and cast votes are two different things

Another reason Trump may be feeling vindicated: Comey testified that he saw no evidence that any Russia meddling changed votes after they were cast.

That backs up a key Trump/Republican talking point: When Trump finally acknowledged the intelligence community's universal conclusion that Russia interfered in the U.S. election, he did it with a "yeah, but" clause - the "yeah, but" being that there's no evidence any votes cast were changed by Russian hacking afterward.

But Trump wants to take the evidence further than the intelligence community is willing to go. Trump's lawyer said this Thursday: "He also admitted that there is no evidence that a single vote changed as a result of any Russian interference."

That's not quite true. Comey and other intelligence chiefs have testified to Congress that it's possible (and nearly impossible to quantify) that Russia's campaign of fake news and hacking of Democratic emails changed the way some people decided to cast their vote.

This isn't the first time Trump has said he feels vindicated about facts that don't really line up.

Remember earlier this year, when House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., trekked up the White House to tell the president that some of his campaign had been caught up in U.S. spying of foreigners?

Well, afterward, in response to a reporter's question, Trump said: "I somewhat do. I very much appreciate the fact they found what they found."

Which, again, totally missed the point of what Nunes found.

Trump had never said anything publicly about whether his team was caught up in incidental collection that needed vindication. Trump had accused President Barack Obama of directly wiretapping Trump Tower. Nunes's "findings" (which The Post reported came from White House aides) do nothing to back that claim up. Nunes ended up temporarily stepping down from his committee's Russia investigation for briefing the president on all this, and there is still zero evidence to Trump's wiretapping allegations.

Trump may have got closer to what he wanted Thursday, when Comey testified that the president isn't under investigation. But in focusing on that, Trump is totally missing the point of why Comey testified in the first place.
WASHINGTON - For all the obstacles Senate Republicans face in passing an Obamacare overhaul, they've got one thing boosting them: Their leader is bound and determined to get it done.

Despite mounting skepticism that such a feat is possible, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is working hard behind the scenes to forge some kind of consensus among Republican senators with the aim of actually passing their version of a health-care rewrite in the near future. For a man who carefully weighs his words, McConnell's statement to President Donald Trump earlier this week that he hoped to get something out of his chamber by the July 4 recess was telling.

McConnell is a skilled negotiator -- he has proven adept at quietly but effectively building support among the rank-and-file for whatever goal is in his sights. If there was ever a time for him to cash in on the trust his conference has in him, it's now -- as the Republican congressional majority tries to deliver a major win and make good on one of its signature political promises before the 2018 midterms.

"If anyone can get this done, it's going to be Mitch McConnell," said Megan Hauck, who served as McConnell's health policy adviser as the Affordable Care Act was being passed in 2010. "He understands this is ultimately about keeping our word and voting and moving on."

But nabbing 50 Republican votes will be no easy task (McConnell needs just a simple majority because Republicans are using budget reconciliation to move the health-care measure). There are several possible routes to victory: McConnell could bring the Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, duo on board but lose some moderates in the process. Or he could count the two hardest-to-get senators (moderate Susan Collins, Maine, and libertarian-leaning Rand Paul, Ky.) as a loss and focus on everyone else.

But convincing all but two Senate Republicans to vote for rolling back the ACA remains an uphill climb for the Kentucky Republican. He recently admitted he's not yet sure how to get there, telling Reuters last month "I don't know how we get to 50 [votes] at the moment, but that's the goal."

No matter the route, however, McConnell will approach the challenge in a truly McConnell way - by listening to every member, taking it one vote at a time and not celebrating before crossing the finish line, those who know him say.

It's the only way he has a shot of wooing both moderates -- who fear Medicaid rollbacks -- and conservatives, who are wary of leaving too much of the ACA in place. In order to pass a GOP health-care measure, nearly every Republican must find it within their self-interest to vote yes. And to find it within their self-interest means each Republican must feel their voices have been heard and their concerns addressed.

Even so, McConnell still might fail -- or decide not to bring such an explosive measure to the floor if he deems it politically undesirable. But right now, the leader seemed to be leading the sales charge.

This week, in the Senate chamber, McConnell ticked through a list of ACA problems including premium hikes and insurer exits in the marketplaces. "That's why Senate Republicans believe we must act, it's why we're working to keep our commitment to the American people and finally provide relief from Obamacare," he said. He's been tweeting a lot about a replacement plan, too:

#Senate Dems must choose: continue to defend the failures of #Obamacare or work w us to move beyond it towards smarter #healthcare solutions

#Senate Republicans are working together to move past the problems of #Obamacare and to help those who have been hurt by it.

---

McConnell has a strong, internal drive to pass a Senate bill replacing much of the ACA, former aides say. While his political style stands in stark contrast to the firebrand approach of some other Republicans, particularly in the House, he has been no less vocal in calling for rolling back Obamacare.

The leader has called for repealing the ACA "root and branch." For awhile, his staffers hauled around the U.S. Capitol a seven-foot stack of the rules and regulations resulting from Obamacare implementation, which they dubbed the "Red Tape Tower." After Republicans seized back Senate control in 2014, he promised to hold a vote on repealing the law - and followed through next year, bringing to the floor a budget reconciliation bill repealing some of the ACA ( a measure that President Obama subsequently vetoed).

McConnell didn't make ACA repeal the biggest issue in his tough reelection race that year against Alison Lundergan Grimes, often focusing instead on energy and economic issues. But it was a part of his platform and he ran some ads portraying the law in a negative light.

The ad featured a doctor discussing her son's diabetes treatments. "Our insurance was canceled under Obamacare," the woman says, praising McConnell for "leading the fight" against Obamacare because "he cares about patients and families like mine."

McConnell's a realist, and he's at times gotten in trouble with other Republicans for qualifying their promises to repeal the ACA.

During the 2014 election, McConnell conceded to Fox News's Neil Cavuto that Republicans still couldn't repeal the ACA even if they won Senate majority because Democrats could still filibuster their attempts -- and Obama could veto anything that was approved. His spokesman Brian McGuire later clarified, saying "Leader McConnell is and has always been committed to the full repeal of Obamacare."

But McConnell's approach to leadership might be just what Republicans need right now to rally around a single piece of legislation (text of which may be available next week). The most likely holdout senators need a strong sense that the party will back them up if they take a vote that could expose them to attacks from Democrats that they're taking away people's health insurance.

McConnell has turned his conference's thrice-weekly lunches into health-care education sessions, complete with PowerPoint presentations. But don't expect him to play school teacher with the press, as Ryan did with the House bill (for which he was widely mocked).

Instead, McConnell is approaching ACA repeal with his own blend of tenacity and pragmatism. "In four straight elections we told the people that we wanted to repeal and replace Obamacare," McConnell told Newsmax in April. "Obviously, that's a lot harder to do than to say."

"He's without question the best listener in the entire Senate," a source who has worked closely with McConnell told me.

We'll see if those listening skills cause McConnell to give the green light to a deal or stop Republicans before they do something that might endanger, in his judgment, their majority.

---

https://youtu.be/R59XywkUyTg
READING, England - Theresa May has been a politician for more than two decades, working her way up from local council member to British prime minister. But in a crucial bid to expand her parliamentary majority, the Conservative leader seemed to abandon the first rule of politics - you have to persuade voters to support you.

May led her Conservatives to an electoral drubbing on Thursday, losing the party's majority in a snap election she had chosen to call. The result was as unexpected as Britain's decision last year to leave the European Union.

As was the case with the spectacular fall of David Cameron, her Conservative predecessor who resigned after losing the Brexit vote he had initiated, May's wound is self-inflicted. She emerges from the election gravely diminished, failing in her objective of strengthening her hand ahead of divorce negotiations with the European Union.

Buoyed by early polls that suggested she would eviscerate the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn, May did not campaign vigorously. She skipped debates and spoke in sound bites when she addressed voters, whom she promised "strong and stable leadership."

Britain responded by dealing a devastating blow to her leadership. The Conservatives won 319 seats in Parliament, seven shy of a working majority in the 650-member body.

The disappointing result immediately prompted calls for May to step down. Corbyn said early Friday it was time for her "to go." Tim Farron, leader of the center-left Liberal Democrats, said that "if she has an ounce of self-respect, she will resign."

As many in her own party appeared to rally around her - or at least hold their tongues - some acknowledged that May had stumbled.

Conservative lawmaker Heidi Allen said the Brexit negotiations, which are set to begin in just over a week, could give May a lifeline. But Allen predicted that the party's leader would soon be forced out.

"I don't see any more than six months," Allen told a British radio station.

Sarah Wollaston, another Conservative member of Parliament, criticized the election campaign and called for May's inner circle of advisers to be removed.

"Hope we never again have such a negative campaign. The public just don't want US-style attack politics," she tweeted.

But May resisted calls to step down, saying that she would form a new government by working with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

The prime minister's supporters were left wishing she had remained steadfast in her repeated vows that there would be no early election. But in April, May changed her mind, calling a vote three years before the end of her term.

At first, the idea seemed sensible enough, as opinion surveys suggested she would sail back to Downing Street with a hefty majority. She adopted a hard line on immigration and globalization, arguing that only she was in a position to secure Britain's future outside Europe.

What was difficult, however, was convincing voters that she stood for anything but staying the course, a future rejected by those hostile to Brexit, hostile to the government's record of budget cuts or simply hostile to a leader who seemed unwilling to roll up her sleeves and work for her majority.

One district near her own, in Reading, offered a window into the damage done to the Conservatives. Its incumbent, Rob Wilson, who was in office since 2005 and had been minister for civil society under May, lost his seat to a local Labour council member.

A rail and commercial hub that is home to a major university, Reading revealed that May's embrace of a severe version of Brexit, designed to win over supporters of the far-right U.K. Independence Party, or UKIP, carried costs.

Simon Round, a 44-year-old Labour voter here, said political moods have shifted as people, many of them young and pro-Europe, have moved south from London to Reading.

"I'm a 'remain' voter; I don't want a hard Brexit," said Jo Purdey, 46, who has voted for different parties in the past but saw Labour as the main force of opposition to May's government.

Conservative voters expected the result, having observed an enthusiasm gap. Dawn Harvey, 49, said Labour signs decorated her neighborhood - mainly, she said, because of "anger about Brexit."

Wilson said the inclusion of changes to the country's pension system in the Conservative manifesto cost him the support of older voters, whose support he needed given the large number of left-leaning students in the district.

"I'm sure no one intentionally set out to lose me my seat," he said, declining to point a finger directly at May, but he said that "changes in how her inner circle works" were necessary to ensure broader party consultation on policy.

May's steep fall stunned Britain, casting doubt on her credibility in negotiations over the terms of Britain's exit from the EU.

"A few months ago, Theresa May looked the most authoritative prime minister in more than a decade," said Matthew Francis, a political historian at the University of Birmingham. "This morning, she looks like the biggest political failure in the Conservative Party's recent history."

May's troubles mounted as the campaign wore on, the 20-point lead she initially enjoyed evaporating. One flash point was a Conservative pledge to rewrite the way elderly people pay for their social care, a centerpiece of the Conservative platform from which May had to backpedal. And after a deadly terrorist attack five days before the vote, she also faced criticism over her six-year tenure as home secretary. Her critics argued that she had been responsible for national defense at a time when the Conservative government oversaw cuts to the police.

Labour's broadside against austerity struck a chord, particularly with younger voters.

Timothy Heppell, a political scientist at the University of Leeds, said the Conservative campaign was held back by May's "focus on Brexit and her neglect of other issues that relate to standards of living."

Even on Brexit, however, the Conservatives miscalculated, analysts said.

"The Conservatives anticipated that many of those who voted UKIP in 2015 and then for Brexit in 2016 would switch to Conservative, especially in the Labour-held marginals," said Ron Johnston, an expert on the political geography of Britain at the University of Bristol, referring to districts where the Labour incumbent was vulnerable.

"They got it wrong," he said. "In the Labour-held marginals, many former UKIP voters went back to Labour rather than switch to the Tories. Brexit didn't matter to them - and many of them, especially the old, were put off the Tories by their policies on social care and pensions."
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A Houston Police Department officer who shot a neighbor last year after a dog fight has resigned.

Jason Loosmore, an 8-year department veteran, remains under criminal investigation in the October incident but has not been charged.

State records show his tenure with the department ended on April 11, but the resignation was not revealed publicly until the Chronicle inquired.

"The officer has resigned from the department," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said. "Due to an ongoing criminal investigation and the provisions of Texas Local Government Code Chapter 143, I am precluded from commenting any further."

The law spells out the appeals rights of officers.

Loosmore's private attorney, Carson Joachim, declined to comment about the shooting, citing the ongoing investigation by police and the district attorney's office.

He said Loosmore had not been forced to resign.

"He just had an opportunity to pursue another career that's not in law enforcement," he said. "Which obviously, that's his prerogative to do."

The case highlighted concerns among civil rights attorneys, who said the Houston Police Department does not sufficiently discipline officers who violate policy. After the shooting, the Chronicle found that only five of 40 cases involving police shootings of unarmed individuals since 2010 had resulted in disciplinary action against officers, even after police chiefs found that they had violated policy.

None of those officers was criminally charged, nor were the disciplinary actions announced publicly.

Loosmore got into an argument with his neighbor, 21-year-old Casey Brown, after their dogs fought.

The argument gave way to a scuffle, at which point the off-duty officer shot Brown in the stomach and chest, the Chronicle previously reported.

Brown was charged initially with misdemeanor assault, but the charge was dropped.

"Although this happened under prior administration, it has not been forgotten or pushed aside," said Dane Schiller, spokesman for Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. "We inherited a lot of cases and we're working our way through them."

The case was supposed to have been presented to a grand jury but was delayed after a request from Loosmore's attorney, he said.

"It's expected in the near term," he said.

Chareka Gadson, Brown's lawyer, said he is still undergoing surgeries and trying to recuperate fully from the shooting. She said the family had been unaware of the resignation and had notified the city earlier this year that they were reserving a legal claim against the city because of the shooting.

"I trust his resignation won't interfere with justice for my client," she said.

Joseph Gamaldi, vice president with the Houston Police Officers' Union, declined comment because Loosmore was no longer a Houston police officer.

"We are not representing him, he is no longer a Houston police officer, so we have no comment," he said.
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Sounds of multiple explosions pierced the normally quiet air surrounding Alamo Plaza Wednesday afternoon, leaving tourists and locals rattled, confused and taking to social media for answers.

Multiple agencies, including Homeland Security and the San Antonio Police Department bomb squad, responded to the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse shortly before 5 p.m., after three men tried to mail a package deemed "suspicious."

Streets were closed in the area, which is next to the Alamo, and bystanders were told take shelter inside surrounding shops and close doors. Just after 5 p.m., loud bangs could be heard in the area as officials detonated a parcel in question.

MORE: Suspicious package prompts evacuation at federal building in downtown San Antonio

Out-of-towners and locals downtown looked for more information on social media, and San Antonians warned family and friends to avoid the area.

Click through the slideshow above to see what locals and visitors were saying as officials locked down the area around the Alamo Wednesday.





"[...] I've never heard a bomb go off, and still not sure what was in the package which was detonated FOUR times. But I know, I never want to experience that sound and panic again," Jennifer Shirah, who lists herself as an Eagle Pass resident on Facebook, shared online.

Other witnesses, like George Calero who was staying at a nearby motel, told mySA.com that he felt the walls shaking as officials detonated the package. Calero took a video that captured the dramatic scene, showing authorities yelling "fire in the hole" before an explosion, which set off car alarms.

The Alamo, which is about 400 feet away from the federal building and is in its peak season for summer travelers, was also affected by the situation.

RELATED: Authorities release men tied to 'suspicious' package that caused downtown evacuations

The Texas General Land Office, which oversees the landmark, said in a release that the Alamo Rangers worked with law enforcement agencies to secure the grounds of the mission.

"The area was secured, streets were closed to traffic and visitors, staff and other individuals in the area were escorted to secure areas for their safety," GLO Commissioner George P. Bush said in a statement.

"Securing the Shrine of Texas Liberty and those who visit is a top priority and we continue to work with our partners to protect the site," he added.

Officials said the men, who were handcuffed and detained around 4:30, did not know what was in the package. They told authorities they were mailing it for a friend who was out of town, according to previous mySA.com reports.

The parcel was found to not have contained explosives, but something "benign," according to Christopher Combs, special agent in charge of the FBI in San Antonio.

The trio was found to "not pose a threat" and were released by the FBI late Wednesday.

Staff writers Guillermo Contreras, Sergio Martinez-Beltran, Emilie Eaton contributed to this report.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
Police believe a man who kidnapped a woman Wednesday in Topeka, Kansas, may be headed to or through San Antonio.

Pedro Enriquez, 38, allegedly kidnapped his estranged wife, 33-year-old Viviana Vazquez, around 7 a.m. Wednesday after an argument at a home in the 1300 block of Southwest Garfield Avenue in Topeka.
AUSTIN -- Attorney General Ken Paxton's criminal case is officially moving to Harris County.

In an order signed Friday morning, Judge George Gallagher vacated several previous orders scheduling hearings in the case and directed the Collin County District Clerk's Office to transfer the proceedings to the Harris County District Clerk.

Gallagher's order effectively triggers the search for a new judge in the case, following up on a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruling this week that removed him as the judge who would presided over the embattled attorney general's securities fraud and registration case. Special prosecutors asked the court to keep Gallagher.

The ruling marked a win for the first-term Republican attorney general who has been fighting to remove the judge from his case since Gallagher opted to move the trial out of Paxton's home of Collin County in April.

Gallagher, a judge from Tarrant County, moved the case to Harris County amid concern Paxton had friends in Collin County with strong political influence. After the judge moved the case, Paxton refused to sign off on paperwork required to keep the judge on the case as it moved across the state.

Special prosecutors argued the little-used mechanism to block a judge from following the case was not what the state Legislature intended, but the Dallas court of appeals disagreed and ruled last month Gallagher lost his ability to stay on the case.

Paxton has been accused of illegally recruiting investors from a North Texas tech company without telling the potential investors that he would get a financial kickback. He faces 99 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines if found guilty of two charges of criminal securities fraud and one charge of failing to register with the state. Paxton has denied any wrongdoing.

Andrea Zelinski contributed to this report.
The alpacas were selected by Chinese experts from one of the biggest alpaca farms in Australia.

Seven hundred alpacas have landed in China in the biggest single order of the animals from Australia.

The chartered cargo flight filled with the alpacas worth 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) landed at the Wusu International Airport in Taiyuan, Shanxi province on Tuesday, chinanews.com reported.

"It's winter in Australia so we had been anxious that the woolen animals may suffer when they come into the sweltering air in Taiyuan. Luckily, the weather has been cooler here the last few days," an employee at the airport said.

The alpacas were selected by Chinese experts from one of the biggest alpaca farms in Australia. All the animals are bred from past champion alpacas and it's hoped they will be able to produce healthy, disease-resistant offspring in China.

These alpacas will be quarantined in Jinzhong for 45 days before settling down in Taiyuan for breeding, farming and scientific research.

(Photos from Chinanews.com)
Fedot Tsopko, 51, is facing multiple felony charges for a deadly crash in which he plowed through a Happy Valley work zone.

About the Fatal Happy Valley Crash

According to KATU, contractors were completing utility work near Southeast 122nd Avenue and Southeast Yoakum Lane Tuesday afternoon when Tsopko failed to stop for a flagger and crashed into the job site.

Pablo Dominguez-Amezcua, 48, was killed in the accident. William Griffin, 62, and Preston Stucky, 26, were both transported to the hospital  Stucky has since been released. Tsopko is charged with manslaughter, assault II, assault III, hit-and-run, and driving under the influence of intoxicants. His bail has been set at $750,000.

National Traffic Accident Statistics

The following information was provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

35,092 people were killed in traffic crashes in the U.S. in 2015. This marked a 7.2-percent increase over the 32,744 deaths recorded in 2014  the largest percentage increase recorded since 1966.

Of those killed in traffic accidents in 2015:

o22,441 were occupants of passenger vehicles

o5,376 were pedestrians

o4,976 were motorcyclists (operators and passengers)

o818 were pedalcyclists

o667 were occupants of large trucks

o227 were listed as other or as unknown

An additional 2,443,000 people were injured in traffic accidents in 2015.

Contact an Experienced Auto Accident Attorney

Thomas J. Henry Injury Attorneys is a personal injury law firm with offices in Corpus Christi, Texas, San Antonio, Texas and Houston, Texas representing accident victims nationwide. Our attorneys are available to respond to auto accidents at any hour, day or night. Our lawyers understand that the immediate acquisition, or acquiring, of evidence is paramount to understanding how the accident occurred. Remember, your choice does matter. Contact our offices  we are available 24/7, nights and weekends.

Editors Note: This content is made possible by Thomas J. Henry Personal Injury Law. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of The San Antonio Express-News' or mySanAntonio.com's editorial staff. Learn more about our advertising products at www.hearstmediasanantonio.com.
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Party sources are expecting a tense and nervy evening at the Longford Arms on Friday as local members select their preferred candidate from county councillors Micheal Carrigy and Paul Ross.

It comes after Lanesboro Councillor Gerald Farrell pulled out of the race last Friday and Cllr Colm Murray followed suit yesterday (Thursday).

A further perplexity which has only served to muddy the waters still further is the revelation around 200 local members will be unable to vote on Friday due to the presence of a two year rule.

This week, the candidates were doing their level best to deflect any lingering frustrations of that stipulation.

I'd expect it (selection convention) to be tight, said a plain speaking Cllr Carrigy.

This is about picking a candidate that can win a seat for Fine Gael in Longford.

And I believe I have the experience, the best geographical location and the profile to do that.

The Ballinalee postmaster has been doing his level best to enhance that standing in recent weeks by conducting a business survey of Longford town based businesses to determine what issues local firms currently face.

The Legan-based representative, Cllr Paul Ross, is another of Fine Gael's new breed of fresh faced, energetic local representatives to emerge with distinction since his election in 2014.

A founding member of Young Fine Gael in Longford, he will be hoping former supporters of former TD James Bannon will row in behind his candidacy this Friday.

In welcoming the allocation of 8,500 in CLAR funding to Legan Tidy Towns this week, Cllr Ross was giving little away.

Whoever wins I will be fully behind them. If that turns out to be me I will be delighted and I believe I have a very good chance but then again you just never know with elections, he said.
Twelve-year-old Deasun Kelly was in the audience that evening and, as he listened to Adam talk about his experiences and what he hoped to achieve with his website, asiam.ie, Deasun could relate to everything he was saying.

Deasun too has Asperger's Syndrome and to hear someone like Adam speak the way he did made Deasun realise that he wasnt alone.

Inspired by Adam, Deasun has been talking to schools all around counties Longford and Leitrim, bringing with him awareness of autism, but also understanding of what autism is.

Deasun can do this better than anyone because he himself experiences autism on a daily basis.

Now, in Drumlish National School, Deasun is having a Blue Funday on Friday June 9 at 10am, to coincide with the opening of a sensory room in the school

This promises to be a fun-filled action-packed day for all the family, bringing the school community together to celebrate both the great school Drumlish NS is and the now greater understanding that this school community has for autism.

Highlights on the day will include brilliant local band, Brave Giant; the Tree of Hands of Autism; Blue Wish for the Future; Chess; a quiz; video clips and competitions.

For more information, contact Siobhan Kelly on 086 107 7897.
Nassau Police Seeking Two Suspects Who Attempted to Lure Child into Their Vehicle

By Long Island News & PR Published: June 09 2017

Two men driving a white sedan allegedly told a 10-year-old boy in Freeport to get in their car, cops say.

Freeport, NY - June 9, 2017 - First Squad detectives are investigating a suspicious incident that occurred in First Squad detectives are investigating a suspicious incident that occurred in Freeport on Thursday, June 08, 2017 at 3:15 P.M.

According to detectives, a 10-year-old boy was walking on N. Brookside Ave./Maryland Ave., when two male subjects in a white four door sedan (possible Honda Accord) stopped in front of him and told him to get in the car. The victim ran away and police were notified. The subjects left the scene, travelling northbound on Brookside Ave.

No injuries were reported.

The subjects are described as male blacks in their 20s to 30s with high top hair. The passenger was wearing sunglasses. No further description is available.
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Politics

By Legislator Anker's Office Published: June 09 2017

At the General Legislature Meeting on Tuesday, June 6th, Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker honored Ariana Gutierrez, a student at Longwood Middle School, for winning the 2017 Be Pool Smart poster contest.

Hauppauge, NY - June 9, 2017 - At the General Legislature Meeting on Tuesday, June 6th, At the General Legislature Meeting on Tuesday, June 6th, Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker honored Ariana Gutierrez, a student at Longwood Middle School, for winning the 2017 Be Pool Smart poster contest. Each year, the county hosts the Be Pool Smart poster contest to raise awareness about the importance of pool safety and to help prevent incidences of drowning. Students are asked to participate by creating a poster with relevant pool safety tips. The winning poster is displayed on the front cover of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services pool safety brochure. Ariana received a proclamation from Legislator Anker, alongside her parents and her art teacher, Mr. Christopher Hampson.

I would like to offer my sincerest congratulations to Ariana. There were hundreds of entries from students across Suffolk County and Arianas poster stood out as both artistic and informative, said Legislator Anker. I thank all of the students who submitted entries. The poster will help raise awareness about pool safety throughout Suffolk County.
During the event, the honored guests spoke to more than 50 Farmingdale High School students about their experiences as Jewish children living in Nazi Germany, the impact the Holocaust had on their families and community, and the importance of tolerance. The event was organized through a partnership between Farmingdale High School and the Jewish Community Relations Council in Jericho . To commemorate introduction of the Mural and Memorial, those in attendance observed a brief moment of silence to remember the victims of the Holocaust and a Farmingdale High School string quartet also gave a moving memorial performance.
School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: June 09 2017

Stern: "They are a special group of young people who we know are going to accomplish great things going forward into the future."

Long Island, NY - June 9, 2017 - On Monday, June 5, six Long Island teens - Carly Tamer of On Monday, June 5, six Long Island teens - Carly Tamer of East Northport ; Hannah Sharifian of Dix Hills; Sarah Strent of Commack ; Ethan Ertel of Dix Hills; Tyler Bonasera of Smithtown and Tyler Eliades of Commack - were honored at the Annual CTeen West Suffolk Awards Dinner for their work and dedication to this vital youth community service organization. Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern came to honor the teens in person, where he said they were a special group of young people who we know are going to accomplish great things going forward into the future and make all of us very proud.

Additionally, each teen received certificates acknowledging their achievements from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Town of Huntington and Smithtown officials.

This year alone, CTeen West Suffolk cooked for needy families, held a toy drive, packed holiday gifts for ill children, wrote letters to Israeli soldiers, raised funds through a bowl-a-thon for special needs children, and attended three major conventions; a regional, national and international Shabbaton, where they represented Long Island. At this year's national gathering, CTeen chapter member Dara Blitzer, of Smithtown, was named CTeen Female Leader of the Year. This is the third year in a row the CTeen West Suffolk County chapter has been honored with a national award. In 2015, it was named Chapter of the Year, and in 2016 one of its members was named Male Leader of the Year.
Tech & Science, School & Education, Local News, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: June 09 2017

Three of Eight Winning Teams Selected Come from Bayville Intermediate and Commack High School.

Long Island, NY - June 9, 2017 - Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D - Long Island, Queens) honored three teams of local students selected as winners for the 2017 Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards. There were over 5,000 entries from across the U.S. and Canada, with only eight winning teams selected. Three of those teams hailed from New Yorks third congressional district  two from Today, Congressman Tom Suozzi (D - Long Island, Queens) honored three teams of local students selected as winners for the 2017 Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards. There were over 5,000 entries from across the U.S. and Canada, with only eight winning teams selected. Three of those teams hailed from New Yorks third congressional district  two from Bayville Intermediate School and one from Commack High School. The awards ceremony took place at the Capitol.

Weve always had a great track record on Long Island of producing bright students who achieve big things, and these students are all proof of that. Its amazing that out of 5,000 teams from around the country, our district has three of the eight winning teams. Thats absolutely incredible. These students, their teachers and parents should all be so proud of what theyve accomplished. We all look forward to the great things the future has in store for them, said Congressman Suozzi.
School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause

By Long Island News & PR Published: June 09 2017

The students raised $689 through fundraisers, including collecting spare change to make change during lunch periods.

Moriches, NY - June 9, 2017 - For the second consecutive year, William Floyd Middle School students are helping provide a clean water source for a community in Johnson Township, Liberia, through Strides for Africa. The students raised $689 through various fundraisers including collecting spare change to make change during lunch periods, creating mini wells out of water bottles to provide a visual of the projects needs to family and friends and a movie fundraiser.

William Floyd Middle School partnered with the Mount Sinai School District ($633 raised) and a district in Wisconsin to raise the funds necessary to drill the well, which will benefit the community of Pamkpar Town in Upper Johnsonville, Liberia, as well as the Fountain of Life daycare, elementary and junior high schools.

This project was inspired by the book A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, which details the struggles that people in third-world countries face in order to get clean water.

Students were touched by the issue and wanted to find a way to help, said Jessica McHale, William Floyd Middle School English teacher. In addition to raising money for the project, students made a personal connection through pen pal correspondence. Our students really enjoyed learning more about their lives in Africa, said Ms. McHale. Seventh-grade English teachers Jodi Judson, Cindy Franck and Christine Smith were also involved in this project.
The US military shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that attacked coalition forces in the At Tanf area in southeastern Syria yesterday. The armed pro-Syria regime unmanned aerial vehicle bombed coalition forces after the US military again fired on pro-Syrian government militias operating in the area. The US military has now engaged the militias, some which are from Iraq, three separate times since mid-May.

The US military said that the UAV that attacked Coalition forces yesterday was similar in size to a US MQ-1 Predator. US officials told CNN that the UAV was Iranian.

The engagement took place after Coalition forces destroyed two pro-regime armed technical vehicles that advanced toward coalition forces at At Tanf inside the established deconfliction zone, the military said in a statement released on its website.

American, British and Norwegian special forces are known to be operating at the At Tanf Garrison. The coalition forces are training local militias to battle the Islamic State along the Syrian-Iraqi border.

The name of the pro-regime militia that was targeted was not disclosed. Several pro-Syrian regime militias, including Hezbollah, the Sayyid al Shuhada Brigades, the Imam Ali Brigades, the Fatemiyoun Divisions Hazrat-e Fatemeh Zahra Brigade, and the Abu Fadl al Abbas Brigades operate in the area. The Sayyid al Shuhada Brigades and the Imam Ali Brigades are Iraqi militias that are backed by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards  Qods Force (IRGC). These two militias operate in both Iraq and Syria. Both belong to Iraqs Popular Mobilization Force, the grouping of Iraqi militias that was formed to battle the Islamic State. The Fatemiyoun Division is a militia comprised of Afghan Shiites, and is also backed by the IRGC.

US forces have engaged pro-regime militias two other times in the At Tanf area in the last three weeks. The clashes risk expanding the war in Syria that initially targeted the Islamic State to include pro-regime militias allied with Iran.

On May 18, US aircraft struck militias after they entered the deconfliction zone. The Sayyid al Shuhada Brigades claimed it was targeted in the airstrikes and said that one of its fighters was killed, while six more were wounded.

Three days ago, the US military hit militias who advanced on the deconfliction zone with armored vehicles. The US military claimed it destroyed two artillery pieces and an anti-aircraft weapon and damaged a tank. It is unclear if the militias incurred any casualties.

US seeks to deescalate in At Tanf

In the US militarys latest announcement on the clashes in At Tanf, it sought to clarify that the Islamic State, and not pro-Syrian regime forces, is the focus of its operations.

The Coalitions mission is to defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The Coalition does not seek to fight Syrian regime, Russian or pro-regime forces partnered with them, the Combined Joint Task Force  Operation Inherent Resolve statement noted.

However CJTF-OIR noted that its forces in At Tanf would continue to protect itself.

The demonstrated hostile intent and actions of pro-regime forces near Coalition and partner forces in southern Syria, however, continue to concern us and the Coalition will take appropriate measures to protect our forces, the statement continued. As long as pro-regime forces are oriented toward Coalition and partnered forces the potential for conflict is escalated.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Lifestyle / Gastronomy

Having a diverse range of experiences is the key in learning more about your capabilities and more often than not it can lead to great things as proven by Chef Knerr

Jun 09, 2017 | By Sanesh Balasingam























You could call Chef Christian Knerr a man of the world. After all, the newly appointed executive chef of the Ritz-Carlton in Bahrain has worked in regions such as Europe, Asia and the Middle East. His experiences in the various locations have helped him to gain not only culinary knowledge but also allowed him to interact with suppliers themselves. From being a part of the team that opened the Dubai Festival City during his stint with the Intercontinental in Dubai, to building relationships with the fishermen while he was with the Intercontinental in Bali, there is no question that the man knows his craft. His stints under the Intercontinental which saw him move from Dubai to Manila opened the door for his move to the Raffles Fairmont in Manila where he worked with what he called one of the best teams.

Armed with his knowledge running a restaurant, he decided to broaden his horizons and accepted an offer to work in Harrods, London which had him in charge of its culinary operation. Proving to be a challenge as the role required him to focus on retail, the opportunity was one that prepared him for his new stint at the Ritz-Carlton in Bahrian. Drawing on the similarities between Harrods and the Ritz-Carlton, he noticed that customer service was of the utmost importance.

We never say no to anything.It is all about making the guest happy. Read from their lips what they want without them saying it

On his new gig with one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, the chef says that taking care of guests is more than a just a job requirement. Elaborating on the experience that guests can expect to receive Chef Kneer said that restaurants such as Primavera ensure that the authentic experience is created not only through the food but also with the help of the front and back of house staff who are Italians.

Currently standing as one of the strongest hotel chains in the world, the Ritz-Carlton is one that he feels has been well set up. While many look towards their next opportunity, Chef Knerr hopes that this is the last chain that he will have in his career. We sit down with the chef to find out what makes him tick and what guests can look forward to when they visit the Ritz-Carlton in Bahrain.

There are so many things you have to deal with but I want to talk about the more immediate thing which is building the hotel and the food, the authenticity of the food, developing on all the different facets. Now, on the freshness of the local produce and getting the local produce: How difficult is it to maintain that in Bahrain because in terms of importation of  when you talk about the Mexican restaurant Cantina Khalo within the hotel, you have avocadoes. Bahrain doesnt produce avocadoes.

Let me tell you something interesting about what Bahrain is producing. I was very much surprised when I interviewed here I visited the local farmers market (laughs). I saw yellow, green, purple tomatoes like in Italy. I saw broccoli I saw all kinds of herbs, all kinds of salads, kale, dragon kale. You cannot imagine. I tasted a completely new product, which Ive never had before. I was actually blown away. Everything was clean, and the people were very friendly. When it comes to products its like in Dubai. You know companies here are very lucky in which there are imports. I always say that we are here in the middle, one side we have the Asia/Australia region, and the other side we have the whole European season. So we are very lucky that we can buy products from maybe the whole year round, because some will be seasonal. So not a big challenge.

No logistical challenges?

You know I mean you have to think a little bit in advance. But we are in the position to buy straight from markets once a week so I would not call this a challenge. (laughs) I had a bigger challenge in Bali actually.

In terms of building up the hotel and spearheading all the different restaurants, and structuring. Whats been your toughest thing yet coming in from the last four weeks in Bahrain like understanding the palate of Bahrain?

You know when it comes to the palate of Bahrain I think it really comes down to the locals here. In Dubai I had one local working on the team, but here we have a very high percentage of local people working with us. And from the moment I entered the airport I felt very welcomed here because people are not taking a step back when they see you, they actually come up to you and build up relationships very quickly. I first observe then I spend a lot of time listening to people talk, and having meetings. They called me to the head chefs, I have a chat with them, I visit the chefs, and based on that of course many hours of connecting and communicating with the executive and sous chefs. One of the visions for me is that to continue what we are doing here to drive the authenticity and be a real hotspot on the food market for Bahrain, which right now we are.

They have their local comfort food and the fact that Bahrain is an island, and many people who travel here know exactly what good Italian food or Indian food.

So the palate is refined and you want to provide a more authentic touch?

Yes. what I had discovered so far is that the team put a lot of work into developing new dishes. You always get the new experience. As far as I know, were really up to date when it comes to food. Both the quality of people and the quality of chefs, who are very well know, they have good experience palate wise.

Youre a global citizen, youve been around a lot, youve travelled to many countries, whats the toughest country youve been to and whats the toughest situation that youve been in?

I think I have to differentiate work and private life. For work I think the toughest was Bali. Because it had very strong people and very hard to make changes. Very resistant to change. When it comes to family I think the toughest place was Manila. Because the city didnt really provide me with the kind of safety which I required to raise my kids. I think what makes Bahrain so easy going is that its very friendly for families to raise their kids here its perfect!

In London I was driving 1.5 hours everyday to work. I was in London and living in Croyden, and I was going bicycle 15mins and train 40mins walking 25mins from Victoria. Here its just 15mins.

Youve got 11 restaurants here, in the hotel. And within the model youve got so many different offerings. In terms of building up the hotel, its direction, in the next 5 years, where do you see the model? Do you see the restaurant being more franchis-y in terms of big names coming into the hotel, as well as staples or do you see it being more of a unified concept?

I know where the question comes from because many hotels opening right now, they have two bars, all day dining, maybe make one restaurant by themselves then sort out the rest. I think here at the Ritz Carlton we are at a different position because we are not new kids of the block and everybody knows our restaurants. We are very well established in the market and I think this makes the difference here. I dont see a big need to source out our restaurants here because all our restaurants are delivering pretty well right now.

Very obviously when you are I think thats one of the reasons that hotels this size in Dubai are struggling right now because competition is just too high. But I think we have a very big plus point because we are very well established on the market and have been delivering this kind of quality and experience for decades. So I dont think theres a big need now to think about sourcing anything out.

Youve worked with Harrods, retail model. Youve got 11 restaurants and a massive property here. Developing the retail model, do you think thats one of the ways?

Well I think you should at least think about it. There are couple of ideas I have in mind for example to Cantina Khalo which stocks us to sell one of the sauces or there are always a couple of things to think about. We have a lot of potential now to go there bigger in retail.

Whats the most memorable request that youve ever had from a guest? Working in either a big or small operation?

Okay I was in Dubai, I started there and Id only been there for 2 weeks. When I came to Dubai for the first time I was the executive sous chef, and he went on vacation for 2 weeks and left me there alone (laughs). I got a telephone call from sales and marketing that they were planning a function and said they would pick me from outside the hotel in a land rover. I said where are we going? It was for half an hour and we went outside of Dubaiand actually we were standing in the middle of the desert around 45 minutes away from Dubai. Then I got the news that we had to do a set menu there for 2,500 people in 3 weeks time and this was I think the most challenging thing I ever did because we had to think not only about electricity but also water, air-conditioning. It was in the middle of summer and it was in 3 weeks time and I had only been there for two weeks.

So I called my boss in the evening and said I have a small problem and explained the whole situation and he only gave me a couple of telephone numbers with people I could call. He asked me a question: If I was happy to be an executive sous chef and I said yes. And he said  Then welcome to Dubai and he hung up the phone. He arrived 3 weeks later and didnt interfere, which I have a lot of respect for. He didnt call me once, im sure he did his research to see if everything was going smoothly but he didnt call me once. But I didnt contact him because I was too proud to go back to him (laughs). He came back on the day of the party and he just went outside when the dinner had started which I also have a lot of respect for. He went one round around the event and gave me a hug and said well done and left. (Laughs). This was the most challenging thing Ive ever done.

What are your plans for the future? You made a big statement coming out saying this will hopefully be your last switch.

When I was 30 I had big plans on where I wanted to end up. Now Im 45 and am more calm and am actually making big plans now for the next 5 years. For me its more important where I am now. After 4 weeks Im very happy here. Great team, great property and very goof F&B outlets. So lets see whats coming. I dont put myself under pressure anymore.

What do you make of the Michelin guide? And do you think the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) needs a Michelin Guide?

I think what happened in the last 15 years here is tremendous and I think its very sad that we dont have it here right now. But there are for sure very outstanding restaurants that could have an impact worldwide. I think its necessary that hopefully Michelin is making the decision to come here soon.

If you had to pick a restaurant from your hotel to be in the Michelin guide which one would it be and why?

I think it would be Nirvana probably. Because its one of the most, and the best Indian restaurants in the whole Middle East.
From June 8 to 9, the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is being held in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan. As an international student of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, majoring in International Politics, I am very happy and honored to have had opportunities to participate in the seminars and intern at China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation" (hereinafter, CNISCO) because I have been studying here for four years, which enables us international students to contribute to the development and deepening of the friendship between the SCO member countries.

On 13 September 2013, at the 13th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in Bishkek, Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his important speech entitled "Promoting the Spirit of Shanghai, and Promoting Common Development" he announced that China will set up CNISCO at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, and is willing to use this platform to train judicial personnel for other member states. This is of great significance to the development of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, but also for the school students since it will bring them more opportunities to contact the world. At present, CNISCO has held a lot of high-level judicial trainings and forums to promote professional exchanges of stability and anti-terrorism officials, to train judicial personnel of the SCO member countries, and to provide international research exchanges and advisory services, which will also bring new opportunities for the international students of the university.

The SCO is an open-minded and balanced international organization. In today's world, the SCO faces many new opportunities and challenges in the political, economic and military fields. The SCO plays an important role in maintaining and promoting national good-neighborly and friendly cooperation in the region. The organization has always made a significant contribution to the stability of the Eurasian continent, with the goal of maintaining and strengthening regional peace, security and stability, resolutely responding to the destabilizing factors, and proving to the world that "SCO has effectively responded to new threats, counting with the joint efforts of all member states".

As a reliable defender of peace and stability in the region, the SCO has played an invaluable role. In Central Asia, for example, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, many problems appeared. Under the regulation and adjustment of the SCO, Central Asia has regained its order. The SCO Annual Summit provides a platform for national consultations and friendly exchanges, and its joint anti-terrorism exercises have significantly reduced the potential threat of terrorist organizations to Central Asia.

At the establishment of the SCO, its mission was set to combat terrorism, and it has effectively fulfilled this duty. On the day when the SCO was established, the member states signed the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, and for the first time in the international community, they made a clear definition of the "three forces". After the signing of the Convention, in October 2002, China and Kyrgyzstan successfully held joint anti-terrorism military exercises in the border areas of the two countries. Subsequently, the SCO member states held multilateral exercises in Kazakhstan and China's Xinjiang. The SCO did joint military exercises in Central Asia, which are of great significance to enhance the unity and cooperation among member countries, while they jointly deal with regional terrorist threats and work together to combat the "three forces".

The SCO was established to promote and deepen good-neighbourliness, mutual trust and friendly relations among member states, consolidate regional security and stability, and at the same time open up new horizons for cooperation in national economic fields. China has made great contributions to promoting economic cooperation and development among SCO member states and called on the other member countries to further deepen cooperation in the economic field.

In recent years, member states have deepened cooperation in the field of humanities, which has become one of the organization's key works. Each year, the cultural exchange activities held jointly between member states have promoted the development of cultural exchanges and cooperation that further enhances mutual understanding and friendship among the people of each country.

The SCO has always adhered to the principle of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit, and has provided strong guarantee for the stable development, security and prosperity of the region. It is hoped that the SCO member states will adhere to the basic principle of "Shanghai Spirit" and harmonious development, and continue to practice the cooperative mode of consensus, mutual benefit, win-win cooperation, creating a cooperative atmosphere for regional development.

(Author: Bibolatova Akmaral, Kazakhstan student majoring in International Politics of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law)
(Photo/Xinhua)

The Astana Expo 2017 will kick off on Saturday. The China pavilion will demonstrate the nations concepts and visions for the development of future energy, said Wang Jinzhen, deputy director of the organizing committee of the pavilion.

With the theme of "Future Energy, Green Silk Road", the China pavilion consists of a lobby, an energy corridor, a theater themed with future energy, a smart energy zone as well as an exhibition area themed global mission and partnership, Peoples Daily reporters paid a visit to the pavilion.

As future energy will be an important carrier to solve energy crisis and promote sustainable development, Chinas ideas and efforts in development, utilization and protection of the new energy will be highlighted when designing the pavilion, Wang said.

Likewise, the theme of Green Silk Road is a deep interpretation of Chinas concept for green development, she added.

The energy corridor displays representative events and achievements in Chinas energy development, such as Zheng He Treasure Ship, Daqing oil field, Qinshan and Dayawan nuclear power plants and the Three Gorges Dam, showcasing the evolvement from fossil energy to new energy.

In the future energy themed theatre, a movie centered on energy transformation will be screened, telling the story on how the main character looks for new energy and compensates for nature, showcasing Chinas efforts to develop future energy.

Rashid Alimov, secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, said that the China pavilion will demonstrate first-class technologies in the world. Chinas utilization of energy impresses the world and the countrys energy exploitation achievements should be respected, he added.

During its trial operation, the China pavilion offered visitors a feast of high technology, including a nuclear fusion reactor described as an "artificial sun" and Hualong One reactor.

Rapil Zhoshybayev, Kazakh first deputy foreign minister and government representative for the Astana Expo, noted that the China pavilion will present the most wonderful exhibits in this expo.

Kazakhstan is the country where Chinese President Xi Jinping first proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt. It is also an important partner to build the Belt and Road, and more importantly a major country to launch production capacity cooperation with China, Wang said.

Wang said that the expo is an important move to implement the consensus reached by heads of the two countries, as it is held after the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and in the year of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Kazakhstan.

China has sent an unprecedentedly number of enterprises, representatives from provinces and cities to participate in the expo, exceeding that to any other expos held in a foreign country.

During the three-month event, the pavilion will hold more than 200 trade and economic, cultural and tourism activities attended by more than 2,000 enterprises, including the Shanghai energy-themed exhibition, promotion of the 2019 Beijing International Horticultural Expo and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and cultural relic exhibitions such as the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses.

All the activities will make the China pavilion a platform to promote Belt and Road cooperation and to enhance mutual understanding and exchanges.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Saeed Suhrawardy

TRIBUTE

by Masoom Moradabadi

Words fail to express the loss caused by the demise of Saeed Suhrawardy Sahab to the Urdu world. As he was laid to rest on March 10 at the burial ground, Mehendiyan, near the Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), the view expressed by most Urdu journalists gathered there was: He was a doyen, a strong pillar in his domain. His demise is like the end of an era he strongly represented through his writings.

A Masters in Economics (English Medium) from Allahabad University, Uttar Pradesh, Suhrawardy Sahabs passion for writing was there from his younger days. Though he had a good command over English, Urdu, Persian and Hindi, he wrote primarily in Urdu. He has left behind a legacy of more than a dozen books. Suhrawardy Sahabs first book focussed on the Economic Problems of Indian Muslims and their Solutions (Musalmaano ke Iqtesaadi Masail aur unka Hal1975). He was the first to deliberate on this issue.

Suhrawardy Sahabs books include fiction, a compilation of his short stories Lakeerein Aur Khaqe1977 (Lines And Sketches), Kuch Phool, Kuch Pathar1988 (Few Flowers, Few Stones) and a satire Chuhe Ke Khutoot Billi Ke Naam1979 (Letters from a Rat to Cat). The last is a satire on sufferings of a common man (rat) at the hands of the cat representing the system. The catch-line in this book is the cat heading for a pilgrimage after eating rats. He was also well-versed in the art of writing poetry, including poems and four-line qatas (quartets or two couplets on one theme). His poetry in Sulagta Sandal1976 (Burning Sandalwood) displays his use of Urdu as well as Hindi words. The book begins with Suhrawardy Sahab referring to three mothers he knows of. One is the one who gave him birth. Second is his mother-tongue, Urdu, which is his spirit and voice. And the third is his country, Hindustan.

Pankhariyan1976 (Petals) and Sangreizen1976 (Pieces of Stone) are among his books of four-line poetry. During the Emergency-phase, Sangreizen was the only Urdu book to have been published in which the period was strongly criticised by Suhrawardy Sahab through his verses. Inter-estingly, a strong point of his personality was his moving forward on his own strength without indulging in any kind of lobbying or politicking for his writing. He also chose not to participate in Mushairas, programmes where Urdu poets read out their poetry. All his books have been published by Markaz Muashi Taraqqi (Centre for Economic Development) founded by him.

His actual name was Syed Saeed-ul-Haq Suhrawardy. He used Saeed Suhrawardy as his pen name. Born in Mirzapur, his maternal background was associated with the Firangi Mahal of Lucknow (UP) and his paternal lineage with the Sufi order, known as Suhrawardiya Silsila. While studying in Allahabad University, he moved forward into the journalistic world by working for a powerful nationalist monthly magazine of that period, Nai Zindagi, founded and edited by the freedom fighter, Syed Aneesur Rehman. Career-wise and in the pursuit of education, Suhrawardy Sahab was a self-made man from the beginning. Among his cherished memories of Allahabad were his relations with his brother-in-law, late Bashir Ahmad (an advocate and MP), his circle of friends, including Dhirendra Verma, Suresh Srivastava, Mahesh Lal and his active association with the late Prime Minister Chandrashekhar, his senior at the Allahabad University.

Interestingly, even Chandrashekhar had expressed surprise at Suhrawardy Sahab not approaching him after the former had assumed political prominence. It so happened that Chandrashekhar was seated on the stage at a function being held in Delhi. Suhrawardy Sahab was associated with the place where it was being held and was observing the proceedings from a distance. Chandrashekhar happened to see him and called him. Of course, both were pleased at meeting each other. But that was it. All who knew of that meeting were quite stunned at Suhrawardy Sahab not ever taking advantage of his association with Chandrashekhar. This was an aspect of his personality which only those close to him were well aware of. He encouraged his immediate family members also to move ahead on their own merit.

Suhrawardy Sahab moved to Delhi in the early 1960s. Later, when he brought his wife and children to the city, his priority was to ensure his residence in a mixed colony. A staunch believer in Indian secularism, he did not want his familys interaction to be confined to only Muslims. Initially, the family resided in South Extension Part I. They moved to Aiwan-e-Ghalib, after he was appointed the Director of the Ghalib Institute, which is in Central Delhi. He played a key role in establishing a library and a museum at the Ghalib Institute. Later, the family moved to Mayur Vihar in East Delhi, where he breathed his last. During his professional life, he was also asso-ciated with Shama Publications and Akhbar-e-Naujawan (magazine) as a consulting editor. He is still remembered for bringing out the most memorable issue of Shabistan (a monthly magazine of Shama Publications) on the renowned poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz. In addition, he served as the chief of the Urdu Services of Samachar Bharati for some time. He was also well known for his columns in several leading Urdu dailies, including Qaumi Awaz,Rashtriya Sahara,Etemaad and Mera Watan. Among his notable contributions were translations into Urdu of Freedom at Midnight and the Hindi novel, Chitralekha.

Not many are aware of politician Hemwati Nandan Bahugunas close contact with him and his son, Anis Suhrawardy. When faced with a political crisis, Bahuguna was planning an autobiography in English with Suhrawardy Sahab as the ghost writer. During Bahugunas visits to his house, the title of book was decided as My Tryst With Destiny. However, before the book could be finalised, ill health and political problems facing Bahuguna stalled its progress. Among other politicians Suhrawardy Sahab had great respect for and was closely associated with freedom fighter late General Shah Nawaz Khan and late Maulana Ishaq Sambhali (CPI MP).



Suhrawardy Sahabs love for Urdu and education was also marked by his selflessly serving as a teacher. He taught Urdu and English to many. Thus, he was also considered a Guru by a few, particularly a Bengali lady, whose love for singing Ghazals prompted her to learn Urdu from him. A prominent cleric was taught English by him a few decades ago. Yet, his daughter learnt about this only when the cleric revealed it to her during a meeting in a foreign trip. On her return, she asked him: Papa, is this true? He replied: Yes. She would not have learned about it had the cleric not told her. And this prompted her recently to say: I dont know, perhaps we still dont know a lot about what all he did.

I have learned that he encouraged his medical attendant (a Rajput from Bihar) also to study. One of the duties of his attendant was to read aloud the Hindi newspapers news and edits. Over the years, he learned Urdu from him and had begun reading Urdu newspapers as well as short stories. He was picking up English too. Often, when Suhrawardy Sahab felt a little weak, he would call his daughters and say: When I am gone, dont deprive anyone of his job from here. Retain the attendant. You can use him as a driver. He was not just a great journalist and writer but a great soul too. He is remembered as a peace-loving person, who had never spoken in a loud voice to anyone. Definitely, he was felicitated with several awards for his contributions to the Urdu world, but even these may be viewed as insufficient to mark the legacy he has left behind through his writings and for people around him.

My friendship with him spans around three decades. I dont think I have met anyone else as loving and refined as he was. Whenever I sat with him, I got the feeling that I was sitting under the shade of a huge tree. I would listen to him for hours and gain a lot of knowledge from him. I have learnt a lot from his writings. I met him for the first time at the office of Akhbar-e-Nau, an Urdu weekly, from where I began my career in Urdu journalism. Though he was older to me by around 30 years, he never let me feel the age difference. We often had fruitful discussions during our meetings or over phone. I always felt enriched and learnt a lot from what he said. He was well-versed in economics of the country and the world.

Age difference mattered little for many more persons who loved visiting him and holding long conversations. These included Mukul Dube, who usually came to his house armed with his camera. It is the photographs clicked by him which were carried by Urdu papers and magazines across the country, with news about Suhrawardy Sahabs demise and his burial.

Suhrawardy Sahab may be hailed as an extremely strong-willed person. Despite having suffered the shock at the death of his only son, the eldest of his three children (in 2012), followed by that of his wife (2013), he maintained a strong posture. His son, Anis Suhrawardy, was a prominent Advocate in the Supreme Court. At times, he commented: Oh God, dont let even enemies suffer the loss of their children. Though there was an endless stream of guests coming to give him condolences at the passing of his son and later his wife, he was extremely touched to find his old contacts, caring little for their own ill-health, coming to share his grief. These included senior advocate B.D. Dutta, businessman S.K. Gupta and his Mumbai-based friend S.S. Ahmad. His bond with late Syed Shahabuddin and Syed Mahmood Ali has been continued by the second and third generations, that is, their children and grand-children.

Though he was a heart patient and due to a spinal injury was confined largely to bed, he was mentally very active. His family members say that he was extremely fast in calculating the exact payments that needed to be made. Rather than use the calculator, all at home would ask him for answers to what should be paid for clothes that had been ironed and so forth. Besides, during the physiotherapy sessions he had recently begun walking more than earlier. He is also remembered at being extremely generous with tips for the staff who worked at home. He kept precise account to ensure that no one was missed.

Suhrawardy Sahab was engaged in his writings till the very end. March 9, the day he expired, was scheduled to be the day for his dictating a new piece. The pieces, he had last penned, e-mailed earlier in the week, were published after his demise in two prominent Urdu dailies, Etemaad (Hyderabad) and Mera Watan (Delhi). He lived life fully till the end and passed away as he wanted toamidst his family members. The day he breathed his last (March 9) was also the date of his wedding anniversary. He is buried next to his wife and his son.

I consider myself as among the fortunate ones, with whom he continued interaction during his last few years. A lot more can be said and written about him as a person and his writings, published as well as unpublished, that he has left behind, but that also shall not be enough. Though he is no more, he is still with us through his treasured legacy of writings and cherished memories. May he rest in peace, Ameen!

Masoom Moradabadi is a Delhi-based Urdu journalist and writer. He is editor of the Urdu daily, Jadid Khabar, and fortnightly, Khabardar. He has written several books and is Secretary of the All India Urdu
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > An Adventurist India

The showmanship displayed in reshaping and reorienting Indian foreign policy in the first few months of Prime Minister Narendra Modis ascendancy to power in 2014, which had dazzled diplomats and scholars across the world, has long given way to sober assessment and consequent disappointment. Todays consensus in assessing Modis foreign policy is dramatically shorn of euphoria, as it should have been in the first instance.

But perhaps the unkindest cut of all has come from a man who is well-qualified to make it. Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has spared no sentiment to express his disillusionment with Modis policy. India should have its own policy on Afghanistan based on its own view of the region, its own interests, and the interests of peace and stability in Afghanistan, he said. Yes, India should do more on Afghanistan, but it should do more on its own terms, not on requests from America. (India should have its own policy on Afghanistan, The Hindu, May 3, 2017)

The fact that Karzai has been driven to make such an unvarnished criticism of Modis policy speaks volumes about how New Delhi is being viewed by foreign observers. It is not complimentary, to say the least.

Significantly, at the same time, Modi as a strong, no-nonsense and Rightist Prime Minister is being hailed by similarly inclined political personalities across the world. A typical remark was made on the eve of the second round of the French presidential election by the Rightist, staunchly anti-immigrant and anti-globalisation candidate, Marine Le Pen, who called the India of Modi, Russia of Putin, US of Trump and the UK of Theresa May...great nations, ones that had turned their backs on ultra-liberalisation and free trade. (French rivals clash in debate, The Hindu, May 5, 2017) Similar praises for Modi were first heard from the US presidential candidate, Donald Trumps campaign team and from Trump himself. Since then various other Rightist and anti-immigrant Europeans have pitched for the like-mindedness of the Indian Prime Minister.

But the fatuity of such appreciations is self-evident, and in the ultimate analysis each nation seeks to protect and advance its own interests, something the so-called pragmatic Modi Doctrine is said to have imparted to Indian foreign policy after the mythical 70-year-old ideological stranglehold. Three years is spacious enough to attempt to find out if this popular view is tenable.

The assertion that India is now practising a pragmatic foreign policyrejecting Indias earlier reliance on Nehruvian idealism or moral posturing and, instead, focussing on power and material interestsis now well-questioned and cannot be passed over any longer. In an exhaustive study of Modis foreign policy, two American scholars have designated it as procedural rather than substantive pragmatism. They have defined the first form of policy as a process of engaging with all and any ideas that are contextually and politically expedient to achieving a given policy end. [Manjari Chatterjee Miller and Kate Sullivan de Estrada, Pragmatism in Indian Foreign Policy: how ideas constrain Modi, International Affairs 93 (2017) 27-49; DOI:10.1093/ia/iiw001]

The analysis argues that Modis policy is innovative rather than substantive using the term bricolage meaning that ideas are not as stable as political scientists want them to be: a theory of incremental ideational change, quoting Martin B. Carstensen. (Political Studies 59:3, 2011, pp. 596-615) It questions the correctness of the conclusion reached by several Indian analysts that Modis policy is uniquely pragmatic bringing about a complete departure from the previous Indian policy, generally labelled as Nehruvian.

Those who find virtue in Modis foreign policy argue that pragmatism represents the approach that India must follow in order to become a normal power that is not focussed on trans-forming the world and to emerge on the world stage as a materially powerful state in the 21st. century. (C. Raja Mohan, Crossing the Rubicon: the shaping of Indias new foreign policy, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2003, p. 268; Brahma Chellany, Narendra Modis imprint on foreign policy, LiveMint, September 2, 2014; Amitabh Mattoo, The Modi foreign policy doctrine, The Indian Express, November 20, 2014; Harsh V. Pant,Out with non-alignment, in with a Modi doctrine, The Diplomat, November 13, 2014)

Presenting a contrary view, the American scholars have chosen two particular policies followed by Modi in tackling the India-Bangladesh territorial dispute (exchange of enclaves) and persuading the United Nations to adopt the International Yoga Dayfor case studies to establish their thesis that like many Indian leaders before him, this foreign policy is also based on procedural pragmatism and not on substantive pragmatism and is indeed constrained by both ideology and institutionalised ideas and as a result, entails bricolage, that is, improving with influential and institutionalised ideas rather than without them.

The case study on the exchange of enclaves shows that the diplomatic process had been set in motion years before Modi came to power under Manmohan Singh with the enactment of the 2011 protocol to the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement. Singh had made better relations with Bangladesh a cornerstone of his regional policy, it notes. While his political and cultural logics were different from Modis, Singh was stymied in his efforts by the BJP which in 2013 blocked the parliamentary bill to opera-tionalise the agreement. It quotes Arun Jaitleys declaration that the Indian territory could not be reduced or altered by an amendment to the Constitution, and the Oppositions description of Singhs policy as softness towards illegal immigrants from Bangladesh most of whom were Muslims.

And how did Modi justify his own act? He described the agreement as formalising the de facto borders and not ceding territory, and this patently false characterisation was hailed as a complete change in Indias foreign policy on the border issue. The study suggests that Modis innovative policy success was dependent on taking institutionalised policy frameworks seriously as well as appealing to his Hindu nationalist base of political support.

Similarly, while the Indian Government had been promoting yoga internationally for a long time with its most famous practitioner having been Jawaharlal Nehru and through the vehicle of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Modi decided to seize on yoga as Indias signature cultural export while championing a specifically Hinduised understanding of yogas origins that initially contradicted the internal face of Indias exceptionalism, founded on the claim that India is a pluralistic society based on peaceful coexistence. Thus, Modis procedural pragmatism included both Hindutva ideas about the Hindu origins of yoga and broke with elements of the ideational framework of Indian exceptiona-lism. However, political logic eventually demanded a modification to please supporters and assuage critics. While the intention was to present yoga as an essentially Hindu heritage, protests forced him to avoid, rather than explicitly exclude, Indian pluralism from the ideational toolkits.

While the government was immensely proud that as many as 170 member-states co-sponsored the UN resolution, the fact remains that it did not formally link yoga with Indias cultural or spiritual heritage though the connection is implied.

The speed with which Modi embarked on his foreign policy formulation simply dazzled analysts, samples of which abound in scores of writings since he virtually exploded on the world stage. No previous Indian Prime Minister participated in so many high-powered multi-lateral and bilateral summits in his or her first months in office as Modi, gushed Brahma Chellaney. His foreign policy is powered by ideas, not by any ideology. Indeed, (he) has demonstrated knack to skillfully employ level-headed ideas to shape a non-doctrinaire vision and galvanize public opinion...he has projected a nimble foreign policy with pragmatism as its hallmark. (Deconstructing the Modi foreign policy, The Hindu, updated May 23, 2016) Frida Ghitis was equally effervescent: In the short time since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in May, he has revolutionalised his countrys foreign relations, and proceeds to list a fairly long list of his visits abroad. (Modi Reboots Indias Foreign Policy With Zero Problems Approach, WPR, December 18, 2014)

However, dispassionate analyses are not a rarity. Apparently provoked by the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with Rwanda in January 2017, The Hindu editorialised: ...Indias decision to upgrade more than 30 of its bilateral relationships to strategic partner-ships is excessive. While there may be many ways to parse the term, its usage in international diplomacy is fairly clear: it defines a bilateral relationship (as) more important than others, but stops short of an actual alliance. The term strategic further implies a future convergence of interests in areas that are vital: security, defence and investment. If that is the case, Indias latest strategic partnership signed with the east African country of Rwanda, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Rwandan President Paul Kagamde in Gandhinagar this week, warrants further study. Rwanda is a land-locked country with 90 per cent of its population engaged in subsistence agriculture. It is still recovering from the mass murder of large sections of its Hutu population in 1994, though the country has registered remarkable progress and growth in the last few years. While it may therefore be an important destination for Indias development assistance, it is difficult to see how it qualifies as a strategic partner, particularly given that India is yet to set up a full diplomatic mission to the country; the last time New Delhi even sent a delegation to Kigali was in 2012. Given all of this, it would seem that the govern-ments move was more about window-dressing the relationship than imbuing it with any meaningful substance. (Strategic partnership. Really?, updated January 13, 2017)

This propensity to enter strategic partnership with virtually all and sundry nations is a legacy Modi has inherited from the previous governments. That is why the question arises over his much-vaunted breaking off from past practices and pragmatism.



Three years into power, Modis Pakistan policy, the very test of the strength of Indias foreign policy, stands reduced to a far more vague and undefined policy than the previous two Prime Ministers. Indias neighbourhood policy is equally bogged down in withstanding constant nibbling by its neighbours at its almost desperate efforts to cling to its Big Brother image, raising suspicions about not-so-subtle Chinese encouragement. That the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is now almost permanently minus Pakistan is entirely due to the Indian policy. Its latest manifestation was Indias invitation to the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Techniocal and Economic Cooperation) member-states to interact with BRICS and not SAARC. How many SAARC member-states support Indias opposition to allow China to be a member of the group? Perhaps, the most pathetic reflection of Indias helplessness and groping for a way out is over the seeming snare of the One Belt One Road (OBOR) or Belt Road Initiative (BRI).

Indias eventual decision to not attend the OBOR Forum in Beijing on May 14-15 seems to have further highlighted its difficulty in diplo-matically tackling the China-Pakistan combine. The rebuff, as several admiring analysts have described the boycott, has been questioned since India is the only major invitee to have abstained from attending the summit. Even Japan and Vietnam, long engaged in fighting Chinas geopolitical onslaught on their sovereignty, attended it. The South Asian countries, barring Bhutan, were particularly enthusiastic about the event.

A basic principle in diplomacy is to keep a door open when all other doors have been closed. The Modi policy on China and Pakistan, the most important part of Indian foreign policy, continues to display a rare kind of confusion alternating between body-hugging and breast-beating.

The author is a former Senior Fellow, the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Saffron Nationalism and its Perils

by Ashok Celly

Thanks to the BJP and its sister organisations, the media is buzzing with the discourse on nationalism. The ruling party has emerged as the self-appointed champion of nationalism. Convinced that it is on a strong wicket when it comes to nationalism, it is adopting aggressive postures and trying to push the otherspolitical parties, minoritieson the back foot by raising slogans like Vande Mataram Kehna Hoga. In the prevailing surcharged atmosphere it is absolutely imperative that we discuss the entire issue of nationalism without passion and prejudice.

Let us start with the most obvious, the most elementary question: who, after all, is a nationalist? Quite simply, a nationalist is one who loves his nation. A nation is not an abstraction. It means the land, the flora and fauna and, above all, the people of India. The people of India would include apart from the Hindu majority, the Muslims, the Christians, the Sikhs, the Parsees etc. Does a saffron nationalist love Hindus, Muslims and Christians alike? Or does he believe with the great RSS ideologue, M.S. Golwalkar, that the Muslims and Christians are lacking in the spirit of love and devotion for the nation?

From the recent discourse on nationalism one gets the impression that the BJP leaders lelieve that their patriotic credentials are unquestionable, and they are far supeior to others when it comes to love of and commitment to the country. And that gives them the right to interrogate othersparties, communities etc.and sit in judgment over their conduct and activities.

Now if you question someones patriotism, if you sit in judgment over other peoples conduct and, above all, if you bully them into chanting this or that (for example, Vande Mataram Kehna Hoga which is not an appeal but a command), it breeds a sense of resentment and humiliation which may, sooner or later, manifest itself in dangerous ways doing great harm to the social fabric of the country. Exclusive and aggressive nationalism can do more harm than good. Hitlers Germany is an outstanding example of that. Hitler and his followers demonstrated their love for Germany by eliminating the Jews at home and crushing the neighbouring European countries. In the process they succeeded in destroying Germany. Shall we not learn from Nazi Germanys tragic history?

Also, the minorities in general and the Muslims in particular dont need to prove anything. The Muslims, for example, have made tremendous contribution to Indian culture. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, Vilayat Khan and Amajad Ali Khan are some of the most distinguished figures in the history of Indian music. The Muslims contribution to popular music is equally significant. For instance, the celebrated composition from the fifties classic Baiju BawraMan Tarpat Hari Darshan Ko Aaj was composed by Naushad, sung by Mohammad Rafi and written by Shakeel Badauni. Three Muslim artists came together to give us one of our most wonderful devotional compositions. Isnt that an eloquent testimony to Indias composite culture? In the world of performing artstheatre, films etc.some of the very big names are from the Muslim community, Ibrahim Alkazi and Habeeb Tanvir are outstanding theatre personalities. And the film Mother India, made by Mehboob Khan, is perhaps the greatest tribute to Indian woman-hoodher courage, her perserverance and her moral integrityin the history of Indian cinema. The iconic role was played by Nargis Dutt and the film was Indias first Oscar entry. Finally, B.R. Chopras telly-epic was a big hit both with the Hindus and non-Hindus largely because of its powerful dialogues. The dialogues of Mahabharatsurprise of surpriseswere written by a Muslim writer, Rahi Masoom Raza.

In the face of such outstanding contribution enriching the cultural life of the nation, the insistence on singing Vande Mataram seems to be puerile. The saffron nationalist refuses to seea case of myopia born of singularismthat one can express ones love for the country in different ways. Vande Mataram is one such way. Jana Gana Mana is another, Shubh Sukh Chain ki Barsha Barsea favourite of Bose and INAis yet another and they are all equally beautiful.

Also, you serve your country not so much by what you say but by what you do. For instance, Azim Premji, the IT Czar and one of our richest industrialists, has given away a substantial amount of his wealth in philanthropy setting an example for other industrialists. Also, it is good to remember that the pitamah of Indian industrialisation, Jamshedji Tata, was a Parsee. Karmayogis like Jamshedji Tata and Azim Premji dont need to parade their patriotism.

I would like to end this article with a reference to Indias most wonderful cityBenaras. Benaras is known as Indias most ancient city. It is also known as the holiest of holy cities. But, above all, it is the finest embodiment of the spirit of India. Does the self-righteous and judgmental saffron nationalist know that Bismillah Khan, the great shehnai player, used to start his day by playing the shehnai in the famous Kashi Viswanath temple? That he turned down several invitations to settle abroad/elsewhere because he wanted to live by the side of the Ganges? Similarly, Girija Devi, the great exponent of thumri, lived in Benaras because she loved to hear the azaan every morning from the nearby mosque. Bismillah Khan and Girija Devi are the finest representatives of our composite culture. They are the real Bharat Ratnas. If the saffron nationalist could imbibe a little of the Benaras spirit, he would be a better deshbhakt than by simply shouting Bharat Mata ki Jai and forcing others to do the same.

The author retired as a Reader in English from Rajdhani College, University of Delhi. He is now a freelancer.
The ceremony was hosted by Union des Fabricants (UNIFAB) at the premises of the Museum of Counterfeiting in Paris on June 7. The theme of the ceremony was counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry. The newly-elected Director General of the French IP Office Romain Soubeyran was among the guest speakers and more than 100 attendees. During the ceremony some of the winners of the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Awards (GACA) were presented with their trophies.

The GACA is an initiative of the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group Network (GACG) to recognise outstanding achievements by organisations and individuals in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy worldwide. The GACA is now in its 19th year and Managing Intellectual Property is proud to be co-sponsoring it again. The awards are open to nominations from anyone with an interest in brand protection, anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy, particularly in the international context. The nominations are vetted and judged by a panel from Managing Intellectual Property, the GACG, and representatives of previous award winners.

The eight winners this year represent a broad spectrum of anti-counterfeiting and IPR enforcement activities from the continuing success of national customs services to the growing importance of international co-operation to combat IP-related crime. John Anderson, Chairman of the GACG, said: The awards this year again highlight the wide range of co-operation that is needed  and provided  by different organisations and individuals and especially across the public/private sector divide, in the campaign against the international trade in fakes. I am especially impressed once again with the emphases on both co-ordination between the public and private sectors and the importance of raising public awareness that was evident in many of the nominations.

This years winners

Individual Achievement: Lasse Ryyttari

Ryyttarihas been involved with anti-counterfeiting work at the Finnish Customs since 2001 and has been one of the driving forces in developing strong co-operation between customs officials and the intellectual property community in Finland. He has organised very many seminars and meetings on behalf of Finnish Customs especially with the Finnish Anti-Counterfeiting Group and with the Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre. He is also very active in international co-operation and has been involved in many activities with other customs services especially the neighbouring territories in Scandinavia and around the Baltic Sea. The FACG consider Mr Ryyttari to be The Godfather of the Finnish Anti-Counterfeiting Community and well deserved of an individual achievement award for a lifetime of service.

National Public Body Award: Dwana ta Malta (Malta Customs)

Although being the smallest member state of the European Union, Malta is a key player when it comes to the fight against the trade in counterfeit products. For example, in 2014 Malta Customs detained the second highest number of fake articles in the EU and in 2015 they seized more than 1.2 million articles. The work of Malta Customs was central to the crackdown on fake goods transiting EU territories, and representatives of Malta Customs have for many years been active in international organisations dealing with IP infringements  most recently and most successfully as a public sector stakeholder in the EU Observatory on Infringements of IPRs.

National Public Body (Local Authority): Shanghai Peoples Procuratorate

In 2012 the Shanghai Municipal Procuratorate set up a financial and IP department, the first of its kind in China, which brought together the two traditional functions of the procuratorate: inspection and supervision, and public prosecution. This change significantly increased the efficiency of IP crime prosecutors. In particular, it improved the transparency of public prosecution against IP crimes and supported IPR owners to participate in criminal proceedings; it strengthened public awareness of respecting IP by publishing a white paper on IP crimes and model IP crime cases; it initiated the Shanghai Peoples Procuratorate online platform for IP protection; and it strengthened collaboration with IP owners with an open-minded attitude.

International Public Body Award: European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)

Although initially set up to investigate fraud in the EU accounts and budgeting system, OLAF has gradually taken on responsibility for investigating all forms of financial fraud and has been very successful recently in cases concerningcounterfeiting and piracy. The Office de la Lutte Anti-Fraud has recently investigated cases involving millions of counterfeit goods including pharmaceuticals, auto spare parts and pesticides. Following investigations into trade in fake FMCG products such as shampoo and washing powder, illegal factories have been dismantled. OLAF is noted for its co-operation with EUROPOL, EU member states and associate states, and importantly with brand owners.

Company Award: Royal Philips

The Royal Philips brand protection team has achieved considerable success recently especially with regard to online defence of the main brand Philips; defence of trade marks in China and company names in Hong Kong. The brand protection team leads the activities developing interdisciplinary insights to combat all forms of copying and goodwill identity theft  most recently focusing on their design registration base. In the same context they developed new initiatives to defend the brand in Africa and worldwide including a better customs recordation system. The team has worked closely, and for many years at the heart of the international campaign against the trade in fakes, with private sector groups such as AIM, REACT and QBPC and with international government organisations such as the WCO. The team has also been at the forefront of the development appropriate product security technologies.

Association Award: UNIFAB

The Union des Fabricants (Pour La Protection Internationale de la Properiete Intellectuelle) was founded in 1877 and has been a ceaseless campaigner for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in France and throughout the world. On behalf of the 300 company members of UNIFAB and in collaboration with other like-minded groups and associations, the Union has been at the centre of nearly all significant developments in legislation, law enforcement and public awareness for many years. Most recently it was noted for a brilliant report on Counterfeiting and Terrorism  a vehicle for much successful government lobbying and justification for increased resources for law enforcement. UNIFAB is a founder member of the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group and plays a leading role in its activities.

Media Award: Authenticity Project (ANDEMA, INDICAM and UNIFAB)

The three leading GACG members have put into practice a complex project to create a network of authentic cities, that is to say cities that strongly believe in the need to protect commerce and trade marks from the unfair competition that constitutes the trade in fakes. The project was supported directly by the EUIPO as part of the public awareness initiatives of the EU Observatory on Infringements of IPRs to create awareness about the role that cities play in defending intellectual property rights  as public administrations that are closest to citizens. The groups are now looking to extend the project to other cities in Europe and internationally.

Technology Award: The PSA Group

The PSA Groupin partnership with Tesa Scribos set up an efficient anti-counterfeiting programme in 2016 notably with the initiation of a new authentication system for its spare parts. In view of the reality that counterfeits looked almost identical to the real thing  especially to the non-technical  it was important to develop a new effective identity label and to make the labelling consistent across the range of products under threat. The new system allows PSA suppliers and PSA sites to order secure labels which would ensure a visual authentication of spare parts (as well as with other sophisticated and specific tools). The system provides for a single worldwide printer of labels, a web platform for ordering the labels, and complete traceability from production to delivery to suppliers.
The evolution of Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) since its emergence 16 years ago, as an effective regional organization is reflection of the success of the principles that underpin its establishment, as well as the firm commitment of its Members. The SCO has heralded the dawn of a new era in the Eurasian region, away from the template of tension, acrimony, crisis and conflict to that of Reconciliation, Rapprochement, Cooperation and Collaboration.

The peaceful economic rise of the Peoples Republic of China and its advocacy of a Positive Win-Win Paradigm of Peace and Development has provided a historic opportunity to the states in the extended region for building upon their own achievements in nation building. The inclusion of Pakistan and India which are Emerging Powers in their own right,in SCO at the Astana Summit, will not only raise the stature of the organisation, but also add to its enhanced effective role in regional and international affairs. The SCO will come to command immense geo-political clout in a fast transforming world, accounting for nearly half of the World population. The richness of the cultural diversity of SCO will be visible with the addition of English language, in addition to Chinese and Russian in official communication.

Differences among the Nation States are normal, just as it is in the human society and in its core unit i.e family. Nations draw their inspiration from their varied historical experience, geographical location, cultural heritage, political ideology, economic interests, strategic outlook, diplomatic worldview, roles, aspirations and dreams. Foreign Policies of states keep evolving in response to the opportunities and transformation within and outside its borders. There is no last word in diplomacy. The world is witnessing transformation on a scale and magnitude beyond comprehension of any previous generation of humanity, not only in the field of technology but also in social, economic and political arena. What are we witnessing is a new wave of globalization, powered by new geo economic realities. Like China and other member States of SCO, Pakistan believes that Dialogue provides the sole way to resolving disputes, on the basis of the well recognized principles of International Law, Justice, Equality, Non-interference, Co-existence, and sovereign independence guiding Interstate relations.

The SCO will now become even a bigger family, with the inclusion of Pakistan and India. The SCO holds tremendous promise for the future generations of the Euro Asiatic region. The potential is neither fully acknowledged, nor has been utilized. The SCO will become the harbinger of peace, prosperity, stability, harmony and security in the world. Pakistan holds the key to the realization of the dream of a fully integrated Euro Asiatic Economic Sphere of prosperity and an era of peace and security. Pakistan is a multi-civilization hybrid state, with dominantly Central Asian DNA. The SCO is Pakistans natural platform. The enlargement of SCO will set in motion, a new era of cooperative ventures in the region. It will neutralize the negative and destabilizing influences of the Extra- territorial Powers and their Proxies, who have bequeathed to the Region only miseries, destruction and violence over the past decades.

With Pakistan and India signing on to the SCO Charter, it will be a good omen for building peace and security in the Extended Euro Asiatic region. Pakistan is rightly called the Zipper State of Euro Asia, by Russian Strategist Andrew Korybko. Hopefully in future, the SCO could help establish a Common Market. What will be needed is to bring down barriers of all kinds on travel, job and residences for the regions youthful population by opening up the heart of Euro Asiatic Continent.It will greatly benefit all the Member States in the region. Pakistan has historic and cultural relations with the people of Central Asia and beyond. Pakistan will work together with the fellow Member States against the forces of Extremism, Fundamentalism and Terrorism to usher in an era of Tolerance, Peaceful Co-existence, Cooperation and Collaboration. All the Member States should be committed to the SCO Charter in letter and spirit, and be prepared to overcome all differences for the greater good.

The people of Pakistan are grateful to the Chinese people for their consistent and steadfast support to the application of Pakistan for the full membership of SCO. Pakistan has a diplomatic presence in the capitals of all the SCO Member States. Pakistan will share with the fellow SCO Member States its own experiences, strengths in nation building and economic revival for the achievement of the goals and principles of the SCO Charter.It is in the long term interest of all the Member States to overcome their contradictions and work instead on their Positives. The success of SCO is bound to attract to its fold, other influential Powers in the neighbourhood and beyond, becoming in due course the worlds most powerful regional grouping. It is hence necessary that the Member States utilize their best minds and resources in the service of goals and ideals of SCO, which must establish its permanent Headquarters and Country Liaison Offices. I believe that the SCO will contribute to the regional and international peace, stability a lot, and promote the development of regional and global economic.

The author is director of Chinese Studies Centre under the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, National University of Sciences and Technology of Pakistan
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank has asked bank branches to record pension payment order (PPO) number in the passbooks of pensioners to avoid any hassle in case the PPO is lost.

The Finance Ministry's Central Pension Accounting Office in September 2014 had issued a memorandum asking Centralised Pension Processing Centres (CPPCs) and government business departments to instruct their bank branches with pension system to record PPO numbers in all passbooks of pensioners or family pensioners issued by them.

This was done to alleviate the difficulties reported by pensioners or their family pensioners to get duplicate PPO, RBI said in a notification.
Thiruvananthapuram: BJP district president Adv. S.Suresh lashed out against CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and went to the extent of calling him a terrorist.

Suresh said that people are enthusiastic about the activities taken up by the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the unity and solidarity of the country but some traitors are trying to destroy that. He added that Kerala will give a terrorist named Kodiyeri Balakrishnan for the Indian Army to fight against.
As always, our political commentary is non-partisan by design. We favor no politician or party and assess politics solely for its potential market impact.

All this week, we've read ad nauseam that stocks were treading water ahead of former FBI Director James Comey's Congressional testimony, which would supposedly bring the biggest televised bombshell since David Lynch revealed who killed Laura Palmer.[i] Bars across America held viewing parties with themed cocktails for those who like a little Irish Covfefe or Impeachmint Mojitos with their C-Span. Yet when it was all over, for all the buzzy coverage and day-drinking,[ii] investors didn't have any new information. Comey revealed no new facts and presented very little new evidence. The lack of substance underscores what we've said since this whole kerfuffle ... um ... kerfuffed: Absent any actual evidence of wrongdoing that could increase the probability of a presidential impeachment, the Comey saga is a sideshow for markets-and even then, it isn't at all clear how an impeachment trial would affect stocks. In our view, it's all just noise to markets and isn't actionable for investors.

Markets move on probabilities, not possibilities. They are also quite efficient and adept at pricing in all widely known information-hopes, fears, speculation, opinions, conspiracy theories, you name it. Opinions of Comey, President Trump and all related matters have dominated the Internets for months. They are all over the place, both literally (on every publication) and figuratively, making this the textbook definition of a widely known event. We have seen many an impassioned argument for or against the administration based on nothing more than feelings, assumptions and guesses. And as Comey's performance progressed, the live-blogosphere and professional soap-boxers simply gave us one more round of said evidence-free treatises. We aren't condemning-it's just what these folks do for a living. But what markets do for a living is price all this stuff in. Anyone trading for the last several months is most likely well aware of all these competing opinions and probably has their own viewpoint. The stock prices they bought or sold at incorporated their views on this and many, many, many other factors. People have spent months considering the circus, so markets have considered it. Absent new, material, factual information, there is really nothing more for investors to consider here.

There is, however, one interesting nugget-a warning from Comey on the dangers of accepting thinly sourced media claims at face value. About 45 minutes in, Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) asked whether a February 14 New York Times article claiming-based on unnamed sources-that the FBI had intercepted communication between the Trump campaign and Russian officials was true. Here is Comey's answer:

It was not true. Again, all of you [Congresspeople] know this, maybe the American people don't. The challenge - I'm not picking on reporters about writing stories about classified information. That people talking about it often don't really know what's going on and those of us who actually know what's going on are not talking about it, and we don't call the press to say, Hey, you got that thing wrong about this sensitive topic, we just have to leave it there, mention the chairman and the nonsense about what influenced me to make the July 5th statement, nonsense. But I can't go explaining how it is nonsense.

In other words, unsourced reports about classified information are most likely fake news. Not to disparage outlets that publish them, but for investors, it's important to know good, useful information from bad. Unsourced reports on items that can't possibly be verified are not a sound basis for investment decisions, period. Heck, even the media's reactions to today's events demonstrates the danger of relying on headlines for actionable information. The "news" varied widely depending on where you tuned in-all evidence, in our view, of the media's increasing tendency to editorialize and pander to an audience rather than report objectively. Biased opinions aren't useful investment information, either.

Anyway. Some rightly acknowledge this is all one big circus, but worry it will harm stocks because it distracts Congress and the administration from their long to-do list, including tax reform, health care, infrastructure and the dismantling of Dodd-Frank (which seems set to pass the House today, despite Comey's presence on Capitol Hill, but we digress). This presumes two things: 1) that the Trump Trade is real and 2) gridlock is a negative. However, as we've shown here numerous times, stocks' rally isn't about the administration or hopes for sweeping reforms. For one, we see no evidence anything the administration has proposed would be some whopping net benefit for the US economy-like all major change, it would create winners and losers. An active Congress, regardless of party or agenda, raises legislative risk. Stocks generally prefer gridlock, since it means property rights and the rules of commerce don't change. Knowing the rules enables investors and businesses to take risk.

Moreover, if stocks' rally is all about President Trump, how do you explain the S&P 500's 18.9% total return between February 11, 2016-the end of the correction-and November 8?[iii] Virtually everyone thought Hillary Clinton would win the presidency during that stretch, and many feared the worst for stocks if she didn't. Given the amount of fear baked into the market when Trump won, and the fact he didn't really do anything to dispel fears of protectionism and other potentially stock-spooking policies until well after he took office, it rewrites history to say returns since November 8 are all one big Trumpfest. Exhibit A is the underperformance of those sectors said to benefit most from his win. Exhibit B is foreign stocks' outperformance. And Exhibit C is the big earnings boom. After all, when you own stocks, you don't own a share in the government's actions. You own a share in publicly traded companies' profits.

As we wrote last month, if the facts change and new evidence emerges making impeachment more likely, investors might have some decisions to make. Political uncertainty can be a drag. Then again, the history of market returns surrounding impeachments is mixed, not negative. For Korea and Brazil this year and last, markets cheered the presidents' impeachment and ultimate removal. Bill Clinton's 1998 impeachment trial didn't prevent gangbusters returns that year. The Watergate investigation in 1973 did coincide with a deep bear market, but there was a lot else going on then-like price controls, the oil embargo, a recession and the bursting of the "Nifty Fifty" bubble. It's fair to say Watergate contributed, in our view, but we also reckon stocks probably would have endured a bear market either way.

But we'll cross that bridge when and only if we come to it. For now, tune into the Comey saga if political theatrics are how you get your kicks.[iv] But otherwise, it just doesn't have much use.
As always, our political commentary is non-partisan by design. We favor no politician or party and assess politics solely for its potential market impact.

Welp. Brits went to the polls today, voting in the general election Prime Minister Theresa May called back on April 18-presumably because her Conservative Party had a 20-point polling edge over Labour at the time, making it seem like a fine opportunity to increase her 12-seat majority. Alas, it's always the best laid plans: As the campaign heated up, polls narrowed, and the first round of exit polls sees May's Tories losing 17 seats, walking away with just 314-12 short of a majority.[i] Counting is only just under way, and it will be hours before we know whether these early results stand-2015's exit polls proved wrong, projecting a hung Parliament, but exit polling in 2010, 2005 and 2001 was more or less right. This could easily shift in any number of directions. But if it holds and the UK gets a hung Parliament, our views are unchanged from our earlier commentary: A hung Parliament means gridlock, which should be fine for UK stocks.

Here are the exit poll's full projections:

Exhibit 1: UK Election Exit Polling

Source: BBC News, as of 6/8/2017. NI refers to Northern Irish parties including Sinn Fein, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party. The UK Independence Party is projected to win zero seats.

There are a few different potential outcomes. Since the Conservatives would have the most seats, they'd get the first crack at forming a government. They could start by trying to reform their old coalition with the Liberal Democrats, which governed from 2010 to 2015. Together, they'd have a two-seat majority. But it's an open question whether the Lib Dems would be keen. Joining with the Tories last time around proved to be political suicide, as the Conservatives' center-right platform didn't much overlap with the Lib Dems' center-left leanings. Forced to abandon several key campaign pledges in order to remain in government, the Lib Dems-and particularly then-leader Nick Clegg-gained a reputation as powerless opportunists. Their supporters punished them accordingly at the 2015 election, reducing their seat count from 57 to just 8. Bumping their share to 14 would be something of an achievement, and we're a bit skeptical they'd want to undo the renewed goodwill by rejoining an arrangement that nearly killed them. Moreover, Brexit was a central theme in this election, and there is next to no overlap between the Tories' and Lib Dems' respective Brexit stances. Hence, Northern Ireland's unionist parties might be the Tories' preferred starting place, but it remains to be seen whether the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) combined can put a Conservative-led coalition over the hump, as those 18 projected Northern Irish seats include Sinn Fein (which abstains) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), which usually sides with Labour. And don't forget Northern Ireland voted against Brexit, potentially putting Northern Irish MPs in the same pickle as the Lib Dems. In either scenario, if the Conservatives do form a coalition, it probably does even less than the 2010-2015 coalition, which had a 76-seat majority. A coalition with broad internal disagreement and a razor-thin edge is all but powerless.

If the Tories can't form a coalition, they can try for a minority government or a "confidence and supply" arrangement with the Lib Dems, UUP and/or DUP, whereby the smaller parties support the Conservatives in confidence motions and budget legislation but vote their conscience the rest of the time. This would have a bit more stability than an outright minority government (a la Spain, Ireland, Denmark and Norway), but it wouldn't pass significantly more legislation. Either way, gridlock prevails.

Exit polls also give Labour an outside chance at forming a government if the Tories can't solidify a coalition or minority administration. The poll gives Labour, the Lib Dems and the Scottish National Party a combined 314 seats, matching the Conservatives' total. Plaid Cymru (the Welsh nationalists), the SDLP and the Greens could join too, as they all have a relatively large ideological overlap. Getting the UUP and DUP's support wouldn't be out of the question-former Labour PM Gordon Brown relied on DUP support for legislation in his government's waning days, so there is some precedent. Even if that happens and Jeremy Corbyn becomes the next Prime Minister, he too likely faces gridlock-so presuming his leadership means a return to ultra-high taxes, heavy-handed state intervention and renationalized industry is beyond premature.

If no one is able to cobble together a functional coalition or win a confidence vote with a minority government, yet another general election could result.[ii]

For now, though, this is a wait-and-see moment. Actual results could diverge enough to give the Tories a slim majority on their own, which might be sufficient to let May keep her job as party leader.[iii] But whether Britain ends up with a tiny Tory majority, Tory-led coalition, minority Tory government or Labour-led hodgepodge, the larger result is the same: gridlock, with lower risk of radical legislation. The approach to Brexit talks is a wildcard, but that was always the case, even if May won a commanding majority. So far, all we've seen from both EU and British politicians involved is posturing, and it's unknowable now how any of these leaders will act once they get down to brass tacks. Plus, for markets, Brexit is so widely discussed and slow moving that it likely lacks material, market-moving surprise power. Hence domestic legislation is likely the swing factor, and having a government that can't pass much-regardless of its leadership or composition-should relieve UK stocks.

Watch this space for more if the results shift radically from the exit polls, but as long as gridlock appears likely to prevail, our analysis and present opinion probably hold.
SPRINGFIELD -- There is still a lot of last-minute work to be done at 2295 Main St. in Springfield's North End, but the New England Farm Workers Council expects the 40 families who will call the apartment building home to start moving in next month.

And in a few weeks, crews will start rehabbing nearby apartment buildings at 2718 Main St. and 17 East Hooker St., with an eye toward completing the whole of the Memorial Square Apartments Project in 2017.

Up next: The long awaited $29 million Paramount Theater / Massasoit Hotel revitalization in 2018.

"The big one is coming," said Heriberto Flores, managing partner of the ownership behind Memorial Square Apartments and chairman and CEO of the New England Farm Workers Council, referencing the Paramount, which has also been known by other names including the Hippodrome and the Julia Sanderson Theater.

Flores said the Farm Workers need to complete the Memorial Square housing project before moving on. He declined to go into details about the Paramount project.

The New England Farm Workers Council bought the historic Paramount Theater building for $1.725 million and stopped hosting events there in 2015. The theater, built in 1929 as a silent movie palace, needs extensive work, but little has been done.

The Memorial Square Apartments building at 2295 Main St. had to be stripped to the studs during a $14 million rehabilitation, Flores said Friday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Massachusetts secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jay Ash, former state treasurer and one-time Democratic candidate for governor Steve Grossman, former Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett and others.

The structure was built in 1911. The 40 apartments are a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom units.

Rehabilitation on the buildings at 2718 Main St. and 17 East Hooker St. will begin in July. Those buildings total 16 units and will cost $3 million to rehab.

The project is funded in part with money from the city and with historic preservation and affordable housing tax credits from the state and federal governments.

The apartments are all affordable housing with rents capped at a third of the tenants' income.

Flores said the Farm Workers will renovate the storefront at 2295 Main St. into a computer room for the community.

"You can't fill out a job application anymore," Flores said. "Everything has to be done on the computer. We need to make that available."
SPRINGFIELD -- The second in a series of five concerts at Forest Park took place under blue skies Thursday evening as Leon Spradley played a variety of jazz and R&B hits at the amphitheater near the Barney Carriage House.

The Springfield Parks Department is hosting the Forest Park Concert Series, which is free to the public. It is sponsored by The Republican, Western Mass News and CityStage through public service announcements and technical support.

Spradley, a Springfield native, has played across the country and opened for Earth, Wind & Fire in Boston.

The remaining line-up of concerts is as follows, with all scheduled for Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.:

June 15: Dee Reilly & Her Band -- Country, patriotic

June 22: The Manzi Family Band -- Acoustic folk rock

Also, on Sunday, July 2, the United States Army Field Band will perform on the ball field in Forest Park at 2:30 p.m.

"I am thrilled to have concerts returning to Forest Park," said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. "This is one example of the city moving forward and ensuring that we provide our residents with programs that enhance our quality of life."

Guests can enter Forest Park through the Sumner Avenue or Route 5 entrances for free after 5:30 p.m. on the nights of concerts.

In the event of rain, the concerts will be held at Central High School, located at 1840 Roosevelt Ave.

"The Park Department is proud to have concerts back at the Forest Park Amphitheatre," Park Department Executive Director Patrick J. Sullivan said. "I would like to thank the Barney Trustees, as it is through their efforts in the management of the Barney Estate that we have the resources to coordinate these great concerts. We encourage everyone to pack a picnic basket and enjoy the music in a beautiful setting."

For complete details check the Park website at springfield-ma.gov/park/ or call 413-787-6435
Chinese President Xi Jinping embarks on a four-day journey to Kazakhstan Wednesday. At the invitation of his Kazakh counterpart NursultanNazarbayev, Xi is scheduled to pay a state visit to the country and attend the 17th Meeting of Heads of State Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The visit is of great significance and is expected to be productive as it is the first following the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation where Xi and Nazarbayev met on the sidelines to discuss future cooperation.

Both China and Kazakhstan are key neighbors to each other. Since Kazakhstan gained independence in 1991, its relationship with China has enjoyed healthy, consolidated development thanks to the strenuous efforts made by both governments. Their bilateral ties have gone through steady development from the establishment of diplomatic ties to the signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Both sides boast in-depth cooperation in politics, economy, security, culture and people-to-people exchanges. Mutual trust, benefit and cooperation on an equal footing among a variety of other principles have become the foundation of the development of Sino-Kazakh ties. Based on these principles, the two sides have made new breakthroughs with a multitude of substantial results.

For example, the Central Asia-China gas pipeline project has developed quite smoothly over all three phases, of which Sino-Kazakh oil and gas cooperation is a crucial part. Currently, Beijing and Astana are advancing and implementing 51 cooperation programs in energy, agriculture, transportation, communications, construction, manufacturing and infrastructure, involving an investment amount exceeding $26 billion.

Nazarbayev is an old friend of the Chinese people. He has visited China more than 20 times and met with Xi at various occasions and established a friendly personal relationship with him, laying a solid foundation and creating a favorable environment for the healthy development of bilateral ties.

It has been noted that prior to Xi's trip, Kazakhstan's mainstream media outlets have published many commentaries expressing high anticipation for the further improvement of Sino-Kazakh ties leading to fruitful outcomes.

Kazakhstan is also an important supporter of, and participant in, China's Belt and Road initiative, which was envisioned by Xi during his visit to Kazakhstan back in September 2013. Once he put forward the concept, it was immediately met with positive responses.

The first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing last month, serving as a symbol that the initiative has not only garnered wide endorsement from the international community, but has also witnessed magnificent accomplishments over the past few years. For instance, the increasingly deepening collaboration between the Belt and Road initiative and Kazakhstan's new economic policy, the Bright Road, looks to be creating a promising future of win-win cooperation.

China and Kazakhstan also boast a high degree of strategic alignment in SCO development. As the SCO's founding members, both countries have delivered significant contribution to its development. They have actively coordinated positions and kept adding fresh elements to the arenas of security, economy, trade and culture, injecting new vigor into the growth of this important regional framework.

During his visit, Xi will also attend the 17th Meeting of Heads of State Council of the SCO. The meeting will be of great symbolic importance since the founding of the organization. At the summit, state leaders will continue discussing, negotiating and signing relevant accords on major issues concerning the further development of the SCO.

A highlight of the summit is that two new members - India and Pakistan - will join the organization, the first expansion in its history. In the future, the SCO is expected to absorb profound changes from the perspectives of geopolitics and international influence. It will therefore gain more attention from the international community.

In the present global landscape, where the international financial crisis has yet to come to an end while Western countries are mired in a daze regarding both internal and external affairs and are undergoing a stage of profound adjustment, China is showcasing an upward trend and presenting growing clout upon the rest of the world.

Xi's visit will bring new ideas and hopes for future cooperation. And it is expected that this trip will further consolidate the foundation of the China-Kazakhstan comprehensive strategic partnership and infuse new vitality into the SCO.

(The author is deputy secretary general of the Center of Shanghai Cooperation Organization studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)
The elderly man discovered on the shores of the Concord River in Bedford last month was identified on Thursday. The Middlesex District Attorney's office said the death of 79-year-old Richard W. Kandrotas is being considered suspicious.

Prior to his mysterious death, authorities believe Kandrotas was homeless and living in Cambridge. He was discovered on May 13, around 11 a.m. near the Carlisle Street Boat Ramp in Bedford. Local Boy Scouts were picking up trash along the Concord River when they found something unusual along the shore and contacted police.

Bedford Police responded to the scene where they found Kandrotas's body. A preliminary investigation by the D.A.'s office said the body was swept along the embankment shortly after he died. The cause of Kandrotas's death has not been determined by the Office of the Medical Examiner. The death is still under investigation by Bedford and State Police.

Anyone with information concerning Mr. Kandrotas is asked to contact State Police at (781) 897-6600 or Bedford Police at (781) 275-1212.
One Massachusetts invasive species is predicted to reproduce in unusually high numbers once again this spring. As gypsy moths begin hatching this year, the state warns that trees may be damaged again from dense feeding populations.

Gypsy moths hatch from eggs into larvae, or caterpillars, before its transformation into a moth. While in the caterpillar stage, the gypsy moths feed on various tree species, including oaks, maples, birches, poplars, willows, apples and hawthorns, according to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Recent drought conditions have thrown off the role weather plays in creating a natural balance for gypsy moths and similar invasive species. The last enormous outbreak of the invasive species occured in the 1980's, according to state environmental offices.

While it may be too late for some trees, the Department of Conservation suggest property owners use a biological pesticide, like Btk, to reduce the moth populations. Typically, in the first week of May, trees should be inspected for signs of pink egg masses congregating underneath leaves.

Certified arborist or licensed pesticide applicators should be hired when using pesticides. By the time many of the short, black, hairy caterpillars are crawling around the tree, it is too late for pesticide prevention until next spring.
A Daphne, Alabama man has obtained legal representation after he was severely injured by a Delta Airlines passenger's emotional support dog while on a plane Sunday night.

The victim, Marlin Termaine Jackson, 44, had his attorney J. Ross Massey of Alexander Shunnarah & Associates release close-up images of his facial injuries on Thursday (June 8) afternoon.

The images show a large open wound under Jackson's right nostril and another open wound running along his right cheek.

Multiple dark scars can also be seen around his eyes and face.

Initial police reports stated that Jackson was bitten by a dog owned by, Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr. of Mills River, N.C.

All three were on a Delta Airlines flight leaving Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta headed to San Diego that night.

Officials from Delta Airlines said the flight was delayed as Jackson was transported to a local hospital and Mundy and his dog were escorted off the plane.

Massey gave a more extensive narrative of the incident in the statement his legal office released.

According to the statement, Jackson was assigned a window seat on the left side of the plane. When he approached his aisle Mundy was sitting in the middle seat with his dog in his lap.

According to witnesses, the approximately 50-pound dog growled at Jackson soon after he took his seat. The dog continued to act in a strange manner as Jackson attempted to buckle his seat belt. The growling increased and the dog lunged for Jackson's face.

The dog began biting Jackson who could not escape due to his position against the plane's window. The dog was pulled away by Mundy, but broke free from his grasp and attacked Jackson a second time.

The attacks reportedly lasted 30 seconds and resulted in profuse bleeding from severe lacerations to Jackson's face. His injuries included a puncture through his lip and gum.

The images show a large red scar under 44-year-old Marlin Jackson's right nostril and another large red scar running along his right cheek.

Massey said the injuries required immediate transport, by an ambulance, to the emergency room of a local hospital. Jackson received 28 stitches and is presently awaiting consultation with a plastic surgeon.

He also added that Jackson's injuries will likely have permanent scarring.

Massey said that Mundy was moved to an alternate Delta Air Lines flight and his emotional support dog was placed in a kennel in the undercarriage.

Mundy, a military service member with the U.S. Marine Corps, told authorities that the dog, a chocolate lab pointer mix, was issued to him for support.

Delta Airlines website states that the company complies with the Air Carrier Access Act. It allows customers traveling with emotional support animals or psychiatric service animals to travel without charge.

The website states that a kennel is not required for emotional support animals if they are fully trained and meet the same requirements as a service animal.

Massey said his legal team is currently seeking information from Delta Air Lines regarding their compliance with policies for unrestrained larger animals within a plane's cabin. He also wants to see the verification process of their emotional support animal training requirements.

"It is troubling that an airline would allow a dog of such substantial size to ride in a passenger's lap without a muzzle," said Massey. "Especially considering the dog and its owner were assigned a middle seat despite Delta Air Lines' policies that call for the re-accommodation of larger animals."

At this time, a lawsuit has not been filed.
(Photo/CGTN)

The Los Angeles Superior Court announced on Thursday that Andrew Garcia was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of a Chinese graduate student at the University of Southern California (USC) in 2014.

Ji Xinran, 24-years-old, was attacked during an attempted robbery on July 24, 2014 when he was walking to his apartment from a study session. He was found dead the next morning.

Medical reports indicate that Ji suffered skull fractures, facial lacerations, and a broken nose. Garcia and three co-defendants were charged with first-degree murder, second-degree robbery, second-degree attempted robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon.

After a five day jury trial, the Court had a closing statement on Wednesday, where prosecutor John McKinney presented evidence including footage from surveillance cameras, autopsy report, DNA report and interrogation recordings.

"All the evidence has proven that Garcia was not only an accomplice, he was the perpetrator," Cai Wenhui, Ji's family attorney told Xinhua on Wednesday.

After about two hours of discussion on Thursday, the jury made a decision that 21-year-old Garcia was guilty. He will face up to life in prison without parole. Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11.

The other two defendants will also face jury trials in the near future.
The guided-missile frigates Huizhou and Qinzhou as well as three helicopters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Hong Kong Garrison conduct joint air and sea patrol operations in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on June 6, 2017. (81.cn/Photo by Zhou Hanqing,Tang Jia,Yi Ding)

By Zhou Hanqing, Tang Jia,and Yi Ding.

HONG KONG, June 8 (ChinaMil) -- The naval and air troops of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison held on Tuesday a routine joint patrol in waters and airspace of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

The joint air and sea patrol aims to monitor, track and identify suspicious targets in waters and airspace of HKSAR, and promptly deal with emergencies.

The joint patrol began at 9 a.m. with the guided-missile frigates Huizhou and Qinzhou leaving the Ngong Shuen Chau Naval Base, passing through the bustling Victoria Harbor and heading to East Lamma Channel.

During the voyage, the two guided-missile frigates conducted drills of suspicious targets tracking and surveillance.

At the same time, three helicopters for armed reconnaissance, search and rescue missions flew away from the Shek Kong Air Force Base. After conducting air reconnaissance and patrol of suspicious targets, the helicopters exercised extreme low-altitude tracing and special situation handling and other subjects.

The joint command post of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison used multiple communication and command systems including the Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) to realize remote mobile command and control throughout the whole process of the joint patrol.

The PLA Hong Kong Garrison informed the relevant departments of the HKSAR Government ahead of the joint patrol. The naval and air troops participating in the joint patrol fully considered the actual situation of Hong Kongs waters and airspace and strictly abided by laws and regulations on waterways, ports and air traffic control of the HKSAR.

The guided-missile frigates Huizhou and Qinzhou as well as three helicopters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Hong Kong Garrison conduct joint air and sea patrol operations in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on June 6, 2017. (81.cn/Photo by Zhou Hanqing,Tang Jia,Yi Ding)
(ECNS) -- Chinese travel website Tuniu Corp said its overseas study tours have become popular among increasingly younger customers eager to experience Western culture.

Statistics from the website showed teenagers are the main participants in these tours, with 49 percent in middle school and 24 percent in high school. Even elementary students have started joining the trips, accounting for 11 percent. Some parents also brought their pre-school children to participate in overseas summer camps and study tours.

Families with an annual income of 200,000 yuan ($29,400) are most interested in sending their children abroad during the summer holiday, while those with lower incomes also plan to spend on the study tours, it showed.

Some white-collar workers, about 7 percent, also chose tours that combined travel with studying.

Among the tourists, 65 percent said they want to broaden their vision and increase knowledge, while 58 percent said they hope to boost their language competency and 52 percent aim to experience Western culture.

The top elements affecting destination choices were culture, university reputation, weather, visa policies and safety. The United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Australia were the top five countries for these trips. Canada, Japan and Singapore are also expected to see more study tourists in future.

Most tourists (45 percent) choose a 2 to 4-week trip, and 30 percent take a 1 to 2-week trip. About 70 percent made their trips during school summer holidays, mainly to the U.S. and U.K, while the rest travelled in January during the winter holiday, mainly to counties in the southern hemisphere.

It also found that 47 percent of parents could afford spending an average of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan on overseas study trips while 37 percent chose trips that cost less than 20,000 yuan.

Popular choices on the website include a 14-day trip to the east and west coasts of the United States plus a visit to famed universities, a 15-day study trip to San Diego, California, and a 16-day study trip to Canada.
The Eugene mayor and a Lane County commissioner are urging state lawmakers to approve $100 million in immediate financing to a proposed University of Oregon scientific research facility.

The Register-Guard reported Mayor Lucy Vinis and university President Michael Schill went to Salem this week to ask state lawmakers to finance part of the complex before the end of the legislative session.

Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife are donating $500 million over a 10-year period for the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. The state money would match a portion of the Knight donation.

Full Story: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/jun/08/oregon-leaders-ask-state-to-invest-100-million-for/
Big things are happening in Bonner.

Gov. Steve Bullock announced on Tuesday that Missoula County has been awarded $416,000 in economic development grants to help a company called Project Spokane LLC to create 65 new jobs at the old Bonner mill site.

The funds come from the Big Sky Trust Fund program and will be used for wage reimbursement, purchase of equipment, machinery, furniture and software. The company is a data center that provides blockchain security services for the bitcoin network.

DAVID ERICKSON [email protected]

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/local/bonner-company-gets-k-grant-to-create-new-jobs/article_1d83b9d4-5d02-544a-baf2-3ced3700f417.html?utm_content=bufferedafc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=LEEDCC
Lifelong learning has long been understood to be a critical success factor. But today, its taken on even greater importance.

Learn-gevity: Enhancing your ability to learn, perform and succeed over time

Julie Winkle Giulioni

Full Story: http://www.smartbrief.com/original/2017/06/learn-gevity-enhancing-your-ability-learn-perform-and-succeed-over-time?utm_source=brief
La societe nigeriane Kasi Cloud Ltd. (Kasi), la plate-forme dinterconnexion et de centre de donnees de nouvelle generation pour le cloud hyperscale et dentreprise, est ravie dannoncer quelle a organise une ceremonie dinauguration des travaux le 19 avril 2022 a Lekki, a Lagos.

Cet evenement reflete le debut de la construction du tout premier dune serie de campus de centres de donnees prevus au Nigeria. Les solutions de data center et dinterconnexion hyperscale de Kasi marquent le debut dune plateforme dinfrastructure numerique critique de nouvelle generation qui sera construite au cur de Lagos, au Nigeria.

Kasi est une entreprise de centres de donnees a grande echelle et de plateformes decosystemes numeriques uniques, la premiere du genre, qui offre des services de conception et dinfrastructure numerique critiques de classe mondiale en Afrique via Lagos, au Nigeria. La societe concoit, construit et exploite des centres de donnees cloud dhyperscale pour soutenir lespace, lalimentation et la connectivite dynamiques a lechelle. A cette fin, Kasi a acquis environ un terrain dune superficie de 4 hectares dans le quartier Maiyegun de Lekki, a Lagos, qui savere la zone de deploiement a croissance la plus rapide pour les installations commerciales et residentielles haut de gamme au Nigeria.

La mission de Kasi qui consiste a construire une plate-forme numerique pour accelerer le cloud et interconnecter les personnes, les entreprises et les institutions gouvernementales au Nigeria et dans toute lAfrique a commence ici a Lagos, au Nigeria, a declare le co-fondateur et PDG de Kasi, Johnson Agogbua. Nous sommes ravis daccueillir a la fois le gouverneur de lEtat de Lagos, Son Excellence Babajide Sanwo-Olu et le PDG de NSIA, Uche Orji, pour celebrer ce moment important avec nous et la communaute .

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, le gouverneur executif de lEtat de Lagos, etait linvite dhonneur de la ceremonie dinauguration. En tant que lun des principaux defenseurs nigerians de la croissance de la connectivite numerique, Kasi sidentifie a la vision de Son Excellence pour le developpement futur des infrastructures de Lagos.

Si Lagos veut maintenir son statut de centre dexcellence dans le pays, le developpement des infrastructures vitales serait essentiel pour realiser le developpement du capital humain. Nous ne saurions trop insister sur impact economique de lamelioration des infrastructures sur la construction de la nation, a souligne le gouverneur Sanwo-Olu lors de la conference des parties prenantes de lagence dinfrastructure, de maintenance et de reglementation de lEtat de Lagos en 2021.

Outre le gouverneur Sanwo-Olu, certains des principaux investisseurs de Kasi etaient egalement presents, notamment M. Uche Orji, PDG de la Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

Lors de son intervention sur le projet M. Orji a declare : Nous felicitons Kasi pour cette etape capitale. La NSIA croit au potentiel de linfrastructure numerique qui sert de catalyseur et daccelerateur de linnovation. Nous esperons que limpact transformateur de cette infrastructure sur lespace technologique national repositionnera le Nigeria. Le conseil dadministration et la direction de lAutorite sont fiers detre associes a ce developpement, a-t-il ajoute.

En cherchant a attirer des hyperscalers en solutionnant les problemes de connectivite et devolutivite la ou dautres ont ete mis au defi, Kasi a pour mission de batir la principale plate-forme dinterconnexion et de centres de donnees durable du pays pour lAfrique, specialement concue pour soutenir les ecosystemes numeriques et favoriser lacces a Internet pour plus dun milliard dindividus.

LAfrique subsaharienne est le plus grand marche de croissance au monde, a declare Mark Adams, co-fondateur et directeur de Kasi. Lorsque vous observez les domaines dans lesquels les grandes technologies investissent, vous saurez quune partie majeure de cette croissance, passe par le Nigeria et linfrastructure de Kasi est une piece essentielle du puzzle.

Ce campus de 250 millions de dollars a Lekki est concu selon des exigences et des normes hyperscale et modelise de la meme maniere que les parcs technologiques de la Silicon Valley. Lorsquil sera entierement developpe, le campus sera lun des plus grands de son genre en Afrique.

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DALIAN, June 9 -- A court in the northeast China city of Dalian Friday opened a trial into the suspected crimes of Beijing Pangu Investment Co. Ltd, controlled by fugitive Guo Wengui, as well as three of its employees.

They are accused of fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange.

The three individuals are the company's vice general manager, Lu Tao, deputy financial director, Xie Honglin, and the chief financial officer of China Minzu Securities, Yang Ying.

According to the indictment, Guo had applied for loans from the Agricultural Bank of China under the company's name and directed the three individuals to apply for loans for the company's construction fund. The three individuals asked others to produce fake construction contracts and stamps and submitted the forged documents to the bank for the loans.

The bank issued loans totalling 3.2 billion yuan (470 million U.S. dollars) to Pangu. The company then presented fabricated invoices and used the loans for other purposes.

Prosecutors also charged Lu and Xie with involvement in fraudulently obtaining foreign exchange totalling 13.5 million U.S. dollars. Fugitive criminal suspect Guo Wengui and his son, Guo Qiang, are implicated in the case.

An audience of over 40 people, including legislators, political advisors, lawyers and journalists from domestic and overseas media outlets as well as members of the public, attended the hearing.

The trial is being broadcast via the court's official Weibo microblogging account.
MACAO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland and Macao were negotiating on comprehensively upgrading Closer Economic Partnership Arrangements (CEPA), which is expected to complete at the end of this year, a senior official confirmed here at a recent symposium.

Wang Bingnan, assistant minister of commerce of China, made the announcement at the opening ceremony of International symposium on Belt and Road and Macao's development, starting on Thursday.

A meeting has been held between representatives from China's Ministry of Commerce and Economy and Finance of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government to negotiate on terms and contents of CEPA, especially those concerning guaranteeing investment, and deepening of economic and technical cooperation, according to a press release on Friday.

The sectors beneficial to Macao's industrial diversification were highlighted during the negociation, the press release said.

The mainland and Macao signed CEPA in 2003 to forge closer ties. In 2014 and 2015, two new agreements were signed respectively under the framework of CEPA between them to further liberalizing trade in services.
DALIAN, June 9 (Xinhua) -- A court in the northeast China city of Dalian Friday opened a trial into the suspected crimes of Beijing Pangu Investment Co. Ltd, controlled by fugitive Guo Wengui, as well as three of its employees.

They are accused of fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange.

The three individuals are the company's vice general manager, Lu Tao, deputy financial director, Xie Honglin, and the chief financial officer of China Minzu Securities, Yang Ying.

According to the indictment, Guo had applied for loans from the Agricultural Bank of China under the company's name and directed the three individuals to apply for loans for the company's construction fund. The three individuals asked others to produce fake construction contracts and stamps and submitted the forged documents to the bank for the loans.

The bank issued loans totalling 3.2 billion yuan (470 million U.S. dollars) to Pangu. The company then presented fabricated invoices and used the loans for other purposes.

Prosecutors also charged Lu and Xie with involvement in fraudulently obtaining foreign exchange totalling 13.5 million U.S. dollars. Fugitive criminal suspect Guo Wengui and his son, Guo Qiang, are implicated in the case.

An audience of over 40 people, including legislators, political advisors, lawyers and journalists from domestic and overseas media outlets as well as members of the public, attended the hearing.

The trial is being broadcast via the court's official Weibo microblogging account.
ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met here Friday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for closer cooperation between the two countries.

Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, so as to instill more momentum into each other's development and contribute to world peace, stability and common development, said the Chinese president.

The two leaders are in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, to attend the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India and stands ready to work with the Indian side to enhance political mutual trust, link their development strategies, deepen practical cooperation and maintain coordination and collaboration in international and regional affairs, so as to advance their strategic cooperative partnership in a sustained, healthy and stable way.

The Chinese president called for more high-level interactions, institutionalized exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries.

China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large-scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said.

Xi said the two countries should make joint efforts to promote regional connectivity and shared development, align their development initiatives, advance the building of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar corridor with a view to substantial progress at an early date, and boost cooperation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The president said the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems.

He also called for more sub-national, cultural and tourism exchanges, among others, between the two neighbors.

Noting that India is about to become a full member of the SCO at the Astana summit, Xi offered congratulations to the Indian side, adding that China is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organization.

Hailing the long-lasting friendship between the two countries with ancient civilizations, Modi said a sound India-China relationship will help stabilize the volatile international situation.

The prime minister said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

The Indian side is grateful for China's support for India's accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organization, Modi said.

The SCO, established in 2001, is a regional political, economic and security organization that groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as full members.

In 2016, India and Pakistan, two SCO observers, signed the SCO Memorandum of Obligations, thereby kick-starting the formal process of joining the SCO as full members.
In announcing his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, President Trump has stirred up renewed protests both at home and abroad. Defying the federal governments retreat from the global pact, both state-level and private actors have forged an unprecedented alignment, offering a last-ditch effort to hold up Americas end in the fight against climate change.

The United States is in a very strange position right now. From a legal perspective, it remains to be a party of the Paris agreement at least until 2020, but from a political perspective, it has definitely announced to withdraw from the [Paris accord], which makes it hard to know the countrys next moves, Christiana Figueres, the UNs former climate change chief, told the Peoples Daily Online during an interview on June 8.

The unpredictability of the U.S. stance on climate change has worried the international community, following the emergence of a significant funding gap caused by Trumps proposed budget cuts. According to Figueres, its unknown whether the U.S. government will keep its previous promise to invest another $2 billion in the Green Climate Fund, a financial mechanism that assists developing countries in adapting to practices that mitigate climate change.

In response to the federal governments retreat, philanthropic organizations and local authorities in the U.S. have stood up and voiced their continuing support for the agreement, with Michael Bloomberg committing up to $15 million to support the operations of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretariat in June. At the same time, California Governor Jerry Brown is looking to foreign allies, including China, to cooperatively tackle climate change.

According to Kevin Sheekey, senior advisor to Bloomberg, Americas current dilemma is similar to the U.K.s status inside the EU, as the federal government is no longer being taken seriously by other member nations, and is no longer included in serious dialogues.

Thats why sub-national organizations within the United States are going to make their own observations now, Sheekey said.

Possible solution

The new alignment of sub-national organizations grew rapidly after Trumps monumental announcement. According to a statement from Bloomberg Philanthropies, hundreds of U.S. mayors, governors, state attorneys general and CEOs have pledged to take action to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 26 percent by 2025, as the country pledged to do in the Paris agreement.

Americans are not walking away from the Paris climate agreement. Just the opposite, we are forging ahead. Mayors, governors and business leaders from both political parties are signing onto a statement of support that we submit to the UN, and together we will reach the emission reduction goals the U.S. made in Paris in 2015, said Bloomberg.

Bloombergs remarks have raised the possibility that the country can still keep its climate commitments, despite the absence of federal support in the battle against climate change. The alignment of states, cities and even corporations has emerged as the new backbone of the fight against climate change in the U.S.

Analyzing this new reality, Figueres noted that the function of the federal government in emissions reduction is like that of a captain who decides the general direction, while subnational organizations carry out the ground work.

The commitments or the pledges we hear from the mayors, governors and corporations are not necessarily additional to the INDC of the United States, it is just a different way of looking at the emissions reductions, said Figueres.

Unstoppable trend

Though Trump claims his America First ideology required the withdrawal, his administrations decision has nevertheless been denounced by many experts as irresponsible and short-sighted.

"During the economic crisis, sectors linked to green energy perform quite well, which proves that the economy can grow in a sustainable and green way, which is clear proof that energy transition can bring economic opportunities," Maros Sefcovic, European Commission vice president told the People's Daily Online.

Countries like China, for instance, serve as perfect examples of harvesting domestic benefits through emissions-reduction efforts. According to Reuters, China plans to invest $361 billion in renewable energy between now and 2020, which will create an estimated 13 million jobs. The countrys research and production of solar and wind energy has brought enormous business opportunities with other nations, especially in the EU.

The de-carbonization of the economy is unstoppable because it is currently being driven not by politics but by market forces, by [renewable resources] that are much cheaper than the fossil fuel and by the policies of the countries that understand [such practices] are better for them, said Figueres.
A new study affirms that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, after finding that even the occasional drink can affect a babys facial development.

Share on Pinterest Even low levels of alcohol during pregnancy may alter the facial development of offspring.

Researchers from Belgium and Australia assessed the drinking habits of more than 400 women during pregnancy and mapped the facial features of their offspring at the age of 1 year.

The team found that prenatal alcohol exposure  even at low levels  subtly influenced the formation of facial features in the womb, including the nose, chin, and eyes.

Study co-leader Evi Muggli, of the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Australia, and colleagues recently reported their results in JAMA Pediatrics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that there is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy, nor is there a safe time to drink alcohol while pregnant.

However, a 2015 study from the CDC found that around 1 in 10 expectant mothers in the United States report having consumed alcohol within the past 30 days.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can cause a number of physical and developmental problems for offspring, including low birthweight, learning disabilities, small head size, intellectual disabilities, and problems with vision or hearing. These conditions fall under the umbrella of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

It is also known that prenatal alcohol exposure can influence a childs facial development, though the level of alcohol intake that causes such an effect has been unclear.

For their study, Muggli and colleagues set out to investigate how different levels of prenatal alcohol exposure affect facial development.
Pregnant women over the age of 35 and having their first baby have been termed as being advanced maternal age (AMA) or older mothers, or they are being referred to as an elderly primigravida or elderly primipara. The terms advanced age and elderly have negative connotations for someone of just 35 years. Are these terms unfounded, or does being over 35 pose a serious risk for the mother and baby?

Another reason why women are going through pregnancy later in life could be down to improved fertility options, such as IVF.

These reasons include women reaching higher education levels, establishing their career, improved methods of contraception , social and cultural shifts that have left women feeling not ready to have children, lack of childcare, low benefit levels, inflexible workplace policies, economic or housing uncertainty, and unemployment.

Studies report that people may delay parenthood until 35 or older for a number of reasons.

The average age that women are having their first child is currently at around 28 years of age, up from 26.4 in 2015 , and 26.3 in 2014. Experts often focus on average or mean maternal age due to the birth outcomes that are associated with the age of the mother, such as multiple births and congenital disabilities.

Recent preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that in 2016, for the first time in three decades, birth rates among women aged 30 to 34 surpassed those among women aged 25 to 29 in the United States.

The trend toward older parenthood looks set to continue, with more women in their 30s having babies now than women in their 20s. Are there more risks involved with pregnancy and birth as maternal age rises? We check out the most recent evidence.

Share on Pinterest Fertility declines in both men and women with age.

Everyone is aware of the ticking of the biological clock, but does your 35th birthday represent a particularly special milestone in biology? Do you hit 35 and suddenly become high risk overnight?

Women are delivering healthy babies throughout their 30s and beyond. The age of 35 is simply an age that certain risks become more worthy of discussion.

While these risks become slightly more likely after hitting 35 years old, this does not mean that they will have a significant impact on everyone in their mid-thirties and older.

Decline in fertility

Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have. As females age, the likelihood that they will get pregnant reduces due to the declining number of remaining eggs and their reduced quality.

Fertility also declines in men with age due to declining sperm counts, motility, and semen volume. These age-related factors combined can make it more difficult for women to become pregnant.

One study , published in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that among women who received artificial insemination, 74 percent of those under 31 years old were pregnant within a year. However, this decreased to 61 percent of individuals between the ages of 31 to 34, and it further declined to 54 percent of women aged 35 and over.

Genetic risks

Certain genetic risks present more often in pregnancy as women age. For example, the rate of having a baby with Down syndrome accelerates with maternal age.

While the rate of an embryo having Down syndrome at the 10-week mark of pregnancy is 1 in 1,064 at age 25, this rises to 1 in 686 at age 30 and 1 in 240 by the age of 35 years. At the age of 40, the Down syndrome rate increases still to 1 in 53, and down to 1 in 19 embryos at age 45.

A study published in Nature Communications set out to investigate why older mothers have a heightened risk of giving birth to children with congenital anomalies that are characterized by abnormal chromosome numbers.

Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York learned that the genetic process of recombination could be responsible for the increased risk of conditions such as Down syndrome.

Recombination is the process in which pairs of chromosomes exchange genetic material before separating. The team found that in older mothers, the process of recombination may be less regulated, which may lead to abnormal chromosome numbers in sex cells or large chromosomal rearrangements.

Miscarriage

The risk of miscarriage climbs gradually with the mothers age. Research published in the BMJ showed that risk of miscarriage is around 8.9 percent for women aged 20 to 24 years and increases to 74.7 percent for individuals aged 45 years or above. The declining quality of womens eggs is thought to be responsible for the higher rates of miscarriage.

Stillbirth

Stillbirth is more likely in older women than younger women. A systematic review published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that stillbirth is around 1.2 to 2.23 times higher in older women.

Another study , examining data from 385,120 pregnancies in the United Kingdom, observed that the rate of stillbirth was 4.7 per 1,000 for women aged 18 to 34, 6.1 per 1,000 between the ages of 35 and 40 years, and 8.1 per 1,000 for women aged 40 and over.

Furthermore, the stillbirth rate has been shown to be higher in people having their first child and even higher in first-time moms aged 35 or older.

Women aged 35 years and older are often recommended to be induced as they approach their due date because of the increasing risk of stillbirth with gestational age. Around 1 in 1,000 women under 35 years old have a stillbirth during 39 and 40 weeks of gestation, compared with 1.4 in 1,000 women aged 35 to 39, and 2 in 1,000 women at age 40 and above.

The reasons that stillbirth rates increase with maternal age are currently unclear.

Other risks

Research comparing pregnancy complications among women aged 18 to 34 years, 35 to 40 years, and 40 and over, found small increases in most pregnancy- and birth-related complications with age.

Share on Pinterest Birthing outcomes such as emergency cesarean delivery and postpartum hemorrhage are increased with maternal age.

The researchers identified increases in the risk of gestational diabetes, placenta previa, breech positioning of the baby, emergency cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, preterm birth, low birth weight, and high birth weight. Other research has found that risk of maternal mortality also increases with age.

Research presented at the American Stroke Associations International Stroke Conference 2016 revealed that compared with women who go through pregnancy at a younger age, pregnant women aged 40 and older are at greater risk of ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, heart attack, and death from cardiovascular disease.

We already knew that older women were more likely than younger women to experience health problems during their pregnancy, said Dr. Adnan I. Qureshi, director of the Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Institute in St. Cloud, MN. Now, we know that the consequences of that later pregnancy stretch years into the future.

Dr. Qureshi and colleagues found that all the risks, except for hemorrhagic stroke, were explained by well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease  such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol  that older pregnant women face.
Our DNA influences our ability to read a person's thoughts and emotions from looking at their eyes, suggests a new study published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Twenty years ago, a team of scientists at the University of Cambridge developed a test of 'cognitive empathy' called the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes' Test (or the Eyes Test, for short). This revealed that people can rapidly interpret what another person is thinking or feeling from looking at their eyes alone. It also showed that some of us are better at this than others, and that women on average score better on this test than men.

Now, the same team, working with the genetics company 23andMe along with scientists from France, Australia and the Netherlands, report results from a new study of performance on this test in 89,000 people across the world. The majority of these were 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research. The results confirmed that women on average do indeed score better on this test.

More importantly, the team confirmed that our genes influence performance on the Eyes Test, and went further to identify genetic variants on chromosome 3 in women that are associated with their ability to "read the mind in the eyes".

The study was led by Varun Warrier, a Cambridge PhD student, and Professors Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, and Thomas Bourgeron, of the University Paris Diderot and the Institut Pasteur.

Interestingly, performance on the Eyes Test in males was not associated with genes in this particular region of chromosome 3. The team also found the same pattern of results in an independent cohort of almost 1,500 people who were part of the Brisbane Longitudinal Twin Study, suggesting the genetic association in females is a reliable finding.

The closest genes in this tiny stretch of chromosome 3 include LRRN1 (Leucine Rich Neuronal 1) which is highly active in a part of the human brain called the striatum, and which has been shown using brain scanning to play a role in cognitive empathy. Consistent with this, genetic variants that contribute to higher scores on the Eyes Test also increase the volume of the striatum in humans, a finding that needs to be investigated further.

Previous studies have found that people with autism and anorexia tend to score lower on the Eyes Test. The team found that genetic variants that contribute to higher scores on the Eyes Test also increase the risk for anorexia, but not autism. They speculate that this may be because autism involves both social and non-social traits, and this test only measures a social trait.

Varun Warrier says: "This is the largest ever study of this test of cognitive empathy in the world. This is also the first study to attempt to correlate performance on this test with variation in the human genome. This is an important step forward for the field of social neuroscience and adds one more piece to the puzzle of what may cause variation in cognitive empathy."

Professor Bourgeron adds: "This new study demonstrates that empathy is partly genetic, but we should not lose sight of other important social factors such as early upbringing and postnatal experience."

Professor Baron-Cohen says: "We are excited by this new discovery, and are now testing if the results replicate, and exploring precisely what these genetic variants do in the brain, to give rise to individual differences in cognitive empathy. This new study takes us one step closer in understanding such variation in the population."
Mayo Clinic researchers report that women who suffered adverse childhood experiences or abuse as an adult are 62 percent more likely to have their ovaries removed before age 46. These removals are for reasons other than the presence of ovarian cancer or a high genetic risk of developing cancer, says the new study published in BMJ Open.

In previous studies examining the effects of removing the ovaries of younger women, the research team has demonstrated a myriad of health risks resulting from ovary removal.

"Our current findings suggest that physical, emotional or sexual abuse predisposes women to seek medical attention for multiple gynecological symptoms, such as abdominal pain or excessive bleeding," says Liliana Gazzuola Rocca, M.D., a Mayo Clinic health sciences researcher and psychiatrist. "These gynecological symptoms may lead the women and their gynecologists to opt for removal of the reproductive organs at a young age - even when these organs are completely normal."

"Unfortunately, in most cases, these early life experiences are inaccessible to the women because of psychological mechanisms, and the gynecologists may not be aware of the important connection between early life experiences and the present symptoms. This inability to recognize and openly discuss the past history of abuse may lead to unnecessary and harmful surgeries."

"We want to discourage surgeons from offering ovary removal as a cancer prevention option for women who don't have ovarian cancer or the genetic variants that are likely to cause it," she continues. "Removing both ovaries in premenopausal women can cause depression, hyperlipidemia, cardiac arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, arthritis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and osteoporosis - all conditions which weigh heavily against indiscriminate ovary removal."

These other ovary-removal related issues were discovered in previous research were described in a 2016 news release.

Bilateral oophorectomy is the formal term for removal of both ovaries, generally used as a preventive measure against ovarian cancer. Oftentimes surgeons performing a hysterectomy to eliminate various noncancer health issues offer to remove a woman's ovaries to prevent against ovarian cancer.

In the current study, Dr. Gazzuola Rocca's study team examined the medical records of 128 women younger than 46 who received a bilateral oophorectomy in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1988 to 2007. The group did not include women with ovarian cancer, those with no available medical history dating to age 15 or earlier, or those with severe intellectual disability. The researchers compared these women to another group of age-matched women who did not have their ovaries removed. All study records are part of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a medical records linkage collaboration in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The researchers found that women who reported having experienced physical, verbal, emotional or sexual abuse any time prior to their surgery date were 62 percent more likely to have their ovaries removed than women who had not reported any previous abuse. The team categorized the abuse using a derivation of the Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire matched with information in the medical records.

"These findings add to the body of knowledge showing that a person's experience of abuse, violence or neglect can have far-reaching negative effects on multiple body parts and functions," says Stephanie Faubion, M.D., an internist, women's health specialist and study co-author. "It's actually not that unexpected to find that abuse is connected to reproductive system difficulties. There are a number of studies showing psychological and physiological links."

"What is concerning, however, is the fact that, although associations exist, adverse experiences and abuse do not appear to have been part of the physician-patient conversation when the decision was made to remove the essential estrogen-producing ovaries," she says.

While each situation is unique, the authors believe that understanding the connection between the earlier trauma and later gynecological symptoms could give patients and their health care providers other avenues to treat gynecological problems.

Using medical and dental records in the Rochester Epidemiology Project, researchers can identify what causes diseases and how patients with certain diseases respond to surgery, medication or other interventions. They also can determine what the future is likely to include for patients with specific diseases or medical conditions, such as predicting the health and well-being of women following ovary removal.

Article: Adverse childhood or adult experiences and risk of bilateral oophorectomy: a population-based case-control study, Liliana Gazzuola Rocca et al., BMJ Open, doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016045, published online 7 June 2017.
Endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) play an important role in the brain and immune system. Bern researchers from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "TransCure" have now found a new way to influence the endocannabinoid system. Anti-inflammatory, analgesic as well as anxiolytic effects could be achieved in an animal model.

Endocannabinoids are substances similar to fatty acids which are produced by the body. They activate specific cannabinoid receptors and among other things can exert anti-inflammatory or analgesic effects. Cannabis or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exhibit similar therapeutic effects in clinical use, but they are fraught with adverse effects. In contrast, endogenous cannabinoids are only produced in the cells when the body needs them, and therefore cannot be overdosed. The endocannabinoid system is considered promising as it uncovers new therapeutic options, for instance for disorders of the nervous system. For years, the research team led by Jurg Gertsch from the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bern has been exploring the possibility to selectively activate endocannabinoids in the brain in order to treat neuropsychiatric disorders - for example, anxiety states - within the scope of the NCCR "TransCure" financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

In cooperation with an international research team, the Bern research group led by Gertsch has now succeeded in blocking the transport route or endocannabinoids in the brain of mice for the first time by means of innovative inhibitors. This led to positive effects on the stress behaviour and immune system of mice. Anti-inflammatory, analgesic as well as anxiolytic effects have been observed. Although for several years it has been assumed that there is an endocannabinoid transport system in nerve cells and immune cells, this could now be shown for the first time. "I am convinced that in addition to the administration of exogenous cannabinoids, the endocannabinoid system will be specifically activated for therapeutic purposes in the future," says Gertsch. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Endocannabinoid Transport blocked

In cooperation with chemists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology/ETH Zurich (research group led by Prof. Karl-Heinz Altmann) and the industry, hundreds of endocannabinoid transport inhibitors were synthesised in order to develop ideal pharmacological properties. The researchers were inspired for these inhibitors by a natural substance from the purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), a medicinal plant which is frequently utilised for colds and partially has an effect on the endocannabinoid system. The newly developed inhibitors block the uptake of endocannabinoids through the membrane of cells. As a result, cannabinoid receptors on nerve and immune cells are activated, which leads to a "brake" in the brain and in the immune system upon stress and in inflammatory disorders, restoring the physiological equilibrium.

New perspectives for new medicines

Andrea Chicca, lead author of the study from the group led by Prof. Gertsch, is confident that the molecular mechanism of endocannabinoid transporter can be elucidated in the coming years: "Then nothing stands in the way for the development of new medicines." Thanks to the new findings from the study, already now substances can be made which differ from previous drugs as they specifically activate the endogenous cannabinoids in the brain. The researchers see great potential in the field of stress-related disorders, because endocannabinoids regulate important stress hormones and restore the equilibrium in the brain.

Article: Chemical probes to potently and selectively inhibit endocannabinoid cellular reuptake, Andrea Chicca et al., PNAS, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1704065114, published online 5 June 2017.
HALIFAX

June 9, 2017

Canada

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Randy Mellow

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Scott Maxwell

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Bruce Krauter

Canada

/CNW/ - The Paramedic Chiefs ofhave partnered with Wounded Warriors Canada and are proud to announce the SLIP ON YOUR RED campaign.Red paramedic slip-on epaulettes have been designed to be worn every Friday to show support for our troops deployed. They are available for purchase by paramedics, of all ranks, inwith proceeds benefiting Wounded Warriors Canada's mental health programs for First Responders suffering with Operational Stress Injuries., President of the Paramedic Chiefs of, commented, "Paramedics Chiefs ofare honoured to be supporting Wounded Warriors Canada for this SLIP ON YOUR RED Campaign. Awareness and funds from this campaign will directly support mental health initiatives for both the Military and Public Safety Personnel.", Executive Director of Wounded Warriors Canada, commented, "We are honoured to partner with the Paramedic Chiefs ofon this outstanding fundraising and awareness initiative. Partnerships make our mental health programs possible and these funds will directly support the lives of our First Responders and their families living with Operational Stress Injuries such as PTSD.""Paramedic Leaders inhave a passion for supporting both civilian and military personnel and through this campaign we will not only remember but honour those here at home and abroad", commented, Chief, Essex Windsor EMSParamedics can purchase their slip-on epaulettes by visiting: www.paramedicchiefs.caAbout Wounded Warriors Canada: www.woundedwarriors.caAbout the Paramedic Chiefs of: www.paramedicchiefs.caSOURCE Wounded Warriors Canada
Going to a Coldplay concert and watching them perform live sounds incredible as it is, but what if you got the chance to play a song with the band? Sound like a dream come true, doesnt it?

A fan was lucky enough to do just that and we are very happy for him and not at all jealous.

The band had a packed concert in Germany this Tuesday and this lucky fan was standing near the front of the stage holding up a sign which read, 'Can I play Everglow for you?'

 Facebook/Coldplay

Looks like that was enough to catch Chris Martins attention. After spotting him, Chris asked, "For real? Do you really want to come up on this stage with me?

"OK, there's a young man who wants to come up and play the piano. I think it's important for Britain and Germany to work together," he laughed.

 Facebook/Coldplay

While the fan was walking towards the stage, Chris continued joking and said, "Let's try and keep relations in Europe good."

He asked him one last time "Are you sure you want to do this, young man?"

But there was nothing stopping him as a he took off his jacket and confidently joined Chris on the stage at the Olympia stadium in Munich.

 Facebook/Coldplay

As soon he started playing and showed everyone how he picked up the song straight away, he even impressed Chris, and he joked that he might as well leave now.

"Im going home - see you later! You do the concert," he said, before adding, "This is a German-British union. Let's Go."

 Facebook/Coldplay

After the incredible performance, Chris gave him a big hug and he was greeted by loud cheers from the crown as he made his way back to his friends.

Watch the performance here :
China will play a more visible role in leading the global effort to reduce carbon emissions, and is expected to offset the potential negative effects from the Trump administrations rollback of protective measures in the U.S., experts said.

In response to the U.S. retreat from the Paris accord, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated on June 7 that China is committed to a path of peaceful, open and green development. Xi promised to continue implementing policies that support clean energy and promote harmony between humankind and nature.

Xis remarks were widely interpreted by experts and media to imply that China will replace the U.S. as a leader in the charge against climate change.

To those who stated that Chinas leadership began last Thursday [when the U.S. withdrew from the Paris accord], I would say its irrefutably wrong, as Chinas leadership on climate change goes back for quite a few years. China is the leading producer and installer of renewable energy in the world, and is certainly a country that has the compelling vision for green finance under the leadership of the Chinese Central Bank, Christiana Figueres, the UNs former climate change chief, told the Peoples Daily Online during an interview on June 8.

According to Figueres, Chinas decision to focus on emissions reductions is driven by motivation for the country to remain competitive and healthy in the future. These are strong and long-standing national interests, and China's firm stance on climate change is more than a reaction to the White House's announcement.

The great strides made by China in green industries and technologies have also led to more cooperation and business opportunities with other nations. According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics, the share of electricity generated by wind power rose from 0.58 percent in 2007 to 9.03 percent last year. Nuclear energy also saw a slight rise, from 1.23 percent to 2.04 percent.

Maros Sefcovic, European Commission vice president and co-chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, told the Peoples Daily Online that China and the EU are taking the lead in energy transition, and can cooperate in fields such as solar and wind energy. Clean energy cannot only generate economic benefits for both sides, but can also contribute to the global energy transition, Sefcovic pointed out.

Sefcovic also noted that the challenges for future cooperation will include how to unleash even more market forces for energy transition, how to motivate the private sector and how to accelerate the transition.

Joan MacNaughton, chair of the Climate Group board, noted that Chinas future development plans contain all the right ingredients, but consistently implementing those elements at the local level may present a challenge, as China has a huge population and some cities may not tackle the issue as efficiently as others.

At the city and provincial levels, China needs much more consistent application. Probably the emission trading scheme will help more in driving the process, added MacNaughton.
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his Tajikistan counterpart, Emomali Rahmon, on Friday in Astana, hailing that the two countries are friendly neighbors and strategic partners.

The two heads of state met ahead of the 17th SCO summit in the Kazakh capital. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Tajikistan.

Xi pointed out that the cooperation between China and Tajikistan achieved fruitful results within the UN and SCO framework. The two countries have scored important results under the Belt and Road Initiative, and will promote the cooperation to high-end, innovation, diversified direction in the future.

Rahmon said Tajikistan cherishes the friendship with China, and attaches importance to China's crucial role in international affairs, adding that it is committed to deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Tajikistan is willing to connect its own development with the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthening cooperation on various areas including the interconnection, electricity, agriculture and security, Rahmon expressed.
BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislature this week sent teams to inspect the implementation of the Copyright Law.

Chen Zhu, vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, headed an inspection team to east China's Fujian Province from Monday to Friday.

Chen called for better implementation of the Copyright Law and stressed that law enforcement is crucial during his visit to enterprises and courts.

He praised local governments' work in improving public awareness of the law and combating infringement and piracy issues.

Wang Chen, also a vice chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, headed a team to northwest China's Qinghai Province from Tuesday to Thursday.

Ensuring the enforcement of the Copyright Law will further protect innovation, stimulate creativity and promote cultural prosperity, Wang said during his visit to enterprises and a university.
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias spoke by telephone a short while ago with the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide.



The conversation focused on the scheduling of the Mr. Eide's next visit to Athens, on potential dates for holding the Geneva II Conference, and on the drawing up of the text Mr. Eide has undertaken to prepare for the Conference.
TOKYO, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Education Minister Hirokazu Matsuno said Friday his ministry will reinvestigate the existence of documents central to an ongoing scandal possibly implicating Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the government in providing a close friend of Abe's with favorable treatment to open a new school.

Matsuno told a press conference on the matter that an initial probe by the ministry had been deemed insubstantial and the public is calling for a more comprehensive probe to be launched.

"We sincerely accept the people's voice and will conduct an additional investigation over the internal documents," Matsuno said.

The documents, according to the opposition camp, could prove that the prime minister used his position to influence the government's approval for Kake Educational Institution, run by a close friend of Abe's, to open a new veterinary school at a location highly deregulated by the government.

Matsuno said that the prime minister himself had called for the fresh probe to be launched and to be conducted quickly and thoroughly.

The original probe launched by Matsuno lasted just two days and it was concluded that the potentially damaging documents' existence could not be confirmed.

A former vice education minister at the beginning of the month, however, released a statement backing up his previous assertions that senior government advisors had pressurized him to accelerate procedures to open up a new school with close links to Abe.

Kihei Maekawa said in a statement that last year in August, Isao Kiso, an advisor to the Cabinet at the time, visited his office and requested that he accelerate procedures for the opening of a new veterinary school.

Okayama University of Science was handpicked by the government to open the new veterinary medicine school, in Ehime Prefecture, one of Japan's national strategic special economic zones, which has far more relaxed regulations to boost growth in the area, as part of Abe's overall growth strategy.

Kake Educational Institution, which operates the university and, controversially, is chaired by Abe's close friend, was selected for the project in a meeting held between the central and local governments in the special strategic zone in January.

The local city assembly provided the land to the institution to build the new department for free and in addition they provided 9.6 billion yen (86.24 million U.S. dollars) as a subsidy for the school's construction costs.

Maekawa stated that Kiso asked him to speed up the procedures for opening the veterinary school and that it was his understanding that Kiso was specifically referring to the government's plan involving Kake Educational Institution, because he was a senior official of the institution at that time.

Maekawa also said that Kiso told him that his ministry need to do nothing except follow the decision made by the Council on National Strategic Special Zones, which is chaired by Abe.

The former vice education minister has offered to give testimony in parliament over the scandal.

He also said he met Hiroto Izumi, an assistant to Abe, at the prime minister's office, when the selection of the strategic zone was underway and was also pressurized to speed up procedures for the new school at that time.

The government so far has refused to summon Maekawa or Izumi to give testimony in parliament as sworn witnesses, despite the opposition camp vociferously calling for it to do so.

It also came to light recently that Abe had been on Kake's payroll and had received a salary apparently for duties carried out there for a couple of years after he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1993.

Abe, when quizzed on his financial connections to the institution, said it was a long time ago and that he was fuzzy on the details.

Along with Maekawa, the opposition camp believe that an education ministry advisory panel was currently assessing an application to open the new veterinary school and the ministry had prepared a document stating that the Cabinet Office said that "Abe backs the plan."

The document also reportedly suggests that the education ministry was told by the Cabinet Office that the choice for the new department "was heard to have been the prime minister's wish."

The main opposition Democratic Party also maintains that one of the documents in question shows that negotiations had taken place between the ministry and the Cabinet Office regarding the set timeframe for opening the new department at the university.

As for the timing for opening of the new department, which was scheduled for April 2018, one document reportedly states, "This is what the highest level of the prime minister's office has said."

Another document mentioned that opening the department at an early juncture was "in line with the prime minister's wishes."
ASTANA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Top leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members said Friday that the political and diplomatic means are the "only choice" to settle regional conflicts.
Half of the whole worlds long-span bridges constructed in the past five years were built in China, CCTV.com reported on June 9.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

According to statistics from Chinas Ministry of Transport, China has built six of the world's bridges that span seas, seven of the top 10 cable-stayed bridges and six of the top 10 suspension bridges - all in the past five years.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, currently under construction, will be 55 kilometers long and include a 6.7-kilometer underwater tunnel. Set to link Zhuhai in Guangdong province with Hong Kong and Macau, it will be the longest sea-spanning bridge of its kind anywhere in the world.

Once in operation, the four-hour drive from Hong Kong to Zhuhai will be reduced to half an hour. Chinese scientists have already addressed many problems in the course of the bridge's construction, navigating the threat of super typhoons and protecting the bridge from the impact of currents.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge

In addition, China has set many more world records in bridge construction, including the worlds highest bridge (Beipanjiang Bridge) and the worlds first full steel concrete truss bridge (Ganhaizi Super Major Bridge).

Ge Yaojun, vice chairman of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering, noted that, with the development of the "Belt and Road" initiative, China is set to make even greater progress in bridge construction in the next five to 10 years.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 1

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

Bulgaria plans to choose an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contractor by late 2017 to build the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), through which Azerbaijani gas will be transported in future, Bulgarian Deputy Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov told Trend in Baku June 1.

IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.

Stankov noted that Bulgaria will do everything necessary to put the interconnector into operation until the end of 2019, to be ready when the first gas comes from Azerbaijan in 2020.

"We expect this interconnector to be built on time," he said, adding two gas contracts were signed by Bulgaria and Azerbaijan, under which 1 billion cubic meters of gas will be annually delivered to Bulgaria starting from 2020.

IGB will be a gate delivering Azerbaijani gas to the Southeastern Europe, according to the Bulgarian deputy energy minister.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

Trend:

President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

I would like to extend to you and the whole people of Azerbaijan my heartfelt wishes for peace, prosperity and progress on the occasion of the national holiday of your country, said Macron in his letter.

Numerous high-level visits over the past period, particularly your visit to France on March 14 this year, demonstrated the quality and dynamism of relations between France and Azerbaijan, noted the French president. I am aware of your personal stance on our bilateral relations and I wish we would benefit from huge development potential of these relations in all fields in the years to come.

At the same time, I assure you that France as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group will remain committed to finally finding a fair and lasting resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through negotiations, said Macron.

Dear Mr. President, please accept the assurances of my highest consideration, added the French president.
HURON COUNTY  The wind turbine being built in proximity to a Scheurer Hospital helicopter landing pad has been reviewed and approved by the Michigan Aeronautic Commissions and the Federal Aviation Association (FAA).

Jeff Smith, Huron County building and zoning director, updated the Huron County Planning Commission on the issue Wednesday night.

An official from Scheurer Hospital of Pigeon previously approached the Huron County Board of Commissioners a couple of weeks ago about the turbines location, which some county residents feared would interfere with emergency helicopter traffic.

In an email to Jeff Smith, Linn Smith of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Office of Aeronautics, said not only was the turbine approved for a tall structure permit in July 2015, but the FAA has also issued the previous month a determination of no hazard to air navigation.

Linn Smith is the supervisor of the project support unit planning and development section for the aeronautics office of MDOT. The Michigan Aeronautics Commission delegates its authority for airspace reviews and approvals to that office.

Clark Ramsey, marketing and public relations director at Scheurer Healthcare Network, had previously addressed the board of commissioners about the issue.

We are acknowledging that by MDOT and FAA regulations, that by definition, it (the turbine) is not an obstruction, Ramsey told the Tribune.

Linn Smith said in his email that he reviewed the case May 25 with MDOTs Special Airspace Review Team, which concurred with the FAA determination.

The wind turbine, according to the FAA determination obtained by the Tribune, is 499 feet above ground level, and 1,114 feet above mean sea level.

Heliports have different restrictions than airports, Jeff Smith told the planners.

The turbine is part of the Apple Blossom Wind Park, which is being constructed by Sempra U.S. Gas and Power.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

Trend:

Azerbaijans Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Mammadyarov has left to Kazakhstan to attend the official opening ceremony of the International Specialized Exhibition Astana EXPO-2017, the Foreign Ministrys press service said in a message June 9.

The Exhibition, titled Energy of the Future, will be held from June 10 to September 10, 2017. About 100 countries and 10 international organizations will be represented at the Exhibition.
Incidents law enforcement officers responded to between May 30 to June 5 in Tuscola County by township and community:

Akron:

 Breaking and entering on 5000 block of Bay Park Road  forced entry of residence, jewelry stolen.

Almer Charter:

 Checked on 911 hang-up call on 300 block of East Deckerville Road.

 Welfare check on 100 block of Almer Drive.

 Vehicle Information number (VIN) inspection on 1000 block of East Darbee Road of school bus.

Arbela:

 Trespassing on 9000 block of Sergent Road.

 Traffic on Arbela Road  vehicle ran stop sign.

 Car/deer accident on Birch Run Road.

 Car/deer accident on Bray Road.

 Traffic on Vassar Road  minor in possession of alcohol.

 Illegal burn on 10000 block of Stanley Drive  no burn permit.

 Malicious damage to property on the 6000 block of Birch Run Road  drove through yard.

 Traffic stop on Bray Road  vehicle crossed the center line, and transporting an open container.

 Investigation on 9000 block of Birch Run Road  suspicious person on property.

 Assist Millington Fire Department on 6000 block of Arbela Road for a vehicle fire.

 Family trouble on 3000 block of East Willard Road  civil verbal argument.

Dayton:

 Single-vehicle accident on Blackmore Road.

 Assist Green Springs Police Department, Ohio, on 2000 block of Phelps Lake Road with runaway location.

 Family trouble on Cat Lake Hills Road  civil property dispute.

Denmark:

 Traffic on West Caro Road  driving while license suspended, possession of marijuana, and transporting an open alcohol container.

 Traffic on West Saginaw Road  driving while license suspended.

 Two warrant arrests on West Saginaw Road.

Elkland:

 Car/deer accident on Bay City-Forestville Road.

Ellington:

 Suspicious situation on 3000 block of East Deckerville Road  possible stolen yard equipment  returned next day.

 Simple assault and battery on Deckerville Road.

 Suspicious situation on 1000 block of Colwood Road  subject spun tires in yard.

 Warrant arrest on Colwood Road, and driving while license suspended.

 Family trouble  aggravated/felonious assault with a weapon on 1000 block of Colwood Road  assault.

Elmwood:

 Single-vehicle accident on Deckerville Road.

 Assist Michigan State Police on Hurds Corner Road with a personal injury accident.

Fairgrove:

 Two-vehicle accident on Vassar Road.

Fremont:

 Car/deer accident on Mertz Road.

 Simple assault and battery on 4000 block of Leix Road.

Gilford:

 Warrant arrest on Fairgrove Road.

 Traffic on Fairgrove Road  speeding, and no insurance.

 Attempted breaking and entering on Reese Road.

Indianfields:

 False alarm on 2000 block of Mertz Road.

 Single-vehicle accident on Dixon Road.

Juniata:

 Traffic on West Caro Road  motorist assist  out of gas.

Koylton:

 Car/turkey accident on Kingston Road.

 Simple assault and battery on 300 block of White Creek Road.

 Traffic on Sanilac Road  cows on roadway.

Millington:

 Assist Michigan State Police on 8000 block of Willard Road with warrant arrest.

 False alarm on 3000 block Millington Road.

 Family trouble on 4000 block of Stone Drive  possible domestic  wasnt.

 Traffic  cattle on Millington Road.

 Entering without permission on 9000 block of Willard Road  burglary.

 Assistance on Dean Drive for a Life Alert Alarm  false alarm

 Checked on 911 hang up call on 8000 block of Fulmer Road.

 Car/deer accident on State Road.

 Suspicious situation on Millington Road  male walking down road with a gun.

Novesta:

 Family trouble on 1000 block of North Kingston Road  verbal argument.

 Single-vehicle accident on East Deckerville Road.

Tuscola:

 Car/deer accident on Frankenmuth Road.

 Single-vehicle accident on Bray Road.

Vassar:

 Car/deer accident on Sheridan Road.

 Traffic on Hanes Road  operating while under the influence of liquor.

 Family trouble on 7000 block of Oak Park Drive  argument.

Watertown:

 Assist Michigan Police Department on 7000 on block of Center Road with transporting arrested subject.

 Simple assault and battery on 8000 block of Fostoria Road.

 False alarm on 9000 block of Boucher Road.

 Assist Michigan State Police on 8000 block of North Lake Road for a breaking and entering.

Wells:

 Family trouble on 4000 block of East Sanilac Road  civil dispute.

 Traffic on East Sanilac Road  driving while license suspended.

Wisner:

 Traffic on Bay City-Forestville Road  driving while license suspended.

 Single-vehicle accident on Vassar Road.

 Suspicious situation on 6000 block of West Bay City-Forestville Road  bond violation.

Kingston Village:

 False Alarm on 5000 block of State Road.

Millington Village:

 Public relations at 8664 Dean Drive  career day at school.

 Found property on 4000 block of Center Street.

 Assist Millington Police Department on 8000 block of State Road with suspicious person.

 Larceny on 4000 block of Main Street.

Caro City:

 Assist Caro Police Department with multiple vehicles  business closed, be on standby.

 Two-vehicle accident on Grant Street.

 Assist Caro Police Department on 900 block of Ellington Street  domestic assault.

*Listing includes information from the Michigan State Police and other law enforcement agencies.
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Everyone knows Devon is the best place on Earth, but while that may be true - it's not very interesting.

Fortunately there are plenty of interesting facts about Devon that are also true.

In fact, one of the facts even involves Trump. #NotFakeNews. So we have gathered 12 quite interesting facts about Devon, if you don't learn something you didn't already know then we aren't doing our job.

If you have your own facts about Devon you'd like to share, leave them in the comments below. In an age of Fake News, Devon is leading the way in the field of quite interesting truths.

Devon has more road than anywhere else in the country

True fact. You maybe thought it was London, or Birmingham. Nope. Devon County Council is responsible for 8,000 miles of road - the longest network in the country. The county is home to everything from single track rural lanes across Dartmoor and Exmoor to major highways like the A38 and A30 - as well as the M5.

Devon has the slowest roads in the country

Not only do we have more road than anyone else, it also takes you longer to use. A survey by international travel experts Inrix, who provide live traffic information to people like the BBC, this year named Exeter the slowest city in the country during rush-hour. Yes, slower than London. Traffic crawls through the city at just 4.6mph at the busiest times of day. You can walk faster. Businesses in Exeter spend more time stuck in traffic than businesses in London.

Devon has the narrowest street in the world

Parliament Street in Exeter bears a plaque claiming it to be the narrowest street in the world. At its narrowest it is about 0.64 metres (2 ft 1 in) at its widest it is 1.22 metres (4 ft 0 in). It used to be called Small Lane but was renamed Parliament Street to poke fun at the Government for passing the 1832 Reform Bill, funny eh? The German's claim they have the narrowest street in the world - but that's really just a gap between two houses. Parliament Street runs from High Street to Waterbeer Street. In 1836 the residents of Waterbeer Street paid to have the street widened. The council hasn't done that yet. Maybe after the new pool?

Devon invented the Cornish pasty

I know what you're thinking, the clue's in the name. But just like they don't get cream teas right, our Cornish cousins didn't invent the pasty either. The earliest recorded recipe for the pasty was discovered in 2006 and dates back 500 years. Yup, it's in a Devon book. So, you can go to Europe all you like and get them to say Cornish Pasties have to be made in Cornwall. Doesn't make it so. If you like, we can also prove we invented Cornish Piskies, the Cornish language and the writer and director Joe Cornish.

Devon has the country's oldest bakery

It isn't only pasties we've been making forever, we've also been making bread and biscuits since before America was born. How do we know? Jacka Bakery on the Barbican made biscuits that went onto The Mayflower for the sailing of the Pilgrim Fathers. It is the oldest bakery in the country, even older than those sandwiches you get in South West Train buffet cars. Just think, if Jacka hadn't been there all those years ago we might not have the USA today. You're welcome. We also used to have the oldest hotel in the country, the Royal Clarence in Exeter, but that is temporarily burnt to the ground.

Devon has Europe's oldest cinema

Oldest bakery, oldest hotel, oldest cinema. Wow! We're good. Torbay Picture House was opened on 16 March 1914, and is believed to be the oldest surviving purpose-built cinema in Europe. In its early days it featured a 21-piece orchestra, with each member paid a guinea to perform. There are 375 seats: 271 in the stalls, 104 in the circle, plus three private boxes at the back seating an additional eight. A project is currently under way to bring it back into use. We can't say for sure, but the first film shown was probably the original Police Academy.

Devon has the country's only exclamation mark!

OK, so maybe not the only exclamation mark. The Sun also has quite a few in its headlines.But we do have the only place with an exclamation mark in its name - Westward Ho! The village near Bideford was named after the Charles Kingsley novel, meaning it is also the only place named after a work of fiction, until Thundercats Ho! opens near Plymouth in 2019. Back in the 19th century adding punctuation to your town's name was the height of marketing genius. We're off to add an interrobang to Torbay.

Devon was the last place in the country to execute witches

By the late 1600s the rest of the country had given up executing people as witches. But the last English executions for witchcraft happened in Exeter in 1682 and 1685. Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards and Mary Trembles, of Bideford died in 1682 and Alice Molland died in 1685 in Heavitree. They were accused of causing illness and death by the black arts.

Devon invented the Jack Russell

The Jack Russell Terrier was created by the Reverend John Russell - born in Dartmouth, went to school in Plympton, rector of Black Torrington. He bought a dog which had stumpy legs, huge ears and was great at digging around in filth. Called Trump. Seriously. The white and tan dog was excellent at digging out foxes which had gone to ground. But would have made a useless leader of the Free World. This was the origin of the Jack Russell. Not the Muslim Travel Ban.

Devon has the country's only 16-sided house

If you're ever filling in a request list on Zoopla making it clear what your house must have - three bedrooms, parking, nearby school, must be hexadecagonal you won't be in much luck. The only 16-side house in the country is A La Ronde in east Devon. It was built for two spinster cousins, Jane and Mary Parminter, on their return from a grand tour of Europe in the late 18th century The interior decoration includes a feather frieze, gathered from native game birds and chickens, laboriously stuck down with isinglass and a shell-encrusted gallery, said to contain nearly 25,000 shells. Sounds like it was designed by Laurence Llewelyn Bowen after a head injury - but actually worth a visit.

Devon is home to the UK's oldest humans

No, not those people who constantly walk in front of you down the High Street. A fragment of jaw bone was discovered in Kent's Cavern in Torquay in 1927 and carbon-dating followed by studies in 2011 say it could date from 44,200BC and is Homo Sapiens - making it the oldest modern human remains found in North West Europe. Not all scientists agree with the dating, mostly the ones from Cornwall.

Devon is home to the last castle built in England

Not everything in Devon is really, really old. Castle Drogo dates from 1930 - and is the last castle to have been built in England. In 1910 Julius Drewe bought about 450 acres south and west of the village of Drewsteignton and asked Edwin Lutyens to build him a castle. The First World War and the economic downturn caused many delays. Exeter City Council had nothing to do with this one. The castle's defensive characteristics are purely decorative and it had electricity and lifts from the outset, with power being supplied by two turbines on the river below.
The U.S. Army's chief of staff told Congress recently that the service's active force should add up to 74,000 more soldiers over the next decade to deal with the increasing demands on the operational force.

In addition to a larger active force, Gen. Mark Milley told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 7 that the National Guard should add up to 12,000 soldiers and the Reserves should increase its end-strength by up to 10,000 soldiers.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said he believed that the demands on the Army over the next decade will only increase.

"How big should the Army be in the next decade Gen. Milley?" Graham asked.

Milley told Graham that "my guess is somewhere for the regular Army is somewhere in and around the 540,000-550,000 range."

"For the National Guard, I'd like to see them in the 350,000-355,000 range and for the Reserves somewhere around the 205,000-209,000 range," Milley said.

The Army's $166 billion budget request for fiscal 2018 continues to support the increased end-strength of all components mandated in the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, including the move to increase the active force from a previous target of 450,000 to 476,000 in fiscal 2017.

The request funds a 343,000-member National Guard and a 199,000-member Reserve force.

Milley added, however, that Secretary of Defense James Mattis, is currently leading a strategic review to determine the future size and capabilities of the U.S. Military.

The Army's budget request is about $15 billion, or 10 percent, larger than the recently enacted fiscal 2017 spending plan. The increase in funding for the entire U.S. Military under Trump Administration's budget request, many lawmakers argue, is only made possible through dramatic cuts to several domestic agencies including the State Department.

Graham asked Milley to characterize the importance of agencies such as State Department play in the defense of the United States.

"We have to use not only the military forces, but we need the State Department, the CIA, the FBI," Milley said. "Those all participate in various capacities, so it's important to have a whole-of-government approach to the conduct of war."

Graham characterized the proposed cuts to domestic agencies to pay for increased defense spending as a "problem."

"I appreciate the increase in defense, but the cuts ... are real and they will affect our ability to defend the nation too," Graham said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
The U.S. Air Force has sent B-2 Spirit bombers to England for drills with NATO and partner allies furthering the military's continuance to deploy aircraft despite a period of bizarre political relations with Russia.

The move means the service now has its full complement of bombers in Europe -- the B-2 joins three B-52 Stratofortresses from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and three B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota -- and marks the first time all three aircraft have been in the theater at the same time, European Command officials said in a release.

The Air Force said two B-2 nuclear-capable bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, arrived at Royal Air Force Fairford, U.K., on Friday, but said the bombers "are briefly joining the other Air Force Global Strike Command assets in support of recurring bomber assurance and deterrence operations," the release said.

"These B-2 Spirits will not support Exercises BALTOPS or Saber Strike and will only remain in theater a short time," it said.

Related Content:

The B-1Bs and B-52s, however, are supporting those exercises.

While the annual exercises have taken place for years, bomber deployments to Europe have been given more scrutiny since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

The Pentagon sent two B-2s and three B-52s to Europe for similar training events in June 2014 days after then-President Obama announced he would increase the U.S. military presence in the region following the annexation, and Russia's continued aggression in Eastern Ukraine.

#Photobomb! A #Russian Su-27 Flanker got into our shot  during a #BALTOPS sortie over the #BalticSea today. The intercept was deemed safe. pic.twitter.com/SMwGfE2QYr  U.S. Dept of Defense (@DeptofDefense) June 9, 2017

This is the fourth year B-52s have been invited for exercises, of which the bombers practice dummy bomb drops.

Last year, airmen practiced dropping "500-pound dummy mines, set up like a real mine, with a tail kit, and employment characteristics but it's just concrete," said Lt Col. Michael Maginness, 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron commander. The goal is to hit "splash points," evaluated by the U.S. Navy, and track how well the bomber can hit up a mine field if it were laden with explosives, Maginness told Air Force Times at the time.

BALTOPs, which began in 1972, is a maritime-focused exercise taking place in the Baltic Sea in which several NATO allies and partner nations conduct live training events. This year, many of the drills will take place from Szczecin, Poland and finish in Kiel, Germany.

Saber Strike, led by the U.S. Army in Europe and in its seventh year, is meant to improve communication skills during land exercises which span Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, such as working with joint terminal attack controllers on the ground.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Related Video:
The Navy's policy for how female sailors can wear their ball caps is changing, thanks to a request made by a junior officer to the chief of Naval Operations.

In a short video posted to his Facebook page Thursday night, Adm. John Richardson said he had gotten the question from a lieutenant j.g. during an all-hands call, held June 6 at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego. The officer asked if female sailors could start wearing their hair buns through the opening in the back of their ball caps, which at the time was not permitted.

"We took a quick poll right there in the audience, and there was nobody who objected to changing that right on the spot," Richardson said. "I came back and asked [Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Robert Burke] and, effective immediately, you can now wear the cap with the bun through the hole in the back, above the strap. I think this will be a lot more comfortable, and it will look a lot better."

Related content:

A forthcoming Navy administrative message will detail the change, Richardson said, but the new policy is effective immediately. While the policy tweak may seem minor, female sailors said in comments on Facebook that the previous rules made it frustrating and difficult to wear the caps.

Overnight, Richardson's message was liked 3,000 times on Facebook, and received 680 comments.

One sailor, who identified herself on Facebook as Kieran Nicole, said she had watched the exchange at the all-hands call.

"She was so nervous till he said, 'What if I changed that by the end of the week,' " Nicole wrote. "Literally everyone roared."

Others commented that it was about time for a change.

"Not gonna lie: I NEVER enforced that rule," one commenter, Jahmal R ONeil, wrote. "It was illogical and time-consuming. I honestly pretended I didn't know, and NEVER corrected any ladies I saw breaking this rule."

Another commenter, Michael Hook, said the old way of wearing the caps looked "stupid" and wondered why the rule had existed in the first place.

"Anyway, happy for the female sailor victory out there," he wrote. "Really a victory for all, as we all had to look at that awful policy. Glad it was changed."

The rules governing Navy ball caps have become more important to sailors in the last three years, with the service making a series of decisions expanding their wear as a uniform item.

In September 2014, the service allowed sailors to start wearing Navy ball caps with Navy working uniforms, a response to repeated requests from the fleet. In 2016, it updated the policy, authorizing the wear of a coyote brown command ball cap with Navy Working Uniforms Type II and III.

Richardson said he hadn't previously been aware of the problems female sailors were having with their ball caps and that the episode illustrated the value of all-hands calls with sailors.

"I was unaware that that was an issue, and so thanks to the lieutenant j.g. out there for making that known to me," he said. "We promised to fix it, and now it's fixed."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
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...
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Elmira Tariverdiyeva  Trend:

Azerbaijan managed to improve relations with the Western countries, position itself as a reliable energy supplier and show readiness for dialogue in the sphere of human rights, Sergey Markedonov, a Russian political scientist and an associate professor at the Moscow-based Russian State University for the Humanities, said.

He made the remarks June 9 at the Caucasus-2016 International Conference in Yerevan, EADaily news agency reported.

In his opinion, the constitutional referendum, following which the institution of vice-president was established in Azerbaijan and the presidential term in the country was increased from 5 to 7 years, became another key event.

The April escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had a very strong impact on the social and political atmosphere in Azerbaijan, Markedonov said. The war became the factor that along with the constitutional referendum allowed strengthening of the countrys existing political system.

Azerbaijan in 2016 managed to boost the dialogue with its southern neighbor - Iran, the expert noted. In March 2016, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited Tehran, and in August 2016 Baku hosted a regional summit with the participation of the presidents of Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan, he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, president of the Portuguese Republic.

On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of the national holiday of your country  Portugal Day, Ilham Aliyev said in his letter.

On this auspicious day, I wish you robust health, success in your activities and the friendly people of Portugal everlasting peace and prosperity.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I am pleased to convey to you and through you to all your people my most sincere congratulations on the occasion of the national holiday of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland  Queens Birthday, Ilham Aliyev said in his letter.

On this momentous day, I wish you robust health, happiness and success in your activities and the friendly people of the United Kingdom lasting peace and prosperity.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

Trend:

Azerbaijans Energy Minister Natig Aliyev has passed away June 9.

Earlier, the minister was hospitalized due to heart problems.

Natig Aliyev was born on November 23, 1947, in Baku. During his career, he worked in various oil and gas enterprises and institutes.

In 1993, he became president and chairman of the Board of Directors of Azerbaijans state oil company, since 1994  chairman of the Steering Committee of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli blocks development project, since 2002  chairman of the Board of Directors of BTC Co (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan), since 2005  president of the Azerbaijan Oil Workers Congress.

Natig Aliyev became Azerbaijans Minister of Industry and Energy in 2005 and has served as the countrys Energy Minister since 2013.

He was an academician of the International Oriental Oil Academy, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Engineering, a doctor of science in economics.

Aliyev is also the author of more than 100 scientific works, articles and books.

Natig Aliyev was awarded Azerbaijans Shohrat (Glory) Order for his services in the oil industry.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

Trend:

A conference on Aziz Sanjar: The Life Story of Science Devotee dedicated to the Laureate of Nobel Memorial Prize in Chemistry, Professor of the University of Northern Caroline of the US OF Turkish origin Aziz Sanjar will be held at UNEC on June 12.

A glance to the great scholars life and performance will be taken within the conference. Aziz Sanjar will make an extensive speech before the scientific community of Azerbaijan. The presentation of the book on Aziz Sanjars Nobel Biography translated into Azerbaijani will take place within the conference.

Aziz Sanjar was born in Savur province of Mardin in 1946. He is the fourth child of eight in the family. He entered the Istanbul Medical University after the completion of the secondary school. Sanjar who graduated from the Medical Faculty in honors, worked a doctor in Savur for two years.

Afterwards, he went to the United States of America to continue his studies. He completed Doctoral Studies of the University of Texas in Dallas in Molecular Biology in 1977 and defended his Doctoral Thesis in the Yale University in DNA. He started to serve on biochemistry and biophysics at one of the famous scientific centers of America UNC Chapek Hill, conducted serious scientific research in DNA, cell arrangement, treatment of cancer and biological clock. He has written about 400 scientific articles, 33 books on the field he performs.

He is elected a member of the International Academy of Science of the US, Academy of Art and Science of America and the Turkish Academy of Sciences for successful scientific performances. The Vebhi Koch Foundation rewarded him in 2007. He is one of the three Turkish scholars received the membership of the International Academy of Sciences of America for his investigations made abroad.

He is awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Chemistry for research made in the field of DNA in 2015. Aziz Sanjar is the first Turkish who was awarded the Nobel Prize in science.

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.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 9

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Ashgabat hosted the meeting of the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development (ICSD) of the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), the Turkmen government said in a message.

The event was organized by Turkmenistans State Committee for Environmental Protection. Delegations from the Central Asian countries and representatives of several international organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations took part in the event.

The agenda includes issues related to the implementation of national projects aimed at creating favorable living conditions for the population of the Aral Sea region, rational use of water and other natural resources, prevention of desertification of the region, conservation of biological diversity, and adaptation to climate change.

The IFAS was established in 1993 by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to support scientific and practical research and organize financing social and economic and environmental programs in the region aimed at improving environmental situation of Aral Sea region.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 26

By Elena Kosolapova, Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The world largest financial institutions do not support Iranian economy.

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank do not have any active loan programs in the moment, the press-officers of these financial institutions told Trend.

"The World Bank currently has no active program in Iran," external affairs officer of the Bank told Trend.

Meanwhile, Communications Officer of the IMF said that "Iran does not get financial assistance from the IMF." External Affairs Officer of the ADB, in turn, noted that Iran is not a member of the Bank.

They did not provide information on the plans of the financial institutions regarding possibility of future cooperation with Iran.

Experts say the Iran extremely requires foreign investments in order to increase its oil and gas production after the lifting of the international sanctions.

The sanctions were lifted within a nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) reached by Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, UK, US plus Germany). Iran in return agreed to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98 percent, and reduce by about two-thirds the number of its gas centrifuges for 13 years.

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
During January-May 2017, Heydar Aliyev International Airport served 1.37 million passengers, which is 34 percent more than the same period of last year. Only in May 315,000 passengers were served.

The BAKU 2017  4th Islamic Solidarity Games held in Azerbaijan also affected the significant increase of passenger traffic last month. All civil aviation structures of Azerbaijan provided high-level service to guests and athletes who arrived in the country during the Islamic Games.

During the reporting period, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) carried 767,000 passengers, 204,000 of which were carried on domestic flights.

Eighty-five percent of passengers were carried by international flights; 48.3 percent of the total international traffic of the airport accounted for Azerbaijan Airlines, 51.7 percent - foreign air carriers.

Currently, Heydar Aliyev International Airport serves 28 airlines, five of them are low-cost carriers. Starting from autumn of this year, Azerbaijani low-cost airline Buta Airways is expected to operate flights.

The new airport terminal of Heydar Aliyev Airport (Terminal 1) was put into operation in April 2014. Its total area is 65,000 square meters.

Heydar Aliyev International Airport was awarded the category of "4 stars" by the Skytrax, which is influential British consulting company specializing in the study of the quality of services provided by various airlines and airports worldwide.

In March this year Baku Heydar Aliyev Airport was named the best airport among airports of Russia and CIS countries for the level of the provided services, being awarded the prestigious Skytrax World Airport Awards.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 9

By Demir Azizov Trend:

Uzbekistan will allocate $2.65 billion for the implementation of 32 investment projects on the development of hydropower engineering in 2017-2025, according to the decree of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

In accordance with the decree published in the national database of the Uzbek legislation, in particular, it is planned to implement 18 projects on construction of new hydropower plants and 14 projects on modernization of the existing hydropower plants.

Construction of two hydropower plants (the Pskem hydropower plant worth $810 million with a design capacity of 404 megawatts and the Mullalak hydropower plant worth $480 million with a design capacity of 240 megawatts) on the Pskem River in the Bostanlyk district of the Tashkent region is among the biggest projects.

It is also planned to build the Nijnechatkalskaya hydropower plant worth $180 million with a design capacity of 100 megawatts on the Chatkal River in the Bostanlyk district.

It is planned to finance the program for hydropower engineering development also through the loans worth over $1 billion from foreign financial organizations.
[June 08, 2017] Indonesia - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media - Statistics and Analyses

NEW YORK, June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- There has been considerable energy and turmoil in Indonesia's telecom sector over the last decade or so. Growth, both in subscriber numbers and in revenues, has been strong and, more importantly, there are signs that the changes in the regulatory regime and operator restructuring are starting to have a positive effect on the industry. The mobile market has been especially positive. There was a good response to the recent launch of 4G/LTE services.





Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03623806/Indonesia-Telecoms-Mobile-Broadband-and-Digital-Media-Statistics-and-Analyses.html





Continued progress in the development of the telecom sector will need further government action on restructuring the industry. A stumbling start to building the country's fixed-line network was followed by a solid fresh start, aided by the embracing of fixed-wireless technology, which became the dominant component within that market segment. However, the fixed market is now a minor segment and in decline. This is even more the situation with internet which is still in a relatively early stage of development.



Invigorated by the highly successful mobile segment on the back of increased competition in the marketplace, the country's telecom industry has found a new dynamic. The all-important national backbone network is taking shape and on the service side the rapid increase in mobile broadband subscriptions and smartphone take up has been remarkable. However, there had been some signs that the government was hesitating in its efforts to restructure the industry.



The fixed broadband internet market in Indonesia is still in the relatively early stages of its development. With Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) as the dominant fixed broadband technology in the country, the penetration of fixed broadband subscriptions was sitting at under 4%. The take up of high speed services based on fixed access platforms has only been modest.Fixed broadband penetrations stood at only 1.7% in 2016 and is predicted to increase to between only 2.7% and 3.3% by 2021.



This level of internet penetration remains low by world standards, but has been relatively consistent with its economic status and the availability of infrastructure, especially fixed-line services.





Indonesia and penetration rates now stands at 50% of the overall population.



The country's mobile market was characterised for many years by the large number of players licensed by the local regulator. Seven mobile operators are competing for revenues in the Indonesian market: Telkomsel, Indosat, XL Axiata, 3 Indonesia, SmartFren, Bakrie Telecom an dInternux (Bolt). Market leader Telkomsel continues to maintain a huge presence but is under increased threat from the competition.





All the major mobile operators in Indonesia are well advanced in the deployment of their 4G LTE networks. The two largest providers, XL Axiata and Telkomsel both have networks that covered over 70% of the country by 2017.



Over the last decade Indonesia's mobile market has displayed solid growth over the last five years with penetration increasing from 103% in 2011 to 148% in 2016. This strong growth has been driven by an increase in subscribers from the market leader Telkomsel, supported by increases from Indosat, and 3 Indonesia. Growing use of mobile broadband has been a major driver. Mobile broadband subscribers have grown significantly over the past few years in Indonesia and penetration rates now stands at 50% of the overall population. Growth is predicted to taper off over the next five years to 2021 as the market has now reached a higher state of maturity.



Industry consolidation is possible towards 2018 as intense data competition may force smaller and unprofitable mobile operators to be pushed out of the market. Industry consolidation is more likely to have a positive impact on the local telco sector as it will reduce the overcapacity in the market and bring more stability to data tariffs.



Key developments:



The mobile market in Indonesia has been growing strongly, but at a more modest rate than previously.

The fixed line market (wireless and wireline) continues to suffer setbacks with a rapidly declining subscriber base.

Broadband services were finally starting to grow, boosted by surging mobile broadband.

Government initiative on national infrastructure to push fibre and 4G coverage nationwide.

PT Telkom constructed more fibre-optic backbone networks, terrestrial and submarine

Investment in data centres has started to take off;

There are early signs of adoption of cloud computing by local industry;

Both Telkom and Indosat have been expanding the number of WiFi hotspots around the country;

Google has been actively involved in an Indonesian startup incubation program.

XL Axiata has rolled out 4G LTE services to around 100 towns and cities in Indonesia .

Telkomsel's strategy in 2017 is to focus on its Digital Business including an aggressive 3G/4G base transceiver station deployment.

Telkomsel, working with Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia and ZTE, launched 4.5G services in nine cities

PT Indosat Ooredoo was preparing to launch 4.5G (presumed LTE-A Pro)



Key companies mentioned in this report:

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03623806/Indonesia-Telecoms-Mobile-Broadband-and-Digital-Media-Statistics-and-Analyses.html



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Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey is starting exploration for hydrocarbons in the Mediterranean and Black seas, Turkish media quoted Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak as saying June 9.

Turkey will start drilling a well in the Mediterranean Sea during 2017, according to him.

Earlier, Turkeys Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources said in a report that in total 56 wells were drilled as part of the work to explore new oil and gas fields.
Bull's Eye, CNBC-TV18's popular game show, where market experts come together to dish out trading strategies for you to make your week more exciting and compete with each other to see whose portfolio is the strongest.

Remember these are midcap ideas not just for the day, but stocks that look attractive in the medium-term as well.

This week, Ashish Kyal, Gaurav Ratnaparkhi and Ruchit Jain battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis

Ashish Kyal of wavesstrategy.com

Buy JSW Energy with a stop loss at Rs 62.80 and target of Rs 69

Buy Britannia Industries with a stop loss at Rs 3550 and target of Rs 3760

Sell Aditya Birla Nuvo futures with stop loss at Rs 1730 and target of Rs 1625

Sell Container Corporation futures with a stop loss at Rs 1198 and target of Rs 1135

Gaurav Ratnaparkhi of Sharekhan

Buy RCF with a stop loss at Rs 84.90 and target of Rs 90.80

Sell IDFC futues with a stop loss at Rs 59.30 and target of Rs 55.50

Sell Oriental Bank of Commerce futures with a stop loss of Rs 152.50 and target at Rs 143

Sell IRB Infra futures with a stop loss at Rs 235.20 and target of Rs 220.50

Ruchit Jain of Angel Broking

Buy Manappuram Finance with a stop loss at Rs 89.50, target of Rs 104

Buy Ashok Leyland with a stop loss at Rs 91.50, target of Rs 100

Buy Deepak Fertilizers with a stop loss at Rs 252, target of Rs 274

Buy Page Industries with a stop loss at Rs 15050 and target of Rs 16425
Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com told CNBC-TV18, "Godrej Industries is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 628 and target of Rs 650. Vedanta is also a buy with a stop loss of Rs 232 and target of Rs 252."

Reliance Infrastructure is a sell with a stop loss of Rs 475 and target of Rs 450," he added.
American hardware major Cisco today said it is witnessing a jump in demand by Indian banks since the demonetization move, which made it open its first global digital experience centre here.

"Overall we see a significant ramp-up...requirements are coming from them, especially since November last year. That is where we have also seen growth," Cisco India's president Dinesh Malkani told reporters here.

He said digital solutions are "top of the mind" even for the state-run lenders, who are wanting solutions on a variety of aspects.

The company has nine innovation centres globally at places like San Jose, London, Tokyo and Berlin, but this is a global first where it has launched a dedicated 'digital experience centre' targeted at the banking, insurance and financial services sector.

A company spokesperson said the centre located inside a company office at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) business district is spread over 400 square feet.

Company officials declined to give the exact investment details on the Centre but said this is part of a USD 100 million commitment done as part of Country Digitisation Acceleration (CDA) programme announced earlier.

Malkani said earlier Indian banks earlier had to travel to its innovation centres, mostly to US, to understand technologies, and added the presence of finance companies in the BKC will help.

Apart from looking at available solutions, clients will be able to co-create solutions along with Cisco's staff.
N. R. Narayana Murthy, founder and chairman of Infosys, listens to a question during an interview with Reuters at the company's office in Bangalore February 28, 2012. Picture taken on February 28, 2012. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash (REUTERS - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY PROFILE HEADSHOT) - RTR30CV2

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Co-founders of India's technology giant Infosys are looking to sell their entire stake in the company, reports the Economic Times.

People privy to the development told the newspaper that the promoters group, led by NR Narayana Murthy and Nandan Nilekani, might sell their entire 12.72 percent stake, worth around Rs 28,000 crore in Infosys.

It is believed that this move could be a result of the recent dissatisfaction expressed by the founders regarding the company's present corporate governance standards, which in their opinion is not up to the mark. The founders have also expressed dissent with high salaries and hikes being paid to the company's present board.

Narayana Murthy was particularly upset with the huge severance package offered to Infosys Former CFO Rajiv Bansal.

On condition of anonymity, a top banker told ET that the stake sale is likely to take place via block deals on the stock market and in tranches.

"A single, block deal is thought to be unlikely. Large private equity or sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) won't be enthused to write USD 4-5 billion cheques to be minority investors without any rights," the banker told ET.

Responding to ET's query, Murthy denied such talks of a stake sale and said, " It is not true at all," whereas, Nandan Nilekani said he refused to make any comments.

Infosys co-founders -- Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan, SD Shibulal and K Dinesh -- hold neither executive nor non-executive roles in the company anymore.

This moves comes at a time when Infosys, along with the entire IT sector, is under pressure due to the rise of automation and geopolitical uncertainties. In the past few trading sessions, the stock price of Infosys has seen a correction and a further stake sale could lead to an overhang for the stock price.

Infosys would like to clarify reports in the media speculating on plans of stake sale by the promoters. This speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters. The company further reiterates that it has no information on any such development," the company said in a statement.

"We would like to appeal to the media not to fuel such speculative stories as they are likely to harm the interests of the company and all its stakeholders, the statement further adds.
Representative Image

In the last two days at least 25 new startups graduated from two Bangalore-based corporate accelerators - Microsoft and Bosch. Joining the bandwagon, cloud infrastructure provider NetApp too launched its own equity-free accelerator program on Wednesday in the city.

Then there are existing accelerators operated by large global IT companies such as Cisco and Oracle which back startups providing innovative solutions. Moneycontrol goes behind the business of accelerators and why corporates are running after incubating startups in their premises.

It is a good way for the IT companies to inject a new DNA and skills into their existing structure. Entering new markets such as machine learning and artificial intelligence becomes easier if they engage with startups, as building such products in-house from scratch can be a mammoth task, Ravi Gururaj, Founder & CEO at QikPod and President at TiE says.

It is also a way for the companies to track the disruptive ideas that can educate the top management, which eventually percolates down to the tech teams, he adds.

From fin-tech to retail to ed-tech, a majority of Indian IT companies are tracking startups closely today.

These companies are investing startups that offer technical expertise, hand hold them in creating the go to-the-market strategy, and in turn get their hands on some of the most coveted innovations.

While some, like Infosys and Wipro, have set up dedicated startup funds, others are tracking disruptive technologies in their own sectors.

Microsoft, for instance, gives a chance to the incubated startups to work closely with its Indian partners such as Wipro and TCS. The IT giant also encourages the startups to adopt their cloud platform Azure, creating a cross-selling model.

It is a win-win proposition for us as well as the startups to work together. The clients are also demanding integration of advanced technologies available today. It is a cross partnership and we definitely want these startups to generate revenues for us, Ravi Narayan, Global Director for Microsoft Accelerator says.

The company was also one of the earliest startup accelerators in India - Microsoft accelerator was established around 2012.

Technology giant Google has also shortlisted six Indian startups this year for the fourth batch of its accelerator programme, to be conducted at its Developers Launchpad in San Francisco.

The startups will receive equity-free support and credits for Google products. Technology major Oracle also kicked off its first startup accelerator program recently.

According to a report by Nasscom and Zinnov, India now has the third-highest number of startup incubators and accelerators in the world after China and the US.

Although, India still has a wide gap to fill compared to 2,400 accelerators in China and about 1,500 in the US, the report states. India has about 150.

For their own benefit

Why are these big IT companies vying for startups? The heads of accelerator programs at Microsoft, Wipro, and NetApp feel it is imperative to work with startups at a time when impending automation is threatening to make several job functions outdated.

Working with startups definitely opens up the innovation logjam. We are looking at unique ideas that address specific problems. These innovations will be absorbed in the larger market that will drive adoption of new technologies, Ajeya Motaganahalli, Director of NetApp India says.

Moreover, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the big IT companies to attract the best technology talent, which is forcing them to back startups, in order to fill the talent gap. Also, the products and services offered by such companies are becoming irrelevant at a faster pace than we can think.

To keep pace with the latest advances the easiest way for big corporate is to tap startups.

The average lifespan of a company on the S&P 500 has decreased from 90 years in 1935 to 18 years today. For several organisations, growing in size and becoming process-heavy has resulted in an innovation bottleneck that needs to be addressed. Innovation has become a cornerstone for organisations of tomorrow, with the landscape evolving into a disrupt-or-be-disrupted mode, Zinnov says in its report.

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy also recently indicated that the IT manpower needs to be re-skilled instead of laying off staff, to tackle the threat of automation.

Tech Mahindra and MindTree have set up startup segments within the organisations to encourage employees to work on disruptive technologies.

Wipro and Microsoft are also encouraging their existing employees to look at new technology avenues through hackathons and fun training modules.

The need for re-skilling talent is a reality that we have to address. To keep up in a fast-evolving technology environment, the IT industry must reinvent itself by re-skilling its employees in new and upcoming technologies, R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM, said.

The industry body also announced the launch of its future skills work group that is working in partnership with big IT companies on a two-pronged approach to enhance the skills ecosystem - Skills vs Job-specific Curriculum and Tech enabled Learning Ecosystem. The initiative is aimed towards skilling/reskilling 1.5-2 million people - both aspirants and current employees - over the next 4-5 years.

With large corporations acknowledging this trend and bolstering themselves for the future by investing in innovation, startup accelerators are emerging as the most preferred engagement model.

Pure business

The Startup India guidelines by the government of India also recognise contributions made towards startup incubators as part of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Contributions or funds provided to technology incubators located within academic institutions which are approved by the Central Government will be part of mandatory CSR contribution, the guidelines state.

In 2014, the government made it mandatory for big corporate to allocate at least 2 percent of average profits towards CSR. Post that companies like SAP, Tata Motors, and Bajaj Electricals are reported to have invested in such accelerators that are set up in top institutions such as the IIMs and the IITs.

However, the startup incubators set up by the large tech companies are not part of the CSR initiative.

We dont look at it as charity. Its a strategic decision which is in favour of our own company as well as in favour of the startups. The idea is to create an ecosystem of innovation and learning. If we dont work together with the ecosystem as a whole will not grow, K R Sanjiv, chief technology officer of Wipro says.

durba.ghosh@nw18.com
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Moneycontrol Research

Adani Power now seems to be looking inwards to work out a solution for its troubled Mundra-based 4,620 MW Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP). The options were getting narrower after the Supreme Court set aside an earlier tribunal ruling that allowed Adani Power to charge compensatory tariff from consumers. The company recently approved a slump sale of its Mundra-based plant to its subsidiary company Adani Power (Mundra).

Due to the adverse court ruling, the company took a write-off of Rs 4,360 crore in Q4FY17 leading to a loss of Rs 4,960 crore. While the Mundra project has already lost the equity (due to accumulated losses) it is now casting its shadow on other good assets.

To put it in perspective, because of the write-off, its consolidated net worth has fallen from about Rs 7,400 crore in FY16 to Rs 2300 crore in FY17. While consolidated gross borrowings have remained more or less at the same level of Rs 55,000 crore, debt-to-equity jumped to 18.5 times in FY17 with an interest coverage ratio of around one-time.

A possible corollary of this would have been the companys inability to borrow and fund existing and future projects. Moreover, as the credit profile weakens, the cost of borrowing shoots up. Inability to raise funds, higher cost of borrowings, pressure on cash flows and profitability could actually worsen financials at the consolidated level.

In this situation, it was in the interest of both the company and bankers to resolve the issue since it would not only have implications for Mundras standalone project debt (Rs 20,100 crore) but also threaten the ability to service the group project debt of close to Rs 46,500 crore on an equity of Rs 3,000 crore. Today, close to 82 percent of companys enterprise value (market capitalisation and debt) consists of debt that the company owes to the banks.

Will this structure succeed?

Financially, while there is nothing that changes prima facie with the proposed structure (a slump sale of assets into a separate subsidiary), the market is quite an optimist in believing that the new structure would possibly mean a stake sale in the newly carved-out subsidiary.

The company is said to be in talks with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL) which already has power purchase agreements (PPA) with Adani Power for about 2000 MW.

The Mundra-based power project, which runs on imported coal, has already cut the supplies by 1250 MW to GUVNL citing unviability of the project. GUVNL, therefore, fears inadequate supply of power. If it has to arrange for alternative sources, the new PPAs will have to be signed at 4.25-4.5 paisa per unit. Hence, it would not be as economic as procuring power from Adani Power.

The other alternative the market is speculating is that GUVNL might consider taking majority stake in the newly carved-out subsidiary. Hypothetically, even if losses are shared at 50:50 (in the case of 50 percent stake) the cost of power (existing Rs 2.4 per unit and a loss of 40-50 paisa per unit) would come to around Rs 3 per unit, which is still cheaper compared to signing new PPAs at Rs 4.25-4.5 per unit.

Mundra will be able to lower its losses to the extent of its stake sale in the proposed subsidiary. That apart, as a result of divestment, the debt and interest of the Mundra project could now also shift out of Adani Power's consolidated balance sheet thereby improving its debt-to-equity and interest coverage ratio, which is currently stressed.

However, these are all possibilities. Meanwhile, analysts are already putting zero value to the Mundra project. Lack of any workable solution will further erode the value of its good assets thus impacting net worth and putting further pressure on share price. Part of it is already visible. Post erosion in equity resulting in a decline in the book value, the stock trades at 3.5 times price to book value of FY17 compared to 1.2 times its price to book value of FY16.
Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Ltd., smiles during a news conference in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, October 18, 2006. Wipro Ltd., India's third-largest software services exporter, beat forecasts with a 48 percent jump in quarterly profits on Wednesday, as demand for outsourcing rose, but its shares fell 3 percent after recent gains. REUTERS/Jagadeesh Nv (INDIA)

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In its annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Indian IT major Wipro has mentioned US President Donald Trump as one of the risk factors, among others, that could hurt their business operations.

When Trump came to power, he increased the tariff rate for US imports (goods imported in the US) and promoted greater restrictions on free trade. The report expressed the company's fear on having a "material adverse affect" due to the "significant developments stemming from the recent US presidential election."

Changes in US social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories and countries where we currently operate could adversely affect our business.

This is the first time an Indian IT company has openly pointed out a US President as being detrimental to their business.

Wipro has 29 offices in North America, of which 22 are in the US. In the report, Wipro claimed that over 52 percent of its revenues are derived from its American clients.

Wipro also expressed their concern on the political imbalance caused by Brexit in Europe. The company generates over 24 percent of its revenue from the its European clients.

The report said, "an economic slowdown or factors that affect the economic health of the United States, Europe would adversely affect our business."

Despite Wipro claiming that more than 50 percent of their employees will be locals in their US offices, the company is still threatened with the strict visa restrictions and it could have an "adverse effect on (their) businesses, revenues and operating results."

Apart from the US, the company has categorized UK, Singapore and Australia regarding the difficulty of mobilizing personnel and increasing operational costs.
Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the last three years have been important for the country with regard to development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing a public meeting as part of the 'Modi Fest' here, Gadkari said since 1947 the Congress had ruled for 75 to 80 per cent, be it in the states, Centre or in the districts, and had always raised the slogan of 'Garibi hatao' (poverty alleviation).

"But poverty could not be eradicated, the unemployed could not get jobs and the country could not develop," Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping said adding, the poor only became poorer.

The special thing under the Narendra Modi government is how to eradicate poverty; how to give the poor some relief, and "I feel happy to inform you" that only 3.5 crore people had bank accounts since Independence, but under the Jan Dhan Yojana, it has risen by ten times with 29 crore people now having bank accounts - 60 per cent in the villages and 40 per cent in urban areas.

"Not only the poor opened accounts in banks, but deposited Rs 64,164 crore," the Minister said.

Describing unemployment as the biggest problem, Gadkari said to provide employment, industries have to come up.

Referring to the Make in India initiative, innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, research, use of science and technology, Gadkari said the government has laid emphasis on skill development.

Speaking about other schemes introduced by the Centre, he described irrigation as the most important one and said Jharkhand has the least irrigation facility in the country as the earlier governments did not pay attention to it.

"I feel happy that the Centre has made a provision - Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana - to augment irrigation facilities," Gadkari said.

Speaking on roads, the Minister said his department has doubled the NH roads from 96,000 km to 2,00,000 km and during the UPA regime, road construction was only 2 km per day, while now it is 23 km per day.

"By March, 16,800 km road contract has been given. When I went to London, World Bank officials said no other country has done it. They said it is a record," Gadkari said.

On Jharkhand, Gadkari said he has approved a flyover at Ratu Road in Ranchi and promised more roads if the state government wanted.

He said Sahibganj will become a growth engine through waterways. LNG bunkers will be constructed in Jharkhand for filling up ships and 2.25 metric tonne cargo will be transported from Sahibganj.

In all, 1.5 lakh direct and indirect employment will be generated and the Santhal region of the state will have job opportunities, Gadkari said.

"What did not happen in 50 years, we have showed it in three years under the Modi government. We don't talk, we work," he said adding, by 2022 farmers' income will increase by 2.5 times.

"India will grow... people have belief in the BJP government. So, we are getting people's support in every election," Gadkari said.
No. 4 | Bank: IndusInd Bank 7.25 percent| Annual rate of interest: | What Rs 1 lakh grows to in three year: Rs 1,24,055

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Private sector player IndusInd Bank has raised USD 225 million (about Rs 1,445 crore) from a US government funding agency for lending to small and medium enterprises.

The bank said it will utilise about 25 per cent of the US dollar loan from OPIC to fund women entrepreneurs as well as to cater to unbanked domains.

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and IndusInd Bank today executed a finance agreement for a USD 225 million loan supporting expansion of bank's micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) lending programmes across India, a bank statement said.

The eight-year loan tenure is part of OPIC's commitment of USD 1 billion loan assistance to underserved small and medium enterprises in India.

"Fostering access to finance opportunities for women entrepreneurs and MSMEs is important for increasing higher economic output throughout India," said Dev Jagadesan, Acting OPIC President and Chief Executive Officer.

IndusInd Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Romesh Sobti said: "The agreement with OPIC will help IndusInd Bank to further enhance our MSME lending franchise, thus providing the impetus to some of the major growth drivers of our economy."

Sobti said it will help bank reach out to a new class of global investors so as to fuel growth.

OPIC, a self-sustaining US federal agency, has been set up to aid American businesses invest in emerging markets.

IndusInd Bank has also inked a separate agreement with US based Wells Fargo Bank for a USD 20 million loan, 25 per cent of which is slated to fund women entrepreneurs.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Huseyn Valiyev  Trend:

Visa International and Azerbaijans GoldenPay have concluded a contract for issuing the hesab.az co-branded cards, a source involved in the project told Trend.

According to the source, technical and legal issues have been fully resolved to launch the project.

The hesab.az co-branded cards will be issued in autumn in partnership with an Azerbaijani bank, the name of which has not been disclosed yet.

At the initial stage, it is planned to issue around 10,000 cards.

According to GoldenPay, the cards will be in demand, taking into account that there are 260,000 users of the hesab.az payment system.

It will be possible to buy the cards after registering on the hesab.az portal or in branches of a partner-bank. The card holders will be able to make non-cash payments for purchases, receive discounts, earn bonuses, etc.
There is likelihood of hung parliament in the UK with the Conservatives not getting a majority as of now but could this outcome impact equity markets globally is the big question.

Andrew Holland, CEO, Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies does not think the outcome of this election to have any major impact on India or other global markets expect for some IT and pharma companies that are positioned in UK. For them their earnings could have an impact, he says.

According to him, the outcome would mean that UKs hand in BREXIT negotiation a lot weaker than the European Union but the fears of Europe disintegrating is off the table for some time now. Meanwhile, UK will have to pull itself up and stablise, he adds.

Neither does expect a major shift in terms of fund flows because of what is happening in UK but in the short-term, areas like housing market in the UK could take a hit as investors try to work out what is going to happen with asset prices in the real estate over the next 2-3 years.

With regards to Indian markets, he says he has been worried about liquidity since the levels of 9200 on the Nifty. There are range of issues which market is ignoring but one day they wont and it will be painful at that time.

However, giving assurance to investor in his funds, he says they are around 65 hedged and are well aware of the risks.

Currently, they are very bullish on the FMCG sector despite valuations because GST will be a big game changer for the space. The sector will see rerating. One cannot hide in pharma, IT but surely can hide in FMCG, says Holland.

The biggest risk for global markets is China which is slowly down faster than expected, says Holland. Moreover, the news that China is looking to buy US Treasuries could mean that they are looking to depreciate their currency. They may to depreciate themselves out of this slowdown in China, says Holland. They may depreciate their currency slowly or could do what they did in 2015 and take direct hit.

With regards to IT sector in India, he says the house has been looking at the space only from a dividend yield perspective and they would need to get to 10 percent, to buy the stocks, so that means further de-rating for the sector is on the cards.

There is need for the IT companies to reinvent themselves. The transitions for them is turning out to be very painful. He thinks if the companies are not going to achieve their 2020 revenue targets then they should give money back to the shareholders.

Talking about the monetary policy decision, he says 25 basis points rate cut before end of August is on the cards. So, he would prefer to go with private banks and housing finance companies.

He said the fund is not looking at any contra buys in pharma because the pain over there is just starting. Pharma has to change the business model because the current model is broken. They have to do what IT is trying to do.
Days after Infosys stock took a hit on the back of the managements comments regarding pricing pressure, a new development around its founders has strained the stock again on Friday.

The stock fell over 3 percent intraday as investors turned cautious of the stock on buzz of co-founders exiting the company.

A report in The Times of India, quoting sources, said that the co-founders were said to be exploring a sale of their entire 12.75 percent stake in the company, which is to the tune of Rs 28,000 crore.

The move could is said to be an effect of the promoters being miffed about the way in which the company has been functioning after they passed over the reins three years ago.

The company issued a clarification to the exchanges. "This speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters. The company further reiterates that it has no information on any such development. We would like to appeal to the media not to fuel such speculative stories as they are likely to harm the interests of the company and all its stakeholders.," the company said in a statement.

Earlier this week, Infosys Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao had told Moneycontrol in an interview, The traditional core business is seeing huge commoditisation and pricing pressure. Clients are throwing open for rebidding most of the deals that are coming up for renewal and asking for 20-30 percent cost take-out. While you may have been a successful partner, clients are asking for a cost reduction of 20-30 percent due to commoditisation of traditional core services.

Also Read: Infosys surprised by continued slowdown in consulting biz: COO Pravin Rao

Analysts say that while pricing pressure and growth pangs of Tier I players are known, what shocked investors was the cost take-out figure of 20-30 percent that Rao shared with Moneycontrol.

In fact, NR Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys had also said that in times of job losses in the IT industry, sacrifice must be made by seniors. I also realised that when the fortunes of a company ebb, the leaders and seniors have to sacrifice more compared to the middle and junior level people. Such sacrifice will have to be borne by employees as well as investors. In other words, there will have to be salary cuts based on the disposable income of employees and there will have to be stringent cost control, he told Moneycontrol in an interview earlier.

The stock has fallen over a percent in the past one month, while its three-day loss stood at 5 percent.

At 09:53 hrs, Infosys was quoting at Rs 932.10, down Rs 24.20, or 2.53 percent on the BSE. It touched an intraday high of Rs 942.00 and an intraday low of Rs 923.05.
A broker monitors share prices while trading at a brokerage firm in Mumbai August 22, 2013. The Indian rupee fell past 65 to the dollar to a record low on Thursday, after Federal Reserve minutes hinted that the U.S. was on course to begin tapering stimulus as early as next month and as foreign investors become sellers of Indian stocks. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTX12T38

3:30 pm Market closing: Equity benchmarks closed rangebound session higher on Friday, helped by late rally. HDFC Group and auto stocks supported the market.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 48.70 points at 31,262.06 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 21 points to 9,668.25.

About 1375 shares advanced against 1296 declining shares on the BSE.

Future Retail is looking at opening new distribution centres to ensure that products reach its stores faster and help save on costs through greater efficiency in view of the implementation of Goods and Services Tax from July 1.

3:00 pm Auto sales: Passenger vehicle sales in India rose by 8.63 percent in May, mainly driven by strong sales of utility vehicles.

According to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the growth registered in the passenger vehicles (PVs) segment last month was the best ever May sales.

Domestic PV sales rose to 2,51,642 units in May 2017 from 2,31,640 units in the same month last year, SIAM said.

Car sales in the domestic market rose by 4.8 percent to 1,66,630 units last month as against 1,58,996 units in May last year.

New model launches and the continued phenomenon of strong sales in the utility vehicle segment, comprising compact SUVs, led to strong growth in May, SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said.

2:37 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks recouped losses, with the Sensex up 3.35 points at 31,216.71.

The Nifty reclaimed 9,650 level, rising 4.80 points to 9,652.05 on further buying in banking & financials and auto stocks.

2:36 pm SC decision on Section 139AA: In a setback for the government, the Supreme Court on Friday granted partial stay on Section 139AA, which allows mandatory linkage of Aadhaar for filing income tax returns and allotment of PAN (permanent account number).

A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan had on May 4 reserved the verdict on the pleas, challenging section 139AA of the Income Tax (I-T) Act, which was introduced through the latest budget and the Finance Act, 2017.

The Section 139AA provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar / Enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form, for filing of return of income and for making an application for allotment of Permanent Account Number with effect from 1st July, 2017.

2:24 pm IPO: Central Depository Service Limited will announce its forthcoming IPO details on June 12.

CDSL is a depository that facilitates holding of securities in the electronic form and enables securities transactions to be processed by book entry.

CDSL was initially promoted by BSE, which has thereafter divested its stake to leading banks as sponsors of CDSL.

All leading stock exchanges like the BSE, National Stock Exchange and Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India have established connectivity with CDSL, the company said.

2:04 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks are headed for first weekly fall in five due to profit booking after UK elections results indicated possibility of hung parliament.

Infosys and ITC continued to keep the market in negative terrain while selling in HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and auto stocks capped gains.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 23.65 points at 31,189.71 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 6.70 points to 9,640.55.

Nifty Bank hit a record high at 23,679.65 despite subdued market conditions, up half a percent.

1:45 pm Buzzing: SME company Vadivarhe Speciality Chemicals shares have been on buyers' radar throughout the week. The stock was locked at 10 percent upper circuit today at Rs 95.70 on the SME platform of the National Stock Exchange.

With this rally, its gains during the week stood at 90 percent. The stock continued its run up was also on the back of picking up of stake by ace investor Ramesh S Damani who purchased 99,000 shares through block deal on June 7.

Another investor Saurabh Jain also bought 1.02 lakh shares of the company on same date.

Investors, who invested in the public issue at Rs 42, received a whopping 128 percent returns in the last few trading sessions.

1:21 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks remained lacklustre in afternoon trade but European markets turned strong after UK elections results that showed a possibility of hung parliament.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 36.53 points at 31,176.83 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 7.55 points to 9,639.70.

Infosys and Maruti Suzuki were most active shares on exchanges. Infosys declined nearly 2 percent on reports that founders may be looking to sell stake in the company while Maruti gained 2 percent as reports indicated that the company plans to spend Rs 1,000 crore in land acquisition this year.

Bourses in Europe were higher as investors reacted to a hung parliament in the UK's General Election. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE gained 0.8 percent each.

1:05 pm Market Outlook: While the market is witnessing strong moves, with bouts of consolidation, IL&FS sees sideways movements for the near term.

Highlighting that in the current situation, macros are positive and could be better post good monsoon, Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS told CNBC-TV18 that it was legitimate for the market to assume that these will translate into higher earnings growth.

Having said that he saw strong resistance at 9650-9700 as a strong resistance point for the Nifty. A crossover from this point could take the index to 10000, he said. But, in the near term, there could be a correction, but not a deep one.

12:40 pm Europe trade: European stocks gained momentum after general elections indicated that there could be a possibility of hung parliament in the UK.

France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE gained 1 percent each.

12:15 pm Market Check: Consolidation continued on the indices, with the Nifty hovering around 9600-mark now.

The Sensex was down 75.45 points at 31137.91, while the Nifty was down 22.75 points at 9624.50. The market breadth was negative as 1,154 shares advanced against a decline of 1,206 shares, while 133 shares were unchanged.

Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Mahindra and Vedanta were the top gainers, while ITC, Infosys and Tech Mahindra lost the most.

11:42 am FII View: The Nifty which has already rallied over 17 percent so far in the year 2017 could well come under some pressure as the momentum seems decelerating, Laurence Balanco, Global Technical Analyst at brokerage firm CLSA said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

The key short-term risk for the Nifty is a slowdown in momentum which is a near-term risk for the index. The current breakout in the uptrend is decelerating and there is a possibility that we come back to 50-days moving average around 9000-9100 which would be more of buying opportunity, said Balanco.

If we look at the momentum indicators to look at the speed and rate of change on charts over a period of time indicate deceleration of the trend and we see Nifty pullback towards 9,100 or 600 points, he said.

However, on the long term basis, Nifty is on track to hit 12,000 mark.

11.14 am Market check: Equity benchmarks continued to consolidate with a negative bias. Asia turned mixed and European stocks are also likely to open mixed as UK general elections' results indicated possibility of a hung parliament.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 59.06 points at 31,154.30 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 19.95 points to 9,627.30.

Maruti Suzuki hit a fresh record high intraday, up nearly 2 percent after a media report indicated that the company plans to spend Rs 1,000 crore in land acquisition this year.

Reliance Industries continued to support the market, up nearly 1 percent followed by HDFC Bank. HDFC rebounded after early losses while TCS remained higher.

Infosys continued to be leading contributor to Sensex' losses, down 2 percent followed by ITC, Adani Ports, L&T, Tata Motors, SBI.

10:45 am Market Outlook: At a time when the market is witnessing strong moves, with bouts of consolidation, IL&FS sees sideways movements for the near term.

Highlighting that in the current situation, macros are positive and could be better post good monsoon, Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS told CNBC-TV18 that it was legitimate for the market to assume that these will translate into higher earnings growth.

Having said that he saw strong resistance at 9650-9700 as a strong resistance point for the Nifty. A crossover from this point could take the index to 10000, he said. But, in the near term, there could be a correction, but not a deep one.

10:28 am SBI cuts loan exposure: In a sign that large corporate lending is being cut to size at India's largest lender, State Bank of India's (SBI) exposure of loans to top 20 largest borrowers declined by 22 percent to Rs 1.82 lakh crore in FY17. This accounted for 11.19 percent of total loans.

In the previous year, this number stood at Rs 2.34 lakh crore, accounting for 15.5 percent of total loans, SBI said in its Annual Report for 2016-17.

Additionally, the total exposure to top four NPA (non-performing asset) accounts also dipped to Rs 21,901.5 crore in FY17 as compared to Rs 26,863.5 crore a year ago, the annual report showed.

10.10 am Market Check: Benchmark indices continued to reel under pressure amid volatility. Investors digested UK exit poll that showed there could be a possibility of hung parliament after Thursday's election.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 75.63 points at 31,137.73 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 24.30 points to 9,622.95.

Infosys (down 2.5 percent) pulled the Nifty IT index lower by 1 percent as investors turned cautious on the stock after a media report said co-founders may be exiting the company.

Adani Ports, GAIL and Wipro were down 1-2 percent followed by ITC, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Tata Motors and SBI whereas Reliance Industries and Maruti gained a percent each.

9:59 am Buzzing: Shares of Reliance Industries gained nearly 2 percent intraday after a brokerage firm reiterated its buy call on the stock.

CLSA, in a report, reiterated its bullish call on the stock with a target of Rs 1,710, implying an upside potential of 29 percent. It places its bet on the developments around its telecom service, Jio.

After improving voice and data service quality over the past few months, we expect Jio to take the next step to monetisation. Also, we see Jio launching an affordable 4G feature phone within 2QFY18, the brokerage said in its report.

9:45 am Citi on Godrej Consumer: Citi raised target price of Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) to Rs 1,955 (from Rs 1,640) following increase in target multiple and 2 percent increase in EPS estimates.

"Our implied target multiple works out to 37x FY19 (34x September 18 earlier)  brought closer to peers reflecting Godrej Consumer's improving outlook and possibly return profile," the brokerage house said.

Like peers, FY18 could be a better year for GCPL despite GST transition in India, it feels. It estimated double-digit constant currency growth for the company.

9:29 am FII View: Goldman Sachs retained its overweight rating on Indian markets on increased confidence in corporate earnings recovery. The global investment bank expects earnings to grow 14 percent this year and 18 percent next year.

Tracking earnings trajectory, Goldman Sachs raised its Niftys 12-month target to 10,400 from 10,000 earlier. We expect banks to recover from a downgrade cycle with upgrades to next year earnings driven by better NIMs/operating efficiency, said the report.

Moreover, Goldman Sachs recent earnings revision Lead Indicator suggests EPS revisions in India may turn positive in coming months.

Also read - Buy, Sell, Hold: 3 stocks being tracked by analysts today

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended losses in early trade, with the Nifty opening below 9650 level amid consolidation.

Volatility continued in global markets as exit poll in UK showed UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party may not get majority, which means there could be a possibility of hung parliament in the UK after Thursday's election.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 82.97 points at 31,130.39 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 22.75 points to 9,624.50.

Infosys was the leading loser among Sensex stocks, down 3 percent followed by GAIL, Wipro, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Motors and Tech Mahindra.

Reliance Industries was biggest gainer, up 1.5 percent followed by HUL, Coal India, M&M, L&T, Yes Bank, IOC and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The Indian rupee has seen some correction in early trade. It has opened at 64.27 against the US dollar, down 6 paise compared with previous day's closing of 64.21 a dollar.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said the USD-INR currency pair has been consolidating in a range of 64.20-64.50 against the US dollar.

The rupee should continue to trade in this range with support expected at lower levels, he feels.
Siemens Industry Software India Pvt. Ltd., on Friday said it has signed a MoU with the Karnataka Government Tool Room and Training Center and DesignTech Systems Limited to establish four Centers of Excellence across the state.

According to the state government, the total cost of the project is Rs 2031.80 crore, out of which Siemens Industry Software, India contributes Rs 1822.48 crore and Government of Karnataka's share is Rs 219.32 crore.

The partnership paves the way for a world-class integrated skill development infrastructure and benchmarked technical education curriculum with a core focus on Industry 4.0 Automation, Mechatronics and Internet of Things (IOT) infrastructure, the company said in a release.

The four COEs will address diverse industry segments like Automotive, Industrial Machinery, Industrial automation, Renewable Energy and Aerospace and Defence, it said.

DesignTech Systems Limited is the execution partner for the four Centers of Excellence and will run the centers for the first two years and continue to provide support for the third year.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the MoU signing event said four Centres of Excellence have been planned to be set up at the sub-centres of the Government Tool Room and Training Centre Bengaluru, Kalaburagi, Dandeli and Mysuru in association with Siemens.

"This will result in providing advanced world class skill training to 25,000 to 30,000 youths in the State annually and contributes in providing skilled manpower to industries and thus paving the way for the overall industrial development of the State," he said according to a state government release.
Flipkart said its nine-day-long end-of-season sale Flipkart Fashion Days sale will begin on June 10.

The announcement comes at a time when GST is expected to drive up the price of garments above Rs 1000.

Following are some deals and contests Flipkart announced that can be availed by the customers.

Brand Stock Exchange is a concept that will have top brands at steep discounts across the day, as a part of limited deal offers.

A 'Bid n Win' contest will be open for customers during the nine-day sale in which those who register the lowest unique bids on various products can take can those home.

Flipkart will also host a 'Guess the Brand' Quiz, where participating customers have to identify brand logos to win prizes.

Indians today are a highly fashionable crowd, and at Flipkart we deeply understand this pulse. The objective behind our hosting this exclusive sale event is to reach out to the millions of fashion-savvy Indians across the country, said Rishi Vasudev, Head at Flipkart Fashion.

The company says more than 50 exclusive lines by top brands, such as - Aeropostle, Vero Moda, Forever 21, Under Armour, Kenneth Cole, Crocs, Adidas, French Connection, Jealous 21, Nine West and more - will be on sale.

In accessories, customers can look for deals in brands such as Police, Ferrari, Swiss Military, Victorinox.

In the footwear category - Chemistry, Carlton, Peter England, Provogue, Slazenger, and many more - will be a part of the sale.

With our exclusive offers, discounts, exciting contests and new features, we will enable our customers to shop better and smarter, as buyers like to evaluate products, and compare prices before making a purchase in order to get the best deal, Vasudev added.
IG Petrochemicals Ltd.

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With the Met Department revising the monsoon forecast to 98 percent of the Long Period Average (LPA), it is time to focus on agriculture-linked companies.

We picked up a little known name from the agrochemical space. This company has had a tumultuous past and is only just rebounding from a poor patch and should reap bounties, especially if weather gods rain down on us.

Right Business with the Wrong Past

Aimco Pesticides Limited (Aimco) is in the field of agrochemical manufacturing, formulation and marketing and is a major player in insecticides, fungicides and herbicides in India & across the world.

The company, with a history of more than 40 years, is promoted by industry veteran Pradeep Dave (and Excel Crop Care). Excel has recently sold its stake and presently the promoters hold 53 percent of the business.

Aimco is a manufacturer of various technical grade pesticides. Some of its key products include Chlorpyrifos [ Ethyl & Methyl], Temephos, Cypermethrin, Permethrin, Hexaconazole, Glyphosate, Triclopyr & Fluroxypyr and a vast range of pesticide formulations, viz., liquids, wettable powders, dusting powders, suspension concentrates and dry flowables. The products are marketed under the brand name "AIMCO".

Aimco is one of the leaders in Chlorpyrifos, Triclopyr & its formulations.

Aimco has a robust R&D facility and spends close to 1 percent of its turnover on the same.

Aimco got into a debt trap and was referred to BIFR (The Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction). Agrochemicals, traditionally, is a relatively high-entry barrier industry. The government regulates manufacture, sale, usage, export and import of pesticides. Overseas registration is expensive as well as time-consuming. Even registration in domestic market takes a while.

Aimco in the past had resorted to debt to finance product registrations. This coupled with other rising cost heads including raw material prices and production costs resulted in poor financial performance, erosion of networth and consequent reference to BIFR.

Early signs of revival were visible from FY14 and finally in FY17 the company has turned networth positive leaving the dark days behind.

Why look at Aimco Now?

A promising sector: Indian domestic agrochemical sector is set for better days ahead. There are multiple tailwinds. There is a definite need for improving food productivity, increasing investments in the rural sector, governments endeavour to double farm income, pan-India implementation of new crop insurance scheme and de-regulation of APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) in fruits & vegetables.

The gradual move from sustenance to profitable farming will also drive the growth of agrochemicals.

Advantage organised sector: While inherent risks of monsoon and volatile demand exist, the Indian agrochemical market estimated to be USD 4.5 billion (roughly equal between domestic & exports) is expected to grow by over 50 percent or (7-8 percent CAGR) over the next 5 years. The industry is currently 60-70 percent organised and potential change in the legal landscape will further strengthen their share.

Global agrochemical players are increasingly focussing on India for launching novel molecules and also for sourcing active ingredients for global supplies, propelling further export growth.

Steady financials of Aimco: Aimco presently has negligible debt on its books and the financial ratios have also started looking up. Hence, it is now in a position to leverage the emerging opportunities in a profitable manner.

Capex to drive revenue: After coming out of its financial trouble, the company has embarked upon capacity expansion. The gross block which is around Rs 7 crore in FY17 will stand expanded by Rs 5 crore in the next couple of years, thereby driving topline growth for the company.

Multiple growth drivers in the long-term: The company has plans to diversify into speciality chemicals and through its subsidiary, move into micro-nutrients and bio-nutrients, which are margin-accretive businesses.

Cheapest in the space: While the rather difficult past had largely kept it out of serious investors radar, even after reporting rather encouraging financial performance, the stock is the cheapest in the agrochemicals space.

While we do not expect a stellar jump in earnings, we do expect the company to keep a hawk eye on profitability and grow earnings in a steady and profitable manner. At the current price, the stock trades at 10.1X its expected earnings for FY19, which makes it a compelling proposition for long-term investors.
business Expect USL to recover in H2FY18; FY19 likely to be good year: Abneesh Roy In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Abneesh Roy, Senior Vice President at Edelweiss Securities spoke about the latest happenings in the industry as well as about the impact of liquor ban on United Spirits (USL).
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The many tailwinds seen by the metals sector like cut in global capacity of steel & aluminum, deficit in zinc, government measures (anti-dumping duty, increase in infrastructure spending) are likely to keep it on investors' radar -- at least in first half of current financial year.

In its latest report, CLSA said a confluence of positive factors should drive a rerating of Indian steel stocks.

"Confirmation of anti-dumping duties for the next four years has put a floor to Indian steel prices. Indian steel demand-supply is on the cusp of a multi-year tightening phase given the lack of new capacity additions. Steel demand outlook is also improving with the governments affordable housing programme and likely start of an investment cycle by FY19," the brokerage house said.

The thrust on infrastructure is already visible in the Union Budget 2017-18 with a record allocation of Rs 3.96 lakh crore (13.5 percent YoY).

ICICI Securities feels, globally, on the back of stricter environment norms, over a medium-term horizon there could be a cut in global capacity of steel, aluminum (especially in China, albeit at a gradual pace), which is likely to support global prices. This augurs well for the domestic metal sector, it said.

The brokerage house expects zinc prices to firm up from current levels given the global market for refined zinc metal is expected to remain in deficit in CY17.

In April 2017, the International Lead and Zinc study group (ILZSG) forecast for CY17 suggests the deficit in refined zinc metal market is likely to increase to around 226 KT compared to a deficit of 196 KT in CY16. The refined zinc market has been in deficit in three out of the last five years (CY13, CY14 and CY16). In the past, zinc deficit has augured well for global zinc prices.

Here are four metals stocks that look attractive:-

Picks from CLSA

JSW Steel | Target Rs 300 | Upside 54% | Period 1 year

CLSA upgraded the stock to buy from outperform and increased target price to Rs 300 (from Rs 185 earlier), citing healthy earnings growth.

The brokerage house believes it will be a big beneficiary of improving Indian steel industry pricing and demand-supply outlook in the coming years.

The 5mt Dolvi plant brownfield expansion by March 2020 will boost volume and earnings growth over FY21-22 and should be highly value-accretive given its low capital cost, it said.

CLSA expects JSW's valuation multiples to expand given improving pricing/margin visibility, tightening Indian steel demand-supply beyond FY19 and strong volume growth post FY20.

With anti-dumping duties on HRC & CRC steel getting extended until August 2021, it is now virtually certain that import protection for the Indian steel industry is set to continue. This greatly improves visibility on JSW's margins over FY18-20, it feels.

Tata Steel | Rating Buy | Target Rs 710 | Upside 45% | Period 1 year

CLSA said outlook for Tata's India business is strong, with healthy volume growth expected from the Odisha plant and continued price protection by the government.

Tata Steel Europe (TSE) outlook has also brightened with sale of loss-making units, price protection and benefits of product-mix/cost reduction initiatives, it believes.

Probability of a hive-off of TSE into a JV with ThyssenKrupp (TK) has risen, which could drive a significant de-risking, according to the research house.

This, together with improving Indian steel industry pricing and demand-supply outlook, could drive Tatas valuation multiples higher, CLSA feels.

Picks from ICICI Securities

Hindalco | Rating Buy | Target Rs 238 | Upside 20% | Period 6 months

Hindalco's management continues to focus on its strategic initiative of deleveraging the balance sheet. Total repayment of Rs 5,536 crore till date has resulted in significant improvement in consolidated net debt/EBITDA of 3.74x as on March 31, 2017 from 6.29x in the prior year. In the balance part of FY18, the company chalked out debt repayment plan of around Rs 2,200 crore (paid largely through internal accruals).

Thus, going forward, deleveraging coupled with low capex is likely to impart strength to the balance sheet in the medium term, which augurs well for the company, ICICI Securities feels.

Hindalco delivered a steady performance throughout FY17, marked by higher volumes and realisations from both aluminium and copper segment. Further, a strong performance of Novelis driven by increased automotive shipments remained a highlight for the year.

Based on technical observations, ICICI Securities expects the stock to resolve higher from four and half month of trading range (Rs 200-180) and head towards Rs 240-250 over medium term.

It believes the current consolidation on price front, which is nearing its conclusion, offers fresh entry opportunity for medium term investors.

Hindustan Zinc | Rating Buy | Target Rs 275 | Upside 18% | Period 6 months

Hindustan Zinc, the leading miner & manufacturer of zinc and lead in India, has a huge reserve base, which provides strong earnings visibility.

"Its integrated business model ensures steady cash flows, which reiterates our positive stance on the company," ICICI Securities said.

Among all major base metals, zinc is the best placed backed by healthy fundamentals. HZL has strong balance sheet, healthy cash flow, lower CoP (cost of production) net cash status and healthy dividend yield which augurs well for the company, it said.

HZL reported healthy performance for Q4FY17 on the back of healthy realisations, higher sales volumes and lower cost of production.

Based on the technical observations, ICICI Securities believes the secondary price correction in the stock has approached maturity. The stock is attractively poised above the key value area, thereby providing a good entry opportunity for medium term investors to accumulate the stock for the next up move within the larger degree uptrend.

It expects the stock to resolve higher from here on and retrace at least 50 percent of the last falling segment (Rs 327 to Rs 227), which provides upsides towards Rs 277 levels over the coming months.
Jio's Internet of Things platform will be commercially available from January 2020. (Image: Reuters)

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Shares of Reliance Industries gained nearly 2 percent intraday on Friday after a brokerage firm reiterated its buy call on the stock.

CLSA, in a report, reiterated its bullish call on the stock with a target of Rs 1,710, implying an upside potential of 29 percent. It places its bet on the developments around its telecom service, Jio.

After improving voice and data service quality over the past few months, we expect Jio to take the next step to monetisation. Also, we see Jio launching an affordable 4G feature phone within 2QFY18, the brokerage said in its report.

The brokerage highlighted that the company could be focussed on plugging holes to further improve its services. Some speed test results also indicate that data speeds have been at an appreciable level in recent few months. After the past few months of stable services, Jios focus should shift to monetisation but it remains to be seen if it goes from the current 66 percent discount to full tariff in one go or in steps, it added.

Apart from this, the likely start of its fixed broadband service should enable it to expand its target market beyond 4G smartphone users and add legs to its growth, it added. This would allow Jio to target nearly 30% of Indian mobile data users who still prefer feature phones, the report added.

Along with the likely start of its fixed broadband service, this should enable it to expand its target market beyond 4G smartphone users and add legs to its growth.

The next big event for the stock could be the annual general meeting, the report stated. The AGM, possibly in July, could be a key event for further announcements on Jio, projects and future cash use, the report stated.

The stock has risen around 2 percent in the past one month, while its three-day gain stood at 2.3 percent.

At 09:19 hrs Reliance Industries was quoting at Rs 1,344.45, up Rs 14.55, or 1.09 percent on the BSE. It touched an intraday high of Rs 1,352.00 and an intraday low of Rs 1,342.05.
Several Indian stocks could see some movement on Friday on the back of their business exposure to Britain and Europe. Motherson Sumi, Sharda Cropchem, among others, could hence be on the radar of investors due to a large chunk of revenues from Europe.

Motherson Sumi gets around 48-50 percent of revenues from Europe, while Sharda Cropchem garners 57 percent revenues.

Meanwhile, Tata Group companies such as Tata Motors JLR, Tata Global Beverages, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) could also react to the UK poll outcome.

Early results in the U.K. election indicated a tight race between Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservative government and the opposition Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn.

There are 650 seats in total  326 are required for a party to secure a parliamentary majority.

After winning his seat back in Islington, North London, early on Friday, 68 year-old Corbyn called for May to step down. "People have said they have quite enough of austerity politics," he said in a speech. "The PM called this election because she wanted a mandate. Well, the mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence."
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 9

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Japanese Emperor Akihito expressed interest in strengthening relations with Turkmenistan in his message to the Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news service reported June 9.

Emperor Akihito sent the message on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Turkmenistan.

Observing the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations, I sincerely hope that relations between our countries based on the principles of friendship and cooperation would continue to be consolidated. Taking an opportunity and expressing my deep respect, I wish Your Excellency strong health and wellbeing, noted Akihito in his message.

Akihito said his meeting with Berdimuhamedov in March 2015 during the Turkmen presidents visit to Japan for participation in the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction brings warm memories.

Japanese companies are involved in various projects to diversify the Turkmen economy. A complex of plants for the production of ammonia and urea was built with their participation in 2014 in Turkmenistans Mary city. In July 2016, a sulfuric acid plant was commissioned in Turkmenabat city.

During the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Turkmenistan in October 2015, memorandums were signed for developing natural resources and the transport infrastructure of Turkmenistan. Meanwhile, agreements on a number of projects worth $18 billion were concluded between the two countries.
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Tata Motors today resolved a long pending wage settlement dispute by signing pact with workers of its Sanand plant under which each permanent employee is to get Rs 16,000 hike spread uniformally over the next 5 years.

There are around 500 permanent workers at the plant which rolls out Nano, Tiago, and compact sedan Tigor. The long-term wage settlement (LTS) between the Tata Motors Sanand Union and Tata Motors was amicably agreed upon and has been signed today for a period of 5 years with effect from October 2015 to September 2020, the company said in a statement.

The total wage package allotted is Rs 16,000 for each permanent worker and will be spread across the LTS term uniformly, it added. In addition to the amount, the company said it has also introduced a performance-linked payment, which is accounted as 10 per cent of total salary and will be linked to productivity, quality and safety.

"This new measurement of performance has been well received by workmen. The annual bonus linked to performance covering all permanent workers was also agreed upon," Tata Motors said. Additionally, other benefits like transport and canteen facilities and various other facilities, like rationalisation of leave rules and block closure days up to 24 days per year were mutually agreed, it added.

"We have strived to resolve the LTS issue and today are delighted to have resolved the matter for a long term, ensuring our business operations competitiveness on one hand and taking care of the well-being of our shop-floor colleagues on the other," Tata Motors Chief Human Resource Officer Gajendra Chandel said.

Last year, around 300 workers at the Sanand plant had gone on flash strike to press for reinstatement of around 20 of their colleagues who have been suspended for serious misconduct.

There have been agitations at the plant for monetary increases as well as protests against disciplinary actions against those instigating the workmen, resulting in serious threat to company personnel as well as losses due to tampering. Tata Motors' shares rose 1.4 per cent to Rs 467.20 on BSE.
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IT major Wipro Ltd has listed US President Donald Trump's policies as a risk factor that could impact its business, citing promotion of "greater restrictions on free trade" among key worrying points.

The Bengaluru-based firm which earned 52 per cent of its IT services revenue from the Americas, including the US, said significant developments stemming from the US presidential election could have a material adverse effect on its business.

As a candidate, Trump and his administration had expressed support for policies impacting existing trade agreements, like North America Free trade agreement (NAFTA), and proposed trade agreements, Wipro said in an SEC filing.

In its annual report for the fiscal ended March 31, 2017 filed with the market regulator, Wipro further said Trump administration has been "promoting greater restrictions on free trade generally and significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into the United States".

It added: "Changes in US social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories and countries where we currently operate could adversely affect our business."

The company had reported net sales of Rs 55,420.9 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2017. After assuming office last year, Trump has taken several steps, including H1B visa restrictions, that raised concerns in the Indian IT sector.

This April he signed an executive order that called for a review of the H-1B visa programme, saying they should never be used to replace American workers and must be given only to the most skilled and highest paid applicants. The US had also accused top Indian IT firms TCS and Infosys of 'unfairly' cornering the lion's share of the H-1B work visas by putting extra tickets in the lottery system.

Wipro had said in April that it expected locals to constitute more than half of its workforce in the US by June as it continues to make "significant" investments in the American market amid tightening of visa norms. The company further said in the SEC filing that if the economy in the Americas or Europe continued to be volatile or uncertain or conditions in the global financial market deteriorate, pricing for its services may become less attractive. Clients located in these geographies may reduce or postpone their technology spending significantly, it added.

The other factors, which the company said are "not within our control that could cause significant variations in our results in any particular quarter", include "political uncertainties or changes in regulations in India, the United States and other countries that we operate in". Besides, it also said the duration of tax holidays or exemptions and availability of other Indian government incentives would be a factor.
Representative Image: General Motors Halol plant

Unhappy and upset over the poor compensation offer from General Motors, about 100 dealers are planning to move to court, reports Business Standard.

The company which is planning to exit from the Indian car market as it was making losses even after 2 decades of its entry in India and unable to gain market share.

The company would use its Talegaon manufacturing facility to make cars for the export markets.

The report said that dealers were discussing the matter with legal counsel and may take action against the company. Several options were on the table including filing a class action suit in the US Court, but a final decision has not been taken.

About 70 dealers are likely to visit the companys US headquarter to make a representation.

The quantum of compensation has been a major sticking point, as the compensation works out a meagre 8.5-15 percent of the investment made by dealers. The companys compensation formula has been based on average retail sales of past two years and the age of dealership.

Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) has written to the General Motors on behalf dealers who have been affected by the companys decision.

Most of the dealers are likely to accept the compensation package as they dont have the wherewithal to fight a lengthy legal battle with the company.
BJP president Amit Shah today said the NDA government has proved that it can simultaneously develop villages and industry, and not even the opposition can accuse it of corruption after three years.He was speaking at the inauguration of 'Modi Fest', an exhibition showcasing achievements of Narendra Modi led government, at Gauss Memorial grounds here.

"Earlier, it would be asked whether the government of the day was pro-farmers or pro-industry. But the Modi government has proved that it can develop farmers as well as the industry," Shah said.

"This government has completed three years, but neither the media nor the opposition can accuse it of corruption. This is a transparent and decisive government,"he added.

He said that the government is aiming to bring not just economic reforms but also economic transformation."This government has ensured construction of toilets, availability of gas cylinders in the houses of poor. The poor now have bank accounts."

"Modi has presented a development model based on inclusive growth which aims at taking development to everyone in the society. India has become the fastest growing economy in the world under the Modi-led BJP government," he said.

A befitting reply was given to Pakistan through the surgical strikes, he added.

In UPA government, "every minister considered himself to be the prime minister", the BJP chief said.

"People then waited for long to hear the prime minister (Manmohan Singh). He had to wait for a call from 10 Janpath (Congress president's residence) before saying anything," said Shah.
The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP), also called the UP Board, has declared UP Board Result 2017 Class 10 and UP Board Result Class 12 together today. The results have been put up on official website upresults.nic.in at 12.50 pm.

Pass percentage for Class 10th Result 2017 is 81.6 percent and for Class 12th Result 2017 is 82.5 percent.

With about 22,000 affiliated schools, the UPMSP, set up in the year 1921 at Allahabad, bills itself as the 'biggest examining body in the world'. This may not be a false claim considering the number of students appearing for UP board exams 2017 were nearly double the number of citizens in Mongolia, the world's 19th largest country by area.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government chalked out a detailed strategy to overhaul education in the state and this is expected to alter the fate of the near-34.04 lakh students appearing this year for Class 10th (High School) exams and 26.24 lakh appearing for Class 12th (Inter) board exams.

In fact, the HRD Secretary Anil Swaroop met the CM with a 30-point action plan to improve quality of education in UP. The meeting focused on the use of technology to transfer teachers, ensuring that they attend schools, improving teaching techniques and also ensuring that government schools students attend classes.

Heres a list of reforms planned by UPMSP which could have a bearing on UP Board Result 2017:

> The 30-point action plan aims to address, among other issues, connecting students with Aadhar numbers, finalising minimum level of education for every class, ensuring computer operation in schools using solar energy, closing schools where number of students is very low and merging them with neighbouring schools and GIS mapping of schools.

> Apart from initiatives to enrol more students, the government promised to take on the 'nakal mafia' and wipe out the menace of mass cheating. According to a report in the HT, nearly 6 lakh students left their UPMSP Board exams midway as strict vigilance made it impossible to cheat.

The percentage of students passing the UP Board exam has varied from 40 percent (high school) in 2008 to nearly 88 percent in 2016, largely dependent on varying levels of strictness by the administration to combat mass copying. Officials expect the pass percentage to fall significantly for UP Board Class 10th and Class 12th Result 2017 compared to 2016.

> Coded answer sheets were provided this year in 31 identified sensitive districts of the state which is likely to reflect in the Class 10th Results 2017 and Class 12th Results 2017.

> While the other measures were welcome by deserving students, one new rule has also upset them. This rule is said to require re-evaluation of papers if a student scores over 90 percent. Most students feel this will push evaluators to keep marks below the 90-percent limit and hit meritorious students.

> To promote the education of girls in the state, the government announced Rs 10,000 reward for every girl who passed Class 10th in Uttar Pradesh. The decision to reward high-school passed girls came on June 5, the day when the newly-appointed Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath turned 45.

> To blend in traditional and modern curricula, the government has also announced introduction of English in government schools from nursery instead of Class 6.

Also Read: UP Board Class 10th and Class 12th Results 2017 out today: How to beat results blues and cope with stress.
The UP Board, or the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP), declared the Class 10 and Class 12 results on its official website upresults.nic.in today.

The results mark an important milestone for about 60 lakh students who appeared for the UP board exams this year. To put that into perspective, nearly double the students appeared for their UP board exams this year as there as citizens in Mongolia, the world's 19th largest country by area.

Union HRD Secretary Anil Swaroop recently met the CM with a 30-point action plan to improve quality of education in UP. The meeting focused on the use of technology to transfer teachers, ensuring that they attend schools, improving teaching techniques and also ensuring that government schools students attend classes.

Here then are eight things to know about UP Board Result 2017.

- The results will be declared at around 12.30 pm on upresults.nic.in. In case of website slowness at the slated time, students can also check out private exam-tracking websites such Examresults.net, which also have tieups with boards.

- Students can also check their result on SMS by sending 'UP10<space>roll number' or 'UP12<space>roll number' to 56263.

- UP Board Result 2017 was delayed this year, as assembly elections held in the state in February and March pushed out exams, and consequently, results to later.

- What also likely postponed board exam results was the Delhi High Court ruling asking CBSE board to reinstate the scrapped marks moderation policy. Several boards, including UP board, had decided to scrap the controversial policy. But after the court verdict, they have decided to continue with it for now, saying they would give grace marks to failing students.

- The Yogi Adityanath government, soon after it was installed, promised to take on the 'nakal mafia' and stamp out the menace of mass cheating. According to an HT report, as many as nearly 6 lakh students left their board exams midway this year as they unable to cheat amid strict vigilance. Coded answer sheets were provided in 31 identified sensitive districts of the state.

- The pass percentage for UP Board Result has varied greatly over the past decade, from a low of 40 percent (high school) in 2008 to a high of 88 percent in 2016. Officials said this was due to varying levels to strictness by the administration to combat mass copying. (Hint: Pass percentage falls when BJP/BSP are in power and spikes when SP takes over.) Officials expect the pass percentage to fall significantly this year compared to 2016.

- The UP Board is said to have a new rule this year: students scoring above 90 percent will have their marks revaluated. This has peeved many students who feel the rule will nudge evaluators to keep marks below the threshold, thereby hurting meritorious students.

- About 1.37 lakh teachers commenced evaluation of a total of about 4.6 crore answer sheets at 253 centres from April 27 onwards.
The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP, or the UP Board), has declared UP Board Result 2017 Class 10 and UP Board Result Class 12 together on official website upresults.nic.in.

While the official website is experiencing slowness, students can check their results on private exam-tracking website examresults.net.

Pass percentage for Class 10 is 81.6 percent and for Class 12 is 82.5 percent.

Tejaswi Devi of Fatehpur district topped the Class 10 exams with 95.83 percent. Class 12 topper is Priyanshi Tewari of Fatehpur district with 96.20 percent, according to ANI.

In the largest board exam held in the country, around 34.04 lakh students appeared for Class 10th (High School) exams and 26.24 lakh for Class 12th (Inter) board exams.

In 2017, Class 10 exams were held between March 16 and April 1 while Class 12 exams were held between March 16 and April 21.

Below is a three-step guide to checking your board exam results:

>Log on to the websites upresults.nic.in or examresults.net

> For Class 10 Results, click on UP Board Highschool Result 2017. For Class 12 Results, click on UP Board Result 2017 Class 12 (Intermediate).

> Enter your roll number and other details in the fields provided. Your mark sheet will show up. Take a print for future reference.

Students can also check UP Board Result 2017 from mobile phones:

> For Class 10, SMS 'UP10<space>ROLLNUMBER' (without quotes) and send it to 56263

>For Class 12, SMS 'UP12<space>ROLLNUMBER' and send it to 56263

Will crackdown on 'nakal mafia' lead to lower pass percentage?

The results declaration date has been delayed this year, because of the assembly polls that were held in February and March, and because of the incoming administration's crackdown on mass copying, or the 'nakal mafia'.

According to an HT report, as many as nearly 6 lakh students left their board exams midway this year as they unable to cheat amid strict vigilance. Coded answer sheets were provided in 31 identified sensitive districts of the state.

The pass percentage for UP Board Result has varied greatly over the past decade, from a low of 40 percent (high school) in 2008 to a high of 88 percent in 2016. Officials said this was due to varying levels to strictness by the administration to combat mass copying. (Hint: Pass percentage falls when BJP/BSP are in power and spikes when SP takes over.) Officials expect the pass percentage to fall significantly this year compared to 2016.

The UPMSP cancelled exams held at 54 centres while 57 centres were debarred from holding board exams in future, according to Jagran Josh.

Last year, a total 67.5 lakh students appeared for UP Board Exam (37.5 lakh for Class 10, 30.5 lakh for Class 12). Pass percentage was 87.66 percent and 87.99 percent respectively. UP Board Result was declared on May 15, 2016.

Marks moderation a hiccup

What also likely caused a delay was a Delhi High Court ruling asking the CBSE Board to reinstate the controversial 'marks moderation policy'. A number of boards this year announced, after they conducted exams, that they would not follow marks moderation.

The marks moderation policy is believed to be the practice of inflating marks of some high-scoring students who are perceived to have been given tougher exam question sets, compared to others.

The policy also has a 'grace marks' rule, in which marks of students falling below the passing grade are revised higher.

After the court ruling, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said CBSE results would not have inflated marks of high-scoring students but added that the board would continue to give grace marks.

UP board officials told the HT that they would follow whatever decision was taken by CBSE.

Meanwhile, to promote the education of girls in the state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government announced Rs 10,000 reward for every girl who passed class 10th in Uttar Pradesh. The decision to reward high-school passed girls came on June 5, the day when the newly-appointed Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath turned 45.

The exam is conducted by UPMSP, which was set up in the year 1921 at Allahabad. The UP board bills itself as the 'biggest examining body in the world', and has about 22,000 schools affiliated with it.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 9

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

Uzbekistans Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting with a delegation of the US Department of State, the Uzbek Foreign Ministrys press service said in a message.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on topical issues of the Uzbek-American agenda in political, trade and economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian and other spheres, according to the message.

The parties also viewed the implementation process of previously reached agreements, schedule and agenda of the upcoming contacts in various formats. During the discussion of international problems, the two sides paid special attention to regional issues.
Post the London attacks last week, British Prime Minister Theresa May blamed the internet for providing a safe haven to terrorists.

May is of the opinion that the internet provides a "safe space" for terrorists and technology companies are further enabling such spaces to exist buy providing methods like end-to-end (E2E) encryprtion.

Theresa May, responding to the London attack by three young men who killed seven people and injured many, called for an end to the safe spaces that the internet provides, and for measures to regulate cyberspace.

We cannot allow this ideology the safe space needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet and the big companies that provide internet-based services- provide, she said.

We need to work with allied, democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremism and terrorist planning, she added.

Despite having some of the strictest rules to monitor the internet, May further wants to introduce backdoors into various softwares. "We will command all the software creators we can reach to introduce backdoors into their tools for us," she said.

Such intrusive policy ideas into ones privacy can bear dire consequences and have backfired in the past. As once you create a backdoor, you create a vulnerability, which can be exploited by anyone.

Here are a few reasons why creating backdoors to crack encryptions can lead to greater threats.

Privacy crusaders and cybersecurity experts say that the idea of sabotaging cryptography is not a wise one. If you want to secure your sensitive data, store it on your hard drive, but if you are transferring some information over the cloud, to your doctor or your bank or to your work colleagues, you need good cryptography.

If you deliberately compromise cryptography with a back door which can be accessed only by the 'good guys', you are relying on them to be incorruptible. Such an assumptions is not wise as humans tend to be the weakest link while sabotaging any network as they are always prone to corruption and blackmail, experts say.

There is also a question whether encryption can be made secure while still maintaining a master key for the authorities.

Such a structure is already in countries like Syria, Russia, and Iran. There are two means by which authoritarian governments have attempted to restrict the use of secure technology: by network filtering and by technology mandates.

What is a backdoor?

A backdoor in software or a computer system is generally an undocumented portal that allows an administrator to enter the system to troubleshoot or do upkeep.

But it also refers to a secret portal that hackers and intelligence agencies use to gain illicit access.

The problem with backdoors

The back door will give access to everything that encryption protects, from the digital locks on your home or office to the information needed to clean out your bank account or read all you email.

How backdoors made us WannaCry:

Privacy experts said that the global ransomware attack that hit 150 countries is a prime example of why having backdoors into softwares is a bad idea.

The WannaCry ransomware infected at least 2,00,000 computers. The software used a flaw in the code for the Windows operating system that Microsoft and others said was stolen from National Security Agency (NSA) or a group believed to be affiliated with it.

The NSA has said it did not create ransomware tools, but not addressed the issue of whether the original exploitable flaw the ransomware was based on came from stolen NSA cyber tools.

Cryptographic locks dont just protect our mundane communications, it is the reason why thieves cant impersonate your cars keyless ignition system, it is the reason you can bank online and it is the basis for all trust and security in the 21st century.
I hope such informal summits becomes a tradition between both the countries. I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India: PM Modi (Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today strongly pitched for coordinated efforts among SCO members to combat the menace of terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In his address at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Kazakh capital, Modi hoped that India's entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism.

"Terrorism is a major threat to humanity," Modi said, adding that there was a need for coordinated efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.

The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

"We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity," he said.

However, the Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif among others, asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such a cooperation.

His remarks assume significance as they come weeks after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the Summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of Xi, and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Modi said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.
Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses a headphones to listen to a speech during the United Nations Vesak Day Conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte - RTS16AZW

India and Kazakhstan decided to enhance cooperation in a wide range of areas, including hydrocarbons, trade and investment and the atomic energy.

During the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, it was also decided to start direct flight services between Astana and New Delhi.

India's Ambassador to Kazakhstan Harsh Kumar Jain said there will two flights per week from Astana to New Delhi from July.

He said it was also decided that Kazakhstan will increase supply of uranium to India.

In April last year, Kazakhstan supplied 1,000 tonnes of uranium to India while its second consignment has just reached the country.

As per the provisions, Kazakhstan will supply 5,000 tonnes of uranium to India.

Kazakhstan is now one of the biggest suppliers of uranium to India.

Both sides also agreed to deepen cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector.

In the meeting, Prime Minister Modi invited Kazakhstan to join international solar alliance to which Kazakh President Nazarbayev responded positively.

External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said the meeting lasted for 45 minutes and it produced specific outcomes.

India and Kazakhstan agreed to work closely on major connectivity projects and underlined that Chabahar port will significantly improve trade between the two countries.

They also decided to step up cooperation in textile, manufacturing and other areas.

Prime Minister Modi met Nazarbayev soon after arriving here on a two-day visit during which he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit where India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the bloc.

"Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, met PM @narendramodi and discussed ways to expand bilateral ties," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

"I look forward to deepening India's association with the SCO which will help us in economic, connectivity and counter- terrorism cooperation, among other things," Prime Minister Modi had said ahead of his visit here.

The Prime Minister will address the SCO Summit tomorrow and is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping amid growing differences between the two countries over a host of issues.
I hope such informal summits becomes a tradition between both the countries. I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India: PM Modi (Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today underscored the need to respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle the disputes as he met Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions in the bilateral ties over a host of issues including the CPEC and India's NSG membership bid.

The two leaders met in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

It is the first meeting between the two leaders after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

During his meeting with Xi, Modi said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

The Indian side is grateful for China's support for India's accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organisation, Modi said.

On his part, Xi told Modi that the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that both the countries "should also address sensitive and major issues" as she highlighted the issues figured in the meeting.

"India should focus more cooperation and work alongside to provide assistance to each other's developmental goals," Hua said.

"The two sides should strengthen the complementarities of the development strategies and press ahead with the major cooperation projects such as energy and railways," Hua said.

She also said the two sides should press ahead in a major way on Bangladesh, China, India Myanmar Corridor (BCIM) besides tourism, culture and other relevant fields.

BCIM is part of the China's multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative (BRI).

Xi also congratulated India on becoming official member of the SCO, she said.

"We hope that the two counties will work together to ensure the development of the SCO," he told Modi.

Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, so as to instill more momentum into each other's development and contribute to world peace, stability and common development, said the Chinese president.

Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India.

The Chinese president called for more high-level interactions, institutionalised exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries, Xinhua reported.

China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large- scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said.

The Chinese President said his country is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organisation.

China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It had also stalled India's move to list Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN.

After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.
The objective this time is to follow the East Asian model to make India into a hard state, a state than can ensure that its policies are enforced.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of SCO summit in Astana amid growing differences between the two countries over a host of issues, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and India's NSG membership bid.

Modi arrived in the Kazakh capital yesterday on a two-day visit to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit where India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the bloc.

"PM @narendramodi meets President of China #XiJinping on margins of SCO Summit in Astana," Gopal Baglay, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson, said.

The meeting between the two leaders assumes significance as this would be the first this year and taking place after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beiing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion CPEC which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) besides moves to list JeM leader Masood Azhar as terrorist by the UN.
FBI Director James Comey waits before testifying at a House Intelligence Committee hearing into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Accusing President Donald Trump of defaming him with "lies", fired FBI director James Comey today said it was "very disturbing" that he asked him to stop probing the Russia links of one of his top aide, prompting the White House to assert that "the president is not a liar".

During almost three hours of his explosive testimony to a Senate panel, Comey said he saw Trump's request to stop investigating the alleged ties of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn as an "order".

Comey said the president asked him for "loyalty" during a White House dinner and to lay off Flynn -- who is under criminal investigation -- imploring Comey to "let this go."

Asked whether he considered Trump's request to drop the investigation of Flynn, Comey said, "I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning."

The 56-year-old former FBI chief told the committee that he perceived Trump's comments over Flynn as an "order".

He also said Trump misguided the American public when he last month said the FBI was in "disarray".

"Those were lies, plain and simple, and I'm so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them, and I'm so sorry the American people were told that," he said in his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Trump avoided directly responding to the explosive accusations, telling supporters at a religious event in the capital: "We are going to fight and win."

But the White House hit back angrily at Comey.

"I can definitely say the president is not a liar and frankly am insulted by that question," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.

Asked about a dinner he had with Trump on January 27 - just days after his inauguration, Comey said the US president was trying to establish a "patronage relationship."

Describing that dinner, he said, "My common sense told me that what was going on is, either he thought or someone told him, 'you have already asked Comey to stay, and you did not get anything for it.' And the dinner was an attempt to build loyalty..."

"What the president whispered in my ear was, I really look forward to working with you...I'm sitting there thinking, three times we've already talked about me staying. My common sense told me, he's looking to get something in exchange..." Comey said.

When Senator Dianne Feinstein asked Comey why he didn't stop and say, "Mr president this is wrong" over the Flynn probe, Comey said "maybe if I were stronger I would have. I was so stunned by the conversation that I just took it in."

When he was asked how his colleagues reacted when Trump asked him to "let it go" (about the Flynn investigation), Comey said: "They were shocked," and "they were very concerned."

Responding to a question from Senator Burr, Comey said he has no doubt that the Russians attempted to interfere in the the 2016 elections.

Trump, Comey said, told him repeatedly that he had talked to lots of people about him, including his current attorney general, and had learned that he was doing a great job and that he was extremely well-liked by the FBI workforce.

"(But) on May 9, when I learned that I had been fired, for that reason, I immediately came home as a private citizen," he said.

"They confused me because the president and I had had multiple conversations about my job, both before and after he took office. And he had repeatedly told me I was doing a great job and he hoped I would stay.

"I had repeatedly assured him that I did intend to stay and serve out the remaining six years of my term," he told the lawmakers at the hearing being watched live across the US.

Comey was fired on May 9, when Trump expressed his deep frustration with the continuing probe into whether members of his presidential election campaign had tied up with Russian hackers against the billionaire tycoon's rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May waits for the result of the vote in her constituency at the count centre for the general election in Maidenhead, June 9, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville - RTX39QYF

The United Kingdom woke up on Friday to a hung Parliament, with Prime Minister Theresa May's gamble of holding an early election spectacularly backfiring. With the under-fire May set to make a statement later this afternoon on her future, here's a primer to bring you up to speed:

Exit polls

After voting ended at 10pm local time, an exit poll came out predicting that the ruling Conservatives would form the single largest party, but would fall short of a majority. Such polls have turned out to be unreliable in recent major elections, but with counting now over in 642 out of 650 seats, this one proved to be spot-on.

At the time of writing, the Tories had 314 seats, 11 short of the halfway mark, while Jeremy Corbyn's Labour had 261.

Labour led for at least two-thirds of the way during counting, before the Conservatives surged ahead to meet exit poll predictions.

By the break of dawn in Britain, it became clear that a hung Parliament was the only outcome.

Mess for May

While the Conservatives have won the most seats, the result is no cause for celebration. May could still continue as Prime Minister, but significant damage has been done. She called this election three years early thinking that she could strengthen her mandate before Brexit talks. Instead, her majority has reduced and the "stability" he talked about throughout the campaign has failed to materialise.

Her party colleagues did not hide their disappointment. Conservative MP Nigel Evans said,"We didn't shoot ourselves in the foot, we shot ourselves in the head."

Former Small Business Minister Anna Soubry did not hold back either. Im afraid we ran a pretty dreadful campaign and thats me being generous, she said, Shes (May) a very talented woman and she doesnt shy from difficult decisions but she has to consider her position.

Labour leader Corbyn suggested that May had lost her authority and should resign. Media reports suggest she will continue.

Big names bite the dust

Major parts of UK turned red in a flash as there were some high-profile defeats. Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Scottish National Party's Deputy Leader Angus Robertson suffered shock defeats.

Alex Salmond, former leader of the SNP, also lost his seat. In a major blow to the Tories, at least nine ministers had to bite the dust.

The Conservatives' performance in Scotland helped keep them afloat, but they still need to cobble a majority to form a government. The Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland may come to the rescue with their 10 seats, but the party could seek their pound of flesh in the form of a compromise on Brexit.

May could also run a minority government, but that would make life difficult in terms of getting policies approved.

For Labour, it's been an admirable show given the party wasn't expected to compete. But it won't have enough seats to form the government even with the help of the SNP and Liberal Democrats.

Markets Reaction:

Global markets have been mostly indifferent as they are still figuring out the implications of this result. S&P 500 futures is marginally up, Nikkei is positive, Hang Seng, Sensex marginally down. However, UK financial market barometers are showing signs of worry- FTSE futures and GBP/USD are both down about -0.5% each.
June 09, 2017 / 07:50 PM IST

POSITION AFTER 650/650 RESULTS ANNOUNCED:

Conservatives: 318, Labour: 262, SNP: 35, Liberal Democrats: 12, DUP: 10

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19:49 Theresa May had announced the snap elections on April 18 with an intention of securing a larger mandate for her to be able to negotiate a better deal with the European Union. She was enjoying immense popularity at the time and the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn looked weak. The Conservative Party was expected to do very well. It was a gamble which has failed.

As things stand, the Conservative Party will return to Westminster not just with lesser MPs than expected but with a loss in majority.

Theresa May has vowed to form the government with support of the Democratic Unionist Party from Northern Ireland, amidst calls for her to step down, even by people within her party. Many within the Conservative Party now believe it is time for her to go and time for the party to choose a new leader.

Over the next few days, the DUP will hold talks with Theresa May to help her form the government. But chaos is likely to continue for some time to come.

19:48 The Labour Party has received a whopping 40% vote share. Jeremy Corbyn has led the them to secure 261 seats, up from 232.

The Scottish National Party who had "once in a century" performance in 2015 have also been badly dented, mainly due to anti-incumbency and their first minister Nicola Sturgeon's demand for a second independence referendum. SNP's loss has been Labour and Conservative Party's gain.

Wales had moved towards the Conservative Party since the last election. However, the Labour Party has managed to hold on to those key seats as well.

The Liberal Democrats who had won just eight seats in 2015 have improved their tally to 12. But Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister has lost out. They had some strong words to say against Theresa May, earlier in the day.

The pro-Brexit UKIP party previously led by Nigel Farage has lost all its seats. Many smaller parties too have done poorly. The United Kingdom is now headed towards a two-party political environment and uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the European Union have made it clear that there is no time to waste and Brexit negotiations must start immediately. Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council said, "Our responsibility now is to secure least disruptive Brexit. No time to lose".

19:17 Democratic Unionist Party says it is their best performance ever securing almost 1/3 of all votes cast in Northern Ireland.

Arlene Foster, DUP leader has confirmed that the DUP will talk to the Conservative Party, to "bring stability".

19:14 DUP expected to address the media shortly in Belfast.

19:08 The Conservative Party is clearly looking for a working arrangement with the DUP for now until the party's new leadership takes over later afterwards.

18:50 Multiple reports now confirming that the Kensington constituency in London has been won by the Labour Party - for the first time ever.

18:35 Donald Tusk, president of the European Council has congratulated Theresa May on forming the government and asked her to start the Brexit negotiations.

18:07 The Guardian is reporting that Scottish first minister and leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon has signaled that she may drop plans for the second Scottish independence referendum. She also admitted that the issue was a key factor in SNPs shocking loss of 21 seats.

17:50 Full transcript of Theresa May's speech:

"I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen, and I will now form a government  a government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country.

This Government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days and deliver on the will of the British people by taking the United Kingdom out of the European Union. It will work to keep our nation safe and secure by delivering the change that I set out following the appalling attacks in Manchester and London  cracking down on the ideology of Islamist extremism and all those who support it. And giving the police and the authorities the powers they need to keep our country safe.

The Government I lead will put fairness and opportunity at the heart of everything we do, so that we fulfil the promise of Brexit together and - over the next five years - build a country in which no one and no community is left behind. A country in which prosperity and opportunity are shared right across this United Kingdom.

What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election, it is clear that only the Conservative & Unionist Party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons. As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular.

Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom.

This will allow us to come together as a country and channel our energies towards a successful Brexit deal that works for everyone in this country  securing a new partnership with the EU which guarantees our long term prosperity. Thats what people voted for last June. Thats what we will deliver. Now lets get to work."

Transcript Courtesy: The Guardian

Theresa May addresses the country and vows to stay on as the Prime Minister.

She says, "I will now form the government". She says that her government will guide the country through the Brexit talks and that it will work to keep the nation "safe and secure".

16:54 Theresa May has just reached the Buckingham Palace. She will be meeting Queen Elizabeth II.

16:52 British Prime Minister Theresa May is now on her way to the Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Elizabeth II.

16:51 Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party says that her party is willing to work with others to keep Tories out of 10 Downing Street, if possible.

She has also called SNP's achievement remarkable as two-party politics returns to UK, says Sturgeon.

"We have more seats than all of the other parties combined (in Scotland). We will be strong voices for Scotland," she adds.

16:48 Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats asks Theresa May to step-down and says that LibDems will not support the Tories.

He says, "I am enormously grateful to all of you. The future of our country is less uncertain than it was when Theresa May called for elections a month and a half ago. Nick Clegg is a giant of British politics. Our party paid a political price by joining that coalition. History will be kind to Nick. She (Theresa May) took each and everyone for granted. She put future of our country at risk. She should be ashamed. She has brought weakness and uncertainty. Mandate Theresa May sought has been rejected by the British people."

16:30 The Guardian's Heather Stewart is reporting that former education secretary Nicky Morgan has called on Conservatives Party members to look for new leadership in the long run.

She said that it is right for the prime minister to continue and try to form the government. But she should take responsibility for the party's disastrous campaign.

16:20 Jean-Claude Juncker, chief of the European Commission addresssed the media in Prague today. He asked Britain not to delay Brexit talks.

As far as the commission is concerned we can open negotiations tomorrow morning at half past nine, he added.

16:15 List of Indian-origin MPs who have won or retained their seats:

Alok Sharma, Conservative Party, Reading West

Keith Vaz, Labour Party, Leicester East

Lisa Nandy, Labour Party, Wigan

Preet Kaur Gill, Labour Party, Birmingham Edgbaston

Priti Patel, Conservative Party, Witham

Rishi Sunak, Conservative Party, Richmond

Seema Malhotra, Labour Party, Feltham & Heston

Shailesh Vara, Conservative Party, Cambridgeshire North West

Suella Fernandes, Conservative Party, Farahem

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, Labour Party, Slough

Valerie Vaz, Labour Party, Walsall South

Virendra Sharma, Labour Party, Ealing Southall

15:48 John Swinney, deputy first minister of Scotland and a former SNP leader, has said that Scottish first minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will have to hold off a second independence vote after the party faced losses.

15:09 Paul Nuttall, leader of UKIP has resigned after his party failed to win a single seat. He says, "UKIP has been a victim of its own success. UKIP is now more relevant than it ever has".

15:08 Press Association is confirming that Theresa May will be visiting the Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Elizabeth II.

15:02 DUP is currently meeting. They will be releasing a statement later today, BBC is reporting.

May is likely to strike a deal with them in order to form the government.

14:47 Voter turnout of 68.7% this time is the highest since 1997 General Election.

14:36 Theresa May is likely to visit the Buckingham Palace at 5 pm India time to meet Queen Elizabeth II to try forming the government, BBC's Laura Kuenssberg is reporting.

14:25 Donald Tusk, President of the European Council has tweeted, "We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a "no deal" as result of "no negotiations".

14:23 Counting in the Kensington constituency in London has paused as it was too close to call. The Labour candidate was leading just before they paused. The counting is set to resume later today. Labour have never won the seat before.

14:15 David Miliband, senior Labour Party politician has tweeted saying, "Wow. So good Labour stronger. So good Brutal Brexit rejected. So good next generation realized the stakes and spoke up."

David had lost leadership to his brother Ed Miliband in 2010.

Seat wins in Scotland (59/59):SNP 35Conservative 13Labour 07Lib Dem 04

UKIP 00

13:54 European Union's Chief Negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier has said that Brexit talks should start 'when UK is ready'.

13:50 Preet Gill has been elected as the first female Sikh MP. She won the Birmingham Edgbaston seat for the Labour Party with a majority of 6,917.

13:47 John McDonnell, senior leader of the Labour Party has told the BBC that they are open to forming a minority government.

If we can form a minority government, I think we can have a stable government. We would be able to produce a Queens speech and budget based upon our manifesto, which I think could command majority support in parliament, not through deals or coalitions but policy by policy. That would prevent another election. We are not looking for a coalition or deals, he said during an interview.

.

13:19 BBC's Laura Kuenssberg is reporting that a senior DUP leader has said, "It may be very difficult for her to survive".

Support of the DUP who have won 10 seats, will be crucial for May to form a government.

13:16 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party has told the BBC, "We are ready to serve this country. Parliament must meet and take a decision. We will put forward our point of view. It (Brexit negotiations) must go ahead (as planned)".

13:00 Nigel Farage, former leader of pro-Brexit party UKIP has told BBC, "She failed the test. She did not look like a leader."

He further added that if Brexit is supposed to be a success, UK needs to have a leader who believes in it.

When asked about why his party failed to win a single seat this time, Nigel said fluidity of the voters must not be underestimated and that they will move if they don't get the desired Brexit.

12:42 Scottish Conservative leader and Member of Scottish Parliament, Ruth Davidson has said that possibility of having a second Scottish independence referendum is "dead".

Current vote share in Scotland:SNP 37% (-13%)Conservative 29% (+14%)Labour 27% (+03%)Lib Dem 07% (-01%)Green 0.2% (-01%)

UKIP 0.2% (-01%)

12:28 Labour Party's Jeremy Corbyn greeted by cheering crowd as he reached his party headquarters in London, moments ago.

12:25 The Guardian is reporting that the British pound has hit a five-month low against the Euro, at  1.1322, following the election result.

12:14 Gus O'Donnell, former cabinet secretary has told the BBC that Theresa May will have to stay as the Prime Minister for now, but the result will make it very difficult for her to negotiate Brexit.

12:07 BBC is reporting that Theresa May is keen on forming a government and has no intention of resigning.

11:30 The Guardian now reporting that Theresa May will make a statement in three hours from now, at 2.30 pm India time.

11:20 MARKET REACTION

Global markets have mostly been indifferent as they are still figuring out the implications of this result. S&P 500 futures is marginally up, Nikkei is positive, Hang Seng, Sensex marginally down. However, UK financial market barometers are showing signs of worry- FTSE futures and GBP/USD are both down about -0.5% each.

11:15 Here's a full list of ministers who suffered defeat. Nine in all:

Jane Ellison (Treasury)Gavin Barwell (DCLG)Rob Wilson (DCMS)Ben Gummer (Cabinet Office)James Wharton (DfID)Nicola Blackwood (Health)Simon Kirby (Treasury)David Mowat (Health)

Edward Timpson (Education)

Clearly not a mandate for the Conservatives.

11:10 UKIP leader Nigel Farage, whose sole purpose for creating his party was to get Britain to leave the European Union, is now worried about the future of Brexit:

"Article 50 had been triggered and we were on our way. May has put all this in jeopardy."

11:00 Ed Miliband, who led the Labour campaign in 2015, says Theresa May can't lead the Brexit negotiations because "she told us losing majority would destroy her authority".

10:50 WHAT ABOUT THERESA MAY?

May could still continue as Prime Minister. But this election result deals a major blow to her credibility. She called this election three years early thinking that she could strengthen her mandate before Brexit talks. Instead, her majority has reduced and the "stability" he talked about throughout the campaign has failed to materialise.

She is expected to make a statement later today on her future. In the meanwhile, it remains to be seen if her party colleagues will seek her resignation.

10:45 WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

The Conservatives will be the single largest party in the House of Commons and are in pole position to form the next government. However, they are short of a majority and will need to cobble together one or run a minority government.

At the moment, their best option for a coalition partner is Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which has won 10 seats, and enlist the support of a few Independents.

10:30 HUNG PARLIAMENT!

It's official now. There are still a few seats left to be declared, but the Conservatives will not cross the majority mark of 326.

10:20 Meanwhile, it's been a strong night for Labour in Wales, taking two of the seats it had lost in 2015.

10:15 The Tories are now past 300 seats, but with only 24 seats still left to count, they will not reach the majority of 326.

10:10 The BBC is claiming a source has told them that May is '50-50 to go' after this result. Will the Tories ask their leader to step down?

10:05 The pound fell 1 percent to the Euro and nearly 2 percent to the dollar after a hung Parliament was predicted.

10:00 Labour, meanwhile, have crossed the 250 mark. They won 229 seats in the 2015 election. A thumbs-up for Jeremy Corbyn.

09:50 Tories now inching closer to the 300 mark. But 326 is what really matters to them.

09:45 If the Conservatives need help forming a government, they may seek out the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, which might make some demands on Brexit.

09:40 TORIES WILL NOT CROSS 2015 TALLY

We know now that the Conservatives will definitely fall short of their 2015 seat tally of 330. That itself is a major blow for Theresa May.

09:35 How will Indian companies be affected by the results? Find out why TCS and Sharda Cropchem will be among those in focus.

09:30 The stats tell a story. The Conservatives have lost 25 of the seats they won in 2015, while Labour have only lost three.

09:25 Home secretary Amber Rudd holds on to her seat in Hastings after a recount. That said, several of her cabinet colleagues have failed to retain their seats. Five of them have had to bite the dust.

09:20 Reuters now saying Conservatives leading 293 to 245.

09:10 It now looks like the Tories will be the single largest party but voices within the party now questioning whether May will be able to continue. MP Anna Soubry says it's a bad night for the party and they need to introspect.

"Its bad. I think shes (May) in a very difficult place  She needs to consider her position. Its a dreadful night."

09:05 It's been a bad night for some of the big fish. The former leaders of the SNP and the Liberal Democrats have lost, while the current UKIP leader has been defeated too.

09:00 BBC has put out a revised forecast saying the Tories will win 318 seats, still eight short of the majority.

08:55 A big defeat for the Scottish National Party. Its former leader Alex Salmond has lost its seat in Gordon. The SNP's average show will weaken its prospects of getting a second referendum on Scottish independence.

08:45 Infosys founder Narayana Murthy's son-in-law Rishi Sunak has been re-elected from Richmond. He belongs to the Tories.

08:40 Conservatives take the lead for the first time! It's 225 to 222 now.

08:35 A reminder that the British currency fell 2 percent against the dollar after the exit polls were announced.

08:30 Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron has won his seat while UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has been defeated.

08:25 SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says she is disappointed by the losses in Scotland, but makes the point that her party has still won the most seats in the region. "We have won the election."

08:20 Counting has been completed for 435 out of 650 seats. Labour have won 192, while PM May's Conservatives have won 188.

08:15 Ken Peng of Citi Private Bank tells CNBC-TV18 that the UK election result will have no impact on the Indian markets.

08:10 Theresa May speaks after retaining her seat. Looks rather glum. Repeats campaign message that the country needs stability.

"'If the Conservative party has won the most seats and most votes, it will be incumbent on it to ensure that stability."

Not very confident, clearly.

08:05 Theresa May speaks after retaining her seat. Looks rather glum. Repeats campaign message that the country needs stability.

07:55 Conservatives catching up now. It's Labour 165, Tories 153.

07:50 THERESA MAY WINS HER SEAT

Prime Minister Theresa May has retained her seat in Maidenhead by a handsome margin.

07:45 In his victory speech after winning his seat, Corbyn says people are turning their back on austerity.

07:35 The vast majority of results are expected to be declared between now and 10.30am IST. We should have a clear picture by noon India time.

07:30 The latest numbers: Labour 115, Conservatives 91

07:25 Another big blow for the SNP. Its deputy leader Angus Robertson has lost to the Conservatives.

07:20 Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has lost his seat in Sheffield. A big blow for the Liberal Democrats.

07:11 Scotland seems to be saving the Tories. The Scottish National Party took nearly all the seats here in 2015, but the Conservative Party is whisking some of them away this time.

07:03 Theresa May's reputation is on the line here either way. Even if it's a narrow victory, her leadership will be challenged given that she called this election with the idea of strengthening her mandate.

06:51 After the early results, BBC has put out a forecast that actually increases the Tory seat count to 322 from 314. Hmm.

06:45 Boris Johnson, Tory leader and foreign secretary who was a strong pro-Brexiter, says it's still early days in the count.

06:40 Labour widening the gap. It's 50 to 29 now. Not good news at all for Theresa May.

06:35 UKIP leader Nigel Farage says Brexit will be in trouble if Jeremy Corbyn wins these elections. He thinks a second referendum could be possible.

06:30 The early results clearly have Labour enthused. Its deputy leader Tom Watson is already talking about knives being out for Theresa May.

06:25 BBC now reporting that Labour have 30 seats to Conservatives' 20.

06:15 Here's what the House of Commons looked like before these elections were called:

06:05 A word on the exit polls: 30,450 people were interviewed as they walked out from 144 polling stations across the UK.

More than 46 million people were registered to vote.

06:00 An update on the results. Labour now has 17 seats to the Conservatives' 8.

05:55 Here's what George Osborne, who was Chancellor under David Cameron, has to say:

"If the poll is anything like accurate, this is completely catastrophic for the Conservatives and for Theresa May."

05:50 Both leading parties have held their safe seats so far.

05:45 Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has issued a statement:

"Id like to thank all our members and supporters who have worked so hard on this campaign, from door knocking to social media, and to everyone who voted for a manifesto which offers real change for our country. Whatever the final result, we have already changed the face of British politics."

05:35 The results for 15 seats are out so far and Labour have 10 of those, Conservatives 5.

05:30 The exit polls were not cheered by the pound. The currency fell sharply by more than two cents to 1.2717 against the dollar, before recovering slightly to 1.2742. Traders have been hoping for stability.

05:20 So what do those numbers mean? A hung Parliament or a coalition government could be on the cards. But most importantly, it indicates that Theresa May has probably made a grave miscalculation by calling these early elections.

That said, these are exit polls. They often go wrong as we Indians know all too well.

05:15 Right then, let's get straight into it. Voting has ended in the UK and the exit polls are out. It's not great news for Prime Minister Theresa May. Her Conservative Party is seen to be in the lead at 314 seats, but short of the majority of 326.

The Labour Party is seen at 266 seats, while the Scottish National Party is expected to get 34 seats. The Liberal Democrats, which were part of a coalition government with Tories till 2015 are pencilled in for 14 seats.

00:15 Surveys just before polling began suggested that the ruling Conservative Party had widened its lead over its main rival, Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party. However, May's popularity has dipped in recent weeks so a win cannot be taken for granted.

00:00 Around 47 million people are expected to vote by the end of the day. Voting will end at 2.30am IST, after which an exit poll will be issued.

The first set of results will come in at around 4.30am IST, while the vast majority will be declared between 7.30am IST and 10.30am IST. We should have a clear result by noon India time.

23:45 Voters are electing 650 MPs to the House of Commons, which is similar to the Lok Sabha in India.

The elections were originally scheduled for May 2020. But in a shock announcement in April, Prime Minister Theresa May called for snap elections to be held on June 8 this year, a full three years in advance. May said she wanted a clear mandate ahead of negotiations over Britain's future after it leaves the European Union.

23:30 The country is still reeling from two major terrorist incidents in the past fortnight - a bombing after a concert in Manchester that killed 22 people, and a van and knife attack in London that claimed eight lives.

23:15 Brexit and terrorism are foremost on voters' minds as they choose the leaders who will shape their future.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the UK elections. Britons are voting today in what is a high-stakes general election and we will be with you right from when counting begins until the result is known.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 9

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who arrived in Astana on June 8 to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), met with Pakistans Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the Uzbek presidents press service said in a message.

During the meeting, special attention was paid to the current state and prospects of relations between the two states, as well as issues of strengthening regional security, according to the message.

Uzbekistan supported Pakistans admission to the SCO as a member state, paid particular attention to this issue during its chairmanship in the organization.

At the meeting, President Mirziyoyev noted that Uzbekistan will further develop the multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation with Pakistan, according to the message.

Nawaz Sharif, for his part, said that Pakistan is interested in expanding the partnership with Uzbekistan in all fields.

Uzbekistan and Pakistan support each other on the international arena. As of today, about 50 interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents have been signed in the political, trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian and other spheres. There are 55 enterprises operating in Uzbekistan, organized jointly with Pakistan.

As it was previously reported, Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will participate in next meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organizations (SCO) member states in Kazakhstans capital, Astana, on June 8-9.

President Mirziyoyev also took part in the official opening ceremony of the International Specialized Exhibition Astana EXPO-2017 and he will hold a number of bilateral meetings with heads of foreign delegations as part of the event.

The SCO was established in 2001. The SCO members now are China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia and Belarus are the SCO observer-countries, while Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Nepal and Armenia are dialogue partners.
Education

Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu.

Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu.

Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events:

International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu.

EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu.

Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale  an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s  will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets  June Homecoming: Participant  $18 per person; Sustainer  $25 per person; Benefactor  $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler  Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events:

SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available  for information call 610-275-1960

Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above)

SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m.

Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.  4 p.m.  computers are available during those hours.

Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863.

Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376.

Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com.

The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes:

Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at

other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020.

CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313.

The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events:

Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m.

Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30.

Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301.

For Kids & Families

The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443.

Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950.

Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required.

The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950.

Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus.

Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage.

Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun.

Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train.

Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world!

Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class.

Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org.

Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583.

Community Events at the Ambler Y:

-YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register.

Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org.

Health

Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot.

The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information.

Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245.

Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net.

Spring Aquatic Programs  UDHS Pool:

-Summer is just around the corner  Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required.

 Shallow Water Aerobics  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR.

 Adult Swim Instructions  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR

-Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21.

-Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday  Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m.

-Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons.

-Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates.

Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994.

SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com.

Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org.

Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs:

FITNESS CLASSES

Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month.

Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30  9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000.

Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30  7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047.

New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.  12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30  4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931.

Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325.

Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes.

Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com.

Librarytalk

Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744

www.upperdublinlibrary.org

APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS:

Storytimes: Please register in the library.

o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m.

o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m.

o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m.

o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6.

APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS:

North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee

APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS:

NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org.

One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register  contact info above.

Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744.

o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register.

Meetings:

Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m.

Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m.

Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org.

For children and teens at Blue Bell:

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.

* May 14  Despicable Me

* June 11  Alpha and Omega

* Special Events

* April  watch for date of spring/Easter events

* April 14 at 4:30 p.m.  Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children.

* April 14 at 7 p.m.  Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided.

* April 16 at 1 p.m.  Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King.

* April 16 at 1:30 p.m.  Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes?

* April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button.

* April 30 through May 3  Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults.

* May  sign up for Science in the Summer

* June  sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children

* June  sign up for Summer Reading, all ages

For adults at Blue Bell:

* Daytime Book Discussion Group  fourth Tuesday, Jan  April at 1:30 p.m.

* April 26  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Night-time Book Discussion Group  third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

o April 19  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges

o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked?

*Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs

* Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class.

* Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class.

* Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m.

* Giant Book Sale, April 29  May 3

o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults!

o Held during library hours.

o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m.

o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join.

* Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series

o May 11 at 1 p.m.  Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society

* Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room.

* Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read.

* Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome.

* Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome.

*Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older.

* Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours

* Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours

* Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday!

Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library.

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* For adults:

* Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn.

* Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net

* Special Events:

* April 14 at 1:30 p.m.  Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.

* April 19 at 7 p.m.  Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m.

* April 21 at 7 p.m.  Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades.

*May 2 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

*May 10  Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*May 12 at 1:30p.m.  Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.

*May 17  Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*June 13 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

Meetings and Lectures

The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833.

The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200.

The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/.

LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings.

Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org.

Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org)

-Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them.

The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter.

For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps.

Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin.

Special Events

The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County.

The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065.

Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members.

Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex.

The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com.

The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348.

The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org.

Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163.

The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu.

The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com.

The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net.

Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages.

13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries.

Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family.

The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler.

JPRN  Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them  Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike.

Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies.

Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately.

Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways.

Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table.

Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp  Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall:

-Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store.

Music and Theater

The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220.

Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html.

Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free.

The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org

Religious News

The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276.

Reunions

St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net.

Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572.

Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779.

Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net

Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net

The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411.

Support

New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149.

PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931.

The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296.

Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656.

Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group  every other Wednesday, 7  8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support  second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner  Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers  Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information.

CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7  8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich,
As a result, all plans from Aetna and its subsidiaries, including Medicare and Medicaid plans, will not be accepted as in-network at nearly all LVHN-operated facilities when their current contract ends in 120 days.
Jarrett Coleman goes from school board to statehouse with win in 16th Senate District race
Tehran, Iran, June 6

By Mehdi Sepahvand, Dalga Khatinoglu  Trend:

Iran stopped compressor, turbine and pump imports from China after implementation of nuclear deal, Reza Padidar, chairman of Board of Directors at Society of Iranian Petroleum Industry Equipment Manufacturers, told Trend June 6.

The nuclear deal between Iran and P5+1 Group (the US, UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany) was implemented in January 2016 and sanctions on Iran were eliminated.

Padidar said that during the sanctions era, Iran had to import low-quality Chinese oil and gas equipment lacking the needed global standards, but the import of these goods decreased by 60 percent in the post-sanctions era.

According to an official document prepared by Oil Ministry and seen by Trend in 2016, Iran needs more than $3.6 billion worth compressors and about $908 million worth pumps only for refineries in 2016-2021.

However, Iran recently signed agreements with Germanys Siemens and other western companies to establish joint ventures for producing progressive electromotor devices and turbines.

Padidar said that currently, about 70 percent of the needed equipment in oil and gas industry is produced domestically.

Iran becoming self-sufficient in high-tech turbine manufacturing

Abbas Aliabadi, CEO of Iranian engineering giant Mapna Group, told Trend that his company is involved in progressive projects as manufacture of hi-tech equipment, such as the turbo-compressors used in transmission pipelines, refineries and processing units, and oil measurement equipment.

Mapna has also made it one of its top priorities to make better equipment, he said.

"For instance, we have produced MAP2A and MAP2B turbines, which are enhanced versions of MGT70 with higher power output and efficiency," added Aliabadi.

Mapna has signed several contracts with many well-known international companies, either for the supply of equipment, or transfer of technology or to set up a joint venture, including a joint venture between Tuga  Mapnas subsidiary in charge of engineering and manufacturing steam and gas turbines  and Franco Tosi Meccanica of Italy in December 2015.

In March 2016, Mapna signed a technology transfer agreement with Siemens in Berlin.

In February 2017, Mapna Boiler Company signed a technology transfer and licensing agreement with Belgian CMI for manufacturing heat recovery steam generators using F-class and H-class turbines.

Iran plans to increase the nominal power generation capacity from the current 76.8 gigawatts (GW) to 100 GW by 2021, of which about 80 percent would account for thermal power plants.
June 09, 2017

Corbyn's Success Will Revitalize Europe's Social-Democracy

My heartfelt congratulations to Jeremy Corbyn and the social-democratic wing of the British Labour Party. You won the June 2017 election against huge resistance from the establishment even when Theresa May, for now, will continue to head the government.

AP: Mays UK election gamble backfires as Tories lose majority

Spectacularly punished by voters who took away her majority in parliament, a politically wounded Theresa May sought to soldier on Friday as Britains prime minister, resisting pressure to resign after the failure of her high-stakes election gamble made the massive challenge of untangling Britain from the European Union only more complex and uncertain.

...

With 649 of 650 seats in the House of Commons declared, Mays bruised Conservatives had 318 seats  short of the 326 they needed for an outright majority and well down from the 330 seats they had before Mays roll of the electoral dice. Labour has 261.

...

The results confounded those who said [Labour leader Jeremy] Corbyn was electorally toxic. Written off by many pollsters, Labour surged in the final weeks of the campaign. It drew strong support from young people, who appeared to have turned out to vote in bigger-than-expected numbers.

...

Many predicted [May] would soon be gone. Clearly if shes got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government, then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative Party leader, former Conservative Treasury chief George Osborne said on ITV.

May will now join into a coalition with the north-Irish conservative Democratic Union (DUP) which has won 12 seats in Parliament. Even then she will only have a slim majority. The DUP is tainted with some shady Saudi money involvement. We may well see another snap-election later this year.

Labour won the vote of the young people who turned out in high numbers. Most of the older people voted for the Tories. How will that development transfer into party percentages ten years from now?

Corbyn delivered the best results for Labour since at least 1997. This even though the Labour establishment and its media organs had defamed him since he was elected party leader in 2015. Consider the fake-leftist (and Zionist) columnist Nick Cohen, one of several of his kind in the Guardian columnist stable. Only three month ago Cohen wrote:

The Tories have gone easy on Corbyn and his comrades to date for the transparently obvious reason that they want to keep them in charge of Labour. In an election, they would tear them to pieces. They will expose the far lefts record of excusing the imperialism of Vladimir Putins gangster state , the oppressors of women and murderers of gays in Iran, the IRA, and every variety of inquisitorial and homicidal Islamist movement, while presenting itself with hypocritical piety as a moral force. Will there be 150, 125, 100 Labour MPs by the end of the flaying? My advice is to think of a number then halve it.

For the record: Labour won at least 261 seats, 31 more than in the last election. The Tories won 42.5% of the votes, Labour 40% - 10 percent points more than the last time. The British elections system transfers the small Tory advantage in voter share into a rather big difference in parliament seats.

The Corbyn win gives hope for future developments in other European countries. (The long-term trends are way more important than Brexit shenanigans.) Corbyn has proven that social-democratic parties can again be competitive if they shun the neo-liberal dogma and go back to their class based policy roots. The lesson comes too late for the elections in France and the upcoming elections in Germany. In both countries the establishment still rules the social-democratic parties and loses one election after the other. Like Labour in Britain they need a renewal in which real left-wing politicians and socialist policies move back to the top. (The U.S. would probably have made a comparable move if the party establishment had not sabotage Bernie Sanders in favor of an un-electable Hillary Clinton. Sanders though was probably a one-of-a kind chance that will not return for a long time.)

It will need some time for Jeremy Corbyn's win to transfer into a Europe wide renaissance of social-democratic policies. But his was a huge step forward and the movement and trend are coming along well.

Posted by b on June 9, 2017 at 12:09 UTC | Permalink

Comments
50 Years ago in Burke

Jimmy Rhyne

BURKE COUNTY STUDENTS GET UNC DEGREES

Burke County students are receiving diplomas today at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Morganton students receiving degrees are Sarah Melinda Connelly, 106 Pearson Drive;Prichas Neields DeVere Jr; William Jerome Houck, 106 Forest Street; Joe Thomas Houck Route 3;and Donald Leon Singleton 110 Pearl Street.

Morganton students receiving BS Degrees are John Wade Craver, 303 Collett Street in business administration; John Samuel Freeman, 119 Powe Street, business administration, Stephen F. Rumisell of NCSD, business administration; and John M.S. Salsbury III, 115 Powe Street Industrial administration.

NORTHWESTERN BANK BUILDS IN VALDESE

C.V. Walton, vice-president of Northwestern in Valdese has announced that construction is expected to begin immediately on a new bank building to be built of the present Valdese bank completion is expected by December 1.

The modern bank which will contain 8.000 square feet of floor space will cost in excess of $200.000. Contracts have been awarded to Brinkley lumber company of Valdese.

FROM THE CLASSIFIEDS

Help wanted: Part time work, Charlotte Observer paper route in Morganton and Glen Alpine area. Earnings approximately $60.00 per week.

Immediate Opening for experienced grill man above average pay for the right man. Apply at the Burger House on Fleming Drive,

IN THE SERVICE OF THE USA

Jimmy Bridges, son of Mt. and Mrs. Ben Bridges of Route 2 Valdese, spent a few days home with his family. Jimmy did his basic training at Fort Bragg. He then spent eight weeks at Fort McClellan Alabama, and 4 weeks at Fort Knox Kentucky, Bridges is a 1966 graduate of Drexel High School. He is now stationed in Korea.

COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD PICKS NEW SUPERVISOR

J.C. Raburn, Marion native and supervisor in Weldon City Schools in Halifax County for the past four years, was last night elected to serve as secondary supervisor in Burke County schools for this up-coming year.

At the Burke County Board of Education meeting it was noted that Raburn formerly taught at Belmont in the Marion Schools and served as principal in the Marion School system. He comes highly recommended said Superintendant John L. Johnson.

Raburn will arrive June 21 and will serve to coordinate High School Instructional procedures, supervise the High School achievement testing program and the National Defense Education Defense Education Act Title III projects.

COLLETT STREET RECREATION DANCE GROUP PERFORMS

The will perform tonight-Bursting with excitement the youngsters of a group from the Collett Street Recreation Center will perform in the annual recital tonight in the auditorium at Broughton Hospital. The time is 8pm. The public is cordially invited. Mrs. Wynda Kay Howerton is the director, performing are Melody Michaux, Cindy Mode, Vicki Puett, Pamela Stamey, Lisa Duckworth, Shasta Buff, Carol McCraw and Lisa Stroupe.

PLAYING AT THE MIMOSA

The Cowboy who cam to tame a bucking bronc called Africa!

Starring Hugh OBrian and John Mills

Africa Texas Style.

Paramount pictures is proud to announce the return of the greatest Motion Picture of all time.

Cecil B. Demilles Production

The Ten Commandants

Uncut Intact, continuous performances at popular prices.

AMONG US MORGANTONIANS; J. GORDON QUEEN

Retrospect: Do you remember when LeRoy Schell was general manager at the Burke Tanneryand when there was a real large bill-board on the then vacant lot where the John Graham Store is now located?...Whatever became of that old timey frame building that stood on South Greene Street? Oh yes sure: it is long gone, removed to make way for the Calvary Baptist Church building Did you know; that years ago there was a Pepsi Cola bottling plant on North Sterling Street?

Seen, HeardLeslie Farfour really talking up a storm while standing in front of the Wachovia BankOverheard from John Roberts early Thursday; This cool weather must be coming from what is known as blackberry winterCoatless Roy MorrisDr. E.W. Phifer kidding a friendA young woman wearing a real short dress almost the ya ya typeCopper Duckworth drinking his coffee in a quiet way.

Jimmy Rhyne is a volunteer at the History Museum of Burke County, where the archives of the News Herald are stored.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Ilgar Emil  Trend:

Iran has sent a letter to the UN implicitly blaming Saudi Arabia and the United States for terror attacks on Parliament and the Imam Khomeini Shrine in Tehran, which left 17 dead and scores of injured.

Irans representative to the UN, Gholamreza Khoshroo asserted that the terror attacks came from extremism origin in Saudi Arabia and the multibillion arms deal between Washington and Riyadh as well as Donald Trumps latest trip to Saudi Arabia, IRNA reported June 9.

Khoshroo reminded that Saudi Arabias foreign minister had said a couple of hours before the attack that Tehran must be punished.

However, earlier, Irans Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi declined to comment on Saudi Arabias possible role in the June 7 terror attacks.

So far, we cannot judge whether Saudi Arabia has played a role in the terrorist attacks, ISNA quoted Alavi as saying this morning.

Two separate attacks shook Tehran on June 7. As reports said, several armed people tried to break their way into the Parliament building.

Six terrorists were killed and a woman was arrested.

Iran announced yesterday that it has arrested several people suspected of relation to the terror attacks.

Iran also said June 9 that two more people suspected of having links to the attacks were arrested in Kermanshah.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the terror attacks in Tehran. ISIS also released a video June 9 saying that after Iran, they would carry out attacks in Saudi Arabia.
Emma Wall: Hello, Dan.

Dan Kemp: Hello, Emma.

Wall: So, quite a big day today. We've had the general election results. We started the morning in a bit of turmoil. But by this afternoon, actually, things calmed down and we do know who is going to be the Prime Minister and we do know who is going to be in government. Who is that?

Kemp: Absolutely. So, we have the same Prime Minister we had when I went to bed last night. So, Teresa May is back in power. And so, again, not much has really changed. She didn't have a big majority beforehand. She has got an even smaller majority now. So, she is faced with a lot of the constraints that she had before, but of course now has to keep the DUP happy as well. So, she has got a few things on her mind, but really very little change for investors.

Wall: And that's the key point here, isn't it, because if you look to the FTSE 100 today and you weren't aware of the news headlines, you'd have no idea that it was a momentous day? The FTSE 100 has moved up and down by a percentage point and indeed, the FTSE 250 has also had ever so slight flicker. I mean, it does not look like it's been a big news day, a big macro news day.

Kemp: No. Exactly. And there's a lesson for us that we don't have to worry about the big macro news unless it really impacts long-term valuations.

It makes very little difference. Sometimes the market noise, the market movements, create opportunities to buy things cheaply, but really macroeconomics has very little to do with investment. And so, it's a great example of why people should stop worrying about macroeconomic events, stop trying to predict the political events and really focus on the long-term, focus on valuations.

Wall: So, for focusing on valuations, what is your opinion of the U.K. stock market at the moment? Because we have had a significant rally over the last year, well, since Brexit, does that mean that people should stop to take those gains or have we got further to rumble on?

Kemp: Well, of course, that is to some extent predicting the future, which I try desperately not to do. But if we just look at it from a long-term valuation point of view, U.K. equities look pretty good value still, clearly, not as good as they were and that's annoying. There were less things to buy. But still reasonable valuation in the context of the world's equity markets. Certainly, they look more attractive than the U.S. equity markets. So, there's still opportunities there.

But really, people should be thinking about how long they are prepared to invest for. Because whenever we get these periods of very strong upward movements, there's normally some sort of a correction and it maybe that we are borrowing returns from tomorrow and there may be some painful event.

And so, if you want to invest in the next couple of years, then you want to be thinking about being a little bit cautious, not just your U.K. equity exposure but across the board. But if you have a long-term investment horizon then what happens over the next year or two is unlikely to matter. And so, really maintain your focus there, know that over the long-term U.K. valuations look pretty good and stay in there.

Wall: Dan, thank you very much.

Kemp: You're welcome.
Tehran, Iran, June 9

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani slammed Washington for its recent move to impose new sanctions against Iran following twin terrorist attacks in Tehran, claimed by the Islamic State (aka IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) terror group, saying the US government is supporting the terrorists.

The US move [to impose new sanctions] proves that Iran is facing two Daesh groups, one in the region and one at the international arena, he noted, calling Washington the international IS, Mehr news agency reported June 9.

At a time when the Iranian nation was facing the terrorist incidents, the US Senate shamelessly approved the bill [to impose new sanction against Iran], Larijani said.

As Iran grappled with a rising death toll following the IS-affiliated terrorist attacks on its own soil, both its political class and citizenry have to deal with more than just a lack of sympathy from the American legislature. By a vote of 92-7, the Senate opened debate on the sanctions resolution on Wednesday.

Two separate attacks shook Tehran on June 7. As reports said, several armed people tried to break their way into the Parliament building.

The attackers managed to get inside the building and engaged in a shootout with the security forces. One terrorist committed suicide by blowing himself up.

Meanwhile, another attack took place at the Imam Khomeini Shrine. The reports said Irans security forces neutralized one terrorist, another one committed suicide there.

According to the latest reports, the overall body count in the attacks has reached 17.
Tehran, Iran, June 9



By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iranians gathered in downtown Tehran after their Friday prayer to attend a procession to say farewell to those killed in terror attack two days earlier in the Iranian capital.



The streets around University of Tehran campus where the procession walked, were extremely crowded, Trend's correspondent reported from the scene.



Security was tight, with guards from the police, IRGC, and other security forces deployed at every corner.



The occasion was attended by President Hassan Rouhani, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Judiciary chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani, members of the parliament, and many other high-ranking officials.



Two separate attacks shook Tehran on June 7. As reports said, several armed people tried to break their way into the Parliament building.



The attackers managed to get inside the building and engaged in a shootout with the security forces. One terrorist committed suicide by blowing himself up.



Meanwhile, another attack took place at the Imam Khomeini Shrine. The reports said Irans security forces neutralized one terrorist, another one committed suicide there.



According to the latest reports, the overall body count in the attacks has reached 17. 54 were also reported injured.
Tehran, Iran, June 9

By Mehdi Sepahvand  Trend:

Irans Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said that 41 IS-linked terrorists were detained, Mehr news agency reported June 9.

Following deadly attacks on Tehran on June 7, Iran has initiated a response, targeting those responsible for the attacks. Previously, Irans Intelligence Ministry issued an announcement today saying it has arrested more terrorists in relation to June 7 attacks.

The terrorists were arrested before launching any attacks and were found in possession of bombs, suicide belts, communication devices, and fake IDs, the ministry said on its website June 9.

Now, Mahmoud Alavi said that 41 people were detained in Kermanshah, Kurdistan, Tehran and West Azerbaijan provinces.

Iran says it is pursuing the traces of the terrorists beyond the countrys borders.

Two separate attacks shook Tehran on June 7. As reports said, several armed people tried to break their way into the Parliament building.

The attackers managed to get inside the building and engaged in a shootout with the security forces. One terrorist committed suicide by blowing himself up.

Meanwhile, another attack took place at the Imam Khomeini Shrine. The reports said Irans security forces neutralized one terrorist, another one committed suicide there.

According to the latest reports, the overall body count in the attacks has reached 17. 54 were also reported as injured.
Posse saddles up to help children Russell Libby describes his golden palomino horse, Sonny, as the calmest, sweetest guy and his best friend for nearly two decades. Sonny is the reason Libby and his wife, Laura,...

Kris Kringle to support library programs The Moorpark Friends of the Library is offering the second annual Letter from Santa fundraiser. For a $25 donation to the Moorpark Friends of the Library, children will receive a...

Oakmont welcomes new executive director Ronda Wilkin, certified dementia practitioner and a senior living executive, joins Oakmont of Moorpark with more than three decades of experience in health and human services. During her 15 years...
The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been granting life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses for more than 25 years here in West Texas.. Wishes spark the imagination and inspire children to consider limitless possibilities while facing the unthinkable. Families are uplifted and communities surrounding these children are forever enriched.

The West Texas Regional office covers 41 counties of West Texas and all money raised stays right here. We grant anywhere between 30 and 50 wishes each year depending on the number of referrals.

Emme, a five-year-old from West Texas, has faced a constant battle with her health since the day she was born. In 2014, Emme was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic mutation that affects brain development in girls. Nicole, Emme's mother, noted that Emme was referred to Make-A-Wish three different times, however, refused to accept the wish the first two times. Why? She was under the impression that Make-A-Wish only grants wishes for children with terminal illnesses - a common misconception. When Nicole realized how transformational wishes actually are, she ensured Emme's one true wish - to go to Walt Disney World Resort and see the princesses - was made.

"Thank you so much for making Emme's wish come true," Nicole said. "I cannot begin to express how perfect this was for Emme and the rest of our family. It was truly life changing from beginning to end."

Emme and her family left for Walt Disney World Resort in 2016.

"We arrived at the airport and were greeted by Southwest Airlines representatives with a goody bag filled with all of Emme's favorite things. It was perfect for the airplane. We all wore our blue Make-A-Wish shirts, and many airport employees and even the pilots stopped to greet Emme. My son, Jake Ryan, even got to go into the cockpit of our plane for a while," recalled Nicole.

The memories didn't stop there.

"When we arrived at Give Kids the World Village, every single person went above and beyond to make Emme feel special. It was beyond humbling to know that all of these people were actually volunteers who were there just because they wanted to help make an impact on Emme's life. They were all so genuine and kind. Emme was even able to make a star that was hung in the castle of the village!"

Emme and her family were able to escape the daily rigors, treatments and obstacles involved with a critical illness.

"We were able to visit all of the Disney parks, including Universal Studios. We always wanted to take the kids to Disney in past years, but we knew it wouldn't be possible because Emme would not be able to sustain waiting in lines. With the pass she was given, Emme got to do it all. She rode everything -- even Space Mountain. I don't think she ever stopped smiling. It was such a joy to see her that happy. The smiles and the giggles seemed to never end."

Emme was even able to see some unique animals.

"On the last day of the trip, we decided to go to Gator World. Emme went zip lining over alligators. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her. This was possible because they had engineered a special harness for handicap kids. Everyone involved was so accommodating since Emme has a hard time walking and holding herself up. It was awesome."

When talking about the overall wish experience for Emme, Nicole certainly saw the impact it made.

"We were able to create so many wonderful memories on this trip that we will treasure a lifetime. None of this would have been possible for our sweet Emme without Make-A-Wish. I will forever be grateful for all of the generous people who helped make her wish come true. Make-A-Wish has provided hope, strength, joy and humility for my family, and we could not feel more blessed. From the bottom of all of our hearts, we thank you for everything."

Our goal at Make-A-Wish is to ensure every eligible child can count on their one true wish, like Emme's, but the reality is we need your help. There are 24 children in our community right now counting on a wish. Please help grant these transformational wishes by donating to the West Texas Office at 407 N. Big Spring, Suite 208 Midland, Texas 79701 or 432-683-9474. Or you can visit ntx.wish.org to donate, volunteer and become a wish granter today.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Pakistan has decided to send military contingent to Qatar after a similar decision was made by Turkey, Pakistani media outlets reported June 9.

Pakistan is expected to send more than 20,000 soldiers to Qatar.

This decision was made under the military agreements signed by Pakistan and Turkey.

Earlier, Turkeys parliament ratified two deals on deploying troops in Qatar and training the nation's gendarmerie force.
The Copper Country community will have the chance to "Dig Deep into History" with the launch of the Keweenaw Time Traveler, June 15.

After more than a year of research, testing and community-led design, the Keweenaw Time Traveler is ready to launch. This digital map-based project allows the general public, as well as social and natural scientists, to explore how the region and its population has changed through time. Supported in part by a three-year $259,882 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the projectofficially titled Copper Country Historical Spatial Data Infrastructuregoes by the user-friendly moniker of Keweenaw Time Traveler.

A group of researchers at Michigan Technological University have been digitally recreating the many environmental histories or stages of the Copper Country using Geographic Information Science (GIS) technology. Each stage is comprised of many scenes or time periods, much the way a filmmaker creates a scene to contextualize the story he or she is portraying on the screen. From more than 1,000 historical maps and archival documents scanned from our regions archives, most of Houghton, Keweenaw and Ontonagon counties have been digitally modeled from 1850-1950.

Launch of the Keweenaw Time Traveler

The public will have their first chance to try the Keweenaw Time Traveler at a launch party from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 15 at the Carnegie Museum in downtown Houghton.

Over the past year students and staff from Michigan Tech, working with local schools and community groups, have scanned and mapped historical records such as city directories, censuses and school registers. This record linkage technique places past residents in their specific homes, workplaces and schools, allowing anyone to search by name or address and see the results on historically accurate maps.

Don Lafreniere, assistant professor of geography in Michigan Techs Social Sciences Department says users can search historical records by name, address, place and building type by year. In addition, he says, they can pick a location and add their knowledge, memories and stories to share with other Copper Country enthusiasts as well as researchers.

Lafreniere explains: Not only can someone look at the history of a specific address at a specific time, but then they can move horizontally across the landscape to learn about the relationships between people and places. This kind of exploration can reveal the immigrant experience, ethnic segregation, daily life in the mining locations and the environmental legacies of industry.

With this historical big data, the Michigan Tech-led team built a set of five interactive web apps that allow everyone to explore, share, connect and contribute to making the Keweenaw Time Traveler even better. Two of the apps ask people to look at historical maps to classify buildings based on their use and construction materials. Another app asks people to transcribe handwriting that computers cant read. Taking cues from citizen science scholarship, these apps represent the first project to integrate public participatory GIS methods with historical research, Lafreniere says.

The last two apps allow users to explore the data and maps through time, search for bygone places, or identify past people, as well as submit their own stories, memories, information and photographs. Users can share their stories across social media and connect with other people around the world interested in Michigans Copper Country. All of the submissions are immediately contextualized with existing historical data, allowing you to learn who lived near the smelter or above the bakery in Calumet.

Public Participation Needed

The apps have been tested at public gatherings throughout the community. Sarah Scarlett, assistant professor of history, says public participation is a cornerstone of the project.

We planned to have community input at every step along the way, Scarlett says. We are not producing a tool and presenting it to the public, saying hey, look what we built; we hope you like it. Weve worked with the community to hear what they want, received feedback, and built a tool we are confident they will enjoy and use.

Lafreniere agreed the public meetings or design charrettes were essential to the projects development. We have held 10 charrettes to date with different groups to have the community help design the apps they are going to use. This is how we are balancing the needs of the public to have access to information about their past and our needs to create a research infrastructure.

Scarlett says the next step is to make it accessible to as many people as possible. The Keweenaw Time Traveler will be a community gathering place for sharing ideas and memories as well as research and data. We hope the numbers of people who use it will grow over time, and that people will find their own creative and innovative ways to use it.

Explorations of the use of the Keweenaw Time Traveler for heritage management are already underway, and John Arnold, a PhD candidate in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology at Tech, is highlighting some of these in his dissertation work. Arnold explains that Up here in the Copper Country, so much industrial heritage has already been lostits really hard to understand the meaning of whats left without understanding the historical links between different places, and places in the landscape. The Time Traveler gives us the opportunity to see, and to share, these connections.

"We cant wait to show our community and our partners how the Keweenaw Time Traveler works." Sarah Scarlett

The first real opportunity for the public to see and use the Keweenaw Time Traveler will come Thursday at the Carnegie Museum, The projects developers are finding it difficult to contain their excitement over the Thursday launch of Keweenaw Time Traveler.

We cant wait to show our community and our partners how the Keweenaw Time Traveler works, Scarlett says. At the launch party we will have iPads and touch-screen kiosks available, and you can also bring your own tablets or laptops. At the launch, Time Traveler team members will work with the public in small groups to identify locations on historical maps, search datasets, and contribute their own memories and even digital photos.

Scarlett says Thursdays party is only the beginning. Once we launch, the real excitement begins. We will be at events all summer, making presentations introducing this new tool, teaching people how it works and helping everyone use it.

Among those events are BridgeFest in Houghton, Pasty Fest in Calumet, and scheduled presentations such as the History on the Hill series at the Quincy Mine Hoist Association.

Visit keweenawhistory.com for upcoming events to map your history.

The Keweenaw Time Traveler is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and developed in collaboration with Keweenaw National Historical Park and its Advisory Commission, Isle Royale National Park, the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw, the Michigan Tech Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections, and the historical societies of Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigans flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

A military agreement has entered into force between Qatar and Turkey, Turkeys Resmi Gazete (Official newspaper) reported June 9.

The document was signed on November 10, 2016 in Ankara.

Earlier, a law was passed in Turkey on ratification of an agreement between the two countries on the deployment of a Turkish military contingent in Qatar.

The establishment of a Turkish military base in Qatar is envisaged by the agreement on strengthening bilateral cooperation signed by the two countries in 2014.

Moreover, the Turkish parliament ratified the Protocol on Cooperation in the Field of Education and Training for Gendarmerie between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of the State of Qatar.

The protocol was signed on December 2, 2015 in Doha as part of the agreement on cooperation in the sphere of security between the internal ministries of Turkey and Qatar.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
An interview with Arzu Naghiyev, deputy director general of Trend news agency, political analyst, has been published by the Global Institute for Democracy and Strategic Studies (GIDSS).

The conflict that once began with anti-government protests, later turned into a full-scale civil war.



11 million people are displaced and are running from the battles of the forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, the opposition and the Islamic State (IS) jihadists.



According to UN statistics, the death toll in the conflict of June 2013 reached more than 90 thousand. Another report from activists and the UN said that more than 250 thousand people were killed by August 2015.

Since the beginning of the conflict, 4.5 million people have fled Syria; the majority of them are women and children. Neighboring Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey cope with history's greatest human influx.



The UN Security Council called for the implementation of the 2012 Geneva Declaration. The declaration "by mutual agreement" is to establish a transitional government.



The talks, known as the Geneva-2, broke down in early 2014. UN special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, accused the Syrian government of rejecting the demands of the opposition.



The USA and Russia are the main participants to the conflict. The negotiations still continue between the sides, which are supporting different points of view.



Deputy Director-General of the Trend Agency and an expert on regional geopolitics, Arzu Nagiyev, shared his opinion with us.

The preparation of the new Constitution may be considered the turning point for the conflict settlement. Could this "new" Constitution save Syria?



I think that the first step is not for the creation of a new constitution. Of course, it is possible to return to the issue of the constitution after the establishment of a ceasefire.



The sides must find mutual interests for the resolution of the conflict. Then they have to deal with the problem of refugees, the number of which is rapidly growing.



For the time being, there is no power or government in the territory of Syria which is able to control and maintain stability in the country.

So, the most important step must be the maintenance of stability, otherwise no constitution will heal Syrias wounds. Undoubtedly, Bashar al-Assad wants to preserve the government and think about the constitution which meets his interests.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, and his US counterpart, showed willingness to start a new phase of negotiations. What is the situation now?



Despite the fact that Russia is trying to keep the peace talks on Surya, there are other main players, such as the USA, Turkey and Iran. The position of each country to the conflict must be taken into account.



Unfortunately, this process is in deadlock. In this case, there is no need to hold another round of negotiations, because there will not be any solution. The attitude of each side must be questioned, pondered and taken into account.



What is the position of Donald Trumps administration regarding the conflict?



I do not believe that the foreign policy of the United States is going to significantly change during Trumps presidency, particularly in the Syrian conflict.



In his pre-election statements, Mr. Trump emphasized that he will fight terrorism, including the territory of Syria. This process is already taking place and it was clearly shown during the last summit in Riyadh and, of course, in the attitude towards Iran. That is why it is not expected to see any changes of the US policy towards Syria.

Several Arab countries broke off relations with Qatar. Could this have an impact on the region or the issue of Syria?

Of course, the effect will be felt not only in Syria but also in the whole Arab world.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE, Bahrain, Yemen and Libya's decision will unambiguously extend the resolution of the Syrian conflict.



This process is not happening for the first time. Such things happened a couple of years ago.

I think the main problem is in the "Muslim Brotherhood" organization, which is considered to be the opposition. Qatar's supportfor this organization is not accepted by all of these Arab states.

What is the role of Turkey and Iran? What is the position of the USA towards Russia's rapprochement with Turkey?



Turkey is a member of NATO and is a strategic partner of the US. Of course, there was coldness in relations between Turkey and the USA because of the issue of FETO.



But it is important to stress the fact that Turkeys position towards Kurds is completely different; and it does not match with the position of Russia and the USA.



Of course, the USA cannot be glad for the rapproachment of Turkey and Russia, and there are a number of reasons for that. The main problem is that the opinions of the states are totally opposite to one another.



The only purpose of the Turkish government is to prevent the creation of a Kurdish state near its borders; but Russia wants this to happen. At the same time, there are a number of opposition governments in Syria that are supported by these states. The USA does not want the rapproachement of Turkey and Russia because in this case Russia will dominate and influence the region, which is unacceptable for the USA.
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Islamic State has killed two Chinese teachers it kidnapped in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province last month, the militant group's Amaq news agency said on Thursday, in a blow to Islamabad's efforts to safeguard Chinese workers, Reuters reported.

China's Foreign Ministry said it was "gravely concerned" about the report and working to verify the information.

Armed men pretending to be policemen kidnapped the two language teachers in the provincial capital, Quetta, on May 24. The kidnapping was a rare security incident involving Chinese nationals in Pakistan, where Beijing has pledged $57 billion for its "Belt and Road" plan.

"Islamic State fighters killed two Chinese people they had been holding in Baluchistan province, southwest Pakistan," Amaq said.

A Baluchistan government spokesman said officials were in the process of confirming "whether the report is true".

China's Foreign Ministry said it noted the report and expressed "grave concern".

"We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," the ministry said in a short statement.

"The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities," it said.

"The Chinese side is firmly opposed to the acts of kidnapping civilians in any form, as well as terrorism and extreme violence in any form."

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's interior ministry or its foreign office.

Islamic State, which controls some territory in neighboring Afghanistan, has struggled to establish a presence in Pakistan. But it has claimed several major attacks, including one on the deputy chairman of the Senate last month in Baluchistan, in which 25 people were killed.

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan's military published details of a three-day raid on a militant hideout in a cave not far from Quetta, saying it had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists" from a banned local Islamist group and prevented Islamic State from gaining a "foothold" in Baluchistan.

China's ambassador to Pakistan and other officials have often urged Islamabad to improve security, especially in Baluchistan, where China is building a new port and funding roads to link its western regions with the Arabian Sea.

The numbers of Pakistanis studying Mandarin has skyrocketed since 2014, when President Xi Jinping signed off on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, pledging to invest $57 billion in Pakistani road, rail and power infrastructure.

Security in Baluchistan has improved in recent years.

However, separatists, who view the project as a ruse to steal natural resources, killed 10 Pakistani workers building a road near the new port of Gwadar this month, a key part of the economic corridor.

China has also expressed concern about militants in Pakistan linking up with what China views as separatists in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where hundreds have been killed in violence in recent years.
US President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office before a meeting with the President of Romania that the results of Thursday's election in the United Kingdom in which Theresa May lost her majority in parliament were unexpected.

When a reporter asked for his reaction to the election in Britain, Trump said, "Surprising."

On Thursday, the United Kingdom held early parliamentary elections, which were called by the country's Prime Minister Theresa May to overcome "division in Westminster" ahead of the upcoming negotiations with Brussels. May expected to increase the number of her Conservative Partys seats in the parliament in order to avoid additional problems during the talks. To be the ruling party, May's party needed to get at least 326 seats. However, no party received the absolute majority of seats in parliament and the election has resulted in a hung parliament.

The UK citizens voted to leave the European Union at the referendum on June 23, 2016, and on March 29, London officially started the process of withdrawing from the bloc by triggering the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

The Brexit talks were set to start on June 19 with UK Brexit secretary David Davis' meeting European Union's chief negotiator Michel Barnier. However, earlier in the day, Barnier wrote on Twitter that Brexit negotiations should begin when the United Kingdom is "ready," since the election had thrown May's majority into disarray.
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Florida Standard Assessment scores are on the rise at school districts across the state, the Dept. of Education announced Thursday.

Percentage of students who passed FSAs went up in 2017

English, math and social studies pass rates increased

More African-American students passed the math FSAs, narrowing achievement gap

The state says student scores on the standard tests went up in several grades and subjects, particularly in specific math subjects.

In grades 3-10, the percentage of students passing the English languages arts FSAs went up two points, with third and fourth grade rates overall going up by 4 points.

In math, the pass rate for grades 3-8 increased by 2 points. The pass rates also increased for students in Algebra 1 by 6 points, Algebra 2 by 9 points and Geometry by 2 points.

Fourth grade performance on the math FSAs increase by 4 points.

More students also passed the Civics and U.S. History FSAs, while the pass rate for Science FSAs remained the same.

The state also said more African-American students passed the math FSAs this year, narrowing the achievement gap between white students and African-American students.

To see the pass rates for your child's school, head to the Florida Dept. of Education website and open the spreadsheets for your child's grade under each subject. The spreadsheets are in Excel format.
Police, fire rescue and EMS workers who responded to the Pulse tragedy are now getting a chance to be a part of a Pulse memorial.

On Thursday and Friday, those first responders stopped by the Orlando Police Department headquarters to place their handprints on boards for the Orlando Traveling Memorial.

The images from those boards will then be digitally added to the permanent memorial.

The Orlando Traveling Memorial will remember the 49 people killed at Pulse and recognize survivors and family and friends of those killed. The memorial will be on display in Orlando for a year. It will be built in sections so it can eventually travel across the country.

Its giving police officers and other first responders who were also deeply affected by what happened at Pulse a chance to be part of something special.

What I like about the traveling memorial is its not only for the survivors to put their handprints, but also for our first responders who were deeply affected by the tragedy, Orlando Police Chief John Mina said.

#Orlando first responders are putting their handprints on a #Pulse memorial that will travel the country. @MyNews13 pic.twitter.com/U3lndu9npM  Jeff Allen (@News13JeffAllen) June 8, 2017

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and other mayors and city leaders from across Central Florida also stopped by Orlando Police headquarters Thursday to give their handprints for the memorial. First responders and other community leaders and survivors are expected to stop by on Friday afternoon and evening to add theirs.

Family members of several Pulse victims are also painting portraits of their loved ones with some guidance from artists. Those portraits will also be a part of the memorial.

The organizer of the Orlando Traveling Memorial says the sooner the nonprofit can raise enough money needed for the construction of the memorial, the sooner it can become a reality.

Theres more information on the memorial and ways people can donate on the Fractured Atlas website.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The UN has warned Turkey, Belgium, France and Germany about possible terror attacks by members of the Islamic State (IS aka ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group, Turkish media outlets cited a UN report.

In recent months, IS has changed its tactics and now its target is not Iraq or Syria, but European countries, the report says.

It was also noted that over the past five months, the number of foreign militants in IS has significantly decreased.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has claimed over 500,000 lives.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The IS, YPG and PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

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Follow Rufiz Hafizoglu on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
One of the toughest things Brandon Wolf had to do was move away from Orlando just months after the Pulse tragedy.

But moving to Tallahassee has opened up opportunities to push for change.

Wolf managed to escape Pulse during the shooting. But his best friend, Drew Leinonen, didn't make it.

Sharing the best parts of Drew with other people helps keep him alive for me, Wolf said.

In honor of his best friend, Wolf helped launch The Dru Project, which promotes gay-straight alliances across the country.

It is our obligation to ensure the message comes back to unity, to compassion, to love, to acceptance, Wolf said.

A few months after the June 12, 2016 mass shooting, Wolf learned hed have to transfer for work.

After everything happened at Pulse, I couldnt have imagined being anywhere else, Wolf said. So when I was asked to move to Tallahassee, I was terrified.

But moving to a state capital with lots of lawmakers presented Wolf with an opportunity.

#Pulse survivor @bjoewolf says moving away from #Orlando actually helped him push for change. Here's some of what you'll see @MyNews13 at 5. pic.twitter.com/gjDbbeEBqx  Jeff Allen (@News13JeffAllen) June 9, 2017

I feel like I carry the soul of Orlando with me, he said. I feel like I carry the spirit of the people who are here, and I am hopefully waking Tallahassee up a little bit.

Wolf has pushed state and federal lawmakers to pass gun-reform legislation. But he said change wont come easy, or quick.

They do forget about the people who actually elected them to that position, so the role Ive tried to play is a reminder that there are real people out here, Wolf said.

The changes he wants to see may not happen until new people decide to step up and become leaders in their community  and at the state and federal level, he said.

To post angry statuses on Facebook, to hashtag-this, hashtag-that on Twitter, that is simply not enough, Wolf said. We have to have real change, and we have to have people who are willing and knowledgeable enough to make those changes.

Wolf has also been very involved in Equality Florida and the Pride Fund, which helps promote political candidates that advocate for the LGBT community.

Wolf says he may run for political office someday if thats the best way for him to serve Central Florida and see the change hes pushing for.



Christopher Andrew Leinonen was Brandon Wolf's best friend. Leinonen was among the 49 people gunned down in the attack at Pulse nightclub June 12, 2016.
WACO -- A Texas A&M University student with a passion for serving others and a love of agriculture has been honored with Texas Farm Bureaus most prestigious scholarship. Shelbi Greaves of Coleman is the recipient of this years S.M. True Jr. Agricultural Scholar Award.

The $20,000 scholarship is presented annually to a deserving student in honor of former TFB President S.M. True Jr. of Plainview.

President True was an outstanding leader who inspired many. He was a beacon of optimism whose true passion for Texas farmers and ranchers shone brightly," TFB President Russell Boening said. Like former President True, Greaves sees people in need and does what she can to serve them. She also shares his great devotion to agriculture. Were proud to honor her with this award.

Greaves is a junior at Texas A&M University where shes studying agribusiness.

(I felt) shocked and blessed, Greaves said. When I first found out I got it, I just sat there. I was speechless. Then I just broke down and started crying. To actually receive it and know I have the support of Texas Farm Bureau in my education and everything else, its been a huge blessing and one that I cant put into words.

In addition to pursuing her degree, Greaves is a student worker at the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture.

Greaves knows the effects of hunger well. In high school, she saw students going hungry and decided to help. She obtained grants and donations to start a program where students could use vouchers to receive food for their families at a local grocery store.

In the first three months of the programs implementation, nearly 150 people benefited.

For a small town school, thats huge, Greaves said.

After graduation, Greaves said she hopes to obtain her masters degree. She is considering a career in agribusiness.

Agriculture doesnt just stop when you harvest. It doesnt stop when you put it on the table, Greaves said. The majority of that is business. I think thats somewhere where I have a good chance of finding a job. Its something Im passionate about and have a choice of what I want to go into.

Greaves is a member of the Tom Green County Farm Bureau.

The TFB board of directors established the True scholar award in 2014.

To be eligible for the scholarship, a student must have at least 60 hours of college credit and be enrolled in a four-year college or university. To receive the full amount, the recipient must continue to major in agriculture and maintain a satisfactory grade point average.

A list of TFB scholarships and youth opportunities can be found at http://texasfarmbureau.org/youth/youth-opportunities.
(Editor note: There are other, earlier variations on the Smart Straw concept including one previously developed by the company DrinkSavvy, however, other versions of the straw have not yet gone into production.)

Three teenagers are being praised for a straw they invented to detect the presence of date rape drugs in drinks.

Susana Cappello, Carolina Baigorri and Victoria Roca of Florida took first place in a business plan competition (on the high school level) held by the Miami Herald, after presenting a straw they said could detect two common drugs used in assaults  GHB and Ketamine. These drugs often do not have a smell or taste to them, making them difficult to detect when slipped into a drink.

ICYMI: Odd campaign uses 'naked mole rat' to combat online sexual exploitation of teen boys

The straws developed by the teens contain two test strips that turn blue when dipped into a drink that contains a date rape drug. The teens are hoping their straws will be able to detect other drugs in the future.

"Being young women, I feel like this is a problem that we hear about a lot, especially when we came to high school," Baigorri said in an interview with Inside Edition. "It's such a common problem. Statistics say it's one in every five women [that experiences rape], which is so many people."

The three students said they plan to market their product  for now dubbed "Smart Straw"  to the college-age crowd, and are looking to make an inexpensive product that bars, college organizations, and students can easily carry or distribute.

"My older sister is at university where there were reports of date rape drugs being used," Capello told news site A Plus.

"My friends and I knew we needed to come up with a simple solution to test for drugs. I remember my dad always says 'the best ideas are the ideas that help people,' so we just thought of a simple, easy, inexpensive solution  Smart Straws."

Cappello, Baigorri and Roca currently have a patent pending for the design and are looking to start crowdfunding to help launch their product.
The 35th annual Panhandle Parade of Breeds junior heifer and steer show is set for June 15-17 at the Ollie Liner Center in Plainview.

Cattle and junior exhibitors will begin arriving Thursday, reports to Michael Dawson, contest president. All entries will be made online and close Sunday, June 11.

Late entries for cattle and showmanship will be accepted from 1-3 p.m. Thursday. Steer weight cards and steer classification will begin from 5-8 p.m. Thursday and continue Friday morning. Heifer check-in is scheduled from 5-8 p.m. Thursday.

The entire show is a blow and show event.

Showmanship begins the competitions at 10 a.m. Friday. AgriLogic Insurance Services, LLC, sponsors the showmanship. Exhibitors are divided into three age divisions in two categories  heifer showmanship and steer showmanship. Winners receive a prize and gift certificates. Five hundred dollar scholarships will be awarded to the top two seniors.

Judging of heifers begins 2:30 p.m. Friday in Ring A. Mary Bass, coordinator, says judging in Ring B begins 30 minutes after Ring A starts. Mark Core, Pleasantville, Iowa, and Kody Lucherk, Lubbock, are judges. The Supreme Champion Heifer in Ring A receives $1,000. Ring B is a prize show. Gebo Distributing Company, Inc., has sponsored the show for many years.

Judging of the progress steers (those weighting 876 pounds and above) is set to begin at 6 p.m. Friday. The exhibitor of the Champion Progress Steer receives $500. Judging of the prospect steers (875 pounds and less) begins at 8 a.m. Saturday. One thousand dollars is awarded the exhibitor of the Grand Champion Prospect Steer in Ring A. Cargill Meat Solutions (Friona plant) is corporate sponsor for the steer shows.

Additional sponsors for the 2017 junior livestock show include the Holiday Inn Express (Plainview), Caterpillar and the Slate Group, reports Angie Carver, treasurer.

Viewing of all cattle shows and contests is free and open to the public.

A complete schedule, show rules and entry information can be found at www.panhandleparadeofbreeds.com.
LUBBOCK  Jerry Ba Nguyen, 25, of Las Vegas, was sentenced Friday before Senior U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 36 months in federal custody for interfering with flight crew members and attendants, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Nguyen pleaded guilty in February 2017 to one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants. Nguyen has been in custody since his arrest in September 2016.

According to plea documents filed in the case, on Sept. 22, 2016, Nguyen was a passenger on American Airlines flight 2542 in route from Ontario, California, to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which was diverted to Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, after Nguyen, knowingly interfered and attempted to interfere with the performance of the duties of a flight crew member and flight attendant, lessening their ability to perform their duties, by assaulting and intimidating the flight attendant and flight crew member by refusing to comply with instructions from flight attendants.

Nguyen came to the attention of the flight attendants as the plane was leaving the gate in Ontario, appearing agitated and walking toward the front of the aircraft as it prepared to take off. Flight attendants were able to calm him down, and the plane departed. After takeoff, however, Nguyens erratic behavior continued; he mumbled that the SIM card had been stolen from his phone and he made suicidal statements. He also stated that the police were not his friends, and the U.S. government was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Nguyen was asked to remain in his seat by the flight crew on multiple occasions, but refused. Flight attendants were so concerned about his behavior that they recruited several passengers to assist with physically restraining Nguyen if it became necessary.

Upon final approach, Nguyen walked to the front of the aircraft and was near the cockpit door. Flight attendants instructed Nguyen numerous times that he needed to be seated for landing, but Nguyen refused to take his seat. Due to Nguyens proximity to the cockpit door, the lead flight attendant signaled other passengers to subdue Nguyen.

The captain declared an emergency and diverted the flight to Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, where it landed safely. Nguyen was removed from the plane and taken into custody

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Transportation Security Administration, the Lubbock Police Department and the Lubbock International Airport Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Haag prosecuted.
Covenant Health Plainview welcomes a new member to their leadership team as the hospital introduces, Bryan Welch, the new manager of practice operations for all Covenant Medical Group clinics in Plainview.

I am very happy to join the Covenant Plainview team, said Welch, who began his tenure here this past week.

Welch will handle all day-to-day operations for Covenant Health Plainviews medical group clinics.

I am very pleased Bryan joined our leadership team. His depth of experience will greatly assist us as our Covenant Physician Group continues to grow and expand in our region, said Bob Copeland, CEO of Covenant Health Plainview.

Welch is a native West Texan, born and raised in Lubbock.

Welch has worked in the Covenant Health system for nearly a year. Prior to that, Welch spent 11 years as an active member of the United States Army. Currently, Welch is a major in the Army Reserves.

Welch says he picked up invaluable leadership experience while serving in the US military.

Welch serves in the Army Northern Command which specializes in homeland defense. For most of his military career, Welch managed a number of healthcare operations, including providing medical support for the massive earthquake disaster in Haiti in 2009 and also running eight medical clinics while deployed in Iraq in 2011.

Welch said he felt called to enlist in the Army, joining the military shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11.

I had emotional bonds for me to serve and do my part, Welch said.

Prior to that, Welch had just earned his Masters degree in Healthcare Organizational Management at Texas Tech University.

Welch said his decision to pursue a business degree in healthcare steamed from the inspiration of a former professor, Dr. Tyge Payne, and his mother, Harriet Anthony, who at the time worked more than 20 years as a nurse at the Covenant Health Hospital in Lubbock.

She absolutely loved it, said Welch.

And I wanted to do something that also helped people.

Welch said his time so far in Plainview has been amazing, citing the family atmosphere, quality of care and compassion of all Covenant Plainview doctors and staff.

Its just awesome, said Welch.

Just the culture and the way this place was brought up. There is a true love for this community here and its so evident.

Future plans for the clinics with Welch at the helm will include continuing their current positive trends while also building on patient health education.

I want to focus heavily on patient experience and patient education. Having a patient more involved in their care plays a huge role in their wellness, Welch said.

Welch and his wife, Haley, have two children, Pierce, 3, and Emersen, 4.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

An armed attack on a military unit was committed in the Turkish province of Hatay at the border with Syria, the Turkish media outlets reported June 9.

Two servicemen of the Turkish Armed Forces became wounded as a result of the attack.

The identity of attackers is not reported, and measures are being taken to detain them.

According to the preliminary data, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) stands behind the attack.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for more than 30 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The UN and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
MERIDEN  Freedom, determination and diversity were common themes in the winning Flag Day essays presented by city fifth graders at an Elks Lodge ceremony Friday attended by Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman.



The essays touched on the importance of the American flag and the symbolism behind the flags colors, stars and stripes.



Every time you see that flag flying free, make sure you remember its all because of the veterans, Wyman told the students at the ceremony.



Every fifth grader in Meriden was tasked with writing an essay about the meaning of the flag, with one student winner selected from each elementary school.



Elks Lodge Flag Day Chairwoman Maureen Flynn led the event, noting the flag is also a symbol of the countrys diversity.



If it wasnt for all the immigrants that have come before us and are coming today we wouldnt have this great country with a (melting) pot of cultures, Flynn said.



One by one, nervous students stepped before the crowd of parents, school and city officials to read their essays aloud. While some dissected the meaning of the flags colors, others took a more symbolic approach, such as Roger Sherman fifth grader Feyza Horuz, who wrote the flag also stood for ability.



You or someone else may be better at some things than others. Some of us can do math better or run faster or even draw better, but the point youre missing is we must bring all our abilities together... the colors on the flag come together, just as we the people of America must, all unite as one.



For Hanovers Nylica Jones, the flag represents freedom, bravery and determination. I am happy with the free life we have and I am happy with the determination the people in the military have. Jones wrote.



Ngoc-Anh Tran, from Thomas Hooker, wrote about how the flag symbolizes the freedom and diversity of America.



America is a place where we accept people from all over the world, Tran wrote. We are a harmonized nation working together as a team.



Mayor Kevin Scarpati attended the event and thanked the students for their thoughtful essays while presenting gift bags to the winners.



It truly is inspiring to hear some of the great words from all our students, Scarpati said.



School Superintendent Mark Benigni was also in attendance, congratulating the students on their exceptional and inspirational essays.



The depth of their writing was tremendous and most worthy of recognition and praise, Benigni said.



ltauss@record-journal.com 203-317-2231 Twitter: @LeighTaussRJ






NORTH HAVEN  Construction of a $225 million Amazon distribution center and warehouse should begin this month and take 14 to 18 months, according to First Selectman Michael Freda.



The facility will cover 855,000 square feet at 415 Washington Ave., a 168 acre property off Route 5 formerly used by Pratt & Whitney. With mezzanine levels, the building will yield about 1.2 million square feet of space, Freda said. Amazon, which started as an online bookstore in 1994, plans to initially hire 1,800 employees for the North Haven facility but could expand to between 3,000 and 3,500 jobs in the future, he said.



Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said Freda was key in securing Amazons arrival by, among other things, ensuring local zoning was in place to accommodate a large user on the former Pratt & Whitney site, which sat vacant for more than 15 years.



Mike Freda met with the governors office and Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith, Fasano said.



The North Haven Board of Selectman unanimously approved a tax abatement agreement with the online retailer at a special meeting Thursday night. The tax abatement is for property improvements that will allow for construction of the distribution center. The building will be equipped with state-of-the-art automation and robotics software and is expected to generate $5 million a year in incremental taxes.



Freda said he also worked with property owners and the state Department of Transportation on a road plan that would improve the sites accessibility and traffic patterns. The distribution center has access to I-91.



They are extending Valley Service Road off of Route 22 to connect into the site from the west which will allow traffic to enter and exit from two different directions, both onto or from Route 5 and onto or from Valley Service Road, to the I-91 southbound entrance or back out to Route 22, Freda said. It is not a replacement road, it is a new road connecting into the site from Valley Service Road.



DECD is offering benefits to Amazon through its First Five Plus program. The company is eligible to earn up to $15 million in urban and industrial site reinvestment tax credits if job creation and capital investment milestones are reached. Another $5 million in credits is available if the company surpasses initial job targets. The company may also be eligible for a sales and use tax exemption of up to $5 million on equipment and construction materials and an additional $15 million in tax credits if it reaches certain job creation and capital investment benchmarks.



Fasano, who has criticized the First Five program in the past, praised the states deal with Amazon. I dont think we should use it for restaurants and business startups, Fasano said.



Amazon announced last year it was hiring an additional 100,000 workers in the next 18 months but has been tight-lipped on where those jobs might be. In addition to warehouse jobs, the company is looking for software developers and engineers, and has stated its wages and benefits are superior to other retailers.



Amazon, founded in Washington, expanded to the East Coast within the last several years. It opened its first warehouse in Connecticut in Windsor Locks in 2014, and a sorting center on Research Parkway in Wallingford last year. To date, the company has more than 2,000 employees in the state.



Amazon has more than 50 warehouses in the country and over 20 sorting centers, according to the companys website. A company spokesperson could not be reached for comment to discuss how the North Haven facility fits into Amazons distribution plans.



Amazon has grown year over year. According to company financial reports, net sales increased 27 percent to $136 billion in 2016, compared with $107 billion in 2015. Operating income in 2016 was $4.2 billion, compared to $2.2 billion in 2015. Net income was $2.4 billion last year compared to $596 million in 2015.



The companys distribution centers work in tandem with sorting centers. At distribution centers, employees fulfill, or package orders. At sorting centers, like the facility in Wallingford, employees unload packages containing completed customer orders. The packages then move through a conveyor line where workers sort them according to routing numbers or the destination zip code. Once sorted, delivery personnel take sorted packages to the appropriate shipping location.






Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Turkey, the Turkish media report June 9 citing a diplomatic source.

Tillersons visit will take place on July 22, according to the reports.

In March, Tillerson visited Turkey to discuss the fight against the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS or Daesh) terrorist group in Syria and Iraq.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has claimed over 500,000 lives.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The IS, YPG and PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
The As have lost eight of 12 and face the largest division deficit of any team in the American League. But they can take solace in a reliever who has been stopping left-handers cold while keeping opponents from scoring runs in key situations.

Lefty Daniel Coulombe has held left-handed batters to a .171 average (6-for-35), and opponents are 1-for-24 against him with runners in scoring position  the best mark in the majors for any pitcher who has faced at least 20 hitters.

He was kind of thrust into a role that he has not pitched in before, manager Bob Melvin said. Now to come in and be that left-handed specialist, hes done a really good job for us.

Coulombe relishes being able to end a possible scoring chance.

I feel like the biggest pride of relievers is being able to strand other peoples runners, he said. I take pride in that, absolutely.

Lefty specialist is a role change for Coulombe. Hed been used primarily as a long reliever in the past, especially when his team was trailing. But with injuries having thinned the As bullpen, the 27-year-old has embraced his new role.

How?

The thing that really helps him is his three-pitch mix, catcher Stephen Vogt said. Hes really able to make any pitch in any count.

Vogt said Coulombe throws one of the better 12-6 curveballs a batter will face, and he also praised the relievers improved fastball and slider. Its that repertoire, per Vogt, that differentiates Coulombe from other lefty relievers.

A lot of left-handed relievers, theyve got the fastball and maybe the power slider or the fastball and the curveball, Vogt said, But hes got all three. So really thats what sets him apart.

Coulombe had his pitches working for him in the seventh inning of Tuesdays game against the Blue Jays. After replacing starter Jesse Hahn, Coulombe walked Darwin Barney to lead off the inning. But he settled down and struck out left-handed batter Ryan Goins and righty Luke Maile  the former swinging and the latter looking.

A lot of lefties cant get righties out because they dont have that third pitch, Vogt said. Coulombe can because hes got all three pitches.

For now, Coulombe is the lone lefty in the As bullpen. That will change when Sean Doolittle returns from the disabled list this weekend at Tampa Bay.

Might that mean a return to long-relief duty for Coulombe?

It just depends on what Seans role is on a particular day and whether hes available or not, Melvin said.

Coulombe, who is in his third year with the As after coming up with the Dodgers in 2014, will continue to do what he has been doing this season: attacking lefties.

Youve got to be prepared every single day, he said, And you look at the lineup and see where the left-handers are and you say, Ive got to get ready for those guys.

One left-handed batter Coulombe doesnt have to worry about this year: David Ortiz.

I faced him last year, bases loaded, no outs, Coulombe said, David Ortiz comes up and Im like, Wow, this guy! Hes one of the best ones ever.

The result?

He hit a sac fly off me, Coulombe said, I got lucky.

Tacuma Roeback is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: troeback@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TacumaRoe
Town hall: Hosted by Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at Foothill Community Colleges Smithwick Theatre, 12345 El Monte Road in Los Altos. For information: http://eshoo.house.gov.

Unity rally: Interfaith organizations are rallying communities in support of diversity in the Bay Area. The rally is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Stevens Creek Boulevard and Santana Row in Santa Clara. For information: http://bit.ly/2rTZ041. Nearby, an anti-Shariah ally, hosted by Act For America, is taking place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Stevens Creek Boulevard and Winchester Avenue in Santa Clara. For information: http://bit.ly/2r2Tv1V.

Candidate fundraiser: The Sister District Project holds a fundraiser with drinks and music to support Cheryl Turpin, Democratic candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 85th District (Virginia Beach). The Sister District Project consists of volunteers who support Democratic state and congressional campaigns in historically red states. The event is from 6 to 9 p.m. at Spats Berkeley, 1974 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. For information: http://bit.ly/2ssaHOC.

Health care film: A showing of the 30-minute film Now Is the Time: Healthcare for Everybody, with speaker Sue Bergman, a nurse and supporter of the Healthy California Act, proposed in the Legislature to create a single-payer health care system. The free event is at 7 p.m. at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 6250 Village Parkway in Dublin. For information: (925) 462-3459 or flickknight@gmail.com.

Sunday

Sierra Club recruitment: The Sierra Club is seeking volunteers to recruit new members and educate people on environmental issues at Sunday Streets, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Golden Gate Park. The Sierra Club booth will be located on John F. Kennedy Drive, near Spreckels Lake at 36th Avenue. For information, contact Katherine Howard at sfoceanedge@earthlink.net.

Equality march: Marchers to mobilize and call for the protection of rights for LGBTQ people and those targeted due to immigration status, ethnicity, religion, skin color, gender and disability. The event begins at 11 a.m. at San Jose City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St. A rally will begin at 1 p.m. at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park, 1 Paseo de San Antonio in San Jose. For information: http://equalitymarchsj.domoreproject.org.

Monday

Refugees: Oxfam America and Microsoft will host an interactive event exploring the Syrian refugee crisis. The free event is from 5 to 7 p.m. at Microsoft Conference Center 1065 La Avenida St., Building 1 in Mountain View. For information: www.refugeeroad.info.

next saturday

Nuclear weapons march: Womens March to Ban the Bomb, in support of U.N. negotiations on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Demonstrators will meet at 11:30 a.m. at El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com. In San Francisco, marchers are planning to meet at noon at U.N. Plaza. For information: bln.sf.ca@gmail.com.

Anti-Trump discussion: Hosted by the Freedom Socialist Party, a conversation on countering racism and fascism. The event begins at 2 p.m. A $3 to $5 donation is requested at the door. The event is at New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk St. in San Francisco. For information: (415) 864-1278 or www.socsialism.com.

Nuclear weapons film: A screening and discussion of The Nuclear Requiem, on the challenges of controlling nuclear weapons. The free, two-hour event starts at 3:30 p.m. at the Los Altos Public Librarys Orchard Room, 13 S. San Antonio Road. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com.

June 21

Electoral system presentation: Californians for Electoral Reform and FairVote California will present an overview of local election systems and discuss possible reforms. The free event is from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Richmond Progressive Alliance, 2540 Macdonald Ave. in Richmond. For information: (510) 412-2260.

June 22

Coal film: A free screening of From the Ashes, a National Geographic documentary about coal, followed by a discussion on the environment and climate. The film begins at 7 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. For information: www.nocoalinoakland.info.
Leaving early on a Friday afternoon in June? Theres a growing chance your boss has endorsed it.

The percentage of companies that offer some kind of summer Friday arrangement  in which companies officially permit workers, almost entirely office ones, to leave early on Friday afternoons in the summer  is on the rise. According to a new survey of Fortune 1000 companies by CEB, the Arlington, Virginia-based research and consulting firm, 42 percent of companies now officially sanction starting the weekend early, a doubling of the percentage who offered the benefit in 2015, when 21 percent of companies said they did so.

RELATED: As retail outlook dims, mall tenants push for shorter leases

That big jump, says Brian Kropp, who heads the firms human resources practice, is because the benefit is such a no-brainer for companies to offer. As flexible work arrangements have grown and the average office worker is just a text or phone call away, many people already duck out early on Friday afternoons, especially before long holiday weekends. Making it official gives the company a way to plug their generosity without spending much at all.

A lot of people already sneak out anyways, Kropp says. It sends a really positive signal to employees that my company actually cares a little about me, but its as low cost as you can get.

He says the interest in offering benefits like summer Fridays comes as organizations become flatter hierarchies, with less opportunity for promotion, and as fewer companies offer big raises. Wage growth has remained sluggish even as the economy has improved and the unemployment rate has hit its lowest mark in decades. Unlike higher wages, better benefits are simple to put in and easy to take out if company performance falters, leading more employers to offer a buffet of new perks instead.

Companies are looking for the alternative mechanisms they can use to engage employees, Kropp said.

RELATED: Why car companies are hiring computer security experts

CEBs survey asked Fortune 1000 companies whether they offered some kind of summer Friday benefit to some employees, and said it could be defined as anything from a short day before the big holiday weekends to getting every Friday afternoon off from late May to early September. More than 220 responded.

Kropp said that while some different companies that answered the survey in 2015 and 2017, their results showed an increase across all industries, and the big size of the jump, versus just seeing the number tick up by a couple of percentage points, gives him confidence that the results arent simply because of sample changes.

Of course, summer Fridays are hardly a benefit offered to all employees. Theyre yet another example of the bonus and benefit divide that exists as professional office workers get perks that hourly workers  who are less likely to get variable pay and often receive less cushy benefits, such as paid leave  dont. Letting cashiers or production line workers skip out at noon the Friday before Memorial Day just isnt in the cards for most companies. Says Kropp: This is a perk that is almost exclusively offered to office workers.
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Disgraced former San Antonio lawyer Todd Prins, who has been accused of fabricating court documents, forging judges signatures and stealing money out of his law firms trust account for his own use, has agreed to plead guilty.

Prins, 51, this week signed a plea deal in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud. He voluntarily gave up his law license earlier this year in lieu of being disciplined by the State Bar of Texas. Prins was charged by prosecutors in a court filing that was made public Friday.

The maximum punishment for wire fraud is 20 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine. As part of his plea deal, Prins has agreed to make almost $3 million in restitution to former clients and other parties hes accused of defrauding.

Don Flanary, Prins lawyer, said his client is happy to have a resolution to the criminal case so he can move on from this part of his life.

Hes recognized that what he was doing was obviously wrong, Flanary said. Hes turned a corner and hes trying to put that behind him. Hes working so he can repay the people that need to be paid back. Prins is now working full-time at a retail store, Flanary said, declining to name the retailer.

Prins and wife, Paula, filed for bankruptcy in September. They listed about $934,000 in assets and almost $1.6 million in debts. Ten days prior to the bankruptcy filing, Prins filed for divorce. But he dropped that case in January.

Prins legal troubles surfaced in his bankruptcy case in November when he was accused of fabricating court documents and forging judges signatures in an elaborate scheme to conceal from two clients the status of a lawsuit they filed in 2009.

Court filings contained copies of allegedly manufactured court rulings bearing the signatures of various judges, from U.S. District Judge Fred Biery to Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht to state District Judge Solomon J. Casseb III.

My clients were completely bamboozled, Jason Davis, an attorney for William and Karen Ozer, said during a Nov. 7 bankruptcy court hearing in San Antonio. The Ozers have sued Prins, alleging he committed fraud and breached his fiduciary duty to them.

Prins issued the Ozers a $1.6 million promissory note, which he claimed was settlement proceeds from a judgment they received in the lawsuit. In actuality, the plea agreement said, there was no such settlement.

Under the terms of his plea deal, Prins has agreed to repay $225,264 to the Ozers.

Prins troubles worsened last fall when he faced arrest in a Houston bankruptcy court for allegedly pocketing $2.4 million from a Oct. 4 foreclosure sale he conducted for a client. But the sale was done without a judges approval and then Prins failed to turn over the proceeds from the sale, according to a December court order.

According to the plea deal, Prins transferred the $2.4 million from his law firms trust account to his law firms bank account at Wells Fargo Bank and kept $800,000 for himself.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jeff Bohm in Houston previously found Prins used the Wells Fargo account to purchase four plane tickets for almost $1,900 and vacation lodging for more than $5,000 at hotels.com.

Prins continued to charge tens of thousands of dollars to the Wells Fargo account to fund a lavish European vacation over the next few weeks with stops in London, Edinburgh, Scotland, and Copenhagen, Denmark for him and his family, Bohm said.

In March, Bohm imposed $800,000 in sanctions plus more than $56,000 in attorneys' fees against Prins after he failed to turn over the proceeds from the foreclosure sale, as previously ordered. The $800,000 in sanctions imposed by Bohm represented the difference between the propertys $2.4 million sales price and $1.6 million that was seized by the government.

Bohm referred the matter to the U.S. attorney's office for potential criminal prosecution.

As part of the plea deal, Prins has agreed to repay the $2.4 million to Elbar Investments Inc. It paid Prins the money to acquire a foreclosed residential property, but it never took title to the house and was out of its money.

In another legal case Prins handled for two clients, he is accused of stealing $150,000 that was supposed to be held in his law firms trust account, the plea agreement said. The document added that in another case Prins negotiated a $75,000 legal settlement but kept the money for himself.

Prins, in yet another case he handled, received $125,000 as a partial settlement of a lawsuit. But rather than delivering the funds to the rightful owner, the plea agreement said Prins kept the money for his own use.

Prins has agreed to complete a financial statement as part of the plea agreement.
The clock is ticking down on the public comment period required for the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and border trade groups and elected representatives have been entreating South Texas residents to weigh in.

Theyre asking for input from us, and I have to tell you something, Im embarrassed, Jose Martinez, president of the San Antonio-based Free Trade Alliance, told U.S. and Mexican business owners gathered Friday morning for an update on the NAFTA renegotiation process and timeline. Those folks out there are giving us an opportunity  because were here in the field, on the ground. They want to negotiate with Mexico, and they want to know what it is we have to say.

While many in the U.S. interior blame the 23-year pact for encouraging companies to outsource jobs and fuel a growing U.S.-Mexico trade deficit, San Antonio and cities along the Texas-Mexico border have enjoyed a boom in trade-related commerce.

San Antonios Toyota manufacturing plant is held up as an example of a NAFTA win for San Antonio, and border cities that have long ranked among the nations poorest are now home to thriving warehousing and logistics sectors. Texas exports to Mexico have increased more than 300 percent since the deal took effect.

Business leaders on both sides of the border say the uncertainty about NAFTAs future  President Donald Trump during his candidacy slammed the three-nation free trade pact as bad for America  has put a damper on cross-border growth and investment. But the deadline to submit comment is Monday, June 12, and notices to stakeholders apparently have gotten only lackluster response.

The bottom line is we are asking people to comment, and theyve got to do it by Monday, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said in an interview. And weve been asking people over and over to make sure they turn in that input on that. After that, well be working on trying to do our part.

Attorney and trade expert Robert Barnett said a renegotiated NAFTA would ideally be signed and ready for congressional approval by March. Trade Promotion Authority that was hard-won by the Obama administration expires in June 2018, adding more urgency.

Within days of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizers confirmation, he sent Congress formal notice to renegotiate, setting off the required 90-day consultation period. The U.S. International Trade Commission is holding a hearing June 27. The UTSR is scheduled to publish detailed U.S. objectives for the renegotiation in July. Formal renegotiation cannot start before Aug. 17.

All agree times have changed since the three countries reached agreement in 1992, as digital commerce had yet to take off, the breakup of the Mexican government monopoly on its oil and gas sector hadnt happened, and some spats  such as the recently resolved sugar dispute between the U.S. and Mexico  hadnt played out.

Modernization  thats the key word, Barnett said. Not canceled and killed and spit on as the worst thing the U.S. has ever done.

Theres already coordination between stakeholders of the three nations that didnt exist during the original NAFTA talks, he said.

Now, 25 years later, all the supply chains, all of the businesses, all of the investment has integrated, Barnett said. Its not really possible for the U.S. Chamber (of Commerce), the Mexican Chamber and the Canadian Chamber to sort of approach this from different angles.

Cuellar on Thursday met with Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Christopher Jackson to discuss issues including border infrastructure, the North American Development Bank, the flow of legitimate cross border financial transactions, and energy investments. He said hes working on setting up a meeting between Lighthizer and border legislators because I think we know it better than other folks.

What neither the U.S. nor Mexico wants is for approval to drag into the July 2018 Mexican election or the November 2018 U.S. midterm elections, and Cuellar said hed conveyed that to Jackson.

There could be new political roadblocks should a left-leaning candidate win the Mexican presidency, Cuellar said, and some members of Congress will want space between a NAFTA vote and Election Day.

Everybody is cognizant that theres elections that come next year on the Mexican side and over here on the U.S. side, he said.

lbrezosky@express-news.net
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The wife of the Oakland Ghost Ships master tenant, who is charged with manslaughter in the fire that killed 36 people in December, told reporters Friday that she and her husbands decision to live in the warehouse with their children shows the prosecution case is unfounded.

We would never have lived in a place that was unsafe, Micah Allison said at a news conference called by lawyers for her husband, Derick Almena.

Allison, Almena and their two children lived on the second floor of the converted Fruitvale District warehouse that Almena leased and ran as an artists collective, without a legal permit for residential use. They were not there on the night of the Dec. 2 fire  not because of fear, Allison said, but because a loud music event was scheduled there.

Flames broke out during the electronic music event, from a cause investigators said might never be determined. The building was powered by a tangle of electrical cords and had only one exit stairwell. All 36 victims died of smoke inhalation.

On Monday, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley charged Almena, 47, and the collectives creative director, Max Harris, 27, with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Prosecutors said Almena stored enormous amounts of flammable material inside the warehouse and was aware of the dangerous conditions he had created. They said Harris had encouraged attendance at the music event and had blocked a second stairwell in the building.

The two are being held on $1.08 million bail each.

Almenas lawyers have accused prosecutors of scapegoating their client, and pressed the point Friday.

The charges were filed in order to shield the true culprits, said veteran defense attorney J. Tony Serra. We will defend by pointing the finger at the real culprits.

According to Serra and fellow defense lawyer Jeffrey Krasnoff, those most responsible are:

Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which had wires and a meter in the building. Krasnoff said the wires were too small to handle the voltage, and the meter was of a type that had a tendency to overheat.

Building inspectors from the city of Oakland, who had visited the warehouse numerous times and allowed it to stay open.

A tenant in a neighboring unit, who installed a transformer without a permit.

And the Oakland Fire Department. Instead of hoisting a ladder to the second floor windows as an escape route, Krasnoff said, firefighters went to the roof and poked holes, allowing more smoke into the building and increasing the casualties.

Although the warehouse had only one available staircase, Krasnoff said, it was not a rickety staircase assembled from pallets, as Almenas accusers have alleged, but prefabricated and installed with a wooden pallet at the bottom for a landing.

There were ample ways to get out of that warehouse, Krasnoff asserted.

Serra said the case belonged in civil court  where Almena, PG&E and others have been sued for damages  and not in criminal court, where Almena and Harris are the only defendants.

Civil damages can be awarded for negligence  carelessness that caused harm  and can be apportioned by a jury according to a defendants share of responsibility. Criminal negligence, which must be proven for involuntary manslaughter, requires a higher level of fault, such as being aware that one is creating a danger and doing nothing to avoid it.

They will never prove it, Serra said. Just because theres a death doesnt mean there has to be a head on the stake.

He also contended OMalley, the district attorney, is politically ambitious, wants to be attorney general, and is using the case to promote her career.

OMalleys office did not respond directly. We do not try our cases in the media, spokeswoman Teresa Drenick said in a statement.

But she added that the charges followed a lengthy and detailed investigation, and that the office files a criminal case only when there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has strongly condemned the decision by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hold a referendum on independence of the autonomous Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq, TRT Haber TV channel reported June 9.

Yildirim noted that holding a referendum on independence of the autonomous Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq is an irresponsible decision.

He said that at present there are enough problems and conflicts in the region.

On June 8, Masoud Barzani, head of the autonomous Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq, said that the KRG is ready to hold an independence referendum.

He noted that the referendum on independence of the autonomous Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq was scheduled for September 25, 2017.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
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Claws, a hilariously trashy new summer series, is a hoot of a TV thriller that shouldnt be missed.

The darkly funny drama, created by Eliot Laurence and executive produced by Rashida Jones (Angie Tribeca), debuats at 8 p.m. Sunday on TNT.

The boldly adult roller coaster ride revolves around a female crew of mani/pedi artisans in Florida whose shady side business takes them down a dark path.

The quintet is led by nail salon proprietor Desna, played with fabulous ferocity by Niecy Nash.

Fresh off her twice-Emmy nominated role as a nurse at a geriatric extended care facility in the HBO comedy Getting On, Nash gets to strut her stuff in a wildly different turn here.

Gone is her drab hospital uniform; in its place are sinfully glamorous, skin-tight dresses and jumpsuits that flash bodacious cleavage and curvy gams. Her long, bejeweled nails are so ornately over-the-top, theyre a sight gag that never quits.

Armed with dreams of getting a piece of the American pie  in Desnas case, her own upscale salon  she and her nail buddies become involved in a money-laundering operation for a pain-pill mill run by the Dixie mafia.

Its head honcho is Uncle Daddy (Dean Norris, who leaves behind his DEA agent role of Breaking Bad to chew the scenery as a Southern baddie). His chief soldier is nasty, grill-wearing Roller (Jack Kesy, The Strain), who doubles as Desnas sex interest.

Though Desna envisioned the illegal activity as temporary, she finds herself unable to extricate herself when she isnt given the year-end payout she was promised by the chauvinistic males at the top.

Things get even hairier when Desna and young, belligerent salon newcomer Virginia (Karrueche Tran) become entangled in a shocking murder and cover-up.

A bonus is the series atmospheric setting of Florida, consisting of pastel-colored storefronts and streets, the tawdriest of strip clubs and the most spectacular ocean views.

Although some of the exteriors were shot in Florida, New Orleans and other areas of Louisiana (where Claws was primarily filmed) largely stand in for the Sunshine State.

What makes Claws work so well are the diverse and dynamic actresses at its center. Standouts are Nash, Judy Reyes of Scrubs and Carrie Preston of True Blood. All somehow manage to make their criminal characters sympathetic.

Desna may fling a lot of attitude in public, but beneath that tough exterior is a maternal softie. Shes not only protective of her crew, but also a loving sis to her autistic brother Dean (Harold Perrineau, Lost), who depends on her for everything.

Nash said the character was a dream to inhabit.

She was so different from every woman Ive ever played up until this point, she told TV critics at a TNT session. There are so many layers to her. On the surface, you might think here is this rough-and-tumble, hard woman, but there are so many points in the writing that shows you all of her sides and all of her colors, and it was a blessing to play.

It wasnt just about her being a black women, she added. Women, period, were coveting this part. And I consider myself a very blessed woman to be cast in this role and then to have these ladies with me. I mean, literally, when we were filming in New Orleans, Id wake up, go downstairs and I know Im going to see them in the van and I instantly get happy.

Reyes said she was happy to ditch makeup and other frills to play Quiet Ann, whos more handsome than pretty and loves romancing the women who frequent the shop.

Preston was thrilled to take on the complicated role of Polly, an ex-con who looks like the genteel girl next door.

(Shes) kind of an illusionist. Shes pretending to be this preppy socialite from, you know, Hilton Head or the like, but inside, shes got a lot of stuff going on, Preston said. Theres a lot of layers to be peeling to get to my character.

All loved the sense of sisterhood at the center of the drama during a time when womanhood is a little compromised, Preston said.

Its about these women who are prevailing in whatever way, she said. And I think, you know, today, women are trying to prevail as much as possible.

She said that it was a joy to read a script like this thats about women, a tribe of women who are not after each other ... but are true sisters, and family.

Jones, who has struck a successful balance between acting (Parks and Recreation) and producing, said she was attracted to this project because it was risky and subversive.

I like things that are dark and dirty, she said. I know it when I see it. And Ive been lucky enough to be surrounded by people who help me articulate that.

One of the beauties of this drama, in fact, is its unapologetically seamy feel.

Characters are brazenly vulgar; much of the language would make a sailor blush; sex is crude and visceral. Though the nudity is masked by carefully placed pasties and disguising camera angles, it still strikes one as risque for a commercial cable channel.

Best of all, as Nash emphasized, Claws is different from just about everything on TV.

We all collectively agree that we had not seen this show on television, she said. We were so happy to be a part of telling this particular story about women in this very weird and intense way.

Jeanne Jakles column appears Wednesdays and Sundays in mySA.

jjakle@express-news.net
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There are just six more days to revel in the classic French dishes of Chez Vatel Bistro.

For 18 years, the Olmos Park favorite has charmed diners with its intimate atmosphere, graceful service and impeccable execution. But its time to say au revoir.

Chef and owner Damien Watel is doing his last supper June 18 at the restaurant, which he's closing amid disputes with his landlord.

But Watel is determined to end his run with a bang instead of a tear, and the charming European bistro is hosting guest appearances by some of the chefs who've shaped Watel's culinary career.

RELATED: Amid lawsuits, Olmos Park losing 2 top S.A. restaurants

Robbie Nowlin (Boudro's, Zinc) will take over dinner service Thursday. "I can't even begin to explain how excited I am to be a part of this last week of guest chefs with the man himself!" Nowlin posted on Facebook.

He will serve dry-aged rib-eye for two with pomme aligot, crispy garlic chips, roasted and glazed root vegetables and "sexy sexy sexy bordelaise."

Auden himself is coming in to cook at Chez Vatel for lunch Wednesday, and perhaps Clint Conaway (Zoko, Max's Wine Dive) will have a shift.

Chez Vatel's hours will be 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch Tuesday through Friday and 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday for dinner until the last service June 18. The restaurant is at 218 E. Olmos Drive, 210-828-3141, chezvatelbistro.com.

Watel  who said he's looking to "restart, not retire"  plans to reopen a new incarnation of Chez Vatel Bistro when he finds the right spot. That hasn't happened yet.

In the meantime, Watel said, he'll launch the first regular lunch service at Bite, the Southtown restaurant run by his wife, chef Lisa Astorga-Watel. Lunch at Bite will run Tuesday to Friday starting June 24, Watel said.

msutter@express-news.net

Twitter: @fedmanwalking
Dear Mr. Premack: Ive been tracking the bills that have been passed by the Legislature, and noticed a report that the governor has signed changes to Texass unconstitutional Voter ID law. Do you think that these changes take away the discriminatory intent and effect? Will the court allow these changes? What are the changes?  H.W.

Senate Bill 5 (SB 5) was passed by both houses of the Texas Legislature and was signed by Governor Abbott on June 1, 2017. The updates to the law are designed to go into effect on January 1, 2018.

Voter ID requirements are codified in the Texas Election Code, Chapter 31, Subchapter A. While SB 5 does lighten the burden on potential voters in two ways, it also issues a new serious threat of criminal prosecution if a voter misapplies the law.

Acceptable photo ID has been tweaked. Voters can now use an ID that expired up to 4 years before the date of use (previously expired ID could only be used for 60 days). If the registered voter is age 70 or older, expired ID may be valid with no time limit (although the new law is vague on this point).

No new types of approved ID have been added to the list. A handgun license is still acceptable, but a student ID is not acceptable. However, a registered voter who lacks acceptable ID may now present 1) a current utility bill, 2) a bank statement, 3) a government issued check, 4) a paycheck, or 5) the voter registration card  so long as it shows the persons name and address. A certified birth certificate may also be used, and is not required to show the persons address.

Using any of these substitutes requires the voter to sign a declaration that the voter has a reasonable impediment in obtaining an acceptable ID. The new law instructs the Secretary of State to write a form for this purpose. The forms first statement must be that the voter is subject to prosecution under the Texas penal code if the declaration is false. Violation is a state jail felony. Impediments can include lack of transportation, lack of a birth certificate, work schedule, lost or stolen ID, disability, illness, family responsibilities, or that an ID has been applied for but not yet received.

The election judge cannot question the reasonableness of the claimed impediment. The voter must then be allowed to cast a ballot based on the alternative identification that was presented.

SB 5 also requires the Secretary of State to establish a program using mobile units to provide election ID cards to voters. This could appear at special events or at the request of a particular group. The Secretary of State is allowed to draft rules to control this program, and can refuse to provide a mobile unit if compliance with program rules cannot be ensured.

The prior voter ID law was ruled unconstitutional by the federal courts, and the US Supreme court decline in January 2017 to overrule that decision. The plaintiffs in that lawsuit have already asked the federal court to invalidate SB 5 and the entire voter ID scheme. The laws threat of jail time and a felony record for anyone who uses an alternative form of ID without a good enough reason may discourage minority voters from appearing at the polls. It certainly fails to say Welcome! Please register to vote and participate in our democracy. Instead it implies We are watching, and if you try to vote without meeting our standards you may go to jail. Only the court can decide if these changes pass constitutional muster, or if SB 5 eliminates the states intent to discriminate.

Paul Premack is a Certified Elder Law Attorney with offices in San Antonio and Seattle, handling Wills and Trusts, Probate, and Business Entity issues. View past legal columns or submit free questions on legal issues via www.TexasEstateandProbate.com or www.Premack.com.
TRUMBULL  Connecticut State Police did not find anything suspicious after searching a Trumbull school bus on reports of a possible explosive on board Friday afternoon.

The Trumbull Police Department was contacted by the local school bus company at 3 p.m. requesting assistance for an incident on the bus that was carrying students, according to police. The police met the bus at the intersection of White Plains Road and Reservoir Avenue.
experts lead self-defense course July 6-9

Woman can learn realistic self-defense tactics during a 15-hour course at Hope Lutheran Church of Friendswood, 1804 S. Friendswood Drive.

The RAD Systems-or Rape Aggression Defense-program focuses on awareness, prevention and risk reduction and includes the basics of hands-on defense training.

Course times are 6-9:30 p.m. July 6 and July 7; 4-8 p.m. July 8; and 2-6 p.m. July 9. Attendance each day is required.

The class, $25, is open to women 12 and older. For details, contact officer Kevin Crouch, kcrouch@friendswood.com or 281-996-3316.

BURGLARY

An unlocked vehicle was burglarized May 31 in the 300 block of Northcliff Ridge Lane, police said. The incident reportedly occurred while the victim was in the backyard. When he returned to the front, he noticed some of his belongings were in the driveway and $200 in cash was missing from his vehicle, police said.

THEFT

A woman reported $1,000 was taken from the driver's side door pocket of her vehicle June 2 at a car detail shop in the 4200 block of FM 2351, police said.

CRIMINAL Trespass

Police charged a Friendswood woman, 35, with criminal trespass after she reportedly broke into a home June 5 in the 1100 block of Eagle Lakes Drive. The homeowner had given the woman, a friend of her son, permission to stay the previous night but asked her to find a permanent place afterward. The following night, the suspect reportedly texted the homeowner and said she wanted inside the house. A police officer accompanied the homeowner to the house and found the suspect inside, asleep in a bed. The woman was taken into custody; the officer discovered she had pried open a back door to gain entry into the home. Bond was set at $1,000.

ASSAULT

Police took a Friendswood man, 35, into custody for interfering with an emergency phone call and assault by contact June 4 in the 1200 block of Blueberry Lane. The man reportedly arrived home drunk and argued with his wife, at one point locking her out of the house. When she tried to call police, he grabbed the phone, authorities said. He refused to speak with police and was taken into custody. Bond was set at $1,500.

A Friendswood woman, 41, was taken into custody for public intoxication and assault causing bodily injury-family violence June 4 in the 900 block of West Parkwood Avenue after she reportedly told police she was assaulted and her husband had taken their 2-year-old child. Police contacted the husband, who said he had taken the child due to the woman's history of physical aggression. When found by police, he reportedly had visible injuries from an assault. The woman's bond was set at $1,500.

FRAUD

A Friendswood man said his debit card was charged $503 fraudulently at a Florida Walmart, according to a May 30 police report.

A woman said her former employer used her personal information and forged her signature on a credit application, according to a May 30 police report. The employer allegedly tried to use the woman's credit to purchase a machine for the business, which has since shut down, police said.

A Friendswood woman was scammed out of $595 after she logged into her computer May 27 and received a warning about viruses, according to a June 1 police report. The warning advised her to contact a 1-800 number, reportedly for a company named Unifiedsols LLC. The person who answered claimed to be with Microsoft. Since the victim was unable to shut down her computer, she believed the threat to be real and paid the amount by electronic check. The bank was unable to refund the money but suggested she change account numbers, police said.

DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED

Police charged a Webster man, 25, with DWI after a witness reported a reckless driver headed toward Alvin June 1 on West Parkwood Avenue. The suspect reportedly turned around and drove erratically-swerving and straddling the lane dividers-toward Friendswood but was stopped in the 2100 block of West Parkwood Avenue. The driver failed a field sobriety test, and bond was set at $1,000, police said.

A 22-year-old Texas City woman was charged with DWI after a traffic stop for a defective light and an insurance violation June 3 in the 3100 block of FM 528, authorities said. She reportedly could not find proof of insurance and failed a field sobriety test. Bond was set at $500.

Police charged a Houston woman, 27, with DWI-second offense after she reportedly failed to yield to an emergency vehicle conducting a traffic stop June 4. An officer followed her to the 1000 block of West Edgewood Drive. She reportedly did not have a driver's license and failed a field sobriety test. At the jail, she claimed to have a seizure and was taken to a hospital. After several tests, she was transported back to jail. Bond was set at $1,500.

Police charged a Manvel man, 24, with DWI after he was observed speeding and driving erratically June 4 in the 500 block of West Parkwood Avenue. He reportedly exhibited signs of intoxication and failed a field sobriety test. Bond was set at $1,000.

found property

A pair of inline skates was abandoned at a residence May 30 in the 17000 block of Forest Bend. Police took the skates for safekeeping.

An abandoned bicycle was found June 2 at Centennial Park, 2200 S. Friendswood Drive, police said.

TRAFFIC

Police charged a Deer Park man, 25, with driving while license invalid after a traffic stop for expired registration June 3 in the 4300 block of Friendswood Link Road. He reportedly did not have proof of insurance and a check of his driving history revealed his driver's license was suspended. His passenger, a Deer Park woman, 30, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. She appeared intoxicated and had a suspended license, police said. During a search of the vehicle, police reportedly found a plastic wrapper filled with marijuana.
El Kiosko location No. 15 opened its doors to Humble residents on May 31, inviting community members for a taste of classic Mexican recipes.

Gaby Ortiz is a single mother of three who started her journey by first setting up a small table outside her local church selling troles, or raspados, a traditional Mexican shaved ice made with fresh fruit.

Ortiz said growing up in Mexico around her family business made her realize she wanted to carry out her customs and traditions here in Houston.

La Altena was her parents' version of El Kiosko in Monterrey, Mexico, selling everything from traditional Mexican corn, tortas to tostadas de Monterrey.

Her two sons Andres, 18, and Daniel, 15, remember their time standing outside their church filling up Styrofoam cups to meet the demands of people who had fallen in love with this Mexican tradition, troles.

"We were in a time where we did want a company. We were economic and financially stable, but it was always my mom's dream, and she had told us since we were little," Andres said.

Ortiz wanted to ensure her children knew their heritage and where they came from, and having a company that upholds the values and taste of Mexico was most important for her children.

Through interpreter Oscar Garduno, Ortiz expressed the love she has for her company and the journey it has taken her to opening 16 locations with more currently in the works.

"I grew up with the company. I saw it grow," Daniel said. "I think my mom is a really hard worker, possibly my idol. I want to become someone like her. I've never seen anyone like that."

Each concoction is a secret family recipe handed down through generations, and as the menu points out, Tortas Tinga De La Gaby's, is the post popular dish Ortiz was known to make since before she opened up her first El Kiosko on Veterans Memorial Drive.

Also on the menu, are Ortiz's aunts' famous tostadas, which she named in dedication to her aunt, Tostada De La Chacha.

Franchise owner Bianca Camarena, 23, said she was a longtime fan of El Kiosko and owning one was an exciting step she couldn't wait to take.

"There wasn't anything like that in this area, and my own customers are going crazy about it. It's a pleasure to be here in Humble and serve this community," Camarena said.

Camarena runs her location alongside her father, Guillermo, who said he has never seen anyone work as hard as Ortiz to ensure each location and franchisee reap the rewards of her products.

"I love my job. I feel blessed with everything, with opening the new place, people coming, the franchises, it's really good," Ortiz said in Spanish.

Garduno said while Gaby is kind and produces an incredible relationship with every person she works with, when it comes to her famous sauces, she is very strict to make sure each tastes the same before leaving the distribution center.

Ortiz said her children are the reason for passion and dedication to her company. Their support encourages her to continue to grow her business with opening the first El Kiosko in San Antonio with hopes of spreading her authentic taste of Mexico throughout Texas.
HOUSTON  The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo awarded 70 4-H members from 54 different Texas counties with $1.4 million in scholarships during the Texas 4-H Roundup in College Station on Thursday, June 8.

Area recipients include four from Hale County: Sarah Berry, Layne Mustian, Sherling Skinner and Colti Wright; two from Lamb County: Kambri Hanlin and Maleea Harper; and one from Swisher County: Savannah Wesley.

Each of these 2017 Texas 4-H Show scholars receives a $20,000 college scholarship, payable over four years.

Students were selected by Texas 4-H officials based on the students involvement with the program, academic achievements and financial need. Of the 70 recipients honored, 65 percent were female and 35 percent were male. In the fall, these students will attend 25 different Texas colleges and universities and will major in 44 different disciplines.

Since the first scholarship was awarded in 1957 in the amount of $2,000, more than 2,500 Texas 4-Hers have received scholarships from the Show.

This is the third of four scholarship presentations this summer in which the Show will commit $14.3 million in scholarships to Texas youth.
Kennedy and King: The President, the Pastor, and the Battle over Civil Rights

By Steven Levingston

Hachette. 511 pp. $28

---

Martin Luther King Jr. became a genuine national figure in the fall of 1955.

So did John F. Kennedy.

King emerged as a principled leader of a moral movement. Kennedy's almost simultaneous emergence was more from calculation than commitment, but it was a consequential emergence nonetheless.

King became a national figure helping lead a boycott of the then-segregated public bus system in Montgomery, Ala., which caught the public's attention as the civil rights movement was gathering steam. Kennedy's emergence, on the other hand, was purely political, sparked by his father's idea that after President Dwight Eisenhower's serious heart attack earlier that year, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson should run for president with his money and his son as the running mate. Johnson quickly dismissed that approach, but it ignited a spark of ambition in John Kennedy - first to be Adlai Stevenson's running mate in 1956 and then to run himself.

King famously pressed the "fierce urgency of now," which he summarized in one of his most storied orations as meaning that "tomorrow is today." Kennedy the political leader, by contrast, grappled with what might be called the fierce urgency of (BEGIN ITAL)how(END ITAL).

Comparing and contrasting disparate historical figures can easily be artificial, misleading, even gimmicky. Steven Levingston, however, has walked this tightrope magnificently. In his important new book, "Kennedy and King," the rest of us get an unusual chance to study each leader in part through the other over a tumultuous, pivotal eight-year period. As is always the case with major contributions to our understanding, Levingston's is grounded in diligent research and detail. He acknowledges the centrality of grass-roots activism in all movements but argues for the greater importance of leadership or of "great men" in general and Kennedy and King in particular, through what he calls their "complicated relationship."

"Kennedy and King towered over the national landscape, and their interactions defined the early years of the civil rights era," he writes. "While broad, forceful trends propel the trajectory of history, prominent personalities like Kennedy and King ultimately guide the course of human life."

At first, Levingston, The Washington Post's nonfiction book editor, draws these two lives as parallel lines. Though their circumstances were diametrically different, each had to come into his own beyond the shadow of a powerful father.

King evolved more quickly in the wake of the year-long Montgomery campaign. Kennedy's development was infuriatingly slow - a product of too much money and too little exposure and empathy.

And yet Kennedy's potential was there. "Deeply curious, Kennedy absorbed new information, circumstances, and attitudes, and sifted them for their significance, adjusting his perceptions accordingly," Levingston writes. "A voracious reader and patient listener, he was in a permanent state of becoming. As his observant young aide [Ted Sorensen] described Kennedy, 'No attribute he possessed in 1953 was more pronounced or more important than his capacity for growth, his willingness to learn, his determination to explore and to inquire and to profit by experience.'"

The parallel lines began to move closer once Kennedy was a formal candidate in 1960. For their first meeting - after the Democratic nomination was virtually clinched - King made the trek to the Kennedy family apartment in New York. It did not go well. King saw firsthand the gaps in his counterpart's background and commitment. And Kennedy foolishly sought a partisan endorsement that King's position obviously precluded.

And yet each persisted. From King's perspective, recruiting a nominee and then a president to the cause was a priority. Levingston cites a revealing article in Esquire that spring by James Baldwin: "Neither the Southerner nor the Northerner is able to look on the Negro simply as a man. They are two sides of the same coin, and the South will not change - (BEGIN ITAL)cannot(END ITAL) change - until the North changes."

Along the way, each man lived what those of us who prefer euphemisms would call compartmentalized private lives. Levingston's evidence suggests that their sexual indiscretions were irrelevant to their public conduct. But neither man appreciated the risk his reckless behavior posed for the millions of people whose hopes were invested in them.

In any case, the atmosphere between them improved with time. King noted the evolution in Kennedy's positions and sentiment. As ever, Kennedy presented a mixture of a learning curve on civil rights with pure politics in the form of his realization that Johnson was going to get virtually all the Southern delegates to the Democratic convention anyway. Interestingly, much of their literal interaction involved efforts by Kennedy and his brother to spring King from jails - most famously in Atlanta near the end of the campaign but again in Georgia two years later during a frustrating and unsuccessful action in Albany and then during the inspiring horrors of Birmingham the following, climactic summer.

Levingston's account of Birmingham, which chronicles the city's impact on each protagonist, is simply riveting. He is especially illuminating in following Kennedy's final steps when his attorney general brother nudged him to become "the nation's first civil rights President."

The moment came on the evening of June 11, 1963, with full-throated rhetoric from the Oval Office and the proposal that became the Civil Rights Act under Lyndon Johnson a year later. King wept with joy, emotion tempered by the murder of Medgar Evers early the next morning.

Levingston chooses to finish with King's essential confidence in the future and in his role. He quotes King relentlessly insisting on (BEGIN ITAL)now(END ITAL), including the need to keep nipping at Kennedy's heels. And Levingston offers Kennedy's realistic assessment in his search for (BEGIN ITAL)how(END ITAL) progress toward equality might be attained: "It often helps me to be pushed."

How exciting it would have been to watch these two towering figures wrestle as allies into 1964.

---

Oliphant, with Curtis Wilkie, is the co-author of the new book, "The Road to Camelot, Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign."
The escalating cost of construction and dramatic changes in how affordable housing is financed are leading Alexandria, Virginia, officials to consider modifying a requirement to replace any of its 1,150 public housing units that are redeveloped with equally priced apartments.

A change is necessary, proponents say, because local housing authorities such as the Alexandria Redevelopment Housing Authority can no longer afford to simply replace an apartment priced for the poorest residents - those who make less than 30 percent of the area's median income or $26,500 for a two-person household - with another unit priced for the same income level.

Instead, ARHA proposes to either build more housing for people higher up on the income ladder in order to subsidize the rents of the poorest tenants, or to get substantial additional financial support from local, state or federal governments.

"We need a broader spread of [household incomes] if we are to do the job without deep subsidies," Roy Priest, ARHA's chief executive told the City Council this week.

Priest, who is retiring at the end of June, said the long erosion of federal housing subsidies, which is expected to worsen under the Trump administration, as well as the emergence of independent affordable housing organizations, has boosted competition for scarce federal tax credits, which support almost all affordable housing development in the nation.

Changing Alexandria's 36-year-old promise to preserve the number of housing units for its poorest families at affordable rents would break a social compact, affordable housing advocates say.

"At the time this law was passed, it was never envisioned that public housing authorities would be losing their funding from the federal government," said Michelle Krocker, executive director of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance. "We need to be sure any solution provides housing in perpetuity for these extremely low income people, because we know these are the hardest populations to serve."

While existing tenants would be protected from losing their housing even if the policy is changed, the supply of housing for the poorest residents would undoubtedly dwindle, even as population growth and income trends in the region guarantee that need will increase.

Krocker said the proof will be in the details of whatever is proposed, and whether the cash-strapped city can persuade other entities - and offer subsidies -- to build housing that's needed when the existing 1,150 units are not enough.

Alexandria and the greater Washington, D.C., region are not alone in grappling with the increasing cost and declining federal support for affordable housing.

"It is going on all over the country, particularly in urban and suburban markets experiencing growth," said Stephen Glaude, president and chief executive of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development.

A low-income housing project requires five to seven different types of subsidy to get off the ground, or "the math doesn't work," Glaude said.

Unique to Alexandria, the local law known as Resolution 830 has guaranteed that this small city would always replace, on a one-for-one basis, any of its lowest-income apartments lost through decay or demolition. Far larger Fairfax County, the only other Northern Virginia community with a public housing authority, currently provides 1,060 low-income rentals and makes no promise similar to Alexandria's.

Most communities in the region, including Alexandria and Fairfax, support affordable housing projects with grants or loans. Those projects are usually financed in the expectation of having tenants whose incomes range from 40 to 80 percent of the area's median income, or up to $88,300 for a two-person household. Apartments for the high end of that range are often called "workforce" housing because tenants with fulltime jobs can qualify.

Much more rare are the developments that offer apartments for those who make less. The federal government also provides housing vouchers, previously known as "Section 8" vouchers, but they are hard to get, and it's up to tenants to find landlords willing to taken them, and that's an exceedingly difficult hunt in an area where rental costs are rising.

While it will be at least the end of the year before any changes are proposed to Resolution 830, Alexandria housing director Helen McIlvaine said the issue is coming up now because officials are trying to avoid the tempest that erupted in late 2015 and early 2016, when ARHA's plan to redevelop the 15-unit Ramsey Homes public housing project ran into a buzzsaw of neighborhood and political opposition.

That brouhaha delayed the agency's application for federal tax credits by a year. After multiple meetings, the city and the housing authority agreed to a "no surprises" rule in the future.

ARHA wants the City Council in the fall to approve a redevelopment of the 48-year-old Andrew Adkins apartments, located in the East Braddock area. The housing authority plans to sell the two blocks of land beneath the apartments to a private developer, who wants to build 500 market-rate units in seven-story buildings, with ground-level retail.

The developer would also build a new public housing tower, to be run by ARHA, but only 60 of the current 90 units would be replaced. ARHA officials said they would use the money they earned from the land sale to buy or rent housing elsewhere for the remaining 30 tenants.

The East Braddock area is rapidly gentrifying and has acquired the nickname of Old Town West. New apartment and condo towers have gone up amid older, low-income apartments, and several middle-to-high-end restaurants have opened nearby.

While public housing residents sat outside one recent evening barbecuing on a tiny grill, with laundry drying on their clotheslines, more affluent neighbors two blocks away played bocce ball and outdoor ping-pong under strings of lights.

That idea of modifying Resolution 830 did not go over well with City Council members who were briefed on it at a workshop this week.

Mayor Allison Silberberg, D, objected to both the possible abandonment of the resolution and to the reduction of public housing units at Andrew Adkins. Council member Willie Bailey, D, said the four plots of green space at the site should be sacrificed in order to add more housing.

"They're going to build 500-plus homes and all we're getting out of it is 60 units?" Bailey asked. "I know we like to talk about open space, but people can't live in open space."

Canek Aguirre, president of the board of Tenant and Workers United, said his organization opposes the proposal for Andrew Adkins but has a "wait-and-see" attitude toward the idea of changing Resolution 830, because it's still in preliminary stages and community reaction will be solicited before anything happens.

Vice mayor Justin Wilson, D, told the council that if it wants to retain the one-for-one replacement of the lowest-income apartments, "someone . . .has to show up with a lot of money.

"This is our choice. This is our decision," Wilson warned. "We could have [fewer] units with deeper affordability or more units with less affordability... That is the brutal math."
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkeys Foreign Ministry has condemned the bloody terrorist attack in Iraqs Karbala.

Turkey expresses its condolences to the government and people of Iraq, the Foreign Ministry said.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in a parking lot in the Iraqi city of Karbala, killing more than 20 people.

The so-called Islamic State (IS aka ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group claimed the responsibility for the attack.

---

Follow Rufiz Hafizoglu on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
LONDON - Prime Minister Theresa May thought she'd sweep elections with a broad mandate to run the exit negotiations with the European Union, but didn't work out that way.

Now it appears that a little party in Northern Ireland needs to come to the Tory's rescue.

May's Conservative Party is forecast to win 319 seats in Thursday's snap election, seven short of the 326 needed for a majority in parliament. That certainly wasn't her plan.

And so May has spent the dawn hours at 10 Downing Street ringing her counterparts at the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland, which won 10 seats.

On the surface, the Irish unionists have much in common with the Tories. They're traditionalists - God save the Queen and the Union Jack. They also socially conservative. And they really dislike Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The Tories say May has struck a deal - what they calling "an understanding" - with the Democratic Unionist Party.

A DUP source told the Guardian newspaper, "We want there to be a government. We have worked well with May. The alternative is intolerable. For as long as Corbyn leads Labour, we will ensure there's a Tory PM."

But this support comes at a price.

Northern Ireland as a whole voted strongly in favor of remaining in the European Union in the vote last June, by a majority of 56 percent to 44 percent. Unionist leaders urged their constituents to vote Leave, but the ballots among their own supporters were divided.

In the aftermath of the vote to leave the European bloc, DUP politicos have pushed for a kinder, gentler Brexit, and one that takes into account the unique history and geography of Ireland.

Remember that Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom - along with England, Wales and Scotland - and shares a long porous border with E.U.-member Ireland to the south.

That border was a kind of no man's land, populated by British soldiers, gunmen and smugglers during the decades of battles against the Irish Republican Army.

As The Washington Post reported last year, more than 180 formal roads cross that border - many more if you count tractor trails and foot paths. Most of the time, a traveler barely sees a sign noting the change in countries. This will now become the Europe's back door to Britain and vice versa.

It was only 15 years ago that the last bomb exploded in the long conflict between British security forces and Ulster loyalist paramilitary groups and the Irish Republican Army. More than 3,500 people were killed during the so-called Troubles, half of them civilians.

Nobody wants to see its return, but there are fears on both sides that Brexit could awake old demons - and usher in a "hard border," with customs checkpoints and immigration controls.

Arlene Foster, leader of the DUP, has warned both against a hard border and a hard Brexit. In the party's 2017 election manifesto, a top promise was: "Work to get the best Brexit deal for Northern Ireland." It appears they are now in a good position to push for that.
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SAKATA, Japan - "Missile launched. It appears a missile has been launched. Please evacuate to a sturdy building or underground," the loudspeaker blared over the town, silencing the children who had been playing in the schoolyard and drowning out the sound of the water trickling alongside the rice paddies.

Older residents streamed into the concrete community center, while the children at the neighboring elementary school hit the ground outside where they were playing, some covering their heads.

Sakata, a sleepy city of 100,000 on Japan's northwestern coast, sits just 665 miles across the sea from North Korea, and many of the missiles that Kim Jong Un's regime has been launching have landed not far from this coast, within Japan's exclusive economic zone.

While Kim has repeatedly stated that he wants an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, and while he has made observable progress toward that goal, his rocket scientists are not there yet.

North Korea is, however, able to hit Japan. One of the new missiles that North Korea fired last month had a technical range of 2,800 miles, easily putting all of Japan and even the U.S. territory of Guam within reach. (North Korea fired a missile over Japan in 1998.)

That has residents here worrying for the squid fishermen who ply this coast - and for themselves.

"Sakata faces the Sea of Japan, so it's important to think about how to protect ourselves in case of an incoming North Korean missile," Itaru Maruyama, the mayor of Sakata, said after the city held its first missile preparedness drill Friday. "We've trained for various disasters but not for a missile."

Japanese are used to drills for earthquakes and tsunamis, but the prime minister's office issued new "actions to protect yourself" guidelines in April, including instructions on how to respond if a North Korean ballistic missile is heading toward Japan. It marked the first time since the end of World War II that the Japanese government has instructed citizens on what to do if they come under enemy attack.

The advice is limited to basically going inside or underground - there's not much else people can do, especially not since they would have only minutes to do it.

In Tokyo, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presented the prime minister with a plan Thursday to protect people from North Korean missiles. Among other things, it called for building shelters and evacuating Japanese citizens living in South Korea.

"With North Korea continuing to ignore the international community and launching missiles, we must do everything we can to protect the public," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in response.

As if to underline the threat, North Korea launched another salvo of missiles Thursday, although they were only cruise missiles rather than the usual ballistic ones.

The threat of North Korea feels very real on this coast, and several regional authorities have organized similar practices.

About 400 residents took part in Friday's exercise in Sakata, practicing what to do if satellites detect a ballistic missile launched from "Country X" flying toward Japan. In addition to triggering cellphone alarms, alerts will blare from loudspeakers already used for earthquake and tsunami warnings.

Residents would have only minutes to evacuate to safety because the missile would take only about 10 minutes after launch to reach Japan, and some of that time would be spent alerting local authorities.

After a siren started sounding the warning during the drill on Friday, a group of senior citizens who had been waiting patiently in a side alley began walking quickly toward the community center, cautioning each other to be careful not to fall and hurt themselves. The children playing on the school field followed their teacher's instructions and ducked down. In the rice paddies and fields around the area, people sheltered in place.

"I feel fortunate that this is happening here so we will be prepared if a missile is coming toward us," said Mitsuharu Suzuki, a 67-year-old company worker who remembers when three North Korean spies came ashore in the area in 1973. "We face North Korea across the Sea of Japan, so we always feel tense."

Sachiko Kaneko, a 69-year-old housewife who also took part, agreed. "The missiles come so often, so I feel very worried," she said.

After the exercise was over, Mayor Maruyama congratulated everyone on a drill well done.

"Kids, you did a great job at escaping. It made you nervous, right?" he said to the rows of children lined up in the school gym. "Remember this experience and think about it during your school years."

The local fire chief came on next to describe what a missile would look like. He got a girl who was 53 inches tall to stand up to show everyone the width of the missile and the length of the warhead - and the children started to look slightly terrified. "I hope a missile doesn't come here," one said to her friends afterward.

Down at the port, fishermen who did not take part in the drill said they were also worried.

"It's really scary because we have no idea where missiles might fall," said Kiyoshi Sugimoto, who works on a squid fishing boat based farther up the coast. He was once out on this sea when he heard that a North Korean missile had landed within Japan's economic zone, and he wanted to turn back.

"They can tell us that a missile has been launched, but what are we supposed to do about it? We can't run away," he said as he sat on the ground smoking. He asked whether more missiles would be coming.

Shizuka Yamashina, a 75-year-old retired farmer, said the tensions with North Korea were the worst he could remember.

"I heard that North Korea wants Japan to go up in flames, because we are allies of America," Yamashina said as he and a friend fished on a dock, pulling in a bunch of minnows that they fed to the seagulls. "I want the United States to restrain North Korea."

Residents on the coast feel so vulnerable, he said, that at a recent drinking party with his friends he gave a toast hoping that a North Korean missile does not land here.

"I hope that we can have talks with North Korea and calm down the situation rather than use military force," Yamashina said, "because right now we have no idea what they might do."
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NORWALK  Walls now stand between the ornate wooden arches and columns of the historic Carnegie Library on Belden Avenue, hiding the buildings original grandeur.

Old photographs reveal the historic layout.

It was like spokes on a wheel, said Norwalk Public Library Director Chris Bradley, standing where the central circulation desk was located. All the book stacks went around in a circle. It was beautiful, a traditional New England public library.

Now, more than a century after the building opened as Connecticuts first Carnegie Library, Bradley and library trustees are hoping to reopen it to the public while expanding and modernizing the library to better serve patrons in the 21st century. She envisions the walls being removed, the original woodwork restored and the space being used to host art exhibits, musical performances and other cultural events.

Its the arches that really make the space. These are all partitioning walls, said Ralph C. Bloom, Norwalk historian and library trustee.

A wooden coatrack and framed photograph of Andrew Carnegie are among the many historic items in the building. The photograph hangs in the Carnegie Room whose windows overlook Belden Avenue.

Rich history

A plaque mounted on the south side of the building commemorates its origin: This Library Presented to the City of Norwalk by Andrew Carnegie. Esq. 1902. Site Presented by A Citizen of Norwalk.

The library was built with a $20,000 donation from Scottish immigrant and American steel industry magnate Andrew Carnegie. Harold E. Bishop, grandson of Norwalk Manufacturing Co. founder George G. Bishop, offered the land for the library, according to Isabel Bullen, author of Norwalks Carnegie Libraries: The History of Two Public Libraries, Two Cities, and One Connecticut Town.

For Norwalk to get its new library, all that was needed after the gift was the approval of the city government, Bullen wrote. A special city meeting was held on September 20, 1901, to obtain the approval of the voters. By a margin of ninety-four to two the City of Norwalk agreed to accept Carnegies offer of $20,000 for a library; to accept Bishops gift of the site; and to maintain the library with an appropriation of not less than $2,000 a year.

Contractor Albert R. Malkin finished the exterior of the building in 1903 and work proceeded inside. A staircase brought visitors to the central entrance along Belden Avenue. Once inside, they passed under an archway with a decorated cornice. Reading rooms stood left and right; the books stack were directly ahead, according to the original floor plan includes in the book.

Bradley said she would like to see the staircase recreated and used as an exit.

The future

The desire to repurpose the historic Carnegie Library comes as the library board looks to expand and modernize the 1982 addition, which now houses books and other materials. The most logical expansion, Bradley said, would be to the north, if the city were able to acquire the First Taxing District parcel abutting library.

Several years ago, the city and taxing district worked out an agreement allowing library patrons to park on part of the parcel during certain hours.

Bradley and Alex Knopp, library board chairman and a former Norwalk mayor, have visited libraries throughout Fairfield County in search modernization and expansion ideas.

We found that there were a lot of similarities in all of the redesigns that reflect a modern kind of community center use of a library, Knopp said. Every single library just about has put as much as it can on castors and wheels, so the idea is you end up with a series of rooms with very fungible spaces that are not dedicated to one particular use but are adaptable.

Refurbishing the Carnegie Library and expanding the modern building will require dollars and planning.

Library officials are awaiting the fate of a proposed parking agreement before proceeding with a master plan.

Option agreement

This month, Knopp, Mayor Harry W. Rilling and Jason Milligan, owner of the private parking lot immediately west of the library, announced an option agreement, which would give library patrons use of the lot and the city six years to formulate its broader plan for the library.

After receiving a $460,000 payment from the city, Milligan would withdraw his approved plan for 69 apartments on the parking lot site. The city would have the option of buying the lot  and Milligans entire property at 11 Belden Ave.  for $4.8 million.

Ideally, the city would be able to leverage its power and work with entities to develop the land, thus reducing the cost to the taxpayers, Knopp said.

The key priority was making sure that the library in Norwalk has a bright future, which means both parking on site and the opportunity to expand and modernize its structure, Knopp said.

The former mayor counts the library, city schools and parks as among the places shared by the public. Losing the opportunity to expand and modernize the library would be a mistake, he said.

If in 30 years, we had lost these opportunities, we dont want families to look back and say, What if the library had preserved those opportunities, Knopp said.

He warned that the agreement poses risks as well as opportunities. Upon signing off on the deal in court, the Norwalk Public Library Foundation, a nonprofit organization that Knopp chairs, withdrew its appeal of the city Zoning Commissions approval of the apartments.

Knopp hopes to see the Common Council approve the agreement by early August but reminds that it will require a supermajority of 10 votes.
Thai regulators plan to impose financial penalties on Facebook and other companies with video-sharing platforms if they fail to swiftly remove what they deem to be illegal content.

The new framework would give authorities the power to immediately demand the removal of offensive material without waiting for a court order, Colonel Natee Sukonrat, vice chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said in an interview on Wednesday. Details will be released as early as this month, he said, and companies would have about a month to comply.

"I will not touch the service; I will touch the way you make money," Natee said when asked about penalties if companies ignore the requests. "They have to play by the rules," he said. "I think they will cooperate because they make a lot of money from Thailand."

Facebook said it regularly receives requests from governments to limit access to content on the internet when they believe it violates their laws. In Thailand, it has previously restricted access to content alleged to have violated lese-majeste laws concerning the royal family.

"When we receive such a request, we review it to determine if it puts us on notice of unlawful content," the company said in an email to Bloomberg. "If we determine that it does, then we make it unavailable in the relevant country or territory and notify people who try to access it why it is restricted."

Thailand's military-run government, in power since a 2014 coup, has faced criticism for clamping down on free speech ahead of elections planned for next year. In particular, efforts to restrict discussion of King Maha Vajiralongkorn's activities have led to tighter scrutiny of social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

In April, the NBTC gave Facebook a deadline to remove posts and links to web pages deemed illegal. When the date arrived, the regulator said it would seek court orders and the company was cooperating with officials.

Natee said there's a variety of illegal content online and the new framework is intended to have a "minimal" impact on the public, while protecting people from harm.

He said authorities wanted companies to respond faster to requests to remove content. For instance, he said Facebook asked for the orders to be translated into English before they could comply with them -- a process that can take weeks.

The new framework would force broadcasters to comply with requests immediately and then petition the courts if they think the order was illegal, Natee said. It would also compel them to have a senior manager in the country who is able to understand Thai, he said.

"We will not talk in English to them," he said. "They have to have someone to talk to us. When we give the order we will talk in Thai."

Natee said authorities wouldn't seek to block Facebook's service in Thailand, adding Facebook and YouTube were "very good" companies that needed to comply with local law. Alphabet Inc., which owns YouTube, didn't immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

Facebook has 47 million users in Thailand. Natee said the company earned about three billion baht ($88 million) in revenue from the country last year, while YouTube had revenue of 1.5 billion baht. Neither company has released a breakdown for Thailand. Facebook got $4.4 billion of revenue from Asia last year, or about 16 percent of its total.

Thailand has some of the world's toughest lese-majeste laws, which can lead to jail sentences of 15 years for defaming, insulting or threatening members of the royal family. An amended Computer Crime Act, which took effect in May, bars content that's fake or contrary to public order or morality.

Natee said that illegal content included things like false advertising, selling sexual services and gambling. He said Facebook took too long to remove an April video of a man who hanged his infant daughter.

"That's improper," Natee said. "With this big market, we want more responsibility."

Natee also dismissed concerns that Thailand's policies would hurt the country's ability to attract tech companies. The government has a goal of encouraging innovation to invigorate a economy that's saddled with overcapacity in manufacturing and reliant on exports and tourism.

The plan, called Thailand 4.0, seeks to bolster sectors ranging from biotechnology and medical care to robotics and electric vehicles in an effort to lift the economy out of the so-called middle-income trap. Still, challenges include uneven educational standards, a shortage of skilled workers and intense bouts of political volatility.

"Thailand 4.0 does not mean you can do anything in Thailand," Natee said. "Anyone who wants to do service in Thailand has to follow the law. Global guidelines and global policy is okay, but you have to listen to the local voice as well."

--Bloomberg's Sunil Jagtiani contributed.
WASHINGTON - After a day dominated by James Comey's testimony and a week of persistent Democratic opposition to his approach to infrastructure, President Donald Trump on Friday appeared before a friendly audience at the U.S. Department of Transportation to try to build some momentum for a signature campaign promise.

Standing in a sunlit atrium, flanked by American flags and convoluted charts illustrating the permitting process, Trump said his administration will drastically speed up project approvals as part of his infrastructure initiative. He met earlier with state transportation officials.

Standing before members of Congress and his administration, federal workers, business leaders and workers in hard hats, the president flipped through a thick white binder he said was from an environmental report for a Maryland highway "costing $24,000 per page" - then dropped it to the floor with a dramatic thud that drew laughs and applause.

"These binders on the stage could be replaced by just a few simple pages," Trump said, gesturing what he said was a $29 million report. "These binders also make you do unnecessary things that cost millions and millions of dollars and they actually make it worse."

Critics said the president exaggerates the problem and has used inaccurate figures in describing delays.

Trump said his administration is setting up a "new council" to help project managers make it through the "bureaucratic maze," and that agencies that consistently cause delays will "face tough new penalties."

"We will hold bureaucracy accountable," he said. "I was not elected to continue a failed system. I was elected to change it."

Infrastructure was supposed to be an opportunity for bipartisanship. But the political environment created by a series of investigations into Trump's campaign and advisers, and concerns over the administration's reliance on private funds to pay for many new infrastructure projects, have dramatically complicated the effort.

Taking a page from the president's own successful branding efforts in last year's campaign, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., repeatedly warned this week of the coming "Trump tolls from coast to coast" under the president's private-sector heavy plan.

Standing before a barge carrying coal in Ohio earlier this week, Trump said efforts at "massively streamlining" permitting is already paying off in the energy sector.

The Trump administration has proposed investing $200 billion in direct federal investment as part of an effort to leverage private, state and local funds totaling $1 trillion over 10 years. The administration, however, has yet to reveal the specifics of this plan, which would have to be approved by Congress.

Relying on private investors and "a few financiers whispering into the ear of the president . . . won't fix our water-sewer systems. It won't expand rural broadband. It won't fix our energy grid," Schumer said. He also pointed to the administration's plans for far-reaching cuts in infrastructure spending outlined in the president's proposed budget. "There is no such thing as a free lunch."

Several Republican senators have also voiced skepticism of the administration's approach to what Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao called the "cornerstone" of Trump's infrastructure initiative: a bid to shift the nation's air traffic control system out of government hands. Some members representing rural states are concerned their smaller airports will be undercut by the effort.

Still, there is hunger to improve U.S. infrastructure that crosses party and ideological lines.

Orlando Bonilla, a laborer who immigrated from Nicaragua and built grocery stores before becoming a rep with the Laborers' International Union of North America, came to Trump's speech Friday along with more than a dozen fellow workers in orange union T-shirts.

"We may not see eye-to-eye on other issues. This is something we can support," Bonilla said. While he disagrees with Trump's immigration stance and foreign policy, investing in infrastructure "is something that's good for the country and good for our members."

Minutes after the Senate Intelligence committee opened its Comey hearing Thursday, the White House said it would be "slashing regulations" so projects move faster.

"In order to jumpstart investment, the President aims to dramatically reduce permitting time for these infrastructure projects from 10 years to 2 years," the White House said.

In April, Trump told a White House audience that the permitting process for a federally funded highway takes at least a decade.

"We're going to try to take that process from a minimum of 10 years down to one year," Trump said in April. "It won't be more than a year."

Critics point to Federal Highway Administration data showing it takes 3.6 years to approve major environmental reviews for the small minority of projects that need them, and that most transportation projects move much faster.

Kevin DeGood, an infrastructure specialist at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, said the president's time frames were "not even remotely accurate."

"The government-wide average for completing a full environmental impact statement (EIS) is just 4.6 years. This average includes things like new nuclear reactors," DeGood said. "What is just as critical to understand is that only a very small percentage of projects have to complete an EIS. Only 4 percent of highways projects require an EIS."

The White House said that as part of its infrastructure effort "1 millions apprentices" would get to work over two years, though program specifics remained unclear.

The White House said the president would commit "$100 billion for local prioritization of infrastructure needs" and "$15 billion for transformative projects . . . that will change America's approach to infrastructure."

Chao said the Department of Transportation issued a public call in the Federal Register Friday "soliciting solutions and suggestions on ways to improve government permitting. So, if you have ideas, we want to hear from you."
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 9

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Deployment of the Turkish military contingent in Qatar is a way to resolve the crisis in the country, Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu, vice chairman of the Turkish Strategic Outlook analytical center, told Trend June 9.

The expert said that even if not Qatar, but some other country was in this situation, Turkey would do the same.

Deployment of the Turkish military contingent is not limited to Qatar, Oztarsu said. Ankara had previously tried to deploy a military contingent in Somalia.

The expert noted that the main goal of Turkey is to maintain balance in the region.

The situation Qatar is facing at the moment is a political problem, however, this affects a lot of things, including energy issues, the expert said.

Given the current state of affairs, Turkey should have cooperated more closely with Iran to monitor the situation in the region.

A chance appeared for Turkey to correct the mistakes the country has made in its foreign policy since 2010, the expert said.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE announced about breaking their diplomatic relations with Qatar June 5, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.

Later, the authorities of Libya, Yemen, as well as the Maldives and Mauritius also announced about severing diplomatic relations with Qatar.

A military agreement entered into force between Qatar and Turkey June 9, 2017.

The document was signed on November 10, 2016 in Ankara.

Earlier, a law was passed in Turkey on ratification of an agreement between the two countries on the deployment of a Turkish military contingent in Qatar.

The establishment of a Turkish military base in Qatar is envisaged by the agreement on strengthening bilateral cooperation signed by the two countries in 2014.

Moreover, the Turkish parliament ratified the Protocol on Cooperation in the Field of Education and Training for Gendarmerie between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of the State of Qatar.

The protocol was signed on December 2, 2015 in Doha as part of the agreement on cooperation in the sphere of security between the internal ministries of Turkey and Qatar.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
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The graduation dreams of a San Antonio student with an intellectual disability were "crushed" when his high school did not allow him to cross the stage with his classmates, his family says.

Matthew Rocha, a Jewel Wietzel Center student, "couldn't even sleep he was so thrilled" to get his diploma with the rest of the McCollum High School seniors on June 7, according to a Facebook post penned by his cousin, Steph Leal.

She said her family and school administration had been in contact about his credits and coordinated a plan that would allow Rocha to have a seat with his grandmother, who aides him, during the ceremony.

RELATED: S.A. family searching for stranger who swapped pants with graduate so he could cross the stage

Leal said Rocha's cap and gown had been purchased, graduation photos were taken and invitations were sent out.

But when Rocha and his family arrived, they were turned away and he was not allowed to graduate, Leal said.

"I feel like my cousin was discriminated due to his illness, now we have a crushed young man who's heart broken because the school failed him," she added in her post. "They've made Matthew's school years hell due to the failure of staff and training for children of his kind. This isn't fair."

Leal was not immediately available to return requests for comment, but has updated her post twice since her original complaint was published.

She said the school confirmed Rocha had earned enough credits.

"This was just a case of several people failing to do their jobs," her post reads. "These people took this milestone from Matthew regardless of the circumstances."

In her second update, Leal said the district offered to let Rocha graduate with the Harlandale class on Thursday, an offer he originally refused.

RELATED: Internet loves photo of SAPD officer helping Holmes student get ready for graduation

"He said no he did not want to go through this again. They told him that everything would be set up for him this time...so he agreed...but he did not want to be dressed up again," she said. "But he did want to cross the stage and he will be in (a) Harlandale cap and gown."

The district apologized to Rocha and his family in a statement emailed to mySA.com.

"We sincerely apologize for the situation, we spoke with the family and made arrangements to honor the accomplishments of our graduate, Matthew," the statement said. "Our partnership with the family will continue as Matthew prepares for his post-secondary career. We are extremely proud of him and want to thank the family for their understanding, cooperation and continued support as we celebrate Matthew."

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
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San Antonians are heading to the polls once again Saturday, this time to cast ballots in runoffs for six council seats and the mayors office.

Along with the showdown between Mayor Ivy Taylor and District 8 Councilman Ron Nirenberg, City Council candidates for Districts 1, 2, 6, 8, 9 and 10 are on the ballot. While Districts 1 and 2 feature an incumbent against a challenger, the other races will certainly bring new faces to council.

As of 3 p.m. only 19,118 votes had been cast according to Bexar County Elections Department.

At least 30 of those came from the Davis-Scott Branch YMCA on the East Side where Hope Goode, 48, was disappointed to learn his 18-year-old daughter will have to wait until the next election to vote.

"We were so occupied we forgot she turned 18 and went 'gasp' she was not registered her to vote," Goode recalled.

The young woman had been recovering from surgery at the time of her birthday.

There are 223 polling sites open across San Antonio, but unlike the early voting process, registered voters must cast ballots within their precinct Saturday. If you didnt vote in the May election you may still cast a ballot in the runoff, said elections administrator Jacque Callanen.

According to officials, more than 60,000 voted early, less than nine percent of active registered voters in San Antonio.

Among those voting today was Nick Blazosky, 30, who took his 4-month-old daughter Filipa with him to Laurel Heights United Methodist Church.

"She went with mom to early voting and now she's with me," Blazosky said smiling.

He said a line of 10-12 people were waiting to vote inside.

"This is a pretty active area, but I hope there's a better turnout," Blazosky said.

Turnout was also a concern at the D.R. Seemes YMCA at Tripoint polling location. Robert C. Trevino supporter Kristine Brown, 26, had been passing out campaign flyers there since the polls opened.

"It hasn't been too busy here," Brown said as one passing voter shouted out to her "we just voted for him!"

She said voting officials told her they expected a greater flow of people coming to cast their ballots there between 4-7 p.m.

Audra Allen, 29, said she stood in line before voting at Tripoint. And though there were only three others in the line, that it was "nice not being the only person voting here."

To find your polling location, visit the Bexar County elections page. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone still in line at closing time may still cast a ballot.

District 1 Councilman Trevino faces first-time candidate Michael Montano. District 2 Councilman Alan E. Warrick II squares off with opponent William "Cruz" Shaw, while voters in District 6 will choose between former mortgage-bank executive and consultant Greg Brockhouse and attorney Melissa Cabello Havrda.

Homemaker Cynthia Brehm and lawyer Manny Pelaez are competing for the District 8 seat while District 9 has Marco Barros, president/CEO of the San Antonio area Tourism Council challenging John Courage, a former trustee of the Alamo Colleges District board. District 10, which had 10 candidates on the May 6 ballot, is now down to two, retired Air Force engineer Clayton Perry and attorney Ezra Johnson.

To vote, bring one of seven accepted forms of identification. This can be a drivers license, an election identification certificate, a handgun license or a passport.

After state law was found to violate a portion of the Voting Rights Act, voters can choose to bring other forms of identification, including a voter registration card, original birth certificate, current utility bill, original bank statement or paycheck, if the voter couldnt get one of the preferred methods in time to vote.

However, they will have to sign a declaration that he or she faced an undue burden in getting one of the accepted forms.

For any issues seen at the polls on Saturday, Callanen asks voters to call the elections office at 210-335-VOTE.

frahman@express-news.net
BROWNSVILLE  A dramatic prisoner escape that left one bystander dead and the prisoner fatally wounded in a hail of gunfire, has rattled locals and raised questions about staffing shortages at the Cameron County Sheriffs Office.

Brownsville police received a call early Thursday afternoon that Michael Garcia, a 38-year-old county prisoner, had overpowered the guard that was taking him to an area dentist. The van was found at the far end of a parking lot, with county detention officer Antonio Tella inside. He sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

Standard procedure calls for two guards to transport a prisoner, but the understaffed sheriffs office had assigned only Tella to the task, Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio said Friday. Garcia used a shank fashioned from a toothbrush and razor blade to slash at Tellas neck before escaping with Tellas service weapon. It is unclear how he freed himself from his shackles, Lucio said.

Brownsville police had arrested Garcia for assault, terroristic threats and a motor vehicle citation in 2015, and again in early 2016 for burglary of a habitation. Garcia had been in jail ever since.

Authorities believe Garcia, armed with a Glock 40, swam across an oxbow lake, known locally as a resaca, to a nearby neighborhood where he entered a home to demand keys to a vehicle.

As Garcia took aim at the hapless victims with his stolen weapon, Mario Martinez, a 56-year-old resident of Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, attempted to calm the escaped prisoner. Garcia shot and killed Martinez, who was visiting the home with his wife. Garcia then fled in a 2014 Hyundai Elantra.

But Garcia didnt get far before he was spotted. He led authorities, including county constables and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, on a 20-mile pursuit to the neighboring town of San Benito. About an hour after the desperate escape was reported, an officer reported shots fired. Garcia was stuck twice in a shootout with police, and taken to Valley Baptist in Harlingen where he died.

(Garcia) just happened to find the right house for him with the door unlocked, Brownsville Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez told local media.

Brownsville police are investigating crimes that occurred within the departments jurisdiction, and the Cameron County Sheriffs Office will head up the investigation into the San Benito firefight. The officers who fired upon Garcia have been placed on paid leave while the case is under investigation.

anelsen@express-news.net

Twitter: @amnelsen
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain have issued a joint statement on Friday designating 12 entities and 59 individuals as involved in terrorist activities and linked to the Arab gulf state of Qatar, MENA reported.

In the joint statement, 12 charity entities were listed as linked to "terrorism", with five based in Doha, six in Bahrain and one in Libya.

The statement also named 59 individuals from different Arab nationalities as allegedly linked with terrorism, including 18 Qatari nationals described as terrorism financiers from businessmen, politicians and royal family members.

The list included Youssef El-Qaradawi, the 90-year-old Egyptian-Qatari scholar and spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, which has been designated a terrorist organization by Egypt,UAE and Saudi Arabia.

El-Qaradawi has been residing in Doha since 1961.

On Monday, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and Iran, charges Qatar says are baseless.

The four Arab states affirmed "working together with partners" around the world towards finding solutions to countering terrorist organizations and extremist groups, expressing unity in their ongoing commitment to combat terrorism, drying up its funding, countering extremist ideology and the ways of its promotion, according to the statement.

In 2015, an Egyptian court sentenced El- Qaradawi to death in absentia for incitement to commit murder and vandalism.

The list also included Wagdi Ghoneim, a 66-year-old Egyptian preacher believed to be currently residing in Turkey, who also received a death sentence in absentia earlier this year for inciting to murder of security forces and Christians in Egypt.

The rest of list includes 24 Egyptian nationals, five Libyans, three Kuwaitis, two Bahrainis, two Jordanians, a Saudi, a Yemeni and an Emirati.
A San Antonio resident became the envy of the Alamo City this week by becoming an instant millionaire.

Azelian Pratt claimed a $5 million prize in the scratch-off game Ultimate Millions, according to a Wednesday news release from the Texas Lottery Commission.
One person was hospitalized Thursday evening with second-degree burns after two water heaters exploded in an apartment complex near downtown.

Paramedics responded to the explosion around 9:40 p.m. in the 200 block of East Elmira, where they found the burn victim and several other tenants who required treatment.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus announced Thursday evening that an arrest has been made in connection with sexual assaults in the Medical Center area.

RELATED: Suspect in Med. Center sexual assaults is recent Marshall graduate, played varsity basketball

Anton Jamail Harris, 18, was arrested as he was leaving the North Star Mall and he has been charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault. But McManus said that he was accused in at least six cases going back to June of 2015.

"Since that time we have six cases that we've been able to connect with true DNA," McManus said.

Out of those six cases, five were sexual assaults and one was an attempted sexual assault, he said.

In the press conference McManus said officers were able to obtain a DNA sample from the suspect's drink cup.

When police released a sketch of the suspect in January they said he was suspected in several sexual assaults and attempted assaults in the Medical Center area.

McManus said the suspect profiled women in their 20s.

The suspect would spot a potential target and jog through a complex and follow his victim into their home or knock on their door after they entered, McManus said.

RELATED: SAPD: Multiple reports of sexual assault, stalking near Medical Center-area apartments

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is available.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com
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Police say the suspect in a string of sexual assaults in the Medical Center area confessed to his crimes Thursday during an interview with investigators.

Anton Harris, 18, who was arrested Thursday around 6:45 p.m. at North Star Mall, allegedly admitted to sexually assaulting a woman May 28 at the Mission Ranch apartment complex in the 5600 block of Babcock, and several other sexual assaults in the Medical Center area.

Police say Harris told them he sexually assaulted "a couple other females dating back to 2015," according to his affidavit, and described using a gun in the attacks.

RELATED: Friends, classmates rush to defense of student suspected in Med. Center sexual assaults

Harris faces four charges of sexual assault, one charge of attempted sexual assault and one charge of aggravated robbery. He was being held on bonds of $750,000 as of 10 p.m. Friday.

The documents outline the progression of Harris' alleged attacks, which ranged from outright rape to aggressive groping.

Click through the slideshow above to see a detailed timeline of six separate sexual attacks that police have tied to Harris, according to his affidavits.

Over the course of the two-year investigation, police tied the same DNA to each of the six separate sexual attacks detailed above.

A detective then collected evidence that led him to believe Harris was involved in the assaults, so he contacted Northside ISD police, who were able to secure a sample of Harris's DNA off a straw he had used during lunch.

READ ALSO: Suspected Med. Center rapist appeared to share news of attacks, police sketch on social media

Police say Harris's DNA matched the samples collected at each scene, and were then able to obtain affidavits for his arrest.

While Harris's crimes allegedly started on March 19, 2015, it wasn't until June 1, 2017, that a detective notified officers at Northside ISD that Harris was a suspect in the case.

READ MORE: Suspect in Med. Center sexual assaults is recent Marshall graduate, played varsity basketball

During interviews with police Thursday, Harris allegedly confessed to the May 28 Mission Ranch assault in detail, but appears to have given more vague confessions to the other attacks.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said more victims may come forward, possibly tying Harris to more assaults.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns

An earlier version of this story contained the incorrect date of an assault on Oakdale Way. The assault allegedly occurred on June 3, 2016.


What initially sounded like a party on the roof turned out to be the shenanigans of three furry critters who crashed through the ceiling of a North Texas family's apartment earlier this week.

Fernanda Gonzalez, of Arlington, has taken to Facebook to confirm her pesky raccoon problem, which doesn't seem to be slowing down.
Re: Former banker leading revolt of military retirees, Gilbert Garcia, May 26:

I am deeply offended by this portrayal of so-called turmoil in my home, the ARC.

About three years ago, my husband and I purchased our new home in Army Residence Community, and we are extremely pleased with all aspects of that decision. We love our home and the friendly community here. The services are exemplary, and we find the management under retired Col. Mary Garr to be fair and competent.

If that assessment of our community sounds different from articles published in the Express-News, it is because those reports have given voice only to a portion of the people here. After the recent negative articles about the ARC, I feel compelled to speak out.

The ARC is home to various retired military folks from all over the country. Other than the bonds of military lives, our opinions vary, just as in the general public. I, along with many others here, am perfectly satisfied with management. I am aware of the legal problems that occurred some months ago regarding the office of finance. From my research and observation, the situation was serious enough to necessitate the termination of certain staff members. That issue remains in litigation and should not be discussed  certainly not in opinion columns. A new financial manager has been hired, and he is earning the trust of the residents, a remedy under Col. Garrs strong leadership.

Whether we live in an apartment or cottage, we experience a smooth daily operation, surrounded by friendly, skilled staff who perform multiple services. I can hardly set foot outside without a cheerful worker waving and calling, Hello, Mrs. Sabino! When I volunteer to push a cookie and juice cart in our health care center, I see loving, well-trained professionals giving residents attention at the highest standards. Someday, my husband or I might need that same care. Many of my friends have used rehab therapy or hospice, and they have high praise for those services, all of which reflect competent management.

We do not live in what Garcia called a hostile atmosphere. I live in a cheerful, comfortable community where people thrive. Recently, I attended an ARC luncheon sponsored by the Kiwanis Club. Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Johnson, commander of Brooke Army Medical Center, discussed the new virtual medicine program being developed at BAMC and partnering soon with the ARC. Facilitating behind the scenes, of course, was Col. Garr, who before coming to the ARC was commander at Fort Sam Houston.

Change is hard for all of us. Steady growth of the community, recent changes in personnel and necessary modifications of some previous features can be unsettling to some. However, after reading such negativity, I must respond with the truth as I see it. Fact: 314 people (as noted by Garcia) recently signed a petition of vague, nonspecific grievances. Some people may not have even understood its intent or how it would be used. Fact: The rest of the 750 residents (myself included) chose not to sign the petition.

I respect the feelings and opinions of all who live here. But Express-News readers should hear what Paul Harvey called the rest of the story. I plan to live at the ARC the rest of my years, enjoying our many blessings. I hope to follow Col. Garrs ARC motto to the fullest: Live Longer, Live Healthier, Live Younger.

Susan Sabino is a retired teacher.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and US President Donald Trump spoke by phone on Friday and agreed on continuing efforts to decisively confront terrorism, and the importance of standing together against armed and extremist groups and countries that support and finance terrorism, Egyptian state agency MENA reported.

El-Sisi and Trump also agreed that the policy of continuous intervention in the internal affairs of other countries through supporting "extremist thinking and terrorist groups is unacceptable," the Egyptian president's spokesperson Alaa Youssef said.

Trump also emphasised the importance of maintaining unity among Arab countries, Reuters news agency reported citing a statement by the White House.

The two presidents also agreed on continuing coordination and consultation on a high level to boost efforts towards regaining stability in the Middle East, and eliminating terrorism.

According to Reuters, it was the fourth call Trump has had with a regional leader since Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday over long-standing accusations that Doha is supporting terrorist groups, which Doha has denied.

El-Sisi praised Trump for his participation in the recent Arab-American Islamic summit in Riyadh, which laid the foundation for a unified front to fight terrorism at all levels, Youssef added.

On Friday, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain issued a joint statement designating 12 entities and 59 individuals as involved in terrorist activities and linked to Qatar.

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No doubt, this summers special session will be a bruising affair. But Gov. Greg Abbotts tactics in setting it up are strikingly deft.

They might even be considered beautiful if so much of the potential legislation werent so controversial, divisive and anti-city.

In one fell swoop, Abbott pleased tea party and social conservatives with his special session wish list, remained above the fray in Texas ongoing Republican civil war, and even presented the image of being the adult in the room, chastising lawmakers for failing to get the job done in the regular session.

Because of their inability or refusal to pass a simple law that would prevent the medical profession from shutting down, Im announcing a special session to complete that unfinished business, Abbott told reporters.

The translation here is easy. He says he is the adult, and state lawmakers are the children. Or more specifically, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who tanked the sunset bill that would have kept certain state agencies open, is the child.

But Patrick, whom Texas Monthly recently dubbed the most influential person in Texas politics, did that to force a special session on tea party priorities such as bathroom legislation, and curbing city and county property tax revenues.

Patrick is a political threat from the right, so Abbott juiced his right-wing cred by throwing the whole kitchen sink of conservative causes into the special session. His wish list is 20 items long, including bathrooms and taxes.

But if I am going to ask taxpayers to foot the bill for a special session, I intend to make it count, he said.

In response, Patrick praised Abbotts big and bold agenda. Political observers and experts marveled at the play to appease the Republican base.

This is a Christmas list of everything the conservative advocacy groups wanted. (Abbott) deftly has boilerplated his right flank. If Patrick was somehow contemplating any challenge of Abbotts standing with those Republicans, he can forget it, Rice University political scientist Mark Jones told the Houston Chronicles Mike Ward.

But theres a catch, right?

By putting the sunset bill first, Abbott has opened the door for House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, to play defense. The sunset bill was leverage for Patrick in the regular session, and now thats gone.

Its asking a lot of Straus to go against the stated wishes of a Republican governor. But Straus statement on the special session wasnt exactly a ringing endorsement.

The members of the House will return to the Capitol next month ready to put their constituents and the best interest of the state first, he said. The House looks forward to resuming our work on school finance and other challenges facing this state.

No bathrooms. No annexation. Only school finance and a general statement about other challenges and putting the best interests of the state first. Does anyone really think bathroom legislation puts the state first?

Straus might not be as powerful as Abbott and Patrick, but he is a moderating force in Texas politics. He is the Republican yin to Patricks yang. His principles put him in high relief.

Throughout the regular legislative session, Straus repeatedly said bathroom legislation was not a priority, and he expressed concern that discriminating against the transgender community would result in an economic backlash similar to what happened in North Carolina.

Since the House has already taken stands on many of these hot issues, and since the tea party has made it clear it will challenge Straus regardless of the special session, why capitulate to the pressure now?

These dynamics havent changed with the special session. Theyve just been prolonged in a way that serves Abbott.

Patrick and Straus can spar over bathrooms and other issues. If a bill becomes law, Abbott pleases his base. And if a bad bill stalls, Abbott can say he called a special session and lawmakers failed to act. Heck, he has already played that card.

Legislators have six weeks to prepare for the special session, and then another 30 days to pass these proposals, he told reporters. If they fail, its not for lack of time, it would be because of a lack of will.

Thats a striking way to cover his political angles  brilliant, really  but its a hollow way to lead and govern.

jbrodesky@express-news.net
Dear white America, have you ever wondered what people of color think of you?

By people of color, I mean those of us non-white Americans who used to be called minorities. But that was before we started to become a plurality, and eventually a majority, of the U.S. population.

Many Latinos, African-Americans, Asians and Arab-Americans think that, at least politically, youre all the same. There are just not as many moral, ideological and intellectual differences as one might think.

For instance, liberals like to tell themselves that theyre more racially enlightened than conservatives. But thats not always true.

Now, after a dumb and offensive comment by left-leaning comedian Bill Maher, Americans have the chance to examine a species that the media often overlook: the liberal racist.

As the host of HBOs Real Time, Maher has developed a knack for saying the wrong thing. Sometimes, hell just make an outlandish statement  as if only to get attention  without backing it up with evidence.

In 2014, while arguing with actor Ben Affleck and author Sam Harris, Maher called Islam the only religion that acts like the mafia because it will (expletive) kill you if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book.

A year later, during an appearance on ABCs Jimmy Kimmel Live, he insisted that hundreds of millions of Muslims support terrorist attacks.

Maher probably thinks hes bravely spitting in the eye of political correctness. But, in reality, he is just flaunting his prejudices.

So it wasnt a total shock when the host recently crossed one of those lines that should not be crossed. It happened when Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who was on the show to promote a book, playfully invited Maher to come work in the fields with us in the Cornhusker State.

Work in the fields? Senator, Im a house (expletive), the comedian replied.

Sasse chuckled nervously at the mention of the N-word, while the audience broke out into applause and laughter.

You know who didnt laugh? Someone who knows something about the intersection of politics and comedy  Democratic Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota. Franken canceled an upcoming appearance on Real Time during which the former cast member of Saturday Night Live was scheduled to talk about his own new book. According to a spokesperson, Senator Franken believes that what Bill Maher said was inappropriate and offensive.

Certainly, it was both those things. HBO issued a statement calling the remark completely inexcusable and tasteless, and it removed the slur from subsequent airings of the show.

Maher issued a statement of his own, blaming the whole episode on sleep deprivation.

Last night was a particularly long night as I regret the word I used in the banter of a live moment. The word was offensive and I regret saying it and am very sorry, he said.

For now, Mahers job appears safe. After all, he may be racist or Islamophobic  and plenty of people believe him to be both. But at least he doesnt possess the one flaw that Hollywood considers unforgivable. As an enthusiastic basher of President Trump, hes not conservative.

But this isnt just about one comedian and one repugnant word. Its about the extreme latitude that those on the left are given on matters having to do with race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation and other characteristics.

Once we assume that someone has good intentions, we often let them get away with saying and doing bad things. And, human nature being what it is, people often take full advantage of the pass theyve been given.

Well, Im all out of passes. HBO needs to fire Maher. He is never going to change. Getting rid of him is the right thing to do. And it would send the message that, even in comedy, decency counts for a lot, and some things are no laughing matter.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
The 2017 legislative session recently ended (a special session has been announced for July 18) and, as if on cue, education bureaucrats began pushing out misinformation, insisting that the state cut funding for public schools. You may have seen it in the media or maybe even heard it directly from your local school officials.

Here are the facts:

Texas spends $60 billion on schools in our two-year budget, including both federal and state funds. Of that, $41 billion is state funding. That is on top of the estimated $28 billion to $30 billion annually paid by local property taxpayers. When colleges and universities are added, education spending is the biggest item in the state budget  about 52 percent of all state dollars. Health care is second, accounting for most of the remaining dollars. It is disingenuous to suggest that we are, somehow, holding back funding that we could spend on schools.

Senate Bill 1, the state budget, fully funds the states Foundation School Program  the state share of school funding. It also provides funding for the estimated 80,000 new students who are projected over the next two years.

The states school funding formula is based in part on property values in each school district. In the Senate, we passed a property tax relief program that would have required local entities to get a vote of the people anytime they increased property tax rates beyond 5 percent. Had this passed, property tax rates would decrease over time. Unfortunately, the property tax reform proposal was killed in the Texas House.

Misinformation is also being put out about the Additional State Aid for Tax Reduction, or ASATR, program that was established in 2006 by the Legislature to help offset low property values in some districts. Most districts no longer qualify for these funds. Currently, only 267 of the 1,246 school districts in Texas are ASATR districts.

ASATR has long been slated to expire this year, and the state budget, which was approved by a vote of 135-14 in the Texas House and 30-1 in the Texas Senate, did not include additional funds for it. School districts have known for six years that ASATR would expire in 2017.

In the Senate, we passed House Bill 21, which would have included $532 million in additional school funding, including $150 million to help bridge the funding gap for ASATR districts over the next two years. There was also additional facilities funding for charter schools and traditional school districts.

However, House Bill 21 also included $50 million for a small school choice program for children with disabilities. The Texas House killed that proposal, too. The House turned down over a half-billion dollars in additional school funding rather than use a tiny percentage of school funding to allow a disabled child somewhere in Texas to attend a private school.

But the big joke in the school finance debate is that the House version of House Bill 21 put an additional $1.85 billion into education. What they didnt tell you was their $1.85 billion would have come from current funding for schools they were trying to help. They were, literally, robbing Peter to pay Paul. The Senate rejected that phony plan.

Before I was elected lieutenant governor, I served as chairman of the Senate Education Committee. Public education has been a priority for me since I began serving in public office. School finance is an issue I know well, and these are the facts.

Dan Patrick is lieutenant governor of Texas.
If a person says he will punch all people of a certain group in the nose, and then revises his plans to bloody just some of those same people, are we supposed to revise conclusions about his animus toward that group?

This has been the Trump administrations argument on why a travel ban on some Muslims from certain countries wasnt driven by his campaign promise of a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

Trumps first travel ban via executive order would have banned people from seven majority-Muslim countries. His second ban excluded Iraq. Courts have had no difficulty determining that even if these werent technically worldwide, Muslim-wide travel bans, they existed to deny people entry into the country merely because they are Muslims.

In these matters, Trump has been his own worst enemy. First, because he clearly stated his motivations during the campaign, putting them squarely in the public record. Now, however, he is undone by what he has viewed as one of his most potent weapons  the tweet.

People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN, he tweeted after the recent terrorist attacks in London. He also upbraided his own Justice Department for having watered down the original ban.

The bans defenders  in and out of court  have insisted this isnt discrimination and not a ban, that it is temporary to prepare more extreme vetting for entry. And the problems with that are that, temporary or not, it is applied purely based on religion; it is a ban, as Trumps tweet has confirmed; and the vetting is already rigorous.

The six countries Trump included in his ban are Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan. They are not the sum total of the countries producing terrorists. There are other bad actors. For instance, Saudi Arabia, which Trump just visited, provided 15 of the 19 attackers on 9/11, and its brand of Islam, Wahhabism, has fueled much of the Islamist terrorism that has occurred globally. Moreover, many of the folks from the named countries are fleeing our sworn enemies.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments next week on the travel ban. Trumps words  and tweets  deserve attention.
Re: Straus vs. Patrick; Speaker says House wont act further on bathroom bill, front page, May 27:

This excellent article by Peggy Fikac informed us of the markedly different personalities of Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as they pursue their respective legislative agendas.

In an era of angry, divisive politics, it was refreshing to read how moderate, tempered and thoughtful Straus is when crafting legislation that works best for most Texans. His support for bills funding mental health services and therapy for disabled children reflects a compassionate conservatism.

Straus worked to supplement school funding, block the voucher initiative, and blunt the ill-advised bathroom and sanctuary cities bills. About the legislative session, he stated, But it wasnt a complete shutout for anyone. It shouldnt have been.

I can see why both Republicans and Democrats support him. Thank goodness for at least one rational politician.

Rick Rodriguez

Sanctuary smarts

Re: Taylor makes play for N. Side voters, Gilbert Garcia, June 2:

I thought I was pretty smart, but I guess Im not as smart as Gilbert Garcia.

Having taken several oaths over the years to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and, by implication, all laws enacted under its authority, I cannot understand what is wrong with a state law preventing law enforcement officers from doing anything to materially limit the enforcement of immigration laws. Werent these laws passed by Congress and signed by the president?

My true curiosity, however, stems from an inability to understand why the Legislature needed to pass the law in the first place. What other laws, state or federal, am I at liberty to ignore? I guess I need to ask Garcia; hes the smart one.

Steve Weakley

He deserves time

Many letter writers say we need to sit back and give Donald Trump time. I wholeheartedly agree  25 to life sounds great.

Joe Neaves
Orange County will not get a hospital easily, if at all. The only way it will happen is if community leaders get behind this effort in a strong, organized manner.

Two petition drives that would bring the creation of a hospital district to a countywide vote failed because of basic oversights, like failing to get the birth dates of signers. The county judge doesn't even know if a third attempt is being made.

The federal government denied a request to declare the proposal a "Critical Access Hospital" because the facility would be too close to the Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont. That decision is being appealed, but prospects are uncertain.

Even if a hospital district could come to a countywide vote, it would face headwinds.

Last month Vidor voters resoundingly rejected a $73.5 million bond issue to build a new high school. That's the largest voting bloc in the county, and Vidorians didn't even want higher taxes for something that would directly benefit their community. They are less likely to support a new tax for a county hospital district - especially when they are just across the Neches River from Beaumont and two hospitals.

Bridge City voters, fairly close to a hospital in Port Arthur across from Central Mall, probably have similar views.

Given those barriers, the county's best option seems to be focusing on discussions with Christus of Southeast Texas to open a new facility in Orange. It wouldn't have to be as large as the hospital in Beaumont, perhaps just an ER clinic. But a site like that could accept Medicare and Medicaid payments, which the private emergency-care clinics in Orange cannot.

It's also worth noting that one of the reasons Baptist Hospital closed its ER clinic in Orange was because of low Medicaid reimbursement rates. Texas officials have repeatedly refused to expand Medicaid because they view that as a tacit endorsement of Obamacare.

Well, this is one of the results of that stubbornness - shuttered facilities in smaller communities across the state.

Voters must not become complacent about this challenge. The plain truth is that without a hospital or related clinic, people and businesses will be less likely to move to Orange County. One way or another, this gap must be filled.

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STAMFORD  The citys police department has sent a clear message to bartenders: Dont serve minors.

Police have charged seven people  employees of Vinnys Backyard, Tracks Restaurant and the Mystique Gentlemans Club  with serving alcohol to minors in connection with a Hope Street accident that killed two 20-year-olds in February.

While they are licensed to serve liquor, they need to take due diligence through training or automatic identification checkers to confirm their clientele is of age 21 or above, Sgt. Andrew Gallagher said.

Gallagher said Thomas Molgano was served alcohol at Tracks and Mystique before getting behind the wheel of his 2002 Dodge Ram pickup truck during the early-morning hours of Feb. 4.

More for you Stamford police ID victims in fatal crash

Molgano was speeding and lost control on Hope Street as he approached Hartford Avenue, crossing into the southbound lane and striking a tree near Barnstable Lane. Molgano and his passenger, Lucas Salem, were killed.

(Molgano) was well above the legal limit, Gallagher said.

Gallagher said police will shift more of their attention to establishments outside of the downtown area that he says have been given a lot more leeway.

It would appear they are going to be the focus of much more attention going forward, Gallagher said.

Police interviewed 30 witnesses as they investigated the accident and discovered six minors had been served alcohol that night, Gallagher said.

Rhode Island attorney Timothy Williamson, who is representing Salems mother Mary, said he has been negotiating with several insurance companies to possibly reach a settlement. Williamson said he did not know if Lucas was drinking that night.

We will wait to see where the criminal matters take us, and at all times we are exploring options for civil litigation, Williamson said.

Arrest warrants were granted for three liquor permittees and four bartenders who police say served the minors. All seven turned themselves in Friday and were released. They will be arraigned June 22.

Permittee of Vinnys Backyard Restaurant, Ernst Buggisch, 59, of Dundee Road, Stamford, was charged with three counts of sale of alcohol to a minor and four counts of allowing minors to loiter on permit premises. He was released after posting a $25,000 court appearance bond.

Cynthia Torres, 28, of Hoyt Street, Darien, Melissa Santoro, 24, of Elaine Drive, Stamford, and Kaley Walsh, 24, of Palmer Street, Stamford, were each charged with three counts of sale of alcohol to a minor and released after posting $10,000 appearance bonds.

Permittee of Tracks Restaurant, James Duggan, 65 of Norvel Lane, Stamford, was charged with four counts of allowing minors to loiter on permit premises and four counts of sale of alcohol to a minor. He was released after posting a $25,000 appearance bond.

Linda McQuillan, 50, of Avon Lane, Stamford, was charged with four counts of sale of alcohol to a minor and released on a $10,000 bond.

Permittee of Mystique Gentlemans Club on Poplar Street, Alex Rosado 32, of Quarry Street, Bridgeport, was charged with six counts of sale of alcohol to a minor and six counts of allowing minors to loiter on permit premises. He was also released on a $25,000 court appearance bond.

All three establishments will be referred to the state Department of Consumer Protections Liquor Control Commission.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com;
The ongoing fight between members of the California Democratic Party escalated Thursday, when Richmond resident Kimberly Ellis  who narrowly lost a race to chair the party  filed a formal challenge to contest last months results.

Those seeking truth and validity in the outcome of the election are being derided and blamed for a division in the party, Ellis said in her letter to the partys Compliance Review Commission, which reviews evidence and makes rulings when election results are disputed.

Ellis demanded materials such as sign-in sheets and discarded ballots, so her campaign could determine whether the people who got delegate badges to vote on May 20 were who they claimed to be.

She also requested an independent forensic audit of the ballots and the voting process. And she challenged the commissions ability to conduct an impartial review of her claims, because five of its six members voted for her competitor, former Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair Eric Bauman.

Ellis, whose campaign slogan was Unbought and Unbossed, cast herself as the progressive alternative to the more establishment candidate Bauman, who won by a razor-thin margin  1,493 votes to 1,431. She promised to change the way the Democrats do business by employing grassroots activists instead of hiring consultants.

Kimberly is really about creating a movement  she doesnt just want to move up the next rung, said her campaign spokesman, Joe Macaluso. He finds things to question in just about every step of the voting process, from the number of votes cast, which seemed too high, he said, to the signatures that changed radically between credentialing sheets and ballots.

We just want the truth, then we can move on, Macaluso said.

Bauman was not immediately available for comment Thursday night. but California Democratic Party spokesman Mike Roth dismissed Ellis challenge as more of the same innuendo and unsubstantiated allegations that weve already seen, along with even more requests designed to produce delay, not facts.

A chorus of prominent Democrats and organizations have publicly urged Ellis to concede, among them California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, Democratic Party Campaign Advisor Bob Mulholland, and the State Building and Construction Trade Council.

They say the Democrats need to unite if they want to form an effective resistance against the Trump administration. It starts by flipping some wobbly Republican House seats in California.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @rachelswan
Harley-Davidson has issued a recall for 57,000 motorcycles due to oil lines that can come loose, spilling oil into the path of the rear tire.

About the Harley-Davidson Oil Spill Recall

According to NBC Boston, Harley claims the defect may be a result of a clamp on an engine oil cooler line not being installed correctly.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received nine reports of oil lines coming off. Two of the instances resulted in crashes.

Dealers will inspect the clamps and repair them free of charge. Repairs are expected to take about 30 minutes.

Motorcycles Included in the Harley-Davidson Recall

The recall affects the following models:

2017 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic

2017 Harley-Davidson Police Electra Glide

2017 Harley-Davidson Police Road King

2017 Harley-Davidson Road King

2017 Harley-Davidson Road King Special

2017 Harley-Davidson Street Glide

2017 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special

2017 Harley-Davidson Road Glide

2017 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special

Recalled vehicles were built between July 2016 and May 2017.

Contact an Experienced Motorcycle Accident Attorney

Thomas J. Henry Injury Attorneys are committed to fighting for the rights of motorcycle injury victims and work to make sure that the person responsible pays for the pain he/she caused. Because we understand that being injured in a motorcycle accident causes lifetime pain and suffering, we put constant pressure on the insurance company and driver involved to ensure you receive the maximum monetary compensation you deserve. If you or someone you love was injured in a motorcycle accident, contact our offices. We are available 24/7, nights and weekends and we represent clients/victims all over the country.

Editors Note: This content is made possible by Thomas J. Henry Personal Injury Law. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of The San Antonio Express-News' or mySanAntonio.com's editorial staff. Learn more about our advertising products at www.hearstmediasanantonio.com.
Turkish authorities were set to deport a French photojournalist on Friday who has been held near the Syrian border for a month, France's presidency and a press advocacy group said.

"I am very pleased to announce the return to France of our fellow photojournalist @mathiasdepardon tonight," French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on his official Twitter account.

Macron last weekend had asked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to ensure the journalist's return to France "as soon as possible."

Christophe Deloire, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said the procedure for Depardon's deportation was in progress.

"He's on a plane from Gaziantep (in the southeast) to Istanbul and should return to Paris tonight," he told AFP.

French interior minister Gerard Collomb said he spoke earlier Friday with his Turkish counterpart Suleyman Soylu who said Depardon could be deported during the day.

The deportation comes a day after the 37-year-old journalist received a visit from his mother for the first time at the detention centre in Gaziantep.

Depardon was detained on May 8 while on assignment for National Geographic magazine in Hasankeyf in the southeastern Batman province. He has been held since then despite reports he would be deported.

Two weeks after he was detained, Depardon went on hunger strike, stopping almost a week later when he learned that a consular visit would be allowed.

Depardon was accused of working without a press card, which was in the process of being renewed.

He was also detained over "propaganda for a terror group" -- a reference to outlawed Kurdish militants -- which could lead to a judicial investigation, according to Turkish authorities.

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The United Arab Emirates central bank has instructed local banks to stop dealing with 59 individuals and 12 entities with alleged links to Qatar and to freeze all their assets, the state news agency WAM reported on Friday.

This came after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain who have isolated Qatar by cutting all diplomatic and transport links with it this week put dozens of figures with links to the country on blacklists.

"In another circular, the Central Bank advised banks and other financial institutions operating in the UAE to apply immediately enhanced customer due diligence for any accounts they hold belonging to six Qatari banks: Qatar Islamic Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Barwa Bank, Masraf al-Rayan, Qatar National Bank and Doha Bank," WAM said.

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Ten people were killed while several others were injured when a Kwekwe-bound kombi collided head on with a bus about 20km outside Gweru along the Gweru-Kwekwe road last night.

When the news crew arrived at the scene, some bodies were still strewn on the tarmac.

Police at the scene confirmed the death of 10 people and said all of them were from the kombi, which had its roof ripped off following the impact.

According to the police officers all the people in the kombi including the driver were killed on the spot while the injured were from the bus owned by Birdgreen Transport Pvt Ltd.

The injured were all rushed to Gweru Provincial Hospital.

I boarded this bus from Kadoma but all the way we were complaining of the speed. He then tried to overtake another bus at this curve resulting in the head on collision with the oncoming kombi, said Mrs Marvelous Marova.

Another witness, Mr Kelvin Zimuto also blamed the bus driver for the accident.

The bus driver is to blame for this accident. He was just speeding for nothing and imagine everyone in the kombi was killed, he said.

The Officer Commanding Midlands province Commissioner Moses Magande confirmed the accident and said police were waiting for more details.

 Chronicle

Breaking News via Email
The state Department of Agriculture is working on a program to train convenience store personnel on how to spot skimmers at gas pumps.

RALEIGH, N.C.  Skimmers at the gas pump is a problem that isnt going away, and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture is taking steps to ensure those devices are spotted quickly and removed, WNCN-TV reports. Recently, one North Carolina gas station discovered skimmers installed at the pump four different times in one month.

During its routine inspections of gas pumps, the agency looks for skimmers as part of its checklist. [Skimming] certainly is a growing problem, said Stephen Benjamin, director of the N.C. Agriculture Department Standards Division. Its a routine part of our inspections now to look for those skimmers.

But with those inspections only happening annually, the department decided to ramp up efforts to combat skimming in other ways. To do that, the agency has been developing a training program for convenience store employees on how to spot skimmers or suspicious activity around the gas pump. The program will have online photos and reference material for gas station workers.

Obvious signs of tampering include broken security tape or ill-fitting card readers. Benjamin said the training program will teach some of the basic security measures employees can take to combat skimming. If they walk around [the pumps] a couple of times a day and inspect [them], thats an opportunity to take a glance, and ensure the pumps havent been tampered with, he said.
The Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) is an independent medical aid organization based in Dakar, Senegal. ALIMA has three principal areas of expertise: providing medical care in humanitarian crises, supporting the development of national medical organizations, and conducting operational research to bring medical innovation to the field.Maiduguri /AbujaThe Assistant Head of Mission is primarily responsible for:To develop the search for funding for projects in accordance with the operational strategy,To ensure, on the delegation of the Head of Mission, representation to funders and operational partners in Maiduguri and AbujaSupport project follow-up in relation to project proposals, in particular regarding monitoring and follow-up of indicatorsEnsure quality operational reporting for donors in accordance with contractual requirements and ensure contractual management of contracts with donors and partners.Master's Degree in International Relations, Development, Humanitarian etc ... (IRIS, NOHA, IEP ...)First professional experience in the context of "crisis" (internship or voluntary work included)One to two years of professional experience (internship or volunteer work included)Knowledge of key humanitarian donors and the humanitarian institutional environmentExperience in project management or program supportInterest in health issues, emergency interventions, ALIMA intervention contextsQualities Sought:Motivation and commitment to the success of the mission and projects and the objectives of the positionInitiative and ease of teamworkRigor and sense of organizationAbility to work effectively under pressureAdaptability and practicality.Languages:FrenchFluent written and spoken EnglishFrench written and spoken indispensable.ConditionsType of contract: French lawDuration: 6 months to 12 months (renewable)To be filled in: July 2017SalaryAccording to experience + perdiemAlima Supports:Travel expenses between the expatriate's country of origin and the place of employmentAccommodation costsMedical cover from the first contract day to one month after the departure date of the mission country for the employee and his dependentsEvacuation for the employee.Applicants should send their application and CV's to: candidature@alima.ngo and mention "Head of Mission Assistant - Nigeria" as subject .Send your answers to the questions along with your applications (you'll join a Word document):What is your experience working with donors?Do you have any experience in negotiating with donors, or representing your organization in a formal setting? If yes please explain what you liked about it.What is your experience in monitoring and evaluation?Please indicate your level both in English and French, written read spoken (scale between 1 and 10, 10 being native speaker)Please indicate your date of availability for a mission.21 June, 2017
How beloved pets become invasive predators  an interview with Dr. Peter Marra National Geographic (guurst). My cats (now cat) are indoor cats

Cubs P-57 and P-58 have died in the Santa Monicas LabObserved (Kim Kaufman)

Dazzling Photos Let You Orbit the Earth with Astronaut Tim Peake Wired (furzy)

Oslo, Norway, is giving residents $1200 toward purchasing an electric cargo bike TreeHugger (Chuck L)

Scientists Discover a 2D Magnet R&D Magazine. MoiAussie: A real first  could have many applications.

Cheap DNA Testing Is Giving Some Insurers Even More Ways To Deny Coverage Techdirt (Dr. Kevin)

Please applaud our Richard Smith, who writes: Many hands involved in its downfall; two of them were mine, though, so slightly chuffed. Of course the money (and we are talking billions) will just be flitting off to other shadows.

Cheerful farewells to the huge, seedy New Zealand Foreign Trust business, suddenly vaporised by new disclosure rules https://t.co/K4NmMVG199  Richard Smith (@ncsmiff) June 9, 2017

Japan passes landmark bill for Emperor Akihito to abdicate BBC

Visit Tsukiji, a Great Wonder of the World, While You Still Can Bloomberg

UK Election. The results have created what Lambert would call an overly dynamic situation. As an aside, note that Labor did worse in the seat results than YouGov predicted, but better in popular vote, getting 40.1% versus the Tory 42.3%. But in general, the pollsters have as much egg on their faces as the Tories do.

Also, for UK political junkies or foreigners who want to get down the curve, the commentary on our post as results were coming in was very informative, so you might give that a look too.

No One Has Ever Made a Corruption Machine Like This One Bloomberg. On the Brazil corruption scandal. I dunno. The F-35 boondoggle is pretty rich. But its all done in the open, hence no corruption, right?

Corrupt, dangerous and brutal to its poor  but is Marseille the future of France? Guardian (resilc)

Syraqistan

Global Peace Index Vision of Humanity (resilc). US is 103 out of 163. China gets a 119 and Russia a 151, above North Korea at 150. Of ouur best friends, the Saudis get 129 and Israel, 143.

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Facebook wants to spy on people through their smartphone camera and analyse the emotions on their face The Sun (Chuck L). Another reason not to have smartphone.

Comey Testimony

Trump Transition

Putin says Kremlin critic Senator McCain lives in Old World Reuters. Furzy: Watching McCain last night.he seemed way off his feeddidnt really make sense, comparing Clintons dismissal of criminal charges by Comey concerning her servers to Comeys lack of dismissal of the investigation of Russian hacking.false equivalency!!

House Passes Bill Rolling Back Wall Street Rules Wall Street Journal. Subhead: Financial Choice Act is Republicans opening bid to loosen regulation; unlikely to become law. Lots of good detail. Key parts:

the Senate is unlikely to take up some of the more controversial provisions in House bill, according to a GOP Senate aide, such as the 10% leverage ratio for regulatory relief, reduced powers of the consumer bureau, and repealing the Orderly Liquidation Authority in Dodd-Frank for the government to unwind a failing financial firm Mr. Hensarling said he is looking for ways to push pieces of the plan through the Senate without Democratic support by attaching some measure to the annual budget bill, which passes on a majority vote. Some of those provisions include the Orderly Liquidation Authority measure, reducing the CFPBs powers and eliminating the Office of Financial Research, created to study financial risks.

House votes to kill Dodd-Frank. Now what? CNBC (furzy)

I went to the Daily Mail to see what they made of the UK election results. This was their lead story for US readers: I want to burn the White House down: NSA leaker Reality Winner, 25, is DENIED bail as prosecutors claim she may have stolen more top secret information, was fascinated with Islamic terrorism and planned to play the pretty, white girl card in court

Montana congressman-elect to be sentenced for altercation with reporter Reuters (furzy)

Black Injustice Tipping Point

U.S. Pays Farmers Billions To Save The Soil. But Its Blowing Away NPR (Chuck L)

Factories Wont Bring Back the American Dream Bloomberg (furzy)

State workers will have a new personnel director in Jerry Browns last year Sacramento Bee. The real news is this: State Human Resources Director Richard Gillihan is leaving his post overseeing the states workforce. Hes joining the California Public Employees Retirement System as its new chief financial officer. Even though he did work for the Department of Finance, hes a weak choice for this role. Hes not a CPA, which is what you would normally expect to see in a private sector CFO. And hes said little in board discussions.

What Is Ailing Retail? Barry Ritholtz

House Republicans Are Trying to Pass the Most Dangerous Wall Street Deregulation Bill Ever Mother Jones (resilc)

Why Amazon should keep prescription drugs off its voluminous shelves The Conversation (J-LS). Dear God, I had no idea this was under consideration. Gah.

Top 100 Economics Blogs of 2017 Intelligent Economics. NC is here, under Financial Economics blogs.

Guillotine Watch

The gilded glut: falling demand hits luxury property market Financial Times. In New York, theres a threatened crackdown on using real estate to launder money. That put a big dent in the super high end market.

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. Crittermom:Hummingbirds do take baths, but theyre so quick about it this is the first time Ive been able to capture it. I suppose it could be called the epitome of a bird bath'.

And a bonus antidote (Richard Smith):

Anyway, heres a chameleon trying to catch bubbles. pic.twitter.com/RSSKV1nFYY  Paul Bronks (@virtuallydead) June 7, 2017

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
A shock result in Britain's snap general election has resulted in a hung parliament in a major blow to Theresa May who wanted to boost the Conservatives majority in parliament.

Instead, her election gamble has failed and she and her Conservative party have been weakened, with many on Friday questioning May's future as prime minister.

"What the country needs more than ever is certainty... it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that" May said as she pushed to form a government with the backing of the Democratic Unionists.

But opposition politicians and some members of her own party have called on her to quit.

"The mandate she's got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support and lost confidence. I would have thought that's enough to go," main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said.

The Conservatives "have lost their majority and the prime minister has lost all authority and credibility," said Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

"She put her party before her country. She has been found out. She should be ashamed. Theresa May promised strong and stable leadership. She has brought weakness and uncertainty. If she has an ounce of self-respect, she will resign," said Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron.

Conservative MP and former minister Anna Soubry said May "is in a very difficult place... she now has to obviously consider her position."

"Hard Brexit went in the rubbish bin tonight," said former Conservative finance minister George Osborne.



"I hope we never hold referendums on anything ever again," said pro-EU former Conservative finance minister Ken Clarke.

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Next-gen computers for aerospace applications will aid nanotechnologies (Nanowerk News) University of Queensland researchers have partnered with global technology leader Lockheed Martin to develop next generation computers for aerospace applications.

ARC Future Fellow and project lead Professor Warwick Bowen said the partnership would develop a new approach to computer technology, with the potential for future commercial impacts in the aerospace industry.

"In contrast to today's computers, which rely on electric currents, this new approach will use mechanical vibrations inside the computer chip to perform computations," Professor Bowen said.

"This makes it much more robust to radiation exposure in near-earth orbit and deep space applications.

"An expected further project outcome is the development of nanotechnologies that could have wide uses in sensing, health and communications.

"The project could also improve heat management and energy efficiency in future computers."

Mechanical vibrations inside the computer chip will be used to perform computations.

Speaking on the partnership with UQ, Lockheed Martin Australia Chief Executive Vince Di Pietro said Lockheed Martin had a long history of collaborative research and innovation across the globe, including investment in the world's best research in Australia.

"By leveraging an existing contract established through our Global Supply Chain Enabled Innovation program into this ARC Linkage grant with UQ, we see a true partnership between industry, academia and government growing Australia's future defence industry capability," Mr Di Pietro said.

Chief investigator Dr Rachpon Kalra, awarded a UQ Development Fellowship to work with Lockheed Martin Australia, said the project would strengthen UQ's ties to one of the world's largest aerospace companies.

Fellow chief investigator Dr Christopher Baker said the project built upon UQ's expertise in nanotechnology and nanoengineering.

UQ made a recent multi-million dollar investment in nation-leading nanofabrication tools capable of building devices with features only a few tens of atoms in size.

The project is part of the University of Queensland Precision Sensing Initiative, a joint initiative of the Schools of Mathematics and Physics and of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering.

It will benefit from substantial Federal Government investment into the Australian Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems, which aims to develop next generation quantum technologies for future Australian industries.

Federal Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham announced the funding last month, making it one of four UQ proposals that attracted $1.28 million in Australian Government funding through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects scheme.

The computers for aerospace project received $334,710 Federal Government funding, with cash and in-kind funding by the University and industry partner.
Chemists bring mixed folded proteins to life with nanoparticles (Nanowerk News) Scientists from ITMO University in Saint Petersburg and Hebrew University in Jerusalem have found a way to recover a protein structure after its chemical denaturation. The method is based on electrostatic interaction between folded, or denatured, proteins and alumina, which unwrap them.

The authors highlight the versatility of the method: it works for both specific molecules and, for the first time ever, multiprotein systems - nobody has been able to recover mixtures of enzymes before. This can help simplify and cheapen the production of drug proteins for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's treatment.

The study appeared in Scientific Reports ("Alumina nanoparticle-assisted enzyme refolding: A versatile methodology for proteins renaturation").

The alumina nanoparticle-assisted enzyme refolding process: After chemically denaturing the native enzyme (stages I and II), aggregation is prevented by adding the highly positively charged alumina nanoparticles (+45 mV), which, through their electrostatic binding affect the de-aggregation of the enzyme molecules (stage III). The resulting enzyme-alumina complexes can be easily centrifuged (stage IV) and separated from the denaturant by transferring to another buffer solution (stage V). Next, the denaturant is removed by several wash cycles (stage VI and VII), and the process of protein refolding starts and is completed.. ( Nature)

Proteins, especially including enzymes as accelerators of chemical reactions, are the basis of pharmaceutical and food industries. Meanwhile, 80% of these substances are lost during synthesis. Influenced by unfavorable factors like strong acids, alkalis or heating, proteins denature, that is they lose the native shape and simultaneously any chemical activity. Thus, the industry seeks for a universal method for recovering protein structure, which could make the production cheaper and more effective. To manufacture enzyme-based drugs and foods on an industrial scale it is especially important to find a way to recover mixtures of proteins as renaturating each particular type of enzymes separately takes a lot of time and is costly and inefficient.

Russian chemists in cooperation with foreign colleagues proposed a solution to this issue. They developed a technology process that gave a second life to proteins having returned their molecules to the original form after denaturation.

In the new research, the chemists unfolded molecules of three enzymes: carbonic anhydrase, phosphatase and peroxidase. Denatured by a strong alkaline, the proteins were mixed with nanoparticles of alumina in water. Due to electrostatic interaction, the enzymes attracted the nanoparticles and engaged them in forming a supramolecular complex with not chemical, but physical bonds.

This shell of nanoparticles protected protein molecules from aggregation enabling the scientists to easily extract them from the aggressive media. Washed from denaturing substances, the enzymes restored their structure by themselves.

"Constant exposure of denaturing agents and tendency of curling macromolecules to aggregation are major obstacles for recovering proteins. When removing these factors, we were able to regenerate our objects," says Katerina Volodina, second year graduate student of International Laboratory "Solution Chemistry of Advanced Materials and Technologies" at ITMO University.

Changing pH, the scientists separated nanoparticles from proteins showing that the substances involved in the experiment can be repeatedly used.

The authors applied their method to a mixture of two enzymes: carbonic anhydrase and phosphatase (CAB and AcP). For these proteins, the portion of renaturated molecules was more than half, which was an unprecedented result. "Renaturating of multiprotein mixtures is a unique process; never been done before. But my colleagues and I believe that further research in this area is in the great interest of pharmaceutical companies right now. Theoretically, our method can simplify and cheapen the manufacture of drugs for Alzheimer's or Parkinson's therapy. Many of these medicines are made of proteins", notes Katerina Volodina.
Just thirteen months after the signature of its Accession Protocol, Montenegro officially became NATOs 29th Allied Nation. Across the Alliance, NATO welcomed its newest member. The Military Committee and its Chairman, General Petr Pavel, also marked this significant event during their first meeting with Montenegro, no longer an Invitee but a full-fledged Ally.

Montenegros membership to NATO on 5 June marks the end of an accession process that was initiated on 19 May 2016 when the NATO Foreign Ministers undertook the historic signing of its Accession Protocol. All 28 Allied national parliaments were then required to ratify the protocols, according to their national requirements and procedures, marking their agreement. Pending this ratification by all Allied nations, Montenegro received an Invitee status, allowing its representatives to participate as observers in Allied meetings.

Once all NATO member countries notified the United States of America, the depository of the Washington Treaty, of their acceptance of Montenegros accession, Montenegro was invited to accede to the Washington Treaty (or the North Atlantic Treaty). On 5 June, a ceremony was held in Washington, DC marking the formal deposit of Montenegros instrument for its accession to the Treaty.

On 6 June, NATO, ACO and ACT Headquarters held a coordinated flag-raising ceremony to officially welcome Montenegro as the Alliances newest member.

The Military Committee marked Montenegros new status as full-fledged member during their meeting on 7 June. General Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, formally invited the Montenegrin Military Representative, Brigadier General Rajko Pesic to take his seat at the table for the first Military Committee meeting at 29.

During his opening remarks, General Pavel stressed that this is a historic moment. First, I would like to thank all the civilian and military personnel that have been involved in Montenegros accession process. Your work has been invaluable in making Montenegros membership a reality. Montenegro is well-deserving of its membership and I am proud to call you Ally. Welcome to NATO.

Brigadier General Pesic, Montenegros Military Representative thanked General Pavel for his warm welcome and Allied Nations for all their assistance during the accession process. He also highlighted Montenegros ongoing support of NATO Missions & Operations, Montenegro will continue its long-term contribution to the global security through active engagement in Afghanistan and support to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIL. The Brigadier General concluded his address by emphasizing that membership in the Alliance is a two-way-street. Thus, besides the clear benefits of membership that Montenegro will have, we will continue to further promote and extend NATOs core values and policies.

This is the first enlargement since 1 April 2009, when Albania and Croatia joined the Alliance.
The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will meet with the Prime Minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Mr. Zoran Zaev on Monday, 12 June 2017.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Nikola Dimitrov and the Minister of Defence, H.E. Ms. Radmila Sekerinska.

Media Advisory

16:15 Secretary General joint press point with the Prime Minister  Main entrance

The press point will be streamed live on the NATO website and available on satellite on demand via Eurovision Geneva.

Still and video images from the meeting will be available on the NATO website afterwards.

Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @jensstoltenberg)
Friday, June 09, 2017 by: Bridgette Wilcox Tags: dogs , Pets , probiotics This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) If youre considering getting a pet, heres another reason to do so: New research suggests that pets  dogs in particular  balance the good and bad bacteria in a home by boosting the diversity of indoor microbes. This essentially turns them into a probiotic that boosts the immune system and positively affects gut bacteria.

Studies have found that dogs raise levels of 56 different bacterial species that can be found indoors, making the population of indoor microbes more diverse, NYTimes.com reported. While the prospect sounds horrifying for germophobes, being exposed to bacteria from dogs can actually be beneficial for humans.

For one, exposure to animal bacteria may have a positive effect on human moods. Exposure to animal bacteria may trigger bacteria in our gut to change how they metabolize the neurotransmitters that have an impact on mood and other mental functions, Jack Gilbert, University of Chicago Microbiome Center Director, was quoted as saying in the report.

This could account for the anti-depressant effect that pet companionship has on humans, which was previously just attributed to the release of oxytocins.

Exposure to the bacteria brought in by dogs is also good for the immune system, particularly among kids. The report said that children who grew up exposed to dogs are less likely to come down with autoimmune diseases such as asthma and allergies because their immune systems have been exposed to more bacteria, making them stronger. Yale environmental engineering professor Jordan Peccia said that allergies are a sign of a poorly-calibrated, overly-sensitive immune system, one that attacks contaminants that it shouldnt attack. According to him, being exposed to animal micro-organisms early in life  particularly during the first three months  stimulates the immune system early on, allowing it to better distinguish between bad and good bacteria.

When dirty means healthy

Such findings align with the hygiene hypothesis, which suggests that not being exposed to enough bacteria in childhood actually weakens the bodys immune system. The hypothesis, which was introduced in the late 80s by immunologist David P. Strachan, was explained through a bodybuilding analogy in an article on LiveScience.com. The article likened the immune system to bodybuilders, who build their strength by lifting increasingly heavy weights. In the same way, the immune system has to train by being exposed to contaminants that they must fight off.

Many other studies support the hygiene hypothesis. Among these is a late 90s study by Erika von Mutius, a health researcher who, in comparing allergy and asthma rates in East and West Germany, found that children from dirtier, more polluted East Germany had less allergic reactions and asthma cases compared to those in West Germany.

Another study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that rates of asthma were lower in Amish children than in Hutterite children. While both groups have similar genetic material and lifestyles, the Amish follow only traditional farming techniques and therefore have more contact with farm animals compared to Hutterites, who make use of modern farming methods.

Striking a healthy balance between hygiene and contaminant exposure may be tricky for parents, but it can be done. While regular cleaning and disinfecting is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), encouraging children to play outdoors, get dirty, and interact with pets may help in strengthening their immune system.

Love dogs? Get more dog-related news on PetHealth.com.

Sources include:

NYTimes.com

LiveScience.com

NEJM.org
A recent study suggests humpback whale calves whisper to get their mother's attention.

According to a few researchers who eavesdropped on a conversation between a baby humpback and its mother, the calf seemed to be making something of a whale whisper.

Using detachable acoustic tags, researchers trailed eight calves and two mothers for a total of 48 hours each as they swam near the Exmouth Gulf off Western Australia.

The recordings, described in Functional Ecology, are the first of their kind.

After a quick listen, researchers noted they weren't exactly sure what they'd heard.

"It's like a squeaky sound, and some of them are really like grunting sounds," Dr. Simone Videsen of Aarhus University in Denmark said. "When they're born, these whales are around five meters long," she added, noting that this discovery is "pretty big considering it's a baby."

Dr. Videsen said her team of scientists used special sound and movement recorders that they attached to the whale's skin by suction cups.

"We were really surprised because humpback whales are really vocal normally and they have these long songs," she said. "But when you look at the communication pattern between mother and calf, you see that they're often silent and they do produce these weaker signals."

By "whispering" to its mother, scientists believe that the calf is less likely to be overheard by other predators and male humpback whales who are in search of a mate.

"There are lots of killer whales in the area which are predating on these calves," Dr. Videsen said, "and they can use these sounds between mother and calf like homing cues." But the low volume of their calls risks being overwhelmed by engine noises emitting from nearby ships.
An unidentified Texas man did not pay attention to the aftercare instructions for his new tattoo. Apparently that has cost him his life.

The man went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico 5 days after he got a tattoo of a cross that read "Jesus is my life" and contracted an infection known as vibrio vulnificus. While the infection is not uncommon, it was the acute liver disease that the man already had that led to toxic shock. He was on life support within 24 hours of being admitted to the hospital.

About two months after being admitted to Dallas Parkland Memorial Hospital with severe pain in both legs and feet, the 31 year old man died. Doctors were surprised by how quickly the man's condition deteriorated.

Most tattoo parlors give their customers a pamphlet with specific after care instruction. This man did not heed those instructions and went swimming in the Gulf within 5 days of getting the tattoo --perhaps counting on Jesus to save him. Neither Jesus nor the doctors at Parkland Memorial could save the man from a flesh-eating bacteria that he contracted in the Gulf.

Caring for a new tattoo is pretty basic. The goal is to keep it clean and dry. Most tattoos heal up within 2 weeks, but only if they are cared for correctly. Soaking in any water of any kind is not permitted. The Gulf of Mexico is notoriously filled with bacteria because of it's high temperature and relatively stagnant flow compared to the Atlantic or Pacific Oceans.

According to researchers, the man would not likely have been in any danger had he not had acute liver disease. Healthy people rarely die from vibrio vulnificus. However, doctors did note that the infection is dangerous for anyone with a new tattoo.
The Creation Museum will have a hard time with this one. The oldest fossils found so far of the species Homo sapiens have been discovered in Jebel Irhoud, Morocco. The fossils date back 300,000 years. So much for the earth only being 10,000 years old.

The fossils found are estimated to be 100,000 years older than the oldest previously found. What is also a new discovery is that the fossils were found in north Africa. Previous theories had confined the earliest Homo sapiens to east Africa.

"Our analysis convinced us that this material represents the very root of our species, the oldest Homo sapiens ever found in Africa or elsewhere," said Jean-Jacques Hublin, lead study author, paleoanthropologist and professor at Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Now scientists believe that the cradle of humankind encompasses all of Africa.

"I'm not claiming Morocco became the cradle of modern humankind," Hublin said. "Rather, we would support the notion that around 300,000 years ago, very early forms of Homo sapiens were already dispersed all over Africa. This is facilitated by the fact that between 330,000 to 300,000 years before present, Africa did not look like it does today and there was no Sahara Desert. There was a lot of connection between other parts of the continent."

The dating of the fossils was achieved accurately by a process called thermoluminescence, which measures how much time has passed since a material with crystalline minerals was heated or exposed to sunlight. Found amongst the same layer with the remains were animal bones, stone flints and evidence of fire. it was theorized that the site was a hunting site where animals were cleaned and consumed. The bones were found inside a partially collapsed cave which would have been shelter from the outside world.

It was also said that the fossils had skulls only slightly different from ours. The brains of Homo sapiens evolved over many years, and scientists noted that the cerebellum in these fossils was not shaped like ours -- it was even larger than the cerebellum in Neandrathals.

"The story of our species in the last 300,000 years is mostly the evolution of our brain, and in this time period, a number of mutations occurred affecting brain connectivity," Hublin said.
Three astronauts in NASA's newest class studied at universities in San Diego, before being accepted into the highly prestigious program.

Five women and seven men were selected for the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class out of a record pool of 18,300 applicants. The new astronauts with local ties include Dr. Jonny Kim, Matthew Dominick and Rob Kulin.

Kim graduated from the University of San Diego (USD) and served as a Navy SEAL based in San Diego.

According to NASA, the California native completed more than 100 combat operations and earned a Silver Star and Bronze Star with Combat "V" while training and operating as a Navy SEAL. He was born and raised in Los Angeles before earning a degree in Mathematics at USD and graduating summa cum laude from the 2012 class.

A second astronaut candidate, Dominick, also attended the same university. After growing up in Colorado, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of San Diego with minors in Physics and Mathematics, according to his NASA biography.

Dominick also graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, clocking in more than 1,600 hours of flight time in 28 aircraft, 400 carrier-arrest landings and 61 combat missions, according to NASA.

The third astronaut candidate, Kulin, graduated from UC San Diego. He earned a Doctorate in Engineering from UC San Diego, while studying dynamic bone fracture, according to his NASA biography.

Kulin has previously worked as an ice driller in Antarctica on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Taylor Glaciers, according to NASA. Kulin was also a senior manager for flight reliability at SpaceX, leading the Launch Chief Engineering group in Hawthorne, California.

All three of the Astronaut Candidates will report for duty and begin two years of training in August 2017.

In total, NASA chose 12 new astronauts Wednesday from the biggest pool of applicants ever.
British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet Queen Elizabeth II on Friday and seek permission to form a new government, a spokesman said.

May will visit Buckingham Palace at 12:30 pm (1130 GMT) as leader of the Conservative party, which won the most seats in Thursday's general election but lost its parliamentary majority.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


A former project manager for a Pleasanton construction company filed a lawsuit against the company and its owners Thursday accusing them of racial discrimination and harassment and subjecting her to unwanted racial commentary and differential treatment.

Filed in Alameda County Superior Court on behalf of Tishay Wright, a black woman, by San Francisco attorney Christopher Dolan, the suit alleges that Southland Construction Management Inc. and its owners, Kenneth and Anita Hayden, decorated their office with photographs of President Donald Trump and Confederate flags saying, "The Southland shall rise again."

Courtesy of Tisha Wright

Dolan said in a statement that the Haydens appeared to be "proud of their handiwork" and had photographs taken of themselves in front of the Confederate flag, which he said is "the offensive symbol of slavery," with Kenneth dressed as Donald Trump and Anita appearing to be a Trump supporter with a Confederate flag purse strung over her shoulder.

Dolan said Kenneth Hayden later gave the purse to Wright as a Christmas gift at the company Christmas Party with the offensive photos of him and his wife inside.

Wright said in the statement that she filed the suit "because no one should be treated this way in America in the year 2017."

"This is not Alabama in the 1940s. This country is going backwards, and it has to stop," Wright said.

Her attorney Dolan said, "This is just a sign of how people feel empowered by our current president, and his racist and sexist statements about women and minorities, to blatantly harass and discriminate against others."

"The message couldn't be any clearer: 'I stand with Trump, and I'm racist. If you don't like it then get out of my business and out of my country,'" Dolan said.

The suit also accuses Kenneth Hayden of assault and battery, saying that on one occasion he threw a cellphone at Wright, which then ricocheted off of her desk and hit her in the arm.

The suit alleges Wright witnessed Kenneth and Anita Hayden making "racist comments" about other employees of different ethnicities at Southland, including Hispanic and Sikh employees.

The suit, which says Wright worked at the company from June 22, 2015, until March 9 of this year, seeks unspecified general and punitive damages.

Kenneth and Anita Hayden couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The company, which was founded in 2000, says on its website that, "Integrity and service are key for Southland Construction." The company says its mission is "to serve the construction needs of commercial, retail, and industrial businesses with integrity, quality and accountability, while meeting budgets and timelines in order to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and restore honesty to the marketplace."

The company says it "seeks to serve our customers, vendors and employees as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ" by displaying qualities such as "honesty, integrity, loyalty, respect for others and ourselves, perseverance, accountability and teamwork."
South Bay police agencies are ramping up for possible trouble this weekend as an organization that many consider a hate group prepares for a demonstration in Santa Clara, and a large counter-protest is expected.

Act for America has been described as the largest anti-Muslim organization in the country, a description its leaders dispute. The nation's largest Muslim-American group, CAIR, is preparing to lead the counter-protest consisting of about 75 Bay Area community groups.

The groups are expected to converge at Stevens Creek and Winchester boulevards, an intersection that borders San Jose and Santa Clara. It's a strategic move because when one city's police show up, the protesters move across the street into another jurisdiction.

But Saturday will be different, as both San Jose and Santa Clara police plan to be on hand with extra staffing.

The Act for America march is one of several across the nation taking place Saturday, according to its website. Organizers have emphatically denied being an anti-Muslim hate group, as it has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Officials say its members are a mix of race, faith and political affiliations, and their march is actually a protest against "sharia law," a part of Muslim law that they say promotes abuse toward women.

The counter-protesting groups, however, say they're not fooled and have organized a vigil across the street.

"There has not exactly been an outbreak of sharia law in the area," said Rev. Diana c. Gibson of the Multifaith Voice for Peace and Justice. "The reason they chose Santa Clara is pretty clear to me because we have a strong, rich, vibrant and respected Muslim community here."

About 75 other groups signed on to co-sponsor the counter-protest. CAIR says it's important the event isn't perceived simply as a Muslims vs. anti-Muslims encounter.

"Act for America is a vitriolic hate group that wants to deprive Muslims and others of their human and civil rights," said Zahra Billoo, CAIR's Bay Area director. "Our partners, rightfully so, didn't think it was OK for these hate mongers to come into our city and not have their message challenged."

Act for America organizers did not return calls requesting comment about the Saturday protest.

Santa Clara and San Jose police met to discuss strategy, NBC Bay Area learned, and both agencies plan to beef up staffing and coordinate any enforcement action, if needed.
When a northwest suburban Chicago mother brought her son to a public pool for a day of swimming, she left feeling heartbroken.

Kristen Miller Rumphol, of Palatine, wrote in a widely-shared Facebook post last week that she watched as her son Brandon, who has Down syndrome, enthusiastically tried to play with other children at the Algonquin public pool, but no children would play with him.

He would go up to other kids and say hi boy or hi girl. He is still categorized as nonverbal and he is hard to understand but he was trying his best, Rumphol wrote. Every single time the kids would either look at him weird and say nothing or just swim away.

And each time, Rumphol said her son would look back at her in disappointment.

The popular post, which has been shared more than 12,100 times, calls for parents to educate their children.

Tell your children that children with special needs want the same thing they do, they want to be accepted, the post reads. They want to be included and treated just like every other "normal" child. They want friends that won't judge them and will just accept them as they are.

[[427461453, C]]

Rumphol said she secretly hoped her post would go viral and raise awareness for children with special needs.

They just want to be loved, accepted and included, she wrote.
In the wake of the United States' withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron fired back on Thursday with the launch of a new website titled "Make Our Planet Great Again."

On the sites homepage, Macron calls President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the agreement "unfortunate" but adds that the decision only reinforced our determination. He calls for those working on climate issues to do so in France.

"To all the scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, responsible citizens who were disappointed by the decision of the President of the United States, I want to say that they will find in France a second homeland," Macron said in a video address on the sites homepage. "I call on them, come and work here with us to work on concrete solutions for our climate, our environment."

The site includes information for researchers, educators and students on applying for a four-year grant to study in France, according to Business Insider. Businesses and NGOs can also apply to receive funding from the French government.

"You will be able to stay in France at least for the duration of the grant, and longer if you are granted a permanent position," the site explains.

The site cost 22,000 (approximately $24,637) to build is produced and managed by Business France, according to Politico.eu.

By clicking on the "I Want to Make Our Planet Great Again" button on the homepage of the website, users can describe why they are fighting climate change. They can also detail current projects and "dreams" of carrying out the fight against climate change.

"The planet needs your innovative skills. So are you IN to change (literally!) our daily lives and make our planet great again?" the site reads.

[[427482543, C]]

The title, a play on President Trump's signature campaign slogan "Make America Great Again," reflects the increased efforts to combat climate change by France and other signatories of the Paris agreement. Macron first used the modified slogan in an address from the Elysee Palace on June 1, after Trump announced the withdrawal.

You can visit the Make Our Planet Great Again site by clicking here.
Police in Berkley, Massachusetts, are seeking the public's help in locating a missing man with developmental disabilities.

Donald Flint, 48, has been missing since Wednesday night, and police believe his health and safety are in danger. He was last seen on Padelford Street in Berkley.

Flint is described as 5'10" tall, weighing about 180 pounds. He has brown eyes and very fine gray hair.

A team of police and fire rescuers, including the South Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Search and Rescue Unit, Berkley police and Massachusetts State Police, are participating in the search.

Anyone who has seen Flint or has any information on his whereabouts is asked to call Berkley police at 508-822-7040.
The violent fugitive arrested after a 6-hour standoff with police in Hampton, New Hampshire, waived extradition Friday and will now return to Massachusetts to face charges there.

Michael Ellis, 22, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, was found hiding in a crawl space at his friend's house on Fairfield Drive following the SWAT situation on Thursday. He faces charges out of Hampton for being a fugitive and resisting arrest.

He was also wanted out of Massachusetts for two counts of armed robbery and assault and battery and for operating without a valid license.

The standoff eventually ended peacefully and Ellis was taken into police custody.

No officers were hurt, and Ellis only suffered a minor injury.

According to the police report, Hampton police received information at 10:30 a.m. Thursday from Massachusetts State Police and Haverhill police that Ellis was at an address on Fairfield Drive. Surveillance was set up on the home, and after further investigation it was determined that Ellis was inside.

The Seacoast Emergency Response Team was called in to assist in what police considered a "high risk" warrant service. Ellis refused to surrender for hours, and the SERT team ultimately was forced to enter the home.

Ellis was found hiding in a loft in the garage at 7:20 p.m. and was taken into custody without further incident.

He will be held without bail in New Hampshire for a week before being brought back to Massachusetts.
A suspect has been taken into custody after hours holed up in a home during a SWAT situation Thursday in Hampton, New Hampshire.

Hampton Police said earlier in the afternoon there was an "ongoing police incident" on Fairfield Drive. Residents were asked to shelter in place, but police said there was no public threat.

Hampton Police Chief Rich Sawyer said the suspect, 22-year-old Michael Ellis of Haverhill, did not surrender on his own. He says Ellis was given "multiple opportunities" to surrender, and when he did not, he was pulled out from a crawl space inside the home.

Charlie Blackmoore says Ellis has been staying at his house since Tuesday.

"I picked him up in Haverhill and brought him up here to hang out for a couple of days. It's been nice out, and I guess things got out of control," said Blackmoore.

Police say Ellis was wanted for armed robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon out of Massachusetts. They were tipped off around 10 a.m. that he was staying in New Hampshire.

No officers were hurt, and Ellis only suffered a minor injury.

Ellis will appear in court in New Hampshire on the newest charges, then he will be brought back to Massachusetts on the warrants.

It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
An apartment fire in Chicagos Little Italy neighborhood turned deadly early Friday morning.

Fire officials said the flames sparked around 12:40 a.m. in the three-story Circle Park Apartment Community building located in the 1100 block of South Laflin.

The fire department said the fire started in the kitchen of a third-floor unit, the same unit where they found a 68-year-old man suffering from smoke inhalation.

The man was transported to University of Illinois Hospital in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead, authorities said.

His identity had not been released as of Friday morning.

Neighbors were also left cleaning up from water damage following the blaze, but no other injuries were reported.

Authorities said the cause of the fire remained under investigation Friday, though a preliminary investigation indicated it may have been accidental.
A northwest Indiana man is facing nearly 100 charges of animal mistreatment after nearly 70 dogs and puppies were removed from an alleged puppy mill last month.

Stevce Rajcinoski, 36 of Crown Point, was formally charged Thursday in connection with a warrant executed on his property in unincorporated Center Township near Crown Point on May 3, according to the Lake County sheriffs office.

The raid turned up 68 dogs and puppies on the property in the 5900 block of 125th Avenue, along with three goats and a miniature horse, according to the sheriffs office.

Several litters of puppies were among the animals recovered at the suspected breeding operation, according to the sheriffs office.

Many of the animals were in urgent need of veterinary care. They are being cared for at the Lake County Animal Control and Adoption Center until they are healthy enough to be adopted out, according to the sheriffs department.

Deputies also found surgical scalpels and other veterinary medical equipment on the property, though no one living there was a licensed veterinarian, police said.

Rajcinoski is charged with 11 counts of animal mutilation, 72 counts of animal neglect, 11 counts of practicing veterinary medicine without a license, and one count of failing to register as a commercial breeder with the state, police said. He is not yet in custody, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

A GoFundMe page set up to help raise funds for the care of the animals recovered on the Rajcinoski property has already exceeded its goal of $10,000.

A second GoFundMe page has raised more than $2,500.

A post on the shelters Facebook page said the dogs are doing well and are loving the attention they get from the staff.

However, they are not yet ready for adoption, and will only be adopted to residents within 50 miles of Crown Point, as the animals are still considered part of the criminal investigation.

The Animal Control Center said it is badly in need of food, blankets, cleaning supplies and towels.
A notable coffee farmer in Hawaii was granted an extension on his deportation after being defended by a federal judge, NBC News reported.

Andres Magana Ortiz had boarded his plane to Washington Thursday to turn himself in to immigration authorities to honor a removal order. But in a last-minute turn, federal officials granted him 30 more days in the country.

Officials argued that Magana Ortiz "successfully (built) a life and family in this country" and that deporting him would rip him apart from his three children, all U.S. citizens, as well as his wife.

Magana Ortiz, now 43, came to America at 15 from Mexico. He became a coffee farmer and even gave the U.S. Department of Agriculture free access to his farm to study crop pests.
There was very little reflection on the regular session of the Connecticut General Assembly in the day after it ended.

Governor Dannel Malloy has already turned his attention to approving a budget before June 30, when the states fiscal year ends.

He said in recent talks among staff and lawmakers, his optimism or finding common ground appears to be fading.

I think it would be in all of our best interests to get a budget done, Malloy said Were nowhere near that today.

When asked whether he thinks Republicans will actually vote on a budget for the first time ten years, Malloy said, Hope springs eternal.

Republicans have a louder voice than theyve had in decades when it comes to policy and budget discussions. They have had a firm seat during budget negotiations, and Rep. Themis Klarides, the top Republican in the House, said since Republicans have so much more influence, then their ideas need to be listened to.

This is a crossroads, and we have to pick the right one. Im concerned that its going to continue to be the wrong one, she said.

One of the key differences between the governors budget proposal and the Republicans, is the increased labor savings in the GOP budget. Republicans proposed negotiating for more concessions, or changing state laws to reduce wages and benefits in an effort to save taxpayers hundreds of millions.

Klarides said even though the proposal targets state workers, she said thats one of the hard decisions leaders are expected to make.

This is not being critical of union workers or state employees. All of us have many friends and Im sure family who are state employees but we are at a crossroads. We are at a serious crossroads. If we dont take the proper road then the state will be a in a worse position than it is now, she said.

Democrats in the Connecticut House have been working with the governor and lawmakers across the aisle on a proposal, and are holding out hope for a bipartisan solution.

Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz said hes going to do what it takes with a budget, incorporating popular GOP positions as a possibility, as a way to try to guarantee more than just Democratic votes.

He said Republicans shouldnt shut themselves off from supporting a budget for the state of Connecticut.

Aresimowicz said, I hope that doesnt happen but Im going to make it as hard as possible for them to vote no on a budget that goes up on the board.
A former Central Texas police officer must serve five years of probation for firing his gun into an El Paso hotel wall while off-duty at a law enforcement convention.

Ex-Temple police Cpl. Kenneth Lee Sheka was sentenced in El Paso after pleading guilty to deadly conduct/discharging a firearm during the September 2015 incident.

Records show two counts of aggravated assault were dismissed in last month's plea deal and sentencing. Sheka was also fined $2,500 and must permanently surrender his peace officer license.

Police say a worker complained that Sheka made inappropriate sexual comments, touched her and she said stop. Officials say Sheka then fired his personal gun at a wall. Nobody was hurt.

Temple police put Sheka on paid leave after the incident. He resigned after being indicted.
What to Know Driver taken into custody after a two-hour police standoff inside tractor-trailer along eastbound I-30 in Arlington.

One car catches fire after being pinned between the flatbed trailer and the highway retaining wall. Several cars struck during chase.

The truck belongs to Pesado Transport of Socorro, Texas, and was hauling large sheets of copper that were strewn along I-30.

The driver of a flatbed tractor-trailer who held police at bay following a multi-city chase that ended with a fiery crash and hourslong standoff Friday along Interstate 30 has been booked into the Tarrant County Jail.

Jose Luis Cano Olivas, 35, faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and evading arrest in a vehicle.

The chase started in western Fort Worth at about 12:30 p.m. and ended 20 minutes later approximately 17 miles away in Arlington when the truck crashed and came to rest beneath the Cooper Street overpass.

The standoff ended with police taking Olivas into custody at about 3:30 p.m.

Police Chase Ends in Fiery Crash Involving Several Vehicles in Arlington

Westbound lanes of Interstate 30 were back open soon after the standoff ended. However, the eastbound lanes were closed until about 8 p.m. as crews continued clearing debris from the shoulder.

An update from the scene at I-30 and Cooper Street. I-30 eastbound remains closed at Cooper. pic.twitter.com/LdJlHgOs1r  Arlington Police, TX (@ArlingtonPD) June 9, 2017

Police and medics were seen tending to Olivas and placing a bandage on his head shortly after the standoff ended. He was then placed on a stretcher and taken from the scene in an ambulance.

Officials said Olivas had been booked into jail shortly before 10 p.m.

People who were caught up in the middle of a high-speed pursuit and crash Friday on Interstate 30 describe the intense situation.

Chase Begins in West Fort Worth

Fort Worth police said officers tried to stop the tractor-trailer after the driver hit several vehicles on Interstate 30 near Montgomery Street, but the driver refused to pull over and instead led officers on a chase through downtown and east into Arlington, sometimes hitting speeds of 100 mph.

The westbound lanes of Interstate 30 remain closed in Arlington after a tractor-trailer led police on a multi-city chase that ended in a fiery crash Friday afternoon.

The driver hit several cars along Interstate 30 before the final crash in Arlington at about 12:45 p.m.

That crash involved at least two additional vehicles, including one that caught fire after becoming pinned between the flatbed trailer and the highway retaining wall. Fort Worth police said the driver of the pinned car was able to escape the damaged vehicle and was hospitalized for injuries that were not life-threatening. A second person from a vehicle struck by the tractor-trailer was taken to a hospital for treatment of a minor neck injury.



With the truck disabled, Arlington and Fort Worth police officers took a defensive position behind a concrete barrier and pointed their guns toward the tractor while awaiting SWAT officers to arrive and negotiate the driver's surrender.

Curiosity had many people trying to get as close as they could to the police standoff following a fiery crash along Interstate 30 in Arlington.

Arlington SWAT arrived at the scene at about 1:40 p.m. About an hour later, as SWAT continued to negotiate with the driver, a sniper team took up a position on the Cooper Street bridge overlooking the cab of the truck. From behind a ballistic shield, SWAT officers set up a high-powered rifle pointed directly into the truck's cab.

After more than an hour of negotiations, officers broke through the windshield and removed the windshield from the cab. A short time later, the man was taken into custody.

"It was like a movie," said Tamer Awad, who watched the drama unfold from the sidewalk alongside I-30. "This guy, I don't know what he was thinking. I don't think he was in his right mind."

Arlington SWAT officers rip out the windshield of a tractor-trailer involved in a chase and fiery crash Friday, June 9, 2017.

Fort Worth police said early on that there appeared to be a woman in the cab of the truck, though Arlington police later confirmed the driver was the only person inside.[[427496463,R]]

According to the Fort Worth Police Department, the truck spilled its load of copper when it collided with the highway retaining wall.

"Maybe that's why he stole it, because he wanted to get the copper," said Cameron Miller as he watched investigators. "It's not worth that. Copper is nothing compared to these lives out there."

Several Crashes Reported During Chase

A MedStar EMS spokesman said there were at least five cars with damage from the speeding tractor-trailer, and paramedics treated a dozen people from those crashes, although only two were transported.

Delton Vaughn told NBC 5 he was driving along Interstate 30 when he was hit by a tractor-trailer leading police on a multi-city chase.

Delton Vaughn told NBC 5 he was driving along Interstate 30 when he was hit by the truck as it passed.

"The truck came up from up behind me and I saw it in the rear-view mirror, and then the next thing I know the trailer comes across, cuts across and side swipes my car and started going eastbound towards Dallas," Vaughn said.

Juan Ramirez and his family are in town from San Angelo to celebrate his daughter's birthday at Six Flags Over Texas. They were on their way to the park when the tractor-trailer rear-ended them.

Juan Ramirez and his family are in town from San Angelo to celebrate his daughters birthday at Six Flags Over Texas. They were on their way to the park when the tractor-trailer rear-ended them.

The family of six is fine and all walked away with no injuries. His son, Dominic, also told NBC 5 he was sitting behind the passenger seat playing with his sister when they felt the impact. He said he just held on to his sister and closed his eyes.

"All of a sudden I just felt an impact from the backside, and the next thing I know we're riding the wall," Juan Ramirez said. "The trailer of the semi has us pinned against the wall. I was able to keep the vehicle in the lane, luckily, and as it pinned us against the wall, we rode it for a little bit, straightened us out. As we came to a stop, it just kept going."

Barbara Mays was a witness to the end of the chase. She was approaching the Cooper Street exit when the tractor-trailer sped past her with police in pursuit. She said moments later she heard a "boom" and then started to see smoke.



[[427533673, C]]



The truck is owned by Pesado Transport, of Socorro, Texas. Owner Javier Rodriguez told NBC 5 the truck is his, though he was trying to figure out what was happening.

"I'm getting a thousand calls. We're trying to figure it out right now," Rodriguez said.

[[427530603,C]]

Check back and refresh this page for the latest update. As this story is developing, elements may change.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to eliminate a $50 upfront fee charged to defendants who need a public defender to represent them in court.

Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Mark Ridley-Thomas recommended doing away with the charge, saying it can be a burden for some indigent defendants and keeps some individuals from trying to retain an attorney at all.

"It is a bar, honestly, to the kind of defense that the Constitution had in mind," Kuehl said.

The change comes as advocates of criminal justice reform focus on the detrimental effect of a host of court fees on the poorest defendants.

"While $50 may not seem like much to us, it can be a tank of gas to get to work, a utility bill gone unpaid or even food on the table" said Bruce Brodie of the Alternate Public Defender's Office, which he said has long opted not to request payment of the fee.

Those in favor of eliminating the fee said it can have especially dramatic consequences for non-citizens.

"Even some misdemeanors can lead to deportation," said Devon Porter, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

The Public Defender's Office supports eliminating the fee, Assistant Public Defender Candace Glover told the board.

Trying to ask for $50 during a brief and intense interview at arraignment confuses clients, creates distrust and is a poor use of limited time, Glover said.

Kim McGill of the Youth Justice Coalition agreed.

"When you get a public defender, of course, you assume that it's free," McGill said, adding that the upfront request for money causes defendants to question "who's really on your side?"

Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she didn't object to eliminating the fee for those who can't afford it but said she wanted to make sure it was collected from those who can.

"I just have concerns about backing out of revenue that could be generated," Barger said.

"The vast majority of our clientele cannot afford to pay it," Glover responded.

The agency that collects the fees retains 11 percent. The annual amount paid to the Public Defender's Office last year totaled roughly $300,000, or less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the agency's budget, according to board documents.

"The small amount that's collected is really not worth it to the county when compared to the potential bar that it represents," Kuehl said.

The registration fee is just one of several fees and fines that may be charged to a defendant if convicted. Those totals can be difficult to pay, especially when penalties are added. The unpaid debt can impact credit ratings and hurt an individual's ability to rent an apartment or otherwise reclaim their life after serving a criminal sentence.

The board's vote was 4-1, with Barger casting the dissenting vote.
Private Chef Andrea Drummer meticulously crafts her ravioli by hand. She drizzles hollandaise sauce over crab cake Benedict. She makes a bruleed bread pudding with caramel sauce, chantilly cream and seasonal berries.



Her secret ingredient  cannabis.



"When I smell cannabis, I smell the possibilities of it," Drummer said.

Drummer is among a group of Los Angeles chefs preparing multiple course meals with cannabis at private dinners around Los Angeles.

She and those like her are carving out a niche, cashing in on a slice of the marijuana market as Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, was passed by California voters in November and fully goes into effect on Jan. 1.

Take a Look at What These LA Chefs Are Cooking With Cannabis

These chefs stand behind the quality of their products and say they go to great lengths to ensure they're safe.

But county regulators are trying to figure out how to regulate them. They say they have to balance health and safety with current medical marijuana laws and the new recreational law.



"It is really complicated," said Joe Nicchitta, the coordinator of Los Angeles County's newly formed Office of Marijuana Management. "What is considered a private dinner? Is it a potluck? Are you selling tickets? It's not a one-size-fits-all approach. We're working to figure out what the appropriate regulations should be."



Nicchitta said he appreciates entrepreneurs getting into a new industry, but suggests potential diners research edibles, their effects on getting high and how to consume them safely before taking part.



"It's not our goal to shut down innovation," he said. "That said, we do need to apply our health code in a way that's safe."

Andrea Drummer's crab cake Benedict with Lemon Haze infused hollandaise sauce.

Drummer was pulled into this career path after a friend said she needed to sell bruschetta that she had infused with Blue Dream  a strain with notes of blueberry and citrus that pair well with the dish.



"I'm very cognizant of the flavors of the bud," Drummer said.



Holden Jagger, chef and co-owner of Altered Plates, creates custom joint pairings for his private dinners. He smokes ingredients with cannabis, cooks infused dishes and treats weed as its own ingredient for small private meals and business events. He also serves as a gangier, pairing weed with plates, similar to a sommelier who specializes in wine.

With paired courses, his diners get an explanation of the dish, a whiff of the aroma and take a pull by breathing through the joint to taste the cannabis before smoking it.

"I am very much in the business of saying yes to my guests," Jagger said, adding that he will cook everything from a high-end meal to a summer barbecue if his diners request it.



Jagger, who grows his own pot, uses a strain called "In the Pines" to smoke shallots for a salmon creme fraiche dish, and salt cures and "quick-pickles" part of the male cannabis plant to serve on cheese plates.



"Cannabis is a vegetable," said Jagger, who worked at well-known LA restaurants including Craft, SoHo House and Maude before opening Altered Plates. "This is just another way to combine all my passions and distill them into something that I can share with people."

Joint pairings served at an Altered Plates dinner.

His guests pay up to $500 per dinner and are required to present a medical marijuana card.



"I want to play by the rules, I want a seat at the table when there is that seat to be had, and I don't want to get in trouble because I'm not participating in the right way," Jagger said.
President Donald Trump briefly addressed former FBI Director James Comey's testimony in person for the first time, saying that he did not ask Comey to "let Flynn go" and that he would "100 percent" be willing to testify under oath, in a joint news conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis Friday afternoon.

Trump said there was "no collusion, no obstruction" and that "Comey's a leaker." He also told reporters that he will talk about the tapes he allegedly has of him and Comey "sometime in the very near future."

Asked about when the president is going to talk about the tapes, Press Secretary simply said "when he's ready."

Claiming "total and complete vindication," Trump broke his Twitter silence Friday morning to weigh in on fired FBI Director James Comey's closely watched testimony.

Trump, who had refrained from tweeting all day Thursday  even as Comey accused his administration of spreading "lies" and suggested Trump had attempted to influence the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election  struck back in an early-morning tweet.

"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication," Trump wrote, suggesting that Comey, who was under oath at the hearing, had committed perjury.

Trump also seized on Comey's revelation that he had directed a friend to release memos he'd written documenting his conversations with the president to a reporter.

"...and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" Trump wrote at 6:10 a.m.

Trump also retweeted a comment from attorney Alan Dershowitz, who had written: "We should stop talking about obstruction of justice. No plausible case. We must distinguish crimes from" political "sins."

Earlier Friday, he spoke at the Transportation Department about his plan for improving the country's roads and bridges before traveling to New Jersey for the weekend.

In his first congressional appearance since being abruptly fired by Trump last month, Comey detailed months of distrust of the president and bluntly asserted that Trump had fired him to interfere with the probe of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.

He said that he'd carefully documented his interactions with Trump because he worried Trump would misrepresent them, and accused the administration of spreading "lies, plain and simple" about the reasons for his firing.

Comey's testimony underscored the discord that had soured their relationship. He painted Trump as a chief executive dismissive of the FBI's independence and made clear that he interpreted Trump's request to end an investigation into the former national security adviser as an order coming from the president.

Comey also revealed that he'd orchestrated the public release of information about his private conversations with the president in an effort to further the investigation.

Trump had stayed unusually quiet on Thursday. Instead, Trump let his lawyer do the talking for him.

Trump's private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, seized on the admission, casting the former FBI director as one of the "leakers" set on undermining the Trump administration.

The attorney is expected to file a complaint with the Justice Department inspector general about the revelation next week, according to a person close to the legal team who agreed to speak ahead of the filing on condition that the person's name is not used.

Kasowitz also maintained that the testimony made clear that Trump "never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone."

While Trump's staunchest supporters have tried to paint Comey's testimony as vindication for the president, few Republicans who don't work for Trump stepped in to defend the president's version of his contacts with Comey.

Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, said Congress needs to obtain any tapes the president might have of his dealings with the former FBI director. She called Comey an "honorable individual."

"I found him to be credible, candid and thorough," Collins said of Comey on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Collins, a member of the Senate intelligence committee, which is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election, said Comey's motivation "may have been a good one." But, she said, he was wrong to leak his notes to the public and should have given that document to her panel.

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Julie Bykowicz and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
Surveillance video shows the gut-wrenching crash that killed a woman who was standing near a bus bench in Lauderhill Thursday. The crash also injured nine others and shut down part of a major roadway.

Crews responded to the scene near State Road 7 and Southwest 13th Court shortly after 12:30 p.m. Chopper 6 was over the scene, where two cars could be seen damaged along with fire crews dealing with a water leak at one location.

Lauderhill Fire Rescue said the two vehicles were driving recklessly and caused a chain reaction crash. Cameras clearly captured the moment the car plowed into two women standing on the sidewalk. One of the women would not survive the impact. The slain victim is identified as Helaine Elize of Lauderhill. The second woman is identified as Elsaine Tulisse.

Four people were taken to the hospital in critical condition while five others suffered minor injuries. State Road 7 was closed in both directions between Southwest 16th Street and Southwest 12th Street while police continued their investigation.

One witness said he was at a nearby gas station when he heard a loud boom.

"When I came I saw a lady, a body siting on the seat, she was pronounced dead on scene. And two other people were on the floor," said the witness, Anthony, who didn't give his last name. "It was just people everywhere, there was a lady on the floor over here, two people on the grass. It was just a wild scene."

All drivers remained on the scene except for the driver detectives suspect was involved in the initial reckless driving. Police are looking for a 2005 Red Dodge Neon with Florida tag HGK-S80.

Anyone with information is urged to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
The Florida Supreme Court ordered a new sentencing hearing for a death row inmate on Thursday and Gov. Rick Scott immediately took the case away from an Orlando prosecutor who is opposed to the death penalty.

The Florida Supreme Court ordered the new hearing for Bessman Okafor because the sentence handed out in 2015 came after an 11-1 jury recommendation, and the court now requires unanimous jury votes to allow the death penalty. That handed the case back to State Attorney Aramis Ayala, who has said she won't seek the death penalty in cases she prosecutes.

Shortly after the ruling was issued, Scott issued an executive order handing the case to State Attorney Brad King, who serves a neighboring judicial district.

Ayala was elected last year and wasn't involved in the prosecution and sentencing of Okafor. He was convicted of murdering 19-year-old Alex Zaldivar, who was scheduled to testify against him in a home invasion robbery trial. Two other witnesses were shot in the head, but survived.

Republican Rep. Bob Cortes of Orlando also wanted the case removed from Ayala and wrote to Scott urging the action.

Cortes said in an interview that prosecutors should consider the wishes of the victims' families in deciding whether to seek the death penalty. He said he spoke to Zaldivar's father, Rafael, and was told the family wants Okafor executed.

"He's willing to go through this again in hopes of seeking justice for his son," Cortes said. "(Ayala) continues to make the statement that she's against the death penalty and will not seek it, which is I believe a dereliction of duty."

Scott has already removed Ayala from any ongoing murder cases where the death penalty can be applied. Ayala is challenging his action and the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the dispute June 28.

Ayala said in a statement emailed by a spokeswoman that she was pleased Okafor's conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court, which has ordered new sentence hearings in dozens of death penalty cases since last fall because jury recommendations were not unanimous.

"I am not surprised by the Florida Supreme Court's ruling nor the governors' hasty reaction," Ayala said.
As the 2016-17 school year comes to a close, the state is celebrating the latest results of testing that show an improvement in various subjects.

The Department of Education announced the results of annual FSA testing, with a two percent increase in passing grades for both the English language arts and math tests. Results in the Algebra 1 test  one of the two required to pass for graduation from high school  increased by six percent.

Science test results remained consistent, while there was a slight increase in both the civics and U.S. history test results. The state also said the achievement gap between white and African American students in math narrowed over the results of previous years testing.

Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho will hold a Friday press conference to detail the increased scores among students in the county.

For a complete list of how each county performed as well as each individual school, click on this link.
Schools out for summer! We all know what that means, time for kids to have fun, go to camp, and hopefully, not become brain-dead zombies. Teachers will tell you, though, that a lot of students come back to school in the fall, having forgotten much of what they learned during the last school year. So is there a way to prevent the backsliding?

The best thing that a parent can do is make sure that there is constant stimulation of the mind, body, and spirit for students over the summer, said Dan Gohl, chief academic officer of Broward Public Schools. Thats what school does, in a structured environment, give students something to have to respond to and learn.

Broward and Miami-Dade Schools have a variety of ways to keep kids academically engaged over the summer months.

Broward County partnered with the school district to create summer learning programs at all the county libraries. The details can be found at www.browardschools.com, but the simple idea is to encourage parents to emphasize reading. The school district is also promoting the fact that all students have access to on-line enrichment tools such as Khan Academy, i-Ready, and Naviance.

Miami-Dade Schools just opened up its E-Learning Toolbox for all grade levels. Students can access it through the student portals, and its designed to keep kids academically engaged all summer. Go to www.dadeschools.net for more summer learning opportunities.

Gohl says parents should focus on providing constant reminders of learning so young brains dont completely shut out academics during the summer months.

That is books in the home, that is experiences in the community, and that is conversation every day, Gohl said.

Just about every school, at every grade level, has summer reading requirements. Thats a start, but to get kids to go further, some offer prizes for doing the most work on computer programs like i-Ready.

So theres your pro tip, parents. Incentivize summer learning! Maybe offering rewards for reading books or completing a research project or writing an essay can work for your family. Before you know it, the kids will be back in school, and they need to be game-ready.
The 12-year-old twin sisters who vanished from Coral Springs Tuesday are back at home Friday morning, police said.

Rickhia and Nicollette McClam were found at their godmother's residence in Pompano Beach overnight Friday, police said. They were believed to have been there the entire time they were missing.

The mother of the twins was beside herself Tuesday in New York, wishing she wouldve stayed in South Florida after visiting this weekend.

"I should've stayed, I should've stayed," said Natonia Dutes, the twins mother.

Investigators say the 12-year-old sisters ran away from their home Tuesday morning, after an intense argument between their parents over the weekend. Their father, Rickey McClam, has full custody of the girls and made a plea Thursday for their safe return.

"I want them to know that, you know your dad loves you very much, more than anything in the world. I wouldn't do anything to harm you; everything I do is for your benefit," said McClam.

Investigators said the girls left a note at their fathers house saying they were running away. They took off with clothes, money and iPods, but no cell phone, making them difficult to track.

"I just want you home with me, so please Rickhia and Nicollette, you know your father. I need you home; I need you with me," McClam said.

Coral Springs detectives initially suspected their mother manipulated the girls into leaving, although a check of her New York home revealed they were never with her. Still, they suspect her family members in Broward and Palm Beach counties might have been hiding the children.

Checks of family members homes hadn't produced any hints as to where the girls were. Police said the girls told their school counselor and a resource officer Monday they were thinking of running away, but a spokeswoman for Broward County Schools denied that there was any discussion of the girls running away in that conversation.

"I spoke to them and the cops spoke to them, I didn't think they'd actually get up and run away," said Dutes.

If family members were hiding the twins, they could face criminal charges.

The father had been offering a $1,000 reward for information on where the girls are that brings them home.
President Donald Trump is expected to announce plans to undo Obama-era Cuba policies in Miami next Friday, a source with knowledge of the visit told NBC 6/Telemundo 51.

Trump will travel to Miami to detail the plan, which has been in the works for weeks. The location of the announcement has not been made public.

Several sources told NBC News last week the White House's plan to reverse U.S.-Cuba policies. Trump would announce the rollback in an executive order, citing human rights abuses on the communist-run island, according to NBC News.

The rollback is unlikely to completely sever diplomatic ties or shutter the U.S. Embassy in Havana, but it would prohibit business with the Cuban military, according to a Trump administration official and a person involved in the ongoing policy review.

Towards the end of former President Barack Obama's term, policies were changed to allow travel from the U.S. to the isolated country, and reauthorized U.S. businesses to operate in Cuba. Obama's approach to Cuba was one of engagement, his administration arguing that isolationist tactics would not fix Cuba's communist government.

In January, the Obama administration ended the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, which allowed any Cuban who made it to U.S. soil to stay and become a legal resident. He did this in an effort to treat the citizens of Cuba like every other country.
A well-known South Florida lawyer who frequently appeared on NBC 6 was found dead at his Coral Gables home Thursday night.

Attorney Ervin Gonzalez was a partner at Colson Hicks Eidson and former governor of the Florida Bar and past president of the Dade County Bar Association.

The circumstances of the 57-year-old's death were unknown, but the Miami Herald reported it was being investigated as a suicide.

Law firm partner Dean Colson called Gonzalez a "beloved partner, friend and role model" who "will be remembered for his intellect, skill and ability to befriend and defend the rights of people from all walks of life with a zest and dedication that was unrivaled."

Gonzalez leaves behind a wife, Janice, Colson said.

"Words cannot convey our grief, admiration, or affection for this pillar of our community," Colson said. "Ervin's passing reminds all of us that mental illness can strike anyone regardless of how accomplished or content they might appear. Like the Ervin we all knew and loved, he valiantly fought this personal challenge with unmatched effort. He simply was unable to win his hardest and final trial. It pains us to know he was suffering so terribly beyond his control.

A viewing for Gonzalez will be held Monday from 7-9 p.m. at Vior Funeral Home located at 291 NW 37th Avenue in Miami. The funeral mass will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Church of the Little Flower at 2711 Indian Mound Trail in Coral Gables.
What to Know Police in multiple states searched for the 12-year-old twins after they went missing earlier this week

Sisters Rickhia and Nicolette McClam were last seen at their fathers home in South Florida and thought to be headed to NYC, officials said

They were found after a few days in their godmother's home in Pompano Beach

Twelve-year-old twins who sparked a frantic multi-state search spanning more than 1,000 miles after they went missing earlier this week have been found safe, authorities say.

Sisters Rickhia McClam and Nicolette McClam were last seen at their fathers home in South Florida on Tuesday. Authorities had thought they could be heading to New York City to be with their mother, who lives in Harlem.

But the sisters never left Florida at all, authorities say. They were found at their godmother's home in Pompano Beach, and investigators believe they were there the entire time authorities were looking for them. The girls were not hurt.

Their parents have been embroiled in a contentious custody battle for years, and their mother, Natonia Dutes, had said they were talking about running away during a visit to New York last weekend.

Dutes says the girls told her: We want to run away, we dont want to be there.
What to Know A pregnant woman was in critical condition and her friend in serious after they were stabbed in the Bronx Thursday night, officials say

Derrick Wilson, 50, allegedly stabbed the pair after an argument over space on the subway and was subdued until police arrived, police say

Wilson is charged with attempted murder, assault, menacing and possession of a weapon, authorities say

A woman who is three months pregnant was recovering at a New York City hospital on Friday after she and a friend were stabbed on a subway train by a man with 12 prior arrests, police said.

Shaday Tripp, 24, and her friend, 21-year-old Zakia Lewis, were riding a 2 train in the Morrisania section of the Bronx before the attack Thursday evening. Lewis said she had Tripp sitting on her lap, since the train was crowded and she was pregnant.

At some point during the ride, one of the women bumped into a man, sparking an argument that led to the stabbing, police say.

Out of nowhere, he did it so fast, stabbed her in her neck, Lewis said. I pushed her so she wont get stabbed again. I got stabbed one time. He was trying to stab me again.

After the attack, Lewis and Tripp ran off the train at Prospect Avenue. Lewis did her best to stop her friends bleeding, knowing that she was three months pregnant.

I have my best friends blood on my hands, so she wont die in my hands, Lewis said. There was a lot of blood.

Witnesses said the man, later identified as 50-year-old Derrick Wilson, tried to flee, but passengers on the train subdued him and held him until police arrived. One witness said the crowd wanted to rough up Wilson, but he eventually talked them out of it.

Police arrested Wilson at the subway station; video taken during his arrest appears to show his white shirt covered in blood.

Before I got on the train, I think he was up to something already, because why would you be carrying a knife inside your pocket? Tripp said from her bedside.

Wilson faced a judge Friday on a number of charges, including attempted murder, five counts of assault, two counts of menacing and two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Wilson's mother and two other relatives were at his arraignment. They were upset that his bail was set at $200,000.

The attorney, a public defender, was adamant that his client does not have a mental illness and said Wilson may have feared for his own safety.

His girlfriend, Tonya Williams, came to his defense Friday.

He doesnt go around starting things, Williams said. Hes a patient guy, a gentle guy.

Wilson has one prior, non-violent arrest from more than 25 years ago, when he was 24.

Meanwhile, Lewis was home with stitches in her arm.

Back at the hospital, Tripps mother, Sheniqua Marcus, said her daughter has a long road to recovery. She said she's lucky to be alive  her condition was downgraded from serious to critical on Thursday night.

It could have been a gun, you know? Marcus said. It could have been worse.

The condition of Tripps baby wasnt immediately known, but the mom-to-be was alert and sitting upright at the hospital Friday.
A teenager is dead and another is injured after a double shooting in Brooklyn Friday morning, police say.

Police say shots rang out just before 2 a.m. in Bed-Stuy on Jefferson Avenue near Broadway, where they found a 17-year-old boy shot in the stomach and a 14-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg.

Both victims were taken to an area hospital, where the 17-year-old victim was pronounced dead, police said. The 14-year-old was shot in the thigh and is in critical but stable condition, authorities said.

The 17-year-old has been identified as Kieth Kyser.

The crime scene is close to the entrance of the J train and in front of a deli, which was blocked off by police tape. Detectives were seen interviewing people who work there.

Charee Davis, who spoke to NBC 4 New York said she is a cousin of both the victims, who are also cousins. The pair were shot on their way home from the corner deli after getting food there, she said.

Davis said the 14-year-old is in stable but critical condition in the hospital.

The circumstances leading up the deadly shooting weren't immediately known.

No arrests have been made and police are investigating.
Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Greg Gianforte on Wednesday apologized to the reporter he is charged with assaulting the night before last month's special congressional election in Montana.

"I write to express my sincere apology for my conduct on the evening of May 24," Gianforte wrote to Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs. "My physical response to your legitimate question was unprofessional, unacceptable, and unlawful. As both a candidate for office and a public official, I should be held to a high standard in my interactions with the press and the public. My treatment of you did not meet that standard."

He said he is making a $50,000 contribution to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a non-profit organization, following the incident.

"Notwithstanding anyones statements to the contrary, you did not initiate any physical contact with me, and I had no right to assault you," Gianforte wrote.

Later Wednesday, Jacobs releasesd a statement saying he has "accepted Mr. Gianforte's apology and his willingness to take responsibility for his actions and statements."

"I hope the constructive resolution of this incident reinforces for all the importance of respecting the freedom of the press and the First Amendment and encourages more civil and thoughtful discourse in our country," he said.



A judge has given Gianforte until June 20 to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court to face a misdemeanor assault charge. Documents filed Tuesday by former U.S. Attorney William Mercer and Bozeman attorney Todd Whipple says they are in settlement talks with prosecutors.



Jacobs said he was "body slammed" by Gianforte on May 24 while he was trying to ask him a question about a health care bill.

Gianforte won Montana's only congressional seat, despite the last-minute fracas at his Bozeman campaign headquarters. He is not expected to be sworn in until later this month.


For more than 20 years, two Kentucky men were in prison because a jury said they killed a woman to curry favor with the devil as part of a satanic ritual.

But new evidence, including DNA and revelations that could discredit a key witness, prompted a judge to release Jeffrey Dewayne Clark and Garr Keith Hardin from prison last year and order them a new trial. Now Kentuckys highest court is reviewing that decision, considering whether the judge abused his authority by overturning the mens convictions in a case that grabbed national attention amid the satanic abuse scare of the 1980s and 1990s.

On Thursday, Kentuckys Supreme Court heard arguments from the state Attorney Generals office about why Clark and Hardin should be sent back to prison without a new trial.

Key pieces of evidence from the 1995 trial include a single hair found on victim Rhonda Warfords sweatpants that an expert at the time said was similar to the hair of Hardin, her former boyfriend. Former Louisville Metro Police Detective Mark Handy said Hardin told him he worshipped Satan and was interested in sacrificing people. And police found a blood-stained cloth with what they called a chalice in Hardins bedroom, which they said was evidence that he killed animals and drank their blood as part of his worship of Satan.

But since then, DNA analysis shows the hair does not belong to Hardin. The blood on the cloth was actually Hardins blood, not an animal. And Handy was later found to have lied under oath about a different murder case, which defense attorneys say question his credibility.

Thursday, Assistant Attorney General Perry Ryan tried to downplay the role that evidence played in the convictions, saying the significance of the hair was completely overblown. He said prosecutors relied more on the testimony of witnesses, including an alleged jailhouse confession. And since Hardin and Clark were convicted, both have confessed to the crime in separate parole hearings.

Those parole board confessions are pretty damning, Justice Bill Cunningham said. Im not sure a jury would blow them off as not being credible.

But attorneys for Hardin and Clark say inmates are pressured to confess to crimes during parole board hearings in order to improve their chances of being released. Seema Saifee, an attorney with the Innocence Project, said of the 350 men and women across the country who have been exonerated 28 percent of those cases involved false confessions.

One case included Edwin Chandler, a Kentucky man who spent eight years in prison before being exonerated. An internal investigation found the detective in that case, who was also the detective in Hardin and Clarks case, coerced Chandler into confessing.

Innocent confess to crimes they did not commit all the time, especially when under pressure to do so, Saifee said. Kentucky courts have recognized DNA is more powerful than an unlawful confession.

Saifee and attorney Amy Staples focused more on the DNA evidence. They said prosecutors relied on discredited science to convince the jury the hair belonged to Hardin so they could tie him to the crime scene. And they were confident they could get most of Handys testimony thrown out of a new trial, which would make it harder for the state to prove a motive.

Justice Laurance VanMeter noted other witnesses testified about satanic influences, and Hardin himself said he dabbled in the practice but said he had lost interest by the time Warford was killed. Several justices were less interested in the specifics of the new evidence, focusing instead on any errors the trial judge made in ordering a new trial.

Ryan said the legal standard for ordering a new trial means new evidence shows a jury would probably reach a different verdict. He said the new evidence here does not meet that standard, because it shows a different verdict would be possible, but not probable.

Staples said proving the judge made a mistake was a burden the prosecutors could not meet.
The Senate intelligence committee expects top presidential adviser Jared Kushner to meet with committee staffers in mid-June, two sources familiar with the planning told NBC News Thursday.

A third source familiar with the conversations said discussions about timing are still ongoing.



Kushner, who is married to Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka, has come under FBI scrutiny in the Russia investigation, NBC News reported in late May. Investigators believe he has information relevant to their inquiry, U.S. officials said. That does not mean he is suspected of a crime.

The meeting is the first step in an agreement made within the committee: Kushner will meet with staff members, provide documents and ultimately take questions from the senators on the committee, the sources said.

Questions have also been raised about a Reuters report that Kushner attended a meeting with Sergey Gorkov, a Russian banker and a longtime economic aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in December.
An armed man pulled over after riding a dirt bike in North Philadelphia was shot and killed by a police officer during a confrontation Thursday evening, officials said, with surveillance video showing the officer shot the man while he was running away.



"It was a very violent encounter," Police Commissioner Richard Ross said.



The explosive scene evolved around 6:40 p.m. on the 4100 block of Whitaker Avenue near the southern edge of the Feltonville neighborhood when an officer transporting people to the Special Victims Unit saw the dirt bike rider driving erratically and told the man to stop after he stalled his bike on the sidewalk, police said.

"Initially (the officer) was only going there to tell this guy to knock it off," Ross said.

The officer got out of his vehicle to question the man.

Initial reports explained that the dirt bike rider got off his bike and started to walk away from the officer, but information from a preliminary investigation released Friday afternoon said the man turned to his side and began holding the front of his waistband.

That's when the 15th District officer performed a frisk and noticed a handgun in the rider's waistband, police said. The officer then drew his weapon and ordered the man several times not to touch his gun, investigators said.

"(The officer) looks in his face and says 'Bro don't do it, bro don't do it,'" Ross said.



A struggle ensued, then the dirt bike rider pulled away from the officer and pulled out his gun, pulled the trigger, but never fired it, police said. The officer's gun initially jammed, investigators said.



"The individual then starts to run and the officer then discharges," Ross said. "He is running ahead of the officer when he discharges from behind, so that's a piece we want to look at very closely."



Bullets struck the man in the back and buttocks, police said. He died a short time later at Temple University Hospital.

A black handgun  later identified by police as a fully-loaded 9mm  could be seen several feet from the dirt bike as a reporter arrived to the scene. The dirt bike lay on its side, surrounded by officers and detectives.

Family members of the victim also arrived within minutes and started yelling at officers. Ross was at the scene as well. The man's distraught grandmother called him a "good boy" who didn't bother anyone.

Surveillance video from a nearby restaurant appears to show the suspect running away from the officer.

"I did watch the video and clearly one of the shots was taken while the male was running away, there's no doubt about that," Ross said.

Ross said the video gives investigators "pause."

"The one video video vantage point is actually showing or depicting the officer firing as the guy is running away," Ross said. "I can't get into what the officer may have been seeing or believing at that particular time. Clearly he knows he was in a struggle with a violent guy prior to that."

Ross said he wants to make sure that the officer was following department protocol, which states you should only shoot a fleeing suspect if they area a suspect in a "forcible felony," but there are exceptions and you shouldn't always shoot.

Ross said that a witness being transported by the officer at the time also said "don't do it" before watching the suspect grab a gun. The witness' story corroborates the officer's, Ross said.

Ross asked anyone who may have witnessed the incident to come forward and share information with authorities.

Police did not immediately identify the officer or suspect.

The officer was placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation. Ross said they would review if the officer followed department protocol.
Harry Jaffe, a longtime chronicler of the people and politics of Washington, D.C., writes a column for NBC Washington's First Read DMV blog.



With the 2018 mayoral primary just a year away, Mayor Muriel Bowser has favorable ratings but remains vulnerable in her bid for a second term, according to a citywide poll conducted in late May.

The D.C. chapter of Democrats for Education Reform commissioned the poll. Director Catherine Bellinger said the poll was for internal use and not released to the public, but sources who read the poll described some of the results.

"Overall," one source said, "Mayor Bowsers favorability is strong  but its soft."

Another source described her support as "a mile wide and an inch deep," and those supporters lacked deep, emotional attachment.

In general Washingtonians responded that they were satisfied with the citys direction, and they expressed no burning need to change the leadership. Taken together, the polls results point to a race that is the mayors to lose, a year away from the crucial Democratic primary.

"The mayor has detractors," her 2014 campaign manager William Lightfoot said, "but she doesnt have strong, organized enemies in the community who will finance a campaign against her."

Lightfoot, whos expected to chair her reelection bid, predicts Bowser will win on her broad support across the city, with a strong base in the gay community, Ward 3 and her home base in Ward 4.

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Karl Racine are also up for reelection, which means the Districts top leadership could change. At this point none of the incumbents has formally announced for reelection, and no challengers have formally declared for any of the three positions.

But the jockeying and handicapping have begun. Bowser skates to a second term without a serious challenger, so who might block her path?

Attorney General Karl Racine showed up Monday evening at the Lamond Riggs Civic Association in far Northeast D.C. to swear in the new executive board members. Was he there to make a point in the community where Bowser ran for mayor in 2014 but failed to win in the primary? His spokesman says he makes regular visits to community events.

Racine, 54, has been coy about whether he might challenge Bowser. The Districts first elected attorney general is midway through his first four-year term. If I were a betting man, I would say he runs for a second term rather than take on Bowser.

For one, Racine is not spoiling for a chance to go head-to-head with Bowser to become the Districts chief executive. Having run only one citywide race, he doesnt have deep name recognition. He has scored some victories as attorney general but failed to turn them into political capital.

Meanwhile, Racine still has to retire a substantial campaign debt from his 2014 run, and he shows no alacrity to raise funds.

Vincent Gray seems eager to avenge his loss to Bowser in 2014. He believes in his heart that U.S. Attorney Ron Machen stole the election from him by implicating him in an investigation into dirty money in his mayoral campaign without proving he was involved.

Gray, 74, represents Ward 7 on District Council. He could run for mayor without losing his seat, but his path to victory is narrow, at best. The Democrats for Education Reform poll did not show strong support for Gray.

In fact, one source said Bowser polled better than Gray in his home ward. He might be most weak in Ward 3, the predominantly white neighborhoods on the citys west side. Without Ward 3, he would have to almost sweep the rest of the District.

But numbers might not stop Gray from taking on Bowser, especially if she continues to face politically damaging news.

On Wednesday evening -- as Bowser spoke to a conference for entrepreneurs hosted by Politico at Howard University  she was absorbing news that the Office of Campaign Finance fined her 2014 mayoral campaign $13,000 for taking contributions above the legal limit, mostly from developers and property managers.

Meanwhile, an Inspector Generals report said schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson gave special treatment to some of Bowser's top appointees to get their children into schools in high demand, allowing them to overstep parents beholden to a lottery system. The story is still unfolding.

And an investigation into financial improprieties in the Ward 4 council campaign of her protege, Brandon Todd, involved Ben Soto, her campaign treasurer.

Bowser is most likely to kick off her reelection campaign in September. At that point there will be ten months until polls open in the Democratic primary, which all but determines the general election winner.

She will have a head start on fundraising, broad name recognition and support in all eight wards, soft though it might be.

Vince Gray is notoriously late in formally declaring his candidacy. That didnt stop him from beating Bowsers predecessor, Adrian Fenty, in 2010. Like Fenty, Bowser may be giving Gray an opening.

Karl Racine will be under pressure to announce his own reelection, and he might face serious challengers.

It promises to be an interesting autumn, but the first poll and early betting would favor Bowser.
Virginia's attorney general has announced more than 1,000 rape kits will be tested as a part of a $3.4 million project to completely eliminate the states backlog of untested rape kits.

A federal grant of $2 million will allow the state to test 1,247 rape kits collected between 2014 and 2016, according to the Commonwealth of Virginias Office of the Attorney General.

"I hope survivors see that we are turning the page from an old approach that failed to meet our public safety goals or our obligations to survivors, to one that makes communities safer and helps survivors on a path to healing and justice," Attorney General Mark Herring said in a release Thursday.

Once a rape kit has been sent to a lab, the results are given to the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, which is the national DNA database. Police in the municipality where the kit was collected are then notified if the DNA matches any previous offenders.

In 2016, the state began the first phase in the project to test more than 2,000 kits from before 2014. Some of those kits are almost three decades old.

More than 1,000 of the kits that have gone to the lab have resulted in at least 44 DNA matches, the attorney general's office said.

"The progress we've made so far, including the identification of these remaining kits, shows that we're keeping up the momentum on this project, Herring said. I'm not going to stop until every single kit gets tested, survivors know the result, and each case gets a fresh look. It's what survivors deserve, and it's what justice and public safety require."



The $2 million federal grant will allow the commonwealth to invest in additional resources to improve rape kit tracking, speed up testing and support survivors with a new specialist in the Office of Attorney General.

According to the attorney general's office, the grant will also strengthen prosecutions with the latest specialized training for Virginia law enforcement.
The first black justice on Virginia's Supreme Court will welcome new students to the College of William & Mary this fall.

John Charles Thomas will speak at the school's Aug. 30 convocation in Williamsburg, Virginia, the university said in a press release. The event marks the beginning of the academic year.

Thomas was 32 when he was appointed to the commonwealth's Supreme Court. He was the youngest person to sit on the bench, on which he served until 1989.

Thomas is now a senior partner at the Hunton & Williams law firm. He is also a longtime member of the school's board.

The school's convocation will coincide with the start of a yearlong set of events to commemorate the school's first black residential student 50 years ago.
A lawyer on Wednesday asked for a new trial for a Wisconsin man convicted in a case profiled in the "Making a Murderer" Netflix series.

Steven Avery's conviction was based on planted evidence and false testimony, attorney Kathleen Zellner says in a 1,272-page document she filed. She contends Avery deserves a new trial "in the interests of justice" and because "the real controversy was never tried," USA Today Network-Wisconsin reported.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press for comment.

Avery, 54, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in the 2005 death of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc County.

Avery's nephew, Brendan Dassey, confessed to detectives he helped his uncle rape and kill Halbach at the Avery family's salvage yard. A judge overturned Dassey's conviction in August, ruling that investigators took advantage of the then-16-year-old Dassey's cognitive disabilities and tricked him into confessing. State attorneys are appealing that decision.

Both Avery and Dassey maintain their innocence. The case gained national attention in 2015 after Netflix aired "Making a Murderer," a multi-part documentary examining Halbach's death. Authorities who worked on the case say the series was biased. The filmmakers have defended their work.

In Wednesday's filing, Zellner contends that Avery's trial attorneys failed to prove that evidence had been planted because they lacked experts and they did not conduct a thorough investigation. She also maintains that a spare key for Halbach's sport utility vehicle found in Avery's bedroom was planted by sheriff's deputies. Officials involved in the case have denied any misconduct.

"Because the State did not need to establish motive, it did not spend any time trying to figure out why Ms. Halbach was murdered," Zellner wrote. "Both Mr. Avery and Ms. Halbach are victims of a justice system whose success depends upon the integrity, competence and devotion of judges, law enforcement, prosecutors, and defense attorneys. Both Ms. Halbach and Mr. Avery have yet to receive justice."

Dean Strang, one of Avery's trial lawyers, said he and Avery's other trial attorney, Jerry Buting, are glad that Zellner filed the motion and its supporting documents.

"All that really matters here, to us and we hope to everyone, is that we get closer to the truth in this case and to justice for everyone," Strang said in an email to the AP.

In November, Zellner announced that an agreement had been signed to begin independent scientific testing on several critical pieces of evidence.

Avery and Dassey contend they were framed by law enforcement angry with Avery for filing a lawsuit against Manitowoc County over his wrongful imprisonment for a sexual assault he didn't commit.
If prosecutors want the building blocks for a claim that President Donald Trump interfered with a federal investigation, legal experts say fired FBI Director James Comey has handed those over by recounting details of interactions that could show the president intended to obstruct justice.

In riveting detail, Comey this week has revealed conversations with Trump that include the president saying he hoped Comey could let go of the FBI's investigation of a former national security adviser. That's coupled with Comey's statement Thursday to a Senate panel that he believes Trump fired him in May to alter the bureau's investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 election.

But proving obstruction of justice is difficult even in ordinary circumstances. That's because a key element in such cases is knowing the intent of a suspect, confessions are rare, and words that seem clear to one person could mean something else to another. Moreover, political and other legal factors decidedly weigh in Trump's favor.

An experienced former federal prosecutor himself, Comey refused to say whether he thinks Trump broke the law. He twice said that's up to Special Counsel Robert Mueller to determine.

"That's Bob Mueller's job to sort that out," he said.

Prosecutors do two things in building an obstruction case. They interview everyone who talked to the subject to find out precisely what was said. Was a comment an isolated incident or part of a pattern, a joke or a threat, veiled or otherwise?

Comey's recollections of the conversations would be a critical part of such a case. Provided in summary in his written testimony to the Senate intelligence committee, they were written just after his conversations with Trump, when his memory was fresh and his ability to recall details at its sharpest.

"These details are red meat for a prosecutor," Philip Lacovara, who was part of the Watergate special prosecutor's team, wrote in a Washington Post essay.

The other thing prosecutors do is construct a timeline of events that helps with context, often crucial in determining whether there was "corrupt intent," essentially meaning that someone knew they were doing something wrong.

Comey's one-on-one dinner with Trump on Jan. 27, in which the president asked for his loyalty, occurred just after the White House was briefed on the investigation of former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn.

"I have to say, the chronology is pretty bad for him," Georgetown University law professor Julie O'Sullivan said of Trump.

A crucial question is what Trump meant when Comey says the president told the FBI director, "I hope you can let this go." The setting was the Oval Office on Feb. 14, after Trump cleared the room of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other top officials.

Comey said Trump was referring to the Flynn investigation and that he found the comment "a very disturbing thing, very troubling."

"I mean, this is a president of the United States, with me alone, saying 'I hope' this. I took it as, 'This is what he wants me to do.' I didn't obey that, but that's the way I took it," Comey said in an exchange with Idaho Republican Sen. James Risch.

Trump's defenders suggested the president knows how to give an order and that his remark fell short of that. Trump's son, Donald Jr., took to Twitter to criticize Comey.

"You would think a guy like Comey" would know the difference between "hoping and telling," Donald Trump Jr. said in a Tweet.

Comey said he couldn't come up with an instance in which someone was convicted of obstruction of justice over the use of word "hope" in similar circumstances.

In 2008, the federal appeals court in St. Louis upheld a longer prison term after a judge determined that a defendant had obstructed justice when he told someone "I hope and pray to God you did not say anything about a weapon."

That case helps illustrate how hard it can be to prove obstruction. Because he was tacking extra time onto a prison sentence, the judge had to meet a lower standard of proof than if a jury was considering whether to convict a defendant of a crime. Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is the standard for a criminal jury.

Even if Mueller were to develop an obstruction case against the president, it's uncertain what would happen next. Whether a sitting president can be prosecuted is an open legal question that has never been decided by the Supreme Court. But most legal scholars, as well as the Justice Department, say it can't be done under the Constitution.

The other possible avenue is impeachment. Obstruction was an article of impeachment against President Richard Nixon before he resigned and was one of the counts on which the House of Representatives impeached President Bill Clinton, who was later acquitted by the Senate.

But with Republicans in control of Congress, there is little chance a president of their own party would be impeached.
A woman whose parents brought her to Iowa from Mexico 20 years ago at age 11 cannot be prosecuted by the state for identity theft and forgery, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The 4-3 divided court, in a significant ruling that could have broad consequences for those living in Iowa illegally and using fake credentials to obtain work, concluded prosecution of crimes such as identity theft and forgery when related to immigration fall under federal jurisdiction and cannot be prosecuted in state court.

"Local enforcement of laws regulating employment of unauthorized aliens would result in a patchwork of inconsistent enforcement that would undermine the harmonious whole of national immigration law," Justice Brent Appel wrote for the majority.

Martha Martinez, who is now 31, obtained an Iowa driver's license when she was 17 using a birth certificate and Social Security card borrowed from a woman named Diana Castaneda. She also used the fake credentials to obtain federal authorization to get a job in Muscatine at a company that provides sanitation services for food processing plants.

Martinez in 2013 received temporary lawful immigration status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy implemented under President Barack Obama. She was able to obtain a driver's license under her real name and newly issued Social Security number provided through DACA.

However, the Iowa Department of Transportation, using facial recognition software, matched her face with the driver's license she obtained at 17 using Castaneda's credentials. After an investigation, Muscatine County Attorney Alan Ostergren charged her with the two felonies that upon conviction could get her deported.

The majority of the court said the federal government routinely chooses not to prosecute immigrants in similar situations as Martinez on humanitarian grounds, noting she was educated in Iowa, has no criminal record, is a productive member of the community and is the mother of four children born in Iowa.

"Federal enforcement officials might well weigh the fact that a mother would be separated from her four children who are United States citizens as a very undesirable result," the court said.

The justices also said federal authorities might blanch at prosecuting a person who in good faith came out of the shadows under protection of the DACA program.

The Obama policy offered a reprieve from deportation to people in the country illegally who could prove they arrived before they were 16, had been in the U.S. for several years and had not committed a crime since arriving. It gave so-called Dreamers an opportunity to stop hiding and live and work without fear of deportation. It's unclear, however, whether President Donald Trump plans to continue the same protections.

Ostergren said he firmly believes identity theft cases should be investigated and prosecuted.

He said the ruling means Iowa law enforcement will be powerless to prosecute some cases of identity theft.

"Quite frankly it puts Iowa as an outlier in the country so the question is if you are illegally here and you are stealing someone's identity then there's one state in the country you can move to and not be prosecuted right now," he said.

Martinez's attorney, Philip Mears, called the decision a tremendous victory for immigrants.

"The Iowa Supreme Court has recognized the important protection provided to Dreamers given their connection and tremendous contributions to the country they grew up in and call home," he said.

Justice Edward Mansfield and two other justices believe Martinez should be prosecuted. In his dissenting opinion Mansfield said the decision gives a pass from prosecution for immigrants living in Iowa illegally and using fake credentials, which could also be used to avoid paying taxes or to cover up a criminal history. An American citizen without the protections offered immigrants, however, could be prosecuted for the same crimes.

"Our job should not be to pick winners or losers but to apply federal law as given to us by Congress and state law as given to us by the general assembly," he said.

The Iowa attorney general's office has 90 days to decide whether to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Iowa court decision. A spokesman said they are reviewing it and considering all options.
A Quincy, Massachusetts, dispensary has a new spin on marijuana-infused edibles: a pub-style cheese pizza.

Ermont, Inc., a non-profit medical marijuana dispensary that specializes in edibles, is now cooking up six-inch personal pizza pies infused with a 125mg dose of THC distillate.

The enhanced pizzas are created on-site and frozen so they can be sold to the dispensarys medical marijuana patients.

The development was led by operations manager Seth Yaffe, cannabinoid infusion consultant Adam Gendreau, and chef Keith Brooks.

"The style of our infused pizza was inspired by whats commonly known throughout the South Shore as 'bar pizza'  thin, crispy crust, well-done cheese and tomato sauce spread to the edge of a metal pan," said Brooks. "It was a delight to make, and its delicious."

The cheese pizzas sell for $38 apiece. The company has sold about 200 already. Yaffe says if patients want toppings, they can add their own.



The THC-filled pizzas join the companys menu that includes candy, cookies, olive oil, hot sauce mac and cheese, lozenges, muffins and other edibles.

Only people with state-issued medical marijuana ID cards are eligible to buy the pies.
Heavily armed al-Shabab extremists have stormed a military base in Somalia's semiautonomous state of Puntland, killing close to 70 people and wounding dozens more, officials said Thursday. Residents said civilians, including women, were beheaded during the rampage.

Officials called it the region's deadliest attack in years, highlighting the twin challenges facing security forces from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab and the growing presence of fighters linked to the Islamic State group.

The attack began with a blast at the remote Af-Urur camp, roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the commercial hub of Bossaso, before the extremists overran the base and killed soldiers at close range, said Ahmed Mohamed, a senior military official.

Close to 70 people were killed, though an exact death toll was not yet available, Mohamed said. Abdi Hersi Ali, Puntland's interior minister, said troops suffered causalities but he declined to give further details.

Residents in the area reported chaotic scenes, with fighters beheading several civilians they encountered. One witness, Abdibasit Hassan, said women were among those beheaded.

"The situation is grim over there. This attack was an unexpected one," Mohamed said. The extremists, including suicide bombers, reportedly attacked the base from three directions, forcing soldiers to retreat.

Col. Hashi Ahmed, a senior military official, told The Associated Press that reinforcement troops reached the area and drove the extremists out of the camp. He estimated that at least 100 fighters were involved in the attack.

Al-Shabab claimed killing at least 61 soldiers in the attack. The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist groups, said the extremist group issued the claim via its Shahada News Agency. Al-Shabab also said it seized a large amount of weapons and ammunition and more than a dozen military vehicles.

Liban Mohamed, a nurse at the hospital in nearby Armo town, said at least 40 wounded soldiers had been brought there after the attack.

Puntland in northern Somalia also faces a growing threat from ISIS-linked fighters who have split from al-Shabab, which grew out of the Horn of Africa country's quarter-century of chaos.

Al-Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

The extremist group recently vowed to step up its attacks after the federal government announced a new offensive against it. Targets have included high-profile spots like military facilities, hotels and areas close to the presidential palace.

Somalia's military is under growing pressure to assume more responsibility for the country's security as a 22,000-string multinational African Union force plans to start withdrawing next year.

The prospect of a security vacuum has concerned the international community. Somalia's president has urged that the United Nations arms embargo on his country be lifted soon, saying the military needs more than AK-47s to combat al-Shabab and the Islamic State-linked fighters.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a Somali-American who was elected in February, has repeatedly said al-Shabab can be defeated within two years, but he warns that could take much longer without a better-equipped national military.
Two D.C. police officers on bicycles and a D.C. Department of Transportation employee were hurt after a man in a pickup truck plowed into them and then hit a dump truck Thursday night in the Adams Morgan neighborhood.

Two Virginia men were arrested after the horrifying crash, which police said is not connected to terrorism.

Brandon Figures-Mormon, 22, of Disputanta, Virginia, and Dwayne Nicholas Taylor, 23, of Prince George, Virginia, were arrested.

Figures-Mormon has been charged with assault with intent to kill and possession of an unregistered firearm.

Taylor initially was charged with possession of an unregistered firearm. The D.C. Office of the Attorney General decided after reviewing evidence not to charge him, a representative for the office said Friday afternoon.

The officers were riding their bikes near 18th Street and Columbia Road NW, when the white pickup truck crashed into them.

Witnesses told News4 the pickup truck swerved around a WMATA bus and struck the officers.

"We heard an absolute horrifying screech," said Katie Vincentz, a witness.

Vincentz was inside Tryst Lounge when it happened. She and others quickly ran out onto 18th Street.

"What we saw was just horrifying. There was a police officer who had been thrown pretty much 30 feet," she said.

"The officers ... were yelling at the truck 'Stop!' and the truck wasn't slowing down. The truck was probably going about 50 mph and just hit them," Michael Matuson said, a Navy veteran with first aid training.

"I checked his pulse to make sure he was still breathing. He was on his side," he said.

The officers and DDOT worker were rushed to Medstar Washington Hospital Center. The officers' bikes laid mangled on the pavement.

One officer was in critical but stable condition. The second officer is expected to be released Friday, D.C. police Chief Peter Newsham said in an update. The DDOT employee was treated and released.

The truck driver also was injured and taken to a hospital.

Police found an assault-style weapon inside the vehicle.

While the suspect's motive is not clear, Newsham said there is no "information to suggest this was a terrorist related event."

There were major road closures in the area of the crash.

On Friday, businesses in the Adams Morgan showed their support for those injured.

"We immediately heard from business owners throghout the neighborhood that were really concerned for the officers because they're part of their family. And the Adams Morgan business community is really a big family," said Kristen Barden, with the Adams Morgan Partnership Business Improvement District.

In the aftermath of the crash, staff at the nearby bar Madam's Organ offered water to first responders and urged patrons who witnessed the crash to wait patiently so investigators could take their statements.

"We're all a big family out here. We know all the guys, all the officers and nightlife crew, the midday crew, the DDOT parking enforcement and public works," Madam's Organ staff member Darian Gray said.



Anyone with information should call (202) 727-9099.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correctly state that, according to police, a DDOT worker was the third person injured.
Two men are recovering from injuries suffered when their ATVs collided at Jericho Mountain State Park in Berlin, New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Fish and Game conservation officers say 26-year-old Douglas Thompson, of Gorham, and 22-year-old Jacob Rex, of Milan, were riding their ATVS in opposite directions on a trail when they collided Wednesday.

A friend riding with Rex called for help. Rescuers were able to drive to the scene of the crash.

Both were treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Androscoggin Valley Hospital.

The collision is under investigation at this time. Officers say it appears that failure to turn right and reduce speed with oncoming traffic was the leading cause of the crash at the ATV park.
Local lawmakers are reacting to former FBI Director James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire called the testimony "a serious indictment of the President's character and his commitment to the rule of law."

She said the testimony made clear that President Donald Trump tried to influence Comey regarding the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's connections to Russia.

Another New Hampshire Democrat, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, said she found Comey's testimony "very troubling."

Among her concerns, she said, "is the disturbing claim that President Trump did not express any interest or urgency into getting the facts on Russia's interference in our elections."

New Hampshire's junior Senator, Democrat Maggie Hassan, said Comey's testimony "underscored how significant Russian interference in our 2016 election was." She said she was particularly concerned that Trump "demanded the FBI Director's loyalty and attempted to influence an ongoing FBI investigation."

Democratic U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster said Thursday's testimony reaffirmed that "many questions remain regarding the interference of Russia in our elections." She said it also highlighted "a disturbing relationship between President Trump and the Justice Department."

Comey appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday to discuss his firing, his private conversations with Trump and what he could about the ongoing investigation into Russia's influence on the 2016 election.
About the project

Norfolk Feeds 5000 is a research project which aims to establish the extent to which the Christian community across Norfolk is meeting the simple command of Jesus to "feed the hungry".

Christian churches, groups and individuals across Norfolk meet the needs of the hungry and the thirsty every day of the year through foodbanks, free community meals, homeless projects, soup runs, Messy Church and other activities.



A simple survey has been conducted to attempt to quantify the extent to which this is happening and the findings of the survey will be published here, including many of the stories about the projects which feed people throughout Norfolk.



The project is supported by Celebrate Norfolk, Network Norfolk, Christian Aid, the Diocese of Norwich, Good News for Norwich & Norfolk and Bright Map and is named after the Bible story of the Feeding of The 5000.



If your Christian food-related project is not featured in our case studies and you would like us to include you, please send details, a fact file, a picture and web links to us by clicking here .



The research and reporting team behind NorfolkFeeds5000 is from Network Norwich & Norfolk

Share our stories

Please share our stories about Norfolk Feeds 5000 on social media using the hashtag #Norfolkfeeds5000. Tell your friends and feel free to use any of the stories in your own newsletters and communications.
Jonathan Ananda By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: From June 16, you will be paying a different rate every day for petrol and diesel across India.

The development, which comes after pilots were run in five cities, will put the Indian fuel market in line with global practices and help oil companies reduce vulnerability to price and currency volatility. However, while OMCs are set to reap benefits, dealers in most states are demanding an increase in their commission to offset increased costs.

The decision to rollout the system nationwide was taken on Wednesday at a review meeting. The relative success of the pilots convinced the review panel, say sources.

The new system is expected to increase transparency, said IOC, adding that it will also enable smoother flow of products from refinery/depots to retail outlets.

Dealers however, are concerned by what they say are unaddressed issues in the new system.

According to K P Murali, president, Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association, the move will affect already slim margins with increased costs.

If prices are revised daily, and are falling, small volume dealers will be badly hit by inventory losses, says Murali. Additional manpower will also be required to maintain the new system.

In its current form, the new system will be harder on dealers, says HS Manjappa, president of Karnataka State Federation of Petroleum Dealers. Aside from increases in commissions, dealers also want OMCs to provide LED-lit rate boards that are directly updated.

Even with high automation, updating prices is a complicated affair, said Murali, adding that the new rate should be automatically pushed by the OMCs, but many fuel stations lack necessary infrastructure.

CHENNAI: From June 16, you will be paying a different rate every day for petrol and diesel across India. The development, which comes after pilots were run in five cities, will put the Indian fuel market in line with global practices and help oil companies reduce vulnerability to price and currency volatility. However, while OMCs are set to reap benefits, dealers in most states are demanding an increase in their commission to offset increased costs. The decision to rollout the system nationwide was taken on Wednesday at a review meeting. The relative success of the pilots convinced the review panel, say sources. The new system is expected to increase transparency, said IOC, adding that it will also enable smoother flow of products from refinery/depots to retail outlets. Dealers however, are concerned by what they say are unaddressed issues in the new system. According to K P Murali, president, Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association, the move will affect already slim margins with increased costs. If prices are revised daily, and are falling, small volume dealers will be badly hit by inventory losses, says Murali. Additional manpower will also be required to maintain the new system. In its current form, the new system will be harder on dealers, says HS Manjappa, president of Karnataka State Federation of Petroleum Dealers. Aside from increases in commissions, dealers also want OMCs to provide LED-lit rate boards that are directly updated. Even with high automation, updating prices is a complicated affair, said Murali, adding that the new rate should be automatically pushed by the OMCs, but many fuel stations lack necessary infrastructure.
Jonathan Ananda By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: While the government has been facing some criticism for lack of progress in the Make in India initiative, in the mobile manufacturing sector at least, the numbers seem to back steady growth.

According to data from Counterpoint Research, more than 80 per cent of smartphones sold in India during January to March 2017 were manufactured in the country, up from around 30 per cent in 2013 and 65 per cent in 2016.

Experts say that while the industry has only barely managed to bridge the gap left by the exit of Nokia from its Chennai manufacturing plant in 2014, the growth in India-made products has been driven primarily by government policy.

The government brought in differential duty systems for the segment, making imports of fully built mobile phones costly for foreign manufacturers, said Neil Shah, co-founder, Counterpoint. Most of them set up assembly plants here, because most OEMs margins are small.

When you can effect a difference of more than 10 per cent (between import duty and excise duty) by just setting up an assembly line in India, you take it. But there have been unintended consequences, said a senior industry source. One of them has been the huge disparity in local value addition.

While in countries like China, local value addition stands at as high as 70 per cent, and even Vietnam boasts 30 per cent, Indias local value addition is just six per cent.

Three per cent of that is labour and infrastructure. This is because most companies who have facilities only assemble imported semi-knocked down units. There is virtually no high value addition, pointed out Shah.

CHENNAI: While the government has been facing some criticism for lack of progress in the Make in India initiative, in the mobile manufacturing sector at least, the numbers seem to back steady growth. According to data from Counterpoint Research, more than 80 per cent of smartphones sold in India during January to March 2017 were manufactured in the country, up from around 30 per cent in 2013 and 65 per cent in 2016. Experts say that while the industry has only barely managed to bridge the gap left by the exit of Nokia from its Chennai manufacturing plant in 2014, the growth in India-made products has been driven primarily by government policy. The government brought in differential duty systems for the segment, making imports of fully built mobile phones costly for foreign manufacturers, said Neil Shah, co-founder, Counterpoint. Most of them set up assembly plants here, because most OEMs margins are small. When you can effect a difference of more than 10 per cent (between import duty and excise duty) by just setting up an assembly line in India, you take it. But there have been unintended consequences, said a senior industry source. One of them has been the huge disparity in local value addition. While in countries like China, local value addition stands at as high as 70 per cent, and even Vietnam boasts 30 per cent, Indias local value addition is just six per cent. Three per cent of that is labour and infrastructure. This is because most companies who have facilities only assemble imported semi-knocked down units. There is virtually no high value addition, pointed out Shah.
By Reuters

MUMBAI: Infosys Ltd denied a media report on Friday that the founders of India's second-biggest software services exporter were looking to sell their entire 12.75 percent stake in the company.

The Times of India newspaper had reported the founders were exploring such a sale, citing people familiar with the developments, although it carried a denial from one founder, Narayana Murthy.

Infosys "has no information on any such development," the company said in a statement, adding that the "speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters."

Infosys shares were still down 2.1 percent at 0543 GMT, after earlier falling as much as 3.5 percent.

Infosys founders', led by Murthy, have publicly accused the company's board of lapses in corporate governance, forcing the company to appoint a co-chairman to the board and a $2 billion payout to shareholders in the fiscal year to March 2018.

Murthy has also criticised pay hikes given to chief executive Vishal Sikka and operations chief Pravin Rao, and severance payouts given to executives, including former finance head Rajiv Bansal.

The row comes at a time when the Indian IT sector is facing headwinds in its biggest market, the United States, as President Donald Trump and his administration lean towards changing visa rules and hiking wages that could hit outsourcing firms.

Sikka has said that Infosys was likely to struggle to reach its ambitious $20 billion revenue target by 2020 due to a "challenging environment".

Deven Choksey, promoter at KR Choksey Investment Managers, said markets would take any potential exit by promoters in stride, noting investors were more concerned about the broader outlook for India's IT sector.

"The business situation for IT companies remains uncertain. That's a larger concern than that of promoters trying to walk out of the company," he said.

Infosys was founded in 1981 by seven engineers, including Murthy, who pooled $250, mostly borrowed from their wives. The company's rapid growth kick-started outsourcing in India.

MUMBAI: Infosys Ltd denied a media report on Friday that the founders of India's second-biggest software services exporter were looking to sell their entire 12.75 percent stake in the company. The Times of India newspaper had reported the founders were exploring such a sale, citing people familiar with the developments, although it carried a denial from one founder, Narayana Murthy. Infosys "has no information on any such development," the company said in a statement, adding that the "speculation has already been categorically denied by the promoters." Infosys shares were still down 2.1 percent at 0543 GMT, after earlier falling as much as 3.5 percent. Infosys founders', led by Murthy, have publicly accused the company's board of lapses in corporate governance, forcing the company to appoint a co-chairman to the board and a $2 billion payout to shareholders in the fiscal year to March 2018. Murthy has also criticised pay hikes given to chief executive Vishal Sikka and operations chief Pravin Rao, and severance payouts given to executives, including former finance head Rajiv Bansal. The row comes at a time when the Indian IT sector is facing headwinds in its biggest market, the United States, as President Donald Trump and his administration lean towards changing visa rules and hiking wages that could hit outsourcing firms. Sikka has said that Infosys was likely to struggle to reach its ambitious $20 billion revenue target by 2020 due to a "challenging environment". Deven Choksey, promoter at KR Choksey Investment Managers, said markets would take any potential exit by promoters in stride, noting investors were more concerned about the broader outlook for India's IT sector. "The business situation for IT companies remains uncertain. That's a larger concern than that of promoters trying to walk out of the company," he said. Infosys was founded in 1981 by seven engineers, including Murthy, who pooled $250, mostly borrowed from their wives. The company's rapid growth kick-started outsourcing in India.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Unified Market Platform (UMP) in Karnataka has realised 38 per cent more income in 2015-16 over 2013-14 from sale of agri-commodities through the e-trading platform, according to a recent NITI Aayog report. Copra, Black gram, Tur, were among the commodities which gave the highest realisation.

The UMP is an initiative of Rashtriya e Market Services Limited  a joint venture between NCDEX e Markets Limited and the government.

The report on Doubling Farmer Incomes hailed the benefits of the UMP in Karnataka. The report compares the prices received by farmers between 2013-14 (the year preceding the functioning UMP) and 2015-16 (the first year after creation of UMP). The average increase was 38 per cent in nominal terms and 13 per cent in real terms, after being deflated by WPI of the concerned commodity. The e-National Agriculture Market (NAM) is a pan-India e-trading platform. It is designed to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.

We remain committed to use the power of technology and markets to bring about a positive change in the lives of farmers by reforming the physical markets in the country and helping central and state governments in the nations food security and welfare priorities, said Rajesh Sinha, MD and CEO, NeML.

The eNAM and other market reforms, which focus on the crop sector, show a 9.1 per cent increase in farmers income. Complete implementation of UMP is expected to have a much larger impact on farmer incomes, said Sinha.

NEW DELHI: The Unified Market Platform (UMP) in Karnataka has realised 38 per cent more income in 2015-16 over 2013-14 from sale of agri-commodities through the e-trading platform, according to a recent NITI Aayog report. Copra, Black gram, Tur, were among the commodities which gave the highest realisation. The UMP is an initiative of Rashtriya e Market Services Limited  a joint venture between NCDEX e Markets Limited and the government. The report on Doubling Farmer Incomes hailed the benefits of the UMP in Karnataka. The report compares the prices received by farmers between 2013-14 (the year preceding the functioning UMP) and 2015-16 (the first year after creation of UMP). The average increase was 38 per cent in nominal terms and 13 per cent in real terms, after being deflated by WPI of the concerned commodity. The e-National Agriculture Market (NAM) is a pan-India e-trading platform. It is designed to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. We remain committed to use the power of technology and markets to bring about a positive change in the lives of farmers by reforming the physical markets in the country and helping central and state governments in the nations food security and welfare priorities, said Rajesh Sinha, MD and CEO, NeML. The eNAM and other market reforms, which focus on the crop sector, show a 9.1 per cent increase in farmers income. Complete implementation of UMP is expected to have a much larger impact on farmer incomes, said Sinha.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) on Thursday announced the delivery of the first crown and tailcone assembly for the Indian configuration of the CH-47F Chinook helicopter. Manufactured by TASL in Hyderabad, the parts will be delivered to Boeing for final assembly of the 15 helicopters on delivery to the Indian Air Force.

This delivery is another significant step in our journey to increase defense capability and manufacturing capacity out of India with our strategic partners. TASL has demonstrated its ability to deliver high-quality components to the CH-47 Chinook program on schedule, which in turn helps Boeing meet commitments to our customers. We are clearly invested in leveraging the full potential of capability that exists in India to continue delivering greater value for less cost to our US and international customers, said Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India on Thursday.

Sukaran Singh, MD and CEO, TASL, said undertaking the responsibility of complete manufacture and assembly for Boeing gives us an excellent opportunity to display our capability of development and assembly projects in high technology areas to global quality standards.

Indias Ministry of Defence finalised an order with Boeing in 2015 for production, training and support of 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to enhance New Delhis capabilities across a range of military and humanitarian missions. Deliveries for the same will begin in 2019. Boeings network in India includes 35 direct and 120 indirect suppliers that manufacture advanced components for a range of various commercial and defence aircraft.

HYDERABAD: Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) on Thursday announced the delivery of the first crown and tailcone assembly for the Indian configuration of the CH-47F Chinook helicopter. Manufactured by TASL in Hyderabad, the parts will be delivered to Boeing for final assembly of the 15 helicopters on delivery to the Indian Air Force. This delivery is another significant step in our journey to increase defense capability and manufacturing capacity out of India with our strategic partners. TASL has demonstrated its ability to deliver high-quality components to the CH-47 Chinook program on schedule, which in turn helps Boeing meet commitments to our customers. We are clearly invested in leveraging the full potential of capability that exists in India to continue delivering greater value for less cost to our US and international customers, said Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India on Thursday. Sukaran Singh, MD and CEO, TASL, said undertaking the responsibility of complete manufacture and assembly for Boeing gives us an excellent opportunity to display our capability of development and assembly projects in high technology areas to global quality standards. Indias Ministry of Defence finalised an order with Boeing in 2015 for production, training and support of 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to enhance New Delhis capabilities across a range of military and humanitarian missions. Deliveries for the same will begin in 2019. Boeings network in India includes 35 direct and 120 indirect suppliers that manufacture advanced components for a range of various commercial and defence aircraft.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: MDMK general secretary Vaiko, a vociferous Tamil rights campaigner who just got released on bail in a 2009 seditious speech Case, was denied entry into Malaysia this morning, charging him of being a member of rebel LTTE and thus a 'dangerous' person to their country.

"You are being restricted from entering Malaysia because you belong to LTTE in Sri Lanka," the officials reportedly told him.

He will be sent back to India by tonight, party sources said.

There to attend the wedding reception in the family of P Ramaswamy, the deputy chief minister of Penang state tomorrow evening, Vaiko had reached Malaysia at around 6.30 am on Friday. He was accompanied by his secretary, Arunagiri.

WATCH VIDEO:

The Malaysian Embassy in Chennai had cleared his visa last week. But when he reached Kuala Lumpur airport, immigration officials denied entry stating that he is on the restricted list.

He was asked if there were any cases pending against him in Lanka which he denied, and showed his passport. But officials refused to accept it, informing that his name figured in the list of persons who are dangerous to the South Eastern Asian country - which has a sizeable Tamil population.

Now, arrangements are being made to send him back to India by the 10.45 pm flight.

CHENNAI: MDMK general secretary Vaiko, a vociferous Tamil rights campaigner who just got released on bail in a 2009 seditious speech Case, was denied entry into Malaysia this morning, charging him of being a member of rebel LTTE and thus a 'dangerous' person to their country. "You are being restricted from entering Malaysia because you belong to LTTE in Sri Lanka," the officials reportedly told him. He will be sent back to India by tonight, party sources said. There to attend the wedding reception in the family of P Ramaswamy, the deputy chief minister of Penang state tomorrow evening, Vaiko had reached Malaysia at around 6.30 am on Friday. He was accompanied by his secretary, Arunagiri. WATCH VIDEO: window.__ventunoplayer = window.__ventunoplayer||[];window.__ventunoplayer.push({video_key: 'OTQ4NDkxfHw4fHw2fHwxLDIsMQ==', holder_id: 'vt-video-player', player_type: 'vp', width:'100%', ratio:'4:3'});The Malaysian Embassy in Chennai had cleared his visa last week. But when he reached Kuala Lumpur airport, immigration officials denied entry stating that he is on the restricted list. He was asked if there were any cases pending against him in Lanka which he denied, and showed his passport. But officials refused to accept it, informing that his name figured in the list of persons who are dangerous to the South Eastern Asian country - which has a sizeable Tamil population. Now, arrangements are being made to send him back to India by the 10.45 pm flight.
By Express News Service

Bollywood actor Nana Patekar, who was signed up for Rajinikanths upcoming Tamil gangster-drama Kaala, will be playing the role of the main antagonist in the film.



It is said that he will play the role of a relentless politician who locks horns with Rajinikanth. The role, touted to be a powerful one, will have face-off sequences between him and Superstar. In the film, Rajini will raise his voice against Nana's political party and their practices, and end up fighting for equal rights of the Tamil people who live in Mumbai.



Rajinikanth, who has completed his portions of the current schedule in Mumbai, will be joining the sets of the next schedule to be shot in Chennai. Directed by Pa Ranjith, the film boasts a huge star cast with names like Huma Qureshi, Anjali Patil, and Samuthirakani on board the project. Dhanush, who is producing the film under his banner Wunderbar Films, is also rumoured to be playing a cameo in the film.

Bollywood actor Nana Patekar, who was signed up for Rajinikanths upcoming Tamil gangster-drama Kaala, will be playing the role of the main antagonist in the film. It is said that he will play the role of a relentless politician who locks horns with Rajinikanth. The role, touted to be a powerful one, will have face-off sequences between him and Superstar. In the film, Rajini will raise his voice against Nana's political party and their practices, and end up fighting for equal rights of the Tamil people who live in Mumbai. Rajinikanth, who has completed his portions of the current schedule in Mumbai, will be joining the sets of the next schedule to be shot in Chennai. Directed by Pa Ranjith, the film boasts a huge star cast with names like Huma Qureshi, Anjali Patil, and Samuthirakani on board the project. Dhanush, who is producing the film under his banner Wunderbar Films, is also rumoured to be playing a cameo in the film.
By Express News Service

One of the most anticipated projects of this year, writer Sethus directorial debut starring Mammootty will go on the floors this September. According to the director, the actor has given the nod and the team is giving final touches to the script.

The yet-to-be-titled movie will be shot at Kuttanad. We have decided the location. However, the rest of the cast and crew are yet to be finalised, he said.The movie, which will have Mammootty playing a villager, will have three heroines. Talks are on with three lead ladies of Malayalam. The names will be announced soon, said Sethu.

In an earlier interview, the director has announced that the movie will be an entertainer and will have Mammootty in a totally-relatable avatar. The director has earlier worked with Mammootty in Doubles (2011) which had Mammootty and Nadia Moidu in the lead.

The Sethu-Sachi duo had earlier scripted a number of hit movies, including the Prithviraj starrer, Robin Hood and Chocolate. However, the duo parted ways in 2011. While Sachi made his debut with the critically and commerically acclaimed Anarkali, Sethu had planned a project a few years ago which had to be shelved.

One of the most anticipated projects of this year, writer Sethus directorial debut starring Mammootty will go on the floors this September. According to the director, the actor has given the nod and the team is giving final touches to the script. The yet-to-be-titled movie will be shot at Kuttanad. We have decided the location. However, the rest of the cast and crew are yet to be finalised, he said.The movie, which will have Mammootty playing a villager, will have three heroines. Talks are on with three lead ladies of Malayalam. The names will be announced soon, said Sethu. In an earlier interview, the director has announced that the movie will be an entertainer and will have Mammootty in a totally-relatable avatar. The director has earlier worked with Mammootty in Doubles (2011) which had Mammootty and Nadia Moidu in the lead. The Sethu-Sachi duo had earlier scripted a number of hit movies, including the Prithviraj starrer, Robin Hood and Chocolate. However, the duo parted ways in 2011. While Sachi made his debut with the critically and commerically acclaimed Anarkali, Sethu had planned a project a few years ago which had to be shelved.
By PTI

JAMMU: A major tragedy was averted after an Air India plane from Delhi with 134 passengers on board suffered a brake failure on landing here and skidded beyond the runway before coming to a halt at the end of the strip, following which the airport had to be shut.

The airline said all passengers were safe and there was no damage to the aircraft.

Airport authorities were making efforts to remove the plane from the runway and make it ready for operations.

AI 821 took off from Delhi at 11 am and reported a brake failure as it touched down at the Jammu airport at 12.15 pm.

After the brake failure, the aircraft suffered tyre burst and overshot the runway before coming to a halt at the end of the strip. Four of its tyres burst, an official said.

The airline was operating an Airbus Classic A320, which is due to be phased out in the next few months, according to an Air India official.

"As per initial reports, after touch down the plane had a brake loss and all emergency procedures were followed. By the time the plane stopped, it had skidded beyond the runway. Four wheels deflated during this. There is no damage to the property and no injuries to anyone," said the airline official.

Airport authorities said they would be able to remove the aircraft by this evening and as many as 10 flights had been affected because of the incident.

"The aircraft came to a halt at the end of the runway.

We are in the process of removing the aircraft," D K Gautam, Director, Jammu airport said.

Air India plans to retire all its classic A320s by the end of this fiscal and has placed an order for 22 A320 Neos out of which four planes have already been inducted by the airline.

Pilots in the past have termed this plane as "lethal and snag-prone" and had two years ago urged the aviation regulator DGCA to ground these planes in the interest of passenger safety.

JAMMU: A major tragedy was averted after an Air India plane from Delhi with 134 passengers on board suffered a brake failure on landing here and skidded beyond the runway before coming to a halt at the end of the strip, following which the airport had to be shut. The airline said all passengers were safe and there was no damage to the aircraft. Airport authorities were making efforts to remove the plane from the runway and make it ready for operations. AI 821 took off from Delhi at 11 am and reported a brake failure as it touched down at the Jammu airport at 12.15 pm. After the brake failure, the aircraft suffered tyre burst and overshot the runway before coming to a halt at the end of the strip. Four of its tyres burst, an official said. The airline was operating an Airbus Classic A320, which is due to be phased out in the next few months, according to an Air India official. "As per initial reports, after touch down the plane had a brake loss and all emergency procedures were followed. By the time the plane stopped, it had skidded beyond the runway. Four wheels deflated during this. There is no damage to the property and no injuries to anyone," said the airline official. Airport authorities said they would be able to remove the aircraft by this evening and as many as 10 flights had been affected because of the incident. "The aircraft came to a halt at the end of the runway. We are in the process of removing the aircraft," D K Gautam, Director, Jammu airport said. Air India plans to retire all its classic A320s by the end of this fiscal and has placed an order for 22 A320 Neos out of which four planes have already been inducted by the airline. Pilots in the past have termed this plane as "lethal and snag-prone" and had two years ago urged the aviation regulator DGCA to ground these planes in the interest of passenger safety.
By PTI

CHANDIGARH: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) today held a protest at few places in Haryana against the death of five farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur. BKU activists protested in Hisar, Sirsa and Kurukshetra districts and demanded arrest of those responsible for the deaths of the farmers and adequate compensation for the injured.

The outfit's senior leader Gurnam Singh said it was unfortunate that the BJP had ignored its election promise of implementing the Swaminathan Commission report.

He said the BKU has raised four demands failing which they will intensify their protests in the coming days. "First, we want President's rule to be imposed in Madhya Pradesh.

Those responsible for firing on farmers be tried for murder, Swaminathan Commission report should be be implemented without any delay and crop loans of farmers across the country be waived," Singh said.

He said that various farmers' organisations will be meeting in Delhi soon, in which leaders from many states will participate.

Meanwhile, members of the youth Congress also protested in Panipat against over the Mandsaur incident. Some other farmer outfits held demonstrations at various places in Haryana to protest the death of the farmers in Madhya Pradesh.

Yesterday, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said the farmer unrest in Mandsaur "should not be seen in isolation" as there is anger among cultivators because the BJP retracted on its poll promise to implement the Swaminathan Commission report.

The National Commission on Farmers, headed by eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan, in its final report had said, "The Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50 percent more than the weighted average cost of production.

CHANDIGARH: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) today held a protest at few places in Haryana against the death of five farmers in police firing in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur. BKU activists protested in Hisar, Sirsa and Kurukshetra districts and demanded arrest of those responsible for the deaths of the farmers and adequate compensation for the injured. The outfit's senior leader Gurnam Singh said it was unfortunate that the BJP had ignored its election promise of implementing the Swaminathan Commission report. He said the BKU has raised four demands failing which they will intensify their protests in the coming days. "First, we want President's rule to be imposed in Madhya Pradesh. Those responsible for firing on farmers be tried for murder, Swaminathan Commission report should be be implemented without any delay and crop loans of farmers across the country be waived," Singh said. He said that various farmers' organisations will be meeting in Delhi soon, in which leaders from many states will participate. Meanwhile, members of the youth Congress also protested in Panipat against over the Mandsaur incident. Some other farmer outfits held demonstrations at various places in Haryana to protest the death of the farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Yesterday, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had said the farmer unrest in Mandsaur "should not be seen in isolation" as there is anger among cultivators because the BJP retracted on its poll promise to implement the Swaminathan Commission report. The National Commission on Farmers, headed by eminent agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan, in its final report had said, "The Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least 50 percent more than the weighted average cost of production.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI/BHOPAL/NEW DELHI:The agrarian protest in Maharashtra took an emotional twist on Thursday after a farmer in Solapur committed suicide, leaving behind a note saying his body should not be cremated till Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited his village and agreed to meet the protestors demands.

Dhanaji Jadhav, 45, hanged himself from a tree near his house at Veet village in Karmala tehsil on Wednesday night, Solapur Collector Rajendra Bhosale said. I am a farmer, Dhanaji Chandrakant Jadhav. I am committing suicide today. Please take my body to my village and do not cremate me till CM Devendra Fadnavis comes here, read the suicide note addressed to his friends and relatives.

Jadhav is survived by his wife and two children. He owned 2.5 acres of cultivable land, but was weighed down by a debt of `60,000. The police said he had also taken loans from private lenders. After the incident, farmers organisations in the area held a road blockade, and called for a bandh in Karmala tehsil.

Meanwhile in Madhya Pradesh, two days after five protesting farmers were shot dead in Mandsaur district, the State administration, for the first time, admitted they were killed in police firing.

The findings in the postmortem report and empty cartridges from the spot have established that it was the bullets fired by police that led to death of the farmers, State Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said on Thursday.

The State government also admitted this in its report to the Union Home Ministry. According to the governments version of events, the farmers had set fire to 25 trucks and two police vans on the Mhow-Neemuch Highway. The police tried to control the mob by resorting to lathicharge and lobbing tear gas. However, they continued with their violent acts of arson says the report. Following this, the police fired at the protestors, killing five of them and injuring eight others.

Meanwhile in Mandsaur, anti-riot paramilitary forces moved into violence-hit areas on Thursday. The State administration claimed normalcy had returned in several parts and even relaxed the curfew imposed in Pipliyamandi and Mandsaur town between 4 pm and 6 pm. However, violence erupted in Shajpur district, with a mob setting fire to two trucks and blocking the Agra-Mumbai National Highway (NH-3). So far, seven cases have been lodged and 62 people arrested in connection with the violence.

In Naya Gaon, about 70 km from ground-zero of the protest, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was detained by the police while trying to make his way into Mandsaur through the Rajasthan border. He was held inside the guest house of a cement company and released after four hours.

Open for dialogue: Chouhan

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said the State government was open for a dialogue with farmers to iron out the differences. Only talks can end the differences, he said

Rahuls visit a mere photo-op

The NDA government at the Centre hit out at the Congress for seeking to politicise the farmers agitation in MP and claimed party vice-president Rahul Gandhis bid to visit to Mandsaur was just a photo opportunity

Suicide over debt of Rs 60,000

Before hanging himself, 45-year-old Dhanaji Jadhav penned a note requesting his family and friends not to cremate him until Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis arrived and announced a loan waiver for farmers. Survived by his wife and two kids, the farmer owned 2.5 acres of land and had a debt of around Rs 60,000

MUMBAI/BHOPAL/NEW DELHI:The agrarian protest in Maharashtra took an emotional twist on Thursday after a farmer in Solapur committed suicide, leaving behind a note saying his body should not be cremated till Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited his village and agreed to meet the protestors demands. Dhanaji Jadhav, 45, hanged himself from a tree near his house at Veet village in Karmala tehsil on Wednesday night, Solapur Collector Rajendra Bhosale said. I am a farmer, Dhanaji Chandrakant Jadhav. I am committing suicide today. Please take my body to my village and do not cremate me till CM Devendra Fadnavis comes here, read the suicide note addressed to his friends and relatives. Jadhav is survived by his wife and two children. He owned 2.5 acres of cultivable land, but was weighed down by a debt of `60,000. The police said he had also taken loans from private lenders. After the incident, farmers organisations in the area held a road blockade, and called for a bandh in Karmala tehsil. Meanwhile in Madhya Pradesh, two days after five protesting farmers were shot dead in Mandsaur district, the State administration, for the first time, admitted they were killed in police firing. The findings in the postmortem report and empty cartridges from the spot have established that it was the bullets fired by police that led to death of the farmers, State Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said on Thursday. The State government also admitted this in its report to the Union Home Ministry. According to the governments version of events, the farmers had set fire to 25 trucks and two police vans on the Mhow-Neemuch Highway. The police tried to control the mob by resorting to lathicharge and lobbing tear gas. However, they continued with their violent acts of arson says the report. Following this, the police fired at the protestors, killing five of them and injuring eight others. Meanwhile in Mandsaur, anti-riot paramilitary forces moved into violence-hit areas on Thursday. The State administration claimed normalcy had returned in several parts and even relaxed the curfew imposed in Pipliyamandi and Mandsaur town between 4 pm and 6 pm. However, violence erupted in Shajpur district, with a mob setting fire to two trucks and blocking the Agra-Mumbai National Highway (NH-3). So far, seven cases have been lodged and 62 people arrested in connection with the violence. In Naya Gaon, about 70 km from ground-zero of the protest, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was detained by the police while trying to make his way into Mandsaur through the Rajasthan border. He was held inside the guest house of a cement company and released after four hours. Open for dialogue: Chouhan Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said the State government was open for a dialogue with farmers to iron out the differences. Only talks can end the differences, he said Rahuls visit a mere photo-op The NDA government at the Centre hit out at the Congress for seeking to politicise the farmers agitation in MP and claimed party vice-president Rahul Gandhis bid to visit to Mandsaur was just a photo opportunity Suicide over debt of Rs 60,000 Before hanging himself, 45-year-old Dhanaji Jadhav penned a note requesting his family and friends not to cremate him until Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis arrived and announced a loan waiver for farmers. Survived by his wife and two kids, the farmer owned 2.5 acres of land and had a debt of around Rs 60,000
By PTI

PANAJI: The Marathi textbooks of Class II published by Goa's Education Department carry incomplete national anthem, Congress party alleged today. According to the opposition party, the Class II Marathi books titled 'Gomant Bharati' carry incomplete national anthem.

However, the education department authorities denied knowlege about the alleged printing error. "The Class II Marathi books, published by the state education department, carry incomplete national anthem.

The state government should fix the responsibility over the error," Goa Congress spokesman Sunil Kawathankar told PTI. "The ruling BJP, which calls itself a patriotic party stands exposed.

They have ignored such a grave error in the text-books," he said. He demanded that the state government should initiate an inquiry to find out who was responsible for it. "Such an error is an insult to the country. We condemn such lethargic attitude," Kawthankar said.

He demanded that these books should be immediately withdrawn and replaced with the ones that carry complete version of the national anthem.

When contacted, state Education Director Gajanan Bhat said that the department had no knowledge of the alleged printing error. He, however, said that they would inquire into it.

PANAJI: The Marathi textbooks of Class II published by Goa's Education Department carry incomplete national anthem, Congress party alleged today. According to the opposition party, the Class II Marathi books titled 'Gomant Bharati' carry incomplete national anthem. However, the education department authorities denied knowlege about the alleged printing error. "The Class II Marathi books, published by the state education department, carry incomplete national anthem. The state government should fix the responsibility over the error," Goa Congress spokesman Sunil Kawathankar told PTI. "The ruling BJP, which calls itself a patriotic party stands exposed. They have ignored such a grave error in the text-books," he said. He demanded that the state government should initiate an inquiry to find out who was responsible for it. "Such an error is an insult to the country. We condemn such lethargic attitude," Kawthankar said. He demanded that these books should be immediately withdrawn and replaced with the ones that carry complete version of the national anthem. When contacted, state Education Director Gajanan Bhat said that the department had no knowledge of the alleged printing error. He, however, said that they would inquire into it.
Aishik Chanda By

Express News Service

KOLKATA: Calling the 12-hour bandh by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) illegal, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee filed an FIR under non-bailable charges against GJM chief Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri after their activists allegedly set an under-construction Industrial Training Institute (ITI) building at Mungpoo in Darjeeling district on fire on Friday.

The GJM had called for the bandh in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts after Banerjee held a cabinet meeting there on Thursday. Apart from the gutting of the ITI building and protests held in front of state buses in Kurseong, the bandh remained largely peaceful.

Six companies of Army personnel were dispatched from Darjeeling cantonment of which three went to Darjeeling, two to Kalimpong and one to Kurseong. There were no reports of clashes, Armys Eastern Command chief public relations officer S S Birdi told the New Indian Express. Army was not sent to Mirik, but the town remained peaceful and completely shut, a police official from Mirik police station said.

WATCH VIDEO:

Threatening strict action against anyone who responded to the bandh call, Banerjee threatened to deduct salary of any government employee who skipped office on Friday and also formed a three-member team to conduct special audit of funds received by Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) in the last five years. She sought a report within 15 days and promised strict action against any GTA member, even its chairman, if found guilty of misappropriation of funds.

On the other hand, GTA chairman Bimal Gurung said he was the chief minister of the hills and as an ally of the NDA, would send a report to Centre on atrocities by West Bengal police on protesters in Darjeeling on Thursday. As a result of the clashes, thousands of tourists were stranded in the hills.

The state government ran free buses between Siliguri and Darjeeling and ensured that private airlines increase flights between Bagdogra and Kolkata airports to evacuate more than 10,000 stranded tourists. Locals also came forward and cooked food for the tourists in the open. Banerjee has vowed to remain in Darjeeling till every stranded tourist was evacuated.

KOLKATA: Calling the 12-hour bandh by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) illegal, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee filed an FIR under non-bailable charges against GJM chief Bimal Gurung and general secretary Roshan Giri after their activists allegedly set an under-construction Industrial Training Institute (ITI) building at Mungpoo in Darjeeling district on fire on Friday. The GJM had called for the bandh in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts after Banerjee held a cabinet meeting there on Thursday. Apart from the gutting of the ITI building and protests held in front of state buses in Kurseong, the bandh remained largely peaceful. Six companies of Army personnel were dispatched from Darjeeling cantonment of which three went to Darjeeling, two to Kalimpong and one to Kurseong. There were no reports of clashes, Armys Eastern Command chief public relations officer S S Birdi told the New Indian Express. Army was not sent to Mirik, but the town remained peaceful and completely shut, a police official from Mirik police station said. WATCH VIDEO: window.__ventunoplayer = window.__ventunoplayer||[];window.__ventunoplayer.push({video_key: 'OTQ4MzcwfHw4fHw2fHwxLDIsMQ==', holder_id: 'vt-video-player', player_type: 'vp', width:'100%', ratio:'4:3'});Threatening strict action against anyone who responded to the bandh call, Banerjee threatened to deduct salary of any government employee who skipped office on Friday and also formed a three-member team to conduct special audit of funds received by Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) in the last five years. She sought a report within 15 days and promised strict action against any GTA member, even its chairman, if found guilty of misappropriation of funds. On the other hand, GTA chairman Bimal Gurung said he was the chief minister of the hills and as an ally of the NDA, would send a report to Centre on atrocities by West Bengal police on protesters in Darjeeling on Thursday. As a result of the clashes, thousands of tourists were stranded in the hills. The state government ran free buses between Siliguri and Darjeeling and ensured that private airlines increase flights between Bagdogra and Kolkata airports to evacuate more than 10,000 stranded tourists. Locals also came forward and cooked food for the tourists in the open. Banerjee has vowed to remain in Darjeeling till every stranded tourist was evacuated.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said the government is following a case with the US police about an Indian man who was shot at in California.

In a series of tweets, Swaraj said she has recieved a report from Indian Consulate in San Francisco that an Indian man identifed as Mubeen Ahmed, who was working at a gas station in California, was shot at by a gunman.

"I have received the report from our Consulate in San Francisco. The victim Mubeen Ahmed works at a gas station. A gunman demanded money from Mubeen and then fired at him," she tweeted.

"He is admitted in the Eden Medical Centre CA. Fortunately Mubeen is now out of danger. We are following up the case with the police," she said.

According to reports, 26-year-old Ahmed, a native of Telangana, had gone to the United States in February 2015, to pursue his Masters course in a university.

He had completed the course two months ago and was doing a temporary job at a private store.

Tweeting on a separate issue, Swaraj said the government has taken up with the Canadian High Commission the visa issue of Indian badminton players, who are scheduled to play in Canada at the Yonex Open.

"We took up the matter with Canadian High Commission. I am happy you will participate in the Yonex Canada Open,"

Swaraj tweeted after badminton player Sikki Reddy said the players were struggling to get a Canadian visa.

"Hi Mam, this is sikki reddy badminton player. We all players have applied canada visa for the yonex canada open," Reddy had tweeted yesterday.

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said the government is following a case with the US police about an Indian man who was shot at in California. In a series of tweets, Swaraj said she has recieved a report from Indian Consulate in San Francisco that an Indian man identifed as Mubeen Ahmed, who was working at a gas station in California, was shot at by a gunman. "I have received the report from our Consulate in San Francisco. The victim Mubeen Ahmed works at a gas station. A gunman demanded money from Mubeen and then fired at him," she tweeted. "He is admitted in the Eden Medical Centre CA. Fortunately Mubeen is now out of danger. We are following up the case with the police," she said. According to reports, 26-year-old Ahmed, a native of Telangana, had gone to the United States in February 2015, to pursue his Masters course in a university. He had completed the course two months ago and was doing a temporary job at a private store. Tweeting on a separate issue, Swaraj said the government has taken up with the Canadian High Commission the visa issue of Indian badminton players, who are scheduled to play in Canada at the Yonex Open. "We took up the matter with Canadian High Commission. I am happy you will participate in the Yonex Canada Open," Swaraj tweeted after badminton player Sikki Reddy said the players were struggling to get a Canadian visa. "Hi Mam, this is sikki reddy badminton player. We all players have applied canada visa for the yonex canada open," Reddy had tweeted yesterday.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: The ongoing farmer violence which was confined to districts of western Madhya Pradesh has now spread to Sehore, home district of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

A 32-year-old farmer, Ghanshyam Dhakad, who was brought by police from Bhaugarh (Mandsaur) to Indores MY Hospital on Thursday late night, died later. On duty cops prevented Ghanshyams wife from attempting to end her life at the hospital.

Ghanshyams kin alleged that he was detained by police from Daloda-Sapra village during the farmers agitation in Bhaugarh, Mandsaur, on Thursday afternoon and was brutally beaten in custody. It was police beating that killed Ghanshyam, they alleged.

Opposition Congress leaders and workers, including former MP from Dewas Sajjan Singh Verma, reached the hospital and supported allegations of custodial death. He also demanded a panel of doctors to conduct the autopsy and show him the video.

City SP (Sanyogitaganj-Indore) Pawan Mishra, who reached the hospital with his force confirmed over phone to the New Indian Express that Bhaugarh police had brought Ghanshyam Dhakad to MY Hospital in a critical state.

When Ghanshyam was brought by Mandsaur police to the hospital at around 10.30 pm on Thursday, he was vomiting. He died at around 11.15 pm and only the autopsy will establish what actually happened said Mishra.

In Mandsaur district, senior police officials remained tight-lipped over this recent development. On June 6, five agitating farmers were killed in police firing in Bahi Chowpati of Mandsaur district, with the death toll now rising to six.

Meanwhile, the curfew in Mandsaur and Pipliyamandi towns was relaxed from 10 am to 4 pm on Friday. Violence was reported from different spots on the Bhopal-Indore highway since 11.30 am in Sehore district.

Trouble started when over a 1000 farmers blocked the highway near Fanda village and pelted stones and burnt tyres. When police used force and fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob, they retreated and then set ablaze a private four-wheeler vehicle.

The mob subsequently moved to Fanda village and continued stone pelting on the police and paramilitary force personnel chasing them.

Dozens of people indulging in violence have been detained and heavy police force has been deployed on the highway, said SP (Bhopal North) Arvind Saxena.

Those detained include a farmer, Raju Rajput, who was at the forefront of the violent protests.

BHOPAL: The ongoing farmer violence which was confined to districts of western Madhya Pradesh has now spread to Sehore, home district of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. A 32-year-old farmer, Ghanshyam Dhakad, who was brought by police from Bhaugarh (Mandsaur) to Indores MY Hospital on Thursday late night, died later. On duty cops prevented Ghanshyams wife from attempting to end her life at the hospital. Ghanshyams kin alleged that he was detained by police from Daloda-Sapra village during the farmers agitation in Bhaugarh, Mandsaur, on Thursday afternoon and was brutally beaten in custody. It was police beating that killed Ghanshyam, they alleged. Opposition Congress leaders and workers, including former MP from Dewas Sajjan Singh Verma, reached the hospital and supported allegations of custodial death. He also demanded a panel of doctors to conduct the autopsy and show him the video. City SP (Sanyogitaganj-Indore) Pawan Mishra, who reached the hospital with his force confirmed over phone to the New Indian Express that Bhaugarh police had brought Ghanshyam Dhakad to MY Hospital in a critical state. When Ghanshyam was brought by Mandsaur police to the hospital at around 10.30 pm on Thursday, he was vomiting. He died at around 11.15 pm and only the autopsy will establish what actually happened said Mishra. In Mandsaur district, senior police officials remained tight-lipped over this recent development. On June 6, five agitating farmers were killed in police firing in Bahi Chowpati of Mandsaur district, with the death toll now rising to six. Meanwhile, the curfew in Mandsaur and Pipliyamandi towns was relaxed from 10 am to 4 pm on Friday. Violence was reported from different spots on the Bhopal-Indore highway since 11.30 am in Sehore district. Trouble started when over a 1000 farmers blocked the highway near Fanda village and pelted stones and burnt tyres. When police used force and fired tear gas shells to disperse the mob, they retreated and then set ablaze a private four-wheeler vehicle. The mob subsequently moved to Fanda village and continued stone pelting on the police and paramilitary force personnel chasing them. Dozens of people indulging in violence have been detained and heavy police force has been deployed on the highway, said SP (Bhopal North) Arvind Saxena. Those detained include a farmer, Raju Rajput, who was at the forefront of the violent protests.
By PTI

ASTANA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today underscored the need to respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle the disputes as he met Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions in the bilateral ties over a host of issues including the CPEC and India's NSG membership bid.

The two leaders met in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

It is the first meeting between the two leaders after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

During his meeting with Xi, Modi said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

The Indian side is grateful for China's support for India's accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organisation, Modi said.

On his part, Xi told Modi that the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that both the countries "should also address sensitive and major issues" as she highlighted the issues figured in the meeting.

"India should focus more cooperation and work alongside to provide assistance to each other's developmental goals," Hua said.

"The two sides should strengthen the complementarities of the development strategies and press ahead with the major cooperation projects such as energy and railways," Hua said.

She also said the two sides should press ahead in a major way on Bangladesh, China, India Myanmar Corridor (BCIM) besides tourism, culture and other relevant fields.

BCIM is part of the China's multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative (BRI).

Xi also congratulated India on becoming official member of the SCO, she said.

"We hope that the two counties will work together to ensure the development of the SCO," he told Modi.

Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, so as to instill more momentum into each other's development and contribute to world peace, stability and common development, said the Chinese president.

Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India.

The Chinese president called for more high-level interactions, institutionalised exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries, Xinhua reported.

China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large- scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said.

The Chinese President said his country is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organisation.

China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It had also stalled India's move to list Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN.

After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.

ASTANA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today underscored the need to respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle the disputes as he met Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions in the bilateral ties over a host of issues including the CPEC and India's NSG membership bid. The two leaders met in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. It is the first meeting between the two leaders after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part. India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. During his meeting with Xi, Modi said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes. The Indian side is grateful for China's support for India's accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organisation, Modi said. On his part, Xi told Modi that the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems, China's official Xinhua news agency said. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that both the countries "should also address sensitive and major issues" as she highlighted the issues figured in the meeting. "India should focus more cooperation and work alongside to provide assistance to each other's developmental goals," Hua said. "The two sides should strengthen the complementarities of the development strategies and press ahead with the major cooperation projects such as energy and railways," Hua said. She also said the two sides should press ahead in a major way on Bangladesh, China, India Myanmar Corridor (BCIM) besides tourism, culture and other relevant fields. BCIM is part of the China's multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative (BRI). Xi also congratulated India on becoming official member of the SCO, she said. "We hope that the two counties will work together to ensure the development of the SCO," he told Modi. Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, so as to instill more momentum into each other's development and contribute to world peace, stability and common development, said the Chinese president. Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India. The Chinese president called for more high-level interactions, institutionalised exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries, Xinhua reported. China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large- scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said. The Chinese President said his country is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organisation. China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It had also stalled India's move to list Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN. After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: Amid the intensifying farmers stir across Madhya Pradesh, a middle-aged farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming celphos tablets in Raisen district on Thursday night.



Kishan Lal Meena (45), a native of Sagonia village in Raisen district took the extreme step by consuming celphos tablets, a form of Aluminium Phosphide, a highly toxic inorganic compound, used as a fumigant and oral pesticide.



Kishan Lal Meena's family told Raisen district police that he told them he had consumed the poisonous tablets for his inability to repay mounting loans and electricity dues worth around Rs 17 lakh.



His kin told Raisen Kotwali and Devnagar police officers that Meena was under pressure to repay loans, including a bank loan of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh to money lenders besides outstanding electricity bills worth Rs 2 lakh.



Particularly, pressure and threats by money lenders to repay the loan with heavy interest. This, coupled with not being able to get his three daughters married due to a prolonged illness pushed him to commit suicide.



Kishan Lal Meena was first rushed to Raisen district hospital, from where doctors referred him to Bhopal for life-saving treatment, but he succumbed en route.



According to Devnagar police station in-charge Ramesh Rahuvanshi, the body was handed over to the family members after autopsy was completed.



Were now trying to identify the private money lenders whom the family blamed for traumatising Kishan Lal over outstanding debt, said Raghuvanshi.



Over the last 16 years, more than 20,000 farmers and agricultural labourers have committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh over varied reasons.



As per data presented in the State Assembly, from February 2016 to February 2017, 1,982 farmers and labourers have committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh





BHOPAL: Amid the intensifying farmers stir across Madhya Pradesh, a middle-aged farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming celphos tablets in Raisen district on Thursday night. Kishan Lal Meena (45), a native of Sagonia village in Raisen district took the extreme step by consuming celphos tablets, a form of Aluminium Phosphide, a highly toxic inorganic compound, used as a fumigant and oral pesticide. Kishan Lal Meena's family told Raisen district police that he told them he had consumed the poisonous tablets for his inability to repay mounting loans and electricity dues worth around Rs 17 lakh. His kin told Raisen Kotwali and Devnagar police officers that Meena was under pressure to repay loans, including a bank loan of Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh to money lenders besides outstanding electricity bills worth Rs 2 lakh. Particularly, pressure and threats by money lenders to repay the loan with heavy interest. This, coupled with not being able to get his three daughters married due to a prolonged illness pushed him to commit suicide. Kishan Lal Meena was first rushed to Raisen district hospital, from where doctors referred him to Bhopal for life-saving treatment, but he succumbed en route. According to Devnagar police station in-charge Ramesh Rahuvanshi, the body was handed over to the family members after autopsy was completed. Were now trying to identify the private money lenders whom the family blamed for traumatising Kishan Lal over outstanding debt, said Raghuvanshi. Over the last 16 years, more than 20,000 farmers and agricultural labourers have committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh over varied reasons. As per data presented in the State Assembly, from February 2016 to February 2017, 1,982 farmers and labourers have committed suicide in Madhya Pradesh
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Kashmir hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law, Altaf Ahmed Shah, was today questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir.

Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, arrived at the NIA headquarters here this morning and was questioned by a team of officials about the alleged funding of the Geelani-led Tehrek-e-Hurriyat, offical sources said.

His Srinagar house was raided by NIA sleuths, who also searched the premises of others, such as Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali.

The NIA had collected "some material" from Shah's residence which was scrutinised by the sleuths before he was called for questioning here, the sources said, adding his examination would carry on for a few days before his statement was recorded.

Apart from being the son-in-law of Geelani, Shah is percieved to be influential in the policies of the Tehrek-eHurriyat.

The NIA had conducted raids last Saturday and Sunday on the residences of separatists and businessmen in the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, Delhi and Haryana's Sonepat and Gurgaon. Among those raided were separatists Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate'.

Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.

The raids were part of NIA's efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley.

The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups including LeT and HM.

The NIA investigation also seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who threw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments.

Bank accounts and lockers revealed during the probe had been frozen.

Besides electronic gadgets, phone diaries and documents such as rough receipts and vouchers had been seized from alleged hawala operators, financiers and office bearers of separatist groups.

During the searches, a few thousand Pakistani rupees and currencies belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia as well LeT and HM letterheads were seized by the NIA.

The NIA has alleged that since cross-LoC trade, at Uri in Kashmir and Chakan-da-bad in Jammu, was based on a barter system, some businessmen "under- or over-invoiced" their bills, and the difference in payment was later used for promoting subversive activities in the valley.

This is for the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding separatists.

In 2002, the Income Tax department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents.

However, no criminal case was registered then.

The NIA has also roped in the government's cyber security arm to analyse electronic evidence collected during its raids.

Twenty-two laptops and computers, 100 mobiles and nearly 200 pen drives and memory sticks had been sent to the Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-IN) for creating backup files. The CERT-IN will also provide other technical details related to the data, the sources said.

The CERT-IN has also been asked to look for deleted material in the electronic gadgets, they said.

The NIA raids were carried out following the questioning of three separatist leaders -- Nayeem Khan, who was seen on TV during a sting operation purportedly confessing to receiving money from Pakistan-based terror groups, 'Bitta Karate' and Gazi Javed Baba of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, in the national capital last month.

NEW DELHI: Kashmir hardline separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law, Altaf Ahmed Shah, was today questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with its probe into the funding of terror and subversive activities in Kashmir. Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, arrived at the NIA headquarters here this morning and was questioned by a team of officials about the alleged funding of the Geelani-led Tehrek-e-Hurriyat, offical sources said. His Srinagar house was raided by NIA sleuths, who also searched the premises of others, such as Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali. The NIA had collected "some material" from Shah's residence which was scrutinised by the sleuths before he was called for questioning here, the sources said, adding his examination would carry on for a few days before his statement was recorded. Apart from being the son-in-law of Geelani, Shah is percieved to be influential in the policies of the Tehrek-eHurriyat. The NIA had conducted raids last Saturday and Sunday on the residences of separatists and businessmen in the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, Delhi and Haryana's Sonepat and Gurgaon. Among those raided were separatists Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate'. Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat. The raids were part of NIA's efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley. The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups including LeT and HM. The NIA investigation also seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who threw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments. Bank accounts and lockers revealed during the probe had been frozen. Besides electronic gadgets, phone diaries and documents such as rough receipts and vouchers had been seized from alleged hawala operators, financiers and office bearers of separatist groups. During the searches, a few thousand Pakistani rupees and currencies belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia as well LeT and HM letterheads were seized by the NIA. The NIA has alleged that since cross-LoC trade, at Uri in Kashmir and Chakan-da-bad in Jammu, was based on a barter system, some businessmen "under- or over-invoiced" their bills, and the difference in payment was later used for promoting subversive activities in the valley. This is for the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding separatists. In 2002, the Income Tax department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents. However, no criminal case was registered then. The NIA has also roped in the government's cyber security arm to analyse electronic evidence collected during its raids. Twenty-two laptops and computers, 100 mobiles and nearly 200 pen drives and memory sticks had been sent to the Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-IN) for creating backup files. The CERT-IN will also provide other technical details related to the data, the sources said. The CERT-IN has also been asked to look for deleted material in the electronic gadgets, they said. The NIA raids were carried out following the questioning of three separatist leaders -- Nayeem Khan, who was seen on TV during a sting operation purportedly confessing to receiving money from Pakistan-based terror groups, 'Bitta Karate' and Gazi Javed Baba of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, in the national capital last month.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: After spending four hours in police custody at a guest house in violence-hit Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh (450 km from Bhopal), Congress national vice president Rahul Gandhi was released on bail by the state police.

Gandhi and 28 other national and state Congress leaders were arrested from Nayagaon in Neemuch district on MP-Rajasthan border for allegedly breaching peace by trying to go to violence-hit Mandsaur, despite the curfew clamped there.

Congress vice-president Rahul

Gandhi at Nayagaon in MP on

Thursday | PTI

Rahul Gandhis attempt to reprise his Bhatta Parsaul feat in Madhya Pradesh came to nothing. Madhya Pradesh police and local administration did not grant him permission to meet them at the guest house where Gandhi and Congress leaders were detained before being released on personal surety bond at around 5.15 pm.

The families tried hard to meet Rahul at the guest house, but they were not allowed to meet him. They could only talk to him over phone and he promised to surely meet them after release from custody, said former Mandsaur MP and Gandhis close confidant Meenakshi Natrajan.

He met the kin later at the shrine of Sanwaria Seth in Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan (60 km from Neemuch) under police vigil, said Natrajan.

She added that Gandhi met four of the five families who lost their loved ones in police firing in Mandsaur on Tuesday. He spoke to the deceased farmers kin, who told them how farmers in Madhya Pradesh were not getting even the minimum support price of their produce. The families told him that they were not getting even an iota of the production cost on crop while selling their produce in the mandis. They also demanded that if the soldiers fighting for the country get status of martyrs on sacrificing their lives, their departed sons should get the martyrs status as they have been shot dead by police sans any provocation or caution, said Natrajan.

Earlier in the day, other Mandsaur-bound Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Ajay Singh, Arun Yadav and Mohan Prakash and Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal (U) were also stopped from entering MP at Nayagaon. Gandhi and Jeetu Patwari set off from Nimbahera in Chtttorgarh district in Rajasthan, hoping to reach Mandsaur by a wild country route through Rajasthan. In Mandsaur, Gandhi planned to meet the family of one of the five farmers. Talking to journalists after being stopped, Rahul said, The Modi government and the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government are anti-farmer. They waive the loans of their industrialist friends, but wont waive the loans of farmers.

BHOPAL: After spending four hours in police custody at a guest house in violence-hit Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh (450 km from Bhopal), Congress national vice president Rahul Gandhi was released on bail by the state police. Gandhi and 28 other national and state Congress leaders were arrested from Nayagaon in Neemuch district on MP-Rajasthan border for allegedly breaching peace by trying to go to violence-hit Mandsaur, despite the curfew clamped there. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at Nayagaon in MP on Thursday | PTIRahul Gandhis attempt to reprise his Bhatta Parsaul feat in Madhya Pradesh came to nothing. Madhya Pradesh police and local administration did not grant him permission to meet them at the guest house where Gandhi and Congress leaders were detained before being released on personal surety bond at around 5.15 pm. The families tried hard to meet Rahul at the guest house, but they were not allowed to meet him. They could only talk to him over phone and he promised to surely meet them after release from custody, said former Mandsaur MP and Gandhis close confidant Meenakshi Natrajan. He met the kin later at the shrine of Sanwaria Seth in Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan (60 km from Neemuch) under police vigil, said Natrajan. She added that Gandhi met four of the five families who lost their loved ones in police firing in Mandsaur on Tuesday. He spoke to the deceased farmers kin, who told them how farmers in Madhya Pradesh were not getting even the minimum support price of their produce. The families told him that they were not getting even an iota of the production cost on crop while selling their produce in the mandis. They also demanded that if the soldiers fighting for the country get status of martyrs on sacrificing their lives, their departed sons should get the martyrs status as they have been shot dead by police sans any provocation or caution, said Natrajan. Earlier in the day, other Mandsaur-bound Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Ajay Singh, Arun Yadav and Mohan Prakash and Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal (U) were also stopped from entering MP at Nayagaon. Gandhi and Jeetu Patwari set off from Nimbahera in Chtttorgarh district in Rajasthan, hoping to reach Mandsaur by a wild country route through Rajasthan. In Mandsaur, Gandhi planned to meet the family of one of the five farmers. Talking to journalists after being stopped, Rahul said, The Modi government and the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government are anti-farmer. They waive the loans of their industrialist friends, but wont waive the loans of farmers.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday modified its earlier order and allowed liquor manufacturers in Bihar to export their old stocks of alcoholic beverages worth over Rs 200 crore outside the State until July 31.

A Vacation Bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and Deepak Gupta modified their order on the plea of the manufacturers who had said the earlier order spoke only about time to destroy the stock and not about its export outside the State. A confederation of manufacturers had informed the Bench that there were two issues regarding destruction of old stocks and export in its plea filed earlier, but the apex courts May 29 order mentioned only about time to destroy the stock.

The order had stated, Time to destroy/drain the stocks is extended up to July 31, 2017. It is made clear that no further extension will be granted in future. The Bihar government had imposed a ban on liquor from April 1, 2016, and passed a resolution by which it allowed the companies to export their old stocks to other states.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday modified its earlier order and allowed liquor manufacturers in Bihar to export their old stocks of alcoholic beverages worth over Rs 200 crore outside the State until July 31. A Vacation Bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan and Deepak Gupta modified their order on the plea of the manufacturers who had said the earlier order spoke only about time to destroy the stock and not about its export outside the State. A confederation of manufacturers had informed the Bench that there were two issues regarding destruction of old stocks and export in its plea filed earlier, but the apex courts May 29 order mentioned only about time to destroy the stock. The order had stated, Time to destroy/drain the stocks is extended up to July 31, 2017. It is made clear that no further extension will be granted in future. The Bihar government had imposed a ban on liquor from April 1, 2016, and passed a resolution by which it allowed the companies to export their old stocks to other states.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Shangwang Shangyung Khaplang or S S Khaplang, the chief of Naga insurgent group NSCN-K, died in Myanmar on Friday. He was 77. According to the reports, he died of old age ailments.

The reports said Khango Konyak took over as the chairman of NSCN-K. We learnt that he died towards the evening today (Friday) at Taga (in Myanmar). As he was not keeping well, he had to undergo a surgery earlier. His health was very bad, Nagaland director general of police, L L Doungel, told The New Indian Express. The NSCN-K and several insurgent groups of the Northeast region have their bases in Taga along the Manipur-Myanmar border.

Last year, Khaplang was admitted to a Yangon hospital as he was suffering from a medical condition complicated by diabetes.

His treatment then was facilitated by the Myanmar government, which arranged for his travel from the Taga base to Yangon. Khaplang was associated with the Naga insurgency movement for more than five decades.

Born in 1940 in Waktham village near the Pangsau Pass in Myanmar, Khaplang, a Hemi (tribe) Naga, was the youngest of 10 siblings. He had joined the insurgency movement at a very early age. In 1964, Khaplang floated the Naga Defence Force and later, served the Eastern Naga Revolutionary Council as its chairman.

During the 1960s when the Naga insurgency movement was peaking, he was entrusted with the task of assisting young recruits to go to China for arms training. It was then that he came close to the late Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah. In 1980, the trio had formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN).

However, eight years later, the outfit suffered a split with Khaplang leading a faction which later came to be known as the NSCN-K. Swu and Muivah led the other faction called NSCN-IM. Swu died of illness at a New Delhi hospital last year.

In 2015, several insurgent outfits of the Northeast came under an umbrella organisation United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW) and Khaplang was chosen as its chairman.

GUWAHATI: Shangwang Shangyung Khaplang or S S Khaplang, the chief of Naga insurgent group NSCN-K, died in Myanmar on Friday. He was 77. According to the reports, he died of old age ailments. The reports said Khango Konyak took over as the chairman of NSCN-K. We learnt that he died towards the evening today (Friday) at Taga (in Myanmar). As he was not keeping well, he had to undergo a surgery earlier. His health was very bad, Nagaland director general of police, L L Doungel, told The New Indian Express. The NSCN-K and several insurgent groups of the Northeast region have their bases in Taga along the Manipur-Myanmar border. Last year, Khaplang was admitted to a Yangon hospital as he was suffering from a medical condition complicated by diabetes. His treatment then was facilitated by the Myanmar government, which arranged for his travel from the Taga base to Yangon. Khaplang was associated with the Naga insurgency movement for more than five decades. Born in 1940 in Waktham village near the Pangsau Pass in Myanmar, Khaplang, a Hemi (tribe) Naga, was the youngest of 10 siblings. He had joined the insurgency movement at a very early age. In 1964, Khaplang floated the Naga Defence Force and later, served the Eastern Naga Revolutionary Council as its chairman. During the 1960s when the Naga insurgency movement was peaking, he was entrusted with the task of assisting young recruits to go to China for arms training. It was then that he came close to the late Isak Chishi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah. In 1980, the trio had formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). However, eight years later, the outfit suffered a split with Khaplang leading a faction which later came to be known as the NSCN-K. Swu and Muivah led the other faction called NSCN-IM. Swu died of illness at a New Delhi hospital last year. In 2015, several insurgent outfits of the Northeast came under an umbrella organisation United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFW) and Khaplang was chosen as its chairman.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan Thursday to attend the two day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), during which India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the outfit which includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In a Facebook post before leaving for the Kazakh capital, Modi said India will become a full member of the SCO upon which SCO will represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of global GDP.

India, which so far had observer status in the group, was formally invited to join as a full member last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin during Modis visit to St Petersburg. Apart from improving trade and economic ties with member countries, the membership will also strengthen Indias strategic position in Central Asia. Following their induction, both India and Pakistan are expected to follow the Tashkent-based Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure, and participate in the joint military exercises conducted annually by the group. The ministry of external affairs spokesman Gopal Baglay said counter-terror collaboration with members of the SCO, such as China and Pakistan, was a possibility. We participate with many countries, including Pakistan, in the UN peacekeeping operations, and terrorism is a fight which is incumbent on all countries, he said.

Modi met Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana Thursday, and is expected to meet Chinas President Xi Jinping to discuss issues like Chinas Belt and Road project and Beijings opposition to Indias membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. However, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj ruled out any bilateral meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the summit. Given the increasingly acrimonious India-Pakistan relationship, it would be interesting to see the kind of anti-terror collaboration between them under the SCO umbrella.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan Thursday to attend the two day summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), during which India and Pakistan will be inducted as full members of the outfit which includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In a Facebook post before leaving for the Kazakh capital, Modi said India will become a full member of the SCO upon which SCO will represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of global GDP. India, which so far had observer status in the group, was formally invited to join as a full member last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin during Modis visit to St Petersburg. Apart from improving trade and economic ties with member countries, the membership will also strengthen Indias strategic position in Central Asia. Following their induction, both India and Pakistan are expected to follow the Tashkent-based Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure, and participate in the joint military exercises conducted annually by the group. The ministry of external affairs spokesman Gopal Baglay said counter-terror collaboration with members of the SCO, such as China and Pakistan, was a possibility. We participate with many countries, including Pakistan, in the UN peacekeeping operations, and terrorism is a fight which is incumbent on all countries, he said. Modi met Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana Thursday, and is expected to meet Chinas President Xi Jinping to discuss issues like Chinas Belt and Road project and Beijings opposition to Indias membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. However, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj ruled out any bilateral meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the summit. Given the increasingly acrimonious India-Pakistan relationship, it would be interesting to see the kind of anti-terror collaboration between them under the SCO umbrella.
Suraksha P By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: With food fortification likely to become mandatory in the near future, Food Safety Commissioner Subodh Yadav met representatives of bulk manufacturers of wheat flour, edible oil, milk and biscuits on Saturday. This was to encourage them to make fortified food.

Around 4.5 lakh children of the 59.5 lakh beneficiaries of the mid-day meal scheme in the state consume fortified rice in seven districts. This rice is packed with multiple micro-nutrients like iron, folic acid and vitamins.



The state government was honoured at a recent national summit of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) where early adopters of food fortification were recognised.

According to the Food Fortification Resource Centre, an online portal run by FSSAI, the cost of food fortification is miniscule. It costs as much as Rs 30 to Rs 100 per metric tonne which works out to just about 3 to 10 paisa per kg of food, depending on the type and number of micronutrients added and the staple food that is being fortified.



Fortified milk with vitamin A and D costs 2 or 3 paisa more per litre. Similarly, rice with folic acid costs 50-80 paisa more per kg and edible oil costs 8 to 10 paise more per litre. Except the initial investment on blenders and feeders, it is not expensive, Srinivas Gowda, in-charge joint commissioner of the state FSSAI, said.



He said, A few PDS outlets used to distribute fortified rice they had procured from Tamil Nadu. This was stopped as it led to misconceptions that it changes the colour of rice. In fact, it helps reduce malnutrition and anaemia. The Food Processing Ministry is giving loans at subsidised rates to help those who want to adopt this technology.



Yadav said, Unless food fortification is mandated, it cannot be enforced. Food manufacturers raised some concerns. They said if the raw material comes from other countries, it cannot be fortified at the primary processing level. For example, palmolien oil comes from Malaysia and Southeast Asian countries.

BENGALURU: With food fortification likely to become mandatory in the near future, Food Safety Commissioner Subodh Yadav met representatives of bulk manufacturers of wheat flour, edible oil, milk and biscuits on Saturday. This was to encourage them to make fortified food. Around 4.5 lakh children of the 59.5 lakh beneficiaries of the mid-day meal scheme in the state consume fortified rice in seven districts. This rice is packed with multiple micro-nutrients like iron, folic acid and vitamins. The state government was honoured at a recent national summit of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) where early adopters of food fortification were recognised. According to the Food Fortification Resource Centre, an online portal run by FSSAI, the cost of food fortification is miniscule. It costs as much as Rs 30 to Rs 100 per metric tonne which works out to just about 3 to 10 paisa per kg of food, depending on the type and number of micronutrients added and the staple food that is being fortified. Fortified milk with vitamin A and D costs 2 or 3 paisa more per litre. Similarly, rice with folic acid costs 50-80 paisa more per kg and edible oil costs 8 to 10 paise more per litre. Except the initial investment on blenders and feeders, it is not expensive, Srinivas Gowda, in-charge joint commissioner of the state FSSAI, said. He said, A few PDS outlets used to distribute fortified rice they had procured from Tamil Nadu. This was stopped as it led to misconceptions that it changes the colour of rice. In fact, it helps reduce malnutrition and anaemia. The Food Processing Ministry is giving loans at subsidised rates to help those who want to adopt this technology. Yadav said, Unless food fortification is mandated, it cannot be enforced. Food manufacturers raised some concerns. They said if the raw material comes from other countries, it cannot be fortified at the primary processing level. For example, palmolien oil comes from Malaysia and Southeast Asian countries.
By Express News Service

KOZHIKODE: CPM activists who called for a hartal after bombs were hurled at their district committee office on Friday, turned violent at Palayam near here and assaulted two photographers, including the New Indian Express photographer, A Sanesh.



Around 150 CPM workers who conducted a protest march, pelted stones at the Karnataka Bank, Palayam. They then stopped a moving auto and turned it upside down. Noticing that Sanesh had clicked the incidents, nearly 20 men attacked him and destroyed his camera.



The CPM workers later turned to attack P Abhijith of Madhyamam daily and destroyed his cameras memory card. They also removed memory card from the camera of Sreejesh K V (Keralabhooshanam daily).



Three more photographers, who were covering the event with Sanesh, clicked pictures of his assault. Meanwhile, CPM district secretary P Mohanan visited A Sanesh and condemned the attack.

KOZHIKODE: CPM activists who called for a hartal after bombs were hurled at their district committee office on Friday, turned violent at Palayam near here and assaulted two photographers, including the New Indian Express photographer, A Sanesh. Around 150 CPM workers who conducted a protest march, pelted stones at the Karnataka Bank, Palayam. They then stopped a moving auto and turned it upside down. Noticing that Sanesh had clicked the incidents, nearly 20 men attacked him and destroyed his camera. The CPM workers later turned to attack P Abhijith of Madhyamam daily and destroyed his cameras memory card. They also removed memory card from the camera of Sreejesh K V (Keralabhooshanam daily). Three more photographers, who were covering the event with Sanesh, clicked pictures of his assault. Meanwhile, CPM district secretary P Mohanan visited A Sanesh and condemned the attack.
By Express News Service

PURI: Elaborate arrangements have been made for Snana Purnima ritual of the Trinity of Jagannath temple here. The ritual, a prelude to the annual Rath Yatra on June 25, will be held on Friday.

Chief Administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Authority (SJTA) P K Jena held discussions with the servitors for timely observance of the rituals. The SJTA has also put up flex posters in four languages banning touching of deities during Snana Yatra.

As per the Orissa High Court direction, no unauthorised person would be allowed to touch the deities during the festival, except the servitors on duty.

Meanwhile, as per schedule, at about 4 am, lord Jagannath, elder brother lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra would be escorted to Snana Mandap, located in the temple complex, in a ceremonial pahandi procession by Daita servitors.

To prepare the Trinity for the ritual, Daita servitors took charge of the deities from regular priests on Wednesday and fixed Chhenapatta, a body armour, to help Them bear pahandi stress. The pahandi would be completed by 6 am.

After installing the deities on the altar, a complex set of rituals like mangala arati, mailam and abakasha would be performed. The deities would then be dressed up in bathing attire and the ceremonial bathing in 108 pitchers of aromatic water would begin by 9.30 am. The bathing ritual is likely to be completed by 12 noon.

Later, after Chhera Pahanra by Gajapati Dibya Singh Deb, the deities would be dressed in elephant attire, popularly known as Hati Besha.

It is learnt that Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati has been invited to have a darshan of the deities on the bathing altar, but he cannot touch the deities.

The arrangements are being supervised by District Magistrate Arabind Agarwal and SP Sarthak Sarangi along with the Chief Administrator. CCTV cameras have been installed to maintain a strict vigil and monitor the bathing ritual of the deities.

Public would be allowed darshan from behind the barricades till late in the night after which the deities would be taken to sick room (anasar) where they would recline to bed, supposedly suffering from fever. The deities would appear for public darshan in youthful form during Nabajouban darshan, a day prior to the Car Festival.

The SP said 45 platoons, besides scores of police officers, were deployed for the safety and security of pilgrims as well as deities. One-way traffic along Puri-Bhubanswar NH 316 at Samajajpur has been enforced and railway over-bridge at Samajjapur would be opened for traffic before Rath Yatra, it is learnt.

Police patrolling has been beefed up while special focus will be given to regulating vehicular traffic, the SP said.

Schedule

Pahandi of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra would begin at about 4 am and would be completed by 6 am

Bathing in 108 pitchers of aromatic water would begin by 9.30 am

The Snana ritual likely to be completed by 12 noon

After Chhera Pahanra, Trinity would be dressed in Hati Besha

Public would be allowed darshan from behind barricades till late in the night

Deities will retire to sick room for fortnight after the ritual

PURI: Elaborate arrangements have been made for Snana Purnima ritual of the Trinity of Jagannath temple here. The ritual, a prelude to the annual Rath Yatra on June 25, will be held on Friday. Chief Administrator of Sri Jagannath Temple Authority (SJTA) P K Jena held discussions with the servitors for timely observance of the rituals. The SJTA has also put up flex posters in four languages banning touching of deities during Snana Yatra. As per the Orissa High Court direction, no unauthorised person would be allowed to touch the deities during the festival, except the servitors on duty. Meanwhile, as per schedule, at about 4 am, lord Jagannath, elder brother lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra would be escorted to Snana Mandap, located in the temple complex, in a ceremonial pahandi procession by Daita servitors. To prepare the Trinity for the ritual, Daita servitors took charge of the deities from regular priests on Wednesday and fixed Chhenapatta, a body armour, to help Them bear pahandi stress. The pahandi would be completed by 6 am. After installing the deities on the altar, a complex set of rituals like mangala arati, mailam and abakasha would be performed. The deities would then be dressed up in bathing attire and the ceremonial bathing in 108 pitchers of aromatic water would begin by 9.30 am. The bathing ritual is likely to be completed by 12 noon. Later, after Chhera Pahanra by Gajapati Dibya Singh Deb, the deities would be dressed in elephant attire, popularly known as Hati Besha. It is learnt that Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati has been invited to have a darshan of the deities on the bathing altar, but he cannot touch the deities. The arrangements are being supervised by District Magistrate Arabind Agarwal and SP Sarthak Sarangi along with the Chief Administrator. CCTV cameras have been installed to maintain a strict vigil and monitor the bathing ritual of the deities. Public would be allowed darshan from behind the barricades till late in the night after which the deities would be taken to sick room (anasar) where they would recline to bed, supposedly suffering from fever. The deities would appear for public darshan in youthful form during Nabajouban darshan, a day prior to the Car Festival. The SP said 45 platoons, besides scores of police officers, were deployed for the safety and security of pilgrims as well as deities. One-way traffic along Puri-Bhubanswar NH 316 at Samajajpur has been enforced and railway over-bridge at Samajjapur would be opened for traffic before Rath Yatra, it is learnt. Police patrolling has been beefed up while special focus will be given to regulating vehicular traffic, the SP said. Schedule Pahandi of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra would begin at about 4 am and would be completed by 6 am Bathing in 108 pitchers of aromatic water would begin by 9.30 am The Snana ritual likely to be completed by 12 noon After Chhera Pahanra, Trinity would be dressed in Hati Besha Public would be allowed darshan from behind barricades till late in the night Deities will retire to sick room for fortnight after the ritual
M Sabari By

Express News Service

NAMAKKAL: Egg export from Namakkal district is on a downward spiral, thanks to the tough competition put up by Brazil. But that has not hit the business due to the high demand from domestic markets.

Namakkal district, known across the country for its poultry units, has over 1,000 poultry farms with nearly four crore egg-laying hens.

Each month, 3 to 3.5 crore eggs are exported to Dubai, South Africa, Afghanistan, Muscat and other Arab countries and sometimes to Kazakhstan and Russia, based on demand.

According to the National Egg Coordination Committee statistics, 3.3 crore eggs were exported in March and 3.35 crore in April, but in May it fell to 1.93 crore. In March and April, there was no water in borewells of poultry farms. Likewise, poultry farmers claimed that the high temperature in March-May killed around 50 lakh chickens. The poultry owners also spent more to save the chickens from the searing heat and brought water from various places as locals objected to taking water from borewells. So egg production fell to 3.25 crore from 3.50 crore eggs a day.

Speaking to Express, Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association president A K P Chinraj said, As Brazil eggs are available cheap in the global market, we are not in a position to compete. Brazilian eggs are premium compared to Indian eggs. In the Gulf countries, they buy Brazilian eggs. Likewise due to price increase of Indian eggs following good domestic demand, price is high compared to Brazilian eggs. But as we have good domestic demand, there is no need to export our eggs cheap.

If the price of Brazil eggs increased, our eggs will sell more in the global market. During peak period, we exported 8 to 10 per cent eggs (30-35 lakh eggs) a day to foreign countries. After drought and competition from Brazil, we export 5 to 10 lakh eggs a day, he said.

NAMAKKAL: Egg export from Namakkal district is on a downward spiral, thanks to the tough competition put up by Brazil. But that has not hit the business due to the high demand from domestic markets. Namakkal district, known across the country for its poultry units, has over 1,000 poultry farms with nearly four crore egg-laying hens. Each month, 3 to 3.5 crore eggs are exported to Dubai, South Africa, Afghanistan, Muscat and other Arab countries and sometimes to Kazakhstan and Russia, based on demand. According to the National Egg Coordination Committee statistics, 3.3 crore eggs were exported in March and 3.35 crore in April, but in May it fell to 1.93 crore. In March and April, there was no water in borewells of poultry farms. Likewise, poultry farmers claimed that the high temperature in March-May killed around 50 lakh chickens. The poultry owners also spent more to save the chickens from the searing heat and brought water from various places as locals objected to taking water from borewells. So egg production fell to 3.25 crore from 3.50 crore eggs a day. Speaking to Express, Tamil Nadu Poultry Farmers Association president A K P Chinraj said, As Brazil eggs are available cheap in the global market, we are not in a position to compete. Brazilian eggs are premium compared to Indian eggs. In the Gulf countries, they buy Brazilian eggs. Likewise due to price increase of Indian eggs following good domestic demand, price is high compared to Brazilian eggs. But as we have good domestic demand, there is no need to export our eggs cheap. If the price of Brazil eggs increased, our eggs will sell more in the global market. During peak period, we exported 8 to 10 per cent eggs (30-35 lakh eggs) a day to foreign countries. After drought and competition from Brazil, we export 5 to 10 lakh eggs a day, he said.
Ashmita Gupta By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: A Dalit youth from Kancheepuram, studying law in Tirupati, was arrested and assaulted by the police there on Sunday night, when he had gone to see off his relatives at the bus stand. The Tirupati police allegedly mistook him to be a part of the red sander smuggling network.

During the 18-hour long detention, the police allegedly assaulted him with canes and boots, despite the youngster repeatedly asking them to enquire with the college authorities.

M Stalin (26) has now approached the Tamil Nadu government and the National Human Rights Commission seeking action.

Meanwhile, Sub-Inspector of Police Pradeep Kumar Reddy has been shifted to vacancy reserve. The authorities are also preparing to initiate action against three constables  Venkatesh, Shanmuga Sundaram and Murali  for using third degree against Stalin.

M Stalin

Studying at Dr BR Ambedkar Law College in Tirupati, Stalin from Thiruporur in Kancheepuram had gone to the main bus stand there to see off his relatives around midnight on Sunday. Some personnel approached him asking what he was doing there at that time. The first trouble was communication itself  not knowing Telugu or Hindi, he spoke to them in Tamil.

I told them I was a student, and was there to drop my relatives, but they said they dont believe me.

Stalin asked them to enquire with his relatives who had got inside a bus by then, his local guardian in Tirupati, or with the college authorities to verify his claims. But it did not cut ice with the personnel at Tirupati, an important transit point for red sander smugglers and the woodcutters they employ.

Accusing him of being a daily wage labourer working for the red sanders smuggling network, the police took Stalin to the Tirupati East Police Station and confiscated his mobile phone, making it impossible for him contact his family members or the college where he studied.

I was locked up at the police station for 18 hours. All the while I repeatedly said I was a student who came to drop my relatives. But instead of paying attention to what I was saying, the police accused me of talking too much and locked me up with the other accused, he recalled.

Stalin alleged that he was hit with lathi and boots and was subjected to a barrage of abuse. They hit me on my head, hip and hand, resulting in injuries, he alleged.

Finally, around 10 pm the next day, he was allowed to make a call to his family. Stalin, a member of the CPMs youth wing DYFI, called his fellow comrades and informed them about the matter.

The police realised their mistake and were also ready to pay for the injury they caused. But I refused the money. They should have cross-checked my claims. Instead, they ignored everything I said and did not even give me a chance to speak, fumed Stalin.

We have described the incident in detail to Home Secretary Niranjan Mardi, who assured to look into the matter, said a friend of Stalin.

Meanwhile in Tirupati, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Special Branch) P Ravi Manoharachari told Express that his inquiry has confirmed that Stalin was picked up at Tirupati bus station on Sunday and beat up mercilessly. The sub inspector of the police station too kicked him the next day.

The DSP said the beat constable at the bus station suspected that something was fishy when Stalin arrived on a bike, accompanying four women who were in an autorickshaw. They were DYFI activists and he went to the bus station to see them off to Kurnool, where a conference of the All India Democratic Womens Association was on. The beat constable confronted Stalin and told him that he should go to the police station since he looked like a thief who was on the run. He even claimed that the thief was seen last wearing a red shirt. As Stalin was also wearing a red shirt, the policeman said he need to be questioned at the police station.

After taking him to the police station, the police constables began interrogating him. As Stalin spoke in Tamil, they had a doubt that he could be red sanders smuggler. They then beat him up mercilessly and kept in him the cell. The next day too, he was thrashed and was not given food. After the sub-inspector came, he was also very rude and kicked him, the DSP said.

Additional Superintendent of Police Muralikrishna told Express that he was inquiring into the role of the three police constables in the issue. Necessary action will be taken after completing the inquiry, he said.

Cops offered money on realising their mistake

The 26-year-old said he was locked up at the police station for 18 hours. They hit me on my head, hip and hand, resulting in injuries... On realising their mistake, they were ready to pay for the injuries they caused, but I refused to take any money, Stalin added.

CHENNAI: A Dalit youth from Kancheepuram, studying law in Tirupati, was arrested and assaulted by the police there on Sunday night, when he had gone to see off his relatives at the bus stand. The Tirupati police allegedly mistook him to be a part of the red sander smuggling network. During the 18-hour long detention, the police allegedly assaulted him with canes and boots, despite the youngster repeatedly asking them to enquire with the college authorities. M Stalin (26) has now approached the Tamil Nadu government and the National Human Rights Commission seeking action. Meanwhile, Sub-Inspector of Police Pradeep Kumar Reddy has been shifted to vacancy reserve. The authorities are also preparing to initiate action against three constables  Venkatesh, Shanmuga Sundaram and Murali  for using third degree against Stalin. M StalinStudying at Dr BR Ambedkar Law College in Tirupati, Stalin from Thiruporur in Kancheepuram had gone to the main bus stand there to see off his relatives around midnight on Sunday. Some personnel approached him asking what he was doing there at that time. The first trouble was communication itself  not knowing Telugu or Hindi, he spoke to them in Tamil. I told them I was a student, and was there to drop my relatives, but they said they dont believe me. Stalin asked them to enquire with his relatives who had got inside a bus by then, his local guardian in Tirupati, or with the college authorities to verify his claims. But it did not cut ice with the personnel at Tirupati, an important transit point for red sander smugglers and the woodcutters they employ. Accusing him of being a daily wage labourer working for the red sanders smuggling network, the police took Stalin to the Tirupati East Police Station and confiscated his mobile phone, making it impossible for him contact his family members or the college where he studied. I was locked up at the police station for 18 hours. All the while I repeatedly said I was a student who came to drop my relatives. But instead of paying attention to what I was saying, the police accused me of talking too much and locked me up with the other accused, he recalled. Stalin alleged that he was hit with lathi and boots and was subjected to a barrage of abuse. They hit me on my head, hip and hand, resulting in injuries, he alleged. Finally, around 10 pm the next day, he was allowed to make a call to his family. Stalin, a member of the CPMs youth wing DYFI, called his fellow comrades and informed them about the matter. The police realised their mistake and were also ready to pay for the injury they caused. But I refused the money. They should have cross-checked my claims. Instead, they ignored everything I said and did not even give me a chance to speak, fumed Stalin. We have described the incident in detail to Home Secretary Niranjan Mardi, who assured to look into the matter, said a friend of Stalin. Meanwhile in Tirupati, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Special Branch) P Ravi Manoharachari told Express that his inquiry has confirmed that Stalin was picked up at Tirupati bus station on Sunday and beat up mercilessly. The sub inspector of the police station too kicked him the next day. The DSP said the beat constable at the bus station suspected that something was fishy when Stalin arrived on a bike, accompanying four women who were in an autorickshaw. They were DYFI activists and he went to the bus station to see them off to Kurnool, where a conference of the All India Democratic Womens Association was on. The beat constable confronted Stalin and told him that he should go to the police station since he looked like a thief who was on the run. He even claimed that the thief was seen last wearing a red shirt. As Stalin was also wearing a red shirt, the policeman said he need to be questioned at the police station. After taking him to the police station, the police constables began interrogating him. As Stalin spoke in Tamil, they had a doubt that he could be red sanders smuggler. They then beat him up mercilessly and kept in him the cell. The next day too, he was thrashed and was not given food. After the sub-inspector came, he was also very rude and kicked him, the DSP said. Additional Superintendent of Police Muralikrishna told Express that he was inquiring into the role of the three police constables in the issue. Necessary action will be taken after completing the inquiry, he said. Cops offered money on realising their mistake The 26-year-old said he was locked up at the police station for 18 hours. They hit me on my head, hip and hand, resulting in injuries... On realising their mistake, they were ready to pay for the injuries they caused, but I refused to take any money, Stalin added.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: MDMK general secretary Vaiko, a vociferous Tamil rights campaigner, who just got released on bail in a 2009 seditious speech case, was denied entry into Malaysia on Friday morning, charging him of being a member of LTTE and thus a dangerous person to the country.

Vaiko was kept in an isolated place, charged the MDMK, which staged a protest before the Malaysian consulate in the evening.

As soon as he reached Kuala Lumpur Airport around 6.30 am, Malaysian immigration officials reportedly told Vaiko that his name was on the restricted list, though his visa was cleared in Chennai a week ago.

Accompanied by his secretary, Arunagiri, Vaiko was there to attend the wedding reception in the family of P Ramaswamy, Deputy Chief Minister of Penang State on Saturday evening.

WATCH VIDEO:

Later, Vaiko was interrogated by immigration officials. Alleging him of being a member of LTTE, they posed many questions, including about the many cases that were pending against him in Lanka. Denying the charges, Vaiko showed his Indian passport. But officials refused to accept it, maintaining that his name figured in the list of persons who are dangerous to the country, which has a sizeable Tamil population.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister Ramasamy was informed about the incident. The Chief Minister of the state, Lim Guan Eng, too, tried to help resolve the issue. However, the officials were firm in not allowing him enter Malaysia, stating they had the orders from the Deputy PM.

The officials said since Vaikos secretary Arunagiri has a Malaysian visa, he could go to the restaurant and get some eatables for him. But protesting his detention, Vaiko declined the offer.

This led to protests in Chennai when MDMK cadre staged demonstration in front of Consulate-General of Malaysia.

Meanwhile, condemning the Malaysian government, TNCC president S Thirunavukkarasar said denying him entry despite having all necessary travel documents including visa and passport was not in accordance with the law. Centre should intervene in the issue, he said.

DMDK founder Vijayakant, too, condemned Malaysia in this regard. How did the Malaysian authorities give him the visa if Vaiko is on the restricted list? Malaysian authorities should apologise to Vaiko and allow him into their country.

Condeming the attitude of Malaysian government, DMK working president M K Stalin said: The Ministry of External Affairs should summon the officials of Malaysian Consulate and convey our displeasure over the denial of entry for MDMK general secretary Vaiko into Malaysia.

CHENNAI: MDMK general secretary Vaiko, a vociferous Tamil rights campaigner, who just got released on bail in a 2009 seditious speech case, was denied entry into Malaysia on Friday morning, charging him of being a member of LTTE and thus a dangerous person to the country. Vaiko was kept in an isolated place, charged the MDMK, which staged a protest before the Malaysian consulate in the evening. As soon as he reached Kuala Lumpur Airport around 6.30 am, Malaysian immigration officials reportedly told Vaiko that his name was on the restricted list, though his visa was cleared in Chennai a week ago. Accompanied by his secretary, Arunagiri, Vaiko was there to attend the wedding reception in the family of P Ramaswamy, Deputy Chief Minister of Penang State on Saturday evening. WATCH VIDEO: window.__ventunoplayer = window.__ventunoplayer||[];window.__ventunoplayer.push({video_key: 'OTQ4NDkxfHw4fHw2fHwxLDIsMQ==', holder_id: 'vt-video-player', player_type: 'vp', width:'100%', ratio:'4:3'});Later, Vaiko was interrogated by immigration officials. Alleging him of being a member of LTTE, they posed many questions, including about the many cases that were pending against him in Lanka. Denying the charges, Vaiko showed his Indian passport. But officials refused to accept it, maintaining that his name figured in the list of persons who are dangerous to the country, which has a sizeable Tamil population. Penang Deputy Chief Minister Ramasamy was informed about the incident. The Chief Minister of the state, Lim Guan Eng, too, tried to help resolve the issue. However, the officials were firm in not allowing him enter Malaysia, stating they had the orders from the Deputy PM. The officials said since Vaikos secretary Arunagiri has a Malaysian visa, he could go to the restaurant and get some eatables for him. But protesting his detention, Vaiko declined the offer. This led to protests in Chennai when MDMK cadre staged demonstration in front of Consulate-General of Malaysia. Meanwhile, condemning the Malaysian government, TNCC president S Thirunavukkarasar said denying him entry despite having all necessary travel documents including visa and passport was not in accordance with the law. Centre should intervene in the issue, he said. DMDK founder Vijayakant, too, condemned Malaysia in this regard. How did the Malaysian authorities give him the visa if Vaiko is on the restricted list? Malaysian authorities should apologise to Vaiko and allow him into their country. Condeming the attitude of Malaysian government, DMK working president M K Stalin said: The Ministry of External Affairs should summon the officials of Malaysian Consulate and convey our displeasure over the denial of entry for MDMK general secretary Vaiko into Malaysia.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Taking the ongoing rivalry between the two Telugu states to a new level, Telangana has also decided to stop power supply to Andhra Pradesh if the latter does not clear the dues which are to the tune of Rs 1,676.46 crore.



This comes a day after AP stopped power supply to Telangana for want of payment of Rs 4,440 crore dues by the latter. In a tit-for tat, Transmission Corporation of Telangana Limited chairman and managing director D Prabhakar Rao wrote a letter to his AP counterpart on Thursday.



Telangana power utilities are also constrained to regulate power supply to AP Discoms from TS Genco stations due to the failure on the part of AP power utilities to pay the rightful dues to TS power utilities, he said.



Adverting to power regulation notice issued by AP and regarding power regulation to TS Discoms immediately, this is to inform you that on several occasions TS power utilities had requested AP power utilities to settle the issues affably by adjusting the AP Genco power bill against the dues payable by them to TS power utilities and release the net amount. But, the requests were unheeded by AP power officials and AP chose to isolate the claims of TS Dicoms and insist on payments only to AP Genco.



Though three years elapsed since bifurcation, AP Genco was insisting only on settlement of their dues. TS Discoms want the settlement of dues between the two power utilities done on a permanent and amicable basis.

We once again request you to consider the dues to TS power utilities and release Rs 1,676.46 crore to them, Rao told his AP counterpart.

TS power utilities are facing severe financial constraint as AP power utilities are not settling the issues, and are forced to discharge certain obligations of the common state like the loans and liabilities of Anantapur and Kurnool, which was affecting their finances. TS Genco is meeting the obligations of AP Genco more than its share of loans, Rao said.

HYDERABAD: Taking the ongoing rivalry between the two Telugu states to a new level, Telangana has also decided to stop power supply to Andhra Pradesh if the latter does not clear the dues which are to the tune of Rs 1,676.46 crore. This comes a day after AP stopped power supply to Telangana for want of payment of Rs 4,440 crore dues by the latter. In a tit-for tat, Transmission Corporation of Telangana Limited chairman and managing director D Prabhakar Rao wrote a letter to his AP counterpart on Thursday. Telangana power utilities are also constrained to regulate power supply to AP Discoms from TS Genco stations due to the failure on the part of AP power utilities to pay the rightful dues to TS power utilities, he said. Adverting to power regulation notice issued by AP and regarding power regulation to TS Discoms immediately, this is to inform you that on several occasions TS power utilities had requested AP power utilities to settle the issues affably by adjusting the AP Genco power bill against the dues payable by them to TS power utilities and release the net amount. But, the requests were unheeded by AP power officials and AP chose to isolate the claims of TS Dicoms and insist on payments only to AP Genco. Though three years elapsed since bifurcation, AP Genco was insisting only on settlement of their dues. TS Discoms want the settlement of dues between the two power utilities done on a permanent and amicable basis. We once again request you to consider the dues to TS power utilities and release Rs 1,676.46 crore to them, Rao told his AP counterpart. TS power utilities are facing severe financial constraint as AP power utilities are not settling the issues, and are forced to discharge certain obligations of the common state like the loans and liabilities of Anantapur and Kurnool, which was affecting their finances. TS Genco is meeting the obligations of AP Genco more than its share of loans, Rao said.
By AFP

WASHINGTON: Washington buzzed with new questions Friday after ousted FBI director James Comey accused President Donald Trump of lies and defamation, in gripping testimony that undermined an already troubled White House.

During almost three hours of extraordinarily frank statements before a Senate committee Thursday, Comey described himself as "stunned" by Trump's "very disturbing" and "very concerning" behavior in several meetings.

Detailing one-on-one talks with a sitting president -- which under normal circumstances are private -- Comey said he took painstaking notes for fear Trump might "lie" about the unusual encounters.

The former lawman also admitted he asked a friend to leak those notes to a reporter, betting -- correctly -- that the details would prompt the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Comey's testimony painted a devastating picture of an untrustworthy president, who at best unknowingly shred the norms of office by pressing Comey on a probe into Russian election meddling, and at worst may have criminally obstructed justice.

Pundits and legal experts were divided on whether Trump's actions rose to the level of obstruction of justice, a potentially impeachable offense, while Comey said that decision was now in the hands of the special prosecutor.

But Trump early Friday claimed "total and complete vindication" after Comey confirmed that the president was not personally under investigation, easing months of speculation.

"Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication... and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" Trump said in a tweet, his first reaction to the bombshell testimony.

Trump was scheduled to face the press later Friday at a joint press conference with the visiting president of Romania.

'Loyalty'

During one White House dinner, Comey recalled that the president asked him for "loyalty" and to lay off his former national security advisor Michael Flynn -- who is under criminal investigation over his Russia ties -- imploring Comey to "let this go."

Comey said he believed he was sacked over his handling of the Russia investigation, which includes probing allegations that Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow to tip the election to the real estate tycoon.

"I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. That is a very big deal," Comey told senators.

The White House and Trump's lawyers lashed out at Comey's unflattering portrayals.

"I can definitely say the president is not a liar and frankly am insulted by that question," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz said the president "never told Mr Comey 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty' in form or substance," rejecting the key allegation.

Deploying Trump's trademark bareknuckle style, Kasowitz also suggested the ousted lawman should be prosecuted for leaking "privileged information."

'Lies, plain and simple'

A visibly aggrieved Comey kicked off his testimony with a bid to set the record straight about the state of the bureau he led until he was sacked last month.

"Although the law requires no reason at all to fire an FBI director, the administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the work force had lost confidence in its leader," he charged.

"Those were lies plain and simple," Comey said, firing a shot of tension through hearing room 216 of the Senate's Hart building, which stood silent except for the shutter clicks of photographers capturing the political theater.

Democrats are intent on determining whether Trump's actions amounted to obstruction of justice, while Republicans zeroed in on Comey's admission he assured the president he was not personally an FBI investigation target.

Trump abruptly fired Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on May 9, admitting later that the Russia probe was on his mind at the time.

In a written statement, Comey described his mounting discomfort in the weeks leading up to his dismissal as Trump pulled him aside in person and phoned to press him on the probe into his campaign associates and possible collusion with Russia.

'A big deal'

At a private White House dinner on January 27, just days after the billionaire took office, Comey said Trump appeared to want to "create some sort of patronage relationship" with him.

"The president said, 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.' I didn't move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed," Comey said.

In an Oval Office tete-a-tete the following month, Comey said Trump pressed him to drop the FBI investigation into Flynn, who had been fired for lying to the vice president about unreported conversations with the Russian ambassador.

Harvard Law School professor Mark Tushnet said onlookers should keep in mind that Comey knows much more than he can say.

"He's saying that when he looks at all the evidence that he knows, that he draws the conclusion that the president was trying to pull him off the investigation of Flynn.

"It's a pretty powerful statement that an investigator with his background (says) when I look at this investigation, this is what I conclude. So his statement is a big deal," he said.

But Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan appeared to sympathize with Trump, telling a news conference that "the president's new at this."

"He probably wasn't steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between (Department of Justice), FBI and White Houses. He's just new to this."

WASHINGTON: Washington buzzed with new questions Friday after ousted FBI director James Comey accused President Donald Trump of lies and defamation, in gripping testimony that undermined an already troubled White House. During almost three hours of extraordinarily frank statements before a Senate committee Thursday, Comey described himself as "stunned" by Trump's "very disturbing" and "very concerning" behavior in several meetings. Detailing one-on-one talks with a sitting president -- which under normal circumstances are private -- Comey said he took painstaking notes for fear Trump might "lie" about the unusual encounters. The former lawman also admitted he asked a friend to leak those notes to a reporter, betting -- correctly -- that the details would prompt the appointment of a special prosecutor. Comey's testimony painted a devastating picture of an untrustworthy president, who at best unknowingly shred the norms of office by pressing Comey on a probe into Russian election meddling, and at worst may have criminally obstructed justice. Pundits and legal experts were divided on whether Trump's actions rose to the level of obstruction of justice, a potentially impeachable offense, while Comey said that decision was now in the hands of the special prosecutor. But Trump early Friday claimed "total and complete vindication" after Comey confirmed that the president was not personally under investigation, easing months of speculation. "Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication... and WOW, Comey is a leaker!" Trump said in a tweet, his first reaction to the bombshell testimony. Trump was scheduled to face the press later Friday at a joint press conference with the visiting president of Romania. 'Loyalty' During one White House dinner, Comey recalled that the president asked him for "loyalty" and to lay off his former national security advisor Michael Flynn -- who is under criminal investigation over his Russia ties -- imploring Comey to "let this go." Comey said he believed he was sacked over his handling of the Russia investigation, which includes probing allegations that Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow to tip the election to the real estate tycoon. "I was fired in some way to change, or the endeavor was to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted. That is a very big deal," Comey told senators. The White House and Trump's lawyers lashed out at Comey's unflattering portrayals. "I can definitely say the president is not a liar and frankly am insulted by that question," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz said the president "never told Mr Comey 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty' in form or substance," rejecting the key allegation. Deploying Trump's trademark bareknuckle style, Kasowitz also suggested the ousted lawman should be prosecuted for leaking "privileged information." 'Lies, plain and simple' A visibly aggrieved Comey kicked off his testimony with a bid to set the record straight about the state of the bureau he led until he was sacked last month. "Although the law requires no reason at all to fire an FBI director, the administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the work force had lost confidence in its leader," he charged. "Those were lies plain and simple," Comey said, firing a shot of tension through hearing room 216 of the Senate's Hart building, which stood silent except for the shutter clicks of photographers capturing the political theater. Democrats are intent on determining whether Trump's actions amounted to obstruction of justice, while Republicans zeroed in on Comey's admission he assured the president he was not personally an FBI investigation target. Trump abruptly fired Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on May 9, admitting later that the Russia probe was on his mind at the time. In a written statement, Comey described his mounting discomfort in the weeks leading up to his dismissal as Trump pulled him aside in person and phoned to press him on the probe into his campaign associates and possible collusion with Russia. 'A big deal' At a private White House dinner on January 27, just days after the billionaire took office, Comey said Trump appeared to want to "create some sort of patronage relationship" with him. "The president said, 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.' I didn't move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed," Comey said. In an Oval Office tete-a-tete the following month, Comey said Trump pressed him to drop the FBI investigation into Flynn, who had been fired for lying to the vice president about unreported conversations with the Russian ambassador. Harvard Law School professor Mark Tushnet said onlookers should keep in mind that Comey knows much more than he can say. "He's saying that when he looks at all the evidence that he knows, that he draws the conclusion that the president was trying to pull him off the investigation of Flynn. "It's a pretty powerful statement that an investigator with his background (says) when I look at this investigation, this is what I conclude. So his statement is a big deal," he said. But Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan appeared to sympathize with Trump, telling a news conference that "the president's new at this." "He probably wasn't steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between (Department of Justice), FBI and White Houses. He's just new to this."
By PTI

ASTANA: Capping a two-year-long process, India and Pakistan today became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

India's membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistan's entry into the grouping was backed by China. With the expansion of the grouping, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP.

As an SCO member, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region.

"India and Pakistan are now members of the SCO. It is a very important moment for us," Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is the current chair of the SCO, said, making the announcement at the Summit of the grouping here.

India, one of the largest energy consuming countries in the world, is also likely to get greater access to major gas and oil exploration projects in Central Asia as many of the SCO countries have huge reserves of oil and natural gas.

The SCO had set the ball rolling to make India a member of the bloc during its summit in Ufa, Russia, in July, 2015, when administrative hurdles were cleared to grant membership to India and Pakistan.

The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 Astana Summit. The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the moratorium on new membership, paving the way for the expansion of the grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

India feels that as an SCO member, it will be able to play a major role in addressing the threat of terrorism in the region.

India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

India has been an observer at the SCO since 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.

ASTANA: Capping a two-year-long process, India and Pakistan today became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO. India's membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistan's entry into the grouping was backed by China. With the expansion of the grouping, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP. As an SCO member, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region. "India and Pakistan are now members of the SCO. It is a very important moment for us," Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is the current chair of the SCO, said, making the announcement at the Summit of the grouping here. India, one of the largest energy consuming countries in the world, is also likely to get greater access to major gas and oil exploration projects in Central Asia as many of the SCO countries have huge reserves of oil and natural gas. The SCO had set the ball rolling to make India a member of the bloc during its summit in Ufa, Russia, in July, 2015, when administrative hurdles were cleared to grant membership to India and Pakistan. The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 Astana Summit. The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the moratorium on new membership, paving the way for the expansion of the grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). India feels that as an SCO member, it will be able to play a major role in addressing the threat of terrorism in the region. India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence. India has been an observer at the SCO since 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.
By PTI

BEIJING:Tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir would pose the largest challenge to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and its anti-terrorism mechanisms, a Chinese daily said today.

"The inclusion of India and Pakistan will add to the political dimension of the SCO, whose members' value systems, characteristics of national development and core concerns, will be more diversified," an editorial in the state-run Global Times said.

The editorial came as the six-member grouping is set to admit India and Pakistan as full members.

The daily said the admission of India and Pakistan has created worry over whether their long-standing hostility would be brought to the SCO, instigating internal disputes.

While SCO can lay the foundations for solving divergences between the two, "it won't be an easy job. However, the organisation must face such tests as it expands", it said.

"How India's participation in the SCO will influence the organisation's internal leadership has been discussed a lot. Most of the discussion is framed by traditional thinking. The SCO is not a place for leadership competition. Some Indian media should free itself from outdated views, and embrace new patterns of regional cooperation," it said.

An article the same daily said "if India and Pakistan are unable to realise mutual understanding on their disputes, including the Kashmir issue, the possibility of conflict remains high between both nations."

"Under those circumstances, it would represent the largest challenge to the SCO, and China and Russia must make more diplomatic effort to alleviate and improve India-Pakistan relations," he said.

Furthermore, the pressure from non-traditional security threats involving India and Pakistan will increase the difficulty in combating terrorism by the SCO.

Pakistan is seen by the US as a major anti-terrorism partner as its northern areas are frequented by the Taliban. The ever-tense counter-terrorism situation in the region can be seen by the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 and suicide bombings at a Pakistani shrine in February of this year, it said.

"Although India and Pakistan's admission as full members into the SCO will bring about convenience in information- sharing and mechanism advantages, ensuing pressure and difficulties in fighting against terrorism will also be increased," it said.

"Since the signing of the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism in June 2001, SCO member states have strengthened the crackdown on the three forces, of terrorism, extremism and separatism," it said.

"However, it is only restricted to China, Russia, and member states of Central Asia. At present, anti-terrorism actions have been expanded to South Asia, especially in India and Pakistan where the situation is relatively grave. Their inclusion will present a major test to the present anti- terrorism mechanisms of the SCO," it said

"Finally, the inclusion of India and Pakistan into the SCO will examine the cohesiveness of the organisation...With the admission of more member states, problems began to be more visible," it said.

"From a realistic point of view, the addition of new member states will inevitably bring more problems to the organisation. China and Russia have controlled the development of the SCO in the past, the admission of two major powers in South Asia will require increasing efforts on their parts to continue exerting influence over it," it said.

The SCO is comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as full members.

Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status. Its 2015 summit in Ufa in Russia has formally adopted a resolution which started the procedures to admit India and Pakistan into the SCO.

Both the countries signed a Memorandum of Obligations to join the organisation in last years summit in Tashkent.

BEIJING:Tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir would pose the largest challenge to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and its anti-terrorism mechanisms, a Chinese daily said today. "The inclusion of India and Pakistan will add to the political dimension of the SCO, whose members' value systems, characteristics of national development and core concerns, will be more diversified," an editorial in the state-run Global Times said. The editorial came as the six-member grouping is set to admit India and Pakistan as full members. The daily said the admission of India and Pakistan has created worry over whether their long-standing hostility would be brought to the SCO, instigating internal disputes. While SCO can lay the foundations for solving divergences between the two, "it won't be an easy job. However, the organisation must face such tests as it expands", it said. "How India's participation in the SCO will influence the organisation's internal leadership has been discussed a lot. Most of the discussion is framed by traditional thinking. The SCO is not a place for leadership competition. Some Indian media should free itself from outdated views, and embrace new patterns of regional cooperation," it said. An article the same daily said "if India and Pakistan are unable to realise mutual understanding on their disputes, including the Kashmir issue, the possibility of conflict remains high between both nations." "Under those circumstances, it would represent the largest challenge to the SCO, and China and Russia must make more diplomatic effort to alleviate and improve India-Pakistan relations," he said. Furthermore, the pressure from non-traditional security threats involving India and Pakistan will increase the difficulty in combating terrorism by the SCO. Pakistan is seen by the US as a major anti-terrorism partner as its northern areas are frequented by the Taliban. The ever-tense counter-terrorism situation in the region can be seen by the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 and suicide bombings at a Pakistani shrine in February of this year, it said. "Although India and Pakistan's admission as full members into the SCO will bring about convenience in information- sharing and mechanism advantages, ensuing pressure and difficulties in fighting against terrorism will also be increased," it said. "Since the signing of the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism in June 2001, SCO member states have strengthened the crackdown on the three forces, of terrorism, extremism and separatism," it said. "However, it is only restricted to China, Russia, and member states of Central Asia. At present, anti-terrorism actions have been expanded to South Asia, especially in India and Pakistan where the situation is relatively grave. Their inclusion will present a major test to the present anti- terrorism mechanisms of the SCO," it said "Finally, the inclusion of India and Pakistan into the SCO will examine the cohesiveness of the organisation...With the admission of more member states, problems began to be more visible," it said. "From a realistic point of view, the addition of new member states will inevitably bring more problems to the organisation. China and Russia have controlled the development of the SCO in the past, the admission of two major powers in South Asia will require increasing efforts on their parts to continue exerting influence over it," it said. The SCO is comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as full members. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status. Its 2015 summit in Ufa in Russia has formally adopted a resolution which started the procedures to admit India and Pakistan into the SCO. Both the countries signed a Memorandum of Obligations to join the organisation in last years summit in Tashkent.
By ANI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to adopt an expedited timetable for hearing of the Kulbhushan Jadhav's case.

According to a statement issued by the office of the Attorney General of Pakistan, delegations of India and Pakistan on Thursday met ICJ president Ronny Abraham to discuss the timelines in the Jadhav case. The Registrar of the court and other court officials were also present in the meeting.

The purpose of the meeting was only to discuss procedural matters including the timelines for submission of written memorials and to enable a hearing to be listed.



The delegation of Pakistan was led by Ashtar Ausaf Ali, the Attorney General for Pakistan, who urged the Court to adopt an expedited timetable with a view for an early substantive hearing. The Court will now announce the timetable shortly.



The Attorney General also informed the ICJ of Pakistans intent to appoint a judge ad hoc, who will sit on the bench of the Court for all proceedings in this case, according to the statement.



India moved the ICJ against the death penalty awarded to Jadhav by a Pakistan military court on May 8 for espionage.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

During the last trial on May 18, the ICJ had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav.



ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to adopt an expedited timetable for hearing of the Kulbhushan Jadhav's case. According to a statement issued by the office of the Attorney General of Pakistan, delegations of India and Pakistan on Thursday met ICJ president Ronny Abraham to discuss the timelines in the Jadhav case. The Registrar of the court and other court officials were also present in the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was only to discuss procedural matters including the timelines for submission of written memorials and to enable a hearing to be listed. The delegation of Pakistan was led by Ashtar Ausaf Ali, the Attorney General for Pakistan, who urged the Court to adopt an expedited timetable with a view for an early substantive hearing. The Court will now announce the timetable shortly. The Attorney General also informed the ICJ of Pakistans intent to appoint a judge ad hoc, who will sit on the bench of the Court for all proceedings in this case, according to the statement. India moved the ICJ against the death penalty awarded to Jadhav by a Pakistan military court on May 8 for espionage. Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran. However, India maintains he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy. During the last trial on May 18, the ICJ had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav.
By Associated Press

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korea said Friday it has tested a new type of cruise missile that is a powerful means of attacking enemy warships, a day after South Korea's military detected projectiles fired from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan.

The missiles represent the fourth new missile system North Korea said it has introduced and successfully tested this year alone, sending a defiant message to its enemies that it will continue to pursue a weapons program that has rattled its neighbors and Washington.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the launches, according to the official Korean Central News Agency, which said the missiles "accurately detected and hit" floating targets at sea after making "circular flights."

The missiles, which the South said flew about 200 kilometers (125 miles), were tested in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, where U.S. aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan participated in joint exercises with the South Korean navy that ended earlier this week.

"This new-type cruise rocket is a powerful attack means capable of striking any enemy group of battleships" attempting to attack North Korea and can be used "at will," the KCNA report said.

The North's missile tests present a difficult challenge to new South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has expressed a desire to reach out to the North. North Korea, which could have a working nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile in the next several years, may also be the most urgent foreign policy concern for the Trump administration, which has been distracted by domestic political turmoil and has insisted China do more to rein in the North's weapons activities.

South Korean military spokesman Roh Jae-cheon said the launch was intended to show off Pyongyang's widening arrange of missiles and also its "precision strike capabilities" on ships in response to the joint drills.

Bolivia's U.N. Ambassador Sacha Llorentty Soliz, the current U.N. Security Council president, told reporters Thursday he had not received any requests for a meeting on the latest launches.

Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft condemned North Korea's "latest provocations" and said "we look forward to working with our council colleagues about the best way to respond to them." He added that it was possible the launches were "underneath a threshold to count as a violation" of U.N. sanctions against North Korea that ban certain nuclear and missile tests.

The Security Council voted unanimously on June 2 to add 15 individuals and four entities linked to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs to a U.N. sanctions blacklist. That was in response to previous ballistic missile tests that violate U.N. sanctions.

North Korea's weapons tests are meant to build a nuclear and missile program that can stand up to what it sees as U.S. and South Korean hostility, but they are also considered by outside analysts as ways to make its political demands clear to leaders in Washington and Seoul. Analysts say the latest test appeared to be aimed at keeping up pressures on Moon to wrest concessions.

Moon has sought to expand cross-border civilian exchanges as a way to improve ties, but North Korea on Monday rejected a Seoul civic group's offer to provide anti-malaria supplies to protest South Korea's support of fresh U.N. sanctions adopted last week.

In what will likely become another source of animosities, Moon's government said it will let two of the four North Korean fishermen recently rescued at sea resettle in the South in accordance with their wishes. The two other fishermen who want to return home were repatriated on Friday.

Pyongyang is expected to demand the return of all four fishermen by accusing Seoul of enticing them to defect to the South.

Last month, North Korea premiered a powerful new midrange missile that outside experts said flew higher than any other missile previously tested by North Korea.

The North in following weeks launched a solid-fuel midrange missile that can be fired on shorter notice than liquid fuel missiles, and also what it descried a new "precision-guided" missile, which experts say is designed with a maneuverable terminal stage meant to frustrate missile defense systems like the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense that is being deployed in South Korea.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: North Korea said Friday it has tested a new type of cruise missile that is a powerful means of attacking enemy warships, a day after South Korea's military detected projectiles fired from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan. The missiles represent the fourth new missile system North Korea said it has introduced and successfully tested this year alone, sending a defiant message to its enemies that it will continue to pursue a weapons program that has rattled its neighbors and Washington. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the launches, according to the official Korean Central News Agency, which said the missiles "accurately detected and hit" floating targets at sea after making "circular flights." The missiles, which the South said flew about 200 kilometers (125 miles), were tested in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, where U.S. aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan participated in joint exercises with the South Korean navy that ended earlier this week. "This new-type cruise rocket is a powerful attack means capable of striking any enemy group of battleships" attempting to attack North Korea and can be used "at will," the KCNA report said. The North's missile tests present a difficult challenge to new South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has expressed a desire to reach out to the North. North Korea, which could have a working nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile in the next several years, may also be the most urgent foreign policy concern for the Trump administration, which has been distracted by domestic political turmoil and has insisted China do more to rein in the North's weapons activities. South Korean military spokesman Roh Jae-cheon said the launch was intended to show off Pyongyang's widening arrange of missiles and also its "precision strike capabilities" on ships in response to the joint drills. Bolivia's U.N. Ambassador Sacha Llorentty Soliz, the current U.N. Security Council president, told reporters Thursday he had not received any requests for a meeting on the latest launches. Britain's U.N. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft condemned North Korea's "latest provocations" and said "we look forward to working with our council colleagues about the best way to respond to them." He added that it was possible the launches were "underneath a threshold to count as a violation" of U.N. sanctions against North Korea that ban certain nuclear and missile tests. The Security Council voted unanimously on June 2 to add 15 individuals and four entities linked to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs to a U.N. sanctions blacklist. That was in response to previous ballistic missile tests that violate U.N. sanctions. North Korea's weapons tests are meant to build a nuclear and missile program that can stand up to what it sees as U.S. and South Korean hostility, but they are also considered by outside analysts as ways to make its political demands clear to leaders in Washington and Seoul. Analysts say the latest test appeared to be aimed at keeping up pressures on Moon to wrest concessions. Moon has sought to expand cross-border civilian exchanges as a way to improve ties, but North Korea on Monday rejected a Seoul civic group's offer to provide anti-malaria supplies to protest South Korea's support of fresh U.N. sanctions adopted last week. In what will likely become another source of animosities, Moon's government said it will let two of the four North Korean fishermen recently rescued at sea resettle in the South in accordance with their wishes. The two other fishermen who want to return home were repatriated on Friday. Pyongyang is expected to demand the return of all four fishermen by accusing Seoul of enticing them to defect to the South. Last month, North Korea premiered a powerful new midrange missile that outside experts said flew higher than any other missile previously tested by North Korea. The North in following weeks launched a solid-fuel midrange missile that can be fired on shorter notice than liquid fuel missiles, and also what it descried a new "precision-guided" missile, which experts say is designed with a maneuverable terminal stage meant to frustrate missile defense systems like the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense that is being deployed in South Korea.
By PTI

LAHORE: Pakistan has alleged that India has prevented some Sikh pilgrims from travelling to the country for the annual 'Jor Mela' as only 14 devotees have arrived so far.

The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had issued visas to 80 Sikh pilgrims but 66 of them couldn't reach Lahore as "India stopped them at Attari Railway Station citing technical reason," Pakistani authorities said.

"The Samjhauta Express train left for Attari on Thursday to bring 80 Sikhs for Jor Mela but when it reached there its staff was told by Indian authorities that the Sikh pilgrims couldn't board it as their visa only allow them to go to Pakistan on a special train," said Amir Hashmi, spokesman Evacuee Trust Property Board, which looks after the minority holy places in Pakistan.

Hashmi told PTI that the Pakistan Railways was willing to send a special train to India to ferry the pilgrims but the Indian authorities didn't allow.

"Fourteen of the total 80 pilgrims had a visa allowing them to enter Pakistan by road. They crossed Wagha Border by foot where the ETPB officials received them," Hashmi said.

'Jor Mela' is observed to mark the death anniversary of fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. The 10-day festival, which is also called Shaheedi Jor Mela, will be held at Panja Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore.

The 14 pilgrims were taken to Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal.

The Sikh pilgrims will return to India through the Wagah border on June 17, according to a report in Radio Pakistan.

LAHORE: Pakistan has alleged that India has prevented some Sikh pilgrims from travelling to the country for the annual 'Jor Mela' as only 14 devotees have arrived so far. The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi had issued visas to 80 Sikh pilgrims but 66 of them couldn't reach Lahore as "India stopped them at Attari Railway Station citing technical reason," Pakistani authorities said. "The Samjhauta Express train left for Attari on Thursday to bring 80 Sikhs for Jor Mela but when it reached there its staff was told by Indian authorities that the Sikh pilgrims couldn't board it as their visa only allow them to go to Pakistan on a special train," said Amir Hashmi, spokesman Evacuee Trust Property Board, which looks after the minority holy places in Pakistan. Hashmi told PTI that the Pakistan Railways was willing to send a special train to India to ferry the pilgrims but the Indian authorities didn't allow. "Fourteen of the total 80 pilgrims had a visa allowing them to enter Pakistan by road. They crossed Wagha Border by foot where the ETPB officials received them," Hashmi said. 'Jor Mela' is observed to mark the death anniversary of fifth Sikh Guru Arjan Dev. The 10-day festival, which is also called Shaheedi Jor Mela, will be held at Panja Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore. The 14 pilgrims were taken to Gurdwara Panja Sahib Hasan Abdal. The Sikh pilgrims will return to India through the Wagah border on June 17, according to a report in Radio Pakistan.
By PTI

WOLFENBUTTLE: German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said today that the UK vote reflected popular discontent over Prime Minister Theresa May's hard Brexit strategy, which he said should be reconsidered.

"The message from this vote is - hold fair talks with the EU and think again whether it is really good for Britain to leave the EU in this manner," he told reporters.

He added that he hoped "a new government will be formed quickly with which we can hold serious negotiations".

A foreign ministry spokesman said that May had campaigned for "a strong majority for a hard Brexit" and that this "was not the outcome of the election", in which the British PM lost her majority.

A spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile declined to comment on the election until a new government is formed, while the German leader was a on a tour of Argentina and Mexico.

WOLFENBUTTLE: German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said today that the UK vote reflected popular discontent over Prime Minister Theresa May's hard Brexit strategy, which he said should be reconsidered. "The message from this vote is - hold fair talks with the EU and think again whether it is really good for Britain to leave the EU in this manner," he told reporters. He added that he hoped "a new government will be formed quickly with which we can hold serious negotiations". A foreign ministry spokesman said that May had campaigned for "a strong majority for a hard Brexit" and that this "was not the outcome of the election", in which the British PM lost her majority. A spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel meanwhile declined to comment on the election until a new government is formed, while the German leader was a on a tour of Argentina and Mexico.
By PTI

WASHINGTON: The US is looking forward to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington later this month, the State Department has said.

"We look forward to having the (Indian) Prime Minister here in Washington I believe it's later this month," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference yesterday.

Modi is expected to travel to Washington at the invitation of US President Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House later this month. Actual dates of the meeting has not been announced yet.

This would be Modi's first trip to the US under the Trump administration. The two leaders have spoken over phone for at least three times.

Under the previous Obama Administration, Modi had a record number of eight meetings with Barack Obama. Modi traveled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.

WASHINGTON: The US is looking forward to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington later this month, the State Department has said. "We look forward to having the (Indian) Prime Minister here in Washington I believe it's later this month," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference yesterday. Modi is expected to travel to Washington at the invitation of US President Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House later this month. Actual dates of the meeting has not been announced yet. This would be Modi's first trip to the US under the Trump administration. The two leaders have spoken over phone for at least three times. Under the previous Obama Administration, Modi had a record number of eight meetings with Barack Obama. Modi traveled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.
Championship game berths on the line for Island football teams

The stakes dont get much higher for the Portsmouth, Middletown and Rogers high school football teams this weekend.
Andy and Serena Ryan get their health coverage through the state's Affordable Care Act insurance exchange and are increasingly anxious about it.

Serena Ryan, 31, who left her part-time job as a nurse in 2016 to care for and home-school the couple's two children, ages 5 and 3, calls the coverage a "blessing." Andy Ryan, 33, is a self-employed marketing consultant.

"The health insurance has allowed us to live the way we want, to be at home with the kids and create our own business," Serena Ryan said. "We know we needed the coverage in case something happened, even though it's a big expense."

But turmoil in the ACA marketplaces has the family "holding our breath," she said.

In some states, including Delaware, insurers have announced that next year they will not participate in the exchanges, also called online marketplaces, that serve consumers who do not get insurance at work or through government programs such as Medicare or Medicaid. The insurers blame financial losses and mounting uncertainty over federal funding and rules that govern the exchanges.

For example, the Trump administration has not committed to continuing a program that reduces deductibles and copayments for some low-income families. The program reimbursed insurers $7 billion in 2016. Without the funds, insurers and analysts say, premiums could rise 15 to 20 percent on top of other proposed hikes.

This KHN story also ran in CNN Money. It can be republished for free (details).

The ACA's uncertain fate in Congress has added to the concerns.

In Delaware, two insurers offered coverage through the exchange over the past three years: Aetna and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, a Pennsylvania-based company.

But Aetna announced last month that it was dropping out of the Delaware exchange in 2018. That could make Delaware the seventh state with only one insurer in its exchange. The others are Alabama, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Carolina and Wyoming. And 11 states are down to just two insurers.

In addition, portions of some states face the prospect of having no insurer in 2018.

"Going down to one insurer is a challenging situation for sure," said Trinidad Navarro, Delaware's insurance commissioner. "Competition makes a difference, and the current administration in Washington is not making things any easier. We expect Highmark to request significant premium increases for 2018."

A study released last month by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan research group in Washington D.C., found premiums increased from 2016 to 2017 an average of nearly 30 percent in states with one insurer, 26 percent in states with two insurers and just 5 percent in states with six or more insurers.

Having access to one insurer can also mean consumers have fewer choices of doctors and hospitals if that single insurer offers a restricted network of providers, said Cynthia Cox, who researches the ACA and its effects on private insurers and enrollees for the Kaiser Family Foundation. "It's not an ideal situation," Cox says. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)

'We Need The Insurance'

In Delaware, Aetna covers just under 12,000 people and Highmark about 15,500.

John and Doris Henry, who live in Georgetown, Del., are Aetna customers. At 62 and 64, respectively, they know they must have coverage before both qualify for Medicare, even though both are currently in good health.

"We are very concerned," said John Henry. "We don't know what it means with one insurer and the switch we have to make now."

The Henrys, who are retired and live on Social Security and savings, pay a $36-a-month premium after a federal health insurance subsidy is factored in.

"We could afford a bit more but not a whole lot," John Henry said.

They switched to Aetna this year after Highmark hiked their premium to $273 a month from $140 a month.

"There was no way we could pay that," he said. "We are worried this is what we'll face for next year."

Like the Henrys and millions of other Americans, the Ryans say the cost of their health insurance is a major consideration. It factors into their earning and spending decisions.

Their family coverage costs $1,363 a month, but they get a subsidy of $959, making their monthly payment $404, up from their 2016 premium of $248 a month. Their deductible is $3,000.

If their income were, say, $90,000 instead of the $50,000 to $60,000 it has been, they would have to pay more toward the full premium.

"We need to pay our bills and want to live comfortably, but we can't afford almost $1,500 a month for insurance," said Andy Ryan.

With the uncertainty over insurance, the Ryans also recently decided to put off having a third child.

"If we end up having to choose a plan with a $4,000 or $5,000 deductible, having a baby will mostly or totally be an out-of-pocket expense," said Serena Ryan. "We can't afford that right now, and maybe never."

Tough Negotiations Ahead

Across the country, insurers must indicate to state and federal regulators by June 21 whether they'll offer coverage in the exchanges in 2018 and propose premium rates. The proposed rates are an initial salvo in what can become tense negotiations over the summer before final rates get locked in during the fall.

Under federal rules, proposed rate hikes of 10 percent or more are subject to the closest scrutiny.

Anticipating tough negotiations with Highmark over the company's initial rate requests, which are due June 9, Navarro said he'll order an assessment of the request by outside experts in addition to the state's own review.

"We will fight hard for our consumers," Navarro said. He's also trying to attract other insurers to Delaware.

Officials are looking for ways to improve competition in the marketplaces. Congressional Republicans may debate solutions to this problem as part of efforts to fix or overhaul the ACA. And Democrats have some suggestions too. For example, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced legislation to permit people who live in "bare counties" without any insurers to buy coverage on the District of Columbia exchange, where members of Congress and congressional staff purchase insurance.

More states are also expected to follow the lead of Alaska and Oklahoma by creating "reinsurance" programs to subsidize payments for high-cost patients. The Trump administration has encouraged states to pursue this path under an existing ACA waiver program.

Even states with lots of insurers are taking steps to prevent defections. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced June 5 that the state would henceforth bar insurers who quit the ACA marketplace from bidding for future contracts with other New York health programs, such as Medicaid.

'It's Going To Be Very Expensive'

Cameron and Lori Llewellyn, also of Dover, face health insurance troubles, too, but it's not the first time.

Cameron is a self-employed construction contractor. In 2015, the cost of the Aetna coverage they bought on the individual market ballooned from $527 a month in 2014 to $1,200 a month with a $6,000 deductible. Lori Llewellyn, now 41, who had been home with their two children, decided to go back to work 18 months ago, in part to get job-based health coverage.

"Everything kind of doubled, and it happened at a bad time financially," she said. "So I went back to work."

Cameron Llewellyn's company has thrived, so his wife is leaving the workplace for now. But he makes too much money to qualify for a subsidy on the ACA insurance exchange, so they will have to cover the full cost of insurance.

"I don't know what we're going to do now," Cameron Llewellyn said. "We know it's going to be very expensive." He said the couple will look at plans with really high deductibles through the exchange, but also check out options such as insurance through building trade organizations or through a broker outside of the exchanges.

"I tell you one thing," Cameron Llewellyn said. "I know we need coverage. But if we're stuck paying $15,000 a year for insurance with a $10,000 deductible, I'm going to seriously consider just banking that money and going without [it]."
People with Sami background who experience domestic violence seek help from the authorities less often than other Norwegians. A new report has looked at what may be done.

"I usually say that when you enter a Sami family, you have to sit on the floor, figuratively speaking. You have to be very humble. () I think this has a lot to do with their history, when the Norwegians came and told them 'what you're doing is wrong, you have to do it this way.'"

The quote above is taken from a report on the social services' and the police's experiences with domestic violence in Sami communities, written by the Norwegian center for violence and traumatic stress studies (NKVTS). The report uncovers major barriers between Sami victims of violence and the social services and the police, which consequently result in poor support.

"In general, few of those who experience domestic violence seek help," says Ingvil Thallaug verli, who has been a researcher in the project and responsible for conducting the focus group interviews.

"But we know that Sami users have larger barriers than other Norwegians when it comes to seeking help from the public support system," she says.

Lack trust

Together with Ann-Kristin Finstad, verli has interviewed employees within the police, the health service, and the social service in areas that traditionally have had and still have a Sami population. Experiences and challenges concerning their work with domestic violence in Sami communities were discussed, as well as the causes for these and what might be done in order to develop this work.

"One of the most important reasons why people with Sami background don't report violence is that they lack trust in the state apparatus," says project leader Solveig Bergman.

"Much of the reason for this is that those working within the support system have limited knowledge of Sami language and culture, and that violence and abuse is highly tabooed in Sami communities. But another important reason is the Sami population's inherent shame caused by the Norwegianisation policy."

The Norwegianisation policy was institutionalized in legislation and practical politics from the mid-1800s. Sami language, history, and ethnic background were put to silence many places and in many families, which resulted in a loss of language and identity among other things.

Fear of being ostracized

"Isn't it more difficult to report domestic violence in smaller communities where everybody knows everybody than in larger cities?"

"Yes, but within the Sami clan society, we see an even stronger barrier when it comes to seeking help outside of the family than we do in other small communities. The fear of being ostracized from the family and that family ties may be broken seems stronger among Sami people than among other Norwegians. This assumption is supported by statements from the participants in our study and other research on Sami people and other ethnic minorities," says Bergman.

Laestadianism's influence on Sami culture and society also plays a part in strengthening the attitude that it is the victim who must bear the shame and guilt for the violence, not the offender.

"The tabooing of sex and body, the silence concerning everything private, and the idea that issues are solved within the family. We find such ideas everywhere in Norway, but there are indications that these taboos are stronger within Laestadian and Sami communities," says Bergman.

All the participants in the study found it difficult to ask direct questions about violence in their encounter with Sami users, but for different reasons.

"Some because they identified themselves as Sami. Others felt that they were perceived as representatives of the greater society, a difficult position because of the collective historical trauma that the Norwegianisation policy has inflicted upon the Sami people," says Bergman.

Sensitive topic

According to Ingvil Thallaug verli, the biggest problems the researchers themselves encountered in their work with the report had to do with the fact that the topic is so sensitive and tabooed. It was therefore a major advantage that they got a person with Sami background on board both in the recruitment work and as co-moderator.

"In many instances, we were dealing with small close communities where everybody knows everybody. This made it slightly difficult to recruit participants for the study. Some were afraid that what they said within the group would come out, and that others would know who had said what," says verli.

The participants were recruited from four geographical areas with populations that have traditionally been Sami: two Northern Sami areas, one Lule Sami area, and one Southern Sami area.

"In the Southern Sami area the Sami are a minority, which has a lot to say concerning which experiences were highlighted in the focus group interviews," says verli.

"In some areas, there is very little knowledge about the Southern Sami population and culture, and many with Southern Sami background experience that they are not met with understanding from the public services. Following such experiences, one may end up not seeking help at a later stage after being exposed to violence. The participants in the focus groups who had Sami background themselves experienced that people contacted them specifically and that many were hesitant about contacting those without Sami background."

According to her, the focus group discussion was nevertheless characterized by consensus. You risk that some questions are not asked, and if some people think that there are issues they will not gain support for in the group, they don't address them.

"In the groups in which the participants with Sami background came from areas of Sami majority, the Samis had a clear authority. They were the ones who spoke the most. The non-Sami participants in the group said they were there to learn. This was different in the groups where the participants with Sami background came from Sami minority areas. Here the Sami participants had to make more effort to take the word and get through to the rest of the group."

Women more exposed

According to verli, including both women and men as victims of violence in the report does not undermine the fact that women are more exposed.

"We know that most of those who are exposed to violence are women and that the violence is performed by men. But if we restrict domestic violence only to involve female victims, we miss the fact that there are also boys and men who are victims of violence. This means that we need other explanatory models than just gender power theories."

Solveig Bergman emphasizes that domestic violence also includes a lifecycle perspective.

"Although partner violence is emphasized here, which is primarily performed by men towards women, domestic violence is also about violence towards children," she says.

"The gender power perspective is stronger in Sweden, where it is largely emphasized that most abusers are men. In Norway we prefer to take into consideration that women also exercise violence and that men are also victims, or that violence may occur in same-sex relations," says Bergman.

"Why is gender equality often neglected in Sami communities?"

"The feminist movement in the 1970s and 80s was established around the same time as the Sami in Norway began to fight for their own identity. The Sami Parliament and other Sami institutions were established, and specific education programs were founded. Perhaps they didn't have enough energy to handle internal conflicts, and Sami feminists were accused of being 'Norwegianised'," says Bergman.

Silent about violence

According to her, the myth about the strong Sami woman is used internally within Sami communities today in order to keep women from talking about the violence they are exposed to.

"You shouldn't experience violence in the first place, but if you do you shouldn't talk about it. It breaks with the idea of the Sami identity as strong and self-reliant, an ideal that applies to both men and women, but to women in particular," says Bergman.

"Even the children in many Sami families are raised to be extremely independent, but being raised to deal with everything on your own also has some disadvantages. When it comes to domestic violence, it is important to be able to seek help from the world outside. But this requires trust and that we avoid stigmatizing an entire group. Also within Sami communities, there are major differences."

The report concludes that it is important to understand Sami ways of communication and Sami culture and to use Sami language or an interpreter when working with victims of domestic violence. It also recommends further research on the area.

"The background for this study is previous research which shows that half of the women and one-third of the men with Sami connections experience violence during their lives. Our report gives insight into what the support system says, so now we need concrete measures," Bergman emphasizes.

The younger are more open

Astri Dankertsen, post.doc at Nord University, also views the barriers of reporting domestic violence in Sami communities in connection with traumatic experiences related to the Norwegianisation policy.

"Due to the violations that the Sami population was exposed to, many people with Sami background have lost their language and their trust in the greater society. Reporting domestic violence is difficult in any case. When you lack trust in the authorities, the threshold for seeking help becomes even higher. Particularly within those areas where the Sami population also represents a minority," she says.

"The Sami also have a long tradition for not talking to others about family matters. You should deal with it yourself and not involve outsiders. Being able to deal with your own problems is a good thing, but it can also become destructive, as in cases of domestic violence."

According to Dankertsen, the younger generation of the Sami population is now speaking up for more openness.

"Media reports show that particularly younger Sami people want more openness, also within the family. Examples of this are the Tysfjord case and all the reactions that have come up in the wake of this."

She emphasizes that reporting domestic violence is particularly difficult within small, closed communities where everybody knows everybody.

"Moreover, when it comes to ethnic minorities, reporting violence within the family can have major consequences. This also applies to immigrant communities that experience stigmatization in the first place. By reporting the violence, the victims fear that stigmatization and discrimination will increase. You don't only represent yourself, you represent an entire culture."

"What are your thoughts on the gender perspective when it comes to domestic violence in Sami communities?"

"There hasn't been much research on this, but we do know that Sami women are more exposed to violence and sexual abuse than other Norwegian women. The view on women in Sami communities is often colored by Laestadianism: women should remain silent in gatherings and sexuality is not discussed."
The human brain naturally makes its best guess when making a decision, and studying those guesses can be very revealing about the brain's inner workings. But neuroscientists at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine said a full understanding of the complexity of the human brain will require new research strategies that better simulate real-world conditions.

Xaq Pitkow and Dora Angelaki, both faculty members in Baylor's Department of Neuroscience and Rice's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said the brain's ability to perform "approximate probabilistic inference" cannot be truly studied with simple tasks that are "ill-suited to expose the inferential computations that make the brain special."

A new article by the researchers suggests the brain uses nonlinear message-passing between connected, redundant populations of neurons that draw upon a probabilistic model of the world. That model, coarsely passed down via evolution and refined through learning, simplifies decision-making based on general concepts and its particular biases.

The article, which lays out a broad research agenda for neuroscience, is featured this month in a special edition of Neuron, a journal published by Cell Press. The edition presents ideas that first appeared as part of a workshop at the University of Copenhagen last September titled "How Does the Brain Work?"

"Evolution has given us what we call a good model bias," Pitkow said. "It's been known for a couple of decades that very simple neural networks can compute any function, but those universal networks can be enormous, requiring extraordinary time and resources.

"In contrast, if you have the right kind of model -- not a completely general model that could learn anything, but a more limited model that can learn specific things, especially the kind of things that often happen in the real world -- then you have a model that's biased. In this sense, bias can be a positive trait. We use it to be sensitive to the right things in the world that we inhabit. Of course, the flip side is that when our brain's bias is not matched to reality, it can lead to severe problems."

The researchers said simple tests of brain processes, like those in which subjects choose between two options, provide only simple results. "Before we had access to large amounts of data, neuroscience made huge strides from using simple tasks, and they'll remain very useful," Pitkow said. "But for computations that we think are most important about the brain, there are things you just can't reveal with some of those tasks." Pitkow and Angelaki wrote that tasks should incorporate more diversity -- like nuisance variables and uncertainty -- to better simulate real-world conditions that the brain evolved to handle.

Neuroscience eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

They suggested that the brain infers solutions based on statistical crosstalk between redundant population codes. Population codes are responses by collections of neurons that are sensitive to certain inputs, like the shape or movement of an object. Pitkow and Angelaki think that to better understand the brain, it can be more useful to describe what these populations compute, rather than precisely how each individual neuron computes it. Pitkow said this means thinking "at the representational level" rather than the "mechanistic level," as described by the influential vision scientist David Marr.

The research has implications for artificial intelligence, another interest of both researchers.

"A lot of artificial intelligence has done impressive work lately, but it still fails in some spectacular ways," Pitkow said. "They can play the ancient game of Go and beat the best human player in the world, as done recently by DeepMind's AlphaGo about a decade before anybody expected. But AlphaGo doesn't know how to pick up the Go pieces. Even the best algorithms are extremely specialized. Their ability to generalize is often still pretty poor. Our brains have a much better model of the world; We can learn more from less data. Neuroscience theories suggest ways to translate experiments into smarter algorithms that could lead to a greater understanding of general intelligence."

Pitkow is an assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience and co-director of the Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence at Baylor and is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice. Angelaki is the Wilhelmina Robertson Professor of Neurosurgery at Baylor and an adjunct professor of electrical and computer engineering and of psychology at Rice.
Vaisala instruments will measure the air quality in the Helsinki region in a new measurement network to be built by the Smart & Clean project parties -Vaisala, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY, University of Helsinki, Pegasor, and Helsinki Metropolitan Smart & Clean Foundation - during 2017 and 2018. The network will be the first air quality monitoring system of such accuracy in the world to cover the whole city.

The new monitoring network will help compile much more comprehensive information about the air quality in different parts of the Helsinki metropolitan region. The Smart & Clean project aims at improving air quality in the Helsinki region as well as creating new, innovative applications, and piloting solutions suitable for export.

Reference measurement stations utilizing traditional methods are very expensive, so their number and regional coverage is highly limited. The measurement instruments launched by Vaisala in the fall of 2016 are based on new technology and can be used to significantly improve local coverage of the measurements at a very reasonable cost.

"Actions taken to improve air quality can only be successful when based on measured data which again gives rise to insights. Air quality varies significantly even in very small areas due to e.g. weather, emissions, and traffic flows, so we need local information to improve people's quality of life and to achieve a deep understanding of metropolitan air quality," says Jarkko Sairanen, Vaisala EVP for the Weather Business Area.

Air quality is a growing health problem around the world. More than 80% of people living in urban areas are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed WHO limits. According to WHO estimates, approximately 7 million people died prematurely because of air pollution in 2012. While all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income and densely populated cities are the most impacted. Major cities in Europe, such as Paris or London, also suffer from this problem.

In Finland, air quality is generally good, but even here 40% of city dwellers get symptoms from street dust, and air pollution is estimated to cause about 1,600 premature deaths per year.

The increase in health problems and premature deaths have a direct impact on the economy through higher medical expenses and loss of productivity.

The new air quality monitoring system uses Vaisala's innovative AQT400 series transmitters. They are a low-cost solution to measuring reliably the most important air pollutants: particles, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide.

The instruments are easy to install and deploy as well as to maintain. They can also be connected to Vaisala's weather measurement equipment as well as different air quality modeling systems. The combination can significantly improve the reliability of real-time air quality measurements in diverse terrain and city environments.

The project uses the latest technology and cutting-edge air quality knowhow from Finland.
According to a report published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 5% of women in the U.S. and its territories who had confirmed Zika virus infection during pregnancy had a baby or fetus with Zika virus-associated birth defects.

This report is the first from the U.S. and its territories and represents the largest number of completed pregnancies with sufficient numbers of laboratory confirmation of Zika virus infection to date, to develop preliminary estimates of risk for each trimester.

As these latest findings illustrate, Zika virus poses a serious threat to pregnant women and their babies, regardless of when the infection occurs during the pregnancy, said CDC Acting Director Anne Schuchat, M.D. Women in the U.S. territories and elsewhere who have continued exposure to mosquitoes carrying Zika are at risk of infection. We must remain vigilant and committed to preventing new Zika infections.

The data collected between January 1, 2016 and April 25, 2017 from American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands were reported to the Zika pregnancy and infant registries.

The report assessed the cases of 2,549 women with possible Zika virus infection, who had completed their pregnancies. Of this, 1,508 had confirmed Zika virus infection and more than 120 pregnancies resulted in Zika-associated birth defects.

These findings from the U.S. and its territories are consistent with a recent CDC report of Zika virus infections that are primarily related to travel. The data from 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia show that 5% of completed pregnancies with possible Zika virus infection resulted in the possibility of Zika virus-associated birth defect in the baby.

Among those with confirmed infection, 8% (nearly 1 in 12 women) of first-trimester infections from the U.S. and its territories resulted in Zika-associated birth defects compared with 15% in the U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The estimates are based on relatively small numbers and are not statistically significant, representing a snapshot in time.

The proportion affected by Zika-associated birth defects varies by trimester of diagnosis of Zika infection. Among pregnant women in the U.S. and its territories with confirmed Zika virus infection - 5% in the second trimester and 4% in the third trimester resulted in Zika-associated birth defects. The Zika pregnancy and infant registries, along with prospective cohort studies, will continue to provide necessary data to better understand the extent of Zika infection risk during early pregnancy.

The report also described the number of infants that received recommended testing and evaluation according to the guidance of CDC. Based on the data reported to the Zika pregnancy and infant registries, 59% of infants were tested for Zika virus infection at birth. These infants were born to women with laboratory evidence of recent possible Zika virus infection in the U.S. and its territories. Of the 2,464 live-born infants, 52% were reported to have received recommended head imaging and 79% had a reported hearing screening at birth.

This report highlights the threat of Zika virus infection in pregnancy, particularly the risk of damage to the babys brain, said Peggy Honein, Ph.D., co-lead, Pregnancy and Birth Defects Task Force, CDC Zika Response. To help us fully understand and plan for Zikas effect, we must continue to monitor babies for any problems with vision, hearing, or other disabilities.

The report findings also emphasized the importance of follow-up care for babies with congenital Zika virus infection. Identifying infants born to Zika-infected (during pregnancy) mothers allows for timely planning of intervention services. In addition, evaluating diagnostic testing and clinical evaluation practices can help CDC, public health officials, and physicians to focus efforts on monitoring and providing care for Zika-virus-affected babies.

CDC continues to encourage women and their partners considering pregnancy, who live in or travel to zika-risk areas, to talk to their physicians so that they know the risks and ways to prevent exposure. CDC has published updated clinical guidance for physicians providing care for pregnant women, babies, and children with possible Zika virus infection.
New Delhi: IT major Wipro Ltd has listed US President Donald Trump's policies as a risk factor that could impact its business, citing promotion of "greater restrictions on free trade" among key worrying points.



The Bengaluru-based firm which earned 52 per cent of its IT services revenue from the Americas, including the US, said significant developments stemming from the US presidential election could have a material adverse effect on its business.



As a candidate, Trump and his administration had expressed support for policies impacting existing trade agreements, like North America Free trade agreement (NAFTA), and proposed trade agreements, Wipro said in an SEC filing.



In its annual report for the fiscal ended March 31, 2017 filed with the market regulator, Wipro further said Trump administration has been "promoting greater restrictions on free trade generally and significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into the United States".



It added: "Changes in US social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories and countries where we currently operate could adversely affect our business."



The company had reported net sales of Rs 55,420.9 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2017.



After assuming office last year, Trump has taken several steps, including H1B visa restrictions, that raised concerns in the Indian IT sector.



This April he signed an executive order that called for a review of the H-1B visa programme, saying they should never be used to replace American workers and must be given only to the most skilled and highest paid applicants.



The US had also accused top Indian IT firms TCS and Infosys of 'unfairly' cornering the lion's share of the H-1B work visas by putting extra tickets in the lottery system.



Wipro had said in April that it expected locals to constitute more than half of its workforce in the US by June as it continues to make "significant" investments in the American market amid tightening of visa norms.



The company further said in the SEC filing that if the economy in the Americas or Europe continued to be volatile or uncertain or conditions in the global financial market deteriorate, pricing for its services may become less attractive.



Clients located in these geographies may reduce or postpone their technology spending significantly, it added.



The other factors, which the company said are "not within our control that could cause significant variations in our results in any particular quarter", include "political uncertainties or changes in regulations in India, the United States and other countries that we operate in".



Besides, it also said the duration of tax holidays or exemptions and availability of other Indian government incentives would be a factor.
Mumbai: Shares in Infosys Ltd fell as much as 3.5 percent to their lowest in over a month on Friday after a newspaper reported the company's founders were planning to sell their stakes, citing people familiar with the development.



Infosys co-founders are exploring a sale of their entire 12.75 percent stake, worth about 280 billion rupees ($4.36 billion), in the software services exporter, the Times of India reported.



The newspaper, however, quoted Infosys founder Narayana Murthy denying such a move. Murthy, along with his family, is the largest shareholder in Infosys with a 3.44 percent stake.



Shares of the software company fell as much as 3.5 percent to their lowest since May 5.



Promoters were not immediately reachable. Infosys had no immediate comment.
New Delhi: The central government on Friday told the Supreme Court that Aadhaar can't be used for surveillance and that the technology architecture prohibits even profiling of individuals for tracking their activities.



Submitting its affidavit in the top court, the government snubbed apprehensions that departments of the government will be able to track individuals using Aadhaar.



"As a matter of policy and by design, the UIDAI precludes itself from aggregating information arising from the use of Aadhaar, tracking and profiling individuals and the system by intent is blind to the purpose for which Aadhaar may be used at the front end by the resident," stated the affidavit.



The government said Aadhaar is built on minimal data, optimal ignorance and federal database which will prevent UIDAI or any other government authority from profiling any individual.



Meeting the arguments on breach of privacy by use of Aadhaar, the government maintained that a user department of the government will have information relating to only its domain and that it "will never have or will never be able to build a 360 degree view of any of its customers or beneficiaries.



The government illustrated this by saying that a person can use Aadhaar for obtaining a SIM card, for receiving subsidies and for opening a bank account but the three agencies will never get to know about the user's information regarding the other.



It called the scheme as an "enabler of human dignity" and denied it would undermine human dignity or facilitate snooping.



The government added Aadhaar Act, 2016 was drafted taking into account the concerns regarding right to privacy and there is a detailed framework under the Act for protection of information, confidentiality and privacy.



"The privacy of the individual has been given highest respect," said the government, adding information can be disclosed only in the interest of the national security under a two-tier structure.



The affidavit has been filed in response to a PIL filed by former chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Shantha Sinha and others.



The petition filed through advocate Vipin Nair had challenged various notifications issued under the Aadhaar Act, and claimed the law undermined individuals' right to privacy.



Replying, the government sought dismissal of this petition and said only "elites" can have more concerns about privacy when the issue really is about people's rights to have food, subsidies and various other benefits under the welfare schemes.



On May 19, a vacation bench in the court had refrained from staying various notifications issued to make unique identity number mandatory for several social welfare schemes.



A two-judge bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar said that the court would not want to deal with the issue in piecemeal and would examine all applications against Aadhaar on June 27.
Kukatpally: Much like Bengaluru, the residents of Kukatpally area of Hyderabad woke up to scenes of toxic foam overflowing on to the roads on Friday.



As pre-monsoon showers hit the city, the toxic foam spilled from the drain in Dharani Nagar. There was panic among locals after the flying froth reached their homes.



Angry residents blamed the government for the alarming situation. We face this problem every year. But now it has aggravated. Chemical factories have been dumping their waste which causing the crisis. We have repeatedly complained but nothing has changed. Now it is posing serious health concerns for the people."



Officials said samples have been collected and an inquiry has been ordered.



Similar to Bengaluru, where Varthur lake has been spilling foam now and then, lakes in Hyderabad and nearby areas too are also facing the problem of being polluted with industrial waste.



In September 2016, Hyderabad's iconic Hussain Sagar lake also became a victim. The increased toxic level and deadly cocktail of pollutants led to a part of the lake frothing, and that too right outside the office of the municipal corporation.



On January 25, 2017 a road was blocked and the traffic came to a halt in Yadadri District after toxic froth overflowed from Musi river.







The Telangana government has allocated thousands of crores of rupees for cleaning of Hussain Sagar Lake and Musi river and improving the condition of water bodies in the state. But on ground, the situation continues to be grave.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan. Speaking at the summit later, Modi thanked the grouping for making India a full member.

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New Delhi: Vishwa Hindu Parishads International Joint Secretary Surendra Jain was in New Delhi on Friday and spoke to News18s Uday Singh Rana in an interview about the governments delay in bringing about a law to construct a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the ongoing farmers protests in Madhya Pradesh and the caste violence that rocked Saharanpur last month. Edited excerpts:



Q. The BJP is in full majority in the Center and in Uttar Pradesh. Its been three years since the Modi government has been in power. Even if the matter is in court, the government can surely pass a law rather than let the issue drag on. Why do you think there is a delay?



A. We dont think that there is a delay, the country seems to think that there is a delay in the Ram Mandir law. And that sentiment rang out at a recent conclave of saints in Haridwar, where they asked the government to bring out a law for the construction of the Temple in Ayodhya. It is natural for people to expect this of the Modi government. It was their promise. When no positive steps are seen in this direction, the dissatisfaction will surely show. The saints expressed this but they also showed hope. If anyone can construct a Ram Mandir, it is this government. And I have no doubt that they will construct the temple.



Q. But such deadlines have been given before by other outfits such as the Hindu Mahasabha. What makes you think the government will stick to yours?



A. That outfit that took the Ram Mandir movement to its peak was the VHP. 16 crore people got involved with our movement at different points of time. People take us seriously.



Q. Are you planning a movement or another Yatra if the government fails to stick to the deadline?



A. This announcement was not made by us but by the saints in Haridwar. We will carry out whatever order they give us. We will follow whatever consensus emerges among the saints at the Dharma Sansad in November. And they have clearly articulated their demands. These saints are not VHP workers. We are workers for them. If we have to raise an issue, then we will raise it with them.



Q. In UP, the Congress and other parties have alleged discriminations against Dalits after the Saharanpur riots. Do you agree?



A. This is the character of the Congress. They have never cared about national interest or societys interest, but only their own. All radical elements are propped up by Congress. Those days are not old when they propped up Bhindrawale to undermine one of their factions in Punjab or when they triggered riots in Gujarat to undermine then Chief Minister Hitendra Desai. They trained LTTE people and then sent the army to kill them too. The politics they are doing in Saharanpur and Madhya Pradesh are now clear.



Q. Some would argue that there was a Hindutva wave that led to the BJP victory in the 2017 UP elections. After the Saharanpur caste riots, has that wave dissipated?



A. It is true that people rose above caste lines in the 2017 polls and were seen as coming together. Naturally, those who divide society will be frustrated. Why is it that the riots did not spread beyond Saharanpur? It is because people belonging to all castes rejected divisive politics. Only a handful of people are buying into this. The yatras for Dr. BR Ambedkar and Maharana Pratap were politicized for political interests only.



Q. When you speak of the Ambedkar Yatra, you surely remember that the local BJP MP was accused of inciting local Muslims by raising Jai Shri Ram questions.



A. Even if Jai Shri Ram slogans were raised, it doesnt give anybody the right to pelt stones. Muslims start any good deed by saying Inshallah. When Hindus dont get bothered by Allahs name, why should Muslims have a problem with Rams name? The common Muslim does not object to any of this. Political parties like the Congress create these fault lines for political gain. At our core, Hindus and Muslims are all the same people.



Q. What would you say to Dalits who say that the BJP and Sangh Parivar only remember them during elections but forget them later?



A. There are only a handful of people who believe this. This is not the voice of the people. If that were the case, why would BJP have the highest number of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and OBC MPs? Even if you see in terms of proportion, BJP has the highest number. This is the voice of parties who are losing support and are getting frustrated. How does an outfit (Bhim Army), which had no standing, grow so quickly? Clearly, there is some conspiracy behind this.



Q. In addition to Ram Mandir, the other big promise of the Modi government was that they would implement the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee report. Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have been on the warpath, fighting for the latter. Has the government not failed to deliver these two major promises?



A. The dissatisfaction against the delay in implementation is clear. From saints to streets, everyone is now speaking up. Three years have gone but I am looking at the two years that are left. There is enough time for both these promises to be implemented. The government should implement the Swaminathan Committee report recommendations since they had raised the issue and farmers had trusted them. They should bring out a plan and reveal it to the country. Ram Mandir is also a big issue. There are a large number of BJP voters who want Mandir, Uniform Civil Code and action against Bangladeshi infiltrators. Even BJP workers want this. And I think they (Modi government) know this too. I am sure they will take the right steps in this direction.



Q. Do you think Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has failed to contain the violence in his state? And was it right for the MP Police to shoot protesting farmers?



A. I come from Harayana, which has seen a bigger agrarian protest than this one. It took a month to bring it under control. Here, the situation has come under control in a week. So it would be wrong to say the state government has failed. They have not showed any lapse and they are now releasing the names of the conspirators who were fuelling the violence. The firing incident is being investigated. The farmers should not have been fired at, under any circumstances. Who was responsible for creating these circumstances? Remember, the government never gave the order.
In another raging farmer agitation, Tamil Nadu farmers have begun their protest on Friday. The latest round of protest comes after Palaniswami failed to deliver the assurances he made after the first round of protests in Delhi. Reports suggest that farmers will protest wearing the bare minimum  with their hands and leg tied to iron rods.

Meanwhile, curfew has been relaxed for the day in Mandsaur city and Pipliamandi as the situation in the areas hit by violent protests by farmers improved. SP Manoj Kumar Singh said authorities decided to relax curfew from 10 am to 6 pm as the situation has improved.

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Farmers in Karntaka were in for a shock when they received a compensation of Rupee 1 for damaged crops in their bank accounts.However, the Congress government in the state was quick to rebut claims that the paltry relief was a mistake, saying this was a test case' to check authenticity of accounts after they were linked to Aadhaar recently.Farmers in Vijapura, Dharwad, Hassan and Koppal districts said on Friday that one rupee was credited to their bank accounts by the State Revenue Department.The Congress, which has been severely critical of the BJP governments insensitivity towards farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, has now come under fire from the opposition.A farmer's bank passbook shows that Rupee 1 was credited to his account on June 6.These payments were made by the National Payments Corporation of India on a test check basis on June 6 (as part of direct benefit transfer). Once the tests prove that the right beneficiaries are getting the money, the entire compensation will be paid to them, a revenue department statement said, hours after the issue was raked up in the State Assembly by the Opposition.About 21.9 lakh farmers have already been given a compensation of 1,459 crores, the revenue department release added.Earlier in the day, the BJP had slammed the Congress leaders for their hypocrisy on farmer issues. The government must be ashamed of itself for treating farmers like beggars," BJPs Jagadish Shettar said.Some farmers have suffered losses running into lakhs of rupees after crops went dry in the last drought. Karnataka has seen successive droughts for six cropping seasons and farmers have been seeking compensation from the government.Animal Husbandry Minister A Manju also offered the explanation of testing the account authenticity as Aadhaar-linking was completed recently.Aadhaar linking has been done for one lakh accounts. However, paying compensation to farmers is not done directly by us, it is done by the National Payment Corporation of India. Our job is only to identify how many account-holders are there, what is the quantum of crop loss for each farmer and how much compensation is he eligible for, he told reporters.When asked whether depositing Rupee 1 in one lakh accounts for a trial was not a waste of the exchequer's money, Karnataka's agriculture minister, Krishna Byre Gowda said, "That is better than depositing lakhs of rupees in wrong accounts. Anyway, if Rupee 1 is gone to the right account then it is no loss. I am really at a loss to understand this test run being questioned."
The image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping sitting on a swing on the Sabarmati riverfront was indeed iconic.Those were early days of the Modi government. The new regime was trying hard to project the PM as a statesman. A man who, like the senior from his party and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, could use soft diplomacy to turn around relations between rivals. But from September 2014 to June 2017, much has changed.The Sabarmati to Astana journey between Modi and Xi has been a long and rather bumpy ride. The two leaders will meet on Friday morning for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakhstan. This comes in the backdrop of India boycotting the Belt Road Initiative or the One Belt One Road (OBOR) summit held in Beijing last month. India had categorically said, "No country can accept a project that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity" with reference to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. But China brushed aside India's concern. At the address at OBOR summit, Xi said, "China has no intention to form a small group detrimental to stability."But this is the latest in a series of moves that has upset India. In the past two years, China has also blocked India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. While most other countries seemed to have come around at the plenary in Seoul, Beijing stuck to its stand that India must sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) first. It also kept pushing for its all-weather friend Pakistan to be considered at par with India despite the fact that the world is, as official sources said, "well aware of the proliferation background of Pakistan" a clear reference to the AQ Khan episode.Beijing also put a technical hold on India's bid to get Masood Azhar declared a terrorist by the United Nation. This would have ensured freezing of his assets and choking of terror financing for his activities.While India suffered these major setbacks, China also raised the red flag over former US ambassador Richard Verma's visit to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said, "We urge the US to stop getting involved in the China-India territorial dispute and do more to benefit this regions peace and tranquility." India made it clear that Arunachal being an integral part of India, a diplomat accredited to the country had all the rights to visit it. India persisted with the same argument when the Dalai Lama visited Tawang earlier this year.With more than one stick points between the two Asian giants, the Xi-Modi meeting gains even more significance. Can the dragon be tamed, that remains the question.
Panaji: Congress Party on Thursday alleged that the Marathi Class II textbooks published by Goa's Education Department carry incomplete national anthem.



According to the opposition party, the Class II Marathi books titled 'Gomant Bharati' carry incomplete national anthem.



However, the education department authorities denied knowledge about the alleged printing error, reports PTI.



"The Class II Marathi books, published by the state education department, carry incomplete national anthem. The state government should fix the responsibility for the error," Goa Congress spokesman Sunil Kawathankar told PTI.



"The ruling BJP, which calls itself a patriotic party stands exposed. They have ignored such a grave error in the textbooks," he said.



He demanded that the state government should initiate an inquiry to find out who was responsible for it.



"Such an error is an insult to the country. We condemn such lethargic attitude," Kawthankar said.



He demanded that these books should be immediately withdrawn and replaced with the ones that carry the complete version of the national anthem.



When contacted, state Education Director Gajanan Bhat said that the department had no knowledge of the alleged printing error. He, however, said that they would inquire into it.



With PTI inputs
New Delhi: Over the last month, 30-year-old lawyer Chandrashekhar Azad, leader of the Bhim Army, has become a polarising figure. For supporters, he is the true inheritor of Dalit leader Kanshi Rams legacy. For the police, however, he is the mastermind of the violence that gripped Saharanpur in the month of May. For nearly a month, following the violence on May 9, the lawyer-turned-activist had been on the run.



On Thursday morning, Chandrashekhar was arrested by a team of UP Police in Himachal Pradeshs Dalhousie. The team, comprising of members of the UP Special Task Force (STF) and the Special Investigative Team (SIT) set up by Saharanpur police, coordinated with local police in Dalhousie to finally nab the elusive Bhim Army chief.



On May 21, while police was searching for him all over the state, Chandrashekhar emerged on the stage at a Jantar Mantar rally in New Delhi, thumping his chest in defiance. He offered to surrender to the court but ultimately, did not do so. The police was under considerable pressure to arrest him after he announced another Jantar Mantar rally on June 18.



Amit Pathak, SSP UP STF, told News 18, We were contacted by Saharanpur police since they were unable to track him. Because Chandrashekhar was in different states, they needed our help with the arrest. We put together a team of six people from the STF in Meerut that helped Saharanpur police track Chandrashekhar and coordinate with the arrest. We had been tracking his movement for the last four-five days and learnt that he was going to move to Himachal Pradesh. He added that people had seen him in the hill state, which helped the local police gain more ground to arrest him.



He had been living in hotels and we were just a few steps behind him. We checked hotel entries and traced him to Dalhousie, where he had taken up accommodation in a local hotel, said Pathak.



Aditya Mishra, UP ADG (Law and Order), said Chandrashekhar was finally arrested around 10:30 am on Thursday morning. Sources said that while the Dalit activist was adept at remaining elusive, he unwittingly left behind a trail of breadcrumbs for cops to follow. Apart from CCTV footage, witness accounts, audio recordings of phone conversations, police claim they extracted a lot of evidence from social media posts.



According to police sources, Chandrashekhars arrest proved difficult because the Bhim Army leader was constantly changing positions. He had been in several states over the last month. He moved from Uttarakhand to Delhi to Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. He kept changing SIM cards whenever he moved positions, making it very difficult to track him, a source said.



The source added that Chandrashekhar, after a month of being on the run, was quickly running out of money. He was severely cash-strapped and relied on a network of support. His supporters raised money so that he could stay underground.



His supporters, meanwhile, have asked the administration to follow protocol. Ravi Kumar Gautam, a leader of the Bhim Armys youth wing, told News 18, We request the administration to follow the rules and take him for medical examination and then to court. If the administration tries to skip any step, the central and state governments will be responsible for the consequences. They should withdraw the false cases. The Dalit community will not tolerate this.



Speaking to News18, UP Home Secretary Mani Prasad Mishra said, "The SIT is working in detail on all the cases. A team is camping in Chutmalpur, Chandrashekhar's native town to make sure the situation is calm." Meanwhile, internet services have been suspended in Saharanpur district for the second time in a month.



The Bhim Army, in protest against alleged atrocities on Dalits, had called for a Mahapanchayat in Saharanpur on May 9. While the police denied permission for the public meeting, invitations had already gone out on social media. Hundreds had started making their way to the venue of the meeting when things turned sour. Supporters of the Bhim Army clashed with the police, following which; Chandrashekhar was booked by the police. Recently, UP Police had declared a reward of Rs 12,000 each for information leading to the capture of Chandrashekhar, the 30-year-old leader of the Bhim Army, along with two of his associates.






Pakistan has opened a two-pronged attack on India in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case. While on one side, it has sought appointment of an ad-hoc judge from Pakistan on the bench hearing the case at the International Court of Justice, on the other, it has registered a nine-year-old bilateral agreement on consular relations with India at the UN Secretariat, which might be an attempt to question ICJs jurisdiction in the case.Delegates from India and Pakistan met ICJ president Ronny Abraham on Thursday to discuss the future course of proceedings in the Jadhav case. While India sought release or acquittal of its citizen, Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali said Pakistan intended to appoint an ad-hoc judge on the bench, who will sit for all proceedings in the case, including the substantive hearing.The bigger surprise was the registration of the 2008 bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan concerning consular relations with the UN Secretariat.Documents accessed by News18 show that the agreement on consular access between the Pakistan and India, which was signed on May 21, 2008 was registered by Pakistan with the United Nations Secretariat on May 17 this year. It is now listed in the UN Treaty Collections.This was done a day before the World Court ordered stay on the execution of Jadhav till the pendency of the proceedings to grant India consular access under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.Pakistans contention during the first round of hearing was that the 2008 bilateral agreement would render the VCCR redundant and therefore leave ICJ without jurisdiction over the dispute.But Harish Salve, appearing for India, had clarified that the agreement was not registered with the UN and unless registered, it cannot be invoked according to the UN Charter.However, Pakistans registration of the 2008 bilateral agreement seems like an attempt to rake up the issue at the ICJ once again.Yateesh Begoore, a public international lawyer, told News18 that this will now lead to a long court battle.By registering the 2008 agreement with the UN Secretariat, Pakistan would claim that it has the right to invoke the said agreement and hence the case is not governed by the VCCR. Registration was the only defect and now they have fixed that. Looks like we are in a long fight in the court, said Begoore.The 2008 agreement has a very ambiguous clause relating to national security exceptions. They may argue that the 2008 agreement constitutes a subsequent agreement which governs the current dispute. Secondly, a nation does not register a treaty (especially this late into a dispute) if you dont intend to invoke it. So we may expect a full blown case with questions of law being involved, Begoore added.Even a press statement from the AG of Pakistan on Thursday stated that the country was confident of winning at the ICJ. The Government of Pakistan is fully confident that India can never succeed in its application. India can never obtain acquittal or release of Commander Jadhav on the basis of its application to the International Court, read the press release.On Thursday, the Pakistani delegation was led by the Attorney General for Pakistan. Other members of the delegation included Mohammad Faisal, Director General for South Asia in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmad Irfan Aslam, Head of International Disputes Unit in the Office of the Attorney General, and Khawar Qureshi QC, Counsel for Pakistan.The President of ICJ, according to the statement, sought the views of the parties as to ascertain an approximate time for filing their written submissions. Pakistan has urged the World Court to adopt an expedited timetable for the substantive hearing and now the court is slated to announce the timetable shortly.
Bathinda: Residents of a village in Punjab's Bathinda district chopped off the hand and legs of a 30-year-old man after accusing him of supplying drugs to youth in their village.



The macabre incident occurred at Bhagi Wander village in Talwandi Sabo sub-divison of Bathinda district on Tuesday, when Vinod Kumar, was mercilessly beaten up and his hand and foot severed with sharp-edged weapons.



"He was facing some cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and had come out of jail only 3-4 days back," Talwandi Sabo's Station House Officer, Inspector Jagdish Kumar said. Police said that no drugs were found in his possession.



TV channels showed blurred videos of Kumar, soaked in blood, lying on the ground. Nobody was seen coming to his rescue.



He was shifted to the Civil Hospital at Talwandi Sabo from where he was referred to a hospital in Faridkot. He died from injuries he suffered a few hours later.



Police are also going through some mobile phone videos of Kumar being attacked.



Some villagers told reporters there was anger as police did not take action against Kumar despite their complaint that he was supplying drugs to the youths.



The villagers claimed when they were going to meet the Deputy SP over why no action was being taken. But on their way to the office of the DSP, Kumar confronted and this led to heated arguments, and eventually the gruesome attack.



Vinod's family has alleged that he was kidnapped by another youth of the village when he was going to lodge a complaint about his stolen scooter and was then attacked by several people.



They rejected the allegation that he was engaged in dealing drugs.



Drug addiction has assumed alarming proportions in the prosperous state, and was a hotly debated subject during the assembly elections held earlier this year.
New Delhi: The national vice president of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, RSS-affiliated farmer union, Prabhakar Kelkar tells News18s Eram Agha that farmers are being forced to sell crops at a loss, leading to massive anger.



Hitting out at Centre for not addressing farmers problems, Kelkar said demonetisation had hit farmers hard as they were totally dependent on cash. Slamming the recent notification by environment ministry to ban sale of cattle at marketplaces for slaughtering, he said now the burden of useless cattle is on farmers.



Edited excerpts:



Farmers agitation in Mandsaur has led to six deaths. Did you see this coming?



I cant deny that the farmers are angry and I did see this coming. What you are seeing is the anger of just a small fraction of farmers. In the past three years, nothing has been done for them, but the Modi government is making profits. In last crop year, there was low production. This crop year has seen good production but extremely low pricing for it. All the important crops are being sold at a loss. The government made conditions suitable for production, but forgot the pricing bit. Farmers toiled day and night, but are now selling crops at loss. Add to this the rigidity of the society. They dont want to pay a penny extra to farmers.



Demonetisation hit them too. Farmers need money, cashless doesnt work for them. Its about time the government thinks of a roadmap to help the farmers in distress.



How would you take this agitation forward?



The protests have taken a violent turn. We will wait for things to subside and channelize the anger in a constructive way. We will try convincing the government by working with various committees. We will chart out plans for andolan. I am, however, scared that the movement might take a Patidar turn because the farmers who have died belong to that community. They are well spread in the country. The face of Patidars movement in the past, Hardik Patel, has said that he will join the farmers, and that is expected because during Patels agitation, farmers from Madhya Pradesh had joined him. Any protest from now onwards has the potential of turning into a Patidar movement. That will be damaging.



The Environment Ministry recently banned sale of cattle from marketplaces for the purpose of culling. What are your views on the notification?



I think this notification was passed by the government in a hurry. The government should have ideally first put it in public domain, taken suggestions and then gone ahead. Now, the burden of useless cattle is on the farmer. If the farmer leaves his cattle in the forest, the officials will accuse him of destroying the forest.



In the name of development, the government has put so many restrictions that nobody can do anything. I am not talking about cows, but the government should have spared rest of the cattle. But sadly, in all these cases, we are considered idiots and our voices are not heard.



Apart from pricing, what are the big problems before Indian farmers?



Nothing has been done to improve storage  good production meets bad storage. Farmers have to travel long distances to sell their produce. Storage is an important part of agriculture. Also, cashless methods dont work for us. Government must make sure farmers get cash.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear an appeal filed by Central Board of Secondary Education on Monday against the stay of National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) results imposed by the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court.



The high court had noted that there were different questions in NEET for students taking exams in vernacular languages.



While the question papers for English and Hindi were same, the questions for vernacular languages were different.



CBSE has argued that the purpose behind different question papers in vernacular languages was to prevent possible leak of the paper, resulting in cancellation of entire NEET.



The case came into prominence after there was an allegation that the NEET papers in the regional languages like Tamil were easier than the one in English. Post this, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had stayed the declaration of results.



Similarly, in Gujarat, candidates had moved the court saying that the test paper in Gujarati was tougher than English and that it should be scrapped.




The Supreme Court on Friday upheld Central governments amendments to the Income Tax Act that requires Aadhaar card holders to seed their UID number for filing income tax returns.The court, however, read down the law to state that Permanent Account Number (PAN) card of those, who do not link it with Aadhaar or enrolment application forms for Aadhaar, will not be rendered invalid.A bench led by Justice A K Sikri said that invalidation of PAN cards for not linking it with Aadhaar was too serious a consequence and that the government should consider prescribing a less stringent punishment.While the full text of the judgment is still to come out, operative part was read out by Justice Sikri in open court.The judge upheld the Parliaments power to enact the new law and said it did not violate any fundamental right. He added that the amendments to the Act and in particular Section 139AA of the Act did not suffer from any vice and met the criteria of reasonableness and legislative competence.The judge then said that the bench has also rejected an argument by PIL petitioners, including CPI leader Binoy Viswam, that the Parliament could not have enacted the Aadhaar Act in view of restraint order by a larger bench that no person can be compelled to enroll for Aadhaar.But Justice Sikri said that the penal provision prescribing for invalidation of PAN card for not linking it with Aadhaar was not appropriate on the principle of proportionality.The court held that PAN cards wont be rendered invalid in such cases until the larger bench decides the main matter where Aadhaar has been challenged on the ground of breaching right to privacy.Justice Sikri also cautioned the government against data leakage and said that leakage must be plugged to instill public confidence.Detailed judgment is expected later in the evening.1) If you want a fresh PAN, you must quote Aadhaar or application form number2) If you already have an Aadhaar, you must quote it for filing tax returns3) If you dont have an Aadhaar and havent applied for it, your PAN wont be rendered invalid4) Your PAN wont be invalid but you wont be able to file tax returns if you dont have an Aadhaar
Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives have come first in Britain's general election but lost their overall majority in parliament, near-complete results showed on Friday. With just 16 seats left to declare, the Conservatives have won 309 seats, meaning they cannot get an overall majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.Heres a look at the possible scenarios now:Theresa May as incumbent prime minister will have the first shot at trying to form a government  either as a minority or in coalition with others. She would then go to the House of Commons to see if her government could survive a motion of confidence, probably after the state opening of parliament on June 19. But if May cannot form a government or does not survive the motion of confidence, she would be expected to hand in her resignation to Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch would then be likely to invite Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour party, to try to form a government. That, again, could be a minority or coalition administration. If no government can command the confidence of the House of Commons, parliament can be dissolved and another election held.ALSO READ | Theresa May's Election Gamble Backfires as Tories Lose Majority Heres a look at the fates of Britains previous hung parliaments:Prime Minister: David Cameron (Conservatives)Composition: Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalitionLasted: Five yearsFebruary 1974Prime Minister: Harold Wilson (Labour)Composition: Labour minority governmentLasted: Eight monthsPrime Minister: Ramsey MacDonald (Labour)Composition: Minority Labour government backed by LiberalsLasted: until 1931, but amid the Great Depression, MacDonald formed 'National' coalition government of Conservatives, Liberals and small number of Labour MPs which won 1931 and 1935 elections.Prime Minister: Ramsey MacDonald (Labour)Composition: Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin's Conservatives won more seats than Labour but stepped aside for Labour's MacDonaldLasted: 10 monthsPrime Minister: Herbert Asquith (Liberal Party)Composition: Liberal Party in a minority government, with support of Labour and the Irish Nationalists. Then a coalition government from 1915.Lasted: Six years
One of the most impeccably dressed actors of her generation, B-town diva Deepika, who rose to fame in the West with her Hollywood debut xXx: Return of Xander Cage, has upped her fashion game with her spot on sartorial choices and stunning appearances at international red carpet events including the New York Fashion Week, Oscar parties, Met Gala and most recently at Cannes.And so, after taking the fashion world by storm in her stunning Cannes outfits, the B-town beauty is here to stun onlookers with her fabulous airport style.The gorgeous actor, who has inspired several fashion enthusiasts and left thousands in awe of her beauty and unique fashion selections, arrived at the Mumbai airport in a powder blue crop top from her clothing line All About You, that cinched at the waist, allowing the actress to show off her enviably svelte frame.Styled by celebrity stylist Shaleena Nathani, the 31-year-old star teamed her top with a pair of high-waist distressed denims and opted for dark brown Chloe high ankle, heeled boots which featured oversized tonal laces, minimal makeup, round sunnies and a delicate neck piece to complete the look.The actress looked beautiful and elegant in the attire and we are sure that many will be inspired by the way in which she carries herself in the most simplest and basic garments.Take a look:(Photo: Yogen Shah)On the work front Deepika will be next seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati.
New Delhi: Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today expressed happiness over Aamir Khan starrer Dangal earning praise from a top Chinese leader for being a "success story" in that country.



Dangal has scripted history in China by becoming the first top-grossing non-Hollywood film, attracting praise from Liu Yunshan, a high-ranking leader of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).



"Happy to see #Dangal receiving acclaim from a Chinese leader. A great example of cooperation among #BRICS nations!," Naidu said in a tweet.



Addressing participants of BRICS Media Forum in Beijing yesterday, Liu had said the movie has become very popular in a short time with record revenues - even higher than the Chinese movies.



"I think this is a very typical example of a success story. We media groups need to give it more coverage. This will serve as a good example," Liu had said.



Dangal which raked up over Rs 1,100 crores since it was released in China on May 5 has created history by becoming only the 33rd film in China's history to cross RMB one billion. It continues to play in over 7,000 screens across China.



Editors and journalists from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) are attending the forum being organised by China's Xinhua news agency ahead of the BRICS Summit to be held in the Chinese city of Xiamen in September this year.


Addressing a press conference, Chouhan said that his government had done a lot for the farmers. We understand the problems farmers face, the CM said. Chief minister alleged that the crisis was being fuelled by "anti-social elements".

In an interview to CNN-News18, Kakkaji had alleged that the current crisis was orchestrated by the police so as to attack the farmers. "The police and their aides hatched the plot and even went to the extent of setting vehicles ablaze."

Rahul slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the problems being faced by the farmers, evoking a sharp response from the BJP which termed his visit to Mandsaur as a photo opportunity.

: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday announced that he was ready to talk to farmers to reach a peaceful end to what has been an ever-spiralling farmers' crisis in the state.The chief minister also said that he will observe a fast at the Dussehra Maidan from Saturday, 11 AM onwards. "People can come and discuss everything with me. I will be available until we reach a conclusion."On the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, Chouhan said that "anti-social elements will be dealt with strictly". "We will not entertain any compromise on law and order," he said, adding that he invites all the farmers to come for a discussion.Elaborating MP governments pro-agriculture policies, Chouhan claimed that it was because of these friendly policies that the state was seeing a bumper production. He reiterated that state government would procure tuar at Rs 5050 per quintal and moong at Rs 5225 per quintal.He said they have acceded farmers' another demand of simultaneous loans for Rabi and Ravi crops. He also discussed loan settlement scheme, better prices for farm produce, onion procurement, the formation of agri-marketing Commission and others.There is nothing in a democracy which cant be resolved through dialogue, he said.The Congress said Chouhans comments were too late and he should resign claiming responsibility for the situation. The Chief Minister broke his silence after a week of violence. He should resign to maintain law and order in the state, said Congress leader JP Dhanopiya.Shiv Kumar Sharma, nicknamed Kakkaji, the angry farmer leader who has been railing against the government said: "We have been watching this kind of drama for the past 11 years. However, we will appreciate if he is able to solve the problem. We welcome the move."On Friday, another farmer, Ghyanshyam Dhakar, died in Madhya Pradesh on Friday after succumbing to injuries from a police lathicharge. The farmer hails from Mandsaur, where six farmers have already died in police firing.On Thursday, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi was prevented from entering Mandsaur. He travelled by air, by car, by motorcyle and by foot from Delhi to Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh via Rajasthan before he was detained and arrested in Naya Gaon, about 70 km from Mandsaur. He was released later in the day.Later in the evening, Gandhi met the kin of four of the five deceased farmers who were brought to Rajathan's Chittorgarh district by Congress workers.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee termed the bandh called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) as "illegal" and met stranded tourists in Darjeeling to assure them of their safe return.



"I ask the tourists not to worry. The government is there for you. We have full support for tourists specially, she said while meeting tourists at Mall Road.



Thousands of tourists, including foreign nationals, have been stranded in the hills since Thursday following violent clashes between Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters and the police over making Bangla language compulsory in schools.



A group of tourists, who spend the night in a shelter house as hotels are locked, complained that they had no money left to return home.



Responding to them, Mamata said, I have asked the local administration to do the needful. We have arranged 10 special buses for Siliguri, Bagdogra and Kolkata. It will start from Tenzing Norgay bus terminus at 11 am. Also, Army jawans are marching on streets for the safety of tourists.



No one is above the law. The government will take action against those who participate (in violence). We want peace and development of the hills. The government is not going to tolerate these things. Only 3-4 people are responsible for this incident. They cannot fight us on the developmental issue so are they are doing this, she said.



Two columns of Army were deployed in Darjeeling town after GJM supporters clashed with the police, damaged police vehicles and set some of them ablaze while the West Bengal chief minister was holding a cabinet meeting there. The police resorted to baton charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the agitators who tried to march to the venue of the cabinet meeting.



On Friday, GJM chief Bimal Gurung dared Mamata, saying he was the Chief Minister of the Hills. She might be the Chief Minister of Bengal, but I am the Chief Minister of Hills, Gurung said.



A case has been lodged against Bimal Gurung and others for rioting and arson. Sources said morning raids were conducted at several places to arrest them but all of them went into hiding.






E-commerce major Amazon will conduct a workshop to educate small and medium businesses and enable entrepreneurs to sell their products to consumers across the globe. Read more:Read more: HTC U11 Flagship Phone Gets Listed on India Website, May Launch Soon The workshop will focus on Amazon's global selling programme that enables easy, simple and convenient access for all Indian sellers to sell their products globally, Amazon said in a statement.The workshop will be held at Saket in the national capital.Read more: 5 Best Budget Android Smartphones From Xiaomi The e-commerce major launched its global selling programme in India in 2015, which helps Indian businesses take their 'Made in India' products to millions of customers across the globe through 10 global Amazon marketplaces.Commenting on the workshop, Amazon India Head-Global Selling Abhijit Kamra said: "We see immense potential in Delhi and look forward to enabling thousands of SMBs in the city to expand their business through our global selling programme."Read more: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 With Dual Rear Cameras to Launch in August? The company claims to have over 20,000 sellers today from India selling over 45 million products.The workshop will witness participation from entrepreneurs across regional product categories, including health and personal care, grocery, beauty, copper mugs, leather bags and mobile covers, among others.The workshop will include modules educating SMBs on the global opportunity, brand building, documentation, listing methodology and Amazon services such as fulfillment by Amazon and sponsored ads.
Seems like HTC's flagship U11 will launch in India soon as the Taiwanese smartphone maker has listed the U11 on its India website. The listing, however, did not reveal the price of the forthcoming phone.HTC had launched the U11 last month at an event in Taiwan. A major highlight of the U11 is the Edge Sense: a user can interact with it through a squeeze. Opening applications and the camera can be done by squeezing the U11.However, different levels of pressure can be used for opening different functions of the device.Read more: HTC U11 Review: It Squeezes Into the iPhone 7 & Samsung Galaxy S8 Territory Also, the HTC U11 has both Google Assistant and Alexa support for the United States, the UK and Germany, which both work with the Edge Sense functionality.In terms of design language, the U11 looks the same as the rest of the U series. It uses the same 'liquid surface' glass on the rear with colours embedded into the glass, which make it highly glossy and render a unique look from various angles.The U11 will come in five different colours, including Sapphire Blue, Amazing Silver, Solar Red, Brilliant Black, Ice White (varies in different regions). The listing on HTC India website suggests thatthe phone will come in Brilliant Black and Amazing Silver colours.Read more: OnePlus 5 Design With Dual-Camera Setup Revealed, to Launch on June 22 In terms of specifications, the U11 features a 5.5-inch Quad HD 2K display. The design also includes 3D glass on both front and rear to essentially make the device feel more secure and comfortable to hold.The latest and one of the fastest chips currently on the market - Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC powers the device.HTC has also introduced what it calls the UltraSpeed focus along with a 12-megapixel rear camera with dual-pixel autofocus, f/1.7 aperture, OIS and electronic stabilisation. HTC is also introducing Auto HDR Boost which will provide the benefits of a HDR camera sans the lag. The 16-megapixel selfie camera has been optimised for taking snaps in low light and comes with a wide-angle lens. It also has a Selfie Panorama mode.HTC U11 doesn not have a standard 3.5-mm jack and features a USB Type-C port, Bluetooth 4.2, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, and Beidou on board.HTC U11 also comes with USonic Boomsound Hi-Fi Edition speakers. The company is also bundling a pair of noise cancelling headphones in the box.The U11 has a water resistant design with 64GB or 128GB of internal storage that can be further expanded.The phone packs a 3,000 mAh battery, which supports Qualcomms Quick Charge 3.
Washington: The US is looking forward to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington later this month, the State Department has said.



"We look forward to having the (Indian) Prime Minister here in Washington I believe it's later this month," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference on Thursday.



Modi is expected to travel to Washington at the invitation of US President Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House later this month. Actual dates of the meeting have not been announced yet.



This would be Modi's first trip to the US under the Trump administration. The two leaders have spoken over the phone for at least three times.



Under the previous Obama Administration, Modi had a record number of eight meetings with Barack Obama. Modi travelled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.


Cairo: Islamic State has killed two Chinese teachers it kidnapped in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province last month, the militant group's Amaq news agency said on Thursday, in a blow to Islamabad's efforts to safeguard Chinese workers.



China's Foreign Ministry said it was "gravely concerned" about the report and working to verify the information.



Armed men pretending to be policemen kidnapped the two language teachers in the provincial capital, Quetta, on May 24. The kidnapping was a rare security incident involving Chinese nationals in Pakistan, where Beijing has pledged $57 billion for its "Belt and Road" plan.



"Islamic State fighters killed two Chinese people they had been holding in Baluchistan province, south-west Pakistan," Amaq said.



A Baluchistan government spokesman said officials were in the process of confirming "whether the report is true".



China's Foreign Ministry said it noted the report and expressed "grave concern".



"We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," the ministry said in a short statement.



"The Chinese side is working to learn about and verify relevant information through various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities," it added.



"The Chinese side is firmly opposed to the acts of kidnapping civilians in any form, as well as terrorism and extreme violence in any form."



There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's interior ministry or its foreign office.



Islamic State, which controls some territory in neighbouring Afghanistan, has struggled to establish a presence in Pakistan. But it has claimed several major attacks, including one on the deputy chairman of the Senate last month in Baluchistan, in which 25 people were killed.



Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan's military published details of a three-day raid on a militant hideout in a cave not far from Quetta, saying it had killed 12 "hardcore terrorists" from a banned local Islamist group and prevented Islamic State from gaining a "foothold" in Baluchistan.



China's ambassador to Pakistan and other officials have often urged Islamabad to improve security, especially in Baluchistan, where China is building a new port and funding roads to link its western regions with the Arabian Sea.
Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron's party heads into the first round of parliamentary elections on Sunday looking set to win the majority he needs to push through his ambitious reforms.



A number of opinion polls give Macron's Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party around 30 percent of the vote, which would put it in the driving seat to secure an absolute majority in the second round on June 18.



With Macron's party siphoning off support from France's traditional political forces on the left and the right  the Socialists of his predecessor Francois Hollande and the conversative Republicans -- the elections could radically redraw the political map.



On Friday, the final day of campaigning before the first round, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe urged voters to back the new president.



"The question that the French people must answer on Sunday is: do they want to give the president and the government he named a sufficient majority to begin the work of turning around the country?" he said on Europe 1 radio.



Macron's party could be heading for as many as 400 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, according to some polls, a crushing victory for a president who many observers were predicting just weeks ago might struggle to win a majority.



Philippe is a conservative in Macron's multi-hued government that the 39-year-old centrist assembled in a bid to break with decades of tribalist left-right politics.



The prime minister's party, the Republicans, complained on Friday that such domination by REM could be harmful. "I don't think it would be healthy for the democratic debate over the next five years," said Francois Baroin, who is leading the Republicans in the legislative polls.



Marine Le Pen's National Front meanwhile could struggle to gain 15 seats nationally, a score that would be an additional humiliation for her after she was soundly beaten by Macron in the presidential election.



In one cloud on Macron's horizon, his small centrist ally, the MoDem party was placed under preliminary investigation on suspicion of employing fake parliamentary assistants in the European Parliament.



The investigation comes with one of Macron's ministers and a key supporter, Richard Ferrand, also being probed over suspicions he favoured his wife in a property deal with a public health insurance fund when he headed the company.



Macron's party has brushed off the accusations against Ferrand as unfounded. Polls appear to suggest that Macron is in tune with the wishes of French voters to see deep changes to the political class. Many of REM's 530 candidates come from civil society and have never run for office before.



Macron's reform agenda is broad. The key plank is to build on an overhaul of the labour market that the previous Socialist government began -- measures that brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets last year.



The government has said it plans to fast-track legislation through parliament using executive decrees in a country where many see the cost of hiring and firing as a brake on growth.



Unemployment, the issue that dogged Hollande's presidency, is around 10 percent. Macron and Philippe have already held softly-softly initial talks with the unions about their proposed reforms, without apparently showing much of their hand.
New Delhi: Muslims perform ablution before prayers on the second Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramzan at Jama Masjid in New Delhi on Friday, June 9, 2017. Islam's holiest month is a period of intense prayer, self-discipline, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts. (Image: AP)
Update: A White House official confirmed Sunday afternoon Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.'s involvement in a task force on higher education reform.

Speaking on background, a White House official said in an email to The News & Advance Falwell "will be involved in a task force," but did not have an official announcement to make at this time.

Earlier: A presidential task force on higher education of which Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. will be a member now will be overseen by the White House, not the Department of Education, according to education undersecretary James Manning. Falwell is one of 15 tapped to serve on the board.

Manning provided vague details on the task force in a May 31 response to an inquiry from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who along with five other Democratic senators requested more information in February.

Falwell provided a little more information Friday in a brief release through the university.

The White House contacted me last week and asked me to be a part of a group of 15 college presidents to address education issues. This is a White House task force and not a Department of Education task force, Falwell said in the statement.

The short letter to Murray from the Department of Education cites Executive Order 13777, Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda, signed Feb. 24 by President Donald Trump. That executive order outlines Trumps plan to lower regulatory burdens on the American people through the appointment of reform task forces.

Within the Department, the requirements of the Executive Order will be carried out through a collaborative effort by both political and career staff, part of Mannings letter to Murray reads.

The letter was sent as a response to the six Democratic senators seeking more information, and appears to be the first public statement from the Department of Education on the proposed task force. In previous News & Advance inquiries to the department, officials declined to comment on the matter, stating that they were unaware of any White House announcement of the formation of a task force.

The U.S. senators  Murray, Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Richard Durbin, D-Ill.; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; and Margaret Wood Hassan, D-N.H.;  submitted a four-page letter Feb. 23 to Betsy DeVos, the U.S. secretary of education, seeking clarity and transparency on the pending higher-ed task force.

We were extremely concerned to learn through media reports that President Trump has asked Jerry L. Falwell, Jr., President of Liberty University, to lead a new task force to recommend changes to federal regulations, policies, and procedures in higher education. As your agency will be the primary convener of the task force, we ask that you can provide clarity about how it will operate and how the Department intends to ensure fairness and transparency at every stage of the task forces work, the letter to Secretary DeVos begins.

In a subsequent interview on Feb. 22 with The News & Advance, Falwell derided the letter as a partisan tactic of a desperate Democratic party.

On Feb. 2, Falwell provided a memo outlining policy concerns he said could be addressed by the task force. According to that memo, key concerns include commitment to need-based student aid, deregulation opportunities, tax reform to support education financing and government intrusion into accreditation.

Falwell previously has criticized the Department of Education for micromanaging colleges and universities and accused the department of overreach and intruding into the accreditation process.

Falwell has been a Trump ally since personally endorsing him in early 2016 after the Republican candidate spoke at LU convocation. Since then, Falwell has backed Trump, standing behind him in the face of numerous controversies on the campaign trail, and in the White House.

Trump returned to Liberty in May to deliver the commencement address at LUs 44th graduation.

The president did not mention the proposed task force during his remarks at Liberty.

In early May, prior to commencement, Falwell told The News & Advance that he had spoken with the White House and Department of Education in late April to discuss higher-ed issues in need of regulatory reform.

They seemed to be very impressed, very interested, Falwell said at that time.

According to Falwell, issues discussed then included financial-aid fraud prevention and the burden placed on colleges and universities by duplicative reporting required to comply with regulations.

He added the discussion did not include further details on the mission or launch of the task force.
JUSTICE STALLED

Law enforcement sources told Newsday yesterday the delays by labs in England and the United States in returning crucial results are hampering investigations and prosecutions.

They are also impacting negatively on the already poor detection rate by local police. Up to yesterday, the murder toll stood at 226 for the year with a paltry detection rate of 17.7 percent.

Matters awaiting tests from the foreign labs include the murder of Shannon Banfield whose decomposing body was found on December 12 last year at the Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain compound of IAM and company.

Several items were sent to a lab in England so that DNA evidence could be obtained to assist homicide officers in presenting their case in court, but up to yesterday the results were still in the hands of experts at the British DNA lab.

Police carrying out that probe are awaiting results to ascertain if Banfield was sexually assaulted.

Specimens found on her body were also sent for matching.

Those results are yet to be presented to the investigators.

Although the suspect in that matter has appeared in court a few times, the police have indicated they are not ready to start although not advancing specific reasons for this.

The Homicide Investigations Bureau has also sent specimens to the DNA lab in England in the murder of schoolboy Jesse Beephan whose body was found near the Waterloo Secondary School, Carapichaima on March 22. No results have been forthcoming.

No one has been detained for Beephans murder.

Specimens were sent to the same lab in connection with the death of Chaguanas mother of one Sharlene Soomai, 23. Her semi-nude body was found close to her Petersfield home on March 23.

Specimens collected from other murder scenes were also sent to the same lab last year, and there are some dating back to 2015. But the results are yet to be sent to the Homicide Investigations Bureau in Port-of-Spain.

Sources said yesterday that while homicide officers continue to do work on the ground to improve the detection rate especially for murders, they still believe some outstanding cases can be solved with the return of evidence from the DNA samples still tied up in the overseas labs.

Sources revealed yesterday that Government has decided to invest in setting up a DNA lab in this country to make results more readily accessible and to save the country the expense in utilising the foreign facilities.
Retired army chief gears for court battle

Yesterday, he told Newsday that when the information is made available, he plans to mount a legal battle to clear his name and reputation.

Maharaj was named by former CDS Rodney Smart and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi as the person who made arrangements for Al-Rawi and members of his family to be present at the shooting range at Camp Cumuto on March 27, 2016. Some aspects of the findings of the report were leaked to the media last week in which the Attorney General was said to have been cleared of any wrong doing.

However, a defiant Maharaj said yesterday that at no time did he make any arrangement with the Attorney General to facilitate the visit at Camp Cumuto and neither was he present on the day of the visit.

He said his life has now been turned upside down as a result of the allegations levelled against him and is eager to clear his name. Maharaj said he is consulting his attorneys in preparation for legal battle.

According to Maharaj, he has asked the Defence Force for an apology and retraction but none has been given to date. He said had he been at Camp Cumuto on the day of the visit of the Attorney General and his children, he would not have allowed the children to be photographed brandishing machine-guns.

According to Maharaj, if one looks at the photograph of the children with the guns, they will observe that the magazines were attached to the weapons which means there was live ammunition in the weapons.

Several breaches occurred that day. Maharaj reiterated yesterday that he had nothing to do with the visit.

According to Maharaj, correct protocol required that if he was inviting the AG to the Camp he would have written a letter of invitation and the AG would have responded with an acknowledgement that the date suggested was okay.

Protocol also required that on the day of the visit he would have presented himself to receive the AG and his family.

But I had no idea that they were coming, Maharaj said. I was not informed and I was nowhere around. Maharaj said he only learnt of the visit of the AG and his children at Camp Cumuto long after he had retired when the information became public through the media.
Waterman- Latchoo replaces Marcia Ayers-Caesar

State attorney Stacy Lallo-Chong, in welcoming Waterman-Latchoo, said she was doing so on behalf of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Since Ayers-Caesars exit, Justice Malcolm Holdip who is the countrys most senior judge in the High Court and who presides in the First Assize Court, has been adjourning the list of cases. Not a single trial has been able to start.

Chong told Waterman-Latchoo that State attorneys look forward to her adjudication. Waterman-Latchoo, who once was a journalist, was appointed a judge by President Anthony Carmona during a swearing in ceremony at the Office of the President on Wednesday which was attended by Chief Justice Ivor Archie. The other judge sworn in is Jacqueline Wilson.

The appointments came in the wake of a High Court injunction filed on Monday against the swearing in on the ground that the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) was not properly constituted.

Three Appeal court judges however, overturned Justice Frank Seepersads ruling a day after.

Attorney Dexter Bailey of the criminal bar, congratulated Justice Waterman-Latchoo on her elevation to the bench, she being a former Deputy DPP. I am looking forward to your experience and knowledge, MLady, said the senior attorney.

In reply, Justice Waterman-Latchoo said she expects nothing short of excellence, because that is what southern jurisdiction is known for.

She then began dealing with the business at hand, which consisted of nine cases, all except one involving bail. Five of the prisoners were not brought down in the prison van and Justice Waterman-Latchoo enquired the reason for this, but none was provided. In adjourning the cases, she commented, People have to provide reasons to the court. The court has to be communicated with.
Amazon Is First Company to

Lose $1T in Market Value
There wasn't anything terribly special about their order, but what happened next was truly unexpected. Toronto-area couple Anna Kotlikova and Blake Weinzettl ordered pizza and soda from a nearby haunt, Montana's, over the weekend, using UberEATS so they wouldn't have to go out and pick it up. But as Weinzettl tells Mashable, their app showed the driver "en route" some 15 minutes from their locationthough the restaurant is five minutes away. When the driver arrived, a second strange clue: He handed over food in a brown paper bag, which isn't the type Montana's uses for take-away orders. Inside the brown bag, things were nightmarish.

There was another bag Weinzettl says was "tied up very poorly," and inside that was a "horrible mess of decaying food," including half-eaten moldy sandwiches so gross Weinzettl called the whole thing a "sick joke." He posted photos on Twitter, and tells Vice's Munchies that Uber has confirmed to him that it was not a mistake and the driver, who'd been inactive for two weeks, made only three trips on Sunday, all of which were deliveries of moldy food he said he'd gotten from Montana's. (Montana's confirmed the couple's order was picked up.) "The smell overwhelmed the whole room," Kotlikova tells the CBC. Uber has offered the couple a $25 credit, which Weinzettl considers a disappointing response. (It's been a rough week for Uber. Really rough.)
An email advising partygoers not to puke, throw kegs off buildings, or have sex without the other person's consent was sent not to the residents of Chug-a-Lug House, but to 400 Uber employees before a 2013 company party. In the letter obtained by Recode, CEO Travis Kalanick set out "sex rules" for the outing. "Do not have sex with another employee UNLESS a) you have asked that person for that privilege and they have responded with an emphatic 'YES! I will have sex with you' AND b) the two (or more) of you do not work in the same chain of command," he wrote. "Yes, that means that Travis will be celibate on this trip. #CEOLife #FML." The latter hashtag is short for "f--- my life," which has Recode declaring, "Welcome to Silicon Valley startup culture."

The email is known as the "Miami letter" internally because it was written before a 2013 company outing in the citywhere, Kalanick wrote, transportation "sucks ass." Kalanick sent the "rules" to a growing 1,800 workers before another party the next year, though sources tell Recode that there were some internal objections to its frat-boy tone. Lawyers looking into alleged corporate misbehavior are now reportedly investigating whether the email played a role in creating a workplace culture where sexual harassment was tolerated. CNBC reports that Uber board member Arianna Huffington says she has been trying to help Kalanick through turbulent times at the company. She says the CEO has started meditating, using a disused lactation room because there are no corporate meditation rooms. (Read more Travis Kalanick stories.)
Most trees grow straight, but the Cook pine leans another way. As a new study reveals, the tree leans toward the equator no matter where it grows, giving it what Science Alert calls a "drunken-looking slant." Matthew Ritter of California Polytechnic State University first became curious about the trees after noticing specimens in both California and Hawaii were leaning southward. But when he spoke to researchers in Australia, he was surprised. There, Cook pines leaned in the opposite direction. A study of 256 Cook pines on five continents soon after revealed more than 91% leaned toward the equator, per Science World Report, with an average tilt of 8 degrees, or twice that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

But the farther it is from the equator, the more the tree leans: One Cook pine in southern Australia has a 40-degree tilt. The tree appears to be "sensing where it is on the planet," Ritter tells CBC News. "That has never been seen ever in any plant, let alone trees." It's possible the Cook pine leans toward a light source, as many plants do, but that some sort of abnormality keeps Earth's gravitational pull from straightening it out, reports Discover. Or as researchers write in Ecology, the lean could be a response to "annual sunlight, gravity, magnetism, or any combination of these." Whatever the reason, it's "a scientifically interesting thing" and shows "plants are responding to their environment in ways we don't understand," Ritter says. (Poland's Crooked Forest is still a mystery.)
The victim of Roman Polanski's sex assault 40 years ago is going to appeal directly to a judge to end the long-running case against the fugitive director, his lawyer says. Samantha Geimer, 13 at the time of the crime, has long supported Polanski's efforts to end the legal saga that limits his freedom, but Friday will be the first time she has appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court on his behalf, attorney Harland Braun says. "She's tired of this case," Braun says. "The judge is just playing games with him." Polanski has been a fugitive since he fled to France in 1978 on the eve of sentencing for the crime of having unlawful sex with a minor. His lawyers have been fighting for years to end the case and lift an international arrest warrant.

Geimer has previously said she forgives Polanski for the assault that happened at Jack Nicholson's compound in the Hollywood Hills during a March 1977 photo shoot. Polanski plied her with champagne and part of a sedative pill before raping her, according to grand jury transcripts. Polanski contends he is the victim of judicial misconduct because the now-deceased judge who handled the case suggested in private remarks that he would not honor a plea bargain agreement. The hearing Friday is an effort by Braun to get the court to unseal testimony by the now-deceased prosecutor in the case, who is believed to have testified in a closed session about backroom sentencing discussions, the AP reports. (Read more Roman Polanski stories.)
The British parents of a dying 10-month-old have just one more chance to win permission to bring him to the US for experimental treatment. Chris Gard and Connie Yates filed an emergency appeal with the European Court of Human Rights after Britain's Supreme Court ruled against them on Thursday, reports the BBC. Their son, Charlie Gard, has an extremely rare and fatal disease called mitochondrial depletion syndrome, and they want to bring him to the US for treatment. But British health officials won't allow it, saying the treatment won't work and might cause Charlie undue harm, and that he should be allowed to die with dignity. In Thursday's decision, the judges said he should be kept on life support at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London until the ECHR rules at some point Friday.

"How can they do this," cried Yates as the decision was announced, per the Guardian. "They are lying. We are going to America." The parents have raised more than $1.6 million on GoFundMe for the trip and medical bills. One of the judges praised the parents' devotion but said "the child's interests must prevail" under human rights law. "It is never easy when medical and judicial opinion goes against the wishes of the parents, but our first responsibility at Great Ormond Street Hospital remains to put the interests of the child first and foremost," the hospital says in a statement. No details have been released about where Charliewho cannot see, hear, move, cry, or swallowwould get treatment in the US. (These parents are desperately trying to raise $750,000 for their sick son.)
She gambled on an early electionand she lost, big time. Theresa May and the Conservative Party have been dealt a huge blow in Britain's election, with the party losing its majority in Parliament after early predictions that it would gain as many as 80 seats. Full results have yet to arrive, but a hung parliament, in which no party has a majority, is now inevitable, reports the BBC. The Conservatives still have the most seats but Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party was the night's big winner, gaining more than 30 seats in Parliament, while the pro-Brexit United Kingdom Independence Party saw its share of the vote collapse. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party saw a fall in support, with former party leader Alex Salmond among those losing their seats. The latest:

With Corbynand plenty of angry Conservativescalling for her resignation, May signaled that she will stay on for now, Reuters reports. "At this time, more than anything else this country needs a period of stability," she said early Friday after she was re-elected to her own seat in Parliament.

The inconclusive election was result was seen as a disaster by negotiators in Brussels, where Brexit talks are due to begin within days, the Guardian reports. May, who wasn't required to hold an election until 2020, said her reason for calling one early was to secure a greater mandate for the talks. "Could be messy for the United Kingdom in the years ahead," tweeted former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt. "One mess risks following another. Price to be paid for lack of true leadership."

Senior Conservative officials tell the Telegraph that May made "fundamental strategic errors" during the campaign. "This is bad, it's worse than bad. Her advisers should walk out of the door now never to return, regardless of the final result," one senior official says. Numerous senior Conservative MPs have lost their seats, including manifesto author Ben Gummer.

The BBC looks at what is likely to happen now that a hung parliament has been confirmed. Unless she chooses to resign, May is expected to remain as prime minister while she attempts to form a coalition government with smaller parties.

ITV looks at election night's biggest losers, including Nick Clegg. The former Liberal Democrat, deputy prime minister in the coalition government until the 2015 election, lost his seat to Labour challenger Jared O'Mara.

(Read more British elections stories.)
Fired FBI Director James Comey says President Donald Trump expected him to pledge his loyalty and urged him to drop the investigation into links between Trump's aides and Russian officials.

Comey's nearly three-hour appearance Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee marked his first public comments about nine conversations he said he had with the president in the months before he was fired. The event was covered live by the major U.S. television networks, and seen around the world.

Trump ousted Comey last month, saying he was thinking of "this Russia thing" when he decided to dismiss the chief of the country's top criminal investigative agency while he was leading its Russia probe.

Comey said it was and still is the "high confident judgment" of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 campaign. "It's not a close call," he said.

The former FBI director and prosecutor told lawmakers he was confused by various explanations that Trump and his aides gave for the dismissal and said they "chose to defame me" for his performance as the FBI chief by claiming - wrongly, in Comey's view -- that the agency was in disarray.

"Those were lies, plain and simple," Comey said of the White House contention that he had lost the confidence of the FBI.

Ultimately, Comey said of Trump, "I take him at his word," that he was fired because of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's ongoing Russia investigation.

In his written opening statement, Comey recounted how at a White House dinner in January shortly after Trump assumed power, the president told him, "'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.' I didnt move, speak or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence."

The committee's top Democrat, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, called Trump's comments, as recounted by Comey, "very disturbing."
Alleged NSA leaker Reality Winner was denied bail Thursday after prosecutors warned that she might have more secrets to releaseincluding those stored only in her head. Winner, 25, was shackled during her appearance in the federal courtroom in Augusta, Ga., where she pleaded not guilty to illegally transmitting national defense information, the AP reports. "We don't know how much more she knows and how much more she remembers," assistant US Attorney Jennifer Solari told the judge. "But we do know she's very intelligent. So she's got a lot of valuable information in her head." Solari said Winner inserted a flash drive into a computer while serving in the Air Force, and authorities don't know where it is now.

Solari also said investigators had found "disturbing" comments in one of Winner's notebooks, including: "I want to burn the White House down." She said Winner also wrote down the names of extremists including Osama bin Laden, though she stressed that prosecutors are not trying to link Winner to terrorism. During the hearing, Winner's parents testified to her good character, and defense attorney Titus Nichols accused prosecutors of "making a mountain out of a molehill," NBC News reports. "Simply plugging a flash drive into a computer is not downright frightening," he said. The judge decided to deny bail, citing the White House comment, the Washington Post reports. "Whether thats a jest or not, it still concerns me," he said. (Read more Reality Winner stories.)
When Johnny Crow first discovered music, he viewed it as a kind of therapy. "It was amazing how it made me feel," the 16-year-old says. "It made that sadness go away." So when Johnny's 49-year-old father died of a heart attack in April despite Johnny's attempts at CPR, the Michigan teen was in need of music more than ever. In a final gift from his late father, that's exactly what he got. During a surprise visit to a music store in Port Huron on his 16th birthday Wednesday, Johnny learned his father had ordered him a new Dean Razorback guitar in January, months before he passed away, reports the Port Huron Times Herald. The gift brought Johnny to tears, along with others who viewed the now-viral video of its delivery.

Johnny's 20-year-old sister tells the Huffington Post that "Johnny has been wanting this guitar for a while" and "would joke with my dad about getting it in the future." In a Facebook post accompanying the video, which has been viewed 9 million times, she adds she "couldn't believe it" when store employees told her their father had purchased it. She kept the secret until Johnny's birthday arrived, then drove him to the store. There, employees brought out a large case before revealing the shiny guitar within. "I was definitely overjoyed that my father gave me one last thing to remember him by," says Johnny. "I know a lot of kids don't get that." He adds the response to the video has been touching: "It's good to feel you're not alone in this." (Read more uplifting news stories.)
Police say the gunman who barricaded the doors of a Pennsylvania grocery store and shot three coworkers before killing himself detailed his horrific plan online in the weeks and months before the murders. The New York Daily News reports Randy Stair, 24, brought two shotguns concealed in a duffel bag to his night shift at Weis Market in Tunkhannock on Wednesday. Around 1am Thursday, he blocked the entrances and exits then fired 59 shots, killing Victoria Brong, 26; Brian Hayes, 47; and Terry Sterling, 63. An unidentified witness was able to flee the scene and call 911. The Press & Sun-Bulletin reports that Stair's online postings indicate that he could have been planning the killing spree for up to four months. A 37-minute video posted on May 11 on one account allegedly lays out Stairs plan of attack.

Whats going to happen in the future after this to prevent this from happening again? he asks at the end of the recording, where he displays weapons and names employees scheduled to work on June 7. "And the answer is you cant prevent it. You can only endure it." A long trail of social media accounts believed to be run by Stair under the pseudonym Andrew Blaze, a female cartoon character Stair said represented himself, contain more chilling clues, including an Instagram post of Stair at work the night of the shooting and a final tweet posted at 9pm Wednesday that read: Goodbye humans...I'll miss you.... Stair also referenced the Columbine shootings in a YouTube video posted Wednesday that he dedicated to killers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. (Read more murder-suicide stories.)
Theresa May appears set to stay on as prime minister despite the spectacular failure of her attempt to increase the Conservative Party's majority with an early election in the UK. The BBC reports that May, whose party lost 12 seats in Parliament, leaving it without the majority needed to govern alone, is planning to form a government with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party. With 326 seats needed to form a majority, the DUP's 12 seats would give 330 or 331 votes on legislation, depending on how the final undeclared race turns out. The opposition Labour Party says it is also ready to form a minority government, though there is little chance of it forming a coalition with 326 seats. The latest:

Sources tell the Guardian that May has cut a deal with the DUP and will meet with the Queen Friday afternoon to confirm her plan for a new government. "We want there to be a government. We have worked well with May. The alternative is intolerable," a DUP source says, adding that the party will try to ensure there is a Conservative prime minister as long as leftist Jeremy Corbyn leads the Labour Party. Other sources, however, tell the BBC that the DUP is still examining the "messy" situation and talk of a coalition is premature.

Corbyn's Labour Party came second, but vastly outperformed expectations by picking up dozens of seats and denying May a majority, reports the Washington Post. "The prime minister called the election because she wanted a mandate," Corbyn told supporters, urging May to step down. "Well, the mandate shes got is lost Conservative seats, lost votes, lost support, and lost confidence."

The surprise result cast doubt both on the Brexit negotiations, which are scheduled to start in just 10 days, and on plans for a second referendum on Scottish independence, the AP reports. The pro-independence Scottish National Party lost 20 of its 54 seats. Paul Nuttall, leader of the pro-Brexit UKIP party, resigned after losing the party's only seat in Parliament. He told supporters the party has a "great future" as the "guard dogs of Brexit."

The results in full can be shown here. UKIP's share of the vote is down more than 10% since the 2015 election, which resulted in gains for both Labour and the Conservatives.

The Independent looks at the DUP and the implications of the small party holding the balance of power. In Northern Ireland, the party has fought hard to block same-sex marriage and the lifting of the ban on abortion.

(Read more British elections stories.)
It's an unthinkable series of deaths in east London: Four-year-old Chadrack Mulo was found dead in his Hackney apartment Oct. 20, 2016, clutching the body of his "very decomposed" mother, who authorities believe died two weeks before her son did. Coroner Mary Hassell tells the Guardian that Chadrack's mother, Esther Eketi-Mulo, suffered a fatal epileptic fit on Oct. 1 or 2. Chadrack, who the Hackney Gazette reports was autistic and mute, was apparently unable to obtain help or feed himself and succumbed to dehydration and starvation, likely on Oct. 18.

Hassell says "the likelihood is that Chadrack lived alone in the family home for over a fortnight after his mother's death." Neighbors describe themselves as haunted by the idea they could have saved the boy if only they had known. The Gazette reports some did detect an unusual smell but waved it off as cooking. The deaths have spurred calls for changes to the steps schools must take in the event of a child's prolonged absence. Chadrack's teachers did twice try to visit the family's apartment after being unable to reach Eketi-Mulo by phone, but Schools Week reports they could not gain entry to the block of flats where Chadrack and his mother lived. (Read more death stories.)
What happens to dogs that are kicked out of the police academy for being "too friendly"? In the case of Gavel, a German shepherd puppy in Australia, post-expulsion life is, um, not so bad. After the companionable dog was rejected by the Queensland Police Servicehe "did not display the necessary aptitude for a life on the front line"he was welcomed into the home of Queensland Gov. Paul de Jersey and has now taken on the title of "Vice-Regal Dog," reports the BBC. His main duties: greeting and playing with guests, per Time. (He's also quite the social media celebrity.) As the police service quipped earlier, "it is unlikely Gavel will be complaining any time soon." (Read more Australia stories.)
North Korea on Friday commented on its Thursday test-launch of a new type of cruise missile, saying the weapon is capable of striking US and South Korean warships "at will." The missiles are the fourth new missile system North Korea has disclosed and tested this year, sending a defiant message that it will continue to pursue a weapons program that has rattled its neighbors and Washington, the AP reports. "This new-type cruise rocket is a powerful attack means capable of striking any enemy group of battleships" attempting to attack North Korea and can be used "at will," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.

It said that leader Kim Jong Un observed the launches and that the missiles "accurately detected and hit" floating targets at sea after making "circular flights." The North's claims could not be independently confirmed. North Korea didn't say how many anti-ship missiles it launched, but South Korean national security director Chung Eui-yong said later Friday the North had fired four short-range missiles on Thursday. South Korea's military said they were fired from the town of Wonsan and flew about 125 miles before splashing down between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The launch came days after US aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan left those waters after joint exercises with the South Korean navy. (Read more North Korea stories.)
Chelsea Manning believed she had a "responsibility to the public" and didn't think she was risking national security when she leaked a trove of classified documents, the soldier said in her first interview since being released from a military prison last month, per the AP. The 29-year-old formerly known as Bradley Manning said in a pre-taped interview broadcast Friday on ABC's Good Morning America that she was prompted to give the 700,000 military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks because of the human toll of the "death, destruction, and mayhem" she saw as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq. She told ABC that she has "accepted responsibility" for her actions. "No one told me to do this. No one directed me to do this. This is me. It's on me," she said.

Manning was released from a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on May 18 after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence, which was commuted by former President Barack Obama in his final days in office. Obama said in January he felt justice had been served. She hasn't spoken to Obama since her release, but emotionally thanked him in the interview for giving her "another chance." Manning also touched on her struggles dealing with her gender transition while in prison. She says she tried to kill herself twice behind bars and fought for the hormone treatments she says keep her alive. Manning remains in the Army, but is off duty while she appeals her court-martial conviction. "I have nothing but utmost respect for the military," she said in the interview, per ABC. (Read more Chelsea Manning stories.)
Maryland sunbathers who loathe bikini lines have reason to celebrate in Ocean City, where beach patrollers have been instructed to let topless women be. Newsweek reports that Chelsea Covington, a self-described topfreedom advocate, issued a formal request to the mayors office in August 2016, asking that women be allowed to remove tops alongside their male counterparts at the beach. Ocean Citys mayor passed on the request to the state attorney general for further legal interpretation, telling WBOC, "We understand Ms. Covington's desire to be treated fairly under the Equal Protection Law, but at the same time we hope to be able to protect the rights of the thousands of families that visit our beach every year."

Covington argues that her request is covered under Maryland constitutions absolute prohibition of gender classification, which she says provides "no justification for treating genders differently when making or enforcing law, at the state or local level." And it appears she is correct: This week, the Ocean City Beach Patrol captain sent out a memo telling employees to document, but not bother, topless women on the beach. CBS Baltimore reports the rule went into effect May 20. Covington said last year that her advocacy isnt simply about swimwear, and that she hopes to combat feelings of body and gender shame in young girls and adult women. Meanwhile, the mayor and city council are looking into legal action to prevent women from ditching their bikini tops. (Read more topless beaches stories.)
Catalonia's regional government on Friday chose Oct. 1 as the date for a referendum on a split from Spain, stepping up the confrontation with the country's central government, which sees the vote as illegal, the AP reports. Regional president Carles Puigdemont said Catalans will be asked to answer yes or no to a single question: "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?" The country's Constitutional Court has already invalidated previous attempts by the northeastern region to gain more autonomy. Several Catalan politicians, including former regional president Artur Mas, have been fined or barred from public office for holding a mock referendum in November 2014.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government called the announcement a "show" by those willing to divide Spain and swore to stop the vote if Catalan politicians or the regional parliament make a formal move toward holding the vote. "They can announce that referendum as many times as they want ... or hold as many events as they want, but the referendum will not be held," Spain's deputy premier said this week. Catalonia represents a fifth of Spain's GDP and has a population of over 7 million. Separatists, who gained support as the economic crisis swelled the number of jobless, say the region's future is brighter outside of Spain. They also say that an independent Catalonia would better defend their strong cultural identity and Catalan language. (Read more Spain stories.)
Sources at the network also confirmed the attacks to reporters, and viewers in the region said they could no longer view Al Jazeera television.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera News Network reported repeated cyberattacks on all of their media platforms Thursday.

The alleged cyberattacks come at a time of heightened diplomatic tensions in the region. On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Maldives cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Al Jazeera, one of the largest news organizations in the world, has long been a source of conflict between Qatar and its neighbors who accuse the network of bias.

Mostefa Souag, the network's acting director-general, told Reuters that Al Jazeera will maintain editorial independence despite the diplomatic rift.
A black employee at a Bay Area-based construction firm is suing the company for racial discrimination and harassment, alleging that her supervisor gave her Confederate-themed gifts at a holiday party before firing her in March. Tishay Wright, a former project administrator at Southland Construction Management, claims the gifts were retaliation from boss and co-owner Kenneth Hayden after Wright objected to him calling her and another female employee my bitches, Courthouse News reports. According to SF Gate, the suit says Hayden stopped Wright from picking a present at an anonymous company Christmas exchange and handed her a special wrapped gift. Inside she found a Confederate flag-decorated purse with photos inside of Hayden dressed as President Trump sitting before a Confederate flag and posters reading The Southland Shall Rise Again and Make Southland Great Again.

I couldnt believe what I had received from my bosses, Wright says. It takes me back to slavery days. I am not a slave. Wright claims she was fired in March after telling co-owner Anita Hayden that the gifts were inappropriate. The suit alleges further discriminatory workplace behavior by the Haydens, claiming that along with reducing her responsibilities after she complained about Kenneths language, the supervisors used racist rhetoric, including telling a Sikh intern to go get your people before they blow something up" and often joking that Mexican workers could be paid in beer. Southland Construction has yet to issue a statement regarding the complaint filed on Thursday. I kept being told by my family to not be afraid to speak up, says Wright, who hails from liberal Berkeley, where she never encountered anything like this. (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
President Trump says he's "100%" willing to refute James Comey's testimony under oath, the Hill reports. According to CNN, Trumptaking a few questions from reporters during a joint press conference with the Romanian president Fridaydenied asking the former FBI director to end the investigation into Michael Flynn or for his loyalty. "I didn't say that," the president said. Though, he added: "There would be nothing wrong if I did say that." Trump said he "would be glad" to tell all this to special counsel Robert Mueller under oath. However, he refused to confirm or deny the existence of tapes of his and Comey's conversations, which he previously alluded to in a tweet, telling reporters: "I'll tell you about that sometime in the very near future." Meanwhile, investigators from the House and Senate have filed requests with the White House for those tapes, should they exist, CNN reports.

Some Democratic lawmakers had called on Trump to testify under oath after the president's lawyer on Thursday accused Comey of "so many false statements and lies," Business Insider reports. Trump reiterated that claim Friday, tweeting about Comey's "false statements and lies." Those claims amount to accusations of a felony against Comey, who was under oath during Thursday's testimony, Democrats say. Had Comey lied, he'd be guilty of a federal crime. Democrats say that gives Comey's side of the story more weight. (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
A whole lot of people watched James Comey call President Trump a liar while testifying in front of Congress on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to Nielsen estimates, 20 million viewers tuned in to watch the former FBI director on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX. Final numbers are expected later. The 20 million estimated viewers don't include those who watched the testimony on CSPAN, online, or at bars. The actual number of viewers is likely much higher when online streaming is included, the Hollywood Reporter reports. CNN alone tallied a total of 3.9 million streams. ABC's coverage of Comey's testimony had the most viewers, followed by CBS and Fox News. (Read more James Comey stories.)
Pakistan on Thursday informed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of its intent to appoint an ad-hoc judge

Islamabad : Pakistan on Thursday informed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of its intent to appoint an ad-hoc judge who will sit on the bench for all proceedings in a case relating to alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, including the substantive hearing.

According to a press release issued by the office of Attorney General of Pakistan, a meeting took place on Thursday between International Court of Justice President Ronny Abraham and delegations of India and Pakistan to discuss the timelines in the Jadhav case.

The Registrar of the court and other court officials were present at the meeting.

The release said it was not a hearing and no discussion on the substance or merits of the case took place.

"The purpose of the meeting was only to discuss procedural matters, including the timelines for submission of written memorials and to enable a hearing to be listed," it said.

The delegation of Pakistan was led by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali. Its members included Mohammad Faisal, Director General for South Asia in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmad Irfan Aslam, Head of International Disputes Unit in the Office of the Attorney General, and Khawar Qureshi QC, Counsel for Pakistan.

The release said ICJ President sought the views of the parties as to the time required for the submission of their written pleadings and supporting evidence called memorials.

The Pakistan Attorney General urged the court to adopt an expedited timetable for an early substantive hearing. The court will announce the timetable shortly.

"The Attorney General informed the International Court of Justice of Pakistan's intent to appoint the ad-hoc judge who will sit on the bench of the court for all proceedings in this case, including the substantive hearing," the release said.

It said Indian application seeks "at least release or acquittal" of Jadhav. "As was made clear by Pakistan's Counsel Khawar Qureshi QC on May 15, India can never obtain this from the ICJ," the release said.

It said the court on May 18 made a procedural order to enable a full hearing to take place and it did not make any finding of jurisdiction or merits.

"Pakistan's arguments on jurisdiction and merits will be considered by the court at the full hearing. As can be seen from paragraph 60 of the order of May 18, the court stated that it 'in no way prejudged jurisdiction, admissibility or merits'."

"Pakistan is fully confident that India can never succeed in its application," it said, adding that India "can never obtain acquittal or release" of Jadhav on the basis of its application to the International Court.

India approached the UN court last month seeking a stay on the execution of Jadhav, which the court granted.

Jadhav was tried by a military court in Pakistan in April and awarded death sentence on charges of spying and posing a threat to national security.

Pakistan has said that Jadhav will not be executed till he "exhausts all his mercy appeals", which includes one with the President of Pakistan.

India moved the ICJ against the death penalty on May 8. The next day, the international court gave Jadhav, 46, a lease of life and stayed the death sentence as a provisional measure.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif

Astana : Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif here on Thursday ahead of Friday's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

According to a source here, Modi enquired about Sharif's health after an open heart surgery in London in May last year.

"Both leaders greeted each other at the Leaders' Lounge at the Astana Opera on Thursday evening before the SCO concert," the source said.

India and Pakistan are expected to be granted full membership of the SCO at the summit in the Kazakhstan capital, making them the seventh and eighth members of the Eurasian bloc that includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

This is the first time that the Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers have met since Modi made a surprise visit to Lahore on December 25, 2015, on his way back to India from Kabul because of Sharif's birthday.

This happened after India and Pakistan decided to start a comprehensive bilateral dialogue during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit to Islamabad earlier that month.

However, ties between the two countries collapsed after a cross-border terror attack on an Indian Air Force base in Pathankot on January 2, 2016.

India has blamed the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad for the attack.

According to the source here, Modi, while exchanging pleasantries with Sharif, also enquired about the latter's mother and family.

Sharif was among the South Asian leaders who attended the swearing-in ceremony of the NDA government led by Modi in May 2014.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded that NATO's member countries increase their spending on defense forces. The U.S. accounts for more than 70 percent of all NATO military spending. Only Britain, Estonia, Greece and Poland now meet the NATO goal of spending at least 2 percent of GDP on defense.

Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said military spending will grow 70 percent to reach $32.7 billion Canadian ($24.1 billion) in a decade. That means Canada would spend about 1.4 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2026-27, up from about 1.2 percent now.

Canada's defense chief announced Wednesday that the country plans to sharply increase its military budget following pressure from the Trump administration to bolster spending.

Sajjan said the added money is designed to make sure Canada is a reliable and credible partner.

The plan calls for 5,000 additional military personnel, 15 new warships and 88 new fighter jets, the latter up from a planned 65 announced by the previous government.

"If we're serious about our role in the world, we must be serious about funding our military," Sajjan said. "And we are."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he was pleased.

"I warmly welcome Canada's new defense policy and the major planned investments," Stoltenberg said in a statement. "This new policy affirms Canada's unwavering commitment to NATO and will ensure Canada has the armed forces and key capabilities that the Alliance needs."

Canada has about 800 military personnel in the international mission against the Islamic State group, but removed its fighter jets after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party government was elected in late 2015. Canada also has about 200 troops in the Ukraine and 220 in Poland.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Variably cloudy with snow showers. High 21F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 60%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 11F. Winds light and variable.
The missiles North Korea lobbed into the East Sea on Thursday morning are presumed to be land-to-ship cruise missiles. They flew about 200 km each.

The South Korean military believes the missiles were carried by a four-tube launch vehicle that made its debut during a parade in Pyongyang on May 15 marking the 105th anniversary of regime founder Kim Il-sung's birthday.

They flew at a relatively low altitude of 2 km, a military spokesman here said, apparently to avoid enemy radar, and are thought to be an improved version of the KN-01 missile adapted from the Russian-made Kh-35 Uran.

The Kh-35 was developed in the mid-1990s and has been sold to Burma, India and Vietnam. It has a range of about 130 km and can withstand some electronic disturbance.

But their range seems to have been extended by about 70 km.

"The latest launch seems to be a show of force to display the North's precision-strike capability against ships in response to South Korea-U.S. joint maritime exercises with a U.S. Navy strike group," a Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman here said.


New Delhi:

The IndusInd Bank signed agreement with Overseas Private Investment Corporation to raise USD 225 million loan to support expansion of its micro, small and medium enterprise lending programmes across India.

At least 25 per cent of the proposed facility will support women entrepreneurs and reach to populations who previously had no access to banking facility.

The eight-year loan is part of the bank's programme to support USD 1 billion in loans to underserved small and medium enterprises in India, a statement said.

"Fostering access to finance opportunities for women entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) is important for increasing higher economic output throughoutIndia," said Acting Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) President and Chief Executive Officer Dev Jagadesan.

"This agreement with OPIC will help IndusInd Bank to further enhance our MSME lending franchise, thus providing the impetus to some of the major growth drivers of our economy.

"This also marks a significant milestone for the Bank as it helps us reach out to a new class of global investors to drive our growth," said Romesh Sobti, managing director and chief executive officer of IndusInd Bank.

The OPIC loan will support IndusInd Bank in increasing its MSME lending. Wells Fargo Bank also signed a USD 20 million finance agreement at the event supporting IndusInd Bank's MSME lending, which will include at least 25 per cent dedicated to women entrepreneurs, a statement said.

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Puri:

The ceremonial bathing ritual of Lord Jagannath was celebrated at the Jagannath temple in Puri amid high security and imposition of ban on touching deities.The ceremony was conducted in the presence of thousands of people.

'Snana Jatra' ceremony of three deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra was conducted at 'Snana Mandap' (bathing altar). It was witnessed by people drawn from across the state and outside. In the ceremony, priests poured 108 pitchers of sacred water on them.



The bathing ritual is celebrated as a run-up to the annual 'Rath Jatra' (car festival) of Lord Jagannath. The day, the full-moon day of the month of 'Jyestha', is considered to be the birthday of Lord Jagannath.



The legend from the Skanda Purana says that King Indradyumna, who installed the wooden deities of the Lords, bathed the deities before they were worshipped in the 12th century shrine. The Lord's bathing also indicates arrival of monsoon in Odisha.



Earlier in the morning, the deities along with the image of 'Sudarshana' were taken out from the sanctum sanatorium in a procession to the bathing altar, located in the temple premises.



After the bathing ritual, the deities were attired with 'Gajanana Vesha' (elephant dress). Lord Jagannath takes the elephant attire to please his Maharastrian devotees who worship Lord Ganesh.



Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has made elaborate arrangement for the festival with a decision not to allow any person, except the servitors on duty, to touch the deities when they come out of the main temple as per the Orissa High Court direction.



When a section of priests have been demanding to touch the deities during the festival, SJTA Chief Pradeep Kumar Jena said that no unauthorised person was allowed to touch the deities except the servitors on duty. "We are implementing High Court order," Jena said.



Around 100 CCTV cameras have been installed to monitor the bathing ritual of the deities.



An arrangement has been made for public viewing of the ritual from behind barricades till late in the night.



As many as 45 platoons (one platoon comprise 30 personnel) of jawans and a large number of policemen were deployed for the safety and security of pilgrims and the deities.



Police patrolling has been beefed up with special focus on regulation of vehicular traffic, said Sarthak Sarangi, Superintendent of Police, Puri.
New Delhi:

Despite Congress refused that it did not instigate violence in Madhya Pradesh, but a party MLA, Shakuntala Khatik, was caught on camera asking her supporters to burn down a police station in Shivpuri.

The Congress MLAs supporters were shouting slogans against administration while blaming of conducting hooliganism. Meanwhile, the MLA asked to burn down a police station which was recorded.

Khatik was seen in a verbal spat with a police officer who was trying to placate her in the video. She was demanding suspension of Karaira TI.

Another Congress MLA Jeetu Patwari was also involved in an altercation with a state government official. Patwari and his supporters had allegedly ransacked a market after they were denied entry into the market.

Earlier, the grand old party demanded the resignation of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his home minister over the deaths of six farmers in Mandsaur in police firing.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh farmers protest: Farmer succumbs to injuries at Indore hospital, wife attempts suicide on hearing news

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi dubbed the BJP governments at the Centre and state as Band, Baaja, Bullet regimes that responded to protesting farmers with bullets instead of providing them remunerative prices for their produce.

Accusing BJPs state and central governments of being insensitive towards farmers and their plight, she said this is the reason why farmers were agitating in states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The policy of the BJP governments at the Centre and in states is clear that if the farmers demand remunerative prices for their produce then they will get bullets in return. If you demand the price of your labour, you are labelled as criminals, she said.

Also Read | BJP-ruled states oppressing farmers, poor: Mayawati

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Berhampur (Odisha):

Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav on Friday said that the NDA government at the Centre seeks to double the income of farmers by 2022 as its focus is on galvanising agriculture.

"Narendra Modi government is putting added emphasis on agriculture sector. The aim is to substantially boost the farm sector and double the income of farmers by 2022", Yadav said at Bhanjanagara in Odisha's Ganjam district.

Asserting that the NDA Government was committed to the development of farmers and the poor, the minister said schemes like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchaya Yojana and Fasal Bima Yojana are some of the historic schemes to ensure the welfare of the agriculturists.

The union minister of state for rural development was addressing a 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikash' programme to mark the completion of three years of Modi government at the Center.

Read more: 3 years of Modi govt: Rajnath says India's border 'more secured'

Presenting a report of NDA government's performance, Yadav listed different schemes undertaken by the Centre in the last three years aimed at ensuring welfare of the poor and elevating the status of socially and economically backward sections of society.

The amount sactioned for construction of pucca houses in rural areas have been increased from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1.30 lakh with the extra expenditure for construction of toilets. Programmes like 'Swachh Bharat' mission would play a major role in accelerating efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage, he said.

Mudra Yojana is designed for development and refinancing activities relating to micro units and its purpose is to provide funding to the non corporate small business sector, Yadav said.

Turning to Odisha, the union minister said the Modi government has selected Odisha as the labrotary for implementation of its Garib Kalyan Yojanas (welfare schemes meant for poor people) and asked the people of the state to strengthen the BJP-led regime at the centre.

Read more: MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan appeals farmers to end protests

"Odisha is chosen as the Centre for implementation of Garib Kalyan Yojanas. Therefore, people of the state need to cooperate with the Modi government and strengthen its hands for speedy development of the state", he said.

The union minister's programme at Bhanjanagara assumed political significance as the assembly segment is considered as the citadel for ruling BJD.

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Pune:

A farmer allegedly committed suicide at a village in Solapur district, leaving behind a note purportedly stating that he should not be cremated till the chief minister visits his place and meets their demands. The suicide has come at a time when there is ongoing agitation by farmers in Maharashtra.

Dhanaji Jadhav, 45, hung himself from a tree near his house at Veet village in Karmala tehsil last night, Solapur Collector Rajendra Bhosale said on Thursday.

According to Karmala police, Jadhavs suicide note, addressed to his friends and relatives, said, I am a farmer, Dhanaji Chandrakant Jadhav. I am committing suicide today. Please take my body to village and do not cremate me till Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis comes here.

Bhosale also confirmed that the farmers suicide note stated his body should not be cremated until the chief minister visits his place and announces a loan waiver for farmers.

Solapurs Guardian Minister Vijay Deshmukh paid a visit to the village in Pune.

The deceased, survived by wife and two children, was the eldest son in his family. He possessed 2.5 acres of cultivable land.

He had a debt of around Rs 60,000 and had also taken loans from some private lenders, police said.

Also read: Mandsaur farmers protest: Rahul Gandhi says PM Modi only interested in waiving loans of rich

After the incident, the farmers organisations resorted to a rasta-roko (road blockade) and called for a bandh in Karmala tehsil.

The Solapur collector said he was on his way to the village.

Police teams have also been rushed to the spot to prevent the situation from spiralling into a law and order issue, he said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has been under attack by opposition parties and BJPs ally Shiv Sena over sustained protests by farmers across Maharashtra for last one week, resulting in sharp rise in agri commodity prices.

Fadnavis recent statement promising a loan waiver by October 31 has failed to pacify the agitating farmers, who have continued with their stir.

Also read: Farmers agitation in MP: Widespread violence, incidents of arson reported from Mandsaur, Dewas districts

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New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said that Iran has released 25 Indian fishermen who were detained with their Bahraini boats.

I am happy to inform that 25 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were detained by Iranian Coast Guards since March 2017 with 5 Bahraini boats have been released and repatriated to Bahrain, Swaraj tweeted.

She also thanked the Indian Embassy in Tehran, appreciating their relentless efforts for facilitating the release.

I appreciate the relentless efforts of Indian Embassy in Tehran for securing their release, she said.

I am happy to inform that 25 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were detained by Iranian Coast Guards since March 2017 /1  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 8, 2017

ALSO READ | Sushma Swaraj and Indian Embassy to help even if you are stuck on the Mars



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Hyderabad:

A top scientist affirmed on Friday that ISRO is in the process of further improving the capability of its GSLV-Mk III so that it can use this heaviest rocket for human space flight mission once government approval comes.

GSLV-Mk III is really the vehicle that will be the workhorse in the coming years for primarily launching geo-synchronous missions and also very heavy spacecraft in near-earth missions, K Kasturirangan, former chief of ISRO, told.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) earlier this week successfully launched from the Sriharikota spaceport, the first developmental flight of GSLV-MK III, capable of launching four-ton class satellites.

ISRO is in the process of further improving the capability of this vehicle. It could go up to a ten-ton kind of capability, said Kasturirangan.

It was during his tenure as ISRO Chairman the GSLV-Mk III was configured and the programme secured approval by the Space Commission in the early part of the previous decade.

So, this will be a level of vehicle which India will use for most of the requirements of geo-synchronous missions. It can take to up to four tons and, hopefully with improvements in some of the areas, one can go even beyond four tons, he said.

With this we want to build our communication satellites. So, its very tailored for future communication satellites to be launched by India. We will not have to depend on any other foreign launch agency, according to him.

Kasturirangan said ISRO is trying to do a man-rating sort of thing (or human rating), which is a certification of a spacecraft or launch vehicle as worthy of transporting humans.

So as and when there is a need and the country takes a decision on going for human space flight, it would have an autonomous ability to access the space through this vehicle in those missions, he said.

Certainly, its a very elegantly-configured system (GSLV-Mk III). I am sure this will certainly serve us for a long time to come in the context of a variety of missions and also make us much more self-reliant in respect to accessing space, he said.

Also Read: ISRO now needs to focus on human space flight, reusable rocket, says Ex-ISRO chief

On opportunities for ISRO to tap into the market of launching four-ton class satellites from foreign customers, Kasturirangan said: I am sure India will be one of the important contenders for taking some share of the market. India can provide a competitive market for that kind of launches with GSLV Mk III.

But he was quick to add that New Delhi would have competitors from (launch vehicle providers in) France, (some other parts of) Europe, the United States, China and Russia.

There are contenders...many of them are established over the years. At this stage, we have to explore the market and slowly get into it, Kasturirangan said.

Also Read: ISRO's GSAT-19, 11 satellites: Communication revolutions changing face of digital India

He, however, added that foreign customers find working with Indians for launch services a very good experience given their culture and attitude, which are appreciated by many countries.

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New Delhi:

High drama was witnessed outside Delhi Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwals residence on Friday as sacked AAP minister Kapil Mishra and his supporters, tried to meet the Delhi CM, but were stopped by the police.

Mishra and his supporters raised slogans and sat on a protest there after they were denied entry into Kejriwals Civil Lines residence.



Mishra was seeking a hearing with Kejriwal at his janta darbar (public meeting) to raise corruption charges against him and his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain.



Mishra said, I have come here with just 15 to 20 people. What is a janata darbar when the janata itself is not welcome here?



As Mishra had earlier said that he would attend the public meeting, police had barricaded the area around the CMs residence to prevent the sacked minister and his supporters.



We have come here with a demand to convene a special session of the Delhi Assembly at the Ram Lila Maidan to discuss corruption charges against Kejriwal and Jain, but we were not allowed to proceed, Mishra told reporters here.



He also sought the resignation of Kejriwal and Jain, saying that they dont have the moral right to continue after corruption charges emerged against them.



Mishra was also accompanied by the mother of late AAP leader Santosh Koli, who also demanded a CBI probe into the death of her daughter.



Koli, an AAP candidate from Seemapuri, had met with an accident in June 2013 and died. The party calls her a martyr who took on the ration mafia in the national capital.

Suspended AAP MLA Kapil Mishra, who has been launching attacks at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, was on Friday denied entry to Kejriwal's residence, following which a heated argument broke out between him and Delhi Police officials.

The rebel leader had earlier on Friday said that he will meet Arvind Kejriwal at his Janta Darbar in Delhi on Friday. Taking it to Twitter, he also said that he will be accompanied by Santosh Kolis mother.

Last week, Mishra had announced the launch of India Against Corruption-2 to take on AAP chief Kejriwal.



We will meet Mr Kejriwal at his janta darbar and demand his resignation as well as a probe, Mr Mishra said, adding there should resignation before investigation, he had said.

ALSO READ | Delhi govt allowed Chinese CNG kits to be sold with 'made in Canada' label, alleges Kapil Mishra



Mishra, who held the water and tourism portfolios in the Delhi government, was first removed from the cabinet for non-performance. He was subsequently suspended from AAP after he alleged that party supremo Kejriwal accepted Rs 2 crore in cash from Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.



Since then, Mishra has been levelling allegations, mostly related to alleged financial irregularities in the AAP government. He has also staged a hunger strike seeking details of the foreign trips of some top leaders of the party.

ALSO READ | Arvind Kejriwal govt 'silencing and coercing' those exposing its graft: BJP

aa 10 aaa CM aa aaaa aaaaa aaaSaaa, aaaa aaa aaaa aaaaa aaaa aa aaaa aa aa aaaaaaa  Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishraAAP) June 9, 2017

(With PTI inputs)

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Mumba:

The Shiv Sena, which is consistently batting for RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as the next president, on Friday affirmed a Hindutva rubber stamp must be installed at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Sena, the BJPs oldest ally, said the nation needs a person who can seal its fate as a Hindu Rashtra and who can resolve issues like the Ram mandir and Article 370.

So far, rubber stamps with secular credentials resided at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Now, to resolve the issues of Ram Mandir, Uniform Civil Code and Article 370 of the Constitution, it is required that a Hindutva rubber stamp assumes the post of president, an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana said.

The Sena has repeatedly said that its choice for the the highest office is the RSS chief.

Bhagwat, 66, however, has said he is not interested in the presidents post.

With the presidential contest, if required, scheduled to be held on July 17, the BJP is hopeful of securing the support of the Senas contingent of 18 MPs and 63 MLAs.

The BJPs oldest pro-Hindutva ally has been been playing hardball over the issue so far.

It said that according to calculations on paper, 23 constituents of the NDA have 48 per cent vote share for the presidents post among themselves while the UPA, with its 17 constituents, has 26 per cent vote.

The Sena, which had embarrassed BJP in the last two presidential elections by backing rival candidates, on Thursday said it may take an independent stand in the upcoming poll.

It had in the 2012 presidential poll backed UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee while the BJP supported P A Sangma for the post.

Also Read: Shiv Sena slams Centre, says demonetisation pushed debt-ridden farmers into ruin

In 2007 as well, the Sena ignored NDAs presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and instead voted for UPA candidate Pratibha Patil, who hailed from Maharashtra.

Praising President Pranab Mukherjee, the Sena said people like him and Dr A P J Abdul Kalam have ensured that the honour of the post is maintained.

Though Pranab Mukherjee hails from the Congress lineage, he has been an able and a strong president. His wide experience in various fields has proved immensely beneficial for the country, said the editorial.

Also Read | PM Modi does 'Mann ki baat,' its time for him to do 'Gun ki baat': Thackeray on mutilation of soldiers

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Mandsaur (MP):

Curfew was on Friday relaxed for the day in Mandsaur city and Pipliamandi as the situation in the areas hit by violent protests by farmers improved. SP Manoj Kumar Singh said authorities decided to relax curfew from 10 am to 6 pm as the situation has improved. However, no protest, rally or demonstration will be allowed during the curfew relaxation period, police said.



Collector O P Srivastava said curfew was relaxed as no untoward incident was reported in the district. As shops reopened, locals stepped out to stock essentials like vegetables and milk. Long queues were also seen outside petrol pumps.

Mandsaur, the epicentre of the agitation, has remained relatively peaceful even as farmer protests have spilled over to new areas of Madhya Pradesh. Incidents of arson were reported from Shajapur and Dhar districts in western part of the state yesterday as the agitation for loan waiver and better crop price continued.

Here are the Live updates:

#2:15 PM

Madhya Pradesh's farmers' agitation: A farmer succumbs to his injuries in Indore hospital, wife attempts suicide on hearing news #Mandsaur

#1:05 PM

Farmers' protest continues in Madhya Pradesh, vehicles set on fire

Farmers' protest continues in Madhya Pradesh, vehicles set on fire- Visuals from Bhopal-Indore Highway in Fanda. pic.twitter.com/EN2P8BxbVE  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

#11:45 AM

'Rail-roko' protest by Youth Congress against firing on farmers in #Mandsaur, at Tilak Bridge railway station in Delhi pic.twitter.com/MdNWmeBggf  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

#9:30 AM

Madhya Pradesh farmers' agitation: Curfew relaxed in #Mandsaur from 10 am to 6 pm. pic.twitter.com/VIYkqDyrxT  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

While two companies of the RAF, each comprising 100 personnel, were deployed in Pipliamandi in Mandsaur, where the five farmers were killed, another two were posted in Garoth.

Police fired teargas and lathicharged a stone-pelting mob near the local market in Shajapur yesterday. Following the incident, prohibitory orders were imposed in Shajapur town under Section 144 of the CrPC.



The agitation has also spread to Chhindwara district in Mahakoshal region of the state. The Centre had rushed 1,100 personnel of the RAF to the violence-hit state.

ALSO READ | After facing detention, Rahul Gandhi allowed to meet families of farmers killed in Mandsaur

Two RAF companies were deployed along the highway. Contingents of the CRPF have also been deployed. At least 56 people have been arrested and over 100 detained in connection with violence during the farmers agitation here.

ALSO READ | Mandsaur farmers protest: Rahul Gandhi says PM Modi only interested in waiving loans of rich



The states Home Minister Bhupendra Singh had told PTI that the five farmers had been killed in police firing, a remark that assumes significance as the authorities had earlier claimed the police did not fire during the protests.



To bring back normalcy, the Chief Minister had made a fresh attempt to reach out to the agitating farmers, saying the state government was open for a dialogue to iron out the differences and once again appealed them to maintain peace.

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A group of so-called "power bloggers" from Asia recently visited Daegu's major points of interest as part of a four-day event to promote the city. Eight participants in the tour -- two each from Japan and Hong Kong and four from Taiwan -- are high-profile users of social media, with a combined online following numbering close to 2 million.

They kicked off the tour by splitting into two groups. One group took a bullet train from Seoul, while the other traveled on an express bus from nearby Gyeongju, a historic city in North Gyeongsang Province.

They then visited the city's various tourist attractions including famous sites preserving traces of Korea's modern history, an amusement park and famous alleys, and some less well-known places. They posted a constant stream of stories on their social media accounts all the while.

They also had a chance to experience Korean cosmetics and beauty products at a skin clinic in downtown Daegu. After being briefed on the latest technological advances in skincare, they received some laser treatment. "Korea's skin clinics are famous among Hong Kong women, but they only know about the ones in [Seoul's] Gangnam area. I didn't know there were so many clinics in Daegu as well. I hope to visit here again," said one of the travelers from Hong Kong.

The visitors also plunged into the numerous activities on offer at an annual festival in the city, while taking in a parade, visiting a market and gorging themselves on snacks from food trucks. "Most Taiwanese are only familiar with Myeong-dong and Dongdaemun Market in Seoul. I'm glad to be able to introduce them to new attractions in Daegu, as well as the festival, via Facebook," said one of the Taiwanese travelers. "I plan to keep promoting this city and its many exciting destinations."

"The tour helped us introduce the city's major festival to the world and lure overseas tourists," said Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin. "We will continue to make efforts to promote other festivals and events here, along with the city's medical tourism facilities and other attractions."
Mandsaur:

A 26-year-old farmer died in Badavan village of violence-hit Mandsaur district, with locals on Friday alleging that he was beaten up by policemen.



In Indore, sources in MY Hospital, where the farmer was taken on Thursday night, said he was brought dead and that his body bore signs of assault. However, police said the circumstances of his death were unclear and they were investigating the matter.



This is the sixth death of farmer reported in the district. Violence has rocked the district after five farmers were killed in police firing in the district on Tuesday.



According to villagers, the farmer Ghanashyam Dhakad was on his way to a temple last evening when some policemen stopped him and thrashed him with sticks.

ALSO READ: Mandsaur: Paramilitary forces reach violence-hit areas; BJP dubs Rahul's visit a 'photo-op', says 'guilty leaders' will be punished



The farmer was taken to the MY Hospital in Indore where he died, they said. Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh and Collector O P Srivastava reached the spot on Friday and talked to villagers there.



The collector said the cause of his death was being investigated. Angry villagers in the area claimed that they were being beaten up and arrested by the police without cause. The SP assured them that their grievances would be looked into.



Former MP and Congress national secretary Sajjan Singh Verma reached the hospital on Friday and demanded a probe into the matter. He alleged that the farmer was beaten to death.



Three associates of the farmer - Dinesh Malwi, Shivnarayan Malwi and Ganesh Malwi - are also missing, the Congress leader alleged. He said police should find out their whereabouts. He also demanded a murder case be registered against the SP in the matter.



A panel should be formed to carry out the postmortem and the entire process should be videographed, he said. Former Congress MP Meenakshi Natarajan, who is at the spot, said she would meet the SP to demand compensation for the deceased farmer.

ALSO READ: After facing detention, Rahul Gandhi allowed to meet families of farmers killed in Mandsaur

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Bhopal:

According to a top government official, move to promote digital payment, electricity crunch and ban on regulated sale of poppy husk are some of the reasons behind farmers' stir in Madhya Pradesh.



The state has been on the boil ever since the farmers launched an agitation last week seeking loan waiver and better crop prices.



"The Centre and the state government have forbidden the farmers to sell poppy husk since the last two years in Mandsaur and Neemuch districts and this has rendered hundreds of farmers, mostly members of the strong Patidar community, jobless," the official from western Madhya Pradesh told PTI.



According to him, the government used to regulate the sale and farming of poppy husk in the past, but now it was destroying the contraband, which was earlier permitted to be used for medicinal purposes.



The situation has been volatile in Mandsaur and Neemuch for the last couple of days. Five farmers were killed in police firing at Mandsaur on Tuesday, while six others were injured.



The official claimed all the deceased farmers belonged to the Patidar community.



"Besides, the state government's move to promote digital payment in place of cash for procuring produce from farmers in the mandis (markets) aggravated the woes of the cultivators," he said.



The farmers have run out of cash due to digital payment mode, which is still at a nascent stage in Madhya Pradesh, he said.



"The cost of farm produce has also gone up considerably due to two reasons -- shortage of electricity to farmers and black marketing of manure," the official said.



According to him, farmers were using diesel-run water pumps for irrigation due to lack of power.



"The electricity distribution company in the region has been snapping power supply to farmers if they fail to pay the monthly bills instantly," he said.



Besides, the farmers are forced to buy manure from the black market at a huge price due to rampant corruption in the state. This has increased the cost of production of agriculture produce, the official alleged.



Widespread violence, including several incidents of arson, have been reported from western Madhya Pradesh, especially in Mandsaur and Dewas districts, in the week-long agitation in the state.



Rattled by the violence, the Madhya Pradesh government has announced a crop loan settlement scheme, which proposes waiving of interests of the cultivators who have defaulted on repayment of their loans.



"It is the farmers' anger which has spilled onto the roads against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan due to widespread corruption in the farm sector," Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh national president Shivkumar Sharma told PTI.



"There is no electricity in rural areas of MP, so the farmers are using diesel-driven water pumps to irrigate their land. Secondly, they are forced to buy fertilisers from black market," he said.



"I had been saying that massive corruption is plaguing the farm sector under Chouhan since long. Now my stand is vindicated," he said.



"Due to these factors, the cost of production of farm produce has skyrocketed. For getting satisfactory price for their produce, the farmers are protesting," said Sharma, who had led a farmers' agitation in December 2010.



However, he disagreed that the ban of poppy husk business had ignited the farmers' stir.



If contraband is the reason, why are the farmers protesting in other parts of the state, he argued.



BJP MP from Mandsaur, Sudhir Gupta, blamed the Congress for the farmers' agitation.



"Congress is behind the violence during the farmers' stir," he alleged.



The state government has said that it was ready for an open dialogue with the protesting farmers.



"The stir has inflicted immense financial loss to my constituency," Gupta said.

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Astana:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed SCO summit in Kazakhstan's Astana, where he pitched for coordinated efforts to counter the menace of terrorism. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also addressed the Summit, congratulating India on joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

PM Modi and Sharif had on Thursday night exchanged pleasantries at a cultural gala in Astana, amid frosty bilateralties, deadlocked talks and escalation of hostilities along theLoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier on Friday, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the SCO summit and discussed ways to improve bilateral ties hit by growing differences over a host of issues including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and Indias NSG membership bid.

Here are the live updates:

#2:10 PM: Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif addresses SCO Summit

-We must leave a legacy of peace for future generations; not toxic harvest of conflict and animosity; let's create shared spaces for all



-I congratulate India on joining The Shanghai Cooperation Organization:



#2:00 PM: PM Modi addresses SCO summit in Kazakhstan's Astana

-Impossible to reach a solution till all make concerted efforts, on radicalisation, terrorist recruitment/training/financing issues



-Will have to make coordinated efforts to counter the menace of terrorism

-After 12 years of observership, will get membership of SCO. Want to thank all members for their support



It was the first meeting between the two leaders after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.



India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).



Prime Minister Modi and Xi are here in the Kazakh capital to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).



We spoke about India-China relations and how to further improve ties, Modi tweeted after his meeting with Xi, who is also the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China.



China is vocal about its stand to block Indias admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It had also stalled Indias move to list JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN.



After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.



Modi also met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the SCO.



Taking forward #IndiaUzbekistan coopn. PM @narendramodi meets President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on the sidelines of SCO Summit, Baglay tweeted.

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Astana:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Astana on Friday on the sidelines of the SCO summit, seen as an effort to repair ties hit by growing differences between the two countries over a host of issues including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and NSG.

Got the opportunity to meet you again during SCO summit, grateful to you for your efforts and support for India's SCO membership, PM Modi said. It is the first between the two leaders after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.



India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Prime Minister Modi and Xi are here to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

ALSO READ | PM Narendra Modi meets Pakiatan PM Nawaz Sharif, enquires about his health and family



Here are the live updates:

#1:15 PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev in Astana pic.twitter.com/XCR552OQoU  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

#10:50 AM

Kazakhstan: PM Narendra Modi meets President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Astana pic.twitter.com/gpQKvBVdDa  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

#10:20 AM

Got the opportunity to meet you again during SCO summit, grateful to you for your efforts and support for India's SCO membership: PM Modi



#10:15 AM

#WATCH: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Astana. pic.twitter.com/wQ8XnnVTfH  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

PM @narendramodi meets President of China #XiJinping on margins of SCO Summit in Astana, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted. China is vocal about its stand to block Indias admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

It had also stalled Indias move to list JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN. After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.

ALSO READ | PM Modi meets Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev in Astana, India set for SCO

Modi also met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the SCO. Taking forward #IndiaUzbekistan coopn. PM @narendramodi meets President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on the sidelines of SCO Summit, Baglay tweeted.

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New Delhi:

Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur has become the latest victim of Ransomware virus or WannaCry cyber attack. A sudden problem developed in the systems at the premises of the hospital.

The ransomware cyber attack caught hold of the systems and the functioning of the hospital was paralysed.

SMS Hospital superintendent Dr DS Meena immediately alerted the staff of IT department, asking them to resolve the problem. The problem was fixed later and the officials had to work till late evening as they installed anti-virus on the systems.

More than 50 computers were affected at the biggest hospital in the state. The details of patients discharged from the hospital were collected by the hospital administration and the information was uploaded after the problem was fixed.

"Thankfully, the data of the hospital was intacted, that was not affected," Dr Meena said.

ALSO READ | Ransomware attack: French researchers develop wanakiwi to decrypt files locked by WannaCry without paying hackers
Washington:

Donald Trump on Friday branded the sacked FBI director a leaker, a day after James Comey gave an explosive testimony in which he accused the president of trying to stop a probe into the alleged Russian interference in the US elections last year.



Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication... and WOW, Comey is a leaker! Trump said in his characteristic early morning tweet.



During his Congressional briefing organised by the powerful Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday, Comey confessed that he leaked the information about his interaction with the US president.

ALSO READ: Ex-FBI chief James Comey blames White House of defaming him



The information was leaked to a reporter of The New York Times through a professor from the Columbia Law School. Trumps tweets generated huge impact on his support base. In a few hours, it was liked by more than 62,000 people, forwarded 46,000 times and retweeted more than 20,000 times.



For Trump, twitter is the most preferred medium of communication with his followers. There have been reports of Russia-sponsored interference to allegedly influence the outcome of the US elections held last year that saw Trump defeating his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

ALSO READ: Paris agreement: Govt, business leaders to endorse climate accord despite Trumps withdrawal

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London:

Britain on Friday got its first female Sikh MP and first turban-wearing MP as the UK general election results threw up a small increase in the number of Indian-origin MPs in the House of Commons.



The latest tally indicates the Labour party has improved its record from five to seven MPs, with the Tories retaining their five Indian-origin MPs taking the total up from 10 in the 2015 general election to 12.



Labours Preet Kaur Gill won her Birmingham Edgbaston seat by polling 24,124 votes, defeating her Conservative party rival by 6,917 votes.



I am delighted I have been given the opportunity to become the next MP for Edgbaston?where I was born and raised. I want to engage with the people of Edgbaston and with hard work, passion and determination I think we can achieve great things together, she said.



Weve had a really strong campaign, a really good team of people here in Edgbaston and its just been phenomenal. Im really excited to learn more and really connect with communities, Gill added.



Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, known as Tan, won his Slough seat decisively polling 34,170 votes, to become Labours first turban-wearing MP. He defeated his Conservative party rival by a whopping 16,998 votes.

ALSO READ: UK election 2017: Labour partys Preet Gill becomes first woman Sikh MP



He said he was humbled and wanted to serve the town where he was born and raised. The size of the majority shows that the people have chosen hope over fear and progress over stagnation.?On the doorstep we found that people dont want any more cuts, they need a Labour government, he said in his victory speech.



Nationally nobody was predicting the results weve had in so far a month ago, we ran a good campaign and I will be seeking to serve the many not the few, he noted. British Sikh groups which had been campaigning for the candidates celebrated their success.



Credit to the Labour Party leadership for taking the bold step of giving Sikhs the opportunity to fight for winnable seats. Labour now needs to turn its attention to having visible Sikh representation in the House of Lords at the first opportunity so Sikhs are better represented and can bring fresh thinking and ideas, Sikh Federation UK said in a statement.



A second turban-wearing Sikh, Labours Kuldip Sahota, lost out narrowly to his Conservative party rival by just 720 votes. Among some of the other Indian-origin contestant results, Conservative party?s Priti Patel has held on to her stronghold of Witham in Essex with a solid majority of 18,646.



She is likely to remain a leading figure in the new Theresa May led Cabinet, having served as the international development minister in the previous government.



Alok Sharma, the minister in charge of India in the Foreign Office in Mays previous Cabinet, has held on to Reading West by 2,876 votes and Shailesh Vara has won in Cambridgeshire North West by 18,008 votes.



The 2015 general election first-timers for the Tories, Rishi Sunak and Suella Fernandes, have also held on to their seats decisively with a margin of 23,108 and 21,555 votes respectively.



For the Labour party, the longest serving Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz held on to his Leicester East seat attracting 35,116 votes, despite a scandal-hit 2016, and his sister Valerie Vaz also won solid 25,286 votes to hold on to her Walsall South seat.



Lisa Nandy won in Wigan for Labour with 29,575 votes, Seema Malhotra held on to Feltham & Heston with 32,462 votes and Virendra Sharma polled 31,720 in his safe seat of Ealing Southall.



The election marked an overall record for the number of black and minority (BME) MPs in the new House of Commons ? with 51 BME MPs elected compared to 41 in the last Parliament.



Sunder Katwala, director of independent think-tank British Future, said: The 2017 Parliament will be the most diverse ever, with 10 new ethnic minority MPs taking the total of non-white parliamentarians to 51. Thirty years on, that tells a positive story about integration since the breakthrough election of 1987.



Most of the new minority MPs will sit on the Labour benches. The Conservatives had hoped to build on progress made under David Cameron and even to edge ahead of Labour on minority representation. But instead they are once again left behind, after a disappointing night for Theresa May and a failure to select enough BME candidates.



The election also marked a success in terms of the number of women elected to Parliament, at 207 ? up from 197 in the 2015 general election.



Overall 32 per cent of MPs are women but there are significant variations between parties. For Labour the figure is 45 per cent, and 21 per cent for the Conservatives.



After the success of Women2Win in addressing gender balance, there are now calls from within the Tory party for similar structures to ensure a strong supply of minority candidates in the future, Katwala noted.



Among some of the prominent Indian-origin losses, Labour?s Dr Neeraj Patil ? the?former mayor of the London Borough of Lambeth ? lost to Justine Greening, the UKs education minister. He lost by a margin of?1,554 votes to Greening, who was defending her Conservative party stronghold.



Paul Uppal, who was expected to regain Wolverhampton South West for the Tories, also lost out to his Labour rival. Other Tory Indian-origin hopefuls - Rahoul Bhansali, Samir Jassal, Ameet Jogia, Resham Kotecha, Reena Ranger, Meera Sonecha and Minesh Talati - all lost out to Labour, as was predicted.



Among the remaining Labour party hopefuls - Rohit Dasgupta, Hitesh Tailor, Navin Shah, Navendu Mishra and Manjinder Kang - were also unable to make a dent and in most cases lost out to popular sitting MPs.



The Labour Party had selected 14 and Conservative 13 Indian-origin politicians as their parliamentary candidates. The Tories had come under attack for failing to put many in so-called winnable seats or in even in target seats, where the sitting MP had a small majority.



As the overall result of a hung Parliament in the UK polls becomes clear, the May led Conservative party looks set to end with 318 MPs as opposed to Jeremy Corbyn led Labours 262.

ALSO READ: UK election 2017: British PM Theresa May loses majority as UK votes for hung assembly, Brexit uncertainties ahead

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London:

An Indian-origin man and his son are wanted for an 80 million pounds money laundering trial in London and Scotland Yard has launched a public appeal to help trace them.

Bhadresh Shah, 49, and his son Abhishek, 25, from Wembley, north-west London, attended the first week of the trial at Southwark Crown Court in London but absconded while on bail on April 21.

"A warrant has been issued for their arrest. The pair were found guilty and sentenced in their absence on Thursday, May 25", Metropolitan Police said in a statement this week.

Read more: US: Indian-American lawyer killed in train accident in California

Bhadresh was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property and possession of Class B drugs (mephedrone and ketamine) with intent to supply.

Abhishek was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment for one count conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

In the police report, the father-son duo are referred to as having links to Wembley and India implying they may have fled to India.

Bhadresh is described as Asian, about 5 ft 10 ins, of heavy build, with dark hair, brown eyes, glasses and a thin moustache.

Abhishek is described as Asian, about 6 ft, of large build, with dark hair, brown eyes and glasses.

They were on trial alongside three co-defendants, also of Indian-origin.

Read more: London attack: Pakistan-born man among two identified as attackers

Bhadresh's wife Falguni, 46, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment for conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

Dipakumar Doshi, 57, and Dinesh Thakoraka-Parmar, 35, were sentenced to five years' imprisonment each for one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to transfer criminal property.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's has lost the majority in British Parliament after her election gamble backfired. However, Conservative will still remain the single largest party predicted the U.K. general election exit poll.

The Exit Poll predicted 314 seats for the Conservative party, down by 17 seats won by the party in the 2015 general election. The Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour Party is expected to bag 266 seats, up from its last tally of 232.The shock exit poll result could plunge domestic politics into turmoil and delay Brexit talks.

Key Updates:

# Following the resultsA Pound took a dip on prospect of British hung parliament

#NEWSGRAPHIC Pound takes a dip on prospect of British hung parliament @AFP pic.twitter.com/Hs4qg0QCIB a AFP news agency (@AFP) June 9, 2017

#A UK PM May hangs by a thread as no clear winner seen in GeneralElection

# The gamble has backfired as May loses the majority in the British Parliament. A

#A PM Theresa May says Conservatives will ensure much-needed "stability" for Britain as the party reels from a string of losses

PM Theresa May says Conservatives will ensure much-needed "stability" for Britain as the party reels from a string of losses pic.twitter.com/LBIx3HK1EI a AFP news agency (@AFP) June 9, 2017

# British PM May loses overall majority in British parliament

#A 192 female MPs have been elected so far - that's a record high for the UK parliament. And there are still 45 seats left to declare.

#A A Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says his positive campaign has changed the UK politics.

Whatever the final result, our positive campaign has changed politics for the better. pic.twitter.com/EHLta2rnIW a Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 9, 2017

#A Election results indicate U.K. Conservatives have lost majority projects

#FLASH Election results indicate U.K. Conservatives have lost majority projects Sky News a ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

# A Former Scottish nationalist leader Alex Salmond loses seat in British election

#BREAKING Former Scottish nationalist leader Alex Salmond loses seat in British election a AFP news agency (@AFP) June 9, 2017

#A British PM Theresa May says Conservatives will ensure 'stability', despite election losses

#BREAKING Conservatives will ensure 'stability', British PM May says despite election losses pic.twitter.com/tviWwWOD6s a AFP news agency (@AFP) June 9, 2017

#A Britain's Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn calls for Prime Minister Theresa May to quit after election losses: AP

Britain's Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn calls for Prime Minister Theresa May to quit after election losses: AP pic.twitter.com/kM9RyC3faf a ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

#A Theresa Mayas Conservatives are set to be the largest party, the BBC forecasts, but may have lost their majority.

#A Just over a hundred constituencies have been counted. Labour takes 53 seats, Conservatives 35 and SNP 7.

If the Conservative party does not get a majority of seats, it raises questions about who will govern the U.K. in the future. If that happens, two or more parties can form a coalition and agree to govern the country together.A



The elections were held amid tightened security after recent attacks on London Bridge and Manchester Arena. The general threat level in the country is set to asevere,a meaning an attack is highly likely as the country faces aunprecedented times,a according to a senior police official.

aSecurity around polling stations is constantly being reviewed and updated by local police forces. Plans are in place to make sure that resources are appropriately allocated and that these plans are flexible and can be enhanced at short notice should it become necessary,a Lucy DaOrsi, deputy assistant commissioner and head of protective security at the National Police Chiefs Council, said ahead of the election.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

IT major Wipro Ltd has listed US President Donald Trump's policies as a risk factor that could impact its business, citing promotion of "greater restrictions on free trade" among key worrying points. The Bengaluru-based firm which earned 52 per cent of its IT services revenue from the Americas, including the US, said significant developments stemming from the US presidential election could have a material adverse effect on its business.

As a candidate, Trump and his administration had expressed support for policies impacting existing trade agreements, like North America Free trade agreement (NAFTA), and proposed trade agreements, Wipro said in an SEC filing.

In its annual report for the fiscal ended March 31, 2017 filed with the market regulator, Wipro further said Trump administration has been "promoting greater restrictions on free trade generally and significant increases on tariffs on goods imported into the United States". It added: "Changes in US social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories and countries where we currently operate could adversely affect our business."

The company had reported net sales of Rs 55,420.9 crore in the fiscal ended March 31, 2017. After assuming office last year, Trump has taken several steps, including H1B visa restrictions, that raised concerns in the Indian IT sector.

Also Read: Uber fires top executive for procuring medical reports of rape victim

This April he signed an executive order that called for a review of the H-1B visa programme, saying they should never be used to replace American workers and must be given only to the most skilled and highest paid applicants.

The US had also accused top Indian IT firms TCS and Infosys of unfairly cornering the lions share of the H-1B work visas by putting extra tickets in the lottery system.

Wipro had said in April that it expected locals to constitute more than half of its workforce in the US by June as it continues to make "significant" investments in the American market amid tightening of visa norms.

The company further said in the SEC filing that if the economy in the Americas or Europe continued to be volatile or uncertain or conditions in the global financial market deteriorate, pricing for its services may become less attractive.

Clients located in these geographies may reduce or postpone their technology spending significantly, it added. The other factors, which the company said are "not within our control that could cause significant variations in our results in any particular quarter", include "political uncertainties or changes in regulations in India, the United States and other countries that we operate in".

Also Read: PM Modi meets Kazakhstan Prez Nazarbayev in Astana, India set for SCO

Besides, it also said the duration of tax holidays or exemptions and availability of other Indian government incentives would be a factor.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Two of four North Korean fishermen who were recently rescued in the East Sea want to defect to South Korea.

Coast guards rescued the fishermen from two boats drifting in waters off the east coast last week. One of them carried three men, including a father and son who want to defect.

A Unification Ministry official said, "We have allowed two of the four fishermen to stay in the South since they expressed the wish to defect during questioning. The government handled the issue on humanitarian grounds and respects their wishes as is customary."

The other two are being sent back to the North on Friday.


In a sign that summer has arrived, city officials in Seoul on Friday began taking bookings for public campsites along the Han River in Seoul.

The campsites are very popular summer getaway destinations among city residents, with tents set up for campers' convenience.
President Moon Jae-in marks his first month in office Friday amid solid approval ratings. But he faces significant challenges in the diplomatic and defense areas due to North Korea's missile launches and the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery from the U.S. here.

A senior Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters Thursday, "We faced difficulties in diplomacy and national security from the onset." But Moon is still struggling to appoint his foreign and defense ministers.

North Korea on Thursday continued its missile provocations with a volley of surface-to-ship cruise missiles into the East Sea. It was the fifth missile test the North conducted since Moon took office.

North Korea has succeeded in testing a wide range of missiles. If it manages to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland, the isolated country's nuclear and missile capabilities will be nearly complete.

Pyongyang has rejected overtures from Moon, and even the friendly opposition is criticizing his approach to the North. People's Party policy chief Lee Yong-ho said, "It looks like unrequited love."
Apartment prices in Seoul grew at the fastest clip in the country in the first half of this year, surpassing even the booming southern port city of Busan.

Until early May, Busan still had the highest growth in apartment prices, but Seoul apartment prices have grown at a faster pace since the election of President Moon Jae-in.
DANBURY - For a generation, the scholarships awarded by the Hord Foundation have supported minority youth and celebrated the communitys power to forge its future.

So it was fitting that the community was supporting the Hord family this week as it mourned the tragic death of 7-year-old Gabrielle White - the granddaughter of philanthropist Noel Hord and the daughter of Danbury High School graduate Michelle Hord.

They are all people of faith, family friend Samuel Hyman said of the Hords. So what we can do to comfort them is let them know we are available to offer our prayers and support.

Friends were shocked to learn that the bubbly 7-year old girl was found suffocated last week in her New Rochelle, N.Y., home. Her father, who was charged with second-degree murder, had been separated from her mother, who filed for divorce in April.

A close family friend said the second-grade girl brought delight to life.

Her loss will affect us for the rest of our lives, said Carole Gellineau of Danbury, who has known the Hords for 32 years. Gabrielle was a very affectionate, bright and happy little girl who had an unforgettable smile that just lit up the room.

The child was slain on Tuesday - two days before the Hord Foundations annual scholarship awards ceremony in Danbury. It is customary at the ceremony for Noel Hord to present a special award in honor of his parents, and for Michelle Hord-White to present a special award in honor of her late mother, Cora.

Since the Hords were in mourning and did not attend, Hymans wife, Alice, addressed the crowd at Western Connecticut State University. After sharing that the Hords had experienced a family tragedy, Alice Hyman asked for a moment of silence and then presented the special awards.

Since 1993, the foundation has awarded nearly $5 million in college scholarships to black high school graduates from greater Danbury.

The significance of the awards that the foundation provides is beyond the money, said Samuel Hyman, a former member of the state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. It recognizes the achievement of educational excellence and supports others to achieve it.

Gellineau agrees.

The foundation is a shining example of what a few can do to help many, said Gellineau, whose daughter went to Danbury High School with Michelle Hord and whose granddaughter had a sleepover with Gabrielle White just days before she was slain. It has blossomed into a major contributor to scholarships in Danbury and the surrounding towns.

The Hord legacy

The Hord Foundation was launched in the Danbury living room of Cora and Noel Hord in 1993 - the same year Noel Hord left Nine West Group to become president and CEO of U.S. Shoe Corporations Footwear.

But the roots of the foundation go back to Noel Hords childhood home in Indiana, where his father was a minister and his mother was a librarian. His mother taught him education was the way to level the playing field and his father taught him that service is the rent we pay for living," he told the News-Times in 2015.

On Friday there was little news to report about the criminal case against the father, Neil White, 47, who had slash wounds on his arms when he was arrested, police said.

The medical examiner on Friday had not ruled on the cause of death. Police believe the child died by asphyxiation, New Rochelle Capt. Robert Gazzola said.

The Hords were seeking solace from loved ones.

Michelles family and friends are devastated by the loss of little Gabrielle, Gellineau said. We are in disbelief about the tragedy and especially the circumstances around her death.

Michelle Hord married Neil White 10 years ago, when she was the 37-year-old director of talent recruitment and development at ABC News and he was a 38-year-old freelance journalist, according to their wedding announcement in the New York Times.

Sometimes you just have an instant chemistry with someone, she said in the announcement.

Hord-White went on to become vice president of talent acquisition and campus programs at NBC Universal.

Observers in their New Rochelle neighborhood told news organizations that the couples marital problems were apparent, although friends on Friday said no one was prepared for the shocking news.

You are never prepared for things like this, Hyman said.

Hord-White and her family released a statement shortly after her daughters death, calling her our light.

We are broken and devastated that our sweet little girl is gone, the statement read. But we are thankful we had seven wonderful years with her.

rryser@newstimes.com; 203-731-3342
On June 7, Premier Li Keqiang met with international business leaders during the fifth summit of the Global CEO Council in Beijing. Eighteen CEOs from Fortune 500 companies raised a total of 22 questions ranging from market supervision, trade facilitation to innovation.

Premier Li responded to their concerns one by one, which impressed Andrew N. Liveris, CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, also the host of the event. Your memory is amazing! You answered all the questions, in details and with so many illustrations! he praised the Premier.

Market openness and supervision are major concerns to many CEOs. US Company Honeywell International, a multinational conglomerate company that has achieved success in almost every manufacturing field, suggested that China should open up its general aviation market.

The CEO of Goldman Sacksgroup, a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm, expressed his hope that China could strengthen its efforts on the supervision of capital market.

And the CEO of United Parcel Service (UPS), the worlds largest package delivery company and a provider of supply chain, proposed to Premier Li that China should further simplify its custom clearance procedures to realize a four-hour passage for low value cargo shipments, which is crucial for logistics companies like UPS.

Premier Li answered that China has recently made progress in realizing the universal coverage of single window for international trade by the end of 2017 while promoting pre-establishment national treatment & negative list management solutions, in an effort to push forward Chinas opening up and achieve win-win results.

The CEO of US corporation Prologis, the global leader in industrial real estate and warehouse logistics management, said some contradictions appeared in the central and local policies that resulted in complicated procedures and confusions for enterprises.

Premier Li responded that the Chinese government is now dedicated to transforming its function to further adapt to globalization, free trade and multilateralism. The administrative reform includes relaxing market access, intensifying supervision and cracking down on counterfeit products, in order to create a favorable business environment.

All the foreign CEOs expressed strong willingness to cooperate with China, saying that China is one of the biggest overseas markets of their companies.

They talked about cooperation in fields like renewable energy, artificial intelligence and technological innovation.

Premier Li said that China welcomes global entrepreneurs to cooperate with Chinese enterprises to make innovation, and always welcomes foreign investment. China has a huge market, with 900 million labor force and 100 million educated professionals. They have created a broad platform for the investment and business of transnational enterprises, as well as for third or multi-party cooperation among us.

He also responded to concerns about Chinas manufacturing. Someone is worried that Made in China 2025 strategy was proposed to keep foreign products away. On the contrary, it means larger market for foreign companies, he said.

I believe you will be confident of Chinese economy and invest more. And you will enjoy better returns, the Premier added.
Global Affairs' commitment of $150 million over 5 years to

women's rights organizations in Global South is historic

OTTAWA, June 9, 2017 /CNW/ - The MATCH International Women's Fund and Nobel Women's Initiative are reacting positively to International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Global Affairs Canada for the announcement earlier today of $150 million over 5 years for women's rights organizations in the Global South. It is the single largest investment of its kind to date from any country.

"This is a game changer. From Syria and Yemen to Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, it is the grassroots women's groups that are doing the heavy lifting to help communities respond to crisis, build peace and bring about gender equality," said Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee, who was in Ottawa in April, and met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau to ask Canada to fund women rights organizations.

"This makes Canada a global leader in in putting the power back in the hands of women," said Gbowee.

Until now, less than a percentage point of gender-based funding provided by Canada to civil society organizations around the world has reached women's rights organizations directly. In 2013, out of a total of $562 million dollars, women's organizations received only $1.7 million.

"Minister Bibeau's leadership is bold and courageous and it marks an important shift in Canadian foreign policy" said Jess Tomlin, The MATCH International Women's Fund President and CEO. "We look forward to working closely with her office to ensure this new model reaches those women's rights organizations quickly and effectivelyand that the funding's impact is maximized."

Until today's announcement, the single largest government investor in women's rights was the Netherlands. In 2008, they created a fund that provided 77 million Euro over four years; this fund was renewed in 2012 and 2016.

Canada's new feminist funding model will finally enable women leaders on the ground to be supported through flexible, non-project specific fundingallowing them to set their own agenda and respond where the need in their community is greatest. The funding is expected to begin flowing before fiscal year end.

"This is an important first big step towards changing the way Canada's delivers aidfrom treating women as beneficiaries of aid to partners for change," said Nobel Women's Initiative's Acting Executive Director, Rachel Vincent, "Canada is showing the world that investing in women and gender equality is an essential to bring about peace and security around the globeand that benefits everyone, including Canadians."

The Nobel Women's Initiative brings together six women Nobel peace laureatesShirin Ebadi (Iran), Tawakkol Karman (Yemen), Mairead Maguire (Northern Ireland), Jody Williams (U.S.), Leymah Gbowee (Liberia) and Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Guatemala)to support women human rights defenders around the globe. @NobelWomen

The MATCH International Women's Fund The MATCH International Women's Fund is Canada's only global fund for women, girls, and trans* people. Working at the intersection of women's rights and innovation, The MATCH Fund provides direct financial support to grassroots women's rights organizations in the global South. We fund innovative and brave creative and courageous women to dismantle barriers, challenge perceptions, and change the world for women and girls. @MATCHIntFund

QUOTES

"Grassroots women's organizations at the forefront of protecting our planet and its people receive little or no funding for their work. These women risk violence on a daily basis to do this vital workand the Canadian government's decision to fund them is welcome proof of the Prime Minister's claim that he is a feminist."

- Joanna Maycock is Secretary General of the European Women's Lobby (EWL).

"Canada has shown the world that words are not enoughconcrete actions are needed. This feminist fund allows us to plan for real, long-term change and not simply for the next six or 12 months."

- Julienne Lusenge, co-founder of SOFEPADI and director of Fonds pour les Femmes Congolaises.

"Women at the grassroots are the ones making significant and tangible change. Canada clearly understands that peace, democracy, and human rights are profoundly impacted when women's rights are championed."

- Valerie Hudson, professor and author of The Hillary Doctorine: Sex and American Foreign Policy; named one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy in 2009.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY

The following spokespeople and experts, working in women's rights and international development, will be available to comment during a range of times following the announcement, and in the coming days:

Rachel Vincent , Acting Executive Director, Nobel Women's Initiative

, Acting Executive Director, Nobel Women's Initiative Jess Tomlin , President and CEO, The MATCH International Women's Fund

, President and CEO, The MATCH International Women's Fund Ketty Nyivabandi, poet and women's rights defender (from Burundi , lives in Ottawa )  Bilingual

, lives in )  Bilingual Yvette Ashiri, Federation Femmes Enfants Avenir Monde (from the Democratic Republic of the Congo , lives in Ottawa Francophone

SOURCE The MATCH International Women's Fund

For further information: FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES, including interviews with the above-mentioned people: Valerie Gervais, 613-741-9376, [email protected]; Catherine Fortin LeFaivre, 613-979-8683, [email protected]
OTTAWA, June 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Deepening Canada's clean technology relationship with China is a priority for the Government of Canada. Canada can play a key role in helping China meet its green growth demand and climate change objectives while creating benefits for Canadians.

The Honourable Jim Carr, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, oversaw the signing of a $5-million agreement today in Beijing between Natural Resources Canada's CanmetENERGY and Jiangsu Sunrain Solar Energy Ltd., the largest solar thermal company in the world.

Through the agreement, CanmetENERGY will provide technical support for Sunrain's development of solar seasonal storage district heating systems in China, from initial screening and feasibility assessment studies to detailed engineering design and performance monitoring of large-scale solar seasonal storage sites.

The agreement is an opportunity to accelerate the commercial development of solar-heated communities across China and the world.

CanmetENERGY is Canada's leading research and technology organization in the field of clean energy. With three laboratory research centres located across Canada, CanmetENERGY has the expertise and unique facilities to work on projects with key stakeholders to drive cleaner production and use of energy resources. CanmetENERGY is recognized worldwide for experience and leadership in the research, development and demonstration of high solar fraction seasonal storage district heating systems, including at the Drake Landing Solar Community in Okotoks, Alberta. That residential development achieved the world-first solar performance milestone of 100 percent of its space heating coming from solar-only energy generation.

Jiangsu Sunrain Solar Energy was created in 1999 and now has about 6,500 employees. It manufactures solar thermal collectors and solar hot water systems, as well as heat pumps and water filters. The company sees potential for using solar thermal and heat storage to reduce fossil-fuel use in large-scale community district heating systems in China.

Applying CanmetENERGY's technological expertise on larger-scale communities in densely populated China could have a significant positive impact on reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The Government of Canada recognizes the enormous potential of the Chinese market and is making concerted efforts to show that Canada is open for business and ready to take its trade relationship with China to the next level. Minister Carr is leading a delegation of over 45 representatives from Canadian clean technology, energy and forestry companies, Indigenous organizations and provincial governments on a seven-day mission to China to generate new trade and investment opportunities and to showcase the diversity of Canadian talent, innovation and expertise.

Quotes

"This deal represents a great scientific and technical collaboration between Natural Resources Canada's CanmetENERGY and China. It demonstrates Canada's clean energy technology leadership. Some of the very best minds in the world will work together across oceans, languages and cultures toward a large-scale outcome in China that will significantly benefit everyone with its ultimate goal of huge energy savings and emissions reductions."

Jim Carr

Minister of Natural Resources

Key Facts

Jiangsu Sunrain Solar Energy is the largest solar thermal company in the world and the first publicly listed solar thermal company in China .

. Other Canadian companies and institutions including LEIDOS Canada and the University of Calgary will be involved in this project.

will be involved in this project. The Drake Landing Solar Community in Okotoks, Alberta , is saving an estimated five tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per house, per year.

Related Products

CanmetENERGY: groundbreaking solar

About Jiangsu Sunrain Solar Energy Co., Ltd.

Natural Resources Canada: Canada and China

Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan)

NRCan's news releases and backgrounders are available at www.news.gc.ca.

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

For further information: Media may contact: Laurel Munroe, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 343-292-6837; Media Relations, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, 343-292-6100, [email protected]

Related Links

https://www.canada.ca


FREDERICTON, June 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Illegal trafficking of wildlife is not acceptable in Canada. Unlawfully exploiting species for profit will not be tolerated.

Grigori Zaharov, from Thornhill, Ontario, has been sentenced in Fredericton Provincial Court to concurrently serve two three-month jail terms after pleading guilty to one count of importing an animal, without the necessary permits, and to one count of exporting an animal from Cuba, without the proper authorization. Both acts were in contravention of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act.

On September 17, 2016, Mr. Zaharov and a companion were intercepted by Canada Border Services Agency officers after returning on a flight from Cuba with two iguanas and failing to declare the animals when completing their Canada Border Services Agency declaration card. Environment and Climate Change Canada enforcement officers identified the animals to be two Cuban rock iguanas (Cyclura nubila). The species is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Mr. Zaharov did not present permits to the officers for the export from Cuba or for the import into Canada.

Environment and Climate Change Canada enforces federal laws that conserve and protect wildlife, and it works closely with other federal, provincial, territorial, and international agencies (in this case, the Canada Border Services Agency and Cuban authorities) to detect violations and take enforcement action.

Quick facts



In Canada , Environment and Climate Change Canada is the lead department responsible for implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement between governments, which aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. The Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act is the legislation used to implement the Convention.

, Environment and Climate Change Canada is the lead department responsible for implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement between governments, which aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. The is the legislation used to implement the Convention. Appendix I of the Convention lists species that are the most endangered among the listed animals and plants. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. An import permit is required and may be issued only if the specimen is not to be used for commercial purposes primarily and if the import is intended for purposes that will not threaten the survival of the species.

Listed wildlife that is imported into or exported from Canada , or attempted to be exported without the required permits, may be seized. Those responsible may be prosecuted and, if convicted, may be liable to fines of up to $150,000 and/or to up to five years in jail.

, or attempted to be exported without the required permits, may be seized. Those responsible may be prosecuted and, if convicted, may be liable to fines of up to and/or to up to five years in jail. The Cuban rock iguana is one of the world's largest iguanas. Adult males sometimes reach lengths of 1.25 to 1.5 metres and weights of nearly 7 kilograms. As its name implies, the Cuban rock iguana is found in Cuba and its surrounding islands. This species as well as the other members of the Cyclura family are vulnerable due, in part, to habitat transformation and human disturbance, especially on Cuba's main island.

Associated links

Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

Environment and Climate Change Canada has created a free subscription service to help Canadians stay current with what the Government of Canada is doing to protect our natural environment.

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

For further information: Media Relations, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll free)

Related Links

http://www.ec.gc.ca


TORONTO, June 9, 2017 /CNW/ - The Salvation Army has launched a national appeal to help address the famine in South Sudan and the extreme food shortages in Yemen, northeast Nigeria and Somalia. As an international organization active in 128 countries around the world, The Salvation Army is providing support to thousands of vulnerable people directly impacted by this humanitarian crisis.

In February 2017, the United Nations declared there are 20 million people, including 1.4 million vulnerable children, at risk of death over the coming months in these four countries. This crisis results from ongoing armed conflicts and severe droughts, with hundreds of thousands of people being displaced from their homes and land. According to the UN, the crisis far exceeds the current availability of resources and the amount of funding committed so far by the international community.

In the Nigerian states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, 40,000 people are currently experiencing the effects of famine, which is projected to rise to 120,000 within the next month. A Salvation Army rapid response team is focusing its initial efforts in a community which is hosting a camp for internally-displaced people who have fled conflict and persecution. Immediate food aid  rice, beans, wheat, noodles, cooking oil and salt  will be provided to 300 of the most vulnerable refugees. The Salvation Army's presence will then enable a full needs assessment of a further 18,000 residents in the host community who are experiencing severe hunger.

Captain Godspower Anozie, Emergency Disaster Services Coordinator for The Salvation Army's Nigeria Territory, explains that this is not just about food, but about 'restoring hope for living'. He explains that the distribution will 'save lives and preserve dignity, particularly amongst female recipients', many of whom have been sexually exploited, faced with the horrific choice of whether to sell their bodies for food or to starve.

Meanwhile, thousands of famine-affected refugees from South Sudan will be helped by a proposed Salvation Army project in the Pagirinya settlement in the Adjumani district of northern Uganda. Here, new boreholes will be drilled to provide access to safe drinking water. After training has been provided, the infrastructure will be handed over to a new community-led water management committee. Around 2,200 families will have improved sanitation because of the initiative, which also includes the provision of containers to store water safely and kitchen utensils to help improve nutrition and health. The borehole initiative follows the newly-finished construction of 20 toilets in the settlement, a project that will increase hygiene and safety.

Donations can be made online at SalvationArmy.ca and by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY. Contributions made between 17 March to 30 June 2017 will be matched by the Government of Canada with its recently announced "Famine Relief Fund".

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is an international Christian organization that began its work in Canada in 1882 and has grown to become the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in the country. The Salvation Army gives hope and support to vulnerable people today and every day in 400 communities across Canada and in 128 countries around the world. The Salvation Army offers practical assistance for children and families, often tending to the basic necessities of life, providing shelter for homeless people and rehabilitation for people who have lost control of their lives to an addiction. When you give to The Salvation Army, you are investing in the future of marginalized and overlooked people in your community. To learn more, visit www.SalvationArmy.ca.

SOURCE The Salvation Army

For further information: John McAlister, National Director of Marketing and Communications, The Salvation Army, 416-452-5116, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.SalvationArmy.ca


school bus decal (002).jpg

The red squirrel decal on this bus became a point of contention between an Upstate New York school district and the Department of Transportation, which warned it could represent "mission creep" toward buses that were used for advertising. The DOT ultimately changed its mind after intervention from Sen. Patti Ritchie's office.

(Provided by Sen. Ritchie's office)

DE KALB JUNCTION, N.Y. -- A mighty New York state bureaucracy ultimately buckled in its fight against a red squirrel, orange butterfly, green turtle and other friendly animals used to help young students find their way onto school buses at an Upstate New York district.

The Department of Transportation warned the Hermon-DeKalb Central School District in May that its fleet of buses would have to strip small decals it used to help kindergarteners and pre-schoolers find their buses at the end of the school day.

"We have a squirrel. We have a penguin, a green dinosaur and orange butterfly," said Mark White, the district's superintendent. "What else do we have? We have a dolphin, I think.

"It helps the students who can't yet read understand quickly which buses are for them."

The district had been using the decals all year. White said a memo from the DOT came suddenly and warned that decals like the ones on the buses represented a form of "mission creep." That term is often reserved for military or law enforcement behaviors that slowly expand beyond their stated goal.

"It has been brought to the attention of this office that it is time again to remind (inspectors) of the law relative to advertisement and other signs on school buses," DOT chief technician Rusty Seastrum wrote in an undated memo provided by White. "Because some are allowing mission creep and there are a number of school buses inspected and passed that violate the Vehicle and Traffic Law."

The law the DOT apparently cited is aimed at preventing school buses from becoming advertisements. White said inspectors warned the buses would not pass their inspections later this month if the decals remained on the buses.

"Why in the world is it just now, are they going to basically fail our buses?" White said. "It was extremely odd."

White called Sen. Patti Ritchie (R-Oswegatchie), who then put a word in to DOT Commissioner Matthew Driscoll. He reversed the order, she said.

Ritchie could not immediately be reached for comment. Her statement said the order applies statewide, but it was not immediately clear how many school districts had been ordered to remove similar decals.

"I am glad that the Department of Transportation has withdrawn an arbitrary interpretation that would have made it harder for small children to identify the school bus they need to board to take them home," Ritchie said in a statement. "And I want to thank Commissioner Driscoll for his quick response."

The school district in St. Lawrence County teaches about 250 elementary school students.
Upstate New York's best burger 2017: Get to know the semifinalists

By Allie Healy | ahealy@syracuse.com

We're searching for the best burger in Upstate New York and we need your help! Last week, we asked you to nominate your favorite places. We counted up the comments that you posted on newyorkupstate.com, on our Facebook page and on Twitter. We put the spots that received the most nominations into polls divided into three regions: western, central and eastern.

Check out who made the next round and cast your votes!

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Eastside Grill - Penn Yan

Address: 204 Lake St, Penn Yan.

Find their website here.

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Winners Circle Deli - Dundee

Address: 20 Main St, Dundee.

Find their website here.

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Allen Burger Venture - Buffalo

Address: 175 Allen St, Buffalo.

Find their website here.

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Swillburger - Rochester

Address: 820 S Clinton Ave, Rochester.

Find their website here.

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Roots Cafe - Naples

Address: 197 N Main St Building A, Naples.

Find their website here.

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Bourbon & Burger Co. - Batavia

Address: 9 Jackson St, Batavia.

Find their website here.

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Tom Wahl's - Avon

Address: 283 E Main St, Avon.

Find their website here.

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Don's Original - Rochester

Address: 4900 Culver Rd, Rochester.

Find their website here.

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Bill Gray's - Webster

Address: 941 Hard Rd, Webster.

Find their website here.

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Mac's Drive-In - Waterloo

Address: 1180 Waterloo Geneva Rd, Waterloo.

Find their website here.

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Brown's Brewing Co. - Troy

Address: 417 River St, Troy.

Find their website here.

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Sloan's NY Grill - Oneonta

Address: 337 Chestnut St, Oneonta.

Find their website here.

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Provisions Deli - Woodstock

Address: 65 Tinker Street, Woodstock.

Find their website here.

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Spill'n the Beans Coffeehouse & Bistro - Troy

Address: 13 3rd St, Troy.

Find their website here.

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Big Tupper Brewing - Tupper Lake

Address: 12 Cliff Ave, Tupper Lake.

Find their website here.

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Facebook photo from Power's Inn & Pub

Power's Inn & Pub - Clifton Park

Address: 130 Meyer Rd, Clifton Park.

Find their website here.

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Kratzy's Bar & Grill - Alder Creek

Address: 10169 State Route 28, Alder Creek.

Find their website here.

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Crave - Albany

Address: 217 Western Ave, Albany.

Find their website here.

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The Ruck - Troy

Address: 104 3rd St, Troy.

Find their website here.

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Jack's Drive-In - Wynantskill

Address: 24 Main Ave, Wynantskill.

Find their website here.

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Village Burger - Liverpool

Address: 920 Old Liverpool Rd., Liverpool.

Find their website here.

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Burger Mondays Bar & Grille - Binghamton

Address: 23 Henry St, Binghamton.

Find their website here.

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Golden Spike Pub - East Syracuse

Address: 411 W Manlius St, East Syracuse.

Find their website here.

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Ithaca Ale House - Ithaca

Address: 111 N Aurora St, Ithaca.

Find their website here.

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R Diner - Central Square

Address: 431 US-11, Central Square.

Find their website here.

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Fargo Bar & Grill - Aurora

Address: 384 Main St, Aurora.

Find their website here.

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Blarney Stone - Syracuse

Address: 314 Avery Ave, Syracuse.

Find their website here.

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Between the Buns - Potsdam

Address: 6 Elm St, Potsdam.

Find their website here.

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Gilligan's - Sherburne

Address: 64 N Main Street, Sherburne.

Find their website here.

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Seaway Diner & Smokehouse - Lisbon

Address: 11421 NY-37, Lisbon.

Find their website here.

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Have you voted on the semifinalists yet?

Make sure to get your votes in and help narrow down our search! Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20. Cast your votes here!
As part of efforts aimed at addressing economic shocks arising from commodity price instability in Africa, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has signed a $150 million framework agreement with the Development Bank of Belarus, to promote trade financing between Belarus and African countries.The agreement was a continuation of the dialogue, which started in 2016 between the two banks, during the visit of the Chairman of Afreximbank, Benedict Oramah, to Belarus, where they agreed to embark on the collaboration.Oramah, who did the signing on Wednesday, at the maiden edition of the Belarus-Africa Trade and Investment Forum, in Minsk, Belarus, said the signing of the framework agreement is the first step towards achieving the total potential of $800 million.While assuring that the agreement will help step up mutual trade between Belarus and African countries, Oramah said if the country with limited natural resources and population of 10 million people could reach this level of industrialisation, Africa has a chance to partner with them for the supply of investment goods, especially in the area of agriculture, mining and manufacturing.The document will be a so-called corridor for Belarusian goods to the African continent. In general, we are setting an ambitious task of increasing trade between Belarus and African countries to $3 billion by 2020.During last years visit to Belarus, Afreximbank and the Development Bank agreed to reserve certain limits of funds. These will be some $400 million from us and the same amount from Belarus. They are needed to boost mutual trade between our countries. This first $150 million will be mainly used to purchase Belarusian equipment for the developing African market.The event, which was part of the Belarusian agro- industrial week (Belagro 2017), is aimed at promoting cooperation in the agricultural and industrial sectors.In his presentation titled:Belarus-Africa-Untapped Opportunities: An African Perspective, Chief Economist, Afreximbank, Dr. Hippolyte Fofack, said to achieve the goal, the parties need to strive to ensure that the partnership is not driven by opportunistic trade and beggar-thy-neighbour policy, but must respond to a more ambition-strategic relevance.In other words, the development impact of such a partnership will be much greater if it supports the implementation of emerging African development strategy and integration of the region into the global economy.The commitment to transform Africas agriculture and move towards large-scale production and value addition could fundamentally change and sustain the dynamic of trade between Africa and Belarus-shifting it towards imports of capital goods and irrigation equipment, he said.Fofack noted that Potassic fertiliser is another industry where a more strategic partnership driven by relevance and development impact could be a game changer for both parties, adding that the need for fertiliser are expected to rise, especially in the light of rate of population growth in Africa.Africa has a large trade deficit as nearly 95 per cent of fertilisers consumption is being met by global imports. In 2016, Africa imported an estimated $54 billion worth of fertiliser, mainly from Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Germany and Belarus. Agriculture is another area where potential for trade, investment and growth are significant, he added.
Nigeria may officially export its first consignment of certified yams to the UK and U.S. by the end of June, Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has said.A statement by Mr. Olukayode Oyeleye, Special Assistant (Media and Communication) to the minister, said in Abuja on Friday that the Federal Government was committed to restoring Nigerias place in agro-commodities export market.The market had been lost for decades as a result of poor quality control.According to Ogbeh, Nigeria would officially export its first consignment of certified yams to the UK and U.S. by the end of June.This will mark a milestone in the efforts we are making to bring Nigeria back into reckoning in the agricultural export market.We lost this, decades ago, as a result of poor quality control and subsequent rejection of our agricultural exports.Among a number of initiatives to fast-track these interventions and solidify our base, the Federal Government has empowered the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS), to make it more responsive to issues of safety and phytosanitary standards in food exports.The NAQS reports will become acceptable globally and this will forestall the national embarrassment arising from the rejections of food exports on account of quality deficiency, he said.He said that the Federal Government had also established a standing inter-ministerial technical committee on zero-reject of agricultural produce and non-oil exports in Nigeria.Ogbeh said that the committee is co-chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and technically supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).He added that the committee consists of membership from critical and relevant agencies of the Federal Government.These agencies are the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Customs Service, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).They also include Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) are also part of the project.He informed that the inter-ministerial committee had commenced work on an export control plan to target the country beans rejection and develop HS codes for other exportable commodities from Nigeria as recommended by the EU as part of the terms for lifting the ban on the beans export.According to him, the Ministry of Agriculture plays a pivotal role since all productions start from the farms.I affirm the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to end the embarrassing rejection of Nigerian commodity and produce at the international market is irrevocable.The health of Nigerians is also paramount and the populace needs good quality food as well.There is nothing like Nigerian or local standards, but international standards to which we cannot but adhere in our local handling of food, consumption and export drive, the minister said. (NAN)
It was almost sunset as fishermen guided their boats back onto the beach at Joal, Senegal, after a long day at sea.At first glance, it looks as though they'd collected a good day's haul, but their nets were full of small sardinella, known locally as yaabooy.Fisherman Mamdou Lamine had caught just one bucket of mackerel. He held one up next to a yaabooy to show how much bigger it was  and there are many more yaabooy than mackerel these days, he said. Furthermore, A local favorite, grouper, called thiof in Senegal, is getting harder to find.The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization says more than half of West Africa's fisheries are dangerously depleted. Local officials in Senegal say it's the foreign-owned industrial boats that have depleted fish stocks and destroyed marine habitats.When fishermen at Joal set off on trips, they have to carry more fuel to reach waters farther away, and the added fuel costs cut into their earnings.Saff Sall was heading to Guinea-Bissau, about 200 kilometers south, in search of the elusive thiof. He said the fish are found among rocks, but that there are no more rocks because they have all been destroyed by the big industrial boats. That's why they have to go to Guinea-Bissau to search for fish.Before, Senegalese fishermen had to spend only a week at sea to have all the fish they needed, he said, but now they have to spend twice as long to catch what they need.Under-regulated fishing by locals has also contributed to the problem, said Joal Fishing Wharf chief of operations El Hadji Faye.He said the government was making an effort, but the situation was very complicated. He said that in the Senegalese city of Saint Louis, for example, each neighborhood has a designated day it can fish. But in Joal, they do not do that yet. Every day, he said, all the fishermen go to sea. Sometimes when a lot of them go, they bring back a lot of fish and the price is not good.Fish are the backbone of the town's economy. The day's catch is taken to the local smokehouse, turned into fish meal for export abroad or sold fresh at the market, where knife-wielding female vendors prep the fish for sale.Business is tough even for vendors with the rare large fish. Scarcity has driven up the prices. The price of thiof per kilogram has doubled in the past five years, local officials said.Fish vendor Rose Ndour said that maybe those in the industry would do other work  if there were better jobs available.The impact of overfishing is felt in households. The wife of the fishing wharf manager, Coumba Ndiaye, said that for the family's evening Ramadan meal, she had to make due with sardinella because she could not get an affordable thiof at the market.She made thieboudienne, Senegal's national dish. Its name literally translates to "fish and rice." But for a good thieboudienne, you need good fish like dorade or thiof.The fish are a part of Senegal's culture. Ndiaye said that "when someone says your husband is 'thiofee,' they are comparing him to thiof. The thiof is beautiful and noble. The thiof is classy."The children sat on their parents' knees as the family ate around the large shared bowl of thieboudienne.The fishermen would return to the sea the next day to try their luck again.
Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu has revealed that Nigeria spent about N4.74 trillion on importation of petrol last year, representing 30 per cent of the total foreign exchange outlay of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).The importation of petroleum products between January and December of last year amounted to about 20 million metric tonnes, he said in a response to the Senate on plans to refurbish Nigerias creaky refineries.He outrightly denied reports of the concession of Port Harcourt Refinery to Oando and Agip companies.A total amount of N3.4 trillion was spent, the consumption of FX from CBN was approximately 30 per cent of CBN total FX outlay, and the logistic costs of that importation was about N1.34 trillion within the same one year period. On domestic refining capacity, the minister said the nation produced six million litres out of a total consumption of about 35 million litres per day.In the midst of this sort of statistics, it was absolutely critical that we move in to try to end importation of products, improve our refineries and get them up to 100 per cent.We are looking for financing of the repair and upgrade of the refineries. We are not concessioning refineries, it is simply a financing package, he said.Kachikwu said the government would invite the original refineries builders for the three refineries to undertake the repairs but stressed that it had not selected any financier for the repairs.Once we identify those individuals and see how we can make contacts with those who built the refineries  Saipem in Warri; JGC in Port Harcourt; and Chiyoda in Kaduna, to ensure that we go back to them.He said such step was necessary because they (builders) have the designs, engineering outlay and upgrade capabilities, and in some cases, they have the access to spare part.If we are going to achieve this within the timeframe we gave, we are going to meet them and I think we have largely decided that those are the people we should use, he stated.The minister said the government would have to consider the overall capabilities of those interested in the process.He also added that their business model would have to be tied into the current Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) of NNPC to be able to make profit, especially with consideration to the countrys downstream sector, which had not been deregulated.He said a technical committee set up by the government to undertake the review and selection process is yet to submit its report.There had been reports that government had reached agreement with the firms following which the Senate asked that the contract be stopped.According to the minister, what has been accomplished by the committee is coming up with a holistic investment figure enough to fix the nations three refineries.We have not selected any firm yet even though some firms have shown interests.We need about 1.2 billion dollars to repair and bring the three refineries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna, up to 100 per cent production level, he said.The minister said the cost of the project had been determined in terms of the extent of work required.The total cumulative amount is in the 1.1 billion dollars and 1.2 billion dollars category between all the refineries. And that of course does not include the pipelines.You have got to address the pipelines and that is something else that is being done, he said.Kachikwu said the government would invite the original refineries builders for the three refineries to undertake the repairs but stressed that it had not selected any financier for the repairs.Once we identify those individuals and see how we can make contacts with those who built the refineries  Saipem in Warri; JGC in Port Harcourt; and Chiyoda in Kaduna, to ensure that we go back to them.He said such step was necessary because they (builders) have the designs, engineering outlay and upgrade capabilities, and in some cases, they have the access to spare part.If we are going to achieve this within the timeframe we gave, we are going to meet them and I think we have largely decided that those are the people we should use, he stated.The minister said the government would have to consider the overall capabilities of those interested in the process.He also added that their business model would have to be tied into the current Direct Sales Direct Purchase (DSDP) of NNPC to be able to make profit, especially with consideration to the countrys downstream sector, which had not been deregulated.We havent reached there, and so anybody indicating that contracts have been given is wrong.In terms of who wins the financing awards, that is still work in progress. We have not received from the technical committee their final report on this.We need to review and accept and go to FEC for approval and the National Assembly before we proceed.There is an urgency in this sector that we need to address. We have begun engagements with the National Assembly and the process continues, but we need speed in all these, he added.
The Senate on Thursday has scrapped the Federal Road Maintenance Agency and replaced it with Federal Roads Authority.The bill, sponsored by Senator Kabiru Gaya (Kano-APC), was read for the third time at plenary before it was passed through a unanimous vote by the senators.The Senate, however, rejected the report on National Road Funds, stepping it down for further legislative action.The proposed Road Funds Bill has generated controversy over alleged plans to introduce additional N5 fuel levy as one of the major sources of financing the fund.Speaking in favour of the bill, Gaya explained that it would provide a predictable funding for roads in Nigeria.He said that it would create environment for effective participation of public-private-partnership.The lawmaker said the idea of road funds was not new, citing examples from countries like Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Togo and United States where funds were generated from fuel levy.According to him, Nigeria can generate N94 billion annually from fuel levy to help fund roads in the country.He said that the levy would be paid directly into the account of the National Road Funds, adding that Nigeria Customs Service would be responsible for the remittance.In his contribution, Sen. Kabiru Marafa (Zamfara-APC) said that it was not entirely correct that the proposed N5 fuel levy was captured in the industrys template.Marafa said that the plan to introduce N5 fuel levy would further put pressure on an already stressed petroleum downstream sector and cause hardship for the people.He advised the Committee on Works to explore other areas such as toll fee or any other road taxes, cautioning strongly against fuel levy in whatever guise.In his remarks, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided at plenary, said that the Senate had no plan to increase pump price of petroleum products.The report was subsequently stepped down to enable other relevant committees go through the content of the Bill.NAN
Music icon, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as Tuface, now 2baba, has pledged to donate the proceeds from his song to the UN High Commis...

The donation to Nigeria office of UNHCR is to assist Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Northeast.2baba, who is the Chairman of the TuBaba Foundation, made the pledge on Thursday when he visited the UNHCR office in Abuja.He said that his foundation would donate 60 per cent of the proceeds from his music dedicated to Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).The song which would be launched in commemoration of the World Refugees Day on June 20, he said, was part of his contribution to alleviating the plights of the IDPs.I have decided to dedicate my time, resources and my voice to support the UNHCR in this massive endeavour of alleviating the sufferings of displaced persons.On the June 20th which is the world refugees day, I am going to be commissioning a song and this song will be monetized.60 per cent of the proceeds will be donated to the UNHCR to further its humanitarian effort to alleviating the plights of refugees and IDPs.We want people to join in this campaign by downloading the song to use it as their ring tones, caller back tones.This download, which would cost between N50 to N100, is an opportunity for every Nigerian to contribute in their own little ways to the course of assisting displaced persons, he said.The Music icon stressed the need to create more awareness for people to understand the magnitude of the forced displacement and suffering of the IDPs and refugees so that they can do more to assist them.It is very disheartening to be stranded in your own home, many people who have not been hit directly downplay the situation.He commended the Nigerian government, UNHCR, International and Local Organisations and kind hearted individuals who have contributed in assisting the displaced persons.In her remarks, Mrs Bridgette Mukanga-Eno, Deputy Representative, Protection, UNHCR, Nigeria, appreciated the foundation for supporting UNHCR in its intervention in the North-East.She said that the collaboration with the foundation started last year but was concretised in February when the agency received a donation from the foundation to support its activities in the North-East.She said that the agency developed vocational facilities including mechanic trainings, iron bending, carpentry for the men and sewing for the ladies among others.She said that the Nigerian government through relevant Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) has done a lot in assisting the IDPs but a lot still need to be done to address the huge humanitarian crises in the North-East.Mukanga-Eno said that the food scarcity is overwhelming and is not sufficient for the over 1.8 million IDPs, saying that the influx of over 19,000 Nigerian refugees from Niger, Chad and Cameroon has made it worse.She called for more support to cater for the IDPs and returnees in the areas of protection, food, livelihood, healthcare, education among others.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in February, 2baba donated N3.5 million to the UNHCR to support its humanitarian intervention to the displaced persons in the North-East.(NAN)
Captain of the South African national team, Thulani Hlatshwayo, has said they know the Super Eagles weak link, ahead of tomorrows 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uyo.Hlatshwayo revealed that they were looking to exploit the lack of pace in Nigerias defence, to get a result against the former Africa champions.We know we are smaller than them as players so we dont want to play the long ball but catch them on the counter. They are big but a bit slow.It is going to be a grudge game for them. Knowing Nigerians thats how they are. They do have that arrogance they carry around. We have to be humble and make sure we dont give Nigeria too much respect and not be scared of them, he said.Hlatshwayo insisted they wont be intimidated by the star names in the Eagles squad or their poor record against Rohrs men.We will not. We played Nigeria in Nigeria. We did well, he added
The Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima has praised the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for his courage and patriotism for his vi...

The Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima has praised the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for his courage and patriotism for his visit to the State hours after the violent multiple attacks by Boko Haram.

Shettima stated these at the flag-off of Multi-Billion Naira food intervention for Northeast by the Acting President on Thursday, June 8, in Maiduguri, Borno State. Read his full speech below:

"Your Excellency, Mr. Acting President, I want to start by saluting your courage and unquestionable patriotism.

"Frankly speaking, after Boko Haram made another violent but failed attempt on a community in Maiduguri last night, I concluded in my mind that we were likely to receive a signal from the Villa putting this event on hold or sending a Minister to represent the Acting President.

This was the practice we were conditioned to accept judging from our first term in office. In May, 2014, we had a time our entire security architecture was put in place for a Presidential visit to Chibok. Everything was in place; even parents of the Chibok schoolgirls were on standby. But that historic and golden opportunity to show leadership was cancelled at the last hour based on some imaginary considerations.

I reminded some persons at the Villa, that within days after the unfortunate abduction, my wife had driven to Chibok from Maiduguri without me and I had gone a day after her visit. I said it was defeatist for us as a country to mark any part of Nigeria were citizens live as a place a sitting President cannot go. Unless where war is in motion, Nigeria has always had the security arsenals, with air and ground troops that should be able to secure the President's visit to any part of this country. If we believe there is a no-go-area for a Commander In Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, then what message are we sending to citizens who live in that area or are compelled to pass through it. The very day that the Presidential visit was cancelled, we had sent Government officials from Maiduguri to Chibok by road not by presidential helicopter. They were safely in Chibok and had mobilized the entire community.

Some people would accuse always making comparisons between the incumbent Federal administration and the past, but then, life itself is a combination of the past and the present. You can only appreciate the present or the past, when you compare them.

Mr. Acting President, Sir, we salute your good sense of judgment, your courage, patriotism and passion for the northeast which must have shaped your wisdom tin proceeding with today's event. As I believe the acting President must have thought, the fact that a community was traumatized and displaced last night is the more reason the event should hold.

Your Excellency, Sir, this visit is a major psychological warfare that sends almighty and raw signal to the remnants of atrocious murderers, that this time around, Nigeria has a Presidency that cannot be intimidated backwards. This is a progressive Presidency that is forward ever and backward never.

Your Excellency, we will forever remain grateful to President Muhammadu Buhari for his enormous commitment to ending this insurgency. We are grateful to your dedicated self for the empathy and passion you have shown to us. Today marks your fourth visit to Borno State and like I always cite, each of your visits comes with cheering news for us.

We are particularly happy, that this time around, your visit is not just for Borno, but also for the benefit of our brothers and sisters in Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe States which makes up the troubled Northeast.

We are most appreciative of the far reaching food intervention you are here to launch.

Your Excellency, I will not preempt you by going into details of the food items you are about to launch. This is another moment of your good leadership and we cherish the protocol of allowing you lead the way.

Your Excellency, I will not be kind to those who have been of immense support to us if I fail to acknowledge their help before you. Only yesterday, the Dangote Foundation launched this year's intervention in Ramadan food aide. They did same last year in addition to donating building materials worth two billion naira to support our ongoing reconstruction works.

Sometimes, I forget to mention the support of international humanitarian partners from agencies of the UN to organs like the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the MSF and establishments of countries like Norway and the United States. The reason I sometimes forget to mention them is because they have become part of Borno. Food intervention from especially the ICRC, WFP... have been so regular that they have become us.

It is my singular honour and privilege to welcome you and the entire members of the Presidential and Federal Government's team for the purpose of today's major intervention. This intervention is coming at a good time and God in His infinite Mercy will bless you and all those who contributed in whatever way, to conveying this intervention.

It is on this note that I most respectfully invite Your Excellency, the acting President, Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to deliver your address and launch this major intervention for the northeast and for humanity.
Theresa May will form a minority Government to deliver Brexit in the wake of a disastrous election night for the Conservatives which left the UK with a hung parliament.Mrs May failed to secure the 326 seats she needed to form another majority government and will now seek to stay in power with the informal backing of the Democratic Unionist Party.Speaking in Downing Street after outlining her intentions to the Queen at Buckingham Palace the Prime Minister said: "What the country needs more than ever is certainty and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons."Mrs May said her minority administration will "guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days" as she insisted the Tories will be able to work together with the DUP in the "interests of the whole UK" as she pledged to "get to work".However, the parliamentary arithmetic will mean she will face an almighty struggle to pursue the policies set out in her manifesto.The Tories won 318 seats and will have to rely on the DUP's 10 MPs to get things done.The Prime Minister has faced calls to quit but her deal with the DUP will allow her to stay in power and pass legislation with a wafer thin majority.Mrs Mays decision to call a snap election backfired in spectacular fashion as she lost the Conservatives majority as Labour made significant gains.Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, has urged Mrs May to resign as he said she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".He also claimed it is "pretty clear who won this election" and that "the party that has lost in this election is the Conservative Party".Meanwhile, even senior Tory figures have suggested she should consider her position.Former chancellor George Osborne, who was sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May in one of her first acts as PM and now editor of the Evening Standard, told ITV that he doubts whether the premier can "survive in the long term as Conservative party leader".
President Donald Trump rallied die-hard supporters behind a message of defiance Thursday, after explosive sworn testimony about his beha...

President Donald Trump rallied die-hard supporters behind a message of defiance Thursday, after explosive sworn testimony about his behavior by his ex-FBI director. Without referring to James Comeys sworn Senate testimony directly, Trump vowed to fight his enemies and knock back attempts to derail his presidency.They will not divert us from this righteous cause, to try and stop all of you, Trump told a Faith and Freedom Coalition event in the US capital.We know how to fight better than anybody, and we never, ever will give up. We dont give up and we are winners and we are going to fight and win and we will have an unbelievable future. Comey told a Senate panel that Trump has asked him for loyalty and asked him to shelve an investigation into aide Mike Flynn. Comey also accused the Trump administration of lying and defaming him and the FBI in a bid to justify the presidents actions. The White House angrily denounced that charge.I can definitely say the president is not a liar and frankly am insulted by that question, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a briefing at the White House. Trump was equally combative.They will lie, they will obstruct, they will spread their hatred and their prejudice, we will not back down from doing what is right. People will get the change they voted for and which they so richly deserve. We are going to fight and win Trump said, addressing supporters at a Faith and Freedom Coalition event in the capital.
Former FBI director James Comey accused Donald Trumps administration of defaming him after the president abruptly fired him amid tensio...

Former FBI director James Comey accused Donald Trumps administration of defaming him after the president abruptly fired him amid tensions over the agencys Russia probe. The administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, that the work force had lost confidence in its leader, Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee.Those were lies plain and simple. Comey, who was fired May 9, told the senators that Trump had consistently praised his performance, but he felt the need to document his interactions with the president in detail.I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document, he said.
In what appeared as a major embarrassment, many of the guests invited to a second year anniversary of the 8th Nigerian House of Representat...

In what appeared as a major embarrassment, many of the guests invited to a second year anniversary of the 8th Nigerian House of Representatives stayed away from the event. Those who apparently boycotted the celebration included governors, former Speakers and ex-members of the lower legislative body.









Among the political figures in attendance at the legislative celebration were Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi of Ondo State, former Speaker Umar Ghali Na'aba, and former Deputy Speaker Babangida Nguroje.

The House had invited President Muhammadu Buhari as a special guest of honor, but the ailing president remains in Britain where he is receiving medical treatment for an undisclosed illness. Remarkably, acting President Yemi Osinbajo did not attend to represent Mr. Buhari. Other invited guests included the Chief Justice of the Federation, Walter Onnoghen, and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State.





Among other no-shows at the event were former members of the House who are now serving as governors. They included Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State, Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.

It was learnt that those invited to the poorly attended ceremony included all former Speakers of the House, former Deputy Speakers, former Majority Leaders, former Minority Leaders, former Chief Whips, former Clerks of National Assembly, and members of the diplomatic corps.





Briefing reporters, the Deputy Chief Whip of the House, Pally Iriase, disclosed that N35 million was budgeted for the second year anniversary events, adding that two-thirds of the money would be spent on media coverage. He remarked that the House had considered the countrys tough economic circumstances in deciding not to spend too much money celebrating the event.





Some mild drama nearly disrupted the event as members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) raised their voices to protest what they described as the failure of Speaker Yakubu Dogara of the House of Reps to recognize their president, Chinonso Obasi. The student group accused the speaker of bias in recognizing a leader of a factional student group. Security agents moved in and removed from the protesting students from the chamber.





Josh Amupitan, a professor of law, delivered the keynote titled Image Perception of the Legislature: Causes and Possible Solutions, while the chairman of the editorial board of ThisDay newspapers, Segun Adeniyi, presented a lecture on Appraisal of two years of the 8th House Legislative Agenda.
The Olukere of Ikere-Ekiti, Oba Ganiyu Obasoyin, has denied collecting N1 million from Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose to relocate some ...

The Olukere of Ikere-Ekiti, Oba Ganiyu Obasoyin, has denied collecting N1 million from Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose to relocate some deities and pave way for the dualisation of the township road.Addressing reporters in his palace yesterday, Oba Obasoyin described Fayoses allegation against him as a blackmail targeted at smearing his image.Fayose, at his monthly media chat earlier in the week, accused the monarch of collecting N1 million from his administration to relocate the shrine ahead of the road project.Also, the governor has bowed to demands of the residents and agreed to spare the contentious Ege tree, believed to be over 1,000 years old at the Ereja Shrine.A visit to the site yesterday revealed that the contractor had diverted the road around the tree under the eagle eyes of traditionalists who were on the ground to forestall its felling.Clearing the air on the controversy surrounding the alleged receipt of N1 million, Oba Obasoyin said the money was not given to him personally, either in cheque or in cash.There was a riot in the community on Monday when Fayose ordered that the Ege tree be felled to give way for the dualisation of the major road that passes through the town.The Olukere said two of his chiefs  the Eselemo of Odo Oja, Chief Adeyemi Fajilade and Saya, Chief Foluso Olowofela  collected the money from the Commissioner of Works, Mrs Funmilayo Ogun.The monarch said the money was used for the relocation of four deities with the exception of the ancient tree.According to him, the contractor handling the project assured the people that the road could continue without the tree being pulled down.
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), on Friday expressed support to the call by the Coalition of Northern Youth Groups for Igbos to leave the ...

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), on Friday expressed support to the call by the Coalition of Northern Youth Groups for Igbos to leave the region within three months.









The forum expressed disappointment with the Northern Governors Forum for disowning the youth groups.

Prof. Ango Abdullahi, the NEF spokesperson told newsmen in Zaria on Friday, that it was hypocritical for the Igbos to continue to live in other parts of the country while agitating for Nigerias break up.

Ango said: I am disappointed in the decision taken by Northern Governors Forum disowning and condemning the agitation by this young agile and progressive youth groups.

Let me ask, these Northern governors, whom are they representing, are they representing spirits, ghost or people of the north?

Recently, people from eastern part of this country, specifically Igbo, were busy calling for the Sovereign State of Biafra and from all indication their leaders including governors are behind them.

According to him, whoever feels Nigeria is not conducive for him let him quit, adding that what the northern youth groups did was not a sin.

He lamented that none of the Northern governors reacted to the persistent call for the actualisation of Biafra and other agitations.

The spokesman said when Nnamdi Kanu was released on bail recently, over 100 vehicles escorted him to his residence including big personalities from the south-west and south-east.

This is somebody who has been agitating for the breakup of Nigeria but his people were behind him, therefore, I am behind the youths.

This is because the Northern youths are pushed to the wall, we have been calming them down in any event similar to this, he noted.

Speaking specifically on the Igbos, Ango said the people from the south were always pretending that people from the north were cheating them.

These people always pretend that the North is cheating them, not minding the fact that Southern Nigeria was developed by resources from the North.

Please, look for a book written by Adamu FiKa, the Waziri of FiKa on Nigerias budget before and after independence.

Each year, up to the time Nigeria gained its independence, none of the two regions was able to provide for itself.

I mean none of the Western and Eastern regions had the money to effectively run the affairs of its region until they get financial support from the Northern region, he said.

He recalled that the tradition had remained during the colonial masters and nothing changed after they left the country.

Ango said it was the same money from the North that was used to construct Nigerian Railways, refineries and other facilities.

First oil exploration was conducted using money from groundnut pyramid, cotton, hide and skin among other cash crops from Northern Nigeria.

However, these people tend to forget all these goodies provided by the North toward ensuring the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria.

They always look down on us, feeling that Northerners are parasites in this country, he said.
Constitutional lawyer and Human Rights activist, Barrister Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari to make public ...

Constitutional lawyer and Human Rights activist, Barrister Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari to make public all monies recovered so far in the fight against corruption even as he threatened to commence legal proceedings against the Federal government if his request is ignored.In a letter entitled, My Humble Request for an Account of All Monies Recovered and Properties Attached by the EFCC, ICPC, DSS, NIA, Police and Other Security Agencies, addressed to Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, Ozekhome said he made the request given the widespread hunger in the land since the assumption of office by President Buhari. According to the rights activist, money and properties so far recovered in the fight against corruption ought to be deployed for the benefit of suffering Nigerians, wondering why government has not deemed it fit to explain to Nigerians the whereabouts of the recovered loots. I write this letter to you sir, as a Nigerian citizen, a patriot, and an advocate of the Rule of Law, accountability, transparency, human rights, entrenched democracy and good governance.I am genuinely concerned that the Presidents immediate aides and people who always have direct access to him before your Acting appointment in accordance with Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution, have only been showing Mr. President the smaller, rather than, the larger picture of Nigerias gargantuan and multi-faceted problems; and the back-breaking suffering and misery Nigerians are currently living under. There is wailing and gnashing of teeth in the land. Nigerians hear of humongous recoveries of billions of naira, millions of dollars, pounds and other foreign currencies on a daily basis. Some of these monies, mercifully, are even orphaned.But, the use, or none use, of these recovered loots have been shrouded in utter mystery, opaqueness and under eerie masquerades and ghosts of utmost secrecy, he wrote adding that as a result, the stashed monies have not impacted on the dreary, searing and agonizing lives of the common men and women of this great country (exacerbated in the last two years of your government). Their only pre-occupation with life, is not luxury, but merely to have three square meals a day, train their children and have a roof over their aching heads. The legal luminary challenged the Buhari administration to provide answers to questions being asked by concerned Nigerians and groups in the last couple of months.The questions according to Ozekhome include How much monies have so far been recovered by the various Security Agencies, in naira, pounds, dollars, euros, yen, and other foreign currencies? Where are these monies kept? Are the monies kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Commercial Banks, MDAs, ware houses, abandoned houses, shopping complexes, canals, cemeteries, airports, septic tanks, toilets, private accounts, official pockets, lust where sir? Is the TSA still operative, and if so sir, does it operate with relation to these recovered loots or are these monies specially exempted from the operation of TSA?, amongst others. He also noted that his petition was premised on the recoveries by the present administration published by the Federal Ministry of Information, wondering if Nigerians do not reserve the right to know what has become of such huge sums in different currencies.Details of the recoveries, published by the Federal Ministry of information, showed that the Nigerian government successfully retrieved total cash amount N78,325,354,631,82, $185,119,584.61, 3,548,355A6 and 11, 250 between May 29, 2015 and May 25, 2016. -Also released were recoveries under interim forfeiture, which were a combination of cash and assets, during the same period: N126, 563,481,095.43, $9,090, 243, 92015, 2,484,447,55 and 303,399.17, he wrote, even as he urged government to swing into action by providing answers in the spirit of transparency and openness. He therefore pray the federal government to immediately avail Nigerians the account of all discoveries made and cause same to be published in the media within three weeks.His prayers: That you cause the Chairmen and Heads of all the Security Agencies, to immediately render full account of all recoveries so far made, cash and realty, and to publicly disclose and publish same to the Nigerian people; that the said publication shall be made in all national dailies, the electronic and social media; that in making this publication, lines of communication shall be left by each anti-graft agency to answer questions and queries from interested citizens and other members of the public; and that a period of three weeks certain from the date of this humble letter shall be sufficient to enable these humble prayers be looked into and granted. The lawyer stated that in the event of government failure to act in three weeks time, he would be left with no other option but to commence legal action against relevant parties, without further notice.If after the expiration of the three week period mentionedno positive action has been taken on these my genuine concerns and complaints, I shall, most respectfully, without any further correspondence from me, institute legal proceedings against Mr. President, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and all the Anti-graft and Security Agencies, for a redress of the above issues, he threatened.\
The Naira Thursday remained stable at N365 per dollar in the parallel market.
Like the Nnamdi Kanu led IPOB, a new group from Niger Delta has demanded that it gains independence from Nigeria. The group named 'Re...

Like the Nnamdi Kanu led IPOB, a new group from Niger Delta has demanded that it gains independence from Nigeria. The group named 'Region of the Niger Delta' (Rondel) has demanded the sovereignty of the region. In a statement by its spokesman, Efe Edet-Tamuno, the group said its demands are made on a non-violent struggle. Read the statement after the cut













A Demand for the Independence of Rondel from Nigeria in 2018.





We the people of the Region of the Niger Delta (Rondel), represented by members of Rondel Solidarity Movement (RSM) - a newly born aggressive but non-violent umbrella body for all intellectuals, groups and associations in the Niger Delta Region, having lived together in the past as a loose federation under the Benin Empire and the great Ijaw and other kingdoms, desirous of searching for our own country since northerners in Nigeria have decided to evacuate southerners from 'their Nigeria' - we today, 07.06.2017 wish to announce the fusion of our various groups into one strong and united non self seeking group to champion our developmental causes and help build our region into a nation of justice, freedom, peace and prosperity.





We have, after over 6 hours of a well attended meeting held at a secret location in Rivers State, met and made Resolutions which will be remembered as The Rondel Covenant.

The Resolutions are in response to the threat by lazy and ignorant Arewa Youths to divide and destroy Nigeria (disguising as evicting the Igbos - an injury to any Southerner is an injury to all Southerners - the days of divide and conquer has ended) and noting the obvious foot dragging of the Nigerian government over this issue with no one arrested, tried or jailed despite the fact that the treasonable felons are well known and they are all not hiding whereas a certain Nnamdi Kanu of Biafra was incarcerated for over two years for daring to discuss Biafra and a certain Kola Edokpayi of Rondel is currently incarcerated for daring to challenge the government in Edo state.





Following the treasonable ultimatum issued by the Arewa Youths with tacit backing of the Arewa Consultative Forum and Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs led by Sultan of Sokoto either of who has not openly condemned the felons and call for their incarceration like they would do when the table turned, and being fed up of being described by the President of Nigeria as 5% undeserving of the benefits of Nigeria, thus desirous to found our own country where we will be treated as citizens with full rights, not some species with 5% rights,





We hereby make the following declarations and resolve as follows:

1. That all the intellectuals, groups and associations in the Niger Delta should fuse into Rondel Solidarity Movement and our demands shift from Resource Control to Independence Movement

2. That in our country, we shall return power to the true owners of the lands, the monarchs, in English-style power sharing between the Royals and the people in a Parliamentary system.

3. That we demand Independence for Rondel from Nigeria from 2018.

4. That Rondel comprises all the six states in the present South-South of Nigeria.

5. That Rondel is an acronym derived from the Region of Niger Delta, later Republic of Niger Delta, if the Arewa groups make good their threats.

6. That Rondel is our name, Rondish will be our Language and Rondland shall be our capital city. Details of these, including the locations of Rondland, shall be in our October 1 book.

7. That no inch of Rondel in the six states of Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River, Edo, and Rivers States shall ever be ceded to any other people or nation for any reason whatsoever and all those people drawing maps up and down are hereby warned to desist forthwith or risk our disproportionate vengeance including present and future social and economic sanctions.

8. That our motivations for decision to leave Nigeria are first President Buhari's treatment of our people as 5%, Northerner's nearly exclusive illegal and immoral occupation of our oil wells destroying our ecosystems and the eviction notice by Arewa Youths with tacit support of government and the Arewa leaders.

9. That since that treasonable order by Arewa youths, and because no one was arrested, tried and convicted for the high treason, the same matter for which Nnamdi Kalu was imprisoned for about two years, we no longer have faith in one indissoluble Nigeria.

That we state emphatically and without equivocation, that in the likely event of the disintegration of Nigeria, we have resolved to live together in the Region of Niger Delta', which we henceforth now wish to call RONDEL.

That we wish henceforth, as a people, to be known and addressed as Rondelites and our languages to be known as dialects of Rondish, which shall be our Official Language, side by side English.

That our capital city shall be a portion carved out of an existing area in the Region of Niger Delta and to be renamed Rondland. Details, including out national anthem, flag, coat of arms and interim Constitution, will be published in our book, "RONDEL MANIFESTO: The Making of a Nation" to be released on October 1, 2017.

That the Igbo people, and indeed all Africans and foreigners, are heartily welcome to visit, stay, live in or do legitimate business unencumbered anywhere in Rondel now and in the future.

14. That in the event of a breakup and the Biafrans, the Omoluabis, Middle Beltans, etc have their separate countries, we will be willing to enter into economic partnerships to help each other grow their economies and societies to achieve the Millennium Developed Goals.

15. That this Resolution serves as a warning and a Notice to the Nigerian government, the International community, including all the northern states of Nigeria that henceforth, if any Igbo or indeed any Southerner or Middle Beltan Nigerian is ever attacked or killed again anywhere in the north in a hate or xenophobic attack, we shall declare our Independence within three months.

This is not a threat but self preservation.

That since the Arewa youths have given the Igbos (that implies all southerners, we are not fooled) three months notice to vacate their Nigeria, we give all northern oil bloc owners three months notice from October 1, 2017 for them to leave the Niger Delta Region or face unpredictable adverse consequences.

17. That we are now ready to take our destiny in our own hands and end this parasitic forced marriage of perpetual disaster since 1914.

18. That we in the Region of Niger Delta declare today 07.06.2017 as the commencement date for our Independence struggle.

19. That the minimum demand for negotiation is arrest, prosecution and conviction of all those who were involved in the provocative treasonable felony. Condemning their action or threat to arrest them will not suffice this time.

20. That we wish to declare to the troublesome northerners that Enough is Enough.

Thank you.

Signed,

Efe Edet-Tamuno

(Spokesperson RSM)




Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata is ready to join Manchester United this summer.The Telegraph says Morata has agreed to link up with Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford next season, as the Portuguese boss plans another shake-up at the club.Morata has agreed terms on a blockbuster summer switch, however United are still to agree a fee with the Spanish giants.Real have already rejected an initial 52million, but are hopeful an improved bid of 60m will get the green light.Mourinho gave Morata his Los Blancos debut as a teenager back in 2010.
The prosecution in the alleged false assets declaration trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki has challenged him to defend himself aga...

The prosecution in the alleged false assets declaration trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki has challenged him to defend himself against the charges pending against him.Led by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the prosecution urged the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to reject a no-case submission made by Saraki and order him to enter defence in the case.He said the prosecution hadled credible evidence through its witnesses.Jacobs spoke in Abuja yesterday at the resumption of proceedings in Sarakis trial before the CCT.Saraki is being tried on a16-count charge of false assets declaration and other related offences.Adopting the prosecutions written response to Sarakis written submission in support of his no-case submission, Jacobs argued that the prosecution has made out a serious prima facie case against the defendant (Saraki).He urged the tribunal to analyse and juxtapose the various asset declaration forms submitted by the defendant to reveal the falsehoods in them.Jacobs said:Our response to the no-case submission is dated June 2, 2017 and filed the same day.One method your lordship should adopt to show that there is serious prima facie case against the defendant is to look at Exhibits 6 and 26, which are assets declarations made by the defendant after the investigation of this case.My lordships will see that the defendant listed all the annexed properties and stated that they were acquired in 92 and 99 and, now.If my lord juxtaposes them with Exhibits 1 to 5, you will find that some of the properties he claimed acquired in 1999, 2002, and 2003, were not declared.Jacobs also contended that the defendant had misconstrued Paragraph 1, Schedule 5 of the Constitution, by claiming that a public officer was not under obligation to declare properties bought in companies names.To construe the constitution like that will defeat the essence of the CCT and the fight against corruption in Nigeria, Jacobs said.Jacobs also faulted Sarakis contention that allegations contained in the petitions tendered by the prosecution as exhibits, do not relate to him.Jacobs noted that Sarakis name was mentioned in all the petitions.He added: In his (Sarakis) address, he (Agabi) said the petitions had nothing to do with the defendant, although his name is mentioned.Prosecution does not depend on petition. Without a petition, a person can be prosecuted, he said.On the defences argument that non-disclosure does not constitute an offence, Jacobs argued that: We have shown in paragraphs 4.25 to 4.27 that up till now, they (the defence) have not told the tribunal the ingredients of the offence. Failure to disclose an asset amounts to false declaration, which is an offence.On the defence contention that the prosecution failed to call certain witnesses, which it had listed, Jacobs said: They said we ought to call 200 witnesses and they listed them. They brought it up as a new issue, and started re-adjusting their argument. This cannot be done.He added: At this stage, care must be taken about what my lord can do. They were inviting your Lordship to give an opinion on the witnesses and evaluate their evidence.The Supreme Court has said your lordship cannot do that at this stage. At this stage, your lordship cannot express opinion on the evidence led until they defence give their own evidence.The Supreme Court warned that the ruling on a no-case submission must be kept brief. It is permitted to just say there is case to answer.The Supreme Court said where a lengthy ruling was delivered, an observation would be made on the facts and the prosecution would be right to appeal on the grounds that the judge is bias, Jacobs said.The lead defence lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), while adopting the defence written submission, argued that the petitions, on which the charges were founded, have nothing to do with his client.He further argued that the charges, particularly counts 1, 2, 6, 9,10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 disclosed no valid offences.There is inconsistency in the charges.I urge your lordship to hold that that is not an offence, Agabi said.He further argued that only an authorised person could declare the statement of a public officer to be false.Agabi argued that the failure of the prosecution to disclose the name of the said authorised persons in the charge rendered it invalid.He also said two of the witnesses called by the prosecution  Samuel Madojemu (an official of the Code of Conduct Bureau) and Michael Wetkas (an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) only gave hearsay testimony as evidence.Agabi urged the tribunal to take note of the defences list of witnesses, containing names of more witnesses, but which it failed to call before closing its case.He urged the tribunal to uphold his Sarakis no-case submission and discharge him on the ground that the prosecution has failed to prove its case with credible evidence linking the defendant with the alleged offences.The tribunal has reserved its ruling and will informed parties when it is ready for delivery.
A court martial in Borno State has sentenced a soldier to death for the murder of a suspected Boko Haram terrorist.The Army General Court Martial found Lance Corporal Hillary Joel guilty of killing the suspected terrorist during a cordon and search operation in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.He reportedly set the suspect ablaze, leading his death.Others who faced the court martial with him were handed different sanctions, including jail terms and demotions.
The Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) today named some top officers of the Nigerian Police Force and civil servants who allegedly be...

The Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) today named some top officers of the Nigerian Police Force and civil servants who allegedly benefited from a bribe scandal totaling $115m doled out by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke. The purpose of the bribe, offered in cash disbursements, was apparently to enlist the police and civil service officers in a scheme to compromise the 2015 general elections in favor of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a document tendered today by the EFCC before the Federal High Court in Lagos, the anti-graft agency stated that the then Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in Kwara State received N1m cash. The EFCC disclosed that,while the Commissioner of Police in Kwara State at the time received N10m in cash, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations got N2m.

The EFCC also alleged that the Assistant Commissioners of Police in charge of operations and administration in Kwara State received N1m cash each.

According to the EFCC document, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kwara State for the 2015 general elections was given N10m, while the Independent National Electoral Commission's Administrative Secretary in Kwara State at the time received N5m in cash.



The head of Operations Department at INEC, along with his boys, were handed N5m, while other officersunnamed officials received and shared N2m among themselves.





Other beneficiaries of the Diezani bribe in Kwara State included the officer in charge of the mobile police (Mopol) and his men who got N7m, the second-in-command of the Mopol unit in the state, who got N10m, and the Director of the State Security Service (DSS) and his men,who got N2.5m.

The military unit in Kwara State received bribe of N50m, according to the EFCC document, while other security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps and the Federal Road Safety Corps, got N20m.





An EFCC investigator, Usman Zakari, who brought the document to court today, told Justice Rilwan Aikawa that the document was recovered from Dele Belgore, a senior Nigerian lawyer on trial for his alleged involvement in the bribe scandal.

Mr. Belgore is standing trial before Justice Aikawa for allegedly collecting N450m from Ms. Alison-Madueke and distributing the funds to beneficiaries in Kwara State.





The EFCC has accused the lawyer of handling the funds in cash without going through any financial institution, a violation of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012.

The EFCC said Mr. Belgore is liable to be punished under sections 15(3)(4), and 16(2)(b) of the same Act.

Standing trial along with Mr. Belgore for the offence is a former Minister of National Planning, Abubakar Suleiman, a professor. The two defendants were on February 8, 2017 arraigned on charges of money laundering, but they pleaded not guilty.





Mr. Zakari is the second witness called by the EFCC in the case.





Testifying before Justice Aikawa, the investigator Mr.Zakari explained that Mr. Belgore volunteered the list to the EFCC when he was invited and interrogated by the anti-graft agency. He noted that the document, titled Security and Transportation per State, was signed by the accused lawyer who stated, document supplied by me, Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN).





The EFCC also submitted as exhibit another document recovered from Mr. Belgore containing the names of other beneficiaries from the bribe. That exhibit, simply marked Kwara State, showed beneficiaries from a slush fund of N155, 220,000, including a breakdown of what individual beneficiaries received.

Among the beneficiaries were 15 electoral officers who received 250,000 each, 15 supervisors who got N100, 000each, and the State Returning Officer who got N1m.

EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, tendered the two documents which the court admitted in evidence as Exhibit 7 and 7A against Mr. Belgore and Mr. Suleiman. The defendants respective lawyers, Mr. Ebun Shofunde and Mr. Olatunji Ayanlaja, raised no objection.

Mr. Zakari testified that the EFCC's investigation established that the funds were disbursed to the beneficiaries in cash.

My Lord, the mode of payment, as contained in Exhibit 7, is cash payment. The payments were not done through any financial institution, he stated.





Meanwhile, Justice Aikawa heard argument in an application by Mr. Belgore seeking dismissal of the charges on the grounds that the EFCC failed to attach an affidavit showing that it had concluded investigation before bringing the case to court. Moving the application today, Mr. Belgores lawyer, Mr. Shofunde, argued that the EFCCs failure to attach an affidavit stating it had concluded investigation prior to filing charges was a fundamental breach of the Federal High Court Practice Direction. Arguing that such failure rendered the charges incompetent, Mr. Shofunde urged the court to quash the charges and free his client.





Opposing the application, the EFCC lawyer, Mr. Oyedepo, argued that the current law governing criminal cases in the country was the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015. He argued that the ACJA did not list filing of the said affidavit as one of the conditions to be fulfilled before a criminal charge could be filed in court. He stressed that the provisions of the ACJA were superior to that of the Federal High Court Practice Direction.





In addition, Mr. Oyedepo referred Justice Aikawa to Section 221 of the ACJA which barred a judge from entertaining any application challenging the competence of charges in a criminal case in the middle of trial as well as Section 396 (2) of the Act, which barred a judge from ruling on any such application until the final judgment in the case.

He urged the judge to dismiss the defendants application, adding that granting it would amount to slaughtering justice on the altar of technicality.



Justice Aikawa adjourned till July 7 for ruling.








Remember the story of the unidentified man (pictured above) that was allegedly caught yesterday afternoon in Ikorodu carrying the head a...

Remember the story of the unidentified man (pictured above) that was allegedly caught yesterday afternoon in Ikorodu carrying the head and decapitated body of a school boy in a sack. Well, here is an update on the story.

The police in Lagos on Thursday arrested a pastor for allegedly beheading a 7-year old boy and burying his head at the churchs altar.

The commands spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) confirmed the arrest to newsmen, stressing that the suspect was arrested with an accomplice at Ikorodu.



Famous-Cole said the policemen arrested one Eric, whose confession led to the arrest of the pastor and the recovery of the boys body. On investigation, one of the suspects, Eric confessed to the crime.



He led a team of policemen to Odokekere/ Odogunyan in Ikorodu area to apprehend Oyekan, who later led the team to where the seven-year-old boy was beheaded and his head buried. They hid the body inside canal.







The two suspects involved have been arrested and the body and the head of the boy were brought to the station.

It had earlier been reported that the pastor, identified as Adedoyin Oyekan and one Eric were arrested at Odokereke, Odogunyan of Ikorodu on Thursday.



Eric, who was said to be a friend to the victims father, allegedly stole the boy around 11.am on Wednesday, after his father left him in his care. It was gathered the suspect was said to have taken the boy to the pastors church where they beheaded and buried him between 2.am and 4.am yesterday.

When the victims father came back to take his son, Eric claimed he had sent him home. Eric opened up during interrogation and led detectives to the pastors place where the childs mutilated body was buried.

Investigation has commenced and the case would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos, Olarinde said.





The suspects were rescued from being lynched by some angry residents of the area after committing the offence at 16, Apata Abo Street, Odokekere, Odogunyan.

The police spokesman said investigation was still on.








EGG HARBOR CITY Three men have been charged in connection with a shooting at the Philadelphia Village apartments May 18, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said.

No one was injured in the shooting, but several rounds were fired, barely missing a mother and her young children, authorities said.

Egg Harbor police asked the prosecutor's gang unit to assist in the investigation, which led to the arrest of three men: Timothy Davis, Emmanuel Izguierdo, and Jonathan Lopez.

Davis, 19, of Mullica Township, was arrested May 26 and charged with weapons offenses, assault, and criminal mischief. Davis, who authorities said confessed to being one of the shooters, was being held at the Atlantic County jail.

Izguierdo, 25, of Egg Harbor City, was charged with assault and weapons offenses. He was to be released with a summons.

Lopez, who has addresses in Egg Harbor City and Atlantic City, was arrested June 7 by personnel from the prosecutor's office, Atlantic City police and the US Marshals. He faces assault, weapons and criminal mischief charges.

Lopez was also wanted for a shooting Feb. 24 at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. Authorities say Lopez fired at a man around 5:23 a.m. as he was entering the lobby but did not strike him.
EDGEWATER - A borough man has been identified by the FBI as a leader of an alleged organized crime ring wanted for extortion, fraud and stealing 10,000 pounds of chocolate, authorities said this week.

Razhden Shulaya, 40, was a leader of the crime group Shulaya Enterprise, which orchestrated a variety of illegal activities, according to Joon H. Kim, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The group has ties to former Soviet Union countries, including Russia, Georgia and Ukraine.

The U.S. Attorneys Office unsealed three indictments and one complaint charging 33 defendants with a variety of racketeering, fraud, narcotics, firearms, and stolen property offenses.

The gang organized illegal gambling, credit card schemes and the thefts of stolen goods, Joon alleged in a statement on Wednesday.

The large amount of chocolate was stolen from cargo ships, Kim said.

"The dizzying array of criminal schemes committed by this organized crime syndicate allegedly include a murder-for-hire conspiracy, a plot to rob victims by seducing and drugging them with chloroform, the theft of cargo shipments containing over 10,000 pounds of chocolate, and a fraud on casino slot machines using electronic hacking devices," Kim said.

Feds said the group:

The group's criminal activities included:

An illicit poker businesses in Brooklyn

Attempts to defraud casinos in Atlantic City by using electronic devices and computer servers to exploit slot machines

The use of a female member of the group to seduce men, incapacitate them with gas and then rob them.

The transportation and sale of untaxed cigarettes

Plans to pay bribes to local cops

The alleged ring members were arrested in New York, Florida and Nevada, authorities said.

The FBI identified Shulaya of Edgewater and Zurab Dzhanashvili, 37, of Brooklyn, as leaders of the gang, according to court documents.

"The suspects in this case cast a wide net of criminal activity, aiming to make as much money as possible, all allegedly organized and run by a man who promised to protect them," FBI Assistant Director in Charge William Sweeney said in a statement.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
OLD TAPPAN - A lawyer for a married couple sued for defamation by a former board of education member over a remark about marijuana has asked a judge to dismiss the suit.

Kathleen Quinn Fable (FILE)

Attorney Stephen Katzman of Edison argued in court Thursday that the statute of limitations had run out on Kathleen Quinn Fable's claim that Dennis Doros and Amy Heller of Harrington Park smeared her in public.

Fable, who served for three years on the Northern Valley Regional Board of Education, claims that Doros and Heller made statements that injured her reputation and adversely affected her advertising business.

The issue stems from an Aug. 5, 2013 Facebook post Fable made about parents who oppose suspicion-based drug testing in Bergen County schools.

"Should we be acting on the demands of the parents who smoke pot with their kids?" Fable wrote in the post, which appeared in a closed Facebook group for Old Tappan moms.

The defamation suit, filed late last year in Bergen County Superior Court, claims Doros and Heller attended a September 2013 meeting and publicly mischaracterized Fable's Facebook remarks.

Six days after the meeting, The Record of Bergen County published an opinion piece about Fable and her Facebook comments and also allegedly mischaracterized Fable's Facebook statement, according to the lawsuit.

The opinion piece asked Fable and the board to apologize.

Fable claimed in the lawsuit that Doros and Heller planted the opinion piece in the newspaper.

Katzman argued in court papers that the alleged defamatory statements "are barred by the one-year statute of limitations because they were all made before the filing" of an amended complaint in December 2016.

Bergen County Superior Court Judge Estela M. De La Cruz is expected to decide in about a week whether to dismiss the suit.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MAHWAH - A bus carrying students on a field trip to New York State crashed into the back of a second bus on the trip Friday morning, sending 17 third-graders to a hospital with minor injuries, officials said.

The accident occurred about 9:45 a.m. when the driver of one of the buses, carrying students from School #11 in Passaic, hit its brakes to avoid a bag of debris in the roadway on Route 17, Mahwah police said.

A second bus, one of four on a trip to Museum Village in Monroe, N.Y., slammed into the back of the bus that had stopped, township police Sgt. Mike Blondin said.

Seventeen students were taken to Valley Hospital in Ridgewood with minor injuries, he said. There were 179 children in the four buses, owned by Star Shuttle Company.

Witnesses said children were checked by EMS on the lawn of a Burger King restaurant on Route 17 North.

A bus with a broken window was towed from the scene about 10:48 a.m. Moments earlier, children were loaded on another bus that had no damage.

"The kids [were] checked out at the ambulance parked outside," said Burger King worker Luis Ruiz Dominguez.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation was at the scene, as were school officials.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEWARK -- When Detective Kevin Green approached Latrena May's apartment in East Orange after her May 1, 2015 killing, the signs of violence were clear, he testified Thursday before an Essex County jury.

Latrena May. (Facebook)

"As I approached the crime scene, I could clearly see what I believed was a body, beneath a blanket," he told Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, describing a trail of blood that led up the steps of 164 Tremont Ave. and into May's residence. "There was a lot of blood leading into a child's room."

Andre Higgs, 45, of Watchung, is on trial before Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler on charges of murder and other offenses in the death of 27-year-old May, a teacher at Pride Academy Charter School and the mother of Higgs' daughter.

Higgs is accused of fatally shooting May on the steps of her East Orange apartment building after she flagged down a passing police officer, Detective Kemon Lee, who subsequently shot Higgs. Authorities allege that following the shooting, Higgs barricaded himself inside May's home, where he was arrested by a police tactical team.

Higgs' attorneys, Remi Spencer and Joseph P. Rem Jr., are attempting to show Lee shot first, causing Higgs to inadvertently shoot May.

The couple's then 4-year-old daughter was unharmed during the incident, and was sheltered by May's upstairs neighbors during what police described as a standoff.

Green, the lead homicide detective on the case for the Prosecutor's Office, said he conducted his investigation jointly with a detective from the agency's Professional Standards Bureau, which was looking into Lee's shooting of Higgs. Lee's actions were later ruled justifiable by the state Attorney General's Office.

Asked whether rules required officers to radio dispatch when they got out of their patrol vehicle -- which Lee did not do -- Green, a former member of the East Orange Police Department, told Edwab there was no "standard operating procedure" that would require that action.

Detective Nicholas Rizzitello, a member of the Prosecutor's Office crime scene unit, testified Wednesday that investigators recovered nine .40-caliber cartridge casings and three .45-caliber casings at the scene.

Bullets of the latter caliber were recovered from May's body.

Green said a .45-caliber Astra handgun recovered from inside the home was stolen in 2012, although it was not determined to have been stolen by Higgs.

Higgs, he said, did not have a permit to possess a gun, according to state records.

In surveillance video played for the jury, Green pointed out what he said looked like a gun in the waistband of Higgs' pants as he faced away from the camera prior to the shooting.

Dashcam video from Lee's patrol car shows the officer firing at Higgs, but not Higgs shooting May, while surveillance footage from a nearby building showed only Higgs parking his pickup across the street from May's apartment.

Spencer objected to Green's identification of the object as a gun, arguing it was only the detective's opinion.

Wigler said he would allow the detective to offer his opinion, as the jury will be able to review the video evidence themselves during deliberations.

The trial is expected to resume Tuesday.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Residents of a stately apartment building in East Orange knew something was wrong when they didn't see the security guard on post last month.

Jerry Wadowski, they said, never missed a day at 75 Prospect St., an Italianate-style edifice that is reminiscent of a grand Venetian palace.

The man worked seven days a week from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., including holidays, for about seven years.

Residents, unfortunately, figured out that his dedication to them had come to an end when they learned from city hall that Chris Chiapparelli, owner of 75 Prospect LLC, sold the 44-unit building for $11.5 million to 75 Prospect Holding Company LLC.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns

"We had no idea where our security guard was,'' said Mary Moore, a 16-year resident. "We didn't know the building had been sold.''

The prized amenity they had was gone, and so was Chiapparelli, who didn't even give residents a courtesy call to say that he was no longer owner of the 10-story building that was constructed in 1928.

They want the new owner to reinstate security - preferably Wadowski, who didn't want to talk about his employment, except to say that residents in the building had become his friend.

Based on a letter dated May 23 to residents, it doesn't look like a security guard is in their future.

The property management company - One Wall Management of Newark - informed residents that it will conduct a comprehensive security review and provide an update in three months.

"While our security assessment of the building is ongoing, we do not believe there is a need for a security guard at this time,'' the statement read.

Beyond the letter, the company has not commented further about the issue.

Not exactly what the residents wanted to hear after meeting with company representatives about security and other conditions in the building.

They say the security guard is the reason why many of them moved into the building.

"We're definitely going to belabor this point,'' said Veronica Thomas, vice president of the building's tenant association.

While she understands that a guard is an added expense, resident Melody Gordon, who moved into the building in December, said she is disappointed the extra security was removed.

"I felt good knowing there was a guard there,'' Gordon said.

Considering the amount of rent that they pay, residents said you'd think security would be provided. Some of them are shelling out as much as $3,000 a month for a huge four-bedroom apartment with high ceilings.

To the residents' frustration, history is repeating itself. The building has had several owners -- five or six in 15 years -- who have tried to take away the safety feature but changed their position when residents explained why a guard is needed.

"With every change (new owner) comes more handwringing,'' Moore said. "It's getting tiring.''

As for rehiring Wadowski, the company said in the letter that it was unaware of his employment or his role prior to assuming ownership. One Wall Management also told residents in the letter that Wadowski had been terminated before they arrived and that he wasn't qualified to be a security guard because he wasn't licensed as one under the Security Officer Registration Act (SORA).

Until it makes a final decision, the management company tried to reassure residents that they live in a safe community. In the letter, it pointed out that the city's crime index has gone down 73.5 percent since 2003. Should residents see criminal activity, management encouraged them to call the police department or dial 911.

In the meantime, Dwight Saunders, director of the Property Maintenance Department for East Orange, said he plans talk to the owner about the possibility of security.

East Orange's city ordinance only requires security for senior citizen buildings, but Saunders said owners of many other large apartment buildings in the city have a security guard. He understands the residents plight and he promised to take care of other issues they raised after meeting with them recently.

By now, the smoke alarm that chirped for three weeks should be fixed.

Peeling ceiling plaster in the lobby is a violation, too, but Saunders said it's an expensive problem to fix, one that developed over time because rain water seeped between the bricks that need to be reset.

"We'll do a quality-of-life assessment in the building,'' Saunders said. "It's on my radar now. I will make sure everything that's wrong with that building will get fixed.''

Residents were pleased to hear that, but their main concern is overnight security. They say Wadowski was a comforting presence, even though he didn't have license.

They miss the guy. He was their friend, whom they looked forward to seeing every day. He held the door, greeted them and their guests.

From behind his makeshift security booth in the building, he'd monitor the surveillance cameras, leaving his station to walk the halls and the grounds.

MORE CARTER: The legacy of Millard E. Terrell in Newark burns bright

If he smelled something odd, residents said, he'd knock on their doors to make sure everything was okay. He escorted them to their cars, carried their packages.

Wadowski took care of them.

Wendy Castillo remembers how he help her dad into the building, which is not handicap-accessible, with his motorized scooter.

The extra mile he gave often led to tips from residents, who had no problem offering the monetary gift.

"He was just wonderful,'' Thomas said.

And, you never caught him sleeping.

In three months, residents are expecting an answer from management. Hopefully, it's to their liking.

If not, they'll continue to look out for each other in the evening to make sure neighbors get home safe.

"Or they'll look for a new place to live."

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or

nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL
JERSEY CITY -- An Elizabeth man was sentenced to 10 years in prison today for his role in a 2014 fatal shooting on a Jersey City street.

David Wiley, 26, must serve 8 1/2 years before becoming eligible for parole in connection to the Aug. 8, 2014 homicide of 20-year-old Joshua Taylor, who was fatally shot on Lexington Avenue near Kennedy Boulevard.

While Wiley did not pull the trigger of the gun that killed Taylor, authorities say he drove the shooter. Taylor was found bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body on the sidewalk and pronounced dead at the scene at 12:37 a.m. that day, officials said at the time.

No one has been charged as the gunman who fired into a large group of people that day. A possible motive for the shooting was not stated in court.

In a letter written by Taylor's mother, she said that after her son's death her smiles mean little and say nothing about the pain inside her. She said a person who takes a life does not deserve life, whether the person pulled the trigger or not.

"It's not a day that goes by that I don't replay the call, just 15 minutes after I got off the phone with my son, saying that Joshua had been killed," said the letter read by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Karen Kazanchy. "I pray every night for answers and to accept the fact that my son is no longer here."

The prosecutor said that Wiley, who pleaded guilty six weeks ago, was first arrested at the age of 9 and was found guilty of juvenile offenses six times. She also noted that he has a prior conviction for robbery as an adult.

When Hudson County Superior Court Judge Sheila Venable asked Wiley if he wanted to say anything before being sentence, he declined. Wiley was also sentenced eight years in prison with no chance of parole until serving four years but that sentence will run concurrent to the aggravated manslaughter sentence.

Wiley was arrested on a gun charge on Aug. 17, 2014 and was later charged with murder after the gun was connected to Taylor's shooting.

Venable said that not even a 100-year sentence would assuage the anguish of Taylor's mother, who did not attend the sentencing. She told Wiley to take advantage of any programs in prison which would help him turn his life around once released.

In meting out the sentence, the judge noted the seriousness of the crime, Wiley's prior record, the need to deter him from recidivism and the need to deter others.

"There are two ways you can come out," the judge told Wiley. "You can come out the same way you went in, meaning you will go back in again - simple"

The judge warned Wiley about hanging out with the wrong crowd once released. When she asked Wiley if he understood her advice, he said "Yes."

Wiley's brother was briefly ejected from the courtroom today and his cellphone was taken away for taking a picture of Wiley after sheriff's officers had warned against the use of cellphones. The phone was later returned.
JERSEY CITY -- A man who accused Jersey City cops of beating him during a 2011 party on Martin Luther King Drive is set to receive $45,000 to drop his federal lawsuit against the city.

Michael Wheeler was arrested after police officers responded to the event on a report of there being people with handguns nearby. Wheeler, who said he was working security at the party, alleged a group of four officers grabbed him, punched him, kneed him in the gut and hit him with a baton when he wouldn't leave the scene.

The officers said there was physical contact but argued they did not use excessive force.

Wheeler suffered a fractured skull and drifted in and out of consciousness for up to six hours while he was at the hospital following the beating, according to a March 14, 2016 decision by U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo, who allowed some of Wheeler's claims to move forward and dismissed others. Some of the incident was caught on video that gave "credence to plaintiffs' claims of excessive force," the judge said.

Wheeler and his wife initially filed the lawsuit in December 2012. The matter was set for trial in early May when both parties settled.

The City Council is scheduled to approve the $45,000 settlement on Wednesday.

This week the city's police force faced new accusations of police brutality following a six-mile pursuit Sunday night that ended in a car crash on Tonnelle Avenue.

A video surfaced Tuesday showing police officers kicking a man who had climbed out of a burning car. The man turned out not to be Leo Pinkston, the man police say led them on the chase, but Miguel Feliz, a West New York man whose car Pinkston is accused of crashing into at the end of the pursuit.

Feliz remains hospitalized in stable condition.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY -- In radio communications from Sunday night's fiery crash that is making national headlines, firefighters appear to have struggled getting to the site where a six-mile police pursuit came to an end.

The Jersey City Police Department is under fire for the pursuit after at least one officer was filmed kicking an innocent victim near his head while others appear to stomp on his body. Mayor Steve Fulop described the pursuit a series of bad decisions made by the police.

Leo Pinkston, 48, of Jersey City, is the alleged driver police began following in the Greenville section of the city shortly after 11 p.m. Police opened fire on his vehicle in the Heights and he crashed a short time later, authorities said.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office is investigating the pursuit and the events captured on video.

Firefighters were first called to the scene on reports of a car fire, according to radio communication posted on Broadcastify. But firefighters didn't respond to a dispatcher's first call for service and about a minute later the female worker repeats her assignment.

The fire department appeared to have trouble getting to where the car crashed on Tonnelle Avenue, as heavy traffic backed up on the northbound side of the roadway.

"Can you reach out to the PD, all apparatus are stuck in the northbound traffic," a firefighter says to dispatch. Based on the time on the communications, firefighters took about 10 minutes to reach the crash.

While stuck in traffic, one firefighter radios to dispatch that there were reports of shots fired on Tonnelle Avenue. Once they reach the scene, firefighters calls for PSE&G, the transmissions indicate.

"We have a two-car MVA, two cars fully involved, wrapped around a telephone ... pole, we have wires down, and have public service get here immediately."

Pinkston was charged with eluding and aggravated assault. His car crashed with 28-year-old Miguel Feliz's vehicle into a telephone pole, although authorities have not released information about what caused the fiery explosion.

A city spokeswoman did not comment on the fire communications, saying the city was in the middle of "it's own investigation."

The stretch of road is difficult to reach when traffic is heavy. Tonnelle Avenue has a divider down the middle and only few streets on the Western Slope intersect with the busy roadway.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
It's five days since a 48-year-old man led police on a six-mile pursuit through Jersey City, ending in a fiery crash on Tonnelle Avenue.

The story grabbed national headlines after a video surfaced of police kicking a victim of the crash just as the burning man extinguishes himself by rolling on the ground.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office is investigating the pursuit -- which included police gunfire -- and the kicking incident caught on tape, but has remained tight lipped about certain elements of the case.

Here's a timeline of events, starting with the crash itself:

SUNDAY NIGHT

Jersey City police attempt to stop a vehicle in the area of Ocean and Cator avenues just after 11 p.m. and initiate a pursuit when the car flees. The driver, Leo C. Pinkston, 48, of Jersey City, leads police on a six-mile pursuit from the Greenville section of the city to Tonnelle Avenue and is involved in at least two car crashes.

Authorities say the first crash occurs as he attempts to drive between two lanes of traffic while travelling on Tonnelle Avenue. Multiple shots are fired at the suspect by Jersey City police officers before he crashes into the utility police several blocks later, injuring an innocent man who was also driving on Tonnelle Avenue.

The victim, Miguel Feliz, 28, of West New York, is critically injured in the crash and is transported to the Burn Center at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. Pinkston is taken to Jersey City Medical Center for his injuries and later released into police custody.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office launches an investigation into the pursuit, because officers fired their service weapons.

MONDAY

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez releases preliminary information about the pursuit and crash, announcing that Pinkston has been charged with eluding and aggravated assault. Suarez also confirms that a bystander was critically injured in the crash and taken to the Burn Center at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.

TUESDAY

The Jersey Journal learns that Jersey City Public Safety Director James Shea demanded that police precincts involved in Sunday's crash return the brand new SUVs issued to them days earlier.

TUESDAY NIGHT

Univision publishes video footage of a man emerging from the burning wreckage and dropping to the ground to extinguish the flames. Police officers are then seen approaching him with their weapons drawn, kicking and dragging him into the roadway.

WEDNESDAY

The Jersey Journal confirms the man in the video is the 28-year-old West New York man, who authorities say had nothing to do with the pursuit. Earlier in the day, city officials said they have "serious concerns" with how police handled the pursuit.

Mayor Steve Fulop takes to Twitter and announces the city is working to identify and terminate the officers in the tape.

THURSDAY

Before the Jersey City Police Department holds a swearing-in ceremony for 25 new officers, Fulop holds a press conference at City Hall, doubling down on his comments from the previous day and calls the video "outrageous."

"They fired their weapons from their car at another moving vehicle. There are issues with that. There are issues with how they continued the chase after additional information (was released) ... it's one after another," Fulop says.

Carmine Disbrow, the president of the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association responds, saying: "We stand by our assertion that all matters related to Sunday's events should be thoroughly reviewed, but it is grossly inappropriate for Fulop to cast judgement without knowing all of the facts."

Meanwhile, Pinkston makes his first court appearance on the charges. Prosecutors move to have him detained during his prosecution. A detention hearing is postponed until June 15.

THURSDAY NIGHT

Suarez issues another statement, asking the public to not rush to judgement, presumably in response to Fulop's stern stance.

"I am asking the community to withhold any judgment until the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor concludes its investigation," Suarez said, adding that more than 15 videos of the incident are being reviewed.

"There will be a swift and fair review of all the evidence being accumulated, but it would be irresponsible to rush to judgment without reviewing all of the facts before us."

Suarez adds that Feliz is in stable condition at St. Barnabas.
The Lebanon Borough 4th of July Parade Committee is proud to invite the residents of Hunterdon County to our 70th Annual 4th of July Parade celebration when we carry out this year's parade theme of: "Lebanon Tradition..."Celebrating 70 Years' of July 4th Parade Celebrations"

Festivities will begin with the children's parade. Registration commences at 8:00AM. Judging takes place at 9:00AM - so please arrive early!

The Baby parade commences at 9:30AM at Sutton Place (across from Police Headquarters), with a short procession up Main Street for about 1/2 a block.

There will be Awards for -

* Most Patriotic

* Best Theme Representation

Residents of Lebanon Borough are urged to decorate their homes for inclusion in the

HOUSE DECORATING CONTEST. 1st and 2nd Place awards will be presented for the best Patriotic or theme related decor.

The PRESENTATION OF LEBANON BOROUGH SCHOOL SAFETY PATROL will commence at 9:50AM on Main Street in front of the Fox and Hound Tavern.

The PARADE LINE UP will commence between 8:30AM and 9:30AM. Please enter Main Street from Route 22 at the East end of town (By Stewart's Root Beer Stand), no later than 9:00AM, as the ROADS WILL BE CLOSED AT THAT TIME. There will be numerous Celebration Committee members to assist you in finding your place in the parade line-up.

Boy and Girl Scouts and Indian Guides are to muster with their troops at the Old Brick Post Office Building at 123 Main Street.

The MAIN PARADE will step off promptly at 10:00AM and follow West along Main Street, down Myrtle Avenue and then down Brunswick Avenue.

FESTIVITIES IN THE PARK: Join us at Holjes-Sheppard Park following the parade, for festivities including singing of "The Star Spangled Banner", the flag raising ceremony, presentation of awards, refreshments, games & friendly competition for folks of all ages!

GENERAL PARADE TROPHIES: Judging takes place during the parade, with winners awarded in the park.

Best Theme Float/Unit

Best Children's Float/Unit

Most Patriotic Float/Unit

Most Original Float/Unit

VEHICLE PARTICIPATION: The Lebanon NJ 4th of July Parade Committee is inviting all antique and classic cars (pre-1980) to participate in our annual parade!

The first 50 antique/classic cars (no tractors or street rods) to arrive by 9:00 AM at Lynwood Drive will receive a participation award.

Car owners will have a chance to join our celebration and share their special vehicles with the community on this historic holiday.

Any questions you may have can be sent to lebanonparadeantiquecars@gmail.com

FIRE COMPANY & RESCUE SQUAD TROPHIES: To thank ALL Emergency Service personnel, EACH Company will receive a trophy of Recognition, Thanks, and Gratitude for their years of volunteer service protecting the communities at large, and their dedicated support and participation in the Lebanon Borough Fourth of July Parade and Celebration.

*** Participation is limited to 2 vehicles per Fire Company or Rescue Squad. Thank you for your cooperation***

Please Note:

* For safety's sake, there will be ABSOLUTELY NO THROWING/HANDING OUT of candy or items from floats, cars or by marchers.

* This parade is a self-supporting event. Donations are our only means of support.

* All Roads into Lebanon Borough CLOSE AT 9:00AM. Please arrive early!

Thank you for your enthusiasm! It is you who make this parade so much fun. If you have any questions about participating in the parade, Sam Berger at sberger56@aol.com or the parade committee at info@lebanonboro4thofjulyparade.com We will get back to you as soon as possible.

Feel free to pass this letter along to other groups or bands that we may have missed.

This item was submitted by Sam Berger.
WEST AMWELL TWP. -- The animal control officer for the township and Lambertville resigned last month, charging that both ignored state requirements and that West Amwell failed to properly investigate an incident in which a dog died after being dragged 5 miles behind a truck.

Following the resignation by Carolyn Murphy, the two communities agreed separately to turn animal control over to St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center and both moved to set up impound facilities -- a key requirement that Murphy said they had been ignoring.

West Amwell's police captain and mayor both said the dragging incident was investigated and it was determined that it was accidental because the driver was unaware the dog was attached by a leash to the back of his truck. They said no charges were filed because the dog's death was an accident.

In a statement explaining her resignation, Murphy said, "I am appalled at the lack of professionalism, respect, concern for the community and the welfare of the animals. It is disturbing that such individuals who have taken leadership roles would demonstrate such acts that do not support but in fact disregard the well being of its employees and the residents of both communities."

Murphy, hired in a shared-service agreement by the two towns in January, said both towns had failed to set up an impound facility and that meant, "liability was going to fall on me and I didn't want to risk that."

I had to pay a vet out of pocket and get reimbursed," she added.

Also, Murphy said, she took a course and was certified as an animal cruelty investigator in March, after both towns said they would pay for the course.

However, after the dog's death, neither town would sign off on her credentials as a cruelty investigator and thus she could not investigate the incident, she said.

The incident occurred April 4 around 5 p.m. on a 5-mile stretch along Route 179 heading north from West Amwell into East Amwell between Tabby's Place and Dave's Sunoco, according to witnesses.

The dog was attached by a leash to the trailer hitch on the pickup truck, Murphy said. The West Amwell resident who drove the truck is not being named because he was not charged.

Murphy said a witness told her she had seen the truck driving on 179 and could tell there was something -- probably an animal -- attached.

"She tried to catch up, but he accelerated at a high rate of speed and she could not catch up," Murphy said. Ultimately, the woman got closer and was able to see the license plate and reported it to the police by calling 9-1-1.

Murphy said she wanted to pursue it as both a cruelty case and a negligence case, but couldn't because the township would not sign off on her new credentials.

In investigating the incident, Murphy said, she "gathered a lot of information that showed (the dog's owners) neglected the dog. Other witnesses said they brought the dog into their home because the owners would not take care of the dog."

However, Murphy said the mayor and Township Committee members told her, "Be quiet, shut your mouth and stop talking about the case," and she subsequently resigned, effective May 31.

West Amwell Mayor John Dale said he accepted the decision by police not to charge the driver because the dragging was not intentional.

The resident was driving with his young daughter in the truck and was taking her to a dance lesson in Flemington, Dale said.

The man had planned to use a car to drive his daughter, but found out at the last minute that the car was out of gas, so he chose to use the truck instead, Dale said.

Normally, the dog was attached by a leash to a trailer in the yard, but because it had been raining for three days, "it was very muddy and somebody moved the dog up to the truck to get it out of the mud," Dale said.

So the resident, in a hurry to get his daughter to her lesson, didn't notice the dog was attached to the truck, Dale said.

West Amwell Police Capt. Stephen Bartzak said police accepted the resident's explanation because of the circumstances surrounding the incident.

"This happened at rush hour on Route 179, with a small child in the truck," Bartzak said. "If someone were to deliberately do a despicable act like this, it would have been done in the dark, with no witnesses."

Also, Dale and Bartzak heard that "the man was remorseful." Both he and his daughters were in tears, according to Dale.

Bartzak acknowledged that he had supported hiring Murphy as a cruelty investigator. After she finished her training, Bartzak wrote an email to the mayor on April 24, noting that Murphy had become "fully certified" as an animal cruelty investigator and urging the governing body to move forward on approving her in that role.

"I suggest since she is actively working on investigations that this should be done sooner than later," Bartzak said.

Bartzak, in an interview, said there was "a lot of confusion" because Murphy was hired under a shared-service agreement with Lambertville and the two municipalities needed to clarify how that arrangement would work out.

Dale agreed the shared-service agreement complicated matters. Lambertville was the "primary" employer under the shared-services agreement, so Lambertville would have had to move first on approving the cruelty investigator duties, he said.

Lambertville Mayor Dave Del Vecchio, asked for comment on the situation, issued a statement saying "Carolyn Murphy resigned and we accepted her resignation. We have formed a committee ... to take a comprehensive look at the whole issue of animal control. As an interim solution, we have engaged St Hubert's Animal Welfare Center to handle city animal control services. They were highly recommended by Lambertville Animal Welfare."

Meanwhile, two drivers who witnessed the incident on Route 179 said they are not satisfied with West Amwell Township's actions and they want the incident investigated further.

"People in the community feel that due process hasn't been done and we would like an animal cruelty investigation," said Nancy Meyer of East Amwell. "We would like due process."

Meyer, who was driving on routes 202 and 179 after completing volunteer work at the cat rescue service Tabby's Place on April 4, acknowledged she was the person who saw the animal being dragged and made the initial 9-1-1 call.

Douglas White of East Amwell said he followed the "blood trail" that extended for miles on Route 179.

"My wife was in my vehicle with me and she was traumatized," White said. "I feel no matter what the owner's excuse was, it is clear neglect in all ways. The poor dog should not have been killed in such a cruel way and the owner (should not have been) able to walk away from this as of this date."

As far as the future goes, Murphy said St. Hubert's was a good choice to take over the animal control program. She declined to take credit for the new impound facilities, saying that was the work of Lori Stagnitto of Lambertville Animal Welfare, "who spoke at both town meetings."
The meet will take place on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Indonesia.
TRENTON -- The parents of an Ocean County Catholic school student who say their daughter was viciously bullied by a classmate - and stabbed with a pencil and groped - are suing the Diocese of Trenton.

Salvatore and Lisa Turchio are suing the diocese - which operates the pre-K-through-8 school in Ocean County - for negligence in the handling of their daughter's harassment, her ultimate expulsion and for slander. It seeks $250,000 in damages.

Their daughter attended All Saints Regional Catholic School in Stafford from 2012 to 2016.

"We have parents here that just wanted to get the best education possible for their daughter, so they enrolled her in this private school," the Turchios' attorney, Bradley Flynn, said. "It's just heartbreaking what's happened to them."

During the 2015-16 school year when the girl was in first grade, she started coming home visibly upset.

Turchio told her parents that a boy in her class was verbally harassing her, calling her "fat" and a "pig." He'd also recruit other students to poke fun at her weight, the suit says.

But the verbal jabs soon turned physical.

In October 2015, the parents allege the boy stabbed their daughter in the upper arm with his pencil. The girl told her parents she was "minding her own business and doing her work" when the unprovoked attack started. The pencil broke through her skin and left a wound.

The Turchios said they reported the stabbing to the school and tried getting the boy, who sat in the same cluster of desks as their daughter, moved.

The boy stayed put, the suit says.

Flynn said this was just another example of the school not doing its duty.

"From the beginning, we tried amicably working with the school and it just didn't work," he said.

A year later, the Turchios claim, their daughter was sexually assaulted by the boy.

During recess, as the girl sat on a bench in a gazebo, the boy allegedly approached her and violently grabbed her breasts before shoving her from the seat. The force of the attack hurt the girl's back.

The Turchios also claim the boy, on more than one occasion, threatened to bring his father's gun to school and shoot the other students. The parents say the school ignored that, too, according to the suit.

All Saints School also ignored numerous emails from the Turchios requesting to meet with the administration.

Instead, the girl was expelled from the school in 2016. Flynn says the parents were told they were "too difficult to work with."

The school retained the tuition and fees paid by the Turchios, which was about $6,000 annually, Flynn said.

The family said the $250,000 they seek would cover their daughter's medical bills, psychological treatment, lost wages and emotional pain and suffering, among others complaints.

A spokeswoman for the Trenton diocese did not respond to calls and emails requesting comment.

The Turchio's daughter now attends another school in another diocese, where she recently earned student of the month.

Brandon Scalea can be reached at bscalea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @brandonscalea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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 
Welcome to nonleaguedaily.coms news provision, your go-to source for all non league updates, rumours, interviews, and much more besides.

Founded by a team with a genuine passion for the world of non league football, nonleaguedaily.com understands exactly what supporters of the so-called lower leagues are looking for. You want the high-quality reporting, in-depth analysis, and match reporting that matches that is more commonly found in the journalism for the top flights, but with the focus firmly fixed on the national leagues.

We understand that your passion, interest, and dedication is constant, and we believe you need a news service that matches that commitment with its own dedication and thoroughness  so thats what you can expect from our site.

The latest non league news, as and when it happens

Conventionally, non league news has always travelled fairly slowly, especially when compared to the instantaneous, constant breaking news cycles found in the upper leagues. Tales are told on terraces, rumours passed between pub patrons and circled between supporters at the latest game, often forced to remain somewhat local initially before word eventually spreads to other locales.

For us, this slow spread may be fairly organic in nature, but it simply isnt compatible with the modern football environment. Its also not conducive to the current fast-paced, always-available media landscape, nor the way that people tend to consume news nowadays. Thats why we have put together a non league news source that fans can turn to for the latest updates, as and when they happen, and as and when you want to read them. Non-league news now is the only acceptable speed at Betting.co.uk.

We update our non-league football news coverage constantly, bringing you all the latest developments and seeking to spread the word as quickly and accurately as possible. So if youre wondering whats happening both with your local team and with the lower leagues as a whole, you can visit us for non league news now, and be confident the stories you find are completely up to date.

News reported by passionate fans

Our efforts to bring you the very best non league football news are undeniably a professional concern, and one that we take seriously. We are  if youll excuse the uncharacteristic tooting of our own horns  good at what we do, and we know that the efforts we make in this regard are one of the reasons our site has enjoyed such success thus far.

However, everyone who writes for us also shares our readers enthusiasm for non league football. Were not just churning out content in the hopes of cashing in on a professional dream; were here because we want to be, and will always be dedicated and committed to non league football as an entity and thriving in the experience of being able to talk about our favourite subject whenever we can. We create non-league news now that is written by genuine fans and enthusiasts, for fans. We know what you want to know and what matters most to an ardent non league supporter, and we always ensure that focusing on these elements is our guiding principle as we seek to solidify our status as an online non league paper fans can always rely on.

When compiling non league news, we think with the mind of a fan first and foremost. We cover the angles and stories that we find compelling and that we know our fellow non league enthusiasts also care about. News doesnt have to be dry and formulaic, in our opinion. When its written by people who are genuinely as fascinated by the stories they are reporting on as their readership will be, we believe news can be interesting, compelling, and even have a sense of personality and humour.

News content written with passion and expertise

We believe that thanks to our dedication, insightfulness, and commitment to our subject matter of non league today, we are offering the best of both worlds to those searching for an online non league paper. We give you the professional approach we feel is appropriate for news about one of the most intriguing aspects of UK football; an aspect that we genuinely feel does not receive the interest and plaudits that it should be generating. Nevertheless, we dont let that professionalism take over everything we do: we remain committed fans, nurturing our own personal interest in non league football and ensuring every word we compose is infused with a sense of passion and dedication that enhances the posts we create.

Its therefore obvious that our non-league content today isnt ever going to be dry, basic, or put together by a tired staff writer who has never heard of any team below the Championship before they rush off to the pub for the evening. Our writers are genuine experts: were covering non league football because we want to, because we believe in it, and because its where our strengths lie. The result is informed content that capitalises on our deep knowledge of the history, as well as the present-day realities, of non league football in the UK.

Beyond news: the nonleaguedaily.com interview series

One of our goals with nonleaguedaily.com is to not just dryly report the news from an outsiders perspective, effectively regurgitating press releases that are devoid of genuinely illuminating information. We also go right to the source of the stories: the managers and club insiders who have direct experience, and often influence, on the sport and how it is managed.

We regularly conduct interviews as part of our news provision, asking the questions that are on everyones lips and providing the best possible view into the non league world. We have reporters pitchside at matches, microphone to hand and plentiful questions ready to be asked. The end result for you, the reader, is the kind of information and close-up looks into the non league world that just cant be found anywhere else.

As our commitment to providing interesting interviews amply demonstrates, we want to be involved in breaking the stories that everyone then talks about, rather than following along and focusing solely on what everyone already knows. If youre looking for leading content that you cant find anywhere else, and that goes right to the centre of the non league world, then you can turn to nonleaguedaily.com for all the benefits of a conventional non league paper, but in electronic, easily-accessed form.

A host of other content to enjoy alongside the non league today

Our focus on providing non league news will always be maintained: we consider this aspect the most important of what we do, and it will always be the recipient of our time, dedication, and interest. Well be here, a consistent and trustworthy news portal, for as long as non league football news exists.

With that said, when you have read up on the latest goings-on, were here with further content for you to enjoy. Naturally, given our partnership with leading brand Betting.co.uk, we provide guidelines for those interested in the world of sports betting. Well help you find the best UK bookmaker with our plentiful coverage of existing brands; ideal if youre looking to put your newfound knowledge, courtesy of us, about non league to use and place a few bets.

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The Council Bluffs Community School District recently recognized three staff members and one community member as part of an annual end-of-year recognition ceremony.

Each year the district recognizes four individuals who have gone above and beyond for their education efforts and service to students.

This years honorees included teacher Jeff Boe as Staff Member of the Year, paraeducator LuAnn Ruff as Support Staff Member of the Year, Carol Duroncelet as Substitute of the Year and Nicole Hughes as Volunteer of the Year.

Before a regular board meeting last month, the four were honored by Superintendent Martha Bruckner and Community Education Foundation Executive Director Butch Lecuona. Individuals were chosen through an anonymous nomination process and awarded a trophy from the district and a check from the foundation.

Boe, a math teacher at Kirn Middle School, has been a part of Council Bluffs schools since 1994.

Jeff embodies the spirit of our district mission in a way that is an example and inspiration to us all, a nominator wrote. Jeff is a lifelong learner, dedicated to continuous improvement in his profession.

Ruff, the support staff member who is currently employed as a paraeducator at Thomas Jefferson High School, has been with the district since 1990.

LuAnn is a very dedicated employee and cares deeply for students and staff, a nominator wrote. In numerous assignments throughout the years for our school district, LuAnn has worked both one-on-one with special needs students and within the special education classrooms providing support at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Substitute teacher Duroncelet was nominated because of her dedication to serving students, Bruckner said during the meeting. This year, she filled a long-term position at Hoover Elementary for 12 weeks.

She collaborated with the team, ensured plans were prepared, delivered strong instruction so students did not fall behind and communicated with parents, a nominator wrote about Duroncelet. Plus, students loved her and she came to school with a positive attitude and was always willing to help in any way needed.

Hughes, a Council Bluffs community member, is currently a parent of a second-grader and a preschooler.

Shes been volunteering at College View Elementary for three years. Its Hughes creativity and innovative ideas that helped students, staff and parents at the elementary school, Bruckner said.

Nicoles contributions as a volunteer are unique and are valued by our school community, a nominator said. As an International Baccalaureate school, we expect our entire school community to be a part of the program and Nicole does this by being knowledgeable about our schools and their needs, communicating our needs and successes and by taking action within our school community and beyond.
WASHINGTON  Former FBI Director James Comey accused the Trump administration Thursday of spreading lies, plain and simple about him and the FBI in the aftermath of his abrupt firing.

As he opened his much anticipated first public telling of his relationship with President Donald Trump, Comey disputed the administrations justification for his firing last month, declaring that the administration defamed him and more importantly the FBI by claiming the bureau was in disorder under his leadership.

In testimony that exposed deep distrust between the president and the veteran lawman, Comey described intense discomfort about their one-on-one conversations, saying he decided he immediately needed to document the discussions in memos.

I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document, Comey said. I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself but to protect the FBI.

Comey made his comments as the packed hearing got underway, bringing Washington and other parts of the country to a halt as all eyes were glued on TVs showing the hearing. He immediately dove into the heart of the fraught political controversy around his firing and whether Trump interfered in the bureaus Russia investigation, as he elaborated on written testimony delivered Wednesday.

In that testimony he had already disclosed that Trump demanded his loyalty and directly pushed him to lift the cloud of investigation by declaring publicly the president was not the target of the FBI probe into his campaigns Russia ties.

Comey also said in his written testimony that Trump, in a strange private encounter near the grandfather clock in the Oval Office, pushed him to end his investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

CNN reported that Trumps outside attorney Marc Kasowitz denied Comeys allegations that Trump pressured him to end the FBIs investigation into Flynn.

The Senate intelligence committee chairman, Richard Burr of North Carolina, asked Comey the key question about that encounter: Do you sense that the president was trying to obstruct justice, or just seek a way for Mike Flynn to save face, given he had already been fired?

I dont think its for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct, Comey replied. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning. But thats a conclusion Im sure the special counsel will work towards to try and understand what the intention was there and whether thats an offense.

Later, in a startling disclosure, Comey revealed that after his firing he had tried to spur the appointment of a special counsel by giving one of his memos about Trump to a friend of his to leak to the press.

My judgment was I need to get that out into the public square, Comey said.

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said she was happy to see Comey go before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Its important that we know all of the facts before formulating any conclusions on this matter, the Republican said in a statement through her office. We must let the special counsel and bipartisan congressional investigations continue in earnest and follow the facts where they lead.

The Republican National Committee and other White House allies worked feverishly to lessen any damage from the hearing, trying to undermine Comeys credibility by issuing press releases and even ads pointing to a past instance where the FBI had had to clean up the directors testimony to Congress.

Republicans  along with Trumps own lawyer  seized on Comeys confirmation, in his written testimony, of Trumps claim that Comey had told him three times the president was not directly under investigation.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, however, said the Senate Judiciary Committee will continue its review of decisions made by the Justice Department and FBI over the course of their investigations.

Former FBI Director Comeys testimony today left many questions unanswered and even raised some new questions about the decisions hes made in the course of handling politically-charged investigations, Grassley said in a statement through his office.

The decisions made by government agencies will also play into the committees preparation to consider the nomination of the next FBI director, Grassley said.

The American people deserve a full accounting of attempts to meddle in our democratic process and assurances the Justice Department and FBI are operating without political influence from both within or outside the agencies, he said.

Trump himself was expected to dispute Comeys claims that the president demanded loyalty and asked the FBI director to drop the investigation into Flynn, according to a person close to the presidents legal team who demanded anonymity because of not being authorized to discuss legal strategy.

The president had not yet publicly denied the specifics of Comeys accounts Thursday afternoon but has broadly challenged his credibility, tweeting last month Comey better hope there are no tapes of the conversations.

Lordy, I hope there are tapes, Comey remarked at one point, suggesting such evidence would back up his account over any claims from the president.

After the testimony, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump is an honest man.

I can definitely say the president is not a liar, and I think its, frankly, insulting that question would be asked, she said during an off-camera press briefing, according to CNN.

It was a Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who asked the question that many Republicans have raised in the weeks since Comeys firing as one media leak followed another revealing Comeys claims about Trumps inappropriate interactions with him.

Raising the Oval Office meeting where Comey says Trump asked him to pull back the Flynn probe, Feinstein asked: Why didnt you stop and say, Mr. President, this is wrong?

Thats a great question, Comey said. Maybe if I were stronger I would have. I was so stunned by the conversation I just took it in.

Comey was also asked if he believed he was fired because of the bureaus investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election as well as Russias ties with Trumps campaign.

Yes, Comey said. Because Ive seen the president say so.

Comey was referring, at least in part, to Trumps interview with NBCs Lester Holt.

The hearing unfolded amid intense political interest, and within a remarkable political context as Comey delivered damaging testimony about the president who fired him, a president who won election only after Comey damaged his opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the final days of the campaign.

Clinton has blamed Comeys Oct. 28 announcement that he was re-opening the email investigation for her defeat. Shes argued she was on track to a victory when Comeys move raised fresh doubts about her.

If the election were on Oct. 27, I would be your president, Clinton said last month.

Many Democrats blame Comey for Clintons loss, leading Trump to apparently believe they would applaud him for firing Comey last month. The opposite was the case, as the firing created an enormous political firestorm that has stalled Trumps legislative agenda on Capitol Hill and taken over Washington.

Under questioning Thursday, Comey strongly asserted the intelligence communitys conclusion that Russia did indeed meddle in the 2016 election.

There should be no fuzz on this. The Russians interfered, Comey stated firmly. That happened. Its about as unfake as you can possibly get.

Trump has begrudgingly accepted the U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia interfered with the election. But he has also suggested he doesnt believe it, saying Russia is a ruse and calling the investigation into the matter a witch hunt.

 Nonpareil News Editor Mike Brownlee and AP writers Julie Bykowicz and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
Although he died more than a decade ago, the legacy of Norm Filbert is still very much alive in Council Bluffs.

I remember the last time we saw Norm in the hospital, Kathleen Jurgens of Council Bluffs said earlier this year, 13 years after his death in 2004. He was dying and knew it but gathered his small strength to put visitors at ease.

Wed brought him a bottle of wine. He already had one on reserve in his room but had no cork screw. We happened to have brought one, which made him quite happy.

Filbert and his wife, Louise, founded the Omaha Old Markets Firehouse Theater and were instrumental in creating the Chanticleer Community Playhouse, where he also taught classes.

A native of Council Bluffs, he graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1943. A year later, he was serving as a communications sergeant with a rifle company that was part of the U.S. Armys 104th Timber Wolf Division in Europe where he compiled a distinguished combat record.

Returning to his roots after World War II, he earned a bachelors degree in chemical engineering at Iowa State University. Following his graduation from ISU, he moved to New York for a year as a chemical company salesman until he was transferred to Chicago.

It was in Chicago that Filbert met Louise while they were both acting in a play. They were married six months later and returned to Council Bluffs, where Filbert worked with his brother at the Town Crier Advertising Agency.

Filbert and his wife co-founded the Chanticleer Community Theater in 1952. The organization grew out of a readers theater group that began meeting in peoples houses in the late 1940s. Productions were started in the small gym at Thomas Jefferson High School, the Chieftain Hotel Ballroom and the old Council Bluffs Auditorium before the current Chanticleer building opened in 1964.

Filbert was also involved in Omaha productions, and he and Louise operated the Upstairs Dinner Theater in Omaha for many years.

He also wrote a few plays and penned theater reviews and his Miscellany column for The Daily Nonpareil for more than 30 years.

Filbert was inducted into the Abraham Lincoln Hall of Fame just days before his death in April 2004. The biography accompanying the induction noted that he and his wife had received the Mercy Foundation Award, the Sertoma Service to Mankind Award and had been named the Outstanding Young Couple from Council Bluffs by the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce. Those awards were in addition to numerous acting and directing awards from the regional theater arts guild. He was credited with bringing more than 250 plays and musicasl to Council Bluffs over 50 years.

He was a wonderful actor; his credits are in the 100s, Jurgens said. He was an even better director.

He was Dad to two daughters. And though multi-talented, he remained kind, insightful, patient and ever resourceful. He was a man who listened but had the courage to disagree  calmly and without anger. Always, he had the suave, debonair charm of the late Fred Astaire.

His stature was underscored at a memorial service at the Chanticleer in the weeks that followed his death. The event drew friends from across the nation.

When I was growing up here, I remember always hearing about the legend across the river, said Michele Phillips, an actor and director from Minneapolis. I never thought my life and his would intertwine someday. He was a great teacher, a great director.

Dick Christie, a screenwriter from Los Angeles, attributed his successes to Filbert.

He never took credit for your achievements, but my success was because of him.
I never had a rude word from a soldier in my life. Ive met rebuffs from steamboat captains and paymasters and that kind of fish, but never from one of the boys! Aunt Becky Young told a reporter with The Chicago Tribune in 1888.

The boys were the soldiers of the Civil War, and Young had won their admiration when she served in field hospitals administering to the needs of the wounded. Her name wasnt Becky, and she was no ones aunt. She was born Sarah Graham in New York in 1830 and married Abel O. Palmer. He died leaving her with two children. When war broke out she joined the Army as a nurse.

At first, wounded soldiers referred to her as mother. But she objected to that because she was much younger than many of the men. She and the soldiers compromised with the title Aunt Becky, and it stuck.

Undersized, lean and bent of body, Aunt Becky cheered and fed the wounded in the field. Working in hospital tents she helped to make history in an obscure and toilsome way. Often she was the only woman in camp for months at a time.

The National Tribune newspaper explained how Aunt Becky came to wear her unusual clothing. Shortly after her arrival at the front, her wardrobe was stolen. It didnt take her long to discover the value of the sturdy fabric that covered the mattresses. From that point on she used bed ticking to make dresses that could withstand the blood and filth of the field hospital.

Soldiers had plenty of stories about their Aunt Becky. They often centered around her disregard of authority when she felt her own good sense was the better law.

There was the time the chief cook at camp took a dislike to Aunt Becky. He was tired of her constantly asking for extra food for her patients. He ordered his subordinates to refrain from giving her special rations. But Becky found a way around the cook. Often when she left the mess tent the folds of her cloak concealed chunks of dried beef, basins of custards and balls of butter.

Once when some of the more mobile recovering soldiers made raids into the nearby woods and captured some pigs, Aunt Becky roasted the delicacies to perfection. Just before they were about to eat, one of her patients warned her, O, Aunt Becky, hide the pig. Col. Tracys coming.

Hide the pig? Oh, no, she said, Col. Tracy shall stay to dinner; the pig is nicely done. And it was reported that the colonel did stay to enjoy the meal.

And there was the time Aunt Becky promised a dying patient that he would be properly buried in a wood box. She had one constructed for the soldier, ready for his body when the time came. But when the day of his burial arrived, the box could not be found. Aunt Becky stormed to the burial site and stopped the chaplain in mid-prayer. What is prayer to a promise? she demanded.

Despite the chaplains protests, she ordered the body removed from the dirt grave. The soldier was reburied in a wood box, just as Aunt Becky had promised.

Aunt Becky herself liked to tell the story of her battle to get beds for her patients who had to lie on the dirt floors of the hospital tents. She knew there was a large supply of wood near the camp; and although she wanted it for constructing beds, one of the officers was carefully guarding it from destruction because he was sweet on the owners daughter.

When the officer visited her hospital, he couldnt help but overhear Aunt Beckys loud comments to others, If it wasnt for the provost marshal, we should have cots for the men. Pointing to a soldier lying on the ground with a severe lung wound she continued, I wish he would lay in place of that soldier, and I had the privilege of seeing him try the soft floor till I was satisfied. She added that the officer colored and withdrew from the tent.

After the war, Aunt Becky married a veteran named David Young, and they moved to Des Moines. She became an honorary member of the Joe Hooker Post of the Grand Army of the Republic and regularly attended national Civil War veterans conventions, where many of the old soldiers continued to call her their Aunt Becky. And she always called them the boys.

At the 1888 convention, a reporter from the Chicago Tribune pointed out that your boys are rather bald-headed and gray for that title; and she replied, They were boys there! They are boys!

To read Sarah Palmers autobiography, search online for The Story of Aunt Beckys Army-Life published in 1867.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Chuck Grassley is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will review Christopher Wrays nomination to be the next FBI director.

But the Iowa Republican learned of Wrays selection the same way as many others Wednesday  via a tweet by President Donald Trump.

Grassley said the lack of advance notice didnt bother him. He had consulted with the president previously about filling the position and felt that a good selection process was in place.

Grassley had kind words for Wray, too.

Wray comes with the right legal and law enforcement credentials for the job, Grassley said. He has held various positions in the Justice Department including his service as head of the criminal division, and he has been a successful lawyer in private practice.

Indeed, most Iowa and Nebraska lawmakers provided statements welcoming the nomination, which follows the high-profile firing of James Comey.

Chris Wray is tough, qualified and principled, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., a member of the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement. I look forward to sitting down with him to discuss both his commitment to our justice system and his vision for restoring public trust.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Joni Ernst said the Iowa Republican looks forward to thoroughly vetting Christopher Wray and ensuring he is a good choice for the position of FBI director.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., also said she looks forward to the confirmation process.

FBI nominee Wray has valuable experience and strong credentials, Fischer said.

Trump announced Wrays nomination the day before Comey is expected to testify that Trump asked for his loyalty and pressured him to drop an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

While the House wont vote on Wrays confirmation, Republican House members from Nebraska and western Iowa were largely upbeat about his selection.

Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., whose district includes a southern piece of the metro area, said its prudent for Trump to fill the position quickly.

The FBI is a trusted institution, and, moving ahead, it is important to affirm that trust, Fortenberry said.

Rep. David Young, R-Iowa, said hes confident that the Senate will conduct a full and thorough vetting of the nominee.

It is imperative the next director places enforcement of the law and conducting the work of the FBI in a nonpartisan manner above all else, Young said.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., whose district includes most of the Omaha metropolitan area, noted that he hadnt personally met Wray and that hes looking forward to the confirmation process.

I am initially optimistic of his abilities to lead the FBI based on his many years, depth and level of experience in judicial matters, Bacon said.

Overall, the response in the Republican-controlled Senate to Wrays nomination was supportive but cautious. Wray would need a simple majority to be approved.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., praised Wray, saying his impressive credentials make him more than ready for the sober task of leading the FBI in fulfilling its law enforcement and national security missions, especially at a time when our country faces so many serious threats both at home and abroad.

Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat on the Judiciary panel, said he, too, was encouraged that Trumps pick is a veteran of law enforcement rather than a career in partisan politics, as was rumored over the past several weeks.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Council Bluffs man faces a felony charge of child endangerment resulting in injury after police said his 2-year-old daughter was found with several bruises.

Ryan Rapier, 26, faces up to five years in jail if convicted. He appeared in Pottawattamie County Court Wednesday via video from the Pottawattamie County Jail.

According to the criminal complaint, Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Office deputies were dispatched to Third Street and Fourth Avenue just after midnight Wednesday.

The caller said her goddaughter had several bruises, including on her face. The woman told deputies the girls father, Rapier, said the girl had fallen out of her crib and hit her face.

While giving the girl a bath, the woman noticed more bruises on the girls legs and bottom, deputies said.

Investigators interviewed Rapier, who said on Monday he was trying to put the girl to bed but she kept getting out of crib and throwing things around the room. He said he spanked her and put her back in her crib.

The girl got out again and Rapier spanked her again, this time on bare skin, he told authorities.

Rapier said he felt bad after he spanked (the girl) because he knew what he did was excessive, the report reads.

Rapier did not tell the girls mother about the bruises. He said he lost his temper and did not mean to hurt the girl.

Deputies interviewed the girls mother, who said she knew Rapier had spanked her daughter but did not know the extent of her injuries.

When Rapier told (the girls mother) about what happened, he made it seem like the girl was fine and that the incident was not a big deal, deputies said.

In court on Wednesday, Rapier said he works two jobs.

I take care of my family, he said.

Rapier is currently out on $5,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is set for June 28. A no contact order has been issued between Rapier and the alleged victim.
A Council Bluffs man faces charges of harassment and intimidation with a dangerous weapon after police said he fired shots outside an ex-girlfriends home early Monday morning.

Jesus Medina, 33, is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm within city limits. He is currently being held at the Pottawattamie County Jail on $30,000 bond.

According to police, officers were dispatched for a disturbance report in the 1400 block of Ave. B at 12:46 a.m. Medina was reportedly trying to gain entrance to his ex-girlfriends home, officers reported.

Medina got inside the residence when the alleged victim called police. He then went outside, fired several rounds from a handgun in an unknown direction and then fled the scene in a vehicle, police said.

Officers found Medina near 25th Street and Nash Boulevard, where he was arrested and a handgun was recovered. There are no reports of injury or property damage, police said.

Medinas preliminary hearing is set for June 15.

 Reporter Mike Bell can be reached at 712-325-5764 or by email at mbell@nonpareilonline.com.
In the aftermath of the Congressional testimony of former FBI Director James Comey, we urge caution from both sides of the political aisle as an investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election continues.

Comey was asked if he believed he was fired because of the bureaus investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election as well as Russias ties with Trumps campaign.

Yes, because Ive seen the president say so, he said, referring to Trumps interview with NBCs Lester Holt shortly after the firing.

The Associated Press noted that Comey, while under questioning Thursday, strongly asserted the intelligence communitys conclusion that Russia did indeed meddle in the 2016 election.

Comey accused the administration of President Donald Trump of spreading lies, plain and simple about him and the FBI in the aftermath of his abrupt firing.

Comey said in his written testimony that Trump, in a strange private encounter near the grandfather clock in the Oval Office, pushed him to end his investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

I dont think its for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct, Comey replied. I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning. But thats a conclusion Im sure the special counsel will work towards to try and understand what the intention was there and whether thats an offense.

These are among the revelations that were already known in the public sphere before Comeys testimony. But hearing it from the nations former top lawman helps separate truth from fiction.

About Russian influence on the election, Comey said, There should be no fuzz on this. The Russians interfered.

That happened. Its about as unfake as you can possibly get, Comey said.

And while that is a fact, thats in no way confirmation that Trump had anything to do with it.

Democrats and others on the left have fallen into a type of conspiracy-theory spewing about Trumps Russia connections that rivals Republican conspiracy hysteria over the Clinton family, George Soros and other boogie men.

There is evidence that Flynn and other Trump associates might have had inappropriate contact with Russian officials. Worse revelations remain a possibility.

But, in lieu of jumping to conclusions, we suggest the American people, Democrats and Republicans alike, wait for special investigator  and former FBI head  Robert Muellers independent investigation into the matter.
Board should vote against lantern festival request

Again, I read of an organization hoping to release litter into our air only to have it fall back down to pollute our earth and our wildlife. There are so many other ways to honor people or events than this.

Lanterns with fire and latex balloons may look nice as they ascend, but litter is litter.

I urge the Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors to deny allowing the Shine Festival to take place in our state.

Patricia Hopes, Treynor

Thats right: Women have control over their bodies

Im grateful for the unnamed writer of the editorial that appeared May 26 in the Quad-City Times under the title Poor Women bear brunt of Planned Parenthood closure, for ending the article with Theyre victims of an anachronistic worldview that treats a womans body as something over which to lord.

I wish I could think of a better way to say the same thing.

In the fifty-odd-year period in which I became an adult, I hoped to lay aside my childish views of what is a womans proper right to be safe and secure in her person, and especially, what are the rights of a woman to control her own reproductive system? I personally know one woman who uses abortion as a method of birth control, but I know several who have had an abortion before becoming mothers, or had one afterwards and gone on to have children when they thought it best.

The only man who has the right to negotiate abortion, is the father. If he cant or wont bear the responsibilities of fatherhood, then he has negated his right to intervene. If this is an over-simplistic view, then so much more is the idea that any man, even one risen to the cloth or as an elected representative of the people, has the right to tell a woman you love how to use her body. No choice is not a choice.

Also, any woman who chooses not to have an abortion, shouldnt have to have one.

Bill Holmes, Council Bluffs

State Treasurer Fitzgerald Concerned About Paying Our Bills on Time

In May I expressed concern about the state paying bills on time next spring. Today I reiterate that concern.

With the news that May revenue has come in significantly less than expected, it is time to consider a cash-flow borrowing in 2018. This would ensure we make payments on time, including school aid and tax refunds. Iowans should not be concerned about the need to issue a cash-flow borrowing. It is the right thing to do when you have unpredictable cash-flows.

People should be concerned about the fact that the state has consistently been unable to project revenue in a time when Iowa unemployment is at a low of 3.1%, the stock market is at record highs and we are not facing a national economic crisis. Nobody can give a clear explanation of why we are short, but tax cuts with unpredictable results appear to be catching up with the budget.

The Legislative Service Bureau reported that with lagging May revenues, we are an additional $97 million short for fiscal year 2017 (ending on June 30). The state already plans to use $132 million to balance the FY17 budget. If June doesnt make up the difference for the May shortfall (which is unlikely), the state will have to dip into the reserves once again. Every dollar we take from the reserves has to be repaid in time, which means less money will be available for important state programs. Receipts falling short of estimates is becoming a trend.

Given the recent shortfalls, it is realistic to think that the FY18 budget is built on overly optimistic revenues. We could easily see more budget cuts and additional draws on reserves in our future. This is no way to run a government and is certainly not how a AAA rated state (which Iowa is today) should approach its finances.

Until the state can demonstrate predictability in state revenues, we must put all options on the table to ensure that we can make school aid payments and meet all other obligations next spring if the budget is tight once again. A cash-flow borrowing is a responsible choice. But, this is a short-term fix to a bigger problem.

Fixing the state budget is going to take financial leadership which comes from the governor and legislature.

Michael L. Fitzgerald, State Treasurer, Des Moines
Northwest Indiana's casinos had some spring in their step in May, bringing in $81 million in gaming revenue, which was about 2 percent higher than May 2016.

"It was a very strong month for us," Ameristar Vice President and General Manager Matt Schuffert said. "Hopefully it's a good start to the summer season."

It was the second positive month year-over-year in 2017, joining March.

"This is the best growth for the market, year-over-year, since April 2016," Horseshoe Hammond Vice President and General Manager Dan Nita said.

Ameristar in East Chicago posted the largest gain, about 4.7 percent to $19.1 million, according to figures released by the Indiana Gaming Commission Thursday.

Horseshoe, the state's largest casino, was up 2.3 percent to $34.8 million. The Region's other casinos, Majestic Star in Gary and Blue Chip in Michigan City, were roughly even as compared to a year ago, bringing in $13.5 million and $13.6 million, respectively.

Gains continue to come at table games, continuing a recent trend of growth in that segment. Ameristar increased its year-over-year win by almost $1 million, to $4.5 million. Horseshoe also grew nearly $1 million, to $10 million.

Blue Chip was down slightly to $1.4 million, and Majestic gained more than $300,000, to just over $2 million.

"On the slot side of the business, we were pretty flat year-over-year," Schuffert said, describing that as a welcome change from recent declines.

In May, Ameristar took in $14.7 million at its electronic games, Horseshoe won $24.7 million, Majestic Star $11.5 million and Blue Chip  the sole gainer, if only slightly  $12.1 million.

Horseshoe's Nita said competition from Illinois video gaming terminals based outside traditional casinos continues to dampen the slot segment. "The slot business continues to be a bit more under pressure," he said.

Admissions at the casinos were down 6.1 percent to 796,564.

Illinois casinos in the Chicago market were essentially level in May, Nita said, posting a gain of less than one-half of 1 percent.

Indiana's 13 gambling establishments won almost $192 million last month, up 3 percent from a year ago. They paid $62 million in wagering and admission taxes, with the Region casinos paying $28.3 million of that.
OGDEN DUNES  Every once in awhile a stranger will knock on the door at 43 Cedar Trail.

They're not there to visit homeowners Patricia and John Peterson.

Instead, laughed the couple recently, they want to see the house. The unexpected visitors have ranged from architects to the founder of Domino's Pizza, Tom Monahan.

The house is one of three in Northwest Indiana designed by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wright, who would have celebrated his 150th birthday on Thursday, designed the home in 1939 for Chicago advertising representative Andrew Armstrong. It was completed in 1941, nestled in the dunes landscape.

John Peterson first saw the house in 1954, fresh out of the U.S. Army and working at what was then Standard Oil in Whiting. He was visiting a friend in Ogden Dunes. He liked the home, which was up for sale at the time, but didn't have enough money to purchase it.

At the time, he says now, he had no idea who Frank Lloyd Wright was.

Fast forward four years later and John and Patricia, an Oak Park, Illinois, native who was familiar with Wright, were married and looking for a home. The multileveled red-sided house was back up for sale. The Petersons, who wanted a three-bedroom house with a garage, purchased the home, which had only two bedrooms and no garage.

It is a house of balconies, from nearly each room, with doors leading to each space. A treehouse-like screened room cantilevers over the ground from the second floor.

Unique are its corner windows, glass meeting glass, and open concept, neither of which were typical of homes at the time.

The Petersons were the sixth owner, said Patricia Peterson, noting the house was in terrible shape.

"My mother and I drove out to see it. My mother said, 'That's the house he wants to buy?'" recalled Patricia Peterson. The exterior was pink, walls were patched and the previous owners had "varnished over dust."

"I figured I could do a lot of work on the house," said John Peterson, a mechanical engineer.

In 1959, the year Wright died, the Petersons met John Howe. Howe had been Wright's chief draftsman and his right-hand man, said John Peterson. They met through Howe's brother, who also worked at Standard Oil.

"Howe was very, very agreeable to do a set of plans for us if we ever had the money to expand the house," said John Peterson.

The Petersons bought the lot next door and began to work with Howe on an expansion that included an additional bedroom, a revised kitchen and dining area and a garage. Eventually, the Petersons worked with Howe, even traveling to San Francisco, a second time to design another addition  a fourth bedroom.

The remodeling and expansion projects were kept within the home's original Unisonian design. Different from Wright's most-famed, Prairie-style homes, his Unisonian-designed homes were meant to be for the masses.

John Peterson said one issue was the material for the board-and-batten interior walls. Originally cypress was used.

"We ended up putting in mahogany plywood. We wanted board-and-batten, but we couldn't get it in cypress because they had used a lot of it in WWII," John Peterson said. "I bought some 8-inch cypress that I did use in one bedroom.

"I traveled to the Philippines and bought 7,000 board feet (of mahogany) in the color I wanted. I stored it in that garage that Mr. Wright didn't want me to have," John Peterson said.

Since purchasing and renovating the home, John Peterson has become a walking Wright encyclopedia. The home is featured in "The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion," by William Allin Storrer, published in 1993.

"Some of it has rubbed off in the last 58 years," he said.

Other Wright homes in the Region

Wright designed two other homes in Northwest Indiana.

The Wilbur Wynant house was constructed in 1915 at 600 Fillmore St. in Gary. The owner was Wilbur Wynant, president of Gary National Lake Insurance Co. The contractor, Ingwald Moe, became the local representative for American System-built homes, which were also targeted for the masses, according to "Frank Lloyd Wright and Colleagues: Indiana Works," published in 1999 for an exhibition at the John G. Blank Center for the Arts in Michigan City.

The Wynant house was destroyed in a fire in 2006 and eventually razed.

The Ingwald Moe house was constructed in 1908 at 669 Van Buren St. in Gary for the Gary contractor. It stands today, a private residence, not far from where the Wynant house once stood.

Additional Wright projects and influences

In addition to the three homes, Wright also designed some commercial ventures for the Region.

According to the exhibition publication, Wright was commissioned to design the Wolf Lake amusement park on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, straddling the state line, sometime in the late 1890s. The project was never constructed.

He was involved in designing a cinema and shops project in Michigan City in 1952 along with his son, John Lloyd Wright. That project also died due to a lack of funding.

Wright's influence continued for years after his death through the architects he trained, including his son and others.

Alfred Caldwell, who studied under a Wright fellowship, designed landscaping plans for Roosevelt Park Elementary School in Gary.

George Robinson Dean, a Wright associate, worked for the architectural firm used by U.S. Steel Corp. in designing an office building and homes.

George Grant Elmslie, another associate, designed the Washington Irving, Oliver P. Morton and Thomas Edison schools in Hammond.

George Washington Maher also worked with Wright and is credited with designing the pavilion at Gary's Marquette Park and the Gary Country Club.

Howard Van Doren Shaw, a member of Wright's luncheon circle, designed homes for the Mark Manufacturing Co. and what would become Marktown in the Indiana Harbor.
A reputed member of the Two Six Nation street gang from East Chicago was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for his involvement in an August 2013 shooting of an alleged rival gang member, the U.S. district attorney's office announced.

Julio Ivan Cartagena, 22, pleaded guilty in March to using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence for his role in an Aug. 31, 2013, car chase and shooting, according to the news release.

During the incident, stray bullets entered the home of a Hammond police officer, prosecutors said. At the time, Cartagena and Charles Luis Garcia-Berrios, 22, of Hammond, were accused of attempting to murder two unnamed victims.

That night, Cartagenas stepbrother had been denied admission to a party in Hammond by members of a rival street gang, so Cartagena joined his stepfather and a fourth individual and drove to the party, according to the U.S. attorney's office. They saw purported rival gang members enter a vehicle, so they shot at it, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

Multiple bullets hit the vehicle, and one occupant was struck in the finger. Several shots sprayed and even penetrated the nearby house of a Hammond police officer.

The Two Six Nation gang took its name from the 26th Street area of Chicago from which it operated, court records state. The Dark Side Two Six is a local affiliate of the gang based in East Chicago.
HAMMOND  The possibility of other victims surfaced Friday during a detention hearing for 30-year-old Adam Russell Hegyi, who is at the center of a "sextortion" case involving a North Carolina girl.

Hegyi was ordered Friday to be detained pending trial on charges of online stalking and transferring obscenity to a person under 16, court records show. He is accused of releasing online nude photos the girl previously sent to him via multiple social media phone applications.

Now there's the possibility of other victims, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana.

Digital images of at least three other girls and one boy who appeared under age 18 were discovered during the investigation into Hegyi and discussed in court Friday, said Ryan Holmes, a spokesman with the U.S. Attorney's office for Northern District of Indiana.

Anyone with information related to Hegyis online activity is encouraged to contact the FBI at 317-595-4000.

Such cases of online sextortion  a form of blackmail in which a person obtains explicit images of the victim and then threatens to release them online if they refuse to send more  are on the rise across the U.S.

A search warrant was executed Tuesday in the 1400 block of North Jay Street in Griffith by the FBI/GRIT Task Force, a special agent with the FBI confirmed Thursday.

While Hegyi was arrested in Griffith, a criminal complaint shows he was living at a residence with a Crown Point address.

According to the criminal complaint, Hegyi, between Jan. 1, 2015, and June 2, 2017, used social media outlets  including KiK, Snapchat, Skype, Instagram, Facebook and FaceTime  to communicate with a girl beginning when she was 12.

Hegyi and the teen allegedly engaged in sex acts in video chat and exchanged nude photos after the two met online through Omegle, an online chat service that pairs random users together, court records show.

When her parents discovered the communications, they instructed her to cease contact with Hegyi, but Hegyi and the girl eventually reestablished a connection and the exchange of nude materials continued, according to the criminal complaint.

In October 2015, the teen became distraught and filed a police report with the Rowan County, North Carolina, Sheriffs Department and turned over her cellphone as evidence.

At least seven images of Hegyis genitals were found on her phone, along with photos the teen had sent to Hegyi and screenshots of a Skype video conversation, court records show.

Even after the girl contacted police, Hegyi allegedly continued to contact her  at one point threatening to rape and kill her and her family, documents show. Hegyi also allegedly encouraged the girl to kill herself, court records show.

On March 15, Hegyi allegedly sent a Facebook message that read, in part, that he has a family now and am NEVER ever ever talking to you again. Im sending out about 400 pictures, your address and school address to a random guy online to do whatever he wants with. BYE forever 

Two months later, the girls mother received a nude photo of the girl via Facebook messenger, court records state. That same day, the girls father received a Facebook message purporting to be from Hegyi, alleging his daughter constantly texts him and that he has the familys home address.

Then, on May 30, Hegyi went even further by sending multiple nude photos of the girl to classmates, according to court records.

Police later determined four Facebook accounts allegedly utilized by Hegyi stemmed from the same computer IP address after they submitted emergency disclosure requests to the social media giant.

His next court appearance is scheduled for July 24, Holmes said.
EAST CHICAGO  A 20-year-old man was arrested last week after witnesses reported someone shooting at windows at the Judge Lorenzo Arredondo Justice Center, police said.

William Spates, of East Chicago, admitted to the shooting after a courthouse security officer found him inside a nearby store, Lt. Marguerite Wilder said.

The windows were not damaged, because they are bulletproof, Wilder said.

East Chicago police were called at 3:18 p.m. June 2 to the county courthouse at 3711 Main St., where the security officer reported a young man was seen shooting at the windows toward the back of the building.

A witness told authorities the man entered a nearby store, and the security officer located him inside the store with several other people, Wilder said.

Spates admitted he was shooting at a shed behind the courthouse, but said he didn't realize he hit a window, police said. He was arrested on a criminal mischief charge, Wilder said.
HAMMOND  A criminal complaint unsealed this week reveals how a 30-year-old Crown Point man accused of "sextortion" allegedly threatened to kill a North Carolina girl and later shared nude photos of the teen with her parents and several classmates.

Adam Russell Hegyi was charged this week with online stalking and transferring obscenity to a person under 16, court records show.

He is accused of releasing online nude photos the girl previously sent to him via multiple social media phone applications  including KiK, Snapchat, Skype, Instagram, Facebook and FaceTime.

Such cases of online sextortion  a form of blackmail in which a person obtains explicit images of the victim and then threatens to release them online if they refuse to send more  are on the rise across the U.S.

A search warrant was executed Tuesday at Hegyis residence in the 1400 block of North Jay Street in Griffith by the FBI/GRIT Task Force, a special agent with the FBI confirmed Thursday.

According to the criminal complaint, Hegyi, between Jan. 1, 2015, and June 2, 2017, used social media outlets to communicate with a girl beginning when she was 12.

Hegyi and the teen allegedly engaged in sex acts in video chat and exchanged nude photos after the two met online through Omegle, an online chat service that pairs random users together, court records show.

When her parents discovered the communications, they instructed her to cease contact with Hegyi, but Hegyi and the girl eventually reestablished a connection and the exchange of nude materials continued, according to the criminal complaint.

In October 2015, the teen became distraught and filed a police report with the Rowan County, North Carolina, Sheriffs Department and turned over her cellphone as evidence.

At least seven images of Hegyis genitals were found on her phone, along with photos the teen had sent to Hegyi and screenshots of a Skype video conversation, court records show.

Even after the girl contacted police, Hegyi allegedly continued to contact her  this time threatening to rape and kill her and her family, documents show. Hegyi also allegedly encouraged the girl to kill herself, court records show.

On March 15, Hegyi allegedly sent a Facebook message that read, in part, that he has a family now and am NEVER ever ever talking to you again. Im sending out about 400 pictures, your address and school address to a random guy online to do whatever he wants with. BYE forever 

Two months later, the girls mother received a nude photo of the girl via Facebook messenger, court records state. That same day, the girls father received a Facebook message purporting to be from Hegyi, alleging his daughter constantly texts him and that he has the familys home address.

Then, on May 30, Hegyi went even further by sending multiple nude photos of the girl to classmates, according to court records.

Police later determined four Facebook accounts allegedly utilized by Hegyi stemmed from the same computer IP address after they submitted emergency disclosure requests to the social media giant.

*This story has been changed. Hegyi lives at a residence with a Crown Point address.
EAST CHICAGO  Residents are requesting more time  and a formal public hearing  to weigh in on demolition plans for the lead- and arsenic-tainted West Calumet Housing Complex, citing potential effects on neighboring high-minority, low-income communities.

A public hearing is both justified  "due to the magnitude and duration this Superfund site has had on the surrounding community"  and supported by federal National Environmental Policy Act regulations, residents and a coalition of attorneys argued Wednesday in a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's public housing director, Patricia Tyus.

HUD first published its environmental review of the site May 26, along with the federal agency's findings that the demolition would have "no significant impact on the human environment." The public comment period is open until June 13, but residents are seeking both a public hearing and an extension through July 13.

A HUD spokesman said Wednesday the residents' requests are under review.

The low-income public housing complex, built in the early 1970s on the footprint of a former lead smelter, is the most highly contaminated area of the Environmental Protection Agencys USS Lead Superfund site in East Chicago. Soil cleanup is ongoing in the nearby Calumet and East Calumet neighborhoods.

East Chicago Housing Authority officials hope to begin tearing down the complex this fall.

Letter: 'Substantial interest' warrants public hearing

The project scope covered under HUD's review is limited only to demolition; it does not address detailed soil excavation of the site or future land use.

"Last year, the East Chicago Housing Authority deemed that this contamination justified the evacuation of the more than 1,000 residents of the facility," residents and attorneys argue in the letter.

"Even acknowledging that the specific project at issue concerns only demolition and not future remediation of the contaminated site, adjacent and nearby residents have concerns that warrant a public hearing."

The letter is signed by 18 residents, along with Sam Henderson, staff attorney for the Hoosier Environmental Council; Mark Templeton, an attorney at the University of Chicago Law School's Abrams Environmental Law Clinic; Debbie Chizewer, an attorney at Northwestern University Pritzker Law Schools Environmental Law Clinic; and Kate Walz, housing justice director for the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.

Under the NEPA act, agencies shall hold public hearings or meetings in cases where there is "substantial environmental controversy" concerning the proposed action or substantial interest in holding a public hearing, residents note in the letter to HUD.

Residents also cite a HUD 1994 executive order on environmental justice that directs the agency to "identify and address disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies and activities on minority populations and low-income populations."

Nearly all the 13,600 residents in a 1-mile radius are considered a minority population and 60 percent are low-income.

Federal and local housing officials have said demolition is warranted to protect human health. However, residents say they want to ensure proper oversight during demolition activities to protect workers and nearby residents from exposure to contaminated soil and asbestos-containing building material.

There also are concerns about how the work will affect the flow of contamination in the groundwater and how groundwater will be treated on site.

Extension request to July 13

Residents also requested more time to respond to HUD's findings, citing the complex and technical nature of the environmental assessment and supporting documents.

When making a "finding of no significant impact," HUD environmental review regulations require the responsible entity  in this case, HUD  to both issue a notice and "send the ... notice to individuals and grounds known to be interested in the activities, to the local news media, to appropriate trial, local, State and Federal agencies ..." the letter stated.

The notice of HUD's findings appeared in local media's public notices section May 26. However, none of the relevant community organizations and members were made aware and thus were "hindered in their opportunity to comment," the letter stated.

Local housing officials first submitted an application to demolish West Calumet last summer  around the same time East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland sent letters to the 300-plus families living at the complex urging more than 1,000 people, including 680 children, to leave due to dangerously high levels of lead and arsenic in the soil.

All but six households have relocated, as of May 31.
LAKE STATION  The final vote to authorize the sale of the city's water system came with no discussion prior to it, but an accusation trickled in later.

Near the end of Thursday's City Council meeting and well after the panel decided to advance the sale, Councilwoman Jennifer Miller, I-2nd, claimed Councilman Rick Long, D-5th, committed an ethics violation by voting in favor of Indiana American Water acquiring the utility for nearly $20.7 million.

She said Long's wife is a current city Water Department employee and his action was a conflict of interest.

Long said he has discussed the matter with several attorneys prior to voting on the ordinance moving the sale forward, and there's no violation.

He said he didn't hire his wife to the position she's held for the last 10 years, and he has no direct control over her employment. Long also indicated his wife doesn't work for Indiana American.

Councilwoman Esther Rocha-Baldazo, D-at large, was the only member on Thursday to vote against the water measure when it was heard on second reading.

Miller supported the ordinance when the votes were recorded, but later asked to change her action to a no vote after all members cast their decisions.

Miller voted against the ordinance last week when it was heard on first reading.

With the Water Department ordinance adopted, the sale moves into its next phase, a review by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. That process could take about seven months.

Councilman Neil Anderson, D-at large, said he was glad the water system sale is resolved.

Anderson said he's happy with the result and he believes most residents and city employees share his feelings that the sale will move Lake Station in a positive direction.

With the IURC review expected to take months to complete, Lake Station likely wouldn't see sale proceeds until early next year, officials said.

When that money is received, it will be up to the council to spend the funding wisely, Anderson said.

The council hasn't decided how the sale funding would be appropriated. It has been suggested a significant portion could be used to address debt associated with the Water Department and stabilize the general fund.

In addition to the funding received through the sale, the city could benefit with future improvements to aging water lines in the community. In its proposal to purchase the utility, Indiana American made commitments to enhance the infrastructure it's purchasing from the city.

Long said Lake Station's water infrastructure has been an issue in the community for several years. He said the water lines are in pretty rough shape, and the municipality has struggled to maintain them.
MUNSTER  The woman picked up a piece of cantaloupe with her robotic arm. She moved it toward her mouth. The fruit fell to the floor.

She tried again, with a slice of watermelon. Her mechanical hand squeezed it uncontrollably, juice dripping all over her. She opened her mouth wide but couldn't reach all the way there. Resigned, she set the watermelon on her shoulder and grabbed the piece of fruit with her teeth.

Someone tried to put a fork in her hand. It took about five minutes for them to get the grip and utensil positioning just right. She successfully got a blueberry into her mouth.

"Will I ever be able to eat by myself?" asked Suzie Wodrich, of Starke County, who lost a leg and both arms from a severe infection.

She was in a room with people who could relate.

One talked about phantom limb syndrome. Another gave tips for getting dressed with a prosthetic leg. Another, recently amputated above the right knee, said he missed being able to dance.

"This is done," Wodrich said, lifting up her arms, the right one a stump, the left one bionic. "You've got to go forward."

"Onward and upward," said Nancy Mackrola, a Crown Point woman whose left leg was amputated after falling down the stairs.

Onward and Upward Northwest Indiana meets monthly at a Munster prosthetic practice. Mackrola founded the group to give Region amputees a place to share frustrations, advice and encouragement.

"Anyone at anytime can become an amputee," she said.

More than 500 amputations occur every day in the United States, about 21 per hour, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The main causes are vascular conditions, such as diabetes and peripheral artery disease (54 percent), and trauma (45 percent), a study in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation found.

While many of those amputees are treated physically, their emotional needs often go unaddressed.

"I go into a room and fit them for prosthetics, but you bypass all the feelings that are behind it," said Vikram Choudhary, a prosthetist and orthotist who provides the space for the group to meet. "Psychological counseling should be part of every amputation."

The group members say it's especially helpful to hear from fellow amputees, who experience the same struggles they do. They even have their own lingo: an "AK" is someone amputated above the knee; a "BK" is a person whose leg was removed above the joint.

"I mostly come in case somebody says something I never thought of and go 'Hey, I can try that,'" Rich Flores, of Highland, said at Tuesday's meeting. He fell from a ladder while doing housework, causing him to lose his left leg.

That reminded Mackrola.

"If you put a plastic bag on your shoe, you can put your pants on more easily. They slip right over it," she said.

Mackrola acts as the groups' moderator and chief encourager.

"You walked in here today," she said at one point. "That's something we have to pat ourselves on the back for."

The half-dozen amputees at Tuesday's meeting were at different stages at what Mackrola calls the "grieving process." Some had lost their limbs years ago; some just months earlier. The newbies were facing challenges the others had already been through.

The members start each group by telling their amputation stories.

Wodrich, an exuberant redhead, remembered the time her sister visited her in the hospital, not knowing she had had her limbs amputated.

"She started crying," Wodrich recalled. "I said, 'No, we can't have that. That's not going to get us anywhere.'"

"Never give up," she said. "In my situation the doctors gave up and the nurses gave up. I didn't give up."

She encouraged the man who worried he'd never dance again by noting that an amputee once competed on "Dancing with the Stars."

"I want to drive," she said. Two other members who recently started driving again said she ought to try.

"They didn't take my gas-pedal foot off," she said. "I still have it."

Onward and upward.
Two days after releasing his plan on how to promote diversity in the public school system, Mayor Bill de Blasio faced some tough questions Thursday on his approach to addressing racial segregation in the classroom. NY1 Education Reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

Mayor de Blasio brought a group of students to City Hall on Thursday to highlight his push to expand Advanced Placement courses.

Instead, he faced a series of pointed questions about his plans to address the extreme racial segregation of students in the city's public school system.

"The plan that was put forward in terms of diversity is a first step," the mayor told reporters. "There's a lot more we intend to do."

It was the first time de Blasio spoke about the plan, which was announced Tuesday by email.

Under pressure from parents, advocates, and researchers, the de Blasio administration had promised for more than a year to develop a comprehensive roadmap for tackling school segregation.

But the final report was a series of smaller changes not likely to alter the racial divisions among most schools.

Thursday, de Blasio made it clear that his focus is on improving schools, not integrating them.

"We have a right-now problem and it's not abstract; it's practical and it's real," de Blasio said. "We've got kids right now that we have to reach better."

The mayor was asked about research that shows students perform better in racially integrated schools:

"I don't think it's as simple as that," de Blasio said. "I think the question is, What is going to help each school be the best it can be in the here and now."

The mayor said it would take years and would be incredibly challenging to desegregate the school system. Housing segregation, he said, is a major barrier.

Reporter: Do you personally believe that it is possible for the children of this city to get the education that they deserve without attending fully integrated and diverse schools?

De Blasio: Absolutely.

NY1 asked the mayor whether that meant he believed that racially-separate schools could still be equal, an idea the Supreme Court struck down in 1954.

"You're asking it in a way that I think is leading the witness. I don't want that. I don't want that. I would love perfectly diverse and integrated schools," de Blasio said. "If I could achieve that with a stroke of a pen, I would do that right now."

But he said he doesn't think he can solve the problem  at least not anytime soon.
A Bronx man accused of being part of a terrorist network is now in federal custody.

Ali Kourani, 32, is one of two men who allegedly tried to lay the groundwork for an attack on behalf of Hezbollah.

"I know he's my cousin, but if he did something, he has to pay," Kourani's cousin Ibrahim said.

Federal officials said there was no specific plot underway, but Ali Kourani conducted surveillance of high-profile targets like LaGuardia Airport.

He is also accused of travelling to his native Lebanon for combat and weapons training.

Kourani was living in Kingsbridge with Ibrahim.

Ibrahim Kourani told NY1 he was aware there was an investigation going on, but he did not know why until he found his apartment ransacked last week.

"I didn't see anything missing," Ibrahim said. "I say maybe they came for Ali because always they called him, they came to him, talked to him, but I didn't know nothing about what for."

Ali Kourani is facing several charges including trying to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

He faces up to 25 years in prison.
There's been so much controversy surrounding the appearance of recently released prisoner Oscar Lopez Rivera in this weekend's Puerto Rican Parade. Now he's telling his story to NY1's Jeanine Ramriez in a rare sit-down interview.

"I would be remorseful if I did something wrong," Oscar Lopez Rivera told me Thursday night.

Lopez Rivera says he has nothing to apologize for.

He denies any role in the deadly bombings in the 1970s and 80s by the Puerto Rican nationalist group known as FALN, including the attack on Fraunces Tavern that killed four people.

Lopez Rivera adds he should not be considered a terrorist, or even an FALN leader.

"We have a situation where I have nothing to do with that," Lopez Rivera said.

Lopez Rivera was released last month after 35 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and transporting explosives with the intent to kill. He was not charged with any specific acts of violence.

"I did not defend myself, so the government could have put any evidence that they wanted and it would not be challenged at all," Lopez Rivera told me.

President Obama commuted his sentence in January, and the National Puerto Rican Day Parade committee said it would honor him as a freedom hero.

But that decision sparked an uproar. The governor and police commissioner said they would not march, and sponsors pulled out.

Trying to defuse the controversy, parade committee officials said Lopez-Rivera would no longer have a formal role but would still march.

Ramirez: You have been labelled many things: freedom fighter, terrorist, hero, enemy of the state. Which do you identify with?

Lopez Rivera: I identify myself as a Puerto Rican who loves Puerto Rico.

Lopez Rivera says he still wants Puerto Rico to be an independent nation, free from U.S. control.

"Colonialism is a crime, just like Mandela was right in trying to overthrow a government that was racist," Lopez Rivera reflected.

Lopez Rivera says it's the people who get to pick their heroes, not corporations or government officials.

He sidestepped if he agreed with the parade's decision to withdraw honoring him, saying only he's looking forward to marching Sunday.

"The most important thing is for the parade to be celebrated," he said. "I want to be part of the parade. I want to be in New York and say, 'I was active, walking in the parade.'"

Active as a free man, as a Puerto Rican nationalist, and as a lightning rod for controversy.

Despite his decision, Lopez Rivera praised the parade committee for not backing down.

"Puerto Ricans cannot, cannot, cannot allow, we cannot allow ourselves ever, ever to be dictated by anyone, except our conscience. Our will our mind, our spirit, to do what we think is right," Lopez Rivera said.



Lopez Rivera also attended a special tribute in the Bronx on Thursday, an event at Hostos Community College that featured music, dance, and poetry to celebrate his recent release from prison.
"There is a more level field internationally now, as well as an overall higher level of expectations in the quality of the strategy, execution and measurement of public relations, said Patrik Schober, Group Chair for Worldcom Public Relations Group and Managing Partner of PRAM Consulting. We are truly living in a global marketplace and in real-time communications.

The global network with the most member firms, Worldcom, which had combined revenues of more than $273 million in 2016, added to its global reach with the recent addition of two new members: Warsaw, Polands Made in PR and Istanbul, Turkeys OptimumBrand. Schober attributed the stability and growth of the network to the strong level of partnership and collaboration between its member firms. He said agency satisfaction with the network has risen from 70 percent to 80 percent year over year, a trend that allows it to work from a strong base as it tackles a transforming global marketplace.

Patrik Schober

Those transformations, according to Schober, run across several categories. First among them is the increasing speed with which news traverses the globe, along with the rise of the citizen journalists who have upended the traditional news-gathering structure. Those factors make strong crisis planning and management a premium, he said. PRs ability to help brands in the one-to one relationship vs. the one-to-many will be critical.

PR demand grows amid uncertainty

Changing political situations across the globe will also impact PR practices, Schober added. With Brexit, financial will be an interesting sector in EMEA, and political affairs is obviously a growing and dynamic global category for PR, he said. Agencies are expanding their services, hiring and training practices to meet the diverse demands of todays hyper-connected world. Having a global perspective but also the ability to have feet on the ground that are familiar with the politics, culture and customs of different regions will help agencies better serve global brands and function in our global marketplace.

Allard W. van Veen

PROI Worldwide Founding Partner and Global Managing Director Allard W. van Veen sees a promising future in many locations around the world. With combined net fee income of more than $700 million in 2016, the network, which has been in operation since 1970, is thriving. Having brought on Bangkok, Thailand firm Midas PR Group and Sydney, Australia based Filtered Media earlier this year, PROI has a presence in more than 100 cities in 50 countries.

From a presence in India/South Asia that racked up 66 industry awards last year to the six members based in African cities, the network has kept expanding its global footprint.

PROI has matured in most parts of the world, van Veen said, but we see continued growth in, and are investing heavily, in emerging and recently established economies in Africa, some parts of Eastern Europe, and a few remaining parts of Asia.

While PROIs growth has been steady, the network has taken a measured approach to its expansion. Since our founding, van Veen said, we have focused on three strategic initiatives to grow our partnership: identifying quality independent agencies offering strong thought leadership; marrying large, mid-size and smaller agencies; and limiting our growth worldwide.

When it comes to the challenges presented by growth on a global scale, the networks executives particularly note the need to keep each firms offerings aligned with local and regional constraints, while also maintaining a solid standard of quality and consistent fee levels. To carry out those goals, they cited the need to attract the right kind of talent: people familiar with international business, tech-savvy individuals, and those who have mastered such in-demand skills as analytics and measurement.

To PROI management, the market sectors where growth is most likely change with the locale. According to Jean Leopold Schuybroek, PROIs Director, Global Development, many of the economies of Asia and Africa exhibit a strong demand in the consumer goods area, while in Europe the desired competencies are often in such fields as litigation communication. rbb President and PROI Worldwide Vice-Chairman, The Americas, Lisa Ross pointed to technological advances in the healthcare sectors as having particular traction in Japan, Korea and Israel, as well as in the U.S.

On a global scale, van Veen stressed the continued importance of reputation management. Trust will become the major underlying factor by which future communications programs will be judged, he said.

Learning to appreciate differences

For PR Boutiques International, the past year was also one of solid growth. With the addition of Nucleus PR, the networks first member from India; Amsterdam tech PR agency Lubbers de Jong; Bostons DPA Communications and VRoy Communications from Montreal, the networks membership now stands at 37 firms, covering 14 countries.

Were very focused on growing our international representation overall and in our leadership, said PRBI President Lee Weinstein. We attribute the successful growth of PRBI to the active involvement of our members. We have dedicated members who are very committed to taking this organization to the next level.

Lee Weinstein

Weinstein noted that progress is evident across the board in the PR profession on an international level. Probably the biggest change is cultural understanding and people from different countries appreciating their differences and similarities, and understanding what works, he said.

PRBI expects Europe to be a strong growth region in the near future. Were just starting a PRBI Network among our members in Europe, he said, and we are expecting that group to work well together in developing new business and recruiting new members.

The market sector in which Weinstein thinks there is a particularly strong opportunity for growth is healthcare. The forecast in Europe is that this market sector will be growing faster than any other, he said. This will have a big effect on employability, leisure activities, healthy lives and more. The purpose of PR is to explain the complexity of this issue.

What the PR industry needs in order to carry out that purpose, Weinstein said, is an increased level of communication and cooperation. He thinks that PRBI has come a long way toward realizing that goal. There is more cross-cultural understanding, seamlessness and efficiency among our member agencies, which is of great benefit to both our members and our clients.

Emphasizing international perspective

Cross-cultural understanding is also a central concept for Catherine Kable, Managing Partner at Kable Communication and Chairman, PR World Alliance.

When new members at PRWA mention the networks advantages, Kable said, one of the things that keeps coming up is that they enjoy the possibility of sending consultants abroad to partner firms for training. Gaining a broader international perspective is seen as more than just an add-on  it has become a key skill to help firms function in the global economy.

PRWA added to its global reach over the past year with the addition of Marcommit in The Netherlands and Svoboda PR & Consulting in Austria, bringing it up to 15 members. What all of those members face, Kable said, is a communications environment characterized by rapid changes. Innovation is the driver everywhere, she said. The digital revolution continues to impact every aspect of our industry across all markets.

Catherine Kable

Among the changes she noted are the ever-increasing importance of social media and the 24/7 nature of todays fractured media environment. Media are adapting their business models with varying degrees of success to cut costs yet provide relevant and reputable information, Kable said. The result is deeply impacting PR agencies  fewer journalists to contact and less time per journalist for our contacts and information.

And even though the influence of the internet has tended to soften the differences between locales, she stressed the importance of staying sensitive to the particular characteristics of each market. Dont discount the importance and nuances of local markets, habits and contacts, she advised.

Balancing global and local

IPREX Global President Andrei Mylroie called attention to the fine line between the global and the local that agencies must walk in todays PR landscape. Theres greater tension between the need for a common language and the need to address markets and cultures individually, he said. And having process and relationships in place to allow for fast and strategic decision-making is even more necessary to avoid local problems evolving chaotically.

Andrei Mylroie

IPREX added Chilean strategic communication agency Comsulting and SalterMitchell, a public relations and behavior change marketing agency headquartered in Tallahassee, to its roster this year. Overall, the networks firms experienced a 4.3 percent rise in revenues in 2016.

Mylroie sees reason for optimism in all almost all areas of the world. Most of our North American partners are experiencing especially strong growth, tied in part to a strong US economy, he said. Beyond this though, in our recent annual partner meeting there was a lot of discussion about North Africa and the Middle East, driven by improving economic circumstances and investment from China in the region (especially Africa) and access to markets with major growth potential. Many of our European partners are also feeling more optimistic about a strengthening economy.

Like many of the other network executives, Mylroie said that he expects the healthcare sector to continue its strength in the near future. Other areas in which he foresees increased activity are sustainability and sustainable energy, construction / infrastructure, transportation, cyber security and tourism.

To succeed in this environment, he said, firms need to focus on more than just regional differences. Much of the shared work among IPREX partners has been not just geographic in nature, but firms working together because they have complementary functional expertise.

The Public Relations Global Network hit the 50-member mark this year with the addition of North Carolina-based S&A Communications and asoluto, a Vienna, Austria firm that offers both traditional PR and a wide range of digital services. The network, which had $101 million in revenues, also introduced a redesigned website that it said will give prospective clients one-stop access to a curated suite of PR services, according to PRGN President Christina Rytter, who is the Managing Director and Founder of Copenhagen, Denmarks Scandinavian Communications.

Christina Rytter

That interest in promoting ease of communication, Rytter said, requires helping clients negotiate the many levels of technology. She notes that firms that want to be successful in todays global marketplace need to move away from traditional silo-based thinking toward working on a cross-channel level. The growth of video as a communications medium is something that she has noticed across the board.

Rytter sees technology, healthcare and renewable energy as major growth areas in Europe. While she, unlike several other network leaders, does not predict strong growth in Europe, she said that in Scandinavia, where her firm is located, things are slowly picking up.

Execs across PRGN seem to be pretty much in agreement over the market sectors that show the most promise in the near future. In addition to the fields Rytter calls attention to, travel, real estate and cyber security are mentioned as areas that are increasing in importance on a global scale. In regards to areas that are poised for growth, the expansion of markets in China, Southeast Asia and parts of Central and South America  particularly Argentina  were mentioned. Strength in such tech hubs as Boston and Seattle was also predicted.

When it comes down to the main trait required for success on an international scale in todays international market, several PRGN members noted the importance of communicating to clients how vital a global view is to a companys success on any level. The world is becoming a much smaller playground, said Leeza Hoyt, President of PRGN member firm the Hoyt Organization. To deal with that, she said, firms need to combine local knowledge with global reach.
Steve King

Peppercomm has appointed Steve King to the role of senior director of digital strategy.

King joins the New York-based independent agency from digital consultancy DataPlaces, where he served as chief digital strategist. Prior to that he was a senior director of Burson-Marstellers digital practice in New York, where he advised corporate clients on digital and social strategies, and was also a VP of digital strategy at consulting firm Centric Digital.

King previously directed web, mobile and social strategies at Havas Worldwide Digital and served as a strategy and change-consulting leader for the IBM Institute for Business Value.

Peppercomm, which maintains additional offices in San Francisco and London, accounted for more than $18.3 million in net fees last year and is one of the top-ranked PR firms in the country, according to ODwyers.
The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia has signed an $80K monthly contract with Harbour Group for strategic communications work and support on general policy matters and ties with the US.

Harbour veteran Richard Minitz, who also held top posts at Brunswick Group, Burson-Marsteller and Ogilvy PR, heads the one-year contract that went into effect May 1.

He reports to Sama Al-Sadhan, deputy of the Mission.

The Saudis must approve other senior staff members on the account in advance.

Harbour has extensive communications experience in the Arab World, knowledge gained from representation of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi and Libya.

Joel Johnson, ex-senior advisor for policy & communications for President Clinton, established Harbour in 2001. He left in 2005 for Glover Park Group, which is now part of WPP.
Moving up to larger tires on any rig is sometimes a multi-step process. That is the case with our Lexus GX 470, as we planned to stuff larger, 33-inch tires on our rig but needed to get the vehicle up off the ground before we could fit them in the wheel wells without rubbing, and sadly that meant driving around town for a short amount of time on sad-looking stock road tires. With our Icon Vehicle Dynamics suspension installed, our OPOR Metal Tech 4x4 sliders and our Goblin Metal Tech 4x4 front bumper on, it was finally time to get our new Icon Alloy wheels and our Nitto Ridge Grappler tires on the GX.

When we bought our GX 470, the stock tires were the epitome of on-road rubber and offered no real off-road traction or durability. We took the rig off of pavement a few times and basically cringed the entire time worrying wed shred the tires on even the mild trails we explored. When it came time to pick tires we decided to opt for something far more aggressive. Weve already spent time on the new Ridge Grapplers, as this new hybrid tire bridges the gap between an all-terrain and a mud-terrain, and we like how quiet they are on the highway in spite of the aggressiveness of the tread design. Although the Ridge Grapplers are aimed at truck and SUV owners needing a heavy-duty tire in D and E load ratings, they also offer a C load rating, which isnt quite as stiff as those beefier D and E tires and will therefore offer a softer ride on our rig. We opted for a set of Nitto Ridge Grapplers in size 285/70R17 with a C load rating.

Icon Vehicle Dynamics may be most known for their suspension components, but the company also recently launched a new line of wheels under the name Icon Alloy. We liked the look and were happy to see they offered a Lexus/Toyota bolt pattern option, so we decided to go with the new Alpha wheel, which is available in both 17- and 20-inch sizes in a Black, Black and Machined and Gunmetal Finish. We decided on the Satin Black color to match our black-and-white Stormtrooper theme.

For the installation, balancing and mounting of our tires and wheels we headed over to our local Americas Tire (Discount Tire most everywhere else outside of California). The team had us in and out in less than an hour. Veronica and Tyler went mounting our new Nitto tires on the Icon Alloys, and we were pleased to see that no tire needed more than 3.5 ounces of weight to balance (with the least being only 1 ounce).

Even with our Icon suspension upgrades, the larger tire-and-wheel combo was still pretty snug in the wheel well, so we headed over to SoCal SuperTrucks in San Bernardino, California, to perform a body chop mount on the rig. This modification is fairly common on Toyota, and in our case Lexus, vehicles that are modified for off-road use or run larger tires. The modification essentially opens up some additional room in the wheel well with trimming of the body mount. SoCal SuperTrucks performs this modification so often that they actually have their own Body Mount Plates for each application. Follow along with details below.

MORE GX 470 STORIES

Metal Tech 4x4 Goblin Front Bumper for Lexus GX 470

Icon Vehicle Dynamics, Metal Tech 4x4 GX 470 Rear Suspension Install

Lexus GX 470: Icon Vehicle Dynamics Front Suspension Installation



SOURCES

America's Tire

AmericasTire.com



Icon Alloys

IconVehicleDynamics.com

951-689-ICON

Nitto Tire

NittoTire.com

SoCal SuperTrucks

SoCalSuperTrucks.com

877-80-SoCal
Iconic Newspapers is looking for an Ad Operations Executive to join their team in Portlaoise and are offering a competitive salary package. If you have the organisational skills and attention to detail to provide an effective campaign management service across the ad operations team, this is an excellent opportunity.

You will provide key administrative support and liaison between our media teams and creative agencies, and therefore it is vital that you can manage and streamline the booking process and troubleshoot any problems that arise.

Daily tasks include, but are not limited to, trafficking campaigns, managing delivery and optimisation, ensuring that campaigns are meeting their KPIs, providing reports and screengrabs to the sales team, along with dealing with any other queries they have, and troubleshooting faulty ads.

Iconic Newspapers is Irelands largest independently owned newspaper group, with an unrivalled audience across both print and online. Our portfolio includes many iconic, market-leading titles including the Limerick Leader, the Kilkenny People, the Leinster Leader and Leinster Express.

Highly organised with strong communication and analytical skills, you will enjoy working both on your own initiative and as part of a team. With the enthusiasm to work under pressure within a fast paced environment, you must have the ability to maintain accurate records, prioritise your workload and work confidently in a fully digital and process driven environment.

Ideally of graduate calibre you must have the drive and commitment to make your mark within one of our dedicated, professional teams. With plenty of initiative and a good level of numeracy, its also important that youre hard working, personable and reliable, with solid computer skills. An interest in digital media is desirable.

Were quick to recognise talent, and just as quick to reward it - so youll have every chance to build a successful future with us.

To apply, please email your CV and covering letter to ckelly@iconicnewspapers.ie.
Agricultural News

Oklahoma's Expected Wheat Production Unchanged from 89 Million Bushels in Latest USDA Reports

Friday morning, the USDA released two reports including its Crop Production report based on June 1st data, as well as the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays reached out to Oklahoma State University Extension Grain Market Economist Dr. Kim Anderson, for his reaction to the implications of today's reports. You can listen to their full conversation about the numbers in these reports, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of this story.





"Overall, I think it's a good report for HRW and wheat overall," Anderson said. "I think production from a US standpoint looks good for wheat."





Anderson summarized the production report, highlighting that all wheat had been raised from previous expectations only about 4 million bushels, essentially nothing says Anderson. Winter wheat, according to the report, has been adjusted down just slightly, and HRW, practically unchanged as well.





World production numbers for wheat though, have been lowered some. Anderson says his concern there lies with Argentina's wheat production. He says Argentina's production estimate has been increased by 3% or 18 million bushels.





Russia's wheat production has also increased by 3%, or 73 million bushels. Anderson says that is 73 million more bushels of wheat that Russia will be putting on the international market, as it continues to feed its new status as the number one wheat exporter in the world. Both Argentina and Russia are direct competitors of US HRW.





Looking closer at home, Oklahoma's wheat production has not been changed in today's report, remaining at 89 million bushels as previously predicted.





"I think what harvest is showing us is that 89 is probably closer to what Oklahoma is going to get," he said.





Anderson reports that test weights so far in Oklahoma have been very good, reaching up close to 60+ lbs. He says this means our farmers have hopefully produced some good milling quality wheat. However, at the same time protein levels leave something to be desired.





Reading between the lines though, Anderson says it will take lower foreign production to get prices the lift they need. He does say that currently news from around the world for the most part seems to be trickling in that direction.





For more highlights of these two reports out from the USDA today, listen to Hays speak with Anderson by clicking or tapping the LISTEN bar below.





















For more highlights of these reports from the USDA today, listen to Hays speak with Anderson below

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With gun in hand, and a hundred screaming inmates telling her to pull the trigger, Daya Diaz (Dascha Polanco) stands over a corrections officer, and ... so ended the fourth season of Orange Is the New Black on one of the biggest cliffhangers of just about the entire TV year in 2016. Following a long series of grievances, but especially following the death of beloved Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley), Litchfield has revolted. Will Daya pull the trigger? Will the inmates of Litchfield finally topple the sadistic Piscatella (Brad William Henke)? The fifth season  which begins streaming today on Netflix  covers just three tumultuous days.

For the record, or to address what youll eventually be wondering about anyway, there have been riots by women at New York state prison facilities before, notably one at Bedford Hills in 1974, when 200 inmates took over a couple of buildings and the rec yard. The so-called August Rebellion ended a couple of hours later. By contrast, the riot this season on Orange Is the New Black will end 13 hours later. And unlike Bedford Hills, there will be blood.

Let all that settle in before you hop on this wild ride  which of course you will. The fifth season is intense, compressed, accelerated and occasionally oppressive. A pervasive sense of confinement is heightened, too  all part of the irony that while the prisoners are free for the moment, they have never been more locked up. You can almost feel the days, maybe years, in solitary pile up for some of them after this is all over.

Thats also part of the desolation of the fifth season. Prison riots, male or female, never end well.

Netflix offered the first six episodes for review and from those, other fleeting impressions emerge. Initially this unfolds like Lord of the Flies meets Animal Farm meets Oz, which (incidentally) confined its own prison riot to just one episode in the first season. Day into night, theres the constant echo of laughter up and down the halls of Litchfield. Like a party, says someone. Only terrifying.

Poussey was the match, but soon enough the fire is out of control. People being people, alignments start to form, power bases take shape. Daya has the gun. That makes her  Daya!  the boss for the moment anyway, with the Dominican gang and Maria Ruiz (Jessica Pimentel) in close second. Self-interest (or self-preservation) starts to sweep Litchfield, too. Chaos ensues. Splinter groups are created based on their own self-interests or needs (drugs, sex, food). A few pragmatists stand down, or aside: Not my circus, not my monkeys, says Red (Kate Mulgrew).

Then comes the blood lust, and the captured COs offer that particular escape valve. No spoilers here, but the irony will elude no one that it was Baxter Bayley (Alan Aisenberg)  the nice CO  who killed Poussey, and not sociopath Humps (Michael Torpey), last seen cowering by Daya.

What to make of all this? That the fifth could be a long season, indeed. As always, OITNB still finds a way back to its roots, when this was actually considered a comedy, albeit a savagely indignant one. There are plenty of great lines, a few laugh-out loud ones. But make no mistake  the fifth season means business, intent on establishing real-world parallels, notably with Black Lives Matter and Ferguson, Missouri.

And while most of the inmates may have forgotten what this riot was all about, Taystee (Danielle Brooks) hasnt: Her name was Poussey Washington. She was kind, loyal and our best librarian. She didnt deserve to be in here, and certainly didnt deserve to die in here.
VA officials said Friday they hope that a new federal initiative plus more local hiring will stop a trend that has seen more Nebraska and western Iowa veterans waiting longer to see doctors.

Two years ago, Department of Veterans Affairs data examined by The World-Herald showed that only one in 278 clients of the VA Medical Center in Omaha had to wait longer than 30 days to see a doctor. More than 99.6 percent saw a doctor on time. That placed the hospital among the top three of 152 VA hospitals in the country.

Nearly every other clinic in the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System  which serves veterans from North Platte in the west to Shenandoah, Iowa, in the east  boasted similarly impressive numbers.

Since then those numbers have slipped. A new look at recent data shows that the rate has dropped to 98.3 percent in Omaha. Eleven other hospitals now rank ahead of it, though Omaha still ranked well above the VAs national average in April of 96.8 percent.

The problem is even more serious at the VA clinic in Norfolk, where in April more than 6 percent of patients waited more than 30 days. Thats far more than the national average.

The problem in Norfolk began when the clinic lost two of three primary care physicians who work there, said Dr. David Williams, the health care systems chief of staff.

One of our big challenges is staffing, Williams said. If a doctor gets sick or retires, it takes a long time to replace them.

He said new physicians recently have been hired.

I would say by August well see significant improvement, he said.

VA officials said the slippage in Omaha and across the region is, ironically, the result of a program meant to help shorten veterans wait times.

Congress created the program, called Veterans Choice, in 2014, after revelations that some VA hospitals  but none in Nebraska or Iowa  had created phony waiting lists to cover up scandalously long waiting times.

The law allowed veterans who had waited more than 30 days or live more than 40 miles from a VA clinic to visit a doctor in the private sector instead.

A private contractor, called Health Net, was hired to run the program. But the company has struggled to keep up, said Jenny Rosenbalm, business office director for the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. That has led to longer wait times for a few veterans needing to see certain specialists.

Historically we had a very good non-VA care program. We would buy anything our veterans needed in the private market, Rosenbalm said. Choice has added some hurdles.

She said she expects improvements with the recent passage by Congress of a successor program, called Veterans Choice 2.0. Rosenbalm said the new version will involve the local VA more directly in setting up appointments for affected veterans.

Since the current fiscal year began Oct. 1, 2016, the local VA has processed nearly 17,000 Veterans Choice claims, according to VA officials. That compares with 21,304 during the entire previous year.

Were going to be one of the first sites to try it, Rosenbalm said. Our staff will be more heavily involved in the care of the veterans.

Also on Friday, Health Care System Director Don Burman briefed reporters on planned improvements as part of a State of the VA initiative begun last month by VA Secretary David Shulkin that calls for improvements in 13 areas of service.

Burman said the VA wants to offer wider choices for veterans, improve quality of care, modernize electronic records, boost employee accountability and enlist the communitys help in stopping veteran suicides.

Among planned VA improvements:

 Begin construction next spring on an $86 million ambulatory care facility at the Omaha VA hospital through a groundbreaking public-private partnership. When completed, the new facility will allow most outpatient services to move out of the aging and outdated hospital building, which opened in 1950.

 At the same time, begin building a 350-stall parking garage to ease the hospitals chronic parking woes. The garage is expected to cost between $8 million and $9 million, said Will Ackerman, a VA spokesman.

 Begin construction of a new Fisher House on the Omaha campus. The house provides rooms for families to stay while veterans from out of town receive extended care.

 Fill vacancies faster with the help of events like a recent job fair, at which VA recruiters collected resumes from more than 400 job candidates. The system has a particularly urgent need for nurses, said Eileen Kingston, associate director for patient services, with 15 current openings for acute-care surgical nurses.

 Boost the Omaha VA hospitals current four-star (out of five) quality rating to the top mark by the end of the year. Our metrics all point to us as a five-star facility, Burman said.

World-Herald staff writer Dan Golden contributed to this report.
LINCOLN  A prison inmate charged with killing his cellmate deserves the death penalty because he had committed a prior murder and has a history of violence, Johnson County Attorney Rick Smith says in a new court filing.

Smith and prosecutors with the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office had previously announced that they would seek the death penalty against Patrick Schroeder, who is accused of choking Terry Berry Jr. to death on April 15 inside their cell at the Tecumseh State Prison.

By law, the state must declare which aggravating circumstances exist that warrant a death penalty in a first-degree murder case.

On Friday, Smith filed a court document stating that he intends to prove that two aggravating circumstances existed in the crime: Schroeder had previously committed a murder (hes serving a life sentence for the 2006 murder of a Pawnee County farmer); and he has a substantial history of serious assaultive or terrorizing criminal activity.

If Schroeder, 39, is found guilty of first-degree murder in Berrys death, a second sentencing trial would be held to weigh whether he deserves the death penalty. Part of the process involves weighing the alleged aggravating circumstances against any mitigating circumstances that might have existed.

Schroeder is next scheduled to appear in Johnson County District Court on June 20.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif greeted each other in a cultural program here in Kazakhstan's capital Astana tonight. Modi and Sharif are here to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. In this conference, India and Pakistan will be included as full members of the SCO.

It is noteworthy that in spite of bitter ties between the two leaders, the stalemate in the negotiations and an increasing enemy on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, the incident of asking a recent trick by greeting each other is being considered.

According to sources, "Modi and Sharif greeted each other when they were in the Leader's Lounge for the reception at Astana Oprah."

Also Read:

Jammu & Kashmir: Terrorists attack SOG camp at Shopian

MP farmer protest: AAP leader will go to Mandsaur today

Kisan Movement: Rahul demands 'martyr' status for killed farmers
A sign propped up outside Bellevue City Councilman Pat Shannons car wash promises a remodel and new equipment.

But the letters and logos on that sign are chipped and fading. A discarded home appliance sits a few feet away. A traffic cone sits in one of the car wash stalls.

Residents are tired of looking at the disrepair at the closed car wash. The citys administration, Permits Department, Police Department and City Council members have fielded numerous complaints about Big Johns Car Wash, at 12709 S. 28th Ave.

On Monday night, the Bellevue City Council will consider a resolution to condemn the property, have it torn down and remove the debris by July 14.

Several council members said they hope it wont come to that. Instead, they said, theyd like to see Shannon come forward with plans to fix the property and work with the city to get it operating again.

The car wash is owned by Big Johns Car Wash LLC, which is registered to Shannon. Public records show the car wash was purchased in 2015 for $50,000. Bellevue police records show code enforcement complaints filed shortly afterward.

Shannon, who was elected in November, represents all of Bellevue from his at-large position on the council. He did not respond to emails or a phone message seeking comment on Thursday.

According to Bellevues city code, buildings can be declared nuisances if the structure is unsafe or unfit for occupancy and use and the owner refuses to repair it or if the building has fallen in assessed value by half for any reason.

Once the building is declared a public nuisance, it can be ordered torn down by the City Council.

In this case, the city said the car washs value has dropped to less than half of its former amount.

The Sarpy County Assessors Office put the improved value of property at $63,530 from 2005 through 2015. In 2016, that dropped to $12,918.

Representatives for the property need to show cause why such building should not be condemned as a nuisance, the agenda item says. Otherwise the building should be ordered torn down, the debris removed and the premises placed in a safe condition.

Mike Christensen, Bellevues chief building official, said if Shannon wants to avoid the declaration he needs to offer a plan for fixing up the property.

A letter was sent to Shannon in May telling him the property in its present condition is no longer capable of being used as a car wash, according to a memo from Christensen to the city clerk. Shannon didnt respond, the memo said.

Bellevue City Administrator Joe Mangiamelli said Shannon has notified the City Council that he has a conflict of interest as the owner of the property.

Mangiamelli said he expects Shannon to be represented in the matter by an attorney.

Roberts Rules of Order, which the council uses in its meetings, dictates that Shannon excuse himself and leave the chamber during the discussion, Mangiamelli said.

A condemnation isnt all that common. The City of Bellevue condemns only three or four properties a year, Christensen said.

Members of the City Council said theyve heard complaints about the property from residents.

Councilman Paul Cook, who represents the area, and City Council President John Hansen said that if the council can get a solid commitment from Shannon to fix up the car wash they would not be in favor of condemning it.

Cook said hes hopeful that Shannon will come before the council with plans to get the property rehabbed and put back into use, but he will listen to residents concerns.

If hes not willing, then its a whole different story, Hansen said. And that goes for all properties.

Its an unusual situation for the council, Councilman Thomas Burns acknowledged, but he said being on the council doesnt put anyone above the law.

Councilman Don Preister said all properties up for demolition are troubling because theyre a detriment to the community.

When the property belongs to an elected official it is contrary to their oath of office and promise to improve the community, Preister said. It erodes public confidence in government. Its unfortunate. Its troubling. And we will deal with it.

Councilman Jim Moudry did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Its not the first time the property has come up during a Bellevue City Council meeting.

In March 2016 Shannon, who had not been elected yet, went before the Bellevue City Council as the representative of Big Johns Car Wash LLC and requested that the property be designated as blighted and substandard.

The designation would have allowed Shannon to submit a redevelopment plan and use tax increment financing to pay for certain improvements on the property.

That request was denied on a vote of 4-2.

The citys Planning Commission had recommended that the council deny the request, saying it did not meet the statutory definitions of blighted and substandard.

Shannon also has a trial scheduled next week in Sarpy County Court involving an alleged issue at another building in Bellevue. He is accused of violating electrical license requirements, a misdemeanor, at a building at 1503 Galvin Road South in Bellevue, according to a complaint. He has pleaded not guilty.

The building on Galvin Road South and several others were purchased in 2016 by an LLC registered to Shannon.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission also has been trying to collect a $16,000 fine from Shannon for more than a decade. The fine stems from a violation of campaign finance laws.

Residents will be able to share their thoughts with the City Council during the Monday night meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 210 W. Mission Ave.
Some like it hot. Yeah, right.

Gusty south-southwest winds are expected to usher in hot and slightly more humid air this weekend in the Omaha area, forecasters said.

Temperatures will peak around 95 degrees today and Sunday, which will be near record highs for the Omaha area, according to the National Weather Service office in Valley.

Dew points in the low to mid-60s, combined with the high temperatures, will create a heat index, or feel-like conditions, ranging from 95 to 105 degrees.

For us, said KMTV meteorologist Ryan McPike, its going to be hot, hot and more hot through the weekend.

This one (heat spell) is pretty good for early June, he said. Its going to feel more like August.

The Salvation Army said Friday that its opening cooling stations in Omaha and Council Bluffs next week for anybody who needs a break from the heat. And the Humane Society reminded drivers not to leave their pets in cars.

McPike said the jet stream is tracking well north of the Omaha area, creating a heat bubble over eastern Nebraska and western Iowa that is driving up temperatures and drawing in moist air from the south.

The average high temperature for June in Omaha is 87 degrees. The record high in Omaha for today is 106 degrees in 1933; the record high for Sunday is 101 degrees in 1952.

Today in the Omaha area, expect mostly sunny skies, a high around 95 and south winds gusting as high as 25 mph. Tonights low will be 75.

The weather service said Sunday and Monday in the Omaha area should also be mostly sunny and breezy, with highs around 95.

The good news, said McPike, is we dont have to worry about any severe weather in our area.

Tuesday will bring sunny skies, a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1 p.m. and a high around 95.

Forecasters said Wednesday and Thursday will be also be mostly sunny with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. The highs both days are expected to reach the mid- to upper 80s.
Agenda to be fixed on Monday

Jaitley will return to India on June 10. It is highly unlikely that he will take any decision on June 11 and 12. On Monday, according to sources Jaitley is likely to discuss the matter with the Cabinet Secretary and fix and agenda for the next Cabinet meeting. A Union leader who did not wished to be named said that the matter will be taken up soon by the Cabinet.

Suspense over weekend

The suspense will continue through the weekend. However government sources say that the matter will not go unattended. The Finance Minister has gone through portions of the report submitted by the Empowered Committee of Secretaries or E-CoS. It would be examined once again before the Cabinet meeting, the source also added.

Modi sought to speed up matter

Sources said that the Prime Minister had advised the Finance to speed up the matter. Many central government employees who are waiting for good news on allowances have questioned why the matter has been delayed. Sources say that the PM had taken keen interest in the matter and asked that the same should be sorted out on priority.

What Cabinet will discuss

An increase in House Rent Allowance (HRA) and basic pay was among the major concerns raised at the meeting of Empowered Committee of Secretaries for Central government employees. Although some reports indicated that the a cap of25 per cent and 27 per cent was put on HRA, the Cabinet is likely to reverse that as per the employees' demands.

HRA hike

The Cabinet will first discuss the hike employees have been asking in the range of 157 to 178 per cent is the HRA rates as per the 6th Pay Commission. The existing rates of HRA for Class X, Y and Z cities and towns are 30 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent of Basic pay (pay in the pay band plus grade pay). If the Cabinet retains the existing HRA then the component for central government employees will increase in a range of 157 to 178 per cent.

What is the new entry level

As per 7th Pay Commission, the new entry level pay at this level is Rs 18,000 per month against which the new HRA for a Class X city would be Rs 5,400 per month, that is around 157 percent more than the existing level.



At the highest level of the pay scale, the Cabinet Secretary and officers of the same rank have a basic pay of Rs 90,000, which means they are entitled to current HRA of Rs 27,000 in Class X towns. After the revised pay scale, the new basic pay is Rs 2.5 lakh, for which the HRA would be Rs 75,000, meaning a hike of around 178 percent.
Another farmer dies in Mandsaur, anger escalates

India

oi-Anusha

Tempers ran high in Mandsaur on Friday once again after another farmer succumbed to his injuries. The 26-year-old resident of Badavan village was found with injuries that locals allege was a result of an assault by the police.

Despite the partial relaxation of curfew, protests continued in various places of the violence-hit district. Anger escalated after 26-year-old Ghanashyam Dhakad succumbed to injuries at the MY Hospital. He was taken to the hospital last night but was declared brought dead. With this, the death toll in Mandsaur violence climbs to 6.

The police claimed that the circumstances that led to his death are being investigated. Locals claim that Dhakad was on his way to a temple last evening when some policemen stopped him and thrashed him with sticks. Newly appointed SP and Collector of Mandsaur arrived at the spot on Friday and tried to calm the angry villagers. Villagers highlighted that they were being picked up and assaulted by the police without reason. It was alleged that three associates of the deceased farmer, Dinesh Malwi, Shivnarayan Malwi and Ganesh Malwi were also missing.

Former MP and Congress national secretary Sajjan Singh Verma who visited the spot demanded a probe into the same alleging that police had murdered the farmer. He demanded that a thorough probe be ordered and the post mortem procedure video graphed.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 17:54 [IST]
Army foils infiltration bid in Uri sector, 5 terrorists killed

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

At least five militants were killed by Indian Army while trying to infiltrate along the Line of Control on Friday in Uri sector, Kashmir.

Army has foiled back-to-back infiltration attempts by militants in the last two days. At least seven terrorists were killed in multiple attempts by Pakistan Army to infiltrate armed groups into Kashmir were foiled on Thursday in Nowgam, Kashmir. Also, one jawan was martyred in the gun battle against the militants.

Three AK rifles, ammunition, grenades, maps and matrix sheets seized from the encounter spot in Nowgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

According to reports, this is could be the third successful anti-infiltration operation carried out by the security forces along the LoC in the last 48 hours, and the fourth in less than a fortnight.

OneIndia News
BJP exerting pressure on media in Cgarh: Congress writes to Press Council over ad row

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

A political fight has started between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Congress over print advertisements in local Hindi dailies in Chhattisgarh.

Now, the Congress has written a letter to the Press Council of India alleging that under the Raman Singh government pressure, five dailies refused to carry its full-page advertisements. In the letter, however, the Congress did not mention the names of the local dailies.

Congress leaders in the state said that they wanted to publish advertisements highlighting the misrule and corruption cases of the BJP government in Chhattisgarh.

The advertisements were planned for Thursday, on the day BJP president Amit Shah visited the capital city, Raipur. Currently, Shah is on a three-day visit to the state where he will be attending 22 meetings as a part of strengthening the party ahead of 2018 assembly elections.

While the Congress' "anti-BJP" advertisements did not make it to the print, Shah got warm welcome on front pages of almost all the leading newspapers of the state on Thursday.

"The BJP National President Amit Shah is in Chhattisgarh between 8 and 10 June, and being an opposition party we wanted to ask some questions regarding issues of Chief Minister Raman Singh's corruption to Amit Shah. With that in mind, the state Congress committee decided to print advertisements on June 7, so that they could be published on June 8.

Five prominent dailies refused to print our ads. While they did not give any official reason, internal discussions with those in charge of advertisements revealed that if they were to print the ads, they would face trouble from the government. I want to bring to your notice that the government has begun exerting pressure on the fourth pillar of democracy, so much so that an opposition party cannot even spend money and raise their issues," Chhattisgarh Congress president Bhupesh Baghel wrote in his letter to the PCI chairperson.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Baghel said, "We wanted to publish advertisements regarding issues of corruption against this government. However, on Wednesday, one after the other, the five papers pulled out. Only one newspaper published the advertisement. When we tried to approach the newspapers, they said they could not publish the ads or they would face pressure from the government."

A government official denied the allegations as baseless. "This is not something that the government gets into at all.... We were not aware of any Congress advertisements, and the newspapers may have taken the decision on their own. We had no part in it," a senior official said.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 14:43 [IST]
Two of 8 cheetahs released in acclimatisation enclosure at MP's Kuno National Park: Official

Two cheetahs make their first kill at Kuno National Park

Congress calls Rahul's detention 'undemocratic', while BJP brands him 'tragedy tourist'

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The BJP and the Congress have locked horns over the arrest on Rahul Gandhi when he was enroute violence hit Mandsaur on Thursday.

Rahul, who was arrested under section- 151 of the IPC in Neemuch, lashed out at the Narendra Modi governement over the treatment meted out to the agitating farmers in madhya Pradesh.

Senior Congress leader and former defence minister A K Antony said that Rahul had every right to visit Mandsaur and express solidarity with the farmers.

"The Madhya Pradesh Government's reaction of preventing Rahul Gandhi from visiting Mandsaur is totally undemocratic," news agency ANI quoted Antony as saying.

Despite curfew being in force and administration having denied permission for anyone to visit Mandsaur, Rahul Gandhi left for Madhya Pradesh's violence-hit area to meet the agitating farmers on Thursday. He was then arrested at the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan border and was subsequently left on bail.

Following the incident, BJP leader G. V. L. Narsimha Rao told ANI that Rahul was indulging in political tourism to draw people's attention.

BJP leader Zafar Islam said that Rahul was a 'tragedy tourist' who visited Mandsaur like places to grab cheap publicity.

[Mandsaur limps back to normalcy, curfew lifted partially]

Rahul's visit can be seen as an attempt to make foray into the BJP stronghold. The state has been continuously voting for the BJP since 2003.

A farmers' agitation demanding loan waivers and higher crop prices in Madhya Pradesh spread to large parts of the state with protesters torching vehicles, targeting police stations and attacking government officials.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 10:22 [IST]
Electrifying Rural India?

India

oi-Oneindia

By Nitin Mehta & Pranav Gupta

In his second Independence Day address to the nation in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that the government would provide electricity to all 18,452 unelectrified villages in the country within 1000 days. The Power Ministry promises to provide 24 x 7 electricity across the country. To fulfil this objective, the government not only needs to augment the generation capacity but also create the necessary infrastructure for electricity supply in rural areas.

Laying the ground work

A few weeks before making the bold promise at Red Fort, the Prime Minister had formally launched the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY). This is the government's flagship programme for rural electrification. Launched with an objective of ensuring universal rural electrification, the programme subsumes earlier central government initiatives like the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana. One of the principal initiatives under the DDUGJY is feeder line separation across the country. Implemented in Gujarat in 2006 through the once contentious Jyoti Gram Yojana, feeder separation had enabled Gujarat to transform rural electricity supply in the state.

The GARV portal

In this article, we shall present a brief analysis of publicly available data on the GARV portal. The portal ensures a critical dimension of policy making - public accountability and transparency by providing real time updates on the progress. Any citizen with a smart phone or internet access can track the progress on rural electrification. As detailed information is given about each electrified village - date of electrification, details of local linemen, photographs of installed poles etc., it allows cross checking of the aggregate figures and overall progress claimed by the government. Numerous journalists and researchers have tried to match the information released on the portal with ground realities. Fortunately, the government has indeed been receptive in making amends in case of discrepancies. Recently, the portal was expanded to include progress on providing electricity connections to rural households.

Steady progress on the 1000 day target

The Prime Minister's 1000 days deadline for electrifying the 18452 unelectrified villages finishes in May 2018. Until now, 13598 villages (74% of the target) have been electrified. We find that the average annual increase in electrified villages under DDUGY is much lower than RGGVY. Between 2005 and 2012, more than more than 1 lakh villages had been electrified across the country. The average annual increase under RGGVY was much higher as compared to the last two years. However,these figures are incomparable as the set of unelectrified villages differs sharply. There may be a reason why it was these particular 18,000 villages were remained unelectrified under the RGGVY. This set is likely to constitute villages which are relatively inaccessible or remote and may be requiring greater efforts. For instance, more than 7200 of the unelectrified villages are located in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts and the government has already electrified 5930 of these. Thus, lower annual increase under DDUGY may not be unexpected.

The government's role doesn't end at merely creating the necessary electricity supply infrastructure in the villages and connecting them to the grid. All households and habitations within the village must be provided electricity. Out of the total target of electrifying 17.9 crore households, 13.4 crore households (74%) have been electrified uptill now. All households are electrified in only 1.65 lakh villages (27%) out of 6.04 lakh villages in the country.

Conclusion

To fulfil the dream of 24 x 7 electricity, the Power Ministry needs to ensure that the generation capacity also increases gradually. As the supply infrastructure expands, demand will naturally increase and we need to ensure that our generation capacity increases accordingly. After a stage, the centre has limited role in expanding electrification as electricity supply is undertaken by the states.

Thus, a lot depends on synchronization in the efforts made by the centre and the state. Recent attempts under the Modi government like the UDAY programme aimed at reducing discom debts are also likely to be extremely helpful in this regard.

(Nitin Mehta is managing partner, Ranniti Consulting and Research. Pranav Gupta is an independent researcher.)
Bharat Jodo Yatra will proceed to Srinagar, come what may, says Rahul Gandhi as march enters Maharashtra

En route MP, Rahul gave us some serious fitness goals. Now, will he be able to cross Modi hurdle?

India

oi-Maitreyee

By Maitreyee

Looking at Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's high-octane 'steeplechase' to reach Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, one thing is very clear-the scion of Gandhi family is definitely fit. We mean physical fitness here. Regarding, political fitness, lesser said the better. At 46, Rahul looks as fit as any youngsters in their early 20s. Didn't you see the television footages?

Bollywood can definitely take a cue from the cat-and-mouse chase that took place between the cops and Congress VP and his convoy on the border of MP-Rajasthan.

His journey from Delhi--to give solace to the families of farmers killed in police firing in Mandsaur on Tuesday--covered all modes of transportation. The Gandhi scion took a plane, a car, a motorcycle, walked a few meters and even jumped a police barricade.

The Congress leader reached Udaipur, Rajasthan, before leaving for MP by road. In Nimaheda town, in Chittorgarh district, he rode pillion for nearly 7 kilometres to reach the MP border. From there, he walked to the border, where he was taken into preventive custody.

Unfortunately, his herculean effort yielded nothing much as he couldn't reach his final destination-Mandsaur-the current favourite place for all opposition leaders. Finally, he had to meet the family members of police firing victims at Doria in Rajasthan.

The long distance journey, well-covered by the media, was abruptly disrupted when Rahul and his 'accomplices' were arrested for a brief period by the 'tough' cops. Like Rahul, the policemen also looked quite motivated.

Finally, the cops overpowered Rahul's "political ambition" and kept him lodged in a makeshift police station for a while.

After he was released, Rahul did what he does best. He decided to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government's "anti-farmer" policies. As reporters and cops circled around the Gandhi scion, a visibly angry looking Rahul (yes, he was upset not tired after all the drama), said that PM Modi only gives "golis" (bullets) to farmers.

"Na kisaano ka karza maaf karte hain, na bonus dete; bas goliyaan dete hain (They don't waive off farmers' loan. Neither do they give any bonuses. Bullets are what all they give)," Rahul said.

"Narendra Modi can waive loans of the country's rich but can't do so for farmers." He stressed the fact that he wanted to visit the district to meet the families of the five farmers killed by police firing.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party called Rahul's sportsman-like effort a "photo-op". The BJP also labelled the Congress leader as "tragedy tourist".

While the blame game continues, the farmer crisis has come at a crucial juncture when the Modi government is celebrating its third anniversary at the Centre. The farmers' protests in Maharashtra and MP, which is fast spreading like a wildfire to other parts of the country, including Tamil Nadu, might decide the political future of both Rahul and his bete noire PM Modi.

OneIndia News
Why Punjab farmers burn stubble at this scale when others do not

Fearing Mandsaur spill over, UP govt speeds up sops for farmers

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Uttar Pradesh government is working at break neck speed to fulfill its commitment to farmers on loan waiver. The UP government fears a spill over of the protests from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The government is fast tracking its work on loan waiver for farmers as the government holds its budget session, state health minister Siddharth Nath Singh said on Thursday.

The government is also planning to double the income of farmers, Singh also said. The government fears that the unrest in Mandsaur, MP may spill over into pockets of adjoining UP.

Singh said, one of the suggestions made by Niti Aayog to deal with small land holdings which comes in the way of using modern technology to improve yield is to go for cooperative-style pool farming where technology could be shared to bring down the cost and improve production.

The government also plans to bring water to the Bundelkhand region bordering Madhya Pradesh with the help of 6,000 check dams to be built in the region to push drip irrigation. This would be done through the MGNREGA scheme, Singh said.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 8:56 [IST]
Fodder scam: Lalu reaches CBI court for hearing on Deoghar treasury case

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday arrived at the special CBI court in Ranchi in connection with one of the Fodder scam cases which is related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 95 lakh from Deoghar treasury.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav reaches Special CBI Court in Jharkhand's Ranchi, for hearing in the fodder scam case. pic.twitter.com/E3lkXxcaVo  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

The RJD chief has already been convicted and sentenced to five years' imprisonment in one of the five cases of fodder scam.

On Thursday, former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra had appeared in a special CBI court in Ranchi in connection with two fodder scam cases.

Mishra had appeared in connection with alleged fraudulent withdrawal from Dumka and Doranda treasury of Jharkhand.

The Supreme Court had in May set aside a Ranchi high court ruling and ordered that the RJD chief be tried in all the remaining five fodder scam cases.

The apex court in April heard the plea filed by Lalu challenging his jail sentence in connection with the case. The CBI had filed a plea in the apex court against the dropping of a conspiracy charge against Yadav by the Jharkhand High Court in one of the fodder scam cases.

The scam involved fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 950 crore of public money from the treasuries of Chaibasa in undivided Bihar under the head of the animal husbandry department in the early 1990s. The money was withdrawn on the basis on fake bills and vouchers for buying fodder and medicine for livestock by the animal husbandry officials in connivance with traders and top officials and politicians across the party lines.

Besides Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra, former animal husbandry ministers Vidyasagar Nishad and Chandradeo Prasad Verma, JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma, BJP leader Dhruv Bhagat and former RJD MP RK Rana were also among the accused.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 8:44 [IST]
GJM observes 12-hour bandh in Darjeeling hills, Mamata terms it illegal

India

pti-PTI

Darjeeling (WB), Jun 9: The Army staged flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha observed a 12-hour bandh, which was described by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as "illegal".

"The situation is under control and government offices recorded 98 to 100 per cent attendance in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik," the chief minister told reporters here. She said some shops were closed as their owners were wary of GJM vandalism.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung has challenged Banerjee to stop the agitation in the hills, asserting that "his writ runs in the hill". He also projected himself as the "chief minister of the hills". Gurung said the GJM would formulate a strategy for further agitation in a democratic way.

The six columns of Army carried out flag marches in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong, a defence spokesperson said, adding the situation was under control. Darjeeling town, brimming over with tourists, had witnessed violence when GJM supporters clashed with the police and burnt state vehicles. Banerjee, who stayed back here after yesterday's cabinet meeting, asked the tourists not to get scared. She said a three-member committee comprising three senior IPS officers had been set up to look after the law and order situation in Darjeeling. She said arrangements had been made to help the tourists return to Siliguri from Darjeeling.

The state government has also arranged buses to take the tourists from Siliguri to Kolkata, she said. Banerjee, who visited some areas and interacted with the people, said, "I have seen how so many vehicles were set on fire. We want peace and development in the hills.

The Army has already started route march." Warning the GJM not to cross the "lakshman rekha", the TMC leader said, "There is a limit to everything. Strong action will be taken if they cross the limit." "The police will do its work and law will take its own course. Nobody is above law. Government is very tough. They will take action against those who are doing this vandalism," she said when asked about the kind of action the government was planning against the GJM chief.

Last night, an FIR was filed under non-bailable sections at the Darjeeling Sadar police station against Gurung and GJM general secretary Roshan Giri. The GJM supporters had protested alleging that the state government was imposing Bengali language in the schools in the hills, which was refuted by the chief minister. Reiterating that language was not the issue, she said, Gurung-led Gorkhaland Territorial Administration had failed to carry out any development work in the hills and when their term was scheduled to be over next month, they have started "torturing the public".

"The previous Left Front government and the Centre had given them (GJM) indulgence," she said admitting that her own government compromised with them sometime. Gurung, on the other hand, accused the TMC activists of hurling stones at the police yesterday and alleged TMC was responsible for the prevailing situation in the hills. Urging people in the hills not to support Gurung, she said GJM was scaring away tourists from the hills which would affect the people who thrived on tourism. The chief minister, who visited the injured police personnel in the hospital, said the state government would give compensation to their families and bear their medical expenses. She said a policeman, who received injuries in his eyes during yesterday's violence, will be airlifted to Kolkata for further treatment. If necessary, he would be taken abroad for treatment.

Gurung on his part said he will directly talk to the Centre about the deployment of Army and the alleged police atrocities on the innocent people. "I will talk to the Centre, we are an ally of NDA. We will give them all the details of police atrocities on the innocent people of the hills," he said. Gurung also accused the West Bengal government of hatching a conspiracy by announcing that a "special audit" would be done on the funds allotted to the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) and said that the agitation in the hills would not stop till Gorkhaland was achieved. He also questioned the "arbitrary" removal of GTA secretary Ravi Inder Singh last night by the state government.

"The state government is trying to undermine the authority of GTA. They are violating the GTA pact. Who gave the state government the right to arbitrarily remove the principal secretary of GTA without informing us?" he wanted to know. "We are open to any kind of audit.

The state government is plotting to malign us in the name of special audit. That is why they had removed the principal secretary of GTA," Gurung told PTI. When asked about deployment of Army in Darjeeling, Governor K N Tripathi said in Kolkata, "I am yet to receive any official communication."

PTI
GJM protest: Over 10,000 tourists stranded in Darjeeling

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Over 10,000 tourists were stranded in Darjeeling as Gorkha Janmukti Morcha has called for 'bandh' till 6 pm in protest against lathicharge on its supporters. The GJM supporters were protesting against alleged "imposition of Bengali language in the schools in the hills" on Thursday.

Darjeeling: Over 10,000 tourists stranded as 'bandh' called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha continues till 6 pm, against yesterday's lathicharge. pic.twitter.com/BHBAwDcscp  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

The troops were brought in after the protesters damaged police vehicles and set some of them ablaze, prompting the police to fire tear gas and lathicharge the violent GJM supporters. The GJM supporters staged a dharna and raised slogans against the chief minister while for the first time that the chief minister was holding a cabinet meeting in Darjeeling.

The hill town, which is at present full of tourists, had remained peaceful for several months as the GJM-spearheaded agitation for a separate state of Gorkhaland.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 14:15 [IST]
In 48 hours, Army kills 7 terrorists, foils 6 infiltration bids

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

In flat 48 hours the Indian Army has killed 7 militants and foiled 6 infiltration bids. The Army which has set a December deadline to wipe out militants in the Valley has been on overdrive mode off late. The Government in a recent communication to the Army has given it a free hand to deal with the situation in the Valley.

"In the last 48 hours, infiltration attempts have been foiled at the Gurez, Machhil, Naugam and Uri sectors. Seven armed intruders have been eliminated so far," a statement from the Army read.

According to the statement, three militants were killed in the Naugam sector on Thursday, while four were killed in the Machhil sector on Wednesday. Also, two jawans were injured early Thursday morning in an encounter in Uri district where at least five militants tried to infiltrate the border but the Army foiled their attempt. In Gurez, armed intruders ran back leaving rucksacks behind.

The Army statement said the intruders were being provided active support, including covering fire (heavy calibre artillery) by Pakistani army posts on the LoC to assist them to enter the Kashmir valley.

With these four operations, the Army has thwarted six infiltration attempts along the LoC in less than a fortnight in north Kashmir. On May 26, the Army had claimed to have killed two Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) members who tried to infiltrate into the Uri sector in Baramulla district to carry out an attack on the soldiers. Six more militants were killed in the same sector, the next day, when they attempted to sneak into the valley.

This year 22 infiltration attempts have been foiled and 34 armed intruders have been eliminated along the LoC. "Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and its agents to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan," the Indian Army also said.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 8:17 [IST]
J&K: Terrorists hurl grenade at District Police Lines in Pulwama

India

oi-Madhuri

Terrorists hurled grenade at District Police Lines in Pulwama on Friday. According to sources, no injury or casualty were reported so far.

The militants attacked Police Lines Pulwama with Grenade, which exploded outside DPL.

Earlier today, the Army killed six militants near the Line of Control as it foiled fifth infiltration bid from Pakistan into Kashmir in three days, raising to 12 the total number of infiltrators gunned down during this period.

The six militants were killed in Uri sector during a counter-infiltration operation launched after the troops detected movement of ultras trying to sneak into the valley. With this operation, the total number of infiltrating militants killed over the last three days in various sectors has gone up to 12.

On May 26, Army killed two Pakistani Border Action Team members who tried to infiltrate into Uri sector in Baramulla district to carry out an attack on the soldiers. Six more militants were killed in the same sector next day when they attempted to sneak into the valley from across the border. In the current year, Army foiled 23 infiltration attempts killing 39 armed intruders along the LoC.

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)
Delhi AQI remains 'very poor' but parts of NCR breathe better

DigiLocker users can now store Ayushman Bharat health records: Here's how to do it

Kapil Mishra denied entry to Kejriwal's Janata Darbar

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, who had said that he would confront Arvind Kejriwal at his Janta Darbar, was on Friday stopped outside Delhi Chief Minister's residence.

The rebel leader had taken to Twitter to announce that he would visit Janata Darbar at 10 am on Friday.

 10  CM    ,            Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishraAAP) June 9, 2017

After being removed as Delhi's Water Minister on March 6, Mishra has launched series of attacks on the AAP and its convener Kejriwal. Soon after sacking, Mishra said he saw Kejriwal taking Rs 2 crore from Health Minister Satyendra Jain.

On May 14, in a dramatic press conference that ended with him fainting, Kapil Mishra accused CM Arvind Kejriwal of money laundering and dared him to resign.

Last week, Mishra had announced the launch of "India Against Corruption-2" to take on AAP chief Kejriwal.

On May 31, the Aam Aadmi Party leaders in the Assembly created a ruckus when the ousted minister demanded to speak in the Assembly session and was thrown out of the House.

According to a video, it showed that some AAP MLAs allegedly caught hold of Kapil Mishra and marshalled out after a scuffle with party leaders.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 11:10 [IST]
Like Yogi, Manipur CMs Janata Darbar becomes a hit among poor, needy

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Immediately after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took over the reins of the state, he started attending to people's grievances through his much-popular Janata Darbar (People's Court). Hundreds of kilometers away from UP, in the northeastern state of Manipur, CM Biren Singh has also started meeting people and listening to their problems in his monthly programme, Meeyamgi Numit (People's Day). Except for different names, the purpose of both the programmes are same--meeting between the head of the states where the CMs listen to people's problems first-hand and try to solve them.

During his first People's Day, hosted on May 15, the Manipur CM met around 100 citizens and got a whip of issues plaguing the state. However, one case that stood out is the eyesight problem of a partially-blind elderly man, who knocked at the CM's door in the capital city, Imphal, with the hope of "seeing the world again".

67-year-old Soubam Birendra, a resident of Imphal East, attended the People's Day on May 15 and told Singh that because of lack of finances he was unable to treat his blindness. The partially-blind elderly man had cataract but did not have money for surgery.

"When I told the CM about my eye problem, he directed me to his personal ophthalmologist who runs a clinic near the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal city with a note on which his telephone number was written. I went there and today I have regained my eyesight," Birendra told The Telegraph.

The clinic, which is not well-equipped to treat Birendra's bilateral cataract in his right eye, re-directed the patient to the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, run by the government.

"He came to us on May 31. We conducted an operation immediately free of cost as the patient was referred to us by the CM. The next day he regained his vision," the director of the institute, L Deven, said.

Birendra narrated how because of lack of money he could not visit an ophthalmologist all these years and led a "dark" life. Thus he decided to seek help from the CM after he came to know that on People's Day citizens can raise their problems before him.

"I thank the CM and the doctors of the JNIMS who performed the surgery," Birendra said.

"I pray that Biren Singh remains the chief minister. I feel much younger after I regained my eyesight," Birendra said.

Now, the CM has fixed 15th of every month as People's Day to allow people come and meet him freely to air their grievances. Singh is going to meet citizens on June 15 as well. The CM has also set the 10th of every month to meet citizens from the hills.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 8:56 [IST]
'Two-finger test' should be banned in matrimonial dispute cases too, says Maharashtra doctor

Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Exam results 2017 unlikely tomorrow, stay tuned for updates

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Exam results 2017 is unlikely to be declared tomorrow. The tentative date fixed is June 12.

There has been a lot of confusion regarding the results owing to a great deal of delay. Stay tuned here for updates as we will continue to provide them as and when information trickles in.

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and High Education (MSBSHSE) in a release advised students not to believe rumours. It made it clear that the results would be announced next week. However a Times of India report states that the result may be declared today. This information however could be independently verified.

The results would be available on the official website of the board. There are over 17 lakh students who are awaiting the results for long.

17,66,098 candidate appeare in Class 10th exam, which is an increase of 2.23 per cent from last year. Once the results are announced, students can log in to mahresult.nic.in, result.mkcl.org, mh-ssc.ac.in or msbshse.ac.in.

How to check Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Exam results 2017

Visit mahresult.nic.in , result.mkcl.org , mh-ssc.ac.in

, , Click on SSC results 2017

Enter roll number, other details

Submit

View results

Take a printout

OneIndia News
Mandsaur: Among the five killed farmers was a 19-year-old, a newly-wed

India

oi-Anusha

Violent farmers' protest turned tragic in Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh when police opened fire on protesting farmers. Five farmers died within minutes of each other. Among those dead was a 19-year-old student of class 11, another a newly wed. All five farmers who were killed on Tuesday were poor landless farmers and farm labourers who paid the price for an agrarian crisis that was the split side of Madhya Pradesh's rapid agriculture success story.

Abhishek, a 19-year-old who succumbed to police bullets was a class 11 student. His grief-ridden family placed his body on the Mandsaur-Neemuch highway and protested. A student who loved biology was the youngest of the five killed during the violence. His family claims that he never indulged in violence and was merely raising slogans. Son of a landless farmer, Abhishek was also the youngest of four siblings.

Jagdish Patidar had lost his father in 2016 and was forced to give up studies and work in the family land of which he was yet to get ownership. Jagdish joined the protest worried that he would not be able to recover the cost incurred for soybean, garlic and wheat. His family claims that he was shot dead while drinking water. He leaves behind a young wife and an ailing mother who had lost her husband barely a year ago.

23-year-old Chainram Patidar had married barely two months ago. He dreamt of joining the army but a bullet from a police weapon cut his life short. He had taken part in the army recruitment camps at least thrice, his family claims but was rejected each time. In a quote to a newspaper, the family claimed that it owned a huge piece of land which was acquired by the government in 1970 for the construction of a dam. The family hopes that someone is given a job in the MP government as assured.

A daily wage worker, Satyanarayan Dhangar earned a mere Rs 200 every day. Despite the meagre earning, Dhangar made more money than his family did in agriculture. His family claims that he went to Mandsaur only to see the rally. They are still confused as to why he was shot dead by the police.

Kanhaiyalal Patidar leaves behind a 16-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. He was confident that the protest would bring some relief to the farmers. Despite not having a farm to his name, Kanhaiyalal worked hard but found it difficult to recover input costs leave alone a profit. His family claims that he walked towards the police assuming that they were calling for talks but was shot dead.

On Friday, reports of another farmer succumbing to injuries emerged from Mandsaur taking the death toll to six. While the government has announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of the deceased wives, mothers, fathers, children of those killed can never be consoled.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 12:36 [IST]
Kashmir related pleas to be heard by 5 judge Bench: SC rejects Vaikos petition on Farooq Abdullah

MDMK Chief Vaiko questioned over LTTE links, detained at Malaysia airport

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

MDMK supporters protested in front of Malaysian Consulate in Chennai after MDMK Chief Vaiko was denied entry into Malaysia on Friday.

Vaiko was questioned over his alleged links with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after being denied entry into Malaysia on Friday. Vaiko was stopped at Kuala Lumpur Airport and questioned for several hours.

Last month, a court in Chennai has granted bail to Vaiko, who had been in jail since April 3, in a 2009 sedition case.

In 2009, police had registered a case under IPC sections 124 (sedition) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, place of birth, residence, language) against Vaiko for a speech he had given while releasing his book, 'Naan Kutram Sattugiren' (I am Making the Accusation).

(With agency inputs)
Modis message to China, Pak at SCO meet: Enhance connectivity without infringing sovereignty

India

oi-PTI

India and Pakistan on Friday joined the SCO with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that unless strong and coordinated efforts are made, the issues of radicalisation and financing and training of terrorists would be impossible to address, in a veiled dig at Islamabad.

"Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is impossible to find a solution," PM Modi said in the presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

In his address at the annual summit of the SCO in the Kazakh capital, PM Modi said India's entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism and other pressing challenges facing the region.

"Terrorism is a major threat to humanity," PM Modi said, adding that there was a need for concerted efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation. "I have full confidence that the India-SCO cooperation will give a new direction and strength to the fight against terrorism," PM Modi said.

Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values. The fight against terrorism is an important part of the SCO cooperation, he said. The Prime Minister also spoke of the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

"We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity," he said.

The Prime Minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Pakistan Prime Minister among others, also asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors+ in such a cooperation.

"Connectivity with SCO member countries is a priority for India and we whole-heartedly support it. We want connectivity to pave way for enhancing cooperation and confidence among the societies and young people. Respect to sovereignty and regional integrity is necessary. It is also important to ensure inclusivity and sustainability," the Prime Minister said.

His remarks assume significance as they come weeks after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the Summit+ to highlight its concerns over the $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of Xi, and passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Earlier in the day, PM Modi met Xi on the sidelines of the Summit and underscored the need to respect each other's "core concerns" and appropriately handle the disputes.

During the meeting, PM Modi said India and China should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

Following Modi's address at the summit, India and Pakistan became full members of the SCO, the first-ever expansion of the China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

"India and Pakistan are now members of the SCO. It is a very important moment for us," Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is the current chair of the SCO, said, making the announcement of the induction of India and Pakistan, capping a two-year-long accession process.

PM Modi, in his address, also thanked the SCO countries for granting membership to India.

The Prime Minister said India's SCO membership will certainly take cooperation among member states to new heights.

"The drivers of which will be energy, education, agriculture, defence, minerals, capacity building, development partnership, trade and investment," he said.

PM Modi said today marked a historic turn in the SCO's journey and India was ready for an active and positive participation in the grouping. He said the development of the SCO will mean development of a huge section of the world's population. The Prime Minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change. He said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, June 10, 2017, 0:52 [IST]
IT dept conducts raids at 40 locations in Rajasthan, 3 businessmen on radar

Nation can't be prosperous unless farmers earn more: Rajnath Singh

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

With farmers' protest seemingly spreading across the nation, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that the nation cannot be prosperous unless the farmers of the country earn more.

Speaking at a function in Jaipur, Singh said the Prime Minister NarendraModi-led government is working towards the goal of doubling farmer incomes by 2022.

"Jab tak Hindustan ka kisaan dhanvaan nahi hota, tab tak Hindustan ko dhanvaan banane ki kalpana humari poori nhi ho skti (Unless farmers of India are properous, till then prosperity of nation cannot even be imagined)," he said.

He said that India's borders are now safer than before, adding that the government will further ensure that security is stepped up.

Rajnath Singh today arrived in Jaipur for a one-day visit during which he will inaugurate a 'MODI-fest'.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP state president Ashok Parnami and state Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria welcomed Singh at the Sanganer airport. The Union minister is scheduled to inaugurate the MODI- fest at Muhana Mandi, address a party workers' meeting in Dudu, and attend a meeting at the Birla auditorium.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 12:57 [IST]
NEET 2017: Need to declare results urgently, CBSE tells SC

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The CBSE has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court order to declare the NEET 2017 results. The CBSE has the SC to allow it to declare the results. The Supreme Court will hear the matter on Monday.

The CBSE sought urgent lifting of the stay of the order passed by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court which had stayed the declaration of the results. The CBSE made an urgent mention before the SC to lift the stay on the declaration of the results. The SC said that it would hear the matter on Monday.

This year onwards, the CBSE had conducted NEET in English, Hindi and other local languages based on an SC directive. Nine lakh students had taken the NEET exams in English while 1.5 lakh took the same in Hindi and other languages. The question papers for English and Hindi were the same, but in other languages it was different. The CBSE said that it had different question papers to prevent possible leakage of the paper resulting in cancellation of the entire NEET.

OneIndia News
NEET 2017: Why is there no uniform syllabus across the country asks MHC

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Madras High Court questioned the CBSE why the NEET 2017 exam could not be completed immediately after the plus 2 exams. The court said that it could not accept that the CBSE was the best pattern.

The court also asked how students could face the exam when there is no uniform syllabus across the country.

Earlier the CBSE had moved the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court order to declare the NEET 2017 results. The CBSE had asked the SC to allow it to declare the results. The Supreme Court will hear the matter on Monday.

The CBSE sought urgent lifting of the stay of the order passed by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court which had stayed the declaration of the results. The CBSE made an urgent mention before the SC to lift the stay on the declaration of the results. The SC said that it would hear the matter on Monday.

This year onwards, the CBSE had conducted NEET in English, Hindi and other local languages based on an SC directive. Nine lakh students had taken the NEET exams in English while 1.5 lakh took the same in Hindi and other languages. The question papers for English and Hindi were the same, but in other languages it was different.

The CBSE said that it had different question papers to prevent possible leakage of the paper resulting in cancellation of the entire NEET.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 16:58 [IST]
With Islamic radicalisation running so deep, why an NIA branch in every state matters

NIA questions Geelani's son-in-law in terror fund probe

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, June 9: The National Investigation Agency on Friday questioned Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Ahmed Shah here in connection with its probe into alleged terror-funding by Pakistan-based organisations to stoke unrest in the Kashmir valley.

Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, arrived at the NIA headquarters in the morning and was questioned for over six hours over the alleged funding of Geelani-led Tehrek-e-Hurriyat, an NIA official said.

Shah, who has an influential role in the policies of the Tehrek-e-Hurriyat, will be questioned on Saturday too. The counter-terror agency has so far questioned over half a dozen people in connection with the case.

Earlier, the NIA sleuths raided Shah's house in Srinagar along with the house of Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali.

Last Saturday, the NIA carried out raids at 26 places and the following day at seven places across Srinagar, Delhi and Haryana. Among those raided were separatists Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate'.

Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.

The raids were part of NIA's efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley.

The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups including LeT and HM. The NIA investigation seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who throw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments.

Bank accounts and lockers revealed during the probe have been frozen. Besides electronic gadgets, phone diaries and documents such as rough receipts and vouchers had been seized from alleged hawala operators, financiers and office bearers of separatist groups.

During the searches, a few thousand Pakistani rupees and currencies belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia as well as LeT and HM letterheads were seized by the NIA.

The NIA has alleged that since cross-LoC trade, at Uri in Kashmir and Chakan-da-bad in Jammu, was based on a barter system, some businessmen "under - or over -invoiced" their bills, and the difference in payment was later used for promoting subversive activities in the valley.

This is the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding separatists.

In 2002, the Income Tax department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents. However, no criminal case was registered then.

The NIA has also roped in the government's cyber security arm to analyse electronic evidence collected during its raids. Twenty-two laptops and computers, 100 mobiles and nearly 200 pen drives and memory sticks had been sent to the Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-IN) for creating backup files. The CERT-IN will also provide other technical details related to the data, the sources said.

The CERT-IN has also been asked to look for deleted material in the electronic gadgets, they said. The NIA raids were carried out following the questioning of three separatist leaders -- Nayeem Khan, who was seen on television during a sting operation purportedly confessing to receiving money from Pakistan-based terror groups, 'Bitta Karate' and Gazi Javed Baba of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, in the national capital last month.

IANS
Operation wipeout: 38 terrorists killed in Valley, more to come

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Indian Army which has launched, " Operation wipeout," in the Kashmir Valley has killed 38 armed militants and stopped 22 infiltrations in the past 6 months. The Army has a set a December deadline to wipeout militants from the Valley.

The Army which had struck Pakistan posts aiding infiltration across the Line of Control has also successfully prevented infiltration attempts at Gurez, Machhil, Naugam and Uri sectors.

A senior army official on Thursday was quoted by PTI as saying: "In the current year, 22 infiltration attempts have been foiled and 34 armed intruders eliminated on the LoC,".

The officer further added, "The relentless operations by the security forces have defeated the desperate attempts by Pakistan and its agents to spread terror in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan,".

When compared to previous data it was found that 28 infiltration attempts took place in 2015 followed by 88 infiltration attempts in 2016. The Minister of State for Defence, Subhash Bhamre had earlier said in the Parliament that a total of 116 illegal trespassing cases along the India-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir were reported in 2015 and 2016, including 88 last year.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 5:16 [IST]
SC on Aadhaar: Congress welcomes order

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jun 9: The Congress on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court order partially staying implementation of provisions in the Income Tax (I-T) Act making Aadhaar mandatory for allotment of PAN cards and filing of income tax returns (ITR).

"This is a welcome decision. Probably the highest court has realised that the privacy issue regarding individuals is very serious," Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said.

He said the matter was still there in the constitutional bench for them to decide. Referring to Aadhaar card required for mid-day meals, he said that is an "overdrive" as there are other means to authenticate students.

The court made it clear that those PAN cards without Aadhaar cannot be junked until the court finishes hearing the matter. A Constitution Bench of the SC will hear the matter, but the date has not been mentioned by the SC.

The court said that invalidating PAN cards of citizens who have not linked them to Aadhaar will invite severe consequences. Though fake PAN is a threat, Parliament should consider toning down the consequence of Aaadhaar-PAN linking. Further the court also added that it rejected the argument that Aadhaar-PAN linkage should be subject to voluntariness.

PTI
"Sri Sri Ravishankar should be shot dead," says man in FB post, cops on the lookout

India

oi-Anusha

The police are on the lookout for a man who issued a death threat to Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar. A post on Facebook by the man said to be from Mysuru stated that the spiritual leader should be shot in the head.

While the Art of Living approached the Kaggalipura police over the threatening post. Taking cognizance of the offence, the police have registered a case against unknown persons and are on the lookout for the man who posted the message. The comment in Kannada abuses Ravishankar and says that he should be shot dead. Following the FIR, the post that was put out on June 1 has been deleted.

"The incident came to light after the Facebook post went viral and was also circulated amongst people known to us. We were informed about the threat and decided that we cannot take the matter lightly," said Nikhilesh Shenoy, administrator, The Art of Living International Centre.

The post was found on the Facebook wall of a person identified as Harohalli Ravindra. According to the information available on the profile, Ravindra is a Mysuru-based post graduate student originally hailing from Harohalli on Kanakpura Road. The police, however, have registered a case of criminal intimidation by an anonymous person under section 507 of the Indian Penal Code. A specific name is expected to be added only after the police verify the authenticity of the profile. Sri Sri Ravishankar has earlier been issued threats by extremist organisations.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 11:25 [IST]
Steel bombs thrown at CPM office in Kerala

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Steel bombs were thrown at CPI (M) committee office by unidentified men in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Thursday night. No injuries reported, reports ANI. The party has called for 'hartal' in protest against the attack.

The attack comes two days after unidentified persons hurled a 'petrol' bomb at the BJP's district office in Thiruvananthapuram. No one was in the office when the incident took place. A chair in front of the office was found in a burnt condition, police said.

However, BJP district president S Suresh alleged that CPI (M) was behind the attack and said the incident happened at about 8.30 pm. He said police came to the spot very late. The attack comes in the backdrop of the attempt to manhandle CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury in New Delhi by two men who claimed they were members of a group called Hindu Sena.

(With agency inputs)
Tamil Nadu: Heavy rains in several parts of Tamil Nadu in next 2 days

Tamil Nadu BJP office receives bomb threat

India

oi-Madhuri

Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party Office headquartered in T Nagar in Chennai received a bomb threat on Friday. According to sources, police got an information regarding a parcel containing gunpowder and other related material with a threat note.

It is not known as to who is responsible for the incident. Police are currently examining CCTV footage to get clues about the person who could come in at what time. However, it was immediately alerted by the staff members who were present during that tme.

Meanwhile, the bomb squad has taken away the parcel for further investigation.

Similar incident was reported one day ago, when unidentified assailants hurled petrol bomb at the Trivandrum district committee office of Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday.

The police said the bomb was hurled around 9.15 p.m. Windowpanes and a few chairs were damaged in the impact. No one was injured in the attack. The BJP has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Thiruvananthapuram to protest against the attackd

OneIndia News
Talented, driven and great potential: President Putin is all praise for India and Indians

The Western bias and why it cannot digest Indias success

Telangana student's father requests Swaraj to expedite visa process

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The father of a Telangana student, who was shot by an armed robber in California on Sunday, has urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to expedite visa process so that family could travel to the US to see their son.

Mubeen Ahmed (26), who is pursuing MS from California University, was shot in a shop where he had taken up part-time work. The incident took place at 6 pm on June 4.

Mujib Ahmed, father of Mubeen, has received a letter from the hospital where he is admitted, saying that his son is critical and a family member should visit California.

Appeal Sushma ji to help us, visa process be expedited so that we can visit California: Father of Mubeen (shot at by gunman in California) pic.twitter.com/t7ZnxpTKuH  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has already received the report from the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. In reply, she tweed that Mubeen is out of danger and she assured that the case will be followed.

He is admitted in the Eden Medical Centre CA. Fortunately Mubeen is now out of danger. We are following up the case with the police./3  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 8, 2017

Earlier, Majlis Bachao Tehreek leader Amjedullah Khan has written to Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and NRI affair minister K T Rama Rao to help Mubeen's family.

In February, Mamidala Vamshi Chander Reddy from Telangana's Warangal district was allegedly shot dead at Milpitas, California by a man suspected to be a carjacker. But, the culprit responsible for the killing was arrested.

Then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had assured all assistance to the family of the deceased. Attacks on Indian students still continue even after US administration assured that America is a safe place for students.

OneIndia News
Terrorists attack SOG camp at Shopian, J&K

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Terrorists are suspected to have attacked a Special Operation Group camp at Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir. The attack was carried out at around 2.30 am on Friday. No reports of injuries or casualties have been reported so far.

However some sources indicate that it could be a false alarm. A soldier had opened fire after he suspected movement of terrorists in the area. An official confirmation is awaited.

It may be recalled last week a pre-dawn attack was staged at Jammu and Kashmir at a CRPF camp. The security personnel had gunned down the four militants within an hour of the attack being launched.

OneIndia News
Whats the need for jails if forces kill without trial? asks father of fake encounter victim

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

These days, Kashmir is always in the news for clashes between the security forces and civilians. However, far away from Kashmir, in Assam, a father of an alleged fake encounter victim has raised several pertinent questions regarding the role of security forces in killing alleged militants without a trial.

Bineswar Islary (55), the father of one of the victims in the March 30 Chirang "fake encounter" case, has questioned the need for jails if security forces kill people without trial.

"Why did they have to kill my son? What is the need for a jail if the security forces decide to kill somebody merely on suspicion or without a trial? All we want now is justice and punishment to all those involved in the fake encounter because my son was a labourer, not a militant," Bineswar told The Telegraph.

On March 30, security forces declared that Bineswar's son, David (25), and, Lucas Narzary (30), were killed in an encounter in Chirang. Both the victims lived 5 km away from each other under Amguri police station in Chirang district of Assam.

According to Amguri police the two were "hardcore" militants and Lucas was a cadre of the 42nd batch of the NDFB (S) and had received training in Myanmar. However, the families of both the alleged militants claimed that they were innocent, and became victims of conspiracy hatched by the security forces.

The case got reopened after a CRPF inspector-general, Rajnish Rai, claimed in a letter addressed to his senior, the army and Dispur in April that David and Lucas had died in a "staged" encounter and the weapons found on them were "planted".

On Thursday, Chirang sub-divisional officer Jayanta Sarkar conducted a hearing on the encounter. The magisterial probe on the encounter was announced on April 4.

"I raised Rs 88,000 by selling a 3.5 bigha plot to secure David's bail only to see him dead 13 days later. How could a boy who is illiterate and hearing impaired, who grew up in the homes of others doing odd jobs and then went to Bangalore to earn a livelihood be a militant? He was earlier arrested on the suspicion of being a militant from a relative's place and was in jail for three months. I got him out by selling my land only to see him dead 13 days later. It was all pre-planned because the police had come looking for my son even before he got bail," Bineswar told The Telegraph.

Like David's family, Lucas's elder brother Donbosco and widow Namita are also demanding justice and action against those responsible for his death.

Both widow and brother of Lucas said that they were not aware if he was a militant because he had been away from home and working in the coal mines of neighbouring Meghalaya for the last three years.

During the "fake encounter", Lucas was hit by a bullet on the chest while David was hit on chest and stomach. They were found dead at Simlaguri, 6 km from the house of Ranjit Basumatary, where they were staying the night, in remote Dighaldong area.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 11:39 [IST]
Why didn't Modi raise Kulbhushan Jadhav, LoC issues with Sharif: Cong

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jun 9: The Congress on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking why he did not raise the issues of Kulbhushan Jadhav and ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the Line of Control when he met Nawaz Sharif at Astana.

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said Modi had asked the Pakistan prime minister about his and his mother's health, instead of giving a befitting reply to him for killing Indian soldiers. She said Modi had in 2014 questioned the dialogue with Pakistan when soldiers were being killed, but when it came to asking tough questions, he only queried about Sharif's health.

"I want to ask the Prime Minister, when he spoke about Nawaz Sharif's health and asked about his mother, did the prime minister also speak about Kulbhushan Jadhav," she said. Chaturvedi asked whether the prime minister thought it fit enough to ask his Pakistani counterpart about why Pakistan continues to violate the Line of Control.

"Why is it that our Army jawans are dying almost on a daily basis. Beheading has happened and yet we do not give an answer to the Pakistani prime minister," she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged greetings with his Pakistani counterpart in the leaders' lounge at a reception at Astana Opera in the Kazakh capital organised to welcome leaders participating in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. The meeting came amid escalating Indo-Pak tensions over a range of issues.

PTI
Yasin Bhatkal's claim of not getting enough food during Ramzan is false: Tihar authorities to court

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jun 9: The allegations of human rights violation by Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, sentenced to death in a blast case, are false and fabricated, the Tihar jail administration has told a Delhi court.

In their reply to an application moved by Bhatkal before Additional Sessions Judge Siddharth Sharma seeking a CBI probe into the allegations, the jail administration said the accused was provided with all basic facilities similar to other prisoners.

"The allegations levelled in his application by the inmate are false and fabricated just to malign the jail administration with ulterior motives best known to him, whereas he has been provided all basic needs similar to other prisoners," a jail official told the court.

He said that the accused, facing trial in 50 cases, has been kept in the high security ward of the jail as there were inputs from various security agencies that the accused may escape from custody and there is also danger to his life.

"Thereby, he has been categorised under 'very very high risk prisoner' and kept under 24 hours CCTV surveillance and the watch of special guards," the officer said. The court has posted the matter for July 20. In his plea moved through advocate M S Khan, Bhatkal had alleged physical harassment in the prison, while urging the court to direct a probe by the CBI and the Anti Corruption Branch in this regard.

He had alleged that he had been kept in isolation for the last four months due to which he was suffering from mental and psychological problems. He had also claimed that he was denied proper medical aid, food and water and was facing problems during the ongoing Ramzan.

Bhatkal was sentenced to death by an NIA court in December last year in the 2013 Dilsukhnagar twin blasts case in Hyderabad. He is at present lodged in Tihar.

PTI
Hostage situation at job center in Newcastle, England

International

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

A unidentified knifeman held at least six people hostage at a job center in northeast England on Friday.

Man with a knife holding employees hostage at a job centre in Newcastle, reports AFP news agency. Specialist negotiators are at the scene. Motives behind the hostage situation is not yet known.

Police said it is believed the man involved is known to the job center, adding that it is being treated as "an isolated incident" and there are no reports of any injuries.

Witnesses also say the man had something strapped to his chest. However, it has not been confirmed if it was an explosive vest. Six members of staff were reportedly held inside, and five have been released while one man remains inside, British media reports. Nearby student accommodation has also been evacuated, police confirmed, and Byker Metro station has been closed.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 15:18 [IST]
India-Pak ties at 'lowest point', hope Modi will use mandate to resolve differences: Imran Khan

Xi and Putin to meet in Uzbekistan for security talks

PM Modis remarks to Putin at SCO consistent with Indias position on Ukraine war: Jaishankar

Modi calls for concerted efforts to tackle terrorism menace

International

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Asserting that coordinated efforts are needed to tackle the menace of terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said terrorism amounts to blatant violation of human values and rights.

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kazakhstan's Astana, Modi said it required concerted efforts to rein in radicalisation, terrorist recruitment and terror financing issues.

Aatankwad manav adhikaron aur manav mulyon pe sabse bade ulanghankariyon mein se ek hai: PM Modi in Astana,Kazakhstan pic.twitter.com/vLDZDmPi4b  ANI (@ANI_news) June 9, 2017

Modi also thanked other members of SCO for supporting India's membership to the grouping, which at present comprises China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

"After 12 years of observership, will get membership of SCO. Want to thank all members for their support," he said.

At the summit in Astana, India and Pakistan will become the full members of the grouping. Modi reached reached Kazakhstan on Thursday to attend the summit.

After India becomes the member of the grouping, SCO will represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP.

On Thursday evening, Modi exchanged pleasantries with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif at a reception amid escalating Indo-Pak tensions over a range of issues.

[Modi, Nawaz Sharif exchange pleasantries in Astana]

When asked whether Modi and Sharif will have a bilateral meeting, External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay had earlier said, "Our position has not changed. There is no proposal from their side. There is no proposal either from our side."

India has been maintaining that there was neither any request from the Pakistani side nor any such proposal from the Indian side for a Modi-Sharif meeting.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 14:41 [IST]
No evidence that India abducted retired Colonel says Pak minister

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A Pakistan minister has countered the narrative of the Army and said that there is no evidence to suggest that their retired Colonel was abducted by India. The ICJ and the UN cannot be approached on this issue as there is no evidence to suggest that India was behind the abduction of the retired Pakistan colonel, Pakistan minister. Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch told the parliament.

Pakistan had accused India of behind the abduction of Lt Col Muhammad Habib Zahir who had gone missing recently. The Indian Intelligence agencies were accused of luring the retired Colonel with a job and later abducting him.

Colonel Habib disappeared near Nepal's border with India on April 6 where he had apparently gone for a job interview. His disappearance from Nepal has been widely termed by Pakistani media as a revenge by India to the death sentence given by a Pakistani military court to Kulbhshan Jadhav.

"No final report suggesting that the Indian intelligence agency or the Indian government was involved is available with the Foreign Office or the government," the Dawn newspaper quoted him as saying.

When asked by the Senate Chairman if the Foreign office was discharging India of the kidnapping charges, Baloch said, "We are hundred per cent sure that Indian intelligence agency RAW is behind the kidnapping but the evidence to this effect is not final." He also said that the kidnapping of Col Habib could have a link with the conviction of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, but stressed that material was required to prove the matter legally.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 8:24 [IST]
PM Modi leaves for Delhi after attending SCO summit

International

pti-PTI

Astana, Jun 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday left for home after wrapping up his two-day visit to Kazakhstan where he attended the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and met some foreign leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"Wrapping up a historic visit, focussed on multiltrl diplomacy & strnthng biltrl ties. PM @narendramodi departs frm Astana after #IndiainSCO (sic)," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted. India and Pakistan today joined the SCO, the first-ever expansion of the China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

In his address at the annual Summit of the SCO in the Kazakh capital, Modi said India's entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism and other pressing challenges facing the region. The Prime Minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

Earlier in the day, Modi met Xi on the sidelines of the Summit and underscored the need to respect each other's "core concerns" and appropriately handle the disputes. During the meeting, Modi said India and China should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

India's membership in the SCO was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistan's entry into the grouping was backed by China. With the first expansion of the grouping since its inception in 2001, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global GDP.

PTI
Preet Kaur Gill becomes first female Sikh MP in UK

International

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Councillor from Sandwell, Preet Kaur Gill, on Friday, became first female Sikh MP to be elected to the UK House of Commons.

She defeated ruling Conservative party's Caroline Squire and won the Edgbaston seat as a Labour Party candidate in the June 8 mid-term elections.

Gill, who was born and raised in Edgbaston, is expected to focus on issues related to the Sikh community, the fourth largest faith group in the United Kingdom, said reports.

"I am delighted to have been chosen as the Labour candidate for Edgbaston and it would be a huge honour to become the next Member of Parliament for the place where I was born and raised," Gill was quoted by the UK media as saying when she was chosen to represent Edgbaston.

She also reportedly said after winning the elections that she would serve the people of Edgbaston with 'hard work, passion and determination'.

Gill has also served as the member of the Sikh Network in UK.

A total of 56 Indian-origin candidates contested the polls in United Kingdom this time around.

In the 2015 polls, a record number of 10 Indian-origin candidates were elected to the British Parliament including Priti Patel, Alok Sharma, Keith Vaz, Virendra Sharma and Shailesh Vara.

OneIndia News
Theresa May arrives at Buckingham Palace for meeting with queen

International

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

London, June 9: In the wake of hung verdict, Britain Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday arrived at the Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Elizabeth II to seek permission to form a new government. Her party can form the government with the support of 10 Democratic Unionist Party MPs in the House of Commons.

PM Theresa May said that she will work for a coalation with Northern Ireland party to form a govt that will lead Britain through Brexit talks.

In an embarrassing turn for the Prime Minister, Britain delivered a hung parliament with no party getting a clear majority after the snap general elections called by the Prime Minister.

To reach a majority, a party has to secure 326 seats - while the Conservatives have secured 318 seats, the Labour party is behind at 261 seats. The leader of the party that is able to form government will take control of Britain's exit from the European Union - a two-year negotiation which will plot a new course for the $2.6 trillion economy.

May called the snap election in a bid to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations, to win more time to deal with the impact of the divorce and to strengthen her grip on the Conservative Party.

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 17:39 [IST]
Trump personal attorney rubbishes Comey's allegations

International

pti-PTI

Washington, Jun 9: Donald Trump's personal attorney has denied allegations made by fired FBI director Comey saying that it has now become clear that the expelled lawman was one of the leakers of "privileged information" and should be investigated.

"Contrary to numerous false press accounts leading up to today's hearing, Comey has now finally confirmed publicly what he repeatedly told President Trump privately," Mac Kasowitz, personal attorney of Trump told reporters at a news conference after the conclusion of Comey's testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

"That is that the president was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference," Kasowitz said.

Kasowitz said Comey also admitted that there is no evidence that a single vote changed as a result of any Russian interference. His testimony also makes clear that the President never sought to impede the investigation into attempted Russian interference in the 2016 election, he said.

"In fact, according to Comey, the president told Comey, 'It would be good to find out', in that investigation if there was, 'some satellite associates of his who did something wrong'. He President Trump, did not exclude anyone from that statement," the attorney said.

"Consistent with that statement the President never in form or substance directed or suggested that Mr Comey stop investigating anyone, including the president never suggested that Mr Comey, 'Let Flynn go'. As the president publicly stated the next day, he did say to Mr. Comey, 'General Flynn is a good guy, he has been through a lot'. And also, 'asked how General Flynn is doing'," he said.

"Admiral Rogers (Director of National Security Agency) testified today that the president never, 'directed him to do anything illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate'. And never, never, "pressured him to do so". Director (of National Intelligence, Dave) Coats said the same thing. The president likewise never pressured Comey," he added.

"The President also never told Comey, "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty". He never said it in for and he never said it in substance," he said.

"Of course, the Office of the President is entitled to expect loyalty from those who are serving the administration and from before this president - and from before this president took office to this day, it is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications," he added.

"Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers. Today, Comey, admitted that he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorised disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president," Kasowitz said.

The attorney said the leaks of this privileged information began no later than March 2017 when friends of Comey have stated that he disclosed to them the conversations that he had with the president during their January 27th, 2017 dinner and February 14th, 2017 White House meeting.

"Today, Comey admitted that he leaked to friends of his purported memos of those privileged communications. One of which, he testified, was classified," he said.

He alleged that "Comey also testified that immediately after he was terminated he authorized his friends to leak the contents of those memos to the press in order to, in Comey's words, "prompt the appointment of a special counsel".

"Although Comey testified that he only leaked the memos in response to a tweet, the public record reveals that "The New York Times" was quoting from those memos the day before the referenced tweet, which belies Comey's excuse for this unauthorized disclosure of privileged information and appears to be entirely retaliatory," he said.

"We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated along with all the others that are being investigated. In sum, it is now established that the president was not being investigated for colluding with or attempting to obstruct any investigation," Kasowitz said.

"As the committee pointed out today, these important facts for the country to know are virtually the only facts that have not been leaked during the course of these events, " he said.

PTI
Will Northern Ireland's DUP help May get another term?

International

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

London, June 9: With no party managing to cross the 326-mark, Britain is now set for a hung parliament resulting in uncertainity. This immediately raises question about the future of Prime Minister Theresa May who called for an early elections.

There is much speculation about who could help Theresa May get another term as Prime Minister. For now, May and her team of ministers retain full legal powers and will continue heading the government, until a new government is sworn in.

The Conservatives will remain in power until a decision about the next government is taken. Democratic Unionist Party of Northeren Ireland is seen as a potential parter to help Theresa May remain in power. If the Conservatives can secure 316 seats or more, the DUP's gains in Northern Ireland are enough to prop up May's government bid.

However, the Prime Minister May have to make concessions on her desired Brexit, with the Democratic Unionist Party, who could join forces with the Conservatives to form a coalition government, have said they will not back a hard Brexit.

Meanwhile, Labour Party which stands next to the Conservatives has ruled out a coalation but instead said it would attempt for a minority government.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 12:49 [IST]
Will the Comey 'bombshell' result in the impeachment of Donald Trump?

International

oi-Prabhpreet

By Prabhpreet

While the show, that the Donald Trump presidency has become, may be increasingly entertaining for the rest of the world, it is raising serious concerns in the US. So much so that the usually guarded use of the word and the process that it represents, impeachment, is already being thrown around openly.

And this spark has been lit further following the latest admissions made by the former FBI Director James Comey to the Senate Intelligence Committee. Comey, who was fired by Trump last month, has said that the President asked him to let go of the investigation into Trump's former US National Security Michael Flynn who is facing scrutiny for his contact with the Russia administration.

Sadly for many Americans and those around the world, what should have been a shocking revelation, under the current administration, seems like a routine piece of news.

Though this might be true while looking at the reports on basis of news value, such statements from Comey on the Russian controversy represent serious allegations which make calls for Impeachment sound far less than those of hope and more of a logical conclusion.

What will it take?

The question that remains to be seen is whether this controversy or other actions of Trump merit such a process to be initiated. The current allegations of either him or his team being in direct contact with the Russians before elections, or if he is thought to have acted in a way which could be deemed as an obstruction of justice while investigation into the Russian link are going on, along with the firing of Comey, can possibly be looked at in such a light.

Another allegation of him having given out top security information to the Russians during a meeting in the White House is also being looked at as an instance of him having breached his 'oath of office,' which could also spell trouble for the President. And such cases of jeopardising national security and obstruction of justice are being discussed by his critics as grounds for impeachment.

The confusion on the issue of such a procedure though comes from the fact that there is no clarity on the issue of what constitutes an impeachable offence. And such a doubt has existed as the Supreme Court of the US refused to clearly define what are the matters that lead to such an offence during the last time a President against who such a proceeding was initiated, Richard Nixon. So it is difficult to say whether the current controversy fulfils the criteria.

Who can impeach him?

The process of impeachment of US officials at the federal level, including the President, is initiated and conducted by the legislature i.e. the Congress which is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. So this means that Trump's future as President resides with the legislatures from the Republican and the Democrat sides of the aisle.

Trump, who was the Republican candidate, would take comfort from the fact that his party holds the majority in both the houses of Congress and so, for now, he seems to be safe.

But if reports are to be believed, many legislatures from both parties have already started talking openly about initiating such a process against him. According to reports more than a dozen of such lawmakers have either discussed or promoted Trump's impeachment. And a Democrat Al Green has already asked for this on the House floor.

And also what would be worrying for him is that in the case of Nixon, who had to eventually resign when proceedings for impeachment were started against him, also initially enjoyed the support of his party members till the controversial information related to the 'Watergate' scandal started to come out, which eventually led to his supporters deserting him.

Will the Republicans bite the bullet?

For the President to be impeached it would take an effort across party lines and would only succeed if the Republicans take the lead on it.The party, which eventually saw an outsider such as Trump win the nomination to be its candidate, has never been at ease with the President. The initial resistance that he faced from the senior leadership of the party clearly point to it.

This though changed after he won the nomination, and especially after clinching the election, with leaders slowly moving around to supporting him. This was helped by the fact that the elections held along with those for the presidency brought the control of both houses to the party.

But some of his decisions and actions, including the Russian controversy, have again led to leaders having serious apprehensions about him. This has been aggravated by the President being adamant to replace the popular ObamaCare health plan with his own version which has led to widespread criticism from the public leading to backlash for lawmakers in their constituencies.

And no matter whether he is the President or not, the fact that he is seen as an outsider by most of the party holds true, and that they would rather see a person like the current vice-president Mike Pence take charge can't be too hard to imagine.

Though this may be true for now, to take such a drastic step would not come without repercussions including embarrassment on the political stage as well as giving the currently demoralised Democrats a fresh lease of life.

The eventuality of whether they will take such a step would depend on whether new facts related to the Russian controversy come out or some new controversial action is taken by Trump, which will make the party reach a point where its lawmakers would not have any other option but to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.

Other than this the other major factor which would be taken into account would be on how Republicans see their own prospects of winning in the states and in the fresh elections for their legislature seats given the public's reaction to the President's policies.

For now though the current controversy and the facts that are in public may not be enough for such a major step to be taken, but under Trump, it may not take long for this to not be true anymore. After all, the debate has already reached this point in the first five months of his four-year tenure. And the moment that happens, it won't take long for him to get dropped.

Impeachment in the US

According to Article II of the United States Constitution "The President, Vice-President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors."

The process comes under the power of the US legislature, Congress, which includes the House of Representatives (435 members) and the Senate (100 members).

Any member of the House of Representatives can call for the process to be initiated.

The process works at two levels, the House of Representatives impeaches the President, but then it has to be confirmed by the Senate which convicts the person impeached, and this process resembles that of a court proceeding with both sides making their case.

To confirm the first step of impeachment more than half of the votes in the House of Representatives should vote for it. And the next step of conviction in the Senate needs to vote with a majority of two-thirds of total votes.

Till now no President has been impeached though such proceedings against Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were confirmed in the House of Representatives but were rejected in the Senate.Will Donald Trump be Impeached?

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, June 9, 2017, 5:37 [IST]
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of One News Page Ltd.
by  Graham Pierrepoint



Social media really is bleeding more and more into our everyday lives and even into some of the ways we run them  and when it comes to international law, there are even some instances of Facebook and Twitter use impacting upon the freedoms of various members of the public. Whether its making fake threats on Twitter, threatening death on Facebook or otherwise, the world has needed to catch up with the internet very quickly indeed. This week, it appears that even liking a statement on Facebook could result in criminal indictment  at least, according to a Swiss court case considered to be the first of its kind.

In the case, the Zurich district court has ruled that a user who liked several statements previously thought to have been inflammatory  about a post made by Erwin Kessler, an animal rights activist  should be fined for having shown such assent towards such words. Kessler himself is thought to have sued a number of the people who made such derogatory comments, and some have already been convicted  Swiss law has found that even though the unnamed user merely liked words made against Kessler, they were considered to be endorsing the unseemly content, making the content his own.

Kessler himself came under fire from the defendant, who advised that the activist had been racist and anti-Semitic  and the prosecuted had in fact been convicted himself many years ago and had served time in jail for breaching Switzerlands laws regarding racism. Kessler had commented that methods used by the Jewish faith to slaughter animals could be comparable to Nazi regimes. The Swiss system, therefore, could be considered a leader in fighting back against hate speech  and it seems to be the first of its kind to hit back against liking and piggybacking of certain comments.

It seems that going public on what you like, the statuses you post and so forth could lead you down a longer rabbit hole than many may have presumed. Its long been thought that employers and more besides are able to keep a close eye on specific social media usage  and this latest case, perhaps the very first in a long line, may well set a precedent for users needing to be very careful about what they publicly announce, and even like, in future. Who knows whos watching?
Hull Daily Mail 24 Jun 2022

Mr Dowden said in his letter to the PM the by-elections are the latest in a run of very poor results for our party"
Mediaite 09 Nov 2022

And the glass is half full... Three out of four Republicans in our exit poll said that they have confidence that the votes are..
Mashable 24 Jul 2022

There are as many reasons to make a music documentary as there are ways to sing a song. Maybe the director is a fan of a performer..
Spooky season is upon us, and Hulu is getting into the spirit with a number of horror or Halloween-themed offerings on its October..

The Wrap 24 Sep 2019
Tamil Nadu politician Vaiko or V Gopalasamy was denied entry into Malaysia and questioned for hours at the Kuala Lumpur airport for hours, reports news agency ANI.

Mr Vaiko, the chief of the MDMK party, was questioned over his alleged links with the banned militant group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Vaiko had left from Chennai for Kuala Lumpur on Thursday night around 11:55pm. The MDMK leader is in Malaysia to attend the wedding of Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamys daughter on June 10.

According to a statement issued by MDMK, Vaiko reached Malaysia at around 6:30am (local time), but he was immediately stopped by immigration authorities saying that he is banned from entering the country. Malaysian authorities alleged that he belonged to the LTTE movement and there are cases pending against him in Sri Lanka.

Responding to their allegations, Vaiko told officials that he is an Indian citizen and showed his passport. However, denying him entry immigration officials stated that his name is present on the list of dangerous persons.

Despite Penangs Chief Minister Lim Guan Young and Deputy CM Ramasamy intervening, Vaiko was barred entry into the country. He is now scheduled to return to Chennai at 10:45pm on Friday.

A spokesperson from the MDMK confirmed the incident and said that Vaiko was called a member of the LTTE and not allowed inside the country. Last time also when Vaiko visited Malaysia. a similar incident happened. But the Central government came to the rescue and he was allowed to enter Malaysia, the spokesperson said.

In 2008, the MDMK chief was denied a visa to travel to London in the United Kingdom allegedly for his pro-LTTE stance.

Vaiko has been a vociferous supporter of the LTTE and its leader V Prabhakaran. He had last year released a secret letter written by Prabhakaran to former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. The letter was given to him in 1988, when Vaiko had visited the jungles of Sri Lanka. Vaiko, who was then a leader with the DMK, had returned with the letter addressed to the then TN CM Karunanidhi.

While Vaiko claimed that Karunanidhi destroyed the letter, he kept the copy for 28 years.

In the letter, in which Prabhakaran addresses Karunanidhi as Annan, the militant leader brings to the DMK leaders attention the atrocities committed by the Indian Peace Keeping Force dispatched by the Rajiv Gandhi government. There were widespread allegations of rape and murder by the Indian forces against Sri Lankan Tamils.

It is our aim to fight the killing of our people by the aggressive Indian Army, which is making our country into a cemetery, Prabhakaran wrote. The LTTE chief also praised Vaiko in the letter.

The 73-year-old was jailed recently in a sedition case over a speech he had made in 2009.

In that speech, he had criticised the government in connection with Sri Lankas war on the LTTE or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. He had warned that India would not remain a united country if the Sri Lanka operation was not brought to an end.

Mr Vaiko is among the most vocal sympathisers of Tamil separatists. He was in the DMK of M Karunanidhi in the past.
Matthias Knab, Opalesque:

The Swedish hedge fund company Brummer & Partners has named a new CEO, writes DI.se. On Thursday Ola Paulsson took over after Klaus Jntti who chose to leave his positions at his own request. Klaus Jntti has been CEO of Brummer & Partners since 1999.

Ola Paulsson has worked in Brummer & Partners since 2004 and comes from the role of operating director of the hedge fund company's umbrella fund Brummer Multi-Strategy, BMS.

At the same time, Mikael Spngberg has been appointed new CEO of BMS and, together with Patrik Brummer becomes the trustee of the fund. Since 2012, Mikael Spngberg Deputy CEO at Nektar since 2013.

"Ola and Michael complement each other in an excellent way. Both have long experience and deep knowledge of our business, both strategically and operationally. Ola has a short start-up because he knows the group maybe better than anyone else. Mikael has a very relevant background for the role of CEO of BMS. In their respective roles, they have good prospects to successfully lead and develop the group forward," said Patrik Brummer, Chairman of Brummer & Partners, in a commentary on the company's website.

"I am pleased to have gained this confidence and am humble about the task. Brummer & Partners is a well-managed company, but we, like all organizations, have an improvement potential. Through this division of responsibilities, I can wholeheartedly focus on the Group-wide issues, while Mikael can devote its full ......................

To view our full article Click here
Opalesque Industry Update - PPB Capital Partners, a leading innovator in the alternative asset management industry for wealth managers, today announced its new strategic alliance with Castle Hall Alternatives, a leading provider of independent, expert due diligence. Castle Hall Alternatives will provide both operational and investment risk due diligence to PPB's suite of institutional managers. The fund managers on PPB's platform provide wealth managers and their clients with uncorrelated exposure to asset classes such as private equity, venture capital, real estate, direct lending, socially responsible investing, hedge funds and more. PPB Capital Partners designs and builds institutional-quality fund infrastructures and manages the daily fund operations for wealth managers and fund managers. For wealth managers, PPB serves as a comprehensive back office to ensure operational expertise, reduce compliance risks and control costs. For fund managers, PPB provides an efficient process to introduce new high net worth investors to your fund by outsourcing the typical operational challenges that smaller investments can cause. PPB Capital Partners has surpassed $800M of total capital invested since its inception. PPB has a network of over 400 wealth management groups and has served over 60 RIAs, family offices, trust companies and bank wealth groups nationwide. "We are excited to partner with Castle Hall Alternatives. We believe that their award winning and independent due diligence, global reach, and cutting edge technology will enhance the value that PPB provides wealth managers," said Brendan Lake, Founder and CEO of PPB Capital Partners. "PPB shares the same fiduciary principles of the wealth managers we serve. We feel that the combination of PPB's customization, operational expertise, cost efficiency, and now an institutional due diligence partner provides wealth managers and their clients the most comprehensive alternative investment solution." "We are delighted to support the exciting growth of PPB's investment platform," said Chris Addy, CEO of Castle Hall. "In particular, wealth managers and their high net worth clients evaluating PPB funds will appreciate the greater independence, objectivity and transparency provided by Castle Hall's DueDiligenceProfessional solution. In house due diligence can create an evident conflict of interest: PPB recognizes that wealth managers and advisors increasingly differentiate products in the marketplace based on the quality and independence of the due diligence process." Castle Hall Alternatives, a member of AIMA, helps global institutional investors, fund of funds, advisors, family offices and endowments identify and manage the business, operational, cyber and investment risks of asset managers. With a team of nearly 50 professionals dedicated exclusively to operational due diligence, Castle Hall deploys one of the industry's largest and most experienced due diligence teams. Castle Hall's core competitive advantage is DueDiligenceProfessional, the firm's proprietary online diligence platform, which has helped clients review diligence across more than 5,000 fund entities. Castle Hall operates from offices in Canada, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Australia.
Currently: Cash Looking to: Sell T-Note Price futures @ 1.48% yld



As of 3/21/21 @ 9:27pm EST: 1.691% yield



LAST WEEK: We suggested selling longs / getting short of 10-year T-Note price futures at 1.392% on the 10-year Treasury yield.



UPDATE: Treasury yields simply have not let up on their advance. Right now, it looks like they want to continue to work higher towards 1.972% or higher.



We would sell longs / get short of 10-year T-Note price futures when yields re-test support at 1.48%. We will hold those shorts until yields move back up to 1.972%.
Opalesque Industry Update - Butler Investment Managers is an asset management company, part of the Butler Industries Group, founded in 1991 by Walter Butler. In May 2017, the company launched the Butler Credit Opportunities UCITS Fund (BCO), a European High Yield Long/Short fund, on ML Capital's flagship UCITS umbrella, the MontLake UCITS Platform ICAV. BCO will target net annualised returns of 8% to 10% and a volatility below 5%. The new vehicle will be managed with the same expertise and investment team as the WB Opportunities Fund that has demonstrated outstanding returns in all market conditions since its inception in 2009. With the same targeted returns as BCO, the WB Opportunities Fund, has been able to consistently deliver on its investment objective since inception. BCO launched with day 1 assets in excess of 40 million with additional commitments to exceed 100 million in the coming weeks from European clients, based in Benelux, France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK. With a fund capacity of 600 million, we are already beginning to experience investors reserving capacity for their clients. The portfolio management team (Laurent Kenigswald, Olivier de Parcevaux and Cyril Furtak) have worked together as a team managing hedge funds since 2005, through a variety of changing economic cycles including the global financial crisis. The team has a proven ability to generate best-in-class risk-adjusted returns both in bull and bear markets by using a unique investment approach, placing risk management and preservation of capital at the centre of portfolio management. The strategy concentrates primarily on trading outright Long and Short bonds, Relative Value Opportunities and Special Situations, with well-diversified hedging. The Fund will principally invest in the most liquid bonds within the European High Yield market. Laurent Kenigswald, Butler Investment Managers, Chief Investment Officer, commented: "We seek to capture the upside when conditions are supportive and limit the downside when markets become more challenging. We constantly search for trading opportunities to generate positive returns. With current uncertainty and rising risks, being able to protect capital whilst still generating solid absolute performance will be even more critical to investment portfolios." Walter Butler, Founding Partner of Butler Investment Managers, said: "The launch of the BCO UCITS fund has received very positive interest from European investors and will enable us to accelerate the development of our asset management platform." Cyril Delamare, ML Capital's, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are extremely delighted to have partnered with Butler Investment Managers to launch the Butler Credit Opportunities UCITS Fund. We have every confidence in the team's proven European Credit Long/Short ability, and that their focus on capital preservation will continue to meet the demands of investors in this asset class today." Butler Investment Managers is a company created in 2008 by Walter Butler, owner and founder of Butler Industries set up in 1991. The Group operated on three major asset classes: private equity with Butler Capital Partners/Butler Industries, credit markets with Butler Investment Managers and real estate with Corum/Butler Real Estate.
Pesticide Residue Testing Market to Incur Rapid Extension During 2017 - 2025

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Pesticide Residue Testing Market: OverviewPesticide Residue is under stringent legislation worldwide in order to protect customers. The pesticide residue testing offers a vital tool is identification and control of pesticide residues according to the national and international regulations. The excessive use of pesticides can lead to the dangerous level of harmful chemicals entering into the food chain. The fresh produce is the most susceptible to pesticide residues and they are being consumed in increasing quantities. Thus, there is a huge demand for pesticide residue testing from all over the world.To access full report @Pesticide Residue Testing Market: Drivers and RestraintsWith an increasing level of the population all over the globe, sustainable food production requires an effective pesticide residue testing methods. Implementation of stringent food safety regulations, advancements in testing technologies, and international trade of food materials are driving the market for global pesticide residue testing market. The emerging regions provide a high growth potential and several untapped markets in this regions offers huge opportunities to the pesticide residue testing market players. The lack of awareness about the food safety regulations among the food manufacturers and unavailability of food control infrastructure and resources in developing countries are some of the factors which are acting as a restraint for pesticide residue testing market. On the basis of type, the herbicides segment is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period as it is higher production application of herbicides in agriculture. The increasing contamination of food products especially in imported food products and growth in food trade is driving the pesticide residue testing market. The possible health consequences due to exposure to these pesticides have increased the demand for herbicides residue testing. The fungicides segment is expected to remain the second largest in global pesticide residue testing market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Pesticide Residue Testing Market: SegmentationOn the basis of Type,HerbicidesInsecticidesFungicidesOn the basis of Technology,LC-MS/GC-MSHPLCGas ChromatographyOn the basis of Class,OrganochlorinesOrganophosphatesOrganonitrogens & CarbamatesPesticide Residue Testing Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global Pesticide Residue Testing Market is segmented into the seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA). Western Europe is having the largest share of the global pesticide residue testing market. The increasing food safety concerns among the consumers as well as the increasing market for processed food is expected to drive the APEJ pesticide residue testing market at the higher rate. The APEJ region is a significant trading partner with other developed markets such as Europe and North America. China is expected to have higher market share among the APEJ region. Increasing instances of pesticides contamination in the air, soil and water bodies have become a severe concern which is likely to increase the demand for pesticide testing market.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Pesticide Residue Testing Market: Key PlayersEurofins Scientific SEBureau Veritas S.A.SGS S.A.Intertek Group plcSilliker, Inc.ALS LimitedAsureQuality Ltd.SCS Global ServicesMicrobac Laboratories, IncSymbio LaboratoriesThe 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 using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geography, technology and applications.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:
Silicon Carbide Foam Market to Register Steady Growth During 2017 - 2025

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Global Silicon Carbide Foam Market Introduction:Silicon carbide foam is open-celled, porous structure made by interconnecting the ceramic ligament lattice. Silicon carbide foam structure has low flow resistance, large surface area, and high void volume. Silicon carbide foam is thermally and electrically conductive, thermal and fractures shock resistant, strong, and lightweight material. Silicon carbide foam market registers significant growth rate, owing to increasing utilization of silicon carbide in electrochemical processes which require fluid flow and low electrical resistance. North America silicon carbide foam market is expected to contribute for major revenue share, attributed to growing semiconductor industry across the region.To access full report @Global Silicon Carbide Foam Market Dynamics:The growth of the global silicon carbide foam market is driven by growing high heat foam market, defense industry, aerospace industry, and semiconductor industry. Moreover, increasing awareness of using foam insulation for the environmental benefits also fueling the global silicon carbide foam market. The advantages of silicon carbide over other ceramics including high electrical and thermal conductivity, lightweight, low thermal expansion, low flow resistance, resistance to corrosion, scratches and wear, high filtration efficiency, and high hardness, which is fueling the demand for global silicon carbide foam market. However, instability in the prices of petrochemicals, which are used in the production of silicon carbide foam restraining the silicon carbide foam market across the globe. The company operates in the silicon carbide foam market can increase its share in the global silicon carbide foam market by increasing their investment in Asia-Pacific region.Global Silicon Carbide Foam Market Segmentation:The global silicon carbide foam market is segmented on the basis of application, end-use, and region. Based on application, the global silicon carbide foam market is further classified into electromagnetic radiation absorbers, gas diffusers, rocket nozzles, heat shielding elements, high-temperature filters, heat exchangers, porous electrodes, and composite panels. Among which, heat shielding elements segment is expected to account for significant revenue share in the global silicon carbide foam market. By end-use, the global silicon carbide foam market segmented into defense, aerospace, semiconductor industries, and others. Among these, semiconductor industries segment is growing at a substantial CAGR in global silicon carbide foam market with relatively high volume share over the forecast period.A sample of this report is available upon request @Based on application, the global silicon carbide foam market is segmented into:Electromagnetic Radiation AbsorbersGas DiffusersRocket NozzlesHeat Shielding ElementsHigh-Temperature FiltersHeat ExchangersPorous ElectrodesComposite PanelsBased on end-use, the global silicon carbide foam market is segmented into:DefenseAerospaceSemiconductor IndustriesOthersGlobal Silicon Carbide Foam Market Regional Outlook:On the basis of geographies, the global silicon carbide foam market is segmented into seven regions -- North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific except Japan, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Among the regions, North America and Western Europe account for a relatively high share of the silicon carbide foam market in terms of value, attributed to the growing aerospace industry across the regions. Eastern Europe and Japan also accounts for significant value share in the global silicon carbide foam market, owing to high technological advancement in the regions. The Asia-Pacific is expected to register relatively high growth in the global silicon carbide foam market over the forecast period, owing to rapid rate of advancement in the manufacturing of silicon carbide foam across the region, particularly in country such as China. The developing economy such as Middle East Africa and Latin America have a moderate growth in the global silicon carbide foam market, attributed to growing automotive industry in the regions. Overall, the outlook for the global silicon carbide foam market will have a positive growth over the forecast period.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global Silicon Carbide Foam Market Player:Few players in the global silicon carbide foam market include Evonik Industries, Waker Chemie AG, BASF SE, Ube Industries, Ltd., Sinoyqx, and Rogers 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:
Biosimilar (Insulin) Industry - Competitive Landscape and Market & Pipeline Analysis, 2017

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SummaryThe study of Biosimilar (Insulin)-Competitive Landscape and Market and Pipeline Analysis, 2017 is very important to 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.DescriptionBiosimilar (Insulin) - Competitive Landscape and Market & Pipeline Analysis, 2017 discusses the global insulin biosimilar industry. Report analyzes that Insulin and Insulin Biosimilars holds a future scope and potential in the market. It highlights the market trends, regulatory requirements for US and EU and key domestic players.Attractive Discount Details on Purchase of This Report:Get Flat 15% on Single User License, Flat 25% on Site License & Flat 30% on Enterprise Licenceoffer Last 30th JuneGet a PDF Sample of Report at:Report provides an insight on Insulin Biosimilars that are under development for Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes with an insight on the Epidemiology of the disease. It provides detailed information on the 11 Insulin Biosimilar that are in pipeline.It analyses Insulin Biosimilar industry and discusses the key market trends, major players, market assessment of 6 marketed insulin and the types of insulin with the length activity available in market. Report provides an update on the recent collaborations occurring in the insulin biosimilar market and the companies looking for partnership for the same.Scope:- Coverage of global insulin biosimilar under development across the globe- Sales forecast for marketed insulin from 2015 to 2017- Detailed information on product description and related stage of development, the mode of therapy, mechanism of action, development partner and technology information.- The report discusses the biosimilar regulatory landscape of various markets including developed markets of the US and EU- Report analyses the types of insulin under development with respect to their market share and length of activityTo Browse the Entire Report, Visit :Reason to Buy- The insulin biosimilar report covers complete Pipeline intelligence and understanding over therapeutics development for insulin market.- Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage- Identify and understand important and diverse types of insulin under development- Plan mergers and acquisitions effectively by identifying key players of the most promising pipeline- Devise corrective measures for pipeline projects by understanding the insulin biosimilar pipeline in-depth- Identifying the upcoming leaders in the insulin biosimilar market in the coming yearPlace a Purchase Order for this Report at:Some Points Of TOC:Executive SummaryBiosimilarHistory of Insulin and Insulin Biosimilar DevelopmentRegulatory Pathways in US and EUIllustration of the Originator and Biosimilar DevelopmentMajor IndicationEpidemologyComplications Associated with DiabetesDiagnosis of DiabetesAnalysisClinical TrialsTechnologyMarket AssessmentMarket TrendsAbout Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Information:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:
2017-2022 United States Wind Turbine Blade Market Report (Status and Outlook) Regions,Application ,Product Types Analysis Forecast to 2022

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2017-2022 United States Wind Turbine Blade Market Report (Status and Outlook)Wiseguyreports.Com Adds Wind Turbine Blade Market -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Manufacturers, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Try Sample Report @Covered In This Report:The Wind Turbine Blade market size will be XX million (USD) in 2022 in United States, from the XX million (USD) in 2016, with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) XX% from 2016 to 2022.In United States market, the top players includeZhongfu LianzhongAvicSinomaTMTNew UnitedUnited powerMingyangXEMC New EnergyDECHaizhuangWanyuanSANYThis report with sales, revenue and market share for each type, split by product types/category, covering< 1.5 MW1.5 MW1.5-2.0 MW2.0 MW2.0-3.0 MW3.0 MW3.0-5.0 MW5.0 MWThis report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Wind Turbine Blade in each application, split by applications/end use industries, coversWind Turbine BladeAccess Complete Report @Table of Contents2017-2022 United States Wind Turbine Blade Market Report (Status and Outlook)1 Wind Turbine Blade Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Wind Turbine Blade1.2 Wind Turbine Blade Market Segment by Types1.2.1 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales Present Situation and Outlook by Types (2012-2022)1.2.2 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales Market Share by Types in 20161.2.3 < 1.5 MW1.2.4 1.5 MW1.2.5 1.5-2.0 MW1.2.6 2.0 MW1.2.7 2.0-3.0 MW1.2.8 3.0 MW1.2.9 3.0-5.0 MW5.0 MW1.3 United States Wind Turbine Blade Market Segment by Applications/End Use Industries1.3.1 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales Present Situation and Outlook by Applications/End Industrials (2012-2022)1.3.2 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales Market Share by Applications/End Industrials in 2016Wind Turbine Blade1.4 United States Wind Turbine Blade Overview and Market Size (Value) (2012-2022)1.4.1 United States Market Wind Turbine Blade Overview1.4.2 United States Wind Turbine Blade Market Size (Value and Volume) Status and Forecast (2012-2022)2 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Players/Manufacturers2.1 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales and Market Share (2012-2017) by Vendors/Manufacturers2.2 United States Wind Turbine Blade Revenue and Market Share by Vendors (2012-2017)2.3 United States Wind Turbine Blade Average Price by Vendors in 20162.4 United States Wind Turbine Blade Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types by Vendors2.5 Wind Turbine Blade Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Wind Turbine Blade Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Wind Turbine Blade Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Vendors2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue (Value) by Type and Application (2012-2017)3.1 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Price by Type (2012-2017)3.1.1 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3.1.2 United States Wind Turbine Blade Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3.1.3 United States Wind Turbine Blade Price by Type (2012-2017)3.2 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)3.3 United States Market Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue (Million USD), Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 United States Wind Turbine Blade Vendors/Manufacturers Profiles and Sales Data4.1 Zhongfu Lianzhong4.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.1.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.1.2.1 Type 14.1.2.2 Type 24.1.3 Zhongfu Lianzhong Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.2 Avic4.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.2.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.2.2.1 Type 14.2.2.2 Type 24.2.3 Avic Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.3 Sinoma4.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.3.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.3.2.1 Type 14.3.2.2 Type 24.3.3 Sinoma Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.4 TMT4.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.4.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.4.2.1 Type 14.4.2.2 Type 24.4.3 TMT Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.5 New United4.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.5.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.5.2.1 Type 14.5.2.2 Type 24.5.3 New United Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.6 United power4.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.6.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.6.2.1 Type 14.6.2.2 Type 24.6.3 United power Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.7 Mingyang4.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.7.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.7.2.1 Type 14.7.2.2 Type 24.7.3 Mingyang Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.8 XEMC New Energy4.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.8.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.8.2.1 Type 14.8.2.2 Type 24.8.3 XEMC New Energy Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.9 DEC4.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.9.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification9.9.2.1 Type 19.9.2.2 Type 24.9.3 DEC Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.10 Haizhuang4.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.10.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.10.2.1 Type 14.10.2.2 Type 24.10.3 Haizhuang Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.11 Wanyuan4.11.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.11.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.11.2.1 Type 14.11.2.2 Type 24.11.3 Wanyuan Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.11.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.12 SANY4.12.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors4.12.2 Wind Turbine Blade Product Types, Application and Specification4.12.2.1 Type 14.12.2.2 Type 24.12.3 SANY Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.12.4 Main Business/Business Overview5 Production Cost Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade5.1 Main Raw Materials of Wind Turbine Blade5.1.1 List of Wind Turbine Blade Main Raw Materials5.1.2 Wind Turbine Blade Main Raw Materials Price Analysis5.1.3 Wind Turbine Blade Raw Materials Major Suppliers5.1.4 Wind Turbine Blade Main Raw Materials Market Concentration Rate5.2 Production Cost Structure of Wind Turbine Blade5.2.1 Raw Materials5.2.2 Labor Cost5.2.3 Production Expenses5.3 Wind Turbine Blade Manufacturing Process/Method6 Value Chain, Purchasing Strategy and Downstream Buyers6.1 Wind Turbine Blade Value Chain Analysis6.2 Upstream Raw Materials Purchasing6.3 Raw Materials Sources of Wind Turbine Blade Major Vendors in 20166.4 Downstream Buyers7 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders7.1 Sales Channel7.1.1 Direct Sales7.1.2 Indirect Sales7.1.3 Sales Channel Development Trend7.2 Product Market Positioning7.2.1 Pricing Strategy7.2.2 Brand Strategy7.2.3 Target Client7.3 Wind Turbine Blade Distributors/Traders List in United States8 Market Influences Factors Analysis8.1 Changes from the Related Industries8.2 Substitutes Threat8.3 Customer Preference Change8.4 Economic/Political Environmental Change8.5 Upstream and Downstream Fluctuation9 United States Wind Turbine Blade Market Forecast (2017-2022)9.1 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales, Revenue and Price Forecast (2017-2022)9.1.1 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)9.1.2 United States Wind Turbine Blade Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)9.1.3 United States Wind Turbine Blade Price Trend Forecast (2017-2022)9.2 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales Forecast by Type (2017-2022)9.3 United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales Forecast by Application (2017-2022)10 Research Findings and Conclusion11 Appendix11.1 Methodology11.2 Data SourceList of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Wind Turbine BladeTable Product Specifications of Wind Turbine BladeFigure United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales (volume) for Each Type (2012-2022)Figure United States Wind Turbine Blade Sales Market Share by Types in 2016Table Types of Wind Turbine BladeFigure Product Picture of < 1.5 MWTable Major Players of < 1.5 MWFigure Product Picture of 1.5 MWTable Major Players of 1.5 MWFigure Product Picture of 1.5-2.0 MWTable Major Players of 1.5-2.0 MWFigure Product Picture of 2.0 MWTable Major Players of 2.0 MWFigure Product Picture of 2.0-3.0 MWTable Major Players of 2.0-3.0 MWFigure Product Picture of 3.0 MWTable Major Players of 3.0 MWFigure Product Picture of 3.0-5.0 MWContinued.........................Buy Now @Contact Us:Norah TrentPartner Relations & Marketing ManagerSales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +1-646-845-9349 (Us)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants 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Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global DIN Rail Terminal Blocks Industry Market Research Report 2017

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SummaryIn this report, the global DIN Rail Terminal Blocks 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.The Global DIN Rail Terminal Blocks Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the DIN Rail Terminal Blocks industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The DIN Rail Terminal Blocks market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players 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. Whats more, the DIN Rail Terminal Blocks industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Ask a sample or any question, please email to:hebe@qyresearchglobal.com or hebe@qyresearch.comThe players list(Partly, Players you are interested can also be added):Phoenix ContactWeidmullerWAGOABBCooper Industries (Eaton)DEGSON ElectronicsRelianceDinkleUPUNAltech...Key Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry Overview of DIN Rail Terminal BlocksChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal BlocksChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal BlocksChapter Four Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal Blocks by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Five Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal Blocks by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Six Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Sale Price Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal Blocks by Regions, Types and ApplicationsChapter Seven Supply, Import, Export and Consumption Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal BlocksChapter Eight Major Manufacturers Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal BlocksChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal BlocksChapter Ten Industry Chain Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal BlocksChapter Eleven Development Trend of Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal BlocksChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of DIN Rail Terminal BlocksChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the Global DIN Rail Terminal Blocks Industry 2017 Market Research ReportRelated Reports:US DIN Rail Terminal Blocks Industry Market Research Report 2017Europe DIN Rail Terminal Blocks Industry Market Research Report 2017India DIN Rail Terminal Blocks Industry Market Research Report 2017China DIN Rail Terminal Blocks Industry Market Research Report 2017Korea DIN Rail Terminal Blocks Industry Market Research Report 2017Japan DIN Rail Terminal Blocks Industry Market Research Report 2017If you need a report or have any question, please feel free to contact meHebe | Sr. Manager  Global SalesProfessional Market Research Report PublisherQYResearch Co.LtdQYResearch focus on Market Survey and ResearchPhone: +86 20 2209 3278Email: hebe@qyresearchglobal.com or hebe@qyresearch.comWeb:About QYResearchQYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, database and seminarservices. the company owned a large basic database (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, IndustryAssociation Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who ownmore than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market surveyexperience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team);QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business. Through the companys years of effort and a lot ofcustomer support, QYResearch consulting group creative design method of many high-quality markets investigation and research team with richexperience. Today, QYResearch brand has become the consulting industry with quality assurance consulting brand. The company has 2500 globalwell-known customers, covering energy automobile pharmaceutical chemical agriculture more than 30 industries, services from the data analysisand recommendations-Consulting landing one-stop solution, and research regions cover China,US,EU,Asia,Middle East and Africa,SouthAmerica,Australia,etc Global all regions,and also built research or marketing center in China USA UK France Hongkong etc regions. currently,QYResearch has become the first choice and worth trusted consulting brand in Global and China business consulting services.QYResearch CO.,LIMITEDQYResearch focus on Market Survey and ResearchAddress: Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District Guangzhou City Guangdong Province 510610 ChinaHebe Leung | Sr. Manager - Global SalesPhone: +86-20 2209 3278E*mail: hebe@qyresearchglobal.comWeb:(US) |(EU)
Global Styrenic Block Copolymer (SBC) Sales Market 2017 Top Players - Sinopec, Kraton, Dynasol, Versalis, LG Chem, Oretel

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The Report studies Styrenic Block Copolymer (SBC) Sales in Global market that focuses on the top Manufacturers, Market Segment by Countries, Split by Product Types (with sales, revenue, price, market share of each type), Split by applications this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Styrenic Block Copolymer (SBC) Sales in each application.Download Free Sample Report @Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Styrenic Block Copolymer (SBC) for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Styrenic Block Copolymer (SBC) market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Styrenic Block Copolymer (SBC) sales volume, Price (USD/MT), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player,Covering Top PlayersSinopecKratonChi MeiLee Chang YungDynasolVersalisKurarayAsahi KaseiKumho PetrochemicalLG ChemTSRCCNPCKeyuanJusageOretelAccess Full Report @On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K MT), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/MT), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoStyrene-Butadiene-Styrene (SBS) Block CopolymersStyrene-Isoprene-Styrene (SIS) Block CopolymersHydrogenated Styrenic Block Copolymers (HSBC)On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Styrenic Block Copolymer (SBC) for each application, includingFootwear IndustryRoofingPavingPersonal CarePackaging & Industrial AdhesivesOthersIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.Contact UsMark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Hi-Fi System Market Growth, Demand, Key Manufacturers Analysis and Forecast Report 2017-2025

The Insight Partners

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Demands for superior quality electronic products are driving electronic device manufacturers to serve their customers with best quality equipment and additional accessories. For audio based devices, there has been a sudden spike in demand for quality systems that serve the purposes of better sound reproduction with minimal noise and distortions. Hi - Fi or High Fidelity systems have accurate frequency response. With companies making giant strides for technological advancements, the consumers' expectations with respect to sound of high quality, fidelity and resolution has also increased significantly over the years.Complete Report with TOC and Company Profiles atThe report aims to provide an overview of Global Hi - Fi system Market along with detailed segmentation of market by system, technology, applications, and five major geographical regions. Global Hi - Fi system market is expected to witness a rapid growth during the forecast period due to huge demand for high quality sound for music and other applications by audiophiles around the world.Sample Request atThe objectives of Hi-Fi System Market Report are as follows: To provide overview of the global Hi-Fi System market To analyze and forecast the global Hi-Fi System market on the basis of type, end-user, and industry verticals To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Hi-Fi System market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions To profiles key Hi-Fi System players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategiesSome of the important players in Hi - Fi system market are Sony Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, LG Electronics, Ltd., Bose Corporation, Harman International Industries, Inc., Onkyo Corporation, Bowers & Wilkings Group Ltd., Yamaha Corporation, Samsung Electronics Ltd. and Koninklijke Philips N.V.Inquire before Buying @About Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Digital Security Market Competitive Analysis and Key Manufacturers Forecast Report 2017-2025

The Insight Partners

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Digital security is a security system that provides protection of digital identity, along with network comprising of physical identity. Digital security include tools that are used to secure a particular persons identity and assets in todays digital world.Complete Report with TOC and Company Profiles atThe report aims to provide an overview of Global Digital Security Market along with detailed segmentation of market by components, applications, and five major geographical regions. Global Digital Security market is expected to witness growth during the forecast period due to significant growth in IS (Information Security) and non-individual locking components.The objective of this report is as follows: To provide overview of the global Digital Security market To analyze and forecast the global Digital Security market on the basis of component, platform and solution To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Digital Security market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions To profiles key Digital Security players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategiesSample Request atSome of the important players in Digital Security market are NEC Corporation, Gemalto NV, 3M, Morpho S.A.S, Fireeye, Inc., HID Global, Oberthur Technologies, Vasco Data Security International, Inc., Safenet, Inc. and RSA Security LLC.Major Points from Table of ContentIntroductionKey TakeawaysMarket LandscapeMarket - Key Industry DynamicsMarket Analysis- GlobalMarket Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 - Product TypesMarket Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 - ComponentsMarket Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 - End User IndustryMarket Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 - Geographical Analysis (North America, Europe, APAC, MEA and South America)Industry LandscapeCompetitive LandscapeKey Company ProfilesInquire before buying atAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global Data Center Construction Market Report 2025: United States, Europe, Japan and China Markets

The Insight Partners

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The popularity of big data analytics, IoT applications in almost all industry verticals has led to data explosion and complete dependencies on cloud based storage models. Also, with the development of IPv6 protocol, it has become possible to give an IP address to almost all the things on this planet with which communication between each and everything would be possible over the internet. Data explosions arising due to these factors are creating demand for constructions of new data centers. Business from all sectors are undergoing a paradigm shift in the way they were being conventionally operated and moving towards a more reliable and secured cloud model. All these factors have set huge potentials for the data center construction sector in the coming few years.Complete Report with TOC and Company Profiles at @The report aims to provide an overview of Global Data center construction Market along with detailed segmentation of market by design type and five major geographical regions. Global data center construction market is expected to witness a rapid growth during the forecast period due to intensifying usage of cloud based services by small and large enterprises across all industry verticals.Sample Request atThe objectives of Data Center Construction Market Report are as follows: To provide overview of the global Data Center Construction market To analyze and forecast the global Data Center Construction market on the basis of type, end-user, and industry verticals To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Data Center Construction market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions To profiles key Data Center Construction players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategiesSome of the important players in data center construction market are Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Holder Construction Co., DPR Construction, Turner Construction Co, Structure Tone, JE Dunn Construction, AECOM, Fortis Construction, Fluor Corp. and Gilbane Building Co.Inquire before Buying @About Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global Glass Container Market in- Depth Analysis with Opportunity Assessment for the Period of 20162026

MRRSE

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http://www.mrrse.com/container-glass-market

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The global glass container market is significantly influenced by the alcoholic beverages sector as a majority of manufacturers market their alcoholic drinks packed in glass bottles. Alcoholic beverage is a big end-users segment of glass containers, accounting for very high market share in terms of value as compared to other end-users industries. A report titled Glass Container Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 20162026 has been recently added to the vast online repository of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE). The report analyzes the global glass container market for a forecast period of 10 years (2016 - 2026) and comes up with a conclusion that development of innovative and lightweight glass containers are emerging as a major trend in the global glass container market.Request for sample report:The study identifies the key growth drivers and restraints influencing the growth of the global glass container market. Ever changing trends have been analyzed and incorporated within the scope of the study to equip readers with thorough information regarding the market resulting in better decision making. Macro-economic factors that directly and indirectly impact the growth of the global glass container market are also included in the report. While examining the market, the report observes that demand for glass containers in the Asia Pacific region is likely to rise at a notable growth rate over the forecast period. The report considers the overall market approach and finds that end-users are inclined towards the usage of latest designs of glass containers in order to make their product more attractive in terms of look and feel.Morevover, the report also provides on the global glass container market value chain analysis and a scans of the relative market position over the coming years. The market is segmented on the basis of product type, application, color and geographic region. The regional sections of the study highlights country-wise glass container demand. The market value for all segments is taken in US$ million and the market volume is also considered for all the segments. Finally, a competitive landscape analysis is included to provide report readers with a dashboard view. The report provides detailed market-share analysis of the glass container market based on key manufacturers. Complete profiles of manufacturers are also covered within the scope of the report to assess strategies, major offerings and recent developments in the global glass container market. Some of the Key Players profiled in the report include Ardagh Group S.A, Amcor Limited, Consol Glass (Pty) Ltd., Owens-Illinois, Inc., Saverglass Group, BA Glass, Hindusthan National Glass & Industries Limited, Nampak Ltd., Wiegand Glass and Vidrala S.A.Browse Full Global Glass Container Market Report with TOC :About UsMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
Inclination Sensors Market 2017- Pepperl & Fuchs, SICK, Baumer

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http://marketreports.biz/report/global-inclination-sensors-market-analysis-and-forecast-report-market

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Marketreports.biz, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "Inclination Sensors Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "Inclination Sensors 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 Inclination Sensors industry, and estimates the future trend of Inclination Sensors market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "Inclination Sensors Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportPepperl & FuchsSICKBaumerBalluffWylerGEMACtecsis LPTurckifmDIS SensorsLevel DevelopmentsSpectron SensorsTamagawa SeikiMEMSICFredericksThe market research report explores the Inclination Sensors market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "Inclination Sensors 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 Inclination Sensors market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Inclination Sensors. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Inclination Sensors 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 Inclination Sensors is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Inclination Sensors market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Inclination Sensors market globally.Read full report with TOC @The worldwide Inclination Sensors market 2017 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Inclination Sensors production volume, data pertaining to demand and Inclination Sensors supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Inclination Sensors 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 Inclination Sensors 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
Impact of Existing and Emerging Hydro-processing Catalysts Market Trends And Forecast 2014-2020

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www.futuremarketinsights.com

In last two decades, the business of refining catalyst has grown from regional to global level. Refinery product values are dependent on process catalysts of refined products, petrochemical products and chemicals alongwith other refinery operations. One of the major concerns in the refinery is to reduce the sulphur content to the required limit. Hydro-processing catalysts (HPC) are primarily consumed in the hydro-processing operation of crude oil fractions. Such crude oil fractions include kerosene, naphtha and diesel. As a common practice, hydro-processing of crude oil fractionsis carried out at an elevated temperature and pressure.Hydro-processing is required to remove pollutants such as sulphur, heavy metals and nitrogen from fuel oils. These catalysts also help in the catalytic hydrocracking process to crack larger hydrocarbon molecules into smaller sizes,to be used as fuel oils. Thus, hydro-processing catalysts enable conversion of heavy feedstock into lighter products for efficient processing. Hydro-processing catalysts market is the fastest growing refinery catalysts market segment in the world. In addition, hydro-processing catalysts supplement the process control and operational efficiency improvement activities. Therefore, it is expected that the hydro-processing catalyst market will dominate the global refinery catalyst market by 2020.The global hydro-processing catalysts market can be categorized on the basis of its product type as molybdenum oxides, cobalt oxides, nickel oxidesand tungsten oxides. These metal oxides are carried on a carrier or matrix of silica, alumina and silica/alumina. Further, global hydro-processing catalysts market can also be categorized on the basis of their applications such as creating cleaner fuels, ultra-low sulphur levels in diesel fuels (ULSD) and others. On the basis of technology, global hydro-processing catalysts market can be segmented as hydro-treating catalysts, hydrogenation catalysts, hydrocracking catalysts, isomerisation catalyst and reforming catalyst. Among these, hydro-treating catalysts are dominant segment at present,accounting for more than half of the global hydro-processing catalysts market.Request For Report Sample@Refiners are more focusing to maximize residue feedstock yield through hydro-processing catalysts as petroleum product prices are rising globally. This is one of the key supply side drivers of the global hydro-processing catalysts market. Moreover, stringent environmental regulations and legislations are expanding, which, in turn, affects the heaviercrude processing and sulphur elimination process market.Enhanced refinery capacities coupled with the rising oil production are driving the growth of global hydro-processing catalysts market.Environmental fuel specifications regulations introduced by Europe, the U.S.and few Asia Pacific countries have been driving the global hydro-processing catalysts market.Further, developed countries have mandate to reduce sulphur content whereassulphur restrictions are implemented in the developing countries such as India, China and Mexico. As hydro-processing catalysts are advantageous to reduce sulphur content, these countries are likely to open up opportunities for hydro-processing catalysts market.Due to presence of giant oil and gas chemical manufacturers in the refinery catalyst market; the market competition is quite high. Expansion of production facilities in oil producing fields along with the strategic alliances are few of the major market strategies in the global hydro-processing catalysts market.Request For TOC@Some of the major market participants of global hydro-processing catalysts market include HaldorTopse, W. R. Grace and Company, Albemarle Corporation, Axens, UOP- Honeywell International Inc., Chevron Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell plc, BASF SE, Criterion Catalysts & Technologies, Criterion catalysts & Technologies and others. Among these, BASF has increased its R&D efforts since it acquired Engelhard. Further, BASF SE has come up with new developments in the processing of residue to increase the quality of yield.W.R. Grace and Companyhas introduced new products inthe hydro-processing catalysts market in the past five years. Thus, it is clear that global hydro-processing catalysts market participants are focused to expand their business through innovative product launches with specific market application. These innovative products include catalyst to eliminate sulphur content upto mandate limits. The worldwide hydro-processing catalysts market stands ready to meet the challenges, where energy costs significantlyfluctuate. However,fluctuating raw material prices, price spike, price collapse along with the governments enact legislation for certain related products or technologies, the demand of hydro-processing catalyst market are expected to undergo fluctuation.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Good Growth Opportunities in Carbon Disulfide Market Till 2026

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First manufactured commercially around 1880, carbon disulfide is a volatile, flammable liquid primarily used as a building block of organic chemicals and as solvents in industrial and chemical processes. Carbon disulfides most important industrial application includes manufacture of regenerated cellulose and cellophane. It is also used as a feedstock for carbon tetrachloride production. In the food industry, carbon disulfide is used to protect fresh fruit from insects and fungus during shipping as well as in the solvent extraction of growth inhibitors. Other applications include cold vulcanization of rubber, synthesizing rubber accelerators, xanthates, and resins. It is also used in manufacture of pesticides and sulfur organic compounds for pharmaceutical.Carbon Disulfide Market: Drivers and restraintsCarbon disulfide markets growth is driven primarily by growing demand for cellulose and cellulosic fibers from various industries. With the increasing prices of basic raw materials, the use of carbon disulfide in the manufacture of mining chemicals (as flotation agents) is gaining in importance and has the highest forecast growth rate among the different applications. Growing demand for rayon and other cellulosic fibers from textile and fabric industry is expected to drive the Asian market for carbon disulfide.However, hazardous effects of carbon disulfide on human health are expected to inhibit the market growth. It is claimed to have neurologic effects including behavioral and neurophysiologic changes when exposed for longer time. Environmental agencies such as EPS, OSHA, AIHA ERPG, NIOSH have put stringent regulations on exposure and utilizations limits of carbon disulfide use in various products. Additionally, rayon is being substituted by lyocell that does not use carbon disulfide in synthesis. This substitution is expected to hamper the market growth of carbon disulfide.Request For Sample@Carbon Disulfide Market: SegmentationThe carbon disulfide market can be segmented based on applications as:RubberRayonFibrePharmaceuticalAgricultureFoodOthersCarbon Disulfide Market: Region wise outlookAsia, including Japan, accounted for majority of world production and consumption of carbon disulfide. China is the most dominant consumer in this industry, followed by India. Western Europe also accounts for a significant proportion in global consumption of carbon disulfide. Stringent environmental regulations and shift of manufacturing bases to Asia Pacific region is causing slow growth in Europe. Demand for carbon disulfide from North America is submissive due to occupational health hazards caused by carbon disulfide. Hence, North America primarily imports carbon disulfide based chemicals and derivatives from Asia Pacific region.Request For TOC@Carbon Disulfide Market: Key market playersSome of the key players identified in the global carbon disulfide market are:AkzonobelGFS Chemicals Inc.Arkema Inc.Shanghai Baijin Chemical GroupAvantor MaterialsShanXi Jinxinghua Chemical Co. Ltd.Manass Jinyunli Chemical Co. Ltd.Jiangsu Jinshan Chemical Co. Ltd.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Radiology Information Systems Market Estimated to Cross US$ 1,179.2 Mn by 2024

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Titled as Radiology Information Systems Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2016-2024, the report reveals that global demand for radiology information systems continues to grow on the account of rising incidence rate of lifestyle-related diseases. Increasing consumer awareness to radiological procedures, and easy accessibility to these technologies are also serving as proponents for adoption of radiology information systems. Since installing radiology information systems supports a value-based healthcare model, medical practitioners are also promoting it as the immediate future of digitalized radiology.Browse Complete Report @Hospitals, medical research institutes, as well as governments, across the globe are hiking their healthcare IT spending to bring reforms in both, operations and outcomes. Instating databases is turning out to be more of a necessity for healthcare institutions, particularly for the field of radiology. Criticality of data produced and used by radiologists is compelling them to utilize speedy & error-proof data transference systems. Correspondingly, the transformation of global healthcare industry through digitization trends is also necessitating the deployment of radiology information systems. In its latest publication, Persistence Market Research has compiled more of such factors that will keep driving the growth of global radiology information system market in the years to come. According to this report, the global market for radiology information systems, which is presently valued at US$ 580.2 Mn, is anticipated to soar at 8.3% CAGR and reach US$ 1,179.2 Mn value by the end of 2024.The report reveals that in 2017 and beyond, the demand for cloud-based radiology information systems will remain considerably higher than on-premise systems. Deployment of cloud-based radiology information systems is projected to bring more than US$ 800 Mn by the end of 2024, while revenues emanating from on-premise deployment will soar at 7.3% CAGR. During the forecast period, a little over 45% of global revenues will be accounted by sales of radiology information software. The adoption of radiology information services is also slated to grow robustly, while radiology information hardware is likely to incur a moderate dip in revenues.Through 2024, medical institutions adopting radiology information systems will continue to do so on integrated platforms. Similar to the current scenario, integrated radiology information systems will procure over three-fourth of global market value by the end of 2024. Standalone radiology information systems, however, will be valued at just over US$ 280 Mn by the end of projection period. And, hospitals will undoubtedly be the largest end-users of radiology information systems. More than US$ 600 Mn worth of global radiology information system revenues will be emanating from hospitals spanned across the globe. Adoption of such systems will also be considerably high in diagnostic labs and ambulatory surgical centers.Request to view table of content @By the end of 2024, North America will remain as the largest market for radiology information systems in the world. In 2016, the regions radiology information systems market was valued at US$ 269 Mn. Meanwhile, Europes advanced healthcare infrastructure will also work in the favor of radiology information system adoption. Throughout the period, Europes radiology information system revenues will soar at a health CAGR, and contribute to nearly 23% share. Although, fastest revenue growth is expected to be recorded by Latin America and the Asia-Pacific regions  revenues from which will surge at more than 8% CAGR.A sample of this report is available upon request @Ten of the leading companies developing radiology information systems in the world are profiled in the report, and they include Cerner Corporation, Siemens AG, Merge Healthcare Incorporated (IBM), Koninklijke Philips NV, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., Epic Systems Corporation, Novarad Corp., General Electric Company, McKesson Corporation, and Medinformatix Inc.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Anti-Static Fibres Market Forecast and Segments, 2015-2025

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Static electricity is generated when two dissimilar materials are rubbed together creating an electrical charge. Such electrical charge usually leaks away to earth. However, in cases where it doesnt, an unpleasant and potentially dangerous electrical discharge may occur, resulting into an electric shock. Anti-static fibres consist of carbon particles enclosed firmly in the surface of polyester fibre. Whenregular fibres are added to anti-static agents, static conductivity of regular fibre changed to textile fabrics, generally developed by non-woven technology utilization.Anti-static fibre is formed into fabrics to provide safe discharge of static electricity. These fibres are used in applications, such as dry filtration, shoe or boot linings, safety work wear, carpets and upholstery.Anti-static agents are added into the polymer to reduce the build-up of static charges. The role of an antistatic agent is to make the material conductive. Problems such asdust pickup and electrical discharge are reduced or eliminated by using anti-static agent.Anti-static fibres are more durable, easy to dye, stain-resistant and lighter. In textiles, static electricity potential can be influenced by low material moisture content which generally occurs in fibres like polyester, acrylic, and nylon.The ultimate use of anti-static fibreis to make products static free and enable more safety and comfort for people using it.Request For Report Sample@Segmentation of Anti-Static Fibres MarketOn the basis of fibretype, theanti-staticfibresmarket is segmented as polyester, acrylic, metaramide, polyamide and polypropylene. Anti-staticfibresare used in a wide range of industrial, chemical, metallurgical, mineral and agricultural applications, where the process and dust tend to build static and where a potential ignition source is present. As of 2013, chemical and textile industries are predominant consumers in global anti-static fibres market and is estimated to maintain its dominance by 2020.Cleanroom clothing fabrics, protective apparel and work wear clothing are few other additional uses.Use of anti-static fibres provides a safer and more comfortable work environment than synthetic products, particularly in applications where static electricity is of particular concern, such as aircraft carpets, buildings with sensitive electronic equipment, fuel transfer facilities, etc.The global anti-static fibres market continues to grow significantly due to growth in end user industry such as packaging and clothing. The global market for anti-static fibres is estimated to grow twofold by value, with a higher CAGR during the forecast period. In addition to this, rising consumption from emerging markets of India and China of Asia Pacific region is set to drive market growth, as there is more demand for lighter and high strength materials. However, availability of substitutes, government regulations and volatile raw material prices are major restraints for anti-static fibres market, as oil and gas industry are major raw material supplier for this market.Regional Outlook on Anti-Static Fibres MarketAsia Pacific is the predominant anti-static fibres market followed by Latin America and Europe. India and China are major regional markets for anti-static fibres due to increasing consumption of end user industries. Moreover, Japan, Republic of Korea and Indonesia are other significant major consumers of anti-static fibres in Asia Pacific. Availability of economical workforce in developingeconomies such as South Africa is also attracting global players to set up manufacturing plants and research centres especially for chemical and textiles industries. Anti-static fibres have become more important in recent years with more sales of electronic components and increased demand for specialised packaging film.Request For TOC@Anti-Static Fibres Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in the anti-static fibres market are Noble Biomaterials, Inc. W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Swicofil, Yantai Tayho Advanced materials Co Ltd, Akrilic Kimya Sanayii AS, Cytec Industries Inc., Tianyu Textile. Mergers and acquisitions, collaborations and new product launch are some of the strategies adopted by major market players. The opportunities in antistatic agents market are huge as major market players are continuously focusing on innovation and new product development.In future, increasing utilization of anti-static agents by end user industries is to propel the anti-static fibre market ahead.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global UV Coatings Market expected to surge steadily at 6.1% CAGR, 2026

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After being plagued for years with imperfect production techniques, manufacturers of UV coatings are rapidly adopting technological advancements to put in action an eco-friendly method of producing UV coatings. Future Market Insights notifies how several government and non-government organisations in the world have listed ways in which UV coatings can be produced without harming the environment. Manufacturing such eco-friendly UV-curable coatings has, thus, propelled the growth of global market for UV coatings.At present, Future Market Insights values the global UV coatings market at US$ 3,429.5 Mn. According to its latest report, the global market for UV coatings is expected to surge steadily at 6.1% CAGR and bring in an estimated US$ 6,187.2 Mn revenues by the end of 2026. While favourable environmental regulations will keep inducing growth in global UV coatings production, the demand for such products will also witness a considerable hike on the account of booming global automotive industry. Considering the significance of refinish coatings in the production as well as aftermarket servicing of automobiles, consumption of UV-curable coatings will also remain significant by OEMs and aftermarket suppliers.Ask For Report Sample@In the report, titled UV Coatings Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026, the global market for UV coatings will witness higher growth in terms of consumption of water-based coatings. In 2016, more than 225 KT on water-based UV coatings were globally consumed, attributing to nearly 60% of global market value. Ultimately, the demand for solvent-based UV coatings is also expected to drop over the forecast period, alluding to challenges in procurement of complex solvents and volatile raw material prices.Furthermore, the demand for water-based coatings is also driven by greater end-use of UV coatings in wood & furniture polishing. By the end of 2026, over 140 KT of UV coatings will be consumed globally by wood & furniture end-use. Nevertheless, consumer electronics will be the largest end-user industry for UV coatings  procuring revenue growth at an impressive 8.2% CAGR. Based on the composition of these coatings, the markets growth will be majorly inclined towards soaring demand for photo-initiators. In terms of revenues, global sales of photo-initiator UV coatings will account for more than 40% share through 2026. Although, revenues from oligomer UV coatings will be rising rampantly at 6.7% CAGR.The report further reveals that demand for UV coatings will remain substantially higher in the Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region. A little less than half of global UV coatings revenues will be emanating from this region, registering a robust value CAGR of 9.2%. Middle East and Africas UV coatings market will also soar rapidly, while North America and Europe will witness a sluggish growth in their UV coatings sales..Ask For More Information@According to the report, Akzo Nobel NV, PPG Industries, and The Sherwin-Williams Company are observed as leading manufacturers in the world. European companies such as BASF SE, Arkema, Croda International Plc., and Allnex Belgium, are also prominent players in the global UV coatings market. Other companies profiled in the report include, Chinas Sokan New Materials, and US-based chemical manufacturers such as Dymax Corporation, Watson Coatings, Inc., The Valspar Corporation, and Axalta Coating Systems LLC.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705
Steering Column Control Modules Market size and forecast, 2016-2026

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Automobile design, operation, aesthetics and technology are continuously evolving and witnessing significant advancements. Previous designs and operations in automobiles included various switches for different purposes, which were simple in design but complex in operation. Especially, steering systems witnessed prominent advancements in past decade. Development of hybrid, electric and hydraulic steering are some of the examples. Integration of various operational switches for convenience in steering wheels and column is indeed a timely innovation, which can also be claimed as one amongst the important innovation in an automobile.It was never thought that someone could come up with an idea of Steering Column Control Module (SCCM) where one can control the switches very comfortably with ease while driving. The safety and the ease of driving an automobile has increased considerably due to the installation of steering column control modules on the steering wheel of vehicles.The module which controls the switches on or around/below the steering wheel are known as the steering column control modules. Typically, there are many electromechanical systems installed on the steering wheels nowadays in automobiles. A Steering column control module is mounted on the steering column but it is placed below the steering wheel, this steering column module is the main network for all the systems surrounding it. The operating switches known as the stalk lever switches, are positioned to the right and the left sides of the steering column control modules. The stalk lever switches and the controls which are mounted on the steering wheel and systems i.e. (sound controls buttons, cruise controls, horns, Bluetooth and hands free calling buttons and air bags) are all connected with the other system through the Steering Column Control Module. Typical assembly components of steering column control module includes circuit board, connectors and electrical wire cables for interconnection between the systems. The features and controls which are provided in the steering column control module are also dependent the type of the automobile i.e. Passenger Cars, Commercial Vehicles, Transport vehicles etc. Introduction of new technologies, comfort features and active safety systems in vehicles is expected to drive steering column control modules market in near future.Request For Sample@Steering Column Control Modules Market dynamics:The market of steering column control module has been marked with presence of established players. A challenging task in steering column control modules market is to manufacture these modules as the interconnection between many components and the systems in the steering assembly. The automotive manufacturers are heavily dependent on the providers of the steering system owing to their technological expertise. Steering column control module market is witnessing continuous development from its providers with new ideas and innovation.Increasing safety of vehicle occupants and pedestrians is one of the prime concerns of automakers and many manufacturers are trying to develop steering column control modules so that safety and comfort features are enhanced to a much higher level. As per the current scenario, steering column control modules have become integral part of automobiles. The increasing standard of cabin comfort level has triggered utilization of requirement specific or custom made steering column control modules in great demand and this is expected to provide significant boost in the near future. The market for the steering column control modules is expected to provide significant opportunities to component providers, integrators and original equipment manufacturers across the globe.Steering Column Control Modules Market segmentation:Steering Column Control Modules can be segmented by type of sales channel, by components position and automobile type.By sales channel,Steering Column Control Modules Market can be segmented as:Original equipment manufacturerAftermarketBy Component Position type, Steering Column Control Modules Market can be segmented as:On the Steering Wheel (Sound Control, Airbags, etc.)Around/Below the Steering Wheel (Stalk levers, i.e. Wiper control, Head light control etc.)By Automobile type, Steering Column Control Modules Market can be segmented as:Passenger carsCommercial vehiclesHeavy Trucks and BussesOff-road VehiclesRequest For TOC@Steering Column Control Modules Market: Regional Outlook:Steering Column Control Modules can be divided into seven different geographical regions/divisions such as North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, Middle East and Africa. The demand for steering column control modules is significant in Asia Pacific followed by Europe and North America owing to automotive steady rates of production volumes and sales. Owing to lack of production facilities in Middle East and Africa and relatively low production of vehicles in Latin America, the market potential of steering column control module is low. The Asian giant countries like India and China which have significant sales and production of automobiles are expected to witnessmomentous growth in steering column control module market in the coming years.Steering Column Control Modules Market: Key Players:ZF TRWLeopold Kostal Gmbh & Co. KGDelphi Automotive LLPIdiditNexteer AutomotiveValeoABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Research report explores the Lithium Ion Battery Separator Market for the forecast period, 2016-2026

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The Lithium ion battery separator shutdowns the mechanism of the battery when abnormal heat generation occur with the battery cell. Lithium ion battery separators are also used to prevent physical contact between anode and cathode while facilitating ion transport thereby preventing short circuit and increasing reliability of the lithium ion battery. Lithium ion battery separator are primarily manufactured from non-woven fiber, polymer films and ceramic material, where porous membrane are commonly used with these materials in manufacturing of lithium ion battery separator due its low manufacturing cost, prevent mixing of chemicals and improved mechanical properties. Key manufacturers of the market are shifting from use of polymer separator to ceramic coated lithium coated lithium ion battery separators which improved life cycle and increase the performance of lithium ion battery.Global Lithium Ion Battery Separator: Market DynamicsDue to stringent government regulations on automotive and industrial sector for carbon emission due to which manufacturers are shifting towards lithium ion battery in automobiles and for industrial applications which lead to the growth of lithium ion battery separator market. Growing consumption of smartphones, tablets and electronics products are positively impacting the growth of lithium ion battery separator market, globally.Global automotive manufactures are more focus on manufacturing vehicles that utilize electric drivetrains, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, including battery electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles which also leads to the growth of lithium ion separator market.Low heat resistance of the separator leads to the melting of separator results in shut down of the battery and safety concerns associated with the use of polyolefin separator are restraining the growth of global lithium ion battery market. To overcome such restraints key manufacturers of market are increasing porosity of the membrane and using composite materials in manufacturing of separator which improves the safety and reliability of the battery.Request For Sample@Global Lithium Ion Battery Separator Market: SegmentationGlobal lithium ion battery separator market is segmented based on material used, by temperature resistance, by thickness, by porosity of separator and by regionThe global lithium ion battery separator market is segmented based on material used:Polypropylene (PP)Polyethylene (PE)NylonOthers ( nanofibers and microfibers materials )The global lithium ion battery separator market is segmented based on temperature resistance:10 oC -25 oC130 oC-135 oCThe global lithium ion battery separator market is segmented based on thickness:16m20m25mGlobal Lithium Ion Battery Separator Market: Region-wise outlookGrowing demand of smart phones and tables in developing countries of Asia Pacific such as India and China. This rise in demand lead to boost the consumption of portable batteries results in the growth of lithium ion battery separator market, globally. Japan holds the maximum share in the global lithium ion battery separator market followed by North America. Whereas significant growth lies Western Europe for coming years. In addition Middle East and Africa and Eastern Europe holds the minimum share in lithium ion battery separator market.Request For TOC@Global Lithium Ion Battery Separator Market: Key PlayersThe key players of lithium ion battery separator includes Asahi Kasei Group, Daramic, Entek International LLC, Targray Technology International Inc., Freudenberg & Co. KG, Mitsubishi Plastics Inc., TEIJIN Limited, Porous Power Technologies LLC, UBE Industries Ltd., W-Scope Corporation, SK Innovation Co Ltd, Celgard LLC and Sumitomo Chemical Company LimitedABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Adoption of hospital management capacity solutions will grow at 5.1% CAGR through 2027

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Adoption of hospital management capacity solutions will grow at 5.1% CAGR through 2027, according to a latest research by Future Market Insights (FMI). Increasing need for enhanced health safety will influence healthcare institutes to adopt IT/HCMS. Furthermore, emphasis on financial and clinical integration will push incorporation of robust IT infrastructures such as PLEXIS.Adoption of HCMS is also increasing as it enables users to access real-time location services. As healthcare institutes grapple with rising operating costs, HCMS is being looked upon as a next-gen solution that reduces medical and administrative errors. The market will also continue to be influenced by the broader industry-wide push to amalgamate IT with operations.Ask For Report Sample@Moreover, political dynamics have impacted the process of demand and supply through implementation of various healthcare related evolutions and reforms such as The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates various regulations and requirements regarding storing, capturing and sharing data, which will bring fundamental transformation in various healthcare-related operations. In addition, enhanced technology such as wireless communication and easy internet accessibility, incorporated with various healthcare applications will create new opportunities and enable patients to access related information whenever they need it. Such factors are likely to contribute towards growth of the HCMS market.However, Future Market Insights identifies that security breaches and vulnerabilities associated with IT will continue to hinder its widespread adoption. Imposition of complicated regulations by governments for enhanced quality and services, along with lack of integration with regards to analytical solutions with platforms such as electronic health record (EHR) can also pose challenges to growth of the HCMS market.By product type, real-time locating system will account for a majority revenue share of the market. This segment accounted for US$ 88.34 Mn in 2016, and is expected to register highest CAGR through 2027. Event-driven solutions segment is expected to exhibit second-highest CAGR of 5.2% over the following decade.Regional AnalysisU.K., with total revenues to the tune of US$ 50.78 Mn in 2016, is the largest market for hospital capacity management solutions in Europe. It will remain the largest, and the fastest-growing market in Europe, during the forecast period. The HCMS market in Germany is expected to surpass US$ 80 Mn by 2027.Vendor InsightsLeading players mainly focus on strategies such as expanding their global footprints through collaboration, conferences, product expansions, partnerships and strengthening distribution networks. Demand for applications and systems for new business requirements will intensify partnerships, mergers and acquisitions and consolidations among market players. Vendors are actively entering into partnerships and acquisitions to consolidate their position in the market. Moreover, majority of the stakeholders in healthcare are adopting cloud computing solutions to address security, scalability and availability issues.Ask For More Information@Key players operating in the Europe HCMS market include Awarepoint Corporation, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc., Cerner Corporation, McKesson Corporation, Epic Systems Corporation, TeleTracking Technologies, Inc., Central Logic, Sonitor Technologies, Inc., STANLEY Healthcare Solutions Limited and Care Logistics LLC.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705
Global Ethyl Acetoacetate Market 2021 - Industry Survey, Market Size, Competitive Trends, Outlook and Forecasts

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A new and latest research report proposed by Market Research Globe renders a market summary of the Ethyl Acetoacetate Market industry. This widespread analysis comprises of market potentials and challenges, scope of product, sales volume, market revenue, estimates and rate of growth. The report also digs into all the major market players across the globe.Know More with Sample Report @Chemical industry segment has a crucial role in accomplishing daily requirements of the common man. It is one of the most former industries which attributes substantially to not just economic but industrial growth as well. Nearly, each and every industry segment such as oil and gas, retail, manufacturing, agriculture and many others, depends heavily on the chemical industry. In the recent years, the global Ethyl Acetoacetate Market industry has experienced an astonishing change structure-wise such as enhancements in technology, increasing raw material costs, manufacturing base been channeled to Asian countries, novel promising growth markets, etc.The report highlights crucial dynamics and in-depth analysis of the market segment with concentrating on factual data, present industry activities, growth opportunities, new product inventions, and market forecast for the anticipated frame of time along with leading market players, market study based on several regions, and extensive product. The Ethyl Acetoacetate Market report assists in determining the projection in this meticulous industry by rendering precise potential demand prognoses. These prognoses will aid the market players to take vital decisions and take hold of the untapped regions and new entrants.Browse full report with Table of Content @This research report incorporates the current market size of this industry. It also distinguishes and assesses complex value chains across the globe such as primary factors, market growth restrains, and propelling strategies. This latest market report examines the Ethyl Acetoacetate Market by several segments such as regions, applications, companies, and for the proposed time frame. The report gives a complete insight of this industry consisting the qualitative and quantitative analysis provided for this market industry along with prime development trends, competitive analysis, and vital factors that are predominant in the Ethyl Acetoacetate Market.Market Scope:Various aspects are considered in this all-inclusive market research report and it inspects the global Ethyl Acetoacetate Market industry from an all axis perspective. It gives in-depth information on the future viewpoint, key developments, market dynamics and growth, latest trends in the market, and potential investment segment.The report furnishes: An in-depth widespread market analysis of the global Ethyl Acetoacetate Market Analysis of global market trends, forecasts for 2017, and predictions of CAGRs through proposed time frame. Thorough analysis of applications Mentioning of market players with their complete profile description Researches the vital market trends and novel developments technologically in the Ethyl Acetoacetate MarketThe research report comprises of markets comprehensive analysis geographically on several important regions such as:1. Europe (UK, Germany, Italy, France and Russia)2. North America (Mexico, USA, and Canada)3. Asia-Pacific (India, China, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia)4. Africa, South America, and the Middle EastThe leading industry players across the globe are explored in detail in this report. It demonstrates product overview, company summary, and manufacturing cost, capacity, and market shares for most of the participants. The report portrays the complete overview of Ethyl Acetoacetate Market across the world including its cost/profit, demand/supply, import/export, capacity, production value, etc. The research report also prognosticates trends in the development of this industrys market. It cloaks current market analysis dynamically, downstream requirements as well as the upstream raw materials. Lastly, the report also segregates vital market figures which represent the market condition of Ethyl Acetoacetate Market manufacturers. The report can function as an assistive reference point for helping individuals as well as businesses from this segment.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-Part I Ethyl Acetoacetate Industry OverviewChapter One Ethyl Acetoacetate Industry Overview1.1 Ethyl Acetoacetate Definition1.2 Ethyl Acetoacetate Classification Analysis1.2.1 Ethyl Acetoacetate Main Classification Analysis1.2.2 Ethyl Acetoacetate Main Classification Share Analysis1.3 Ethyl Acetoacetate Application Analysis1.3.1 Ethyl Acetoacetate Main Application Analysis1.3.2 Ethyl Acetoacetate Main Application Share Analysis1.4 Ethyl Acetoacetate Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Ethyl Acetoacetate Industry Development Overview1.5.1 Ethyl Acetoacetate Product History Development Overview1.5.1 Ethyl Acetoacetate Product Market Development Overview1.6 Ethyl Acetoacetate Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Ethyl Acetoacetate Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Ethyl Acetoacetate Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Ethyl Acetoacetate Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Ethyl Acetoacetate Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Ethyl Acetoacetate Global Market Development Trend AnalysisChapter Two Ethyl Acetoacetate 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 Ethyl Acetoacetate Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Three Asia Ethyl Acetoacetate Market Analysis3.1 Asia Ethyl Acetoacetate Product Development History3.2 Asia Ethyl Acetoacetate Competitive Landscape Analysis3.3 Asia Ethyl Acetoacetate Market Development TrendFor more help Speak to our Experts @About Market Research Globe:Market Research Globe is a competent consulting company in the field of Global Market Research. We provide our clients a wide range of customized Marketing and Business Research Solutions to choose from, with the help of our ingenious database developed by experts. We help our clients understand the strengths of diverse markets and how to exploit opportunities. Covering a diverse range of business scopes from Digital products to Food industry, we are your one- stop solution right from data collection to investment advices.Contact us:+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@marketresearchglobe.comWeb-
Geraniol Market Driven by Cosmetics Companies as it is Used in Preparation of Cosmetic Products

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Geraniol is a monoterpenoid as well as an alcohol, chemically classified as allergens. The color of geraniol varies from transparent to light yellow, having an aroma similar to rose. Geraniol has its application in food industry for enhancing flavour, taste, odor etc. The color of geraniol varies from transparent to light yellow, having an aroma similar to rose. Geraniol finds application in a broad spectrum of industries like aromatherapy, perfumeries, etc. Application of this essential pill in food industry is slowly gaining importance due to its high functional value. Geraniol shows a very effective antibiotic activity, apart from being a good source for vitamin K. Geraniol is effective against cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Owing to these properties, geraniol is gaining importance in food industry. It can be used in baled goods, frozen dairy, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and candies.Obtain Report Details @Market Segmentation: GeraniolThe geraniol market is segmented on the basis of its application in food industry, cosmetics industry, medical industry, pharmaceutical industry etc. In food industry, geraniol is used as flavoring, food additive for preservation. Geraniol comes in various flavours such as citrus fruits, watermelon, peach, raspberry, plum, pineapple, blueberry etc. In cosmetic and personal care industry geraniol functions as fragrance ingredient. Geraniol is used in preparation of cosmetics products such as aftershave lotions, bath products, perfumes and colognes, skin care products, bubble baths, hair products, lipsticks, moisturizers and suntan products. In medical industry, geraniol inhibits growth and polyamine biosynthesis in human colon cancer cells. Geraniol as an ingredient of essential oils is useful in pharmaceuticals as antibacterial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory compound.The geraniol market is segmented on the basis of its source as rose oil, palmarosa oil, and citronella oil, etc. Geraniol is also obtained from sources such as geranium, lemon, and many other essential oils in small amounts. As geraniol is obtained from essential oils which makes it is now getting used as anti-inflammatory drugs.The Geraniol market is segmented on the basis of regions as North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and ME.Enter your information below to receive a sample copy of this report @Global Geraniol Market: Regional OutlookDepending on geographic regions global Geraniol market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and ME. Geraniol industries are growing globally as a result of increasing demand for cosmetic industry. Europe has shown maximum growth in geraniol market as cosmetics market has seen growing in this region therefore geraniol market has seen increasing in forecast period for Europe region. Global market may increase in forecast period for geraniol due to its application and increasing demand in number of industries.Global Geraniol Market: Drivers and TrendsThe geraniol market is primarily driven by cosmetics companies as maximum of geraniol is used in preparation of cosmetic products such as soaps, detergents, personal care products etc. Increasing demand of geraniol from cosmetics product manufacturers is increasing which is in turn growing market for geraniol globally. Geraniol used as flavoring agent, taste and odor enhancer in food industry, which increases demand for geraniol from food manufacturers which drives the growth of geraniol global market. In pharmaceutical industry, geraniol is used as an anti-inflammatory drug which drives demand for geraniol in pharmaceutical industry.Global Geraniol: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified across the value chain of the global geraniol market include Takasago International Corporation, BASF SE, UBM (UK) Ltd., Perfect Herbals & Oils, Natural Best Products Laboratoire S.L., Jiangxi Global Natural Spice Co. ltd. etc. are amongst.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.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Spectrum Analyzer Market  Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2023

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According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, Spectrum Analyzer Market by Product, Network Technology, and End User: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2023, the spectrum analyzer market accounted for $1,068 million in 2016, and is expected to reach $1,813 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2017 to 2023. In 2016, Asia-Pacific dominated the global market, in terms of revenue, accounting for more than 37% share of the global market, followed by North America.Early buyers will receive 20% customization on this report.Spectrum analyzer is the most popular and versatile of all measurement tools, which measures the magnitude of an input signal versus frequency. Its major use is to measure the power of the spectrum of known and unknown signals. Powerful measurement and analysis capabilities of these analyzers are some key drivers for market growth. Wired spectrum analyzer is the leading segment in the global market, and is expected to maintain this trend throughout the forecast period. However, wireless spectrum analyzer segment is expected to witness significant growth in the future, as they are more useful in on-the-spot troubleshooting application for in-depth spectrum analysis.Read More @The semiconductors & electronics sector is anticipated to maintain its lead in the end-user segment. However, with a growth in the telecommunication industry and rise in wave analysis trend boost the spectrum analyzer market growth in new players. With the range of end-user industries and their different applications, there has been a significant growth in the spectrum analyzer market.Based on product, the benchtop spectrum analyzer segment contributed the largest revenue share in the market in 2015, owing to their wide frequency range applications. However, over the next few years, the handheld spectrum analyzer segment is anticipated to be one of the fastest growing products, in terms of revenue, in the global spectrum analyzer market.Get PDF of this Report @Asia-Pacific is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period, owing to the presence of key companies. Moreover, Asia-Pacific is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to increase in the presence of several emerging nations with high share in the consumer electronics market and well-established semiconductor industry.Key Findings of the Spectrum Analyzer Market: In 2016, the benchtop spectrum analyzer segment dominated the global spectrum analyzer market, in terms of revenue, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.0% during the forecast period. The wireless network technology segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.0%. The automotive & transportation segment is expected to exhibit the highest CAGR during the forecast period.The major players, such as Advantest Corporation, Teledyne Lecroy, Fortive Corporation, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Anritsu Corporation, Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co., Kg., National Instruments Corporation, Keysight Technologies, Giga-tronics Incorporated, and B&K Precision Corporation, have adopted new technology launch as their key strategy to expand their market foothold.About UsAllied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact UsPankaj Kumar5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesDirect: +1-503-894-6022Toll Free: +1 (800) 792-5285 (U.S. & Canada)Fax: +1 (855) 550-5975E-mail: sales@alliedmarketresearch.com
2017-2022 Medicated Skin Care Products Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "2017-2022 Medicated Skin Care Products Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications" to its huge collection of research reports.The global Medicated Skin Care Products market is driven by the various factors, a detailed analysis of which is included in the report. The report provides valuable recommendation to the companies in order to help them adapt winning strategies. It comprises the information pertaining to the opportunities and threats that the global Medicated Skin Care Products market is projected to witness during the forecast period. Industry-leading tools are used to provide detail information regarding the companies profiled. The report also provides in-depth analysis of the competition prevailing in the global Medicated Skin Care Products market.Get sample report @The market study also offers a thorough overview of the competitive landscape in the market. The report analyzes the global Medicated Skin Care Products market on certain criteria such as product, application, current condition, and geography. The report also sheds light on the current market trends and their impact on the global Medicated Skin Care Products market. Analysis is conducted in order to find strengths and weaknesses of companies profiled. For this purpose. The report also discusses the prominent players competition on the global as well as domestic level.The report serves as an ideal tool for companies looking to survive and thrive in the global Medicated Skin Care Products market. The performance of the leading companies have been studied in this report The study offers an informative outline of company profile, product portfolio, research, mergers, and growth strategies. The relative share of each segment in the global Medicated Skin Care Products market is presented in the report. The historical and current development of each segment is charted in the report. This information helps clients gain a better understanding of the global Medicated Skin Care Products market.Browse full table of contents and data tables of Report @Table of Contents2017-2022 Medicated Skin Care Products 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 Medicated Skin Care Products Market Overview2.1 Medicated Skin Care Products Product Overview2.2 Medicated Skin Care Products Market Segment by Type2.2.1 Natural2.2.2 Synthetic2.3 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Product Segment by Type2.3.1 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and Growth (%) by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.3.2 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.3 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.4 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)2.4 United States Medicated Skin Care Products Product Segment by Type2.4.1 United States Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and Growth by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.4.2 United States Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.3 United States Medicated Skin Care Products Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.4 United States Medicated Skin Care Products Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)3 Medicated Skin Care Products Application/End Users3.1 Medicated Skin Care Products Segment by Application/End Users3.1.1 For Male3.1.2 For Female3.1.3 For Kids3.2 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Product Segment by Application3.2.1 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.2.2 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)3.3 United States Medicated Skin Care Products Product Segment by Application3.3.1 United States Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.3.2 United States Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)4 Medicated Skin Care Products Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1.1 Global Medicated Skin Care Products 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 Medicated Skin Care Products Sales and Revenue by Regions4.2.1 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.2 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.3 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.4 North America Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.5 Europe Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.6 Asia-Pacific Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.7 South America Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.2.8 Middle East and Africa Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.9 United States Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers5.1 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)5.2 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2012-2017)5.3 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2012-2017)5.4 Players Medicated Skin Care Products Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types5.5 Medicated Skin Care Products Market Competitive Situation and Trends5.5.1 Medicated Skin Care Products Market Concentration Rate5.5.2 Global Medicated Skin Care Products Market Share (%) of Top 3 and Top 5 Players5.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, ExpansionAbout UsQYReseachReports.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.Contact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Worldwide Vitamins Industry Production, Future Demand, Sales and Consumption Research Report to 2027

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Market Research Future published a Half Cooked Research Report on Global Vitamins Market.Market Overview:Trends toward healthy lifestyles and disease prevention among consumers aiming to avoid expensive healthcare costs and extend healthy life spans are generating growth opportunities and challenges for Vitamins Market, while regulatory frames are simultaneously becoming stricter. By creating healthier, more diverse portfolios to drive growth; Vitamins manufacturing Companies are fine-tuning in the new scenario wherein a consumer is well informed and demands for a self-explanatory label.According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The Vitamins Market is expected to witness the fastest growth globally, in terms of value and volume. Vitamins market has witnessed a continued demand during the last few years and is predicted to grow in the future with a significant rate of CAGR; witnessing exponential growth crossing its previous growth records by the end of the forecasted period (2016  2027).The growth of Vitamins Market is propelled by the factors such as growing geriatric population and increasing prevalence of various lifestyle diseases such as night blindness, osteomalacia, digestive disorders, and other vitamin deficiency diseases, along with hectic lifestyles of people.With growing age, it becomes challenging for the body to optimally absorb the required nutrients from food. Furthermore, loss of appetite is also a common problem among the elderly population. Elderly people tend to suffer from vitamin D deficiency. Therefore, there is growing a dependence on vitamin D supplements among the elderly population. Additionally the trends towards healthy lifestyles and disease prevention contribute to the growth of Vitamins Market, states the MRFR Research Analyst while commenting upon this deep diving study report, presented through more than 100 market data tables and figures, widely spread over 150 pages.Sample Copy of Report @Key PlayersVitamins market appears to be fragmented with low entry barriers and rising competition. The global vitamin supplements market is highly competitive, with numerous international players operating in theMarket along with a few regional players operating in the vitamin supplements market. A number of retailers and manufacturers are being challenged by the new players in the market and online market growth. Though many leading retailers and producers continue to expand through Merger & acquisition and collaborations to gain market share in a fragmented vitamins marketplace; the speedy proliferation of new players launching a wide range of products, especially via online platforms is challenging the industry further.Identified and profiled in MRFR analysis; some of the key players operating in the Global vitamin Market include- DSM, Amway, Vitamin Shoppe, Bayer AG, Pharmavite LLC, NBTY, Inc, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, ADM, Pfizer and BASF SEBayer AG, a prominent players acquisition of Merck & Co in 2014 added important brands such as Claritin to Bayers portfolio, and further solidified Bayers strength in developed markets such as Western Europe and the US.Access the market data and market information presented through more than 25 market data tables and 25 figures spread over 150 numbers of pages of the project report Vitamins Market - Forecast to 2027Market Segments:The Vitamins Market is segmented in to 4 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation On the basis of Product Type : Comprises water-soluble and fat-soluble. Further water-soluble is sub-segmented as vitamin b and vitamin c and fat soluble is sub-segmented as vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and vitamin KSegmentation On the basis of Form : Comprises capsules, tablets, granule and liquid.Segmentation On the basis of Application : Comprises food and beverages, animal feed, personal care and health care.Segmentation On the basis of Regions : Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.Access Report Details @Regional AnalysisNorth-America and Europe dominates the Global Vitamins Market with the largest market share followed by Asia and RoW, accounting for an exponential value in terms of revenue generation and is expected to grow over its previous growth records by 2027 with a significant rate of a CAGR during 2016 to 2027About 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.ContactAkash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
ESD Foam Market Growth Expected to Dominate Worldwide by 2025

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During packaging, sensitive products such as electronic parts and equipment can get damaged from the static current generated during the interaction of packaging material and electronic equipment. Use of thermoplastic material such as foam can eliminate such risks. Foam commonly made polyethylene an insulating material is doped with carbon in different quantities for varying its conducting properties and physical properties. For improving convenience in usage and identification conductive foams are colored in black due the presence of carbon and foam with anti-static property is colored with pink dye. Foam colored in pink dye has shorter shelf life and are only for single use while foam in black color can be used multiple times. Apart from shielding against static currents, foams are useful in protection from vibrations, physical impacts and scratching as it can be used for packaging of any electronic equipment irrespective of its shape.Browse Market Research Report @ESD Foam Market: Market DynamicsOn the backdrop of increasing consumption of electronic items, the need for providing packaging solutions for such sensitive products is growing across the world. Availability of different categories of ESD foams fulfilling differential packaging needs of electronic equipment is generating the demand in ESD foam market. ESD foam has higher dimensional stability than the other packaging alternatives for electronic equipment packaging thus contributing as another key market driving factor for ESD foam market. Use of foam is idle for packaging of electronic parts and equipment as foam can be cut in any shape to perfectly sync with the shape of electronic equipment for enhancing overall stability of the product during the transit.The light weight of foam does not add any considerable additional weight in overall packaging hence reducing the fuel consumption while proving to be economical for manufacturers. However, increased use of shielding bags for packaging of electronic items is reducing the per unit consumption of ESD foam hence reducing the packaging cost while limiting the growth in ESD foam market. Electronic product protection solution is about more than finding the inexpensive material. The use of foam for offering customized and efficient packaging solutions for electronic items can open a new path of opportunities for ESD foam market.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @ESD Foam Market: Market SegmentationESD foam is segmented by material type, by property type, color type, and end use type.Based on the material type, ESD foam market is segmented into:Polyethylene (doped with carbon)Polyethylene (non-doped)PolyurethaneBased on the property type, ESD foam market is segmented into:Conductive foamAnti-static foamStatic dissipative foamBased on the color type, ESD foam market is segmented into:Pink (single use)Black (multiple uses)Based on the end use type, ESD foam market is segmented into:Boards (with battery cells)Bare boardsBattery CellsAssembled devicesLead insertionOther Electronic equipmentESD Foam Market - Regional Outlook:Regionally global ESD foam market is segmented intoNorth AmericaLatin AmericaEastern EuropeWestern EuropeAsia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ)Middle East & Africa (MEA)JapanThe presence of largest electronic item producer countries is expected to boost the demand in ESD foam market in the region over the forecast period. Japan is expected to follow the APEJ region for ESD foam market attributed to its large electronic goods production and consumption in the area. United States, Western Europe, and Latin America are expected to grow significantly due to increasing demand in electronic goods market while MEA is expected to exhibit sluggish growth due to low electronic item production in the region.ESD Foam Market - Key Players:Some major players of the ESD foam market are The Dow Chemical Company, Paulamar Co. Ltd., 3M Company, Desco Industries Inc., Botron Company Inc., CCL Industries, Protektive Pak, Centurion Industrial Packaging Ltd, Changzhou Parkway Foam Co., Ltd., Suzhou Sinkery Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Leenol Industrial Co., Ltd., Shandong Fangsheng Imports And Exports Co., Ltd. and Teknis Ltd.About 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:
Digital Packaging Market - The Changing Face of Packaging

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Digital packaging can be defined as the incorporation of digital technology into the packaging of products. Digital technology incorporated into packaging includes near field communication (NFC), radio frequency identification (RFID), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, QR codes, Barcodes, etc. The implementation of digital packaging therefore encompasses broad range of packaging systems such as labels, tags, closures, flexible packaging, rigid packaging, etc.Browse Market Research Report @The global digital packaging market is observed to be in the germination stage and is anticipated to expand considerably over the forecast period 2017-2027. The US$ 800 billion global packaging market offers enormous growth potential for the digital packaging segment in terms of engineering, design, innovation and product development activities. Market players entering into the digital packaging market are streamlining their product life cycle (PLC) strategies in order to grab the early movers advantage.Historical analysis into the evolution and growth of digital packaging market has brought to the surface innovative products in packaging that include smart tags, labels, smart pharmaceutical bottles, hydration reminder smart water bottles, interactive packaging, digitally connected packaging systems, etc.Global Digital Packaging Market: Market DynamicsEmergence of internet of things (IOT) has led to packaging manufacturers incorporating smart sensors into their packaging solutions in order to broaden the packaging functionality. Smart sensors used in the digital packaging market have the ability to track information regarding temperature, motion and pressure. Smart sensors, smart labels and barcodes have allowed manufacturers to track products in the supply chain and logistics processes. End use industries such as food, beverages and pharmaceuticals have prominently leveraged the use of connected technology to gauge and record information pertaining to temperature, internal atmosphere, pressure and motion.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @In February 2017, manufacturer of snacks foods Frito-Lay, Inc. incorporated digital technology in the packaging of their tortilla-chip snack Tostitos. The bags used for packaging of Tostitos are incorporated with alcohol sensors coupled with LED lights and NFC technology. The smart sensors allowed consumer engagement by promoting the notion safe driving.Manufacturers and especially consumer brands are looking at packaging as the gateway to the perceptual understanding among consumers. The use of QR codes on packaging has enabled consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers to engage consumers in innovative ways and drive sales and business growth. QR codes have enabled brands to offer discounts, prizes, gather feedback or supply product related information.Digital packaging market is observed to gradually include traditional packaging formats which are remodeled to incorporate the principles of digital packaging. Smart bottles are incorporated with digital technology to provide enhanced functionalities such as hydration reminders, medical dosage reminders, time and temperature indication, tracking and recording the quality of wines, etc. The smart bottle segment within the digital packaging market itself is estimated to be reach US$ 200 million by 2024.Global Digital Packaging Market: Market SegmentationThe global digital packaging market is segmented as per product type, technology type, and application type.As per the product type, the global digital packaging market is segmented intoSmart sensorsSmart bottlesSmart labelsSmart tagsOthers (flexible bags, boxes, cartons, etc.)As per the technology type, the global digital packaging market is segmented intoNFCRFIDQR CodeBarcodesWi-FiBluetoothUSBOthers (printed electronics)As per the application type, the global digital packaging market is segmented intoWater BottlesPharmaceuticalFoodBeveragesAlcoholicNon-AlcoholicCosmetics and Personal CareOthers (printed electronics, etc.)Global Digital Packaging Market: Regional OutlookGeographically the global digital packaging market is segmented into 7 key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, and Middle East and Africa (MEA).Global Digital Packaging Market: Key PlayersSome of the players operating in the digital packaging market include Thin Film Electronics ASA, Avery Dennison, Trago, Inc., Thermos L.L.C., AdhereTech Inc., Weber Packaging Solutions, Inc., Saralon Gmbh, Amcor LimitedAbout 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:
Hydrocarbons Accounting Solution Market Forecast By End-use Industry 2016-2026

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2339

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The ultimate goal of all oil and gas operators across the globe is to extract hydrocarbon as cost effective as possible. In order to achieve this goal, their entire system should be automated and error free starting from the extraction process to the delivery and transportation of oil and gas to buyers, which can be achieved by implementation of hydrocarbons accounting solutions. Additionally, oil and gas operators are increasingly launching their projects in remote locations that are often in difficult environmental condition, which in turns, also increases the demand for hydrocarbons accounting solution across the upstream industry. Hydrocarbons accounting solutions are being increasingly adopted by players in upstream industry for various applications such as production management, reporting and allocation, transport management solution (takes care of transportation data and activity while transporting hydrocarbons through pipelines, trucks or vessels), and sales management, revenue management and other supply chain management related applications.Global Hydrocarbons Accounting Solution Market: Drivers and ChallengesTechnological innovations in cloud computing and data analytics are contributing immensely in making these type of hydrocarbons accounting software more robust and accurate, which helps to increase adoption of these solutions among the end-users. Most of the hydrocarbons accounting solution providers offers solutions, which can be integrated seamlessly with multiple applications such as ERM, reserves management, GIS, land and lease management, well management and other applications used by upstream industries. Previously, upstream industry was not bounded by government rules and regulations. However, with changing market scenario around oil and gas producers, the requirement to manage this industry by intelligent solutions increases.Request Report Sample@In order to achieve an objective of increased production in cost effective and efficient manners, various oil and gas operators have different specific requirements across the industry, hence its a challenge for hydrocarbon solutions providers to provide customized solutions which support different needs and yet maintain profitable business model.Traditionally, hydrocarbon accounting has mostly taken place at the level of individual fields or operating companies. However, changes in the global market around producers of a field, the pursuit of natural gas, and increased regulation are just some of the factors driving oil and gas companies to look for applications that have a more comprehensive view.Global Hydrocarbons Accounting Solution Market: SegmentationGlobal hydrocarbons accounting solutions can be segmented on the basis of component, deployment type and end-use sector. On the basis of component, global hydrocarbons accounting solution market is segmented into software and services. Service segment is further sub-segmented into consulting, implementation and support. On the basis of deployment type, global hydrocarbon software market is segmented into cloud based software and on-premise software. In 2015, cloud based hydrocarbons accounting solution is estimated to dominate the market and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period. Deployment of cloud based hydrocarbons accounting software reduces requirement of trained IT personal team because of 24*7 full technical support from the solution providers is the main force driving the growth of cloud based hydrocarbons accounting software market. On the basis of end-use sector, global hydrocarbons accounting solution market is segmented into upstream companies, mid-stream companies and downstream companies.Visit For TOC@Global Hydrocarbons Accounting Solution Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of region, global hydrocarbons accounting solution market is segmented into seven regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, MEA, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan and Japan. Among aforementioned regions, MEA is expected to be the dominant market followed by North America because, most of the petroleum companies of the world are present in these two regions.Tieto, SAP, Adept Solutions, P2 Energy Solutions (formerly Merrick Systems), Wipro Limited, Quorum Business Solutions, Inc. are some of the big players of global hydrocarbons accounting solution market.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:
Industrial Packaging Market is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 5% by 2022

Industrial Packaging Market

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Market Research Future published a half cooked research report on global industrial packaging market. The industrial packaging market is expected to grow over the CAGR of around 5% during the period 2016 to 2022Market Highlights:Industrial packaging is the packaging that is used to deliver goods from producer to consumer. The key drivers for the growth of industrial packaging market is increased globalization and international trade. Additionally innovation progression, which has reduced the cost of transportation along with liberalization of trade and capital market, has increased export import activities, which ultimately stimulates the growth of industrial packaging market. On the basis of region, Asia-Pacific is the largest market by value and volume both. The industrial packaging market is expected to grow at CAGR of 5% by 2022.Request a Sample Copy @Key Players of Industrial packaging Market: International Paper Company Grief Inc. Nefab Group Mondi Group Amcor Ltd Bemis Company Inc. Orora Group Mauser GroupMarket Research Analysis:The market is highly application based. The factors contributing to the growth of the industrial packaging market are, continuously growing end-use industries such chemicals, food & beverages & others, increasing export & import activities and the use of container liners. The market is expected to have higher growth rate as compared to the previous years. Asia-Pacific is the largest region for the Industrial packaging market.Scope of the Report:This study provides an overview of the Global Industrial packaging market, tracking two market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the Global Industrial packaging market as Packaging Type, Materials, Products and End-User.By Packaging Type Flexible RigidBy Materials Metal Plastic Paper WoodenBy Product Bags Boxes Sacks Barrels Tanks OthersBy End-User Food & Beverages Construction Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Electronics OthersBrief TOC:1 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 industrial packaging Market5 Industry Overview of Global industrial packaging Market5.1 Introduction5.2 Growth Drivers5.3 Impact analysis5.4 Market Challenges5.5 Impact analysisContinueAccess Report Details @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.ContactAkash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Raffia Tapes Market Will Generate New Growth Opportunities by 2025

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Raffia tapes are high strength packaging solution for strapping, tying and sealing functions implemented in industrial, construction and transport operations. Raffia tapes are easily available, cheaper packaging solution for securing products together or for weaving packaging systems made of fabrics. Manufacturers of raffia tapes often reinforce them with polymers in order to enhance the surface characteristics. Raffia tapes are supplied in range of different colors including natural brown, white, black, green, red, blue, etc. Growing significance of packaging in industry wide supply chain and logistics functions have provided packaging manufacturers to offer products such as raffia tapes to effectively cater to their clients operating in logistics and supply chain industry.Browse Market Research Report @Raffia tapes are multi-layer in structure, wherein a polypropylene (PP) raffia film is applied with a layer of water based acrylic adhesive. PP raffia tapes offer transparent features for coating cartons used in shipping of goods.Global Raffia Tapes Market: Market DynamicsCarton sealing has emerged as the key application segment for PP or BOPP raffia tapes. The global raffia tapes market is driven by market opportunities in agricultural, general industrial and building and construction applications. Sealing cartons or boxes, strapping small boxes together in a stack or splicing of flat packaging formats has led to incremental prospects for raffia tapes market. Raffia tapes are preferred by market players for its characteristics to provide convenient yet cheaper solutions for supply chain and logistics functions.Global Raffia Tapes Market: Market SegmentationThe global raffia tapes market is segmented based on product type, application type and by end use industries. As per product type raffia tapes are segmented into natural brown raffia tapes, white raffia tapes, clear raffia tapes and other colors. According to application type raffia tapes are segmented into strapping, splicing, carton sealing, box sealing and others. As per end use industries raffia tapes are segmented into shipping and logistics, food and beverages, building and construction, health care and pharmaceuticals, electrical and electronics, automotive, general industrial and agriculture.For more information on this report, fill the form @In developing nations the use of raffia tapes for packaging application into agriculture has gained considerable importance as raffia tapes offer convenient and effective packaging solution for shipping, storage and transportation of agricultural produce, agricultural stock, seeds, fodder, etc.Flexible packaging including fodder bags, jute bags, cartons and boxes are strapped or secured together during the transportation process. Raffia tapes provide effective solution to such agricultural packaging functions.Global Raffia Tapes Market: Regional OutlookGeographically the global raffia tapes market is segmented into 5 key regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa (MEA).Regions with health agricultural and manufacturing sector along with considerable growth opportunities in allied industries has prominent applications for raffia tapes. Developed as well developing countries have shown sizable opportunities for raffia tapes market in their domestic markets.The Asia Pacific region is key exporting region in the global raffia tapes market. The market in India and China has noticeable concentration of raffia tapes manufacturers. Raffia tapes manufacturers in India and China have export capabilities to supply in regions including Middles East, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Latin America.The consumption of raffia tapes for packaging application in agricultural as well as building and construction has gained prominence in European countries. European companies operating in supply and logistics are heavily importing from raffia tape manufacturers in Asia Pacific region.Global Raffia Tapes Market: Key PlayersSome of the players operating into the raffia tapes market include Shenzhen Aimtack Tape Co., Ltd, Jiangxi Longtai New Material Co., Ltd., Shijiazhuang Hangteng Import And Export Trade Co., Ltd., Zhenjiang Rongfa Plastic Products Co., Ltd., Suzhou Enable Adhesive Material Technology Co., Ltd., Huzhou Nanxun Sunjoy Textile Co., Ltd., Luk Plastcon Ltd.About 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 Subsea Manifolds Market is Predicted to Grow at Approximately 4.85% by 2023

Subsea Manifolds Market

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Market Highlights:The Subsea Manifolds Market is expected to grow over the CAGR of around 4.85% during the period 2017 to 2023.Hydrocarbon discoveries are increasingly made in the deep water offshore basins around the world. To increase production and operational efficiency of deep water basins, substantial investment are made in installing subsea manifolds. The technology is predominantly applied in deep water production activities where hydrocarbon extraction is carries out in the harshest of environments. Several global oil and gas companies are looking to develop their offshore hydrocarbon reserves which is driving the market. Subsea manifolds also help in achieving better production rate and play a major role in adapting to changing operating conditions and operational flexibility.Key Players:The key players of Global Subsea Manifolds Market are: ABB (Switzerland) Aker Solutions ASA (Norway) Baker Hughes Incorporated (U.S) Dril-Quip Inc. (U.S.) FMC Technologies Inc. (U.S.) General Electric (U.S.) ITT Bornemann GmbH (Germany) OneSubsea (U.S.) Subsea 7 S.A. (U.K.) Technip S.A. (France)Request to Receive a Report Sample @Market Research Analysis:Europe Region is Expected to Dominate the Market:The Europe region is expected to dominate the Subsea Manifolds Market because of increasing deep water hydrocarbon basins in the North Sea area. The North Sea region accounts for major share of oil and gas production of Europe. There is a stringent environmental rules for implementing new oil field operations in the North Sea region which is driving the market for subsea manifolds to enhance oil recovery from existing deep water regions. The Middle East region also accounts for a significant share of Global Subsea Manifolds Market. This is because of increasing deep water exploration activities in the region.Scope of the ReportThis study provides an overview of the Global Subsea Manifolds Market, tracking one market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (ROW). The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region.Access Report Details @The scope of the study segments the Global Subsea Manifolds Market by its Application Type and by Regions. By Applications Typeo Production Manifoldso Injection Manifolds By Regionso North Americao Asia Pacifico Europeo Rest of the WorldAbout 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
Worldwide Analysis on Meat, Poultry and Seafood Packaging Market Strategies and Forecasts, 2017 to 2027

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Packaging has developed itself as an important component in the modern lifestyle due to its transportation, storage, and rising consumer inclination towards convenience on the backdrop of a fast paced lifestyle. Moreover, the growing demand for healthy products have witnessed developments in terms of its consumption over the last few years and easy availability due to its effective packaging solution. Meat, poultry and seafood packaging are designed to meet all the physical requirement of the supply chain to ensure that the product arrives on time along with preserving the texture, nutritive quality and taste. Moreover, high quality printed boxes allow the usage of color and graphics to promote the product or brand and achieve marketing objectives, as eye-catching presentation is a required for sales.Meat, Poultry and Seafood Packaging- Market Segmentation:The global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market can be segmented on the basis of product type, raw material type, technology type and application type. On the basis of product type, the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market can be segmented into rigid packaging and flexible packaging, wherein, flexible packaging is expected to grow faster than rigid packaging solution due to easy handling and carrying solution along with less required material for manufacture. Rigid packaging is further segmented into corrugated box, trays, folding carton, cans, container, sleeve & others, and flexible packaging is further segmented into plastic films, bags, pouches and others, wherein, trays is expected to grow exponentially in the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market over the forecast period, as microwaveable tray are heat resistant and can be used safely in microwave ovens, provide maximum convenience for consumer who are able to re-heat the product in its packaging. On the basis of raw material type, the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market can be segmented into plastic, paper and metal. On the basis of technology type, the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market can be segmented into modified atmosphere packaging, case ready packaging, vacuum packaging, active & intelligent packaging and retort packaging, wherein, modified atmosphere packaging is expected to account for significant market value and volume share, as the air is removed from the packaging chamber and replaced with a different mixture of gases specifically formulated to preserve the food from inside. On the basis of application type, the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging can be segmented into fresh & frozen, processed and ready to eat food, wherein, ready to eat food is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period to increasing usage of convenient products.Request Report Sample@Meat, Poultry and Seafood Packaging Market - Market Dynamics:One of the significant factors contributing towards the growth of global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market is the government initiative to increase healthy eating results in rising healthy eating trends which have risen the demand for meat, fish and seafood production. Adding to this, the growing demand for small size and single portion item is expected to drive the growth of the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market. Moreover the ever growing retail sector coupled with rising disposable income among individual is considered as another factor towards the growth of the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market. In addition to this, manufacturer and retailers had witness a shift towards case ready packaging as it reduces the cost of labor and increase protection due to the usage of high barrier films which is expected to drive the growth of the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market. Furthermore, the growing population and rising GDP along with improved living standard and growing demand for ready to eat meals in emerging economies is expected to drive the growth of the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging. The advantageous feature of providing longer shelf life of the product and user friendly solution in terms of storage and reseal ability is expected to fuel the demand for the global meat, poultry, and seafood packaging market. However, the consumer and the manufacturer of growing economies are still inclined towards fresh food product, is expected to hinder the growth of the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging.Meat, Poultry and Seafood Packaging Market - Regional Outlook:Geographically, the meat, poultry and seafood packaging can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East & Africa (MEA). The growth of the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging is expected to witness a growing CAGR over the forecast period of 2016-2024. North America is expected to witness a fast paced growth of meat, poultry and seafood packaging as North Americans are inclined towards convenience products. Moreover, the emerging economies such as China and India is expected to heavily contribute to the growth of the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging market due to rising disposable income and eating healthy trend. Therefore, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to gain higher market value share in the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging.Visit For TOC@Meat, Poultry and Seafood Packaging Market - Major Players:Some of the major players identified in the global meat, poultry and seafood packaging are Bemis Company Inc., AEP Industries Inc., DuPont (EI) de Nemours, Smurfit Kappa Group, Visy Industries Holdings Pty Ltd, Tri-Mach Group Inc., Printpack, Inc., Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd, ABBE CORRUGATED PTY. LTD and Cambridge Packing Company.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:
Metal Cans Market is Expected to Reach USD 65 Billion by 2022

Metal Cans Market

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https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/metal-cans-market-1907

Market Research Future published a half cooked research report on global metal cans market. The market for global metal cans market is expected to grow over the CAGR of around 4% during the period 2016 to 2022Market Highlights:The popularity of metal cans is growing over the past few years. Metal cans are used for storage of food, beverage, oil and others. The major advantage of metal cans are that they are 100% recyclable. Rising disposable income, changing lifestyle, increasing demand for processed food products, rising demand for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages fueled the demand of the market. Manufacturers are focusing on development of new products. The global metal cans market size is expected to cross USD 65 Billion at CAGR of approximately 4% by 2022.Request a Sample Copy @Key Players of Metal Cans Market: Rexam PLC Silgan Containers LLC Kian Joo Can Factory Berhad Independent Can Company Ball Corporation Crown Holdings, Inc, HUBER Packaging Group GmbH SKS Bottle & Packaging, Inc, Ardagh Group and Can Smart (PTY) LTD.Market Research Analysis:The market is highly application based. Food & beverage globally drive the market due to rising disposable income and changing lifestyles. The market is expected to have higher growth rate as compared to the previous years. On the basis of material, Aluminum accounted for the largest market share. Asian countries, especially India, China and Japan expected to grow fast over the forecasted period due to large population base, increasing demand for processed food & beverages and the growing consumer market. However, North-America is the largest region for the metal cans market and is expected to grow at a steady rate.Scope of the Report:This study provides an overview of the global metal cans market, tracking three market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the global metal cans market as material, type and application. On the basis of material it is segmented as Aluminum and Steel. On the basis of type it is segmented as 2-piece and 3-piece cans. On the basis of application it is widely used in food and beverage sectors.Brief TOC for Metal Cans:1 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 Metal Cans Market5 Industry Overview of Global Metal Cans Market5.1 Introduction5.2 Growth Drivers5.3 Impact analysis5.4 Market Challenges5.5 Impact analysisContinueTarget Audience: Manufactures Raw Materials Suppliers Aftermarket supplier Research Institute / Education Institute Potential Investors Key executive (CEO and COO) and strategy growth managerAccess Report Details @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash AnandMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Impression Die Forging Market Expected to Reach $22,732 Million by 2022, Globally

Impression Die Forging Market - Allied Market Research

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Impression die forging market report, published by Allied Market Research forecasts that the global market was estimated to be $17,007 million in 2015 and is expected to reach $22,732 million by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 4.34% from 2015 - 2022. Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth rate, owing to rise in demand for automotive thermal management systems in countries such as China, Japan, India, and others.Early buyers will receive 20% customization on this report.Impression die forging is a metal deformation process, which utilizes pressure to compress a piece of metal to fill in an enclosed die impression. Extreme amount of force is applied to deform the metal, which is subsequently forced to flow into the die chambers. Two types of equipment such as mechanical forging presses and hydraulic forging presses are generally used for this process. Improving global economic condition, increasing innovations in products and equipment and growth in end user industries such as aerospace, construction equipment, oil & gas, and others are fueling the market growth. However, the market growth is restrained by increasing input costs and high cost of impression die forging process.Request for Sample @The global impression die forging market is segmented based on component type, order type, metal type, and end user industry. Based on the type of components, the market is segmented into landing gears, connecting rods, gear blanks, crankshafts, jet engine & turbine shafts, and others. Other components include pistons, flanged connectors, axles, railway wheels, shrouds, valves, piston rods, piping products, cylinders, levers, impellers, shafts, and casing. The other component segment accounted for dominant share of the market in 2015 and is expected to maintain its position throughout the forecast period. These components are further processed using other production methods and are utilized in aerospace, defense, oil & gas, construction equipment, food, shipbuilding, and other industries.Based on order type, the impression die forging market is segmented into custom forgings and catalogue forgings. Custom forgings accounted for dominant share of the market in 2015 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% to reach $21,126 million by 2022. Custom-forged components are used in aircraft, submarines, refineries, power-generating stations, space craft, processing plants, missiles, offshore oil rigs, pressure vessels, deep-sea submersibles, off-the-road equipment, scientific research equipment, and other specialized applications.The impression die forging market by metal type is segmented into steel alloys, titanium alloys, iron-based heat resistant alloys, nickel based alloys, and others. Steel alloys were the most dominant metal type used in impression die forging components in 2015 and is expected to maintain this dominance over the forecast period. Steel is among the major material used in forging components owing to its versatile properties such as ductility for load bearing components high hardness for use as a cutting tool, malleability for machining, shaping & drilling operations, and high temperature resistance. The market for steel metal impression die forging was estimated to be $9,795 million in 2015 and is expected to reach $13,039 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 4.3%.Do purchase inquiry of Impression die forging market @Impression die forging based on end user industries is classified into aerospace, oil & gas, shipbuilding, construction equipment, railways, defense, food, and others. Oil & gas was the most dominant end user segment in this market in 2015, accounting for $5,444 million in 2015. Primary impression die-forged components for oil & gas industry includes valves, surface flow, and subsea equipment. Companies have identified oil & gas as a key segment for their products and developed products both for upstream and downstream aspects of this sector.By geography, the impression die forging market is analyzed across four regions, namely North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA along with their prominent countries. Asia-Pacific was the most dominant geographical market in 2015, is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% due to rapid industrialization and construction sector. In addition, China was one of the largest producers of forgings.Key Findings of Impression Die Forging MarketCustom forging market accounted for $15,703 million in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% during the forecast period.Titanium forgings market is expected to have the fastest CAGR of 5.0%, primarily due to growing aerospace and defense industries.Shipbuilding end user segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.7% during the forecast period.Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing regional market with a CAGR of 5.1%.The key players in the market are focusing on collaborations, partnerships and product developments to remain competitive in the market. Some of the key players in the impression die forging market include ATI, Aubert & Duval, Bharat Forge Limited, Bifrangi SpA, Bhler Schmiedetechnik GmbH & Co KG, Ellwood Group Inc., Mahindra Forgings Europe AG, Maschinenfabrik Alfing Kessler GmbH. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, Riganti Spa, SAMMI Metal Products Co. Ltd, Siderforgerossi Group S.p.A, Siepmann-Werke GmbH & Co. KG, and ULMA Lazkao Forging.About Us:Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.Contact:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1-800-792-5285UK: + 44-845-528-1300
Global Tantalum Capacitors Industry Market Research Report 2017

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SummaryIn this report, the global Tantalum Capacitors 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.The Global Tantalum Capacitors Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Tantalum Capacitors industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Tantalum Capacitors market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players 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. Whats more, the Tantalum Capacitors industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Ask a sample or any question, please email to:hebe@qyresearchglobal.com or hebe@qyresearch.comThe players list(Partly, Players you are interested can also be added):AVXKemetVishayCornell DubilierSuntanPanasonicROHM SemiconductorTE ConnectivityYokogawa...Key Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry Overview of Tantalum CapacitorsChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Tantalum CapacitorsChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Tantalum CapacitorsChapter Four Capacity, Production and Revenue Analysis of Tantalum Capacitors by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Five Price, Cost, Gross and Gross Margin Analysis of Tantalum Capacitors by Regions, Types and ManufacturersChapter Six Consumption Volume, Consumption Value and Sale Price Analysis of Tantalum Capacitors by Regions, Types and ApplicationsChapter Seven Supply, Import, Export and Consumption Analysis of Tantalum CapacitorsChapter Eight Major Manufacturers Analysis of Tantalum CapacitorsChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Tantalum CapacitorsChapter Ten Industry Chain Analysis of Tantalum CapacitorsChapter Eleven Development Trend of Analysis of Tantalum CapacitorsChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Tantalum CapacitorsChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the Global Tantalum Capacitors Industry 2017 Market Research ReportRelated Reports:US Tantalum Capacitors Industry Market Research Report 2017Europe Tantalum Capacitors Industry Market Research Report 2017India Tantalum Capacitors Industry Market Research Report 2017China Tantalum Capacitors Industry Market Research Report 2017Korea Tantalum Capacitors Industry Market Research Report 2017Japan Tantalum Capacitors Industry Market Research Report 2017If you need a report or have any question, please feel free to contact meHebe | Sr. Manager  Global SalesProfessional Market Research Report PublisherQYResearch Co.LtdQYResearch focus on Market Survey and ResearchPhone: +86 20 2209 3278Email: hebe@qyresearchglobal.com or hebe@qyresearch.comWeb:About QYResearchQYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, database and seminarservices. the company owned a large basic database (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, IndustryAssociation Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who ownmore than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market surveyexperience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team);QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business. Through the companys years of effort and a lot ofcustomer support, QYResearch consulting group creative design method of many high-quality markets investigation and research team with richexperience. Today, QYResearch brand has become the consulting industry with quality assurance consulting brand. The company has 2500 globalwell-known customers, covering energy automobile pharmaceutical chemical agriculture more than 30 industries, services from the data analysisand recommendations-Consulting landing one-stop solution, and research regions cover China,US,EU,Asia,Middle East and Africa,SouthAmerica,Australia,etc Global all regions,and also built research or marketing center in China USA UK France Hongkong etc regions. currently,QYResearch has become the first choice and worth trusted consulting brand in Global and China business consulting services.QYResearch CO.,LIMITEDQYResearch focus on Market Survey and ResearchAddress: Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District Guangzhou City Guangdong Province 510610 ChinaHebe Leung | Sr. Manager - Global SalesPhone: +86-20 2209 3278E*mail: hebe@qyresearchglobal.comWeb:(US) |(EU)
Meat Paste Market Demand is High Due to its Application in Food Industry as a Taste Enhancer & Flavoring Agent

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Meat paste is made by layering dried meat with fermented soybeans along with salted water. Meat paste possesses spicy, harmonious flavor in the combination of roasted and meat odor to provide rich mouth feeling. Meat paste is produced by forcing pork, beef, turkey, chicken etc. in pureed or ground form under high pressure to separate the bone from edible meat tissue. Meat paste is also known as mechanically separated meat, mechanically recovered meat, and mechanically deboned meat. Meat paste has application in food products such as hot dogs, pasta, sausage etc. Meat paste is a savory which comes with strong flavor and aroma, it also acts as a protein source in soups and stews as an alternative to meats. Thus as healthy and spicy option, meat paste has various applications in food products, driving market demand in the global marketplace.Browse Market Research Report @Market Segmentation: Meat pasteThe Meat paste market is segmented on the basis of its raw material as dried beef, chicken, Korean pheasant, etc. As a source of protein beef and chicken are mainly used as a paste to enhance the flavor and taste of the food. Thus the market demand for chicken and beef based meat paste is higher than that of other raw materials.The Meat paste market is further segmented on the basis of end-user as for human consumption and animal feed. Human consumption of meat paste is in non-veg soups, food products such as hot dog, sandwich etc. Increasing demand for healthy and trendy food items such as healthy chicken paste based sandwich and soups is expected drive market demand for meat paste for human consumption. Consumption of these meat paste-based products is increasing demand due to its taste and flavor-enhancing the property. In animal feed, meat paste is used in order to increase the taste of the food and provide animals with proteins and other healthy nutrients. Thus, increasing number of animal husbandry and pet cradle trend are expected to drive market demand for meat paste in animal feed applications.The Meat paste market is segmented on the basis of regions as North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific & Japan, and the Middle East and Africa.Make an Enquiry @Global Meat paste Market: Regional OutlookDepending on geographies global meat paste market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific & Japan, and the Middle East and Africa. In Asia Pacific regional market Australia grabs major shares in consumption of meat paste followed by the U.S. in the North America market. Europe is also one of the leading consumers of meat paste as a result of increasing population of consumers eating meat-based products. Countries such as China, Korea, South Africa and Saudi Arabia were observed as increasing demand in past few years and meat paste market demand is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period. Meat paste market is growing rapidly and global meat paste market is expected to expand at significant CAGR over the forecast period as a result of its increasing application in food products as a protein-rich ingredient.Global Meat paste Market: Drivers and TrendsMeat paste market demand is high due to its various application in the food industry as a taste enhancer and flavoring agent. Increasing consumption of meat based products is driving market demand for meat paste. Health conscious consumers are leaning towards meat-based products for protein and nutrient content. The trend of pet cradle is increasing globally which is another major driver of growing demand for meat paste based animal feed. Meat paste is a source of protein which makes it popular in health-conscious consumers as well as in fitness trainers, as a result increasing awareness about various health benefits associated with consumption of meat paste is increasing its demand in global market.Global Meat paste: Key PlayersSome of the key players identified across the value chain of the global Meat paste market include Unilever, Asmi International Private Limited, Vision Mark Biotech, Apple Flavors & Fragrances USA Corp., Jardox Ltd., few of the retailers in meat paste market value chain includes Tesco, Sainsbury's etc.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
The Cards and Payments Industry in Turkey: Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2020

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Latest industry research report on: Cards and Payments Market : Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, ForecastsRequest For Sample Report @GlobalDatas "The Cards and Payments Industry in Turkey: Emerging Trends and Opportunities to 2020", report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Turkish cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including credit transfers, payment cards and checks during the review period (2012-2016).The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review period and over the forecast period (2016-2020). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes.Complete Report Details @The report brings together GlobalDatas research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure.The report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Turkish cards and payments industry, including -- Current and forecast values for each market in the Turkish cards and payments industry, including debit and credit cards.- Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, checks, and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.- E-commerce market analysis and payment methods.- Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Turkish cards and payments industry.- Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit and credit cards.Scope- BKM introduced a national payment clearing system, Turkeys Payment Method (Troy), in April 2016 to increase competition in the debit cards market. Troy entered into agreements with all banks to offer Troy-branded debit cards in the country. Troys processing fee is lower than its competitors, making it more viable for small retailers to accept cards, increasing overall acceptance.- To increase credit card use in the country, the BRSA relaxed credit card installment payment plans and consumer loan restrictions by increasing the consumer loan maturity limit from 36 to 48 months in 2016. The installment payment period was raised on credit card purchases from nine to 12 months. In February 2014 the BRSA placed limits on credit card use in relation to income, and restrictions on credit card installments for certain products to tackle consumer debt and rising consumer and corporate loans.- Turkish consumer uptake of alternative payments is gaining traction, as both banks and payment service providers launch new products. The latest being the launch of the Yap Kredi Wallet app by Yap Kredi in 2016. The service enables registered users to add credit card details onto the wallet and make contactless mobile payments. Mastercard launched its MasterPass digital wallet in Turkey in June 2015, partnering with merchants such as Caff Nero, Bi Taksi and Getir, which ran promotional campaigns.Reasons to buy- Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Turkish cards and payments industry and each market within it.- Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Turkish cards and payments industry.- Assess the competitive dynamics in the Turkish cards and payments industry.- Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Turkey.- Gain insights into key regulations governing the Turkish cards and payments industry.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
Glycolic Acid Market is Expected to Witness the Same Growth during the Forecast Period

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Global Glycolic Acid Market size is expected to grow at USD ~362.52 million by 2023. The market witnessed a significant growth over the forecasted period owing to growing industry such as personal care, pharmaceutical, household, and other (electrical etc.)The major driving factor of glycolic acid market is from personal care industry specifically, due to rising awareness in skin care and hair care market. In addition, the increasing demand from the textile dyeing & finishing, oil field, petroleum refining, and others industrial applications are expected to fuel market growth of glycolic acids in near future. However, increasing awareness about the side effects of glycolic acid causing to skin allergies is predicted to restrain growth of glycolic acid market.Request for Sample Report@SegmentationThe global glycolic acid market is majorly segmented on the basis of source, application, end users and region. Based on source market glycolic acid the market is segmented into natural and synthetic glycolic acid. On the other hand based on application of glycolic acid the market is segmented into skin & hair care, textile dyeing & finishing, oil field, petroleum refining, and others (tanning, printed circuit board fluxes, electro-polishing, etc.). Based on end user the market segmented into personal care, pharmaceutical, household, and other (electrical etc.), and based on region market is segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, Middle East & Africa.Key Players E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (US) Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC. (US) Phibro Animal Health Corporation (US) Chemsolv Inc (U.S) CrossChem LP (US) Griffin International (US) Mehul Dye Chem Industries (India)Furthermore, APAC region holds comes at third position for global glycolic acid market. Asia Pacific is estimated to witness CAGR 11.5% over the forecasted period 2016 to 2023 driven by increasing demand for glycolic acid particularly, in household cleaners, cosmetic products, and other industrial applications such as tanning, printed circuit board fluxes, electro-polishing, and textile dyeing & finishing. Moreover, Middle East, Latin America and South Africa is an emerging region for glycolic acid agent market. This region will play a crucial role in the development of overall glycolic acid market development as it is considered as leading producer of glycolic acid. Whereas, the global production of glycolic acid is mainly dominated by United States, Japan, China, Germany etc countries.Browse Full Glycolic Acid Market Report @North America glycolic acid market is expected to see strong growth during the forecast period primarily due to rising skin care and hair care market by North America countries. In North America, the demand for glycolic acid is expected to hit 20 kilotons in 2023. U.S., Canada, and Mexico collectively held around 30% market share in North America glycolic acid market. Among these countries, US accounted for more than half of the overall North America glycolic acid market. This is mainly due to growing industrialization and changing lifestyles, the demand for and use of personal care is increasing in this region. The strong existence of glycolic acid manufacturers and distributors is likely to improve the growth rate of glycolic acid across the region. Furthermore, applications such as skin & hair care, textile dyeing & finishing, oil field, petroleum refining, and others (tanning, printed circuit board fluxes, electro-polishing, etc.) held more than 50% of the North America glycolic acid market in 2016. This growth is attributable to rising adoption of glycolic acid in personal care, pharmaceutical, household, and other (electrical etc.).About Market Research FutureAt 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.Market Research Future Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India +1 646 845 9312
Force Gauge Market Analysis- Size, Share, Growth, Industry Demand, Forecast, Application Analysis To 2022

Force Gauge Market

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This report studies the Force Gauge Market, a force gauge (also force gage) is a small measuring instrument used across all industries to measure the force during a push or pull test.Get a Sample of Force Gauge Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Force Gauge 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 covers:Ametek, Shimpo, Sauter, Mecmesin, Extech, Mark-10, Dillon, PCE Instruments, Sundoo, AllurisMarket 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)Browse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Force Gauge Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers:Digital Force Gauges, Mechanical Force GaugesMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Electrical Industry, Automobile Manufacturing Industry, Packaging Industry, OthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Force Gauge market.Chapter 1, to describe Force Gauge Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Force Gauge, with sales, revenue, and price of Force Gauge, 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 Force Gauge, 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, Force Gauge market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Force Gauge sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Force Gauge Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Digital Force Gauges1.2.2 Mechanical Force Gauges1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Electrical Industry1.3.2 Automobile Manufacturing Industry1.3.3 Packaging Industry1.3.4 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)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 124Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480GIR 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.+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs-
Heat Resistant Coatings Market to Incur Rapid Extension During 2017 - 2025

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Heat Resistant Coatings Market: IntroductionMost conventional coatings available in the global market do not possess properties to act as fire retardants. As per the National Fire Protection Association (NPFA), in U.S. seven lives are lost every day due to fire; on a global level even more lives are assumed to be endangered because of the lack of reporting and statistical data. Due to changing lifestyle trends, construction methods are now increasingly implementing fire resistant materials and coatings for residential, commercial, infrastructure and industrial development. A heat resistant coating is a protective coating capable of withstanding high temperatures for a certain prolonged period of time. Heat resistant coatings are manufactured with the addition of some special resins which shield and protect the coating from getting tarnished or damaged, as compared to conventional paints and coatings when exposed to fire. Heat resistant coatings are not produced to extinguish fire, but they are formulated to prevent the flames from spreading; hence effectively controlling the fire and curbing further damage to a certain extent. During a fire, when exposed to very high temperatures, these coatings swell up and grow in size. Thus producing a shielding constitute known as char which does not conduct heat.To access full report @Heat resistant coatings have a massive prospect to grow and moderately replace traditional paints in the market. Heat resistant coatings, when properly coated, bulge up to form a foam like substance in appearance when the temperature is extraordinarily high due to flames. The foam hence formed protects the underlying surface from harm as it prevents the fire from penetrating the hard foam surface. The foremost driver of the heat resistant coatings market is the safety concern for working population, without compromising on the paint quality. Heat resistant coatings are widely used in commercial and industrial buildings, and structures which usually house more than a few hundred people. Heat resistant coatings are applied on wooden surfaces, walls, pipelines, equipment and other materials and surfaces that qualify as flammable zones as per requirement.Heat Resistant Coatings Market Dynamics:Heat resistant coatings can control flames and curb the fire from spreading for a while. Thus allowing time for rescue teams such as firefighters and police authorities to save lives, as well as extinguish the fire and avoid further damage to property. Due to this exceedingly important and useful attribute, the heat resistant coatings market is estimated to grow in the coming period. Heat resistant coatings are defined by the thickness the coating attains when subjected to high temperatures. Optimum thickness is required, so that the coating is effective in real-time situations. The rising number of accidents globally due to accidental fires in a closed environment is the prime reason for growth in this market. The market for heat resistant coatings is presently inadequate as the concept is niche. However remarkable opportunity exists for this product in the future.A sample of this report is available upon request @Even though no standard has yet been publically established to determine the effectiveness of the heat resistant coatings offered by various manufacturers and providers, these coatings could be functional to a variety of applications and have boundless possibilities, especially in industrial and commercial setups which are liable to fire accidents. Safety of the employee is becoming an important factor for manufacturers, they are opting for more safety products which in turn will fuel the growth of the heat resistant coatings market in the industrial goods sector. The market for the heat resistant coatings is anticipated to grow at a healthy CAGR in the coming future. Furthermore, the growing applications of heat resistant coatings in commercial and industrial sectors are expected to propel the growth of the overall heat resistant coatings market in the near future.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Heat Resistant Coatings Market segmentation:Heat Resistant Coatings Market can be segmented on the basis of resin type, technology and end use.By resin type, the heat resistant coatings market can be segmented into:SiliconeAcrylicPolyesterModified ResinsEpoxyOthersOn the basis of manufacturing Process, heat resistant coatings market can be segmented into:LiquidPowderOn the basis of end use, heat resistant coatings market can be segmented into:Automotive & transportationBuilding & constructionConsumer goodsIndustrial and equipmentOthersHeat Resistant Coatings Market Regional Outlook:The heat resistant coatings market can be divided into seven different geographical regions/divisions -- North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, Middle East and Africa. North American and European countries have presence of all industrial and commercial sectors alongside with the existence of globally prominent players, which is a boon for the heat resistant coatings market in these regions. Rapid industrialization in the Asia Pacific region, prominently in China and India, is estimated to fuel the growth of the heat resistant coatings market. Industries and manufacturers are striving to reduce the loss of human lives in their operating plants, and with the use of heat resistant coating technology they are efficiently doing it; thus, the market is anticipated to grow in the near future. The use of heat resistant coatings in commercial equipment and flammable fluid pipelines is becoming easier and economical owing to new innovations and advancements being made in this technology. Therefore, it is expected that the heat resistant coatings market will see rapid growth in all  developed and developing countries in the future.Heat Resistant Coatings Market: Market ParticipantsSome market participants in the heat resistant coatings market are:Contego Industries, Inc.,Satya Firotech India Pvt. Ltd.Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.PPG INDUSTRIESWacker Chemie AGAkzoNobel N.V.Sherwin Williams CompanyJotun A/SKansai Paints Co., Ltd.RPM International Inc.Tikkurila OYJTeknos GroupThe 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 using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, types and applications.The report covers exhaustive analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedValue ChainRegional analysis includes:North AmericaLatin AmericaAsia PacificJapanWestern EuropeEastern EuropeMiddle East & AfricaThe report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts, and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides an in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macroeconomic indicators and governing factors, along with market attractiveness within the segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and various geographies.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:
Latest Research Report On Laboratory Animal Housing Cage Market Predicts Favorable Growth And Forecast Till 2022

Laboratory Animal Housing Cage Market

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The Laboratory Animal Housing Cage is the cage, which is used to carry the animal in the laboratory.Get a Sample of Laboratory Animal Housing Cage Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Laboratory Animal Housing Cage 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 covers:Tecniplast, Allentown, FENGSHI Group, Lab Products, Thoren Caging Systems, Alternative Design, Zoonlab, SSCI, SHINVA, INNOVIVE, NKP, Prime Labs, Biosafe labMarket 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)Browse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Laboratory Animal Housing Cage Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers:Plastic Type, Metal Type, OthersMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Mice, Rats, Cold-blooded Animals, Birds, OthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Laboratory Animal Housing Cage market.Chapter 1, to describe Laboratory Animal Housing Cage Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Laboratory Animal Housing Cage, with sales, revenue, and price of Laboratory Animal Housing Cage, 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 Laboratory Animal Housing Cage, 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, Laboratory Animal Housing Cage market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Laboratory Animal Housing Cage sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Laboratory Animal Housing Cage Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Plastic Type1.2.2 Metal Type1.2.3 Others1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Mice1.3.2 Rats1.3.3 Cold-blooded Animals1.3.4 Birds1.3.5 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)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 121Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480GIR 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.+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs-
Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales Market Report 2017

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This report studies sales (consumption) of Photovoltaic Solar Panel in Global market, especially in United States, China, Europe and Japan, focuses on top players in these regions/countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these regions, coveringREC SolarYingliQcellsHeckertAmp-solarGreen PhoenixLatitude SolarBeautTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Photovoltaic Solar Panel in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaSplit by product Types, with sales, revenue, price and gross margin, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoMono- Photovoltaic Solar PanelPolycrystalline Photovoltaic Solar PanelThin film Photovoltaic Solar PanelSplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Photovoltaic Solar Panel in each application, can be divided intoHome useCommercial useTable of ContentsGlobal Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales Market Report 20171 Photovoltaic Solar Panel Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Photovoltaic Solar Panel1.2 Classification of Photovoltaic Solar Panel1.2.1 Mono- Photovoltaic Solar Panel1.2.2 Polycrystalline Photovoltaic Solar Panel1.2.3 Thin film Photovoltaic Solar Panel1.3 Application of Photovoltaic Solar Panel1.3.1 Home use1.3.2 Commercial use1.4 Photovoltaic Solar Panel Market by Regions1.4.1 United States 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 Photovoltaic Solar Panel (2011-2021)1.5.1 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)1.5.2 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Browse Complete Report with TOC @2 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Competition by Manufacturers, Type and Application2.1 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1.1 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2011-2016)2.1.2 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2011-2016)2.2 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)2.2.2 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)2.3 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel (Volume and Value) by Regions2.3.1 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Regions (2011-2016)2.3.2 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2011-2016)2.4 Global Photovoltaic Solar Panel (Volume) by Application3 United States Photovoltaic Solar Panel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Value (2011-2016)3.1.1 United States Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)3.1.2 United States Photovoltaic Solar Panel Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)3.1.3 United States Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)3.2 United States Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers3.3 United States Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Type3.4 United States Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Application4 China Photovoltaic Solar Panel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Value (2011-2016)4.1.1 China Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)4.1.2 China Photovoltaic Solar Panel Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)4.1.3 China Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)4.2 China Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers4.3 China Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Type4.4 China Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Application5 Europe Photovoltaic Solar Panel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 Europe Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Value (2011-2016)5.1.1 Europe Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)5.1.2 Europe Photovoltaic Solar Panel Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)5.1.3 Europe Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)5.2 Europe Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers5.3 Europe Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Type5.4 Europe Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Application6 Japan Photovoltaic Solar Panel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6.1 Japan Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Value (2011-2016)6.1.1 Japan Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2016)6.1.2 Japan Photovoltaic Solar Panel Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2016)6.1.3 Japan Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales Price Trend (2011-2016)6.2 Japan Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Manufacturers6.3 Japan Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by Type6.4 Japan Photovoltaic Solar Panel Sales and Market Share by ApplicationAbout UsQYReseachReports.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.Contact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Photonics Market - Increasing Demand For High-Speed Electronics Is Expected To Positively Impact The Global Market

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This market research study analyzes the photonics market globally and provides estimates in terms of revenue (USD billion) from 2014 to 2020. It recognizes the drivers and restraints affecting the industry and analyzes their impact over the forecast period. Moreover, it identifies the significant opportunities for market growth.Photonics includes the emission, generation, modulation, switching and detection of light. Apart from this, photonics includes all applications of light across the spectrum, ranging from ultraviolet to visible light. Photonics finds application across various application segments including consumer electronics, displays, safety and defense technology, communication, metrology and sensing among others. Additionally, photonics also finds application across medical and health care, and the high performance computing segment. Medical and healthcare is one of the fastest growing application segments for photonics based instruments.Obtain Report Details @Waveguides, optical modulators, optical interconnects, LED, wavelength division multiplexer filters, photo detectors, lasers, amplifiers and spectroscopes among others are the major products of photonics. The prices of photonics based equipment are less compared to conventional devices. Lower power consumption and need for high-speed electronics are the major factors fuelling the demand for photonics. Wavelength division multiplexer filter is one of the major products for photonics. Increasing demand for high speed communication is one of the major factors fueling the demand for wavelength division multiplexers.North America is the largest market for photonics globally because of increasing demand for early diagnostics coupled with demand for high-speed computing. Moreover, increasing demand for fast and early diagnosis coupled with demand for minimally invasive surgery are also expected to boost the demand for photonics in the healthcare segment. Apart from this, aging population is also expected to fuel the demand for photonics based instruments in medical utilities.In addition, the report also analyzes macro economic factors influencing and inhibiting the growth of photonics market. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report highlights key investing areas in this industry. The report will help manufacturers, suppliers and distributors to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate their strategies accordingly.This report provides strategic analysis of the global photonics market and the growth forecast for the period 2014 to 2020. The report includes competitive analysis of various market segments based on the products, applications and in-depth cross sectional analysis of the photonics market across different geographic segments. To support strategic decision making, the report also includes profiles of leading players in the industry, their market share and various strategies adopted by them. The Porters Five Forces analysis and market attractiveness analysis included in the report provide insight into market dynamics and industry competition.Fill The Form For An Exclusive Sample Of This Report @In the report, the market has been segmented by application, by product and by geography. It also cover the drivers, restraints and opportunities (DROs), Porters five forces analysis and value chain of the photonics market. The study highlights current market trends and provides the forecast from 2014 to 2020. We have also covered the current market scenario for the photonics market and highlighted future trends that are expected to have an impact on demand. By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. The present market size and forecast until 2020 have been provided in the report.The report also provides company market share analysis of the various industry participants with company overview, financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments in the field of photonics market. Major market participants profiled in this report include Intel Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Company, Hamamatsu Photonics K.K., Finisar Corporation, IBM Corp., Luxtera Inc., Infinera Corp., 3S Photonics S.A.S. and Innolume GmbH among others.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
FPGA Market - Accelize Is Serving The Finance Industry With Its Ultra-Low Latency FPGA network platforms

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This market research study analyzes the FPGA system market on a global level, and provides estimates in terms of revenue (USD million) from 2014 to 2020. It recognizes the drivers and restraints affecting the industry and analyzes their impact over the forecast period. Moreover, it identifies the significant opportunities for market growth in the next few years.A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is an integrated circuit or semiconductor device used to implement logical function that an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) could perform, but the ability to update the functionality after manufacturing offers advantages such as re-programming in the field for rapid prototyping and debugging for many applications. FPGAs use programmable routing channels and pre-built logic blocks for implementing custom hardware functionality depending upon the embedded system developer configuring these devices. FPGAs are programmed and configured using Hardware Description Language (HDL) such as VHDL and Verilog. Some key benefits of FPGA technology are high performance, shorter time to market, cost effective solutions, reliability and long term maintenance.Obtain Report Details @High demand for bandwidth in wireless networks is expected to give impetus to the global FPGA market. Moreover, increasing demand for bandwidth has made service operators to provide compatible networks from 2G to 3G and further from 3G to LTE. In addition, growing demand for smartphones and tablets is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. Automobiles continue to witness a proliferation of electronic content due to government pollution guidelines, and security and safety regulations. In addition, rising fuel prices in the global market have resulted in demand for electric and hybrid vehicles, which in turn is expected to drive FPGA content in automobiles. Rising usage of FPGA in imaging equipment of medical imaging and in automobile for high performance computing abilities is also fueling the market growthASIC, ASSP usage has been parallel to that of FPGA in certain application areas. This is expected to be a potential threat to the market. ASIC offers full custom capability for design, since the device is manufactured to design specification. Moreover, lower unit costs as compared to FPGA for high volume designs make it a credible alternative to FPGAs. However, field re-programmability and faster time-to-market are the key factors supporting FPGA usage. ASIC vendors are moving towards using FPGA fabric to connect together Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Central processing Unit (CPU) and Digital Signal processors (DSPs) among others. ASIC vendors are moving up-market and integrating ASIC with FPGA. Therefore, demand for FPGA is expected to remain substantial in the coming years.The global FPGA market is segmented by region into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (RoW). Geographically, Asia Pacific led the global FPGA market share in 2013. Countries such as Japan, China, India, Taiwan, and South Korea are key markets for consumer electronics, industrial, and automotive applications. Japan contributed to huge market share of the global FPGA market in 2013. FPGA market is highly concentrated among the players such as Xilinx Inc, Altera Corporation, Lattice Semiconductors and other regional and local companies, which have substantial presence across the U.S. and Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific.This report provides strategic analysis of the global FPGA market, and the growth forecast for the period 2014 to 2020. The span of the report includes competitive analysis of various market segments based on the types, module and in-depth cross sectional analysis of the FPGA market across different geographic segments. To support strategic decision making, the report also includes profiling of leading players in the industry, their market share and various strategies adopted by them. The Porters Five Forces analysis and market attractiveness analysis included in the report provide insight into market dynamics and industry competition.Fill The Form For An Exclusive Sample Of This Report @The report also provides company market share analysis of the various industry participants with company overview, financial overview, business strategies, SWOT analysis, and recent developments in the field of FPGA market. Major market participants profiled in this report include Xilinx Inc., Altera Corporation, Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, Microsemi Corporation, among others.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Tahini Market Estimated to Cross US$ 2,258.3 Mn by 2025

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Dipasa International S.A., Sunshine International Foods, Inc., Kevala International LLC, Joyva Corp, Premier Organics, Haitoglou Bros S.A., Halwani Bros. Co., Prince Tahina Ltd., El Rashidi El Mizan, Al-Wadi Al-Akhdar S.A.L, Carleys of Cornwell Ltd., Balsam Tahini, Ismail Termurcugil, and Alseedawi Sweets Factories Co. constitute some of the key players in the global market for tahini. While major export opportunities lie in Asia and North America, a majority of leading players are based in the Middle East and North America. Halwani Bros. Co. and Haitoglou Bros. are top Middle East companies, whereas Joyva Corp, Dipasa, and Kevala Int. are the key North American players. Alwadi Al Akhdars new factory in Lebanon is due in 2017 and Sabra Dipping Co. will soon double its tahini hummus production capacity.Browse Complete Report @Driven by growing popularity across the globe and steady adoption by the F&B industry, global tahini market volumes are estimated to surpass 314 thousand tonnes in 2016, up from nearly 305 thousand tonnes in 2015. According to the latest report published by Persistence Market Research titled Global Market Study on Tahini: Paste and Spreads Product Type Segment Projected to Remain the Largest Segment During the Forecast Period, global volumes are projected to reach 423,854 tonnes in 2025.Besides the availability of myriad flavors, rising adoption by local eateries are most likely to impact the global tahini market. Market Research Expert, Persistence Market ResearchGrowing popularity of authentic Middle Eastern food flavors is expected to escalate the demand for tahini-based products, such as hummus and tahini spread. The surging significance of social media marketing will play a pivotal role in the promotion of tahini and derived products. Emerging tahini applications in hummus, butter and spreads, halva, salads, bakery products, toppings, and traditional Middle Eastern recipes such as Baba Ghanoush will also influence the market favorably.By product type, tahini paste and spreads will witness the highest demandPaste and spreads segment will account for over 55% share in terms of revenues by 2025, Desserts and sweets segment, aggravated by growing popularity of halva, will maintain a market share of over 25% during the assessed period, Sustained consumption of tahini dips and sauces will fuel the sauces and dips sub-segment, capturing over 18% market value shareBy distribution channel, major tahini sales will be directed through exportsConventional retail will lose its market share over 2015-2025; from over 37% market share in 2015, this sub-segment will settle at around 34% in 2025, Modern trade is expected to witness decent growth, accounting for a revenue share of over 29% by 2025 end, Exports will, however, exhibit the fastest growth in terms of a distribution channel., With over 20% share of the revenues, this sub-segment is anticipated to reach US$ 465.9 Mn with a promising CAGR of 6.1%A sample of this report is available upon request @Considering product size, the tahini market is projected to gain the highest traction in the 50-150 gm size sub-segmentWith over 56% value share in 2025, the 50-150 gm size sub-segment will reportedly reach a consumption of around 243,189 tonnes, Above 150 gm size sub-segment is likely to witness an uptick over the forecast period, capturing a considerable 28% market value share in 2025, Below 50 gm product size will be the fastest growing sub-segment at 5.9% CAGR, Depending on the production process, industrial production process will remain dominant over conventional processWith a slight setback from 76% share in 2015 to around 73% share estimated by 2025 end, industrial production process will witness moderate growth with a CAGR to the tune of 5.3%, Conventional process will experience significant growth over the forecast period, According to Persistence Market Researchs regional analysis, Western Asia will continue to be the largest market, whereas GCC will emerge lucrative by 2025 endRequest to view table of content @West Asia, identified as the most lucrative market for tahini, will predictably cross US$ 608 Mn by 2025 end, accounting for maximum revenues in the global market, GCC countries will exhibit the fastest growth at 5.9% CAGR, primarily driven by Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. GCC tahini market revenues will reach around US$ 202 Mn by 2025 end, North Africa, followed by the U.K., are projected to grow moderately at respective CAGRs of 5.7% and 5.4%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:
Cloud-RAN (Radio Access Network) Market Analysis, Segments, Growth and Value Chain 2014-2020

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Cloud-RAN,orCentralized-RAN (C-RAN) is an advanced cellular network architecture for mobile network infrastructure that can support 2G, 3G and 4G system and meet wireless communication benchmarks. Cloud-RAN is outpacing traditional cellular network system as it doesnt require RF (radio frequency) equipment, antenna, BTS (baseband unit) and digital processor to be deployed in the cell site. Traditional cellular network architecture demands more power, space, additional big cell towers and directional antennae to support new air interface technologies such as LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and multi-frequency bands. Moreover, enhancement of traditional cellular network in a wireless network to support data traffic demand becomes economically unsustainable. In contrast, Cloud-RAN enhances mobile communications and helps cellular network operators in delivering qualitative and effective mobile communication services at a reasonable cost.Cloud-RAN ensures centralization of baseband processing in one location. To connect to RRH (remote radio heads), fibre optical cables are required.Cloud-RAN is based on new technologies,viz. cloud computing thatcan take advantage of advanced remote antennae or radio head techniques and SDN (software-defined network) approaches.Request For Report Sample@Cloud-RAN offers various benefits like reduction in cost of network operations. The three types of cost reductions are energy consumption, site rental expenses and operational & maintenance cost of network. These savings can be balanced against cost incurred on fibre optical cables required to meet fronthaul capacity and latency requirements. Cloud-RAN also enhances capacity due to coordinated multipoint and ensures speedy performance. Aforementioned benefits of Cloud-RAN architecture automatically increase the value of service to end-users. However, initial high investment required to deploy Cloud-RAN architecture acts as one of the major challengesfor the growth of Cloud-RAN market.The Cloud-RAN market can be categorizedinto component, services and geography.The market is segmented on the basis of thenatureof its components, which includes six major categories -BBU (Baseband Units), RRU (Remote Radio Units), optical transport network, servers, processors and measurement device. On the basis of services segment, the Cloud-RAN market can be categorized into network services, custom services and system integration services. The market can also be segmented on the basis of major geographies, into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Eastern Europe and Middle East & Africa.Cloud-RAN is a global multi-billion dollar market which is expected to exhibit a considerable growth in CAGR, from 2014 to 2020. The key drivers include need to reduce increasing data traffic and Capex&Opexexpenditure, which are the biggest revenue generators for the Cloud-RANmarket. The key restraint to this market is high initial cost of deployment and dependency on availability of fibre. Major players in Cloud-RAN market focuses on partnerships, joint ventures, and acquisition &merger strategies in order to outperform their competitors. For instance, in 2013 Intel Corp. acquired Mindspeed Technologies and extended its offerings with new mobile system services i.e. Cloud-RAN.Visit For TOC@Some of the key players identified in the Cloud-RAN market are Ceragon Networks Ltd.,Actix Ltd., Aricent Technologies, JDSU, 6WIND, MTI Radiocomp, Altera Corp., Mindspeed Technologies, Inc., Intel Corporation, VitesseSemiconductor, Telco Systems, VPI Systems, Telco Systems and TEOCO among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Electronic Toll Collection Market Dynamics, Forecast, Analysis and Supply Demand 2014-2020

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Electronic toll collection system is an automated system, eliminating manual operations by toll payers and receivers. The global ETC market is expected to steer towards a strong double-digit growth rate in the coming five years (2015-2020). The primary drivers of the upcoming growth comprise the need to save travel time, cashless travel facility, the need to stop/minimize the traffic congestion and fast toll transaction. However, factors like high installation cost and a high dependence on government are hindering the growth of this market to some extent. The ETC market is expected to continue its rapid expansion to meet the surging demand for an improved, safe and secure infrastructure. The ETC system provides fast, efficient and cost-effective services. They have easy to operate buttons with a user-friendly design. They are also beneficial for traffic agencies and companies as these systems eliminate the need for multiple toll plazas, acting as a cost-saving factor for road operator agencies. Electronic toll collection systems have a positive impact on the environment as it reduces the amount of exhaust emitted from vehicles during start-up and stop at manual toll booths.The ETC market can be categorised into products, technologies, applications and geographies. Transponders, antennae, communication systems, treadles, inductive loops, scanning devices, weigh-in-motion devices, cameras and film storage devices are some of the major products of the system. An electronic toll collection system consists of various subsystems, such as automatic vehicle identification (AVI), automatic vehicle classification (AVC), back-office &integration and violation enforcement system (VES). These subsystems are useful for specific functions -AVI for vehicle identification, AVC for vehicle classification, toll collection transaction by integrating the back-office and payment system and VES to reduce unpaid tolls, by vehicle imaging.Request For Report Sample@On the basis of technologies, the ETC market can be segmented into various categories, such as radio-frequency identification (RFID), dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), video analytics, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and global positioning system (GPS).Currently RFID and DSRC are the leading technologies. On the other hand, the GNSS and GPS are expected to show a high growth rate in following five years (2015-2020).Based on applications, the ETC market can be categorized into segments like highway, urban and bridges. Undoubtedly, ETC systems have been installed majorly on highways, but installation in urban areas and on bridges has a bright future opportunity.Geographically, the ETC market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Japan, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Middle East & Africa. Present market scenario represents a strong presence of ETC system in the US, Canada and Mexico in North America, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore in Asia Pacific, and the UK, Ireland, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy and Spain in Europe.Visit For TOC@Some of the key players in the ETC market are Honeywell International, Inc., Transurban, Transtoll Pty Ltd., Transcore Holdings, Inc., Toll Collect GmbH, TRMI Systems Integration, Sensor Dynamics, Xerox Corporation, 3M, Connect East, EFKON, SAIC, DENSO, Q-Free, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Perceptics, Thales Group and Kapsch TrafficCom AG. The ETC ecosystem participants offer a wide range of solutions, such as software services and system integration and toll system operations including maintenance, payment handling and revenue assurance. It is the future solution to alleviating traffic congestion problems.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Polishing Lapping Film Market Rugged Expansion Foreseen by 2025

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http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Polishing / Lapping Film is a polyester based sheet powder covered with precisely graded minerals such as Aluminium oxide, silicon oxide, cerium oxide, silicon carbide or diamond. Lapping film is a precision coated abrasive consumable commonly used for processing and polishing optical fiber connectors. Polishing / Lapping Films are mostly used in finishing and polishing hard-to-grind materials such as ceramics, carbide, exotic alloys , hardened metals, composites and others. Lapping and Polishing Films are used for micro finishing and polishing whenever close tolerances are required. Substrates which are used in Polishing / Lapping Films are Glass, metal and plastic. Polishing / Lapping Film are commonly used in electronic components, fiber optic connectors, precision instruments, medical devices, hard disk drive, waveguides, micromotors, displays, mobile handheld case, finishing and repair, glass cleaning and repair, glass edge polish and others. Polishing / Lapping Film provide features such as elimination of traverse and chatter marks which helps in reducing rejects and reworks, can change grades in less than a minute, saves downtime on multiple grade sequences, superior durability, higher cut rate, fine finishes, achieve finer finishes, micro replicated abrasives and others. Due to its versatile features and vast usage, Polishing / Lapping Film market is expected to witness an escalating demand among the industries.To access full report @Polishing / Lapping Film: Market DynamicsPolishing / Lapping Film market is drove because of the increasing usage in the electronics industry. Manufacturing companies are focusing on providing films which give high-quality finish on flat or cylindrical surfaces by using conventional methods such as bonded wheels or slurries and honing stones which is disorganized and time-consuming. With the new film backed abrasive technology, it can accomplish consistency, predictable finish tolerances in a faster and easier way to increase the productivity and reduce prices. Most of the manufacturers of Polishing / Lapping Film are located in China and South Asian countries which are exporting Polishing / Lapping Film to North America, Europe and other regions.However, Polishing / Lapping Film is slow and time-consuming for technicians performing the polish. The polishing also needs to stop several times during processing to safeguard the target layer. Also, if Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) is used to remove the oxide layer in aggregation with the polishing of the metal layer to help maintain the item planar, the process is lightened.A sample of this report is available upon request @Polishing / Lapping Film: Market SegmentationPolishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of types, which include:Stretch filmMetallized filmAdhesive filmShrink FilmPolishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of type of raw material, which include:PolyamidePoly Vinyl ChlorideLLDPEPELaminated MaterialsPolishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of type of usage, which include:Packaging filmFood and medicine filmCling filmOthers (Photovoltaic film, shipping labels, etc.)Polishing / Lapping Film: Segment OutlookPolishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of types which include stretch film, metallized film, adhesive film and shrink film. Polishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of raw materials which includes polyamide, poly vinyl chloride, LLDPE, PE and laminated materials. Polishing / Lapping Film market can also be segmented on the basis of usage which includes packaging film, food and medicine film, cling film and others (photovoltaic film, shipping labels, etc.)To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Polishing / Lapping Film: Regional OutlookRegional coverage for Polishing / Lapping Film market includes North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Japan. Polishing / Lapping Film market will witnesses a high demand in APEJ because of the high investments in the region and its manufacturing units. Market in India and China is still at growth stage which will fuel the market for next ten years in the region.Polishing / Lapping Film: Market PlayersThe market players in Polishing / Lapping Film market are 3M Electronics, Henan Union Abrasives Corp., Haining Fusen Tape Co., Ltd., Nantong Huaao Plastic Co., Ltd., Futamura Chemical Co., Ltd., Lee Valley Tools, Precision Fiber Products, Inc., Fiber Instruments Sales Inc., Kemet International Ltd. and many more.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:
Paraffin Inhibitors Market to Incur Rapid Extension During 2017 - 2025

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/paraffin-inhibitors-market.asp

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/14884

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/14884

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Global Paraffin Inhibitors Market IntroductionParaffin inhibitors are polymers used to prevent the precipitation of paraffin from oil. Crude oil paraffin inhibitors alter the shape and size of wax crystals, thereby keeping them dispersed and preventing them from adhering to the surface. Deposition of paraffin, which happens naturally in crude oil, can pose serious challenges during production, transportation and storage. A number of factors affect the precipitation of paraffin, some of them include temperature, cooling rate of the storage tanks and pipelines, etc. Paraffin inhibitors are essentially the chemicals that prevent the deposition of paraffin in storage tanks and pipelines and prevent paraffin induced blockage. Paraffin inhibitors can be used for different varieties of crude oil. The particles remain dispersed and are flown back into the oil. The wastage, thus, is minimized and the additional waste disposal cost is also saved. Owing to such benefits associated with them, the market for paraffin inhibitors is anticipated to expand at a sustainable CAGR over the forecast period of 20172027.To access full report @Global Paraffin Inhibitors Market DynamicsThere is an increasing need to improve the flow of crude oil flow preventing blockages and reducing the wastage of oil caused due to deposition of paraffin from oil and this is one of the prime factors driving the paraffin inhibitors market. Moreover, the downtime for the flow of oil can also be reduced with the help of these inhibitors. With increase in oil exploration and production activities worldwide, the global paraffin inhibitors market is foreseen to remain lucrative over the span of next ten years. The use of paraffin inhibitors has led to decrease in energy costs and has also managed to reduce the wear and tear of equipment. Moreover, paraffin inhibitors also prevent the deposition of sludge at the bottom of the tank. Thus, the use of paraffin inhibitors reduces operational issues and maximizes hydrocarbon production. All of these factors are expected to affect the market positively in years to come.A sample of this report is available upon request @The time of application of paraffin inhibitors plays a very crucial role. If paraffin inhibitors are added before the oil is cooled to a particular temperature, the paraffin inhibitors induce the formation of agglomerates as the stability of the colloidal solution is disturbed. Thus, proper management of technicalities and complexities associated with their application is needed to be taken care of for the effective use of paraffin inhibitors. The manufacturers have managed to develop such paraffin inhibitors that can work at low temperature conditions such as subsea umbilical and cold climates. Efforts are being made to produce such paraffin inhibitors that can prevent deposition under extreme environmental conditions.Global Paraffin Inhibitors Market SegmentationThe global market for paraffin inhibitors can be segmented on the basis of application and region.On the basis of application, the global paraffin inhibitors market can be segmented into:Exploration and drillingStorageTransportation (Pipelines)Global Paraffin Inhibitors Market Regional OutlookNorth America holds a significant share in the global paraffin inhibitors market and is anticipated to remain dominant over the forecast period, 2017-2027. This can be attributed to increasing technological advancements and development of unconventional methods for the production of oil which has shown rising demand for paraffin inhibitors. Western Europe also holds a significant share in the global paraffin inhibitors market. Asia Pacific and Japan are also anticipated to represent good signs of growth over the forecast period. Awareness about the product benefits is expected to play a crucial role in the market development in the region. Middle East and Africa is expected to expand at a significant CAGR owing to the large oil and petrochemical base industries in the region.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global Paraffin Inhibitors Market ParticipantsSome of the market participants identified across the value chain of the global paraffin inhibitors market are: BASF SE, NALCO, Halliburton, Evonik Industries AG, Croda International Plc, Schlumberger Limited, Baker Hughes Incorporated, GE Corporation, Clariant, AkzoNobel N.V, Zirax Limited, Refinery Specialties, Inc., Dorf ketal Chemicals, etc.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 using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, application, and industry.The report covers exhaust analysis on:Market SegmentsMarket DynamicsMarket SizeSupply & DemandCurrent Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainRegional analysis includes:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico. Brazil)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, France, U.K, Spain)Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC Countries, S. Africa, Northern Africa)The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.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:
Special designed ex d line bushing for connecting ex enclosures

Ex d line bushng for connecting two enclosures

www.quintex.eu/en

A special designed line bushing for connection of two enclosures. One side is threaded and one side is flat (pluggable). By this you can screw in the line bushing to one enclosure and then plug the second enclosure to the line bushing without twisting the line bushing again. The fixing of the flat side will be done by e.g. a c-clip. If you want to see more application examples visit our homepage.Just check your special application and contact or consult our product management for more information or help on your special needs.You will find the address, phone number and other communication possibilities on our home page.The fastest way is to use our live chat during our office hours (8.00 to 16.00 CEST(central Europe summer time).Give it a try and see how wide the application range of line bushings is.It is a factory manufactured cable entry; so all responsibility for the safety is on our side.Define it, get it and use it.No additional work, no adhesive resin, no cure time.Quintex GmbH manufactures and supplies material for trace heating (heating tapes, heating cables, controller, connection sets) and explosion protection ( Ex e terminal boxes, pressurized systems, line bushings,own range of local control function, local control stations - all can be specified and ordered online)We manufacture all our material in our own approved (ATEX, ISO, FM, CSA...) facility.By this we can guarantee our high level of quality, reliability and in time delivery.Quintex GmbHi_Park Tauberfranken 1397922 Lauda-KoenigshofenGermanyPhone: +49 9343 61300Fax: +49 9343 6130 105
Automotive Turbochargers Market Volume Analysis, Segments, Value Share and Key Trends 2014-2020

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-135

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-135

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A turbocharger is a type of forced induction system that utilises energy of exhaust gases from the engines via a turbine. This helps in the induction of an ample volume of air into combustion chamber. The power output of the engine can be enhanced by increasing the volume of inlet fuel air mixture, which could be easily achieved with use turbochargers. It utilises the energy of exhaust gases from the engine to compress the inlet air and feed it into the engine to create a better air to fuel ratio. Turbochargers are considered one of the most important automotive accessories in todays time not only to boost acceleration, but to increase the efficiency of the engines in terms of power and output.Turbochargers are useful in helping the automotive industryto meet the norms and standards regarding the emission of exhaust gasses such as CO2, nitrous oxide, and particulate materials from the automobile. Augmentation of the engine with a turbocharger helps in addressing the increasing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles from consumers.Request For Report Sample@The global turbocharger market is expected to grow approximately twofold from 2014 to 2020. The global market for turbochargers is growing at a CAGR of around 10-12%. The European market commands nearly half of the turbocharger market, followed by Asia and North America. The penetration rate of turbochargers in the North American vehicular fleet is comparatively less thanin other regions. The global market has been witnessing an increase in demand from Asia Pacific, whereas the European market is expected to exhibit sluggish growth due to low automotive demand and stagnant economic conditions.The global turbocharger market can be segmented on the basis of vehicle types such as light commercial vehicles (LCV), heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) and passenger vehicles (PV). Currently, the PV segment is the largest contributor to the market. In future, the PV segment is expected to continue its dominance in the global market, due to increasing production and demand. The CV segment is expected to register a higher growth rate due their longer service life and higher commercial usage.The global turbochargers market can also be segmented by technology such asvariable geometry technology (also known as varable nozzle turbine), wastegate technology, and twin turbo. On the basis of the fuel type, the turbocharger market is segmented into diesel and gasoline turbo.Overall the diesel turbocharger segment is expected to grow at a higher rate compared to gasolineas turbochargers have high adoption rates in diesel engines.However, with advancements in technology the gasoline turbochargers are estimated to grow at a promising rate in the future.Visit For TOC@Major players of the turbochargers market include BorgwarnerInc., Honeywell International Inc., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, IHI Corporation, Continental AG, and Cummins Inc. to name a few. These companies are trying to introduce new technology in the market through innovation and new product development. Apart from this, they are taking initiatives to engage themselves in partnerships and alliances in order to expand their business in emerging markets such as India and China.The preference of fuel-efficient vehicles, the downsizing initiatives of engines by automakers and the growth of the automotive production in Asian region are major drivers for turbochargers market.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Turbocompressor Market Expected to Reach $18,424 Million, Globally, by 2022

Global Turbocompressor Market- Allied Market Research

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2184

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/2184

Global Turbocompressor Market size was estimated to be $11,703 million in 2015 and is expected to reach $18,424 million by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 6.5%, according to a new report published by Allied Market Research. Oil & gas segment is expected to dominate the end-user sector in the global turbocompressor market from 2015 to 2022. Asia-Pacific region dominated the market contributing to 37.0% of the global turbocompressor market share in 2015.Early buyers will receive 20% customization on this report.Turbocompressor are turbo machines that concentrate a compressible gas with the help of a dynamic principle. In turbocompressor, the gas continuously enters the rotating impeller through which the mechanical shaft power is distributed to the fluid with the help of the blades that results in a significant pressure and temperature increase. The remaining kinetic flow energy is then mostly converted into pressure in the diffusor. The compressed gas is then either collected in a volute or transferred to a second compressor stage with the help of a return channel. Turbocompressor are highly used in dirty and corrosive applications such as petrochemical plants, refineries, natural gas processing, coal gasification & power stations due to their longer life, low maintenance, and continuous service.Request Sample @The global turbocompressor market is segmented based on type, stages, end-user industries, and geography. By type, the turbocompressor market is segmented into centrifugal compressors and axial compressors. Centrifugal compressor was the most dominant type accounting for 80.7% of the overall market in 2015. The centrifugal compressors market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period. Centrifugal compressors have high adoption in gas turbines and auxiliary power units. These compressors are also used in pipeline compressors of natural gas, which help move the gas from the production site to the end consumer.Based on stage, the global turbocompressor market is classified into single-stage turbocompressor and multi-stage turbocompressor. Single-stage compressors dominated the market in 2015 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% during the forecast period 2016-2022. Single stage turbocompressor are adopted in a wide range of end-user industries owing to their higher efficiencies, ease of maintenance, and smooth operation that ensures reliable performance.Do purchase inquiry @The global turbocompressor market based on end-user industries has been classified into oil & gas, power generation, chemical, and others. The oil & gas segment dominated the turbocompressor market in 2015 accounting for $5,014 million. In the oil & gas industry, there is a wide requirement for turbomachinery equipment that are reliable and energy efficient. The oil & gas industry requires turbo equipment from the stage of oil recovery and oil/gas separation to gas treatment and processing. The increasing trade of LNG globally is also a key driver for turbocompressor industry in the oil & gas segment.By geography, the turbocompressor market is analyzed across four regions, namely North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA along with their prominent countries. Asia-Pacific was the most dominant geographical market in 2015, is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.6%. Asia-Pacifics energy demand has been continuously increasing due to the growing population and rising consumer class. The major demand for oil in the region is being witnessed from the transportation sectors in developing regions. Turbocompressor in Asia-Pacific are used in the oil & gas upstream, midstream, and downstream sector. They are also being highly used in the power generation industry for smooth functioning of coal as well as gas power plants.Key Findings of the Turbocompressor Market: Axial compressors market accounted for $2,264 million in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period. Single-stage turbocompressor market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9%. Power generation end-user segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.1% during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing regional market with a CAGR of 7.6%.The key players in the turbocompressor market focus on collaborations, partnerships, and product developments to remain competitive in the market. Some of the key players in the turbocompressor market include Atlas Copco AB, Elliot Group Ltd, GE Oil & Gas, Howden Group Ltd, Ingersoll Rand PLC, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, Kobe Steel Ltd, Man Diesel & Turbo, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, and Siemens AG.About Us:Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.Contact:Prerna Shiv5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1-800-792-5285
Capnography Market, Research Report Forecasts upto 2021

https://www.knowledge-sourcing.com/products/capnography-market-forecasts-from-2016-to-2021

Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence announces publication of a new report: Capnography Market  Forecasts from 2016 to 2021This research report segments the Capnography Market by Technology (Disposables, Capnographs), Products (Sidestream Capnographs, Microstream Capnographs, Mainstream Capnographs), End User applications (Ambulatory, Surgical Centres, Hospitals), Geography (Americas, North America, South America, Europe Middle East and Africa, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific). The report provides in-depth and most accurately anticipated forecasts in a quantitative manner.Some of the major Capnography Market companies covered in the report are GE, Medtronic, Dragerwerk, and Masimo among others.Sample request or complete report can be purchased through the link below:This 90 pages report contains a wide range of figures and data tables for the forecasted period based on the segmentations listed above.Brief TOC is as below: Market Dynamics Segmentationo By Technology Disposables Capnographso By Products Sidestream Capnographs Microstream Capnographs Mainstream Capnographso By End User Applications Ambulatory Surgical Centres Hospitals Otherso By GeographyNorth America South America Europe Middle East & Africa Asia PacificAbout Knowledge Sourcing IntelligenceKnowledge Sourcing Intelligence is a market research and consulting firm based out of India. Driven by industry experts, the company provides syndicated reports, custom research, and consulting services. Our proprietary data analytics model blended with quality primary and secondary research data assists in generating quality reports providing crucial insights to managers and decision makers. The services offered by us help companies to gain required competitive edge. Our expertise across 10 industries such as ICT, Chemicals, Semiconductors, Healthcare among others caters to diverse client needsKnowledge Sourcing IntelligenceAscent Business CenterH-38, Sector 63NOIDA, IndiaContact: +1-866-714-4587
Pressure Sensors Market by Type, Application & Region: Global Trends and Forecast to 2022

https://marketsizeforecasters.com/get-sample/95931/?utm_source=OPR-NL

https://marketsizeforecasters.com/enquire-for-discount/95931

https://marketsizeforecasters.com/2017-top-5-pressure-sensors-manufacturers-in-north-america-europe-asia-pacific-south-america-middle-east-and-africa

https://marketsizeforecasters.com/global-and-chinese-pressure-sensors-industry-2017-market

http://marketsizeforecasters.com/

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Market Size Forecasters released a new research report of 156 pages on title 2017 Top 5 Pressure Sensors Manufacturers in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies. The study covers important players such as including covering are Bosch, Denso, Sensata, AmphenolThe Global Pressure Sensors market size will be XX million (USD) in 2022, from the XX million (USD) in 2016, with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) XX% from 2016 to 2022.This report studies Pressure Sensors in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa, focuses on the top 5 Pressure Sensors Players in each region, with sales, price, revenue and market share for top 5 manufacturer, covering  Bosch, Denso, Sensata, Amphenol, NXP+ Freescale, Infineon, STMicroelectronics, TE Connectivity (Measurement Specialties), Omron, Honeywell, Siemens, Continental AGRequest a sample copy of Pressure Sensors Market Research Report @Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales, revenue, market share of top 5 players in these regions, from 2012 to 2017 (forecast), like - North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Korea), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia etc., South America (Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina), Middle East and Africa (Egypt, South Africa, Saudi Arabia)Split by Product Types, with sales, revenue, price, market share of each type, can be divided into - MEMS Pressure Sensor, Pressure Transducer, Pressure Transmitter, OtherThe listed pricing for this Pressure Sensors Market report starts at $ 4960. Request Discount for Pressure Sensors Market Research Report @Split by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Pressure Sensors in each application, can be divided into Automotive Application, Medical Application, Industrial Application, Consumer Electronics, Military & Defense, Oil & Gas, OtherBrowse full table of contents and data tables For Pressure Sensors Market Report @Related Reports: -Global and Chinese Pressure Sensors Industry, 2017 Market Research ReportThe 'Global and Chinese Pressure Sensors Industry, 2012-2022 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Pressure Sensors 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:News:Connect with us: LinkedIn | Twitter
Clinical Microbiology Market - Estimation, Forecast, demands and development analysis examined in new research report

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1199

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1199

https://www.tmrresearch.com/clinical-microbiology-market

Global Clinical Microbiology Market: OverviewThe intercontinental clinical microbiology market is envisioned to be pampered by a wide spectrum of opportunities in different applications such as the identification of diseases caused by pathogens with the help of laboratory services. Class A carbapenemase, a group of causative agents of clinical infections, is proliferating rapidly and has augmented the need for determining carbapenemase genes through clinical microbiology. In order to address this need, Cepheid, Inc. introduced Xpert Carba-R, a diagnostic assay, which was sanctioned by the U.S. FDA in 2016.The global clinical microbiology market could be segmented considering disease, application, and product as significant parameters. With the rise in targeted diseases and swelling geriatric population, the disease segment could see a handsome growth.Request Sample Copy of the Report @This report on the world clinical microbiology market can be used as a guideline to operate in the industry as a winning player. Vital aspects of the market such as opportunities, restraints, and growth factors are analyzed in a radical manner to help gain a paramount insight into the clinical microbiology industry.Global Clinical Microbiology Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe world clinical microbiology market could acquire growth at a stallion pace in the wake of the need to keep a tight rein on human errors during the manual processing of samples in research projects. In this regard, the automation of clinical systems could be demanded at a brisk rate. This demand is foretold to also gain increased support from the need to maintain constancy in manual processing.Having pulled in a kings share in the global clinical microbiology market in 2015, reagents are foreseen to earn more revenue while riding on the hike in purchases and aggravating penetration due to the demand from therapeutic and analytic research projects.Request TOC of the Report @The towering degree of the prevalence of respiratory maladies in emerging as well as developed nations could intensify the demand in the international clinical microbiology market. This can be attributed to the soaring levels of air pollution because of meteoric industrialization.Global Clinical Microbiology Market: Regional OutlookThe North America clinical microbiology market is prognosticated to get help from the existence of leviathan companies and hard and fast regulatory structures. An interesting part of the geographical analysis is the expectation on the part of the Europe market to maintain a close proximity with North America in terms of growth. However, North America secured a stupendous share in the global clinical microbiology market in 2015. The region is anticipated to stimulate high adoption of clinical microbial methodologies with the higher development of healthcare and industrial domains in countries such as the U.S.Besides China, Japan is expected to promise a faster growth in the Asia Pacific clinical microbiology market on the back of aggressive microbial testing application in a variety of fields. The august technological buildout in Japan cannot be sidelined when considering this market on the basis of demand. A countable number of top companies in the market are looking to relocate their major manufacturing outlets to Asia Pacific. This is due to the quantum leaps in building sophisticated manufacturing infrastructure and large availability of skilled labor at low cost in the region.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Global Clinical Microbiology Market: Companies MentionedAs a result of their pacey progress in research and development and introduction of automated laboratory systems, the giant players in the international clinical microbiology market have won the trump card of being the first movers. There are only a few names competing at worldwide level, viz. Bruker Corporation, Danaher Corporation, Cepheid Inc., and bioMerieux S.A. Howbeit, the contest is predicted to be escalated by the entry of new faces in the global market. Of these are Hologic Inc., Becton Dickinson & Company, Alere Inc., and Roche Diagnostics.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 research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Dental Gypsum Market: Industry Research and Forecast Analysis 2022

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http://www.researchtrades.com/report/global-dental-gypsum-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and-application-forecast-to-2022

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Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Dental Gypsum 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 coversUSG Heraeus Kulzer Whip-Mix YOSHINO GYPSUM Formula (Saint-Gobain)SDMF Kerr Dental Nobilium Dentona AG ETI EMPIRE DIRECT GyprockGP Building Product Saurabh MinechemTo Receive a Sample Copy of Global Dental Gypsum Market @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, coversDental Plaster Model Dental Stone Die Dental StoneMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoHospital Clinic OtherThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Dental Gypsum market.Chapter 1, to describe Dental Gypsum Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyse the top manufacturers of Dental Gypsum, with sales, revenue, and price of Dental Gypsum, 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 Dental Gypsum, 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, Dental Gypsum market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Dental Gypsum sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceBuy a Copy of Global Dental Gypsum Market for single user price of $ 3480@Key Chapters1 Market Overview1.1 Dental Gypsum Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Dental Plaster1.2.2 Model Dental Stone1.2.3 Die Dental Stone1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Hospital1.3.2 Clinic1.3.3 Other2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 USG2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Dental Gypsum Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 USG Dental Gypsum Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 Heraeus Kulzer2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Dental Gypsum Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Heraeus Kulzer Dental Gypsum Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)3 Global Dental Gypsum Market Competition, by Manufacturer3.1 Global Dental Gypsum Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer3.2 Global Dental Gypsum Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer3.3 Market Concentration Rate3.3.1 Top 3 Dental Gypsum Manufacturer Market Share3.3.2 Top 6 Dental Gypsum Manufacturer Market ShareTo 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,S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1,Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
Intersolar Europe: my-PV shows itself to be the market leader for solar powered hot water boilers

Great response: my-PV's stand at Intersolar Europe 2017

www.my-pv.live

www.my-pv.com

Neuzeug, Austria, 9.06.2017. At this years Intersolar Europe trade fair, the photovoltaic firm my-PV GmbH, based in Neuzeug, Austria, introduced its new sales partner for Italy. ARTHA Consulting will be marketing the innovative manufacturers ELWA (ELectric WAter) boilers on the Italian market with immediate effect.An increasing number of experts recognise us to be the driving force in the area of solar powered water heating and value our technical expertise  and this years Intersolar Europe has accentuated this, says Dr Gerhard Rimpler, managing director of my-PV. The company is already the market leader in the area of providing photovoltaic hot water boilers in Germany and Austria. We also want to be the leader in Italy in the near future.The perfect alternative to solar thermal energyThe market is large, because although there has not been any increased feed-in remuneration for photovoltaic systems in Italy for some time, 5,000 new house roof plants are still being installed every month. The my-PV electric hot water boilers are perfect for this, says Giuseppe Sofia, managing director of ARTHA Consulting. They are an ideal alternative to solar heating plants. You can not only save energy with these products, but also increase your own consumption. my-PV is currently one of the most highly regarded firms in this area.Sofia will initially market my-PVs products through wholesalers in Italy. In the next phase he will realise larger projects for storing hot water  for example in sport centres and the food industry.New product innovationsIn addition to the new sales partner for Italy, my-PV also introduced the new online portalat Intersolar Europe in Munich, as well as the AC ELWA-E Multi functionality, with which multiple hot water appliances can be installed in one system.The announcement about the AC voltage regulator ACTHOR with a drumroll at the exhibition stand also attracted a great deal of interest. Numerous visitors to the trade fair made a note of the date for the product presentation on 30 November. The appliance is a milestone in the maximisation of own consumption, says Rimpler.Manufacturer my-PV GmbH is based in Neuzeug, Austria and was founded in 2011 by former managers of a solar inverter manufacturer. The founders have worked in solar electronics and solar heating for over 20 years. This experience led them to invent the DC ELWA (ELWA stands for Electric Water heating) for heating water using photovoltaics, and was successfully positioned on the market in 2014.2015 saw the launch of the AC model AC ELWA, which converts excess electricity from grid-connected photovoltaic units into heat. AC ELWA-E is also available with immediate effect, and in combination with battery systems, commercially available inverters and energy management systems it enables perfect management of excess energy.ARTHA Consulting was founded by the Italian photovoltaic pioneer Giuseppe Sofia in the northern Italian city of Vicenza. The company is specialized in business development and distribution of sustainable energy products.my-PV GmbHTamara GaiggTeichstrasse 43A-4523 Neuzeug+43 650 4244 648tamara.gaigg@my-pv.com
Craft Beer Market Outlook: Region, Types, and Industry Overview 2017-2025

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1205

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1205

https://www.tmrresearch.com/craft-beer-market

Global Craft Beer Market: OverviewThe global craft beer market is expected to grow at a significant rate in the next few years. The research study throws light on the key aspects that are predicted to encourage the growth of the overall market in the next few years. The challenges and limitations faced by the key players have also been discussed in the scope of the research study. Additionally, a thorough overview of the competitive landscape of the global craft beer market has been provided in the report.Global Craft Beer Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe rising demand for craft beer and the growing consumption across developed regions are the major factors that are projected to fuel the growth of the global craft beer market in the next few years. In addition, the rising demand for flavored beverages across the globe is likely to accelerate the growth of the global market throughout the forecast period. The acceptance of beer as a social drink is another vital factor predicted to supplement the growth of the craft beer market across the globe.Request Sample Copy of the Report @On the other hand, the rising inclination of consumers towards substitutes is one of the key factors expected to hamper the growth of the global craft beer market in the coming years. Nonetheless, the rising consumption of craft beer and the improving distribution network are estimated to augment global beer market in the coming few years. Moreover, the introduction of new flavors is likely to generate promising opportunities for key players in the market.Global Craft Beer Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global craft beer market has been divided on the basis of geography in order to offer a clear picture of the market. Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa are some of the key segments of the global craft beer market. As per the research study, the Asia Pacific market for craft beer is expected to lead the global market and is likely to maintain a dominant position in the next few years. A substantial contribution from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand is predicted to encourage the growth of this region throughout the forecast period.Request TOC of the Report @Furthermore, Europe and North America are expected to witness a healthy growth in the next few years. The rising popularity of craft beer and the easy availability across these regions are projected to fuel the growth of these segments in the coming years. The market share and the estimated growth rate of each segment have been provided in the scope of the research report have been included in the scope of the research study.Key Players Mentioned in the Research Report are:The research study talks about the competitive landscape of the global craft beer market. The prominent players operating in the market have been listed in the scope of the research study in order to offer a clear understanding of the market. The company profiles of these players have been discussed in the scope of the research study, along with their business policies, financial overview, SWOT analysis, and the latest developments. In addition, the mergers and acquisitions in the global craft beer market, if any have been mentioned in the research study.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Some of the key players mentioned in the research study are Omer Vander Ghinste, D.G. Yuengling and Son, Stone & Wood Brewing Co., The Boston Beer Company, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Deschutes Brewery, Chimay Beers And Cheeses, Feral Brewing Co., The Gambrinus Company, Bell's Brewery, Inc., Vagabund, Lagunitas Brewing Company, and New Belgium Brewing Company. The other players that are estimated to enter the market have also been included in the scope of the research study.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 research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Market -2017, Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast Report To 2022

Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Market

https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/request-sample/400385

https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/report/global-commercial-aircraft-gas-turbine-engine-market-research-report-2017

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The Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Market Research Report 2017 renders deep perception of the key regional market status of the Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine 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 report on Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Market is a professional report which provides thorough knowledge along with complete information pertaining to the Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine industry propos classifications, definitions, applications, industry chain summary, industry policies in addition to plans, product specifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures, etc.Request for sample of Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Market research report @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 Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine 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 Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Market.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering:CFM International, General Electric, Pratt and Whitney, Rolls-Royce, GKN Aerospace, Snecma, Williams International, MTU Aero Engines, Engine Alliance, International Aero Engines, NPO Saturn, Power Jet, Avio Aero, Engine Alliance.On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoTurbojets, Turboprops, Turbofans.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 Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine for each application, includingPassenger Aircrafts, Cargo Aircrafts.Detailed TOC and Charts & Tables of Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Market Research Report available @The report is generically segmented into six parts and every part aims on the overview of the Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine 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 Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine 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.So 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 Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine 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:-11 Market Effect Factors Analysis11.1 Technology Progress/Risk11.1.1 Substitutes Threat11.1.2 Technology Progress in Related Industry11.2 Consumer Needs/Customer Preference Change11.3 Economic/Political Environmental Change12 Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Market Forecast (2017-2022)12.1 Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Capacity, Production, Revenue Forecast (2017-2022)12.1.1 Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Capacity, Production and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)12.1.2 Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Revenue and Growth Rate Forecast (2017-2022)12.1.3 Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Price and Trend Forecast (2017-2022)12.2 Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Production, Consumption , Import and Export Forecast by Region (2017-2022)12.2.1 North America Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.2 Europe Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.3 China Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.4 Japan Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.5 Southeast Asia Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.2.6 India Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Production, Revenue, Consumption, Export and Import Forecast (2017-2022)12.3 Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Production, Revenue and Price Forecast by Type (2017-2022)12.4 Global Commercial Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Consumption Forecast by Application (2017-2022)Enquiry before Buying @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.Jia Wang, Room B1510, ShijiKemao Building, No.66,Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing, 100190,China
Global Sign Market  Share, Size, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017-2025

http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/us-sign-market-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020/

http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/us-sign-market-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020/

http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-steel-springs-and-leaves-for-springs-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020/

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IndexBox has just published a new report "U.S. Sign Market. Analysis And Forecast to 2025". (The report provides an in-depth analysis of the U.S. sign market. It presents the latest data of the market size and volume, domestic production, exports and imports, price dynamics and turnover in the industry. In addition, the report contains insightful information about the industry, including industry life cycle, business locations, productivity, employment and many other crucial aspects. The Company Profiles section contains relevant data on the major players in the industry.Countries coverage: the U.S.Product coverage:Electric signs and displays, including scoreboards and trade show exhibits; Nonelectric signs and displays, including trade show exhibits; Sign manufacturing, nsk, totalCompanies mentioned:Brady Corporation, Daktronics, Young Electric Sign Company, George P Johnson Company, Gerber Scientific, Derse, Everbrite, Rmg Networks Holding Corporation, Watchfire Enterprises, Prime Resources Corp., Apco Graphics, Idl Worldwide, Icon Identity Solutions, Persona, Federal Heath Sign Company, Blair Companies, Lanco Corporation, Architectural Graphics, Fellers, Skyline Products, Philadelphia Sign Co., Chandler Signs, L.P., United Wire Craft, Atlas Sign Industries of Fla., DSI Group, Bullet Line, Universal Custom Display, Creative Solutions Group, Watchfire Technologies Holdings II, Watchfire Signs, Amsterdam Printing & Litho, Watchfire Technologies Holdings I, Groupm Worldwide, YescoData coverage:- Sign market size;- Sign production, value of shipments;- Key market players and their profiles;- Exports, imports and trade balance;- Import and export prices;- Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term;- Key industry statistics;- Life cycle of the sign industry;- Number of establishments and their locations;- Employment data;- Sign industry productivity.Reasons to buy this report:- Take advantage of the latest data;- Find deeper insights into current market developments;- Discover vital success factors affecting the market.TABLE OF CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION1.1 REPORT DESCRIPTION1.2 REPORT STRUCTURE1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2.1 KEY FINDINGS2.2 MARKET TRENDS3. MARKET OVERVIEW3.1 MARKET VALUE3.2 TRADE BALANCE3.3 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES3.4 MARKET FORECAST TO 20254. DOMESTIC PRODUCTION4.1 PRODUCTION IN 2008-20154.2 PRODUCTION BY STATE4.3 PRODUCER PRICES5. IMPORTS5.1 IMPORTS IN 2007-20155.2 IMPORTS BY TYPE5.3 IMPORTS BY COUNTRY5.4 IMPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY6. EXPORTS6.1 EXPORTS IN 2007-20156.2 EXPORTS BY TYPE6.3 EXPORTS BY COUNTRY6.4 EXPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY7. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE7.1 INDUSTRY SNAPSHOTS7.2 INDUSTRY LIFE CYCLE7.3 BUSINESS LOCATIONS7.4 EMPLOYMENT7.5 ANNUAL PAYROLL7.6 INDUSTRY PRODUCTIVITY7.7 ESTABLISHMENT SIZE AND LEGAL FORM8. COMPANY PROFILESDownload a free sample of the report now!Browse Related Reports:World: Steel Springs And Leaves For Springs - Market Report. Analysis and Forecast to 2025EU: Steel Springs And Leaves For Springs - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025Germany: Steel Springs And Leaves For Springs - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world.You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.We collect this data from hundreds of highly reliable sources, verify it and carry out market analysis, uncovering new business opportunities and empowering you with actionable insights.The structure of our reports is intuitive and clear. We do our best to allow you to make strategic decisions and take immediate action. If you want to go further and be a step ahead of the market, just tell us your goals and we will tailor a report to your needs.With IndexBox, simply take the data from our Box and think outside it.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QWWebsite:
Mineral Water Market Analysis- Opportunities Sales, Revenue, Gross Margin, Outlook And Forecast To 2022

Mineral Water Market

http://www.globalinforeports.com/request-sample/245054

http://www.globalinforeports.com/report/global-mineral-water-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and-application-forecast-to-2022-d-16

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Mineral Water is water from a mineral source that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may be effervescent (i.e., sparkling) due to contained gases. Also some mineral water is made by mineralization processing, the mineral elements not from natural.Get a Sample of Mineral Water Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Mineral Water 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 covers:Danone, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Bisleri International, Suntory Water Group, Gerolsteiner, Ferrarelle, Hildon, Tynant, Master Kong, Nongfu Spring, Wahaha, Ganten, Cestbon, Kunlun Mountain, Blue Sword, Laoshan Water, Al Ain Water, NEVIOT, Rayyan Mineral Water CoMarket 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)Browse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Mineral Water Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers:Natural Mineral Water, Man-made Mineral WaterMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Hypermarkets & Supermarkets, Convenience Stores, Grocery Stores, Online Retailers, OthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Mineral Water market.Chapter 1, to describe Mineral Water Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Mineral Water, with sales, revenue, and price of Mineral Water, 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 Mineral Water, 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, Mineral Water market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Mineral Water sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Mineral Water Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Natural Mineral Water1.2.2 Man-made Mineral Water1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Hypermarkets & Supermarkets1.3.2 Convenience Stores1.3.3 Grocery Stores1.3.4 Online Retailers1.3.5 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)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 119Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480GIR 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.+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs-
K-12 Educational Technology Market Forecasts to 2022 and Analysis

Research N Reports

https://goo.gl/99WlD8

https://goo.gl/UFZFyG

K-12 Educational Technology Market, Purchase This Report by calling ResearchnReports.com at +1-888-631-6977.About K-12 Education TechnologyThe AEC was established with an aim to transform the ASEAN into a production base with a high competitive advantage and stability over the rest of the world. The community focuses on the economic, political, and socio-cultural development of its 10-member states. A major focus is on improving tertiary education and employability in the region. The conducive conditions for business will likely ensure foreign investment in all sectors, including the burgeoning education sector. The respective national policies in the ASEAN and the AEC are emphasizing greatly on revamping the K-12 education system in the region. This provides huge market potential for education technology vendors that are seeking to expand their presence in Southeast Asia.Researcher analysts forecast the K-12 education technology market in ASEAN to grow at a CAGR of 24.76% during the period 2017-2022.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the K-12 education technology market in ASEAN for 2017-2022. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated by the sales of educational hardware and software to kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) schools in ASEAN.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography: Indonesia Singapore OtherTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @:Researcher report, K-12 Education Technology Market in ASEAN 2017-2022, 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 vendorsDellD2LEducomp SolutionsSamsungSeiko EpsonOther prominent vendorsBenQEduspec Holdings BerhadEllucianHewlett-Packard (HP)IntelMacmillan LearningMcGraw-Hill EducationMicrosoftOraclePearson EducationPromethean LimitedSaba SoftwareMarket driverDifferentiated market penetration strategies.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeThreat from open source providers of software.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIncreased Internet penetration and use of education apps.For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Get more enquiry click here @:Press ReleaseResearcher Announces the Publication of its Research Report  K-12 Education Technology Market in ASEAN 2017-2022Researcher recognizes the following companies as the key players in the K-12 education technology market in ASEAN: Dell, D2L, Educomp Solutions, Samsung, and Seiko Epson.Other prominent vendors in the market are: BenQ, Eduspec Holdings Berhad, Ellucian, HP, Intel, Macmillan Learning, McGraw-Hill Education, Microsoft, Oracle, Pearson Education, Promethean Limited, and Saba Software.Commenting on the report, an analyst from Researcher team said: One of latest trends in the market is use of advanced technology in international schools. International schools are using various interactive and collaborative methods to teach students. For instance, at the Maker Space in NIST International School, Bangkok, children spend a portion of their lunch hours on robotics and programming projects. 3D printing, wearable technology, and drones are various educational technologies that hold tremendous growth potential during the forecast period. Drones will be primarily used in STEM learning through features such as digital storytelling and virtual tours. Educational technology is also expected to be incorporated in physical education classes. For instance, instructors are adopting GoPros and wristbands to monitor the activities and quantify the movement of students.According to the report, one of the primary drivers in the market is adoption of new learning methods. Over the past decade, the adoption of innovative learning approaches has increased in the ASEAN. Some schools in Indonesia and the Philippines have adopted an e-learning platform known as Quipper School. The platform allows students to attend online classes, source study materials, and take online quizzes. This will influence the adoption of mobile-learning and education apps to a large extent. The K-12 schools in the ASEAN are emphasizing on delivering learning content with rich multimedia. A growing number of instructors are incorporating active learning methods that include project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, and experiential learning to improve the learning experience of students and enhance student performance assessments.Further, the report states that one major challenge in the market is inadequate ICT infrastructure. The budget allocations for improvement of IT infrastructure has not increased at the same rate as the changes in the role of technology in the education sector. Financial resources required to assist institutions in the transformational phase of adopting digital classrooms are a major constraint in the implementation of educational hardware and software. In case of K-12 institutions, availability of resources like servers, network infrastructure, backup storage, and power supply are constrained and restrict the implementation of advanced technological solutions. Also, to implement educational technology in schools, it is essential that the administrative staff has technical support specialists that provide essential support in troubleshooting problems related to software and solutions, installation, operation, maintenance, network administration, and security. The presence of technical support specialists can help in case of technical breakdowns.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 Asia-Pacific 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)
Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Data Analysis Market : Size, Analysis, Industry Demand, Growth And Forecast Report To 2017

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Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Data Analysis Market: OverviewNext generation sequencing allows researchers to examine biological systems deeply due to the unprecedented throughput, speed, and scalability of these systems.Today, complexities involved in genomic research demands a higher level of understanding than what is offered by traditional DNA sequencing methodologies. Next-generation sequencing has become an everyday research tool and filled the gap to cater to these needs.NGS is the digital alternative for sequence-based gene expression. Moreover, the scalability of NGS allows to tune the resolution level to meet specific experimental needs.The report analyzes the various segments and sub-segments at length and offers a detailed assessment of their current, past, and future performance. The factor propelling and challenging the global next generation sequencing data analysis market and recommendations on how to overcome the challenges have also been presented in this study. Using industry-centric tools, such as SWOT analysis and Porters Five Forces analysis, readers are given a 360-degree overview of where the NGS data analysis market will stand in the near future.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Data Analysis Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe continuous advancements in cloud computing and data integration solutions are effectively addressing data handling bottlenecks, which involves analyzing a sizeable volume of high-throughput sequence data. Technological advancements in bioinformatics are anticipated to provide lucrative opportunities to this vertical and hence propel growth of the global NGS data analysis market in the near future.The introduction of NGS methods combined with their increasing adoption in clinical diagnosis, genomic research, and for personalized treatment of several diseases are bolstering the demand for precise and rapid sequencing interpretation tools and algorithms that can expedite data analysis. Moreover, the scope of sequencing projects is expected to rise due to the high genetic data output and concurrent drop in the prices of sequencing. This has led to an increased demand for elaborate bioinformatics pipeline with advanced and efficient solutions.Request TOC of the Report @However, infrastructural cost for the development of algorithms and software is anticipated to hold back the markets growth to some extent. Moreover, time-consuming nature of NGS data analysis is also hampering the markets growth. This, however, will provide lucrative opportunities for commercial service providers to design and develop newer solutions with faster turnaround times.Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Data Analysis Market: Geographical OutlookThe NGS data analysis market can be analyzed with respect to the regional segments of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. North America is the leading market for NGS data analysis due to the presence of some of the established market players in this region. Moreover, the increasing number of NGS research undertakings carried out in Canadian universities is leading to the growth of the NGS data analysis market in this region.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@However, Asia Pacific is anticipated to exhibit significant growth in this market in the coming years. This is mainly due to the increasing number of grants received for sequencing projects in the developing countries of this region. Moreover, positive R&D outcomes that are encouraging the inclusion of high-throughput sequencing in clinical diagnosis is anticipated to boost the growth of the NGS data sequencing market in Asia Pacific.Major Companies Mentioned in ReportSome of the leading companies in the global NGS data analysis market includes Illumina Inc., Ingenuity, Station X Inc., DNAnexus SevenBridges Genomics, Genalice, Congenica, Omicia Inc., WuXiNextCODE, Bluebee, and Edico Genome.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 research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Latest Research Report On Plant Extracts Market Predicts Favorable Growth And Forecast Till 2022

Plant Extracts Market

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Plant Extracts is a kind of matter which extracts from the plant or the parts of plant by the suitable solvent or methods, it can used to the pharmaceutical industry, food industry, healthy industry, beauty industry and other industries.Get a Sample of Plant Extracts Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Plant Extracts 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 covers:Indena, Network, Schwabe, Pharmachem, Naturex, Ipsen, Provital Group, Bioforce, Euromed, Sabinsa, Tsumura&Co, Chenguang Biotech, Rainbow, BGG, Organic Herb, Conba Group, Gaoke Group, JiaHerb, Green-Health, Lgberry, Layn, Novanat LIWAH, Xian High Tech, Wagott Bio-Tech, Active Ingredients, Natural Remedies, Bioprex Labs, Arjuna Natural, Alchem, KancorMarket 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)Browse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Plant Extracts Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers:Non-standardized Extracts, Standardized ExtractsMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Medicine, Food, Cosmetic, OthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Plant Extracts market.Chapter 1, to describe Plant Extracts Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Plant Extracts, with sales, revenue, and price of Plant Extracts, 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 Plant Extracts, 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, Plant Extracts market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Plant Extracts sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for Discount @Some points from TOC:-3 Global Plant Extracts Market Competition, by Manufacturer3.1 Global Plant Extracts Sales and Market Share by Manufacturer3.2 Global Plant Extracts Revenue and Market Share by Manufacturer3.3 Market Concentration Rate3.3.1 Top 3 Plant Extracts Manufacturer Market Share3.3.2 Top 6 Plant Extracts Manufacturer Market Share3.4 Market Competition Trend4 Global Plant Extracts Market Analysis by Regions4.1 Global Plant Extracts Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions4.1.1 Global Plant Extracts Sales by Regions (2012-2017)4.1.2 Global Plant Extracts Revenue by Regions (2012-2017)4.2 North America Plant Extracts Sales and Growth (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Plant Extracts Sales and Growth (2012-2017)4.4 Asia-Pacific Plant Extracts Sales and Growth (2012-2017)4.5 South America Plant Extracts Sales and Growth (2012-2017)4.6 Middle East and Africa Plant Extracts Sales and Growth (2012-2017)5 North America Plant Extracts by Countries5.1 North America Plant Extracts Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Countries5.1.1 North America Plant Extracts Sales by Countries (2012-2017)5.1.2 North America Plant Extracts Revenue by Countries (2012-2017)5.2 USA Plant Extracts Sales and Growth (2012-2017)5.3 Canada Plant Extracts Sales and Growth (2012-2017)5.4 Mexico Plant Extracts Sales and Growth (2012-2017)ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 116Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480GIR 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.+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs-
Global Electronic Hookah Market SWOT Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecasts To 2022

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Summary:The Global Electronic Hookah Market report is a valuable source for user whoever interested in Electronic Hookah Industry. Report also provides extensive information on recent industrial analysis, innovations & market study, size, share, growth factors which are helpful for business development.Introduction:The 2017 market research report on global Electronic Hookah market is an in-depth study and analysis of the market by our industry experts with unparalleled domain knowledge. The report will shed light on many critical points and trends of the industry which are useful for our esteemed clients. The report covers a vast expanse of information including an overview, comprehensive analysis, definitions and classifications, applications, and expert opinions, among others. With the extent of information filled in the report, the presentation and style of the global Electronic Hookah market report is a noteworthy.Request a sample of this report @The global Electronic Hookah industry report provides key information about the industry, including invaluable facts and figures, expert opinions, and the latest developments across the globe. Not only does the report cover a holistic view of the industry from a global standpoint, but it also covers individual regions and their development. The global Electronic Hookah industry report showcases the latest trends in the global and regional markets on all critical parameters which include technology, supplies, capacity, production, profit, price, and competition. The key players covered in the report provide a detailed analysis of the competition and their developments in the global Electronic Hookah industry. Accurate forecasts and expert opinion from credible sources, and the recent R&D development in the industry is also a mainstay of the Electronic Hookah market report.The report also focuses on the significance of industry chain analysis and all variables, both upstream and downstream. These include equipment and raw materials, client surveys, marketing channels, and industry trends and proposals. Other significant information covering consumption, key regions and distributors, and raw material suppliers are also a covered in this report.Browse the complete report @Finally, the Electronic Hookah market report ends with a detailed SWOT analysis of the market, investment feasibility and returns, and development trends and forecasts. As with every report on Orbis Research, the Electronic Hookah industry is the holy grail of information which serious knowledge seekers can benefit from. The report which is the result of ultimate dedication of pedigree professionals has a wealth of information which can benefit anyone, irrespective of their commercial or academic interest.If you have any enquiry before buying a copy of this report @Major Points from Table of Content:Chapter One: Electronic Hookah Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Electronic Hookah1.2 Electronic Hookah Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Electronic Hookah Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Electronic Hookah Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Below 500 Puffs1.2.4 500 Puffs to 1000 Puffs1.2.5 Above 1000 Puffs1.3 Global Electronic Hookah Segment by Application1.3.1 Electronic Hookah Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 MaleChapter Two: Global Electronic Hookah Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Electronic Hookah Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Electronic Hookah Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Electronic Hookah Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Electronic Hookah Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Electronic Hookah Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Chapter Three: Global Electronic Hookah Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Electronic Hookah Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Electronic Hookah Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Electronic Hookah Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Electronic Hookah Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 United States Electronic Hookah Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 EU Electronic Hookah Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)..ContinuedAbout Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email at: sales@orbisresearch.com
Global Waterproof LED Module Market Overview by Type, Product, Regions, Application and Forecast to 2022

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ReportsWeb Market Research Released a New Research Report of 109 pages on Title Global Waterproof LED Module Market Research Report 2017 with detailed Analysis, Forecast and Strategies.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD) , market share and growth rate of Waterproof LED Module in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast) , covering United States, EU, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.Get free sample copy of report atGlobal Waterproof LED Module market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players including Nichia, SAMSUNG, EPISTAR, SSC, LG Innotek, Toyoda Gosei, Semileds, Cree, Osram and PHILIPS Lumileds.Get more information about Waterproof LED Module Market atOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Low Power (0.3W Below), Middle Power (0.3-0.5W) and High Power (1W and above). 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 Waterproof LED Module for each application, including Advertising, Lighted Wallpaper and Others.Get discount on report purchase atTable of Content1 Waterproof LED Module Market Overview2 Global Waterproof LED Module Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Waterproof LED Module Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)4 Global Waterproof LED Module Supply (Production) , Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)5 Global Waterproof LED Module Production, Revenue (Value) , Price Trend by Type6 Global Waterproof LED Module Market Analysis by Application7 Global Waterproof LED Module Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Nichia7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Waterproof LED Module Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Nichia Waterproof LED Module Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 SAMSUNG7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Waterproof LED Module Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 SAMSUNG Waterproof LED Module Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 EPISTAR7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Waterproof LED Module Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 EPISTAR Waterproof LED Module Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview8 Waterproof LED Module Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Waterproof LED Module Market Forecast (2017-2022)13 Research Findings and ConclusionPurchase complete report atList of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Waterproof LED ModuleFigure Global Waterproof LED Module Production (K Units) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global Waterproof LED Module Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Product Picture of Low Power (0.3W Below)Table Major Manufacturers of Low Power (0.3W Below)Figure Product Picture of Middle Power (0.3-0.5W)Table Major Manufacturers of Middle Power (0.3-0.5W)Figure Product Picture of High Power (1W and above)Table Major Manufacturers of High Power (1W and above)Figure Global Waterproof LED Module Consumption (K Units) by Applications (2012-2022)Figure Global Waterproof LED Module Consumption Market Share by Applications in 2016Figure Advertising ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in AdvertisingFigure Lighted Wallpaper ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in Lighted WallpaperFigure Others ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in OthersFigure Global Waterproof LED Module Market Size (Million USD) , Comparison (K Units) and CAGR (%) by Regions (2012-2022)Figure United States Waterproof LED Module Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure EU Waterproof LED Module Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Waterproof LED Module Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Waterproof LED Module Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure South Korea Waterproof LED Module Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Taiwan Waterproof LED Module Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comCompany Name: ReportsWebWebsite: Reportsweb.comPhone: +1-646-491-9876ReportsWeb.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 Electric hoist Sales Market Report Forecast 2017-2022

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Report Hive Market Research Released a New Research Report of 155 pages on Title "Global Electric hoist Sales Market Report Forecast 2017-2022" with detailed Analysis, Forecast and Strategies.A lift controller is the controller for a crane. The term is utilized essentially with regards to electrically worked lifts, yet it is evident that the control frameworks of numerous twentieth century steam raises additionally fused controllers of noteworthy multifaceted nature. Consider the control arrangement of the Quincy Mine No. 2 Hoist. This control framework included interlocks to close the throttle valve toward the finish of excursion and to avoid opening the throttle again until the winding motor was turned around. The control framework additionally consolidated a representative to control the speed of the derrick and pointer wheels to demonstrate the lift administrator the places of the skips in the mine pole.For More Information Request Research Sample: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.The study is a source of reliable data on:Key market segments and sub-segmentsEvolving market trends and dynamicsChanging supply and demand scenariosQuantifying market opportunities through market sizing and market forecastingTracking current trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive insightsOpportunity mapping in terms of technological breakthroughsThis research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report include:United StatesChinaEuropeJapanThe Major players reported in the market include:KitoTerexHitachi IndustrialColumbus McKinnonKonecranesABUS...Product Segment Analysis:Electric Chain HoistElectric Wire Rope HoistApplication Segment Analysis:FactoriesConstruction SitesMarinas & ShipyardsMining & Excavating OperationWarehouseOthersBrowse Full Report:Key questions answered in the report What will the market size and the growth rate be in 2022? What are the key factors driving Electric hoist? What are the key market trends impacting the growth of Electric hoist? 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 vendors in Electric hoist? Trending factors influencing the market shares of the Americas, APAC, and EMEA? What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of Electric hoist?We are a leading repository of market research reports and solutions catering to industries like Comm & Technology, Energy & Power, Food And Beverages, Automotive & Transportation, Healthcare & Life Science etc. This large collection of reports assists organizations in decision-making on aspects such as market entry strategies, market sizing, market share analysis, competitive analysis, product portfolio analysis and opportunity analysis among others. We also assist in determining the best suited and targeted report from our large repository of global reports, company-specific reports and country-level reports.Mike RossMarketing Managermike.ross@reporthive.comPhone: +1 312-604-7084Sainath Nagar, Vadgaon Sheri,Pune, Maharashtra 411014
Washing Machine Market : Business Development Analysis and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Global Washing Machine Market: OverviewThe world washing machine market is prognosticated to rake in ample amount of demand from the residential sector as consumers find a heated inclination toward smart and connected products. Vendors in the market are taking to products which can be managed and controlled with a few touches on the consumers smartphone. Commercial dryers could gain traction as manufacturers introduce heat pump technology in the wake of energy consumption rising to an alarming level. Moreover, government initiatives to support controlled energy consumption, digitalization, and a large demand in developing economies are expected to add to the growth of the market.The segmentation part of the report presented here could include an expert analysis on the basis of important classification groups such as capacity, technology, product, application, and end use. Commercial laundry equipment are envisaged to appeal to government, hospital, and hospitality sectors with outsourcing deemed as a powerful trend of growth.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The publication compiled on the global washing machine market sheds light on the critical factors of growth, market opportunities, restraints, market value chain, and more aspects to help analyze the industry at a professional level. Report buyers can access a customized evaluation of the global market to take confident strides toward a realistic growth.Global Washing Machine Market: Trends and OpportunitiesAs a result of the advent of innovative solutions in the laundry sector, the commercial washing machine market is expected to accept a transition. This could push the need for increased automation in laundry services, which is foreseen to prepare a fine ground for the global washing machine market to build on a robust growth. One of the notable revolutions in the laundry sector is the shift from coin laundries to card-based or digital laundry payment services. As a favorable consequence, the demand for smart connected washing machines is foretold to intensify even more with swiftly changing lifestyle of consumers and mushrooming preference for convenience.For the forecast period, the international washing machine market could invite an optimistic impact as newer technologies take precedence to address the demand for water and power efficient, next generation products. In order to control the consumption of energy, governments especially in North America are asking consumers to prefer energy-efficient appliances with smart grids. This is foreseen to aggravate the manufacturing efforts to develop technologically sophisticated products.Request TOC of the Report @Global Washing Machine Market: Regional OutlookThe regional demand in the international washing machine market is predicted to augment with the rising preference for smart connected and fully automatic products in the developing countries of Vietnam, India, and Indonesia. The demand is anticipated to swell further as the populations in these countries falling under the middle-income bracket see a rise. The washing machine market in China could experience a high level of penetration of different types of products, thus allowing the market to increase its growth. In 2015, Asia Pacific took hold of a whopping share in the global washing machine market.North America is forecasted to not fall behind by much distance from Asia Pacific, owing to the rising want for smart washing machine to replace their traditional counterparts. In the U.S., the demand has grown dramatically with the elevating awareness of products bearing the ENERGY STAR certification.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Global Washing Machine Market: Companies MentionedMost manufacturers in the world washing machine market are counting on the formulation of holistic distribution mediums with a view to widen their clientele base. Some of the interesting strategies adopted by the top vendors in the global market are substantial focus on supply chain management through vital investments and improvement of product assortments. Among others, Electrolux AB, LG Electronics Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Whirlpool Corporation are deemed to be the leading players in the market.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 research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Mud Pumps Sales Market Set For Expansive Growth By 2021

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In this report, the global Mud Pumps 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 global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Mud Pumps for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited States China Europe Japan Southeast Asia IndiaGlobal Mud Pumps market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Mud Pumps sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingMetso Weir Group ITT Goulds Pumps Grundfos Flowserve KSB Tsurumi Pump EBARA PumpsXylem Shijiazhuang Industrial Pump Shijiazhuang Kingda Pump LEO Group Excellence Pump IndustrySchurco SlurryTo Receive a Sample Copy of Global Mud Pumps Sales Market @On 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 intoDuplex Mud Pumps Triplex Mud Pumps Hex Pumps OtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Mud Pumps for each application, includingOil Drilling Industry Building Industry OthersBuy a Copy of Global Mud Pumps Sales Market for single user price of $ 4000@Key Chapters1 Mud Pumps Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Mud Pumps1.2 Classification of Mud Pumps by Product Category1.2.1 Global Mud Pumps Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Mud Pumps Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Duplex Mud Pumps1.2.4 Triplex Mud Pumps1.2.5 Hex Pumps1.2.6 Other2 Global Mud Pumps Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Mud Pumps Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Mud Pumps Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Mud Pumps Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Mud Pumps (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Mud Pumps Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Global Mud Pumps Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Global Mud Pumps (Volume and Value) by Region3 United States Mud Pumps (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Mud Pumps Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 United States Mud Pumps Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 United States Mud Pumps Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 United States Mud Pumps Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 United States Mud Pumps Sales Volume and Market Share by Players3.3 United States Mud Pumps Sales Volume and Market Share by TypeTo 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,S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1,Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
Micro Perforated Films For Packaging Market Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment.

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In terms of value and volume, the wraps/rolls segment dominated the global micro perforated films for packaging market in 2016. The segment is estimated to account for close to 50% share of the global micro perforated films for packaging market by the end of 2026 due to rise in usage of wraps as a convenient source of packaging. The segment is expected to be valued at more than US$ 550 Mn in 2017 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 5.5%. The segment is stated to account for more than US$ 900 Mn by the end of 2026. The wraps/rolls segment is estimated to create an incremental opportunity of close to US$ 400 Mn and expand 1.7X between 2016 and 2026.Request Sample Report :Rapid growth of the retail sector and increase in food delivery services are factors likely to fuel the growth of the wraps/rolls segmentIt has been observed that the number of retail outlets such as supermarkets, hyper markets and local stores has increased across the globe over the past few years. The changing lifestyle of people and rapid urbanisation are responsible for the significant growth of the retail and FMCG sector in emerging economies such as the Asia Pacific. Increasing per capita disposable income further helps in boosting the retail sector growth across the globe. All these factors are expected to make a positive impact on the consumption of food products that require wrap/rolls packaging, thus appreciably increasing demand in the wraps/rolls segment over the forecasted period. Shelf life is a crucial decisive factor for end users while selecting packaging films and corresponding compatible equipment. Wraps/rolls packaging enables micro perforated films packaging producers, co-packers and retailers to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, bakery and confectionary, frozen food and ready-to-eat food, and creates ample opportunities for industries to amplify the market share. Micro perforated films also render a visual appeal to the products, which in turn attracts customers. Even a small increase in shelf life, specifically in meat products, is a valuable proposition for engaged industry participants and creates a substantial opportunity for companies to enhance their market footprint, which in turn is likely to fuel the growth of the wraps/rolls segment.Demand for packaged food and beverages has been on the rise owing to consumers getting attracted to features such as portability, single handed use and easy opening property of the product. The use of micro perforated films, which are considered as an economical and convenient method of packaging is expected to grow rapidly over the forecast period owing to customer convenience. Consumers are mainly preferring wraps for packaging as they can be easily opened and closed, which is convenient when it comes to ready-to-eat food and bakery products. This factor is expected to create a positive impact on the wraps/rolls segment over the projected period. Over the past few years consumers are preferring more ready-to-eat and takeaway food, owing to changes in their lifestyle, increase in per capita disposable income and rapid urbanisation in emerging economies. In addition, habits of food consumption of customers have changed rapidly owing to corporate work culture and industrialisation. These changes are observed in emerging economies where more number of food outlets and online food delivery services have mushroomed over the years. Consumers prefer their food products to stay hygienic for a longer period of time; as a result, there is a rising demand for wraps/rolls.Browse Full Report With TOC :Wrap/rolls segment is anticipated to register the highest CAGR in the APEJ micro perforated films for packaging market during the period of assessmentIn Latin America, the wraps/rolls segment is expected to be valued in excess of US$ 50 Mn in 2017, expanding at a CAGR of 5.6% over the predicted period. In the APEJ regional market, the segment is estimated to expand at 5.9% CAGR and is likely to account for more than US$ 120 Mn in 2017. In Japan, the segment is anticipated to grab close to 50% market share during 2016-2026. The wraps/rolls segment has better potential during the forecast period in the MEA micro perforated films for packaging market and it is likely to reach more than US$ 60 Mn by the end of 2026.Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.State Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comGoogle+:Linked in:Twitter:
Global Food Color fixative Market Research Report 2017

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Food Color fixative Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.This report presents a comprehensive analysis and forecast of the Food Color fixative market on a global level to help readers understand the market thoroughly. The drivers and restraints governing the dynamics of the global Food Color fixative market along with their impact have been assessed in the report. This information is designed to help market players gain a clear idea about leading trends in the current market scenario. Various economic factors predicted to affect the demand and supply chain of the global Food Color fixative market are also highlighted in this report. The report sheds light on the market shares of the leading manufacturers and detailed industry structure. It also discusses the current market trends, growth opportunities, and key strategies increasing the popularity of the global Food Color fixative market.The publication presents a market attractiveness analysis for all the regions and segments in the scope of the study, comparing market attractiveness on the basis of market share index and CAGR. The study also includes a section on the competitive landscape, which includes market share analysis and competition matrix of major players in the global Food Color fixative market based on their revenues. The report provides a detail assessment of regulatory policies that may influence the global Food Color fixative market in the coming years.For more information on this report, fill the form @The leading players in the global Food Color fixative market have been profiled in detail, discussing details such as business strategies, company and financial overview, SWOT analysis, market revenues, and recent developments. On the basis of various parameters the contribution of leading companies have been assessed and presented in the report. The publication discusses current status of companies and also analyzes their growth in the near future. The report also serves as a crucial tool for enterprises looking to invest in the industry.Table of Contents1 Food Color fixative Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Food Color fixative1.2 Food Color fixative Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Food Color fixative Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Food Color fixative Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Potassium Nitrate1.2.4 Potassium Nitrite1.2.5 Sodium Nitrate1.2.6 Sodium Nitrite1.3 Global Food Color fixative Segment by Application1.3.1 Food Color fixative Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Beverages1.3.3 Bakery & Confectionery1.3.4 Meat Products1.3.5 Others1.4 Global Food Color fixative Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Food Color fixative Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)Browse Press Release of this Research Report:2 Global Food Color fixative Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Food Color fixative Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Food Color fixative Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Food Color fixative Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Food Color fixative Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Food Color fixative Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Food Color fixative Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Food Color fixative Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Food Color fixative Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Food Color fixative Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Food Color fixative Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Food Color fixative Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Food Color fixative Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Southeast Asia Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Food Color fixative Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Food Color fixative Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Food Color fixative Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Food Color fixative Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Food Color fixative Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Food Color fixative Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Food Color fixative Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Food Color fixative Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Food Color fixative Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Food Color fixative Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Food Color fixative Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Food Color fixative Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Food Color fixative Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Food Color fixative Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Food Color fixative Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Food Color fixative Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/Countries7 Global Food Color fixative Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Chr.Hansen7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Food Color fixative Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Chr.Hansen Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Danisco7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Food Color fixative Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Danisco Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Conserves Cabanon7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Food Color fixative Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Conserves Cabanon Food Color fixative Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business OverviewQYReseachReports.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.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States
Battlefield Management Systems Market Value Share, Supply Demand, share and Value Chain 2014-2020

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Battlefield management systems provide accurate real-time information to military unit for effective decision making. These systems integrate information acquisition and processing to improve control and command of a military unit. Battlefield management systems (BMS) enable absolute situational awareness by efficiently displaying vital data to the field commander. This system offer integrated COP (common operating picture) with the help of collaborative planning tools. This helps tactical commanders to take knowledge based and responsive decisions and implement highly efficient control over operations in fluid and dynamic battlefield.The BMS aid soldiers in performing their tasks by displaying the command and control (C2) information related to different plan overlays, enemy troops, own troops and terrain features. In order to provide such data BMS consist of highly advanced hardware components and enhanced software. The main building blocks for battlefield management systems are a computer and touch screen. Keyboard is also incorporated in order to enter textual information into the BMS. BMS stations are connected to global positioning system receiver to obtain information regarding the present location. Sensors such as laser range finder can also incorporated in order to enhance the performance. BMS employ combat net radio communication for the distribution of information. However, LAN (local area network) and wireless LAN can also be used in more static environments.Request For Report Sample@Foremost component in success of military operation is the capability to translate intelligence data into an information benefit that can be leveraged on the combat zone. In such a case BMS enable evaluation, real-time situational awareness and planning and eases implementation and orders of executive actions. It provides accurate information, virtual reconnaissance, flexible communications and dynamic situational awareness to the battlefield. It also improves operational tempo, intelligence surveillance, co-ordination, navigation, logistics management and alerts.BMS is highly mobile tactical control and command information system. It is integrated with decision making tools, weapon platforms and sensors. It also includes hand-held or wearable information systems with individual commander or soldiers and vehicle mounted information system. These are integrated via data enabled communication networks. BMS include several platforms such as air, land and naval platforms. Battlefield management systems consists of different subsystems including networking system and infrastructure-less communication, database server, application server, relational database management system, compute platforms, integrated GIS and GPS embedded systems. Trackers used in BMS are handheld systems provide individual dismounted soldiers accurate communication, precise information and tools to execute particular mission. Integrator used in BMS is a configuration that offers functionality of tracker with the extension of numerous operator capabilities and sensors. It has a server and several connected workstations. Integrator can be design for mobile and fixed applications.Visit For TOC@Rising need to reduce friendly fire, improve military troop efficiency and security of military troops worldwide are some of the factors supporting the growth of BMS market. However, development of battlefield management systems offers several challenges in terms of interoperability, training, functionality, man machine interface, data communication and training.Some of the major players in battlefield management systems market include Rockwell Collins, Inc., General Dynamics Corporation, Saab Group, Harris Corporation, BAE Systems, L-3 Communications Corporation, Thales Group and Exelis Inc. among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
UAV Software Market 2017 New Investment Projects Review

ReportsWeb

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http://www.reportsweb.com/global-uav-software-market-professional-survey-report-2017

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ReportsWeb Market Research Released a New Research Report of 113 pages on Title Global UAV Software Market Professional Survey Report 2017 with detailed Analysis, Forecast and Strategies.This report studies UAV Software in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022. This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering Airware, 3D Robotics, Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Dreamhammer, Drone Volt, DroneDeploy, Esri, Qualcomm, Delair-Tech, Pix4D SA, PrecisionHawk, SenseFly, Skyward IO and Thales.Get free sample copy of report atBy types, the market can be split into Desktop Software, App-Based Software and Other. By Application, the market can be split into Military and Commercial. By Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want) North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India.Browse complete report atTable of Content1 Industry Overview of UAV Software2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of UAV Software3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of UAV Software4 Global UAV Software Overall Market Overview5 UAV Software Regional Market Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E UAV Software Segment Market Analysis (by Type)7 Global 2012-2017E UAV Software Segment Market Analysis (by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of UAV Software8.1 Airware8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.2.1 Product A8.1.2.2 Product B8.1.3 Airware 2016 UAV Software Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 Airware 2016 UAV Software Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 3D Robotics8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.2.1 Product A8.2.2.2 Product B8.2.3 3D Robotics 2016 UAV Software Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 3D Robotics 2016 UAV Software Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 Lockheed Martin8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.2.1 Product A8.3.2.2 Product B8.3.3 Lockheed Martin 2016 UAV Software Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 Lockheed Martin 2016 UAV Software Business Region Distribution Analysis9 Development Trend of Analysis of UAV Software Market10 UAV Software Marketing Type Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of UAV SoftwareGet discount on Purchase report atList of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of UAV SoftwareTable Product Specifications of UAV SoftwareTable Classification of UAV SoftwareFigure Global Production Market Share of UAV Software by Type in 2016Figure Desktop Software PictureTable Major Manufacturers of Desktop SoftwareFigure App-Based Software PictureTable Major Manufacturers of App-Based SoftwareFigure Other PictureTable Major Manufacturers of OtherTable Applications of UAV SoftwareFigure Global Consumption Volume Market Share of UAV Software by Application in 2016Figure Military ExamplesTable Major Consumers of MilitaryFigure Commercial ExamplesTable Major Consumers of CommercialFigure Market Share of UAV Software by RegionsFigure North America UAV Software Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2022)Figure China UAV Software Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2022)Figure Europe UAV Software Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2022)Figure Southeast Asia UAV Software Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2022)Figure Japan UAV Software Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2022)Figure India UAV Software Market Size (Million USD) (2012-2022)Table UAV Software Raw Material and SuppliersTable Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of UAV Software in 2016Figure Manufacturing Process Analysis of UAV SoftwareFigure Industry Chain Structure of UAV SoftwareTable Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global UAV Software Major Manufacturers in 2016Table Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global UAV Software Major Manufacturers in 2016Table R&D Status and Technology Source of Global UAV Software Major Manufacturers in 2016Contact 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 Coffee Roasters Sales Market Report Forecast 2017-2022

Coffee Roasters

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Report Hive Market Research Released a New Research Report of 135 pages on Title "Global Coffee Roasters Sales Market Report Forecast 2017-2022" with detailed Analysis, Forecast and Strategies.Stumptown Coffee Roasters is an espresso roaster and retailer situated in Portland, Oregon, United States. The chain's lead bistro and roastery on SE 45th and Division opened in 1999. Three different bistros, a roastery and a tasting attach have since opened in Portland and in addition two areas in Seattle, two in New York, one in Los Angeles, and one in New Orleans. In August 2012, the organization moved its home office to a working in Portland's Central Eastside Industrial District. On October 6, 2015 it was declared that Peet's Coffee was purchasing Stumptown. Peet's Coffee is itself a piece of JAB Holding Company of Luxembourg, proprietors of espresso organizations Caribou and Jacobs Douwe Egberts, and in addition extravagance brands, for example, Jimmy Choo. It is normal that Stumptown will profit by Peet's mastery at coordinations as the organization becomes bigger.For More Information Request Research Sample: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.The study is a source of reliable data on:Key market segments and sub-segmentsEvolving market trends and dynamicsChanging supply and demand scenariosQuantifying market opportunities through market sizing and market forecastingTracking current trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive insightsOpportunity mapping in terms of technological breakthroughsThis research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report include:North AmericaChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaThe Major players reported in the market include:PROBATDiedrichPetronciniLillaTzulinGiesenJoperToperYANG-CHIALORINGYOU-WEIJin Yi RunAmbexUS Roaster CorpYinong...Product Segment Analysis:Type 1Type 2Type 3Application Segment Analysis:Application 1Application 2Application 3Reasons 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 analysis of major market segmentsBrowse Full Report:Key questions answered in the report What will the market size and the growth rate be in 2022? What are the key factors driving Coffee Roasters? What are the key market trends impacting the growth of Coffee Roasters? 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 vendors in Coffee Roasters? Trending factors influencing the market shares of the Americas, APAC, and EMEA? What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of Coffee Roasters?We are a leading repository of market research reports and solutions catering to industries like Comm & Technology, Energy & Power, Food And Beverages, Automotive & Transportation, Healthcare & Life Science etc. This large collection of reports assists organizations in decision-making on aspects such as market entry strategies, market sizing, market share analysis, competitive analysis, product portfolio analysis and opportunity analysis among others. We also assist in determining the best suited and targeted report from our large repository of global reports, company-specific reports and country-level reports.Mike RossMarketing Managermike.ross@reporthive.comPhone: +1 312-604-7084Sainath Nagar, Vadgaon Sheri,Pune, Maharashtra 411014
Pediatric Ultrasound Market to Witness Comprehensive Growth by 2025

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Global Pediatric Ultrasound Market: OverviewPediatric ultrasound imaging, also called pediatric sonography, is one of the standard imaging techniques used across a variety of healthcare facilities to scan different parts of body of children to diagnose and treat a number of medical conditions. The noninvasive and safe nature of the imaging technique is significantly used to evaluate and examine a variety of conditions and is witnessing a steady rise in demand across the globe owing to a significant rise in several diseases affecting children.This report on the global pediatric ultrasound market presents a detailed overview of the present growth dynamics of the market and an analytical overview of the key factors expected to exert a significant impact on the overall development of the market over the period 2017-2025.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Pediatric Ultrasound Market: Trends and OpportunitiesA host of factors are leading to the increased demand for pediatric ultrasound devices in the global market, including the significant rise in prevalence of a number of pediatric diseases, the resultant rise in demand for increased number of diagnostic procedures, and the increased consciousness among parents about the need for early diagnosis of pediatric diseases. The low threat of exposure to harmful radiations as compared to other popular imaging techniques and technological advancements in the field of pediatric ultrasound are also expected to drive the market.Additionally, vast untapped growth opportunities in developing and less-developed economies are also expected to drive the market for pediatric ultrasounds in the next few years. However, the markets growth is expected to be restrained to a certain extent owing to the thriving industry of refurbished medical devices, limited availability of skilled resources, and some inherent limitations of the ultrasound technology that restrict their scope of use.Request TOC of the Report @Global Pediatric Ultrasound Market: Geographical AnalysisFrom a geographical perspective, the report examines the global pediatric ultrasound market across regions such as Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. Of these, the markets across developed regions such as North America and Europe are amongst the top revenue-grossers for the global market. The high prevalence of pediatric chronic heart diseases, high awareness among parents about children health, and technologically advanced healthcare infrastructures in these regions are the key factors driving the pediatric ultrasound market.Over the reports forecast period, however, the market for pediatric ultrasound in Asia Pacific is expected to exhibit growth at the most promising pace, chiefly owing to the increased focus of government bodies on modernization of healthcare infrastructures and rising expenditure on healthcare and fitness. With the presence of some of the worlds leading medical device manufacturers such as Hitachi and Toshiba, Japan dominates the Asia Pacific pediatric ultrasound market.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Global Pediatric Ultrasound Market: Competitive OverviewThe vendor landscape of the global pediatric ultrasound market features intense competition in terms of product pricing and product features. The rising demand for portable and handheld systems has compelled leading vendors to focus on this niche segment of the market to reap sustainable returns. Futuristic technologies such as 3D and 4D ultrasound devices are also gaining increasing acceptance across developed regional markets as well as developing regional markets, a trend that could result in excellent growth opportunities for vendors wanting to venture into the pediatric ultrasound market.Some of the leading companies contributing to the development of the global pediatric ultrasound market are Toshiba Medical System Corporation, Boston Scientific, Agfa-Gevaert NV, Hitachi Medical Corporation, Esaote SpA, General Electric Company, Fujifilm Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Samsung Medison Co. Ltd., Mindray Medical International Limited, GE Healthcare, and Siemens Healthcare.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 research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Industrial Gases Market 2017-2021: Globally Growing At CAGR 6.19%, Significant Forecast, Trends And Opportunity

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"The Latest Research Report Industrial Gases Market in Europe 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Industrial Gases MarketIndustrial gases are a group of elemental and chemical gases (inorganic or organic) that are used for industrial applications. These gases usually have low molecular weight. They possess diverse physical and chemical properties that are expanding their applicability in new end-uses, as well as the existing field of end-uses. The market encompasses the mode of distribution of industrial gases in Europe, including packaged, merchant, and tonnage, to end-use industries such as manufacturing, chemical processing, metallurgy, medical and healthcare, food and beverage, refining, electronics, and others.Technavios analysts forecast the industrial gases market in Europe to grow at a CAGR of 6.19% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the industrial gases market in Europe for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the sales of industrial gases through the three supply modes (packaged, merchant, and tonnage) to various end-use industries. The market estimates exclude sales of gas equipment, power generation, liquefied petroleum gas, and natural gas businesses.The market is divided into the cities based on geography:GermanyFranceScandinaviaSpainPoland, and othersTechnavio's report, Industrial Gases Market in Europe 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.Get Sample Copy of this report @Key vendorsAir LiquideAir Products and ChemicalsMesserThe Linde GroupPraxairOther prominent vendorsChart IndustriesIwataniOknal Industrial & Medical GasesSOLTAIYO NIPPON SANSOWestfalen Group (SERgroup Holding International)Market driverConversion of captive production facilities to on-site manufacturing facilitiesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeProduction of industrial gases is energy intensiveFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendVulnerable European refinery sectorFor a full, detailed list, view our reportView Report @Key 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?You can request one free hour of our analysts time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Research MethodologyPART 04: IntroductionOutlookClassification of gasesManufacturing of industrial gasesModes of production of various industrial gasesMode of distributionPART 05: Market landscapeIndustrial gases market in EuropeFive forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by distribution modeIndustrial gases market in Europe by distribution modeIndustrial gases market in Europe by packaged distribution modeIndustrial gases market in Europe by merchant distribution modeIndustrial gases market in Europe by tonnage distribution modePART 07: Market segmentation by end-useIndustrial gases market in Europe by end-useIndustrial gases market in Europe for manufacturing sectorIndustrial gases market in Europe for chemical processing sectorIndustrial gases market in Europe for metallurgy sectorIndustrial gases market in Europe for medical and healthcare sectorIndustrial gases market in Europe market for food and beverage sectorIndustrial gases market in Europe for refining sectorIndustrial gases market in Europe market for electronics sectorIndustrial gases market in Europe for other end-use sectorsPART 08: Market segmentation by countryIndustrial gases market in Europe by countryIndustrial gases market in GermanyIndustrial gases market in FranceIndustrial gases market in ScandinaviaIndustrial gases market in SpainIndustrial gases market in PolandIndustrial gases market in other European countriesPART 09: Decision frameworkPART 10: Drivers and challengesMarket driversMarket challengesPART 11: Market trendsVulnerable European refinery sectorAdditive manufacturing gaining popularityIncreasing use of nitrogen in oil and gas sectorPART 12: Vendor landscapeCompetitive scenarioKey market vendorsOther prominent vendorsPART 13: Key vendor analysisAir LiquideAir Products and ChemicalsMesserPraxairThe Linde GroupMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market size and forecast, 2016-2026

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Industrial operational intelligence is a business analytics and real time dynamic solution that provides greater insights and visibility for businesses. Operational intelligence is used by organisations for real time capabilities to take immediate decisions like stopping any business process or making changes in any traditional systems. Operational intelligence helps in improving and analysing business data through understanding the information related to shortfalls and finding simple ways of responding to any issues. Operational intelligence is simple and easy to be managed by skilled professionals. It helps to acquire information on financial performance of industries and enterprises, thus it has become a major trend in financial services sector. Another major trend observed in operational intelligence is adoption of mobile tools for its operations. Thus in short operational intelligence automated the process of decision making that eliminates delays in process, and improves market responses and decision making. The industrial operational intelligence solutions market is anticipated to expand at a modest CAGR in the forecast period.Global Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market  Drivers and RestrainsFocus of companies to improve market responses and performance as well as the necessity to upgrade their processes are the major driving factors for the growth of global industrial operational intelligence solutions market. The ever increasing automobile and other manufacturing industries and their need to reduce the delays in decision making, automatic decision and real time access to the information are some factors that would bolster the global industrial operational intelligence solutions market.However, skilled professionals are required to operate the operational intelligence solutions and also they need to be trained for its handling and these can slowdown the growth of global industrial operational intelligence solutions market. Also the initial cost of operational intelligence solutions is very high and can act as a restraining factor for operational intelligence market.Request Report Sample@Global Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market  SegmentsOn the basis of types, global industrial operational intelligence solutions market can be segmented as follows:Enterprise Manufacturing Operational IntelligenceEnterprise Operational Intelligence SoftwareIT Service IntelligenceEnterprise SecurityOn the basis of applications, global industrial operational intelligence solutions market can be segmented as follows:Supply chain and logisticsAssembly line quality assurancePreventive maintenanceExploration & production optimisationSmart meter analysisOn the basis of end-use industry, global industrial operational intelligence solutions market can be segmented as follows:AutomobilesFood & BeveragesElectronicsLogisticsOil & GasAviationRequest For TOC@Global Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market  Region Wise OutlookThe global industrial operational intelligence solutions market can be divided into seven regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan and Middle East and Africa. North America is anticipated to be the leader in the global operational intelligence solutions market owing to its services and other flourishing industries particularly in the countries of US and Canada. Asia Pacific is expected to be the next major region in global operational intelligence solutions market because of the upcoming food & beverages sector, electronics and logistics industries. China and India and supposed to be the countries in this region having major applications of operational intelligence solutions. Europe also contributes significantly in the global industrial operational intelligence solutions market due to its dominance in automobiles market and leadership in meat market. Latin America and Middle East and Africa are at a nascent stage and are projected to have a modest CAGR in the forecast period.Global Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market  Key PlayersSome of the key players in the global industrial operational intelligence solutions market are:APRISOIFSMapR Technologies, IncSiemens AGARC Advisory GroupAB&R (American Barcode and RFID)Flexeye LtdSplunk CorpStarview Inc.Vitria Technology IncABOUT 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:
Global Online Childrens and Maternity Apparel Market 2017-2021: Industry Analysis, Trends, Market Demands, Segment And Forecast

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"The Latest Research Report Online Childrens and Maternity Apparel Market in MENA 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Online Childrens and Maternity Apparel MarketChildren's apparel is meant for children in the age group 0-14 years. Maternity apparel is for expecting mothers. Children's apparel includes tops, bottoms, dresses, and others and maternity apparel includes tops, bottoms, innerwear and intimate wear, dresses, and others.Technavios analysts forecast the online children's and maternity apparel market in MENA to grow at a CAGR of 10.07% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the online children's and maternity apparel market in MENA for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers value sales of apparel products.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AlgeriaBahrainEgyptIranIsraelKuwaitOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaUAEGet Sample Copy of this report @Technavio's report, Online Children's and Maternity Apparel Market in MENA 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 vendorsAliExpress.comAmazon.comJumia.comNamshiSouq.comOther prominent vendorsBamiloCarter'sDigikala.comDisneyeBayKeringLEBELIKMumzworld - Online Baby ShopNikeMarket driverIncreasing product awarenessFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeLack of advertising, marketing, and promotional campaignsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportView Report @Market trendDemand for high-quality, comfortable, and stylish maternity clothingFor 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?You can request one free hour of our analysts time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.Table of ContentsExecutive summaryScope of the reportResearch MethodologyIntroductionEconomic overview of MENAMarket outlookMarket outlineMarket landscapeMarket overviewMarket size and forecastFive forces analysisMarket segmentation by applicationOnline children's and maternity apparel market in MENA by applicationChildren's apparelMaternity apparelMarket segmentation by age groupOnline children's and maternity apparel market in MENA by age groupInfantsToddlersRest of the childrenMaternityMarket segmentation by price rangeOnline children's and maternity apparel market in MENA by price rangeMass categoryMid-range categoryPremium categoryUltra-premium categoryKey leading countriesSaudi ArabiaEgyptUAEIranAlgeriaIsraelDecision frameworkDrivers and challengesMarket driversMarket challengesMarket trendsIncreasing demand for eco-friendly maternity clothesDemand for high-quality, comfortable, and stylish maternity clothingAvailability of top brands online and preference for omnichannel retailProduct differentiation and personalizationOther trendsVendor landscapeCompetitive scenarioComparative analysis of the key vendorsKey vendor analysisAliExpress.comAmazon.comJumia.comNamshiSouq.comOther prominent vendorsAppendixMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
#first lady First lady meets with family of additional victim of Itaewon tragedy First lady Kim Keon-hee on Thursday visited a hospital in Seoul to meet with the family of a soldier who was pronounced brain dead the previous day after being injured in the Itaew...

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Global Packaging Market Analysis To Grow At CAGR Of 5.57% Over period 2017-2021

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"The Latest Research Report Packaging Market in North America 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Packaging MarketPackaging refers to the technology of enclosing a product for the purpose of storage, distribution, sales, and use. Products can be packaged using paper, glass, plastic and metal. These packaging products are required to be lightweight, durable, re-sealable, and easily disposable. There is an increase in demand for functional, pre-packaged, and convenient food products. This also boosts the demand for microwavable packaging.Technavios analysts forecast the packaging market in north america to grow at a CAGR of 5.57% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the packaging market in north america for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers end-users such as food, beverage, personal care, healthcare and consumer care goods.Technavio's report, Packaging Market in North America 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.Get Sample Copy of this report @Key vendorsAmcorAmerican PackagingMondiInternational PaperBemisOther prominent vendorsSonocoMontebello PackagingCTL PackagingInternational PlasticsVisiPakAlltubCarolina Retail PackagingNeopacProtective Packaging Corp.Accredo PackagingContainer & Packaging SupplyTranscendiaMarket driverExpansion of the e-commerce marketFor a full, detailed list, view our reportView Report @Market challengeStrict government regulationsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendValue-added packagingFor 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?You can request one free hour of our analysts time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.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: Market segmentation by materialPackaging market in North America by materialBoard packaging market in North AmericaRigid plastics packaging market in North AmericaMetal packaging market in North AmericaFlexible Packaging market in North AmericaGlass packaging market in North AmericaPART 07: Market segmentation by end-userMarket segmentation by end-use applicationsFood packagingBeverage packagingHealthcare packagingPersonal care packagingOther consumer packagingPART 08: Decision frameworkPART 09: Drivers and challengesMarket driversMarket challengesPART 10: Market trendsValue-added packagingExploration in the field of 3D printingMarket consolidation and amalgamationNext generation packagingPART 11: Vendor landscapeCompetitive scenarioAmcorAmerican PackagingMondiInternational PaperBemisOther prominent vendorsMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector Market 2017 : Flir Systems, Texas Instruments, Sofradir, Infra TEC GmbH

Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector

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A market study based on the "Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This Research ReportExcelitas TechnologiesNippon CeramicHamamatsu PhotonicMurata ManufacturingFlir SystemsTexas InstrumentsSofradirInfra TEC GmbHThe report studies the industry for Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector market & dynamics of demand and supply of Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector into consideration. The 'Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector' research study covers each and every aspect of the Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector market globally, which starts from the definition of the Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector industry and develops towards Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector market. The geographical segmentation of the Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector market worldwide.Enquire Here :The global Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector production volume, data regarding demand and Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector 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 Thermopile Microbolometer Infrared Detector 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
Self-Service Kiosk Market Analysis- Opportunities Sales, Revenue, Gross Margin, Outlook And Forecast To 2022

Self-Service Kiosk Market

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Self-Service Kiosk is a small physical structure (often including a computer and a display screen) that displays information for people walking by. Kiosks are common near the entrances of shopping malls in North America where they provide shoppers with directions. Kiosks are also used at trade shows and professional conferences.`Get a Sample of Self-service Kiosk Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Self-service Kiosk 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 covers:NCR, Diebold Nixdorf, Fuji Electric, Hitachi, Crane, SandenVendo, N&W Global Vending, SielaffMarket 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)Browse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Self-service Kiosk Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers:Indoor Kiosk, Outdoor KioskMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Retail, Financial services, Hospitality, Public Sector, Travel, Food industry, Other applicationsThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Self-service Kiosk market.Chapter 1, to describe Self-service Kiosk Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Self-service Kiosk, with sales, revenue, and price of Self-service Kiosk, 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 Self-service Kiosk, 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, Self-service Kiosk market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Self-service Kiosk sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Self-service Kiosk Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Indoor Kiosk1.2.2 Outdoor Kiosk1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Retail1.3.2 Financial services1.3.3 Hospitality1.3.4 Public Sector1.3.5 Travel1.3.6 Food industry1.3.1 Other applications1.4 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) ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 117Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480GIR 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.+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs-
Thermal Management Technologies Market to Register Steady Growth During 2017 - 2025

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Global Thermal Management Technologies Market: SnapshotThe electronics industry has witnessed a sea change in terms of underpinning technologies and the way they are integrated in the past couple of years. In most cases, this has upped the total power consumed by the devices which seem to be getting smaller by the day. This has necessitated heat density management through the development of effective heat management technologies.At present, high-performance heat spreader systems that leverage multi-phase cooling in place of alloy-based heat spreaders is one of the most researched areas in the field of thermal management technologies. There is also substantial ongoing research in fabrication or discovery of structures and materials capable of providing notable decline in the thermal resistance of the thermal interface layer between the back layers of electronic devices, which could be a heatsink.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The global thermal management technologies market is choc-a-bloc with players and no single player enjoys dominance over the market. From a geographical standpoint, Asia Pacific is the primary contributor to the revenue in the market on account of the presence of some of the global electronic majors in nations such as Japan, South Korea, and China. Europe is another key market owing to a robust electronic manufacturing and research and development facilities in nations of Germany and the US. The EU regulations requiring the use of thermal interface in electronic devices is also said to be driving the market in the continent. Add to that increasing concerns about the rising ranks of discerning consumers about the environment and what you have is further focus on the development of environment-friendly heat management materials.Global Thermal Management Technologies Market: OverviewThe electronics industry has seen significant enhancements in technologies, system integration, and fundamental materials used to manufacture elemental structures in the past few years. This has led to a rapid rise in the total power consumed by the device, which, in several cases, are seeing a rapid reduction in size. Supplying high power to such devices, with electronic parts crammed in small packages, make the issue of heat density management even worse for the industry. This has increased the industrys focus on the development of efficient heat management technologies.Request TOC of the Report @This report on the global thermal management technologies market covers the state of research and development activities undertaken in this area and their influence on the electronics industry as seen in the past few years. A detailed overview of the thermal management technologies markets present growth dynamics and several forward-looking statements predicting the growth prospects of the market and its key segments over the period between 2017 and 2025.Global Thermal Management Technologies Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe development of high-performance heat spreader systems which use multi-phase cooling in place of alloy-based heat spreaders in conventional systems is presently one of the most researched areas in the field of thermal management technologies. Research efforts in the area so far have led to the development of technologies such as cold plates, jet impingement, and heat vapor chambers. Research is also underway in fabrication/discovery of structures and materials capable of providing notable decline in the thermal resistance of the thermal interface layer between the back layers of electronic devices, which could be a heatsink.Of the key components of a typical thermal management solution, namely thermal management hardware, thermal management interface product, thermal management software, and thermal management substrates, the hardware segment is presently the leading contributor of revenue to the global market. The rising demand for compact microprocessors is expected to enable the hardware segment lead over the next few years as well.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@The segment of thermal management interfaces is also expected to see demand rise at a promising incremental pace over the reports forecast period. The rising implementation of thermal management interfaces in automated machineries and portable and miniaturized computing devices such as smartphones and tablet computers will be the key to healthy growth prospects of the thermal management interface segment.Global Thermal Management Technologies Market: Geographical and Competitive DynamicsFrom a geographic perspective, the report presents an analytical overview of the thermal management technologies market for regional markets such as North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East and Africa. Of these, Asia Pacific is expected to be the leading contributor of revenue to the global market over the forecast period. The presence of some of the worlds leading electronic companies in countries such as South Korea, China, and Japan will further strengthen the demand prospects for thermal management technologies in the region over the forecast period.Europe, with the large number of electronic manufacturing and R&D facilities in countries such as the UK and Germany, is also expected to see a rise in use of thermal management technologies in the near future. The Europe market is also expected to thrive due to stringent EU regulations necessitating the use of thermal interface in electronic devices. The heightened consumer awareness about environment sustenance is expected to lead to an increased focus on the development of environment-friendly heat management materials in the near future.It has been found that the global thermal management technologies market features an exceedingly fragmented competitive landscape, wherein no leading player accounts for a major share in the global markets revenue- or value-wise valuation. Some of the markets leading players are Honeywell International, LairdTech, Alcatel-Lucent, Pentair Thermal Management, Thermacore, Heatex, Aavid Thermalloy, Advanced Cooling Technologies, Thermal Management Technologies, Sapa Group, and Honeywell International.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 research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Rat Model Market: Global Rat Model Will Hit USD 684.4 Million by 2021

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Zion Market Research has published a new report titled Rat Model Market By Type (Outbred, Conditioned, Knockout and Others) By Technology (Embryonic Stem Cells, Microinjection and Others) By Service (Breeding, Quarantine, Cryopreservation and Others) By Application (Toxicology, Oncology, CNS, Immunology and Inflammation, Diabetes and Other Diseases): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2015  2021. According to the report, the global rat model market accounted for USD 391.7 Million in 2015 and is expected to reach USD 684.4 Million by 2021, growing at a CAGR of around 9.7% between 2016 and 2021.A rat model has been used frequently in drug development, toxicology and various biomedical fields, including carcinogenicity testing. Ongoing research for the development of treatment on neurology disorder and cancer coupled with the emergence of transgenic rat models is expected to fuel the demand of rat models in coming years. In addition, advancement in bioinformatics that leads the development of tools and software for analysis of data generated after pre-clinical research using rat models is anticipated to boost the growth of this market in coming years. However, rising concern about animal cruelty, ethical concerns as well as the threat from the advancement of zebra fish models is expected to hinder the growth of the market in the forecast period.Request Free Sample copy of Research Report @Outbred rat segment garnered a majority of the market share in 2015. The extensive use of outbred rats in toxicology and safety assessment studies is expected to drive the growth of rat model in coming year. A knockout rat is a genetically engineered rat and increasing use of knockout rat for studying human gene function is a major driving factor to contribute to the growth of this segment. Conditioned rat type segment is expected to show moderate growth during the forecast period.An embryonic stem cell is also one of the fastest growing technology segments due to rise in stem cell-based research. Breeding services market held the largest share of this market in 2015. Moreover, cryopreservation service segment is expected to experience significant growth due to effective and low-cost way to backup live animal store lines that are not actively being used.Browse the full "Rat Model Market By Type (Outbred, Conditioned, Knockout and Others) By Technology (Embryonic Stem Cells, Microinjection and Others) By Service (Breeding, Quarantine, Cryopreservation and Others) By Application (Toxicology, Oncology, CNS, Immunology and Inflammation, Diabetes and Other Diseases): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2015  2021" report atToxicology emerged as a leading application segment in 2015. CNS segment is expected to be the fastest growing application segment and this growth is mainly driven by the use of rat model to study CNS disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.North America was the dominating regional market for rat model and further it would follow this trend in forecast period due to robust research activities. Europe held the second largest market share and Germany acquired the largest share in this region in 2015. An increasing number of academic and contract research organizations is the major driving factors of rat model in Asia Pacific region.Inquire more about this report before purchase @Somme of the prominent players in this market includes Covance, Inc., Transviragen Inc., SAGE Labs, Biomedical Research Models, Inc., genOway S.A., Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals, Harlan Laboratories, Inc and Charles River Laboratories amongst others.About Us:Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Blog:
Special Graphite Market Analysis- Size, Share, Growth, Industry Demand, Forecast, Application Analysis To 2022

Special Graphite Market

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Special Graphite mainly refers to the high-intensity, high-density, high purity graphite products, has very important applications in many areas such as electronics, aerospace, defense, nuclear power, metallurgy and others.Get a Sample of Special Graphite Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Special Graphite 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 covers:Toyo Tanso, SGL Group, Tokai Carbon, Mersen, IBIDEN, Entegris, Nippon Carbon, SEC Carbon, GrafTech, Graphite India Ltd, Morgan, Schunk, Fangda Carbon, Datong XinCheng, Sinosteel, Henan Tianli, KaiYuan Special Graphite, Zhongnan Diamond, Qingdao Tennry Carbon, Dahua Glory Special Graphite, Shida Carbon, Baofeng Five-star Graphite, Harbin Electric Carbon FactoryMarket 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)Browse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Special Graphite Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers:Isotropic Graphite, Extruded Graphite, Molded Graphite, Other GraphiteMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Photovoltaic Industry, Semiconductor Industry, Electrical Discharge Machining, Foundry & Metallurgy Field, OthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Special Graphite market.Chapter 1, to describe Special Graphite Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Special Graphite, with sales, revenue, and price of Special Graphite, 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 Special Graphite, 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, Special Graphite market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Special Graphite sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Special Graphite Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Isotropic Graphite1.2.2 Extruded Graphite1.2.3 Molded Graphite1.2.4 Other Graphite1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Photovoltaic Industry1.3.2 Semiconductor Industry1.3.3 Electrical Discharge Machining1.3.4 Foundry & Metallurgy Field1.3.5 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)ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 123Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480GIR 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.+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs-
Global Agricultural Fumigant Market 2017 : ARKEMA, Chemtura, Eastman, Solvay, ASHTA Chemicals, Syngenta

Agricultural Fumigant

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A market study based on the "Agricultural Fumigant Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Agricultural Fumigant Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Agricultural Fumigant industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Agricultural Fumigant market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This Research ReportSyngentaUPL GroupDetia-DegeschIkeda KogyoARKEMAChemturaEastmanSolvayASHTA ChemicalsJiangsu ShuanglingDalian DyechemShenyang FengshouJining ShengchengNantong ShizhuangThe report studies the industry for Agricultural Fumigant across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Agricultural Fumigant market & dynamics of demand and supply of Agricultural Fumigant into consideration. The 'Agricultural Fumigant' research study covers each and every aspect of the Agricultural Fumigant market globally, which starts from the definition of the Agricultural Fumigant industry and develops towards Agricultural Fumigant market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Agricultural Fumigant market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Agricultural Fumigant market. The geographical segmentation of the Agricultural Fumigant industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Agricultural Fumigant is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Agricultural Fumigant market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Agricultural Fumigant market worldwide.Enquire Here :The global Agricultural Fumigant market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Agricultural Fumigant production volume, data regarding demand and Agricultural Fumigant 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 Agricultural Fumigant 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 Onsite and offsite ATMs Market Research Report 2017 - Diebold, Wincor Nixdorf AG, Fujitsu Ltd, Nautilus Hyosung, Hitachi, HESS Cash Systems

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This report studies Onsite and offsite ATMs 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, coveringDiebold, Inc.NCR CorporationWincor Nixdorf AGTriton systems of Delaware, LLCGRG Banking Equipment Co. Ltd.Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions, CorporationHESS Cash Systems GmbH & Co KGNautilus Hyosung CorporationFujitsu Ltd.Euronet Worldwide, Inc.Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Onsite and offsite ATMs in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaTo Get a Free Sample Copy of this Report Visit @Split by product type, with production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoConventional/Bank ATMsBrown label ATMsWhite label ATMsSmart ATMsCash dispensersSplit by application, this report focuses on consumption, market share and growth rate of Onsite and offsite ATMs in each application, can be divided intoOffsiteWorksiteTable of Contents1 Onsite and offsite ATMs Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Onsite and offsite ATMs1.2 Onsite and offsite ATMs Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Onsite and offsite ATMs by Type in 20151.2.2 Conventional/Bank ATMs1.2.3 Brown label ATMs1.2.4 White label ATMs1.2.5 Smart ATMs1.2.6 Cash dispensers1.3 Onsite and offsite ATMs Segment by Application1.3.1 Onsite and offsite ATMs Consumption Market Share by Application in 20151.3.2 Offsite1.3.3 Worksite2 Global Onsite and offsite ATMs Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Onsite and offsite ATMs Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Onsite and offsite ATMs Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Onsite and offsite ATMs Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Onsite and offsite ATMs Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Onsite and offsite ATMs Market Competitive Situation and TrendsQYresearchreports.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
Antiscalant Market : Growth, Demand, Key Manufacturers Analysis and Forecast Report 2017-2025

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Global Antiscalant Market: OverviewAntiscalants are extensively used in RO membrane systems for averting issues pertaining to mineral scaling. It is a type of a chemical that is injected into feedwater before the feedwater is allowed to flow into RO membranes. The infusion of antiscalant prevents the formation of scales by delaying the reaction time between magnesium and calcium, allowing the water to be purified by the RO systems seamlessly. Today, antiscalants are being used in the manufacturing of power, chemical, and coal gasification. The growth of these industries is projected to boost the global antiscalant market. The report states that China is a significant consumer and a producer of antiscalants, with its supply stretching all the way to the international markets.The research report has been compiled using primary and secondary research methodologies. With interviews and data sourced from reliable resources, this document aims to offer absolute clarity about the market dynamics of global antiscalant market. The research report also includes a thorough analysis segments of the global antiscalant market that have been assessed using a SWOT analysis. The competitive landscape of the global market has been discussed with the help of a Porters five forces analysis that highlights the intensity of the competition present in the market and the threat from new entrants among others. Lastly, the research report also includes recommendations and comments by market experts that not only corroborate the data present in the pages of the document, but provide a valuable insight.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Antiscalant Market: Drivers and TrendsThe emergence of oil and gas industry in global has been assessed to be a key factor is driving the antiscalant market in the coming years. The demand for power in the developing countries will come to define the oil and gas industrys activities, which in turn will decide the uptake of antiscalants. Furthermore, the chemical industrys improving performance is also attributed to fuel the expansion of the global antiscalant market in the coming few years. The emphasis of manufacturing units on the quality of water, which eventually translates into cost savings, lesser carbon footprint, and comes with better properties, is projected to a play a pivotal role in the swift adoption of antiscalants. The report predicts that the power and mining industries will also make a significant demand for antiscalants in the near future.Request TOC of the Report @Global Antiscalant Market: Product SegmentationThe various types of antiscalants available in the market are phosphonates, carboxylates, fluorides, sulfonates, and others. Phosphonate is a popularly used antiscalant across the nation and is expected to dominate the national market in the coming years. Its generous usage for making water treatment formulations with corrosion and scale inhibitors along with iron sequestrants is expected to benefit the product segment in the coming years. The report also indicates that the revenue for the carboxylates product segment will also surge as it can be an excellent curing agent with tremendous tolerance for pressure. This precise ability of carboxylates has made the product a famous antiscalant for the mining industry where is it used for eliminating heavy metals from wastewater.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@Key Players Mentioned in this Report are:The report has identified Kemira, Zaozhuang Kerui Chemicals Co., Ltd, Henan Yuguan Chemical Technology, BASF SE, Nalco Water, Shandong Great Lake New Material Co. Ltd., and Avista Technologies to be the key players operating in the global antiscalant market.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 research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Spend Analytics Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 - Zycus, Proactis, Empronc Solutions, JAGGAER, Rosslyn Analytics, Ivalua, BravoSolution SPA

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This report studies the global Spend Analytics market, analyzes and researches the Spend 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, likeSAPSASIBM CorporationOracleCoupa SoftwareZycusProactisEmpronc SolutionsJAGGAERRosslyn AnalyticsIvaluaBravoSolution SPAMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Spend Analytics can be split intoPredictivePrescriptiveDescriptiveMarket segment by Application, Spend Analytics can be split intoFinancial managementRisk managementGovernance and compliance managementSupplier sourcing and performance managementDemand and supply forecastingOthersTo Get a Free Sample Copy of this Report Visit @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Spend Analytics1.1 Spend Analytics Market Overview1.1.1 Spend Analytics Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Spend 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 Spend Analytics Market by Type1.3.1 Predictive1.3.2 Prescriptive1.3.3 Descriptive1.4 Spend Analytics Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Financial management1.4.2 Risk management1.4.3 Governance and compliance management1.4.4 Supplier sourcing and performance management1.4.5 Demand and supply forecasting1.4.6 Others2 Global Spend Analytics Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Spend Analytics 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 FutureQYresearchreports.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 Engineering CAD Software Market 2017 : SketchUp, CADopia, SolidWorks, SmartDraw, Corel

Engineering CAD Software Market

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A market study based on the "Engineering CAD Software Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Engineering CAD Software Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Engineering CAD Software industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Engineering CAD Software market on the basis of this analysis.Get Sample Copy of Engineering CAD Software Report Here :Top Key Manufacturers Of this Research Report;1. Autodesk2. TurboCAD3. SketchUp4. CADopia5. Progesoft6. FormZ7. SolidWorks8. SkyCiv9. SmartDraw10. Bentley Systems11. Corel12. RubySketchThe report studies the industry for Engineering CAD Software across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Engineering CAD Software market & dynamics of demand and supply of Engineering CAD Software into consideration. The 'Engineering CAD Software' research study covers each and every aspect of the Engineering CAD Software market globally, which starts from the definition of the Engineering CAD Software industry and develops towards Engineering CAD Software market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Engineering CAD Software market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Engineering CAD Software market. The geographical segmentation of the Engineering CAD Software industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Engineering CAD Software is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Engineering CAD Software market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Engineering CAD Software market worldwide.Enquire Here :Global Engineering CAD Software Sales Industry Report 2017 Covers:-1. Engineering CAD Software Overview2. Global Engineering CAD Software Competition by Manufacturers, Type and Application3. United States, China, Europe, Japan, South-east Asia Engineering CAD Software (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4. Worldwide Engineering CAD Software Manufacturers Analysis5. Engineering CAD Software Manufacturing Cost Analysis6. Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers7. Industrial Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders8. Market Effect Factors Analysis9. Worldwide Engineering CAD Software Market Forecast (2017-2021)10. AppendixThe global Engineering CAD Software market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Engineering CAD Software production volume, data regarding demand and Engineering CAD Software 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 Engineering CAD Software across the globe.About Us:Business Worldwide 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.Contact US:Business Worldwide, United States
Global DC Power Meter Sales Market Research Report Forecast 2017-2021

DC Power Meter Sales Market

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https://goo.gl/ougQIW

The report, titled Global DC Power Meter Sales Market 2017 is a methodical research study based on the DC Power Meter Sales market, analyzing the competitive framework of the industry in the world. Using efficient analytical tools such as SWOT analysis and Porters five forces analysis, the report provides a comprehensive assessment of the DC Power Meter Sales market.The report estimates the market size in terms of volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$) produced, whereas, the key segments and the geographical subdivision of the DC Power Meter Sales market are also analyzed in detail. The market drivers, limitations, and growth prospects of each segment are discussed in this report and, based on that, analysts have determined the future of the market for DC Power Meter Sales in the global arena.Get full report with TOC @The report covers each aspect of the market for DC Power Meter Sales in globally, starting from the basic information about the market and advancing to the various criteria on the basis of which the market is classified. The major applications of the DC Power Meter Sales market are also discussed in the report.The report studies the DC Power Meter Sales market by evaluating the market chain, prevalent policies, and regulations as well as the manufacturers, their manufacturing chain, cost structures, and contribution in the industry. The regional markets for the global DC Power Meter Sales market are examined by analyzing the pricing of products in the region compared to the profit generated. The production capacity, demand and supply, logistics, and the historical performance of the market in the given region is also evaluated in this market report.Get Free sample report @The report is arranged to provide an overview of the DC Power Meter Sales market by product, company and geography. Forecasts are broken down by geographic region or by country. The worldwide market is analyzed and data provided for each disease sub-segment.The report determines the leading players in the global market. The company profiles of the major participants operating in the global DC Power Meter Sales market have been reviewed in this study.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.Contact UsJoel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Email: sales@marketresearchstore.com
Transfer Switches Market Analysis- Opportunities Sales, Revenue, Gross Margin, Outlook And Forecast To 2022

Transfer Switches Market

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This report studies the Transfer Switches Market. The transfer switch (TS) is an electrical device that allows the transfer of power sources to the load. This superior switching methodology means that if one power source fails, the TS switch connects the load to the back-up power source. The switch market comprises of two transfer switches, namely the automatic transfer switch (ATS) and manual transfer switch (MTS).Get a Sample of Transfer Switches Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Transfer Switches 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 covers:Vertiv, GE, Eaton, Cummins, KOHLER, ABB, Briggs & Stratton, GENERAC, Socomec, Thomson Power SystemsMarket 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)Browse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Transfer Switches Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers:Automatic Transfer Switches, Manual Transfer SwitchesMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Industrial, Commercial, ResidentialThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Transfer Switches market.Chapter 1, to describe Transfer Switches Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Transfer Switches, with sales, revenue, and price of Transfer Switches, 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 Transfer Switches, 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, Transfer Switches market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Transfer Switches sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceCheck for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Transfer Switches Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Automatic Transfer Switches1.2.2 Manual Transfer Switches1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Industrial1.3.2 Commercial1.3.3 Residential1.4 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)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 117Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480GIR 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.+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs-
Aerospace Composites Market 2017- Key Players are Mitsubishi Rayon, Cytec Industries, Hexcel Corp Forecast to 2022

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The Aerospace Composites market is also explained to the clients as a holistic snapshot of a competitive landscape within the given competitive forecast period. A comparative analysis of regional players and segmentations, which helps readers get a better understanding of the areas and resources with better understanding. The study presents an evaluation of the factors that are expected to inhibit or boost the progress of the global Aerospace Composites market. The global Aerospace Composites market has been examined thoroughly on the basis of key criteria such as end user, application, product, technology, and region.For this report, the Aerospace Composites 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 Aerospace Composites market covering Warplanes, Private Helicopter, Business Jets and General Plane are studied in this research. Share of Aerospace Composites market is covered by applications as well supported with potential applications in the future.Buy the complete Aerospace Composites report with Comprehensive table of contents @The research methodology used to estimate and forecast the Aerospace Composites market involves a primary and a secondary research. A systematic procedure has been used to arrive at the global size of the Aerospace Composites 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 Aerospace Composites market, their suppliers' information as well as analysis of downstream major consumers for Aerospace Composites 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 Aerospace Composites 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 Aerospace Composites 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 Aerospace Composites market.The research compiles profiles of small and big Aerospace Composites 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 Aerospace Composites 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 Aerospace Composites market. Some of the Key vendors profiled in this research include: Cytec Industries Hexcel Corp. HITCO Carbon Composites Leonardo  Finmeccanica LMI aerospace Materion Corporation Mitsubishi Rayon Owens Corning Renegade Materials Corporation Royal Tencate N.V. SGL Group-The Carbon Company Solvay Group Teijin Limited Toray Industries Hartzell AerospacePartial list of Tables and Figures for this report include:Figure Global Aerospace Composites Capacity, Production (K MT) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Aerospace Composites Major Players Product Capacity (K MT) (2012-2017)Table Global Aerospace Composites Capacity (K MT) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Aerospace Composites Capacity Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Figure Global Aerospace Composites Capacity (K MT) of Key Manufacturers in 2016Figure Global Aerospace Composites Capacity (K MT) of Key Manufacturers in 2017Figure Global Aerospace Composites Major Players Product Production (K MT) (2012-2017)Table Global Aerospace Composites Production (K MT) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Aerospace Composites Production Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Figure 2016 Aerospace Composites Production Share by ManufacturersFigure 2017 Aerospace Composites Production Share by ManufacturersFigure Global Aerospace Composites Major Players Product Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017)About 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.Contact Details:Ronald Aldensales@emarketorg.cominfo@emarketorg.comeMarketOrg.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.Starting with market research reports, eMarketOrg.com plans to add conferences, knowledge products, which can be periodically subscribed to, and more to its range of business offerings. Spread across the globe, our network of partners, in collaboration with our service specialists, ensure that our clients receive the right product, service and/or solution that meet their requirements in convenient timelines and within comfortable budgets that neither go underutilized nor dig a big hole into their monthly, quarterly and/or yearly spends.Get in touch with us to experience a new one-stop market intelligence and business service.F/3, 4A Bharat Pushpa Apt.,Subhash Nagar, Shukrawar Peth,Pune  411002
Smartphone OS Market - Industry Shares, Market Strategies And Key Players

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A smart phone operating system (OS) is essential engine which helps to run the smart phone smoothly. Operating systems of a smart phone manages both the software and hardware to create an easy user experience. Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows are the most common OS used in smart phone.Obtain Report Details @In addition, increasing number of mobile devices and mobile users has fueling the market of smart phone OS and is expected a significant growth during the forecast period. Rising use of mobile devices and growing dependency on smart phone in daily life the market of smart phone OS in rising and is anticipated a positive growth during the forecast period. However, the complexity in design of smart phone is acting as a restraint of this market. Many manufacturers are focusing on this matter and they are trying to make it user friendly, therefore the impact of this restraint is medium and is expected to be low during the forecast period.The market of smart phone operating systems (OS) is segmented into two categories: by type and by region. By type the market of smart phone operating systems (OS) is segmented by Android, iOS and Windows and others.The Android OS is Google's open and free programming stack that incorporates a middleware, operating systems and key applications for use on cell phones, including smart phone. Updates for the Android OS have been produced under "dessert propelled" adaptation names (Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Gingerbread, Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich, Jellybean, Kitkat, Lollipop, Marshmallow and Nougat) with new version is coming base in sequential order arrange with new upgrades and enhancements. iPhones operating systems was initially created for use on its iPhone gadgets. Presently, the smart phone operating system is known to as iOS and is supported on different Apple gadgets including the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The iOS operating system is accessible only in Apple gadgets as the organization does not permit the OS for outsider equipment. Windows Mobile is Microsoft's operating systems utilized as a part of smart phone and mobile phones. The Mobile OS based on the Windows CE 5.2 kernel. n 2010 Microsoft announced another mobile phone organize called Windows Phone 7. In others segment includes BlackBerry, MeeGo OS, Palm OS.The BlackBerry operating systems is an exclusive versatile working framework created by Research in Motion for use in the organization's mainstream BlackBerry handheld gadgets. The BlackBerry stage is well known to corporate clients as it offers synchronization with Microsoft Exchange, Novell GroupWise, Lotus Domino email and different business programming, when utilized with the BlackBerry Enterprise ServerBy geography the global smart phone operating system (OS) market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. North America smart phone operating system (OS) held the largest market share in 2016, and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) smart phone operating system (OS) market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Increasing adoption of smart phone and changing lifestyle is the major driving factors in North America and is expected to provide a significant growth of smart phone operating system (OS) market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is expecting the fastest growth due to the rising economics such as China and India. Middle East and Africa has shown a remarkable growth in mobile BPMmarket followed by Latin America in recent years.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The key players participating in the smart phone operating system (OS) market is marked by some strong competition from the major players operating in this industry. Numerous merger and acquisition, joint venture and partnership agreement, product innovation, research and development and geographical extension are some of the key strategies adopted by this player to ensure long term sustenance in these market key participants in the global smart phone operating system (OS) industry include are Microsoft Corporation (Washington, U.S.) Apple Inc. (California, U.S.), Google (California, U.S.), AsusTek Computer Inc. (China), Canonical Ltd (London, U.K.), Access Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) and Others.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Dental X-ray Market : Market Trends and Key Developments 2017 - 2025

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Global Dental X-ray Market: OverviewDental radiographs, also known as dental x-rays are used by dentists to find cavities, bone loss, benign or malignant masses, and hidden dental structures. A radiographic image is produced by a measured burst of x-ray radiation which can penetrate into the oral structures at several different levels, basically depending on variable anatomical densities, afore striking the sensor or film. Infections, dental caries, and other alterations in the periodontal ligament and bone density, appear dark because x-rays are known for readily penetrating these structures with less density. The predominant type of radiography is mostly analog radiographs, which comprise intensifying screen, film, and cassette. Although analog radiographs are popular, a digital transition is likely to be witnessed over the coming years. The medical community is increasingly embracing radiography with medical specialists recognizing benefits associated with digital systems such as simplicity, integrated storage, and speed.The report is an investigation in the growth of the global dental x-ray market over the last couple of years and in the coming years. The market research publication further reasons out the causes of the changes in the market across the globe. It does this so by presenting an evaluation of the dynamics and the trends prevalent from the last few years and the ones that are likely to retain an impact during the forecast period. The Porters five forces analysis is being taken into consideration for the analysts to provide a clear view of the vendor landscape to the readers. Mergers, agreements, acquisitions, and other partnerships have also been highlighted in the report. The study further delves into the working of the various leading companies along with the information on the products, strategies, and shares of the companies in question.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Dental X-ray Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe global market for dental x-ray is expected to witness to substantial growth over the coming years owing to the rising incidences of oral diseases and increasing awareness among people regarding the maintenance of oral hygiene and avoiding periodontal diseases. The primary determinants aiding the growth of the global dental x-ray market are an extensive rise in dental caries and periodontitis, the proliferating demand for dental radiography for the treatment of oral diseases, and sweeping advancements in technologies used in imaging modalities. Demographic factors such as the prevalence of geriatric and pediatric population vulnerable to dental impairments are also further expected to supplement the demand for dental x-ray worldwide. The growing need for diagnostic procedures for oral disease due to rising incidences of cavities and tooth decay is another facet which expected to augment the growth of the global dental x-ray market.Request TOC of the Report @Global Dental X-ray Market: Regional OutlookRegion-wise, the global market for dental x-ray can be segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and the Rest of the World. The market in North America is likely to exhibit exponential growth owing to the wide adoption of dental radiography and the shifting preferences of consumers towards the incorporating digital imaging systems. Due the presence of thickly populated countries, Asia Pacific is also expected to emerge as a prominent region in the global dental x-ray market.Global Dental X-ray Market: Competitive LandscapeSome of the leading players in the dental x-ray market are Planmeca Oy, LED Medical Diagnostics Inc., Danaher Corporation, and Carestream Health Inc.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report@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 research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
New Study Reveals Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Professional Survey Report 2017 | Researchmoz

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Professional Survey Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies Orthodontic Tooth Equipments in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering3ShapeA-DecHenry ScheinMidmark CorporationPatterson CompaniesSeptodontSirona Dental SystemsUltradent Products...By types, the market can be split intoMetal Orthodontic Tooth EquipmentsCeramic Orthodontic Tooth EquipmentsOthersTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @By Application, the market can be split intoChildrenAdultsBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments1.1 Definition and Specifications of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments1.1.1 Definition of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments1.1.2 Specifications of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments1.2 Classification of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments1.2.1 Metal Orthodontic Tooth Equipments1.2.2 Ceramic Orthodontic Tooth Equipments1.2.3 Others1.3 Applications of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments1.3.1 Children1.3.2 Adults1.3.3 Application 31.4 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 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Major Manufacturers in 20164 Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2016 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis4.4.1 2012-2017E Global Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales Price4.4.2 2016 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment)5 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Analysis5.1.1 North America Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Overview5.1.2 North America 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.1.3 North America 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales Price Analysis5.1.4 North America 2016 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Share Analysis5.2 China Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Analysis5.2.1 China Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Overview5.2.2 China 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.2.3 China 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales Price Analysis5.2.4 China 2016 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Share Analysis5.3 Europe Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Analysis5.3.1 Europe Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Overview5.3.2 Europe 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.3.3 Europe 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales Price Analysis5.3.4 Europe 2016 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Share Analysis5.4 Southeast Asia Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Analysis5.4.1 Southeast Asia Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Overview5.4.2 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.4.3 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales Price Analysis5.4.4 Southeast Asia 2016 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Share Analysis5.5 Japan Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Analysis5.5.1 Japan Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Overview5.5.2 Japan 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.5.3 Japan 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales Price Analysis5.5.4 Japan 2016 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Share Analysis5.6 India Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Analysis5.6.1 India Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Overview5.6.2 India 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.6.3 India 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales Price Analysis5.6.4 India 2016 Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Market Share Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Segment Market Analysis (by Type)6.1 Global 2012-2017E Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Sales by Type6.2 Different Types of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Product Interview Price Analysis6.3 Different Types of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Product Driving Factors Analysis6.3.1 Metal Orthodontic Tooth Equipments of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Growth Driving Factor Analysis6.3.2 Ceramic Orthodontic Tooth Equipments of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Growth Driving Factor Analysis6.3.3 Others of Orthodontic Tooth Equipments Growth Driving Factor AnalysisMake 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 @
Aircraft Cabin Lighting Market Expected to Reach $2,033 Million by 2022

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Aircraft Cabin Lighting Market Report, Published by Allied Market Research, forecasts that the global market is estimated to reach $2,033 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 5.3% from 2016 to 2022. In 2015, the wall, floor, and ceiling lights dominated the global aircraft cabin lighting market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period.Access Full Summary at:The installation of aircraft cabin lighting systems is enhanced, owing to increase in air travel. Airline operators are replacing old traditional lights with LED lights to reduce aircraft weight, reduce fuel cost and increase in efficiency. Traditional lighting equipment consumes more power, thereby increasing the overall operational cost.Factors Driving the Market:The global aircraft cabin lighting market is driven by factors such as increase in air travel, growth in use of energy-efficient lighting systems, rise in demand for retrofit lighting systems, upsurge in competition among existing aircraft operators, increase in focus on enhancing travel experience for passengers, and high demand for aftermarket and maintenance of aircraft. However, high costs hamper the market growth. Furthermore, growth in demand for air travel across emerging countries, such as Asia-Pacific and LAMEA, with heavy government investments is expected to present lucrative opportunities for the aircraft cabin lighting market growth.Get a PDF Brochure of this report:The wall, floor, and ceiling lighting systems accounted for major market share in 2015, generating $855 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 6.1%, owing to availability of innovative and energy-efficient lighting systems. Technological advancements in LED and organic LED lighting systems further drive the adoption of these lighting systems. The wall, floor, and ceiling lighting systems market is expected to generate $855 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 6.1%.The retrofit lighting system market accounted for the highest share in the global aircraft cabin lighting market in 2015. Retrofit lighting, increases energy savings, improves safety, and offers increased productivity while reduces operation & maintenance costs, decreases heat emission of LEDs, and reduces light pollution.The aircraft cabin lighting system is installed in aircraft such as wide-body aircrafts, narrow-body aircrafts, very large aircrafts, and regional jets. In 2015, wide-body aircrafts accounted for the highest share in the global aircraft cabin lighting market, and is estimated to reach $808 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 5.2%. The increase in air traffic in emerging economies of Asia-Pacific and LAMEA drives the wide-body aircraft market. The growth in usage of energy efficient lights in aircraft and high maintenance of the aircraft supplement the growth of wide-body aircrafts. The innovation in design & technology by key players provides the wide-body aircraft market an opportunity to strengthen their market position.North America generated the highest revenue in the global aircraft cabin lighting market in 2015, accounting for $500 million, and is projected to reach $676 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period. This is attributed to increase in air traffic and rise in competition among existing aircraft operators and increase in inflow of investment in the defense sector and technological advancements.Key Findings of the Aircraft Cabin Lighting Market :-> In 2015, wall, floor, and ceiling lighting systems accounted for the major share in the global market, in terms of revenue, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period.-> The retrofit lighting system accounted for the highest share of around 56% in 2015.-> In 2015, North America generated the highest revenue, accounting for around 35% of the global market.-> Asia-Pacific aircraft cabin lighting market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 6.6%.The renowned companies profiled in the report include Diehl Aerospace GmbH, STG Aerospace Ltd, United Technologies Corporation, B/E Aerospace, Inc, Astronics Corporation, Zodiac Aerospace, Honeywell International Inc., Soderberg Manufacturing Company Inc., Aveo Engineering Group, and Cobham PLC. These companies have consistently launched new products and introduced novel technologies to cater to the requirements of consumers. A significant increase in inflow of investments was observed for R&D activities among private and public organizations to facilitate product innovation and develop customized solutions.Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.Contact:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220,United States.Int'l: +1-503-894-6022Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285Fax: +1-800-792-5285help@alliedmarketresearch.com
Global Content Delivery Network (CDN) Industry Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2016

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Content Delivery Network (CDN) Industry 2016 Market Research Report" to its huge collection of research reports.The Global Content Delivery Network (CDN) Industry 2016 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Content Delivery Network (CDN) industry.The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions and classifications. The Content Delivery Network (CDN) 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.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report focuses on global major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product specification, price, cost, revenue and contact information.With 142 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.Table of Contents1 Industry Overview1.1 Basic Information of Content Delivery Network (CDN)1.1.1 Definition of Content Delivery Network (CDN)1.1.2 Classifications of Content Delivery Network (CDN)1.1.3 Applications of Content Delivery Network (CDN)1.1.4 Characteristics of Content Delivery Network (CDN)1.2 Development Overview of Content Delivery Network (CDN)1.3 Enter Barriers Analysis of Content Delivery Network (CDN)2 Content Delivery Network (CDN) International and China Market Analysis2.1 Content Delivery Network (CDN) Industry International Market Analysis2.1.1 Content Delivery Network (CDN) International Market Development History2.1.2 Content Delivery Network (CDN) Competitive Landscape Analysis2.1.3 Content Delivery Network (CDN) International Main Countries Development Status2.1.4 Content Delivery Network (CDN) International Market Development Trend2.2 Content Delivery Network (CDN) Industry China Market Analysis2.2.1 Content Delivery Network (CDN) China Market Development History2.2.2 Content Delivery Network (CDN) Competitive Landscape Analysis2.2.3 Content Delivery Network (CDN) China Main Regions Development Status2.2.4 Content Delivery Network (CDN) China Market Development Trend2.3 Content Delivery Network (CDN) International and China Market Comparison Analysis3 Environment Analysis of Content Delivery Network (CDN)3.1 International Economy Analysis3.2 China Economy Analysis3.3 Policy Analysis of Content Delivery Network (CDN)3.4 News Analysis of Content Delivery Network (CDN)4 Analysis of Revenue by Classifications4.1 Global Revenue of Content Delivery Network (CDN) by Classifications 2011-20164.2 Global Revenue Growth Rate of Content Delivery Network (CDN) by Classifications 2011-20164.3 Content Delivery Network (CDN) Revenue by Classifications5 Analysis of Revenue by Regions and Applications5.1 Global Revenue of Content Delivery Network (CDN) by Regions 2011-20165.2 2011-2016 USA Revenue and Revenue Growth Rate of Content Delivery Network (CDN)5.3 2011-2016 Europe Revenue and Revenue Growth Rate of Content Delivery Network (CDN)5.4 2011-2016 Japan Revenue and Revenue Growth Rate of Content Delivery Network (CDN)5.5 2011-2016 China Revenue and Revenue Growth Rate of Content Delivery Network (CDN)6 Analysis of Content Delivery Network (CDN) Revenue Market Status 2011-20166.1 Revenue of Content Delivery Network (CDN) 2011-20166.2 Revenue Market Share Analysis of Content Delivery Network (CDN) 2011-20166.3 Revenue Overview of Content Delivery Network (CDN) 2011-20166.4 Gross Margin of Content Delivery Network (CDN) 2011-2016Make 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 @
Dairy Starter Culture Market Driven by Growing Consumers Awareness & Demand for Healthy Dairy Products

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Dairy starter culture refers to the microorganisms that are added to milk to derive the desired product quality, Daily starter cultures are added through the process of growth and fermentation of the microorganisms. The prominent usage of dairy starter culture is the production of lactic acid from milk sugar (lactose) which reduces the pH value thereby maintaining the thickness of milk, thereby fueling up the global dairy starter culture market. Apart from deriving the appropriate product, dairy starter culture also enhances the flavor by adding flavor compounds such as diacetyl. Owing to the ability to enhance the flavor and texture of the products, the global dry starter culture market is expected to expand over the forecast period.Browse Market Research Report @Dairy Starter Culture Market: Market DynamicsOwing to the health benefits such as protection of gastrointestinal infections, anti- carcinogenic effect, alleviation of constipation, lowering of serum cholesterol, strengthening the immunity system and antiallergenic qualities, through adding starter microorganisms to dairy products, the global dairy starter culture market is set to experience increasing demand in the near future. Growing consumers awareness and demand for healthy dairy products has driven the manufacturers to produce premium quality dairy products by the addition of dairy starter culture components. Addition of dairy starter culture impacts the flavor, texture and color of the dairy products thereby producing the desired quality. Thus, the increasing demand for producing the best quality dairy product, dairy starter culture market is expected to gain significant adoption during the forecast period.However, addition of inferior quality and contaminated dairy starter culture components to dairy products can result into limited guarantee of attaining desired quality product which can be a major restraint for the global dairy starter culture market growth. During the production point, dairy starter culture requires low temperature storage facilities, but incidences such as power cuts can impact the quality of the microorganism thereby affecting the end product quality which is expected to hinder the growth of global dairy starter culture market.Make an Enquiry @Dairy Starter Culture Market: SegmentationGlobal dairy starter culture market can be segmented on the basis of types of dairy starter culture which include:Mesophilic BacteriaStreptococcus LacticsStreptococcus CremorisStreptococcus diacetylacticsLeuconostoc CremorisLeuconostoc LacticsThermophilic BacteriaStreptococcus ThermophilusLactobacillus bulgaricusLactobacillus LacticsLactobacillus helveticusGlobal dairy starter culture market can be segmented on the basis of preferred growth temperature of dairy starter culture which include:20-30 Degree Celsius ( mesophilic)40-45 Degree Celsius (thermophilic)Global dairy starter culture market can be segmented on the basis of nature type of dairy starter culture which include:Single Strain Type (which contains one strain of bacteria)Multiple Strain Type (mixture of various strains with respective effects)Global dairy starter culture market can be segmented on the basis of product types used for dairy starter culture which include:ButtermilkCheeseRipened ButterSour CreamYogurtFermented MilkGlobal dairy starter culture market can be segmented on the basis of functions of dairy starter culture which include:Acid ProductionFlavor ProductionFlavor and Acid ProductionDairy Starter Culture Market: Regional SegmentationGeographical coverage for global dairy starter culture includes North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ),Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA). Europe accounts for the largest market share in global dairy starter culture market followed by North America and AEPJ.Dairy Starter Culture Market: Key PlayersKey players in the global dairy starter culture market include Tetra Pak, Clerici-Sacco Group, DSM,CSK , LB Bulgaricum P.L.C., BDF Ingredients and 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.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Human Growth Hormone Market Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Report 2015

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on " Global Human Growth Hormone Market Report: 2015 Edition" to its huge collection of research reports.Pituitary - the master gland of human body is responsible for controlling crucial hormonal secretion, which, in turn, regulates other key aspects of the body such as temperature, growth, thyroid functioning, urination, and production of other hormones. It is a pea sized gland situated at the base of brain and is a major component of human body as it expedites the response towards the surrounding environment and settings.Any deformity or damage to the pituitary gland can adversely impact the production and activity level of the above mentioned hormones, thereby affecting the body work process and stunting the outcomes especially in the case of growth hormone. Marred pituitary function leads to either over or under secretion of the somatropin that is the growth hormone. Its over secretion causes disfiguration in the body parts like hands, face, feet, etc. whereas, its deficiency impedes the growth of body parts/whole body, thus leading to disease states like dwarfism or gigantism.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @It is observed that the growth hormone related problems usually affect children and teenagers, but it is seen to grip adults as well though to a lesser extent. The major factors which vitiate the pituitary operations thus impairing the GH role include kidney malfunction, tumors/cancer especially associated with brain. There are some other unknown causes as well which are termed as idiopathic. Earlier, to deal with these predicaments, growth hormone used to be extracted from the human cadavers but, as time passed and evolution of technology/tools/techniques/R&D took place, the extraction of GH also got altered and many novel innovations and discoveries were made in the respective field.Nowadays, many leading companies are heavily involved in the R&D process for devising longer acting and sustained release versions of the somatropin which are produced using the recombinant technology. The competition prevalent in the respective industry is heating up day by day. The human growth hormone market is monopolized by a few players viz. Pfizer, NovoNordisk, Eli Lilly, Sandoz and Roche.The global HGH report discusses the key ongoing trends like global agreement for Long-Acting Human Growth Hormone (HGH-CTP), increasing use of biosimilar version of drugs and continuous growth of recombinant growth hormones market. On the industry development front, the current inclination is towards developing better treatments for Alzheimers disease and advancements in needle free injections technology. Furthermore, the major factors driving the HGH market include rising cancer and CKD/ESRD cases and increasing healthcare expenditure on worldwide basis. In addition, a few factors posing challenges in front of the HGH industry are the problems in diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency, risks associated with use of recombinant growth hormone therapies and off-label HGH use which, to an extent, are hindering the growth and development of the same.By combining SPSS Inc.s data integration and analysis capabilities with our relevant findings, we have predicted the future growth of the industry. We employed various significant variables that have an impact on this industry and created regression models with SPSS Base to determine the future direction of the industry. Before deploying the regression model, the relationship between several independent or predictor variables and the dependent variable was analyzed using standard SPSS output, including charts, tables and tests.Table Of Content1. Human Growth Hormone1.1 Physiological Effects of Growth Hormone1.2 GH Secretion Control1.3 GH Deficiency (GHD)1.4 Therapeutic and Other Uses of GH/HGH1.5 Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rHGH)2. Human Growth Hormone (HGH) Market Analysis2.1 Global MarketMarket ValueMarket VolumeMarket SharePediatric GHD Market2.2 Regional MarketsThe USEuropeJapan2.3 VRS-317 Market Opportunity2.4 TransCon-HGH Global Market Opportunity3. Market Dynamics3.1 Key Trends3.1.1 Global Agreement for Long-Acting HGH-CTP3.1.2 Increasing Use of Biosimilar Version of Drugs3.1.3 Continuous Growth in rGH Market3.2 Industry Developments3.2.1 Developing Better Treatments for Alzheimers disease3.2.2 Advancement in Needle Free Injection Technology3.3 Growth Drivers3.3.1 Increasing Cases of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)3.3.2 Increasing Prevalence of Cancer3.3.3 Rising Healthcare Expenditure3.3.4 Increasing Global GDP3.4 Challenges3.4.1 Problems in Diagnosis of GHD3.4.2 Risks Associated With Recombinant Human GH Therapy3.4.3 Off-Label Uses of rHGH Therapy not Well Defined4. Competitive Landscape5. Company Profiles5.1 Roche Holdings AG5.1.1 Business Overview5.1.2 Financial Overview5.1.3 Business Strategies5.2 Novo Nordisk5.2.1 Business Overview5.2.2 Financial Overview5.1.3 Business Strategies5.3 Pfizer, Inc.5.3.1 Business Overview5.3.2 Financial Overview5.3.3 Business Strategies5.4 Eli Lilly and Company5.4.1 Business Overview5.4.2 Financial Overview5.4.3 Business Strategies6. Market Outlook6.1 Market Forecast6.2 Forecast Methodology6.2.1 Dependent and Independent Variables6.2.2 Correlation Analysis6.2.3 Regression AnalysisMake 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 @
Medical Tourism Market Analysis, Trend, Growth, Size, Share and Research Report 2015 | Researchmoz

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Medical Tourism Market Report: 2015 Edition" to its huge collection of research reports.Medical tourism is a high-growth industry driven by globalization and rising healthcare costs in developed countries. People prefer traveling to developing countries for treatments in order to save cost. More than forty countries in Asia, America, Africa and Eastern Europe are serving millions of medical tourists annually. International medical service providers are in continuous race to get accreditation from Joint Commission International (JCI).Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and India are the major destinations in the Asian medical tourism market. Thailand is more popular among Western European medical tourists for cosmetic surgery. Singapore and India specialize in complex procedures with India having a cost advantage and Singapore a technology advantage. The most common categories of procedures that people pursue during medical tourism trips are cosmetic surgery, dentistry, cardiology (cardiac surgery), and orthopedic surgery.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The healthcare industry in Thailand has seen rapid growth in recent years, ahead of the country's GDP. In Thailand, medical costs are lower than in Singapore and also, it is a much more popular tourist destination. In this regard it is providing medical services, latest medical technology, medicines, and is further strengthening modern medicine, alternative medicine and biotechnology.The Malaysian government is aggressively promoting medical tourism. Through its Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia oversees tourism policies and tourism-related activities to realize its vision of making Malaysia an international tourism destination.Indian government is aggressively promoting India as a global healthcare destination. It has also started giving affiliation to the companies working in healthcare sector. Being one of the lowest cost and highest quality of all medical tourism destinations, it offers wide variety of procedures at about one-tenth the cost of similar procedures in the US.The Korean government is promoting the nation's growing medical tourism industry and is actively taking initiatives that are mainly geared to introduce the services and facilities of Korean hospitals to overseas expositions. However, Korea has yet to increase its standing among other Asian nations.This report gives an overview of the medical tourism industry with focus on Asia. It discusses the major medical tourist destinations like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, India, South Korea and Turkey and their respective competitive advantages. The major healthcare organizations in Asia are also profiled in the later part of the report.Table of Content1. Market Overview1.1 Medical Tourism Industry Structure2. Medical Tourism - Market Analysis2.1 Global Medical Tourism Market2.2 Asian Medical Tourism Market- Market Value- Foreign Patients Inflow2.2.1 Thailand- Market Value- Foreign Patients Inflow- Breakdown by Procedures2.2.2 Singapore- Market Value- Foreign Patients Inflow- Foreign Patients by Nationality2.2.3 Malaysia- Market Value- Foreign Patients Inflow- Foreign Patients by Nationality2.2.4 India- Market Value- Foreign Patients Inflow- Foreign Patients by Nationality- Breakdown by Procedures2.2.5 Korea- Market Value- Foreign Patients Inflow- Foreign Patients by Nationality- Breakdown by Procedures2.2.6 Turkey- Market Value- Foreign Patients Inflow3. Market Dynamics3.1 Growth Drivers3.1.1 Low Cost and High Saving3.1.2 Services and Accommodations3.1.3 Quality Checks3.1.4 Availability and Access3.1.5 Tourism and Leisure3.1.6 Growing Elderly Population3.1.7 GDP Contribution3.2 Key Trends3.2.1 International Certification3.2.2 Government Initiatives3.3 Challenges3.3.1 Language and Cultural Barrier3.3.2 No Legal Recourse3.3.3 Selection Criteria3.3.4 Ignorance towards Home Citizens3.3.5 Association between Safety, Health and Travel3.3.6 Social and Economic Factors3.4 Significant Developments3.4.1 Singapore3.4.2 Malaysia3.4.3 Thailand3.4.4 Indonesia4. Competitive Landscape- Market Capitalization- Operational Bed Growth- Market Share of Private HealthcareMake 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.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.
New Study Reveals Global Ceramic Machinery Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021) | Researchmoz

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Ceramic Machinery Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report entitled Global Ceramic Machinery Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021), provides analysis of the global ceramic machinery market, with detailed analysis of market size and growth of the industry.The report also includes a detailed analysis of the ceramic machinery market of Italy, including market by value, by segments, etc.Moreover, 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 overall global ceramic machinery market has also been forecasted for the years 2017-2021, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.SACMI, SITI B&T Group and Electronics for Imaging Inc. are some of the key players operating in the global ceramic machinery market, whose company profiling has been done in the report. In this segment of the report, business overview, financial overview and business strategies of the companies are provided.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Country CoverageItalyCompany CoverageSACMISITI B&T GroupElectronics For Imaging Inc.Executive SummaryA ceramic is defined as a non-metallic, inorganic, solid material consisting of metal, non-metal or metalloid atoms which are primarily held together with ionic and covalent bonds. Bricks, tile, plates, glass etc. are essentially made from ceramic materials. Ceramics can be classified into crystalline and non crystalline ceramics.The global ceramic machinery market can be studied on the basis of different products and on the basis of end users. On the basis of product, the market can be divided into tile, sanitary ware, heavyclay, tableware, refractory and technical ceramic machinery. On the basis of end users, the market can be divided into tile, heavyclay and sanitary ware manufacturers.The global ceramic machinery market is expected to increase at a healthy growth rate during the forecast period (2017-2021). The global ceramic machinery market is supported by various growth drivers, such as expansion of the construction industry, increasing demand for ceramic tiles, upsurge in disposable income, rising hotel industry and demand for process innovation.However, environmental and health risk associated with ceramic production and declining demand for traditional decoration machines are some of the challenges faced by the market. Adoption of PLC based systems, increasing demand for digital decoration and evolution of additive manufacturing are some of the latest trends in the market.Table Of Content1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Ceramics: An Overview2.2 Ceramics Manufacturing Process2.3 Types of Ceramics: An Overview2.4 Ceramic Machinery Market Segments3. Global Market Analysis3.1 Global Ceramic Machinery Market: An analysis3.1.1 Global Ceramic Machinery Market by Value3.1.2 Global Ceramic Machinery Market by Region4. Italy Ceramic Machinery Market Analysis4.1 Italy Ceramic Machinery Market: An Analysis4.1.1 Italy Ceramic Machinery Market by Value4.1.2 Italy Ceramic Machinery Market by Segments4.1.3 Italy Ceramic Machinery Market by Clients4.1.4 Italy Domestic Ceramic Machinery Market by Value4.1.5 Italy Domestic Ceramic Machinery Market by Segments4.1.6 Italy Exports/International Ceramic Machinery Market by Value4.1.7 Italy Exports/International Ceramic Machinery Market by Segments4.1.8 Italy Exports/International Ceramic Machinery Market by Country5. Market Dynamics5.1 Growth Drivers5.1.1 Proliferation in Construction Activities5.1.2 Increase in Demand for Ceramic Tiles5.1.3 Upsurge in Disposable Income5.1.4 Rising Hotel Industry5.1.5 Demand for Process Innovation5.2 Challenges5.2.1 Environmental and Health Risk Associated with Ceramic Production5.2.2 Declining Traditional Decoration Machines5.3 Market Trends5.3.1 Adoption of PLC based Systems5.3.2 Growing Demand for Digital Decoration5.3.3 Evolution of Additive Manufacturing6. Competitive Landscape6.1 Italy Ceramic Machinery Industry: Competitive Landscape6.2 Italy Ceramic Machinery Industry Players on the Basis of Class7. Company Profiling7.1 SACMI7.1.1 Business Overview7.1.2 Financial Overview7.1.3 Business Strategy7.2 SITI B&T Group7.2.1 Business Overview7.2.2 Financial Overview7.2.3 Business Strategy7.3 Electronics For Imaging Inc.7.3.1 Business Overview7.3.2 Financial Overview7.3.3 Business StrategyMake 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 @
Cardiac Arrhythmia Monitoring Devices Market to Witness Comprehensive Growth by 2016  2024

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The term arrhythmia refers to a change in normal sequence of electrical impulses of the heart. There are different types of arrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation, bradycardia, conduction disorders, premature contraction, tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation and other rhythm disorders. Arrhythmia is a major cause of stroke which affects the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain. A stroke occurs when the blood vessels rupture or get clogged by a blood clot and deprive the brain cells of blood within minutes due to shortage of oxygen and nutrient supply. In the U.S., 14 Mn people suffer from coronary artery disease or other complications such as congestive heart failure, angina and arrhythmias. A faster heart beat than the normal, is called tachycardia while a slow heart beat is called bradycardia. The most common type of arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation which causes an irregular and faster heartbeat. Many factors affect the heart's rhythm, such as heart attack, smoking, congenital heart defects, and stress. The irregular rhythm of heart beat can be monitored with the hearts electrical activity using continuous monitor recorder called as ambulatory electrocardiography. Arrhythmia monitoring refers to some tests such as electrocardiographic (ECG) testing and electrophysiology (EP) testing.Electrophysiology is a subspecialty of cardiology and is a rapidly growing field in discovering cures and new treatments for all forms of arrhythmias. According to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, electrophysiology is advancing in the assessment of heart's electrical function. UCSF medical center pioneered the use of catheter ablation, a treatment that destroys or disrupts parts of electrical pathways causing arrhythmias. UCSF performs 900 procedures a year including 400 catheter ablation procedures which ensures efficiency and expertise in the treatment of arrhythmias.Introduction of different monitoring devices for treating cardiac arrhythmia is expected to boost the growth of the global cardiac arrhythmia monitoring devices market over the forecast period. Catheter ablation procedures can effectively treat number of cases of arrhythmia, with a small incision and shorter recovery time. Implantable cardiac monitors segment is expected to account for remarkable revenues during the forecast period.ECG stress test devices are used for arrhythmias that occur frequently and ambulatory ECG is used for infrequent arrhythmias. Resting ECG is expected to grow with a higher market value share during the forecast period due to easy availability of devices in hospitals or physician office. Being the first procedure for treating the frequent or constant arrhythmias, it is available with most of the end-users. Ambulatory ECG is expected to account for significant market shares during the forecast period due to easy functioning of devices which detect and record the daily activities.Atrial Fibrillation is projected to grow at remarkable CAGRs owing to large number of arrhythmia cases due to obesity, unhealthy food habit and increase in aging among population through 2024. Hospital segment is expected to dominate the market in terms of value during forecast year due to availability of various reimbursement policies, monitoring devices and practiced physician with the knowledge on latest devices.A Sample of this Report is Available Upon Request @On the basis of regional presence, global cardiac arrhythmia monitoring device market is segmented into five key regions viz. North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to lead in terms of value in the global cardiac arrhythmia monitoring device market due to increase in number of cardiac arrhythmia patients in the region. According to the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, American cardiac patients with an age group of 60 to 85 years demonstrate a complex arrhythmia of both types such as supraventricular and ventricular. The study include 5,201 adults, who were found to have serious arrhythmias such as sustained ventricular tachycardia and complete atrioventricular block of which 4.3% of women and 10.3% of men were detected positive.Request to View Tables of Content @Some of the major players in global cardiac arrhythmia monitoring device market are Biotelemetry, Cardiac Science Corp., Cardiocom, Cardionet, and GE Healthcare etc.To Know About Latest Report Click Here:About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Nurse Call System Market 2017 - Ascom Holding AG, Rauland-Borg Corporation, Hill-Rom Holdings

Nurse Call System Market

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The report covers forecast and analysis for the nurse call system market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2014 along with a forecast from 2015 to 2020 based revenue (USD Million). The study includes drivers and restraints for the nurse call system market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes the study of opportunities available in the nurse call system market on a global level.Browse Complete Report @In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view on the nurse call system. To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the nurse call system market has also been included. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein equipment type segments, communication technology segment and application segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate and general attractiveness.The study provides a decisive view on the nurse call system market by segmenting the market based on equipment type of nurse call system, applications and regions. All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2014 to 2020. Based on equipment type the market is segmented into nurse call buttons, nurse call intercoms, nurse call mobile systems, and nurse call integrated communication systems. Wired communication equipment and wireless communication equipment are the communication technology segments of nurse call system market. Key application market covered under this study includes hospitals, OPD clinics, assisted living centers, and ambulatory services.Do Enquiry For Sample Report @The regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa with its further bifurcation into major countries including U.S. Germany, France, UK, China, Japan, India and Brazil. This segmentation includes demand for nurse call system based on individual applications in all the regions and countries.The report also includes detailed profiles of end players such as Ascom Holding AG, Rauland-Borg Corporation, Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc., Cornell Communications, Inc., Jeron Electronic Systems, Inc., Tyco SimplexGrinnell, TekTone Sound & Signal Mfg., Inc., Vigil Health Solutions, Inc., Critical Alert Systems, LLC, Stanley Healthcare, Azure Healthcare Limited. The detailed description of players includes parameters such as company overview, financial overview, business and recent developments of the company.This report segments the global nurse call system market as follows:Global Nurse Call System Market: Equipment Type Segment AnalysisNurse Call ButtonsNurse Call IntercomsNurse Call Mobile SystemsNurse Call Integrated Communication SystemsDo Enquiry Before Purchasing Report @Global Nurse Call System Market: Communication Technology Segment AnalysisWired Communication EquipmentWireless Communication EquipmentGlobal Nurse Call System Market: Application Segment AnalysisHospitalsOPD ClinicsAssisted Living CentersAmbulatory ServicesGlobal Nurse Call System Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.EuropeGermanyFranceUKAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaLatin AmericaBrazilMiddle East and AfricaAbout US:Big Market Research uniqueness lies in its highly ethical reports at economical rates because we value your relationship and growth more than money. Your growth is our aim. With the arsenal of different search reports, we help you here to look and buy research reports that will be helpful to you and your organization. Our research reports have the capability and authenticity to support your organization for growth and consistency.Contact US:5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesDirect : +1-971-202-1575Toll Free : + 1-800-910-6452Email: help@bigmarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Isophthaloyl Dichloride Market 2017- DuPont, Yantai Yuxiang, Changzhou Kefeng, Shandong Kaisheng New Materials

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The Isophthaloyl Dichloride Market 2017 examines the performance of the Isophthaloyl Dichloride market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Isophthaloyl Dichloride market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Isophthaloyl Dichloride market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Isophthaloyl Dichloride Market 2017 report includes Isophthaloyl Dichloride industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Isophthaloyl Dichloride Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Isophthaloyl Dichloride Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Isophthaloyl Dichloride Market 2017:1 DuPont2 Yantai Yuxiang3 Changzhou Kefeng4 Shandong Kaisheng New MaterialsIsophthaloyl Dichloride Market Analysis: By ProductIsophthaloyl Dichloride Market Analysis: By ApplicationAt the beginning, the report covers the top Isophthaloyl Dichloride manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Isophthaloyl Dichloride report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Isophthaloyl Dichloride industry, Isophthaloyl Dichloride industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Isophthaloyl Dichloride Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Isophthaloyl Dichloride 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 Isophthaloyl Dichloride market revenue worldwide.Finally, Isophthaloyl Dichloride market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.QY Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profitmaking venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.QY Market Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profitmaking venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.Read more-S no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Telephone Numbers:+1(857)2390696+91 9130855334Email ID: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Latest Market News-
Offshore Wind Energy Market - Size, Global Trend Analysis, Market Share, Advancements, Opportunity and Forecast 2014-2025

Offshore Wind Energy Market

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Offshore Wind power is the electricity generated by using wind farms installed offshore, usually on the continental shelf, to harness wind energy. The winds blowing offshore are much harder and uniformly flowing than those on land. For an increase in the speed of wind by a mile per hour, electricity generated triples, making offshore wind energy a much-interested option for developers in comparison with onshore or land wind energy.Around 4.45 GW of wind energy is generated from offshore units installed globally, with another 4.72 GW capacity units being under construction and an additional 30.44 GW capacity units being approved.Enquire Report:The global Offshore Wind Energy Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.3% from 2017 to 2025.Geographic breakdown and deep analysis of each of the aforesaid segments have resulted in the following regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.Market Dynamics:Offshore Wind Energy Market Drivers: Numerous advantages over their onshore counterparts are anticipated to increase the demand for offshore wind energy during the forecast period. Conducive incentive mechanisms and regulatory frameworks to increase investments and capacity are expected to increase the market demand for offshore wind energy during the forecast period.Offshore Wind Energy Market Restraints: Higher capital costs associated with projects is projected to hamper the growth of the offshore wind market. Presence of obstructions in the supply chain is expected to lead to a slowdown of the market during the forecast period.Offshore Wind Energy Market Players:The top players in the Global Offshore Wind Market include Siemens Wind Power Vestas Wind Systems A/S Goldwind Science and Technology Co., Ltd. Gamesa Corporacion Tecnologica S.A. GE Wind Energy Sinovel Wind Group Co., Ltd. Dong Energy A/S Suzlon Energy Ltd. Nordex SE China Ming Yang Wind Power Group Limited.Request Sample:Offshore Wind Energy Market By Geography North Americao U.S.o Canadao Mexico Europeo UKo Germanyo Franceo Spaino Italyo Rest of Europe Asia-Pacifico Chinao Japano Indiao Australiao South Koreao Rest of Asia-Pacific LAMEAo Brazilo Saudi Arabiao Argentinao Rest of LAMEATable Content for Offshore Wind Energy Industry1. Executive summary for Offshore Wind Energy Industry1.1. Key Findings1.2. Market Attractiveness and Trend analysis1.3. Competitive Landscape and recent industry development analysis2. Introduction for Offshore Wind Energy Industry2.1. Report Description2.2. Scope and Definitions2.3. Research Methodology3. Market landscape for Offshore Wind Energy Industry3.1. Growth Drivers3.1.1. Impact Analysis3.2. Restrains and Challenges3.2.1. Impact Analysis3.3. Porters Analysis3.3.1. Bargaining power of buyers3.3.2. Bargaining power of suppliers3.3.3. Threat of substitutes3.3.4. Industry rivalry3.3.5. Threat of new entrants3.4. Global Offshore Wind Market Shares Analysis, 2014-20253.4.1. Global Offshore Wind Market Share By Geography, 2014-2025Continue to Full ToC:List of Tables for Offshore Wind Energy Industry14 TablesList of Figures for Offshore Wind Energy Industry38 FiguresCheck Discount On Full Report:About UsProgressive Markets is the answer to every possible business query. It is a market research and business consulting firm, headquartered in U.S. that aims to deliver conversant executive support to foster overall growth of an organization in its domain.Reach Us5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220,United States.Int'l: +1-971-202-1575Toll Free: ++ 1-800-910-6452Fax: +1-800-792-5285help@progressivemarkets.com
Preventive Healthcare Technologies and Services Market shows the Positive Growth due to the Constructive Government Policies

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Preventive healthcare comprises measures taken for prevention of disease by predetermination of the disease or immunization. The diseases that are monitored or immunized vastly are cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, accidental complications, diabetes and certain infectious diseases. In the modern era, preventive healthcare is attributed with technology that aids significant growth in its application range and efficiency. A decade old revolution of information technology has also influenced the healthcare market and primarily contributed in the market growth of preventive healthcare technology and services market globallyThis 102 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Preventive Healthcare Technologies and Services Market. Browse through 8 data tables and 33 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market:The preventive healthcare technologies and services market is segmented as early detection and screening technologies, prophylaxis technologies, advanced technologies to reduce errors and chronic disease management technologies. In 2013, early detection and screening technologies accounted for the highest market share, while the market for advanced technologies to reduce errors is expected to be the fastest growing market segment during the forecast period. Early detection and screening technologies market is further sub-segmented into personalized medicine, automated screening techniques and other automated screening techniques. Personalized medicine was observed to be the largest sub-segment in this category, with the increasing research on proteomics and genomics, being the vital reason for its growth in the coming years.Constructive government policies that are providing favorable environment for healthcare information technology and increasing awareness and initiatives for prophylaxis are major reasons that are driving the growth of this market. Similarly, reduced healthcare cost burden due to penetration of healthcare information technology and increasing demand for self-monitoring devices are other key factors anticipated to propel the market growth. However, high installation and maintenance costs have hindered the penetration of preventive technologies in the emerging markets of the world. Deficient patient engagement activities have demotivated the physicians and pharmacists to adopt the technology.Geographical scenario of preventive healthcare technologies and services market depicts the market revenue, size and forecast for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World. In year 2013, North America was observed to be the largest and fastest growing market during the forecast period of 2014 to 2020 for preventive healthcare technologies and services. The supportive reimbursement policies, international hub of information technology, high awareness about preventive healthcare technologies and presence of major players in this market are some of the major factors supporting the growth of this market in North America. Some of the technologies such as electronic prescribing, clinical decision support system and automated prescription, formulation and dispensing are at nascent stage and expected to affect the market significantly after the entry, hence the other geographies especially Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World are anticipated to be potential markets in the future, with the current market penetration estimated to be lowGet accurate market forecast and analysis on the Preventive Healthcare Technologies and Services Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:The preventive healthcare technologies and services market is very dynamic and the key players of this market can be differentiated on the basis of segments. In early detection and screening market major players includes Dilon Technologies, Inc., Myriad Genetics, Inc., Novx Systems, Inc., U-Systems, inc. and Viatronix, Inc. Sanofi Pasteur MSD, Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline plc are the key players operating in Prophylaxis segment, whereas advanced technologies to reduce errors segment includes players such as Lifecom, Inc., ScriptPro LLC and Omnicell, Inc. Chronic disease management technologies segment include Alere, Healthways, Inc., Omron Healthcare, Inc. and Medtronic, Inc, as the key players in this segment of the market.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Bacterial Conjunctivitis Market to record high demand by 2016-2024

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Conjunctivitis is a communicable disease. It is also known as pink eye in the United States and madras eye in India. Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of conjunctiva. Conjunctivitis caused by bacteria, viruses and allergens. It is highly contagious diseases, spread easily through direct contact of any object like towel, napkin or by coughing and sneezing. Bacterial conjunctivitis caused mainly by both gram positive bacteria and gram negative bacteria. Common bacteria responsible for conjunctivitis are taphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas, Serratia marcescens, Haemophilus influenza etc.Request Free Sample Report @Symptoms of bacterial conjunctivitis are reddening of eyes, excess tears, thick yellow discharge, itching, burning sensation, blurred vision and increase sensitivity towards the light. Treatment includes using antibiotics both systemic and topical. Sometime Povidone-iodine 1.25% ophthalmic solution is also used in African countries like utopia, Uganda as an alternative of antibiotic due to its less cost.Bacterial conjunctivitis market is driven by increase incidence of conjunctivitis patients across the globe. Exact epidemiology of this disease is difficult to estimate due to its high incidence and low prevalence. Moreover, continuous increasing incidences of bacterial conjunctivitis are responsible for market growth, bacterial conjunctivitis accounts for more than 50% of the cases. Nonetheless, ongoing research and development in the healthcare sector coupled with advancement in medical technologies are expected to open growth avenues for the market over the years.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @The report covers forecast and analysis of the bacterial conjunctivitis drug market on a regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with a forecast from 2016 to 2021 based on revenue (USD Million). To understand the competitive landscape in the market, an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the bacterial conjunctivitis drug market has also been included in the study. The report also analyzes several driving and restraining factors and their impact on the market during the forecast period. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein product & regional segments are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness.The report provides detailed segmentation of the bacterial conjunctivitis drug market based on product segment and regional segment. Geographically, the market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. Demand has been analyzed and forecast based on the current trends for the period of six years. North America was the leading segment of bacterial conjunctivitis drug market followed by Europe in 2015. The bacterial conjunctivitis drug market is expected to witness the good growth in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in India and China in the coming years due to the rising population and pandemic nature of conjunctivitis diseases.Browse detail report @Key players included in the report are Allergan, Inc., Merck, Pfizer, Inc., Novartis and others.This report segments the global bacterial conjunctivitis markets follows:Bacterial Conjunctivitis Market: Product Segment AnalysisFluoroquinolonesMacroloidesAminoglycosidesOthersBacterial Conjunctivitis Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificLatin AmericaThe Middle East & AfricaAbout Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Blog:
Global Messenger Wire Market 2017 - Jiangyin Electrical Alloy, Lamifil, Eland Cables, La Farga, Alstom

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The Messenger Wire Market 2017 examines the performance of the Messenger Wire market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Messenger Wire market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Messenger Wire market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Messenger Wire Market 2017 report includes Messenger Wire industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Messenger Wire Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Messenger Wire Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Messenger Wire Market 2017:1 Jiangyin Electrical Alloy2 Lamifil3 Eland Cables4 La Farga5 Alstom6 TE Connectivity7 NKT Cables8 Kummler+Matter9 Liljedahl Bare10 Arthur Flury AG11 Fujikura12 Galland13 Gaon Cable14 SANWA TEKKIMessenger Wire Market Analysis: By ProductCopperSteelAluminium-Coated Steel (ACS)Copper-Clad Steel (CCS)OtherMessenger Wire Market Analysis: By ApplicationHigh Speed RailMetroStreetcarOtherAt the beginning, the report covers the top Messenger Wire manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Messenger Wire report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Messenger Wire industry, Messenger Wire industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Messenger Wire Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Messenger Wire 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 Messenger Wire market revenue worldwide.Finally, Messenger Wire 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 Aroma Chemicals Market predicts rise in demand by 2016-2024

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Aroma chemicals are an essential group of organic molecules used as ingredients in flavor and fragrance compositions. It imparts a pleasing scent to consumer goods such as perfumes, toiletries, cosmetics, detergents and household cleaners. Aroma chemicals consist of natural and artificial molecules. There are 3,500 different molecules used to make fragrance and flavor compositions. Synthetic ingredients play a major role as a component due to their existing availability and relatively lower cost as compared with natural molecules.Request Free Sample Report @The worldwide market for aroma chemicals is expected to grow at moderate rate owing to favorable economic conditions and increase in disposable incomes along with enhanced end user awareness of personal grooming and hygiene. Furthermore, demand from companies that manufacture food, soaps and detergents, cosmetics, toiletries, and household products may boost the market growth in upcoming years. Additionally, rise in demand from the developing countries coupled with significant technological advancements has helped in the fragrance ingredients market. Consolidation of aroma chemical manufacturers is a key trend contributing to the growth of this market. However, factors such as expensive R&D programs and the need for compliance with regulatory standards may curtail the market growth.The report covers forecast and analysis for the aroma chemicals market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2015 along with a forecast from 2016 to 2021 based on revenue (USD Million). The study includes drivers and restraints for the market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes study of opportunities available in the aroma chemical market on a global level.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Global aroma chemicals market has been segmented on the basis of type and region. On the basis of type, aroma chemical market is classified into natural aroma chemicals and synthetic aroma chemicals. Geographically, aroma chemical market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific region is estimated to emerge as the fastest growing region due to huge domestic consumption of aroma chemicals in India. Furthermore, rapid urbanization and growing disposable income have increased the demand for cosmetics and processed foods in the region which may further boost the demand for market. The market for aroma chemicals in Latin America is anticipated to grow significantly owing to increasing economic scenario in the countries such as Brazil. Growing income levels in the region is expected to impel the demand for cosmetics, food, and personal care products which may fuel the market.Key players in the global aroma chemicals market are Hindustan Mint and Agro Products Pvt. Ltd., Kalpsutra Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., Takasago International Corp., Veera Fragrances Pvt. Ltd, Silverline Chemicals Ltd, J. K. Fragrances, and Agilex Flavors & Fragrances among others.Browse detail report @This report segments the aroma chemicals market as follows:Aroma Chemicals Market: Type Segment AnalysisNatural aroma chemicalsSynthetic aroma chemicalsAroma Chemicals Market: Regional Segment AnalysisAbout Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Blog:
Global Isobutyraldehyde Market 2017- BASF, Dow, Arkema, Mitsubishi Chemical

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The Isobutyraldehyde Market 2017 examines the performance of the Isobutyraldehyde market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Isobutyraldehyde market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Isobutyraldehyde market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Isobutyraldehyde Market 2017 report includes Isobutyraldehyde industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Isobutyraldehyde Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Isobutyraldehyde Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Isobutyraldehyde Market 2017:1 BASF2 Dow3 Arkema4 Mitsubishi Chemical5 Eastman6 Airgas7 Inoue Perfumery MFG8 Formosa Plastics9 BASF-YPC10 Zhonggang Group11 Shandong Jianlan Chemical12 Beijing Eastern Petrochemical13 Luxi Chemical14 Ruibao Chemical15 Yangmei Chemical16 Yancheng Chunzhu AromaIsobutyraldehyde Market Analysis: By ProductIsobutyraldehyde Market Analysis: By ApplicationAt the beginning, the report covers the top Isobutyraldehyde manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Isobutyraldehyde report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Isobutyraldehyde industry, Isobutyraldehyde industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Isobutyraldehyde Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Isobutyraldehyde 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 Isobutyraldehyde market revenue worldwide.Finally, Isobutyraldehyde market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.QY Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profitmaking venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.QY Market Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profitmaking venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.Read more-S no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Telephone Numbers:+1(857)2390696+91 9130855334Email ID: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Latest Market News-
Global Luxury vehicles market 2016 Industry Analysis & Forecast 2024

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The term luxury vehicle suggests a vehicle with higher quality equipment, explicit construction, comfort, better performance, higher design, and is technologically modern and featured. It is a perceptual, conditional, and subjective attribute that may be apprehended differently by different people. Luxury vehicles are a symbol of an image, brand, prestige, or status that is offered at premium prices. These vehicles provide emphasized comfort and the higher degree of safety compared to mainstream vehicles.Request Free Sample Report @The past of automobile industry shows that there has been a point where it had a group of car models that were expensive to purchase owing to the so-called superiority of their design and engineering. Wealthy buyers and the high-standard group of people give importance to their society status and prestige. Hence, these automobiles specifically focus on such wealthy buyers and are generically termed as luxury vehicles. By providing various models, manufacturers of these luxury vehicles target particular socio-economic classes taking into account their income and standard of living in the society.On the basis of type, luxury vehicles are classified as sedan, station wagon, hatchback, coupe, and convertible body styles. Further, they are segmented into minivans, crossovers, sport utility vehicles, and others. Luxury vehicles are available in any size vehicle, from small to large, and in any price range. Based on the size and features provided by luxury vehicles, others segment is further sub-segmented as premium compact vehicles, entry-level luxury or compact executive vehicles, mid-size luxury or executive vehicles, high-end luxury or full-size luxury vehicles, and ultra-luxury vehicles. Geographically, the market is segmented as North America, Europe, Asia, and RoW.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @The U.S., China, Japan, Canada, India, and other European countries are the major markets for luxury vehicles. The global luxury vehicles market is forecasted to have positive growth in the near future. Increasing disposable income is the key factor for the market growth globally. In addition, automobile manufacturers and other financial institutions provide various loan schemes which make it easy for the customers to maintain their status in the society. This is one of the factors increasing the demand of luxury vehicles in the developing nations which positively impacts the growth of global luxury vehicles market. On the other hand, rising fuel prices in developing countries such as India may act as market restraints, hindering growth of the global market.Key players of the global luxury market are BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Audi, Volvo, Ferrari, and Land Rover. Other major players in the market include Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini, Lexus, and Cadillac. Some of the manufacturers may be either stand-alone companies such as BMW and Mercedes, while others may be a division or a subsidiary of a mass market automaker such as Lexus, which is a part of Toyota.Browse detail report @Luxury Vehicles Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth America(U.S.); Europe(UK, France, Germany); Asia-Pacific(China, Japan, India); Latin America(Brazil); The Middle East and AfricaAbout Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Blog:
Global Isobutylene Isoprene Rubber Iir Market 2017- Exxonmobil, Lanxess, Pjsc Nizhnekamskneftekhim, JSR, Sibur

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The Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) Market 2017 examines the performance of the Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) Market 2017 report includes Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) Market 2017:1 Exxonmobil2 Lanxess3 Pjsc Nizhnekamskneftekhim4 JSR5 Sibur6 Sinopec Beijing Yanshan Company7 Zhejiang Cenway Synthetic New Material8 Panjin Heyun GroupIsobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) Market Analysis: By Product0.6%?1.0?L.L%?1.5?1.6%?2.0?2.1%?2.5?2.6%?3.3?Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) Market Analysis: By ApplicationMedical StoppersGas Masks and Chemical Agent ProtectionAt the beginning, the report covers the top Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) industry, Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) 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 Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) market revenue worldwide.Finally, Isobutylene-Isoprene Rubber (IIR) market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.QY Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profitmaking venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.QY Market Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profitmaking venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.Read more-S no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Telephone Numbers:+1(857)2390696+91 9130855334Email ID: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Latest Market News-
Global Isobutyl Acetate Market 2017- Eastman, Dow Chemical Company, OXEA Chemcials, Charkit Chemical, Comet Chemical Company

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The Isobutyl Acetate Market 2017 examines the performance of the Isobutyl Acetate market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Isobutyl Acetate market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Isobutyl Acetate market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Isobutyl Acetate Market 2017 report includes Isobutyl Acetate industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Isobutyl Acetate Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Isobutyl Acetate Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Isobutyl Acetate Market 2017:1 Eastman2 Dow Chemical Company3 OXEA Chemcials4 Charkit Chemical5 Comet Chemical Company6 Novasol Chemcials7 Changzhou XiaQing Chemical8 Jiangsu Ruijia ChemistryIsobutyl Acetate Market Analysis: By ProductIsobutyl Acetate Market Analysis: By ApplicationAt the beginning, the report covers the top Isobutyl Acetate manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Isobutyl Acetate report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Isobutyl Acetate industry, Isobutyl Acetate industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Isobutyl Acetate Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Isobutyl Acetate 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 Isobutyl Acetate market revenue worldwide.Finally, Isobutyl Acetate market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.QY Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profitmaking venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.QY Market Research is the terminal where all industrial, commercial and profitmaking venture will get the best research reports of the market in all sectors like automotive, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, food and beverages etc. We provide you the important and necessary information to identify and analyze the need of market and the market size.Read more-S no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Telephone Numbers:+1(857)2390696+91 9130855334Email ID: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Latest Market News-
Global FPSO Market size demand will increase by 2016-2024

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FPSO stands for Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading. An FPSO vessel is a type of floating production system that is used for the offshore production, storage, and offloading of oil and gas. Usually, it is a vessel that is a converted oil tanker or a newly constructed FPSO unit. An FPSO often resembles a ship, equipped with production and processing facilities onboard. FPSOs comprise offloading facilities for the transportation of processed oil and gas to onshore receiving facilities through a shuttle tanker. These vessels are used to extract or receive raw hydrocarbons from sea beds, which are then processed in onboard processing facilities.Request Free Sample Report @The installation of fixed processing and production facilities is technically very complex and costly in remote oil and gas production areas; this, in turn, increases the demand for FPSOs excluding the need for fixed processing facilities. Marginal fields and challenging environments have been others factors that act as driving factors of FPSO market expansion. The considerable expansion in oil & gas exploration and production in deep water, ultra-deep water, and offshore fields is expected to boost the global FPSO market growth over the forecast period. Increasing consumption of oil & gas globally, particularly in power generation and transportation sectors has made companies explore more hydrocarbon reserves.On the basis of type, the global FPSO market is segmented as converted FPSO systems, new-build FPSO systems, and redeployed FPSO systems. Presently, the market is dominated by the converted FPSO systems segment. On the other hand, the demand for new-build FPSO systems has decreased owing to the reduced costs of oils in oil and gas exploration industries. Based on the water depth, the market has been segmented into shallow water, deepwater, and ultra-deepwater systems. On the basis of equipment, the FPSO market is segmented as nitrogen generation, seawater injection, fuel gas treatment, produced water, crude oil separation, and chemical injection.Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @North America and Europe are the dominant players of the global FPSO market and are anticipated to witness considerable growth in coming years owing to mature oil & gas reserves. In addition, South America and East Africa are also expected to experience significant growth due to recent offshore E&P developments and deep water oil field discoveries. Further, Brazil is expected to emerge as a major FPSO market in this region due to rising oil & gas activities along with considerable government support. Recent deep sea oil & gas reserves in South China Sea, North Sea, and Gulf of Mexico are expected to positively impact the global market growth in the near future.Major players dominating the global FPSO market are Bumi Armada Berhad, MODEC, Inc., BW Offshore, Bluewater Energy Services B.V., COSCO Shipyard Group Co. Ltd., and Yinson Holdings Berhad. Other key players in the market are Sembcorp Marine Ltd., Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., Teekay Corporation, and SBM Offshore N.V.Browse detail report @FPSO Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth America(U.S.); Europe(UK, France, Germany); Asia-Pacific(China, Japan, India); Latin America(Brazil); The Middle East and AfricaAbout Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Blog:
Global Metal Membranes Market 2017 - Metal Membranes B.V, GKN Sinter Metals, Sterlitech Corporation

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The Metal Membranes Market 2017 examines the performance of the Metal Membranes market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Metal Membranes market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Metal Membranes market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Metal Membranes Market 2017 report includes Metal Membranes industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Metal Membranes Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Metal Membranes Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Metal Membranes Market 2017:1 Metal Membranes B.V2 GKN Sinter Metals3 Sterlitech Corporation4 Pall Corporation5 National Coatings Corporation6 Tarco7 Dec-Tec Solutions8 Porvair Filtration GroupMetal Membranes Market Analysis: By ProductSteel MembranesAluminum MembranesTitanium MembranesPalladium MembranesSilver MembranesAlloys MembranesMetal Membranes Market Analysis: By ApplicationElectronicsWastewater TreatmentChemical IndustryOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Metal Membranes manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Metal Membranes report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Metal Membranes industry, Metal Membranes industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Metal Membranes Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Metal Membranes 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 Metal Membranes market revenue worldwide.Finally, Metal Membranes 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 Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Market 2017 - Veeco Instruments, Agnitron Technology, Aixtron

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The Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Market 2017 examines the performance of the Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Market 2017 report includes Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Market 2017:1 Veeco Instruments2 Agnitron Technology3 Aixtron4 Taiyo Sanso Corp5 CVD Equipment6 Aixtron7 Samco8 Annealsys9 Valence Process EquipmentMetal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Market Analysis: By ProductPower TransistorsLasersLEDsElectronics DevicesPhotovoltaic CellsMetal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Market Analysis: By ApplicationSemiconductorElectronicsOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment industry, Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment 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 Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment market revenue worldwide.Finally, Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition Equipment 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 Microspheres Market 2017 - Matsumoto Yushi-Seiyaku, Trelleborg AB, Luminex Corporation, Momentive Performance Materials

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The Microspheres Market 2017 examines the performance of the Microspheres market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Microspheres market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Microspheres market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Microspheres Market 2017 report includes Microspheres industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Microspheres Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Microspheres Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Microspheres Market 2017:1 3M2 Akzo Nobel N.V.3 Matsumoto Yushi-Seiyaku4 Trelleborg AB5 Luminex Corporation6 Momentive Performance Materials7 Chase Corporation8 Potters Industries9 Sigmund Lindner10 MO SCI Corporation11 Polysciences12 Sphertotech13 Dennert Poraver14 Bangs Laboratories15 Nanjing Jianzun Glass Microsphere16 The Kish17 Asia Pacific Microspheres18 Advanced Polymers19 Durgesh Merchandise20 Cospheric21 Petra India22 Ceno Technologies23 Omya24 Qingdao Eastchem25 Reslab MicrofillerMicrospheres Market Analysis: By ProductHollowSolidMicrospheres Market Analysis: By ApplicationConstruction CompositesMedical TechnologyLife Science & BiotechnologyPaints & CoatingsCosmetics & Personal CareOil & GasAutomotiveAerospaceOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Microspheres manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Microspheres report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Microspheres industry, Microspheres industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Microspheres Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Microspheres 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 Microspheres market revenue worldwide.Finally, Microspheres 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 Military Wearable Market 2017 - Bionic Power Inc, HP Development Company, Google

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The Military Wearable Market 2017 examines the performance of the Military Wearable market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Military Wearable market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Military Wearable market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Military Wearable Market 2017 report includes Military Wearable industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Military Wearable Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Military Wearable Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Military Wearable Market 2017:1 Bionic Power Inc2 HP Development Company3 Google4 Sensoria5 Outlast Technologies LLC6 Apple Inc7 Applied Materials8 DuPont9 Genthrem10 Qualcomm TechnologiesMilitary Wearable Market Analysis: By ProductWrist WearModularEyewearSmart?Key ChainsEar WearOthersMilitary Wearable Market Analysis: By ApplicationArmyNavyAir ForceOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Military Wearable manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Military Wearable report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Military Wearable industry, Military Wearable industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Military Wearable Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Military Wearable 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 Military Wearable market revenue worldwide.Finally, Military Wearable 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 Millimeter Wave Technology Market 2017 - NXP Semiconductors N.V., Northrop Grumman Corporation

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The Millimeter Wave Technology Market 2017 examines the performance of the Millimeter Wave Technology market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the Millimeter Wave Technology market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Millimeter Wave Technology market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Millimeter Wave Technology Market 2017 report includes Millimeter Wave Technology industry volume, market Share, market Trends, Millimeter Wave Technology Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, Millimeter Wave Technology Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Millimeter Wave Technology Market 2017:1 NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Netherlands)2 Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.)3 Infineon Technologies AG (Germany)4 Freescale Semiconductor (U.S.)5 Panasonic Corporation (Japan)6 Samsung Electronics(Japan)7 BridgeWave Communications (U.S.)8 E-Band Communications (U.S.)9 Siklu Communication Ltd (Israel)10 SAGE Millimeter (U.S.)11 Keysight Technologies (U.S.)12 Millitech Inc. (U.S.)13 NEC Corporation (Japan)14 Trex Enterprises Corporation (U.S.)15 LightPointe Communications (U.S.)16 Farran technology Ltd (Ireland)Millimeter Wave Technology Market Analysis: By ProductFrequency ConvertersAmplifiersRadiometersOscillatorsTransceivers and AntennasFerrite DevicesRadiometersPassive ComponentsOthersMillimeter Wave Technology Market Analysis: By ApplicationSecurityDefense & MilitaryTelecommunicationsHealthcareIndustrialTransportation & AutomotiveOthersAt the beginning, the report covers the top Millimeter Wave Technology manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the Millimeter Wave Technology report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Millimeter Wave Technology industry, Millimeter Wave Technology industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Millimeter Wave Technology Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The Millimeter Wave Technology 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 Millimeter Wave Technology market revenue worldwide.Finally, Millimeter Wave Technology 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-
Demand for Global Telecom IoT Market to grow at a CAGR of 42.36% during 2016-2020: Key Vendors such as AT&T, Ericsson, Vodafone, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom etc.

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ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Global Telecom IoT Market 2016-2020 " to it's Large Report database.About Telecom IoTThe IoT is a network of physical objects that are interconnected and can communicate among themselves as well as with the internal and external environments. It connects hardware devices, software, and communication and IT services. It creates smart communication environments such as smart homes, smart shopping, smart transportation, and smart healthcare. It is an emerging ecosystem of Internet protocol (IP)-connected devices with the potential to deliver significant business benefits across varied industries and is valued at trillions of dollars in the future.Technavios analysts forecast the global telecom IoT market to grow at a CAGR of 42.36% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global telecom IoT market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report provides the performance and market dominance of each of the vendors in terms of experience, product portfolio, geographical presence, financial condition, R&D, and customer base.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Telecom IoT Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsAT&TChina MobileDeutsche TelekomEricssonVerizon CommunicationsVodafoneRead All IoT Market Research Reports @Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryHighlightsPART 02: Scope of the reportMarket overviewTop-vendor offeringsPART 03: Market research methodologyResearch methodologyEconomic indicatorsPART 04: IntroductionKey market highlightsPART 05: Market landscapeMarket overviewMarket size and forecastFive forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by technologyMarket size and forecastPART 07: Market segmentation by applicationMarket size and forecastPART 08: Market segmentation by business areaMarket size and forecastPART 09: Geographical segmentationMarket size and forecastPART 10: Market driversAbout 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:
Nerve Monitoring Devices Market Global Analysis & 2024 Forecast Report

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Global Nerve Monitoring Devices MarketNerve monitoring devices are various implements used to supervise the function of the nervous system during surgeries. Since neural function is absolutely vital and the risk of inadvertent damage to nerves during several surgeries is moderately high, nerve monitoring devices have gained widespread acceptance in recent years. Nerve monitoring devices monitor the integrity and ensure the continued function of a few key areas, in order to avoid irreparable nerve damage.Browse through Nerve Monitoring Devices Market report to know what factors will shape the market by 2024:The global nerve monitoring devices market is propelled by the increasing number of neural surgeries and the increasing geriatric population, among other factors. The report presents the expected qualitative and quantitative impact of the driving and restraining factors influencing the global nerve monitoring devices in the 20162024 forecast period, in addition to data on the competitive and commercial dynamics of the nerve monitoring devices industry.Global Nerve Monitoring Devices Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe major driver of the nerve monitoring devices market is, naturally, the increased number of neural surgeries performed around the world. Due to advancements in our knowledge about the nervous system, increasingly complex neural surgeries can now be performed with near-absolute safety. This has led to a consequent rise in the demand for nerve monitoring devices.The rising geriatric population around the world is also a significant factor propelling the global nerve monitoring devices market. The elderly are more prone to nervous diseases than their younger counterparts, and the former are also more likely to require surgical interventions than the latter. Both these factors lead increased demand for nerve monitoring devices, since they are used in both neural and other surgeries that present a risk of nerve damage.Apart from these, the major driving factor propelling the global nerve monitoring devices market is increasing awareness among the global population. The broadening population pool of patients who can afford advanced medical treatments is also boosting the global nerve monitoring devices market.Global Nerve Monitoring Devices Market: Geographical OverviewThe global nerve monitoring devices market is led by North America. The increasing demand for neural surgeries in the region, the high purchasing power of patients in the region, and the firm establishment of major medical research avenues have been the primary drivers for the North America nerve monitoring devices market. The high geriatric population of the region has also helped the expansion of the nerve monitoring devices market.Europe was the second-largest market for nerve monitoring devices in 2015. Several governments in Europe have proactively encouraged medical research, which has boosted the neural surgery sector. The Europe and North America markets for nerve monitoring devices are also helped immensely by the heavy public health-care expenditure, as well as the presence of sufficient reimbursement schemes.In the coming years, though, the increasingly urbanized Asia Pacific market for nerve monitoring devices is expected to emerge as a major regional player in the global market. As health-care infrastructure spreads across developing economies such as China, India, and Japan, advanced medical procedures and devices will become easily available, driving the market for implements such as nerve monitoring devices.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Nerve Monitoring Devices Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:Major players operating in the global nerve monitoring devices market include Medtronic, Nihon Kohden Corporation, Inomed, Dr. Langer Medical GmbH, EMS Biomedical, and Natus Medical Incorporated.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Streptococci Testing Market Demand and Growth by 2024

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Streptococci Testing Market: OverviewStreptococcal infections are caused by a microorganism called Streptococcus which is a non-motile, microaerophilic, grampositive spherical bacterium. Several disease causing strains of the bacteria include streptococci (groups A, B, C, D, and G). Each group causes specific types of infections and symptoms. Group A strain of the bacteria are the most virulent species for humans and cause wound and skin infections, strep throat, scarlet fever, tonsillitis, blood infections (septicemia), pneumonia, Sydenham's chorea., rheumatic fever and glomerulonephritis.Browse through Streptococci Testing Market report to know what factors will shape the market by 2024:Streptococci are known to originate from several natural sources, including humans and diverse animals. These bacteria often colonize on the mucosal surfaces of the mouth, nasal passages, intestinal tract, and pharynx. Moreover, the bacteria may also cause contamination of drinking water due to feces. Food products which are at high risk of contamination include milk and dairy products, steamed lobster, eggs, potato salad, ground ham, rice pudding custard, and shrimp salad. Some streptococci are commercially important for the production of cheese and yogurt, though are known to be potent pathogen.The bacteria species which do not cause any infection and are used in food industry include S. lactis, S. diacelillactis S. cremoris, and S. thermophilus, the latter being the most well-known. The factors affecting the incidences of sore throats (pharyngitis) include seasonal variation, patients age, and geography. Pharyngitis most of the times is bacterial, though can be viral. Children ranging from 5 to 15 years of age are most susceptible to the infection by group A strep during the winter or early spring season. Symptoms of this infection include stomach aches, headaches, vomiting, nausea, and listlessness.Streptococci Testing Market: Key SegmentsThe global streptococci testing market can be segmented based in tests type, end users and geography. Antibody tests include the antistreptolysin O titer (ASO), anti-DNase-B (ADB) test and Streptozyme. ASO test helps in determining a kidney disease glomerulonephritis, scarlet fever or rheumatic fever. ADB test is performed to determine a previous infection of a group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus. Streptozyme is a screening test used to detect antibodies to several streptococcal antigens. Diagnostic tests include throat culture and rapid antigen test. Diagnostic tests are used to confirm the infection where in the sample from the infected area is used as culture, a means of growing bacteria artificially in the laboratory.The cause of a sore throat is usually diagnosed on the basis of a physical exam and lab tests. A throat culture also known as strep test helps in detection of the presence of group A strain of streptococcal bacteria by using a throat swab. This strain is the most common cause of strep throat infection. Various other infections caused by these bacteria include pneumonia, meningitis and tonsillitis. Rapid antigen test can detect strep bacteria in minutes by looking for substances (antigens) in the throat. The rapid strep test detects the presence of a carbohydrate antigen which is unique to group A Streptococcus.The downside to the rapid test is that it cannot detect the presence of Group C and G which can also cause streptococcal pharyngitis. On positive rapid strep test, the treatment is started with appropriate antibiotics to prevent long-term damage and recurrence. End users segment include hospitals, private labs, physicians offices and public health labs. Geographically, the global streptococci testing market is segmented into four major regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Streptococci Testing Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:Streptococci Testing Market: Key PlayersThe key players contributing to Streptococci market include Abbott Diagnostics, Beckman Coulter, bioMerieux, DiaSorin, Hologic, Qiagen, Roche Diagnostics, Novartis Diagnostics, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Sigma Aldrich, and Thermo Fischer Scientific.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
In-depth Analysis of Global Aerial Imaging Market: Industry Size, Shares, Future Trends, Outlook, Opportunities & Forecasts 2017-2021

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ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Global Aerial Imaging Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021) " to it's Large Report database.Scope of the ReportThe report titled Global Aerial Imaging Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021), provides an in-depth analysis of the global aerial imaging market by value, by region and by end-users. The report provides a regional analysis of the aerial imaging market, including the following regions: North America and Asia-Pacific.The report also 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 global aerial imaging market has also been forecasted for the period 2017-2021, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:At present, the aerial imaging industry rivalry remains low. The market is fragmented with many small players offering a wide variety of services and coverage areas. Industry is likely to see a period of consolidation, with larger firms acquiring or pushing out unprofitable smaller businesses. Key players of the global aerial imaging market are Google, Inc., Fugro Worldwide, Nearmap Limited and NRC Group ASA, who are also profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.Country CoverageNorth AmericaAsia-PacificCompany CoverageGoogle, Inc. (Alphabet, Inc.)Fugro WorldwideNRC Group ASANearmap LimitedRead All Advertising and Marketing Market Research Reports @Table of Content1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Aerial Imaging: An Overview2.1.1 History of Aerial Imaging2.1.2 Applications/End-User of Aerial Imaging2.1.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Aerial Imaging2.1.4 Aerial Imaging and Other Alternatives: A Comparison3. Global Market Analysis3.1 Global Aerial Imaging Market: An Analysis3.1.1 Global Aerial Imaging Market by Value3.1.2 Global Aerial Imaging Market by Geography3.1.3 Global Aerial Imaging Market by End-User3.2 Global Aerial Imaging Market: End-User Analysis3.2.1 Global Government Sector Aerial Imaging Market by Value3.2.2 Global Commercial Sector Aerial Imaging Market by Value3.2.3 Global Civil Engineering Sector Aerial Imaging Market by Value3.2.4 Global Military & Defence Sector Aerial Imaging Market by Value3.2.5 Global Forestry & Agriculture Sector Aerial Imaging Market by ValueAbout 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 Chocolate Market 2016 Industry Analysis & Forecast 2024

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Zion Market Research, the market research group announced the analysis report titled Chocolate Market: Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2015  2021Chocolate is usually sweet eatable, which is typically brown in color. It is a food preparation of Theobroma cacao seeds, roasted and ground. Chocolate is often flavored, mostly with vanilla. It is available in different forms such as liquid, paste, or in blocks, or used as a flavoring ingredient in other foods. The cocoa solid form of chocolate is a source of flavonoids and alkaloids including theobromine, phenethylamine, and caffeine. Chocolate also provides with anandamide.Request Free Sample Research Report @Chocolate is one of the most popular food types having different flavors in it, and a vast number of foodstuffs such as cakes, mousse, pudding, chocolate brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and others. As chocolate is available in so many forms, its demand is increasing globally. Factors such as health benefits by the consumption of chocolate, large variety of applications, and seasonal and festive sales are positively impacting the growth of the market. Other factors that may act as the growth drivers of the global chocolate market are penetration in developing economies, organic and fair trade chocolate, and the use of chocolate as a functional food. On the other hand, raw material prices, a dependency on the industry on unstable economies for the supply of cocoa, and changing consumer preferences are some of the factors that may hamper the growth of the market.On the basis of products and the amount of cocoa it contains, the global chocolate market is segmented as dark chocolate, milk chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and white chocolate. Based on the sales category, the global market is further segmented as everyday chocolate, premium chocolate, and seasonal chocolate. Geographically, the global chocolate market is segmented as Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW).Request Report TOC (Table of Contents) @Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness the highest growth owing to the rising disposable income of consumers, particularly in countries such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea. This, in turn, has resulted in the changed social status of chocolate from a luxury commodity to an everyday commodity. On the hand, the cheap products offered by local brands in these countries have resulted in to be chocolate popular among the masses. In addition, international premium chocolate brands such as Hershey, Mars, Ferrero, and Ghirardelli are experiencing constant but sluggish growth in Asia Pacific markets. In Europe, the UK witness the largest demand followed by Germany.Some of the major players dominating the global chocolate market are Ferrero Group, Hershey Foods Corp., Mars Inc., and Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. Other key players influencing the global market include Nestle SA, Moonstruck Chocolatier Co., and Kraft Foods.Browse detail report @Chocolate Market by Geographical Analysis: North America( U.S.), Europe( UK, France, Germany), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India), Latin America( Brazil), Middle East and AfricaOur value reports provide full, in-depth analysis of the parent market including most significant changes in market dynamics; the report also presents the detailed overview on segmentation of this market. We managed to present as many important pieces of information in essential form  thanks to our report You will learn more about former, on-going, and projected market analysis in terms of volume and value, assessment of niche industry developments and Market share analysis. We have not forgotten to present key strategies for major players, emerging segments and regional markets and last but not least, testimonials to companies in order to fortify their foothold in the market.About Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristically, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, a company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with Vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from Cardinal Industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Our Blog:
United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Market Report 2017

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This report studies sales (consumption) of Military Shipbuilding and Submarines in United States market, focuses on the top players, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player, coveringNorthrop Grumman CorpGeneral Dynamics CorpDCNS S.ABAE Systems plcSingapore Technologies EngineeringMitsubishi Heavy IndustriesDaewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co. Ltd.Lockheed MartinHuntington Ingalls Industries Inc.Finmeccanica S.p.A.TextronCSSCGet a PDF sample of this report @Market Segment by States, coveringCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaIllinoisSplit by product types, with sales, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoShipsSubmarinesTable of ContentsUnited States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Market Report 20171 Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Military Shipbuilding and Submarines1.2 Classification of Military Shipbuilding and Submarines1.2.1 Ships1.2.2 Submarines1.3 Application of Military Shipbuilding and Submarines1.3.1 On Water1.3.2 Under Water1.4 United States Market Size Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) of Military Shipbuilding and Submarines (2011-2021)1.4.1 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales and Growth Rate (2011-2021)1.4.2 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Revenue and Growth Rate (2011-2021)To Browse a Complete Report with TOC Visit @2 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Competition by Manufacturers2.1 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales and Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Revenue and Share by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.3 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Average Price by Manufactures (2015 and 2016)2.4 Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by States (2011-2016)3.1 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales and Market Share by States (2011-2016)3.2 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Revenue and Market Share by States (2011-2016)3.3 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Price by States (2011-2016)4 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type (2011-2016)4.1 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)4.2 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Revenue and Market Share by Type (2011-2016)4.3 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Price by Type (2011-2016)4.4 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales Growth Rate by Type (2011-2016)5 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales (Volume) by Application (2011-2016)5.1 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales and Market Share by Application (2011-2016)5.2 United States Military Shipbuilding and Submarines Sales Growth Rate by Application (2011-2016)5.3 Market Drivers and OpportunitiesQYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States
Analgesics Market: Segmentation, Global Market Regional Outlook Upto 2024

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Global Analgesics Market: OverviewAnalgesics, or painkillers, are used to reduce and treat aches and pains. Internal and external analgesics are used to combat pain resulting from inflammation, cancer treatments, physiological injury, neuropathic conditions, surgeries, wounds, and phantom aches. The most prominent therapeutic classes of analgesics are local anesthesia, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and opioids. The growing incidence of cancer worldwide and the rise in chronic diseases are mainly responsible for the consistent growth of the global analgesics market.Browse through Analgesics Market report to know what factors will shape the market by 2024:The research publication offers clients a comprehensive summary of the global analgesics market and elucidates the various factors driving and hampering its growth during the forecast period. The report also evaluates the chief players competing in the global market for analgesics and profiles them on the basis of a number of key attributes, such as company and business overview, recent developments, product portfolio, business strategies, and financial strength.Global Analgesics Market: Key Trends and Competitive LandscapeThe increasing therapeutic benefits offered by analgesics, in addition to effective and fast relief from pain, have significantly driven the demand for analgesics over the years. The development of innovative drugs and rising awareness about these treatment options have also supported the analgesics market. Moreover, the rise in recurring aches and pains owing to an increase in the prevalence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and other chronic and acute diseases has propelled the demand for analgesics. Other key factors positively impacting the global analgesics market include the growing prevalence of pain worldwide, the rise in effective treatment options, a surge in the aging population, and the growing acceptance of analgesics by a wider target audience.Eli Lilly and Company, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Bayer AG, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Pfizer Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Reckitt Benckiser plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, and GlaxoSmithKline PLC are some of the major companies actively participating in the global analgesics market. In the quest of increasing their share in the analgesics market, an increasing number of firms have been adopting acquisitions as their main development strategy.Global Analgesics Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global analgesics market has been categorized into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World based on geography. North America is presently the leading market for analgesics and is projected to retain its dominant position through 2024. Recent regulatory changes in the U.S., accompanied by new marketing strategies by analgesics companies, have greatly benefited this regional market. After declining sales owing to frequent recalls, the analgesics market in the U.S., in particular, has been stabilizing on account of the return of prominent brands, the rising occurrence of aches and pains, the rise in the average age of the population, and an alarming rate of obesity. These demographic and lifestyle developments have significantly propelled the North America analgesics market.The Europe analgesics market is also anticipated to expand in the coming years owing to the rapid commercialization of new drugs and an increasing geriatric population. Although analgesics form one of the largest product areas in over-the-counter drugs, this segment has been negatively affected by the growing trend of improving health instead of merely treating symptoms. An increasing number of consumers in the U.K., for instance, have restricted their consumption of analgesics with this trend in mind, thereby negatively impacting the sales of analgesics.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Analgesics Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:In contrast, consumers in several Asia Pacific countries seem relatively less concerned over the possible side-effects of analgesics. A higher willingness to self-medicate instead of visiting a trained physician for mild pain and fever is a trend that is common in a number of countries, more prominently in India. Moreover, the immensely stressful lifestyles in most urban parts of the region have resulted in consumers looking for quick and easy solutions to combat pain. This, combined with the surge in purchasing power, has enabled the demand for as well as sales of analgesics to remain steady over the years.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Chinese Natural Language Data Processing: China Patent Deployment, Business Opportunity, and Challenge Analysis

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MarketResearchReports.Biz presents this most up-to-date research on "Chinese Natural Language Data Processing: China Patent Deployment, Business Opportunity, and Challenge Analysis"DescriptionNLDP (Natural Language Data Processing) technology is a field of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and is widely used in smart technology applications such as smart customer service, smart retailing, chatbots, educational robots and domestic robots. By adopting NLDP technology, a computer is able to communicate and interact with humans more naturally and intuitively. More and more leading international vendors are rolling out various kinds of smart devices supporting English and Japanese NLDP technology. In contrast, there are relatively few Chinese NLDP-supported devices in the market. This report provides an overview of Chinese NLDP patent trends analysis by country and field; examines key technologies and major patent assignees. Also included are the insights about potential market opportunities and challenges of NLDP patent deployment for newcomers.Table of Contents1.Patent Mining1.1 Patent Search1.1.1 Selecting a Patent Database1.1.2 Identifying Search Keywords1.1.3 Data Selection1.1.4 Data Analysis2. Trends Analysis Using Data Mining2.1 Analysis of Trends by Country2.2 Analysis of Trends by Sector and Field2.3 Analysis of Trends by Key Technology Segment3.Conclusion3.1 Computer Technology Has the Highest Numbers of Patent Filings, Followed by Digital Communication3.2 Automatic Analysis Claims Largest Share of Key NLDP Patents in China, Followed by Processing or Translating3.3 NLDP Relevant Patents Concentrated Mostly on Electric Digital Data ProcessingRequest Sample Copy of This Report at:AppendixTable 1 Chinese NLDP Patents' Matrix Analysis: Key Technology vs. Relevant TechnologyFigure 1 Chinese NLDP Patent Distribution Share by Country: International AssigneesFigure 2 Chinese NLDP Patent Distribution Share by Field: International AssigneesFigure 3 Chinese NLDP Patent Distribution Share by Field: Taiwanese AssigneesFigure 4 Chinese NLDP Patent Distribution Share by Sector: International AssigneesFigure 5 Chinese NLDP Patent Distribution Share by Sector: Taiwanese AssigneesFigure 6 Chinese NLDP Patent Distribution Share by Relevant Technology Segment: International AssigneesFigure 7 Chinese NLDP Patent Distribution Share by Relevant Technology Segment: Taiwanese AssigneesBrowse Latest Industry Press Release at: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 researchreports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and typesof companies spanning across various industries.ContactState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.bizFollow us on LinkedIn:
Offshore Wind Turbines Market 2016 - Trends and Opportunities for the Industry by 2021

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Offshore Wind Turbines Consumption 2016 Market Research Report to its huge collection of research reports.This report presents a comprehensive analysis and forecast of the Offshore Wind Turbines market on a global level to help readers understand the market thoroughly. The drivers and restraints governing the dynamics of the global Offshore Wind Turbines market along with their impact have been assessed in the report. This information is designed to help market players gain a clear idea about leading trends in the current market scenario. Various economic factors predicted to affect the demand and supply chain of the global Offshore Wind Turbines market are also highlighted in this report. The report sheds light on the market shares of the leading manufacturers and detailed industry structure. It also discusses the current market trends, growth opportunities, and key strategies increasing the popularity of the global Offshore Wind Turbines market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The publication presents a market attractiveness analysis for all the regions and segments in the scope of the study, comparing market attractiveness on the basis of market share index and CAGR. The study also includes a section on the competitive landscape, which includes market share analysis and competition matrix of major players in the global Offshore Wind Turbines market based on their revenues. The report provides a detail assessment of regulatory policies that may influence the global Offshore Wind Turbines market in the coming years.The leading players in the global Offshore Wind Turbines market have been profiled in detail, discussing details such as business strategies, company and financial overview, SWOT analysis, market revenues, and recent developments. On the basis of various parameters the contribution of leading companies have been assessed and presented in the report. The publication discusses current status of companies and also analyzes their growth in the near future. The report also serves as a crucial tool for enterprises looking to invest in the industry.Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Offshore Wind Turbines1.1 Definition and Specifications of Offshore Wind Turbines1.1.1 Definition of Offshore Wind Turbines1.1.2 Specifications of Offshore Wind Turbines1.2 Classification of Offshore Wind Turbines1.3 Applications of Offshore Wind Turbines1.4 Industry Chain Structure of Offshore Wind Turbines1.5 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status of Offshore Wind Turbines1.5.1 Industry Overview of Offshore Wind Turbines1.5.2 Global Major Regions Status of Offshore Wind Turbines1.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines1.7 Industry News Analysis of Offshore Wind TurbinesBrowse Complete Report with TOC @2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines2.1 Raw Material Suppliers and Price Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines2.2 Equipment Suppliers and Price Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines2.3 Labor Cost Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines2.4 Other Costs Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines2.6 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines3 3 Global Market Size (Volume and Value), Sales and Sale Price Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines3.1 Global Market Size (Volume and Value) and Growth Rate of Offshore Wind Turbines 2011-20163.2 Global Market Size (Volume and Value) of Offshore Wind Turbines by Regions 2011-20163.3 Global Market Size (Volume and Value) of Offshore Wind Turbines by Types 2011-20163.4 Global Market Size (Volume and Value) of Offshore Wind Turbines by Applications 2011-20163.5 Global Sales Volume and Sales Revenue of Offshore Wind Turbines by Companies 2011-20163.6 Global Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Regions 2011-20163.7 Global Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Types 2011-20163.8 Global Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Applications 2011-20163.9 Global Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Companies 2011-20164 US Market Size (Volume and Value), Sales, Sale Price and End Users Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines4.1 US Market Size (Volume and Value) and Growth Rate of Offshore Wind Turbines 2011-20164.2 US Market Size (Volume and Value) of Offshore Wind Turbines by Types 2011-20164.3 US Market Size (Volume and Value) of Offshore Wind Turbines by Applications 2011-20164.4 US Sales Volume and Sales Revenue of Offshore Wind Turbines by Companies 2011-20164.5 US Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Types 2011-20164.6 US Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Applications 2011-20164.7 US Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Companies 2011-20164.8 US Regional Supply, Import, Export and Consumption of Offshore Wind Turbines 2011-20164.9 US End Users with Contact Information and Consumption Volume of Offshore Wind Turbines by Applications5 Canada Market Size (Volume and Value), Sales, Sale Price and End Users Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines5.1 Canada Market Size (Volume and Value) and Growth Rate of Offshore Wind Turbines 2011-20165.2 Canada Market Size (Volume and Value) of Offshore Wind Turbines by Types 2011-20165.3 Canada Market Size (Volume and Value) of Offshore Wind Turbines by Applications 2011-20165.4 Canada Sales Volume and Sales Revenue of Offshore Wind Turbines by Companies 2011-20165.5 Canada Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Types 2011-20165.6 Canada Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Applications 2011-20165.7 Canada Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Companies 2011-20165.8 Canada Regional Supply, Import, Export and Consumption of Offshore Wind Turbines 2011-20165.9 Canada End Users with Contact Information and Consumption Volume of Offshore Wind Turbines by Applications6 Europe Market Size (Volume and Value), Sales, Sale Price and End Users Analysis of Offshore Wind Turbines6.1 Europe Market Size (Volume and Value) and Growth Rate of Offshore Wind Turbines 2011-20166.2 Europe Market Size (Volume and Value) of Offshore Wind Turbines by Types 2011-20166.3 Europe Market Size (Volume and Value) of Offshore Wind Turbines by Applications 2011-20166.4 Europe Sales Volume and Sales Revenue of Offshore Wind Turbines by Companies 2011-20166.5 Europe Sale Price of Offshore Wind Turbines by Types 2011-2016QYResearchReports.com is an unimpeachable source of market research data for clients that comprise acclaimed SMEs, Chinese companies, private equity firms, and MNCs. We provide market research reports on various categories such as Energy, Chemicals, Alternative and Green Energy, Manufacturing, Machinery, Pharmaceuticals and Materials, and Glass.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United States
ePharmacy Market (By Geography - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Latin America) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023

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MarketResearchReports.Biz presents this most up-to-date research on "ePharmacy Market (By Geography - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Latin America) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023"DescriptionWith the rise of Internet penetration, there has been a dramatic shift in the buying behavior of customers toward increased online purchasing. From essentials such as groceries and apparel to luxury products, everything is available for purchase on online retail platforms. The healthcare sector is no exception to this online retail trend, with pharmacies going online. With advantages such as round-the-clock availability and delivery of drugs, complete information on the prescribed drug, and knowledge of cost-effective substitutes, the market for ePharmacies is expected to experience a surge of growth in the coming years.Operating within all the guidelines and standards set by their respective national governments, ePharmacies have emerged as ethical business entities and have become an effective source of prescription medicines. The trend of ePharmacies was initially witnessed in the developed economies of North America and Europe; however, with the rising penetration of the Internet and growing awareness among customers about prescription medicines, the market for ePharmacies is gaining momentum in the emerging countries in Asia Pacific.This research study focuses on providing a comprehensive market assessment on current trends in the global ePharmacies market, along with a focus on various factors affecting the markets growth. The influential factors that affect the growth of the ePharmacy market have been analyzed under the market dynamics section, which comprises market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. The report also provides comprehensive assessment of vendor strategies for excellence in the business. The report segregates the market into five different geographies: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Some of the major countries/regions analyzed in the report include the U.S., the EU7, the CIS, China, Japan, the Indian Subcontinent, Australasia, the GCC countries, North Africa, and South Africa. The report provides market size estimates and forecasts for all the regional and country segments for the ePharmacies market.The research study estimates the global ePharmacies market in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) for the period 2013 to 2023, which comprises:2013: the base year2014: estimated value20152023: forecast periodRequest Sample Copy of This Report at:The market estimates have been evaluated considering different technological, economic, political, environmental, social, and legal factors. The market positioning analysis of major players in the market is provided in the research study, which would help the buyers of this report understand the key strategies adopted by these players.The company profiles section in the report provides competitive profiles of the leading players (however not all the market players) in the market. This section elucidates on the below details:Company addressGeographical presenceProduct/service portfolioRecent developmentsHistorical roadmapFinancial performanceBusiness strategiesSome of the leading players profiled in the report include Banner Health, Dr. Fox Pharmacy, Lloyds Pharmacy Ltd., eDrugstore.MD, Walgreen Co., DocMorris NV, Rowlands Pharmacy, MediSave, CVS Caremark, and PlanetRx.com.Table of ContentChapter 1 Preface1.1 Report Description1.2 Market Segmentation: Global ePharmacy Market1.3 Research Methodology1.3.1 Phase I : Secondary Research1.3.2 Phase II : Primary ResearchBrowse Latest Industry Press Release at: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 researchreports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and typesof companies spanning across various industries.ContactState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.bizFollow us on LinkedIn:
Restless Legs Syndrome Treatment Market Trends and Forecast Upto 2024

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Global Restless Legs Syndrome Treatment Market: OverviewRestless legs syndrome, also called Willis-Ekbom disease, is a neurological disorder. It triggers an urge in patients to move their legs. Because the syndrome usually occurs during sleep, it is also considered a type of sleep disorder. People suffering from restless legs syndrome often feel an overwhelming desire to rigorously move their legs, the intensity and frequency of which leads to unpleasant pain in their limbs. This also disturbs their sleep patterns, affecting their health adversely. The condition usually aggravates at night.Browse through Restless Legs Syndrome Treatment Market report to know what factors will shape the market by 2024:Higher prevalence of restless legs syndrome is noted in women than in men. RLS can affect people of all ages but is mostly observed in middle-aged and elderly people. The most common symptoms of RLS include uncomfortable itching and pain in the legs that may cause a disruption in the sleep pattern and ultimately affect a patients quality of life. Despite its increasing prevalence, the precise cause of RLS is not yet known. Nevertheless, with extensive investigations being conducted in the field, the RLS market is expected to gain momentum in the near future. As of now, experts attribute the increasing incidence of the disease to genetic factors and instabilities in the dopaminergic balance.While researchers are yet to discover a specific cure for the disorder, drugs presently available in the market ensure symptomatic treatment. They help in relieving the uneasiness commonly experienced in the disorder. The report studies the prospects for the global restless legs syndrome treatment market in the forthcoming years. The impact of research and development activities on the markets future outlook is examined in the report in detail. It also presents insights into the various social and economic factors that will influence the markets growth trajectory between 2016 and 2024.Global Restless Legs Syndrome Treatment Market: Opportunities and Market SegmentationRestless legs syndrome causes uneasiness in patients and is also associated with other health issues such as dizziness, headaches, drowsiness, flatulence, dry mouth, and nausea. Patients suffering from restless legs syndrome may also suffer from psychiatric disorders such as depression and a decreased libido. Apart from these, labyrinthitis and other ear disorders, fatigue, irritability, peripheral edema, and nutritional and metabolism disorders indicated by weight gain or increased appetite are also related to the syndrome.The treatment of restless legs syndrome is still a relatively untapped space. The market is projected to exhibit growth at an increased rate with the development of new drugs, which promise higher efficiency and minimum side effects.Based on product type, the global restless legs syndrome treatment market can be segmented into Neupro/Leganto, Mirapex/Sifrol/Mirapexin, HORIZANT/Regnite, and Requip. Restless legs syndrome treatment can be segmented into pharmacological and nonpharmacological.Global Restless Legs Syndrome Treatment Market: Competitive InsightsIn order to study the competitive landscape prevailing in the market, the report profiles companies such as GlaxoSmithKline plc., Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Manhattan Pharmaceuticals. The strengths and weaknesses of the companies are weighed out in the report using SWOT analysis. The analysis also helps the report gauge the threats and opportunities that these companies could face in the near future.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Restless Legs Syndrome Treatment Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:The report offers a complete databank about the global restless legs syndrome treatment market by providing 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 regarding every facet of the market.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Substantial Growth Opportunity To The Growth Of Elevators In Global Market During The Period 2016 - 2023

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Substantial Growth Opportunity To The Growth Of Elevators In Global Market During The Period 2016 - 2023" to its huge collection of research reports.Elevators and escalators, which have become an integral part of the urban landscape, are installed in various public and private places such as retail outlets, hotels, IT parks, mixed-used buildings, residential buildings, commercial buildings and restaurants for the movement of people and good within the premises. All these public and private places with long walking distances and multiple floors make use of elevators to improve customer experience. The elevators are also installed in airports and vehicle parking. The vendors in the global elevator market compete on the basis of the installation, maintenance and modernization services for gaining prominence in the market. The global elevators market has been segmented on the basis of its types, application areas and geography.Rapid urbanization and an increase in geriatric population globally coupled with the maintenance and modernization of the existing elevators are strongly driving the growth of the global elevators market. Furthermore, growing green building market facilitating the installation of energy-efficient elevators is steadily boosting the market growth. As buildings become more intelligent and rise higher, efficient elevator and escalator systems are having a significant impact by considerably driving down the costs of operating a building and allowing people to travel farther, more efficiently. New technologies adopted by the key players in the elevator market, such as coated steel belts which are helping to replace the conventional cable ropes in a few elevators are allowing for more efficient operation. The conjoint effect of all these drivers is thus set to bolster the growth of the global elevators market during the forecast period.The continuing evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the elevators market is offering a substantial growth opportunity to the growth of the global market. Internet of Things (IoT) is the interconnection of various devices and equipment which deliver a large amount of data over the internet. IoT makes it possible for a product to collect, exchange and analyse data with its operator, manufacturer and other devices, which is highly relevant to the elevator industry. IoT enables modern elevators to anticipate traffic and respond in real-time intelligently, communicate with service teams and allow passengers to summon the elevators via a mobile application. Further, by using a connected sensor in an elevator, the flow of passengers can be better managed by alleviating wait time. Dominant players in the elevator market such as ThyssenKruup Elevators, Otis Elevator Company and KONE Corporation are joining forces with Microsoft and IBM respectively for augmenting their operations and technological capabilities with IoT cloud services and advanced analytics technologies.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The competitive profiling of the key players in the global elevators which is inclusive of the different business strategies adopted by them and their recent developments, market across the geographic regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (including Latin America and Middle East and Africa) is covered under the scope of the study. The market attractive analysis of the major application areas has been included in the report, in order to provide a deep insight into the global elevators market.The global elevators market report is inclusive of the market dynamics, i.e. market drivers, restraints and opportunities which are the distinct that help to understand the trends of the global market. Thus, the report provides exhaustive study of the global elevators market and offers the forecast of the market for the period from 2016 to 2023.Some of the major players in the global elevators market include, Toshiba Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Otis Elevator Company, Schindler Holding Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., ThyssenKrupp AG, Kone Corporation, Kleemann Hellas SA, Hyundai Elevator Co., Ltd and Fujitec Co., Ltd. among others.The global elevators market has been segmented into:Global Elevators Market, by Type:Smart ElevatorsConventional ElevatorsGlobal Elevators Market, by Application:CommercialHotelsRetailResidentialTransportationHospitalsParking BuildingOthersGlobal Elevators Market, by Geography: The market is broadly segmented on the basis of geography into:North AmericaU.S.CanadaMexicoEuropeU.K.GermanyItalyMake 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 Ceramic Machinery Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021)

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MarketResearchReports.Biz presents this most up-to-date research on "Global Ceramic Machinery Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021)"DescriptionThe report entitled Global Ceramic Machinery Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021), provides analysis of the global ceramic machinery market, with detailed analysis of market size and growth of the industry.The report also includes a detailed analysis of the ceramic machinery market of Italy, including market by value, by segments, etc.Moreover, 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 overall global ceramic machinery market has also been forecasted for the years 2017-2021, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.SACMI, SITI B&T Group and Electronics for Imaging Inc. are some of the key players operating in the global ceramic machinery market, whose company profiling has been done in the report. In this segment of the report, business overview, financial overview and business strategies of the companies are provided.Country CoverageItalyCompany CoverageSACMISITI B&T GroupElectronics For Imaging Inc.Executive SummaryA ceramic is defined as a non-metallic, inorganic, solid material consisting of metal, non-metal or metalloid atoms which are primarily held together with ionic and covalent bonds. Bricks, tile, plates, glass etc. are essentially made from ceramic materials. Ceramics can be classified into crystalline and non crystalline ceramics.Request Sample Copy of This Report at:The global ceramic machinery market can be studied on the basis of different products and on the basis of end users. On the basis of product, the market can be divided into tile, sanitary ware, heavyclay, tableware, refractory and technical ceramic machinery. On the basis of end users, the market can be divided into tile, heavyclay and sanitary ware manufacturers.The global ceramic machinery market is expected to increase at a healthy growth rate during the forecast period (2017-2021). The global ceramic machinery market is supported by various growth drivers, such as expansion of the construction industry, increasing demand for ceramic tiles, upsurge in disposable income, rising hotel industry and demand for process innovation.However, environmental and health risk associated with ceramic production and declining demand for traditional decoration machines are some of the challenges faced by the market. Adoption of PLC based systems, increasing demand for digital decoration and evolution of additive manufacturing are some of the latest trends in the market.1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Ceramics: An Overview2.2 Ceramics Manufacturing Process2.3 Types of Ceramics: An Overview2.4 Ceramic Machinery Market Segments3. Global Market Analysis3.1 Global Ceramic Machinery Market: An analysis3.1.1 Global Ceramic Machinery Market by Value3.1.2 Global Ceramic Machinery Market by RegionBrowse Latest Industry Press Release at: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 researchreports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and typesof companies spanning across various industries.ContactState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.bizFollow us on LinkedIn:
Advancement Of Technology Pet Wearable In Global Market For Enabling Medical Diagnosis & Treatment And Facilitation, Safety And Security, 2016 - 2024

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Advancement Of Technology Pet Wearable In Global Market For Enabling Medical Diagnosis & Treatment And Facilitation, Safety And Security, 2016 - 2024" to its huge collection of research reports.This market research study analyses the Pet Wearable market on a global level and provides estimate in terms of revenue (USD million) from 2016 to 2024. The report segments the market based on the technologies which include Sensors, GPS and RFID. All these segments have been estimated on the basis of geography in terms of revenue (USD million). In addition, the market is segmented by applications such as medical diagnosis & treatment, behaviour monitoring & control, facilitation, safety & security, identification and tracking.Pet wearables essentially refer to devices designed for pets, which perform crucial functions including but not limited to identification, tracking, controlling and monitoring of pets. Furthermore, with the advancementof technology pet wearable devices for enabling medical diagnosis & treatment and facilitation, safety and security is fast emerging as a popular product segment globally. These devices are designed specifically for dogs, cats and other pets and pet owners use the information generated to gauge their pets health conditions and whereabouts in real time. Additionally, innovative features such as setting up geo fencing for pets, setting up an alert mechanism if a pet crosses the designated geo fence, gauging the amount of rest and activity of pets have become essential features to pet wearable devices.The report elaborates on the type of technologies based on which pet wearable devices are designed. Primarily technologies used in the devices include (GPS) Global Positioning Systems, (RFID) Radio Frequency Identification and sensors. Moving along the study highlights the share of these technologies of the global pet wearable market. The report features the growth rate and market size of these technology segments along with the projected market sizes for the forecast period. The study also explains the factors driving or hindering the growth of individual technology segments. The study finds that the market is mainly dominated by GPS based trackers and RFID receivers however, devices equipped with temperature sensors, motion sensors and accelerometers among others, which monitor heat patterns of the animals body and environment and daily activity patterns such as playtime, walks, and rest duration are gaining significant demand in the global market.The research further segments the market in terms of application areas of pet wearable devices. It is segmented into identification & tracking, facilitation, safety & security, behaviour monitoring & control and medical diagnosis & treatment. So far, majority of the demand in the market has been in the form of products capable of providing identification and tracking of pets and dairy animals. However, the adoption of these devices is expected to decline over the next couple of years, primarily due to the availability of other feature rich products capable of providing same benefits along with other advanced features. It is anticipated that the demand for devices providing medical diagnosis will experience the strongest demand mainly because of the rising awareness about pet health and fitness among pet owners especially in the mature and developed markets of North America and Europe region.Make an Enquiry of this report @The report segments the market on the basis of geography into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), MEA and Latin America, and these have been estimated in terms of revenue (USD million).For a better understanding of the pet wearable market, we have provided a detailed analysis of the supply chain. A comprehensive analysis of the market dynamics that is inclusive of market drivers, restraints and opportunities is included in the purview of the report. Market dynamics are the distinctive factors which impact the market growth, thereby helping to understand the ongoing trends of the global market. Therefore, the report provides the forecast of the global market for the period from 2016 to 2024, along with offering an inclusive study of the pet wearable market.The report offers company market share analysis of the various industry participants. Key players have also been profiled based on company overview, financial overview, business strategies, SWOT analysis, and recent developments in the field of Pet Wearable. Major market participants profiled in this report include DeLaval Inc. (Sweden), Loc8tor Ltd. (United Kingdom), Nedap N.V.(Netherlands), PetPace Ltd. (Burlington), Whistle Labs Inc. (United States) and IceRobotics Ltd (United Kingdom) among others.The pet wearablemarket has been segmented into:Global Pet Wearable Market, by Technology TypeGPSRFIDSensorsGlobal Pet Wearable Market, by ApplicationMedical diagnosis & treatmentBehavior monitoring & controlFacilitation, safety & securityIdentification and trackingGlobal Pet Wearable Market, by Geography: The market is broadly segmented on the basis of geography into:North AmericaU.S.Rest of North AmericaEuropeU.KGermanyFranceRest of EuropeTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Steady Growth Of Global Hydraulic Cylinder Market Will Expand At A CAGR Of 4.39% During The Period 2016 - 2020

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Steady Growth Of Global Hydraulic Cylinder Market Will Expand At A CAGR Of 4.39% During The Period 2016 - 2020" to its huge collection of research reports.The hydraulic cylinder industry will see a steady growth during the forecast period due to a continuous demand from the agriculture, construction equipment, mining equipment, material handling equipment, industrial equipment, aerospace, and defense sectors.Technavios analysts forecast the global hydraulic cylinder market to grow at a CAGR of 4.39% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global hydraulic cylinder market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report discusses major drivers that are influencing market growth and challenges faced by vendors and the market as a whole.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Hydraulic Cylinder Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsBosch RexrothEatonHYDACParker HannifinWEBER-HYDRAULIKMake an Enquiry of this report @Other prominent vendorsBengbu Yeli MachineryCaterpillarDongyang MechatronicsEnergy ManufacturingEnerpacHunger HydraulikHydratech IndustriesHyvaKCCKomatsuKYBLigon IndustriesPacomaPrecision HydraulicSMCTexas HydraulicsWrenWipro Infrastructure EngineeringYukenMarket driverRising demand for food and fiber to drive agricultural industry.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeLimitations in repair and servicing of hydraulic cylinders.For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendRising popularity of integrated solution and servicing.For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Pet Insurance Market 2017 Industry Research Report: Nationwide ,Trupanion

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This report studies the Pet Insurance market status and outlook of global and major regions, from angles of players, regions, product and end Application/industries; this report analyzes the top players in global and major regions, and splits the Pet Insurance market by product and Application/end industries.The global Pet Insurance market is valued at 2895.5 million USD in 2016 and is expected to reach 5959.3 million USD by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of 12.78% between 2016 and 2022.United States will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Pet Insurance.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Europe also play important roles in global market, with market size of 1572.8 million USD in 2016 and will be 2983.2 million USD in 2022The major players in global market includePetplan UK (Allianz)NationwideTrupanionPetplan NorthAmerica(Allianz)Hartville GroupPethealthPetfirstEmbraceRoyal & Sun Alliance (RSA)Direct Line GroupAgriaPetsecurePetSureAnicom Holdingipet InsuranceJapan Animal ClubFigure Global Market Size (Million USD) Status and Outlook 2012-2022Source: Annual Reports, Secondary Information, Press Releases, Expert Interviews and QYResearch, Apr 2017Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Pet Insurance for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)United StatesEuropeJapanOtherOn the basis of product, the Pet Insurance market is primarily split intoLifetime CoverNon-lifetime CoverAccident-onlyOtherOn the basis on the end users/Application, this report coversDogCatOtherDownload full Report with TOC @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview11.1 Pet Insurance Market Overview11.1.1 Pet Insurance Product Scope11.1.2 Market Status and Outlook11.2 Global Pet Insurance Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2012-2017)21.2.1 United States Pet Insurance Market Status and Outlook31.2.2 Europe Pet Insurance Market Status and Outlook41.2.3 Japan Pet Insurance Market Status and Outlook51.3 Classification of Pet Insurance by Product51.3.1 Classification of Pet Insurance by Product51.3.2 Global Pet Insurance Revenue (Million USD) Market Share (%) by Product in 201661.4 Pet Insurance Market by End Users/Application71.4.1 Dog81.4.2 Cat81.4.3 Other82 Global Pet Insurance Competition Analysis by Players102.1 Global Pet Insurance Market Size (Million USD) by Players (2012-2017)102.2 Competitive Status and Trend122.2.1 Market Concentration Rate122.2.2 Product/Service Differences124 Global Pet Insurance Market Size by Product and Application (2012-2017)464.1 Global Pet Insurance Market Size by Product (2012-2017)464.2 Global Pet Insurance Market Size by Application (2012-2017)474.3 Potential Application of Pet Insurance in Future484.4 Top Consumer / End Users of Pet Insurance495 United States Pet Insurance Development Status and Outlook505.1 United States Pet Insurance Market Size (2012-2017)505.2 United States Pet Insurance Market Size and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)505.3 United States Pet Insurance Market Size by Application (2012-2017)526 Europe Pet Insurance Development Status and Outlook546.1 Europe Pet Insurance Market Size (2012-2017)546.2 Europe Pet Insurance Market Size and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)546.3 Europe Pet Insurance Market Size by Application (2012-2017)567 Japan Pet Insurance Development Status and Outlook587.1 Japan Pet Insurance Market Size (2012-2017)587.2 Japan Pet Insurance Market Size and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)587.3 Japan Pet Insurance Market Size by Application (2012-2017)608 RoW Pet Insurance Development Status and Outlook628.1 RoW Pet Insurance Market Size and Forecast (2012-2017)628.2 RoW Pet Insurance Market Size and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)628.3 RoW Pet Insurance Market Size by Application (2012-2017)649 Market Forecast by Regions, Product and Application (2017-2022)669.1 Global Pet Insurance Market Size (Million USD) by Regions (2017-2022)669.1.1 United States Pet Insurance Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)689.1.2 Europe Pet Insurance Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)699.1.3 Japan Pet Insurance Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)709.1.4 RoW Pet Insurance Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)719.2 Global Pet Insurance Market Size by Application (2017-2022)71About UsQYReseachReports.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.Contact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022

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This report studies the global Cloud-based English Language Learning market, analyzes and researches the Cloud-based English Language Learning development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeLinguatronicsRosetta StoneSanakoSANSEdusoftOKpandaSanomaVoxyMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaFill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Market segment by Type, Cloud-based English Language Learning can be split intoRemoteFace to FaceMarket segment by Application, Cloud-based English Language Learning can be split intoCorporateAcademicTable of ContentsGlobal Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Cloud-based English Language Learning1.1 Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Overview1.1.1 Cloud-based English Language Learning Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Cloud-based English Language Learning 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 Cloud-based English Language Learning Market by Type1.3.1 Remote1.3.2 Face to Face1.4 Cloud-based English Language Learning Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Corporate1.4.2 Academic2 Global Cloud-based English Language Learning Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Cloud-based English Language Learning 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 FutureDownload full Report with TOC @3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Linguatronics3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Cloud-based English Language Learning Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Rosetta Stone3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Cloud-based English Language Learning Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Sanako3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Cloud-based English Language Learning Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments4 Global Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)4.1 Global Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size by Type (2012-2017)4.2 Global Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Potential Application of Cloud-based English Language Learning in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Cloud-based English Language Learning5 United States Cloud-based English Language Learning Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size (2012-2017)5.2 United States Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)6 EU Cloud-based English Language Learning Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size (2012-2017)6.2 EU Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)7 Japan Cloud-based English Language Learning Development Status and Outlook7.1 Japan Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size (2012-2017)7.2 Japan Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)8 China Cloud-based English Language Learning Development Status and Outlook8.1 China Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size (2012-2017)8.2 China Cloud-based English Language Learning Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)About UsQYReseachReports.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.Contact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Beer Vinegar Industry expected growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022

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The Global Beer Vinegar Industry, 2017 - 2022 market is the cornerstone of the global development aspects and prospects, as the development of specific concept requires various technologically supported ideas, theories, methodologies. The Global Beer Vinegar Industry, 2017 - 2022 market report explains the in-depth summary of current innovations, parameter, specifications, and creation. The Global Beer Vinegar Industry, 2017 - 2022 market also delivers a full abstract of the economic ups and downs in terms of demand rate and fulfillment ratios.Request For Download Sample Report:Technology is an output of implementing scientific knowledge in terms of practical applications. Technology can be developed in multiple forms, as the face of the respective technology can be seen only when it is transformed, adopted or introduced in the practical form.The Global Beer Vinegar Industry, 2017 - 2022 industry comprise of a large number of reputed organizations, firms, vendors, manufacturer and we deliver an in-detail summary of the overall key players who hold major count in terms of revenue, sales, demand, through their reliable services, products, and post-sale processes. The Global Beer Vinegar Industry, 2017 - 2022 market report provides a thorough analysis of the prominent driving factors that are identified based on the end user demands, variable market changes, restraining elements and regulatory compliance.Browse Full Report With Toc:The performance and characteristic of the Global Beer Vinegar Industry, 2017 - 2022 market are evaluated based on the quantitative and qualitative method to provide a clear picture of the current and future forecast trend. Global Beer Vinegar Industry, 2017 - 2022 Market report is well-crafted with graphs, diagrams, and realistic figures which indicate the status of the specific Global Beer Vinegar Industry, 2017 - 2022 industry on the global and regional platform.Request Inquiry for Buying:MRS Research Group [http://www.mrsresearchgroup.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. MRS Research Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,
Refinery Catalysts Industrial Trend and Market Demand - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024

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"Refinery Catalysts Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-Refinery catalysts are widely employed in the refinery units to remove the impurities such as sulfur, nitrogen and other carbon compounds from the fuels. Stringent environmental regulations on fuel emissions across the globe is estimated to boost the demand for global refinery catalysts market. Zeolites are estimated to expand at a significant rate during the forecast period. Asia Pacific and Europe are likely to have a major share in refining catalysts market during the forecast period.Get Sample Report With TOC @The report estimates and forecasts the refinery catalysts market on the global, regional, and country levels. The study provides forecast between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) with 2015 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the product segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage. The study includes drivers and restraints for the refinery catalysts market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the refinery catalysts 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. Furthermore, the report analyzes substitute analysis of refinery catalysts and global average price trend analysis.The report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the refinery catalysts market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein end-users and countries have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. 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 the general attractiveness of the market. The report comprises price trend analysis for refinery catalysts between 2016 and 2024.The study provides a comprehensive view of the refinery catalysts market by dividing it into refining units, materials types, physical form and geography segments. The refinery units have been segmented into Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit, Hydrocracking Unit, H-Oil Unit, Hydrotreating Unit (Naphtha & Distillate), Catalytic Cracking Unit, and Alkylation Unit. The materials are segmented into Zeolites, Molybdenum, Cobalt, Nickel and others. The physical form is segmented into Powders, Beads and Extrudates. These segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends.Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for refinery catalysts in Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Additionally, the report comprises country-level analysis in terms of volume and revenue for all the segments. Key countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the U.K., India, China, ASEAN, Mexico, Brazil, GCC, and Nigeria have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual refining units in all the regions and countries.The report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Royal Dutch Shell Plc, ExxonMobil Corporation, BASF SE, Honeywell International Inc, Johnson Matthey Plc., Albemarle Corporation and Others. 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 (wherever applicable).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 the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by 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 global refinery catalysts market has been segmented as follows:Refinery Catalysts Market  Refining Unit AnalysisFluid Catalytic CrackingHydrocrackingH-OilHydrotreatingCatalytic ReformingAlkylationRefinery Catalysts Market  Material AnalysisZeolitesMolybdenumCobaltNickelOthers (including platinum, etc.)Refinery Catalysts Market  Physical Form AnalysisPowdersBeadsExtrudatesRefinery catalysts market  Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyFranceItalySpainU.K.Rest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaASEANRest of Asia PacificMiddle East & AfricaGCCNigeriaRest of Middle East & AfricaLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoResearchMoz 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.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Telecom Power System Industrial Trend and Market Demand in North America 2016-2020

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"Telecom Power System Market in North America 2016-2020" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-About Telecom Power Systems in North AmericaPower systems are used in all telecommunication installations for controlling, monitoring, and measuring the flow of power across telecom networks. These systems are made of a combination of smaller systems such as converters, distributors, controllers, and backup systems that bear different technical specifications. The primary application of telecom power systems is in wireless and fixed-line environments. They are used in several other related applications, including network equipment, xDSL terminals, mobile broadband, cellular sites, and transmission applications.Technavios analysts forecast the telecom power system market in North America to grow at a CAGR of 8.45% during the period 2016-2020.Get Sample Report With TOC @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the telecom power system market in North America for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the following:Telecom power system products such as DC power systems (which include rectifiers, converters, inverters, system controllers, switches, cabinets, batteries, solar modules, and distribution and circuit breakers) and AC power systems (which include surge protective devices, generators, and UPS).Telecom power system software and service functions such as design and integration, installation, on-site service monitoring and maintenance, sales of power monitoring software such as network power monitoring software, AC power monitoring software, battery monitoring software, and overall site monitoring software.Technavio's report, Telecom Power System Market in North America 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsDelta ElectronicsEatonEmerson Network PowerGE Industrial SolutionsOther prominent vendorsAEG Power SolutionsAlphaAlstomBel FuseBenning Power SolutionsC&D TechnologiesCummins PowerMyers Power ProductsPioneer MagneticsSAFTSchneider ElectricShindengenZTEMarket driverIncreased deployment of small cell power systems for LTEFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeHigh associated costs to manage business operationsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIncrease in usage of renewable energy technologiesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Worldwide Microfluidic Devices Market by service provider is expected to reach USD 13244.50 Million and CAGR of 19.70% by 2024

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Global Microfluidic Devices Market by service provider is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.70% and is expected to reach US$ 13244.50 million by 2024. Globally, In-vitro diagnostics commands the highest market share in this market by industry.Global Microfluidic Devices is a fastest growing market. On the basis of industry, global microfluidic devices market is segmented mainly into in-vitro diagnostics, pharmaceutical, medical devices and others. Increase in investment in R&D in pharmaceuticals and life sciences and increasing point of care testing demand favor the growth of this market. Use of these devices for miniaturization of chips and increase in their analytical and commercial application are also responsible for the growth of this market.Request a Copy of Sample Report @In in-vitro diagnostics segment, North America accounts for the largest hare followed by Europe and Asia. In pharmaceutical segment, main emphases is on R&D. These devices are used for lower cost, fast results and better control of drug development process. Pharmaceutical discovery, cell experimentation and implantable drug delivery components are applications of microfluidic devices in pharmaceutical industry. North America accounts for the largest share of this market in pharmaceutical industry. By type, chips for lab analytics have highest market share followed by accurate dispensing devices and micro reactors for drug synthesis. North America has the largest in in medical devices segment.Global Microfluidic Devices market statistical report published by Market Research future contains a brief overview of Global Microfluidic Devices market. By industry, global microfluidic devices market is segmented into in-vitro diagnostics, pharmaceutical, medical devices and others. In-vitro diagnostics commands the largest share and is expected to grow continuously during the forecasted period of 2017-2024. The report analyzed the Global Microfluidic Devices market and presents systematic data of market share on the basis of segments and countries, and its growth rate for 2013 to 2016, along with forecast till 2024.Market Research future through this report aims to provide understanding of the Global Microfluidic Devices market on the basis of segments & countries, and also assists identification of ongoing trends along with anticipated growth during the forecasted period. For this report, extensive primary research was conducted to gain a deeper insight of the market performance. Various industry experts and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) were contacted and interviewed to get an idea of Global Microfluidic Devices market.List of TablesTable 1 Global microfluidic devices Market, By industry, 2014-2024 (USD million)Table 2 Global microfluidic devices for in-vitro diagnostics Market, by region, 2014-2024 (USD million)Table 3 Global microfluidic devices market for pharmaceutical industry, by region, 2014-2027 (USD million)Table 4 Global pharmaceutical microfluidic devices market, by type, 2014-2024 (USD million)Table 5 Global microfluidic devices market, by industry: medical devices, by region, 2014-2024 (USD million)Table 6 Global microfluidic devices market, by industry: medical devices Market, by type, 2014-2024 (USD million)Browse Full Report Details @List of FiguresFigures 1 Global microfluidic devices Market, By industryFigures 2 Global microfluidic devices Market, By industryFigures 3 global microfluidic devices for in-vitro disgnostics, by region, 2015 (%)Figures 4 global microfluidic devices market for pharmaceutical industry, by region, 2015 (%)Figures 5 global pharmaceutical microfluidic devices market, by type, 2015 (%)Figures 6 global microfluidic devices market, by industry: medical devices, by region, 2015 (%)Global microfluidic medical devices market, by type, 2015 (%)ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Global Microfluidic Devices Market by Industry from 2016 to 2024 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
Canada Clinical Laboratory Test Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% and is expected to reach US$ 12,408.3 million by 2022

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Canada Clinical Laboratory Test Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% and is expected to reach US$ 12,408.3 million by 2022. In Canada Clinical Laboratory Test Market, The region is expected to show lucrative growth opportunities for market players entering the Canadian market.Canada Clinical Laboratory Test is one of the fastest growing industries. Clinical laboratory testing has emerged as the most growing segment of healthcare over the past few years. The market is growing due to increasing cases of chronic disease and also because of new companies providing laboratory services entering Canadian market.Request a Copy of Sample Report @According to type of laboratory, the market in Canada is segmented into Hospital Based Laboratories, Central/Independent Laboratories, Physician Office Laboratory (POL) and others. Central/Independent Laboratories is the largest segment in this market in Canada due to increasing privatization in clinical laboratories. Hospital Based Laboratories segment the second largest segment in Canada.According to type of test conducted in the laboratory, the market is segmented into CBC and other routine blood tests, Anatomic Pathology, Molecular Tests, Immunology Tests, Drug Testing and others. CBC and other routine blood tests segment is the largest market. Drug testing segment is expected to show highest growth in this market in Canada.Canada Clinical Laboratory Test market statistical report published by Market Research future contains a brief overview of Canada Clinical Laboratory Test market. Central/Independent Laboratories and CBC and other routine blood tests command the largest share and is expected to grow continuously during the forecasted period of 2013-2022. The report analyzed the Canada Clinical Laboratory Test market and presents systematic data of market share on the basis of segments and countries, and its growth rate for 2013 to 2016, along with forecast till 2022.Browse Full Report Details @Market Research future through this report aims to provide understanding of the Canada Clinical Laboratory Test market on the basis of segments & countries, and also assists identification of ongoing trends along with anticipated growth during the forecasted period. For this report, extensive primary research was conducted to gain a deeper insight of the market performance. Various industry experts and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) were contacted and interviewed to get an idea of Canada Clinical Laboratory Test market.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Canada Clinical Laboratory Test Market from 2016 to 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
Europe micro-pump market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15.8% to 2027

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The Europe micro-pump market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15.8% during the forecasted period. Germany commands the largest market share of 18.2% of Europe micro-pump market in 2015. The market in Germany was valued at USD 42.8 million in 2015 and expected to reach at USD 270.6 Million by 2027.Request a Copy of Sample Report @Globally, the market for microfluidic pumps is gaining significant importance due to growing R&D investment in life sciences, pharmaceuticals, and increasing point of care testing demand. According to European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, in 2014, Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industry amongst all the industries recorded highest percentage 14.4% of the R&D spending from the total revenues and the Pharmaceutical R&D expenditure of Europe was around  30.88 Billion. It has led to the increased research on the drugs in pipeline. The use of microfluidic devices is also expected to increase use of micro-pumps in drug synthesis and toxicity testing in drug development.The European region also consist of the most of the developed nations which are familiar with the microfluidic technology and the use of micro-pumps for various applications. Technological advancements in the field are of great importance. Development of the portable microfluidic pumping devices has increased the popularity of the technology in the home care and ambulatory services. For example, portable micro syringe pump developed by the E-power plays an important role in the homecare services for the application of adjustable long term infusion of medication. The Medical Device Directives regulates the safety and performance of medical devices, where the manufacturer has to develop the technology which fulfils the standards stated by the regulatory authority. This regulatory environment poses a challenge for the microfluidic devices market, since the process moves at a slower pace and is not in line with the new technologies which hinders the overall market growth.The market of micro-pump for Europe region is segmented into country, type and industry. The region is fragmented into countries like Germany, France, U.K, Italy, Spain, Rest of Western Europe and Eastern Europe. The type includes mechanical micro-pump and non-mechanical micro-pumps. Whereas the industry includes Pharmaceutical, Medical devices, In-vitro diagnostics and others.In 2015, mechanical micro-pump segment commands the largest market share of 67.3% of total market and is expected to reach at USD 1,066.2 million by 2027.The Europe Micro-Pump market statistical report published by Market Research future contains a brief overview of Europe Micro-Pump market. Germany commands the largest share and is expected to grow continuously during the forecasted period of 2013-2027. The report analyzed the Europe Micro-pump market and presents systematic data of market share on the basis of country, type, and industry and its growth rate for 2015 to 2017, along with forecast till 2027.Browse Full Report Details @Market Research future through this report aims to provide understanding of the Europe Micro-pump market on the basis of country, type, and industry and also assists identification of ongoing trends along with anticipated growth during the forecasted period. For this report, extensive primary research was conducted to gain a deeper insight of the market performance. Various industry experts and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) were contacted and interviewed to get an idea of Europe Micro-pump market.List of Tablestable 1 europe micro-pump market, by country, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 2 europe micro-pump market, by type, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 3 europe micro-pump market, by industry, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 4 germany micro-pump market, by type, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 5 germany micro-pump market, by industry, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 6 france micro-pump market, by type, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 7 france micro-pump market, by industry, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 8 u.k. micro-pump market, by type, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 9 u.k. micro-pump market, by industry, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 10 italy micro-pump market, by type, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 11 italy micro-pump market, by industry, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 12 spain micro-pump market, by type, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 13 spain micro-pump market, by industry, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 14 rest of western europe micro-pump market, by type, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 15 rest of western europe micro-pump market, by industry, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 16 eastern europe micro-pump market, by type, 2013-2027 (usd million)table 17 eastern europe micro-pump market, by industry, 2013-2027 (usd million)List of FiguresFigure 1 Europe Micro-Pump Market Share, 2015 (%)Figure 2 Europe Micro-Pump Market, By Type, 2013-2027 (Usd Million)Figure 3 Europe Micro-Pump Market, By Industry, 2013-2027 (Usd Million)ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Europe Micro-Pump Market-Forecast to 2027 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
Global salsas, dips and spreads Market expected to grow at the rate of about 5% from 2016 to 2022

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Market Research Future adds new report of Global Salsas, Dips and Spreads Market Research Report - Forecast to 2022 it contains Company information, geographical data and Table of ContentMarket Segments:Salsas, dips and spreads market has been segmented On the basis of Product Type, market is segmented into black bean, chipotle, corn, fruit, tomato, jalapeno On the basis of Cuisine, the market comprises of American, Indian, Italian, Mexican On the basis of Specialty Type, market is segmented into low fat, no artificial flavor, no preservatives On basis of Food Preference, market is segmented into vegetarian and non-vegetarian On basis of Flavor Type, market is segmented into mild, medium, hotMarket Highlight:Salsa is generally a tomato-based sauce or dip which includes various ingredients such as onions, chilies, beans, corn, and various spices. It is the Italian and Spanish term for sauce, and also referred to the sauces typical of Mexican cuisine known as salsa picante, particularly those used as dips in English speaking countries. Introduction of new flavors, packaging material will boost the market growth during the forecast period. Globally the market for salsas, dips and spreads is expected to grow at the rate of about 5% from 2016 to 2022.Request a Sample Report @Key Players:The key players profiled in the salsas, dips and spreads market are as Frontera Foods Inc. (U.S.) Hot Sauce Harry's (U.S.) Tostitos (U.S.) Sabra (U.S.) Ricos (U.S.) Arizona Spice Company (U.S.) Desert Pepper Trading Company (U.S.) Cornitos (India) Salsalito (India) Britannia Foods (India)Intended Audience: Salsas, Dips & Spreads manufacturers Savory snack manufacturers Nachos chips manufacturers Retailers, wholesalers E-commerce companies Traders, Importers and exportersBrowse Report Details @Key Findings: Increase in demand for savory snacks specifically as accompaniments for nachos chips will drive higher demand for salsas, dips and spreads in the coming years. Change in snack consumption patterns mainly in the US has resulted in introduction of new ingredients and a flavor is driving the sales of salsas, dips and spreads market.Study Objectives of Salsas, Dips & Spreads Market: Detailed analysis of the market segments and sub-segments. To estimate and forecast market size by product type, cuisine, specialty type, food preference, flavor type, and region. To analyze the key driving forces influencing the market. Region level market analysis and market projections for North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW) and their countries. Value chain analysis & supply chain analysis. Company profiling of major players in the market. Competitive strategy analysis, mapping of key stakeholders in the market Analysis of historical market trends, and technologies, and current government regulatory requirementsRegional Analysis:The global salsas, dips and spreads market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). Among this North America region has major market share followed by Asia Pacific and Europe.Request Table of Contents for this Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
North America Connected Healthcare Market Booming at USD 28.48 billion by 2022 with CAGR of 30.19%

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Market Research Future adds new report of North America Connected Healthcare Market Share, By Country 2015 and 2022 it contains Company information, geographical data and Table of ContentThe North America comprises of the U.S., Canada and other countries. Moreover, at present the U.S. is dominating the connected healthcare market, in this region as it has deployed the majority of the connected healthcare solutions and its applications. U.S accounted for the largest market share of North America connected healthcare market registering revenue of USD 3.37 billion in 2015 and expected to reach by USD 28.48 billion by 2022. Canada is the fastest growing region, and is expected to grow at the rate of 30.19% CAGR during forecasted period.Among all the regions in the world, the U.S. has been the first choice for the deployment of mobile health solutions due to established healthcare systems and technology advancement. The monitoring and diagnosis and treatment applications are dominating the connected healthcare solutions and application market. It has gained a significant position in the global connected healthcare market with the increase in large numbers of mobile apps usage those targets at wellness and fitness. Thus, these connected healthcare solutions help in cost reduction, saves time by reducing visits to physicians, and provides better healthcare systems. Furthermore, the inherent difference in various types of connected healthcare solutions has compelled the formation of a strong framework that provides standardized processes and approach for deploying various healthcare services and applications.Make an enquiry before buying this Report @Since 2011, the U.S. has contributed the largest share in terms of total sales for the integrated medical & wearable devices. The key driver, enabling the increasing demand of wrist wear, is the provision of features like social motivation, goal reinforcement, and habit information. With a high average life expectancy, increased number of elderly people, and a larger proportion of patients requiring long term care, it is expected that non-invasive wearable products will witness wider acceptance in the coming years. To further assist in the development of such products, the American Telemedicine Association and the Continua Health Alliance are working together to resolve regulatory and equipment inter-operability issues. Intel Corporation completed the acquisition of BASIS Science, Inc. in March 2014 with the strategy to have a stronger hold over the market with BASISs fitness tracking smart watch. Also, the fitness tracking arm band manufacturer, BodyMedia, Inc. has been acquired by Jawbone, to develop technologically advanced wearable.The North America Connected Healthcare market statistical report published by Market Research future contains a brief overview of Connected Healthcare market by countries. U.S has majorly dominated the connected healthcare market by country and is expected to grow continuously during the forecasted period of 2016-2022. The report analysis the North America connected healthcare market by country and presents systematic data of market share on the basis of segments and its growth rate for 2016 to 2022, along with forecast till 2022.Market Research future through this report aims to provide understanding of the North America connected healthcare market on the basis of country, and also assists identification of ongoing trends along with anticipated growth during the forecasted period. For this report, extensive primary research was conducted to gain a deeper insight of the market performance. Various industry experts and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) were contacted and interviewed to get an idea of North America connected healthcare market.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market Research Report With Major Players- Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Bayer Schering Pharma AG

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Dysmenorrhea Treatment: Market OverviewGlobally, more than 50% of post pubescent menstruating women are affected by dysmenorrhea, with 1012% of them having severe dysmenorrhea with incapacitation for 13 days each month. Because young women constitute a significant percentage of the adult work force in the US, nearby 600 million working hours or 2 billion dollars are lost annually because of incapacitating dysmenorrhea if adequate relief is not provided. Women who continue to work or to attend classes have been shown to have lower work output or scores during their dysmenorrhea.Request a Sample Report @It is for the most part ordered into two general classes:Primary Dysmenorrhea alludes: to menstrual pain without any fundamental pelvic pathology.Secondary Dysmenorrhea alludes: to menstrual pain connected with a predefined organic etiology.Symptoms of Dysmenorrhea include cramping pain in the midline in the suprapubic area, and may have associated backache, leg pains, nausea, vomiting, light-headedness and headache.Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market Major Players:Some of the major players of Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market are as follows: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Merck, Inc., Bayer Schering Pharma AG, Vanita Therapeutics, Alvogen, Pfizer, Inc., Roche Laboratories, Taj Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., Sanofi, Terramedic, Inc., and others.Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment: Market Growth InfluencerRising prevalence of dysmenorrhea, high consciousness level and growing concern about dysmenorrhea among females, contribution of companies for developing advanced treatments, and government campaigns with respect to women healthcare are effectively sanctioning the growth of dysmenorrhea treatment market.However, consequence and complications of long term treatment, extensive morbidity of dysmenorrhea which leads to inadequate treatment, and traditional values of families would hinder the growth of dysmenorrhea treatment market.Browse Report Details @marketGlobal Dysmenorrhea Treatment: Market SegmentationGlobal Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market by Types: Primary and SecondaryGlobal Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market by Treatment methods: General Diagnosis Non-hormonal medical treatment Surgical TreatmentGlobal Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market by Applications: Pharmaceuticals Hospitals Clinics OthersLatest Trends in Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market: Novartis receives three FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designations in 2016 for Ilaris to treat rare types of Periodic Fever Syndromes. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is an established method for pain relief in Dysmenorrhea, which does not involve the use of medication.Request Table of Contents for this Report @Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market Regional Analysis:The regional analysis includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and rest of the world.The Global Dysmenorrhea Treatment Market is expected to grow with a CAGR of more than 3% during the forecasted period due to high usage of low price OTC (over-the-counter) and off-label treatment.At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Metal Crafts Market 2017 : MetalCraft, Sommer Metalcraft, Omni Metalcraft, Quality Metalcraft

Metal Crafts

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Global Metal Crafts Market 2017A market study  Global Metal Crafts Market  examines the performance of the Metal Crafts market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Metal Crafts market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Metal Crafts market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Metal Crafts Market 2017 report includes Metal Crafts market Revenue, market Share, Metal Crafts industry volume, market Trends, Metal Crafts Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Metal Crafts Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Metal Crafts Market 2017:1. MetalCraft2. MetalCraft Manufacturing3. ACE METAL CRAFTS COMPANY4. Sommer Metalcraft5. Metalcraft Industries6. Metalcraft of Mayville7. Omni Metalcraft8. Metal Craft Technologies9. Quality MetalcraftMetal Crafts Market : By Application Application | Application ||Metal Crafts Market : By Type Type 1 Type 2Firstly, the report covers the top Metal Crafts manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Metal Crafts report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Metal Crafts industry, Metal Crafts industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Metal Crafts Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Metal Crafts 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 Metal Crafts market revenue worldwide.Finally, Metal Crafts 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:"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, USAWebsite:
Global Fresh Xuan Paper Market 2017 : Wangliuji, Taoji, Guanghua, Sanxing

Fresh Xuan Paper

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Global Fresh Xuan Paper Market 2017A market study  Global Fresh Xuan Paper Market  examines the performance of the Fresh Xuan Paper market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Fresh Xuan Paper market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Fresh Xuan Paper market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Fresh Xuan Paper Market 2017 report includes Fresh Xuan Paper market Revenue, market Share, Fresh Xuan Paper industry volume, market Trends, Fresh Xuan Paper Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Fresh Xuan Paper Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Fresh Xuan Paper Market 2017:1. Hongxing Xuan Paper2. Wangliuji3. Mingxing4. Taoji5. Shuanglu6. Guanghua7. SanxingFresh Xuan Paper Market : By Application Application | Application ||Fresh Xuan Paper Market : By Type Type 1 Type 2Firstly, the report covers the top Fresh Xuan Paper manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Fresh Xuan Paper report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Fresh Xuan Paper industry, Fresh Xuan Paper industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Fresh Xuan Paper Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Fresh Xuan Paper 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 Fresh Xuan Paper market revenue worldwide.Finally, Fresh Xuan Paper 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:"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, USAWebsite:
Global Half Ripe Xuan Paper Market 2017 : Sanxing, Mingxing, Taoji, Guanghua

Half Ripe Xuan Paper

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Global Half Ripe Xuan Paper Market 2017A market study  Global Half Ripe Xuan Paper Market  examines the performance of the Half Ripe Xuan Paper market 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Half Ripe Xuan Paper market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Half Ripe Xuan Paper market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Half Ripe Xuan Paper Market 2017 report includes Half Ripe Xuan Paper market Revenue, market Share, Half Ripe Xuan Paper industry volume, market Trends, Half Ripe Xuan Paper Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Half Ripe Xuan Paper Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Half Ripe Xuan Paper Market 2017:1. Hongxing Xuan Paper2. Sanxing3. Mingxing4. Taoji5. Shuanglu6. GuanghuaHalf Ripe Xuan Paper Market : By Application Application | Application ||Half Ripe Xuan Paper Market : By Type Type 1 Type 2Firstly, the report covers the top Half Ripe Xuan Paper manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Half Ripe Xuan Paper report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Half Ripe Xuan Paper industry, Half Ripe Xuan Paper industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Half Ripe Xuan Paper Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Half Ripe Xuan Paper 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 Half Ripe Xuan Paper market revenue worldwide.Finally, Half Ripe Xuan Paper 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:"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, USAWebsite:
Electronically Scanned Arrays Market Value chain and stakeholder analysis by 2024

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Electronically scanned arrays refer to a phased array antenna which is used to electronically steer a beam of radio waves in different directions. This type of arrays are primarily utilized in radars. In order to provide an in-depth analysis of the market, the global electronically scanned arrays has been segmented on the basis of product type, end users, range and geography.Based on product type, the market is categorized into AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Arrays) also known as APAR (Active Phased Array Radars) and passive electronically scanned arrays (PESA) or passive phased array.Electronically scanned arrays also finds its application among various end-user segment of defense sector including land, naval and airborne. Moreover, the operational range of an electronically scanned arrays can be classified into long, medium and short.Obtain Report Details:The market of electronically scanned arrays market is anticipated to witness a high growth during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024 owing to increasing investment in upgrading of the radar system in order to increase their operational efficiency.The primary requirement to replace the traditional radar system across different regions is the most important factor expected to boost the demand of technologically advanced electronically scanned arrays in the coming years.In addition, the growing preference for technologically advanced radar for providing all weather battlefield surveillance against incoming threat is also expected to propel the demand of electronically scanned arrays during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024.However, long replacement cycle of the radar system is of the primary factor anticipated to negatively affect the demand of electronically scanned arrays to some extent in the coming years.Based on product type, the active electronically scanned arrays (AESA) is predicted to experience the highest growth in terms of revenue during the forecast period. AESAs are fitted with receivers and transmitters, which yet again consist of several small modules of transmitter/receivers. AESAs have high capability of spreading emissions across a very wide range of frequencies. Thus, it is utilized extensively across wide area for sea and land surveillance.On the basis of end user segment, the naval sector is predicted witness the most promising growth in the coming years. For tracking and detection of naval activities, naval radars are extensively used.The primary function of naval-based radar system is locating warships, offshore patrol vessels (OPV), submarine and various other vessels of naval vessel. Radar-based naval systems are also used extensively for detecting ammunitions and anti-ship missile.On the other hand, medium range category of the electronically scanned arrays is forecasted to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period. These radars are utilized to locate targets in the range of 50 km to 150 km. These radars work in the frequency of 8 to 40 GHz and are used efficiently in the management of warships, maritime activities, naval activities and management of air trafficGeographically, the market is segmented into North America, Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and South America. In 2015, North America held the largest share in the electronically scanned market among different regions. Huge concentration of electronically scanned manufacturers coupled with increasing investment in research and development activities is the primary factor behind this regions dominance.However, Asia Pacific region is anticipated to experience the highest growth in the coming eight years. The growing threats of terror activities in the region and is anticipated to drive the need for upgradation of surveillance capabilities. This in turn is predicted to accelerate the demand of electronically scanned arrays in Asia Pacific region.In addition, various territorial disputes across the borders of different countries in the Asia-pacific region and this has furthermore contributed to the increase in military budget to enhance capability of anti-missile. This has led to the increasing demand of AESA in the region of Asia-pacific.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Electronically Scanned Arrays Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:The global market of electronically scanned arrays is fragmented with many large and well-established players occupying a strong position worldwide. Also, many new players are also trying to enter the high electronically scanned arrays market owing to the expected high growth of the market.Some of the major players of the high voltage electronically scanned arrays market are Northrop Grumman Corporation (the US), Lockheed Martin Corporation (the US), Ericsson (Sweden), Saab AB (Sweden), Thales Group (France), Toshiba (Japan), Elta (Israel),The Raytheon Company (the US), Mitsubishi (Japan), Defence Research and Development Organization (India) amongst many 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.About TMRTransparency 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 TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Polyimide Films Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024 | Research Report

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Global Polyimide Films Market: SnapshotPolyimide films used widely in electronics, aerospace, and aircraft industry as they are capable of withstanding high temperatures they are widely used to make flexible printed circuit boards and pressure sensitive tapes. Polyimide films enable implementation of compact and complex assemblies which minimizes size and weight. Polyimide films can withstand temperatures above 3000 C and are widely used for insulating wires and cables of motors and generators. Due to their lightweight they are also used in insulating the wires of aircrafts as it provides significant weight savings. According to the research report, the global polyimide films market is expected to be worth US$ 1770.1 mn by 2024 from US$927.7 mn in 2015. During the forecast period of 2016 and 2024, the overall global market is likely to register a CAGR of 7.5%.This 124 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Polyimide Films Market. Browse through to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market @The increasing trend of miniaturization of electronic products and increasing demand for heat and fire resistant insulation films are expected to drive the market during the forecast period. However, the high cost of processing of polyimide films and its tendency to get hydrolyzed and shrink are anticipated to hamper the market during the forecast period. The application of polyimide films in flexible and thin photovoltaic materials and colorless polyimide films are expected to be the area of opportunity for polyimide films. Polyimide films are an ideal choice for usage as substrates in photovoltaic materials due to their high performance in the electronics industry, flexibility, and resistance to high temperature.Flexible Printed Circuit Boards to Dominate Global Polyimide Films Market Over Forecast PeriodKey applications of polyimide films include flexible printed circuit boards which accounts for more than 70% share of the global polyimide films market and is likely to be a highly lucrative segment during the forecast period. Wires and Cable insulation is expected to expand significantly during the forecast period. However the threat of substitutes from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) film is expected to remain low during the forecast period due to the fact that, polyimide film has the advantageous characteristics of retaining its properties at high processing temperatures and provide a high range of operating temperature which is in contrast to PET and PEN films.Asia Pacific to Offer Tremendous Scope for Growth to the Global MarketThe global polyimide films market is anticipated to expand during the forecast period. In terms of volume, Asia Pacific above 40% share of the global polyimide films market in 2015 owing the huge electronics industry in China, Japan, and Taiwan. North America is likely to follow Asia Pacific in terms of consumption. It is likely to expand due to huge aerospace industry in the region. Europe is also forecasted to expand during the forecast period.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Polyimide Films Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @The key players of polyimide films market include Kaneka Corporation, DuPont, SKCKOLONPI Co. Ltd, Anabond Limited, Taimide Tech Inc., I.S.T. Corporation, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, UBE Industries Ltd, Toyobo Co. Ltd. DuPont and SKCKOLON PI are anticipated to be the leading manufacturers of polyimide films. Manufacturers are augmenting their production capacity to meet increasing demand from end user industries. Also, manufacturers of polyimide films are investing huge amounts in R&D for developing polyimide films which is shrinkage free. The manufacturers of polyimide film in China have eaten up the share of major manufacturers as Chinese polyimide films are available in low cost.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Water Pump Market - Global Industry Analysis 2023 | Research Report

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Albany, New York, May 29, 2017: Transparency Market Research (TMR) announces a new report on the global water pump market. The report, titled Water Pump Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2023, profiles the historical development of the market to derive useful patterns regarding the way the market has developed in the recent past. Based on a solid database of past and present data, reliable projections regarding the future growth trajectory of the global water pump market have been provided in the report. The report provides readers with a comprehensive picture of the global water pump market, making it a must-have accessory for interested parties in the market.Browse Market Research Report @Water pumps have been a necessity in human development and have played a key role in the development of human civilization itself. In recent years, the global water pump market has gained strong growth prospects thanks to the steady industrialization and urbanization in developing regions across the world. The necessity of a steady water flow in a wide variety of human endeavors has become the key driver for the water pump market and is likely to drive demand in the coming years.Industrial activities in emerging regions such as Asia Pacific and the Middle East are likely to be vital for the global water pump market in the coming years. Water pumps are required in several industries to ensure a constant supply of cold water for water cooling, leading to the water pump market becoming a key beneficiary of the constant efforts by governments in these regions to enhance their industrial output and gain larger prominence on the global stage.The steady development of the agriculture sector in emerging regions is also vital for the global water pump market, as this constitutes the original purpose of water pumps and is likely to contribute handsomely to the growth of the global water pump market in the coming years.Steady urbanization in developing countries such as India, China, Brazil, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, and South Korea has also led to significant demand for water pumps for residential use. The rising population of these countries and extensive government support to urbanization initiatives is likely to drive the water pump market in these regions in the coming years.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Water Pump Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Accordingly, Asia Pacific is likely to remain the leading regional contributor to the global water pump market in the coming years. While its lead in the water pump market is likely to remain, developed regions such as Europe and North America are also expected to play a key role in the growth of the global water pump market.The increasingly consolidated water pump market is dominated by leading players such as GE, Watson-Marlow Inc., Xylem, Dover, and Sulzer Ltd. Merger and acquisition activity is likely to be common in the water pump market in the coming years.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Automotive Filters Market SWOT Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecasts To 2025

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Global Automotive Filters Market: OverviewFilters have become an integral part of automotive engines in the current scenario. Durability, reliability, and ease in operation of the vehicles are the key factors on which the quality of these vehicles depends. Automotive filters helps in maintaining a quality life for a vehicle. It enhances the efficiency as well as help customers breathe cleaner air. The regulations pertaining to environmental safety and emission standards set by the regulatory bodies are likely to become tougher during the forecast period. This in turn will mandate the automobile manufacturers to use automotive filters in the cars produced, thereby encouraging the growth of the market during the forecast period.View Report @Global Automotive Filters Market: SegmentationBased on filter type, the global automotive filters market has been segmented into air filters, fuel filters, hydraulic filters, oil filters, and others. By vehicle type the global automotive air filters market can be segmented into passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and others. The global automotive filters market, by end-use industry has been classified into OEMs and aftermarket. The OEM segment leads the market in terms of revenue. The rising demand for passenger cars across the world has mandated car manufacturers to use various types of filters in their cars in order to adhere to various vehicular norms, which subsequently led to the increase in demand for filters in this segment. Aftermarket segment is expected to grow at a steady rate during the forecast period 2017- 2025. High replacement rate and low cost of aftermarket parts are some of the reasons for the high growth of the segment. Some filters are functionally stronger than OEM filters as well. These factors are likely to boost the growth of aftermarket end-use segment.Sterner regulations are likely to shape the automobile market, companies operating in the global automotive filters market are anticipated to invest heavily on their research and development to come up with advanced automotive filters. This in turn will propel the overall market for automotive filters. Moreover, adherence to these norms is compulsory for the automobile manufacturers. Therefore, the use of filters in automobiles is likely to increase during the forecast period in order to meet these regulatory norms.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Automotive Filters market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Global Automotive Filters Market: Drivers and RestraintsThis report on the global automotive filters market highlights the current scenario of the market along with stating the expected growth of the global market during the forecast period. Various political, social, economic and technological factors which are likely to impact the demand of automotive filters have been analyzed to include an exhaustive study of the global market drivers, restraints and opportunities, i.e. the market dynamics under the purview of the report. Further, the key players operating the automotive filters market have been profile thoroughly and competitively across the five geographic regions and their competitive landscape is inclusive of their recent developments related to automated guided vehicles and the distinguishable business strategies adopted by them. To further analyze their market positioning, SWOT analysis has been provided for each of the players. In addition, the report includes the market attractiveness analysis of the segmentation, by filter type for offering a deep insight into the major filter usage area in the vehicles. Thus, the global automotive filters market report provides an extensive study of the market along with offering the forecast of the market in terms of revenue (US$ Billion) and volume (million units) from the period of 2017  2025.Key Players Mentioned in this Report are:Some of the major players in the Automotive Filters market are: Sogefi SpA (Italy), MAHLE GmbH (Germany), MANN+HUMMEL GmbH (Germany), A.L. Filter (Israel), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Donaldson Company, Inc. (U.S.), North American Filter Corporation (U.S.), Fildex Filters Canada Corporation (Canada), K&N Engineering, Inc. (U.S.), Filtrak BrandT GmbH (Germany), Luman Automotive Systems Pvt. Ltd. (India), ALCO Filters Ltd. (Cyprus), and Siam Filter Products Ltd., Part. (Thailand).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:
Military Radar Market Research Report and Forecast up to 2020

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Global Military Radar Market: SnapshotRadar systems are crucial in the detection of bombs and landmines that are not visible to the naked eye. One of the key products in high demand within the global military radar market are lightweight radars due to their immense potential in domestic defense. Additionally, the global military radar market is currently being driven heavily by an increase in spending by countries to beef up their border and domestic defenses. Several current affairs in the world regarding civil unrest and terrorism are prompting multiple countries to amplify their defensive arrays, of which military radars form an irreplaceable component. However, the growing number of wind turbines being implemented in the world are a key hindrance to the use of military radars, as the movement of turbine blades can significantly degrade radar reception.The global military radar market is expected to reach US$9.36 bn by the end of 2024. It is projected at a CAGR of 2.4% within a forecast period from 2016 to 2024, in terms of revenue. By the end of 2016, the global military radar market is expected to reach US$7.78 bn.View Report @North America to Continue Leading Demand for Military RadarsGeographically, the global military radar market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, and the MEA region. In 2015, North America held the leading share in the global military radar market. This region holds the leading volume of defense related sanctions, boosting the overall demand for radar in national defense forces. The U.S. has one of the most powerful military forces in the world and is a key contributor to the revenue generation within the global military radar market. Both the U.S. and Canada have invested significantly in the radar technology and are likely to continue doing so over the next few years.North America was followed by Asia Pacific in terms of geographical share in value in the global military radar market, for 2015. The growth in this region is owed to the booming volume of defense activities carried out by nations such as China, India, South Korea, and Japan. APAC nations are currently facing serious issues on the infiltration front which is the key reason for the high defense budget allocations in the region. The global military radar market is thus consistently supported by the substantial purchases of military radar systems made by the emerging nations.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Military Radar market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Airborne Military Radars Continue to be in High DemandThe global military radar market is segmented into ground-based, naval, airborne, and space-based radars on the basis of types. Out these, the global military radar market was led by the airborne military radars segment in 2015. The segment was valued at US$2.34 bn in 2015 which was the dominant share in the global military radar market at the time. The high demand for airborne military radars is expected to continue growing owing to the increasing risks of air strikes and airborne terrorist infiltration. The segment is likely to continue on a high rate of pioneering research and development activities and innovative approaches.The leading players in the global military radar market till 2015 included Lockheed Martin Corporation, Raytheon Company, The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, BAE System PLC, Saab Sensis Corporation, Harris Corporation, ASELSAN A.S., Terma A/S, DRS Technologies Inc.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Aerospace Composites Market Research Report and Forecast up to 2024

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Aerospace Composites Market: SnapshotThe increasing demand for lightweight composite materials in aircraft manufacturing is the chief driver of the global aerospace composites market. The demand for better fuel-efficiency and curbing the chances of increased carbon emission in future will compel aircraft manufacturers to look for advanced composite materials. Spurred by these factors, the global aerospace composites market is forecast to exhibit robust growth in the coming years. In the military sector, the use of composite materials will rise to cater to the need for increasing mission duration and loiter time for aircrafts.Despite forecasts for its positive run, the aerospace market is reeling under the challenge of high cost of manufacturing. Expenditure incurred during fabrication and designing of composites is considerably high. In addition, the cost of carbon fiber composites, widely used in the aerospace industry, is less likely to reduce any time in the near future. Besides this, existing challenge of transferring skills will continue haunting the market players also in the forthcoming years.According to Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global aerospace composites market is forecast to exhibit a CAGR of 9.1% between 2016 and 2024. At this pace, the markets valuation is expected to reach US$24.8 bn by the end of 2024, from US$11.5 bn in 2015.View Report @Despite High Cost, Carbon Fiber Composites to Continue Dominating the MarketBased on the product type, the global aerospace composites market is segmented into carbon fiber composites, glass fiber composites, aramid fiber composites and others, which include ceramic and metal fiber composites. The production of carbon fiber composites is a complex undertaking as it takes a number of intermediate steps to complete the process. The complexity inherent in the manufacturing of carbon fiber composites is the one that adds value to the structures made from it. Other composites such as glass fiber composites and aramid fiber composites are comparatively easy to manufacture. However, these are unlikely to outperform carbon fiber composites in terms of fuel efficiency and low carbon emissions. According to TMR, carbon fiber composites constituted the leading product-based segment, with a volume share of nearly 53% in the overall market in 2015.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Aerospace Composites market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Europe and Asia Pacific to Emerge as Lucrative Regional MarketsIn terms of geography, the global aerospace composites market has been segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. In terms of demand, North America accounted for the leading market share in 2015. The regional market was followed by its counterparts in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. Fleet expansion activities, increased competition among global aircraft leaders such as Boeing, expansion of low cost carriers and clause relaxation are the key drivers of the market in the North America region.In Europe, the aerospace composites market is riding on the competition from high speed trains, increased domestic aviation and other modes of travelling. Asia Pacific is an attractive region for the aerospace composites market as it showed a considerable rise in air passenger traffic and emergence of global aircraft leaders into the region. In Latin America, the market is expected to witness a robust growth owing to the increased number of low cost carriers and rising demand from emerging economies like Brazil. The presence of one of the prominent aircraft competitors Embraer will also aid the markets expansion in the region. The Middle East & Africa is also anticipated to have a growth potential owing to the presence of aircraft competitors and the growing number of maintenance, repair, and operational activities in the regionKey players operating in the aerospace composites market include Cytec Solvay Group, Hexcel Corporation, Koninklijke TenCate, BASF SE, Toray Industries Inc., SGL-The Carbon Company, Huntsman International LLC and Argosy International LLC.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:
Diabetes Injection Pens Market SWOT Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecasts To 2024

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Diabetes Injection Pens Market: SnapshotThe global diabetes injection pens market has expanding at a remarkable pace over the years owing to the soaring number of diabetics around the world and a consequent rise in awareness about this disease and its management. The development of smart insulin pen technology products such as pen caps connected with mobile apps has also significantly propelled this market. In addition to this, the preference for insulin pens over syringes has greatly increased owing to the rising incidence of needlestick injuries.The opportunity in the global diabetes injection pens market was pegged at US$4.9 bn in 2015 and is expected to be worth US$9.7 bn by 2024. If these values hold true, the market is poised to expand at a healthy CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period.View Report @Insulin Pens Gain Preference over Pen NeedlesInsulin pens and pen needles are the two major product types in the diabetes injection pens market. Among these, insulin pens garnered the larger share, accounting for just over 65.0% in 2015. Europe and Asia are among the leading consumers of insulin pens, where 90.0% of the diabetic population prefer these devices to pen needles. Although the U.S. lagged behind in the usage of insulin pens in the past, the country is likely to gain prominence in the coming years owing to the many benefits these devices offer. Pen needles also generate significant revenue; although these products are lower in cost, they are sold in large numbers among the diabetic population.Based on distribution channel, diabetes injection pens are sold via retail pharmacies, hospital pharmacies, online methods, and diabetes clinics and centers. Hospitals form the distribution channel of choice for patients and this segment accounted for a share of over 33.0% in 2015. The online channel is gaining much prominence in recent years owing to a thriving e-commerce sector across the globe. This segment is slated to witness immense growth through the forecast period as its adoption rises in developed markets such as the U.K., the U.S., and Germany.On the basis of usage, diabetes injection pens are of two types: reusable and disposable. Both the segments account for an almost equal share in the global market, with reusable pens enjoying a slightly larger share. It has been noted that disposable pens are preferred in developing economies such as China and India, while patients in developed countries such as the U.K., Japan, and Germany prefer reusable injection pens.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Diabetes Injection Pens market.Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Despite Major Share in Diabetes Injection Pens Market, Europe to Witness Slow GrowthFrom a geographical point of view, the global market for diabetes injection pens comprises Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and the Rest of the World. In 2015, North America and Europe accounted for the dominant share in the overall diabetes injection pens market, followed by Asia and Latin America.The U.S. takes the lead in the diabetes injection pens market in North America, accounting for a massive 94.0% share in 2015. This can be attributed to an extensive diabetic population in the country, various technological advancements, surging research and development practices and growing healthcare awareness about the treatment and management of glucose levels.Although Europe accounts for a significant share in the diabetes injection pens market, it is a saturated industry and is likely to expand at a slow rate. On the other hand, Asia is projected to exhibit strong growth during the forecast period, with major contribution from countries such as India, Japan, and China. New product launches, favorable regulations, the ability of patients to pay for advanced medical products and devices, and growing awareness levels are likely to drive the market for diabetes injection pens in Asia.Sanofi S.A., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Owen Mumford Ltd., Novo Nordisk A/S, Biocon Ltd., Wockhardt Ltd., Eli Lilly and Company, AstraZeneca plc, and Jiangsu Delfu Co. are the leading players in the global diabetes injection pens market. The market is known to be highly consolidated, with just a handful of companies dominating the vendor landscape.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:
High Voltage MOSFET Market New Tech Developments and advancements to watch out for 2026

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A type of transistor that is used for the purpose of switching electric signals or amplifying electronic signals is called a MOSFET. It consists of an insulated gate that determines the conductivity of a device.MOSFETs are mostly used for the purpose of voltage conversions. It is basically a semiconductor component that is silicon-based and is used in electronic devices. These transistors consist of three terminals such as gate, drain and gate.A kind of MOSFET that operates at a voltage more than 200 volts is known as high-voltage MOSFET. Depending on the operating voltage, MOSFETs are integrated into a system. These MOSFETs are mostly used in industrial applications and in fields that require switching and amplification of high power.Obtain Report Details:With the increasing demand for energy efficiency, the demand for high voltage MOSFET has been increasing. With the continued focus on improvements of design across the electronics and electrical industry, the growth of high voltage MOSFET is likely to witness a surge. Alternative and renewable energy market has been witnessing increasing demand. Wind energy and solar energy markets are experiencing a rapid expansion.Furthermore the growth of cloud computing and data center have been driving the market of high voltage MOSFET market.Growing deployment of electric vehicles / hybrid electric vehicles are also driving the market. The growing demand for fuel efficiency and emission norms mandated by governments worldwide are leading to increasing demand for electric vehicles and thus the demand for high voltage MOSFETs increases.The market has bene segmented on the basis of application and end-use. On the basis of end-use, the market is segmented into consumer applications, electrical vehicles/hybrid electric vehicles, industrial application, wind turbines and others. With the increasing demand of electric and hybrid vehicles and increasing use of solar and wind energy, the demand for high voltage MOSFET is expected to witness a surge in the market.Geographically, the market is segmented into Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East and America (EMEA). Asia Pacific occupies the largest market share and is anticipated to grow rapidly during the forecast period of 2016-2024. Europe also accounts for a substantial market share in this market and occupies the second largest market share of high voltage MOSFET market.The region is expected to grow well during the forecast period of 2016-2024. Owing to the increasing demand for renewable and alternative source of energy in the APAC region, the region is set to experience the fastest growth and is expected to continue to lead the market till the end of the forecast period.The high adoption of solar and wind energy technologies in countries like India, the US is the reason for such a high growth of this market in these regions. The market of Middle East and Africa is also expected to grow significantly during the forecast period owing to increasing awareness about alternative and renewable source of energy. The regions of Latin America largely remain untapped though the demand of various types of consumer electronics are increasing day by day in these regions.The global market of high voltage MOSFET is fragmented with many large and well-established players occupying a strong position. Also, many new players are also trying to enter the high voltage MOSFET market owing to the expected high growth of the market.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the High Voltage MOSFET Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market:Some of the key players of the high voltage MOSFET market are Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. (the US), Infineon Technologies AG (Germany), Vishay Intertechnology Inc. (the US), International Rectifier Corp. (the US), Renesas Electronics Corp. (Japan),Toshiba Corp.(Japan) among others. There are also other prominent players in the market such as Diodes Inc. (the US), NXP Semiconductors N.V. (The Netherlands), On Semiconductor Corp. (the US), STMicroelectronics N.V. (Switzerland), Rohm Co. Ltd (Japan) etc.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.About TMRTransparency 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 TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Clostridium Vaccine Market Research Report and Forecast up to 2025

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Global Clostridium Vaccines Market: SnapshotClostridium vaccines are chiefly utilized for a variety of bovine and ovine clostridial diseases such as blackleg, pulpy kidney (enterotoxaemia), black disease, and tetanus. The demand for clostridium vaccine is rising globally owing to the increasing incidence rate of clostridium family diseases and increased awareness regarding zoonotic diseases. Rising concerns about the mortality of livestock animal and the socioeconomic impact of it on agrarian economies are also increasing the demand for clostridium vaccines in developing countries globally.Clostridium vaccine is are chiefly distributed through veterinary clinics and veterinary hospitals. In developing countries such as India, the distribution of these vaccines is highly dependent on government intervention. However, there has been a significant rise in the demand for these vaccines through retail pharmacies, which allow instant access to these vaccines without having to wait for government channels to distribute them.The global clostridium vaccine (animal health) market is poised to observe significant growth in the future. Transparency Market Research estimates that the market was valued at US$418.0 mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$643.5 mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 4.9% from 2016 to 2024.View Report @Bovine Segment to Bring in Significant Percentage of SalesOn the basis of animal species, the global clostridium vaccine market is segmented into bovine, ovine, caprine, swine, and poultry. Of these, the swine segment emerged as the most attractive segment of the market in 2015. The large share of the segment in the global market's overall revenues can be attributed to the large demand of pork and high awareness about the possibility of swines causing zoonotic diseases.Over the forecast period, however, the ovine segment is likely to record the most promising growth rate. The rising prevalence of diseases such as blackleg, black diseases, and black quarter, along with the vast rise in the world's ovine population, growing awareness among owners, and government regulations in different geographies will be key to the increased demand for clostridium vaccines across this segment. In addition, the increase in demand for immunization has led to the growth of this segment. Poultry is also expected grow with high growth rate due to increase consumption of poultry goods.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Clostridium Vaccine market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Rising Awareness Regarding Animal Health to Boost Demand across Asia PacificGeographically, North America was the leading market for the clostridium vaccine market in 2015. The region accounted for a share of 37.6% of the market and is expected to continue to constitute the bulk of the global markets revenue over the forecast period as well. Rising demand for effective veterinary healthcare services and substantial government interventions for research and development are the key factors supporting the North America markets growth.The swine segment in North America accounted for the dominant share of 25.3% share in 2015. A wide range of applications, including clostridium perfringens and clostridium botulinum are likely to support the growth of the segment in the next few years.Nevertheless, the clostridium vaccine market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to outpace the rate of growth of the North America market over the forecast period owing to a vast rise in prevalence of clostridium disease infections in developing countries such as India and China. India and New Zealand are expected to be more lucrative than other countries in Asia Pacific due to increased awareness as well as increasing livestock animal population in these countries. Veterinary clinic as distribution channel holds the dominant market share due to increasing government awareness regarding the diseases across several countries in the region.The global clostridium vaccine (animal health) market features a largely consolidated competitive landscape, with a relatively small number of companies accounting for a majority of share in the global market. Some of the key players in the market Zoetis, Inc., Merck Animal Health, Sanofi-Aventis (Merial Animal Health), BoehringerIngelheim, Eli Lilly and Company (Elanco Animal Healthcare), Vibrac Corporation, Bimeda, Inc., CevaSanteAnimale, and Bayer AG.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:
Dry Eye Syndrome Exhibits Significant Growth in Pipeline with Maximum Drug Candidates in Pre-Clinical Stage

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The study analyzed that the dry eye syndrome therapeutics pipeline comprises approximately 50 drug candidates, of which 11 drug candidates are in Phase III stage of development, 16 drug candidates are in Phase II stage of development, five drug candidates are in Phase I stage, while 17 drug candidates are in Pre-Clinical stage and one drug candidate in the Discovery stage of development. Dry eye syndrome is also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca or keratitis sicca. The disease is caused by a chronic lack of sufficient moisture and lubrication on the ocular surface of the eye. Some of the major consequences of dry eyes include constant eye irritation, significant inflammation and scarring of the front surface of the eye.Explore Report Description at:Insights on pipeline segmentsAccording to the research findings, around 78.0% drug candidates of dry eye syndrome pipeline are being developed to be administered by topical route and 4.0% are to be administered by other routes, that include oral and intracanalicular. Route of administration of around 18.0% drug candidates of dry eye syndrome pipeline has not been not disclosed.Explore Report Sample at:DuraSite technology platform for Dry Eye Syndrome drug developmentInSite Vision (A Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. company) is using DuraSite technology platform for the development of ISV-101 for the treatment of dry eye syndrome. The technology platform delivers a wide variety of potential drug agents. DuraSite is a drug delivery vehicle that stabilizes small molecules in a polymeric mucoadhesive matrix. The topical ophthalmic solution is a gel forming drop, that extends the time for which the drug stays inside the eye, relative to the conventional eye drops.Browse other Related Report at:Some of the other key players developing drugs for the treatment of dry eye syndrome include Ocular Therapeutix, Inc., LTT Bio-Pharma, HanAll BioPharma Co., Ltd., Laboratoires Thea, Avizorex Pharma, S.L., Sylentis, S.A.U., RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., Mitotech, SA, Seikagaku Corporation, KPI Therapeutics Inc. and Xigen SA.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:
E-clinical Solutions Market Research Report | Forecast up to 2025

E-clinical Solutions Market

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E-clinical is a term used in a clinical study with reference to electronic applications which are web-based tools employed to capture live data from clinical trials for faster and better execution. Additionally, e-clinical solutions aid efficient planning, tracking, and execution of this data from different geographic areas. Furthermore, they also improve relationships within departments such as site coordinators of medical affairs and clinical investigators. E-clinical solutions refer to a technology which helps accelerate the process of clinical development and aggregate & standardize the collected data for analysis at an individual patient level as well as for cross trail views. The use of e-clinical solutions has simplified the acquisition of analytics and clinical research data. Device & drug tracking, integrated eCRF note changing, real-time notifications, real-time reporting, and configurable report building are a few important features of e-clinical solutions.The global e-clinical solutions market is expected to expand substantially due to the increasing operational costs & regulatory requirements related to clinical research studies, the rising acceptance of software solutions during clinical trials, and the surge in R&D expenditure in pharmaceutical companies. In addition, e-clinical solutions in Asia Pacific are on the rise owing to the growing number of clinical trials especially across developing countries. Developing markets including India, China, Korea, and Taiwan have become good destinations for the outsourcing of clinical trials due to the low service costs and presence of a large population. However, concerns over patient data privacy and the lack of skilled research professionals are hampering the implementation of e-clinical solution. On the other hand, high operational costs associated with e-clinical solutions are constraining the e-clinical solutions market.The e-clinical solutions market is segmented by product into the following categories: clinical analytics platforms, Electronic Data Capture (EDC), Clinical Data Management Systems (CDMS), safety solutions, Randomization & Trial Supply Management (RTSM), Electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment (ECOA), clinical data integration platforms, Clinical Trial Management Systems (CTMS), and electronic Trial Master File (eTMF). EDC and CDMS hold a large market share, whereas ECOA is likely to witness a high growth rate during the forecast period.On the basis of delivery mode, this market is segregated into three groups: web-based, cloud-based solutions, and on-premise. Furthermore, the market is divided based on clinical trial phase into the following segments: phase I, phase II, phase III, and phase IV. Finally, in terms of end-user application, the market is classified into the following divisions: medical device manufacturers, contract research organizations, hospitals, consulting service companies, pharmaceutical & biotechnology industries, and others.View Report Geographically, E-Clinical Solutions market is distributed over North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominated this market because of the increasing number of clinical trials conducted in the region, rising investment in R&D resulting in the development of new products, growing prevalence of lifestyle diseases, and increasing government support for clinical trials. However, Asia Pacific is projected to grow at a rapid rate during the forecast period on account of the increasing number of R&D projects and the regions developing economic status.Key players operating in this market include Parexel International Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Merge Health Incorporated, Datatrak International, Inc., BioClinica, CRF Health, ERT, E-Clinical Solutions, OmniComm Systems Inc, and Medidata Solution, Inc. In order to gain a competitive advantage in the industry, these players are actively involved in organic and inorganic growth strategies. Collaborations, partnerships, agreements, and new product launches are some of the important strategies followed by them.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 E-clinical Solutions Market during 2017- 2025About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Research Report | Forecast up to 2025

Healthcare Cloud Computing Market

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Cloud computing is one of the most commonly used applications in healthcare. Healthcare organizations are highly concerned about the privacy and security of patient information, and the pressure of managing the growing healthcare data has driven the implementation of cost effective solutions such as cloud computing. Therefore, healthcare companies are accepting cloud computing as an effective solution for data storage.This technology provides various benefits such as business agility, privacy & security, reduced cost and so on. Increasing utilization of information technology in the healthcare industry has led to rising adoption of cloud computing by the global healthcare cloud computing industry. However, this market faces major challenges such as high initial investment and shortage of skilled work force. Adoption of cloud computing by healthcare providers is projected to significantly rise. Polycom, a U.S-based company that produces video conferencing equipment, provides cloud-based on-demand video conferencing solutions which helps to decrease on-premise infrastructure costs. Cloud solutions for strong and retrieving data are expected to reduce IT expenditure in healthcare institutions.The global healthcare cloud computing market is expected to expand substantially due to implementation of favorable regulatory acts, growing investment from healthcare players, proliferation of high speed internet, government organizations, public awareness, rising demand for stringent regulatory compliance, new payment models, and the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The restraining factors for the global healthcare cloud computing market are issues related to data privacy, rising number of cloud data breaches, and data portability complications. There are opportunities in global healthcare cloud computing market to development responsible care organizations to increase scope for healthcare cloud computing and Telecloud to create opportunities for healthcare cloud computing market. Increase of cloud computing solution for telemedicine is current trend for this market.The global healthcare cloud computing market is segmented by service, cloud deployment model, application, end user, and by region. By service, the market is divided into platform as a service, infrastructure as a service, and software as a service. On the basis of cloud deployment model, the market is segregated into public, private, and virtual private cloud. By application, the market is further categorized into clinical information system and non-clinical information system.Clinical information system includes pharmacy information system, computerized physician order entry, radiology information system, electronic medical records and others. Non-clinical information system covers revenue cycle management, automatic patient billing, claim management and others. Based on end- user application, the market is classified into healthcare payers and healthcare providers. Non-clinical information system is the dominant segment in the global healthcare cloud computing market. In clinical information system, electronic medical record system is the dominant segment.View Report Geographically, the global healthcare cloud computing market is segmented into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Each geographic market is sub-divided into selected countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, Brazil, India, China, Japan, and GCC countries. North America dominates the market because of increasing use of mobile devices for healthcare facilities. However, the market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period due to huge scope for growth and the region can possibly dominate the market in the future.The key players operating in the healthcare cloud computing market include IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, CareCloud Corporation, Carestream Health, Inc., Athenahealth, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc. ClearData Networks, Inc., EMC Corporation, Dell, Inc., Iron Mountain, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, IncMerge Healthcare, Inc., Oracle Corporation and VMware, Inc. In order to gain competitive advantage in the industry, key players are actively involved in providing variation to products and services, and also indulging in continuous new product launches. Collaborations, partnerships, and agreements are some of the important strategies followed by market players to stay ahead of the competition.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 Healthcare Cloud Computing Market during 2017- 2025About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Electro-diagnostics Market Research Report | Forecast up to 2025

Electro-diagnostics Market

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Electro-diagnostics is a testing process which measures the speed or degree of electrical activity in the body. Electro-diagnostics equipment are employed to study the electrical conduction or activity of muscle and nerve impulse. These devices help practitioners or physicians for their recommend diagnosis for patients such as myopathy, neuropathy, neuromuscular junction disorder, and plexopathy. Major electro-diagnostic study includes nerve conduction studies (NCS), somatosensory evoked potential studies (SSEPs), and electromyography (EMG). The study of nerve function is performed by NCS, which is done by the application of electrical impulses through electrodes placed on the skin. Electromyography is carried out by a small needle electrode which is inserted into various muscles of the body to reveal the status of the muscles electrical activity.Advancement in technology, safe electro-diagnostic devices with portable features, low power consumption, accuracy, and capacity to incorporate advanced diagnostic features are major drivers for growth of electro-diagnostic equipments. Increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases and rising geriatric population are propelling the expansion of the electro-diagnostic devices market. An important factor is that the health fraternity depends heavily on diagnostic equipment. Consciousness about health has uplift the global health care spending. These are major market drivers for the expansion of the electro-diagnostic equipment market. However, high cost of devices, economic instability, and high maintenance cost are key factors that hinder the market growth of these devices.The global market of electro-diagnostic devices can be segmented into diagnostic device (electroencephalography (EEG), electroretinography (ERG), electrocardiography (ECG), and electrogastrography (EGG)), by end-user (clinics, hospitals, home /ambulatory care research centers, rehabilitation centers, surgical centers, diagnostic centers, and physician offices), by therapeutics devices (wearable pain management devices, wearable glucose/insulin monitoring devices, wearable respiratory therapy devices).View Report In terms of geography, the global market of electro-diagnostic devices can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of World (RoW). North America is a significant market for electro-diagnostic devices due to the inventions of advanced technology, and wide spread awareness about device advancements. Rising preference for an independent lifestyle, need for the elderly and physically-challenged individuals to explore the world, increased longevity, and the staggering cost of caregiver services have fuelled the demand for mobility devices globally, apart from increased government support and reimbursement facilities. Asia Pacific is a rapidly expanding market for electro-diagnostic devices due to increasing healthcare expenses, high patient base, and high cost of medical treatment in the region are key factors that are boosting the expansion of the market of electro-diagnostics in Asia. Europe and Rest of world are also the other global markets for electro-diagnostic devices.Presently, the advanced electro-diagnostic equipment has conquered the limitations of earlier diagnostic equipment. Advancement in technology provides the physician with live, more precise, and recordable information. This has led to a global increase in demand for electro-diagnostic equipment.Top players operating in the global market of electro-diagnostic devices include Zephyr Performance Systems (Medtronic plc.), Boston Scientific Corporation, Abbott Vascular Devices, Siemens Medical Solutions Cleveland Medical Devices, Inc., OMRON Corporation, Corventis, Inc. (Medtronic plc.), Fitbit, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., LifeWatch AG, Intelesens Ltd., Nuubo, Polar Electro, Basis Science, Sotera Wireless, Inc., and Polar Electro Oy. These companies have a prominent position in the global market. Few companies such as Fitbit, ResMed, Inc., and Philips Healthcare, are offering intense competition to these top players with their innovative and advanced product designs. Major players of the global market launch new products, which are acquired by smaller companies, to extend their product market and simultaneously develop their own products by advantage of the core competencies, thereby enhancing their product line. Companies are also looking at acquisitions in this market to expand their capabilities and position themselves in this expanding market.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.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 Electro-diagnostics Market during 2017- 2025About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market Research Report | Forecast up to 2023

Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market

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Global Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market InsightsThe rising incidence of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) has emerged as a major concern for governments, particularly across developing and underdeveloped countries. In first world countries such as the U.S., various regulations are in place for penalizing hospitals exhibiting a high incidence of HAIs. Such regulations augur well for the hospital acquired disease testing market in developed countries. In contrast, the absence of proper regulations and stringent policies limiting the adoption of molecular-biology-based diagnostics are restricting the expansion of the market across emerging nations.Nevertheless, Transparency Market Research (TMR) forecasts the market to gain considerable momentum in the forthcoming years with the advent of the latest technologies. As per TMR, the global hospital acquired disease testing market stood at US$416.7 mn in 2014. Exhibiting a CAGR of 19.9% CAGR between 2015 and 2023, the market is expected to reach US$2.07 bn by the end of 2023.This exhaustive report includes a 360 view of the Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market. Browse through this 85-page report to know what factors will shape the market during the period 2015-2023Demand from Asia Pacific to Surge as the Region Witness High Incidence of HAIsRegionally, Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and Rest of the World constitute the key markets for hospital acquired disease testing. Among these regions, North America held a dominant share of 38.5% in the market in 2014. Europe, in the same year, emerged as the second-largest market with a share of 21.6%. With over a million people suffering from hospital acquired infection, leading to several deaths every year, the U.S. emerged as the largest market for hospital acquired disease testing in North America.Other than the rising demand from the diagnostic market, the latest advancements in molecular diagnostics have been propelling the market in the region. Favorable regulations implemented to prevent the prevalence of HAIs also support the markets growth in North America.TMR forecasts Asia Pacific to exhibit the fastest growth for hospital acquired disease testing. The incidence of nosocomial infections is considerably high in the region. Moreover, Asia Pacific also has stringent regulations in place aimed at curbing HAIs. This, combined with the rising investment in the healthcare infrastructure, is a primary contributor to the hospital acquired disease testing market in the region. The Asia Pacific market is expected to surge at the highest CAGR of 21.2% between 2015 and 2023.Increasing Incidence of Urinary Tract Infections Fuels Demand for Hospital Acquired Disease TestingUrinary tract infection is one of the most common hospital acquired infections affecting millions around the world. It has therefore emerged as the largest segment in the global hospital acquired disease testing market, based on test type. As per TMR, the segment was valued at US$155.3 mn in 2014. Rising at a CAGR of 19.8%, the urinary tract infection testing segment is forecast to reach 768.8 mn in 2023.Apart from this, the demand for hospital acquired disease testing will also rise in response to the increasing incidence of surgical site infection, pneumonia, and MRSA, which is considered the fastest growing HAI in the world. Hospital acquired disease testing is also used for the bloodstream test.Some of the leading players operating in the global hospital acquired disease testing market are L Hoffman La Roche, Gen-Probe Inc., Diatherix Laboratories Inc., Life Technologies Corporation, Qiagen GmbH, Cantel Medical Corporation, Nordion, Inc., Cepheid, Inc., Meridian Biosciences, and others.Request a sample of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Hospital Acquired Disease Testing Market during 2015- 2023About 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:
Personalized Medicines Market Research Report | Forecast up to 2023

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Personalized medicine is a concept that has the potential to transform medical interventions by providing effective and tailored therapies. The development of personalized medicine is a novel approach to introduce new dimension in medicine and healthcare industries. It includes the use of molecular analysis to achieve optimal medical outcome in management or diagnosis of patients disease. The main objective of personalized medicine is to identify most appropriate treatment option for patient population.The market of personalized medicines and pharmacodiagnostics can be segmented as below:By TherapeuticsCancer ManagementTissue-based TestsBlood MarkersCirculating Tumor CellsInfectious DiseasesHIVHBVHCVHospital Acquired InfectionsCoagulation TherapyAutoimmune DiseasesCardiovascular DiseasesCNS DisordersDiabetesBlood Transfusion SafetyBy DiagnosticsBy TheranosticsBy ApplicationPharmaceuticalDiagnosticsHealthcareOthersView Report -The market of personalized medicine is witnessing positive growth owing to the advancement in technologies coupled with introduction of new technologies by key players. For example, in June 2013, Natural Molecular Testing Corporation launched expanded cardiac personalized medicine based on Luminex Corporations xMAP technology. In addition, introduction of technologies like NanoVelcro chip devices and gene therapies by using pill for treating cancer will increase the customer base for personalized medicines and hence stimulates the market growth. Furthermore, personalized medicines have increased the possibility of healthcare profits, safety of patients and improve the clinical results which will further drive the growth of the market of pharmacodiagnostics and personalized medicines. For example, personalized medicines offer cost-effective treatment and also eliminate overspending for the cancer treatment. This factor would ultimately attract more number of customers to use personalized medicines and hence drives the market growth. Moreover, various other factors like early diagnosis of diseases, high adverse reaction of prescription drugs, changing patients trend and patient compliance would also augment the market growth. Furthermore, personalized medicines have major impact on small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It offers great business opportunities for these companies to develop their industrial boundaries across the globe. Thus, all the above mentioned factors would increase the use of personalized medicines by SMEs and hence further augments the market growth. However, implementation of personalized medicines in biomedical research and in clinical applications is still at a low pace which might restrict the growth of this market.Geographically, North America dominates the global personalized medicines market. Advancement in technologies and increasing research activities on human DNA by various biotechnology companies in North America will drive the market growth. In addition, increasing incidence and prevalence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases in North America further drives the market growth. Europe is considered as the second largest market of personalized medicines. The growth of personalized medicines market in Europe is mainly attributed to consistent efforts of private research institutes and government for the development of clinical application for cancer, heart diseases and neurodegenerative disorders. Asia-Pacific region is considered as an emerging market for personalized medicines owing to ability of personalized medicines to provide cost effective and safer treatment options.The leading players competing in personalized medicines market are Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Abbott Molecular, Inc., Celera Diagnostics, Hologic, Inc., Rosetta Genomics Ltd., Macrogen, Inc., IRIS Personalized Medicine, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cepheid, Curagen Corp., Decode Genetics, Exagen Diagnostics, Dako Denmark A/S, Exact Sciences Corp. and others.Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Personalized Medicines Market during 2016- 2023About 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:
Global Security Cameras (IR Illuminator) Market: Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment

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Global Security Cameras (IR Illuminator) Market: OverviewA security camera is used to provide protection for private as well as commercial and industrial places. A security camera is powerful devices against burglars and thus helps individual to track the details live or happened in the past. The significant use of security cameras is for surveillance which delivers substantial evidence in the time of need for investigation purposes. The security camera market is growing at faster pace owing to increase of thefts across the globe. Although this is the prime reason for the security camera market to grow, another key aspect which is helping the security camera manufacturers to generate high sales revenues is the increasing demand for security cameras from home individuals to feel secured. As security camera in residential places aids in detecting the suspicious behavior of intruder, keeping a close check on kids or pets when away from home. In commercial or industrial entities, security cameras are of great help to check on the staff or workers. The security cameras are available in a wide variety depending upon the need. For instance, a PTZ (Pan, tilt, and zoom) camera are widely used by security companies to remotely access the places through turning off camera by 360 degrees, whereas for securing home a fixed camera con does the help. The other types include night vision, dome, bullet type camera, etc. The wireless security cameras are most widely used owing to the flexibility in installation.Obtain Report Details @Global Security Cameras (IR Illuminator) Market: Drivers and RestraintsNowadays security cameras are installed almost at every place with an objective to reduce the crime or suppress the fear of offence, to improve public safety and security. These are the prime targets taken into account which drives the global security cameras (IR illuminator) market. The growing urbanization, infrastructural developments, expansion of business across the globe has a positive impact on the security cameras market. Moreover, the government initiatives for public safety and security, organizations implementing security measures further boosts the global security cameras market.Global Security Cameras (IR Illuminator) Market: SegmentationBy security camera type, security cameras (IR Illuminator) market is segmented into:-Fixed security cameraPan-tilt-Zoom security cameraMini dome security cameraNight vision security cameraMotion direction security cameraOthers (Hidden/Covert, dome, etc.)By security camera use, security cameras (IR Illuminator) market is segmented into:-IndoorOutdoorOn the basis of application, security cameras (IR Illuminator) market is segmented into:-Border SecurityCommercialCity InfrastructureInstitutionalResidentialIndustrialBy camera resolution, security cameras (IR Illuminator) market is segmented into:-Non HDHDFull HDUHDGet accurate market forecast and analysis on the Security Cameras (IR Illuminator) Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Global Security Cameras (IR Illuminator) Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global security cameras (IR Illuminator) 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). The security cameras (IR illuminator) market in APEJ is expected to expand at healthy CAGR, regarding consumption owing to the increasing infrastructural developments coupled with increasing the crime rate. The market in North America and Western Europe is matured due to the use of open street camera surveillance. The Japan security cameras (IR illuminator) market is expected to grow at moderate CAGR over the forecast period.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:
Smart Grid Security Market: Key Trends and Forecast Research Report 2026

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Global Smart Grid Security Market: IntroductionSmart Grids are an integration of traditional grid with IT systems. They offer the grid operators greater control of the utilities for improving the dependability with improved monitoring and efficiency, through information exchange.The cloud-based smart grid applications provide organizations with several features to reduce the operational costs and also to centralize their resources. The cloud-based applications are exposed to cyber-attacks, consequential in several security firms offering security solutions to guard cloud-based applications from cyber-attacks. The target audience for smart grid security market are, national/state governments, utility companies, IT solutions provider, smart grid security companies, cloud service providers, system integrators, information security consulting firms, IT security agencies, and municipal authorities.Cyber threats and their impacts are rapidly increasing across Europe. Currently, EU is working on some of the fronts to guarantee cyber security in Europe, by providing the delivery of enhanced internet for children, and implementing the international cooperation on cyber security and cybercrime.Obtain Report Details @Global Smart Grid Security Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe primary factors driving the smart grid security market are the global development of smart grids and augmented complexity of cyber-attacks. The smart grid security market is growing rapidly due to the increasing security needs of Internet of Things (IoT) and digitalization in the energy sector and increased utilization of the web & cloud-based business application.However, one of the greatest challenges in the smart grid security market is the long investment cycles in the energy sector that make technology assessment difficult and led to a time lag between implemented and up-to-date solutions.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Smart Grid Security Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Global Smart Grid Security Market: Segmentation OverviewProfessional services segment is anticipated to have the largest market size in 2016. The energy and utility companies lack security experts and are outsourcing these services to security vendors. Further, the demand for professional services is high due to the need to address emerging cyber threats.The need to secure the data, network infrastructure, and connected devices are anticipated to surge the demand for smart grid security market during the forecast period. The encryption solution is anticipated to grow at the highest grow rate during the forecast period.Global Smart Grid Security Market: Regional OutlookNorth America is anticipated to account for the largest market share in 2016 owing to the technological advancements and early adoption of cyber security and region. APEJ is expected to grow at the highest growth rate during the forecast period owing to the factors such as growth in the technological adoption and huge opportunities across emerging power industries in APEJ region.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Smart Rings Market- - Advanced technologies & growth opportunities in global Industry by 2025

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Smart rings works primarily on software that intelligently combines data from several sensors in order to improve application and system performance. Smart ring is a very powerful analytical tools used to operate different types of smart devices and application of smart phones and tablets among others. Moreover, the smart rings operates on an advanced and efficient algorithm that is capable of solving reconfiguration problems for the most modern smart operating devices. The Smart Ring Market is anticipated to witness a stable growth during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.Increasing demand of smart rings from various application segments such as mobile payments, information sharing and healthcare monitoring system among others is the primary factor expected to steer the demand of smart rings in the coming years.The Smart Rings market has been segmented on the basis of end use application, operating system, technology and geography. On the basis of application, the Smart Rings Market has been fragmented into mobile/contactless payments, user authentication & access control, Information sharing and monitoring healthcare system among others. Based on operating system, the market can be classified into android and iOS. Moreover, on the basis of technology used for efficient performance of a smart ring, the global Smart Rings market is segmented into Bluetooth technology and near field communication technology. In addition, information relating to current market trend and future anticipated market growth of all the above mentioned segment across different regions including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Latin America is also highlighted in this report.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @Increasing demand for contactless payment arising owing to the rising trend of digitalization is the key factor anticipated to boost the demand of smart rings at an exponential rate during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. Moreover, growing demand for health monitoring especially for the aged people is also anticipated to accelerate the demand for smart rings in the coming years. Various institutes have been developed across various parts of the world in order to provide health assistance to aged people by providing reminder for taking medicine at right time through smart ring technology. In addition, increasing demand for smart ring in order to track heart beat rate or calories burned during exercise from the health conscious consumers is also predicted to create better opportunities for different smart rings manufacturers in coming years. In addition, smart rings is not able to operate multiple devices at a same time and low value addition of smart rings is expected to restrain the growth of Smart Rings market in coming years.Growing market interest in portable healthcare electronics devices has been increasing the demand for Smart Rings market in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Increasing demand for medical devices support to address development challenges are the primary driving factors in Asia-Pacific region. In 2016, Asia Pacific market held the largest market share in Smart Rings market, followed by North America. The Smart Rings market in North America is primarily driven by various manufacturing facilities in medical equipment conducted in countries such as U.S, Canada and Mexico among others.Obtain Report Details @Smart rings market of Asia Pacific region is mainly driven by China and India owing to rising demand of various consumer electronic devices arising from large number of consumer base in line up with increasing disposable income. Moreover, increasing aging population due to large population in Asia Pacific is leading to increase demand for healthcare facilities in this region. Furthermore, demand of portable and wearable medical equipment needed for aging populations is enhancing the demand for medical electronics market. Across the globe, different types of application in smart rings technology are being more than just a notifications device and this technology operates in low power consumption which serves as opportunity for the growth of various smart rings manufacturers across the globe.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:
Vacuum Capacitors Market - Global Industry Analysis, Growth, Trends, Forecast 2026

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Vacuum Capacitor are devices that uses high vacuum instead of air or any other insulating material, as dielectric medium. Vacuum capacitor is generally used in high voltage applications such as high powered broadcast transmitters, large antenna tuners and amateur radio RF amplifiers among others. A Vacuum Capacitor is also used as the impedance variation part in an automatic matching network inflat panel displays and chip fabrication. Vacuum capacitor also finds application in automation industry and hazardous working environments.Global Vacuum Capacitor market is segmented by type into Variable Vacuum Capacitor and Fixed Vacuum Capacitor. Variable Vacuum Capacitor allows variation in capacitance and used in several areas such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment and LCD panel manufacturing unit. These are also used in industrial applications such as high frequency RF generators, industrial RF process applicators and antenna systems that operate at variable frequencies.In addition, by end user, the Vacuum Capacitor market is segmented into automotive industry, building automation industry, home appliances and medical industry,. Moreover, by application, the Vacuum Capacitor market is segmented into powertrain, exhaust, safety and control, telematics, anesthesia monitors, respirators and carbon oxideconcentrators.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @Increased adoption coupled with awareness of smart televisions is one of the key factor driving the vacuum capacitor market globally. Rising need for cost-effective medical facilities in developing regions of Asia-Pacific coupled with technological advancements in medical industry are some of the important factor to drive the Vacuum Capacitor market. Technology innovation along with enhanced manufacturing processes and embedded electronics is anticipated to drive the Vacuum Capacitor market. Rising consciousness of pollution free environment and safety requirements is driving the growth of Vacuum Capacitor market and is dominating the automotive industry. Vacuum capacitor acting as an effective substitute of costly and high range exhaust sensors such as Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) sensors is actually boosting the demand of Vacuum Capacitor market significantly. Competitive advantage strategy such as product development, patent holdings and manufacturing process used by the key manufacturers are intensifying the competition among the existing players in the market. Key manufacturers are constantly investing in R&D to develop new products and identification of areas where vacuum capacitors can find its applications. Increasing demand of Vacuum Capacitors for manufacturing various LCD displays and monitors are acting as a driving factor in the growth of Vacuum Capacitor market .Increasing concern for safe working environment by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased the demand of Vacuum Capacitor market.Reduction of carbon emissions and use of alternatives such as shale gas used for power generation is estimated to restrict the Vacuum Capacitor market from reaching its full potential. In addition, Vacuum capacitors used in RF or high current applications overheats and explodes and generates soft X-rays even during normal operation. This in turn is acting as a restraining factor in the growth of Vacuum Capacitor market. Alternate methods for Vacuum Capacitor such as electrochemical/galvanic, infrared, catalytic and ultrasonic are in tandem with Vacuum Capacitor. As a part of their competitive advantage strategy, Key Manufacturers are continuously focusing on developing various specialized sensors based on various functionalities such as emission sensor and gas sensor among others.Obtain Report Details @By geography, the Vacuum Capacitor market has been segmented into various regions namely Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, North America and Middle East and Africa and South America.Asia-Pacific (APAC) leads the Global Vacuum Capacitor market followed by Europe and North America. France and Germany are the leading contributor for the growth of Vacuum Capacitors in the European region. China and India are estimated to be the largest growing market in terms of revenue shares in Asia-Pacific (APAC) region during the forecast period. France, UK and Germany are the leading contributor in European region.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Single Board Computers Market Trends and Dynamics 2025

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A Single Board Computer is an electronic device installed on single circuit board with micro- processors, memory and other input/output features required for normal functioning of a computer. The Single Board Computer are made by increasing density of integrated circuits. This reduced circuit configuration also reduces the overall cost of the system by reducing number of bus drivers and connectors, by eliminating number of circuit boards required. By merging all the functionalities on a single board, a smaller system popularly known as Single Board Computer is obtained.Increase in the growth of wireless communication infrastructure and consistent developments of product designing along with increasing demand of Single Board Computer applications in ATM machines, industrial computers, and medical equipment automation equipment are the major driving factor for the growth of Single Board Computer market. Easy availability of Single Board Computers and standardized form factors will increase the demand of innovative devices in the market. Increased computing power, high flexibility, lowered power consumption and higher efficiency are the key drivers to drive the market demand of Single Board Computer market. Connectivity via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Wi-Fi, are few technological innovation in the field of Single Board Computer trusted communication industry.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @The consumer need of Single Board Computer differ depending on the deployed environment, application and industries thereby creating demands for various designing needs. Other growth factors includes initiative to develop the designs of devices such that the users have the access to latest software and hardware components at the outset. Major restraint for Single Board Computer market is technological drawbacks as application platforms cannot be aligned to replace latest technology processor as the whole system is integrated on a single board, thereby restricting immediate application or usage for a considerable duration. Another restraining factor affecting the growth of this Single Board Computer market is inefficient cooling process. Multicore Single Board Computer in todays marketplace is the new upcoming opportunity for Single Board Computer market. Customized Single Board Computer is an upcoming embedded platform that contains a carrier board and Computer on Module.Single Board Computer market is segmented by technology as aTCA (Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture), compact PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), VME (Versacard Multibus Eurocard), VPX (Virtual Path Cross-connect), VXS and Mezzanine. aTCA, LTE (Long term Evolution) and WiMax are the leading technologies during the forecast period. Additionally, SBC market has been segmented as end user majorly in medical industry, precision agriculture, military & aerospace, defense, retail & hospitality, transportation and digital logistics, intelligent systems, communications and networking, embedded control subsystems and industrial automation & control among others. Furthermore, Single Board Computer (SBC) market is also segmented by processor type as ARM cortex, Intel, Power Architecture of NXP semiconductors and others. Others include processors of Qualcomm, Samsung, and Rabbit. By geography, the Single Board Computer market has been segmented into various regions namely Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa (ME&A) and South America. North America leads the Global Single board computer market followed by APAC and Europe. APAC region is estimated to grow at a very high growth rate due to steady economic growth. China, Japan and India are the emerging market in APAC region. The US region has the highest adoption rate for Single Board Computer market.Obtain Report Details @Various key players of Single board computer market include AAEON Electronics, Inc. (Taiwan), ADES Corporation (Taiwan), Armor Link International (Cyprus), Emerson ( Missouri, U.S.), Eurotech (Italy) , GE Intelligent Platform (Virginia, U.S.), Versa Logic Corp. ( Tualatin), Digi International (Minnetonka) , Wandboard, Advantech (Munich, Germany) , Eurotech Group (Udine, Italy), Kontron (Augsburg) , Adlink Technology (Taiwan), Radisys (Hillsboro, United States), Mercury Systems (Chelmsford), Olim ex (Bulgaria), UDOO, Arbor Solutions (Taipei), American Portwell (Arizona), and NET Burner (San Diego) among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
For the Bacon family, it is all about creative expression.

So its only natural the Bacons, Michael and Kevin, would follow that path in life. Older brother Michael is an award-winning composer and Kevin is an award-winning actor.

Together they are the Bacon Brothers  Michael on vocals, guitar and cello and Kevin on vocals guitar and percussion  who take their original music all over the world. The brothers travel with the guys who have been with them since the beginning 25 years ago  Paul Guzzone on bass and backing vocals, Joe Mennonna on keyboards and accordion, Ira Siegel on lead guitar, mandolin and backing vocals and Frank Vilardi on drums.

The Bacon Brothers latest tour makes a stop in Bay Citys Wenonah Park. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 17 on the World Friendship Shell. Gates open at 5 p.m.

Were going to be playing a bunch of things we wrote recently, Kevin said in a telephone interview. Weve written three or four songs that have never been on records. Were trying to work them up ASAP. Thats what keeps us interested.

Each and everyone is a favorite, says Michael, because if you dont like the song, why play it?

The first launch of a song is most exciting, he said.

One song Michael believes is on the right track was written by Kevin. Titled Broken Glass, it was recorded at Lehman College, where Michael teaches film scoring.

Michael describes his brothers songs as interesting vignettes. But unlike the other songs, Broken Glass isnt what one would call really rocking.

Kevin says fans will find it different from others he has written.

Its more like a mild tempo, he said. I worked on it for a really long time. Some come really fast, and some take forever. Im really happy with the lyrics. It was one of those times when we just kept trying all sorts of different combinations. I didnt know where it was going. It sort of happened at the same time, the music and the lyrics.

It just sat in my notebook, he added. I didnt know if it was any good. I didnt know where it was going. I didnt want to feel folky.

Fans can decided for themselves. The video of the song premiered May 27 on YouTube.

Not bad for someone whose only musical training came from his brother, who got his start in high school playing in a band with their sister Hilda Bacon.

When we got together I helped him play the chords, said Michael. When we put the band together, if you look at both of our skill levels then and nos, there is really a huge difference. He doesnt need me to help structure songs anymore.

And with everyone having families, getting together to learn a song isnt the easiest thing.

The band has to squeeze in tracks our of necessity, said Michael. Everything we do creativity has to happen fast.

Tours are done here and there a few weeks at a time. The Bay City trip is the final leg on a tour that kicked off May 30 in Birmingham, Ala.

For us its really about writing songs and wanting to share them with people, he added. This tour is all about taking new material and floating it out there and learning whatever you can about the material and how people respond. If you creating something you are really just waiting for that. It doesnt matter if its a piece of music, a painting, a dance, you cant keep it in your living room and just do it for your family and friends. Thats what were doing with our music.

The duo is looking forward to playing on the water in Wenonah Park. Fans might get to see even more Bacons since sisters, Hilda, Eleanor, Kira and Karin, have been known to drive hours to see their brothers perform.

Our sisters are huge fans, said Michael. We really do have a super family.

Tickets to the Bay City show range from $20 to $45. Tickets are available at the State Theatre, 901 Washington Ave., or by calling 989-892-2660, or at www.statetheatrebaycity.com

Check the Bacons out at www.baconbros.com
On June 11, Trinity Lutheran Church at 3701 Jefferson Ave, will have an installation service to welcome Brenda Hayden to the Trinity staff. The installation will take place at both worship services that day, at 8:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. All are welcome.

Hayden received her early music training in her native Nova Scotia before going on to earn her bachelors of music in organ performance at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. Since that time, and as her family moved around, she has served as organist and music director in churches of several denominations including the United Church of Canada, Anglican/Episcopal, Presbyterian, Free Methodist, Baptist and Roman Catholic.
The Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. are adding some of the final keys to their ring that could unlock a $130 billion merger by September.

Following a 133-day review, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission on Thursday announced it would not oppose the merger.

Dow and DuPont, whose combination would create two of the biggest chemical companies in the U.S., gained conditional regulatory approval in Brazil on May 17 and China on May 2. The European Commission gave the go-ahead on March 27.

Approval is still needed in the U.S., Canada and India.

Global antitrust agencies that have approved the merger stipulated the companies divest portions of their businesses, including copolymers, pesticides and herbicides, research and development, corn seed, and others  conditions that cured their shared concerns of a lack of competition and higher prices in agriculture and other industries that could result from the merger.

The ACCC previously had concerns the proposed merger may substantially lessen competition in the supply of certain insecticides and materials science products and reduce competitive tension in research and development of new crop protection products, ACCC Commissioner Mick Keogh said in a statement on Thursday.

The ACCC considers that these competition concerns will be addressed by the global divestments and, subject to those occurring, will not oppose the merger in Australia.

The ACCC reports it worked closely with the European Commission, U.S. Department of Justice, Canadian Competition Bureau and the New Zealand Commerce Commission to assess the merger, and that Australia sought not to require any standalone remedies.

Read the full statement and more info about the ACCCs review at http://bit.ly/2s5k0aZ

The proposed DowDuPont would spin off into three separate, independent businesses within 18 to 24 months. Material Sciences, to stay headquartered in Midland, would be the first spin-off. Agriculture and Specialty Products would be based in Wilmington, Delaware.

The companies announced merger plans in 2015. Dow Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris plans to retire in July 2018 as chairman of DowDuPont.

See also:

Dow plans $12B in U.S. investments in next decade; $500 million in Midland: http://bit.ly/2qVlG6y

Dow plans 140 hires, but faces regional drought in skilled workers: http://bit.ly/2s0acON
Two Midland County Sheriffs Office detectives, as well as two Michigan State Police troopers, have been recognized for their efforts in investigating a 2015 Midland County homicide case.

Midland County Sheriffs Office Detectives Brent Benzing and Scott Holzinger, as well as MSP Det./Sgt. William Arndt and Trooper Joseph McMillan, were presented with the Michigan State Polices Investigative Excellence Award earlier this week at the Tri-City Post.

The award was for their work in the case of Gregory Rose, who was convicted of second-degree murder, arson, home invasion, assault with the intent to do great bodily harm and tampering with an electronic monitoring device. Rose is serving a prison sentence of between 31 and 70 years for the murder count after confessing to the crimes.

The homicide and arson occurred Nov. 13, 2015, at a Greendale Township home as part of a string of crimes that began the day before in Geneva Township. Rose was apprehended after a police pursuit in Minnesota days later.
BLOOMINGTON  Patricia LeVee Radue loves hats.

Im kind of known for my hats. People always say, Here comes Pat in a hat,' said Radue of Normal.

She has worn many literal and figurative hats in her 44 years serving with the Twin Cities' Letitia Green Stevenson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The DAR is a nonprofit womens volunteer organization dedicated to promoting patriotism and historic preservation. Founded in 1890, DAR includes 185,000 members in 3,000 chapters across the country.

We are like Americas fan club. We serve the people of the United States. You see all these people in such a disagreement about the country, so its especially important now to educate people about our past, said Radue.

Radue became a member of DAR in 1968 with the Peoria chapter. In 1973 she joined the Bloomington-Normal chapter. She was installed as chapter regent, or group president, in 1976 during the U.S. bicentennial celebration.

Radue was named regent for a second term Thursday at the chapter meeting at Tony Roma's restaurant in Bloomington. This is the first time a member has served two terms as regent in the 123-year-old Bloomington chapter.

One reason I agreed to be regent again is to get more young, working women involved in the chapter. We need more young people to know and understand history, she said.

Some of Radues past DAR titles include third division director, state conservation chair, state historian, honorary regent for life, state organizing secretary and state vice-regent.

After the ceremony Thursday, Radue flipped through a scrapbook documenting her 1976-1978 term as chapter regent. In the album are newspaper clippings of projects, photos and postcards of chapter trips and past meeting agendas.

It was a different world back then, said Radue.

A big difference, she said, was the role women played in society.

"The man was the one who made the money and was head of the household. If you were married, your husband made all the decisions," said Radue. "Then women started to enter more professional careers and things started to change."

Marian Elson of Bloomington has been a member of the local chapter for 56 years. She remembers when the women were allowed to wear pantsuits to the meetings.

The ladies of the DAR were like the trendsetters, she said with a laugh.

Radue said another major change was the evolution of technology.

The internet and smartphones are wonderful, but I think it takes away from time people could be using to contribute to their community, said Radue.

Locally, the chapter supports active military personnel and veterans through award ceremonies. The group also has placed numerous plaques and markers at historic locations in Bloomington and funds preservation efforts in Illinois.

Radue said most members join due to an interest in genealogy or to support patriotism or historic preservation.

Democracy is always one generation away from extinction, said Elson.

Radue has plans to revamp fading activities and programs hosted through the chapter to attract younger members.

Id like to see our chapter grow a younger generation. You have these lifelong members at our core, but we need to continuously grow, said Radue. Those young people are the ones who will carry on the patriotic values in society.
SOUTH STREATOR  A 22-year-old Streator woman was killed Thursday afternoon when her car struck a guard rail about two miles south of South Streator, according to the Livingston County Coroner's office.

The crash occurred about 3:15 p.m. on Illinois 17 about 1 miles west of Illinois 23, Coroner Danny Watson said in a news release.

Long Point firefighters extricated the woman from her 2002 Mitsubishi Galant, and Long Point emergency medical technicians and Advanced Medical Transport paramedics performed CPR until an OSF Life Flight Medics helicopter took her to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria, where she was pronounced dead about an hour after arrival, Watson said.

An autopsy has been ordered. Her name will be withheld until her family can be notified.

The state police and coroner's office are investigating.

The Livingston County Sheriff's Department assisted at the scene.
STREATOR  The victim of a fatal crash in Streator has been identified.

Alexis R. Brunson, 22, of Streator, was killed Thursday when her car struck a guard rail about two miles south of South Streator.

The crash occurred about 3:15 p.m. on Illinois 17 about 1 miles west of Illinois 23, Livingston County Coroner Danny Watson said in a news release.

Long Point firefighters extricated the woman from her 2002 Mitsubishi Galant, and Long Point emergency medical technicians, Advanced Medical Transport paramedics and an OSF Life Flight Medics helicopter crew treated her until she was pronounced dead at the scene about an hour later, Watson said.

Watson said Friday he had not yet heard results from the autopsy.

The state police and coroner's office are investigating.

The Livingston County Sheriff's Department assisted at the scene.
When the elevator doors opened and I turned the corner toward the chairman's office at the Republican National Committee Headquarters, I looked at the wall and nearly laughed out loud.

I was going to interview the new female RNC chair, Ronna Romney McDaniel, and what greeted me was rows and rows of pictures of her predecessors. All but one were men.

"Yes, they are all guys. I'm very happy to add a feminine touch to this wall," Romney McDaniel later said to me with a grin as we stood next to that photo wall of men.

Romney McDaniel is only the second woman to chair the RNC in history and the first in a generation. She was picked by the Republican President she helped elect: Donald Trump.

As chair of the Michigan GOP, Romney McDaniel worked to deliver the key state for Trump -- the first time a Republican presidential candidate has won Michigan in almost 30 years.

"I went to his very first rally in March, I think, right after he'd announced his candidacy, and there were 3,000 people there. I've never seen that for a candidate during a primary. And obviously, my uncle ran for president," she said.

That uncle is Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee who lost Michigan to Barack Obama that year by nearly 10 points.

During the 2016 campaign, Romney repeatedly slammed Trump in the harshest of terms -- calling him "a phony" and "a fraud," not to mention a threat to the economic and national security of America.

"It was just a difference of opinion as to where the country needed to go," Romney McDaniel said, "but it didn't affect my relationship with my Uncle Mitt."

3 generations in politics

Politics runs so deep in the Romney blood that 2016 was likely not the first familial difference of opinion about a candidate.

After all, Mitt's father and Ronna's grandfather, George Romney, was also a governor who ran unsuccessfully for president.

"And my mom ran for Senate, and my dad had run for attorney general. And I thought, 'I've gotta go get into party politics so I can figure out how to win and get some of my family members across the finish line,'" she laughed.

Many women in politics say they had very few, if any, female role models. Romney McDaniel not only has her mother as a role model but also her grandmother, who ran for Senate in Michigan in 1970.

"For a period of time, my grandmother, Lenore Romney, and my mother, Ronna Romney, were the only two women in the Republican Party to ever secure the nomination for Senate. And they were leaders. They were pioneers in our party," she said proudly.

But that early exposure to politics initially turned her off.

"I'd seen the negative side of it at a young age. I was 19 when my mom ran for Senate, and it was a pretty tough race. And you walk away and you think, 'I don't know if I want to be part of that world,'" she remembered.

Despite her famous name and political pedigree, Romney McDaniel, 44, ended up in politics the way a lot of women around the country do. Something happens at a local level that they get passionate about, and they get involved. Her pivotal moment came when her kids lost their favorite teacher.

"Part of the reason I got involved was I saw a teacher get laid off at our school. And we were in a budget crisis in our state, and they couldn't decide if they could bring her back on because we hadn't passed a budget. And I thought, 'This is just ridiculous,'" she said.

Getting more women involved in the GOP

Romney McDaniel told me one of her main goals as RNC chair is to attract more women to the GOP. She hopes having a woman in charge will help.

"I think it signals that the Republican Party is a party for women. For a long time, we've been put kind of to the side, as if we're single-issue voters or we're just a special interest group," Romney McDaniel said. "We need to do a better job reaching out to women."

In presidential elections, Republican candidates have fallen behind with women nationally -- Mitt Romney lost women by 11 points to Barack Obama and John McCain lost women to Obama by 13 points. During the 2016 campaign, then-candidate Trump's treatment of women became a hot-button issue after vulgar comments surfaced on an old Access Hollywood tape. The President went on to lose among women nationally by 13 points to Hillary Clinton.

Romney McDaniel says that the need to bring more women in extends to all parts of the political process -- especially fundraising.

"I hate generalizing. But what I've seen, from what I've observed, fundraising's an issue for women candidates," she said, noting she sees female candidates struggle to ask for money and to find female donors.

"A lot of the major donors, and I don't know if it's on the Democrat side, are men. So we need to cultivate more women givers. Women are very comfortable giving to charities or things they believe in, but not as much political givers."

She says recruiting women for run for office is also harder than it should be.

It's a phenomenon that does not appear to be Republican or Democratic but, rather, female. Democratic women tell me they face the same challenges when talking to prospective female candidates for office. Many are reluctant to dive in, insisting they lack experience or fear losing.

"One candidate I was just talking with, she said to me, 'I've never run for something -- I didn't know I was gonna win.' And there is a risk component, especially as you get further up in running for Senate or governor. And you're giving years of your life to something, and you don't know if you're gonna come out with a victory," Romney McDaniel said.

Much like her Democratic counterparts, she is trying to change that dynamic.

"We need more women to realize they are 100% qualified for that position and that they should run. You know, if you're a mom of young kids, sometimes you're not gonna feel like that's the right time in your life to run for office. But I think they have a really valuable voice to add to the discussion," she said.

Parenting from afar

Romney McDaniel knows firsthand the challenges of balancing politics and parenting. She was elected RNC chair in January, which was the middle of the school year for her two children: Abigail, 14, and Nash, 12. Romney McDaniel and her husband, Pat, decided that it was best for their kids not to be disrupted, so she headed to Washington, DC, alone.

"It is tough. Well, first of all, I have the best husband in the world. It is a team sport for us. But he recognizes, my kids recognize that this is an opportunity to support our President," she said.

"I think [for] any working woman, it's not unique to me, balance is tough. It's hard to balance giving everything you need to your kids and then being successful at work. And we're always juggling, and we have two full-time jobs."

Like many women working in politics who have young children, Romney McDaniel relies heavily on her husband to take on responsibilities at home, which he sees no shame in -- just the opposite.

"It's given me a great opportunity to spend more time with the kids, and we're just -- we're thrilled for Ronna and the opportunity that she has, and she really is a role model for not just our kids but for others," said Pat McDaniel, who runs the Detroit office for the insurance company Hylant.

A big part of the RNC chair job is traveling around the country, largely to raise money. For Romney McDaniel, that means trying to figure out how to parent from afar.

Some of it is doing mom logistics -- like ordering groceries on Amazon Prime from her hotel room.

"I was at home this weekend and I'm like, 'We're low on paper towels and dish washing soap.' My husband was laughing. He's like, 'I got home last night and I saw these packages on the door and I thought, oh, thank you. Thank you, Ronna, that you realized we needed these things.'"

She also tries to do homework with her kids remotely.

"My son's reading Mr. Lemoncello's Library, so I'm reading it along with him out here so that we call and I can make sure he's actually doing his reading," she said.

I got to meet Abigail and Nash when they visited D.C. during their spring break, and it was clear they are remarkably understanding about their mother's long-distance job.

"Yeah it's difficult and we miss her, but she's doing something that's really extraordinary, so I mean, I understand," Abigail told me.

And -- who knows? -- 14-year-old Abigail could end up as the fourth generation of women in her family to get into politics. She is clearly soaking it in.

"You get to do these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that are just, not a lot of other kids get to do, and that's really amazing, and I'm really proud of her for all she's doing," Abigail told me.

Romney McDaniel joked that like most parents of teenagers, she is just trying stay cool for her kids.

"You're swag, Mom," Nash told her, which Romney McDaniel joked made her so happy she was going to embroider it on a pillow.

A raw moment

The toll of being away from her kids was on display earlier this month at a CNN event to launch this series, Badass Women of Washington. I asked each of the five women who attended whether they thought women really could have it all.

Romney McDaniel happened to have one of those extremely tough working mother days. One of her children had pink eye, and she felt guilty not being there.

"I don't know if you can have it all," she answered honestly, as she began to cry.

"I don't want to cry. It's hard to have it all," she continued, wiping away tears. "But we have to do it because it's women like us who have young kids who don't step up. If we don't take these leadership roles, our voices won't be heard."

Every mother on that panel and in the audience could relate. We have all been there.
Model Jeremy "Hot Felon" Meeks has teamed up with German designer Philipp Plein once again for an ad celebrating New York City's unique cultural diversity. Meeks walked in Plein's first U.S. show earlier this year alongside Young Thug and Fetty Wap. In the new ad campaign, Plein and graphic designer Joerg Zuber used behind-the-scenes and runway images of several models (including Meeks) from his shows, resulting in what looks like a classic NYC club flyer.

The designer says the campaign is "a celebration of the true spirit of this iconic city and a personal love letter to the neighborhoods of New York."

He added, "From the Bronx and Chelsea to Queens and the Upper East Side, there are no barriers here: music, style, race, gender, everything fuses together."

A celebration of the true spirit of New York and the neighborhoods of this iconic city. Introducing the #PhilippPlein #FW1718 #PleinLovesNY campaign - Collages by @joergzuber. Discover more on plein.com [link in bio] 

A post shared by PHILIPP PLEIN (@philipppleininternational) on Jun 8, 2017 at 5:32am PDT

A post shared by PHILIPP PLEIN (@philipppleininternational) on Jun 8, 2017 at 5:32am PDT

[h/t High Snobiety]
The pettiness in the heavily drawn-out feud between Taylor Swift/Katy Perry, two adult human women, seems to have reached its peak: Taylor has re-released her music to Spotify, the day Katy Perry's much anticipated album Witness dropped.

Let's recap. You might remember Taylor made a big song and dance back in 2014 about removing all her music from Spotify, penning an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal denouncing streaming for lessening album sales. You'll also be aware that Katy aired all her and her fellow pop star's dirty laundry on Carpool Karaoke with James Corden earlier this month, (which was, in fact, all over a few back-up dancers) and further clarified it in her interview with NME out tomorrow.

Now Witness, the album that Katy Perry seems to have been promoting for the last century, is finally here. It also apparently coincides with Taylor selling 10 million copies of 1989 worldwide, for which "Taylor wants to thank her fans by making her entire back catalog available to all streaming services tonight at midnight."

Coincidence? The Internet doesn't think so.

Welcome to shade city.

P.s Here's Witness.

And also, 1989.

[h/t Jezebel]

Image via Getty
It's been a little over three weeks since Chelsea was released, but the trans activist has already created an Instagram account, had her first post-prison head shots taken, reportedly has a Vogue feature in the works and granted her first tell-all interview with Good Morning America. It's been all go.

The trans activist sat down with ABC's Juju Chang to discuss her time in prison, her transition and why she originally chose to leak classified military documents.

"We're getting all this information from all these different sources and it's just death, destruction, mayhem," Manning said as to why she turned to Wikileaks. "I stopped seeing just statistics and information, and I started seeing people."

Chang proceeded to ask Chelsea a series of (perhaps unintentionally) heavy-handed questions about her decision to come out as transgender after she was sentenced in 2013 and her subsequent fight for hormone treatment, which Chelsea handled like a boss.

"[It] keeps me from feeling like I'm in the wrong body," Manning said of the hormones. "I used to get these horrible feeling like I just wanted to rip my body apart and I don't want to have to go through that experience again. It's really, really awful."

Chang later addresses Obama's commutation of Chelsea's sentence as one of the last acts of his presidency, which sees the former intelligence analyst completely break down.

"I've been given a chance," she responded through tears.

Watch the very emotional segment below.

Image via Instagram


Bald men in Mozambique could be targets of ritual attacks, police have warned, after the recent killing of five men for their body parts.



Two suspects have been arrested in the central district of Milange, where the killings occurred.



"The belief is that the head of a bald man contains gold," said Afonso Dias, a police commander in Mozambique's central Zambezia province.



Albino people have also been killed in the region for ritual purposes.



Three men have been killed in the past week alone.



The BBC's Jose Tembe in the capital, Maputo, says police think the notion of a bald head containing gold is a ruse by witchdoctors to get clients to take a person's head to them.



"Their motive comes from superstition and culture - the local community thinks bald individuals are rich," Commander Dias is reported as having told a press conference in Maputo.



The suspects are two young Mozambicans aged around 20, the AFP news agency reports.



A regional security spokesman, Miguel Caetano, told AFP that one of the victims had his head cut off and his organs removed.



The organs were to be used in rituals to advance the wealth of clients in Tanzania and Malawi, Mr Caetano said, citing the suspects.



There has been a spate of killings of people with albinism in East Africa in recent years, with their body parts used to make charms and potions by witchdoctors.

Source: BBC









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
Information available to Peacefmonline.com indicates that the wife of lynched military officer, Barbara Mahama is about to produce a new life for the late army officer.



Mrs. Barbara Mahama according to our reporter Pius Badu Banson who visited the family is three months pregnant.



The 26-year-old widow already has two children with the late captain, who after his gruesome murder has been promoted to Major by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



Major Maxwell Adam Mahama was killed after some residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region claimed they mistook him for an armed robber.



He had a weapon on him, which alarmed a snail seller, who in turn called the assembly man of the area to report him due to reports of robbery in the town.



He fell unconscious after he was severely beaten and stoned after the assembly gathered the youth of the town to deal with him.



He was later set ablaze.



The incident has been roundly condemned by Ghanaians and a heavy flow of tributes from leading Ghanaian personalities and citizens at large have been pouring in.



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said his government will ensure the prosecution of all those involved in the murder.



The President also announced a 500,000.00 Ghana Cedis Memorial trust fund to support the Widow and her Children when he visited the bereaved family.



The board of trustees for the fund will be chaired by the Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul.



The President has personally donated Ghc 50,000.00 to the trust fund.



The father of the slain soldier, Captain Retired Adam Mahama said his sons death should serve us a wake-up call to all Ghanaians to discard the dastard cases of instant justice.tice.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Hundreds of sympathizers on Thursday evening thronged the Arakan Mess at Burma Camp to partake in a vigil held in honour of the late Major Maxwell Adam Mahama, who was brutally murdered on Monday, May 29th.

The two-hour program was attended by the hierarchy of the Ghana Armed Forces and several government officials. It was also used as an opportunity to console the family and wife of the fallen hero, Barbara Mahama.

Friends and family, clad in black and red, converged at the mess hall amidst a morose atmosphere as mourners shed tears and voiced their sorrows. Major Mahamas body will be moved from 37 Military Hospital to Forecourt of State House today [Friday] 9th June at 6:00am for a filing past.

The burial service will commence at 9: 10 am. This will be followed by a procession to Osu Military Cemetery for internment. A Thanksgiving service will be held at Light House Chapel International, Qodesh, North Kaneshie-Accra on Sunday 11th June at 1030 hrs. His final funeral rites will be held at Bole fro, 13th to 15th June 2017 and Tumu from 16th to 18th June 2017 respectively.

Friends and family, clad in black and red, converged at the mess hall amidst a morose atmosphere as mourners shed tears and voiced their sorrows. Major Mahamas body will be moved from 37 Military Hospital to Forecourt of State House today [Friday] 9th June at 6:00am for a filing past. The burial service will commence at 9: 10 am. This will be followed by a procession to Osu Military Cemetery for internment. A Thanksgiving service will be held at Light House Chapel International, Qodesh, North Kaneshie-Accra on Sunday 11th June at 1030 hrs. His final funeral rites will be held at Bole fro, 13th to 15th June 2017 and Tumu from 16th to 18th June 2017 respectively.

Source: citifmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Former Trade and Industry Minister, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah has admitted that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) veered from the track of probity and accountability and must go back to uphold the principles before it is too late.



I wish to appeal particularly to the leadership, members, supporters, sympathisers and grassroots activists of our beloved party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which was founded by Jerry John Rawlings on the ideals of probity and accountability to do more in making these ideas a reality.



Mr Spio-Garbrah stated categorically that if former President John Mahama contests to become the flagbearer for the December 2020, he (Spio-Garbrah) will not join the race.



Delivering a speech at the 38th anniversary celebration of the June 4, 1979 revolution in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital on Sunday, the former minister, said if that is done, this will ensure that we reconstruct our party on these noble ideals which in the past have propelled us from victory onto victory in competing with our opponents of the property owning class.



He said as we commemorate 38 years of the June 4th uprising, may we as a nation, solemnly reflect and remind ourselves of the social and economic conditions that prevailed in our country during that era and which culminated in the June 4 incident that sparked a popular revolt against all manner of injustices in our Ghanaian society, including high levels of corruption, thievery, general indiscipline and impunity.



He admitted it is sad to note that thirty-eight years on, the vices of corruption, nepotism, cronyism, etc., which led to the eruption of June 4th in 1979 have slowly crept back into our everyday life and arguably surpassed the obnoxious period preceding the June 4 event, adding our nation is once again grappling with the canker of widespread, extreme corruption that has permeated the whole of our society, including officialdom.



He said as a nation, we seem not to have learnt the lessons June 4 sought to teach us, adding Government after government, since we adopted multi-party democracy in 1992, has been accused of corruption by succeeding ones.



Now it is common to find governments using the so-called, Corruption Perception Index to compare their own levels of corruption with others, thus implicitly admitting that they are corrupt but perhaps doing better than others, Mr Spio-Garbrah said.



He said that no matter the level of perception, corruption is a canker in our society, which if not nipped in the bud, would eat away the very fabric of society, resulting in enrichment of a few in positions of trust and abjectly impoverishing the masses of our people, adding that to check the impunity, it is imperative for us, as a nation, to revisit the lessons of probity and accountability which June 4th sought to teach us.



He suggested that the NDC leadership should prioritise the establishment and operationalisation of a training school and programme for elected party officers at all levels to ensure that the next generation of party executives and leaders are people of integrity and are able and willing to defend these ideals of social democracy so as to make the NDC more competitive in future elections.



We are a grassroots political party of the Social Democratic ideology. We owe it as a duty to cater for the needs of the common man and woman on the streets, on farms, fisher folk, market women, teachers, nurses, other workers, as well as countless millions of our unemployed young men and women.



Mahama Message



Former President John Mahama, who does not appear to have had any association with the celebration of June 4th since he became both Vice President and subsequently President, suddenly issued a statement to commemorate the occasion.



He said in a statement issued and signed by his Special Aide, Joyce Bawah Mogtari in Accra that June 4, as one of the recognized anniversary days of the NDC, is a day of accountability.



He charged the NDC members to ensure the values of the June 4 Revolution were not eroded.



Interestingly, it was during his time that corruption was elevated, with wanton stealing of money by his appointees.



President Mahama said that this years June 4 celebration coincided with the 25th Anniversary of the NDC, which falls on June 10, saying these twin events present another opportunity for members of the NDC to rededicate themselves to the values of the June 4 Revolution, which brought into being the 31st December Revolution and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The High Court has ordered the Electoral Commission (EC) to produce evidence of concrete steps it is taking to implement the Representation of the People Amendment Act (ROPAA),



Justice Anthony Yeboah gave the order after the EC stated in its defence in a case before the court that it was already in the process of implementing the law. Ghanas Parliament passed ROPAA (Act 699) in 2006 to enable Ghanaians living abroad to vote in national elections.



ECs defence relates to a case brought by five Ghanaians living abroad who insist that their rights to register and vote in local elections while abroad continues to be violated by the non-implementation of the law.



Just before the trial was to commence on Wednesday morning at the Human Right Division of the High Court, the EC made the request through its lawyers to be allowed to prove it was taking steps to implement the law.



Presiding judge, Justice Anthony Yeboah, acceded to the request.

The Judge pointed out that the EC's major piece of evidence filed as proof of its claim was a 2011 document and there was no evidence of actual implementation.



Lawyer for the Plaintiffs, Samson Lardy Anyenini, said he was ready to grant the two-week request even though it was obvious the EC had "gone to sleep since the passage of the law and always resorted to the rhetoric of 'we are implementing' it.



The Plaintiffs, who belong to the US-based Diaspora group Progressive Alliance Movement (PAM), took up the case last year, withdrew and returned this year.



The basis of their suit is Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution, which states: Every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.



Among the other reliefs being sought, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that each of the applicants right to vote and entitlement to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda in light of the Act 699 and said various and legal instruments is not subject to any condition precedent aside the article 42 citizenship, age and sanity of mind criteria.



They also want a declaration that it is discriminatory for respondents, [particularly the Electoral Commission] to continue to register abroad and ensure that a category of citizens studying abroad or working in Ghanas Missions/Embassies abroad vote in public elections and referenda while living abroad to the exclusion of the applicants.



Name of applicants



The applicants, all Ghanaian residents in the USA, are: Kofi A. Boateng, PhD, Agyenim Boateng, SJD  both from Ashanti Region; Nellie Kemevor (from Eastern Region), Obed Danquah (from Volta Region), and Christiana Sillim (from Upper East Region).



Petition EC to implement ROPAA



The suit comes three years after President John Mahama urged Ghanaians in the diaspora to make a strong case to the EC for the implementation of the law.



Reliefs



The applicants are seeking the immediate implementation ROPAA to enable them to cast their ballots in future elections.



According to them, this is the law that permits hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians Living Abroad (GLAs) to register and to vote as per Article 42 of Ghanas 1992 Constitution that states that: Every citizen of Ghana of eighteen years of age or above and of sound mind has the right to vote and is entitled to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda.



They are accordingly seeking a declaration that they (applicants) have fundamental human rights under Articles 17 (2) 42 and 33 (5) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act 2006 (Act 699), Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Protocol 1 (Article 3) of the European Convention on Human Rights.



Register us



The applicants want the court to order the EC to allow them to be registered as voters while they are resident abroad and being outside the jurisdiction of the Republic of Ghana, and doing so from/at their places of residence abroad and designed centres close to their places of residence abroad or from/at the Ghana Mission/Embassy within their jurisdiction.



They also want to be issued voters identity cards to enable them to vote in public elections and referenda while they are resident abroad and outside the jurisdiction of the Republic of Ghana at the time of such elections and doing so from/ at their places of residence abroad or designated centres close to their places of residence abroad or from/at the Ghana Mission/Embassy within their jurisdiction abroad.



The applicants also want to be given the right to vote in public elections, particularly, presidential and parliamentary elections, while they are resident abroad.

Breach of fundamental human rights



The applicants also want the court to declare that the non-compliance of the EC to operationalise Act 699 since it became law on February 24, 2006, was a breach of the fundamental human rights of the applicants under various laws and legal instruments.



They also want the court to declare that it is discriminatory for the respondents, particularly the EC, to continue to register abroad to ensure that a category of citizens studying abroad or working in Ghanas Mission/Embassies abroad vote in public elections and referenda while living abroad, to the exclusion of applicants.



Ex-President Mahama backs ROPAA



While speaking at a meeting with the Ghanaian community in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States of America in 2014, the then President Mahama, said the directive issued by the Supreme Court in its ruling on the 2012 Presidential Election Petition for the EC to make reforms in its operations, provided a good opportunity for Ghanaians living abroad to forcefully put their case before the commission to extend voting rights to them.



President Nana Akufo-Addo backs ROPAA



President Nana Akufo-Addo while interacting with the Ghanaian community in Lome, Togo as part of his two-day working visit in May this year assured Ghanaians living abroad of his commitment to ensure the full ROPAL to give them the opportunity to exercise their franchise in local elections.



He said the law was passed to make it possible for Ghanaians abroad to cast their votes and wondered why, since the passage of the law, it had remained dormant on the statute books.



Background



In October and November 2005, two delegations of Ghanaians Living Abroad, in the USA, Europe, Southern Africa, West Africa and Canada, led by the first applicant, Dr Kofi A. Boateng, arrived in Ghana to add their voices to the then raging parliamentary debate on amending Ghanas Representation of the People Law (PNDCL 284).



The intended amendment was to, among other issues, change Section 8 of PNDCL 284, which restricted overseas voting to only Ghanaian employees of the Republic, the United Nations, and other international organisations.



It also aimed at removing the requirement in Section 7 of PNDCL 284 that locally, in order to register to vote, one must have continuously inhabited an area for six months leading to the date of qualification.



This eventually led to the passage of Act 699, which gives the right to Ghanaians living abroad other than foreign mission workers and students to partake in electoral processes in Ghana, irrespective of their destination.



The EC cites cost as one of the logistics of ROPAA implementation that they needed time to study.







Source: The Finder









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The world is facing an undeniable refugee crisis, and many countries are having embarrassingly poor reactions to these most vulnerable populations.

Belgian artists Schellekens & Peleman have responded to the widespread fear and hatred of refugees with this: a world-travelling, six-meter sculpture called Inflatable Refugee.

Designed to be a symbol of the dehumanisation of the refugee, the artwork has been touring the world since 2016, and now its coming to Melbourne to coincide with Refugee Week (June 18 -24).

Inflatable Refugee from Schellekens Peleman on Vimeo.

Shellekens & Peleman released a statement about Inflatable Refugee when they launched the artwork, saying:

We proportionally enlarged the Inflatable Refugee to match the reactions his arrival in the Western world evoked. His size represents how we perceive him. We have chosen to create this inflatable figure from the same material as the boats, used by human traffickers to cross the Mediterranean Sea, are made from. Its too fragile to withstand the waves of the sea, making the passengers on these boats extremely vulnerable.

After visiting Venice, Copenhagen, Uppsala and a bunch of other cities, Inflatable Refugee will make its way down the Yarra on Saturday 17 June from 12pm to 3pm, and Sunday 18 June from 11am to 3pm. You can read more about the art event, including where to see the artists in conversation, courtesy the City of Melbourne.

As for the big man on the boat  were ready to welcome him with open arms.

Image: Supplied.
A British construction worker has described how he tried desperately to save the life of Brisbane native Sara Zelenak, whose family this week confirmed she was killed in the London terror attack that left eight dead and dozens more injured.

Gerard Vowls, 47, told The Australian he spotted terrorists Youssef Zaghba, Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane going after the 21-year-old nanny and picked up a rental bike to throw at them as a distraction.

I wanted to distract them, to stop them, I wanted them to turn attention to me, rather than the blonde girl [Zelenak], he said. She was crying out Help me! Help me!, and I tried so hard, screaming to get them to look at me.

I had no weapon but I saw a bike on the ground and tried to use that. As I went to throw it, one of the attackers turned to me with his machete and started to chase me. I wanted all of them to chase me so they would leave her alone and so I ran

His brave intervention tragically failed and the attacker pursuing him turned his attention back to Zelenak, who had walked out of nearby bar when the terrorists van crashed.

She and friend Pri Goncalves turned south towards Borough Market to investigate the loud noise and unwittingly walked directly into the path of danger.

Goncalves ran back across the bridge once she realised something was very wrong, and thought Zelenak was behind her, but she must have headed in the other direction.

Her mum, Julie Wallace  who flew to London to help find her then-still-missing daughter  confirmed on Facebook that her body had been identified by authorities earlier this week.

Sara Zelenak is confirmed dead they found her body and has DNA tests confirmed thank you for all the overwhelming love and support from everyone, she wrote.

Vowls said he was speaking out so Zelenaks family could take comfort in the knowledge someone tried to save her life.

To Saras family, I just want to say I am so very sorry for their loss. I really tried to help her and get them to chase me. I am ripped apart knowing she died, its destroying me.

Source: The Australian.

Photo: Supplied.
Earlier this morning we wrote a story on A Current Affairs sting operation on Shakuhachi founder, Jessica White, who allegedly owes 80 creditors over a million bucks.

Reporter Chris Allen approached White in a Bali cafe, where he greeted her, chirping you look like youre having a good time here in Bali!

The segment was underscored by none other than Bruno Mars  Thats What I Like (to really drive home the living large narrative), and showed secretly-taken footage of White dancing and sippin cocktails in the Indonesian sun, interspersed by sober complaints-to-camera by disgruntled customers.

White has since supplied a statement to PEDESTRIAN.TV shooting down claims that she is in any way still involved with the day-to-day happenings of the Shakuhachi brand:

At present, my only involvement with Shakuhachi is consulting and advising on design. Since Shakuhachi was acquired by Loft HK Limited, I have not been involved in the day to day running of the business or any of the retail sites in either Australia or Indonesia. The online store is run exclusively by Loft HK Limited and I have no involvement with orders, purchasing or the fulfilment of any goods. I am not receiving any funds from the sale of Shakuhachi clothing either in-store or online. My understanding is that Loft HK Limited are working closely with all consumers and Fair Trading to resolve any complaints, provide a refund and/or fulfil all outstanding orders.

While White claims she doesnt receive funds from the sale of Shakuhachi clothing either in-store of online, its hard to imagine shes not getting paid for her consulting role at the company.

Heres a preview of the ep, if youre keen:

Jessica White appears to be living a charmed life, but shes being chased for almost $1 million. #9ACA FULL STORY: https://t.co/xCb4LKN4KE pic.twitter.com/N1NMLMqWgX  A Current Affair (@ACurrentAffair9) June 8, 2017

Moral of the story: dont be fuckin with women and their online shopping.

Photo: A Current Affair.
There are scant few reasons for speeding at 37km/h over the limit, and even fewer that will get you out of a hefty fine. Just being a dick is not one of them. Not at all.

Mundijong Police, who keep the peace in the south eastern burbs of Perth, made this point pretty goddamn clear yesterday when they slapped a driver with an $800 fine.

The corresponding ticket reveals the Holden drivers honest-but-misguided response wasnt enough to dodge the triple-digit infringement.

We are loving the work TEG team 2 are doing down this way. Ftals and crashes on Karnup Road and people are still doing 35 over. Speed kills! pic.twitter.com/VpqbULi7Hl  Mundijong Police (@MundijongPol) June 9, 2017

It appears the Mundijong Traffic Enforcement Group have been busy over there, too: shortly after, they posted about another speeding driver, who was also found to be under the influence.

TEG are really on the ball. Charged this driver with Speeding, Drink driving, failling to stop. They are Keeping WA road safe. ??????????????? pic.twitter.com/dWN6ayx8lQ  Mundijong Police (@MundijongPol) June 9, 2017

Dick-tickets aside, it makes sense theyd be keen to ensure driver safety over there. There have been several fatalities on Karnup Road in recent years, so cutesy excuses probs wont cut it.

At least some drivers excuse brought a lil attention to the issue, hey?

Source: WA Today.

Photo: Mundijong Police / Twitter.
Jonestown Road will be getting somewhat of a makeover as some large retailers have left and other retailers will eventually call it home, including Toys R Us.

Metro Commercial Real Estate Inc., a Philadelphia real estate company that represents Cedar Realty Trust, which owns the Colonial Commons shopping center in Lower Paxton Township, has announced on its website that Toys R Us has signed a lease at the Colonial Commons shopping center.

Toys R Us has signed for the 23,500-square-foot space that previously housed OfficeMax, according to Metro Commercial's website.

The new Toys R Us store would bring Toys R Us back to the East Shore, although there is a Babies R Us on the East Shore. The Babies R Us is at the Paxton Towne Center in Lower Paxton Township, which is across the street from Colonial Commons. A Toys R Us in Swatara Township closed in 2015. Toys R Us has also opened its seasonal Toys R Us Express in the past at Tanger Outlets Hershey in Derry Township.

On The West Shore, there is a Toys R Us/Babies R Us store in Hampden Township. The Toys R Us store relocated to the Carlisle Pike in 2012 from its former location at the Capital City Mall in Lower Allen Township. That store was later demolished, and Field & Stream opened a store at that location in 2015. Toys R Us has more than 1,800 Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores worldwide. Toys R Us is based in New Jersey.

There have been a number of changes at several of the larger retail spaces as well as at a fitness center on Jonestown Road.

Hobby Lobby, an arts-and-crafts retailer, has also signed a lease at the Colonial Commons shopping center in the former Giant space. Hobby Lobby announced on Wednesday that its hopes to open the new store in September.

The Giant store left Colonial Commons in November and relocated to a former Gander Mountain store in the Harrisburg East Shopping Center at 5005 Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township. The Gander Mountain store closed last year.

OfficeMax closed its Colonial Commons store in November. NB Liebman closed its East Shore furniture store on Jonestown Road last year. Aldi is expected to open a store at that location, according to Bennett Williams Commercial Realty.

LA Fitness is expected to close its location on Jonestown Road on June 30. HH Gregg has closed all its stores which included a store on Jonestown Road.

There is no word yet when Toys R Us kids and their parents can shop at the new store. Toys R Us could not be reached for comment.

--Business Buzz
UPDATE: Woman at center of Ocean City topless debate bares all

In a break with a more modest past, the Ocean City Maryland Beach Patrol will look the other way this summer when it comes to women sunbathing topless in the sand.

As WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh reports, the new beach patrol policy regarding women who doff their bikini tops on the beach was memorialized in a memo issued Tuesday by Capt. Butch Arbin, head of Ocean City Beach Patrol.

Under the beach patrol's new policing rules, workers should document complaints of toplessness, but they shouldn't approach topless women - even if beach-goers request it, WTAE reports.

In the past, the Ocean City Beach Patrol took a more active - some would say, prudish - approach to women caught sunbathing sans their tops.

Upon any complaints from more modest sunbathers, the patrol would approach the topless woman and "scold" her to cover up, saying, in effect, "hey, you can't do that."

The new "hands off" approach comes after an advocate for normalizing toplessness on American beaches asked the Worcester County's state's attorney last year to "examine" the law, WTAE writes. He, in turn, asked Maryland's attorney general for an opinion.

But officials haven't heard back.

Absent a clear legal opinion regarding women going topless, the beach patrol's Arbin says he isn't about to let his workers touch the topic - or scold any topless women - this summer.

Now the question is just how many women will take advantage and go topless on Ocean City beaches?

And how will the rest of the beach-going public there react to what could become an R-rated day at the beach?

Stay tuned.
The many dangers of texting while doing almost anything else have been dramatically illustrated yet again. This time, by viral video of a woman walking down a sidewalk while texting - and right into the open doors of a cellar loading area.

It happened in Plainfield, New Jersey, on Thursday afternoon, as 6ABC in Philly reports.

Check out video of the incident from our sister website, NJ.com, here:

The 67-year-old woman, who was not immediately identified by name in press reports, was seriously injured in the six-foot down a sidewalk loading door that was opened as a gas line was being repaired.

6ABC says the incident happened in front of Acme Windows on Somerset Street in Plainfield.

The Plainfield Fire Division rescued the woman from the hole and rushed her to a nearby hospital for treatment of serious injuries, the news station reports.

Meanwhile, viral video of the texting woman's dangerous fall has become a cautionary tale for other texters out there. Perhaps, they will do it more safely now.
Compiled by Janet Krajcsik | jkrajcsik@pennlive.com

Coloring, hiking, concerts and much more on tap this weekend in central Pennsylvania

It may not be summer yet, but it sure feels like it with all the things to do this weekend in central Pennsylvania. From hikes to concerts and even a session for adults who love to color, there's sure to be something for everyone in this week's free things to do.

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Gettysburg Brass Band Festival

2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the Gettysburg Brass Band Festival (GBBF) with bands from six states. Delicious food and beer will be available on-site for purchase.

The festival begins Thursday evening on the Gettysburg Tours and Hill Unger Main Stage at the Lutheran Theological Seminary with performances by the Adams County Community Band and the Gettysburg Big Band.

The Gettysburg Brass, Hanover Lancers Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps, Antebellum Marine Band, and others perform Friday evening at various Gettysburg locations.

On Saturday, music begins at noon with several North American Brass Band Association Champions (NABBA), including the 2017 National Champion, New Jerseys Atlantic Brass Band and 2017 North American Brass Band Association Section 2 Champion, Marylands Rockville Brass Band. Past champions also performing are the Chesapeake Brass Band (Delaware), the Brass of the Potomac (Virginia), and Spires Brass Band (Maryland).

Saturdays lineup also includes Benfield Brass Band from Maryland, the Syracuse University Brass Ensemble, and Dixieland Express from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. All of Saturdays performances take place on the Gettysburg Tours and Hill Unger Main Stage.

A popular part of the GBBF is the "Instrument Petting Zoo" where youngsters of all ages have the opportunity to play brass instruments. A Bugle School will also be held during the weekend along with the ever-popular Saturday Brass Picnic. The festival closes with the moving "Taps" tribute as buglers stationed throughout the Gettysburg Battlefield honor those who fought and died there.

This free concert event is organized by volunteers in partnership with the Lutheran Seminary Music Gettysburg! Concert Series, Destination Gettysburg, and the Gettysburg Times.

Held 7-9:30 p.m. June 8-9; noon-9 p.m. June 10 at Lutheran Theological Seminary, 61 Seminary Ridge, and other locations nearby.

Free.

Info: www.gettysburgbrassbandfestival.com, www.gettysburgbrassbandfestival.com.

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Opening reception: "Burst Into Bloom"

In the exhibit "Burst Into Bloom," Loretta St. John presents abstract paintings rich in contrast. Meet the artist, check out the art and enjoy light refreshments during the reception. The exhibit will be held through July 8

6-8:30 p.m. June 9 at PCCA Gallery, 1 S. Second St., Newport.

Free.

Info: www.perrycountyarts.org, 717-567-7023.

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Friday Sunset Hike

Enjoy the sunset while on a two hour (2 to 2.5 miles) hike on uneven terrain. Bring sturdy shoes and water, and dress for the weather.

6:30-8:30 p.m. June 9 at Kings Gap Environmental Education and Training Center, 500 Kings Gap Road, Carlisle.

Free.

Info: events.dcnr.pa.gov/event/friday_sunset_hike_9160#.WMbtDtIrKpo, 717-486-3799.

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FunFest

Features free activities for the entire family, face painting and balloon artists. Kiwanis will be selling hot dogs, with all proceeds benefiting the Kiwanis/GARA Playground project.

4 p.m. June 9 at Gettysburg Recreation Park, 545 Long lane.

Free.

Info: www.adamslibrary.org/find-it/children/funfest, 717-334-0163.

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Children's Birdfeeder Craft

Build a better world and make a bird feeder. No registration necessary. Materials provided. Open to ages 3-11, accompanied by an adult.

1 p.m. June 9 at East Pennsboro Branch Library, 98 South Enola Drive, East Pennsboro Twp.

Free.

Info: 717-732-4274, www.eastpennsborobranch.org.

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Sunset Movie Series: "Harry & the Hendersons"

In this PG rated film of 1987, the Henderson family adopt a friendly Sasquatch but have a hard time trying to keep the legend of 'Bigfoot' a secret. In addition to the film, free children's activities will be provided. Refreshments available for purchase. Bring your own seating.

8:30 p.m. June 9 at Fort Hunter Centennial Barn, 5300 N. Front St., Harrisburg.

Free.

Info: www.dauphincounty.org, 717-599-5188.

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Fun Fridays@the Library

Fun Fridays can be filled with crafts, games, Legos, playdough and more. Drop in for self-directed crafts, games and activities. Open to children ages 3 and older.

3-5 p.m. June 9 at New Cumberland Public Library, 1 Benjamin Plaza.

Free.

Info: 717-774-7820, www.newcumberlandlibrary.org.

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Friday Fun

Kids are invited to drop in any time between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. June 9 to have fun with puzzles at East Pennsboro Branch Library, 98 South Enola Drive, East Pennsboro Twp.

Free.

Info: 717-732-4274, www.eastpennsborobranch.org.

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Joe Hermitt, Pennlive

Summer Kickoff: Celebrating a Life Well Read

Help Fredricksen Library celebrate 60 years and kickoff the Summer Learning Program with an all-ages birthday party. Drop-in for food, music, touch-a-truck, prizes, crafts, a Quidditch exhibit, games, a preview of Hamiltunes, an all-age book character themed costume parade, the Friends MINI Book Sale and cupcakes.

3-8 p.m. June 9 at Fredricksen Library, 100 N. 19th St., Camp Hill.

Free.

Info: 717-761-3900, www.fredricksenlibrary.org.

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Ice Cream Social

Sign up for the "Build a Better World" Summer Reading Club, complete a few fun challenges and enjoy a free ice cream sundae.

5-7 p.m. June 9 at Elizabethville Area Library, 80 N. Market St.

Free.

Info: 717-362-9825, www.dcls.org/src.

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Music on Chocolate

Downtown Hersheys summer concert series features the talents of regional and local musicians on the second Saturday of the month, through September. Featured for June are Nate Myers and the Aces (blues, rockabilly, funk) and Canyon. Food and beverages are available for purchase.

7-10 p.m. June 10 at ChocolateTown Square, Cocoa and Chocolate avenues, Hershey.

Free admission.

Info: www.downtownhershey.com.

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42nd annual Gettysburg Region Antique and Classic Auto and Truck Show

Featuring vehicles -- all kinds, all years. Dash plaques given to first 250 vehicles entered to show. Judging for 12 classes with trophies. There will also be flea market and car corral items, food, a 50/50 drawing, and ice cream by the Lions Club. In addition, receive free tours of the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.

7 a.m.-3 p.m. June 10 at Latimore Valley Fairgrounds, 314 Latimore Valley Road, York Springs.

Free admission.

Info: www.gettysburgregion.aaca.com, Rick Engle at 717-451-0092.

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Historic Old Annville Day

This street fair hosts approximately 150 vendors and public service booths, three stages of music, and food. Events for families include balloon art, face painting, and various hands-on crafts for kids.

9 a.m.-2 p.m. June 10 in Downtown Annville, near West Main Street.

Free admission.

Info: www.fooa.org, fooa_annville@hotmail.com.

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Geisinger Holy Spirit Spring Festival

The festival includes a Kid Zone with bounce houses, a petting zoo, face painting, and arts and crafts; food trucks; live entertainment; craft vendors; and adoptable dogs offered by Speranza Animal Rescue. The Geisinger Holy Spirit 5K and a competitive run/walk and noncompetitive "Walk in the Park" is held at 9 a.m.

9 a.m.-3 p.m. June 10 at Adams-Ricci Park, 100 East Penn Drive, East Pennsboro Twp.

Free admission.

Info: www.hsh.org/news/annual-spring-festival-june-10.

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Sue Gleiter, PennLive.com

Community Day

This family-friendly event has something for all ages. Direct sale and handmade item vendors, music by disc jockey, a kids area and homemade food. Breakfast, 6-10 a.m.; chicken barbecue starting at 10 a.m.

8 a.m.-2 p.m. June 10 at Loysville Community Club, 1405 Montour Road.

Free admission.

Info: 717-889-0338 or on Facebook @communitydayloysville.

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Middletown Arts & Craft Fair

Offers history displays; arts, crafts and food vendors; the third annual King Arthur Flour Baking Competition; a Kids Zone with wandering magician and free crafts and games; and the Fast and Loud IV Cruise-in Car Show. Sponsored by Middletown Area Historical Society.

10 a.m.-5 p.m. June 10 at Hoffer Park, Mill Street, Middletown.

Free admission.

Info: www.middletownareahistoricalsociety.org.

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Allegro Children's Concert

The Young Music Masters Competition, in an abbreviated and relaxed format, is perfect for children. Prior to the performance, there will be light refreshments, crafts and an instrument petting zoo in the lobby.

1 p.m. June 10 at Millersville University Lancaster, Ware Center, 42 N. Prince St. Lancaster.

Free.

Info: www.artsmu.com, 717-871-7600.

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Civil War Living History

Immerse yourself in the living history and experience period music by Charlie Fry, Jeffrey Greenawalt and East Berlin Community Singers. Explore a Union camp and witness the portrayal of James Maclay, by Jeffrey Greenawalt. Maclay was a local Franklin County miller who joined the war as an artillerist and fought three days at Gettysburg.

Exhibits open at 2 p.m.; portrayal of James Maclay and church service, 3 p.m., and pulled pork barbecue meal is available at 5 p.m. (tickets sold in advance for meal, $10).

All proceeds used to maintain and restore Historic Rock Chapel Church, the oldest United Methodist Church west of the Susquehanna.

Begins at 2 p.m. June 10 at Historic Rock Chapel Church, 4730 Oxford Road, York Springs.

Free admission, with most activities free.

Information or meal ticket: ysumc840@centurylink.net or 717-528-4314.

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Daddy/Daughter Hair Factory

This unique program will show dads how to get their daughter's hair under control. Demonstrations will be given on detangling, pony tails, braids, and how to use hair ties. Fathers should bring their daughters. Snacks provided. Every dad will be given a hair kit to take home. Registration requested.

2 p.m. June 10 at East Shore Area Library, 4501 Ethel St., Lower Paxton Twp.

Free, although registration is requested.

Info: 717-652-9380, www.dcls.org/esa.

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"Plant a Pizza Garden"

This fun, interactive DIY STEM activity is related to growing a pizza garden. Open to ages 9-12, with an adult, registration is required. One potted pizza garden allowed per family.

10 a.m. June 10 at East Pennsboro Branch Library, 98 South Enola Drive, East Pennsboro Twp.

Free.

Info: 717-732-4274, www.eastpennsborobranch.org.

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Family Favorites Festival

Festival for kids with a costume parade, live music and stage performances, games, bounce houses, story times, a petting zoo and pony rides. Kids are invited to bring their favorite stuffed animal for a check-up. Bring a picnic lunch or purchase something from the food court. Hosted by Central Penn Parent magazine.

10 a.m.-4 p.m. June 10 s

HACC - Harrisburg Campus (1 HACC Drive)

1 HACC Drive.

Free admission and parking.

Info: www.familyfavoritesfestival.com, 717-236-4300.

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Craft Beer Release and Fundraiser

Swashbuckler Brewing Company's Pirate's Pale Ale release event will benefit Mastersonville Volunteer Fire Company. The family-friendly event includes kids activities, including a bounce house, face painting, display of fire trucks, visits with a pirate and a treasure chest of toys. There will be door prizes, themed baskets and raffle items, and live music by Steven Courtney (noon and 2 p.m.). Food and cash bar available.

11 a.m.-4 p.m. June 10 at Mount Hope Estate & Winery, 2775 Lebanon Road, Cornwall.

Free admission.

Info: www.mastersonvillefire.com.

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"Steelton" Book Signing

Steelton native and author Keith Warner Hall will sign copies of his book "Steelton." Bring along previously purchased copies of the book, or purchase paperback versions at the book signing. A portion of the proceeds from the book signing will be donated to the Steelton Community Development Fund.

Noon June 10 at I.W. Abel Union Hall, 200 Gibson St., Swatara Twp.

Free admission.

Info: www.steeltonnovel.com, 919-609-8081.

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Environmental Art Hike for National Get Outdoors Day

Celebrate National Get Outdoors Day on a 1-mile hike. Along the way, find natural items to create unique environmental art. Photos of the art will be posted on the center's social media page. Bring water, wear sturdy shoes, and dress for the weather. Meet at the Mansion Flagpole.

2-4 p.m. June 10 at Kings Gap Environmental Education and Training Center, 500 Kings Gap Road, Carlisle.

Free.

Info: www.events.dcnr.pa.gov, Sarah Berg: sberg@pa.gov or 717-486-3799.

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Write-On Writer's Workshop

Aspiring writers and published authors are invited to gather in the Browsing Room on the second Saturday of the month to aide one another in improving their craft. Sue Kerr is the facilitator.

10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. June 10 at at New Cumberland Public Library, 1 Benjamin Plaza.

Free.

Info: www.newcumberlandlibrary.org, 717-802-2594.

http://media.pennlive.com/entertainment_impact/photo/typing-or-writing-on-computerjpg-0cd2eff6ab5

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Bats of Gettysburg

Bring your flashlights and learn the true nature of these social creatures in a unique night-time program. Gettysburg National Military Park's biologist will set-up special ultrasonic detection equipment which will enable participants to see and hear bats in the dark. Only minimal walking will be involved so people of all ages and abilities are welcome. Program will be postponed in the case of rain.

8:30 p.m. June 10 at the Gettysburg National Military Park's amphitheater, along West Confederate Avenue. Free.

Info: 717-334-1124 or www.nps.gov/gett.

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Fantasy Magic Book Signing

Local authors Natalie J. Damschroder and Anthony Regolino will be here to chat about their books. Light refreshments served. Books by Damschroder include the Brook Hollow trilogy and the Goddesses Rising series. Books by Regolino include "Canis Sapiens."

1-3 p.m. June 10 at Cupboard Maker Books, 157 North Enola Road, Enola.

Free admission.

Info: books@thecupboardmaker.com, 717-732-7288, www.cupboardmaker.com.

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LEAP into Science Family Workshop: Design it! Build it!

This hands-on family program explores science. LEAP into Science is a program designed to engage children and families in science and literacy. Register online at the Event Calendar or call.

1:30 p.m. June 10 at Hershey Public Library, 701 Cocoa Ave.

Free.

Info: 717-533-6555, www.hersheylibrary.org.

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Southern Gospel Concert

Featuring Kevin Spencer and The Spencers. Spencer has appeared in Bill Gaither videos as part of the nationally-known group, The Kevin Spencer Family.

6:30 p.m. June 10 at Family Worship Center, 6780 Carlisle Pike, Silver Spring Twp.

Admission is free, although donations accepted.

Info: 717-697-5272 or email pastor@familyworshipcenterag.org.

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Wednesday Club Summer Concert Series

Info: www.wednesdayclub.org, 717-571-5189 or 717-975-8834.

5 p.m. June 10 at Chapel Hill United Church of Christ, 701 Poplar Church Road, East Pennsboro Twp. Donations accepted.

Featured artists will be Philadelphia artists Jambol Leuenberger, violinist, and Katelyn Bouska, piano. Also performing are local clarinetists Beth Greenberg, Carla Claycomb, Joe Gargiulo and Jess Hayden, members of The Orange House Clarinet Quartet.

3 p.m. June 11 at Historic Peace Church, St. Johns Church and Trindle roads, Hampden Twp. Donations for Peace Church accepted at the door.

Featured artists include local musicians Norma Swain, performing on the 1897 Conrad Doll organ; a clarinet trio featuring Beth Greenberg, Joe Gargiulo and Carla Claycomb; Cheryl Crider, soprano, and Eric Jackson, baritone; and Adam Malarich, trumpeter. The program will be varied, with selections of sacred and secular music.

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Heritage Day

Celebrate the history and heritage of Kings Gap with tours of the Carriage House and/or Mansion, a horse-drawn carriage ride, historic games and a craft, cake walk, special exhibits, music of the era, and ice cream making and tasting. Bring seating and a picnic -- or purchase food at the event.

1-5 p.m. June 11 at Kings Gap State Park, 500 Kings Gap Road, Carlisle.

Free.

Info: events.dcnr.pa.gov/event/heritage_day_8272#.WSxXtpIrKpo, 717-486-3799.

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JOE HERMITT | jhermitt@pennlive.com

Opening reception: Art of the State

Celebrating its 50th year, this juried exhibit choses highly creative art by Pennsylvania artists and craftspeople. A panel of distinguished jurors select artwork from five categories -- craft, painting, photography, sculpture and works on paper. An artist reception/award ceremony will be held on opening day, June 11. The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 10.

"Art of the State" is recognized as the official, statewide juried competition for Pennsylvania artists.

1:30 p.m. June 11 at The State Museum of Pennsylvania, 300 North St., Harrisburg.

Museum admission is free for the day of the reception. All other days: $7 ages 12-64; $6 ages 65 and older; $5 ages 1-11.

Info: www.jumpstreet.org, 717-238-5180.

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The Jayplayers

Performing for Harrisburg Young Professionals' Italian Lake Concert Series is The Jayplayers, an Americana/roots rock act, based around the songwriting of Keeley McCue and Chris Weidensaul.

6 p.m. June 11 at Italian Lake Park, Third and Division streets, Harrisburg.

Free.

Info: www.hyp.org/events, 717-831-0726.

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Flower Walk: Peak of Blooming

Join volunteer Cara Martinez-Williams to view fragrant water lilies, yarrow, white beardtongue, blue-eyed grass and common milkweed. Learn how these and other flowers were named and some of their uses by early settlers and Native-Americans.

10:30 a.m. June 11. Meet at the North Lot of Wildwood Park, Industrial Road, Harrisburg.

Free.

Info: 717-221-0292, www.wildwoodlake.org.

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U.S. Air Force American Clarinet Quartet

The concert, presented by the U.S. Air Force American Clarinet Quartet, includes a wide variety of music ranging from classical standards to Broadway hits to Sousa Marches. Local veterans will be honored with the playing of Armed Forces service songs.

1 p.m. June 11 at East Shore Area Library, 4501 Ethel St., Lower Paxton Twp.

Free, although registration is requested.

Info: 717-652-9380, www.dcls.org/esa.

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New Cumberland Town Band

The New Cumberland Town Band presents an outdoor concert of marches, patriotic tunes, popular songs and concert music for wind ensemble. Bring your own seating. Rain date: Aug. 20.

6:30 p.m. June 11 at Adams-Ricci Park (100 East Penn Drive)

100 East Penn Drive East Pennsboro Twp.

Free.

Info: www.nctownband.org.

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American Songbook 2

Wayne Hill, Michael Matsinko and special guests return, this time presenting the greatest hits of Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern, plus the melodies of World War II.

4 p.m. June 11 at Gettysburg Seminary Chapel, 147 Seminary Ridge.

Free.

Info: www.musicgettysburg.org, 717-338-3000.

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Adults are Crazy for Coloring

Join The Library for a couple of hours of social coloring. Coloring has been shown to be beneficial for adults, generating wellness and quietness. It stimulates areas of the brain related to motor skills, the senses and creativity. Coloring sheets and colored pencils will be provided. Feel free to bring your favorite coloring tools and a snack. No registration is required.

2 p.m. June 11 at s

East Shore Area Library (4501 Ethel St.)

4501 Ethel St. Lower Paxton Twp.

Free.

Info: dcls.org/adultevents, 717-652-9380.

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Looking for more things to do?

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You can win big without a big trip to Hollywood when "The Price Is Right Live" comes to four Pennsylvania cities this autumn.

Games like Plinko, Cliffhangers and the Big Wheel are all part of the touring event based on the television game show, both of which are produced by FremantleMedia. Though "The Price Is Right Live" contestants will not be featured on TV, they are eligible to win the same types of prizes, such as appliances and vacations.

Quiz: How well would you do on "The Price is Right"?

The show has toured to sold-out venues almost nine years, giving away more than $10 million in cash and prizes.

Shows are scheduled for Oct. 7 at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, Oct. 12 at Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Oct. 14 at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem and Oct. 15 at the American Music Theatre in Lancaster.

Tickets start at $45.

Want to be the next contestant? Eligible participants must be at least 18 years old and be a legal resident of the United States or Canada. Registration opens three hours before each show and is also open to fans who have not purchased tickets. Contestants will be chosen at random, and producers will bring any ticketless contestants inside the venue to await their turn.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture oversees restaurant inspections in the state. Inspection reports are "snapshots" of the day and time the inspections took place. In many cases, violations are corrected on site prior to the inspector leaving.

The following restaurants and other establishments in Lebanon County that handle food were inspected during the week of May 14-20 and were recorded as of June 2.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

May 19

LANTERN LODGE

411 N. COLLEGE ST., MYERSTOWN

Complaint inspection (Out of compliance)

Commercially processed refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature-control-for-safety food held more than 24 hours not being marked with the date it was opened; raw pizza dough dried and crusty in cooler (discarded); assorted meats, cheeses, cheese cake held at 58-60 F in the prep area, rather than 41 F or below as required -(food discarded); items stored on the drying rack had food residue and were not clean to sight and touch; hand-wash sink that was located conveniently in the prep area has been removed -- the other hand sink at the other end of the kitchen is surrounded by food-contact items that can be splashed during hand-washing; floor and walls not thoroughly cleaned under and around equipment to prevent rancid odors.

May 16

HUTTER'S STORE

470 JONESTOWN ROAD, JONESTOWN

Regular inspection

Commercially processed refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature-control-for-safety food -- non-exempt cheese and deli meat -- in the deli case and held more than 24 hours not being marked with the date it was opened.

TURKEY HILL #106

500 JONESTOWN ROAD, JONESTOWN

Regular inspection

One light bulb inside the walk-in cooler not shielded or shatterproof.

Establishments with no violations

May 17

SHADY OAKS FAMILY CAMPGROUND

40 ROUND BARN ROAD, NEWMANSTOWN

Regular inspection

May 16

LAWN FIRE COMPANY

5596 ELIZABETHTOWN ROAD, P.O. BOX 12, LAWN

Regular inspection
PennLive archives

Barbara Hafer

Former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer, a party-switcher who once aspired to be governor, pleaded guilty June 9, 2017, to a charge that she lied to the FBI and the IRS. It's unclear if the plea will send her to prison. Investigators said Hafer, 73, a Republican turned Democrat from Indiana, allegedly uttered that falsehood regarding $500,000 in payments that were made to her consulting firm after she left state office. The IRS and FBI were investigating corruption in state government at the time.

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Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer

Kathleen Kane

With her verdict and subsequent sentencing, Kathleen Kane is the latest in a long list of Pennsylvania politicians convicted of corruptions.

A jury found her guilty of two counts of perjury, both felonies, as well as misdemeanor charges of obstruction, conspiracy, and other crimes, concluding she had leaked secret grand jury information in an attempt to embarrass a rival, then lied under oath about it. She was sentenced to 10 to 23 months in county jail, but is appealing her conviction.

Heres a look at other Pennsylvania politicians who have run afoul of the law, dating back to 1906.

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WILLIAM RAU

Joseph Huston

Architect Joseph M. Huston is one of 14 men indicted in 1906 for fraud in a scandal over the furnishing of the Pennsylvania Capitol, which was dedicated that year. Houston was found guilty and spent six months in Eastern State Prison.

Others convicted of fraud included chief interior furnishing contractor John H. Sanderson, former state Treasurer William L. Mathues, superintendent of public grounds and buildings James Shumaker, Auditor General William P. Snyder, and Pennsylvania Construction Co. official and former U.S. Rep. H. Burd Cassel.

This photo, showing the Capitol in 1906, was provided by the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee, via The Associated Press.

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PennLive file photo

Earle administration

Thirteen people, including three current and one former member of Democratic Gov. George H. Earle's cabinet, were indicted in 1939 as a result of a grand-jury probe into allegations of graft and political fundraising violations.

One Cabinet member is convicted of charges of fundraising violations, payroll padding and selling legislation. Gov. Earle was not charged.

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PAUL VATHIS/AP PHOTO

Shapp administration

About 60 people under Gov. Milton J. Shapp, including four Cabinet members, were convicted in the 1970s of wrongdoing, including taking money for speaking engagements, giving false testimony under oath, fraud and extortion.

Democrat Shapp's administration is ridiculed as the "crook-of-the-month club," but no wrongdoing is tied to Shapp personally.

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Pa. State House

Herbert Fineman

House Speaker Herbert Fineman, a Philadelphia Democrat, was convicted in 1977 of buying votes and taking kickbacks for passing legislation.

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Pa. State Senate

Henry "Buddy" Cianfrani

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Henry "Buddy" Cianfrani, a Democrat from Philadelphia, was convicted in 1977 of buying votes and taking kickbacks for passing legislation.

Cianfrani also gained notoriety for putting his girlfriend and others on the payroll even though they never worked.

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Patriot-News library

Budd Dwyer

Pennsylvania State Treasurer R. Budd Dwyer raises his left hand to stop people approaching him as he holds a pistol in his right hand as he prepares to commit suicide.

Dwyer, 47, killed himself before reporters and TV cameras after being convicted of conspiring with former state Republican Chairman Robert B. Asher to accept $300,000 from Computer Technology Associates of California in return for giving the company a state contract to recover Social Security tax overpayments for public school employees.

He called the news conference at the Capitol on Jan. 22, 1987, one day before he was to be sentenced.

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Jeff Hixon, Allied Pix

Al Benedict

Former Auditor General Al Benedict pleaded guilty on Jan. 14, 1988 to federal racketeering and tax charges in a job-selling scheme in his office and the awarding of no-bid contracts in exchange for bribes. Benedict, a Democrat, was sentenced to 6 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

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PAUL VATHIS/AP PHOTO

Ernie Preate

Former Attorney General Ernie Preate pleaded guilty in 1995 to federal mail-fraud charges involving $20,000 in cash contributions he accepted from illegal video-poker operators while he ws the Lackawanna County district attorney. He resigned and was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

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MICHAEL FERNANDEZ, The Patriot-News

Frank Serafini

State Rep. Frank Serafini, a Lackawanna County Republican, was indicted on Oct. 8, 1997 on perjury charges stemming from a federal campaign fraud case. He was convicted and sentenced to 5 months in prison, 5 months of house arrest and 2 years' probation.

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JEFFREY LOWE/AP Photo

Dan Delp

State Sen. Dan Delp, R-York, pleaded guilty June 10, 1999 to patronizing a teenage prostitute and providing her with liquor. Delp, 33, was fined $4,000 and sentenced to 2 years' probation and a 9 p.m. curfew for one year. A theft by deception count, for charging the teen's $50 bar bill to his state expense account, was dropped.

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AP Photo

William Slocum

State Sen. William Slocum, a Republican from Warren County, resigned his seat June 1, 2000 after being sentenced to a month in jail and 5 months of home detention for dumping raw sewage into a stream. Slocum was a manager of a sewage treatment plant.

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AP Photo

Frank Gigliotti

State Rep. Frank Gigliotti, a Pittsburgh Democrat, resigned his House seat June 15, 2000 after pleading guilty to four counts of extortion related to interstate commerce and single counts of mail fraud and tax evasion.

The charges stem from a federal probe that caught Gigliotti taking bribes in exchange for helping a contractor get work with the state. He was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.

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Pa. State House

Tracy Seyfert

Rep. Tracy Seyfert pleaded guilty in May 2000 to stealing federal property and conspiring to influence a witness after authorities say she took a generator intended for firefighters and plotted to cover up the crime. The Erie Republican said she needed the generator to protect thousands of exotic birds and eggs she incubated on her property in suburban Erie. She resigned her seat and was sentenced to six months in prison.

Editor's note: This slide was updated to correct the spelling of Tracy Seyfert's last name.

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GARY DWIGHT MILLER, PennLive file photo

Tom Druce

Tom Druce, a rising star in the Republican Party from Bucks County, pleaded guilty in 2000 to leaving the scene of an 1999 accident. Driving a state-paid car, Druce killed a man while driving down Cameron Street, then fled and tried to cover it up.

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AP Photo

F. Joseph Loeper

Former Senate Majority Leader F. Joseph Loeper, a Delaware County Republican, resigned his legislative post Dec. 31, 2000 after pleading guilty to obstructing a federal investigation into his consulting work for a Philadelphia tax-collection firm.

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TONY TYE/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photo

Jeff Habay

State Rep. Jeff Habay, a six-term Republican from Allegheny County, resigned from office in February 2006 on the same day he is sentenced to 6 to 12 months in prison for using his legislative staff to campaign for him on state time.

He later pleaded no contest to charges stemming from false reports he made to police saying he was the target of an anthrax hoax supposedly perpetrated by a political opponent.

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Carolyn Kaster/ AP Photo

Frank LaGrotta

Former Rep. Frank LaGrotta of Lawrence County pleaded guilty Feb. 5, 2008 in Dauphin County Court to conflict of interest for creating "no-work" jobs for two relatives in his Ellwood City district office.

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Matt Rourke/ AP Photo

Vincent J. Fumo

Former state Sen. Vincent J. Fumo, once one of the state's most powerful lawmakers, was found guilty on July 14, 2009 of 137 counts of conspiracy, fraud and related charges stemming from allegations that he used public and nonprofit resources for personal and political gain. Fumo was sentencted to a 55-month prison term.

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PAUL CHAPLIN, The Patriot-News/file

Mike Veon

Former Rep. Michael Veon, a one-time House Minority Whip, convicted in 2010 of converting a portion of the House Democrat legislative staff into a taxpayer-funded campaign team. He was sentenced to six to 14 years in state prison and was granted parole in June 2015.

In November 2016, the state Supreme Court granted him a new trial, saying the trial judge erred when he told jurors hearing the case against former Rep. Mike Veon that Veon did not have to gain financially to be convicted of violating the conflict-of-interest law. The Supreme Court's main opinion said the crime must involve a financial benefit, and that intangible political benefits are not sufficient.

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Carolyn Kaster/ AP Photo

Robert Mellow

To attend his hearing, Mellow will have to be escorted from the federal prison in South Carolina, where he is serving 16 months for federal conspiracy charges.

Robert Mellow, a longtime Democratic leader, was once one of the state's most powerful politicians, representing Lackawanna County for 39 years. He pleaded guilty in 2012 to having his staffers fundraise for him and the Democratic State Senate Campaign Committee while on the clock.

At his sentencing, Mellow, said, "I'm embarrassed, and I'm ashamed, Mellow said when he was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison. I'm very, very sorry."

He also was ordered to pay nearly $80,000 in restitution to the state Senate, $31,000 in restitution for filing a bogus tax return and a $40,000 fine.

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File photo.

Brett Feese

Former state Rep. Brett O. Feese was convicted in the "Computergate" scandal of using state resources for political purposes. A jury, after a 23-day trial in October 2011, convicted him of 40 charges, including theft, obstruction of the administration of law and conspiracy.

Feese, who once chaired the House Republican Campaign Committee, was released from the state prison at Waymart on June 28, 2015.

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PennLive file photo

John Perzel

Prosecutors say former House Speaker John Perzel was the architect of a scheme to illegally pay millions of taxpayer dollars to consultants who helped develop voter databases and special software to help Republican legislative candidates running for eleciton.

Perzel pleaded guilty in 2012 to conspiracy, conflict of interest and theft, served nearly two years in prison and was ordered to pay $1 million in restitution. He'll remain on parole through April 2017.

Former House Speaker John Perzel was sentenced to 2 1/2 to 5 years in state prison.

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PennLive file photo

Bill DeWeese

Former state House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese, a Democrat, was convicted in 2012 by a Dauphin County jury on charges of theft, conspiracy and conflict of interest, for using state-paid staff for campaign work. He was served 22 1/2 months in prison before being paroled. He is appealing his conviction.

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Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

Stephen Stetler

Ex-state Rep. Stephen Stetler, a former state revenue secretary and one-time chairman of the House Democratic Campaign Committee, was sentenced to 1 1/2 to 5 years in prison after being convicted in 2012 of using state resources and employees to conduct political campaigns.

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Gene J. Puskar/ AP Photo

Sen. Jane Orie

Sen. Jane Orie, a Pittsburgh-area Republican, was convicted in 2012 and served 22 1/2 months in prison for using her state-paid Senate staff to run her re-election campaigns. She was also convicted of introducing forged defense documents during her first trial in 2011, resulting in a mistrial.

Her two sisters were convicted a short time later of similar offenses.

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Darrell Sapp /AP Photo

Joan Orie Melvin

Justice Joan Orie Melvin was convicted by a jury in February 2013 of using her state Superior Court staff to work on her campaigns for Supreme Court in 2003 and 2009. She was sentenced to three years of house arrest followed by two years probation.

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Keith Srakocic/ AP Photo

Janine Orie

Janine Orie, aide and sister to Justice Joan Orie Melvin, was convicted of helping coordinate her sister's illegal campaigning and sentenced to one year of house arrest and two years of probation.

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Matt Miller | mmiller@pennlive.com

Joseph Brimmeier III

Former Pennsylvania Turnpike CEO Joseph G. Brimmeier III pleaded guilty in 2014 to a felony conflict of interest charge and was sentenced to five years of probation and 250 hours of community service.

Brimmeier admitted accepting hospitality from an engineering firm and accepting political fund contributions from agents of that firm to aid former Gov. Ed Rendell, who had appointed him to the turnpike job.

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Paul Chaplin, PennLive

George Halatowich

Former Pennsylvania Turnpike Chief Operating Officer George Halatowich pleaded guilty in November 2014 to a felony conflict of interest charge and was sentenced to five years of probation and 250 hours of community service.

He and former Turnpike CEO Joseph Brimmeier III admitted accepting hospitality from an engineering firms and then trying to steer Turnpike contracts to those firms.

former Turnpike chief operating officer George Hatalowich heads to lunch during a break for the preliminary hearings in the Pennsylvania Turnpike pay-to-play scandal at the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg. (Paul Chaplin | pchaplin@pennlive.com, file)

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Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com

Mitchell Rubin

Mitchell Rubin, the former chairman of the Pa. Turnpike Commission, pleaded guilty in November 2014 to a commercial bribery charge and was sentenced to two years of probation.

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James Robinson, PennLive

Harold James

Former State Rep. Harold James, another Philadelphia Democrat, pleaded guilty in June 2015 to taking $750 in cash payments from a confidential informant-posing-as lobbyist during a special election campaign in 2012.

James, who lost a full-term election later that year, was sentenced to a year's probation.

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Pa. House of Representatives

Rep. Ron Waters

State Rep. Ron Waters, D-Philadelphia, in June 2015 pleaded guilty in Dauphin County Court to accepting $8,750 in unreported, cash payments from a under covering informant who was posing as a lobbyist seeking to buy his services as an elected official.

Waters was sentenced to 23 months probation and immediately resigned his House seat.

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Matt Rourke/ AP Photo

LeAnna Washington

Sen. LeAnna Washington, D-Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in 2014 to conflict of interest for using her legislative staff to raise campaign funds. Prosecutors said she used Senate staff to plan her annual birthday party campaign fundraisers from 2005 to 2013, using up to $100,000 in taxpayer funds for political gain.

She was sentenced to three months on home confinement, an additional 57 months on probation and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution.

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Charles Thompson | cthompson@pennlive.com

Michelle Brownlee

Rep. Michelle Brownlee pleaded guilty on June 8, 2015 o one count of violating the state's conflict-of-interest law and was sentenced to 18 months' probation. Brownlee was in her third term representing the 195th House District, and resigned immediately upon being convicted.

She was charged with accepting $2,000 in cash from a lobbyist working as an undercover operative.

This photo shows her leaving court with her attorney after entering her guilty plea.

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Dan Gleiter, PennLive.com

Louise Bishop

State Rep. Louise Bishop, D-Philadelphia, on Dec. 16, 2015 pleaded no contest in Dauphin County Court to a charge that she failed to report money received from an undercover informant posing as a lobbyist. Bishop also agreed to resign her seat and was sentenced to six months probation.

Don't Edit

James Robinson

Rob McCord

Former Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord in February 2015 pleaded guilty to two attempted extortion charges. Investigators said he used threats to misuse his power as treasurer to try to squeeze around $125,000 in contributions from a law firm and a property management company to support his failed 2014 campaign for governor.

He is still awaiting sentencing.

Don't Edit

The Associated Press

Leslie Acosta

State Rep. Leslie Acosta, D-Philadelphia, pleaded guilty in March 2016 to conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with an offense that occurred before her election. She made the secret plea to the federal felony charges without informing party leaders that she had been charged. The charges came to light in September and were immediately followed by calls from the party and Gov. Wolf for her to resign, even as she vowed to hold onto her office until the legal process "had run its course," according to her attorney.

Don't Edit

Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

Capitol corruption parade continues

U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Philadelphia, 59, was convicted Tuesday, June 21, 2016, on charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering in a case that largely centered on efforts to repay an illegal $1 million campaign loan. He served in Congress since 1995.

Don't Edit
Cooperation between Harrisburg police and Dauphin County and federal authorities led to the recovery of a 6-year-old Harrisburg boy and kidnapping charges against a man who took the child to South Carolina.



The district attorney's office said Friday that Willard Thomas lured the boy into his car on June 3. Thomas claims to be the boy's father, but the child's grandmother has custody of the child, investigators said



The grandmother told police she texted Thomas, who promised to return the boy. He didn't honor that promise, so the grandmother called police on Monday. Investigators said police, the county's Child Abduction Recovery Effort Team and U.S. Marshals found Willard in South Carolina, where he was arrested for kidnapping on Tuesday.



The child was found safe and was returned to his grandmother, investigators said. Willard is awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania.



Chief Deputy District Attorney Sean McCormack said it is "exactly this type of situation why the CARE Team was founded."



"We must be ready to hit the ground running if a child is ever abducted in Dauphin County," he said. "You cannot waste a moment trying to learn how to investigate a child abduction after the incident occurs. Time is just too valuable and the risks are too high to go into this type of investigation unprepared."




NORRISTOWN - Most of the significant testimony and evidence already has been presented in the Bill Cosby trial, but the fight is far from over.

As prosecutors presented an expert on victim response to sexual assault this morning, defense attorney Brian McMonagle objected and asked for a mistrial.

"We have that person telling this jury they should return a verdict of guilty," McMonagle said.

The expert went beyond discussing victim response in general, he argued, and testified about how that response is influenced by the offender, and the examples she gave sounded an awful lot like Bill Cosby.

"She's bringing up celebrity, she's bringing up wealth," McMonagle said. "Now they've crossed the line, and we're asking for a mistrial."

Judge Steven T. O'Neill denied that motion for a mistrial and pointed out the testimony so far of Dr. Veronique Valliere as an expert on victim response to sexual assault is permitted.

Cosby is on trial in Montgomery County Court, accused of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Constand has already testified, and Cosby's statements he gave during a deposition in Constand's civil case against him a decade ago have already been read into evidence.

As the prosecution winds down its case, they called Valliere to the stand in an apparent effort to discredit the defense's attempts to show inconsistencies in Constand's statements and some of her actions afterward, like waiting a year before contacting the police.

Valliere, who is president of Valliere and Counseling Associates of Allentown said, in general, most sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows and trusts.

"The victims are confused by what happened to them and don't go to law enforcement right away," she said.

Since that offender is someone the victim trusts, they often wish the relationship would just go back to the way that it was. Often blaming themselves and feeling ashamed and embarrassed, they don't want to tell others what this person has done.

Those feelings are often compounded when alcohol or drugs are involved. Or when that person is well loved, whether it's in the pubic eye or within the victim's family or circle of friends.

"If it's a well-known person, the victim takes on a lot of responsibility for that person's reputation ... especially if the person is well-known or beloved," she said. "And the victim feels their value is less than the offender's value."

One piece of evidence that has not been mentioned yet were Cosby's use of Quaaludes before sex. That was part of the deposition the judge earlier said he would allow into trial, but prosecutors have not presented it. At least not yet.

There were several conferences in the judge's chambers before and during the presentation of the deposition. Whether or not keeping the Quaalude testimony out of trial was part of those conferences is not yet clear.

McMonagle seemed to be ready for it in his opening statements when he said those admissions on Cosby's part were from incidents three decades ago with consenting partners.

Trial will resume this afternoon.
NORRISTOWN - The question remains. Will Bill Cosby testify?

When he gave his first interview in two years several weeks ago, the 79-year-old comedian indicated that he would not.

But as Cosby was leaving the Montgomery County Courthouse today following his first week of trial, his spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, told reporters Cosby's testimony is possible.

"We'll weigh all our options," Wyatt said.

After prosecutors presented their final witness in Cosby's aggravated-indecent-assault trial late today, Judge Steven T. O'Neill indicated the sides still have a few issues to mull over before trial resumes on Monday.

Whether or not a defendant testifies is often up for discussion just before the defense presents its case.

Cosby is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Trial started Monday, and witnesses included Constand, as well as Constand's mother, and Kelly Johnson, another woman who said Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her.

Key evidence included a deposition Cosby gave in the lawsuit Constand filed against him. In that deposition, Cosby said he gave women Quaaludes before sex in the 1970s. He also admitted to giving Constand pills before their encounter, which he said was consensual.

He said those pills were Benadryl.

Toxicologist and director of the Sedgwick County, Kansas Regional Forensic Science Center Timothy Rohrig was the final prosecution witness to take the stand, and he said that Benadryl could have the incapacitating effects that Constand described.

The active drug in Benadryl is diphenhydramine, which "can cause significant sedation," he said.

Beyond that, testimony shows that Constand was given more than the standard dose of 25 mg, or one pill. Constand said Cosby gave her three pills. Cosby said it was one whole pill and one pill cut in half.

The drug is used to fight allergies, but it is also a central nervous system depressant, and it has been used in numerous sexual assault cases, he testified.

Trial will resume on Monday. The judge indicated the case could go to jurors if not on Monday, then early in the week.
The bridge that carries Newberry Road over Route 283 in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, is scheduled to close for several weeks starting Monday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

The rehabilitation of the bridge is expected to to take about two months. The bridge is expected to reopen in mid-August, PennDOT said.

"A signed detour will direct motorists around the bridge closure by way of Swatara Creek Road, Creek Road, and Schoolhouse Road," according to a news release.

The bridge work is part of an $89 million protect to reconstruct six miles of Route 283 between Eisenhower Boulevard in Lower Swatara Township and Route 341 in Londonderry Township.
Former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer pleaded guilty before a federal judge Friday morning to a charge that she lied to IRS and FBI agents during a probe of corruption in state government.



It is unclear if her plea before U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III will send the 73-year-old Republican turned Democrat from Indiana to prison.

A guide to Pa.'s long history of government corruption



During the half-hour court hearing, Hafer admitted to lying to the investigators when she told them an eastern Pennsylvania businessman hadn't provided $500,000 in seed money for her to start a consulting firm after she left office in 2005.
With two words, former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer became a felon on Friday morning.



She uttered those words - "They are" - after U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III asked her if allegations that she lied to IRS and FBI agents during a federal probe of corruption in state government are true.



That admission might, or might not, send her to prison.



It will be months before that question is answered because Jones indicated he won't impose Hafer's penalty before fall.



Hafer, 73, of Indiana, spoke little as she stood with her lawyer, Thomas J. Farrell, during the 30-minute hearing in the federal courthouse in Harrisburg. Her guilty plea came less than a year after the Republican turned Democrat was indicted. Hafer, who once aspired to be governor, had been slated for trial on the charges next week.



The charge to which she pleaded guilty, making false representations to a federal agency, carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. However, her plea agreement, outlined by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Consiglio, lists a likely sentencing guideline range of 0 to 6 months behind bars, raising the possibility of a pure probation sentence.



The deal bars prosecutors from making a sentencing recommendation.



As Consiglio explained it, the charge against Hafer is an offshoot of a corruption investigation that initially targeted another former state treasurer, Rob McCord, and businessman Richard Ireland, who is affiliated with a money management firms that had state contracts.



McCord has pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and is awaiting sentencing. Ireland went to trial on bribery charges in March, but Jones dismissed the charges in mid-trial after finding the prosecution didn't make the case that Ireland's conduct was criminal.



Consiglio said during Hafer's guilty plea hearing that investigators went to Hafer after Ireland told McCord during a wire-tapped conversation that he had "taken care of Hafer" after she left offfice.



The prosecutor noted that between 2000 and 2004, when Hafer was treasurer, two firms associated with Ireland were among 40 hired as money managers of state assets. The two Ireland-related companies received nearly a third of the $57 million the state paid in asset management fees during the period, Consiglio said.

He said Ireland-linked firms also channeled $490,000 to the Friends of Barbara Hafer from 2000 to 2005 and were the largest single contributors to her election machine.



After hearing Ireland's claim regarding taking care of Hafer, investigators subpoenaed records from one of the involved firms, Valley Forge Investments, the prosecutor said. He said those documents included a contract for the firm to pay $500,000 to Hafer & Associates, a consulting firm Hafer established in 2005 right after leaving office, to help it search for a hotel site in Gettysburg.



Yet when federal agents interviewed Hafer in May 2016, she denied receiving any financial help from Ireland in her consulting business, Consiglio said. He said further investigation showed that Valley Forge had paid the $500,000 to Hafer & Associates and had channeled another $175,000 to the firm in 2006 and 2007.



Hafer & Associates, which closed in 2008, never had a yearly income that exceeded the low six figures, Consiglio noted.



After Hafer was indicted, her first attorney insisted she had a lapse of memory and did not deliberately lie to the agents. In her plea on Friday, Hafer admitted to "willfully and knowingly" misleading the feds.



Hafer was already out of office when her crimes occurred, but McCord's corruption forced him out of state government. McCord, a Democrat, pleaded guilty to federal extortion charges for trying to strong-arm donations for his failed campaign for governor in 2014.



The FBI zeroed in on McCord after another political power broker, John Estey, a former top aid to ex-Governor Ed Rendell, fell afoul of investigators in a lobbying sting. Estey secretly taped McCord for the feds.



In April, Jones sentenced Estey to 1 year of probation for stealing $13,000 from the FBI during the lobbying investigation.










SHAMOKIN -- A Florida-based firm that provides residential facilities for delinquent and troubled youth is expanding into Pennsylvania

G4S Youth Services is planning to open a 32-bed non-secure facility this fall adjacent to the new Northumberland County Prison outside Shamokin in Coal Twp.

The Tampa-based company has signed a lease with the county for three buildings on the site of the former Northwestern Academy.

Mental health and substance abuse treatment along with education and vocational components will be provided for males ages 13 to 19 referred by counties or social service agencies, said G4S chief operating officer Lisa Tackus.

It will be a very transparent environment with family involvement and the youth participating in community programs, she said. The average length of stay will be three to six months, she said.

The lease with the county takes effect July 1 and the facility is scheduled to open in late September, Tackus said. Approximately 35 will be employed full time, she said.

G4S will pay Northumberland County $10,000 in rent in July and August while it adapts the buildings for its use, after which it goes to $30,000 a month. The county will provide the utilities, with a cap of $5,000 a month.

Agreements initially will be sought with counties surrounding Northumberland but the facility will accept boys from throughout the state, Tackus said.

"This is a great starting point for us," she said, adding the firm will explore offering other programs in the commonwealth.

G4S currently serves 1,500 youth in residential facilities in Florida, Texas and Tennessee, she said.

The company approached the county about leasing the buildings, said Commissioner Richard Shoch. The commissioners met with other firms, also, he said.

G4S soon will be changing its name because it has been spun off as an independent company from G4S Securities Solutions, Tackus explained.

The county bought the 168-acre former Northwestern Academy site for a prison to replace the one in Sunbury that was damaged extensively in a Jan. 14, 2015, fire.

Site work in preparation for the installation of modular cells has begun at the site.

Since the fire, the county has leased space in Coal Twp. and Muncy state prisons for sentenced men and women, respectively, and paid to have others lodged in several county jails.
The tragic story of a Lancaster County woman killing her two children and then herself this week is unfortunately one of many recent murder-suicides.

Thursday, four were found dead in a murder-suicide in a Tunkhannock Weis store. State police say the gunman, who was an employee, killed three co-workers before turning the gun on himself.

On Tuesday, a Centre County man was charged with fatally beating his wife then setting fire to his home, endangering his daughter and killing two pet cats.

And on April 24, a York County man shot his three-year-old daughter and his mother in the head in what was described as a suicide pact over a custody dispute, police said.

In the past 10 years, more than 1,600 people died in domestic violence in Pennsylvania, says the Pennsylvania Coalition against Domestic Violence.

In 2016, 102 people were killed, with 56 percent of them shot, said PCAR's latest annual report.

Mental health issues are believed to have played a major role in Carola Arnau's shooting of her children and then herself in Strasburg Township, said Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman.

She had filed for divorce last year, and sought a Protection From Abuse order in February but withdrew it a month-and-a-half later. She made allegations against her husband of child abuse, which were deemed unfounded by Children & Youth Services.

Her husband, Miguel Arnau had filed for shared custody April 7 but withdrew the complaint April 20, saying he and his wife wanted to resolve the matter outside of court.

He told police his wife had been undergoing mental health treatment, Stedman said, adding it appears their marriage had long-standing issues. Nothing in the investigation has connected him to the shootings or fires, Stedman said.

"She was burning items of her husband out in his garage. This was very, very deliberate...it was not just a moment of reactionary anger," Stedman said. "She wanted to take everything connected to him away - burn all his stuff, kill his kids, even the dog."

"There was absolute anger, incredible resentment toward him."

Investigators are continuing to look into what prompted her to take "very deliberate" actions including buying a gun and ammunition Monday, and possibly drugging the children to sleep Tuesday night before she shot them, Stedman said.

"There are some indications she had had a boyfriend, and he ended that, and that there had been a decline since that breakup," Stedman said.

He said they will be obtaining her medical records to reconstruct as much of what led to the deaths as they can.

While her husband believed she had been prescribed medication, Stedman said whether she was taking it is not known.

"There may be some indication she wasn't - what do we do about it? This can't be the answer - two kids get shot in their beds, in their blankets thinking they were going to wake up the next day. It's horrible," Stedman said.

Access to guns by people with mental illness also needs to be better addressed, he said. Under current law, there's no way for gun stores to know if someone has a mental health issue unless they are committed. "Is there some way we can formulate something so the diagnosis is not shared, but flagged?" he asks.

"I certainly don't want to respond to any more of these scenes," Stedman said, adding that she may have found a way to carry out her plan with some other weapon as well.

Along with custody disputes and divorces, Protection From Abuse orders can be a dangerous time for some families.

Stedman recalled the case of Leroy Stallworth, convicted in 1999 of shooting his wife to death after she told him she had obtained a PFA against him.

His death sentence was overturned by the state Supreme Court, which ruled he hadn't been served the PFA before he killed his wife.

"It's scary stuff. It's a piece of paper. If somebody wants to disobey it, they disobey it," Stedman said.

Child advocate Cathleen Palm of the Center for Children's Justice said society cannot become complacent regarding the deaths in these incidents.

"We are seeing an increased level of violence and lethality inflicted on children, but because they're on different zip codes and different days, it's almost like an anomaly," Palm said.

"I don't think we will change the culture or get better at prevention until we say one is too many," she said.

These recent cases are a reminder for judges, police, counselors and child welfare caseworkers to strive to have enough information to make the most informed decision possible in cases of abuse, custody, PFAs and divorce, she said.

"From moment one we have to be sure we are fully assessing the situation, asking 'Is this everything we can do to prevent any lethal event from happening,' " Palm said. "Do we have enough information?" is the question that needs to be answered, she stressed.

Regarding guns, Palm said authorities need to appropriately decide what level of mental health involvement is enough to prevent someone from obtaining a weapon. Should it include someone who's just receiving counseling or only those undergoing more intensive treatment?

"If we have ready access to something as lethal as a gun, that changes the dynamic so much. We need to be attentive to any existing tendency toward violence, mental health issues," she said.

Pennsylvania has made progress, she said, with police now using an assessment tool when responding to domestic incidents that gauges the potential for lethal action.

Courts are now required to take into account any child welfare involvement in custody hearings, as well as criminal records, she said.

And a bill pending in the state house would require more information/review of whether there is child abuse or domestic violence in custody cases, she adds.

Palm said one of the challenges in child welfare cases is that sometimes people use abuse allegations as leverage in custody fights.

On the flip side, she said people may become frustrated because abuse allegations are misused that they don't call when there really is a threat to a child.

Domestic violence-related deaths in Pa. by PennLive on Scribd
A 22-year-old Millerstown man was run over by a tractor-trailer after losing control of his motorcycle in a crash Thursday afternoon in Cumberland County.

Michael C. Levan died at the scene of the crash on Interstate 81 at the Exit 47 on ramp near the Carlisle and South Middleton Township border, according to a state police news release. The crash happened at around 3:35 p.m., after Levan lost control of his motorcycle while merging onto I-81 north at the Exit 47 ramp.

Levan's motorcycle turned on its side and he was thrown from the bike into the right lane of traffic. He was then struck by a tractor-trailer driven by James Goodyear, 60, of Dallastown, state police said.
NORRISTOWN - Andrea Constand says entertainer Bill Cosby gave her pills that incapacitated her before he sexually assaulted her.

Cosby maintains those pills were just over-the-counter Benadryl to help her relax. He said this in his deposition testimony in a lawsuit Constand filed in 2005, and for the second day today, his words were read into evidence at his criminal trial.

Cosby is on trial in Montgomery County Court, facing three counts of aggravated indecent assault for the 2004 incident at his suburban Philadelphia home.

The testimony under deposition Cosby gave in 2005 was read into evidence starting yesterday with Cosby admitting to giving Constand pills before they had a sexual encounter. More of that deposition was read today by Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and Montgomery County Detective James Reape, with this part focusing on the phone call in which Gianna Constand, Andrea Constand's mother, confronted Cosby.

"The mother is coming at me for being a dirty old man, which is bad," Cosby said in the deposition, adding that Gianna Constand was aggressive and asking what Cosby had given her daughter. "I'm think and praying that no one is recording me."

Cosby was asked why he didn't want to tell Constand's mother what he had given her if it was only Benadryl.

Cosby answered it's because he felt like he was under attack.

"I apologized to this woman, but my apology was, my God, I'm in trouble with these people because this is an old man and their young daughter and the mother sees this," Cosby said.

Cosby was hoping Andrea Constand would explain to her mother that the encounter was consensual. She was on the other line for part of the conversation, but after Cosby said, "tell your mother you were awake. Tell your mother about the orgasm. Tell your mother how we talked," Andrea Constand hung up, according to the deposition.

When asked whether or not Cosby thought Constand was after "hush money" so she would not report the incident, Cosby said, "no."

But he did indicate earlier in the deposition that he thought the Constands could extort him.

Cosby made an offer over the phone to pay for Constand's education, as long as she maintains a 3.0 grade-point average, and he was asked if he were to pay for Constand's education, would he tell his wife why.

"My wife would not know it's because Andrea and I had sex and that Andrea was very, very upset," Cosby said in the deposition.

But Steele pointed out that Cosby wanted to make sure the public believed this was consensual.

"Do you agree it is in your best interest the public see Andrea consented to these acts," Cosby was asked, answering "yes."

On cross-examination, defense attorney Brian McMonagle pointed out Cosby gave this deposition after the criminal case had been closed, and then nothing had been done with the case for 10 years.

McMonagle went on to point out that, all through the deposition, "There is doubt he is describing sexual activity that he maintains is consenting."

The detective agreed.
By Douglas M. Charles

President Donald Trump allegedly asked FBI Director James Comey to drop the FBI's investigation into Michael Flynn.

Douglas M. Charles (The Conversation photo)

President Franklin Roosevelt asked FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to collect information on Americans who had committed no crimes.

President Richard Nixon asked Hoover to provide the White House a list of reporters the FBI knew were homosexual.

How do we know? FBI director memos.

As an FBI historian, I was not surprised to learn that Comey kept memos. He referred to them in his prepared remarks for Thursday's Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, and they'll probably form the basis of his answers to questions about his meetings with Trump. The FBI's history shows such documentation can be essential to how FBI directors operate, and how they can insulate or protect the FBI's integrity.

Intelligence on noncriminal activity

In the summer of 1936, Roosevelt met the FBI director in the White House to discuss, according to Hoover's memo, "subversive activities in the United States, particularly Fascism and Communism."

Hoover wrote that FDR was interested in getting from the FBI "a broad picture of the general movement and its activities as may effect the economic and political life of the country as a whole." Hoover replied that "no governmental organization" collected that kind of information.

Nobody collected that information because of FBI improprieties dating to World War I and the Red Scare of 1919 to 1920.

During that period, the FBI had collected political intelligence on prominent politicians, social justice advocates and others it perceived as dangerous. In response, Attorney General Harlan Fiske Stone publicly issued investigative guidelines that banned FBI agents from collecting intelligence related to noncriminal activity.

Notwithstanding these restrictions, FBI Director Hoover informed the president that a statute from 1916 allowed the FBI to investigate "any matters referred to it by the Department of State."

Roosevelt, though, was "reluctant" to formally ask the State Department for this request because information was constantly leaked from the department.

Instead, he asked Hoover to return to the White House the following day with Secretary of State Cordell Hull.

The next day, FDR explained to Hull and Hoover that he wanted a "survey" of Communist and Fascist activity in the country.

Hull asked if he wanted the State Department to make a written request of the FBI. Roosevelt declined, saying he wanted "the matter to be handled quite confidentially."

The president promised Hoover he would write his own memo about his request and place it in his White House safe, but such a document has never been located in FDR's presidential papers.

Hoover's memo about the meeting remains our only historical source about it. The presidential directive to the FBI then remained a verbal one, albeit secretly documented by Hoover, with no White House-generated paper trail.

The meeting and memo were significant because they marked a shift for the FBI. Because of the president's request and Hoover's own interests, the FBI began prioritizing noncriminal intelligence investigations over criminal ones. This is the point where the FBI became, primarily, an intelligence agency. Hoover would thereafter collect massive amounts of noncriminal-related intelligence on Americans both prominent and common.

Homosexual reporters

A second example of the FBI director generating a memo about a sensitive presidential request dates to Nixon in 1970, during Hoover's final years as FBI director. At that time, Nixon was obsessed with the constant stream of leaks from his administration and in discrediting the leakers.

J. Edgar Hoover memo from 1970. FBI

Nixon had his Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman call Hoover to request "a run down on the homosexuals known and suspected in the Washington press corps." Haldeman said the president thought the request would be easy because he assumed Hoover "would have it pretty much at hand."

Hoover said he "thought we have some of that material." To that, the chief of staff offered a couple of names of suspected gay journalists and added the president "has an interest in what, if anything else, we know." Hoover told him the FBI "would get after that right away."

In 1970, Hoover had passed what was then the mandatory retirement age of 70. He remained FBI director only because President Lyndon Johnson had issued an executive order exempting Hoover.

Nixon could revoke that order at any time. With his job vulnerable, Hoover willingly complied with Nixon's request. Hoover's FBI also actively collected and disseminated information about gays, and Nixon knew this.

Handwritten notes on Hoover's memo - the only record of the request, sent to Hoover's top FBI officials - indicate that the FBI compiled the requested information and sent it to the White House in letter format, dated Nov. 27, 1970.

To date, this letter has not surfaced either at the FBI or among the Nixon papers. Because we don't have the letter, we also do not know the exact content of the information Hoover shared, or whether and how Nixon might have used it against reporters.

Hoover was an astute bureaucrat who had a history of dealing with sensitive or controversial presidential requests.

He fully realized, like Comey, the value of documenting his interactions with presidents. Hoover knew that if need be, he could produce the memo as proof he was ordered to do something that, if undocumented, might jeopardize his position as FBI director or lead him to legal trouble. In other words, the memo was a get-out-of-jail-free card.

The Conversation

It seems a similar situation may be unfolding with Comey. President Trump implied or boasted he might have tapes to use against Comey.

But Comey actually documented his interactions with the president. The Comey memos and the FBI's history shows how a careful bureaucrat in charge of a powerful agency can not only deftly protect himself, but the integrity of a democratic institution.

Douglas M. Charles, is an associate professor of history at Penn State University. He wrote this piece for The Conversation, where it first appeared.
Good Morning, Fellow Seekers.

So this is what it's come to: Camp Hill resident

Jeffrey Lord

has transcended his status as mere

Trump

whisperer for

CNN

and become something much more ... existential.

He's now an object lesson in what to avoid.

Enter David Urban, Trump backer, former Arlen Specter aide, and now adviser to Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Paul Mango.

As our friends at Mediaite report, Urban was in the midst of a heated exchange with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and pundits David Axelrod and Jeffrey Toobin when things took a bit of a turn.

Urban, who'd just called ousted FBI boss James Comey a "puppet master," retreated in the face of the crossfire and said "I don't wanna be Jeff Lord redux."

According to Mediaite, that defused some of the tension, provoking a few laughs.

"You're good," Cooper quipped, according to Mediaite.

Axelrod, the ex-Obama adviser, chimed in: "You'll never be Jeff Lord."

And that's because, as Mediaite posits, and we agree: There can be only one Jeffrey Lord.

Watch the video above.

The rest of the day's news starts now.

As the shutdown of SCI-Pittsburgh looms, inmates and staff are moving elsewhere, The Post-Gazette reports.

Bill Cosby's trial was halted so that jurors could ... watch the Penguins game, The Tribune-Review reports.

The Phillies will wear 1980s throwback uniforms twice in July, PhillyMag reports. Thus inspired, maybe they'll play like some of those 1980s teams.

Here's your #Harrisburg Instagram of the Day:

NJ could require toy guns to have a visible orange stripe - to avoid any tragic encounters, NewsWorks/WHYY-FM reports.

A pension overhaul bill will become law - but the problem is far from solved, WITF-FM reports.

Advocates say they're seeing an increased level of violence involving children, PennLive's Barbara Miller reports.

Talen Energy is investigating the automatic shutdown of one of its towers at the Susquehanna nuke plant, The Morning Call reports.

State Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, is edging closer to another Congressional bid, PoliticsPA reports.

Cities will need state help to reach Paris climate goals, Stateline.org reports.

Politico examines Jim Comey's 'devastating' indictment of President Trump.

Senate moderates say they're getting close on a healthcare bill, Roll Call reports.

WolfWatch.

Pennsylvania's chief executive heads to Philly today for a 2 p.m. event touting a new I-95 related project. You'll find hom on the roof of the Hilton garage in Penn's Landing.

You Say It's Your Birthday Dept.

Best wishes go out this morning to Michael Manzo of Triad Strategies, who celebrates today. Congrats and enjoy the day, sir.

Heavy Rotation.

If this song doesn't say 'Friday,' we don't know what does:

Friday's Gratuitous Hockey Link.

The Pens blanked Nashville 6-0 in as efficient a disassembling as we've ever seen. The Cup is on the line on Sunday.

And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit.
By Jeffrey S. Podoshen

As a scholar of consumer behavior for 16 years, I've studied dark tourism, death consumption and why people are fascinated with violence, death and killing.

Jeffrey S. Podoshen (Franklin & Marshall College photo)

I've focused on unpleasant subjects such as the Manson Family murders, the Holocaust and even necrophilia in popular culture.

It takes a lot to shock me, however, Tyler Shields's photograph of Kathy Griffin holding a severed and bloodied Donald Trump head demonstrates just how low American culture has fallen.

Many have criticized and satirized sitting presidents, past presidents and even vice presidents (Dan Quayle and Murphy Brown anyone?). Satire has been an acceptable, if not biting, form of humor for many years to engage in political activism.

But Griffin's recent foray into the political minefield of Donald Trump's presidency is a form of satire that few find humor in and comes at the expense of the family of an American journalist who had his life taken because he was simply doing his job and he happened to be Jewish.

If you have never seen the Daniel Pearl beheading video, I would caution you before viewing it. Even with the grainy, outdated video technology used by the al-Qaeda murderers, one can plainly see the depths of human cruelty carried out by masked cowards hoping to gain world-wide publicity by the use of the shocking and the vulgar.

Similarly, Griffin and Shields chose a beheading tableau and a bloodied, lifeless Trump head for one reason - to shock and use abjection to gain publicity for themselves.

While Shields and Griffin can argue with the public about what is and what is not art, the objective was clear; not to create art or make a statement about freedom of expression, but rather to use the Trump lightning rod to publicize Griffin's upcoming "comedy" tour.

As a professor at a liberal arts college, a significant part of my role is helping students synthesize the intersections between the theoretical and the lived. Often this centers on bridging and blending explanation with practice.

As I will explain to my students in my Propaganda and Genocide course, Griffin's photo is a classic attempt to dehumanize "the evil other."

In this case, Griffin hopes that her portrayal of executioner looks heroic against the backdrop of a Hollywood-land that has, without exception, routinely demonized the President of the United States.

By illustrating that Trump is a monster and not worthy of life, it is much easier to get the masses to despise him.

While sharp criticism of sitting presidents is nothing new, attempts to dehumanize the president as "the evil other" are relatively new.

President Reagan, hated by many, was never viewed as beheaded infidel.

George W. Bush, however, was constantly characterized as Adolph Hitler and Barack Obama as Osama bin Laden.

The attempts here were to strike fear in the masses by creating caricatures of our elected leaders in a rather desperate attempt by some to initiate a change in power, in some cases, via non-democratic means.

Hollywood has amped up its level of graphic violence in recent years and we're exposed to many more scenes of bloodshed on television, the movies and the internet than we've ever been before.

In general, though, film violence is fantastical and understood to be make-believe.

Griffin, and Shields, however, have taken a page, not necessarily out of the big studios' playbook, but out of the carefully orchestrated propaganda of al-Qaeda and ISIS; two entities that have ravaged and terrorized individuals from all walks of life.

We have to ask ourselves, as a free society, how much lower can we go in expressing our dismay about our elected leaders?

And while Trump has polarized this nation more so than any elected leader in modern times, we also need to question why some think it's acceptable to dehumanize a president while simultaneously causing so much pain for families and victims of terror, like the family of Daniel Pearl.

I'm afraid that the answers lie in an America more accepting and welcoming of abject violence than it ever has been.

Let's hope that Griffin's latest attempt at publicity gives us all pause and time to consider the type of political discourse we want to continue to engage in.

Jeffrey S. Podoshen teaches Propaganda and Genocide at Franklin and Marshall College. His recent work, "Examining Death and Learning About Life" appeared in Death in a Consumer Culture and "Dark tourism in an increasingly violent world" in the Handbook of Dark Tourism.
Here's what candidate Josh Shapiro said last year when he was asked how he would have handled the release of pornographic emails that roiled the administration of ex-Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

Shapiro, a Democrat and former Montgomery County Commissioner, said during a March 2016 debate sponsored by the Philadelphia Bar Association that, unlike Kane, who dribbled them out for clear personal and political advantage, he would have "disclosed all the emails" to the public.

And in an interview with the PennLive/Patriot-News Editorial Board last fall, candidate Shapiro was even more expansive:

"I believe all those emails should be made public, with the obvious redactions of any information [that is] reasonable to withhold," he told the Editorial Board. "As it relates to the report, one of the concerns I have is that it seems like the authors have determined to be what is appropriate and inappropriate, based on this number of 50, which seems kind of arbitrary. There would be less focus on me narrating for people of Pennsylvania, and more of me just releasing it. I would make it public and make it public in a way that [people would be] able to access it."

Those release mechanisms could include a specialized website or a file-sharing service such as DropBox, Shapiro told the board.

Now that he's in office, Attorney General Josh Shapiro is singing an entirely different - and entirely disappointing -- tune.

Shapiro, who ran as a champion of government transparency, is in court trying to block the release of an unredacted version of the Attorney General's report about potentially offensive emails.

That report, by the way, cost the taxpayers $1.4 million. That's your money.

Its release would have identified 13 senders who were either judges or senior government officials and more than 25 district attorneys and assistant district attorneys who allegedly sent inappropriate emails over government servers, including three prosecutors who sent messages containing nudity or obscene material.

PennLive reporter Wallace McKelvey sought the unredacted version, only to have his request denied by Shapiro's office. That denial was affirmed by an appeals officer in the Office of Attorney General, prompting the court case.

Joshua D. Bonn, a lawyer representing PennLive/The Patriot-News, argued that the attorney general's office could not redact names that were simply "facts" from a publicly-funded report that was publicly released.

Any attorney-client privilege was waived by the public release of the report, Bonn said.

The emails also should be released, he argued, because the state's contract with BuckleySandler, the firm paid to compile the document, made them "activity" of the attorney general's office subject to disclosure.

J. Bart DeLone, a lawyer in Shapiro's office, argued that BuckleySandler's opinions about who may have exchanged offensive emails amounted to legal advice and opinions.

The attorney general's office disagreed in some cases with the legal advice over who did what wrong, DeLone said, illustrating that the information was debatable and more than just "facts."

The names can't be separated from the legal decision to include them in the report, DeLone argued.

President Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt questioned whether the decision to include an email as offensive constituted legal advice.

"Isn't that something Emily Post could do?" she asked, to determine if something is inappropriate?

In a statement, Shapiro's spokesman, Joe Grace, said state law did not allow for the report "to be released in a response to [PennLive's] Right to Know request."

Grace added that Shapiro's predecessor, Attorney General Bruce Beemer, "made disciplinary decisions to address every employee identified in the report and publicly discussed the findings last November."

"The Office of Attorney General began opposing this Right to Know request prior to Attorney General Shapiro's term in office," Grace continued. "As a candidate, Attorney General Shapiro made clear that his purpose in calling for the report to be released was to help ensure public trust in the integrity of the justice system.

He concluded that Shapiro has made "great strides to restore that trust by following through on his pledge to hire a brand new, diverse senior leadership team, appoint a chief integrity officer, institute a new code of conduct, which has been signed by every employee and the attorney general, and hold mandatory ethics training for all employees."

Beemer, a veteran prosecutor, began the work of undoing the damage that Kane did to the Attorney General's Office. Shapiro has taken up that work admirably.

Still, as a candidate, Shapiro told the Editorial Board he believed the public itself can can be trusted to determine what is inappropriate and trusted to review the actions taken by public officials acting in their name.

Here, Shapiro's words matter. And they are worth repeating:

"I believe all those emails should be made public, with the obvious redactions of any information [that is] reasonable to withhold," he told the board (emphasis added), saying later, "There would be less focus on me narrating for people of Pennsylvania, and more of me just releasing it."

Live up to your promise, Mr. Shapiro.

Trust the voters who elected you.

Drop the court action and release the un-redacted report.
Barbara Hafer carved out a public reputation in Pennsylvania political life as a tough and scrappy fighter, labels she openly welcomed and did not consider sexist tags pinned on her because she was a woman competing in a man's world.

Today, as she make headlines for one of the worst decisions of her career, we look back at some of the other highlights of Hafer's public life:

1. She was the first woman to earn a major party's nomination for governor in Pennsylvania, in 1990.

Truth be known, Hafer, the sitting Auditor General at the time, won the nomination that year largely because there was no strong, well-financed opposition wanting to do battle against the popular incumbent, Robert P. Casey.

Hafer, in fact, went on to lose in a rout.

But she will always own that piece of Pennsylvania political history.

2. Two things stand out most from that 1990 race, aside from the 2-to-1 margin of defeat:

Hafer being politically incorrect before political correctness was a thing for calling Casey a "red-necked Irishman from Scranton" and;

Her drilling Casey about the state budget during the waning days of the election, saying Pennsylvania was heading toward a $1 billion deficit. Casey insisted she was wrong.

Weeks after the election, the Casey Administration announced the state budget was in a crisis. By the end of August 1991, the governor had signed a budget with a record $2.86 billion tax increase.

The Caseys have always insisted Hafer's prediction was lucky and that a national recession and legislative spending were responsible for the deficit.

3. Having started her professional career as a public health nurse, Hafer moved into rape-crisis movement and helped to found one of the nation's first centers for victims of violent crimes.

She and ultimately entered politics as an Allegheny County Commissioner in the 1980s.

It was from that platform - as a moderate Republican who supported abortion rights - that she ran and won the state's Auditor General's office in 1988. After two terms, Hafer ran for Treasurer in 1996, completing two terms there in January 2005.

4. Hafer, for a time, was considered a top-tier candidate for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2002, as well.

She dropped out of the race that winter, however, faced with a certain loss of the state party's endorsement to then-Attorney General Mike Fisher and a major fund-raising disadvantage.

But Hafer wasn't done impacting that race yet.

5. In September 2002, she publicly endorsed the Democratic nominee, Ed Rendell, inflicting a serious blow to Fisher's already underdog campaign.

Hafer's defection was seen as solidifying Rendell's in-roads with Republican women in the vote-rich Philadelphia suburbs, and hurting Fisher in his home Allegheny County as well.

Many felt Hafer made this move out of spite, angered by what she felt called the "back-room boys" who had conspired against her. But Hafer said she felt Rendell's record in Philadelphia was right for Pennsylvania at the time.

Hafer eventually switched her own party registration to Democrat in 2003.
With nothing holding it back except a concrete wall, Okanagan Lake as of Thursday afternoon was about one metre higher than the parking lot at the Penticton Yacht Club.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin walks with Canadian Finance Minister William F. Morneau before their bilateral meeting at the Treasury Department in Washington on March 1, 2017. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau will discuss trade, taxes and infrastructure when he meets Friday in Ottawa with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. In his first visit to Ottawa, Mnuchin will also meet with cabinet ministers and government officials, and take part in roundtable meetings with the Business Council of Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Pablo Martinez Monsivais
GOP remains on top in Northern Michigan but Democrats made some inroads Tuesday

The election showed that while the Republican Party still dominates Northern Michigan, there were some results that should give Democrats some hope.
Nurses aide Theresa Alston (left) helps resident Ruth Haye down the hall to make sure she gets her daily exercise at Brookside Healthcare Rehabilitation Center near Abington. Read more

Brookside Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center near Jenkintown provided 39 percent of the registered nursing a day expected by federal regulators during a recent three-year period.

Advocates and some academics say that's a sign of a company out to boost profits.

Not so, said Brookside owner Meir Gelley. "It's not about money. We don't mind spending the money. As you can see, we have a beautiful facility," he said.

Gelley, who was one of just a few Philadelphia-area nursing-home owners contacted by the Inquirer who agreed to talk at length about staffing, said his company's staffing strategy benefited patients.

"If I have a choice of having more people taking care of residents and giving more care, but it's by an LPN as opposed to an RN," Gelley said, he will use more licensed practical nurses to provide more direct care, and "the residents are going to do much better."

For overall nursing care, which includes RNs, LPNs, and nursing assistants, Brookside's 4.1 hours per patient day easily topped the state minimum of 2.7 hours per day of care, but was well below the 4.9 hours a day expectation calculated by federal regulators based on the mix of patients at Brookside during annual inspections.

"I don't think anyone is thinking of staffing at 2.7," said Ann Molesevich, vice president of operation for Gelley's company, Nationwide Healthcare Services. "The question is, Do we look to staff at a 4.9 because a CMS-driven calculation tells me I should be there?"

The federal expectation is not a requirement.

Level of care residents receive

At Philadelphia-area nursing homes, where a common theme is that it is hard to find RNs willing to give direct care in nursing homes, the amount of nursing care varied widely. Some analyses focus on absolute levels of care, but Harrington and other experts emphasized the importance of taking the relative sickness of the patients at facilities into account.

RN Care Gap Philadelphia-area nursing homes provided fewer hours of RN care per day relative to expectations than of total nursing care.

An Inquirer analysis of data from Medicare cost reports provided by SNFdata Resources LLC found that the median nursing home (half are above; half are below) in the eight-county Philadelphia region provided 71 percent of the registered nursing care expected by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based on how sick the facility's residents were during the annual inspection.

The range was 15 percent to 341 percent.

The median for total nursing hours was significantly higher, at 93 percent. The range for total nursing was 67 percent to 218 percent.

Shareese Reynolds, an LPN who has worked in nursing homes for 20 years, said she has seen the gap between RNs and other nursing staff firsthand. RNs who serve as unit managers are sometimes counted as direct-care staff, but they don't give much direct care. "They are in meetings all day, and I believe they leave it up to LPNs to really do most of the work," Reynolds said.

The Inquirer analysis, which was designed to capture the amount of nursing care provided throughout the year, not just during a brief period at annual inspections, was limited to 203 nursing homes in the eight-county Philadelphia area that had the same owner for the three-year periods, which ended Dec. 31, 2015, or June 30, 2016, depending on the nursing home's fiscal year.

RN Hours in Nursing Homes The table shows 203 Philadelphia-area nursing homes that had the same owner for the three years ended Dec. 31, 2015, or June 30, 2016. The expected RN hours per day per patient are three-year averages calculated from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services data. The figures for actual RN hours are three-year averages calculated from Medicare cost reports. The star rating, a measure of overall nursing-home quality calculated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, with five being the highest, is as of May 1. The table can be sorted by any column by clicking on the header.

Accuracy in the reports

Numerous nursing-home operators objected to the use of the cost-report data to calculate staffing levels, arguing that regulators do not use the numbers that way. Some disputed the accuracy of their own numbers on the cost report.

"It's true that CMS is not auditing them and there's no penalty given, so they don't have an incentive to report accurately," Harrington said. "But that doesn't mean they are not supposed to report accurately."

Broadly speaking, data problems have long bedeviled the assessment of nursing homes' quality. Much of the information, including the data on the cost reports and most of the information used for CMS's five-star ratings, is self-reported, which causes researchers and advocates to doubt the data's integrity. That makes correlations hard to show, especially in a relatively small set of 203 facilities.

"The problem is all these numbers are self-reported, so I don't feel that they are necessarily accurate," said Sam Brooks, a lawyer at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia.

The public's view of staffing is expected to improve next year, when CMS starts publishing staffing data that come straight from nursing homes' payroll systems.

Staffing at nursing homes

Some operators said the numbers in the Medicare cost reports were accurate even though they showed very low RN staffing.

Centennial Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center in West Philadelphia, for example, was tied for the second-lowest level of RN care, at 20 percent of the hours a day expected by CMS. "The data you have is correct, and the bottom line is the facility is achieving good outcomes," said a lawyer for the owner, Colev Gestetner.

The latest Nursing Home Compare rating for Centennial, formerly known as the Stephen Smith Home for the Aged, shows that the facility has the lowest rating for RN staffing, but a five for quality. It had four stars overall.

Chester Valley Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Malvern provided just 15 percent of the RN hours per patient day expected by CMS, the lowest figure in the Inquirer analysis. Chester Valley also has a provisional license from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which fined the facility three times in 2014 and 2015.

Wood River Village in Bensalem provided the most RN care relative to expectations. Wood River Village, a continuing-care retirement community that has since been sold and is now called Juniper Village at Bucks County, got to 341 percent by relying almost exclusively on RNs, said Gerard McEvilly, who ran the 17-bed facility for the previous owners. It did not accept patients from the general public.

"You had a very high RN-to-resident number, and the outcome was extremely good," he said.

Leonard P. Haberman, a plaintiffs' lawyer at Clearfield & Kofsky who sues nursing homes for malpractice, also brought a different perspective to RN staffing: "Do you really need an RN to listen for the bell and come take Grandma to the bathroom? Do you really need an RN to reposition a patient to make sure she doesn't get a nasty bedsore? You just need people who care, and you need them to be trained."

That staffing picture could get worse because of the huge turnover in Pennsylvania nursing-home ownership in the last two years, said Matt Yarnell, president of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, a union that represents 6,094 LPNs and nursing assistants in 108 nursing homes.

"Because of the financial constraints, I think the first thing that's been happening is workers see their benefits eroded and they also are new operators and in no circumstance have we seen more focus on the bedside. It's really been trying to contain costs," Yarnell said.

"There's a lot of turnover and a lot of agency [staff] being used in these buildings," he said.
Two picks happening Friday in Center City  or Midtown Village, if you must  both with Philadelphia to California connections:

For starters, there's a free early show at Fergie's Pub on Sansom Street with Dan Stuart and Tom Heyman. Back in the 1990s, Heyman was the guitarist in much-loved Philly roots rock band Go To Blazes. In 1998 he headed west to San Francisco, and has had a healthy left coast sideman's career backing up Chuck Prophet, John Doe and Alejandro Escovedo before venturing out on his own as a solo artist with albums like the 2006's rugged Deliver Me. Heyman has a punchy new one coming out in September that he describes as "a straight-up love letter/homage to Rockpile-era pub rock."

At Fergie's, Heyman will team up with Stuart, the elusive figure who fronted the Tucson, Arizona founded desert rock band Green On Red (which also included Chuck Prophet) and also made two albums with Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate as Danny & Dusty. Stuart has dropped out of the music business for long stretches, and hasn't played in Philadelphia for decades, but he's back in action, touring behind his 2015 album Marlowe's Revenge, a synergistic tie-in with his novel The Deliverance Of Marlowe Billings. Ubiquitous Philly string wizard Mike 'Slo-Mo' Brenner will sit in. Music starts at 7:30.

A little later in the evening and a few blocks away, Philly songwriter-to-watch Deadfellow will preview the release of his ambitious song cycle Mescalifornia: A California Dream, which comes out June 23, at Milk Boy Philly. Deadfellow is the nom de rock of Ambler-raised songwriter Hayden Sammak, and his album about the commodification of the California dream puts sophisticated Pet Sounds-style arrangements and harmonies to use in putting his disaffection across. He'll be cramming a 10 piece band including strings and horns onto the tiny Milkboy stage. The Classic Hunt opens.
Is a post-Hamilton letdown at the 2017 Tony Awards inevitable? Maybe not.

There are a number of nominees that hit that elusive Broadway nexus of artistic quality, social relevance, and commercial success, including two with strong local ties.

Dear Evan Hansen, with a scenario and lyrics by Ardmore-born Benj Pasek and music by Justin Paul, has nine nominations, including best musical. The J.T. Rogers play Oslo, developed in Philadelphia by the workshop organization PlayPenn, has seven nominations, including best play.

So, at the least, expect an influx of Philadelphia energy at Sunday's ceremony, broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall at 8 p.m. and airing locally on CBS3.

Dear Evan Hansen finds Pasek and Paul on an upswing that songwriters dream about: They are coming off an Oscar win for their work in the hit film La La Land and are even more fully the spirit behind Dear Evan Hansen, a years-in-the-making musical about the death of a high school student (suggested by an event Pasek recalled from his alma mater Friends' Central) and the aftermath of internet-fueled lies.

Star Ben Platt, who plays the hapless, vulnerable Evan Hansen, could well best Josh Groban in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 for best lead actor in a musical. But even with strong efforts among the Dear Evan Hansen team  the Pasek and Paul score, Steven Levenson book, and direction by Michael Greif (best-known for the path-breaking Rent)  the production faces tough competition from Comet, a loose but ambitiously playful adaptation of Tolstoy by librettist/songwriter Dave Malloy. It has 12 nominations.

The Dear Even Hansen score is intentionally fashioned in a mainstream pop style to suit the teenage characters, though some critics thought it bland. But the show wins points for being a contemporary story not based on an existing book or film. Then again, Come from Away, a musical about airline passengers stranded in Newfoundland by 9/11 is equally original and topical. The other competition for best musical is Groundhog Day, based on the cultural-touchstone film.

Oslo is a dense, complex dramatization of the 1993 Middle East peace negotiations, and is full of great ensemble-acting opportunities. Author Rogers has a solid record in past works and director Bartlett Sher delivered some of his best work outside his usual territory (the Metropolitan Opera and Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals). A Doll's House Part 2 by Lucas Heath and Indecent by the acclaimed Paula Voge are considerable competition, but Oslo won outstanding play from the Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards this year  a good omen for the Tonys.

The Tonys telecast will be hosted by Kevin Spacey  not quite the accomplished comedian that last year's host, James Corden, was, but an engagingly unpredictable presence. Presenters will include Glenn Close, Sally Field, Tina Fey, and the much-adored Hello Dolly! star Bette Midler, who has declined to sing  her costar David Hyde Pierce will sing "Penny in My Pocket"  but who always leaves her mark on any awards show.
Springfield Township Republicans have created a new lawn sign in response to Hate Has No Home Here signs that sprouted after President Trumps election. Read more

I don't know who lives in the house not far from mine in my Chestnut Hill neighborhood, but I should really knock on their door one day and tell them that they never cease to amaze me.

The first time was on Election Day, when I spotted a pro-Trump sign, maybe the only one I'd seen around those parts until that morning. I remember staring at the sign, which seemed to materialize overnight, and realizing that a super-silent majority was about to turn our world upside down.

This week, another sign rose, at first glance a version of the ubiquitous "Hate Has No Home Here" signs, but upon closer inspection a not-so-subtle, right-leaning, middle finger directed at those inclusive messages.

It read:

"Love Lives Here. Love of God, Family, Friends, Country, Community & the U.S. Constitution."

Pack up your protest shoes, comrades. The revolution will be fought on our front lawns.

A little research later, I saw that talk-show host and Daily News columnist Dom Giordano had one of the creators of the sign on his radio program just a day before.

On the show, Giordano and Bob Gillies, a longtime Springfield Township commissioner who ran an unsuccessful bid for state rep, kibitzed over those dang city slickers moving into the 'burbs with their liberal-leaning ideas and virtue-signaling signs.

"Influxers," Giordano called them. "You guys need border guards to keep them from migrating from Philadelphia."

To his credit, Gillies didn't take the bait. He was just confused, he said, because "they came here because it's better  but they won't listen to us."

I called Gillies the next day, ready to listen.

About those signs? I asked. (In case you're interested, you can get one by emailing lovelivesherespringfield@gmail.com.)

Gillies said he just didn't like the negative implication of the signs that sprouted after "Trump's immigration policy."

"Travel ban," I corrected.

"Immigration policy," he maintained.

President Trump himself calls it a travel ban, I reminded him.

"Tomato, tomahto," he responded.

Moving on.

His biggest problem with people who put up the original red and blue signs?

"So if no hate lives there, does that mean hate lives here?"

That seems like a leap. The way I read it, I told him, it means that if they are against hate, they're against hate here, there, and everywhere. They are showing support for neighbors, especially after the wave of racist attacks since Trump's election.

That set us off on a bit of a shouting match, with Gillies suggesting many of those reports weren't true and I reminding him of the double murder in Portland, Ore., in which a man stabbed three people who were reportedly trying to stop a racist attack on two young Muslim girls.

It seemed a good time to talk about God.

Why God? I asked. Isn't that cutting out people who might believe in someone or something else?

"First of all," he clarified, "if you love God, you love everybody."

My thoughts turned to the Westboro Baptist Church.

I found it interesting that the new signs included the Constitution when, on the television set right behind me, a constitutional crisis was playing out as former FBI Director James Comey was telling the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee his version of why the president fired him amid an agency probe into alleged Russian meddling.

"We're not in the middle of a constitutional crisis," Gillies scoffed. "Maybe a crisis of government, but not of Constitution."

I don't want to beat up on Bob. I'm sure he doesn't like feeling marginalized or targeted or made to feel inferior, like so many people have in this country for so many years. Like so many people are feeling right now.

But I just don't get why anyone would feel threatened by a sign that's anti-hate.

"Absence of hate does not mean good things will happen," he said. "Absence of hate does not mean love."

The presence of love is no guarantee of something good happening, either.

Proof of that is in yet another lawn sign.

"Love trumps hate."

Not yet.
The Philadelphia School District's charter school office has recommended that another charter school possibly be shut down.

Eastern University Academy Charter School in East Falls was recommended for non-renewal.

The charter schools office on Friday made public its guidance to the School Reform Commission. The school will remain open while a final decision is made  a process that could take years.

Eastern, a school for students in grades seven through 12 that enrolls 332 pupils, was cited for problems with academics and operations. It opened in 2009.

Omar Barlow, Eastern's principal and CEO, said that the recommendation was surprising, "upsetting and disappointing," and that the school would fight it.

"I just don't see how you justify closing a school when our college acceptance rate is better than some of our peer schools, and when we have a great college matriculation rate," said Barlow.

The charter schools office noted that Eastern's graduation rate is higher than a number of its peer schools  79 percent in 2015-16, compared with a 66 percent average for its peer schools. The school's graduation rate has declined over the course of its charter, however, and its high school students did not meet goals for attendance or achievement on state Keystone exams.

At the middle school level, Eastern students struggled in academics and attendance.

Barlow said that students come to the charter school  which allows eligible students to take college courses at Eastern University and Community College of Philadelphia while still in high school  often reading at third- , fourth- and fifth-grade levels.

"It takes time to turn that around," Barlow said. "It is hard work when you have middle school kids who are coming with these low levels of achievement, but by the time they get to our high school, they're going to be OK and they're going to be college-ready."

Eastern students are required to have some sort of post-secondary option as part of the plan for their senior year, and many get into  and attend  four-year colleges, Barlow said.

Barlow acknowledged that the school has challenges, but said it is working to fix them.

"They're talking about killing opportunities amid a major dropout crisis in Philadelphia, a crisis with black males? This is a school that gives black males options," said Barlow. "I feel like they're cutting our legs out from under us when they're just looking at scores."

Eastern was also cited for problems with noncompliance in areas of special education and English-language-learner policies. It runs afoul of its own bylaws, as well as the state Ethics Act, and has issues with student health services, school safety practices, teacher certification, and other operational areas, according to the charter school office.

The recommendation is just the first step in a lengthy process. If the SRC adopts the recommendation and votes for nonrenewal, that triggers a formal hearing at which Eastern gets to lay out its case in great detail. The SRC would then take up the school's fate again, and if the charter school doesn't like the outcome of that second vote, Eastern could appeal to the state.

The charter schools office on Friday also recommended that Philadelphia Electrical and Technical Charter School in Center City have its charter renewed with conditions. Pending is a recommendation for the Richard Allen Preparatory Charter School in Southwest Philadelphia.

On Thursday, the office separately recommended shutting down Khepera Charter School in Logan over financial and management concerns. That revocation recommendation comes after an earlier nonrenewal vote and hearing.
To maintain the speed of its industrial upgrades, China will need partners - and Germany can help

Manufacturing upgrading has become a huge trend in China in recent years, and the progress in some fields is very fast.

When I came to China in 2005, I was leading factories in the electronics sector in Shenzhen and Beijing. There was virtually no automation. Instead, there was an abundant supply of young (mostly female) workers coming from neighboring provinces. They worked with minimal training and at minimal wages (700 yuan per month in Shenzhen at that time) to produce electronics for the rest of the world.

Conveyor belts were in place, but other than this, no automation. The year 2005 was still the time of Industry 2.0 in China. Those times have long gone. Automation upgrades are now everywhere. Robots are doing easy work like packaging tobacco in Kunming's factories, working in shoe factories and so on. The car companies have been using robots since the 1970s, and when the foreign car companies came to China, they brought this know-how with them, educating an entire supply chain.

For years, even Foxconn, with its more than a million-strong workforce, is updating its production with all kinds of robots and machinery, moving into the age of Industry 3.0 very quickly.

While the process of reaching Industry 3.0 in many fields is at full steam, the government is already pushing hard to catch up and lead the next industrial revolution-the so-called Industry 4.0 or Made in China 2025.What could be away forward to achieve this?

Industry 4.0 refers not only to automation but to the real-time use of data to control and manage production-interconnecting factories and even supply chains by involving suppliers. However, this means first that Industry 3.0-automation-needs to be in place. Jumping over this phase (from 2.0 to 4.0) is not easy.

In this light, an intriguing observation that was made in a recent McKinsey study can be understood: Many Chinese companies see a big benefit for their business by applying Industry 4.0 technologies (76 percent), but fewer believe their companies are ready (57 percent).

The speed of China's upgrading is amazing when we look back 10 years. To maintain this speed, China needs partners with which to cooperate.

My country of birth, Germany, and my residence, China, can be partners. Innovation is critical for both China and Germany to stay competitive in the world and to keep or upgrade the living standards of their citizens as worldwide resources become scarce and the environment needs protecting.

In Germany, small and medium-sized enterprises are a big pillar of the economy, as they are often the drivers of innovation. Partnering with these technology companies (the big and the small) can be away.

Germany and China have recently re-emphasized the partnership in innovation and research. Since 2011, a joint forum of scientists and companies has worked to exchange innovation.

Also, the European Union and China reemphasized cooperation at the recent EU-China Summit in Brussels. Both sides have said the Sino-European relationship is more important than ever, while the new administration in the United States seems to go for a less open and less cooperative approach.

However, there is still a long way to go before cooperation between European and Chinese companies, as well as European and Chinese societies, will yield fruit that both sides want to harvest.

The conclusion of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment which is now in its fourth year of negotiation, will boost the willingness of European companies to invest in China, according to a recent survey by the EU Chamber of Commerce. At the EU-China Summit recently, both sides committed to intensify the negotiations. Refueling this optimism is needed to create meaningful cooperation in bringing China and Europe forward.

The Chinese market is huge and the cooperation that led to the most modern of factories (BMW in Shenyang is considered the best BMW factory in the world) can and should be deepened.

Modern factories also transformed Germany in the 1970s and '80s, when polluted rivers and air were a burden to our citizens. Sharing the know-how and providing investment opportunities that benefit both sides should be the way forward.

China and Europe, for the benefit of all, need to be leaders in resource utilization and upgrading of industry to be less polluting and wasteful. This is a chance that must be captured for future generations.

The author is a CEO and Founder of SinEuSyn Consulting.

Contact the writer at Stefan.Sack@SinEuSyn.com. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 06/09/2017 page9)
Protection from exploitation of illegally obtained data among its highlights

China's cybersecurity law took effect on June 1, just a few weeks after the ransomware virus WannaCry hit computers around the world.

Designed to safeguard China's cyberspace sovereignty and security, the law-contrary to what some foreign observers say-is not about limiting the flow of information or hampering international trade, China's cybersecurity watchdog says.

The new law, adopted in November by the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, will better shield key information infrastructure and citizens' personal information against hackers and data thieves.

The new law says information and important data in key fields should be especially protected. Sensitive infrastructure, from public telecommunications services to the financial sector, must be carefully protected for the sake of citizens, who would suffer unnecessary losses if their personal information were leaked due to technological faults or stolen by data thieves. The 2010 cyberattack on the Natanz uranium enrichment plant in central Iran that disrupted construction is a case in point.

Another highlight of China's cybersecurity law is the ban on online service providers collecting users' personal information that is irrelevant to the service that is provided, because some of them sell it to make money illegally. It is universally agreed that citizens' personal information should be lawfully obtained with their consent and in accordance with the law. China has decided to improve its laws by following this global practice.

Online service providers, on one hand, are allowed to build their own database to store customers' information, as long as it is legally collected. On the other hand, they have a legal obligation to protect the information they collect from leaking.

In the digital economy era, customers' online and offline traces, from their shopping preferences to how they commute, can be of great value to service providers. But such data exploitation must not come at the cost of citizens' privacy, which specific provisions of the cybersecurity law are intended to protect.

In particular, the law attaches equal importance to the ownership and use of data assets, by putting citizens' individual rights before property rights. It stipulates that those who violate the provisions and infringe on personal information will face hefty fines, reflecting the country's determination to safeguard human rights and adjust to the digital age.

China's cybersecurity laws and rules are in tandem with internationally acknowledged "codes of conduct" to counter cyberattacks and are aimed at preventing potential cyber wars.

It is hoped that the United Nations will work on an international treaty on cybersecurity, and it has called on willing members to help realize it. In theory, the treaty is supposed to ban one state from using the internet to target other sovereign states, prohibit terrorists from disseminating radical literature and organizing terror attacks online and urge all signatories to rein in online viruses. Security authorities are obligated to compensate victims of cybercrimes in other countries if their mishandling of digital data is to blame for the crimes. In addition, a supervision organ under the UN should be authorized to manage the issuance of domains.

The author is a professor of law at Wuhan-based Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 06/09/2017 page13)
Cooperation needs to be further strengthened, and for that, leaders of both countries need to deepen strategic communication

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Germany. In the intervening years, the two countries - and indeed the whole world-have experienced tremendous changes, from the end of the Cold War and multipolarization, to globalization and the information technology boom.

Once a divided country, Germany today is the leading European power. And China, once a poor and backward country, has become the world's second-largest economy and a responsible global power.

All these reflect profound changes in the international situation.

Sino-German relations have withstood the test of these changes. Despite some ups and downs, bilateral relations have strengthened, bringing tangible benefits to both sides, as well as to the rest of the world. Sino-German ties can thus be described as a veritable all-around strategic partnership of mutual benefit.

Forty-five years ago, China and Germany barely had any contact. Today, apart from their close relationship, they have in place dialogue mechanisms for more than 80 important cooperation channels, including government consultations, high-level financial dialogues and diplomatic and security strategy dialogues, all of which have widened bilateral and multilateral channels of communication. The two countries also closely cooperate in areas such as finance, energy, environment, education, science and technology.

China and Germany are each other's largest trading partners in their respective regions, with bilateral trade reaching about $160 billion (143 billion euros; 125 billion) last year, or 30 percent of the total trade between China and the European Union. More than 8,200 German enterprises are operating in China, with investments of more than 60 billion euros, generating long-term and stable profits.

In the early years of diplomatic relations, China hosted only three German students and Germany hosted 10 Chinese. Today there are about 32,000 Chinese students in Germany and nearly 7,000 German students in China. From just a few hundred visits by people in the 1970s, yearly trips between the two countries have increased to more than 2 million, with about 10 direct flights a day.

Still, Sino-German cooperation needs to be further strengthened, and for that, the leaders of the two countries have to deepen their strategic communication-even though they already maintain close contact through visits, meetings, phone calls and letters, and coordinate their positions on current and urgent issues. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited China 10 times, the most by a Western leader. And the expected high-level visits this year will consolidate the close relationship between the two sides.

Sino-German ties, among the deepest and most pragmatic relationships China enjoys with European countries, have promising prospects for several reasons.

First, the two sides respect each other's core interests and key concerns, which is the political foundation to sustainable and healthy ties.

Second, the two countries' economic structures and different levels of development are highly complementary, and economic cooperation has become a mainstay of bilateral relations.

Third, the two countries have abundant resources for people-to-people relations in the form of their cultural richness and their natural scenic spots that attract tourists. And China can learn from Germany's experience in science, technology and social management.

Fourth, the two sides support each other and have similar views on major international issues, including advocating multilateralism, settling international disputes through negotiations and improving global economic and financial governance. Moreover, China and Germany support each other within the framework of the G20, promote globalization and investment facilitation and oppose protectionism.

Fifth, the two countries handle their differences properly, even while dealing with issues that test bilateral ties.

The fast-transforming world needs more stable and responsible forces, as the international situation is undergoing complex and profound changes. Properly handling these changes is a challenge for both countries. But the changes also offer new opportunities for cooperation. Therefore, we have every reason to be confident about the future of Sino-German relations.

The author is China's ambassador to Germany. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 06/09/2017 page12)
Should the continent look to Asian friend's 'regional' model and adapt this approach?

As a result of an emphasis on industrialization as the potential key driver of Africa's development at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Johannesburg Summit in 2015, it has become a major area of focus for policymakers, implementers and thought leaders in Africa.

There is great hope that, in partnership with China, the African continent will finally realize its long-delayed industrial revolution. But the knotty question that Africans should ask themselves is this: Should the push for industrialization take a continental, regional or national trajectory?

While it is all fine for plans to be strategized and planned at the supra-continental level - as implied in the Agenda 2063 aspirations - the reality is that Africa's vastness and diversity is a bottleneck. Seamless implementation of industrialization projects is hampered by geographical, political, policy and legal variances from one country to another.

The alternative would be to implement industrial projects country-by-country. In other words, national industrial projects can be the building blocks for a continental industrial revolution.

This seemingly perfect remedy to grand African industrialization projects has its drawbacks. For instance, it is doubtful that industrialization projects would take off in countries beset by policy and political challenges unless nudged by others outside the continent. But many African countries are small by economic, geographic and population size, which reduces the appetite of international investors to invest in certain industrial projects in these countries.

Additionally, it is imponderable that some African countries would agree to wait for foreign investors, such as China, to implement industrial projects in other countries as they await their turn.

A two-pronged challenge emerges from the foregoing. On the one hand, rolling out cross-border industrialization projects is not feasible. On the other, national level industrial projects suffer from factors such as economies of scale. Therefore, a middle ground favoring a continent wide approach, mingled and melded with national strong points, is called for.

Fortunately, African countries are organized in regional blocs, which can serve as the midway strategy for attracting foreign investment in the industrial sector. The regional economic communities on the continent can be leveraged to overcome the problems associated with the binary of continental vastness and the narrowness of national perspectives. Indeed, many of the natural resources that form the base for Africa's industrialization cut across countries in specific regions - oil and gas in eastern and western Africa, and metals, such as copper, in southern Africa, for instance.

A recent case in point in using regional economic relationships as building blocks for industrialization was a topic at a policy seminar of the Southern Africa Development Community, with a view toward its collaboration with China. Held in Johannesburg in mid-April, the conference was hosted by the University of Johannesburg's Confucius Institute and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in collaboration with Oxfam International's Africa-China Dialogue Platform based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The main objective of the seminar was to examine relations between China and southern Africa in the context of the SADC Industrialization Policy (2012), the SADC Industrialization Strategy and Roadmap (2015) and the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (2015-20). The seminar reflected on the background and trajectory of the relationship between China and the SADC's 15 member states in promoting industrialization in the region.

Of particular interest was the dimension of trade and investment exchanges in the industrialization plans. The seminar also explored how China can better support, promote and contribute to industrialization in southern Africa in line with China's commitments at the FOCAC 2015 and the G20 Summit, held in Hangzhou, China, in September.

Interestingly, the China-SADC industrialization dialogue has precedent. Tanzania and Zambia have benefitted from Chinese industrial investment since the 1960s. The Tazara railway was built to help Zambia's copper get to international markets. That the industrial investment across minerals and agriculture has performed below par, or summarily collapsed, should be a major consideration in charting region wide industrial plans.

The regional blocs' approaches to Africa's industrialization can also benefit from China's own industrialization experience. China is a vast country and indeed a subcontinent. If you visit eastern and southern China, you will see hundreds of factories humming along as they produce goods for world markets. These Chinese factories stand as living testimony to the foresight and political leadership of Chinese leaders.

Out of necessity, they prioritized eastern and southern provinces of the country as the pioneer industrial bases, understanding that attempting to industrialize the whole country at once would scatter resources too widely and end up in failure.

Can Africa study the Chinese "regional" model and adapt it to the African regional bloc-led approach to industrialization?

The author is a postdoctoral fellow at University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 06/09/2017 page12)
Intelligent ocean farming equipment designed to withstand powerful storms, work for 25 years

China is delivering the world's first group of intelligent off-shore ocean farming facilities to Norway, designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the country's aquaculture industry, the equipment's manufacturer and analysts said on June 4.

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, one of the country's major State-owned shipbuilders by revenue, will create and export six offshore fish farms to its Norwegian client to help upgrade salmon farming there.

Workers check on Ocean Farm 1 on June 3, when it was delivered to its Norwegian buyer. Rao Rao / Xinhua

CSIC delivered the first such facility, Ocean Farm 1, to its Norwegian client, Kverva-based SalMar ASA, in Qingdao on June 3. The second group of orders for another five units was sealed in April, with a combined value of more than $300 million (266 million euros; 232 million).

It is the world's first offshore salmon farming equipment built using the same principle as semisubmersible installations in the offshore oil and gas drilling sector, according to Hu Wenming, chairman of CSIC.

Unlike traditional fish farming facilities, the ocean farm embodies advanced technologies including automatic fishing, hydrological monitoring, deep-sea positioning and biological light adjustment systems.

Ocean Farm 1 comprises a slack-anchored, semisubmersible and rigid structure with a high degree of stability. It is intended for offshore use in waters at depths of 100to 300 meters. All fish-handling operations can be performed on board, without recourse to external service vessels or equipment.

With a 25-year life span, the facility can resist powerful storms and is able to cultivate 1.5 million fish a year. It requires only three to seven employees to operate and ensures a fish death rate of less than 2 percent. It has more than 20,000 sensors and over 100 monitors and control units.

"It is highly possible for more marine production companies from countries such as the United States, Canada, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom to purchase such facilities if they can prove themselves reliable and advanced," says Dong Liwan, a professor at Shanghai Maritime University.

In the eyes of Yang Zhigang, chairman of CSIC's Wuchang group, the project is a perfect combination of the Norwegian aquaculture industry and Chinese offshore engineering technologies. The facility could be another trailblazer for Chinese manufacturers to further tap the European market against the backdrop of the Belt and Road Initiative.

As the Norwegian government and companies are keen to drive deep-sea aquaculture to further prevent fish diseases and pursue sustainable growth, the market for intelligent aquaculture equipment is getting a big shot in the arm, says Wang Yu, president of the research institute for offshore engineering products at CSIC Wuchang.

Ocean Farm 1 will be positioned in Frohavet, off the coast of central Norway, in the second half of this year. It will also be used for research purposes, with a particular focus on biological conditions and fish welfare, says Trond Williksen, chief executive at SalMar ASA.

"Leading Chinese shipyards are in a better position to compete with rivals in South Korea or Singapore, especially in the fields of ultradeep-water semisubmersible drilling rigs, manned submersibles and other civilian and military-oriented businesses," says Dong, the Shanghai Maritime University professor.

He says there is less competition in these areas, since only a few shipyards are capable of manufacturing complex offshore products. Big data and internet-based information technologies will help upgrade their capabilities to innovate and make their products more intelligent, he says.

"China and Norway are highly complementary in their economic developments, with great potential in fisheries, shipbuilding, environmental protection and oil and gas exploitation," says Xing Houyuan, a member of the expert committee of the Beijing-based China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Contact the writers at zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 06/09/2017 page15)
Law enforcement agencies announced on Wednesday a litany of charges against 33 people  including 27 who were allegedly associated with a Russian crime syndicate. Authorities said the indictment represents one of the first federal racketeering charges ever brought against a vor v zakonei  a Russian phrase that translates roughly as "thief-in-law," reports NPR.

That vor is identified as Razhden Shulaya, 40, living in Edgewater, NJ, who investigators said also goes by "Brother" and "Roma." He and the 26 others are named as defendants in the Shulaya indictment, which charges that they operated a nationwide racketeering enterprise.

"The suspects in this case cast a wide net of criminal activity, aiming to make as much money as possible, all allegedly organized and run by a man who promised to protect them," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney Jr. said in the statement. The charges were announced by Joon H. Kim, the acting United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the New York City Police Department and the FBI.

The charges include a variety of racketeering, fraud, narcotics, firearms and stolen property offenses. The statement said most of the crews were based in New York but that the "Shulaya Enterprise" also had operations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and Nevada. Most alleged members of the syndicate were born in the former Soviet Union and maintained ties to Georgia, Ukraine and Russia.

Among the more colorful allegations is the charge that two of the defendants arranged the transport and sale of a whopping 10,000 pounds of "stolen chocolate confections" to a government informant.

The 27 defendants charged with racketeering each face penalties of up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 fines. If convicted, Jikia and Marat-Uulu could face life sentences on charges of firearm possession "in furtherance of a crime of violence," as well as charges of conspiracies to murder for hire and selling firearms to a felon.

The Justice Department said it had taken most of those charged into federal custody, but five were still at large.
The intentional harming and killing of animals is often tied to violence against humans, and knowledge of this connection can be used to improve anti-cruelty and public safety efforts, according to experts in law, psychology, and veterinary forensics from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, reports Forensic Magazine.

The link between animal cruelty and domestic violence was one topic at the 10th Annual Veterinary Forensic Sciences Conference in New York City last month. During the session, ASPCA supervisor of forensic sciences in New York City, Dr. Robert Reisman, and ASPCA legal advocacy counsel Elizabeth Brandler, discussed over 65 NYC cases from 2014 to 2016 in which domestic abuse and animal abuse were connected.

"Animal abuse is often referred to as the tip of the iceberg and can be a glimpse into other family dynamics that may be at play," Brandler said during the session. "This can also serve as a major risk factor for committing abuse against a partner."

Reisman told Forensic Magazine that the frequency of the co-occurrence of animal cruelty and domestic violence in New York City has come to light after an increase in caseload following the partnership of the ASPCA and the New York Police Department in 2014. He said they now see such cases about every other week. During the conference session, he made note of his increased awareness of this link and the role that animal advocates have in ending all types of violence.
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Former FBI Director, James Comey came away from his public testimony before the Senate Intelligence committee with his integrity intact. The Republicans huffed talking points prior to the testimony. They puffed a failed narrative during testimony. But in the end, they couldnt make his integrity fall.

Republicans hoped to discredit Comey in five main areas and embarrassed themselves on every one of the claims.

They persist in the claim that James Comey contradicts his previous testimony with claims that his investigation was being impeded. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 3rd, Comey was asked if the Attorney-General or senior officials at the Department of Justice tried to halt investigations. That wasnt the issue. For one thing, Comey said he got the implied directive from the president  not DOJ officials. For another, stopping an investigation because the evidence leads no where or leads to a conclusion that suggests there is nothing further to see is one thing. However, stopping an investigation for political reasons, compromises the FBIs independence. Comey made this point made in previous testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as reflected in the GOPs research.

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): So, if the Attorney General or senior officials at the Department of Justice opposes a specific investigation, can they halt that FBI investigation?

FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY: In theory yes.

HIRONO: Has it happened?

COMEY: Not in my experience. Because it would be a big deal to tell the FBI to stop doing something that  without an appropriate purpose. I mean where oftentimes they give us opinions that we dont see a case there and so you ought to stop investing resources in it. But Im talking about a situation where we were told to stop something for a political reason, that would be a very big deal. Its not happened in my experience.

The GOP goes on to claim that Comeys assertions are contradicted by other FBI employees and members of the Intelligence Community (IC)

This claim appears to have merit until you consider the possibility and likelihood that others didnt have the same information as Comey did, nor are they likely to have one on one meetings and dinners with a President seeking a loyalty oath or giving a direction to stop an investigation.

For example, in Thursdays testimony, Comey said he had the impression Trump was ordering him to stop the Flynn investigation during their February 14th conversation in the Oval Office. He interpreted Trumps words as an order to stop the investigation. I took it as a direction I took it as, this is what he wants me to do.

This is the proverbial smoking gun. Comeys perception of Trumps words spells obstruction of justice.

This conclusion was reinforced by the fact that Trump ordered Jeff Sessions, Reince Priebus and Jared Kushner to leave the room before the discussion took place.

Republicans also point to former CIA Director, John Brennans testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on May 23rd.

Transcript excerpt as stated on the GOPs website:

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I wanted to follow up on a comment that I made in the opening statement and that is, with respect to a number of the allegations that have been made recently that the president or his aids may have sought to enlist the help of members of the IC or Director Comey himself to drop the Flynn investigation? Have any members of the IC shared with you their concerns that the president was attempting to enlist the help of people within the intelligence community to drop the Flynn investigation?

JOHN BRENNAN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: No, sir.

SCHIFF: Are you aware of any efforts the president has made to enlist the support of intelligence community personnel to push back on a narrative involving the collusion issue that Mr. Rooney was asking about? BRENNAN: I am unaware of it.

Brennan says that no one in the intelligence community shared concerns about efforts by the president to get the Flynn investigation dropped. As lawyers will often say, the absence of evidence isnt evidence of absence. The fact that Brennan wasnt aware of such efforts by Trump doesnt contradict Comeys testimony on the events that occurred during his one on one discussions with Donald Trump.

Part of the Republican effort to discredit Comey was in his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clintons emails. In fact, alleged mishandling of that investigation was the official reason Trump gave for firing Comey, until admitting to Lester Holt that he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation.

They begin by claiming that Comey greatly misstated evidence and mangled facts that were central to his previous investigation into Hillary Clintons emails. Actually, Comey foresaw problems that extend beyond the immediate question of Clintons email, should the Russians make that information public. As noted in the CNN article of May 26th that they cited, had that happened, there would be no way for law enforcement and intelligence officials to discredit it without burning intelligence sources and methods.

The Republican logic pretzel gets worse in their claim that Comey used that info as a basis to conclude the investigation into Hillary Clintons emails. Thats patently false. Rather, the fake intelligence was a factor in Comeys decision to make a public announcement that the investigation into Clintons e-mails was completed. One may question the wisdom of that decision, but thats a very different question from accusing Comey of using fake information to stop the investigation.

They go on to try to discredit him with claims that Comey greatly mistake key facts in the investigation. The fact is, Comeys testimony regarding emails Clinton Aide, Huma Abadin, sent to Anthony Weiners laptop was inaccurate, and subsequently corrected. How key the facts on this aspect of the investigation is debatable.

Finally, Republicans trot out the claim that top Democrats said they lost faith in Comey with some saying he no longer was the best choice to lead the FBI.

Republicans are referring to statements made by some Democrats before the election, regarding Comeys public disclosures about the existence and status of an FBI investigation into Clintons emails as proof Democrats lost faith in him.

There were valid reasons to criticize Comeys public disclosures about the investigation. In fact, Nate Silvers analysis showed that Comeys public disclosures regarding the Clinton investigation probably cost Clinton the election. However, that is also a separate question from whether the investigation itself was conducted properly.

Even if one accepts that Democrats lost faith in Comey, the idea that Trump took Democrats concerns were a more significant factor than Trumps desire to shut down the Russia investigation is preposterous.

One can recognize that Comey made some poor decisions such as the one to publically disclose the existence and the status of the FBI investigation on Hillary Clintons emails. One can recognize that because of these decisions, Comey is an imperfect witness. However, hes an honest one.

However, his integrity remains intact. One cannot say the same for Republicans claiming to seek the truth on the Russia matter, by virtue of their attempts to pre-emptively discredit the testimony Comey offered on Thursday with a smear campaign, complete with talking points that were published on CNN.

If Republicans are truly interested in fact finding, why try to discredit a key witness before theyve uttered a word?

Image: CNET
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Trump son in law Jared Kushner will be meeting with the Senate Intelligence Committee as the Russia investigation is inside the West Wing and getting closer to Trump.

NBC Newss Kasie Hunt reported:

BREAKING ON NBC: Jared Kushner will meet with Senate Intel staff mid-month, 1st step in agmt to also provide docs & take senator qs  Kasie Hunt (@kasie) June 8, 2017

Kushner and Intel Committee have an agreement for his cooperation, but the fact that a senior aide/son in law of the President might be testifying before Trump has been in office for a year is a pretty big deal.

It has been reported that Kushner is a person of interest in the FBIs Russia investigation, so it is doubtful that he will have much of interest to say before the criminal investigation concludes. The White House keeps pretending that everything is fine, but Trumps blurring of the lines between his businesses, his campaign, and his White House continues to come back to haunt him.

The one immediate result of James Comeys testimony is that it took the Russia scandal to a whole new level of serious. Witnesses are talking, and the White House isnt. Anytime that a president has to send their lawyer out to field questions, it is a very bad look. Kushner will defend Trump, but it will be how he responds to the Senators questions that will serve to add fuel to the growing Russia inferno.

James Comey was just the beginning. The real intrigue is yet to come.
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Rachel Maddow obliterated Donald Trump on Thursday, saying that his actions as laid out by former FBI Director James Comey in todays hearing amount to textbook obstruction of justice, which could put his entire presidency on the line.

Maddow also explained that Trump is essentially alone in his argument that he never tried to halt the investigation into Michael Flynns ties to Russia.

Video:

Rachel Maddow Says Trumps Actions = Textbook Obstruction of Justice #maddow pic.twitter.com/PzZQl8j4V1  Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) June 9, 2017

Maddow said:

This is what it looks like its coming down to as of today.  The president trying to stop an ongoing FBI criminal investigation is a textbook obstruction of justice. The evidence for whether or not he did that, just on the terms of the Flynn investigation  thats how it balances out as of today. On the one side, the president denies it. On the other side, James Comey says, Nah, he did it. And his memo says, Yeah, he did it. And he says that hes got witnesses that are the entire senior structure of the FBI that say, Yeah, they will corroborate that I said he did it the night that I say he did it. Oh, and maybe also it happened on tape. Thats the balance of the evidence. The presidents denial versus all of that.

As the MSNBC star said, the Trump administration is in for a rude awakening if they think the American public and those investigating possible obstruction will believe the president  who is a well-documented liar  over James Comey, who is widely seen as a man of integrity, even if he has irked supporters of both political parties.

Ultimately, when it comes to the obstruction of justice case against this president, the scandal involving his ties to Russia is essentially irrelevant. As Maddow pointed out, it doesnt matter what the investigation is about  it only matters that the President of the United States tried to influence that investigation.

Based on Comeys testimony, his memos, other key members of the FBI, and any potential tapes that may exist, its becoming increasingly clear that the president did just that  and that could soon spell the end of his presidency.
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While most Democrats have been reluctant to suggest that Donald Trump should be impeached, Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said that Thursdays testimony by James Comey shows that it should now be on the table.

Murphy said that, based on Comeys statements, Trump was trying to obstruct an FBI investigation into his campaigns ties to Russia.

Video:

Sen. Chris Murphy says todays Comey testimony should put impeachment on the table: pic.twitter.com/SubR9uVxWI  Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) June 9, 2017

Murphy dropped this bomb:

I think there is going to be some real soul-searching about the conditions for impeachment. This alone may not bring that conversation to a head, but I think we have enough now to know that the president was absolutely trying to stop the FBI from getting to the truth on the Russia story.  The obstruction case seems to be as clear cut as you can imagine given Comeys testimony today.

While Murphy didnt quite explicitly call for the impeachment of the president, his comments suggest that Democrats are becoming more comfortable heading down that road as the evidence continues to mount against the White House.

The Democrats comments come after Comey testified on Thursday that Trump had essentially directed him to drop an active FBI investigation, which means he, as Murphy said, was obstructing justice.

Republicans continue to hang their hat on the fact that Trump didnt explicitly come out and say, Im trying to obstruct justice, but its clear to most rational adults what the president meant when he told the former FBI director that he wanted to see the Russia cloud lifted.

As it becomes clearer that Trump was trying to quash an investigation, it is likely that more Democrats  and perhaps some Republicans  will feel comfortable talking about impeachment.
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Just as Senate Republicans felt they were on their way to passing a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, one anti-abortion provision in the Trumpcare legislation is poised to bring the whole effort down.

According to The Hill, A key provision in [the GOP] healthcare reform bill related to abortion is unlikely to be allowed, raising a serious threat to the legislation.

More from the report:

The parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, has flagged language that would bar people from using new refundable tax credits for private insurance plans that cover abortion, according to Senate sources. If Republicans are forced to strip the so-called Hyde language from the legislation, which essentially bars federal funds from being used to pay for abortions unless to save the life of a mother or in cases of rape and incest, it may doom the bill.

The reason this provision may not be allowed, as The Hill also notes, is because legislation passed under reconciliation  which Republicans are using with this bill  must meet the requirements of the so-called Byrd Rule, which in part states that a provision cannot produce changes in government outlays or revenues that are merely incidental to the non-budgetary components of the provision.

In other words, a provision passed under reconciliation cannot be primarily oriented toward making a policy change instead of impacting the budget, the report continues.

The anti-abortion language in Trumpcare clearly violates that rule, which is likely enough to bring the legislation crashing to the ground, which would represent another embarrassment for Republicans, who have promised to repeal and replace Obamacare for the better part of a decade.

Given just how small the GOP margin for error is in the Senate, removing this provision from the legislation will likely push some of the more extreme Republicans toward opposing the measure and doom Trumpcare  again.

This is good news for millions of Americans who would lose health insurance and benefits as a result of the GOP plan, but terrible news for the president and his GOP allies in Congress.
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Moments after it was reported that President Trumps personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz is going to file a complaint against former FBI Director James Comey, Norm Eisen of CREW announced, This is an abuse of process and we will be filing a defense of Comey.

The co-founder CREW and former Obama ethics czar further alerted the DC bumbling Kasowitz, Beware: there are serious consequences for abuse of process.

This is an abuse of process & we will be filing a defense of Comey. @marckasowitz beware: there r serious consequences for abuse of process https://t.co/wTVDCRpkd1  Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) June 9, 2017

Its about those memos. Trump thinks that Comey shouldnt be allowed to share his own memos with the press.

The complaint will focus on Comeys testimony that he gave a friend the content of memos about his conversations with Trump and asked the friend to then give that information to a reporter. Comey said Friday that he gave the friend  later identified as Daniel Richman, a longtime Comey confidante and Columbia University professor  the information after Trump tweeted that he may have tapes of his conversations with the fired FBI director, CNN reported.

But many legal experts have pointed out that there is no violation of DOJ rules in Comeys sharing of his memos and there was no attorney-client privilege, No violation of DOJ rules in him sharing convo, & Comey wasnt acting as an attorney, so no atty-client privilege, MSNBC justice and security expert Matthew Miller wrote.

Frivolous distraction. No violation of DOJ rules in him sharing convo, & Comey wasn't acting as an attorney, so no atty-client privilege. https://t.co/RLZbFwYpLv  Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) June 9, 2017

Eisen waved the caution flag:

.@marckasowitz be v careful in using scorched earth litigating style of private law practice (I did it 2 at times, proudly), dangerous here  Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) June 9, 2017

Another problem with Trumps suit is that Comey is a private citizen now, thanks to Trumps temper and bad judgment.

Comey can share his memos with whomever he pleases. They do not include classified information and Trump has denied that the conversations took place, so how can he claim they were privileged. But even if thats his stance, he didnt exert executive privilege, and Trump himself forced Comey to share his memos after Trump defamed Comey in public.

Trump cant bring things up on Twitter, accusing people of lying or other nefarious deeds, and then demand that they be silent about the same issue. The President is not a King.

Knives are already out for Kasowitz, Glenn Thrush wrote above an article he and Maggie Haberman published in the New York Times, For their part, many of Mr. Trumps aides were less than impressed by the public performance of Mr. Kasowitz, a lawyer based in New York who has earned the presidents respect and, for the moment, his situational obedience. A hastily drafted initial statement to the news media contained typos  president was misspelled  and he delivered it in a harried monotone, staring down at his text, to reporters gathered at the National Press Club.

Also from that piece, we got the reminder that this President is just not right, The idea: Keep Mr. Trump occupied, even-keeled and away from Twitter.

Kasowitz is out of his element; his statement was full of typos and worse than that, it was based a huge accusation on an incorrect understanding of the facts. Julie Davis, who covers the White House for the New York Times, corrected Kasowitz, Kasowitz is mistaken re NYT stories on Comey memos. We never quoted memos prior to Trumps 5/12 tweet re tapes; 1st story doing so was 5/16.

This means that it was the President himself who introduced the topic, and thus he cant expect Comeys silence. Trump had also fired Comey, so Comey was a private citizen when he shared his memos.

As we pointed out yesterday in the Politicus Podcast, Kasowitz denied Comeys damning allegations, claiming Trump never asked for loyalty. See that big pothole? Yeah, Trump just tripped and fell into it:

This is the kind of mistake people like Trump make in DC. Trump isnt stupid; hes inept in DC because his mob style of winning through threats, bullying, force, money and arrogance alone doesnt work in DC. A person has to at least understand the world before they can conquer it.

But what has Trump done with this lawsuit? Hes officially declared war on the FBI. Like an idiot who still thinks hes in control and still thinks the real problem is hes not leaning on people hard enough.
A diamond that was snapped up at a junk sale for 10 pounds ($12) has sold at auction in Londonfor 656,750 pounds ($848,000).

The gemstone, which has been dubbed the 'tenner' diamond, was bought as a ring at a Sunday flea market in West London back in the 1980s, and then worn for many years by its oblivious owner, who had no idea itwas a genuine 26.27-carat cushion-shaped white diamond.

The buyer thought it was just a piece of costume jewelry due to its "filthy mount" and had no idea it was valuable.

After decades of wear, the true value of the stone became apparent when it was taken to Sothebys for a valuation after a jeweler said it might be valuable.

Jessica Wyndham, head of Sothebys London jewelry department said the owner wore the rock while carrying out everyday chores.

"The owner would wear it out shopping, wear it day-to-day," she said. "Its a good-looking ring. No-one had any idea it had any intrinsic value at all. They enjoyed it all this time."

The auction house originally valued the ring at 350,000 pounds, but it ended up going for nearly twice that amount when it went under the hammer at Sothebys Fine Jewels sale on Wednesday.

The successful final bid of 656,750 pounds was made by an international buyer.

The ring was recently confirmed as a genuine diamond by the Gemological Institute of America. It is thought to have been cut in the 19th century, but thestyle at that time was to cut to conserve weight, rather than show brilliance, so it is large but relatively dull.

"Many of us in our lifetime would never even dream of owning  a stone like this," Wyndham told a news program.

Another highlight of the sale was a Cartier diamond brooch worn by Margaret Thatcher on a number of high-profile occasions while she was prime minister, including on the day she offered the queen her resignation.

The brooch fetched81,250 pounds. The proceeds are being donated to charity.

Wyndham said: "It was a thrill to bring the hammer down on two objects which have been the subject of so much interest and attention over the last few weeks and to see that attention translate into such strong bidding competition."
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James Comey said that Donald Trump was a liar, so Trump responded by talking to Twitter and telling more lies about Comey.

Trump tweeted:

Despite so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindicationand WOW, Comey is a leaker!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2017

Legal experts quickly debunked the fantasy that James Comey is a leaker because Comeys notes were not classified information. His personal recollections are not a violation of any law, except for the unwritten one between the Presidents ears that states, No one shall release bad things about Trump.

Trump wont win a credibility contest against Comey, so he is going to continue to personally smear the former FBI Director. The problem with this strategy is that it is destined to make the Russia scandal worse for Trump because it will inspire more witnesses against the President to come forward.

Those who try to explain Trumps social media usage as a grand political strategy dont get it. Trump doesnt use social media to communicate. Trumps tweets are pathological. Even though attacking Comey was the worst thing that he could have done, Donald Trump cant help himself. There is a reason why his White House is desperately trying to get him to stop tweets. With each presidential social media statement, Trump compounds the problems for himself and his administration.

A single tweet from Trump proved that James Comey is accurate, credible, and truthful. In other words, there is a high probability that Donald Trump obstructed justice.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Tropical storm conditions possible. Thunderstorms likely. Low near 70F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Tropical storm conditions possible. Thunderstorms likely. Low near 70F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
10th of every month, 10-10:30 a.m. Continues through Dec. 11

FREE! Registration Required. Register online or by phone.

Bulletin Board, Lectures & Meetings

Join us on the 10th of every month to learn and recognize the common signs of Alzheimer's disease and memory loss in yourself or others, and the next steps to take, including how to talk to your doctor. This event is approximately 30 minutes. We encourage you to ask questions and learn more about the Alzheimer's Association's free resources. To register, click the provided link or call our 24/7 toll-free Helpline at 1.800.272.3900. Offered through the Springfield regional office in partnership with the Illinois Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Please call our Helpline at 1.800.272.3900 for memory loss resources 1.800.272.3900
Last month in Starwatch I told you about the zodiac band that runs through the night sky. Because the Earth and the planets all orbit the sun in nearly the same plane, all of our fellow planets are located within it.

Back in the day, folks didn't know about any of this and saw the planets as wandering stars. In fact, they really didn't know what stars were, period. Most cultures saw them as being of a divine or godly nature. They saw patterns or pictures in the stars we call constellations, and observed them majestically slide from east to west night after night. Their predictable seasonal cycles through hundreds of years acted as clocks and calendars that helped them plan their lives. They were and still are infallibly reliable!

But then, as now, there were five stars that were mavericks or wild cards. Without a lot of rhyme or reason they showed up every night in slightly different positions among the fixed stars. They would also switch directions and get brighter and fainter. Some of them even sported variations in color. They would also disappear from the skies for weeks at a time. Many cultures, including First Nation and Native Americans, saw them as greater gods and their motions and behaviors were signs of pleasure or displeasure with the mere mortals on the ground. Human behavior was controlled by these wandering stars! Drastic actions, including sacrifice took place, even human sacrifice in some cases!

Ancient Greeks referred to these independently minded, wandering stars as "asteres planets" which is where we get the term planets. The Greeks, as well as the neighboring Romans, didn't see these planets as gods themselves, but named them after major gods in their mythology out of respect for their deity. It never hurt to kiss up! The Roman names of the planets have carried on to our present day.

The planet Mercury is named after the messenger of the gods because of its speed among the stars, just as the god Mercury was considered the first speedy delivery service. It only takes Mercury 88 days to circle the sun, flying along at more than 100,000mph! Earth plows along at just 67,000mph.

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Venus is named after the Roman goddess of beauty and love because of it's great brilliance in the sky. Little did they know what a hellhole it is. Because of a thick poisonous atmosphere complete with acid rain, the runaway greenhouse leaves the surface temperature hot enough to melt lead! It's not only not a beautiful place, it's extremely hostile!

Mars is named after the Roman god of war because of its reddish tint. War meant bloodshed. Mars travels from its closest point to Earth to its farthest point from Earth in a two-year cycle. When Mars is far away it's more of a pale gold in color, and when it's closest to the Earth it turns bright red, symbolizing blood. Whenever Mars was bright red in the sky it was considered a warning sign of war and death. Mars was feared!

Because the planet Jupiter was so bright and stayed in one place among the stars for a lot longer than Venus, it was named in honor of the king of the Roman gods. They were right in naming Jupiter after their head god Jupiter, because it's by far the largest planet in the solar system at 88,000 miles in diameter. The Romans didn't know that at the time, of course.

Saturn was named after the Roman god of Agriculture for reasons that aren't all that clear. However, Saturn was also considered the goddess of time because it takes so long for Saturn to make a complete circuit among the stars. Saturn takes more than 29 years to make that journey, the longest of all the planets.
Type "instant pot cooking craze" into Google and you get 79,000,000 results.

Thats almost 80 million results, people! This is indeed a craze, and Rochester isnt immune. Local cooks are going wild for the Instant Pot and to hear them tell it, this is a wondrous fad.

During one Amazon Prime Day, the online retailers annual 24-hour sales event, one of the top-selling products in the US was the Instant Pot , a multi-function electric cooker. More than 215,000 of them were snapped up in the US on that single day, according to the BBC. That the item outsold TVs and tablets may come as a surprise to many, but not to its legions of fans.

"Its my new favorite kitchen gadget," says Leanne Deyo, 34, of Rochester. "Its fun."

First available in 2010, the Instant Pot became a veritable craze in recent years, a success built through social media word-of-mouth instead of traditional advertising. The official Instant Pot Facebook group is 465,000-people strong, and there are thousands of other online enthusiasts. Fans share recipes and tips for making everything from soups, stews and chili to hard-boiled eggs, popcorn and yogurt in the countertop appliance.

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"Pressure cookers seem to have gone away," Deyo says. "They seem to have been an older method of cooking, but this has kind of brought it back around. Its something younger generations are getting into. Any time you can find ways to make cooking at home easier, its going to help people."

Deyo bought a 6-quart Instant Pot in January. She says it took some getting used to  lots of buttons and settings  but she quickly found the community Facebook forum where she could get questions answered and read about successful recipes. Many Instant Pot cooks also turn online to This Old Gal for tips and tricks.

Deyos favorite dish so far is creme brulee. Shes also made beef roast and ribs. Next up is cheesecake.

"I do use a crock pot but I dont like to use a crock pot when Im away from home," Deyo says. "I really like the fact that with some of these recipes, you can throw into the pressure cooker and its done within an hour or an hour and a half."

Cathy Wheeler of Rochester was introduced to the Instant Pot by a foodie friend, and was so won over that for Christmas, she got both of her sisters a pot. Like Deyo, Wheeler appreciates the efficiency of the Instant Pot. Shrimp paella is one of her favorite Instant Pot meals. Total cooking time: 10 minutes. Doesnt get much better than that! Her main tip is to use chicken broth instead of water to give the dish extra depth of flavor.

If she wasnt already in love with it, she was totally won over on Thanksgiving when her oven failed to cook her turkey adequately. She threw it into the Instant Pot and 35 minutes later, Thanksgiving dinner was served  complete with a cooked turkey.
PRESTON  The area man accused of peeking at women through the windows of several Rochester homes was sentenced Thursday to what amounts to about six months in jail for a case in Fillmore County.

Rickford Rehmann Munger, 61, of Frontenac, had pleaded guilty in late February to one count of failing to register as a predatory offender, a felony. In exchange, three identical counts were dismissed.

Fillmore County District Court Judge Matthew Opat sentenced Munger to 36 months in prison, stayed for five years, and 240 days in jail, with credit for 43 days already served.

After Munger's guilty plea in February, he was released on his own recognizance, court documents show, and was due back in court May 1.

Munger made his way to Olmsted County, and less than two months later, he was behind bars again  this time for allegedly peeping in the window of at least one woman in Rochester.

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He was charged locally on April 28 with two counts of interfering with privacy-previous conviction, and one count of fifth-degree drug possession, all felonies.

Munger appeared in Olmsted County District Court before retired judge Dennis J. Murphy, who also released him on his own recognizance  just in time for his court date in Fillmore County, which he attended.

He's been in jail there since that May 1 hearing.

Munger's criminal history dates back more than 25 years and includes multiple prison stays for several counts of first-degree burglary, second-degree assault and failing to register as a predatory offender.

Offenders are required to list with law enforcement all vehicles they're associated with, as well as any address where they may stay.

That's what landed him in hot water in Fillmore County, where he claimed to live in rural Lanesboro. A tracker on his vehicle last summer indicated he spent "very little time" at the address, the complaint says, adding that Munger also purchased an RV that wasn't registered with authorities.

Surveillance indicated Munger was living in the RV, which was seen in parking lots of several businesses in and around St. Charles. He admitted to an investigator that he knew the law didn't allow him to live in an RV, which prompted the predatory offender violation charges.

Mostly, "he's a window-peeper," said Capt. John Sherwin, of the Rochester Police Department. "That's what he does. When he's active, he does this all night long, looking for where lights are on, looking for people changing clothes."

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That's allegedly what happened in the series of events that landed him in jail in Rochester.

A 48-year-old woman who lives in the 300 block of Sixth Street Northwest told authorities she was asleep in her bedroom early April 23 when she was awakened by something breaking outside her window.

She opened the blinds and came face-to-face with a man who was standing outside, the report says, holding a cellphone with a red case. They startled each other, Sherwin said  a few seconds passed as they looked at each other. The woman, angry, ran out of the home to confront him, but the man had fled.

The victim reported the incident about 9 p.m. April 24; based on her description, officials believed it was Munger, the report says.

"He's well-known to police," Sherwin said. "We've dealt with him frequently."

About three hours later, dispatchers received a call from a man who lives in the 600 block of Second Street Northwest, who said he saw someone appearing to try to peek into a neighbor's window. The suspect had stacked some items on the ground, likely to stand on them to see inside, Sherwin said.

The neighbor, who said he'd seen the same man about six months earlier, went outside to confront the suspect  later identified as Munger  then followed him to Seventh Street Northwest and Broadway Avenue as he called police. A preliminary search of Munger by arriving officers turned up knee pads, black gloves and a flashlight.

He was released at the scene, Sherwin said, because there wasn't enough evidence of a crime to make an arrest.

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When he was arrested two days later, Munger was carrying a flashlight, a sex toy and a cellphone with a red case.

According to the complaint against him, he told investigators there were videos of window-peeping on the phone, that he had peeped into windows and watched people three to five times that week, and that he wouldn't have a defense to the charge of window peeping.

Munger allegedly said he primarily targets residences and apartment buildings and uses his cell phone to record what he sees. A review of his phone confirmed his admission, the report says.

He's due back in court on the privacy charges on July 27.
One of several women accused of participating in an ambush assault last summer has been sentenced to three months in jail.

Briannah Michelle McKee, 19, pleaded guilty in February to aid and abet second-degree assault, a felony. She was sentenced Monday in Olmsted County District Court to 90 days in jail, with credit for four days already served, a downward departure from the sentencing guidelines.

She was also ordered to complete a mental health evaluation, anger management programming and outpatient treatment, court documents show, and placed on probation for seven years.

In exchange for the plea, additional counts of first-degree aggravated robbery and possession of stolen property, both felonies, were dismissed, as was one count of misdemeanor fifth-degree assault.

The charges stemmed from an incident last June, when Rochester police responded to a local hospital emergency department for a report of an armed robbery.

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The 18-year-old victim told officers two friends  whom she identified as Luis Angel Aguilera Salcedo, 19, and McKee  had picked her up earlier in the evening to drive her to a drug deal. The woman said she bought some marijuana, and the three drove to Slatterly Park to smoke it.

As she sat in the car preparing the marijuana, Aguilera Salcedo allegedly pulled a handgun and told the victim to get out of the vehicle. She refused, then saw three people  including Dajanee Monique Johnson, 19, Caitlin Demara Bodine, 26, of Rochester, and Brittney Lynn Hoffman, 27, of Pine Island  run up to the car.

The five suspects pulled the victim out of the car and punched and kicked her, the report says. During the attack, McKee grabbed a gold chain from the victim's neck. As the assault was underway, a man on a bicycle rode up and threatened to call the police, sending the suspects scattering.

The victim called her mother, who picked her up and took her to the hospital.

Aguilera Salcedo and McKee were located in the 1600 block of Marion Road Southeast and arrested that night. The gun  which investigators later learned had been reported stolen from Waterloo, Iowa  was found under McKee's bed.

Bodine and Hoffman were identified by the victim, who was allegedly in a relationship with Bodine's boyfriend; that led authorities to immediately suspect the assault and robbery were pre-arranged. The two women were arrested the day after the incident.

Law enforcement obtained cell phone video of the incident taken by one of the participants.

In the video, Bodine, Hoffman and Johnson can be seen assaulting the woman, the complaint says. Johnson is allegedly shown punching the victim in the head/face several times, grabbing her hair and saying, "what the (expletive) is wrong with you?"

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Aguilera Salcedo pleaded guilty in October to felony terroristic threats. He failed to appear at his December sentencing; a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Bodine pleaded guilty in September to misdemeanor fifth-degree assault and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 60 days stayed; 30 hours of community work service and a year of probation.

Hoffman pleaded guilty in February to misdemeanor fifth-degree assault and was sentenced to a year of probation.

Johnson faces one count each of second-degree riot with a dangerous weapon, a felony, and fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor. She's due back in court June 22  a year and three days after the alleged crime.
PLAINVIEW  On Monday, Plainview coffee drinkers will have a new place to stop for a caffeine fix and a sandwich.

The recently built Cabin Coffee Co.shop will start pouring at 5:30 a.m. Monday at 10 West Broadway, which is at the junction of Minnesota Highway 42 and Minnesota Highway 247.

The 1,625-square-foot log cabin features a drive-through window accessible from Highway 42 plus seating for 40 inside. Besides a wide array of coffee drinks, Cabin Coffee has a menu of breakfast items such as scones and bagels, and lunch offerings of sandwiches and soups.

The franchise shop is owned by Charlene and Jim Balcomewith their daughter, Angela Balcome,and her fiance, Dan Miller. Cabin Coffee is based in Clear Lake, Iowa, and has about 14 other locations in the region.

Co-owner Angela Balcome says the shop's team of 10 is ready to get to work. They're hosting a friends and family only event on Sunday as a dress rehearsal for the staff.

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This project started in May 2016, when they bought the property along Highway 42 under the corporate name of 42 N Main Common Grounds, LLC. The site was cleared and the coffee shop was built earlier this year.

To help the new business, the City of Plainview established a tax increment financing district, which will allow them to recoup some of their infrastructure costs. The Plainview Economic Development Authoritymade a Next Generation loan to Cabin Co. plus the city also awarded them two loans.
One of Rochester's most prominent shopping centers sold for $16.7 million last week.

Steve Barlow sold the 36-year-old Barlow Plaza, anchored by a Hy-Vee grocery store, on June 1.

The sprawling center with two buildings stands on the corner Civic Center Drive and 11th Ave. NW.

He sold it to commercial real estate experts United Properties Development of Minneapolis. While Barlow steered the shopping center for most of its life, Cushman & Wakefield/Northmarq, of Minneapolis took took over the management in 2014 and spearheaded a more than $5 million upgrade of the property in preparation of the sale.

United Properties now owns and controls the property, though some final aspects of the deal are still to be worked out with Barlow in the next month or so.

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"We were working together under my ownership. Now we're working together under their ownership," Barlow said, adding that he'll be wrapped up soon.

The June 1 date has been the target for the sale for 10 years, according to Barlow. Given the mortgage was issued in 10-year increments, he made the decision to sell in 2007.

"I've known about it for 10 years. Hanging around didn't seem as appealing as turning it over to the new guys, so I decided to exit gracefully," Barlow said.

Speaking for the "new guys," John Breitinger said United Properties is energized by the modernizing of the shopping center. The construction is expected to wrap up in about two weeks.

"We're trying to do some place-making," he said. "It's very exciting. We're not doing many of these types of facilities these days."

Once the dust from the construction settles, the center will have a small, fenced-in dog park area in corner of L-shaped plaza. The dog park will be connected to a new tenant, Chuck & Don's Pet Food and Supplies. Chuck & Don's is an active regional retail chain with stores in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Colorado. The closest store to Rochester is in Northfield.

The pet supplies store will be located near a new, upgrade version of the Mega Express Laundry, which was previously located the high-profile space along West Circle in the east building.

Moving the laundry opens up the prime space for a tenant, like a restaurant, that needs high visibility, Breitinger said.

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"We're already talking to some possible restaurants for that space," he said.

Breitinger said the hope is to have Barlow Plaza completely full of tenants by the end of the year.

The renovation of the center also brought a major upgrade for Mestads Bridal & Formal Wear store, owned by Cathy Mestad, Barlow's sister. The destination wedding store now features a mezzanine level.

Mestad's position as a tenant represents the final connection of the Barlow family to the center, which will continue to sport their name.

The seed for the center was Barlow Foods. Barlow's father, Stephen B. Barlow, opened it in 1969. The 46,590-square-foot Barlow Plaza shopping center opened in 1981 with grocery as its anchor.

Barlow and his sister sold the grocery store to Hy-Vee in 1997, but they retained ownership of the commercial center.
A Rochester man who backed Bernie Sanders for president and left the DFL over frustration how the presidential candidate was treated is running as an independent for the 1st Congressional District.

Johnny Akzam, a website developer, said he has always wanted to run for political office.

"I don't call myself a liberal because I don't even know what that term means. I'm a progressive. A progressive to me is somebody who is always looking to the solution to whatever the issue is," the 44-year-old said.

Akzam grew up in California and moved to Minnesota in 1999. He said he was inspired by the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, who was killed in a plane crash in 2002. Akzam said he believes the senator was murdered because of his opposition to the Iraq War. The National Transportation Safety Board determined flight crew errors led to the crash.

Asked what his priorities would be, Akzam said it depends on what is going on at the time of the election. He has pledged not to accept Congress' health care insurance for members until single-pay health care is approved. He also supports legalizing marijuana and boosting investment in education.

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Incumbent Rep. Tim Walz, D-Mankato, chose not to run for re-election and instead is running for governor in 2018. So far, two other candidates have formally announced they are running. They are Blue Earth Republican Jim Hagedorn and former Owatonna DFL Sen. Vicki Jensen.
On February 14 the New York Times published a story by Michael Schmidt, Mark Mazzetti and Matt Apuzzo with reporting contributed by Adam Goldman and Matthew Rosenberg. The story was headlined Trump campaign aides had repeated contact with Russian intelligence. The usual current and former officials make their cameo appearance when the Times is disclosing, or purporting to disclose, highly classified information.

These were the storys lead paragraphs:

Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald J. Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election, according to four current and former American officials. American law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted the communications around the same time they were discovering evidence that Russia was trying to disrupt the presidential election by hacking into the Democratic National Committee, three of the officials said. The intelligence agencies then sought to learn whether the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians on the hacking or other efforts to influence the election.

In paragraph three they let on: The officials interviewed in recent weeks said that, so far, they had seen no evidence of such cooperation.

In the course of his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee today former FBI Director Comey bluntly acknowledged in response to Senator Cottons question that this story was almost entirely wrong. Im guessing that paragraph three accounts for the qualification of this assessment.

The Times has previously posted two corrections to the story. Theyre the kind of hilariously niggling corrections that leave the implication everything else was just right:

Correction: February 14, 2017

An earlier version of this article misstated the number of people (in addition to Paul Manafort) whom the F.B.I. has examined. It is at least three, not at least four. Correction: February 19, 2017

An earlier version of a photo caption with this article gave an incorrect middle initial for Paul Manafort. It is J., not D.

Now the Times tells us that theyre looking into the story. It would be a shame if this concession were to get lost in the foofaraw over the rest of Comeys testimony today.

We are looking into James Comey's statements, and we will report back with more information as soon as we can. https://t.co/v9OzWbbjUP  The New York Times (@nytimes) June 8, 2017

Here is the video excerpt of relevant parts of Comeys testimony preceding Comeys concession to Senator Cotton.
American Enterprise Institute fellow Charles Murray must rank among our most prominent living social scientists. At a May 17 hearing of the Joint Economic Committee convened by Senator and JEC vice chairman Mike Lee, Murray was included on a panel of social scientists testifying on the state of social capital in America  the subject of a new report released by the committee.

Testifying along with Murray on the panel were Prof. Robert Putnam (Harvard), Prof. Mario Small (Harvard) and Yuval Levin (Ethics and Public Policy Center). The occasion of their testimony was the release of a report prepared by committee staff at Lees request on the state of associational life in the United States.

I wrote about the hearing and posted the video in Mugging Mr. Murray. Please let me review what happened next before updating what I wrote with Murrays first public comment on it last night in Minneapolis.

What happened next is a disgrace. Committee Democrats performed a concerted mugging of Murray rich in the defamation flaunted by ignorant rioters protesting Murrays appearances at Middlebury and other college campuses.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar was the first to jump Murray. She inserted her thinly veiled disparagement of Murray into the proceedings and promptly departed. Klobuchars Democratic colleagues on the committee then piled on and pummeled him.

Klobuchar avoided smearing Murray directly. Called on first to pose questions after the witnesses opening statements, Klobuchar sought to build a little social capital of her own discussing the local Minnesota scene. Then Klobuchar turned to an expression of concern about unnamed individuals. Senator Klobuchar commented:

One troubling aspect of this hearing today are [sic] we are here to discuss a very important issue that impacts our society and I think there are many constructive ways we should examine the issue of social capital and its our responsibility to seek a wide range of expertise. I do want to express concern that I do not believe it is constructive to engage on this matter with individuals whose theories are drastically polarizing and have been discredited.

Senator Klobuchar exited for a meeting at the White House, leaving her colleagues progressively to fill in the blanks. Senator Martin Heinrich directed questions to the aptly named Prof. Small regarding the lack of evidence supporting inherent genetic differences leading to disparate economic outcomes. Murray was not named, but they are of course talking about him.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney was the first to call out Murray by name. She made a statement condemning Murrays infamous and offensive views about a womans capabilities. She wants Murray to be gone: [I]n my humble opinion, Congress should not give these ideas a platform in our committee, should not seek to elevate offensive claims that rely on spurious evidence.

For the slow learners out there who may have missed the action at Middlebury, Virginia Rep. Don Beyer and Michigan Senator Gary Peters added to the indictment of Murray. Beyer criticized Senator Lee himself for inviting Murray to appear before the committee:

[T]hose racist luminaries whose ideas and policies would ideally be rejected by all 535 members of Congress often turn to pseudoscience to justify hatred and exploitation. Cognizant of this history we would hope we would do everything in our part to make a clean break with that foul part of our legacy as opposed to dressing it up in new clothes and returning it to these marble hallsIm dismayed thatthe decision to invite Charles Murray risks turning this hearing into a sideshow. I cannot imagine, Senator [Lee], a man of your intelligence and political acumen was unaware of the meaning and consequences of inviting Charles MurrayI dont believe that this committees time and resources should be used to burnish his reputation. After all, it was his unconstrained exercise of his constitutionally protected right of free speech that gave him his toxic reputation in the first place.

Beyer then called on Prof. Small to disparage The Bell Curve. Small dutifully complied.

Klobuchars prefatory disparagement of Murray culminated in these remarks by Senator Peters:

Before us today we have a witness who serves no purpose other than to bring divisiveness to this body. And while Im sure all of us here believe deeply in freedom of speech and expression as well as the need for Congress to seek a wide range of opinions and expertise, a witness who has promoted racist and sexist stereotypes is a needless distraction from what we need to be doing here. To have someone who holds these views elevated alongside actual policy experts before us today is disrespectful to our other witnesses and the members of the committee and the important topics that we have to discuss.

Recall that Murray appeared before the committee by the invitation of the JEC, presumably (according to Beyers remarks) the invitation of Senator Lee. At no point was Murray invited to respond to the ignorant and cowardly attacks on him. At no point did Senator Lee speak up on Murrays behalf.

This is what I have learned since originally commenting on the JEC hearing. Committee Democrats warned Lee that if Murray testified they would attack him as they did. Lee himself neither warned Murray nor invited Murray to respond.

Last night Murray spoke on campus at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis as the featured annual dinner guest of Intellectual Takeout. It was a terrific event. The video of Murrays presentation is posted on Intellectual Takeouts Facebook page here.

In his remarks last night Murray addressed the madness on campus with initial attention to the riot at Middlebury when he appeared there on March 2. Following Murrays formal remarks, Intellectual Takeout President Devin Foley read Murray a few questions submitted from the audience including my question about what happened at the JEC hearing. Murray said he was glad Lee didnt give him the opportunity to respond to the attacks on him by the Democrats because his response would have turned his mugging into more of a story than it had been (despite my best efforts, I should add).

Putting that to one side, however, Murray commented that the hearing made me much more angry than the Middlebury thing. After summarizing the JEC Democrats disparagement of him, Murray concisely responded: The willingness of people who have not read a word you have ever written to libel you in a Senate hearing room for the Congressional Record is to me despicable.

I wanted to return to this subject to give Murray the last word. As to Klobuchar and her Democratic colleagues, Murrays last word is despicable.

UPDATE: Our friends at Intellectual Takeout have sent us the video as posted here on YouTube and below. Murray starts speaking at about 10:00.
While it would be a bridge too far to suggest that Canada's power grid is under attack by hordes of rampaging semi-aquatic wildlife, that's actually not too far off what happened recently in Saskatchewan. Out in the Cypress Hills and Maple Creek areas, power outages struck thanks to one industrious beaver, which mistook a power pole for a useful tree and gnawed it through, sending it crashing down, taking out the area's power, and demonstrating the importance of power protection systems.

SaskPowerthe primary power authority in the regionmoved quickly to replace the gnawed pole, with power outages proving somewhat widespread as the Cypress Hills and Maple Creek areas are about an hour distant from each other. Power was restored in ...a timely fashion, which suggests that the power wasn't out long and even the most minimal of power protection methods probably would have served here.

The region isn't unfamiliar to wildlife staging attacks on the power grid. One affected residentAudrey Burtontook to Facebook (News - Alert) to note that the area has seen ...lots of trouble with mice and moles chewing the phone lines apart in the pedestals...

In the midst of all this, we learn an important lesson about power protection: the need for such systems could occur at any time, and when these are needed, it's too late to start getting these in place. Whether it's a beaver attacking poles, a squirrel going after a transformer, or a car running off the road and going into either, power outages aren't just the stuff of thunderstorms. Power outages are the stuff of clear blue sky days as well, and all it takes is one mishap to shut down operations.

Whether it's as simple a matter as an uninterruptible power supply like the kind Minuteman is well-known for, one that just allows for a few extra moments of power to save work and shut down systems, or a complete backup generation system, power protection comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The right system, in fact, can allow a business to carry on operating for several hours or more as if nothing had ever happened. Back in March, we saw how AXA used its own generators to carry on in the midst of a power outage that took out most of the electric power in Syracuse, New York, a point that allowed it to get a substantial edge on its competition.

Prepare for a power outage now, and you'll be able to carry on as if it had never happened. That's the value inherent in power protection systems, and though you may never face a beaver attack, every little bit now will likely mean savings later.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, said the federal government was aggressively pursuing the refineries improvement programme to realise its agenda to end fuel importation by 2019.

The minister also clarified that neither Oando nor Agip had been handed over the right of maintenance and running of any of the refineries, saying a transparent bidding process will be held.

His statement comes days after the Senate rejected an earlier announcement that Agip, a subsidiary of the Italian oil giant, Eni, had committed to repairing the Port Harcourt refinery, as part of a $15 billion investment that includes building a 150 thousand barrel per day refinery and a power plant.

The minister, who was briefing journalists in his office in Abuja on Thursday, said the country was facing an emergency situation in the petroleum sector requiring urgent attention.

When I made the comment that I want to see us exiting fuel importation by 2019, and that I will leave if I dont accomplish it, it was to energise everybody to the fact that 2019 is not a play game.

We need to work hard for that to happen. We need the cooperation of everybody, including the National Assembly, Presidency, and other agencies, like the Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, to speed up the process. We are in an emergency situation. We need to plan ahead to ensure that fuel supply continue to be available, he said.

To sustain the current uninterrupted fuel supply in the country in the last two years, the minister said government spent about N3.4 trillion on the importation of about 20 million metric tons of petroleum products between January and December last year.

Besides, he said, about 30 per cent of the total foreign exchange allocation from the Central Bank of Nigeria went into importation of petroleum products, apart the logistics of the importation and distribution programme.

The domestic refining capacity from the four refineries located in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, Mr. Kachikwu said, stood today at about six million litres out of a total national daily fuel consumption of 35 million litres.

With these statistics, he said, government decided to make a move to end fuel importation, while improving the refining capacities of the refineries to about 100 per cent.

Consequently, the minister said, he was at the head of a technical committee set up to identify the companies interested in financing the upgrade and repair of the four refineries on concessionary basis.

Companies interested in participating in the process, he said, would be invited to formally declare their interest after their records have been assessed, in terms of financial, engineering, downstream capabilities.

Dispelling speculations that government planned to sell the refineries, Mr. Kachikwu said serious considerations were being given to the option of inviting their original builders, which have the designs and engineering outlay, to handle the repairs, while identifying those interested in providing the financing.

Denying speculations that Oando PLC had been handed the running of the refinery in Port Harcourt, the minister said the search for the financiers of the repairs were still in progress, as the technical committee was yet to summit its final report.

Given the technical nature of refineries upgrades, he said, only few companies with the necessary capabilities, including financing, engineering and technical expertise as well as marketing reach would be allowed to handle the job.

We will require about $1.12 billion (about N352.24 billion) to handle the work, excluding the cost of pipeline repairs from South to north and from Escravos to the West.

To move the country closer to its target, Mr. Kachikwu said a new 15,000 barrels per day capacity refinery by Nigerian Agip Oil Company was being planned for Brass in Bayelsa state.

He said a meeting was held on Thursday with other fuel producers, as part of a four-pronged strategy to close the supply gap.

The strategies included boosting the refining capacity of the four NNPC refineries; co-locating refineries to the existing ones, to share facilities like pipeline and storage facilities, while developing other greenfield refineries, like the Dangote Refineries, targeted at realizing the 2019 deadline.

I am committed to 2019 deadline. I think 2019 is achievable. We are going to work hard at it. Everybody has a role to play to make it work. The press has to sensitize the society to accept the need to achieve this, he said.

On the achievement of the present administration, the minister said the downstream deregulation problem had not only been largely addressed, the upstream joint venture financing problem has been resolved.

Again, he said, government had tackled and addressed the militancy issues in the Niger Delta region.

Government is targeting issues that are critical to the employment generation in this country. Getting the countrys refining capability on tract, to stop our continued importation, is key.

There is an urgency in this sector that needs to be addressed. If we do, we will create the right jobs, right skill sets, investment environment, and produce more supply to the downstream sector, the minister stated.

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U.S. President Donald Trump has replied James Comey, the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over allegations that Mr. Trump made efforts to undermine investigation into the alleged Russian meddling in the November 2016 election.

Mr. Comey had, at a public hearing by the Senate Committee on Intelligence investigating the alleged Russian collusion, accused Trump of some personal interventions over the investigation of former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn.

Mr. Trumps personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, read a statement denying Comeys testimony that the president pressured him to drop his investigations into the Trump campaigns possible collusion with Russia.

Mr. Kasowitz also said Trump never demanded I need loyalty, I expect loyalty as Comey testified on Thursday.

Contrary to numerous false press accounts leading up to todays hearing, Mr. Comey has now finally confirmed publicly what he repeatedly told the president privately:

The president was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference.

He also admitted that there is no evidence that a single vote changed as a result of any Russian interference, Mr. Kasowitzs said.

He did not, however, wait to answer questions from journalists that gathered at the National Press Centre in Washington D.C.

Mr. Comey had testified that Trump and others in his administration lied when they said agents had lost confidence in him to continue leading the FBI.

Referring to Mr. Trumps suggestion that he may have recorded their conversations, Mr. Comey said: Lordy, I hope there are tapes.

The former FBI chief also revealed for the first time that he turned over memos about his conversations with Trump to the Special Counsel investigating the Russian scandal, Robert Mueller.

Mr. Comey had also described Mr. Trump as a liar to which the White House fired back with a rebuttal.

White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said at a press briefing: I can definitely say the president is not a liar.

I think it is frankly insulting that question wouldve been asked.

Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey on May 9 over what the president termed Mr. Comeys inability to provide purposeful leadership at the Bureau and his handling of the Russian investigation.

(NAN)

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U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday claimed total and complete vindication for himself in sacked FBI director James Comeys testimony to a Senate intelligence committee the day before.

In spite of so many false statements and lies, total and complete vindication  and WOW, Comey is a leaker! Trump tweeted, in his public first reaction to the hearing.

Comey had accused Trump of firing him to derail an investigation into Russian interference in US elections and then lying about the motives for the move.

He also confirmed that Trump had not been personally under federal investigation.

During his testimony Comey admitted that, after his firing by Trump on May 9, he asked a friend to leak the documentation of the contents of the Trump meetings to the press in the hope of prompting the appointment of a special prosecutor. (dpa/NAN)

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The Northern Elders Forum (NEF), on Friday expressed support for the call by the Coalition of Northern Youth Groups for Igbos to leave the region within three months.

The group made its position known despite widespread condemnation that followed the ultimatum earlier handed by the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum.

The forum expressed disappointment with the Northern Governors Forum for disowning the youth groups.

Ango Abdullahi, the NEF spokesperson, told journalists in Zaria on Friday that it was hypocritical for the Igbos to continue to live in other parts of the country while agitating for Nigerias break up.

Mr. Abdullahi said: I am disappointed in the decision taken by Northern Governors Forum disowning and condemning the agitation by this young agile and progressive youth groups.

Let me ask these Northern governors, whom are they representing, are they representing spirits, ghost or people of the north?

Recently, people from eastern part of this country, specifically Igbo, were busy calling for the Sovereign State of Biafra and from all indication their leaders including governors are behind them.

According to him, whoever feels Nigeria is not conducive for him let him quit, adding that what the northern youth groups did was not a sin.

He lamented that none of the Northern governors reacted to the persistent call for the actualisation of Biafra and other agitations.

Mr. Abdullahi said when Nnamdi Kanu was released on bail recently, over 100 vehicles escorted him to his residence including big personalities from the south-west and south-east.

This is somebody who has been agitating for the breakup of Nigeria but his people were behind him, therefore, I am behind the youths.

This is because the Northern youths are pushed to the wall, we have been calming them down in any event similar to this, he said.

Speaking specifically on the Igbos, Mr. Abdullahi said the people from the south were always pretending that people from the north were cheating them.

These people always pretend that the North is cheating them, not minding the fact that Southern Nigeria was developed by resources from the North.

Please, look for a book written by Adamu FiKa, the Waziri of Fika, on Nigerias budget before and after independence.

Each year, up to the time Nigeria gained its independence, none of the two regions was able to provide for itself.

I mean none of the Western and Eastern regions had the money to effectively run the affairs of its region until they get financial support from the Northern region, he said.

He recalled that the tradition had remained during the colonial masters and nothing changed after they left the country.

Mr. Abdullahi said it was the same money from the North that was used to construct Nigerian Railways, refineries and other facilities.

First oil exploration was conducted using money from groundnut pyramid, cotton, hide and skin among other cash crops from Northern Nigeria.

However, these people tend to forget all these goodies provided by the North toward ensuring the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria.

They always look down on us, feeling that Northerners are parasites in this country, he said. (NAN)

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Eleven months after the murder of 42-year-old preacher, Eunice Elisha, in Abuja, the Nigerian Police have declined to say whether arrests have been made, or reveal the identities of possible suspects.

A spokesperson said police cannot manufacture suspects in the case.

Speaking during an interview with PREMIUM TIMES at the Force Headquarters Abuja, Police Public Relations Officer, Moshood Jimoh, said although investigations had gone far, he would not say whether there had been an arrest since the case was transferred to the headquarters.

I wont tell you that. We cannot manufacture suspects. You know that in murder related cases, and all capital related offences, it usually takes years. At times the suspect may be resting and feeling that they have escaped successfully, but I can tell you that investigation is ongoing and has gone far, said Mr. Jimoh.

You know that the family has relocated. It took a lot of time to get the husband of the deceased to come and testify, after the case was brought here. The matter is being investigated and we will get results very soon. The head of the investigation team is right here. Even the Ministry of Justice is involved. You can keep checking on us, he added.

Shortly after the murder of Mrs. Elisha on July 9, 2016, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command said it had arrested suspects in the matter, and said their confessions were considered helpful in the investigations into the matter.

We have made some arrests and they are helping in our investigation, the former spokesperson for the FCT police command, Manzah Anjuguri had said at the time.

The commissioner of police has ordered the homicide section of the command to take over the investigation of the case, said Mr. Anjuguri, the same day Mrs. Elisha was found dead on a street of Kubwa, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory.

Mrs. Elisha was murdered while conducting an early morning preaching at Kubwa where she had lived with her husband, Olawale Elisha, and their seven children for 16 years.

However, months later in January this year, the command told PREMIUM TIMES that it had released the arrested suspects whose identities were never disclosed, because it could not link them to the murder.

What happened is that when the incident occurred, arrests were made. But during the course of the investigation we found that the persons arrested could not be linked to the said murder. And we cannot keep them if we do not have any case against them, Mr. Anjuguri told PREMIUM TIMES.

They were released under the condition that they will be invited for questioning whenever the need arises. The commissioner has instructed the Divisional Police Officer for that region to intensify efforts on the matter; the case has not been closed. The investigation is still ongoing, Mr. Anjuguri had said.

The lawyer representing the family of the deceased, Lawrence Alabi, had informed PREMIUM TIMES about the transfer of the matter to the force headquarters, adding that he had met with officers in charge of the investigation at the headquarters.

I later met with them. They asked me to take them to the church where the family was worshiping then in Kubwa and to the scene of the crime. We went there; I took them to the house of the deceased, the scene of the incident and to the church, Mr. Alabi said.

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A Nigerian soldier has been sentenced to death for alleged murder of a suspected Boko Haram terrorist.

The Nigerian Army, in a statement issued Friday, said Hilary Joel, a lance corporal, was convicted of murder after appearing before the General Court Martial, at the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, Borno State.

Olusegun Adeniyi, a brigadier general, presided over the court.

Four other soldiers who were also tried for various offenses received varying sentences, said a statement issued by the spokesperson of the division, Kingsley Samuel, a lieutenant colonel.

Chima Samuel, a private, was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison for aiding and abetting the murder of a minor, Yakubu Isah, in Maiduguri.

A trooper, Sunday Ogwuche, was convicted and sentenced to two years and five years imprisonment for stealing and unlawful possession of firearms.

Samuel Balanga, a sergeant, had his rank reduced to a private by the court for desertion and other miscellaneous offenses.

Aliu Audu, a corporal, who was charged with assault, had his rank reduced to a private.

The statement said a representative of the National Human Rights Commission, Jumai Mshelia, who was present during the trial, commended the army for the transparent manner it treated the accused soldiers.

She was said to have expressed delight that the Nigerian army had shown that it is a disciplined organisation.

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The federal government has finally released a breakdown of the first tranche of Paris Club refunds paid to states to date.

The payments, totalling N516.38 billion, were made to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory upon the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari on November 21 2016, a statement by Salisu Danbatta, director of information in the Ministry of Finance said.

The payments were in partial settlement of longstanding claims by State Governments relating to over-deductions from their Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocation for external debt service arising between 1995 and 2002.

The debt service deductions are in respect of the Paris Club, London Club and Multilateral debts of the FG and States. While Nigeria reached a final agreement for debt relief with the Paris Club in October 2005, some States had already been overcharged.

The government had initially turned down repeated requests to release the payment details.

The funds were released to state governments as part of the wider efforts to stimulate the economy and were specifically designed to support states in meeting salary and other obligations, thereby alleviating the challenges faced by workers, the statement said.

The releases were conditional upon a minimum of 50 per cent being applied to the payment of workers salaries and pensions.

The Federal Ministry of Finance said it was reviewing the impact of these releases on the level of arrears owed by State Governments.

Mr. Danbatta said a detailed report is being compiled for presentation to the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, as part of the process for approval for the release of any subsequent tranches.

See the payment details below:

REFUND OF OVERDEDUCTIONS ON PARIS CLUB LOANS ON THE ACCOUNTS OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (1995-2002)

S/N STATE TOTAL AMOUNT PAID IN NGN 1 ABIA 11431531742.97 2 ADAMAWA 10257434321.63 3 AKWA IBOM 25981255165.12 4 ANAMBRA 12243313404.68 5 BAUCHI 13755553122.51 6 BAYELSA 24895696347.55 7 BENUE 13709343498.51 8 BORNO 14681869730.63 9 CROSS RIVER 12150687893.85 10 DELTA 27606963362.46 11 EBONYI 9016166759.96 12 EDO 12182253184.99 13 EKITI 9545673294.17 14 ENUGU 10723578819.32 15 GOMBE 8945755396.38 16 IMO 14001610365.94 17 JIGAWA 14215333413.52 18 KADUNA 15443458455.1 19 KANO 21740390362.48 20 KATSINA 16404261819.71 21 KEBBI 11954998982.9 22 KOGI 12055455191.6 23 KWARA 10241288653.14 24 LAGOS 16743876266.21 25 NASARAWA 9102098342.24 26 NIGER 14421586309.89 27 OGUN 11478749388.92 28 ONDO 14007296628.57 29 OSUN 12628212681.25 30 OYO 13315423054.25 31 PLATEAU 11288158110.82 32 RIVERS 34925785322.06 33 SOKOTO 12882257093.52 34 TARABA 9326607975 35 YOBE 10826206233.18 36 ZAMFARA 10884771188.99 37 FCT 1369735000.09 TOTAL 516384636883.81

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A Nigerian soldier shot and killed a resident of Kaduna on Friday, sparking a deadly protest that resulted in the killing of two demonstrators.

One person was injured in the shooting, resulting in a clash between soldiers and civilians.

The first fatal shooting triggered a protest that resulted in the killing of two other residents around the Command Secondary School Junction, Nnamdi Azikiwe Way, in Kaduna.

The victim, identified by his relations as Solomon Andi, 35, was allegedly shot while packing sand from a gutter between a cemetery and the school building around 9 a.m. on Friday.

Solomon was packing sand in a gutter in front of the military school when he was asked to stop by the soldier, but he pleaded with him to allow him pack the sand since the gutter is not anyones belongings, John Simon, a witness told PREMIUM TIMES.

Another witness, John Paul, told journalists that two other people who were among protesting youth who attempted to break through the military facilitys main gate were also shot dead by the soldiers with one other person injured.

Samson Andi, the deceased younger brother who spoke to PREMIUM TIMES on phone, gave further details of how he said his brother was killed.

Solomon, my late brother lived at Baka Street, and had no specific job. He did every menial job ranging from brick layer, carpentry, packing sand and so on to feed his family.

Solomon was at that area to pack sand inside gutter in between burial ground and command when this soldier who was smoking weed, started harassing him (Solomon) and punishing him with frog jump and then shot him. He died on the way to Saint Gerald Hospital and the body is deposited there, Mr. Andi said.

Our mother and I have been at the Television Garrage police post since around 11a.m. to make report. Up till now we dont know what they (police) are doing.

My sister also told me that two other people who are among some people who tried to protest my brothers death were also shot dead and other person was injured.

We are really in a state of confusion. We appeal to government to take responsibility, arrest those soldiers and bring them to justice, he added.

Calm has however returned as normal business activities had resumed at the time PREMIUM TIMES visited the area. Police and soldiers were also seen patrolling the area.

The armys 1 Division Headquarters, Kaduna, said the shooting was by a soldier of the Division Internal Security Force deployed at Command Secondary School Kaduna.

The army, in a statement signed by the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 1 Division Nigerian Army, Kingsley Umoh, a colonel, said the matter was being investigated.

He said the General Officer Commanding the division was appealing to law-abiding citizens to remain calm and go about their lawful duties.

The army did not confirm the death of two other youth alleged to have been killed during the protest.

The army statement reads:

The attention of Headquarters 1 Division Nigerian has been drawn to tension arising from an incidence that occurred at about 10:00am today 9 June 2017. A soldier of the Division Internal Security Force deployed at Command Secondary School Kaduna opened fire on some youths suspected to have encroached into the school premises.

One of the youths was hit and died at the spot. Officers have been deployed to the scene of the incidence in response and the Police have also been invited to take control of the situation. The matter is been investigated and details will be made available as they become available.

The General Officer Commanding, appeals to law abiding citizens to remain calm and go about their daily lawful activities, while assuring that 1 Division remains committed to security in its Area of Responsibility in conjunction with other security agencies.

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A drama erupted in the House of Representatives on Friday as members of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, protested the recognition of a factional president of the union by the speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

The students, who are believed to be loyal to Chinonso Obasi, a factional NANS president, gained entrance into the lawmaking chamber as members marked the second anniversary of the current House session.

The students yelled No, no, no when the speaker addressed Haruna Kadiri as the president of the students association.

They chanted no, no, no, Obasi is the president of NANS, Kadiri is not our president.

The plenary stood still while the sergeants-at-arms and other security agents tried to put the situation under control.

Speaking to journalists after he left the chamber, Mr. Obasi said he was invited to attend the ceremony and wondered why he would be invited alongside Mr. Kadiri.

Today, I am here on invitation, not on my own, to attend this celebration and I am being embarrassed with another fellow impersonating me, Mr. Obasi said.

The student body has been factionalized for years due to power tussle.

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The Senate has passed a bill to protect whistleblowers and witnesses directly involved in the prosecution of certain criminal cases.

The bill, titled Witness Protection Programme (Establishment etc), SB 157, was passed on Thursday, following a report submitted by the committee on human rights, legal matters and judiciary chaired by David Umaru (APC-Niger).

It was sponsored by Isiaka Adeleke, the Osun West APC Senator who died in April.

When the bill scaled the second reading in October 2016, the Senate had resolved that it be merged with a similar proposal to protect persons making disclosures for public interest and other forms reappraisal, sponsored by Abiodun Olujimi, PDP-Ekiti.

In his lead debate when the bill was being considered for second reading last year, Mr. Adeleke had said a law protecting witnesses was usually required in the prosecution of organised crimes like terrorism.

In such trials, Mr. Adeleke said, the witnesses would be allowed to wear masks, bear pseudo names and receive protection from authorities.

On her part, Mrs. Olujimi said this is a cardinal bill in the fight against corruption. She said fighting corruption hung on effective protection of whistleblowers.

She mentioned three instances at the Ministry of Aviation, Women Development Centre and the Police Service Commission where whistleblowers were fired.

Abdulmumin Jibrin, a former chairman of the appropriations committee of the House of Representatives, was just recently suspended for 181 legislative days on the ground that he breached members privilege.

In his remark after the bill was passed Wednesday, the deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided, thanked his colleagues for the bill, which he said, was in honour of the deceased Adeleke.

The bill must also be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the president to be law.

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The Court of Appeal, sitting in Benin on Friday upheld the election of Edo governor, Godwin Obaseki, of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The court dismissed the petition filed by Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as lacking in merit.

Mr. Ize-Iyamu, through his counsel, Yusuf Ali, appealed against the judgment of the Justice Ahmed Badamasi-led Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, that affirmed Mr. Obaseki as winner of the September 28, 2016 governorship election.

Justice M.B. Dongban-Mensem, who delivered the judgment, said the tribunal was right to uphold Mr. Obasekis election.

The judge said the tribunal did a painstaking job, adding that the tribunal was right to dismiss Mr. Osagie Ize-Iyamu petition.

The Justice Ahmed Badamasi-led three member Edo Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, dismissed Mr. Ize-Iyamus petition for lacking in merit.

Mr. Badamasi held that PDP and its candidate failed in all fronts to prove the allegations as pleaded in their petitions.

The petitioners have failed to prove their case with credible evidence and is therefore dismissed, he said.

The tribunal held that while the petitioners abandoned some of their pleadings, witnesses evidences were controverted under cross examination.

The much talked about ticking and over voting by the petitioners have not been specifically proved beyond reasonable doubts.

And not calling witnesses to prove their allegations of corrupt practices and over voting was fatal to their case and is deemed to have abandoned their pleadings, he held.

Mr. Badamasi therefore held that the petitioners had failed to prove their case with credible evidence to show that they are entitled to their pleadings.

Accordingly, the petition has failed and is hereby dismissed, he said.

The petitioners had listed INEC, Obaseki and the APC as first, second and third respondents.

Mr. Ize-Iyamu had asked the tribunal to nullify the election of Mr. Obaseki and declare him winner, having scored majority of the lawful votes cast among other reliefs.

He argued that INEC was wrong to have declared Mr. Obaseki winner of the governorship election.

Mr. Ize-Iyamu also alleged that the election was fraught with corrupt practices and over voting.

He added that INEC did not comply with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) in the conduct of the said election.

(NAN)

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The Board of Trustees of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) has appointed Dawn Dekle as president, effective July 1, 2017.

Dr. Dekle was selected after an international search and was endorsed unanimously by the Board of Trustees to assume the leadership role for the university, a statement by the university said.

Akin Kekere-Ekun, chairman of the board, said, We are delighted that Dr. Dekle has accepted our offer and will join our learning community. I am confident that she will take our university into the next phase of development.

Her vision for AUN in a global era resonated with the entire board and we welcome her with great enthusiasm and anticipation in the coming years.

Dr. Dekle visited the AUN campus during the May commencement weekend and met with members of the Board and the AUN Community, and said afterward, I believe AUN is the best kept secret in Nigeria. The campus is buzzing with potential, and I was inspired by this new generation of talent, the engaged learning experiences, and community collaborations.

Dr. Dekle is currently serving as president of Orkhon University in Mongolia.

Before joining Orkhon University, Dr. Dekle was president of the American University of Iraq, provost at the American University of Afghanistan, and dean at the S P Jain School of Global Management in Singapore.

Prior to becoming a senior administrator, she was a faculty member at Singapore Management University, the National University of Singapore, James Madison University, and Dartmouth College.

Dr. Dekle has held leadership positions outside of academia, such as council member for the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and as leadership specialist and global knowledge manager at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., where she helped launch the McKinsey Center for Asian Leadership.

As a scholar of psychology, law, leadership, and management, Dr. Dekle has published in academic journals, presented at international conferences, given keynote addresses for the Young Presidents Organization, and served as an analyst for television and radio regarding President Obama and his strategies in Asia and the Middle East.

Dr. Dekle earned her bachelors degree in psychology from Texas A&M University, Ph.D. in psychology from Dartmouth College, and J.D. in law from Stanford University.

The AUN Board of Trustees invites everyone to welcome Dr. Dekle and join in the celebrations of her arrival to Yola this summer, Dan Okereke, the spokesperson for the university, said in a statement.

AUN began the process of appointing a new head after its former President, Margaret Ensign, suddenly resigned in February for personal reasons.

The provost of the university, Professor Le Gene Quesenberry, was then asked to step in as Interim President until a substantive head is found for the institution.

AUN was established in 2003 by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The institution likes to refer to itself as Africas premier development university.

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The Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke, has described as a high level of insult against every Nigerian, the ultimatum by the Arewa youth that the Igbo should quit northern Nigeria before October 1.

Mr. Luke, who is also the vice chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly in the South-south zone of the country, said Nigeria had passed the stage where people could continue to hold on to tribal differences.

He challenged northern leaders to rise up and condemn the action of their youth.

If we have been preaching unity, if we have contributed our quota in this part of the region to build infrastructure in the entire country, the North inclusive, we take it as high level of insult on our collective sensibilities for anyone to call on fellow Nigerians to vacate their region, Mr. Luke said Thursday while receiving a delegation from a socio-political group, 1 for 8 Initiative, which visited him in his office in Uyo.

The speaker said, We all have only one country called Nigeria. And we will work assiduously for the unity, love, progress, prosperity, and peace of this country.

Mr. Luke is a former speaker of the Nigeria Youth Parliament.

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Fatai Owoseni, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, on Thursday called on school owners to support the government in the fight against insecurity in schools across the state.

Mr. Owoseni spoke at the 12th Proprietors Summit organised by the League of Muslim School Proprietors Worldwide, in Lagos.

The commissioner said schools should embrace adequate security measures to combat the threat of insecurity, in order to allay the fears of parents.

Represented by the Divisional Police Officer of Alagbado Police Division , Isiaka Salaudeen, Mr. Owoseni lamented the incessant cases of kidnapping in the state, noting that the police was working relentlessly to eradicate insecurity in the country.

The Police Force is trying its best to make sure all pupils, both in private and public schools, are provided with safe learning environment that will protect them once they are in the school environment, the Police chief said.

We are against kidnapping, and we are fighting it tirelessly .

We also want school owners to assist us and make this work easier.

He also called on proprietors and teachers to monitor the pupils and make sure they contact the police when they suspect harm around the school.

The Commissioners advice is coming on the heels of the kidnap of six students of Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, by suspected abductors.

Earlier on Wednesday, parents of the kidnapped students besieged the Lagos State Government Secretariat, Alausa, to plead with the government to facilitate the release of the kids.

The six students, who were held captive in May, have not been released.

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"Poland and the Polish people will never forget Prof. Brzezinski's contribution to our freedom and the country's security", President Andrzej Duda said on Friday as he made an entry in a book of condolence in Warsaw.

As Poland mourns the death of Prof. Zbigniew Brzezinski, the book has been placed in Warsaw's Belweder Palace for entries between Friday and Saturday.
ATLANTIC CITY  The parking garage for the Gateway project in Atlantic City is taking shape quickly, as workers install huge panels in what looks a little like a giant Lego project.

Theyre bringing in 15 pieces a day, Brian Jackson said as he watched a worker nimbly climb the side of the structure.

Jackson, the chief operating officer of Stocktons Atlantic City campus, is the face of Stocktons future in the city.

Its a bit of a change for Jackson, who has spent almost 20 years in the Stockton presidents office, working largely behind the scenes, most recently as chief of staff. Recruited by the late Vera King Farris, he stayed on through the tenure of Herman Saatkamp and now Harvey Kesselman.

It is different, but I like the interaction with people, he said of of his new role.

Kesselman said even before he became president, he believed Jackson was the right person to oversee an Atlantic City project.

His knowledge of Atlantic City, commitment to all the communities within the city, and his ability to represent the Office of the President with professionalism and gravitas made the choice quite easy for me, Kesselman wrote in an email.

Born in Boston and raised in Baltimore, Jackson moved to the area after college to take a job at Atlantic Cape Community College, where he was manager of administrative planning, budgeting and research. He serves on several boards and is a founding member of the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey.

As the campus is built, Jacksons role is to liaise with the community, listen to their interests and concerns, and answer questions. He has met with business owners and neighborhood associations and has addressed National Honor Society inductees at Atlantic City High School, some of whom plan to attend Stockton.

We want people to feel like they have a stake in this, Jackson said. We dont want to gate ourselves in.

He said he recently met with the North Beach Residents Association, whose members are interested in how the campus on Albany Avenue in the nearby Chelsea section of Atlantic City could affect them in Ventnor.

Traffic, noise, parking, business opportunities and real estate values are concerns.

Jackson said while more than 500 students will live in the beachfront student housing, faculty and staff may want to live near the campus, and it could have a ripple effect.

The steel frame for the student housing is complete. Steel work is schedule to start on the academic building in July, Jackson said.

Michelle McDonald is the lead academic person for Atlantic City.

Merydawilda Colon is coordinating faculty and student engagement.

Jackson also coordinates with Alex Marino, assistant to the provost, who oversees Stocktons other Atlantic City properties, the Carnegie Building, Dante Hall and the Arts Garage.

Jackson said as the site gets closer to opening in fall 2018, he will spend more time on the logistics of getting the buildings up and running for students and staff. Until then, he is ready and willing to talk about the campus and answer questions.

If they want me, Ill be there, he said.

Jackson said he can be reached at brian.jackson@stockton.edu or by phone at 609-652-5556.
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Ever since Jaws, those looking to spot sharks would look for the ominous shark fin, made famous in the 1975 thriller.

Now, they look at their phones. Or await the latest ping.

Sharks have always called the waters off South Jersey home, but technology and a 3,600-pound, 16-foot great white named Mary Lee have increased the interest and intrigue in the biggest fish to swim off our coast, and changed the way we respond when someone says Shark!

Mary Lee has completely transformed the conversation on sharks from one of fear to one of fascination, said Chris Fischer, founding chairman and expedition leader for OCEARCH, a nonprofit organization that tracks and researches great white sharks.

According to Fischer, OCEARCH has led 28 expeditions across the world, tagging more than 300 sharks, including more than 100 great whites.

Mary Lee was tagged off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in September 2012. OCEARCH tags each shark with a GPS device that emits a ping each time the sharks dorsal fin surfaces above the ocean. Modern technology tracks her movements and those of hundreds of other sharks through Twitter and Facebook, a website and even a cellphone app.

Fischer said another great white, nicknamed Katherine, frequents Florida, and Floridians track her movements with similar delight. He dubbed Katherine another of the rising stars of social media.

But Fischer added, No shark has been engaging as Mary Lee, the most famous real shark in history.

Mary Lee has engaged millions along the East Coast in the five years since she was tagged. One only has to look at the feeding frenzy that occurs on @MaryLeeSharks Twitter account, followed by more than 116,000 people, each time she pings off the Jersey shore.

And with each ping, the conversation is stirred up even more on some South Jersey beaches.

It certainly makes people more intrigued and more aware that we do have big sharks here, said Brian Devlin, of the Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol.

Its not only water temperature and rip current questions that some Long Beach Island lifeguards now answer, but Mary Lees latest location is an increasingly popular one, according to Devlin.

But Mary Lee doesnt have most people worried, just wishing that all the other sharks out there were tagged, Devlin said.

South Jersey fishermen are, of course, well aware of the abundance of sharks off the Jersey Shore.

Just ask Paul Hoffman at Canyon Club in Cape May, who had to borrow the scale from the companion South Jersey Marina in Cape May to weigh a 537-pound mako shark caught last weekend.

That doesnt mean the fishing community isnt tuned into the Mary Lee buzz.

Our employees follow her, and we see the Mary Lee jokes and jabs on social media, said Chris Baliban, owner of 24-HR Bait and Tackle in Egg Harbor Township.

Elizabeth Lacey, assistant professor of marine science at Stockton University, who led a group of students on a shark-tagging expedition off Florida last week, says there are about a dozen species of shark in the waters off South Jersey.

Every time you get in the water, there is a shark around, Lacey said, adding Mary Lees presence off our coast is actually a good sign.

It would actually be more alarming if there werent great white sharks patrolling the corridor from Florida to New Jersey, said Lacey, pointing out that great whites are an incredibly threatened species.

And thats why tracking a mature female great white shark like Mary Lee is so important, Fischer said.

GPS technology allows us to track where great whites are mating, birthing and foraging, and helps us protect these balance keepers of the North Atlantic, Fischer said.

Sharks sit at the top of the ocean food chain as apex predators and keep secondary predators such as squid, seals and rays from wiping out smaller fish, according to Fischer.

In addition to the valuable research being done, OCEARCH believes the Mary Lee phenomenon is helping educate the public about sharks, and having shark information at your fingertips certainly helps.

What Mary Lee is doing is undoing everything Jaws did, Fischer said, hoping perhaps that people wont look for a bigger boat but rather a greater understanding of one of the oceans great predators.

And a bigger app to track all of them.
Past tax returns required for N.J. casino work

I read in The Press that local congressmen voted against a bill that would require the president and future presidential candidates to provide their income tax returns for the last five years. This totally confuses me, considering that in order to work in a casino in New Jersey, a person applying for a license must provide their tax returns for the last five years.

I guess Reps. Frank LoBiondo and Tom MacArthur think it is more import to scrutinize a person working on a casino floor than a person running the county.

Rocco Pepino

Atlantic City

Supports carbon tax with dividend program

It was great to read not one, but two commentaries on May 19 on a carbon tax. And both authors agreed on the connection between carbon dioxide emissions and the warming planet. A great start!

Many share Merrill Matthews view that taxes suppress employment and economic growth, but monthly distribution of this money to households would make it a dividend program. Consumers would be able to buy the goods and services they need, and businesses would have incentives to become more energy efficient and buy power from renewable resources.

Such a plan was proposed earlier this year by the Climate Leadership Council, which includes former Republican Treasury Secretaries George Shultz, Henry Paulson and James Baker III. CEO Ted Halstead and economists Martin S. Feldstein and N. Gregory Mankiw round out the group. It relies on market principles and could generate up to $300 billion per year, while it would make many regulations and mandates obsolete.

Citizens Climate Lobby has a similar proposal: carbon fee and dividend. Like the Shultz plan, the fee would be imposed on fuel producers and gradually rise over time, with dividends sent regularly to households. Both include placing a tariff (border adjustment) on goods made in a country with no comparable fee and reward Americans exporting goods to them.

Its time for people of all political stripes to collaborate on solutions. Rising seas dont care what our politics are.

Anne Maiese

Ventnor City
"We are humbled by the extreme generosity of the Gaulkes and their heartfelt gift," said Sarah Krevans, CEO and president of Sutter Health. "Their support for innovation will help pioneer breakthroughs in care delivery that will transform healthcare here in Northern California and improve patients' experiences throughout the United States. Our physicians and their teams, working in partnership with the innovation that surrounds us here in Northern California, will bring together the power of creativity and technology with the best clinical care to make healthcare more compassionate, accessible and affordable to all."

As part of this transformative gift, Sutter Health will name the lobby of its Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) San Carlos Center in honor of Michael and Judith Gaulke. In addition, Sutter will name its PAMF Palo Alto Center after the Gaulkes in a formal ceremony in the fall.

Sutter's Innovation Hatchery tests promising ideas during 90-day sprints in hospitals and clinics. It focuses on solutions in five key areas: primary care, mothers and babies, mental health, compassionate hospitalization and end-of-life care. The Innovation Hatchery's swift process and unique approach allows for quicker implementation of practices that can benefit patients in real-time and that can shape their experiences for the better.

Innovation Takes Shape at Sutter Health

Sutter Health aims to revolutionize healthcare by making it simpler, engaging and more human. Led by Sutter's first-ever Chief Innovation Officer Chris Waugh, the healthcare network embraces a human-centered design approach that sets out to develop new product and service experiences, forge strategic partnerships with cutting-edge startups and technology companies, and help create a culture of innovation across the organization.

Patients benefit from recent partnerships with Augmedix, OpenIDEO, Lyft and Velano Vascular:

Augmedix: Patients enjoy the undivided attention of their Sutter Health doctors thanks to a pilot featuring Google Glass technology and remote scribes, which frees doctors from notetaking and medical charting during appointments.

Lyft: Emergency Department patients who would not otherwise have a ride upon discharge are provided convenient and timely transportation by the ride-hailing company from Sutter Health's California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco .

. OpenIDEO: Through a partnership with OpenIDEO, Sutter Health drove an important conversation about end-of-life care by sponsoring an online conversation to gather ideas and input from around the world about the universal yet deeply personal subject of dying. Contributors from 90 different countries offered more than 300 ideas in the initial phases of the conversation, with the goal of identifying and supporting compassionate solutions to improve the end-of-life experience for those who are dying  and their loved ones.

Velano Vascular: Patients experience less discomfort during blood draws through a needleless technology developed that nurses are now piloting at Sutter Health's Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Berkeley .

Strong Local Ties Guide Philanthropic Vision to Inspire Real-time Change to Healthcare Delivery

The Gaulkes are longtime Sutter Health Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) patients and advocates. They are cancer survivors, and as a result, healthcare has a personal meaning to them both. Michael serves on the PAMF Community Board of Trustees and is currently the Chair of the Sutter Health Board of Trustees. His experience as Chair of Exponent, Inc., an engineering and scientific consulting firm, will bring ideas from Silicon Valley and tech in general to impact the delivery of healthcare. Judy has a passion for healthcare as well, devoting her time and energy to women's health issues.

"Judy and I made this gift to Sutter Health because we wholeheartedly believe in what the Hatchery is doing to marry promising innovations with what patients need most," Gaulke said. "It's going to take the kind of innovative breakthroughs that come to life every day in Northern California to make a difference in healthcare, and we believe in Sutter's approach to 'hatching' new ideas to improve care quality and access for the better. Judy and I are incredibly optimistic. We believe that investing today will increase our chances of seeing significant change in healthcare tomorrow, so that there is real progress in our lifetime."

About Sutter Health

Sutter Health is one of the nation's top five large health systems thanks to its integrated network of physician, employee and volunteer pioneersmore than 60,000 people strong. Rooted in Sutter Health's not-for-profit mission, these team members partner to deliver exceptional care that feels personal. From physician offices to hospitals to outpatient care centers and home services, they proudly support and learn from the more than 3 million people in their carenearly 1 percent of the U.S. population, in one of the most diverse and innovative regions in the world. Sutter pioneers adopt new technologies, make novel discoveries and embrace creative thinking to help patients and communities achieve their best health. From its street nurse program that provides check-ups for homeless people, to telemedicine-aided specialist consultations, to walk-in care clinics, to smart glass technology, the Sutter Health team goes beyond traditional models to make care more convenient and to nurture and empower people throughout their medical journey.

SOURCE Sutter Health

Related Links

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DALLAS, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 2, 2017, Delaware enacted Senate Bill 13 ("S.B. 13") into law, which substantially revised and updated the Delaware Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Law. Section 1176(b) of S.B. 13 directed the Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to promulgate regulations on or before July 1, 2017, "regarding the method of estimation to create consistency in any examination or voluntary disclosure." S.B. 13 further provided that such regulations must include permissible base periods, items to be excluded from the estimation calculation, aging criteria for outstanding and voided checks, and a definition of what constitutes complete and researchable records. In early May, proposed Delaware legislation, S.B. 79, was introduced in the Delaware General Assembly, which would provide certain amendments to the Delaware Abandoned and Unclaimed Property law. On June 2, additional amendments were introduced in the General Assembly in the form of "Senate Substitute 1" to proposed legislation S.B. 79. Below are significant aspects of S.B. 79, as amended by Senate Substitute 1.

Estimation Regulations

As amended, the Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the Secretary of State, now has until December 1, 2017 (not July 1, 2017 as outlined in S.B.13) to adopt estimation regulations. Holders currently under a Delaware audit will still have until 60 days after the adoption of the estimation regulations to convert to a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) with the Secretary of State or enter into an expedited audit arrangement with the Department of Finance. However, holders undergoing a securities audit, in which estimation is not required, may not elect to convert such audit into a VDA. Also, holders whose Delaware audit was not commenced on or before July 22, 2015, may not elect to convert such audit into a VDA.

State Escheator Waiver of Penalties or Interest

The State Escheator retains the ability to waive interest and/or penalties in certain situations. However, as noted in the Legislative Synopsis to Senate Substitute 1, certain changes are made to the State Escheator's authority to grant waivers of interest. The rules are as follows. First, with respect to holders who enter into an expedited audit arrangement, Sec. 1183(a)(2) of the law as amended provides that interest will be waived for any holder who notifies the Department of Finance within 60 days of the adoption of the estimation regulations of their intent to enter into an expedited audit process, provided the holder "acts in good faith" to complete the examination. Second, with respect to unclaimed property remitted to the state before January 1, 2019, interest may be waived by the State Escheator, in whole or in part, for "good cause shown" for both property associated with a required report, as well as for property associated with a "securities examination in which estimation is not required"; for other situations, 50% of interest may be waived. See Section 1185(b) of the law. Third, with respect to unclaimed property remitted to the state on or after January 1, 2019, interest may be waived by the State Escheator, in whole or in part, for "good cause shown" for property associated with a required report; 50% of other interest may be waived. See Section 1185(c) of the law. However, the proposed statutory language in Senate Substitute 1 indicates that waivers may not be provided by the State Escheator for expedited audits, presumably because the law provides for a "statutory waiver of interest" for holders who have acted in good faith to complete the expedited audit. See Section 1185(c) of the law. It's not entirely clear what would happen from a penalties and interest standpoint if a holder undergoing an expedited audit were found not to have acted in good faith to complete the audit.

Due Diligence/Owner Notification

The proposed legislation provides that the new due diligence provisions, which generally provided that the due diligence notices be sent via first-class U.S. mail not more than 120 days nor less than 60 days before filing the report, will have a delayed effective date until July 1, 2017. The Legislative Synopsis to S.B. 79 indicates that this is designed to ensure that holders have sufficient time to comply with S.B. 13's due diligence requirements.

Foreign Property

The proposed legislation clarifies that Delaware will defend and indemnify a holder against claims made by a foreign jurisdiction for property paid or delivered to the State Escheator in good faith.

Limitations on Assignment/Transfer of Liabilities

As enacted by S.B. 13, language was added to the law, Section 1147(a), providing that a holder could not assign or otherwise transfer its obligation to hold, pay, or deliver property or to otherwise comply with the duties of the law, other than to a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of the holder. S.B. 79 as originally drafted purported to repeal that anti-assignment language. However, the Legislative Synopsis to Senate Substitute 1 states that the Substitute language differs from S.B. 79, in that "[i]t makes no change to Section 1147(a) of Title 12." Thus, assuming the language in the Substitute ultimately is enacted into law, it appears the original language found in S.B. 13 remains in effect.

Summary

We caveat that the proposed changes to Delaware law are not yet part of the law. When final regulations relating to estimations are issued by the Department of Finance after consultation with the Department of State, qualifying holders would have only 60 days after the final estimation regulations are adopted to make the significant decisions regarding conversion of existing audits into a VDA or an expedited audit. Because audits are increasing from other states, holders are encouraged to continue vigilant efforts to ascertain and address areas of potential unclaimed property exposure.

Holders seeking additional clarification on how these matters relate to their specific factual situations may contact their designated Ryan Abandoned and Unclaimed Property (AUP) representative.

About Ryan

Ryan is an award-winning global tax services firm, with the largest indirect and property tax practices in North America and the seventh largest corporate tax practice in the United States. With global headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the Firm provides a comprehensive range of state, local, federal, and international tax advisory and consulting services on a multi-jurisdictional basis, including audit defense, tax recovery, credits and incentives, tax process improvement and automation, tax appeals, tax compliance, and strategic planning. Ryan is a five-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Empowered by the dynamic myRyan work environment, which is widely recognized as the most innovative in the tax services industry, Ryan's multi-disciplinary team of more than 2,100 professionals and associates serves over 12,000 clients in more than 40 countries, including many of the world's most prominent Global 5000 companies. More information about Ryan can be found at ryan.com.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Mark A. Paolillo

Principal

Abandoned and Unclaimed Property

Ryan

857.288.1976

[email protected]

Susan Han

Principal

Abandoned and Unclaimed Property

Ryan

442.244.2447

[email protected]

Jeff Henshall

Principal

Abandoned and Unclaimed Property

Ryan

404.365.0922

[email protected]

SOURCE Ryan

Related Links

http://www.ryan.com


"When looking at mining, oil and gas and utilities operations, a more durable, capable and extreme truck has been in high demand for years," states Acela Truck Company President and CEO David Ronsen. "We're here to fill that niche need and help our customers improve productivity while cutting their capital costs with the most capable truck chassis they've ever had." Acela embarked on developing its powerful line of vehicles after several of their Canadian Oil Sands clients approached Ronsen explaining that there wasn't a truck that could handle the extreme, rugged environments of the Canadian Oil Sands with a long life-cycle and a cost-effective price point. Versions of the Acela Monterra have proven themselves in the mines for over 7 years with a 96% documented uptime.

Acela Truck Company will join Canadian truck body builder Brutus Truck Bodies at the Global Petroleum Show. "The Monterra is undoubtedly the most extreme-duty truck ever introduced into the Canadian Market," notes Brutus CEO Curtis Turchak. "We are proud to be part of the official launch of Acela. We're confident that this line of trucks will be the number-one choice of chassis in the Canadian Oil Sands and related markets."

FMTVs were originally developed for the U.S. Army to withstand the harshest conditions during combat, and have achieved the US Army's coveted "ultra-reliable" status for 17 years running. Acela Truck Company's proprietary reset process restores FMTVs for commercial use. The company's first model of trucksthe Monterraboasts the industry's most robust and dependable design features, including drivetrains, frames, axles, suspensions, tires and other components specially designed to withstand the rigors of the most extreme environments. The four pillars of the Acela Truck Advantage are:

Total Cost of Ownership

Ease of Maintenance

On or Off-Highway Capability

One-Year Warranty

About Acela Truck Company: Acela Truck Company produces the most extreme-duty 4x4 and 6x6 trucks for commercial use in North America.

SOURCE Acela Truck Company

Related Links

http://www.acelatruck.com


VANCOUVER, June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Alexco Resource Corp. ("Alexco") (NYSEMKT:AXU, TSX:AXR) announces the results of matters voted upon at its Annual General Meeting (the "Meeting") of shareholders held earlier today.

A total of 50,367,684 votes were cast, representing 51.95% of the issued and outstanding common shares as of the record date for the Meeting. All nominated directors were elected with voting results tabulated as follows:

Nominee Votes For Percentage Votes Withheld Percentage









Clynton R. Nauman 20,771,701 97.5% 537,622 2.5% Elaine Sanders 20,769,794 97.5% 539,529 2.5% Michael D. Winn 19,665,830 92.3% 1,643,493 7.7% Terry Krepiakevich 20,761,421 97.4% 547,902 2.6% Richard N. Zimmer 20,774,193 97.5% 535,130 2.5% Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse 19,647,127 92.2% 1,662,196 7.8%

Shareholders also voted 97.9% in favour to set the number of directors at six. In addition, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, were re-appointed as auditors with 98.3% voting support.

About Alexco

Alexco holds the historical high grade Keno Hill Silver District located in Canada's Yukon Territory. Employing a unique business model, Alexco also provides mine-related environmental services, remediation technologies and reclamation and mine closure services to both government and industry clients through the Alexco Environmental Group, its wholly-owned environmental services division.

SOURCE Alexco Resource Corp.

Related Links

www.alexcoresource.com


OAKVILLE, ON, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. ("APUC" or the "Company") (TSX: AQN, NYSE: AQN) today announced that at the Company's annual and special meeting of shareholders held on June 8, 2017, all of the nominees listed in its management information circular dated May 11, 2017 were elected as directors of APUC until the next annual meeting of shareholders. The detailed voting results for the election of directors are set out below.

On a vote by ballot, each of the following nine nominees proposed by management was elected as a director of APUC. The results of the ballot were as follows:

Nominee Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld Christopher Ball 178,274,831 99.18% 1,478,648 0.82% Melissa Stapleton Barnes 179,149,857 99.66% 603,622 0.34% Christopher Jarratt 151,104,734 84.06% 28,648,745 15.94% D. Randy Laney 179,177,320 99.68% 576,159 0.32% Kenneth Moore 179,214,567 99.70% 538,912 0.30% Ian Robertson 179,229,862 99.71% 523,617 0.29% Masheed Saidi 179,123,687 99.65% 629,792 0.35% Dilek Samil 179,125,253 99.65% 628,226 0.35% George Steeves 170,773,401 95.00% 8,980,078 5.00%

Shareholders also voted in favour of an advisory resolution on the Company's approach to executive compensation, an amendment to the Company's Performance and Restricted Share Unit Plan, and the re-appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as the Company's auditor for the upcoming year.

Final voting results on all matters voted on at the annual and special meeting of shareholders will be filed with Canadian and U.S. securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov.

About Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.

APUC is a North American diversified generation, transmission and distribution utility with $10 billion of total assets. Through its two business groups, APUC provides rate regulated natural gas, water, and electricity generation, transmission, and distribution utility services to approximately 780,000 customers in the United States, and is committed to being a North American leader in the generation of clean energy through its portfolio of long term contracted wind, solar and hydroelectric generating facilities representing more than 1,300 MW of installed capacity. APUC delivers continuing growth through an expanding pipeline of renewable energy development projects, organic growth within its rate regulated generation, distribution and transmission businesses, and the pursuit of accretive acquisitions. Common shares and preferred shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols AQN, AQN.PR.A, and AQN.PR.D. APUC's common shares are also listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AQN.

Visit APUC at www.AlgonquinPowerandUtilities.com and follow us on Twitter @AQN_Utilities.

SOURCE Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.

Related Links

http://www.algonquinpower.com


ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alton Clark Realty, an independently owned and operated real estate brokerage company in Altamonte Springs, announced today that it has joined the CENTURY 21 Franchise System and will now do business as CENTURY 21 Alton Clark. The company will continue to provide full-service real estate services to buyers and sellers throughout Seminole County in the Greater-Orlando area. They will now benefit from the world-class marketing, agent training resources, technology and market leading productivity tools provided through its affiliation with the iconic CENTURY 21 brand.

"CENTURY 21 Alton Clark is a prime example of the success that is possible when a business give all of its clients the 'red carpet treatment,' regardless of their budget and real estate needs," said Greg Sexton, Chief Operating Officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. "We are thrilled to welcome James and Christine Clark and their entire team at CENTURY 21 Alton Clark to the CENTURY 21 family, and continue to watch them thrive in the hot Florida market."

Broker/owner James Clark brings more than 20 years of real estate experience to the table, from a variety of facets of the business. As an experienced Realtor and marketer of luxury listings, investment properties, Clark is able to provide a 360-degree perspective to his clients. Not only has he gained a wealth of on-the-ground experience over his flourishing career, but Clark credits his grandfather's passion and knowledge for real estate investing that sparked his early love and deep understanding for the industry.

"Our goal at CENTURY 21 Alton Clark has always been to provide our agents with the best hands-on experience and training, so they can in turn become an unmatched asset to their clients," said Clark. "I'm excited for my team to utilize the wealth of tools and technology provided by the CENTURY 21 brand to create a customer service experience where passion and purpose come together to fulfill even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our clients."

Prior to starting the company, Clark served his community for 14 years as a Lieutenant with the Seminole County Sheriff's Department. He also credits these varied connections with his neighborhood for his continued success in the Greater-Orlando market.

About CENTURY 21 Alton Clark

CENTURY 21 Alton Clark is a full service real estate company, serving the buyers and sellers of Altamonte Springs and the Greater-Orlando area. The brokerage is located at 241 South Westmonte Dr. Altamonte Springs, FL 32719.

CENTURY 21 Alton Clark is an independently owned and operated franchise affiliate of Century 21 Real Estate LLC (century21.com), franchisor of the iconic CENTURY 21 brand, comprised of approximately 7,330 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in 77 countries and territories worldwide with more than 110,000 independent sales professionals.

Media Contact:

Colin Brown

MullenLowe for CENTURY 21 Alton Clark

617.226.9749

[email protected]

SOURCE CENTURY 21 Alton Clark

Related Links

http://century21.com


Ashford's generous grant was used to provide students from San Marcos Elementary School the opportunity to attend 6 th Grade Camp at Cuyamaca Outdoor School. Children attending the weeklong program at Cuyamaca Outdoor School were able to experience and learn about nature, science, and life skills.

"Ashford University is proud to support the Outdoor Education Foundation's 'New to Camp' Program," said Dr. Tony Farrell, Ashford University's executive dean of the College of Education. "We believe every child is deserving of a quality education, and the experience students receive from attending Cuyamaca Outdoor School camp will only enhance a student's educational success."

Ashford's partnership with SDCOE spans eight years, and this partnership has provided more than $65,000 in donation support to SDCOE's Cuyamaca Outdoor School through the Outdoor Education Foundation. Through this program, students are given the hands-on opportunity to learn more about science and nature. Cuyamaca Outdoor School, which provides outdoor education to more than 11,000 students every year, is SDCOE's sixth grade camp program serving the Southern California region.

To learn more about the SDCOE and its Outdoor Education Foundation, visit www.sdcoe.net.

About Ashford University

Where heritage meets innovation  that's Ashford University. At Ashford, students discover relevant degree programs, innovative technology, and cherished tradition. Ashford offers associates, bachelor's, and master's degree programs online, allowing students to balance life by providing the flexibility to do school work anywhere, anytime. For more information, please visit www.ashford.edu, www.facebook.com/ashforduniversity, www.twitter.com/AshfordU, or call Marianne Perez, Media Relations Manager, at 858.513.9240 x11636.

SOURCE Ashford University

Related Links

http://www.ashford.edu


MIAMI, June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of National Best Friends Day on June 8, sister ships Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest made a rare appearance together in Barcelona, meeting for the first time since September 2013 in Venice. In honor of this unique event, a number of perfect pairing activities fit for the best of friends took place for guests onboard, as well as social contests for those tuning in from afar.

Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest United to Celebrate Best Friends Day With a Rare Meeting Together in Barcelona

Favored by travelers looking for rich cultural immersions and new experiences, Azamara is known for its signature Destination Immersion programming, which provides unique voyages and curated shore excursions. The up-market cruise line rarely repeats an itinerary, which made this meeting of its two ships distinctive as Azamara Quest and Azamara Journey are seldom found in the same region of the world, let alone the same port.

"Our Destination Immersion promise means that our boutique hotels at sea often are oceans apart as they chart our exceptional, unique itineraries," said Larry Pimentel, President & CEO of Azamara Club Cruises. "The reuniting of Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest after almost 4 years is a significant reminder that, while we deliver unmatched experiences on land across the globe, we always collectively come together to up the ante with new and exciting offerings for our guests."

Best Friends Day is being celebrated onboard with a number of unique guest experiences and offers. A Chef's Table raffle will take place, awarding at random a lucky stateroom winner on each ship a dinner for two. In the spirit of honoring pairs, the corresponding stateroom on the sister ship will also be declared a winner.

As the ships sailed together out of the Barcelona port, the momentous occasion was marked with a sail-away party on the pool decks of both the Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest. Azamara Journey's Cruise Director Eric DeGray led a fleet wide toast as guests onboard both ships simultaneously cheered in celebration, followed by a night of dancing under the stars.

Azamara fans joining the celebration from afar can partake in the fun by visiting their photo gallery, or following @AzamaraVoyages, @AzamaraJourney, @AzamaraQuest and #SistersMeet on Twitter. Now through June 14, travelers looking to plan their next AzAmazing adventure with their best travel companion can head to AzamaraClubCruises.com/sistersmeet and vote for how they would spend a day in Barcelona, receiving a promotion code offering $300-$500 onboard credit* to apply towards their next voyage.

Azamara Journey kicked off its 7-Night Tapas and Wine voyage with the sister ship sailing celebration and will continue on a journey through Spain and Portugal, while Azamara Quest is nearing the end of an 11-Night Mediterranean sailing which will soon disembark in France.

Azamara is more than a cruise line; it's the brand that delivers a rich destination experience worldwide by staying longer and allowing guests to experience more. For a full list of Azamara Voyages, visit https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com. For more information, travelers can call their travel professional, 1-877-999-9553 or visit our website. Connect with Azamara on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and follow President and CEO @LarryPimentel on Twitter. Travel agent professionals can access more information and make reservations at www.CruisingPower.com.

Terms & Conditions:

Our Pricing and Savings Policy: All rates are per person, based on double occupancy, cruise only, in USD, and subject to availability. Rates may vary by ship, departure date, and stateroom category. All rates, savings offers and itineraries are subject to change without notice. Savings offers may be withdrawn at any time.

2017 Sisters Meet Sale - offer is valid for new individual bookings only for 2018 Azamara Club Cruises voyages excluding the Quest 3/9/18 sailing. New bookings must be made between June 7-14, 2017 to qualify for the offer. Offer applies to ocean view and higher stateroom categories. Please ensure promotion "SISTERSMEET" is listed in the reservation at the time of booking. Limit one offer per stateroom.

Onboard Credit ("OBC") amount is per stateroom, in USD, has no cash value, is not redeemable for cash, is not transferable, and will expire if not used by 10:00 PM on the last evening of the voyage. OBC amount is based on double occupancy and varies by stateroom category: $300 for ocean view, $400 for balcony, $500 for suites. OBC for single bookings will be prorated based on single supplement paid ($500 for 200% supplement, $375 for 150% supplement, $312.50 for 125%, etc.). OBC cannot be used in the Casino or for future cruise bookings. OBC offer is combinable with Best Rate, Back to Back savings, early booking bonus, and reduced single supplements. Unless otherwise noted, offer is not combinable with discounted rates including Net Rates, Travel Agent Rates, Interline rates, closed user rates, certificates, or any other Onboard Credit offer or promotion. After the offer period, the offer will be removed from the booking if the guest cancels and reinstates the booking, applies a fare change, or changes the ship or sail date of the booking; certain other changes to the booking may also result in removal of the offer. Refer to azamaraclubcruises.com for complete terms and conditions. Azamara reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions or withdraw the offer; and to change or update fares, fees and surcharges at any time without prior notice.  2017 Azamara Club Cruises. Ships' registry: Malta.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Suzanne Joyella (212) 445-8402

[email protected]

SOURCE Azamara Club Cruises

Related Links

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com


SAN DIEGO, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bentley & More LLP, in conjunction with Berman & Riedel, LLP, filed an insurance bad faith lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court, alleging that Preferred Contractors Insurance Company RRG refused to settle claims against PCIC's insured, Online Builders, abandoned its insured just before trial, and failed to attend a scheduled arbitration, which resulted in a judgment in excess of $67 million.

The initial lawsuit, Hector Mede, et al. v. WRKB Builders Inc. d/b/a Online Builders, was filed in April of 2015 and stated that in September of 2014, Hector Mede suffered a catastrophic personal injury while working at a construction site in Escondido, CA. Online Builders oversaw the construction site, and was responsible for worksite safety. Part of the project involved removing HVAC equipment on a rooftop, which left holes that Online Builders promised to safeguard. But those holes remained uncovered weeks later, and when Mr. Mede went onto the rooftop to retrieve some personal items he fell through an uncovered, unmarked and dangerous hole. As a result of his fall, Mr. Mede suffered the following:

Traumatic brain injury;

Ischemic brain injury (strokes) as a secondary consequence of his carotid artery dissection;

Optic nerve injuries to both eyes;

Multiple other severe organ and orthopedic injuries; and

A great number of additional injuries, such as spastic and ataxic quadriplegia, spastic dysarthria, blindness, chronic pain, neurogenic bowel/bladder, and chronic sleep and emotional difficulties.

"Pursuant to California law, PCIC had an obligation to protect Online Builders, and settle claims against its insured when possible," said attorney Gregory L. Bentley of Bentley & More, LLP. "Despite numerous opportunities to do so, they abandoned their insured, leaving Online Builders with a massive judgment and depriving Mr. Mede of the justice he so deserves."

When the initial lawsuit was filed, Online Builders was insured through a Contractor Platinum Program Commercial General Liability Policy issued by Preferred Contractors Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, LLC. The plaintiffs allege that Mr. Mede's injuries fall within the basic coverage provisions of the PCIC policy, and in the initial lawsuit, Mr. Mede's counsel offered to settle for the policy limits multiple times. These offers were open for more than seven months and expired on March 2, 2016. By that date, discovery had been completed, witnesses had been deposed and PCIC had access to Mr. Mede's extensive medical records, which clearly showed he had more than $1.5 million in medical expenses already paid, and had lost earnings and future medical costs in excess of $13 million as well as other damages to consider. Despite the facts it had on hand, PCIC allowed the demand to lapse and then it pulled the defense it had been providing, all but abandoning Online Builders a mere two months before trial.

Following PCIC's conduct, the plaintiffs and Online Builders engaged in a binding arbitration before a referee appointed by the Superior Court to determine all issues under California Code of Civil Procedure  638. PCIC was repeatedly invited to attend the arbitration, defend its insured, and fulfill its obligations under the Policy, but it chose instead to ignore those invitations, and leave Online Builders to twist in the wind. The subsequent judgment against Online builders was staggering. The amount of the judgment after the offset was $59,550,105.00; prejudgment interest was also awarded in the amount of $8,255,440.60. Interest on the judgment amount continues to accrue at 10% per year. Online Builders was 100% at fault, and the award provides a clear inference as to the value of the plaintiff's case at the time the policy limit demand was rejected by PCIC.

"PCIC had a clear duty to represent its insured and chose not to do so," said William M. Berman of Berman & Riedel, LLP. "It's egregious for an insurance company as sophisticated as this to pretend it can walk away from its contractual obligations in an obvious attempt to put money over its customers."

SIS Wholesale Insurance Services is the parent company of PCIC and is located in Carlsbad, CA. SIS is licensed and distributes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The Policy was obtained through insurance broker Jessie W. Nettles Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Allstar Premier Insurance Services.

The case name is Hector Mede, et al. v Preferred Contractors Insurance Company Risk Retention Group LLC, et al., San Diego Superior Court, Case No. 37-2017-00020716-CU-IC-NC.

About Bentley & More LLP

Bentley & More LLP specializes in working closely with clients to deeply understand their lives and tell their individual stories. The firm's success comes from tailoring each solution to a client's particular needs. That success is measured in far more than awards, verdicts, and peer recognition, it is measured in the real differences made in our clients' quality of life. Bentley & More focuses on the representation of consumers in the fields of catastrophic personal injury, product liability, insurance bad faith, and worker's compensation, with particular expertise in matters that cross over multiple fields.

About Berman & Riedel, LLP

Berman & Riedel, LLP is a prominent San Diego law firm representing the victims of serious personal injury and wrongful death incidents throughout the State of California. Our team of renowned injury attorneys and professional staff vigorously advocates on behalf of those who are injured or affected by the negligent/harmful acts of others, and we pride ourselves on working tirelessly to obtain exceptional settlements and verdicts on behalf of our clients. Berman & Riedel focuses on the fields of catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, construction site accidents, product liability, vehicular accidents, and elder abuse & neglect.

Greg Bentley, Bentley & More LLP, 949-870-3800

SOURCE Bentley & More LLP
Marshal described Beyondsoft Co. Ltd. as a company established in 1995 and first company in China to provide program testing as its main service (Stock code: 002649). They lead the Chinese software development industry's entry into the world market with a powerful brand advantage, strong international delivery capability, highly skilled innovators, and a visibly competitive industry core among other advantages.

Marshal also mentioned that Beyondsoft (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. is Beyondsoft's eastern regional headquarters with inherent opportunities in supporting Shanghai Yangtze create the blueprint of one of the top scientific cities in the world. Last year, with the support of the Shanghai government and Yangtze administration committee, Beyondsoft (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. established Beyondsoft's global research center. Next the company is looking to follow the "Belt and Road" developmental strategy to establish a world-class technological development center with Shanghai; create an interdisciplinary, cross-field, international platform for research in the Yangtze Science City; further broaden the global market; share the next wave of information technology development opportunities; and steadily plan and perfect Beyondsoft's international development system.

The company, as the Shanghai Yangtze high-tech zone core industry innovator, is motivated to contribute more to the Shanghai Yangtze Science City. The company will invest large development projects, core development team, and large-scale projects in the Yangtze Science City. Currently we have many basic projects, such as a support platform for small businesses, cloud-based technology to process and industrialize finances, risk prediction system for finances, Beyondsoft Smart IoT.

As Shanghai's international city image promotional event, "Attractive Shanghai" has already been held at London, Milan, New York, and other cities many times. The success of "Innovative Shanghai" China-US Zhangjiang Forum pushed the "Attractive Shanghai" city image promotional event to its peak. This discussion also focused on the environment for innovation and development between China and the U.S., exploring the possibility of China and the U.S. working together in the field of technological innovation. A number of political leaders from China and the United States, for instance, Information Office of Shanghai Municipality delegation, Shanghai Pudong New Area Government delegation, Consulate-general of China in Los Angeles representative, and hundreds of overseas Chinese, business elites and academics celebrities attended the event of the day. Catherine Bago, sheriff of Los Angels county, Xu Wei, spokesman of Shanghai Municipal Peoples Government, deputy secretary of Pudong New area committee, Shan Shaojun, representative of head of Pudong New Area, Sun Lushan, deputy consul-general of Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, and other hundreds of Chinese and the US politicians, academics and industrialists were invited to attend the event.

SOURCE Beyondsoft Corporation
SINGAPORE, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- India's second-largest state-controlled refiner, Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), has revised its naphtha formula price to include fob Mideast Gulf naphtha assessments published by leading global commodity price reporting agency Argus. BPCL has sold 120,000t of naphtha in deals priced against the mean prices of Argus and price reporting agency Platts' naphtha assessments, since revising its formula price.

Argus naphtha prices are currently used by India's largest state-owned refiner IOC and Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil firm Adnoc in their spot sales. Naphtha is likely to remain the main feedstock for the fast-growing petrochemical industry in Asia for years to come. South Korea, a key petrochemicals hub in northeast Asia, imported over 550,000 b/d of naphtha last year, an increase of more than 7pc since 2011. Refiners in India and the Mideast Gulf supply almost half of northeast Asia's naphtha imports.

Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: "We are pleased that BPCL has selected Argus prices for its naphtha exports in its recent tenders. This shows the quality of our price reporting and the confidence of the market in our methodology."

Argus publishes daily Mideast Gulf spot naphtha price assessments in Argus Asia-Pacific Products. This report provides price assessments, news and market commentary on the international bulk spot markets for oil products in Asia-Pacific and the Pacific Rim.

Contact Information

London

Seana Lanigan

+44 20 7780 4272

[email protected]

Houston

Scott Berg

+ 1 713 968 0000

[email protected]

Singapore

Jim Nicholson

+65 6496 9960

[email protected]

About Argus Media

Argus is an independent media organisation with almost 850 staff. It is headquartered in London and has 21 offices in the world's principal commodity trading and production centres. Argus produces price assessments and analysis of international energy and other commodity markets, and offers bespoke consulting services and industry-leading conferences.

Companies in 140 countries around the world use Argus data to index physical trade and as benchmarks in financial derivative markets as well as for analysis and planning purposes.

Argus was founded in 1970 and is a privately held UK-registered company. It is owned by staff shareholders and global growth equity firm General Atlantic.

ARGUS, the ARGUS logo, ARGUS MEDIA, ARGUS DIRECT, ARGUS OPEN MARKETS, AOM, FMB, DEWITT, JIM JORDAN & ASSOCIATES, JJ&A, FUNDALYTICS, METAL-PAGES, METALPRICES.COM, Argus publication titles and Argus index names are trademarks of Argus Media Limited.

More on the publication and price assessment methodology

SOURCE Argus Media

Related Links

http://www.argusmedia.com


GRANVILLE, Ohio, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has recognized Denison University President Adam Weinberg for his exceptional efforts to promote and develop innovative approaches to career readiness and development with the inaugural 2017 Career Services Champion Award. The honor was awarded to President Weinberg at the NACE conference in Las Vegas on June 8.

Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director, said, "We inaugurated the NACE Career Services Champion Award to highlight a college or university president who has demonstrated forward-thinking or risk-taking leadership in support of career services/education; motivated a campus to embrace career services/education and provided the support to make it successful; supported career-related programming and internships for students from all economic backgrounds; supported the establishment of career-readiness programming; and supported career services/education beyond his or her own institution. As the first recipient of this award, Adam Weinberg sets an industry standard, and we look forward to bearing witness to his work at Denison in the future."

Sheila Curran, a higher education consultant who works with colleges around the country on career transformation, was one of Weinberg's nominators. "I've been deeply impressed and excited by the leadership of Adam Weinberg, whose vision for career exploration encompasses the entire campus. He thinks very holistically about how students prepare themselves for their future  and he recognizes that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach simply doesn't work for everyone."

She added, "President Weinberg inspires all parts of the community to pull together to help Denison's students, not just for their first job, but for the rest of their lives. He's continually asking what can we do during students' time on campus that will positively affect their life-long trajectory  how can we help their lives hold more meaning."

"He has established career readiness as a top priority of our strategic plan," Laurel Kennedy, vice president for student development at Denison, said of Weinberg. "On his watch, the newly endowed and named Knowlton Center for Career Exploration has doubled both its footprint and its staff. Resources are in place to support Denison students via internships, workplace skills training, national and global networking ventures, and new learning-by-doing programs. His core desire is to make Denison the best place for every student, not just those from advantaged backgrounds, to achieve lifelong personal, professional and civic success."

"President Weinberg believes that some of the best learning is relational and career readiness is no exception. Through joint efforts of the president and academic leaders, faculty are committed to and increasingly involved in career initiatives being developed by Knowlton staff. Trustees, alumni and parents are actively engaging as mentors, volunteers and donors," Kennedy added. "And, with his vision and support, we have created on-line delivery of an array of tactical professional skills-development modules designed for Denison students, as well as creative externship experiences and career excursions that connect students to mentors. The NACE award bears out the strong and thoughtful work we are doing at Denison to support our students as they achieve life-long success."

President Weinberg said, "We want our graduates to be able to answer three questions: what kind of life do I want to live; how do careers and professions help people build those kinds of lives; and how do I use my time at Denison to develop the skills, values, habits, experiences and networks to get started."

Weinberg added, "Denison is a great college with a long record of unlocking the potential of our students to be the architects of their lives. I am proud of the work we are currently doing to continue that Denison tradition."

Established in 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) connects more than 7,900 college career services professionals at nearly 2,000 colleges and universities nationwide, more than 3,000 university relations and recruiting professionals, and the business affiliates that serve this community. NACE is the leading source of information on the employment of the college educated, and forecasts hiring and trends in the job market; tracks starting salaries, recruiting and hiring practices, and student attitudes and outcomes; and identifies best practices and benchmarks.

Contact:

Ginny Sharkey

[email protected]

740-587-6266

SOURCE Denison University

Related Links

http://www.denison.edu


With favorable factors such as a user base of more than 1 billion and growing demands for personal financial services, does China have the opportunity to dominate the global FinTech industry development? At the summit, CEO of Neo Financial, Linda Wong and McKinsey partner, Vinayak HV, launched an engaging discussion on the topic of "China vs The World: Who Will Win The FinTech Revolution?"

Strong Influence, but will it be difficult to apply this business model worldwide?

McKinsey's partner, Vinayak HV, acknowledges China's current influence. However, he casted doubts that China's FinTech will continue to take the lead in the future, especially after 20 years. He shared the possibility that China may be overtaken by other Asian countries and suggested that China's FinTech model of putting technology before finance may be difficult to copy and apply in other markets. Secondly, China's FinTech industry has yet to experience a complete economic cycle and therefore needs to undergo market test.

"It is precisely because of technology that allows Internet finance companies to better provide financial services with the Internet thought process in mind. This is a very important starting point. Simultaneously, technology ensures the quality of risk control and compliance with regulatory management. The market has vast potential," Linda noted. As one of the pioneers of China's Internet finance industry, she has witnessed the rise of Internet finance and the step-by-step process of the disruption of traditional banking. She believes that China's economy environment, business model, the uniqueness of market demand, has created the "Uniqueness" of China's FinTech business model. This is one of the important reasons why China's FinTech industry is in the world's leading position.

Linda further pointed out the similarity between China's e-commerce development model and the development of Internet finance. The latter can predict its future development based on the former. The e-commerce industry covers online shopping, logistics, Big Data on personal consumption and personal credit etc. With a strong e-commerce industry, China was ultimately able to promote the establishment of the entire ecosystem.

Market potential is big, but is regulation the key to China's FinTech development?

According to CEO of Neo Financial, Linda, China has one-fifth of the world's population and the growth of the new middle class has stimulated a huge demand for personal financial services. In the future, China's FinTech still has vast potential in terms of financing, investment and market size. Chinese FinTech's performance in recent years has captured the world's attention. In 2015, China has become the world's largest FinTech market.

"In the process of globalization, China's FinTech has to go global too. In the face of current regulatory tightening, no one can tell if the development of China's FinTech may be hampered." McKinsey partners believe that the rapid development of China's Internet finance industry holds a certain degree of risk, which may become a constraint to its future development. Currently, other markets in Asia are developing rapidly as well and they have the same market potential. The shortcomings of the credit environment and the lack of credit awareness in China are urgent problems to be solved.

In this regard, Linda shared that although China's FinTech has yet to establish a mature personal credit mechanism like those in developed countries, she believes that with the implementation of regulatory practices and advancement of technology, this challenge will gradually be resolved along with the fine-tuning of the market.

At the meeting, Vinayak HV said that regulatory tightening could affect the continued development of FinTech in China. On the implementation of regulation, Linda Wong believes it is timely. This allows the whole ecosystem to have a more sustainable and stable development. Most of China's FinTech companies are not large and are still in their infancy. However, with rapid development and the increasing impact of FinTech, if there is a lack of regulatory authority, it will lead to risk accumulation. Therefore regulatory intervention is necessary for both the Chinese market and the global market.

Event Introduction

With the arrival of FinTech, the traditional finance industry is facing a challenge that cannot be ignored. There are views that FinTech is the future of finance, as well as views that FinTech is seriously overestimated. On June 2, global leading finance magazine, The Economist, hosted a summit in Hong Kong, titled "Finance Disrupted: Asia", with more than 200 policymakers, senior business leaders, entrepreneurs and leading specialists attending the conference to explore the future of global FinTech and the impact of the digitalization of the financial services industry. Economists hope that elites from different fields are able to communicate with each other at this summit, coming together to look at how technology-driven disruptive enterprises are shaping the Asian financial scene, as well as exploring the roles of old and new enterprises in this ever-changing financial eco-system.

SOURCE Neo Financial
CHICAGO, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The largest mariachi event in the U.S. attracting more than 18,000 patrons returns for the third consecutive year featuring an extraordinary performance by Ballet Folklorico de la Universidad de Colima at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on June 24, 2017, and a seven hour mariachi extravaganza at Millennium Park featuring the world's greatest mariachi bands on June 25, 2017.

The Chicago Mariachi Festival is the largest mariachi event in the U.S. attracting more than 18,000 patrons to Millennium Park. Ballet Folklorico de la Universidad de Colima is one of Mexico's leading cultural arts institutions and most renowned folkloric dance company.

Making their Chicago debut, Ballet Folklorico de la Universidad de Colima presents a breathtaking Mexican folkloric dance spectacle, Orgullo de la Tierra Mia, featuring 36 dancers and 24 live musicians. Founded 36 years ago under the direction of legendary Mexican choreographer Rafael Zamarripa, Ballet Folklorico de la Universidad de Colima is one of Mexico's leading cultural arts institutions and most renowned folkloric dance company. The performance takes place on June 24, 2017 beginning at 7:30 pm at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University located at 50 E. Congress Parkway. Ticket prices range between $40 and $75.

The 3rd annual Chicago Mariachi Festival is free to the public and takes place at Millennium Park's Cloud Gate and Jay Pritzker Pavilion on June 25, 2017 beginning at 2:00 pm located at 201 E. Randolph Street (between Michigan and Columbus Avenue). Mariachi band headliners include Mariachi Los Camperos (Los Angeles, CA), Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA), Mariachi Aztlan of the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley (Edinburg, TX), and Mariachi Herencia de Mexico (Chicago, IL). The Festival also features Mariachi Heritage Foundation student mariachi bands from seven Chicago Public Schools.

Presented by the Mariachi Heritage Foundation, the National Museum of Mexican Art and the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

About the Mariachi Heritage Foundation (MHF)

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2013, the MHF exists to celebrate and preserve the rich cultural heritage of mariachi music through school-based mariachi music education programs and performing arts concerts in Chicago. MHF serves 2,100 students enabling students to meet general music requirements through a structured curriculum in mariachi performance. For more information visit mariachiheritagefoundation.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @Mariachi_HF.

About the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA)

The NMMA in Chicago showcases 3,000 years of creativity from both sides of the Mexican border, connecting visitors to the diversity of Mexican art and culture. Works from the museum's 10,000-piece permanent collection are exhibited in four welcoming bilingual galleries, and the museum's location in the vibrant Pilsen neighborhood allows for a total immersion in the richness of Mexico's culture. Admission is always free at the NMMA, the first nationally accredited Latino museum in the U.S.

About Millennium Park

Millennium ParkChicago's town squareis the #1 attraction in the Midwest and among the Top 10 most-visited sites in the U.S. Millennium Park is located on Michigan Avenue, bordered by Randolph St. to the north, Columbus Dr. to the east and Monroe St. to the south. The Park is open 6am11pm daily. For the latest news and events, download the Millennium Park app, visit millenniumpark.org, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram, @Millennium_Park.

About the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE)

The DCASE is dedicated to enriching Chicago's artistic vitality and cultural vibrancy. This includes fostering the development of Chicago's non-profit arts sector, independent working artists and for-profit arts businesses; providing a framework to guide the City's future cultural and economic growth, via the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan; marketing the City's cultural assets to a worldwide audience; and presenting high-quality, free and affordable cultural programs for residents and visitors.

Media Contact:

Cesar Maldonado

[email protected]

(312) 771-1088

SOURCE Mariachi Heritage Foundation

Related Links

http://mariachiheritagefoundation.org


In Funyun's case, she was found by a couple on an early morning walk thinking they had found a unique sea shell, only to find it was a tiny seahorse struggling to survive. The two tried to place the seahorse back in the water, but it helplessly floated on the surface. Having researched Cheeto, they knew to call nearby Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Funyun arrived at CMA in serious condition, suffering from a buoyancy issue, struggling to swim and clinging to a branch to stop from floating to the surface. The CMA team went to work utilizing the latest in animal care technology, including x-rays and techniques to correct her buoyancy issue, putting Funyun on the path to health.

"Incredibly, Cheeto's story of survival inspired the survival of another seahorse, Funyun. The level of care provided by the CMA team for Funyun, due to her serious condition, is inspiring," says David Yates, CEO, Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Funyun is on her way to full recovery and will be released back into the wild on Monday, June 12th in Clearwater, Florida, close to the location Cheeto was released. Funyun can be seen at Clearwater Marine Aquarium or check her out on the Funyun Cam: https://www.seewinter.com/funyuncam

Video of Funyun accompanies this press release.

About Clearwater Marine Aquarium:

Clearwater Marine Aquarium is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working marine rescue center dedicated to inspiring the human spirit through leadership in education, research, rescue, rehabilitation and release, research and conservation.

249 Windward Passage | Clearwater, FL 33767 | 727.441.1790 |

SeeWinter.com

A Florida non-profit 501(c)(3)

SOURCE Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Related Links

http://www.seewinter.com


ATLANTA, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Core Security, a leader in Vulnerability, Access Risk Management and Network Detection and Response, today announced that Core Impact and Core Vulnerability Insight won the Excellence Award: Threat Solutions in the Best Vulnerability Management Solution category at the 2017 SC Media Awards Europe.

Each year, hundreds of products are entered in the Excellence Awards: Threat Solutions category. Each product is judged by a panel representing a cross-section of SC Media readership, which is comprised of large, medium and small enterprises from all major vertical markets including financial services, healthcare, government, retail, education and other sectors. Entrants are narrowed down to a select group of finalists before undergoing a rigorous final judging process to determine the winner in each category.

"It's more important than ever to recognize the determined efforts of the people around the world who work to battle these dangers and provide cyber security," said Tony Morbin, Editor in Chief, SC Magazine UK. "Core Impact and Core Vulnerability Insight are a significant achievement and one that shows Core Security's dedication to innovation and protecting against the ever-changing threat landscape."

Core Security provides a comprehensive set of vulnerability management solutions that help by simulating and validating what an adversary would do to reach an organization's most critical business assets. Core Impact is a comprehensive solution for assessing and testing security vulnerabilities while Core Vulnerability Insight consolidates and prioritizes vulnerability management initiatives enterprise-wide by consolidating multiple vulnerability scans across vendors, while matching known exploits and simulating attacks.

"Winning the Best Vulnerability Management Solution from the 2017 SC Media Awards Europe validates our commitment to providing our customers with comprehensive vulnerability assessment and penetration security testing throughout their entire organization," said David Earhart, CEO, Core Security. "Having a holistic approach to security and protecting critical business assets are essential and our vulnerability solutions enable companies to evaluate their ability to detect, prevent, and respond to real-world, multi-vectored threats."

The SC Awards Europe are well known as one of the most prestigious awards for information technology (IT) security professionals and products. The awards recognize the best solutions, services and professionals that work around the clock to defend against the constantly shifting threat landscape in today's marketplace. For more information and a detailed list of categories and winners, please visit http://www.scawardseurope.com/results-2017/.

About SC Media UK

SC Media provides IT security professionals with in-depth and unbiased information through timely news, comprehensive analysis, cutting-edge features, contributions from thought leaders and the best, most extensive collection of product reviews in the business. By offering a consolidated view of IT security through independent product tests and well-researched editorial content that provides the contextual backdrop for how these IT security tools will address larger demands put on businesses today, SC Media enables IT security pros to make the right security decisions for their companies.

About Core Security Corporation

Core Security provides companies with the security insight they need to know who, how, and what is vulnerable in their organization. The company's threat-aware, identity & access, network security, and vulnerability management solutions provide actionable insight and context needed to manage security risks across the enterprise. This shared insight gives customers a comprehensive view of their security posture to make better security remediation decisions. Better insight allows organizations to prioritize their efforts to protect critical assets, take action sooner to mitigate access risk, and react faster if a breach does occur.

Core Security is headquartered in the USA with offices and operations in South America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. To learn more, contact Core Security at (678) 304-4500 or [email protected]

Media Contact

Kari Walker

ZAG Communications for Core Security

+1.703.928.9996

[email protected]

SOURCE Core Security

Related Links

https://www.coresecurity.com


ROCKLEIGH, N.J. and SEATTLE, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Crestron, the global leader in commercial AV and meeting room technology, and Panopto, the leading video platform provider for higher education and the enterprise, today announced a strategic partnership. The partnership seamlessly integrates Crestron's best-of-breed control system with Panopto's video content management system, providing organizations with a one-click solution for capturing on-demand lectures and presentations.

"Crestron and Panopto are making lecture capture easy for our faculty, staff, and students," said Tom Lewis, Director of Academic Experience Design & Delivery, University of Washington. "Using Crestron touch screens, instructors can start and stop Panopto recordings, check audio levels, and control in-room cameras. And with an additional module written by UW programmers, we're able to customize the integration to also make use of Panopto's on-air light. Minutes after a class wraps up, students already have access to the on-demand recording."

The Crestron-Panopto integration provides organizations with:

One-touch recording of lectures and presentations,

The ability to check microphone levels and camera positioning,

Automatic upload of videos to Panopto's secure video content management system (VCMS),

Video processing to ensure that recordings can be watched on any device, and

Inside-video search, enabling learners to find and fast-forward to any word spoken or shown in the on-demand videos.

"Classroom recording used to require more complex integration to seamlessly record, control, process and view the content." said Roger Takacs, Director, Education Programs at Crestron. "With Crestron and Panopto we have dramatically simplified the tools to widely deploy classroom recording technologies to fulfill the needs of modern educational institutions."

"Successful classroom technologies don't force instructors to change their pedagogy," said Eric Burns, co-founder and CEO of Panopto. "With Panopto and Crestron, classroom recording infrastructure stays in the background, enabling teachers to focus on teaching without worrying about the underlying AV technology."

About Crestron

At Crestron we build the technology that integrates technology. Our automation and control solutions for homes and buildings let people control entire environments with the push of a button, integrating systems such as AV, lighting, shading, security, BMS and HVAC to provide greater comfort, convenience and security. All of our products are designed and built to work together as a complete system, enabling you to monitor, manage and control everything from one platform.

Our products are backed by more than 90 fully-staffed offices that provide 24 x 7 x 365 sales, technical, and training support across the globe. In addition to its World Headquarters in Rockleigh, New Jersey, Crestron has sales and support offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Discover Crestron by visiting www.crestron.com.

About Panopto

Panopto helps universities and businesses create searchable video libraries of their institutional knowledge. Since 2007, the company has been a pioneer in video content management systems, video capture software, and inside-video search technology. Today, Panopto's video platform is the largest repository of expert learning videos in the world. Headquartered in Seattle, with offices in Pittsburgh, London, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Sydney, Panopto has received industry recognition for its innovation, rapid growth, and company culture. For more information, visit www.panopto.com.

SOURCE Panopto

Related Links

http://www.panopto.com


VANCOUVER, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - CRH Medical Corporation (TSX: CRH) (NYSE MKT: CRHM) (the "Company"), announced the following voting results for the Company's 2017 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held today (the "Meeting"). A total of 43,057,345 common shares of the 73,919,488 common shares issued and outstanding were voted at the Meeting, representing approximately 58.25% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company. At the Meeting, the nominees listed in the Company's Management Proxy Circular were elected as directors. Detailed results of the vote for the election of Directors are as follows:

Nominee Votes For % Votes Withheld % Dr. Anthony Holler 36,281,626 97.02 1,114,101 2.98 Dr. David Johnson 37,207,572 99.50 188,155 0.50 Mr. Todd Patrick 36,281,326 97.02 1,114,401 2.98 Mr. Ian Webb 36,280,871 97.02 1,114,856 2.98 Mr. Edward Wright 37,196,400 99.47 199,287 0.53

At the Meeting, shareholders of the Company also approved the appointment of KPMG LLP as auditor of the Company.

In addition the Company's shareholders approved the Company's 2017 Share Unit Plan.

Detailed voting results for the Meeting can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com

About CRH Medical Corporation

CRH Medical Corporation is a North American company focused on providing gastroenterologists throughout the United States with innovative services and products for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. The CRH O'Regan System is a single-use, disposable, hemorrhoid banding technology that is safe and highly effective in treating all grades of hemorrhoids. CRH distributes the O'Regan System, treatment protocols, operational and marketing expertise as a complete, turnkey package directly to gastroenterology practices, creating meaningful relationships with the gastroenterologists it serves. CRH's O'Regan System is currently used in all 48 lower US states.

In 2014, CRH acquired Gastroenterology Anesthesia Associates, LLC ("GAA"), a full-service gastroenterology anesthesia company that provides anesthesia services for patients undergoing endoscopic procedures. Since then, CRH has incorporated ten additional acquisitions to its anesthesia business. CRH Anesthesia now services 27 ambulatory surgical centers in seven states and performs approximately 185,000 procedures annually.

SOURCE CRH Medical Corporation

Related Links

www.crhmedcorp.com


SAN FRANCISCO and WASHINGTON, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a leading global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, and DuPont Fabros (NYSE: DFT), a leading owner, developer, operator and manager of enterprise-class, carrier-neutral, large scale multi-tenant data centers, announced today they have entered into a definitive agreement under which DuPont Fabros will merge with Digital Realty in an all-stock transaction. The consummation of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by the shareholders of Digital Realty and DuPont Fabros. Under the terms of the agreement, DuPont Fabros shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.545 Digital Realty shares per DuPont Fabros share, for a transaction valued at approximately $7.6 billion in enterprise value.

Transaction Delivers Key Strategic and Financial Benefits

Enhances Ability to Serve Top U.S. Metro Areas: DuPont Fabros' portfolio is concentrated in top U.S. data center metro areas across Northern Virginia , Chicago and Silicon Valley. The transaction will help grow Digital Realty's presence in strategic, high-demand metro areas with strong growth prospects, while achieving significant diversification benefits for DuPont Fabros' shareholders from the combination with Digital Realty's existing footprint of 145 properties across 33 global metropolitan areas.

DuPont Fabros' portfolio is concentrated in top U.S. data center metro areas across , and Silicon Valley. The transaction will help grow Digital Realty's presence in strategic, high-demand metro areas with strong growth prospects, while achieving significant diversification benefits for DuPont Fabros' shareholders from the combination with Digital Realty's existing footprint of 145 properties across 33 global metropolitan areas. Expands Hyper-Scale Product Offering: DuPont Fabros' 12 purpose-built, in-service data centers will significantly expand Digital Realty's hyper-scale product offering and improve its ability to meet the rapidly growing needs of cloud and cloud-like customers, in addition to enterprise customers undertaking the shift to a hybrid cloud architecture. Conversely, the transaction enables DuPont Fabros to address a broader set of customers' data center requirements, with the addition of Digital Realty's colocation and interconnection product offerings.

DuPont Fabros' 12 purpose-built, in-service data centers will significantly expand Digital Realty's hyper-scale product offering and improve its ability to meet the rapidly growing needs of cloud and cloud-like customers, in addition to enterprise customers undertaking the shift to a hybrid cloud architecture. Conversely, the transaction enables DuPont Fabros to address a broader set of customers' data center requirements, with the addition of Digital Realty's colocation and interconnection product offerings. Solidifies Blue-Chip Customer Base: DuPont Fabros' impressive roster of blue-chip customers will further enhance the credit quality of Digital Realty's existing customer base. On a combined basis, investment grade or equivalent customers will represent more than 50% of total revenue. The transaction also significantly reduces DuPont Fabros' customer concentration. The combined company's top three customers will account for approximately 18% of revenue compared to 57% for the top three customers of DuPont Fabros on a standalone basis.

DuPont Fabros' impressive roster of blue-chip customers will further enhance the credit quality of Digital Realty's existing customer base. On a combined basis, investment grade or equivalent customers will represent more than 50% of total revenue. The transaction also significantly reduces DuPont Fabros' customer concentration. The combined company's top three customers will account for approximately 18% of revenue compared to 57% for the top three customers of DuPont Fabros on a standalone basis. Development Pipeline Provides External Growth Potential: DuPont Fabros' six data center development projects currently under construction are 48% pre-leased and represent a total expected investment of approximately $750 million , and amount to roughly a 26% expansion of its standalone critical load capacity. These projects are located in Ashburn , Chicago , Santa Clara and Toronto , all metro areas where Digital Realty has an existing presence. These six projects are expected to be delivered over the next 12 months, representing a solid pipeline of future growth potential. In addition, DuPont Fabros owns strategic land holdings in Ashburn and Oregon , which will support the future delivery of up to 163 megawatts of incremental capacity, along with 56 acres of land recently acquired in Phoenix .

DuPont Fabros' six data center development projects currently under construction are 48% pre-leased and represent a total expected investment of approximately , and amount to roughly a 26% expansion of its standalone critical load capacity. These projects are located in , , and , all metro areas where Digital Realty has an existing presence. These six projects are expected to be delivered over the next 12 months, representing a solid pipeline of future growth potential. In addition, DuPont Fabros owns strategic land holdings in and , which will support the future delivery of up to 163 megawatts of incremental capacity, along with 56 acres of land recently acquired in . Size and Scale Generate Incremental Benefits: The two companies' operating models are highly complementary, and the combined organization is expected to provide the most comprehensive product offering in the data center sector. Given the enhanced size and scale, the combined company is also expected to have the most efficient cost structure and the highest EBITDA margin of any U.S.-based publicly-traded data center REIT.

The two companies' operating models are highly complementary, and the combined organization is expected to provide the most comprehensive product offering in the data center sector. Given the enhanced size and scale, the combined company is also expected to have the most efficient cost structure and the highest EBITDA margin of any U.S.-based publicly-traded data center REIT. Creates Substantial Anticipated Cost Efficiencies and Financial Benefits: The combination of the two companies is expected to create an opportunity to realize up to $18 million of annualized overhead savings, resulting from both companies' complementary business operations. Upon closing, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to financial metrics, and is expected to further improve balance sheet strength.

"This strategic and complementary transaction significantly enhances Digital Realty's ability to support the growth of hyper-scale users in the top U.S. data center metro areas, while providing meaningful customer and geographic diversification for DuPont Fabros," said A. William Stein, Digital Realty's Chief Executive Officer. "The combination is expected to generate both operating and financial benefits, and I'd like to congratulate Scott Peterson, Mark Walker and their team on successfully negotiating the largest transaction in our company's history, a combination that we believe will enhance our ability to create significant long-term value for both sets of shareholders."

"We are excited to deliver this compelling transaction to our shareholders and execute upon two of the strategic objectives embodied in our corporate vision  diversifying our customer base and expanding our geographic presence," said Christopher P. Eldredge, DuPont Fabros' President & Chief Executive Officer. "As part of Digital Realty, our shareholders will continue to realize the benefits of our high-quality portfolio, with the added benefits of belonging to an even greater data center network with a truly global footprint and a well-diversified customer base. We also believe our shareholders will greatly benefit from Digital Realty's investment grade balance sheet and more attractive cost of capital. We look forward to working closely with the Digital Realty team over the coming months to close the transaction and bring our two companies together."

Transaction Details

The fixed exchange ratio represents a total enterprise value of approximately $7.6 billion, including $1.6 billion of assumed debt and excluding transaction costs. Digital Realty has obtained a fully committed bridge loan facility from BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup which will be available, if needed, to finance the transaction. The debt assumed in the transaction is expected to be permanently refinanced with a combination of investment grade corporate bonds and other financings. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Digital Realty and DuPont Fabros.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2017 and is subject to the approval of DuPont Fabros and Digital Realty shareholders and other customary closing conditions.

BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup are acting as financial advisors and Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal advisor to Digital Realty. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as financial advisor and Hogan Lovells US LLP is acting as legal advisor to DuPont Fabros.

Investor Conference Call

The company will host a conference call to discuss the transaction at 8:30 a.m. EDT / 5:30 a.m. PDT on June 9, 2017, and a presentation has been posted to the Investors section of the company's website at http://investor.digitalrealty.com.

To participate in the live call, investors are invited to dial (888) 317-6003 (for domestic callers) or (412) 317-6061 (for international callers) and reference the conference ID# 2712372 at least five minutes prior to start time.

About Digital Realty

Digital Realty supports the data center, colocation and interconnection strategies of more than 2,300 firms across its secure, network-rich portfolio of data centers located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Digital Realty's clients include domestic and international companies of all sizes, ranging from financial services, cloud and information technology services, to manufacturing, energy, gaming, life sciences and consumer products. https://www.digitalrealty.com/

About DuPont Fabros

DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. (NYSE: DFT) is a leading owner, developer, operator and manager of enterprise-class, carrier-neutral, large multi-tenant data centers. The company's facilities are designed to offer highly specialized, efficient and safe computing environments in a low-cost operating model. The company's customers outsource their mission-critical applications and include national and international enterprises across numerous industries, such as technology, Internet content providers, media, communications, cloud-based, healthcare and financial services. The company's 12 data centers are located in three major U.S. metro areas and total 3.5 million gross square feet and 301.5 megawatts of available critical load to power the servers and computing equipment of its customers. DuPont Fabros is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.dft.com.

For Additional Information:

Andrew P. Power

Chief Financial Officer

Digital Realty

(415) 738-6500

Investor Relations:

John J. Stewart / Maria S. Lukens

Digital Realty

(415) 738-6500

[email protected]

Jeffrey H. Foster

Chief Financial Officer

DuPont Fabros

(202) 478-2333

Media Inquiries:

John Christiansen / Scott Lindlaw / Lindsay Andrews

Sard Verbinnen & Co

(415) 618-8750

Digital [email protected]

Safe Harbor Statement

Additional Information and Where You Can Find It:

Digital Realty and DuPont Fabros each intend to file a proxy statement/prospectus in connection with the merger. Investors are urged to read carefully the applicable proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials because they contain important information about the merger. Investors may obtain free copies of these documents and other documents filed by Digital Realty or DuPont Fabros with the SEC through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Investors may obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Digital Realty by going to Digital Realty's corporate website at www.digitalrealty.com or by directing a written request to: Digital Realty Trust, Inc., Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 3200, San Francisco, CA 94111, Attention: Investor Relations. Investors may obtain free copies of documents filed with the SEC by DuPont Fabros by going to DuPont Fabros's corporate website at www.dft.com or by directing a written request to: DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc., 401 9th St. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004, Attention: Investor Relations. Investors are urged to read the applicable proxy statement/prospectus and the other relevant materials before making any voting decision with respect to the merger.

Digital Realty and its directors and executive officers and DuPont Fabros and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of each of Digital Realty and DuPont Fabros in connection with the merger. Information regarding the interests of these directors and executive officers in the merger will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus referred to above. Additional information regarding certain of these persons and their beneficial ownership of Digital Realty common stock is also set forth in the Definitive Proxy Statement for Digital Realty's 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which has been filed with the SEC. Additional information regarding certain of these persons and their beneficial ownership of DuPont Fabros common stock is set forth in the Definitive Proxy Statement for DuPont Fabros' 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which has been filed with the SEC.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This document contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this presentation regarding strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected expenses, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the structure, timing and completion of the merger between Digital Realty and DuPont Fabros; anticipated synergies and cost efficiencies of the merger; expectations regarding the financial performance, capitalization, resources and ownership structure of the combined organization; Digital Realty's continued listing on NYSE after the merger; the timing and nature of any financing in connection with or after the merger; the nature, strategy and focus of the combined organization; the executive and board structure of the combined organization; and expectations regarding voting by Digital Realty or DuPont Fabros stockholders. Digital Realty and/or DuPont Fabros may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions or meet the expectations or projections disclosed in any forward-looking statements contained herein and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions, expectations and projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, including the risks described in the "Risk Factors" section of Digital Realty's and DuPont Fabros' periodic reports filed with the SEC. Forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future in-licensing, collaborations, acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, or investments Digital Realty or DuPont Fabros may enter into or make. Neither Digital Realty nor DuPont Fabros assumes any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

SOURCE Digital Realty

Related Links

http://www.digitalrealtytrust.com


LOS ANGELES, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Famed money manager Stephen Leeb created waves in the financial media when he told King World News that the spot price of silver could soon eclipse $100 per ounce.

For the spot price of silver to climb past a $100 threshold, it would have to appreciate more than 450%. Yet, Leeb not only thinks it's possible, but he says it's only a matter of time until China pushes drive silver to $100. Other analysts agree with Leeb, arguing that silver is on the verge of a new "super cycle."

Demand for physical silver could spike in the world's most populous countries. The Chinese middle classitself larger than any other country in the world except Indiademands jewelry, electronics, infrastructure, and energy independence. Each of these things require silver.

"There is massive demand for photovoltaics in Japan and China," Leeb said in his King World News interview. "There is also massive demand for silver in the Middle East for this type of energy infrastructure."

There are other reasons why silver prices could go much, much higher than they were in early June 2017.

For years now, investment experts and silver bugs sounded the alarm that silver costs too much to mine and that the lack of mining profitability would mean much higher future prices.

According to the Silver Institute, global silver production declined in 2016 and should again in 2017. Silver mine production may have peaked in 2015, which means less supply and upward pressure on prices.

The gold to silver price ratio is out of proportion compared to historical norms. Silver used to trade around 15:1 or 20:1 for gold. Now, the gold to silver ratio hovers around 70:1 or even 80:1. By this standard, silver may be magnificently undervalued.

Potential for U.S. political falloutspecifically surrounding President Donald Trump's unpredictability and the uncertain future of his administrative agendacould drive all commodity prices higher.

unpredictability and the uncertain future of his administrative agendacould drive all commodity prices higher. U.S. and Chinese fiscal and monetary policies may bankrupt their countries and create spiraling inflation. This could encourage speculative flows into silver bullion.

Physical silver demand remains strong in 2017, especially among retail investors. The U.S. Mint reported that it sold out of the Federal Douglas silver coin, and demand for the American Silver Eagle coin saw huge spikes between April 2017 and June 2017 . Demand for silver bullion including bars and coins in 2015 to 2016 reached a 21st century high, surpassing the post Great Recession boom.

Gold remains the most popular precious metal for commodity investing, both in the United States and internationally. Silver is the second most popular investment metal, and is particularly popular for Self-Directed IRA inclusion.

You can own real, physical silver bullion and store it in a tax-advantaged retirement vehicle. American Bullion can discuss your options and help you every step of the way.

American Bullion News: http://www.AmericanBullionNews.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmericanBullion

Twitter: http://twitter.com/americanbullion

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2763992

Embedded Video Available:

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=2763997

Media Contact:

[email protected]

(310) 689-7720

SOURCE American Bullion, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.americanbullion.com


SAN DIEGO, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Shareholder rights law firm Johnson & Weaver, LLP (J&W) has launched an investigation into whether the board members of DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. (NYSE: DFT) breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the proposed sale of the Company to Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR). DuPont Fabros is a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the ownership, acquisition, development, operation, management, and lease of large-scale data center facilities in the United States.

On June 9, 2017, DuPont Fabros announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement, in which Digital Realty will acquire DuPont Fabros. Under terms of the deal, Digital Realty will exchange 0.545 of its shares for each Dupont Fabros share outstanding. Based on Thursday's closing prices, that values Dupont Fabros shares at $63.63 each. However, shareholders will be subject to the future price fluctuation of Digital Realty's stock price.

The investigation concerns whether the DuPont Fabros board failed to satisfy their duties to the Company shareholders, including whether the board adequately pursued alternatives to the acquisition and whether the board obtained the best price possible for DuPont Fabros shares of common stock.

If you are a shareholder of DuPont Fabros and believe the proposed buyout price is too low and you're interested in learning more about the investigation or your legal rights and remedies, please contact lead analyst Jim Baker ([email protected]) at 619-814-4471.

About Johnson & Weaver, LLP:

Johnson & Weaver, LLP is a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm with offices in California, New York and Georgia. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://www.johnsonandweaver.com. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Contact:

Johnson & Weaver, LLP

Jim Baker, 619-814-4471

[email protected]

SOURCE Johnson & Weaver, LLP

Related Links

http://johnsonandweaver.com


SAN FRANCISCO, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Energie-Positief, the Netherlands based solar distributor and installer, has joined Sunpreme Channel network  a strategic partnership program designed to deliver the most advanced solar products and expertise to residential, carports and commercial clients through leading solar installers. Sunpreme carefully selects its strategic channel partners, awarding the distinction only to installers and distributors that consistently put Customers First with high quality solutions.

Backed by over 40 years of solar and electrical experience, Energie-Positief provides the residential and commercial solar markets with the best and most reliable solar packages while delivering the highest level of customer service. "Our customers trust us to provide technically superior product with compelling value, and know that they can count on years of our experience to deliver results. Sunpreme represents everything we look for in a premier product to inspire the customer's enthusiasm and drive customer delight," said Gideon Goudsmit, Managing Director at Energie-Positief. "We are honored to be recognized by Sunpreme as a Channel Partner after successfully installing several projects using Sunpreme Solar Technology. Their global reputation and high quality standards are an endorsement of Energie-Positief's commitment to our customers," added Gideon.

"The Netherlands market is of strategic importance, and we warmly welcome Energie-Positief to Sunpreme Channel Partnership. This partnership recognizes exceptional installers and distributors for their relentless focus on providing high end solar products, superior installations, and customer satisfaction. We congratulate them on their commitment to high standards and helping clients reach their energy goal," said Surinder S. Bedi, Executive Vice President for Global Quality & Reliability, System Products and Market Development at Sunpreme. "Sunpreme bifacial smart panels are an industry game changer offering customers the highest performance solar panels -- with impedance matching technology and its superior lifetime yield. This complements a highly compelling product offering that integrates bifacial technology, robust product reliability and the most cost effective solar electricity solution available to their strong customer base," added Bedi.

Energie-Positief:

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Energie-Positief promotes and sells the complete line of Sunpreme High Performance Solar Panels. They include 310Wp Bifacial to 510 Wp Bifacial for residential, commercial, specially built sound insulating Smart Bifacial panels for Highway and Train Sound Barriers, and panels used for balconies within the Netherlands. The company offers a suite of solutions that allow commercial customers to make well informed decisions about their solar choice. For more information, please visit www.sunpreme.nl

About Sunpreme Inc.:

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Sunpreme is a global solar photovoltaic company that designs, develops, and manufactures its innovative bifacial double glass panels utilizing a proprietary Hybrid Cell Technology (HCT), with efficiencies from 21.7% to 23.5%. These panels deliver the best cost performance value to clean-tech customers, worldwide. Sunpreme's Bifacial, Smart panels are among the world's most powerful, with STC outputs ranging from 310 to 510W before the bifacial boost, with superior product reliability and environmental stewardship. Sunpreme was ranked among the top three performers in the entire global PV market. It has won 7 of the top 10 rankings among thin-film PV products. Sunpreme solutions are deployed in 26 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.sunpreme.com or contact Samantha Lam [email protected].

SOURCE Sunpreme, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.sunpreme.com


Author Dean Lindsay Will Sign Complimentary Copies of His Book, "How to Achieve Big PHAT Goals," Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, at FASTSIGNS Booth #214

CARROLLTON, Texas, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FASTSIGNS International, Inc., franchisor of FASTSIGNS, the leading sign, graphics and visual communications franchise, announced today that it is attending and sponsoring the International Franchise Expo from June 15-17 at The Javits Center in New York City. The company is recruiting franchisees for expansion throughout the U.S. and Canada, particularly in the Northeast, including in the New York City metro area and Long Island. The brand also is seeking international partners worldwide to be master franchisees.

"FASTSIGNS offers franchise opportunities that allow business owners to join the #1 ranked sign franchise in the industry  which comes with immediate brand recognition and world-class support from an international franchisor," said Mark Jameson, EVP of Franchise Support and Development, FASTSIGNS International, Inc. "We're looking forward to exhibiting at the International Franchise Expo and networking with potential franchisees interested in partnering with us domestically or abroad."

Entrepreneurs are invited to meet with FASTSIGNS International, Inc., CEO Catherine Monson and the brand's franchise development team at booth #214 to discuss franchise opportunities. On the heels of an extremely successful 2016, fueled in part by the ongoing worldwide need for visual communications and digital signage technology, the company expects to open a projected 45+ locations in 2017.

FASTSIGNS franchisee Denise Acquaye will celebrate her fifth anniversary this year and she calls the decision to join the brand "monumental." She will share her experience during a panel on Saturday, June 17.

"After 40 combined years in corporate America, my husband and I wanted to follow our hearts and become entrepreneurs. We knew franchising was the right path because it would provide us with a proven business model to be successful," said Acquaye, who owns and operates a FASTSIGNS location in downtown Newark, New Jersey. "We looked at a lot of different concepts, from fast food to retail, but realized that with FASTSIGNS, we didn't have to retool ourselves. Our professional backgrounds segued perfectly into owning this business. But the reason we picked FASTSIGNS is because of its strong commitment to supporting franchisees. Without any company-owned centers, FASTSIGNS' success is entirely driven by its franchisees  so the corporate team allocates an enormous amount of resources to support."

During the International Franchise Expo, FASTSIGNS will showcase digital signage that will serve as an alternative to traditional video walls made up of multiple flat panel displays. The new LED is brighter, seamless, and easy to install.

Additionally, author Dean Lindsay will sign complimentary copies of his book, "How to Achieve Big PHAT Goals," at FASTSIGNS' booth from 11 a.m.  1 p.m. and 2  4 p.m. on Friday, June 16, and on Saturday, June 17, from 10 a.m.  12 p.m. and 1  2:30 p.m. (Limited quantities available.)

A huge fan of Lindsay's proven method for goal setting, Monson penned a testimonial that is featured on the book's back cover.

"As someone who has been dedicated to setting and achieving personal and team goals for the past 30 years, Big PHAT Goals took my understanding to the next level," Monson wrote. "I rewrote my goals within days of reading the book, following Dean's formula, and I am already experiencing even greater progress! This is a must read for you, as well as those you lead and those you love!"

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. closed out 2016 with record-breaking growth and was recently ranked number 1 in the Business Services/Signs category and 95 overall in Entrepreneur magazine's Franchise 500, the world's first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking. Acknowledged by entrepreneurs and franchisors as a top competitive tool of measurement, the Franchise 500 recognizes FASTSIGNS for its exceptional performance in areas including financial strength and stability, growth rate and brand power.

In addition to more than 400 U.S. and Canadian markets targeted for development, FASTSIGNS has 65+ international locations open for continued expansion. As part of the brand's development strategy, FASTSIGNS is seeking international partners worldwide to be master franchisees.

For information about the FASTSIGNS franchise opportunity, contact Mark Jameson ([email protected] or 214-346-5679) or download an eBook that explores the FASTSIGNS franchise opportunity at http://amzn.to/1FrnDJu.

About FASTSIGNS

FASTSIGNS International, Inc. is the largest sign and visual communications franchisor in North America, and is the worldwide franchisor of 660 independently owned and operated FASTSIGNS centers in nine countries including the US, Canada, England, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Grand Cayman, Mexico and Australia (where centers operate as SIGNWAVE).

FASTSIGNS locations provide comprehensive sign and visual graphic solutions to help companies of all sizes and across all industries attract more attention, communicate their message, sell more products, help visitors find their way and extend their branding across all of their customer touch points including decor, events, wearables and marketing materials. Learn more about sign and visual graphic solutions or find a location at fastsigns.com. Follow the brand on Twitter @FASTSIGNS, Facebook at facebook.com/FASTSIGNS or LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fastsigns.

CONTACT:

Ashley Davidson

Fish Consulting

571-351-4837

[email protected]

SOURCE FASTSIGNS International, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.fastsigns.com


VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new series of reports on the Europe market for orthopedic biomaterials by iData Research (www.idataresearch.com), synthetic products are becoming the preferred products over allografts, demineralized bone matrices (DBMs) and autografts, due to their affordability and easy accessibility. A wide range of synthetic products can offer flexibility and variety for different groups of patients. As with allografts, the use of synthetic materials avoids the need for a second bone harvesting procedure. These products have been steadily reducing the amount of autograft bone being used by doctors in Europe.

"The main limiter for most of the biomaterials markets in Europe has been the dramatic decline in ASPs in most segments throughout many European countries," explains Jeffrey Wong, Strategic Analyst Manager at iData Research. "Healthcare budget cuts have forced reimbursement restructuring in certain countries in Europe."

The growth of the orthopedic biomaterials market in Europe is remaining stagnant due to the decline in average selling price (ASP) that will counteract any significant increases in units sold. The largest segment of the biomaterials market is the hyaluronic acid (HA) viscosupplementation segment. The HA market is expected to remain stable over the next several years. The ASP of HA products across Europe is in decline, caused by a large amount of competitors entering the market, especially the German market, which has forced ASPs down. In addition, French reimbursement policies significantly reduced the ASP of HA products.

The orthopedic cell therapies market which consists of platelet rich plasma (PRP) and bone marrow aspirate concentration (BMA) is an emerging market gaining more popularity in Europe. The growth is attributed to demand outpacing the decline in ASP, and more surgeons becoming familiar with its benefits. Products classified as using PRP or BMA have been used in order to improve fusion rates over using bone graft substitutes on its own, but due to lack of clinical evidence and high ASP, this market is expected to grow only moderately over the next several years.

Fidia Farmaceutici S.p.A leads the total European orthopedic biomaterials market. Fidia's overall market share resulted from the company's strong presence in the hyaluronic viscosupplementation market in Europe with their Hyalgan product. The company has increased its market share over the past few years, and a considerable amount of this expansion is due to Fidia's entrance into the German market.

Medtronic placed second in the total European orthopedic biomaterials market due to a strong position in the bone graft substitute market, especially within the spine indication. Medtronic is also the only competitor for orthopedic growth factor, BMP-2. Additional competitors in the European market for orthopedic biomaterials include TRB Chemedica, Meda Pharma, Sanofi Genzyme, Zimmer Biomet, DePuy Synthes, Bioventus, Laboratoire Genevrier, Recordati and Stryker among others.

For Further Information

More on the orthopedic biomaterials market in Europe can be found in a series of reports published by iData Research entitled the Europe Market Report Suite for Orthopedic Biomaterials. The suite covers reports on the following markets: bone graft substitutes, which is represented by allografts, demineralized bone matrix and synthetic bone graft market. The report also includes hyaluronic acid viscosupplementation, orthopedic growth factors and orthopedic cartilage repair.

The iData report series on orthopedic biomaterials covers the U.S., Canada, China, India, Australia, 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 orthopedic biomaterials market data, register online or email us at [email protected] for a Europe Market Report Suite for Orthopedic Biomaterials brochure and synopsis.

About iData Research

iData Research (www.idataresearch.com) is an international market research and consulting 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: Spinal Implants and VCF, Spinal MIS, Orthopedic Soft Tissue Repair and Regeneration, Orthopedic Trauma, Large & Small Joints, Dental Operatory Equipment, Dental Material, Dental Lasers, Dental Prosthetics, Dental CAD/CAM, Dental Bone Graft Substitutes, Ultrasound, X-Ray Imaging, Diagnostic Imaging, Oncology, Ophthalmics, Vascular Access, Laparoscopy, Urology, Gynecology, Endoscopy, Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Cardiac Rhythm Management, Electrophysiology, Operating Room Equipment, Surgical Microscopes, Robotics and Surgical Navigation, 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


PHILADELPHIA, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- FS Investments, a leading alternative investment manager and the largest manager of business development companies (BDCs), announced that its BDC direct lending platform committed more than $1.4 billion in senior secured loans and other debt and equity financing to middle market companies in the first quarter of 2017. The directly originated investments supported seven new portfolio companies and provided financing to several existing portfolio companies during the quarter.

The commitments were provided by five BDCs managed by affiliates of FS Investments and sub-advised by GSO Capital Partners LP (GSO) or its affiliates: FS Investment Corporation (NYSE: FSIC), FS Investment Corporation II (FSIC II), FS Investment Corporation III (FSIC III), FS Investment Corporation IV (FSIC IV) and FS Energy and Power Fund (FSEP).

FS Investments' directly originated transactions, which are unique to its BDCs and not typically accessible elsewhere, included investments in the following companies in the first quarter:

Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI)

FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III, FSIC IV and FSEP provided a new senior secured unitranche loan to JSSI. Based in Chicago, IL, JSSI is the world's largest independent provider of hourly cost maintenance programs for aircraft engines, auxiliary power units and airframes.

United Subcontractors Inc. (USI)

FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III and FSIC IV provided senior secured financing to support the acquisition of USI by Trilantic Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm with commitments throughout North America and Europe. USI is the nation's third-largest provider of installation, construction and distribution services to residential and commercial construction markets.



Chisholm Oil and Gas Operating, LLC (Chisholm)

FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III, FSIC IV and FSEP provided new financing to Chisholm to support the company's acquisition of assets in Oklahoma's STACK play. Headquartered in Tulsa, OK, Chisholm is a private equity-backed oil exploration and production company. Its management team has extensive experience finding and developing oil and gas assets across the Mid-Con and Bakken formations, the Gulf Coast and internationally.

ABOUT FS INVESTMENTS

FS Investments is a leading asset manager dedicated to helping individuals, financial professionals and institutions design better portfolios. The firm provides access to alternative sources of income and growth and focuses on setting industry standards for investor protection, education and transparency.

FS Investments is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA with offices in Orlando, FL and Washington, DC. The firm had more than $20 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2017. Visit fsinvestments.com to learn more.

Contact Information:

FS Investments Media Team

Marc Yaklofsky / Kate Beers

[email protected]

215-495-1174

Dominic Mammarella

Investor Relations

[email protected]

215-220-4280

ABOUT BLACKSTONE AND GSO

Blackstone is one of the world's leading investment firms. Blackstone seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for its investors, the companies it invests in, and the communities in which it works. The firm does this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Blackstone's asset management businesses, with approximately $368 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2017, includes investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

GSO is the global credit investment platform of Blackstone. With approximately $93 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2017, GSO is one of the largest alternative managers in the world focused on the leveraged-finance, or non-investment grade related, marketplace. GSO seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns in its business by investing in a broad array of strategies including mezzanine debt, distressed investing, leveraged loans and other special-situation strategies. Its funds are major providers of credit for small and middle-market companies and they also advance rescue financing to help distressed companies.

Forward-Looking Statements and Important Disclosures

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements, including statements with regard to the future performance or operations of FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III, FSIC IV and FSEP. Words such as "believes," "expects," "projects" and "future" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, and some of these factors are enumerated in the filings FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III, FSIC IV or FSEP make with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III, FSIC IV or FSEP undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE FS Investments

Related Links

https://fsinvestments.com


TSX: GPR

NYSE MKT: GPL

VANCOUVER, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - GREAT PANTHER SILVER LIMITED (TSX: GPR; NYSE MKT: GPL; "Great Panther") reports the results of its Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") held on June 8, 2017 in Vancouver, BC.

A total of 89,508,547 votes were cast representing 53.35% of the issued and outstanding common shares as of the record date for the Meeting. All of the proposed candidates were duly elected as directors by shareholders present or represented by proxy.

The election of each director nominee was as follows:

Director Votes for Votes withheld Percent for Percent withheld Robert A. Archer 43,736,036 425,641 99.04% 0.96% R. W. (Bob) Garnett 43,751,404 410,273 99.07% 0.93% Kenneth W. Major 43,769,558 392,119 99.11% 0.89% John Jennings 43,721,014 440,663 99.00% 1.00% W. J. (James) Mullin 43,747,520 414,157 99.06% 0.94% Elise Rees 43,706,885 454,792 98.97% 1.03%

Shareholders voted 97.90% in favour of setting the number of directors at six, 97.87% in favour of appointing KPMG LLP as auditors and authorizing the directors to fix the auditor remuneration, and 92.23% in favour of approving the Omnibus Incentive Plan for a three-year period.

ABOUT GREAT PANTHER

Great Panther Silver Limited is a primary silver mining and exploration company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange trading under the symbol GPR, and on the NYSE MKT trading under the symbol GPL. Great Panther's current activities are focused on the mining of precious metals from its two wholly-owned operating mines in Mexico: the Guanajuato Mine Complex, which includes the San Ignacio Mine; and the Topia Mine in Durango. In addition, the Company has signed an agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Coricancha Mine Complex in the central Andes of Peru and is pursuing additional mining opportunities in the Americas.

Robert Archer

President & CEO

SOURCE Great Panther Silver Limited

Related Links

http://www.greatpanther.com


NEW YORK, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The inventor of Gululu the interactive water bottle along with its charity partner Generosity.org was invited to speak at the United Nations' "Ocean Conference" held at its headquarter in New York. For every Gululu bottle purchased, Gululu will provide clean water for life to a child in a developing country and that mission is going to extend to small island countries that are the focal point of this conference. On behalf of Gululu, co-founder Mr. Asi Meskin called more organizations with the sense of social responsibility to join the endeavour to help underserved and minor communities with poverty.

Gululu's co-founder, Mr. Asi Meskin at the United Nations' General Assembly Hall

According to Generosity.org, Poor sanitation and unclean water are leading causes of child mortality, killing nearly 1,000 children each day. Mr. Meskin stressed that, "Having access to clean water is the first step to breaking the cycle of poverty and Gululu wants to be part of the endeavour. The mission of Gululu is to hydrate the kids of the world extending our mission and partnership with Generosity.org also to the small island developing states participating in this Ocean Conference."

Gululu's and Generosity.org are joining forces to build a water project for an underprivileged community in Peru, hand in hand with an elementary school located in the U.S.. The three-party partnership model merges private sector (Gululu) with public sector (Generosity) to connect the developed world (elementary schools in US) with the developing world communities.

Mr. Philip Wagner, the founder and CEO of Generosity.org added, "Our partnership with Gululu has been a strategic one. Being able to serve as the connector between children in the developed world using the Gululu product and children in the developing world benefitting from the product through the provision of access to clean water has been eye opening. The potential that partnerships like this one have are incredible. Our role at the end of the day is to work towards bringing the number of people living without access to clean water down from 663 million. That's why we do what we do."

Gululu helps children stay hydrated by caring for a virtual pet and keeps parents informed through a connected app. As kids drink more water from Gululu, their virtual pet grows and makes friends, and the kids develop a healthy habit. Recently Gululu launched its 3D version which provides an upgraded and more engaging game experience. Gululu is now available on Amazon exclusive, and b8ta stores in the US.

The smart bottle is revolutionizing how kids consume water, as opposed to the unhealthy sugary drinks, with an aim to help kids build a healthy habit. Key innovative features include: App and pet encouraging healthy hydration habits; thorough research resulted in fine craftsmanship with exquisite child-centric design; smart and engaging technology together with a cloud-based app; advanced gamified journey in "The Gululu Universe."; Safe bottle- all materials are 100% BPA free. It's 100% waterproof and shockproof (IP 6/7). Gululu complies with COPPA and protects children's privacy.

About Gululu

Gululu is an interactive water bottle and app that helps children and parents keep up with hydration by caring for a virtual pet. The learning-through-play mechanism is powered by smart technology as well as social interaction. Designed for ages 3+, the bottle is shockproof, health proof, and kid friendly. The innovative company's founder, Alvin Chiang, is a Cannes Lions juror and Aspen Institute fellow who, as a diabetic, struggled to maintain his own health; hence the mission to improve hydration & well-being worldwide, especially for children for whom most impact can be made.

Since its launch in summer of 2016, news of Gululu has traveled to over 20 countries, featuring in USA Today, Vogue, and Buzzfeed, among others. Forbes magazine even named it 1 of the 5 coolest water bottles worldwide. Gululu was recently launched exclusively on Alibaba's Tmall  China's most trafficked and premium online shopping site. The company has branches in Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Taipei and California, with founders hailing from Alibaba, IDEO, HP, & Intel.

For more information visit: www.mygululu.com

Contact Person:

Asi Meskin

Co-Founder

[email protected]

www.mygululu.com





SOURCE Gululu

Related Links

http://www.mygululu.com


SHENZHEN, China, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei announces plans to expand its server product portfolio to deliver Hybrid Cloud solution for Microsoft Azure Stack: a hybrid cloud powered by Huawei servers and switches. The jointly-engineered solution will enable enterprises and service providers to deploy Azure services on-premises with seamless consistency with Azure, allowing enterprises to accelerate their digital transformation and adopt a hybrid cloud platform with confidence.

Huawei Hybrid Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack is expected to be commercially available by Q1 of 2018.

The jointly-engineered solution  based on Huawei's latest-generation FusionServer and CloudEngine switches  uniquely offers built-in integration between Huawei's eSight management software and Azure Stack, enabling customers to implement 360-degree management on hardware devices.

Azure Stack is an extension of Azure, providing the same application model, self-service portal, and APIs. This enables the modernization of applications across hybrid cloud environments, balancing flexibility and control.

The Huawei and Microsoft jointly-engineered solution also shares the same architecture and user interface as Azure, allowing users to seamlessly deploy, manage and migrate applications across clouds. As a result, enterprises can transform their businesses through automated IT services, maintain critical data on-premise, and deploy new services and cloud-native applications faster with fewer costs.

Huawei's hybrid cloud infrastructure features FusionServer, which delivers integrated high-density architecture, large storage capacity, and highly reliable management. It is an ideal choice for cloud computing, big data, and HPC applications. Huawei CloudEngine switch provides high-density 10G access and up to 100G interconnect, enabling networks of high performance and reliability, large cache, and low latency. At the end of 2016, Huawei had delivered over two million virtual machines and 420 cloud data centers to customers in 130 countries in a number of sectors, including government, public utilities, carrier, energy and finance.

"Combining Huawei's competitive strength in server hardware with Microsoft's cloud expertise, the groundbreaking Huawei Hybrid Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack is an ideal option for enterprises moving to hybrid cloud," said Qiu Long, president of Huawei IT Server Product Line. "The jointly-engineered solution epitomizes the successful and symbiotic relationship between the two companies."

Mike Neil, corporate vice president, Enterprise Cloud, Microsoft Corporation said, "We are pleased to work with Huawei on the launch of their new solution, Huawei Hybrid Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack. "Huawei has a strong market position and rich product portfolio, and will help to accelerate the adoption of hybrid cloud platforms with existing and new customers, and expand the strategy to new markets."

About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to enrich life and improve efficiency through a better connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative contributor to the industry. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei's 170,000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world's population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.

For more information, please visit Huawei online at www.huawei.com or follow us on:

http://www.linkedin.com/company/Huawei

http://www.twitter.com/Huawei

http://www.facebook.com/Huawei

http://www.google.com/+Huawei

http://www.youtube.com/Huawei

Huawei Media Contact: Huawei Analyst Contact: Francis Hopkins Sarita Kincaid Director, Corporate Communications Director, Enterprise Analyst Relations (240) 472-1724 (mobile) (408) 330-5324 (mobile) [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Huawei

Related Links

http://www.huawei.com


BRUSSELS and INDIANAPOLIS, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 400 million people are living with diabetes. In a further effort to help spread lessons learned from clinical research to benefit people affected by this condition, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) have come together for the second phase of the Bringing Research in Diabetes to Global Environments and Systems programme (BRIDGES 2), reaffirming their commitment to helping people with diabetes effectively manage their condition.

BRIDGES 2 will build upon the work undertaken and the lessons learned during the initial phase of the programme which operated from 2007 to 2015. The programme will fund and replicate a selection of projects from the initial phase, placing an emphasis on the secondary prevention of diabetes and a strong involvement of local public health authorities.

"Our goal is to translate evidence-based approaches from the first round of BRIDGES to other contexts and countries to improve the lives of people living with diabetes," said Robert A. Gabbay, Chair of the Steering Group of BRIDGES 2.

This will enable the implementation of established evidenced-based interventions and approaches to diabetes care. BRIDGES 2 will further build on the achievements of the initial phase that resulted in 41 diabetes prevention and treatment projects supported in 36 countries.

"Diabetes is a growing epidemic, and we need to recognize and address the diverse needs of people with diabetes," said Robert Heine, Distinguished Lilly Scholar. "The BRIDGES programme has been a valuable tool that has led to important findings about the treatment of diabetes, and we look forward to continuing this important work."

BRIDGES 2 will issue a request for grant proposals in June 2017. All grant proposals will be peer reviewed and prioritised by a cross-disciplinary external review group under the coordination of IDF. A steering committee composed with experts appointed by IDF and Lilly will determine the selection of projects and types of grants that will be available.

"IDF is proud of the achievements of the first phase of BRIDGES, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to further replicate the findings of the completed projects. We want to spread best practices to those who need it most and help shape a better world for the millions of people currently living with diabetes and the many more at risk," said Shaukat Sadikot, IDF President.

For more information about BRIDGES 2, please visit www.idf.org/bridges or contact [email protected].

NOTE TO EDITORS:

About the International Diabetes Federation

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF, www.idf.org) is an umbrella organisation of over 230 national diabetes associations in 165 countries and territories. It represents the interests of the growing number of people with diabetes and those at risk.

The Federation has been leading the global diabetes community since 1950. The Federation's activities aim to influence policy, increase public awareness and encourage health improvement, promote the exchange of high-quality information about diabetes, and provide education for people with diabetes and their healthcare providers. IDF is associated with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations and is in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). www.idf.org.

About Lilly

Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and www.lilly.com/newsroom/social-channels.

ADDENDUM:

BRIDGES 2 - KEY DATES

Pre-selection phase

February- March 2017 : BRIDGES 2 Steering Group members to discuss the selection of projects from the initial BRIDGES programme that will be replicated.

: BRIDGES 2 Steering Group members to discuss the selection of projects from the initial BRIDGES programme that will be replicated. A key requirement used in the selection of these projects is that they must focus on secondary prevention.



The projects will be assessed on the following criteria: i) Evidenced based outcomes, ii) Efficacious process, iii) Scalability and iv) Sustainability.



Geographical data from the World Bank will be used to exclude high income countries.



Excluded from consideration will be proposals that involve the testing of pharmaceuticals, disease mechanism studies or any other projects that may be construed as product development or marketing or sales interventions.

June 2017 : Grant announcement at the 77th ADA Scientific Sessions, San Diego, California , US which will be determined by a steering committee appointed by IDF. This period will also mark the opening of the application process

: Grant announcement at the 77th ADA Scientific Sessions, , US which will be determined by a steering committee appointed by IDF. This period will also mark the opening of the application process August 11, 2017 : Final submission date for applications

Award Phase

September 2017 : An announcement of selected projects and grant recipients will be made at the 53rd EASD Annual Meeting to be held in Lisbon this year.

: An announcement of selected projects and grant recipients will be made at the 53rd EASD Annual Meeting to be held in this year. October 2017 : Contract signing between BRIDGES 2 Steering Group and selected applicants

Implementation and Evaluation Phases

December 2017 - February 2018 : Start of project implementation

Workshops will be held to aid in the implementation process. These workshops will include sessions on study designs, recruitment methods and analysis techniques.

2018-2019: A two year intervention leading up to a final reporting of outcomes at the IDF Congress 2019 in Busan, South Korea

Projects will be reviewed in terms of scalability, possibility of global replication and significance of findings



Successful projects that meet the specified evaluation criteria and are perceived to have significant regional and/or global impact will be considered for dissemination



Key findings will be distributed in the form of oral presentations at major diabetes meetings (including the IDF Congress 2019) and through scientific publications

C-LLY

Refer to: Lorenzo Piemonte; [email protected]; +32 2543 1624 (IDF)

Greg Kueterman; [email protected]; (317) 432-5195 (Lilly)



SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company

Related Links

http://www.lilly.com


NEW YORK, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of Lion Biotechnologies, Inc. securities from November 14, 2013 through April 10, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period") of the important June 13, 2017 lead plaintiff deadline in the first filed lawsuit commenced by Rosen Law Firm. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for Lion Biotechnologies investors under the federal securities laws.

To join the Lion Biotechnologies class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-1100.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. or Kevin Chan, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

NO CLASS HAS YET BEEN CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ACTION. UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL UNLESS YOU RETAIN ONE. YOU MAY ALSO REMAIN AN ABSENT CLASS MEMBER AND DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. YOU MAY RETAIN COUNSEL OF YOUR CHOICE.

According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that (1) Lion Biotechnologies, through its former CEO Manish Singh, engaged in a scheme to mislead investors by commissioning over 10 internet publications and 20 widely distributed emails promoting Lion Biotechnologies to potential investors that purported to be independent from the company when, in fact, they were paid promotions; (2) former CEO Singh engaged a notorious stock promotion firm to pay writers to publish articles about Lion Biotechnologies on investment websites as well as to coordinate the distribution of articles to thousands of electronic mailboxes; (3) former CEO Singh actively participated in the promotional work for Lion Biotechnologies and understood that the promotion firm was using writers who would not disclose that Lion Biotechnologies was indirectly compensating them for their publications; and (4) as a result, defendants' public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 13, 2017. If you wish to join the litigation, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-1100.html or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Phillip Kim or Kevin Chan of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at [email protected] or [email protected].

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm.

Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Since 2014, Rosen Law Firm has been ranked # 2 in the nation by Institutional Shareholder Services for the number of securities class action settlements annually obtained for investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

Kevin Chan, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 34th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

Related Links

http://www.rosenlegal.com


NEW YORK, June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Maplewood Senior Living and Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (NYSE: OHI) will break ground for their Upper East Side project on Wednesday, June 14th from 10 AM-12 PM at 1802 Second Avenue at 93rd Street.

Inspir | Manhattan, a modern senior living community, will be a luxury 23-story, 212,000-square-foot high-rise featuring 215 units of assisted living, enhanced care and memory care residences. It will be the first ground-up project of this scale in the area in more than two decades.

Westport, Conn.-based Maplewood Senior Living currently operates 13 other communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Ohio.

MEDIA COVERAGE INVITED.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2017 TIME: 10:00 AM (RECEPTION TO FOLLOW) PLACE: 2nd Avenue and 93rd Street, NYC

SOURCE Maplewood Senior Living

Related Links

http://maplewoodseniorliving.com


SAN FRANCISCO, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Founded on the belief that business can be a force for good, Method Products, PBC and its sister brand Ecover have soared to new heights with a verified score of 146 on the B Impact Assessment. The outstanding achievement, which was announced today by Drew Fraser, CEO of Method and Ecover's parent company People Against Dirty, lands the brands in the top two percent of all Benefit Corporations.

The B Corp model is intrinsic to People Against Dirty, which values growing the public benefit along with profit. B Corp certification is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or LEED certification is to green building. B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. As one of B Corp's 2016 Best for The World recognized companies, the pioneering organization has a long-term ambition to help restore the planet's natural resources and benefit communities while responsibly growing the business globally.

A B Impact Assessment score of 80 is eligible for certification, so a score 146 not only exceeds People Against Dirty's projected 2020 score, it also puts Method and Ecover in the company of groundbreaking B Corps like Patagonia and New Belgium Brewing Co. These brands each push industry boundaries and serve as leaders and examples for the business-for-good community and mainstream business.

"A lot of amazing work has gone into combining two brands with great heritage and history, which has made us that much stronger overall," said Fraser. "From our supply chain, innovation and logistics work to taking care of our people every step of the way, we've attempted things that no one in our industry has dared. We opened our South Side Soapbox factory in Pullman, Chicago and adopted local hiring practices to contribute to the community's bright future. We're implementing best in class employee benefits globally, in every office and factory. We're committed to healthy people, a healthy planet and healthy business, and our latest B Corp score validates all of our efforts."

Over the past two years, Method and Ecover's global certification achievements include:

Creating the Benefit Blueprint to map corporate goals, tracking and reporting metrics quarterly

Opening and operating the industry's first-ever LEED Platinum certified factory, located in Chicago

Joining B Lab's Inclusion Challenge to improve organizational diversity

"Method played a fundamental role in the founding of the Certified B Corporation movement, and Ecover has a long history of maximizing their positive impact," said Ben Anderson, chief B Keeper at B Lab. "Core to the B Corp mission is the idea that we are better together. By joining forces and engaging our communities, B Corps can redefine business and create more good for the world."

ABOUT PEOPLE AGAINST DIRTY

People Against Dirty is a company made up of two brands  method and Ecover  filled with fearless thinkers, mad scientists and adventurous designers who believe in defying the status quo with innovation and optimism. We take cleaning seriously  but not ourselves. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in San Francisco, method (methodhome.com) is the pioneer of premium planet-friendly and design-driven home, fabric and personal care products. Formulated with naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients, method puts the hurt on dirt without doing harm to people, creatures or the planet. Also playing an important role at People Against Dirty is Ecover (ecover.com) the revered pioneering European-based line of ecological cleaning products that has had an enormous impact on the world of cleaning  and a positive impact on the environment  since its formation in 1979. As a certified B Corp, People Against Dirty is raising the bar in clean manufacturing with our legendary green factory in Belgium and the industry's first LEED Platinum-certified manufacturing plant in Chicago, affectionately known as the South Side Soapbox.

ABOUT B LAB

B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Its vision is that one day all companies will compete to be best for the world and that society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity. B Lab drives this systemic change by: (1) building a global community of Certified B Corporations; (2) promoting Mission Alignment using innovative corporate structures like the benefit corporation to align the interests of business with those of society; (3) helping tens of thousands of businesses, investors and institutions Measure What Matters, by using the B Impact Assessment and B Analytics to manage their impact  and the impact of the businesses with which they work  with as much rigor as their profits; and (4) inspiring millions to join the movement through compelling storytelling. For more information, visit www.bcorporation.net.



CONTACT:

Sara Crumley Berman

415.568.4631

[email protected]

SOURCE Method Products

Related Links

https://methodhome.com/


MONTGOMERY, Ala., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MGMix, Alabama's sole Internet exchange, announced it will boost its capacity to handle 100 Gigabits per second of traffic, making it one of the nation's most powerful exchanges and positioning it to attract partners that move large amounts of data such as Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Netflix. This additional capacity will be available by Aug. 1, 2017.



This upgrade places MGMix in the same class as other major carrier hotels such as 56 Marietta in Atlanta and Infomart Data Center in Dallas, connecting more quickly Montgomery, Ala., to the nation's and world's fastest exchange points.

"A 100-Gig Montgomery Internet Exchange is a game-changer for Montgomery's cyber strategy," Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said. "Nowhere else will businesses find such speed, and thanks to Akamai and the RSA Data Center, such security, in a competitively priced business environment where the technology workforce is being steadily reinforced with training and development."

Less than two years ago, Montgomery landed the Cyber College of the U.S. Air Force and MGMix. Today, Montgomery leaders released new developments and revealed a cyber strategy fueled by a 100-Gig public exchange and unprecedented collaboration between businesses, military, government and universities:

Auburn University at Montgomery signed a peering agreement to become the first university to join MGMix. For AUM, that means potential cost savings and more opportunities for large-scale collaborative research with other universities, placing Montgomery at the center of data-intensive research and innovation.

CoWerx46, a developer-centered co-working space located at 46 Commerce Street, will officially open this month. The facility, which is positioned to anchor Montgomery's emerging innovation district, will foster collaboration, creativity, and work for members of the technology labor force.

For AUM, that means potential cost savings and more opportunities for large-scale collaborative research with other universities, placing at the center of data-intensive research and innovation. The facility, which is positioned to anchor emerging innovation district, will foster collaboration, creativity, and work for members of the technology labor force. Montgomery's Cyber Consortium, the partnership steering the exchange, named Montgomery business leader Carl Barranco cyber strategy coordinator . He will develop and manage the effort to leverage MGMix to grow Montgomery's cyber vertical as an economic development opportunity. The Warren Averett CPA has 50 years of experience and specializes in mergers and acquisitions in the banking, healthcare, construction and manufacturing industries.

. He will develop and manage the effort to leverage MGMix to grow cyber vertical as an economic development opportunity. The Warren Averett CPA has 50 years of experience and specializes in mergers and acquisitions in the banking, healthcare, construction and manufacturing industries. A comprehensive cyber strategy will maximize Montgomery's technology talent pipeline, spur innovation and promote the city as an emerging technology hub. It has built upon unique resources that are unparalleled in other communities, including a powerful collaboration between local and state government, the business community, educational entities, the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Department of Defense. These partnerships have allowed Montgomery to strengthen significantly the MGMix, explore open data and smart city-smart base initiatives, set the cornerstone of an innovation district with CoWerx46, and become recognized widely for hosting the annual Air Force Information Technology Conference, one of the nation's leading technology conferences.

"Partnership is at the heart of our strategy," Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton Dean said. "We are excited about how government and business working together with our technology partners is making Montgomery stand out as an emerging tech hub."

For more information on the Montgomery Internet Exchange visit www.mgmix.net.



For more information on Montgomery's Technology Resources visit www.techmgm.com.



For more information on the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce visit www.montgomerychamber.com or find us on Facebook.



CONTACT:

Meg Lewis

Office: 334-261-1104

Cell: 334-312-2007

[email protected]

www.montgomerychamber.com

Committed to exceptional service, the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce works to improve the economic well-being of the business community and enhance the quality of life of the area through the creation and preservation of jobs.

SOURCE Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce

Related Links

https://www.montgomerychamber.com


BERKELEY, Calif., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. national homeownership rate dropped from a peak of 69% in 2004 to an average of 63.6% in the first quarter of 2017, remaining near 50-year lows. Despite steadily improving job markets and historically low mortgage rates, significant barriers to homeownership endure.

If the mortgage availability alone returned to a more normalized level in 2016, Rosen Consulting Group (RCG) estimates that more than 900,000 additional home purchase mortgages would have been issued, according to a new report "Hurdles to Homeownership: Understanding the Barriers" released today by Rosen Consulting Group and the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

"Ten years after the Great Recession, major barriers remain for households trying to buy a home. Limited mortgage availability and excessive bank regulation restricts nearly a million households from purchasing homes each year," said Ken Rosen, Chairman of Rosen Consulting Group and UC Berkeley's Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics. "Many households now suffer from post-foreclosure stress disorder, an altered perception of the financial risks associated with homeownership. Moving forward, addressing these challenges will be critical to helping millions of households attain the American Dream."

As low homeownership rates persist, particularly for minority households and younger families, a tight mortgage credit environment, the growing burden of student debt, and shifts in the perception of risks associated with buying a home, prevent millions of homebuyers from becoming homeowners. Moreover, these challenges are compounded by increasing cost of living, rising rents and a dramatic lack of new housing supply, a result of the many hurdles faced by homebuilders.

In aggregate, the major barriers mentioned below are greatly depressing homeownership rates;

Key Findings about Mortgage Availability

The lack of available credit played a significant part in depressing the national homeownership rate, keeping many households out of the homeownership market.

In 2016, households with credit scores of 760 or greater nearly doubled their share of total mortgage originations versus 2003 growing from 30% to 58%, while those with good to excellent credit scores between 720 and 759, dropped in half of market share from 35% to 17%. This indicates a huge shift in the credit availability for any household, outside those with terrific credit, in procuring a mortgage loan.

RCG estimates that more than 900,000 additional home purchase mortgages would have been issued in 2016, if the lending environment returned to more normal credit conditions, like those in the early 2000s.

Excessive bank regulations, large fines and mortgage loan putbacks in the wake of the foreclosure crisis led banks to an industry-wide pull back from mortgage lending, which we refer to as post-foreclosure lending aversion.

Key Findings about Post Foreclosure Stress Disorder

RCG believes that the Great Recession fundamentally altered many individuals' perceptions of financial risks and generated long-lasting psychological changes in financial decision-making, particularly housing tenure choice. We refer to this phenomenon as post-foreclosure stress disorder .

. Nearly 90% of millennials and Gen X households aspire to own a home. Yet, almost one in six households aged 18 to 49 claimed renting was a good choice for now, despite being financially able to own a home.

With such a significant percent of young households that can afford a home, choosing to rent, RCG believes that post-foreclosure stress disorder prevents many households from becoming homeowners.

Key Findings about Student Debt

U.S. households are taking on more debt in order to pay for higher education, making it challenging to save for future goals, such as a down payment. With spiking student loan debt levels, households are forced to delay the purchase of a home.

The average student loan payment in 2015 was $300 per month, 20% of the $1,460 mortgage payment of the median existing home price.

per month, 20% of the mortgage payment of the median existing home price. Student loans increased substantially as a share of total household debt, rising by more than five percentage points since 2008 to 10.6% in 2016. And will continue to increase rapidly.

Key Findings about Single Family Housing Affordability

Limited mortgage credit availability and lack of available inventory for sale will make it increasingly difficult for households to find a home within their budget in the coming years.

RCG forecasts that single family housing affordability will fall by an average of nearly nine percentage points across 75 major markets between 2016 and 2019, with approximately five million fewer households able to afford a local median-priced home by 2019.

RCG estimates that the minimum household income needed to afford an apartment surged by an average of $10,200 between 2009 and 2015, across 58 major apartment markets. In comparison, the median household income increased by an average of just $6,400 across the same major markets.

Key Findings about Single Family Housing Supply Shortages

As demand for the housing market returned in recent years, several major hurdles are hampering the development of new housing supply. The availability of capital for homebuilders, the rising cost of construction, and the combined effect of local land-use and zoning regulations across the country are all constricting new single family housing supply nationwide.

Compared with the long-term average, RCG estimates that the low level of single family building during the last eight years represents a cumulative deficit of nearly 3.7 million new home starts since 2008.

Limited capital availability hampered the capacity of developers to meet rising demand for new single family homes. Construction financing in 2016 was still 63% below the peak levels reached in 2008.

As financing dried up for single family, costs spiked. For every $100,000 a builder spent towards the construction of a home in 2010, they today spend over $130,000 , further limiting production.

Policy Implications

Understanding these complex and varied barriers is key to developing policies that can start to reverse the tide of historically low homeownership rates nationwide. RCG believes that tackling hurdles to new development and the accessibility of mortgages, greater access to construction financing, and the burdens of student debt, will require a willingness to rethink the status quo and embrace new ideas that are both innovative and pragmatic. RCG will expand upon these principals in our next report.

To read the full report, please click here.

About the Study

Hurdles to Homeownership: Understanding the Barriers was prepared by Rosen Consulting Group for the National Association of REALTORS and jointly released by Rosen Consulting Group and the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business. This report, the second of three papers to be prepared by Rosen Consulting Group in 2017, examines the ongoing barriers to homeownership, focusing on the hurdles of mortgage credit, the regulatory environment, student loans, perceptions of risk and affordability, as well as the supply-side challenges of homebuilder financing, rising costs and regulatory burdens.

About Rosen Consulting Group

Rosen Consulting Group (RCG) is a leading independent real estate economics consulting firm. Founded in 1990 and with offices in Berkeley and New York, RCG provides strategic consulting and unbiased investment guidance through all market cycles. RCG is a trusted advisor to leading banks, insurance companies, institutional investors, and public and private real estate operators. For more information go to www.rosenconsulting.com.

About the Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics

The Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics (FCREUE) mission is to educate students and real estate professionals, and to support and conduct research on real estate, urban economics, and the California State economy. FCREUE strives to be the leading center for research on the California economy and excels nationally as a center for urban economic and public policy research. It also regularly provides a practical forum for academics, government officials, and business leaders. For more information, go to http://groups.haas.berkeley.edu/realestate/.

SOURCE Rosen Consulting Group

Related Links

http://www.rosenconsulting.com


Conducted by Rzeczpospolita and Parkiet, 50 companies were first selected from 350 representative small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland. The top fifty were then graded in terms of revenues, profits, increased investments and other dimensions in last 3 years, and the top 10 were going to be the prize winners. Nuctech was the No.1. Bian Xiaohao the General Manager of Nuctech Warsaw said excitedly after the meeting that, "the honor is definitely a big surprise, which is not only a 'Yes' to Nuctech Warsaw, but also to Nuctech's years of overseas cultivation."

As the first overseas manufacture base of Nuctech, Nuctech Warsaw was founded in 2005, 90% of the company's staff are local Polish. Nuctech's products have played an important role in helping the Poland customs to combat smuggling, enhance clearance efficiency, and protect the security of homeland and people. So far, 7 Cargo/Vehicle Inspection Systems and 9 X-ray inspection systems have been installed in Poland, and the company has provided advanced ways of inspection to the customs, border defense, and aviation of Poland.

Ever since Nuctech Warsaw was founded, their security products have been sold to over 30 European countries including Sweden, Britain, Czech, German and etc.

The manufacture capability of Nuctech Warsaw has constantly been increased, and the product portfolio has continuously been enriched. Two months ago, Nuctech Warsaw's first CT cargo/baggage inspection system completed its final check in the base, indicating that it has possessed the capability of localized manufacture of CT systems.

Based in Europe, Nuctech Warsaw will continue to show its charm of "Designed in China, and Manufactured in Europe" as Nuctech's bridgehead in Europe.

SOURCE Nuctech Company Limited
WALNUT CREEK, Calif., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc. (NYSE MKT: ORM) announced today that it has signed an amendment (the "Amendment") of its secured revolving credit facility (the "Credit Facility") with California Bank & Trust and First Bank to increase the maximum potential borrowings to $75,000,000 and to add Umpqua Bank as an additional lender. The foregoing description of the Amendment and related documents does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Credit Facility agreements and the Amendment, copies of which have been filed by the Company with the SEC as exhibits to Current Reports on Form 8-K.

About Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc.

Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc., a Maryland corporation, is a specialty finance mortgage company structured to qualify as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") that focuses on the origination, investment, and management of commercial real estate mortgage loans primarily in the Western U.S. We provide customized, short-term capital to small and middle-market investors that require speed and flexibility. Our primary objective is to provide investors with attractive current income and long-term shareholder value. We are headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, and are externally managed and advised by Owens Financial Group, Inc.

Additional information can be found on our website at www.owensmortgage.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements about Owens Realty Mortgage Inc.'s plans, strategies, and prospects, including the maximum borrowings available under the new revolving line of credit, are based on current information, estimates, and projections; they are subject to risks and uncertainties, as well as known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, readers should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "target," "assume," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believe," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in the Company's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the Company or matters attributable to the Company or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above.

SOURCE Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.owensmortgage.com


KUTZTOWN, Pa., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 275 Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School students today received their high school diplomas as about 2,300 family members, faculty and friends applauded them at the first of two graduation ceremonies, this one held in Keystone Hall at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.

School officials said an additional 272 students are preparing to receive their diplomas in front of an approximate 2,200-strong audience at a ceremony in A.J. Palumbo Center at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh this Saturday.

"I would like to thank all of the families for entrusting us with their child's education," PA Cyber CEO, Brian Hayden, said. "They have chosen PA Cyber and we are proud of the ways we have worked together to realize this day."

Hayden was one of two school officials to address the Class of 2017 with a message of "be the change that you want."

"High school graduation is one of the most important milestones in our lives; it recognizes not only past successes, but also future opportunities," he said.

"To all of our graduates, we wish them all the best as they move into the next stage of their lives. We hope we have given them the skills, confidence, and momentum to become successful, happy adults," he said.

PA Cyber Chief Academic Officer, Alan Fritz, also addressed the students.

The graduating class chose Zionsville resident Rachel Lazarro as its class representative to address the Kutztown audience. Her plans after graduation include attending Temple University to study public health.

Tunkhannock resident Gwendolyn Murray, daughter of Dr. Patrick and Linda Murray, was chosen by her classmates to represent them at the Pittsburgh ceremony. After graduating, Murray plans to attend Saint Vincent College to major in psychology.

PA Cyber ArtReach instructor Amy Zachewicz assembled choirs comprised of students aged 10-18 to sing Randy Newman's Academy Award winning "You've Got a Friend in Me." The Pittsburgh Trombone Project also performed.

Graduates at the Pittsburgh ceremony also paid tribute to high school English teacher Araina Tivis, who passed away last February at the age of 39.

PA Cyber faculty members presented the graduates with their diplomas.

Another 577 students from 61 of the commonwealth's 67 counties will receive their diplomas by mail.

Of the 1,123 PA Cyber graduates, 148 hail from Allegheny County, 64 from Westmoreland, 51 from Beaver, 49 from both Philadelphia and Washington, 48 from Erie, 38 from Butler, 36 from Lancaster, 33 from both Cumberland and Dauphin, 28 from Berks, 27 from Crawford, 26 from Lehigh, 23 from Bucks, 23 from Fayette, 23 from Monroe, 22 from both Chester and Delaware, 21 from Luzerne, 20 from both Indiana and Montgomery, 15 from Lycoming, 15 from Northampton, 15 from Somerset, 12 from both Clarion and Perry, 11 from Adams, 11 from Armstrong, 11 from Cambria, 11 from Centre, 11 from Franklin, 11 from Lackawanna, 10 from both Susquehanna and Venango, nine from Blair, nine from Clearfield, nine from Clinton, nine from Lebanon, eight from both Lawrence and Northumberland, six from Carbon, six from Schuylkill, six from Tioga, five from Snyder, five from Union, five from Warren, four from Huntingdon, four from Jefferson, four from Mercer, three from Bradford, three from Cameron, three from Mifflin, three from Pike, three from Wyoming, two from Columbia, two from Greene, two from Wayne, and one from Forrest, McKean and Potter.

Contact:

Christina Zarek

(717) 805-2337

[email protected]

or

Larissa Dudkiewicz

(724) 365-8028

[email protected]

SOURCE Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School

Related Links

http://www.pacyber.org


PORTLAND, Ore., June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Rim & Company has purchased Willamette Valley's Firesteed production facility and the adjacent Flynn Vineyard to provide a new home for Rainstorm Wines, one of the Northwest's fastest growing brands.

Launched in 2012 as an Oregon-sourced Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris specialist, Rainstorm has grown from zero to over 20,000 cases in five years, and is currently surging at +118% vs. last year. "Rainstorm is growing at unprecedented levels, and Oregon is on the rise as well," said General Manager and Head Winemaker Nicolas Quille. "Bringing the winemaking to Willamette focuses our vision for Rainstorm as the definitive Oregon Pinot brand, and cements our commitment to the region."

Production of Rainstorm Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Silver Linings Rose at the Rickreall, OR location will start with the 2017 harvest, and new labels will include more specific AVA designations.

"We are excited to have a new home for Rainstorm," said Quille, who frequently rides his bicycle to Pacific Rim & Company's Portland-based headquarters. "We are eager to further our involvement with local grower organizations and share ideas to improve the quality and visibility of the State's wines."

Representing authentic Northwest terroir and offering affordable luxury, Rainstorm Pinot Noir ($17 SRP), Rainstorm Pinot Gris ($14), and Silver Linings Rose ($17) are available in fine retail wine shops and restaurants nationally and can also be purchased online at http://RainstormWines.com.

Exvere, Inc. served as the exclusive financial advisor to Firesteed Cellars and to Flynn Vineyard.

About Pacific Rim & Company

Pacific Rim and Company, wholly owned by the Mariani family (proprietors of leading US wine importer Banfi Vintners) since 2010, was founded in 1992 as a Riesling specialist and has since grown into a leading innovator and producer of Northwest wines, including Pacific Rim, Rainstorm, Eufloria, Sweet Bliss, Unparalleled, and Silver Totem. General Manager and Chief Winemaker Nicolas Quille, a Master of Wine program candidate, also has winemaking experience in Burgundy and the Rhone Valley. For more information see http://www.pacificrimwine.com/

About Exvere

Exvere advises Pacific Northwest businesses on capital transactions including mergers, acquisitions, and recapitalizations. Exvere offers concentrated experience and expertise in the Pacific Northwest wine and adult beverage industry. For more information about Exvere please visit www.exvere.com.

For more information contact:

Joe Janish [email protected]

516-686-2569

SOURCE Pacific Rim & Company
IRVINE, Calif., June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, federal agents came to the Irvine, California office of Proove Biosciences to serve a subpoena and execute a search warrant solely related to the collection of documents. This action was initiated by the U.S. Attorney's office in the Southern District of California in San Diego. In the spirit of full cooperation, we have accommodated their requests. Despite some of the media coverage of this event, there was no "raid", nor have there been any "arrests" or "indictments" issued. We will continue to cooperate with any future requests for information from the government.

Over the past 6 months, Proove has been subject to a handful of inaccurate stories initiated by STAT News that we believe have contributed to this latest action. While we originally chose not to dignify these outlandish accusations with a response, we now understand that we can no longer ignore these false stories based on unreliable sources, and filled with erroneous accusations. We will now respond to these many errors and misstatements promulgated by STAT News and spread by a few disgruntled former employees and consultants. Proove is confident that the facts supported by verifiable and reliable sources will clearly restore our reputation.

Click here to read Proove's official response to the STAT News articles.

Proove would like to express our appreciation to the federal agents involved in this process yesterday for their professionalism, kindness, and efforts to minimize the impact on our very important, life-saving business operations.

Today, Proove has resumed full-scale business operations delivering its medically-necessary precision medicine technology which has demonstrated in both 7 years of clinical experience, as well as extensive peer-reviewed published evidence to help clinicians accurately identify patients at risk for opioid abuse with up to 97% accuracy to reduce the opioid abuse epidemic, as well as improve treatment outcomes for patients suffering from our nation's most prevalent and expensive health condition  chronic pain.

For more information about Proove or to request an interview to learn the truth about Proove's technology and its business practices, please visit our web site or contact Cindy Felicicchia at [email protected].

About Proove Biosciences: Proove Biosciences is the leader in precision medicine for the condition that lies at the nexus of health  pain. Proove delivers precision medicine solutions for the nation's most prevalent and expensive health condition by investing heavily in research that has won awards from leading medical societies and been published in peer-reviewed journals. Discovered by NIH-funded scientists, Proove has translated into clinical practice the genetic variants and phenotypic factors contributing to pain sensitivity and chronic pain risk. Proove's medical advisory board is led by those NIH-funded researchers and the company has licensed some of its technology from leading academic centers, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Utah, and other institutions. Positioned as The Healthcare Decision Company, Proove's patented technology platform combines genetic, clinical, environmental and lifestyle information to help clinicians better evaluate pain sensitivity, assess risk for opioid use disorder, predict therapeutic response to pain medications, and assess drug metabolism for the many medications used in chronic pain patients. Based in Irvine, California, Proove has been recognized on the Inc. 500 and the Deloitte Technology Fast500 as one of the fastest growing companies in North America. For more information, please visit www.proove.com or call toll free 855-PROOVE-BIO (855-776-6832).

SOURCE Proove Biosciences, Inc.

Related Links

http://proove.com


CLEVELAND, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Select Restaurants today said that a recent data security incident at its third-party vendor may have compromised the security of payment information of some guests who used a debit or credit card at certain Select Restaurants locations between October 26, 2016 and February 3, 2017. A list of the dates for each location is below. Guests can safely use their credit and debit cards at all Select Restaurant locations.

What Happened? On March 30, 2017, Select Restaurants began investigating some unusual activity reported to the Company by its third-party vendor. Select Restaurants began to work with independent forensic experts to investigate these reports and to identify any signs of compromise on its systems. On April 26, 2017, Select Restaurants confirmed suspicious activity on its computer systems that indicated a potential compromise of guests' debit and credit card data for some debit and credit cards used at certain Select Restaurants locations.

Since that time, Select Restaurants has been working with third-party forensic investigators to determine what happened, what information was affected, protect the security of guest debit and credit cards, confirm the removal of the malware, and implement procedures to prevent any further unauthorized access to guest debit or credit card information. Select Restaurants is working with the United States Secret Service to investigate this incident.

What Information Was Involved? Through the ongoing third-party forensic investigations, Select Restaurants confirmed on April 26, 2017 that malware may have stolen credit or debit card data from some credit and debit cards used at Select Restaurant locations between October 26, 2016 and February 3, 2017. The date range differs for each affected Select Restaurant location. The information at risk as a result of this event may include the cardholder's name, card number, expiration date and CVV. A list of impacted Select Restaurants locations is below.

What We Are Doing. "Select Restaurants takes the security of our guests' information seriously, and we apologize for the inconvenience this incident has caused our guests," Alan Donatelli, President & COO of Select Restaurants, said. "We continue to work with third-party forensic investigators and law enforcement officials to ensure the security of our systems, and do all we can on behalf of our guests."

For More Information. Select Restaurants has established a dedicated assistance line for individuals seeking additional information regarding this incident. Guests can call (877) 238-2151, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST (Closed on U.S. observed holidays) and provide reference number 8204060617 when calling. Guests can also find information on this incident and what they can do to better protect against fraud and identity theft at www.selectrestaurants.com.

What You Can Do. Select Restaurants encourages all guests to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft by reviewing their account statements regularly and monitoring their credit reports for suspicious activity. Under U.S. law, a guest over the age of 18 is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. A guest may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of their credit report.

Select Restaurants encourages guests who believe they may be affected by this incident to take additional action to further protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss. At no charge, a guest can also have these credit bureaus place a "fraud alert" on their file that alerts creditors to take additional steps to verify their identity prior to granting credit in their name. Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect the guest, it may also delay their ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies their identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms the guest's fraud alert, the others are notified to place fraud alerts on the guest's file. Should the guest wish to place a fraud alert, or should the guest have any questions regarding his or her credit report, the guest can contact any one of the agencies listed below.

Equifax Experian TransUnion P.O. Box 105069 P.O. Box 2002 P.O. Box 2000 Atlanta, GA 30348 Allen, TX 75013 Chester, PA 19022 800-525-6285 888-397-3742 800-680-7289 www.equifax.com www.experian.com www.transunion.com

A guest may also place a security freeze on their credit reports. A security freeze prohibits a credit reporting agency from releasing any information from a guest's credit report without the consumer's written authorization. However, a guest should be aware that placing a security freeze on their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prevent the timely approval of any requests they make for new loans, credit mortgages, employment, housing, or other services.

If a guest has been a victim of identity theft, and the guest provides the credit reporting agency with a valid police report, it cannot charge the guest to place, lift or remove a security freeze. In all other cases, a credit reporting agency may charge a guest a fee to place, temporarily lift, or permanently remove a security freeze. A guest will need to place a security freeze separately with each of the three major credit bureaus listed above if the guest wishes to place the freeze on all of their credit files.

To find out more on how to place a security freeze, a guest can contact the credit reporting agencies using the information below:

Equifax Security Freeze P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348 1-800-685-1111 (NY residents please call 1-800-349-9960) www.freeze.equifax.com Experian Security Freeze P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/freeze/center.html TransUnion PO Box 2000 Chester, PA 19022-2000 1-888-909-8872 www.transunion.com/securityfreeze

A guest can further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, and the steps they can take to protect themselves, by contacting the Federal Trade Commission or their state Attorney General. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, 1-919-716-6400, www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, 1-888-743-0023, www.oag.state.md.us. The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20580, www.ftc.gov/idtheft/, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. A guest can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

List of Affected Restaurants and Dates of Compromise

Select Restaurant

Location Address Start Date End Date Parkers' Restaurant & Bar 1000 31st Street

Downers Grove, IL 60515 10/27/2016 1/9/2017 Rusty Scupper 402 Key Highway

Inner Harbor Marina

Baltimore, MD 21230 10/27/2016 1/9/2017 Black Powder Tavern 1164 Valley Forge Road

Wayne, PA 19087 10/27/2016 1/8/2017 Parkers' Lighthouse/Queensview Steakhouse 435 Shoreline Village Dr.

Long Beach, CA 90802 10/27/2016 1/5/2017 Parkers' Blue Ash 4200 Cooper Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242 10/27/2016 2/3/2017 Winberie's Summit 2 Kent Place Boulevard

Summit, NJ 07901 10/26/2016 1/7/2017 Winberie's Princeton One Palmer Square

Princeton, NJ 08542 10/26/2016 1/10/2017 Winberie's Oak Park 151 North Oak Park Ave

Oak Park, IL 60301 10/26/2016 1/7/2017 Countyline Tavern 800 W Lake Cook Rd.

Buffalo Grove, IL 60089 10/27/2016 1/8/2017 Top of the Hub 800 Boylston Street

Prudential Tower

Floor 52

Boston, MA 02199-8142 10/26/2016 1/10/2017 Skywalk Observatory 800 Boylston Street

Prudential Tower

Floor 50

Boston, MA 02199-8142 10/26/2016 1/10/2017 Pier W 12700 Lake Avenue

Winton Place,

Lakewood, OH 44107 10/27/2016 1/7/2017

SOURCE Select Restaurants

Related Links

http://selectrestaurants.com


NEW YORK, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Eco Science Solutions, Inc. ("Eco Science" or the "Company") (OTCCQB: ESSI) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, District of New Jersey, and docketed under 17-cv-03760, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Eco Science securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you are a shareholder who purchased Eco Science securities between May 1, 2017 and May 19, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until July 24, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.

[Click here to join this class action]

Eco Science Solutions, Inc. is a technology-focused company that provides solutions for the health and wellness industry. The Company provides enterprise software solutions and services including consumer apps, localized communication platforms between consumers and businesses, educational content, e-commerce platforms, and social networking services.

The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company's plan for strategic acquisitions lacked veracity; and (ii) as a result, Defendants' statements about the Company's business, operations and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable bases at all relevant times.

On May 19, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order of suspension of trading, halting trading of the Company's securities. To date, trading the Company's securities remains halted, rending the Company's securities illiquid and virtually worthless, thereby damaging investors.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

Related Links

http://www.pomerantzlaw.com


BRENTWOOD, Mo., June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SpringHill Suites St. Louis Brentwood is set to unveil a new and stylish image after completing a million-dollar renovation that gets it ready for the summer season and beyond.

The Brentwood hotel is hosting an open house on June 14, 2017 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. so visitors and locals can tour the renovated accommodations and see firsthand all of the upgrades and new amenities.

SpringHill Suites St. Louis Brentwood has completed a million-dollar renovation to all public spaces including its lobby in addition to its suites. The reimagination includes new carpet, paint, light fixtures and furniture. To celebrate, the hotel will host an open house on June 14, 2017 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. with live music, a display of local artwork and beer tasting by Crown Valley Brewing and Distilling Company. For information, visit www.marriott.com/STLBW or call 1-314-647-8400.

"We are inviting guests, travelers and visitors to come and see what's new as we celebrate the conclusion of an extensive renovation in our Brentwood hotel," said Ann Degnan, General Manager of SpringHill Suites St. Louis Brentwood. "We're committed to offering unparalleled services and superior quality, and that includes providing stylish and contemporary accommodations that meet and exceed modern traveler's needs. Whether they spend one night or a couple of weeks here, guests can expect an enjoyable, comfortable and memorable stay."

Enhancements include the renovation of all public spaces including the lobby and hallways, adding new carpet, contemporary furniture, modern light fixtures and a fresh coat of paint. The six-story hotel also added an S-Canvas Digital Gallery in its lobby. The interactive touch-screen display panel features driving directions, local weather and nearby restaurants so visitors have hyper-local information at their fingertips.

All 123 suites at the hotel also were refreshed and now showcase West Elm sofas with trundle beds for additional sleeping space. Guests can take advantage of rooms with distinctive living and sleeping spaces featuring areas to relax, work and sleep. Convenient mini-refrigerators, sinks and microwaves are also available in all suites for a pleasant stay in the Gateway City.

To celebrate the grand reimagination on June 14, the hotel is offering a special beer tasting from Crown Valley Brewing and Distilling Company and will present artwork from local artists along with hosting live music. RSVPs are encouraged by emailing [email protected].

About SpringHill Suites St. Louis Brentwood

SpringHill Suites St. Louis Brentwood at 1231 Strassner Drive in Brentwood, Missouri is 11 miles from St. Louis Lambert International Airport and close to Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Busch Stadium and the popular Gateway Arch. The hotel features 6 floors with 123 suites, 1 meeting room with 450 square feet of space, a fitness center and an indoor pool. The all-suite hotel offers complimentary perks including daily breakfast, high-speed Wi-Fi and on-site parking. For information, visit www.marriott.com/STLBW or call 1-314-647-8400.

Sign up now for Marriott Rewards and get on the fast track to earn points for free hotel stays, room upgrades, flights, credit card purchases and deals with Marriott partners. Learn more about SpringHill Suites and Marriott International Inc.

PRESS CONTACT

Farrah Chow-Quan

1-305-753-8653

[email protected]

SOURCE SpringHill Suites St. Louis Brentwood

Related Links

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/stlbw-springhill-suites-st-louis-brentwood


VANCOUVER, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Taseko Mines Limited (TSX: TKO; NYSE MKT: TGB) ("Taseko" or the "Company") today announced the voting results from its 2017 Annual General Meeting held Thursday, June 8, 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

A total of 151,842,184 common shares were voted at the meeting, representing 67.1% of the votes attached to all outstanding common shares. Shareholders voted in favour of all items of business before the meeting, including the election of all director nominees as follows:

Director % of Votes in Favour William Armstrong 98.8% Geoffrey Burns 98.5% Robert Dickinson 97.8% Russell Hallbauer 98.4% Alexander Morrison 98.5% Richard Mundie 98.6% Ronald Thiessen 97.8% Linda Thorstad 98.5%

Detailed voting results for the 2017 Annual General Meeting are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Russell Hallbauer

President and CEO

No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the information contained in this news release.

SOURCE Taseko Mines Limited

Related Links

www.tasekomines.com


LOS ANGELES, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the U.S. government's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, Hylink Digital (Hylink) has embraced the opportunity to step up its conservation efforts. The agency aims to lead the way out of its Santa Monica office and pledge to preserve the longevity of our beautiful environment.

While Hylink has opted for green alternatives, there are still many areas in which the company as a whole can reduce emissions and waste. Hylink has come together to determine quantifiable ways in which the company can make an impact and reduce its carbon footprint:

Hylink will switch its office dishwasher to run on cold water only. This will keep the office from producing 280 pounds of CO 2 per year, equivalent to about 300 miles driven by an average vehicle.

per year, equivalent to about 300 miles driven by an average vehicle. Ten employees who live five miles or less from the office will commit to walking, biking or carpooling. This will cut an additional 23,400 pounds of emissions per year.

Hylink will reduce paper consumption in the office by opting for hand dryers and/or replacing virgin-fiber paper towels with 100 percent recycled paper towels, cutting about 1,300 pounds of CO 2 per year.

per year. By turning off the A/C for a few hours each day, 15 pounds of CO 2 emissions per day or 3,900 pounds per year will be cut.

emissions per day or 3,900 pounds per year will be cut. Hylink will minimize ordering packaged goods. Packaging accounts for one-third of all trash produced, and 29 million tons of cardboard are generated annually. That's the equivalent of 493 million trees, or 1.5 trees per person, per year.

Preserving the environment and protecting the climate is of tantamount importance. As these changes take effect, within six months to a year, Hylink will have contributed to a reduction of about 28,800 pounds in CO 2 emissions, the equivalent of 31,396 miles driven by the average car.

For more information, please contact:

Madelyn Fitzpatrick, Head of International PR

[email protected]

About Hylink Digital

Hylink Digital is China's largest, independent digital full service agency and has been ranked the #1 Digital Agency by China Internet (CI) Weekly Magazine for nine consecutive years in a row, 2009-2016. Headquartered in Beijing, the agency has a total of sixteen offices worldwide. For more information, visit or follow us on Twitter: @hylinkdigital.

SOURCE Hylink Digital

Related Links

http://www.hylinkgroup.com


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BALTIMORE, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Addressing customers' desires for simplicity, flexibility and cost efficiency in their retirement planning, Transamerica has made enhancements to the Transamerica Income EdgeSM living benefit rider, along with launching two new lower cost investment options.

Introduced in 2016, Transamerica Income Edge is a living benefit available with most Transamerica variable annuities aimed at enabling Baby Boomers and Generation X individuals to effectively plan their retirement. Changes to the optional living benefit include a fee reduction, along with shortening the waiting period from five years down to three years for a customer to be eligible to start receiving a higher living benefit withdrawal percentage.

"This is good news for our customers who count on Transamerica's variable annuity living benefit riders for a portion of their retirement income," said Joe Boan, senior vice president with Transamerica. "Not only are we reducing their cost, but we are shortening their required waiting time by 40 percent, allowing them the opportunity to receive higher payouts sooner."

With the Transamerica Income Edge living benefit, if investors wait three years after investing to begin taking withdrawals, they would be eligible for an automatic 1 percent increase on their withdrawal percentage, which escalates based on a tiered age scale. After three full years, investors with a single life benefit who begin withdrawing between the ages of 59-64 can receive 5 percent income for life, those who begin withdrawing while in the 65-79 age range can receive 6 percent income for life, and if waiting until age 80 or older, the investor could receive 7 percent income for life.

"We recognize the challenges people face in preparing for retirement," Boan said. "A Transamerica variable annuity combined with the living benefit rider is one solution that can help grow and protect retirement savings, in addition to providing lifetime income." All guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

In addition to making changes to the living benefit, Transamerica launched two new index portfolios approved for rider eligibility through Transamerica Income Edge.

TA U.S. Equity Index gives access to broad market exposure that seeks investment results corresponding generally to the performance of the S&P 500 Index. This investment option is also subject to the risks associated with equity investments, including market volatility and decline. TA International Equity Index provides access to large and mid-cap equities in developed markets outside the U.S. and Canada. This investment option is also subject to equity investment risks as well as additional risks associated with foreign investment, including potentially higher market volatility and lower liquidity of the securities in which the investment option invests.

"We know from listening to financial advisors and our customers that people want options when it comes to investing and saving for retirement," Boan said. "These two new index portfolio offerings can meet the needs of those who are looking for growth potential in a cost-efficient investment option."

To learn more about Transamerica Income Edge and Transamerica's broad range of variable annuities and other retirement and investment products, visit www.Transamerica.com.

About Transamerica

With a history that dates back more than 100 years, Transamerica is recognized as a leading provider of life insurance, retirement and investment solutions, serving millions of customers throughout the United States. Recognizing the necessity of health and wellness during peak working life in order to enhance the prospects for a lifetime of financial security, Transamerica's dedicated professionals work to help people take the steps necessary to live better today so they can worry less about tomorrow. Transamerica serves nearly every customer segment, providing a broad range of quality life insurance and investment products, individual and group pension plans, as well as asset management services. In 2016, Transamerica fulfilled its promises to customers, paying more than $7.2 billion in insurance and annuity benefits, including return of annuity premiums paid by the customer. Transamerica's corporate headquarters is located in Baltimore, Maryland, with other major operations in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Transamerica is part of the Aegon group of companies. Based in the Netherlands, Aegon is one of the world's largest providers of life insurance, pension solutions and asset management products, operating in more than 20 markets worldwide. For the full year of 2016, Aegon managed $784 billion in revenue generating investments. For more information, please visit www.transamerica.com.

About Transamerica Variable Annuities

Variable annuities are long-term, tax-deferred vehicles designed for retirement purposes and are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principal. An investor may not make a direct investment in the index. Investment option names may vary from their corresponding underlying fund names. Please see the variable annuity prospectus for underlying fund names. Transamerica Series Trust underlying funds are advised by Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. Variable annuities are issued by Transamerica Life Insurance Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company in Harrison, New York (Transamerica). Annuities are underwritten and distributed by Transamerica Capital, Inc. Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Company is licensed in New York. For more information, visit www.transamerica.com/individual/products/annuities. All policies, living benefits, and forms may vary by state, and may not be available in all states. Rider form numbers are ICC16 RGMB510616(IS), ICC16 RGMB510616(IJ), NIC16 RGMB510616(IS), and NIC16 RGMB510616(IJ).

For more information on a variable annuity, please go to www.transamerica.com for prospectuses. You should carefully consider the objectives, risk, charges and expenses of an investment before investing. Read them carefully before you invest.

Media inquiries:

Jim Van Someren

720-529-6886

[email protected]

Julie Quinlan

213-742-5134

[email protected]

SOURCE Transamerica

Related Links

http://www.transamerica.com


OAK BROOK, Ill., June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS) will host a live audio Webcast of its second quarter earnings results conference call on Thursday, August 3, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Management will discuss the results for the second quarter and its outlook for the balance of 2017. An earnings release will be issued before the market opens on the same date. The Webcast will last approximately one hour and will be accessible by visiting http://www.treehousefoods.com and by clicking on "Investor Relations," "Investor Overview."

In order to listen to the Webcast, users will need to have installed either Real Player or Windows Media Player software, which can be detected and downloaded by visiting the site. A Webcast replay will be available for one year following the event within the "Investor Relations," "Earnings Call Archives" section of the Company's website.

ABOUT TREEHOUSE FOODS

TreeHouse Foods, Inc. is a manufacturer of packaged foods and beverages with more than 50 manufacturing facilities across the United States, Canada and Italy that focuses primarily on private label products for both retail grocery and food away from home customers. We manufacture shelf stable, refrigerated, frozen and fresh products, including beverages and beverage enhancers (single serve beverages, coffees, teas, creamers, powdered beverages and smoothies); meals (cereal, pasta, macaroni and cheese and side dishes); retail bakery (refrigerated and frozen dough, cookies and crackers); condiments (pourable and spoonable dressing, dips, pickles, sauces and aseptic soups and broths) and healthy snacks (nuts, trail mix, bars, dried fruits and vegetables). We have a comprehensive offering of packaging formats and flavor profiles, and we also offer natural, organic and preservative free ingredients in many categories. Our strategy is to be the leading supplier of private label food and beverage products by providing the best balance of quality and cost to our customers.

Additional information, including TreeHouse's most recent statements on Forms 10-Q and 10-K, may be found at TreeHouse Foods' website, http://www.treehousefoods.com.

SOURCE TreeHouse Foods, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.treehousefoods.com


MIAMI, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Miami-based United American Corp ("UAC"), (UAMA: US) is pleased to announce that it is in the process of completing a Form 10 for submission to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in order to re-register its common shares for the public market. The filing of the Form 10 is expected to be done within 60 days.

Management of United American Corp is currently evaluating the feasibility of a number of business opportunities for the company.

About United American Corp

United American Corp is a Florida-based holding and management company focusing on telecommunications technologies.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors that may be beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances in management's expectations or opinions change.

SOURCE United American
NEW YORK, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In anticipation of its July 1 release in the United States, Victoria Distillers of British Columbia announces its latest addition to their craft portfolio, Empress 1908 Gin. Empress 1908 Gin is a hand-crafted, all-natural, indigo blue spirit. During the distillation process, it is infused with the vibrantly tinted butterfly pea blossom, which creates a distinctive, indigo blue hue. With the addition of citrus or tonic, Empress 1908 Gin is transformed from its breathtaking indigo blue hue to monarch purple and then rose petal pink.

Empress 1908 Gin - Empress & Tonic - E & T

Inspired by the renowned tea and cocktail programs of the Fairmont Empress Hotel of Victoria, Empress 1908 Gin is an original, shaping its own story as a fearless provocateur, a mystery in a bottle. Hand crafted in small batch copper-pot stills, this is a gin with phenomenal depth and boldness of spirit. Gently refined, nuanced and enduring.

"We are thrilled to be launching Empress 1908 Gin in the United States," remarked Peter Hunt, President of Victoria Distillers, "and will be announcing our distribution partnership details shortly. Empress will launch this summer in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida and California, with other states to follow."

This innovative product has the full capacity to inspire and captivate. Empress 1908 Gin is timeless yet ever-changing, and preparing to make its mark in the spirits sector. Our motto sums up our ideals perfectly: "Live Colorfully." www.empress1908gin.com

About Victoria Distillers: Established in British Columbia, Canada in 2008, Victoria Distillers works with iconic local destinations to create premium cocktail spirits that reflect a sense of place. Well known in British Columbia (producer of second most sold premium Gin behind Hendricks), Victoria Distillers' creative efforts are rooted in Canada's West Coast culture. As one of Canada's oldest, small-batch spirits companies, Victoria Distillers is known for its drive for innovation and distinctive product line.

About FMG: Foundations Marketing Group (FMG) is a New York based, brand development agency representing Victoria Distillers' Empress 1908 Gin. FMG's leadership consists of experienced international executives with diverse wine and spirits industry backgrounds, providing clients comprehensive market strategies for success.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Andrew Matthews

Foundations Marketing Group

[email protected]

T: 212.537.9363

SOURCE Victoria Distillers
The $3.05 million grant, "Effectiveness trial of an E-health intervention to support diabetes care in minority youth," funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, will focus on young adolescents, as this is an age where responsibility for completing diabetes care begins to transition from the parent to the child. According to Deborah Ellis, Ph.D., professor of family medicine and public health sciences in Wayne State's School of Medicine, if parents do not continue to be highly involved in their child's diabetes care during this time and the transition of responsibility to the child occurs too rapidly, adolescents are likely to neglect critical aspects of their care.

"Research has shown that maintaining high levels of parental involvement and supervision of daily diabetes care is a critical predictor of youth diabetes management," said Ellis. "However, physicians do not always have time to discuss parenting behaviors during busy clinic visits. A brief, computer-delivered intervention during clinic visits can provide this type of information, as well as help parents maintain their motivation to stay involved in their child's care, even when adolescents seem to have the maturity to care for diabetes independently."

Through this multicenter, randomized effectiveness trial, the research team will test the intervention with 212 African American adolescents with Type 1 diabetes and their primary caregivers recruited from pediatric endocrinology clinics across the United States.

The study also will investigate factors that promote or interfere with the intervention's use in a variety of different clinics serving adolescents with diabetes.

"This intervention may improve health outcomes in a vulnerable population of youth," said Ellis. "Because of the low cost, it has the potential to have wide reach to many youth and families through integration into routine medical appointments in diabetes clinics."

The grant number for this National Institutes of Health award is DK110075.

Contact: Julie O'Connor

Voice: (313) 577-8845

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Wayne State University

Related Links

https://wayne.edu/


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Taipei, June 9 (CNA) The pretax earnings of Taiwanese banks in their four major overseas markets fell more than 16 percent in 2016 from a year earlier due mainly to a sharp drop in their profits in the U.S. market after Mega International Commercial Bank () was fined heavily in a money laundering case there, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said Friday.
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Imphal, June 5 : Soldiers on Monday shot dead a self-styled "Major" of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) in Manipur, police said.

The incident took place early in the day at Khoupum in Noney district. A M-16 rifle and 11 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the slain militant, identified as G. Thanmei.

Police said the area was cordoned off soon after Sunday midnight on receipt of intelligence inputs about the presence of armed persons. As the Gorkha Rifles moved in, a gun battle began with a group of militants.

While Thanmei was killed, his accomplices escaped. Police believe some of the escaping militants had sustained injuries. None of the security personnel was injured.

The NSCN(K) entered into a ceasefire with the Indian government in 2000. It abrogated the truce on March 27, 2015.

On June 4, 2015, the NSCN(K) was blamed for killing 18 soldiers in Chandel district in Manipur.
United Nations, June 6 : Top UN officials at an an international conference on the health of the world's oceans and seas here have called for coordinated global action to protect the planet.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned governments that unless they overcome short-term territorial and resource interests, the state of the oceans will continue to deteriorate.

The Ocean Conference opened on Monday with a traditional Fijian ceremony at the UN General Assembly, and was the first major UN conference Guterres addressed since taking office, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Improving the health of our oceans is a test for multilateralism, and we cannot afford to fail," the Secretary-General said.

"We must jointly address the problems of governance that have held us back," he said, calling for a new strategic vision of how to govern the oceans and marine resources.

One of the main challenges, he said, is to end the "artificial dichotomy" between jobs and healthy oceans. "The conservation and sustainable use of marine resources are two sides of the same coin," he noted.

The UN Chief called for strong political leadership and new partnerships, based on the existing legal framework, and concrete steps, such as expanding marine protected areas and reducing plastic waste pollution.

Among other specific actions, Guterres urged states to allocate their promised funding for the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, as well as to improve data collection and share their best experience.

"The time has come for us to correct our wrongful ways," President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thomson told thousands of participants, including heads of state and governments, business people, actors, and ocean and marine life advocates.

"We are here on behalf of humanity to restore sustainability, balance and respect to our relationship with our primal mother, the source of life, the Ocean," he said.

Also speaking at the opening of the conference was Wu Hongbo, the secretary-general of the Ocean Conference, who said that without oceans and seas, there would be no life on the planet.

Wu, who is working as UN Under-Secretary-General for economic and social affairs, also noted that everyone must work together to achieve the goals of the conference.

The Ocean Conference, which runs through Friday, focuses on the targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The conference is expected to give a call for action backed by UN member countries, and approve a document already negotiated here in previous months, the organisers of the conference said.
Thiruvananthapuram, June 6 : The CBI raids on NDTV network's co-founder Prannoy Roy's premises is reminiscent of the Emergency days, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday.

In a statement issued here, Vijayan said the CBI raids at the residences of Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy were a ploy by the Narendra Modi government to "silence and scare those against the Centre".

"The central government is using the enforcement agencies and the CBI to wreak vengeance and it reminds me of what happened during the 'Emergency days'. This is a clear example of trying to gag the media and all should come out against this high-handedness," he said.

The CBI on Monday conducted raids on Prannoy Roy's houses in Delhi and Mussoorie over an alleged bank loan default.

Radhika Roy is the sister of CPI-M politburo member Brinda Karat.
Bengaluru, June 6 : Fifteen persons were arrested from Bengaluru on Tuesday and demonetised currency totalling Rs 5.75 crore was seized from them, police said on Tuesday.

This followed the search of a car parked in front of a hotel at Basavanagudi on a tip, Deputy Commissioner of Police S.D. Sharanappa told reporters here.

The three persons were arrested on charges of trying to exchange scrapped currency totalling Rs 2.15 crore, he said.

A car, a two-wheeler and two mobile phones were seized from Iqbal Mohammad, 40, S. Rajesh, 30, and Ravindranath, 44, all from Bengaluru.

Later, P. Sadashiva, 38, and E. Harsha, 40, were arrested on the PES College Main Road along with old notes totalling Rs 1.12 crore. Two mobile phones were seized from them.

Two persons were caught in Gandhi Bazaar while trying to exchange Rs 50 lakh in scrapped notes. A sport utility vehicle and two mobile phones were seized from J. Suresh, 32, and R. Raghunandan, 32.

Four persons were held in Subramanyapura area with demonetised notes totalling Rs 98 lakh. They are C.H. Bharath, 21, K. Srinivas, 50, both from Bengaluru; S.R. Srinivasamurthy, 48, and M.R. Chandre Gowda, 31, from Chikballapur district.

Bengaluru residents V. Murali, 39, G. Balaji, 36, Shafiq Ahmed, 39, and M. Manjunath, 25, were arrested and Rs 1 crore in scrapped notes were seized from them apart from a car.

All the 15 have been booked under the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017.

Similar seizures of scrapped notes and arrests were made in the city earlier too.

On March 23, two men were arrested with demonetised notes totalling Rs 1.28 crore. On March 28, four men were arrested with old notes totalling Rs 4.98 crore.

On April 2, 14 men were arrested with demonetised notes adding up to Rs 9.1 crore. On April 15, former corporator V. Nagaraj's residence and office were raided and demonetised notes totalling Rs 14.8 crore were seized.

On April 29, seven persons were arrested with Rs 96.9 lakh in scrapped currency. And on June 5, five persons were held with Rs 2.50 crore in old notes.
New Delhi, June 7 : Two teenagers drowned while bathing in the Yamuna river here on Wednesday, police said.

Himanshu Singh, 13, and Manish Kumar, 14, from Pradhan Enclave in Burari had gone for a morning walk with two other friends along the river.

A police officer told IANS that the two boys decided to take a dip in the river.

"(Himanshu) slipped while bathing and fell into the deep side of the river. Manish tried to save him and both drowned. The other two then called the locals and the police were informed," the officer said.
Mandsaur/Indore (Madhya Pradesh), June 7 : Hundreds of angry farmers on Wednesday blockaded roads and attacked two top officials at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh as their leaders claimed that eight people died in police firing a day earlier.

Mandsaur District Magistrate Swatantra Kumar Singh and Indore Superintendent of Police O.P. Tripathi were roughed up by a mob when they reached Barkheda Pant in Mandsaur where farmers were squatting on a road with the body of one of those killed on Tuesday.

Singh and Tripathi wanted to talk to the farmers in a bid to persuade them to end their protest but the attempt backfired.

Singh was chased by the farmers, with some repeatedly hitting him on the head. Tripathi had a tough time too. Police reinforcements which rushed to the spot rescued both the officials.

"The situation is tense but under control," a senior official said on Wednesday.

The farmers allege that the Madhya Pradesh Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deliberately opened fire at them when they were protesting on Tuesday. Seven farmers were also wounded in the firing.

Police said that it were the farmers who triggered the violence.

The farmers retaliated by torching more than 30 vehicles. In a desperate bid to bring the situation under control, authorities imposed curfew late on Tuesday in parts of Mandsaur district.

An official said the curfew would remain in force until further orders.

Leaders of three farmers' organisations alleged at a press conference in Indore that the number of people killed in police firing on Tuesday was eight and not five. One of the dead was a college student.

Representative of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, Aam Kisan Union and Bharatiya Kisan Union accused the government of spreading canards about the farmers.

Aam Kisan Union founder Kedar Sirohi said: "By branding us anti-social elements, the government is adding fuel to the fire. On the one hand the government has unleashed repression on us, and on the other it is trying to defame us."

Sirohi warned that if the situation did not change immediately, the farmers would resort to a "jail bharo" campaign across the state.

"And in all the 53,000 villages of the state we will take out a mock funeral of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh."

The Congress party extended support to a shutdown called by farmers in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday to denounce the firing.

Reports reaching the state capital Bhopal said the strike evoked varying response in different parts of Madhya Pradesh.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have been on strike from June 1 to June 10 to demand that their loans be scrapped and that their produce should be bought at a fair price.
Gurugram, June 7 : An autorickshaw driver hailing from Uttar Pradesh has been arrested for the gang-rape of a young woman and the killing of her infant daughter in Gurugram district in Haryana, police said on Wednesday.

Gurugram Police admitted to lapses on the part of police in handling the crime and said a woman police officer had been suspended for "dealing with the case casually".

Driver Yogender was arrested from Bass Kusla village near Gurugram's IMT Manesar on the basis of human and technical intelligence.

He and his accomplices Amit and Jaikesh -- who are absconding -- raped the 20-year-old woman on May 29 night, Gurugram Commissioner of Police Sandeep Khirwar told the media.

They also killed her seven-month-old daughter by throwing her from a moving autorickshaw.

All three accused are school dropouts in their early 20s and ply autorickshaws.

The victim and her husband had left their rented accommodation in Bass Kusla late May 29 night after an argument.

The woman was on her way to in-laws' house on old Khandsa Road here when the accused offered her a lift in the autorickshaw.

They took her to IMT Manesar's Sector 8 and sexually assaulted her. They also killed the infant.

After a hospital in Delhi's Tughlakabad area confirmed the child was dead, Gurugram Police was informed, which registered a case of murder, molestation and common intent on the basis of the woman's complaint, Khirwar added.

"There was lapse in taking necessary police action on time and registering the case of gang rape. We have suspended a woman police officer for taking the case casually," the officer added.
New Delhi, June 7 : Actress Kriti Sanon, who will be seen playing a "tomboyish character" in the upcoming film "Bareilly Ki Barfi", says it was a very fresh for her to play a character from Uttar Pradesh.

Talking about the role in "Bareilly Ki Barfi", Kriti told IANS here: "It's a very tomboyish character. She is a girl living in Bareilly but doing things on her own terms. She is someone who is quite bratty and who questions the basic norms."

The 26-year-old actress says her character does brake dance in the film, and has traits which make her different from other girls in Bareilly.

"What I really like about the film is also the fact that every relationship is shown very nicely... Also, for me to play a UP girl was very fresh," she added.

"Bareilly Ki Barfi" is directed by "Nil Battey Sannata" fame director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari. Slated to release on July 21 next year, it is a romantic comedy rooted in the subculture of the north Indian city Bareilly.

The film also stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao.

Meanwhile, the "Dilwale" actress is currently promoting her forthcoming film "Raabta" directed by Dinesh Vijan.
New Delhi, June 7 : The Indian government is awaiting details from its embassy in Tehran following Wednesday's terror attacks in the Iranian capital that claimed eight lives, a senior official here said.

"We have the initial reports which have come in from Iran," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay told a media briefing here.

"It's obviously an unfortunate situation... We are awaiting a full report and full details from our embassy as to what exactly happened," he said.

At least eight people were killed on Wednesday in the first terror attack claimed by the Islamic State in Iran, with the assailants acting in coordination targeting the Parliament House and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum in the heart of Tehran.

Details of the twin attacks remained sketchy even several hours later. Lawmaker Tayebeh Siavoshi told Efe news that the situation was "very confusing and sensitive".

The Islamic State, a Sunni jihadi group, claimed responsibility for both attacks in the Shia majority nation.

"There has obviously been an attack on parliament and another monument in Tehran," Baglay said.

"India, as you know, condemns all forms of terrorism," he said.
New Delhi, June 7 : Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is leading a delegation of MPs to Mauritius, a statement from Lok Sabha Secretariat said.

The six-member delegation, which lefty for the island nation on Tuesday, will meet several dignitaries including President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, who had visited India late last month.

The delegation, which will be in Mauritious till June 10, is also slated to meet the Speaker of the National Assembly, and others.
Tehran, June 8 : The assailants who carried out the two deadly attacks in Tehran resulting in the deaths of 13 people were Iranians who were recruited by the Islamic State (IS) terror group, a top security official said on Thursday.

In an interview on state TV, Reza Seifollahi, deputy chief of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said the attackers "had joined the IS from a number of regions inside Iran", reports the BBC.

"These people were cooperating with the IS in Syria and Iraq, and following the recent losses of the IS in both countries, they returned," Xinhua news agency quoted Seifollahi as saying.

The IS, a hardline Sunni jihadi group, claimed the attacks and threatened further assaults on Iranian Shia Muslims.

Suicide bombers attacked parliament and the mausoleum of the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Khomeini on Wednesday.

The twin attacks were simultaneously carried out at around 10.30 a.m.

All the attackers were killed. Five people believed to be planning a third attack were arrested, officials said.

Forty-three people were also injured.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards had earlier accused Saudi Arabia and the US of being behind the attacks.

The violence comes amid heightened tension in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states cutting ties with Qatar over alleged support for Islamist militants and closer ties with Iran.
Bhopal, June 8 : The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday transferred the District Magistrates of three violence-hit districts -- Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neemuch -- over the growing agitation by farmers, while the Mandsaur Police Superintendent was also transferred.

A circular issued said Mandsaur DM Swatantra Kumar Singh has been replaced by the DM of Shivpuri O.P. Shrivastava, while B. Chandrashekhar has been replaced by Tanvi Sundriyal in Ratlam. In Neemuch, Kaushlendra Vikram Singh was named the new DM, replacing Rajneesh Shrivastava.

Speaking to reporters, Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary Basant Pratap Singh said the officials in Mandsaur were transferred in the wake of "dissatisfaction" of the people.

According to informed sources, Neemuch SP Manoj Singh has been appointed the new Mandsaur SP in place of O.P. Tripathi.

The transfers come after five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur on Tuesday. Farmers have been indulging in large-scale violence in the three districts to press their demands.

T.K. Vidyarthi, SP (Rail, Bhopal) has been made the new Neemuch Superintendent of Police. O.P. Tripathi has been sent to police headquarters.

The farmers agitation entered its eighth day on Thursday. The peasants have been on strike since June 1, demanding loan waiver and fair price for their produce.

On Tuesday, the agitating farmers resorted to violence, pelting stones at police in Mandsaur district. In retaliation, police opened fire at the farmers' mob, leaving five dead, according to official count, but farmer leaders claim eight were killed.

Violence erupted again on Wednesday as the protesting farmers indulged in arson with hundreds defying the curfew in Mandsaur.

A group of farmers also marched to a police station in Dewas district and set fire to vehicles parked there.
New Delhi, June 8 : From working at a farm to taking up a bartending job while studying, Canadian actor Diego Klattenhoff says his journey into the world of glamour was not easy, and it was never meant to be.

He doesn't look back at his journey with any regret and feels all the nights he spent "clearing out the trash or dealing with drunk people" were worth it.

"I mean it is never easy (the journey). You have a goal in mind and that is the whole part of adventure... But you never know where it is going to take you. (I think) all those nights of cleaning up trash and dealing with drunk people was worth it," Klattenhoff told IANS over phone from New York.

Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, Klattenhoff spent his childhood in a rural neighbourhood working on farms. He moved to Toronto when he was 19 and started to work towards his acting ambition.

The actor asserts that it is easy to get wrapped up in the "superficial" world of glamour. Staying true to your roots is the key to escape it.

"It (key to survive) comes down to who you are, how you were raised and what your ideals are... I grew up in the country and spent a lot of time doing whatever work I could find. I grew up working in a farm and then worked in the woods.

"It is a trip though. Don't get me wrong... There are a lot of good things down there too... Just like anywhere there are a lot of great people."

He took up a bartending job while attending theatre workshops, and slowly made his way to Hollywood. He is best known as Shane Oman in hit "Mean Girls", and then went on grab attention with projects like "Pacific Rim", "Ice Princess" and "After Earth".

Klattenhoff made it big on the small screen with shows like "Homeland" and "The Blacklist", which is aired in India on Star World and Star World HD.

"Homeland" -- the story of action-filled spy life woven with the thrills of political drama -- made him a household name. The 37-year-old actor says "Homeland", which also featured Indian actress Nimrat Kaur, was an "amazing ride".

"It didn't hurt to have a show that a lot of people are watching and to be on people's radar. It was an amazing ride on 'Homeland' and couldn't have been better.

"It is funny I was talking to David Harewood (British actor), who was in 'Homeland' (about the impact the show had on their careers). He is in 'Supergirl' now... We were catching up few months ago about the experience of doing that show and where it has taken us."

A quick search will highlight several reports on Klattenhoff's professional life and work, but none about his family life.

Ask him how he guards his personal life and Klattenhoff just laughs off the question.

And just then his publicist intervenes with a reminder that the interview will be over soon and "now will be a good time to ask any other question" about his work.

Taking the focus back on the work front, Klattenhoff is on a hiatus at the moment, and plans to be back soon.

"I am on a hiatus right now. We had few close calls but the schedule didn't work out but I am happy and enjoying my time off. It is going to be a short little break and then will be back soon," he said.

(Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)
Washington, June 8 : US President Donald Trump has proposed to convene a summit to resolve the crisis caused by the decision of Saudi Arabia followed by several other countries to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Trump spoke by telephone with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, on Wedmesday and offered to host the meeting if it would help them resolve their differences, the White House said in a statement.

"The President emphasised the importance of all countries in the region working together to prevent the financing of terrorist organisations and stop the promotion of extremist ideology in his call with the Qatari ruler," the White House said.

The White House did not specify if the meeting proposed by Trump would include just the member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia -- or also other nations which have joined the diplomatic boycott of Qatar, Efe news reported.

So far, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Mauritania and the Maldives have broken diplomatic ties with Qatar, while Jordan has announced that it will reduce its diplomatic representation in that country and Senegal has called its envoy to the emirate home for consultations.

The rupture is based on the accusation that the Qatari government finances terrorist organisations, including the Islamic State, Al Qaida and the Muslim Brotherhood, an accusation that Qatar has denied.

Kuwait is trying to mediate in the conflict and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday offered Washington's help in resolving the dispute, but Trump himself had not offered to become involved as a mediator until now.

Trump's call to the Qatari emir comes a day after the President spoke by telephone with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdelaziz and expressed to him the importance of unity against terrorism in the Persian Gulf.
Bhubaneswar, June 8 : Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday urged Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti to advise the Chhattisgarh government to open the gates of Kalma barrage to ensure free flow of water in the Mahanadi river.

Pradhan said the free flow of water would mitigate the sufferings of the people of Odisha.

"It is stated that non-monsoon flow into Hirakud Reservoir received from the upper catchment of Mahanadi basin is showing a significant downward trend. The percentage reduction has alarmingly gone up to 78% in the month of May," Pradhan said in a letter to Uma Bharti.

He said this stop of flow had caused severe anguish in the downstream areas, thus affecting the district water needs in peak summer month.

"If this trend is allowed to continue, there will be near stoppage of flow of water into the Hirakud Reservoir and in all likelihood will cause great loss to the reservoir and the downward catchment area," he said.

Earlier, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to instruct the Chhattisgarh government to stop the construction of barrages on Mahanadi river and ensure free flow of water to the state.

He also urged Modi to open the gates of Kalma and other barrages to maintain the free flow of water downstream which is the rightful claim of Odisha and its inhabitants.
Rome, June 8 : Police said they detained two persons in Italy's central Tuscany region on Thursday and moved to arrest several other suspects in a nationwide sting operation against a Nigerian-led human trafficking gang.

A Nigerian man and a Nigerian woman living in the town of Pescia in the province of Pistoia were arrested as part of the operation.

Suspects were also being held in the western island region of Sardinia's capital, Cagliari, in Pescara in the eastern Abruzzo region, in the central Umbria region and in the southern port city of Reggio Calabria in the Calabria region, said police.

The suspects targeted by the operation belong to a "dangerous" gang headquartered in Nigeria and with bases in Italy and elsewhere in Europe that trafficked migrants from Africa and ran a prostitution racket, police said.
New York, June 9 : British billionaire Richard Branson presented a petition to the UN General Assembly (UNGA), urging governments to protect at least 30 per cent of oceans by 2030.

The founder of the Virgin Group, also a famous investor and philanthropist, presented the petition on Thursday backed by over 1 million citizens from around the world to UNGA President Peter Thomson at the UN Oceans Conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

The commitment was made in September 2016 at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, where 180 governments and over 600 NGOs voted to strongly protect at least a third of the world's ocean by 2030.

"Now citizens are calling on governments to execute on this," Branson said.

"The ocean covers two thirds of the planet yet today less than 3 per cent is strongly protected. The science says we need to protect at least 30 per cent."

"Through this petition, over 1 million people from around the world have called for action to reach this ambitious target. I am pleased to add my voice and look forward to working with political and business leaders and citizens to make it a reality," he said.

The UN Ocean Conference is ongoing at the UN headquarters here, coinciding with World Oceans Day, which falls on June 8.

Co-chaired by Fiji and Sweden, the Conference aims to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
San Francisco, June 9 : Ransomware attacks have prompted Microsoft to sign an agreement to acquire Hexadite, a US-headquartered company that delivers agentless, automatic incident investigation and remediation solutions.

"Our vision is to deliver a new generation of security capabilities that helps our customers protect, detect and respond to the constantly evolving and ever-changing cyberthreat landscape," Terry Myerson, Executive Vice President, Windows and Devices Group, Microsoft, said.

Although the the terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, Tech Crunch reported that the deal was finalised for a price of $100 million to acquire the company that uses AI to identify and protect against attacks.

According to a Microsoft blog, once closed, the acquisition will build on the successful work Microsoft was already doing to help commercial Windows 10 customers detect, investigate and respond to advanced attacks on their networks with Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP).

WDATP continues to prove its value in detecting high-profile security cases such as zero-day attacks, ransomware and other advanced cyberthreats.

With Hexadite, WDATP will include endpoint security automated remediation, while continuing the incredible growth in activations of WDATP, which now protects almost two million devices.

"Hexadite's technology and talent will augment our existing capabilities and enable our ability to add new tools and services to Microsoft's robust enterprise security offerings," Myerson added.

Windows 10 was the most secure version of Windows ever and with ongoing investments in the areas of automating detection and remediation.

Windows 10 would continue to drive deployments with customers like the US Department of Defence, Australian Department of Human Services, Kimberly-Clark, MARS Inc., Crystal Group and many others, the blog said.

Hexadite headquarters are based in Boston, with a team of researchers in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Following the close of the deal and after a period of integration, Hexadite would be fully absorbed into Microsoft as part of the Windows and Devices Group.
New Delhi, June 9 : India represents a billion dollar Cloud computing market which is growing at 30 per cent annually and Microsoft is well-positioned to support the country's digital transformation, a top company executive has stressed.

"Digital workplace" is the new mantra for enterprises and businesses as IT leaders are focused on building an agile infrastructure that can address the needs of changing workforce demographics and transform their digital strategies.

"India has about 30 million-odd small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and a vast majority of these still have to embrace Cloud. For us, this is a massive opportunity to transform their operations in a secure Cloud environment," Rajiv Sodhi, Country Head, Cloud and Server Business, Microsoft India, told IANS in an interview.

"We spend nearly $12 billion on research every year to help customers derive value out of data they store in our Cloud environments," Sodhi noted.

Microsoft's definition of digital transformation is centred around four pillars: Empower employees, optimise operations, engage with customers, and transform their products.

According to Sodhi, Indian enterprises are adopting a people-centric approach at the forefront of their digital transformation strategies.

"B2B companies are focused on enhancing their workforce productivity and efficiency, whereas B2C companies are focused on customer engagement," Sodhi said, adding that as a long-term partner to Indian businesses, Microsoft is geared to address such needs.

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) are now being viewed by Indians as important and relevant to digital transformation strategies.

According to Microsoft's "Asia Digital Transformation Study 2016", 88 per cent Indians believe that Cloud computing and decreasing cost of devices make it more affordable for companies of all sizes to access modern technology and help them gain a competitive advantage.

In April, Microsoft announced new Azure migration tools and resources to help organisations utilise the power of hybrid Cloud.

Organisations can activate their "Azure hybrid use benefit" directly in the Azure management portal, simplifying their path to the Cloud in the most cost-effective way possible. With the "Azure hybrid use benefit" they save up to 40 per cent with Windows Server licenses that include software assurance, the company said.

"We are guided by what our customers need, so that they are more productive on their business side. Our mission is also to let individuals do and achieve more. We will continue to work as and when we get feedback from customers as to what they want," Sodhi added.

(Anuj Sharma can be contacted at anuj.s@ians.in)
Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh), June 9 : Curfew in violence-hit Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh was relaxed for eight hours on Friday, officials said.

The district administration relaxed the curfew here from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mandsaur has seen violent protests since Tuesday after five farmers were killed in a police firing.

"During these eight hours, no one would be allowed to hold demonstrations," District Magistrate O.P. Shrivastava said. The curfew was also relaxed for two hours on Thursday evening.

The farmers in Madhya Pradesh were on strike since June 1 demanding loan waivers and fair prices for their produce.

The agitating farmers resorted to violence on Tuesday, pelting stones at the police. In retaliation, the police opened fire at the farmers' mob, leaving five dead, according to official count. However, farmer leaders claim eight were killed.

A curfew was imposed to control the subsequent violence in Mandsaur and Piplia Mandi area.

Despite the relaxation, the police, along with the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and central security forces personnel, would remain deployed in both places.
Astana, June 9 : Prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here.

"Taking forward #IndiaUzbekistan coop'n. PM @narendramodi meets President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan on the sidelines of SCO Summit," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted with a picture of both leaders.

India and Pakistan were expected to be granted full membership of the SCO, which also includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, at the Summit here on Friday. India has been a observer to the Eurasian bloc since 2005.

Modi began his engagements on Friday with a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and thanked him for China's support for India's membership of the SCO.

On Thursday, soon after his arrival here, Modi held a bilateral meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during the course of which the two leaders discussed ways to expand bilateral ties, including development of the Chabahar port in Iran.

Later in the night, Modi exchanged pleasantries with Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif at the Leaders Lounge at the Astana Opera here. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after 17 months.

After participating in the SCO Summit on Friday, Modi will attend the World Exposition, which Kazakhstan is hosting this year, before returning to India.
Darjeeling, June 9 : The Army staged a flag march in Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Kurseong on Friday, as shops and hotels remained closed in the northern West Bengal hills following a 12-hour shutdown called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

There were no reports of fresh violence in the hills, where the situation continued to be tense a day after thousands of angry GJM activists demanding a separate Gorkhaland state indulged in arson and pelted stones at police, injuring 15, in Darjeeling.

A Defence Ministry spokesperson said in Kolkata that six Army columns have been deployed -- three in Darjeeling, two in Kalimpong and one in Kurseong. Each column comprises of 43 personnel.

Three companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have also been deployed to ensure peace.

The Army, CRPF and the civil administration are coordinating with one another and the situation is under control of the civil administration, the spokesperson said.

"Army was requisitioned at 6.15 p.m. yesterday (Thursday) in Darjeeling after a mob turned violent and injured government personnel and vandalised government property," he said.

"Two Army columns were deployed initially in Darjeeling. Requisition for deployment of additional columns in Kalimpong and Kurseong as a precautionary measure, was received late in the night," the spokesperson added.

Thousands of tourists are facing a trying time in getting out of various pockets of the hills, with car and jeep owners fleecing them against the backdrop of the shutdown that started from 6 a.m. on Friday.

The GJM has called the shutdown to protest "indiscriminate police action on the peaceful demonstration" by its workers.
Srinagar, June 9 : Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik was arrested in Srinagar on Friday when he tried to lead a protest march here.

Malik had gone underground on Thursday while other senior separatist leaders were placed under house arrest by the authorities to prevent a march called against the killing of a youth in security firing earlier this week.

Malik and his supporters started the march towards city centre Lal Chowk, but the police intercepted them in Sarai Bala area. They took Malik into preventive custody.

Separatists had announced a valley-wide shutdown and protests on Friday against the death of Adil Farooq Magrey in Zanawpora village of Shopian district in security force firing on Tuesday.

Magrey was killed when a stone pelting mob attacked the security forces to prevent an anti-militancy operation.
Beijing, June 9 : China and India should address the "major and sensitive issues" dogging their bilateral ties, Chinese President Xi Jinping conveyed to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting in the Kazakhstan capital Astana on Friday.

Meeting Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Astana, Xi also congratulated India on becoming a full member of the grouping.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying, briefing newspersons here on the meeting, said Xi told Modi that both sides "should address major and sensitive issues."

"The Chinese side attaches great importance to this relationship with India, and will work together with India to complement each other's major development strategies and stay in close communication and coordinate with each other on major regional and international affairs and maintain sound and steady growth of the bilateral relationship," Hua said quoting Xi.

"During the meeting, Xi pointed out that the current world situation is undergoing profound changes and China and India as two major developing countries in the world should focus more on cooperation and work alongside with each other to provide assistance to each other's developmental growth," she added.

Modi told Xi that the two countries enjoy traditional friendship and a sound and steady bilateral relationship would be conducive to peace and stability in the whole world, Hua said.

Modi said that both nations "should enhance cooperation and coordination in international affairs and deal with sensitive issues between the two countries", according to Hua.

The meeting comes at a time when ties between the two countries have been strained over a host of issues, including Beijing repeatedly blocking New Delhi's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and for a ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar.

China has been upset with India for hosting the Dalai Lama and allowing the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit Arunachal Pradesh, large parts of which Beijing considers as part of southern Tibet.

Xi also stressed the need to develop the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar corridor, one of the six components of Beijing's One Belt, One Road project.

India is opposed to the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the most important component of the Belt and Road Initiative, which passes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir and even skipped the two-day Belt and Road summit in Beijing in opposition to it.
Ankara, June 9 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ratified two deals allowing Turkish troops' deployment to Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie, according to the presidency.

Erdogan signed off deals on the Turkish Parliament's approval late Thursday night, Xinhua news agency reported.

The first deal, signed in Doha in April 2016, allows Turkish troops to improve Qatar's army and boost military cooperation.

The second deal, signed in December 2015 between the two Interior Ministries, allows the Turkish gendarmerie to train Qatari gendarmerie forces.

The move came after Erdogan expressed earlier this week disapproval of the sanctions imposed on Qatar by several Arab countries.

Erdogan also said that Turkey "will continue and develop" ties with Qatar.

Earlier the week, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania and the Maldives snapped their diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting "terrorism and extremism.

Qatar has stoutly refuted the allegations.
Mumbai, June 9 : Actor Ranbir Kapoor is happy that "Jab Harry Met Sejal" -- a title that he suggested -- has been finalised for the Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma starrer directed by Imtiaz Ali. He says he wants Rs 5000 as reward, and in cash.

Ranbir, who was present here on Friday at a song launch of his upcoming film "Jagga Jasoos", said here: "I suggested the title of the film and that time people laughed at me saying, 'Kya bakwaas title hai (What a useless title it is'. Today when the poster of the film released with my suggested title, I was very happy."

Recounting how the conversation around the title had panned, Ranbir added: "I was shooting at the Mehboob Studio where Shah Rukh sir and Imtiaz were also shooting. So I went to meet them and I suggested the title while chatting with them. I am looking forward as a fan and as an audience member to watch the interesting collaboration of Imtiaz Ali and SRK."

The poster of "When Harry Met Sejal" was unveiled on Thursday night, and on Friday, it was confirmed the film will release on August 4 -- a week before the scheduled date, thereby averting a clash with Akshay Kumar's "Toilet: Ek Prem Katha".

On Twitter, Shah Rukh had quipped about the title: "Just in case Ranbir Kapoor ever claims it... The title 'Jab Harry Met Sejal' was never ever suggested by him! So he doesn't win the Rs 5,000 reward."

Commenting on that, Ranbir said: "That time I didn't know about the reward. Now that I am aware of it, I will go to Mannat (Shah Rukh's house) to take my 5,000 rupees from Shah Rukh sir... In cash please."

The actor was here with Katrina Kaif and their "Jagga Jasoos" director Anurag Basu to launch a new song "Galti se mistake".
Islamabad/The Hague, June 9 : Pakistan has urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to expedite hearing in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

This was conveyed to ICJ President Ronny Abrahim during a meeting on Thursday with delegations from Pakistan and India to discuss the timeline of the case of alleged Indian spy Jadhav who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for espionage.

The ICJ registrar and other officials were present in the meeting which lasted 45 minutes.

The Court is set to announce the timetable of the hearing shortly, the News International reported.

A statement from the office of the Pakistan Attorney General said the meeting was not a hearing to discuss on the substance or merits of the case, but only to discuss procedural matters, including the timelines for submission of written memorials and to enable a hearing to be listed.

Jadhav was sentenced to death on April 10 on charges of spying. However, his execution was stayed by the ICJ on May 18 on India's request.

The delegation from Pakistan was led by Pakistan Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali. Other members of the delegation included Foreign Office Director General for South Asia Dr Muhammad Faisal, Foreign Office's Head of International Disputes Unit Ahmad Irfan Aslam and Pakistan's counsel Khawar Qureshi.

The statement said the ICJ President sought views of the parties as to the time required for submission of their written pleadings and supporting evidence, called memorials.

The AGP also informed the ICJ about Pakistan's intent to appoint an ad hoc judge who will sit on the bench for all proceedings in the case, including the substantive hearing.

The statement said Indian application seeks "at least release or acquittal" of Jadhav. "As was made clear by Pakistan's Counsel Khawar Qureshi QC on May 15, India can never obtain this from the ICJ."

It said the court on May 18 made a procedural order to enable a full hearing to take place and it did not make any finding on jurisdiction or merits.

"Pakistan is fully confident that India can never succeed in its application," it said, adding that India "can never obtain acquittal or release" of Jadhav on the basis of its application to the International Court.

India moved the ICJ against the death penalty on May 8. The next day, the international court gave Jadhav, 46, a lease of life and stayed the death sentence as a provisional measure.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran.
Kolkata, June 9 : The West Bengal government on Friday ran an assortment of 26 buses to ferry stranded tourists in the Darjeeling hills to the state capital and other exit points amid a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) sponsored 12-hour shutdown in the region.

According to the government, 45,000 tourists got stranded in the hills on Thursday, when violence erupted during a protest movement by the GJM activists demanding a separate Gorkhaland state.

"Since Thursday night, 26 small and large buses have transported trapped tourists to various points in the state and a majority to Kolkata. At the moment we can't say how many are still stranded but their safety remains our priority," State Tourism Minister Gautam Deb told IANS.

The tourists had mixed reactions.

"We were extremely tense when the violence broke out on Thursday. Up until that day we didn't imagine things could take a turn for the worse. I managed to get my family on one of the buses late last night and reached Siliguri around 3 a.m.," a tourist said.

However, there were those who complained the number of buses fell far short of the requirement.

"More number of buses should have been run," said another tourist.

Darjeeling -- due to its vantage location in the Eastern Himalayas, straddling nature reserves and Buddhist sites, as well as proximity to northeast India, Nepal and Bhutan -- draws around 600 tourists per day during summer till July.

A fleet of 30 North Bengal State Transport Corporation buses from various points of the hills, including the Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus (in Siliguri) were pressed into service on Thursday night.

The GJM has called a 12-hour shutdown in the North Bengal hills, including Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts and the Mirik subdivision, in protest against "indiscriminate police action on our peaceful demonstration".
Kochi, June 9 : Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran on Friday said the new liquor policy and the use of digital platforms will boost tourism in the state.

"Kerala Tourism is looking for doubling the number of domestic tourists and 50 per cent increase in foreign arrivals by 2021. Digital platforms are also a key to achieve the aim. The industry needs to evolve in accordance with the changes in global market. Kerala Tourism has been exploring new media as a key platform and has witnessed the reach and response to it," said Surendran.

He was speaking during inauguration of the second edition of International Conference on Tourism Technology (ICTT) here.

Surendran said the new liquor policy, which allows bar licences to restaurants in hotels of three star category, would boost the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism in the state.

"Though the availability of liquor is not the sole reason for choosing a venue for an event, it is part of the urban lifestyle. The earlier policy had adversely affected the MICE tourism sector. Now, the new policy will help it," he added.

Tourism Secretary V. Venu launched the Twitter campaign #Kerala #IndiaForBeginners on the sidelines of the event.

"Kerala Tourism has always been in the forefront as we were the first tourist destination to start a website. Later, we spread our presence to other social media platforms. The technology platforms are gently stronger. Hence, we need to redesign and reengineer to cater the demands of guests," said Venu.

Organised by the Association of Tourism Trade Organisation (ATTOI) with support from Kerala Tourism, this is the only conference of its kind in the country focusing on aspects of building businesses on technology platforms.

According to the latest figures, a record 10,38,419 foreign tourists and 1,31,72,535 domestic tourists visited Kerala in 2016.
Jammu/New Delhi, June 9 : National passenger carrier Air India on Friday said that all 134 passengers on board its Delhi-Jammu flight were safe after the aircraft they were travelling on suffered a tyre burst on landing.

"Air India flight AI821 Delhi-Jammu which took off from Delhi today at 11.00 hrs experienced tyre burst while landing at Jammu airport at 12.15 hrs," an Air India official said in New Delhi.

"All 134 passengers on board are safe. All necessary procedures were followed and passengers were evacuated and taken care of."

According to the official, alternate travel arrangements were made for passengers who were to have travelled to Srinagar from Jammu on the same aircraft.

Local sources said that the runway at Jammu airport suffered damage due to the tyre burst incident.
Srinagar, June 9 : Clashes between stone-pelting students and security forces broke out at various places in the Kashmir Valley on Friday, police said.

Clashes were reported from Anantnag, Pulwama, Hajin and Sopore towns as youth resorted to stone pelting at security forces but so far there were no reports of any grievous injury to either any of the protesters or security personnel.

A mob clashed with the security forces in Pulwama town hurling stones and bursting firecrackers, forcing the security personnel to fire in the air to chase away the mob.

A mob hurled stones at security forces in Hajin town of Bandipora after congregational prayers. and tear smoke canisters were used to disperse them.

Security forces had to fire in the air in Sopore town where mobs resorted to heavy stone pelting at them, while clashes also occurred in Anantnag town.

In Ajas town of Bandipora, scores of people offered funeral prayers in absentia for Adil Farooq Magrey, who was killed in firing by security forces in Zanawpora village of Shopian district on Tuesday but dispersed peacefully subsequently.

Meanwhile, authorities did not allow congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar's old city area of Nowhatta.
Beijing, June 9 : China on Friday said it was "gravely concerned" about the killing of two Chinese citizens in Pakistan's restive Balochistan.

"According to initial information from the Pakistani side, the two Chinese citizens kidnapped may have already unfortunately been killed," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"We have taken note of relevant reports and we express our grave concern. We have been trying to rescue the two kidnapped hostages over the past days," Hua said.

A Chinese man and a woman, who taught Mandarin in Balochistan, were kidnapped from Jinnah in Quetta last month. The Islamic State terror group has reportedly owned up responsibility for killing the two Chinese nationals.

However, Beijing said that it stands by Pakistan in the fight against terror and sought to dispel fears about its multi-billion dollar economic corridor being hit.

The $46 billion project, which connects China's Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar port, is the "flagship" project of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.

"We strongly condemn all forms of terrorism and support Pakistan in its fight (against terrorism) and for peace and tranquillity in the region and beyond," Hua said.

"I think this incident has no connection with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting," she said.

The incident comes at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif are attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting.

China has in the past expressed concern over the safety and security of its citizens in Pakistan.

(Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based correspondent of IANS. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com)
Bhopal, June 9 : The violence-hit Madhya Pradesh districts continued to be on the boil on Friday as the protesters blocked the Bhopal-Indore highway, burnt vehicles and clashed with the police.

Farmers' groups started gathering at the Sehore toll plaza on the highway on Friday morning. They erected barricades and stopped the traffic, causing a severe jam and inconvenience to the hundreds of commuters.

The protesters damaged the toll plaza property and even set some vehicles on fire.

When the police tried to stop them, the unruly mob resorted to stone pelting, prompting the police to resort to lathicharge and burst teargas shells.

The call for the road blockade was given on Thursday by farmer leaders, who were later arrested by the police. This in turn angered the protesters further.

The farmers, who started their 10-day protest on June 1 to press the demand for loan waivers and fair prices for their produce, turned violent after five farmers were killed on June 6 in a police firing in Mandsaur.

The violent protest had spread to neighbouring districts of Neemuch, Indore, Khargone, Ujjain, Shahjanhanpur, Sehore, Raisen and Harda in the last few days.

"The situation is under control," said Bhopal (North) Police Superintendent Arvind Saxena.

State transport and private bus services were discontinued on the highway as protesters resorted to arson. Taking advantage of the situation, private taxi companies have started charging anywhere between Rs 300 and Rs 1,000 from the hapless commuters.
Kolkata, June 9 : The Tagore Centre for Natural Science and Philosophy (TCNSP) here will take up the task of translating Nobel laureate poet-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore's "Visva Parichay" into English and other languages to highlight the bard's respect for scientific laws.

TCNSP aims to study the interface of natural science and philosophy. Supported by the West Bengal government, it is hosted at the state-run Rabindra Tirtha.

"Our first task would be to translate 'Visva Parichay' in English and other languages to bring this to the world. This excellently written book gives an idea of non-scientific science but is still pure science," said nuclear physicist Bikas Sinha, Chairman of TCNSP, while addressing the inaugural programme of the centre on Friday.

He said the endeavour would involve experts from India and abroad.

"Sir Roger Penrose, the renowned Oxford physicist, will most likely write something about Tagore, his writings and his relationship with science and interactions with scientists," said Sinha.

Tagore took an interest in science in his twilight years, writing "Visva Parichay" (a collection of essays) in 1937.

His exploration of biology, physics, and astronomy impacted his poetry, which often contained extensive naturalism that underscored his respect for scientific laws.

Sinha also advocated the introduction of the book in schools.
Raisen (Madhya Pradesh), June 9 : A Madhya Pradesh farmer committed suicide after failing to repay his debts amid a farmers' agitation for a loan waiver and fair price for their produce.

Forty-year-old Krishan Meena from Raisen district killed himself after he allegedly failed to pay off his loans and electricity bills. However, the police said Meena died due to illness.

Around 10.30 p.m. on Thursday, Meena ate Salfaz tablets. He was rushed to a hospital but doctors there referred him to Bhopal. Meena died on the way.

"Krishan Meena has committed suicide. He was not keeping well for the past five years. A judicial inquiry has been ordered," said Kotwali Police Station in-charge Abhay Nema.

Meena had taken a loan of Rs 10,50,000 from a private bank. In addition he owed Rs 5,00,000 to a local moneylender.

He owned seven acres of land in Sigonia village.

Apparently, Meena also had two outstanding electricity bills. One was of Rs 1,20,000 for a pump installed on his farm and another of Rs 60,000 for domestic consumption, a relative said.

Meena was tense due to this ever growing debt, family members said.

A bank officer had apparently warned Meena that his land would be mortgaged and his pump and motorcycle would be confiscated.

Meena's death came on the eighth day of a 10-day farmers strike in the state that turned violent on June 6, after five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur.

The violent protest had spread to the neighbouring districts of Neemuch, Indore, Khargone, Ujjain, Shahjanhanpur, Sehore, Raisen and Harda in the last few days.
London, June 9 : The leader of a right-wing political party in the UK that had Brexit at the heart of its manifesto announced on Friday that he would be resigning following the party's plummeting support in the June 8 General Election.

Paul Nuttall said the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which for years had been the main proponent of the country leaving the EU, had been a victim of its own success, Efe news reported.

After UKIP failed to gain a single seat in Westminster, and with Nuttall coming third in Boston and Skegness, he opted to leave his position, saying: "A new era must begin with a new leader."

UKIP lost its only seat in Parliament in Thursday's General Election and saw support for it drop to 1.8 per cent -- compared to the 12.6 per cent in the 2015 election.

Nuttall said UKIP would remain "the guard dogs of Brexit" but conceded that the party had failed badly. "If I am remembered as the UKIP leader who kept the party on the pitch for the good times that lay ahead, that will be good enough for me," he said.

"In politics sometimes the tide goes in and sometimes the tide goes out. But for us, although the tide might be out at the moment, I am convinced we will return," he said.

Asked about a future role for former leader Nigel Farage, Nuttall said: "If Nigel Farage wants to come back, I would be more than happy to do a job swap. I'll take his slot on LBC and he can come back as leader of UKIP."

Earlier, Farage said he did not blame Nuttall for the party's poor showing.
Kolkata, June 9 : Yet another fake doctor has been arrested from the city's Panchasayar area, police said on Friday.

"He is at the moment being presented in Alipore court. He was arrested yesterday (Thursday)," a police officer said.

Mohammed Akbar Ali was nabbed from Sahid Smriti Colony on Thursday after a complaint was lodged against him. He was practising as an MBBS doctor without holding any valid registration from the West Bengal Medical Council.

A number of fake doctors have been taken into custody by the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department over the past one month. Over 500 more medical practitioners, reportedly having doubtful credentials, are under the scanner.

Some of the doctors arrested had been working for years in state-run hospitals and leading private health facilities.
Agartala, June 9 : Various tribal groups have urged the Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh to protect the minority tribals and non-tribals in Bangladesh, an official said on Friday.

Chakma National Council of India (CNCI) and other tribal organisations have sent separate letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi Premier Sheikh Hasina to protect the tribals and other minorities residing in Bangladesh.

The tribal organisations have been holding protest rallies in Tripura and other north-eastern states since Wednesday to protest the recent attacks on tribals in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of southeast Bangladesh.

"At least seven aged tribal men were brutally killed by the Muslim settlers in Langadu Upazila in Rangamati Zilla on June 2. Bangladesh Army and police remained spectators when the Muslims attacked the innocent tribals," CNCI President Sobha Ranjan Chakma told reporters on Friday.

He said: "The Bengali Muslim settlers also set afire and vandalised several hundred houses and shops of the Chakma community following the death of a local Muslim youth leader."

The CNCI leader said that after the massive attacks, thousands of tribals, including women and children, fled to jungles to protect themselves from the attackers.

Chakma said, "We have urged both Indian and Bangladeshi Prime Ministers to take appropriate measures to rehabilitate the affected tribals and punish the culprits."

"We have also urged the Bangladesh Prime Minister to implement the 1997 Peace Accord signed with the Shanti Bahini. Many provisions of the peace accord are yet to be executed, leading to the sufferings of the tribals," CNCI Advisor Srota Ranjan Khisa told IANS.

The Shanti Bahini was the armed wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), a political organisation of the tribals in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

The PCJSS and the CNCI have been demanding withdrawal of the army from the CHT, where once the Buddhist tribals population formed the majority in the population.
Darjeeling, June 9 : Terming as 'Illegal" the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha's 12-hour shutdown in north Bengal hills, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday warned of "strict legal action" against those participating in it.

She claimed normalcy has been restored in the hills, and minced no words in slamming the GJM, the dominant party in the north Bengal hills, for Thursday's clashes between its supporters and the police.

She hinted the violence was premeditated.

"The area is calm (now), hills are at peace, everyone is fine. On Thursday, they (GJM) wreaked havoc for an hour or two all of a sudden. They had stockpiled firearms, bombs, guns, and indulged in stone-pelting. Policemen were injured and even women were beaten up. Despite all odds, our police showed restraint," Banerjee told the media here.

In a stern warning to the GJM, a visibly perturbed Banerjee drew a line on compromises.

"The Gorkha community also does not want any violence. We have to compromise sometimes. Our previous government (Left Front) had also compromised but the situation escalated because of their compromise... there is a limit to compromise and when compromise crosses the limits, the law takes its own course," the Trinamool Congress supremo said.

To GJM chief Bimal Gurung's questioning of why the Army and police stormed Bhanu Bhawan, the venue on the tourist hub Mall Road where clashes broke out, Banerjee justified the action.

"How did firearms, ammunition, bombs, and stones enter Bhanu Bhawan? How did a government workplace become a party office? He has to first answer why he started the first attack from Bhanu Bhawan? This is one-sided. There is evidence. There was bloodshed," Banerjee aid.

"On top of everything they did, they are asking why police entered Bhanu Bhawan? Will police not secure firearms? Where will the Army and police stay to restore peace in the hills?" she said.

The GJM has called the 12-hour shutdown from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to protest what it dubbed "indiscriminate police action" against their activists.

"The state government has declared the shutdown as illegal. Whosoever takes part in the shutdown will face strict legal action," Banerjee said as she moved around the hill town to oversee arrangements to help thousands of stranded tourists in Darjeeling.

On Thursday, thousands of angry GJM activists demanding a separate Gorkhaland indulged in arson and pelted police with stones. Thed police repeated baton charges on the Morcha supporters and lobbed tear-gas shells.

Accusing a handful of GJM leaders of destroying peace in the hills, Banerjee said law will run its course against the lawbreakers.
Chennai, June 9 : MDMK chief Vaiko was on Friday barred from entering Malaysia because of his known support for the outlawed and now vanquished Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka.

The Tamil Nadu politician was detained at the Kuala Lumpur airport to be sent back to Chennai on Friday night, a party statement said.

Malaysian immigration officials told Vaiko, a former Indian MP, that his entry into the country was barred and escorted him to seniors for questioning, the statement said.

The officials reportedly told him that he was a part of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and that there were a number of cases against him in Sri Lanka. The officials asked him a number of questions related to the LTTE.

When Vaiko said he was an Indian citizen and showed his passport, the officials told him that he was on the Malaysian list of "dangerous persons" and so cannot be allowed to enter the country, the MDMK said.

This was communicated to Vaiko by the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang province, Ramaswamy.

Vaiko had gone to Malaysia to attend the wedding reception of Ramaswamy's daughter. He got the Malaysian visa in Chennai.

Ramaswamy told Vaiko that the efforts of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to get Vaiko into Malaysia failed because the officials told him (Lim) that orders for the ban on the Indian politician's entry had come from the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister's Office.

Vaiko was asked to sit in the immigration office and not to go anywhere, the party claimed, adding officials allowed an aide of Vaiko who travelled with him to get him something to eat. But Vaiko refused to eat.

The MDMK leader will be flown back to Chennai by the Malaysia Airlines on Friday night. Vaiko was quoted as saying that he was not harassed "but I have been kept in a place where I cannot meet anybody".

Vaiko, who was earlier a senior leader in the DMK, has been one of the most vocal Indian supporters of the LTTE, which the Sri Lankan military crushed in May 2009. Vaiko used to count himself as a diehard supporter of the late LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Mumbai, June 9 : Slamming the ruling BJP, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Sachin R. Pilot on Friday said three years after coming to power at the Centre, it had emerged as "a failure" on all counts.

Speaking to media persons here, he said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has completed three years and this is the right time to evaluate its performance.

"Now, they are going to spend Rs 2,200 crore in 900 cities to highlight their achievements... In Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, farmers are on a warpath but the government ignores them," Pilot said.

He said if the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh can give a farm loan waiver, why can't it be done in Maharashtra where the same party is in power, and demanded that the farmers' demands must be conceded.

"In Madhya Pradesh, farmers have been caned and fired upon but the government is not ready to talk to them and solve the issues... Farmers commit suicide, and the Agriculture Minister engages in Yoga, this government is a complete failure... Ministers forget their promises after coming to their posts," Pilot said.

He said an atmosphere was being created whereby anybody who is opposed to the BJP is treated as an "anti-national" by the central government.

The Congress leader also said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is going out of hand and the government should give "a fitting reply to Pakistan, which we will fully support".

Accusing the ruling ally Shiv Sena of playing a 'dual role', Pilot said the party speaks in different tones at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

"The Shiv Sena is greedy for power... If it has the courage, it must quit the government instead," Pilot said.

Referring to a video clip that has gone viral on social media where a Congress legislator is allegedly inciting violence in Madhya Pradesh, Pilot said the party dissociates itself from such acts and does not endorse any kind of violent acts.

The video shows Congress legislator Shakuntala Khatik instigating people to set a police station on fire ("Thane me aag lagaa do"), but Pilot declined to comment whether the party would take action against her.

"I have not seen this video, we condemn it... We condemn any form of violence...There should be a probe," Pilot said.
Baghdad, June 9 : At least 29 people were killed and dozens wounded in two suicide attacks in Karbala and Babylon regions of Iraq on Friday, officials said.

Nine people were killed when a suicide bomber blew up a belt of explosives at an entrance to a parking lot in the Shia city of Karbala, 110 km south of Baghdad, Efe news reported.

A few hours later, 20 people were killed in the second suicide attack on a market in the city of Musayyib, also located south of the capital, the Interior Ministry said.

At least 21 were injured and several shops, stalls and nearby cars were damaged in the second bombing.

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks in a statement on its Amaq website and said the operations were aimed against Shia groups in Karbala and Musayyib.

The attack came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their remaining redoubt in the western side of Mosul.
New Delhi, June 9 : With India formally becoming a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has been designated to represent the Indian industry at the SCO Business Council.

Ficci's designation came into force following the accession ceremony at the SCO Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, where India formally moved from observer status to full membership, the industry body said on Friday.

"We are excited to be a part of this multilateral grouping and contribute to its economic agenda. Business and economic connect would be an important aspect of India's full membership of SCO. We look forward to working with member countries for progress, prosperity and connectivity in the region," said Pankaj Patel, President, Ficci.

The Business Council is an important part of the SCO and will play an even more significant role with growing focus of the grouping on economic aspects.

From a primarily Eurasian construct, SCO now expands its footprint in the Indian subcontinent with the induction of India and Pakistan as full members. This is the first expansion since the Shanghai Five became SCO with the induction of Uzbekistan in 2001.
Taipei, June 9 : An anti-platelet drug based on a snake venom that may prevent blood cells from forming blood clots may be much safer for treating heart disease, according to new research.

When a person gets wounded, blood cells called platelets arrive on the scene and group together to form a clot that stops the bleeding.

Anti-platelet drugs prevent these platelets from clumping together and forming blood clots and is widely used to treat heart disease.

However, current anti-platelet drugs cause excessive bleeding after injury.

The new drug -- designed by researchers from the National Taiwan University -- is based on a protein in the snake venom and prevents platelets from clotting when it was mixed with blood.

When mice was administered the new drug, it showed slower blood clot formation compared to untreated mice.

In addition, the treated mice did not bleed longer than untreated mice.

The new drug, detailed in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, interacts with the protein glycoprotein VI (GPVI) that sits on the surface of platelets, the researchers said.

Previous study revealed that trowaglerix -- a protein in the venom of the Tropidolaemus waglerix snake -- stimulated platelets to form blood clots by latching onto the GPVI.

Platelets missing GPVI do not form blood clots in patients and do not lead to severe bleeding, suggesting that blocking GPVI could prevent blood clotting while avoiding the side effects of prolonged bleeding.

Excessive bleeding after injury is a serious effect of current anti-platelet drugs, so the results support that this molecule design can be a template for a new, safer class of anti-platelet drugs with limited bleeding side effect, said lead author Tur-Fu Huang, from the National Taiwan University.

However, the drug needs further testing on animals and then humans before it can be used on patients.
Kathmandu, June 9 : Nepal's new Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Friday made it clear that any amendment to the country's 2015 constitution to address the demands and grievances of Madhes-based parties will be made only after the second phase of local polls.

Addressing parliament on Friday for the first time after assuming office as Prime Minister, Deuba said it would not be possible to amend the 21-month-old constitution before the second phase of local elections slated for June 28.

Acknowledging the issues raised by the Madhes-based parties as "important indeed", he stressed on the need to broaden the ownership of the new constitution.

The PM's statement has put the Madhes-based parties in a quandary whether to join the polls process. Five dozen people were killed, dozens injured and the southern Terai region of Madhes has been taking central stage of Nepali politics ever since the Madhes-based parties launched anti-constitution protest in September of 2015.

But no headway was made despite several rounds of talks with successive governments.

Apparently, there is a split within the Madhes-based parties over joining the upcoming second phase of local polls that is largely taking place in the Terai region of Nepal.

Amendment to the constitution requires a two-thirds majority, which means that the present government cannot do it on its own in parliament. For this, Deuba will have to either take the main opposition CPN-UML on board, or take fringe and independent lawmakers by his side, which in the current scenario looks too tall an order for him to ensure.

While addressing the House, Deuba, who became Prime Minister with the support of Madhes-based parties, called upon them to participate in the second phase of local level elections on June 28, reiterating his commitment to amend the constitution after the polls.

"It is unfortunate that we can't endorse the Constitution Amendment Bill at this time as the second phase of local level polls is approaching," said Deuba, responding to questions raised by lawmakers in parliament.

Assuring the aggrieved parties of passing the Constitution Amendment Bill after the second phase elections by incorporating the spirit of Madhes, the Prime Minister urged the agitating political parties, including Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJPN), not to doubt his commitment on that and to support the government's efforts to hold the elections.

Seven Madhes-based parties have recently united under the banner of RJPN.

He noted that there was slim chance of increasing the number of local units as the Supreme Court had issued a stay order on the issue.

Madhes-based parties have been demanding increase in the number of local units as per the population ratio through a constitutional amendment. Over 50 per cent population of Nepal is living in Terai/Madhes area and Madhesis are looking for a bigger pie, as per the population ratio.

Deuba hoped that non-Madhes-centric opposition parties would also cooperate with the government in addressing the demands of Madhes-based parties.

The Prime Minister said that his government would focus on implementing the new-look constitution after holding the impending elections -- second phase local polls, and provincial and federal elections.

(Anil Giri can be reached at girianil@gmail.com)
New Delhi, June 9 : Noted constitutional expert Fali S. Nariman on Friday slammed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for searching the residences of the private television channel NDTV's founder Prannoy Roy.

Nariman told a meeting of journalists here that while no one was immune from prosecution for a crime, the justification given by the CBI made him believe that this was an assault on the press and media freedom.

On June 2, an FIR was lodged by CBI -- alleging criminal conspiracies, cheating by Roy, his wife Radhika, NDTV, unknown officials of ICICI about "something that took place during 2008-09, he said. "Why was it not brought to light earlier was not mentioned anywhere."

Nariman said the FIR was filed by the CBI on the basis of a single complaint and not based on any discovery. "The FIR was filed solely on the information provided by a private individual."

He said the CBI raids took place just days after BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra was told to leave a show on NDTV for accusing the channel of having an agenda.

Nariman emphasised that the CBI instituted a criminal inquiry against Prannoy Roy immediately after receiving the complaint.

"It should have told the complainant to file a complaint in a criminal court but rather the raids took place and were carried out as widely publicised."

"We citizens enjoy freedom, which is not there in many places in the world. There is a freedom of speech guaranteed in the constitution."
Ranchi, June 9 : Security forces on Friday shot dead a Maoist guerrilla in Jharkhand's Giridih district and injured another elsewhere in the state.

Police said the Maoist was killed in a jungle where two Maoist bunkers were destroyed. The police also seized two Self Loading Rifles and two magazines.

A gun battle between Maoists and security forces also took place at Galudih in East Singhbhum district on Friday.

Senior Superintendent of Police Anup Matthew said security forces rushed to the site on coming to know about the presence of some Maoist leaders.

As the police and the Central Reserve Police Force battled the Maoists, the insurgents escaped. But police seized an AK-47 rifle and claimed that a Maoist was injured in the firing.

In Khunti district, police seized 44 electronic detonators and one kg of explosives.

Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of the 24 districts of Jharkhand.
Mumbai, June 9 : Nine days after Maharashtra farmers went on a strike, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday rsponded to it by forming a high-powered ministerial committee to examine the issue of loan waiver and other demands of the agriculturists, an official said.

The committee, headed by Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil, will go into the entire gamut of demands, including writing off farm debts, issue of the minimum support prices, implementation of M.S. Swaminathan Commission Report, and pension for senior farmers, among others.

The committee will invite farmers' leaders for discussions on their demands and seek suggestions, which will be submitted in a report to the government.

The committee includes Agriculture Minister Pandurang Fundkar, Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, Cooperatives Minister Subhash Deshmukh, Water Supply Minister Girish Mahajan, and Shiv Sena's Transport Minister Diwakar Raote, besides Patil.

"Any problem can be resolved through negotiations only. We are ready to discuss all the issues pertaining to farmers, for which we have formed this committee. I appeal to the farmers' leaders to work out a solution through talks only," Fadnavis reiterated.

The move came a day after farmers served a two-day ultimatum to the Fadnavis government to concede their demands, failing which they would resort to blockade of collectorates and revenue offices on Monday, followed by a rail and road blockade in the state on Tuesday.
Astana (Kazakhstan), June 9 : India and China on Friday acknowledged that they have differences on issues like OBOR, NSG and Masood Azhar which have to be addressed seriously by them even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that sovereignty and regional integrity should be respected on connectivity, in remarks that come against the backdrop of opposition to Beijing's One Belt, One Road initiative.

Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit here and held discussions on a range of issues, including China's reservations over India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group and UN sanctioning of Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar.

"The sense of the meeting was that the two countries have great benefit, great interest in working with each other and we will have differences.

"But where we have differences, how do we work through those differences, find common ground where they are possible. And also a sense that wherever we have concerns, each side will look at it with a degree of seriousness," Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said while briefing the media about the talks between the two leaders.

He was asked about the various areas of differences between the two countries including India's reservations on OBOR, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) forming part of it and Beijing's opposition to India's membership of the NSG and UN sanctions on Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar.

Jaishankar said the broad thrust of the meeting was that at a time of global uncertainty, India-China relations are a factor of stability.

"I think there was also an understanding that where we have differences, it was important that these differences should not become disputes and, in fact, if they were handled well, they could even be opportunities," he said.

On India keeping away from the OBOR forum, the Foreign Secretary said these was discussion on connectivity and how the two countries could work together. In fact, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BCIM corridor came up for discussion, he said.

With Xi listening to him, Modi, in his speech at the summit, made oblique reference to India's concerns over OBOR and CPEC saying sovereignty and regional integrity should be respected while Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose country is partnering China, hailed the project.

"For connectivity initiatives and for success and approval of the projects, sovereignty and regional integrity must be respected while inclusivity and sustainability are essential," Modi said.

Avoiding any direct reference to OBOR and and CPEC, he said India joining the International North South Transport Corridor and the Chabahar port agreement and the decision to join the Ashgabat Agreement will bring India closer to these places.

Sharif said the Belt and Road initiative transforms the global economic landscape. "And in Pakistan we are diligently implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is the flagship of the BRI. What is more, these mega projects will benefit the entire SCO community," he said.

The issue of terror also figured at the summit. Amidst the ongoing India-Pakistan chill, Modi called for coordinated and strong efforts to fight terror and radicalisation, particularly recruitment, training and financing, giving a veiled message to Islamabad.

"Terrorism is violation of human rights and basic human values. The fight against terrorism is an important part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Whether it is the issue of radicalisation, recruitment of terrorists, their training and financing, unless we take coordinated and strong efforts, it is not possible to find a solution," Modi said.

On Thursday night, Modi and Sharif exchanged pleasantries at a cultural function hosted by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The informal interaction came 17 months after Modi's surprise stop over in Lahore to greet Sharif on his birthday and attend a pre-marriage function at his residence on December 25, 2015.

Hailing the SCO's efforts in the fight against terror, Modi expressed the hope that the eight-member Eurasian bloc will give a new direction and strength to this fight.

Sharif, whose speech followed that of Modi, said: "We fully endorse the SCO's resolve to fight the twin evils of terrorism and extremism."

"Pakistan has fought its own fierce war in the fight against international terrorism and, with the grace of God, it has been able to achieve a turnaround in the security and economic situation in our country," Sharif said.
Bhopal, June 9 : Parts of Madhya Pradesh remained tense on Friday as farmer protests seeking debt relief and hike in crop prices spread across the state after a protester injured earlier in a clash with police died, taking the toll to six.

The deceased was identified as Ghanshyam Dhaakad, 30, who was injured when a policeman hit him on his head with a baton during a protest in Daloda village in Mandsaur, the worst-hit district in the ongoing agitation, the victim's father said.

Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Singh told IANS that Dhaakad was injured "during clashes between protesters and police and was taken to an Indore hospital for treatment where he succumbed to his injuries late on Thursday night".

Even as Mandsaur city and Piplia Mandi remained relatively calm on Friday when curfew was relaxed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., the agitation spread to other parts of the state.

All entry and exit points to Mandsaur were sealed.

Protesters threw stones at police and blocked the Indore-Bhopal highway, setting a truck on fire after they were prevented from entering Bhopal for a planned sit-in in the state capital.

"No person was injured during the protests on Friday. The situation is under control," Bhopal (North) Police Superintendent Arvind Saxena said.

Some vehicles were also damaged on the highway that remained closed for the traffic for the entire day on Friday. Stone-pelting protests were also reported from Dhar district where protesting farmers set on fire a private jeep.

Farmers also gathered at the Sehore toll plaza on the highway and erected barricades and stopped the traffic, causing a severe jam and inconvenience to hundreds of commuters. They damaged the toll plaza property and even set some vehicles on fire.

Protesting farmers in neighbouring Shajapur district were cane-charged and tear-gassed after a mob threw rocks at police.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh began a 10-day protest on June 1 to press for loan waivers and fair price for their produce. The protests turned violent on June 6 when five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur.

The violence then spread to the districts of Neemuch, Indore, Khargone, Ujjain, Sehore, Raisen and Harda.

Meanwhile, farmer Krishan Meena, 40, from Raisen district killed himself after he allegedly failed to pay off his loans and electricity bills, his family said.

However, police officer Abhay Nema said he committed suicide because he was "not keeping well for the past five years". A judicial inquiry has been ordered.

Meena, who owned seven acres of land in Sigonia village, according to the family, had taken a loan of Rs 10.5 lakh from a private bank. He also owed Rs 500,000 to a local moneylender.

In Delhi, farmer leaders and unions held a protest and warned the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government of political consequences if it failed to fulfill its promises of adequate remuneration to agriculture produce.

Yudhvir Singh, General Secretary of Bharatiya Kisan Union, said the BJP, during the 2014 Lok Sabha election, promised farmers minimum 50 per cent profit over the cost of production.

"The rate farmers are getting for their produce is much lower than the input cost. For example, farmers spent about Rs 1,600 to produce a quintal of wheat but the government's rate was around Rs 1,200," he said.

"Now, the government does not even want to discuss its promise of 50 per cent profit over the input cost. Farmers are already under financial burden and the government's apathy is further intensifying it. How one can expect farmers to remain calm in such situation?"

Farmers in Maharashtra, Bihar, Haryana and Tamil Nadu have also threatened to hit the streets over their demands of better remunerations and loan waiver.
Ghaziabad, June 9 : The Ghaziabad police have arrested three suspects in connection with the death of two persons in an exchange of fire between two groups on Thursday night, police said on Friday.

One of the arrested persons is a member of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), according to police, and the incident is believed to be one of political rivalry.

Police said at around 11 p.m on Thursday night, they were informed that two groups were engaged in firing in Bamheta under Kavi Nagar police station limits here, in which two persons had died and several were injured. About a dozen shots were fired, as per the information.

On the complaint of one Babu, police registered an FIR and rushed the injured to nearby Columbia Asia and Sarvodaya hospitals.

Police stated the case as one of old rivalry between the two groups since the last municipal elections. Some petty issue at a function in the city triggered the clash and the exchange of fire followed.

In the firing, two persons sustained critical bullet injuries and were declared brought dead when taken to hospital.

The deceased have been identified as Yogendra Yadav and his cousin Jugni. The injured persons are Akash, Davendra and Bhajni. They are undergoing treatment at the two hospitals under police custody, since they have been named as offenders in the FIR.

The other suspects named in the FIR are Gajendra Yadav, Amit Yadav, Titu, Nikky, Akash, Davendra and Fool Kunwar. They are all absconding and attempts are on to arrest them, said Inspector Neeraj Singh of the Kavi Nagar Police Station.
Kathmandu, June 9 : 'Bikini killer' Charles Sobhraj, who is undergoing life imprisonment in Kathmandu's Central Jail, will undergo open heart surgery on Saturday after being diagnosed with a leaking valve, a hospital source said.

The 73-year-old Sobhraj, who has been in the Central Jail for the last 12 years after being convicted for murdering an American tourist, was admitted to the Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre here on Friday.

Due to security reasons, police and hospital have not revealed the health status of Sobhraj, who holds French citizenship, despite a lot of interest about his health by some foreign countries and media.

Sobhraj had recently fainted in jail and was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a leakage in the mitral valve, which controls flow of blood in the left section of the heart and whose inadequate functioning leads patients to exhibit symptoms including palpitation, and shortness of breath. Surgery was suggested.

A senior doctor of the hospital confirmed that almost all preparations have been completed for surgery and the valve can be repaired or replaced, as needed.

After confirmation of his operation date, the hospital had asked the Home Ministry to provide additional security to guard him.

Sobhraj is closely guarded in hospital with a dozen security force personnel deployed around his cabin, said hospital sources.

Linked to multiple killing of backpack tourists, Sobhraj was sentenced by the Supreme Court to a life term for murdering American Connie Joe Bronzich in 1975.

He had earlier spent 21 years in Indian jails and had even escaped from Delhi's Tihar jail in 1986 after drugging the security guard by serving spiked sweets to them on his own birthday. This was believed to escape an outstanding extradition warrant to Thailand where he had been convicted and sentenced to death as additional sentence for this crime would allow the Thai sentencing to lapse.

Finally in 1997, he went to Paris and later came to Nepal where he was spotted in 2003, arrested, tried and sentenced.

He has believed to have killed 20 people up to the end of 1970s, including in Nepal and India.

(Anil Giri can be reached at girianil@gmail.com)
Bengaluru, June 9 : President Pranab Mukherjee will flag off the Green Line of the Bengaluru Metro on June 17, said a top official on Friday.

"President Pranab Mukherjee has accepted our invitation and agreed to inaugurate the underground section of the Green Line," Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola told IANS.

The President will inaugurate the 10.5 km stretch between Mantri Square and Yelachenahalli.

The Metro train service on Reach 4 (National College to Rashtreeya Vidyalaya), 4A (Rashtreeya Vidyalaya to Puttenahalli) and the underground section (between Sampige Road and National College) of the Green Line will be thrown open to commuters from June 18.

"We have completed all pending works and are ready for the inaugural function," Kharola said.

The north-south corridor is named Green Line and the east-west corridor Purple Line. The two corridors intersect at Kempegowda station which has a two-level interchange station.

Commuters who intend to travel from a station on Purple Line to a station on Green Line will have to change the train at Kempegowda station without coming out of paid area. The commuters can buy a single token for the complete journey.

Kempegowda Metro station is in the city centre.

Commissioner of Railway Safety K.A. Manoharan inspected the 12 km Sampige Road-Puttenahalli section of the Green Line for three days from May 29.

The inspection was the final step to the start of commercial operations on the entire 24.2 km Green Line which marks the completion of works on Bengaluru's 42.3 km Phase 1 project of BMRCL.

"We have received the safety certificate from Manoharan on Thursday. The inaugural function will be held at Vidhana Soudha between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m." BMRCL Chief Public Relations Officer U.A. Vasanth Rao told IANS.

Metro's Phase 1 was delayed for more than six years due to various reasons because of which the cost of the 42.3 km metro network shot up to Rs 8,158 crore from the earlier estimate of Rs 3,845 crore.

An estimated 5 lakh commuters are likely to use the metro service daily on its north-south and east-west route as against 1.9 lakh currently.

Though the Phase 1 project work began in April, 2007, the original deadline was extended to 2017 from 2010 owing to inordinate delays and cost overruns.

The metro service began on Reach 1 on October 20, 2011, between M.G. Road and Baiyappanahall in the city's east followed by the service between Sampige Road and Nagasandra on March 1, 2014, from Mysore Road to Magadi Road on November 16, 2015.
Darjeeling, June 9 : The Army staged flag marches in Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Kurseong towns on Friday, as sporadic violence was reported in the northern West Bengal hills during a 12-hour shutdown called by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).

The shutdown, beginning at 6 a.m., badly hit vehicular communication, as private buses, jeeps and small cars kept off the roads and toy train services were cancelled due to security reasons, much to the dismay of the 45,000 tourists who had been stranded on Thursday in the violence-hit hills.

But with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally monitoring the situation by camping in the tourist town of Darjeeling, the state government ran additional fleet of buses to bring down the visitors to the plains from various hill pockets.

A day after they clashed with police in Darjeeling over their demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland, GJM activists set fire to the under-construction Industrial Training Institute at Mungpoo in Kurseong sub-division of Darjeeling district.

The GJM supporters were also seen picketing on the National Highways and other roads across the hills and stopping the few jeeps and cars that plied with the tourists. A car was damaged at Kurseong and tourists were forced to get down from their vehicles at Teesta Valley under Runglee-Rungliot block and Kalimpong.

"Since Thursday night, 26 small and large buses have transported trapped tourists to various points in the state and a majority to Kolkata. At the moment we can't say how many are still stranded but their safety remains our priority," state Tourism Minister Gautam Deb told IANS.

A Defence Ministry spokesperson said in Kolkata that six Army columns have been deployed -- three in Darjeeling, two in Kalimpong and one in Kurseong. Each column comprises 43 personnel. Three companies of Central Reserve Police Force have also been pressed into service.

"The Army carried out flag marches in Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Kurseong today (Friday). The Army, CRPF and the civil administration are coordinating with each other and the situation is under control of the civil administration," the spokesperson said.

Banerjee, who has stayed put in the hills in view of the volatile situation, termed the shutdown as "illegal" and warned of "strict legal action" against those taking part in it.

"The state government has declared today's shutdown as illegal. Whoever takes part in the shutdown will face strict legal action," she said as she moved around town to oversee arrangements to help stranded tourists in Darjeeling.

She claimed normalcy has been restored in the hills, but said the violence was premeditated.

"Now I can say the area is calm, hills are at peace, everyone is fine. On Thursday, they (GJM) wreaked havoc for an hour or two all of a sudden. They had stockpiled arms, bombs, guns and indulged in stone-pelting using large stone pieces. Police was injured and even women were beaten up. Despite all odds, our police showed restraint," Banerjee told the media here.

The shutdown badly affected normal life, as private offices, commercial establishments and educational institutions remained closed.

However, Banerjee claimed government offices functioned normally and recorded very high attendance. "The attendance was 99 per cent in Kalimpong and Darjeeling towns, 98 per cent in Kurseong and 100 per cent in Mirik sub-divisional office," she said.

In Kolkata, Governor K.N. Tripathi said he is "yet to receive any official communication" over the situation in Darjeeling, while the the state opposition parties yet again lambasted the Banerjee government for the flare-up in the hills.

"The different ethnical groups in the hills are not united as the state government is forcibly dividing them. This has damaged the unity and integrity of the different ethnical groups living in the area," said Left Front chairman Biman Bose.

Echoing him, the state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury accused Banerjee of unnecessarily provoking different communities of the hills and destroying their "bond of brotherhood" by creating seperate developmental boards.

In a scathing attack, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh said: "Didi (as Banerjee is known) had gone to Darjeeling to provoke the people of the hills. Now she is getting paid back in her own coin."
New Delhi, June 9 : The Congress on Friday accused the government of working for the rich but neglecting the poor and said the country's farmers are in the "throes of a serious crisis but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is paying no attention to their plight".

Congress workers will fully support party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's battle in favour of farmers, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said here.

The opposition party also protested against Rahul Gandhi's detention while on way to Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur town to meet the kin of five farmers killed in police firing on Tuesday. The party said the preventive detention is "akin to murder of democracy".

Rahul Gandhi was on Thursday detained by police in Neemuch district bordering Rajasthan when he tried to defy ban orders enforced in Mandsaur district.

"Madhya Pradesh farmers are holding a peaceful protest to seek redressal of their demands, but police used bullets to silence their voice," Maken said at a public meeting held to protest against the killing of five Madhya Pradesh farmers.

Slamming the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh, Maken said: "When Rahul Gandhi went to meet the family members of the dead farmers to express condolence, he was illegally arrested, which is akin to murder of democracy."

Maken also accused the Narendra Modi government of working for the benefit of the rich.

"On the one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working for the benefit of only the rich, on the other hand, Rahul Gandhi is waging a battle for farmers, labourers, tribals and the weaker sections, not only inside Parliament but also at the ground level," the former Union Minister said.

"The Centre has written off debts of Rs 1,54,000 crore of rich friends of Modi, but it has not written off even Rs 70 crore debt of farmers."

Maken said the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the helm, had written off farmer debts of Rs 70,000 crore to reduce the burden on them.

He alleged that the government earlier remained unmoved by protests by farmers from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at Jantar Mantar here.

Maken said the government had done nothing to write off farmer debts and ensure remunerative prices for farm produce.
Aden, June 9 : Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), a volunteer humanitarian organisation in Dubai, has sent a new shipment of antibiotics to combat cholera in the Yemen as part of the UAE's efforts to contain the epidemic.

The aid comes within the framework of the United Arab Emirates' continued humanitarian efforts to support the Yemeni people and alleviate their suffering.

The ERC delegation handed over the shipment of medicines to the representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Yemen, to be distributed to all governorates of Yemen as needed, said the media report on Friday.

A representative of the WHO appreciated the UAE's role in meeting the humanitarian needs of Yemen, which faces difficulties in all areas, especially health.
Nairobi, June 9 : So far, 66,807 Somali refugees in Kenya have been repatriated to their country since the start of the voluntary return operation in December 2014, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has said.

A total of 65,470 refugees have been repatriated from the Dadaab camp in northeastern Kenya, the UN agency said in its latest report on Thursday, noting that 1,620 people returned to Somalia between May 16 and May 31 this year.

The agency said the number of Somali refugees who had joined their country since the beginning of the year reached 26,156.

UNHCR explained that the decline in the number of returnees during the past four weeks is attributable to "the drought and cholera outbreak, the suspension of road convoys due to heavy rain in several parts of Somalia".

Kenya announced in May 2016 its decision not to welcome new refugees, particularly Somali-born refugees, on its soil and that it would close the two main camps of Dadaab and Kakuma for national security reasons, which are home to over a half -million people.

However, the decision to close the Dadaab camp was annulled in February by the High Court, which ruled that this measure was "null and void", by ruling on a complaint filed by the Kenya National Commission of Rights (KNCHR) and the Kenyan NGO Kituo Cha Sheria.

Kenya has often defended the idea that radical Al-Shabab Islamists were hiding among the Somali refugees, accusations challenged by independent observers.
New Delhi, June 9 : Domestic passenger cars sales went up by 4.80 per cent last month as compared to the same period last year, industry data showed on Friday.

As per the data furnished by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), some 166,630 passenger cars were sold in May, 2017, as compared to 158,996 units sold in May, 2016.

The off-take of other sub-segments such as utility vehicles rose by 18.80 per cent during the month with 69,845 units, while sales of vans increased by 9.50 per cent to 15,167 units.

Industry data revealed that domestic passenger vehicle sales edged higher by 8.63 per cent in May to 251,642 units from 231,640 sold during the corresponding period in 2016.

However, the data showed that overall commercial vehicles' sales declined by 6.36 per cent to 53,457 units in May. The segment is a key indicator of economic activity.

Similarly, the three-wheelers segment's off-take also receded. It declined by 22.40 per cent to 36,066 units during the month under review.

In contrast, the overall sales of two-wheelers, which include scooters, motorcycles and mopeds, was increased by 11.89 per cent to 1,694,325 units.

Product-wise, scooter sales last month rose by 24.02 per cent to 563,326 units, while motorcycle sub-segment's off-take edged-higher by 7.72 per cent to 1,060,746 units. On the other hand, mopeds segment's sales was lower by 6.83 per cent to 70,253 units.

The industry data disclosed that the Indian automobile sector reported a rise of 10.05 per cent in May 2017 -- with total sales at 2,035,490 units across segments and categories.

Moreover, the overall exports across categories increased by 8.89 per cent to 329,068 units during last month.

Besides, SIAM pointed out that the passenger cars segment will see a significant decrease in excise duty with GST (Goods and Services Tax) rollout.

"The vehicle sector, the car segment particularly which was attracting very high rates of duty earlier or even today, which is a 30 per cent or 27 per cent or 24 per cent excise duty rates, we will see an overall drop in the excise burden - the taxation burden," Vishnu Mathur, Director General, SIAM told BTVi in an interview.

"One can already see that because companies in expectation of GST rates, which will come from July 1, have already started reducing prices and giving discounts."
Kolkata, June 9 : A gold dealer was robbed of money and jewellery by imposters masquerading as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Friday, police said.

Four persons, claiming to be CBI officials, called on gold merchant Shankar Prasad Dutta at his residence in Basirhat city.

"They have taken away Rs 2.10 lakh in cash and around 460 grams of gold," Dutta said.

"They took my son with them saying they would hand over the seizure list to him. He was left midway and asked to come to CBI's city office in Salt Lake," he added.

"A case of cheating has taken place and a complaint was lodged in Basirhat police station. We are investigating the matter," a senior district police officer told IANS.
Mumbai, June 9 : An all-India Christian organisation on Friday took umbrage to an offending chapter in a Gujarat textbook which refers to Jesus Christ as a 'demon' and demanded that the book be withdrawn.

The Indian Christian Voice, an organisation representing the larger interests of the Christian community in India, said in a statement that the reference has deeply hurt the religious sentiments of both Christians and Muslims, who also regard him as a highly revered Prophet in Islam.

"The Christian community, known worldwide as peace-loving, is deeply offended by the chapter in the textbook prepared by Gujarat State School Textbook Board. We demand criminal action against the perpetrators and an unconditional apology from the state government," ICV President Abraham Mathai told IANS.

He said the book must be withdrawn and/or re-issued only after incorporating corrections, and the state government must re-assure the minority communities about its commitment to protect them.

"Such wild and reckless statements have the potential to spark off a conflagration that could seriously jeopardise communal harmony. In the larger interest of peace, this particular edition of the book must be withdrawn and banned immediately," Mathai said.

The ICV chief said the offence invites action under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, pertaining to hurting religious sentiments of any class and must be invoked against those responsible to ensure such a 'typo' is never repeated in future.

The controversy erupted after the recent discovery of the allegedly offensive statement in the Hindi Class IX textbook published by GSSTB, using the adjective 'haivaan' (demon) while referring to Jesus Christ.

The statement reads: "Is sambandh me 'haivaan Issa' ka ek kathan sada smaraniya hai. (In this context, a statement by 'demon Jesus' is always memorable)."

The Gujarat Christian community took up the matter with the state government over a month back.

The officials called it a 'typo' as the word could mean 'demon', 'devil' or 'beast' and even promised to correct it, but later nothing happened, Mathai said.
New Delhi, June 9 : A Congress delegation along with Delhi University teachers on Friday called on President Pranab Mukherjee and apprised him of the "injustice" being meted out to teachers of the varsity by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government, with 4,500 ad-hoc teachers not being absorbed.

The delegation also submitted a memorandum on the issue to the President.

"Ever since the BJP government came to power at the Centre, injustice is being meted out to Delhi University and its teachers," Delhi Congress Chief Ajay Maken told reporters after meeting Mukherjee here.

The Congress leader said the central government has made a "cut of 55 per cent in the budget allocation for higher education", and as a result, around 4,500 ad-hoc teachers of Delhi University, close to 50 per cent of the total strength of teachers of the varsity, have not been absorbed.

"According to rules, not more than 10 per cent of the total strength of teachers can be put in the ad-hoc category," the Congress leader said.

The former union Minister said that between 1977 and 2003, ad-hoc teachers had been absorbed through an Ordinance.

"The delegation asked the President to direct Delhi University to absorb around 4,500 ad-hoc teachers of the university with immediate effect," he said.

He also said the promotion of around 3,000 teachers has been stalled and there are "around 2,500 physical education teachers in the university whom it is planning to put in the category of employees rather than teachers".

Maken said the delegation has also demanded that the report of the Pay Review Committee of Delhi University teachers, which was submitted long ago, should be made public.
New Delhi, June 9 : A Delhi court on Friday refused to grant bail to an alleged middleman, arrested along with a Lieutenant Colonel in connection with a transfer racket in the Army Headquarters here.

Special CBI Judge Naresh Kumar Malhotra denied bail to Gaurav Kohli while taking into consideration that the investigation was at a crucial stage.

"If released on bail, the accused might hamper the ongoing investigation since officers allegedly paid lakhs of rupees to manipulate their postings," said the court.

Kohli has been in judicial custody, along with Lt. Col. Ranganathan Suvramani Moni, who was posted in the Personnel Department.

Kohli had filed the bail plea stating that since he was not required for further probe, he should be granted bail.

Moni was arrested along with Kohli from the former's residence here following a tip-off.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Moni and Kohli took a bribe for the transfer of a Bengaluru-based army officer to a location of his choice.

The investigation agency teams conducted raids on the premises of the accused and others at over 10 places in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram and seized Rs 10 lakh and several incriminating documents.

The CBI said both were arrested when Kohli visited Moni's house to deliver him Rs 2 lakh, part of the Rs 5-lakh bribe, for the transfer of army officer S. Subhas.

"With their arrest, the CBI has busted a transfer racket in the Army Headquarters here that involved manipulation of army postings in lieu of illegal gratification," the CBI said.

Besides Moni and Kohli, the CBI has also registered an FIR against a Secunderabad-based army officer Purushottam, S. Subhas and other unnamed persons for criminal conspiracy under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Moni was commissioned in the Indian Army in August 1994 and had been posted at the Army Headquarters since August 2015. He hails from Thiruvananthapuram.
New Delhi, June 9 : A 22-year-old youth was shot and injured by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants in west Delhi's Mangolpuri area, police said on Friday.

Police said Deepak was returning home when he was shot thrice around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday.

His family said Deepak was returning home after some personal work in M-block in Mangolpuri. The assailants escaped after the crime, a senior police officer said.

Deepak, who stays in Mangolpuri area, was taken to nearby Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, from where he was referred to Max Hospital, the officer said.

Prima facie, police said, it is a case of personal enmity; we are examining closed-circuit television footage to identify the accused.

A case of attempt to murder has been registered against unknown persons.
Astana, June 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and strongly condemned the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan.

Modi expressed India's sincere condolences on the loss of hundreds of innocent lives and injuries to many more, said an informed source.

"The two leaders discussed the current situation in Afghanistan with specific reference to fighting terrorism, and promoting peace, stability and reconciliation there," the source said.

Appreciating the sacrifices made by brave Afghan people, Modi assured Ghani that the people of India stood by the friendly people of Afghanistan in resolutely and effectively addressing the challenge of terrorism imposed on that country.

According to the source, both leaders agreed that India's entry into SCO as a full member would promote closer cooperation within SCO, including on one of the main priorities of the group, namely fighting terrorism.

Both India and Pakistan were on Friday granted full membership of the Eurasian bloc which also includes China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Following the meeting, Modi tweeted: "Had a fruitful meeting with President @ashrafghani."
New Delhi, June 9 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday questioned Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Ahmed Shah here in connection with its probe into alleged terror-funding by Pakistan-based organisations to stoke unrest in the Kashmir valley.

Shah, popularly known as Altaf Fantoosh, arrived at the NIA headquarters in the morning and was questioned for over six hours over the alleged funding of Geelani-led Tehrek-e-Hurriyat, an NIA official said.

Shah, who has an influential role in the policies of the Tehrek-e-Hurriyat, will be questioned on Saturday too.

The counter-terror agency has so far questioned over half a dozen people in connection with the case.

Earlier, the NIA sleuths raided Shah's house in Srinagar along with the house of Shahid-ul-Islam, a close aide of Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, who heads the moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, and businessman Zahoor Watali.

Last Saturday, the NIA carried out raids at 26 places and the following day at seven places across Srinagar, Delhi and Haryana. Among those raided were separatists Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate'.

Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ul Dawah, the front of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has been named in the FIR as an accused besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference (factions led by Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and Dukhtaran-e-Milat.

The raids were part of NIA's efforts to clamp down on separatist groups allegedly receiving funds for subversive activities in the valley.

The NIA had recovered unaccounted account books, Rs 2 crore in cash and letterheads of banned terror groups including LeT and HM.

The NIA investigation seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terrorist activities, including those who throw stones at security forces, burned down schools and damaged government establishments.

Bank accounts and lockers revealed during the probe have been frozen.

Besides electronic gadgets, phone diaries and documents such as rough receipts and vouchers had been seized from alleged hawala operators, financiers and office bearers of separatist groups.

During the searches, a few thousand Pakistani rupees and currencies belonging to the UAE and Saudi Arabia as well as LeT and HM letterheads were seized by the NIA.

The NIA has alleged that since cross-LoC trade, at Uri in Kashmir and Chakan-da-bad in Jammu, was based on a barter system, some businessmen "under - or over -invoiced" their bills, and the difference in payment was later used for promoting subversive activities in the valley.

This is the first time since the rise of militancy in Kashmir in the early 1990s that a central probe agency has carried out raids in connection with funding separatists.

In 2002, the Income Tax department had executed searches against some separatist leaders, including Geelani, and seized cash and documents.

However, no criminal case was registered then.

The NIA has also roped in the government's cyber security arm to analyse electronic evidence collected during its raids.

Twenty-two laptops and computers, 100 mobiles and nearly 200 pen drives and memory sticks had been sent to the Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-IN) for creating backup files. The CERT-IN will also provide other technical details related to the data, the sources said.

The CERT-IN has also been asked to look for deleted material in the electronic gadgets, they said.

The NIA raids were carried out following the questioning of three separatist leaders -- Nayeem Khan, who was seen on television during a sting operation purportedly confessing to receiving money from Pakistan-based terror groups, 'Bitta Karate' and Gazi Javed Baba of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, in the national capital last month.
Kolkata, June 9 : SpiceJet will operate a special flight on the Kolkata- Bagdogra-Kolkata route on Saturday to help tourists stranded in West Bengal's hill town of Darjeeling, the airlines said in a release on Friday.

SpiceJet will be operating its Q400 aircraft for this special flight SG9371, which will leave Kolkata at 4.55 p.m. and reach Bagdogra at 6.15 p.m. It will depart Bagdogra at 6.35 p.m. and arrive in Kolkata at 7.55 p.m.

This special flight will be in addition to the daily direct flight which SpiceJet operates on this route, the airlines said.

Thousands of tourists have been stranded at various points of northern West Bengal's hills including Darjeeling following unrest sparked by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's fresh movement for a separate state of Gorkhaland.
New Delhi, June 9 : President Pranab Mukherjee here on Friday congratulated the three Indian education institutes for making it to the top 200 universities the world over, while also expressing his concern over the exodus of Indian scholars to foreign countries for higher learning.

Mukherjee received the QS World University Rankings for 2018 brought out by the Education Promotion Society of India (EPSI) today and urged the latter to "continue the efforts they (EPSI) are making in the education sector".

Mukherjee expressed his happiness at finding the three institutes-- IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay and IISC Bangalore-- in the top 200.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said although the quality of infrastructure has been considerably expanded in the education sector the quality of learning remains a matter of concern.

"In ancient times, we had renowned seats of higher learning - Nalanda, Takshashila, Vikramashila, Valabhi, Somapura and Odantapuri - that dominated the world higher education system for 1,800 years beginning with the 6th century BC. Scholars from round the globe flocked to these centres of learning in search of knowledge. A reverse scenario exists today," he said.

He pointed out the loss of potential human resource which occurs when many scholars leave for foreign shores for higher learning.

"Many meritorious Indian students pursue their higher studies from foreign universities. Our higher learning institutions are capable of producing world-class scholars but lose them to foreign universities," he said.

He said that while touring central universities across country in his capacity of Visitor, he found many such centres more capable than the rankings may suggest. He said not understanding the "ranking process" may have been the cause for this downward evaluation.

He underlined the positive role rankings play, saying: "A high rank can boost the morale of the academic and student communities, open greater avenues of growth and placement for students, help attract the best faculty from across the world, and provide a benchmark for continuous quality enhancement."

In the latest QS rankings IIT-Delhi has been ranked 172 in comparison to last year's 185. The new entrant in the top-200 club is IIT-Bombay which has been ranked 179 up from 219 of last year.

Indian Institute of Sciences (IISC) Bangalore continued to slide and landed at 190 from last year's 152. It was ranked 147 in the year 2016.

However, the premier institute for science was ranked sixth globally for Citations per Faculty.
New Delhi, June 9 : The Delhi High Court on Friday did not stay the Delhi government's proposed action against a private school for not refunding excess fee.

A division bench of Justice Sunil Gaur and Justice C. Hari Shankar issued notice to the Directorate of Education seeking its response on plea of the school challenging the department's May 29 notice to refund the excess fees and posted the matter for June 14.

The private school is one of 531 schools which, as per the high court-appointed Justice Anil Dev Singh committee, had charged excess fees on the pretext of implementing the 6th Pay Commission's recommendations. The panel was set up in 2011 to review fees of private schools.

After examining 1,092 private schools, the panel had said that 531 among them had charged excess fee and recommended that it should be refunded with nine per cent interest.

The department, in its May 29 notice to several defaulting schools, said that their failure to refund the excess fees could lead to their de-recognition or taking over of its management as per the Delhi School Education Act and Rules of 1973.

The school has sought stay of the notice saying its representation on review of recommendation is yet to be decided by the department. The department however said neither it nor the panel can review its recommendation and the school ought to have come to court much earlier.

The department had issued notice to schools after the court had asked them to ensure compliance of the committee's recommendations, while hearing a plea by NGO Abhibhavak Mahasangh, which had alleged that the DoE was not ensuring implementation of the recommendations of the committee.
Bhubaneswar, June 9 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday sought the intervention of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in facilitating the safe return of Odia tourists stranded due to the ongoing unrest in Darjeeling.

"Concerned for Odia families reportedly stranded in Darjeeling unrest. Request HMO India and Mamata Banerjee to intervene & arrange safe return," tweeted the Chief Minister.

Odisha Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Chandra Panda said efforts were being made to ensure safe return of tourists from the troubled region.

"I have spoken to West Bengal Tourism Minister on the issue. He said that three buses are leaving Darjeeling's Chowk Bazaar to Siliguri carrying tourists. From Siliguri, the passengers are being shifted to Kolkata," said Panda.

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) stirred up unrest in the hills after the state announced that teaching of Bengali would be made compulsory in schools till Class 10.
Kolkata, June 9 : Activists of the CPI-ML-Liberation on Friday burnt an effigy of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in protest against the death of farmers in police firing in the state earlier this week.

The Communist Party of India- Marxist-Leninist-Liberation workers staged a demonstration outside the office of Madhya Pradesh Tourism in south Kolkata demanding Chouhan immediately resign taking responsibility for the death of the peasants who are demanding loan waivers and fair price for their produce in Mandsaur.

Holding aloft banners and posters reading "Shivraj Singh Chouhan Murdabad" and questioning the "Acche din" (good days) promised by the Narendra Modi-led BJP before they came to power at the centre, the slogan shouting protestors demanded the Prime Minister and the state governments find a solution to the farmers' plight.

Another Left party All India Forward Bloc condemned the Modi government for deciding to send central police forces to Madhya Pradesh to quell the famers' protests.

Expressing "grave concern" over the National Crime Records Bureau report that a farmer is committing suicide on an average every 41 minutes in India, AIFB General Secretary Debabrata Biswas said his party would back the farmers' protests in Madhya Pradesh.

"When the need of the hour was to announce a compensation package to resolve the agrarian crisis, the Modi government decided to send 1,000 para-military troopers to Madhya Pradesh. This only reveals that the present central government considers all opposition voices as enemises. They want to fight all protests by using bullets," he said.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh began a 10-day protest on June 1 to press for loan waivers and fair price for their produce. The protests turned violent on June 6 when five farmers were killed in police firing in Mandsaur. Another injured protester died on Friday.
Port Louis (Mauritius), June 9 : Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has termed Mauritius ideally placed for emerging as an IT hub and a "Gateway to Africa" due to its strategic location and political and economic stability, an official statement said Friday.

Mahajan, who is leading an Indian parliamentary delegation to the Indian Ocean island country, met its President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim on Thursday and said the two countries have shared interest in a range of areas including marine research and information technology.

According to a Lok Sabha release, Mahajan told Gurib-Fakim that their countries have historically enjoyed unique relations and mutual relationship is of "hearts and sentiments".

She said that the two countries are connected by strong cultural links and Mauritius is a home away from home for Indians.

Mahajan congratulated him on the upcoming 50th year of Independence and presented a copy of the Constitution of India.

Gurib-Fakim appreciated the relationship with India and expressed the confidence that it will continue to flourish, the release said.

Mahajan along with the members of the delegation also visited Apravasi Ghat - the place where the first group of 36 immigrant workers from India landed in Mauritius about 183 years ago.
Palermo (Italy), June 9 : Jailed mafia boss Filippo Graviano told a cellmate that Italy's former Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, asked him "a favour" according to a transcript of a bugged conversation cited by prosecutors on Friday.

"Berlusconi asked me for this favour...that's why there was the urgency to... He wanted to come down... he said that would be great," Graviano told a fellow inmate, Umberto Adinolfi, the transcript stated.

The conversation was recorded in Ascoli Piceno's prison exercise yard on April 10, 2016. It is one of a series dated between March and April this year that have been included in evidence for an ongoing trial into alleged negotiations between the State and the Sicilian mafia in the early 1990s.

The nature of the alleged favour Berlusconi asked Graviano was among numerous omissions in the transcripts which will be supported with audio tapes, prosecutor Vittorio Teresi said.

In other bugged conversations, Graviano also vows revenge on Berlusconi, calling him as a traitor who had "stabbed him in the back" and abandoned him, according to the transcripts.

"When Berlusconi started in the 1970s he started on the right footing, throw in some luck and he ended up what he is," Graviano said in a conversation on January 19.

"When he found himself with a (political) party in 1994, it went to his head... he distanced himself and became a traitor."

In another conversation in March this year, Graviano says: "You know that I've done 24 years, my family is destroyed.. you're giving whores money every month...and you are letting me die in jail... I brought you prosperity, 24 years ago they arrest me and you start stabbing me (in the back)."

"I'll make Mr Bastard have a bad old age... you piece of shit.. how come you got into government. You've done shameful and unjust things."

Nicolo Ghedini, one of Berlusconi's lawyers, on Friday dismissed the transcripts as "baseless", claiming the ex-premier never had "direct or indirect contact" with Graviano.

Graviano and his brother Giuseppe are serving multiple life terms for their part in a 1993 mafia bombing campaign that killed ten people and injured dozens.

Giving evidence at the 2009 appeals trial of Marcello Dell'Utri, co-founder of Berlusconi's conservative Forza Italia party, Graviano denied he had ties with Dell'Utri as alleged by mafia informant Gaspare Spatuzza.

Graviano also claimed he had not sought political protection after his arrest in 1994.

"There was no need to ask help from anyone," he said at the trial.

"There was no-one who had something to promise me."

Spatuzza testified at the trial that the Graviano brothers had boasted of links to Berlusconi and Dell'Utri in 1994.
To be honored by ones peers is among the highest honors that an attorney can receive, and Fort Lauderdale Bankruptcy attorney Chad Van Horn is proud to announce that for the second year in a row, Thompson-Reuters has selected Van Horn as one of their Rising Stars. The award is the result of a unique selection process that starts with nominations and evaluations for the firms skill set in seventy different practice areas. The nominations are followed up with independent research into an attorneys practice of law, and measured against specific indicators of achievement and peer recognition.

The Process

Not only are attorneys prohibited from nominating themselves and from campaigning after a nomination, but the nomination is only available through four channels  a survey of managing partners, a nomination by a peer, feedback from third parties such as clients and other legal professionals, or via selection by a research team. The criteria for evaluation include verdicts and settlements, experience, pro bono work and community service, among other benchmarks. After a rigorous peer evaluation, only 2.5 percent of the candidates are selected out of the Super Lawyers pool to be named as Rising Stars.

The Idea

The idea for Rising Stars was to give people in need of attorneys a chance to find a really top-notch attorney in their specialty. There are no attorneys listed on Super Lawyers who have paid for reviews, nor have they bought ads, paid for likes from clickfarms, or any other Astroturf tactics. The evaluation of peers and professionals in the law is what counts here, and allows the client to choose an attorney with a proven track record, credibility, and the respect of their peers.

Our Gratitude

"We are incredibly fortunate at Van Horn Law Group to have earned the regard and trust of our fellow legal professionals and our clients. We pride ourselves on our level of service and taking on the tough cases. Advocacy for our clients and putting in the sweat to get them the outcome they need is always in the top of our minds.The hard cases, the complicated cases, the cases that people feel are hopeless are the ones we want, and we want to make a difference. We want people to know what there is a way out of debt and financial problems, and a way up, and that we will fight for them," says Managing Partner Chad Van Horn

"We would like to thank Thompson-Reuters and Super Lawyers for selecting us for this honor, and all of Van Horn Law Group for their hard work. We thank our clients for their trust in us. We would also like to thank the communities in which we serve for their support. We are determined to keep that star rising, and to provide the best counsel to our clients."

About Van Horn Law Group

Van Horn Law Group P.A. is a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm with practice areas in personal bankruptcy, corporate bankruptcy, student loan consolidation and litigation, estate planning/asset protection, LGBT estate planning/asset protection, foreclosure defense, corporate representation, debt consolidation, civil litigation, debt relief, and consumer law. Managing Partner Chad T. Van Horn is the founding partner of the firm and a South Florida business leader. Through a combination of dedicated philanthropy, spirited entrepreneurship and legal expertise, he applies his resources and networking to helping people. A Florida State Bar-certified attorney, Van Horns many honors include the prestigious AV Preeminent ranking, the highest rating awarded to attorneys by Martindale-Hubbell. For additional information, Van Horn Law Group can be reached at (954) 765-3166, and the firm is located on the Internet at http://www.vanhornlawgroup.com.
Shane Kichline

Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty announced today that Shane Kichline, who is newly affiliated with its Kill Devil Hills office, has completed a seven week instructor led program which introduces best practices and key resources important for a successful career in real estate. Kichline recently completed Launch, a Coldwell Banker University program designed exclusively for sales associates newly affiliated with the Coldwell Banker brand. The live, instructor led online program provided Kichline with best practices, tips, and insights on building his business plan, working effectively with clients and planning for contingencies and challenges in his business.

Along with the training provided by Coldwell Banker University, Kichline simultaneously engaged in the Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty mentor training program with other newly affiliated agents. Led by Vice President of Sales and Relocation, Pamela Smith, this in-house, group training provided local insights and current market activity to provide a comprehensive education preparing Kichline to begin his career with a solid background of knowledge and skills.

I am impressed with Shanes commitment to his training. This is usually an indication of the agents success going forward. Shane is on the right track! says Pamela Smith, Vice President of Sales and Relocation.

"The Coldwell Banker University course gave me a variety of tools to help me start my career. I am excited to use these skills I've aquired from the Launch course and Seaside's Mentor classes to build my business," says Shane Kichline.

Coldwell Banker Seaside Realty is a consistent top producing firm with over 25 years of local knowledge and experience. Family owned and operated, the company offers real estate services across the entire Outer Banks as well as all of northeastern North Carolina. Combined with the Coldwell Banker brand, one of the largest and most influential residential real estate brokerage franchises in the world, Seaside Realty offers top-tier real estate services to buyers and sellers throughout the region.
Ben Gordon, Managing Partner of BG Strategic Advisors (BGSA), will be speaking at the 15th Annual North American 3PL & Supply Chain Summit next week. The event, which will take place from June 14-16 at Chicagos Radisson Blu Aqua, is one of North Americas most noteworthy gathering of logistics executives and their manufacturer and retailer counterparts.

Gordon will be the moderator for the deal panel entitled M&A: The view from the larger 3PLs. He will be joined by speakers Doug Waggoner, CEO, Echo; John Anderson, Advisory Director, Greenbriar Equity Group; and Tom Madine, CEO, Worldwide Express.

The panel will discuss 2017s merger and acquisition climate, as well as industry evolutions that are likely to cause large shifts in the 3PL (third-party logistics) sector. Topics will include:



The future of 3PL consolidation: are assets still off the deal sheet?

Technology-driven M+A: whats to come in 2017? How will cash streams from new investors affect your 3PL business strategy?

Buying and selling, navigating the sellers market, and positioning your business to sell: what are prospective buyers looking for? How can you find acquisition targets with similar goals for guaranteed ROI?

With a career spent building successful supply chain companies, Gordon has advised on over $1 billion worth of supply chain transactions. In addition to his role as Managing Partner at BGSA, he also serves as a Managing Partner at Cambridge Capital LLC, a private equity investment firm in the applied supply chain sector. Hes also the founder of 3PLex, an ecommerce platform enabling business automation for third-party logistics companies.

About BG Strategic Advisors LLC (BGSA): BG Strategic Advisors is an investment banking firm for the supply chain sector based in West Palm Beach, FL that specializes in advising CEOs in the transportation, warehousing, and logistics industries. Founded in 2002, BGSA is known for its integrity, expertise and proven track record of success. BGSA has worked with many of the leading transportation, logistics and supply chain companies.

About Cambridge Capital LLC: West Palm Beach-based Cambridge Capital provides private equity to finance the expansion, recapitalization or acquisition of companies in the applied supply chain sector. Founded in 2009, the firm is the investment affiliate of BG Strategic Advisors.
Alexander Claytor is a seasoned and talented professional who has a vast knowledge of the technology industry. He is a valuable addition to the DiamondIT team.

DiamondIT is proud to announce the latest addition to our team of sales engineers, Alexander Claytor. Mr. Claytor joins an already stellar team of sales engineers who provide DiamondIT clients with IT management, consulting, support and training. Alexander Claytor is a seasoned and talented professional who has a vast knowledge of the technology industry. He is a valuable addition.

Originally from Anguilla, British West Indies, Mr. Claytor attended The Masters Institute of Technology with a focus on Computer Systems Administration. For almost 20 years, Mr. Claytor has been mastering enterprise-level IT infrastructure. For the past several years, he has been primarily focused on Industrial IT systems architecture and security (ICS/SCADA). Having previously owned multiple businesses, he consulted for some of the largest corporations in the world. He is most at home doing research and development and being out in the field supervising deployment and commissioning of infrastructure.

"Alexander Claytor is a seasoned and talented professional who has a vast knowledge of the technology industry. He is a valuable addition to the DiamondIT team, and I look forward to working with him on our unique and customized technology solutions for every specific need, said Matt Mayo, DiamondIT CEO.

Continually improving his education and keeping in pace with the speed of technology, Mr. Claytor holds certifications in U.S. DoHS 100W & 210W for Control Systems, Wonderware App Server & InTouch for Sys. Platform 2014, MCSE and CCNA.

When not working, or improving his IT knowledge base, Mr. Claytor spends time with his family. His hobbies and passions include muscle cars and antique wooden sailing yachts.

For more information on DiamondIT, visit https://diamondit.pro/ or call us at (877) 7168324.

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Ntiva, Inc. announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Ntiva to its 2017 Solution Provider 500 list. The Solution Provider 500 is CRNs annual ranking of the largest technology integrators, solution providers and IT consultants in North America by revenue.

The Solution Provider 500 is CRNs predominant channel partner award list, serving as the industry standard for recognition of the most successful solution provider companies in the channel since 1995. This year, for the first time since 2010, the complete list will be published on CRN.com, making it readily available to vendors seeking out top solution providers to partner with.

Ntiva is honored to be ranked as a top Solution Provider on the 2017 CRN SP500 list, said Steven Freidkin, CEO of Ntiva. We continue to work with leading technology partners to select the best solutions for our clients, coupled with best-in-class implementation and superior support from our top technical talent. Our ultimate goal is to help our clients leverage technology to achieve their strategic business goals.

CRNs Solution Provider 500 list spotlights the North American IT channel partner organizations that have earned the highest revenue over the past year, providing a valuable resource to vendors looking for top solution providers to partner with, said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. The companies on this years list represent an incredible combined revenue of over $318 billion, a sum that attests to their success in staying ahead of rapidly changing market demands. We extend our sincerest congratulations to each of these top-performing solution providers and look forward to their future pursuits and successes.

About the Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. http://www.thechannelco.com

About Ntiva, Inc.

Ntiva is a trusted Managed IT and Cloud Services provider that offers IT services and support to businesses of all types, building and maintaining infrastructure, securing networks, and providing strategic technology expertise. Our team of world-class talent genuinely cares about the relationships we build and understands that response and precision are fundamental keys to a successful partnership. Ntivas ultimate objective is to help our clients leverage their technology investments to improve their business performance. For more information visit http://www.ntiva.com

Media Contact:

Holly Dowden

VP of Marketing, Ntiva, Inc.

703 891 0131

holly.dowden(at)ntiva(dot)com
We are committed to securely increasing access to valuable patient information so that providers can offer our patients quality, coordinated care, when and where they need it, said Garrett.

Novant Health has become the first health system in the U.S. to provide access to Epics Healthy Planet Link module to allow care providers, affiliated with or unaffiliated with Novant Health, to access key health trends for patients.

Healthy Planet Link is an analytical tool that gives health care providers information about our patients, such as historical prescription trends, frequency of hospitalizations or preventive care measures, said Dave Garrett, Novant Health chief information officer. Over their lifetime, most people will see multiple providers, undergo a variety of screenings and experience health emergencies. It is important that health care providers within the Novant Health system and those practicing outside of our system have access to this valuable patient information so they can provide appropriate preventive care.

Epics Healthy Planet Link is a tool with an associated dashboard that provides health care systems and providers with information that can help coordinate care delivery, monitor quality and cost, reduce financial risk and engage patients through a centralized data warehouse. It also allows providers the opportunity to track performance on several utilization and preventive care quality metrics, which can assist in improving overall population health.

Novant Health has identified 15 trackable measures. Those include:



Screening for future falls

Poor control of hemoglobin A1C (blood glucose)

Diabetes eye exam

Use of imaging studies for low back pain

Control of high blood pressure

Use of aspirin or another antithrombotic for ischemic vascular disease

Depression remission over a 12 month period

Breast cancer screening

Colorectal screening

Influenza immunization

Pneumonia vaccine for older adults

Body mass index screening and follow-up plan

Screening and cessation for tobacco use

Screening for clinical depression and follow up plan

Statin therapy for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease

Through Healthy Planet Link, Novant Health can provide health care providers with retrospective, real-time and predictive analytics; risk scoring tools; chronic disease and wellness registries; operational reports with clinical drill-down; and quality measurement.

We are committed to securely increasing access to valuable patient information so that providers can offer our patients quality, coordinated care, when and where they need it, said Garrett.

About Novant Health

Novant Health is an integrated network of physician clinics, outpatient facilities and hospitals that delivers a seamless and convenient healthcare experience to communities in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. Named in 2016 by Beckers Hospital Review as one of the nations 150 best places to work in healthcare, Novant Health network consists of more than 1,500 physicians and over 26,000 employees that provide care at over 470 locations, including 14 medical centers and hundreds of outpatient facilities and physician clinics. Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the health system serves more than 4.4 million patients annually and in 2016 provided more than $725.5 million in community benefit, including charity care and services. Diversity MBA has recognized the organization as one of the 50 best places for women and managers of diverse background to work and SK&A ranks Novant Health among the top 25 integrated health systems in the nation. Novant Health provides care in Virginia under the joint operating company, Novant Health UVA Health System.
Embrace Pet Insurance celebrated a monumental achievement last Friday when it insured its 100,000th pet.

Embrace celebrated by encouraging social followers to nominate their favorite pet charity via Facebook. The randomly-selected winner, Bullies 2 The Rescue from Indian Trail, North Carolina, will receive a $1,000 donation to continue their mission to rehabilitate and rehome mistreated and abandoned bulldogs.

We love our relationship with every single Embraced pet parent and their pets. Its wonderful to see so many pets over the years benefiting from Embraces top-quality coverage, said Laura Bennett, Chief Operations Officers and Co-Founder.

The first Embraced pet, a 12-year-old cat named Lily from Chagrin Falls, OH, was insured in 2006. Since then, Embrace has grown to over 100 employees and paid out more than $87.4 million in claims.

In tribute to the many unique and wonderful pets Embrace is proud to protect, a 12 tall by 25 wide photo mosaic wall was recently installed at their pet-friendly headquarters in Warrensville Heights, Ohio. The piece features photos of more than 2,500 Embraced pets that come together to create a larger image of Embraces logo.

Embrace Pet Insurance is an industry leader that has been in the marketplace for more than ten years. Veterinary hospitals across the country are already taking advantage of their new web-based application, Embrace360, which electronically streamlines the claim submission process. With top customer ratings on review sites such as PetInsuranceReview.com, innovative technology, and great customer service, its clear they are trusted by pet owners throughout the United States.

About Embrace Pet Insurance

Embrace Pet Insurance is an Ohio-based pet health insurance provider, offering comprehensive, personalized insurance products for dogs and cats across the United States. Embrace is consistently ranked as one of the highest-rated U.S. pet insurance companies and is a proud member of the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Embrace is the only company to offer a diminishing deductible feature, the Healthy Pet Deductible, and continues to innovate and improve the pet insurance experience for pet parents across the country.

About the North American Pet Health Insurance Association

Embrace is a proud member of the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). NAPHIA is comprised of reputable pet health insurance (PHI) organizations from across Canada and the United States. NAPHIAs membership makes up over 99% of all pet health insurance coverage in effect in North America.

As a coalition, NAPHIA works to advance and grow the PHI industry through proactive research, data sharing, benchmarking initiatives, advocacy efforts, strategic partnerships, resource sharing and the dissemination of information to collaboratively address challenges and opportunities. To learn more, visit http://www.naphia.org/.
LaKeshia Grant-Shephard, CEO of Virtual Enterprise Architects (VEA), will be featured as a panelist at the Essence Festival Path to Power Entrepreneurship and Business Conference, where attendees will learn how to create, grow, and sustain a business. Mrs. Grant-Shephard will speak on three panels on Friday, June 30, 2017 on Federal Contracting.

The three panels are a part of the Doing Business with the Federal Government series. The 101 session, You Think You're Ready to do Business with the Feds," prepares an organization to be contract ready. The 201 session, Stepping into the Federal Game, focuses on marketing and how to obtain federal contracts. Lastly, the 301 session, It's in the Bag: Landing that BIG Federal Contract, will address navigating the federal market and government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACS).

Mrs. Grant-Shephard grew VEA from an $11,000 investment to a multi-million-dollar award-winning federal contracting company. She was the 2014 Small Business Administrations (SBA) Small Business Person of the Year for Washington DC, a SmartCEO Brava! winner, and received the 2013 GovTek Woman in Industry Award. With over 17 years in government contracting, Mrs. Grant-Shephard is a select founder in the Kauffman Foundation and Khan Academy Entrepreneurship Series alongside Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group; Lara Morgan, founder of Pacific Direct; Marc Ecko, founder of Ecko Unlimited; T.A. McCann, founder and CEO of Gist; and Zach Kaplan, CEO of Inventables.

In anticipation for the upcoming event, Mrs. Grant-Shephard stated:

It is an honor to be a part of this historic event and have the opportunity to share my experiences in federal contracting as a mentor. I am passionate about helping other small businesses through my lessons learned over 17 years of federal contracting. Im hoping that sharing VEAs Federal Contracting Roadmap will inspire them to enhance their service offerings and elevate their businesses. I am grateful to the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and Essence for giving me this opportunity.

To share in the excitement leading up to the conference, follow us @virtual_ea or visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Virtual-Enterprise-Architects/241448865470

About Virtual Enterprise Architects (VEA)

VEA is a Small Business Administration (SBA) certified 8(a), small disadvantaged, woman owned small business (WOSB) with a track record of delivering business management and Information Technology (IT) related services to public and private clients. VEA provides services throughout every level of the architecture to include: business, data, software, infrastructure, and security services. VEA has supported over 37 efforts across 13 federal agencies. In 2013, VEA was listed as the #1 fastest growing IT services company in DC by Inc. magazine, 2014 Industry Solutions Provider of the Year by GovTek, and the 2014 Emerging Technology Implementer of the Year by SmartCEO magazine.
Greenville, SC Attorney Steve Sumner Named to 2017 Super Lawyers List for DUI Defense I am proud to be recognized once again by Super Lawyers for my efforts in providing the best possible DUI defense for my clients.

For the fifth year in a row, Attorney Steve W. Sumner has been selected to the South Carolina Super Lawyers list for DUI Defense. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

This recognition for Sumner comes on the heels of being named a Best Law Firm by US News & World Report. In addition, he has received the highest possible rating in legal ability and ethical standards by Martindale Hubbell; holds a 10.0/Superb rating by Avvo; and has been selected as a "Best Attorney" Lifetime Charter Member to the Rue Ratings' Best Attorneys of America list.

Sumner currently represents clients in over 25 courts in Upstate South Carolina. These courts include Greenville, Anderson, Spartanburg, Pickens and Laurens counties; as well as the city/municipal courts of Greenville, Anderson, Spartanburg, Simpsonville, Mauldin, Greer, Fountain Inn, Easley, Clemson, Central, and Laurens.

In 1997, Sumner opened his own practice as a criminal defense attorney, with a special focus on defending clients accused of DUI, Felony DUI, all driving offenses and drug cases. He graduated from the USC School of Law in 1992 and served as a state court prosecutor from 1992 to 1994. His primary case load consisted of prosecuting DUI, Felony DUI, Reckless Homicide and Traffic offenses.
Preventing Americans from buying affordable medication is clearly the wrong thing to do, which is why individuals are not prosecuted for small personal use quantity imports.

In a letter to all members of Congress, non-profit organizations representing millions of Americans and their families stated their strong support for the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act of 2017 http://tinyurl.com/ycsx3z9p . This critical legislation would expand access to lower cost medication from Canada and other countries. Spearheaded by Prescription Justice, the letter recognizes that millions of Americans already import medication for personal use and urges Congress to make it lawful for them to do so in accordance with federal regulations and the safest international pharmacy practices.

The letter states: Preventing Americans from buying affordable medication is clearly the wrong thing to do, which is why individuals are not prosecuted for small personal use quantity imports. By passing this bill, Congress would require the FDA to provide guidance to consumers about finding safe international online pharmacies. This provision would help consumers find the safest options, while going after bad actors who intentionally sell counterfeit and adulterated medications.

The public health crisis of high drug prices is causing epidemic rates of prescription non-adherence. Approximately 45 million Americans did not fill a prescription in 2016 due to cost http://khn.org/news/trumps-promise-to-rein-in-drug-prices-could-open-dam-to-importation-laws/ , which leads to unnecessary sickness, hospitalizations and death. According to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, about 19 million Americans say they have imported medication for personal use due to the high cost of medication domestically https://www.statnews.com/2016/12/20/drug-prices-us-importing/ ; and 72% of Americans would like importation from Canada to be legal http://www.kff.org/health-costs/report/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-september-2016/ . Canadian pharmacies offer discounts of 70% on average compared to local pharmacies on popular brand name drugs, which are available online http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/04/prweb14267010.htm .

Letter in support of prescription drug importation to the U.S. House of Representatives: https://prescriptionjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/drug-importation-support-house-june-2017.pdf.

Letter in support of prescription drug importation to the U.S. Senate: http://prescriptionjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/drug-importation-support-senate-june2017.pdf.

Myths and Facts about importation: http://prescriptionjustice.org/Prescription_Justice_-_Myths_vs_Facts_About_Importation.pdf.

Below is a list of the signatory organizations.

Alliance for Retired Americans

Center for Medicare Advocacy

CREDO

DailyKos

Economic Policy Institute Policy Center

Justice in Aging

National Nurses United

National Organization for Women

Prescription Justice

RxRights

Social Security Works

Prescription Justice http://www.prescriptionjustice.org/ is a non-profit organization that brings together doctors, lawyers, public health advocates, and companies dedicated to helping people afford medication. Prescription Justice advocates for legislative and policy reforms to allow personal prescription importation, permitting Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and ending pay to delay activities by pharmaceutical companies that prevent lower cost generics from coming to market.
The importance of smart, connected infrastructure in building a more sustainable future was underscored during a full-day Readiness Workshop in Orlando, one of five U.S. cities that won 2017 Smart Cities Council Challenge Grants.

"We want to become the world's most intelligent, interconnected and efficient city," Mayor Buddy Dyer said during the June 6 event hosted by the Smart Cities Council, the industry coalition advancing smart city development and innovation. "We want to become a showcase city for smart city technology."

The workshop brought together city leaders, staff and key stakeholders from the Orlando community along with industry experts from the Council to help forge strategies that can turn the mayor's vision into reality.

"As a government, we don't have unlimited funding. We don't have unlimited people to sit and watch everything. How do we build agile processes that we can use to sustain and drive value? That is what we are here to talk about," explained Rosa Akhtarkhavari, the city's Chief Information Officer.

While many view Orlando as an oasis of theme parks and sunshine, today travel, tourism and retail sales account for less than a third of the city's economic activity. Rather, Orlando has become a high-tech business center. The life sciences industry, for instance, employs nearly 100,000 people in Orlando. Companies like Siemens and Oracle have major operations in the city. Deloitte has created a new software development operation in the city and is already growing it by nearly double the amount it originally projected.

Businesses are attracted to Orlando because of the available skilled labor. There are 500,000 STEM students within 100 miles. It is consistently one of the top cities in the U.S. for job growth and the city is looking to use smart technologies to optimize its infrastructure and grow in a sustainable manner. People are attracted to the city, too, because of the opportunities. Orlando has added 130,000 new residents in just the past two years.

The city is making investments in infrastructure, but wants to ensure those investments are both sustainable and equitable. One example: As it attracts even more high-paying, high-tech jobs, affordable housing has become even scarcer.

During the workshop, the Council led participants through an introduction to smart cities principles, demonstrating how cities can gather real-time intelligence from interconnected systems to stretch their infrastructure investments.

Participants also joined working groups covering built environment, energy, transportation, public safety, smart affordable housing, water, digital inclusion, and open data to discuss areas the city should focus on. They proposed key concepts for a smart cities roadmap that includes short-term wins, medium-term projects and longer-term goals. These will be further assessed for consideration by Orlandos smart cities leadership team. Some of the concepts include:



Use of smart grid technologies to support the citys long-term, 100% renewable energy goals

Application of energy models to identify most cost-effective building retrofit opportunities

Intersection monitoring and predictive analytics to enhance pedestrian and bike safety

Enhanced use of open data and data sharing across city departments

"It was a great pleasure to partner with the City of Orlando on a dynamic and successful Smart Cities Readiness Workshop," said Council Chief Scientist Stuart Cowan. "We look forward to supporting Orlando's Smart Cities Steering Committee as it translates the workshop results into ongoing initiatives."

###

About Smart Cities Challenge Grants

In September 2016, the Smart Cities Council launched its first Readiness Challenge Grant. In addition to Orlando, the winning cities included Austin, Indianapolis, Miami, Orlando and Philadelphia. The Council will be working with the winning cities throughout 2017. The 2018 Challenge Grant program will launch in October during Smart Cities Week in Washington, D.C.

About Smart Cities Council

The Smart Cities Council is comprised of the foremost experts and leading global companies in the smart technologies sector, who serve as advisors and resources. Its goal is to accelerate the growth of smart cities worldwide by providing city leaders with access to technology counsel, financial tools, policy frameworks, visibility campaigns, and advocacy. For more information, visit http://www.smartcitiescouncil.com.
Kickball Concepts Licenses IP Portfolio To Indigo Sleep

Kickball Concepts, LLC today announced a series of licensing agreements and asset sales to mattress industry tech startup Indigo Sleep, LLC, founded by Gene DeRose and David Funk. Indigo Sleep has received exclusive licenses from Kickball for several patents including its innovative Inside Flippable mattress design, and a novel patent pending zipper-less, nested mattress cover design. The licensed patents and a series of registered trademarks and domain names provide a structure to the offerings being created by Indigo.

Indigo Sleep's innovative new mattress offerings in the Direct-to-Consumer, UPS shippable mattress in a box category involves leveraging the patented flippable comfort layer design to offer consumers multiple bed feels with the purchase of just one mattress. The ability to replace or change the comfort layer is a benefit of the patented design. "Offering a split top for queen and king sizes that can flip from the Sexy side to the Sleeping Side gives couples lots of options," explains DeRose, Indigo Sleep's CEO.

Kickball had actively pursued the right licensee for about a year. "Ironically, after reaching out to many mattress industry veterans and some newer start-up companies, I found the interested party in serial entrepreneur Gene DeRose, someone Ive known for years. Gene had been coincidentally been considering this new, hot sector in the technology online business world for some time as his next target", offered Harrison Murphy, Managing Member of Kickball. He added, "They already had an exploratory team assembled, the funding, the expertise, and vision to take this technology out to the online direct to consumer marketplace."

DeRose stated, "There was a lot of action and growth in this space in NYC, where I spend a lot of my time, and a lot of media focus on this disruptive sector of retail. We felt we could bring a newer and better twist to an older, staid industry. I had seen an article in Inc. magazine during last summer about this sector's phenomenal growth, and had an epiphany. I was fascinated by the intersection of politics and business and felt it was time for a new way of doing business. At that NYC coffee shop, the idea for Indigo Sleep was born."

Indigo Sleep's Comfort Always mattress offers Kickball's patented TCF (Totally Chlorine Free) fire barrier technology. "They took the idea of making a mattress without chemicals like modacrylic, antimony, fiberglass, and FR treatments and just ran with it", stated Murphy. Indigo Sleep is expected to launch their website in June. "We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to commercialize these technologies and create the next generation mattress sleeping experience for American consumers", explained DeRose.

Media Inquiries can be directed to Harrison Murphy by phone at 703-787-9802 or email at hmurphy(at)kickballconcepts(dot)com.
John Clune, CEO, Cavern Technologies Cavern is honored to be a part of the IMN East Forum and help lead the conversation on challenges and opportunities in the data center industry.

IMN (Information Management Network) is presenting the 7th Annual Provider Forum on Data Centers and Cloud Services Infrastructure (East) in Washington, D.C., June 8-9. IMN selected John Clune, CEO of Kansas City-based, Cavern Technologies, to provide his unique insight and expertise as a featured speaker and panel participant on a forum for small/mid-size data center executives. Mr. Clune and other data center leaders will discuss topics including:



Customer Acquisition, Growth and Pipeline Development

Market Positioning and Strategic Planning

Product Development, Managed Service Offerings, and Specialization

Real Estate Development and Investment, ROI, and Raw Space Profitability

Under John Clunes leadership, Cavern Technologies has grown to become Kansas Citys premier data center solutions provider. Cavern serves small to Fortune 1000 companies across the United States and is recognized as a frontrunner in the data center industry. Joining Clune on the IMN panel are: Jim Griffith, CEO, Corporate Technologies LLC; Nicholas Kottyan, President & CEO, DataChambers, LLC; Svein Hagaseth, SVP North America, Green Mountain Data Center. The panel will be moderated by Emily Naughton, Associate, Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

For more information about IMN Provider Forum, visit http://www.imn.org.

###

About Cavern Technologies, Inc.

Cavern Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider in the development, leasing and operation of build-to-suit wholesale data centers outside of Kansas City. Located 125-feet underground in a 3 million square foot facility, Caverns environmentally regulated, secure infrastructure is Energy Star, SAS-70, SSAE 16 Type II certified. Cavern is designed to meet the specialized power, cooling and security requirements companies need to house IT systems that support their mission-critical business processes. Cavern provides tenants with unique business solutions and a value proposition focused on minimizing the total cost of ownership of data center and colocation infrastructure. CavernTechnologies.com

About IMN

The IMN or Information Management Network, was founded in 1994 and is a global organizer of conferences that focus on institutional finance, investments and healthcare IT. IMN.org

Contact:

Annie Noland

913.553.5977

anoland(at)caverntech(dot)com
Davidson, N.C., was ranked the number one choice for college students looking to attend a liberal arts college in an affordable town.

TurboTenant, a rapidly growing startup, recently conducted a study measuring the livability and affordability of US cities with the best ranking liberal arts colleges. Each city chosen for the study was required to have a liberal arts college, as well as high livability scores with a focus on amenities and low crime rates. Each town chosen also needed to offer average two bedroom rental house prices under $2,000 a month.

TurboTenant used this data to pick the top five cities across the nation with best ranking liberal arts colleges. The five cities that made the list include Brunswick, Maine, Claremont, Calif., Davidson, N.C., Haverford, Pa., and Williamstown, Mass. These five cities were selected due to their outstanding amenities, quality of life, and low crime rates.

Davidson, N.C., was ranked the number one choice for college students looking to attend a liberal arts college in an affordable town. With average rent prices for a two bedroom at $1,176, Davidson was cited as offering a blend of local amenities, an array of outdoor activities, and easy access to the renowned city of Charlotte. The full article and the towns statistics can be viewed on TurboTenants blog at Top US Cities With The Best Ranking Liberal Arts Colleges.

About TurboTenant (turbotenant.com): TurboTenant helps independent landlords improve the investment performance of their properties by offering them access to online tools, previously only available to large property management companies. More than 40,000 landlords across the U.S. turn to TurboTenant for free, online solutions for landlording. Features offered by TurboTenant include online rental applications, tenant credit and background reports, property listings and automated marketing, and online rent payments. All of TurboTenants features focus on helping landlords manage smarter, faster, and more effectively.
The companies who are leading in the marketplace are starting by winning in the workplace. Being a great employer has never been more important - Joni Doolin | CEO, TDn2K

May was a disappointing month for chain restaurants by most measures. Same-store sales were down -1.1 percent, which represents a 0.1 percentage point drop from April. The industry has not reported a month of positive sales since February of 2016. These results come from data by TDn2K through The Restaurant Industry Snapshot, based on weekly sales from over 27,000+ restaurant units, 155+ brands and representing $67 billion dollars in annual revenue.

Same-store traffic growth was -3.0 percent in May, a 0.2 percentage point improvement from April. Although traffic results improved from prior month, the growth in check average was lower than it has been in recent months, causing the fall in sales growth vs. March and April.

The industry is clearly still struggling, but there is some optimism based on the latest results, expressed Victor Fernandez, Executive Director of Insights and Knowledge for TDn2K. Both sales and traffic growth quarter-to-date at the end of May show improvements over the first quarter and the second quarter is currently on track to post the best results weve seen for the industry since the third quarter of 2016.

Additionally, restaurant sales were relatively soft last year, and the easier comps should help results, he continued. However, at this point, we believe the most likely scenario for the current quarter will be an improvement over recent quarters, while still suffering negative sales given the current consumer spending trends.

Slow Economic Growth & Consumer Spending

With little happening in Washington to alter the landscape for growth, it appears as if the economy will again expand this year at the same pace it has averaged for the past seven years, which is 2.2 percent, explained Joel Naroff, President of Naroff Economic Advisors and TDn2K Economist.

That is enough to continue driving down unemployment rates and putting greater pressure on firms trying to expand and hire new workers. Wage gains are still accelerating slowly, though, limiting household spending power. Recently, there has been an upturn in retail spending on most goods and services. That stands in stark contrast to the continued decline in sales growth at restaurants. Consumers appear to be maintaining their spending at restaurants but increasing it for other goods and services. This change in consumer spending patterns was identified about a year ago and how much longer it will continue is unclear.

Catering, Delivery & Drive-Thru: Opportunities for Growth

While overall sales continue to be a challenge for most of the industry, there are pockets of opportunity that some brands have capitalized on to boost performance. Dine-in sales have been negative year-to-date, but to-go is up 2.9 percent. Sales are also up in catering, delivery and drive-thru.

From a day part perspective, breakfast and mid-afternoon sales offer continued opportunities for growth, while lunch and, especially, dinner sales continue to stumble.

Industry Segment Performance

May sales were weak across all segments. Only the fine dining segment was able to achieve very small positive same-store sales growth during the month. The second best performing segment during May was quick service. That soft performance notwithstanding, the best performing segments continue to be those with the lowest and highest average guest checks. Dining experience on one end and value and convenience on the other seem to continue to be key components of restaurant sales performance based on current consumer spending trends, said Fernandez.

The weakest performing segment in May was casual dining. This was a bit unexpected since the segment showed improved performance during the first four months of 2017 after lagging the industry for several years. Casual dining has added a modest number of new units, but same-store sales declines have contributed to its overall loss in market share.

Despite weak sales results year-to-date, fast casual continues to win the market share battle. It gained the most share in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the same quarter a year ago. Aggressive expansion has driven total sales growth, but increased competition and market build-out have undoubtedly impacted same-store sales for the segment. The only other segment that gained market share year-over-year was quick service.

Retention and Staffing Still Plaguing Restaurants

In addition to what they are facing in terms of falling guest counts and consumer spending, strong challenges continue to confront restaurants in both staffing and retaining enough qualified workers. TDn2Ks People Report Workforce Index continues to indicate that restaurant operators are pessimistic regarding the difficulty of recruiting in the upcoming quarters. Part of the problem is that hiring for new restaurant positions has started to pick up again. The number of employees in the chain restaurant sector increased by 1.9 percent during April compared with a year ago, up from 1.5 percent growth recorded in March. The other issue affecting staffing is rising turnover.

Turnover rates for both hourly employees and management staff increased again during April. The turnover numbers that we are reporting are stunning, said Joni Thomas Doolin, TDn2K CEO and founder of People Report. Many of the brands that we track are already facing unsustainable levels of staffing vacancies. Most alarming is the fact that over 70% of employees are leaving voluntarily as opportunities for better work increase.

Meanwhile the overall labor market nearing full employment doesnt hint at relief for operators any time soon. The consequences of turnover are well documented by TDn2K. Not only does it impact service levels and guest satisfaction, which correlate to traffic and sales, but it is also a huge source of additional costs hurting the bottom line. According to a recent study by People Report, it costs on average about $2,200 to replace a single restaurant hourly employee, while the cost of turnover for all levels of restaurant management is on average about $15,000 per manager. The companies who are leading in the marketplace are starting by winning in the workplace. Being a great employer has never been more important, stressed Doolin.

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.
6.28 Carat Lab-Grown Diamond Comparison We are proud to be the leader in the lab-grown diamond industry and provide consumers with an affordable and conflict-free diamond option.

On Thursday, June 8, 2017, MiaDonna & Company was recognized as one of Portland Business Journals 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in Oregon. This is the fourth time MiaDonna has been recognized for their continued financial growth as a private organization.

Though founded in 2005, MiaDonna has since proven to be a leader in the lab-grown diamond industry and has experienced an upswing of lab-grown diamond sales over recent years. According to Research Nester, the lab-grown diamond market is one of the fastest growing across the globe valued at 16.2 billion in 2015 and expected to grow to 27.6 billion by 2023. MiaDonnas advancements in lab-created diamond technologies and increased consumer demand have successfully contributed to this growth.

Earlier this year, Muhammad Ali's daughter, Khaliah Ali, and MiaDonna CEO, Anna-Mieke Anderson, announced a scientific breakthrough by unveiling of the Largest Laboratory-Grown-in-the-USA Diamond. The 6.28 carat, J-Color, VS2 clarity, cushion-cut diamond is a marvel of U.S. technology and is truly the eco-conscious, conflict-free and affordable option for todays diamond consumer. An identically graded earth-mined diamond can cost upwards of $100,000, while this MiaDonna lab-grown diamond is priced at just $52,000.

We are proud to be the leader in the lab-grown diamond industry and provide consumers with an affordable and conflict-free diamond option, said Anna-Mieke Anderson. "The idea of companies being driven by short-term financial gains at a long-term cost to people and the planet is simply no longer acceptable. The new generation of diamond consumers support our advocacy toward an ethical and eco-friendly diamond community."

MiaDonna is a foundation-first organization that works in unison with its charity, The Greener Diamond (TGD). Earlier this week, TGD announced its latest project supporting the Center for Womens Empowerment in Liberia. Using basic education, alternative counseling and vocational training, the Center for Womens Empowerment will provide a safe place for women to grow and alleviate the negative impact the civil war has had on them. Graduates of the Center for Women Empowerment will be awarded a micro-credit loan and will be assigned to an advisor who will work with them to establish small businesses. Within five years, the center will directly train 1,000 women.

To learn more about MiaDonna and The Greener Diamond, visit http://www.miadonna.com

# # #
Greg Inks, Cloud Practice Lead

Leading system integrator, managed services provider, and Microsoft Dynamics Gold Certified Partner AKA Enterprise Solutions continues the expansion of its Cloud consulting practice with the addition of Greg Inks, a Cloud technology expert, experienced digital marketing professional leveraging cloud computing, and veteran of the Big 5 consulting arena.

As AKAs Cloud Practice Lead, Inks will tap into his experience working with Microsoft as well as some of the largest, most successful technology providers and client companies in the world to help customers define and evolve their Cloud strategy, with actionable migration plans that maximize ROI, reliability, and security.

According to Gartner, the Cloud shift will affect more than $1 trillion in IT spending, said Inks. Businesses are making serious financial commitments to the Cloud, and so are technology providers like Microsoft. These investments are going to change the landscape for every organization, and AKA Enterprise Solutions is in the perfect position to leverage its industry experience and tools like Microsoft Azure and Dynamics 365 to help customers truly transform their businesses.

AKAs Cloud Services Practice is focused on collaborating with customers to develop comprehensive Cloud strategies that align with business goals and budgets while helping reduce overall IT operations costs by migrating away from legacy on-premises data centers, modernizing to native Cloud applications, and realizing predictive results through Cloud machine learning and AI analytics. Practice areas include:



Cloud Strategy Consulting  Working with customers to define and understand the costs of their cloud strategy, develop a road map to realize that strategy, and put them on track to transforming their business.

Cloud Infrastructure Engineering  Getting customers up and running with Cloud Foundational Services, migrating their existing apps to the Cloud, building a hybrid data center that accommodates Cloud as well as on-premises applications, and working towards automating processes wherever possible.

Cloud Managed Services  Moving customers out of the IT business so they can focus on their business and helping them take advantage of the operational and financial flexibility of the Cloud as well as AKAs ability to run as a managed service provider.

Native Cloud Application Development - Helping customers modernize their legacy systems with Cloud Native solutions that extend their existing analytics platform with machine learning and artificial intelligence powered by the cloud

As we continue to grow, by diversifying our Cloud service offerings, we want to drive digital transformation across our clients entire enterprise, going beyond traditional ERP and CRM projects we have been so successful with, said Alan Kahn, Co-CEO of AKA. Under Gregs leadership, our Cloud Services Practice is ideally positioned to fuel unprecedented growth.

About AKA Enterprise Solutions

For more than 25 years, AKA Enterprise Solutions has been dedicated to freeing organizations to innovate and transform with technology that simplifies processes and reduces risks. Specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365, Cloud Services Business Process Consulting, and Custom Application Development, we combine industry and technical experience, proven methodologies, and world-class consulting to help them achieve their goals. The company is headquartered in New York, NY. http://www.akaes.com
This recognition is a tribute to our employees who have the expertise to design and implement the information technology that helps our customers meet their business goals.

OneNeck IT Solutions announced today the company has been named to the CRN 2017 Solution Provider 500 list. The annual list, published by CRN (a brand of The Channel Company), ranks the largest technology integrators, solution providers and IT consultants in North America by revenue.

The Solution Provider 500 is CRNs predominant channel partner award list, serving as the industry standard for recognition of the most successful solution provider companies in the channel since 1995.

Its an honor to again be included in CRNs Solution Provider 500 list, said Terry Swanson, president and CEO of OneNeck. This recognition is a tribute to our employees who have the expertise to design and implement the information technology that helps our customers meet their business goals.

OneNeck offers a full suite of hybrid IT solutions including cloud and hosting solutions, managed services, enterprise application management, professional services and IT hardware. In addition, OneNeck has top-tier data centers in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin.

CRNs Solution Provider 500 list spotlights the North American IT channel partner organizations that have earned the highest revenue over the past year, providing a valuable resource to vendors looking for top solution providers to partner with, said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. The companies on this years list represent an incredible, combined revenue of over $318 billion, a sum that attests to their success in staying ahead of rapidly changing market demands. We extend our sincerest congratulations to each of these top-performing solution providers and look forward to their future pursuits and successes.

The complete 2017 Solution Provider 500 list is now available online.

For more about OneNeck, visit oneneck.com.

About OneNeck

OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, employs nearly 550 people throughout the U.S. The company offers hybrid IT solutions including cloud and hosting solutions, managed services, ERP application management, professional services, IT hardware and local connectivity via top-tier data centers in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin. OneNeck's team of technology professionals manage secure, world-class, hybrid IT infrastructures and applications for businesses around the country. Visit oneneck.com.

TDS Telecommunications Corporation (TDS Telecom/TDS), headquartered in Madison, Wis., operates OneNeck IT Solutions LLC and BendBroadband, which is part of TDS Broadband Service LLC. Combined, the company employs more than 3,400 people. Visit tdstelecom.com.

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. [NYSE: TDS], a Fortune 500 company, provides wireless; cable and wireline broadband, TV and voice; and hosted and managed services to approximately six million customers nationwide through its businesses U.S. Cellular, TDS Telecom, OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, and TDS Broadband Service LLC. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. employs 10,300 people. Visit tdsinc.com.

About the Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. thechannelco.com.
Ed is a legend in the field, and his knowledge of cannabis cultivation is unsurpassed - Growers Supplys Greenhouse Manager Jon Kozlowski.

Ed Rosenthal, the Guru of Ganja, and Growers Supply will again team up at next weeks Cannabis Business Summit & Expo. The event will take place June 12-14, in Oakland California.

No matter if attendees are interested in growing or the industry, they can bring their cannabis questions to the Guru of Ganja. Those at the expo can meet Rosenthal and ask their questions at the Growers Supply booth, which will also highlight the companys GrowSpan Light Deprivation Greenhouses and other cannabis solutions. Rosenthal can offer his unique industry insight to help growers and enthusiasts improve their growing operation.

The NCIAs 4th Annual Cannabis Business Summit & Expo will be held at the Oakland Marriot City Center. The expo provides educational programs geared towards growing, as well as the business and legal sides of the industry. The event will also feature former Mexican President Vincente Fox who has been a long time advocate for cannabis legalization in the United States and Mexico.

Growers Supply and Rosenthal first announced their partnership in December, 2016. Since then, they have appeared at a number of cannabis conventions together, and Rosenthal has provided content for GrowSpan.com, Growers Supplys greenhouse-dedicated website. Rosenthals most recent article discusses the benefits of fertigation, and it can be read here.

Rosenthals historic career in the industry began over 40 years ago. He is recognized worldwide as a leading authority on cannabis and teaches at Oaksterdam University, while also consulting with commercial growers across the globe. Rosenthal has written and edited dozens of books that have sold in the millions. He has been a leading activist and continues to play a crucial role in the development of cannabis policy in the United States. He is also the executive director of Green Aid: The Medical Marijuana Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Ed is a legend in the field, and his knowledge of cannabis cultivation is unsurpassed, said Growers Supplys Greenhouse Specialist Manager Jon Kozlowski.

Growers Supply has been providing the horticultural industry with products for nearly four decades. They have been a trusted supplier for all growing needs, and they have quickly emerged as the go-to option for innovative growing solutions in the commercial cannabis industry. Manufactured with only the highest-quality materials, a greenhouse or growing system from Growers Supply can be customized to meet the needs of any growing operation.

To find out more about Growers Supplys cannabis solutions, visit their greenhouse-dedicated website, http://www.GrowSpan.com.

To find out more about the Cannabis Business Summit & Expo, visit http://www.cannabisbusinesssummit.com.
University of La Verne Count Me in Challenge We are honored by this recognition, but students are the real winners here

The University of La Verne has received national recognition for excellence in higher education fundraising.

The Council for Advancement of Higher Education (CASE) has presented the university with the annual Educational Fundraising Award, one of highest honors in the field. The award recognizes private universities with endowments under $1 billion that have shown the greatest improvement in fundraising over the past three years.

The University of La Verne is flourishing, President Devorah Lieberman said. Our students and faculty are receiving national attention for their achievements, and that has created a swell of support from our friends, alumni, and community partners. This award recognizes their generosity, as well as the leadership and hard work of our Board of Trustees and Office of University Advancement.

Fundraising at the University of La Verne increased by 134 percent between 2013 and 2016, with much of the growth coming from the support of trustees and alumni.

During that time, the university received a $10 million gift from Trustee Tony LaFetra to support the LaFetra College of Education. Hundreds of new alumni also became involved through the Count Me In Challenge, which raised more than $500,000 and bucked a national trend in higher education of declining alumni engagement.

The fundraising success ties closely to the universitys 2020 Strategic Vision, which launched in 2011. That outlines goals for heightening educational excellence, strengthening finances, increasing visibility, and improving facilities and technology.

As the university has delivered on that vision, full-time faculty have grown 27 percent, construction projects are complete or are underway, and new academic programs and student support services are being rolled out, energizing donors.

In choosing award recipients, a panel of CASE expert judges weighed a range of factors that contributed to the universitys significant fundraising growth over the three-year period. They praised the university for its leadership, giving by trustees, and alumni support.

We are honored by this recognition, but students are the real winners here, said Sherri Mylott, vice president of the Office of University Advancement. Even modest gifts help them achieve their educational dreams. There is no greater impact on a young persons life than education, and we are grateful to the many friends who are helping to make those dreams a reality.

About the University of La Verne

Founded in 1891 and located 35 miles east of Los Angeles, the University of La Verne is a private, nonprofit, comprehensive institution founded on four core values: lifelong learning, ethical reasoning, civic and community engagement, and diversity and inclusivity. The University of La Verne serves more than 8,400 students on the historic La Verne location as well as across nine regional campuses.
CausePlay will deliver the worlds first blockchain-secured rebate/coupon token platform that will stop coupon and rebate fraud, manage brand's budgets and enable the unbanked to engage in brand fueled programs. Jonas Hudson, CausePlay, Co-Founder

CausePlay, LLC has been selected as a finalist for Red Herrings Top 100 North America award, one of the technology industrys most prestigious prizes.

Finalists for the awards are among the continents brightest and most innovative private ventures. Their place among North Americas tech elite has been chosen by Red Herrings editorial team, during a months-long process that takes into account criteria including disruptive impact, proof of concept, financial performance, market footprint and quality of management.

For over two decades Red Herrings team has seen through the tech sectors hype to select brands that have become industry benchmarks. Previous Top 100 finalists have included Alibaba, Facebook, Google, Skype, SuperCell, Spotify, Twitter, and YouTube.

The Top 100 North America has become not only a springboard for some of techs biggest names, but a valued and trusted tool for venture capitalists, experts and analysts predicting trends at the industrys sharpest edge.

Selecting finalists for this years Top 100 has proved more difficult than ever, said Alex Vieux, publisher and chairman of Red Herring. North America has been techs beating heart for yearsbut never have I seen such an exciting, disruptive and innovative generation as we have in 2017.

CausePlay fully deserves its place among our finalists, and Ive every confidence it will make a significant impact in the tech world, added Vieux.

The coupon and rebate segment is mired in inefficiency as evidence by the estimated $600M in fraudulent activity annually. Our Virtual Cash Back (VCB) platform and VCB token, with the backing of our licensed patent portfolio and blockchain technology will not only disrupt the segment, but allow for a decentralized registry to drive complete, consistent, timely and accurate data," said CausePlay COO, Jonas Hudson. "Through our digital brand, thirtythree.8, we will deliver the worlds first blockchain-secured rebate/coupon token platform that will stop coupon and rebate fraud, manage brands budgets and enable the unbanked to engage in brand fueled programs. We are excited about what this means to the segment and our existing and future clients.

CausePlay will present their winning strategies at the Red Herring Top 100 North America conference in Los Angeles, June 14, 2017. The Top 100 winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony on the evening of June 14 at the event.
Online school celebrates graduating class during in-person commencement The entire MCA staff is extremely proud of our graduates, who are an exceptional group of thoughtful, determined individuals

Maine Connections Academy (MCA), Maines first tuition-free virtual charter school for students in grades 7-12, hosted an in-person commencement ceremony to honor its third class of graduating seniors on Thursday, June 8, at the Augusta Civic Center. Paralympic athlete and local inspiration, Joshua Kennison of South Paris, Maine, served as the keynote speaker for the ceremony, imparting wisdom about the importance of overcoming obstacles, and never giving up on dreams. The ceremony included heartfelt speeches from three graduating students, who shared remarks about their own unique experiences with the online school and their hopes for the future.

MCAs third graduating class is comprised of 45 students, up from just six in its first year of graduating students in 2015. These rising numbers are a testament to MCAs personalized curriculum and an increased desire among Maine families for online learning programs. Three graduates were recognized with awards from the Maine Principals Association, which honors students who have achieved academic excellence and embody exceptional citizenship.

Recipients included:



Anthony Moore, of North Yarmouth

Julianna Saucier, of Sanford

Leela Stockley, of Chester

Each of these three award recipients also served as student speakers, sharing their unique stories with the crowd, and expressing their gratitude for Maine Connections Academy.

Moore relayed his experiences with bullying and the lack of academic challenge he experienced prior to enrolling in online school. After joining MCA, he began to thrive: MCA was the best choice for me, because I was able to be me.

Saucier shared her struggles with severe migraines, which made attendance at her traditional school extremely difficult. After enrolling at MCA, she was able to sign up for dual enrollment courses through the University of Maine at Fort Kent, where she completed college classes, all while earning her high school diploma. She attributed much of her success to her teachers: I have always received extreme support from all of the teachers and staff at Maine Connections Academy.

Stockley spoke of how much she has changed since joining MCA, and expressed her appreciation for the connections that she made along the way: Maine Connections Academy has definitely lived up to its namesake, igniting connections within me and within all of its students to be able to create a brighter future.

The keynote address was delivered by local Paralympic athlete, Joshua Kennison, who shared his story of overcoming great odds to compete and excel in the sport of Track and Field. Born with no hands, feet, or tongue, Kennison described how the support of family and friends helped him learn to speak, walk, and eventually run, breaking the T-43 World Long Jump Record in 2012. Kennison encouraged students to always keep a positive mindset throughout their lives: As long as you have a positive mindset, you can walk out those doors and do anything you want. So just go out there, have fun and help people.

Kennisons speech and the students remarks were streamed live for those unable to attend the ceremony in-person, and are available for viewing on the MCA Facebook page.

The entire MCA staff is extremely proud of our graduates, who are an exceptional group of thoughtful, determined individuals, said MCA Principal Doug Bourget. They have all demonstrated perseverance and self-motivation to get to this point, which will serve them well no matter what career paths they choose to pursue from here. I look forward to watching them take the skills they have learned with us, and apply them towards all of their future endeavors.

MCA offers students an award-winning online curriculum and the opportunity to work closely with certified teachers using detailed daily lesson plans that can be personalized to meet individual student needs. Enrollment for the 2017-18 school year is openthe school has an enrollment cap of 429 students for grades 7-12.

For more information about MCA, please call (207) 805-3254, or visit http://www.MaineConnectionsAcademy.com.

About Maine Connections Academy:

Maine Connections Academy (MCA) is Maines first statewide, tuition-free public charter school for students in grades 7-12. MCA provides students with the flexibility to learn from anywhere there is an Internet connection. The combination of certified Maine-based teachers, an award-winning curriculum, engaging electives, technology tools, and social experiences, provides a supportive learning opportunity for students who want a personalized approach to education. MCA is authorized by the Maine Charter School Commission and governed by non-profit local Governing Board. Educational programs and other services are provided by Connections Academy, a national leader in online learning that has supported schools with high-quality, online learning for more than a decade. The schools teaching center is based at 75 John Roberts Road in South Portland. For more information, call 800-382-6010 or visit http://www.MaineConnectionsAcademy.com.
Family Equality Council Welcomes the Reintroduction of the Every Child Deserves a Family Act

Family Equality Council welcomes the reintroduction of the Every Child Deserves a Family (ECDF) Act of 2017 in the U.S. Senate, and thanks Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) for her leadership on behalf of youth in the child welfare system and LGBTQ adoptive and foster parents. The Senate bill, S. 1303, is co-sponsored by Senators Blumenthal (D-CT), Brown (D-OH), Franken (D-MN), Sanders (I-VT), and Wyden (D-OR). The Senate bill accompanies the H.R. 2640, introduced in the House of Representatives last month by Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL).

When passed, ECDF will restrict federal funding for states employing discriminatory practices in adoption and foster care placements based on the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of potential parents, as well as the sexual orientation or gender identity of youth in foster care. At its heart, ECDF will ensure that more kids in foster care find a loving and stable home  be it a temporary foster home while they await reunification with family or a forever home with adoptive parents.

With so many American children in need of a permanent home, we should not be preventing loving, caring, and responsible adults from welcoming these children into their families, said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. The absence of a national policy prevents thousands of children from growing up in a safe home with devoted parents. The Every Child Deserves a Family Act would remove outdated discriminatory barriers, and let as many of our nations foster children have a safe and permanent home.

This bill highlights why discrimination in any form is unreasonable in a civilized society, said U.S. Rep. John Lewis. You do the math. Our society has the chance to eradicate the foster care adoption problem entirely, if this bill is passed and enforced. It mandates that agencies put nothing before the happiness and well-being of our children and use every measure to place them with willing, capable adoptive families, regardless of their make-up. Every healthy family has an equal opportunity to give a child a home. The persistence of discriminatory policy robs us of that opportunity.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said: Im proud to once again join Congressman John Lewis and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in introducing the Every Child Deserves a Family Act. Every foster child deserves the opportunity to enjoy and experience a loving home and this legislation will help parents who are ready and willing to open their hearts and homes to these children. Currently, we have too many families and individuals eager to provide a home for our foster children and are denied these opportunities based off of discrimination and preconceptions. Our bill places measures to prevent further prejudices against applicants marital status, gender identity, and sexual orientation resulting in a minimized waiting time for both foster children and parents. It is our hope that with this legislation, we will be able to unite these foster children with warm and loving parents and place to call home.

Following the introduction of the Senate bill, Family Equality Council CEO Stan J. Sloan said: We are pleased to see this critical piece of legislation introduced in both houses of Congress, and we now call on all members of Congress to step up and support our goal of eliminating discriminatory barriers that continue to prevent children from finding permanency in loving, forever home.

ECDFs prohibition of discrimination against LGBTQ kids in care would require foster care providers fulfill their primary responsibility of ensuring that every youth in foster care is safe and has every opportunity to find the right home, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is a necessary step given that LGBTQ children, who are over-represented in the foster care system, often face discrimination and familial rejection prior to and upon entering foster care.

To learn more about the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, visit: http://www.familyequality.org/ecdf

About Family Equality Council

Family Equality Council connects, supports, and represents the three million parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer in this country today and their six million children of all ages. We are changing attitudes and policies to ensure that all families are respected, loved, and celebrated  including families with parents who are LGBTQ. We are a community of parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren and unattached youth that reaches across this country. For almost forty years we have raised our children and raised our voices toward fairness for all families. As we look to the next chapter of our work, we are also focused on LGBTQ youth needing families and the two million LGBTQ adults waiting to foster or adopt in our country. To learn more, visit http://www.familyequality.org.
"How fortunate I have been to live a work life that was filled with challenge, meaning, opportunities to continually learn and grow and most of all, filled with wonderful people working together for the benefit of others."

Kathleen Kathi Merrill, Quality Insights Chief Financial Officer, will retire on July 1, 2017 after more than 40 years of service, Sven T. Berg, MD, Chief Executive Officer, announced today.

In addition to being the longest-tenured member of the executive team, Merrill was Quality Insights fifth employee, joining what was then the West Virginia Medical Institute (WVMI) in 1975.

Kathis positive impact on Quality Insights cannot be overstated, Berg said. As the companys work and staffing has grown and become increasingly complex over the years, she has been a constant, providing exceptional leadership and stewardship as well as invaluable institutional knowledge.

During her tenure, and due in no small part to her contributions, Quality Insights grew from a startup, West Virginia-focused non-profit medical record review organization to a national resource for health care quality improvement serving federal and state government agencies, as well as foundations and private organizations across the United States.

When I began my career at what was then WVMI, we were a local company focused on improving health care in West Virginia, a focus we still care deeply about today," Merrill said. "To see the growthnot only in footprint and people served, but also in skills and resources - is very gratifying.

As an example, Merrill pointed to Quality Insights Quality Innovation Network, which is now collaborating with 9,500 health care providers and more than 1,200 community partners in five states to help achieve the federal governments National Quality Strategy and its goals of better care, smarter spending and healthier people. She also referenced Quality Insights End-Stage Renal Disease Networks, which are helping improve kidney care for patients in seven states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories.

Of particular historical significance to the company was Merrills leadership in procuring its first and largest national project, known as the External Peer Review Program, to collect quality of care data from every Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facility in the country, allowing VHA leadership and staff to have the information necessary to assess and target improvements at the system and local levels.

For a small, state-based company to procure a major national quality review project was unheard of at the time, Merrill said. We were competing against very large, experienced corporations. Not only were we awarded the contract, we continue to provide these services to the VHA 25 years later. Its really a testament to our can-do spirit and genuine commitment to customer service and quality health care.

In addition to furthering the work of Quality Insights, Merrill also gained prominence nationally, serving on a number of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services task forces and workgroups, and notably became the first non-physician or CEO President of the American Health Quality Association which represents the nations Quality Improvement Organizations and others interested in quality health care.

Although Merrill has been planning her retirement for the past year, she has not slowed down, having taken a key leadership role in crafting the organizations new mission, vision and three-year strategic plan.

I am very excited about the companys new mission of bringing people and information together to improve health,'" Merrill said. "It really encompasses our core competencies of learning and diffusion, data collection and analytics, and quality measurement. It also captures our desire to continue being a convener and trusted resource for a broad range of constituencies working to improve care quality.

In reflecting on her 40 years, Merrill said that she heard someone say during a recent NPR interview that how we spend our days is how we live our lives.

"How fortunate I have been to live a work life that was filled with challenge, meaning, opportunities to continually learn and grow and most of all, filled with wonderful people working together for the benefit of others," she said.

####

About Quality Insights

Based in Charleston, West Virginia with offices throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, Quality Insights is a regional and national resource for health care quality improvement, specializing in measures development and maintenance, data collection and analysis, learning and diffusion, health information technology, and practice transformation. Its 300+ employees and contractors support quality initiatives for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), state governments, private payers and more. Learn about how Quality Insights is bringing people and information together to improve health at http://www.qualityinsights.org.
Theres no doubt that new babies require a whole line of special accessories for their comfort, care and safety. Because space to accommodate everything is often limited, an inventor from Yazoo City, Miss., has found a space-saving way to meet a babys needs.

He developed LAZY BABY to soothe and entertain an infant restrained in a car seat or carrier. At the same time, it eliminates the need for a separate baby swing or portable activity seat, thereby conserving space. Furthermore, it prevents back strain from standing and sitting to hold and rock a baby. Besides that, it is safe, comfortable, sturdy and easy to use. This versatile invention is also convenient, practical, and economical. In addition, it makes an ideal gift for parents of a new baby.

The inventors personal experience inspired the idea. As a parent, I was looking for something that would help parents get and keep children asleep easily and hold their attention for active play when they were awake, he said.

The original design was submitted to the National Sales Office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 16-SKC-220, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com - https://www.youtube.com/user/inventhelp

# # #
Whether a direct owner or investor in real estate  or a business owner requiring property ownership (or a lease) to house your business  it is a good idea to understand the basic knowledge of fundamental real estate law. Likewise, general practitioners must be able to issue spot and respond to general questions clients may have. In either case, this Financial Poise webinar series provides essential basic knowledge and insight into common real estate transactions.

The 3rd episode of the "Real Estate Law Dumbed Down" series is available now on demand! "Representing the Commercial Tenant" (Register Here) features Moderator Tal Izraeli of Levenfeld Pearlstein. Tal is joined by Michael Weis of Dykema, Linda Short of Cresa, and Barry Katz of Arnstein & Lehr.

This webinar discusses key lease provisions from the commercial tenants perspective. Some specific provisions covered include



delivery of the premises,

guaranties and security deposits,

operating expenses,

alterations to the premises,

subleasing and

assignment.

This webinar is more than just legal black letter law. The panelists opine on which provisions may be negotiable and their view of the market. They also discuss the differences in dealing with large, national landlords as opposed to smaller, local owners. Specific terminology is explained  including base rent, CAM, ground lease, NNN and TIs.

Each episode is delivered in Plain English understandable to business owners and executives without a background in these areas. Yet, it is proven to be valuable to seasoned professionals. Each episode in the series brings you into engaging, sometimes humorous, conversations.

Every Financial Poise webinar is designed to entertain as it teaches. Moreover, every Financial Poise episode in a series is designed to be viewed independently of the other episodes. Participants will enhance their knowledge of this area whether they attend one, some or every episode.

ABOUT FINANCIAL POISE:

Financial Poise (http://www.financialpoise.com) provides unbiased news, continuing education and intelligence to private business owners, executives, and investors. For more information contact Jennifer Storch at jstorch(at)financialpoise(dot)com or 312-469-0135.
Jody Heffner Selling your home can be fraught with emotion, especially if you associate it with some of your cherished family memories. But if you want to be successful, youll need to detach. Past News Releases RSS Realtor Jody Heffner Helping Feed...

Realtor Jody Heffner Reaches the...

Spring and summer are the optimal seasons for selling a home. This is due in no small part to pent-up buyer demand, warmer weather and more daylight hours to view houses, said Jody Heffner, a top-producing agent at The Platinum Group, Realtors, who is celebrating his twenty-fifth anniversary in real estate. However, selling your home can be fraught with emotion, especially if you associate it with some of your cherished family memories. But if you want to be successful, youll need to detach.

Heffner shares the following three tips to ensure a home stands out from others on the market and a quick sell:

No. 1: Enhance curb appeal. Curb appeal is essential when selling a house, said Heffner. Sellers should always keep the lawn and bushes manicured and plant flowers, keeping in mind that yellow flowers stimulate buying urges and an unkempt exterior will encourage potential buyers to look elsewhere. First impressions count.

No. 2: Make the interior sparkle. Sparkle sells, and prospective buyers will be enticed if the outside windows are clean and reflect the spring and summer sunshine. This brings buyers inside, added Heffner. When showing your house, the interior needs to be immaculate. Remember, there isnt a single buyer out there who will be turned on by pet odors or lingering cooking smells. Make sure to tackle any strong odors, and clean every nook and cranny. Buyers will be opening every closet and cabinet door, so you cant hide anything.

No. 3: Make needed repairs. You need to tackle any repairs, such as a door handle that keeps falling off or a window that just wont budge, before showing your home, concluded Heffner. If youre not sure which repairs to do, walk through your house and imagine you are a buyer. What things would stick out to you as potential problems? You should also address any larger issues that may come to light during a home inspection, such as problems with the air conditioning or heating systems.

About Jody Heffner, The Platinum Group, Realtors

Jody Heffner is a top-producing agent in Colorado Springs and throughout all of Eastern El Paso County. He strictly emphasizes Quality Service with Honesty and Integrity in all his business practices. The Platinum Group, Realtors, is ranked the No. 1 Independent Real Estate Firm in Colorado Springs and Southern Colorado. For more information, call Jody at (719) 495-6838, or visit http://www.teamheffner.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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While the legal and political implications of the testimony for Trump remain unclear, policy analysts say the event  which has been likened to the Super Bowl  will only hurt Trump's legislative agenda going forward.

"There's nothing in [the prepared Comey testimony] that's really new, that we didn't know from media reports," Issac Boltansky of political analysis firm Compass Point told Business Insider. "There's no smoking gun to point to that seems to make a case for obstruction of justice."

Despite the apparent lack of new information in Comey's prepared testimony, Boltansky said, the hearing would likely confirm the prior opinions of lawmakers and the public. That could be a hindrance to Trump's plans for tax cuts, a healthcare overhaul, and infrastructure investments.

"What's real is that the hands of time continue to fall," Boltansky said. "This is a sideshow, but it's a sideshow that comes at a time that threatens the president's and Republicans' agenda from getting done anytime soon."

Greg Valliere, chief strategist at Horizon Investment, agreed that the testimony represents a threat to anything Trump wants to do.
Asked directly if Trump would answer a call from NATO on Article 5, the clause of the treaty that states that an attack on one NATO state should be responded to as an attack on all NATO states, Trump said "yes, absolutely."

"I have committed, but I am committing the US to Article 5," said Trump.

"Certainly we are there to protect, that's one of there reasons I want people to make sure we have a very very strong force by paying the kind of money necessary to have that force."

Trump's commitment to the alliance came into question after he did not explicitly endorse Article 5 at a NATO summit in Brussels last month. Standing in front of a twisted beam taken from the ruins of the World Trade Center after the September 11 attack on the US, Trump spent most of the speech imploring NATO countries to pay their fair share for the common defense.

The US is the only NATO state to invoke Article 5 in the organization's history, which it did after the September 11 attack.

Trump's prepared remarks in Brussels had mentioned Article 5, but Trump removed the reference without his team's knowledge.

Later, White House spokesman Sean Spicer responded to criticisms of Trump's speech saying they were "silly," and that Trump's presence at the summit proved his commitment.

But Trump did depart from orthodoxy on NATO in one dimension, suggesting at the press conference on Friday that NATO states should repay deficits in their spending from years past.

"Do we ever go back and say, how about paying the money from many many years past?" said Trump. "I know no president has ever asked that question, but I do."

Trump was referring to a 2014 commitment by NATO members to spend at least 2% of their GDP on its militaries by the next decade. Currently, only five out of 34 NATO members meet that benchmark, though they have until 2024 to do so.
Gone are the days when the only source of photography was the traditional point and shoot man. Nowadays, the business has evolved with more sophisticated cameras being introduced on the market.

The market can now boast of 3D cameras among others.

Not just has high or advanced cameras changed the face of photography in Ghana but has brought come exceptionally good touch to images.

Today, one of the biggest rivals of the traditional photographer in Ghana is a smartphone.

Some smart phones are can create miracles with just a simple click. Smart phones are handy and can perform at places cameras may not have a face.

Traditional photographers are the regular point and shoot people with not so sophisticated equipment.

Pulse Business spoke to Kwame Addo a traditional photographer at Opkonglo, Accra.

Addo is a 48 year old man who has been in the business for about 30 years. He tells me that he understudied his late uncle right when he left elementary school.

Addo appreciates the fact that the photography business has over the years evolved tremendously.

" Now there are equipment which used not to be in the system but now there are. There are softwares to enhance images. Smart phones are also a competition"

Business of photography is not all about pictures with no money. But how different is the patronage now?

Well before, I used to get alot of people who come here for family photos, passport pictures and what have you, but now the story is different.

Churches and weddings were my hotspot but now I barely make good returns from such places, he added.

Sometimes people even come here with their photos on their phones for me to print for them.

Addo says "I charge GHC 5 for an instant six passport pictures and with the full shots i charge 5 cedis for a photo".

I used to employ two people but now they are all gone because we do not make enough for me to pay them.
Holy Child School were up against their colleagues from the Central region, Edinaman SHS, and Northern region-based Ghana SHS, Tamale.

READ MORE: 22nd edition of National Science and Maths Quiz launched

Edinaman SHS took an early lead in the first round but lost it to Holy Child SHS in the second round of the competition.

The first-round results saw Edinaman SHS leading with 16pts, Ghana SHS, Tamale scoring 15 points, 11pts for Holy Child School.

The tables turned in the second round when Holico added nine (9) points to take the lead. Edinaman SHS added a point to their score whilst Ghana SHS, Tamale lost a point.

The three schools maintained their respective positions in the third round (Problem of the Day) of the 11th preliminary stage contest of NSMQ2017.

The contest became keener after the end of the round involving the answering of true or false questions.

Edinaman SHS overtook Holy Child School with a margin of one whilst Ghana SHS, Tamale lagged behind with a 13-point difference from the leaders.

Going into the fifth and final round of the contest, Edinaman SHS led with 39 points followed closely by their closest contender Holy Child School with 38 points and Ghana SHS, Tamale with 26 points.

Below is the full contest scores of the SHSs to the next round:

Zebilla SHS: 22

Akumfi Ameyaw SHS: 21

Kalpohin SHS: 17

Bishop Herman College: 28

Atebubu SHS: 16

Peki SHS: 8

OLA SHS, Ho: 38

Abuakwa State College: 28

Akatsi SHTS: 12

Nkroful Agric SHS: 35

Kumasi Girls SHS: 26

Fijai SHS: 22

Peters SHS: 53

ST. Augustines: 32

Yaa Asantewaa Girls: 22

Okuapemman Sch: 44

Drobo SHS: 38

WBM Zion: 18

Akwamuman SHS: 60

Aduman SHS: 41

Business SHS: 13

Armed Forces SHTS: 32

Ashaiman SHS: 30

Obuasi SHTS: 27

Mawuli Sch.: 45

Kumasi Academy: 41

EPC Mawuko Girls: 19

Holy Child School: 44

Edinaman SHS: 39

Ghana SHS,

Tamale: 30

Zion College: 27

St. Ignatius: 22

Bongo SHS: 13

Oguaa SHTS: 29

Esiama SHTS: 28
According to her, she has been sailing on stormy waters over the last decade, and it took close associates and God to keep her afloat.

During a thanksgiving Service at the Ringway Assemblies of God church to celebrate her 70th birthday, she disclosed to the members that, elements in the former Atta Mills government put pressure on her to resign but she managed to succeed in office due to prayer and supplication from relatives and colleagues.

Each single one of you added value to my life. Youre the people who gave me hope and helped us to succeed that is why I dont forget Justice Dotse. He has stood by me and has received some of the beatings through no fault of his except he was helping to do Gods work, the retired Chief Justice revealed.

READ ALSO: Georgina Wood to join Council of State after retirement

The longest Chief Justice explained how people in top positions need fervent prayers because they need to work with God's wisdom and strength.

It has not been by our own strength and wisdom. Those in critical leadership position and even those down the ladder we thank the Lord and pray desperately. I know that among you are several other people who continually prayed for us.

She further added that, It will be difficult on my part that as soon as I exit I forget; I will not. I pray that all the good plans he (Dotse) had God help him to realise.

Mrs. Wood was full of praise to her husband and other relatives who prayed with her often for God to help her scale over every hurdle in her way.

She stressed that people in critical leadership positions must never forget God in their dealings since that helps them to remain truthful and become effective.
READ ALSO: State funeral for Major Maxwell Mahama underway

The Graphic Online reports he said the military high command should recall their men from the galamsey sites since it was not part of their contract with the state.

He has, however, commended the government for giving a state burial to the slain soldier saying it was the best the nation could do to show respect to the army Major who met his untimely death on the line of duty.

About Maxwell Mahama

Maxwell Adam Mahama was lynched on Monday, May 29, 2017 by residents of Denkyira Obuasi on suspicion that he was an armed robber. Maxwell Mahama is said to have been in the a nearby town as part of anti-galamsey operations by the army.

The remains of the soldier have been laid in state at the forecourt of the State House for a state-supported funeral. The family of the late officer, top military and government officials, friends and sympathizers are at the venue to pay their last respect.
The residents have gathered at the venue where the youth of the area lynched and burnt the body of Major Mahama.

Most the residents there are clad in red and black with sorrowful faces. Most of those present are children and aged in the community.

READ ALSO: State funeral for Major Maxwell Mahama underway

The residents are also pleading with the family of the late soldier to forgive them for the atrocity they committed.

They should forgive us for the heinous crime our people committed, we are sorry, a leader of the community pleads as he addresses the gathering.

He said that such a crime will never occur again in the village.

The Denkyira Traditional Council earlier performed rituals to purify the community and placate the gods following the lynching of the soldier.

The purification rights were meant to ward off any curse the soldiers death might bring to the area.

Captain Mahama was lynched by residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central region on Monday, May 29, and he will be laid to rest this Friday, June 9, 2017.

The Police has arrested 42 suspects in connection with the incident.

Police have so far arrested a total of 42 persons in connection with the murder of the soldier, Captain Maxwell Mahama.

The burial service is being held at the forecourt of the State House in Accra.
He made the comments in an interview with Pulse.com.gh at the forecourt of the state house in Accra.

It is just the lowest possible point you can get to as a nation. Such cruelty and such bestial. It was devilish. I think we have to master all the resources we have as a nation and deal with this resolutely.

"I think that all of us as Ghanaians should devote a day in our hearts to ponder over what has happened and rededicate ourselves to a life of civility, kindness and love as a people. It is just shameful.

He especially commended the unity that has been displaced by Ghanaians of various backgrounds to in the condemnation of the murder of the soldier.

He added, I can see Major Mahama's death has brought all right-thinking people are appalled by what has happened and maybe this is the moment of unification and cleansing as a nation. I feel terrible and she is my niece and we are all grieving and it just dreadful what happened to the fine young man. Nobody deserves what has happened to him.
The gruesome murder of the Ghanaian soldier and the graphic evidence of the way and manner in which he died, struck a cord with many in the country. On the day of his burial, Friday June 9, 2017, the online community took to the platform to pen their heartfelt tributes to the soldier whom many had never met in their lives.
He is believed to have been ambushed by the gang about hundred meters away from his residence while he was on his way to join a group of elders to perform traditional rites as part of activities to lift the ban on noise making in the area.
I remember at the University of Ghana, he one day came to class with his pistol and made it visible, and some of the students got scared upon seeing the gun. And, so, I drove him out of the class, but as he was walking out from the class he humbly explained to me that he had to quickly rush to class from work and that was why he brought the pistol to class.

I understood that explanation and advised him that in such a case, he should try and hide the pistol from people especially when he was attending class because not everyone would feel comfortable with a gun around, Prof Gyampo, who taught the late Major Mahama at the University of Ghana, indicated.

He said: When I heard the report, whether it is true or not I cannot tell for now, that the people who lynched him spotted a gun on him, I quickly remembered that advice I gave to him some years ago, but nonetheless the people who carried out this heinous crime must be made to face the full rigours of the law, they must be punished by the law to serve as a deterrent to others.

We all know it is very painful and traumatic when attacked by robbers or thieves, but that doesnt justify instant justice.

READ ALSO: State funeral for Major Maxwell Mahama underway
This is according to a former majority leader Alban Bagbin.

He predicted that the NPP will start bringing their seeming tensions within the party into the public domain very soon.

The second deputy Speaker of Parliament, said the divisions with NPP government will also hinder Ghanas progress and economic development.

With what is happeningyou [NPP] cannot develop Ghana and mark it, very soon they will start fighting among themselves.

The Nadowli Kaleo MP was speaking at the NDCs silver jubilee lecture on Thursday (June 9, 2017).

READ ALSO: Apaak fails to prove allegations that NPP requested for cars

He said the NDCs over reliance on the state media caused the partys defeat in the 2016 elections. He argued that this allowed the then opposition NPP form an alliance with the private media.

He said the NDC can only return to power after they conduct an objective investigation and address the issues that contributed to the partys loss.

It is for us to do an introspection and try and put a system in place to prevent a third world warwe need to go back for the earlier values. You cannot have democracy without creating the culture of integrity and that is the true genesis of our party but we are jettisoning all, he said.

The NDC is marking its Silver Jubilee with a series of activities within the year.

In a statement issued by Deputy General Secretary Koku Anyidoho on Wednesday June 7, it said the party is rolling out a year-long plan to mark its Silver Jubilee countrywide under the theme: Mirroring the Past into the Future.

There will be Muslim prayers on Friday, June 9 followed by a rally at Ashaiman Mandela Park on Saturday June 10 at 1pm.

READ ALSO: Suspended Upper Denkyira West DCE hands over

The main speakers at the rally includes party founder Jerry John Rawlings, former president John Mahama, NDC Chairman Kofi Portuphy, General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, and Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu.
This news was confirmed by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), which stated that about N12 billion ($39 million) intervention has been paid to 10 power generation companies in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) raised concern about the stoppage in gas supply from the gas companies due to their inability to fulfil their financial obligations.

NBET made this intervention from the recently obtained N701 billion ($2.3 billion) payment guaranty obtained from the World Bank Group (WBG) through the Federal government. Earlier in the year, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N701 billion payment assurance fund disbursement to GenCos for power delivered on a monthly basis for the next two-year, beginning from January 2017.

Speaking on the developments, Director of Corporate Communications of NBET, Henrietta Ighomroro stated: "The N701 billion intervention of the federal government is a loan to NBET to, in the short term, enable it to meet its payment obligations to the GenCos for power certified delivered on a monthly basis so they can have enough revenue to pay gas suppliers and run their operational and overhead costs, and it is meant to run for two years, beginning from January.

She also noted that the 10 Gencos that have received the fund are those that meet the requirements as stipulated by the funds, while others are in the process of doing so. These Gencos are Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro, Geregu, Olorunshogo, Omotosho, Shell Afam, Opai Agip and Omoku.

The payment for the 10 GenCos was gulping an estimated N12 billion, other GenCos were yet to receive their payment as they are yet to comply with the requisite documentations that will enable their eligibility, she stated.

On the conditions required to benefits from the Fund, GenCos are expected to have a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with NBET. A PPA is a contract term involving the NBET and Gencos on how power is bought from the Gencos and payment is made.

Once a GenCo has provided all the requisite documents confirming that power was delivered to the Transmission Company, the qualify for payment.
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LONDON  It is a hung parliament. Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party has only secured 318 seats. There is one more seat to declare but it is impossible for the Tories to gain a majority by itself.

In order for a party to get a clear majority in government, it would have to claim 326 seats, out of 650.

Labour has done surprisingly well and the Tories have stumbled. Both the opposition and people within the Conservative party are calling for May to resign as prime minister. However, she is reportedly going to refuse to resign and is working on a coalition deal with the DUP to keep the party in power.

There are 46.9 million people registered to vote  a rise from the 2015 general election number of 46.4 million.

1225  MAY HEADS TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE

Prime Minister Theresa May is heading to Buckingham Palace to talk to the Queen about potentially forming a coalition government with the DUP.

1215  BRITAIN'S CREDIT RATING COULD BE SLASHED BY 2 AGENCIES

BI's markets reporter Will Martin writes:

"Two major ratings agencies have warned that the UK's creditworthiness faces a downgrade following the shock failure of the Conservative Party to win a majority in Thursday's general election.

"Both Moody's and Standard & Poor's issued statements on Friday morning saying they will reassess the UK's credit rating going forward after the result of election took an unexpected turn."

1205  HERE IS A RECAP OF THE KEY NUMBERS IN THE GENERAL ELECTION

There is only one seat left to declare, Kensington, but here are the results:

Conservatives: 318 (seats),

Labour: 261,

SNP: 35,

Liberal Democrats: 12,

Green Party: 1,

UKIP: 0,

DUP: 10,

1145  SENIOR SOURCE IN THE TORY PARTY TELLS BI WHY TORIES LOST SO MANY SEATS

BI's politics editor Adam Bienkov writes:

Theresa May's 'dementia tax' and her record on police cuts were crucial in convincing target Conservative voters that she could not be trusted with their vote, a senior Conservative campaign insider has told Business Insider.

Read the full story here.

1129  SHOCK RESULT LEADS TO SCHADENFREUDE

1120  JONATHAN BARTLEY, CO-LEADER OF THE GREEN PARTY: DUP PROPPING UP TORIES SHOWS HOW RIDICULOUS THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM IS

Bartley pointed out to the BBC that the UK's electoral system needs to change considering how the DUP has only 10 seats and it could prop up the Tories to form a majority government.

1116  "THE POUND IS SET FOR A ROCKY RIDE IN THE MONTHS AHEAD"

Daniel Harden, Head of Desk at foreign exchange specialists Global Reach Partners said in a statement:

"This snap election has not only back-fired politically for the Prime Minister, it has also resulted in more turmoil on the currency markets. The Pound fell by around two per cent against the US dollar when markets opened today. Earlier it sank to its lowest level in more than a month in Asia while stocks within UK-exposed companies were among the worst performers in that regions markets.

"This is hardly the strong and stable outcome Ms May had envisaged and is a huge contrast from seven weeks ago when Sterling surged with the markets anticipating a bigger Conservative majority when the election was initially called. With Brexit talks now set to begin in earnest and Ms May saying she will hang on as Prime Minister, at least for the time being, the Pound is set for a rocky ride in the months ahead."

1111  BORIS JOHNSON SEEMS TO BE STEPPING UP EFFORTS TO GAIN LEADERSHIP

Pundits place Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as the only viable contenders for Tory leadership  should May resign or be ousted.

While earlier reports placed Johnson in talks with party members, sounding out his viability for a leadership bid, the latest reports show he is stepping up that effort:

1045  UKIP WILL HAVE ITS 4TH CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP IN A YEAR

Paul Nuttall standing down as UKIP leader after the the party won 0 seats in the general election. All eyes are on who is taking over. Former leader Nigel Farage could possibly be in the running:

1030  PAUL NUTTALL STANDS DOWN AS UKIP LEADER AFTER UKIP WON 0 SEATS

Nuttall announced he is standing down in a speech on Friday morning.

1023  EXIT POLLS PROF CURTICE: "REMINDER, LABOUR STILL LOST THIS ELECTION"

He said that despite the shock support for Labour, it has lost and it lost as badly as Gordon Brown did. He also mentions how Corbyn has been a campaigner for 40 years but has still yet to prove he can reach the prime minister position.

1012  MAY GOING TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE AT 1230

May is going to Buckingham Palace to tell the Queen that it's possible for the Conservatives to do a coalition with the DUP.

1007  ONLY ONE SEAT LEFT TO BE CALLED

Out of 650 seats, Britain awaits just the Kensington seat to be called  which is going through a recount as only 35 votes are in it. Here is the tally:

CONSERVATIVES: 318

LABOUR: 261

SNP: 35

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 12

DUP: 10

1001  BRITAIN WON'T BE ABLE TO STOP THE CLOCK ON BREXIT TALKS

"The UK may need to stop the clock on negotiations to leave the European Union while it sorts out a political mess, a JPMorgan analyst said, but the EU might seek to keep the original timeline.

"Meanwhile Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator said that the "timetable and EU positions are clear," hinting at keeping the March 2019 deadline for the UK's exit.

"Under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the two parties, which begin talks in less than two weeks, have until the end of Autumn 2018 to agree on complex issues such as new trading arrangements, how much money is owed and the status of UK and EU nationals living abroad."

0950  NIGEL EVANS: "WE DERAILED AND HIJACKED OUR OWN CAMPAIGN"

Conservative MP Nigel Evans says the Tories "hijacked" and "derailed" their own campaign once they launched their manifesto.

He said that the Tories spent most of their days explaining, re-clarifying, and defending their manifestor rather than properly campaigning.

He reiterated that he still supports May and that she has claimed 43% of the vote and in other times, this amount has led to a landslide victory for some.

0942  KENSINGTON SEAT MAY NOT COME IN UNTIL TOMORROW

BBC are reporting that there are only 35 votes in it and in one of the recounts, Labour was leading. However, the constituency is pausing and doing another recount.

0932  2 MORE SEATS TO GO

CONSERVATIVES: 317

LABOUR: 261

SNP: 35

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 12

DUP: 10

0922  EU'S CHIEF BREXIT NEGOTIATOR HINTS THAT IT'S PUTTING BREXIT NEGOTIATIONS ON HOLD

0859  3 MORE SEATS TO GO

CONSERVATIVES: 316

LABOUR: 261

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 12

SNP: 35

DUP: 10

0844  CORBYN: "WE ARE READY TO LEAD THIS COUNTRY"

When asked if he was trying to form a coalition to form a majority in government, he responded:

"We are ready to serve this country, which is what we fought the election for. This is the programme we put forward in the election."

When it was highlighted by the interviewer that Corbyn previously said "no deals," in relation to forming a coalition with any party, he said:

"We're offering the programme that we put forward in the election. We have done no deals and no pacts with anybody."

0838  CITI EXPECTS MAY TO RESIGN

Prominent journalists are all reporting that May will refuse to step down as PM but investment bank Citi says it thinks the prime minister will step down:

"A period of political uncertainty lies ahead. As a default, Theresa May would stay as PM and the Conservatives attempt to form a government, possibly supported by Northern Irelands Unionist parties."

"However, following what is widely regarded as a poor campaign and failure to translate a strong lead in the polls into a larger majority in the Commons, we expect May is likely to resign."

0826  THIS IS HOW MARKETS ARE REACTING TO THE NEWS

BI's market reporter Will Martin writes:

"The City of London, which had widely been preparing for a Tory majority, was shocked by the result, with the pound dropping sharply as an exit poll showed that the party would fall short.

"Away from the pound, market reaction has so far been reasonably muted, with the FTSE 100 actually opening a little higher and safe haven assets like gold little moved."

0820  REPORTS: TORY AND DUP TALKS OF A COALITION HAS STARTED

0819  STILL 4 SEATS TO GO

CONSERVATIVES: 315

LABOUR: 261

SNP: 35

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 12

DUP: 10

0755  HUGE BUSINESS LOBBY GROUP CBI: BUSINESSES WILL BE "STUNNED" BY THE RESULT

Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said in a statement:

0740  IT LOOKS LIKE MAY WILL REFUSE TO RESIGN

Huge anticipation for May making a speech at 10 a.m. BST today. Many thought she would announce her resignation. However, three prominent journalists tweeted that May will refuse to resign:

0730  5 MORE SEATS TO GO

CONSERVATIVES: 314

LABOUR: 261

SNP: 35

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 12

DUP: 10

0719  ZAC GOLDSMITH RECLAIMS THE RICHMOND SEAT FROM THE LIB DEMS

0700  TORIES ARE THE LARGEST PARTY BUT ONLY A FEW SHORT OF A MAJORITY

0650  ALL SEATS NEARLY COUNTED

CONSERVATIVES: 313

LABOUR: 260

SNP: 35

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 12

DUP: 10

0637  SCOTLAND WAS A SUCCESS FOR THE TORIES

0632  SNP WINS FIFE NORTH EAST BY JUST 2 VOTES

0620  THE POUND HAS BEGUN TO STABILISE

0613  WHAT IS A HUNG PARLIAMENT?

A hung parliament is when no party gains a majority of 326 out of 650 seats.

Confused about what a hung parliament means for Britain? Check out our guide here.

0608  CAROLINE LUCAS HAS RETAINED HER SEAT IN BRIGHTON AS THE UK'S ONLY GREEN MP.

She increased her majority too, getting over 30,000 votes.

0557  LABOUR'S SHADOW FOREIGN SECRETARY SAYS: MANIFESTO "CHANGED THE CAMPAIGN"

Emily Thornberry wrote a reaction for The Guardian to Labour's shock surge in support.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

0546  TURNOUT IS FORECASTED TO BE AT HIGHEST SINCE THE GENERAL ELECTION SINCE 1997

0530  IT'S A HUNG PARLIAMENT

621 out of 650 seats have been counted and while the Conservatives are in the lead, it looks highly unlikely they're going to secure enough seats for a Tory majority (326):

CONSERVATIVES: 299

LABOUR: 255

SNP: 34

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 12

DUP: 10

0514  BBC UPDATES ITS FORECAST AGAIN

CONSERVATIVES: 318, - 13

LABOUR: 262, + 30

SNP: 35, - 21

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 13, + 5

0512  LATEST TALLY

CONSERVATIVES: 292

LABOUR: 250

SNP: 34

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 11

0500  IT'S LOOKING INCREASINGLY LIKELY MAY WILL HAVE TO STEP DOWN

BI UK's deputy editor Lianna Brinded writes:

When Theresa May took over as Prime Minister in July last year, the Conservatives had a majority of just 12 seats. If she had carried on as she was, the Tories would have stayed in power for another three years, until the next scheduled election in 2022.

But Britain's vote for Brexit, and lawsuits against the triggering of Article 50, surfaced disagreements within her own party about what type of Brexit deal Britain should go for. Having a greater majority would give her the strength to push her proposals through.

The polls said the Tories were unbeatable. Even in the initial part of the campaign, the polls were all in favour of a landslide Tory majority. Labour was nowhere.

But the unthinkable has happened  it looks like it's going to be a hung parliament. Her party will not have enough seats to secure a majority.

May has bulldozed the Tories out of sole power and now the autopsy of her performance begins:

Her robotic performance

Restricting media access to herself and her party members

unlike Labour on social media

U-turning on the "dementia tax."

The outcry over her proposals to effectively reduce civil liberties

Corbyn, whose Labour party is having a surge in support, called for May to step down.

Tory MP Anna Soubry told the BBC:

"That is a matter for her. It's bad. Even if she stays, she will have an extremely difficult time patching together a functioning government.

"If she goes, it sets up the stage for yet another general election later this year.

"It's an absolutely extraordinary situation, for a prime minister who is technically winning most seats to not be in a position to make a victory speech."

We still have a few seats to go but whatever the outcome May has taken the Conservative party out of power and put it in a worse position than it could ever have imagined.

She does, however, have many supporters:

0446  LABOUR HOLDS BARROW & FURNESS BY JUST 200 VOTES

Earlier on in the polls, before voting, it looked like Labour would lose its seat to the Conservative party. However, after a recount, Labour's John Woodcock beat the Tories:

0445  BBC UPDATES ITS FORECAST

550 results now declared. BBC updated its prediction:

[Seat change since 2015]

CONSERVATIVE: 316, - 15

LABOUR: 265, + 33

SNP: 34, - 22

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 13, + 5

0441  CONSERVATIVES ARE GAINING GROUND

CONSERVATIVES: 268

LABOUR: 238

SNP: 33

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 10

0438  LABOUR'S HARRIET HARMAN FOR PECKHAM AND CAMBERWELL SAYS SHE UNDERESTIMATED CORBYN

0435  MAYOR OF LONDON TWEETS HIS CONGRATS TO LABOUR'S SARAH JONES TAKING OVER LONDON'S MOST MARGINAL SEAT

0425  LATEST TALLY

CONSERVATIVES: 247

LABOUR: 229

SNP: 33

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 10

0420  FORMER SNP LEADER ALEX SALMOND LOSES SEAT

0414  LOOKS LIKE DAVIES HAS HELD HIS SHIPLEY SEAT

Conservative's Philip Davies has held onto his Shipley seat after all.

0411  IT'S NECK-AND-NECK BETWEEN LABOUR AND THE TORIES

CONSERVATIVE: 225

LABOUR: 222

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 10

SNP: 31

0408  BARROW & FURNESS STILL RECOUNTING

0405  LABOUR TAKE LONDON'S MOST MARGINAL SEAT  CROYDON CENTRAL

Labour's Sarah Jones beats Gavin Barwell in Croydon Central and Labour claims more scalps from the Tories.

0404 MAY'S MEDIA SUPPORTERS ARE TURNING ON HER

0400  BARROW & FURNESS ARE RECOUNTING  THERE ARE ONLY AROUND 200 VOTES IN IT

BI's politics reporter Adam Payne writes:

"In Barrow-in-Furness it's starting to get light but it looks like we're going to be here for at least another hour, as we are having a re-count. I've been told all night that it's going to be a tight contest in this Cumbrian marginal and tight it is. There was just 207 votes separating incumbent Labour MP John Woodcock and his Tory challenger Simon Fell. It was Woodcock who was leading by 207 votes, I'm told."

0354  HERE IS THE SPEECH MAY MADE AFTER RETAINING HER SEAT

May won by a big majority in her seat but across Britain, the Conservatives are bleeding support. Here is part of her speech after the results:

"At this time, more than anything else, this country needs a period of stability. And if, as the indications have shown, and this is correct, that the Conservative party has won the most seats, and probably the most votes, then it will be incumbent on us to ensure that we have that period of stability and that is exactly what we will do ...

"As we ran this campaign, we set out to consider the issues that are the key priority for the British people: getting the Brexit deal right, ensuring that we both identify and show how we can address the big challenges facing our country, doing what is in the national interest. That is always what I have tried to do in my time as a member of parliament and my resolve to do that is the same this morning as it always has been.

"As we look ahead and wait to see what the final results will be, I know that the country needs a period of stability. And whatever the results are the Conservative party will ensure that we fulfill our duty in ensuring that stability so that we can all, as one country, go forward together."

0350  LABOUR AND TORIES ARE NEARLY NECK-AND-NECK ON SEATS

Conservatives: 191

Labour: 198

Liberal Democrats: 10

SNP: 27

0347  THE BARROW AND FURNESS SEAT IS HAVING A RECOUNT

0344  LORD BUCKETHEAD AND MR FISHFINGER GOT A FEW HUNDRED VOTES

For those reading from outside the UK  yes, these candidates are real. Across various constituencies, people put up ridiculous characters for election as a protest vote:

Here is Mr Fishfinger:

And in the Prime Minister Theresa May's constituency, Lord Buckethead:

0338  TALLY SO FAR

Conservatives: 176

Labour: 189

Liberal Democrats: 26

SNP: 9

0336  BBC REPORTING LABOUR TAKES A SEAT THAT HAS BEEN TORY CONTROLLED SINCE WWI

BBC says Labour is taking the Canterbury seat from the Tories

0322  PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY RETAINS HER SEAT

Conservatives, 37,718.

UKIP 871.

Lord Buckethead 249.

Lib Dems 6,540.

Monster Raving Loony party, 119.

Animal Welfare party, 282.

She said in a speech that "the country needs a period of stability."

Here is her speech on video:

0317  THE TALLY SO FAR

LABOUR: 161

CONSERVATIVES: 149

LIB DEMS: 4

SNP: 25

0307  LABOUR LEADER JEREMY CORBYN WINS HIS SEAT BY A LANDSLIDE

Corbyn undoubtedly smashed the count for the Islington North seat:

Corbyn said in his acceptance speech: "People have had enough of austerity politics. I am very proud of our campaign and our manifesto. People are voting for hope and hope for the future."

He also called on Theresa May to resign.

0303  LABOUR CANDIDATE FOR BERMONDSEY AND OLD SOUTHWARK SPEAKS TO BI

BI's politics editor tells us:

"I've just spoken to Neil Coyle, Labour's candidate in Bermondsey and Old Southwark where the Lib Dems had hoped to bring back Simon Hughes to his old seat. The result is due in around an hour's time and is set to be pretty clear cut in Labour's favour according to party sources here. Coyle has been very strongly critical of Jeremy Corbyn in the past but he praised his 'cool, calm, collected' approach to the election campaign and said that the manifesto he had presented had been a big hit with Labour voters in his seat.

"He told me he was pleased when he saw the manifesto as it was one that "clearly works for the people of southwark" who he said are fed up with police cuts, NHS cuts and growing wealth inequality.

"I spoke to Coyle just after it was announced that Labour had taken former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg's seat in Sheffield Hallam. The cheers from Labour activists here almost took the roof off.

"The Lib Dems look to be on course for a mixed night, falling short against Labour in London but making some gains in Scotland. However, Simon Hughes hopes of returning to his long-held Bermondsey seat now look dashed for good."

0259  FOREIGN SECRETARY BORIS JOHNSON RETAINS HIS SEAT

0258  CABLE REGAINS HIS SEAT IN TWICKENHAM

0253  HUGE GAINS FOR LABOUR

0247  NICK CLEGG LOSES HIS SEAT

0242  LATEST TALLY

Labour: 100

Conservatives: 75

Liberal Democrats: 1

SNP: 13

0240  BBC'S NATIONAL SEAT PREDICTIONS

Remember, a party needs 326 seats to win a majority:

Conservatives: 322 seats, -9

Labour: 261, +29

Liberal Democrats: 13, +5

SNP: 32, -24

0235  HOME SECRETARY AMBER RUDD CALLS FOR A 3RD RECOUNT

The Conservative party's home secretary is worried about losing her East Sussex seat.

0225  LABOUR'S NEIL COYLE IS ALL SMILES IN SOUTHWARK

BI's politics editor Adam Bienkov updates the latest news from Southwark:

"A beaming Neil Coyle is walking around Southwark town hall embracing activists and shaking hands. Labour activists are cheering as the party wins big majorities all over the capital. Both Liberal Democrats and Conservative activists are very downbeat here. Labour look to be clearing up across London."

0024  CORBYN WON'T BE DRAWN INTO IF HE THINKS HE'LL BE NEXT PRIME MINISTER

0220  ANGUS ROBERTSON IS OUT

Robertson, deputy l

0214  LABOUR'S WOODCOCK: RESULTS SO FAR ARE "A GREAT CAUSE FOR HOPE"

Labour candidate for Barrow & Furness, John Woodcock, tells BI's politics reporter Adam Payne:

"This is an extraordinary night. I don't think anyone can yet say what they think is going to happen but it just shows that British politics is wide open. And I think that's a great cause for hope for the future at a time when many progressive people have been disheartened and even despairing."

0210  BIG SWINGS TO LABOUR

Labour on 55 seats to Conservatives' 34:

0201  CORBYN IS NOW FAVE TO BE NEXT PRIME MINISTER

Smarkets betting exchange says a "remarkable election night means Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is now favourite on the to be the next Prime Minister. Graph below shows Theresa May's tumble from a near-90% favourite to 38% in the last few hours:"

"PM after election: Corbyn 41%, May 37%, Other 22%:"

0157  TORIES TAKE AN SNP SEAT IN ANGUS, SCOTLAND

Conservatives take a seat from the SNP, which it has held since before the 2015 general election.

0152  MORE RESULTS ROLL IN ...

Labour on 32 and Conservatives on 22. SNP on 4.

0149  LABOUR IS IN A "JUBILANT MOOD" IN BERMONDSEY

BI's politics editor Adam Bienkov reports from the Bermondsey and Old Southwark seat:

"Labour activists in jubilant mood here. They think they've won easily and extended their majority. Simon Hughes unlikely to be returned to his old seat."

0144  TORIES WORRIED ABOUT LONDON'S MOST MARGINAL SEAT  CROYDON CENTRAL

Sources tell BI that the Tories are worried about London's most marginal seat  Croydon Central  where Conservatives' Gavin Barwell only won by 165 votes in 2015.

Labour candidate Sarah Jones was a

0142  TOM WATSON: "PEOPLE VOTE FOR HOPE"

Key excerpts from Watson's speech:

"We did better than they said we would...people responded well to Jeremy Corbyn's honesty, candor and energy, just as they saw Theresa May run away from holding herself to account'

'Theresa May's authority has been undermined. She is a damaged PM who may never recover.

"May said she was a bloody difficult woman. Shes turning out to be a woman finding it all too bloody difficult."

0140  "CORBYN HAS BEEN UNDERESTIMATED BY EVERYONE, RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING"

BI UK's editor-in-chief Jim Edwards writes:

Corbyns machine went direct to its core constituency: Young people and former Labour voters who were alienated by Tony Blair.

"Jeremy Corbyn has been underestimated by everyone, right from the beginning. Underestimated by moderates in the Labour party who  twice  refused to believe he could lead and win. Underestimated by the opinion pollsters who routinely put him 20 points or more behind Theresa Mays Conservatives. And underestimated by the traditional media who simply assumed he was this centurys Michael Foot (the Labour leader in the 1980s who led the party to one of its worst results).

"Behind all that, Corbyns machine went direct to its core constituency: Young people and former Labour voters who were alienated by Tony Blair. He went direct to them on Facebook and Twitter, gathering audiences that vastly exceed those who watch the BBC or read the Daily Mail. The turnout in this election has been a huge factor in Corbyns favour: It looks as if the young have come out to vote in unexpected numbers.

"And it has all paid off. Corbyn has rallied his supporters and confounded his critics. He wont be dismissed quite so easily from now on."

0135  CONSERVATIVES TAKE ANOTHER SEAT

Tories add another seat to reach 11, while Labour leads with 23.

0131  DEPUTY LABOUR LEADER TOM WATSON HOLDS HIS SEAT

He holds West Bromich East.

Other results that have come in:

0130  LABOUR ON 21 SEATS TO CONSERVATIVES' 9

0124  MAYOR OF LONDON'S FORMER SEAT  TOOTING  RESULTS ARE IN

LABOUR: 34,694

CONSERVATIVES: 19,236

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 3,057

0121  RUDD: "I AM HOPEFUL BUT NOT COMPLACENT"

Britain's home secretary is defending her seat in East Sussex and told the BBC that she's "hopeful but not complacent."

0116  CORBYN: "WE HAVE ALREADY CHANGED THE FACE OF BRITISH POLITICS"

0114  TORIES TAKE ITS 7TH SEAT

0109  MORE RESULTS FLOOD IN

For Wrexham, which the Tories hoped to gain:

Others:

0103  THE LATEST FROM SWING SEAT BARROW & FURNESS

BI's politics reporter Adam Payne writes:

"Labour activists in Barrow town hall have a spring in their step. 'I'm more confident now than I was at lunchtime,' one tells me, with a smile on his face. Meanwhile, up the Cumbrian coast, Labour has held onto Workington, and the party is confident of taking back the Copeland seat that it lost just five months ago in a by-election. On Copeland: turnout there is roughly 20% higher than at the February by-election. That is stunning."

0056  LATEST SEAT COUNT

Conservative: 5

Labour: 10

Reminder on exit polls:

Conservative (314 seats, -17)

Labour (266 seats, +34)

Liberal Democrats (14 seats, +6)

SNP (34 seats, -22).

0048  LABOUR WINS A KEY SEAT IN DARLINGTON

If Tories hoped for a substantial majority, winning Darlington would be a bellwether seat to see if they were able to do this. The Conservatives lost:

0045  LABOUR WINS IT'S 8TH SEAT, IN WORKINGTON

0037  THE SEAT TALLY SO FAR

Labour: 7

Conservative: 5

Latest from

0035  FORMER LIB DEM LEADER PADDY ASHDOWN: "I SUSPECT MAY IS TOAST"

Paddy Ashdown, who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 until August 1999, tells ITV: "I shouldn't be surprised if the Tories just clipped it and got a majority by a small margin. I suspect Ms May is toast."

0030  POUND IS STILL PLUNGING ON HUNG PARLIAMENT FORECAST

0026  KETTERING AND NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE NORTH RESULTS IN

0020  LABOUR SEEMS CONFIDENT IN HOLDING TAKING A NUMBER OF SEATS TORIES AND SNP

0015  LABOUR'S EMILY THORNBERRY SAYS MAY "HAS FAILED"

Emily Thornberry told the BBC about what she thinks about Prime Minister Theresa May:

"She basically wanted to stamp out the opposition  and the country has said 'no' and the country has looked to the Labour party and we have put forward a positive alternative  so she has failed.

"It looks tonight like we could form the next government.

"It would then be up to them [smaller parties] to explain to their constituents  why they let the tories back in.

"There are no coalitons, there are no deals, either the conservatives will be the minority government  or Labour will be the minority government."

0007  CORBYN HAS ARMED GUARDS OUTSIDE HIS HOME

Jason Farrell from Sky News reports that the "armed guards were always

0001: TORIES AND LABOUR OUTPERFORM EXIT POLLS

The Swindon North results showed an 11% increase in Labour vote in Swindon. This is an outperformance of the exit poll:

2358  SWINDON NORTH  CONSERVATIVES WIN THEIR FIRST SEAT OF THE NIGHT

2357  NEWCASTLE EAST RESULTS IN

LABOUR: 28,127

CONSERVATIVE: 8,866

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 2,574

2355  LABOUR SOURCES TELL BI IN BARROW THAT THEY'RE SCEPTICAL THAT EXIT POLLS SHOW LABOUR WILL HOLD ITS SEAT

BI's politics reporter Adam Payne in Barrow Town Hall where the Labour held seat was initially predicted to swing to the Tories. He told us from down-on-the-ground:

"I'm in Barrow and Furness where Labour's John Woodcock is defending his 1.8% lead. The 10 p.m. exit poll predicts Labour will hold the seat - but Labour activists here are sceptical. 'If it's right then it contradicts all of our data,' one Labour activist told me. If Labour holds in Barrow - where the Trident is produced - it'll be a remarkable result for Labour."

2350  THE FIRST 3 RESULTS SHOW SWING IS TO TORIES  DESPITE NOT WINNING "SAFE" LABOUR SEATS

Exit polls were predicting more of a swing to Labour.

2347  SUNDERLAND CENTRAL COUNT IS IN

Conservatives: 15,059

Labour: 25,056

Liberal Democrats: 1,777

2332  SOURCE CLOSE TO CORBYN TELLS BI "MAY'S CREDIBILITY" IS COMPLETELY SHOT

Senior Labour source, close to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, tells BI's politics editor Adam Bienkov:

"If this exit poll is correct, Theresa Mays credibility is completely shot. As May said herself, if she lost just six seats in this election she would not be Prime Minister."

"If exit poll is correct, Labour has had biggest increase in popular support during campaign by any party in British political history by a massive margin," the source added.

2327  TORY SOURCE TELLS BI YOUTH VOTE HAD A "MASSIVE" TURNOUT IN BARROW & FURNESS

BI's politics reporter Adam Payne is in Barrow Town Hall for the Barrow & Furness:

2324  5 SURPRISING THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED FROM THE EXIT POLLS

BI's politics editor Adam Bienkov put together a guide on how w

2320  THIS PICTURE OF FORMER CHANCELLOR GEORGE OSBORNE ON ITV

The old English idiom  "a picture is worth a thousand words

2312  THIS HOUGHTON AND SUNDERLAND SOUTH RESULT SHOWS EXIT POLLS WERE NOT ENTIRELY CORRECT

There was a big swing to Conservatives although Labour won the majority in this seat.

2306  HOUGHTON & SUNDERLAND SOUTH

Labour: Over 24,000

Conservative: 12,324

Labour holds but its results is worse than before while Tories have added votes. Media is awaiting exact results and vote share but a failure on a microphone from Houghton and Sunderland South means exact numbers are not available yet.

2300  NEWCASTLE CENTRAL RESULTS ARE IN

Labour: 24,071

Conservative: 9,134

Lib Dem: 1,812

2259  AN ALTERNATIVE EXIT POLL POTENTIALLY SHOWS HOW YOUNG PEOPLE SHAPED THIS ELECTION

Britain's general election might produce a result few saw coming  a hung parliament  and young people voting in force may be behind it.

An alternative exit poll published by NME suggests that a massive 60% of young people in Britain voted for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party. Turnout among young people, meanwhile, is up 12% to 56% on the last general election in 2015.

The NME exit poll was conducted by The Stream and surveyed 1,354 18-34-year-olds.

2255  THIS IS WHAT A HUNG PARLIAMENT WILL MEAN FOR BRITAIN

Britain is heading for a hung parliament as a result of Theresa May's Conservatives losing a significant number of seats, according to a stunning exit poll for the BBC, ITV and Sky.

The exit poll predicts the Tories will be 12 seats short of a parliamentary majority.

BI's politics reporter Adam Payne put together an explainer about what a hung parliament would mean for Britain. Check it out here.

2250  LABOUR'S JOHN MCDONNELL SAYS MAY SHOULD CONSIDER RESIGNING IF THERE'S A HUNG PARLIAMENT

John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, told the BBC that if the exit poll is right, the current Prime Minister Theresa May should consider resigning:

2235  BETTING MARKETS SLASH TORY MAJORITY ODDS

the latest prices, with % prices shown giving an implied probability are:

Conservative majority tumbles from 85% to 55%

Overall Majority:

Most Seats:

2222  HERE ARE ALL THE KEY SEAT RESULTS TO STAY UP FOR

BI's politics editor Adam Bienkov has put together a guide of all the seats to watch out for when results roll in.

For example, Sunderland Central is one of them:

Expected declaration time

Winner in 2015

Labour majority over Conservative

11,179

Swing required to win

13.38%

Conservative target seat number

One of the first seats to declare will be Sunderland Central in North East England. The seat has been held by Labour since its current boundaries were formed in 2010 and should be the easiest of holds for Jeremy Corbyn's party. However, if Theresa May is on course for the sort of new Labour-style landslide that some polls at the start of the general election predicted then Sunderland Central will be our first indication. Even a close result here would spell major trouble for Labour nationally.

2215  BRITAIN'S DEFENCE SECRETARY SAYS 'EXIT POLLS HAVE BEEN WRONG IN THE PAST'

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon tells the BBC: "Lets see some actual results. These exit polls have been wrong in the past. In 2015 they underestimated our vote, a couple of elections before that they overestimated our vote."

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell on the Tory campaign added: "It was pretty nasty, it was very nasty. It dragged us into the gutter at times. Lets put that to one side. If the result is anywhere near like this, it means that positive politics has actually succeeded."

2207  HERE ARE THE FULL EXIT POLL NUMBERS

2203  POUND PLUNGES

BI's markets reporter Will Martin writes:

"The British pound is dropping sharply in overnight trade on Thursday after the exit poll suggested that no party will win a majority in the House of Commons after 2017's general election.

"The exit poll, which in recent elections has proved to be a fairly accurate forecast of the official result, showed Theresa May's Conservative Party as the biggest individual party, heading for 314 seats in the House of Commons, 12 short of a majority."

2200  EXIT POLLS ARE IN

And it looks like it's going to be a hung parliament.

2155  RESULTS COULD BE IN EARLIER THAN EXPECTED

Usually, during a general election, which is meant to be once every five years, there are local elections too.

However since this is a snap general election, there are no local elections taking place and therefore results might come in earlier than usual.

If there is a big landslide victory, Britain can expect results from around 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. BST on June 9. However, if the race is a lot tighter, it could be a few hours after that until we know who won.

In the 2015 general election:

2145  RECAP OF TODAY'S EVENTS

The voting period is from 7 a.m. BST to 10 p.m. BST. During this period, we've had:

despite having polling cards with them

The Guardian spoke to Labour candidate Paul Farrelly in Newcastle-under-Lyme

, where there have been issues stopping some students voting today. However, the electoral roll has reportedly been updated since that report:

A fight broke out between photographers

2130  HERE COME THE EXIT POLLS

The exit polls will be a result of a survey of 144 polling stations across Britain, jointly commissioned by the BBC, ITV, and Sky and will became immediately available at 10 p.m. BST.

A number of other outlets are publishing their own exit polls, including popular music magazine NME.

NME says it exit poll will be a representative sample of 1,000 people, aged 18-34-year-olds between 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. BST.
Bloomberg is reporting that the first meeting of a council intended to "transform and modernize" government digital services is scheduled for later in June, and attendees are set to include the CEOs of Apple, Microsoft, and IBM.

The American Technology Council is one of the projects of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser. An all-star line-up has reportedly been confirmed, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google parent company Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt, and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty.

The summit is reportedly scheduled for June 19.

The tech industry as a whole has an uneasy relationship with Trump, having overwhelmingly opposed his candidacy before his shock election win in 2016. Trump directly attacked the industry on a number of fronts, including Apple's use of overseas labor to build phones and its privacy stance and Bezos' ownership of The Washington Post and with promises to overhaul the American visa system heavily relied on by US tech companies.

While Trump was president-elect in December 2016, numerous high-profile executives (including Cook, Bezos, and Google's Larry Page) met with Trump and his team at Trump Tower in New York City. But since taking office, Trump has been directly criticized by tech execs on numerous matters, including his attempts to impose a ban on immigration from some majority-Muslim countries and his withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.

"I know many of you share my disappointment with the White House's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement," Cook wrote in a memo to Apple employees in early June. "I spoke with President Trump on Tuesday and tried to persuade him to keep the U.S. in the agreement. But it wasnt enough."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, meanwhile, left Trump's advisory council after the Paris decision was made public.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
The commands spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) confirmed the arrest to newsmen, stressing that the suspect was arrested with an accomplice at Ikorodu.

On investigation, one of the suspects, Eric confessed to the crime. He led a team of policemen to Odokekere/ Odogunyan in Ikorodu area to apprehend Oyekan, who later led the team to where the seven-year-old boy was beheaded and his head buried.

They hid the body inside canal. The two suspects involved have been arrested and the body and the head of the boy were brought to the station.

Investigation has commenced and the case would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos, Famous-Cole said.

The pastor, identified as Adedoyin Oyekan and one Eric were reportedly arrested at Odokereke, Odogunyan of Ikorodu on Thursday.

It was gathered that the suspects were rescued from being lynched by some angry residents of the area after committing the offence at 16, Apata Abo Street, Odokekere, Odogunyan.

Eric, who was said to be a friend to the victims father, allegedly stole the boy around 11.am on Wednesday, after his father left him in his care.

It was gathered the suspect was said to have taken the boy to the pastors church where they beheaded and buried him between 2.am and 4.am early today.

When the victims father came back to take his son, Eric claimed he had sent him home.

It was further reported that Eric opened up during interrogation and led detectives to the pastors place where the childs mutilated body was buried.
According to the NDLEA, Owolabi, a single mother of four, was intercepted at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), after she was caught by the scanners of the agency and after being placed on close observation, she excreted 32 wraps of the substance which tested positive for Cocaine.

It was gathered that Owolabi, an indigene of Kwara State, was nabbed during the outward screening of passengers on a Qatar Airline flight to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj after testing positive to drug ingestion.

Investigations revealed that she had ingested the substances that tested positive for cocaine weighing 330 grammes.

The suspect who claims she hawks tea and bread in Lagos said she was given the sum of N300,000 to smuggle the drugs to Saudi Arabia under the pretext of going for pilgrimage.

It was learned that the suspicion of the NDLEA operatives was raised as she was going to travel as a private pilgrim and not as a group.

During interrogation, Owolabi reportedly said that poverty led her into drug trafficking.

"I have never traveled outside the country before now. I am a single mother of four children. I sell tea and bread to earn a living. At present, I have no money to continue with my tea business due to family problems.

A man met me and promised to help me by sponsoring my trip to Saudi Arabia. As a Muslim, I was happy but he later asked me to swallow the drugs.

I agreed because he promised to pay me N300,000. I have too many problems and nobody is willing to help me."

Confirming the incident, the NDLEA commander at the Lagos Airport, Ahmadu Garba, said that this was the second arrest of a pilgrim at the airport on the same crime.
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The declaration by Hashimu took many by surprise as they did not see how he could possibly walk the 753.54 km road without a breakdown. Others thought he was just making an empty promise and could not walk such a distance.

Others, still, believed he had something up his sleeve and was merely seeking to be noticed by the presidential candidate and probably mark him down for an appointment.

However, supporters of Buhari and the All Progressive Congress (APC), gave him all their support and even made a hashtag to support Hashim. Anything for the Buhari campaign team was welcome as long as the bungling President Goodluck Jonathan was ousted.

When Buhari won the election, Hashimu surprised many when he embarked on the long and tortuous journey and took the whole of 20 days to trek to Abuja to commemorate the victory of the president-elect, though many doubted whether he actually made the whole trip on foot.

Trust conspiracy theorists who came up with different conjectures with some saying he took vehicles along the way or that he rode a vehicle to the gate of Abuja and trekked the remaining part to meet Buhari.

However, Hashimu's arrival was witnessed by thousands of people who cheered on as he made his way to meet with his hero who welcomed him with open arms and extolled his commitment and support.

I want to congratulate you for making it. He is a young man and he was lucky that his health did not fail him. I also heard so many stories that you wore almost half a dozen pair of shoes.

I also understand that there are people who have been quite generous to help you to pay for more pair of shoes, Buhari had said.

Giving details of his journey to the president-elect, Hashimu had said:

I made a promise because of the love I have for Mr. President that if Buhari should win the 2015 elections, I will trek from Lagos to Abuja which I have done.

I thank God that I made a promise and I fulfilled the promise. I passed through Kwara and Niger States to Abuja. I was trekking from 6.00 am to 6.00 pm and anywhere I find myself when it is 6.00 pm, I pass the night there. I spent 18 days from Lagos to Abuja.

Once I found myself inside the bush by 6.00 pm and I managed to continue the trek till 9.00 pm to a nearby village.

I made this promise two years ago. I am based in Ibadan and I started my journey from Lagos because Lagos is the most popular city in Nigeria and I started from Berger junction in Lagos.

I am not bothered about what people think. It is a promise between me and my God. I dont want anybody to believe me. I left Lagos because I made a promise.

Right from Kwara state, I never walked alone for five kilometers. People always walk with me to the next village. I work with a construction company based in Ibadan.

Hashimu's supposed feat also kick-started the trekking movement as every imaginable supporter of the new government and the outgoing regime also embarked on all kinds of treks to show their support one way or the other.

It was the trekking era which caught up like wildfire as even married women were not left out of the new venture.

But barely a year into the regime, Hashimu had threatened to embark on another round of trekking in protest as the change the APC had promised was not what he expected.

He described his endeavour as a big mistake, saying he regretted trekking for Buhari who has now made life unbearable for the masses.

Laughable right? Trust Nigerians as he came in for serious bashing with many saying he was disappointed because he did not get an appointment from Buhari like he had envisaged.

But with the situation of things on the ground right now, one wonders if Hashimu would not be blaming himself eternally especially with the recession the country is facing, the job losses, the economic hardship, the lack of direction of the government and a President who has been in the sick bay longer than he is actually working.

All the promises the APC made are either recanted or discarded completely while they have spent two years blaming the past government for their failures. The change they promised Nigerians have all been that of pains and sorrow with many Nigerians slipping into the poverty level.

Many have committed suicide because their means of livelihoods have been taken away while companies have either folded up or move out of the country because of the harsh environment and in the process, making millions lose their jobs.
He also said that money was taken from the North to build railways and refineries.

Speaking further, the Deputy Leader of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Elder Paul Unongo I am the Deputy Leader of the Northern Elders Forum and Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Sule is the leader. So, only the two of us can speak for the forum on sensitive matter like this. Therefore, if Professor Ango Abdullahi is backing those ignorant youths, then he is speaking for himself.

We cannot support the nonsense those boys said. We fought civil war with our blood to keep Nigeria one. So, any Nigerian can live in any part of the country he feels like. Igbos are welcome in the North, they are welcome in Yoruba land and my own village in Tiv land and they have right to pursue their daily bread and own property.

We couldnt have killed three million people to keep Nigeria one and come back and allow these kids (the Northern Youth Groups) to insult our intelligence. We knew why we fought the war, we knew why we killed the people we loved. We knew why we made the sacrifice of three million men dead. So, Northern Elders Forum cannot take same position as those young men, if at all they took a position.

ALSO READ:Northern group declares war on Igbos

So, if the young men cannot build a nation, they should not destroy the one we put our lives on the line to build for them. We cannot allow young men who did not fight the civil war with us to destroy our country, because Nigeria cannot afford another civil war.
Speaking to Punch, the NEF spokesman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi said First oil exploration was conducted using money from groundnut pyramid, cotton, hide and skin, among other cash crops from Northern Nigeria.

However, these people tend to forget all these goodies provided by the North toward ensuring the unity and corporate existence of Nigeria.

They always look down on us, feeling that Northerners are parasites in this country.

Abdullahi also condemned some Governors from the North who disowned the CNY. He said easterners cannot live in the North and agitate for Nigeria to separate.

He said I am disappointed in the decision taken by Northern Governors Forum disowning and condemning the agitation by this young, agile and progressive youth groups.

Let me ask these Northern governors, who are they representing, are they representing spirits, ghosts or people of the North?

Recently, people from eastern part of this country, specifically Igbo, were busy calling for the Sovereign State of Biafra and from all indications, their leaders  including governors  are behind them.

These people always pretend that the North is cheating them, not minding the fact that Southern Nigeria was developed by resources from the North.

Please, look for a book written by Adamu Fika, the Waziri of Fika, on Nigerias budget before and after Independence.

Each year, up to the time Nigeria gained its Independence, none of the two regions was able to provide for itself.

I mean, none of the Western and Eastern regions had the money to effectively run the affairs of its region until they got financial support from the Northern region, he added.
The Federal Government arraigned Ademola, his wife and his lawyer, Mr Joe Agi (SAN), on an 18- count charge of criminal conspiracy to receive gratification in various ways on Dec. 13, 2016, but were discharged and acquitted on April 5, 2017.

One of the lawyers, Mr Femi Morohundiya, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Ademolas resumption was a great relief to him and his clients and an encouragement to the judiciary.

It is a great development for the judiciary because (although ) the Senate President is under attack by the executive he is there presiding over the (senate)."

What more, the judge here has been cleared so we welcome him back to the judiciary to continue with his duties?"

The charges were too hasty and it shows that they did not do proper work before going forcefully into (Ademolas) house."

We must learn to do things properly in this country or else the whole system will just collapse.

Morohundiya expressed concern with the capacity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to properly investigate crimes, following the shoddy handling of cases affecting some judges.

On his part, Mr Steve Eke told NAN that he and his client were happy to be back in court to get the justice that seemed delayed following the trial.

He noted that since the prosecuting agency could not prove their allegations, they were only false allegations.

We feel happy coming back to this court and my client is not worried about coming back to this court because we have waited this long to have justice done."

We are confident that justice will be done in this court, so the resumption of the court is a good one for us."

He went through the whole haul of trial, they put their evidence and they could not prove their case, it shows that from the beginning, the allegations were false, otherwise they would have been able to prove their case, Eke noted.

Another lawyer, Mr Kephas Gadzama said agencies of government should be diligent in the discharge of their duties adding that they should desist from being parochial in their approach to work.

Ademola resumed sitting on June 7 following a directive by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for him to do so.

NAN reports that the NJC at its 82nd Meeting on May 31 and June 1, considered the case of eight Judicial Officers who were directed to recuse themselves from duties.

The directive was on the request of the Attorney-General of the Federation pending the outcome of investigations against them.

After deliberation, the council noted that out of the Judicial Officers directed to recuse themselves from performing their official duties, only three had been charged to Court.
Amaechi made this clarification before the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, while responding to allegation on the outright omission of Eastern corridor rail line in the 2016-2018 external borrowing (Rolling) plan.

According to the minister, it is not true that Igbos have been denied the opportunity of using the rail.

He said that the two main rail projects in the country, which was the Lagos-Kano and the coastal rail from Lagos to Calabar were not conceived nor approved by the present administration.

The minister said that the present administration was only implementing the rail projects in three segments, which was Lagos-Ibadan, Kaduna-Kano and Calabar-Port Harcourt through counterpart funding.

He said that the China EXIM bank covers 85 per cent while Federal Government was to cover the remaining 15 per cent including VAT and land acquisition fee.

What I heard was that, the Igbos said they have been denied the right to rail and I thought we should debunk that, it is not true that Igbos have been denied the opportunity of using the rail.

I will start by saying that they are included; none of these contracts was awarded by us.

The Lagos Kano was awarded by President Olusegun Obansanjo in 2006.

Which cover Lagos-Ibadan-Ilorin-Minna-Kaduna-Kano, with a branch line from Minna-Abuja-Kaduna, which was awarded at the cost of $8.3billion.

In 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan awarded the coastal rail line, which the Igbos was included, the rail takes-off from Lagos-Shagamu-Ijebu Ode-Benin-Sapele-Warri-Yenagoa with a siding to Otuoke to Port Harcourt.

If you know the geography of Nigeria very well, from Port Harcourt, you can go to Uyo without going to Aba and that is what is called the East-West road.

But to ensure that the Igbos were included it took off from Port Harcourt to Aba and Aba is part of South East in Abia state, which is longer and costly to Uyo, then Calabar,he said.

He said that an additional section from Benin-Abudu-Agbor-Uko-Ogwashukwu-Asaba to Onisha, stating that Onisha was in Anambra.According to him, It will be wrong for anybody to say that the Igbos were not carried along in course of rail development.

Amaechi, said that the coastal rail from Lagos to calabar was awarded at 11.974 billion dollars, which was brought down to 11.1billion dollars under Buhari administration, saving 800million dollars.

So, both projects may not have covered the entire North East and South East but at least it got to South East either through Aba or Onisha.

He, however, said that because of the huge financially implication of the projects, it was divided into three segments which are Lagos-Ibadan, Kaduna-Kano and Calabar to Port Harcourt.

The minister said that the next segment was the Lagos-Ibadan, saying that the loan was applied for and 1.5billion dollars was approved but yet to be accessed.

Earlier, the Committee Chairman, Shehu Sani said that the meeting was called for the minister to explain the rationale behind the non inclusion of the eastern part in the external borrow plan.

He said that the omission was causing controversies which needed to be cleared by the ministry.

This meeting was called by the committee in respect to the resolution on the outright omission of eastern corridor rail line.

 And the request for approval of the Federal Government 2016-2018 external borrowing plan, the concern is that, these have being raising some form of controversies across the country.

This committee was mandated to invite you to explain to Nigerians, the rationale behind the non inclusion of the eastern corridor in the rail line in the external borrowing plan of the Federal Government.
UNICEF and the sixteen other states have organised a social protection tour of Osun which will last for about four days to enable them understudy the social protection initiatives being implemented in the state.

The programme will also enable them to study the impact of the wellbeing of the children and women and draw lessons to formulate policies on social interventions programmes of the organisation and the participating states.

Visiting officials were drawn from Abuja, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Enugu, Lagos, Katsina, Ondo, Sokoto, Rivers, Zamfara, Akwa Ibom, Kebbi, Anambra, Benue, Delta in addition to UNICEF staff from various field offices in Nigeria.

Speaking at the programme organised to welcome the participants in Osogbo, Governor Aregbesola commended UNICEF for the great work it is doing in Nigeria, which informed the tour to Osun as a model to be studied and recommended for other states.

He held that the tour of Osun is very humbling, stating that when the state sets out to implement social protection programmes, her primary consideration was to take care of the people.

The Governor added that his administration never thought that many of the states novel programmes would be considered models worthy of emulation.

According to him, "When my administration was inaugurated, we said that the biggest challenge at the time was the army of unemployed and disoriented youth that constituted a menace to society and to themselves.

"We then set up the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES) in less than 100 days to engage 20,000 youths in public works. The cadets were drawn from all the local governments in the state, without consideration for their political, ideological, ethnic and religious backgrounds.

"We also insisted that their uniforms are sewn by tailors in the states, through their guilds and their equipment like cutlasses, hoes, rakes, booths etc. were purchased directly from markets in all the local governments in the state. We have had two cycles of OYES and we still have the cadets at work.

"The N10,000 monthly allowance we pay them percolates into the local economy in house rent, feeding, transportation and household items, thereby boosting the states GDP. The direct benefit of OYES was that crime and unemployment rates dropped drastically in the state," he emphasised.

Aregbesola told UNICEF and participants that for his government to have integration in the various empowerment programmes, it set up an inter-ministerial agency, the Osun Rural Enterprises and Agriculture Programme (OREAP), which comprises the ministries of agriculture, lands, commerce, rural development, finance, health, works, among others.

He noted that the policy has attracted more people, especially women and youths to farming, stating that one flagship programme of empowerment in the state is the home-grown school feeding programme, tagged OMEALS.

Aregbesola said, "This is an integrated policy of feeding Elementary 1-4 pupils healthy and nutritious meals every school day.

"We engaged the services of 3,007 community caterers to prepare the food for the pupils as hygienically as possible.

"To be able to achieve this, the caterers were first medically screened and certified fit and proper, retrained on the rudiments of cooking and particularly made to understand the importance of, one, hygiene in disease prevention and secondly, good nutrition to healthy living.

Director General, Office of Economic Development and Partnerships and Coordinator in Osun, Dr. Charles Akinola, said the purpose of the visit was to provide a platform for interaction on the protection, care and empowerment of children, women and marginalised groups through social protection initiatives of Governor Aregbesola.

"It is our great pleasure to have shown the participating states and the top officials of the UNICEF some of the successes which the present administration had accomplished since inception.

"What we have today is the result of the interaction which the state have had with the UNICEF on the social protection programmes of this administration."

Earlier, UNICEF's Chief of Field Officer and Coordination, Dr. Annefrida Kisesa, commended Governor Aregbesola for being committed to human and capital development of his people in spite economic challenges.

Kisesa said UNICEF was proud to identify with the state's achievement and impact in raising the standard of living of the people of the state through its commitment to social intervention policies and programmes.

The Chief said the international organisation was privileged to partner with the state in its bid to learn on how to harness its potentials to further impact in the general wellbeing of the people in the world.

According to her, "It is amazing that the team of UNICEF officers as well as representatives from the 16 states of Nigeria are here to learn on how to learn and adopt Osun social investment scheme that had impacted greatly in the lives of the citizenry.

"To us as UNICEF, it is our collective beliefs that the only way the larger number of people could be reached with our policies and programmes that centre on the need to eliminate poverty and hunger was to partner with Osun state government that has already succeeded in its social protection initiatives and policies.

"In our quest to achieve this objective, the organisation deemed it fit to collaborate with Osun government through which about sixteen states in Nigeria were carried along to have a plenary session in the state on the need to study the success of the state on many of its social investment scheme," she added.

Speaking, representative of Federal Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Dr. Samson Ebimaro, lauded the efforts made by the Aregbesola's administration in turning Osun to a model in all sectors of the economy.

He said the Ministry was surprised that a small state like Osun has turned to be a pacesetter through which many of her policies and programmes are being adopted and domesticated by her peers and Federal Government.

Dr. Ebimaro disclosed that the National Social Protection Policies, an economic ideology drawn from Osun by the Federal Government had been unanimously endorsed by all the federal ministries and their ministers.

According to him, social protection policies remained a mix of policies, programmes and projects designed for individuals and households throughout lifecycle aimed at ensuring that poverty, hunger among other social challenges are eliminated in the society.

"It is for this singular reason that Osun state government deserves commendation as it has successfully championed this cause at ensuring that government and governance are centred on the people.

"Though this is surprising because no one could have thought that a state like Osun within the few years of creation coupled with her resources, could turn to be a model to which others adopt to succeed in governance.
In a report by Punch, the Economic and Financial Commission named some of the individuals and public officials who allegedly collected bribe of various sums from the ex-Minister of Petroleum Resources to compromise the 2015 general elections.

On Thursday, June 8, 2017, the EFCC tendered a document before the Federal High Court in Lagos on stating that the public officials involved in the bribery mess.

Presenting his finding, EFCC investigator, Usman Zakari, told Justice Rilwan Aikawa that it was recovered from a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Dele Belgore, who is standing trial before for allegedly collecting N450m from Diezani and distributing same to beneficiaries in Kwara State.

Zakari, the second witness to be called by the EFCC in the trial, explained that Belgore volunteered the list to the EFCC when he was invited and interrogated by the anti-graft agency.

He also pointed out that Belgore endorsed the document with the title, Security and Transportation per State, stating: document supplied by me, Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN).

Equally, the EFCC exhibited another document recovered from Belgore also showing other beneficiaries.

The document simply titled Kwara State showed beneficiaries of a sum of N155,220,000 and the breakdown of what they got.

ALSO READ: Court fixes July 7 for ruling on application to end alleged N450M bribe case

"My Lord, the mode of payment, as contained in Exhibit 7, is cash payment. The payments were not done through any financial institution, Zakari said.

The two documents were tendered by the EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, and admitted in evidence as Exhibit 7 and 7A, against Belgore and Suleiman, as their lawyers, Ebun Shofunde (SAN) and Mr. Olatunji Ayanlaja (SAN), raised no objection.

In his evidence, Zakari told the court that the EFCCs findings showed that the money was disbursed in cash to the beneficiaries.
Melaye stated this at a special plenary session to mark the second anniversary of the 8th Senate on Friday, June 9, 2017.

The Kogi lawmaker expressed displeasure over the failure of the executive to relieve Ibrahim Magu of his job as the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Recall that Magu was rejected twice by the Senate following a damning report by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Posterity will not forgive us when we keep silent in the face of lies and persecution.

The persecution we went through in the first two years must not continue in the second half. Mr President in leading us in this second half you must put on your seat belt; it is dangerous to drive without a seat belt.

Where we need to speak the truth as senators, we must speak the truth no matter whose ox is gored. We must begin to identify that there is a uniform law in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

ALSO READ: Dino Melaye caught on tape boasting that he framed Kogi Govs Chief of Staff

No longer shall we allow the selective application of the law of the land. What is good for Abubakar is good for Nnamdi. Mr President, we have passed some people on the floor of this senate and those people that we have also disqualified by confirmation have been replaced by Mr President.

That means that the president of the federal republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari recognises the powers of the senate to confirm.

Why is Magu still in office? Mr President the truth is the truth we should not have selective application of the rule of law; one law for everybody. We must as a senate we must preserve the integrity of this institution, the lawmaker added.

Speaking earlier, Senate President Bukola Saraki described the Senate under his watch as the most transparent arm of government.
Fashola, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Policy and Legal Matters, Mr Lanre Akinsola, made the call during World Accreditation Day celebration organised by Nigeria National Accreditation Services (NiNAS).

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme of 2017 world Accreditation Day is: Accreditation: delivering confidence in construction and built environment.

The minister said the theme of this year celebration underscores the importance of quality and standard in the built environment, saying that construction is a sector where standard cannot be compromised.

He said if the defaulters were disciplined or expelled from their professional bodies it would serve as deterrence to others as well as inform members of the public that there was protection against professional misconducts.

According to him, every time there is a failed building, every time a rule of professional conduct is violated, every time a professional is impersonated; it means the rule of standard has been broken.

 Standard as embodiment of rule of law that requires internal regulation by the professional body as the regulator of the profession just like every other professional body.

 What of the built industry? Does our professional disciplinary council exist?

 If it exist, does the public know about its operations and what standard to expect from the professionals they engage in the built industry?

 How many of our professionals have been sanctioned for their culpability in building collapse resulting in cases of substandard construction projects, he questioned.

Fashola noted that the building sector was important for economic development, employment creation and the environment, therefore, it is a sector where standard cannot and should not be negotiated.

He said  It is critical that the public have confidence in the safety, security and sustainability of construction projects and the built environment.

 To engender confidence in the industry, internal professional regulation or certification may not be enough, hence the need for external validation by an independent third party accreditation agencies like NiNAS becomes important.

In his remark, the Chief Executive Officer, NiNAS, Mr Celestine Okanya said that accreditation would provide support in every stage of construction.

ALSO READ:Fashola says FG to add 340 megawatts to power grid before Dec

Okanya also noted that accreditation could reduce the number of building collapse to the barest minimum, saying that Nigeria lacks a robust quality national infrastructure.

Mr Jean Bakole, Regional Director, UNIDO, said it was committed to work with Nigerian government to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development activities that would result in significant trade within and beyond Africa Region.
DORIS ANNA FLETCHER

1940-2017

Doris Anna Fletcher, age 76 of Nebraska City died May 29, 2017 at her home.

She was born September 22, 1940 in Nebraska City, the daughter of Edward and Edith (Boardman) Buterbaugh.

Doris graduated from Nebraska City High School in 1958 and worked at Hesteds until she married Clyde Fletcher July 12, 1964 in Plattsmouth. She formerly lived in Plattsmouth and Avoca. Doris and Clyde operated a grocery store in Avoca for 26 years. She also formerly worked at the Good Samaritan Center in Syracuse, Duffs Nursing Home and Burger King in Nebraska City before she retired.

She is survived by her husband, Clyde of Nebraska City; son, Randy Fletcher and wife Sheli of Weeping Water; grandchildren, Randy Jr. and fiance Kristi Staack, Michael, Jayden and Trey; great grandson, Tarren; many other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, Jim and Gerald Buterbaugh.

Funeral Services were held at 11:00 A.M., Friday, June 2, 2017 at Marshall Funeral Chapel in Nebraska City.

Cremation will follow the services and private family burial of ashes will be held at a later date.

Visitations were from 1:00 to 8:00 P.M., Thursday at Marshall Funeral Chapel with the family greeting friends from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.

Memorials are suggested to the First Presbyterian Church in Nebraska City.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.marshallfuneral.com

Marshall Funeral Chapel of Nebraska City, Nebraska is in charge of arrangements.
Again.

Time check: 7pm.

The affected area was Addawari village, Jiddari-Polo which lies a few kilometers from the Maiduguri Government Residential Area (GRA); marooned in the heart of the city.

It was the most brazen Boko Haram attack yet, since the terrorists were sent into their hideouts by a resurgent Nigerian military in December of 2016.

As the sporadic gunshots from the terrorists intensified, residents locked themselves indoors and muttered last prayers under their breaths.

Some fled the city as Nigerian troops engaged the terrorists in an hour long gun duel much later.

We have been indoors for the past two hours. Sounds of gunshots everywhere. We cant even go out to break our fast,TheCable quoted one resident of the war ravaged Borno as saying.

Army spokesperson, Sani Usman, issued a statement moments later, assuring Maiduguri residents that soldiers were on top of the situation.

"The people of Maiduguri and its environs should not panic, as everything is under control, Usman assured as bullet shells rained on Maiduguri.

The control and command center of the Nigerian military operations against Boko Haram was moved to Maiduguri by President Muhammadu Buhari as soon as he took over the reins of the nation's leadership from an embattled Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai was at the nearby Giwa barracks when Boko Haram launched its latest attack on Maiduguri.

As the dust settled in the wake of the terrorist onslaught, 18 lives were no more.

With tension enveloping Borno State amid sporadic gunshots, aides of acting president Yemi Osinbajo wondered whether the nation's stand-in Commander-In-Chief was going to cancel his scheduled trip for the troubled State billed for the following day.

They could have been forgiven for not packing their bags for Borno in a few hours.

"We were unsure if we should continue with preparations for the trip", confessed one top ranking aide of the acting president on condition of anonymity, because he hadn't been commissioned to comment on the subject.

Hours later, in an emotion-laden phone conversation with Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, Osinbajo assured the former that nothing was going to prevent him from making the trip to the epicenter of the Boko Haram insurgency.

With intelligence and security agencies handing Aso Rock the all clear to proceed with the trip, there was no holding Osinbajo back.

"He betrayed no emotions at all. He just told us to put everything in place in readiness for our departure to Borno the next day (Thursday, June 8)", another presidential aide disclosed.

A special adviser in the Buhari administration told Pulse: "Osinbajo's thinking was that, if we cancelled the trip, we'll be handing victory to the terrorists. He wouldn't even entertain thoughts of a trip reschedule".

ALSO READ:Acting President arrives Maiduguri hours after Boko Haram attack

Osinbajo was visiting Maiduguri to launch the Special Intervention Relief plan which will ensure the quarterly distribution of over 30,000 metric tonnes of grains to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) fleeing Boko Haram bombs and guns in the northeast region of Nigeria.

At about 1pm on Thursday, Osinbajo and his team landed in Maiduguri as Governors of the region made a beeline to receive them.

As the acting president's convoy sped through the dusty streets of the capital where a siege was in force only hours earlier, residents waved and screamed in palpable relief.

"We thought the acting president was going to cancel the trip after yesterday's attack", said Borno State Governor Shettima.

Boko Haram commenced its war against the Nigerian State in 2009.

The terrorist sect has killed more than 30,000 people in that time; displacing millions from their homes and abducting thousands.
The Command wishes to state that, there was no report of such incident and the story is entirely a fabricated falsehood intended to create fear in the minds of citizens.

It is pertinent to note that command has not relented in acting on reports on the suspected activities of criminals in the state," he said

The commissioner, who was represented by his deputy in charge of operations Abdulrahaman Ahmed, said the command had only recorded an incident where five persons driving along Kaduna-Abuja express way were attacked and three of them were robbed while the other two were kidnapped.

When the report reached us the Commands technical and human resources where deployed to ensure the rescue of the two victims and the arrest of the culprits.

In view of the foregoing, there is no way 20 people could be travelling inside one car can be kidnapped without trace or a report to the police by the relatives of the victims or witnesses to the crime, he said.

The Commissioner urged the press to always cross-check their facts before publishing any story.

He said All accounts of criminal incidents or stories should be verified before publication to avoid being involved in sharing mischief.
Ekere, who made the call when a UN delegation visited the commission on Friday in Port Harcourt, said that such support would fast track development of the region.

He said that the Commission required support in the development of critical infrastructures and review of the regions development Master Plan.

We ask for UN support in areas of institutional strengthening, processes; technology and governance system with focus to make NDDC function the way the UN operates.

NDDC equally wants capacity building in form of training and retraining of our staffers aimed to promote international best practices in the commissions dealings.

The Niger Delta master plan launched 10 years ago with 15 years life span, unfortunately has not achieved much since its launch.

To this end, we want UN to assist us in reviewing our master plan which all stakeholders will own up and work collaboratively to achieving its success.

Similarly, NDDC equally needs the United Nations collaboration and funding of strategic high-impact projects particularly in agriculture, healthcare, education, power, environment, security, physical infrastructure, among others, he said.

Ekere said that in spite contingent liabilities which amounted to N1.2 trillion, the commission recorded some successes in areas of capital and human development.

He said the commission provided healthcare services to over three million patients and built several cottage hospitals, health centres and other services in the health sector.

Ekere listed others to include provision of scholarships, classroom blocks, hostels, science laboratories, computers, learning kits and training of teachers.

According to him, NDDC has built several critical infrastructures, such as, roads and bridges; shoreline protection, canalization , jetties and power infrastructures.

We are currently discussing with the Federal Ministry of Health to setup cancer centres to treat health-hazards caused largely by exploitation of hydrocarbon in the region, he said.

Also speaking, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba, Chairman, NDDC Governing Board, said the board adopted a 4-R initiative to reform the commission for optimal performance.

He said the initiative aimed to restructure NDDC balance sheet; reform governance system; restore core mandate and reaffirm commitment to doing what was right and proper at all times.

According to him, the board adopted the strategies to fast track the regions development with focus to addressing chronic unemployment in the region.

ALSO READ: Seriake Dickson urges NDDC to develop Niger Delta

Unemployment is a time-bomb for any country, and as such, there is need to engage youths to meaningful ventures, he said.

Mr Edward Kallon, UN Permanent Representative to Nigeria, assured that the body would provide capacity building and technical assistant for review of the regions development master plan.
Mr Okoi Obono-Obla, Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja, said the appeal became necessary as result of decision taken by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

I want to debunk the false impression created in some sections of the media that the NJC was not aware or that there was no appeal filed by the office of the Attorney -General of the Federation against the ruling of Justice Okeke.

Nothing can be further from the truth. The Office of the Attorney-General filed notices of appeal against the ruling of Justice Okeke over his ruling discharging and acquitting the three defendants on April, 7.

Accordingly, the Court of Appeal pursuant to Order 8 Rule 2 (a) of the Court of Appeal Rules has invited counsel to the appellant (the Federal Republic of Nigeria) and the respondents to attend court on June 6, to reconcile documents for record of appeal.
According to Punch, the Director of Information in the finance ministry, Salisu Dambatta said the disbursement was approved by President Buhari in November 2016.

Dambatta said The funds were released to state government as part of the wider efforts to stimulate the economy and were specifically designed to support states in meeting salary and other obligations, thereby alleviating the challenges faced by workers.

The releases were conditional upon a minimum of 50 per cent being applied to the payment of workers salaries and pensions. The Federal Ministry of Finance is reviewing the impact of these releases on the level of arrears owed by state governments.

A detailed report is being compiled for presentation to the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, as part of the process for approval for the release of any subsequent tranches.

The states that received the funds include: Rivers State N34.92bn, Delta State N27.6bn, Akwa Ibom State N25.98bn, Bayelsa State N24.89bn and Kano State N21.7bn.

Lagos State N16.74bn, Katsina State N16.4bn, Kaduna State N15.44bn, Borno State N14.68bn, Jigawa State N14.2bn, Imo State N14.01bn, Niger State N14.42bn, Bauchi State N13.75bn, Sokoto State N12.88bn and Osun State N12.62bn.

Cross River State N12.15bn, Anambra State N12.24bn, Edo State N12.18bn, Kebbi State N11.95bn, Kogi State N11.05bn, Abia State N11.43bn, Ogun State N11.47bn, Plateau State N11.28bn.

Yobe State got N10.82bn, Zamfara State N10.88bn, Ebonyi State N9.01bn, Ekiti State N9.54bn, Enugu State N10.7bn, Gombe State N8.95bn, Nasarawa State N9.1bn, Oyo State N13.31bn, Kwara State N10.24bn.
Gladys Starkey will be having a book signing from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at The Blue Bottle Coffeehouse in downtown Fremont.

Starkey will be signing copies of her book, Pesos to Pennies: A Filipino Immigrants Memoir.

Starkey also will read a few passages from her book and book signing afterwards from 2-3 p.m. at Keene Memorial Library in Fremont.
He assured that the bill would be signed next week.

Dogara stated this in his address at the opening of a Special Session to mark the second anniversary of the 8th Assembly on Friday in Abuja.

According to him, the house carried out significant budget reforms for the first time in the history of Nigeria.

He said that a public hearing was conducted at the National Assembly to get the input of Nigerians in the budgetary process.

He said that reforms introduced included the details of the Appropriation Bill being made available to all members before passage at the plenary.

Also introduced, he said, was requirement that members of committee should sign report of their committees before it would be sent to the Committee on Appropriations.

All these novel measures are unprecedented in the history of our parliament."

These proactive measures ensured that the debate and consideration of the 2017 budget by the house was evidence-based and geared towards galvanizing the economy for greater growth.

Dogara said that a total of 126 Bills were passed by the House during the period and that others were at various stages in the legislative mill.

He said that 27 Bills had received presidential assent, adding that each of the achievements highlighted above is unsurpassed by any previous Assembly.

The sheer volume of these Bills attests to the vibrancy of the House in its attempt to legislate on key areas of our national life at a very trying time in our history.

The speaker also said that the lower chamber received no fewer than 500 public petitions during the period.

He said that the Committee on Public Petitions conducted hearing on petitions almost every week to ensure that citizens had access to the legislature.

He also said that the house considered and passed bills designed to stimulate economic growth and promote competition.

Dogara said that the bills included Bill for an Act establishing Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

According to him, this legislation has the potential to engender innovation and efficient allocation of resources, eliminate barriers to entry and restrictive trade practices in the market.

He said it would have positive impact on the quality of goods and services and their prices in the interest of the Nigerian consumer.

On workers welfare, the speaker said that the house had introduced a Bill on new minimum wage aimed at promoting the welfare and well-being of workers, especially in the light of changing economic realities.

For us, it is unacceptable that the average Nigerian worker is shut out from the promise of democracy, which is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Our democracy must be made to work for all Nigerians, including our workers, who must have the tools with which to pursue happiness while in active service or in retirement.
Government data received Thursday showed that arrivals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen were down by nearly half in March and April from a year ago -- 6,372 for the two months compared to 12,100 in 2016.

Arrivals were little changed in the first month after the rollout of the original January 27 travel ban, which also included Iraq.

That ban was quickly blocked in a legal challenge by immigration rights advocates that was supported on appeal. The courts ruled that in its focus on Muslim-majority countries, the Trump administration was violating the Constitution's ban on religious discrimination.

At the time, however, many in those countries with legal US travel documents rushed to travel or return to the US in fear that a revised ban would pass the courts and they would be locked out.

The result was 4,277 arrivals from the six countries in February, slightly slower than a year before, according to the Customs and Border Patrol data. Iraq data was not immediately available.

On March 6 a new version of the travel ban was announced, with Iraq removed. Again implementation was blocked by two court orders, which the Trump administration last week said it will appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate's appeal suit against Obaseki's victory in last year's gubernatorial election was dismissed by a five-man panel led by Justice M.B Dongban-Mensem.

Ize-Iyamu challenged the outcome of the election, accusing Obaseki and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) of manipulating the process.

The aggrieved PDP candidate claimed that the September 28 election was marked by corrupt practices, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of not complying with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2010.

INEC, Obaseki and the APC were listed as first, second and third respondents respectively in the dismissed suit.
Parents of the students who were kidnapped took to the office of the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday 7th of June, to protest.

According to the parents, the kidnappers had called the day before to say that four of the six children were ill. The kidnappers also added that they were no longer interested in negotiating with the government.

Toyin Philips, mother of 17-year-old Pelumi, one of the kidnapped, said between tears:

If I have the money they are demanding, I would not have sent my son to that school.

"The State Government has been silent."

According to the spokesperson for the parents, Mr. Dapo Adesega, the government has failed to communicate with the parents of the affected children.

If we had not come here today, we wont have heard anything from the government.

The kidnappers said we cannot speak with our children again. They said four of them are ill. We want government to help us.

According to a parent, Moruf Rahmon, the parents were not going to be able to raise the N100M demanded by the kidnappers but offered to raise N10M. The kidnappers refused.

The Government finally spoke.

At Alausa, the parents were received by the Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Muslim Folami; the Special Adviser to the Governor on Community and Communications, Kehinde Bamigbetan; and the Special Adviser to the Governor on the Environment, Babatunde Hunpe.

Work is going on and soon, your children will be released to you, Folami said.
Flanking her are bridesmaids, dressed in matching outfits of another colour and looking gorgeous and lovely in their own right.

But did you know that this wasnt always so?

Back in time, in ancient Rome, both the bride and her bridesmaids used to all wear white dresses.

Yeah, everyone of them in white dresses!

According to Mental Floss, the motivation behind the uniformed dress code was to ensure each woman looked identical at the altar  in a bid to keep the bride safe from evil spirits.

So the idea was to get all women looking alike so that when the evil demons of the time came to attack the bride, they wouldnt know which of the women to hurt.

Also, conquest was very common at the time. So it was also usual for angry exes and rival suitors to raid wedding ceremonies with their friends and steal the bride away.

Hanne Blank, author of Virgin, the Untouched History says this tradition was also the practice in ancient China where scorned exes would usually wait until the girls wedding day to strike and whisk her away to a forced marriage.

It then became imperative to outsmart these angry exes, so bridesmaids were used as the perfect decoy against these raids.

The attackers would not even know which of the ladies they came for, because everyone of them was dressed in white!!! [Lol]

Even at the wedding ceremony of Queen Victoria of England in 1840 where she had 12 bridesmaids, they all wore white dresses alongside the royal bride.

According to Lou Taylor, Professor of Dress and Textile History at the University of Brighton who was chatting with The Independent, the queen wore a white off-the-shoulder fashionable 1840 dresses, with full-blown artificial roses decorating their hair behind their right ear.

Somewhere between that time and now, however, the influence of evil spirits on wedding days has become downplayed and law and order has helped prevent exes and suitors from making such savage, uncivilised raids.

Now brides are safe to exclusively wear their white dresses and stand at the altar in peace.
Bensouda made the call at a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan and South Sudan, according to a statement obtained in New York.

The ICC prosecutor particularly slammed South Africa and Jordan for failing to arrest Al Bashir over crimes committed in the Darfur region of Sudan when he travelled to the countries.

She said a pre-trial chamber of the Court plans to decide whether South Africa acted in non-compliance with the Statute when it failed to arrest and surrender Al Bashir in June 2015.

Most recently, Al Bashir travelled to Jordan on March 29, 2017, but Jordan declined to arrest and surrender him.

Inviting, facilitating or supporting the international travel of any person subject to an ICC arrest warrant is inconsistent with a commitment to international criminal justice.

It is also an affront to the victims in the Darfur situation, she said.

Bensouda noted that to date, the Court had made 13 decisions on non-compliance and referred them to the Security Council.

The ICC prosecutor, however, regretted that yet not one has been acted upon by this Council.

By failing to act in response to such Court decisions, this Council is in essence relinquishing and undermining its clear role on such matters.

The prosecutor said there had been alleged cases of non-compliance by the parties to the treaty.

Not one of the suspects for whom warrants have been issued has been arrested and transferred to the International Criminal Court.

To those who continue to long for justice in Darfur; do not despair and do not abandon hope, she told victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and their families, Bensouda told Council.

She recalled that the international tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were reminders that persistence and determination could result in the arrest and surrender of suspects many years after the issuance of arrest warrants.

The ICC was established by the treaty known as the Rome Statute adopted at an international conference in Rome on July 17, 1998 and it entered into force on July 1, 2002.

The States that form this Council have the power, independently and collectively, to positively influence and incentivize States, whether or not parties to the Rome Statute.

To assist in the efforts to arrest and surrender the Darfur suspects, she said, adding that regional organizations can do the same.

In 2005, the Council asked the Hague-based Court to investigate war crimes in Darfur.

ICC judges issued arrest warrants in 2009 for Mr. Al-Bashir and other top officials for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the western Darfur region.
Winner's is the latest in a string of cases involving breaches at the National Security Agency, a code-breaking agency still smarting from Edward Snowden's 2013 disclosures of its global surveillance programs.

The former Air Force linguist was arrested last Saturday for allegedly giving a document to news website The Intercept that detailed attempts by hackers from Russian military intelligence to penetrate a company that sells voter registration software as well as local election officials.

Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Solari said agents searching Winner's home found handwritten notes in several languages, including one that said, "I want to burn the White House down," ABC News and The Augusta Chronicle reported.

Her social media accounts had revealed a deep dislike of President Donald Trump, with one post calling him "the orange fascist."

Other notes found at her home included details on how to access the "dark web," set up a burner email account and listed the names of Taliban leaders, news reports said.

Winner, who worked for NSA contractor Pluribus International Corporation in Augusta, Georgia, was a specialist in Pashto, Farsi and Dari, languages spoken in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, her mother has said.

Solari warned that Winner may possess more stolen secrets.

Judge Brian Epps denied bail, meaning Winner will stay behind bars until trial, after Solari said some of the evidence was "downright frightening."
Ancient history

The Japanese imperial family is believed to be the world's oldest, with a myth-filled history that dates back more than 2,600 years.

Akihito is the 125th emperor since Emperor Jimmu, said to be a descendant of the legendary sun goddess Amaterasu.

Emperors have played a crucial role in the country's native Shinto religion, conducting various annual rites and prayers for the prosperity of the nation.

Constitutional symbol

The greatest threat to the imperial family's long history came with Japan's defeat in World War II.

Some in the Allied camp wanted to end the monarchy in whose name Japanese armies marched through Asia-Pacific. But US General Douglas MacArthur, who led the post-war occupation, called for it to be retained, though its power was greatly curbed.

The current US-imposed constitution took away the emperor's semidivine status and turned him into a national "symbol" as part of a radical democratisation.

Popularity

Unlike in some countries with royal families, there is no republican movement in Japan and the emperor and royal family have won the admiration of the vast majority of the country.

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko journey to sites of natural disasters to console victims, most notably after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Akihito -- the son of wartime emperor Hirohito -- has repeatedly warned that Japan must not downplay its 20th-century militarism and actions in World War II. His remarks have been seen as a rebuke to the nationalist stance of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and likeminded conservatives.

Gentlemen's club

The family operates under hereditary, male-only succession rules, although there have been eight empresses in past centuries.

Upon the abdication of Akihito, his oldest son Crown Prince Naruhito will assume the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Naruhito's younger brother, Prince Akishino, is next in line. The only other male heir, 10-year-old Prince Hisahito, Akishino's son, is third in line to the throne.

The future

If Hisahito only has daughters, the family is likely to face a succession crisis unless laws are changed.

The scarcity of young men in the family has prompted talk of alternatives, including letting women ascend the throne, though traditionalists abhor the idea.

Some have suggested that female members of the family who marry commoners should stop losing their royal status -- as will happen to Akihito's granddaughter Princess Mako when she weds her college sweetheart.

Others advocate expanding the family to include distant relatives.
"No one has the right to intervene in our foreign policy," Sheikh Mohammed said.

He also rejected "a military solution as an option" to resolving the crisis, and said Qatar could survive "forever" despite the measures taken against it.

"We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender the independence of our foreign policy," he told reporters later, adding: "No one will break us."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain led a string of countries that this week cut ties with Qatar over what they say is the emirate's financing of extremist groups and its ties to Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional arch-rival.

On Thursday the four countries issued a list of individuals and entities they said had "terrorist" links to Qatar, in their first joint statement since severing ties with Doha.

The group said the list shows Qatar "announces fighting terrorism on one hand and finances and supports and hosts different terrorist organisations on the other hand."

But the document contains at least two names already designated internationally as terrorist financiers, and against whom Qatar took action, according to a previous US Department of State report.

Qatar strongly denied the earlier allegations and expressed a willingness to engage in talks to resolve the crisis.

Al-Jazeera in the crosshairs

The gas-rich emirate's satellite news giant Al-Jazeera has also emerged as a point of contention, and on Thursday the broadcaster said it was battling a major cyber attack.

Al-Jazeera tweeted that it was "under cyber attack on all systems, websites & social media platforms", and a source said it was trying to repel the hack.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have banned Al-Jazeera from the airwaves and closed the channel's offices.

The Arab countries closed air, sea and land links with Qatar, barred the emirate's planes from their airspace and ordered Qatari citizens out within 14 days.

The feud has raised fears of wider instability in an already volatile region that is a crucial global energy supplier and home to several Western military bases.

Kuwait -- which unlike most of its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members has not cut off ties with Qatar -- has been leading efforts to mediate.

Its emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah held talks on Wednesday with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, following talks with senior UAE officials and Saudi King Salman.

US President Donald Trump, who had initially backed the measures against Qatar in a tweet, called Sheik Tamim on Wednesday with an offer "to help the parties resolve their differences".

Qatar hosts the Al-Udeid military base, the largest US airbase in the Middle East. Home to some 10,000 troops, it is central to the US-led fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Foreign policy gone wild

Analysts say the current crisis is in part an extension of a 2014 dispute, when Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain temporarily recalled their ambassadors from Doha over Qatari support for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

A top Gulf official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP a major concern was the influence of Sheikh Tamim's father, Sheikh Hamad, who had allowed the Taliban to open an office in Doha and helped arm Syrian rebels before abdicating in 2013.

"The previous emir is a big supporter of this whole extremist agenda, so we do have an issue," the official said.

Doha has for years forged its own alliances in the region, often diverging from the politics of the six-state GCC and taking in leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian Hamas and members of the Afghan Taliban.

A senior Emirati official told AFP this week's decision was not aimed at a change of regime in Qatar but to pressure the country to reshape its policy.

"This is a foreign policy that has gone wild," state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told AFP. "We need to put everything in check."

Gargash said the four Arab states seek a "political commitment to change course" by Qatar, including ending its support for the Brotherhood and Hamas.
A magistrate court on Thursday ruled that he should face trial for treason in the High Court, dismissing requests by his lawyers to throw out the charge.

"We can confirm that we have been moved to Mukobeko Maximum Prison in Kabwe. We arrived a few minutes ago," he said in a Facebook post.

"We dont know what is happening but we are not bothered by processes," he added.

Armed police officers at the Lusaka prison had earlier bundled Hichilema and five co-accused into a van and drove them to the city airport, according to his lawyer Jack Mwiimbu.

Mwiimbu described his transfer to Kabwe, 150 kilometres north of Lusaka, as illegal.

"There was a court order that they should be at Lusaka prison but they have gone against it. He was forcibly removed from Lusaka prison," Mwiimbu told reporters outside Lusaka Central prison where Hichilema had been detained since April 11.

The treason case against the wealthy self-made businessman who turned 55 on Sunday comes after Hichilema made a fifth unsuccessful bid for the presidency last year.

He refused to recognise Lungu as president and has challenged the narrow poll defeat in court.
"In all the wars, the losers are the soldiers, the mothers and the children," says the Turkish Cypriot.

Bolayir is in Paphos to take part in an art therapy session, more than 40 years after fleeing the coastal town following a Turkish invasion of the island's north in 1974.

Around 200,000 people fled their homes on either side of the island after the incursion in response to an Athens-inspired coup seeking union with Greece.

In a population swap, Turkish Cypriots fled to the north and Greek Cypriots fled to the south.

Bolayir now lives in the northern half of Nicosia, Europe's last divided capital.

Decades later, she is one of around 10 Cypriots -- Turkish and Greek -- attending the workshop to overcome painful memories of the conflict that split the island in two.

Brightly coloured paint pots and black-and-white images of war from renowned photojournalists dot a table top.

Participants have each chosen a picture and are busy coating it with colour as a way of processing their individual and collective memories of traumatising events.

'We have to talk'

Bolayir has picked a photograph taken by Nick Ut in 1974 of a South Vietnamese soldier sitting knees pulled up to his chest and head buried in his arms.

She has drawn a large sun behind the fighter and written a line inspired by Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet: "The sun will rise for us one day."

"I hope that one day, the sun will also rise for the Cypriots," she says, alluding to stalled peace talks for the island's reunification.

Her daughter Asli, who is an artist and therapist, says she set up the workshop to transform pain into hope.

"When you see a war picture, automatically you feel the violence," she says. We "transform it into something else".

"That's the purpose of the workshop: to change our point of view, our feelings."

Cypriots on both sides have suffered greatly and witnessed devastating violence, says Asli.

"We have to talk about it," she says, as the fragile peace talks enter their third year.

The workshop is one of several projects to encourage dialogue between Turkish and Greek Cypriots as Paphos is European Capital of Culture this year.

'Time to give back'

At another gallery, the sculptures of both a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot are exhibited side by side.

Most are by Greek Cypriot artist Andy Hadjiadamos, including an African-inspired elongated wooden man's bust.

In 1974, Hadjiadamos was forced to abandon his studio in the city of Famagusta in what is now the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

A Turkish Cypriot ended up saving the works he left behind.

Sculptor Baki Bogac says he instantly recognised the value of Hadjiadamos' works when he discovered them by chance two years after the Turkish invasion.

Bogac was part of a team surveying abandoned buildings in Famagusta, accompanied by Turkish troops.

He persuaded the soldiers to let him take a few works at a time and managed to gather a collection of paintings, drawings, photographs and a sculpture.

Years after looking after the works, Bogac searched for the artist to give him back his works but Hadjiadamos had died in 1990. Instead he met his family and handed over the treasure trove.

"I was really happy," says Bogac, now 66, at the recent opening of an exhibition of both their works.

"I came here as a real Cypriot, to show that you shouldn't take what doesn't belong to you," he said. "It's time to learn to give what we took -- more than we needed -- in this island."

"We can create something new, more pure, without keeping everything for ourselves," he told a crowd including Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, his voice shaky with emotion.

Prodromos Andreou, a Greek Cypriot literature student, stood nearby inspecting Bogac's sculptures.

"It's very important that events like (these) happen in Cyprus to connect people and bring them closer," said the 27-year-old, a bag slung over his shoulder and trainers on his feet.
The tear gas was fired as dozens of young people threw stones at the riot police in the alleys of Sidi Abed neighbourhood, where demonstrations have been held for days without any violence.

The northern port city of Al-Hoceima, in the neglected Rif region, has been rocked by social unrest since the death in October of a fishmonger.

Mouhcine Fikri, 31, was crushed in a rubbish truck as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season and his death has sparked fury and triggered nationwide protests.

The demonstrations have snowballed, giving way to a wider protest movement demanding more development and railing against corruption, repression and unemployment.

In Sidi Abed on Thursday, groups of young people gathered again for a surprise demonstration in the alleys of the neighbourhood.

Police responded by forcefully pushing them back to a square where several of them began throwing stones, an AFP correspondent reported.

At least two people were injured: a policeman hit in the jaw by a stone and a demonstrator who had been struck with truncheons.

Two hours after it started the violence subsided.

"A group of teenagers and minors wanted to occupy the streets, the police intervened and now everything is back to normal," a local official told AFP.

Demonstrators have rallied in Al-Hoceima for more than a week after the arrest on May 29 of protest leader Nasser Zefzafi following three days on the run.

Security forces have carried out 87 arrests in the past 10 days, official figures show, including Zefzafi, who is the head of the Al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or "Popular Movement".

The Rif has long had a tense relationship with the central authorities in Rabat, and it was at the heart of the Arab Spring-inspired protests in Morocco in February 2011.
Jeffery Woodke was no stranger here. "We are furious and shocked by this kidnapping," said Ibrahim Adamou, a 16-year-old student, as he and neighbours of Woodke recalled the evening of October 14 when the American was seized at gunpoint from his home.

"Like every night, he was drinking tea" in the courtyard of his house, along with his guards, when "two armed men in turbans" stormed in and grabbed him, killing his bodyguard and a member of the national guard.

Woodke, reportedly in his 50s, "struggled" to break free from his captors.

"We cried and shouted for help but the gunmen just threw him into their vehicle," said Aicha, one of the neighbours.

A local official said they drove off "with no headlights on" taking the road that leads to Mali, where investigators have since tracked the kidnappers and believe Woodke is being held by the Al-Qaeda linked group, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao).

A shopkeeper Mohamed said when he thought of Woodke, "I hear his laughter in my head".

The American had become one of them after running the aid group JEMET there since 1992, helping the local Tuareg community. He speaks their language Tamasheq fluently as well as Fula and Arabic.

Jeff, as they call him, could be seen around town in a turban, leather sandals and a big boubou -- a flowing African tunic.

"He was with us through all the hardest times", said Abalak's mayor Ahmed Dilou -- the times of a food crisis, the droughts, the floods.

The Friday night of Jeff's abduction "was such a devastating shock that the whole city cried", he said.

Jeff 'wasn't afraid'

But apparently Woodke was not concerned about living in this unstable Tahoua region of Niger, close to the borders of Mali and Algeria. Western embassies have issued strong warnings to their nationals against venturing there.

A Nigerien official said he had "tried everything" to convince the American to leave the area but "he refused, insisting that he was not afraid".

Investigators have sealed off Woodke's house. In the courtyard shaded by thorn trees, some bricks can be seen piled up next to sacks of cement.

"He was rebuilding a wall that had collapsed after some heavy rains," explained Aicha.

Still, despite Woodke's popularity with the townspeople, a regional lawmaker said he believed the kidnappers "were helped by some locals".

According to Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum, who visited Abalak, around 350 kilometres northeast of the capital Niamey, the kidnappers "went straight to his home, guided by a motorcyclist".

Last Sunday Bazoum said that Woodke -- the first American abducted in the west African country -- "was probably kidnapped by the Mujao or handed over to the Mujao".

"We have had no contact with the Mujao, which is a terrorist organisation," he added.

Niger's long, porous borders make it occasionally vulnerable to the armed violence in neighbouring countries.

No matter who is responsible, in Abalak, the mayor -- speaking for the distressed people of his city -- is categorical in his condemnation.
Information about the exact circumstances of Hungarian Krisztian Gyongyi's death on Wednesday morning in Akagera National Park is "still being gathered", said Peter Fearnhead, the chief executive of Africa Parks.

"(This is) a huge loss for all who knew Kris and for rhino conservation across the continent," said Fearnhead, who sent condolences to Gyongyi's family.

Gyongyi, a married father of one, had been helping reintroduce the black rhino into Akagera National Park while also working on a PhD on the conservation of the animals in Liwonde National Park in Malawi since 2012, the park said.

Black rhinos disappeared from Rwanda in 2007 due to poaching but were reintroduced into the country in May after 20 animals were sent from South Africa to Akagera National Park.

"This is a tremendous loss for all of us, especially for rhino conservation efforts in Africa" said Fearnhead, paying tribute to Gyongyi.
Giving a warm welcome to California Governor Jerry Brown, an opposition Democrat and self-described "envoy for humanity", while cold shouldering US Energy Secretary Rick Perry signalled Beijing was happy to bypass Washington to make that happen.

"I think the message is that irrespective of the decision of Donald Trump, China is willing to work with individual states and cities in the United States," said Willy Lam, an expert on politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

'Losing ground'

Brown and Perry arrived in Beijing for a ministerial-level clean energy meeting just days after Trump's shock announcement.

While Perry maintained a relatively low profile during his visit, Brown, who had described Trump's move as "insane", went on a public relations offensive as he sought to fill the vacuum left by the US leader in the climate change fight.

"We are losing ground. We are not moving at the pace needed to prevent catastrophe," Brown warned Thursday on the sidelines of the gathering.

Brown used several public appearances in Beijing to drum up Chinese support for California's aggressive efforts to curb climate-warming carbon emissions -- including face-to-face talks with Xi in the Great Hall of the People, a venue normally reserved for meetings with visiting heads of state.

His efforts yielded results.

By the end of a week-long tour Brown said he had secured several preliminary agreements relating to clean energy and the establishment of a China-California climate institute at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

China is a "major economic engine that is investing in the low-carbon economy and California is doing things that are similar, on a smaller level of course," Brown told AFP.

Chinese officials have made it clear they want to work with the American state -- and beyond.

California has "a lot of experience that is beneficial to the rest of us", Xie Zhenhua, China's top climate negotiator, told a forum attended by Brown on Thursday.

"We will not only continue to strengthen cooperation with California, but also strengthen concrete cooperation with other US states, cities, enterprises and scientific research institutions in fields including clean energy."

Perry snubbed?

Trump's backsliding on the Paris deal is viewed as handing China the mantle in the battle against global warming -- an opportunity Beijing welcomes as it seeks to become a world leader on everything from globalisation to the environment.

But it also fits with China's domestic political agenda of being seen to do more to clean up its polluted air and rivers and find new ways of spurring economic growth.

Perry called for Sino-US cooperation on clean energy, noting America was still keen to work with China despite Trump's decision to exit the global climate agreement.

"We have extraordinary opportunities to be partners to work on clean energy issues," said Perry, who was granted a meeting with China's number seven, Zhang Gaoli, in the central leadership compound.

Perry told reporters Friday he had received a "good" reception from Chinese leaders and no one had told him "America needs to get back into the Paris Accord".

"Now, did they think it? I don't know," Perry said.

But he added: "America is not stepping back from its role as a leader in clean energy, emission reduction -- both of those are successes of the trip."

While Perry's meeting with Zhang could be interpreted as a diplomatic snub to the US official, analysts said it may also mean that China has not given up on Washington.
Dressed casually in a skirt, sweater and trainers, the 31-year-old plays the Macron card, telling voters to back what she terms his "reasonably revolutionary" agenda.

"Our programme is rational and balanced. We're not playing Father Christmas," promising gifts to everyone, she told AFP.

'Hope in the air'

Behind Macron's stunning rise to president was a citizens' army of business people, activists, lawyers, teachers and others who campaigned tirelessly for him in towns and villages across the country.

Avia was the chief campaigner of his Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party in the southeastern Paris suburbs and one of his first 14 picks of parliamentary candidates.

With only five weeks between the presidential vote and Sunday's first round of voting for the 577-seat National Assembly, she has had little time to convince voters of her own merits.

But the Macron brand is powerful.

Jacques Mobilion, a 68-year-old pensioner who was shopping at the market, said he felt "a little bit of hope in the air" since France's youngest ever president took office on a promise of an "extraordinary renaissance".

"We have to give him a majority," the former aerospace worker said.

Two months ago Macron's rivals for president had used the parliamentary vote as a stick to beat him, warning he could never win a majority with a slate of newcomers.

But his strong debut has fuelled the desire of many to rout the old guard.

Polls now show his merry band of neophytes -- who include a retired female bullfighter and a fighter pilot -- storming the parliament, tossing aside many career politicians associated with decades of stasis.

In Paris, Avia aims to unseat a Socialist who has represented the 12th and 20th districts for the past decade.

"I'm not looking left or right. I'm looking straight ahead," she declared, revealing a politician's knack for a soundbite.

Enthusiasm vs experience

Around 370 kilometres (230 miles) south of Paris in the rural Creuse region, a round-faced dairy farmer is also making his debut in the sometimes mud-slinging world of politics.

Jean-Baptiste Moreau had never been a member of a political party, much less run for office before Macron burst onto the scene, promising to consign France's entrenched left-right divide to the history books.

"I never wanted to get behind a politician or party before because I found it ridiculous to just oppose other parties without first examining their proposals," said 40-year-old Moreau, whose main adversary is also a Socialist -- one who has held the Creuse for 20 years.

Apart from Macron's pledge to bring moderates of all stripes under his sprawling tent, Moreau was also won over by the former economy minister's bottom-up approach to policy-making.

"They (REM) listened to people and fed their expectations back up the chain instead of 20 people getting together in Paris to hatch a programme," he said.

Attacks jolt

The collapse of the Socialist Party and infighting in the right-wing Republicans party and far-right National Front have cleared a path for Macron to complete his centrist revolution.

But in some bastions of the right his proteges face a tough fight.

"Mine is not an easy constituency," says Claire Tassadit Houd, a high-powered human resources manager trying to oust a Republicans lawmaker in her hometown of Dreux, an hour west of Paris.

The elegant 52-year-old joined Macron after losing her sister in the November 2015 jihadist attacks in Paris.

"The time had come to join in the public debate about how to end this kind of terrorism," said Tassadit Houd, whose parents immigrated from Algeria in the 1960s.

In Macron she sees a new kind of politician, "who does not reduce people to their origins, religion or supposed social caste".

"I see it every day. People are glad to have him as president," she said proudly.

Analysts warn that an army of newly-minted Macron MPs, who owe him their seat, could make for a very submissive parliament.

"The newcomers will owe him not only their victory but their very political existence,"Jerome Sainte-Marie, a political analyst and pollster, told AFP.

Tassadit Houd, Avia and Moreau do little to hide their devotion to their leader.
On Friday, the Saudis and their allies placed several Qataris and Doha-based organisations on a "terror list" as the bitter diplomatic row escalated.

They released a joint statement listing as many as 18 individuals, including members of Qatar's royal family and a former minister as involved in "terrorist" activities.

While maintaining good relations with the Gulf states, Turkey has vowed to continue to back its close ties with Qatar, which Erdogan again defended on Friday.

"They declare foundations established to provide different services as terror organisations. Something like this should not happen. I know those foundations. Until today I have not witnessed Qatar give support to terror," Erdogan said in Istanbul.

In addition to cutting ties, Saudi Arabia has also sealed off Qatar's only land border, a crucial lifeline for food imports.

The Turkish leader called for the "blockade" against Doha to be "completely lifted", urging Saudi Arabia to show leadership and encourage good relations in the region.

"I have a request to the Saudi administration: you are the biggest in the Gulf, the strongest... not with hostilities, you should be the leader of fraternity there, you should bring everyone together," Erdogan said.

He also ratified a bill approved by Turkish lawmakers on Wednesday to deploy troops to a Turkish base in Qatar in a move seen as Ankara's show of support for Doha.

Erdogan defended the action, asking "our friends" in the Gulf: "Why does the American base not discomfort you? There are other countries' bases too, why doesn't it discomfort you?"

He was referring to the enormous Al-Udeid airbase, the United States' biggest in the Middle East which is home to some 10,000 US troops.

It is a crucial hub for US military operations in the Middle East, especially the battle against the Islamic State group.

Erdogan said Turkey would continue to help Qatar such as exporting food and medicine to them.
ROCK RIVER  Ready for one more night of rest before finishing their trip, three kayakers paddled down the Rock River and glided into Lundeen's Landing, 21119 Barstow Road, East Moline, late Thursday afternoon.

The group, made up of Beloit, Wis., natives Gary Meier, Perry Folts and Terry Meyers, began their kayaking and camping trek down the southern half of the Rock River on Saturday and will finish where the Rock meets the Mississippi River on Friday.

The goal is to finish at Sunset Marina, 10 31st Ave., Rock Island, about 3 p.m., but that all depends on the Mississippi, according to Mr. Folts. Recent flooding on the Mississippi may push their trip to a slightly early end at Ted's Boatarama, 102 31st Ave., Rock Island.

No matter the end point, the group agreed that the trip has been a great bonding experience.

"The camaraderie on the water and in evenings and morning  our times talking about the day and reflection and telling jokes  it's just been a wonderful time." Mr. Meyers said.

He said he's enjoyed the adventure of the trip as well, which was increased because they didn't map out the whole trip with total precision.

"It's just the adventure of all of it  the unknown makes it exciting," Mr. Meyers said.

The almost weeklong trip the kayakers are taking down the Rock River is part of their preparation for a much longer trek they're hoping to make in the future.

"The plan is at retirement to do a longer trip, starting in Beloit on the Turtle Creek, then to the Rock River, down the Mississippi and then all the way to New Orleans," Mr. Folts said.

He said Mr. Meier recommended doing a shorter version of the trip to get a feel for things. Mr. Folts also said his sister-in-law, Therese Oldenburg, is involved with the Rock River Trail, and so timing the trip with the trail's grand opening worked perfectly.

As they enjoy the trail, the group is getting ideas on how to refine their methods and plans for their trip down to New Orleans.

"I think we still need to do a little more research," Mr. Meier said. "We've each read about three books about it and have to really think about what else we might need or what we have that we don't need."

With this week's journey almost over, the three men joked about continuing on down the Mississippi River so the trip doesn't have to end.

"It's going to be kind of sad when it ends," Mr. Folts said. "What if we just kept going?"

Over the course of the trip, the three have created plenty of memories with each other and people they've met along the way.

Mr. Meier recalled a time early in their trek when they were just north of Byron. He said a woman was standing in her yard, and they asked if she knew of a convenience store nearby where they could get ice. She said she didn't but told them where the next boat ramp was for them to stop.

"Maybe 15 or 20 minutes later, we arrived at the boat ramp, and she's standing there waving and remembered that she had extra ice in her freezer, and she brought it down for us," Mr. Meier said.

Hospitality was a theme for the group, who also met a couple who let them camp out in their backyard one night and received what Mr. Folts called "enough firewood to last a week" from some people they met at a campground.

They agreed the hardest part of the trip was the portages. A particularly bad one had the kayakers wheeling their vessels more than a mile around Sterling and Rock Falls, according to Mr. Folts.

"We had a three-kayak parade along First Avenue," Mr. Meier said.

Dragging their kayaks on long hikes aside, Mr. Meier said the trip has been like a vacation.

Mr. Meyers encouraged others to try out the trail as well, even if they aren't able to make such a long trek as the three of them did.

"I think that's more important, too  just getting people out for the day trips because that's going to be your bigger population," Mr. Meyers said. "If you get those people out there, that's what's going to help the route to grow and help facilities to be available to accommodate them."

Kayaking isn't the only way people can enjoy the newly completed 320-mile Rock River Trail. According to the website, there are trails available to drive, bike, hike, fly and horseback ride along the river. People also can take the history, chocolate or art routes to fit their interests and taste buds.

"Trails are a very popular amenity right now," said Joe Taylor, president and CEO of the Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau.

He said in the past few years people have been more interested in seeking places with amenities for outdoor activities, such as the Rock River Trail, to live, work, play and visit.

"The more trails we have, the more attention we can draw to these communities," Mr. Taylor said.

The completion of the trail is one step in increasing ecotourism along the Rock River. Mr. Taylor said the Quad-Cities and other communities have also started to host more events along the river in recent years to boost ecotourism.

For more information about the Rock River Trail, visit rockrivertrail.com.
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!
Ugandas finance, planning and economic development minister Mr Matia Kasaija told the parliament on June 8 when he presented the countrys $US 8bn 2017-18 national budget that the management of the Uganda railway will revert to the Uganda Railways Corporation.

The ministers statement comes after RVR CEO Mr Isaiah Okoth told IRJ in an interview that the consortium is pushing Kenya Railways Corporation to allow it to take back control of infrastructure. RVR is also seeking for a strategic investor to pump in funds after years of poor performance.

However, Kasaija has not given details of the termination, when the process is likely to begin, and what it would involve.

Meanwhile, the minister said Uganda would this year complete acquisition of 84% of the alignment of the $US 2.3bn Malaba - Kampala standard-gauge line. The 273km electrified line will be built by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC).

CHEC is currently carrying out a bankable feasibility study for the line, which is expected to open in 2020.

The government is also seeking $US 3.58bn in loans from China to finance construction of the Malaba - Kisumu - Naivasha standard-gauge line.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares what happens to you. 1 Peter 5:7

The Rev. Rick Warren is a smart guy.

And, recently, I listened to one of his sermons on the www.saddleback.com website.

The sermon, which is part of the Living in the Goodness of God series, was about worry.

In this sermon, Rick talks about making a list of worries.

Now, Ive heard we should write down all of our blessings and read the list whenever we feel sad.

Its a great reminder of how God helps us.

But Id never heard of writing down a list of worries.

Are we worried we may be rejected, lonely or not have enough of what we need?

Then we should give those worries to God instead of keeping them.

When you swallow your worries, your stomach keeps score, Rick says. When you are worried, it doesnt work to try to deny it or ignore it.

Rick compares trying to suppress or repress worries to violently shaking up a can of Coke, then putting it in the freezer. The can will expand, explode and come out sideways.

It (worry) will come out sideways in your life in a broken relationship, in an explosion at work, Rick says.

Instead, we must express and confess our worries to God and hand that list to him.

Ricks suggestions remind me of an Old Testament Bible story about a king who literally spread out his worries before the Lord.

We can find the account in 2 Kings, chapter 18.

At this point, good King Hezekiah is in charge of Judah.

Sennacherib is the king of Assyria. Hes a powerful ruler who has captured fortified cities in Judah and carried off thousands of captives.

Now, Sennacherib plans to invade Jerusalem.

Assyrian generals engage in some fierce psychological warfare, boastfully contending that the people of Judah shouldnt believe Hezekiah, who says the Lord will deliver them.

After all, the Assyrians say, theyve conquered many nations. And when did the gods of those places ever deliver them from the king of Assyria?

King Hezekiah is distraught when he hears this news and goes to the house of the Lord. He also sends servants to a prophet of God named Isaiah, asking for prayer.

Isaiah sends the servants back with a message from God.

The Lord tells King Hezekiah not to be afraid of what the Assyrians, whove reviled God, are saying.

God says Sennacherib will hear a rumor and return to his own country where he will be killed.

That should reassure Hezekiah, right?

But in the meantime, Sennacherib makes more threats  this time in a terrible letter to King Hezekiah.

Sennacherib basically tells Hezekiah not to trust God or let the Lord deceive him. Sennacherib is convinced he will conquer Jerusalem.

OK, I know a few thousand years have passed since Sennacherib sent that poison pen letter, but I dont like it.

How dare he write that about God?

But King Hezekiah knows what to do.

He takes the letter to the house of God and spreads it out before the Lord.

And Hezekiah prays and praises God who made the heavens and earth.

King Hezekiah says he knows the gods of the other nations were only idols that men made from wood and stone.

Then the king asks God to save Judah from the Assyrians.

Isaiah then sends another message, telling King Hezekiah that God heard his prayer.

And in chapter 19, verses 21-34, we can read the Lords response.

God tells how Sennacherib  through his messengers  has mocked him. God knows where Sennacherib lives and has heard the kings raging.

The Lord says Sennacherib wont come into Jerusalem. God will defend and save the city.

That night, an angel of the Lord kills 185,000 Assyrian men in Sennacheribs army. Sennacherib goes home to Nineveh and is worshipping in the house of a false god when hes killed by two of his own sons.

Its a miraculous rescue for King Hezekiah and the people of Judah.

One of my favorite parts about this account is how King Hezekiah spreads out that letter before the Lord.

Hezekiah knew the importance of taking his worries to the only one who could really help him.

Thats a lesson for us.

Nobody knows about our situations more than our merciful and understanding God.

He sees the future and is always with us.

Recently, I wrote out a list of my worries.

I prayed, recounting how God created the heavens and the earth, parted the Red Sea, raised the dead, healed the sick, brought water out of a rock and fed manna to the Israelites for 40 years in the desert.

Then I gave my list over to God, thanking him for his mercy, power and grace. I thanked him, in advance, for what he will do and how he protects us.

Please show me that I had nothing to worry about and help me to keep trusting you each day, I prayed. Please bring me hope and encouragement and little reminders of how youre always with me.

Now, I know its up to me to keep going  one day at a time, one foot in front of the other.

And Im reminded of Psalm 121:3 in the Bible which reads: He will not let your foot slip  he who watches over you will not slumber.

Im also reminded of something Jesus told his listeners centuries ago. We find these words in Matthew 6:31-34:

So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Ive heard it said that worry is the interest you pay on the trouble you borrow, trouble you may never have.

Im tired of paying that interest.

At the same time, I wonder what Hezekiah ever did with that awful letter.

Did he keep it as a reminder of how God helps us?

I might have burned it, knowing that, in the end, its God  our mighty creator and protector  who has the last word.
The 23 associations want the next FP9 to be an ambitious framework programme built on the achievements of Horizon 2020, and have therefore set out four objectives:

 increasing significantly the overall EU budget for research and innovation in FP9

 focusing on a well-balanced three-pillar structure, while allocating an equivalent share of the budget to each pillar

 strengthening EU industrial leadership to guarantee sustainable application and implementation of European research, and

 continuing financial incentives in the form of grants for all players in the value chain, including small and large companies.

The associations say that despite scaling up spending on R&D in Europe to reach a target of allocating 3% of the EUs GDP to R&D, the EU is still only spending 2% of GDP on R&D and lags behind Japan, which spends 3.6% and the United States which allocates 2.7%, while China is catching up rapidly.

The associations also point out that the business sector is the greatest contributor to EU R&D expenditure accounting for 65% of all R&D spending. It is extremely important to significantly increase public spending both at EU and national levels and support the global competitiveness of European industries, the associations say in a joint statement. In this context, European R&I Framework Programmes play a crucial role.

The participation of both Industry and Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) in EU R&I Framework Programmes is essential to turn ideas into impact-driven and value-creating technologies, applications, and solutions, say the 23 associations which want Industry and RTOs to be strengthened to speed up efforts in overcoming the valley of death as well as the gap between the demonstration and commercialisation phases.

The associations say that using instruments such as contractual public-private partnerships and joint technology initiatives would help to leverage private sector participation as they foster cooperation between the public and private sectors by pooling their capabilities and creating critical mass for breakthroughs in innovations. They would also leverage funds for large-scale projects.
Trainyard Tech, LLC has signed a contract with BNSF Railway to install its Routemaster NX process control system at Cherokee yard in Tulsa, Okla.

This entrance/exit route control system will be the first to utilize Trainyard Techs new Universal Device I/O Interface Box (UDI Box), the company said. The UDI Box offers exceptional flexibility, leveraging a Data Radio and Antenna to provide I/O point data for any field device. In Cherokee Yard specifically, Trainyard Techs Routemaster system will interface via these new UDI Boxes to switches, derailers, and blue flags, eliminating the need for direct cabling. This will cut costs and improve lightning resistance throughout the yard.

The Routemaster System includes a custom graphical user interface, displaying the real-time status of all yard devices. Multiple user workstations located throughout the terminal provide consistent, accurate data points and/or direct control to all operators and supervisors, Trainyard Tech noted. For safety and efficiency, two hosts operating in hot-standby ensure constant up-time and redundancy. System event logs store all I/O and process control events for up to two years, and Trainyard Tech offers an optional workstation playback system.

Trainyard Tech said it is currently in the final stages of installation and testing of the newest Classmaster system at CSX Queensgate Yard in Cincinnati, Ohio. This latest system utilizes bi-directional wheel detectors at all switch points and retarder entrance/exit points. The bi-directional wheel detectors allow the system to determine direction and velocity of a rolling car, giving the system more precise presence detection than is possible with track circuits. The increased speed and acceleration measurements also lead to improved control performance through better handling/detection of rolling anomalies such as brakes-on or other issues. This system will integrate seamlessly with Trainyard Techs Routemaster system, already in service at Queensgate.
Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ed Hamberger and Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono discussed a wide range of issues affecting the railroad industry at the third annual Rail Insights conference, held June 7-8 in Chicago. Contributing Editor Jim Blaze offers the following takeaways and observations:

 Intermodal continues to be a possible growth sector for rail freight in North America. Recent weekly 2017 traffic increases for intermodal have seen near- to double-digit increases relative to the same week in 2016. However, 2016 intermodal traffic was a near-decade-low period. Translation? Projecting significant intermodal, as well as overall, freight rail growth remains difficult.

 Is coal coming back? A survey of AAR-member railroad management clearly shows that recently closed coal-fired power plants are not coming back on line. And no new coal-fired power stations are being built. Thats important evidence as to coals future.

 As to the Trump Administrations position on trade (i.e. dismantling NAFTA, imposing tariffs, etc.), a study conducted by AAR Senior Vice President John Grays team showed that between one-third and maybe as much as 43% of U.S. rail freight is directly related to foreign trade. Much of this is Canadian and Mexican trade. The largest commodity is grain exports to Mexico. At present there is a great deal of uncertainty regarding Presidential messages about trade.

 The Federal Railroad Administration is still without an Administrator (Patrick T. Warren is the Executive Director of FRA and is serving as the Acting Administrator), and it doesnt look like there will be an appointment before August. Meanwhile, the FRA is without an official mandate from the Trump Administration.

 Do autonomous trucks pose a threat to railroads? Right now the rail industry is taking a wait-and-see attitude toward development of this technology. The AAR is taking an open stance toward freight industry innovation. The rail industry is going to have to figure out what to do as the competitionand indeed some of rail industry customersinnovate. Right now there is no rail industry attempt to block innovation, at least not within the AAR.

 Rail industry management has a divided opinion as to one-man crews and operational efficiency. CP President and CEO Keith Creels view that he isnt a big fan of one-person main line freight train crews on the CP clearly showsthis. Creel, who opened the conference, said that his concerns with one-person crews are not necessarily safety-related. Rather, they have to do with operations and en-route incidents. CP operates very long consists, as much as 10,000 feetclose to two miles. If there is a mechanical failure en-route (air hose separation, broken coupler knuckle, etc.), how can one person be expected to deal with thatfor example, walking back thousands of feet to locate and address problem?

 The AAR is of the opinion that a combination of engineering high kip forces and out-of-standard track geometry tolerances together clearly are predictive of derailments and accidents. The use of big-data-set analytics clearly are going to enable rail management to better make future repair/replace maintenance decisions. Thats a clear improvement.

 The AAR has no formal position on the independently proposed new Chicago bypass freight railroad, the Great Lakes Basin Railway. A pending STB initial review of the application to begin construction is currently awaiting further information and clarification.
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Attacks may seem remote from Sofia but we are ready

Terrorist bombings in Madrid, Istanbul and Moscow. Terrorist plots discovered in London. Airliners sabotaged. Bloody hostage incidents in Russia. Kidnappings in Iraq. From Baghdad to Beslan, daily headlines make it clear that we confront a new array of threats. Many governments are ill-prepared.

Today's terrorists kill in quantity and kill indiscriminately  there are no bystanders. They continue to be fascinated with unconventional weapons  anthrax, ricin, and radiological material. They are redefining national security.

From Sofia, these must seem like distant dark clouds. Due to the country's religious tolerance and lack of ethnic tensions, Bulgaria has escaped the armed conflicts of its neighbors, but no country can claim immunity. Bulgaria's membership in NATO and its participation in Iraq expose it to new dangers, as demonstrated by the tragic kidnappings and murder of Bulgarian nationals in Iraq.

Preparedness requires improving intelligence, increasing security and developing effective response capabilities.

Intelligence

Instead of the large hierarchical organizations that were the targets of intelligence during the Cold War, or the mythical centrally directed conspiracies of James Bond novels, today's enemies are dynamic, unpredictable, diverse, fluid, networked and constantly evolving. They are global and local at the same time. They do not fit our current organizations.

Although there have been intelligence successes, spectacular intelligence failures are currently under review in America, the United Kingdom and Russia  the three largest intelligence services in the world. Even Israel's fabled intelligence apparatus cannot halt the campaign of suicide bombings directed against that country.

Security

The threat of terrorism obliges us to devote more resources to physical security. But terrorists can attack anything, anywhere, any time while we lack the resources to protect everything, everywhere and all the time. There will always be vulnerabilities.

In Russia, terrorists have attacked trains, subways, apartment buildings, a theater, a rock concert, and a school. Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists have attacked residences, restaurants, hotels, banks, churches, synagogues, nightclubs, and tourist sites. All public places are difficult to defend.

Physical security measures cost the most and their effectiveness is hard to measure.

Physical security measures cost the most and their effectiveness is hard to measure. How do we know how much security is enough when our only criterion is the absence of an attack? And security measures can disrupt the economy. Our goal cannot be to create a neo-Medieval security state that stifles the movement of people, goods, and ideas. We cannot banish all risk.

Effective Response

Despite intelligence efforts and security, attacks may still occur  anywhere, which is why governments must have in place effective response measures. These comprise many things: specialized units to deal with hostage situations, preventing the kind of chaotic massacre witnessed in Beslan; technical teams; emergency medical personnel; plans to deal with rescue, evacuation, decontamination, or quarantine.

Above all, it means having in place a crisis management structure and procedures. At stake in all terrorist crises is the perception of government competence. To respond well reduces public alarm and panicky demands for extreme measures that may imperil democracy. A poor response increases public alarm and erodes confidence in government.

Community Involvement

Frightening the public with warnings but no specific instructions only increases anxiety.

Terrorism is violence aimed at the people watching. Combating terrorism means not only trying to prevent terrorist attacks, but also reducing the terror these create. That can be achieved by actively involving the public. People cannot be permitted to be passive observers or vicarious victims of terror. Frightening the public with warnings but no specific instructions only increases anxiety.

People can be instructed about how they are targets of terror's psychological effects. They can be informed of the actual as opposed to imagined risks. The public can be enlisted in surveillance. Authorities in the United Kingdom, which suffered 25 years of IRA terrorism, are confident they will be quickly informed of suspicious objects or activities. Children and adults can be educated about ordinary measures to take in case of man-made or natural disasters.

In some Scandinavian countries, every adult member of the community is assigned a role in civil defense. Even if never called upon, having a useful role reduces anxiety.

The ultimate protection against terrorism depends not on the thickness of concrete barriers or the severity of the penal code. It depends on the individual and collective courage of the entire population. We may have to live with terrorism, but we do not have to live in terror.

A decorated combat veteran of the U.S. Army's elite Special Forces, Brian Jenkins is often described as the dean of America's research on terrorism. He has served as an advisor to the U.S. Department of State and Defense and other government agencies. In 1996, President Clinton appointed Jenkins as a member of the White House Commission on Aviation Security. Jenkins currently serves as Senior Advisor to the President of the RAND Corporation, America's premier think tank, as Special Adviser to the International Chamber of Commerce and as Director of the Minetal Institute's National Transportation Security Center. In April, the U.S. Secretary of the Army appointed Jenkins to serve with the Army Sciences Board.

This commentary originally appeared in 24 Chasa on September 24, 2004. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Case over assassination attempt on Chechen leader Kadyrov forwarded to court

MOSCOW, June 9 (RAPSI)  A criminal case over assassination attempt on Ramzan Kadyrov, the President of Russias Chechen Republic, has been submitted to the Gudermes City Court, RIA Novosti reported Friday.

The court is currently studying the case to decide upon whether to consider it or not, the agency quoted a representative of the republics Supreme Court as having said.

According to media reports, three residents of the Chechen Republic will stand trial in the case. Aziz Alviyev, former bodyguard of an alleged mastermind of the attempted assassination, Beslan Zakarayev, ex-member of the "Vostok" battalion, and his neighbor Shamkhan Magomadov have pleaded guilty.

They have also testified against ex-officer of the "Vostok" battalion Isa Yamadayev, who is considered to be an organizer of the assassination attempt. Yamadayev was put on the federal wanted list in March.
Iran's parliament and the shrine of its revolutionary father were the targets Wednesday of what appears to be the Islamic State militant group's first major attack on Iranian soil. In an operation that seemed to require a level of coordination not often typical of ISIS attacks in the West, gunmen and suicide bombers penetrated deep inside Iranian territory and attacked two symbols of Iranian political identity, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens.
This article first appeared in TomDispatch.

Jump into your time machine and let me transport you back to another age.

Its May 2001 and the Atlantic Monthly has just arrived in the mail. Im tantalized by the cover article. Russia is finished, the magazine announces. The subtitle minces no words: The unstoppable descent into social catastrophe and strategic irrelevance. Could it be that the country I had worried most about as a military officer during all those grim years of the Cold War, the famed Evil Empire that had threatened us with annihilation, was truly kaput, even in its Russian rather than Soviet guise?

Sixteen years later, the articles message seems just a tad premature. Todays Russia surely has its problems -- from poverty to pollution to prostitution to a rickety petro-economy -- but on the geopolitical world stage it is finished no longer. Vladimir Putins Russia has recently been enjoying heightened influence, largely at the expense of a divided and disputatious superpower that now itself seems to be on an unstoppable descent.

Sixteen years after Russia was declared irrelevant, a catastrophe, finito, it is once again a colossus -- at least on the American political scene, if nowhere else. And that should disturb you far less than this: more than a generation after defeating the Soviet Union in the Cold War, the United States of 2017 seems to be doing its level best to emulate some of the worst aspects of its former foe and once rival superpower.

Yes, the U.S. has a Soviet problem, and Im not referring to the allegations of the moment in Washington: that the Trump campaign and Russian officials colluded, that money may have flowed into that campaign via Russian oligarchs tied to Putin, that the Russians hacked the U.S. election to aid Donald Trump, that those close to the president-elect dreamed of setting up a secret back channel to Moscow and suggested to the Russian ambassador that it be done through the Russian embassy, or even that Putin has a genuine hold of some sort on Donald Trump. All of this is, of course, generating attention galore, as well as outrage, in the mainstream media and among the chattering classes, leading some to talk of a new red scare in America. All of it is also being investigated, whether by congressional intelligence committees or by former FBI director -- now special counsel -- Robert Mueller.

When it comes to what Im talking about, though, you dont need a committee or a counsel or a back channel or a leaker from some intelligence agency to ferret it out. Whatever Trump campaign officials, Russian oligarchs, or Vladimir Putin himself did or didnt do, Americas Soviet problem is all around us: a creeping (and creepy) version of authoritarianism that anyone who lived through the Cold War years should recognize. It involves an erosion of democratic values; the ever-expanding powers exercised by a national security state operating as a shadow government and defined by militarism, surveillance, secrecy, prisons, and other structures of dominance and control; ever-widening gaps between the richest few and the impoverished many; and, of course, ever more weapons, along with ever more wars.

Thats a real red scare, America, and its right here in the homeland.

In February, if you remember -- and given the deluge of news, half news, rumor, and innuendo, who can remember anything these days? -- Donald Trump memorably compared the U.S. to Russia. When Bill OReilly called Vladimir Putin a killer in an interview with the new president, he responded that there was little difference between us and them, for -- as he put it -- we had our killers, too, and werent exactly innocents abroad when it came to world affairs. (There are a lot of killers. You think our country's so innocent?) The president has said a lot of outlandish things in his first months in office, but here he was on to something.

My Secret Briefing on the Soviet Union

When I was a young lieutenant in the Air Force, in 1986 if memory serves, I attended a secret briefing on the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan was president, and we had no clue that we were living through the waning years of the Cold War. Back then, believing that I should know my enemy, I was reading a lot about the Soviets in open sources; you know, books, magazines, and newspapers. The secret briefing I attended revealed little that was new to me. (Classified information is often overhyped.) I certainly heard no audacious predictions of a Soviet collapse in five years (though the Soviet Union would indeed implode in 1991). Like nearly everyone at the time, the briefers assumed the USSR would be our archenemy for decades to come and it went without saying that the Berlin Wall was a permanent fixture in a divided Europe, a forever symbol of ruthless Communist oppression.

Little did we know that, three years later, the Soviet military would stand aside as East Germans tore down that wall. And who then would have believed that a man might be elected president of the United States a generation later on the promise of building a big, fat, beautiful wall on our shared border with Mexico?

I wasnt allowed to take notes during that briefing, but I remember the impression I was left with: that the USSR was deeply authoritarian, a grim surveillance state with an economy dependent on global weapons sales; that it was intent on nuclear domination; that it was imperialist and expansionist; that it persecuted its critics and dissidents; and that it had serious internal problems carefully suppressed in the cause of world mastery, including rampant alcohol and drug abuse, bad health care and declining longevity (notably for men), a poisoned environment, and an extensive prison system featuring gulags. All of this was exacerbated by festering sores overseas, especially a costly and stalemated war in Afghanistan and client-states that absorbed its resources (think: Cuba) while offering little in return.

This list of Soviet problems, vintage 1986, should have a familiar ring to it, since it sounds uncannily like a description of whats wrong with the United States today.

In case you think thats an over-the-top statement, lets take that list from the briefing -- eight points in all -- one item at a time.

1. An authoritarian, surveillance state: The last time the U.S. Congress formally declared war was in 1941. Since then, American presidents have embarked on foreign wars and interventions ever more often with ever less oversight from Congress. Power continues to grow and coalesce in the executive branch, strengthening an imperial presidency enhanced by staggering technologies of surveillance, greatly expanded in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Indeed, America now has 17 intelligence agencieswith a combined yearly budget of $80 billion. Unsurprisingly, Americans are surveilled more than ever, allegedly for our safety even if such a system breeds meekness and stifles dissent.

2. An economy dependent on global weapons sales: The U.S. continues to dominate the global arms trade in a striking fashion. It was no mistake that a centerpiece of President Trumps recent trip was a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. On the same trip, he told the Emir of Qatar that he was in the Middle East to facilitate the purchase of lots of beautiful military equipment. Now more than ever, beautiful weaponry made in the U.S.A. is a significant driver of domestic economic growth as well as of the countrys foreign policy.

3. Bent on nuclear domination: Continuing the policies of President Obama, the Trump administration envisions a massive modernization of Americas nuclear arsenal, to the tune of at least a trillion dollars over the next generation. Much like an old-guard Soviet premier, Trump has boasted that America will always remain at the top of the pack when it comes to nuclear weapons.

4. Imperialist and expansionist: Historians speak of Americas informal empire, by which they mean the U.S. is less hands-on than past imperial powers like the Romans and the British. But theres nothing informal or hands-off about Americas 800 overseas military bases or the fact that its Special Operations forces are being deployed in 130 or more countries yearly. When the U.S. military speaks of global reach, global power, and full-spectrum dominance, this is traditional imperialism cloaked in banal catchphrases. Put differently, Soviet imperialism, which American leaders always professed to fear, never had a reach of this sort.

5. Persecutes critics and dissidents: Whether its been the use of the Patriot Act under George W. Bushs presidency, the persecution of whistleblowers using the World War I-era Espionage Act under the Obama administration, or the vilification of the media by the new Trump administration, the U.S. is far less tolerant of dissent today than it was prior to the Soviet collapse. As Homeland Security Secretary and retired four-star Marine General John Kelly recently put it, speaking of news stories about the Trump administration based on anonymous intelligence sources, such leaks are darn close to treason. Add to such an atmosphere Trumps attacks on the media as the enemy of the people and on critical news stories as fake and you have an environment ripe for the future suppression of dissent.

In the Soviet Union, political opponents were often threatened with jail or worse, and those threats were regularly enforced by men wearing military or secret police uniforms. In that context, lets not forget the Lock her up! chants led by retired Lt. General Michael Flynn at the Republican National Convention and aimed at Donald Trumps political opponent of that moment, Hillary Clinton.

6. Internal problems like drug abuse, inadequate health care, and a poisoned environment: Alcoholism is still rife in Russia and environmental damage widespread, but consider the U.S. today. An opioid crisis is killing more than 30,000 people a year. Lead poisoning in places like Flint, Michigan, and New Orleans is causing irreparable harm to the young. The disposal of wastewater from fracking operations is generating earthquakes in Ohio and Oklahoma. Even as environmental hazards proliferate, the Trump administration is gutting the Environmental Protection Agency. As health crises grow more serious, the Trump administration, abetted by a Republican-led Congress, is attempting to cut health-care coverage and benefits, as well as the funding that might protect Americans from deadly pathogens. Disturbingly, as with the Soviet Union in the era of its collapse, life expectancy among white men is declining, mainly due to drug abuse, suicide, and other despair-driven problems.

7. Extensive prison systems: As a percentage of its population, no country imprisons more of its own people than the United States. While more than two million of their fellow citizens languish in prisons, Americans continue to see their nation as a beacon of freedom, ignoring Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In addition, the country now has a president who believes in torture, who has called for the murder of terrorists families, and who wants to refill Guantanamo with prisoners. It also has an attorney general who wants to make prison terms for low-level drug offenders ever more draconian.

8. Stalemated wars: You have to hand it to the Soviets. They did at least exhibit a learning curve in their disastrous war in Afghanistan and so the Red Army finally left that country in 1989 after a decade of high casualties and frustration (even if its troops returned to a land on the verge of implosion). U.S. forces, on the other hand, have been in Afghanistan for 16 years, with the Taliban growing ever stronger, yet its militarys response has once again been to call for investing more money and sending in more troops to reverse the stalemate there. Meanwhile, after 14 years, Iraq War 3.0 festers, bringing devastation to places like Mosul, even as its destabilizing resultscontinue to manifest themselves in Syria and indeed throughout the greater Middle East. Despite or rather because of these disastrous results, U.S. leaders continue to over-deploy U.S. Special Operations forces, contributing to exhaustion and higher suicide rates in the ranks.

In light of these eight points, that lighthearted Beatles tune and relic of the Cold War, Back in the USSR, takes on a new, and far harsher, meaning.

What Is to Be Done?

Slowly, seemingly inexorably, the U.S. is becoming more like the former Soviet Union. Just to begin the list of similarities: too many resources are being devoted to the military and the national security state; too many over-decorated generals are being given too much authority in government; bleeding-ulcer wars continue unstanched in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere; infrastructure (roads, bridges, pipelines, dams, and so on) continues to crumble; restless republics grumble about separating from the union (Calexit!); rampant drug abuse and declining life expectancy are now American facts of life. Meanwhile, the latest U.S. president is, in temperament, authoritarian, even as government services take on an increasingly nepotistic flavor at the top.

I'm worried, comrade! Echoing the cry of the great Lenin, what is to be done? Given the list of symptoms, heres one obvious 10-step approach to the de-sovietization of America:

1. Decrease defense spending by 10% annually for the next five years. In the Soviet spirit, think of it as a five-year plan to restore our revolution (as in the American Revolution), which was, after all, directed against imperial policies exercised by a bigly king.

2. Cut the number of generals and admirals in the military by half, and get rid of all the meaningless ribbons, badges, and medals they wear. In other words, dont just cut down on the high command but on their tendency to look (and increasingly to act) like Soviet generals of old. And dont allow them to serve in high governmental positions until theyve been retired for at least 10 years.

3. Get our military out of Afghanistan, Iraq, and other war-torn countries in the Greater Middle East and Africa. Reduce that imperial footprint overseas by closing costly military bases.

4. Work to eliminate nuclear weapons globally by, as a first step, cutting the vast U.S. arsenal in half and forgetting about that trillion-dollar modernization program. Eliminate land-based ICBMs first; they are no longer needed for any meaningful deterrent purposes.

5. Take the money saved on modernizing nukes and invest it in updating Americas infrastructure.

6. Curtail state surveillance. Freedom needs privacy to flourish. As a nation, we need to remember that security is not the bedrock of democracy -- the U.S. Constitution is.

7. Work to curb drug abuse by cutting back on criminalization. Leave the war mentality behind, including the war on drugs, and focus instead on providing better treatment programs for addicts. Set a goal of cutting Americas prison population in half over the next decade.

8. Life expectancy will increase with better health care. Provide health care coverage for all using a single-payer system. Every American should have the same coverage as a member of Congress. People shouldnt be suffering and dying because they cant afford to see a doctor or pay for their prescriptions.

9. Nothing is more fundamental to national security than clean air and water. Its folly to risk poisoning the environment in the name of either economic productivity or building up the military. If you doubt this, ask citizens of Russia and the former Soviet Republics, who still struggle with the fallout from the poisonous environmental policies of Soviet days.

10. Congress needs to assert its constitutional authority over war and the budget, and begin to act like the check and balance its supposed to be when it comes to executive power.

There you have it. These 10 steps should go some way toward solving Americas real Russian problem -- the Soviet one. Wont you join me, comrade?
When Cuban dictator Fidel Castro died in November, the responses issued by then-President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump made for a study in contrasts. Where Obama struck a note of optimism, looking forward to the brighter future of a Fidel-free Cuba, Trump dwelt on the past, deploring the irretrievable decades of human suffering Castros regime had wrought.

Despite their differences, both messages had value. Trump rightly named and critiqued Castros legacy of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty, and the denial of fundamental human rights, while Obama pointed to one of the clearest foreign policy successes of his administration: the orchestration of a historic thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations in diplomacy, cultural exchange, and trade alike.

Its a success Trump didnt recognize then and remains inclined to undo now that he has replaced Obama in the Oval Office. As the New York Times reports, primary options under consideration include reversing the Obama-era relaxation of travel rules and prohibiting all trade between American businesses and Cuban companies with military ties. (That latter proposal is more complicated than it sounds, as the Cuban military, like those of many authoritarian governments, has its fangs sunk deep into the islands economy.)

Whatever the options on the table, any steps back toward the demonstrably failed policy of isolation would be a grave and unforced error. It will make advances toward Cuban freedom more difficult and re-entrench the grim authority of the regime in Havana.

This is not a partisan argument. True, Obama is responsible for warming U.S.-Cuba relations, but before his administration, maintaining isolation was the bipartisan default in Washington. And today, some leading congressional champions of rapprochement, notably Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), are members of Trumps own party.

They understand an isolated Cuba will not be a free Cuba.

As Paul wrote in 2014, those who seek to push Havana to respect individual rights and liberties should support engagement, diplomacy, and trade because once enslaved people taste freedom and see the products of capitalism they will become hungry for freedom themselves. Interaction, not isolation, is how the United States can peacefully nudge Cuba out of totalitarianism and into much-needed prosperity.

Flake, who like Paul is no tepid critic of the Castro government, argues along similar lines. It always bothered me that as a Republican we preach the gospel of contact and commerce and trade and travel, he said in an interview last year, yet with Cuba we turn around and say, No, its not going to work there. U.S. trade and travel bans help keep Cubas economy abysmal and its people ignorant, Flake explained, by providing the Castro regime a very convenient scapegoat for the failures of socialism.

Trump and his team have couched their consideration of reversing Obamas overtures in humanitarian terms, but if the president is sincere in his desire to foster freedom in Cuba, he must not return to the discredited isolationism of the past. Open diplomacy and free trade with the United States is Cubas chief hope for progress toward basic standards of human rights and quality of life -- and its Americas best hope for a friendly, prosperous trading partner near our borders.

The best way for the Trump administration to pursue its stated goal of a liberated Cuba is to get Washington out of the way and let the American people travel and trade with our Cuban neighbors at will. Engagement, not isolation, is how we water the Cuban seedling of liberty.
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Emily Maynard shared her love for her husband on their third wedding anniversary this week.

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The 31-year-old former "The Bachelorette" star marked the occasion by dedicating a sweet post to Tyler Johnson and their family Wednesday on Instagram.

"Happy anniversary to the person who has changed my life in all the best ways. Nothing makes me happier than knowing you are a part of God's plan for my life and I couldn't love you more @mtylerjohnson," she wrote. "Thanks for the cute babies!"

Maynard married Johnson at his family farm in Sharon, S.C., in 2014.

She is mom to 10-year-old daughter Ricki with late fiance Ricky Hendrick, and shares two sons, 22-month-old Jennings and 8-month-old Gibson, with Johnson.

"I definitely think we'll have at least one more. [Tyler] wants two more," the star told People in December. "[Ricki] will be out of the house and the babies will still be young."

"We're going to plan this one a little better. We'll space it out a little bit better. This has been the hardest thing I've ever done," she said of welcoming her sons just over a year apart.

Maynard was previously engaged to "The Bachelor" Season 15 star Brad Womack, and to "The Bachelorette" Season 8 contestant Jef Holm.

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She said on "Good Morning America" in January that she found love with Johnson after she stopped actively searching.

"For me, honestly, I just had to give up and it was in God's timing. That is the only time it is ever going to work," the star advised.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 06/09/2017



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
All reconstruction on Baldwin Hall came to a halt on Nov. 17, 2015, when the building of an exterior wall revealed 27 grave sites, as well as additional grave sites at the Old Athens Cemetery.
We must see New Delhis position as a signal of competition to the Chinese grand design for the 21st century world, says Nitin Pai.

Indias boycott of Chinas Belt and Road Forum (BRF) last month, is in my view, an outstanding act of boldness and the Narendra Modi governments most significant foreign policy achievement in its three years.

By boycotting - beyond merely politely not attending - India has signalled to the Indo-Pacific region that it will not kowtow to China. This is not an act of defiance, for only vassals and subsidiaries defy.

Rather, it is an assertion of India being a power centre in its own right with no obligation to attend the court of the emperor of the Middle Kingdom. It is an unambiguous signal to countries of the region that they do not have to completely jump onto Chinas bandwagon in the wake of the United States being no longer credible as an ally and partner.

I am not being overly dramatic in invoking the imagery of the Middle Kingdom: Modern China is of course not the Tang Empire, yet the world order that the Peoples Republic is attempting to create under Xi Jinpings leadership is reminiscent of the traditional, historical mindset.

Nominal and real tributaries used to pay homage to the Chinese emperor by turning up at the imperial court, kowtowing appropriately, paying tribute and sometimes receiving a lot more in return.

International institutions that China has created in recent years  from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and now the Belt and Road Forum - resemble the Middle Kingdoms international relations model in both form and substance.

However, New Delhi declaring that it has no intention to submit to Beijings conceptualisation of a new international order is only the first step, albeit a very important one.

If we limit our view of the boycott to the narrow grounds that some of Chinas projects are being executed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, India is likely to end up isolated. Instead, we must perforce see New Delhis position as a signal of competition to the Chinese grand design for the 21st century world.

It might seem tall order, but its not that hard.

First, as much as the Chinese government would like to put a trillion dollars into building roads, railways, bridges and ports across three continents, they cannot afford to ignore that small matter of requiring returns on investment.

A Chinese loan mela that finances poor country governments and non-market-competitive contracts does not strike me as a formula that will generate those returns.

If China decides that it can write-off hundreds of billions of dollars as the price of purchasing global leadership, its need for profitable economic partnerships will become all the more acute. In other words, China will find it necessary to improve bilateral and multilateral economic ties with India, Japan and the West.

India should take advantage of this by selectively opening and expanding economic channels. For instance, several years ago, my colleague Ajit Ranade argued that India should benefit from Chinese FDI.

(Chinas) own capital surplus allows it to increasingly finance Indias consumption and investment financing needs. Even though there are safeguards and anti-dumping duties to protect Indian producers, the usefulness of Chinese in Indias infrastructure cannot be doubted. He also advocates securing greater access to the Chinese market for Indian exporters.

Second, countries that receive Chinese loans and investments do not automatically enter Beijings orbit. In fact, the desire for policy autonomy will drive many to actively seek alternative relationships that they can use as a hedge.

In 2010, when I asked one of Timor-Lestes key Cabinet officials what India could do in the fledgeling East Asian state, she said Just an Indian embassy, flying your flag on its rooftop, will give us the confidence we need.

Stronger, bigger countries are likely to echo this sentiment even more strongly. One Belt, One Road (OBOR) thus creates new opportunities for both Indian diplomacy and business. (By the way, for all the years of looking and acting East, we still dont even have a consulate in Timor-Leste.)

Third, even if the Indian government formally keeps out of BRF, Indian corporations can avail of the economic opportunities the OBOR investments create. Of course, Beijing will skew the field in favour of its own companies, but even Chinese companies are not entirely immune to the logic of comparative advantage.

There will be business for non-Chinese companies, and to the extent that Indian firms are competitive, they will have opportunities. New Delhi must encourage Indian private firms to participate in OBOR projects abroad and secure their interests just as it would in the normal course.

Fourth, India must continue to pursue its own model of engagement of the countries touched by OBOR. We cant outbid China in purchasing influence. We can, however, rely on the bottom-up economic and democratic engagement that has, for instance, worked well in parts of Africa.

In a study of Chinese and Indian engagement of African countries, Harry Broadman points out how the latter relies on the strengths of decentralised private networks and well-adjusted diaspora populations. We should continue to focus on the strengths.

Finally, Indias strategic outreach can be transformed through partnership with Japan. For instance, the two recently pitched the idea of an Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) at an Africa Development Bank meeting. Complementary competencies and common interests make New Delhi and Tokyo good partners in shaping the larger regional order.

It is important to remember that there was no one Silk Road in history. There were many Silk Roads created, used and secured by various nations and kingdoms. So will it be with One Belt, One Road. It is in the interests of the world, including that of China, for there to be Many Belts, Many Roads.

Their route and use not directed by a Middle Kingdom but by the many peoples that they serve. It is in Indias interests, and within New Delhis capabilities, to bring about this outcome.

Nitin Pai is the co-founder and director of Takshashila Institution, an independent centre for research and education in public policy.

Photograph: Sailesh Andrade/Reuters
The culture clash isnt the only issue - most of the founders are still wary of risky bets while the new management thinks calculated aggression is necessary in the new world of business, says Shyamal Majumdar.

N R Narayana Murthy has been angry with the Infosys brass for quite some time now. The companys annual report must have added fuel to the fire, prompting him to reiterate his pet theme of compassionate capitalism in a couple of television interviews on Thursday.

There is a solid reason why the Infosys co-founder was upset once again: According to the annual report, generous stock-based incentives boosted the total compensation of four senior executives by over 50 per cent in the previous fiscal year. The increase was mainly in the form of performance-based stock incentives that will vest over four years.

It was only last month that Murthy had slammed the steep hike in compensation to Chief Operating Officer U B Pravin Rao, though Infosys defended it strongly, saying such hikes in executive compensation are necessary to attract and retain talent.

That is where the clash of cultures comes in. People familiar with the discussions between the Infosys board and the founders say times have changed and the board cant be expected to have a head-in-the-sand approach.

For example, the person says each of the top executives, who got a substantial hike in their pay package in the last financial year, has at least one offer from global giants with much better pay packages and had to be convinced to stay back.

Do we respond to this new reality or ask them to follow what the founders call Indian standards of compensation, he asks, adding that all the pay hikes followed a comprehensive survey of best practices and benchmarking of senior management compensation with key Indian and global companies.

Besides, Infosys needs to attract top talent from across the world at a time when traditional business models are beginning to be disrupted by new technologies and ideas. In this new approach, there is hardly any place for Murthys vision that the ratio between the highest compensation in the company and the median salary should ideally be 50 to 60.

But bridging this difference in perception is proving to be a difficult task as the old guard still believes in frugal salaries and low-key lifestyles while the new management thinks better lifestyles and globally benchmarked compensation structures should not be seen as luxury in a fiercely competitive market for talent.

One of Infosys old-timers says much has been made out of Sikka taking chartered flights. The fact is that during the whole of 2016, such flights were 3,000 miles out of the total 103,000 miles he clocked, which is less than three per cent. In any case, whats wrong in the managing director of a company taking chartered flights if that helps in squeezing in more meetings?

The culture clash isnt linked to lifestyles alone - most of the founders are still wary of risky bets while the new management thinks calculated aggression is necessary in the new world of business.

There are other areas of friction, too. While Murthy was upset with the appointment of Punita Sinha, wife of Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, as an independent director on the ground that Infosys had never invited the spouse of any active politician to the board, the new management has a completely different take on it: Her husbands political leanings shouldnt matter as she is eminently qualified, having been a fund manager with some of the worlds biggest companies.

Infosys isnt alone as such a clash of cultures is common in many companies. For example, as the business grows, companies may develop a diverse group of employees, which enriches the workplace, but can bring a host of complications as well.

This is more pronounced in mergers and acquisitions, as culture, which is so difficult to measure or manage, is all too often overlooked. This is dangerous as according to SHRM, over a third of mergers fail because of simple culture incompatibility.

What Infosys is now facing is something that Indias promoter-driven companies are quite familiar with. More often than not, the values of the promoter or owner are the expected values and culture of the organisation.

According to Deloitte, the lack of a proper governance framework, which quite often negatively affects the ability of the organisation to control its actions, results in inconsistencies in the way business is conducted. Outside leaders frequently find themselves tied up in the day-to-day operational aspects, while the founder fosters a paternalistic culture and has the final say on all strategic matters.

Before its too late, both camps in Infosys have to work out an arrangement to minimise the adverse impact of such a culture clash. An informal arrangement is being put in place to understand each others views. Hopefully, it will work.

Photograph: Bobby Yip/Reuters
To take Rimzim across the country

The country's largest beverage maker, Coca-Cola, wants to be in every evolving drinks category, says T Krishnakumar, its president for India and Southwest Asia. As part of which, it will be taking Rimzim, available in the north, across India.

"We found an opportunity in ethnic sparkling drinks. We have Rimzim, which is now slowly getting across the country," he said. "We are wiring ourselves as an organisation to keep close to the ground in terms of trends that are cropping up, irrespective of the category."

As a category, ethnic drinks is a niche one, pegged at around Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) in yearly size, say experts. The category is expected to grow over three times in the next three to four years to Rs 500 crore (rs 5 billion) as consumers opt for unique flavours.

In recent years, PepsiCo and Dabur have also stepped into the ethnic drinks space, with brands such as Duke's and Hajmola Yoodley. Dabur has also taken its Real Activ juice brand into categories such as coconut water, to tap into the ethnic drinks market.

And, brands such as Paperboat and Cocofly from Hector Beverages and Nilgai Foods, respectively, have made inroads into this segment.

Rimzim was part of cola king Ramesh Chauhan's carbonated drinks portfolio and sold to Coca-Cola in the 1990s, with brands such as Thums Up, Maaza, Gold Spot and Limca.

While Thums Up, Maaza and Limca were subsequently pushed aggressively by Coke, Rimzim remained inactive. Then, in 2012, it was relaunched as a market for ethnic drinks began to emerge.

Industry sources say new flavours under Rimzim could be introduced as the brand is taken acoss the country. Hector have nearly 15 different flavours under Paperboat as it looks to scale up aggressively.

"In ethnic drinks, what counts are flavours, since that is what will draw consumers to the product," says Harish Bijoor, head of Harish Bijoor Consults.

Dabur's Hajmola Yoodley has also been aggressive with variants, rolling out six different flavours -- aam panna, nimbu shikanji, jaljeera, kala khatta and so on.
Since May 1, the dynamic fuel pricing model has been applied on a pilot basis in 5 cities

State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have decided to roll out the daily revision of fuel prices nationally from the second fortnight of June.

However, this has raised concerns about viability and inventory management among dealers. Currently, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) review retail fuel prices every fortnight while taking global crude oil prices into account.

"We are planning to have a national launch of the dynamic pricing system by the second half of this month. However, dates are yet to be finalised," said a top official from an OMC. This development comes after reports that petrol and diesel prices will be revised on a daily basis from June 16.

It was on May 1 that the dynamic fuel price model was launched at five locations - Pondicherry, Chandigarh, Jamshedpur, Udaipur and Vishakhapatnam - in line with global practices. Interestingly, private fuel retailers like Essar Oil and Reliance Industries too followed the system in these cities.

"This will be a cause of concern as dealers will not be able to plan on how to manage their inventories. Moreover, not all the outlets in the country are automated. This may also affect our margins," said A D Sathyanarayan, president, the Consortium of India Petroleum Dealers (CIPD).

CIPD has a presence in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. On a monthly basis, each of these outlets consumes an average of 170 kilolitre of fuel. While in the Europe, inventory is managed by companies, in US dealers fix the final prices.

According to March 2017 figures, out of India's 56,190 fuel retail outlets, IOC, BPCL and HPCL's combined network accounts for 52,604. The private players in the sector are Shell, Reliance and Essar Oil.

"Things are getting normalised for us. Both customers and dealers have started getting adjusted to the new system," said Arjun Singh, president of Chandigarh Petroleum Dealers Association.

The dealers were worried because of the declining stock value and were demanding an increase in dealer commission, which is between two-three per cent now. According to sources, OMCs are likely to take a call on dealer commission by June 30.

Public Sector OMCs are taking steps to establish an appropriate mechanism for conveying the prices to consumers every day, including daily publishing of the prices in newspaper on a daily basis, prominent displays of prices at the retail outlets, sending of price-related data/SMS from the centralised locations, mobile apps etc, the IOC statement added.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
Reskilling and online certification are the biggest earners in the Indian online education market

Ethans Tech, a Pune-based start-up that provides training to software engineers, has seen a three-fold growth from people who want to upgrade their skills.

Jatin Miglani, co-founder of Ethans, says, "While global multinationals are keen on reskilling their employees, the response from Indian companies has been rather tepid in recent times. However, small- to mid-size companies are quite keen on training their employees as they cannot afford to hire frequently.

Since information technology (IT) giants can just hire according to requirement, so they don't have the same urgency to train employees."

Reskilling and online certification are the biggest earners in the Indian online education market, with a spending of $93 million in 2016 and expected growth of $463 million by 2021, said a KPMG report last week.

It is no surprise that this category is dominated by IT professionals, with almost 500,000 paid users in 2016, the report mentioned.

While mid- to senior-level professionals tend to go for management courses to hone their leadership skills, people with less than 10 years of experience tend to look for domain specialisation, to add to their skill sets.

"Corporates tend to customise their training for project-specific requirements whereas individual trainees would want to improve their employability, which results in slight cost differences in the final cost borne," said Diwakar Chittora, chief executive of Intellipaat, a professional training institute.

While training institutes with a large base across the country have not seen much change in demand for training in the light of layoff concerns, regional institutes have seen a huge jump in applications over the past year.

While 82 per cent of Indian employers agree on the need to provide lifelong learning for their employees, only 38 per cent said continuous employee education was an organisational priority, according to a 2016 report by Emeritus Institute of Management (EIM).

Ashwin Damera, chief executive of EIM, said this gap is due to the fact that while the need is expressed by the executive management, the training budget is still administered by human-resources teams in most Indian companies. Although there is always a demand for upskilling, the recent news of layoffs across the IT sector has created a surge in certification enrolments, said Damera.

US-based learning solutions provider The Judge Group said, "The present scenario is not a healthy sign, neither for the industry, nor to its people. Overall, less than 10 per cent of companies are investing in reskilling their employees. While, on a priority basis, investment in training has to go up north."

Most IT training companies agree with the KPMG report that while they do offer classroom training, software professionals tend to favour online instructor-led training (ILT) or even e-learning courses that offer them more flexibility in course duration. Online courses from institutes are being made available online.

One of the new trends introduced by e-commerce majors like Flipkart and Amazon has been Bring Your Own Training, said Damera. It allows employees to access any training of their choice to optimise their performance.

This gives employees complete command over what they learn and makes them accountable for their shortcomings. Tata Consultancy Services recently announced that 200,000 of their employees had been reskilled and their Initial Learning Programme (ILP) curriculum for freshers has been revamped.

"The biggest paradigm shift has happened due to change in infrastructure deployment from on-premises to cloud. Demand for technologies like networking has surely gone down but it has increased demand for network professionals who also have virtualisation and cyber security skills," said Mehar Ahluwalia, director of Mercury Solutions, a corporate training services provider.

While technologies like big data, data analytics, cloud, internet of things, artificial intelligence, virtualisation and cyber security are in demand, it is the ability to provide solutions that the industry is looking for.

IBM recently predicted a requirement of three million cyber security professionals in coming years. Specific certifications in DevOps, Microsoft Azure, Tableau, Hadoop, AWS, Python, R programming, AngularJS, DJango and Selenium seem to be the hottest trends.

While certifications can give an idea of a person's knowledge, it is their problem-solving skills that keep them in demand, say experts.

"Differences in salary packages can come about primarily because of experience other than anything else. Unless the employee is from premier institutions of the country, there won't be too much difference in the salary packages because of certifications as long as they know the skills required," says Dinesh Goel, chief executive of recruitment portal Aasaanjobs.

Online reskilling continues to be in demand as employees see them as a ticket to retention and professional growth.

"I completed 12 certifications, which include technical as well as compliance certificates over a six-year career so far. It really helped me switch jobs as they showcase a certain level of skills and ability to learn that the organisations are looking for, beyond just a particular skill set," said Cognizant employee Dushyant Hasija.

Photograph: Sivaram V/Reuters
Without strong storage facilities, bumper harvest has resulted in price crash

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans stellar achievements in agriculture - successive years of double-digit growth since 2011-12 - have turned sour.

The same farmers whom the state feted not so long back are now questioning the states policies and their impact on the ground. The escalating protests resulted in police firing on farmers on Tuesday, killing five.

G S Kaushal, former director, agriculture, Madhya Pradesh government, said the current agitation of the farmers in the state had been largely fuelled by two reasons: Years of bumper harvest of onions, potatoes and tomatoes resulting in an unprecedented price crash; secondly, the government policies on ground did not show any impact though a lot of noise was made about them.

For example, the absence of strong storage and processing facilities has proved to be a big gap as a lot of this bumper harvest is being sold at dirt-cheap rates.

Experts said the state raised the production of cereals, but what became problematic was the rise in output of horticulture, livestock, and other activities.

Vegetable production in the state has risen from 3.6 million tonnes in 2010-11 to 14.2 million tonnes in 2013-14, making the state the fourth-largest vegetable producer in the country. Overall, horticulture production in the state has jumped by a massive 69 per cent between 2006-07 and 2014-15.

The area under horticulture crops in the state has risen from 2 per cent of the gross cropped area in 2005-06 to over 6 per cent in 2014-15.

A study by Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) showed that almost 43 per cent of area under horticulture crops in the state is devoted to vegetables alone. This means from a marginal player in the countrys horticulture scenario, MP is now a key producer.

The big focus of the administration seems to have been on the numbers, particularly production. Otherwise, what explains a farmer unrest demanding a better price for fruits and vegetables in the middle of peak summer season when supplies usually dwindle?, a local farmer said.

The state government spent crores to publicise its achievements in agriculture, but in reality nothing came in the farmers hands and their produce did not fetch the right price in the market," said Kashmir Singh Uppal, retired principal of a government college in Itarsi, a key hub for agriculture goods in the state.

The extent of the problem is such that the state government has been forced to buy onion and pulses from farmers long after the peak harvest season ended. The scenario is the same with milk.

The images of farmers dumping gallons of litres of milk on the streets or vandalising milk-processing units is a fall-out of consecutive years of bumper harvest without commensurate returns.

The states milk production has risen from 6.4 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2006-07 to 10.8 MMT in 2014-15. An ICRIER study showed a rise of over 69 per cent.

Milk prices have crashed in summers, which incidentally is a non-peak season for the commodities product. The flush season for milk ends around March and most of the demand is met from stored powered milk.

In Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur, prices of vegetables have fallen when they should have been rising.

The unrest is also because of the fact that farmers suffered losses in cotton and soybean. Since a little over a year, they have been expecting to recover some losses during the summer season by selling vegetables. When this failed, it created a rising demand for loan waivers along the lines of farmers agitation in Uttar Pradesh.

However, many among farmers say they are more interested in right prices of their produce, rather than loan waiver.

Echoing this sentiment, Mahindra Patidar, a farmer from the Pipliya Mandi locality, said, We just want good prices for our produce and not a loan waiver or anything else. All that achievements of the government does not mean anything for us.

Pipliyamandi is the area where the five farmers were killed. It is 15 km from Mandsaur, where farmers have been protesting for over a week.

The agitation in is being led by big, rich farmers from the fertile Malwa-Nimar belt, considered a hub for a variety of crops including soybean.

If farmers can feel the pinch of low prices, the condition of those in the tribal belt is worse.

Some experts said that when farmers of a state considered as a role model for agriculture are demanding loan waivers and relief packages, then something is seriously wrong with its approach.

In fact, deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan also played role in fueling the unrest.

Earlier 200 trucks of tomatoes used to go to Pakistan from Malwa. All these stopped due to tension between the two countries, Uppal said.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
He was illegally probing a 2014 Delhi rape case using the victim's medical records to find out if it was a ploy by Ola to sabotage Uber's operations

US ride-hailing company Uber fired a senior executive who obtained medical records of a passenger who was raped by her Uber driver in India, on the pretext of investigating whether it was a ploy by competitor Ola to sabotage its India operations.

According to two reports by ReCode and The New York Times, Eric Alexander, bottom, left, who served as the President of Business for the Asia Pacific region was terminated on Tuesday after reporters began contacting the company about the incident.

Alexander's handling of the situation in India in December 2014 is a latest in the line of incidents that prove widespread dysfunction at the top management in San Francisco-based Uber.

"It is a shame that the privacy and morals of a woman have to be questioned in an attempt to trivialise a horrific crime. It is despicable that anyone can even conceive an attempt to malign competition using this as an opportunity.

If this report were to be even remotely true, this is an all time low on morality and a reflection of the very character of an organisation," said an Ola spokesperson in a statement.

News of the 26-year old woman being raped by her Uber driver in Delhi had led to massive repercussions for the company which was later banned by the Delhi government. The issue had brought up serious questions about the safety of ride hailing services, with people pointing fingers at Uber for being so lax about driver background checks.

While being publicly apologetic, some executives including Alexander believed that the incident was a ploy by Uber's local rival Ola to sabotage its business in India.

Sources at Uber told ReCode and NYT that Alexander was already in India at the time of the incident and obtained the medical records of the victim and ran his own parallel investigation.

Despite the case being a criminal investigation, Alexander kept the documents for over a year before other executives allegedly got to know of it and destroyed it. In that time Alexander showed the report to CEO Travis Kalanick and SVP Emil Michael apart from numerous other executives, who tried to poke holes in the woman's claims of being raped by her Uber driver.

The victim later settled with Uber for a reported $3 million, reports said.

Alexander's handling of the situation in India was one of 215 claims that law firms Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling are investigating at Uber.

These range from misconduct, sexism and sexual harassment, for which Uber even told employees it has fired 20 people so far and another 100 are still being investigated or have seen some type of action.

The NYT report said employees were surprised to learn that Alexander was not one among the 20 employees who were fired. More disturbing is that he was only let go once reporters began asking questions about his actions, despite Kalanick and several other high-level executives having knowledge of what he had done.

The incident in Delhi in December 2014 led to several widespread changes for India's ride hailing sector. While only Uber was implicated, even Ola faced the heat when the Delhi government banned all ride hailing services in the city.

A few other cities followed suit, leading both Uber and Ola to improve their background verification methods, introduce SOS buttons within their apps and even physical buttons in the cars themselves. Instances of violence by drivers of Uber and Ola cabs does continue to creep up intermittently despite this.

Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Here comes the moment of truth. Modi prides himself on offering an "incorruptible" government. Will he dilute the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill to coax the administration's fealty and compromise his self-image?

Radhika Ramaseshan takes stock.

IMAGE: When Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the Secretaries to the Government of India after taking office in 2014. Photograph: NarendraModi.in.

In the aftermath of the conviction of three top officials in the coal scam cases, and the bureaucracy's pressure to redo the law, the Prime Minister has to reconcile this with his public image as a foe of graft.

After a seemingly calm and harmonious relationship with officialdom for three years, PM Narendra Modi is up against a test that could stabilise, enhance or reconfigure this equation over the next two years of his present tenure. For, Modi could be held answerable for his oft-repeated exhortation to the mandarins to be "decisive", "fearless in decision-making" and "think out-of-the-box".

Prompted by the conviction and sentencing to jail of former coal secretary Harish Chandra Gupta and two serving Indian Administrative Services officials by a court, the civil service is waiting to see if the government amends a clause that for decades has hung, sword-like, over their head: Section 13 (1) (d) (iii) of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), enacted in 1988.

According to a well-placed source, the provision will "most likely" be deleted by Parliament, in keeping with the recommendations of a Rajya Sabha committee whose report was given on August 19, 2016, without having been discussed. The provision stipulates that any pecuniary advantage given by an officer to a person is punishable, unless it is in the public interest.

The law does provide for 'mens rea' (committing a criminal act with a culpable state of mind) or 'mala fide' acts as pre-requisites for taking criminal action but, says a senior bureaucrat, "In the process, acts done in good faith are not being protected."

The government is increasingly of the view that the provision has to go because, in the words of a Cabinet minister, "No dispensation can function if it continues."

The minister's case was that in the post-economic reforms era, when licences and natural resources are allotted to private players to spur the economy, the latter are "bound to benefit once or on multiple occasions".

"What one committee may conclude was done in the public interest may be questioned by another. These decisions are made under different laws and sometimes in consultation with a state government. One can't say no mistakes will be made, as at times facts are wrongly furnished or a decision is simply bad. Are you, then, going to assign criminality to one person and hang him?" he asked.

Piyush Goyal, in charge of power, coal, renewable energy and mines, whose ministry allocated 82 coal blocks through e-auctions and allotments after the Supreme Court quashed the allocation of 214 of these in 2014, said, "We have nothing to do with the sentencing of these officials. It was a court order, emanating from something that happened in the (previous) UPA regime. We work in an honest and transparent manner; so, no official need fear anything."

Highlights: The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013, amends the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The Act covers the offence of giving bribe to a public servant under abetment.

The Bill makes specific provisions related to giving a bribe to a public servant and giving a bribe by a commercial organisation.

The Bill redefines criminal misconduct to cover only misappropriation of property and possession of disproportionate assets.

The Bill modifies the definitions and penalties for offences related to taking a bribe, being a habitual offender and abetting an offence.

Powers and procedures for the attachment and forfeiture of property of public servants accused of corruption have been introduced in the Bill.

The Act requires prior sanction to prosecute serving public officials. The Bill extends this provision to former officials.

The Bill makes giving bribe a specific offence. There are diverging views on whether bribe giving under all circumstances must be penalised. Some have argued that a coerced bribe giver must be distinguished from a collusive bribe giver.

The Bill has deleted the provision that protects a bribe giver from prosecution for any statement made by him during a corruption trial. This may deter bribe givers from appearing as witnesses in court.

The Bill has replaced the definition of criminal misconduct. It now requires that the intention to acquire assets disproportionate to income also be proved, in addition to the possession of such assets. Thus the threshold to establish the offence of possessing disproportionate assets has been increased by the Bill.

By redefining the offence of criminal misconduct, the Bill does not cover circumstances where the public official uses illegal means, abuses his position or disregards public interest and obtains a valuable object or reward for himself or another person. Under the 1988 Act, the guilt of the person is presumed for the offences of taking a bribe, being a habitual offender or abetting an offence.

The Bill amends this provision to only cover the offence of taking a bribe. -- Source: PRS Legislative Research at www.prsindia.org

Not enough?

However, officialdom wants more than assurances.

Anil Swarup, who was moved from coal to school education as a secretary in 2016, encapsulated the anxiety in the civil service in a post on social media on March 5, days before Gupta was convicted.

"One of the biggest challenges in life is to be pushed to do what you believe is incorrect. What is worse, you have even to justify it. The best way to obviate such challenges is to evolve in a manner that those in the wrong find it extremely difficult even to approach you. It is tough but eminently possible, specially for a civil servant."

He went on, "Once the other party knows that your 'desires' are limited, half the battle is won."

Parsed, Swarup's comments meant that a bureaucrat can stand his ground against political bosses and/or vested interests if he is principled and doesn't succumb to pressures.

How, then, did the law ensnare the "principled" Gupta? Swarup refused to add anything.

However, another top official cited several reasons for why he believed the "hapless" Gupta "got caught". He said then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, doubling as coal minister at that time, had approved the allocations in all cases, and that in seven of 10 cases, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had not found incriminating evidence against the former secretary and had asked to close the cases.

But, the court would not agree.

The screening panel to recommend allocations was helmed by Gupta, but had other members from the administrative ministries, the relevant state governments where the coal blocks and end-use plants were located, Coal India, etc, "who together were responsible to provide all duly verified facts, recommendations and opinions", it was a "recommendatory" and not a "decision-making" body.

And, finally, there was no charge of personal gain, gratification or mens rea in any case against Gupta.

The official cited a similar case, dating back to 2002 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the PM, to illustrate his point about the use of "double standards" to determine corruption.

When fuel pumps were apportioned and cooking gas distributors were appointed in a "mala fide" manner on the suggestions of dealer selection boards that were chaired by retired judges and judicial officers, the allotments were cancelled.

When the apex court heard the case, the board heads were neither faulted for not verifying the facts and nor were criminal or administrative culpability fixed on them.

However

Even so, T S R Subramanian, a former cabinet secretary, refused to be persuaded by Gupta's votaries.

He said that the proposed deletion of Section 13(1) (d)(iii) and possible addition to Section 17, mandating approval of a "competent authority" before inquiring or investigating an officer, serving or retired, will "surely cripple whatever little possible use the PCA can be put to, in tackling the widespread corruption in our administration".

The solution, he insisted, lay "in not diluting our laws, but in cleaning up our investigating agencies and speeding the legal procedures. The real solution lies in high quality political management of the issue of corruption".

On Subramanian's latter point, even cynics in the Modi administration concede that on the integrity quotient, the government has been clear so far, raising the administration's morale to a degree.

A top officer, who admitted to having a dim view of the system's efficacy in nailing institutionalised venality, said: "The main difference between the (present) NDA and (earlier) UPA governments is financial integrity. Even if the temptation to make money exists among some ministers, Modi has put the fear of God in them. We are reasonably confident that we will not be coerced into doing wrong things and being made to pay for the omission or commission."

A cabinet minister said Modi's mantra for the bureaucracy was "simple and straight".

"Appreciate good work and demand accountability for bad work," he said. "I observed how he worked with IAS officers in Gujarat (as the chief minister). He motivated them, gave a clear road map, setting everything from A to Z, so that there was no confusion about the chain of command and ensured there was no political interference or influence, not even from the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)," the minister said.

In fact, Modi has packed the upper echelon of the establishment with Gujarat-cadre IAS officers. Of whom, the ruling party's vice-president and Rajya Sabha member Vinay Sahasrabuddhe speaks of as being minted from the "'karmayogi' and not the 'karamchari' school of administration".

"As 'karmayogis', the officers were infused to work with passion and yet be detached and not have immediate expectations," he says.

Modi's way

Even so, a Bharatiya Janata Party functionary who works in close concert with the government concedes it is a "long haul" before the "cosy" politician-bureaucracy nexus is demolished.

"For the first time, those ensconced in the Delhi structures have realised that Modi is a team captain. His intentions have never come under a cloud. He has a focused agenda and purity of purpose, without personal motivations. This gives a shield of protection to government employees," the functionary said.

An Uttar Pradesh cadre official, who acknowledged to morphing from being a Modi sceptic to an endorser, said the first feature that "impressed" him was the "unified command model" put in place by the PM shortly after taking office.

"He made it clear that power will flow from the Prime Minister's Office [PMO] and the PM will have the last word on key appointments. Modi's predecessor was competent, but my impression was he never had a grip over governance," the officer said.

Equally significant for the bureaucracy was Modi's use of the 'Pragati', an interactive platform that facilitates video-conferencing with data and geo-informatics between the PMO, Union government secretaries and state chief secretaries, to monitor the implementation of projects.

"We have come out of our silos. An officer in the education department can access what's happening in agriculture or rural development," a bureaucrat said.

Much of the praise for Modi is, however, conditioned by how far he will go in "safeguarding" the bureaucracy's interests.

Here comes the moment of truth.

Modi prides himself on offering an "incorruptible" government and never tires of reminding people of the scams the Congress party was enmeshed in. Will he dilute the PCA to coax the administration's fealty and compromise his self-image?

On the proliferating social media sites, Modi loyalists have cautioned him to not "indulge" the IAS lobby.
Be cautious when purchasing from little-known Web sites, advises Tinesh Bhasin.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

With shoppers perpetually on the hunt for bargains online, scammers have begun to lure them with attractive offers and discounts.

It's only after an individual receives a counterfeit product or doesn't get a delivery at all that he realises he has been cheated.

Abhyuday Agarwal, a 29-year-old entrepreneur, came across an advertisement on a social network site that offered Rolex watches costing between Rs 70,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh -- at a discount of over 65 per cent.

"The seller offered a compelling story that these watches were old stock, purchased from physical stores in the US," says Agarwal.

The watch looked original, with the logo engraved at the right places. It also had a three-dimensional hologram, a warranty card and a proper bill.

But when Agarwal took it to authorised retailers to check its genuineness, all said it was fake.

A former lawyer, Agarwal took appropriate measures and got his money back.

Agarwal was lucky.

For most others, the chances of getting a refund are slim.

"The possibility of a shopper getting an effective remedy is not bright in such cases, especially if the operator has shut shop," says Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert.

"The Consumer Protection Act is not of much help," he adds, "while the Information Technology Act is completely silent on issues pertaining to consumer protection."

You, therefore, need to be cautious before bagging that heavily discounted product or falling for a scheme sounding too good to be true.

Here are some common ways in which online shoppers could get swindled by scammers:

Shopping on little-known Web sites

These sites are professionally developed like those of big online retailers and even have a payment gateway.

They use pictures of genuine products, give the number of a contact centre, and even lay down a refund policy.

It's easy to fall prey.

To reach out to prospects, they use ads or illegally source a database of the existing shoppers from an established Website and contact consumers individually.

Sanjay Prasad received one such call last month from an ecommerce Web site, which claimed it was a start-up offering goods at heavily discounted prices.

After he bought a wallet and a belt, he was told he had won an iPhone 6S worth Rs 60,000.

To get the phone, he was asked to pay Rs 7,200 for Apple's warranty, which he did.

After several follow-ups, the Web site sent the belt, but has not sent the iPhone or refunded the money paid for the iPhone.

"Shoppers need to be diligent while shopping online on Web sites that are not established. The simplest way to check their credentials is to do a generic search by typing the name of the Web site. If others have been tricked, you will come across buyers' grievances," says Prashant Mali, an advocate and international cyber law and cyber security expert.

Those who have been cheated need to quickly chase the refund.

The first step is to raise a cardholder dispute and claim a chargeback if you used card payment.

Indian payment gateways usually include terms which pass risk on to the seller if a customer initiates a refund request through a bank on the grounds of the product being different from what was promised.

At the same time, the individual should write to the Reserve Bank of India against the payment gateway for supporting unscrupulous Web sites.

Customers can also approach the Internet domain registry, with a complaint of fraud and request the Web site's account be suspended.

Lawyers say the police might not register such cases easily and may dismiss it as a civil or consumer dispute.

Hence, your First Information Report (FIR) needs to establish that the seller had the intention to cheat you right from the start.

You can also serve a notice to the seller under the Consumer Protection Act.

The most effective way to hit back is to use Internet forums to complain against the Web site.

If there are other victims, they will then connect with you. Doing so will make others aware of the fraud.

Agarwal says this route was most effective in helping him get his money back.

Counterfeit from big players

Most established e-commerce players follow a marketplace model -- they are intermediaries that connect buyers and sellers.

Despite putting in place policies and measures to check counterfeit products, it's not possible for them to inspect the quality of all items sold through their platform.

There have been numerous cases of empty boxes being delivered to customers, instead of the product.

"It's not just luxury brands that are counterfeited; a person can get fake versions of smaller brands, too. Customers might not even come to know if it's fake and may blame the brand if anything goes wrong," says Arvind Singhal, chairman and managing director, Technopak Advisors.

Most reputed Web sites offer easy exchange and refund.

But sometimes, they leave it to the discretion of the seller to take a call.

In case you don't get relief from customer care, you should first approach the company's grievance officer.

Under the Information Technology Act, all such companies need to mandatorily appoint a grievance officer.

If you still don't get relief, file an FIR and approach a consumer court.

"One should also write to the original manufacturer against this violation, as this is a crime under sections of the Copyright Act. You can also file a case against the Web site with the seller as a party," says Mali.

Beware of fake messages

Whenever big online retailers come up with sales, fake WhatsApp messages, SMSes and e-mails do the rounds promising unbelievable discounts and offers during the event.

These messages even have a link with the name of leading e-commerce players (www.flipkart-bigbillion-sale.com), with which they have no connection.

Clicking on such links can compromise the security of your computer or device, and result in harmful malware getting installed.

Such apps can steal your personal and financial information.

Leakage of username and password, bank account details or credit card information could lead to fraud and theft of both your money and your personal data.

"One should always avoid clicking on links received on e-mails, SMS and messengers, even if these have come from a trusted source. Instead, go to the company's Web site to check the deals and discounts," says Duggal.

Telltale signs of a shopping fraud
With faction bosses not seeming to control anyone any more, can the BJP count on the AIADMK for the presidential polls any more, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.

Image: TTV Dinakaran, whose release from Tihar jail and subsequent return to Chennai seems to have sent the ruling AIADMK in a tizzy. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/PTI Photo.

The fact that there is no alternative (TINA) to him just now in the ongoing faction feud(s) in the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam alone seems to be keeping Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami continuing in the job.

One sneeze, or even a sniff of someones nose, could lead to the fall of the second post-Jayalalithaa government, the earlier one under one-time confidant, O Panneerselvam, OPS.

And the much-delayed assembly session, commencing on June 14, could set the tone and tenor, one way or the other.

All of it means that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre they may not be able to count on the AIADMK factions, with or without the one now owing allegiance to the Sasikala family all over again, for the presidential polls.

The EPS-OPS faction feud is old story. A new element has since been introduced, or re-introduced, by way of T T V Dinakarans return from Delhis Tihar jail.

Designated deputy general secretary of the AIADMK (Amma faction) by his aunt and party general secretary V K Sasikala Natarajan before her earlier imprisonment in the Jaya wealth case, Dinakaran is now out on bail -- and possibly out of the case for which he had been arrested in the first place.

Dinakarans surprising arrest by the Delhi police flowed from an alleged information/complaint that he had tried to bribe an official of the Election Commission, for obtaining the AIADMKs Two Leaves symbol for the Amma faction, against the rival claims of OPSs Puratchi Thalaivi Amma faction.

Back in Chennai, Dinakaran has gone back on his pre-jail declaration of staying away from politics. He has since added a rider that his proposal was to encourage the two factions to merge, as the OPS group had specifically laid down Sasikala familys exit from AIADMK politics as a pre-condition for merger talks, which have failed to take off.

It would look as if the OPS faction had concluded that Dinakaran would not be able to obtain bail or come out of prison to take over the Amma faction under Chief Minister EPSs care. On the reverse, the newly-emerging EPS camp within the Amma faction was hoping against hope that Dinakaran would not come out of prison but did not seem to have ruled out the possibility.

Both sides thus maintained ambivalence at the six rounds of merger talks, which fell through after a time. It is anybodys guess if the EPS and OPS factions have been able to come to terms with Dinakarans sudden reappearance on the AIADMK political scene -- and his early meeting with aunt Sasikala at the Parrapanagara Agraharam prison in Bengaluru.

For now, around 30 AIADMK MLAs from the election time total of 134 in a 234-member state assembly have openly identified themselves with Dinakaran. Their numbers have only been rising. The OPS-led Purathchchi Thalaivi Amma faction has 12 members, leaving 90 MLAs at last count on the side of CM Edappadi, clearly indicating that he cannot add up to the required 118 members in a real showdown.

For his part, Dinakaran has promptly declared that he does not have any intention to topple the government. It would also mean that the AIADMK may lose power in the state, leading to fresh round of elections, ultimately, which the party may find even more difficult to win than in 2016.

At the time, Jayalalithaas charisma and firm hold over the party as incumbent chief minister were the main factors for electoral victory. Even OPS, EPS and the rest of them all together cannot hope to reinvigorate the party in her absence, especially if they are not able to work together and get back the Two Leaves symbol of the party, now frozen by the Election Commission, following the faction feud.

Apart from the Two Leaves symbol issue and also the real AIADMK question between the EPS and OPS factions, the EC is also seized of the question over the legality of Sasikalas election as party general secretary after Jayalalithaas death.

The EPS faction secretly and the OPS faction more openly, have been hoping for the EC to rule against Sasikalas --  and with that the end of Dinakarans nomination as deputy general secretary.

In the midst of all this, veteran minister D Jayakumar, who got the finance portfolio -- earlier retained by the CM for OPS to return -- chaired a meeting of some 20-odd colleagues, also identified with EPS, to reiterate their opposition to Dinakarans re-entry.

EPS has also begun meeting with party MLAs, some of whom had raised a banner of revolt in groups even before Dinakarans return from Tihar.

Broadly speaking, the rebels wanted the leaderships commitment made during the Koovathoor resort hibernation ahead of EPSs confidence vote in the assembly, met in full.

Some of them seemed to have been promised a ministerial berth, and might even settle for something equivalent. Many however had problem equations with incumbent ministers in their district party affairs -- a main reason why so many MPs joined the OPS camp in the first place.

Whatever his political and personal problems in meeting the Koovathoor commitments, the chief minister is faced with a constitutional hurdle in inducting more ministers as part of the promises.

In a state with 234 assembly members, he can have only 10 per cent of them as ministers. He thus can have a maximum of 32, including himself, and already has 31, as inherited from Jayalalithaa and OPS. In fact, he was busy filling up the vacancies caused by the exit of the OPS team.

EPS, or OPS, more than someone with Sasikalas backing as CM alone can hope, if at all, to handle any future rebellion if some incumbent ministers are dropped to accommodate some of the present-day rebels. That could make the party as unpopular among the cadres and voters as the OPS faction had claimed while splitting away. OPS himself would not be able to return to the parent fold with a straight face.

There are other accompanying problems, too, for the party. The EPS government seems to have reluctantly summoned the assembly session for taking up sector-wise allocation of budget funds for debate and voting, only after the leader of the opposition, the DMKs M K Stalin, moved the Madras high court in the matter.

Given the numbers game -- the DMK-led combine, including the Congress, has 98 MLAs -- the survival of the government could come under daily pressure on the floor of the House, if a nominal cut motion of Rs 1000 value is moved.

It could bring the AIADMK factions under greater stress as even some members of the Dinakaran and OPS groups would not want the government to fall. But desperate members from among them could well resort to desperate solutions, or non-solutions.

Though no one remembered it then or since, by boycotting the DMKs no-trust vote against Speaker P Dhanapal earlier, the OPS faction kept the hopes high for possible re-merger.

But in a boiling-pot situation that the government might find itself in the assembly during the 24-day session, ending July 19, could put the EPS leadership at one level, and also those of the other two AIADMK factions, under untold pressure, on a hourly basis, at times.

No one in any of the AIADMK factions wants the EPS government to lose any vote on the floor, but the other two do not want his continuance.

It is unclear if Dinakaran wants to become chief minister, but at last count OPS wanted to become both chief minister and party boss. His faction was not ready for a compromise.

The more difficult task is for the rival DMK. The party does not want to be seen as engineering defections from the AIADMK post-Jaya and causing fresh elections to the assembly, when the state could ill-afford it politically or economically.

But it cannot but afford to embarrass the government of the day and the factions within the ruling rival. Where to draw the line, when and how to go about it, are issues that the Stalin leadership would face constantly.

Surprisingly, thus, the DMK has looked the other way when the EC a couple of days ago announced the further postponement of the assembly by-election for the R K Nagar seat, held by Jayalalithaa.

After having cancelled the polls citing massive distribution of money to the voters as the reason for cancellation, the EC has not explained why the R K Nagar situation continues to remain non-conducive for the early conduct of the by-election.

For the EC, the question is when will the R K Nagar situation become conducive for them to conduct the by-poll. Implied in this query is a hidden proposition that the Edappadi government has not done enough to make the situation conducive.

The sub-text is if the EC had given any specific instructions for the state government to follow in the matter.

Further still, the question is if the EC can at all make such assessment before notifying fresh dates, when alone the countdown could start otherwise.

For the EPS and OPS factions, the question is if Dinakaran would want to contest the R K Nagar seat all over again -- and also hope to win in a clean election.

Both EPS and OPS are travelling in the same plane just now, but OPS may face greater difficulty in convincing the larger cadres that he could still get back the Two Leaves symbol.

For the second-line leaders of both EPS and OPS factions, the greater question relates to the wisdom of their keeping the Sasikala faction away eternally.

At the end of the day, freedom now for Dinakaran has proved Sasikalas pre-prison statement that they had seen enough of cases, courts and prisons that nothing could frighten them now.

The larger question still would be for the ruling BJP at the Centre. Their feeble efforts have not convinced the Tamil Nadu population that on laffaire AIADMK, they (meaning the Centre, as well) were not running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.

Nothing explains why the Centre was maintaining a disturbing silence on Jayalalithaas health when she was in hospital for 75 long days, or whom they were trying to cover up for, if at all.

The follow-up question(s) in this case is/are why legitimate instruments of the Centre, as different from constitutional institutions like the Supreme Court and the EC, should be seen as going after all those AIADMK leaders who had fallen on the wrong side of the law -- yet with no firm and speedy follow-up action as in the case of many others, elsewhere in the country.

All of it boils down to the Doubting Thomases in the AIADMK second line, including ministers and MLAs, not wanting to trust their faction leaders, whom they are convinced are in communication with the BJP leadership at some level, but rather go by cadre instincts.

This could mean surprises for the BJP in the presidential polls, fixed for July 17, as the faction bosses do not seem to control anyone any more.

The party MLAs and MPs might thus end up drawing a distinction between voting for a BJP-backed candidate in the presidential polls and saving the day for an AIADMK government in the state assembly.

In a closely-fought election for the presidency, if it came to that, the AIADMK votes too seem to count more than is acknowledged.

In the presidential polls of 2007, six MLAs belonging to the AIADMK, then in the opposition, voted for victorious Congress candidate Pratibha Patil against the Jaya-backed BJP nominee, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

For the next nine years she could not identify the rebels/traitors.

N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and political analyst, is Director, Observer Research Foundation, Chennai Chapter.
His view will be shaped by his perception of US world interests and India's economic performance relative to China. And this, says Anita Inder Singh, means India must face facts like the serious lack of job growth and just how far it lags behind China on economic fronts.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

More than 100 days after Donald Trump became president of the United States, his protectionist, isolationist "America first" policy seems to have placed the Indo-US relationship in uncharted waters -- whether Trump wants to stop Indian companies from using Indian workers on H-1B visas, or whether his administration merely offers worn-out advice to India and Pakistan about easing tension through dialogue.

How much will India count with Trump?

Soon after Trump's inauguration last January, he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were quick to invite each other to their respective countries, but dates are yet to be fixed.

Meanwhile, Japan's Shinzo Abe and China's Xi Jinping paid official visits to Washington in February and April, respectively. Perhaps, their early official calls highlight the importance of their countries as Asia's largest and strongest economies -- and in the case of China, its growing military power.

Does this suggest Trump will give greater priority to Japan and China than India? Uncertain.

But a slackening of ties built up during the Bush and Obama administrations would disadvantage both India and the US. Those 16 years saw agreements on issues as varied as greater Indian access to American technology, America's support for Indian membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and new investment opportunities for the US in energy, infrastructure, information technology and defence.

The uncertainty does not mean Trump is anti-India. His stance on America's world role will shape his attitude to India and China.

During the Bush-Obama presidencies New Delhi and Washington agreed that China's expansionism posed the main strategic threat to both America's primacy in Asia and to the security of India and Asia generally. India assumed that Washington would uphold the liberal international order, and, given China's bellicose nationalism, stand by America's commitments to its Asian friends.

Bush and Obama tried to balance China by building up the power of its neighbours. India seemed a natural ally.

Since the 1990s India's high growth rates -- around 7 to 8 per cent -- enhanced its attractions as a counterpoise to China.

India's contested border with China and its position at the centre of a long strategic route that extended from Suez to the Far East increased its strategic weight.

India's growing power and prosperity would simultaneously maintain an Asian balance of power and serve the geopolitical interests of the US worldwide.

As a medium Human Development country, India is no economic or military match for the US. So, Washington never expected an exact return. But Bush and Obama held that India's human and economic resources made it the one Asian country with the potential to contain China.

From this thinking emerged the civil nuclear cooperation agreement with India in 2006, to support India's candidacy for permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and growing access to American defence technologies.

India benefited from this thinking: close ties with the US signified "status-by-association". Responsible for its own defence, India is nevertheless dependent on America's naval primacy in Asia to counter China in the Indian Ocean (just as Japan remains dependent on the US to secure the East China Sea).

In short, the US would continue to underwrite Asian security.

Also Read: India-US in the Trump-Modi era

Whether the Trump administration will stick to this policy in Asia is unclear.

Bilateral and global issues are intertwined. Trump's view of India will be shaped both by his perception of America's world interests and India's economic performance relative to China.

Will Trump the businessman replace largesse to India with a "business-deal" approach?

"America-first" implies that the US carries an unfairly heavy global burden, and Trump has signalled that its friends and allies must do more to defend themselves. Would Trump, therefore, expect India to contribute more to Asian security?

Economics and strategy are linked: More progress is essential to put India on the rails to "great power".

India must face some facts.

High growth rates under Modi have not produced more jobs.

Arvind Subramanian, Modi's chief economic advisor, thinks it will take India 20 to 30 years to catch up with China.

Two years ago, trade between India and ASEAN stood at nearly $77 billion; that between China and ASEAN at more than $480 billion.

One persistent problem is that India remains "business-unfriendly". With India's current business-friendliness ranking at 130, it is hard to see Modi pulling any rabbits out of his hat to raise India to the top 50, as he assured Obama in 2015.

Preoccupied with winning the 2019 election his government is not moving forward on the land acquisition bill, ending retroactive taxation or reforming outdated labour laws.

For Modi's Make in India ambitions to be achieved, India needs foreign investment for its infrastructural development and prosperity. But if Trump reduces the corporate tax in the US from 35 per cent to 15 per cent, some American companies currently based in India could be tempted to relocate to the US. This could adversely impact Modi's Make in India initiative.

The altruism of Trump's US may yet make the Modi government realise that only laws giving incentives and confidence to Indian and foreign investors can make India a key driver of Asian security, or a global manufacturing hub rivalling China.

All told, a strong tie remains in the interests of the US and India -- if only because China challenges both in Asia. The US and India should give fresh impetus to their relationship.

The author is a visiting professor at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution in New Delhi.
An aggressive Pyongyang is likely to force Seoul and Tokyo to build nuclear deterrents and thus thwart Beijing's ambitions, says Deepak Lal.

I have recently been in Seoul to attend a meeting of the Mont Pelerin Society. En route, I visited Hong Kong and Taipei. They all live in the shadow of the Chinese dragon, whose hegemonic intentions are clear from President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines reporting he had to stop drilling in the South China Sea when China threatened war.

In Hong Kong we had seen the student Umbrella Revolution in 2014 from our hotel room in Kowloon demanding democratic elections which were thwarted by the mainland.

More recently, Zhang Dejiang, the Chinese official overseeing Hong Kong, has stated that its autonomy should not challenge Beijings implementation of its contentious new national security laws. But, it is in Taiwan and Korea that the Chinese dragon casts its longest shadow.



In my first visit to Taiwan, from talking to its officials it seems they were buoyed by United States President Donald Trump taking a phone call from their President Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, and in a tweet questioning the one China policy agreed to by President Richard Nixon.

But, after his meeting with President Xi Jinping in his Florida retreat, he backtracked, by granting, in a Reuters interview, an implicit veto to China on US contacts with Taipei.

This, along with the Chinas naval expansion and five-fold expansion of Chinas equivalent of the US Marines, has greatly roiled Taipei and made it nervous about its future.

But, as Jamil Anderlini reported in Financial Times of May 25, a book by Chang Hsien-yi reveals a Taiwanese secret nuclear weapons programme which by 1988 (when it was stopped under US pressure) was just one or two years from producing the bomb. It could under Chinese threats secretly restart the programme with the same lag in producing the bomb.



With the continuing development of North Koreas nuclear and missile programme and the threat it poses not only to its own troops in the south, but also of a nuclear attack on the US homeland, one possible reason for President Trumps changed attitude towards China is the hope that it will be able to rein in its bellicose ally. But is this realistic?



I was first in South Korea in the mid-1970s at the beginning of the Korean economic miracle.

Seoul was a garrison town with the US and South Korean troops massed along the Korean Demilitarised Zone, facing a massive North Korean force only a short distance away. There was a nightly curfew and a nervous feeling of a possible Armageddon.

On subsequent visits (the last in 1991) this feeling had dissipated largely because of the enormous economic disparity which had emerged between the north and the south with South Koreas spectacular growth.

But there is a new nervousness about the north and its missile and nuclear programme, which, if successful in credibly threatening the US homeland, might lead the US to reduce or withdraw its military shield that has so far successfully deterred a northern invasion.



But there remains a widespread yearning to reunite the Korean homeland. The latest election, which occurred in the middle of the MPS meeting, saw the liberal Moon Jae-in avenge his earlier defeat by the impeached conservative Park Guen-hye.

As his foreign policy advisor Chung Eui-young wrote in a letter to the Wall Street Journal, May 11, whilst seeking the denuclearisation of the north, Mr Moons proposal contemplates a formal peace process that goes hand in hand with denuclearisation to give all side the vision of a final solution.



But, just before the election, the former commander of the joint US-Korean force at the DMZ, retired General Burwell Bell had powerfully argued at the MPS meeting that for the north, regime survival has been the primary aim of the Kim dynasty.

It also wants a reunified Korea under its communist leadership, and sees negotiations with naive alliance partners as a path to a formal and permanent peace treaty with the US entailing the total withdrawal of US military forces.

The north would promise to denuclearise and scale back its own military to a small defensive force, and welcome international inspectors to monitor the agreement. But, as with similar promises made to successive US administrations to get economic benefits, no credence can be placed on these deceptions to achieve the norths original aims.

He concluded that accepting such a treaty arrangement would be to sign the death certificate of South Korea. He also noted that without intense material pressure from China the north would never give up the nuclear weapons which are the guarantors of regime survival.



So, will China, as President Trump hopes, apply this pressure?

Not likely, argued General Bell. For China, the status quo is ideal. The US is tied down militarily in the Korean peninsula and discouraged from exerting military pressure in east and south-east Asia, allowing the Chinese to expand into the South China Sea.

But, the norths actions are making China worry that the regional balance of power will be destabilised. The deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea had riled them, as they see it as the start of a greater US deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems on the Asian mainland, weakening Chinese nuclear deterrence and shifting the Pacific balance.



Will these consequences of North Koreas actions on the status quo persuade China to take out the Kim regime? Only time will tell.

But as General Bell emphasised, time maybe limited. For, if Kim Jong-un succeeds in operationalising nuclear-capable ballistic missiles threatening the US homeland, the US would consider pre-emptive military action. But with the horrifying collateral damage involved is this likely?

If not, Seoul and Tokyo will have to ask if the US would willingly sacrifice Los Angeles for them? Not likely. They will, as President Trump recommended in his campaign, be forced to develop nuclear deterrents, creating a nuclear balance of terror in East Asia, freezing the status quo.

This would thwart the Chinese aim of becoming the East Asian hegemon.



Moreover, to prevent Chinese hegemony, General Bell emphasised, the US build-up of military capability in the Western Pacific and South China, and a wide ranging Pacific Area Security Treaty Organisation of like-minded countries to counter both China and North Korea is potentially in the offing.

It seems that the US may finally be ready to confront the dragon.
Capping a two-year-long process, India and Pakistan on Friday became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-dominated security grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Indias membership was strongly pushed by Russia while Pakistans entry into the grouping was backed by China. With the expansion of the grouping, the SCO will now represent over 40 per cent of humanity and nearly 20 per cent of the global gross domestic product.

As an SCO member, India is expected to have a bigger say in pressing for concerted action in dealing with terrorism as well as on issues relating to security and defence in the region.

India and Pakistan are now members of the SCO. It is a very important moment for us, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who is the current chair of the SCO, said, making the announcement at the Summit of the grouping here.

India, one of the largest energy consuming countries in the world, is also likely to get greater access to major gas and oil exploration projects in Central Asia as many of the SCO countries have huge reserves of oil and natural gas.

The SCO had set the ball rolling to make India a member of the bloc during its summit in Ufa, Russia, in July, 2015, when administrative hurdles were cleared to grant membership to India and Pakistan.

The SCO was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India, Iran and Pakistan were admitted as observers at the 2005 Astana Summit.

The Tashkent SCO Summit in June 2010 had lifted the moratorium on new membership, paving the way for the expansion of the grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to the NATO.

India feels that as an SCO member, it will be able to play a major role in addressing the threat of terrorism in the region.

India is also keen on deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

India has been an observer at the SCO since 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.

In his address at the annual summit of the SCO on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday strongly pitched for coordinated efforts among members to combat the menace of terrorism and enhance connectivity without impinging on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Modi hoped that Indias entry into the SCO family will give a new momentum to the grouping in dealing with terrorism.

Terrorism is a major threat to humanity, Modi said, adding that there was a need for concerted efforts to defeat terrorism and radicalisation.

Modi stressed on coordinated efforts to fight the menace of terrorism, including radicalisation, recruitment, training and financing of terrorists.

I have full confidence that the India-SCO cooperation will give a new direction and strength to the fight against terrorism, Modi said.

The prime minister also spoke on the need for enhancing connectivity in the region and said it was the key for boosting trade and investment.

We have extensive cooperation with SCO nations. We want to deepen the focus on connectivity, he said.

However, the prime minister, speaking in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif among others, asserted that sovereignty and territorial integrity should be the key factors in such a cooperation.

Modi said that the SCO will help in bringing peace in war-torn Afghanistan.

He also thanked SCO countries for granting membership to India.

The prime minister said Indias SCO membership will certainly take cooperation among member states to new heights.

The drivers of which will be energy, education, agriculture, defence, minerals, capacity building, development partnership, trade and investment, he said.

The prime minister also called for efforts by the SCO to tackle climate change.

Modi said today was a historic turn in the SCOs journey and India was ready for an active and positive participation in the grouping.
Military use apart, the new satellite would be useful for urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, utility management and various related applications.

Remember the eye in the sky that helped soldiers to successfully carry out the surgical strike against terrorist posts on the Jammu and Kashmir border last September?

Indian Space Research Organisation is strengthening this eye by launching a satellite in the Cartosat-2 series later this month.

The primary mission objective is providing high-resolution scenes of spot imagery.

It will be launched via Isros trusted PSLV workhorse, PSLV-C38 in this case, from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, to an altitude of 500 km. It will be seventh Cartosat satellite from the space body.

The project has been allocated Rs 160 crore; the satellite is expected to help preparation of high-resolution maps, with a Panchromatic camera. Apart from pictures, it can also record videos.

Military use apart, it would be useful for urban and rural applications, coastal land use and regulation, utility management and various related applications.

The future Earth Observation programme envisages continuity of a thematic series of satellites -- Resourcesat, Cartosat, Oceansat, RISAT, INSAT -- for land, water and meteorological applications.

A Geo Imaging Satellite is also envisaged in geostationary orbit, to enable real-time imaging.

Cartosat-1, first in the series of Cartosat earth observation satellites, was launched in May 2005, in the PSLV-C6 launch vehicle, followed by Cartosat-2 in January 2007.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko was on Friday stopped from entering Malaysia and detained at the Kuala Lumpur airport where officials questioned him over his alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

He will be sent back to Chennai by a Malaysian Airlines flight later in the evening, the MDMK said in a release.

The Tamil leader was scheduled to attend the wedding reception of the daughter of the deputy chief minister of the Malaysian state of Penang, P Ramasamy, on June 10.

The party said when Vaiko landed at the Kuala Lumpur airport in the morning, immigration authorities told him that he had been banned from entering the country since his name figured "in the list of persons dangerous to Malaysia."

Officials told him that "he belonged to the LTTE in Sri Lanka," and quizzed him over the outfit, the party said.

When Vaiko was told that there were "several cases against him in Sri Lanka," he denied it and told them that he was an Indian citizen and showed them his passport too.

"Still, the authorities did not accept it and made Vaiko sit in an enclosure in the immigration office. They took away his passport and told him that he should not step out of that place," the release said.

Vaiko apprised Deputy Chief Minister Ramasamy on the development.

Despite Ramasamy and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's efforts, officials did not permit the pro-Tamil leader to enter Malaysia saying they "have got an order from the office of Malaysian deputy prime minister," the party said.

Ramsamy also talked to Vaiko over the phone. The latter told him that he had not been "harmed" but was "made to sit in a place where I could not meet anyone," the MDMK said.
High drama unfolded outside Chief Minister's Arvind Kejriwal's residence when sacked Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, along with his supporters, tried to meet the CM, but was stopped by the police.

Irked at by being prevented entry into Kejriwal's home in Civil Lines, Mishra and his supporters raised slogans and sat on a protest there.

Mishra was seeking a hearing with Kejriwal at his 'janta darbar' (public meeting) to raise 'corruption' charges against him and his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain.

Mishra said, "I have come here with just 15 to 20 people. What is a janata darbar when the janata itself is not welcome here?"

As Mishra had earlier said that he would attend the public meeting, police had barricaded the area around the CM's residence to prevent the sacked minister and his supporters.

"We have come here with a demand to convene a special session of the Delhi assembly at the Ram Lila Maidan to discuss corruption charges against Kejriwal and Jain, but we were not allowed to proceed," Mishra told reporters in New Delhi.

He also sought the resignation of Kejriwal and Jain, saying that they don't have the 'moral right' to continue after corruption charges emerged against them.

Mishra was also accompanied by the mother of late Aam Aadmi Party leader Santosh Koli, who also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the death of her daughter.

Koli, an AAP candidate from Seemapuri, had met with an accident in June 2013 and died. The party calls her a 'martyr' who took on the ration mafia in the national capital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday underscored the need to respect each other's "core concerns" and appropriately handle the disputes as he held "cordial" talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping amid tensions in ties over a host of issues including the China Pakistan Economic Corridor and India's Nuclear Suppliers Group bid.

The two leaders met in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. It is their first meeting after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

During the meeting, Modi said the two sides should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

The Indian side is grateful for China's support for India's accession to the SCO and will work closely with China in the organisation, Modi said.

He said it would not have been possible for India to become member of SCO without China's backing.

"There was an understanding that where we have differences, it is important that differences should not become dispute," Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar told reporters describing the meeting as "cordial" and "very positive".

Relations between India and China has witnessed a downturn owing to differences over a series of issues including China blocking India's move to get Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar banned by the United Nations, its opposition to India's bid for NSG membership and China's Belt and Road initiative.

Asked whether the NSG, OBOR and Azhar issues were raised, Jaishankar did not give a direct reply and said the meeting was for taking a broad assessment of the relationship.

"You should be rest assured that there was a sense that both sides should address their concerns sincerely," said the foreign secretary.

He said both the countries may have differences, but it is important to find "common grounds" and address each other's concerns "with a degree of seriousness".

Giving broad outcome of the meeting, he said India and China are factors of stability when the world is going through economic uncertainty.

Jaishankar said Modi and Xi also deliberated on defence exchanges. He said issues relating to trade and investment were a major highlight.

"Entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation was discussed," said Jaishankar.

During the meeting, Xi told Modi that the two sides should increase communication and coordination in multilateral affairs and appropriately control and handle disputes and sensitive problems, China's official Xinhua news agency said.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing that both the countries "should also address sensitive and major issues" as she highlighted the issues figured in the meeting.

"India should focus more cooperation and work alongside to provide assistance to each other's developmental goals," Hua said.

"The two sides should strengthen the complementarities of the development strategies and press ahead with the major cooperation projects such as energy and railways," Hua said.

She also said the two sides should press ahead in a major way on Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar Corridor besides tourism, culture and other relevant fields.

BCIM is part of the China's multi-billion dollar Belt and Road initiative.

Xi also congratulated India on becoming official member of the SCO, she said. "We hope that the two counties will work together to ensure the development of the SCO," he told Modi.

The SCO is a security grouping increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.

Faced with profound and complex changes of the international situation, China and India, as the world's two largest developing countries, should pay more attention to cooperation and go ahead with each other as partners, so as to instill more momentum into each other's development and contribute to world peace, stability and common development, said the Chinese president.

Xi said China attaches great importance to its ties with India. He called for more high-level interactions, institutionalised exchanges, strategic communication and policy alignment between the two countries, Xinhua reported.

China and India should also boost trade and investment cooperation and work together for earlier harvest from large-scale cooperation projects in such areas as production capability, industrial parks and railway construction, Xi said.

The Chinese President said his country is willing to cooperate with India within the SCO framework and contribute to the healthy and sustained development of the organisation.

China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group.

After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of SCO summit in Astana on Friday. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter
The United States is looking forward to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington later this month, the State Department has said.

"We look forward to having the (Indian) prime minister here in Washington -- I believe it's later this month," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference on Thursday.

Modi is expected to travel to Washington at the invitation of US President Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House later this month. The actual dates of the meeting have not been announced yet.

This would be Modi's first trip to the US under the Trump administration. The two leaders have spoken over phone at least three times.

Under the previous Obama Administration, Modi had a record number of eight meetings with Barack Obama. Modi travelled to Washington three times and Obama made a historic trip to India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2015.

Meanwhile, ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to the US later this month, a top Indian diplomat has said that "partnership" is the best way to describe the India-US relationship.

"I think ultimately perhaps in my mind, the best way to describe and qualify this relationship is partnership," Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna said at an event organised by the Meridian International Center in Washington, DC.

Other than partnership, Sarna said, "It's very difficult to see, where does India fit in with the US".

"It is not an ally in the classical sense and neither it is part of an umbrella grouping. India's relationship with the US is many ways that of a partnership, as the countries who have a lot to offer each other at the moment," he said.

And frankly, he said, it's very difficult to think of another partner for the US, which is such a thriving and huge democracy with very deep democratic roots.

"If you are looking at that sort of partner who understands these, then I don't think frankly, on the scale of India, there is any other country in the world," Sarna said.
Hailing the successful test of its latest missile on Thursday, North Korea on Friday said that it was a new type of surface-to-ship cruise missile, designed to hit any enemy group of battleships that threatened the country.

The launched cruise rockets accurately detected and hit the floating targets on the East Sea of Korea, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, referring to the Sea of Japan -- where two US aircraft carriers were carrying out naval manoeuvres last week.

The Thursday launch was overseen by leader Kim Jong-un, KCNA said.

It was North Korea's fifth weapons test in a month and came less than a week after the United Nations tightened sanctions against the regime.

North Korea has ordered three ballistic missile launches, a surface-to-air missile, and now Thursdays cruise missile tests since South Koreas new President Moon Jae-in took power in early May.

The short range missiles flew some 200 kilometres which is an improvement on a 2015 test, when a North Korean surface-to-ship cruise missile flew only 100 kilometres, said Korea Defence Forum analyst Shin Jong-woo.

KCNA said that the weapon tested on Thursday had been part of the military parade in Pyongyang on April 15 to mark the birthday of the Norths founding father Kim Il-sung.

All of the weapons on display at the extravagant military parade have been tested in the last month, except for one which analysts said appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, Yonhap news agency reported.

Any North Korean tests using ballistic missile technology are banned by UN resolutions.
In an oblique reference to China's Belt and Road Initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday cautioned against rolling out connectivity projects without respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In an address at the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Modi, in presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, said connectivity with countries of the region is a priority for India and that such projects should ensure inclusivity and sustainability.

"Connectivity with SCO member countries is a priority for India and we whole heartedly support it. We want connectivity to pave way for enhancing cooperation and confidence among the societies and young people. Respect to sovereignty and territorial integrity is necessary. It is also important to ensure inclusivity and sustainability," the prime minister said.

India has been severely critical of the Belt and Road Initiative, the pet project of Xi, as the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is part of the BRI, passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

India says it cannot accept a project that ignores its core concern on sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In his address, Xi referred to the "successful summit" on the BRI, also known as the 'One Belt One Road Initiative', in Beijing last month and said the SCO may serve as an important platform for the successful implementation of the project.

The Chinese President also put forth a proposal on the need for a "long term treaty of good neighbourhood for the next 5 years" among the SCO members.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also talked about the project and said such connectivity initiatives would boost trade and investment in the region.

Hailing the BRI, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said such mega projects will benefit the entire SCO community.

"The SCO's expansion takes place at an opportune time, as the Belt and Road Initiative transforms global economic landscape. And, in Pakistan, we are diligently implementing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which is the flagship of the BRI. What is more, these mega projects will benefit the entire SCO community," he said.

A number of other SCO leaders also complimented China on initiating the mega project.

Reflecting its opposition, India had boycotted the BRI Forum in Beijing. Sharif, Sri Lankan Premier Ranil Ranil Wickremesinghe, Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were among the world leaders who attended the meeting.

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.

Earlier in the day, Modi met Xi on the sidelines of the Summit and underscored the need to respect each other's "core concerns" and appropriately handle the disputes.

During the meeting, Modi said India and China should tap their potential in cooperation, strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, respect each other's core concerns and appropriately handle their disputes.

Asked if China brought up India's boycott of the OBOR during the meeting, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar at a briefing said, "Again, I would repeat that the meeting was very cordial, meeting was very positive. There was discussion on connectivity, how we could work together. In fact, to my recollection, the AIIB i.e. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BCIM Corridor came up for discussion."

On being asked if Modi raised the issue of CPEC, Jaishankar said, "I will again give you a sense of the meeting. The sense of the meeting was that two countries have great benefit, great interest in working with each other and we will have differences but where we have differences, how do we work through those differences, find common ground where they are possible and also a sense that wherever we have concerns, each side would look at it with a degree of seriousness."
Modi and Shah have finalised names for the Rashtrapati's post, which the BJP boss has discussed with the RSS chief.

R Rajagopalan reports.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah have zeroed in on a few names for the Presidential election.

Senior Union Ministers Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari, in informal chats with the media, accept that the Modi-Shah duo have some names in mind.

Shah discussed these names with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat -- who the Shiv Sena wants as President -- during his visit to Nagpur.

Modi, according to sources, has already sought the votes of the BJP's National Democratic Alliance partners for the party's Presidential candidate.

Of course, no names were divulged as neither Modi nor Shah had then interacted with Bhagwat.

In early May, Modi met Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, and secured the assurance of YSR Congress votes.

He then met the leaders of both All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam factions -- O Panneerselvam and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami -- and Telugu Desam chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu.

Shah has drawn up a calendar of important events till July 25, the day the new President is sworn in.

A sophisticated 'War Room' has been set up at Shah's office at the BJP's national headquarters.

It will have a list of MPs and MLAs from all states with their phone numbers and addresses.

Shah will send a letter to all the MPs and MLAs. This is the drill followed in earlier Presidential elections.

For the first time in 30 years, the ruling party can have its nominee elected as President and does not need the Opposition parties' support.

Shah has also established an informal think-tank to advise him about the drill to be followed in the month leading up to the Presidential election.

The think-tank consists of three BJP general secretaries and five youngsters with electronic expertise.

Ananth Kumar, the Union minister for parliamentary affairs, will coordinate with NDA allies and the Opposition parties.

He will accompany the Presidential candidate to the states to meet chief ministers, MLAs, NDA allies.

Ananth Kumar will be assisted by Rakesh Singh, chief whip of the BJP Parliamentary Party.

Shah has picked Union Ministers Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Nirmala Sitaraman and BJP General Secretary Bhupendra Yadav for his core team which will meet daily till the Presidential election ends.

This core team will coordinate with BJP MPs, NDA allies, chief ministers and leaders of legislature parties.

The BJP Parliamentary Board is likely to be convened on Thursday, June 15, to finalise the party's Presidential candidate.

June 15 onwards, Ananth Kumar and the Presidential candidate will visit the states, accompanied by between 10 to 15 senior BJP MPs.
United States President Donald Trumps personal attorney has denied allegations made by former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey, saying it has now become clear that the expelled lawman was one of the leakers of privileged information and should be investigated.

"Contrary to numerous false press accounts leading up to todays hearing, Comey has now finally confirmed publicly what he repeatedly told President Trump privately, Mac Kasowitz, personal attorney of Trump told reporters at a news conference after the conclusion of Comeys testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

That is that the President was not under investigation as part of any probe into Russian interference, Kasowitz said.

Kasowitz said Comey also admitted that there is no evidence that a single vote changed as a result of any Russian interference. His testimony also makes clear that the President never sought to impede the investigation into attempted Russian interference in the 2016 election, he said.

In fact, according to Comey, the president told Comey, quote, It would be good to find out, closed quote, in that investigation if there was, quote, some satellite associates of his who did something wrong, closed quote. He, President Trump, did not exclude anyone from that statement, the attorney said.

Consistent with that statement the President never in form or substance directed or suggested that Mr Comey stop investigating anyone, including the president never suggested that Mr Comey, quote, Let Flynn go, close quote. As the president publicly stated the next day, he did say to Mr Comey, quote, General Flynn is a good guy, he has been through a lot, close quote. And also, quote, asked how General Flynn is doing, closed quote, he said.

Admiral Rogers (Director of National Security Agency) testified today that the president never, quote, directed him to do anything illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate, closed quote. And never, never, quote, pressured him to do so, close quote. Director (of National Intelligence, Dave) Coats said the same thing. The president likewise never pressured Comey, he added.

The President also never told Comey, quote, I need loyalty, I expect loyalty, closed quote. He never said it in for and he never said it in substance, he said.

Of course, the Office of the President is entitled to expect loyalty from those who are serving the administration and from before this president -- and from before this President took office to this day, it is overwhelmingly clear that there have been and continue to be those in government who are actively attempting to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications, he added.

Comey has now admitted that he is one of these leakers. Today, Comey, admitted that he unilaterally and surreptitiously made unauthorised disclosures to the press of privileged communications with the president, Kasowitz said.

The attorney said the leaks of this privileged information began no later than March 2017 when friends of Comey have stated that he disclosed to them the conversations that he had with the president during their January 27, 2017 dinner and February 14, 2017 White House meeting.

Today, Comey admitted that he leaked to friends of his purported memos of those privileged communications. One of which, he testified, was classified, he said.

He alleged that Comey also testified that immediately after he was terminated he authorised his friends to leak the contents of those memos to the press in order to, in Comeys words, quote, prompt the appointment of a special counsel, closed quote.

Although Comey testified that he only leaked the memos in response to a tweet, the public record reveals that The New York Times was quoting from those memos the day before the referenced tweet, which belies Comeys excuse for this unauthorised disclosure of privileged information and appears to be entirely retaliatory, he said.

We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether these leaks should be investigated along with all the others that are being investigated. In sum, it is now established that the president was not being investigated for colluding with or attempting to obstruct any investigation, Kasowitz said.

As the committee pointed out today, these important facts for the country to know are virtually the only facts that have not been leaked during the course of these events, he said.
While Britain grapples with a hung parliament, EU has warned, 'We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end.'

IMAGE: British Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 on March 29, 2017, setting the clock for the two-year Brexit negotiation process with the EU.

Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters.

British Prime Minister Theresa May believed that instead of waiting till the scheduled elections in 2020 a snap election on June 8, 2017 -- just a year after the United Kingdom voted for Britain to exit the European Union -- would strengthen the Conservative Party's majority in the Parliament, giving them more power to negotiate the Brexit deal. However, the elections June 8 showed she had badly miscalculated.

The Tories lost their absolute majority, leaving Britain with a hung parliament to negotiate Brexit, while nothing has changed for the rest of EU.

Michel Barnier, EU's chief negotiator, said that the 'timetable and EU positions are clear.'

And EU President Donald Tusk publicly urged Britain not to delay Brexit talks. 'We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a no deal as result of no negotiations,' he tweeted.

The dangers of 'no deal'

May triggered Article 50 on March 29, setting the clock for the two-year negotiation process with the EU.

According to all indicators so far, whether or not the British government can work out an exit strategy, it will be out of the EU at the end of two years.

And the election results only make the process more complicated.

As Guntram Wolff, director of the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank, told CNBC, "It may be impossible to compromise due to domestic political pressures in the UK. So, a no-deal scenario may become more likely."

If UK does have to exit without a deal, things will 'get really messy,' warned The Atlantic:

'Customs stations and hard borders would suddenly spring up in areas which haven't had them for decades, including Ireland.

'Brexit would detonate like a bomb on the global trading network. No regulators would have been set up to replace the EU ones, triggering chaos across markets, from pharmaceuticals to aviation.

'It's not even clear that tourist visas to the continent would be available without further action.

'With no sign that the government plans to offer a guarantee of residence, we can't rule out the possibility that millions of European citizens will be forced to leave the UK. Similarly, we don't yet know if another million and a half UK citizens living in Europe will have to return home.

'In short, it could be a moment of profound national humiliation, with billions lost in trade and investment.'

Complications

Formal talks on Brexit were to begin on June 19, and both sides had hoped that with the UK elections out of the way the path would be clear.

The hung parliament scuttled those plans.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament's Brexit representative, tweeted, 'Yet another own goal, after Cameron now May; will make already complex negotiations even more complicated.'

Karel Lannoo, chief executive officer, Centre for European Policy Studies, told CNBC, 'A small majority will not help. This means a lot of infighting will go in the Tories, and this will not be helpful for the EU either, as no clear position will emerge.'

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel viewed the UK vote as a reflection of the popular discontent over May's hard Brexit strategy.

'The message from this vote is -- hold fair talks with the EU, and think again whether it is really good for Britain to leave the EU in this manner,' he told the media.

May's hard Brexit stance has been opposed by all major parties at home, making it difficult for the Conservatives to build a coalition that can meaningfully propel the Brexit negotiations.

The Scottish National Party, which is the third largest party after the Labour Party, is at ideological loggerheads with the Conservatives, considering most of Scotland had voted against Brexit. In fact, in March, the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of holding another referendum on independence.

The Conservatives are also unlikely to get any support from former allies like the Liberal Democrats, the fourth largest party in this election.

'The Conservatives are committed to a complete break with the EU regardless of whether a satisfactory exit deal can be reached,' the Times of India noted. 'By contrast, the Liberal Democrats have promised voters a second referendum on whether to accept a deal with Brussels.'

Meanwhile, the Labour Party has pledged that it will heed the results of the Brexit referendum, but with a softer stance than May. This, the TOI noted, 'could make it easier to reach a compromise with either the Liberal Democrats, which has ruled out any coalition, or the pro-European SNP, which says it wants to stop another Conservative government.'

According to Independent, 'No matter who forms a government this is the end of hard Brexit.'
It was a catastrophic gamble for British Prime Minister Theresa May and the ruling Conservative Party. Snapshots from UK's post-Brexit snap general elections.

Photograph: Paul Childs/Reuters

A voter leaves a polling station in Garthorpe, Britain after voting in the general election on June 8, 2017.

The election was not due until May 2020. But when Theresa May of the Conservative Party took over as Prime Minister in 2016 -- after UK voted for Brexit, and David Cameron resigned -- she called for a snap election that received the necessary two-thirds majority in the House of Commons.

Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

Outside a polling station in London. The Conservatives, who have governed since 2015, were defending a majority of 12 against the Labour Party, the official opposition.

Photograph: Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

The pooches do their bit. Dougie, the Cocker Spaniel, patiently waits at a 'Pawing Station' outside a polling station in Greater Manchester.

Photograph: Paul Child/Reuters

Election staff start counting the ballots, thus beginning the final stages of a closely fought election. Though the elections began with the odds in favour of May, the numbers quickly turned.

Photograph: Ed Sykes/Reuters

A ballot box is rushed into a counting centre as the lead between the Tories and Labour reduces.

Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

Members of The Official Monster Raving Loony Party -- no kidding! -- wait as votes are counted into the early hours of June 9.

Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters

And if the Loony Party wasn't loony enough, there was Mr Fish Finger, who stood against Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron.

According to Metro, 'Mr Fish Finger decided to stand after an informal Twitter poll determined that users would rather be led by a fish finger than Mr Farron.' He ran a crowdfunded campaign and made it to the ballot.

Photograph: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

Scottish Labour supporters celebrate as they win back a seat in Glasgow, Scotland. The Scottish Nationalist Party is the third largest party in this election after the Tories and Labour, but it is unlikely to come out unscathed.

Majority of Scotland had voted against Brexit. And in March, the Scottish parliament voted in favour of holding a second referendum on independence.

Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

The wife of the Democratic Unionist Part candidate Gavin Robinson is overcome with emotion after he regained his seat in Belfast, Northern Ireland. DUP is the fifth largest party in the UK House of Commons.

Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters

The BBC Television centre is illuminated with the results of a general election that took place under the shadow of three deadly terror attacks that have rocked Britain since March.

In March, five people were killed and 40 others injured when a terrorist mowed down pedestrians on Westminster bridge and stabbed a police officer outside the parliament complex before being shot dead by Scotland Yard officers.

Last month, a suicide bomber -- one the Islamic State claimed as its own -- set off a bomb at a concert of pop star Ariana Grande in Manchester city, killing at least 22 people and injuring 59 others, in the deadliest terror attack in Britain since the 2005 London bombings.

And this month, just days before the elections, three knife-wielding attackers in fake suicide vests plowed a van into pedestrians on the iconic London Bridge before stabbing revellers in a nearby market, killing seven people.

Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

A capital trader reacts to the election results.

Photograph: Darren Staples/Reuters

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, and Labour candidate Emily Thornberry at a counting centre on June 9. With the Conservatives failing to reach the 326 seats they need to form a majority government, it is possible that Corbyn might become the next prime minister of UK.

Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Theresa May, Britain's second woman PM, leaves the Conservative Party headquarters with her husband Philip after it was clear that her election gamble had failed and the Conservatives would not win absolute majority. With the results putting British politics and the future of Brexit into disarray, there were immediate calls for May to quit.

Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

The Door of 10 Downing Street on June 9, the morning after Britain's election, as the world waited to hear if May would quit.
Iraq/US-Led Coalition: Weapons Choice Endangers Mosul Civilians

Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Iraq/US-Led Coalition: Weapons Choice Endangers Mosul Civilians, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a4f7b4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The expected battle involving Iraqi and US-led coalition forces against the Islamic State (ISIS) in west Mosul's Old City poses a considerable threat to civilians and civilian objects, international humanitarian and human rights organizations said today. All warring parties should cease using explosive weapons with wide area effects and inherently indiscriminate weapons in densely populated west Mosul. ISIS's unlawful use of civilians as "human shields" and the difficulty of identifying civilians in buildings increases the risk of civilian casualties.

The United Nations has estimated that 200,000 civilians remain in the two-square-kilometer area in west Mosul's Old City, which Iraqi and US-led coalition forces are encircling in preparation for the battle there.

"ISIS has been forcibly displacing thousands people into the zones of conflict and using them as human shields," said Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Director of Research at Amnesty International. "Iraqi and coalition forces must take all possible measures to protect civilians, otherwise we risk witnessing a bloodbath in Mosul's Old City."

The groups expressing concern are Airwars, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW), and War Child.

On May 25, 2017, anti-ISIS forces dropped leaflets urging civilians to immediately leave areas under ISIS control. Anti-ISIS forces should take all feasible precautions to minimize harm when carrying out attacks and ensure that civilians can safely evacuate the Old City and get humanitarian assistance both inside and outside the besieged area.

With the offensive to take west Mosul entering its 109th day, the situation for civilians trapped there is growing increasingly perilous. Those fleeing Mosul have told humanitarian and human rights organizations that markets are being emptied of food, with civilians subsisting on little more than wheat and rainwater. In mid-February, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) supported by the US-led coalition, known as the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), began the offensive to retake west Mosul, a densely populated set of urban neighborhoods.

Rising civilian casualties from aerial operations have heightened concerns regarding coalition and Iraqi forces use of airstrikes. The use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects such as air-dropped bombs of 500lbs and above, which have been used in the context of the operation, in densely populated civilian areas of western Mosul may be resulting in civilian casualties and damage to civilian objects that is excessive to the anticipated military objectives of the strikes. Such disproportionate military attacks are prohibited under international humanitarian law.

Iraqi forces have also been launchinglocally fabricated rockets, commonly known as improvised rocket-assisted munitions (IRAMs), into west Mosul. Images published by media outlets and the US military also depict US forces and Iraqi forces firing mortars and unguided artillery rockets into western Mosul. Both of these weapons are inaccurate and can be unlawfully indiscriminate if used in heavily populated areas. The difficulty of detecting civilians in the packed city, even with advanced targeting systems and continuous observation, make it difficult to determine accurately the number of civilians occupying a target area prior to approving strikes.

The dangers are increased by ISIS's use of civilians as "human shields," which is a war crime.Dozens of newly displaced people from west Mosul, including the Old City, have told humanitarian and human rights organizations that ISIS fighters forced them and their families to move with them up to three times, packing large numbers of families into small neighborhoods still under their control. They witnessed fighters summarily killing dozens of men as punishment as they and their families tried to flee ISIS control. They also saw ISIS fighters fire on groups of civilians as they fled; and some saw fleeing civilians shot and killed.

As the fighting intensifies and ISIS increases its use of civilians as shields, anti-ISIS forces should use all available means to verify the presence and location of civilians in the immediate vicinity of any fighters or military objectives targeted. In December 2016, US forces made procedural changes in its targeting that may increase the likelihood of civilian casualties.

All parties to the conflict are prohibited under the laws of war from conducting deliberate attacks against civilians or civilian objects, indiscriminate, or disproportionate attacks. Indiscriminate attacks are attacks that strike military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction.An attack is disproportionate if it may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life or damage to civilian objects that would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated from the attack.

Individuals who commit serious violations of the laws of war with criminal intent - that is, deliberately or recklessly - are responsible for war crimes. Individuals also may be held criminally liable for attempting to commit a war crime, as well as assisting in, facilitating, aiding, or abetting a war crime. The laws of war require that the parties to a conflict take constant care during military operations to spare the civilian population and to "take all feasible precautions" to avoid or minimize the incidental loss of civilian life and damage to civilian objects.

When used in populated areas, munitions with large payloads of high explosives can have a wide-area destructive effect, and it is not possible when using them to distinguish adequately between civilians and combatants, almost inevitably resulting in civilian casualties. Weapons such as mortars and multi-barrel rocket launchers when firing unguided munitions and IRAMs are fundamentally inaccurate. This can make discriminating between civilians and combatants during an attack on a densely populated area virtually impossible.

Human rights and humanitarian organizations and journalists have documented the use by Iraqi forces of IRAMs that lack the ability to be aimed beyond a basic orientation toward the target and are inherently indiscriminate. Mortars and multi-barrel rocket launchers firing unguided munitions used by anti-ISIS forces can be aimed and adjusted by an observer, but are area-fire weapons and, when used in densely populated areas, are prone to unlawful indiscriminate use. Iraqi and US-led coalition forces should avoid all use of these weapons in the densely populated Old City of west Mosul.

Signatories:

AirwarsAmnesty InternationalHuman Rights WatchInternational Network on Explosive Weapons - INEW is governed by a Steering Committee whose members are Action on Armed Violence, Article 36, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, Norwegian People's Aid, Oxfam, PAX, Save the Children and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. War Child

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Israel's occupation: 50 years of Palestinian oppression

Publisher Amnesty International Author Philip Luther Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as Amnesty International, Israel's occupation: 50 years of Palestinian oppression, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a4fb24.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

After 50 years of Israeli war crimes on Palestinian land, the world has to act and ban Israeli settlement goods.

"Everyone has a right to live in his home and no one may uproot him."

These were the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a Knesset event this week marking 50 years of Israel's military occupation of the Palestinian territories in which he vowed to strengthen Israel's "settlement enterprise".

The right elucidated in Netanyahu's speech, it would appear, however, does not extend to Palestinians in the occupied territories.

Israel's unlawful construction and expansion of settlements and their related infrastructure on Palestinian soil is one of the most defining features of Israel's occupation and has bred mass violations against Palestinians over the past five decades.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian homes and properties have been demolished displacing entire communities from their homes and at least 100,000 hectares of land have been seized for Israel's settlement project, including for construction and agricultural use.

Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land do not just amount to war crimes under international law, they violate fundamental principles of international law triggering additional responsibilities among all states.

Yet, for decades, Israel has openly defied international law by ruthlessly pursuing its settlement expansion.

Palestinian natural resources such as fertile land, water and minerals have been extensively and unlawfully appropriated to sustain the Israeli settlements. At the same time, Israel has imposed restrictions on Palestinians' access to - and use of - water, land and other natural resources, as well as restricting Palestinians' freedom of movement, tearing families apart, stopping farmers from accessing their farmland and preventing people getting to work or earning a living.

Over the years, as the Palestinian economy has steadily declined under the strain of these restrictions, Israel has simultaneously built a multibillion-dollar business out of Palestinian suffering - exporting hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of settlement goods internationally each year.

This thriving enterprise helps to sustain the presence and the expansion of settlements and is a key driving force for the systematic violations we continue to witness against Palestinians today. For five decades, the world has stood by and watched as Israel has exploited Palestinian people, land and natural resources for profit to support its illegal settlement expansion, offering little more than condemnation of Israel's unlawful acts.

International lack of action

Unless concerted international action is taken to stop and remove settlements, the already dire human rights situation for Palestinians in the occupied territories will only get worse.

Under international law, states have an obligation not to recognise nor to render aid or assistance to the illegal situation created by Israeli settlements - yet many states continue to allow imports from settlements and permit their companies to operate on occupied Palestinian land.

The vast majority of states, including all EU member states, publicly acknowledge Israeli settlements as illegal under international law and have been nearly unanimous in their condemnation of the settlement project.

There have also been many UN resolutions passed demanding an end to settlement construction and expansion. As early as 1980, UN Security Council Resolution 465 called on all states not to provide Israel with any assistance "to be used specifically in connection with settlements in the occupied territories".

Yet, time and again, the global condemnation of Israel's settlement policy has fallen on deaf ears. Israel has repeatedly made it clear that it couldn't care less what the world thinks and is doggedly determined to continue its expansion of settlements in flagrant violation of international law.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech pledging his continued commitment to expanding settlements proves just that. Israel's military-run Civil Administration is also set to approve thousands of new homes in existing settlements in the occupied West Bank announced earlier this year as well as plans to establish two new settlements, the first in years.

Ban settlement goods

It has become increasingly evident that merely condemning Israel's settlement expansion is not enough. That's why, to mark the 50 years of occupation Amnesty International is making a call, for the first time in the organisation's history, on governments worldwide to uphold their obligations by banning settlement goods from their markets and putting in place laws and regulations to stop their companies from operating in settlements or trading in settlement goods.

Governments worldwide have the responsibility to ensure that goods grown, produced or manufactured on stolen Palestinian land do not end up on our supermarket shelves. They have to show that their verbal condemnation of Israel is more than hot air. Failure of states to do so would undermine the legal principles that they claim to uphold.

Fifty years on it's easy to feel helpless about what can be done to address decades of injustice and Israeli violations against Palestinians. Banning settlement goods and stopping companies from operating in settlements are concrete steps that governments must take to meet their international obligations and to help to end an inherently discriminatory system that has brought suffering to millions of Palestinians.

Philip Luther is Amnesty International's Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

This article was first published by Al Jazeera here

Copyright notice:  Copyright Amnesty International
Turkey: Release Amnesty International Official

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Turkey: Release Amnesty International Official, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a503b4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Turkish authorities should immediately release the lawyer and human rights defender Taner Klc, chair of the board of Amnesty International's Turkey section, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Anti-Terror Branch of the Izmir police detained Klc on June 6, 2017, and searched his home and office. Media reports say that the actions are linked to the ongoing investigation into people associated with the Fethullah Gulen movement.

"Turkey should release Taner Klc, who is a tireless defender of human rights, known for his support for Amnesty International over many years," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Detaining Klc on suspicion of terrorist offenses looks like a tactic aimed at discrediting his legitimate human rights work."

Government-connected media reports of Klc's detention, together with 22 other lawyers in the city of Izmir, emphasize his Amnesty International Turkey affiliation. Klc is a founding member of AI Turkey and has been chair of its board of directors since 2014. He has also played a strong role in advocating for refugee rights as a lawyer and among domestic nongovernmental groups and others working on these issues.

Turkey's government labels the followers of the United States-based Sunni cleric a terrorist organization and accuses Gulen of leading the failed military coup last year. Thousands of people have been arrested over alleged Gulenist links and tens of thousands dismissed from employment in public services.



Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
'Pervading toxic culture of impunity' for alleged war crimes at root of Darfur conflict  ICC Prosecutor

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, 'Pervading toxic culture of impunity' for alleged war crimes at root of Darfur conflict  ICC Prosecutor, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a51c84.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court today reiterated her call for States to arrest and surrender the suspects of alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Darfur region of Sudan, including President Omar Al Bashir.

"Not one of the suspects for whom warrants have been issued has been arrested and transferred to the International Criminal Court," ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told the United Nations Security Council, and in remarks directed at the victims and their families she said "to those who continue to long for justice in Darfur; do not despair and do not abandon hope."

Indeed, she recalled that the international tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were reminders that persistence and determination could result in the arrest and surrender of suspects many years after the issuance of arrest warrants.

The Court was established by the treaty known as the Rome Statute adopted at an international conference in Rome on 17 July 1998. It entered into force on 1 July 2002.

"The States that form this Council have the power, independently and collectively, to positively influence and incentivize States, whether or not parties to the Rome Statute, to assist in the efforts to arrest and surrender the Darfur suspects," she said, adding that regional organizations can do the same.

The prosecutor said there have been alleged cases of non-compliance by the parties to the treaty.

She said a pre-trial chamber of the Court plans to decide whether South Africa acted in non-compliance with the Statute when it failed to arrest and surrender Mr. Al Bashir in June 2015. Most recently, Mr. Al Bashir travelled to Jordan on 29 March 2017, but Jordan declined to arrest and surrender him.

"Inviting, facilitating or supporting the international travel of any person subject to an ICC arrest warrant is inconsistent with a commitment to international criminal justice," she said. "It is also an affront to the victims in the Darfur situation."

Ms. Bensouda noted that to date, the Court has made 13 decisions on non-compliance and referred them to the Security Council. "Yet not one has been acted upon by this Council," she said. "By failing to act in response to such Court decisions, this Council is in essence relinquishing and undermining its clear role on such matters" arising from the Rome Statute and the Council's resolution 1593 (2005), which referred the Darfur situation to the body.

In 2005, the Council asked the Hague-based Court to investigate war crimes in Darfur. ICC judges issued arrest warrants in 2009 for Mr. Al-Bashir and other top officials for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the western Darfur region, where up to 300,000 people may have died and millions have been displaced since civil war erupted in 2003 between the Government and rebels.
Yemen's children 'have suffered enough;' UNICEF official warns of cholera rise, malnutrition

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Yemen's children 'have suffered enough;' UNICEF official warns of cholera rise, malnutrition, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a51f94.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The situation facing children in Yemen is extremely dire, a senior United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) official warned today, citing a dramatic increase in cases of malnutrition and a massive outbreak of cholera across the war-torn country.

Speaking to the press at the UN Headquarters in New York, Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, highlighted a dramatic increase in the number of children with malnutrition.

When he left Yemen four years ago, there was already a huge caseload of children with severe acute malnutrition. On his recent visit to Yemen, he found the caseload having since doubled, with nearly half a million children under the age of five suffering the most extreme and visible form of undernutrition.

It does not end there. Yemen has been hit by a massive outbreak of cholera, he said, noting that reported cases already exceeded 100,000. With 3,000 to 5,000 cases added daily, it is possible that the outbreak will reach 250,000 to 300,000 cases, he said.

To make the matter worse, the country's medical care system is on the verge of collapse, or half-collapsed, he said, and the half of the health system that is partially functional is operating on a zero budget. Moreover, health workers have not received salaries for eight to nine months.

Children in Yemen have suffered enough. It is high time that all those who are responsible realize that the country is at the verge of collapse; that one of Yemen's biggest assets, its children, are getting killed, he said.

The situation in Yemen must be on the radar of the international community, he stressed, calling for a scaled-up support.
Despite pressure and losses, ISIL remains potent threat, UN political chief warns Security Council

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Despite pressure and losses, ISIL remains potent threat, UN political chief warns Security Council, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a521d4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

After losing control on population centres and declining financial strength, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) terrorist group is more focused than ever before on enabling and inspiring attacks outside of conflict zones, the top United Nations political official said today.

The threat from ISIL has been intensified by its use of the Internet and social media to disseminate propaganda online to a wide international audience, Jeffrey Feltman, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told a Security Council meeting on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

Although the volume of such messages has declined in the past 16 months, the threat persists as supporters outside Syria and Iraq collect and re-distribute this propaganda, he added.

In Europe, for example, ISIL has used its online presence to encourage supporters to mount attacks in their countries of residence. This has led to multiple attacks, including in Belgium, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, noted Mr. Feltman, adding that while some of those extremists had been labelled lone actors, investigations demonstrate that the perpetrators often received support or resources from facilitators and, in a number of cases, were in direct contact with ISIL enablers.

He also noted a decrease in the flow of foreign terrorist fighters and in the overall number of ISIL fighters during the last 16 months but returnees and the relocation of fighters from the conflict zones to other regions now present a considerable  and an increasingly transnational  threat to international security.

At same time, Mr. Feltman also warned that ISIL continues to fund affiliates, while urging them to become more self-sufficient and proactive in developing internal revenue streams.

Money services, including exchange houses and money couriers, continue to be a preferred method for ISIL and its supporters to move funds across borders, he said, expressing concern that funds for reconstruction and stabilization for newly liberated areas should not enable ISIL remnants to abuse those new resources.

Further, welcoming recent Security Council initiatives countering terrorist narratives, protecting critical infrastructure and stemming the destruction, looting and smuggling of cultural heritage sites and artefacts, the senior UN official called for more effort to implement norms and mechanisms, particularly those relating to terrorist financing and foreign terrorist fighter threats.

He also informed the meeting of the work undertaken by the UN and other actors, including the INTERPOL and the Financial Action Task Force to strengthen regional and national frameworks to counter terrorism financing and arrest the flow of foreign terrorist fighters.
Freedom in the World 2017 - Syria

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - Syria, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a522f26.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Not Free

Aggregate Score: -1/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 7/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 7/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 7/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Quick Facts

Population: 17,200,000

Capital: Damascus

GDP/capita: $2,080

Press Freedom Status: Not Free

Net Freedom Status: Not Free

OVERVIEW

Syria's civil war has bred an atmosphere of extreme violence, impunity, and intolerance by state and nonstate actors alike. In much of the country, people cannot meaningfully participate in political or civic life. Those that do risk harassment, detention, or death.

Key Developments

The ruling Baath Party and allied factions took 200 of the 250 contested seats in parliamentary elections held in government-controlled areas.

The government transferred thousands of civilians from besieged areas taken from rebels to other parts of the country.

At least 14 journalists were killed in connection with their work in 2016, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Over a million people were thought to be living under siege conditions.

Executive Summary

Syria's civil war continued unabated in 2016, with the country effectively divided into four main zones, controlled respectively by the repressive government of President Bashar al-Assad; multiple militias comprising opposition forces; the Islamic State (IS) militant group; and Kurdish authorities. By the end of 2016, the conflict had internally displaced some 6.3 million people and created 4.8 million Syrian refugees. By September 2016, roughly 430,000 people had been killed during the conflict since it started in 2011, according to the independent Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Institutions and rule of law continued to weaken during the year, and corruption was rampant in regime and opposition-held areas.

In April 2016, parliamentary elections took place in government-controlled areas amid an opposition boycott, heavy repression, and open warfare in parts of the country. However, political power remains monopolized by President Assad, his family, and their security and business allies, though foreign actors also express influence.

The regime besieged major opposition-held population centers in a "surrender or starve" strategy by which it limited aid deliveries, and displaced thousands of civilians from captured rebel areas. There were consistent reports of torture and mistreatment of detainees held in government custody. Insurgents also committed serious human rights violations, including detention, torture, and execution of perceived political dissidents and rivals, though conduct varied between different rebel groups. Receding state control in some areas, on the other hand, has allowed for freer expression. The opposition in exile is comprised of delegates from various opposition groups and has been recognized as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people by the Arab League, the United States, and many European countries. However, it does not effectively represent the demands and interests of the population in rebel-held areas.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights -3 / 40

A. Electoral Process 0 / 12

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

Bashar al-Assad assumed power after the death of his father, longtime president Hafez al-Assad, in 2000. Constitutional revisions adopted in 2012 introduced presidential elections, replacing a referendum system in which the ruling Baath Party candidate nominated a single candidate. However, among other restrictions, candidates needed support from at least 35 members of parliament to qualify for consideration.

Assad was reelected for a third term in 2014 with what the government claimed was 88.7 percent of the vote amid 73.4 percent turnout. The voting was conducted only in government-controlled areas in a climate of severe repression. Observers were invited from friendly authoritarian countries including North Korea, while major democratic states denounced the voting as illegitimate.

Members of the 250-seat, unicameral People's Council serve four-year terms but hold little independent legislative power. Almost all power rests in the executive branch. The most recent legislative elections were held in April 2016, in government-controlled territory. Several opposition groups traditionally tolerated by the authorities boycotted the polls, and state workers reportedly faced pressure to vote. Members of the military were permitted for participate in the election for the first time. The ruling Baath Party and allied factions took 200 of the 250 contested seats.

Opposition-held Syria  as distinguished from IS and Kurdish territory  continued to lack an effective or unified governing structure in 2016. The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, or Etilaf, was formed in 2012 to act as the opposition's international representative body. Comprising delegates from opposition groups in exile, it has been recognized as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people by the Arab League, the United States, and many European countries. Etilaf has undergone several changes of leadership through internal elections; in March 2016, it elected Anas al-Abdah as president. These elections are competitive to an extent, but heavily influenced by the coalition's foreign backers. Moreover, Etilaf's links to local leaders and fighters inside Syria remain tenuous, casting serious doubt on the degree to which it is genuinely representative of civilians or fighters in the country.

Provisional local councils in certain rebel-held areas have organized rudimentary elections, and some appear to have been fairly competitive and even impartially monitored. Separately, Syria's Kurdish north, known locally as Rojava, declared autonomy from Damascus in 2014 and adopted a provisional constitution. It has decentralized political and administrative structures and decision-making, allowing elections at the neighborhood and municipal levels. However, in Rojava and elsewhere, experiments in civilian self-government are vulnerable to derailment by hostile militant groups, bombardment and siege by regime forces, and chronic resource shortages. IS does not allow elections of any kind in areas under its control.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 0 / 16

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

Formally, the state forbids parties based on religious, tribal, or regional affiliation. Until a 2011 decree allowed the formation of new parties, the only legal factions were the Baath Party and its several small coalition partners. Independent candidates are heavily vetted and closely allied with the regime. The 2012 constitutional reforms relaxed rules regarding the participation of non-Baathist parties, but in practice, the government maintains a powerful intelligence and security apparatus to monitor and punish opposition movements that could emerge as serious challengers to Assad's rule.

Within the domestic progovernment camp, politics, security, and decision making are dominated by Assad, his extended family, and a close circle of business and security allies. Although the government is often described as an Alawite regime and a protector of religious minorities, it is not an authentic vehicle for these groups' political interests. Political access is a function not primarily of sect, but of proximity and loyalty to Assad and his associates. The political elite is not exclusively Alawite and includes members of the majority Sunni sect, which also makes up most of the rebel movement; meanwhile, Alawites, Christians, and Druze outside Assad's inner circle are just as politically disenfranchised as the broader Sunni population. Foreign actors including Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia also exert heavy influence over the regime due to their critical contribution to the war effort.

Political activity in rebel-held areas is more vigorous than in regime areas, but it is still seriously constrained, and in some places nonexistent. Civilians' political aspirations are often subordinated to local armed groups. Opposition territory is divided among moderate, Islamist, and radical jihadist rebels, with varying implications for local political life. Local councils are often sponsored or appointed by prominent families and armed groups, and overwhelmed by addressing humanitarian needs and delivering basic services.

In the Kurdish region, in theory the decentralized governance structure allows for wide political participation, including by ethnic and religious minorities. However, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the most powerful Syrian Kurdish group, dominates politics and the Kurdish-led armed forces in practice. It has been accused of arbitrarily detaining perceived opponents.

No political activity is permitted in IS-controlled territory. Those who oppose IS rule must either refrain from expressing their views openly or flee to other areas, as dissent is severely punished.

C. Functioning of Government 0 / 12

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

Government institutions lacked public accountability and were plagued by corruption even before the armed conflict. Authority lies with the president and his political, security, and business allies rather than formal institutions, and corruption is rampant.

Those who question state policies or use of public funds face harassment, imprisonment, or death. Members and allies of the ruling family are said to own or control much of the Syrian economy. The civil war has created new opportunities for corruption between the government, loyalist armed forces, and the private sector. The regime has regularly distributed patronage in the form of public resources, and implemented policies to benefit favored industries and companies, to secure its support base. Government contracts and trade deals have also been awarded to allies like Iran, possibly as compensation for political and military aid. Even basic state services are extended or withheld based on a community's demonstrated political loyalty to the Assad regime, providing additional leverage for bribe-seeking officials. In September 2016, dozens of aid groups suspended their participation in joint relief efforts with the United Nations, saying that Assad was manipulating the aid distribution process in ways that deprived certain areas of assistance.

The government's lack of public accountability has worsened during the civil war amid the rise of militias that are nominally loyal to the regime but largely autonomous and free to exploit the population in regime-held areas. They have reportedly engaged in looting, extortion, and the erection of arbitrary checkpoints.

Corruption is also widespread in rebel-held areas. Some rebel commanders, including from brigades nominally aligned with democratic powers and their allies, have been accused of looting, extortion, and theft. In addition, local administrators and activists complain that little of the international aid reportedly given to opposition representatives abroad seems to reach them, raising suspicions of graft.

Islamist factions appear somewhat more disciplined and eager to enforce their decrees, though the more extreme militant groups such as IS are not accountable to the public. IS runs an extensive extortion network and smuggling operations that extends into Iraq and Turkey.

Additional Discretionary Political Rights Question B -3 / 0

Is the government or occupying power deliberately changing the ethnic composition of a country or territory so as to destroy a culture or tip the political balance in favor of another group?

1. Is the government providing economic or other incentives to certain people in order to change the ethnic composition of a region or regions?

2. Is the government forcibly moving people in or out of certain areas in order to change the ethnic composition of those regions?

3. Is the government arresting, imprisoning, or killing members of certain ethnic groups in order change the ethnic composition of a region or regions?

The armed conflict is largely sectarian, with Sunni Arab civilians bearing the brunt of government and progovernment militia attacks, some Islamist factions persecuting minorities and others they deem insufficiently pious, and civilians of all confessions seeking safety among their respective groups. The result is significant, ongoing change in the country's demographics, including as deliberate military strategy. The Assad regime in 2016 forcibly transferred thousands of people from rebel-held areas to other parts of the country; rebels were effectively forced to assent to the evacuations as a result of the "surrender or starve" strategy by which the government had blocked aid deliveries to rebel-held areas. Separately, in 2015 Amnesty International accused Kurdish militias of destroying Arab and Turkmen settlements and displacing their inhabitants for suspected sympathies with IS or other rebels.

Civil Liberties 2 / 60

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 2 / 16

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

The constitution nominally guarantees freedom of speech and the press, but this is not implemented in practice. Freedom of expression is heavily restricted in government-held areas, and journalists or ordinary citizens who criticize the state face censorship, detention, torture, and death. The regime controls most domestic news outlets, substantially hindering access to information. All media must obtain permission to operate from the Interior Ministry. Private media in government areas are generally owned by figures associated with the regime. The state has stopped trying to block Facebook but instead uses it to monitor opponents and dissidents. Meanwhile, the progovernment Syrian Electronic Army has mounted several cyberattacks on opposition supporters, activists, and major foreign media.

Media freedom varies in rebel territory, but local outlets are generally under heavy pressure to support the dominant militant faction in the area. Journalists face physical danger throughout Syria. At least 14 journalists were killed in connection with their work in 2016, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, bringing that total to 108 since early 2011. Several were executed by the Islamic State. Others were killed by unclaimed terrorist bombings or regime shelling or air strikes. Many journalists remained missing, were kidnapped, or imprisoned but eventually released.

While the constitution mandates that the president be a Muslim, there is no state religion, and the regime has generally allowed freedom of worship as long as religious activities are not politically subversive. The government monitors mosques and controls the appointment of Muslim religious leaders. In opposition-held areas, freedom of worship also generally prevails, except under extremist Islamist groups. IS has destroyed numerous religious and cultural sites and artifacts in its region, and harshly restricts any religious activity that does not conform to its version of Sunni Islam. Christians in IS-held areas are reportedly forced to pay special taxes and remove all outward symbols of their faith from their homes and persons. The war has increased sectarian hostility and polarization in both government and rebel-held areas. The regime has massacred Sunni civilians, while Sunni extremists have done the same to non-Sunni civilians.

Academic freedom is heavily restricted. University professors in government-held areas have been dismissed or imprisoned for expressing dissent, and some have been killed for supporting regime opponents. The civil war has greatly disrupted education in general. Combatants on all sides have regularly attacked or commandeered schools. IS has reconstituted an educational system of sorts in some of its territory, though it is based on religious and political indoctrination. Schooling in regime areas continues to emphasize political indoctrination as well. The PYD began to introduce Kurdish-language education in 2015, with critics alleging that its curriculum too served to advance the party's political agenda.

Private discussion is subject to heavy surveillance in areas controlled by the government and IS, but the environment is somewhat more open than before the uprising in some areas where government control has receded, though this depends which particular militias control them. The PYD and Jaish al-Islam, an opposition group with a presence in eastern Ghouta, allegedly suppress freedom of speech in their territory. The Assad government monitors online communications, including e-mail and social media, and persecutes internet users engaging in speech it objects to.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 0 / 12

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

Freedom of assembly is severely restricted across Syria. Opposition protests in government-held areas are usually met with gunfire, mass arrests, and torture of those detained. The regime generally denies registration to nongovernmental organizations with reformist or human rights missions, and regularly conducts raids and searches to detain civic and political activists. IS, the PYD, and some rebel factions have also used force to suppress civilian dissent and demonstrations.

A variety of new grassroots civil society networks emerged in many parts of Syria following the 2011 uprising, monitoring human rights abuses by all sides and attempting to provide humanitarian and other services in opposition areas. However, such activists face violence, intimidation, and detention by armed groups, and must operate secretly in some cases.

Professional syndicates in state-held areas are controlled by the Baath Party, and all labor unions must belong to the General Federation of Trade Unions, a nominally independent grouping that the government uses to control union activity. The war's economic and political pressures have made functioning labor relations virtually impossible across the country.

F. Rule of Law 0 / 16

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

The constitution forbids government interference in the civil judiciary, but all judges and prosecutors must belong to the Baath Party and are in practice beholden to the political leadership. Military officers can try civilians in both conventional military courts and field courts. While civilians may appeal military court decisions with the military chamber of the Court of Cassation, military judges are neither independent nor impartial, as they are subordinate to the military command.

Government forces have arrested and tortured tens of thousands of people since the uprising began in 2011. In 2014, a military police forensic photographer defected and revealed some 55,000 images documenting the large-scale torture, starvation, and death of prisoners. In 2015, Human Rights Watch concluded the photos showed at least 6,786 different detainees who had died in government custody and showed signs of torture and other abuse. The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented more than 10,000 arbitrary arrests in 2016.

IS and some other Islamist militant groups have set up crude religious courts in their areas, imposing harsh punishments for perceived offenses by civilians. IS routinely carries out public executions, and insurgent factions including Jabhat al-Nusra have also been accused of summary killings of civilians and torture of detainees. More generally, the breakdown of state authority and the proliferation of both loyalist and rebel militias has led to warlordism, crime, and arbitrary abuse by all sides.

The Kurdish minority has historically faced official discrimination and severe restrictions on work, travel, property ownership, and cultural and linguistic expression, though their situation improved significantly after 2011 due to receding state authority. Syrian law also discriminates against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people; according to the 1949 penal code, "unnatural sexual intercourse" is punishable with up to three years in prison. Separately, there were multiple reports in 2015 of IS executing men for their alleged homosexuality.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 0 / 16

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

The proliferation of checkpoints manned by various armed groups, heavy combat, and general insecurity have severely restricted the free movement of people and vital supplies since 2011. The regime has systematically blockaded regions controlled by rebels, and rebel and IS forces have done the same to regime-held territories. As of May 2016, more than 1,000,000 Syrians were living under siege conditions, according to the Syria Institute, a U.S.-based think tank.

Rampant corruption predated the Syrian uprising, affecting the daily lives of Syrians. Citizens are frequently required to bribe officials to complete bureaucratic procedures, and business investors and owners must often pay bribes to operate. Since the war broke out, Syrians who fear persecution have been wary of approaching official institutions to request critical documentation, and must resort to the black market. Rebel groups, IS, regime, and Kurdish forces also extort businesses and confiscate private property to varying degrees.

Women are underrepresented in Syrian politics and government, and face serious legal discrimination. They hold just 13 percent of seats in the legislature, though some have been appointed to senior positions, including speaker of parliament and one of the two vice presidential posts. Husbands may prevent their wives from leaving the country with their children, and women cannot pass citizenship on to their children. Male perpetrators of killings classified as "honor crimes" can receive reduced sentences under the penal code. Personal status law for Muslims is governed by Sharia (Islamic law) and is discriminatory in marriage, divorce, and inheritance matters. Church law governs personal status issues for Christians, in some cases barring divorce.

In addition to increased sexual violence associated with the armed conflict, domestic abuse is endemic. Rates of early marriage are reportedly high, with displaced and refugee families in particular marrying off young daughters as a perceived safeguard against rape, a means of covering up such crimes, or a response to economic pressure. Forced prostitution and human trafficking are also serious problems among these populations.

Conditions for women are uneven in areas outside government control, ranging from extreme discrimination, sexual slavery, and onerous codes of dress and behavior in IS territory, to formal equality under the PYD in Kurdish areas. All government positions in Rojava are reportedly shared between a man and a woman, and women are well represented in political life and military service.

Forced labor is widespread in Syria, as many armed groups are engaged in forced conscription or the use of child soldiers.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
Freedom in the World 2017 - Congo, Democratic Republic of (Kinshasa)

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - Congo, Democratic Republic of (Kinshasa), 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a523113.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Not Free

Aggregate Score: 19/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 6.5/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 7/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 6/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Ratings Change:

The Democratic Republic of Congo's political rights rating declined from 6 to 7 due to the authorities' failure to hold constitutionally mandated elections before President Joseph Kabila's term expired in December, a flawed "consensus" deal to extend Kabila's term, and human rights violations perpetrated by security forces while putting down opposition protests.

Quick Facts

Population: 79,800,000

Capital: Kinshasa

GDP/capita: $456

Press Freedom Status: Not Free

OVERVIEW

Civilians and opposition politicians are increasingly unable to influence politics by participating in elections. Civil liberties are limited, but the population continues to exercise rights to association and freedom of expression despite growing state repression. Armed groups and insecurity are prominent in the country's east, and state security forces have also been implicated in abuses.

Key Developments

Constitutionally mandated national elections were not held, and President Joseph Kabila overstayed his term limit.

In December, Kabila's administration and the opposition came to a fragile agreement that revised the expected date for elections to December 2017.

There were several fatal attacks by state security forces against civilian protesters.

Various militia groups carried out acts of violence against civilians in the eastern part of the country. Security forces were also implicated in abuses.

Executive Summary

Political rights constricted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2016, as authorities failed to hold constitutionally mandated national elections and President Kabila overstayed his term limit. Civilian influence in politics declined as the government cracked down on Kabila's political opponents and antigovernment demonstrators. Journalists and human rights advocates faced escalating harassment, abuse, and unlawful detention at the hands of state security forces. In December, Kabila's administration and the opposition came to a fragile agreement that revised the expected date for elections to December 2017.

Armed groups remained active in the country's eastern provinces, committing human rights abuses and contributing to large-scale internal displacement. Officers affiliated with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) remained implicated in human rights violations, with little effective civilian control over their activities.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights 4 / 40 (5)

A. Electoral Process 0 / 12 (3)

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

Article 70 of the DRC's 2006 constitution stipulates that the president is elected for up to two five-year terms, and Article 220 prohibits amendments to key elements of the state's political framework, including the number and length of presidential terms.

Joseph Kabila was declared the winner of the 2011 presidential election amid widespread criticism of the poll by international observers; he defeated Etienne Tshisekedi, 49 percent to 32 percent, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI). Elections to the 500-seat National Assembly, held concurrently, were also criticized as deeply flawed. Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD) won 62 seats, down from the 111 seats it held previously, while Tshisekedi's Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) took 41. The AMP, Kabila's parliamentary coalition, took a total of 260 seats.

The subsequent presidential election was scheduled for November 2016, and while Kabila was constitutionally barred from seeking a third term in office, many suspected that he would attempt to extend his rule. In August, the CENI announced that the presidential election would be postponed due to a lack of necessary funding, and due to difficulties in registering new voters.

The move sparked outrage from Kabila's opponents, and the government agreed to engage in a national dialogue with a group of opposition parties, which lasted from September to October 2016 under the mediation of the African Union. The parties initially agreed to postpone the election until April 2018; however, few mainstream opposition forces had participated in the dialogue. Most chose to boycott the proceedings and formed a joint bloc to represent their interests  the Rassemblement des Forces Sociales et Politiques Acquises au Changement  led by longtime opposition figure Tshisekedi. Under the mediation of the Roman Catholic Church, representatives of the government agreed to a new round of negotiations with the Rassemblement bloc and reached an agreement in December that revised the expected date for elections to December 2017. Under the deal, Kabila would remain president until that date while sharing power with the opposition, though critics were skeptical of his level of commitment to genuinely inclusive government.

Normally, the president nominates a prime minister from the leading party or coalition in the National Assembly, whose members are popularly elected to serve five-year terms. However, under the terms of the new power-sharing arrangement, the Rassemblement will choose a prime minister to serve until a new president is elected in 2017. Provincial assemblies elect the 108-seat Senate, as well as provincial governors, for five-year terms. A long-neglected decentralization program was implemented in 2015, splitting the DRC's 11 provinces into 26, and the CENI scheduled local and provincial elections to take place between late 2015 and early 2016. However, those elections were seriously delayed. In March 2016, the government held unusual direct gubernatorial elections to select interim governors until provincial elections take place, and the assemblies are seated and able to choose permanent governors. Supporters of Kabila won elections in 14 out of the 19 seats up for election.

The country's electoral framework does not ensure transparent conduct of elections, and opposition parties and civil society groups frequently criticize the CENI for lacking independence.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 3 / 16 (1)

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

People have the right to organize political parties. Hundreds of parties exist, with many organized along ethnic, communal, or regional lines; most lack national reach. In addition to the PPRD and UDPS, other key parties in the country include the Union for the Congolese Nation (UNC) and the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC). Nearly 100 parties and many independent candidates hold seats in the parliament.

Despite the existence of numerous parties, political pluralism remains limited in practice, and opposition members do not have a realistic opportunity to increase support through elections. A new transitional government, headed by Prime Minister Samy Badibanga and intended to serve through the remainder of Kabila's presidency, was announced in late December 2016 with an expansive cabinet of 67 ministers that incorporated some opposition members. However, aspects of the consensus government deal had yet to be implemented at year's end, and it remained to be seen how much influence the opposition had within the interim administration.

Opposition party members and leaders are often intimidated and face restrictions on their movement and organizing. Authorities in 2016 made efforts to interfere with the activities of the Rassemblement bloc and others. In August, police prevented a meeting of the bloc in Lubumbashi. In October, police used tear gas to break up a meeting at the home of opposition leader Gabriel Kyungu wa Kumwanza, in Lubumbashi, that was comprised largely of members of Tshisekedi's opposition party and the Rassemblement platform.

Congo's most popular opposition figure  Moise Katumbi, a businessman and former governor of Katanga Province who left Kabila's majority coalition in 2015  left Congo in May 2016. Katumbi, who was widely expected to run for the presidency, said he was seeking medical treatment abroad, but left shortly after being formally charged with illegally hiring mercenaries.

C. Functioning of Government 1 / 12 (1)

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

Due to the political crisis, there was no freely elected government to determine state policies at the end of 2016.

Massive corruption in the government, security forces, and mineral extraction industries continues to paralyze the functioning of the government and development efforts intended to raise living standards. Recruitment for government posts is often determined by nepotism. Accountability mechanisms are weak, and impunity remains a problem. Clandestine trade in minerals and other natural resources by rebels and elements of the FARDC helps finance violence and depletes government revenues. In October 2016, a former banker provided evidence that state authorities close to Kabila had embezzled millions of dollars from the public treasury. The national electoral commission, CENI, is implicated in the corruption. The same documents provided by the whistleblower indicated that the Central Bank also diverted millions of dollars to the state-owned mining company, Gecamines, which is run by individuals close to President Kabila.

Despite previous incremental improvements in revenue reporting, there is little transparency in the state's financial affairs. The law does not provide for public access to government information, and citizens often lack the practical ability to obtain information about state operations.

Civil Liberties 15 / 60 (1)

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 8 / 16

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

Although constitutionally guaranteed, freedoms of speech and the press are limited. Radio is the dominant medium in the country, and newspapers are found mainly in large cities. While the media frequently criticize Kabila and his government, political harassment of outlets and reporters is common, and outlets face pressure to carry progovernment content. Journalists risk criminal defamation suits as well as threats, detentions, arbitrary arrests, and attacks.

In recent years, the government has closed media outlets linked to the political opposition. In January 2016, two outlets owned by Katumbi  Nyota TV and Radiotelevision Mapendo  were abruptly shuttered for alleged nonpayment of taxes. And in March, the radio and television outlet La Voix du Katanga, owned by Kyungu wa Kumwanza, was closed after it allegedly failed to pay its annual fee and renew its operating license, a charge rejected by its management. Separately, a number of Congolese and foreign reporters were detained during the September 2016 street protests in Kinshasa.

The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and authorities generally respect this right in practice. Although religious groups must register with the government to be recognized, unregistered groups operate unhindered.

There are no formal restrictions on academic freedom. Primary and secondary school curriculums are regulated but not strongly politicized.

Private discussion of politically sensitive topics can be open among close associates, though discussions of such topics in public places are sometimes limited by fears of potential reprisal. Social media usage is expanding among urban youth. The government does not frequently restrict internet access or monitor online communications, but has suspended internet access and text messaging temporarily during times of political unrest.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 3 / 12

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

The constitution guarantees freedoms of assembly and association. Demonstrations are held regularly despite limits on these rights in practice, including the violent dispersal of protests, including through the use of deadly force, as well as the arbitrary arrest of participants. In the second half of 2016, there was a wave of arrests and fatalities in the capital as demonstrators protested Kabila's move to delay elections. At least 48 street protesters were killed by state agents during one three-day protest in September organized by the Rassemblement opposition coalition, and many others were arrested. According to Human Rights Watch, police removed some of the bodies of protestors killed to eliminate evidence of political repression. The UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), in its assessment of the violence, documented human rights abuses by state agents against 422 civilians, including the arbitrary arrests of at least 299 individuals, and counted 143 persons injured. According to the UNJHRO, the human rights violations during this three-day period of protest in the capital outnumbered the total number of abuses it documented over the whole electoral cycle in 2011. That month, the government banned demonstrations in Kinshasa, but street actions continued. In December, 26 people were shot dead by security forces at a protest in the capital marking what should have been the end of Kabila's constitutional mandate.

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and professional organizations are generally able to operate, though domestic human rights advocates are subject to harassment, arbitrary arrest, and detention. There are approximately 5,000 registered NGOs in the DRC, though many have narrow scopes devoted to ethnic, partisan, and local concerns.

Congolese who fulfill a residency requirement of 20 years can form and join trade unions, though government employees and members of state security forces are not permitted to unionize. It is against the law for employers to retaliate against strikers. Unions organize strikes regularly. Some labor leaders and activists face harassment.

F. Rule of Law 0 / 16

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

President Kabila appoints members of the judiciary, which remains corrupt and subject to political manipulation. Courts are concentrated in urban areas; the majority of the country relies on customary courts. Civilian cases are often tried in military courts, which are subject to interference from high-ranking military personnel. The judiciary often exhibits bias against opposition and civil society members, while government and government-allied forces often enjoy impunity for even the most heinous crimes. Prison conditions are life-threatening, and long periods of pretrial detention are common.

Civilian authorities do not maintain effective control of security forces. The FARDC are largely undisciplined, and soldiers and police regularly commit serious human rights abuses, including rape and torture. Low pay and inadequate provisions commonly lead soldiers to seize goods from civilians. In September 2016, the United States announced sanctions against Gabriel Amisi, the army commander for the country's western region, and the former national police inspector, John Numbi, over their involvement in a series of human rights abuses. This followed similar sanctions imposed in June on Celestin Kanyama, Kinshasa's police commissioner, on similar grounds.

Peace and the rule of law remain obstructed by active rebel groups, primarily concentrated in the country's eastern and southern provinces. Although armed group activity declined slightly in 2016, civilian security did not improve. The impact of years of fighting on civilians has been catastrophic, with over five million conflict-related deaths since 1998. The population of the affected regions is subject to displacement and violence due to rebel activity and poor discipline among members of the armed forces. Continuing fragmentation and changing coalitions among armed groups, as well as between armed groups and the FARDC, obstruct the deescalation of conflict.

A wave of brutal mass killings in Beni territory of North Kivu begun in October 2014 and continued in 2016; Human Rights Watch estimated in October that around 700 people have been killed in the conflict since it began. The DRC government attributed the attacks to the Uganda-based Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group, but local human rights organizations and other researchers report that local militias as well as members of the Congolese armed forces have also facilitated the violence. In August, at least 40 people were killed and multiple dwellings were set on fire by militants in the town of Beni, despite the heavy presence of Congolese and international peacekeeping forces.

Ongoing clashes between ethnic Luba fighters and the ethnic Twa continued in 2016 in Katanga province, resulting in over a dozen deaths in October. Clashes in southern Lubero Territory of North Kivu province in January also deepened displacement, with more than 21,000 people forced to flee from Miriki village following a raid by militants thought to belong to the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR).

Kidnappings for ransom are common, particularly in the Rutshuru and Lubero Territories of North Kivu province, where 22 abductions were reported in just the two months leading into October.

Ethnic discrimination, including against Kinyarwanda-speaking minority populations, remains a significant problem in some areas of the country. The constitution prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, but they often find it difficult to find employment, attend school, or access government services. Although discrimination based on HIV status is also prohibited, people with HIV face stigma as well as difficulty accessing health care and education. No law specifically prohibits same-sex sexual relations, but legislators have made efforts to criminalize same-sex sexual activity, and individuals can still be prosecuted for such activity under public decency laws.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 4 / 16 (1)

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

Freedom of movement is protected by law, but is frequently restricted in practice. Armed conflict, primarily concentrated in Beni territory of North Kivu and in Central Kasai, has resulted in 1.7 million internally displaced persons in eastern Congo who are unable to return to their homes. Additionally, UNJHRO investigators were repeatedly denied access to sites of interest in 2016, as they attempted to investigate rights abuses. In April, American researcher Jason Stearns was deported after publishing a report that challenged the government's narrative of ADF rebels behind massacres in Beni and suggesting a broader range of perpetrators including military officers. In August, Human Rights Watch researcher Ida Sawyer was denied a renewed work permit and forced to leave the country.

Individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses. In conflict zones, armed groups and FARDC soldiers have seized private property and destroyed homes. The country's economy, reliant on the extraction of natural resources, has grown in recent years, though most Congolese are not employed in the formal economy. Minerals, timber, and gold are components of a broader economy of extraction in which the national army, rebel groups, and political interests are involved. A complicated system of taxation and regulation has made bribery a regular aspect of business dealings, and embezzlement is pervasive. The country was recognized as a compliant member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2014. Some progress has been made in the internal management of natural resources, but tracking systems remain inefficient.

Women face discrimination in nearly every aspect of their lives, especially in rural areas. Although the Constitution prohibits discrimination against women in any domain, the Family Code prescribes more restrictive roles, requiring that women obey their husbands and obtain their permission to seek employment and engage in legal transactions. Nevertheless, young women are increasingly seeking professional work outside the home and engaging in commercial activities, particularly in towns and urban centers. Women are greatly underrepresented in government, making up only 9 percent of the National Assembly and 6 percent of the Senate.

Violence against women and girls, including sexual and gender-based violence, has soared since fighting began in 1994; sex crimes often affect men and boys as well. Rebels and FARDC soldiers have been implicated in kidnappings, killings, and rape. Convictions for offenses such as mass rape remain rare. Abortion is prohibited, and women's access to contraception is extremely low; many health care providers require that women obtain permission from their husbands to access family planning services.

The DRC is both a source and destination country for the trafficking of men, women, and children for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation. Although the law prohibits all forced or compulsory labor, the practice remains common and includes forced child labor in mining, street vending, and agriculture. Various rebel groups reportedly forced civilians to work for them and at times impose tolls on vehicles passing through territory held by the groups. The recruitment and use of child soldiers by armed groups is widespread.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

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Welcoming progress in arms laydown in Colombia, UN chief reiterates support to peace process

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Welcoming progress in arms laydown in Colombia, UN chief reiterates support to peace process, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a52a94.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said today that he has been encouraged by the progress in Colombian peace process and called on the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) to continue to implement their respective commitments under the accord.

Mr. Guterres also reiterated the readiness of the UN to continue to support the peace process in the South American country, as required, read a statement issued today.

In a major milestone yesterday, the UN Mission in the country received a total of 2,300 weapons  just over 30 per cent of the arms of FARC-EP registered and identified by it  which are have been placed in its containers.

This timeline was agreed between the Government and FARC-EP on 29 May.

Also yesterday, Mission officials and those from the national Office of the High Commissioner for Peace travelled to the camps and started delivery of certificates and accreditations that will allow FARC-EP members formally start their reintegration into civilian life after the laying down of arms.

Both factors constitute a major event that attests to the willingness of the parties to respond to the hope created in Colombia and the international community by the signing of the Peace Agreement in November last year, the UN mission noted in a news release issued today.

The arms laydown process  a major component in the peace agreement  includes five distinct steps including: registration and identification of weapons, monitoring and verification of the holding of weapons, reception and storage of arms, neutralization of arms (to ensure that they will never again be used as firearms), and extraction of arms from camps.
Indigenous and environmental rights under attack in Brazil, UN rights experts warn

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, Indigenous and environmental rights under attack in Brazil, UN rights experts warn, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a52ea4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Human rights experts from the United Nations and an inter-American organization have denounced attacks on indigenous and environmental rights in Brazil, expressing concern over a Congressional report that accuses the UN of being a confederation of non-governmental organizations influencing Brazilian policy.

The rights of indigenous peoples and environmental rights are under attack in Brazil, said the UN Special Rapporteurs on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli Corpuz, on human rights defenders, Michel Forst, and on the environment, John Knox, in a press release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR).

Francisco Jose Eguiguren Praeli, Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, also joined the condemnation.

The experts noted that Brazil has seen the highest number of killings of environmental and land defenders of any country over the last 15 years, up to an average of about one every week. Indigenous peoples are especially at risk.

The Congressional Investigative Commission's report also questions the motives of the United Nations, accusing it of being a confederation of NGOs influencing Brazilian policy. the experts

Against this backdrop, Brazil should be strengthening institutional and legal protection for indigenous peoples, as well as people of African heritage and other communities who depend on their ancestral territory for their material and cultural existence, the experts stated. It is highly troubling that instead, Brazil is considering weakening those protections.

More specifically, the Congressional Investigative Commission's report calls for stripping the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), the body supporting indigenous peoples in the protection of their rights, of responsibility for the legal titling and demarcation of indigenous lands, after having already had its funding severely reduced.

In addition, the report accuses the United Nations of being a confederation of non-governmental organizations influencing Brazilian policy through its agencies, the ILO Convention 169, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

According to the experts, the report states that the UN Declaration presents a grave threat to Brazil's sovereignty, and encourages the Brazilian government to denounce ILO Convention 169, claiming it manipulates the establishment of non-existent indigenous peoples in order to expand indigenous lands in Brazil.

It's really unfortunate that instead of exemplifying the principles enshrined in the Declaration, the Congressional Investigative Commission questions the motives behind it and those of the UN itself, and waters down any progress made so far, they said.

Weakening such protections would be contrary to the general obligation of States not to regress in the level of their protections of human rights, including those dependent on a healthy environment, they stressed.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
UN chief congratulates people of Lesotho on peaceful national elections

Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as UN News Service, UN chief congratulates people of Lesotho on peaceful national elections, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a534f4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today congratulated the people of the Kingdom of Lesotho on the conclusion of a peaceful National Assembly election.

He commends the work of the Independent Electoral Commission in organizing the election and the role played by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in assisting the Kingdom of Lesotho to ensure a peaceful political environment, said statement issued by his Spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

The Secretary-General highlights the importance of now focusing attention on the implementation of SADC decisions on further strengthening democratic governance and stability, it added.

The statement concluded by reaffirming the United Nations commitment to support the Kingdom of Lesotho in this regard.
Disclaimer

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
Trial of RSF's Turkey representative postponed for 4th time

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Trial of RSF's Turkey representative postponed for 4th time, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a5c8c4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns today's decision by an Istanbul court to postpone the trial of its Turkey representative, Erol Onderoglu, and two co-defendants until 26 December, and reiterates its call for their acquittal.

It was the latest in a series of postponements in their trial on the baseless charge of "terrorist propaganda" for taking part in a campaign of solidarity with the pro-Kurdish newspaper Ozgur Gundem.





Representatives from RSF's international secretariat (from its German section and its Brussels bureau) attended today's hearing, the fourth in eight months. Although it lasted no more than ten minutes, RSF managed to submit an amicus brief intended to help the court decide to dismiss the case.





The court nonetheless decided to postpone the trial in order to allow time to contact and question one of the other two defendants, the writer Ahmet Nesin, who is now a refugee in France and is being tried in absentia. The third defendant is human rights defender Sebnem Korur Fincanc.





"Not only do we want to be acquitted but we also want all the guilty verdicts already issued for other participants in this solidarity campaign to be quashed on appeal," Onderoglu said as he left the courtroom. "And we hope that the justice system will use this delay to realize the importance of the role of independent journalism and civil society."





A total of 56 journalists, human rights defenders and intellectuals took part in the solidarity campaign, taking turns at being Ozgur Gundem's "editor for a day" from May to August 2016 because it had been hounded by the justice system. Forty-one of them are being prosecuted.





Onderoglu, Fincanc and Nesin were the only ones to have been placed in pre-trial detention for their role in the solidarity campaign. That was a year ago, when they were held for ten days before being freed conditionally. They are charged with propaganda on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), condoning crime and inciting crime.





Turkey is ranked 155th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index, between Democratic Republic of Congo and the Sultanate of Brunei.





The media freedom situation in Turkey was already worrying but it has become critical under the state of emergency proclaimed after the July 2016 coup attempt. Around 150 media outlets have been closed and more than 100 journalists are currently in prison.
Egypt: New Law Will Cripple Egyptian NGOs

Publisher International Federation for Human Rights Publication Date 2 June 2017 Cite as International Federation for Human Rights, Egypt: New Law Will Cripple Egyptian NGOs, 2 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a5d254.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

We the undersigned civil society organizations strongly condemn the ratification of a new law regulating non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Egypt, issued by President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi on Wednesday, May 24. The law ushers in unprecedented levels of repression and will criminalize the work of many NGOs, making it impossible for them to function independently.

Implications of the law include the absence of valuable human development and charity initiatives, and a media opacity and lack of accountability around government abuses. These functions of Egyptian NGOs are particularly essential amid the current security and socioeconomic crises. Vulnerable Egyptians and refugees on Egyptian territory are in ever-growing need of the support and essential services provided by the NGOs targeted by this law-such as social services, education and poverty alleviation, as well as legal, medical or psychological support to survivors of torture, abuse and gender-based violence.

The law is virtually the same as earlier legislation approved by the Egyptian parliament on November 29, 2016, but shelved after widespread international criticism.

Under Law 70 of 2017 for Regulating the Work of Associations and Other Institutions Working in the Field of Civil Work, all NGOs are prohibited from conducting activities that "harm national security, public order, public morality, or public health," vague terms that can be abused to constrain legitimate activity. The bill creates a "National Authority for the Regulation of Foreign Non-governmental Organizations" that includes representatives of Egypt's top national security bodies-the General Intelligence Directorate and the Defense and Interior Ministries-as well as representatives from the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Central Bank of Egypt. The authority will oversee the work of NGOs, including any funding or cooperation between Egyptian associations and any foreign entity. The law prohibits any Egyptian government body from making agreements with NGOs without the authority's approval.

The law strictly controls the funding of NGOs. It states that associations must obtain permission from the authority 30 days in advance to receive donations from Egyptian entities or individuals inside Egypt and must inform the Social Solidarity Ministry upon the receipt of such funds. The law further states that associations may receive funding or grants from foreign entities inside Egypt or Egyptian or foreign entities outside Egypt as long as the authority is notified within 30 days of receipt. The authority then has the right to reject the funding within a 60-day period following its notification. Associations may not use these funds within the 60-day review period.

Additionally, the law gives the government the authority to monitor and challenge NGOs' day-to-day activities, from choices in leadership to the schedule of internal meetings. Even a move as administrative as relocating headquarters to another building without informing the authorities is punishable under the law. The law creates a blanket and ambiguous provision authorizing the Egyptian government to cancel a foreign NGO's license at any time if the NGO's work is deemed to be harming national security or public safety or disturbing public order, or per the principle of reciprocity.

Thus, state bodies assembled in this new authority-including security bodies-are given the power to interfere in every aspect of NGOs' existence, administration and activities. Parliamentarians claimed the law will make this sector more "secure" by ensuring robust oversight, but it is doubtful that this authority will have the capacity to effectively oversee a thriving and active NGO sector. Rather, full implementation of the law will induce paralysis and eventual closure of much of the nonprofit sector, as many NGO requests for licensing or approval of funding will likely go unanswered and be considered denied by default. Yet Egyptians are in severe and growing need of the services and support NGOs provide. The country needs the non-profit sector to grow, not to wither away.

The law punishes a host of violations by one to five years in prison and a fine of 50,000 to 1,000,000 Egyptian pounds. Among the prohibited activities that could result in a prison sentence are:

- establishing an NGO that is deemed to have breached national unity, national security, public order or public morals;

- assisting or working with a foreign NGO that is conducting work in Egypt without a license;

- establishing or managing any entity that does NGO work without following the provisions of this law; and

- sending or receiving foreign funds as a president or member of an NGO in violation of the law's provisions.

Anyone who issues a license to an NGO whose work violates the law, obstructs the government from inspecting an NGO's paperwork, or conducts public opinion surveys or fieldwork or moves an NGO office without approval faces a prison sentence of up to one year or a possible fine of 20,000 to 500,000 Egyptian pounds.

This law contravenes Egypt's commitment to international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that no restrictions may be placed on the right to free association other than those "which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others." No restriction should undermine the essence of the right to freedom of association itself.

We call upon the Egyptian government to drop all existing criminal investigations into NGOs and to repeal this law in accordance with its domestic and international obligations to protect freedom of association.

Restricting civil society to this degree eliminates a path for Egyptian citizens to peacefully express dissent, hold the government accountable for human rights violations, and access human development initiatives at a time of economic hardship. By constraining civil society, the government has made it more difficult for NGOs to respond to social needs that at times can lead to unrest, such as recent increases in the price of bread. Increased state control of Egyptian NGOs results in opacity surrounding security threats and terror attacks and gives perpetrators the opportunity to shape the narrative of the struggle between the state and violent extremists.

Additionally, we call on Egypt's international partners providing foreign assistance and economic aid such as the United States and the European Union to use their influence to urge the Egyptian government to allow NGOs to fulfill their function within civil society. Moreover, international bodies such as the United Nations and United Nations Human Rights Council, and their member states, must endeavor to use their positions as mediators within the international community to hold Egypt accountable for legislation that muzzles civil society to such a severe degree.

It should not be a crime to advocate for human rights and development in Egypt, but this law does just that, crippling civil society for years to come.

Signatories:

- The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)

- Human Rights Watch (HRW)

- Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

- CIVICUS

- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

- FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

- Associazione Ricreativa Culturale Italiana (ARCI)

- Un Ponte Per
Life-threatening obstinacy at the Algerian-Moroccan border

Publisher International Federation for Human Rights Publication Date 7 June 2017 Cite as International Federation for Human Rights, Life-threatening obstinacy at the Algerian-Moroccan border, 7 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a5d704.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Must someone die for the families stuck at the Algerian-Moroccan border to receive water, food, and the protection they are entitled to? Our organisations call for an immediate solution to be found, before it is too late.

The Algerian Foreign Ministry's June 2nd official statements announcing its readiness to welcome the "Syrian nationals" on humanitarian grounds, have not been implemented, turning this long lasting situation into an unbearable state of affairs.

Since the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) high-level denunciation of this "untenable and dangerous situation", the issue had seemed to be moving out of its previous impasse, in spite of substantial uncertainty about the eventual fate of these Syrians in a country without asylum laws.

Today, nationalist obstinacy on the Algerian and Moroccan sides is hindering resolution of the situation. A joint delegation from the UNHCR and the Algerian Red Crescent was kept waiting in vain for hours on June 5 at the Beni-Ounif border crossing, for the "transfer"-as inappropriate as it is-to take place, in this latent conflict setting. Earlier that morning, the Moroccan forces had committed an act of refoulement by arresting a dozen men and women refugees in the centre of the Moroccan town of Figuig at 6AM, and bringing them back into the buffer zone at the border.

The situation is thus at a dead-end while families, with whom we spoke on the phone yesterday afternoon, have eventually agreed to enter Algeria, even though their primary wish remains to reunite with those of their family members legally established in Morocco or in the European Union.

For five days now, and in the absence of any dialogue between Algeria and Morocco, women and children have been waiting for the military force to provide them with water and food. The refugees are out of reach be it for doctors, the UNHCR, NGOs or even water which local residents have been trying to channel to families yesterday to no avail. No humanitarian aid is being provided by any of the authorities. The river close by is dry, so they report.

We hereby denounce the inhumane and degrading treatment which state authorities willingly inflict on these people on territorial grounds and in blatant breach of their legal and moral obligations.

We urge the Algerian and the Moroccan authorities to immediately take these people out of this no-go zone where they are arbitrarily maintained, to treat them with dignity (water, food, health care). We urge them to give these refugees access to the UNHCR (Algiers, Geneva, Rabat) with no further delay so they can be registered and engage the steps necessary to their reception, and the full respect of the rights including family unity and family reunification. Finally, we urge the United Nations in Geneva, in particular the UNHCR as well as the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants to closely monitor and pro-actively involve at the highest level given the seriousness of the situation.

Our organisations are outraged that this territorial dispute, materialised by the growing militarisation of the area, is leading to the complete oblivion of the most basic man as well as human principles. That's enough of a widely reported and denounced situation which has lasted too long.
Sudan: ICRC assisted 253 detainees released by government

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 4 April 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Sudan: ICRC assisted 253 detainees released by government, 4 April 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a5fe34.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has provided humanitarian assistance to 253 detainees released by the government of Sudan on 9 March. The majority of them are part of Darfuri armed opposition groups.

The ICRC provided the 253 with kits containing essential items. It also granted 242 of the released men a travel allowance to cover the transportation costs to their home towns, making their reunification with their families possible.

"We are very pleased to support the reunification of the released men with their families," said Gerard Peytrignet, ICRC's head of delegation in Sudan. "It was upon the request of the Sudanese government and the Justice and Equality Movement - Gibreel Ibrahim that we became involved. The regular dialogue that we hold with all those involved in the conflict has enabled us to play our role as neutral intermediary once again."

In addition, ICRC's team carried out routine confidential interviews with the released men to inquire about their wellbeing.

In March 2017, in a different humanitarian operation involving Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda, the ICRC facilitated the repatriation of 125 people released by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), and handed them over to the authorities in Khartoum.
Lebanese authorities must pass a law on missing persons

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 13 April 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Lebanese authorities must pass a law on missing persons, 13 April 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a60084.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Forty-two years after the civil war began in Lebanon, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) calls on the Lebanese authorities to pass a law that will help clarify the fate of those who have gone missing during armed conflicts in the country since 1975. The ICRC also urges the authorities to approve a project to collect biological reference samples from the missing persons' families.

"The families of missing persons have been waiting for years, anxious to receive news about their loved ones," said Fabrizzio Carboni, head of the ICRC delegation in Lebanon. "Unfortunately, we are running out of time: mothers and fathers are dying heartbroken without knowing what happened to their sons and daughters. They have a right to know, and it is the responsibility of the Lebanese authorities to provide some answers."

Thousands of people from all sides and backgrounds went missing in Lebanon during the civil war, and their fate remains unknown. Under international humanitarian law, government authorities are required to clarify the fate of persons who go missing in conflict situations. However, Lebanon has yet to take the necessary steps.

"Looking at the priorities of the Lebanese government, we feel that the suffering of missing persons' families is underappreciated," said Carboni. "This should change. A law on missing persons and a mechanism to provide answers should be made a priority."

Since 2012, the ICRC has actively supported the Lebanese authorities in fulfilling their responsibility to clarify the fate of missing persons. The organization has been interviewing families to gather crucial and detailed information about their missing loved ones and collecting biological reference samples from their close relatives for future DNA analysis and identification efforts.

The ICRC is standing by the families and responding to their specific needs. In 2015, it launched an accompaniment project in Aley, Baabda, Chouf and Sidon to create a support network for them. Carboni said: "The families have a pressing need to learn the fate of their missing loved ones. Since the beginning of the civil war, we've been helping them. Today, we need the Lebanese authorities to assume their responsibilities."

The ICRC has been present in Lebanon since 1967 and has carried out its humanitarian work through periods of conflict, including the 1975-1990 civil war. The organization is currently responding to the rapidly growing needs of displaced people fleeing war and violence across the region along with the communities hosting them.
Yemen: As situation deteriorates, ICRC doubles its aid budget

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 25 April 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Yemen: As situation deteriorates, ICRC doubles its aid budget, 25 April 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a60304.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The ICRC's director for the Middle East, Robert Mardini, has said the humanitarian situation in Yemen is deteriorating fast and a massive international effort is needed to relieve the suffering. The ICRC has announced it's stepping up its operations and doubling its budget for the country this year to 90 million dollars. It's estimated that 70% of the population in Yemen is in need of some form of humanitarian aid.

An ICRC surgical team has been deployed to the port city of Hodeidah and another one is due to arrive in Aden. The number of ICRC's international workers in the country is being doubled and the number of national staff is increasing by a third.

"The needs are massive and time is short. Famine threatens. At the root of the suffering is the ongoing conflict. It's ripping the heart out of the country. Only 45% of medical facilities are functioning. International humanitarian law is being flouted with civilians and civilian infrastructure paying the price," said Mr Mardini.

"Another major issue that needs to be dealt with are the severe restrictions placed on the import of goods and the movement of such goods and medicines within the country. Yemen depends on imports. People are suffering and dying not just from the fighting, but from from chronic illnesses and disease. We need to see this stranglehold relaxed. It'll help greatly in the relief of the peoples' suffering.'

The ICRC is also very concerned about the lack of meaningful access to detainees being held by all sides, reports of deteriorating conditions of detention and an absence of family links. It is important for parties to the conflict to allow ICRC staff to visit, as soon as possible, people arrested in relation to the conflict, and to re-establish links between those being held and their families.

"The ICRC remains ready and willing to assist in this area. All people detained in connection with the current conflict should be visited. This could make a strong contribution to the building of mutual trust between the different sides," said Robert Mardini.

Mr Mardini's comments came on the day that the United Nations co-hosted a major international conference in Geneva with Switzerland and Sweden to appeal for more funds to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
Detainees' contacts with families are Israel's obligation under IHL

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 3 May 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Detainees' contacts with families are Israel's obligation under IHL, 3 May 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a60694.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) calls upon the Israeli authorities to shoulder their full responsibilities under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) with regard to family contacts between Palestinians detained in Israel and their families residing in the occupied territories.

"Family contact must be improved, not further restricted," said Mr de Maio, head of the ICRC delegation in Israel and the occupied territories, referring to the systematic suspension by Israeli authorities of family visits for detainees on hunger strike, and of the permits for their families. According to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, Palestinians are entitled to these visits, which can only be limited for security reasons, on a case by case basis, but never for strictly punitive or disciplinary purposes.

"The families are paying the price for this situation," said Mr de Maio. More generally, Palestinians are detained in Israel, rather than within the occupied territory as required by the law of occupation. As a consequence, family members have less access to their detained relatives. They need special permits and have to undertake long trips to see their loved ones, with checks and waiting times when crossing terminals or at the prison.

"Since 1968, the ICRC has been facilitating family visits to detainees held in Israel. Let us be very clear however that this is first and foremost the responsibility of the state of Israel as occupying power," said Mr de Maio.

ICRC delegates visit Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, including those on hunger strike. They ensure critical family contacts through Red Cross messages, oral greetings, and the ICRC family visit programme, coordinated with Israeli authorities. Since 1968, there have been 3.5 million family visits. Last year alone, the ICRC ensured 114,000 family visits in total to detainees held in Israeli detention facilities.
Georgia/Abkhazia/South Ossetia: More than 30 gravesites to be excavated in search for missing people

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 4 June 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Georgia/Abkhazia/South Ossetia: More than 30 gravesites to be excavated in search for missing people, 4 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a60c14.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is about to begin another round of excavations in search of the remains of people who went missing during and after the armed conflicts that took place in the 1990s and in August 2008. Work will first get under way at three locations - two in Gori and one in Kaspi.

ICRC forensic experts plan to concentrate their efforts - from May to September - on more than 30 potential gravesites.

Information about these sites was collected within the framework of the two coordination mechanisms established in 2010 under the aegis of the ICRC. These mechanisms - one made up of Abkhaz and Georgian participants, and the other consisting of South Ossetian, Russian and Georgian participants - work to provide answers for the families of missing people. Their sole purpose is to ascertain, for purely humanitarian reasons, the fate of those who remain unaccounted for years after the end of conflict.

During the period from 2010 to 2016, some 249 sets of human remains were recovered. Of these, 107 were identified and handed over to the families concerned for dignified burial; the process of identifying the rest is ongoing.
Tajikistan: ICRC provides medical supplies to Ishkashim District Hospital

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 5 May 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Tajikistan: ICRC provides medical supplies to Ishkashim District Hospital, 5 May 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a60ed4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Today, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provided medical supplies to Ishkashim District Hospital in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast in Tajikistan. The supplies, which include materials for infusions, dressings and sutures, will help to treat wounded people transferred from across the border in Zebak District, in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, Afghanistan, where there has been a recent outburst of armed violence.

"These supplies will cover people's present needs," said Claudia Azzolini, head of the ICRC's mission in Dushanbe. "But if the fighting continues in Badakhshan and more wounded people are transferred to Tajikistan, we will need to send more assistance."

"The hospital can now provide emergency care to the ten wounded people currently undergoing treatment," said Dr Parviz Borakov, the hospital's chief physician. "We may need more support if the fighting continues."

In cooperation with the Red Crescent Society of Tajikistan and the local authorities, the ICRC will continue to assess the hospital's needs in order to be able to respond quickly should additional medical supplies be needed.
Yemen: Access to detainees a humanitarian must

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 16 May 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Yemen: Access to detainees a humanitarian must, 16 May 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a612d4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The suffering of thousands of families who have had no contact with relatives detained in relation to the conflict in Yemen must end, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday.

"We urgently call on all sides, including states supporting parties on the ground, to ensure unconditional and immediate access to people detained in relation with the conflict," said Dominik Stillhart, ICRC's global Director of Operations, who completed a five-day visit to Yemen on Tuesday.

"Hundreds of families have approached us on this issue. Some of them have been without news from their loved ones for years. Enforced disappearances and allegations of ill-treatment and deteriorating conditions further add to the plight of detainees and to families' anxiety," Mr. Stillhart added.

Such visits are a non-negotiable humanitarian imperative, Mr. Stillhart said. They also would be an important contribution to the building of mutual trust amongst Yemeni communities.

The ICRC last year visited more than 11,000 detainees in Yemen and 250 Yemeni detainees in Saudi Arabia. "However, many conflict-related detainees remain off-limits in many locations. This has to change in the best interest of all sides," Mr. Stillhart said.

The ICRC works around the world to ensure humane conditions of detention by regularly visiting places of detention, meeting with detainees to monitor their conditions and treatment, and by bringing about improvements. It discusses its findings confidentially with the authorities concerned.
Somalia: Big influx at nutritional feeding centres for children

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 18 May 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Somalia: Big influx at nutritional feeding centres for children, 18 May 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a61614.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The nutritional feeding centre for malnourished children supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Baidoa, Somalia has more than twice as many young patients this year as one year ago, underscoring the large food needs in the country.

"One look at our nutritional feeding centre shows how high the needs are for Somalia's children," Dominik Stillhart, the global director of operations for the ICRC, said after visiting the feeding centre this week. "The good news is that assistance is coming in, but the needs are overwhelming."

The nutritional feeding centre in Baidoa currently has 230 patients under the age of five. A year ago at this time it had 100 patients. Nationwide, the ICRC and Somali Red Crescent Society have seen an 80 percent increase in the number of malnourished children treated at its stabilization centres and clinics this year compared to last year (12,710 in January-April 2017 vs. 7,086 in January-April 2016).

"The humanitarian community must work as fast as it can to help the 6 million people in need in Somalia, including the 360,000 acutely malnourished children, in a way that assistance reaches those who really need it, wherever they are, and as soon and possible," said Jordi Raich, the head of delegation for ICRC's Somalia office.

The humanitarian community cannot repeat the mistakes of Somalia's 2011 famine, Raich said. A slow and at-times inefficient aid response resulted in too many deaths six years ago. Somalia's latest hunger crisis, though exacerbated by climate, is still man-made, and too many families are suffering because of it. The humanitarian community at large must efficiently deliver assistance where it is needed most to prevent thousands of avoidable deaths.
Ukraine crisis: Too many families still searching for missing loved ones

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 24 May 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Ukraine crisis: Too many families still searching for missing loved ones, 24 May 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a61cc4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Three years after the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, several thousand people are still missing. Although the exact number is not known, what is clear is that several families are still waiting to find out the whereabouts of their relatives.

To shed light on this issue, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is today opening an exhibition in Slaviansk entitled Uncertainty: Families of the Missing on Both Sides of the Conflict, devoted to missing persons and their families on either side of the line of contact in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

"Uncertainty as to whether their missing relatives are alive or dead causes families intense stress and suffering," says Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC's head of delegation in Ukraine. "There is an urgent need to find answers. Families have the right to know."

Over 600 cases of missing persons registered with the ICRC remain unsolved. The vast majority of them are for men. And around half the overall ICRC caseload since the beginning of the conflict concerns civilians who have disappeared.

Based on research carried out by the ICRC in 2016, it became clear that people searching for missing loved ones require psychological and psychosocial support. In response, in October 2016, the ICRC started an 'accompaniment' programme for a small number of families and plans to expand it this year.

The ICRC forensics experts are also providing training, technical and material support for the exhumation, examination and identification of human remains, working with search and recovery teams, police authorities and forensics experts.

"Our services are there for everyone seeking contact with, or news about, relatives who are missing or from whom they are separated," explains Mr Aeschlimann. "Together with local Red Cross branches, the ICRC teams are actively assisting families who are looking for a missing person. People have the right to know what has happened to their loved ones."

The ICRC's 'Uncertainty' exhibition in Slaviansk will run until 6 June on the main square. It was also displayed in Kyiv and Severodonetsk in the second part of 2016 and will also be shown in other cities in the coming months.

About other activities of the ICRC in Ukraine

The ICRC's services are free. As an independent, neutral and impartial humanitarian organization, the ICRC focuses on helping the most vulnerable. Its teams visit people detained in connection with the conflict in government-controlled areas, and are negotiating full access to places of detention on the other side of the line of contact. In accordance with its mandate, the ICRC is present whenever possible during the release and transfer of detainees between the parties concerned.

The ICRC delivers food, hygiene items, medicines and building materials to the worst-affected communities and is helping various water boards to provide drinking water and repair vital infrastructure. ICRC teams conduct mine risk education activities and produce posters, billboards, mine marking signs and other tools for use by those involved in mine clearance and training. The ICRC also regularly reminds the parties concerned in the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law. These universally recognized rules, which are based on a clear distinction between civilians and military personnel, require that civilians and civilian infrastructure be protected from the effects of hostilities.
Philippines: ICRC steps up response to needs linked to fighting in Marawi City

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 26 May 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Philippines: ICRC steps up response to needs linked to fighting in Marawi City, 26 May 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a62024.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Thousands of people continue to flee the fighting in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province, southern Philippines, seeking safety in neighboring areas such as Iligan City. Many families are staying with relatives, while others went to evacuation centers or sought shelters in schools.

"This morning, our team has finally entered Marawi City and delivered 1,000 water jugs to the displaced families at the provincial capitol, and transported at least 300 residents from Marawi to the evacuation center in Saguiaran. We were able to access Marawi as we are in touch with various stakeholders," said Pascal Porchet, Head of Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Philippines.

"The situation is very fluid. Residents are moving in and out of Marawi, and we are seriously concerned about those who are trapped or have chosen to stay in the city, who are in need of food and water. This is currently a challenge for our teams on the ground as they assess the situation in order to have a clear picture of the number of displaced people and their needs," he added.

In Iligan, the ICRC has prepositioned medical supplies to reinforce the capacity of rural health units in addressing the basic health needs of displaced people. They include basic medicines, antibiotics, dressing materials; as well as injectable medication and intravenous fluids that can support 30,000 people in three months. One of these kits will be delivered to the RHU in Saguiaran this afternoon.

Medical items to treat wounded people have also been dispatched, for hospitals that may need replenishment. In addition, food, essential household items and hygiene kits will be dispatched to Iligan from the ICRC warehouse in Davao this afternoon for prepositioning.

The ICRC also provided first-aid bags and dressing kits to support the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chapters in Marawi and Iligan cities. It has also provided resources for the mobilization of PRC's volunteer force in case a greater response is needed. The PRC and the ICRC will coordinate the response according to the needs. The PRC is ICRC's primary partner in the country.

With the ongoing hostilities in Marawi City, and with some residents remaining there, Porchet urged those involved in the fighting to take the necessary precautions to spare civilians and their property.

"International humanitarian law (IHL) remains applicable in this situation, even after the declaration of martial law in Mindanao. As such, it must be respected at all times and by all the parties. People who may be arrested must be treated humanely and the ICRC will continue to monitor their conditions and treatment," he said.

IHL limits the means and methods of warfare and protects people who do not take part in the fighting (i.e civilians, medics, aid workers) and those who can no longer fight (i.e. wounded, sick, captured or detained fighters). These limits are particularly meaningful in populated areas where the risk of harm to civilians and civilian objects, including essential infrastructure, increases.

The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization that protects and assists victims of armed conflict. It has an international mandate to promote knowledge for and respect of IHL.
Philippines: Increased health risks feared among people displaced by Marawi fighting

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Philippines: Increased health risks feared among people displaced by Marawi fighting, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a62354.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The start of the rainy season in the Philippines may add burden to the thousands of people displaced by the fighting in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, southern Philippines.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has observed an increase in the number of reported cases of diarrhea, upper respiratory infection, hypertension and fever in different health facilities providing medical assistance to the displaced residents, particularly those who are staying in evacuation centers.

"We may have survived the fighting in Marawi, but I'm still concerned for the children and old people like me. Now that we're here at the evacuation center, everything seems so uncertain. The rains are so strong and many are getting sick," said Alimpay Macaagir, a 64-year-old evacuee at a covered court in Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur.

More than 200,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Marawi City. Majority of the evacuees are temporarily seeking shelter with their relatives. On the other hand, thousands of them who have nowhere to go are cramped in evacuation centers, within and outside the city, for more than two weeks now.

According to Jose Amigo, Health Coordinator of the ICRC in the Philippines, the increase in the number of cases is due to the displaced population's current living condition. "They-particularly children and the elderlies-become at risk to water-borne diseases because of their limited access to basic water and sanitation facilities. They also become prone to communicable diseases because of the limited space in evacuation centers."

Amigo added, "The health situation is not yet critical at this point, but we fear that this may worsen in the coming days with prolonged displacement."

In support of the local health units' efforts to address this concern, the ICRC has been working closely with hospitals and other health facilities within and around Marawi City to augment their existing capacity.

To date, the ICRC has provided additional medicines and medical supplies to 11 hospitals and health facilities in Iligan and Balo-i in Lanao del Norte, and Tamparan, Balindong, Piagapo, Saguiaran and Marawi in Lanao del Sur.

The ICRC has also supported the mini-hospital setup by the rural health unit of Saguiaran by providing 10 folding beds for patients, and a supplementary kit of essential medicines and medical supplies that can serve 10,000 individuals for three months.

"We have been working closely with the Department of Health (DOH) since the fighting in Marawi broke out, and we commend the good job that they have been doing on the ground despite all the challenges that they face. The ICRC will continue to be one of the active partners of DOH, supporting its efforts in providing the much needed medical assistance to the people affected by the conflict," said Amigo.

The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization that protects and assists victims of armed conflict. It has a mandate to promote knowledge on and respect for international humanitarian law.
Missing Israeli nationals: Hamas must abide by international humanitarian law

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Missing Israeli nationals: Hamas must abide by international humanitarian law, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a62a14.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urges the Hamas authorities to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law to the five Israeli nationals who went missing in Gaza between July 2014 and 2016, and remain unaccounted for.

Missing persons, regardless of their status - fallen or captured soldiers during fighting, or civilians taken captive by an adverse party - are protected by humanitarian law. They and their families must be shown due regard under the law.

"Persons captured alive must be accounted for and treated humanely. Human remains, too, must be handled with dignity, identified and returned to the families concerned," said Jacques de Maio, the head of the ICRC's delegation in Israel and the occupied territories. "These are among the most widely accepted rules of warfare."

The ICRC has consistently reminded the Hamas authorities, at the highest level, of their legal and humanitarian obligations, and told them that intentionally withholding information about missing persons is acting in violation of humanitarian law.

The right to know the fate of missing relatives is a fundamental principle of humanitarian law. Yet, recent video clips portraying the missing Israeli nationals and their families are giving rise to new speculations about their fate and adding to their families' anguish.

The ICRC is in direct contact with the families concerned and remains committed to ascertaining the fate of all persons still unaccounted for.
Tunisia: Secret Detentions Mar Anti-Corruption Effort

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 9 June 2017 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Tunisia: Secret Detentions Mar Anti-Corruption Effort, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593a9fa54.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The referral of a businessman to trial before a military court, and the incommunicado detention of seven other men in undisclosed locations, is a threat to human rights in Tunisia, Human Rights Watch said today.

Authorities arrested Chafik Jarraya, a well-connected businessman, and seven other men, between May 23 and 25, 2017. They placed Jarraya and the others under "house arrest" in an unknown location, a procedure allowed under the country's state of emergency. Authorities said the men were involved in corruption and represented a threat to state security.

"A genuine democratic transition has no place for military trials for civilians or secret detention, no matter how serious the charges," said Amna Guellali, Tunisia director at Human Rights Watch. "Just as transparency and the rule of law are the best safeguards against corruption, they should also guide the fight against corruption, if that is indeed what these cases are about."

On May 26, the military prosecutor's office announced that he had indicted Jarraya on charges of treason and intelligence with a foreign army, punishable by the death penalty. His lawyers were able to visit him at the military barracks in Al Aouina. Authorities have not disclosed the whereabouts of the others or the charges against them.

Tunisian authorities have previously used house arrests under the state of emergency. They have also tried civilians before military tribunals, in most cases for defamation of the army as an institution and of specific officers. However, this appears to be the first time since the ouster of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 that authorities have held people incommunicado, without access to lawyers, and without informing families of their whereabouts.

Under Tunisian and international law, all detainees have the right to be promptly informed of the charges against them, to contact their family and lawyer, and to have their detention reviewed by a judge. International law views house arrest as a form of detention that warrants basic safeguards that the government must respect even during a state of emergency.

On May 26, the Confiscation Commission, a state body created in 2011 to confiscate and freeze assets of the Ben Ali family and anyone who financially benefited from ill-gotten gains under the Ben Ali government, announced that it has frozen the assets of eight men: Jarraya, Yassine Channoufi, Mongi Ben Rbeh, Nejib Ben Ismail, Ali Karoui, Hlel Ben Massaoud Bchiri, Mondher Jnayah, and Kamel Fraj.

In an interview with La Presse newspaper, on June 6, 2017, Youssef Chahed, the head of government, said that the arrest of Jarraya and seven other men was linked to the fight against corruption. He did not name the seven others. Chahed also said that he had "presided over the preliminary investigations that had led to their arrests." "This is not a one-off operation," he said. "People should get used to it in the same way as the fight against terrorism." He justified the use of the emergency law by saying "this is an exceptional situation and it requires exceptional measures. These people represent a threat to state security."

On May 25, 2017, the Interior Ministry stated on its website that it had "place[d] under house arrest a number of people, based on information proving their involvement in acts threatening public security and order." The ministry described the measures as preventive, limited in duration, and warranted by the need to protect security and fight corruption. The ministry asserted that it would respect the legal guarantees enshrined in the constitution and in the laws pertaining to people placed under house arrest, and would stop using this measure when the state of emergency was lifted.

Zouhair Chennoufi, the lawyer and brother of Yassine Chennoufi, and Imed Ben Hlima, the lawyer for Nejib Ben Smail, both businessmen, confirmed to Human Rights Watch that they have not been able to locate their clients since their arrest.

The authorities should promptly disclose the whereabouts of the detainees, ensure they can freely communicate with their lawyers, and ensure they and their lawyers have access to incriminating evidence against them. All the detainees should be brought promptly before a judge to review the legality and necessity of their detention.

Faical Jadlaoui, one of Jarraya's lawyers, told Human Rights Watch that the military investigative judge overseeing this case has not allowed the lawyers to make photocopies of the case file, authorizing them only to read the documents in his office. He said the lawyers have refused to do so because they consider this refusal a breach of the rights of the defense. Jadlaoui said the lawyers were able to visit Jarraya at the military barracks in Al Aouina. He said authorities had not interrogated his client as of June 7.

President Beji Caid Essebsi declared a state of emergency on November 24, 2015, after a suicide bombing in Tunis. He has renewed it several times, most recently on May 16, 2017, for one months.

Tunisia's state of emergency is based on a 1978 presidential decree that gives the Interior Ministry the authority to order the house arrest of anyone whose "activities are deemed to endanger security and public order." The emergency decree does not stipulate that authorities must disclose the location of the house arrest.

Corruption, rife during the Ben Ali presidency, has continued since his ouster. Chawki Tabib, president of the National Anti-Corruption Authority, warned the problem had reached "epidemic" proportions. Chahed has vowed to fight corruption since becoming prime minister in 2016.

These arrests come after Imed Trabelsi, a nephew of Leila Trabelsi, Ben Ali's wife, said in a live televised hearing on May 19, 2017, before the Truth and Dignity Commission, Tunisia's independent body investigating past human rights violations, that he benefited from a system of corruption involving a wide network of businessmen, customs officers, and ministers.

Informed listeners inferred that the figures he was speaking about included Jarraya and Channoufi, although he did not name them.

If Tunisian authorities proceed with house arrests under the state of emergency, under international law they should do so only for finite periods of time, disclose the whereabouts of anyone detained this way, and allow them to meaningfully appeal their detention and to have access to judicial review.

Tunisian law grants broad jurisdiction to military courts over a variety of acts committed by civilians as well as military personnel.

Allowing the prosecution of a civilian before a military tribunal is a violation of the right to a fair trial and due process guarantees, Human Rights Watch said. International human rights experts have consistently determined that trials of civilians before military tribunals violate the due process guarantees in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which affirms that everyone has the right to be tried by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, has prohibited the trial of civilians in military courts. The Resolution on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Aid in Africa, noted that "[t]he purpose of Military Courts is to determining offences of a pure military nature committed by pure military personnel."

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
The battle for Raqqa begins

Publisher IRIN Author Aron Lund Publication Date 6 June 2017 Cite as IRIN, The battle for Raqqa begins, 6 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593aa13c4.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The assault on Raqqa officially began on Tuesday morning with the announcement of a "great battle", but many fear that the Syrian city, which for three years has served as the de facto capital of so-called Islamic State in Syria, won't fall easily.

"We expect a really tough battle," IRIN was told by Jesper Soder, a Swedish volunteer who serves as a Syria-based spokesman for the the Syrian Democratic Forces, the group that now seeks to end IS's reign in Raqqa.

An avowedly secular alliance of Kurdish and Arab groups, the SDF is supported by the United States and other members of an international coalition looking to oust IS from the areas it seized in Syria and Iraq in 2014 - although Turkey is outspoken in its opposition to the group.

The coalition has proved almost unstoppable on its slow march to Raqqa. Backed by US air support, the SDF has captured some 6,000 square kilometres from the jihadis since early 2015, including 350 in the last week of May alone. Its forces crossed the Euphrates in March and have since been preparing for an assault on the city itself. But they don't expect an easy time ahead.

"Daesh has gone door to door, forcing men to take up arms to protect the capital of the caliphate," Soder told IRIN, using the Arabic acronym for IS. "It is hard to tell how long it will take."

Quick work or a drawn-out battle?

SDF commanders and their international allies have been wary of promising quick win. At a 6 June press conference in Syria, SDF spokesman Talal Selo denied having any set timetable for capturing Raqqa. Soon after, Lieutenant General Steven Townsend, who commands the coalition forces, warned that the fight could be "long and difficult".

In nearby Iraq, a US-backed campaign to retake Mosul from IS has lasted more than seven months and displaced more than 800,000 civilians, amid enormous suffering for the city's inhabitants. Some fear Raqqa too could turn into a drawn-out siege with urban fighting, and that civilians will suffer the brunt of the violence.

In many respects, however, the equivalence between Raqqa and Mosul is a false one. The two cities are often juxtaposed in the media as the IS "capitals" of Syria and Iraq, but this obscures the fact that Mosul is much bigger. The Iraqi city reportedly had close to 1.4 million inhabitants before IS took control of it in 2014, while the resident population of Raqqa may have been less than 300,000. These figures do not include the surrounding provinces.

IS is also weaker now than when the Mosul offensive began in late 2016, and, for all of the city's symbolic importance, the group may decide to cut its losses instead of making Raqqa the scene of a grand last stand.

American officials and other sources claim many IS administrators and leaders left Raqqa over the spring to relocate in Mayadeen, a city in the lower Euphrates region between Deir Ezzor and the Iraqi border. If true, this may facilitate the SDF's retaking of the city.

And yet, the jihadis have had years to prepare their defenses. Even a small garrison would suffice to draw SDF troops into dangerous street fighting at close quarters and increase their dependence on US airstrikes, which could be devastating to the city and its inhabitants.

Rising civilian death toll

The US government says its airstrikes are very precise and that civilian casualties are very rare. The coalition says its operations caused at least 484 "unintentional civilian deaths" since the first bombs were dropped as part of a US-led, multi-nation counterattack against IS in September 2014. This seems a very low number for two and a half years of bombardment, and other sources give less flattering estimates. For example, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, a monitoring group close to the US-backed Syrian opposition in exile, tallied 1,256 civilian deaths from coalition strikes between September 2014 and May 2017 in Syria alone. And Air Wars, an NGO that tracks civilian casualties from airstrikes, says it found credible reports of between 3,817 and 6,025 non-combatant deaths over the same period in Syria and Iraq.

All sources agree, however, that the civilian casualty rate has been climbing fast since the SDF began to home in on Raqqa. The Syrian Network for Human Rights listed April 2017 as the first month when the international coalition killed more civilians than the Russian Air Force in Syria, and says this pattern still held in May. The coalition itself listed only 118 "credible" reports of civilian deaths before April 2017, followed by 132 in that month alone. If true, those statistics would seem to mean three quarters of all civilian killings acknowledged by the coalition since 2014 took place in April, May, and June 2017.

As the battle moves into Raqqa itself, these numbers will undoubtedly rise further.

Deteriorating conditions and fears of displacement

The situation inside Raqqa has been deteriorating steadily over the Syrian spring, as electricity grid and clean-water pumps break down, food prices rise, and inhabitants of the city and its suburbs are forcibly moved around, on order of both IS and its enemies.

The SDF has called on civilians in Raqqa to leave the city and, although the numbers are conflated with people fleeing other areas of Raqqa province, there are now some 200,000 uprooted people moving around inside coalition-held territories north of the city. Around half have been driven from their homes since April. Some 90,000 are reportedly housed in camps, where conditions appear to be very harsh, while the rest have found temporary lodging in cities and villages elsewhere in the region, or have crossed over to areas outside SDF control. The UN and other aid groups do their best to provide shelter and aid in all these areas but face growing restrictions working out of Turkey and are generally unable to work in IS-held regions.

Speaking to a reporter in a Turkish-controlled part of Syria, some displaced Arab civilians said SDF commanders had prevented them from returning home, reinforcing fears of Kurdish-Arab ethnic strife or land grabs. The UN also reports that the SDF places restrictions on fleeing Syrians, including by confiscating identity papers or cell phones at some camps or checkpoints and banning people from entering certain areas unless they can get a local sponsor to vouch for their right to be there.

However, the SDF argues that IS tactics, which include hiding among civilians to stage suicide bombings, require them to monitor civilian movement, and coalition representatives vehemently deny any intent to discriminate on ethnic grounds.

"This is done for safety reasons," SDF's Soder told IRIN. "We're checking with all the sources we can to figure out who these people are and what connections they might have to Daesh. You need to remember that this city has been inhabited by the most faithful of the caliphate." He also stressed to IRIN that any restrictions are intended to be temporary.

Still, northern Syria is a volatile place and it remains to be seen how much top-down discipline can be enforced by SDF commanders on lower-tier leaders over time. Parochial rivalries - ranging from local warlordism and economic competition to ethnic, tribal, and family feuds - have become inextricably conflated with the war. Propaganda, prejudice, and fear itself could easily become drivers of displacement and sources for continued instability, whatever the intent or planning of the actors involved.

After Raqqa, what next?

Once Raqqa falls, there will be much celebration - expect a long line of journalists touring Raqqa to tell the story of the IS caliphate. But SDF leaders seem well aware that their problems will be far from over. IS will still control large areas along the Euphrates, and, of course, in Iraq. It will probably retain underground networks and local support in areas lost and among some members of displaced communities, which could allow the group to stage bombings and perhaps even retake some areas, when or if an opportunity presents itself.

Governing Raqqa in a stable fashion may prove difficult. The SDF set up a council in April that will be tasked with organising civilian affairs there, but if the council and its allies fail to secure local buy-in, they could easily be forced to rely on coercive policing and may provoke renewed resistance. Kurdish-Arab tension or conflicts between Bedouin clans, civilian displacement, and material destruction could further complicate the situation.

If destruction is very severe, the city may have trouble absorbing returnees after the battle winds down, which could leave tens of thousands of people from Raqqa stranded in camps or nearby towns for an extended period of time. With resources scarce and humanitarian aid in short supply all over Syria, that alone could be a cause for conflict.

The situation is further complicated by the looming threat to Syria's Kurdish areas from Turkey, to the north. The government in Ankara is fuming over US support for the SDF, in particular over a recent White House decision to send arms directly to the group's dominant Kurdish component, which is tightly linked to Ankara's arch-enemy: the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

Friction along the Syrian-Turkish border has consequently increased as the SDF has moved closer to Raqqa over the past few months. The Turkish government has no special love for IS, which is responsible for gruesome attacks inside Turkey, but Ankara does not want to see its Kurdish foes tear down the black banners over Raqqa and gain international accolades as an anti-terrorist force; the Turks fear this would help the PKK gain international support and legitimacy for its cause inside Turkey, too.

Compounding Turkey's frustration, a PKK-linked militant group known as the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK, released a statement just as the Raqqa operation was announced in which it promised more attacks inside Turkey, including against tourist installations. Ostensibly an independent PKK offshoot, the TAK is often accused of serving as a cut-out to ensure plausible deniability for PKK bombings in Turkish cities.

A TAK bombing or assassination could easily provoke Turkish retaliation against Kurdish positions in Syria, Iraq, or both, and some form of Turkish riposte to the Raqqa operation may well come anyway.

The taking of Raqqa also feeds into longer-term rivalries over eastern Syria, an area that contains valuable oil wells and farmlands along the Euphrates and which controls road access to Iraq and beyond. President Bashar al-Assad's Syrian goverment and his Iranian and Russian allies recently launched a multi-pronged eastern offensive, hoping to forestall advances by US-backed groups like the SDF and small Sunni Arab rebel factions in the south of the country. While the Syrian government is hardly in a position to retake Raqqa militarily if blocked by the US Air Force, it may still put pressure on the SDF-ruled areas and look to exert its influence through local supporters.

As the noose tightens around Raqqa and IS, only one thing is really clear: The swirling chaos of the Syrian war won't be over anytime soon.
Cuba's New Generation of Independent Women Journalists

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Cuba's New Generation of Independent Women Journalists, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593aa2754.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

A new generation of independent female journalists is emerging in Cuba, despite ongoing censorship and repression.

Cuba ranked 173rd out of 180 countries in the latest Freedom of the Press Index from Reporters Without Borders. Although internet access and economic freedoms have been growing following the 2013 US-Cuba detente, these changes have been accompanied by a human rights crackdown.

A "repressive wave of renewed brutality is sweeping the island," according to a March statement from the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba .

Yet despite this, outlets including 14 y medio, online magazine El Estornudo, Periodismo de Barrio and Cuba's first feminist magazine Alas Tensas have emerged over the last two years. All are headed by women.

Female journalists say they have been empowered by the spread of the internet on the island, even though content has been strictly supervised by the state since Cuba first connected to the web in 1996.

At first, locals could get access to the internet at some hotels catering for foreigners, although this was expensive, or through their workplaces, universities or via computing clubs. In 2013, Cuba launched an initiative to increase public access to the internet, albeit still characterised by tight government controls and censorship.

Locals are still finding ways to get around this. For instance, 14ymedio.com - set up by Cuba's best-known blogger Yoani Sanchez, 41 - is one of the top three most-read independent Cuban media outlets even though it remains blocked on the island.

Opportunities online have made all the difference for people like Regina Coyula, who heads a recent list by the US-funded media outlet Marti Noticias of 20 communicators to keep an eye on in Cuba, alongside five other women.

She said she felt "like the floodgates had been opened" when she first realised the opportunities the online world held for her.

"Before that, I had no idea what a blog or the internet was. The connections were extremely expensive, we had to do it from the hotels," said Coyula, who began blogging in 2009.

"For a while, even that was prohibited for Cubans. The first time I actually saw the blog I was so nervous that I forgot my password," Coyula said. Her blog La Mala Letra (The Bad Writing), critical of the regime, was featured on the BBC blog "Voices from Cuba" in 2014.

"The [de facto] de-regularisation of the press online gives more room to journalists, it's a sort of unregulated limbo," agreed Marita Perez Diaz, the 27-year-old co-editor of online magazine OnCuba. She noted that Cuban journalistic output was not exclusively produced on the island itself but also involved reporters and editors working in many other countries.

"Our proposal is a type of journalism that advocates more for the usefulness and beauty of the content, for the quality and contrast of sources. It is closer to reality and further away from the extreme ideas of a socialist paradise or a prison-island floating in the sea," she concluded.

Carla Colome, 26, is part of a generation of young journalists who learnt their trade at Cuban universities. She is now an editor and reporter with El Estornudo, an online magazine with a growing reputation among Cuban independent media.

"This generation does not want to work for the national media. Thankfully, there is the important rise of the internet, which allowed us to create El Estornudo with no budget," she said.

MISLEADING STATISTICS

Cuba ranks 27th out of 144 countries in the Gender Global Gap Report 2016 by the World Economic Forum, largely due to the high percentage of women in parliament and high female literacy rates thanks to universal access to education.

According to official numbers from the Union of Journalists of Cuba (Union de Periodistas de Cuba, UPEC), nearly half of the workforce in the national, provincial and municipal media is female.

In addition, according to UPEC figures, 80 per cent of the 900 journalism students at universities across the country are women.

However, independent journalists and activists alike emphasise that these numbers do not tell the whole story.

Last year, 50-year-old Ileana Alvarez launched Alas Tensas (Strained Wings), to "fill a void on topics" ranging from domestic violence to women empowering themselves through newly emerging economic opportunities and technology.

"You never see the testimony of a survivor of domestic violence in the official press," Alvarez said. "The government considers that all is good for women in Cuba. The statistics are hidden or they don't even exist; there is no data concerning domestic violence or data segregated by gender."

More stories about and by women were urgently needed, she said, adding, "Because violence is analysed in general terms, there is no such thing as hate crimes against women in Cuba. Data is essential to raise awareness about this social issue."

Miriam Herrera Calvo, Coordinator of the Commission of Attention to Journalists and their Families, noted that "most women who work for independent news agencies and pre-internet media came in as wives and family members of the male directors". This meant that they rarely filled senior or decision-making positions, and in Cuba's patriarchal society, most were also fully responsible for looking after their homes and families.

Female journalists face similar dangers to their male colleagues - arbitrary detention, the seizure of work equipment such as mobile phones and computers as well as physical threats.

One in every six journalists detained in Cuba is a woman, according to the island's Association for Free Press (APLP) NGO, which issues monthly reports on detentions. Forty female journalists were detained in 2016, the first year the organisation registered data segregated by gender.

But the repression of female media workers often has an added gender-related element.

In October last year, ten independent journalists were detained in Guantanamo province as they covered the aftermath of hurricane Matthew. According to a report in Periodismo de Barrio, the group's three female journalists were submitted to invasive physical searches, unlike their male colleagues.

"Harassment is worse when you work outside of the capital," Herrera Calvo said, noting that women were simply more physically vulnerable.

Nonetheless, she said that the achievements of the last few years should not be underestimated.

"There is a growing number of new independent media online emerging that are led by young women," Hererra Calvo said. "This is a great model that should be replicated around the country,"

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Afghan Women Complain Over "Symbolic" Roles

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Author Mina Habib Publication Date 8 June 2017 Citation / Document Symbol ARR 574 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Afghan Women Complain Over "Symbolic" Roles, 8 June 2017, ARR 574, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593aa2d54.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Maliha (not her real name) works in the press office of an Afghan government ministry. She told IWPR that although one of her responsibilities was to issue invitations to press conferences and briefings, her boss simply did not allow her the authority to do her job.

"The minister selects specific media and then orders me to inform the outlets he has already chosen," she said. "It has affected my dignity at work and my reputation. Although I have the authority, the minister does not allow [me to use it]. If my role is not symbolic then what would you call it?"

Women working with government in Afghanistan warn that statistics showing growing numbers of female employees do not tell the whole story about ongoing gender bias within the workplace.

According to the ministry of labour and social affairs, nearly 78,000 women have been appointed to government positions since the Taleban regime was unseated in 2001.

More than 8,000 women are also currently employed in government offices.

But Mary Nabard Ayen, deputy director of the state-run Bakhtar news agency, said that although women had a greater public presence their role remained largely symbolic.

"Our leaders must accept that women constitute half of society, and deserve equal rights to men," she said, noting that Article 22 of the Afghan constitution explicitly provides equal rights to men and women.

The constitution also guarantees that at least 64 lawmakers must be women, and four female ministers have been appointed to the current administration of President Ashraf Ghani.

Ayen said, however, that such appointments were just for show and had little real impact. She noted that this had been the case in both the post-2001 administrations.

"The national unity government has appointed some women to important leadership roles so as to prove to the international community that they have given women a role within the structures of power," she continued. "But the women appointed have no authority."

Ayen said that she experienced discrimination on a daily basis in her own work, adding, "Very often, I am not asked for my opinion, and when I am asked then my opinion is ignored."

Ministry of women's affairs spokeswoman Kobra Rezai agreed that the presence of women in public life had increased over the last 16 years, noting that over a quarter of both civil servants and lawmakers were now female.

But she too said that conservative traditions often took precedence over Afghan law.

Changing these attitudes would take time and women needed to fight for their rights, she said, adding, "Women in government offices face many challenges, but these challenges will toughen them up so that they become experienced managers."

Shahla Farid, a law professor at Kabul university, said that several factors continued to restrict women's access to work. This in turn meant that female employees were still seen as an exotic and unusual phenomenon.

"Insecurity and instability as well sexual harassment have deterred women from finding jobs," she said. "So there is still discrimination and unequal treatment of women, women are still seen as an object of pleasure and enjoyment."

They also still remained reliant on the will of male figures to succeed or fail at work.

"A woman is appointed to an important post, if for example, she is related to a minister or knows a member of parliament," she said. "Their competency is not considered and this means women have little authority at work because their capacity is inferior to the duties they are assigned."

Sharafuddin Azimi, a professor of psychology at the Kabul university, noted that women had been excluded from the public sphere by decades of war in which they were largely denied access to education.

"Women should work in areas that suit their specialised fields," he said, adding that this would help build self-confidence.

"They should believe in their own potential. Women must be hired based on their capacity not on their political affiliations, ethnic origin, linguistic abilities or relations to a particular faction."

Ziba Samya is the deputy for supporting and promoting women's rights department at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

She also argued that women needed to take the initiative and actively struggle for their rights, adding that her organisation had heard many complaints from women about their limited authority at work.

Maryam Kofi, a lawmaker from Badakhshan province, said that the current state of Afghan politics meant that men and women alike had been disenfranchised. She argued that parliament as a whole had been sidelined in the decision-making processes.

"In the national unity government, working authority has been taken away from men as well as women and in fact power is monopolised by the presidential palace," she said.

"Here in parliament we are given responsibility but not authority. For example, if we impeach a minister and dismiss him from the post, we later we hear that he is continuing his position as an acting minister, so there is no authority left, neither for us nor for parliament."

This report was produced under IWPR's Promoting Human Rights and Good Governance in Afghanistan initiative, funded by the European Union Delegation to Afghanistan.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Cuban Migrants Live in Limbo

Publisher Institute for War and Peace Reporting Publication Date 8 June 2017 Cite as Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Cuban Migrants Live in Limbo, 8 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593aa3794.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

It's hard to hear Baldomero Castro Despayne's voice from behind the thick glass covered by metallic mesh in the Aripo detention centre.

The Cuban citizen has been held in legal limbo behind its thick cement walls and barbed wire for the last eight months.

Trinidad and Tobago, along with Barbados, are the only two countries in the Caribbean that Cubans can enter without a visa.

Despayne arrived in Trinidad four years ago, looking for a "taste of freedom," as he puts it. But in October 2016 he was seized by Trinidadian police in a street raid and taken, along with 14 other Cubans, to Aripo, a temporary detention centre for migrants that inmates say looks and functions more like a prison.

Under Trinidadian law, Despayne and his fellow Cubans are in the country illegally because they have stayed for more than 90 days, the term allowed for foreigners to stay in the island without a visa. And as far as the Cuban government is concerned, Baldomero is now stateless, having been outside the country without a permit for more than two years.

"It's a highly unusual situation," said Matias Lopez Ferrer, a Cuban lawyer based in Mexico City who specialises in migration issues.

He said that Despayne could appeal to the UNCHR through their intermediaries on Trinidad and Tobago, a church group called the Living Water Community.

"The worst option for him is deportation," he added, noting that Cuba would accept him for only 60 days after which would be expelled, this time without a clear destination.

Despayne said he was desperate and had receivied no help from the Living Water Community.

"We have time to go outside [our cells] and work out. But we're in jail, my friend. The days go by and we don't see a way out. We've asked UNCHR [United Nations Refugee Agency] representatives for help, but they have rejected our petition."

There are around 200 other men and 40 women, mostly from Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, being held at the centre some 30 miles northeast of the capital Port of Spain.

The other Cubans detained there include brothers Reinaldo and Lazaro Conde Alvarez, Deidy Agustin Rodriguez and Yoandry Cruz.

Despayne fears that his situation might worsen if it is made public, but is also scared he will end up in the same situation as Isidoro Chibuike Okafor, a Nigerian citizen who's been held at the centre for the last four years.

He and his cellmates have made two videos to highlight their plight, the first of which was broadcast by the US-based Cuban news outlet Marti Noticias in January.

Sonia Margarita Contrera Jones, a nun from the Biblia Abierta Hispanic church who visits regularly to bring them food, said that this had already "caused trouble for them in Cuba and here".

She has written several times to the Living Water Community on the Cuban detainees' behalf, and said that she was yet to receive a reply.

But Rochelle Nakhid, who works with the Living Water Community, explained that Baldomero and the other Cubans needed to present a formal petition for asylum to them, either in person or via a lawyer, before any action could be taken.

There is no official data on the number of Latin American migrants in Trinidad, although they have a clear presence in towns such as San Juan or San Fernando. Unofficial figures suggest that there are over 300 Cubans without papers living on the islands, with more arriving every day.

Alex is from Cotorro, a town south of Havana, and has been living in Trinidad without legal documents for a year-and-a half.

He works ten hours a day in construction and spends another few hours working in a restaurant at night, making around 600 US dollars a month. He said the worst thing about his lifestyle was having to constantly hide from the police.

"My girlfriend is from Trinidad and we plan to get married," he said. "The legal procedure is difficult and it can take up to five years. But it's the only way for me to get a legal status."

Farid Scoon, a Trinidadian immigration lawyer, said that the authorities preferred to turn a blind eye to such awkward situations.

"The situation is out of control and Trinidad's government looks the other way," he explained. "There is indeed a difference in the treatment given to a foreigner who is from Europe or the United States and that given to one who comes from a third world nation. It's racist."

Trinidad's policy on migration has been toughened because of counter-terrorism efforts, explained Faris Al Rawi, Trinidad's Attorney General, adding that the island has recently signed a treaty with the US on the subject.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that Trinidad and Tobago is a full member of the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARCOM) organisation, while Cuba is not.

"Cuba is an extension of the CARICOM family," Al Rawi continued. "The country is not a member, but we do have a very close relationship".

Although Cubans can enter Trinidad and Tobago without a visa and remain in the country for up to 90 days, the law also states that custom agents can deny the entry of a Cuban traveller if he or she fails to present a round trip airplane ticket, a letter from their host in Trinidad, or if they are unable to explain their purpose in the country.

Farid Scoon said that the Trinidadian authorities were also negligent when it came to explaining migrants their rights.

When denied entry to the country, "foreigners are given a piece of paper explaining the entry requirements. It consists of 15 paragraphs in very small print. As far as I know, it's not available in Spanish. These people don't speak English and don't know their rights. It is common practice and it happens on a daily basis".

Other Cubans are not even aware that they may face arbitrary detention. Jose sold his house in Cuba and arrived in Trinidad two months ago to find work. His brother also lives on the island.

"The best is to forget about everything [Cuba] and start from scratch. This is the price, you adapt or die," Jose said.

But Jose has no idea that if caught he could be detained and taken to Aripo.

"I don't know a thing about that law," he said.

Copyright notice:  Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Cite as

UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), List of issues in relation to the sixth periodic report of the Russian Federation, 9 March 2017, E/C.12/RUS/Q/6, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593aa7994.html [accessed 11 November 2022]
Cite as

UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), List of issues in relation to the third periodic report of the Republic of Moldova, 17 March 2017, E/C.12/MDA/Q/3, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593aaa974.html [accessed 11 November 2022]
Title Suggestions for the list of issues to be adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its 60th session (pre-sessional working group) in relation to the third periodic report submitted by: Republic of Moldova

Publisher Equal Rights Trust

Publication Date 27 January 2017

Country Republic of Moldova

Cite as Equal Rights Trust, Suggestions for the list of issues to be adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its 60th session (pre-sessional working group) in relation to the third periodic report submitted by: Republic of Moldova , 27 January 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593aab634.html [accessed 11 November 2022]
Cite as

UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), List of issues in relation to the fourth periodic report of the Republic of Korea, 16 March 2017, E/C.12/KOR/Q/4, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593aabe64.html [accessed 11 November 2022]
Cite as

UN Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises on its visit to the Republic of Korea, 9 June 2017, A/HRC/35/32/Add.1, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593aadfa4.html [accessed 11 November 2022]
Reporter on trial for covering protest

Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 9 June 2017 Other Languages / Attachments Russian Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Reporter on trial for covering protest, 9 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/593ab5824.html [accessed 11 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls for the acquittal of Sofiko Arifdzhanova, a journalist due to be tried in Moscow today on a charge of participating in a protest she was covering, and calls on the Russian authorities to respect the right of journalists to cover such events.

Arifdzhanova, who reports for the Otkrytaya Rossiya news website, is facing a possible 15-day jail sentence for covering an "unauthorized" demonstration in March. Her trial was originally supposed to take place on 10 April but was postponed twice.





She was one of at least 17 journalists who were arrested while covering nationwide anti-corruption demonstrations on 26 March in which around 60,000 people took part. As well as being subjected to police violence, the reporters were accused of taking part in banned protests and refusing to comply with police instructions.





"A journalist covering a protest is not a protester," said Johann Bihr, the head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. "Sofiko Arifdzhanova was just doing her job as a reporter and should therefore be acquitted. Prosecuting journalists who identify themselves as such to the police is unacceptable. We call on the Russian authorities to guarantee media freedom and to train the police about the rights of journalists."





Three journalists have already been tried on the same charge. Aleksandr Nikishin of Otkryty Kanal was sentenced to four days of administrative detention. Roman Demyanenko, a photographer with RIA-Voronezh, was fined 500 roubles. Alec Luhn, a US reporter for The Guardian, is so far the only one to be acquitted. He was alleged to have chanted Russian slogans while participating in an unauthorized protest in Moscow.





More than 1,000 arrests were made during the 26 March day of protest, the biggest number in a single day since Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin as president in 2012. Opposition politician Alexey Navalny has called for another protest on 12 June, the Russian Federation's national holiday.





Russia is ranked 148th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index.
French capital Paris will host the worlds largest and most diversified global aerospace business gathering from June 19 through 25 at the citys famed Le Bourget Airport. The biennial event, International Paris Air Show, is expected to draw more than 150,000 trade visitors and as many as 2,300 exhibitors from more than 40 countries. Chief among them, the United States will present 350-plus exhibitors, the largest international contingent outside of France.

U.S. aerospace and defense companies competing for military, commercial and space business in Europe and around the world will exhibit a wide range of innovative technologies, equipment and services to buyers and influencers attending the Paris Air Show.

The centerpiece of the American national effort is the new 4,200-plus sqm USA Partnership Pavilion, organized by Kallman Worldwide, Inc., in coordination with numerous government agencies, including the departments of Commerce, Defense and State. The 2017 show is Kallmans 12th consecutive edition organizing Americans at Paris, its first under the new Partnership banner, which President and CEO Tom Kallman says, reflects a global trend.

Located prominently in Hall 3, the Pavilion is a full-service business destination: an efficient location for buyers to meet more U.S. suppliers, an on-site operations center for American exhibitors to maximize their exposure and impact at the show, and an exciting networking hub for all to share ideas and insights.

The 240-plus exhibitors in the Pavilion represent 32 states, including these 18 state pavilions showcasing multiple state-based exhibitors: Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

More than 60 percent of Pavilion exhibitors are SMEs; 78 are first-time Pavilion exhibitors. All are working to initiate or strengthen international partnerships that will generate new business and create more jobs back home, either by growing exports and/or by recruiting overseas partners to establish or participate in U.S.-based operations.

The United States is the biggest international exhibitor at the Paris Air Show because its the world's biggest aerospace and defense industry supplier, but thats no guarantee buyers will look to work with American companies over others, said Kallman. As the organizer of the USA Partnership Pavilion, we have a responsibility to advocate not only for our exhibitors, but for our nation in this highly competitive global marketplace. Click here to book your hotel room in Paris.

In addition to space on site, USA Partnership Pavilion exhibitors are featured in Kallmans online Paris Air Show Visitor Zone at kallman.com/PAS-17. The Visitor Zone features a centerpiece searchable Pavilion directory, plus interactive tools to help trade visitors plan ahead (and follow up), and to connect interested industry professionals around the world to the show, even if they cant go.
From 2-7 to sectional champs, Monrovia has one question: 'Why not us?'
Fishermen from the Philippines, who fish at a South China Sea reef claimed by China, carry a wooden fishing boat in a protest march towards the Chinese consulate in Manila, July 12, 2016.

When it comes to the South China Sea, international media have focused in recent months on the conflicts among nations making claims to disputed territory there.

Thats understandable when Chinese fighter planes buzz American reconnaissance planes and a Chinese general challenges the United States espousal of the freedom of navigation in the sea.

But Western scientists say that the vast waterways degraded marine environment deserves attention as well.

Some say that parts of the marine environment are facing collapse.

This is important because millions of people depend on fish from the South China Sea as their main source of protein.

U.S. Air Force Captain Adam Greer, whose research has been partly funded by the U.S. National Defense University, says that the stakes in the South China Sea can be summed up by 3 Ps  politics, petroleum, and protein.

In an article published in The Diplomat, Greer argued that the need for protein derived from fish may be the most important factor driving competition in the South China Sea.

As the demand for fish among Asias middle class has grown, overfishing has threatened the survival of some fish species, and fish stocks have declined as they have in many parts of the world.

Some parts of the waterways marine environment, such as coral reefs and the fish which they protect, have come close to collapse.

Analysts describe the competition in the South China Sea among thousands of fishing boats from China and several Southeast Asian nations as fish wars.

The South China Sea is also a major world trade route and is believed to harbor large deposits of oil and gas.

Good news for the marine environment

In the past, Beijing has encouraged Chinese fishing vessels to venture far from Chinas shores in order to find new sources of fish.

Chinese fishing trawlers have ranged as far as the west coast of Africa, where local African fishermen using wooden canoes have been driven out of business because of their inability to compete with larger, faster, and better equipped Chinese boats.

In the South China Sea, fishermen have been given navigational devices and for years have received government fuel subsidies, but that practice appears to be coming to an end.

According to a New York Times report of April 30 regarding Chinas fishing off the west coast of Africa, Beijing has become sensitive to accusations that its fishing fleet is helping push fish stocks to the brink of collapse.

The Times cites a Chinese government fishery officials claim that China is aggressively cutting fuel subsidies for fishing boats and that they will have been cut by 60 percent by 2019.

Pending legislation would require that all Chinese distant-water vessels be registered, thus making them easier to monitor.

Liu Xinzhong, the deputy general director of the Chinese Bureau of Fisheries, is quoted as saying that the era of fishing any way you want, wherever you want, has passed. We now need to fish by the rules.

Other good news for the marine environment has been a Chinese decision early this year to enforce regulations calling for a halt to harvesting by Chinese fishermen of giant clams in the South China Sea.

John McManus, a professor of marine biology and fisheries and director of the National Center for Coral Reef Research at the Rosenstiel School at the University of Miami, says that the decision could mark a major step forward toward helping to preserve and restore a vital part of the marine environment.

The decision was announced by Chinas southern Hainan Province.

The giant clams are embedded in coral reefs that protect small fish from predators. The coral reefs also play a role in replenishing fish stocks.

Chinese poachers have used boat propellers to dig up reefs and uncover the clams, causing widespread damage to many of the reefs.

Chinese dredging aimed at gathering sand and gravel to build artificial islands staking out Chinas territorial claims has caused further damage.

The highly valued shells of the clams have been carved much like elephant ivory into intricate ornaments for sale to Chinese tourists visiting Hainan Island. Some Chinese regard the meat from the claims as a rare delicacy and an aphrodisiac.

Flare-up of local protests

Chinese social media report that some residents of Hainan Island who depended on the clam harvesting and processing to make a living have launched small protests and appeals to the city government there over the closure of their businesses.

An image dated April 17 and posted on social media shows an elderly man getting down on his knees in front of two men. According to a caption, the two men are law enforcement personnel. The elderly man appears to be begging for mercy.

A photo shows a red banner saying Government, give us hope! Another banner says Protect Our Legal Rights.

A brief Hainan Daily article posted on the official Xinhua News Agency website says that in the township of Tanmen, the government demolished illegal buildings occupying 8,326 square meters of space. The space had originally been designated for farming purposes, it said.

Tanmen is well known to Chinese tourists for its giant-clam processing and sales.

The Hainan Daily said that buildings belonging to 24 people were demolished.

About four weeks ago, on May 10, it said, when the Qionghai City government tried to tear down the buildings, some villagers engaging in radical behavior blocked the demolition from going forward.

According to the Hainan Daily, the authorities dealt with obstructionism from the villagers by using thought work and the two committees battle fortress effect.

The two committees were apparently the village Communist Party branch and the local village committee.

The battle fortress effect appears to refer to placing the two committees on the front line in Chinas battle to ensure social stability and security.

Meanwhile, Zhang Hongzhou, a research fellow at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, says that the crackdown on the giant-clam trade has been very decisive, at least as of now.

Zhang, an expert on Chinas fishing policies, says that the local government on Hainan Island intends to promote aquaculture and fishing tourism among other alternative sources of income for local fishermen.

But he says that he sees some evidence that the price for giant clams is rising, which could lead to an underground trade in the clams.

The various nations involved in the South China Sea have laws aimed at preserving the marine environment. But the problem until now, Zhang says, has been a lack of implementation.

Dan Southerland is RFAs founding executive editor.
Over 200,000 people from around the world descended on Tel Aviv today to march in the largest ever pride parade in Asia and the Middle East. This years theme, Bisexual Visibility, highlighted the important contributions of bisexual individuals to Tel Avivs thriving LGBTQ community. Todays parade was the first large-scale pride parade in the world to ever celebrate the theme bisexuality.

Tel Aviv Pride Parade is widely recognized as one of the leading parades in the world, with The Boston Globe dubbing Tel Aviv the World's Gayest City, and Out Magazine calling it the Gay Capital of the Middle East.

The Tel Aviv Pride Parade has become, over recent years, one of the worlds largest gay tourism events. The parade itself marks the highlight of Tel Aviv's annual pride festival, which included an LGBTQ Cultural Festival at the City's theatres, a special performance by the Israeli Opera at the NYX Tel Aviv  the official pride hotel for 2017, a "family friendly" float sponsored by the UK's "Love is Great" Campaign, pride concerts featuring the "Petshop Boys" duo and internationally acclaimed local DJ Offer Nissim and more.

Tel Aviv-Yafo Mayor, Ron Huldai said, "Tel Aviv Pride Parade is not just a celebration, but also an important declaration of support. Tel Aviv, which has already been acknowledged as the world's "most gay-friendly city" will continue to be a light-house city  spreading the values of freedom, tolerance and democracy to the world."

Blogger and Television Star, Perez Hilton said, I am so excited to be the International Ambassador for Tel Aviv Pride 2017 and Im thrilled to be in this city with my children and to show them a place that I truly love. With all the awful things happening to Gay, Lesbian and Transgender people all over the world, I am so happy to be in a place that is so welcoming.

Photo credit: Guy Yechiely
A rights activist who publicly commemorated the June 4, 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square student movement last year is being mistreated in detention as she awaits trial on public order charges, her lawyer told RFA on Friday.



Li Xiaoling will stand trial on charges of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," after she wore a T-shirt with a commemorative slogan on Tiananmen Square last year, her lawyer Lin Qilei said after visiting her in detention on Thursday.



Li was transferred to the Xicheng Detention Center in Guangdong's Zhuhai city after she complained about her treatment at the hands of police, Lin said.



Now, she is being held without access to daily exercise, and is unable to buy food or daily necessities such as medicines via an internal account, as other prisoners are, he said.



"I met with Li Xiaoling inside the Xicheng Detention Center on Wednesday," Lin said. "She seemed pretty exhausted, and there was clearly something wrong with her eyes."



"She said she needs eyedrops three times a day, and that her eyes are very painful right now."



Fellow activists Zhou Li, Li Xuehui, Kuang Jianhu, Zhao Chunhong, Bu Yongzhu, Liang Yankui and Zhao Xin were also being held under criminal detention on the same charges, for similar activities last June, their lawyers said.



Kuang's lawyer Shang Baojun said he had also visited his client on Wednesday.



"I asked Kuang Jianhu [what the charges were for] ... and he said it was because they had allowed Li Xiaoling to stay over one night in their home, which had implicated him," Shang said. "The police didn't want to ask him about anything else."



"[Kuang's girlfriend] Zhou Li was detained first, and then they went for him," he said.



Shang said Kuang didn't appear to have broken any law, and called for his immediate release.



Zhou was also able to meet with her lawyer Ma Guangquan on Wednesday.



"Zhou Li seemed pretty chipper, and told me she is fine," Ma said. "The police had told her she is under criminal detention for providing Li Xiaoling with a place to stay."



"Quite a few people have gotten involved in this case, which is like other, similar, sensitive cases," Ma said. "I don't think they'll be releasing them any time soon."



Meanwhile, Li Xuehui's lawyer Ding Xikui said it is still unclear whether his client's detention is linked to Li Xiaoling's protest.



Zhou Jie, a friend of the detainees, said he isn't ruling out a forthcoming trial.



"These out-of-town lawyers charge pretty high fees, and we're going to have to find the money for 16 lawyers," Zhou said. "We are talking about around 10,000 yuan (U.S. $1,471) in total."



"But the most important thing is to have these lawyers meet with them," Zhou said.



Sources said Bu Yongzhu and Liang Yankui have yet to hire defense attorneys, however.



Massacre anniversary



Li was among a group of activists that included Beijing-based Qi Zhiyong, who was maimed when a tank ran over his legs on the night of June 3, 1989 in Beijing, along with Dalian-based Jiang Jianjun and Shandong-based Wang Fulei.



The group had taken photos of themselves wearing T-shirts and holding placards as an act of protest ahead of the 27th anniversary of the massacre last June.



The T-shirts bore the words "June 4th. Never Forget", and state security police quickly launched a probe into the photographs.



Li was ordered to leave Beijing, but said in an interview at the time that she hadn't broken any laws.



The protest came as a group of activists posted photos of themselves online also wearing T-shirts commemorating the bloodshed, which came when People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops cleared Beijing of thousands of protesters calling for democracy who had camped for weeks in on Tiananmen Square.



Guangdong activist Bu Yongzhu said at the time that younger people in China must get past the "Great Firewall" of Internet censorship to find out about the events of 1989, and that he acted out of concern that they would forget, or never learn, what really happened.



The administration of President Xi Jinping has broadened government control over freedoms of expression, assembly, and association, and the right to political participation, continuing a trend set in place after the 1989 crackdown, and detaining hundreds of activists in recent years, rights groups say.



The Tiananmen massacre was precipitated by the peaceful gatherings of students, workers, and others in Beijings Tiananmen Square and other cities in April 1989 calling for freedom of expression, accountability, and an end to corruption, but the government responded by instituting martial law, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report issued on last year's anniversary.



The number of deaths in the violence remains unknown, although the victims' group the Tiananmen Mothers have compiled exact accounts of the deaths of 202 people across China, including Beijing.



Reported by Ding Wenqi for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
A prominent ethnic Mongolian dissident called on Friday on the ruling Chinese Communist Party to investigate violent clashes between Mongolian herders and incoming Han Chinese settlers in two separate locations this week that left several people injured and two in hospital.



"The Han Chinese are moving in and occupying the land belonging to ethnic Mongolians, and this causes disputes; they are all over the grasslands belonging to the herders," said Hada, who has served 19 years behind bars for speaking out on behalf of ethnic Mongolians in China.



"It is happening every minute of every day, but government policy is to wipe out nomadic culture," he said. "That's why they always protect the Han Chinese when they take over."



"We have seen this with the violence that has just occurred," he said.



Ethnic Mongolians living in Baarin Right Banner near Chifeng city said they were attacked on Thursday by Han Chinese migrants wielding metal pipes and batons, leaving a number of people injured, two of them seriously.



"This happened yesterday at Suubaar village and Shuumangha district as part of a dispute over the grasslands," a local resident said on Friday. "The clashes were between local Han Chinese and ethnic Mongolian herders."



"Two Mongolians are still recovering from their injuries, and they are receiving treatment in hospital," the resident said.



Video of the aftermath of the violence seen by RFA showed an ambulance arriving, and two men stretched out full length on the grassland, apparently unconscious.



An ethnic Mongolian herders said such clashes are becoming increasingly common in the region.



"The grasslands that are collectively held by ethnic minority groups are being taken over by Han Chinese migrants from Shaanxi province to the south," the herder said.



"This is happening all over."



Similar clash



Residents of Shuluun Huh Banner near Xilinhot city reported a similar clash on Wednesday.



"The dispute arose when the lease on the grasslands held by [ethnic Mongolian] Chingalaat was transferred wholesale to the Han Chinese [for cattle farming]," one local resident told RFA on Friday.



"The boss of the cattle farm beat up Chingalaat, who was taken to hospital," he said. "The authorities in Shuluun Huh didn't care about the case, the grasslands bureau, for example."



Chingalaat sustained multiple injuries to his head and body, and is currently in a semi-conscious state in hospital, the resident said.



Calls for his attacker to be detained have gone unheeded by police, however.



A second local resident said the cattle farm had illegally occupied land that rightfully belonged to Chingalaat.



"Now they want the government to save hime, and to punish the suspect severely," the herder said. "They should also sort out the dispute over the grasslands."



Ethnic Mongolians, who make up almost 20 percent of Inner Mongolia's population of 23 million, increasingly complain of widespread environmental destruction and unfair development policies in the region.



Clashes between Chinese state-backed mining or forestry companies and herding communities are common in the region, which borders the independent country of Mongolia.



Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
China on Friday stepped up an international campaign against fugitive billionaire and government critic Guo Wengui, with the fraud trial of employees linked to an investment firm he controls.



According to an indictment, the company and three of its employees stand accused of fraudulently obtaining loans and foreign exchange at Guo's instigation, official media reported.



Yang Ying, Lu Tao and Xie Honglin, who worked at Guo's Beijing Pangu Investment Co., stood trial at the Dalian Xigang District People's Court in the northeastern province of Liaoning on Friday.



All three said Guo had directed them to carry out the alleged fraud, and admitted faking construction contracts and other documents to apply for loans totaling 3.2 billion yuan (U.S. $470.6 million) and foreign currency, the amount of which wasn't specified in court.



The company later paid back the loans in full, but prosecutors accused Guo of using the foreign exchange to buy a second private jet.



Guo, who has an Interpol "red notice" issued for his arrest, welcomed the trial in a series of social media comments, saying it was conducted "according to law."



Guo, who is also known as Miles Kwok, is named as a suspect by the notice, which requests that the police forces of member states "locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition."



Prosecutors also charged Lu and Xie with fraudulently obtaining foreign exchange totaling U.S. $13.5 million from the Bank of Communications using falsified documents in a separate transaction in 2012 which also involved a company controlled by Guo's son, Guo Qiang.



All three defendants expressed regret, plead guilty and thanked the court for its lawful handling of their case, as well as plead for leniency on the basis that they were carrying out Guo's instructions.



"The verdict will be announced at a later date," state news agency Xinhua reported, adding that Friday's trial is the first in "a series of cases" involving Beijing Pangu Investment and Beijing Zenith Holdings.



"Other cases involving offering bribes, forced transactions, duty-related encroachment, embezzlement, destroying accounting documents and unlawful detention are being handled according to the law," the agency said.



Overseas exodus



Beijing says Guo is wanted for paying 60 million yuan (U.S. $8.72 million) in bribes to disgraced former state security vice-minister Ma Jian, with whom he has been linked.



But Guo, who has lived overseas for the past two years, said the move is linked to fears that he will act as a whistle-blower on corruption among the highest echelons of China's leadership.



Political commentators said the "internationalization" of the Guo Wengui case with the Interpol warrant lays bare the extent of the overseas exodus of China's richest and most powerful people.



Analyst Liang Jing said the case shows the ruling Chinese Communist Party trying to set an example for the country's political and financial elite who may hope to dodge President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign by relocating overseas.



"The internationalization of the crisis within the Chinese leadership ... presents a huge challenge [because] ... regardless of whether or not Guo Wengui sees justice, the various facts of the case that he has revealed have had a powerful impact on China's elite class," Liang wrote.



"The fact that so many of the political and financial elite place so many of their ill-gotten gains, and even their younger sons and daughters, overseas, show how little faith they have in the future of this country," he said.



"They won't be taking any responsibility for what happens in the future: indeed, even more of them will be looking to leave China to protect their assets and their children's future," Liang said in a commentary broadcast by RFA's Cantonese Service.



And current affairs commentator Jiang Weiping said Guo's judicious use of social media while being effectively on the run from China has nonetheless gained him a huge online following.



"Unlike China's dissidents, more and more of whom are in jail as the Chinese Communist Party regime gets harsher and harsher ... billionaire Guo Wengui's online revelations and videos attract an insane amount of attention from the general public," Jiang wrote in a recent commentary for RFA's Mandarin Service.



"The attention hasn't slackened off one bit in recent months, and it has received blanket coverage in the overseas Chinese media," he said. "This is partly because rich people are perceived as the winners, and people are curious about them."



"He has made good use of videos on social media, and he has plenty of funding and equipment, as well as trained staff, to enable his voice to be hugely magnified," Jiang wrote. "These are all factors in his becoming an online phenomenon."



Reported by RFA's Mandarin and Cantonese Services. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Officials on military bases in North Korea are moonlighting as security contractors, according to sources, assigning soldiers to guard private vehicles and freight in return for cash used to maintain operations and line their own pockets.



A source from South Hamgyong province, near the border with China, told RFAs Korean Service that he had recently made use of the unofficial service while transporting goods for his business in a rental car from Changjin county to Samsu county in neighboring Yanggang province.



I stopped over at a military base at night and parked my car there, then stayed at an inn that soldiers guided me to, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.



It costs much more to have soldiers guarding private vehicles and goods, but it is much safer than self-guarding them somewhere else. The soldiers not only guard private vehicles and goods, but also introduce inexpensive inns for us.



According to the source, military personnel charge set fees to individuals who park their vehicles at their bases or at other complexes where soldiers will guard them.



Private individuals who own a car used for factories or businesses pay to park their cars at military bases, or at other factories and businesses where armed state security is stationed, he said.



There is no other way to keep the vehicles and freight secure.



Parking fees for a six-ton Chinese Dongfeng truck, is 2,000 North Korean won (U.S. $0.25) per hour per vehicle, and 4,000 North Korean won (U.S. $0.50) per hour per vehicle with freight, the source said.



Lodging is 4,000 North Korean won per night per person and meals are not included, he added.



Off-base activities



A second source from Yanggang confirmed that military personnel are not only providing security for private vehicles on their bases, but at various other complexes around the country.



There usually are at least 30 vehicles and 60 or more cars parked at the Hyesan Bus Company and the Hyesan Long Distance Transportation Company in Songbong, a district in Yanggangs Hyesan city, said the source, who also asked to remain unnamed.



It is impossible for them to move all vehicles to military bases to park them.



According to the source, most vehicles guarded at transportation companies are owned by private individuals and used on behalf of their companies.



In the case of Hyesan Long Distance Transportation Company, seven soldiers from the 8th General Bureau guard the vehicles at the company every night from 8:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. the next morning, in shifts, the source said.



For this type of daily guarding of vehicles, the owners pay, altogether, around 350,000 North Korean won (U.S. $43) or 270 Chinese yuan (U.S. $40) per month. Once they receive money, the military commanders dont care how many cars are parked at the facility.



Payments for vehicle security are then divided up between base officials, after being used for operational costs, the source added.



The 8th General Bureau in Hyesan city uses 30 percent of the earned money for base maintenance and the rest of the money is shared between commanders and political commissars, he said.



The owners treat the soldiers guarding their vehicles to food and drinks, which the soldiers wont refuse.



Positions of power



Members of North Koreas military regularly use their positions of power to exact payments from the public for services outside of their official duties.



In April, sources told RFA that soldiers along North Koreas border with China were encouraging residents to use illegal cellphones operating on Chinese satellite networks or defect in return for protection fees to make up for bribes that have dried up amid heightened controls in the region.



With illegal river crossings into China and smuggling activities at the border experiencing a significant downturn in recent months, soldiers who normally earn a living through payoffs had been forced to find new ways of supplementing their income, they said.



The sources said soldiers had begun visiting the homes of defector families to warn of the tightened border situation as a pretext to collect protection money for helping them to use Chinese cellphones that can make calls outside of North Korea, or even to defect.



Reported by Sung-hui Moon for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Visitors relax at the Khouangxi waterfalls in the north-central Lao town of Luang Prabang in an undated photo.

Lao police have arrested a resident of a village in Luang Prabang province in the northern part of the country on suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of a South Korean woman, a relative of the accused man said.

On June 3, officers arrested Pheang Phatthakone, a 45-year-old a resident of Kilometer 8 village in the provinces Luang Prabang district, following a presumed tipoff that he was involved in the womans disappearance on May 22, said the relative who spoke to RFA's Lao Service on condition of anonymity.

The woman who, is in her 30s, was traveling alone when she visited the Khouangxi waterfalls, a popular tourist attraction 29 kilometers (18 miles) south of the town of Luang Prabang. Pheang reportedly saw her there while he was collecting banana flowers, his relative said.

The hotel where the woman was staying reported her disappearance to the police after she did not show up, South Koreas Yonhap News Agency reported on May 29.

South Koreas Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not release the womans name, the report said, and the Lao media have not reported Pheangs arrest.

Pheangs relative said authorities do not have any concrete evidence that Pheang was involved in the womans disappearance.

After the disappearance, news spread that a man told villagers that he saw the woman who disappeared near the Khouangxi waterfalls, he said. Unfortunately, one of villagers informed police about what he said.

The following day, the police took Pheang to the spot where he said he saw the woman and twice called him in for questioning, Pheangs relative said.

Then on June 3, police arrested Pheang and have not allowed him to see his family, he said.

I am very concerned that he will be physically assaulted and forced to confess to the crime, he said, adding that police did not inform the family of the arrest and did not produce an arrest warrant for Pheang.

The police did not tell us why he was arrested, and they have not provided any evidence proving that he has killed this woman, he said. Our family is in shock about what has happened.

Pheang picks banana flowersthe blossoms from a banana treefor a living to support his three children, his relative said.

Pheang Phatthakone in an undated photo. Credit: Photo courtesy of Pheang Phatthakone's relative 'We have not arrested him'

In the meantime, police have denied that they have arrested Pheang, but have acknowledged that he is part of the investigation.

We have not arrested him yet, but have just taken him in for questioning, according to the directive of senior supervising officials at police headquarters and the prosecutors office, said Captain Phone, the officer in charge of investigation who only gave his first name.

Now the police are investigating him to ensure that everything is clear, and then he will be released, he told RFA on Wednesday.

Captain Phone declined to provide further details about the investigation procedures and suggested that RFA contact the tourism police.

When RFA called three tourism police officers working on the investigation, they refused to answer questions.

A legal expert who declined to be named told RFA on Wednesday that he is following the case closely.

If there is no strong evidence to support the arrest, it is not necessary for police to detain [Pheang] for more than 48 hours, and the provincial prosecutor must order his release, he said.

If the detention exceeds 48 hours, the relatives of the suspect can submit a request to the prosecutor to consider releasing him, he said.

Detentions of people suspected of committing cimes without any evidence and the abuse of power by police officers are normal phenomena in authoritarian Laos, he added.

Officials from the South Korean embassy in Laos joined Lao police to search the area where the woman went missing, but found no clues, Yonhap reported. The embassy is continuing its search efforts.

Reported and translated by Ounkeo Souksavanh for RFAs Lao Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
STAFFORD  Lawyers for state Sens. Bryce E. Reeves and Jill Holtzman Vogel appeared in a Stafford County courtroom Friday to argue over whether Reeves should be allowed to depose Vogel and others about an email last year alleging he had an affair. A judge denied Reeves request.

Reeves later issued a statement from his campaign saying we will be pursuing a lawsuit against the Vogels and others involved in this filthy enterprise.

The ruling by retired Judge Charles E. Poston of Norfolk came four days before GOP primary voters choose between Reeves, Vogel or Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr. of Virginia Beach as the partys nominee for lieutenant governor in November.

Reeves, through counsel, sought to depose Vogel and her husband, Alexander, their two neighbors, and two Vogel campaign supporters over an email last year that was sent to some of Reeves supporters alleging he had an affair with a campaign aide. Reeves has denied the allegation and filed papers in court saying he believes the Vogels are behind the email.

The pending defamation lawsuit in Stafford does not name the Vogels as defendants, but Reeves wanted to depose all six people in an attempt to find out who should be named as a defendant.

Lawyers argued over whether the discovery process could be used to identify a proper defendant in a defamation claim. The judge, saying he has long been concerned about invasion of privacy in the discovery process, sided with the Vogels attorneys, who argued that Reeves issued subpoenas for depositions and records without permission from the court.

And he told Reeves lawyers they have other ways of identifying a defendant.

The lawsuit remains pending, but if Reeves wants to move forward he would need to name Vogel as a defendant or take other action. His campaign manager, Jordan Wiggins, sat in the courtroom.

The email was sent last fall to several of Reeves supporters from a sender listed as Martha McDaniel.

Reeves has supplied the email to reporters and has said it is false and defamatory. Reeves filed his defamation lawsuit in October against Martha McDaniel, and said in court records he believes that person may be fictitious.

Through the lawsuit, he issued subpoenas to communications companies to find out who sent the email.

The email address was registered to a cellular phone number belonging to Alexander Vogel, according to a court filing by Reeves. The two IP addresses that accessed the email account belong to the Vogels and their next-door neighbors, the filing said.

The Vogels have denied any involvement, and Jill Vogel has said she believes she was the target of a political stunt.

An attorney for the Vogels Fauquier County neighbors said they were out of town when the email account was accessed. Frederick J. Getty, an attorney for the two Vogel supporters Reeves attempted to depose, said his clients may have made vague statements about Reeves having adulterous relationships but they said nothing about the email in question, or Martha McDaniel.

Thomas A. Schultz Jr., an attorney for the Vogels, noted that Reeves himself took the information to The Washington Post for publication and was quoted in a Jan. 1 story saying that the Vogels were responsible.

If they think they have a case against the Vogels, sue us and well properly defend it, Schultz said.

Reeves attorney, Libby Locke, argued that the depositions were necessary for Reeves to name the proper defendants in a defamation lawsuit. She said Vogel has publicly said she may have been hacked. Vogels statement  coming from an ethics attorney and a member of the Virginia State Bar  should be taken seriously, Locke said.

Its a political case, Locke said. Not because we want it to be, but because were following the facts.

The full statement from Reeves:

I take it seriously when someone tries to attack and destroy my country, or my constituents, or my family. Thats why I became an Army Ranger, thats why I became a police officer and thats why I ran for public office.

We have been in pursuit of the truth since September when these false allegations attempting to destroy my family first began to surface.

There are a number of questions that remain unanswered: Why was Alex Vogels cell phone used to register this Gmail account? Why was Jill Vogels Internet network used to access the email account? And why is Jill Vogel refusing to answer these questions? The voters of Virginia deserve to know the answers and were calling on Jill Vogel to answer them truthfully, which she is unwilling to do.

In order to get to the truth, we will be pursuing a lawsuit against the Vogels and others involved in this filthy enterprise.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
FINCASTLE  A pilot program aimed at teaching high school students the advanced manufacturing skills needed for a growing industrial base in Botetourt County was approved Thursday night by the county school board.

The board voted to enter into an agreement with Virginia Western Community College to offer a mechatronics curriculum at the Botetourt Technical Education Center.

Mechatronics is a cross-disciplinary field that incorporates mechanical, electrical and computer engineering to teach students the skills required at advanced manufacturing companies that are either moving into the county or expanding their current operations.

A key force behind the curriculum is the highly anticipated opening next year of an automotive parts production and distribution facility in the Greenfield industrial park. Many of the 350 jobs to be created by Italian-based Eldor Corp. over the next five years will involve working with high-tech and robotic systems that require far more expertise than the typical factory jobs of the past.

But Eldor  which expects full employment to exceed 600 by 2024  is not the only industry in the region that is fueling a demand for more mechatronics-trained employees, schools Superintendent John Busher told the school board.

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits, which plans to open its East Coast brewery and distribution center this summer just across the street from Eldor, will also be using advanced manufacturing processes  as are other industries that are updating and expanding their operations.

In reviewing the countys manufacturing industry, no matter where we went, we saw evidence of mechatronics, Busher said.

The county is aiming to produce 100 mechatronics engineering technicians over the next five years, with about 20 new students being added each year. The first class will begin with the upcoming school year.

About $310,000 to fund the program comes from the General Assembly. Del. Terry Austin, R-Botetourt, pushed for the money in a budget amendment that was approved at the legislatures most recent session.

More than half of that amount will go to toward teacher accreditation and the purchase of mechatronics equipment to be used at the countys technical education center for a program that will closely match Virginia Westerns curriculum.

High school graduates who complete the program could either receive a certification for immediate use in the job market or apply their credits toward an associate degree at Virginia Western.

Virginia Western already has a mechatronics program, created about 10 years ago, that was cited by Eldor and Deschutes Brewery as one of the reasons they chose to locate in the Roanoke Valley.

With Botetourt joining the movement, the hope is for a better-skilled workforce that will attract additional employers, which in turn will lead to more better-paying jobs for young people looking for a place to work and live.

They can see the opportunity to excel right here in Botetourt County, Busher said.
FAIRLAWN  Lt. Col. Alicia Masson completed her two-year term as commander of the Radford Army Ammunition Plant on Friday, handing over control with a look back to a period of major change within the military installation.

Not only was she the first woman to hold the position, but also served during a major infrastructure overhaul at the 76-year-old manufacturing complex, as its facilities were modernized at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.

It only took about three months to stop calling me sir,  Masson joked with reporters after the ceremony. Any time you make history of any kind in a good way, its positive. I absolutely am proud of the opportunity to represent the Army, the Chemical Corps and, of course, women in service in a place as unique as this.

Lt. Col. James Scott assumes command just months after BAE Systems, the British-based defense company that operates the arsenal, received a $177.8 million contract in order to complete the final phase of a new nitrocellulose facility.

Nitrocellulose is a base ingredient for all military ammunition. More than 90 percent of the cartridges, rockets and other munitions fired by the U.S. armed forces trace at least part of their manufacture back to the arsenal. The base has used the same location for production since World War II.

Scott said it looks like the new plant may come online under his watch, but that could change.

The arsenals power plant, which provides electricity, heat and steam for manufacturing at the 7,000-acre base near Fairlawn, has also recently been updated with a switch from coal to natural gas.

Masson spoke about her teams efforts to make that project a reality during Fridays ceremony. At first, she said, the proposal was denied, as funds had already been set aside to build an entirely new facility.

But the team in Radford had an idea for how to update the old system to work on natural gas for less money and in less time.

Im glad they told us no early, Masson told the crowd. It took 19 months, and it gave us a chance to get it done.

Scott told reporters after the ceremony that he intends to build on Massons work to improve community dialog and the environmental effect of the plant.

The arsenal is routinely named the largest polluter in the state, topping the state Department of Environmental Qualitys annual list of toxic chemical releasers.

For years, that has spurred protests from community activists. Most recently, groups have criticized the use of an open burning ground to dispose of waste.

The environmental, the security and safety of the workforce are most important to me right now, Scott said of his plans to continue working to improve the base.
WASHINGTON  Former FBI Director James Comey said in dramatic testimony Thursday he could not trust President Donald Trump to tell the truth, leading him to take extraordinary steps to document their private conversations and to make the details public to spur the appointment of a special counsel to probe the administration over possible links to Russia.

He also accused White House officials of telling lies, plain and simple, about him and the FBI in an effort to cover up the real reason for his dismissal last month.

Theres no doubt that I was fired because of the Russia investigation, Comey said in highly anticipated testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. The endeavor to change the way the Russia investigation was conducted, that is a big deal.

He also revealed he was so skeptical about whether Justice Department leadership could handle the politically explosive probe after he was fired that he arranged for details of his private conversations with the president to be made public, so that an outside lawyer would take over the case.

Over nearly three hours of testimony, Comey grimly recounted the events that he said showed the president sought to redirect the Russia probe away from his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and get the FBI to publicly distance the president himself from the probe.

Comey declined to say whether he thought the president had obstructed justice, saying that was a determination to be made by Special Counsel Robert Mueller . But his detailed account of private talks in which Trump repeatedly brought up the Russia matter, and asked him to issue public statements about it or drop the probe into Flynn, left no doubt in Comeys mind why he was canned.

I know I was fired because something about the way I was conducting the Russia investigation was putting pressure on [Trump], Comey said.

In response to Comeys testimony, Trumps personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, released a statement saying the president never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone.

Kasowitz also accused Comey of trying to undermine this administration with selective and illegal leaks of classified information and privileged communications.

A former federal prosecutor, Comey testified that he took detailed notes of his private talks with the president  a departure from his practice with Trumps predecessor, President Barack Obama. Comey said he did so because he was honestly concerned that the president might lie about what was said in their meetings. He said the two spoke in private a total of nine times before Comey was fired.

Comeys written account of those discussions, made public Wednesday, has fueled the debate over whether the president may have attempted to obstruct justice by pressuring the FBI director about a sensitive investigation.

This is not a witch hunt. This is not fake news, said the senior Democrat on the panel, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia. This is an effort to protect our country from a new threat that quite frankly will not go away anytime soon.

The hearing, broadcast nationally by at least 12 television networks, was held in a cavernous space with hundreds of seats to accommodate the intense interest. Some lawmakers not on the committee decided to sit in the audience.

Inside the hearing room, people audibly groaned or gasped when Comey said he had no doubt that Russian government officials were behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee last year.

Anticipation for the hearing stretched far beyond Capitol Hill. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., walked into the hearing with a binder that included 20 of more than 600 questions submitted to him by constituents.

Comey began his testimony by saying he became confused and increasingly concerned about the public explanations by White House officials for his firing on May 9, particularly after the president said he was thinking about the Russia investigation when he decided to fire him.

He wasted little time repudiating White House statements that he was fired in part because of low morale among FBI employees who supposedly had soured on his leadership.

The administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI by saying that the organization was in disarray, that it was poorly led, Comey said. Those were lies, plain and simple. And Im so sorry that the FBI workforce had to hear them, and Im so sorry the American people were told them.

His most damning remarks were directed at the president, but in the course of his testimony Comey also raised doubts about the judgment of a host of other people, notably Justice Department officials like former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, current Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

In his written testimony released Wednesday, Comey described being summoned to a private dinner at the White House in January with the president, who told him: I need loyalty, I expect loyalty.

Comey said he didnt move, speak, or change my facial expression in any way during the awkward silence that followed. We simply looked at each other in silence. The conversation then moved on, but he returned to the subject near the end of our dinner.

Comey said the conversation, in which Trump asked whether Comey intended to stay on as FBI director, despite three prior discussions in which Comey had said he would, raised concerns in his mind.

My common sense told me whats going on here is hes looking to get something in exchange for granting my request to stay in the job, Comey testified.

Comey described his state of mind as he tried to navigate a series of tense conversations with the president about the investigation into possible coordination between Trump associates and Russian operatives.

Comey made clear he felt the discussions were problematic and improper, in that Trump repeatedly pressed him about specific investigations that involved people close to the president.

On Feb. 13, Flynn was forced to resign as national security adviser for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. At the end of 2016, the FBI investigation into Flynn wasnt going anywhere, but then on Dec. 29, the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia, and Flynn had a phone conversation with Kislyak about those sanctions, according to U.S. officials briefed on the probe.

At the time Flynn was fired, he was being investigated for possibly lying about his conversations with the Russian ambassador, Comey said.

The day after Flynns ouster, a number of senior officials met the president in the Oval Office to discuss terrorism. At the end of the meeting, according to Comey, Trump asked everyone to leave but Comey.

Sessions, the attorney general, lingered until the president told him to leave, too, Comey said.

My sense was the attorney general knew he shouldnt be leaving, which is why he was lingering, Comey said. I knew something was about to happen which I should pay very close attention to.

Once they were alone, the president told Comey he hoped he could let go of the investigation into Flynn.

When it comes from the president, I took it as a direction, Comey said. He said he was shocked and concerned about the presidents request, but decided not to tell Sessions about it because he expected the attorney general would soon recuse himself from the Russia probe, which he eventually did.

After the meeting with Trump, Comey said he asked Sessions to prevent him from being left alone again in a room with the president. His body language gave me the sense of, What am I going to do? Comey said.

His account made clear that his relationship with Trump was fraught from their very first meeting, which occurred before the inauguration, when he told the president-elect that a dossier of unsubstantiated allegations against him had been circulating around Washington.

I didnt want him thinking that I was briefing him on this to sort of hang it over him in some way, Comey said. He needed to know this was being said, but I was very keen to not leave him with the impression that the bureau was trying to do something to him.

Comey acknowledged, as the president has claimed, that he repeatedly told Trump that he was not personally under investigation. But he also said that in private meetings and one-on-one phone calls, the president repeatedly asked him to say publicly that he was not personally under investigation  something Comey did not want to do.

After firing Comey, the president tweeted a suggestion that there could be tapes of their private talks.

The president tweeted on Friday after I got fired that Id better hope there are not tapes, Comey said. That made the ex-FBI director think any such tapes would back up his account of Trumps improper statements, so he said he asked a friend of his to share with a reporter a memo he had written about the February conversation.

I thought it might prompt the appointment of a special counsel, Comey said.

Asked by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., why he felt he had the authority to do that, Comey replied: As a private citizen, I felt free to share that. I thought it was very important to get it out.

The friend is Daniel Richman, a law professor and a former federal prosecutor who confirmed his role but declined further comment. The reporter is Michael Schmidt of the New York Times, who declined to comment.

A special counsel was appointed  Mueller, who is a former colleague of Comeys  and Comey has provided him with his memos, he testified Thursday.

Comey said he still has no idea whether the president actually has tapes of their conversations, but he said: I hope there are, and I will consent to the release of them. . . . The president surely knows whether he taped me, and if he did, my feelings arent hurt.

The former director also divulged new details of his concerns about Lynchs handling of the probe into Hillary Clintons private email server during the Obama administration. While the case was ongoing, Lynch asked him to refer to the Clinton email probe as a matter, rather than an investigation.

Comey said he was concerned by Lynchs instruction because the wording too closely tracked how the Clinton campaign was trying to describe the FBI investigation.

When it was over, Burr and Warner, the two senior members of the committee, walked out to greet reporters camped in the hallway outside. With at least a dozen cameras trained on them, the senators stood grimly and said they would take no questions.

This is nowhere near the end of the investigation, Burr said.
With a backdrop of black community leaders at a Roanoke church, Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam made his plea on Friday for voters to head to the polls next week.

Northam, who is opposing former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, courted black voters in Roanoke as part of a multi-stop tour to get out the vote for the June 13 primary election.

Both candidates have been vying for support from black voters in campaign stops throughout the state this week.

In front of about 40 people at Pilgrim Baptist Church, about half of whom were black, Northam discussed how the election of President Donald Trump and the start of his term should motivate Democrats to flood polling places next week.

People are literally standing up and saying, you know what, this is not the country, this is not the commonwealth of Virginia that I love,  he said. Were not going to accept what were seeing as the new normal. So, its incumbent on all of us to make sure we take this energy to the polls because we know these elections have tremendous consequences.

At the church, Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea praised Northam and assured the audience the lieutenant governor will stand up to Trump as Virginias top executive .

Vice Mayor Anita Price chimed in, calling Northam a gentleman and a scholar.

Northam always makes a point to stop by the Harrison Museum of African American Culture when hes in town, Price said. When Northam pitched his education plan with an emphasis on breaking the school-to-prison pipeline in March, he did so from the Harrison Museum.

Ultimately, Northam  the establishment candidate  is pushing his 10 years in the General Assembly and his ability to reach across the aisle to work with Republicans as his main qualification to be governor.

During the hourlong event, Northam also discussed his plans to offer some free community college and technical training, increased opportunities for prekindergarten education and expanding Medicaid in Virginia.

He discussed criminal justice reform, most notably, his plans for decriminalizing marijuana.

Directly clashing with Republican gubernatorial nominee and conservative firebrand Corey Stewarts stance on Confederate monuments, Northam noted many Confederate statues across the commonwealth should be in museums.

He also said recognition of Virginias civil rights leaders is long overdue.

We need to tell the other side of the story.

Looking ahead to the fall election, Northam also plugged Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat who is up for re-election, and noted Democrats chance to retake the House of Delegates.

Helping other Democrats get elected is Northams nature, former state Senate candidate Mike Hamlar of Roanoke said.

Dont let his bedside manner fool you, Ralph is a fighter, Hamlar said.

Perriello will speak in Roanoke Saturday at Defend the Sacred, an anti-pipeline rally in Elmwood Park.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face the winner of the Republican primary among former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie, state Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach or Stewart, Prince William County Board of Supervisors chairman.
DCI Vanessa Smith, new mayor Cllr Eve Rose Keenan, Michelle Bailey, managing director of Active Response Security, and Stuart Hyde QPM of the Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership, all at the Cyber Crime breakfast meeting at New York Stadium

BUSINESS bosses and home internet users were warned to be on their guard against cyber attacks as experts revealed even the humble clothes peg could provide a way in for criminals.

A summit led by security specialists at the New York Stadium was told that 200,000 cyber attacks or attempts had been made around the world by 8.30am on the day of the event.

One in 20 people worldwide had fallen victim to identity theft and the majority of crimes are now committed online, it was revealed.

Former Chief Constable Stuart Hyde told an audience including the Mayor of Rotherham, Cllr Eve Rose Keenan, that the increasing number of smart home products available gave hackers and thieves more chances to strike.

Mr Hyde, who now works with the Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP), said household objects such as toasters, fridges and even clothes pegs and mattresses could be linked to the internet.

He said: There is practically nothing in our home that cannot connect and each of these needs to be secure.

All the criminals need to do is find a breach in that long chain of connections and they are in.

Det Chief Insp Vanessa Smith, of the South Yorkshire and Humber Cyber Crime Unit (CiSP), said cyber crime cost the UK economy 34 billion last year, although she admitted the figure could be much higher.

With criminals acting more like businesses these days, online crimes now outnumbered all offences, she said.

The intention of cyber criminals is to remain unseen, said Ms Smith.

There are no fingerprints left at the scene.

They are criminals with a business mind. They know your data is being shared all the time online.

Michelle Bailey, managing director of Active Response Security, said more business people needed to be aware of the scale of the threat and criminals were always testing businesses online security.

Online crimes were not just financial, the summit was told, as victims could also be harassed, groomed and threatened online by criminals.

Ms Smith said that cyber crimes could include hacking, fraudulent emails, blackmail, as well as creating child abuse images and sending hate mail.

She said while most were criminals looking for money, others might be sexual offenders, hackers who cause problems just for fun, or activists making a political point.

Ms Smith said that cyber crime for financial gain could take the form of trying to get victims to hand over information such as bank account numbers and passwords to, as recently seen in the NHS, holding data for ransom.

She said: People and businesses are only as strong as their weakest link.

If you are a public figure be warned, people will go for your information online.

Just be wary of what you are doing.

The conference in Rotherham was just two weeks after dozens of NHS trusts were targeted by a ransomware virus which paralysed patient records and IT systems.

Careful monitoring of computer systems and keeping systems updated with new anti-cyber crime patches is vital, the police insist, as is training all staff to be aware of risks.

Mr Hyde revealed that of the 7.8 billion people in the world, 348 million have had their identities stolen by cyber criminals - almost nearly five per cent of the worlds population.

But he pointed out that free help and advice were available from the likes of Europol, which provide free updates on threats, CEOP, which deals with concerns over child protection, reporting network ActionFraud and his own organisation, the CiSP.
Voluntary Action Rotherham's annual Big Volunteer Walk took place in the town centre recently. 170951-27

HUNDREDS turned out in spite of the wet weather for an annual event celebrating Rotherhams army of volunteers.

The Big Walk, organised by Voluntary Action Rotherham, set off around the town centre from All Saints Square last Tuesday afternoon, with up to 500 people taking part.

VAR services manager Julie Adamson said: It is important for us to celebrate the unsung heroes who give so much to our town and the Big Walk is just a little something to recognise them and say thank you.

We thought the weather might put some people off but it was the biggest and best walk yet.

There are 49,500 regular volunteers in Rotherham, those are the ones we know about and these people deserve to be thanked and recognised because without them our town would grind to a halt.

I dont think people are often aware that when they access many services they are being helped by volunteers, and whole projects are led and run entirely by volunteers.

The mounted section, cadets, and specials from South Yorkshire Police were among the volunteers taking part.

Chief Supt Rob Odell, Rotherham district commander, said: We have lots of enthusiastic, energetic, volunteers performing important roles with the police.

These people give up their free time to assist with community engagement, test purchasing and crime prevention, among other activities. Theyre a real asset to our force.

The event began with a short ceremony at Rotherham Minster where Mr Odell and the Mayor of Rotherham, Cllr Eve Rose Keenan, spoke to the volunteers before their walk around town, accompanied by the Sheffield Pipe Band.

After returning to the historic church, they were addressed and thanked by the Vicar of Rotherham, Canon David Bliss, before a performance by St Pauls Community Choir.

Julie added: Tesco provided some fruit and healthy refreshment, Mears sent some young apprentices to wear mascot costumes and staff from solicitors Irwin Mitchell acting as buddies to keep the mascots safe.

This event has been months in the planning, with a team working since October to get all the little details right.
Frank Thorpe

A D-DAY hero nicknamed Thumper for his knack of getting things working by hitting them with a hammer has died at the age of 92.

Frank Thorpe, a former chairman of Rotherham Normandy Veterans Association, remained independent throughout his life - and was still driving until January.

His death came a day after that of fellow Normandy veteran and friend Cliff Mitchell, who was also 92.

Frank, of Bramley, last appeared in the Advertiser in spring 2016 when - after a lengthy wait - he received Frances top military medal, the Legion dHonneur.

Daughter Janet Marcroft (68) said: Dad wouldnt be told he couldnt do anything. He was totally independent, to a fault sometimes.

He loved being a good neighbour and he would clear all the snow from the street until these last couple of years.

I think the neighbours sometimes watched in dismay at some of the tasks he took on. He just liked to be useful.

She added: The Legion dHonneur arrived on his 91st birthday and he was thrilled to bits. Dad always wanted things done right away, but with this hed had to wait.

He actually wrote to the French ambassador about it and he was determined he was going to write to the Queen, too!

Once it was here, it went round to the neighbours, to Morrisons, the bowling club. Its a wonder he didnt lose it.

Frank was born in Rawmarsh and worked at Parkgate Iron and Steel from 14, later becoming an apprentice electrician before joining the Royal Navy as a wireman in August 1943.

He met wife Esme while attending naval college in Eastbourne.

After D-Day - and having only met her once - he travelled back to find her.

They tied the knot in 1947 and were married almost 60 years before Esme died in 2006. The couple have two children, Janet and Martin (66), plus three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

He went back to the steelworks after the war, becoming electrical section engineer - and earning the Thumper Thorpe moniker.

Janets husband Stephen (69) worked with her father - but was unaware they were related to begin with.

He said: When I took her home for the first time, I didnt realise I was going to his house. It was quite a shock!

Janet, of Church Street in Rawmarsh, said her dad opened up more about his war experiences after joining the veterans group.

He enjoyed the social side of it, she added. He used to enjoy going places, to parades and D-Day anniversaries. He would travel all the way in his blazer and beret.

People would go up to him and shake his hand. He revelled in it and enjoyed telling his stories.

Frank travelled back to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014. He described to the Advertiser at the time how the cheering crowds made him feel like Errol Flynn.

Frank died on May 7 and his funeral was held at Rotherham Crematorium last Tuesday with a guard of honour with standards and his medals on display.
Zimbabwes diamond output dropped 6 percent to 567,024 carats during the first quarter of the year from 603,590 carats produced a year earlier, according to data released by the finance ministry.

The ministry attributed the decline to the transitional challenges involving the consolidation of former diamond companies into one state company, the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), since February last year.

Government is already working on addressing challenges related to legal wrangles and capitalisation of ZCDC, said the ministry in its quarterly report.

Furthermore, secured equipment, to the tune of $30 million, is expected to support higher throughput.

Increased production will also be aided by the expected resumption of mining at Mbada mid-April 2017 and DTZ-OTZEGO in July 2017.

Zimbabwes finance minister had last November projected the countrys 2017 diamond production at 1.9 million carats underpinned by envisaged successful capitalisation and full production at ZCDC.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




To control round-tripping of gold and misuse of bank funds meant for exports, the Indian government is considering banning the export of 24-carat jewellery.

In India 24-carat gold is used mostly in coins and bars. However, certain export houses in India export 24-carat jewellery, in which hardly any value addition is done except refining and casting gold in jewellery form. The jewellery is then exported to Gulf countries and re-imported in the form of gold. These export houses use this route to show high exports, thus keeping their export house status intact, and use low-cost bank credit meant for them.

The Indian finance ministry is concerned about this as such round tripping was estimated at more than 100 tonnes, while jewellery exports per se are not much.

Genuine exporters will not be impacted if the Indian government bans the export of 24-carat gold jewellery.

A gold survey by GFMS Thomson Reuters says: In 2016 the import of duty-free gold, which was destined for manufacturing jewellery and medallions for exporting, declined by 15 per cent to 167.3 tonnes from 196.2 tonnes in 2015. Of this we estimate 125 tonnes were used for round tripping and 38 tonnes for exports during 2016.



Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished




Digital Realty (DLR), a provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, Friday announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. (DFT) in an all-stock transaction.

Under the terms of the agreement, DuPont Fabros shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.545 Digital Realty shares per DuPont Fabros share, for a transaction valued at approximately $7.6 billion in enterprise value. This includes $1.6 billion of assumed debt and excluding transaction costs.

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2017, subject to the approval of DuPont Fabros and Digital Realty shareholders and other customary closing conditions. The deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Upon closing, the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to financial metrics, and is expected to further improve balance sheet strength.

The combination of the two companies is expected to create an opportunity to realize up to $18 million of annualized overhead savings, resulting from both companies' complementary operations.

DuPont Fabros is an owner, developer, operator and manager of enterprise-class, carrier-neutral, large scale multi-tenant data centers.

Digital Realty said it has obtained a fully committed bridge loan facility from BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup which will be available, if needed, to finance the transaction.

It is expected that the combination will help grow Digital Realty's presence in strategic, high-demand metro areas with strong growth prospects. It will help in achieving significant diversification benefits for DuPont Fabros' shareholders from the combination with Digital Realty's existing footprint of 145 properties across 33 global metropolitan areas.

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Business News
Portugal's foreign trade deficit widened notably in April from a year ago, as imports grew much faster than exports, figures from Statistics Portugal showed Friday.

The trade deficit widened to EUR 1.24 billion in April from EUR 730 million in the corresponding month last year. In March, the shortfall was EUR 840 million.

In nominal terms, exports rose only 0.4 percent year-over-year in April and imports climbed sharply by 10.8 percent.

Excluding fuels and lubricants, exports decreased 2.3 percent, while imports increased by 6.1 percent.

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Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
(Agencia CMA Latam) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed during a state visit that Germany is an important partner for Argentina and expressed its will to promote the alliance between Mercosur and the European Union (EU).

In a joint press conference with the Argentinean President Mauricio Macri at the Casa Rosada, Merkel noted, however, that "free trade is never easy" and warned that Germany would "negotiate hard."

"Argentina is not going to see all its wishes fulfilled. Each party will have to make concessions, but it will result in mutual benefits," she clarified.

Regarding bilateral relationship and possible investments by German companies in Argentina, the Chancellor said that she is "convinced that Argentina is going to grow" and that under Macri investments in Argentina become more reliable.

"You [Macri] undertook a significant reform path, strengthening the and opening up Argentina to the world," Merkel told the press conference.

Merkel's visit aims to relaunch bilateral relations and move forward in the transfer of the G20's pro-tempore presidency to Argentina from 2018. "I would like to thank the close cooperation within the G20 agenda, and of course next year we will return this collaboration," she said.

Before her meeting with Macri, Merkel met German companies executives with interests in Argentina. This is the first official visit by Merkel to Argentina as Chancellor. The last time a German leader visited Argentina was in 2002 when Gerhard Schroder was Chancellor.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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Business News
(Agencia CMA Latam) - The leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Rodrigo Londono, a.k.a Timochenko, said in a statement that the guerrillas completed the delivery of 30% of their weapons as part of the peace agreement signed with the Colombian government.

Timochenko indicated that the FARC's weapons deposition would occur in three steps: 30% on June 7, 30% on June 14 and the remaining 40% on June 20.

"Thirty percent of our armaments have been put into the hands of the United Nations, which has deposited them in their containers and will certify at once the weapons delivered by each of our combatants. We will never use violence again," he said.

The United Nations and the Colombian government believe that the FARC will hand over at least 7,000 weapons as part of the peace agreement signed more than half a century of violence in the country.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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Business News
Canadian stocks may rise Friday morning as in Europe withstood a shock U.K. election that may threaten Brexit.

The snap general election called by British Prime Minister Theresa May turned out to be a setback for the Conservative party, which lost their majority in the Parliament.

The ruling party is 10 seats short of the 326 seats required for a majority in the 650-member House of Commons, but May says she has a tentative agreement to form a coalition with a small Northern Ireland party.

In economic news, employment rose by 55,000 in May, spurred by an increase in full-time work. At the same time, the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 6.6%, the result of more people participating in the labor market, Statistics Canada said.

Bay Street has been on edge this week amid U.S. political uncertainties and numerous warnings about the Canadian housing bubble. The latest alarm came from the Bank of Canada yesterday.

"The vulnerability associated with household indebtedness has increased. The overall level of mortgage debt relative to income continues to rise," the Bank of Canada said. "As the number of [highly indebted] households grows, it is more likely that adverse economic shocks to households would significantly affect the and the financial system."

Crude oil futures were steady Friday for a second session, staying near its yearly lows amid signs that OPEC's supply quota plan is falling apart.

WTI light sweet crude oil was up 5 cents at $45.70 a barrel.

Encana Corp. (ECA.TO, ECA) announced its unit, Encana Oil & Gas (USA), has reached an agreement to sell its Piceance natural gas assets for $735 million.

Hudson's Bay Co. (HBC.TO), owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, will eliminate about 2,000 positions as part of restructuring efforts. The news follows disappointing quarterly results.

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Market Analysis
Democrat Jon Ossoff has a sizable lead in Georgia's closely watched special House election, according to the results of an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released Friday.

The poll showed Ossoff with a 51 percent to 44 percent lead over Republican Karen Handel ahead of the June 20th runoff. About 5 percent of voters are undecided.

Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker and former congressional staffer, benefits from a 60 percent to 34 percent lead among women as well as a solid advantage among younger voters.

Meanwhile, men and voters over 65 are leaning toward Handel, who previously served as Georgia's Secretary of State.

Ossoff and Handel are competing to fill the House seat previously held by Health And Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said several recent polls show Ossoff with an advantage in the contest but noted most other surveys show a tighter race.

The race in the conservative-leaning district is seen as an early referendum on President Donald Trump's performance in the White House.

The poll found that Ossoff is supported by about 13 percent of Republican voters and 50 percent of independents, while only 3 percent of Democrats back Handel.

The AJC survey of 745 likely voters was conducted by Abt Associates from June 5th through 8th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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Business News
President Donald Trump struck back at former FBI Director James Comey in remarks on Friday, denying several of the claims the ex-FBI chief made about their private conversations.

In a news conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Trump denied Comey's claim that he asked for a pledge of loyalty, adding, "I hardly know the man."

Trump also once again declared that he never asked Comey to drop an investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with Russian officials

The president claimed Comey's testimony proved that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia and no obstruction of justice.

Trump said he would be willing to speak under oath about his conversations with Comey and would "gladly" meet with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

"He's a leaker," Trump said of Comey, who acknowledged that he asked a friend to leak his memos of his conversations with the president to the press.

Trump was repeatedly asked about recordings of his meetings with Comey and stated he would discuss the issue "sometime in the near future" but suggested the media would be "very disappointed."

In his opening statement, Trump also addressed the diplomatic crisis regarding Qatar, urging the Persian Gulf country to immediately halt its funding of terrorism.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also spoke about the situation with Qatar earlier in the day, saying the country has a history of supporting groups that have spanned the spectrum of political expression, from activism to violence.

"The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country, but he must do more and he must do it more quickly," Tillerson said.

At the same time, Tillerson called on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt to ease the blockade against Qatar.

Tillerson said there are humanitarian consequences to the blockade, which he said is also impairing U.S. and international activities as well as U.S. military actions in the region.

(Photo: Marc Nozell)

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Political News
An awkward job interview question  how much did you make at your last job?  is getting banned in some parts of the country.

Massachusetts, New York City and Philadelphia have passed laws that bar employers from asking applicants about their salary history. And several states, including California, Mississippi and Pennsylvania, have proposed similar legislation this year.

Supporters say the bans are one way to help close the wage gap between men and women. Some business advocates, however, say the bans hurt companies that use salary histories to help them set wages.

Either way, employment lawyers say the bans may spread.

"I would not be surprised if we see other states and cities consider it," says Christine Hendrickson, an employment lawyer at Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago.

Here's what you need to know:

When do the laws take effect?

Massachusetts's law is set to go into effect in July of 2018. New York City's ban takes effect in November. Philadelphia's ban was supposed to go into effect May 23, but a judge has temporarily halted it after the city's Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit opposing it.

What's banned?

The laws block employers from asking applicants about salary history in interviews or on applications. Job applicants can still provide their past pay on their own. And employers may ask applicants what salary range they expect in the role, says Regina E. Faul, an employment lawyer and partner at Phillips Nizer in New York.

Why ban it?

Lawmakers say asking about salary history continues the cycle of pay inequality, keeping a woman from getting higher pay at a new job if she reveals her past salary.

Letitia James, who authored New York's law and is the city's public advocate, said the ban ensures that "being underpaid once does not condemn anyone to a lifetime of inequity."

What happens if an employer asks for salary history where it is banned?

Job applicants can report those employers, and they may be fined or even face jail time. In New York, the fine can be as much as $250,000. In Philadelphia, it's $2,000 per violation, plus 90 days in jail for repeat offenses.

What has been the response from the business community?

The Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia, which represents about 600,000 businesses, sued the city over the ban last month arguing that it violates employers' free speech rights and makes it harder for companies to set wages and attract top talent. The lawsuit says employers use wage history to identify which job applicants it can or can't afford and helps businesses figure out what the comparable salary is for a certain job.

Which other locations are considering bans?

This year, at least 21 states and Washington D.C. have proposed legislation that would prohibit salary history questions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The states are: Iowa, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Vermont and Washington.

Others may join in. "There's probably going to be a trend toward this," says Faul.

By JOSEPH PISANI, AP Business Writer
State Board recommends Kansas districts retire native mascots, imagery

The Kansas State Board of Education voted to make a "strong recommendation" that school districts in Kansas retire the use of American Indian mascots.
The future is bright for twelve Grassroots Culinary trainees who celebrated sweet success at Taumeasina Island Resort on Wednesday night.

The grand occasion marked the completion of a 12-week traineeship with some of the best restaurants in Samoa where they learnt the skills to secure them a long-term career in the Culinary Arts.

Among the graduates were Lauagaia Fagamea, Ian Ioka, Laupau Leaupepe, Roger Meke, Rosie Meke, Pito Nikolao, Fabian Pritchard, Lino Simona, Shon Soi, Matapoo Talavou, Sinivatutasi Elia and Tuputau Tuisamoa.

The programme is designed to create employment for youth who have no formal training or experience in working a commercial kitchen. It is also to fill the gap in the industry for kitchen staff.

Associate Minister of Tourism, Fagaivalu Kenrick Samu, congratulated the graduates.

Over the past couple of years there has been a huge growth in the hospitality industry with the opening of more hotels, cafes and restaurants, Fagaivalu said.

I am happy to know that its not only youth from the town areas that have this opportunity, with trainees from Lotofaga, Manono-Tai and even one from Savaii.

I hope there will be more from the big island in the next intake.

The Associate Minister also congratulated the Samoa Culinary Association.

Samoa is still very much in its infancy in tourism development and I congratulate the Samoa Culinary Association for helping nurture the future, he said. To the graduates, you are the future.

The event was a proud moment for the President of the Samoa Culinary Association, Joe Lam and his hardworking crew.

With support from members of the industry, he said they are assisting the graduates to secure jobs together with A.P.T.C.

This is the first training of its kind in Samoa and has so far been well received by the industry. The Grass Roots Culinary Training programme is supported by U.N.D.P through the M.W.C.S.D Youth Employment Programme, the New Zealand High Commission, the Tindall Foundation, and the Samoa Culinary Association.

Among the graduates was 25-year-old Lino Simona from Faga, Savaii. He was a proud man.

The fifth child of nine boys, Lino said he was groomed to cook from a very young age.

The fact I have no sister means I grew up doing both male and female jobs around the house, he said.

So I used to cook all the time, for my parents and my family. I guess you can say that my passion for cooking developed when I was young. I learnt some basic recipes from my mother like luau ulo, falai elegi and others and that helped fanned the flame in me a lot.

Lino left school in Savaii to look after his parents.

Personally my goal is to look after my parents before anything else in this life, but my mother challenged me one day to look out for other opportunities in life, he said.

Thats why I ended up in enrolling in this programme. The main reason is the fact that theres no one employed to support my family financially. Yes we have food and a plantation but theres always a need for money.

As for the training, he believes the last 12-weeks has prepared him well for the demands of the industry.

Its been an eye-opener, he said. Learning new techniques, methods of cooking, recipes, ideas of design, I can say that I have finally learnt some of the basics in how to serve in something I am passionate about.

For now, Im looking for a job to help my family and continue on in my education.

His dream is to become a professional chef.

After this programme, my love for food has grown. I also now know what working means.

So whats next?

Im still going to work hard to get become a professional chef and work with all my heart to make people smile all the time when they eat my food.

Lino can be contacted on 724-0020 if anyone is keen to hire him.
Leaving his life as a swimming instructor in Sweden, Micheal Fertig, aged 55, is midway through his 18 month sabbatical.

Having seen Thailand and New Zealand, to name but a few stops on the globetrotters list, Michael arrived here in beautiful Samoa on Monday.

I took a break from my life, he said.

The Samoa Observer approached him near the Samoa Tourism Authority (S.T.A) Visitor Information Centre in Matafele, Apia.

Adventure seeker and perpetual sunbather, he said Samoa is the perfect place for him.

I chose to come to Samoa because I love the heat, he said.

Amid an ocean of fans, he embraced the tropical Pacific climate, unfazed by the sizzling temperature of 31 degrees Celsius in Central Apia.

Having spent the last five weeks in New Zealand, Michael said the pace of life is much slower here adding that its so nice to come down to Samoa and just rest.

Having travelled throughout the Pacific, Michael has learnt to be thrifty during his stay.

Im staying in local accommodation, he said and with the bus timetable in hand, he utilises the Samoan transport links.

Making your money go further has never been so easy with local produce at a fair price and accommodation available to suit all budgets.

Things are practically half the price here, Michael emphatically said, comparing his stay in Upolu to his experiences in New Zealand.

Having only been on the picturesque island for a few days, and already enjoying the fried fish from the market, the avid explorer plans to rent a bike to continue his journey around the area.

He said he would definitely recommend Samoa to any holidaymaker searching for sizzling weather and a beautiful back-drop.
Crimes and social problems reported within the town area can easily be resolved when traditional structures are strengthened.

These structures include the setting up of Village Councils in areas where families live on freehold land.

This is the opinion of Base Seiuli of Safotu Savaii. At the moment, he is residing with his two siblings at Vaiala.

Looking at the way things are, he said Savaii life is very different from Upolu.

To be honest with you, I think the people in Savaii who have been living traditionally and maintaining our culture are lucky, he told Village voice.

I was born in Savaii until I was old enough to come to Upolu to look for a job.

So Ive been living here for years and working as a cleaner. But I usually go visit my family in Savaii. I prefer life there, it is great.

Seiuli said law and order are protected in rural villages by chiefs.

Villages in Savaii have village leaders who keep law and order to maintain peace in the village and that is why I feel people living in those areas are lucky.

Living there is also simple; everything is pretty much from your own two hands.

But here in the urban areas, everyday is a busy day for everyone. Families have been living the palagi way of eating from restaurants, partying around with friends and going to nightclubs. These places are crowded from Monday to Saturday. I dont think thats the way it should be.

And with increasing number of people moving to the town area, Seiuli urged the government to establish a matai council to govern these public areas.

There are many people living in these urban areas and they are all Samoans. I humbly ask the government to consider establishing village councils to govern these areas.

Because the town area is always the place where a lot of trouble has been happening. If we dont do something about it, the crimes and problems will only get worse.

We need to work together to keep Samoa a better and safe place, especially to try and protect the innocent lives of young people that are affected.

Seiuli believes that more should be done to help the youth.

Many people just blame youth for all their wrong doings but we should be helping the youth.

Everyone makes mistakes but people can change, people can learn and move on.

With rules and a proper village council enforcing them, we have a chance of dealing with these problems. Otherwise we are just wasting our time talking about it.
Question: Will the U.S. economy benefit by backing out of the Paris climate agreement?

Phil Blair

Phil Blair, Manpower

He is not participating this week.

Kelly Cunningham

Kelly Cunningham, National University System

YES: The global agreement would somehow bind the economy to massive controls, hampering production, and transferring countless billions of dollars to other developing nations without voting by Congress. This attempt at central planning energy production with regulatory, redistributionist policies would subvert U.S. economic capacity and eliminate self-determination for ourselves while seeking to mandate foreign control over our social and economic fortunes. The energy industry sector is already capable and currently innovating solutions to curb carbon emissions.

David Ely

David Ely, San Diego State University

NO: More workers will be able to remain employed in the traditional energy industries if withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement is accompanied by other federal actions that slow the development of clean energy technologies. Since the number of new jobs created in an expanding renewable energy industry is likely to exceed those lost in the coal and oil sectors, this decision by the Trump administration will diminish, not accelerate job growth across the economy.

Gina Champion-Cain

Gina Champion-Cain, American National Investments

NO: Reneging on the climate agreement is a geopolitical statement with no material economic impact. Innovators and legacy corporations alike are moving away from carbon energy sources. The economic drivers are all aligned, both short and long term, toward renewable options. California's clean energy economy now employees nearly 10 times that of the entire country's coal workforce; the economics are clear. Market forces, not participation in the Paris agreement , will lead the energy sector.

Alan Gin

Alan Gin, University of San Diego

NO: Some industries may benefit from withdrawing from the agreement, particularly those connected to fossil fuels. But these gains could be offset by harm through diminishing this countrys role in terms of green technology. There are already three times as many people employed in jobs connected to wind and solar energy as are employed in coal-related jobs. That is why the leaders of companies such as Tesla, Google, Microsoft , General Electric, and even Exxon Mobil are opposed to the withdrawal.

James Hamilton

James Hamilton, UC San Diego

NO: The main progress that the U.S. made in reducing carbon emissions came not from any international agreements but instead from the fact that natural gas has been replacing coal as a source of energy to generate electricity. This represents improved economic efficiency, not harmful regulation. Climate change poses significant risks for the U.S. economy. But realistically, the Paris agreement only set up some broad goals and had not made much progress in solving the problem.

Gary London

Gary London, London Moeder Advisors

NO: I am not especially concerned, from an economic perspective, by the Trump pullout. In fact, I think there will be an economic upside as companies and state governmentsand particularly consumersgo more rapidly green on their own through the production and consumption of green, carbon reduced and energy-efficient products. I am deeply disappointed from a political, compassionate and global leadership perspective. Mr. Trump has taken us out of the global dialogue about how to deal with climate change. Virtually no one benefits from this act of political belligerence.

Norm Miller

Norm Miller, University of San Diego

NO: This question requires dissecting into short term and long term and by industry sector, but net long term, we must internalize the costs of polluting air and water if we care about future generations, i.e. Los Angeles once had dense smog that caused illness but none of that was priced into the cost of gasoline. Few will benefit from backing out of the Paris accord. Hopefully states will do what is best, in spite of Trumps arrogant position.

Jamie Moraga

Jamie Moraga, IntelliSolutions

YES: The concept of the Paris agreement was good but it wasnt fair. It was estimated by 2035 that the U.S. would have seen trillions lost in GDP, a double-digit percent increase in household electricity costs, and several hundred thousand jobs eliminated. The U.S. would have bent over backwards to the detriment of the U.S. taxpayer while some of the biggest polluters in the world got a free pass. To protect our environment and address climate change, we need a better deal that applies equally to all. I hope a new agreement is negotiated to address this very important issue.

Austin Neudecker

Austin Neudecker, Rev

NO: Short-term, the stock prices of corporations connected to fossil fuels will increase. Reduced regulations will enable these companies to make more profit, while alternative energy still represents less of the economy. Long-term, the scientific community agrees that the impact of the continued pollution of our air and water, worse storms and rising tides will cause catastrophic damage (trillions of dollars) to our livelihood. Could PACs and lobbyist money have motivated these changes? I think so.

Bob Rauch, R.A. Rauch & Associates

YES: The Paris accord in effect reduces development for the industrialized world and stunts growth for the developing world. The negative economic impact of instituting the regulations called for in the agreement is significant. Policies that restrict the use of carbon-based energy in America will cut jobs and slow economic growth. Regardless of ones opinions on the impact of carbon dioxide emissions on global temperatures, the sacrifices will generate a marginal impact on global temperatures.

Lynn Reaser

Lynn Reaser, Point Loma Nazarene University

NO: There will be little economic impact. The Paris accord set voluntary targets for greenhouse gas emissions but did not specify how those goals are to be met. The president had already nullified many regulations on the energy industry. Market and other forces could enable 2025 emissions objectives to still be met. These include the price advantage of natural gas over coal, innovations in clean energy technology, the impact of consumer demand on companies policies, and the actions of state and local governments.

John Sarkisian

John Sarkisian, SKLZ

NO: Per the accord the earliest the U.S. can withdraw from the agreement is 2020. The U.S. is moving to clean energy and restorable resources. This move will continue despite the potential withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. Jobs will continue to be created in these clean energy areas. Just look at what our local company, SDG&E, is doing to move to clean energy. Today nearly 43 percent of SDG&E energy is from renewable resources such as wind and solar.

Chris Van Gorder

Chris Van Gorder, Scripps Health

NO: There might be an economic benefit from reduced energy and environmental regulations, but higher labor costs -- not these regulations  are the main reason America struggles to complete globally, especially in the industrial sector Trump is trying to protect. And any economic benefit gained from backing out will be short-lived, while the impact of climate change will not. The environment needs a global approach and the United States should be part of it.

Have an idea for an EconoMeter question? Email me at roger.showley@sduniontribune.com

Follow me on Twitter: @rogershowley
Heads up, Bakersfield residents  you may want to double check that your car doors are locked.

With more than 7,000 car thefts in 2016, the metropolitan area had the highest rate of vehicle thefts in California, according to a National Insurance Crime Bureau report released Thursday. Bakersfield ranked third in the nation after Albuquerque, which took the No. 1 spot, and Pueblo, Colo.

The annual Hot Spots report analyzes vehicle theft data from the National Crime Information Center for each of the nations densely populated areas.

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The ranking takes population into account, which is why an area such as Billings, Mont., with 877 thefts, can place much higher than Los Angeles, which had 60,670 thefts.

Other California metro areas in the top 10 include Modesto, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Merced, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward and Fresno.

While preliminary data show that 2016 car thefts across the nation were up 6.6% from 707,758 thefts in 2015, the number has drastically decreased from 1991, when there were a record 1.7 million thefts.

Whats the best way to prevent car theft, according to the report? Common sense. The insurance bureau found that from 2013 to 2015, more than 140,000 vehicles were stolen with the keys left inside.

Areas with highest vehicle theft rates in 2016:

Albuquerque, N.M. Pueblo, Colo. Bakersfield Modesto, Calif. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Anchorage, Alaska Merced, Calif. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward Fresno Billings, Mont.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

makeda.easter@latimes.com

@makedaeaster

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In the wake of the passage last November of Proposition 64, which legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults 21 and older, by some estimates cannabis in California may be on the verge of becoming a $7 billion industry.

Thursday evening, about 50 current and prospective owners of cannabis businesses gathered in a conference room near University City. But they were not talking about things like cultivation methods or different strains of pot.

Instead, the topics were much more buttoned-down, even boring  employee classification, liability insurance and regulatory compliance.

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After decades of outlier and outlaw status, marijuana in the Golden State is just months away from becoming a legally licensed enterprise and the speakers at Thursdays meeting said those in the cannabis sector must make sure they concentrate on regulatory and compliance issues that often have been overlooked or simply ignored.

These issues are going to be so much more important now, said San Diego attorney Kimberly Simms, who has worked with clients in the marijuana industry for the past eight years and organized Thursdays meeting. Were going to have to be a flexible industry. California over-regulates everything and cannabis is not going to be an exception to that.

Some issues are as simple as making sure a business writes and enforces an employee handbook. Others include misconceptions over labor and employment law, ranging from things such as too often classifying employees as independent contractors, correctly tabulating overtime, dealing with discrimination accusations and handling payroll.

Overlooking details can lead to battles in court that can threaten the very existence of a nascent business, said Danielle Moore, an expert in workplace law and who counsels employers in the cannabis industry for the firm of Fisher Phillips.

Everybody wants to be part of the industry because it has so much potential, Moore said. They think its going to be easy. Its not easy.

Moore gave a PowerPoint presentation showing how a lawsuit over unpaid overtime to one employee earning $60,000 a year can potentially end up costing a company with a staff of 15 nearly $900,000.

Starting and launching a small business is always hard, Moore said. But for cannabis, its times 10.

Thats because while pot may be legal in California, the federal government still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, in the same category as narcotics like heroin.

That often leads to closer scrutiny from law enforcement and also scares off banks from taking on clients in the cannabis sector, which means many owners deal exclusively in cash.

Jeffrey Rosen, the co-founder of San Franciso-based CBZ Insurance Services, warned Thursdays audience that a bigger marijuana industry will lead to greater exposure to legal battles, such as product liability lawsuits.

Companies that deal in edibles are also likely to face suits should a customer consume too much or get ill.

People running cannabis companies have to look at insurance as a mandatory part of their business, Rosen said. They need to protect themselves from all different types of liability. But I find in this industry that people see insurance as an as-needed item, meaning, when I think I need it, Ill get it but until then Im not going to.

There are other considerations, too.

For example, the state will classify cultivation of marijuana as agriculture.

A representative from the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board was at Thursdays meeting and said if cultivators and growers of marijuana with 20 or more employees want to receive a license from the state they must sign whats called a labor peace agreement, in which the employer promises not to resist attempts by a union to organize workers.

There are also OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulations to consider as well as potential action from federal law enforcement agencies. In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged a West Hollywood marijuana company with falsifying earnings.

A lot of the cannabis industry is coming from an era of black market to self-regulation to quasi-compliance, said Simms. Regulation is just around the corner and these issues are going to become so much more important.

Prop 64 passed with 57 percent of the vote, making California the largest state to legalize recreational use of marijuana. State officials are in the process of establishing a licensing and taxation regime that is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, 2018.

Moore said those considering jumping into the cannabis business need to be extra careful.

This is not something you can do easily, Moore said. So for someone who wants to come into it, you need to plan for that, be prepared to commit to the challenges and be uber-compliant.

Business

rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski

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The 2016 San Diego County Fair, which closed with an Independence Day bang Monday, set an overall attendance record of 1,609,481 guests, the most since the fair began in 1880, a fair official said Tuesday.

It also was the longest fair ever, 26 days, a fact certain to have figured in the attendance record and made possible by the calendar, which placed the July Fourth holiday on a Monday.

Any time there is an opportunity to extend the days of the fair, we want to take advantage of that, said fair spokeswoman Linda Zweig. It helps us attract more folks locally, and out of town as well.

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Dates chosen for the fair  one of the 10 largest in North America  depend on many factors, including allowing time to prepare for the start of the next big event at the fairgrounds, the 40-day summer thoroughbred horse-racing season that begins July 15.

This years fair attendance surpassed the previous high mark of 1,517,508 set in 2012, when the fair was 24 days long.

The fairs average daily attendance record, set in 2011, was 64,187 people per day for a 22-day run. The 2012 daily average remains second with 63,229, and this years 61,903 is third.

Fair officials have said 2011 and 2012 were good years for the fair because the county was in the tail end of the Great Recession.

When the economy was down, our attendance was up, Zweig said.

 County fair closes on Fourth

People who could not afford to leave the county for a vacation went to the fair instead. The coastal climate is always inviting, ticket prices are affordable, and discounts and bargains are easy to find, she said.

The San Diego County Fair gives everybody a chance to escape, she said.

The fair tends to build momentum as it goes along, and Sunday was the biggest day of this years run with 96,501 visitors. That includes more than 10,000 people who came to see Calibre 50, the Mexican quartet that performed on the Grandstand Stage. The popularity of grandstand acts is another factor in overall attendance.

This years theme was Mad About the Fair, which combined the classic Lewis Carroll story Alices Adventures in Wonderland with a bit of steampunk designed to appeal to all ages.

Sales of all things at the fair were good this year, Zweig said, although final numbers for revenue wont be available for months. This years livestock auction, always one of the biggest events, raised $432,031 for 4-H and FFA youths.

Food remained as popular as ever at the fair, as shown by statistics in a news release Tuesday from the fairgrounds: Australian Battered Potatoes used more than 7 tons of potatoes; Bacon-A-Fair used more than 21,000 pounds of bacon; the Grill Cheese A-Fair averaged 600 grilled cheese sandwiches a day, up 55 percent from 2015; Biggys Meat Market sold 2 tons of ribs; Corn Star sold 50,000 ears of corn; and Pinks sold more than 20,800 hot dogs.

Country Fair Cinnamon, one of several purveyors of the sweet, sticky pastries, used 15,000 pounds of flour, 3 tons of cinnamon and sugar, 1,500 pounds of cream cheese frosting and 360 pounds of walnuts.

The lost-and-found office also did a brisk business. Among the items there were 58 sets of keys, 114 pairs of glasses, 36 wallets and purses, 217 pieces of clothing including 96 hats, and 138 credit cards.

That office, which remains open in the marketing office at the fairgrounds, also collected 221 cellphones, of which 187 were returned to their owners and 34 remained in the lost-and-found as of Tuesday.
If bees are nesting in one of the green irrigation boxes in your yard, theres high probability theyre aggressive Africanized bees, beekeeper Don Spangler told visitors who were buzzing with questions Tuesday at the San Diego County Fair.

Every bee (living) in the ground Ive ever encountered is nasty, Spangler said, noting that European honey bees prefer to nest in vertical surfaces like trees and walls. For me, (ground nesting) is a red flag.

And, if youve got an unwanted, ground-nesting bee colony at home, call in a professional.

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Dont deal with it yourself, because the risk of having the bees pour out of the hive and attack you is too great, Spangler said, adding that he no longer does bee removals himself because of this danger.

I only work with bees I know, he said.

Spangler and other members of the San Diego Bee Keepers Society dispense advice inside a bright yellow, honey combed-shaped structure in The Farm area at the fair. In the center of the honeycomb, theres a clear glass-fronted hive occupied by a colony of bees. These bees are the mellow European type, and their queen comes from Georgia, Spangler said, adding that he gets his queens from Northern California or places out of state where Africanized bees are not a problem.

Africanized bees, which are sometimes called killer bees, were introduced to Brazil in the 1950s, and theyve ben steadily making their way northward ever since. They became established in San Diego County about a decade ago, and a man was killed by Africanized bees while cutting brush with a backhoe in Encinitas in 2010.

In an effort to increase the population of European bees and promote bee keeping, which has been a declining hobby in recent decades, the San Diego Bee Keepers Society has been working with the city of San Diego and the county recently ease government regulations. They want to make it possible for more people to have wooden bee hives in their backyards, Spangler said.

He spent the week before the start of the fair getting his bees comfortable in their new home. First, he put the wooden hive he brought from house onto the top of the honeycomb buildings roof, then once the bees got used to returning to that roof top from their forging trips in the neighborhood, he spent one evening moving the contents of the hive into the clear glass structure inside the honeycomb building. The bees have learned to land on the roof and then crawl through a pipe to get inside their new hive.

The plastic pipe is a relatively big access point for a bee, Spangler said.

A bee only needs a quarter-inch crack to get in, he said.

Thats why people find them nesting in walls, electric boxes and attic spaces. Ventilation holes in homes should be covered with wire mesh that has holes no bigger than an eighth of an inch, he added.

Barbara Henry is a freelance writer.
Its true that the Tony Awards chose an unusual suspect to host the 2017 edition of the annual Broadway theater honors.

But the anointing of Kevin Spacey  the Oscar-winning actor (The Usual Suspects, American Beauty) who also happens to have a Tony trophy in his collection  turns out to be just one of the twists to this years event.

As the Tonys get set to take center stage Sunday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York, heres a look at what should be some top storylines to keep an eye on. (Assuming, of course, that the organizers manage not to announce the wrong winner.)

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Fully immersed

The growing trend toward immersive, site-specific and otherwise alternative theater has mostly been an off-Broadway (and regional) phenomenon, with such interactive shows as Here Lies Love and Sleep No More making a splash in New York over the past few years.

But now one of those projects  Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812  has managed not only to breach Broadways barriers but is the most-nominated show at the 2017 Tonys, with 12.

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The surprise haul of nominations (including best musical) for the immersive Tolstoy riff, which became a long-running hit in several iterations after premiering off-Broadway in 2012, could bode well for further alt-theater concepts to make it to the big boulevard.

Originals for the win

All the buzz around Natasha aside, the front-runner for the marquee best-musical Tony does not appear to be that show  nor, it would seem, the La Jolla Playhouse-bred Come From Away.

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Instead, its another original musical, Dear Evan Hansen, whose creators  Benj Pasek and Justin Paul  won an Oscar this year for their lyrics to the movie musical La La Land.

Dear Evan Hansen, which is up for nine Tonys, centers on the far-reaching fallout of a high-school tragedy. The shows best-musical nod means the only nominee in the category thats based on a movie (a major source of Broadway musicals in recent years) is Groundhog Day. Its a healthy sign of creative energy in the musical-theater world.

John Earl Jelks, Michelle Wilson, Johanna Day and Alison Wright (from left) in Lynn Nottages Tony-nominated play Sweat. (Joan Marcus / AP)

Plays in play

This years best-play nominees offer intrigue, too. Front-runner status has to go to Sweat, the 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winner from Lynn Nottage thats set in a struggling working-class community.

Nottage previously won a Pulitzer in 2009 for Ruined, but that play never made it to Broadway, so was not Tonys-eligible.

Now, Sweat makes Nottage one of two Pulitzer-laureled playwrights who are up for their first Tonys this year, having finally made their Broadway debuts.

The other is Paula Vogel (How I Learned to Drive), whose La Jolla Playhouse-connected Indecent has three nominations.

Those two writers works are joined in the best-play category by J.T. Rogers fact-based drama Oslo, directed by onetime San Diegan Bartlett Sher and starring UC San Diego grad Jefferson Mays (who are both also nominated); and Lucas Hnaths A Dolls House Part 2, an Ibsen sequel of sorts.

Spacey steps up

Yes, Kevin Spacey has deep roots in theater; hes a two-time Tony nominee (and a winner in 1991 for Lost in Yonkers), and he ran Londons esteemed Old Vic Theatre for more than a decade.

But few people really thought of him as the awards-emcee type until the Tonys tapped him to host the show this year.

Its true that hes not quite the same kind of Broadway name as Neil Patrick Harris (who hosted four times) or Hugh Jackman. Even last years host, late-night guy James Corden, won his own Tony within this decade.

But Spacey has proven adept at jumping among disciplines  and now that hes been president (in the Netflix hit House of Cards), how hard could hosting really be?

More stars onstage

Spaceys presence also fits right in with what seems a high ratio of Hollywood-connected people among this years nominees. They include: Kevin Kline (Present Laughter), Cate Blanchett (The Present), Sally Field (The Glass Menagerie), Laura Linney (Little Foxes), David Hyde Pierce (Hello, Dolly!) and Danny DeVito (Arthur Millers The Price).

And sneaking in from the pop-music world is Broadway first-timer Josh Groban, nominated as lead actor in a musical for Natasha.

Betting on Bette

Speaking of stars: If youre going to wager the nest egg on anything at the 2017 Tonys, lay it all on Bette Midler, a prohibitive favorite as best actress in a musical for her turn in the latest revival of Hello, Dolly.

There are other formidable names in the category, including Broadway darling Patti LuPone (for War Paint) and 2016 Hamilton Tony winner Phillipa Soo (for Amelie). But it would be a shock if Midler didnt pull this one out, for her first lead performance in a Broadway musical.

Fun fact: While Midler has never before been nominated for a competitive Tony, she won an honorary award in 1974 for adding lustre to the Broadway season after a three-week concert run.

The 71st Tony Awards

When: 8 p.m. Sunday (tape-delayed)

Where: CBS-TV Channel 8

Online: tonyawards.com

Twitter: @jimhebert

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com
Hey ladies, raise your hand if you have a love-hate relationship with your purse. Unless your arm is too sore from carrying your purse. In which case, wave your foot.

Whether you love it because its pretty and matches your shoes, or you loathe it because it is a Hoarders episode with handles, there is no escaping the strange, symbiotic relationship women have with their handbags. Without us, they are merely extras on the stage of life. Attractive, but not necessary. Without them, we are up a creek without a paddle, lipstick or Altoids.

The fact is, we need each other. So you and your bottomless friend should make a date to visit the Womens Museum of California in Liberty Station, where a new exhibit dedicated to handbags will be on display through July 2. With its cases full of beaded beauties, fringed finds and woven wonders, One Hundred Years of One Hundred Handbags is a tribute to these necessary accessories and to the women who carried them.

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Purses give you a portal into womens lives at the time, said museum director Diane Peabody Straw. Our mission is to always tell womens stories, and I think this collection is a reflection of that.

The exhibit wont make your purse-burden feel lighter, but it will put your load into historical perspective. Except for that Ziploc full of ancient goldfish crackers lurking at the bottom. There is really no excuse for that. Happy browsing!

(The Womens Museum of California is at 2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, in Point Lomas Liberty Station. It is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. General admission is $5. Senior- and student-admission is $3. For info: (619) 233-7963 or womensmuseumca.org.)

Handbags 101

Like manna from fashion heaven, the bags dropped into the museums lap in January. All of the purses came from Jean Nemer, a Chicago native now living in San Diego, Nemer donated her entire well-preserved collection to the museum, including two vintage bags owned by her grandmother, Anna Larsen. There is a photograph of the stylish Grandmother Larsen in the exhibits first glass case. It is displayed next to the fan that she is holding in the photo.

We are so cramped for space in our archives, we were tempted not to accept the collection, Straw said. But the collections manager and I went to Jeans house, and she had everything laid out. When we saw the variety and the continuity, and we saw how well-documented everything was, it was a no-brainer to take it.

The handbag timeline starts with small, beaded bags from the 1880s and ends with a blazingly bright Art Nouveau clutch from 1960. In between there are tiny ring bags a gal could dangle from her finger, purses made from abalone shells, purses with swingy flapper fringe and gold-mesh glamour bags from the 1950s. They are all gorgeous and timeless, with nary a trace of ink, gum or water-bottle leakage in sight.

The women who carried these bags were women of a certain class, said Melissa Jones, the museums marketing director. These women were going out at night. They were going to the theater and to social events. These arent the purses you take to work.

1 / 11 Entrance to the exhibit at the Womens Museum of California at Liberty Station, 100 years, 100 Handbags. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 11 The Womens Museum of California at Liberty Station, with their exhibit 100 years, 100 Handbags. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 11 A profile of one to he handbags. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 11 Diane Peabody Straw, Executive Director of the Womens Museum of California at Liberty Station, in the organizations museum with their exhibit 100 years, 100 Handbags. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 11 The Womens Museum of California at Liberty Station, with their exhibit 100 years, 100 Handbags. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 11 A small coin purse. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 11 The Womens Museum of California at Liberty Station, with their exhibit 100 years, 100 Handbags. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 11 Some of the 100 handbags on exhibit. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 11 Some of the 100 handbags on exhibit. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 11 The most colorful handbag in the exhibit is made of glass beads. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 11 Diane Peabody Straw, Executive Director of the Womens Museum of California at Liberty Station, in the organizations museum with their exhibit 100 years,100 Handbags. (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Tales from the purse

Unlike todays mega-totes, in which a woman can haul enough gear to outfit a South Pole expedition and still have room for the regulation Too Many Lip Balms, purses of the past were tiny. Whether they were covered with steel-cut beads or made of hand-tooled leather, the collections oldest bags are just big enough to carry what women were allowed to carry. And it wasnt much.

The smaller purses from the mid 1800s are a reflection of the limited place women had in society, Straw said. Some of the purses are just big enough to carry a house key. You wouldnt carry money, because the men had the money. You wouldnt carry make-up, because no woman would be seen putting on make-up in public.

The purses get a little bigger later in this time period. As more people move from farms to cities, women are not as isolated. They are planning outings with friends, and their lives are more similar to the way we live today.

If the petite pouches of the the 1800s make you grateful for your big life and the massive bag it demands, the bags from the 1920s will send that smile packing. The cases devoted to the Roaring Twenties are a rainbow riot of gleaming glass-beaded purses dripping with swinging fringe and dizzying possibilities. You will covet these bags and the lives that came with the territory.

Seeing how these flapper purses reflect the lifestyle is fascinating to me, Straw said, admiring an emerald-green bag whose handles could double as bracelets. Women were taking on an authenticity and living their lives outside of what society expected of them. They cared about movement and breaking free. You could drape these bags over an arm, carry your cocktail and dance and have a ball.

Convenience comes to the table in the 1930s with the introduction of the zipper. That decade also brought an early version of todays Flash Fashion, as the two women who started the LuJean Inc. bag company began making affordable versions of European purses. The collections red-velvet LuJean clutch looks like a Valentine, but it is big enough for a wallet, hankie and maybe a bit of real life.

You can tell a lot about a person by looking in her purse, Jones said. Is she a mom? Does she work? Is she a gum-chewer? Does she keep all of her receipts stuffed at the bottom like me? There is a lot of intimacy there.

Best of the bags

Jones favorite exhibit item is the hand-tooled brown leather purse from 1918, one of the few leather bags in the collection. Straw is partial to the white-beaded purse from the 1940s that she would have happily carried at her own wedding. I was taken with the ingenious mesh vanity purses from 1910, which were topped with compacts and outfitted with a comb, mirror, rouge, powder and powder puff.

But whether you are mooning over the classy tapestry bags, the slinky chain-link numbers, or the gauzy Dresden mesh bags with the stunning Art Deco clasps, make sure you make time for a visit to Suffragette Alley. There, you will find the museums permanent tribute to the pioneering women who attended the Seneca Falls, N.Y., womens rights convention in 1848, rallied for equal pay for equal work in San Diego in 1910, and marched in the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C., bustles and all.

Without them, there wouldnt be a purse big enough to hold the baggage wed be carrying now.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated with a corrected address for the Womens Museum of California. Its at 2730 Historic Decatur Road, Barracks 16, in Point Lomas Liberty Station.

Twitter: @karla_peterson

karla.peterson@sduniontribune.com

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A defiant Theresa May vowed to stay on as prime minister and continue to lead the United Kingdom out of the European Union after her disastrous election gamble led to the loss of her Conservative Partys majority in Parliament.

Despite calls to step down  including from opposition Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose party fared better than expected  May appeared determined to stay in her position and try to form a government with Northern Irelands right-wing Democratic Unionist Party, which won 10 seats.

To that end, May met with Queen Elizabeth II on Friday morning to seek approval for her plan, then faced the country outside No. 10 Downing Street, the prime ministers official residence, with her husband by her side.

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I will now form a government, she said. A government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country.

But May emerged from the election weaker than she went in, with new questions raised about her ability to keep the country safe and maintain its social safety net. And some Britons saw her as too close to President Trump, who has become politically toxic in Britain  although May has hardly been his cheerleader.

The results also raised doubts about the countrys ability to successfully navigate complex Brexit negotiations to pull out of the European Union.

1 / 14 Britains Prime Minister Theresa May, flanked by her husband Philip after meeting the Queen in Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, on June 9. 2017. (FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA / EPA) 2 / 14 Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace the day after the general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority. (Paul Ellis / AFP/Getty Images) 3 / 14 Prime Minister Theresa May arrives with her husband Philip, second from left, at Buckingham Palace on Friday for her audience with Queen Elizabeth II. (Victoria Jones / AFP/Getty Images) 4 / 14 People cross Westminster Bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament the day after Britains election. (Markus Schreiber / AP) 5 / 14 The Labor Partys Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell leaves after speaking to reporters on College Green, opposite the Houses of Parliament. (AFP/Getty Images) 6 / 14 British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives with her husband Philip at the ballot counting center in Maidenhead early Friday. (Geoff Caddick / AFP/Getty Images) 7 / 14 Britains Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives at his constituency in London. (Dominic Lipinski / AP) 8 / 14 Palmerston, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office cat, stalks past 10 Downing Street in front of the waiting media in central London after election results came in. i (Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images) 9 / 14 Election officials count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. (Robert Perry / EPA) 10 / 14 Election officials react during vote counting in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. (Robert Perry / EPA) 11 / 14 Police watch over election officials as they count votes in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland. (Robert Perry / EPA) 12 / 14 The London Eye gleams with a color projection early Friday. (Isabel Infantes / AFP/Getty Images) 13 / 14 Jeffrey Donaldson, Democratic Unionist Party candidate for Lagan Valley, celebrates his election win at the Eikon Exhibition Center in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. (Brian Lawless / AP) 14 / 14 A TV crew reports from Parliament Square in Westminster as the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament loom in the background. (Isabel Infantes / AFP/Getty Images)

With only one seat left to declare, Mays party had won the largest vote share in Thursdays election, with 318 seats, but it was short of the 326 needed to hold the majority in the 650-seat Parliament.

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, Arlene Foster, said she would work with May to bring about stability, but some voters were alarmed that her party was called upon to help prop up the minority government.

The DUP is socially conservative, opposes same-sex marriage and abortion, and has strong links to loyalist paramilitaries in Ireland. It was formed as a protest party under the late Protestant Rev. Ian Paisley, a hardcore unionist who was one of the U.K.s most polarizing figures. At least one of its members of Parliament is a climate change denier  a rarer phenomenon in Britain than in the United States.

While the party is against seeing a hard border with checkpoints introduced between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland when Britain leaves the EU, it is staunchly Euroskeptic and passionately supported the Leave camp in the referendum.

Sounding defiant and talking little about Thursday nights defeat, May said she would continue to deliver on last Junes referendum result and lead the country through crucial negotiations to end Britains decades-old membership in the European Union. Talks are scheduled to begin in just 10 days.

However, May  crucially  would not be drawn into questions about whether she would remain prime minister for the duration of the talks, and for the full five-year parliamentary term, leading many to believe she plans to restore order and then hand over the reins.

The killer was when the terrorist attacks happened. You ended up with a Conservative Party that was vulnerable because she was home secretary.  Anand Menon, professor at Kings College London

But how exactly she plans to forge ahead with Brexit was unclear, given that she had called the election in the hope of strengthening her partys majority from the 2015 election, when the Conservatives won 331 seats, and obtaining a clear mandate from the British public as she embarked on negotiations. Instead, her gamble spectacularly backfired, and she not only erased the meager majority her party had, but left herself with no majority and a hung Parliament.

It was a godawful Conservative campaign, nothing more, nothing less, said Anand Menon, professor of European politics and foreign affairs at Kings College London.

May had entered the election campaign riding high and looked almost certain of success. She had a commanding lead in the polls while the left-leaning opposition Labor Party was seemingly in disarray, led by a divisive leader under Corbyn.

She had been chosen as prime minister by her Conservative peers in the wake of David Camerons resignation. He had gambled his political career on holding a referendum on Britains continuing membership in the EU, which he supported, and stepped aside when he lost.

Despite being a surprise choice as leader, May seemed to win over much of the country by appearing strong, decisive and successfully restoring some sense of normality to a country in flux. She said she chose to hold a snap election with reluctance in the hope of stamping out infighting over what Britains future relationship with the EU would look like, and built her campaign around her ability to be a safe pair of hands during those talks.

But the country did not buy it, and cracks soon started to appear.

She was reluctant to be drawn into the specifics on her Brexit strategy, and her tough talk that no deal was better than a bad deal rang alarm bells. The Labor Party, meanwhile, also pledged to honor the referendum results, which in many ways made Brexit a moot point.

Instead, Labor sought to make the election about social welfare. It focused on the faltering National Health Service, pledging to cut waiting times and dramatically increase funding. Corbyn also vowed to scrap university tuition fees, raise the minimum wage and provide free childcare to infants.

By contrast, the Conservative Party has presided over years of austerity measures and failed to show how it would make the lives of working families better. A pledge to get the elderly to pay more for their social care was dubbed a dementia tax by critics.

The backlash was so fierce that May was forced to modify the plans, in what some branded a U-turn. May also appeared stiff on the campaign trail while Corbyn, who has spent his life taking part in rallies, attracted large crowds and was especially appealing to the younger generation.

They repaid him at the ballot box on Thursday by turning out to vote in far higher numbers than usual.

Bernie Sanders, whom Corbyn often has been likened to, offered his congratulations on Friday: All over the world, people are rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality.

Then came the issue of security, which is where the Conservative Party, and May especially, got hammered.

The campaign was marred by two terrorist attacks  first in Manchester, killing 22, and then in London, leaving eight dead. That pushed policing and security issues to the fore and might have been a final nail in the coffin for Mays campaign.

She came under fierce criticism for presiding over cuts that reduced police ranks by 20,000 officers during her time as home secretary from 2010-2016. They were damning accusations that May could not shake.

The killer was when the terrorist attacks happened. You ended up with a Conservative Party that was vulnerable because she was home secretary, Menon said. She was uniquely vulnerable on that.

May was also seen to be pandering to Trump, refusing to call him out for his Twitter attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan in the wake of the London Bridge attack.

Voters here already thought that Trump was a joke; but, for many of them, he turned into a sick joke when he started tweeting about the terrorist attack in London a few days out from polling day, said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London. May is seen as too close to him. That wont have done her much good.

As the votes rolled in, the calls for May to resign started  not least from Corbyn, her main opponent, whose party fared much better than predicted, winning 261 seats with the one seat still left to count, up from 229 in the 2015 election. He said the country had voted against the Conservative Partys austerity cuts and this was a clear sign that change was needed.

Even expressions of support from within her own party were underwhelming.

Im reeling. I think were all reeling. I think theres real fury against the campaign, said former education secretary Nicky Morgan. I think she should stay for now, but I think she wont fight another election  and I think eventually, whether it takes weeks or months, we will have to look at the leadership.

In Europe, leaders were understandably confused about what the results meant and expressed frustration that renewed political infighting in Britain could make the Brexit negotiations even more protracted than they already promised to be.

The European Parliaments Brexit negotiator described the results as yet another own goal  a term for when a soccer team scores against itself  that will only succeed in making already complex negotiations even more complicated.

And after hearing that May had managed to get approval from the monarch to form a government, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, wrote on Twitter: Our responsibility now is to secure least disruptive #Brexit. No time to lose.

Regardless of the desire to move ahead with Brexit, the shape of those talks is likely to be dramatically different than what May outlined months ago when she talked boldly of leaving the single market and the customs union in order to regain control. She will now need to garner support from other sides of the aisle for her deals, and many lawmakers favor a softer approach.

The election has changed everything as far as Brexit is concerned because it will mean that ultimately the government has to change its negotiating position to get cross-party support, said Robert Bell, head of EU and competition law at London law firm Bryan Cave. The majority with the DUP is wafer thin. All it needs is a couple of rebels on the Conservative side to say, I dont want hard Brexit, and they will lose their majority. It has complicated her life no end and I dont think she will be able to recover.

Boyle is a special correspondent based in London.

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UPDATES:

3:15 p.m.: This article has been updated throughout with additional background, analysis and quotes.

7:05 a.m.: This article has been updated throughout with staff reporting.

5:15 a.m.: This article has been updated throughout with additional details, including May moving forward to form a new government.

June 9, 12:25 a.m.: This article has been updated with reports that May is resisting pressure to resign and with a quote from Frances prime minister.

This article was first published on June 8 at 10:55 p.m.
A week after Thanksgiving, in a field southeast of Temecula, a hunter came across the partially buried remains of a human body. A little while later, Mike McStay got a phone call.

Did your brother ever have any broken bones?

McStays heart pounded. He knew why the detective was asking.

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Its been three years since his brothers whole family vanished  Joseph, wife Summer, and their two young sons  in a mystery that has baffled the police, the public, and armchair sleuths from coast to coast.

For the relatives, thats three years of not knowing, the worst kind of anxiety, hope riding with fear on a never-ending roller coaster.

Its three years of sightings and tips that go nowhere, three years of strangers gossiping and trash-talking on the Internet, three years of every possible scenario, good and bad, playing in their heads over and over.

Did the McStays decide to ditch it all  his water-fountain business, her real-estate plans, two dogs, thousands of dollars in bank accounts, the new home in Fallbrook  and start over somewhere? Was that them in the grainy surveillance video, walking hand-in-hand into Mexico?

Or, as a new book on the case suggests, were there dark undercurrents in the seemingly placid waters of their life together, undercurrents that maybe led to murder?

For the relatives, its also been three years of heart-grabbing moments like Mike McStay picking up the phone and hearing Sheriffs detective Troy DuGal, the lead investigator on the case, ask about broken bones.

I knew why he was asking  theyd found an unidentified male body, McStay said.

His brother never had any fractures, though, McStay said. The body wasnt a match. The waiting and wondering continue, day after day, month after month, year after year.

Its like living with a broken heart, McStay said. Youre going through the motions of life, but theres this open wound that wont be healed until this is resolved.

A normal day

Feb. 4, 2010 was a Thursday.

Joseph McStay, then 40, had a business meeting in Rancho Cucamonga about one of the fountains his company, Earth Inspired Products, was building. Summer, 43, was at home with Gianni, 4; Joey Jr., 3, known as Chubba; and the two dogs, Bear and Digger.

The family had moved from San Clemente to the five-bedroom, two-story house on Avocado Vista Lane about two months earlier. Its in one of those housing tracts so familiar to Southern Californians: beige stucco, red-tile roofs, green lawns. This one, just east of Interstate 15, is called Lake Rancho Viejo. Entering a Traffic Calmed Neighborhood, the road signs read.

The couple, both licensed real-estate agents, bought the house out of foreclosure for about $320,000. On a video tour Joseph shot before the purchase, posted on YouTube, he talks about the hill out back and calls the neighborhood beautiful. Summer talks about being too close to a truck stop and calls the neighborhood ugly.

They started renovating the house with new countertops, appliances, paint and wood floors. The plan was to sell the home for a big profit down the road, then maybe get back to the beach. Joseph was an avid surfer.

On Feb. 4, Summer spoke on the phone with her sister, who had just had a baby, and made plans for a visit. In the afternoon, at a Ross store in Vista, Summers credit card was used to buy beach towels, infant pajamas and a jacket.

The home computer was used that day to search for homeopathic anger-management medication, to scan Craigslist for childrens toys, and to visit the Animal Planet website.

Throughout the day, phone calls from home went to Josephs cell, and calls from his cell went to one of his employees. The couple traded text messages.

At 7:47 p.m., a neighbors surveillance camera captured the bottom 18-inches of what appears to be the familys white Isuzu Trooper going by. About 40 minutes later, on his cellphone, Joseph called a co-worker.

Then nothing.

No phone calls, no emails, no texts. No credit-card charges, no ATM withdrawals. No confirmed sightings.

Nothing.

Into Mexico?

Sheriffs deputies first went to the house on Feb. 10, after a business associate of Josephs called to report that he wasnt responding to phone calls or emails. The deputy knocked on the door and saw nothing amiss.

Three days later, Mike McStay came over from San Clemente, where he lives. He climbed in an unlocked window and looked around. He said he was surprised the dogs were there, but didnt want to overreact. He thought maybe the family had left for a quick vacation during the Presidents Day weekend.

Two days later, when he still hadnt heard from them, he called the sheriff.

Detective DuGal works in homicide, which investigates missing-persons cases. At the house, he found a carton of eggs and a rotten banana on the kitchen counter, child-size bowls of popcorn in the living room near the TV, Summers prescription sunglasses.

To him, it looked like theyd left in a hurry. But why?

The Trooper was located in a storage yard. It had been identified as an abandoned vehicle and towed from a shopping center parking lot in San Ysidro at about 11 p.m. on Feb. 8, four days after anyone last heard from the family. Lot attendants said they believed the SUV had been there since about 6 p.m. that day.

Two child seats were buckled in place inside the Trooper. There were new toys in the back  Chubbas birthday was Jan. 31  and asthma medicine in a plastic container on the floor.

Volunteers from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children scoured hours of border-area surveillance tape and found a foursome that resembled the McStays, two grown-ups and two kids, walking toward the turnstile into Mexico at about 7 p.m. on Feb. 8.

Each adult was holding the hand of a child. The woman was wearing what looked like Ugg boots, a pair of which Summer owned. But the tape was grainy and dark and a positive identification impossible.

Detectives soon found other evidence suggesting the family had gone across the border voluntarily. On Jan. 27, eight days before they disappeared, someone used the family computer to email the About.com website about passport requirements for children traveling in Mexico. The month before that, Summer was looking into purchasing Spanish-language software.

Family members werent convinced. Why would Joseph abandon his teenage son from an earlier marriage, Jonah, who lived with his mom in North County? Why was Summer looking at Evite.com on Feb. 3 for childrens birthday party invitations if she was going away the next day?

And who leaves a budding nest egg house, pets, two vehicles, $100,000 in bank accounts  a life  without saying why and without saying goodbye?

Citizen sleuths

Witness protection would be one answer, but law enforcement says no.

Detectives developed another theory: the family went into Mexico on purpose, and something bad happened. That would explain why theres been no sign of them. What it doesnt explain is the four-day gap between their disappearance and the video of four people crossing into Mexico.

We have not discovered any evidence leading us to believe a crime has occurred thus far, said Lt. Glenn Giannantonio. There has been no evidence to show us that the disappearance is anything other than a family being missing of their own free will.

He said leads have tapered off, but the investigation remains open. A lot of time and effort was put into this case, more than any other missing-person case I am aware of, he said. We have no idea where they are.

In the absence of officials answers, the case has its own life on the Internet.

Mike McStay runs a site, mcstayfamily.org, where there are photos and videos of the family and occasional updates about sightings  Montana, Indiana, Baja  and other developments. There is a Facebook page, where the familys supporters post messages of encouragement.

And there are sites like Websleuths and Justice Quest, where amateur detectives explore every nuance of the case. Josephs dizzy spells. Summers aliases. Chubbas birthmark. Their fascination seems endless, their numbers swelling every time Nancy Grace or Geraldo Rivera or Laura Ling explores the case on TV.

Among those drawn to the story is Rick Baker, a former radio-show host and author who was living in Fallbrook around the time the family disappeared. He overheard people talking about it in a coffee shop and got hooked.

He spent hundreds of hours looking into the case  at one point driving from the McStay house to the Ross store in Vista to see how long it took  and is offering a $25,000 reward for locating the missing family.

Baker, who now lives in North Carolina, has also written a book, No Goodbyes, which comes out Monday and is full of sinister implications. Much of it is based on private emails and other records that Baker said he obtained from citizen sleuths  documents that throw dirt all over the idea that the McStays were a happy family who simply walked off into a Mexican sunset.

The book is hardest on Summer, casting her as hotheaded, manipulative and vindictive. In an interview, Baker said he thinks Summer did something or had something done to her husband, although he admitted he has no proof.

Summers sister, Tracy Russell, said shes heard about the book but doesnt plan to read it. Weve suffered enough, and this just makes it harder, she said. So many horrible things are being said, and theyve made my sister into this horrible person. Everybody has character flaws, but to attack her that way, when she isnt here to defend herself, is so hurtful.

The book also points fingers at Mike McStay and others over the handling of his brothers business affairs and personal property after the disappearance. Did Mike, the book asks, know Joseph wasnt coming back?

McStay said, Our family hasnt taken any of that money, not one dime. He said funds were used to complete fountain projects already under way and to make child-support payments for Josephs teenage son.

Giannantonio, the sheriffs lieutenant, said, We have reviewed financial records and have found nothing that would lead us to believe a crime has occurred.

Asked about the book, McStay sighed. For everyone else, this is just a story to them, he said. For us, this is real life. You try to take the high road and turn the other cheek. Unfortunately, a case like this brings out the bottom dwellers, people trying to line their pockets on the misery of others.

Baker said any profits he makes from the book  at one point last week pre-orders made it Number 7 on Amazons true crime best-sellers list  will be donated to a search-and-rescue organization in Texas.

Hopes and fears

Everybody waits.

Its three years later, and we have the same hopes and fears, Russell said. Theres not a day that goes by that we dont wonder, worry and try to figure it out.

Josephs mother still sends him emails, catching him up on things, just in case.

Summers mom frets whenever the weather turns cold, worried that the family, out there somewhere, might not have enough clothing or shelter to stay warm.

On Avocado Vista Lane, a new family lives in the McStays house, which went into foreclosure after they vanished. Neighbor Chris Southard said memories of the disappearance linger.

We are a close neighborhood. They were new. By the time we knew them a little bit, the news vans were here, Southard said. The prevailing theory on the street is that something awful happened. They are never coming back.

The same hopes. The same fears. The same mystery.

Family members have been encouraged to write their own books. Mike McStay is planning to. What the heck, he said, everybody else is.

Russell isnt interested. I just dont think its going to bring my family home, she said. Who are we to sing their song, when we dont even know what happened to their voices?
Wielding off-the-shelf pulse lasers and software, a San Diego team of sailors and scientists remapped the guts of three Navy warships. Their virtual reality breakthrough promises to slash the costs of adding new technology to the vessels.

This week, Naval Warfare Systems Commands scanning team received the 2016 Secretary of the Navy Innovation Award for Automated Process Development. The honor commemorates the most remarkable scientific accomplishments in the service and is designed to inspire the Navy to think boldly when tackling the trickiest technological problems.

The team included Navy lieutenants Clay Sea Fog Greunke and Jessica Fuller, SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific chief engineer Stephen Cox, Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality Lab director Heidi Buck and mathematician Mark Bilinski.

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After three years of refining the technology, in April 2016 the team placed light detection and ranging devices  or LIDAR  inside the compartments of the amphibious warship San Diego. Instead of tape measures, paper and pencils, LIDAR uses pulse lasers to remotely scan to a tiny fraction of an inch the surface of a room.

Its kind of like a highly advanced laser measure homeowners use to accurately measure the length of a wall used billions of times within a huge warship.

Imagine putting that on a tripod and it spinning around and capturing up to a million measurements every second, and doing that for several minutes straight, said Greunke, a Growler electronic warfare aviator. Youre getting tens of millions, hundreds of millions, of points all within a millimeter of accuracy.

It took more than 450 scans conducted over nine straight days on the amphibious ship San Diego, but the team was able to convert about 70 percent of the vessels interior into a three-dimensional model on a computer.

Four months later, the team members worked with Bath Iron Works to create a similar map inside the guided-missile destroyer Truxtun. At the end of 2016, they replicated the experiment on the amphibious warship Anchorage.

The highly accurate electronic maps have a wide range of applications. Ship designers can use the charts to more efficiently install racks that hold new equipment inside the rooms. The same maps can be used to create virtual reality training, where sailors wearing special goggles can maneuver inside the spaces without actually being on a warship.

Now all the stakeholders who are involved in the ship updating process and the ship building process can virtually walk through the ship, said Buck. They can make sure they understand the size of the spaces, where everything is going  the layout  and thats never been done before.

The Navy has not set a deadline for when the teams experiments will ripple through the fleet, mapping the interiors of more than 400 active or mothballed ships, but SPAWAR thinks it will catch on because the proven process will save the service time and money.

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cprine@sduniontribune.com
A science education initiative that pairs students and faculty from San Diego and Baja California is scheduled for a launch Friday at UC San Diego.

The CaliBaja Education Consortium will allow researchers and students to work together across borders, according to a statement.

The program will be housed on the UC San Diego campus at the Jacobs School of Engineering. It will involve UC San Diego and 13 educational institutions in Baja California, both public and private.

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Building this connectivity on both sides of the border can promote economic development for the entire region, said Olivia Graeve, a UC San Diego professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering who is spearheading the effort.

UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla is expected to lead the signing of the agreement with educators from Baja California.

The consortium builds on a summer program launched by Graeve in 2013 that has brought promising high school students from San Diego and Baja California to the UC San Diego campus. Now preparing for a fifth year with 102 students, the seven-week program exposes students to scientific research, pairing them up with faculty members.

Known as Enlace, the program for the first time this year will include college undergraduates. Graeve hopes to add high school teachers in the program next summer, and she envisions eventually expanding exchanges to include graduate students, researchers and faculty members.

Funding this year comes from a variety of sources, including foundations, UC San Diego and the participating Baja California institutions.

Colegio La Paz, a private school in Tijuana, has been sending students to the Enlace program since its inception and expects to have five this year, said principal Moises Camarena Lew.

The students already have a talent, Camarena said. What this program does is help them focus this talent, to help them choose a career.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibble
Something wasnt right when John Berry drove up unannounced to his familys home one day two summers ago. Hed been fired from his job at a pizza parlor and had been getting little sleep  not a healthy scenario for someone diagnosed with schizophrenia who appeared to be off his medication.

So when Berrys brother, a sworn law enforcement officer, called the local Los Angeles County sheriffs station in Lakewood, he requested a mental evaluation team to try to calm Berry down and transport him to medical care.

Instead, after deputies responded to the call about an insane person on the residential street where Berry was parked on July 6, 2015, a struggle ensued. Berry was shot 18 times and killed by deputies, according to a memorandum by the Los Angeles County district attorneys office.

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Last week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $3.3-million settlement in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Berrys mother and other family members, who alleged that deputies used excessive force against Berry.

Prosecutors decided last year not to file any charges against the deputies  Anthony Johnson, Michael Bitolas, Roberto Solorio and Eric Saavedra  saying they acted in lawful self-defense and in defense of others when they shot at Berry to stop him from ramming his BMW into one of their fellow officers.

Berry, according to prosecutors, resisted deputies as they tried to pull him out of his vehicle. The memo says the 31-year-old was pepper-sprayed, Tased and struck with a baton before he suddenly backed his car up and knocked over a deputy, leading other deputies to believe the lawman was in danger of being run over.

But Berrys family said he did not ram his car into a patrol vehicle and that he was unarmed and not acting violently.

This is not how you treat the mentally ill, Berrys brother, Chris Berry, 39, said Thursday.

They absolutely escalated the situation, said Berry, who works as a federal police officer at a veterans psychiatric facility in Long Beach and witnessed the entire incident. They treated him like he was a suspect and they were gonna take him into custody.

Chris Berry said that although the episode eroded his trust in the justice system, he commends the department for trying to improve how its deputies handle mentally ill people.

Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida sent a statement in an email saying that the agency convenes a weekly review panel to learn and improve from critical incidents, many of which involve the mentally ill. About 70% of incidents in which deputies use force involve people suffering from some form of mental illness or substance addiction, she said.

A video filmed by a neighbor shows deputies struggling with someone in a car before shots are fired, but the shaky clip doesnt display the precise moment before Berrys shooting.

The settlement comes as the department is trying to train its deputies to better handle calls involving the mentally ill. In December, the department began a new crisis intervention training course, which involves 32 hours of instruction on different types of mental illness and how to de-escalate encounters. Nishida said 518 deputies have completed the course.

Every deputy and sergeant assigned to field operations  which includes patrol, transit stations and the parks bureau  is scheduled to complete the course within the next four to five years, said training bureau Capt. Scott Gage. All deputies already receive 32 hours of verbal resolution instruction just after they finish the academy, he said.

The Board of Supervisors voted in January to expand the departments Mental Evaluation Teams  specialized units of deputies paired with mental health clinicians that respond to calls involving people believed to be mentally ill who are threatening others or being disruptive.

The county spent nearly $51 million in settlements last fiscal year to resolve legal claims against the Sheriffs Department. From 2011 to 2016, 74% of the departments excessive-force payouts, which totaled nearly $89 million, stemmed from shootings.

maya.lau@latimes.com

Twitter: @mayalau

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Derek Coleman is a strapping, bright guy of 27 with a woodsmans beard who recently returned from going to see the elephant.

In the Gold Rush of the mid-19th century, young fellows from the east would head for the Mother Lode country, and when asked why, they would say they were going to see the elephant.

Nobody knew exactly where that saying originated, but they all knew what it meant: exploring past the crest of the hill, finding out what the world offered.

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The elephant coaxed Derek to Iraq and a lifetime of adventure squeezed into a year and a half.

*

Derek Coleman was just a guy of 25 a year and a half ago. He grew up mainly in San Marcos and loved being a machinist, certainly better than college, where he had an unsatisfying cup of coffee. He had money in the bank and no attachments that tied him down.

No kids that I know of, and no dog, he says.

Hes an irreverent guy, whimsical and penetrating in his judgments. Hes thoughtful and well-read. College didnt discourage that. He prefers B.S. to remain in the barnyard.

Derek also had a raging testosterone itch. He wanted adventure, and he wanted it now. However, an earlier head injury removed the military option, and he couldnt circumnavigate the globe in a hot-air balloon.

I was longing for some excitement. You know, this illogical thing that some men have where they just want to put themselves in danger. He shrugs. I know, it doesnt make sense.

It hasnt made sense for thousands of years.

Nobody learns the lesson of war, you know? It just kind of bounces right off your brain, he says.

I read For Whom the Bell Tolls when I was in high school. Its about a man who volunteers for danger (the Spanish Civil War). I always thought that was an amazing thing for a man to give up his comfortable life in America and just go fight what he sees as evil. Another shrug. I guess Ive got delusions of grandeur.

Derek, youre a romantic.

I guess. Yeah, for sure. Definitely.

What he didnt know he had was an impulse to risk his life to help the victims of war. He would discover that on the battlefields of Kurdistan.

Getting back to the itch: He had heard stories about volunteers going to Iraq to help the Kurds. He had no other offers, so ...

I sold pretty much everything I owned. I had a gun collection that helped fund it, and I sold my truck. I quit my job, which a lot of people thought I was crazy.

Derek, acting on the now-or-never throb of impulse, bought a ticket to Erbil, Kurdistan, the homeland of the Kurds, which is a grudging part of Iraq.

He soon found himself standing on that war zone tarmac in November 2015.

Hello, Iraq. Here I am!

*

Derek says, Kurdistan is unique to the Middle East. Kurds are very open to other peoples religions, other peoples cultures. Theyre huge fans of Americans. If you say, Im American, they go, Oh, thats amazing.

Erbils a pretty decent city. Its got restaurants and nice hotels, even a mall. You see women with hijabs and stuff, but you also see plenty of women who could be walking down a street here.

Heres the thing. I mean, theyre all Muslim, but they all drink. They break rules like anyone else.

Would the women date someone like you?

No. No. Its a very conservative culture that way. I mean, I would kind of compare it to, like, early 1900s Western culture.

Of course, too, every girl has a brother with an AK-47.

Yeah. Exactly. I mean, you wouldnt want to risk it. Theres a lot of Western women there. In fact, its a great place to connect.

The Kurds have no affection for the rest of Iraq, except they and other Iraqis wallow in the same pool of oil. For the moment, though, they both are fighting the Islamic State, or ISIS. At least many Iraqis say they are, but the Kurds really are.

Why do the Kurds fight?

Well, ISIS had taken some of their territory and then they wanted to eliminate the Kurds. ISIS had no love for the Kurdish people, especially. I mean, ISIS might find allies in the Arabic world, but the Kurds are certainly not a part of their clique.

Dereks original idea was to fight, but no one offered him a rifle. The alternative was to join the thrown-together community of Western medical volunteers. Of course, he had no medical training. But he was there, so he switched to bandages and learned.

He was fortunate to buddy-up with a guy from New Jersey who was an EMT, and who taught him basic first aid, which provided a platform to learn as he practiced in the real thing.

Dereks group was international, but the men who composed it were much like him  soldiers of fortune, but without guns and without pay. Guys in the group would come and go, ranging from a couple members up to a dozen. They ate with the military and scrounged medical supplies from richer groups such as the United Nations or aid detachments from various countries.

We used our own money to buy a lot of stuff. If an oil company had a bunch of expired medical items, theyd say, Hey, do you guys want these?

We were always two days from running out.

He was a self-taught medic, but he was light years ahead of the Kurdish army, called the Peshmerga.

The Peshmerga didnt have medics and few doctors. Most of the soldiers there did not know how to put on a tourniquet. Wed hear about guys who get shot in the foot, then bleed out and die.

Stabbed in the shoulder? Bleed out and die. Theyd put the wounded in a truck, drive them to the nearest hospital, theyre dead when they get there. There was literally zero treatment.

So we trained Peshmerga fighters for months, over 1,000 in a three-day course. It was pretty intense. I mean, if you can teach somebody how to tie their bandana around an AK-47 cleaning rod to stop someones bleeding, theyve learned how to do a tourniquet.

Has that encouraged you to become a paramedic here at home?

No. Different world. You know, 40 to 50 casualties a day with serious trauma, probably more than your average paramedic would see in years.

They called me a doctor, which is funny: Doctor! Doctor!

How many days would you go between showers?

Usually not more than two weeks, so it wasnt too bad. Very dusty and dirty, though. Id have days where Im kind of covered in other peoples bodily fluids.

Its the front line. Its a giant garbage heap. So even if I didnt shower for 10 days, I was not the worst smelling man. Youve got thousands of soldiers just dumping things everywhere.

Including each other.

Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. ISIS bodies would not be picked up. It was to show disrespect. There were a lot of wild dogs  huge animals  and there was a reason for that.

*

As the battle for nearby Mosul widened, the Peshmerga launched major attacks on ISIS in October of last year. Its primary aim was to recapture Kurdish villages close to Mosul, Derek says.

Our plan (by medical volunteers) was to be as close as possible to the fighting, to where we could receive the casualties.

Were the Kurds good fighters?

They were brave. They dont duck when people shoot at them. You can call them brave or stupid, I guess.

There are better ideas.

Yeah, but it was quite entertaining. When they were ducking, then you knew that it was a bad situation. Like, OK, I definitely should be worried now.

How close were you to the front lines?

Right there.

Derek describes the snap and crack of a bullet passing close by. Its definitely a lot of laughs and joking around. I always used to say, Its fun, until its not.

He quotes Churchill after first correcting my mangling of the passage: Nothing is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.

What wed do is wed set up a (battlefield) location. Wed try to tell any officers that were nearby, and they would say, OK, great. You do your thing. We were basically the Kurdish militarys medical (support) most of the time.

Did you talk to any ISIS prisoners?

I mean, they dont speak English or maybe their guts are hanging out, so I never was able to kind of chat any up.

What did the Kurds do with prisoners?

You would not want to be an ISIS prisoner. Any time they told me, Oh, thats an ISIS prisoner, that was a dead man walking, in my mind.

What do the Kurds think of ISIS?

I think most kind of realize its just an ultra-fanatic sect. They see it as some kind of loonies within their own religion.

Do Kurds and Iraqis like each other?

No. They are allies of convenience at this point. So I worry what will happen after the ISIS war is over. Theres a lot of talk about a war between Kurdistan and (the rest of) Iraq.

What surprised you about war?

War is mostly boring. Its a lot of sitting around, you know? Even some of the most intense battles, its a lot of sitting around. Its exciting for 20 minutes and then its nothing for three days.

One thing I didnt really expect is how many children we would have to treat.

ISIS has spent the last two and half years keeping other people out and keeping Mosul people in. Mosul was a population of a million trapped people. So people who tried to escape  old people, women and children  that was the most common way for civilians to get wounded.

The children. Derek hadnt counted on that.

Next Monday: War  more than an adventure.

*

(Going to see the elephant most likely originated from excited rustics of the mid-1800s traveling to see a road-show circus and its near-mythic elephant.)

Fred Dickeys home page is freddickey.net. He believes every life is an adventure and welcomes ideas at freddickey1@gmail.com.
Hours before they were killed, Dr. David Haynes and his wife, Lissa, gathered with more than 50 family members to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

After the festivities, Lissa Haynes left a plate of food in the kitchen of their Sunset Cliffs home for their 22-year-old son, along with a note another family member would describe as a sign of her compassion and unconditional love.

But Peter Haynes, who suffers from mental illness, never ate that meal. In the early morning hours after Thanksgiving Day, he returned to his parents home and gunned them both down.

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Having admitted to the murders, Haynes, now 25, was sentenced Friday to 100 years to life in prison.

Our Thanksgivings are now forever changed.  Instead of sharing in our Thanksgiving tradition, Peter shot his own mother in the heart. Then he waited for his father and shot him nine times as he lay on the floor helpless and paralyzed, said Dr. Kevin Haynes, Davids brother, during a hearing in San Diego Superior Court.

The brother, who spoke on behalf of other family members, said he remains unsettled by his first visit to the crime scene at the couples home on Tarento Drive, near Santa Barbara Street.

He recalled seeing the dinner Lissa Haynes had left for her son on the kitchen counter and the note, both of which sat untouched in a room stained with the couples blood.

That vision still haunts me to this day as I struggle with the complete senselessness of what happened, the brother said. Instead of a happy family gathering, our Thanksgivings are now an annual tragic reminder of that night in 2014.

San Diego police were called to the Haynes house on Nov. 28, 2014, shortly after 3 a.m.

David Haynes, an emergency room doctor who worked for 20 years in Yuma, Ariz., was awakened in his home by the sound of a gunshot and went to investigate. He found his son had shot his wife in the chest.

Then the defendant turned the gun on his father. The elder Haynes can be heard on a 911 call begging his son for his life, Deputy District Attorney Makenzie Harvey said.

David Haynes was 62 when he was killed. His wife, who had been a nurse and then a stay-at-home mother to their two children, was 61.

Peter Haynes was arrested the morning of the shooting after officers noticed him trying to duck under the crime tape used to cordon off the area. He had the gun in his pants pocket.

At the sentencing hearing, Deputy Public Defender Mignon Hilts explained her client was schizophrenic and had been self medicating with illegal drugs at the time of the shooting. She said Haynes should have been hospitalized after he had a psychotic break in Colorado before moving back in with his parents.

His family at the time thought that they would deal with it on their own, Hilts said.

Judge Laura Halgren sentenced the defendant in keeping with the plea agreement. She explained that although the prison term is 100 years to life, state law says Haynes could receive a Youth Offender Parole Hearing after serving 25 years of his prison term because he was younger than 23 when he committed the crimes.

A board would determine at the end of that hearing whether he is suitable for parole.

Kevin Haynes, whose brother was killed, said in court that Peter Haynes had shown no remorse for the killings, and that most family members believe he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

We strongly hope that his tragedy is never forgotten and that parole for Peter is never granted, he said. More than that, we hope that no one will forget David and Lissa, not forget the people they were nor how much our family and the world has lost because of Peters horrendous crimes.

The defendant spoke briefly during the hearing, saying he would stay on his medication and away from guns if he were ever released from prison on parole. (As a felon, he would be barred from legally possessing firearms of any kind.)

And he said he would not be a dangerous person.

I would never want something like this to happen again in my life, he said.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield

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Students at Cuyamaca College will be able to earn a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from a university in North Dakota beginning this fall.

The Rancho San Diego school isnt taking the commuter college concept to a new level, however. Most of the courses will be online, although there will be some face-to-face classes with one professor.

The concept itself is not new, as community colleges throughout the county offer four-year degrees through either a state pilot program or a partnership with the private Point Loma Nazarene University.

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Cuyamacas partnership with Valley City State University, is a new twist, however, as its the first in the county between schools from different states.

Partnerships between community colleges and universities are catching on because theyre a way for schools to provide greater access to higher education degrees for their students, said Cuyamaca College Public Information Director Anne Krueger. In fall 2016, Cuyamaca College and Point Loma Nazarene University teamed up to offer bachelor degrees in both child development and organizational management.

Two-year schools dont get extra money out of such programs, but there are other benefits, said Jack Beresford, director of communications from the San Diego Community College District.

If you know you can attend a community college and, somewhat seamlessly, end up with a four-year degree in an in-demand field, thats going to help your enrollment and help you meet your enrollment goals, Beresford said.

The enticement of earning a four-year degree could increase enrollment at the colleges, which earn about $5,000 from the state for the equivalent of each full-time student. Once students begin taking classes offered by the university, however, the colleges can no longer claim them for reimbursement.

Greg Vanney, director of marketing at Valley City State University, said the school also has partnerships with other community colleges in its state and in Wyoming.

We believe in providing access to students to earn bachelors and masters degrees in education, and we believe in preparing students to be good teachers, Vanney said. And we think were good at doing that.

The classes at Cuyamaca will be considerably more than the $46-a-unit paid by all California community college students. Students will pay Valley City about $16,300 to earn the BS degree, the same as students at the universitys North Dakota campus.

The price will be worth it for many students entering the in-demand field, as elementary education positions are projected to grow by almost 10 percent in the decade between 2014 and 2024, according to a Cuyamaca College announcement about the partnership.

Salaries in the field will average $74,270 in the state and $72,130 in San Diego County, according to U.S. Department of Labor data cited by the college.

As to why Valley City State University picked a school so far away from their home, Vanney said theres a simple explanation. A faculty member moved to San Diego and took a job at Cuyamaca.

That faculty member is Daisy Figueroa, an assistant professor at the school who had worked at Valley City since 2012.

I grew up in San Diego, and Im back home, said Figuerora, who graduated from Mira Mesa High in 1991.

Figuerora said the new courses in elementary education will begin in the fall and be open for students who already earned an associates degree. Students who are close to getting that degree also will be accepted, she said.

Many of the courses will be online, although Figuerora said she also will teach some classes, depending on how many students sign up for the courses.

U.S News & World Report rated VCSU as the top school among regional public colleges in the Midwest in its 2017 rankings.

VCSU will provide laptops to qualified distance learners as part of the universitys technology fees. Because the university is nationally accredited, graduates will be able to teach in California after obtaining a North Dakota teaching license and securing a California teaching credential.

Students interested in the program should contact Figueroa at (562) 822-7606 or daisy.figueroa@vcsu.edu.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
About 250 men and women at the San Diego Rescue Mission received new shoes, prayers and foot baths Friday morning, but they werent the only ones who felt they had a special experience.

It was better than what I expected, said Anna Alvarez, 19, a member of New Vision Christian Fellowship and one of about 150 volunteers who participated in the annual Samaritans Feet Program at the mission.

Alvarez said she could tell some of the men were reluctant to have their feet washed, but then welcomed the experience and opened up about their lives with moving conversations.

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They were kind of weirded out by it, but I could see Gods love through all of this, she said. That God was using me specifically to touch the mens hearts.

Women at the shelter had received free shoes and foot washes the previous evening, and men who participated in the program Friday said it was meaningful to have someone express something so intimate and compassionate.

This is a blessing, said Christopher Roe, 51, who has been living at the mission since Dec. 12. People who dont know me gave me brand new shoes, socks and prayed for me. Its awesome. It touched my heart. People really care about people.

Groups of two or three volunteers sat around clients during the event, sometimes smiling joyfully and other times bowing quietly in prayer. One person would kneel to delicately wash the mans feet in a small plastic tub.

This was the fifth year the mission had participated in the program, which is modeled after the Bible passage where Jesus washed his disciples feet.

This gets better and better each year, said Herb Johnson, president and CEO of the Rescue Mission.

Fridays event was a bit bittersweet for Johnson, who is retiring next week after 15 years heading the mission.

Its probably my last one here, said Johnson about the event, which is one of his favorite at the mission. This ones really special today.

Johnson said he remembered being nervous about the first foot-washing at the mission five years ago, unsure whether the men and women there would take the donated shoes only and pass on the prayers and foot baths.

Its something that doesnt seem like a big deal, but a lot of these clients, just the thought of someone physically touching them is threatening, he said. The first year we did this, there was an uprising in the mens center. They said, Im going to take the shoes, but nobodys washing my feet.

Johnson set an example that year by volunteering to have his feet washed, which he said was both uncomfortable and transformational.

I learned something about myself that day, he said, adding that he was sniveling like a 5-year-old during the washing. It was truly a humbling experience. I had to step out of my role of being a leader to a guy being prayed for.

Despite the early apprehensions, everybody at the mission agreed to have their feet washed that day.

Just as Alvarez had found the experience surprisingly fulfilling, Johnson said other volunteers also were moved by praying and washing feet.

You know those kids have all come over to me, mostly one at a time, to say We came here because we thought we could dispense something to these people at the shelter, and were leaving with far more than we could have ever brought to these people, he said. Theyve been humbled by this experience, significantly.

Stephen Bellow, 56, was among the mission clients who participant in the program Friday.

It fills your heart with joy, he said. Its amazing. Upstairs, guys were saying, Im not letting anybody wash my feet. But when they came down and saw these college guys, and it was so amazing to me, they all got their feet washed.

Bellow, who sported a Hawaiian shirt, gray goatee and skull tattoo on his forearm, said he didnt need a pair of shoes that day, but did want the prayer.

Its about the prayer, the softening of the heart, he said. Jesus washed the disciples feet as a servant. He was serving them. These people are serving not just us, but God and his ministry.

Bellow, who toured as part of the road crew for Marilyn Manson, Ozzy Osbourne and other acts, said he had been a client at the mission for 16 months before leaving in January 2015, but returned seven months ago when he started drinking again. Sober since returning, Bellow said he wished he could have been the one washing peoples feet that morning.

Thats how much it means to me, he said.

KIen Stidum, 54, has been at the mission nine months, and also said the event was very meaningful to him.

The volunteers who come through here, I see the love and care they have for the men here, he said. We been through a lot. Its like being pampered. Theyre putting love into it.

Stidum said he came to the mission after a relapse into drugs and alcohol cost him his job and home.

I just went astray, he said. I lost my contact with God. Its been a struggle. I did a lot of damage.

Clean and sober, Stidum said it feels good to be back on the right track.

I have to take it one day at a time, he said. Ill wait for the Lord to open up the door, and Im just going to step through them as he opens them. Youve got to be patient.

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
While the country tuned in to hear former FBI Director James Comey testify Thursday before a Senate committee about his conversations with President Donald Trump, it was another day of work in the House of Representatives.

San Diegos five House members joined their colleagues in the morning in voting 233-186 along party lines on a bill to repeal parts of the Dodd-Frank financial regulations.

But when they were back in their offices and time allowed, the House members and their staffs watched live broadcasts of Comeys testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

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It was actually business as usual in the office, but the volume of the TVs was turned up a little bit louder than normal days, said a spokeswoman for Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego.

Joe Kasper, chief of staff for Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, said office staffers watched the testimony, if only because it was the only thing on television.

We were all watching while doing other things. But it was on every TV by virtue of the fact that it was on every news network, Kaspar said.

Heres what three of San Diego Countys five congressional members said in statements about Comeys testimony:

Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego

After todays hearing, Americans are left with even more questions and uncertainty. Former FBI Director Comeys testimony corroborated the concerning reports recently made public by various news agencies. It is imperative that we establish an independent commission to get to the bottom of the Trump-Russia investigation.

Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego

It is in all of our best interests as Americans to get to the bottom of Russian interference and follow the facts to wherever  and whomever  they may lead. Vladimir Putin isnt a political operative, he is an adversary. If we dont get to the bottom of this then we wont be equipped to stop him the next time were attacked. Jim Comeys candid testimony gave us important answers and insight, but there is much more work to be done both by congressional investigators and Mr. (Robert) Mueller. I appreciate the Senate Intelligence Committees work, and continue to support empaneling a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate Russian interference, free from the partisan and jurisdictional restrictions in Congress.

Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego

Today we confirmed the Presidents disturbing behavior into the Flynn/Russia investigation. With each passing day, its clear we need to dig deeper. In addition to the investigations by Congress and the Special Counsel, we need an independent commission to get to the truth for the American people.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R- Alpine

Hunter didnt release a statement, but spokesman Kasper said in an email:

There wasnt anything new here. It was a whole lot of nothing, really, beyond the political theater. The President is not under investigation. We already knew that. And the Russians did try to interfere with our election through cyber-attacks. We already knew that too.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista

A spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, did not respond to a request for comment, and his office did not post anything related to Comey on his website or his social media accounts.

Mike Levin, a Democrat running against Issa next year, criticized the incumbent in a tweet for not talking about the testimony.

As we see #Comey today, it's GOP's inaction (looking at you, Darrell Issa) that may be as troubling as #TrumpRussia allegations themselves.  Mike Levin (@MikeLevinCA) June 8, 2017

Issas other Democratic challenger, Doug Applegate, released a statement:

I joined the Marines Corp in 1974 at the height of the Cold War and served as a warrior in that fight. Through his testimony today, James Comey confirmed to the Senate Intelligence Committee that Russia is, in fact, coming after America. Trump and the GOP Congress know were is under attack, but have done nothing to protect our most sacred right, our right to vote.

The sacrifices made by each generation, from the American Revolution to the present, stand to be thrown away if we stay the present course. Every true American patriot must join the fight to stop this treason of our democracy.

Twitter: @jptstewart

joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1841
An abandoned fishing-type boat grounded near the Ocean Beach pier early Friday may have been used for smuggling, a Coast Guard official said.

The 22-foot Bayliner was spotted stuck on rocks south of the pier about 5:30 a.m. San Diego lifeguards checked and found no one on board.

San Diego police and Border Patrol agents were called in to look for any evidence of a crime. A Border Patrol spokesman said agents saw no evidence of smuggling, but are investigating.

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The Coast Guard sent a team to make sure the boat wasnt leaking any fluids and polluting the ocean. It wasnt, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Joel Guzman.

All indicators are, it was used for migrant smuggling, Guzman said, noting that trash with Spanish writing was found in the boat, indicating it had come from Mexico.

He said an investigation into the incident was on-going.

Lifeguards towed the boat to their Mission Bay headquarters to be held as evidence.
The Union-Tribune profiles a wanted suspect each week in an effort to make our community safer. We partner with Crime Stoppers and local law enforcement to prole known fugitives as well as draw attention to unsolved crimes. This weeks wanted suspect:

Bobby Luca, 54

Wanted: Luca is wanted by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for violating the terms and conditions of his parole. He is on parole for failing to register as a sex offender. He previously was convicted of making criminal threats and assault. Authorities said he is considered armed and dangerous.

Description: White, 5 feet 9 inches and 165 pounds, with white gray and brown eyes.

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Frequented areas: He is known to frequent Pacific Beach.

If you have information about this persons whereabouts, you can report it anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Anonymous texts or Web tips can also be sent at sdcrimestoppers.com. Tipsters may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
A suspected drunken driver suffered a badly injured leg when she crashed into a sign pole on Sea Word Drive early Friday, San Diego police said.

No other cars were involved in the 2:50 a.m. crash.

Police said the 26-year-old woman was heading east on Sea World Drive near Mission Bay. At the intersection with a southbound Interstate 5 on-ramp, her Nissan Altima continued east for several yards, hit a raised divider in the middle of the street and slammed into a pole bearing a large sign for northbound I-5.

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The front of the Altima was demolished in the impact and the womans right leg was seriously injured, Officer Tony Martinez said. He said after she is released from the hospital, she is to be jailed on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
The San Diego County Water Authority fears it could harm ratepayers by opening up meetings that have been held out of the publics view for decades.

A letter this week by the authoritys top lawyer said its legal and necessary to hold private, unnoticed and unrecorded gatherings with the agencys appointed delegates to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, or MWD, a regional agency based in Los Angeles.

The county agency was responding to public interest attorney Cory Briggs, who sent a demand letter last month asking that the meetings be opened to the public after The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on possible violations of state open-meetings laws.

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In its response on Monday, the agency cautioned Briggs against pursuing frivolous litigation over the meetings, which general counsel Mark Hattam said are needed to protect the authoritys interests.

Briggs and other critics contend the delegate get-togethers dont qualify for exemptions spelled out under Californias Ralph M. Brown Act. That law, passed in 1953, allows closed-door meetings of small collections of board members only on a social or chance basis, or if their official task is temporary. The idea is to prevent officials from conducting government business outside the view of the public, which pays for it.

Briggs on Wednesday said that his client, nonprofit advocacy organization San Diegans for Open Government, has authorized him to sue over the contested gatherings. He expects that lawsuit to be filed in the next few weeks. Briggs declined further comment on the delegate meetings, which he called illegal in his letter last month.

Hattams letter to Briggs says that authority delegates do not qualify as one of the small groups subject to state open meeting law. Instead, Hattam wrote, they are merely board members appointed to represent the agencys interests at MWD.

He said delegates ability to defend those interests would suffer under restrictions imposed by open-meetings laws, because participants would not be able to converse with one another on the spot about how San Diego could be affected by proposals pending at MWD meetings. Although the San Diego water authority has representatives on the regional MWD board, they are in the minority and have fought legal and other battles for years over the cost of water and other issues.

This kind of restriction would actually violate, and effectually void, their statutory function as representatives of the water authority seeking to protect the water authority and its ratepayers in San Diego, Hattams letter said.

Mondays letter echoed the agencys past statements on the meetings. Spokesman Mike Lee in April told the Union-Tribune that the authoritys delegates panel did not quality as a committee and therefore could not run afoul of state rules about which committees can meet behind closed doors.

U-T Watchdog reviewed payroll documents  the only documentation available for the meetings  and found that water agency board members themselves often refer to the gatherings as a committee or subcommittee meeting.

Those records also showed at least three dozen regularly scheduled MWD-related gatherings since 2016 that were held in private. The gatherings were held in San Diego, not at an MWD meeting at its headquarters in Los Angeles. Officials at MWD said that agency has no involvement with the local get-togethers and was not notified or invited to them.

Payroll records show the delegates group convened twice as often as the authoritys board and standing committees in 2016 and up to three times as often as any of the six temporary committees recognized by the agency.

Taken together, authority directors have held more than 100 closed-door get-togethers, including dozens of pre-board and task force gatherings, since 2016. That tally easily tops the number of meetings held in public, leaving open the possibility that directors could use the gatherings to reach a behind-the-scenes consensus on agenda items that are supposed to be aired in the open.

The water authority has long maintained its compliance with both the letter and the spirit of state open meeting law. Hattam last week said the authority complies with Brown Act provisions barring officials from making policy out of public view.

Previously
A battle over bare breasts at the beach is brewing in Maryland where lifeguards have been told to, in effect, look the other way when it comes to topless sunbathing by women.

Capt. Butch Arbin of the Ocean City Beach Patrol issued a memo earlier this week saying that employees should not confront a woman who is going bare-chested, even if there are complaints from other beach-goers.

For the 44 years Ive been guarding the beach in Ocean City, when wed see people topless on the beach we would just tell them, Hey, you cant do that, said Arbin in an interview with WBOC 16. However, now that the law has been challenged, he said, we dont feel like we can tell people not to sunbathe topless.

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The directive is to be in effect until the states Attorney Generals Office issues a ruling on Marylands indecent exposure laws which were protested by a woman who believes that if men can go topless then women should be able to as well.

Activist Chelsea Covington, who writes a blog called Breasts are healthy is the person who challenged the law.

Ten months ago, the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland accepted a request to issue an opinion on the legality of female bare-chestedness from the Worcester County States Attorney, wrote Covington on her web page, which contains a NSFW photo.

Covington maintains that nothing in the statute specifically states that bare breasts are indecent and she asked for a ruling on whether a local ordinance that treated genders differently would be unconstitutional.

She told The Maryland Coast Dispatch that she was pleased with the beach patrol directive.

Arbin told the publication that he had no choice but to issue it.

The bottom line, he said, is that according to the attorney general, there is no enforceable law on the books that prohibits topless females, he said. Personally, I dont think it is good for Ocean City or the families that wish to visit an All-American city, but we only enforce the laws and ordinances.

Ocean City officials, however, quickly waded into the sand and said that women should keep their tops on.

The Town of Ocean City is not a topless beach and will not become a topless beach, wrote officials on the towns Facebook page who said the intent of the lifeguard memo was directed strictly at just the Beach Patrol. We want our lifeguards to have their eyes on the ocean, as the safety of our swimmers is their first priority. Our police department, on the other hand, will respond to calls from the Beach Patrol and complaints from our beach patrons, should any activity of toplessness occur, officials wrote.

And so the debate about the legal state of undress rages on.

A Carroll County Times poll asks: Do you agree with Ocean Citys policy to not confront women who choose to go topless on the beach?

So far the voting is running 66 percent in favor of the policy and 33 percent against.

619-293-1710

debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com

twitter.com/Debbi_Baker
A $6 million grant to provide services to drug abusers charged with certain misdemeanors crimes under Proposition 47 has been awarded to the city and county of San Diego.

The money, which was approved Thursday by the Board of State and Community Corrections, will help connect offenders struggling with drug abuse and mental health issues with job programs and recovery and rehabilitation groups.

County Supervisor Dianna Jacob said, With this grant, were aiming to further improve public safety and help those who have been on the wrong side of the law become healthy, productive members of the community.

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Prop. 47, which was approved by voters in 2014, reduced penalties for some non-violent crimes including drug possession and petty theft, from low-level felonies to misdemeanors.

One of the provisions of the law says that the state must take the savings from the resulting reduced prison population and divert the money to the grant program.

County officials said the money, being allocated for the first time, will give offenders a better chance at remaining out of trouble and becoming self-sufficient. The ultimate goal is to reduce crime.

According to a 2016 SANDAG report, about 75 percent of the people who are booked into jail for non-violent crimes also test positive for drugs.

San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said the funding will support our ongoing efforts to stop the revolving door to jail.

It will give people the tools they need to help them improve their quality of life, which will reduce crime and recidivism, Dumanis said.

Through the countys program, community agencies will reach out to offenders appearing in court for misdemeanor offenses and provide in-person connections, substance abuse treatment and help with housing and jobs.

The city of San Diego will expand the San Diego Misdemeanants At-Risk Track, or SMART, pilot program, which focuses on diverting and engaging individuals with chronic needs for services.

The funds will be allocated at the end of June, officials said.

619-293-1710

debbi.baker@sduniontribune.com

twitter.com/Debbi_Baker
As mayor of Chula Vista, I am proud to continue our fine tradition of leadership in sustainability and environmental action.

Chula Vista became a charter member of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives or ICLEI in 1994. We adopted a Climate Action Plan in 2000, and were the first city in California to adopt multiple species conservation plan  which dedicated more than 50 percent of the new development in eastern Chula Vista to open space and parks. We installed purple pipe in our new developments to use recycled water for irrigation, and designed new neighborhoods with walking trails and dedicated right-of-way for mass transit. We have been working to ensure that we develop a community that is sustainable, and that we institute best practices so that we have a positive impact on our environment. Because of our actions, Chula Vista solidified its reputation internationally as a climate change leader and was one of 14 cities invited to attend the Paris climate conference in 2015.

Related: Abandoning Paris pledge wont stop march of innovation

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Related: Meaningful climate action still possible

During the conference, it was exciting to see leaders from across the globe come together and address the critical issue of climate change. It was amazing to see American leadership take center stage to make possible an agreement which set the path to reduce greenhouse gases and set a goal of keeping temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The agreement allowed each country to determine its own actions to achieve these voluntary goals.

With the current administration turning its back and shirking its responsibility to combat climate change by withdrawing from the COP21-Paris Agreement its up cities and states to assume the mantle of leadership. With over 80 percent of the U.S. population in urban areas, cities have an amazing opportunity to act on climate change.

With that in mind, I joined with 211 of my fellow mayors from across the nation and of both political parties to honor and uphold the Paris Agreement. As mayors, we must step into the vacuum of leadership left behind by the current administration and move forward to push for a greener future.

It is a fallacy that the Paris Agreement would hurt the economy. Adoption of carbon reduction policies by more and more cities and states has been accompanied by an explosive growth of green energy companies nationwide. Fortune 500 companies like PG&E, General Electric, Dow Chemical, Walmart, Unilever, Google, Apple and Microsoft believe that the Paris Agreement will foster economic growth and strengthen our economic leadership globally. We have seen the growth of the green economy firsthand, across California and in our region, from large investments in green energy from big corporations to smaller ones such as our neighbors installing solar panels on their homes.

The green economy has even affected our shopping habits. Every time we shop, we look for energy-saving technologies from energy-efficient lighting, double-pane windows, highly efficient appliances, all of which produce jobs for our residents throughout our city and state of California.

In fact, California, in a survey done by the Advanced Energy Economy in 2015 found 507,703 clean energy jobs, an 18 percent increase from 2014 and an estimate of 550,000 in 2016, 10 times the number of jobs produced by the coal industry nationwide.

We cannot turn back the clock and there is no Plan B. Acting on climate change is necessary and vital. Since the current administration in unwilling to act, then we must.

Chula Vista will continue to lead by increasing energy efficiency and promote renewable energy. We will continue our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help to build a clean energy economy. We will continue efforts to ensure clean air and open spaces for all our residents.

Now, more than ever, as we pass along our world to our children and our grandchildren, we must follow the old adage, Think Globally, Act Locally.

Salas is mayor of Chula Vista.
It should surprise no one that President Trump recklessly withdrew from the Paris climate agreement. The surprise is how his decision is bringing the problem of climate change into sharper focus and arousing the nation to stand up and fight.

Withdrawal from Paris would be a setback, especially for the poorest nations of the Earth, which will be denied the funds they desperately need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. But keep in mind that Paris is a vague aspirational agreement with few concrete goals or requirements.

Related: Abandoning Paris pledge wont stop march of innovation

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Related: Cities stand with Paris agreement

We can do better than Paris if only a small fraction of the 59 percent of Americans who oppose Trumps withdrawal begin to work for better policy at the state and local levels, where meaningful action remains possible.

Here in California, Gov. Jerry Browns fiery calls for resistance and Mayor Kevin Faulconers commitment to San Diegos Climate Action Plan resonate in a state that has led the nation in clean energy and energy efficiency.

Weve reduced greenhouse gas emissions more than 9 percent since 2004, yet the states economy outpaced average national growth for the past six years. Clean energy is generating jobs at a rapid clip nationally, with solar alone increasing employment by 25 percent last year. Of the roughly 260,000 American jobs in solar energy, 100,000 are in California.

But theres more to be done. California remains the nations third-largest oil producing state and continues to build unnecessary gas-fired power plants, to construct highways instead of mass transit, and to frack for oil next door to homes and schools. And not nearly enough has been done to ensure that clean energy benefits all Californians, including the poorest communities that often suffer far more from pollution and the impacts of climate change.

The good news is that technical solutions are available. Its clear that an almost completely renewable electricity generation system is within reach at reasonable cost, and that preventing the worst impacts of climate change saves money in the long run.

We must rethink on-road transportation, which represents 43 percent of San Diego Countys emissions, and innovate to bring down emissions while improving quality of life. A key start will be reforming the San Diego Association of Governments. SANDAG would become much more responsive to climate issues with the passage of AB 805, introduced by local Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, which would allocate board votes to better represent the countys population as well as increase accountability and transparency.

And the key to reaching 100 percent clean electricity is Community Choice Energy (CCE), which allows cities and counties to purchase their own electricity while supporting local green job growth and keeping costs low for residents and businesses. Solana Beach has already voted to move forward with CCE, but the city of San Diego has yet to publish its feasibility study and the countys supervisors recently voted against taking a similar first step.

These policies wont move forward without strong, persistent support from community members and voters like you.

It starts with sharing  because while Americans feel strongly about climate change, they tend not to discuss it. Though six in 10 Americans say global warming is important to them, only 18 percent hear others they know talk about it on a monthly basis. So take every opportunity to let friends, neighbors and co-workers understand how strongly you feel about the need for climate action.

Developing better policy means influencing elected officials and regulators, by speaking at city council meetings, calling elected officials, participating in demonstrations and voting for candidates who commit to taking necessary climate actions.

For some, it also means using peaceful resistance to protect the planet, as Americans have proudly done throughout our history to establish or protect our rights and to change society for the better.

It all comes down to whether we, as Americans, are willing to struggle for a stable climate that will allow us to pursue our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness  in addition to leaving behind a world that can be inhabited by our children and grandkids.

See you in the streets, at City Hall and at the polls.

Disenhouse is president and co-founder of SanDiego350, a volunteer organization striving to create a future that supports a livable planet and just society through education and outreach, public policy advocacy and mobilizing people to take action.
WATERLOO -- A Waterloo man has been arrested after he allegedly clubbed another driver during an alleged road rage incident and took his glasses.

Waterloo police arrested Phillip Kiprian Kurilchik, 57, of 114 W. Donald St., on Wednesday for willful injury causing bodily injury and going armed with intent.

He was later released from jail.

Authorities allege Kurilchik and Christopher Jones were traveling in separate vehicles on Highway 20 around 2 p.m. Tuesday when Jones claimed that Kurilchik allegedly almost ran him off the road near the Highway 63 exit.

Jones took the exit and drove to a Ranchero Road business to pick up co-workers. Court records allege Kurilchik approached Jones' vehicle with a wooden bat or club, yelling and screaming ensued, and Jones made a grab for the bat.

Jones and Kurilchik fell to the ground, and Kurilchik stood up and hit Jones once in the head with the club, court records state. He then took Jones' glasses and walked off, records state.

The glasses were recovered a short time later.

Jones was taken to Covenant Medical Center where he received four staples to close his head injury, records state.
It was Nov. 30, 2015, the first day of COP21, the United Nations climate conference that created the Paris Agreement.

Word was spreading through the corridors that momentous progress had been made even before anyone had taken a seat at the negotiation table.

Bill Gates had announced the day before the formation of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, a public-private partnership that would invest in clean energy and make it more competitive with fossil fuels. His lineup of collaborators was as formidable as the plan was ambitious. Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Meg Whitman and Tom Steyer were the biggest names in a group that had a collective access to capital comparable to that of some small countries.

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Related: Cities stand with Paris agreement

Related: Meaningful climate action still possible

I and other COP21 attendees from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego and other UC campuses were especially thrilled because the University of California was the only institutional investor in the coalition. The UC had just months before staged an event on the Scripps campus to announce its game plan for developing and scaling up techniques for achieving carbon neutrality.

We thought that day that the conference could be a win even if there were no agreement reached among the nearly 200 countries assembled there. The task of transitioning to clean energy and sustainable practices was seen at that time as an operation well in progress even without the participation of national governments.

So I take with mixed feelings the recent news that President Trump has elected to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. I feel worried for the future of the United States: Why give up international leadership on climate when the agreement does not regulate us or impose any outside interference with our energy economy? But I still see reasons to be optimistic about the future of the world overall.

Yes, there remains a steady stream of bad news from the natural world. Polar ice masses are deteriorating at an accelerating rate; we are seeing shocking large-scale die-offs in the northern Great Barrier Reef where coral cover is now down to 10 percent; the Keeling Curve observed the first reading of atmospheric carbon dioxide greater than 410 parts per million just over a month ago. The natural range of CO2 levels in the neighborhood of 300 parts per million that existed prior to the Industrial Revolution is rapidly fading from sight in our rearview mirrors.

But I take comfort in the knowledge that there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of subnational efforts out there like the Gates initiative helping us make an inevitable transition to a green economy. The presidents action may serve to alienate Washington from the rest of the global community but closer to ground level, the work continues unabated and our collaborations endure.

Scripps Oceanography has enjoyed a close direct working relationship with sovereign states around the world. They range from Chile, which joined us in presenting a panel on ocean protection during COP21 and will be supporting us at this years United Nations climate conference in Bonn, Germany, to Palau, which enlisted Scripps Oceanography scientists last year to help it craft its national plan to safeguard against poaching and other illegal activities; from Iceland, whose coast guard is teaming up with Scripps oceanographers to understand extreme wave conditions, to India, which is working with Scripps Oceanography researchers and Gov. Jerry Brown to import air pollution mitigation technologies and mimic Californias successful curbs on auto- and truck-based emissions.

At Scripps Oceanography, we are part of a UC San Diego campus that generates about 85 percent of its own electricity. We are part of a university system that plans to be completely carbon-neutral 10 years from now. We live in a state in which at least 300,000 people have clean energy jobs, six times as many people than are employed by the coal industry in the United States. We are part of a machine that generates technological capital being used to create solutions and it is just too hard to stop the machine now.

Anything that slows down the process is disappointing; the task of achieving climate stability only gets harder the longer it takes. But Scripps Oceanography will continue its mission to understand and protect our planet regardless of the political climate surrounding the issue of climate change. The events of the past 10 days show we are not alone in our plan to carry on. It was only an administration that rejected the Paris Agreement, not a country.

Leinen is vice chancellor for marine sciences at the University of California San Diego and director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.
The three candidates with multimillion-dollar war chests in the 2018 California governors race  all Democrats  are wooing voters by focusing on the less fortunate. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom says, For too many, the economic recovery has become a spectator sport. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says Californians should focus more on those who take the bus than drive Teslas. State Treasurer John Chiang vows to invest in infrastructure assessment and investment to create jobs.

But none of the leading candidates or even the lesser ones have put forward a specific plan on how to address one of the huge issues of our time: income inequality and the hollowing out of the middle class.

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This problem goes beyond the 1 percenters who are vilified by the Occupy movement for allegedly rigging the nation to protect their wealth and power. There is no question that 1 percenters are wealthier than ever and that the rich keep getting richer. But economists such as Tyler Cowen of George Mason University and Richard V. Reeves of the Brookings Institution say the real concern shouldnt be the top 1 percent of earners but how the upper middle class  the top 20 percent of earners  is leaving everyone else behind. Cowen has detailed how the U.S. job market increasingly rewards only those with elite skills  and how technology is steadily destroying middle-class jobs. A 2015 Pew Foundation report showed that for the first time in generations, there were more adults in poor and upper-income categories than adults who were middle class. With assortative mating on the rise  well-educated people marrying similarly well-educated people  social mobility is likely to be limited and society will become even more stratified.

Politicians on the left argue that reviving unions in the private sector and having much higher taxes on the very wealthy to fund public-works jobs can rebuild the middle class. Politicians on the right argue that the free market will keep producing prosperity and that we should have more confidence that the U.S. economy will rebound.

But these conventional views dont grasp the big picture. The new economy is not like the old economy. Once that settles in, there is an obvious strategy to pursue: overhauling our education system so it produces far more people with elite job skills. These skills often involve critical thinking and a facility with science and technology. Fields such as information technology, life sciences, cybersecurity, robotics, automation, artificial intelligence-assisted research and advanced statistical analysis are certain to grow in coming years.

But California is not poised to deal with the workforce needs that will accompany this growth. Lawmakers are now considering helpful baby steps to prepare for whats ahead. One example is the Assemblys approval of a program in which prospective teachers get $20,000 scholarships in return for teaching science, technology, engineering, math and other crucial areas with current shortages. Yet much bolder steps  like having computer science classes widely available in middle school and making computer science a high school graduation requirement  have never won serious consideration.

Instead, Newsom, Villaraigosa, Chiang and just about every California leader of note have been mostly content with an education status quo built on mid-20th century values.

This needs to change. Education is the foundation on which successful lives are built. Its time this foundation had a better design.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
In normal times, former FBI Director James Comeys testimony to a Senate committee would have been an earth-shaking event. Comey said that, after his firing last month, the White House told lies, plain and simple about him and the FBI. Comey said that, in ways he didnt with other presidents, he immediately wrote memos detailing his conversations with President Donald Trump because he worried Trump would later lie about them. Comey said that he took Trumps comment about the FBIs investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn  I hope you can let this go  as a direction, not a request, implying Trump sought to obstruct justice. And Comey said that he believed he was fired by Trump to impede the FBIs overall investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections  the way the Russian investigation was being conducted  not just the FBI probe of Flynn.

These are remarkably harsh allegations by an ex-FBI chief against a sitting president. The echoes of the Watergate scandal and cover-up that brought down President Richard Nixon are unmistakable.

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But these are not normal times  and there is a chance that Comeys testimony in some ways could help the president. Comey explicitly said he had told Trump that the president was not under investigation in the FBIs probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election  contrary to a Tuesday CNN report and just as Trump has repeatedly claimed. Comey also refused to characterize anything the president had done as being against the law. And Comey largely discredited a Feb. 14 New York Times story that alleged Trumps campaign aides had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence.

Trump and his supporters have other reasons to be relieved. Most of Comeys toughest comments had already been on Americas front pages because of a leak that Comey acknowledged Thursday he had orchestrated. And if Comey left uncertainty by declining to answer some questions, his remarks can be seen as shoring up Trumps contention that Democrats and the media havent made a case for the claim that he and/or his campaign colluded with Vladimir Putin to steal the White House. MSNBC host Chris Matthews, for one, said the idea Trump colluded with Russia came apart Thursday.

Comeys testimony can also be seen as more evidence for the theory that the president has spent all this time grousing about the Russia investigation not because he has something to hide but because of his belief and outrage that his enemies are trying to taint his victory and his presidency. Finally, Comeys testimony can also be seen as more evidence for the theory that Trumps highly questionable uses of his executive authority stem not from a Machiavellian attempt to manipulate American democracy but from his obtuseness and naivete about how presidents are supposed to act.

None of these observations about how the president might benefit from Thursdays events should be interpreted as a defense of his behavior. As Bloomberg View columnist Jonathan Bernstein noted, Comeys testimony illustrated the self-defeating incompetence with which Trump has governed. Yet impeachment talk still seems premature.

Perhaps some bombshell will emerge from the independent investigation mounted by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director whom Comey praised Thursday. But if that doesnt happen, Americans will have to keep muddling through the Trump era  hoping the president at some point displays a learning curve and realizes that the temperament and traits that brought him success in business, on television and on the campaign trail are bringing him nothing but grief and dysfunction in the Oval Office.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
A Poway woman is giving back to her adopted community by helping others.

Zarin Ahi is on a one-woman mission to reach out to the Farsi-speaking community in Poway and the surrounding areas.

Ahi has volunteered her services, especially translation, for the Poway Unified School District, the San Diego Fire Departments CERT program and for a Farsi-language monthly newsletter, all in her own spare time and her own dime.

Im ready to do whatever I can to help, Ahi said.

Ahi said she gives back as much as she does because she truly believes that in order to be part of the community, you must serve the community.

She said her philosophy is to live like oil, not water. If you live like water, you evaporate, Ahi said. But its hard to wash away oil. It spreads. You need to spread your message like oil.

Born and raised in Iran, Ahi was a city planner who became involved in working with youth. I found that you cant do anything with cities (as a city planner) until you know the people in the cities, she said.

Ahi volunteered her time at a youth institute in Tehran helping with family planning and youth, and after immigrating to the United States with her family in April 2007, continued her love of volunteering with youth.

I decided to serve my new country to make it the best place to raise my students, she said.

Ahi said she went to the Poway Unified School District and offered her translation services, volunteering her time despite there being no budget to pay her, she said. She demonstrated her translation skills by translating some random papers into Farsi.

She eventually joined the districts Primary Test Language program, which tests students in their first language, helping Farsi-speaking youngsters test. She also leant her translation services to Student Services, translating for parents speaking to teachers and counselors, and worked in the ASES program first at Valley Elementary and then at Bernardo Heights Middle School.

Ahi said she educated herself on the needs of the students and their parents because she really wanted to work for the community. I studied everything I could find about youth and kids, she said.

She said that students from Farsi-speaking families are often embarrassed when their parents are unable to communicate in English with their teachers, and sometimes fail to pass on messages or meetings because of that. Other children, she said, are living without their parents and their guardians dont understand how the school system works.

Ahi keeps busy now with her monthly newsletter, which she hands out in the parking lots of Persian and international grocery stores, and holding Farsi-language workshops to help immigrants settle into the community and learn how things function in the United States. She said she brings a topic to the meetings and asks the participants to do something with it.

An example of an article in her newsletter would be information on what parents can expect from school conferences, questions the teachers might ask and what is expected of them from the school.

Immigration has a deadline, she said. You have to eventually become part of the community. You have to go forward or go backward, the choice is yours. To go forward, you need to know and improve yourself.

Ahi is searching for a free space she can hold summer meetings with families. Anyone with a space to volunteer can reach her at zarintaj_ahi@yahoo.com.

Email: news@pomeradonews.com
The Obama administration announced a broadside of harsh new sanctions against four far-flung criminal cartels on Monday, part of what it said is a coordinated strategy to fight international underworld factions that could harm U.S. interests or security.

A new executive order signed by President Barack Obama outlined a regime of harsh sanctions against so-called transnational criminal groups, blocking any American property interests and freezing their assets, authorizing financial sanctions against anyone aiding them and barring their members from entering the United States.

The order, signed Sunday, authorizes new sanctions against criminal cartels in Mexico, Japan, Italy and Eastern Europe: Los Zetas, a Mexican drug ring linked to multiple murders; the Yakuza, Japans widespread mob army; the Camorra, a crime network based in southern Italy; and the Brothers Circle, an Eastern European criminal group operating worldwide.

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The new moves come as the administration is animating a long-scattered effort to confront global crime groups suspected of transporting drugs and weapons and enabling terrorist groups. While the U.S. war against terrorist networks has been a clear foreign policy priority since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, its handling of transnational crime groups has been uneven at times and fragmented among federal agencies.

In announcing the new moves, Attorney General Eric Holder acknowledged Monday that the problem of transnational organized crime and their networks is not new. He insisted that a year-long review by administration officials - the first in 15 years - has strengthened our fight.

A 28-page report outlining the new strategy conceded that a shift in U.S. intelligence collection priorities since the September 11 2001 attacks left significant gaps in intelligence aimed at transnational criminal organizations. The fluid nature of such groups, which often rely on shell corporations, offshore bank accounts and bases in countries with lax law enforcement, makes targeting them increasingly difficult, the report warned.

Transnational criminal organizations have taken advantage of our increasingly interconnected world to expand their illicit enterprises, Obama wrote in the reports foreword.

Under the new strategy, the Justice Department and the FBI would appear to have heightened roles in the governments effort to tackle transnational threats. The National Security Council has long been the lead agency in targeting transnational threats during the Clinton and Bush administrations, and will retain a prime role, helping to oversee combined law enforcement, intelligence and military agencies.

Holder said his department would press to update anti-racketeering laws and extend other statutes to combat money laundering, arms trafficking, cybercrime and intellectual property offenses. David Cohen, who heads the Treasury Departments Terrorism and Financial Intelligence office, said the U.S. would also now target international criminal groups with the same arsenal of financial penalties long used against al-Qaida and other militant groups.

Obamas executive order, Cohen said, allows Treasury to take on international criminal groups by freezing their assets in the U.S. or the American financial system and pursuing criminal charges against anyone cutting business deals with them. Cohen said Treasury would move quickly to use its authority against the four international crime syndicates.

Los Zetas is a narcotic smuggling cartel that dates to the late 1990s and began as a mercenary group aimed at killing rival drug dealers. The group is responsible for numerous murders, including several of U.S. law enforcement officials, Cohen said. The group had already been designated under Treasurys drug kingpin sanctions.

Japans Yakuza, portrayed in numerous gangland films, has an estimated 80,000 members, officials said. Its narcotics and criminal enterprises are hidden by investments in construction, real estate, finance and other legal businesses.

The Camorra, centered in Naples but spread throughout Italy, earns $25 billion a year in global operations, officials said, in criminal activity ranging from drug trafficking to counterfeiting.

The Brothers Circle, also known as Moscow Center, is an underworld society spread throughout Russia and former Soviet satellites. Its members are multiethnic, officials said, and conduct a variety of criminal activities in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
A prosecutor told a jury Monday that the three people on trial in the 2012 slaying of a young Marine wife conspired to deceive, abduct and ultimately kill her.

On Friday, April 13, Brittany Killgore agreed to accompany one of the defendants on a night out in San Diego that included a dinner cruise in the harbor, the prosecutor said. But she never made it to the cruise. Instead, she was killed in a home in Fallbrook, owned by one of the defendants.

Brittany Dawn Killgore ( / AP)

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Brittany Killgore was confronted by terror, horror and torture, Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza told the jury during his opening statement in a Vista courtroom.

He said the defendants, who practiced bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism  or BDSM, participated in killing the 22-year-old victim for their own sadistic pleasure.

Defense attorneys for Louis Ray Perez, Dorothy Grace Marie Maraglino and Jessica Lynn Lopez acknowledged that all three defendants participated in BDSM, but stressed that the interactions they had with one another and with others were strictly consensual. Two of the lawyers said that activity had stopped months before the death.

Perez, 49, who also went by the name Ivan, played the master in his relationship with Maraglino, 40. Lopez, 28, who went by several other names, was slave, to Maraglino, also known as Mistress Dee.

Maraglinos lawyer, Jane Kinsey, said in court that her client was at a local grocery store stocking up on snacks and other items at the time Killgore was slain. The attorney said Maraglino is guilty of lying and covering up for someone she loved, but not guilty of murder.

According to his lawyer, Perez dropped Killgore off at Maraglinos house on East Fallbrook Street that evening and left. When he returned later the same night, he was surprised to find Lopez in the house alone with Killgores lifeless body.

Perezs lawyer, Brad Patton, told the jury that the evidence would show it was Lopez who saw Killgore as a threat to the arrangement she had with the other defendants in the Fallbrook home. He said Lopez had various psychological disorders, including bipolar disorder, mood instability and multiple personalities.

Patton said Perez decided to take Killgores phone from the house and discard it in downtown San Diego. He is trying to cover his bases, Patton said.

Perez and Lopez then dumped the womans body in Riverside County, Patton said.

Killgores body was found April 17, 2012, near Lake Skinner. Her body showed evidence of strangulation with some kind of ligature, an instrument other than the hands.

Lopezs lawyer, Sloan Ostbye, told the jury that her client had been at work all day on April, 13, 2012, so she wasnt there for any discussions about Killgore or any planning that may have occurred earlier in the day. A letter found during the investigation that appeared to be a confession to the killing or a suicide note penned by Lopez, is false and inaccurate, she said.

Instead, its evidence that Lopez adhered tightly to her adopted role as a slave, subordinate or submissive, Ostbye said, showing the jury a photo of Lopez in a hospital bed after investigators found her in a hotel room with self-inflicted wounds to her neck, wrists and thigh.

(She was) the perfect slave, the perfect victim, the patsy, Ostbye said.

Espinoza, the lead prosecutor in the case, said Killgore met the defendants through a friend, a fellow military wife, who had contacted Maraglino through an ad and bought a fertility device from her. The friend and Maraglino kept in contact after the transaction, and Killgore often accompanied her on visits to the Fallbrook Street house.

The prosecutor stressed that Killgore did not willingly participate in the defendants BDSM activities. She had filed for divorce from her husband, who was deployed to Afghanistan, shortly before she disappeared.

Testimony is expected to continue Tuesday.
TOKYO (AP)  A panel of experts appointed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met for the first time Wednesday to discuss what he should say in a statement marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, fueling speculation that he may water down previous government apologies for the countrys wartime past.

Japan issued a landmark apology on the 50th anniversary in 1995 under then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, for the first time acknowledging its colonization and aggression in parts of Asia before and during the war. In 2005, then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi also apologized.

A key question is whether Abe will use the same terms such as colonial rule and aggression in his statement.

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Abe appointed the 16-member panel  10 academics, three business leaders, two journalists and an international aid worker  to seek advice on what he should say on Aug. 15, the anniversary of the wars end.

Abe told the panel he hopes to get their views on what Japan has learned from the past, how Japan has contributed to international peace in the postwar era and what Japans regional and international contribution should be in the future. He did not refer to the apology, and panel members said they are not bound by the specific words used in past statements.

Abe, who took office in late 2012, initially signaled his intention to revise the 1995 apology, triggering criticism from China and South Korea. He now says his Cabinet stands by the apology, but that he wants to issue a more forward-looking statement, raising speculation that he will somehow water it down.

A 70th anniversary statement issued by the prime minister has a highly political and diplomatic meaning, and we must take that into consideration, said international politics professor Shinichi Kitaoka, deputy head of the panel and one of Abes favorite academics. He said the panel will suggest possible elements for the statement and will not decide exactly what Abe will say.

About one-third of the panel members are regulars on Abes policy advisory committees, like Kitaoka, though they exclude his associates with the most extreme right-wing views. The appointment of centrist Asia experts Takashi Shiraishi and Shin Kawashima and a journalist from the liberal-leaning Mainichi newspaper give the panel some balance, but some other members stand out as historical revisionists.

Among them, Masashi Nishihara, head of a national security think tank, has written that reports of the Japanese militarys use of sex slaves during the war are fabricated in South Korea. Entrepreneur Yoshito Hori says the war was one of self-defense, not aggression.

China and South Korea have sent warnings on the statement. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking at a U.N. public debate, warned against attempts to whitewash past crimes of aggression. In Seoul, South Koreas Foreign Ministry said Abes statement should not backpedal from past apologies.

The United States has raised concerns over Tokyos row with the two neighbors over its wartime history.

The debate over the statement reflects a simmering divide in Japan 70 years after the war.

On one side are those who say that accounts of Japanese wartime atrocities are false or exaggerated, and that its time to restore Japanese pride in their country. On the other are liberal defenders of Japans Constitution who dont want the country to forget its colonization of Korea and invasion of China and Southeast Asia, and the disaster they spawned.

Senior ruling party lawmaker Masahiko Komura told reporters before the meeting Wednesday that a more forward-looking statement would sound convincing if it clearly states Japans adherence to past apologies.

___

Online:

50th anniversary statement: www.mofa.go.jp/announce/press/pm/murayama/9508.html

60th anniversary statement: www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2005/8/0815.html

___

Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
Against an increasingly bitter campaign backdrop, President Barack Obama is seeking to shore up support for his re-election in Virginia, a state he won four years ago ending decades of domination by Republican presidential candidates.

For challenger Mitt Romney, the state now looms as a battleground crucial to his presidential hopes.

Obama was traveling through the southeast and southwest corners of the state Friday, courting young and African-American voters in the Virginia Beach-Hampton area before turning to more conservative Roanoke, unwilling to cede votes to Romney. On Saturday, he will campaign in Richmond, a once-staunchly Republican region he won in 2008.

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Both campaigns acknowledge Virginias new role as a fiercely contested state after years of being virtually overlooked in presidential politics. Obama won the state by a 53-46 margin over his 2008 Republican rival, Sen. John McCain. Obama opened his visit by meeting with military families in Virginia Beach, a nod to the states large military presence.

Obamas visit follows a day of hostile exchanges between the campaigns over Romneys tenure at the private equity firm he founded in 1984. Documents filed by the company, Bain Capital, conflict with Romneys statements about when he gave up control of the firm. Both sides accused the other of being dishonest.

Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission place Romney in charge of Bain from 1999 to 2001, a period in which it outsourced jobs and ran companies that fell into bankruptcy. Romney and his aides say he left Bain in 1999 to run the Salt Lake City Olympics, and a Bain statement said Romney remained the sole stockholder for a time while formal ownership was being documented and transferred to the group of partners who took over management of the firm in 1999.

Obamas campaign released an online video Friday seizing upon the reports and offering this kicker: Heres the evidence, Mr. Romney. Your turn to explain.

Meanwhile, both Obama and former President Bill Clinton say Romney has invited close scrutiny of his business acumen because hes been selling himself as heavily qualified to improve the economy.

I think it is entirely appropriate to look at that record and see whether, in fact ... his focus was creating jobs and he successfully did that, Obama said in an interview with CBS Charlie Rose, portions of which were broadcast Friday on CBS This Morning.

Obama said Romneys business past doesnt disqualify him in any way for office, but said, I also think its important if thats his main calling card, if his basic premise is that `Im Mr. Fix-it on the economy. 

Clinton, appearing Friday on NBCs Today show, said Romneys record in private business is fair game because the former Massachusetts governor has put such heavy emphasis on it. And he also said Romneys refusal to release any full tax returns except for 2010 struck me as a little odd.

Clinton said voters ought to make up their own mind whether they support someone who apparently sought to minimize his federal tax liability by parking large sums of money overseas.

Romneys tenure at Bain has been a major target for Obama, who has accused Romney of being an outsourcing pioneer who invested in companies that shipped jobs to China, India and elsewhere overseas. Romney claims he had no role in outsourcing U.S. jobs because much of that activity didnt happen until after 1999, when he says he had given up operational control at Bain.

The Romney campaign on Friday released a new television ad that depicts Obama as employing tactics he once decried. It features footage of Obamas 2008 convention speech declaring, If you dont have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

A poll released Thursday by the Pew Research Center suggests Obamas attacks on Romneys background may be working. The poll, conducted June 28 through July 9, shows the president leading his Republican opponent 50 percent to 43 percent among registered voters. And Romney now lags behind Obama as the candidate better able to improve economic conditions. In the Pew Centers June poll, Romney held an eight-point edge on that question.

Obamas two-day visit to Virginia underscores his stepped-up attention to the shortlist of key states that will determine the outcome of the presidential contest.

Virginia, with 13 electoral votes, figures prominently in both the Obama and Romney strategies. But Obama has more options for an Election Day victory without Virginia than does Romney. Illustrating its importance, the state has seen the third heaviest television ad spending by the candidates and their allied groups, behind only Ohio and Florida.

The state is represented by two moderate Democratic senators. But since Obama won four years ago, Republicans have done well in state offices and a majority of the states congressional seats are held by Republicans.

Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., said the state could well decide not only the presidential election but control of the Senate: Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican George Allen, both former governors, are in a tight race to succeed Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat.

Despite its relatively low unemployment rate of 5.6 percent, the state relies heavily on military contracts that could suffer significantly under automatic spending cuts authorized by Congress and signed by the president last year. The Hampton Roads area that Obama is visiting Friday is home to a large military presence - the worlds largest naval base is there - and its economy is heavily dependent on defense spending.

---

Associated Press writer Jack Gillum contributed to this report.

---

Follow Jim Kuhnhenn on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jkuhnhenn
It's been 150 years since the birth of America's best-known architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. But his innovative designs continue to fascinate the public, from New York's Guggenheim museum, where the circular building itself is a sculptural work of art, to the Fallingwater house built over a waterfall in the Pennsylvania woods, to his modernist home on the Wisconsin prairie, Taliesin, which served as a laboratory for his ideas.

Some of Wright's buildings, now historic sites, marked his birthday milestone Thursday with parties and $1.50 tours. Other exhibits and events are being offered into the summer and fall, including a major show opening Monday at New York's Museum of Modern Art called "Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive." The exhibition, which runs through Oct. 1, showcases Wright's drawings, 3-D models, furniture and other material from an archive the museum jointly owns with Columbia University.

One of the remarkable things about Wright's enduring legacy is how popular his buildings remain as pilgrimage sites for his fans. In all, about 380 Wright structures are still standing, and those that are open to the public often sell out their tours weeks in advance, even in relatively out-of-the-way places like Taliesin, in rural Spring Green, Wisconsin, and at the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, at 19 stories tall the only skyscraper Wright ever built.

Wright is "the only architect more popular with the general public than he is with practicing architects," said Barry Bergdoll, MOMA's architecture curator.

Jeffrey Chusid, a professor at Cornell University's College of Architecture, agreed, saying Wright "was always doing what he wanted in his own style, and that style was often more accessible to popular taste than it was to academic taste." For example, the MOMA show explores Wright's frequent use of color, pattern and ornamentation, which Chusid said "essentially marked him as a 19th century architect," putting him at odds with the stripped-down minimalism generally associated with modernism.

The MOMA exhibition also demonstrates Wright's adept use of publicity to enhance his reputation. Displays include Wright's photo on the cover of Time magazine in 1938, and videos of his 1950s TV appearances, including the "What's My Line?" game show where blindfolded celebrity contestants guessed Wright's identity by asking questions.

Wright's sensational personal life contributed to his notoriety. He was married three times, and his longtime mistress was murdered at Taliesin by a house employee who also killed six others and set fire to the house.

But a large part of Wright's appeal also seems rooted in the notion that he was an arrogant genius who wouldn't be dissuaded from the purity of his philosophy. According to one much-told tale, when a client complained that a Wright-built roof was leaking on his desk, Wright retorted, "Move the desk!"

Those famous leaking roofs are among many structural issues that make Wright's buildings challenging to preserve, Chusid said. Wright would build "things that a moment's thought would have suggested would never work," he added. "But the thing is he also was making architecture and spaces and buildings that were passionate and astonishing to experience." He earned his fame not only as "the dramatic figure with the cowboy image, the lone architect against the world, but it was the fact that he created such fantastic buildings so often."

In addition to Taliesin, the Guggenheim and Price Tower, other Wright sites worth a visit include Kentuck Knob, in Chalkhill, Pennsylvania; the Duncan House, Acme, Pennsylvania; the Stockman House and Park Inn, Mason City, Iowa; and the SC Johnson Co. site in Racine, Wisconsin, known for tree-shaped columns supporting the structure's Great Workroom, and a research tower with windows made from 7,000 glass tubes. The Zimmerman House, in Manchester, New Hampshire, is an example of Wright's modest Usonian homes and the only Wright house open to the public in New England. Oak Park, Illinois, has the largest concentration of Wright buildings in the world, including his home and studio, according to the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy lists all public Wright sites on its website along with the 150th events . Exhibitions on view this summer include "Frank Lloyd Wright's Journey to the Prairie" exhibition at the Price Tower, through Aug. 27, and "Buildings for the Prairie" at the Milwaukee Art Museum, July 28-Oct. 15. And the National Trust for Historic Preservation in partnership with the geographic mapping company ESRI has launched a digital story map of Wright buildings .

Wright's knack for publicity and egocentric insistence on the rectitude of his philosophy and designs all contributed to the staying power of his larger-than-life reputation. But at the end of the day, it's the buildings themselves that prove irresistible  and not just because "the technical details were way ahead of their time," said Joel Hoglund of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.

"There's this intangible thing when you're in one of his buildings that you're in the middle of something special," he said. "People come from all over the world to experience that because there's not a lot of architecture that gives people that feeling."
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/08/2017 -- "The Cards and Payments Industry in Argentina: Emerging trends and opportunities to 2020", report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Argentine cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including credit transfers, cheques, cash, payment cards and direct debit during the review period (2012-2016).



The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review period and over the forecast period (2016-2020). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes.



The report brings together GlobalDatas research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure.



To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @ http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1135783



The report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Argentine cards and payments industry, including -



- Current and forecast values for each market in the Argentine cards and payments industry, including debit, credit and charge cards.



- Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, cheques, cash, direct debit and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.



- E-commerce market analysis.



- Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Argentine cards and payments industry.



- Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit, credit and charge cards.



Scope



- To improve financial inclusion and increase competition between banks, in 2016 the central bank introduced guidelines for convenient account opening and switching between providers. As per the new guideline, wage accounts can be opened directly by individuals rather than upon request by their employer. Individuals can open and close their accounts and cancel their credit cards through online banking, without the need to visit a bank branch. To increase financial access for citizens, the central bank relaxed the regulatory requirements for opening new bank branches in 2016. In H1 2016, 97 new branches were provided with authorization, an increase of 44 over H2 2015.



- The government move to abolish the tax on credit card payments made in foreign currency in December 2015 is anticipated to drive credit card transactions. In December 2013 the government had increased the tax on all credit card purchases made abroad from 20% to 35%. Consumers were also charged with a 50% tax on online purchases of more than $25 (ARS201.90) from foreign websites. The restrictions on online shopping and use of payment cards abroad was an attempt to control the drop in foreign currency reserves, which fell by 29% in 2013 to $30.9bn (ARS168.7bn), a seven-year low.



- To promote inbound tourism in the country, in September 2016 the Argentine government abolished value added tax (VAT) on hotel charges for foreign travelers if they paid using a debit or credit card issued overseas. Hotels must now refund foreign tourists the VAT charged on hotel stays. This move is anticipated to push up tourist numbers by 120,000 and increase spending by $90m (ARS1.3bn), thereby driving the payment card transaction value and volume.



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/09/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) Bangladesh's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.43% from its 2015 level of BDT 16226.84 billionand reach BDT 39193.88 billion by 2022.



Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country located on the fertile Bengal delta in South Asia. It shares its borders with India to its west, north and east, by Burma to its south-east and by the Bay of Bengal to its south. It is separated from Nepal and Bhutan by the narrow Chicken's Neck. Bangladesh has the world's eighth-largest population with more than 161 million people, also making it one of the world's most densely populated countries. Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and also the world's twentieth largest metropolitan city.



Bangladesh had estimated population of 161.513 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 171.817 million by 2022.



Bangladesh's real gross domestic product (GDP) was around BDT 8913.46 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was BDT 18529.64 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 207.884. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 1411.04 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 3890.59.



In 2016, Bangladesh government's revenue was BDT 1798.72 billions whereas the expenditure was BDT 2381.27 billions. This resulted Bangladeshi government's net lending / borrowing negative at BDT 582.55 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were not made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for Bangladesh was estimated to be at USD 2.026 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to decrease at a CAGR of 211.91% and reach USD 8.652 by 2022. This negative current account balance indicates the Bangladesh is net borrower from the whole world.



Scope of the Bangladesh PESTEL Analysis, SWOT Analysis and Risk Analysis Market Research Reports



- These reports provide information about key macroeconomic indicators for Bangladesh.



- These reports provide PESTELE (political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal) analysis for Bangladesh.



- These reports provide SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis for Bangladesh.



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/09/2017 -- As per International Monetary Fund (IMF) China's real gross domestic product is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.12% from its 2015 level of CNY 69910.94 billion and reach CNY 105961.93 billion by 2022.



China, an ancient, mysterious and beautiful land, is always appealing to adventurous foreign visitors China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a sovereign state located in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.38 billion. The PRC is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the capital city of Beijing. It exercises jurisdiction over twenty two provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing, and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions, such as Hong Kong and Macau.



China had estimated population of 1382.71 million in the year 2016 and expected to reach 1432.26 million by 2022. China's unemployment rate was 4.02% of total labor force in the same year.



China's real gross domestic product (GDP) was around CNY 74594.98 billions in 2016 whereas the nominal GDP was CNY 74539.62 billions. This resulted in GDP deflator 99.926. Per capita GDP was estimated at USD 8113.26 whereas purchasing power parity (PPP) based per capita GDP was estimated to be at USD 21291.77.



In 2016, Chinese government's revenue was CNY 21042.65 billions whereas the expenditure was CNY 23818.14 billions. This resulted Chinese government's net lending / borrowing negative at CNY 2775.49 billion in 2016 indicating that enough financial resources were not made available by the government to boost economic growth.



The current account balance for China was estimated to be at USD 196.38 billions for the year 2016 and is expected to decrease at a CAGR of 8.10% and reach USD 168.442 by 2022.



Scope of the China PESTEL Analysis, SWOT Analysis and Risk Analysis Market Research Reports



- These reports provide information about key macroeconomic indicators for China.



- These reports provide PESTELE (political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal) analysis for China.



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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/09/2017 -- A defibrillator device depolarizes a critical part of a heart muscle thereby helping in restoration of normal heart rhythm. If SCA victims receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation within 5 to 12 minutes of cardiac arrest, many lives can be saved. Growing incidences of cardiovascular disease and increasing healthcare infrastructure in the Middle East and Africa are the major factors expected to boost the growth in demand for defibrillators in the region. However, despite an excellent market opportunity in the Middle East and Africa, lack of awareness pertaining to operating of a defibrillator during emergency and unfavorable government intervention to install automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public places are the key restraints for the growth of market in the Middle East and Africa. The Middle East and Africa defibrillators market was valued at USD 209.6 million in 2013 and is expected to reach an estimated value of USD 347.8 million by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 7.6%.



The Middle East and Africa defibrillators market has been segmented on the basis of product type, by end-users and by geography. On the basis of defibrillator type, the market is categorized into automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and advanced life support (ALS) defibrillators. Advanced life support defibrillators are used by medical and paramedical professionals, and emergency medical team. These defibrillators are also called as monitor/defibrillators since they possess an ability to monitor different kinds of bodily functions such as blood oxygen levels, pulse and heart rhythm. In 2013, the ALS defibrillators market accounted for the largest share by revenue in the market. The Middle East and Africa defibrillators market has also been segmented by end-user into hospitals, public access, emergency medical services and business workplaces.



The defibrillators market in the region was dominated by hospitals as an end-user category accounting for more than 80% of the total market. Such high demand for defibrillators from hospitals is due to the continuous demand for ALS defibrillators as well as installation of AEDs at large hospitals.



This exhaustive report includes 7 data tables and 26 figures to give readers a 360 view of the Defibrillators Market. Browse through this 80-page report to know what factors will shape the market during the period 2014-2020



http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/middle-east-africa-defibrillators-market.html



The Middle East and Africa defibrillators market is also segmented by major countries in the region, namely, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Algeria, Egypt, and South Africa. In 2013, Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. dominated the Middle East defibrillators market while South Africa led the Africa defibrillators market. The overall rise in the health care infrastructure in these countries along with the increasing awareness about the utility of defibrillators in cardiac arrest has driven growth in the demand for defibrillators. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are the fastest growing markets in the Middle East and Africa defibrillators market. The increasing awareness about utility of defibrillators in the Middle-East, especially in U.A.E and the support from government is contributing to growth of the market in this region.



The Middle East and Africa market is consolidated with 3-4 leading players in the market. Almost every leading company is situated outside the region and operates in the region, mostly through distribution arrangements. Most of the companies in the global defibrillators market are eager to leverage on the untapped market opportunity in the Middle East and Africa through forging distribution agreements in the region, setting up own distribution network or by establishing a local subsidiary in the region.



Some of the major players in the global defibrillators market include Philips Healthcare, Physio-Control, Inc., Zoll Medical Corporation, HeartSine Technologies, Inc., Nihon Kohden Corporation, Schiller AG, and Welch Allyn, Inc.



Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Defibrillators Market during 2014- 2020



http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=4459
Miami Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/09/2017 -- Specifically, the popular online travel booking website Expedia announced it will allow its customers to book hotels online when traveling to Cuba. As interest in the island grows, Expedia is among the latest to join a number of domestic airlines and cruise companies that have taken steps to seize upon the strong surge in Cuba travel. As the largest island in all of the Caribbean and one of the largest in the world, the nation offers much to see, do, and explore.



Cuba saw the number of visitors skyrocket by over ten percent last year as interest grew once former President Barack Obama significantly eased travel restrictions. However, travel for the sole purpose of tourism is still forbidden. Visitors can only travel to Cuba if they are going for cultural, educational, or other purposes that require authorization.



About Matrix Renovations

Matrix Renovations provides major and minor hotel renovations for the hotel industry in a variety of areas including guest rooms, lobbies, business centers, laundry facilities and meeting rooms.



For further information on the company or its hospitality solutions call 855-6-MATRIX or email info@matrixrenovations.com.
Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/09/2017 -- Market Research Future add new report of "Spain Fermentation Ingredients Market Research Report- Forecast to 2023" it contains Company information, geographical data and Table of Content



Report Description



Spain fermentation ingredients market is projected to reach USD 1,530 million by the year 2023 with growth rate of 3.46%. Andalusia and Catalonia together holds more than 50% of market share in 2017 as large fermentation ingredients companies are located in Catalonia and Andalusia. Spain is the third major country for production of fermentation ingredients for chemical and pharmaceuticals application which is supporting the growth of the market in Spain. Madrid will witness higher growth rate during the forecast period.



On the basis of type, Alcohol (i.e. Ethanol, butanol, BDO and Acetone) and Antibiotics (i.e. Beta-lactam, tetracycline and clavulic acid) fermentation ingredients holds more than 50% market share in the year 2017 as in Spain majority of fermentation ingredients is used for chemical and pharmaceutical application. Amino acid is projected to grow at higher rate during the forecast period. Polymers and organic acids together holds more than 30% of market share in the year 2017due to increasing demand of polymer over organic acid in Spain.



Liquid form of fermentation ingredients holds more than 55% market share in the year 2017, as in Spain majority of fermentation ingredients such as alcohol and organic acid are produced in the form of liquid. Dry form is projected to grow at higher rate compare to liquid form during the forecast period due to increasing demand of polymer and industrial enzymes from last few years.



Increasing awareness about application of fermentation ingredients in personal care and pharmaceutical products is driving the growth of fermentation ingredients market. Rising popularity of food and beverages products made by using fermentation ingredients is boosting the market growth in Spain. Introduction eco-friendly production system from fermentation ingredients manufacturers and advance technologies in fermentation process is also influencing the growth of the market. Rising production of sugar cane, beet, tapioca and corn is playing the major role in the growth of fermentation ingredients market in Spain.



Request a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2984



Market Segmentation:



Spain Fermentation Ingredients Market segmented as:

-By Type (Alcohol. Amino acid, Antibiotics, Polymer, Vitamins, Enzymes, Organic acid and Others)

-By Form (Dry, Liquid and Others)

-By Application (Chemical, Food & beverages, Pharmaceutical, Animal Feed and Others)

-By Feedstock (Sugar beet, Wheat, Corn and Other)



Key Players



The leading market players in the Spain Fermentation Ingredients market primarily are

-Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.,

-The Dow Chemical Co,

-Cargill,

-Incorporated,

-E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.,

-Evonik Industries AG,

-Novozymes A/S

-Uquifa



Target Audience



-Fermentation Ingredients Manufacturers

-Food and beverage Industry

-Chemical Industry

-Pharmaceutical Industry

-Retailers and wholesalers

-Traders, importers and exporters



Browse Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/spain-fermentation-ingredients-market-2984



Key Findings



-The Spain Fermentation Ingredients market is projected to reach USD 1,530 million by 2023 of 3.46%

-In Spain, application of fermentation ingredients in pharmaceutical is growing at higher rate of 3.83%

-In Spain., Alcohol fermentation ingredients type holds the major market share for the year 2017



Regional and State wise Analysis of Spain Fermentation Ingredients market Development and Demand Forecast to 2023 Market



The reports also cover region level analysis:

Spain



-Andalusia

-Catalonia

-Madrid

-Valencian Community

-Rest of Spain



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.
True change will come if we stop treating data as a techie bolt-on and reach marginalised groups, says Ana Brandusescu.

In the Philippines, ustadz  Islamic teachers  were struggling without enough resources to deliver quality education

Although funds were available from local governments, who were required to publish their budgets, they made little effort to share this data with citizens or explain how to use it.

When E-NET , a local NGO, began educating the ustadz on how to use this data, they discovered a Special Education Fund for public schools  a fund no one had told them about  that could cover school uniforms and teacher salaries.

On the heels of that success the teachers expanded their use of open data , creating a coalition, the North Cotabato Federation of Madrasa Community Ustadz, which now uses open data to make recommendations not only on budgets, but also on policy priorities for community education.

We often think about open data as being technical or part of a countrys digital transformation. But really, open data is about people, their problems, and giving them the power to solve them.

Unfortunately, this example of Filipino teachers unlocking government budgets using data is still very rare.



Why arent we seeing open data used to address inequality more often? Why isnt it resulting in greater participation from a wider spectrum of citizens?

Data is political



Data is power, and that makes it political.



We must move beyond data about and for citizens, and actively promote data with and by citizens, if we are to realise open datas potential to tackle rising inequality. Ana Brandusescu

When data is opened up to the public, citizens have the chance to reclaim their decision-making role. But this new power isnt being dispersed equally throughout society.



In the latest edition of the Open Data Barometer , which analyses trends on the global impact of open data, my organisation, the Web Foundation, found that governments have tended to prioritise unlocking datasets for economic growth and innovation  objectives that are politically easier than empowering marginalised groups.

This year, Barometer findings reveal that less data is available and open in areas relevant to social policies  that can help reduce inequality  than for innovation.

On average, Barometer findings show the availability of data on key public services is declining. This includes a significant change for the worse in health and education : out of the 115 countries surveyed, only seven per cent of datasets are open for health, and eight per cent for education.

No internet means no data access

The result is that governments miss an opportunity to improve inclusion and equality. Instead, they reinforce existing divides by ignoring the needs of groups with lower income and less political power. This means that these groups are yet again excluded from the consultation and decision-making processes that open data creates.

It also adds to existing disadvantage. These groups frequently lack internet connectivity and the skills to access open data. They may also be less visible in the data itself.

As the digital revolution steams ahead, we need to avoid widening the gap that already exists by further marginalising the already marginalised and empowering the already empowered.

Open data could play a key role here  that is, if we open up data in consultation with the groups that are not usually consulted, instead of defaulting immediately to entrepreneurs and government departments. We must stop treating open data as a techie bolt-on when it should really be a transformation in decision-making and citizen participation.

Consult the poor

For open data to improve social outcomes and equality, governments need to invest in four areas.

The first area is better data collection and design so there is greater disaggregation by sex, income level and age, as well as new indicators that account for diversity in society. For this to be done sensitively, marginalised groups should be consulted when deciding which data to collect  and for what purposes.

Second is access to data, including low-cost internet access so that low-income and other marginalised groups arent locked out at the front door. A good example is the City of Chicago's technology plan for developing open data, civic innovation and high-speed broadband for under-served neighbourhoods.

And finally, governments need to invest in responsible data policy . This is about practices that protect personal privacy and avoid unintended side effects, with governments becoming accountable for the impact of what data they collect and how.

Collection of more data about marginalised groups alone will not give these groups the power to act and increase their participation in policy making. We must move beyond data about and for citizens, and actively promote data with and by citizens, if we are to realise open datas potential to tackle rising inequality.
A promising result of a study indicates that the drug called Keytruda could be effective against cancer tumors. About tens of thousands of cancer patients could benefit from this FDA-approved drug every year.

The findings of the study were printed in the journal Science on Thursday. The drug pembrolizumab, with brand name Keytruda, is the first drug that has been approved to fight against tumors. Dr. Jose Baselga, a physician in chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, has just described the study as absolutely brilliant.

In the study that involved 66 patients, it shows that after taking pembrolizumab, their tumors began to shrink and stabilize. They did not spread and grow anymore. Furthermore, the tumors of 18 of them had vanished and had not returned, according to The New York Times.

The philanthropies have been funding this continued study, which began in 2013. Meanwhile, the drug maker Merck supplies the drug. Keytruda is now available for select patients diagnosed with advanced lung, melanoma and bladder tumors. It costs around $156,000 a year. There is also a test for the mutations that costs $300 to $600.

This drug is a new kind of immunotherapy drug called PD-1 blocker. This could expose the cancer cells so the immune system could find and destroy them. It is approved in the EU for second-line treatment of advanced or metastatic NSCLC in patients with tumors expressing PD-L1 in August 2016. The drug might be allowed to be marketed in all 28 member countries of the EU.

In the U.S., the drug Keytruda is approved for treating patients diagnosed with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. It can also be managed until the condition progresses or the toxicity level spreads to an unacceptable level.

In another study known as phase II study I-SPY 2, the drug Keytruda with a combination of a standard therapy shows promising results for patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The novel drug is now being examined and tested for more than 30 types of cancer, according to Yahoo.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 08, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CalSTRS Chief Executive Officer Jack Ehnes issued the following statement reflecting the Teachers Retirement Boards decision to oppose H.R. 10 (Hensarling, R-TX), also known as the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017:

The Financial CHOICE Act is shrouded in rhetoric about fixing the United States economy and lifting the regulatory burden on our financial institutions. On the contrary, this bill actually aims to unwind important shareholder rights, allows for riskier public companies, and decimates the Securities and Exchange Commissions ability to protect investors.

CalSTRS is a long-term investor with over $206 billion in assets invested on behalf of and to secure the retirement future for more than 914,000 California educators and their beneficiaries. The impacts of the Financial CHOICE Act are detrimental to our mission, dating back to 1913 when CalSTRS was established. In fact, several of the Acts provisions have the potential to significantly affect our rights as shareowners and our ability to carry out our fiduciary duty by increasing the hurdle for filing shareholder proposals and weakening private equity disclosure requirements.

This is not the first time were speaking out to raise awareness of the issues with this legislation. On April 25, we sent a letter to California Congresswoman Maxine Waters, ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, regarding our stance on the bills provisions that go beyond financial regulation. And on June 5in advance of the full House votewe sent a follow-up letter to all 55 California members of the United States Congress reiterating our concerns.

The CHOICE Act dramatically changes the shareholder proposal process thus effectively preventing investors, like CalSTRS, from participating as an active shareowner. We take our fiduciary responsibility seriously, and as such, CalSTRS actively participates in filing proposals for the betterment of companies in our portfolio, with over 300 proposals filed in just the past five years. If passed, this provision would have a chilling impact on company/shareholder relations.

"The CHOICE Act also looks to roll back critically important Dodd-Frank investor protections in private equity funds. These protections provide SEC oversight and require transparency in the form of registration and certain types of reporting from these fund advisers. CalSTRS invests nearly $16.6 billion (as of April 30, 2017) in private equity investments and has been a leader in fee transparency and supports the Dodd-Frank provisions for transparency for all investors.

CalSTRS took responsible action in opposing this legislation which would contribute to the continual incineration of investors rights and protections. We look to federal legislators to objectively lead by principles established by the words of President Abraham Lincoln at the Gettysburg Address, We are a government of the people, by the people, for the people, and not, as this legislation suggests, for select people.

About CalSTRS

The California State Teachers Retirement System, with a portfolio valued $206.5 billion as of April 30, 2017, is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world. CalSTRS administers a hybrid retirement system, consisting of traditional defined benefit, cash balance and voluntary defined contribution plans. CalSTRS also provides disability and survivor benefits. CalSTRS serves California's more than 914,000 public school educators and their families from the states 1,700 school districts, county offices of education and community college districts. Follow us on Twitter @CalSTRS

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2df9722b-8f02-4b83-92cf-500b6100e2cf


PRESS RELEASE

Mithra RECEIVES ORPHAN DRUG DESIGNATION FROM EMA FOR E4 IN NEONATAL ENCEPHALOPATHY

Orphan Drug Designation received from European Medicines Agency for Estetrol (E4) in the treatment of life-threatening Neonatal Encephalopathy

Evidence of potential of E4 to address additional indications beyond Women's Health

Preclinical results form basis for potential additional partnerships for E4

Liege, Belgium 9 June 2017 - Mithra (Euronext Brussels: MITRA), a company dedicated to Women's Health, today announces that it has received Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for E4 in Neonatal Encephalopathy (NE). Mithra intends to develop E4 to treat Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), a subset of NE which accounts for 50-80% of cases and affects pre-term and new born babies (>36 weeks gestation)[1].

Based on promising preclinical results of E4 in HIE, including improvements in pathophysiology, general well-being and motor function, the EMA granted ODD Designation for E4 in this indication. Although Mithra's primary focus is on Women's Health, the Company is investigating E4's potential in a wider range of indications including neuroprotection and wound-healing. The preclinical study in HIE was conducted in collaboration with the University of Liege, Belgium. Mithra intends to advance the study of the potential neuroprotective properties of E4 in HIE over the next two years and seek a partner for further clinical development.

HIE is a condition affecting approximately 30,000 newborns each year in the European Union and the U.S.[2] HIE is a consequence of the reduction in the supply of blood or oxygen to the baby's brain before, during or shortly after birth. With approximately 25% of infants dying prior to discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit, HIE is a major cause of mortality. Moreover, research shows severe neurological impairment and long-term disability among survivors, with 46% affected at 18-22 months' follow-up[3]. Currently, HIE is treated with therapeutic hypothermia, or 'cooling' the infant in order to reduce brain damage, but this treatment has limited efficacy and comes at a high cost[4],[5]. Hence, HIE remains a serious unmet medical need.

Francois Fornieri, CEO of Mithra Pharmaceuticals, commented: "The ODD for E4 in Neonatal Encephalopathy underlines the potential of our unique natural E4 estrogen platform in areas beyond Women's Health, including neuroprotection. HIE is a serious and prevalent syndrome under the umbrella of NE that causes significant mortality and morbidity in infants.

Limitations with current treatment options in terms of efficacy and access highlight the unmet medical need. Given the promising initial preclinical data and the ODD, we look forward to exploring this important indication further."

For more information, please contact:

Investor Relations



Sofie Van Gijsel, IRO

+32 485 19 14 15

investorrelations@mithra.com

svangijsel@mithra.com

Consilium Strategic Communications

Jonathan Birt, Sue Stuart, Hendrik Thys, Cameron Standage

mithra@consilium-comms.com

+44 2 037 095 700

Press

Julie Dessart

Chief Communication Officer

+32 4 349 28 22 / +32 475 86 41 75

press@mithra.com

About Mithra

Mithra (Euronext: MITRA) is dedicated to providing innovation and choice in women's health, with a particular focus on fertility, contraception and menopause. Mithra's goal is to develop new and improved products that meet women's needs for better safety and convenience. Its two lead development candidates - a fifth generation oral contraceptive, Estelle, and a next generation hormone therapy, Donesta- are built on Mithra's unique natural estrogen platform, E4 (Estetrol). Mithra also develops, manufactures and markets complex therapeutics and offers partners a complete spectrum of research, development and specialist manufacturing at its Mithra CDMO. Mithra was founded in 1999 as a spin-off of the University of Liege by Mr. Francois Fornieri and Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Foidart. Mithra has an approximate headcount of 140 staff members and is headquartered in Liege, Belgium. Further information can be found at: www.mithra.com

Important information

The contents of this announcement include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words "believes", "estimates," "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", "plans", "continue", "ongoing", "potential", "predict", "project", "target", "seek" or "should", and include statements the Company makes concerning the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

To subscribe to Mithra's mailing list, visit investors.mithra.com









[1] Kurinczuk et al. Early Hum Dev 2010; 86: 329-338, 2010.

[2] Kurinczuk et al. Early Hum Dev 2010; 86: 329-338, 2010.

[3] Shankaran et al. Early Hum. Dev. 1991; 25(2):135-148.

[4] Cotten & Shakarn. Expert Rev Obstet Gynecol. 2010; 1;5(2):227-239.

[5] Regier et al. Value Health. 2010; 13(6):695-702.




Dublin, June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Southeast Asia B2C E-Commerce Market 2017" report to their offering.



With estimated growth rates in the double digits, Southeast Asia is leaving its mark on the worldwide E-Commerce scene. E-Commerce accounts for a very low percentage of total retail sales in this region, however, increases to broadband and mobile connectivity in combination with a consumer openness to online retail leave market potential high. Third party sources cited in the report confirm that the region's online retail is expected to include a strong double-digit figure in USD billions by 2025. This trend is also catching hold amongst national governments, who have also implemented various programs to boost their local E-Commerce.



Indonesia has the biggest and quickest growing online retail market in Southeast Asia. Thailand's E-Commerce market ranks second and also has the highest rate of M-Commerce penetration. Nearly half of online spending in Thailand came from M-Commerce in 2016. Regarding Singapore, it contains the region's most advanced E-Commerce market, the largest B2C E-Commerce share of total retail sales, and the highest Internet penetration and speed. Malaysia also has a robust Internet user penetration, however, only about one in three of them made purchases online. Vietnam and the Philippines contain relatively nascent, but rapidly developing online retail markets.



Data from the report ranks Lazada as a major E-Commerce player in Southeast Asia due to it being the most visited online retail website in most of the countries. Other top players include Vietnam's Mobile World, Malaysia's 11Street, and Singapore's Giosis. Furthermore, despite the lack of local operations, Amazon is majorly influencing this region's emerging markets.



Key Questions Answered



- What is the market size of B2C E-Commerce in Southeast Asia?

- Which countries in Southeast Asia lead by online retail sales and growth rate?

- What predictions are made regarding the future of B2C E-Commerce in Southeast Asian economies?

- Which devices, products, and payment methods do Southeast Asian online shoppers prefer?

- Who are the most important competitors in Southeast Asian B2C E-Commerce?



Key Topics Covered:



1. Management Summary



2. Regional Overview



3. Indonesia



4. Thailand



5. Singapore



6. Malaysia



7. Vietnam



8. Philippines



Companies Mentioned



- 11street Co. Ltd.

- aCommerce Co. Ltd.

- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd

- Amazon.com Inc

- Ascend Commerce Co. Ltd.

- Ayala Corporation

- Central Group

- Deutsche Post AG

- Elevania ID

- FPT Corporation

- Facebook Inc.

- Giosis Pte. Ltd.

- Instagram Inc.

- LINE Corporation

- Lazada Group SA

- MasterCard Inc.

- MatahariMall.com

- Mobile World JSC

- Mudah.my

- OLX Inc.

- Paypal Inc.

- RedMart Ltd.

- Tiki Corporation

- Tokopedia PT

- VNG Corporation

- Visa Inc.

- Zalora Group



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/mzrhdv/southeast_asia

About Research and Markets

Research and Markets is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
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Scunthorpe voters have given their reaction after waking up to the news of a hung parliament this morning.

One man approached in the town was particularly taken aback by the result - he said the Scunthorpe Telegraph were the first to tell him the election had resulted in a hung parliament because his TV had broken.

Martin McHale said: "I am shocked. I thought it would be a huge Conservative majority.

"I hate to think of the affect it will have on the financial markets, but I don't think it will affect Brexit.

"I think there will be another election, which doesn't bother me, it just depends on the leadership.

"My brother has always voted Tory but he voted Labour this time because his daughter is going to university so the tuition fees was a big thing.

"I would like to see the party leaders go on a television debate again if there is another election."

Other voters said that they were indifferent to the hung parliament result because they didn't like any of the candidates.

Terence Jukes said: "I don't think a lot to it. I don't trust any of the candidates. A proper result would have made us stronger in Brexit negotiations, there is a lot riding on it."

When asked what he thought to the possibility of another election, he said "I've had enough of them really.

"I think Theresa May should resign. She's got it wrong, but I don't know who will take her place."

Martin Shrimptom said that he had also mistrusted the candidates.

He said: "I haven't taken a lot of notice of it. I have lost interest. When I do vote I always vote Tory."

Paul and Candy Stuchbery said that they weren't too surprised by the hung parliament after the success of Jeremy Corbyn's.

They said: "We weren't surprised - we thought Labour might be in with a chance of winning.

"A lot of people voted to come out in the Brexit referendum and we think that will still go ahead. We think Theresa May should resign."

Mr Stuchbery said that he thought a deal would be struck and that there will not be another election, but he wife said she thought there would be another election.

"We wouldn't mind if there was another election," they said. "We haven't got far to walk to go out and vote!"

Mel Smith also said that he wasn't surprised.

"I expected it really," he said. "Jeremy Corbyn has come back a bit. I don't think there should be a coalition, I don't think it would work. "

He added that he didn't believe it Brexit would be impacted because the British public made their decision clear last year.
9 June 2017

Changes to the List of Persons Entitled to Exercise Voting Rights Attached to Shares

Today, Acron (Moscow Exchange and LSE: AKRN) has been notified of changes to the list of persons indirectly exercising voting rights attached to the Company shares.

Subero Associates Inc. (British Virgin Islands), which controlled 87.65% of shares in Acron via its 100% subsidiary Terasta Enterprises Limited (Cyprus), reported that due to the liquidation procedure it lost the right to exercise voting rights attached to shares in Terasta Enterprises Limited.

Therefore, Terasta Enterprises Limited became the company exercising ultimate control over Acron with 87.65% stake (including indirectly controlled companies and quasi-treasury shares).

According to Acron Group, its ultimate controlling shareholder did not change as a result of these events.





Media contacts:

Tatiana Smirnova

Public Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 777-08-65 (ext. 5196)

Investor contacts:

Ilya Popov

Investor Relations

Phone: +7 (495) 745-77-45 (ext. 5252)

Background Information

Acron Group is a leading vertically integrated mineral fertiliser producer in Russia and globally, with chemical production facilities in Veliky Novgorod (Acron) and Smolensk (Dorogobuzh). The Group owns and operates a phosphate mine in Murmansk region (NWPC) and plans to implement a potash development project in Perm Krai (VPC). It has a wholly owned transport and logistics infrastructure and distribution networks in Russia and China.

In 2016, the Group sold 6.4 million tonnes of various products to 63 countries, with Russia, Brazil, Europe and the United States as key markets.

In 2016, the Group posted consolidated revenue under IFRS of RUB 89,359 million (USD 1,333 million) and net profit of RUB 25,525 million (USD 381 million). Acron's shares are on the Level 1 quotation list of the Moscow Exchange and its global depositary receipts are traded at the London Stock Exchange (ticker AKRN). Acron employs over 11,000 people.

For more information about Acron Group, please visit www.acron.ru/en.
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The Prime Minister will tell the Queen she is able to form a viable Conservative minority government.

Theresa May will go to Buckingham Palace at 12.30pm to seek permission to form the administration.

She will require the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, although not in the form of a formal coalition.

It comes after her decision to hold a snap election backfired spectacularly, creating huge uncertainty just 10 days before the start of Brexit negotiations .

As the June 8 poll ended in a hung parliament , with no party holding an absolute majority in the House of Commons, Mrs May pledged the Tories would offer "stability" as the largest party with the most votes.

But Jeremy Corbyn said it was clear Labour had won the election and "we are ready to serve this country".

(Image: PA)

The Prime Minister's situation appeared precarious as Conservative former minister Anna Soubry said she should "consider her position" and take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign and a "deeply flawed" manifesto after choosing to go to the country three years early in the hope of extending her majority.

Mr Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to resign, and indicated he was ready to put forward a programme for government.

"I think it's pretty clear who won this election," he said at Labour's headquarters in central London. "We are ready to do everything we can to put our programme into operation. I think we need a change."

With 647 out of 650 constituencies declared, the Tories had 316 seats - making it impossible to achieve the 326 necessary for an outright majority - Labour 261, the SNP 35 and the Liberal Democrats 12.

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which increased its representation at Westminster from eight to 10, is traditionally close to the Conservatives.
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The shock result of the 2017 General Election has put the timescale of the Brexit negotiations in doubt.

Talks with the European Union are set to begin in just 10 days' time and are due to last up to 18 months.

But with voters returning a hung parliament - with no party commanding a majority in the House of Commons - the negotiations could now be delayed.

Theresa May gambled on holding a snap General Election and winning a large majority to strengthen her hand on Brexit. But that gamble has now backfired and Britain's position appears to have been weakened.

What happens next with the Brexit negotiations?

Britain will leave the EU on March 29 2019 whether or not a deal has been reached. That date was decided on when Mrs May triggered Article 50 .

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier wants negotiations to start on June 19, but has indicated that the date could be delayed to take account of any change in the government.

But if that delay goes on for any length of time, it will give British negotiators - who are already facing an ambitious timetable - less time to agree terms on trade and other future relations with the EU.

European Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger warned that a weak Government in London could lead to a worse result on both sides.

He told German radio station Deutschlandfunk that in negotiations, "a weaker partner weakens the whole thing", while if both sides were strong "you get results more quickly".

"We stand ready," said Mr Oettinger. "Michel Barnier is well prepared. We will be hard but fair in our dealings. But whether the other side can even begin remains to be seen in the next few hours or the next few days, because without a government, no negotiations."

What is Labour's position on Brexit?

Labour says it accepts the referendum result and will "put the national interest first".

According to its manifesto, if it were to form a government, Labour would: "Prioritise jobs and living standards, build a close new relationship with the EU, protect workers' rights and environmental standards, provide certainty to EU nationals and give a meaningful role to Parliament throughout negotiations."

It would end Theresa May's "reckless approach" to Brexit and "seek to unite the country around a Brexit deal that works for every community in Britain."

Crucially, Labour would step back from a "hard Brexit" and instead seek a deal under which Britain remained a part of the Single Market and Customs Union.

Could Britain reverse Brexit?

Under the terms of Article 50 of the EU treaties, the two-year deadline for the UK to leave the union can be extended only with the agreement of the other 27 member states.

It is unclear whether the letter informing the European Council of Britain's intention to quit can be revoked. European Council president Donald Tusk has said he believes Article 50 can be reversed, but Government ministers have insisted there is "no turning back".

In any case, there is no indication that the electorate would support a reversal of Brexit.

Step forward Nigel Farage?

One result of the election could be the return of former UKIP leader Nigel Farage. The MEP said he would have "no choice but to return to frontline politics" if the Brexit he desires is put at risk by a hung parliament.

It comes after UKIP leader Paul Nuttall failed in his bid to win a Commons seat, finishing a distant third in Brexit heartland Boston and Skegness behind the Tories, on a disastrous night for his party.

Mr Farage told LBC Radio that he could not see the "historic victory" of the British people at last year's EU referendum be betrayed by the political class "and not fight back".

He said "They will be cheering in Brussels" as they see a coalition under a weak leader, adding: "They will think this is the chance to crush a real Brexit."
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Three people have been arrested on suspicion of drugs offences after police executed a warrant at a house in Scunthorpe.

Two men and a woman were arrested after the warrant was executed at a house on Frances Street today (Friday, June 9).

A Humberside Police spokeswoman said: "We would like to thank all those who have got in touch with information about suspected drugs offences in Scunthorpe  which has today led to the arrest of three people.

"Two men and a woman have been arrested after a warrant was executed at a house in Frances Street, Scunthorpe.

"The 27-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, while two men aged 20 and 18 were arrested on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug.

"All remain in custody, helping us with our enquiries."

Anyone who has any concerns about crime or antisocial behaviour in their area is asked to call police on 101, or 999 if they believe they are in immediate danger.

Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
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After an interesting and significant night of election results, the picture in North Lincolnshire does not look much different at first glance.

Across the constituencies, the seats remain the same.

Labour holds Scunthorpe, while the Tories have held onto both Brigg and Goole and Cleethorpes, which includes Barton.

The political landscape has not altered, but the way that the parties have retained the seats has.

(Image: David Haber)

Labour's Nic Dakin held Scunthorpe after going into the election with a majority of 3,143 and winning with an increased majority of 3,431.

The same can be said of the Conservatives in North Lincolnshire.

Andrew Percy has held Brigg & Goole with an increased majority of 12,363.

Meanwhile, Martin Vickers retained Cleethorpes for the Conservatives, also with an increased majority.

What does this mean for the national picture?

While the seats in North Lincolnshire may have not changed, the effect on the overall national picture is significant as our full UK election results tracker shows .

The Conservatives made Scunthorpe one of their target seats across the north of England as it looked to make gains across the region.

As the final result is forecast for a hung parliament, the Tories will be glad to have held onto safe seats such as Cleethorpes and Brigg and Goole.

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Officially, the election has ended with a hung parliament.

This means that it looks likely that the Conservative Party will now be looking to for a coalition with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to get them over the 326 seats needed for a majority in the House of Commons and in order to form a government.

What about Labour?

Labour will be glad to have increased their majority in Scunthorpe, even if it is only a slight increase.

On a national scale, the party has increased its share of the votes and is forecast for a final seat increase of 28 seats.

For Labour, holding onto Scunthorpe is key as the seat was a target for the Tories during their election campaign.

Along with other marginal seats, such as Halifax, Labour will be pleased to have increased its majority.

Despite the fact that the party did not manage to win the election, an increased majority both in Scunthorpe and in other seats will please the leadership of the party.
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This morning's General Election result has officially left the country with a hung parliament .

With the Tories losing seats and Labour gaining in areas across the country, as our full election results tracker shows , the House of Commons has been left with no party in overall control.

But what is a hung parliament and what does it mean? Here is everything you need to know.

What is a hung Parliament?

A hung parliament happens when no party can govern a working majority in the House of Commons.

The threshold for a party to be able to form a majority government is 326 seats, although in reality about 322 are required because the Northern Irish party Sinn Fein does not traditionally take up its Westminster seats.

When no individual party reaches that threshold, a "hung parliament" is declared.

The last time a parliament was "hung" was in 2010 when the Conservatives under David Cameron finished the election as the largest party. Back then they needed to strike a deal with the Liberal Democrats in order to form a government, which ruled Britain for the next five years.

What happens now?

The Conservatives will stay in office but will need to strike a deal with other parties if they want to lead a functioning government.

It means that Theresa May will remain Prime Minister for now, although after her snap election gamble failed, she was facing pressure to resign.

The Tories could go it alone as a minority government, but would find it difficult to enact a legislative programme.

It is expected that the Conservatives will try to strike a deal with another party in order to form a government, possibly Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, which has 10 seats and is traditionally close to the Tories.

What are the options?

With the General Election ending in a hung parliament, there could be days or weeks of political horse-trading before the final form of the next government is settled.

No party has emerged with an overall majority meaning the incumbent Conservative Government stays in office until Theresa May either does a deal - most likely with the DUP - or goes to the Queen to tender her resignation and that of her administration.

If the latter happens, Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the largest opposition party may be invited by the Queen to form a government either as a minority or in coalition with another party or parties. However, even with the support of parties such as the SNP, Liberal Democrats and Greens, Mr Corbyn would still struggle to command a majority.

In practice, a working majority will require just 322 MPs, as the Speaker does not vote and Sinn Fein has so far declined to take up its seats.

Mrs May would be able to pass this crucial figure with the support of the DUP but the Ulster party will demand significant concessions in return for propping up her adminstration.

The Brexit-supporting party has boosted its number to 10 with two gains, giving it a potentially pivotal role.

Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn's Labour would be expected to explore the potential for co-operation with other "progressive" parties like the Lib Dems, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party's sole MP Caroline Lucas.

Will there be another election?

With no clear outcome that will produce a stable government, pundits are already predicting a rerun of the General Election in the autumn, possibly following a Conservative leadership election.
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Nic Dakin has won Scunthorpe for the Labour Party at the General Election. The MP retained the seat he first won in 2010.

His victory was seen as something of an upset after bookmakers widely predicted a Conservative victory for candidate Holly Mumby-Croft.

But Mr Dakin, who beat Ms Mumby-Croft by 20,916 votes to 17,485, has increased his majority at the past two General Elections.

The Labour win came on a night of drama and surprises around the UK as voters returned a hung parliament . It meant Prime Minister Theresa May failed in her snap election gamble, although the Conservatives were expected to form the next government, possibly with the support of Northern Ireland's DUP.

So what will Mr Dakin do for Scunthorpe? Here are the pledges he made before the election.

On the steel industry...

Mr Dakin said he would continue to be a "great ambassador and advocate" for the steel industry. He said: "I will build on that record and continue to argue that the Government acts to provide a level playing field for steel. That means doing something about high energy costs and high business taxes, stopping Chinese dumping, and investing in skills.

"It also means much better procurement practice. We should ensure that not only the rail but the gantries, the tunnels and the bridges for HS2 have British Steel in them. I believe in our steel industry. I won't accept second best from Government for our steelworkers and steelmakers."

On Brexit...

Mr Dakin said he didn't want to see the Scunthorpe area left behind. He said: "I want a fair deal for local people and local businesses.

"I don't want to see special deals for the automotive industry and the City of London with no deal for foundation industries like steel. Because that already looks like the way a Conservative Government would go.

"In 2015 when we had the steel crisis they weren't going to take any action until steel MPs like myself forced them to wake up to the issue. I am determined to ensure the Government doesn't forget the needs of our area."

(Image: David Haber)

On Scunthorpe General Hospital...

Mr Dakin told the Telegraph that standards at the hospital needed to improve. He said: "When Labour left office in 2010 patient satisfaction with the health service was at an all-time high. Since then things have got steadily worse under the Conservatives. Sadly, our hospital has twice been found wanting and put into special measures.

"I've met many of the fantastic people who work in our hospital doing amazing things day in and day out. But they've not been given the resources or leadership they deserve to do the job they want to do on our behalf. It is an absolute priority for me to get the resources and leadership needed to put things right."

On Humberside Police...

Mr Dakin said he would demand Humberside Police's new chief constable returns to a focus on community policing, after Conservatives cuts in police funding and numbers.

He told the Telegraph: "I will be one of the first people they meet to demand they get back to local policing in our communities alongside all the other important stuff that the police do. But if we have a Conservative PM who continues to cut police funding it will be very difficult for the police to perform to the level we all want to see."

On his key pledges...

Before the election, Mr Dakin offered voters three key pledges. The were:

1. Continue to fight for our steel industry, using my knowledge and networks to help shape the best possible future.

2. Redouble my efforts to work with local healthcare professionals and Government to ensure local people get the healthcare they are entitled to expect.

3. Support all those working in nurseries, schools and colleges to get the resources and expertise necessary to provide the high quality education that our young people deserve and demand dignified care and support for our senior citizens who deserve a well-earned retirement without fears about their homes or their care.
OSV owner and operator Pacific Radiance said the funds will support the companys working capital needs over the medium term as it continues to refine cost structure, extend reach in targeted markets and work closely with lenders.

We are pleased to be eligible for the two schemes, which have allowed the group to secure maximum loans of SGD85m, said Pang Yoke Min, executive chairman of Pacific Radiance.

The loan approvals from both the participating banks, DBS and UOB, and government agencies reflect their strong support to help the group overcome the downturn, Pang said.

The two schemes are the International Finance Scheme (IFS) by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Bridging Loan (BL) scheme by SPRING Singapore.

The IFS was enhanced in late-2016 to allow offshore and marine companies to borrow up to SGD70m each, instead of SGD30m previously, for project or asset financing needs.

Under the BL, individual companies can borrow up to SGD5m each, subject to a maximum of SGD15m for each borrower group, and only for a maximum of six years, to finance their operations and bridge short term cashflow gaps.

The Singapore government will take on 70% of the risk share for both the IFS and BL loans.

Despite the present sluggish market conditions, Pang believed that the longer term outlook has improved as Opec and certain non-Opec producers have sustained oil production cuts until June this year and also agreed to extend these cuts by another nine months.

These positive developments will take time to flow through. Even though vessel utilisation and charter rates are bottoming out, market conditions will remain challenging in the near term, Pang said.
Heineken is partnering with marine biofuels company GoodFuels and foodstuff distributor to operate a 104 teu barge operated with 30% biofuels in a pilot project. The barge For Ever will transport Heineken export beer brewery in Zoeterwoude to the deepsea terminals in Rotterdam.

A statement said the use of biofuels would reduce CO2-emissions by more than 25%, while also sharply reducing harmful local emissions such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM).

Its our ambition to make our brewery in Zoeterwoude climate neutral, and we are well on the way to achieving this, said Pieter van Kooten, manager projects & sustainability, for Heineken Netherlands.

The logistical process is an important part of our sustainability ambition as well, and together with our partners Nedcargo and GoodFuels we are now taking an important step to realising a green corridor between our brewery in Zoeterwoude and the port of Rotterdam, from where we transport our beer around the world.

A video on the pilot project can be viewed below.
French English

Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fnac Darty, has informed the Board of Directors of his resignation as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

In order to facilitate the transition of management at the head of the Group, this resignation will take effect from July 17, 2017.

Alexandre Bompard will remain a Director of the Company until the final quarter of 2017.

The Board would like to thank Alexandre Bompard very warmly for the quality of the work he has accomplished and the exceptional path the Group has traced in the past seven years. In particular, the Board highlights the company's operational recovery and its merger with Darty, which has already borne its first fruits.

Speaking on behalf of all members of the Board of Directors, Patricia Barbizet, Vice-President of the Board, said: "The managerial and industrial trail blazed by Alexandre Bompard at the head of Fnac Darty has been a tremendous success. The bold and proactive strategy he adopted to take the Group to new horizons, and the remarkable quality of the teams he had around him enable the Group to successfully and forcefully address this new chapter in its history. On behalf of all members of the Board, I wish Alexander every success in his new role."

In order to ensure continuity in the Group's management, the Board has asked the Appointments and Remuneration Committee and Alexandre Bompard to study the different possible solutions in terms of succession, and to make recommendations to the Board by July 17.
CALGARY, Alberta, June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Encana Corporation (Encana) (TSX:ECA) (NYSE:ECA) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., has reached an agreement to sell its Piceance natural gas assets, located in northwestern Colorado, to Denver-based Caerus Oil and Gas LLC (Caerus).



Total cash consideration to Encana under the transaction is $735 million. In addition, Encana will reduce its midstream commitments by approximately $430 million, on an undiscounted basis, and will market Caerus production related to the assets.

This transaction advances our strategy, makes the company more efficient and delivers significant proceeds that we will use to further strengthen our balance sheet, said Doug Suttles, Encana President & CEO. Id like to congratulate Caerus on acquiring a high-quality natural gas asset along with a talented team.

Encanas Piceance assets include approximately 550,000 net acres of leasehold and approximately 3,100 operated wells which produced an average 240 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas and 2,178 barrels per day (bbls/d) of liquids through the first quarter of 2017. Estimated year-end 2016 proved reserves were 814 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe).

The sale is subject to satisfaction of normal closing conditions, regulatory approvals, closing and other adjustments and is expected to be completed during the third quarter with an effective date of January 1, 2017.

BMO Capital Markets served as Encana's financial advisor for the transaction.

Encana Corporation

Encana is a leading North American energy producer that is focused on developing its strong portfolio of resource plays, held directly and indirectly through its subsidiaries, producing natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs). By partnering with employees, community organizations and other businesses, Encana contributes to the strength and sustainability of the communities where it operates. Encana common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ECA.

ADVISORY REGARDING OIL AND GAS INFORMATION - Reserves are the estimated remaining quantities of oil and natural gas and related substances anticipated to be recoverable from known accumulations, from a given date forward, based on: analysis of drilling, geological, geophysical and engineering data, the use of established technology, and specified economic conditions, which are generally accepted as being reasonable. Proved reserves are those reserves which can be estimated with a high degree of certainty to be recoverable. It is likely that the actual remaining quantities recovered will exceed the estimated proved reserves.

The conversion of barrels of oil to natural gas equivalent is on the basis of one barrel to six thousand cubic feet, which is based on a generic energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent economic value equivalency at the wellhead. Readers are cautioned that such term may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation.

ADVISORY REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS - This news release contains certain forward-looking statements or information (collectively, FLS) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. FLS include: expected consideration to Encana, the use of proceeds therefrom, the anticipated reduction to midstream commitments, the expectation that the closing conditions and regulatory approvals will be satisfied and the timing of closing thereof; Encanas marketing of production; anticipated benefits from the transaction; and estimated reserves.

Readers are cautioned against unduly relying on FLS which, by their nature, involve numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may cause such statements not to occur, or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These assumptions include: enforceability of the sale agreement; the ability to satisfy closing conditions and regulatory approvals, successful closing of, and the value of post-closing and other adjustments associated with the sale of the assets; assumptions contained in Encanas corporate guidance and in the news release; data contained in key modeling statistics; effectiveness of Encana's drive to productivity and efficiencies; the expectation that counterparties will fulfill their obligations under the gathering, midstream and marketing agreements; and expectations and projections made in light of, and generally consistent with, Encana's historical experience and its perception of historical trends, including with respect to the pace of technological development, the benefits achieved and general industry expectations.

Risks and uncertainties that may affect these business outcomes include: risks inherent to closing the transaction including whether it will close on a timely basis or at all; adjustments that may reduce the expected proceeds and value to Encana; issues or disputes with third parties and the inability to dispose of assets or interests in certain arrangements; commodity price volatility; counterparty and credit risk; risks inherent in Encana's corporate guidance; failure to achieve anticipated results from cost and efficiency initiatives; risks inherent in marketing operations; risks associated with existing and potential future lawsuits and regulatory actions made against Encana; imprecision of reserves estimates; and other risks and uncertainties impacting Encana's business, as described in its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and as described from time to time in Encanas other periodic filings as filed on SEDAR and EDGAR.

Although Encana believes the expectations represented by such FLS are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions, risks and uncertainties referenced above are not exhaustive. FLS are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by law, Encana undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any FLS. The FLS contained in this news release are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements.

Further information on Encana Corporation is available on the companys website, www.encana.com, or by contacting:
Sen. Bam to Aguirre: Apologize, take responsibility for reckless accusations

"The Justice Secretary should simply apologize and take responsibility for his reckless accusations."

Sen. Bam Aquino is baffled by the delay in the issuance of Sec. Vitaliano Aguirre's public apology, saying there's no reason to wait until Monday to correct his mistakes.

"The clarification that his office issued is merely stating the obvious," the senator said, referring to the statement released by Aguirre's office early Friday.

Earlier, Sec. Aguirre alleged that Sen. Bam met with several fellow lawmakers and prominent families in Marawi City on May 2, three weeks before the firefight in the city erupted.

On that date, Sen. Bam was the commencement speaker of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) at the PICC in Pasay City. In the afternoon, he attended the Senate session.

Sen. Bam said Aguirre should own up to his mistakes and publicly apologize for his irresponsibility, as what he committed during an earlier conversation with the senator.

"The least he can do is make a public apology at hinahanap natin ang pangako na mas magiging maingat na siya sa kanyang mga binibitawang salita," the senator stressed.

Sen. Bam said two of Aguirre's fellow Cabinet members reached out to the Justice Secretary to "clarify my Marawi trip as early as Wednesday."

According to the senator, Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana reached out to Aguirre, informing the Justice Secretary that Sen. Bam was with officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during his visit to Marawi City last May 19 to attend the inauguration of a Negosyo Center.

Among those who joined Sen. Bam in the inauguration were B/Gen. Rolando Joselito Bautista, Gen. Nixon Fortes and Vice Gov. Bombit Adiong.

Lorenzana also debunked rumors linking Sen. Bam to the Marawi incident as "too absurd to be believed".

"Trade Sec. Mon Lopez has already publicly clarified and confirmed that I was in Marawi City for the Negosyo Center launch. These are easily verifiable for anyone who cares to find the truth," said Sen. Bam.
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It sure took a long time to get the swings up and running at Mountain Lake playground, said 6-year-old Ollie Dias.

Way too long, he said, gazing through the fence that has kept him outside, looking in, for more than two years. The grown-ups should have worked harder.

The grown-ups were still working this week but, on Thursday, the fences came down and the teeter-totter started tottering.

The playground debuted the same week as the long-delayed opening of the remodeled $14 million Glen Canyon Recreation Center, complete with a climbing wall. And a new batting cage opened Thursday at Victoria Manalo Draves Park at Folsom and Sherman streets in the South of Market neighborhood.

More for you Aloha! Flights to Hawaii from the West Coast for $198 each way

The remodeled Mountain Lake playground in the Presidio reopened after a $3.15 million face-lift. Architects began tinkering with it four years ago, and the fence went up in 2015. Then a clerical error on a contractors bid sheet  along with torrential rains of winter  led to long delays involving lawyers and idled construction workers.

Mountain Lake Park is a jewel for the surrounding neighborhoods and for our city, said San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell, whose district includes Mountain Lake Park. This renovation is a terrific example of the community and city partnering together to fight for necessary improvements and upgrades that generations will now be able to use and enjoy for years to come.

For two years, Ollie and his kid sister, Daphne, 5, had been gazing at the park through the fence, wondering when the heck they will be able to go on a swing or a slide.

Their mom, Liz, said the family was looking forward to getting acquainted with the jungle gyms to climb on, the springy wooden discs to jump on and the concrete frog to scramble atop. To the delight of the Mountain Lake playground faithful, the old concrete slide has been refurbished with the addition of a wheelchair ramp and is now ready to rip the pant seats of a whole new generation of toddlers.

Whee, said Phil Ginsburg, general manager of the city Recreation and Park Department, the other afternoon as he gave the new old slide a try. It does give you a little bit of a wedgie.

The mommies and daddies of the neighborhood, under the banner of the Friends of Mountain Lake Playground, got into the act, picking and choosing among the various pieces of playground equipment offered up by Richeter Spielgerate, a high-end German playground company that makes its jungle gyms out of pricey larch wood from the Alps.

The mommies insisted that the concrete animals selected for the little kids half of the park be based on critters that can be found in nearby Mountain Lake. Hence the frog, along with a turtle.

We rejected the bunny, said Claire Myers, who helped do the picking.

The mommies and daddies also insisted on a clear sight line from the parents bench to the restrooms, for peace of mind in the modern age.

Missing in the big kids half of the playground is one entire swing. There used to be three swings, now there are two.

Also missing from the remodeled playground is sand, a playground staple that got evicted for not being compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In its place is a sea of spongy yellow mats. Ginsburg said sand was a legitimate play element and said there was plenty of it at Ocean Beach, for those interested.

Perhaps the most startling feature at Mountain Lake playground is a collection of 13 tall metal poles set askew into concrete, not intended for climbing on. Designers said they were intended to look like a grove of trees.

They look like metal poles, said 5-year-old Daphne Dias, who added that she knows what a tree looks like.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com
Bermuda, 9 June 2017 - Avance Gas Holding Ltd (OSE: AVANCE) announces that its 2017 Annual General Meeting will be held on 5 July 2017. A copy of the notice of annual general meeting and associated information can be found on our website and in the attachments below. The company's consolidated financial statements and auditor's report for 2016 are included in the Annual Report, which can be found on our website www.avancegas.com.

For further queries, please contact:

Peder C. G. Simonsen, CFO

Tel: +47 22 00 48 15 / Email: p.simonsen@avancegas.com

ABOUT AVANCE GAS

Avance Gas operates in the global market for transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The Company is one of the world's leading owners and operators of very large gas carriers (VLGC), and operates a fleet of fourteen modern ships

For more information about Avance Gas, please visit: www.avancegas.com.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
Yes, they carry badges and drive black-and-white vehicles. But some Geek Squad agents appear to have taken the agent part of their titles a bit too literally.

Best Buy, the consumer-electronics giant that owns the on-call computer-repair service, recently admitted that four employees took money from the FBI after the agency received information from the agents about customers suspected of possessing child pornography. As a result, the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco is suing the Justice Department to disclose the extent of the FBIs relationship with Best Buy.

The nonprofit foundation fears that the FBI is recruiting Geek Squad employees as confidential informants to spy on people through their devices  a violation, it argues, of the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unlawful government search and seizure.

If the government is co-opting tech repair people, they are laundering unconstitutional searches to private parties, said Aaron Mackey, an attorney with the foundation.

The case raises important consumer privacy issues as concerns grow over government surveillance, especially through third parties. Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency contractor turned whistle-blower, released documents showing that AT&T and Verizon had given the agency access to emails and other data that flow through its networks.

Turning to vendors that provide tech support offers the government a way to access information on hard drives or cloud servers without having to obtain a warrant.

Any decision to accept payment was in very poor judgment and inconsistent with our training and policies, Matt Furman, chief communications and public affairs officer, said in an email. Three of these employees are no longer with the company and the fourth has been reprimanded and reassigned.

The employees were acting on their own in accepting payment, according to Furman, and the money did not go to the company.

Nearly 100 times a year, our Geek Squad repair employees discover what appears to be child pornography on customers computers, he said. Our employees do not search for this material; they inadvertently discover it when attempting to confirm we have recovered lost customer data.

Finding child porn is one thing; courts have typically deferred to law enforcement on such matters, said Scott Shackelford, an associate professor of business law and ethics who chairs the cybersecurity program at Indiana University in Bloomington.

But if the feds data snooping extends beyond illicit pictures, it poses some prickly issues on (the) FBIs engagement with (Best Buy) employees, Shackelford said.

Much depends on what the Electronic Frontier Foundations lawsuit turns up. Should the organizations uncover documents that show a close relationship between Best Buy and the FBI, it and other firms offering tech support risk losing the confidence and trust of customers. Amazon and Best Buy, for example, have been trying to expand tech services to homes and businesses.

We need to see what comes out of the foundations efforts, said Darren Hayes, an assistant professor at Pace Universitys Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems in New York. If Best Buy and the FBI are shown to be working together, he said, it raises legal and constitutional problems: Is Best Buy acting as an agent of the government?

Best Buys top spokesman denies such a relationship.

To be clear: Geek Squad does not work for the FBI and never has, Furman said.

In surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center, 52 percent of respondents said they are very concerned or somewhat concerned about government surveillance of Americans data and communications. And 61 percent of people said they have little or no confidence that consumer data collected by retailers and other companies will remain secure or private.

The relationship between Geek Squad agents and the FBI came to light after a federal grand jury in 2014 indicted California physician Mark Rettenmaier in connection with possessing child pornography.

Three years earlier, Rettenmaier handed over his computer at a Geek Squad counter in a Best Buy for repair. An employee discovered what appeared to be a pornographic image on the hard drive and alerted the FBI. Based on that image, the FBI obtained a warrant to search Rettenmaiers home, where agents found child pornography, according to court documents.

Best Buy requires anyone dropping off a computer for repair by its Geek Squad to sign a document acknowledging that the retailer will turn over any device containing child pornography to authorities. Geek Squad agents, however, cant specifically look for the material; only if they happen to come across it while performing the requested service can they act.

Our policies prohibit employees from doing anything other than what is necessary to solve the customers problem, Furman said.

According to emails contained in court documents, FBI agents maintained close relationships with Geek Squad employees, even calling them sources, including the employee who found the image on Rettenmaiers computer and a supervisor.

James Riddet, Rettenmaiers attorney, challenged the warrants validity, arguing that the employee was specifically looking for illicit material on behalf of the FBI. Thus, the court should suppress the evidence at Rettenmaiers home because the warrant was based on information on his hard drive obtained illegally by the government.

We still think the search from the informants was illegal, Riddet said in a brief interview. I think its something people should know when they bring their equipment to Best Buy.

But a federal judge ruled against Rettenmaier, reasoning that he had consented to the search by signing the Best Buy document. (The judge eventually did throw out most of the evidence but for a different reason: The image employees found on his computer wasnt technically child porn. The judge also pushed back the trial to next year.)

We are continuing to review the matter, so (theres) no decision at this point on how the case might proceed, Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles, said in an email.

Someone accused of possessing child porn may not receive much public sympathy. But the case raises broader questions, experts said. Can third parties, motivated by money, hunt for other information on behalf of the government, asked Joshua Carlson, a Minneapolis attorney who specializes in privacy and cybersecurity. What about getting paid by other companies to look for examples of copyright violation or other intellectual-property issues?

Geek Squad has run into legal problems before. In 2013, Best Buy paid an undisclosed amount to settle a lawsuit from a college student who accused a Geek Squad agent of stealing naked photos from her computer and posting them online.

Its a massive slippery slope, said Carlson, who previously worked on data security and information technology for Best Buy. Beyond child porn, What else were they looking for? Where does it stop?

Thomas Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: tlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByTomLee
California officials, determined to fight climate change, have ordered deep cuts in the states emission of greenhouse gases.

But new figures illustrate just how difficult that process can be.

The states emissions in 2015 dropped just 0.3 percent from the prior year, according to data released Wednesday by the California Air Resources Board. The boards detailed annual greenhouse gas inventories are issued more than a year after the fact.

While emissions from electrical plants fell in 2015, driven down partly by the rapid growth of large solar facilities, the amount of greenhouse gases spewed by cars and planes rose. That may be due to low fuel prices and an improving economy, both of which typically entice people to drive more. Transportation accounted for 39 percent of the states emissions in 2015, making it Californias largest source of greenhouse gases.

As far as the small emissions reduction goes, if its due to a growing economy, well take it, said Dave Clegern, spokesman for the board, which oversees most of Californias climate-change efforts.

Since peaking in 2004 at more than 489 million metric tons, Californias emissions have fallen about 10 percent, to 440 million metric tons.

California law calls for emissions to return to their 1990 level of 431 million metric tons by 2020, then drop another 40 percent by 2030. While most analysts consider the 2020 goal well within reach, they arent as certain about 2030.

California has emerged as a focal point of resistance to President Trumps plans to gut federal climate efforts and pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Trump believes climate action is expensive and endangers energy jobs.

Gov. Jerry Brown, a frequent and fierce Trump critic, has formed coalitions with other states, countries and provinces to fight global warming. On Thursday, he wrapped up five days of climate talks in China after meeting with President Xi Jinping, the mayor of Beijing and the countrys special envoy on climate change. On Friday, he plans to meet in San Francisco with Germanys minister for the environment.

Its not a time for inertia, Brown said Thursday in a speech at Tsinghua University, describing humanitys response to warming as inadequate. Its a time for radical change in how we power the modern economy.

California law requires utilities to get one third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and half by 2030. Last year, California's three large electric utilities collectively got 32.3 percent of their electricity from renewables. A bill under discussion in the Legislature would raise that requirement to 100 percent renewable power by 2045.

The state also uses a cap-and-trade system to rein in emissions from industry and other big businesses. And it forces oil companies to gradually lower the carbon intensity of the fuels they sell in the state.

Yet year-by-year progress on cutting emissions has been inconsistent. Emissions even rose in 2012, due to two unforeseen events. The drought cut the output of hydroelectric dams. And the sudden closure of the San Onofre nuclear plant forced Southern California utilities to buy more electricity from power plants burning natural gas.

Last winters heavy snows in the Sierra should lead to strong hydropower production this year. And the state is adding renewable power at a rapid clip. One sunny afternoon last month, renewables (not including large hydropower plants) briefly supplied a record 67.2 percent of power to the California grid.

David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com
In an effort to free up more funding for younger scientists, the National Institutes of Health will redistribute $1.1 billion of its budget over the next five years to fund research grants for early and midcareer researchers, the agency announced Thursday.

The agency is the biggest funder of research initiatives at leading Bay Area institutions, including UCSF, Stanford and UC Berkeley, which are among the top recipients of the agencys grant money. The change may result in some grant money being shifted from more established, senior researchers to junior researchers.

The move is expected to result in about 2,000 more grants to early and midcareer scientists over the next five years. It represents a small slice of the overall research budget at the agency, the research arm of the Health and Human Services Department, which last year distributed $26 billion in grants.

This is not going to be a drastic slam against the rest of our portfolio, said Director Francis Collins. It will be an important one to fix what we think is turning out to be an unhealthy situation.

The plan is a less stringent version of a previous proposal that would have capped the number of grants each individual researcher could receive  an idea that received a swift and vocal objection from major labs.

The initiative is meant to help correct an imbalance in the distribution of grants. About 10 percent of the agency-funded researchers receive more than 40 percent of its grants.

The percentage of recipients who are 60 or older has grown steadily since the early 2000s, while the percentage of younger recipients (46 to 60, and 45 or younger) has stalled or declined during the same period, according to National Institutes of Health data. This is largely because the grant review process takes into account researchers track records in publishing papers and managing research teams  factors that favor more experienced scientists.

The change may help stabilize the workforce and keep young scientists in the field, agency officials said. Some young researchers agree.

If you have a whole arena of young investigators coming in who are unable to get funding for the first five or 10 years, it really hinders your ability to get into academic science, said Stephen Floor, 35, who recently completed postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley and is an assistant professor at UCSF who studies human RNA. Your ability to obtain a grant as an early investigator can determine whether you can continue in that job or not.

But Nevan Krogan, a leading researcher in systems biology at UCSF who receives a number of government grants, said he would like to see more details about how the change will be implemented. Many grants from the National Institutes of Health go to whats called collaborative research  joint projects that often involve experienced and younger researchers working together. Krogan said he hopes the change would not divert funding from those grants.

You have to be careful about implementing some sort of socialist or communist system, Krogan said. If you say you want to somehow take money away from those that have a lot and give it to those that dont have a lot, that sounds great. But the devil is in the details.

Catherine Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Cat__Ho
A woman accused of abandoning her 5-year-old daughter near the San Francisco Zoo was charged Thursday with felony child endangerment, the city district attorneys office said.

Samantha Patton, 22, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.

Two San Francisco Fire Department medics who witnessed the incident told investigators that they saw Patton push her daughter out of a car near the intersection of Great Highway and Sloat Boulevard at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, police said.

She then allegedly drove away with another child, who turned out to be her 1-year-old son.

Investigators tracked down a man that witnesses saw leaving the area on a skateboard. The man was the father of the boy, and he led police to the 1-year-old, who was being watched by a babysitter in Oakland, officials said.

He was not arrested. Patton surrendered to police Tuesday and was booked into county jail Wednesday, where she was being held on $75,000 bail.

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.

Though the girl was not hurt, both children are in the custody of Child Protective Services.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
Former FBI Director James Comeys testimony on Capitol Hill set off immediate debate over two questions with potential legal consequences for President Trump.

Did Trump merely express hope that Comey would halt an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynns Russian contacts in a one-on-one meeting in February, or was it actually  as Comey testified Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee  an order to drop the investigation?

And was Trumps request for Comey to lift the cloud hanging over him a mere plea to tell the nation the president was not under investigation  which was true, Comey said  or an attempt to end FBI scrutiny of Russian involvement in last years presidential election?

The answers may be crucial in assessing whether Trump committed obstruction of justice.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 2 1 of 2 Pool / Getty Images 2017 Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Alex Brandon/Associated Press Show More Show Less



There is little dispute that Trump fired Comey on May 9 at least in part because of the FBIs investigation into Russian interference and possible collusion by people involved with the presidents 2016 campaign. Trump told a television interviewer May 11 that he had been thinking about the Russia thing, which he considered phony and pointless, when he dismissed Comey.

At Thursdays hearing, Comey said, I was fired because of the Russian investigation. ... The endeavor was to change the way the Russian investigation was conducted. That is a very big deal.

After the hearing, Trumps private attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said Comey had fabricated details of the conversations.

The president never, in form or substance, directed or suggested that Mr. Comey stop investigating anyone, including suggesting that Mr. Comey let Flynn go, Kasowitz said.

If Comeys account of his conversations with Trump is to be believed, a critical legal question is whether the president sought to shut down an investigation in which he was personally involved.

Comeys prepared statement to the committee, released Wednesday, described a White House meeting Feb. 14 in which Trump, after telling his aides to leave, brought up the subject of Flynn, who had resigned under pressure the previous day.

Comey, relying on a detailed memo he prepared immediately after the meeting, said Trump told him Flynn was a good guy who had lost his job only because he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about a conversation with the Russian ambassador, and that I hope you can let this go.

In his testimony, Comey said he concluded that Trump wanted him to drop the investigation into Flynns false statements to Pence, and not the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to his campaign.

According to some legal analysts, a probe into Flynn and Pence would not have directly involved Trump, so the presidents attempt to shut it down would not have amounted to obstruction of justice.

There is no evidence of corrupt purpose, which is an essential element of the crime  only evidence that Trump thought Michael Flynn was a good guy and that the only basis for firing Flynn as national security adviser was his false statements to the vice president, which are not criminal, Michael McConnell, a Stanford law professor and director of the schools Constitutional Law Center, said after Thursdays hearing.

But Comey also said Trump complained repeatedly about the cloud of the Russian investigation that was hanging over him, and asked him to state publicly that Trump himself was not under investigation.

Comey said he agreed with the president that investigators were not looking into his conduct, but did not commit to making a public announcement. One reason, he told the senators, was that the FBI would have had a duty to make a further announcement if it later began investigating Trump.

The cloud, Comey told Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., referred to the Russian investigation in general.

If it did, Comeys firing could be seen as an attempt to end FBI scrutiny of conduct that implicated Trump himself, legal observers said. Obstruction of justice is defined as corruptly attempting to interfere with an official investigation or judicial proceeding  and an effort to shield ones own conduct from investigation by firing the chief investigator could be viewed as corrupt.

An assertion that the president fired the FBI director to obstruct an investigation makes more sense if he was trying to protect himself, said Lisa Kern Griffin, a Duke University law professor.

In the context of the improper private meeting, (Trumps) previous requests for loyalty, and then the subsequent termination of Director Comey, this conversation looks closer to obstruction than it did before (Thursdays) testimony, Griffin said.

Stanford Law Professor Robert Weisberg said Comeys testimony Thursday moved the needle toward a finding of obstruction of justice, potential grounds for impeachment. If Trump, as Comey recounted, asked for a promise of loyalty, ordered others out of the room before discussing Flynn, and made it clear he wanted the FBI to drop its probe of Flynn, Weisberg said, it could add up to a corrupt effort to interfere with an investigation.

Exchanges over the meaning of hope were some of the most animated moments at the hearing, with Republicans questioning Comeys interpretation of Trumps words as an order to drop the Flynn investigation.

You dont know of anyone whos been charged for hoping? asked Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho.

I took it as a direction, Comey said. This is what he wants me to do.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., the former state attorney general and San Francisco district attorney, added some graphic support.

When a robber held a gun to someones head and said, I hope you will give me your wallet, Harris said, the word hope was not the operative word.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amarillo Gold Corp. (TSX-V:AGC) (Amarillo) is pleased to announce the appointment of Rolly Uloth to the Board of Amarillo as the Executive Chairman.



Mr. Rolly Uloth is a seasoned mining executive with almost 20 years experience in various positions at Wesdome Gold Mines and its predecessor companies.

Mr. Uloth joined River Gold Mines in 1998 as a Director and in 2001 he became President and Director of River Gold Mines. In 2006, on completion of the merger between Wesdome and Eagle River Mines, Mr. Uloth became Chairman of the combined companies. During this time, the company enjoyed some of its most profitable years. He resigned as President and Director of Wesdome in 2009. In August 2013, at the request of a major shareholder of Wesdome, Mr. Uloth rejoined the company as President and CEO and held this position until last year. Mr. Uloth remains on the Wesdome board as a Director of the company.

Buddy Doyle CEO and President commented, I speak for all the Board in welcoming Mr. Uloth as Executive Chairman of our company. He brings with him a wealth of experience from building companies in the gold sector and elsewhere. This is especially important to Amarillo as we progress towards building and operating the Mara Rosa Project in Brazil.

"Amarillo's Mara Rosa Project has robust economics, and the team has successfully captured overwhelming community endorsement. With key permits in place and enthusiastic support from both state and federal mining authorities, I look forward to being involved as Mara Rosa evolves to a producer in the near future," commented Mr. Uloth.

Mr. Uloth will receive 500,000 5 year options incentive package on joining. Mr. Uloth replaces Patrick Power, a long serving director of the Company, who has graciously agreed to step down to allow the appointment of Mr. Uloth. We all wish to thank Patrick for his 12 years of excellent and unwavering service and note that he will continue to advise the Company on marketing matters.

About Amarillo Gold Corp.

Amarillo Gold Corp. is focused on acquisition, discovery, and definition of gold resources in Brazil. It is the Companys policy to strive to do this in a sustainable, safe way using best practices whilst benefiting our shareholders and the communities we work in. The Companys principal projects are the Mara Rosa Project in the state of Goias, and the Lavras do Sul Project in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The Posse Deposit at Mara Rosa contains 9.27MT Proven, @ 1.81 g/t Au, 540,567 troy ounces and 9.74MT Probable @ 1.46 g/t Au, 456,968 troy ounces at a 0.38 g/t cut-off, for total reserves of 19.01 MT @ 1.63 g/t Au, 997,536 troy ounces of Proven plus Probable that fall within the open pit design based on $US1200/ounce gold price as independently determined by Australian Exploration Field Services Pty. Keith Whitehouse QP July 2016 and by Ruebens Mendonca QP for SRK. The Mara Rosa Gold Project has received a positive economic assessment from a Pre-Feasibility study and Amarillo has obtained the LP, the first stage of a three-stage permitting process. The Posse Deposit was successfully mined by Western Mining Corporation (WMC) during the 1990s (mined areas are excluded from the above-stated resource figures), and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure: approximately 35 km NE of Yamanas Chapada open pit Cu-Au operation, some 80 km NE of Yamanas Pilar Au project (in feasibility), 95 km NW of Votorantims Niquelandia Ni laterite mine, 105 km from NE of Serra Grandes underground Au mine, and 105 km NNW of Anglo Americans Ni laterite project at Barro Alto.

The Lavras do Sul Project is an advanced exploration stage property (190 sq. km.) comprising of more than 19 prospects centered on historic gold workings, with encouraging gold mineralization discovered and defined by more than 16,000 meters of drilling. The initial resource estimate at the Butia prospect reported 215,000 ounces of gold Indicated from 6.4 MT at 1.05 g/t Au, and 308,000 ounces of gold Inferred from 12.9 MT at 0.74 g/t Au using a 0.3 g/t cut-off grade in a NI 43-101 resource as independently determined by Atticus Consulting in 2010, Anthony Amberg, QP. Lavras do Sul is also located near excellent infrastructure. The Company also has a portfolio of earlier stage projects and all properties under Amarillos management are located in areas of good infrastructure and mining-friendly communities.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

AMARILLO GOLD CORP.

Per: Buddy Doyle

Buddy Doyle, President



Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This news release contains Forward Looking Statements regarding our intentions and plans. Forward looking statements in this news release include the numbers estimated for 2017 and the time line for completion. Various factors may prevent or delay our plans, including but not limited to, the ability to raise funds, contractor availability and performance, weather, access, mineral prices and success and failure of the exploration and development carried out at various stages of the program. Permission from the Government and community is also required to proceed with future mining production. We may not be able to fulfill our obligations under the proposed gold loan and we may be unable to raise sufficient financing to carry out our plans. Readers should review risk factors applicable to junior mining exploration companies generally to understand the variety of risks that can affect the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
MAX WHITTAKER/New York Times

Arkansas recently became an international spectacle by executing four men in eight days, having planned to kill twice as many in a rush to lethally inject prisoners with an expiring supply of an increasingly scarce drug. Now its Californias turn to consider a wrongheaded scheme to speed up the death penalty.

Voters last fall narrowly approved Proposition 66, which sets a deadline for court review of capital-punishment appeals and takes other steps to restart a capital punishment machine that ground to a halt a decade ago. Fortunately, the states Supreme Court justices, who are considering a challenge to the initiative, have expressed appropriate doubts.
Atop the 14,179-foot summit of Mount Shasta, on crystal-clear days when the sky is cobalt blue and the air is thin and sweet, the view stretches more than 100 miles in just about any direction you care to look.

Should you choose to turn all the way around, you can scan the vast landscape of the states north, including more than 50,000 square miles of the Shasta Cascade, a region larger than Ohio (44,825 square miles). Youd also be looking at one of the best single regions in the country for opportunities to hike, bike, camp, fish, boat, watch wildlife and explore.

The funny thing is, the states north scarcely registers to travelers, at home and abroad. Instead of this wild west in the far north, the default for travelers is to head east to the playgrounds of the Sierra  Tahoe, Yosemite and all the stellar destinations that attract so many year-round.

Ive been up on top of Shasta when the visibility seemed unlimited. While the horizon up there includes thousands of destinations and experiences across parts of seven counties and 8.6 million acres of public land, I narrowed down my personal favorites. Here they are:

1. Climb Mount Shasta

Your last steps to the pinnacle of Shastas lava plug dome can be one of the more euphoric moments in the outdoors. The climb is 1,000 feet per mile, that is, 7,000 feet over 7 miles on the main route from Bunny Flat to Horse Camp, then up Avalanche Gulch, Red Bank and Misery Hill. On a cold morning, crampons on boots poke into the ice and make the walking easy. Many hike up, then ski or snowboard down; many day treks available. Information: Shasta Mountain Guides, (530) 926-3117. www.shastaguides.com . Fifth Season Climbing Report and mountain weather forecast, (530) 926-5555. Permits (no quota), Mount Shasta Ranger District, (530) 926-4511. https://www.fs.usda.gov/stnf .

2. Boat, fish, camp at

Shasta Lake

The lake level at giant Shasta Lake hit near the brim in April, and a big snowpack in the surrounding high country will keep it high well into summer. With my boys, Ive had several 40-fish days for bass this spring. The numbers might be hard to digest: Shasta has 370 miles of shoreline, 1,200 campsites and 22 species of fish. For recreation, it has 11 marinas, 21 boat ramps, 35 resorts and 400 houseboat rentals. With five major lake arms, theres room for everybody and all types of boating and water sports. Shasta Lake Visitor Information Center, U.S. Forest Service, (530) 275-1589. www.fs.usda.gov/stnf . Shasta Lake information, www.shastalake.com.

3. Fly-fish Upper Sacramento River

This is my favorite fly-fishing trip in California, to raft from Sims to Pollard Flat (or downstream to Dog Creek), and fly-fish at all the spots you cant reach from shore. One world-class fishing guide is certified to run a raft through the Class III rapids, and thats Jack Trout. Jack Trout Guide Service, (530) 926-4540. www.jacktrout.com

Tom Stienstra

4. Climb Lassen Peak

Some believe the view from 10,457-foot Lassen Peak is better than at Shasta, because from Lassen, you can see Shasta, 100 miles to the north, and how it rises like a diamond above a field of green. The trek to the top is 2 miles with a 2,000-foot climb, likely over snow (just wear crampons) until August. www.nps.gov/lavo

5. Visit Feather Falls

The viewing deck is perched on a knife-edge outcrop facing 410-foot Feather Falls. Another half mile takes you to an overlook at the brink. This is the awesome payoff for a 10-mile round trip; not steep, just long, with a campground near the trailhead. Information: Feather River Ranger District, 875 Mitchell Ave., Oroville. (530) 534-6500. www.fs.usda.gov/plumas

6. Glamp at Lewiston Lake

Tent cabins on the shore of Lewiston Lake at Mary Smith Campground can feel like your own Golden Pond. Add kayaking and great fly-fishing for trout and the picture is complete. Shasta Recreation Co., (530) 275-8113, www.shastatrinitycamping.com , reservations at www.recreation.gov . Kayak rentals: Pine Cove Marina, (530) 778-3770; www.pine-cove-marina.com.

7. Hike to Deadfall Lakes

This hike goes in stages: an easy 3 miles with a 450-foot gain to gorgeous Middle Deadfall Lake, a 900-foot climb to Upper Deadfall Lake, then another 900 feet in less than a mile, with switchbacks, to the Mount Eddy summit at 9,037 feet. Its 11 miles round trip, with a 2,200-foot gain. The view emerges in your final steps, when the full scope of Mount Shasta is revealed to the east. Information: Mount Shasta Ranger District, (530) 926-4511. www.fs.usda.gov/stnf

8. Walk to Bumpass Hell

A 30-foot snowpack from winter will delay the summer opening of Lassens most popular hike, the 1-mile trail (one-way) to the Bumpass Hell Geothermal Area. Its a raised walkway above bubbling mud pots, steam vents  a scene that looks straight out of Jurassic Park. www.nps.gov/lavo

9. Fly-fish Fall River

Fall River is a gorgeous spring-fed stream, barely moving, crystal clear and deep, with fantastic insect hatches and challenging-but-great catch-and-release fly-fishing for gorgeous wild rainbow trout. Ive had many 20-fish sieges in a few hours, most during what we call hatch madness. Make nearby Spinner Fall Lodge your base. 28076 Metzger Rd. all River Mills. (530) 336-5827. www.spinnerfalllodge.com

10. Snap an epic photo

The single best photo site in the Shasta Cascade is a tiny mountain pond called Heart Lake in the Trinity Divide, from which you get a postcard-perfect photo of Mount Shasta. The trailhead is at Castle Lake, where you hike the trail up the left side above the basin, then trek cross-country above a sub-rim, where the lake is tucked away. Climb up the back wall for the epic photo. www.fs.usda.gov/stnf

Tom Stienstra is The Chronicles outdoor writer. His new book for summer is the 20th edition of Moon California Camping, the longest-running guidebook series in America. Twitter: @StienstraTom Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com

More information

Lodging: Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association, (800) 474-2784, www.shastacascade.com

All campgrounds: See Moon California Camping, www.amazon.com

Shasta Lake: Visitor Information Center, U.S. Forest Service, (530) 275-1589, www.fs.usda.gov/stnf; Shasta Lake Info, www.shastalake.com

Lassen Volcanic National Park: Visitor Center, (530) 595-4480, www.nps.gov/lavo

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area: Visitor Center, (530) 246-1225, www.nps.gov/whis

Klamath National Forest: Yreka headquarters, (530) 842-6131, www.fs.usda.gov/klamath

Lassen National Forest: Susanville headquarters, (530) 257-2151, www.fs.usda.gov/lassen

Modoc National Forest: Alturas headquarters, (530) 233-5811, www.fs.usda.gov/modoc

Plumas National Forest: Quincy headquarters, (530) 283-2050, www.fs.usda.gov/plumas

Shasta-Trinity National Forest: Redding headquarters, (530) 226-2500, www.fs.usda.gov/stnf

McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park: Visitor Center, (530) 335-2777, www.parks.ca.gov
Han Ongs Grandeur has beautiful and wise things to say, much like its subject, Gil Scott-Heron, of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised fame. In envisioning an interview between the poetic, sui generis musician and a cub essayist, Magic Theatres world premiere anoints words with religious potency. Their power to pinpoint and lay bare devastates, yet their infinite capacity to combine and recombine elevates. The right verbal rhythms, Mr. Heron (Carl Lumbly) says early in the script, float on the lips; they glide in the mind.

But in the shows current incarnation, which opened Wednesday, June 7, under the direction of Loretta Greco, its not yet clear that Ongs radiant language is best served on a stage.

Youve seen this set-up too many times before. A groundbreaking artist now past his prime lives in undignified seclusion, his genius still flaring, still able to drop exquisite bits of craft as if they were nothing. Now, though, his passion lies less in art and politics than in his next fix.

He speaks in koans designed to frustrate and humiliate Steve (Rafael Jordan), his latest fanboy interlocutor, whom Ong has engineered to commit so many journalistic faux pas (at which Scott-Heron can conveniently quibble) that you half-expect the plays central revelation to be that Steve doesnt write for the New York Review of Books at all, as he claims. That isnt the case, but you might still wish it so, just so you could witness something happen in real time.

Instead, you see stasis. A jonesing Scott-Heron remains unknowable to the point of one-dimensionality; a hubristic Steve stays naive. Thankfully, the young journalist doesnt have to make some grand discovery that his idol has fallen from grace, or about how Scott-Heron feels about being called the godfather of rap, or about why he had such a lengthy fallow period.

Steve already knows most of that spelunking into Scott-Herons crepuscular apartment, where piles of books and records shoot up as might stalagmites in a cave. (Hana S. Kim did the claustrophobic scenic design.) But without asymmetry in knowledge, little drives the plot forward, and Ongs alternative mainspring, revealing too little, too late, feels just as contrived, like a gotcha moment that got precisely nobody.

Most surprising is Safiya Fredericks as Scott-Herons adopted niece Julie, who has suffered long at the artists riddles and manipulations but isnt mere victim. She gets to manipulate and deceive in her own right. And if the play doesnt let Julie declare in words that shes done with these men and their limitless selfishness, a drill-like Fredericks nonetheless, in one moment, bores out a deadly silence that lets everyone know her Julie is capable of anything, anything at all.

Youre best off forgetting how dialogue comes to pass and instead savoring words out of context. Heres the prophetic Scott-Heron on the deaths of black American men before Black Lives Matter: Each song you wrote, each book you started, was a detective story in disguise, all of them asking the same question: Whos killing all these black men? Here he is toward the end of the play, speculating about his words legacy: The lyrics remain young, and they fly like they were intended to ... when I first snatched them from the air.

For their snatching, we remain indebted. For their transposition to the stage, we remain hopeful.

Lily Janiak is The San Francisco Chronicles theater critic. Email: ljaniak@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LilyJaniak

Grandeur: Written by Han Ong. Directed by Loretta Greco. Through June 25. One hour, 50 minutes. $35-$75. Magic Theatre, Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd., Building D, S.F. (415) 441-8822. www.magictheatre.org
My grandparents came to Northern California in 1955. My grandfather packed up my nana, mother and uncle and moved to Sacramento. They knew no one there. Why my grandpa chose the area is unknown to anyone but him. But Im thankful he did.

Virtually isolated from other Puerto Ricans, my nana continued to cook in the old-fashioned style that her mother and aunt taught her, making beans from dried instead of canned, and making sofrito  a paste made from cilantro, tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic  from scratch.

But because they were the only Puerto Rican family in Sacramento at the time, she quickly made friends with those she could communicate with: her Mexican neighbors. She quickly learned to cook their tortillas, chile rellenos and menudo, and these dishes remained in her cooking repertoire. In 2014, six decades after my grandparents first moved to Sacramento, there were reportedly 11,215 Puerto Ricans in Sacramento  but not a single Puerto Rican restaurant.

Recently, Ive been thinking about why Puerto Rican food is not more popular on the West Coast.

Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and can come and go freely  if their economic situation allows  to create a life on the mainland. Yet despite more than 30,000 Puerto Ricans in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties, Puerto Rican food isnt popular here. (Although San Jose does have an annual Puerto Rican festival, which takes place this year on June 17.)

According to the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York, there were an estimated 200,000 Puerto Ricans living in California in 2014, accounting for just 4 percent of all Puerto Ricans living in the United States. For context, about 84,000 people moved from Puerto Rico to the United States in 2014 alone.

Ive only ever heard of a Puerto Rican community being in Florida and New York, says Paxx Caraballo Moll. Caraballo Moll and partner Audrey Berry are part of a new generation of chefs shepherding a fresh Puerto Rican culinary movement, and recently opened Baoricua, a Puerto Rican-Taiwanese food stand in San Juan, Puerto Rico. So without more Puerto Ricans on the West Coast, maybe thats why the cuisine is not as popular here, Caraballo Moll says.

And as with many Latin American foods, theres a constant comparison to Mexican cuisine.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

The Mexican demographic is huge and they have implanted their culture and food in a unique way that is perceived as Latin food everywhere, says Manolo Lopez of Mofongo, a Puerto Rican pop-up restaurant in New York. I only know a handful of Puerto Ricans in the West Coast and none are in the food industry. I spent some time in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and our ingredients are also hard to find: recao, platanos, aji dulces, et cetera.

How many Puerto Rican restaurants do you know in Northern California? Yes, there is Sol Food in Marin. Good for you for knowing. But did you know there are more? Well, a few more, at least: Borinquen Soul in Oakland is a take-out restaurant within a liquor store, with great alcapurrias  grated plantain and green banana stuffed with seasoned meat and fried. In San Francisco, Parada 22 has been open in the Haight for seven years, and the Missions El Nuevo Frutilandia serves both Puerto Rican food and Cuban food. Theres El Coqui in Santa Rosa, and, of course, Sol Foods two North Bay locations, which are the mainstream darlings of California-Puerto Rican cuisine. But for the most part, thats it.

Its possible the lack of Bay Area Puerto Rican restaurants is due to a lack of support, and certainly theres the high cost of entry into the restaurant industry. Plus, while a soulful and delicious cuisine, traditional Puerto Rican food is just not sexy-looking; its double-starch and brown on brown on brown.

With the countrys best-known Mexican chef being Rick Bayless and the best-known Thai chef being Andy Ricker, sometimes I also wonder if Puerto Rican food might need, well, a comparable mainland chef to bring it to mainstream status  or even a Top Chef competitor like Hawaiis Sheldon Simeon, who showcased the range of Filipino food beyond adobo. He managed to find a balance of re-creating the soulful flavors of his Filipino rustic cuisine but with a refined appearance. Or perhaps we need an Instagram-savvy Puerto Rican to plate carne guisada in a contemporary way utilizing edible flowers.

Maybe we should look to the diaspora for its culinary champions. In Puerto Rico, traditional methods of cooking were once in danger of disappearing in the face of American colonization, due to a complicated import-export relationship, defunct agrarian culture and the introduction of processed foods and fast-food chains, among other challenges. But those of us on the mainland, isolated and trying to salvage our grandmothers recipes via osmosis, cook the most traditional way.

Only recently has a younger culinary generation found its voice on the island, partly thanks to the duo of chefs Jose  Jose Enrique and Jose Santaella  who have incorporated modern (and often Euro-centric) techniques with Puerto Rican ingredients. They have, in turn, cultivated a new generation of young chefs, including Paxx Caraballo Moll, who have tentacled out across the island creating their own culinary endeavors.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Maybe that movement will eventually spread to the mainland. No one seems to know anything about Puerto Rican food here. Youd think itd be easy bringing the food of Puerto Rico, an island belonging to the United States since 1898, to the West Coast. Now, it just seems like a big order to fill.

Theres simply not enough knowledge outside the community about what (Puerto Rican food) is, says Alicia Kennedy, associate editor of Edible Manhattan. Even here in New York City, where there are more Puerto Ricans, its not spreading beyond those who have a connection to the culture.

Lopez, from Mofongo in New York, concurs that education is the first step.

We just have to get people to know our food for it to be able to expand and be recognized around the world, Lopez says. The more media (that) write about our pop-ups and collaborations, the more people will know.

Recipe: Carne Guisada

Illyanna Maisonet is a first-generation Puerto Rican, a cook and an editor for Broke-Ass Stuart. She sometimes writes about food, too. Twitter: @eatgordaeat Email: food@sfchronicle.com

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Places that serve Puerto Rican fare

Borinquen Soul: 2020 Macarthur Blvd., Oakland

El Coqui: 400 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa

El Nuevo Frutilandia: 3077 24th St., San Francisco

Parada 22: 1805 Haight St., San Francisco

Sol Food, 401 Miller Ave., Mill Valley; and 901 Lincoln Ave., San Rafael
A San Francisco federal judge stepped aside, at least temporarily, from the case of antiabortion activists who posted secretly taped recordings of abortion providers meetings after the activists accused him of bias because of his former work for a charity associated with Planned Parenthood.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick III had scheduled a hearing next Wednesday on whether to hold David Daleiden, leader of the Center for Medical Progress, and his lawyers in contempt for posting links to the recordings despite Orricks February 2016 injunction prohibiting any public disclosure.

In a brief order Thursday, Orrick denied bias and questioned whether the filing was timed to delay the contempt hearing. But he postponed the hearing and referred the request to another federal judge, James Donato, randomly selected under the courts rules. Donato scheduled a hearing for June 22 on whether to remove Orrick from the case.

In their filing Wednesday, Daleiden and his organization said they had learned only recently that Orrick had been a board member of the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center in 2001, when the charity agreed to let Planned Parenthood place a clinic on the centers property in San Francisco. They also said Orricks wife has publicly endorsed Planned Parenthood and criticized the Center for Medical Progress.

In addition, they contended, Orrick revealed prejudice at a hearing last month when he said Daleidens release of the videos could cause real harm to human beings.

A lawyer for the National Abortion Federation called the request groundless in a court filing and said Orrick, assigned to the case in 2015, had fully disclosed his background many years earlier.

Daleiden and his colleagues, posing as fetal researchers, entered the annual members-only meetings of the National Abortion Federation in San Francisco in 2014 and in Baltimore in 2015 and made clandestine videos of conversations with some of the participants.

They argued that they were acting as investigative journalists, but Orrick ruled last year that they had obtained the information by fraud and barred any public release of the recordings, including those they had already posted. A federal appeals court upheld his ruling this March.

Also in March, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra charged Daleiden and his employee, Sandra Merritt, with criminal violations of state laws against recording private conversations without consent.

Last month, Daleidens lawyers in that case posted YouTube links to many of the recordings, and the names of some of the people attending the meetings. Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, Daleidens lead attorney in the criminal case, said his office had obtained the information from Becerras office as evidence and thought it should be shared with the public.

But Orrick said at a May 25 hearing that his injunction barred Daleiden and his lawyers from any release of the material. He ordered the postings taken down immediately.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
The stretch of Sierra foothills 50 miles east of Sacramento is mostly out of the way and unsung. But a glimpse into the areas extraordinary past emerged this week with a donation of historic photographs chronicling the bittersweet story of Americas first Japanese settlers.

The nearly 150-year-old portraits, which a local family is giving to the state-park system, evoke a time when samurai swordsmen and silk traders found refuge from a bloody uprising against Japans shogun in Californias Gold Country.

Against an unfamiliar backdrop of mining towns and timber mills, the Japanese refugees built an agricultural community on mulberry trees, tea plants and bamboo shoots. The so-called Wakamatsu Colony didnt last long, however, owing to drought and a lack of money, but it endures in the history books as an important footnote in Californias cultural evolution.

Most Japanese believe it was the Plymouth Rock of Japanese immigration, said Herb Tanimoto, a historian who leads tours of the former colony outside Placerville (El Dorado County). It really opened the door to a much larger influx from Japan.

Eleven original black-and-white photographs of the settlers are scheduled to be officially handed over Friday by descendants of a prominent pioneer family, the Veerkamps. A ceremony is being held at nearby Marshal Gold Discovery State Historic Park, with representatives of the Japanese Consulate due to attend.

The pictures reveal the faces of many of the estimated 22 Japanese who sailed into San Francisco Bay in May 1869 and headed to the foothills, reportedly with 6 million tea seeds, 50,000 mulberry saplings and an unknown number of silkworms.

The settlers are dressed in tailored suits and gowns in the photos, which were taken at a studio in Placerville that stands today. Many wear hardy boots suited to their life on the land, a precursor to the larger migration of Japanese to California fields that would begin around the turn of the century.

Before the photographs were found, we really didnt know what the colonists looked like, said Tanimoto, whose family immigrated to California from Japan on the heels of the Wakamatsu Colony. There are really no other records.

The leader of the colony, John Henry Schnell, a Prussian who came to Japan to sell arms to groups loyal to the shogun, is pictured in one image with a beard and a long coat. The globetrotter was so beloved by the Japanese, legend has it, that he was given a Japanese name and samurai status, and allowed to marry a woman of samurai class, before embarking for the New World with his pregnant wife.

The groups roughly 200 acres of farmland didnt last long after the first planting, historians say. Dry weather tested the tea plants, mulberry trees and other crops, and an effort to irrigate the fields went bad when the water was found to be contaminated with iron from nearby mines. Meanwhile, the communitys endowment from Japan dried up.

Some of the settlers left the property for farm work elsewhere, and others returned to their homeland, historians say. Schnells fate is uncertain. The property was sold to the Veerkamps, who later sold it to the American River Conservancy for preservation.

An old farmhouse remains on the property, as does the grave of a nursemaid for the Schnells, Okei Ito, who is believed to have died when she was just 19. She is thought to be the first Japanese woman buried on American soil.

Barry Smith, the superintendent of Marshal Gold park who has studied the history of the colony, said the photos are a reminder of the states rich and influential past.

No matter what culture you come from, youll find some relevancy in California, he said. Its really a neat story for us to share.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) today announced that Tim Gokey, Chief Operating Officer, will participate in the RBC Capital Markets Financial Technology Investor Day in New York. The companys presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at 1:55pm ET. The company's presentation will be webcast live, and will be available at the Broadridge Investor Relations website at www.broadridge-ir.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for ninety days following the conference.



About Broadridge

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR) is a leading provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions for banks, broker-dealers, mutual funds and corporate issuers. Broadridges investor and customer communications, securities processing and managed services solutions help clients reduce their capital investments in operations infrastructure, allowing them to increase their focus on core business activities. With over 50 years of experience, Broadridges infrastructure underpins proxy voting services for over 90% of public companies and mutual funds in North America, and processes on average over $5 trillion in equity and fixed income trades per day. Broadridge employs approximately 10,000 associates in 16 countries. For more information about Broadridge, please visit www.broadridge.com.




Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday highlighted what he sees as the upside of President Trumps unwillingness to confront climate change: Much of the rest of the world may be inspired to fight harder.

The governor spoke during a visit with Germanys environmental minister in San Francisco, where the two leaders pledged to curb greenhouse gas emissions a week after Trump rescinded the U.S. commitment to the Paris climate agreement.

Brown, who has emerged as one of Trumps most outspoken critics on the climate issue, returned a day earlier from a five-day trip to China, where he met with the nations president and provincial heads to discuss ways to halt global warming in the absence of leadership in Washington.

With President Trump taking such an outlandish position, he has actually heightened the focus on climate change, Brown said. Hes given the climate action movement a thrust that it could never have generated on its own. Were taking much more aggressive action because of what Trump has done.

California and Germany were early backers of the Under2 Coalition, an international climate pact that now has the support of 175 cities, states and nations representing nearly 40 percent of the global economy.

The coalition was a precursor to last years landmark Paris accord, with the same goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions so that temperatures dont rise more than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels  the point at which scientists expect catastrophic problems.

German Federal Minister for the Environment Barbara Hendricks, who joined Brown to address reporters at the state building in San Francisco after a closed-door meeting between the two, was critical of Trump and his decision to abandon the Paris deal. But she said she was encouraged by the alternate route chosen by California and its Democratic governor.

After the disappointing news we received from the White House, weve also heard strong voices raised in the United States that want to continue the progressive way toward a climate-friendly society, Hendricks said through a translator. The trend toward an eco-friendly world is unstoppable and irreversible.

Trump, who has been relatively silent on the dangers of global warming since calling the concept a hoax before becoming president, called the Paris agreement that was ratified by 148 nations a bad deal for the United States. He said countries like China and India werent bearing a fair share of the costs of greenhouse gas reductions and said he would consider renegotiating the deal.

Many political analysts say reworking the hard-won agreement is a nonstarter, though Hendricks said the world hadnt given up on finding a way to get Trump back on board.

We will continue to reach out to the U.S. administration to come back to the table for climate action, she said.

Brown also expressed hope that the president would come around.

You cant go against every country in the whole world except, what is it, Nicaragua and Syria? he said, referring to t he other nations who chose not to join the accord. And if youve noticed, Trump doesnt always stay the course. He does change his mind. I believe that the federal government, at some point, will turn to a more environmentally friendly policy.

Following Trumps decision to pull out of the Paris deal, Brown joined the governor of Washington state, Jay Inslee, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both Democrats, in rolling out the U.S. Climate Alliance. The initiative marks an attempt by U.S. states that are concerned about global warming to maintain their commitments under the Paris accord.

In the past week, nine additional states have signed on to the alliance: Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

The United States, by withdrawing under Trump, has taken a backseat, but thats very temporary, Brown said.

The governor cited his trip to China as evidence that other world powers were still looking to the United States to help tackle the issue.

China has become the de facto leader in the climate change fight, hosting a series of meetings this week on clean technology and carbon reduction between global energy ministers. While the conference was scheduled before Trumps Paris decision, the symbolism was not lost on its participants.

China is very serious about dealing with global warming, Brown said. And the fact that they would link with California and give me the reception they did, tells me that California is respected worldwide. ... I think its a positive sign for what were doing.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Sabiha Basrai felt her Muslim identity was a political statement and that her Americanness was in question.

Once again, the 34-year-old Oakland woman feels like her identity is even more under attack as nationwide anti-Shariah rallies are scheduled to take place on Saturday. One is set to occur on the Santa Clara-San Jose border, hosted by ACT for America  which the Southern Poverty Law Center says is the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in the country.

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After years of being on the defensive and months of listening to President Trumps plans for a travel ban on mostly Muslim countries, fueling more mistrust of the Muslim American community, Basrai said shes had enough.

She is planning to join scores of interfaith leaders, activists and residents in a unity rally on Saturday, right across the street from the anti-Shariah law rally.

More for you South Bay man crashes drone, causes power outage, evacuation

For a lot of us in the Bay Area, who grew up here, theres been this feeling like we have to prove ourselves, prove our humanity, prove the fact that our values are just like yours, that we deserve civil rights just like you, said Basrai, a member of the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action.

Basrai said that like most Americans she watched in horror from her home as hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, the Pentagon and crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pa. She said she mourned with the rest of the country for the nearly 3,000 people killed.

But as the days went by, she started feeling anti-Muslim bigotry was legitimized  a sentiment that many say has only grown since Trump moved into the White House.

I was personally fearful for my safety and for the safety of my family in a way I had never experienced before, Basrai said of the growing anti-Muslim climate in the wake of Trumps election.

Diana Gibson, an ordained Presbyterian minister and religious studies professor at Santa Clara University, scrambled to organize the unity rally when she first saw the anti-Shariah event online a week ago. She called on leaders of different synagogues, Buddhist temples, churches and mosques to come together to stand in solidarity with Bay Area Muslims.

To me, this is both a threat to Muslims, but also a threat to our whole community and to the kind of community we want to have where we are all treasured, Gibson said.

ACT For America was founded in 2007 by Brigitte Gabriel in response to the 9/11 attacks and works to push anti-Muslim legislation, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups in America. Since its founding, the group has grown to over 280,000 members and 1,000 chapters nationwide, according the law center.

The group was first designated as a hate group by the the law center in 2015, making it part of a network of the most of the dangerous groups propagandizing out there, said Heidi Beirich, the director of Intelligence Project, part of the the law center that tracks hate groups.

But ACT for America claims not to be anti-Muslim.

ACT for America supports peaceful practice of any religious faith, an ACT spokesman said in a statement to The Chronicle. In fact, we stand steadfast with the right of every American to their beliefs. This includes peaceful Islam. The elements that make up much of Sharia law, however, are not about religion, but oppression.

The organizations March Against Sharia is being billed as a call for human rights for women and children who are impacted by Shariah law in the United States, according to the groups website.

The point of the counter rally isnt to inflame tensions, but to send a strong visual message that hate isnt welcome in the Bay Area, said Zahra Billoo, the executive director of the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, whos working with Gibson and over 100 other organizations to co-sponsor the rally.

In the wake of recent events happening locally, nationally, and internationally, we, at the city of Santa Clara, would like to reassure our community that we stand in solidarity with those who have been the targets of discrimination and bigotry, said Santa Clara Mayor Lisa M. Gillmor.

Both the San Jose and Santa Clara police departments will send officers to the rallies, but officials for the agencies said they dont expect any violence.

The March Against Sharia rally is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Stevens Creek Boulevard and Winchester Avenue in Santa Clara. The unity rally is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. across the street at Stevens Creek and Santana Row in San Jose.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
In the cutthroat technology industry where companies go to great lengths to attract and retain talent, employers have offered workers high salaries, company stock and unlimited vacation time. Theyve done free breakfasts, free lunches, free dinners and free booze. Theres kombucha on tap, Foosball and pool, nap rooms, yoga rooms and on-site gyms.

Once considered lavish perks, they have now become the norm. Which is why tech firms eager to keep employees engaged are turning to Loqules (pronounced locals), a Los Angeles startup with $200,000 in angel funding, to offer what a growing number of young employees crave: ways to have fun and do good.

Millennials make up around 45 percent of the workforce, and theyd rather spend their money doing something cool and having an experience than buying or having material things, said Jai Al-Attas, the 33-year-old founder of Loqules. Theyre a lot more socially aware, and they want to be part of companies or groups that give back to the community in some way.

Some of the perks offered by Loqules: a cooking class with noted chef Louis Tikaram, a day of surfing with pro surfer Taylor Knox, a master class in mural making with street artist KidWiseman.

Loqules charges anywhere from $80 per person for basic experiences, such as a night out with a musician, to $10,000 for a small team to have an intimate recording tutorial with music producer John Feldmann. The median cost of an experience is $200 to $500 per person, in categories including art, music, surfing, skating, food, fitness and fashion. A portion of the fee goes to the person offering the experience; Loqules keeps the rest.

But companies also have the option of sharing the experience with a nonprofit such as Safe Place for Youth, a homeless youth organization; A New Way of Life, which works with formerly incarcerated women; or the Salvation Army.

Through these partnerships, companies often foot the bill so those in need can participate in workshops and experiences alongside employees.

Of the dozen or so experiences Loqules has done with firms such as Salesforce, Uber, AdColony, Citibank and Facebook, nearly every company has worked with a nonprofit, and most have used Loqules more than once.

This comes as little surprise to researchers and human resource experts, who have noticed a shift in how employees want to be engaged and rewarded at work. Research from the Brookings Institute estimates that by 2025, Millennials will make up 75 percent of the workforce. (It defines the generation as those born in 1982 to 2003.) And it says that as this demographic of workers continues to grow, Millennial values, which Brookings describes as an emphasis on corporate social responsibility, a higher worth placed on experiences over material things, and community building, will come to shape the workplace.

Years ago, you never had a 25-year-old kid making $150,000, said Karen Ross, CEO of tech firm Sharp Decisions, who has seen her employees increasingly express interest in doing more for the communities in which they operate. Now theyre making good money. Nobody cares about free food or free beer. Theyre more interested in making a difference.

Companies are responding in kind. In 2014, Airbnb started offering employees four hours of paid time off every month for volunteer work. Last year, it established a dedicated volunteering week to allow employees to devote a larger chunk of time to projects. Dropbox offers employees 32 paid hours a year to volunteer at nonprofits of their choosing, and it regularly hosts company-sponsored events where employees can serve meals at charities. NetApp, a data management company in Sunnyvale, offers employees paid time off to volunteer, and works with nonprofit Rise Against Hunger to package meals.

The response from employees has been extraordinarily positive, said Matt Fawcett, general counsel at NetApp. We sent a note to my team ... asking who wanted to get involved, and within 60 seconds there was a flood of replies.

For a segment of the workforce who have the means to buy anything they want, an experiential perk gives them something money cant necessarily buy, according to corporate culture experts.

When you give someone an award, its a short-term thing  you have it, you enjoy it at the time, but theres no memory beyond that, said Tina Figueroa, the vice president of human resources at AdColony, which has used Loqules twice to reward high performers and plans to offer its experiences as a perk every quarter. An experience is emotional. You can relive it over and over again. Its really good for retention, because people feel good when they tell those stories. It adds stickiness and it bonds people.

Ubers Los Angeles management teams have used Loqules service three times in partnership with local charities.

Its not your off-the-shelf team-building exercises, said Chris Ballard, Ubers Southern California general manager.

Last year, instead of relying on team dinners and happy hours to bring together its Los Angeles managers, Uber used Loqules to organize a cooking class with Tikaram; arranged a photography lesson with skateboard photographer Atiba Jefferson; and did a workshop with DJ Ducky. Uber sent extra food from the cooking class to A New Way of Life and invited teens from Safe Place for Youth to join them during the workshops.

These are experiences our youth would never have the opportunity to do if it werent for this relationship with Loqules, said Rachel Stich, the deputy director of development and administration at Safe Place for Youth.

Although many nonprofits need money more than they need one-time volunteers, Stich said partnerships like the ones Loqules is fostering are still valuable because they help build relationships with corporations. Independent of Loqules, Uber now gives Safe Place for Youth 32 free rides a month to help get clients to doctor appointments and job interviews. Employees who have experienced a Loqules perk have expressed interest in getting more involved in their communities. And companies are putting their money where their employees want them to, with Dropbox matching up to $1,000 of each employees charity donation.

The closest thing Loqules has to a competitor is Airbnb, which began listing social impact experiences in November. Unlike Loqules, which caters to businesses, Airbnbs offering is consumer-focused, and the company has not signaled intentions to create a version specifically for businesses.

But even if it did, that would just be validation for Loqules, Al-Attas said.

People want to feel like theyve had an impact, he said. Were not just saying, Hey, we gave some money to a charity and then everyone pats themselves on the back. We get people from the charity into a room with employees so they can share stories and change their perspectives. Thats where this is going.

Tracy Lien is a Los Angeles Times writer.
Number of the day

$94.8 trillion

Thats what Americans household net worth rose to in the first three months of the year, a trend that could support future spending. The 1.4 percent rise came as stock and mutual fund portfolios jumped $1.3 trillion in value in the January-March quarter, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. Home values increased $499 billion. Total household wealth includes checking and savings accounts, but subtracts mortgages and other debt.

Arrrgh! Pirate Joes closes

Pirate Joes, the Canadian renegade reseller of groceries from Trader Joes, closed Thursday after a protracted legal battle with the U.S. company. For more than five years, Pirate Joes had celebrated its status as an unauthorized importer of Trader Joes products with a blend of cheeky humor and David-versus-Goliath determination.

Not so Snappy

People may love Snapchat, but investors are growingly concerned about its parent company, Snap. It fell more than 3 percent Thursday and has been the most-shorted tech initial public offering of the year, with a growing number of traders betting the stock will fall. Investors are skeptical that the company can grow quickly enough to justify its valuation  now at about $23 billion  given aggressive competition from Facebook, which has been copying some of Snapchats features.

Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle
The countdown for a possible sale of Pandora Media was extended Thursday, as the company weighed investments from private-equity firm KKR and an unnamed strategic investor that may well be Sirius XM.

The Oakland company, which has struggled to hold on to its position as one of the dominant outlets for streaming music, struck a deal a month ago in which KKR would invest $150 million through a purchase of convertible preferred stock.

Under that agreement, Pandora had the right to terminate the deal within 30 days if it found a buyer for the company. That deadline arrived Thursday.

Early Thursday, Reuters reported that Sirius XM was in discussions with Pandora for a minority investment, after talks for an acquisition failed over the price. Neither company would comment on that report.

But Pandora said that it had extended its deadline to terminate the KKR investment to explore interest expressed by a strategic investor in making a substantial minority investment in Pandora, in lieu of the KKR investment.

Pandora did not specify a new deadline in its statement, and a spokesman did not respond to a question about it.

For Pandora, a new owner or a source of significant new investment may be essential. The company, long the biggest force in Internet radio, has seen its user base erode over the last few years as listeners have headed to Spotify, Apple Music and other outlets. In March, Pandora introduced Pandora Premium to compete with those companies.

Last year, Pandora had a net loss of $343 million  up from nearly $170 million in 2015  and in the first quarter of this year, it reported the lowest number of active monthly listeners in more than two years, at 76.7 million.

The companys stock is down about 33 percent this year, putting its market capitalization around $2 billion.

For a year, Wall Street has speculated that Sirius XM, the satellite radio broadcaster, would purchase Pandora. The combination, as many analysts see it, could greatly expand Sirius XMs advertising business and give it a stronger position in Internet-connected cars, where Pandora is popular but Sirius XMs satellite radio business is threatened.

Top executives at Liberty Media, the cable and media giant that owns a majority of Sirius XMs stock, have stoked much of that speculation. CEO Gregory Maffei has said repeatedly that he is interested in Pandora, but only at the right price; perhaps as a result, Pandoras share price has been on steady decline.

A spokesman for Liberty Media did not immediately return a request seeking comment.

Ben Sisario is a New York Times writer.
Uber has fired more than 20 employees after a law firm investigated complaints of sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination and other violations of company policies.

The recent firings included both managers and lower-level workers, some of whom retaliated against employees after they complained about bad conduct at the ride-hailing firm, said Bobbie Wilson, a Perkins Coie partner involved in the investigation.

Uber Technologies retained the firm after former engineer Susan Fowler wrote a blog post in February about sex harassment at the company. Fowler wrote that on her first day at work her boss propositioned her in a series of messages.

RELATED: Check out this slideshow about recent troubles at Uber (story continues below):

The Perkins Coie probe is separate from one being done by former Attorney General Eric Holder. He is expected to make broader recommendations on how to change Ubers culture when his report is released publicly next week.

Separately, Uber has hired two women as senior executives  former Apple executive Bozoma Saint John as chief brand officer and Harvard Business School Professor Frances Frei as senior vice present for leadership and strategy.

Saint John ran global consumer marketing of Apple Music and iTunes. Her role at Uber will be to burnish the companys image. She will be Ubers highest ranking black executive.

Frei told tech news site Recode that her goal is to make this a world-class company that can be proud of itself in the end, rather than embarrassed. Frei is the author of Uncommon Service: How to Win By Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business, and plans to commute from Cambridge, Mass., to Ubers San Francisco headquarters.

After Fowlers blog post, Uber set up a 24-hour hotline to take complaints from employees, and hired Perkins Coie to investigate them. The firm checked into 215 complaints, and 57 remain under investigation. The hotline will remain in operation.

The probe into Fowlers complaints is still under way, and Wilson wouldnt say if any of those fired, or 31 other employees placed in counseling, were involved in that.

Wilson said Uber gave her law firm unfettered access to people and documents that were needed for the Fowler investigation.

Problems at Uber are not unusual in the technology industry, given the companys size of more than 14,000 employees, said Wilson, whose firm has done similar work for the biggest tech companies in the nation.

The firings, and the hiring of Saint John and Frei, are big steps in Ubers trek toward repairing its image, which has been tarnished by harassment complaints and a number of management missteps.

In its ascent to becoming the worlds most valuable startup, Uber took Silicon Valleys penchant for sexism and cutthroat, unapologetic competition, and a distaste for government regulation, and kicked it up several notches.

It grew into the No. 1 ride-hailing company in the country and is valued at nearly $70 billion. But this year, Ubers aggressive corporate culture and its 40-year-old CEOs self-admitted need to fundamentally change and grow up has caught up with it.

Uber is the target of lawsuits, boycott threats and a federal investigation into claims that it has used a fake version of its app to thwart authorities. Its also been accused of corporate espionage by Waymo, formerly Googles autonomous vehicle arm. Ubers former chief self-driving car researcher took confidential documents from Waymo before his startup firm was purchased by Uber, according to a Waymo lawsuit.

Uber also is searching for a chief operating officer and chief financial officer as it prepares for a possible public stock offering.

Bloomberg News

contributed to this report.

Tom Krisher is an Associated Press writer.
Evan Sernoffsky

A 19-year-old woman who said she was groped by a man just south of the UC Berkeley campus chased him down and snapped a picture that led investigators to arrest him Thursday, police said.

Clay Collier, 33, was arrested at his residence in Berkeley just after 8 a.m. Thursday as detectives served a search warrant, according to the Berkeley Police Department.
A 29-year-old Oakland man was sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a child under the age of 6 and recording more than 20,000 images of the assaults.

Dmar Dwain Jennings Conway was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White after he pleaded guilty on March 7 to one count of child exploitation.

During the sentencing hearing, White told Conway that the repeated assaults were truly devastating to the young victim and could scar the childs psyche for life.

Once Conway completes his 220-month federal prison sentence, he must register as a sex offender and will be placed on supervised release for the rest of his life, White ordered.

The conduct for which Mr. Conway was sentenced is reprehensible and Judge Whites decision to sentence the defendant to more than 18 years in prison reflects the seriousness of that conduct, said U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch.

During a March 2016 search of Conways home in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland, federal agents uncovered nearly 25,000 images on a camera of Conway engaging in sex acts with the child. Conway admitted the images were taken inside his residence, officials said.

Conway also told investigators he served as the caregiver for the victim, whom officials described as being between 3 and 6 years old.

The investigation, conducted by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations unit, also uncovered more than 460 images of child pornography on Conways cell phone, officials said.

Although justice was served with this lengthy sentence, the damage this defendant inflicted on his innocent victim cannot truly be measured, said Ryan L. Spradlin, special agent in charge of the HSI San Francisco field office, which investigates a variety of crimes including child exploitation.

Conway was indicted on June 16, 2016, and charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children, and one count of possession and access with intent to view child pornography.

He pleaded guilty to the first charge under a plea agreement.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
A Florida woman who claimed the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax was sentenced Wednesday to five months in prison for making death threats against the parent of one of the students killed in the attack.

Lucy Richards, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting threats through interstate communications, admitting that she sent the parent a message reading, LOOK BEHIND YOU IT IS DEATH, court documents show.

The parent was referred to only as L.P. in court documents, but Reuters and the Associated Press identified him as Lenny Pozner. His 6-year-old son, Noah, was among the 20 children and six adults shot and killed by gunman Adam Lanza at the Newtown, Conn., school in December 2012.

Prosecutors alleged Richards left a series of menacing voice mails and emails with Pozner in January, saying in one, death is coming to you real soon. Three of the charges in her four-count indictment were dismissed under the plea agreement.

After she completes her prison sentence, Richards will be confined to her home for five months, according to court records. She will also undergo three years of supervised release, during which time she will be required to maintain a daily log of her computer activity.

In court Wednesday, U.S. District Judge James Cohn told Richards her threats against Pozner were disturbing, according to the Associated Press.

Im sure he wishes this was false and he could embrace Noah, hear Noahs heartbeat and hear Noah say I love you, Dad, Cohn said, as reported by the Associated Press. Your words were cruel and insensitive. This is reality and there is no fiction. There are no alternative facts.

Prosecutors agreed to a somewhat reduced prison term for Richards based upon the defendants recognition and affirmative and timely acceptance of personal responsibility, the plea agreement says.

Richards apologized to Pozner in a statement, according to the Associated Press, which reported that she had mental health problems, including anxiety disorder and agoraphobia.

I dont know where my heart and head were that day, but they were not in the right place, she said. It was the worst mistake of my life, and I am truly sorry.

Sandy Hook hoaxers have peddled a range of conspiracy theories about the mass shooting in online message boards, blogs and grainy YouTube videos. Their main allegation is that the massacre was a false flag or fake attack orchestrated by government officials to build support for gun control. There is no credible evidence supporting such a claim.

Hoaxers have harassed numerous parents and relatives of the Sandy Hook victims over the years, and Richards is the latest to atone for such actions.

Derek Hawkins is a Washington Post writer.
Longtime city Police Commissioner Petra DeJesus was set to reclaim her seat Thursday, despite a lengthy delay that her supporters say was caused by a San Francisco supervisors bid to replace her with a political ally.

In a special meeting, the rules committee voted 2 to 1 to recommend her reappointment to the civilian oversight agency, with Supervisor Ahsha Safai  the committee chair who DeJesus supporters have accused of stalling  as the sole dissenter.

Though DeJesus seat had been vacant since April 30, when her term ran out, Safai did not schedule a discussion on the appointment until Supervisor Sandra Fewer called for a special meeting on the matter.

Safai had thrown his support behind union leader Olga Miranda, saying he felt that she would bring a fresh perspective to the panel that sets policy and oversees the discipline of officers. Safai previously served as the political director of Service Employees International Union Local 87, of which Miranda is president, and Miranda campaigned heavily for him in his run for supervisor.

As community activists and law enforcement watchdogs began to question Safais ties to Miranda  as well as the fact that Miranda, a longtime Albany resident, sought to establish residency in the city just days before applying for the position  DeJesus, already popular among the progressive set for her fiery stands at commission meetings, was able to gather the backing of enough supervisors to get reappointed.

Miranda withdrew her application this week. Safai, who previously justified the delay by saying he had been too busy to schedule a vote, said Thursday, I fundamentally believe that democracy should never be rushed.

A third contender, attorney Maxwell Pritt, did not complete his application.

The Police Commission is made up of four members nominated by the mayor and approved by the Board of Supervisors, and three members nominated by the Rules Committee and approved by the full board.

DeJesus reappointment is set to go in front of the full board on Tuesday. She said she was looking forward to getting back to work.

Ive been honored to represent the citizens of San Francisco, she said. I have been an outspoken member on this Police Commission and I will continue to do that.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
BRIDGEWATER, N.J., June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clinical Genomics, a private company developing innovative diagnostic tools for colorectal cancer, presented data demonstrating the utility of Colvera, a 2-gene blood test, in measuring minimal residual disease in patients with invasive colorectal cancer (CRC) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2017 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL last week.

In this prospective correlative study, pre-and post-surgery blood samples from 93 patients with invasive colorectal cancer patients were assayed for methylation in two genes, BCAT1 and IKZF1, to demonstrate the impact of tumor resection on ctDNA levels and to identify factors associated with positive results following tumor resection.

Results showed 35 of the 47 patients (74%) who were ctDNA positive prior to surgery became negative after resection. In the 12 cases who remained positive after surgery, incomplete resection was observed in 5/12 patients. In contrast only 1/35 patients who became negative following surgery exhibited incomplete resection.

The data concluded a positive ctDNA result following resection is associated with features pointing to incomplete resection or possible residual tumor. Furthermore, residual or recurrent disease should be suspected in cases who are ctDNA positive by Colvera after surgery. Detection of methylated BCAT1 and IKZF1 in blood appears clinically useful for assessing adequacy of primary surgery and potential for recurrence.

For the full abstract, visit www.clinicalgenomics.com.

Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide, accounting for more than 600,000 deaths each year. When diagnosed early, before cancer has spread, the relative five-year survival rate for CRC is 90 percent, but only approximately four out of 10 CRC cases are detected early. Among individuals undergoing surgical treatment for CRC, recurrence occurs in 30 to 50 percent of all cases, the majority of which present in the first two to three years following initial diagnosis and treatment.

About Clinical Genomics

Clinical Genomics is a privately held biotechnology company developing innovative products for colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis. With a broad intellectual property portfolio consisting of more than 20 patents, Clinical Genomics, via its wholly-owned subsidiary Enterix Inc., currently offers the user-friendly, patient-preferred colorectal cancer screening InSure FIT assay, a fecal immunochemical test that detects blood in the stool. InSure is also marketed as a lab-based test in Australia and other countries (ColoVantage Home). Building on an established history in the field of CRC screening and diagnosis, Clinical Genomics developed and recently launched Colvera, a sensitive and specific blood-based circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) test for colorectal cancer recurrence monitoring that detects methylated DNA from two genes, BCAT1 and IKZF1.

Clinical Genomics has offices and laboratories in Bridgewater and Edison, New Jersey and Sydney, Australia, and operates as an FDA-registered and TGA-licensed manufacturer and a NATA-accredited laboratory.

For more information, please visit www.clinicalgenomics.com and www.colveratest.com.


McDonald's is getting into the gay pride spirit.

The fast-food franchise is serving its signature fries in cheerful rainbow-colored boxes at participating locations throughout the greater California Bay Area, as well as at some D.C. locations.

"McDonald's has always been a company that has supported diversity and inclusion of its employees and extended McDonald's family," McDonald's spokesperson Kim Knapp said in a statement. "We are proud to create an inclusive culture where everyone feels valued, appreciated and supported. As an official sponsor of this year's Pride festivities, we looked for a unique way to bring that celebration into our restaurants throughout the Greater Bay Area."

Related gallery: 25 secret menu items at fast-food restaurants

The LGBTQ-friendly fries arrive just as San Francisco prepares for its annual Gay Pride Celebration. Events include a rally and two days of speakers and performers at a Civic Center stage.

The festivities culminate with a parade on Sunday, as dozens of floats roll through San Francisco

Wouldn't it be nice if McDonald's passed out fries from a float?

The rainbow fries will be available throughout the month of June.
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SFGATE is exploring how people's lives change after leaving the Bay Area, for better or for worse, in a new series. Today we're focusing on those who have relocated to the Pacific Northwest. We'll explore other relocation areas in future articles, so follow SFGATE and also share your stories.

Tori Sepand, 23, discovered that the grass really is literally greener in the Pacific Northwest for a reason. Rain.

"I'm used to sunshine," said Sepand, an East Bay native who moved to Seattle in 2015. "What I didn't expect is how much the weather would affect my overall happiness."

The weather was enough reason for Anne Moore, 67, to return to Marin after a stint in Bellingham, Wash.

"I so missed our radiant California sun melting the heat into my bones," she said, adding that she longed for a "big bowl of clear blue sky."

Sepand, on the other hand, longed for a bowl of something the Pacific Northwest has yet to master, in her opinion.

EXPENSIVE REAL ESTATE: Morford: $2 million for 825 sq. ft. exemplifies what's wrong with the Bay Area

"I miss good Mexican food," she said.

Many have left the Bay Area in pursuit of greener  and cheaper  pastures, but not all those who wander are content in their new cities.

Earlier this month, SFGATE profiled people who had moved from the Bay Area to the Pacific Northwest, the region where Bay Area ex-pats are most likely to go, according to a report from LinkedIn.

THOSE WHO LEFT: People who left the Bay Area for the Pacific Northwest tell us why

Their reasons for leaving rarely strayed. The Bay Area is expensive; it's difficult to buy a home; there's too much traffic.

Not everyone, however, was content with their newly northern lifestyle. Some quickly learned that despite the prohibitive cost of living in the Bay Area, there really is no place quite like it.

Story continues below.

Racial diversity  or lack thereof  was especially noticeable for Pacific Northwest migrants, accustomed to the heterogeneity of the Bay Area. Census data backs up such observations. About 50 percent of the San Francisco population is white, according to the 2015 U.S. census. In Portland, that number spikes to 76 percent white, and in Seattle it's 69.5 percent.

While there may not be exceptional diversity in the Pacific Northwest, there certainly is a wealth of younger people. According to a 2016 study from Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, the largest group of those migrating into Oregon consists of people aged 25 to 34  the infamous millennials. This generation accounted for nearly 30 percent of inbound migration, more than double any other age group.

Some Oregonians are none too pleased with the northward migration. Apparently, there's even a "culture of blaming Californians for [the] rising cost of living in Portland," said former San Francisco resident Molly Park, 41.

Local media serves to back up Park's sentiments. In 2015, the Oregonian noticed a rash of "No Californians" stickers popping up on For Sale signs in Portland. Around the same time, the Willamette Week began a series called "Invasion of the Transplants," in which new Portland residents told their side of the story. And lest we forget about a GoFundMe campaign launched last year to "Get Californians out of Oregon."

See also: San Francisco techies are making the move to Seattle

According to Portland resident Eric Foley, 42, it's especially "awkward when the 'where are you from?' question comes up."

Even then, Foley, who lived in San Francisco and Oakland for eight years, says the thought of moving back to the Bay Area only crosses his mind occasionally.

"I have my doubts that we could afford to move back," he said.

Despite its splendor  sunny weather, racial diversity, liberal attitude  the Bay Area is, simply, expensive.
ORLANDO  Ricardo Negron never kissed his boyfriend in front of conservative relatives. Carlos Guillermo Smith was once attacked by antigay students at a college party. After coming out in high school, Marco Quiroga moved out of his mothers house and became temporarily homeless.

Many gay Latinos in Orlando have endured indignities, rejection or violence because of their sexual orientation. But in the year since a gunman killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub, these men and others have sought to strengthen their wounded community, forming support groups and community organizations, seeking seats at the tables of power, and creating a foundation to champion gays and Latinos.

Theres no question that the tragedy at Pulse has created an entire new generation of grassroots leaders who are young, who are queer, people of color, who want to make a difference and affect change, said Smith, who was elected to Floridas Legislature last fall.

Most of the dead at Pulse were gay Latinos, and the attack on June 12, 2016, highlighted the gulf between gay people of color and other gays.

Though Orlandos gay institutions are open to anyone, some gay Latinos did not use them, either because of language barriers or because Orlandos Latino communities are scattered throughout the metro area and much of Orlandos gay life is concentrated downtown. There were other obstacles too, including cultural issues of machismo, deep Latino connections to the Roman Catholic Church and, for some, concerns about immigration status.

Before Pulse, many gay Latinos felt they could only meet each other in gay bars on Latin or hip-hop nights.

In our community, there was an absence of spaces for people who were queer and people of color, said Christopher Cuevas, who founded the support group QLatinx after the Pulse shooting.

Still, many regarded Orlando as a haven, both for its visible gay community and for its thriving Latino population. Of metro Orlandos 2.3 million people, more than a quarter are Latino, with Puerto Ricans making up about half of the Latino population. Smith describes Orlando as one of the gayest cities in America.

Which makes what happened here so shocking because this is already such an inclusive community, said Smith, who grew up in southern Florida and moved to Orlando for college. This is a city that is very supportive of the LGBTQ community.

To Javier Nava, Orlando seemed like a gay Magic Kingdom when he visited during a pride weekend three years ago from small-town North Carolina, where he worked in the restaurant business without legal permission to be in the United States.

When I came here, and I see the gay pride, I just fell in love with Orlando, so full of Latinos, said Nava, who is originally from Mexico City and moved to Orlando shortly after his visit. He recently became eligible to stay in the U.S. legally. It just seemed free and open here.

When the gunshots began at Pulse, Negron at first thought they were coming from the beats of the thumping reggaeton music. Then the music stopped and everyone dropped to the floor.

He managed to run out of an exit as gunman Omar Mateen kept firing. Mateen, a New York-born son of Afghan immigrants who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed hours later in a shootout with police.

In the aftermath of the attack, a joint venture between local governments and nonprofits offered mental health services and other assistance to Pulse victims and their families. But because of language barriers, immigration fears or previous feelings of disconnection, some of the victims and their families did not feel like they could use the services, Cuevas said.

The community had to create our own because these spaces never catered to us before. They didnt understand us, and they still dont, he said.

Thus was born QLatinx, a community group for Latino gay and lesbians. The Q stands for queer, and Latinx is a gender-neutral form of Latino. The organization holds support-group meetings every week and is starting a storytelling project in which they hope to dismantle stereotypes of what it means to be gay and Latino through the personal stories of its members. Theyre also helping more mainstream gay organizations, like the local LGBTQ center, cater to the needs of gay Latinos.

Many of the Pulse survivors are in demand to talk to politicians, celebrities and activists about gun violence and gay rights.

Mike Schneider is an Associated Press writer.
WASHINGTON  Rep. Trey Gowdy is known as a dogged investigator of Hillary Clinton. Now Democrats wonder whether the South Carolina Republican will pursue President Trump with the same vigor he used in going after the Democratic presidential candidate.

Later this month, Gowdy, 52, is set to become chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where he will lead official scrutiny of the Trump administration, including a budding investigation into possible ties between Russia and Trumps campaign.

Gowdy led a two-year investigation into the deadly 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, focusing heavily on Clintons role as secretary of state. It was the committees probe that revealed Clinton used a private email server for government work, prompting an FBI investigation that proved to be an albatross in her campaign.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans say the four-term lawmaker and former federal prosecutor is the right man for the job. Democrats are not convinced.

When push gets to shove, I think Treys a reliable partisan and thats why Ryan picked him, said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va.

In 2014, House Speaker John Boehner selected Gowdy as a very junior member to head up the Benghazi panel to go after Hillary Clinton. That was not an accident, Connolly said. Having done his duty well, Paul Ryan has now tapped him to head oversight, where your job obviously is to protect the man in the White House. So vigorous oversight is not on the agenda.

The House Republican Steering Committee on Thursday recommended Gowdy for the chairmanship, replacing Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who is leaving Congress on June 30. Gowdy beat out Oklahoma Rep. Steve Russell. The full House Republican conference is expected to confirm the choice next week.

Rep. Mark Sanford, another South Carolina Republican who briefly considered running for the oversight post, said Gowdy has a steady prosecutorial mind and a keen understanding of issues facing the committee.

Ryan, in a statement, said Gowdy possesses the experience and deep commitment to transparency and accountability needed as oversight chairman. He has proven that he will always look out for taxpayers and seek answers from the bureaucracy.

Gowdy said in a statement that he was grateful for this opportunity to serve.

Matthew Daly is an Associated Press writer.
1 Ethics rebuke: White House social media director Dan Scavino violated the law when he used an official-looking Twitter account for campaign purposes, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel has concluded, issuing Scavino a letter of admonishment. The agency concluded that Scavino, one of President Trumps most trusted aides, violated the Hatch Act, which bars most executive branch officials from using their government positions to influence elections. The decision came over a tweet from Scavino calling for the defeat of Rep. Justin Amash in a GOP primary in Michigan. Amash is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group that Trump blamed at the time for derailing legislation that would have repealed parts of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

2 Manning interview: Chelsea Manning believed she had a responsibility to the public and didnt think she was risking national security when she leaked a trove of classified documents, the soldier said in her first interview since being released from a military prison last month. The 29-year-old formerly known as Bradley Manning said in an interview broadcast Friday on ABC that she was prompted to give the 700,000 military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks because of the human toll of the death, destruction and mayhem she saw as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq. Manning served seven years of a 35-year sentence, which was commuted by former President Barack Obama.
Las Vegas, NV , June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- South American Gold Corp (OTC: SAGD) is proud to announce that it has reached an agreement to acquire Rehaba. Rehaba, founded and led by Greg Westfall, is the home of the TeslaMax TIER 4 Mini Combo unit, an electrical stimulation technology which has 510K marketing clearance by the FDA, as well as ZoneRX, a revolutionary patent pending targeted exercise postural restoration device (which is exempt from FDA requirements).

About TeslaMax:

TeslaMax is a breakthrough electrical stimulation technology with a wide range of applications for both nerve pain relief and as a urinary incontinence treatment. It has a unique ability to create massive muscle contractions without causing pain or discomfort for the patient. This stimulates nearby muscles, causing them to contract. The deeper the muscle contractions, the more pronounced the benefits, which include increased muscle tone, improved circulation, reduced fluid build-up, and accelerated wound healing.

The Tesla-Based Technology in the TeslaMax uses a proprietary form of alternating current (AC) not available in any other electrical stimulation device. With alternating current, the direction of electricity changes directions rapidly, up to 60 times per second. This reduces the amount of heat and friction that builds up in the skin, and it allows for stronger, deeper muscle contractions without pain or risk of electrical burns. This makes it an excellent option when patients are looking for a pain-free treatment for neuropathy and both male and female incontinence.

About ZoneRX:

ZoneRX is a piece of non-medical equipment that teaches the user how to use underutilized zone rx 1muscles that have atrophied. ZoneRX guides them to inhibit chronic abnormal neurological patterns that are locked into the soft tissue, creating new muscle memory that brings the proper muscles back into service.

SAGD President, David Reeves, stated, With the completion of the acquisition of Rehaba, we will bring value and added revenue to SAGD. This acquisition is a positive step forward in our vision.

Rehabas TeslaMax product is presently available throughout various doctors offices and clinic within the United States and Rehaba is furthering the development of its distribution options for international opportunities.

Please see the following informational site links on Rehaba and its products:

Rehaba



TeslaMax



ZoneRX



The TelsaMax product has been used by individuals ranging from the general public for relief of multiple different elements, including diabetic ulcers, to world renowned strength endurance record holder Dr. Nick Delgado to former U.S. Congresswoman Diane Watson.

The completion of this acquisition creates a revenue producing medical division for SAGD, allowing the company to further the growth of Rehaba, while providing the companys development division, under the direction of Mr. Bonner, with a basis to further explore other possible opportunities in this space.

SAGD anticipates consummating this acquisition by the end of this month.

Corporate Website: www.sagdcorp.co



Media contact: info@sagdcorp.co



General contact: info@sagdcorp.co



About SAGD: South American Gold Corp is a publicly traded company on the OTC under the symbol SAGD.

Disclaimer: This release contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs of South American Gold Corp. management and reflect South American 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," "looks," "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 South America 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, South American 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 may incorporate by reference the Company's reports and other filings. Investors are encouraged to review all filings. There is no assurance South American 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 projects and/or acquisitions will be favorable nor that definitive terms can be negotiated. Investors should consult their financial advisor before making an investment in a company.
Chicago, June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin will give the commencement address at the 203rd Commencement of The John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

The Commencement ceremonies will take place on Sunday, June 11 at the Civic Opera House in Chicago.

The law school will confer 251 degrees to its June graduates, including 227 JDs, 16 LLMs and eight MJs.

We are honored to have Senator Durbin address our students. His long service to our country is an inspiration, and I know he will have a memorable message for our graduates, said Dean Darby Dickerson.

Durbin also will receive an honorary degree from John Marshall. Paula Hudson Holderman, President of the law schools Board of Trustees will confer the degree, and Dean Dickerson will present it to Durbin. Graduating student Manpreet Kaur Teji will present an honorary medallion to Durbin.

Durbin is the senior U.S. Senator from Illinois. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. He sits on the Senate Judiciary, Appropriations and Rules Committees. He also serves as the Minority Whip, the second highest ranking position among Senate Democrats. Durbin received his both his BS and JD from Georgetown University.

In addition, Associate Professor of Law Arthur Acevedo will receive the 2017 Lex Ancilla Justitiae Award. The award is given by way of a vote to the faculty member who the graduating class believes, through their teaching and time with students, best embodies the guiding principle of the words in the law schools seal. Outgoing Student Bar Association President and graduating student, Nicholas A. Ventola, will present the award to Acevedo.

The valedictory address will be given by Kimberly A. Gleeson. Gleeson received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois in 2014. While at John Marshall, she served as Executive Justice on the Moot Court Honors Council, a staff editor on The John Marshall Law Review and a volunteer teaching assistant. Gleeson also has been awarded the Francis D. & Corrine S. Morrissey Award in Professional Responsibility. The Morrissey Scholars Program fosters interest in ethical issues by selecting students at John Marshall to research, discuss and write publishable articles on recent cases on professional responsibility that are of special interest to practicing attorneys.

About The John Marshall Law School

The John Marshall Law School, founded in 1899, is an independent law school located in the heart of Chicago's legal, financial and commercial districts. The 2017 U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Graduate Schools ranks John Marshall's Lawyering Skills Program 5th, its Trial Advocacy Program 19th and its Intellectual Property Law Program 21st in the nation. Since its inception, John Marshall has been a pioneer in legal education and has been guided by a tradition of diversity, innovation, access and opportunity.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c5821896-b0ce-4da1-8299-33c629ab9b06
Allegations that a young woman abandoned her 5-year-old daughter on the side of the road near the San Francisco Zoo stunned a friend of the woman, who described her as a hardworking, doting mother of two who had pulled herself out of homelessness.

Samantha Patton, 22, pleaded not guilty to one felony count of child endangerment Friday in San Francisco Superior court for an incident that shocked many people, including her friend Erin Oliver.

I still cant believe it, Oliver said. All the details arent there and its hard to really understand what happened. There has to be more to it. Maybe she wasnt thinking clearly. Maybe she was scared.

According to authorities, two San Francisco Fire Department medics reported witnessing Patton push her daughter out of a car near Great Highway and Sloat Boulevard at about 8:30 p.m. Monday.

Patton allegedly screamed, Get out, get out, as she threw items out of the car before she told the 5-year-old to get the f out, and shoved her onto the side of the road, Assistant District Attorney Supriya Perry said in court. Though the child was not hurt, she fell on her back, hitting her head on the asphalt.

The girl later told investigators that Patton had said she didnt want to be her mommy anymore, according to Perry.

Patton allegedly drove away recklessly, nearly hitting parked cars and running over some of the items she had tossed out, while she had another child in the vehicle that turned out to be her 1-year-old son.

In court, Patton shook her head repeatedly as Perry described the witnesses accounts. Her face crumpled when Perry asked for bail to be set at $100,000. Judge Sharon Reardon granted the request, citing the nature of the incident and public safety concerns.

Oliver said she met Patton in 2015, when they were both homeless and staying at the Larkin Street Youth Shelter. Patton came to San Francisco from Arkansas, Oliver said, leaving her daughter with family there in hopes of eventually sending for her when she got settled.

We had lots of conversations about her family back home and how much she loved her daughter and couldnt wait to move her out to San Francisco, Oliver said. She said she moved to make a better life for her. She worked all the time and she had lots of ambition and drive.

According to her social media accounts, Patton studied at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in San Francisco. Oliver said Patton made it out of the shelter after living there for three months by working as a line cook at a local restaurant and finding her own place somewhere outside of the city.

She has a lot of drive, Oliver said. She didnt give up easily, even with the struggles she had to go through.

Officials at National Park College in Arkansas, which offers two-year degrees both on campus and through online courses, said Patton was enrolled in fall 2016. Shortly after she enrolled, Patton posted on Facebook that she wanted to pursue neurology to become a surgeon.

On her Facebook page, Patton posted photo after photo of her children, smiling and cheesing for the camera. In November, she announced she was engaged to the father of her 1-year-old boy. Oliver said she had lunch with the couple once, and it seemed like they were made for each other.

I never met her daughter because I moved back to Georgia around the time her daughter moved to San Francisco, Oliver said. But when I did speak to her, she sounded happy to have her there and also about giving birth to her son.

Pattons fiance was with her and the children shortly before the incident, with witnesses saying they saw him leave the area on a skateboard. Police tracked him down, officials said, and he led investigators to the 1-year-old, who was being watched by a babysitter in Oakland.

Patton turned herself in Tuesday. The father has not been arrested.

Outside court on Friday, a man who appeared to be Pattons fiance consulted with her attorney, but did not want to be interviewed. Her attorney, Jo-Anna Nieves, also declined to comment, but in court she argued that Patton had never been convicted of a violent crime and was about to start a new job.

Perry said Patton was convicted in Arkansas of shoplifting, and was investigated but not convicted in Georgia for third-degree cruelty to children in 2013.

Patton appeared panicked at times in court, whispering to her attorney and crying as she was led back to jail. The district attorneys office said authorities were working to place both of her children with family members.

Oliver said Patton had, when she was around her, been protective of those she loved.

She made a lot of friends living in that shelter  her personality was contagious, Oliver said. She made it clear to everyone that was close with her that she would always be there. It was true for our relationship. That reflected on how I felt she treated her kids.

Oliver called the incident a sad situation that seemed out of character for her friend. Ive seen a lot of horrible comments about her, she said. Im hoping things dont turn out as bad as they seem.

Patton is scheduled to return to court June 22 for a preliminary hearing.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
Chicago, June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The John Marshall Law School is holding its 203rd Commencement on June 11. As part of its celebration, the law school is highlighting some of the graduating students, their stories and successes.

Graduating John Marshall Law School student Manpreet Kaur Teji first met U.S. Senator Dick Durbin shortly after the terror attacks in the United States on September 11. Durbin came to Tejis place of worship, the Gurdwara, to advocate against hate crimes toward the Sikh community. As an 11-year-old at the time, Teji found the senators words and act of showing up to interact with her Sikh community to be a source of inspiration and guidance towards a career in serving and advocating for her community.

Teji never forgot Durbin. In 2010 after her sophomore year of college, she landed a prestigious internship with him on Capitol Hill and remained in touch with Durbins staff.

Periodically she would find herself crossing paths with the senior senator from Illinois, and his words and acts continued to inspire. After graduating from St. Louis University in 2012, Teji worked as a program associate for the nonprofit advocacy group South Asian Americans Leading Together where she had the opportunity to meet with Durbin while working on a congressional hearing following a hate crime at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin.

While interning at the Federal Defenders office in Illinois as a law student, Teji again crossed paths with Durbin when he supported a commutation petition for a client she was helping. Most recently, in 2016, Durbin was the keynote speaker and awardee at the Asian American Coalition of Chicago where Teji received a Youth Who Excels award for her work with the Asian-American community.

At every interaction, Durbin continued to inspire and guide Teji toward becoming a strong advocate. He is an important and significant figure in my life, she said.

So when the opportunity arose to find a commencement speaker, Teji naturally thought of Durbin.

At commencement Teji will have the honor of presenting Durbin with an honorary medallion. With the impact Senator Durbin has had on my professional career, it is really meaningful for me to participate in the ceremony, she said.

Teji is one of 251 students graduating from John Marshall in June. While a student at John Marshall, Teji was the Student Bar Associations representative to the Illinois State Bar Association, president of the South Asian Law Student Association and worked in both the Pro Bono Clinic and the International Human Rights Clinic.

A native of Oakbrook, Illinois, Teji plans to pursue a career in public interest law.

About The John Marshall Law School

The John Marshall Law School, founded in 1899, is an independent law school located in the heart of Chicago's legal, financial and commercial districts. The 2017 U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Graduate Schools ranks John Marshall's Lawyering Skills Program 5th, its Trial Advocacy Program 19th and its Intellectual Property Law Program 21st in the nation. Since its inception, John Marshall has been a pioneer in legal education and has been guided by a tradition of diversity, innovation, access and opportunity.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9a178739-2695-42c8-8d6d-6111b8708a52
TORONTO, June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation ("Mandalay" or the "Company") (TSX:MND) regretfully announces that early this morning a flooding event occurred in which the Delia 2 ramp section of the Delia NW mine of the Companys Cerro Bayo property was completely inundated. Two Mandalay employees were working in this section of the mine at the time of the incident. Mine rescue efforts were immediately initiated and are ongoing, although they are impeded by the extent of the flooding.



The incident has been reported to the Chilean authorities. Mining operations at Cerro Bayo have been suspended and the Company is now working closely with the authorities to respond effectively. The Company will provide further details via press release as more information becomes available.

Dr. Mark Sander, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mandalay, commented: We are profoundly saddened by this unexpected event even as we focus our resources on search and rescue. We, of course, will keep all our stakeholders informed as the situation unfolds at the mine and as we determine the cause. Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with our miners and their families.



About Mandalay Resources Corporation:

Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia, Chile, and Sweden, and a development project in Chile. The Company is focused on executing a roll-up strategy, creating critical mass by aggregating advanced or in-production gold, copper, silver and antimony projects in Australia, the Americas, and Europe to generate near-term cash flow and shareholder value.
You think they would have at least done it in the bathroom.

Nope, a couple apparently romped around in their seats on a Ryanair flight on Wednesday while passengers watched in utter astonishment.

The unnamed lascivious pair were on a flight from Manchester, England, to the party island of Ibiza and couldn't wait to have some erotic fun, according to the British Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail reports the woman mounted herself on top of her traveling companion and they began to put on a show worthy of a porn film.

"They seemed so drunk, they brought a lot of attention to themselves," Kieran Williams, 21, from Preston, Lancashire, told the Daily Mail. "You could see the girl taking off her pants and he pulled his trousers off. She started riding him."

SFGATE reached out to Ryanair and didn't hear back by the time this story was published.

A Ryanair spokesperson told the Daily Mail that they're looking into the matter and "will not tolerate unruly, disruptive or inappropriate behavior at any time and any passengers who appear to behave in an unacceptable manner may be liable for further sanctions."
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

More public schools in San Jose are opening gender neutral restrooms on campus, following an example set by Lincoln High in May 2016, as the San Jose Mercury News reported.

Since then, other schools, including Overfelt High and San Jose State, have been opening their own restrooms open to students of differing gender identities. The decisions have been met with "overwhelming" support from the schools' students.
CALGARY, Alberta, June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Prairie Mines & Royalty ULC will be required to pay a total penalty of $925,000 as a result of a spill from a wastewater containment pond at the Obed Mountain Coal mine approximately 30 km east of Hinton.



The spill that occurred in October 2013 contaminated water and damaged the creek bed of two tributaries of the Athabasca River. The contaminated water subsequently flowed into the Athabasca River. The company pleaded guilty to one count under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.

The total penalty includes a fine of $192,000 and a creative sentencing order to both pay $363,000 to fund a dam safety research project related to coal mine water storage, and pay $370,000 for an indigenous youth environmental education project.

Further information about the projects and the agreed statement of facts regarding the incident are available on the AERs Compliance Dashboard.

The AER initially laid charges in October 2015 against Coal Valley Resources Inc. (CVRI) and its parent company Sherritt International Corporation operating as Sherritt Coal. CVRI has since been purchased by Westmoreland Coal Company and was subsequently amalgamated into Prairie Mines & Royalty ULC.

The AER continues to receive monthly and annual reports regarding the environmental monitoring and remediation of the impacts caused by the Obed Mountain Coal mine spill from the company as required by an environmental protection order (EPO) issued on November 19, 2013. The Obed Mountain Mine is being decommissioned and reclaimed by the mines current owner, Westmoreland Coal. The AER continues to inspect both the mine site and the area that was impacted by the 2013 release that is currently being remediated.

In addition to the penalty under the EPEA, Prairie Mines & Royalty ULC has pleaded guilty to charges under the federal Fisheries Act. For further information on those charges, see the Government of Canadas news release.

The Alberta Energy Regulator ensures the safe, efficient, orderly, and environmentally responsible development of hydrocarbon resources over their entire life cycle. This includes allocating and conserving water resources, managing public lands, and protecting the environment while providing economic benefits for all Albertans.
This story originally appeared on Hoodline.

Tonight at 7:30pm, the Northern Cailfornia chapter of the National Iranian American Council will hold a vigil at Civic Center/UN Plaza to honor the victims of yesterday's terror attack in Tehran, where ISIS-backed assailants killed 12 and injured 42 others in two separate incidents.

Story continues below.

NIAC Field organizer Donna Farvard told Hoodline that she's expecting as many as fifty people to turn out for tonight's vigil. "The show of support on our Facebook page is much larger right now," she said.

Farvard said NIAC is a grassroots organizing group that advocates for Iranian-Americans and promotes better understanding between the US and Tehran. "This is our first vigil in San Francisco, but we are also organizing vigils in Montclair, New Jersey, Pittsburgh and in Washington DC," she added.

Tonight's gathering, co-sponsored by the Iranian-American Bar Association, "is just an opportunity for us to show our love and support for our Iranian brothers and sisters who were affected by the attacks," Farvard said. She estimated that there are "more than 1,000" Iranian-Americans living in San Francisco.

"It's important that when confronted with acts of hate, we come out and show the love and support instead," she said.
MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- William BJ Losch, CFO of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN), will present at the Morgan Stanley Financials Conference in New York City on Tuesday, June 13, at 1:20 p.m. Eastern Time.



The conference will be available to the public via live webcast with audio replays available until June 27. A link to the webcast, both live and archived, will be available in the events and presentations section of http://ir.fhnc.com/.

Any materials may contain forward-looking statements, including guidance, involving significant risks and uncertainties, which will be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "should," "is likely," "will," "going forward" and other expressions that indicate future events and trends and may include cautionary statements. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking information. These factors are outlined in our most recent earnings press release and in more detail in our most current 10-Q and 10-K reports, as well as in our May 4, 2017 press release and slide deck announcing and outlining our transaction with Capital Bank Financial Corp. First Horizon disclaims any obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements that are made from time to time to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations.

About First Horizon

The 4,300 employees of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) provide financial services through more than 160 bank locations across Tennessee and the southern U.S. and 28 FTN Financial offices across the U.S. The company was founded during the Civil War in 1864 and has the 14th oldest national bank charter in the country. First Tennessee has the largest deposit market share in Tennessee and one of the highest customer retention rates of any bank in the country. FTN Financial is a capital markets industry leader in fixed income sales, trading and strategies for institutional customers in the U.S. and abroad. First Horizon has been recognized as one of the nation's best employers by Working Mother and American Banker magazines and the National Association for Female Executives. More information is available at www.FirstHorizon.com.

FHN-G
A: Test me all night long, baby.

Really. Sign me up to be the subject of A/B testing. Ill sign a blanket consent form so that Silicon Valleys biggest brains can test me for the purpose of improving the human future.

Youve likely been A/B tested without your knowledge if youve ever used Google or Facebook. With A/B testing, different users are given different variants of a website or an email or a purchasing button to test what small changes online make you more likely to click or read or buy something. If youre reading this column online, you could be being A/B tested right now  with different readers seeing different layouts or different headlines, and your different responses being measured.

This is good. A/B tests, if conducted repeatedly and carefully, allow for continuous refinements in our designs, our interfaces and our products.

This notion of tests is old  its often attributed to 1908 tests used to improve industrial processes at a Guinness brewery in Ireland. But Google has optimized its globe-dominating search business via such testing. Facebook is similarly devoted to A/B testing to refine its site. On the other side is Snap, which doesnt like to make constant adjustments. Is that why Snap is facing such challenges in keeping users?

We should demand even more from A/B testing. The human race must improve all sorts of systems  energy, traffic, food and water, even governing systems  if were going to avoid self-inflicted disasters, from climate change to famines to wars. So why dont we commit ourselves to a culture of continuous optimization in the real world, not just the virtual?

B: I am not your test subject, baby.

And I dont want to be Silicon Valleys guinea pig. Yes, the Internet is full of fine print to inform me Im being tested. But that doesnt mean Im being meaningfully asked for my consent.

My online time is now given over to companies experimenting upon me for the purpose of getting me to make choices that reveal which variables in sites or purchase buttons will change my own behavior online. In essence, Im a dystopian lab rat forced to design the maze  and the reward  that will entrap me.

What do I receive in return? Facebook tells me its free services are my compensation, but studies also tell me that spending more time on Facebook  which is the goal of many of their experiments  makes me less happy. Sadness is not a method of payment I accept.

Such testing has created an unacknowledged ethical, and public health, crisis. The more we click, the more were being tested. And if experiments show how to make us spend more time online than is healthy, or to spend more money than is good for our finances, arent we being harmed by our own testimony? In other fields of study, society has standards for governing the testing of human subjects. But these standards arent being applied to all the A/B testing we experience online.

There are questions here for our faltering democracy, too. California has hundreds of companies that will help interest groups or politicians test the best ways to manipulate us for their political purposes. But is such human testing a factor in the rise of political polarization and fake information?

This world of testing needs real regulation  by the same authorities, and under the same laws, that regulate business practices in the name of protecting people from health and financial threats. One way to start might be to add regulation of A/B testing and other experiments on users to the privacy regulations that some jurisdictions impose on tech companies.

A/B testing is also impersonal; it isnt good at capturing who the users are, a problem because individuals can be so different. Smart people in Silicon Valley know this, which is why they are moving beyond A/B testing into machine learning, a world of algorithms that learn about each individual user. The promise of machine learning is that, someday, the algorithms will continuously improve in giving each individual user customized products.

But, in their testing and in pursuing machine learning, Californias brightest brains are simultaneously hiding behind their screens and intruding into their fellow citizens lives. Yes, their goal is to improve commerce, communication, the human experience. Yes, we can choose, A or B. But how much choice does constant testing really give us test subjects about the nature of our collective future?

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zocalo Public Square. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at http://bit.ly/SFChronicleletters.
New York City's pension fund is the first in the nation to fully divest from private prisons, according to Comptroller Scott Stringer. Trustees of the city's pension fund voted unanimously to divest in mid-May, and have since pulled $48 million of stocks and bonds from three companies: GEO Group, CoreCivic, and G4S.

"With Donald Trump in the White House, we're seeing more and more industries try to profit from backwards policies at the expense of immigrants and communities of color," Stringer stated Thursday. "But because of this major new step, we are demonstrating that we will not be complicit."

A 2016 federal audit of private prisons found that these facilities are less safe for inmates than their public equivalents, due to overcrowding and inadequate medical care. Private prisons, including GEO Group and CoreCivic, also operate the majority of the country's immigrant detention centers.

Pension fund trustees voted to study the possibility of divestment last Septembera mandatory step in considering any adjustment to the fund. Stringer's office worked with outside consultants to determine how divesting from prisons might impact the health of the fund (which covers city employees including teachers, fire fighters and police officers) and concluded that negative impacts would be negligible. They also decided that investing in human rights abuses was risky. From Stringer's release:

Reports have exposed a pattern of human rights issues in private prisons, including the physical and sexual abuse of inmates, wrongful deaths, and increased violence due to improper staffing. These failings can lead to reputational, legal, and regulatory riskswhich could seriously harm investors.

Yet investment has soared recently in the very companies New York has divested from. The day after President Trump was elected, the New York Times reports, CoreCivic saw its stock price jump 43 percent. GEO Group, the second-largest private prison company in the US, saw a 21 percent leap. The industry also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Trump's campaign. On the trail, the presidential hopeful described the private model as working "a lot better." In office, Trump has expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement's mandate.

In New York, pension investment managers liquidated investments in any company that receives at least 20 percent of its profit from private prisons, in addition to direct investments. Stringer pledged to reassess the city's portfolio annually to make sure no more companies have been added that surpass the 20 percent threshold.

"It is time we put our money where our morals are," said Public Advocate Letitia James, praising the announcement.

"This sends a strong message that New York won't support corporations that are locking up members of our communities," added Jesus Gonzalez, an organizer with Churches United for Fair Housing, in a statement Thursday. Gonzalez's group is part of a recently-launched campaign to single out companies that stand to profit under the Trump Administration, including banks that finance private prisons like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

Doug Turetsky of the Independent Budget Office said Thursday that while New York City's divestment is a small piece of the $175 billion pension fund, it could set a positive precedent. "It could trigger others to disinvest," he said.

"We strongly reject the baseless claims that led to this misguided decision," a spokesperson for GEO Group told the Daily News.
The narrator begins as if to put it all on the table, as if to assure you of his straightforwardness: My name is Howard W. Campbell Jr. I am an American by birth, a Nazi by reputation and a nationless person by inclination.

Ultimately, though, this protagonist remains unknowable, which is written into Kurt Vonneguts 1961 novel Mother Night but more frustrating in Brian Katzs world premiere adaptation of the book, seen Thursday, June 8, at Custom Made Theatre.

Howard (Chris Morrell) catalogs the every move that led him from playwright to Nazi to spy to prisoner, omitting not even his erotic games with his wife, Helga (Megan Briggs). If hes long on what, though, hes short on why, offering only his hamminess as explanation for both why he wrote and broadcast Nazi propaganda and why he then betrayed his patrons. Working as an American spy offered him another chance to play a role, he says, but a craving for the spotlight doesnt count for much as a theatrical characters inner life.

A mysterious Howard works in prose for Vonnegut, much as understatement does for Camus in The Stranger. You the imaginative reader can endlessly speculate about, project onto an enigma who perpetrates evil less as a result of inborn malice than of a psychic shrug, a total surrender of individuality and will to circumstance. Its the very lack of explanation that makes it easier, and more terrifying, for you to see yourself in the protagonist.

Theater inherently leaves less to the imagination, though. It has so many more tools than do words on a page. In making flesh of the riddle that is Howard, the show saps him of his power, especially since Katzs script reproduces so much of Vonneguts notoriously omniscient and declamatory narration, rather than translating it into a language native to the stage.

Morrell makes Howard inviting, a Mr. Rogers-like storyteller youre eager to lean in toward, especially early in the play, when a parade of lines beginning with I am or I feel might otherwise grate and distance. Soon, though, Morrells natural winsomeness clashes with his character. You keep expecting a hero to emerge from someone who is so emphatically not one  someone who keeps proclaiming, I am an artist. But the script never gives Howard the chance to show he cares about his work. Its much more generous with the quirky side characters of Howards observations  a eugenicist dentist (Catz Forsman); another spy, one whos also a Renaissance man (Dave Sikula)  but these finely wrought impressions are incidental flights of fancy.

Maxx Kurzunskis lighting is among the shows most effective devices. So often in contemporary theater the overriding mandate from director to designer seems to be, Just let me see everything. Refreshingly, Katz, who also directs, keeps the show shrouded in darkness, so that even on a tiny stage, Kurzunski can create myriad hermetically sealed little worlds, each in isolated cones of peach, blue and red light. In this twilit universe, its easy to see how Howard could remain so cut off from the consequences of his actions.

Any contemporary show that broaches Naziism inevitably thrusts itself into our own political moment of demagoguery, bigotry and invective, but Mother Night doesnt add anything to that conversation you havent already heard in fatuous exchanges on social media. History repeats itself, this production tells us, but didnt we already know that? What next?

Lily Janiak is The San Francisco Chronicles theater critic. Email: ljaniak@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LilyJaniak

Mother Night: Written and directed by Brian Katz. Adapted from Kurt Vonnegut. Through June 24. $20-$42. Custom Made Theatre, 533 Sutter St., S.F. Two hours, 25 minutes. (415) 798-2682. www.custommade.org
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A sticky situation for a baby bird 99 million years ago is a coup for modern scientists.

The hatchling, which was just a few days old when it stumbled into a pool of tree sap, roamed the Earth nearly 100 million years ago.

Scientists, who published their findings in the journal Gondwana Research, say the specimen is the most complete fossil ever discovered in Burmese amber.

"It's the most complete and detailed view we've ever had," Ryan McKellar of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, co-author of the paper, told New Scientist. "Seeing something this complete is amazing. It's just stunning."

After years encased in amber, the bird's flesh has likely broken down into carbon, McKellar explained, meaning none of its DNA remains. What is left, however, is a detailed impression of the creature.

"It's neat because it preserves a very early growth stage," McKellar told Gizmodo, noting that the bird had just begun to grow its tail feathers.

The hatchling belongs to a group of toothed birds called enantiornithines, which went extinct alongside the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago. Unlike the birds of today, the enantiornithine had claws on its wings and teeth in place of a beak.

Researchers named the specimen "Belone," the Burmese word for Oriental skylark. With further study, Belone could provide critical insight into the peculiar lives of the ancient toothed birds of yesteryear.

Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
Ready to be at the beach holding an umbrella drink in your hand?

Airline deal site Scott's Cheap Flights sent out an email Friday morning alerting its subscribers of round-trip flights from the West Coast to Hawaii "in the $300s."

The site displayed a round-trip fare between Portland and Honolulu in November for $343 on United Airlines found on Google Flights.

SFGATE reached out to the founder of the site, Scott Keyes, and he said the flights from the Bay Area aren't quite as cheap as those from the Northwest but he helped us find an Oakland to Maui round-trip on Alaska and Hawaiian for $397 in late August. Keyes said there are lots of deals to be discovered for Oakland-Maui flights in late August, September and October.

"I'd typically expect a fare like that to be in the $550 to $650 range right now," Keyes said.

RELATED GALLERY: Secret tips and tricks for enjoying Hawaii

He said round-trip flights this fall and winter (except during Thanksgiving and Christmas) between Oakland and Honolulu can be found for as low as $450 right now, and he'd also expect those fares to be about $550.

Keyes likes to use Google Flights to search for deals because the search function is easy to navigate with a calendar feature showing the lowest fare for each day. Once he identifies a flight, he types it into the airline deal site Momondo, and often finds a price on the same itinerary that's cheaper.
STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

DOHA, Qatar  Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on a Saudi Arabia-led bloc of Arab nations Friday to immediately ease their blockade of Qatar and urged all involved in the week-long Persian Gulf dispute to quickly resolve their differences, remarks that President Trump seemed to undercut less than an hour later.

Trump began a news conference with the visiting president of Romania by saying that the Saudi-led action against Qatar was hard but necessary. He said he had been consulted in advance by nations that spoke to me about confronting Qatar, a country he said historically has been a funder of terrorism at a very high level.
1 Somalia fighting: Dozens of soldiers were killed early Thursday in a dawn attack by the Somali extremist group al-Shabab on a military base in the Somali region of Puntland. Al-Shabab  allied with Islamic State rival al Qaeda  said it was responsible for the attack and claimed to have killed 61 soldiers. The precise casualty figure was not known but the Associated Press cited a military official as saying up to 70 were killed. It was al-Shababs largest attack during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a period seen by militants as a key time for attacks. The attack on the Af-Urur military base in the Galgala mountains killed the base commander and his deputy in Puntland, a semiautonomous region that has its own 3,000-strong military force. Under a deal between the Somali and Puntland governments, the force is to be integrated into the Western-backed national army. Somalia has been mired in civil war for decades.

2 Drone attack: A U.S. aircraft shot down a pro-Syrian government drone after it fired upon a group of U.S.-led coalition forces in southeastern Syria Thursday, the Pentagon said. Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Syria told reporters that no coalition forces were injured in the attack and that the drones munition struck dirt. The incident marks a significant escalation around the Tanf border crossing, a vital link that connects Iraq and Syria. Iran considers the area part of an integral supply route that connects Tehran with Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. In the same area, U.S.-led Special Operations forces have been quietly training a small detachment of Syrian opposition fighters in anticipation of a broader campaign against the Islamic State in the Euphrates River Valley. An alliance supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Wednesday it would attack U.S.-led coalition forces in the area if the United States crossed unspecified red lines.
1 Brazil politics: The top electoral court late Friday gave embattled President Michel Temer a major victory, voting to reject allegations of campaign finance violations that would have removed him from office. After four days of deliberations, judges voted 4-3 in a case that many viewed as a measure of whether Temer could remain in office amid a growing corruption scandal and sinking popularity. Last month, a recording emerged that apparently captured Temer endorsing hush money to ex-House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, a former Temer ally serving 15 years in prison for corruption and money laundering. Soon after that, another bombshell came out: that Temer was being investigated for allegedly receiving bribes. Temer has denied wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office.

2 Somalia violence: At least 14 people, most of them civilians, were killed Friday as soldiers clashed over food aid in drought-ravaged Somalias southwestern city of Baidoa, where tens of thousands of people have streamed in seeking assistance. The fighting broke out at a distribution site after some soldiers tried to steal food sacks meant for displaced people and other soldiers guarding the aid stopped them, said police Col. Isaq Hassan. At least 20 people were injured, with some were in critical condition. Somalia is one of four countries singled out by the United Nations in a $4.4 billion aid appeal to avert catastrophic hunger and famine, along with Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.
BEIJING  Energy ministers from around the world gathered in Beijing this week to report increased spending to help counter climate change. Yet one prominent voice, that of U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, delivered a starkly countervailing message as the Trump administration seeks to roll back spending on clean energy and promote fossil fuels.

India, France, Norway, Canada, Australia, Japan and others said during a private meeting of ministers earlier this week that they were on track to double government research budgets.

When Perrys turn came, he said deep cuts to research in Trumps proposed budget reflected an increased understanding that developing new technologies into commercial projects should be left to private companies. The proposal must first pass through Congress.

If youre going to have to prioritize where your dollars are going, early stage is where were going to spend it, Perry said Friday when asked about his earlier comments. Once (a new technology) has been proven up, we need to get out of the business.

The approach he outlined marks a sharp departure from the past practice of ushering new technologies through to commercial deployment. It also illustrates a new reality emerging across the global energy landscape, where U.S. innovations long dominated.

Thats opened the way for other large developing nations, especially China, to seize the mantle of leadership in tackling climate change.

For us its not a political issue but a moral and spiritual issue, Harsh Vardhan, Indias minister of science and technology, told the Associated Press. We are working for the future of our children.

Trump last week cast his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord in terms of economic self-interest. He warned American jobs would be transferred overseas if the U.S. remained in the agreement.

Renewable energy is widely seen as a major driver of future global growth and Trump was accused of fudging the figures on the agreements economic impact and on its projected effects on reining in rising global temperatures.

The Republicans announcement drew a quick international rebuke and firm assertions from other nations that they would proceed with the agreement regardless of the U.S. position.

Matthew Brown is an Associated Press writer.
Mounting concerns about the subway's general state of disrepair came to a head on Monday when rush hour riders found themselves packed shoulder to shoulder in a stalled F train for close to an hourno lights, no air conditioning. "It is definitely not business as usual," Andrew Albert, a transit advocate and nonvoting member of the MTA Board, told Gothamist on Friday. "That graphic of people with their fingers through the doorsit is bad."

Mayor de Blasio, who has recently prickled at the public's renewed interest in his SUV-dependent Park Slope YMCA habit, tried to commiserate with straphangers during an unrelated press conference on Thursday, reminiscing about commuting regularly underground in the 1990s. He also pledged to "put forward a vision" to shift the MTA's focus towards general subway maintenance, somehow exacting more influence on the MTA Board, the majority of which is appointed by Governor Cuomo.

"I rode the F train for many, many years... in fact, from '92 to '99 it was the only way I got around. Or also the R train sometimes because those were the two that go near my house in Brooklyn, and I didn't have a car into well into 1999," the Mayor said, adding, "I can absolutely relate to what people must have gone through [during] that horrible incident. We need to demand a plan of action immediately."

Acknowledging the Governor's influence over the MTA, de Blasio pledged to present a new list of priorities.

"The MTA historically has not focused enough of its energies on the New York City subway system, even though by far it's the number one thing the MTA doesfive to six million riders a day," de Blasio said. "So I will be speaking about this regularly. And if we don't see a plan, we'll put forward a vision through my representatives on the MTA of what needs to change."

"I think credible ideas from any source can help push the conversation in that direction," said John Raskin of the Riders Alliance.

"The more people that focus on the condition of the subways, the better it is for the riding public," Albert agreed. However, he added, "The governor has so many more appointees than the mayor to the board that it's clear who's in control." The subway has been under state control since the late 1960s; Governor Cuomo appoints six members to the 14-member board.

"Some of the things that are in the mayor's power are to have the city pay for fair fares, and providing more money to the MTA's capital plan and operations," Albert said.

A spokeswoman for the governor told Gothamist that the mayor's best bet would be to provide more capital and operating funds (responsibility for the subway has been a favorite sparring topic for two public officials who like to spar).

"When someone says it's not about the money that means it is about the money," Dani Lever said. "The best way the mayor could help is by paying his fair share of capital and operating expensesthat would directly improve service for riders."

The MTA's 2015-19 capital plan includes New York City's largest commitment to date, totaling $2.5 billionan amount de Blasio's staff has repeatedly described as unprecedented. New York City's latest budget, signed earlier this week, does not include $50 million to pilot reduced MetroCard fares for the working poor. In the lead-up to the final budget, Mayor de Blasio said that NYC could not afford the program.

It's important to note that roughly half of the MTA's operating budget comes from fares paid by daily riders like the ones trapped on the F train from hell earlier this week. The MTA recently voted to increase its overall debt by $5 billion over the next several years, in large part to fund new infrastructure projects. Board members cautioned last month that said debt will increase upward pressure on faresif not this year, then years down the road.
Front row seat

Better than that, actually. Senator Martin Heinrich's posting to the Senate Intelligence Committee gave him the chance to ask questions of fired FBI director James Comey, who told senators he "assumed there would be others" at a private dinner with President Trump. Comey repeatedly said he didn't trust the president to tell the truth about the one-on-one meetings. Overnight, the president tweeted that the hearing gave him "total vindication."

Governor lifts hiring freeze

The ban on hiring new state employees is off. It's been in place since late March as the governor and lawmakers grappled with each other and with revenue projections that kept the state's cash reserves well below desired levels. It now looks like the state will end the year in positive territory, so Gov. Susana Martinez has

. Roughly 20 percent of state jobs on the books are unfilled.

Governor hires new communications director

That worked out nicely. Chris Sanchez has

managing media inquiries and various and sundry public appearances for Gov. Martinez. Sanchez, Martinez' third communications director by SFR's count, is moving out of state. Former TV and radio reporter Larry Behrens, a longtime Martinez administration communications staffer, will take over the job.

Misfortune 500

The Fortune 500 list is out, and once again there are

on it. The state hasn't made the list for more than 30 consecutive years, according to a New Mexico State University professor. Typically, such high-earning companies offer good jobs at their headquarters and executives invest in their communities.

District attorney faces criminal charges

To say charges for reckless driving have been

for Sixth Judicial District Attorney Francesca Estevez would be an understatement. A concerned motorist shot video of her swerving all over a two-lane highway in her government car last June. When Silver City police and New Mexico State Police caught up to her still behind the wheel, parked with a flat tire, they let her goeven as she missed the seat while trying to sit back down and also appeared to be practicing a field sobriety test. The attorney general filed charges yesterday for reckless driving, misusing a government vehicle and violating state ethics law.

Cop secret

As always, weekends are a good time to belly up to an SFR cover story. Jeff Proctor and Aaron Cantu examine why Santa Feans

of complaints filed with the city's police department. Across the state, police departments interpret the rules for disclosure differentlyand the attorney general's office so far says whatever they decide is legal.

Tower permit denied, but...

The 80-foot tower is already there. Santa Fe's planning board has denied a permit request from a local internet service provider. The telecommunications

and running in the neighborhood next to Salazar Elementary. The tower's owner says the city's been sending mixed signals and the matter is already in court.

Warm weekend

It should be a nice one

but get out and enjoy it if you're able!

Thanks for reading! The Word is pretty sure falling asleep on your back patio counts as outdoor activity. Clearly you're outside and sleeping is technically doing something. Sounds awesome.

Subscribe to the Morning Word at sfreporter.com/signup

Santa Fe Reporter
Where does one even begin in dismantling any far-fetched high hopes for a quality reboot (sort of, but more on that soon) of The Mummy with Tom Cruise? First off, Cruise at this point is really more of an onscreen presence than actual thespian. Rather than sink his teeth into anything, Cruise remains content to sprint towards things or away from things and make silly quips and one-liners while doing his best to not look as short as he actually is next to his leading ladies.

Here Cruise plays Nick Morton, an American solider of some kind who, along with his reluctant cohort Vail (New Girl's Jake Johnson), disregards orders to traipse around the Middle East stealing artifacts to sell on the black market. It's absurdand not in a fun, Indiana Jones kind of way because at least Indy was all like, "It belongs in a museum!" It's more like, Cruise-isn't-as-charming-as-he-thinks-and-who-the-hell-decided-to-try-and-inject humor-into-this-movie kind of way. During a routine theft attempt in Iraq, Nick and Vail unwittingly discover the ancient tomb (or is it?!) of an Egyptian princess (Sofia Boutella) who was buried alive for making a deal with the god Set so she could be all kinds of powerful. Wouldn't you know it, thoughthey awaken her, she's pissed and she's gonna give Set Nick's body so he can have dominion over life and death which, frankly, doesn't sound all bad to us.

Along for the ride is a beautiful archaeologist named Jennifer (Annabelle Wallis) with whom Nick shares one of those oh-so-playfully combative relationships (but they probably care deeply about each other). Jen has secrets of her own, though, like how she works for Russell Crowe whotwist!plays Dr. Jekyll. Yes, yesthat Dr. Jekyll. See, Universal Studios is clearly telegraphing a return to their monster movie stable of yesteryear, and with sly nods to properties like the Creature from the Black Lagoon and vampires and stuff, it becomes clear to film fans (read: people of a certain age) that there's plenty more where this came from whether we like it or not.

The exposition becomes downright gratuitous at a certain point, and it isn't long before we realize we've just been watching running punctuated by a few face-punches, and whatever light elements of Egyptology may have made it through seem squandered to a fault. No, this film is not as goofy-fun as the 1999 Brendan Fraser romp, and even far-superior CGI and a lack of The Rock don't make up for a dragging plot, god-awful writing and another forgettable turn from Cruise. Killing time? Knock yourselves out. Looking for something even slightly good? Move on.

3

+ I mean, it's people fighting mummies

- Are we really not sick of Tom Cruise yet?



The Mummy

Directed by Alex Kurtzman

With Cruise, Wallis, Boutella, Johnson

Regal, Violet Crown, PG-13, 110 min.





Santa Fe Reporter
The New Zealand dollar lurched higher against the British pound after initial exit polls suggested a hung parliament in the UK, potentially delaying Britain's departure from the European Union and stalling initiatives such as a new trade deal for Kiwi exporters.

The kiwi jumped as high as 56.69 British pence, and was trading at 56.42 pence as at 10am from 55.74 pence as at 8am and ahead of the poll. The pound fell about 1.6 percent against the greenback to US$1.2704.

BBC News reported a survey taken at polling stations across the UK suggested sitting Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives could get 314 seats, short of an absolute majority, while the opposition Labour would get 266. The result, if confirmed, would mean May would have to form a coalition or attempt to govern with the backing of other smaller parties.

The pound took an immediate tumble because a hung parliament will just make May's position harder, said Stuart Ive, OMF private client adviser. "It would just make it a lot more difficult to progress anything through parliament."

Critically, May might run into obstacles regarding her plans for Britain's departure from the European Union. "Not only will every move of Brexit have to go through every member of the EU, it will also have to go through every member of the UK parliament," said Ive.

While the kiwi gained against the pound, it fell against the US dollar and was trading at 71.93 US cents versus 72.15 cents as at 8am in a global risk-off move due to the heightened uncertainty. For New Zealand, any delays in Brexit and a hung parliament in the UK could create difficulties for New Zealand when it comes to negotiating a bilateral trade deal.

"It just leads to more uncertainty about how Brexit is going to work. As exporters into that market, there would be some challenges," said Phil Borkin, an economist at ANZ Bank New Zealand.

OMF's Ive also said it creates more difficulties but noted that the exit polls are just an early indicator. He said the picture would become clearer around 1pm local time as official results roll in.

(BusinessDesk)

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A former NYPD officer convicted of a slew of charges for falsely arresting a man who filmed him was sentenced to community service this week.

A jury convicted Jonathan Munoz of four felony counts and three misdemeanors following a trial in Manhattan Supreme Court in March. Munoz, the jury found, arrested a man for filming him as he illegally searched a woman in Washington Heights in 2014, then lied about the sequence of events in court documents. Each of the felony charges carries up to four years in prison, and each of the misdemeanors carry a maximum sentence of a year imprisonment. Prosecutors sought a sentence of six months jail followed by five years probation, according to a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Instead, Judge Charles Solomon sentenced Munoz to 100 hours community service, to be revisited if he gets in trouble in the next three years. New York law allows judges to sentence defendants to a conditional discharge if they find that "neither the public interest nor the ends of justice would be served by a sentence of imprisonment and that probation supervision is not appropriate." Munoz also has to pay $375 in court fees.

The DA's Office declined to comment on the sentence.

The case stemmed from Munoz's arrest of a man named Jason Disisto early one morning outside of a Puerto Rican restaurant near West 183rd Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue. Disisto saw Munoz reach into Disisto's friend's pocket, and began to record with another friend's phone. As Disisto lined up his shot, Munoz grabbed him, and he and two other officers hauled Disisto off in cuffs. One of the cops threw Disisto's phone out of the car window before they drove off.

Police charged Disisto with obstructing police work, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. In a police report, Munoz wrote that Disisto lunged and took a swing at him. Surveillance footage of the incident showed that this was a lie, and the charges were eventually thrown out. The city settled a lawsuit by Disisto for an undisclosed amount of taxpayer money.

Munoz was convicted of filing a false instrument, making a false statement, and, for the baseless search, official misconduct. Following a 30-day suspension, the NYPD continued paying Munoz through 2015 and 2016. The department fired him only after his conviction this year.

Munoz could not be reached, and his lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association also did not respond to comment requests.
Staten Island is often thought of as the city's conservative outpost, and has the lone Republican Representative of the city's House delegation and the large Trump "T" to show it. However, Staten Island's schools could be a hotbed of liberal indoctrination, judging by the fact that for the second time this year, a teacher on the island is in hot water for badmouthing Donald Trump.

According to the Post, a student complained to his parents and city investigators that Susan Wagner High School teacher Alfred Teutonico called Donald Trump a "rapist" and a "dictator" during class in November.

Teutonico also "challenged" a student to defend Trump's policies when he came in to class wearing a Make America Great Again hat, and would spend a couple minutes of class time trashing Trump over the course of the election, according to a report put together by investigators with the Special Commissioner of Investigation.

For his part, Teutonico admitted to investigators that he sometimes shared his thoughts on the election, and the report concluded that his political comments were "were unrelated to the topic of the class lesson."

Department of Education spokesperson Michael Aciman sent Gothamist the following statement:

We encourage schools to have respectful conversations about civics, current events and public policy as part of our goal of creating thoughtful and engaged citizens, but staff are directed to maintain neutrality when discussing political topics in school.

Additionally, a DOE source told Gothamist that Teutonico received a letter of reprimand.

Back in February, another Staten Island teacher got in trouble for assigning homework that was seen by one parent as disparaging to Trump, in which students were supposed to fill in blanks for vocabulary words that compared Trump's seeming "arrogance" to Barack Obama's seeming "humility."

DOE rules regarding political activities in school buildings specifically state that "While on duty or in contact with students, all school personnel shall maintain a posture of complete neutrality with respect to all candidates."
The way of the empty hands The Simi Valley Shotokan Karate Dojo recently hosted a two-day seminar at Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District headquarters featuring a trio of karate experts. The Oct. 22 seminar was...

Slide into winter fun at SnowFest The Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District is bringing snow to Simi Valley. SnowFest will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun., Nov. 6 at Rancho Madera Community...
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"It was raining," Kasongo said. "They shot at us as we run and I could hear bam! Bam! If you are trying to skip in the military, they are going to kill you or they will shoot your mom or your family. You do what they ask you to do."
Sculptor Louis Pratt, who grew up in the national capital, has donated a major piece to the National Arboretum Canberra, saying the work, Backwards Attitude, is a political statement.

The 44-year-old Sydney-based artist, who attended Telopea High and Narrabundah College and later studied sculpture at the Australian National University, said the sculpture he was donating had been valued at $70,000.

Louis Pratt oversees the installation of his work, Backwards Attitude, at the National Arboretum Canberra. Credit:Rohan Thomson

"I wanted to donate to the arboretum," he said.

"I think this will be of special civic significance in the landscape of Canberra, if not the nation.
A lawyer who began her career in Canberra will return to the capital as a new Associate Judge of the ACT Supreme Court.

Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay on Friday appointed Verity McWilliam to the vacancy created after David Mossop was elevated to Resident Judge of the court.

Verity McWilliam will start as a new Associate Judge of the ACT Supreme Court later this month.

Ms McWilliam grew up in Canberra before studying law at the Australian National University and starting her career at a local firm.

She has practiced at the NSW Bar since 2006 and previously worked as an associate to two Federal Court judges, a solicitor in the NSW Crown Solicitor's Office and for PwC Legal in Sydney and DLA Piper in London.
More than three-quarters of Canberra's footpaths are not inspected for damage, with Roads ACT relying on the public to report defects, Auditor-General Maxine Cooper has found.

Dr Cooper called on the government to put in place a proper program for managing footpaths, pointing out that 60 per cent of paths will be 50 years or older by 2030, reaching or passing their life span.

New footpaths in the suburb of Throsby: Auditor-General Maxine Cooper has found that more than three-quarters of the city's footpaths are not regularly inspected for damage.

In a report released on Friday, she said the maintenance budget for paths had been cut over five years, from $5 million in 2011-12 to $3.2 million in 2015-16. At the same time there were more paths, so the budget was now $1150 per kilometre, compared with a budget of $1970 per kilometre five years ago.

Footpaths in 26 of the city's 110 suburbs were in priority areas, with the city as top priority and inspected every year, and residential areas ranked for inspection every four years. But 77 per cent were not inspected.
An aged-care home billing itself as "warm and welcoming" breached clinical standards when audited in a surprise government inspection.

The 72-bed Ozanam Apartments facility in the suburb of Garran cares for a large number of high-needs residents as well as those with dementia.

A rest home in the ACT breached standards of clinical care and behavioural management (file photo). Credit:Nicolas Walker

The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency found the home, operated by Southern Cross Care, failed standards related to clinical management, behavioural management and skin care.

Helen Emmerson, the head of care services at Southern Cross Care, said these issues had been fixed immediately and the residence was now up to scratch.
Promising Collingwood midfielder Tom Phillips has emerged as yet another player whose contract talks have been held up by the lack of a new collective bargaining agreement.

With the mid-point of the home and away season reached this weekend, eyes are increasingly turning to list decisions for 2018, but the lack of a CBA is slowing the process.

Plucked by the Magpies with pick 58 of the 2015 draft, Phillips, 21, has become a regular in Nathan Buckley's side this year after playing six senior games last season. Renowned as an outstanding runner, he has played all bar one game so far this year, averaging more than 20 disposals and picking up a rising star nomination in round nine for his 24-disposal showing in the comeback win against Hawthorn. He is out of contract at season's end.

Fairfax Media understands there is unlikely to be considerable movement with Phillips' contract negotiations until the CBA is complete.
Australia's corporate watchdog has moved to shut down 19 companies associated with a failed Pilbara property scheme marketed by get-rich-quick spruiker Jamie McIntyre.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission has applied to the Federal Court of Australia to appoint KPMG's Hayden White and Matthew Woods as liquidators to 19 companies run by Perth businesswoman Desiree Veronica Macpherson's Macro Realty group.

Henry Kaye (left) and Jamie McIntyre at a fancy dress party.

In the past, Macro has been accused of orchestrating a $180 million property Ponzi scheme.

ASIC alleges that the "special purpose vehicle" companies were connected with fundraising efforts for Macro's property developments, including the Newman Estate.
Detector dogs play a vital role in the seizure of prohibited goods heading for Australia through ports, airports, mail centres and freight facilities.

While their presence can spell disaster for people attempting to import drugs, explosives and other banned or restricted items, working with them can be an absolute pleasure.

Marc Dransman with detector dog Crunch.

"Every time you go to work there is someone very happy to see you," says Marc Dransman, senior instructor in the Australian Border Force Detector Dog Program.

Dransman works at Bulla, north of Melbourne, where labradors are bred and trained for duty across the country. He worked in retail, construction and freight forwarding before becoming a customs officer and then a narcotics dog handler at Tullamarine Airport where he checked international arrivals and freight, sometimes identifying suspicious behaviour and items that led to seizures of drugs and the referral of suspicious passengers and importers to federal police.
US President Donald Trump's tweets have been described as grenades. Now, in terms of their potential to cause severe and lasting damage, they are more like nuclear warheads.

Just in the past week, Trump has made remarks that undermine, if they don't actually sabotage, his own appeal to the US Supreme Court on his immigration laws, and he has hung out to dry the small Middle Eastern country of Qatar that is host to a US military base where 10,000 troops are stationed.

Donald Trump Credit:AP

We know this, not because confidential internal White House conversations have been leaked to The Washington Post but because of the President's tweets.

Not so long ago, most of us probably thought that his regular and undisciplined tweeting was quirky, or even funny, just another indicator of just how idiosyncratic the new US President was. They were a clue to the kind of reckless behaviour and use of language that enabled him to dispense with the large field of gormless Republican candidates and win the GOP nomination for president.
To my surprise it was a woman making coffee - an older woman, a granny barista. Of course that shouldn't be surprising, except that it doesn't happen  like, ever. Occasionally in DJs or Maccas you'll get a granny retail assistant, trailing clouds of resentment. But when a job gets smart or edgy or cool  when cooking becomes cheffing, coffee-making becomes barista-ship or barmaiding becomes cocktail creation  men, especially young men, take over. Outta my way lady. I got da balls for this.

My Balmain barista, though - warm, wrinkled, kind-seeming - dignified her job. Neither brash nor pompous, she did not call you love, ogle your cleavage or twiddle her handlebar moustache. The coffee was pure class and the efficiency of her hands said they'd been feeding and watering humans forever. Easy as.

Illustration: Simon Bosch

I walked away thinking perhaps this is the upside of inadequate pensions. Perhaps the grannies will reappear in our streets, our professions, our civic lives. Maybe we'll tap their warmth and strength and humour - qualities that less frivolous cultures still call wisdom. I like this possibility. Granny, Nana and Ma should be terms of private love, yes, but also of public reverence. Old women should lead the world.

Yet the opposite is true. "Old woman" is still an insult, wielding a derogatory heft that has never attached to "old man" and would sit more fairly - if it's emotional unreliability we're talking about - on the shoulders of "young man."
"A striking feature is that in numeracy the ACT schools are performing ... at the lower levels of performance for schools of similar ICSEA values. "ACT schools have higher ICSEA values as a group. This equates to higher mean scores for NAPLAN compared to schools in other states and territories where the tails of performance reduce raw mean scores. The effect is to conceal the real levels of performance in the ACT which is lower than expected (predicted) based on the student population and weaker than schools serving similar populations in other states." The audit report was, of course, focused on ACT school performance, and even there, government school performance, not the (generally equally unimpressive) performances of ACT private or Catholic systemic schools. It must also be emphasised that the focus of the report was not in evaluating school NAPLAN results as such, but investigating how school principals and teachers were using the information they gained from NAPLAN and others evaluations as feedback in planning and attempting to improve school performance. Not so well, it seems, though people are trying. Teachers and administrators have spent most of the past three decades feeling under siege. But Australians worried about general issues of quality of education, and in how school performance is to be improved, would also find much to ponder beyond the mere pleasure of seeing a smug and complacent system taken down a peg or two.

There was a time  it was more than 40 years ago  when the ACT school system was the best in Australia. It adopted the general NSW Wyndham reforms of the 1960s, which considerably improved the calibre of science and language teaching, and added a year to life in high school. In the early 1970s, it picked up on a Tasmanian idea of separating out the last two years of secondary school into a colleges system, which provided improved readiness for tertiary study, including into vocational and technical education. Far more, and better than Tasmania, however, it gave considerable autonomy to school principals and individual schools, as well as permitting a wide range of curriculum development. The quality of school architecture and facilities, school staffing ratios and teacher pay was consistently high. For all intents and purposes, ACT schools were city schools, to be compared with city schools in other jurisdictions, such as in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. They did not have problems of remoteness. They had a far smaller proportion of students who fitted in categories recognised by the Gonski reviews as setting the state for disadvantage: children with disabilities, children who spoke languages other than English in their home, and Aboriginal children. The ACT has been the full Gonski, and, while schools and teachers whinge as much as anywhere, ACT primary and secondary education has never much suffered from serious under-resourcing, poor morale or a want of public will to have and to demand excellence in outcomes. There are hints that the ACT results might be even worse than reported. The ACT seems to have a significantly lower rate of participation by year 3, 5 and 9 students in national literacy and numeracy tests, even though it should have a lower proportion of students who ought to "qualify" for exemption from the testing.

It has long been suggested in some jurisdictions that some "prestige" schools are both tactical and strategic in tactfully withholding some of their poorer performing students from the testing process, lest they "drag down" the averages and "make the school look bad". The significant difference between ACT and national average participation rates invites questions about whether rorting, and effective fraud, is taken further in Canberra than elsewhere. But what ought to invite despair is the apparent indifference from the ACT Education Directorate, which supervises such an inadequate and indifferent system with more resources and public support than any other jurisdiction. Its full formal response to the audit report goes like this: "The Education Directorate appreciates the efforts of the ACT AuditorGeneral and her team in acknowledging and recognising the extensive measures and mechanisms that the directorate has implemented and will continue to implement to make improvements to student educational outcomes in ACT public schools. "It is important to note that over the past few years, national and international assessments of student achievement in Australia have shown little improvement, and in some areas have declined, despite an overall per student increase in expenditure. The ACT is not immune from this trend. "Even though we remain a high-achieving system, our key focus is on student gain across years of schooling.

"The Education Directorate is investing in the better use of data by teachers, school leaders and as a system. The ACT Government has recently launched its Future of Education Strategy and has invited the community to comment on how we can further improve our education system overall." Summed up, this self-satisfied congratulatory message to itself is that nothing much need be done, and that other systems are also at a standstill. ACT authorities see no need to re-evaluate the way they are (failing to) improve the system (or, indeed, are going backwards). Nonetheless, the message continues, the administration continues to care deeply, and will continue to invest more and more money in allowing the level of smugness and failure to be documented. Labor, in particular, makes a fetish of increasing its investment in education. But only, it seems to show that it cares. Nothing has been done since self-government more than 30 years ago to cause anything but the most minor change at the margins. There is, I am afraid to say, a rather similar attitude, sometimes more stridently demonstrated, by educational authorities elsewhere in discussing the performances of public, private and religious systemic schools in most of the states. As often as not, these attitudes are masked by fairly open hostility to the very idea of performance testing, and mortal fear that the results of performance tests will lead to direct comparisons of school performance, teacher performance, or forms and styles of teaching. There is legitimate criticism to be made of NAPLAN testing, the reduction of student performance to external measures, and crude methods of comparison. But such criticisms do not undermine the case for continuous critical review of how Australian schools are performing, not least in the face of evidence from international comparisons that our potentially best students are not being extended, that our disadvantaged children are not much being improved, and that our averages are at best, in international terms, below best practice. Such problems are compounded by the tendency of some politicians to think in slogans, or to fix upon some gimmick, or some technique as the magic bullet for any perceived problems. Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard did actual damage to educational improvement with their policy of giving a computer to every student. A computer can be a useful, if not essential adjunct to education, but neither helps create a modern "21st century" teaching environment, nor provides the best return. There may be more excuse for the 2008 Treasury idea of a massive rushed "investment" in school halls and libraries when the global financial crisis created an economic need to flood the building industry everywhere with lots of money. But though the program did not deserve the label of being a vast failure, as suggested by its critics, it again did not represent the most appropriate or urgent type of spending on educational capital and infrastructure.

Canberra ought to have the nation's model schools, and not only in performance at standard national tests, but in curriculum development, access and connection to other levels of the education system, capacity in fields such as maths and science, languages and social studies. But, as in so many other areas of modern Australian government, teachers and administrators have spent most of the past three decades feeling under siege, feeling that the real struggle is merely to hold on, without the capacity for fundamental re-evaluations, review or reorganisation, or the luxury of time for long term planning and investment. As often as not , its leaders are focused on dealing with the pet theories of ideologues (particularly from America, no model of any idea in education), changing demographic needs, and the vexed, and possibly unsolvable problem of better rewarding teachers for performance and advancing the quality and status of the teaching vocation. The federation problem  of mixed accountabilities to both state and federal governments  and the difficulties caused by the non-government and government divide  as well as the weakness of COAG and national governance and review mechanisms means that there is little accountability for money spent, and little incentive for fundamental review of how, and why we do teaching, and what we teach. Too many of the reviews, in any event, are political  in that they have been commissioned for the culture wars  or bureaucratic  bland and managerialist products from the usual suspects in the consulting industry. Essentially, Australian students are being taught much as they were 50 years ago, and are being taught much the same stuff, except, often, less intensively. And in classrooms not much different than 50 years ago, if they are not in fact exactly the same. Loading It is not as if teachers are not trying to adapt, or that politicians have no interest. But too many are focused only in minor incremental changes, of the type made manifest in the latest rounds of state and territorial budgets, including in the ACT. The general population is better educated than ever, and expects much more of the system. In general, the more parents are involved in the process, the better performance is. Alas, the evidence suggests that only lip service is being paid to the idea, and ideal, of better fitting our young citizens for engagement with our civilisation.
Criminals who have demonstrated links to terrorism will be less likely to benefit from parole under new national measures agreed by state and territory leaders.

The push, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, arose following Monday's deadly siege in Melbourne by Jacqub Khayre, a career criminal who was granted parole last year.

There will now be a nationally consistent presumption against granting parole to people who have "demonstrated support for, or have links to, terrorist activity".

Parole boards will not be forbidden to grant parole in such cases, but the change "makes the burden of overcoming that presumption very high indeed", Mr Turnbull said.
Donald J. Trump sits in the Oval Office staring at a television sagging from the wall, its screen peppered with bullet holes. Clumps of freshly torn Cheezels-coloured hair are strewn across the great desk and a mobile phone lies smoking on the carpet.

Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, late of Big Oil, gingerly pokes his head around the door.

"Hello?" says a slightly panicked voice on the phone. Credit:Bloomberg

"Mr President," he ventures. "We appear to have a potential new client across the water. I suggest you congratulate him for doing so well, just in case."

The bloated, sun-lamped face swings towards Tillerson. The eyes are even more vacant than usual and the mouth lolls wide.
Emergency crews at the scene of the Sydney Hilton bombing in 1978. I was a young journalist then, and followed Bijedic's motorcade from the Canberra airport into the city. It is hard now to convey the level of trepidation of the time. There had been threats that terrorists planned to assassinate both Bijedic and Whitlam. Police lined the route from the airport, one every 100 metres. Snipers perched on rooftops and helicopters fluttered, armed police hanging from their open doors.

Cars had been stopped by police all around Canberra for days. Drivers were forced to open the boot lids of their vehicles with the police at a safe distance lest booby traps set off explosives. Not far from parliament house I witnessed police remove from a car what they said was gelignite. Only a few days previously the terrorism scare had caused what remains one of the greatest sensations in Australian political history. The new Attorney-General, Lionel Murphy, had used Commonwealth Police to raid the headquarters of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), convinced the nation's spies had been hiding what they knew about the terrorists. It turned out that ASIO, obsessed with shadowing left-wing and anti-Vietnam War activists, had almost no intelligence about the brand of terrorists that so worried the Whitlam Government. Those causing the fear were not today's malignant off-shoots of jihad, however.

They were associated with a fascist group known as the Ustasha, Croatian zealots who had brought their network to Australia through post-war migrant reception centres. Portraying themselves as freedom fighters, they fantasised about overthrowing the Yugoslavian communist regime of Marshall Joseph Tito, and to settle ancient scores with Serbs. The depth of the Balkan hatreds would later shock the world when the break-up of Yugoslavia became a decade-long nightmare of ethnic cleansing, rape and crimes against humanity by a bewildering array of combatants. As the western world, including Australia, reels before the latest terror assaults, we might remind ourselves that terror is not new, even if the indiscriminate nature of the attacks by the current brand of Islamist killers is so horrifying. Australia itself since the events of the early 1970s has seen terrorist behaviour by groups as diverse as those opposed to the Family Court, who killed a judge and a judge's wife; Palestinian terrorists who plotted to kill Prime Minister Bob Hawke before Israeli forces killed the would-be assassin; Armenian activists who claimed responsibility for killing the Turkish consul and his security attache in Sydney; plus anti-abortionists and violent groups from both the far right and the far left.

Until the most recent killings and foiled plots involving Islamist extremists, the most notorious terrorist event in Australia was the 1978 bombing outside the Hilton Hotel where prime minister Malcolm Fraser and 12 foreign leaders were staying during the Commonwealth Heads of Regional Governments meeting. Two garbage collectors and a police officer were killed and 11 people were injured. Two members of the Hindu cult the Ananda Marga were jailed for the bombing, although one was later acquitted, and controversy continues about who was responsible. It could be argued the Hilton bombing was Australia's second-worst case of terrorism, at least by body count. In 1915 two former camel drivers killed four men and wounded seven before being killed themselves in the so-called Battle of Broken Hill. One of the men left a note saying he was acting in support of the Ottoman Sultan and "I must kill you and give my life for my faith, Allahu Akbar." None of this is to detract from the revulsion and shock Australians are currently feeling about those who would use the name of Mohammed to terrorise and kill.
But for all the appropriating, why haven't we taken the British method for announcing the outcome of election results?

We've got the same Queen, same language, same preference for beer and sausages.

On Friday, as the exit polls for the UK general election predicted a shocker for the Conservatives, we have been treated to the spectacle of individual seats being declared.

Prime Minister Theresa May (left) shares the stage with a whacky collection of candidates.

In Australia, candidates on election night are separated at individual functions. Here, they mingle with supporters, check the count and speak to the media in their own protected little bubbles.

In the UK, all the candidates for a seat gather in community halls wearing coloured ribbons that correspond with their party. They then have to line up on stage while an official reads out their individual results.

It is a little bit public hanging, a little bit primary school speech day, a little bit dog show.
Corby's follower numbers on the social media platform have skyrocketed. Credit:@schapelle.corby on Instagram However Mercedes has been uncharacteristically quiet since Schapelle returned home from Bali, doing only one interview with Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O, for which PS was told she was not paid and agreed to do only because "she likes Kyle". Meanwhile rumours have been flying about supposed deals in the making which have materialised to nought. "With every post her value as a story has diminished," says Woman's Day editor in chief Fiona Connolly told PS. Credit:@schapelle.corby on Instagram Last week paparazzi were hunting for Schapelle around Balmoral after receiving a tip she was in "lock down" after supposedly signing a deal with Channel Seven's Sunday Night, the same program that had their previous efforts thwarted by the Balinese authorities when she was released from prison in 2014.

Then chatter emerged she may soon take part in a new series of Britain's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here which is shot in the Gold Coast hinterland. Schapelle Corby at the airport in Denpasar. Not quite. As Corby's friend told PS: "No one knows her in England so I don't see how that could be the case." Marital woes takes toll on Bell's image Anthony Bell has had some interesting choices in confidantes in recent months as his marriage to his beautiful wife Kelly Landry imploded so spectacularly.

And while Landry ultimately failed in her bid for an apprehended domestic violence order against Bell, the battle has now moved from the court of law to the court of public opinion. Celebrity accountant Anthony Bell. Credit:Ben Rushton Next Thursday Landry, a former presenter with the Getaway program on Channel Nine, will join the panel of Channel Ten's morning chat show Studio 10, though she is unlikely to delve too deeply into her marital woes, rather her appearance is in her guise as an ambassador for the Heart Foundation, for which she has been busy doing the media rounds in recent weeks. Though it would seem likely that Landry will land a more permanent television gig in the not too distant future. Meanwhile the troops - not in the least Alan Jones - have been rallying around embattled "celebrity accountant" Anthony Bell, who is yet to resurface on the Sydney social radar and was not seen at his good friend, millionaire care dealer Neville "Croaky" Crichton's star studded wedding to Nadi Hasandedic last month.

Kelly Landry. Credit:AAP PS hears Bell has been confiding in several media types during his ordeal, seeking counsel on how to improve his public image since the explosive details of his loveless marriage were made so public. Presumably it won't be too long before he does a "tell all". But the question remains, who will write it? Madeleine Madden joins Foxtel series Picnic at Hanging Rock

It would seem highly doubtful that an Aboriginal girl would have attended the posh Appleyard College For Young Ladies back in 1900, but the new television adaptation of iconic Australian novel Picnic At Hanging Rock is set to re-write our showbiz folklore. Playing one of the three school girls who goes missing at the fabled picnic site in the big-budget Foxtel series is young Indigenous actor Madeleine Madden, who takes on the role of Marion Quade. Indigenous actor Madeleine Madden has joined the new adaptation of Credit:Damian Bennett Madden will play a pivotal character in the six-hour long series, which is estimated to be costing around $12 million to create, putting it among the most expensive Australian television productions ever. Filming on the series wrapped a fortnight ago at Hanging Rock, though the series is not expected to air until 2018. On Tuesday night Madden graced the stage at Foxtel's big relaunch and proudly spoke of her Indigenous heritage hinting that it would become part of Picnic At Hanging Rock's new adaptation, though exactly how is not clear.

Indeed Madden comes from a proud Indigenous history in the real world. Her grandfather was the late activist Charles Perkins, who in 1965 organised a bus tour of western NSW towns to highlight discrimination, which later became known as the Freedom Ride. Reimagining: Cast members from the new version of Picnic at Hanging Rock at the Foxtel launch. Credit:Foxtel In the original Picnic At Hanging Rock novel by Joan Lindsay, written a year after Perkins' Freedom Ride, the character of Marion was very much that of a white girl, as she was in the Peter Weir film of 1975, played by Jane Vallis. However according to Foxtel director of television Brian Walsh, Madden's role was symbolic of "how far we have come" since Picnic At Hanging Rock first emerged 50 years ago. "It is going to be a very contemporary reimagining of the story, not a carbon copy of the Peter Weir film ... we look at the story through a very female lens," Walsh told PS, adding the production would rank as one of the most expensive and ambitious in Australian television history.

PS understands the new series is costing more than $2 million per episode, and cements Foxtel's position as the leading provider of quality Australian television drama, for which it won recognition at this year's Logies. Peter Weir's 1975 film of Joan Lindsay's novel Picnic At Hanging Rock is regarded as a classic. "We are getting a lot of international interest in this production and we are about to announce a very major deal with a US network ... it will be a profitable venture for us," Walsh assured PS. Game Of Thrones star Natalie Dormer is playing the role of headmistress Hester Appleyard. On screen Marion will be joined on screen in the new adaptation by Samara Weaving (niece of actor Hugo Weaving) playing Irma and Lily Sullivan in the role of Miranda.

"These are the new wave of leading Australian actors ... they are the new generation of Nicoles and Cates," Walsh enthused. Real Housewives' first meeting It had to be a big room, and indeed it was on Tuesday night when Real Housewives of Sydney star Victoria Rees, or Queen Victoria to her fans, met her Melbourne equivalent, Gina Liano, in all her teak-stained, big haired, bedazzled finery at the Hordern Pavilion for Foxtel's big relaunch. "She's fun, and a bit of a diva," Rees confided to PS. Interestingly it was the first time Rees and Liano had met, though Rees confided to PS that she is actually an old business associate of Gina's sister, the embattled fashion designer Bettina Liano.

Victoria Rees arrived at the Hordern Pavilion draped in the fluffy pelt of unknown species. However that relationship ended many moons ago, and these days Bettina's denim empire is in tatters after being liquidated. Needless to say Rees didn't bring it up on Tuesday night as she caressed the fluffy pelt of unknown species she was draped in. Indeed she was too busy mingling with Liano and Foxtel's other galaxy of stars, including Sky News' Kristina "Winged" Keneally, who was sporting aerodynamic hair but shied away from talking about the demise of her nemesis Mark Latham from the airwaves. Meanwhile Real Housewives Of Melbourne star Janet Roach has been hatching plans for a "State Of Origin" special, where the Melbourne and Sydney housewives could face off each other in a battle to the last fake nail. Bedazzled finery: Gina Liano at the Foxtel launch.

"It would be sooooooo much fun!" she assured PS. Missing from the action on Tuesday was Lisa Oldfield, who apparently had a work dinner on that night though PS later discovered she had been mistakenly left off the invite list. And Oldfield's buddy Athena X Levendi was also said to be miffed to be missing the party, though she appeared to make up for it in her happy snaps from her holiday in Europe. Also missing was Real Housewives of Melbourne alumni Pettifleur Berenger, who remains adamant that she quit the show on her own terms. Man Hitchcock said attacked her unlikely to be charged

Nearly a fortnight after a bruised and bloodied Shari Lea Hitchcock took to social media accusing a man she knows of causing her horrific injuries, it now appears police are unlikely to lay any charges against the man Hitchcock named as the culprit. Shari Lea Hitchcock has spoken to police after claiming she was assaulted. While the socialite has made a statement to Rose Bay Police and the man allegedly involved has also been questioned, Hitchcock has been told it is unlikely charges would "stick" given the circumstances around the incident and the lack of an independent witness to back her claims. Hitchcock says she was attacked at a Vaucluse property after responding to a friend's plea for "help". Hitchcock told PS: "As if I would have done this to myself?" Dom Perignon soiree lights up Vivid

As the hordes descended on Vivid this week, swarming with screaming children and mothers using prams as battering rams to cut through the vast queues, hats off to Dom Perignon for providing some respite on Monday night from the madding crowds. Dom Perignon provided some well-needed respite from the crowds at Vivid. To celebrate Vivid the good folk from the swanky champagne house threw what must rank as one of the best soirees of 2017 atop the Museum of Contemporary Art Sculpture Terrace, which had been transformed into a glow-in-the-dark playground, replete with smoke machines, laser shows and three fluorescent showgirls. Party planner extraordinaire Naomi Parry teamed up with creative guru Tony Assness, who was responsible for the glowing floral leis and fishing lure necklaces which greeted guests, while the Dom Perignon bikers hauling the world's biggest bottle of champagne were a hit. Spotted in the crowd were Stephen Ormandy, Louise Olsen, Christopher Esber, Michael Lo Sordo and real estate queen Monika Tu.
Real estate agents are jittery about settlements. Credit:Bradley Kanaris There, apartments were advertised with discounts of up to 39 per cent, prompting a stoush between the developer and a marketer. That led to fears, the source said, that many buyers would simply cut their losses, rather than incur the long-term debt associated with overvalued properties. 2300 new apartments came online in Brisbane in 2015. That had reduced to just 260 two years later. Credit:Robert Shakespeare Lenders would also be unwilling to stump up the cash at settlement, due to their valuations falling well short of the purchase price.

"They either have to bail on the 10 per cent or borrow elsewhere," the agent said. Urbis says most Brisbane units are settling "around the purchase price". Credit:Robert Shakespeare Developers were also turning to mezzanine finance, the source said, as a means to get projects off the ground. Urbis associate director Paul Riga, a professional analyst of the Brisbane market, said there had been little evidence of settlement issues in Brisbane so far. But Mr Riga said it was clear the market was in the midst of a major slowdown.

"We saw a record number of new apartments come into inner Brisbane in 2016 and that was a market that was, from what we've been able to gauge, relatively successful in the sense that there weren't any major issues from a settlements perspective," he said. "The majority of projects have settled around the purchase price." Mr Riga said the market was correcting after a period of unprecedented growth. "It was an aggressive cycle," he said. "It came around quite quickly, in the sense that it was driven by the lack of supply that happened after the GFC.

"It was quite a steep and aggressive peak that we saw and, equally so, it's been a relatively steep and aggressive slow-down. "I haven't seen something of this speed come through, but the scale of it indicates that it's a typical way a market moves, with supply and demand coming on." Mr Riga said new stock had become harder to offload as a result. "The number of off-the-plan sales we've seen has certainly come down quarter on quarter and a lot of that is due to the fact that we're in a market that's firmly in the delivery phase," he said. "There's a fair bit of product currently under construction and that's set to come on this year and early next year, so a lot of investors are playing a bit of a wait-and-see game, to see how the market performs with this new product coming on."

Real Estate Institute of Queensland spokeswoman Felicity Moore said it was hard to predict the scale of the slide, or how long it would last, but those looking to get into the market could take advantage of the situation. "What we know is that the projected number of apartments that were meant to come online are not, because developers have either pulled the pin, on-sold the block or done a whole range of things that means supply is slowing down," she said. "... For anyone who wants to get into those areas close to the city, they should be using some of that negotiating power to get a good bargain. "That's what those agents should be saying. They're the ones at the coalface of this and I don't know how jittery they are, but our view, from what we see on a daily basis, is this is an expected softening and it's not even going to be that long-term." A copy of the flyer advertising apartments in The Hudson development in Brisbane's Albion. Credit:AFR

According to REIQ figures, 2300 new apartments came on to the Brisbane market in the first quarter of 2015. In the first quarter of 2017, that number had reduced to 260. "Our view is that the market is cyclical, that this was always going to reach this point  people have been talking about it for well over two years  but we're not sure how long (the downturn will last)," Ms Moore said. "We don't think very long. "We think that demand is growing steadily, population growth and the net migration rate remains in positive territory and as we start to see some projects ... coming into the city centre, there's a consistent and steady reason to move into the inner market and that's going to boost the demand side of the equation.

"So while supply has briefly outweighed demand, that demand will resurge in the short-to-medium term." Despite all the talk of doom and gloom, Mr Riga said the owner-occupier market had remained stable throughout the slide. "From what we're gauging from our developer clients and developers we deal with, there seems to be a bit more interest from the local perspective, so local buyers are looking," he said. "Now there's supply coming through, they're starting to look at their options in those areas." Ms Moore said she expected the inner-city market to improve significantly over the next decade.
Police have arrested eight people, including two former outlaw motorcycle gang members, after more than $740,000 worth of drugs and cash was uncovered on the Gold Coast on Thursday.

The raids were conducted at 12 "safe houses" allegedly used by former outlaw motorcycle gang members from Hells Angels and Comancheros during regular transportations of cocaine from Sydney to the Gold Coast, police said.

Cannabis crops were found at one of the 'safe houses' uncovered during Operation Maduro. Credit:Queensland Police Service

The search resulted in 154 grams of cocaine, seven grams of ice, $158,00 cash, 89 mature cannabis plants, 40 cannabis plant seedlings, 1 shotgun, drug implements, eight vials of steroids and 192 steroid tablets being seized.

Eight people were arrested on 38 charges, including possession and production of dangerous drug and weapons charges in an operation that targeted former Hells Angels and Comancheros members conducted by the Crime and Corruption Commission.
Shadow Creator's upcoming Air augmented reality headset is a step up from the Halomini but still seems to share many of its shortcomings. Credit:Adam Turner It's very difficult to align the Halomini with your view of the real world, partly due to its reliance on a single tracking camera and partly due to the way the software works. The problems become clear when looking at Shadow Creator's AR demonstration samples such as a picture of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. To make things complicated, some Halomini apps can work in two modes. They can superimpose virtual objects over your view of the real world (like a HoloLens), or else they can superimpose everything the tracking camera can see onto the visor  which is how the Halomini was configured the first time I tested it. Unfortunately this mode really shows up the headset's shortcomings. In theory the view from the tracking camera and your real-world view should line up perfectly, but they don't. The tracking camera is located above your eyes and thus has a slightly different view of the world. The Halomini tries to compensate for this but doesn't do a great job, plus it struggles to produce a clear image in a brightly lit room. The Halomini also lacks the multiple infrared sensors which Microsoft's HoloLens and Google's Project Tango use to gain a sense of depth. With the Halomini this appears to be an optional extra which you can attach to the headset, but it works in conjunction with an external sensor which hinders your ability to wander around.

As a result of the Halomini's underwhelming tracking abilities you're left seeing double  it's not like going cross-eyed but more like seeing a picture-in-picture view of the world with the camera's point of view floating in front of your eyes slightly above the centre of your vision and out of alignment with the real world. The AR content is only visible in this small, misaligned ghostly view of the world. Look again The staff working on the Shadow Creator stand repeatedly assured me that this was how the view through the Halomini should look, but I feared something had been lost in translation. I persevered until I found someone who explained that it was possible to change the settings so it didn't display the view from the tracking camera and instead only superimposed virtual objects onto the visor. Of course these objects still weren't aligned properly with the real world, but it was less obvious without the full tracking camera's view as a reference point. Shadow Creator envisions engineers using Halomini to help with repairs and maintenance, but it's hard to see it making much headway when it offers such a disappointing user experience.

Shadow Creator also imagines people wearing them in public, but they're quite cumbersome and it would be rather disorienting to walk down the street wearing one. You're better off using your smartphone, Google's Tango is going from strength the strength and Apple revealed at WWDC that it's lifting its AR game. Meanwhile the fast-action AR shoot 'em up games you can play on HoloLens would be useless on the Halomini, because it's not accurate enough to line up with the real world and it's too slow to respond when you turn your head. You'd only find the Halomini useful if it didn't matter where virtual objects appeared to float in the real world. Maybe next year When I pointed out the Halomini's shortcomings compared to the HoloLens I was told it would improve in a few months, that there were issues with the SDK and that some of the Halomini apps weren't as good as others. None of this left me confident to invest in a Halomini today. Shadow Creator's upcoming Air headset has a faster processor and wider field of view than the Halomini, along with two tracking cameras, but the Air models on display weren't set up with AR demos for comparison. From speaking to the staff on the stand, I got the impression that the tracking issues won't be completely resolved with the Air headset.
Serious offenders could be held in preventative detention under extreme anti-terror measures floated by Victoria's Premier in the wake of this week's deadly Brighton siege.

Speaking before the Council of Australian Governments meeting, Premier Daniel Andrews said terror laws should be expanded even though they would restrict the rights of some individuals.

"We need to look at expanding the scope of the terror laws and need to look at not just preventative detention and curbing the rights of a small number of people to protect the much greater number of Victorians and Australians," he told reporters.
A Melbourne man has been charged in connection with a deadly terror siege in Melbourne, which left one man dead and three police officers seriously injured.

Police charged a 30-year-old Ascot Vale man following a series of raids across Melbourne on Friday.

He was charged with prohibited person in possession of firearm and committing an indictable offence while on bail.

About 5am on Friday more than 150 heavily armed state and federal police officers raided three properties in Gladstone Park, Ascot Vale and Glenroy, hunting for the people who may have supplied Brighton killer Yacqub Khayre with the weapons used in Monday's siege in the bayside suburb of Brighton.
Secret details of disabled students being grabbed by the wrists, pushed to the floor and locked inside rooms will soon be made public.

In a bid to crack down on the controversial use of restraint and seclusion in schools, the Victorian Education Department has vowed to start releasing data on the number of times the practices are used.

Two brothers have been charged with rape and aggravated robbery offences over two attacks on sex workers in the ACT. Credit:Gabriele Charotte

And for the first time, it has acknowledged that these methods can have "serious consequences including injury or death".

Restraint involves using a strap, harness, or physical force to control a students' behaviour, while seclusion involves confining students to a space, like in a pen or small room.
A school in Perth's southern suburbs has issued a warning to parents after a group of children claimed they were chased by a man on Friday morning.

A WA Police spokesman said the incident occurred around 8.15am near Fawcett Road, Munster.

The children claim the man chased them. Credit:Google

He said students riding their bikes to school were blocked on a path by a man walking his dogs who then, according to the children, "chased them."

The incident was reported to police but there were no witnesses or identifying descriptions of the man.
US President Donald Trump walks into the State Dining Room of the White House on Thursday. Credit:AP Comey's testimony takes the Russia inquiry right into the White House and the Oval Office. According to his testimony, Trump had been badgering him to lift "the cloud over him" created by the Russia investigation - but the effect of Comey's three hours of testimony was to darken and intensify the cloud. After hundreds had queued for just 80 public seats in the Senate hearing room, and lines went around the block before early opening at many Washington pubs, Comey was allowed a hushed silence as he deferred to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation to nail any wrongdoers. Former FBI director James Comey recounts a series of conversations with President Donald Trump. Credit:AP Yet there seemed little doubt that he reckons Trump should be among them.

Comey conceded that Trump's words on Flynn, during an Oval Office one-on-one after Trump had ordered all other officials from the room, weren't a clear order  but to the then FBI chief they constituted a presidential "directive". Democratic senator Kamala Harris questions former FBI director James Comey about a series of conversations with President Donald Trump. Credit:AP Republican senators lit on Trump's use of the words "I hope" as more of a wish than an order. But independent Maine senator Angus King asked Comey: "When a president of the US in the Oval Office says something like 'I hope' or 'I suggest' or 'would you?' do you take that as a directive?" "Yes, it rings in my ear as kind of, 'Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?'," Comey replied, using words attributed to England's King Henry II, which were interpreted by the king's men as an order to execute Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury with whom he was at odds. Republican senator John McCain questions former FBI director James Comey during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Credit:AP

Comey was suspicious, too, at Trump clearing the room. "Why did he kick everybody out of the Oval Office?" Comey said. "That to me, as an investigator, is a very significant fact." Idaho Republican senator James Risch persisted in trying to shield Trump. Risch: He did not direct you to let it go? Comey: Not in his words, no. Risch: He did not order you to let it go?

Comey: Again, those words are not an order. Risch: No; he said 'I hope.' ... Do you know of any case where a person has been charged for obstruction of justice - or for that matter, any other criminal offence - where they said or thought they hoped for an outcome? Comey: I don't know well enough to answer. And the reason I keep saying 'his words' is I took it as a direction. I mean, this is the President of the United States, with me alone, saying 'I hope this'. I took it as this is what he wants me to do. I didn't obey that, but that's the way I took it. Despite fears in the White House that Trump would be unable to restrain himself, he adhered to advice that he abstain from Twitter, though his son Donald jnr lashed out at Comey and the whole Russia investigation.

Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders denied Comey's implicit charge that Trump was a liar, saying: "No, I can definitively say the President is not a liar - it's frankly insulting that that question would be asked." And Trump's personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz cherry-picked the Comey testimony to craft a blanket denial of any presidential wrongdoing, saying: "it is now established that the President was not being investigated for colluding [with the Russians] or attempting to obstruct that investigation; the President never  directed or suggested that Mr Comey stop investigating anyone; the President never told Mr Comey, 'I need loyalty, I expect loyalty'." Trump too issued a blanket, non-specific denial. As Comey spoke on Capitol Hill, the President recited Isaiah 1:17 to a conference of the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington: "Learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed. Take up the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." He then told his audience: "The entrenched interests and failed bitter voices in Washington will do everything in their power to try and stop us from this righteous cause, to try to stop all of you. They will lie, they will obstruct, they will spread their hatred and their prejudice, but we will not back down from doing what is right. "Because as the Bible tells us, we know the truth will prevail. Nothing worth doing ever came easy  we know how to fight better than anybody, and we never give up. We are winners, and we are going to fight."

A New York Times editorial described Comey's testimony and the administration's full-throated denials as "a clash between the legal principles at the foundation of American democracy, and a venal, self-interested politician who does not recognise, let alone uphold, them". When Comey was asked if he believed Trump personally colluded in the Russian interference, he left the President dangling, and neither would he discuss the salacious content of the intelligence dossier by a former British intelligence agent, telling the panel these were questions he'd prefer to address in a closed session that took place on Thursday afternoon. Taking his sacking very personally, Comey explained his amazement on hearing on TV that he had been fired. "He had repeatedly told me I was doing a great job and he hoped I would stay," Comey said. "He told me repeatedly he had talked to lots of people about me, including our current attorney-general, and had learnt I was doing a great job and was extremely well liked by the FBI. "It confused me when I saw the President on TV saying [later] he actually fired me because of the Russian investigation. I was also confused by the initial explanation offered publicly that I was fired because of decisions I'd made during the election [about the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails]  That didn't make any sense to me."

This was the context in which Comey also revealed himself as the orchestrator of one of the "leak" stories that so infuriate Trump. As a private citizen after his ousting, Comey had a friend reveal the contents of one of his memos recording his encounters with Trump to The New York Times. Following a Trump tweet, which contained an intimidating reference to tapes of their conversations, Comey decided that planting a story in the Times would most likely force the appointment of a special counsel investigation - and it did. "My judgment was, 'I need to get that out into the public square'. I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. Didn't do it myself for a variety of reasons," Comey said. "I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel." And Comey called Trump's bluff on the existence of any such tapes, saying: "Look, I've seen the tweet about tapes. Lordy, I hope there are tapes; I hope there are and I'll consent to the release of them  The President surely knows if he taped me and if he did my feelings aren't hurt. Release all the tapes." Recounting the February 14 Oval Office meeting after Trump had cleared the room, Comey said he suspected Attorney-General Jeff Sessions and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner had lingered before being expressly ordered to exit by Trump, because they realised the President was being inappropriate.

"I knew something was about to happen which I should pay very close attention to," Comey said. Asked why he hadn't told Trump that the Flynn request was inappropriate, Comey responded: "Maybe if I were stronger, I would have. [But] I was so stunned by the conversation that I just took it in." Republican senators suggested that Comey might be exaggerating the significance of Trump's comments. Challenged by Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio that this was no big deal - because Trump's public defence of Flynn the next day superseded Comey's anxiety about his investigators being put off their stride by the President's request - Comey shot back that what had happened in the Oval Office was something more ominous. "There's a big difference in kicking superior officers out of the Oval Office, looking the FBI director in the eye and saying, 'I hope you let this go'. "I think if agents as good as they are heard the President of the United States did that, there's a real risk of a chilling effect on their work. That's why we kept it so tight."

Explaining why he immediately wrote memos on his meetings and phone calls with Trump, which he did not do with either presidents George W. Bush or Barack Obama, Comey revealed that he came away from his first meeting with Trump deeply distrustful of the then president-elect. Asked why, he responded: "The nature of the person. I was honestly concerned he might lie about the nature of our meeting. "It led me to believe that I gotta write it down, and I gotta write it down in a detailed way  I knew that there might come a day where I might need a record of what happened, not just to defend myself [but also] the FBI and the integrity of our situation, and the independence of our function." Sure enough, at their White House dinner, having previously assured Comey that he could stay on as FBI director, Trump talked of many others wanting the job, which Comey interpreted as the President "looking to get something in exchange for granting my request to stay in the job". Some Republicans came away from the hearing claiming there was no case against Trump or, as in the case of House Speaker Paul Ryan: "The President's new at this. He's new to government, and so he probably wasn't steeped in the long-running protocols that establish the relationships between [the Department of Justice], FBI and White House. He's just new to this."

Former Obama White House ethics lawyer Norman Eisen and former federal prosecutor Noah Bookbinder beg to differ. Writing jointly in The New York Times, they argue: "We beg to differ. Mr Comey's sworn statement and answers  now provide strong evidence that President Trump committed obstruction of justice. But we have miles to go before that case is legally resolved one way or the other - if it ever is." And that's the rub for Trump, who is so desperate to get beyond "this Russia thing". Loading The Mueller investigation and the myriad congressional investigations will take months or longer - with aides and other White House staff lawyering up and constantly waiting for the investigator's call. And, as always in such investigations, the initial charge often gives way to charges of attempted cover-ups - and invariably, there's collateral damage.
Marc Kasowitz, personal attorney of President Donald Trump, is one of the few people Trump believes can speak aggressively on his behalf. Credit:Manuel Balce Ceneta Kasowitz and White House advisers, including Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Counsel Donald McGahn, argued to Trump that they had a rapid-response operation in place on Thursday to defend him as vociferously as he would defend himself, according to people familiar with the discussions. Trump agreed on Wednesday not to directly engage on Comey, and by the time the ousted FBI director took the witness stand, tweeting "was not something he was considering", one senior White House official said. Donald Trump jnr jumped in to defend his father on Twitter during James Comey's testimony. Credit:Bloomberg "Kasowitz was able to persuade the President that he would not give a Washington-style, tepid defence," said a top Republican figure who is close to the White House. "Trump's big charge with his staff is that they don't defend him aggressively. And Kasowitz convinced him that not only will I defend you, but I will attack Comey where there's room to."

Kasowitz, a New Yorker who most recently defended Bill O'Reilly against allegations of sexual harassment at Fox News Channel, has counted Trump as a client on and off for many years. His combative presentation was on full display on Thursday as he read from a statement that contained two typos. (He misspelled "president" as "predisent," and the surname of Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats as "Coates.") James Comey, former director of the FBI. Credit:Bloomberg Trump watched some of Comey's testimony in the morning with legal and political advisers in a small dining room off the Oval Office outfitted with a 60-inch television, but his aides also scheduled counterprogramming in the form of meetings and public events. Later in the morning, for instance, as Comey was still testifying, Trump met with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and national security adviser H.R. McMaster about foreign policy issues. Trump sent no tweets, ignored questions about Comey called out by reporters and stuck largely to his script by not mentioning the issue in a speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition. The one potential exception came in a line he delivered in the context of religious liberty that could also be interpreted as an indirect reference to the Russia probe.

"We are under siege, you understand that," he said. Trump's advisers and allies - some of whom consider the President's Twitter presence self-destructive - celebrated the restraint he displayed during the day and kept their fingers crossed as the sun started to set. "It's not 'mission accomplished' yet," one ally said on Thursday evening. Trump, who is known to record major congressional hearings and other cable news shows on his TiVo device, was almost certain to flip on the television after retiring to his private living quarters after dinner, one White House official said. And there is Friday and the weekend to come. Sometimes Trump takes hours or even days before launching tweetstorms, taking time to absorb and stew over how an event is being covered in the media before responding. Throughout the day Thursday, the White House sought to project an air of calm. "In terms of the mood in the White House, I would say that it's a regular Thursday at the White House," said principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. "We're carrying on."

Lara Trump, one of the president's daughters-in-law and a former campaign aide, entered the White House press room on Thursday afternoon and told reporters that she had just met privately with Trump and "he looks very relaxed" and is doing "as well as anyone could do" under the circumstances. Trump considers himself to be his most effective spokesman and advocate - something his actual spokesman, White House press secretary Sean Spicer, is quick to remind reporters. Several people close to the president pointed to Kasowitz as the most obvious explanation for Trump's sudden restraint, recalling that Trump has often spoken of the attorney as a "killer" in the positive sense. "Marc is one of the few people who can speak as if he was Trump himself," said Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media, a conservative media organisation, and a longtime Trump associate. "His reputation as a tough, no-nonsense New York litigator fits well with the President's view that the best defense is a strong offense." Trump's frequently impulsive and incendiary tweets may galvanise his base of supporters, but they create political headaches in Washington for him and his staff. Trump's advisers have conceded that his comments about Comey and the Russia investigations have sometimes been unhelpful to the President's cause and only expanded "the cloud" over them, using one of Trump's phrases for the controversies that surround the White House.

"It shows the President understands the possible legal ramifications," said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump campaign adviser. "Everybody was waiting for the tweets, but there was nothing to gain. It's important that Kasowitz, who is rough around the edges, was guiding him. Trump trusts he's not trying to settle, so he will listen." Veteran Washington lawyers described Trump's restraint as surprising based on his history of lashing out at critics, but fitting for how a President should behave during thorny legal moments. "It's a really good thing that the President's not tweeting, and it's a good thing that he's letting his lawyer talk," said Jack Quinn, a former White House counsel under President Bill Clinton. "So much of the difficulty that the White House now faces is the product of the President's own words, which have simply provided ammunition to those who want to rev up this investigation." With an ongoing federal probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election - being led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, after Comey's May 9 firing - they said caution was the wisest course of action. "I don't think he needs to be in front of the cameras. It's fine for his lawyer to make a statement," said C. Boyden Gray, who served as White House counsel for George H.W. Bush. "It was appropriate, as well as pretty routine."

The discretion inside the West Wing did not extend to the Republican Party or to members of the Trump family. At the Republican National Committee, dozens of staffers issued a barrage of tweets and barbed statements. One RNC email sent to conservative news organizations Thursday morning criticized Comey as being "against leaks before he was for them" and said he was "forced to admit that he leaked his own memo." The RNC's Twitter account used the hashtag #BigLeagueTruth - a reference to Trump's frequent use of the phrase "big league" - to mock the witness as "James 'I could be wrong' Comey." Donald Trump Jr. and other high-profile Trump supporters also took to social media and television with rebukes. During the Comey hearing, the Drudge Report, a conservative website, made sure to link to Trump Jr.'s Twitter account with the headline "DONALD JR: LIVE." Typing out live reactions to his more than 1.6 million followers, Trump Jr. cast his father as vindicated by Comey's testimony and responded to Comey's uncertainty about whether he was pressured to back down.

"Knowing my father for 39 years when he 'orders or tells' you to do something there is no ambiguity, you will know exactly what he means," Trump Jr. wrote. When a conservative operative wrote that Trump Jr. was the "best follow" of the day, the presidential son replied: "Thanks. That was fun." On Capitol Hill, Republican allies were relieved by Trump's relative calm. Loading "He avoided any temptation to respond to what the Democrats were saying," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said. "I think they convinced him there was no reason for him to say anything, to not get bogged down in the swamp. Be presidential, go out and do the job, and don't take the bait."
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions Credit:AP "I spoke to the attorney-general, and I spoke to the new deputy attorney-general, Mr Rosenstein, when he took office, and explained my serious concern about the way in which the President is interacting, especially with the FBI," Comey testified. It is unclear what, if anything, Rosenstein did in response to Comey. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Credit:AP About two weeks later, Sessions and Rosenstein were both involved with the abrupt firing of Comey.

Trump summoned them to the White House and said he wanted to fire Comey and instructed Rosenstein to write a memo about the FBI director, officials have said. The following day, White House officials said that Trump fired Comey because of Rosenstein's memo, which was critical of Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation. US President Donald Trump Credit:AP But Trump contradicted those officials in a television interview and said he had actually decided to fire Comey on his own and it was because of the Russia investigation. "Comey made clear that he told Jeff Sessions he was uncomfortable about the meeting he had with the president and asked Sessions to protect him from being in such conversations again, and Sessions did nothing about that," said Matthew Miller, a former spokesman for the Justice Department during the Obama administration. Former FBI director James Comey testifies before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Credit:J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE

"He also told Rod Rosenstein about his concern of inappropriate meetings with the president. And we don't know if Rod Rosenstein did anything about it other than write a memo," which was used in Comey's firing. Comey also turned for help to Dana Boente, who was acting as deputy attorney-general before Rosenstein was confirmed, after Trump called the FBI director about the Russia investigation and said it was a "cloud" that was impairing his ability as President. Comey then told Boente about the conversation. "I did not hear back from him before the President called me again two weeks later," Comey said in his written testimony. "I found the whole thing a bit creepy," said Nick Akerman, a former prosecutor in the Southern District of New York and an assistant special Watergate prosecutor. "Here are people high up in the Justice Department, and they didn't feel enough institutional strength and feeling for the Department of Justice to do something about it," Akerman said. "It seems like they were more afraid of Trump than actually doing the right thing and trying to rectify the situation."

Democratic senator Ron Wyden, asked Comey how Sessions could be involved in his firing over the Russia investigation when Sessions had recused himself from any involvement in that case in March. "That's a question I can't answer," Comey said. "I think it's a reasonable question. If, as the President said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation, why was the attorney-general involved in that chain? I don't know, and so I don't have an answer for the question." Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior released a statement late Thursday saying that Sessions only recused himself from the Russia investigation because of his participation in Trump's campaign. "It was for that reason, and that reason alone, the attorney-general made the decision on March 2, 2017 to recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States," Prior said. Since that date, Sessions "has not been briefed on or participated in any investigation within the scope of his recusal", Prior said. In his testimony, Comey said that he contacted Sessions after a meeting with Trump in the Oval Office where Sessions and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, were asked to leave and Comey was alone with the President.

"My sense was the attorney-general knew he shouldn't be leaving, which is why he was lingering," Comey said. "And I don't know Mr Kushner well, but I think he picked up on the same thing. And so I knew something was about to happen that I needed to pay very close attention to." That was the day after former national security adviser Michael Flynn had been forced to resign, and Trump wanted to talk about Flynn. "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go," Comey quoted Trump as saying. "He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." Comey said he "understood him to be saying that what he wanted me to do was drop any investigation connected to Flynn's account of his conversations with the Russians". Trump's personal lawyer challenged that account, saying the President never asked for the investigation to be dropped.

After that meeting, Comey told Sessions that he did not want to be alone anymore with Trump and "it can't happen that you get kicked out of the room and the President talks to me." Democratic senator Kamala Harris asked Comey how the attorney-general responded. "What did he do, if anything?" Harris asked. "Did he just look at you? Was there a pause for a moment? What happened?" "I have a recollection of him just kind of looking at me," Comey replied. "I kind of got - his body language gave me the sense like, 'What am I going to do?' He didn't say anything." Justice Department spokesman Prior disputed that account and said that Comey told Sessions that he "wanted to ensure that he and his FBI staff were following proper communications protocol with the White House".
"I am hoping that as a result of the success of the election, and the energy of the campaign, many of the people who were previously skeptical will come across and be more supportive of Jeremy's ideas and his approach," she told Fairfax Media. Celebrating like a winner: Jeremy Corbyn. Credit:Getty Images "I think we are going to see a lot more unity. There is nothing like the pressure of an election to make people discover why they are Labour MPs." It was difficult to know when the next election would be, West said. Jeremy Corbyn's rallies drew thousands of supporters as he took his message straight to the people. Credit:Getty Images

She thought May was looking "weak and shaken", and judged the Tories' deal with the DUP had a lot of flawed elements that could cause it to fall apart. Labour had a lot to build on now, she said  an opportunity to flesh out the details of policies that were in the hastily-compiled Labour manifesto, and a chance to keep campaigning on the elements of that manifesto that had struck chords in the community. The leader of Labour, Jeremy Corbyn, speaks at a campaign rally in Islington, London on election eve. Credit:Getty Images Labour figures have genuinely changed their minds on the leader  including some of his fiercest critics. As recently as February, the architect of New Labour, Peter Mandelson, said "I work every single day" to undermine Corbyn, whom he considered "a sort of maniac".

"I was wrong," he said on Friday. "I am very surprised, an earthquake has happened in British politics." He said Corbyn had been "sure-footed" in the campaign, and Labour could now build on his success  as long as the leader became more "ecumenical" in accepting the views of other members of his parliamentary team. Deputy leader Tom Watson said Corbyn had "cut through" in this election, "he's opened the campaign up and he's won some arguments". "I don't think I've ever known an election where so many issues were discussed," he said. Carwyn Jones, First Minister in Wales, said "credit where credit is due" to Corbyn, saying he had galvanised the young vote in Britain.

Shadow attorney-general Shami Chakrabarti, whom Corbyn nominated to the House of Lords after she chaired a review of anti-Semitism in Labour ranks, called the result "an amazing reversal in a short period and I think this is the beginning, not the end." Labour now had a manifesto whose values "we can fight for and build upon," she said. She praised Corbyn's campaign but also said he had received "the fairest hearing in the broadcast media that he has had in two years." As a result, the public got to know him and grew to like him, she said. Corbyn was even praised by some members of the Conservative party, who said he had campaigned effectively and exposed Theresa May's flaws, such as her introversion and lack of comfort with crowds.

But others said it had been a Trump-like campaign that  in the words of Tory MP Pauline Latham  "promised anything that anyone wants  that's how Trump got elected and I think that's what Jeremy Corbyn's been doing." Union boss Len McCluskey said the result was an "absolute vindication of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership." He had led a campaign based on policies and a manifesto, against the popular theory that electorates did not respond to them. "Did we really (lose)?" he said. "The Labour party won millions of voters last night, brought people back into politics, especially young people. "It's a great night for Labour."

He predicted another election soon. Labour now has to prepare for government by coming back together and uniting in Parliament, he said. Those who support and those who still oppose Corbyn will both find meat to chew in the election result. On the one hand, he gave the party 41 per cent of the vote  its highest figure since Tony Blair's 1997 landslide. It was more than 10 per cent higher than Ed Miliband managed in 2015, and much better than party icon Neil Kinnock managed in either of his elections. Loading On the other hand, he inspired the Tory vote to even bigger heights, and failed to win government  getting only a handful more seats for his MPs than Gordon Brown did in 2010 when he was replaced as prime minister by David Cameron in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
Nairobi: With sloping, charcoal-gray walls that resemble the elegant curves of a luxury car, Nairobi's sleek new railway station, built by China, looks more like an airport terminal reserved for wealthy Kenyans and their private jets.

Given the price tag, it might just as well be.

A Kenya Railways employee sends off the train from Nairobi to Mombasa at the new Standard Gauge Railway terminal in Nairobi.

President Uhuru Kenyatta's government spent $US4 billion ($A5.3 billion) on a 480 kilometre railway connecting the capital to the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, the most expensive infrastructure project since Kenya's independence 54 years ago and one-fifth of its national budget.

Eager to portray it as a major achievement ahead of national elections in August, Kenyatta opened the so-called Standard Gauge Railway on May 31. But the fanfare was overshadowed by a concern that has been snowballing for months, filling many Kenyans with growing anxiety: How can the country repay its monstrous debt to China?
Meanwhile in her short post-election statement, May referred to her own party by its official, but rarely used name: the Conservative and Unionist Party. DUP Deputy Leader and North Belfast candidate Nigel Dodds, DUP Leader Arlene Foster and former DUP leader and Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson watch the Belfast count on Thursday night. Credit:Getty Images It was no accident  it was a message. After a catastrophic campaign, the Conservatives alone do not command a majority of the House of Commons. If May is to govern, she needs the DUP for a vote of confidence and then for many of the laws she hopes to pass  possibly including vital Brexit bills such as the 'great repeal act' that will import European laws and regulations into British law, and the final vote when the House of Commons is presented with the negotiated divorce settlement with the continent. May admitted as much after her visit to Buckingham Palace, where she sought and received the Queen's approval to form a new government.

Nobody but May and the Queen know what happened at the palace. There was no-one else in the room. But it is likely the Queen asked May if she could form a government, and that May said she could (instead of asking for an 'exploratory commission' granting time to make sure, as has been done in the past). Minutes later, outside 10 Downing Street, May revealed she was expressing optimism rather than knowledge of DUP support. "Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom," May said  after, it emerged, she had spoken with DUP leader Arlene Foster. And a few hours later Foster said the DUP would "enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge".

She took no questions from the media. It had been reported widely that the two parties had reached a deal. But, it is clear, the deal is yet to be struck. The deal is likely to involved big concessions on Brexit - and a wad of cash. In a letter to May last August, Foster pointed out that EU money was "hugely important to our economy and the peace process", and she wanted a guarantee that Brexit wouldn't mean an end to easy access to both skilled and unskilled EU labourers - suggesting she would push for Britain to remain in the single market. The DUP have already been a strong ally for the Conservatives, supporting them in parliamentary debates. In October Foster and her fellow MPs held a champagne reception at the Conservative Party conference. Foster gave a talk titled, presciently "Making Brexit Work, Making This Parliament Work, Making The Majority Work."

Foster, who narrowly avoided being killed by an IRA bomb as a teenager in 1988, has described Jeremy Corbyn as "beyond the pale". Corbyn has historical ties to Sinn Fein and the IRA. During the campaign he insisted on denouncing both IRA and unionist violence rather than single out the republicans. Yet it is not clear that Foster wants May to continue as prime minister, either. On Friday she told the BBC it would be "difficult for [May] to survive given that she was presumed to come back with maybe a hundred majority". The DUP election manifesto, on its very first page, discounts what has actually happened, saying "on this occasion our votes may not be required to help form a government at Westminster". It goes on to detail its aims. Among other things, it wants to:

abolish the licence fee that funds the BBC;

increase the national living wage;

establish 'free ports' in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK exempt from customs duties;

cut corporation tax;

review the 20-year time limit on prosecuting terrorism offences;

ensure a "frictionless" border with the Irish Republic after Brexit;

rename the Olympics team from 'Team GB' to 'Team UK'. They also hinted that they want to host the Commonwealth Games. The DUP is against abortion, which is illegal in Northern Ireland in almost all circumstances. They also oppose gay marriage. Several of its representatives have expressed doubts about man-made climate change. The party was founded in 1971 by the Reverend Ian Paisley and Desmond Boal. Paisley, a bitter opponent of republicanism, later went on to play a key role in the Northern Ireland power-sharing agreement. The party has historical ties to banned paramilitary loyalist groups, including the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Loading
Washington: Upset about the investigation into Russian interference in last year's election, US President Donald Trump sought relief from James Comey, then the FBI director. By Comey's account, Trump asked him to help "lift the cloud".

But thanks to Trump's own actions, the cloud has darkened considerably and now seems likely to hover over his presidency for months, if not years, to come.

Rather than relieve the pressure, Trump's decision to fire Comey has generated an even bigger political and legal threat. In his anger at Comey for refusing to publicly disclose that the President was not personally under investigation, legal experts said, Trump may have actually made himself the target of an investigation.

While delivered in calm, deliberate and unemotional terms, Comey's testimony on Thursday, Washington time, was almost certainly the most damning j'accuse moment by a senior law enforcement official against a President in a generation. In a Capitol Hill hearing room, the astonishing tableau unfolded of a former FBI director accusing the White House of "lies, plain and simple" and asserting that when the President suggested dropping an investigation into his former national security adviser, "I took it as a direction".
London: Prime Minister Theresa May has lost. If she survives another day, let alone another week as the country's leader, it will not be a sign of her political strength.

She will be a placeholder, a temporarily useful plug for the vacuum that has opened up at the centre of British politics.

Some reckon she could sit there, holding back the void, for years.
London: Britain's Conservatives have lost their majority in the country's Parliament, in a shock election result that could spell the end to Theresa May's prime ministership.

They are likely to limp back into power as a minority government, backed by Northern Ireland's unionists.

But Mrs May faces calls for her resignation from outside and inside her party, after a disastrous campaign that began with predictions of a landslide victory.

Her opponent Jeremy Corbyn said "politics has changed" in the UK, as "people have said they've had quite enough of austerity politics".
More sightings and encounters with grizzly bears along the Rocky Mountain Front has prompted the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee to hold its next meeting in Choteau June 20-22.

The meeting will be held at the Stage Stop Inn, 1005 Main Ave. N. The summer meeting will allow managers to meet with Montanans impacted by expanding grizzly populations.

A panel discussion on Transitioning from Recovery to Management will be held at 2 p.m. on June 20. The panel will be moderated by Chris Smith, former deputy director for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks and current Western Field Representative for the Wildlife Management Institute.

The panel will include Martha Williams, FWP director; Hillary Cooley, National Grizzly Bear Recovery coordinator; Gary Burnett, executive director, Blackfoot Challenge; Donna Rutherford, Tribal Fish & Wildlife Chief, Blackfeet Tribe; and landowner Gene Curry. A link to a video of the panel discussion will be posted to the IGBC website after the meeting.

The public is invited to attend the meeting. The end of the day is set aside for public comment. The second day of the meeting involves a field trip for IGBC members to view habitat and management concerns. The public is welcome to follow along but no additional transportation or food is available.

The agenda for the IGBC Summer 2017 Meeting can be viewed at http://igbconline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/170620_Exec_Agenda-FINAL.pdf
GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), announces that part of Back Street and certain side streets will be closed on Monday, June 12.

The closure is in connection with the asphalting of the newly repaired section of Back Street. The street will be closed from Gevangenis Street (Angelos Boutique) up to Ch. E. W. Voges Street. The works will be carried out from 6.00am to 3.00pm.

The side streets that will be closed on Monday, June 12 are: Gevangenis Street (area of Angelos Boutique and the Anglican Church), Wilhelmina Street (House of Parliament), and Hendrick Street (Court House), will be closed off from 6.00am to 3.00pm. The closure is in connection with the placement of bricks and the asphalting of the intersection.

Motorists are advised to be observant of detour and directional signs.

The contractor responsible for the works is Windward Roads.

Ministry VROMI apologizes for any inconveniences this may cause.
And is this how the Dutch Judicial system operate in the Netherlands?

PHILIPSBURG:--- Persons that commit crimes must do the time, it is core beliefs of every judicial system. However, Prosecutors have to ensure that whatever they do when investigating cases and making arrests of anyone that they do it in accordance with the law and not do it in order to shame the suspect or country. It is the Prosecutors that has to have the burden of proof and not the suspects.

Over the years several persons that are of high standing in the St. Maarten community, especially those that represent the country overseas have been arrested in the most humiliating way and they, in turn, have to wait years before they could have their day in court.

Hiro Shigimoto, Edward Dest and Regina Labega all who were arrested, their homes have been searched, and the humiliation these people go through while waiting for their day in court cannot be described in words alone.

Shigimoto was fully acquitted while Edward Dest after spending days in pretrial detention and years before they got their day in court were eventually convicted to 1-day jail term. However, the emotional and psychological effects these two men suffered can never be repaired. Their names are forever stained as there is no way they could regain their notoriety in this country or any other.

Regina Labega, has been waiting for years for her day in court, because of the investigation that has taken years Labega lost her job as director at Princess Juliana International Airport, the second busiest airport in the region.

The Buncampers also faced the same humiliation and while it was stated they were under investigation for years which affected their professional lives immensely the Buncampers had to initiate a court case in order for a judge to order the Prosecutors Office to do their jobs.

Attorney at law Brenda Brooks was also arrested and kept for 8 days in custody even while she was ill. All of this because of a Whatsapp message.

The other family that has to endure the same shame and humiliation is the family of Mark Mingo, the CEO of the largest cruise facility in the Region. There is no other way to describe how Mingo was arrested except to say it was a Gestapo arrest made on Wednesday at the check-in counter at the Princess Juliana International Airport. It is clear that the Prosecutors Office along with the TBO and RST team want to send a message to the Netherlands while humiliating the country St. Maarten, in the meantime, these very officers of the law ensured that they tarnish the country and its only source of economy. Mark Mingo is the face of St. Maarten within the cruise tourism industry, depriving him of representing the countrys interest was certainly the aim of the investigators. Hopefully, Mark Mingo will not have to wait years for his day in court. Certainly, if he is guilty of any crime he must do the time as he is not above the law.

However, while all this is taking place the politicians on St. Maarten went mute acting more like cowards, not one of them condemned the way these arrests are being made and how long suspects have to wait to get their day in court.

What is even more damning for the country is that the Council of Ministers chose to give the Prosecutors Office carte blanche when they chose to sign off on the policy to establish the Afpak team, the very same politicians that are putting on a show in Parliament with the installation of the Afpak team. It is clear that St. Maarten has no real representatives that would stand up to these types of injustices.

Everyone knows that the mother country the Netherlands has more corrupt politicians walking around and not once the Dutch judicial authorities invade the homes of these politicians that are tied to drug cartels or involved in massive fraud, or even arrest them in a gestapo manner. When the Dutch politicians are caught mostly by the media the only thing they do is step down from office with a nice speech and the case goes dead. Even the Dutch civil servants that committed crimes in Holland are being sent to St. Maarten with a higher salary instead of being prosecuted for the crimes they commit.

Just recently a few lawyers contacted SMN News and the story they tell is so alarming yet nothing is done about it. The lawyers said that corruption in St. Maarten is not only among politicians but it is dominant even in the courthouse and prosecutor's office, places where justice is supposed to be served. Not so long ago a letter appeared in SMN Newss post box that identified a number of illegalities committed by at least one judge. The letter was published on SMN News and also sent to the Attorney General and the president of the Common Court of Justice in Curacao. Shortly after the judge was transferred to Curacao and given a higher position.

Is this a fair judicial system or is there some sort of class justice on Sint Maarten ??
PHILIPSBURG:--- An armed robbery took place moments ago at Scotia Bank Simpson Bay. Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson confirmed that an armed robbery took place at the Scotia Bank in Simpson Bay but said details are sketchy. Henson said the police are busy searching the area for the culprits and as soon as he has more information it will be made available. SMN News learned moments ago that police that is combing the area in Simpson Bay to capture the armed bandits recovered some monies on the beach in Simpson Bay while one of the robbers was shot. So far no confirmation from police as they are still busy with the manhunt.

Four Arrested in Scotia Bank Armed Robbery.

This morning Friday, June 9th at approximately 09.00 a.m. the 911 Emergency Dispatch received several calls of an armed robbery at Scotia Bank in Simpson Bay involving several men. The calls which came in also gave descriptions of the suspects and the type of vehicles they were driving in. Immediately several police patrols were sent to investigate what had taken place. At the bank, the investigating officers learned that the suspects gained access to the bank and while threatening everyone in the bank stole an undisclosed amount of cash. Off-duty police officers who were also following the messages from the dispatch center also got involved in the search for the vehicles and the suspects involved in the robbery.

Shortly after one of the suspect vehicles, a silver colored Hyundai Accent without any license plate, was spotted by police driving through Simpson Bay. A high-speed chase immediately followed at which time the suspects to abandon the vehicle and took off on foot. A foot chase followed on the Simpson Bay Beach at which time one of the suspects pulled high powered assault rifle from under his shirt and aimed it at the officer in pursuit. This left the officer no other choice that to fire directly at the suspect. The suspect dropped his weapon and continued to flee but had to stop because he had been shot. The suspect was immediately arrested. While fleeing from police the suspects also dropped a .45 caliber handgun. The rifle that the suspect had in his possession was identified as an AK-47. Both weapons were confiscated for further investigation. The suspect, in this case, was treated at the scene by paramedics and then transported to the Sint Maarten Medical Center for further treatment.

The search for the other suspects turned into a massive operation in the Simpson Bay and Cole Bay areas consisting of police patrols, Customs Department, Coast Guard and the Gendarmes on the French. Due to the great working cooperation between these departments within less than a half an hour three other suspects were arrested in this case. During these arrests, a bag containing a large amount of cash that was stolen from the bank was found and confiscated for further investigation.

The police chief Carl John is very proud and commends his police officers for a job well done and demonstrating their level of professionalism. The police chief also thanks, all other organizations that were involved in the operation for their tremendous input and is looking forward to taking the working cooperation to the highest level. The investigation continues.

KPSM Press Release
PHILIPSBURG:--- During its first biannual extraordinary meeting with His Excellency Governor E.B. Holiday on June 8th, 2017, the Council of Advice launched a new and revamped the website for the general public. The Governor is the constitutional chair of the Council of Advice, and in this capacity has an advisory function. In the course of this gathering, not only did His Excellency have the honor of launching the revamped website but in addition, various relevant topics pertaining to Country Sint Maarten were discussed.

The revamped website now boasts an up to date list of draft legislation and other imperative issues that have been submitted to the Council for advice over the years, as well as an overview of the advice rendered by the Council that has been published in accordance with the law. Visitors to the website can now track advice requests submitted to the Council from the time of arrival up to and until an advice has been rendered. In addition, an English version of the website is now also accessible. While a limited amount of advice have been translated from their original Dutch text, the site does include English summaries. Other features include extensive profiles of the Council members and a search option that enables visitors to the website to search for specific advice or draft legislation submitted to the Council for vetting.

The Council in its task as High Council of State and final advisor to Government and Parliament in legislative matters strives to strengthen democracy and is certain that its new website reinforces this by promoting transparency and good governance and stimulating active citizenry.

The website of the Council of Advice, that has now been optimized for tablets and smartphones, can be accessed via www.councilofadvicesxm.com.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The judge of Instruction has prolonged the pretrial detention the CEO of A.C Wathey Cruise Facilities for the next 8 days. Mingo appeared before the judge of instruction on Friday. Mark Mingo was arrested as a suspect in the Emerald investigation that involves Checkmate boss Oniel Arrindell.

At the time of the arrest officers from the TBO and RST approached Mingo while he was about to check in at the Princess Juliana International Airport on a flight bound for Washington DC where he had to attend a business meeting.
Enghouse Releases Second Quarter Results

MARKHAM, ONTARIO  (Marketwired)  06/08/17  Enghouse Systems Limited (TSX: ENGH) today announced its second quarter (unaudited) financial results for the period ended April 30, 2017.

Second quarter revenue was $79.5 million, an increase of 1.3% over revenue of $78.5 million in the second quarter last year. On a year to date basis, revenue was $158.4 million compared to $152.9 million last year, an increase of 3.6%. The revenue increase primarily reflects incremental revenue contributions from acquisitions but is mitigated by the unfavorable impact of foreign exchange compared to last year which negatively impacted revenue by an estimated $3.3 million in the quarter and $8.0 million year to date. Hosted and maintenance services revenue was $39.9 million in the quarter, an increase of 4.2% over the same period last year and includes the estimated negative impact of foreign exchange of $1.65 million.

Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $20.5 million ($0.75 per diluted share) compared to $19.3 million ($0.71 per diluted share) in last years second quarter and includes the net negative impact of $2.1 million related to foreign exchange losses compared to last year. Adjusted EBITDA for the year to date was $43.6 million ($1.60 per diluted share) compared to $38.4 million ($1.41 per diluted share) last year, an increase of 13.6%. This includes the net negative impact of $4.4 million related to foreign exchange losses on a year to date basis compared to last year, which would have resulted in a 26.7% increase compared to the prior year excluding foreign exchange losses.

Net income for the quarter was $9.0 million ($0.33 per diluted share) compared to the prior years second quarter net income of $8.5 million ($0.31 per diluted share). Results from operating activities for the quarter were $19.5 million compared to $18.1 million in the prior years second quarter, an increase of 7.5% over the prior year.

Operating expenses before special charges related to restructuring of acquired operations were $35.0 million compared to $35.2 million in the prior years second quarter and include incremental operating costs related to acquired operations, net of the favourable impact of foreign exchange. Non-cash amortization charges in the quarter were $7.5 million compared to $7.0 million in the prior years second quarter and include amortization charges for acquired software and customer relationships from acquired operations. On a year to date basis operating expenses before special charges were $65.9 million compared to $67.6 million and include incremental operating costs related to acquired operations, net of the favourable impact of foreign exchange compared to last year.

Enghouse generated cash flows from operations of $18.4 million in the quarter and closed the quarter with $87.6 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, compared to $85.9 million at October 31, 2016. The cash balance was achieved after year-to-date payments comprised of $16.2 million (net of cash acquired and holdbacks) for Tollgrade Communications Inc. (acquired April 12, 2017), $1.7 million to partially settle loans inherited from the Presence Technology, S.L. acquisition (completed October 28, 2016), $0.4 million for prior period acquisitions, and $7.5 million in dividends paid.

The Board of Directors has approved an eligible quarterly dividend of $0.16 per common share, payable on August 31, 2017 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 17, 2017.

Enghouse remains committed to its acquisition strategy and continues to seek accretive acquisitions.

A conference call to discuss the results will be held on Friday June 9, 2017 at 8:45 a.m. EST. To participate, please call +1-416-640-5946 or North American Toll-Free +1-866-233-4606. No PIN is required.

About Enghouse

Enghouse Systems Limited is a leading global provider of enterprise software solutions serving a variety of distinct vertical markets. Its strategy is to build a diverse software company through strategic acquisitions targeting the Contact Center, Networks (OSS/BSS) and Transportation/Public Safety sectors. Enghouse shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ENGH. Further information about Enghouse may be obtained from the Companys website at .

Non-GAAP Measures

The Company uses non-GAAP measures to assess its operating performance. Securities regulations require that companies caution readers that earnings and other measures adjusted to a basis other than GAAP do not have standardized meanings and are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Accordingly, they should not be considered in isolation. The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance. Therefore, Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as results from operating activities adjusted for depreciation of property, plant and equipment, and special charges for acquisition related restructuring costs. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate operating performance as it excludes amortization of software and intangibles (which is an accounting allocation of the cost of software and intangible assets arising on acquisition), any impact of finance and tax related activities, asset depreciation, other income and restructuring costs primarily related to acquisitions.

Adjusted EBITDA:

The table below reconciles Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable IFRS measure, Results from operating activities:

Contacts:

Sam Anidjar

Vice President, Corporate Development

Enghouse Systems Limited

(905) 946-3200
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Members of the state police council pulled no punches when they decided to revoke the certification of an East Helena police officer they say lied about punching a 70-year-old man.

Officials with the Public Safety Officer Standards and Training council signed paperwork Thursday ruling Robert John Gutowski, who recently changed his name to Robert Durrant, can not longer be a police officer in Montana. In the 14-page action, the council noted several concerns regarding Durrant striking a man after a wreck in Helena on Sept. 6, as well as his comments following the attack.

"Mr. Durrant was not safeguarding lives when he left his injured mother in his vehicle to pursue a physical assault against an elderly disabled man," POST Executive Director Perry Johnson wrote in the ruling.

"Mr. Durrant lied about the nature of his physical contact with (the victim), first stating he 'punched' him, then 'pushed' him and finally that he 'shoved' him," Johnson continued.

East Helena officials would not say if or when Durrant lost his job. POST officials said Durrant could potentially work up until his certificates were revoked on Thursday. After the ruling, it would be illegal for Durrant to serve as a public safety officer.

In the documents, Johnson noted Durrant committed several actions worthy of revoking his certificates on their own. He broke code by being convicted of "unlawful physical violence" when a judge found him guilty of misdemeanor assault in December. Durrant, who was off-duty at the time, was 27 when he punched the man.

"Mr. Durrant did not conduct himself admirably and brought discredit to his community, agency, and profession by almost all of his actions," Johnson wrote.

When asked about the revocation, East Helena Police Chief Dale Aschim deferred questions to the mayor. East Helena Mayor James Schell declined to comment.

The assault caused consternation between Aschim and Schell, who disagreed on the appropriate treatment of the officer. Durrant spent a week on unpaid administrative leave directly after being cited for misdemeanor assault the day after the incident. Against the police chief's wishes, Schell then reinstated Durrant.

Durrant assaulted the man after a four-car collision. During court testimony, Durrant said he was concerned about the welfare of his mother, who was a passenger in his car at the time and who was recovering from brain surgery. He exited his car and walked up to the 70-year-old man's van. Witnesses said Durrant then struck the man's arm several times. The victim testified he didn't know Durrant was a police officer until he read about the case in the Independent Record.

The POST council began looking into the matter the day Helena police cited Durrant. State officials followed the criminal case through to the bench trial in December, when he was convicted. For the criminal charge, Durrant received a year deferred imposition of sentence and was ordered to pay a $340 fine.

In a timeline of events, POST officials noted they reviewed police paperwork, media reports, personnel documents and letters from Durrant during the investigation.

East Helena police hired Durrant in October 2014. He previously worked as a police officer for Motor Carrier Services.

Durrant has 30 days to contest the ruling and request a hearing. A call to his attorney, Greg Jackson, went unanswered on Friday afternoon.
What does a 'Strengthen Our Schools' win mean for Penn-Harris-Madison?

One of three candidates backed by a conservative-leaning group has flipped a seat on the Penn-Harris-Madison school board. Here's what we know.
RED LODGE  From his first interview with law enforcement, Robert James LeCou denied he had anything to do with the shooting deaths of three family members.

When I left everybody was fine, LeCou said in a video played in court Thursday. They were watching TV and doing their thing," he said of his wife and two in-laws.

He said there were no arguments or issues when he left Belfry on April 5, 2016. He repeatedly said he left at noon, though video and witness evidence already presented in court showed LeCou at Belfry bars throughout that afternoon.

LeCou was arrested near Spokane, Washington, days after the three were killed. He agreed to speak to a Montana investigator in Washington.

The interview was the first time jurors heard LeCous voice  on the fourth day of trial at the Carbon County Courthouse.

LeCou faces three counts of deliberate homicide in the deaths of Karen Hill-LeCou, Sharon Hill-Lamb and Lloyd Lamb.

In that initial interview, LeCou told investigators he traveled to the Spokane area to dismantle a shed at his parents property to sell it to his sister, who also lived in the area. But there were inconsistencies in his story, which had been pointed out in the prosecutions introduction.

For instance, on the day LeCou left Belfry, he texted a friend named Brandon Bareiss to say he was going to Powell, Wyoming, that evening.

LeCou also told law enforcement that he didnt know the caliber of a particular 9 mm handgun  the same one that prosecutors believe is the murder weapon. Earlier in the trial, Bareiss testified that LeCou had asked him to purchase 9 mm ammunition for him.

Another inconsistency in LeCous initial interview is that he said he saw his wife, Karen Hill-LeCou, before leaving at noon that day.

I said I love you and I kissed her and I walked out the door, LeCou said, and I got in the truck and I left.

Prosecutors said Hill-LeCou worked until 3 p.m. that day.

Prosecutors had spent the week building the case that LeCou killed the family members on April 5, which was a Tuesday. They built a timeline of his afternoon and nighttime drive toward Spokane, but the time of the crime remains unknown.

The jury viewed dozens of images of physical evidence found at the crime scene, which was mostly cataloged by Mark Hilyard, an agent with the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.

Investigators found shoe prints left in blood, both in the house an in a fifth-wheel RV in the yard. This showed the killer walked through the trail of blood left after dragging one of the victims into the bathroom, according to testimony.

LeCous attorneys leaned on deputies initial entry into the home, which was without protective booties that help to preserve evidence. His attorneys tried to cast doubt, indicating the initial search could have tainted the blood trail in the hallway.

If officers are entering a home and theyre not sure whats in there, theyre not taking the same care as you would later when youre processing the scene, said defense attorney Clark Mathews, while cross-examining Hilyard.

Deputies testified their first priority was to make sure there were no injured people or suspects.

Hilyard said the prints in the house and RV were the same. And because the RV was locked and no deputies entered before him, he said LeCou was likely the only one with access.

It tells me that law enforcement didnt put it there, Hilyard said. Theyre the same shoe impressions as far as the pattern.

He also testified that the deputies first pass through the house didnt appear to disturb the blood on the floor.

A small amount of blood was also found on the floor of the drivers side in the pickup LeCou drove to Washington. Prosecutors are expected to call a DNA expert as a future witness in the case.

What is consistent is LeCous denial. In opening statements, his attorneys said that he maintains his innocence. The trial continues on Friday.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Thunderstorms. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 68F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 68F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
BILLINGS -- The Yellowstone River is running quickly and should near flood stage levels this weekend in Billings, according to the National Weather Service.

On Wednesday NWS issued a flood warning for southwestern Yellowstone County and south central Montana, with specific mention of bank erosion edging closer to Thiel Road in Laurel.

"Local law enforcement was reporting as much as 10 to 15 feet of the bank along Thiel Road has been eroded in spots and this could threaten homes and property," according to the warning. "The Yellowstone River was still within its banks south of Laurel, but lowland flooding was occurring in isolated spots. Additional rises in water levels are expected Thursday afternoon and should continue through the weekend."

NWS meteorologist Dan Borsum said that the flood warning in Laurel is mainly due to bank erosion and the issues it could cause.

"The river's trying to carve a new channel," Borsum said. "There hasn't been a lot of inundation in low-lying areas."

Near Edgar and Belfry, the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River is expected to peak at flood stage levels by Friday.

The river hit just a touch over flood stage levels on Wednesday in Belfry but will be a foot above that by Friday, when it is predicted to hit 9 feet.

Similarly the river evened out at flood stage levels in Edgar on Wednesday and is forecast go a foot above on Friday and reach 9.5 feet.

In Carbon County "we expect lowland flooding and some roads that are close to the river to possibly see some water get up to them," Borsum said. "I think the biggest threat that people need to be worried about is that with this water running really fast, there is a chance for the erosion factor to undercut banks."

Some water will probably reach Byam Road in Yellowstone County near the Clarks Fork, Borsum said.

"Equipment and people near the river banks could see some problems certainly," he said.

In Billings, the Yellowstone River will peak Saturday at 13 feet, about half a foot below flood stage. It will be the highest the river has run since 2011 when it reached 14.37 feet, according to Borsum.

The highest NWS records show the Yellowstone River running in Billings was in 1997 when the river reached 15 feet.

The Clarks Fork near Belfry will reach levels not seen since 1996.

Borsum said vigilance is important considering forecasts and current conditions in regional waterways.

"Debris can jam up against a bridge and all of a sudden things can change," he said. "Communicate with law enforcement, communicate with local folks and be ready to help neighbors."
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In the wake of President Donald Trump firing FBI Director James Comey and the appointment of special counsel, 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 formed called Montanans for National Security, and you are invited to join our efforts.

On Jan. 6, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a declassified document that listed a number of troubling conclusions: 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 Adviser Michael Flynn, the recusal of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Russian efforts to influence the French presidential election, President Trumps firing of James Comey, and the appointment of special counsel by the Justice Department. While we support the special counsel appointment, we were deeply disturbed by the findings and events leading to that decision, 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.

With two Senators for a population far lower than most states, Montanans have an out-sized 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 has taken 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 strongly support the immediate establishment of an independent commission to investigate possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russias efforts to influence the 2016 election, with findings that could be made public.

In order to further Montanans understanding of these issues, we have invited 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. 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.

This guest opinion has been signed by Montanans for National Security members Julie Sirrs, Andrew Person, Charlie Cromwell, Danny Tenenbaum, Tom Leonard, and Randy LeCocq. The group includes Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, former Defense Intelligence Agency officers, and former diplomats from the U.S. Department of State.
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The fronts between the UK and the rest of the bloc's 27 member states have recently hardened -- in part because of May's uncompromising rhetoric. "Let us make Brexit a success," the prime minister has said. To which, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker retorted: "Brexit cannot be a success." It is as though two chess players had resolved, even before making their first moves, that there would be no draw this time. The result is a danger that Britain and the EU will separate without any agreement at all, an outcome that would be a bitter blow for the EU, but likely disastrous for the UK.

After a roughly 12-month delay, the economic effects of the Brexit referendum are slowly making themselves felt. JP Morgan has announced it is pulling 1,000 bankers out of London while Deutsche Bank is withdrawing 4,000, almost half of its staff in the country. Other financial institutions intend to do the same. Recently, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation warned that in 60 professions, including engineers and IT experts, the number of applicants for open positions is falling steeply. It is a consequence of May's pledge to reduce net immigration to the country to "below 100,000."

Significant Tasks

Those in favor of Brexit will be watching closely to see if the new government lives up to that promise, even though it is an almost impossible task. Most recently, net immigration stood at 250,000, but only half were from the European Union. Even if the government was able to prevent a single EU citizen from coming into the country, it still would have missed its goal by a large margin.

The tasks facing the new government, in other words, are significant: The government must establish a framework for the Brexit talks, for which there is no historical precedent; it must ensure that Scotland and Northern Ireland remain a part of the United Kingdom; it must fulfil the almost unfulfillable promises it has made; and it must avoid destroying the country's economy while doing so.

It is a situation in which the country could really use a strong and stable leader. And Theresa May looked for a time as though she could be that leader. As recently as two weeks ago, the British media was comparing her with the "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher.

Now, however, with the election results in the books, "Tin Lady" might be more apt.
A number of sheep farmers and industry delegates gathered to see Chris receive his award the evening before NSA North Sheep, held on Wednesday 7th June in Tow Law, County Durham.

With a career spanning three decades, Chris Lloyd was nominated and ultimately won the award for the work he has delivered on behalf of the UK sheep sector. He spent some 16 years at the centre of NSA activity before joining Eblex (now AHDB Beef & Lamb), taking a major role in the establishment and launch of the Sheep Better Returns Programme (BRP) in 2004.

Speaking after receiving his award on Tuesday evening, Chris says: Getting this award is such a proud moment for me, it is a product of my lifetimes work and I accept it on behalf of a team effort. Ive made so many memories and friends through the years and as I leave AHDB Beef & Lamb I am confident I am leaving the work I have done in safe hands. We have to do all we can to make sure this industry keeps making contributions to our society, something which is more important than ever given the current challenges we face. I am deeply honoured  thank you.
The ground-breaking agricultural research, which was carried out by Professor Martha Clokie and her team at the University of Leicester and funded by farmers through levy body AHDB Pork, isolated 20 bacteriophages  or bacterial viruses  that target 72 strains of potentially drug-resistant bacteria that can cause gut problems in pigs.

The discovery suggests that bacteriophages could accompany or replace antibiotics used to treat bacterial disease across all types of livestock, helping safeguard the future of some drugs of last resort in human medicine that the farming industry has already voluntarily restricted.

The breakthrough could also help speed the development of similar applications in human medicine, addressing the rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria that a report1 last year suggested could be killing as many as 10 million people a year by 2050 through drug-resistant infections.

The development has been welcomed by RUMA, the agricultural and food industry alliance which promotes responsible use of medicines in farm animals.

RUMA Secretary General John FitzGerald says:

The issue of antibiotic resistance is one shared by human and animal medicine, and a number of initiatives across medical and veterinary sciences are attempting to understand and reduce the spread of resistance genes in bacteria.

Phage technology is in fact fairly old, but its development stalled because antibiotics were  until recently  very effective against a broad spectrum of bacteria. However, the build-up of resistance has created new opportunities for phage technology; a discovery such as this could be a real game-changer, not just helping the farming industry to steward antibiotics more effectively but potentially speeding up the development of human medical applications.
Hi, Montana. Just thought Id let you know Im canceling my annual fly fishing trip to Montana. In light of Representative Elect Gianfortes assault on a reporter its apparent that Montanas values are not worth supporting. In the interest of truth in advertising you might consider changing your PR slogans. Instead of Get Lost in Montana try Get Assaulted in Montana. Or how about Montana is For Stranglers instead of Montana is For Lovers. Regardless of what you do now, it will be a long time before I spend another dollar in Montana.
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NEW MILFORD  Janet Taub is trying to bring the concept of high school senior photos, a time-honored tradition in many parts of the country, into the Connecticut mainstream.

Taub, who recently opened Planet Photo at 53 Bank St. in New Milford, feels there is much more to 17- and 18-year-olds than what can be expressed in a photo taken on picture day at school.

It should be a true representation of your senior year, she said. It should be a photo that stirs memories, but not be too cliche. Go ahead and get your picture taken at school for the yearbook, but get your senior photos done, too.

Taub said the art of portrait photography is alive and well in the digital age even as technology improves point-and-shoot and cellphone cameras. Having quality equipment and knowing the technical aspect of the camera and lighting are still required for quality portraits, she said. So, too, is a creative eye.

The business Im in is portrait photography. My goal is to have the photos on your wall. I offer both the concept and execution of the portrait and deliver the complete package. I offer something different, Taub said. They say this is the most photographed generation, but all the photos are taken on your phone and never printed or shared with family. People just never get around to it. I include digital files only as a minor add-on.

She said the loss of both of her parents reinforced the value of family portraits for her. There are still a lot of people who recognize how important portrait photography is, she said.

Taub is originally from England and has also lived in California, Massachusetts and Copenhagen, Denmark. She moved to New Milford in 2002 and has children in the local school system. She considered a few other towns when she decided to open a studio, but ultimately chose her hometown.

I toyed with the idea of other towns, but at the end of the day, New Milford is my home. It made sense to be closer to home, she said. And I knew that I had to be on Bank Street in New Milford.

Taub likes her second-floor location because it offers a small office, larger room for a studio, plenty of natural light and easy access to urban streetscapes, which are a popular setting for portrait photos. The buildings landlord, Bank Street Investments, raised the ceiling and took up the carpet to give the studio a brighter and more welcoming feel, Taub said.

She started Planet Photo in 2013 working out of a home studio. She said she wanted her own space to add legitimacy to the business. Taub set a goal to open the studio by the end of 2016.

I just made it by the end of the year, she said. They say if you declare your goals they are more likely to happen.

Taub started a teen modeling program and the participants, called The Tribe, gain experience modeling in themed group shots. She said the program is good for the models confidence and expands their peer group.

Taub and The Tribe are currently working on a fundraiser for state animal shelters following a photo shoot at a shelter in Trumbull. The public may vote for the cutest animal shelter pet that was photographed. The photos will be available on her website, www.planet-photography.com, and at her studio. She is holding an open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, at which donations will be accepted for the shelters.

The writer may be reached at cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
America's student loan debt has mushroomed over the last decade, rising from approximately $500 billion in 2007 to $1.44 trillion in the first quarter of 2017. The New York Fed's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit shows that 11% of cumulative student loan debt is either ninety days delinquent or in default.

Given those facts, it's no surprise that the Department of Education estimates that over 8 million student loan borrowers are in default. What is a surprise is this finding from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): 90% of the borrowers who are exiting a default on their student loans are not taking advantage of federal repayment programs that allow income-driven repayment (IDR).

When you default on a federal student loan, you have few good options. Ignoring the debt is not one of them. Student loan debts generally cannot be discharged by bankruptcy, and the government has many options to collect on debt that others do not  even seizing tax refunds, garnishing up to 15% of your disposable income until the debt is retired, and, if all else fails, suing you for the loan balance.

The Department of Education offers two ways to get your loan out of default: loan rehabilitation and loan consolidation.

To rehabilitate a loan, you must make nine consecutive payments using a payment amount equal to 15% of your discretionary income, or less if you can negotiate terms based on your documented income and expenses. Loan servicers may then help borrowers enroll in an income-based repayment plan that is appropriate for the longer term. Under a loan consolidation, you agree to repay under a federal Direct Consolidation Loan that already incorporates income-based repayment.

Rehabilitated loans and Direct Consolidation Loans also become eligible for student loan benefits that were available prior to default, such as deferment and forbearance.

Unfortunately, the CFPB found that less than 2% of borrowers enrolled in the affordable repayment plans immediately after becoming eligible, and only 10% had enrolled within a year after becoming eligible. CFPB found that almost half of previously defaulted borrowers face a second default within three years, and over three-quarters of those with a second default did not make a single payment to their loan servicer. Continuous missed payments and multiple defaults will wreak havoc with your credit. You can check your credit score and read your credit report for free within minutes using Credit Manager by MoneyTips.

There is clear evidence that the programs work when borrowers use them. Less than 10% of defaulted loans undergo a second default after entering an affordable repayment option.

Where is the breakdown? In some cases, students may just be shirking responsibilities, but the CFPB report cites "a series of administrative, policy, and procedural hurdles" as part of the reason for poor enrollment rates. That could apply to the Department of Education or the contract collection agencies that provide loan servicing.

Ironically, the Department of Education may be aggravating the situation. A previous action against contract collection agencies resulted in a recent Court of Federal Claims ruling that stopped the collection of defaulted student loans through certain agencies. Some students attempting to do the right thing and follow through with an income-driven repayment plan are stuck in limbo, with no place to send their payments and/or get advice on how to proceed.

It's one thing if your plans to remove your default through an affordable repayment plan are being disrupted through no fault of your own, but there's no excuse for not signing up at all. Too many student borrowers may be following the line of reasoning cited by Adam Carroll, Founder and Chief Education Officer of National Financial Educators: "Students think, 'If I can't make my payment I'll defer, or I'll get a forbearance.' They kick the can down the road for a year or two or five or ten, and by the time they start around to paying it back again it has capitalized on itself ... they may have borrowed $40,000 and it's ballooned to $70,000."

If you are in this unpleasant situation, don't put your head in the sand. Follow through with an affordable repayment plan. Your student loan debt won't go away by itself, and the longer you wait, the nastier the surprise may be.

Find out quickly at what rate you can refinance your student loan.

Read the previous article in our Student Loan Crisis series to discover why the government stopping the collection of defaulted student loan debt is bad for borrowers. In the fourth part of our series, learn how you risk losing your home by not paying your student loans.
Contributed photo

The Oscar-winning actor Christopher Plummer will be talking about his recent film, Remember, at the Ridgefield Playhouse.

In the movie, Plummer plays a man who learns the Nazi guard who murdered his family is living in America under an assumed identity. Martin Landau co-stars as a fellow concentration camp survivor. The film charts a cross-country road trip with surprising consequences.
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The Connecticut Office of Tourism is inviting residents to explore attractions across the state during its upcoming Open House Day.

Now in its 13th year, the event involves more than 200 participating organizations from historical societies and museums to theaters and local businesses. The state-wide celebration on June 10, 2017, will feature free admissions and tours, as well as special offers and giveaways.

"Connecticut Open House Day encourages residents to become tourists in their own state," a release said. "Residents will be exploring the state's fascinating world of history, art and culture."

The state's tourism office said the event also benefits state-wide tourism businesses.

"Last year, many participating businesses reported two, three and four times as many visitors on Open House Day than a typical Saturday," according to the release.

More Information For a full list of participating organizations on Connecticut Open House Day, click here. See More Collapse

More than 20 locations in southwestern Connecticut will be taking part in Open House Day.

The Connecticut Audubon Society at Fairfield said it has been a participant for many years. Visitors will receive a free program on birds, a guided walk through its sanctuary, as well as a discount at its Nature Store.

"We have over 150 acres here (and) seven miles of hiking trails," said Jane Guenther, store manager at the Center at Fairfield. "The guided bird walk will get people a little familiar with our sanctuary ... and there's no charge that day."

In Norwalk, Lockwood-Matthews Mansion Museum is offering reduced admissions prices, and electric bike store Pedego SoNo will be giving customers a free hour when they purchase a one hour rental.

Among Bridgeport's participants are the Beardsley Zoo, where the first 100 guests will be given half-priced admission, and the Bijou Theater, which is offering a free performance by the New England Ballet Company.

"(The state's) compact size makes it easy for for residents to explore a variety of attractions in one day," Randy Fiveash, director of the Connecticut Office of Tourism, said in the release. "We always encourage them to plan a full day of fun."

Click through the slideshow above to see more local attractions participating in Connecticut Open House Day.
WESTPORT  An attorney for the family involved in a fatal winter crash into the Saugatuck River has filed a notice keeping a possible lawsuit against the town on the table.

Richard La Mendola died in the Feb. 25 incident and his wife, Stephanie, was rescued from the water, after their 2016 BMW  driven by Richard  navigated into the icy waters of the Saugatuck River on a dark and rainy night. They entered the river from the Saugatuck boat launch off Saxon Lane.

The filing  written by the familys attorney, Stephen Finn  notes the investigation into the cause has not been completed and in the case it is determined that the injuries were caused by a defective highway, bridge or sidewalk; or caused by negligence of town employees, departments or other entities, they reserve the right to sue the town.

Finn did not return requests seeking comment.

In the crash report, Sean Kelley, of the Westport Police Department, who was positioned on the Bridge Street Bridge and saw Stephanie floating in the river, wrote that Stephanie told him Richard was the operator of the car, that he made a wrong turn and the couple was confused. It added that Stephanie did not know how they went into the water and they could not see due to heavy rain.

Kelleys report, from Stephanies account, continues saying she remembered the car being submerged and unable to open the passenger door, she exited out of the drivers side. Stephanie saw Richard go under water and never saw him come back up.

The report states that Richard was recovered unresponsive near the Bridge Street Bridge and was pronounced dead at Norwalk Hospital. Stephanie was also taken to Norwalk Hospital and survived.

The Connecticut State Medical Examiner ruled the cause of Richards as drowning. Westport police also have said they dont believe there to be any foul play involved.

@chrismmarquette; cmarquette@bcnnew.com
Grabbing that morning Starbucks fix got a little easier this year, thanks to artificial intelligence. Starbucks launched a new feature in January that allows customers who own iPhones or Amazon Echos to order their coffee through voice-activated assistants. Depending which device they use, customers can also ask check their Starbucks account balances, inquire about seasonal specials and find out which baked treats are available at their local stores.

Starbucks has said the use of digital assistants helps it provide more personalized customer experiences. These assistants are also more cost-effective (than the humans who normally would put in customer orders). They facilitate faster, more valuable engagement.

There's even more to AI's impact: While the Starbucks example (along with other uses for chatbots and digital assistants) focuses on external efforts -- benefitting customers, in this case -- chatbots can be immensely helpful in internal efforts such as:

Workflow and communication

Implementing AI can improve workflow and facilitate communication among team members. If someone runs late to a meeting, for instance, his or her digital assistant can ping other participants, telling them to push back the start time.

This will prevent everyone from needing to hop on the phone or send texts, delaying the meeting further. The chatbot will handle the logistics, so the humans involved can focus on getting to the appointment and having a productive discussion.

Digital assistants also drive shorter sales cycles. A salesperson might offer a presentation to a potential customer, then return to the office to type up a report for the presales or solutions teams -- a time-consuming but necessary responsibility.

But if this salesperson records the conversation, a digital assistant can extract the most important details from the transcript, fire off a few short emails and move on to the next high-level task.

Related: Create Your Own Chatbot Online and Increase Productivity

Decision-making and organizational processes

Another aspect of AI useful to entrepreneurs is how it can help them enhance decision-making and streamline processes across their organizations. Specifically:

1. Identifying (and eliminating) tedious interactions among team members. What regular interactions -- no matter how large or small your company -- annoy your employees or waste their time? Those are the interactions digital assistants can take over.

Take, for example, Overstock's Mila chatbot. Mila manages the interaction -- via a company app -- with an employee calling in sick. Mila will first offer sympathy, then collect relevant information about this person's schedules and responsibilities.

Next, "she" will contact the person's manager so he or she can plan accordingly. Mila replaced Overstock's outdated call-in hotline, for instance, saving the company time and money on lengthy back-and-forth phone conversations.

Sales teams also benefit from automation. Representatives see the greatest success when they invest in warm, qualified leads. However, warm leads take time to convert, and salespeople must log detailed notes about every interaction to guide that person toward a purchase.

Without those notes, leads go cold. But logging notes is time-consuming, and reps need to focus on other tasks. Virtual assistants can relieve that burden, ensuring that sales reps have the information they need without spending hours documenting it.

2. Putting the staff's time to better use. Outsourcing low-level tasks to AI allows teams to spend time on priority projects. For example, instead of having your team answer common questions, you might implement customer-support chatbots. These can provide answers to oft-repeated queries and direct customers to human reps for more complex issues.

The Nanorep chatbot will even flag gaps in a company's knowledge base to make the team aware of the information customers seek. That lets employees focus on bigger-picture issues rather than FAQs.

As for customers: They're becoming more accustomed all the time to dealing with chatbots, so don't worry about putting them off by using an AI system.

One survey from Deloitte University Press found that 22 percent of consumers interviewed had used chat apps to manage basic banking services; so people are familiar with the concept. As long as the system works well and delivers answers, customers will appreciate the service.

Related: We Test-Drive a Personal Chat Bot for Customer Service

3. Let bots assist, not replace, your team. Chatbots and digital assistants offer ways to improve productivity and customer service, but they can't replace your human employees. So, leverage small-scale AI to enable your workers to focus on complex, challenging tasks that boost the company's overall performance.

Simple time-saving functions such as Slack's Worklife bot streamline employees' workflows to minimize the amount of minutiae they have to cope with. That way, employees can redirect that energy to more important tasks. By 2025, digital data will hit a trillion gigabytes, according to an IDC report. With so much information coming at them every day, workers need all the help they can get.

Related: Is Your Startup Ready for Artificial Intelligence?

In the end, chatbots and digital assistants don't benefit just the customer -- a business's internal processes have just as much to gain from their advantages.

Business leaders who recognize the value of these AI functions will be rewarded with more streamlined operations and a more productive team -- two things no one would say no to.

Related:



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Jim Krampen and Justin Tysdal, co-founders of Seven Corners, in Carmel, Ind., made a radical decision last year about their travel insurance company.

Related: Disruption in the C-Suite

Having run the business for 20 years, the two leaders realized that they personally were stunting the organization's growth. They decided it was time for a C-suite shakeup. "[Krampen] and I realized we were a decision-making bottleneck," Tysdal told me via email. "Instead of having two co-founders calling all of the shots, we brought in C-level executives with the experience to scale a business."

Since then, the company has hired three new C-level and seven director-level employees. As a result, Seven Corners' online rating has improved nearly 300 percent. While theirs was a difficult decision. Tysdal said, he knew they had to put their company first.

"If the right person isn't in the right seat, a change is necessary," he said. "As entrepreneurs, Jim and I have a unique and valuable skillset. While we can conceptualize and pursue new markets and channels, we are in no way suited to scale a business."

Related: For Those Women Looking to Get Into the C-Suite, This Unlikely Industry Is for You

Of course it's not always obvious whether leadership change is the right move. Here four reasons why a startup should consider a C-suite shakeup:

Better understanding of customers

Despite being in the business of women's lingerie, Yandy, oddly enough, had no female C-suite executives. While many fashion, retail and e-tail brands have predominantly male management teams, there's something so personal and intimate about women's lingerie, everyday intimates and swimwear that practically called out for a woman's particular point of view.

That's why current CEO Thom Brodeur stepped in to make a change at the Phoenix-based company.

"One of the first moves I made when I came on board was to permanently place our vice president of merchandising, Pilar Quintana-Williams, at the executive table," Brodeur said via email. "She has since brought her invaluable merchant experience as well as her strong vision around the female consumer to the team."

Takeaway: Understanding and meeting customers' needs means being able to comprehend the personal experiences a product gives them. So, consider each unique demographic you're trying to reach and compare those people to your C-suite members. If no one in the C-suite reflects those unique experiences, switch up the demographics to add the personal touch consumers and employees expect from the organization.

Fresh ideas

After witnessing almost a 100 percent change in her former team when a new executive took over her CEO job, Kristin Savilia, now CEO of the wholesale marketplace JOOR in New York City, understood the importance of shaking up the executive order.

"In my past company, the change brought in new opinions and new direction. We had a plan previous to the changeover, but [we] were having trouble executing it," Savilia said via email. "Fresh ideas on how to take on the challenge helped us move more quickly."

While the change-up was necessary and beneficial, Savilia noted, some previous team members, including herself, stayed on. This was important, in terms of helping the new CEO understand the industry and company history and to prevent the reoccurence of previous mistakes.

Takeaway: Remaining stagnant in C-suite leadership can slow innovation and problem-solving. But bringing in new leadership means welcoming fresh ideas and solutions. Mix new executives with previous team members to stay innovative, but remain cognizant about past mistakes and how not to repeat them.

Well-rounded skill sets

Sometimes, shaking up the C-suite means looking at what is best for the company and possibly taking a step back. That's exactly what Dan Hanrahan, founder and president of Sigstr, in Indianapolis,said he did for the sake of his team.

"After serving as CEO for three years, I made the transition to founder and president and brought in a new CEO, former Salesforce chief product officer Bryan Wade, to fuel the next stage of growth," Hanrahan said. "Bryan and I are complementary -- I get to focus on new levers for growth, like building partners and new channels, while Bryan focuses on vision, scale and product leadership."

Together, Wade and Hanrahan used their individualized talents to build something bigger than either of them could do alone.

Takeaway: New leadership adds to the diversity of skillsets in the organization, allowing current teams to put their best talents to use. Look for personality and skills gaps within your company to decide what type of executive new hire is needed.

Unifying vision

No matter how much we personally like the leaders on our team, sometimes companies and their leaders evolve in separate directions. And a shift like this can divide a company, causing irreparable damage.

In 2016, social media management company Buffer ran into just this issue when it changed its focus. "We decided to focus on growing sustainably, slowing down hiring, raising the bar for product quality over shipping frequency and innovating our culture to create an empowering environment," Hailley Griffis, public relations specialist with Buffer, in Toronto, told me via email.

Not everyone was on board for those changes: "Our COO and CTO didn't feel aligned with this vision for the future and decided to move on," Griffis wrote.

Still, although this type of sudden change was likely difficult, Buffer's leadership team found it necessary, to align their vision for the future. "It's still quite early, but our CEO has already expressed that the clarity of this single, unified vision for the future of Buffer has already proven so valuable for the team as a whole," Griffis continued.

Related: 3 Biases That Make the C-Suite Deaf to Young Leaders

Takeaway: As a company evolves, be honest with team members about where your company's future is headed. This will help everyone assess who still fits with company goals and missions -- and who is headed in a different direction. If needed, bring on a new C-suite member to help realign the company and unify its vision.

Related:

Why a C-Suite Shakeup Is Exactly What Your Company Needs

For Those Women Looking to Get Into the C-Suite, This Unlikely Industry Is for You

Disruption in the C-Suite



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
NorthWestern Energy (NWE), our monopoly utility, knows that polls show a big majority of Montanans support clean energy resources such as wind, solar and storage technologies. Thats why the pamphlets that come with your electric bill give the impression that NWE is greener than Kermit the Frog. NWEs actions, though, suggest a different image  Darth Vader.

Montanas Renewable Portfolio Standard, passed by the Legislature in 2005, requires public utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity from new renewable sources. NWE has yet to fully comply with this law, and instead has tried to duck responsibility. In the recent legislative session, the company lobbied for bills that would torpedo rooftop solar, and attacked Community Renewable Energy Projects.

Utilities in states like Wyoming and Iowa, with no better wind than we have in Montana, are receiving billions for investment in wind energy. Meanwhile, NWE is stuck in neutral and slipping towards reverse. Their latest 20-year plan calls for no new wind or solar, only more gas power plants.

We need less talk and lots more action from NWE if our state is to move away from 19th century fossil fuels to a clean energy future.

Jerome Walker

Missoula
T he Conservatives failure to secure a majority in parliament battered consumer-focused stocks today, with housebuilders, banks and high street retailers left nursing the most serious wounds.

The result, which further ratcheted up economic uncertainty, sent a series of household names to the bottom of the footsie leaderboard, including state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, down 10.4p to 246.9p.

High Street fashion chains Next and Marks & Spencer were in hot pursuit, slipping 171p to 4181p and 12.3p to 354.4p.

The housebuilding sector was also a sea of red: Taylor Wimpey fell 8p to 175.6p, Barratt Developments sank 23p to 567.52p and Persimmon slid 92p to 2319p.

On the FTSE 250, their peers were in a similar state. Crest Nicholson was 36p lower at 574.5p, Berkeley lost 152p to 3054.9p and Bovis dipped 39p to 884.5p.

Builders merchant Travis Perkins plunged 78p to 1527p.

What is a hung parliament?

UBSs Wealth Management suggested investors temporarily move their cash elsewhere. Against a weak domestic backdrop, we have a short-term preference for UK tourist stocks against UK domestic consumer stocks, Caroline Simmons, deputy head of its UK investment office said.

Traders appeared to agree and the FTSE 100, which makes less than a third of its revenue in Britain, moved 59.11 points up to 7509.09.

By contrast, the more domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250, tumbled 129.77 points to 19,613.64.

Exposure to overseas markets boosted the likes of Burberry and Smirnoff and Guinness maker Diageo. The luxury label climbed 42p to 1760p, while the drinks company surged 42.5p to 2327p.

Miners dug into the blue-chip indexs top spots, with Fresnillo the winner thanks to a 66p leap to 1731p. BHP Billiton moved up 22.5p to 1205p and Randgold Resources rose 195p to 7690p.

Outside election moves, fashion brand Ted Baker added 54p to reach 2417p thanks to an endorsement from RBC.

It started coverage of the stock with an outperform rating and set a 2800p target price.
P erhaps it wasnt so clever after all. The chaos we find ourselves in today is the long-term result of the Conservative partys you-stab-my-back-Ill-stab-yours leadership contest last summer.

Dirty it may have been, but boy was it quick. And how the City and business lauded the party for that speed in ending the post-Cameron uncertainty.

Trouble was, in all that haste, they chose the wrong leader.

Untested in front of the public, Theresa May turned out to be totally lacking in the empathic star power needed to win over the country.

She was the political equivalent of Tescos Phil Clarke  a competent high-flier in the Tesco ranks who proved hopeless when he got the top job. Come the test of the election, May proved bereft of strategy and incapable of leadership, unforgivably bottling the TV debates and refusing to open up to the country about what she really believed in.

Having seen the mistake of her appointment made in haste, its troubling that, for the sake of short term stability and continuity, business leaders are now demanding another rapid move to get a new government together.

Sure, the pound is falling, sure investors hate uncertainty and, sure, the Brexit negotiations arent far away. But big investment decisions wont be made or cancelled on the back of a few weeks political uncertainty. And European Union leaders are in no rush to start Brexit talks when theres a chance the British people might want to remain after all.

Far better for our politicians to go get some sleep, have some calm, quiet dialogue over the coming days and make the right decisions this time.

Those decisions should include either replaying the EU referendum or at least softening the Prime Ministers hard Brexit approach that would so damage British business.

Being an optimist, I cant help believing a referendum replay would result in a Remain result, or at least a less harmful retrenchment from the EU.

In its haphazard way, our democracy might just be leading us to the best outcome business could ever have hoped for.

Pound bounceback?

For the boys and girls in the City, the big question is how to trade all this stuff. In these first few hours its been so far, so obvious. Sell the pound, sell shares in importers, buy those earning in dollars.

Longer term, though, if my hopes for an end to hard Brexit prove right, sterling will stage a decent bounceback.

Thats the polar opposite of how the world looked this time yesterday and a jolly good thing.
T he list of well-known people called Keith is full of flamboyant characters. Keith Richards. Tick. Keith Floyd. Tick. Keith Chegwin. Er

Standard Life chief executive Keith Skeoch, like the slow and steady insurer he runs, is anything but.

In fact, the 60-year-old former government economist is cut from the same cloth as Standard Life chief executives before him like Sir Sandy Crombie and David Nish: low-key, quiet, predictable. Or at least he was until a cold March morning earlier this year.

Standing on a Goldman Sachs stage with Aberdeens bon viveur chief Martin Gilbert, he stunned the City by unveiling one of the biggest M&A deals of the past decade, the 11 billion mega-merger of the two Scottish giants.

The deal is the biggest strategic move in Standards 200-year history. When it is finished, the new group will boast 9000 staff and 660 billion of assets, making it the second biggest fund in Europe. Not so low-key any more.

So whats a man, who as a civil servant, penned an academic paper called Inter-plant Comparisons of Productivity and Earnings, doing in the ring with the highly paid beasts of big-ticket M&A?

Im an investment guy through and through, he says, sitting down at the Evening Standards Kensington office before a quick trip to Madrid for an investor conference. I was a macro guy, a chief economist. At Standard Life, I got a chance to put into practice what Id been talking about in theory. Stockbroking had become investment banking  and it was clear to me I wasnt an investment banker.

Dressed in the regulation fund-manager uniform of blue suit, buttoned-up pinstripe shirt and patterned silk tie, Skeoch looks the archetypal, quiet money man rather than a smooth-talking banker. He is on a whirlwind charm offensive ahead of a shareholder vote to mint the deal next Monday and is keen, obviously, to sing its praises.

Thoughtful, slow and somewhat windy in his talk, he has a tendency to steamroll through conversations, getting his point across and blocking interventions in his flow. As a result, the first 10 minutes of the interview are a soliloquy rather than a conversation.

The take-home point: the deal needs to happen because the world is changing and bigger is better in fund management. Combining Standard and Aberdeens balance sheets will keep dividend-hungry shareholders happy and throw off more cash to spend on IT, which will help active managers compete with cheaper funds.

Despite the obvious logic on paper, the merger has had a less than rapturous reaction since a media leak in March. Weve had a sticky start since the leak but as weve got the messaging out, there has been a pretty positive reaction in the share price. The feedback has been reasonably positive, he says.

Criticism of the deals comes from all angles: from the number of job losses (800 roles) to bankers fees (100 million) and the gigantic size of the board (16 people). The most intriguing, however, is the co-chief executive role he will share with Gilbert. History is littered with failed co-chiefs, not least in insurance and the doomed co-leadership of Roger Taylor and Richard Gamble at Royal & Sun Alliance.

Can he think of an example of when it has worked well? Whole Foods, he fires back.Its an interesting combination of a founder and chief executive. Apple worked for a considerable period of time and in the early days you had the combination of Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates at Microsoft.

Thats all very well if youre on the same page but Skeoch and Gilbert are very different people  chalk and cheese. Gilbert, the entertainer, who holds court with tales of his pals such as Donald Trump, is a born salesman, brilliant and popular with clients  and journalists.

Skeoch, known for his love of fly-fishing, is less salesman and more strategist. Gordon Aitken, a former Standard Life director and now analyst at RBC Capital, has worked with Skeoch and says he's a good guy who brings the market experience to the combo.

Hes smart. Hes an intelligent guy and he comes at it from the investment side. Its good having Martin on board because we think theres more deals to be done here. Skeoch and Gilbert are mates, but work-mates, not best friends, like the five pals from primary school Skeoch went fell-walking with the other weekend to celebrate their 60th birthdays.

Weve met on the river a few times and we talk every day at the moment, probably meeting twice a week at various things as we work on this deal, he says.

The idea was hatched, in true Martin Gilbert-style, over lunch. The two men met in early January at Edinburghs palatial Balmoral Hotel near Waverley station, which boasts a grand old clock running three minutes fast so that travellers dont miss their trains.

Counterpart: Aberdeen chief Martin Gilbert / Aberdeen Asset Management

It was pretty early on that Martin and I recognised that if it was going to work, we were going to have to be co-chief executives, he says.

They thrashed out the broad contours of the deal and Skeoch took the plan to his chairman Sir Gerry Grimstone. Rumours abound that the driving force behind the deal was Sir Gerry, not Skeoch, but the chief executive insists the idea had been percolating for a while, folding his arm determinedly.

He goes on the defensive, umming and ahhing heavily as he picks his words carefully: I have always been keen on this deal and its me along with Martin who has done all of the heavy lifting, he says. Youre constantly looking at stuff, theres a stream of decks you get from investment banks and this was one of many options for us and one of many options for Aberdeen.

If the merger is approved, and it probably will be, Skeoch will start the task of bringing together his 6300 staff with Aberdeens 2800 workers  which is when the heavy lifting really starts.

Skeoch has promised he wont smash together the two organisations, but some of the old guard have already jumped ship  notably Standard Lifes well-respected equity chief David Cumming.

I was disappointed, he says. Hes somebody Id worked with for the last 18 years. David is his own man and has always had strong views.

With a surname like Skeoch, youd probably assume he was a Scotsman but hes not  hes actually from Yorkshire. He moved to Edinburgh with his wife and two sons, now 30 and 26, when he joined Standard Life in 1998, and ascended to chief executive, taking over from David Nish in 2015.

A blunt Yorkshireman in Scotland, it must be tough? Im proud of my Yorkshire heritage but I hate political nationalism. On the sporting field its fine, but Im not sure Im a Tyke.

When I arrived, the first thing some of the staff did was work out Skeoch had Scottish roots, so they found out what clan I was, the Shaw of Tordarroch, so theres a connection there. And I have to admit when the white shirts are not playing at Murrayfield, I support the dark blue.

He grew up in the town of Guisborough, on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors and home to hundreds of workers from the nearby ICI chemical plant, famous for its flaming chimneys. He was one of three kids, and his father was a chemical engineer at ICI. Skeoch was an avid fell-walker and mountaineer in his youth.

He married his university sweetheart, who is now a retired Time and Forbes journalist. Their nuptials were so long ago that the flesh of his finger has grown around his wedding ring like a tree around a fence.

I remember taking my wife to look over the moors in the direction of the ICI plant and she said thats a beautiful sunset, he laughs, referencing the famous flames. I said yep, its every night  thats ICI.

Shareholders, pensioners and the companys hard-working staff will all be hoping his chemistry with Gilbert gives off an equally bright future.
L ast night the British people voted emphatically for none of the above. It was not obvious that this option was on the ballot paper but voters found a way to deliver the outcome they wanted. They were clear that they were not fans of Theresa May. Her authority is non-existent. She herself said: If I lose just six seats, I will lose this election. Team May lost twice that number. As an unelected premier, she had every right to seek a mandate. But she failed to frame what the election was about. She made much of the fact that she didnt play the political games of others but voters never believed her decision to call a snap election was anything other than a naked attempt to grab a landslide. They called her out.

The promised debate on the details of Brexit never happened. Instead, the Conservative manifesto made a disastrous foray into social care that was concealed from the Cabinet; it should have been hidden from voters too. The spectacular U-turn that followed, reported in this paper first, torpedoed the Prime Ministers central claim to offer strength and stability. More broadly, the Conservatives have moved away from the economic and social liberalism that had proved a winning combination for the party and the country. The strident tone on immigration and the anti-business rhetoric put off metropolitan Britain. The Conservatives lost their majority because they left the centre ground. If the country is, as some say, dividing between those who favour an open, modern society over those wedded to a closed, backward-looking one, then the Tories should be on the side of the open optimists, while helping those who feel left behind. The alternative is a dead-end for Conservatism.

We now have a minority Conservative government that is in office but not in power. Its majority depends on the caprice of 10 Democratic Unionists in Northern Ireland. The DUP does not support some central tenets of the Governments economic and welfare plans. In this topsy-turvy world, the decisions that affect London will now be taken in Belfast. That is not a sustainable position; this paper will subject it to intense scrutiny, starting today.

But if voters rejected the Conservatives, they did not embrace their opponents. With a vacant political centre, this should have been the Lib-Dems night. It wasnt. It would have been better if Tim Farron had lost his seat and Nick Clegg kept his. North of the border, the SNP lost more than 20 seats: their dream of another independence referendum is over thanks to Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson.

Theresa May Speech on Election Night

Jeremy Corbyns supporters are celebrating today. He has undeniably established a connection with younger voters seeking more authentic politics. But its a connection secured through false claims that tuition fees can be abolished without harming universities, enterprise penalised without costing jobs, and public services supported on the back of a weak economy. A sober look at Labours result would reveal that it too failed. This was an election which the Left could have won, if they had a leader with broad appeal. Instead, they had their third election defeat in a row. While the party remains captured by the hard Left, it is difficult to see how it can avoid future defeat.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

After last nights result, an outside observer might be forgiven for thinking that politically, Britain has suffered a collective nervous breakdown. Two years ago, the UK stood out as a beacon of political stability and economic success. Two years on from that, voters have both effectively ejected the country from the EU and now given us a Commons that is all but incapable of agreeing a plan to negotiate our exit. Thats a huge challenge. It does, however, offer an opportunity to rethink the hard Brexit that Mrs May intended. At last years referendum, voters were only asked one question: should we remain in or leave the European Union? We can respect that outcome without cutting our ties to the single market or leaving the customs union. Out of the chaos of last night, some sanity might emerge.
T oday orange is the new blue. This morning, Theresa May had hoped to be celebrating a landslide win. Instead, she has been trying to shore up her diminishing grip on power by looking to strike a deal with Ulsters Democratic Unionists. One can imagine the Queens arched eyebrows in the audience the PM sought today as she was told that a government which six weeks ago had a working majority is now a minority caretaker administration. The 10 DUP MPs hold the balance of power in the Commons. They could offer Mrs May confidence and supply to keep her in power.

The confidence in her leadership is precisely what the British people failed to give her, and supply will mean London taxpayers sending yet more money to Northern Ireland. In this topsy-turvy world, decisions that affect London will be taken in Belfast. That is not a sustainable position; this paper will subject it to close scrutiny. How have we reached this sorry state of affairs?

The election made clear that the voters were not fans of Theresa May. Her authority is non-existent. She herself said: If I lose just six seats, I will lose this election. Team May lost twice that. As an unelected premier, she had every right to seek a mandate. But she failed to frame what the election was about. She made much of the fact that she didnt play the political games of others but voters never believed her decision to call a snap election was anything other than a naked attempt to grab a landslide. They called her out.

The promised debate on the details of Brexit never happened. Instead, the Conservative manifesto made a disastrous foray into social care that was concealed from the Cabinet; it should have been hidden from voters too. The spectacular U-turn that followed torpedoed the PMs central claim to offer strength and stability. More broadly, the Conservatives have moved away from the economic and social liberalism that had proved a winning combination for the party and the country. The Conservatives lost their majority because they left the centre ground. If the country is, as some say, dividing between those who favour an open, modern society over those wedded to a closed, backward-looking one, then the Tories should be on the side of the open optimists, while helping those who feel left behind..

We now have a minority Conservative government that is in office but not in power. But if voters rejected the Conservatives, they did not embrace their opponents. With a vacant political centre, this should have been the Lib-Dems night. It wasnt. In Scotland, the SNP lost 21 seats: their dream of another independence referendum is over thanks to Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

Jeremy Corbyns supporters are celebrating today. He has undeniably established a connection with younger voters seeking more authentic politics. But its a connection secured through false claims that tuition fees can be abolished without harming universities, enterprise penalised without costing jobs, and public services supported on the back of a weak economy. A sober look at Labours result would reveal that it too failed. This was an election which the Left could have won, if they had a leader with broad appeal. Instead, they had their third election defeat in a row. While the party remains captured by the hard Left, it is difficult to see how it can avoid future defeat.

After last nights result, an outside observer might be forgiven for thinking that politically, Britain has suffered a collective breakdown. Two years ago, the UK was a beacon of political stability and economic success. Two years on, voters have both effectively ejected the country from the EU and now given us a Commons that will find it hard to negotiate our exit. Thats a huge challenge. It does, however, offer an opportunity to rethink the hard Brexit that Mrs May intended. At last years referendum, voters were only asked one question: should we remain in or leave the European Union? We can respect that outcome without cutting our ties to the single market or leaving the customs union. Out of the chaos of last night, some sanity might emerge.
A major London polo tournament was today set to welcome its first female player  as captain.

Hazel Jackson, 26, will lead England as it faces six teams from across the world at the eighth annual Chestertons Polo in the Park event at Hurlingham park in west London.

The England team has not been mixed in more than a decade. Today it will go up against India, which has royalty among its players  namely the maharaja of Jaipur  in a historic clash marking the first time the visitors have set foot in Hurlingham in 70 years.

Jackson told the Standard: It is an honour to be part of the England Team and I cant wait to play.

Crowd pleaser: Chestertons Polo in the Park is now in its eighth year

I think the whole thing is absolutely incredible, having polo in the city and the large number of spectators. Its very exciting to be there and its exciting to watch.

Padmanabh Singh, the 18-year-old maharaja of Jaipur, is captaining the Indian team.

The Maharaja said: Im representing my country for the first time abroad and what better way to do so than in front of a huge London audience.

It is a very special occasion for me personally as my family has had a long association with polo in the UK. My grandfather led the last great Indian polo team to many victories, winning every major trophy in the UK during the 1940s and 1950s.

A close friend of Prince Charles, his late grandfather Maharaja Sawai Man Singhji Bahadur was a colourful character who went by the nickname Bubbles in a nod to the copious champagne consumed celebrating his birth.

How Hard Is It Anyway? Polo

Though the origins of the sport date back 2,500 years to the ancient Persians, the modern game owes its form to early games played by British tea planters in Manipur, India, in the early 1800s.

Spectators can give it a go themselves this weekend at Hurlingham, where free lessons will be given on Saturday morning ahead of the matches. The Standard headed to HPC, the London Polo Club, and saddled up with the help of Argentine international Juan Cruz Guevara, who is also playing this weekend. Watch the video above to see how we got on.

Chestertons Polo in the Park runs from June 9-11 at Hurlingham Park, tickets at polointheparklondon.com
 The best bartender is almost a psychologist or a therapist, says Jamie Jones, global bars executive for Jason Athertons The Social Company, and bartender at Athertons City Social. You learn very quickly to read the body language of customers in your environment, and how to play to them.

Jones should should know: the 34-year-old is the newly crowned GB World Class Bartender of the Year, and hes got the full toolkit of skills. Last night he wowed the judges at Diageos World Class awards with his speciality, the Hurican, named after the Mayan god of thunder. I looked at the history of indigenous ingredients used by the Mayans: sea salt, honey, black tea and cacao nibs, he explains. The cocktail also uses Guatemalan ron zacapa, oloroso sherry and a dash of absinthe.

Its a digestif if ever there was one, he continues. The ultimate after-dinner drink. Its got the indulgence, the richness, but its not too clingy or too sweet, and keeps the palate tantalised.

Did he enjoy the evening? It was phenomenal, Im still a little shaken, he says. As a global competition, its like winning the Premier League. I certainly had a lovely evening. Lots of drinks were put in front of me and I politely sipped as many as I could. I was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Jones started his career in his home town of Chester, washing glasses in pubs. After ascending through bar jobs and then starting his own company, No Fixed Abode, Atherton called him up to the big time.

He really wanted somebody with a vision to take the bars forward with innovation and sophistication  someone who leads by example, Jones says. I once washed glasses and took the bins out and Im still not afraid to get my hands dirty. I spend as much time behind the bar as Jason does in the kitchen.

London, he says, has the most sophisticated drinking customer base in the world. People seek out drinks as much as they seek out food. If you have a reputation and a fanbase, people are going to take a punt on you, so you can be avante garde and put curveballs in there.

Hes known as the Cocktail Hobbit  Im not the tallest of human beings, Im not afraid to poke fun at myself, and I have a few hairy toes  and, appropriately, his speciality is bringing a little magic to classics. If you can do a riff on a classic youve already got an audience, he says, pointing to his Black to the Future, which is espresso martini meets dirty martini.

The best bars in London 1 /64 The best bars in London Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London 252 High Holborn, WC1V 7EN, rosewoodhotels.com/london

The Rosewood is doubly wonderful for drinkers, as theyve two fine spots. In the modern Dining Room, sit at the gin bar, which outstocks anywhere else in London, with more than 400 gins and 27 tonics. Trying to choose is impossible, but what a lovely impossibility to have. The bar staff clearly had one hell of a tasting session as they know the list perfectly. Across the way is Scarfes Bar, a brilliant, brilliant bar gladly shaken free from all the stuffiness usually found in hotel bars. The drinks are stunning, theyve often live music, it gets wonderfully busy and crackles with laughter. Go a little later and its busier, people drink more, everything is better. Bar Americain 20 Sherwood St, W1F 7ED, brasseriezedel.com

As the name suggests, this is a classic American bar, and done near perfectly. One can become very fond of Bar Americain and very quickly: passing through Piccadilly Circus, it acts as a magnet  a quick negroni becomes a temptation impossible to resist. Its a very beautiful place, calling to mind grand Parisian hotels of the 20s and 30s, bottles winking from the bar, staff floating through with their finery and litres of charm. Youre here to drink the classics: theyve a killer Clover Club and a straight-down-the-line Manhattan. But ask: the bartenders know their stuff and bring their A-game to any challenge  tell them what you like, and theyll bring you something new. They often have specials on, as well. Top marks for the attentive staff, bringing plenty of water and bowl after bowl of popcorn  both essential after a few here. Oriole Smithfield Markets, E Poultry Ave, EC1A 9LH, oriolebar.com

The team behind Nightjar took their winning formula, gave it a bit of a shake up and created Oriole. Theyve live music throughout the week  from Wednesday to Saturday, theres a charge per person, so watch out for that  which gives any night here a bit of zip. This is a strictly seated spot, so be sure to book: once inside, its a whirlwind tour of the world, with fine details from across the globe, both in the styling and the drinks and so much cheaper than booking a holiday. Drinks are excellent, whether youre into New Orleans style classics or something from the depths of Asia: explore the menu (split into Old World, New World and The Orient) and expect something unusual and faintly brilliant, with a touch of the Tiki. Put it this way: Oriole is ideal whether you prefer drinking from a crystal tumbler, a teacup or, er, a silver crocodile. Piano Works 113-117 Farringdon Road, Farringdon EC1R 3BX, pianoworks.bar

Full credit to this fun Farringdon spot: theyve worked hard to make the place better and better since opening, which is pretty good going for what was already a decent spot to begin with. The Piano Works sounds like a quiet jazz bar but instead is a hell-raising house of sound, splendidly raucous, where a house band take requests and belt out your favourite songs. The more you get involved, the more fun it is, and the place heats up the later it gets. Wine starts at 16, house cocktails are 8, but they've tons of terrific deals during the week  including cocktails for a fiver (!!) Drink lots, dance lots and leave in the early hours with someone you shouldnt do. Thats what we did. Hawksmoor, Spitalfields 157A Commercial St, E1 6BJ, thehawksmoor.com

Its hardly surprising the bar snacks are a highlight here  have the oxcheek nuggets with a side of chips, then call the waiter over to order them over again  given how good the steak upstairs is. The drinks and setting, though, match them pound for pound. The old tube tiles on the walls, the beautiful parquet floor, the copper tops and silvery black ceiling make the large space a place to settle in for the night no matter your seat, while the cocktails come with oodles of thought in each one: the new menu has homemade bitters, shrubs and syrups, and its bloody obvious everyone behind the bar is more than a little nerdy about building drinks. Shaky Petes Ginger Brew is the classic, so have it, but follow up with the Shadow Boxer, a mix of scotch, sherry and Fernet-Branca. Odd, oddly delicious. Its also a cracking place to sit for a bottle of wine. Andrew Edmunds 46 Lexington St, W1F 0LP, andrewedmunds.com

Perhaps better than its ever been, Andrew Edmunds recently won The Good Drinking prize in our Restaurant Awards, and for good reason. Its a small spot, cramped to the point that coming here on a first date feels like youre being very forward indeed , with the best tables upstairs and not much to look at  just settle for being distracted by someone beautiful. The food, French-ish/English-ish, is fine, but its the wine that's extraordinary. And youre here for wine: forget cocktails, they have. What a list, and so quietly marked up that youre getting a steal with almost every bottle  indeed, the more expensive the better the deal. Having been going 30 years, those who knew old Soho say its one of the last bastion of such things. Drink too much gorgeous wine and come back often. The Connaught Bar Connaught, Carlos Place, W1K 2AL, the-connaught.co.uk

A bar for the impossibly beautiful, a bar of high heels and glimmering lights, of perfume and leather. Aside from oddly thumping music, the Connaught is wonderfully detached from the world  a place of its own, cosy and winter warm when it needs to be, light and summer when desired. The drinks, naturally pricey, are well put together and while classic in tone, come with crackles of theatre: washes in perfume bottles, branches as garnishes, smoke, the lot. Still, the martini trolley is what theyre famed for, so its only right to indulge. Afterward, head to the Champagne Room: sadly the law stops it being the cigar haven it once was, but it's still gorgeous: romantic and charming with its fireplace, dramatic with its glass ceiling and sculpture swan diving. Treat yourself to the Ruinart blanc de blanc. Damned good olives, too. Milk & Honey 61 Poland St, W1F 7NU, mlkhny.com

You know a bar is good when local bartenders love it, and Milk & Honey has long been a Soho favourite for those in the know. Hidden in plain sight this terrific bar has been doing its thing for just shy of 15 years. The talent hasnt diminished, and neither has the care put into the drinks. Cocktails are strong and proper and happily, they're updating the list soon to freshen things up. At around 10 a drink, M&H is also a bargain for central London, and the quality outstrips the price. It functions as a members bar, but non-members can book up until 11pm  though going earlier in the week means youre more likely to score a table. Milk & Honey is civilised, without the crushing formality. Next door is the Blind Pig, another top 'hidden' spot. Mark's Bar HIX Soho, 66- 70 Brewer St, W1F 9UP, hixrestaurants.co.uk

The bad: you might not get in. If its busy, they dont squeeze people into this basement, so either be there early, or bamboozle them with charm, or dazzle them with your brilliant wit. Were kidding: just take someone hot. The good: pretty much everything else. Naturally, the bar snacks are distractingly tasty, but the drinks list is excellent, and unusual too, with a few historical recipes brought back to life. Attention to detail is everything here, so if youre not sharing one of the big old Chesterfields, head to the bar and sit and watch  theres something about it thats like seeing a cardmaster turn tricks. And have a Hix Fix, just to say you have. The Beaufort bar and the American Bar at The Savoy The Savoy, Strand, WC2R 0EU, fairmont.com

Glitz, glamour and lots of gold: both Savoy bars are wonderfully opulent. The world-famous American bar, recently revamped, is still up there as one of the best bars on our humble planet. The bartenders bible, Harry Craddocks The Savoy Cocktail Book, was written here, and the cocktails served today remain as finely tuned as they ever were. Whereas as other bars try to recreate the glamour of such places, The Savoy neednt pretend: everything is genuine. The palatial Beaufort is absurdly romantic, and drinks are extravagantly presented: it works for the most special of special occasions, and theres something undeniably grand about sipping away in the same place Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel and Ernest Hemingway all did. If youre planning a few drinks, either be rich or take someone rich  seriously. Artesian 1C Portland Pl, W1B 1JA, artesian-bar.co.uk

Artesian won its accolades for its team, Alex Kratena and Simone Caporale, who ran the place for eight years and earned its reputation as the best bar in the world. Theyve sadly departed, but have left the place in capable hands, and the feel is much the same as it ever was, which is chic, glamorous, and not taking itself too seriously. While the beautiful and the rich rub shoulders, the bartenders are mixing up excellent but often slightly silly drinks  but its their mischievousness that makes them so winning. Seriously impressive. Les Compagnie Des Vins Surnaturels 8-10 Neal's Yard, WC2H 9DP, cvssevendials.com

Call it CVS and your night becomes considerably easier to pronounce. Sat in Neils Yard, it is one of Londons finest wine bars. Thoroughly French, of course: New World wines barely get a sideways glance, while even Italys finest is only begrudgingly given a little space on the considerable menu. This doesn't mean there is a lack of choice  to the contrary, it is almost overwhelming, though they have a short by-the-glass list, and the charming staff are both well informed and passionate about what to have. In the summer, sit outdoors, in the winter, cosy up by the bar. Wherever you are, try the mystery wine; if you guess it, youll win a bottle. Have food  small plates made to share, and terrifically good  and drink plenty, so the bill doesnt hit as hard. The Shrub & Shutter 336 Coldharbour Ln, SW9 8QH, theshrubandshutter.com

This Brixton bar felt new in the area, taking a little of east London and bringing it down south. Theyve a pleasingly patchwork approach to decor: there are jars and bottles and shakers everywhere, which gives the place a kitchen feel. The cocktails, lovely to drink on their own, are made better with the food, which is designed to match what youre drinking. The pairings initially sound a little gimmicky  crayfish with vodka, venison on the side of The Deerhunter (an old fashioned, basically)  but they work, so drop that sceptical streak for a moment. It gets busy, so book up, get in early, and stay late. Theyve a license until 3am, so itd be rude not to. Sky Pod at the Sky Garden 1 Sky Garden Walk, EC3M 8AF, skygarden.london

The truth of it is, you come for the view, but good God it's a great view, and 360-degrees at that. Up 35 floors, if you can think of a London icon, you can probably see it. When the weather's good, get outside for some fresh air. With completely free entry and minimal security fuss, its worth making a reservation, though if youre ok to queue, theyll have you in. Cocktails arent torturously expensive, at around 11.50, and are very enjoyable  the cognac-chocolate-caramel-port mix that is Black and Gold is particularly good so it doesn't feel like they're relying on the sights.

Theres a sense of special occasion, and all the more so with live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays. Theyre hoping for jazz on Wednesdays, too. If youre tempted to eat, Fenchurch and the Darwin Brasserie are well worth trying  Fenchurch is particularly good for veggies. The Gilbert Scott St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, Euston Rd, NW1 2AR, thegilbertscott.co.uk

Given the golden hue here, where luxury hangs in the air like perfume, its remarkable that wine starts at as little as 5 a glass. Wine is its strong point, and likeable head sommelier Joris Beijn is a man worth knowing: he is passionate about his list, knowledgeable and accommodating. The bar is flexible, in that it is by turns ideal for a date, or a catch up with old friends, or a pre/post dinner drinks. The room is a stunner: high painted ceilings, dramatic red walls, great big bells as art, marble bar top and crystal glasses catching the light. Cocktails come in at around 14, and err on the light side: lots of gin and floral concoctions. The restaurant, next door, isnt to be missed, either, just be prepared to get an Uber home: invariably, youll stretch and tease out the evening to stay just a little longer. Gerry's Club 52 Dean Street, W1D 5BJ, gerrysclub.com

A word of warning: this is technically a member's club, but you'll probably be fine if you flirt enough  and don't ask for Gerry, he's long since passed. Michael looks after this place now. We've only been once  very late, very drunk and with very good friends. Most old-school Soho drinking dens are dead, but this hub of actors and writers is what remains of 'Old Soho'. If you're boring, steer clear: it is a place to drink wine and beer and tell stories, to laugh uproariously and to give yourself a monumental hangover in a faintly discreet way. 68 and Boston 4-5 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DD, 68andboston.com

Boston, the bar upstairs, looks like glamorous train carriage from the golden age of cocktails but plays it a little bit safe. Wine bar 68, downstairs, is the real gem, with a wonderful way of pricing: every bottle on the list is 20, so choose what you like, not what you can afford. Better yet, if you don't fancy a bottle, they're served by the carafe (14) or glass (5.50). Wines are well picked and Denise Medrano, wine blogger and lover found behind the bar, is always working to update the list  so go back to try something new. Youll probably end up getting drunk here: the pull of another bottle at just 20 is monumentally hard to resist, but hey, thats what Soho is for. If you fancy drinking something more upscale, ask  theyve a few hidden wines kept hidden away for those in the know. Thats you, now. The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion 25-27 Brewer St, W1F 0RR, elcamion.co.uk

Forget house infusions and drinks that take half an hour to make: sometimes a good night needs tequila and dancing. The Pink Chihuahua is built for it: theyre providing the tequila  more than 300 different types of it, in fact  youre there to drink it down and dance it up. Theyve all sorts of twists on Margaritas and Daiquiris, and, given youre downstairs from Mexican restaurant El Camion, plenty of bar food to indulge in too. Lots of fun, and if youre feeling more in the mood just to sit back and sip something slowly, ask about their choice of Mezcal. There's real talent here, but fun too. The Gibson 44 Old St, EC1V 9AQ, thegibsonbar.london

Given the dearth of decent cocktails in Farringdon, the tiny Gibson is a God-send. Its a parlour pitched somewhere between Edwardian and Art Deco, and drinks arent simply poured here, theyre tended to, built, thought about, adored. All unsurprising, really, given the team learnt their trade at the likes of Nightjar and The Connaught.

This place is doing more creatively to push bartending forward than any bar that's opened up in a while, so ask the team for recommendations and youll be presented with something magic. Youll need to ask, actually, as the menu is a novel and theres the risk of wasting the evening reading instead of drinking, and that simply wouldnt do at all. Peg+Patriot Patriot Square, E2 9NF, talentedmrfox.com

The Talented Mr Fox, Matt Whiley, offers is a nice blend of things here: while the menu takes a sophisticated trip around London, with each cocktail a column of flavour, some managing chameleonic taste all within the space of a sip, the actual bar is surprisingly spare and understated. The effect is such that while drinks are upmarket, one doesnt feel obliged to sit demurely to enjoy them. Relax, have a few  you might want to, as the serves arent huge. It should be said that these cocktails are among Londons most interesting, rather than Londons best: they are talking points, oddities, they put flavours together in a way that isnt available elsewhere. If youre big on trying new things, different experiences, seeing what a cocktail can do, come, its a must. If its just something reliably delicious you fancy, elsewhere may be better. Worship Street Whistling Shop 63 Worship St, EC2A 2DU, whistlingshop.com

One presumes the staff here have night vision, otherwise its a complete and utter mystery how they see customers, let alone their ingredients. Still, they must do, for the output is pretty much excellent through and through at this dark spot. Its Victorian-inspired, which sounds tired and not a little tacky, but the gang from Purl have done it properly. Drinks are busy  lots of fusions, blends, gasses and pressure and all sorts  so its appropriate they come out of a lab. Still, all this engineering seems to be worth it, as the drinks slip down easily, the alcohol often hidden away. Make sure to take a seat in the Dram Shop, and pop in to the Gin Closet too, which operates as an honesty bar. Kansas Smitty's 63-65 Broadway Market, E8 4PH, kansassmittys.com

Below bar Off Broadway  a long way off, its Mexican  sits this glorious den of jazz and juleps. It is a speakeasy for 2016: that is to say, it has none of the contrived mannerisms of bars which proclaim to be speakeasies, it just happens to actually be one: youll need to knock to get in, the music raves loud and hot, and the place is so crowded strangers become family after a drink or two. The house band, for which the place is named, have envy-inducing talent, and the bar has fairly recently overhauled its drinks list, and the results are good. Youll be absorbed by the music, and stay afterwards to ride the buzz of the crowd. GONG 52, Shangri-La Hotel, the Shard, SE1 9QU, .gong-shangri-la.com

Gong is in the Shard, so youre there for the view alone. View it certainly does: at 52 floors up, its by far Londons highest spot to drink: consequently, sipping on a martini, one feels a little like a Bond villain pondering all thats below. Its not a huge bar, but that somewhat adds to the sense of exclusivity. Prices are, naturally, sky high: expect to pay at least 18. The drinks have plenty about them to compete with the view: presentation is everything. Theyve not skipped on the spirits making the mix, either: expect the likes of Zacapa 23 rum (heavenly stuff), Talisker scotch and Tanqueray 10 for the gin. All top drawer stuff. If this all sounds a bit intimidating, bear in mind they operate a no reservations policy, so youve as good a chance of getting in as anyone else. Mr Fogg's Salon 58 St Martin's Lane, Theatreland, WC2N 4EA, mr-foggs.com

Downstairs is a pretty decent pub, busy from theatreland. Upstairs, the salon is quieter, but only a little. The walls are a glittering ballgown of 19th century curiosities, unsubtle nonsense winking away. Head to a chaise longues with a couple of friends or a date and take in something from each one of the five acts which split the menu. Drinks seem to smell especially good here, rich, relying heavily on the likes of rum, cognac and sherry. Gin lovers need not despair: theyve a room with 300 different types next door. Come elegantly dressed. Bar Termini 7 Old Compton St, W1D 5JE, bar-termini.com

Do Bar Termini right and youll love it: do it wrong, and you may be underwhelmed. Tony Conigliaro, cocktail chap par excellence, and coffee maestro Marco Arrigo have built a revolving-door of a place: dont come here to linger. Expect a night of cocktails and youll leave disappointed: instead, love it in the day for the 1 espressos, and swing by in the evening for a negroni (6). Theyre small, but some of the best in the capital. One swishes in and out here, and that way, it adds a touch of Italian glamour to any evening. Trisha's (New Evaristo Club) 57 Greek St, Soho, W1D 3DX



Drinks dont make a bar, and thank goodness, as the stuff served at Trishas  named for its owner  is uniformly pretty awful: red and white wine youd consider an insult if a friend served it at supper, prosecco wildly overpriced, terrible spirits ecetera ecetera. At more than 70, the club is Sohos oldest, and while nobody who goes there can ever remember anything changing  its often quite hard to recall much about Trishas in crystal detail, as it happens  nothing needs to. The bad wine and expensive mixers and paint stripper spirits are all part of the point: its a glorious drinking den, and marvellous, marvellous fun. There are characters here: the last time we were in, we sat being scared witless by an old East End gangster who said hes known the Krays. Tremendous. Long may this place live. The Fumoir Claridge's, 49 Brook St, W1K 4HR, claridges.co.uk

The Fumoir will confuse you, as youll be torn between shouting about it and keeping it all to yourself. This plush purple and leather spot, deco decadence with a touch of welcome pomp, is hidden away behind a secret door at Claridges. Tiny and glitzy enough to feel like a Hollywood dressing room from the Golden Age, its little surprise the likes of Christina Hendricks adore it. For such a small place, they squeeze an awful lot in: plenty of wines, classic cocktails given a stern shake up, buckets of gin, a lovely choice of armagnac and a magnificent scotch list, gleaming with rarities. 69 Colebrooke Row 69 Colebrooke Row, N1 8AA, 69colebrookerow.com

Once known as the bar with no name, henceforth they shall be called the bar with Bernards watch, as there is no other explanation for the speed with which their finely mixed cocktails arrive. Another bar from Tony Conigliaro, its earned its reputation for turning out hit after hit: the drinks list is endlessly tempting. The piano is a nice touch; that is gets played a much nicer one, and make sure to order the Prairie Oyster  fun to drink, and one even for those who cant eat seafood. Bear in mind its a small spot, so youre close to your neighbours, and if you dont like strong drinks where the booze kicks, this wont be for you. Happiness Forgets 8-9 Hoxton Square, N1 6NU, happinessforgets.com

Dont expect frills and fuss or the rest of it here: Happiness Forgets is cocktail bar distilled down to its very essence, and done very well  their tag High End Cocktails/Low End Rent sums it up best. The bartenders are all top drawer, and their creations impeccable. Unsurprisingly, this Hoxton space has its regulars, so the crowd is always good. Tables can be booked, but half are always kept for walk-ins: try your luck, its worth it. Dry Martini by Javier de las Muelas Melia White House Hotel, Albany Street, NW1 3UP, melia.com

Come to this one to brag: Dry Martini is known as Barcelonas best cocktail bar, and has been rated the fifth best bar in the world by the Worlds 50 Best Bars panel. Renowned bartender Javier de las Muelas has bought over his concept to us lucky Londoners, and with it, finely mixed and classic cocktails. No prizes for guessing that the Dry Martini is the house special  if you dont think you like them, heres a place to change your mind. With more than 80 gins on the list, you could easily lose a week here. Gordon's 47 Villiers St, WC2N 6NE, gordonswinebar.com

Gordons seems to get more and more crowded with each passing day, but perhaps rightly so: the beloved Embankment institution is made for knocking back bottles of wine in. Eat a few cold bites and chat into a long, unwinding evening. The wine list is good enough, but youre really here for the atmosphere: in summer, the terrace, buzzing, in winter, the caves indoors, crammed with noise, spilt wine, and joy. Social bar at City Social 25 Old Broad St, EC2N 1HQ, citysociallondon.com

Youd think youre at City Social, up 24 stories of Tower 42, to eat, but if you stop in the bar, theres a good chance you wont make it to your table. The drinks come as something of a surprise: theyre so much better than one expects from a restaurant bar, inventive, put together carefully but not staidly, retaining a sense of fun. And, crucially, damned tasty. Its a dark room, and full of city types, but perfect for a few late night cocktails soaking up the view, which is really quite wonderful. Bloody pricey, but thats part of it. Ladies and Gentlemen 2 Highgate Rd, NW5 1NR, twitter.com

William Borrells bolthole transcends its gimmick (which, if you hadnt guessed, is that its a converted public loo), with the help of some very handy bartenders, and its house-brewed gin, Highwayman, of which twelve bottles a day get distilled. Ladies & Gents manages well as a place for a quiet drink, or better yet, a place to quietly get roaringly drunk. Convenient indeed. The drinks are strong, very interesting, and theres plenty of odd sods on the wall to keep your conversation up. It maintains a veneer of being somewhere faintly upmarket, but youll probably end up reading from one of the books scattered around or trying to dance to the live music. Perfect for a date that gets out of hand. Bull In A China Shop 196 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6LG, bullinachinashop.london

Truth it, youll need to catch this place on a good night, as weve been in often enough to know it has its good nights and its meh nights. But when the place is on, its really cooking, and easily one of the best bars in town. The cocktail list is short, but thought through, and care is taken in even the small things: they even make sure the water glasses are chilled. The chamomile and charcoal Old-Fashioned is a must, and any whisky lovers should get chatting to the bar staff, as theyve bottles which arent available anywhere else in the capital. Sager + Wilde Arch, 250 Paradise Row, E2 9LE, sagerandwilde.com

Wine lovers rejoice, wine bores look elsewhere. Sager + Wilde admirably keep things unpretentious: the exposed brickwork sets the tone: theyre keeping things low key. The specials list changes regularly, and always with interesting choices introduced. Some of the wines are exclusive to this place, so youre all but guaranteed to try something new. Have a SHE + T (sherry with tonic, delicious), and absolutely do not leave without having the grilled cheese sandwich. 7 Tales at Sosharu 64 Turnmill St, EC1M 5RR, sosharulondon.com

Underneath Jason Athertons Sosharu is this sexy, seedy Japanese drinking den, where youll find the hazy, debauched glamour of Tokyo after dark. Unlike so many bars underneath restaurants, 7 Tales doesnt feel like a holding pen, and drinks are precision made, with flavours leaning beyond the usual  think rice-washed gin, sake, infusions of sesame, snacks like tempura. Bar snacks are an irresistible must. Callooh Callay 65 Rivington St, EC2A 3AY, calloohcallaybar.com

Eccentric doesnt seem to quite cover it: enter the surreal world of Callooh Callay through an old Victorian wardrobe, catch sight of a throne and order punch out of a gramophone from a menu thats more of a sticker book. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but the bartenders really know their stuff, so for all the quirks, drinks are fundamentally pretty excellent. On the weekends, its a party bar, and DJs spin music to match: youre here for a good time. Any detectives in your gang will find there are two extra rooms in Callooh Callay to explore  theyre hidden away, too, naturally. If youre good, you might even get an invite upstairs to the Jub Jub Room, where the 10-long cocktail list changes every three weeks. Fans should also head to their new offering in Angel, Little Bat. Dukes Bar Dukes Hotel, 35 St James's Pl, SW1A 1NY, dukeshotel.com

Dukes is known for one reason: martinis. The St Jamess hotel was a favourite haunt of James Bond author and (very) keen drinker, Ian Fleming, who supposedly came up with the shaken, not stirred line here. Their martinis are exceptionally strong, and very large: theres a reason they wont serve you more than two. But look, break the mould: theyre a classic hotel bar, they serve a fine range of classic cocktails. Theres also a cognac and cigar garden, if youre so inclined. NOLA 1st Floor, 68 Rivington Street, EC2A 3AY, nola-london.com

It would be too easy to miss this place, so do your homework and saunter in: its must more attractive than sweatily asking anyone if theyve seen the place. Drawing inspiration from the home of proper cocktails, New Orleans, the bar loves traditional drinks, builds them properly and serves them in a den of music and laughter. Unlike some places specialising in old school serves, NOLA is a place for fun: sure, it seems to say, you could have a quiet drink  but why would you want to? Theres a cracking cigar terrace too, small enough that everyone talks before heading back in for one hell of a Vieux Carre. Call Me Mr Lucky 11 Southwark St, SE1 1RQ, twitter.com

All the hidden bars at the Breakfast Clubs around the capital are popular, with perhaps The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town being the best known. Call Me Mr Lucky, on Southwark Street, happens to be our favourite. Once youve flirted with the staff  ask to get lucky  youre taken through the restaurants kitchens to a lively bar decorated like some twisted take on a kids party. Have a go on the wheel of fortune, where youll really want to get lucky, and win a free shot, and then work your way through the cocktail list. Like any good-time bar worth its salt, this place is big on tequila, and the drinks are light-hearted fun, but  here we go getting lucky again  along with the quirks comes quality. By the of the evening, before youre porured back onto the street, youll swear tequila is your new favourite drink, and youll be singing the party hits they play all the way home. K Bar at The Kensington 109 - 113 Queen's Gate, SW7 5LP, townhousekensington.com

K bar feels majestic  and there is no other word for it  because drinking here is a little like being in the captains quarters of the Titanic, albeit without the sinking feeling. There is glamour here: a kind of place to be seduced in. Cocktails wise, bar manager Ben Manchester is the man to ask for, but theres a fine list to choose from. It avoids stuffiness, and just needs to be packed out to really get cooking. Nightjar 129 City Rd, EC1V 1JB, barnightjar.com

Nightjar has fame which means writing about it is redundant: people think it marvellously good, and theyve live music most of the week. Its seating only and worth booking: just be sure not to cancel, or theyll charge a steep 10 per person. They do the speakeasy theme, but well enough that it isnt too tired yet, and have plenty of old school style on the list. Pick up a pack of cards from the bar on your way out. Reverend J W Simpson 32 Goodge St, W1T 2QJ, revjwsimpson.com

Bourne and Hollingsworth run this rather lovely little bar, downstairs from a small doorway on Goodge St. Service is friendly and speedy, it's comfortable, and drinks more than hold their own  there's both obscure traditional mixes and modern serves made with fresh, seasonal ingredients. Luckily, with good drinks come good people, and it's a loud, happy place. Albertine 1 Wood Ln, W12 7DP, albertinewinebar.co.uk

Albertine hasnt changed much since the day East Enders was commissioned there. A wine bar through and through, youll struggle to get anything else (though there are a couple of ales on the menu.) Its a place with spirit, which draws a regular, devoted crowd. They sell everything they serve, and its well worth splashing out: the mark-up gets less and less as the bottles get more expensive, meaning you can get an absolute bargain at the top end of the list. Its also the kind of wine bar you go to to overindulge. First Aid Box 119 Dulwich Rd, SE24 0NG, firstaidbox2015.com

This place really is worth travelling to Herne Hill to, which must be saying something. The team behind Shrub & Shutter have thickly laid on the pharmacy theme here, with cure-all drinks. Its not an idea which sounds like it should work, and yet, how much better life would be if they were one of the emergency services. Expect saline drips, syringes, and the likes of plastic lungs  their take on thirst aid  but rest assured, flavours arent medicinal in the slightest. At 8 - 10 a drink, its reasonable for London, and wonderful to see a bar really trying something new. Bravo. Media Wisdom Photography - Giles Christopher Nam Long Le Shaker 159 Old Brompton Rd, SW5 0LJ, namlong.co.uk

It gained fame for its celebrity fans, which include Mick Jagger and Prince Harry, but Nam Long has held on longer than most A-list haunts: its been going 30 years, and recently was given an overhaul. Its quite possibly the most Chelsea place imaginable  there are literally MIC cast members floating about  and its a go-to spot to drink far too much and party. The upstairs area is bright, airy, and well looked after by the excellent bartenders, while downstairs  "the Opium Den"  is as it sounds (though there was no opium available when we asked... ) The drinks upstairs were made with more care, but downstairs is more intimate, opulent, and better for a small groups. Some of those Chelsea types who go really are the very worst, and the drinks are outrageously expensive, but hey, its a laugh. The Vault at Milroy's 3 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4NX, shop.milroys.co.uk

A bar through a bookcase: were sold. Better yet, its underneath one of Sohos finest whisky shops  with stiff competition from The Vintage House  so if youre taken with something downstairs, buy it on your way out. Its a simple little bar and the service is decidedly so-so, but its usually pretty busy, they play good music and have an excellent range of spirits. The menu is changed regularly, but its a good place to cram into with friends or on a date. You mightnt spend the entire night here, but for a couple of drinks on the way somewhere, or on the way back, it fits the bill perfectly. Bounce 241 Old St, EC1V 9EY, bouncepingpong.com

There are two Bounce bars, one on Old Street and one on Holborn. The Old Street spot is a little more fun, graffiti adorning the walls,the Holborn spot somewhat more upmarket. Still, they both deserve a mention, and for the simple reason theyre damned good fun. Drinks here are good, with a decent spirit selection at both (and a huge number of gins in Farringdon) and a respectable selection of beers. Food is fine, simple. Still, you come to play ping pong. Theyve tables everywhere. Theres little to fault with Bounce: its a laugh, and sometimes thats all somewhere needs to be.

His next trick, though, is the Augmented Reality cocktail: you download an app, point your smartphone camera at the cocktail and it will start to transform before your eyes  a balloon might appear to fly out of it, for example. Its like Pokemon Go with cocktails. He worked on the idea with multimedia company Mustard Designs.

AR cocktails have just launched at City Social  the Hurican is one  and an AR cocktail menu is also planned for Rumpus Room at the Mondrian on the South Bank.

I loved going to bars like the Artesian, Oriole and Night Jar, where drinks are beautifully presented and visually stimulating, Jones says. But Im very aware there are people who dont necessarily want things climbing out of drink with too many garnishes. So how do I do one and the other, and keep that spectrum happy at the same time?

The AR cocktail was his solution. We have the ability to bring a drink to life physically in a way its never been done before, he says. Its a world-beating idea.
W est London festival Bushstock returns for a seventh year on Saturday June 10, with a line-up which includes the likes of Nick Mulvey, The Staves and The Big Moon.

The one-day event, which celebrates up-and-coming talent, takes over various venues across Shepherds Bush including Traid, the Sindercombe Social and Bush Hall. Tickets, which can be bought here, are still available.

Festival goers should head to The Courtyard, K West Hotel on Richmond Way from midday to exchange their tickets for a wristbands, which gives access to all venues. Wristband exchange closes at 8pm. Music starts from 1pm, with most gigs winding around 11pm.

Other highlights of the bill include Aine Cahill, FOURS, Banfi, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, ISLAND, Isaac Gracie and Seafret.

Festival-goers can, of course, buy food and drink at the venues but should remember Shepherds Bush is an alcohol control zone, meaning no booze can be consumed in the streets.

For more information, visit bushstock.co.uk.
M .I.As Meltdown

June 9-18, Southbank Centre, SE1 (0844 875 0073, southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/meltdown)

The M.I.A-curated series of concerts and talks begins tonight with a set by Mercury-winning trio Young Fathers. M.I.A says shes stuffed her festival with outlaw musicians. Other acts appearing include Soulwax, MHD and Crystal Castles.

Buffalo Tom

June 9, Islington Assembly Hall, N1 (020 7527 8900, islington.gov.uk/assemblyhall)

The Boston indie rock band, who rose in the grunge era, are back to mark 25 years since their breakthrough album, Let Me Come Over.

Nashville in Concert

June 10-11, Albert Hall, SW7 (0845 401 5045, royalalberthall.com)

The country music biz TV drama Nashville is still going strong after five series, and steps into real life this week when five of its stars appear on stage to sing highlights from the show.

Bushstock

June 10, various venues, Shepherds Bush (bushstock.co.uk)

The Communion record label takes over seven different Shepherds Bush venues (but not the Empire) for shows by acts including The Staves, Nick Mulvey and The Big Moon.

Evanescence

June 13-14, Eventim Apollo, W6 (0844 249 1000, eventimapollo.com)

The grandiose Arkansas rock band are still working on their first album since 2011 but may preview some new songs here, at their first London appearance in five years.
 Am I bad?, asks the author of this misery memoir. Fantasising about pushing your mother off the top floor of the Liberty department store strikes me as bad, but whos judging? There is something of the courtroom to this harrowing debut. Miranda Doyle subjects her life to trial by reader as she interrogates her inability to forgive her family for the way they raised her. Each chapter is prefaced by a lie she has told or been told. The book is often bleak but, goodness, is it gripping.

Pathological liars, we learn in one of the frequent forays into psychiatry, develop structural abnormalities in their brains. They have less grey matter (thought) than white matter (wiring between thoughts) in their prefrontal lobes. When her deceitful father dies and donates his brain to medical research, Doyle takes the unusual step of going to visit it. To her disappointment, it is beige. The photograph of it printed in this book  yes, there is a photograph  is black and white. The brain may be sliced like ham, but at least on the page it is restored to grey and white matter.

In life, the fathers white matter works overtime. Born to poor Irish Catholics, he marries into a haughty, Protestant mill-owning family from Perthshire and behaves as if he is perpetually evening the score. A philandering maths lecturer, he beats his children with his belt, twice infects his wife with the clap and absconds on a single persons visa to Saudi Arabia. When his family follow him there, he creates a Men Only loo replete with porn magazines. Perhaps the saddest lie in the book is the one his young daughter tells him: Im your only girl.

She is soon sent off to board at Gordonstoun, where she is confident she remembers (the fallibility of memory hangs over the book) sexual abuse by the boys and birthday baths by a grubby male teacher. Public schools, the Catholic Church, Tony Blair, Libor and Enron all earn the narrators contempt for their lies, but it is her familys mendacity that continues to cut the deepest.

If there was a jail term for the most devious family member, my maternal grandmother real or fake would be the one to get life.

The candour is discomfiting. Her grandfather is reduced to what you ended up with if you managed to fuck up your London season. A note  real or lie?  printed at the front of the book and signed by the authors mother gives her full permission to write anything you want. She takes her at her word.

Does the fact of memoir-writing  the natural bias, the conscious and unconscious deceit, the wilful manipulation of detail for narrative purposes, all of which she describes  enable her to get away with it? When she says, I must warn you, I have lied on occasion, is she simply hiding? Her words have such clarity and bite that you believe every one of them.

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

For a book of untruths, it contains many a witty truism. My favourite: Reproduction is a straightforward way that male academics can take out the competition. Doyle marries a university scientist. For all the untruths, her own approach to life-writing is forensic. Sentimentality and sensational over-indulgence are on her list of what makes a bad memoir. She is guilty of neither.
T he London housing crisis is at once fiendishly complicated and incredibly simple. Fiendishly complicated in that to understand how we got to the unaffordable, exploitative anxiety-ridden mess we have today you have to take in a lot of factors.

Theres Londons blue-chip status as a tax-efficient investment opportunity, as well as a bijou money launderette for international neer-do-wells. Theres a confusing overlayering of socialist and neoliberal housing policies, from Aneurin Bevans 1949 Housing Act, via Margaret Thatchers right to buy and buy to let, to the Conservatives Housing and Planning Act of 2016, which effectively ends social housing as we have known it.

There are the London councils starved of vital funds by austerity, looking at their acres of prime real estate and thinking: Ker-ching! Theres a horrible compromise of a planning system that combines maximum interference and minimum regulation, colliding with a marketised housing benefit system and an unregulated private rental market. There are industrial levels of spin from those able to game the system  did you know the profits of our five leading housebuilders increased 480 per cent between 2010 and 2015?

And there is a political denial that the basic unaffordability of housing is even a problem, despite the fact that Shelter calculates there are 170,000 homeless people in London; that British home ownership has actually fallen since 2010 and is the fourth lowest in Europe; that London house prices rose 57 per cent from 2011-16 while average wages actually fell... I could go on. Most Londoners will, given half the chance.

And yet it all becomes much simpler once you appreciate that the rate of return on capital exceeds growth in the wider economy. The French economist Thomas Piketty distilled this into three characters  r>g  in his 2014 treatise Capital. And Anna Minton makes it central to her account of the super-prime crisis.

The result in the UK is a situation where one part of the population is pitted against the other, with those who own gaining directly from the rising prices that exclude everyone else, she says.

Minton is a diligent and determined reporter and this is a lucid account of how Bevans vision of a lively tapestry of mixed communities gave way to a process of state-led gentrification. In one of the most eye-opening sections, she inveigles her way into the London Real Estate Forum in Berkeley Square, where councillors from various local authorities project gleaming CGI images of the fake London they want to build to overseas investors. We have the huge benefit in our borough of a young and accepting population ready to accept this scale of growth, boasts Newhams director of regeneration, rather optimistically.

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

If there is a magic money tree in British politics, it is the land that the nation is built upon. (Certainly not our actual houses, which are some of the lowest-quality in Europe). And yet its maddening how much weve sold for so little.

Minton recapitulates the sorry tale of the Heygate Estate in Southwark: a community of 3,000 genuinely affordable homes, sold for a tenth of the market-rate and replaced by 2,704 luxury apartments, of which 82 are social housing. She tracks down two elderly former residents, Terry and Brenda, who had been forced out to Sidcup, miles from their family and friends. Both had become ill and depressed. Terry voted Leave in the EU referendum. The more I think about it, I think: Did we vote right? Terry wonders. But then I think of a Labour-controlled borough selling us down the line and Labour council leader Peter John hobnobbing with developers in Cannes, and hes trying to preach to us while living in a luxury development in Tower Bridge I wasnt looking for profit, I was just looking for a home.

This is rather a depressing account in its complexity but it is also clear-sighted in its solutions. Minton builds a powerful case for a land value tax, always intended as part of the planning system to prevent the idle rich from exploiting the rest of us. But really it is a call to imagine what is politically possible. As the Focus E15 mothers had it: These people need homes, these homes need people. Why is it so hard?
T he web, says Andrew OHagan, has made self-creators of us all. There are 67 million invented names on Facebook. Nobody knows who they really are. Encryption has made the average user a ghost  an alias, a simulacrum, a reflection.

Indeed, he even thinks that literature, formerly the main arena of double lives, now takes second place to the web, where nobody today can simply be one thing.

So here he presents three carefully reported case histories, each of them in a different way about how an online self and a real self might constantly be at war with each other, suggestively a triptych but not forced into any thesis.

These pieces are modestly offered as bulletins from the edge of modern selfhood. But they also amount to an assertion of the continuing value of literature, in best making sense of the new world out there, as it always has. For our computers are not yet ourselves, OHagan maintains.

By far the best of these three stories is the first, Ghosting, about OHagans experience of Julian Assange while attempting to ghost-write his memoirs in 2011.

At the start of that year, Jamie Byng of publisher Canongate bought a memoir from Assange for 600,000 and approached OHagan to ghost it for him. After a meeting in Norfolk, where Assange was then holed up in a country house, on bail following his arrest on allegations of rape in Sweden, an agreement was made.

OHagan started work, taping 50 hours of interviews with Assange, but it soon became apparent that Assange had no intention of honouring his side of the contract or helping the book to appear. He proved impossible to work with, indeed. Grotesquely, this zealot of disclosure did not want the truth about himself made public.

OHagan managed to produce a rough draft of 70,000 words by the end of March, without a single written sentence being contributed by Assange. But then Assange would not even look at the draft and began trying to obstruct its development. Eventually, after multiple defaults, and disputes over returning the advance, Canongate tried to salvage the situation by publishing this draft as it stood, as an unauthorised autobiography in September 2011. It was a flop.

But a fine piece of writing has emerged from these events, nonetheless. OHagan reasserts himself as author by making Assange into a character for us, a figure out of Dostoevsky almost. He nails him.

Without ever seeming to have any vengeful animus against Assange, OHagan paints a devastating portrait. He vividly describes just what spending time with Assange was like, from his horrible table manners, eating with his hands and licking the plate, to his inability to recognise when he was becoming boring or demanding.

In some way he found it impossible to imagine how another person could have a view of him, or of themselves, that didnt accord with his own, he says. He didnt know who to be, he had both too much self and not enough. He would rather spend hours Googling himself than have his own say.

Quite simply, OHagan remarks, Ive never been with anybody who made me feel so like an adult. And I say that as the father of a 13-year-old. In one lapidary sentence he pronounces final judgement: He is thin-skinned, conspiratorial, untruthful, narcissistic, and he thinks he owns the material he conduits.

Yet OHagan had started out as nothing less than a WikiLeaks fan, believing that exposing secret deals and covert operations would prove a godsend. When WikiLeaks began this process in 2010, it felt, to me anyhow, but also to many others, that this might turn out to be the greatest contribution to democracy since the end of the Cold War.

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

OHagan says that, right up to the time of writing, not only did he do nothing to break with Assange or unsettle him, he actually tried to help him get back to his work. That is why I took so long to say what Im saying now: I knew the truth would hurt him because the truth, after all, was not his friend.

More in sorrow than in anger, then, Ghosting performs the remarkable feat of being lucid, calm and coherent about this insufferable, incoherent man. The authority of OHagans prose will define Assange henceforth.

The other two pieces are slighter.

In The Invention of Ronald Pinn, OHagan describes how easy he found it to construct himself a fake existence online by adopting the identity of a contemporary who had died of an overdose at 20, much as the Met officers who covertly infiltrated activist groups had done.

In The Satoshi Affair, he reports on his involvement with Craig Wright, one of the claimants to be the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious figure who created bitcoin and then disappeared. Wright first tried to prove it and then backed away. The truth remains obscure. The internet eats its own ciphers, and Wright is one of them, OHagan concludes.

Altogether, The Secret Life is nothing less than an affirmation that using words well still matters, even now.
G in lovers, it's time to swap out the G&Ts for something a bit more exciting this World Gin Day.

Celebrations are kicking off June 10  a day dedicated to drinking one of our favourite spirits. But instead of raising a few G&Ts at home in London, why now celebrate by blocking off your calendar and experiencing a new side of gin drinking?

We've rounded up five different destinations around Europe which all have a distinct relationship to gin and can offer gin-lovers a fresh experience.

1. Poole, UK

Dorset Queen cruise

Weve all heard about the boozy Dorset Queen cruise and the next one is set to sail on June 22. An evening for true gin enthusiasts, guests will be whisked away on a vintage boat from 6:30pm to learn about gin productopn, indulge in a three course meal and drink handcrafted gin cocktails. This cruise is exclusively for 24 VIP guests.

Tickets cost 125 from 6.30pm  10.30pm, for more information click here.

The best gins from around the world - in pictures 1 /16 The best gins from around the world - in pictures Scroll to see our pick of the best gins from around the world... Shutterstock No.209 Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Reserve Gin From: San Francisco, USA Made by the 209th distillery to be registered in the States (hence the name), this unique gin is aged in used Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from the Rudd Oakville Estate winery in Napa Valley for six to seven months before being bottled. The result is a fruity gin with hints of sherry and spice, though still plenty of juniper, lemon and more typical gin flavours. It also has a more viscous mouthfeel than youd expect from a gin and a pretty sunset-orange tint  both making it an appealing gin to drink neat. The same distillery also makes gins rested in Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc barrels. 59.59, Drink Supermarket, Buy it now Elephant Gin From: Germany Made in northern Germany by Robin and Tessa Gerlach, this gin is inspired by the more exotic habitat of its namesake mammal. Botanicals include a medicinal root called lions tail and blackcurrant-like buchu berries from South Africa and citrusy Malawian baobab, as well as apples, citrus peel, pine and elderflower from closer to home. The result is a full-flavoured gin that is herbaceous, spicy and zesty. As an added bonus, 15% of proceeds go to charities fighting the illegal ivory trade. 30, The Whisky Exchange, Buy it now Dictador Premium Colombian Aged Treasure Gin From: Colombia This is a particularly interesting offering from the same crew behind the Dictador selection of rums. Botanicals include the Colombian fruit limon mandarino (a cross between a lemon and a mandarin) which leaves its mark in the form of a prominent orange flavour. After distillation, the gin is aged in rum barrels for 35 weeks, which lends it not only a slightly amber tint, but also a touch of rum-like sweetness. Mix with tonic for a sprightly twist on a G&T or serve straight up over ice  perhaps after dinner  to really appreciate the unique flavour. 43, Amazon, Buy it now Citadelle Gin From: France This gin from Dunkirk was originally developed in the 18th century, when the port was a major base for the spice trade. This meant the best botanicals from across the world were at the distillerys fingertips, from Moroccan coriander to Chinese liquorice and Mexican orange peel. Following the same recipe but now made in Cognac and triple-distilled from wheat, it is a very fine gin indeed with its main strength being its smooth, crisp, clean and balanced taste. It is successful where other gins arent at treading the line between being delicate and being bland. 34, Amazon, Buy it now Cruxland Gin From: South Africa Rare Kalahari truffles are one of the prominent ingredients in this luxury gin created by well-known South African winemakers KWV using a grape-based spirit. It is double-distilled and cold filtered for a pure, crisp taste while the truffles lend a rich, earthy flavour. Coriander, cardamom, honey bush tea, rooibos, aniseed, almonds, and lemon are among the other botanicals used along with juniper berries. 33, Yuppiechef (South Africa), Buy it now Glendalough Gin From: Ireland Hailing from Irelands first craft distillery, Glendalough is made using locally-found botanicals which are foraged and distilled on the same day. What is used changes with the seasons, and so does the gin  four variations are released each year. Expect the likes of dandelion flowers, meadowsweet, woodruff leaves, ground ivy and hawthorn leaves to feature creating a faintly grassy, floral and aromatic gin with a lot of backbone. 34, The Whisky Exchange, Buy it now Rutte Celery Gin From: The Netherlands This is a modern gin with much less modern heritage. It takes inspiration from the distillerys recipe for Old Simon Genever, which dates back to the 1800s and uses celery as one of its botanicals. A distinctive celery flavour is balanced by citrus and juniper ensuring it doesnt overpower, but its strong enough that it might divide opinion. The gin is t its most perfect when used in a Red Snapper, the gin-fueled relative of the Bloody Mary. 38.50, The Whisky Exchange, Buy it now Gin Mare From: Spain Becoming increasingly well-known in the UK as well as its motherland, Gin Mare is not just a gin that is made in Spain, it fully embraces the flavours of its sunny home. Its crafted in the town of Vilanova just outside Barcelona, and includes olive, rosemary, thyme and basil among its botanicals. It is zesty, citrusy and bright-flavoured, with aromatic rosemary taking a lead  all the more when served with a sprig of the herb as recommended. Ideal for injecting a bit of sunshine into your drinking, irrelevant of the weather. 31.60, Amazon, Buy it now Blue Bottle Dry Gin From: Guernsey Made by the Three Fingers Distillery on the island of Guernsey, Blue Bottle is made with large quantities of local fragrant gorse flowers along with nutmeg, cubeb pepper and juniper. The latter remains the dominant flavour, but is backed up with a pleasing mix of honeyed floral tones, vanilla and peppery spice. Its an all-rounder but with plenty of character of its own. 42, Drinks 21, Buy it now Herno Blackcurrant Gin From: Sweden Gin from the Herno distillery in Angermanland in eastern Sweden is matured with blackcurrants and honey to create this ink-coloured and very Nordic take on sloe gin. It doesnt go overboard on sweetness but has enough to make it a delicious sipping drink akin to a liqueur. You could also use it anywhere you might use creme de cassis. It can be bought at Wine Rack stores as well as online. 39, The Whisky Exchange, Buy it now Crafters London Dry Gin From: Estonia Made in Tallinn, this traditional London Dry style of gin embraces its Nordic origin with the addition of fennel seeds and veronica along with other woodland botanicals. Notes of mint (from the veronica), citrus, pine and aniseed dominate making a particularly refreshing G&T. 35, Drinks21, Buy it now

2. Valencia, Spain

The city of arts and sciences has done it again, creating the ultimate cocktail. Who needs to drink mimosas when you have a punchier agua de valencia? This signature drink is never complete without a winning combination of cava, orange juice, vodka and gin to spice it up. Head over to Cafe Madrid in Valencia to dance the night away - the place where this delicious drink came to light.

3. Florence, Italy

Known for their artistic flare and architecture, it is no surprise the Italians pioneered this zesty concoction. Simplicity is key when drinking a Negroni - a combination of gin, vermouth and Campari with an orange peel. It is enough to do the trick on a warm summer's day. Caffe Cavalli, a design haven, is serving up the original recipe from 1919 for all to enjoy.

4. Valenca , Portugual

Fancy switching out your typical G&T? Originally from Valenca, this super Instagrammable drink is available across the country. But there's no better place to travel to than where a gin tinto originated from. The sweet and sour flavours and red-pink hue adds hints of fresh black fruits, thyme and mint for a super-charged delight.

5. Paris, France

Everything is always sophisticated and magical in Paris - a French 75 is no different. As the oldest cocktail in Europe the combination of champagne, gin and lemonade quenches thirst. Harry MacElthone's original recipe from World War I is available to try at Harry's New York Bar, Paris.

Read more about gin here.
Y esterday, a generation woke and roared at last. It took dispiriting result after dispiriting result but the numbers suggest weve finally been galvanised: the turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds is being estimated at 72 per cent.

By comparison, in 2015, turnout among this cohort was 43 per cent, and for the Brexit vote it was 64 per cent. Its assumed this generation wont get out of bed unless theres a meme involved. Last night they delivered a youthquake.

As the final results shudder in, we can see what a difference it made. During the swinging blows of this campaign, exhausted, frustrated commentators have observed, time and again, that whatever Mays legacy on police, or Corbyns record on terror, the real key to this election was the youth.

If we turned out, there was a real chance that the Conservatives would fail to deliver the majority they coveted and believed was theirs. Weve made enough noise now: parliament is hung, and Mays future hangs in question.

Certainly, there were tentative signs of a movement. Early in the campaign, an encouraging number of 18- to 24-year-olds registered: 1.05 million is the estimate. Over a quarter of a million under-25s registered to vote on the last possible day, and on the day the election was called, theirs was the largest demographic to register  followed by their older siblings, those aged between 25 and 34.

Youthquake: record numbers of young people turned out to vote / PA

And yesterday, it seemed like something was happening. In university towns like Nottingham, Canterbury and Southampton, queues three-people-deep snaked around corners. Lady behind me says its the first time shes seen a queue like this in 25 years, remarked one voter in a university town on Twitter yesterday.

Online, thousands shared pictures of themselves outside polling booths. Young female voters were thrilled by the poetry of the date: June 8 was 104 years to the day since Emily Davison, the mother of female suffrage, threw herself in front of a horse in the name of votes for women.

Still, until you have data, politics feels like meaningless posturing: while yesterdays signs were encouraging, wed been there before. Ultimately, those broadcasting about voting are always going to be ones who voted. It was impossible to tell whether wed picked up any new people or whether this was just the same noisy echo of the same engaged cohort. Like last year, during the EU referendum, when the echo chamber asserted itself.

Facebook was a cacophony of Remain voters, cheering each other on; the results, of course, spoke differently and the poor youth turnout was a source of real shame. For comparison, turnout in those aged over 65 was 90 per cent.

Yesterdays turnout is proof that the EU referendum smarted  that we took lessons on board.

REUTERS

But it also signifies our fury. Time and again, our generation is characterised  indeed, maligned  as thoughtless, precious snowflakes. We are cossetted and unrealistic; we do not live in the real world. We do not countenance views that oppose ours  and this, in itself, signifies a fundamental stubbornness to engage with anything outside our own, small filter bubbles. Indeed, our lives play out online  it assumed that we almost enjoy the impotence of screaming into the void, like a young adult version of a tantrum. Certainly, it is presumed that, when called upon to do something real like vote, well fall short.

Jeremy Corbyn Speech Election Night

Granted, turnout proves we have form. The Sun summed up the smugness of the countrys elders yesterday, sharing a short column about how to stop our kids voting. You just know theyll do the wrong thing, the writer opined. Wander down to the polling booth with their scatty heads full of unicorn tears and marshmallows. And before you know it well have given up Trident, disarmed the police and cut off relations with Israel. The civic thing to do is to stop them voting.

Suggested measures included leaving them to have a lie-in (maybe bring them some breakfast at about 9 tonight), buying a boy a distracting video game or, introducing them to skunk. If they have already been introduced to skunk, introduce them to LSD. That should keep them occupied for the day, it reasoned. The piece also suggested creating a fake polling station and telling them the election is tomorrow.

General Election Polling Day 2017 - In pictures 1 /37 General Election Polling Day 2017 - In pictures Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip leave after casting their votes in the General Election at a polling station in the village of Sonning, Berkshire Jonathan Brady/PA Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn gestures as he arrives to vote in the general election at a polling station in London Frank Augstein/AP Diane Abbott casts her vote Alex Huckle/SilverHub/Rex Policer officers arrive to enter a polling station in London ahead of the arrival of Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn who will vote in the general election Frank Augstein/AP Lolly the dog at Sonning today Jeremy Selwyn First Minister Nicola Sturgeon arrives to cast her vote in the General Election at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall in Glasgow Andrew Milligan/PA The leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Paul Nuttall leaves after voting at a polling station in Congleton, Britain Paul Childs/Reuters Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron arrives to cast his vote in the General Election at a polling station at Stonecross Manor Hotel in Kendal, Cumbria Danny Lawson/PA A polling station is seen in London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Nuns from Tyburn Convent leave a polling station at St John's Parish Hall, central London Isabel Infantes/PA Theresa May voting today in Sonning today Jeremy Selwyn Police and a man dressed as Elmo outside a polling station in the village of Sonning, Berkshire, where Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip are expected to cast their votes later. Stefan Rousseau/PA Sophie Allison on Splash leaves the stables at the private residence Three Oaks in Bramshill, Hampshire, which is being used a polling station Andrew Matthews/PA A caravan which is being used as a polling station on Grange Farm in Garthorpe, Leicestershire Joe Giddens/PA Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson poses with her partner Jen Wilson and their dog Mister Wilson, at a cafe set up as a Polling Station, in Edinburg Lesley Martin/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale outside the polling station at Wilson Memorial Church in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Police on patrol whilst a voter leaves a polling station in Sonning, Britain Toby Melville/Reuters Alliance candidate for West Belfast Sorcha Eastwood casts her vote in her wedding dress after marrying Dale Shirlow earlier in the day PA Workers prepare signs outside their polling station on general election day in London Neil Hall/Reuters A presiding officer and poll clerk wait for early morning voters at a Polling Station set up in a launderette and nail bar in Headington outside Oxford Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images A voter arrives at a polling station in London Stefan Wermuth/Reuters Sinn Fein leader in Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill arrives at a polling station at St Patrick's primary school in Annaghmore, Clonoe to cast her vote in the General Election Liam McBurney/PA Tory candidate for Croydon Central Gavin Barwell in Addington Village Alex Lentati First Minister Nicola Sturgeon casts her vote in the General Election at a polling station at Broomhouse Community Hall in Glasgow Andrew Milligan/PA A general view of a polling station at the White Horse Inn in Priors Dean, Hampshire, also known as the 'Pub with no name' Andrew Matthews/PA Chelsea pensioners leave a polling station after voting Markus Schreiber/AP Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip, arrive at a Polling Station to cast their ballot paper and vote in Sonning, west of London Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Diane Abbott casts her vote Alex Huckle/SilverHub/Rex

It was all unfunny; an example of dad humour. But instead of just complaining about it  though we did, online, vociferously  we also got out to the booths. As one friend put it this morning, young people > The Sun.

Indeed, the reaction this morning is one of exhausted, disbelieving joy. 72 per cent youth turnout is absolutely sensational. So, so happy, tweeted Ben Skipper, a video games reporter. So bloody proud of the youth turnout, tweeted a Leeds politics student. Give ya self a pat on the back 18-25-year-olds. Super duper proud that young people went out and voted!!!, said one; 72 per cent youth turnout is one of the greatest stats Ive ever seen, celebrated another. Never underestimate the power of young people. Last night, Uber surged briefly in London, at around 2am, as formerly despondent people travelled across the city to join viewing parties in other living rooms. It was assumed that there was no point staying up: instead, the early results suggested that something strange was happening, and our votes might well be a part of the story.

Of course, others were more circumspect. If only the youth turnout had been this high for the EU referendum then we might not have been in this f**king mess in the first place, observed one sage commentator. Congratulating our generation on turning out to vote is like having a glass of prosecco because you got to work on time.

Glavanising young voters: Jeremy Corbyn / REUTERS

This morning, many of my friends urged caution: we are still staring down the barrel of a hung parliament. It isnt yet certain what any of this means. This morning, at the time of writing, an alternative youth turnout figure closer to 67 per cent was circulating. However, generally the mood remains fierce and defiant. There is a feeling, at last, that we have done something. I think there was a sizeable mobilisation of youth vote, says one student, who voted in her first election this year. And I really think its down to issues like the NHS and university tuition. Indeed, it seems there are finally real things to play for: politics has been animated by the reality of Brexit, by the rising cost of education, by the dwindling of NHS funds. For decades, people have anguished and posited about how to engage young people in voting  it seems like the answer might be to give something to really fight back against. And now were awake, its going to be a long, long night.

Follow Phoebe Luckhurst on Twitter: @phoebeluckhurst

Additional reporting by Katie Strick
W ith Londons bad air shaping important policies for years to come  through pedestrianisation, anti-diesel moves, residents parking rules, re-routing bus routes and so on  emission-free electric cars have an increasingly important role to play.

There are problems though, including charging them and range anxiety. Many owners  outside central London at least  charge up at home, which is convenient. Inside London, where there are fewer driveways, its a problem.

If youre extremely fortunate you may be able to plug in at work. More likely it means hunting for one of too-few charging points in central London, hopefully close to your destination and hopefully in working order. Nobody wants to be caught short and forced to abandon their car at the roadside.

The holy grail is the car that charges itself as it drives along, like the Range-Extender version of the BMW i3, which uses a two-cylinder engine as a generator to charge the batteries. Or cars like Hondas highly impressive new Clarity Fuel Cell.

It feeds hydrogen  stored in ultra-strong tanks under the boot and behind the rear passenger seat  into an advanced under-bonnet fuel cell, turning it into electricity to power the vehicle (and charging a battery to top up power from the cell when needed), producing nothing but water vapour.

I drove the latest version around Copenhagen and was impressed. It was easy to refuel  I visited a garage forecourt and pumped the liquid in much as I would diesel or petrol  and it drove extremely well. It was smooth, nippy, refined and enjoyable.

Acceleration was brisk  Honda claims 0-60mph in 9.2 seconds and a top speed of 103mph  and it drove well. Thanks to extensive engineering, the fuel cell stack has been shrunk so that it  and the drivetrain  now fits under the bonnet, resulting in a sleek, handsome, five-door car, about the size of a Mondeo hatchback.

But for the occasional faint, high-tech whoosh and whine under acceleration, it felt like an ordinary  if premium and highly refined  car, with an upmarket modern interior and (despite one of its two hydrogen tanks slightly intruding) a decent 334-litre boot.

Unfortunately its so advanced, its way ahead of the infrastructure needed to fuel it, and real-life customers wont get their hands on similar models until the mid-2020s. By then, Honda hopes the network of hydrogen refilling stations will have improved, boosted by the Governments recent 23 million grant to boost expansion and vehicle uptake.

There are only a dozen or so hydrogen refilling points in the UK, compared to around 12,537 electric charging points (bit.ly/2qcqUrf) and around 8,459 petrol filling stations (statista.com).

So in the meantime, a handful of Clarity models will be leased or loaned to carefully handpicked businesses and individuals for developmental reasons.

Its a pity  the Clarity is the kind of car Id run in London if I could on the grounds that it doesnt increase air pollution. The only other hydrogen contenders for now are Toyotas Mirai and Hyundais ix35, both taken up in limited numbers thanks to the infrastructure problem. Even by 2020, it is estimated that the UK will only have 65 hydrogen refilling stations.

If were really serious about cleaning up the air we breathe we need equally serious investment in a proper network of hydrogen stations, and 23 million comes nowhere close. What price clean air and good health?

@djrwilliams
F rom some of the worlds most wonderful wildlife to a particularly progressive capital, Rwanda is a diverse and different destination that ought to be on your bucket list.

What's more, now that RwandAir flies direct from Gatwick, its never been more accessible or affordable.

Here are 10 reasons to get on board.

1. There are gorillas...

Rwandas headline attraction - and currently the reason for much of its tourism - is its population of mountain gorillas. Its one of only three countries in the world where you can still find them in the wild, and the leader when it comes to their conservation.

On a trek in the Virunga National Park, not far from Kigali, visitors are led by trained guides through the forest in search of gorillas, and can spend a whole hour up close and personal with them once they find them - close enough to see the glints in their eyes. Read about our experience on a trek recently.

2. ...And chimps

A chimp in Nyungwe Forest / Volcanoes Safaris

Rwanda has more than one primate to offer. A trek through mountainous Nyungwe Forest will bring you into close contact with some of its 400-500 chimpanzees, easily identifiable in the distance from their loud pants and hoots. Roughly an hours trek will precede an hour with the cute primates, during which time youre likely to see a lot of playful interaction, young chimps swinging between vines and adults feeding in high trees.

3. Swimming at 13,000 feet

Rwandas landscapes are almost as awe-inspiring as the wildlife that lives within them. The Virunga mountain range is a chain of volcanoes that runs along the north of Rwanda, the south-west of Uganda and a stretch of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Activities on the Rwandan side include many different climbs and hikes to suit all abilities, with the ultimate being a trip up Mount Muhabura. Its far from easy, and takes around five hours to reach the top but there is a special reward when you get there  you can swim across a crater lake and end up in Uganda.

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda - in pictures 1 /13 Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda - in pictures Gorillas in Rwanda Gorillas in Rwanda Gorillas in Rwanda Golden monkeys in Uganda Virunga Lodge Virunga Lodge Inside Virunga lodge Inside Virunga Lodge Mount Gahinga Lodge The stunning views from the Virungas

4. Its progressive capital

Rwanda had to virtually rebuild its communities from scratch following a brutal period of genocide in 1994, but the way its capital city has developed since then is remarkable. It is now home to Kigali Convention Centre, which recently hosted the African Union summit, and is rapidly building up both a financial district and a restaurant scene. Its not city break territory just yet, but it is an impressive place to stop off on your way to and from the airport.

5. Supreme safaris

An elephant in Akagera National Park / Rwanda Tourism

If youve tracked both gorillas and chimps and are after another animal adventure, then Rwanda delivers once again. Akagera National Park, which hugs the countrys eastern border with Tanzania, is one of Africas oldest national parks and covers about 1,120km. It is home to zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions, hippos and crocodiles along with hundreds of bird species. While the park is smaller than many in East Africa, it makes up for it by being far less busy meaning youre more likely to find yourself surrounded by wildlife than other safari jeeps.

6. Treetop walks

If youre after a high-octane experience, then Nyungwe Forest delivers. Here you can take a walk through the forests leafy canopies on a 200-metre long, 50-metre high walkway that will bring you face-to-face with blue monkeys, black-and-white colobus monkeys and red-tailed monkeys.

7. Its the most gender equal country in the world

Its surprising, but its true. By several metrics, Rwanda could be considered the most gender-equal country in the world, ahead of Sweden and Finland and well in front of the UK, which trails at below 50th. A record 64 per cent of its MPs are women, the highest percentage of any country.

8. A moving memorial

A genocide memorial might not sound like the kind of attraction that would make the top of a must-visit list, but Kigalis museum dedicated to remembering the killing of 250,000 Tutsi in 1994 is an essential when in Rwanda - and its located handily close to the airport. Not only is it appropriate to engage with such a significant and recent part of the countrys history, but the memorial also explores genocides more widely, aiming to educate visitors as to how they start and what causes them, with a view to preventing them happening in future. It's moving but fascinating stuff.

9. Brochettes and barbecues

Barbecue food / Shutterstock / Anton_Ivanov

These skewers of barbecued goat, beef, chicken, pork or fish are a staple in Rwanda. Whether it's at a Kigali restaurant, a roadside stall or a safari lodge its hard to beat a few skewers of the smoky grilled meat served with roast potatoes and washed down with a Primus beer.

10. Its easier than ever

Finally, there's never been a better time to visit Rwanda because it is now easier - and cheaper - than ever before thanks to direct flights from Gatwick to Kigali with the countrys national airline, Rwandair. The flights run three times weekly, take eight hours and 40 minutes and start from 372 return.
I t is home to Scandinavias tallest building and is Swedens third largest metropolis, yet Malmo is a hidden gem. Unlike traditional Stockholm and cobbled, Dutch-style Gothenburg, Malmo is the younger, trendier sibling of the trio. The city is home to around 171 nationalities, with Swedish design shops sitting comfortably alongside Turkish cafes and Ethiopian restaurants.

Since the collapse of the shipbuilding industry in the Eighties, Malmo has become a testing ground for a new eco-city filled with bikes and powered by renewable energy. It is now a hub for young families and tech start-ups.

Now you can explore Malmos Gamla Stade (Old Town), with Tudor-style buildings, cosy cafes and vintage shops alongside the eco-friendly Vastra Hamnen (Western Harbour).

Malmo comes alive in the summer, with two huge festivals taking over the city. Sommarscen, which starts on June 10 and runs until August 10, is a free arts festival while Malmofestivalen (August 11-18) is a week-long fiesta attracting big-name bands including Jake Bugg and Wolfmother.

Where to stay

Story Hotel Studio (00 46 40 616 52 00, storyhotels.com) is a five-minute walk from Malmos Central Station. Think airy and modern, with large glass windows, warm grey carpets and wooden beams. Breakfast is served in the 14th-floor restaurant with views over Malmo and the resund. The best way to explore the city is by bike, so take advantage of the hotels free cycle hire. Double rooms from 90.

Where to eat and drink

If you ask anyone from Malmo what the local food is, they would probably say falafel. Malmo is one of the most multicultural cities in Sweden, with cuisine from Lebanon to Iran. Head to Falafel & Burgers (00 46 70 828 02 10, malmosaluhall.se) in the brand new Malmo Saluhall, an old train-warehouse-turned-food hall which opened in November 2016. Also on the menu is wood-fired pizza, hearty superfood salads and spicy ramen bowls.

Sweden is known for its love of local organic, seasonal food. Lyran (00 46 76 324 52 28, lyranmatbar.se) is a cosy restaurant tucked away in the hipster area of Mollevangen. Theres no menu. Choose from a vegetarian or omnivore menu and the chefs will prepare you a seven-course meal based on seasonal food sourced from the Skane region. Lemon samphire with burrata and rhubarb sorbet with whipped cream and liquorice powder for dessert are two examples. Reserve a table upstairs at the bar to absorb all the action coming from the busy open kitchen.

A post shared by Lyran (@lyranmatbar) on Mar 22, 2017 at 10:22am PDT

Around the corner in Malmos Folkets Park you will find Far i Hatten (00 46 40 615 36 51, farihatten.se), which literally translates as Dad In A Hat, a reference to drunken fathers who used to stumble home from the workers social club. Dishes include glazed sweetbreads with white asparagus and scrambled duck egg with morel mushrooms and caramelised cream. For drinks, hang out at Far i Hatten in its outdoor courtyard bar. Listen to live music under the fairy lights with a cold IPA or whisky sour in hand.

No trip to Malmo would be complete without indulging in fika, the Swedish tradition of having coffee and cake. Lilla Kafferosteriet (00 46 40 48 20 00, lillakafferosteriet.se) is the best place in town for coffee. Tuck into a traditional cardamom bun or lemon meringue pie at a candlelit table.

The top 25 cheapest city breaks in Europe 1 /33 The top 25 cheapest city breaks in Europe Bratislava, Slovakia Typical price per night: 36 Shutterstock Athens, Greece Typical price per night: 36 Milos Bicanski/Getty Images Vilnius, Lithuania Typical price per night: 35 Maciej Lulko/Flickr Istanbul, Turkey Typical price per night: 27 Chris McGrath/Getty Images Belgrade, Serbia Typical price per night: 27 Shutterstock Wrocaw, Poland Typical price per night: 32 Janek SkarzynskiFP/Getty Images Toulouse, France Typical price per night: 36.50 Rob DeGraff/Flickr Ljubljana, Slovenia Typical price per night: 36.50 Pedro Szekely/Flickr Thessaloniki, Greece Typical price per night: 28 Shutterstock Zadar, Croatia Typical price per night: 36.50 Min Zhou/Flickr Riga, Latvia Typical price per night: 36.50 AFP/Getty Images Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria Typical price per night: 33 Shutterstock Sofia, Bulgaria Typical price per night: 28 Dennis Jarvis/Flickr Tbilisi, Georgia Typical price per night: 24 Shutterstock Nantes, France Typical price per night: 38 AFP/Getty Images Palermo, Sicily Typical price per night: 36.50 Shutterstock Budapest, Hungary Typical price per night: 36 GLars Baron/Getty Images Catania, Sicily Typical price per night: 35 Carlos Bustamante Restrepo/Flickr Leipzig, Germany Typical price per night: 32.50 Shutterstock Krakow, Poland Typical price per night: 32 Jan Kucharzyk/Getty Images Zagreb, Croatia Typical price per night: 32 Shutterstock Saint Petersburg, Russia Typical price per night: 28.50 Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Bucharest, Romania Typical price per night: 28 Shutterstock Warsaw, Poland Typical price per night: 32 Shutterstock Kiev, Ukraine Typical price per night: 28.50 Marco Verch/Flickr

Where to shop

Design enthusiasts should head to Engelbrektsgatan for the best interiors shops. Start at Lilla Torg, Malmos old market square built in 1592. The Form/Design Centre is home to international design and architecture exhibitions. Stop at Formargruppen (00 46 73 98 41 699, formargruppen.se), an art co-operative selling ceramics, jewellery and prints handmade by Swedish artists. Dont miss AB Smaland, an uber-hip department store. Owner Bruno describes his store as like a sustainable Ikea. Davidshall is the citys vintage fashion hub. Pop into Liebling (00 46 40 23 20 18, lieblingliebling.com) for retro-style dresses and bold raincoats, then Love Street Vintage (00 46 76 18 57 586, lovestreet-vintage-malmo.webnode.se) for quirky vintage accessories.

Spectral Self Container Sculpture by Math Kallioinen / Alamy Stock Photo

What to do and see

You cant go to Malmo without visiting the Ribersborgs Kallbadhus (00 46 40 26 03 66, ribersborgskallbadhus.se), an open-air Swedish bathhouse where men and women bathe separately. Take a dip in the icy-cold resund waters before hot-footing to the steaming sauna. Inside huge windows overlook the sea towards Denmark and the resund bridge, made famous by Scandinavian TV drama The Bridge.

Details

British Airways (0344 493 0787; ba.com) flies six times a day from Heathrow to Copenhagen in the summer. It is a 25-minute train from Copenhagen Airport to Malmo Central.

Malmo Turism: malmotown.com
A herd of elephants dawdles out of the jungle, shepherding its playful young towards the lake. It is a moment of delight and of awe  or rather, it should be. The way is blocked by a phalanx of safari jeeps, each one carrying camera-clicking tourists. The elephants ignore their admirers and plod on. The jeeps rev up and follow.

This is a familiar scene in Sri Lanka where the quest to see wildlife is as tempting as lounging on the beach and scrambling over ancient Buddhist temples. There are as many as 4,000 elephants on the island, about 1,000 leopards and more than 400 species of birds, but where to see them at their best? Many of the parks are blighted by queues of vehicles filling the air with diesel fumes and the impatient blasts of horns but it doesnt have to be like that. Head for Gal Oya National Park, to the east of the island, where you can take a boat out on to the biggest man-made lake in Sri Lanka, Senanayake Samudraya, have a picnic on one of its islands and savour the sound of silence  apart from the birdsong which chirps, cheeps, hollers and coos like an orchestra warming up at full volume.

There were only the two of us  and a few fishermen gathering in nets  to watch as a small herd of red deer skipped back into the shadows of the jungle the moment it saw us. A crocodile glided by and there, out of the trees, elephants ambled down to the waters edge to take a bath.

The fly-past of exotic birds is a delight, even to those who struggle to tell the difference between a sparrow and thrush. Here, eagles glare, herons forage and storks strut. Egrets? More than a few.

True, the animals are more elusive here than the popular parks such as Yala to the south-east, where even the leopards are used to the crowds, but this is more than compensated for by the serenity of the lake with mountains fading into the blue horizon.

How long can this idyll survive before the crowds come clicking their cameras? The east coast is being opened up with a new road from Kandy, and several hotel chains plan to move into the area but at the moment there is only one place to stay; Gal Oya Lodge, buried away in the jungle without even a sign on the main road to let you know it exists.

A bumpy drive up a dirt track and a great swirl of butterflies welcomes the weary traveller back to nature.

Poolside at Gal Oya Lodge

It was in that spirit of creating a sense of exploration without having to explore that took co-founder John Balmond and his professional partner on a quest to find the ideal site for a hotel which would harmonise with the surroundings. They spent a year living rough in the jungle, even bathing in the river, before building nine bungalows in the style of the circular rice stores that are typical of the area. They used local methods and materials from the jungle and solar heating for the water.

Despite their rustic appearance the bungalows are spacious and comfortable, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a terrace which looks out on the jungle and the looming mountains. There is a good-sized pool, essential in temperatures which rarely drop below 30 degrees, and a kitchen which uses produce from local farmers to create a flurry of flavours  Sri Lankan classics such as a chicken or river fish curry with enticing side dishes of beetroot, sweet onion and spicy coconut or hoppers, a rice flour pancake, with egg, dahl and onions. For the perfect start to the day, try a bowl of yoghurt-like buffalo milk curd drenched in kithul, a sort of treacle drawn from various palms.

Breakfast at the lodge

What makes Gal Oya special are not just the welcoming staff but the guides, who are qualified as naturalists and who also work on research projects about the animals that lurk around the lodge. They bring their knowledge and sharp eyes to the trips, whether on the five-hour boat safari (100 for four) or jeep (four hours for 72 a couple) or on the simplest of outings such as a dawn walk along the lily-covered lake nearby.

It is also possible to follow a nature trail with the Veddhas  a tribe reputed to be descended from the aboriginal population of the island but struggling with the realities of the 21st century. They are only a few hundred left but continue to live in the most primitive of mud huts and still follow their traditional way of farming and hunting with bows and arrows.

The chief guides visitors through their small domain of forest and paddy fields and describes the medicinal qualities of the trees and plants around him, most of which are used in ayurvedic treatments. Getting there can be part of the adventure. One plan would be take the train from Colombo on a two-and-half to three hour trip to Kandy (grab a right-hand seat for the best views) and hire a driver for the three hours to the lodge.

Senanayake Samudraya

But beware. There is no TV or internet. Relax. Its easy to forget those irritants of modern life, sit on the terrace, without another bungalow or person in sight, and wait for the birds to put on a show. Electric blue Sunbirds hover by the perfumed flowers of the frangipane bush, the Asian Paradise Fly Catcher flaunts its crimson tail feathers like a catwalk model, blink and you miss the yellow flash of the Oriole. And always, the call of peacocks echoing through the trees. Now thats a Twitter storm.

Details

Prices for two in a one-bedroom bungalow, full board, 187. For the best weather and the most sightings of animals, go in April or September. A driver from Kandy costs 83 if booked though the lodge.

galoyalodge.com.
A former HSBC executive has been arrested in London on suspicion of involvement in a currency exchange fraud.

Stuart Scott, the bank's ex-head of cash trading for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, was detained following an extradition request by the US Department of Justice.

He was charged with rigging markets in July last year along with Mark Johnson, a Briton who was HSBC's global head of foreign exchange cash trading.

But while Mr Johnson was arrested in New York, Mr Scott, 44, remained free at home in London and prosecutors have been attempting to bring him to the US to face charges.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, according to a papers filed by acting US attorney Bridget Rohde.

Anne Davies, a lawyer at Gunnercooke who is representing Scott, said: "Our client strongly denies the allegations. Given there are ongoing proceedings it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."

HSBC said Scott left the bank in 2014.

"We are unable to comment further on personnel issues or matters which are the subject of ongoing legal proceedings," a spokeswoman added.

Scott and Johnson are believed to be the first people to face US criminal charges arising from an investigation into foreign-exchange rigging at banks.

The inquiry led to four banks pleading guilty to conspiring to manipulate currency prices in the United States. HSBC was not among those banks, but in 2014 agreed to pay $618 million (478 million) to resolve related probes by US and British regulators.

Johnson pleaded not guilty to a charge of wire fraud and conspiracy last August.

Prosecutors allege Johnson and Scott in 2011 misused information provided by a client that hired HSBC to convert $3.5 billion to British pounds in connection with a planned sale of the client's foreign subsidiaries.

They then used their insider knowledge to trade ahead of the transaction, causing a spike in the price of the currency that hurt HSBC's client, Cairn Energy Plc, it is claimed.

---

In the print edition of the Evening Standard we stated "HSBC paid a fine of $4.3 billion (3.3 billion) three years ago for weak controls and systems that allowed forex rigging to occur." This was in fact an industry-wide figure. We are happy to clarify this.
A nti-terror police have arrested another man in connection with the London Bridge attack in an early-morning raid on a home in east London.

The latest arrest marks the fourth person held over the atrocity on Saturday night, that left eight people dead and scores injured.

Scotland Yard said the 29-year-old man was arrested after police stormed a home in Newham just after 1.15am.

The suspect is being held on suspicion of involvement in the preparation of terrorist acts and police are still carrying out searches at the address.

London Bridge terror attack: All murder victims named

A total of 17 people have been arrested as part of the investigation. Twelve people held in the initial stages of the probe were released without charge earlier this week, while a man arrested in Ilford on Wednesday has been bailed.

Khuram Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba killed eight people when they ploughed into pedestrians on London Bridge before embarking on a brutal stabbing rampage around Borough Market.

London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack 1 /40 London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack Police and paramedics treat an injured person Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images A woman is helped to an ambulance at London Bridge Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images Armed police at London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Emergency personnel tend to wounded on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images Debris and abandoned cars remain on London Bridge Chris J Ratcliffe/AFP/Getty Images People walking down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Armed Police officers on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire People flee along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Shocked onlookers in Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire People run down Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire A helicopter lands on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Police officers on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Emergency personnel on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Armed Police officer looks through his weapon on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire People run along Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Police at the scene on Southwark Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images A paramedic rushes to the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire An armed officer on London Bridge Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire A paramedic at the scene Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Armed police on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire Emergency personnel on London Bridge Yui Mok/PA Wire Police officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire People are lead to safety away from London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images

Among those killed was French waiter Alexandre Pigeare, 26, whose family described as "a radiant young man loved by all" on Thursday.

He was slashed in the throat after one of the attackers emerged onto the terrace of Boro Bistro, where he been employed for nine months.

London Bridge terrorists: What we know so far

Mr Pigeard, born in Paris, was one of three French victims among the eight people killed in London Bridge.

Chef Sebastien Belanger, 36, was also stabbed to death after leaving a pub.

The body of Xavier Thomas, 45, was recovered by police from the Thames on Tuesday night. He is thought to have been thrown into the river as the terrorists ploughed a van into pedestrians.

Aftermath of London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack 1 /73 Aftermath of London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack New Security barriers along Westminster Bridge Alex Lentati Onlookers react near the scene of an attack close to London Bridge Reuters Floral tributes are laid near Borough Market in London following Saturday's terrorist attack PA Security barriers along Waterloo Bridge Alex Lentati Police on patrol London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn The scene where the terrorists van stopped at the southern end of London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn A woman places flowers on a floral tribute in the London Bridge area AP Police activity on Ripple Road in east London, where officers have conducted raids after Saturday's deadly terror attack PA New security barriers have been put up along Westminster Bridge Alex Lentati People look at flowers at a pedestrian crossing on the south side of London Bridge AFP/Getty Images Police at London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Police on patrol London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Flowers at London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Flowers at London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Police on patrol London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Police on patrol London Bridge and Southwark Street Jeremy Selwyn Police activity on Ripple Road in east London PA New security barriers have been put up along Westminster Bridge Evening Standard Jeremy Selwyn View of London Bridge following the terror attack Jeremy Selwyn Armed police Jeremy Selwyn A person (right) is detained by police at Elizabeth Fry flats in Barking, east London, which officer raided following the terror attack on London Bridge Furqan Nabi/PA A female police officer carries flowers from a member of the public to the scene of last night's terrorist attack at London Bridge Getty Images The van used by three attackers which was driven onto London Bridge, striking pedestrian, before they went on a stabbing rampage in nearby Borough Market PA A person is detained by police in Barking, east London following the terror attack on London Bridge Splash News Forensic officers work on London Bridge after last night's a terrorist attack Getty Images Police officers outside a property in East Ham which has been raided by police Getty Images Police activity on Barking Road in East Ham, east London @JrKamrulJr/PA A crowd gathers behind a police cordon on Barking Road in East Ham, east London, where there was a heavy police presence following last night's terrorist incident at London Bridge PA Armed police descend an escalator at the foot of the Shard outside London Bridge station PA Police officers and emergency response vehicles are seen on the street outside Borough Market on the morning after a terror attack on London Bridge and the Borough area AFP/Getty Images A forensic officer walks over London Bridge after last night's terrorist attack Getty Images View of London Bridge following the terror attack Jeremy Selwyn A police officer escorts members of the public, wrapped in foil blankets, towards The Shard in London AFP/Getty Images A bouquet of flowers stands by the police cordon next to London Bridge in London AFP/Getty Images A police officer creates a cordon on Kings Road in Barking, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attacks AFP/Getty Images Police raid flats in Barking Armed officers: Police raid flats in Barking 'over London Bridge terror attack' @ofrenium/Twitter Members of the public watch as police work on Kings Road in Barking AFP/Getty Images Police raid flats in Barking The Union flag is flown at half mast in Downing Street, London PA Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street after chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency Cobra committee following last night's terrorist incident in London PA A sign at Walthamstow tube station in east London following last night's terrorist incident at London Bridge PA Police outside a raided property in East Ham Getty Images Police officers stand outside a property which was raided by officers in Barking Road, east London Reuters Armed police Jeremy Selwyn Armed police Jeremy Selwyn Police officers patrol the River Thames by boat, close to London Bridge AFP/Getty Images Counter terrorism officers march near the scene of last night's London Bridge terrorist attack Getty Images Armed police Jeremy Selwyn Armed police and emergency services outside Borough Market, London, following last night's terrorist incidents PA Police forensic officers work on London Bridge in London, as police continue their investigations following the terror attack AFP/Getty Images Police on Southwark Bridge Road, London, near the scene of last night's terrorist incidents in London Bridge and Borough Market PA Police forensic officers on London Bridge following last night's terrorist incident PA The Union flag flies at half mast in Whitehall PA

Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, Canadian volunteer worker Christine Archibald, 30, and Australian nanny Sara Zelenak, 21, were also among the dead.

Spanish authorities have said Ignacio Echeverria, a 39-year-old banking analyst who fought off terrorists with his skateboard, was also murdered.
A 23-year-old man previously arrested at Heathrow Airport has been charged with three terrorism offences after sharing extremist videos on Whatsapp.

Mijunal Haque, from north London, was detained in August last year on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts.

He was rearrested on Thursday for breach of bail and has been charged with three counts of encouraging terrorism by sharing extremist videos on the messaging app in January 2015.

He is due to appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

A woman, 21, was also arrested in August last year and is on police bail.
A breakthrough in treating children with the devastating lung disease cystic fibrosis was announced today.

A combination of two drugs was found to improve lung function in children aged six to 11 within 15 days.

Crucially, the treatment  which was trialled internationally including at the Royal Brompton hospital and Imperial College London  is the first to target the underlying causes of the disease rather than the symptoms.

About 10,800 people in the UK have cystic fibrosis, which is inherited genetically and causes the lungs and digestive system to become clogged with thick mucus.

The UK has one of the highest rates of cystic fibrosis in the world, with 12 per cent of all cases. The average age at death is 28.

The combination of two drugs, lumacaftor and ivacaftor, together known by the brand name Orkambi, was found to improve lung function  meaning it took less time to clear the air from their lungs.

By targeting and correcting the most common genetic mutation responsible for cystic fibrosis, this potentially provides a way to slow progression of the disease. At present, there is no cure.

The trial results, involving 206 children, were announced at the European Cystic Fibrosis Conference today.

The treatment is not yet available on the NHS but the possibility of a 10-year deal for all the drugs made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals is being discussed.

Lead author Professor Felix Ratjen, of The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, said: Our results suggest that this drug combination may help to preserve lung health in children with cystic fibrosis, potentially slowing the progression of the disease and allowing these children better quality, longer lives.

The study, reported in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, adds to evidence from other trials of the drug combination showing similar results in patients aged 12 and over.

The treatment costs about 104,000 a year per person and has previously been turned down by the NHS drugs approval body Nice. The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is planning protests this month.

Nick Medhurst, head of policy for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, said: Orkambi has been licensed for use in those aged over 12 in the UK for over two years, but people are still not receiving it.
T erminally ill baby Charlie Gard must continue to receive life support treatment until midnight on Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights said.

It comes after the sick childs parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates launched a final legal challenge at the European court after their Supreme Court appeal failed.

They want the 10-month-old baby to undergo trial treatment in the US, but London specialists said it would not work.

His parents exhausted legal options in the UK and now hope European judges will come to their aid.

Charlies mother broke down and screamed after the Supreme Court rejected their appeal to take the child, who has a rare genetic condition and brain damage, to the US.

Great Ormond Street specialists, from the hospital where Charlie is being cared for, said the therapy proposed by a US doctor is only experimental.

They say life support treatment should stop.

Charlie Gard and his parents / PA

A High Court judge in April ruled against a trip to America and in favour of Great Ormond Street doctors.

Mr Justice Francis concluded that life support treatment should end and said Charlie should be allowed to die with dignity.

Three Court of Appeal judges upheld that ruling in May and three Supreme Court justices on Thursday dismissed the couple's latest challenge after a hearing in London.

The ECHR spokeswoman said: "Today, the European Court of Human Rights decided to indicate to the United Kingdom Government that, in the interests of the parties and the proper conduct of the proceedings before it, they should provide Charlie Gard with such treatment and nursing care as may be appropriate to ensure that he suffers the least distress and retains the greatest dignity consistent, insofar as possible, with maintaining life, until midnight on Tuesday 13 June.

"The interim measure granted ... has been applied temporarily in order to allow the European Court to examine the request."

She said Charlie's parents wanted a panel of seven judges to analyse the case in detail.
A gang of thugs riding mopeds have reportedly stabbed a young man near Russell Square.

Police and paramedics were scrambled to the scene near the Brunswick Centre at about 7.45pm on Friday.

The victim, believed to be in his 20s, was rushed to hospital, Scotland Yard said.

Pictures from the scene show the road taped off while officers investigated.

At least five police cars and an ambulance descended on the site.

A man was arrested at the scene in central London on suspicion of GBH. The incident is not being treated as terror-related.

Police have since confirmed the victim's condition is not life-threatening.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: Enquires continue to trace any other people involved.

Officers from the Central North Command Unit investigate.
T wo terror suspects accused of plotting a car and knife attack on London will stand trial in January.

Umar Ahmed Haque and Abuthaher Mamun, from east London, allegedly planned to use a vehicle in a terror attack.

And Haque is accused of having a list of possible targets across the capital on major tourist attractions and government buildings.

Police reportedly found a large knife in his car.

They appeared at the Old Bailey by video-link on Friday for a preliminary hearing, speaking only to confirm their names.

Haque, from Newham, is accused of preparing to commit acts of terrorism between March 25 and May 18 this year.

The 25-year-old is also charged with four counts of possessing documents useful for committing or preparing an act of terror.

Mamun, 18, from Barking, is accused of engaging in conduct to assist Haque in preparing acts of terrorism between the same dates.

The pair appeared in court alongside Muhammad Abid, 26, from Newham, who is charged under terror laws with failing to disclose information about Haque.

A fourth man, Nadeem Ilyas Patel, 25, from Newham, also appeared by video-link, but is not charged with a terror offence.

Police allegedly found an air gun and gas-powered pistol when they searched his home address.

He is accused of conspiring with Haque to possess a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to cause fear or violence.

All four men were remanded in custody before a plea hearing on a date to be fixed.

Mr Justice Holroyde set a provisional trial date of January 15 2018.
I t wasn't just Right-wingers who were surprised by last nights election result. At the New Statesman magazines party at the Oxo Tower Brasserie, Left-wing politicos were blindsided and delirious.

Early in the evening editor Jason Cowley, pictured, made a speech with jokes at Jeremy Corbyns expense. I think we should raise a toast. If not to Jeremy Corbyn, to the New Statesman. To all the candidates who are standing in our 650 constitiuencies.

The June 2 issue of the mag had the front cover line The Labour reckoning: Is Jeremy Corbyn heading for a crushing defeat on 8 June? with a picture of an asteroid hitting Labour leaders.

After the exit poll, Cowley was a little shell-shocked. This is sensational, he said, Have we been too hard on Corbynism? Hes won over young people, greens and got back old socialists.

Novelist Jonathan Coe usually spends elections on his sofa into the early hours, but decided to party this time. Jeremy has played a blinder in the last few weeks, he said. This means Theresa May is toast. So we get Amber Rudd or Boris Johnson. Be careful what you wish for. Coes next novel is a contemporary satire following politics since 2010. But I cant work out the ending, he said.

The room was decorated with life-sized cut-outs of Corbyn and Theresa May. As the party slowed down, revellers took home lipstick-smacked Corbyn portraits, while the Theresa Mays fell sadly to the floor.

Ex-Observer editor Will Hutton observed: Three things are clear: there is no parliamentary majority for Brexit. The Right-wing press only speaks for the Right-wing press. The kids voted for Corbyn and Theresa May is dead. The Londoner tried to tell him that was four things, but he was out the door.

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Up to Islington, to Jeremy Corbyns local boozer The Bedford Tavern, where his supporters threw a shindig. The pub extended its hours to view the results on the big screen. Were all feeling good, but were all just scared because of last years surprises, the cautious barman shrugged. As the excitement built, police protection at Corbyns nearby house was stepped up, as well-wishers gathered outside like pilgrims at Lourdes. A next door neighbour vaped angrily out of his window throughout, frustrated by the hullabaloo.

Grange Park Opera fans are seeing red

Getty Images

Even the new Grange Park Opera in Surrey delivered surprises. At a few minutes past 10pm, just before the start of the final act of Tosca, host Jonathan Dimbleby got on the stage to address the well-heeled guests.

My brother David has sent me the exit poll  literally just out, said Dimbleby. The Tories have the most seats but not a majority. A few cheers. He continued: The poll says Labour have made considerable gains.

Cue huge cheers from the 700 in the audience. Who said the opera is just for toffs?

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Quote of the Day:

Getty Images

Some people didnt have the courtesy to explain what they meant by Brexit

Ken Clarke was magnificently understated on TV last night. Is he talking about difficult women?

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Grayson gagged at his own private view

Dave Benett/Getty Images for Mul

Who silenced Grayson? His Serpentine Gallery show The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever! seemed a sanctuary from the politics last night. And it seemed that Perry, speaking at Mulberrys private view, was obliged to keep it that way. Im not even allowed to tell you my party preference, he said, mysteriously. I am under purdah. The lawyers will be onto me if I say. But I hope youve all done the right thing because youre all metropolitan and liberal elitists. These are the last few hours where we can retain hope.

There are a few more now, Grayson.

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Getty Images

A love poem to Jeremy Corbyn: The Londoners Diary has been following the poetics of the Labour leader since Professor John Sutherland told us for the many, not the few comes from Romantic poet Percy Shelleys The Masque of Anarchy. Would Corbyn be using more Shelley now, we asked his comms guru James Schneider? Perhaps from Ozymandias: Look on my works, ye Mayty, and despair! Schneider replied with just an emoji  crying with laughter.

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One vote Clegg did win

Getty Images

Quite a few MPs got well and truly rogered last night, in a purely electoral sense. Even so, theres still space to give a little love, as The Amorist, the new erotic magazine, did last night. It held an Erection Special party at the Herrick Gallery in Mayfair, along with a vote for the sexiest MP. All guests were required to vote.

Nicola Sturgeon and Jeremy Corbyn tied for fifth place, the voice of Emily Thornberry came fourth and Jacob Rees-Mogg jumped into joint third with Caroline Lucas, a very unlikely pairing. Smooth Chuka Umunna was always going to get a few votes  he was second  but there was a surprise winner... Nick Clegg.

The former Lib-Dem leader is now an ex-MP after one of the nights many surprises saw him lose his seat, but his victory at the awards was equally unexpected.

Cleggs name only arrived on the slate on the day of the vote, and the magazines editor Rowan Pelling was as shocked as anyone. I did not fix it, she insisted, despite being a committed Liberal.

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Tweet of the day

AFP/Getty Images

I better stop making jokes about May in case she ends up as my editor by September

Jim Pickard, chief political correspondent of the Financial Times, on future-proofing.

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Tragic Tories drown their sorrows

(Alice Lubbock)

Think-tank Bright Blue and communications agency Finsbury held their party at Westminsters Blue Boar. A Tory-heavy crowd were stunned into silence by the exit polls. Guests included author Ed West, left, and The Spectators Freddy Gray, right. Im flying to Sweden in the morning to speak about the success of the Conservative general election campaign, Gray said. What the f*** am I going to speak about now?

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The Washington Post/Getty Images

Pet hate of the day: Popbitch reports that Matthew Parriss llamas have been spitting on his Vote Conservative posters. They must have had an animal instinct.

Follow The Londoner on Twitter and Facebook here.
L abours Ruth Cadbury held onto the seat of Brentford and Isleworth in spectacular fashion, fending off her Conservative challenger and increasing her partys majority by nearly 12,000.

The returning MP said voters in the west London constituency had voted for hope, for change following the announcement of her comprehensive victory over Conservative opponent Mary Macleod.

In her acceptance speech she said: Id like to thank the people of Brentford and Isleworth who voted against school cuts, who voted against cuts to the NHS and care service, who voted against police cuts, who voted against so many policies of the Conservative government.

Ms Cadbury had started the night defending one of the capitals most marginal seats, with a majority of just 465 votes.

But as shock results began to filter in across the country, she found herself riding the red wave of Labour success in London to finish ahead by 12,182 on a turnout of 72.55 per cent.

With a wry nod to the turbulent national picture, she told those assembled at Hounslow Civic Centre: I commit to serve you again, as hard as I can  until the next general election.

Ms Macleod, who was the constituencys Tory MP from 2010 to 2015, said she was obviously disappointed and appeared somewhat stunned at the scale of her defeat.

Fighting back tears, she said: It was something I just lost two years ago by 465, and obviously its a much larger loss this evening.

We will analyse the numbers over the next few weeks. It wasnt something that we heard on the doorstep.

Is this the best celebration of the 2017 General Election?

Ms Macleod would not be drawn on whether she thought Theresa May would be able to carry on as Prime Minister.

This is disappointing, but thats democracy, and the Conservatives will live to fight another day locally.

Signs that the Conservatives would struggle were showing not long after midnight, after the 61,785 ballot papers were verified and counting began.

Declining to give a definitive prediction, one Tory activist simple said: F***, all our hard work...

Labour's Ruth Cadbury saw off a challenge from Conservative Mary Macleod / Simon Jacobs

Two Labour activists said voters on the doorstep were sick and tired of Mrs May and criticised Ms Macleod for running a campaign based on slogans.

Nevertheless, Ms Cadbury said she had never expected to gain such a comprehensive majority.

She told the Standard: Were seeing today strange results across the country going in our favour, or at least against the Tories.

There are definitely people who have voted Labour for the first time because of Jeremy Corbyn. But theres a whole host of reasons - its a very varied constituency, with lots of people saying different things on the doorstep.

Theres anger with Theresa May over Brexit, weve got a very strong remain vote here, particularly in Conservative areas. Theres anger about education cuts, anger about health service cuts, and just general dissatisfaction with a Conservative Government.

Asked whether she echoed Mr Corbyns call for Mrs May to step down, Ms Cadbury said: I think quite a lot of the Tory party will be asking for her to resign.
 Labour's Sarah Jones dethroned Tory minister Gavin Barwell in the key Croydon Central marginal, romping home by more than 5,000 votes to become the borough's first ever female MP.

The sweet victory for Jones comes two years after she lost by just 165 votes to Barwell in London's fiercest battleground.

The marginal had been held by the Tories since 2005 but Jones wrested it from their grasp with the help of hundreds of activists who flooded Croydon throughout polling day to support the mother of four and bring her the biggest ever win in the marginal.

Campaigners reported high turnout and Labour's pledges on scrapping tuition fees encouraging younger voters to head to the polls. Overall turnout rose from 68% to 71.5%.

Ousted: Ex-Tory MP Gavin Barwell. / Chris Gorman

Jones, who said it was a "huge privilege" to be elected, acknowledged the contribution from younger voters in her victory speech. She said: "Young people have won this election today because they came out for the first time and wanted to vote.

"They wanted to vote for Jeremy Corbyn, they wanted to vote for our manifesto and they wanted to vote for their own future. Tonight young people have taken back control."

CROYDON CENTRAL Lab gain from Con Sarah Jones (Lab) 29873 Gavin Barwell (Con) 24221 Gill Hickson (LD) 1083 Peter Staveley (UKIP) 1040 Tracey Hague (Green) 626 John Boadu (Christian Peoples Alliance) 177 Don Locke (Independent) 71 Majority 5652

Labour also benefited from a collapse in support for the Greens and UKIP in the seat where leader Jeremy Corbyn launched the party's national campaign almost seven weeks ago.

Since then a host of senior figures have campaigned in the seat including London mayor Sadiq Khan, shadow chancellor John McDonnell and shadow Brexit minister Keir Starmer.

The new Labour MP - a communications professional who has worked on campaigns for government, charities and the Olympics - fought on local issues including the delay-ridden Southern rail franchise as well as housing, education funding and the NHS.

Defeat is a bitter blow for Mr Barwell who was consoled by neighbouring Croydon South MP Chris Philp and said: "It had to happen sometime."

Barwell has worked hard to build a reputation as a strong local MP since 2010, and wrote a book called "How To Win A Marginal Seat" last year.

He added: "I'm devastated to have lost the job, being MP for your home town is the best job in the world."

Barwell said: "I've got no plans at the moment beyond having a rest and spending the weekend with my wife and kids."

Barwell helped win 25 million from the Government to help rebuilding work and attract investment in the wake of the 2011 riots while developers are due to start work on a new 1 billion shopping mall in the town centre next year.
D onald Tusk has written to Theresa May to warn there is "no time to lose" in negotiations over the UK's Brexit deal.

The European Council leader congratulated the Conservative leader after she announced she was to form a minority government with the backing of the Democratic Unionist Party.

European leaders had earlier cast doubt over Brexit after the snap General Election ended in a hung parliament, plunging the UK into political turmoil.

Mr Tusk tweeted on Friday morning that there was a risk Britain could be left with "no deal" if talks in Brussels were delayed by the uncertainty.

In his letter, he wrote: "On behalf of the European Council, I would like to congratulate you on your reappointment as Prime Minister.

"Our shared responsibility and urgent task now is to conduct the negotiations on the UK's withdrawal from the European Union in the best possible spirit, securing the least disruptive outcome for our citizens, businesses and countries after March 2019.

"The timeframe set by Article 50 of the Treaty leaves us with no time to lose. I am fully committed to maintaining regular and close contact at our level to facilitate the work of our negotiators."

Donald Tusk wrote to contratulate Theresa May / PA

Leaders across Europe reacted after the shock results of Thursday's vote, called by Ms May in a bid to strengthen her hand in negotiations and cement Tory power, left no party able to form a majority government.

Some warned a weakened Westminster government could undermine the Brexit process, with European Parliament's Brexit representative describing the snap General Election as "yet another own goal".

Ms May, who campaigned against Brexit last year, had demanded a clean break from the EU single market and called a snap election hoping for a big majority to strengthen her negotiating hand.

Theresa May to form new government with DUP support

That was also the broadly desired outcome in Brussels, where leaders believed that a stronger British government would be better able to cut compromise deals with the EU and resist pressure from hardline pro-Brexit factions in her party that have called for Britain to reject EU terms and potentially walk out without a deal.

In a statement issued from Downing Street on Friday afternoon, Ms May claimed her party's deal with the Democratic Unionists offered "certainty and legitimacy commanding a majority in the House of Commons".

She ignored the weakening of her position and vowed to govern for the next five years.
B rexit minister David Jones said it was impossible to say if Theresa May would be Prime Minster in six months time following the shock election result.

Mr Jones said he supported the Prime Minister, despite Britain waking up to a hung parliament, but could not predict how long she would stay in power.

He told BBC Wales: That's impossible for me to say, and is probably impossible for anyone else to say too."

Speaking on the steps of Number 10 on Friday, Mrs May vowed to govern the country for the next five years despite being forced to enter into a minority government with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Theresa May returns to No.10 after the shock election result / Getty Images

Mrs Mays authority drained away in a night of shock that sent sterling plunging, as the world weighed the implications for Brexit negotiations, which are due to start in 10 days.

Mr Corbyn said Labour had won this election after its best vote share since 2001, at 40 per cent, fuelled by an extraordinary turnout of students and young supporters.

Prime Minister Theresa May is clapped into 10 Downing Street in by staff after seeing the Queen / PA

Former Tory MP Matthew Parris dubbed it the revenge of the young on the older generation for last years Brexit vote.

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said there was a risk Britain could be left with "no deal" if talks in Brussels were delayed.

Other EU politicians warned a weakened Westminster government could undermine the Brexit process, with one describing the snap General Election as "yet another own goal".

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

Leaders across Europe suggested the Conservatives losing their majority would delay Brexit talks due to start this month and increase the risk of negotiations failing.

Mr Tusk warned time was running out to reach an agreement that could be approved by all 27 remaining EU government in the two-year deadline set out in Article 50.

He tweeted: "We don't know when Brexit talks start. We know when they must end. Do your best to avoid a 'no deal' as result of 'no negotiations'."

Germany's European affairs minister Michael Roth also said time was tight if the the UK was to avoid crashing out of Europe without a deal.

"We should not waste any time," he said.
L abour's Tulip Siddiq has accused Prime Minister Theresa May of wasting time "scaremongering" the British public during the election campaign rather than focusing on the vital Brexit negotiations.

The MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, who is bidding to hold her seat in the face of a Conservative challenge, accused Mrs May squandering months of vital EU talks with an "unnecessary" election.

Speaking as she arrived at the Camden count, she said it was "good" that, according to exit polls, the Tories appear to have failed to deliver the landslide victory they were seeking.

"All I could say is that's good, because she has underestimated the British public", said Ms Siddiq.

"People don't like scaremongering which is what she tried to do.

"It was an unnecessary election at a time when we should be making decisions for the country.

"She has wasted three months of the precious two years of Brexit negotiations."

Ms Siddiq is looking to hold on to the Hampstead and Kilburn seat which she held with a 1,138 majority in 2015.

It has been a Conservative target as the parties tries to make gains in London, but the 34-year-old refused to be drawn on whether the polls, suggesting a strong night for Labour, mean she is in line for victory.

"Never trust the polls, I've been fooled by the polls before", she said.
T heresa May sympathised with she Tory MPs who lost their seats after her General Election gamble backfired leaving the UK with a hung parliament.

As results rolled in across the country, the Tories lost 12 seats  including eight ministers  and were left severely weakened in the capital.

Ben Gummer, the official author of the manifesto, was one of those who lost his seat.

A shattered Prime Minister told Sky News that those who lost out in their constituencies following a failed election campaign did not deserve to be ousted as she saw her Commons majority wiped out.

"I am sorry for those candidates and hard-working party workers who weren't successful but also particularly sorry for those colleagues who were MPs or ministers who had contributed so much to our country and who lost their seats and didn't deserve to lose their seats,  she said.

Theresa May speaks on outside Number 10 Downing Street / Jeremy Selwyn

Mrs May acknowledged that she had gone into the election - which she did not have to call for another three years - hoping for a "large" majority.

The partys leader was forced to call on the Democratic Unionist Party to form a minority government, following a an audience with the Queen on Friday afternoon.

She added: "As I reflect on the result, I will reflect on what we need to do in the future to take the party forward.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

Speaking from the steps of Number 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons.

"As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular.

Who are the DUP?

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."

Mrs Mays authority drained away in a night of shock that sent sterling plunging, as the world weighed the implications for Brexit negotiations, which are due to start in 10 days.

Despite Tory ministers calling on her to step down Mrs May vowed to stand for the next five years.

Theresa May to form new government with DUP support

Ms Soubry was the first Tory MP to suggest Mrs May should resign.

She said: This has been a disaster, the results are dreadful,

Lord Turnbull, the former Cabinet secretary who sits as a crossbencher, added that Mrs May wasnt up to it and should quit.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party had won this election after its best vote share since 2001, at 40 per cent, fuelled by an extraordinary turnout of students and young supporters.

Former Tory MP Matthew Parris dubbed it the revenge of the young on the older generation for last years Brexit vote.
L iberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has said Theresa May should be ashamed and has called on the crisis-hit Prime Minister to quit.

Just before the PM announced she would be forming a Government with the DUP, the Lib Dem leader said: If she has an ounce of self-respect she will resign.

The Lib Dems gained four seats in Thursdays vote while in a shock twist the Conservatives fell short of a majority leaving Britain with a hung parliament.

Speaking on Friday morning, re-elected Mr Farron calles the PM arrogant and vain, saying: Theresa May called this election expecting it to be a coronation.

She took each and every one of us for granted in the most cynical way possible.

General Election 2017: The biggest seat shocks

Like David Cameron before her, our Conservative Prime Minister rolled the dice and put the future of our country at risk out of sheer arrogance and vanity.

The party leader went on to use Mrs Mays own campaign slogan, saying: And now in her diminished state, she reaches out to the right to form her own coalition of chaos.

Theresa May has done the opposite of what Nick Clegg did. She put her party before her country. She has been found out. She should be ashamed.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

He added that Mrs May promised to bring strong and stable leadership but brought weakness and uncertainty.

Mr Farron reworked another of the PMs election phrases when he ruled out a coalition with the Tories, telling journalists: Let me make our position clear: no deal is better than a bad deal.

He also called for Brexit negotiations to be put on hold until the government considers the future of the country and reassessed its priorities and set them out to the British public.

The Lib Dem heaped praise on outgoing MP Nick Clegg, one of the casualties of Thursday night.

Nick Clegg is a giant of British politics, a friend and a hero to me and to countless others, Mr Farron said.

Not only did he lead our party into government for the first time in generations, he did so in the most difficult of circumstances and for the most noble of reasons.

Our party paid a political price for joining the coalition government, but it is nothing compared to the price our country would have paid if Nick had not shown the steel and determination to do the right thing when it was needed most.
T he Labour Party has ousted three Tory MPs from London seats as the party enjoyed a night of success in crucial marginals across the capital.

By 5am Labour had won 39 of the capital's 73 parliamentary constituencies.

They took marginal Tory seats of Battersea and Croydon Central  beating Financial Secretary Jane Ellison and Housing Minister Gavin Barwell. The party also won Enfield Southgate from the Conservatives.

Ms Ellison lost her Battersea seat to Labours Marsha de Cordova - ending a seven-year parliamentary career.

Ms de Cordova took the seat with a swing of 10 per cent from Tory to Labour, overturning a Tory majority of 8,000.

In Croydon Central  another marginal seat - Mr Barwell saw his majority of just 165 overturned by Labour candidate Sarah Jones.

Battersea Election Reactions

Ms Jones received 29,873 votes to Mr Barwell's 24,221 - giving her a majority of 6,652.

Brentford and Isleworth  another London swing seat  saw Labour fight off the Tory challenge in spectacular fashion, increasing their majority by more than 12,000.

Victory: Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Central this morning / Chris Gorman

Returning MP Ruth Cadbury said voters in the west London constituency had voted for hope, for change, as she fended off her Conservative opponent Mary Macleod.

Ms Cadbury had started the night with a majority of just 465 votes in one of the capitals most marginal seats, but rode the wave of Labour success in London to finish ahead by 12,182.

Jeremy Corbyn enjoyed an unsurprising yet significant win in his constituency of Islington North, which had its highest turnout since 1951.

Speaking after his victory, Mr Corbyn called on Theresa May to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

Jeremy Corbyn calls for Theresa May to resign

He added: Im delighted with the support for Labour all across London tonight and indeed the support for Labour all across the country, Im very proud."

And elsewhere across the capital, Tulip Siddiq, Keir Starmer, Harriet Harman and Diane Abbott held onto their London seats.

The Lib Dems won back the key marginal constituency of Kingston and Surbiton from the Tories, with former energy secretary Sir Ed Davey clawing back control from James Berry with 27.810 votes.

Mr Berry was defending a slim majority of 2,834, but ended up losing to Sir Ed by 4,124 votes.

The knife-edge seat was seen as a key marginal which would be a crucial hold for the Conservatives in London if they were going to increase their Government majority.

But the Tories were able to narrowly hold Putney, where Education Secretary Justine Greening has only just held onto her seat.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

And there was good news for the party in Richmond Park where Zac Goldsmith took back his old seat from the Lib Dems by a miniscule 45 votes.

Kensington - a traditionally safe Tory seat - saw two recounts with the result on a knife edge.
B ritain awoke to a hung Parliament after a catastrophic election result for Theresa May saw the Conservatives lose their Commons majority.

Jeremy Corbyns Labour enjoyed a spectacular night as the Tories were left facing the prospect of having to form a minority government.

The result is a huge embarrassment to the Prime Minister, who called the snap election seven weeks ago with the aim of increasing her partys majority ahead of difficult Brexit negotiations.

Mrs Mays future as Tory leader was immediately thrown into doubt on a sensational night in which Jeremy Corbyn called for her to resign.

Under pressure: Theresa May / Alastair Grant/AP

In key developments:

The BBC projected the Conservatives to win 318 seats  down 13 from 2015  with Labour predicted to gain 35 seats to take its total to 267. The SNP was expected to lose 24 seats to leave them on 24, with the Lib Dems gaining three seats to win 11 in total

Former Lib Dem leader and deputy PM Nick Clegg lost his Sheffield Hallam seat to Labour

The SNPs Wesminster leader Angus Robertson, former SNP leader Alex Salmond and Treasury minister Jane Ellison were among other high profile scalps

Sterling fell sharply as the results emerged.

Labour enjoyed huge success in London, winning marginal seats and ousting two Tory ministers.

A jubilant Mr Corbyn hailed the results and called for Mrs May to step down and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country.

He declared: Politics has changed. Politics isn't going back into the box where it was before.

Jubilant: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn / Jeremy Selwyn

People have had enough of austerity politics. I am very proud of the campaign that my party has run. My manifesto for the many, not the few. People voting for hope for the future and turning their backs on austerity.

"If there is a message, the Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. the mandate she got is lost seats, lost votes."

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"I would think that's enough for her to go, actually."

The PM called for a period of stability as she was returned as the Conservative MP for Maidenhead with 37,718 votes in the early hours of the morning.

At this time this country needs a period of stability. It will be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability.

Theresa May calls for 'period of stability'

"As we look ahead and wait to see what the final results will be, the country needs stability and the Conservative party will ensure we will fulfil our duty so that we can all, as one country, go forward together."

After the exit poll emerged at 10pm, Evening Standard editor, George Osborne, described the night as potentially "catastrophic" for Mrs May.

Mr Osborne said the figures would put Mrs May's future as Conservative leader in doubt, saying on ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

Former Labour minister Ed Balls said after the exit poll showing no party with a majority was released: If this is correct, there will be a second election soon.

Mr Corbyns party enjoyed huge success in London as they took marginal Tory seats Battersea and Croydon Central  ousting Financial Secretary Jane Ellison and Housing Minister Gavin Barwell.

For the Lib Dems, heavyweight Sir Vince Cable and former minister Sir Ed Davey won seats back from the Tories in Twickenham and Kingston & Surbiton respectively.

However, Tory Zac Goldsmith just managed to claw a victory in Richmond Park, taking back his old seat from Lib Dem Sarah Olney by a wafer-thin 45 votes.

Labour's Keir Starmer said the British public have rejected Theresa May's "extreme form of Brexit" with today's General Election result.

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The Prime Minister set out to secure an increased majority but may end up losing control of Parliament after a disappointing result at the polls.

Delivering his victory speech, Mr Starmer called for the terms of Brexit to be "reset" in light of the election result.

"The Prime Minister called this election because she wanted to force through an extreme version of Brexit", he said.

"She wanted to do it without any scrutiny or challenge.

"The people of Britain have rejected her approach.
O pinion pollsters were facing fresh questions today after widespread predictions of a comfortable Tory majority were confounded by the shock election result.

Almost all the final polls published in the run-up to voting put the Tories in line for a clear victory, with leads ranging up to the 13 per cent gap expected by BMG and the 11 per cent gap by ICM. Other polling firms that put the Tories well ahead included ComRes, which predicted a 44 to 34 per cent victory for Theresa Mays party over Labour; ORB, which gave the Conservatives a nine-point margin; and Ipsos MORI, which predicted an eight per cent Tory lead.

Only Survation, which put the Tories on 41 per cent and Labour on 40, was close to predicting the actual result. YouGov had also earlier predicted a hung Parliament in a poll in May based on constituency by constituency estimates  widely dismissed as a rogue result at the time  but put the national Tory lead at seven per cent in its final poll published earlier this week.

The failure of the pollsters to predict the result follows similar mistaken findings ahead of last years EU referendum and the 2015 general election. Fraser Nelson, the editor of the Spectator, described the outcome as another polling disaster in a tweet containing a graph showing all the final opinion polls before voting.

What is a hung parliament?

Experts said a key reason for the inaccuracy of the polls was that the turnout of young voters, who are thought to have backed Labour in greater numbers than older age groups, was higher than expected.

That meant that the weighting on voter turnout used to balance the raw poll findings was wrong in most polls and understated the number of Labour voters. Ben Page, from Ipsos MORI, tweeted: One guess is that after overclaiming their turnout in 2015, this time young have done what they said they would  political weather changed.

General Election Front Pages 2017 - In pictures 1 /24 General Election Front Pages 2017 - In pictures

Other factors behind the failed predictions include the significant regional variations in voting, with the Tories performing well in Scotland and seats such as Mansfield in the east Midlands, but Labour surging dramatically in London and performing better than originally expected in Wales.

Pollsters also pointed out that the hung Parliament was the result of the election turning into an overwhelmingly two-party contest, with the Lib Dems and other smaller parties being squeezed.

This meant that although the Tories had their best percentage score for decades and rose six per cent on 2015 key marginal constituencies went against them.

The pollsters were more accurate in London, however. A YouGov poll for the Evening Standard last week correctly forecast a surge in Labour votes and seat gains for the party in the capital.@martinbentham
L abours Tulip Siddiq romped to victory in the battle for the Hampstead and Kilburn seat before taking a playful aim at beleaguered Prime Minister Theresa May.

The 34-year-old had been a prime target for the Conservatives, who believed her slender 1,138 majority could be overturned on the way to a landslide victory.

However, as Labour confounded expectations around the country, Ms Siddiq delivered a huge 15,560 majority in front of her jubilant supporters.

To cheers and whoops of joy, she aped the Prime Ministers campaign slogan in her victory speech, thanking her strong and stable husband for his support.

The MP also praised her supporters for running through fields of wheat during the campaign, in a reference to Mrs Mays admission that this was the naughtiest thing she had ever done.

Earlier in the evening, as exit polls suggested a bad night for the Tories, Ms Siddiq accused her opponents of scaremongering over Brexit.

Theresa May looked grim-faced on Friday morning / Jeremy Selwyn

She has underestimated the British public, she said of Mrs May.

People dont like scaremongering which is what she tried to do.

It was an unnecessary election at a time when we should be making decisions for the country.

She has wasted three months of the precious two years of Brexit negotiations.

A difficult issue that has hung over the Labour Party in the last year is claims of anti-Semitism in its ranks, and Ms Siddiq reached out to the Jewish community in her victory speech.

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn looks cheered as he leaves his home on Friday morning / Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

When the party opted not to expel Ken Livingstone over his remarks about Hitler, Ms Siddiq wrote to leader Jeremy Corbyn criticising the decision as intolerable and bringing great shame on our party.

In her speech last night, directing her comments to her Jewish constituents, she said: I know there are issues we need to work through and move forward, and I will work with you on these issues in Parliament and across the country.

Conservative challenger for the Hampstead and Kilburn seat, Claire-Louise Leyland, came second with 18,904.

The Lib Dems Kirsty Allan came a distant third with 4,100 votes, Green candidate John Mansook came fourth with 742 and Independent candidates Hugh Easterbrook and Rainbow George Weiss got 136 and 61 respectively.

Ms Siddiq was greeted with flowers from members of the Bangladeshi community as she left the election count.
J eremy Corbyn called for Theresa May to step down during a "catastrophic" election night for the Conservative Party.

Speaking after holding his seat in Islington North, Mr Corbyn launched a stinging attack on Mrs May and her "disastrous" campaign, saying voters had shown they wanted "hope for the future" and no more austerity.

In shock losses on election night, former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg lost to Labour; SNP deputy leader Angus Robertson was outsed, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jane Ellison was defeated by her labour rival.

The pound plunged at 10pm after exit polls pointed towards a hung parliament, down over 1.5 per cent to 1.27 US dollars after it emerged that the Tories would not win enough seats to secure a majority.

Mr Corbyn called on Theresa May to resign, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

Theresa May delivers her victory speech in Maidenhead / EPA

Labour veteran John McDonnell said he expected an imminent leadership challenge from Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

Asked whether he had a message for London, Mr Corbyn said: "Im delighted with the support for Labour all across London tonight and indeed the support for Labour all across the country, Im very proud."

He said: "Politics has changed. Politics isn't going back into the box where it was before. People have said they have had quite enough of austerity politics."

Jeremy Corbyn said the result in Islington and across the country were "incredible," adding he was proud and humbled at the people of Islington for a high turnout.

He went on to praise both the Labour party's campaign and police.

Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced / Alastair Grant/AP

"People have had enough of austerity politics. I am very proud of the campaign that my party has run. My manifesto for the many, not the few. People voting for hope for the future and turning their backs on austerity.

"If there is a message, the Prime MInister called the election because she wanted a mandate. the mandate she got is lost seats, lost votes."

"I would think that's enough for her to go, actually."

May was accused of "underestimating the British public" by Labour MP Tulip Siddiq.

Thumbs up: Corbyn leaves the counting centre after holding Islington North / Reuters

Theresa May returned as the Conservative MP for Maidenhead with 37,718 votes. Earlier in the night after a disastrous exit poll for the Conservatives, senior Tories insisted that polls have been "wrong in the past" and that it was still early in the night.

Mrs May did not respond to questions from reporters about her future as she arrived for the result.

After winning Theresa May said: "It is a huge honour and privilege to be elected as MP and I will continue to work as I have done over the period of time I have been your MP.

"We have yet to see the full picture emerging. At this time this country needs a period of stability. It will be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability.

"As we look ahead and wait to see what the final results will be, the country needs stability and the Conservative party will ensure we will fulfil our duty so that we can all, as one country, go forward together."

After the exit poll emerged at 10pm, Evening Standard editor, George Osborne, described the night as potentially "catastrophic" for Mrs May.

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Mr Osborne said, if right, the figures would put Mrs May's future as Conservative leader in doubt, saying on ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

Emily Thornberry said: [The exit polls] have been right for the last 20 years or so, 30 years, so I think we're on the verge of a great result.

"Just think only seven weeks ago the hubris of the Prime Minister who was 20 points ahead, who wanted to have a blank cheque, she wanted to do whatever she wanted with the country with Brexit, with the economy, with our National Health Service and we said no and we meant it.

"And we put forward a popular manifesto with a leader of the party who has withstood the most extraordinary personal attacks, and has actually shown if anybody was strong and stable it was him."

Tom Watson used his victory speech to launch an attack on Mrs May. After being re-elected MP for West Bromwich East, Mr Watson said: "Theresa May's authority has been undermined by this election.

"She is a damaged Prime Minister whose reputation may never recover."
J eremy Corbyn has been praised for the Labour surge by members of the party who had blasted him just a year ago.

Mr Corbyn had to survive a leadership contest, a coup attempt and a flurry of shadow cabinet resignations last year as Labour rebels schemed to topple him.

But the turnaround in the party's election campaign has earned him praise from some of his most persistent detractors.

Here are what some of his critics had to say in light of the General Election result, in which Labour returned its best vote share since Tony Blair's 2001 landslide.

Vernon Coaker, the former shadow Northern Ireland minister, who resigned from his role alongside a stream of Labour MPs in June last year, commended the strength of the Labour campaign.

He told the Nottingham Post: "I'm delighted with the result and to have increased my majority. It's a great privilege and honour to have once again be elected as MP for Gedling.

"I will try to do as I've always done, which is to represent all the people of Gedling.

"We had a really excellent campaign, both locally and nationally by Jeremy Corbyn. Theresa May's campaign has been, to say the least, disappointing."

Praise: Vernon Coaker (Jonathan Brady/PA ) / Jonathan Brady/PA

Matthew Pennycook, MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, also resigned in June 2016 as parliamentary private secretary in John Healey's shadow housing team.

He told Mr Corbyn he no longer believed that he offered the "compelling leadership" required and urged him to step down.

But asked what role Mr Corbyn had played in the party's popularity surge in the last six weeks, Mr Pennycook said: "I've always said the party is bigger than one person, but the manifesto is a large part of it, and Jeremy - undeniably he's had a fantastic campaign - and he has brought, I think, young people out in record numbers.

"I have had queues at my polling stations in a way that I've never seen before."

Centrist Labour MP Owen Smith failed in a bid to oust Mr Corbyn last year, after warning he would create division in the party.

But speaking after he was re-elected, the MP for Pontypridd praised Mr Corbyn's campaign.

He told Wales Online: "I think there's a big ideological divide and a practical divide between Labour and Tory right now.

Owen Smith and Jeremy Corbyn before the announcement of the winner in the Labour leadership / PA

"I think there was at the last election, but I think Jeremy has cut through with the reality that Labour offers a very different set of priorities and choices to the public in a way the previous Labour shadow administration didn't.

"I don't think there's a radical difference between some of the policies that were offered by Labour but I think Jeremy has managed to convey those policies and persuade people of the value of those policies in a way in that we didn't manage to do previously - and I take my hat off to him."

Hilary Benn, MP for Leeds Central, was sacked from his role as shadow foreign secretary amid claims he was encouraging colleagues to resign as part of an eventually botched attempt to replace Mr Corbyn as leader.

But, speaking as Labour's positive results came in, he told the Financial Times: "A lot of young people have been enthused by Jeremy's campaign."

However, he added: "We have not won. It is the third election in a row that we have not been able to form a government. The party will want to reflect on that."

Neil Hall/Reuters

And Wes Streeting, the Ilford North MP, had said Jeremy Corbyn would not make a good Prime Minister just weeks before the General Election. Mr Streeting refused to pretend to have a damascene conversion over the Labour leader.

But after increasing his majority from 589 votes in the 2015 General Election to 9,639 on Thursday, the young moderate said: "We've seen Jeremy Corbyn at his best during this election and Theresa May at her worst. Theres a lot of cause for optimism for the party.

"Jeremy Corbyn is still Marmite with a lot of my voters. We need to come together."
J ubilant young Londoners "lost their minds" upon the announcement of the long-awaited election exit poll after it indicated a hung parliament.

Revellers were spotted applauding and smiling widely as the poll predicted that Theresa Mays Conservatives are set to fall short the 326 seats needed for an overall majority.

Labour supporters were spotted laughing and cheering on the partys leader Jeremy Corbyn in pubs in Angel and Hackney after the news broke.

Footage emerged online, with social media users saying revellers were losing their minds and were genuinely surprised at the indication that was unveiled after 10pm.

LSE: Students react to the exit poll

Students at the London School of Economics (LSE) gathered in a lecture hall could be heard screaming and clapping as the poll's results were announced on live television.

Surveys of thousands of people at polling stations across the UK suggest the Conservative party will win 314 seats in Parliament  which is short of the 326 need for a Commons majority.

The results, released after polls closed since opening at 7am on Thursday morning, indicate Labour will win 266 seats.

Liberal Democrats are predicted to win 14 seats, the SNP are set to win 34, with Ukip predicted to lose their only seat in the Commons.

A hung parliament would mean the existing government remains in power during a period of negotiation where they attempt to form a coalition.

Reacting to the revelation, one Twitter user wrote: I'm in a pub in Angel, London, and people are LOSING. THEIR. MINDS. at the exit poll. Hung parliament? We'll see.

And another wrote: Genuine surprise here in hackney by labour supporters for #exitpoll - #GE2017.
F ormer energy secretary Sir Ed Davey today said concerns over school funding had been as much as an issue as Brexit in winning back the marginal seat of Kingston and Surbiton.

Sir Ed wrestled back control of the seat from the Conservative candidate James Berry who beat him in 2015 to become the MP.

Mr Berry was defending a slim majority of 2,834, but ended up losing to Sir Ed by 4,124 votes following a tight fought campaign.

Sixty one per cent of people voted Remain in the constituency. The Lib Dems had expected a backlash against the Leave vote, and their offer of a referendum on the Brexit deal, to be the main boost to their chances.

Lib Dem: Winner Ed Davey and wife Emily. / Vicki Couchman

But Sir Ed, who had held the seat for 18 years until 2015, said the reality on the doorstep had been that local issues, including the NHS and policing, and particularly school budget cuts, took as much significance.

KINGSTON AND SURBITON Lib Dem gain from Conservatives Ed Davey (Lib Dem) 27,810 James Berry (Con) 23,686 Laurie South (Lab) 9,203 Graham Matthews (UKIP) 675 Christopher Walker (Green) 536 Jason Chinnery (Monster Raving Loony) 168 Michael Basman (Independent) 100 Majority 4,124

He said: Brexit came up but people also talked a lot about the public services and the things that really mattered to people and their families, such as the massive pressure schools were under.

Head teachers had been explaining to people that they were under massive pressure. People were really worried about that. When I stood in 1997 it was Ed for education ,and its still been my slogan in many ways this campaign.

But his rival Mr Berry said Brexit had been the major factor. He argued in defeat that while nationwide it appeared people had mainly rejected the Lib Dem promise of a second referendum, it had appealed in south west London where Vince Cable also won in Twickenham.

He said: I have worked very hard over the last years but at the end of the day there were national factors at play, including the Remain vote. Going up against such a well known figure after just two years was always going to be tough too.

The knife-edge seat was seen as a key marginal which would be a crucial hold for the Conservatives in London if they were going to increase their Government majority.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

Many at the count in Kingston had felt it was too close to call when polls closed, but after the shock exit poll showing the Tory majority was under threat many Conservatives at the count were already worried.

But there were nerves on both sides as the count progressed, with party members on both sides saying it was too close to call until the end.

Sir Ed said now he was back in Parliament he wanted to use his experience as energy minister under the coalition government to work on getting the best possible deal for Britain.

He said: We have the monumental task of the Brexit negotiations and I was privileged as a minister to negotiate on the single market and trade policy at Brussels and I want to bring that experience to bear.

He also paid tribute to his former leader Nick Clegg, who was the major Lib Dem casualty of the election.

He said: The loss Nick is a huge loss for the party, he was an amazing leader, and although he was the centre of the attacks on us for going into the coalition he showed courage and bravery and he ensured we put the national interest ahead of party interests and we took a battering for that, and I think that may have been linked to his loss tonight, but two years delayed.
R uth Davidson was hailed her partys hero of the night as the tartan Tory surge ended for a generation Nicola Sturgeons dream of a second independence referendum.

The Conservatives won 13 seats in Scotland, helping to prop up the party nationally after it lost a string of seats throughout England.

It was the Tories best performance north of the border since 1983 and doubled their share of the vote. The Tories had won just one seat in 2015.

The SNP finished on 35 seats  a majority of the 59 constituencies but a dramatic drop from the 56 they won at the last election.

SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson was ousted by the Tories and hours later former first minister Alex Salmond lost his seat, in what has been described as the partys Michael Portillo moment.

Ms Davidson, tipped by many as a future UK Tory leader, hailed a historic night for her party and said the result ended the prospect of another independence vote soon.

Tough night: Nicola Sturgeon / Robert Parry/EPA

I think we have seen the countrys reaction in the number of SNP seats falling. Indyref2 is dead, she said.

Now its time to get back to what matters to the people of Scotland  thats sorting out our schools, growing our economy and looking at our public services.

Labour won seven seats, up from the single one held by Ian Murray, who increased his majority in Edinburgh to more than 15,000 and said voters had hammered the final nail into the independence coffin.

First minister Ms Sturgeon, whose partys share of the vote dropped sharply, only said that she would think properly about another referendum.

Clearly I have to reflect on the result of the election and I will take time to do that. But it would be the wrong thing for me to do at this hour to take decisions before having had the opportunity to properly think about it, she said.

Just two years after her partys landslide victory, Ms Sturgeon said she was disappointed at SNP losses but described the result as a disaster for Mrs May. She added she was open to forming a progressive alliance at Westminster.

The Scottish Tories doubled their share of the vote to 28.6 per cent, with Labour up by 2.8 points at 27.1 per cent and the Lib Dems down slightly to 6.8 per cent.

The SNP won 36.9 per cent of the votes, a drop of 13.1 since 2015.

The Tories saw double-digit increases in their vote in almost every seat and doubled their returns in some parts of Scotland where the party was previously unelectable.

Ms Davidson, who is young, working-class and gay, has been credited with detoxifying the Tory brand north of the border.

In ousting Mr Salmond the Tories took the fourth safest seat in the country, Banff and Buchan. The SNP heavyweight said Scots had not seen the last of my bonnets and me.
P rime Minister Theresa May was today accused of being delusional after her maiden speech appeared to ignore the Tories' General Election humiliation.

Baffled political commentators claimed the PM was acting as if the election had not happened in her first statement as leader of a Tory and Democratic Unionist Party government.

Mrs May met with the Queen to ask for permission to form a new government before pledging to lead the UK for the next five years.

Speaking outside Downing Street, she said she would deliver the certainty which Britain needs more than ever.

Theresa May outside Downing Street on Friday. / Jeremy Selwyn

But commentators and journalists were left bewildered at the PMs failure to acknowledge the Tories shock election result, hung parliament and recent calls for her to quit.

Theresa May calls for certainty to guide the country as she forms a minority government

Former newspaper editor Piers Morgan tweeted: Does Theresa May think she won? Never seen such a bonkers, deluded speech.

Former Cabinet minister Ed Balls called the PM's statement "tone deaf, stubborn and bunkered" - adding it will be "the final nail in the coffin of her leadership".

Journalist Michael Deacon said: Is it possible that Theresa May hasnt actually heard the election result.

James Melville said on Twitter she speaks as if last night never happened while reporter Shehab Khan asked: "What planet is she living on?!"

Others accused the PM of thrusting the UK into chaos while Gary Lineker said "the only 'certainty' is that Theresa May isn't very good at this Prime Minister lark".

Chuka Umunna, who held his Labour seat in Streatham, tweeted: Theresa May has absolutely no credibility at all when she talks about creating certainty. She has been the creator-in-chief of uncertainty.

Labours Leicester MP Jonathan Ashworth said: Theresa May shows no contrition, refuses to listen and exposed as utterly cack-handed. She will be weak and unstable in Brexit negotiations.

In her speech on Friday, as husband Philip stood slightly behind her, she said: We have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen and I will now form a government.

"A government that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

This government will guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks which will begin in 10 days.

She added the government will work to keep the nation safe and secure, cracking down on Islamic extremism and give the police they power they need.

Echoing her campaign promise for strength and stability, Mrs May said: What the country needs more than ever is certainty.

She said only the Tories and the Unionist parties, having secured the largest number of votes and greatest number of seats, have the legitimacy to provide that certainty.

She pledged to deliver on Brexit, finishing her speech with the words: Thats what people voted for last June. Thats what we will deliver. Now lets get to work.
A tweet in which Theresa May said losing just six seats would mean a win for Labour came back to haunt the Prime Minister on Friday morning as a hung Parliament was confirmed just 10 days before Brexit negotiations are set to begin.

If I lose just six seats I will lose this election and Jeremy Corbyn will be sitting down to negotiate with Europe, reads a tweet posted to Mrs Mays official account on May 19, three weeks before the snap election she called to shore up support as she enters Brexit talks.

The tweet linked to a longer Facebook post in which Mrs May wrote: The prospect of [Jeremy Corbyn] walking through the door of Number 10, flanked by John McDonnell and Diane Abbott and propped up by the Liberal Democrat and nationalist parties, should scare us all.

And make no mistake, it could happen.

The cold hard fact is that if I lose just six seats I will lose this election, and Jeremy Corbyn will be sitting down to negotiate with the presidents, prime ministers and chancellors of Europe, Mrs May added.

Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, was among those reminding Mrs May of the statement on Friday morning.

"Remember this tweet from Theresa May?" she asked.

The embattled Tory leader appeared defiant on Friday morning as fears of humiliating losses first suggested by a shock Thursday night exit poll were confirmed.

Underlining that the Conservatives were still the largest party, Mrs May vowed to fight on.

The country needed a period of stability, she said in a grim-faced address.

Losses: Theresa May is under fire from her party as well as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn / Jeremy Selwyn

But Conservative former minister Anna Soubry has called on Mrs May to "consider her position" and take personal responsibility for a "dreadful" campaign and "deeply flawed" manifesto.

Meanwhile a buoyant Mr Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to step down, saying she should "go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country".

Tory sources indicated she would continue in Number 10.

"Certainly that's what's expected," said a source quoted by Press Association.

Conservative MP Anna Soubry, who urged Mrs May to consider her position. / AFP/Getty Images

With 646 out of 650 constituencies declared, the Tories had 315 seats, Labour 261, the SNP 35 and the Liberal Democrats 12.

Meanwhile Europe's budget commissioner has warned that a weakened government in London could undermine the Brexit process.

Gunther Oettinger told German radio station Deutschlandfunk that in negotiations, "a weaker partner weakens the whole thing".

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

If both sides in a negotiation were strong, "you get results more quickly", he said.

Mr Oettinger said that the European Union was ready for Brexit talks which are due to begin on June 19, and would be "hard but fair" in its negotiations with the UK.
T heresa May will not resign despite her disastrous election gamble, sources close to the Prime Minister said today.

The Prime Minister has come under mounting pressure to quit after her snap election call ended in a hung Parliament.

But sources said she had no intention of going, despite failing to secure the mandate for Brexit negotiations she had sought.

As the election count drew to a close with the Tories short of an overall majority, there was anger from Tories over Mrs Mays strategy.

Theresa May calls for 'period of stability'

The Prime Minister had come in for fierce criticism for her campaign, with some saying she came over as too robotic and avoided debate.

Tory former business minister Anna Soubry, who held her Broxtowe seat, on Theresa May's future: "She is in a very difficult place.

"She is a remarkable and she's a very talented woman and she doesn't shy from difficult decisions. But she now has to obviously consider her position."

General Election Front Pages 2017 - In pictures 1 /24 General Election Front Pages 2017 - In pictures

Asked what had gone wrong with the campaign, she replied: "Where do you want me to start?

Outspoken Tory backbencher Philip Davies, who retained his West Yorkshire seat of Shipley: "I think it's fair to say we made a bit of a pig's ear of the national campaign really, to be honest."

During TV interviews overnight, former Chancellor George Osborne branded the Tory manifesto one of the worst manifestos in history.

He claimed Boris Johnson, who backed out of the Conservative leadership contest which Mrs May won last year, would have a little smile on his face right now.

Mr Osborne told ITV: "Clearly if she's got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she, I doubt, will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader."

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Responding to the initial exit poll showing a hung Parliament David Camerons former director of communications, Sir Craig Oliver, said the election looked like a failure.

He told Sky News: If this is true, if this is accurate, in CCHQ there will be deep and lasting shock.

It was the biggest gamble a politician has taken for a long time and if that exit poll is right, its failed.

Labour had enjoyed a strong night in the polls, with leader Jeremy Corbyn also calling on Mrs May to go.

Mr Corbyn called for Mrs May to step down and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country.

Jeremy Corbyn calls for Theresa May to resign

He declared: Politics has changed. Politics isn't going back into the box where it was before.

People have had enough of austerity politics. I am very proud of the campaign that my party has run. My manifesto for the many, not the few. People voting for hope for the future and turning their backs on austerity.

"If there is a message, the Prime Minister called the election because she wanted a mandate. The mandate she got is lost seats, lost votes."

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell warned Labour was "ready to form a government", branding any Conservative-DUP arrangement a "coalition of chaos".

He told Sky News: "We've always said, whatever the circumstances, we're ready to serve the country and we're ready to form a government.

"In our position that'd be a minority government and the way that would operate is we'd put forward our own Queen's Speech and our own Budget as well, and then would expect other parties to vote for it."

Despite the shocking results, Mrs May called for a period of stability as she was returned as the Conservative MP for Maidenhead with 37,718 votes in the early hours of the morning.

At this time this country needs a period of stability. It will be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability.

"As we look ahead and wait to see what the final results will be, the country needs stability and the Conservative party will ensure we will fulfil our duty so that we can all, as one country, go forward together.

The Tories were thought to be in talks with the DUP early on Friday about a ptential coalition.

Mr Corbyns party enjoyed huge success in London as they took marginal Tory seats Battersea and Croydon Central  ousting Financial Secretary Jane Ellison and Housing Minister Gavin Barwell.

For the Lib Dems, heavyweight Sir Vince Cable and former minister Sir Ed Davey won seats back from the Tories in Twickenham and Kingston & Surbiton respectively.

However, Tory Zac Goldsmith just managed to claw a victory in Richmond Park, taking back his old seat from Lib Dem Sarah Olney by a wafer-thin 45 votes.

Labour's Keir Starmer said the British public have rejected Theresa May's "extreme form of Brexit" with today's General Election result.
S ir Vince Cable avenged his shock defeat of two years ago by convincingly winning back the Twickenham seat he lost in 2015.

The Liberal Democrat former Business Secretary, one of the partys best known national figures, ousted the Tory Tania Mathias who dramatically defeated him in the previous General Election.

The 74 year old won a bigger than expected 9762 majority on a large turnout of nearly 80 per cent. His total vote of 34,969 was his biggest since first winning the Twickenham seat in 1997.

He was immediately tipped as a possible replacement for Tim Farron as Lib Dem leader after a mixed night for the party.

Sir Vince said a very strong anti-Government feeling on issues such as schools and health as well as Brexit has contributed to his big win.

Ed Davey delivers speech after winning in Kingston

He also said there were a lot of young people who felt cheated out of their future because of the Brexit vote and had used this election to make their point very forcefully.

This means we will have to look at this again as Brexit is approached and the extreme- UKIP type of Brexit this government has put on the cards.

He added: I think that we all underestimated the force of the younger generation. They really turned out in massive numbers. Mr Corbyn to his credit understood that and tapped into it.

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

He said the national results had highlighted the deep divisions in the country, adding we are going to have to approach issues like Brexit in a far more consensual way.

The accomplished ballroom dancer said that he would concentrate on constituency issues affecting his seat in south west London.

He added: I was getting on with a different life. Ive got a novel coming out in the autumn, I had lots of other different things I had taken on which I am now going to have to stop taking on.

Tania Mathias said it had been the honour of my life to serve as Twickenham MP for the past two years and was disappointed not to be continuing the work. She paid tribute to Sir Vince saying it takes a lot of courage to come back when youve been defeated.
F ormer transport minister Karen Buck won Westminster North with a storming 11,512 majority after a count in the same building where James Corden was filming The Late Late Show.

Buck effortlessly held her seat, winning almost 26,000 votes compared to old Conservative rival Lindsey Halls 14,422. In 2015, Buck scraped a narrow victory over Hall, winning by just 1,977 votes. Consequently, the seat was considered a potential win for the Conservative Party.

After returning officer Ian Adams announced the result, Ms Buck said young people had been at the heart of the election, adding the result showed the British public did not want a hard Brexit.

I am incredibly honoured that people have put their trust in me again. The young people have been at the heart of this campaign both politically and in terms of voting. All power to them, and long may they stay in politics, she said.

They [the voters] want to avoid a hard Brexit and that is clear. They want to preserve their public services on which we depend and which we cherish. We need to make sure those wishes come true.

She joked the campaign has been won with great humour and a lot of coffee.

Later Ms Hall said to her supporters: Here we are again, but this time it was by quite a large majority.

Thanking her team, she said her failure to steal the seat from her old rival was not for a lack of trying.

'Ohhh Jeremy Corbyn' - chants ring out at Labour leader's home

Moments after the result was called, the results for Cities of London and Westminster were announced, with Conservative candidate Mark Field holding his seat.

Before the result was called, Ms Buck said the campaign had been her teams best ever. She added: It has been fantastic. All things aside, locally this has been a brilliant, positive and warm campaign and I have really enjoyed it.

It was an exciting evening at Methodist Hall, the historic building a stones throw from Parliament Square. Just an hour in to the count, the place was evacuated when an emergency alarm sounded.

The hundreds of count staff, campaigners, media and workmen did not have to stand outside in the rain for long - with a false alarm declared within a few minutes.

A star-studded special edition of Cordens Emmy-winning CBS series was being filmed in another area of the hall. Before the count started, tour buses, make up vans, technicians fixing lights and scaffolders could all be seen outside the venue.

According to one staff member, a hoard of screaming girls had been waiting outside for hours in the hopes of glimpsing Harry Styles, Emily Blunt and David Beckham, who were guests on the show.
B ritain is facing a hung Parliament in a shock General Election twist which has left the Conservatives reeling.

Many in Westminster were confident Prime Minister Theresa May would lead the Tory party to victory when she called the snap election in April.

But neither Labour nor the Tories have won an overall majority of Commons seats.

Here is what happens next.

No party has won the election  what happens now?

To win a General Election outright and be able to form a majority government, a political party must win at least 326 seats in the House of Commons - more than half of all the constituencies in the UK.

As the results came in overnight, it is clear neither the Tories or Labour will reach the 326-seat threshold.

Hung parliament: No party has an overall Commons majority. / AFP/Getty Images

The Tories are set to win 318 seats while Labour are predicted to get 262.

If every party falls short  which has happened - it is known as a hung parliament.

What does the hung parliament mean for the UK now?

Now there is a hung parliament, the previous government  Theresa May and the Tories - may remain in power during a period of negotiation as they look to form a coalition with smaller parties.

Because they won the most seats, the Tories have the chance to try and form a government.

Theresa May needs to make up 326 seats to form a government. A coalition could mean a partnership with just one other party or a rainbow coalition made up with several.

What is a hung parliament?

General Election Night 2017 - In pictures 1 /41 General Election Night 2017 - In pictures Theresa May waiting in Maidenhead for the result to be announced Alastair Grant/AP Labour leaders Jeremy Corbyn at the Election count in Islington Jeremy Selwyn Leader of the Liberal democrats Tim Farron celebrates beating Conservative party candidate James Airey, Independent candidate Mr Fishfinger and Labour candidate Eli Aldridge following the announcement of the results at the Westmoorland and Lonsdale constituency count at Kendal Leisure Centre Dave Thompson/Getty Images Armed police outside the home of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in north London Yui Mok/PA Vince Cable pictured with his wife Rachel, is elected once again in Twickenham after losing his seat in 2015 Alex Lentati Nick Clegg loses his Sheffield Hallam seat and is no longer an MP Sky News Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts as her party loses their seat at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Parry/EPA Britain's Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, right, tries to high-five with Labour's Emily Thornberry after arriving for the declaration at his constituency in London Frank Augstein/AP Ballot boxes are run in during the count at the Silksworth Community Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre as the general election count begins Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Boris Johnson at the Brunel Indoor Athletic Centre for the declaration of his Uxbridge and South Ruislip Constituency which he retained Rex Features Zac Goldsmith with his mother Lady Annabel Goldsmith Alex Lentati Close call for Zac Goldsmith as a recount is called for Richmond Park Alex Lentati Labour supporters react as Paul Sweeney (not pictured) is announced as the new MP for Glasgow North East for the British Parliamentary Elections at the Emirates Arena EPA UKIP leader Paul Nuttall at the Peter Paine Performance Centre in Boston during the counting Joe Giddens/PA Labour's Rupa Huq celebrates with her sister, TV presenter Konnie Huq, after increasing her majority from 274 to 13,807 in Ealing Central and Acton Matt Writtle Displays show the current rate of the British pound against the Japanese yen and a news program reporting on the British general election at a foreign money brokerage in Tokyo Roru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May leaving CCHQ this morning Jeremy Selwyn Police watch as counting staff sort through ballots at a counting centre in Islington, London Niklas Halle'n/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd's speaks after retaining her seat in Hastings Kevin Coombs/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff Nick Timothy and Joint-chief of staff Fiona Hill leave Conservative Party HQ in Westminster Rick Findler/PA Patrons watch the results for Britain's election in London. Alex Salmond loses his seat Peter Nicholls/Reuters Chuka Umunna kisses with his wife, Alice Sullivan at the London Borough of Lambeth UK Parliamentary Elections Lucy Young Prime Minister Theresa May waits with other candidates for the results to be declared at the count centre in Maidenhead Geoff Cadick/AFP/Getty Images Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh Jane Barlow/PA Vote counters wait for Ballot boxes to arrive at the Peter Paine Performance Centre where the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness Getty Images Kate Hoey who retained her Vauxhall seat at the London Borough of Lambeth Lucy Young Conservative's Gavin Barwell loses his seat to Labour at Croydon Central Chris Gorman Labour's Sarah Jones takes the Conservative seat of Croydon Chris Gorman DUP leader Arlene Foster and deputy leader Nigel Dodds cheer as Emma Little Pengelly is elected to the South Belfast constituency at the Titanic exhibition centre in Belfast Niall Carson/PA Exit poll results from Britain's general election are projected on to the BBC's Broadcasting House, London Jeff Overs/BBC The front door of 10 Downing Street in Westminster, London, as votes are being counted in the 2017 General Election Rick Findler/PA

Theresa May could potentially negotiate with the Democrat Unionist Party  the largest political party in Northern Irelands Assembly.

Forcing the PM to negotiate a hung parliament comes after an election campaign where the Prime Minister repeatedly warned that voting for Labour would risk a coalition of chaos.

Do the other parties want to form a coalition with the Conservatives?

The Liberal Democrats have consistently ruled out partnering up.

Menzies Campbell, the former Lib Dem leader, told the BBC on Thursday night: Tim Farron made it very clear: he said no pact, no deal, no coalition. Weve had our fingers burned by coalition, I dont need to tell you that."

Theresa May calls for 'period of stability'

The DUP is the most likely party to partner with the Tories. DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson told the BBC the party will be serious players if there is a hung parliament and they will talk to whoever is the largest party.

The SNP has suggested they might be open to a coalition, but they could use another Scottish independence referendum as a bargaining chip.

What if the Tories cannot form a coalition with any party?

If the Tories are unable to win enough support to form a coalition government, because they won the most seats they could still try and govern as a minority government.

The Tories could also resign from government and pave the way for Jeremy Corbyn  as leader of the largest opposition party  to try and form a government.

When was the last hung parliament?

The last time no party won enough seats to form a majority government was 2010, when David Cameron's Conservatives won 307 seats - 49 more than second-placed Labour, but too few to control the Commons.

After six days of negotiations the Tories formed a coalition with the Lib Dems, whose leader Nick Clegg  who tonight lost his seat as MP - became deputy prime minister.

The Lib Dems' 57 seats meant the parties had enough between them to command a Parliamentary majority.

Was todays hung parliament expected?

The final polls before voters cast their ballots suggested Theresa May was heading for a clear victory.

Some last-gasp polls out on Wednesday indicated a Tory victory, although there was wide variation in the size of their predicted majority.

But polls are often wrong and have today proved to be so. In 2015 the reverse happened; many people predicted a hung parliament in the 2015 General Election, only for the Tories to emerge with a majority.
T hese are the custody pictures of a fresh-faced couple believed to be Britain's youngest double murderers.

Baby-faced killers Lucas Markham and Kim Edwards, both 15, were convicted of murdering Miss Edwards' mother and sister in Spalding, Lincolnshire, last April.

They have been named and pictured for the first time following a High Court ruling.

Horrific details of the double murder could not be reported during Miss Edwards' trial after a judge ruled she was "emotionally and physically vulnerable" and should not be identified.

But after the reporting ban was lifted by Sir Brian Leveson, Mr Justice Blake and Mr Justice Lewis, it can be revealed that Miss Edwards roped in boyfriend Mr Markham to carry out the "brutal executions" of dinner lady Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her daughter Katie as they slept at their home.

Mr Markham and his girlfriend plotted together to kill her mother and sister, mapping out a detailed plan to stab them through the voice-box to stifle their screams.

Tragic: Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and her 13-year-old daughter Katie (pictured) were the victims / Facebook

Although the original plan was for the teenage boy to kill Elizabeth Edwards while Miss Edwards would stab Katie, Mr Markham offered to kill both victims after his girlfriend said she did not want to kill her sister.

Mr Markham then smothered and stabbed both victims through the neck, said prosecutors.

The couple, likened to Bonnie and Clyde during their trial, had sex, shared a bath and watched four Twilight vampire films as they "revelled" after the killings.

After a trial at Nottingham Crown Court in 2016 both defendants were given life sentences for the killings, which were planned in a McDonald's.

Teenage killer Miss Edwards was found by police lying under a duvet in front of the TV with Mr Markham as the bodies of her mother and younger sister lay upstairs.

In the weeks after her arrest the then 14-year-old showed no trace of remorse for her crimes - and later told a psychiatrist she was "a bit sad" about her sibling's fate but "glad" her mother was dead.

On the fifth day of her trial - which would have been her sister's 14th birthday - Miss Edwards appeared unmoved in the dock as her "grief" was likened by the Crown's lawyer to that usually felt by a child at the death of a pet hamster.

Tributes at the house in Dawson Avenue in Spalding / Matthew Cooper/PA Wire

Peter Joyce QC told jurors that Edwards had been "the driver" behind the killings and could have simply accepted Mr Markham's repeated offers to back out of a pre-agreed plan for the crimes.

Miss Edwards, a "bright kid" who spent part of her childhood in care after her mother reported herself to social services, did not give evidence in her defence but told detectives she felt depressed and suicidal prior to the murders.

Although jurors heard that Miss Edwards had attempted suicide around a month before the killings, they rejected a claim that she was suffering from a mental disorder which impaired her ability to form rational judgments.

Before being sent out to consider their verdicts, jurors were urged by Mr Joyce to be as "cold and dispassionate" about their deliberations as Miss Edwards had been to ending her mother and sister's lives.

Mr Joyce told the jury: "You know in fact who the driver was between these two. She only had to say no and it would never, ever have happened.

"It is really quite clear her hatred for her mother drove this ever onwards."

Pointing out that Miss Edwards had touched her mother's hand by accident as she reached out for her boyfriend during Mrs Edwards' murder, Mr Joyce questioned why she had insisted on going through with Katie's murder.

Mr Joyce told the court: "After she had heard the gurgling, even after she had heard her mother struggling, even after she had been in there and seen her mother dying, and mistakenly touched her mother's hand ... did she really have to have Katie killed?

"She couldn't bring herself to do it, so who got Lucas to do it? She did.

"The sheer brutality and utter contempt for her mother and her sister oozes from every pore of that girl in [police] interviews and now she says to the psychiatrist 'I am glad my mother's dead'."

In shocking evidence on the fourth day of Miss Edwards' trial, consultant forensic psychiatrist Philip Joseph revealed that the teenager did not appear upset at any stage during a two-and-a-half-hour meeting in September to assess her mental state.

She told Dr Joseph: "I don't miss my mum and I am glad she's dead even though I am now in a sticky situation.

"She deserved it. I am glad she's dead. We felt laid back about what we had done and neither of us felt that bad about it."

The court was told that Miss Edwards went into foster care in 2008 after an incident in which she was struck by her mother while living at a caravan site.

Local authority records made public at Miss Edwards' trial showed she had "long-standing" differences with her mother and sister from around the age of six.

In a handwritten note prepared after she was given targeted youth support in 2012, she said: "I feel like I don't belong to the family any more."

By early last year, Miss Edwards' emotional turmoil led her to write a letter to a teacher in which she spoke of suicide, adding: "I have tried to remain strong but I can't fight any more. Now I feel that death is the only way."

After her arrest for murder, detectives found evidence of her apparent intention to take her own life after the killings.

A note written by Miss Edwards in a pink diary found at her home read: "F*** you world. I want to be cremated and I want mine and Lucas's ashes scattered at our special place. We don't give a f*** any more."

Additional reporting by Press Association
A defiant Donald Trump went back on the attack after sacked FBI chief James Comeys explosive Senate testimony  with the presidents lawyer suggesting the witness lied under oath and could be investigated for leaking privileged information.

Mr Trumps team seized on Mr Comeys unexpected admission that he leaked details of private Oval Office conversations to the media.

Sources said that despite being called a liar by the man he fired during yesterdays three-hour Senate intelligence committee grilling, Mr Trump was relieved at the outcome.

Watching the questioning on TV, he told his legal advisers I was right, according to the Washington Post.

Moments after the hearing finished, the president told a conference of conservative evangelicals: As you know, were under siege but we will come out bigger and better and stronger than ever. We know how to fight better than anybody, and we never, ever give up  we are winners  and we are going to fight.

Mr Trump kept silent during the hearing  keeping away from Twitter even after the former FBI director accused him of telling lies, plain and simple  but after it was over offered a clue to his next step in a statement read by his lawyer, Marc Kasowitz.

It highlighted Mr Comeys admission that after he was sacked he asked a friend to leak details of a memo about a White House meeting he had with the president to the media.

Comeys excuse for this unauthorised disclosure of privileged information appears to be entirely retaliatory, said Mr Kasowitz. We will leave it to the appropriate authorities to determine whether this leaks [sic] should be investigated along with all those others being investigated.

On the witnesss claim that Mr Trump asked him over dinner for his loyalty, Mr Kasowitz said: The President never told Mr Comey I need loyalty, I expect loyalty, in form or substance.

The former FBI chief also said the president asked him to drop the Russia-Gate probe into former national security adviser Mike Flynn, but Mr Kasowitz said he never, in form or substance, directed or suggested Mr Comey stop investigating anyone.

The next high-profile name to be quizzed by the intelligence committee could be the presidents son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

Mr Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, has come under scrutiny over his alleged contact with Russians, although there is no suggestion he behaved improperly.

The intelligence committee is conducting a parallel investigation with the FBI into alleged Russian efforts to influence last years presidential election.
Maryknoll Missionary Father Miguel F. d'Escoto Returns to God at Age 84

Contact: Mike Virgintino, Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers , 914-941-7636 ext 2219OSSINING, N.Y., June 9, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- Father Felix Miguel Jeronimo d'Escoto, M.M., of Hollywood, California, died in Nicaragua on June 8, 2017. He was 84 years old and a Maryknoll priest for 55 years.Father d'Escoto was ordained on June 10, 1961 at Maryknoll, New York. His mission assignments included numerous programs for the poor people during his many years of service in Chile. Father d'Escoto worked closely with the people to assist them with legal aid, community organization and leadership training. He also served for 10 years as director of the Maryknoll Social Communications Department in New York, where he founded Orbis Books, the publishing division of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.At several times during his mission work, Father d'Escoto was released from his Maryknoll assignments to serve, first, as foreign minister in the Nicaraguan government and, second, as president of the United Nations General Assembly. He retired during 2002 and became a member of the Maryknoll Senior Missioner Community with residency in Nicaragua.The Maryknoll Society has expressed its condolences to Father d'Escoto's family and friends, citing his dedication during a lifetime of service to the poor and marginalized, to the preservation of God's creation and to world peace.Funeral arrangements are pending at this time.Memorial donations in Father d'Escoto's name may be made to the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, P.O. Box 302, Maryknoll, NY 10545.The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers follow Jesus in serving the poor and others in need in more than 20 countries that include the U.S. All Catholics are called to mission through baptism and confirmation, and Maryknoll's mission education outreach in parishes and schools throughout the country engages U.S. Catholics in mission through vocations, prayer, donations and as volunteers. Maryknoll missioners share God's love and the Gospel in combating poverty, providing healthcare, building communities and promoting human rights. For more information, visit maryknollsociety.org Follow Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MaryknollFrsBrs and Facebook at www.facebook.com/maryknollsociety
Adwela & the Uprising recently collected two more Virginia Reggae Awards, a peoples choice contest recognizing the artists working tirelessly to keep vibrant the states reggae music scene.

The band with local roots won Best Song for the socially-conscious Warrior, from its debut album, Road Less Traveled, released this spring. Erik Arnoldson, in addition, won Favorite Guitar Player.

Front man Adwela Dawes, a 2001 graduate of Culpeper County High School, expressed gratitude for winning best song, saying the band knew the album was quality when it started getting noticed on the reggae charts.

Warrior is a heavy anthem for those who fight their own daily struggle and for the Rastaman and woman in their daily plight in the Western world, he said. We are meant to be peaceful, but as the song says, raised in the way of peace and love  but please dont upset this balance.

Arnoldson, of Annandale, Virginia, earned 239 votes to win best guitarist among the 10 nominees. He said he was honored to get the award having been playing for about a decadesince he was 11 or 12.

Ive always loved reggae musicsince before I was born, my mom tells me he said.

While in the womb, Arnoldson is said to have only kicked his mother when Bob Marley was playing. He also grew up playing blues, jazz and rock.

A seven-piece band, Adwela & the Uprising grew from its 2014 performance at the State Theatre as part of the inaugural Culpeper Has Talent show at which they won fan favorite. Since then, theyve been traveling the country playing reggae for crowds big and small.

The band has a full summer lineup up and down the East Coast with various local gigs as well including the June 17 Juneteenth celebration at James Madisons Montpelier in Orange, the June 23-24 Yonderville festival at Verdun Adventure Bound in Rixeyville and July 28 at Mustock in Lignum.

This weekend, Adwela & the Uprising plays Ricks on the River in King George and the Bless the Woods Festival in Fairplay, Maryland.

All is well, Dawes said. Our album debuted at #28 on the iTunes top 100 charts, and we just came home from touring in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado.

In a recent interview with Fusion Magazine in Texas, he talked about recovering from the intense creative output after each performance.

Its easy to refuel the spirit as long as you feed it. Trying to live an upright lifestyle for me anyway is challenging, but necessary when we pour out heart and soul to the people night in and night out, Dawes said. We try to stay prayed up and I personally read and meditate a ton. Surprisingly there is a lot of meditation in close quarters between us.

In 2015, Adwela & the Uprising won the New Artist Award from Virginia Reggae.
TORRINGTON, Wyoming  Gracies Promise, founded to help families with the added expenses that come with battling a childs catastrophic medical circumstances, is hosting its fourth annual fundraising event.

Gracies Promise fundraiser is scheduled for Saturday, July 8. Most of the activities are in Pioneer Park in Torrington, Wyoming. The fee for all events is by donation to Gracies Promise, and may be made by cash, check or PayPal.

The morning starts early at 7:30 a.m. with registration for the 5K run/walk. Runners take to the road at 8 a.m.

A morning pancake feed is going on in Pioneer Park from 8:30-10:30 a.m. with donations going to Gracies Promise.

Theres also a motorcycle poker run around eastern Wyoming. Registration is in Pioneer Park starting at 10:30 a.m. and kickstands go up at 11 a.m.

That evening, Gracies Promise hosts a live auction at the Bucking Horse Steak House in Torrington. The menu is available for those attending and the auction gets underway at 7:17 p.m. There will also be 50-50 drawings.

Gracies Promise takes its name from Gracie Claborn from Casper, Wyoming, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009 when she was 11 months old.

As doctors were trying to find what was causing Gracie to stop breathing, they discovered a tumor on her lungs. She was flown to Childrens Hospital in Denver, where doctors discovered she had leukemia.

Gracies road back was long as she underwent chemotherapy, oral chemotherapy and steroids. Now 9 years old, shes cancer free  and even took part in the 5K Gracies Promise event.

During her recovery, parents Bobby and Leslie Claborn had to deal with the added expense of taking time off from work, travel costs driving 300 miles from Casper to Denver, plus hotels and other associated costs.

Leslies parents, Dan and Helen Doherty of Greeley, Colorado, encouraged their daughter, son-in-law and Gracies sister Teagan to move in with them, as the trip to Denver would only be 50 miles.

I saw a need for help in families in similar situations, said Gracies grandfather, Dan Doherty. Even with good insurance, theres not enough to pay for other expenses.

That led to the creation of Gracies Promise in April 2009, an all-volunteer organization that raises money for families with children 18 and younger that are dealing with catastrophic illness or accident. When a child is suffering, the parents should be able to focus on their child without worrying about other expenses.

We provide periodic cash to help support those families for as long as their situation is acute, rather than chronic, Doherty said. Typically, the average family stays with our support for about a year.

So far, the Gracies Promise organization has helped 60 area families and currently has 22 families receiving support.

Through Gracies recovery process, the family watched her grow and realized that cancer couldnt stop her promise. So the organization continues to use that promise as inspiration to help other families in their struggle.

For more information on Gracies Promise, call Dan Doherty at 307-534-5352.
Staff at the YMCA are happy and anxious to meet the newest member of their team.

Conrad Bostron has accepted the position of executive director at the Scottsbluff Family YMCA.

Bostron comes to Scottsbluff after serving as president and CEO of the Alexandria Area YMCA in Minnesota since 2014. At the Alexandria Area YMCA, he was responsible for its corporate management including the largest childcare center in that region.

Bostron was also responsible for consistently exceeding budget projections in all areas of the Alexandria Area YMCAs operations. He established the association as the premier community center for youth and family programs.

He also led the development and implementation of the associations second strategic plan.

From 2002 to 2014, Bostron held several board and committee leadership positions with the Kandiyohi County Area Family YMCA in Willmar, Minnesota. He was elected to two terms as board chair. He also served as annual support chair, division manager of the second capital campaign, team captain for the initial campaign, and CEO search committee chair. During this time, he led and participated in two complete strategic planning cycles while serving as fitness instructor.

In Atwater, Minnesota, Bostron delivered long-term executive leadership (1998-2014) to Central Lakes Cooperative, a locally-owned farm supply business. He took the business from $10 million in sales and $125,000 in profits to $32 million in sales and $3.3 million in profits. He also successfully procured and managed both seasonal and long-term lines of credit.

Bostron earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural economics from the University of Wyoming in Laramie.
SCOTTSBLUFF  Following months of discussions and negotiations, the United States and Mexico on Wednesday announced a new agreement to end anti-dumping and countervailing duties against Mexican sugar imports into the United States. The announcement was made by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Mexican Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guarjardo.

Kendall Busch, Mitchell Valley farmer and president of the Nebraska Non-Stock Beet Growers Association, said it appears to be a good settlement to a drawn-out issue.

We appreciate the work that secretaries Ross and Perdue (agriculture) put into getting this settled, Busch said. They had a lot to consider. It wasnt just sugar producers. There were other pressures from sugar users and producers like candy and beverages.

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the revised suspension agreement has five major elements:

Price  The agreement increases the price at which raw sugar must be sold at the mill in Mexico from 22.25 cents per pound to 23 cents per pound. For refined sugar, the price at the mill must increase from 26 cents per pound to 28 cents per pound. These prices exclude packaging and transportation. This will protect the U.S. sugar industry from harm caused by Mexico dumping sugar in the United States.

Raw vs. Refined Split  The new agreement also reduces the percentage of refined sugar that may be imported from 53 percent to 30 percent. This results in a significant increase in the amount of raw sugar available to U.S. sugar refiners while ensuring that subsidized refined Mexican sugar imports do not injure U.S. refiners.

Purity/Polarity - The dividing line between refined and raw sugar was reduced from 99.5 to 99.2 purity, referred to in the industry as polarity. This means that estandar, a very common variety of sugar from Mexico, will count against the 30 percent limit on refined sugar. This will further protect against unfair competition from subsidized refined Mexican sugar imports.

Enforcement  Mexico agreed to increased enforcement measures and to accept significant penalties for violations, including a reduction in the amount of sugar allowed to be imported equal to twice the amount of any sugar found to be in violation of the modified agreements. In addition, Commerce can increase this reduction to three times the amount if necessary to deter further wrongdoing.

Additional U.S. needs  Mexico accepted the above modifications on the condition that it be granted a right of first refusal to supply 100 percent of any additional need, (demand for sugar in excess of the demand) for sugar identified by USDA after April 1 of each year. Additional need is defined as demand for sugar in excess of the demand USDA had predicted for that crop year. USDA will specify whether the additional need for sugar is raw or refined without regard to the 70/30 split. The dividing line between raw and refined additional need sugar is 99.5 polarity, but raw sugar must be shipped in bulk in an ocean-going vessel, increasing the likelihood it will enter a U.S. refinery for further processing. Importantly, when the export limit is increased pursuant to a request by USDA prior to April 1, such sugar shall be subject to the pre-April 1 70/30 split and the 99.2 polarity divide, an added protection for U.S. domestic refiners. Further, USDA retains the flexibility to specify the polarity of post-April 1 additional needs sugar specifically needed to rectify certain extraordinary and unforeseen circumstances that seriously threaten the economic viability of the U.S. sugar refining industry.
MONTICELLO  The sudden appointment of an extra prosecutor is the latest in a series of developments surrounding the pending murder trial of Gregory Houser, accused of murdering his estranged wife Sheryl Houser 27 years ago.

Houser is pleading not guilty and the case is set for trial at the Piatt County Courthouse in Monticello on July 3. On Thursday, defense lawyers were told that special prosecutor Tammy Wagoner had joined the Piatt County State's Attorney team working the case.

Wagoner is a former Macon County Assistant State's Attorney. It was not clear what her exact role will be and why her appointment is necessary.

When asked the circumstances of Wagoner's role via email, Piatt County State's Attorney Dana Rhoades was non-committal. Thank you for your interest in the Houser case, she replied. My suggestion is that you come watch the trial. Have a good evening.

Bloomington defense attorney Kevin Sanborn said Thursday that Wagoner's appointment had taken him by surprise. Asked what he thought her trial job would be, he replied: I'm not sure. So far it's been Elizabeth Dobson (Assistant State's Attorney) and the State's Attorney herself. Now, all of a sudden, we've got a third prosecutor, a special prosecutor.

Both prosecution and defense have already been skirmishing in pre-trial motions. Sanborn notched up a recent victory when he successfully argued that a psychiatrist, Dr. Lawrence L. Jeckel, should not be allowed to present the results of a psychological autopsy on Sheryl Houser at the trial.

Sanborn said prosecutors wanted to establish that Sheryl Houser, 29, showed no inclination toward suicide before she died. The defense argued that Jeckel's method of building up a picture of Houser's mental state by interviewing friends and family the doctor was pointed to by the prosecution, and reviewing documents provided by the prosecution, wasn't good enough to base a clear opinion of the woman's mental state.

The judge ruled in our favor, said Sanborn. He ruled that as long as we didn't try to bring up scientific evidence that she was suicidal, then he would not allow Dr. Jeckel to testify about scientific evidence that she was not suicidal.

The body of Sheryl Houser, a nurse, was discovered in the center of her garage at her rural Mahomet home early on the morning of Oct. 5, 1990. Police found her suspended off the floor by her shoulders, a rope wrapped around her body and her neck and tied to a pipe on the ceiling. A coroner's jury returned a verdict in 1991 that the nature of her death could not be determined. In 2016, a coroner's inquest changed that verdict to homicide.

Four first-degree murder counts were filed in September against Gregory Houser, who is being held in the Piatt County Jail. In 1991, he had been acquitted after being tried on a charge of sexually assaulting his wife 15 days before she died.

In more pre-murder trial motions to be argued Wednesday, the defense will seek to exclude the prosecution from introducing evidence or testimony that, in the words of one motion, wishes to paint Mr. Houser as a wife-beater, stalker, and rapist.
CHADRON  Chadron State Park will again celebrate its distinction as Nebraskas first state park with its 96th anniversary Saturday, June 10.

Activities will take place at various locations throughout the park beginning at 9 a.m.

At the parks group meeting facility, visitors can dine on a lunch of bison sloppy joes or hot dogs for 96 cents each  a price that goes up a penny a year to reflect the parks age. The band Cheap Date will perform as lunch is served from noon to 2 p.m.

From free paddleboat rides to a bounce house, children are sure to be entertained throughout the event. There also will be pellet gun shooting and an archery shoot. The swimming pool, which is open from 1-8 p.m., will give children the opportunity to dive for coins at 5 p.m. The pool also will offer free watermelon from 2-4 p.m.

The parks Trading Post will serve as a hub of activity with a variety of special displays and activities, including blacksmithing, flint knapping and primitive box making. The line-up also includes naturalist activities and a display for bighorn sheep. Nature enthusiasts also will enjoy a display featuring turtles and amphibians at the pond.

The classic machinery of the Highway 20 Antique Tractor Club will also be on display at the parks ball field, highlighted by the slow race and parade.

All park activities, except horseback riding and swimming, will be free, but vehicles are required to have a park entry permit. The permit can be purchased online at outdoornebraska.org or at the parks entrance.
OMAHA  First National Bank North Platte is now accepting applications for its upcoming community development grant cycle which is focused on programs related to educated workforce initiatives, announced Alec Gorynski, vice president, corporate philanthropy and social responsibility.

At First National Bank, we focus our giving on eight interconnected elements of a successful community and utilize our community development grant program to specifically support organizations who are working to strengthen the workforce, create strong local economies, increase access to stable and affordable housing and develop safe and vibrant neighborhoods, said Gorynski. We award grants during two annual grant cycles which are dedicated to these community elements.

The banks second grant cycle opens on June 5 for educated workforce programs, aimed at strengthening individual core competencies that will improve personal economic self-sufficiency, including adult basic education and vocational and employability training. Programs must be implemented for the benefit of low- or moderate income individuals, families and/or communities within the First National Bank North Platte area.

First National Bank North Platte will accept applications from eligible nonprofit community organizations for educated workforce initiatives from June 5 to July 3. For more information and to apply, visit: www.fnbnp.com/community and click on Request Support.

In the first grant cycle of 2017, First National Bank awarded $834,000 to 47 organizations in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas and South Dakota. The grants supported programs focused on stable housing, vibrant neighborhoods and strong local economies.
To the Editor:

I was very disheartened to hear of the recent killing of a mountain lion near Hay Springs in Sheridan County after he was suspected of killing a calf (Mountain lion killed after killing calf, June 1). While I sympathize with the landowner for their loss, killing one of Nebraskas very rare mountain lions should not be taken lightly by wildlife officials charged with protecting the wild cats population in our state.

According to a new mountain lion report by The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS), Nebraskas mountain lion population remains incredibly small, at around 22 to 33 cats in the Pine Ridge region, and quite vulnerable to threats from humans. The loss of just one lion could harm the survival of the species in Nebraska.

We can and must do better to protect mountain lions in our state from unnecessary killing. That means calling on livestock owners to take steps to protect their animals from potential killing. Its quite possible that the landowner who lost their calf did take action to prevent such a situation. Even so, Nebraska Game and Parks should work with livestock owners and ensure that they are taking such steps before killing accused mountain lions.

Fortunately, theres much people can do to prevent these risks and help conserve mountain lions. The HSUSs report includes detailed actions people can take to better coexist with mountain lions and protect themselves as well as their pets and livestock from potential conflicts. (www.humanesociety.org/stateofthemountainlion).

Melissa Money-Beecher

Lincoln
A white University of Kentucky student accused of physically assaulting a Black student worker while repeatedly using racial slurs says she will withdraw from the school. The decision announced Tuesday by a lawyer for 22-year-old Sophia Rosing came after hundreds of students rallied on campus the night before. News outlets report the students called for unity and for the university to quickly address the situation. Officials say Rosing has been charged with assault, public intoxication and disorderly conduct. She pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Monday afternoon. The altercation at Boyd Hall was captured on video and posted to multiple social media platforms.
The owner of a Lake Norman restaurant pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of tax evasion.

Peter Gjuraj, 49, of Mooresville, owner of the lakefront Blue Parrott Grill on N.C. 150 west of Mooresville, made the plea in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer in Charlotte. He was charged with the tax evasion last week.

Gjuraj reaped all the benefits of owning a profitable restaurant on the shores of Lake Norman, but did not want to pay taxes owed from operating his successful business. Instead, he used the extra income to fund homes, cars, and to travel, said Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to filed documents and Fridays court proceedings, from 2012 to the present, Gjuraj served as owner and bookkeeper for the Blue Parrot, which obtained the majority of its income from the restaurant and from sale of gasoline to boaters.

For years 2012 through 2014, Blue Parrot earned additional gross receipts totaling approximately $2,793,873 that Gjuraj failed to report on his individual income tax returns filed with the IRS, according to the documents. As a result of the unreported gross receipts, Gjuraj had additional taxable income substantially in excess of that reported on his tax years 2012 through 2014.

The additional federal tax due on this unreported income was a total of $319,974.92 based on additional tax due of $59,576.96, $96,866.96, and $163,531.00 for years 2012 through 2014, respectively.

As a result of the unreported gross receipts, Gjuraj fraudulently claimed various credits against taxes, the documents said. For example, in 2012 and 2013, Gjuraj fraudulently claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). During the relevant time period, Gjuarj structured cash withdrawals to avoid the filing of currency transaction reports.

Between July 8, 2013 and September 27, 2013, Gjuraj made approximately 15 cash withdrawals from a bank account of amounts between $9,000 and $9,900, totaling approximately $141,850, the documents said.

According to documents and Friday's plea hearing, Gjurajs expenditures for years 2012 through 2014 were far in excess of his reported income. Gjuraj used business funds to purchase, among other things: two houses for $375,000; cars worth approximately $80,000; and additional personal expenditures including travel and home improvements.

Court documents show that Gjuraj failed to file a timely tax return with the IRS for 2015, despite earning approximately $631,666 in income. As a result of his unreported gross receipts, Gjuraj owes approximately $217,015.05 for tax year 2015.

Gjuraj was released on bond after his plea hearing. The tax evasion charge carries a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, Gjuraj has agreed to pay restitution of $536,989.97 to the IRS. A sentencing date has not been set.

Todays plea of Peter Gjurajs is a reminder that any attempt to evade tax by hiding income and filing false returns is a theft from the American public," said Thomas J. Holloman III, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). "It is a felony offense that carries severe consequences."

Attempts to reach Gjuraj for comment were unsuccessful. An unidentified woman who answered the phone at the Blue Parrot on Friday said the restaurant would remain open.
DECATUR  Honeybees are smarter than people may realize.

They can do a dance to tell the others where they've found pollen. When the hive gets too populated, the queen takes a group and leaves to start a new colony, and the ones left behind know when their queen is gone and get busy choosing an egg to create into a new queen.

They also know when a person is afraid of them.

Chase Brown of Brown and Brown Farms in Warrensburg was the guest speaker at Millikin University's chemistry camp for high school students on Tuesday. The camp is a collaboration with the University of Illinois Extension and Richland Community College. It offers high school students hands-on research, lunches with food industry entrepreneurs like Brown, preparation for scholarship-ready science projects and a demonstration dinner to wind up the camp experience.

Brown has been a beekeeper, in addition to his other farm endeavors, for a few years.

I have an Amish friend who's had bees for years, Brown told the students. He said when he goes to the hive after a long day, when he's tired and stressed, he always gets stung. If he goes on a Saturday morning, with a cup of coffee, when he's relaxed, they never sting him.

Brown likes catching wild swarms of bees for his hives because they're already in search of a new hive and already acclimated to Illinois winters, he said. A swarm of bees on a table or tree is most likely a group with their queen looking for new quarters. Before they left the old hive, they gorged on honey, so they'll be mellow and unlikely to sting.

Do you want to get in a fight right after Thanksgiving dinner? Brown asked the students, who laughed at the idea.

Honeybees are endangered, and while scientists are studying the problem, the reasons are still not clear what is killing them off. Brown said he urges people not to spray or kill a swarm, but to call someone like him to come to get them.

We want to know what's killing them so we can stop doing it, he said.

Farming is not what it once was, he told the students, not even for a family farm like his. His grandfather farmed that land before him, and he farms it with his father now, but farming has become big business.

A tractors costs $600,000, and the plow attachment costs $80,000, he said. A bag of seed corn, which will plant 2 acres, is $200. The amount of money the Browns have to borrow to get the crop in is astronomical, he said, and if the weather or markets don't cooperate, it can create a real financial bind.

Times have been good in recent years, with a profit remaining after harvest, but one effect of that is a surplus crop, which means that there's less demand, and prices fall.

The Brown farm is diversified, with cattle and rabbits raised for market, alfalfa to feed their own animals and to sell, corn and soybeans as other Illinois farms have, wheat, hogs, the bees and chickens. Their animals are not given antibiotics unless they're sick and not sold to market until the antibiotics have left their systems, and their food is non-GMO, even though GMOs would make things simpler for them, because consumers prefer it.

Farmers do a little bit of everything, Brown said: He's an agronomist, a botanist, a chemist, though his degree from Illinois State University is in animal nutrition.

Meeting Brown was a lesson in practical application of chemistry and science in general, and students at the camp are also learning some food science, said Garrett Trimble, 17, who is home-schooled. One of the things they are working on is taffy.

We're seeing the effect of the different type of butter on the finished product, Trimble said. With unsalted butter, it takes much less time to cook it because the boiling point is different. He plans to major in chemistry in college but hasn't yet decided what career path to pursue.

Hannah Flickinger, 16, who is also home-schooled, has not yet taken a chemistry course, but it's an interest of hers and she thought the camp would be a good chance to work in a lab and get a head start.

It's a new thing I wanted to try because I'm taking dual-credit classes at Richland (Community College), so I'm taking chemistry next year, and I thought it would be a fun start for that, she said. Anesthesiology is what I'm interested in for a job right now, and there's a lot of chemistry in that.
[This is part of the series: A List of Things I Remember About Living In Saudi Arabia.]

I remember the travel.

Understand, you dont just go to Saudi Arabia and stay for 5 or 6 years.

I mean come on, this isnt 1940.

Part of living in Saudi Arabia was the fact that we spent the school year in Saudi Arabia, but we spent the summers at home.

We went back to the USA, and my friends went back to Scotland, or Pakistan, or Australia, or wherever they were from.

We all flew back and forth every summer.

Visas. Airplane tickets. Passports. Boarding passes. Jet lag. Where is our layover? Frankfort? Oh, Paris. I thought we were landing in Germany for some reason. Its weird our plane stopped to refuel in Rome.

Didnt we fly through London last time?

And: I am so bored  I cant believe this is an eleven hour layover!

It is a charmed childhood if you can swing it.
The Strategic Partnership between Romania and the USA must become stronger, should define the bilateral relations between the two countries, said President Klaus Iohannis, on Friday, at the press conference held together with his American counterpart, Donald Trump. The Romanian President mentioned that this year marks the celebration of 20 years of Strategic Partnership, thus being very important for both nations. He continued by adding that the partnership with the US has shaped Romania as it stands today: a solid democracy, with a solid and durable economy, with a strong economic growth, a Romania that stands together with American troops in Afghanistan, in Iraq.

The partnership contributed to all that Romania is and was very important and it must become stronger, must define bilateral relations and must contribute to solving so many problems, the head of state said, in Washington.

Agerpres..
President Klaus Iohannis has arrived, on Friday, at the White House, where he will meet his American counterpart, Donald Trump. The head of state will sign in the guest book of the White House and will hold one-on-one and official talks with the American President.

They will conclude their meetings with a joint press statement. The Head of State, Klaus Iohannis stated on Wednesday that the meeting he will have with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday will have a major positive impact on the Romanian public back home, but also on the Romanian community in the United States. "I am happy to share our success story with President Trump on Friday, when we will hold talks at the White House. Our meeting will be important not only on a political level, but it will have a major positive impact on the Romanian public back home, on the vibrant Romanian community in the US, on the business communities in both our countries and on all those who have put longstanding efforts making our relationship more solid," Iohannis told a debate called "20 Years After - The Relevance of the Romanian - U.S. Strategic Partnership in the Current International and Security Context," organised by the Heritage Foundation.

The Presidential Administration said in a press statement last week, that the meeting of the two high officials will be an excellent opportunity to discuss the prospects for deepening and expanding the Strategic Partnership between Romania and the United States, on all relevant levels, including the partnership's 20th anniversary this year. "President Klaus Iohannis will discuss all the action priorities under the bilateral relation and will reconfirm our country's firm support to remain a predictable, stable and reliable ally of the US," the Romanian Presidential Administration mentioned. President Klaus Iohannis is paying a visit to the United States until Friday.

Agerpres..
President Klaus Iohannis had, on Friday, during the visit he is conducting to Washington, a meeting at the US State Department with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, context in which the American official emphasized the vital importance of the Black Sea for Euro-Atlantic security and showed appreciation for Romania's progress in the anticorruption fight.

"Secretary of State Tillerson thanked Romania for the strength of its commitment as a strategic partner of the USA, but also as a NATO ally, recognizing the vital importance of the Black Sea region for Euro-Atlantic security. Furthermore, Secretary of State Tillerson expressed particular appreciation for the significant progress recorded by Romania in the anticorruption fight and in the support of the rule of law, that casts it as a model in the region," the Romanian Presidential Administration shows, in a release remitted to Agerpres.

The American official expressed his commitment for extending the Strategic Partnership with Romania.

According to the Presidential Administration, the meeting also was the scene of an in-depth discussion on the most relevant dimensions of the Romania-US Strategic Partnership, with an accent on the potential for common action that can bring added value, from the point of view of regional security. "The Romanian President emphasized, in this context, the fact that one of the key priorities for Romanian foreign policy remains the strengthening of the transatlatic link, Romanian being a state that is dedicated in equal measure to the European project, as well as to the Strategic Partnership with the USA," the Presidential Administration mentions in the release.

Furthermore, the two officials agreed that it is necessary to amplify the rhythm of consultations on specific topics, especially on the topic of the Black Sea. The Presidential Administration emphasizes that special attention was granted also to the objective of strengthening economic cooperation and the topic of energy security in the Black Sea region, Romania being one of the least dependent states from this point of view, with a potential to become, on the basis of resources in the continental shelf of the Black Sea and through the interconnection projects, a regional supplier.

President Iohannis presented his evaluation regarding the security situation in the Eastern Flank of NATO. The two high officials also had an exchange of opinions on other topics of interest in the international agenda. President Iohannis has, in the meantime, arrived at the White House to meet his American counterpart, Donald Trump, on the last day of his visit to the USA.
The US President, Donald Trump, showed appreciation, on Friday, at the start of discussions with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, for the relation between Romania and the US, dubbing the Partnership between the two countries as "great". "It is an honor to have you here, a true ally, a wonderful country and a great relationship," said Donald Trump, at the beginning of the meeting with Klaus Iohannis.

In his turn, Klaus Iohannis said it is an honor to be at the White House. "It is a great pleasure and an honor to be here and I'm looking forward to discussions on our Partnership," said President Iohannis.

In this context, Donald Trump replied: "Yes, a great Partnership". President Klaus Iohannis is holding one-on-one and official talks with the US President, Donald Trump, that will conclude with joint press statements.

Agerpres...
President of the United States, Donald Trump, has showed appreciation, on Friday, on the lead taken by Romania in increasing NATO funding by increasing its defence budget from 1.4 pct to over 2 percent of the GDP.

At the joint press conference with President Klaus Iohannis, after the high-level meeting at the White House, Trump thanked for his Romanian counterpart for his leadership role in the anticorruption fight. The President of the USA also recalled the military contribution of Romania in the fight against terrorism, including through the sacrifice of 23 servicemen.

Agerpres..
OTTAWA  Canada is pressing ahead with plans to buy an interim fleet of 18 St. Louis-made F/A-18 Super Hornets, the country's top soldier told Reuters, speaking amid tensions with the United States that could derail a proposed deal with Boeing Co.

General Jonathan Vance, chief of the defense staff general, said the armed forces needed the jets as a stopgap measure while Canada prepares a competition to buy a fleet of 88 new planes, a process scheduled to take five years.

"There is a capability gap," he said in an interview late on Thursday. "There is a gap, and it needs to be filled."

Canada's fleet of 77 CF-18s, some of which are almost 40 years old, is coming to the end of its operational life.

Ottawa said last year it wanted to buy 18 Super Hornets as an interim measure but has since threatened to scrap the plan unless the U.S. company drops an anti-dumping challenge against Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc.

Vance declined to comment on the dispute.

Critics say it makes little sense to buy fighters that might be only used for a short period. Vance dismissed the idea of leasing the fleet.

"One cannot lease fighters," he said.

Should Canada decide not to acquire the Boeing planes as a stopgap measure, it could order from Lockheed Martin Corp., Dassault Aviation SA or Airbus SE.

Depending on Canada's choice for the permanent fleet, this could result in the Royal Canadian Air Force operating two different kinds of modern jets at the same time, a prospect that did not worry Vance.

"Why is it so odd that the RCAF would be operating two fleets?" he said. "We used to operate three, four fleets."

Canada says the 88 new planes must be interoperable with those used by allies such as the United States. The importance of working seamlessly with the Americans means Canada is likely to buy U.S. jets for the permanent fleet, people familiar with the matter have previously told Reuters.

Vance said this was not a fair assumption.

Canada on Wednesday announced a major increase in defense spending after Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the nation would have to play a larger global role as the United States retreats.

Vance said Canada's close military ties with the United States would remain intact.

"Our relationship is incredibly tight, necessarily so and usefully so," he said, "and it stays that way."
DECATUR  At lunchtime Thursday at the Downtown Cafe, the TV was tuned to Fox News, and the talking heads were just starting to dissect the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey.

The sense of drama was high in Washington, and lunchgoers here felt it, too.

John Northland Jr., a Maroa construction worker and Trump voter, said he was anxious to find out later the details of Thursday's Senate hearing. "I just assumed it was more attacks on Trump," he said.

Northland said he thinks Trump's political enemies will keep attacking until something sticks, but he's curious about what that will be.

"I'm suspicious as to what went on exactly ... I'm trying to trust the president. I'm trying to hope for better than what we've had (with past presidents). We'll see," he said.

Elsewhere in the country, political fanatics took the day off and headed to bars to watch, treating the hearings like a bonus Super Bowl in June.

Shaw's Tavern in Washington opened early and offered a special menu for the occasion, with "FBI sandwiches" and Russian vodka. In Brooklyn, it was standing room only at the coffeehouse Building on Bond, where the crowd inside the bar applauded as the hearing ending.

For the diners at the Downtown Cafe in Decatur, their political allegiances colored their views of whose word to trust in the investigations surrounding Russia's meddling in last fall's election.

Bruce Campbell, owner of Lyle Campbell & Son Realtors, said he's a Trump supporter but he doesn't really trust anyone surrounding the Russia investigations.

"I would hope the investigations just get done and over with, and the people in Washington can get on with the job they were sent to do. It does no good for this country to be tied up with all that stuff. We're wallowing in my opinion," he said.

One of Campbell's dining partners, Wayne Dunning, a minister at Faith Fellowship Christian Church, has kept close tabs on the issue but said he's not worried about what happens next.

"My mother used to say, 'It'll all come out in the wash. What's done in the dirt will come out in the light,' " he said.

Dunning said he did not vote for Trump, though Macon County overwhelmingly did in 2016.

An early supporter of Trump's campaign in Macon County was Dan Caulkins, a former Decatur city councilman. He said he understands if Comey feels slighted by Trump's decision to fire him as FBI director.

"But if the president decides not to retain someone, he can do that," Caulkins said.

The reaction from elected officials was varied as well.

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, issued this statement: "Comey confirmed in his testimony today that President Trump was not personally under investigation. I hope that ongoing investigations conducted by the special prosecutor and bipartisan intelligence committees in Congress will prevent any future interference by Russia, or anyone else, in our election process.

But Illinois' two Democratic U.S. Senators pounced on Comey's harsh words for Trump.

"The question for the American people is: Who do you trust? Director Comey kept extensive records of what the president asked of him and agreed to testify publicly under oath. That speaks volumes," said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, in an emailed statement.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth issued this statement: "These accusations are not normal and they transcend petty partisanship. Special Counsel (Robert) Mueller must now swiftly complete a transparent, impartial and independent investigation to ensure the American people learn the truth.
Digital Realty Trust Inc. agreed to buy DuPont Fabros Technology Inc. for about $4.95 billion in stock, a deal that would add to its data-center properties in areas such as California's Silicon Valley.

Investors in Washington-based DuPont Fabros will get 0.545 Digital Realty shares for each of their shares, the real estate investment trusts said in a statement Friday. That values DuPont Fabros stock at $63.63 a share, about 15 percent more than Thursday's closing price. The companies said the transaction has an enterprise value of $7.6 billion, including $1.6 billion of debt.

The deal would allow San Francisco-based Digital Realty to grow in top markets such as northern Virginia, Chicago and Silicon Valley. The combined company would be the largest wholesale data-center REIT in the U.S., analysts at KeyBank Capital Markets said in a note to clients. The transaction would be a boon for the entire sector, reducing competition and helping balance price control, the analysts wrote.

Acquiring DuPont Fabros's purpose-built data centers "will significantly expand Digital Realty's hyper-scale product offering and improve its ability to meet the rapidly growing needs of cloud and cloud-like customers," Digital Realty said in the statement. DuPont Fabros also has six data-center projects under construction that are 48 percent pre-leased.

The companies said the deal would allow them to save as much as $18 million in costs a year. The combined entity is expected to have the highest earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization  a measure of profitability  of any U.S.-based publicly traded data center REIT, according to the statement.

The transaction, expected to close in the second half of the year, is subject to shareholder approval.
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ST. LOUIS  Homicide detectives are investigating a shooting that critically injured a man in north St. Louis.

The shooting victim, an African-American male believe to be in his 20s, was shot once in the chest about 6 p.m. in the 1400 block of De Soto Avenue, police said.

He was found on the curb in front of a vacant building, police said. He was not conscious or breathing when he was transported to a hospital.

Homicide detectives were called to investigate.

The shooting happened in the College Hill neighborhood, near O'Fallon Park. Total reported crime in the neighborhood is up 13.33 percent from the same six-month period last year.
DECATUR  Laura Brown worked her entire life in the medical community, first as a nurse later an administrator at HSHS St. Marys Hospital in Decatur. Now 70 and retired, Brown is proud of the work she did in the profession.

But Brown has also struggled for years with the effects of Lyme  a disease that is controversial in the medical field.

Medical professionals dont deny the existence of Lyme, a tickborne illness that in early stages can cause a rash, headache and fatigue, and if untreated a variety of symptoms including joint and neck pain.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates about 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme each year, and the numbers have been on the rise. With many health officials predicting even more ticks this year because of the warm winter, Lyme and other tick-related diseases may spike even more.

The controversy is with the term chronic Lyme, a diagnosis the CDC and most other infectious disease doctors dont recognize.

But thousands nationwide, including 20 in the area who attend a Lyme Disease Support Group at Crossing Healthcare in Decatur once a month, said the traditional treatment of three weeks of doxycycline wasnt enough to kill their disease, and they continue to suffer from symptoms.

Because the CDC warns against using antibiotics long term, some Lyme sufferers seek out what they call Lyme-literate doctors, who are willing to  sometimes for a hefty fee that medical insurance companies dont cover  prescribe large amounts or long-term use of antibiotics and other types of nontraditional treatments. Opponents of "Lyme-literate" doctors claim long-term use of antibiotics is dangerous and their diagnoses are often made without proper testing.

Those who say they have chronic Lyme say these doctors are their only chance at relief and are reaching out to state lawmakers, asking them to make it easier for Lyme patients to find treatment and to let their Lyme-literate doctors practice.

I dont always feel comfortable sharing my story, because I was a nurse, and I respect the medical community. I didnt want to be seen as a crackpot whos making up things, Brown said during a recent meeting of Crossings Lyme support group. But I look around this room, and I see vital people who work hard and have families, then they end up in bed. Thats not in their heads. Who of us would want that?

While many of the more than a dozen of Lyme patients the Herald & Review spoke to for this story said they were diagnosed with Lyme in Macon County, all of them have had to go out-of-state for treatment. The Herald & Review attempted to contact six doctors known to be Lyme-literate doctors but didnt receive a response from any.

The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) website will email a prospective patient the names of doctors in the area theyre willing to travel to but doesnt list the names of doctors. Those in the Crossing Lyme Support Group reported having gone to Florida, Kansas, Missouri and Arizona for treatment.

Doctors follow CDC recommendations for treatment for any infectious disease," Brown said. "Any doctor who goes outside those guidelines can have their practice called into question. Insurance companies notice that. Colleagues notice that. Its a red flag. There have been physicians with their licenses suspended, so I cant blame them for not wanting to treat it.

Effects of Lyme

Brown said while still at St. Marys, she began experiencing some symptoms she couldnt explain.

My hands began swelling up, and all my joints hurt to the point it was miserable, said Brown, who now lives in Springfield. I thought it was rheumatoid arthritis, but I told a nurse friend I had about it, and she said it sounded a lot like Lyme to her.

Brown hadnt had a tick bite that she had noticed or a bullseye rash. Outside of the bullseye rash, which according to the CDC 20 percent to 30 percent of Lyme patients dont get, there arent any telltale signs of Lyme.

In fact, it often mimics the symptoms of other diseases.

Everybody is different, Brown said. What happens is bacteria burrows into joints and organs because theyre corkscrew shape. Thats why its so hard to diagnose. Symptoms depend on where it burrows. I get stiff joints and fatigue to the point where I cant get up. The more people you talk to, were all different.

Symptoms of Lyme, like with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, arent always easily confirmed. Diana Shepard of Vandalia said she was healthy and active before Lyme left her with a variety of symptoms.

Shepards list of symptoms fills nearly three full pages, double spaced.

Before this, I never went to the doctor, and colds only lasted a day. I was very active. I felt wonderful, Shepard said.

Trying to get treated

There are two main types of test for Lyme  enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western Blot. Brown said she requested from her family doctor she be tested for Lyme and was given the ELISA but didnt test positive to CDC standards. She eventually found a different physician who gave her the Western Blot and found she was positive for Lyme.

Nathan Gwillim, 39, of Springfield, who recently testified in front of the Illinois Senate Public Health Committee about Lyme, was an avid runner but now spends more time in hospitals than trails. He said he took five tests before finally testing positive for Lyme.

I was told I had MS, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, Gwillim said. I went to more doctors and was told its not Lyme disease, and theres not Lyme disease in our area.

After my fifth test finally said I was positive, I was treated with three weeks of antibiotics and was told Lyme couldnt survive that. Hundreds of medical bills later, I disagree.

Christina Wise of Bethany said she was diagnosed with Lyme in February by a "Lyme-literate" doctor in Missouri.

He put me on oral antibiotics, but I was so sick with so many infections, it made it worse, Wise said. My doctor told me I would need to get a chest port and stay in bed hooked up to IVs for two years. I have an almost 2-year-old and a 4-year-old. Theres no way I could do that.

Through research, Wise said she found a Lyme treatment clinic in Arizona, but it wasnt cheap and insurance didnt cover it. Wise said shes still not cured, but the treatment, which involved large amounts of antibiotics, did help. Wise called it extremely aggressive.

It was 11 weeks, four to eight hours a day on IVs," Wise said. "I went from not being able to walk to being able to walk out. There are still plenty of hurdles, but Im slowly but surely getting better every day.

Shepard said she also goes to a lyme-literate doctor but is still struggling with symptoms.

Im not sure if I have a co-infection of Lyme, Shepard said. Im not sure if you ever really get rid of Lyme. But I want to be cured. I want my energy back.

Not a diagnosis

Dr. Paul Auwaerter is the clinical director of the division of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He doesnt recognize chronic Lyme as a diagnosis.

Its an imprecise term used by some providers without a legitimate basis of actual infection, Auwaerter said.

Auwaerter does acknowledge that Lyme can be difficult to diagnose, and the effects can last past treatment.

Its a bacterial infection thats hard to culture, Auwaerter said. Tests often arent positive early in infections and actually arent very good for the first couple of weeks. The body has to have an immune response for it to show up.

But after that, at four to six weeks, the Western Blot is accurate.

Auwaerter said most patients diagnosed with Lyme can be cured with between a 10- and 21-day cycle of antibiotics, though a handful of times a year a patient may need an additional course. He said peer-reviewed studies showed that a quarter of people showed symptoms such as fatigue or aches and pains after treatment, but the number dropped to 5 percent to 15 percent after six months.

Auwaerter said those patients still experiencing symptoms from Lyme after six months can be diagnosed with post-treatment Lyme syndrome, which he said is difficult to treat. He said, however, that further treatment with antibiotics isnt the answer.

Trials found additional antibiotics show no benefit for weeks or months compared to a placebo, Auwaerter said. What it showed was that 30 (percent) to 40 percent of the patients felt better whether they had a cycle of antibiotics or placebo.

Auwaerter said scientists are still trying to determine why some patients experience lingering symptoms from Lyme following treatment.

Its a process of trying to understand the problem and borrowing techniques from other areas that have been studied, like chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia," he said. "Theres not a uniform approach or medication. We try to address sleep problems and look for non-drug or cognitive behavioral therapies. And if their lives are significantly affected, well look at certain pharmacological therapies.

Local look

During Gwillims testimony to the Senate Public Health Committee in Room 400 at the state capitol, he pointed out what he sees as incorrect information on the CDC website.

I went to doctor after doctor who says Lyme disease isnt in my area, Gwillim said. I looked at the CDC website for Macon County this morning. In their most recent update it says there are zero cases of Lyme disease in Macon County. Can you raise your hand if youre from Macon County?

More than 10 people in the gallery raised their hands.

Thats zero? Gwillim asked. For every hand you see raised, there are hundreds who are sick. Its the greatest health epidemic in the country right now.

According to CDC statistics, in Illinois, with a population of 12.86 million in 2015, there were 287 cases of Lyme reported. According to the Macon County Health Department, there were no cases of Lyme disease in Macon County from 2015 to 2017, and according to CDC numbers, there hasnt been a reported case of Lyme in Macon County since 2011.

Two representatives from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Debbie Freeman and Judy Kauerauf, spoke at the Senate hearing. They said they can only report to the CDC a physicians confirmed diagnosis of Lyme.

Whenever theres a positive lab result, laboratories are required to report those to us, Kauereauf said. Whenever a physician diagnoses a case of Lyme disease, those are reported to us as well.

In order to count and classify a case, its by CDC case definition. It requires a syndrome of symptoms including the bullseye rash and a positive lab result to be called a confirmed case. People can be diagnosed with just symptoms and no positive test, but they have to have traveled to where the case rate is above 10 per 100,000 population.

Kauerauf said the IDPH knows Lyme is under-reported and that there are cases that go undiagnosed. But based on the numbers it reviews, there's no evidence of Lyme in Central Illinois.

We get lab reporting directly from Decatur Memorial, St. Johns and Memorial in Springfield, Kauerauf said. We know physicians dont report, and its something weve struggled with for a number of years. Whether their physicians werent finding their lab tests to be positive or not conferring the clinical syndrome and diagnosing it, if the physician doesnt diagnose it or run the lab test to confirm it, it doesnt count as a case.

Kauerauf said she would talk to the health departments in Macon and Sangamon counties and let them know there are people reporting theyve been diagnosed with Lyme.

(Doctors) cant assume just because a patient lives in Macon County that they wouldnt have traveled to where the could have been exposed, Kauerauf said.

Being heard

It was Gwillim, along with Linda Kehart and her daughter Melissa Kehart of Decatur who persuaded state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, to invite them to address the Senate Public Health Committee.

Right now, were being heard, Gwillim said at the hearing. I can comfortably say that for me and all the people here, weve never been heard by the doctors and the medical community. Just to be here is a step in the right direction.

But Linda Kehart left frustrated.

I thought I wasnt going to get upset, but my gosh, she said. During the hearing, Linda Kehart told Kauerauf and Freeman: Ladies, you dont have a protocol. Its not a system that works.

Linda Kehart doesnt have Lyme but is Decaturs biggest Lyme activist. Shes watched her daughter struggle with Lyme, and a tickborne Lyme co-infection called babesia, for years. Shes become her caretaker. Last year she began reaching out to find more people with Lyme. Once she found enough people in Macon County with the disease, she and Melissa approached Crossing Director Tanya Andricks about forming a support group.

Our mission is to provide health services to the medically underserved, Andricks said. Typically, thats low-income people. But Linda came to me and told me there was a group of people who feel like they have no place to go. I cant offer medical treatment. We do primary care, and this is beyond primary care.

"I can offer a forum and a location to come together. And I can offer my own support.

Linda Kehart said going out of state for expensive treatment leaves most Lyme patients either deep in debt or without treatment at all. One member of the Crossing group said shed taken out a second mortgage to pay for treatment.

I know of a treatment in Scottsdale (Ariz.) thats $80,000 and one in Kansas thats $30,000, Kehart. And insurance isnt covering that. The cost is prohibitive for a lot of people.

Brown, who has gone through a long course of antibiotics but has now switched to nutritional supplements, ozone therapy and a hyperbaric chamber twice a week, said she tries to limit what she spends, but it isnt easy.

The problem is the symptoms are so diverse, Brown said. I take 20 to 30 pills, and that concerns me. That can get out of control expensive.

Despite the frustration, Linda Kehart and many of the Lyme patients remain optimistic. Linda Kehart cited a bill recently passed in Iowa that allows doctors to treat Lyme with methods recommended by health organizations other than the CDC. It allows doctors to use 90-day cycles of antibiotics. She said getting that legislation passed in Illinois and bringing a Lyme-literate doctor to Decatur are the next steps.

Until then, Lyme patients in the Decatur area said they plan to keep getting the word out about the disease.

I do think its going to change, Wise said. The more we get out there, the more awareness theres going to be.

Brown said the right person needs to get the disease  someone in the spotlight.

At one time, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia were the same way, Brown said. "Theyd tell people it was in their head. Now those are legitimate. Eventually, it will happen with Lyme. I just hope its sooner than later.
ST. LOUIS  Police have identified a man fatally injured last month in St. Louis as Azad Saleem, 20, of Southview Lane in south St. Louis County.

Saleem was critically injured in a shooting about 7:30 p.m. May 22 in the 2000 block of Chippewa Street in the city's Marine Villa neighborhood, police said. He was pronounced dead at 2:10 a.m. the next morning at a St. Louis hospital.

A police incident summary said Saleem and two other men, 20 and 21, were involved in a drug deal that led to two of them being shot. The 20 year-old suffered a graze wound; the 21-year-old was not shot.

A police department spokeswoman said the department was only identifying Saleem on Thursday because "we were never notified by homicide that next-of-kin was notified."
ST. LOUIS  Hours after workers used a large crane to begin dismantling the Confederate Memorial in Forest Park on Thursday, city aldermen debated a bill that would go even further.

A parks committee on Thursday evening heard public testimony on legislation that would require any Confederate monuments in city parks be removed within 120 days of the bill becoming law, and prohibit any other Confederate memorials in St. Louis public parks in the future. It would also mandate the renaming of Confederate Drive in Forest Park to Scott Joplin Drive, in honor of the famed ragtime music composer.

Additionally, the plan tasks St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson, Comptroller Darlene Green, Treasurer Tishaura Jones, Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed and Alderman Frank Williamson, chairman of the parks committee, with raising private funds for removal.

Supporters of the removal of the existing monument contend that it is a painful reminder of racism for the citys black community.

Critics of the process say taking it down amounts to erasing Missouri history and showing disrespect to veterans of the Civil War.

Sponsoring Alderman Sharon Tyus pushed back on that criticism, arguing that there would be similar resistance from the Jewish community if there were memorials to Nazism in a public park.

When you lose  you do not get to fly a victory flag with a monument, Tyus said.

Disagreement persists over who should foot the bill to get the memorial out of the park. Krewson said last week that she expects some public money to be necessary, but no price tag for the project has been announced by the mayors office.

Alderman Frank Williamson, who chairs the parks and environment committee that heard the bill, said the figure aldermen were given from the citys parks director was roughly $130,000.

Representatives from the Missouri Civil War Museum at Jefferson Barracks insist theyre still able and interested in taking the monument off the citys hands. A previous attempt at an agreement between the museum and former Mayor Francis Slays administration fell apart after the museum asked the city to provide for the moving expenses.

Krewsons office confirmed to the Post-Dispatch last month that the city remained uninterested.

The door has been slammed, museum director Mark Trout told the Post-Dispatch on Thursday. Thats why were here at this committee.

Since the bill lays out a way to raise private funds, Trout told the panel that he was confident he could raise $130,000 for the removal in a matter of days.

Jones has begun her own private fundraising campaign, which she said had raised $16,000 of a $25,000 goal as of Thursday morning.

I look forward to having a conversation with city leaders about transferring the funds raised from this campaign to help cover the removal costs, Jones said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the process has begun to remove the 38-foot monument, which weighs more than 40 tons and was erected 103 years ago in honor of the vanquished Confederacy. It became freshly controversial this year in light of the national movement to remove Confederate statuary in other cities.

It could be weeks before the bulk of it is disassembled, said Krewson spokesman Koran Addo.

Engineers are trying to determine what kind of equipment will be needed, including whether the massive crane in the park on Thursday will be capable of removing the large memorial, Addo said.

But citizens on Thursday raised concerns about where the money was coming from, questioning if public funds would ultimately need to be used and if so, if theyd be better spent tackling violence in the city or hiring more police officers.

Tyus said shed introduced the bill to ensure private funds be used and to allow the public to know where that money is coming from.

We can multitask, Tyus said. And doing more than one thing does not take away necessarily from the other.
DECATUR  Macon County gained a new Fair Queen on Thursday in Kaitlin Henrichs, a 20-year-old Millikin University student.

Outgoing queen Aryn Dobrinick relinquished her crown to Henrichs during the the Macon County Fair Pageant, but she kept the fond memories she'd made over the course of the past year.

I couldn't have asked for a better year, said the 20-year-old college student. I gained so many networking opportunities in the community.

Henrichs will be a junior at Millikin in the fall and is studying music business. She is the daughter of Eric and Gina Henrichs, and was sponsored by Henrichs Family Farms. She competed with four other women: Bailey Barrows, Mykayla Plowman, Brooklyn Bollinger and Mia Brandenburg.

The pageant kicked off Macon County Fair grandstand events, which will continue this weekend. The evening competition included swimsuits, a one-minute speech dressed in business attire and evening gowns. The young women, ages 16 through 21, took part in personal interviews earlier in the day.

Henrichs will reign until next year's fair. She will begin with local public appearances, including community events and parades, and participate in the Miss Illinois County Fair pageant in January.

Four contestants competed for this year's Junior Miss category for girls ages 11 through 15. The winner of the competition, Lula Belle Sassano, will travel with the queen during the year representing Macon County. Other contestants included Riley Houser, Abby Park and Emilie Stogner.

Organizers created a Parade of Princesses for this year's county fair for girls ages 4 to 10. Taking the stage for this portion of the pageant was Lexie Waddell, Lillien Smith, Myliyah Goforth, Sha'Kia Moss and Laura Rodriguez. All of the princesses received a sash and gifts.

Lacey Jo Solomon, Julie Kinert and Erynn Hendricks judged the competition. All three women have experience with pageants, either as former queens or directors.

Visiting queens from other county fairs were on hand to wish the new queen good luck as well as to say goodbye to Dobrinick. Women came from as far away as Champaign, Edgar, Fulton and Effingham counties. Also in attendance was Miss Illinois County Fair Claudia VanOpdorp.

Co-director Kristie Krigbaum said the pageant was a success this year. She said these competitions help girls develop interview and public speaking skills, which they can carry on beyond the crown.

Hopefully, they will get more confidence in themselves, she said. It is a good self-esteem booster.

The directors began reaching out to local girls and young women months ago.

Once they hear the word 'pageant,' they think it's all glitz and glamour, Krigbaum said. That's not what it's all about.

Bollinger decided to compete because she knew it would allow her opportunities to meet new people.

I want to get more community involvement, to have fun and to get more people to come to the fair, she said. I want people to see the good that Decatur and Macon County has.

Dobrinick visited the Eisenhower High School's Elite Energy Show Choir during practice one day, catching the attention of Plowman. Dobrinick explained the positive experience she had during her reign.

Plowman, 17, felt confident before her first pageant and believed she could handle the most nerve racking portion of the pageant: the stage performance.

I am pretty used to it with show choir, the hair, makeup, the three-quarter turns, she said.

Houser, 15, was a contestant in the Junior Miss competition. She has competed in pageants previously.

I'm not stressed about the competition, she said. The less stressed you are, the more fun you have.
We need to talk about our chemical romance. One of the main triggers of global ecosystem disturbances is how chemicals pollute our water and soil systems. The diversity of pollutants as well as the severe lack of data and knowledge of how they affect ecosystems has prevented researchers from setting one single planetary boundary for chemical pollution. Strict policy interventions are sorely needed, particularly at national levels.



To lay the ground for efficient interventions, centre researcher Avit K. Bhowmik and an international team of colleagues from Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, China and Pakistan have measured and predicted the concentration of pesticides in more than 4000 rivers and heavy metals in dust particles.

In a series of articles (see citations in section to the right) they show how pesticides from intensified agriculture have accumulated in rivers across Germany, France, the Netherlands and the US, ultimately threatening biodiversity. In arid regions like Pakistan dust particles are heavily polluted by heavy metals from industrial and agricultural sources. This in turn has serious health consequences among the population, particularly children.
DECATUR  Plans are underway to shift the management of the emergency communication center in Macon County, with the possibility that neighboring counties could also join the fold.

After months of negotiations, local governing bodies look ready to sign off on establishing the Central Illinois Regional Dispatch Center that would take over the operations of the call center from the city of Decatur. The call center dispatches the Decatur police and fire departments, Macon County Sheriff's Office and smaller police and fire departments within the county.

With the regional dispatch center, City Manager Tim Gleason said it opens the door for neighboring rural counties could join the center in the future.

Its an opportunity  with the rural counties to possibly bring them in with us and growing our communication center, he said. I think that opportunity is still out there, but this is the first step.

The move would also change how much each governing body pays for emergency dispatching. The city currently covers $1.6 million of the total $2.5 million annual operating cost, officials said, while Macon County pays $300,000 and the Emergency Telephone System Board pays $600,000. The cost would shift under the plan based on the number of calls from each municipality.

For Macon County, that could mean paying an extra $350,000 a year, said board Chairman Jay Dunn. But the tradeoff is the county would have more say in the operations of the center.

I think at the end of the day, this will be a fair way to do this, he said.

Under the new plan, control of the communication center would shift to a three-person executive board and executive director. The seats would be held by the mayor of Decatur or a person she designates; the Macon County board chairman or a person he designates; and a third person chosen by the other two board members.

The Decatur City Council unanimously approved the plan at its June 5 meeting, but it still needs approval from the Macon County Board and the Emergency Telephone System Board.

The plan would not move the call center from its current location at the Law Enforcement Center in downtown Decatur, nor would it affect handling of emergency calls.

Roughly 20 employees at the center would no longer be employed by the city, but instead would be overseen by the newly created executive board. The move would not eliminate any positions at the center, something Gleason stressed was important to moving forward with the plan.

Those employees have been represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 and Local 268, and it would be up to them to decide whether they wish to remain members once the transition is complete.

Eddie Caumiant, regional director for AFSCME Council 31, said the union looks forward to working with the employees on any future negotiations.

The county is expected to vote on the measure at its July meeting. If approved by all three governing bodies, the dispatch center would be established at the start of next year.
Chloe Hosking celebrates victory in Leamington Spa during the 2017 event. Photo: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com

CHLOE Hosking sprinted to victory in the packed streets of Leamington Spa on stage three of the Women's Tour 2017 on Friday.

The race, which took in large swathes of the Stratford-on-Avon district, saw another dominant show from the Wiggle High5 rider, but it was a result that meant Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma had done enough to retain her overall lead.

Uttrup Ludwig (Cervelo-Bigla Pro) and Grace Elvin (OricaScott) led a breakaway group of five, which also included Amy Pieters, the Dutch Boels Dolmans rider who had claimed victory on stage two in Stoke-on-Trent, along with Martina Ritter (Drops).

But they were eventually chased down with five kilometres left.

There was, though, a crash as the peloton closed in, which saw Pieters caught up along with Marianne Vos (WM3), who had been in second place overall, and Dani King (Cylance Pro).

Australian Hosking, however, got her positioning right heading into the narrow rising finish, where she edged ahead of Alice Barnes and Ellen van Dijk (Team Sunweb) with Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle High 5) in fourth place.

Niewiadoma (WM3) managed to stay clear of any trouble to keep the overall lead in the general classifications, although her advantage dropped to one minute and 31 seconds as van Dijk moved up to second.

Alice Barnes is in joint third alongside fellow British rider Hannah Barnes (Canyon-SRAM), who had finished Wednesday's stage in second place, and Vos on the same time, all 1 min and 46 secs off the pace.

Saturday's fourth stage runs over 123.1 kilometres around Chesterfield, includes the most climbing with over 2,000m of ascent.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday exchanged pleasantries with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

India media quoting sources said Prime Minister Modi inquired about Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs health and that of his family. The Indian prime minister inquired about Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs health as it was their first meeting after the latters heart surgery.

While there has been speculation about a meeting between PM Sharif and Modi, Indias Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has stated that there is no meeting scheduled from their side.

Relations between the South Asian neighbours have deteriorated after Indias continued violations at the Line of Control. India has also raised the issue of RAW agent Kulbhusan Jadhavs death sentence at the International Court of Justice. Jadhav was awarded the death sentence after he was found to be involved in terrorist activity in Pakistan.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reached Kazakhstan on Thursday to attend the two-day meeting of the Heads of State Council of SCO.

Both Pakistan and India are expected to be granted full membership of the SCO.

With the inclusion of Pakistan and India, the SCO will have a total of eight states as permanent members  after China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Other observer states and governments and international organisations are also part of the group.

The group will then represent nearly half of the worlds population after the inclusion of the subcontinental neighbours.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reiterated Pakistan's strong commitment to cooperate with Kazakhstan in energy sector, regional connectivity and human resource development.He expressed these views during his meeting with President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev at Astana on Thursday.

The Prime Minister also underscored the need for enhancing trade between the two countries, which was much less than the potential.

He expressed the hope that the outcome of the ongoing SCO Summit will result in paving way for cooperation and economic prosperity of the people of the region.

The Prime Minister is in Astana to represent Pakistan at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit.

The summit is poised to government full SCO membership to Pakistan.

Talking to Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev at Astana today, Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan is keen to further expand ties with Uzbekistan in all fields, including economic, energy cooperation, connectivity and human resource development.

The Prime Minister expressed the desire to take bilateral relations to new heights based on mutually beneficial cooperation.
The issue of a man, Malik Noor Awan, accosting Awami Muslim League Sheikh Rasheed outside the parliament became a heated topic of discussion between opposition and government members during the National Assembly session on Friday.

Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah raised the issue in the Parliament and asked, who brought the unrelated person to the Parliament?

The person [Noor Awan] entered without a pass and was issued a pass later. His pass was signed by the deputy speaker [of the assembly]. How was he allowed to enter the vicinity? Shah asked.

An investigation will be ordered as soon as more details regarding the man who accosted Sheikh Rasheed is received, said Speaker Ayaz Sadiq

An FIR was registered on the day of the incident, till night he was in custody, he added.

The opposition leader then showed a photograph of Noor Awan to the Parliament, where he can been seen pictured with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

This angered the government members and led to a ruckus in the House, with members of both the benches chanting shame shame slogans.

After this, State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali passionately started speaking without a mic.

Other Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leaders, Sheikh Aftab and Rana Tanveer, tried their best to stop Ali but he did not listen to them and continued speaking.

They [the opposition] speak about democracy today. We were placed in Sahiwal prison in a Kalashnikov case, he remarked.

Do not get personal, Shah said while responding to Ali. Please dont tell me what to say. This is parliament; it is not someones personal shop, he retorted.

You want to suppress the voice of everyone here, Ali added.

The ruckus led to a 15-minute break during the session. The speaker also summoned Shah to his chamber.

Awan gets bails

A case was registered against Noor Awan by Rasheed on Thrusday for harassing him.

The police had requested the court for judicial remand of the suspect but Awans lawyer filed a petition seeking dismissal of the judicial remand.

The court thus ordered dismissal and granted bail to Awan against a surety bond worth Rs50,000.

Speaking to the media, Awan said that he is being blamed for no reason. The justice that I got was that I was arrested.

I just asked for what is mine. I will go to the Supreme Court, he added.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has asked the Supreme Court on Friday to make Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resign till the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) completes probe into Panama case.

He declared PM an obstacle in the investigation of his familys money trail and offshore accounts, adding that PML-N lawmaker Nehal Hashmi had already attacked the JIT with his furious speech. He asked the PTI workers to prepare themselves in case PML-N attempts anything violent.

Read more: Hussain Nawaz appears before JIT for fifth time

PTI Chief was addressing to media at Bani Gala where he criticised the ruling party of PML-N for interfering in the interrogation conducted by JIT. He maintained that PM Nawaz would never resign on their demand so the apex court should issue such orders.

He warned his party workers that the PML-N could back another attack on the Supreme Court, telling them to protect the highest court. We are waiting for the final verdict of JIT, he said while expressing hope that the decision will be in their favour. He stated Nawaz Sharif and PML-N are dangerous entities.

Imran Khan also made a comment on the leaked photo of premiers son Hussain Nawaz sitting under JIT interrogation. He differed to the claims of rival party leaders that Hussain Nawaz was a child sitting in fear. He wronged the impression and said a 45-year-old man is not a child.
When he was out on the campaign trail last year, candidate Donald Trump promised to appoint conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices who'd adhere to a strict reading of the U.S. Constitution and return law-and-order to the land.

Earlier this year, President Trump got one of those justices in U.S. Appeals Court Judge Neil Gorsuch, restoring a theoretical 5-4 conservative majority to the high court.

But as the Supremes get ready to hear a challenge to the administration's travel ban (and we can call it that, because Trump is calling it that), getting the affable Gorsuch onto the bench may not be enough to ensure that the ban survives.

That's because the high court's wildcard, Justice Anthony Kennedy, could end up having the final say over whether the ban lives or dies.

At the heart of the challenge to the administration's ban on travel from six, Muslim-majority countries is whether it's motivated, as the administration says, by national security interests, or if it's an exercise in anti-Muslim animus.

In an extraordinary ruling last month, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a stinging rebuke to the administration, effectively accusing it of lying about its motivations.

"Trump's own statements show that he lied when he said the purpose of the executive order was national security," Bloomberg View columnist Noah Feldman, a Harvard Law professor, wrote in a May 25 column.

"Once that conclusion was on the table," Feldman observed, Chief Judge Roger Gregory, a Clinton appointee, "easily went on to show that such animus violated the establishment clause by sending a message to Muslims that they are outsiders in the political community."

Most observers agree -- including the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway -- that Trump did himself few legal favors with a Monday tweet storm related to the ban.

And that's where Kennedy, a Ronald Reagan appointee, who essentially wrote the book on animus, enters into things.

In a must-read on Kennedy, Quartz's Jake Flanagin writes that Kennedy "first identified animus as a contemporary means to invalidate unconstitutional laws in his 1996 opinion in Romer v. Evans," a civil rights case from Colorado that served as a place-setter for the court's 2015 decision legalizing gay marriage.

In Romer, Kennedy sided with the court's majority, which "[struck] down an amendment to the Colorado state constitution which forbade the state legislature and city governments from adopting anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBT Americans," Flanagin wrote.

"The amendment's 'sheer breadth' was "so discontinuous with the reasons offered for it that [it] seems inexplicable by anything but animus toward the class that it affects," he [Kennedy] wrote,'" Flanagin reported.

Flanagin observes -- and I agree -- that it's pretty easy to imagine Kennedy substituting "Muslims" for "gay people" in that analysis and voting against the administration, thus denying it the five-vote majority it needs for the ban to survive.

And if the Romer case was an isolated incident, that might be one thing. In a number of decisions down the years, Kennedy has reapplied the 'animus' standard, notably in United States v. Windsor, which struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act and in Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage, Flanagin reported.

In addition, Kennedy's legal reasoning in a 2015 immigration case could also play against the administration.

As Reuters reports, that ruling "involved an Afghan-born naturalized U.S. citizen named Fauzia Din who argued she had the right for a full explanation from the U.S. government as to why her Afghan husband was denied entry. The justices ruled 5-4 against her."

There, "Kennedy wrote in a concurring opinion that in some circumstances the U.S. government's motives in denying someone entry could be subject to legal review," Reuters reported.

If Kennedy decides the administration was motivated by something other than legitimate national security interests, it could be game-over, Feldman observed.

"If Kennedy reads Trump's executive order temporarily blocking immigration from six predominantly Muslim countries as an exercise of anti-Muslim animus, the ban will fall at the court," he wrote.

Kennedy is now 81 years old, and liberal activists have been urging him to stay on through the Trump administration.

As Feldman notes, "I find it almost impossible to believe that Kennedy... would want to sign an opinion closing his eyes to animus, which he himself did so much to make into a constitutional touchstone," he wrote.

And that could be the administration's worst nightmare.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) sought on Thursday the details of plea bargain between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Sharmila Faruqui and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in corruption reference.

A division bench was hearing the petition filed by Faruqui who had approached the court against NAB for writing to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the Sindh Assembly Speaker to disqualify her as she had been convicted by a court. The PPP lawmaker had requested the court to restrain the relevant authorities from disqualifying her from MPA office.

Faruqui had maintained in her petition that the top anti-corruption body of the country had filed a reference against her, her father, who was the then Pakistan Steel Mills chairperson, and her mother for investing a huge amount in national saving schemes that did not commensurate with their known sources of income. She had contended that her family had entered into a plea bargain with the NAB, which was allowed by the relevant court in 2001.

Her counsel argued that the Section 15 of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, cannot be applied to Faruquis case, according to which a person stands disqualified for holding a public office for 21 years after having been convicted by a court.

On the other hand, NAB prosecutor argued that Faruqui cannot hold any public office as she had been convicted by an accountability court.

Putting off the matter, the court sought details of the plea bargain which was held between the two parties in 2001.
More than three dozen people have been killed when separate bomb attacks struck commercial districts in Iraqs central provinces of Babil and Karbala as Iraqi government forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units, are battling to expel Daesh terrorists out of their last urban bastion in the country.

Security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a woman detonated her explosives-laden belt at the entrance to a crowded market in the mainly Shia populated town of Musayyib, located 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of the capital Baghdad, on Thursday.

The sources added that at least 30 people lost their lives in the attack, while 35 others sustained injuries. The injured were transported to nearby hospitals to receive medical treatment, while the bodies of the victims were shifted to the forensic medicine department.

The Daesh terror group, which has been leading a campaign of death and destruction in Iraq over the past few years, claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The development came only a few hours after nine people were killed and 16 others wounded in a bomb explosion at the entrance to a garage in the center of the holy shrine city of Karbala.

An unnamed official at Karbala health department said most of the victims were pilgrims, who had travelled to the city to pay homage to Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Imam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and his brother Abolfazl al-Abbas (PBUH).

Daesh later claimed the act of violence in a statement published on its Amaq news agency.

According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 354 Iraqi civilians were killed and 470 others injured as a result of acts of terrorism and violence in the conflict-ridden Arab country.

The UN mission, however, did not mention the number of Iraqi police forces, who were killed or sustained injuries in the unrest.

A large number of the fatalities were recorded in the troubled northern province of Nineveh, where 160 civilians were killed and 52 others wounded.

The capital province of Baghdad saw 86 people killed and another 226 injured.

Elsewhere, a total of 13 people died and 41 others were wounded in Iraqs southern oil-rich province of Basra.

Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units, commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Shaabi, have made sweeping gains against the Takfiri elements since launching the Mosul operation on October 17, 2016.

The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.
President Tayyip Erdogan has approved legislation on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar, signaling support for the Gulf state as it faces isolation imposed by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism.

Turkeys parliament pushed through the bill on Wednesday and Erdogans rapid approval of it, announced by his office late on Thursday, was followed by its publication in the Official Gazette on Friday, completing the legislative process.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting militants and their arch-adversary Iran - charges Qatar calls baseless. Several countries followed suit.

Qatar vowed on Thursday to ride out the isolation and said it would not compromise its sovereignty over foreign policy to resolve the regions biggest diplomatic crisis in years.

After an initial deployment of Turkish troops at a base in Doha, Turkish warplanes and ships will also be sent, the mass-circulation Hurriyet newspaper said on its website on Friday.

"The number of Turkish warplanes and Turkish warships going to the base will become clear after the preparation of a report based on an initial assessment at the base," Hurriyet said.

A Turkish delegation would go to Qatar in the coming days to assess the situation at the base, where around 90 Turkish soldiers are currently based, it said.

Turkish officials were not immediately available to comment on the report but Hurriyet said there were plans send some 200-250 soldiers within two months in the initial stage.

Erdogan also approved another accord between Turkey and Qatar on military training cooperation late on Thursday. Both bills were drawn up before the dispute erupted. Turkey has also pledged to provide food and water supplies to Qatar.

Erdogan has said isolating Qatar would not resolve any problems. Erdogan, who has long tried to play the role of a regional power broker, said Ankara would do everything in its power to help end the regional crisis.

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbors. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The bill did not specify how many troops would go nor when.
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 66F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 66F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
In 2016, Armenia exported four tons of gold, mostly in the form of Dore bars, a semi-pure alloy of gold (70%) and silver.

The exported gold is unprocessed, since Armenia doesnt have the plants and equipment. The gold is sent to Canada for processing.

Jewelers and banks in Armenia have to import processed gold. Major imports occurred in 2007 (5.7 tons) and in 2013 ($169 million in worth).

In 2016, Armenia imported 482 kilograms of gold worth $19.5 million. This is 154 kilograms less than in 2015.

According to data provided Armenias State Revenue Committee, banks imported most of the gold in the past five years.

The bulk of the imported gold comes from Switzerland, the UAE, and Australia.

While there have been discussions regarding establishing a gold processing facility in Armenia, nothing practical appears on the horizon.
The following is an Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) press release

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) welcomes a renewed Congressional effort - spearheaded by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and other Democratic members of the Armenian Caucus - to reverse "harmful cuts" to U.S. foreign aid to Armenia included in the Presidents Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget.

Congressional leadership is essential in rolling back the Presidents proposed deep cuts in U.S. aid to Armenia, said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. Attempts to slash aid to Armenia need to be met with strong bipartisan opposition and a renewed focus on empowering Armenia's aid-to-trade transition, including the negotiation of a badly needed U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty and establishment of direct Los Angeles to Yerevan commercial and cargo flights.

In a June 6th letter to Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY), the leaders of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, over 25 U.S. Representatives raised alarms about President Trumps call for a 67% cut to U.S. foreign aid to Armenia (reducing overall aid from $20.4 million in FY16 to $6.8 million in FY18), urging the restoration of aid levels for both Armenia and Artsakh.

Among the priorities that would suffer from the President's proposed cuts is American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA), a USAID program that has provided substantial aid to both the American University of Armenia and the Armenian-American Wellness Center.

At a time of tremendous global uncertainty, the U.S. should continue to foster the progress of its allies, not retreat from its responsibilities as the world's leading democracy, stated the Congressional letter. The full text of the letter is provided below.

Joining Representatives Anna Eshoo, Frank Pallone, Jackie Speier, and Adam Schiff in cosigning the letter were: Representatives Michael Capuano (D-MA), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Ruben Kihuen (D-NV), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), James McGovern (D-MA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Niki Tsongas (D-MA), and Tim Walz (D-MN).

In an earlier March 30th letter to Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey, a bipartisan group of more than two dozen U.S. Representatives underscored the importance of the U.S.-Armenia partnership, a relationship founded upon a shared commitment to faith, freedom, and democratic values. They stressed that U.S. assistance has empowered progress in the areas of democracy, rule of law, freedom of expression, and free enterprise.

Among the specific priorities cited in that Congressional Armenian Caucus-led letter were:

-- U.S. support for Armenia as a regional safe haven for Middle East refugees, in the form of a $40 million appropriation to support transitional programs, including short-term housing/rental assistance and social and economic integration initiatives.

-- A renewed focus on aid to Artsakh, with an appropriation of at least $8 million for de-mining, rehabilitation programs (such as the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center), and water supply systems.

-- A focused effort to check Azerbaijani aggression, through the appropriation of at least $20 million to support implementation of the Royce-Engel peace proposals, the suspension of U.S. military aid to Baku, and the strengthening of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.

-- An appropriation of at least $40 million in economic aid to Armenia, and no less than $11 million in military aid, with a focus on advancing U.S.-Armenia defense cooperation goals, promoting NATO interoperability, and supporting increased Armenias participation in global peacekeeping operations.

Thousands of Armenian American community advocates from across the U.S. have urged lawmakers to include these items in their annual foreign aid budget priorities, using the ANCAs action alert portal  anca.org/aid.

On March 16th, Representatives Schiff and Pallone delivered powerful testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations, echoing the priorities shared in the Congressional Armenian Caucus letter.

The House and Senate foreign aid subcommittees are currently drafting their versions of the FY18 State-Foreign Operations bill. Once adopted by each chamber, they will aim to reconcile these two versions and send a final appropriation to the President for his signature.

#####

Text of the June 6, 2017, Congressional Letter on Aid to Armenia, Addressed to Chairman Hal Rogers and Ranking Democrat Nita Lowey

Dear Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Lowey,

As Members who care deeply about strengthening the bilateral relationship between the United States and the Republic of Armenia, we urge you to reject the harmful cuts to U.S. foreign aid to Armenia included in the President's Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget.

The President's FYI8 budget calls for a 67 percent cut to U.S. foreign aid to Armenia, reducing overall aid from $20.4 million in FY16 to $6.8 million in FY18. These cuts come at a critical time in Armenia's history as it continues to integrate into the global economy and advance democratic institutions and political freedoms at home and will directly limit the ability of the

U.S. to promote American standards and values within a critical ally in a sensitive region of the world.

Specifically the FYI8 budget eliminates funding for critical programs under the Assistance for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia account that promote economic growth and civil and democratic institutions within Armenia, a nation that continues to emerge from decades of rule under the former Soviet Union. The budget also eliminates funding for programs that support Armenia's efforts to aid the U.S. in the global war on terrorism and bring peace and security to the South Caucasus. Finally, the budget would eliminate aid provided under the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which provides assistance to schools, libraries, and medical centers outside the U.S. to demonstrate American health and education practices. ASHA helped to fund Armenia's first woman's mammography center, which has since expanded into a nine department hospital that sees over 150 patients a day.

Furthermore, this budget omits language supporting critical humanitarian assistance in Nagorno Karabakh, especially for the demining of civilian areas. We recommend assistance for victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in amounts consistent with prior years, and ask for continued funding to ensure sufficient support allowing for the completion of demining efforts by 2020.

These relatively modest investments make it possible for the U.S. to promote democratic institutions and values among critical allies located in strategically important regions of the world. At a time of tremendous global uncertainty, the U.S. should continue to foster the progress of its allies, not retreat from its responsibilities as the world's leading democracy.

As the U.S. and Armenia commemorate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations, we urge the committee to reject the harmful cuts to U.S. aid to Armenia proposed by the President's FYI8 budget.
Authorities Should Immediately Investigate, Ensure Protection

The following was released by Human Rights Watch

(Berlin, June 8, 2017)  A prominent human rights defender in Armenia has received death threats, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should immediately investigate the threats, made on the rights defenders Facebook page, and ensure that he gets the protection he needs.



Artur Sakunts, the director of Helsinki Citizens Assembly Vanadzor Office (HCA-Vanadzor), reported that on June 2, 2017, a Facebook user threatened to kill Sakunts in a comment on his Facebook page. The threat appeared to be in response to Sakunts Facebook post the same day criticizing the Armenian government. The death threat was followed by a threat from another Facebook user. HCA-Vanadzor is a leading human rights organization in Armenia.



The Armenian authorities should waste no time in meeting their obligations to investigate the death threat against Artur Sakunts and provide him with the protection he needs, said Jane Buchanan, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. No one should fear death for publicly criticizing the government.



The June 2 Facebook post from a user named Ashot Avanesyan said, Sakunts, Ill kill you [traitors] like you must have their heads [cut] off. Wait for me any moment. I am not one who shoots from the back; Ill shoot from the front, two to three meters, with a 9mm caliber bullet. Wait for me, Sakunts. Following Avanesyans post, a second Facebook user named Artur Ghazaryan also threatened Sakunts saying that, The country should be cleaned of him.



On June 5, Sakunts reported the death threat to the general prosecutors office, which is examining it to determine if there are grounds to initiate a criminal investigation.



Sakunts told Human Rights Watch that he has received threats in the past, but the June 2 threat alarmed him because it was very specific in terms of method, even to the caliber of the bullet.



Armenias human rights ombudsman also raised concerns about the threats and called for an investigation.



HCA-Vanadzor, operating since 1998, is based in Vanadzor, Armenias third largest city. The organization provides legal aid to victims of human rights abuses, makes policy recommendations to the government, monitors elections, and carries out peace-building activities.



For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Armenia, please visit:

https://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia/armenia



For more information, please contact:

In Tbilisi, Giorgi Gogia (English, Georgian, Russian): +995-577-42-12-35 (mobile); or [email protected]. Twitter: @Giorgi_Gogia

In New York, Jane Buchanan (English, Russian): +1-646-644-4847; or [email protected]. Twitter: @JaneMBuchanan

In New York, Rachel Denber (English, Russian, French): +1-917-916-1266 (mobile); or [email protected]. Twitter: @rachel_denber
Tauranga city councilors are scratching around to find funding to repair slips around the Mauao base track with one estimate putting the cost of repairs as high as $2.2 million.

"One of the highlights of the Annual Plan Deliberations was the success of a motion to consider Crowd Funding to help fund the significant costs of repairing the base track of Mauao, says city councillor Leanne Brown in a post.

 ... we were only informed at the Mauao Joint Board Committee on Tuesday that it could be as high as $2.2million. Whilst weve yet to make a decision on permanent repair options, we know itll be a big number.

Leanne and councillor Steve Morris put together a recommendation for council staff to seek other funding opportunities from the regional council and central government.

Mauao is a place where people come from New Zealand wide and even from overseas to walk around, so we thought it would be nice to get some assistance from those areas, says Mayor Greg Brownless, speaking afterwards.

A short term solution of temporary wooden steps up and over the damaged portion will be in place in the coming months, says Leanne. This wont cater for pushchairs, but itll at least open up the circuit again.

Council staff have also been directed to see if legislation permits the city council to crowd fund through givealittle.

The city councils parks and recreation manager Mark Smith says council staff are still looking at options for reinstating the track.

At present we havent decided on an option so we dont know what it may cost  were working through this now.

The engineers who have looked at the site came back with several ways we could reinstate it. Were looking for a long-term solution that reduces risk around the vulnerable slopes near the slip site that arent part of the slip itself. We also need to ensure that it doesnt have a significant negative impact on historical site. This is a challenge in that particular area of Mauao.

He says they will know more in a week of two, and have more information about the timeline for temporary access.

The base track has been closed since April when a large slip took out a section of the base track on the southern side of Mauao.
Elizabeth Charleston, winner of the Shiseido Fashions in the Field at Tauranga Racecourse in March, has gone on to place third at the Brisbane Racing Carnivals Treasury Brisbane Ladies Oaks Day held at Doomben Racecourse.

Last Weekends trip to Brisbane was part of the prize package Elizabeth received as Supreme Winner of the Racing Tauranga event.

The champion show rider, international model and brain injury advocate, was accompanied to Brisbane by good friend and milliner, Monika Neuhauser. Elizabeth wore a black and silver outfit with a bespoke Monika Neuhauser Canotier hat.

The QueensPlaza Fashions on the Field event attracted over 80 entrants in both Mens and Womens categories. There were 7 heats in the Womens category from which 10 finalists were chosen. According to Jessica Grima, Marketing Coordinator for the Brisbane Racing Club, the theme was feminine and classic. So, the judges were looking for competitors to use that theme and apply their own taste/style to create a unique and beautiful ensemble. It was a very close competition, with Miss Grima stating: It took the judges a fair bit of deliberating to choose our winners.

Spokesperson for Racing Tauranga, Abbie Davie, praised Elizabeth for her success in Australia, saying the Club could not have hoped for a better representative.

Elizabeth was up against some extremely high-quality competition. She has done the Club and our sponsors proud.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan flew today to Kazakhstan to attend opening ceremonies at the Astana Expo 2017.

The theme for the expo, scheduled to remain open until September 10, is "Future Energy".

Over 100 countries and several major multinational corporations will be participating.
Extra security measures are being implemented in the town centre of Gibraltar, following recent attacks in London where terrorists used vans to drive into groups of people.

Temporary barriers have been erected at the ends of Main Street and intersections with it, and the government is working with the Royal Gibraltar Police on the viability of more permanent measures, bearing in mind that residents and emergency and delivery vehicles need access to the area despite it being mainly pedestrianised.

One idea being considered is the installation of retractable bollards in strategic locations.

News of the latest attack in London, in which eight people are known to have died and over 40 were injured, has increased concern among many people in Gibraltar about a similar attack being possible there, and a situation arose on Tuesday where the police were called at 2pm to investigate reports that a possible terrorist had been seen in the Casemates area.

Like Chinese whispers, the rumour quickly spread that the man in question was carrying a sword. The police used social media to publish a photo of him and ask for information about his whereabouts, and he was located and apprehended about 3.30pm.

His sword was found to be nothing more than a musical instrument, but the authorities have adopted a better safe than sorry approach and welcome any reports of possible problems even if they later turn out to be false alarms.

In fact, the RGP website www.police.gi is encouraging people to be vigilant and always report any type of suspicious behaviour, as part of its counter-terrorism policy. The emergency phone number to ring is 199 in Gibraltar, and the non-emergency line is (00350) 20072500.

The police have also published an Awareness Guide with contact details so members of the public can help them protect the community and improve safety. It can be downloaded from the website, together with their Stay Safe leaflet with advice on what to do if caught up in any terrorist incident.
From textiles to clocks, weaving to mosaics, ceramics to paintings, sculptures to photographs: the works of the artists who took part in the recent Open Studios event drew hundreds of people to the picturesque village of Gaucin over the past two weekends, some of them travelling long distances to enjoy this annual event.

It is very unusual for a place so small to be such a focus for the arts, but Gaucin has always had an active artistic community and over the years the Open Studios weekends have attracted a very large following.

It is a lovely experience, wandering through the streets of this beautiful village in the Serrania de Ronda and popping into some or all of the 17 studios. The variety of the works on display is quite remarkable and it is fascinating to be able to chat to the artists and, in some cases, see them in action.

One of the most surprising displays this year was by textile artist Belen Montero, whose quilting and patchwork pictures were exhibited perfectly in a bright and tranquil room in the Casa de la Juventud, which was the first studio to be visited on the route.

A display which had a real impact was that of Michael Roschlau, whose colourful and intricate works, including clocks, act like a magnet to make one draw closer for a better look, and then often reveal a darker and more disturbing, sometimes sinister, side.

The visit to ceramic artist Caroline Gullicks studio struck a more delicate note, with her beautiful representations of flowers and plants on pale-coloured wall-hangings, jugs and dishes, while Nozomi Hatanos minimalist paintings were a delight as always, often reflecting solitude or incorporating unicorns as a representation of masculine power or shells and spirals to reflect feminine elegance and sensuality.

Techniques

Like Nozomi, Sara Webb finds landscapes inspiring and her works are often based upon scenes from her travels through Andalucia and Morocco. Sara learned various printing techniques including etching, woodcut and lithography when she was studying in Singapore, and she also uses inks, water colour and oil paints.

Scenes from daily life in Spain and Morocco also inspire photographer Vivienne Whiffen, a founder member of Art Gaucin, the association which organises the Open Studios event. Vivienne has lived in this country on and off for over 40 years and her atmospheric photos, whether in black and white or colour, capture moments in time which will be as relevant in the future as they are today.

Sebastian Fisher describes his sculptural work as an exploration of both natural form and a reflection of his own inner quest for meaning and beauty. He often works in metal, hand forging his creations which are inspired not only by Nature but also by his deep interest in the sacred elements of Indian art.

Unfortunately there is only space to mention a few of the 17 artists who participated in the Open Studios in Gaucin this year, but this event never fails to be fascinating and it is definitely a date that all art lovers should put in the diary for next year.
On 9 June 1976, the Spanish authorities approved a law to authorise the existence of political parties, an essential step towards the countrys first democratic elections since 1931, following the Franco dictatorship. Those elections took place in June 1977.

General Franco established his fascist government in Spain after overthrowing the democratically elected Republic government in the 1936-39 civil war, and he ruled with an iron hand until his death in 1975.

Franco had always said that the monarchy, which had been deposed in 1931, would be restored after his death, and in 1965 he named Juan Carlos de Borbon, the grandson of exiled King Alfonso XIII, to succeed him as head of state, bypassing Juan Carlos father, Juan de Borbon.

The period between Francos death and the election of a new government is known as the Transition, and it was a difficult time politically and economically although it was a key factor in Spain later joining the European Economic Community and NATO.

In July 1976 King Juan Carlos chose Alfonso Suarez to be the new head of government; he became the countrys 138th prime minister. The move was greeted with suspicion by many because of Suarezs links with the Franco regime, but he gained the confidence of the electorate by offering several political amnesties and dismantling elements of the dictatorship.

He introduced the right to strike and to join a trade union, and established a new law through which Spains electoral system resembled that of a liberal parliamentary democracy.

The four main parties in the 1977 elections were the Union of the Democratic Centre, Spanish Socialist Workers Party, Communist Party of Spain and the Popular Alliance. The UCD won the election but without a majority, so it was forced to form a coalition with other parties.

Parliament began to draft a Spanish Constitution in mid-1977, and it was then approved in a referendum in December 1978.

However, tensions steadily grew within the coalition and the UCD party, and as a result Adolfo Suarez resigned in 1981.

Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo was appointed to lead the government in his place. He later went on to become the leader of the party.
The Costa Press Club announced the winners of its Communicator 2016 awards at its 15th anniversary gala dinner on Thursday evening.

The association for international journalists on the Costa del Sol launched its annual awards in 2006 with the aim of honouring excellence in English-language journalism on the Costa del Sol. The competition is open to professionals in all forms of media, from printed press to broadcasting, photography, digital and multimedia.

The 2016 winner is American-born Abby Roule, who started her lifestyle and travel blog about Malaga, Spain and the rest of the world six years ago.

Abbys Andalucia Travel Guide features Malaga, where she has been living for the last two years, as well as towns, villages and cities in the rest of the region.

The bilingual blog El boqueron viajero, which 35-year-old Abby writes with her malagueno partner Pedro, covers the couples travels around the globe, a hobby that turned into an occupation when they opened their travel boutique, Autentico Nueva York.

Abby has a broad, popular appeal and has made the most of new media to convey her messages, as well as embracing bilingualism, said the panel of judges.

For the first time this year the Costa Press Club introduced a new category for the under-20s to find its Young Communicator for 2016.

Sixteen-year-old Swans International School student Andrea Henderson de la Fuente collected her award on Thursday for her portfolio of written work and photography produced last year. Andrea, who says she has been writing all my life, has published a summer blog and edits her school magazine. She has won awards, not just for writing, but also for playing chess on a regional, national and international level. Andrea told SUR in English that in the future she will use her creativity and imagination to study astrophysics.

Members of the Press Club and their guests were entertained at the gala dinner, held at the Avanto restaurant in Mijas Costa, by Barcelona-based British journalist, author and stand-up comedian Tim Parfitt.
When the English writer and Hispanophile Laurie Lee stepped off the boat and onto the harbour of Algeciras in November 1951, pandemonium greeted him. It was 15 years since Lee had been in Spain, but the seafront of this chaotic, dirty fishing village was just as he remembered it: Beggars crowding the quayside, picking up the heads of fish...the tiny, delicate-stepping donkeys, and the barefoot children scrambling around our legs... Here were the bars and the talking men, the smell of sweet conac and old dry sherries. This is from Lees first book about Spain, 1955s A Rose for Winter, written after a four-month, five-city tour he made of the region with his wife Kati in 1951. Algeciras was their first - and last - stop.

Fast-forward to 2017 and you find little about the citys now-enormous port to identify it as the subject of Lees description. There are no donkeys, no beggars stealing fish heads from the straw-strewn floor and no barefooted children running about. Separated from the rest of town by a busy main road is an area dominated by giant cranes and stacked freight containers - a mini-city with an angular, steel skyline all of its own.

Arabic kebab shops and scruffy stalls selling ferry tickets to Africa - the northern coast of which is only about 30 kilometres away, over the Strait of Gibraltar - line a dilapidated marina. There is still poverty here, but even someone as in love with Spain as Lee was could find nothing to romanticise. Homeless people shelter under the grim concrete canopy formed by quayside hotels, their shapes barely distinguishable from filthy blankets that provide scant privacy. Lees merry, dirt-grained beggar children have been replaced by adults who are simply and sadly without a home or opportunity.

Still very much in evidence, though, is what Lee called the open market of Mediterranean life, which he observed unfolding on the old towns prettiest space, Plaza Alta. It is still true that one sees all kinds of life playing out on streets and squares of Andalucia and, as I found out when I retraced Lees steps to Plaza Alta, Algeciras is no exception. Moments after Id found a bar and ordered a drink, a scruffy-looking man of about forty came in carrying a half-drunk plastic cup of beer, talking animatedly to himself and wearing denims that had obviously not seen a washing machine for years. Gypsy-dark and unshaven, his voice was gravelly and hoarse from countless cigarettes. He asked for change and, while he worked the fruit machine, embarked upon a loud and passionate monologue about the misfortunes of his gambling career.

Chuckling to themselves as he rambled on were several old men - the talking men that Lee identified as a staple of Spanish bars - enjoying a pre-dinner sherry and chatting to the bar staff. Outside on the square, meanwhile, a group of anti-bullfighters chanted furious slogans of opposition to the controversial Spanish spectacle, surrounded by playing children and dogs. The occasional beggar wandered among them, asking their well-dressed parents for money or cigarettes. This was perhaps a more sanitised version of the street life Lee observed in the Algeciras of 1951, but its basic elements were the same.

Harder to find are the sea-hardened fishermen that enlivened the citys dank boozing taverns in the early fifties, before industrialisation made a relic of their way of life. Lee describes an encounter with one such character named Pepe, a wine-soaked man of the sea who looked as though he had landed that day from a voyage that began five thousand years before. Pepe belts out love songs to the Englishmans beautiful wife as they all get annihilated on black wine. Lee admires his earthiness, his utter lack of pretension: He reeked of wine and olives, of garlic and the sea. He also reeked of glory. The refined English writer also envies the drunken Spanish fisherman for inhabiting the pure sources of feeling that once animated as all.

Visiting the citys wonderful Mercado de Abastos, you sense that locals like this still exist in Algeciras, even though they are less conspicuous than they were 66 years ago. This is a rough-and-ready, noisy and joyful market in which old men shoot the breeze over cold beer and fried fish served out of tiny kiosks (Bar Antonio is the best). Though standing right next to each other, they talk incredibly loudly - in the notoriously thick Cadiz accent - and the clatter of their conversation cuts through the markets hot, sea-spiced atmosphere. Though just a couple of hundred metres away from the somewhat depressing marina, the Abastos market is full of colour and life: indeed, it makes you understand more why Algeciras - with all its dirt and poverty, its beggars and its smugglers - was so special for Lee.

In some cases, as the writer says when talking about Pepe, the rough charm of Algeciras older citizens may be attributable to a lack of formal education or cosmopolitan sophistication, sarcastically described by Lee as a triumph of enlightenment and comfort. Certainly, there is little cosmopolitanism here: tourists are few and far between, with most of them jumping on the ferry for Morocco shortly after arriving in the city. Yet although mechanisation and industry has eaten into the numbers of Algeciras locals like Lees sea-hardened fisherman, the city - and in particular the Mercado de Abastos - is still rich with characters in touch with pure sources of feeling.
In the 1980s Adnan Khashoggi was considered the king of the Marbella jet set and the lavish parties he threw at his residence in Benahavis and on board his megayacht Nabila were legendary, but his departure from the town bore none of the glamour of those golden years.

The enormous 900-hectare estate on which he had built his home was embargoed by three banks; it was eventually acquired by a group of Spanish, Swiss, German and American investors and is now the prestigious La Zagaleta residential development, which is considered the most luxurious in Europe.

His yacht did not fare much better. It too was eventually sold and, after being used in the James Bond film Never Say Never, was bought by Donald Trump.

Khashoggi was born in Mecca in 1935 and became a billionaire at an early age after seeing an opportunity as an arms dealer in the conflicts in the Middle East.

Thanks to his contacts, he was able to act as an intermediary between weapons manufacturers in the west and governments in the region, but his downfall came when he was jailed for money laundering. He retired to Riyadh, but spent time in different European cities until last year, when he suffered a stroke. He died in London on Tuesday.
Fashion designer David Delfin died in Madrid on Saturday after losing his battle with cancer at the age of 46. Born in Ronda in 1970, he was considered the enfant terrible of the Spanish fashion world for the audacity and unconventional spirit he brought to the catwalk.

Hi career took off in 2001 when he created the brand Davidelfin along with the Hermanos Postigo (Deborah, Diego and Gorka) and the model Bimba Bose, his friend, muse and partner, who also died recently from cancer.

However, it was his debut at Cibeles (Madrid Fashion Week) in September 2002 where he really came into the public eye for his controversial collection which saw models hooded, with rope around their necks and bandages all over their body, coming out to the sound of an orgasm. It closed to the sound of booing. He later apologised.

This controversy didnt hold him back, though. The following year, at the same show, he picked up the award for the best collection by a young designer.

Delfin took a leap onto the international stage in 2009 when he took part in New York Fashion Week for the first time. He would do another four seasons there.

In 2011, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. organised a retrospective exhibition of his work.

His last appearance at Madrid Fashion Week was on 16 February 2016, where he presented his final collection. A month previously he had been diagnosed with cancer. He announced that he was suffering from three brain tumours.

He withdrew from the public eye to undergo treatment, reappearing in September 2016, saying that he felt really strong and he didnt find the thought of giving up very attractive.

In November, the cultural ministry gave him a national fashion prize, one of many accolades he received throughout the course of his career.

The judging panel praised the strength of his creative message, his ability to transcend the boundaries between fashion and art, genders and generations, and the social conscience shown in his work.

He rarely shied away from his social responsibilities and in 2011, he used his graphic design skills to help the Costa del Sol health agency warn about the dangers of sun exposure, designing the slogan: Disfrutar del sol sin dejarte la piel.

Despite his fame, he kept his native Marbella close to his heart. He lived in the town from the age of three and he returned there during his illness, seeking refuge in the Puente Romano hotel.

His family still reside close to the town centre and his body was brought home on Sunday. The funeral took place at the Iglesia de la Encarnacion on Monday and was attended by family and close friends.

The mayor of Marbella, who was also present, said that the town would be honouring its favourite son with a posthumous tribute.
Leading representatives from the Nerja Cave foundation allowed journalists access to parts of the Nerja cave system not usually open to the public on Tuesday, with the aim of promoting the idea of making June 6 a UNESCO international subterranean world day.

The visit was led by the foundations director, Carlos Garcia, and conservationist, Luis Efren Fernandez. It included showing an ongoing archaeological dig, where scientists from a number of different countries, including the UK, USA, France, Belgium and Italy, are working, as well as the entrance first used by the five discoverers of the cave in 1959. Luis Efren Fernandez said, The caves arent just about visitors- it is important to remember that work continues to learn more about them.

The United Nations General Assembly designates a number of International Days to mark important aspects of human life and history, which may be proposed by UNESCO or other UN specialised agencies.
Catalonia now has a date and a question for its independence referendum, despite the refusal of the Spanish government to authorise the vote. Carles Puigdemont, the president of the regional government (Generalitat), solemnly announced on Friday morning that the referendum, which aims to be binding and with full democratic guarantees, would take place on 1 October.

The Catalonian government will call its 5.5 million-strong electorate to the polls to answer the following question: "Do you want Catalonia to be an independent State in the form of a republic?"

The announcement comes in defiance of Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy's refusal to authorise a referendum or to discuss independence.

Puigdemont has promised to implement the result of the referendum, which his government would treat as "mandate". "It's the turn of the people of Catalonia to decide their future. It is in their hands to make it possible," he said on Friday morning.
Recently Velez-Malaga was awarded 10 million euros of European funding for projects to restore a number of historic buildings in its old town and coastal areas. At the same time Marbella, Benalmadena and Ronda heard that they had missed out on EDUSI funding, which translates as integrated sustainable urban development.

The money comes from the European Union Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which was set up by the European Union to help, as the name suggests, with regional development. These regions by nature are supposed to be poor. As an example, Cornwall, the East Midlands, the northwest and northeast of England are all eligible for this type of funding as towns and cities in those areas have either suffered the loss of major industries and mining in recent decades or have few job opportunities.

Large parts of Spain are also able to access the funds. However, Marbella town hall opposition councillor, Felix Romero, wasted no time in attacking the current administration for not doing enough to secure the funding for his town when the announcement was made. He said that, There are few towns in Andalucia that are more deserving of this type of subvention than Marbella. One might be forgiven for questioning his belief that Marbella is more deserving of such funds compared to the rest of the region.

EU funding has always attracted criticism, with northern European countries, considered to be generally richer than their southern neighbours, saying that they are giving money to the corrupt south and the poorer southern countries in the south believing that the rich north reaps all the benefits.

Either way, Velez-Malaga is hoping to attract more tourists, and create jobs with its investment and at least in Andalucia, perhaps eventually the difference between rich and poor will be less noticeable.
Its June Dairy Month and it seems that those of us involved in the dairy industry are promoting milk and dairy products this season. Just paging though local papers I found several different ways that dairy was or will be promoted in our nearby communities.

 Dairy Day at the Mooseum  Held on the National Dairy Shrine Museums grassy backyard, the Saturday event included a parade of all seven dairy breeds, both heifers and cows, as a spokesperson talked about each breeds characteristics. There were also educational materials and games related to agriculture.

 Dairy promotion events  The next county over, Dane, is home to the state capital, Madison. A dedicated group of dairy promoters has organized Cows on the Concourse for decades. Madison residents and those who come to the citys capitol square for the farmers market on the first Saturday of June are treated to cows, educational booths, dairy food vendors, music, and the chance to talk to dairy producers.

 Dairy breakfasts  Held either at a working dairy farm or at a fairgrounds, these events serve as a fundraisers, generally for youth scholarships. The dairy breakfast in Jefferson County was held at the fairgrounds, while Dane County and the neighboring town, Watertown, will hold their dairy breakfasts on dairy farms.

 Dairy and agri-business events  For the fifth year, Culvers restaurant in nearby Johnson Creek, hosts Culvers & Cows. The event has (dairy-focused) childrens games, calves to pet, and a model cow to milk. 4-H members assist in the restaurant with delivering food on a Monday evening. Dairy producers and other members are outside with the animals to answer questions. Culvers then donates a portion of the sales to the local 4-H club.

 Dairy product celebration  This is the newest twist on June Dairy Month, at least for me. The local bank is inviting residents to stop into the bank and enjoy some dairy products all day on a Friday. So, even if they do not have live animals in the bank, they are embracing the partnership that financial institutions have with dairy businesses and the economy.

Regardless of the method, milk and dairy products are getting some added exposure this time of year. Embrace the positive promotion and take the time to attend events in your area and share your story with your consumers.

The author is the online media manager and is responsible for the website, webinars, and social media. A graduate of Modesto Junior College and Fresno State, she was raised on a California dairy and frequently blogs on youth programs and consumer issues.

Our next webinar:

Monitoring and managing metabolic diseases in the transition cow"
Arcadia receives first DNV GL verified EU MRV monitoring plans

Arcadia Shipmanagement has become the first company to receive verification from class society DNV GL for compliant monitoring plans for the fleet under the new EU MRV regulation.

We are very proud to be the first shipping company to have been awarded the verified EU MRV management plans, for our fleet, by the worlds leading classification society, DNV GL, said Mattheou Dimitrios, Arcadia Shipmanagement managing director. This verification marks the first milestone for smooth compliance with the EU MRV regulation. At Arcadia we are committed to providing safe and reliable transportation of oil by sea and continue to broaden the values and ideas that build safety and environmental excellence, applying effective management systems to comply with incoming regulations to consistently achieve reliable and environmental incident-free performance, he added. The EU MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) regulation entered into force on 1st July, 2015 and it requires shipowners and operators to annually monitor, report and verify CO2 emissions for vessels larger than 5,000 gt calling at any EU and EFTA (Norway and Iceland) port. Data collection takes place on a per voyage basis starting 1st January, 2018. The aggregated ship emission and efficiency data will be published by the European Commission by 30th June 2019 followed by every consecutive year. We would like to congratulate Arcadia Shipmanagement for being the first to receive EU MRV management plan verification, for their whole fleet, by DNV GL. It demonstrates their willingness to ensure that their vessels are out in front of the market in terms of compliance and in their sensitivity to the environment, said George Teriakidis, Business Development Manager, DNV GL  region South East Europe & Middle East. The EU MRV is the first of many regulations that will require more of the shipping industry in terms of data collection and sharing. We have invested in developing our competence and services for this new regime, including putting in place a set of digital solutions that will make compliance as simple and transparent as possible for our customers. Verifavia has officially certified Vewson Nauticals Veslink Voyage Reporting system as a solution for EU MRV regulation. Veslink Voyage Reporting streamlines data collection and distribution from vessels, operators, agents, and counterparties, and is used by more than 100 of the top shipping organisations worldwide, managing over 5,000 vessels. Verifavia,an-accredited global EU MRV verifier by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and the French Accreditation Body (COFRAC), certified that the system complied with ISO standard 25051 on software engineering and 17065 on product certification. With Veslink, all MRV required data is captured within standard vessel forms as part of the normal workflow for arrival, departure, and noon reporting. The collected data instantly feeds standardised reporting templates that can be submitted for MRV compliance. In addition, Veslink users can continuously monitor their fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in real-time via integrated business intelligence dash boards. Weve taken a proactive approach to addressing the upcoming EU MRV regulation so that our clients will be in compliance without having to modify their existing workflows, said John Veson, Veson Nautical president. Were excited to have developed a certified solution within Veslink to ensure compliance well in advance of the deadline, making the process simple for our users. Our philosophy has always been to evolve our products to support the needs of our clients and that includes acquiring certification for regulatory requirements like MRV.




Risk assessment offered to cyber security industry working group

Inmarsat has given its backing to a new joint working group (JWG) formed by IACS to develop a co-ordinated position on cybercrime and its prevention.

The satellite service provider said that stakeholder unity was critical in meeting the unpredictability of the cyber security threat to shipping.



IACS said that the JWG approach as key to driving pan-industry technical or policy initiatives forward where the issue identified affects not only its members but other parts of the industry. Inmarsat is a founding member of the group, which is led by George Reilly of ABS and has been charged with evaluating measures to develop standardised industry practices to oppose maritime cyber threats from any direction.



Inmarsat will launch its own Unified Threat Management cyber security solution for the shipping industry later this year, but Inmarsat emphasised that the cyber security working group was neutral in terms of commercial interests. Its aim was to attract industry-wide participation to encourage shipping to speak with a coherent voice on cyber security.



In another move, Inmarsat has reached an agreement with Wallem Group to phase-in Fleet Xpress.



Already contracted for over 10,000 vessels since it was launched just over a year ago with a rapidly increasing share of the VSAT market, Fleet Xpress delivers high-speed broadband through a combination of Ka-band backed up by the mobility and reliability of FleetBroadband using Inmarsats L-band capabilities. "Major shipowning and management companies are progressively switching to Fleet Xpress, but the Wallem reference is a milestone for the service," said Gerbrand Schalkwijk, Inmarsat Maritimes chief sales officer. In addition to its extensive fleet holdings and shipmanagement commitments that includes tankers, Wallem oversees a pool of 8,000 qualified seafarers worldwide.



With a strong reputation in the industry for providing quality maritime solutions, we are committed to evolving our services to meet the needs of shipowners both today and in the future, said David Price, Wallem Ship Management managing director. In the first instance, we choose communications technology based on its reliability and speed, but we also see the transition to Fleet Xpress as offering a gateway to greater operational efficiency and crew welfare.



He added; "Wallem offers a breadth of technical, commercial, procurement, crewing and safety services that bring special insight into the efficiency, sustainability and crew welfare benefits available from Fleet Xpress. We also offer procurement services separately to owners with and without ships under our technical management, demonstrating how highly valued our judgement is by others in the industry.




Shipowners urge EU/China to shape IMO GHG strategy

Following the US decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) have urged the European Union and China to intensify co-operation in achieving a global climate deal for shipping.

Indications of co-operation materialised during the 19th EU-China Summit held in Brussels last week. At the Summit, EU and Chinese leaders reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change. EU and Chinese leaders also looked forward to co-hosting, along with Canada, a major ministerial gathering in September to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement and accelerate the clean energy transition. "The withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement should not jeopardise an ambitious global strategy to reduce the CO2 emissions of shipping", said ECSA secretary general, Patrick Verhoeven, "We are therefore pleased that the EU and China appear to be working towards reinforced co-operation on delivering a climate agreement for shipping at the International Maritime Organisation." Discussions on the IMO greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategy will start in a few weeks' time, at the 71st session of the IMOs MEPC meeting. The IMO aims at establishing an initial strategy in 2018, which is to be finalised in 2023, after real-time data on global shippings CO2 emissions have been collected and analysed. Ahead of the MEPC meeting, the global shipping industry, represented by four international shipowner organisations, submitted a proposal to keep total global CO2 emissions below 2008 levels, and then progressively cutting annual total emissions from the sector by 2050, by a percentage to be agreed by IMO. We call upon the EU and China, and indeed all IMO member states, to support the industry proposals," said ICS secretary general, Peter Hinchliffe, "The priority of governments should be to focus on the development of alternative, fossil-free fuels and IMO should assess whether holding CO2 below 2008 levels can be achieved with technical and operational measures alone. ECSA and ICS continued to express concern about unilateral measures that the EU and other regional powers may be contemplating. The European Parliament is notably pushing for the unilateral inclusion of shipping in the European Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and the Chinese government is also considering a national ETS scheme, which could eventually include shipping. We remain firmly opposed to a patchwork of regional schemes that would distort international shipping markets while doing little to tackle the reduction of the global industrys actual emissions", concluded Verhoeven and Hinchliffe, Imposing regional solutions will be counter productive. It will anger developing nations that have agreed to participate in the IMO process despite their concerns about the implications for their economic development, making the prospect of a global agreement on truly meaningful CO2 reductions far more difficult if not impossible."




Tankers attacked

EU NAVFOR has confirmed that a tanker, the 2016-built LR1 NAVIG8 Providence, came under attack by suspected armed pirates on 1st June in the Gulf of Oman- the second such incident in the space of a couple of days.

NAVIG8 Providence was around 100 nautical miles east of Muscat when she was approached by six armed men in a skiff. It was believed that as the skiff moved towards the tanker, there was an exchange of small arms fire between the suspected pirates and the maritime security team on board the vessel. In an email to EU NAVFOR, the vessels Master said that his ships protection team saw a ladder in the skiff. After carrying out defensive manoeuvres in accordance with Best Management Practices (BMP4), together with the armed response from the tankers protection team, the suspected pirates broke off the attack and the vessel and crew were reported safe. Counter-piracy naval forces started a coordinated search for the skiff. Earlier, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, believed to be the 2003-built LR1 Muskie, was approached and fired upon by three men in a skiff in the southern Bab-el-Mandeb (BAM) Strait, the Red Sea on 31st May, 2017. An alarm was raised and non-essential crew mustered in the citadel. The on board armed security team fired warning shots resulting in the skiff moving away, UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said. Two warships proceeded to the area to assist the vessel, which sustained damage due to the firing. However, all crew were reported safe. The vessels Master reported that his vessel was fired upon by three rocket-propelled grenades, before the assailants broke off the attack. The tanker is now safe and en route to its next port, EU NAVFOR said in a statement. EU NAVFOR has not received any information that confirms that piracy-related tripwires/equipment were observed during the attack. This indicates that the incident is more probably related to the continuing instability at sea off the coast of Yemen.

Frontline's preliminary injunction request denied On 7th June, 2017, the High Court of the Marshall Islands denied Frontline's requestt for a preliminary injunction relating to transactions contemplated by deal between DHT and BW Group to but the latters VLCCs. The Court rejected Frontline's arguments and issued an order denying its motion for a preliminary injunction, citing Frontline's failure to demonstrate a probability of success on the merits of its claims. In particular, the Court noted that the acquisition of BW's fleet fell within the sound discretion of the DHT board of directors' business judgement, and that Frontline "has no likelihood of success" on any challenge to the rights plan implemented by the DHT board, as the rights plan was a reasonable response to Frontline's actions. Both the High Court of the Marshall Islands and the Supreme Court of the State of New York have now rejected Frontline's attempt to interfere with DHT's acquisition of BW's fleet, DHT claimed. Cravath, Swaine & Moore is serving as DHTs legal counsel.




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BAMTech chief technology officer Joe Inzerillo doesnt mince words on how broadband data caps might threaten the online video explosion. I dont think its healthy for the industry, Inzerillo said during the Streaming Media East conference in New York in May. I think an open, free internetnot free in terms of cost, but free of encumbrance from data capsis the right thing to do. Inzerillo is in a position to be concerned. BAMTech, a spinoff of MLB Advanced Media, provides the streaming technology for many popular online video services, including HBO Now, Sonys PlayStation Vue, WWE Network, and MLB TV. Those services are becoming increasingly attractive to consumers who want to cut cable TV, or at least shave the size of their pay TV packages. But perhaps in response to the rise of cord cutting, several major home internet providers are now trying to curb streaming video use through data caps. Internet service providers Comcast and Cox have both set 1TB caps in some markets, while AT&T sets varying limits based on speed tiers. All three companies charge an additional $10 per 50GB in excess of their limits, and if you want to restore unlimited data, Comcast charges $50 per month extra and AT&T charges $30 per month extra.

Mentioned in this article Apple TV (2015) Best Prices Today:

So during his conference keynote, I asked Inzerillo whether he was concerned about these developments, and what a company like BAMTech might be able do about it. Aside from just lobbying the federal government for more consumer-friendly policies, Inzerillo said we might see streaming providers tweak their apps to offer greater control over data consumption. Letting users reduce a streams frame rate from 60 frames per second to 30 frames per second, for instance, would consume far less bandwidth, as would reducing stream resolution to less than 1080p. Some streaming services, such as Sling TV, already offer various bandwidth settings. Inzerillo said that in general, the more aggressive ISPs get, the more options youll see to keep consumers in control. He pointed to wireless carrier programs such as T-Mobiles Binge On program as evidence that people are willing to make those trade-offs. You can imagine that theres some more of those switches, so people can elect to sacrifice quality for bandwidth, he said. Sling TV Sling TV has supported multiple quality settings since its launch in early 2015. Inzerillo did say that he didnt believe data caps on the wired side are too onerous right now, and suggested that their main purpose is to limit congestion. (For what its worth, this contradicts the explanation from ISPs, whove more or less admitted that the goal is to not to avoid congestion, but to extract money from people who use more data.) Still, he reiterated that home data caps are worrisome for the streaming industry. Certainly data caps are not good from a content provider standpoint, he said. Certainly nobody wants them to be super restrictive. New codecs could help Letting people trade higher quality for lower data consumption is one approach to fighting data caps, but streaming services are also trying to reduce data usage via new codecs (compression/decompression programs). Modern codecs could enable streaming providers to consume far less bandwidth without experiencing a noticeable drop in quality.

Mentioned in this article Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote (2016) Read our review

The compression issue, however, is much more complicated than just adding a few more quality levers for users. Two formats vying to replace H.264, but theres little consensus as to how the industry should move forward. HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), aka H.265, has been widely adopted in 4K smart TVs and streaming boxes, but non-4K devices and streaming services have avoided so they dont have to pay royalties for the intellectual property its based on. Google has pushed a free and open alternative called VP9, but its not as widely used by hardware makers, and Netflix has found VP9 to be less efficient than HEVC. Google nonetheless now requires all YouTube-certified televisions to support VP9, according to Matt Frost, Googles head of strategy and partnerships for Chrome. In a brief interview after his keynote, Inzerillo said this fragmentation has been a problem for companies like BAMTech, which dont want to keep duplicate their media to support lots of different formats. The notion of having a totally different stack, because this thing wants to speak VP9, and this thing wants to speak HEVC, thats the stuff thats an economic drain on the industry, and it also is one of those things where everyone gets a worse experience, Inzerillo said. So what were really pushing for is unilateral adoption. TechHive Might a subscription to a TV streaming service such as MLB.TV cause you to bump into your ISPs data cap? To complicate matters further, a group called the Alliance for Open Media is working on a new royalty-free format called AV1. Google, Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft, and several major chip vendors are among that groups members, and their goal is to push out an initial version that runs on desktop web browsers by the end of this year. During a presentation at the conference, Googles Matt Frost said the group is targeting a 40- to 50 percent improvement over HEVC. The AV1 ecosystem is gearing up, Frost said. Even so, it could be years before AV1 sees wide adoption on TVs and streaming boxes, and Inzerillo noted that despite the formats goal of avoiding royalty issues from the outset, it hasnt been tested in the real world. If they do infringe, then youre backing into a lawsuit with even less certainty than HEVC, he said.

Mentioned in this article Roku Streaming Stick (2016) Read our review
Rumors circulated a little over a year ago that executives at Google parent company Alphabet Inc. were looking to part ways with Boston Dynamics, the engineering and robotics design firm best known for creating some of the most advanced (and creepy) robots the world has ever seen.

Amazon and Toyota Research Institute were named as two potential suitors but in the end, it was Japanese telecommunications company SoftBank that scored the acquisition.

Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, said smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the information revolution. The executive added that Marc Raibert and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots and that he is thrilled to welcome them to the SoftBank family.

Raibert echoed similar sentiments, noting that Boston Dynamics is excited to be part of SoftBank's bold vision. He said they look forward to working with SoftBank in their mission to push the boundaries of what advanced robots can do and to create useful applications in a smarter and more connected world.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Boston Dynamics has been creeping out the collective Internet for more than two years with videos showcasing its robots' advancing capabilities. Its most recent robot, Handle, is ridiculously impressive (yet it's still classified as the stuff of nightmares).

As part of the deal with Alphabet, SoftBank has also agreed to acquire Japanese bipedal robotics company Schaft.

SoftBank last summer purchased chipmaker ARM for $31 billion. Last month, the company reportedly amassed a $4 billion stake in Nvidia.
Back in December last year, several Silicon Valley leaders headed to Trump Tower for a meeting with the then President-elect to discuss matters relating to the tech industry. On June 19, another gathering of top executives is taking place at the inaugural meeting of the American Technology Council.

Trump signed an executive order in May that established the council. It was created to "coordinate the vision, strategy and direction for the federal government's use of information technology and the delivery of services through information technology."

According to Bloomberg, the meeting will focus on a number of topics, including cloud computing and tech sales to government agencies. The council is made up of government officials and is led by Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

Eleven companies are set to appear at the event, with Tim Cook, Satya Nadella, Jeff Bezos, Oracle Co-CEO Safra Catz, International Business Machines Corp. CEO Ginni Rometty, and Alphabet's Eric Schmidt on the list of attendees.

At the December meeting, Facebook was represented by COO Sheryl Sandberg, rather than CEO Mark Zuckerberg. While the social network has been asked to attend the upcoming summit, it hasn't yet replied to the invite.

Elon Musk, who publicly quit Trump's advisory councils in protest against the President's decision to leave the Paris Agreement, will reportedly not be attending the meeting.

Even before he was elected President, Trump had a famously rocky relationship with the tech world. Last year's meeting, which arrived just one day after hundreds of workers pledged never to help create his Muslim registry, was supposed to build bridges between his administration and the industry, but the immigration ban and Paris Agreement exit have caused more friction.
During the recent Computex event, Qualcomm and Microsoft revealed the first OEMs that would be using their Windows 10 on ARM platform announced last December. But it seems the Snapdragon 835 PCs, which use x86 emulation technology, aren't being welcomed by one company: Intel.

The chip maker didn't mention either firm by name, but in a recent blog post titled "X86: Approaching 40 and Still Going Strong," Intel gave a strong hint that Qualcomm and Microsoft's plan could be infringing upon its intellectual property.

"There have been reports that some companies may try to emulate Intel's proprietary x86 ISA without Intel's authorization," writes chief lawyer Stephen Rodgers and Intel Labs Director Richard A. Uhlig. "We do not welcome unlawful infringement of our patents, and we fully expect other companies to continue to respect Intel's intellectual property rights."

The blog post also states: "Intel carefully protects its x86 innovations, and we do not widely license others to use them."

The post goes on to mention previous instances where it enforced its patents against companies that used x86 emulation.

Emulation is not a new technology, and Transmeta was notably the last company to claim to have produced a compatible x86 processor using emulation ('code morphing') techniques. Intel enforced patents relating to SIMD instruction set enhancements against Transmeta's x86 implementation even though it used emulation. In any event, Transmeta was not commercially successful, and it exited the microprocessor business 10 years ago." Only time will tell if new attempts to emulate Intel's x86 ISA will meet a different fate.

Qualcomm and the Windows 10 parntership will result in smaller, lighter machines that offer always-on functionality through the SnapDragon 835's X16 LTE modem, as well as a longer-lasting battery. While Universal Windows Platform (UWP) will run natively, legacy win32 programs are run through an emulation process using the SoC's kernel.

Intel is doubtlessly concerned about the prospect of a new line of devices that are more mobile and have up to 50 percent more battery life than its x86-based machines, thanks to their smaller circuit boards.

It's expected that the new SnapDragon 835 PCs from Asus, HP, and Lenovo will arrive this fall. But it looks as if Intel could be ready to take this fight to the courts. Whether it has the resources to take on the combined might of both Qualcomm and Microsoft is another matter.
Apple's long had a turbulent relationship with China, from trouble with regulators over iTunes Movies and the iBooks store, to Apple News censorship, to numerous patent disputes. Now, the firm is facing more problems in the Asian nation after Chinese authorities announced a network of insiders has been selling millions of dollars' worth of stolen data.

It was revealed yesterday that Zhejiang police arrested 22 people in connection with selling the personal information of an unspecified number of Apple customers on the black market.

Earlier reports claimed 20 of the 22 suspects were official Apple employees in China, but they were actually employed by Apple suppliers, vendors, and outsourcing firms, not the Cupertino company itself. Police said that one of the outsourced vendors was a direct marketing company. The authorities did not release details about the other two people arrested.

The information included users' names, phone numbers, Apple IDs, and other data. There was no word on whether it also included passwords and financial information.

Each data point was sold for between $1.47- $11.78 and ultimately brought in $7.36 million for the scammers. It's unclear whether the stolen information was limited to Chinese Apple users, or if it included those from other locations.

Authorities had been investigating the sale of Apple customer data since January, and began making arrests, which reached across three different provinces, on May 3.

The theft and trade of private customer information is an increasing problem in China. The country tried 361 criminal cases involving illegally attained personal data last year, up from 176 in 2015, said Xie Yongjiang, associate director for the Institute of Internet Governance and Law at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, via the New York Times.
Android co-founder Andy Rubin's company has added $300 million to its coffers as it prepares to enter the consumer electronics market with the Essential smartphone.

Essential Valued At $1 Billion

According to market research firm, Equidate, Essential is worth $900 million to $1 billion. The company submitted paperwork regarding recent investments in May, a few days before it unveiled the Essential phone and a smart home speaker. The company's investors were not disclosed.

Prior to these investments, Essential also raised $30 million from Rubin's Playground Global, a tech startup he founded after leaving Google.

Aside from Playground Global, Rubin negotiated a deal with SoftBank Group Corp to include Essential in the firm's nearly $1 billion technology fund. However, the deal fell through when a rival company joined the fund. Reports indicated that the rival firm was Apple, but Rubin did not confirm which company was involved.

"I just went to other investors," Rubin said. "I'm lucky to have good support from people that want to support these crazy, big, audacious things."

Rubin's Return To Android

When Rubin created the Android OS, he changed the world of smartphones and opened a field that had previously been dominated by Apple over a wide range of competitors. Unfortunately for Rubin, Essential may become a victim of his own success. Android currently runs on more than 2 billion devices and accounts for more than 81 percent of the smartphone market.

Thanks to developers and our partners around the world, there are now more than 2 billion monthly active Android devices. #io17 pic.twitter.com/tMH6aHsAIP  Google (@Google) May 17, 2017

Essential vs. Samsung

While Chinese manufacturers are becoming more prominent, it is Samsung that dominates the premium Android market. Google's Pixel has provided some challenges; however, if the Essential phone is to be a success, then it also must be able to compete with the Galaxy S8.

As of right now, it is unclear if the Essential phone will be able to compete in a market dominated by Samsung and Apple, but it does have a few things going for it. For starters, as the creator of Android, Rubin's name carries a lot of weight in the tech community and will likely bring a lot of Android enthusiasts on board.

In terms of features, the Essential phone will feature top-of-the-line hardware, a modular design and quality craftsmanship that will help justify the reported $699 price tag. In terms of design, the phone's body will be made of titanium, which Rubin believes is durable enough that the phone will not need a case.

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Yahoo's shareholders have voted to approve the sale of the company's assets to Verizon which could result in the loss of thousands of jobs.

The Deal Between Verizon And Yahoo

Verizon's plans to acquire Yahoo  along with AOL  were announced nearly a year ago, but it took almost a year for the details to be worked out. During this time, there were rumors that the deal would fall through, but eventually, things worked out.

In February, it was revealed that Yahoo was the victim of two security breaches that compromised the data of more than one billion users. This prompted the company to reduce its sale price by $350 million reducing the final cost to $4.48 billion.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Verizon intends to use AOL and Yahoo to create a new digital company known as Oath. During this process, as many as 2,000 jobs may be lost.

While losing 15 percent of their workforce does not bode well for the company's employees, Yahoo has seen its stock prices rise to a 17-year high. News of the impending merger sent Yahoo's stock prices soaring to $54.80 which is the highest they have been since September 2000.

Oath

"Oath's strategy is to lead the global brand space," an AOL spokesperson told CNN Tech. "Consistent with what we have said since the deal was announced, we will be aligning our global organization to the strategy."

Oath will be led by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong. As for former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, it has previously been reported that she will not be part of Oath's leadership team though she will receive a generous compensation package.

Beyond vague comments concerning leading the "global brand space," we don't know Verizon's plans for Oath.

Yahoo And AOL's Fate

Verizon's acquisition of Yahoo and AOL mark an inglorious end to two of the earliest tech companies. During the 1990s, AOL was almost synonymous with internet access for millions of Americans. Yahoo  with its popular mail and messaging service  helped popularize the idea of the internet as a means of keeping in touch with friends, family, and work colleagues.

Despite their long history, both companies have been on the decline in recent decades. AOL's fall was due to competition from cable providers and Yahoo faced the search giant, Google.

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Construction for Super Nintendo World has officially started, and to celebrate the moment, Universal Studios Japan has released its first teaser trailer for the much-anticipated theme park in Osaka.

Granted, the preview uses heavy bits of CGI, but it otherwise hints at the park's design and potential attractions. The mushroom kingdom depicted in the trailer looks nothing short of gorgeous, to be clear, with castles, moving platforms, piranha plants, giant mushroom pads, and more decorating the whole scenery. Probably not all visual elements in the trailer will be included in the official construction plans, but one can hope.

Universal Studios Japan Confirms 'Mario Kart' Ride For Super Nintendo World

Universal Studios confirmed that the park will boast a Mario Kart ride, which comes as no surprise at all. Previously published patent documents suggest the ride will run on a rail, with one rider controlling the vehicle's drift, and the other focusing on power-ups and weapons. The trailer didn't feature this announced Mario Kart ride, though, so it's not clear what it'll look like or what tracks from the series it will incorporate in the park. Here's hoping they don't actually create a real-world version of Rainbow Road, because that would be life-threatening.

Other than that, the trailer didn't particularly reveal much, except that Mario and his usual crew will be the stars of the theme park, but that's obviously been the case since the beginning. Princess Peach's and Bowser's castles, for instance, were featured; perhaps they'll serve as the frontages for some rides or shops? Time will tell.

Where Are The Others?

It's worth noting that while the theme park is called Super Nintendo World and not Super Mario World, other popular Nintendo franchises such as Kirby, Metroid, or Zelda didn't make appearances in the trailer, so it's not clear if they'll get their own rides or attractions. But it's highly likely they'll do, being such crucial characters in Nintendo's brand.

Super Nintendo World Opening

Super Nintendo World will finally open its gates at some vague time before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, although it's unclear if Universal Studios Japan will share more details about the construction going forward.

Similarly unclear is whether the other planned sites in Hollywood and Orlando will follow the same template as the one in Osaka, but that seems to be the case.

For now, fans will have to make do with the theme park's 3D CGI trailer, although it should also remind players that a 3D Super Mario title is headed to the Switch later this year, called Super Mario Odyssey. Nintendo will share more details about that game once E3 begins next week, in addition to other potential reveals and announcements.

Check out the official trailer below. If you want, you can also watch the theme park's groundbreaking ceremony, which features a Mario mascot running through a Super Mario level onstage.

Thoughts about Super Nintendo World? What rides, attractions, and shops do you expect to find in it once it opens its gates? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!

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More than 100 kilometres of shelf space and room for nine kilometres of audio visual records have come online at the newest home of Australia's national treasures.

The National Archives of Australia's new specialist preservation facility in Mitchell was opened on Friday by Attorney-General George Brandis, set to become home to about a quarter of the national collection alongside state-of-the-art conservation facilities, digitisation spaces and research rooms.

The National Archives new preservation facility was officially opened on Friday. Credit:Jamila Toderas

The new 17,000-square-metre building, opened on International Archives Day in front of visiting overseas archivists and dignitaries, is already keeping safe priceless records and artefacts including the incoming passenger cards for the Beatles' 1964 tour, reports of UFO sightings around Australia and rare footage from the history of the ABC.

Environmentally controlled and energy efficient, the building will be home for about 150 staff with its unusual facade a reference to the Australian landscape, including a weathered, uneven and sunburnt surface.
Insurers are driving small crash repairers out of business with unfair policies, the ACT's peak motor trade body claims.

Motor Trades Association ACT president Michael Bourke said many local shops were struggling to stay afloat because insurance companies were unfairly preventing people from choosing their repairers.

Panel beater Reece Hatcliff from David Hand Smash repairs in Fyshwick. Credit:Rohan Thomson

He said customers were also losing out, as in some cases cars were towed as far as Sydney when closer repairers were available.

"Down the track we will have a lack of really good qualified tradesman because we are losing many of our small smash repair businesses as insurance companies open up their own shops or send people to their preferred ones," Mr Bourke said.
A former Westpac financial planner has been slapped with a five-year ban after it was revealed 177 clients had been charged fees without receiving all the services they had paid for.

It comes as the Finance Sector Union hits out at plans by the banks to enforce background checks of employees across the industry, saying it unfairly blamed workers for cultural problems at the banks.

Westpac said is welcomed the ban imposed on its former planner. Credit:Jesse Marlow

Sudhir Kumar Sinha, who worked at Westpac until 2014, was this week banned from providing financial services until 2020, the latest move in a crackdown on the wealth businesses of the major banks.
It was symbolic of changing times in the states early-stage investment world that seven managers of new funds took the stage on Tuesday to open the 15th annual Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Conference.

The next day, as the conference closed, about 30 investors got together to talk about companies they are helping to finance  and to pitch their colleagues on why they should consider putting dollars into the deals, too.

The early-stage investing scene in Wisconsin is getting more robust, although Wisconsin remains in no danger of overtaking California, Massachusetts or New York as a venture capital hub.

In fact, if Wisconsin were to match a typical years angel and venture capital activity in Michigan, Utah or Colorado, that alone would be an accomplishment.

The latest Wisconsin Portfolio, an annual report by the Wisconsin Technology Council, provides statistical evidence of what many observers of the early-stage economy already suspected. There are more deals taking place in Wisconsin as more promising, high-growth companies are launched.

The Wisconsin Portfolio showed that investments in early-stage companies  startups and other companies in their early years  have nearly doubled over five years, from 74 in 2012 to 137 in 2016.

At least 137 Wisconsin companies raised investment capital last year, up 7 percent from 2015. Those same companies raised a total of $276.2 million. The five largest deals exceeded $10 million each; 53 companies raised $1 million or more (up from 46 in 2015); and the average deal size was $2 million, up from $1.6 million in the previous year.

The 25 percent jump in average deal size was one of several indicators that companies raised money far beyond the friends, family and founders stage in 2016.

Wisconsin has been a strong angel capital state since 2005, when Wisconsins Qualified New Business Venture program and its affiliated tax credits for investors was enacted. That program has since been emulated in dozens of states.

Until recently, angel investors claimed most of the credits because they were doing the hard work of finding young companies that needed early cash. In 2016, about half of the state credits went to angels and half to venture capital firms, which indicated many of those young companies have matured enough to attract what investors call Series A money.

For 39 percent of early-stage companies that secured funding in 2016, it was their first time doing so. For 61 percent of emerging companies that raised money last year, it was at least their second time at the dance.

Beyond the report, which was based on public data, announced deals and a survey of investors, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that Wisconsin is no longer a flyover state when it comes to investment capital.

The seven funds represented in the opening session of the conference have all come on the scene within the past year: the Idea Fund of La Crosse, the Winnebago Seed Fund, Rock River Capital Partners, Bascom Ventures, CMFG Ventures, NM Future Ventures and 30Ventures. They vary in fund size, scope and sectors of interest, but each manager reported seeing higher-quality companies emerging in Wisconsin and the Upper Midwest.

In late 2004, the Tech Council became the home for what was then called the Wisconsin Angel Network. It had six members. Today, the Tech Council Investor Networks tracks more than 40 networks or funds in Wisconsin.

Along with most of the nation, Wisconsin is still an also-ran when it comes to venture capital.

During a conference discussion on the idea of a corporate fund of funds for Wisconsin, John Neis of Madison-based Venture Investors noted than 82 percent of all venture capital under management can be found in three states: California, Massachusetts and New York. The challenge, agreed Neis and Dan Einhorn of Milwaukee-based Capital Midwest Fund, is to become a leader among states that lie within the coasts.

In Michigan, for example, the 2008 creation of a private corporate fund of funds to attract outside VCs has elevated that state from flyover status to top 10 in many categories.

More young companies in Wisconsin are finding angel and venture capital than ever before. Increasingly, out-of-state investors are finding Wisconsin. In a competitive national landscape, however, theres still a lot of room for growth.
So there I was in the bunker beneath our home earlier this week, adding to the stock of canned food and bottled water, about to start boarding up the windows around the house, all the while anxiously waiting for smoke to begin filling the street, carrying with it the shouts of an angry crowd railing against the government and its latest attack on our privacy and civil rights.

But, as usual, there was only silence. If the meek really do end up inheriting the earth then one thing is inevitable. Australia is sure to become the world's greatest superpower.

That's your money the government is talking about - and your right to spend it however you want. Credit:Bloomberg

So gentle and unassuming, so complacent and law-abiding are we, that after an influential public official came out this week and said it was time the federal government placed a limit on how much of our cash we can spend  you know, that old-fashioned folding stuff  there wasn't a whiff of protest. We just gave our usual collective shrug and looked elsewhere.

Michael Andrew, the head of the government's Black Economy Taskforce, said it was likely we will see a limit placed on cash transactions of more than $10,000. That's your money he's talking about  and your right to spend it however you want. In the most over-governed nation on the planet, riddled with petty bureaucracy and a comically growing list of regulations, you will no longer have the right to buy that car or boat upfront with a wad of notes.
In his budget reply on Thursday, Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury made much of the role the Greens had had in shaping a territory budget that funded some important and worthy projects. But he also drew attention to a shortcoming in Labor's 2017-18 budget: There is little in there to address affordable housing. Mr Rattenbury described this as the budget's greatest gap and has urged the ACT to demonstrate leadership in tackling this issue and not to sit back and wait for the Commonwealth to remove negative gearing and capital gains tax.

Mr Rattenbury's is not a voice from nowhere. Affordable housing has been identified for many months as one of the most urgent challenges facing a nation that risks locking a generation out of buying their own home. Apartments are still within reach for young professional couples in Canberra, but if you're looking for a freestanding home with a backyard where you can bring up a family you will struggle anywhere but the fringes. To consign a generation to apartment living is not only a different economic equation in terms of an apartment's capacity for capital growth, it's a different social equation in terms of putting down roots in a place that you and your family can call home for many years to come, and a different environmental equation in terms of connection to land and ability make use of the soil around you.

None of these issues are trivial and the answers are, it goes without saying, complex. But the ACT is in a unique position with its hands on the levers. It largely controls the number of blocks that are sold, and it controls the price. It is within the power of an ACT government to make land available at price points that can accommodate a young couple or family on a moderate income.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr says the ACT has an unprecedented diversity of land for sale in the coming years - the government's own suburban development in north Gungahlin, the englobo release at Denman Prospect being developed by the Snow family, the Fluffy blocks spread among the suburbs, the joint venture with the Corkhill family to deliver an eventual 11,500 homes near the Murrumbidgee River in West Belconnen, and the CSIRO land near Gungahlin being developed by the Commonwealth for a similar number of homes. House and land prices in Denman Prospect and on the CSIRO land will not be set by the ACT government, and in that sense there will be some much-needed competition in the market.
The review of the Australian energy market presented on Friday to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the leaders of the states and territories is driven as much by politics as it is by policy. The report by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel might thus disappoint science and economics purists, but it has the potential to break an impasse that has for a decade shackled this nation's ability to respond effectively and efficiently to the existential threat of global warming caused by human activity, particularly through the burning of fossil fuels.

So, while much remains unclear because the government will need time to respond to the report and to seek cross-party support for any measures, Dr Finkel has provided a path out of a quagmire of vested interests and political opportunism.

The key to mitigating the risk is to put a price on carbon that reflects not only its energy generation benefits (which create private profits), but also the associated environmental costs (which lead to public losses). The most efficient and effective way to set such a price is via a market mechanism  a cap and trade system, for example. Then prime minister John Howard took such a policy to the 2007 election, as did the eventual victor, Kevin Rudd. But that bipartisanship unravelled in 2009 after then opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull lost a party room ballot by one vote to climate-sceptic coal champion Tony Abbott.

As details of Dr Finkel's circuit-breaking plan emerged in recent days, Mr Abbott restated his preference for coal over renewable energy sources. But this time, and from the backbench, he is unlikely to have much influence  partly because Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has indicated he is prepared to "end the climate wars" should Dr Finkel's report stand scrutiny. Tellingly, the report has been welcomed by business and industry lobbies, the social services sector, unions and consumer groups. Households, Dr Finkel estimates, would save about $90 a year under the plan.

Central to the plan is, in effect, a politically palatable proxy for a carbon price  a clean energy target, which requires a set percentage of power to be generated from low-emission sources, such as renewables and gas.The scheme would begin operating from 2020, until which time the current renewable energy target would operate.
"At height you can be taken right to the brink for you never feel as alive knowing that at any moment you could die."

Robert Macfarlane

It was only after film director Jennifer Peedom and Richard Tognetti, leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, began working together on their documentary Mountain that they realised they were seeing the same footage in radically different ways.

Unique Collaboration: Jennifer Peedom with Richard Tognetti. Credit:Steven Siewert

"When I saw those characters at the top of these peaks in Alaska with these sheer drops I had a sense of horror," says Tognetti. "But she just sees awe and beauty."

This was one of the many challenges the pair had to overcome in their unique four-year collaboration.
The Chief Scientist says otherwise, but this is a political fix  and an understandable one.

When Alan Finkel released a preliminary report into energy security last year, there was no mention of the latest policy now thrust into the centre of the decade-old political climate wars  the creatively named clean energy target.

Six months on, it's a central recommendation. It is also the last and best hope of anything meaningful getting up on climate and energy under this government.

The politics look difficult as hell, and it's not what you would do if starting from scratch, but with a couple of adjustments it could deliver what Australia and the energy industry need: a path to encourage investment in new power plants and to start cutting greenhouse gas emissions from electricity. It should also help keep a lid on price rises and ensure the lights stay on.
Australian households could save about $90 a year, or up to $1000 on their electricity bills over a decade to 2030 under a Clean Energy Target proposed by the Finkel review of the electricity sector, compared to a business-as-usual scenario.

As the long-awaited review was released on Friday at a Council of Australian Governments meeting, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull promised a CET was "no barrier to building a coal-fired power station", in a carefully calibrated message to conservative MPs who have already expressed concern about the scheme.

"There is nothing in the Clean Energy Target that would prevent a new coal-fired power station being built. It would provide an incentive for lower emissions technologies, however," he said.

But Mr Turnbull and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg will likely face a barrage of questions from conservative MPs about the CET - and whether it would, for example, facilitate investment in new coal-fired power - as soon as Tuesday, when the Parliament returns and the party room meets.
Sarah Ferguson has opened up about her battles with an eating disorder during her marriage to Prince Andrew.

The Duchess of York, 57, who was once regarded as the "The Duchess of Pork" by the British press, revealed how she struggled with an eating addiction and wished for bulimia to cure her.

Britain's Duke and Duchess of York married in 1986 and divorced 10 years later.

Speaking on a podcast with Dr Vijay Murthy, who practises holistic medicine and naturopathy, she canvassed her binge-eating past which took hold during her 10-year marriage to Prince Andrew.

"To wish you could have a mental illness to that level is a very serious place to get to," the reformed "comfort eater" said.
The mid-season sales juggernaut continues with everyone's favourite Finnish brand, Marimekko, and something special for brides-to-be.

If you love your prints loud, proud and Scandinavian, then surely you're already a fan of Marimekko, which is having its mid-season sale. There's up to 40 per cent off selected fashion, accessories, fabrics and home furnishings.

Online and in store. Until June 25.

Finnish brand Marimekko is having up to 40 per cent off in its mid-year sale.

If your vibe is more minimalist, then perhaps The Undone's online sale should be your first stop this long weekend. Brands include Ellery, Dion Lee, Michael Lo Sordo, Christopher Esber and Kitx, with prices reduced by up to 50 per cent.
The "political self-interest" of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is driving the move of the pesticides authority from Canberra to his own northern NSW electorate, a Senate committee has found.

The Labor-Greens dominated committee wants the move stopped until a review into the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority is complete.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was on hand to help Optus unveil its investment, as it focuses significantly on his electorate. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The report of the committee, published in Canberra on Friday, also reveals that the APVMA itself told Mr Joyce nearly two years ago that Toowoomba in Queensland would be a more appropriate choice if he insisted on forcing agency was forced to relocate.

The committee's recommendations are not binding on the government and a dissenting report, by Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie, was expected on Friday but had not been produced by deadline.
Treasurer Curtis Pitt plans to deliver a surplus in his third budget next week but he was harder to pin down on whether he had prevented the public service from ballooning.

In 2016, Mr Pitt pledged to keep growth in the public service, on average over the forward estimates, aligned with population growth.

In 2016, the Treasurer pledged to keep growth in the public service, on average over the forward estimates, aligned with population growth. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Queensland's population growth was at 1.5 per cent, in line with the average over the forward estimates for public sector growth, according to the Mid-Year Fiscal and Economic Review.

Asked whether he would meet that measure in the budget on Tuesday, Mr Pitt said he would demonstrate on budget day how it was travelling.
The boat turned around the point of Whitsunday Island, giving a full view of Whitehaven Beach.

The sand was white, and the water certainly blue, but damage done by Cyclone Debbie to the treeline was evident with many brown trees lining the beach.

Tourists from Switzerland enjoying Hill Inlet on Whitsunday Island two months after cyclone Debbie. Credit:Rachel Clun

Once on the beach, however, the trees were forgotten as hundreds of tourists took in the stunning sea and beach views.

In the words of Tourism Whitsundays' board member Al Grundy: "Heaven was a little bit damaged, but it's still heaven."
The DFO at Brisbane Airport was evacuated after a threatening note was found in the male toilets on Friday afternoon.

DFO at the airport was evacuated after a 'confirmed emergency'.

Police were called just before 2pm as centre management evacuated shoppers, with security announcing over the loudspeakers that there was "a confirmed emergency".

Lezah Kupfer, who was inside the centre when the evacuation began, said there was mixed messages from centre management.
This has prompted the Education Department to consider reaching out to high-achieving girls via social media and their schools to encourage them to sit the high stakes tests. Year 12 students Caitlin and Freya outside The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School. Their principal believes girls are being disadvantaged because there are fewer select entry places for girls than boys in Victoria. Credit:Penny Stephens "The selection process for the select entry high schools is rigorous and independent, and the Department is examining ways to encourage more girls to apply for places," a Department spokeswoman said. Most of the imbalance stems from Melbourne High School's ability to accept around 330 year 9 students every year, compared to Mac.Robertson Girls High School's intake of around 225 students. Co-ed select entry state schools Nossal High and Suzanne Cory High Schools enrol more boys than girls, but last year they reversed an almost five-year trend and accepted more girls than boys.

One solution being pushed by Dr Meath is an expansion of Mac.Robertson Girls High or a new campus. "Our buildings are at capacity. We have no sporting grounds," she says. "We want girls to have an opportunity to have feminist role models, which we know is important for their growth." Year 12 Mac.Robertson Girls High School student Freya Permezel says more girls should be able to access select-entry schools. "The extra places allocated to boys allows boys to proceed at a higher level in their careers or they have extra opportunities," she says

She says select-entry schools had a culture where everyone was motivated to work hard. "No one ever feels like they are studying too much," she says. "You are never going to be in a class that is disrupted and you are never bored in class. The teachers are there to challenge you and your cohort is there to challenge you." Her classmate Caitlin Flemming agrees. "I wanted to challenge myself, the classes are fast-paced and we are always extending ourselves beyond the classroom. That's the major difference between a normal school and a select-entry school."
The Police Association's clout has not waned, unlike the rest of the union movement.Here, voting at Festival Hall in a pay dispute. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer The Club, then nestled in behind Russell Street Police Headquarters, was insular, boozy and a police secret society where nothing was reported and cops of all ranks could talk through their highs and lows. But as the suburban sprawl took police away from headquarters and drink-drive laws began to bite the Club soon lost its appeal and eventually closed. But not the Police Association, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. Established as a harmless social club in 1917 it has become a powerful organisation that regularly helps shape public policy and define the law and order debate. Police Association Secretary Paul "Fish" Mullett was never big on compromise. Credit:Craig Abraham When union membership is at an all-time low (less than 20 per cent of the workforce) the Police Association runs at 97 per cent. And while the ultimate union weapon is to strike, the PA flexes its muscles without threatening to withdraw labour. Now it is no exaggeration to say a government that loses Association support is flirting with an extended term in Opposition.

Which is probably why Premier Daniel Andrews took time out from a hectic day to speak at the Centenary Dinner held the other night at the MCG (your corespondent was another speaker telling a particularly amusing personal anecdote about the Police Club*). The Victoria Police Force at Festival Hall vote on October 19, 1976 for the chief secretary to resign. Credit:John Hart And when most unions represent the rank and file the Association's membership include many of the bosses, up to Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton. Every time the government of the day promises to boost numbers it makes the Association more powerful  the recent announcement of a net increase of 3000 will boost revenue by $2.5 million in membership dues. Victorian Premier Dick Hamer, Sir Henry Winneke and chief police commissioner Reg Jackson in their Hawthorn Gear. Credit:Fairfax Media

As it stands the Association makes nearly $500,000 a fortnight in subscriptions, owns its own National Trust building in East Melbourne, a swag of holiday properties, has legal officers, welfare staff, runs a legacy program for police families and has assets of around $45 million. Sadly it no longer runs the police picnic where as a child your correspondent filled the boot of the family Holden with free Jubbly ice drinks and Senior Constable Jack O'Toole would smash everyone in the woodchop (hardly surprising as he was world champion). Ian John Steele in 1983 tried to stare down Paul Mullett and another detective, Jim Venn, with disastrous results. For decades the PA battled along, seemingly adverse to change, determined to protect a moribund seniority system that meant no matter how incompetent, a police officer would be promoted on length of service rather than merit. Then, around 40 years ago, it all changed during one mass rally at Festival Hall when 4000 police (two in three of the Force's 6000) were one speech away from a strike that would have threatened public order.

The meeting was to protest the findings of a Royal Commission headed by Barry Beach, QC, (later a respected Supreme Court Justice) largely into allegations some police were fabricating evidence ("The Brick") and inventing unsigned confessions ("The Verbal") to entrap suspects. In 1976 he recommended charges against 55 police. It created widespread anger and talk of a strike. It was at the Festival Hall meeting the then Chief Commissioner Reg Jackson (a former Association President) was given a standing ovation before he delivered his address, telling them to think carefully and remain faithful to their profession. How history may have been different if the then Police Association Secretary, Tom Rippon, had not convinced Jackson to speak. And so instead of a strike, police voted for a work to rule campaign until the government agreed to a series of demands including a full review of the proposed charges against the 55. The government agreed, with 32 police ultimately charged and none convicted. For the Association it was a complete victory and the beginning of the union's role as a powerful political force. In the 1960s a new police constable was paid the same as a trainee tram conductor. Now after a three-month course police are on a wage of $63,000, which is more than a graduate engineer receives after completing a three-year degree.

With nine weeks' annual leave and a superannuation package that leaves many retiring as millionaires, the Police Association negotiates deals from a position of strength. And those who forget do so at their peril. Just ask Jeff Kennett who in 1999 lost what many claimed was an unlosable election. Jeff Kennett had a well earned reputation as a tough negotiator but then he came up against the then Police Association Secretary Paul "Fish" Mullett  a winner of two police Valour Awards for bravery. Those with long memories will recall Fish was never big on compromise. Back in 1983 he and another detective, Jim Venn, had to confront dangerous NSW escapee Ian "Rabbit" Steele in Swanston Street. Steele had committed four bank robberies in Perth, then back in Melbourne abducted a man and forced him to act as his chauffeur for a terrifying 32 hours until he was pulled up by the two police near the old City Square. Rabbit tried to negotiate his escape by threatening to kill his hostage and then by pointing his sawn off shotgun at the detectives. The detectives concluded the discussion by shooting him in the head and shoulder. He survived, largely due to the thickness of the windscreen and his skull.

Fish tried to persuade Kennett to increase police numbers and just like Rabbit Steele, Jeff tried to stare him down. The Association launched the "Cutting Police Numbers is a Crime" campaign with many police manning polling booths. The Kennett government lost 15 seats and government with many believing it was partially due to a law and order backlash. The PA now jumps into law and order discussions, pushing for changes in sentencing, parole and bail. It is also working with the Police Department to try and deal with the hidden epidemic in emergency services of post traumatic stress disorder for serving and retired officers. According to present PA Secretary, Sergeant Wayne Gatt, membership remains high because it is ingrained in the police culture to stick together. "The present issue of terrorism reminds us that we rely on each other." He said, "Our approach to problem solving is to talk openly with police command and government to resolve issues." For example, the last lucrative pay deal was done without any public sabre-rattling. *Many years ago I had a discussion with armed robbery squad detective Danny Walsh who was querying a source of a story. He claimed the guts of the yarn warned a suspect that a glitch in the law meant although a victim shot in a stick-up had died he would not be charged with murder.
A Perth man has lost a legal fight for his daughter's government school to remove the word 'God' from its school creed.

The father, who WAtoday has chosen not to name, claimed his family, including his six-year-old daughter, were atheists and the religious reference was an act of discrimination against his child.

A Perth father has lost his bid to have the word 'God' removed from his daughter's 30-year-old school creed.

The girl was enrolled at Edgewater Primary School, a northern suburbs public school attended by around 420 students.

At school assemblies students sing a popular school creed - 'This is our school' - sung in varied versions at many primary schools across Perth, which includes the lines, "Let love abide here, love of one another, love of mankind, love of life itself, and love of God".
Madrid: Catalonia will hold a referendum on independence on October 1, the president of the region said on Friday, defying Spanish courts and the conservative government in Madrid.

Long-standing objections to the referendum, which was announced by the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, mean that it is unclear how the vote could be held and whether it would be considered binding. But the decision nonetheless raises the stakes in a separatist dispute that has been at the heart of Spanish politics for five years.

A protest against Catalan independence in Madrid in May. Credit:AP

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, with the support of the Spanish judiciary, has promised to block efforts to hold a referendum, and vowed to maintain Spanish unity and resist the secessionist push from Catalonia.

Spain has a monarchy, and Mr Puigdemont said that Catalan voters would be asked if they wanted a Catalan state in the form of a republic.
Augusta: The suspect in the National Security Agency leak investigation wrote in a notebook seized by authorities that she wanted to "burn the White House down", federal prosecutors said.

Reality Leigh Winner also had a "persistent" desire to travel to Afghanistan and has researched technology that could be used to cover her digital tracks, the prosecutors said on Thursday. And during a recent jailhouse phone call to her mother, Winner discussed some "documents", raising concerns among federal authorities that she might have gathered other top secret information that has not yet been disclosed.

Reality Leigh Winner is accused of leaking material alleging Russian attempts to hack the US election. Credit:Instagram

Assistant US attorney Jennifer Solari argued against releasing Winner on bond, adding prosecutors are not ruling out bringing additional charges against her.

"We don't know how much more she knows or how much she remembers," Solari told US magistrate Brian Epps.
London: If this UK election exit poll is anywhere near right, Prime Minister Theresa May is finished.

If Labour's night continues to improve, she won't have even lasted a year in office. If the exit polls are right, she would stumble back into Downing Street with the echoing sound of knives being sharpened around her.

She rolled the dice, and she lost.
Shelby American CEO Looks for Growth: Initiative Results in Special One-Off Vehicle

Shelby American created a one-off 1997 Mustang

LAS VEGAS - June 9, 2017: An initiative to explore new business opportunities has resulted in a special one-off Shelby version of a 1997 Ford Mustang by Shelby American, Inc. The car was recently delivered to its owner in Central Texas after the team at Shelby American reimagined the car as if the company had built it new in 1997.

Shelby American has an extensive history of creating experimental cars and one-off customer vehicles during the 1960s, said Joe Conway, Co-CEO of Carroll Shelby International and CEO of Shelby American. Because were still hot rodders at heart, we accepted this project in that tradition as part of our global business expansion initiative. Our goal was to create new opportunities for the company with projects that inspire the staff as we apply new technologies to other programs.

Shelby Americans roots with these types of projects stretch back to one-off cars like the Green Hornet and Little Red from Shelby fifty years ago; the companys history includes experimental cars like the twin turbo Ford Shelby GT500 named Code Red in the 2000s. An unusual opportunity from Central Texas was the latest in this line.

Joseph Tice of Central Texas owned a 1997 Mustang GT and approached us to build a one-off car, as if there was a Shelby version offered that year, explained Gary Patterson, president of Shelby American. He wanted it to look OEM, but feature contemporary technology and performance. It was much more of a challenge than anyone initially thought.

The car was in a state of partial assembly when it arrived at Shelby American in Las Vegas. First, a creative brief with the parameters, goals and vision for the car was created. Then a handpicked team of craftsmen, led by Vice President of Operations Vince LaViolette, completely took the car apart. No system was left untouched, from the interior to the new drivetrain, brakes, cosmetics and suspension.

We literally took the Mustang down to the bones, said LaViolette. We hand built a supercharged 4.6L engine, rebuilt the transmission to handle it, transformed the suspension and added an incredible braking system. Inside and out, it became a showcase, but retains a factory feel. It even has a special badge, ?CSM100SPECIAL with a serial number for the official Shelby Registry. Its the ?Shelby that might have been if wed been turning out Ford Mustang based cars in 1997. Its a total sleeper that can kick tail on the street and mystify people with its unique provenance.

Delivered on May 16, 2017, to a very satisfied Mr. Tice, the Racer Red 1997 car includes:

Performance equipment

Rebuilt 4.6L V8 engine

P1SC Procharger with Intercooler

Flowmaster Exhaust

Eibach Suspension upgrade

Adjustable Clutch Quadrant

Short Throw Shifter

Performance Driveshaft

Body components

New Shelby paint with factory racing stripes

Body Appearance Package

Performance wheels and tires

New hood

Shelby engine badge

Interior components

New complete interior including seats, carpet and dash pad

Shelby gauge Pod

Custom programs are not new as Porsche has its Exclusive tailoring program and even Aston Martin has its Q program. But this project went much further than most carmakers.

We built this car for someone who believed the only limits should be his imagination, said Conway. Weve not yet determined if well repeat this type of project again, but it certainly challenged our team. The success of this car certainly demonstrates the technical prowess and capabilities of Shelby.

For more information about the Shelby Special Division and the companys vehicle line, visit www.Shelby.com.

About Shelby American, Inc.

Founded by legend Carroll Shelby, Shelby American, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. (CSBI:PK), manufactures and markets performance vehicles and related products. The company builds authentic continuation Cobras, including the 427 S/C, 289 FIA, 289 street car and Daytona Coupe component vehicles; it offers the Shelby GTE, 1000, Super Snake, Shelby Terlingua Racing Team and GTS post-title packages for the 2005-2017 Ford Mustang. Shelby American also offers the Shelby Raptor, Shelby F-150 Super Snake and Shelby F-150 trucks. For more information, visit www.Shelby.com.
INTERACTIVE RADIO SATURDAY MORNING LIVE! - Auto Lab Call-In Radio LIVE Worldwide From New York City 7-9 AM Saturday June 10, 2017







Auto Lab Talk Radio

The Auto Lab Radio Show is Broadcast every Saturday 7 to 9 AM On New York City's WNYM Radio AM 970 and Streamed Worldwide On The Auto Channel

This Weeks Show Broadcast Date: June 3, 2017

Car Question or Concern? Call Toll Free 888-692-7234

Auto Lab is a 28 year old interactive automotive-focused New York area radio call-in show hosted by Professor Harold Wolchok. Each week a cadre of experienced hands-on automotive experts are in-studio with advice for the New York area's 12 million people, providing listeners with honest, practical and street-smart car repair and buying advice.

Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format.

Listeners can hear the past 18 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on www.theautochannel.com.

Listen - Auto Lab Page (Includes Audio-on-Demand Archives, Auto Programs at Community College Database, Guests Pictures

This Weeks Show: June 10, 2017

Auto Lab In-Studio Auto Experts Discuss: Repairs, Second Opinions, Regular Maintenance, How To's, Safety, Used and New Car Buying, Ombudsmen Suggestions

Harold Bendell - Major Auto

Fred Bordoff - Bronx Community College - CUNY Automotive Technology Department

Tim Cacace - Master Mechanix Auto Repairs

David Goldsmith - Urban Classics Auto Repairs

Jerry Pastore-D & J Diagnostic

Johanna Pastore-D & J Diagnostic

Joanne Porcelli, Esq

Michael Porcelli - Auto Mobile Services

Nicholas Prague- MTA and Rockland Community College, SUNY

Auto Lab Correspondent Interviews: Featuring Auto Safety News, New Car Reviews, Technology and Latest Auto World Information That Will Effect You!

Broadcast Date: June 10, 2017

Robert Erskine, Senior European Correspondent, Suffolk England

DESIGN - 1ST TOUCH THE DOOR HANDLE

John Russell Senior Correspondent

Impressions Of The 2017 HONDA CIVIC HATCHBACK

Russ Rader, Vice President Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

IIHS EXPANDS SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE TO FACEBOOK

Robert Sinclair Jr.- AAA Northeast

NEW YORK'S INSUFFICIENT CHILD PASSENGER SAFETY LAWS PUT KIDS AT RISK

Dr. William Sharfman, Automotive Journalist and Consultant

Impressions Of The 2017 CHEVY TRAX
Cherokee Middle School yearbooks will be reprinted to remove racial slurs and other offensive material, district officials confirmed Thursday.

In addition, the schools one-person approach to putting out the book will change when future editions are produced, officials said.

We had a process that worked for us and then we came upon a situation this year that was really unfortunate, school Principal Sarah Chaja-Clardy said in an interview. We are definitely making changes for the future. Our yearbook is a reflection of our school and it absolutely has to reflect the values of the school.

Delivered to students on Wednesday, the books included a photograph of a series of comments made by students on social media. The comments included hitler did nothing wrong and racial slurs against Mexican people.

Another problem was that the yearbook omitted the names of certain students, Chaja-Clardy said.

It has come to my attention that there are significant concerns with our 2016-17 school yearbook, she said in a statement emailed to parents and issued Wednesday. Errors, including the omission of student names and inappropriate and offensive comments, are present in the publication and do not represent the values, beliefs or ethics of our school staff or our school community.

Shannon Kunstman, president of the schools parent-teacher organization, said parents stand with the school administration in condemning the inappropriate comments and trust that Chaja-Clardy will develop a more rigorous proofing system for the yearbook.

Beyond that, the content of the inappropriate comments needs to be addressed in the school and in the community at large, where instances of intolerance and hatred have become way too commonplace, Kunstman said.

Teenagers and kids try on language, she said. They try on behaviors based on what they see out in the public.

This is why it needs to be a larger community conversation on how to move forward to create a different community for our children, Kunstman added, one that values compassion and tolerance and empathy.

The new yearbooks are to be reprinted and distributed to students at no additional cost. They cost $15 each, a fee that covers the cost of producing them, said Chaja-Clardy, who is finishing her first year as principal at the school.

Families are asked during fall registration if they want a yearbook, Chaja-Clardy said, and the school then orders enough yearbooks to meet the demand. There are currently 485 students in the school, but not all of them would have ordered a yearbook, she said.

Officials also will do a thorough review of the yearbook development process at Cherokee to ensure problems like this dont re-occur, Chaja-Clardy said.

In the future, the schools assistant principal, Mat Thompson, and Chaja-Clardy will be directly supervising the development and proofing of the yearbook, she said.

The statement to families did not directly address how the offensive material made it into the yearbook.

Again, I am deeply disturbed and apologetic for both the student omissions and unacceptable words that were included in this publication, Chaja-Clardy said in the statement, urging anyone with concerns to call her.

In the interview, Chaja-Clardy said that for this year and in the past, there was one staff member in charge of putting together the yearbook as an added, volunteer duty, based on submissions periodically sent in by other staff members. Photos of events at the school, taken by the yearbook coordinator, also are included in the yearbook.

No students have been involved in putting the yearbook together, Chaja-Clardy said, but that could change, as the production process is reviewed.

We are going to explore the idea of turning it into a club operation, she said. Students should be involved.

The page with the racial slurs and remark about Hitler appeared to be a screen grab from social media, with comments written by students at the school.

Chaja-Chardy said that image or screen grab was a photograph taken by the yearbook coordinator directly.

The district declined to name the staff member.

Im definitely following up with the staff member to try to determine where exactly the breakdown was, to find out what went wrong, Chaja-Clardy said.

The school also is still negotiating with the publisher to determine how much the reprint will cost.

Cherokee Middle School, at 4301 Cherokee Drive, is in the West High School attendance area.
Honoring the helpers Awards recognize those who support autism community

Thirteen community members and providers were recognized for their resilience, passion and heart at the 2022 Awesome in Autism Awards ceremony. The 14th annual event, hosted by Autism Society Ventura County, was held Oct. 20 at Wood Ranch Golf Club...

Go purple to support those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer November is the busiest month of the year for cancer awareness campaigns. Im going to focus on one of thempancreatic cancer because its a type weve seen a noticeable rise in over the last few years. And because it remains...

Hospital offers safe option to dispose of meds, narcotics Los Robles Health System is working to crush the opioid drug crisis by raising awareness about the dangers of opioid misuse and the importance of safe and proper disposal of unused or expired medications. Crush the Crisis will take place...

Alzheimers Foundation to host free conference The Alzheimers Foundation of America will host a free virtual educational conference from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tues., Nov. 15. The event is part of the foundations 2022 national Educating America Tour. The conference, which is free and open...
Plans to roll back the states personal property tax are gaining steam among state Senate Republicans, the co-chairwoman of the Legislatures budget-writing committee said Thursday.

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, made the comments to reporters after Senate Republicans held a closed caucus meeting at the state Capitol.

They discussed options for highway tolling in the meeting but did not agree on whether to support any of them, Darling said.

Darling said its too early for the caucus to think about crafting its own budget outside the normal process of working through the budget-writing committee  a prospect Darling and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said earlier in the week had been discussed.

Taxes, transportation and K-12 funding are the key areas of disagreement among statehouse Republicans as they craft a 2017-19 state budget, the deadline for which is July 1. If lawmakers dont pass a new budget by the deadline, state spending will continue at current levels.

The state personal property tax is assessed for non-residential properties on certain items such as furniture, boats and machinery. It generates, mostly from businesses, roughly a quarter-billion dollars a year for municipalities and schools.

Darling said reducing the tax, either by starting to phase it out or eliminating it entirely, seems to be very popular overall.

That would really affect small business and help generate a better economy, Darling said.

A GOP bill to repeal the personal property tax calls for the state to reimburse municipalities and schools for lost revenues from it, at a cost of $261 million.

The other joint finance co-chairperson, Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, has said many of his Assembly Republican colleagues are interested in repealing the personal property tax.

Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday that hes willing to give and take on the issue but doesnt want it to come at the expense of his proposal to cut income taxes.

Meanwhile, Fitzgerald said Wednesday that a highway tolling plan could be part of a broader deal for the states next transportation budget.

If lawmakers and Walker endorse highway tolling in Wisconsin  which would be a first for the state  it might have a ready path to federal approval through an existing pilot program, according to a publication released Thursday by the Legislatures nonpartisan fiscal bureau. Such approval would be required to toll the heavily trafficked U.S. interstates where significant revenues could be collected.

The publication notes there are open slots for two additional states to join a federal pilot program that allows interstates to be converted to toll roads if they could not otherwise be adequately maintained or functionally improved without the collection of tolls.

The state Department of Transportation would need to identify a highway corridor to be tolled as part of an application to participate in the program. If approved by the Federal Highway Administration  and if state lawmakers subsequently pass a law authorizing tolling  the revenues likely would have to be used only for work on the corridor named in the application.

Assembly Republicans have said they support seeking federal approval to toll federal highways in Wisconsin.
June 2-8, 2017

It was a bit of a casual week royal jewel-wise, but weve still got some lovely pieces for you to enjoy. Dont forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!

FRANCOIS LENOIR/AFP/Getty Images

10. On Wednesday, Princess Astrid of Belgium wore a simple, classic pair of diamond and pearl earrings to commemorate the Battle of Messines Ridge in Wijtschate.

DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty Images

9. Princess Mako of Akishinos visit to Bhutan continued this week; she wore small, clip-on pearl drop earrings with a single-stranded pearl necklace at the Clock Tower in Thimpu on Friday.

DIPTENDU DUTTA/AFP/Getty Images

8. Princess Mako wore the same pearl earrings with a longer pearl necklace on Saturday at the Changlingmethang National Archery ground in Thimphu.

ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images

7. During a visit to TOBROCO Machines in Oisterwijk on Thursday, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore bright pink and orange earrings with a pared-down version of her bracelet stack (just the diamond initial bracelet and the cabochon gemstone bracelet).

Michael Campanella/Getty Images

6. Sweden celebrated its National Day on Tuesday, and Queen Silvia wore a pair of pearl button earrings with her national costume during the celebrations in Stockholm.

ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images

5. Crown Princess Mary of Denmark wore gray pearls from Marianne Dulong for the opening of the OECD Forum in Paris on Tuesday. ( More over here!

Eduardo Parra/Getty Images

4. On Thursday, Infanta Elena of Spain wore several pieces of jewelry, including pearl earrings, pearl necklaces, a pearl cuff bracelet, and a cocktail ring, to deliver the Patrimonio Nacional Paintings Contest for Children awards at the Royal Palace in Madrid.

RICHARD POHLE/AFP/Getty Images

3. The Duchess of Cornwall wore two classic pieces from her jewelry box  her pearl and diamond earrings and her pearl choker necklace with the round diamond clasp  to meet with members of the emergency services who were on duty during the recent terror attacks in London.

Warren Little/Getty Images

2. For Saturdays Epsom Derby, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom chose her Peranakan-style Birds of Paradise Brooch. ( Much more over here!

NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/AFP/Getty Images

1. Queen Mathilde of the Belgians (pictured with her elder daughter, the Duchess of Brabant) glittered in her diamond fringe earrings and diamond floral bracelet at the finals of the Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition in Brussels on Saturday.
For Amelia Horn, grabbing a life jacket before hitting the water on a stand-up paddleboard is a no-brainer.

The more you know about boating, the more you realize the less you can expect, she said on the shore of Lake Mendota in Middletons Marshall Park. Its really easy to have one with you. It takes two seconds to throw on your board and it could save your life.

Horn, 19, of Madison, always has a flotation device with her when shes gliding through the water on the paddle-propelled board resembling a surfboard. State law requires all stand-up paddleboaders to have one on board while on the water.

Now, as the activitys popularity swells, some Wisconsin lawmakers would like to eliminate flotation device requirements for stand-up paddleboarders.

A bill introduced in the state Legislature last month would exempt Wisconsin stand-up paddleboarders who are at least 18 years old from having to wear or have a flotation device with them.

Sailboarders and windsurfers are already exempt from the law.

A lot of times, people arent taking these things out in treacherous water ... theyre out on flat glass water, said one of the bills authors, Rep. Paul Tittl, R-Manitowoc. We should leave it up to the individual whether they should wear a flotation device or not.

Boats, canoes, kayaks and paddleboards are currently required to have at least one federally approved flotation device per passenger. Children under age 13 must wear a flotation device while on a vessel in federally controlled waters.

If passed, the state law wouldnt apply to federally controlled waters like lakes Superior and Michigan and the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers.

The bill would also be amended to require stand-up paddleboarders to be tethered to their boards if they choose not to use a flotation device, Tittl said.

He said he hopes the bill will get a committee hearing in July.

Constituent got ticket

The bill was inspired by a constituent who told Tittl about a ticket she was issued for violating the law, he said, adding that paddleboarders who kneel or lie on the board and use their hands to move through the water arent required to have a flotation device.

The fine for violating the law is $162.70, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

Last year, the DNR issued 677 citations for violating the flotation device law, though those numbers arent broken down by type of vessel. An average of about 679 tickets have been issued each year since 2012.

For 34-year-old paddleboarder Luke Steinbach  who was cited for violating the law last year  the current law doesnt make sense because stand-up paddleboarders arent required to wear a flotation device, just have one on board.

The irony of it all is that you dont even have to wear it, he said. I could have it inside my water bag when my water bag is completely sealed and if Im drowning theres no way I can get to it.

Steinbach said the case was dismissed after he showed the judge a receipt for a flotation device he bought.

In a 2012 American Canoe Association survey of more than 500 stand-up paddleboarders nationwide, about 35 percent said they never wear a flotation device while on the water. About 45 percent said flotation devices shouldnt be required to be on board while paddleboarding, according to the survey.

Often, stand-up paddleboarders who prefer to not wear or use flotation devices say theyre uncomfortable, unnecessary, restrict movement or just dont look cool.

A lot of people just feel theyre confident in their skills  but those are the people that then get injured and have the biggest issues, said Stephan Reinke, general manager of Brittingham Boats on Monona Bay in Downtown Madison. Theres not very many good reasons not to wear one. I think theyll appreciate it when theyre stranded in the middle of the lake.

Paddleboarding popular

The proposed change comes amid a surge of interest in the activity. Between 2010 and 2015, participation in stand-up paddleboarding increased more than 187 percent, according to a 2016 report by the Outdoor Foundation.

Brittingham Boats has about 85 paddleboards to rent, up from a dozen in 2013, Reinke said.

Since 2010, 16 paddleboarders have died nationwide due to drowning or falling off of their boards, according to the canoe association.

In more than 90 percent of boating deaths involving drowning, the victim wasnt wearing a flotation device, according to the DNR.

Regardless of whether a new law exempts paddleboards, Tyler Leeper, general manager of Marshall Boats and president of Madison Boats, said hell continue to require that paddleboard renters have a flotation device with them while on the water.

Its the easiest insurance policy to take that potential accident and potential problem and eliminate the risk, he said. By being able to have a flotation device all of a sudden youre able to get through potential bad situations.

In the meantime, Tittl said hes urging stand-up paddleboarders to follow the current flotation device law.

State Journal reporter Lexy Brodt contributed to this report.
Heres how members of Wisconsins congressional delegation voted on major issues last week.

Note: Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, did not vote. By custom, the speaker does not vote except in rare circumstances.

HOUSE

Repeal of Dodd-Frank Law: The House on Thursday voted, 233-186, to repeal key parts of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, which greatly increased regulation of Wall Street in response to domestic and global economic meltdowns in 2007-2008. A yes vote was to pass HR 10, which would hollow out and rename the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and establish stricter monetary penalties to combat fraud by financial institutions.

Voting yes: James Sensenbrenner, R-5, Glenn Grothman, R-6, Sean Duffy, R-7, Mike Gallagher, R-8

Voting no: Mark Pocan, D-2, Ron Kind, D-3, Gwen Moore, D-4

Donald Trumps Tax Returns: Voting 228-186, the House on Wednesday blocked a Democratic attempt to force consideration of a resolution directing the Ways and Means Committee to use its authority under law to obtain from the Treasury copies of President Trumps 2006-2015 tax returns, privately review the documents and then report the information therein to the full House. A yes vote was in opposition to disclosure of the presidents tax returns.

Voting yes: Sensenbrenner, Duffy, Gallagher

Voting no: Pocan, Kind, Moore

Not voting: Grothman

Polygraph Testing Waivers: The House on Wednesday voted, 282-137, to waive polygraph testing of U.S. Customs and Border Protection job applicants if they had cleared background checks in previous military or police employment. The bill would help the agency fill more than 2,000 vacant positions. Overall, there are 23,000 CBP officers and 20,000 Border Patrol agents. A yes vote was to pass HR 2213 over arguments it could lead to abusive treatment of immigrants.

Voting yes: Kind, Sensenbrenner, Grothman, Duffy, Gallagher

Voting no: Pocan, Moore

SENATE

Courtney Elwood, CIA General Counsel: The Senate on Tuesday confirmed, 67-33, Courtney S. Elwood, 49, who held high legal positions under President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney, as the Central Intelligence Agencys top lawyer. She drew Democratic criticism over her involvement in post 9/11 discussions of policies regarding surveillance of American citizens without warrants and the CIAs harsh interrogation, or torture, of prisoners. A yes vote was to confirm Elwood.

Voting yes: Ron Johnson, R

Voting no: Tammy Baldwin, D

Scott Brown, Ambassador to New Zealand: The Senate on Thursday confirmed, 94-4, Scott P. Brown, 57, as U.S. ambassador to both New Zealand and Samoa. A yes vote was to confirm Brown, a former senator from Massachusetts and an early supporter of Donald Trumps presidential candidacy.

Voting yes: Baldwin, Johnson

KEY VOTES AHEAD

This week, the Senate will vote on a bill imposing economic sanctions on Iran, while the House schedule was to be announced.

 Thomas Voting Reports
A woman was arrested at a motel on Texas 21 in Bryan after police say they found several rocks of crack cocaine in her purse.

According to Bryan police, officers were called to a motel in the 3600 block of Texas 21 in regards to complaints about the smell of marijuana emitting from a room. When officers arrived, they were told a man inside was wanted on several warrants. Police entered the room and arrested the man.

While dealing with the man, police say officers became suspicious that marijuana had been smoked in the room because of a strong odor. Police spoke with two others in the room, who admitted to smoking marijuana, but none was left. Ivana Deeunta Carrie, 23, pulled something out of a nightstand drawer and placed it in her purse, police said. She consented to having her purse searched and police say they found a plastic bag with several rocks of crack.

She is charged with possession of 10.2 grams of crack cocaine, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
A hotel kitchen in College Station and a popular Mexican restaurant were both temporarily closed this week by the Brazos County Health Department because of health code violations.

The health department closed the kitchen area of the Days Inn in College Station and Taqueria El Tio in Bryan for 24 hours for health violations after a routine inspection this week.

"We suspend a business' permit if they score below a 70 [out of 100] on their inspection," said health department environmental health specialist Jesus Rodriguez. "Or, [we do so] if the inspector believes something from their inspection shows that they couldn't sell food to the public."

Days Inn, which is on Texas Avenue in College Station, serves complimentary breakfasts and did not have many violations, but one factor was present that led to the kitchen's closure.

"Days Inn's kitchen didn't have any hot water," Rodriguez said. "You cannot sell food without hot water."

The inspection report also showed the kitchen did not properly store wiping cloths, was not properly cleaning food surfaces, did not present well-maintained warewashing facilties and did not have a well-supplied hand-washing station for employees. Hotel owners were given 24 hours on Wednesday to correct the problem.

Taqueria El Tio, which was inspected Tuesday, received a score of 65 out of 100. Nineteen violations were listed, including a lack of clean surfaces that food products contact, poor plumbing, failure to dispose of toxic substances, failure by staff to clean hands or use gloves and unacceptable temperature levels in refrigerators. The taco shop was given 24 hours to improve their problems, Rodriguez said.

This is the second time in a year Taqueria El Tio, which is on North Bryan Street, has been closed. The restaurant's permit was suspended for violations in August 2016. Details of the 2016 report were not readily available.

When a permit is suspended, a business has 24 hours to comply with requirements or it will be closed for an additional 72 hours. The business must also pay the health department a $500 fee. One failed inspection is considered a "strike." If an institution receives three strikes within one year, the food permit is revoked and the business will have to formally close. Though Taqueria El Tio failed an inspection in August, restaurants receive a clean slate in January; thus this week's strike counts only as 'strike one' for the business.

Neither the manager of the Days Inn nor the manager of Taqueria El Tio could be reached for comment.
Sul Ross Elementary students and employees will walk into a new facility come fall, but principals and staff took a moment Thursday to celebrate the memories made in the campus buildings that will soon be demolished.

Dubbed "Celebrating the Past," the event was held to mark the construction voters approved as part of the 2014 bond election, but for many who attended, the at times teary ceremony was more about catching up with old friends and gushing over the culture at Sul Ross.

With the construction of a new main campus building complete, the three existing buildings that attendees have called a second home for nearly two decades will be demolished this summer.

Principal Kristina Brunson said the main reason for the change was to make the campus safer. The current buildings are not connected, and Brunson said it's a hassle and a security issue to move students between buildings, constantly unlocking and locking doors along the way.

She said the new building is taking its theme from the trees outside, and a playground will be constructed near the school's iconic ivy-covered gazebo, where the few dozen teachers, parents and staff gathered. "Everything inside the building revolves around nature, from the accents on the floor being green like the grass, to the sun of the discovery lab looking out over the library, to the blue accents on the second floor mirroring the sky," Brunson said.

To mark the occasion, three former principals shared memories from their time at the school. Diana Werner, who was principal for six years before taking another job in the district in 2000, said she runs into adults who used to walk the hallways at Sul Ross. She said she recently ran into a Houston man with a 3-year-old child who as a first grader, "spent more time in [her] office than class."

"When they talk to me, they still name the teachers they had here at Sul Ross -- those teachers who went that extra mile for them," she said, adding that in the '90s that sometimes meant driving students to their homes in "the worst part of town" after tutoring.

Werner was principal before the first renovation in the 1990s, when the cafeteria doubled as the gym and many classes were taught in portable rooms.

She said she can still remember the excitement throughout the campus over getting a new library with a room for teachers and replacing tile floors with carpet that didn't make so much noise anytime someone was in the room. She hopes the new campus brings today's staff as much joy.

"And now a new chapter begins with a beautiful new building built for this wonderful learning community," she said. "It's been a long time coming, and it's been well earned."

Talking before the ceremony, Terri Barnett and Karen Morgan said the community at Sul Ross is more like a family. Barnett teaches third grade and has been with the school for six years. Morgan worked in the front office for 15 years, during which time three of her children attended classes on the campus.

"Once you go to Sul Ross, you are family," Barnett said, before Morgan jokingly added, "family you want to see."

Barnett said she's excited to work on the new campus and adds that it will be interesting to hold some of the annual events the campus is known for in the new facilities. She said she's especially looking forward to the book character parade and the Valentine's Day for Veterans event, where students perform various tributes to an audience of veterans.

Holly Havemann, principal for the school from 2004 to 2012, said it's clear Sul Ross needed a new building, but ultimately the care and passion of teachers and staff is what makes a school special.

"A school is really not a building," Havemann told the small crowd. "It's the people in the building."
Texas A&M University is quickly establishing itself as one of the country's leading academic centers for cybersecurity as the subject continues to permeate a broader scope both nationally and internationally.

The National Security Agency, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, officially named the university as a National Center of Academic Excellence in cyber operations during the ninth annual National Cyber Summit in Huntsville, Alabama, this week.

Daniel Ragsdale, director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station's Texas A&M Cybersecurity Center, said the distinction makes A&M one of only eight schools in the country -- and the only public Tier One research university -- to receive all three of the NSA's five-year distinctions in the area of cybersecurity. The university was awarded designations as a National Center for Academic Excellence in education and research at the 2016 summit.

Ragsdale said together the designations will help make A&M a destination school for students, faculty and staff interested in the cybersecurity field.

"This is a public, third-party acknowledgement of what we're doing," Ragsdale said, who also serves as a professor of practice in the department of computer science and engineering. "It's very gratifying to get such strong endorsement from well-respected agencies of our current practices... This lets [potential partners] know with very little doubt there is something very special going on at A&M in this area and if they want to link arms with us and work together, we can develop solutions to some of the great challenges ahead of us."

The cyber operations designation is a recognition of A&M's "deep technical knowledge that allows [students] to look at cyberspace from an operational perspective," said Ragsdale.

"[Our students] are learning ways to better defend our systems, our data and the systems with which those systems control," Ragsdale said. "...What we teach is effectively defensive cyber operations."

Dilma Da Silva, department head and professor of the computer science and engineering department, praised the designation in a statement as proof of the "strengths of our curriculum in both breadth and depth."

The university's designation fits into A&M's over-arching effort to increase its focus on cybersecurity and incorporate the principles into a broad range of disciplines with a goal of producing professionals for the workforce who are equipped to handle the cybersecurity-related challenges of the future, Ragsdale said.

"We're not just focusing on a narrow segment of the undergraduate and graduate student body that is going to be doing deeply technical work," Ragsdale said. "We are looking for ways to infuse cybersecurity knowledge and awareness throughout the curriculum... At the end of the day, cybersecurity professionals in and of themselves are only going to be able to make so much difference. But if we have a well-educated workforce learning within their discipline how they can operate in a more secure fashion, all of us are going to be that much more secure."

The latest NSA designation follows A&M's announcement last month that Stephen Cambone -- who previously served as the first U.S. undersecretary of defense for intelligence under President George W. Bush -- was hired to lead the Texas A&M University System's new cybersecurity initiative as associate vice chancellor and an engineering professor of practice.

Ragsdale said Cambone's extensive connections in the field will give the program an advantage in building its network of external partners for collaboration as it continues to grow.

He added that much of the center's growth over the past few years has been thanks to the support of several high-level administrators -- particularly Kathy Banks, vice chancellor of engineering and dean of the Dwight Look College of Engineering -- and the participation of faculty members from around the university who have shown a willingness and interest incorporating cybersecurity into their respective curricula.

To learn more about the Texas A&M Cybersecurity Center, visit cybersecurity.tamu.edu.
The state of Wisconsin and Airbnb on Thursday announced a tax agreement that would allow the home sharing company to collect sales taxes for the state and counties, Airbnb said.

The agreement, which follows a recent deal with Madison to collect the citys room tax, will pertain to the state sales tax and county sales and use taxes, as well as the Miller Park tax in the Milwaukee area and a tourism-related tax in the Wisconsin Dells area, among others.

Had the deal been in place for 2016, the state would have collected about $700,000, the state Department of Revenue estimated. The agreement will take effect on July 1.

Its a big deal for our hosts who want to pay their fair share, and a bigger deal for the state because its going to unlock a lot of new revenue, said Ben Breit, Midwest spokesman for Airbnb.

Founded in 2008, Airbnb is an online platform that allows people to share their homes with visitors in their area.

A different audience

We feel strongly that home sharing appeals to a different audience, Breit said. Were talking about guests who are looking for a different type of experience  whether they want to stay in specific neighborhoods without hotels, or they need a more affordable option.

Airbnb currently has tax agreements with more than 275 governments, including 21 U.S. states. In the Midwest, that includes the cities of Chicago and Cleveland, and the states of Illinois and Kansas.

Madisons Airbnb agreement went into effect May 1, and the city wont receive its first payment from the company until the end of July, said David Schmiedicke, the citys finance director. Airbnb told city officials that revenue would be approximately $150,000 per year.

In 2016, Wisconsin Airbnb hosts shared their homes with approximately 105,000 guests, and earned $13 million in supplemental income, Breit said. There are currently 3,300 active hosts in the state, in 410 different cities, villages or towns.
When the SRA asked customers what their top concerns about restaurant food were, customer health and nutrition was the joint top concern (along with food waste) of diners (53%). Issues such as local sourcing, animal welfare and seasonality also registered as prominent concerns.

Not using genetically modified food was an expectation of significant numbers of diners in a range of restaurant types: 56% of diners where a meal costs 30 or more, 40% of diners where a meal costs between 10 and 20, and notably, 29% where a meal costs less than 10.

What it all this means is that people who have concerns about the quality and authenticity of their food have a significant stake - both personally but also financially - in wanting the restaurant food chain to be sustainable and free from GMO contamination.

A range of concerns

Respondents expressed a number of reasons why they would not want to eat GMOs. These included the ideas that GMOs:

Encourage corporate control of the food system (91%)

Support unsustainable industrial and factory farming (87%)

Cause environmental damage (85%)

Carry too many scientific unknowns (82%)

Raise concerns for animal welfare (74%)

Conflict with religious or personal beliefs (33%)

Other issues (27%)

Among the Other' concerns listed by respondents were issues like the risks it poses to non-GM and organic crops particularly from cross pollination, loss of knowledge of traditional ways of growing food/managing pests, loss of crop diversity and loss of consumer choice.

Concern over the higher use of herbicides and insecticides on GMOs crops also came through as a theme not just for the environmental damage they cause but also for health risks.

Some questioned the social need for GMOs, given that they are not designed to be more nutritious. Several other respondents also felt that the totality of problems associated with GMOs made them a crime against nature or ecocide' which they felt should be punishable by law.

It was interesting to us that while opponents of agricultural GMOs are often portrayed as having an irrational or moral objection to GMOs - as opposed to an evidence-based one - very few indicated that they objected to GMOs because they conflicted with their one religious or personal beliefs.

Although only about a third of respondents (34%) said that GMOs conflicted with personal or religious beliefs, in a multi-cultural society - and with large number of customers seeking kosher or halal food - this is an issue to watch.

Lack of trust

Our survey findings make a powerful case for food service to take a lead in cleaning up its act.

Customer trust is an extremely valuable commodity for any business. Those in the food service industry should be aware that, apart from concrete concerns about issues like health and safety, surveys on GMOs consistently show that the general public does not trust genetically modified food and that this food technology provokes in them a sense of genuine unease.

Indeed, in our survey 83% of respondent said they did not believe GMOs were safe to eat; 12% said they did not know and only 5% said they thought GMOs were safe to eat.

This is reflective of an unease around GMOs, which has always been there but which is growing steadily as newer and more complex biotechnology looks for a marketplace in the foods we eat every day.

Our findings, again, are in line with those of other surveys, for instance the 2010 Eurobarometer opinion poll.

This most recent large scale independent survey of public attitudes towards genetic engineering technology is now several years old, but its findings remain valid and relevant.

It found that nearly 60% of Europeans believe that GM food is not safe for their health and that of their family or for future generations. An even larger majority (70%) said that genetically modifying foods is "fundamentally unnatural", and 61% said that GMOs made them "feel uneasy".

Overall it found that as many as 95% of European respondents rated GMO foods as potentially unsafe and lacking real benefits.

The Eurobarometer survey also revealed equally strong opposition to animal cloning for food, with only 18% of people in favour.

The survey highlighted that there was widespread awareness about GM food (84%).

A key finding related to this was that, contrary to what proponents of GM crops claim, Europeans understand the difference between biotechnology and genetic engineering of food, and strongly reject only the latter.

More recently, in 2013, these sentiments were echoed in the UK, when the Food Standards Agency published the second wave of its Food and You survey.

Asked about awareness of new food technologies used in food production, respondents reported being most aware of genetic modification (80%); 64% of people were aware of animal cloning, 34% of irradiation and 20% of nanotechnology.

A majority of people felt uneasy about the use of these technologies in food: 66% being uneasy about animal cloning, 52% about genetic modification, and 51% about irradiation. 34% of people expressed concern about nanotechnology even though it is relatively new and not widely known.

Almost since the advent of genetic engineering the food industry, the research establishment and parts of the media have been saying that the public is becoming more accepting of the technology. However, with no credible independent evidence to support this view it remains little more than wishful thinking.

The most recent independent survey was a 2014 YouGov poll which investigated whether people's attitudes to GMOs were becoming more favourable. Only 6% of the public reported their views towards GM foods becoming "more positive" over the last 12 months, virtually identical to the 5% who said their views had become more negative.

As for those whose views hadn't changed at all, they remained decisively negative: 41% negative to 17% positive. A large proportion (31%) also responded "don't know" when asked how their views on GM have evolved.

In addition 40% believed that the government should not be promoting the adoption of GM, while just 22% believed that they should.

Messages to chefs

Respondents to our survey were asked what their personal message about GMOs to chefs, caterers, hoteliers and others in the food service industry was.

Some of these comments include pleas for those in food service to lead:

Educate yourselves...it's important to us!

"I'm shocked that more chefs etc. don't take the time to understand the issues & stand up for a really sustainable food system."

"Think about how our choices now affect the future."

"You are at the forefront and should demand the best and purest ingredients."

"Try and get a truly balanced view on GMOs. Err on the side of caution. Most people seem to have a natural distrust of them. They are your customers."

"You can be leaders and heroes of a culture, of good husbandry and farming, and real love of good food. Or we can all end up not knowing what we are eating, because GM will get everywhere."

We also saw a desire for clear labelling:

"Clearly state whether or not you use GM ingredients. I would much prefer to eat animals that have been treated well and organic produce, so am much more likely to patronise restaurants that care about these things too."

"Ensure you provide clear choices to your customers so they can make informed choices about what they eat."

"Customers have a right to know...and will no doubt prove that, given a choice, they would prefer to avoid GMOs."

"I am sick of finding empty GM oil cans outside restaurants & cafes that are not labelling this on their menus - as required by law!"

"Consider emulating San Carlo in Birmingham whose window message is that their suppliers assure them that their ingredients are GM free."

"Let us know what we are eating!"

And of course a desire to simplify everyone's lives by just keeping GMOs out of the food chain:

"Leave it out!"

"Get ahead of the game in supporting non-GMO food before it's you or the company you work for losing out in the long-term as awareness increases."

"Change the way you purchase your food."

"Keep that gunk out of my food!!"

"Don't! Not enough is known about the effects and food shouldn't be mucked about with. Stick to fresh, natural and local produce."

"Keep GMOs out of the food chain! I don't want to encourage the cultivation of GM crops by eating dairy and meat products fed GMOs."

"I do not want GMOs on my plate. I will gladly pay more for clean' food."

"If you want my business, offer me non-GMO meals."

"I will be seeking out places to eat where non GM food is guaranteed. I hope you will be among those who supply it."

Where are we now?

Although we like to think of the UK as GMO free, this is not really the case. There is a slow creep of GMO products in to our shops and of GMO ingredients into our food and drink - and the landscape is rapidly changing.

Britain does not grow GM crops but it has an open door policy to imports of GM feed and foods and to ingredients that can be used without the need for labelling.

Foods for human consumption and animal feed can contain up to 0.9% GM ingredients (as long as the GM content is accidental or technically unavoidable) and not require labelling. Similarly, foods made with GM processing agents may not be labelled as such. These can include soy-based ingredients such as lecithin, soy protein, soy sauce and soy flour, corn-based ingredients including modified food starch, corn syrup, maltodextrin, and corn flour, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and trehalose, and increasingly cane sugar.

You will find these things in products like ready-made salad dressings, marinades and sauces, breads and crackers, vegetarian meat substitutes and deserts.

The most common GMO products in UK restaurants, however, are GMO oils derived from maize, soya, rapeseed and sometimes cottonseed.

Restaurants and other establishments are legally obliged to indicate on the menu - including online menus - if they are using such oils. However, Trading Standards reports show that most don't.

Nearly all conventionally reared meat in the UK is reared on GM feed. While the feed itself must, according to the law, be labelled, the eventually food products meat, milk and eggs - do not require labelling at point of sale. We know from our contact with the public that this is seen as unacceptable and a restriction of consumer choice.

Wines produced using genetically modified yeasts do not need to be labelled and beers and spirits made using GMO ingredients also do not need to state this on the label as it is considered proprietary.

There is some evidence that beers imported from the US and Mexico do contain GMO ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup (mainly in the US), caramel colouring, and some genetically modified organisms (GMO) like dextrose and corn syrup.

US Distillers Brown Forman - whose brands include Jack Daniels, Canadian Whiskey, Woodford Reserve and Old Forester - announced in 2014 that, due to supply chain issues in the US it spirits would now be made using GM ingredients.

The same is now starting to happen in the UK. Factory style spirit distillers are creating multiple brands - including vodkas, gins, jenevers, liquors, pastis and cream liquors - using cheap imported GMO derived neutral grains and potable alcohols. None of it is labelled.

Importantly, new biotechnology methods and biotech ingredients, such as cocoa, vanilla, stevia, saffron and coconut produced using synthetic biology and fake foods' such as chicken-less chicken, milk-less milk and egg-less eggs, some of which require GM starter cultures, are being aimed squarely at the food service industry and cynically framed as sustainable and ethical alternatives to conventional foods.

Food service must rise to the challenge of understanding these issues and challenging assumptions around them.

Context and conclusions

The immediate purpose of the survey was to help inform discussion at a Supply Chain Roundtable hosted by TV Chef Cyrus Todiwala and Hospitality and Catering News. However, results will also be used as part of Beyond GM's Stir the Pot initiative to engage with professionals in food service about the encroachment of GMOs into the food chain.

The survey was conducted online over 6 weeks March and April 2017 and was disseminated through a variety of channels including our own newsletter and social media and via other supportive organisations such as Sustain, The Sustainable Restaurant Association, Sustainable Food Cities and Slow Food. It was also flagged up in an article in Hospitality and Catering News as well as in the Ecologistand Natural Products News.

Our survey does not claim to be comprehensive and does have some limitations. The survey numbers are relatively small and the male female split showed a bias towards women. The demographics of the UK as a whole are 49% men and 51% women. In our survey 37% were men and 63% women.

The distribution of age ranges leans towards a greater number of aged 45+ individuals that would be found in the UK as a whole 72% compared to 34%.

In addition, the population surveyed was taken largely from a population of people who are more aware and potentially better informed about GMOs than the average individual.

However, studies such as the previously mentioned Eurobarometer survey, show that concern about the safety of eating GMOs generally rises in those who are better informed about genetic modification

In spite of these considerations, we are confident that our results are broadly in line with the findings of other public surveys.

For instance, in 2012 BBC Countryfile Magazine launched an open poll which posed the question: Should GM crop trials be allowed to go ahead?. The online surrey returned 7824 responses, 79% (6144) of whom said no and 21% (1680) sad yes.

An open poll in the Guardian newspaper online reported in 2013 that 72% of readers said they do not believe GM food is either safe or beneficial. Six months later the Guardian ran another online open poll - Should restrictions on GM crops be relaxed? In this poll 71% said no.

Moving forward

Beyond GM is very much a people's campaign. Everything we do gives space and voice to the majority in the UK who have real concerns about GMOs and the direction of travel they represent in food and farming. Our work helps amplify those concerns and represent them to those in power.

By and large the consumer, or more correctly citizen, continues to be missing in the public debate. It is shunned and even derided by media outlets such as the BBC (which has a firm bias towards the promotion of GMOs) our major newspapers, the National Farmers Union, the British Government and even supermarkets.

The food service industry claims to take sustainability seriously as part of a commitment to provenance. It's clear from our survey, and others, that customers believe that GMOs are absolutely a part of this picture and that the strength of feeling is such that the industry will not get away with ignoring the issue or greenwashing it.

We are ready, able and willing to help the food service industry understand the issues, keep GMOs out of the restaurant food chain and take them out where they already exist.
About 9:20 a.m., Carolyn Reilly heard from across Teel Creek the cracking sound of a branch snapping. Seconds later, the sound repeated.

Here they come, she said.

On June 1, Reilly and her family worked together to anticipate, encounter and peacefully repel from their Franklin County farm a crew of surveyors working for Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The roughly three-hour drama that unfolded that morning has played out many times and in many places in recent years. The cast for these dramas has featured a subset of regional landowners along the proposed course of the 42-inch diameter, high-pressure natural gas pipeline. They have fought to resist efforts by survey crews to study their propertys potential for a hosting a portion of the route of the 303-mile buried pipeline.

Especially fierce resistance has reigned in portions of Roanoke and Franklin counties. On occasion, this opposition has created quandaries for law enforcement departments whose officers have felt torn about how to respond when residents theyre obliged to serve and protect seek their intervention.

As proposed, the $3.5 billion project would transport natural gas extracted via fracking in the Appalachian Basin and move the gas from Wetzel County, West Virginia, to another pipeline in Pittsylvania County.

A controversial state law allows a natural gas company to survey private property without an owners consent as long as the company has provided landowners adequate notice of its intentions and plans.

A certified letter to Carolyn Reilly, her husband, Ian Reilly, and Carolyns parents, Dave and Betty Werner, had alerted them that surveyors intended to inspect their property on June 1 and June 2. The Reillys and the Werners co-own and operate Four Corners Farm, whose 58 acres include property along the banks where Teel and Little creeks join en route to the Blackwater River.

The family had successfully rebuffed surveyors on four other occasions, dating back to May 2016. On the morning of June 1, they hoped to do so again and mapped out a strategy.

First, Ian Reilly drove to Boones Mill to see whether survey crews were staging, as they often did when working in Franklin County, at the Shell service station and convenience store. They were.

Carolyn Reilly had walked through the farms bottomland pasture to reach a wooded spot along Teel and Little creeks where the family expected that the crew would venture off a neighboring property to access Four Corners Farm. Mountain Valley has its eye on the pasture, envisioning burying the companys pipeline across the field where existing lines feed water to troughs meant to keep the farms cows out of the creeks.

The Reillys and Werners attempted once again to thwart those plans.

About 9:23 a.m., the first of what turned out to be a crew of 18 surveyors became visible through the foliage. Carolyn Reilly greeted one from her spot across Little Creek.

Its probably just better to turn around and go back, she said. We dont want you on our property, anyways.

The surveyor glanced over but did not reply. A companion said the crew intended to survey the property.

Other crew members appeared out of the brush and lined up parallel to Little Creek. When it became clear to Reilly that they intended to cross the creek and venture onto the farm, she instructed her mother to summon help from the sheriffs office.

Several surveyors crossed Little Creek, climbed the bank and headed single file toward the pasture. Ian Reilly placed himself between them and the pasture. The surveyors stopped. The man directly facing Reilly said he was with the crews safety team. He said the surveyors would not venture farther until law enforcement arrived.

He told the Reillys that Robin Wall, an employee of Coates Field Service who helps supervise survey crews for Mountain Valley, planned to meet with the sheriffs deputy at the entrance to the drive that leads off Old Mill Creek Lane to Four Corners Farm.

Carolyn Reilly and her father left the pasture and drove to the rendezvous, where they found Wall and a man with her talking to Sgt. Lewis Wimmer of the sheriffs office. Lt. Erik Mollin arrived in a separate cruiser.

Ultimately, Wall agreed to remove the surveyors from the farm. Mollin told Reilly and her father that Mountain Valley would likely seek a court injunction sanctioning entry on the property.

Afterward, Reilly expressed gratitude for the sheriff departments willingness to intervene.

This week, Maj. Mike Bowman said the office has no written policy about responding to survey disputes.

We are here to keep the peace, whether its with the pipeline or the landowners, Bowman said. Were really neutral because the law is a little confusing. They want deputies to be lawyers, and were not lawyers.

He said the departments current approach is to direct surveyors to leave properties when landowners object to their presence.

If they want to get on the property, then they need to get an injunction, and if a judge grants the injunction the department will enforce it, Bowman said.

He said surveyor supervisors have been very cordial and cooperative when asked to leave properties.

If a crew refused to leave, Bowman said, landowners could seek from the magistrates office warrants charging surveyors with criminal trespass. If such warrants were issued, deputies would enforce them, he said.

Policies change

Law enforcement departments in other counties along the proposed pipeline route have struggled to define their role in survey conflicts. The states surveying law seems to grant crews working for Mountain Valley Pipeline  and the separate but similar Atlantic Coast Pipeline  the right to enter private property without fear of prosecution for criminal trespass.

To date, efforts by landowners and their attorneys to challenge the constitutionality of the law have not found footing in either state or federal courts. The Virginia Supreme Court heard two appeals in April related to the law but have not yet ruled.

Initially, Mountain Valley officials told Roanoke County police that surveyors would not enter or would leave private properties for which they had not obtained permission for entry as long as the landowner was present and opposing the work. The company said it would then seek a court order affirming its right to study the property and prohibiting interference with that work.

But as the weeks passed and Mountain Valley failed to gain access to several properties in the Bent Mountain community, the company changed its policy. Mountain Valley said surveyors would no longer leave properties to which the company felt it had legal access. And the county police department announced that it would not ask the crews to leave.

Pipeline foes then turned to the Virginia State Police, seeking intervention.

On May 8, a state trooper directed a survey crew on Bent Mountain to leave land owned by the Terry family. The crew complied. A few days later, however, the state police clarified that its officers would no longer ask crews to leave properties if the surveyors appeared to have authority under the law to study the site.

Meanwhile, Mountain Valley obtained a court injunction prohibiting the Terrys from interfering with future surveying. The company argued that the work was required to submit a complete application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which will decide whether construction of the pipeline offers sufficient public benefit to justify environmental damage and other impacts associated with the project. An attorney for the Terrys cited FERC regulations that suggested the surveying wasnt necessary, but a judge disagreed.

In light of the various court rulings permitting MVP surveys, its unfortunate that landowners and others continue to interfere with the important and necessary survey work that is required as part of the regulatory process, Natalie Cox, a spokeswoman for the pipeline company, said last week about the surveyors unsuccessful attempt to gain entry to Four Corners Farm.

She declined to comment about specifics tied to the conflict at the farm. Cox said the project team remains confident that we have the legal authority under Virginia statute to access property for survey activity and expects to continue this important survey work in accordance with the strict requirements of Virginia law.

In Montgomery County, the sheriffs office told landowners that it will respond when summoned about survey conflicts, said Chief Deputy Brad Sinclair.

We want to be there to make sure no one is threatened, no one is harmed, he said.

Deputies obtain identification from surveyors and write a report that landowners can use if they decide to seek trespass warrants, he said.

Sinclair said he is not aware of any warrants being issued and recalled one case in which a magistrate declined a landowners request to issue a warrant.

That case involved Cletus and Beverly Bohon, who have property in the Elliston area.

Cletus Bohon said he drove to Christiansburg to seek a warrant but said the magistrate rejected his request.

It was very disappointing, he said. I thought for sure that I had a good case.

A deep struggle

Authorities along the routes of both pipelines have voiced concerns repeatedly that the often emotional encounters between landowners and surveyors could yield a tragic confrontation. Officers have continued to respond when summoned by landowners or survey crews to try to keep the peace.

Roberta Bondurant, a resident of Bent Mountain who has helped organize survey opposition there, expressed support for the response in Franklin County.

We applaud Franklins Sheriff [Bill] Overton for appreciating the potential for tragedy in allowing survey land agents and crews to run untended through our communities, and for his wisdom in reining in the survey mayhem until the [Virginia] Supreme Court considers the plethora of questions before it, she said.

Like many landowners in the proposed path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the Reillys and Werners first learned about the project in 2014.

In February, Carolyn Reilly was hired by Bold Alliance as a pipeline fighter and tasked with organizing opposition to both the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast projects through the newly organized Bold Appalachia. Bold Alliance spun off from Bold Nebraska, which fought the Keystone XL pipeline.

She said last week that the work for Bold Appalachia and her previous efforts to fight the projects have taken a toll, stealing time from farming and from raising her four children, who range in age from 7 to 17, with her husband Ian .

On one hand, its been a deep struggle of keeping my head up and not feeling defeated, as a family and landowner, she said. The only reason I can continue and keep going with this is that I do have a faith ... that calls for taking care of the land and being a steward.

She finds strength also, she said, from a source beyond her, a source she said she calls God.

FERC has said it plans on June 23 to release a final environmental impact statement for the Mountain Valley joint venture, whose partners include an EQT Corp. subsidiary and a subsidiary of RGC Resources, the parent company of Roanoke Gas. With FERC approval, Mountain Valley would have access to federal eminent domain to acquire easements across private properties.

Roanoke Gas has said it intends to install two taps on the pipeline. One would be in Franklin County at a business park near Four Corners Farm. The tap would provide the county access to natural gas, a reality that has boosted support for the pipeline in some quarters of the county.

The countys board of supervisors has not taken a position on the pipeline. Boards of supervisors in

Roanoke, Montgomery, Craig and Giles counties have expressed opposition to it.

Carolyn Reilly said her family will continue to fight the pipeline.

My heart is with landowners in the struggle to protect our land and water, she said.
As debate continues over the location of the new Glade Hill Volunteer Fire Department, the fire fighters themselves have come out in favor of the Turtle Hill Road site over the location in Southlake Towne Center.

Citing that their mission is to protect lives, property and the environment, the firefighters rejected what many homeowners groups have advocated for.

It is this mission, and not economic or personal interest, that is the basis for the Turtle Hill Road site being the most appropriate for a fire station, the department said in a release.

The crux of the current debate began when Franklin County Board of Supervisors allocated $2 million to the building of a new station, a change from its traditional practice of requiring volunteers to raise money and build their own stations.

The use of tax-payer dollars for the project has opened up the opportunity for many  more than just the firefighters  to weigh in on its future location.

If the volunteers were funding it themselves through donations or whatever, we wouldnt have a say in it, said Dave Elwell, board member and government liaison for The Waters Edge homeowners association, in an interview with The Roanoke Times. But once you open it up to taxpayer funding, then the tax-paying residents have to have their voice heard equally as do the volunteers.

The Waters Edge, along with homeowners associations from The Cottages, Contentment Island, The Retreat and Lands End have thrown their support behind the proposed location in Southlake Towne Center.

The firefighters, however, have serious concerns about the Southlake Towne Center location.

My deal is that the Southlake site is taking the fire department too far out of our area, making it too many miles just to get to our department, said Mike Smith, assistant chief of the Glade Hill Volunteer Fire Department. We look at it from a safety standpoint. If we move the station any farther away from the Turtle Hill site its really going to hinder our assistance to people in the area.

Another Glade Hill firefighter, who wished to remain unnamed due to legal interests, said that a fire station in a shopping center would provide a safety issue for both the firefighters and the shoppers. According to his rationale, shopping center parking lots and access roads are always clogged with cars making it difficult for volunteers to report to the station, and the necessity of an emergency vehicle trying to flee the station would likely create a spectacle for curious shoppers and further delay emergency response times. Both reasons would hinder the public safety personnels ability to do their job.

Have you ever heard of a fire department being in a shopping center? he asked a reporter. Thats just plumb out of reason.

In its release, the fire department points to increased reaction times for the firefighters who live in Glade Hill as a problem with the proposed Southlake site. According to the department, 95 percent of its firefighters live west of the Turtle Hill Road site. The additional distance from the fighters homes to the Southlake site, located two miles east of the Turtle Hill Road site, would mean increased time to respond to an emergency.

Glade Hill firefighters are also concerned about the possibility of doing their job should an incident occur that blocks traffic flow on Old Franklin Turnpike near Old Salem School Road. They argue that the proposed Southlake site would then become inaccessible and would require a lengthy detour using Snow Creek Road, thus further delaying emergency response.

In the debate on economic growth, the Glade Hill Volunteer Fire Department says that if the county were to purchase or lease the proposed site in the Southlake Towne Center, the tax generation of the site would be zero, whereas if the county left the site for commercial development, private businesses would occupy the space and be taxed. The department also says it would require significant costs to the county to update the turning lanes and traffic control devices needed for relocating a fire station into a shopping center.

The decision county supervisors face will be complex, given that despite the safety reasons firefighters list, the Southlake site would fall within the boundaries of Union Hall Village Plan adopted by the county in 2014. A coalition of Union Hall businesses support the Southlake location and say it would be a catalyst for economic growth in the village center.

For Elwell, the number of volunteer fire fighters living outside of Union Hall doesnt compare to the thousands that would benefit from growth and additional services in the Union Hall village center.

Casey Fabris of The Roanoke Times contributed to this article.
WACO gets a crack at the first state championship game in school history
Influencer marketing has been a growing trend in digital marketing over the past few years, and its only gaining momentum in 2017. B2C brands have historically been the most eager adopters of influencer marketing, and many B2B brands feel like this channel doesnt offer as many opportunities for them. While it might seem like influencer marketing works harder for B2C brands that have products that are natural fodder for influencer posts, the opportunities for B2B brands certainly exist -- you just need to know where to look.

Related: Why the FTC's Influencer Disclosure Policy Is Completely Off Target

The benefits of influencer marketing

Before we get into some examples of B2B influencer marketing, lets cover the benefits of investing in this channel.

1. Authenticity

Influencers can add a level of authenticity to your marketing that is otherwise difficult to achieve. Influencers spend years gaining audiences and developing their reputations as trustworthy individuals within their communities. The result is that influencer content and posts carry a certain amount of built-in authenticity that brands can benefit from.

2. Authority

Because influencers spend years establishing themselves in their fields, theyve usually gained reputations as authoritative sources. Their followers look to them for insight and advice in their industry, which means that by partnering with them, your brand can benefit from a boost in authority.

Related: 6 Must-Do's When Creating an Influencer Marketing Campaign

3. Content that isnt selling

Many of us are looking for ways to create more content for our brands -- but its not only about having more content, its about having better content. Content generated by your brand, no matter how useful or valuable to your users, is still always associated with your brand and with your ultimate goal of selling. A key benefit of influencer marketing is that it generates fresh content for your brand that comes from a voice that isnt directly associated with selling.

4. Reach

Influencers come with built-in audiences -- audiences who may have never heard of your brand before. When they publish content related to your brand, or partner with you on an initiative, that means theyre helping put you out in front of a new audience. Influencers can help expand the reach of your content and marketing efforts.

B2B influencer marketing examples

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has a huge user base of B2B influencers, a user base it drew on for the creation of its Sophisticated Marketers Guide to LinkedIn. The handy 48-page guide helps marketers figure out how to use LinkedIn to its full potential as a marketing tool. The guide makes a strong case for LinkedIn, which would be compelling on its own, but its even further bolstered by the inclusion of B2B influencers. Each chapter of the guide includes an Ask the Expert Q&A with an influencer -- in most cases, CEOs and authors who have authority in the fields of digital marketing and social media marketing.

Related: 10 Telling Examples of the Power of B2B Influencer Marketing

The inclusion of influencers in the guide serves two purposes. The first is to enhance the trustworthiness and authority of the content. The second is to encourage further reach -- the experts included are likely to promote the guide, and their audiences are likely to engage with it.

American Express

American Express is a champion for small businesses. When it wanted to make its storefront decals a bit more aesthetically appealing to encourage store owners to use them, it launched the Love My Store campaign. The company partnered with Grace Bonney from the blog Design*Sponge to design six new storefront decals to appeal to small business owners. It also created a video series with HGTV personality Emily Henderson that focused on teaching small businesses how to use their storefronts and merchandising to attract customers.

Grace Bonney and Emily Henderson were both great choices for influencer partnerships. Theyre trusted authorities in the interior design field -- people that small businesses would feel comfortable taking design tips from.

Salesforce

One straightforward way to develop influencers and brand advocates is to lean on the reputation and expertise of an influential CEO. Marc Benioff is the founder and CEO of Salesforce, but hes also a recognizable and revered figure in the tech space. Benioff has roughly 700,000 followers on Twitter, which means he has a big platform for thought leadership. Hes active on social media -- promoting causes that matter to him and that are central to the mission of his company. This activity attracts followers and, notably, other influencers.

Related: How to Create a Successful Influencer Marketing Campaign

CEOs are naturally placed to act as the public face of the company. There is some risk of putting a CEO out front so publicly. Recent missteps by the CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick, for example, have drawn negative attention to the brand. But, CEOs with a positive message and a passion for their industry can act as influencers on behalf of their companies, ensuring that the companys message and content is spread far and wide.

HubSpot

HubSpot is a master at content marketing. Its blogs are regularly updated and the content it posts is well-researched and developed. It ups its game by investing in partnerships with micro-influencers who have digital marketing and sales backgrounds. These influencers contribute content to HubSpots marketing and sales blogs. HubSpot benefits from the addition of new content from fresh voices. Whats more, the micro-influencers it partners with write about topics that come under their area of expertise, which means that HubSpot also benefits from a boost in authority that it might not otherwise have on staff.

It might seem like B2C marketers are having all the fun when it comes to influencer marketing. The truth, though, is that there are many ways B2B brands can use the channel to their benefit. Influencer marketing can help B2B brands create fresh content with built-in authority and a wide audience. Take a cue from the likes of AmEx, Salesforce, HubSpot and LinkedIn to see how influencer marketing can be incorporated into your brands digital marketing strategy.

Related:

Influencer Marketing for B2B: 4 Examples That Prove It Can Work

The 5 Biggest Influencer Marketing Myths That Won't Die

A Stupidly Simple Method to Meet Millionaires and Influencers



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
WESTPORT  In a clunky protective suit and trying to reach a woman struggling in the Saugatuck Rivers current, Firefighter Earl Hill made the choice to let go of the rope tethering him to sure safety.

Assured by another firefighter approaching in the water and other emergency officials converging on the scene, his sole focus was on getting to the drowning woman.

The current was pulling her away from what would have been Earls tether, said Fire Chief Robert Yost recalling the actions that saved the womans life. He made the decision to have them let go of the rope, so that was his individual act of bravery. He really put himself at risk.

Working under a unified command, police, firefighters and EMS worked to rescue the woman from the cold and churning river, as heavy rain fell the night of Feb. 25. The woman later identified as Stephanie La Mendola had been in a car with her husband, Richard La Mendola, that went into the river off a State Boat Launch near Elaine Road around 7 p.m.

Rescuers found the car and Lamendola, 76, who died from drowning that night. Police suspect no foul play and are considering the role of the dark, rainy conditions and other circumstances that may have contributed to the accident.

Hill and the crew hes a part of were just a minute away from the Bridge Street Bridge when the call came in. They raced to the area, where Hill put on an exposure suit and moved to the dock behind Parker Mansion restaurant to jump into the water.

Realizing his 150-foot tether wouldnt let him reach the woman, Hill could see firefighter Ted Crawford entering the water from the opposite bank and a firefighter and police officer boarding a civilian boat to commandeer it and come pull the woman from the water. He could see firetrucks and police cars all around.

Its not that big of a deal for me because I feel safe because all of my brothers and sisters are there, he recounted, describing his thoughts as he signaled for his crew to let go of the rope. Its a team, so if something goes wrong with me, Teds going to get there. Were going to help the person in distress. If something really bad happens to me, Ive got all these other people that are there that are going to help me or whoever needs help.

At that point, Im just like swim, keep swimming. Swim as hard as you can, said Hill, a member of the Westport Fire Department since 2003 who formerly worked as a professional lifeguard and in EMS. Originally from Florida, he now lives with his wife and six-year-old twin daughters in Newtown.

Hill reached the woman and Crawford arrived just seconds later, holding the woman above water on each side. The boat was there a moment later to bring her to the dock.

You have to go as fast as possible because theres a minimal amount of time we have to make a rescue like that, said Crawford, a Connecticut native and Westport firefighter since 2011 who lives with his wife, son, and daughter in Bethlehem. Hypothermia was a significant concern and if the woman slipped under the water, the rescues could lose track of her in a situation where seconds counted.

Yost watched from a dock with a flashlight on Hill as he made the call to untether himself. The chief was concerned for Hill, in the water and very exposed. He kept his light on Hill, relieved that Crawford was close and the boat reached the men quickly.

There were a couple of seconds there where this could go horribly wrong, he said.

After the rescue, both Hill and Crawford moved onto the next task at hand, searching for the man missing in the river. Hill patrolled the shoreline and ran a search pattern near the boat ramp later, remaining suited up. Crawford switched to work with the Dive Team. He is a member of the joint police-fire unit.

It feels good that we were able to do our jobs and help somebody, Hill said. But Crawford added, I feel bad we werent able to rescue both victims though, so its kind of bittersweet.

lweiss@hearstmediact.com; @LauraEWeiss16
If you spend some time at Servcorps space in One World Trade Center, youll observe a stunning view of New York City and a tranquil silence. Eighty-five stories above Manhattans Financial District, youll scarcely hear a blaring siren or honking horn.

Although its partly a coworking space, denim-clad twentysomethings are conspicuously absent. Servcorps 155 locations around the world bare no resemblance to college dorm common spaces, archetypal tech startup offices or contemporary cafeterias -- think fewer hashtags and foosball tables, more red carpeting and marble. Many are in iconic high-rise buildings, and theyre meant to appeal to a professional clientele that seeks a more formal, or, as Chief Operating Officer Marcus Moufarrige describes it, premium experience.

If it seems that WeWork is the elephant in the room, its not. Moufarrige openly compares his business, founded by his father, Alf (who still serves as CEO), in 1978 and publicly listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since 1999, to the comparatively nascent WeWork (founded in 2010). Until recently, Servcorps website even featured a page called Servcorp vs WeWork detailing the differences between the two.

Related: WeWork Will Give Away $20 Million to Entrepreneurs to Celebrate 100,000 Members

Right now, people think its all about this new business model that is WeWork, but its actually an old business model thats just being marketed really well, Moufarrige says. The broader base of this industry has grown, which is a great opportunity for us. We want to make sure that we take advantage of the growth in that marketplace and that people understand that there is a premium offering as well.

The global flexible workspace market was valued at $27 billion in 2016, up from $14 billion in 2012, according to a report by Daedel Research, and its projected to reach $44 billion by 2021. However, a substantial share of that valuation -- $18 billion -- belongs to the prodigious WeWork, in which Japanese giant SoftBank invested $300 million in March. By comparison, Servcorp's stock price sits at more than $4, it has a market cap of about $431 million and generated $239 million in revenue in 2016.

Factors that have contributed to the rapid growth in the flexible workspace sector include global business expansion and the rise of alternative work patterns -- both fueled by technological advancement -- as well as cost efficiency for small companies, especially amid an uncertain economic environment.

In this crowded market, Moufarrige emphasizes that Servcorps differentiator is the access it provides to prominent addresses, executive assistants and telecommunications services. It distances itself from competitors that play up the value of community and hanging out in common spaces.

Moufarrige notes that the company has a particularly strong presence in the Middle East and Asia but says he wants to grow its U.S. footprint, though he doesnt want to take over the world and open thousands of locations. He wants to focus on the niche Servcorp occupies while growing in the U.S. to a modest 50 to 80 locations, up from 22 today. Earlier this year, he even relocated his family from their native Australia to New York with this goal in mind.

Personalization via automation

Over the years, Servcorp has had the likes of Lyft, Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Cartier as clients. The company offers a variety of flexible workspace packages, including executive suites, which start at $1,000 per month in the U.S. and are typically for mature businesses that want access to a furnished office space without signing a multi-year lease. The features included within this package overlap slightly with the other major category of Servcorps business: virtual offices.

Image credit: Servcorp

Virtual office clients are more likely to be small startups, or as Moufarrige calls them, one-man bands. They pay $250 a month at minimum. Most work from their homes. The amount of time they can spend in a physical Servcorp space is more limited than for executive suite clients. However, they may put a prestigious address such as One World Trade Center on their business cards and letterhead. Servcorp has 8,000 virtual office clients in the U.S. and 45,000 globally.

Related: Why Women-Only Coworking Spaces Are on the Rise

Servcorp identifies itself as the recognized world leader in shared workspace technology solutions, which might be surprising to visitors to its website. The sites design differs from the Squarespace-esque look of many tech startups today. Its difficult to distinguish the differences among the features of Servcorps various client packages. By comparison, WeWorks online display of its offerings is easier to digest.

When Servcorp talks about the importance of first impressions, its referring to its office building addresses, as well as the fact that clients get a Servcorp employee to be their receptionist. They also get IT and secretarial support. One receptionist can handle a few hundred clients, who enter their information into a database. When a call comes in to a clients phone line, information about that Servcorp client populates a computer interface, along with preferences for how they want the call fielded.

Its not a call center, Moufarrige explains. You know who your receptionist is. You can call them, you can talk to them, and the person who you sign up for is the person whos going to be answering your calls. So its a very personalized service.

Brittany Pizzuta has worked for Servcorp for six and a half years. She started as a receptionist and now works as a senior executive assistant. Pizzuta balances several companies and their clients through research, note-taking and monthly check-ins or happy calls. For some clients, she runs errands or books appointments.

We have a company that manufactures certain products, and Im very knowledgable in what they do, Pizzuta says, If I can answer questions about certain products, the caller truly does believe I work for that company, because Im able to give them the correct answer.

Moufarrige notes that startups that hire before they have enough income end up risking their employees jobs. Having a workforce on tap that doesnt work for you that you can use on a short-term basis or on demand is a really powerful thing for a small business, he says. But Servcorps on-demand support staff dont just help others launch their careers. Moufarrige emphasizes that 80 percent of Servcorps managerial employees -- most of them women -- started in receptionist and secretarial roles and worked their way up. For example, Moufarrige says the general manager of the Australia/New Zealand division has been working for Servcorp for 36 years -- since she dropped out of high school. Others have gone on to run companies of their own.

A different kind of community

While Servcorp emphasizes personalization, it doesnt sell itself on networking or relationship-building. Unlike WeWork coworking spaces, in which teams from multiple different companies share an office floor, Servcorp isnt about fraternizing.

On its website, WeWork calls itself a global network of workspaces where companies grow together and CEOs can help each other. Its argument is, Whether it's getting feedback on your product in real time, asking for a recommendation on a service provider or simply grabbing a beer after work, the power of our community is invaluable.

Moufarrige disagrees with this philosophy.

We dont think that community or collaboration makes your business successful, Moufarrige says. You can be patted on the back as much as you like, but if people arent answering your phone, and you dont have great internet and you dont have a great address with a great first impression, youre not going to have the trust. People arent going to buy your product as quickly or as easily.

Related: 3 Reasons to Chuck Coworking and Get a Real Office

Moufarrige does note that hes learned a lot about the power of leveraging community from WeWork, but that his point of view about how to do so differs greatly. For example, Servcorps global network of team members who work with international clients can reach out to employees in another country for travel tips to relay to the clients they work with. The next step, Moufarrige says, is a professional network of the companys 45,000 virtual office clients globally.

We think weve built a really fantastic platform for that, using technology rather than just sitting around the campfire singing Kumbaya, Moufarrige says. That community is actually much broader than the people who you sit around in the lobby with.

Image credit: Servcorp

His clients apparently agree. As Moufarrige works to expand Servcorps U.S. footprint, he says hes had casual conversations with a few World Trade Center clients and encouraged them to spread the word. Theyve replied that they like it quiet on the 85th floor. So in its efforts to grow within the U.S., Servcorp will use its global community platform as a selling point going forward. The company is also going to do more targeted advertising via Facebook and Google, though Moufarrige says Servcorp is not necessarily targeting millennials. Instead, its targeting businesses based on their flexible workspace needs.

Above all, Servcorp is hoping that its amenities and prominent locations in city centers will continue to draw professional clients. As remote work and coworking become more common, the longtime player hopes to take advantage of its field's newfound prominence.

I think there will always be a need for the personal touch. There will always be a requirement for service, Moufarrige says. If people are focusing more on the customers than getting stupid tasks done like booking meeting rooms, then youre going to find that the level of service is a much better experience.

Related:

Why This Legacy Company Is Betting on a Glass Highrise Vision of the Flexible Workspace

4 Ways Co-Working Spaces Inspire Innovation and Collaboration

5 razones por las que nunca volvere a trabajar en una oficina



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
At first glance, apart from their status as members of the Class of 2017, Norwalk High School seniors Sarah Foristel and Emmanuella Jean-Louis and Brien McMahon senior Mariana Perales seem to have little in common.

Each hails from a different country. One is dark-skinned, one Hispanic, one white. Foristel grew up here, speaking English; Jean-Louis grew up in Haiti, speaking Creole and French. Perales, a Spanish-speaker, was born in Mexico, where she spent her early childhood years.

But a closer look reveals similarities that transcend the circumstances and narratives of their lives. All have known pain, suffered loss, and overcome adversity most graduating seniors can only imagine.

Foristel, born with rickets, underwent emergency brain surgery in fourth grade and has had her legs rebuilt numerous times. Last year she was unable to walk for six months after reconstructive surgery on her right leg.

Despite her own formidable health issues, she cared for her chronically ill father, whose diabetes and vascular disease led to amputations, and last winter, his death.

Jean-Louis, six months old when her mother died, survived the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti that destroyed her familys home in 2010 and killed more than 100,000, including friends and family members. Before moving to Norwalk to live with her father, she slept outside with concrete for a bed.

Initially, her dark skin and foreign language made her a prime target for bullies. She still is, though she now studies AP English. Her recent interview with The Hour was disrupted by students who ran into the school auditorium and shouted a racial slur.

Perales was born with fragile bones that break easily. At five, she moved with her family to Norwalk, where she learned English and attended public school. Five years ago, her condition worsened, forcing her to split her time between the classroom and home. During the winter, when the metal rods in her legs would freeze if she went outside, she was home-schooled.

This week, these three young women became the 2017 recipients of the Greenfield Everyday Heroes Award, a $5,000 prize honoring students who overcome adversity via positive attitudes and actions, the ultimate lemons-into-lemonade trick.

Jean-Louis started an anti-bullying organization and formed an A cappella group that performs at shelters. Pain can destroy you or you can use it as fuel, she says. She hopes to become a lawyer.

Foristel, who wants to be a nurse, puts together a weekly school-wide broadcast, an outgrowth of the journalism class thats given her the sense of family she missed out on by not being able to play sports.

Perales plans to pursue a degree in business, and hopes to one day create her own makeup line. What I have is just physical, not mental, she says. Im a regular 20-year-old girl

Next week, alongside their classmates, Sarah Foristel, Emmanuella Jean-Louis and Mariana Perales will receive their diplomas before they and the other members of the Class of 2017 venture into the unknown. What theyll find there is anyones guess.

But while most have yet to discover what theyre made of, Foristel, Jean-Louis and Perales already know.

Congratulations, ladies.

Go get em.
President Donald Trump's declaration that the Thursday testimony of former FBI director James B. Comey was a "total and complete vindication" despite "so many false statements and lies" was the sort of brashly triumphant and loosely-grounded-in-reality statement we've come to expect from the commander in chief.

It was news that came out a bit later, news about plans to file a complaint against Comey for a revelation he made during that Senate Intelligence Committee hearing meeting, that may end up being more damaging to the president.

CNN and Fox first reported that Trump's outside counsel, Marc Kasowitz, plans to file complaints with the inspector general of the Justice Department and the Senate Judiciary Committee about Comey's testimony. At issue was Comey's revelation that he provided a memo documenting a conversation with Trump to a friend to be shared with the New York Times.

As the news broke, I was on the phone with Stephen Kohn, partner at a law firm focused on whistleblower protection. We'd been talking about where the boundaries lay for Comey in what he could and couldn't do with the information about his conversations with the president. Kohn's response to the story about Kasowitz, though, was visceral.

"Here is my position on that: Frivolous grandstanding," he said. "First of all, I don't believe the inspector general would have jurisdiction over Comey any more, because he's no longer a federal employee." The inspector general's job is to investigate wrongdoing by employees of the Justice Department, of which Comey is no longer, thanks to Trump.

"But, second," he continued, "initiating an investigation because you don't like somebody's testimony could be considered obstruction. And in the whistleblower context, it's both evidence of retaliation and, under some laws, could be an adverse retaliatory act itself."

In other words, Comey, here, is an employee who is blowing the whistle, to use the idiom, on his former boss. That boss wants to punish him for doing so. That's problematic - especially if there's no evidence that Comey actually violated any law that would trigger punishment.

This is where my original line of inquiry to Kohn comes back into play.

Comey testified under oath that, following a conversation with Trump in the Oval Office, he wrote a memo documenting what was said. Last month, he provided that memo to a friend and asked that it be shared with the New York Times.

That, as described, is not illegal, Kohn said.

"Obviously you can report on a conversation with the president," he said. "What the president does isn't confidential or classified." There is the principle of "executive privilege," which protects the president's deliberative process as he does his job. But that wouldn't cover a conversation like the one between Comey and Trump.

In a piece he wrote for The Washington Post on Thursday, Kohn described a 2003 case involving Robert MacLean, an air marshal who was fired for leaking information about a Homeland Security Department decision. That case established a relevant precedent for the Comey question. The Supreme Court determined that the DHS rule prohibiting leaks was insufficient cause for firing in the whistleblower context, since it wasn't a law. By extension, even if Trump tried to argue that Comey violated executive privilege, that, too, is not codified in law.

If the information in that memo Comey gave to his friend was classified, the situation changes. But in his testimony, Comey described how he protected classified information in memos he wrote documenting conversations. There's no indication, despite Trump's lawyer's cleverly worded statement on Thursday, that Comey crossed that important legal line.

Comey gave nonclassified notes about a conversation he had with the president to a friend with the express purpose of releasing that information to the media. In Kohn's eyes, there's nothing remotely illegal about that - making the new "frivolous grandstanding" from Kasowitz particularly problematic.

"The constitutional right to go to the press with information on matters of public concern, as long as you're not doing it in a way that will bring out classified information," Kohn said, "the reason why that is protected constitutionally is that the courts - including the U.S. Supreme Court - have ruled that the public has a constitutional right to hear this information." In other words, it's constitutionally protected speech.

It's also worth noting that Trump's tweeted attacks on the veracity of Comey's testimony are also unlikely to bear much fruit. Making a mistake in testimony is not in itself illegal. When Comey made such a mistake last month, the FBI corrected his statement after the fact. Perjury requires a demonstration of intent, that the person meant to lie. That would be a difficult case to make legally.

We can safely assume, though, that Trump's team is aware that Comey likely didn't violate any laws, and that they are simply using these arguments as a tool for undermining the parts of his testimony that they didn't like. How they're doing it, though, could make their problems worse.

Kohn summarized the new minefield into which Trump and his lawyer might be walking.

"They know that they're not going to get anything out of Comey on this, because there's no evidence," he added. "But they're clearly trying to create a chilling effect. Not a chilling effect on classified information. . . . This is a chilling effect on people not to talk about conversations they had with the president that are not classified as a matter of law."

"That is illegal," he said. "That is unconstitutional."
STAMFORD  A former Saks Off 5th cashier has been accused of using a stolen credit card to help a man fraudulently obtain $5,000 worth of gift cards.

Ataisha Davis, 24, of Norwalk, was charged with third-degree larceny, money laundering, conspiracy at money laundering and three counts of illegal use of a credit card. She was held in lieu of a $20,000 court appearance bond.
A Hall County District Court case against DNe Brodigan of Grand Island has been dismissed and picked up by the U.S. Attorneys Office for Nebraska.

Brodigan, 26, was scheduled to have a pretrial conference in the case Wednesday at Hall County Courthouse.

Brodigan has been charged in U.S. District Court in Lincoln with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, reports John Higgins, narcotics enforcement unit chief for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Nebraska.

On Feb. 21, Grand Island police reported that they found 24 grams of methamphetamine in Brodigans vehicle at Second and Harrison streets.

Brodigan was charged with possession of 10 to 27 grams of meth, which is a Class 1D felony. The charge is also known as possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. She was also charged with possession of money in violation of drug statutes and having no drug tax stamp. Both are Class 4 felonies.

Other charges against Brodigan were possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of 1 ounce or less of K2 or marijuana, first offense, and possession of an open alcohol container in a vehicle.

At her Hall County District Court arraignment March 21, Brodigan entered not guilty pleas to the six charges.

In another case, a Hall County District Court jury found Brodigan guilty of possession of a controlled substance on Feb. 6. She was arrested in possession of methamphetamine on Aug. 5, 2016.

Judge Teresa Luther sentenced Brodigan to 120 days in jail with credit for 30 days served.

She was also given post-release supervision for 12 months.
Former Shelton School superintendent Brian Redinger was sentenced Thursday to 18 months probation and fined $500, but only after prosecutor Sarah Hinrichs criticized Redingers behavior and his relationship with his wife.

Redinger, 46, was arrested after a dispute with his wife, Kelleene, on April 10, 2016. Under a plea agreement, Redinger pleaded no contest April 12 in Hall County District Court to third-degree domestic assault and reckless driving. Those crimes are both misdemeanors.

On Thursday, District Court Judge John Marsh sentenced Redinger to 18 months probation for domestic assault and fined him $500 for reckless driving. Marsh also sentenced Redinger to five days in jail with credit for five days already served.

Hinrichs, a deputy Hall County attorney, said she could probably live with supervised probation for Redinger. But she said he has never adequately accepted responsibility for the crime. Instead, he has placed an unacceptable level of blame on his wife.

Were not here because of his wifes problems, she said, noting that Redingers explanations cannot be used as a justification for physical violence.

Earlier, defense attorney Richard Alexander said he didnt believe his client intended to hurt his wife. Redinger, he said, is a model candidate for probation.

Redinger, he said, regrets some of the things he did the day he was arrested. His wife wasnt thinking clearly at the time, Alexander said.

My client feels great remorse about the whole situation and probably should have acted differently, he said.

Redinger has suffered greatly, Alexander said. He lost his job because of the incident and very likely will not be able to work as a superintendent again in the near future.

Redinger loved being a superintendent, and was probably guilty of putting his job ahead of his family, the attorney said. Since then, he has corrected that mistake.

He has entered into a program, having taken three classes. Redinger is the kind of person who would respond well to probation, Alexander said, noting that he highly doubts that Redinger will reoffend.

Redinger graduated on the deans list from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and has great drive, the attorney said.

The Redingers have nine children, seven of whom are still at home. They are ages 5 to 18.

After a physical dispute with her husband in a vehicle in rural Hall County, Kelleene Redinger fled to safety at the Pilot Truck Stop.

In a brief comment to the judge, Redinger said the most significant thing that happened that day was that I didnt emotionally support my wife in the way a husband should. A report about the incident was not accurate, he said.

The Redingers are still married. In a brief interview after the sentencing, Alexander said the couple is not yet living together, but Alexander assumes they will be living together soon.

Before the plea agreement, Redinger was charged with three felonies  attempt of a Class 2 felony, strangulation and making terroristic threats.

Right after he was arrested, Redinger said he had made a sarcastic comment to his wife, Hinrichs said. But he had more to say later, saying she was sometimes guilty of foolish behavior and creates things in her mind.

Hinrichs said she has no doubt Redinger feels great remorse, but she didnt hear much about the remorse he feels for his wife. At the time of the crime, he also set a poor example for their children.

Kelleene Redinger now seems to buy into the notion that she is somewhat responsible for their problems, Hinrichs said. But shortly after the crime, she reported that Redinger had put his hands around her throat.

Police observed an injury to her forehead, redness on her neck and bruises under her arms, Hinrichs said.

Marsh noted that Redinger has a lot more going for him than many defendants who come before him. He did not give Redinger any jail time because of his lack of a criminal record.

The judge said he was concerned about one area of his pre-sentence investigation. Agreeing with Hinrichs, he said there does seem to be an undercurrent in the findings that the crime was Keeleene Redingers fault, and that she overreacted. A claim that a spouse is emotionally unstable and frequently unstable is a frequent domestic violence dynamic, Marsh said.

As part of the sentence, Marsh ordered Redinger to attend a domestic violence intervention program.
Trinity Lutheran Church in Grand Island will host a community family night from 6 to 8 p.m. next Thursday.

The evening will include hamburger and hot dog meals, The Snow and other food, games, a bounce house and make-and-take activities.

Proceeds will go to the At Ease program, which provides confidential, individualized counseling services and support groups for active military personal, veterans and their loved ones. Everyone is accepted regardless of ability to pay or discharge status.

The church is located at 212 W. 12th St. For more information, go to www.trinitylutherangi.org or call (308) 382-0753.
Hastings College honors theater, music students

HASTINGS  The Hastings College music and theater departments recognized outstanding student work during their end-of-the-year celebrations. Both departments awarded several traditional honors and scholarships specific to their disciplines.

The music departments honors convocation took place May 8 in Perkins Auditorium. Awards and scholarships presented to area students:

Colt Hoselton, senior, Juniata, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Outstanding Sinfonian.

Nathan Jensen, senior, Hastings, Gordon L. and Mary Ohlsson Endowed Music Scholarship.

Jacob Nienhueser, senior, Juniata, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Scholastic Award and Outstanding Senior in Music Award.

Katherine Welk, senior, Grand Island, Nebraska Association of Music Educators Accompanist.

The theater department presented its awards May 10 during the departments annual Beaux Arts Theatre Dinner. The evening saw the initiation of new members into the Alpha Psi Omega theater honorary and the distribution of colored masks, which honor the artistic and academic excellence of junior and seniors from the department.

Honors included:

Miranda Aschoff, sophomore, Hastings, Scarlet Mask.

Alex Rieflin, sophomore, Doniphan, Lloyd S. and Helen M. Jones Scholarship, Scarlet Mask.

Randi Scoggins, sophomore, Hastings, Scarlet Mask.

Doane announces spring 2017 Deans List

CRETE  Doane University has announced the 252 students named to the Deans List for spring 2017. Students must achieve a minimum 3.7 grade point average on a 4.0 scale and hold 12 graded hours to qualify for this academic distinction.

The following are area students who appeared on Doane Universitys 2017 Spring Deans List:

Hunter Kleinschmidt, sophomore, and Keeliann Mark, sophomore, both of Aurora; Karly Nitsch, junior, Boelus; Kellen Korinek, sophomore, Cairo; Kayla Bachle, freshman, Brandon Gannon, freshman, Rachel Jacobsen, senior, Kenzie Kneeland, junior, Braden Knuth, senior, Dylan Mayfield, senior, and Ashley Scherer, senior, all of Grand Island;

Tayma Sebek, freshman, Hampton; Austin Uden, graduate, Hastings; Mikayla Bankson, junior, Hordville; Kathryn Grint, freshman, North Loup; Shayla L. Wichmann, graduate, Palmer; Shannon Stuhlmiller, graduate, St. Edward; and Benjamin Zwiener, sophomore, Silver Creek.

Graduates

The Rev. Trudy Kenyon Anderson and the Rev. Russell Anderson of Grand Island both earned Doctor of Ministry degrees with Revitalizing Congregation specializations from St. Paul School of Theology in Leawood, Kan., on May 12. Kenyon Anderson, who serves as senior pastor at First-Faith United Methodist Church, received her degree with academic honors. Anderson is associate pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church.

A Northwest High School graduate was among students receiving degrees from Park University in Parkville, Mo., on May 13. Jenna Pehriz of Kansas City, Mo., received her bachelor of science in social psychology.

Three area residents graduated from Iowa State University on May 26. The graduates were Katlyn Bunde of Doniphan, doctor of veterinary medicine, cum laude; Danielle Mettenbrink of Grand Island, bachelor of science, aerospace engineering, cum laude, honors program member; and Justine Schmidt of Grand Island, bachelor of science, mechanical engineering.

Honors

Sarah Vollers, a senior nursing major of Central City, was among approximately 860 students named to the spring deans list at Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C. The deans list recognizes students who earn a 3.00-3.74 grade point average during the semester.

Garret Dockweiler of Oconto is one of 17 health professions students advancing from Chadron State College to professional schools. He will study medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Thirty University of Nebraska-Lincoln students were recognized last month as outstanding agents of character and integrity by being named to Francos List. Among them were Angelica Carlini of Grand Island, junior, marketing and management; and Trevor Burr of Kenesaw, junior, accounting. Students named to Francos List  named after Juan Franco, the universitys vice chancellor for student affairs  represent six building blocks of character: caring, citizenship, commitment, dependability, open-mindedness and respect.

Megan Tofflemire of Shelton has been chosen for the inaugural Rural Law Opportunities Program (RLOP) class for the 2017-18 academic year at Wayne State College. RLOP is a new partnership between Wayne State and the University of Nebraska College of Law designed to recruit students from rural areas and train them to become lawyers who will return and practice in their communities. Tofflemire plans to major in criminal justice with a Spanish minor.

Scholarships

The Nebraska Corvette Association presented a $1,000 scholarship to Blaine Gascho of Cairo, who is in the automotive service educational program at Southeast Community College-Milford. His sponsoring General Motors dealership is Tom Dinsdale Automotive in Grand Island.

Gascho was chosen for his scholarship in the classroom and his outstanding work ethic.He will return to Tom Dinsdale Automotive this month for his fourth-quarter dealer cooperative experience.
Recently, the Nebraska Department of Labor gathered information from business owners, managers, supervisors and human resource personnel about Grand Island area labor issues and workforce needs.

According to the report, many employers noted issues with labor availability when considering business expansion. More than 84 percent of businesses reported labor availability issues either would be present or might be present if asked to consider a major expansion. More than half of these employers then reported labor availability issues would limit their ability to undertake a major expansion.

Businesses also reported the occupations they have hired or tried to hire people for and detailed the reasons it was difficult to find workers to fill those positions. More than 73 percent of those surveyed stated it was difficult to find workers and the most common reasons they gave were not receiving enough applicants and applicants poor work history, lack of work experience and lack of occupation-specific skills.

On Thursday, The Grand Island Independent, along with Bosselman Enterprises and Central Community College, held a job fair at Boarders Inn and Suites. Forty area employers had booths at the fair and many business representatives expressed a common theme that was highlighted in the recent Nebraska Department of Labor survey about the difficulties of finding workers.

Katy Bergstrom, Grand Island Independent classified advertising manager, said this is the first year for the job fair.

It was a way for us to bring area employers and job seekers together in a way that we really havent seen happen before, Bergstrom said. We were looking for a way for employers to engage both active and passive job seekers.

She described the area job market as tight. Grand Islands unemployment rate in April was 3.5 percent, compared to Nebraskas rate of 3 percent.

An indication of the tight labor market other than the communitys traditionally low unemployment rate was indicated in the Nebraska Department of Labor survey conducted last fall.

According to the survey, more than three-fourths of those who were actively seeking work were employed (78 percent). When choosing a job, the factors most often rated as important or very important by active job seekers were salary (91.3 percent), using the skills they have (84.1 percent), health insurance (83.4 percent), retirement benefits (83.1 percent) and a work schedule that fits their needs (81.5 percent). The obstacles to employment most often cited were a lack of job opportunities in the area (82.7 percent), inadequate pay offered (73.6 percent), and inadequate benefits offered by area employers (62.6 percent).

A lot of the employers are looking for a variety of entry-level positions all the way up to highly specialized positions with employees with years of experience to fill their open positions, Bergstrom said.

She described the area job market as very competitive.

Bergstrom quote It is definitely a job seekers market. - Katy Bergstrom

There are a lot of employers who are continually looking for job seekers to fill their positions and there are not nearly enough people to fill the available positions, Bergstrom said. It is definitely a job seekers market.

One of the businesses recruiting at the job fair was Bosselman Enterprises. Cory Goehring, national recruiting and human resource director at Bosselman Enterprises, said they decided to help put on the job fair because the labor pool in Grand Island is so tight.

We have been looking for someone to do a job fair like this for a long time because it benefits not only us, as employers who are struggling to find people, but the people out there who are not able to find the jobs that are the right fit for them, Goehring said.

By bringing together job seekers and employers, it allows each party a face-to-face opportunity to learn about each other, she said.

Among the positions they are looking to fill are employees for their various Pump & Pantry stores, along with diesel engine technicians for their Boss Shops.

Serving a dual role at the job fair was Central Community College, which was not only recruiting people for open positions at the school, but also telling job seekers about the educational opportunities at CCC that would give them the training to fill some of the job needs in the Grand Island area.

Cindy Lothrop, human resources hiring manager for CCC, said being at the job fair was a great opportunity for the college to get out and meet potential new employees, not only in Grand Island but in our neighboring communities.

We want to present some of the opportunities within the college, especially the lower costs (of attending CCC), she said.

Lothrop said a lot of skill and technical science areas offered at CCC, such as welding and advanced manufacturing, are skills a lot of area employers are looking for and some are willing to pay for that education and internships through their business.

She said CCC works with area businesses and public officials in determining the skills needed by area employers.

That relationship helps CCC expand and improve its curriculum to meet the skill needs of area businesses, whether it is in the health care industry, retail services or manufacturing.

We go out to all of our community partners, both business and industry, and ask them what are the current trends and what are your needs, Lothrop said. Is it employees? Is it new technology? Is it information technology? Is it construction? We have so many state-of-the-art things, such as the heavy equipment program we developed at Hastings that was based on needs of not only the state, but local business and industry.

The area trucking industry also needs truck drivers and the Hastings campus offers classes to train people who are interested in hauling freight.

We want to see our communities succeed, and we want to see our students succeed, Lothrop said.

One of the job seekers was Alyssa Bolles of Alda. She said she has had some difficulties trying to find a job.

I have applied at many places, but I really havent found anything yet, Bolles said.

While she is interested in securing a job as an elementary teacher and has applied at 15 different schools, Bolles said she is open to a different job if the right opportunity presents itself.

I really would like to find a teaching position, but this is a valuable opportunity because of all of the different industries that are represented here, she said.

Dillon Burklund said he was at the job fair looking for a position or internship in safety management.

It has been a little challenging to find something so far, but this job fair has been pretty promising, Burkland said. Ive gotten some good leads.

Mara Dethloff was also exploring the varied job opportunities being offered by employers at the job fair.

With an associates degree in business administration, Dethloff said she was looking at a number of different career opportunities.

I owned a small business for 19 years, she said. We sold our business a year ago, so I have been slowly transitioning back into the job market.

Dethloff said she was happy with the job fair as she got a number of good leads for jobs.

It was really an eye opener to see the diversity of different jobs that are offered here, she said.
The June 20 Georgia special congressional election will offer an early reading on the Democrats ability to rebound from 2016 and make 2018 gains. But next weeks Virginia primary will provide an insight into the future of their party and two of its key figures.

The gubernatorial contest features a bid by a self-identified proud progressive, former Rep. Tom Perriello, to continue last years anti-establishment successes by upending Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, anointed by the entire state Democratic establishment.

But their duel, which polls suggest is likely to pick the states next governor, is also a proxy contest between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has backed and campaigned for Perriello, and outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe that could affect the partys 2020 presidential nomination.

Sanders interest in the 2020 race, whether as a candidate himself or as the influential head of his growing organization, is evident. But there has been less attention given to the fact that McAuliffe, coming off a successful tenure in a state lately tending more Democratic, seems also to have his eye on 2020.

Governors have always made successful presidential candidates and, in a field that could be dominated by septuagenarians like Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren and African-Americans including Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, supporters think the genial, backslapping Virginia governor might be able to emerge as a formidable rival.

Because of recent losses, Democrats have few big-state governors likely to be in the field. One who is reportedly eyeing 2020, New Yorks Andrew Cuomo, may be a bad fit for the retail politicking that is so important in Iowa and New Hampshire. McAuliffes closeness to Bill and Hillary Clinton means access to their formidable political and financial network, though those ties may be more of a handicap than a blessing.

In Virginia, meanwhile, Perriellos unexpected entry into the governors race challenged the 60-year-old governors plan to place an ally at the helm of a state that limits governors to a single four-year term. Perriello, 42, served a single House term before losing his Charlottesville-area seat in the Republican sweep of 2010.

He is running the classic outsider campaign, vowing to shake up the status quo in Richmond, where many issues such as expanding Medicaid and revamping transportation funding have been stalemated between the Democratic governor and a Republican legislature that strengthened its position by drawing favorable districts.

Though he supported Clinton last year, Perriellos message has attracted the support of Sanders, who has sought, with mixed success, to transform the national Democratic Party. And no one is as emblematic of the status quo as McAuliffe, national party chairman from 2001 to 2005.

Polls show the race is close. Both candidates have moved left to fit within the more aggressively liberal Democratic Party of the Trump era. Perriello, a strong Barack Obama supporter whose 2010 defeat may have been at least partly due to supporting Obamacare, has said he was wrong in breaking with liberal orthodoxy to vote to limit abortion coverage in private health plans.

Northam, 57, a pediatric neurologist and former Army physician from Virginias conservative eastern shore, voted twice for Republican President George W. Bush, something he attributes to being under-informed before entering politics.

Theyve campaigned as much against Trump as one another: Perriello vows to make Virginia a firewall against Trump, and Northam has lately run an ad labeling him a narcissistic maniac. A Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, former Joe Biden aide Susan Platt, one-upped both by calling for the presidents impeachment.

Some Democrats initially feared the Yale-educated Perriello might be seen as too liberal, given the states conservative political tradition. But an influx of highly educated suburbanites and the growth of African-American voting have enabled Democrats to win most recent statewide races, and polls dont show any such weakness.

In the GOP primary, Ed Gillespie, a veteran Republican operative and Washington lobbyist who narrowly lost a 2014 Senate bid, leads a more outspoken conservative rival, Corey Stewart. But polls show Gillespie trails both Democrats by double digits, in part due to Trumps unpopularity.

For Sanders, the Democratic primary is one in a series of contests in which he is seeking to expand his influence in the party. But two 2016 Sanders supporters lost in recent special congressional elections, and other backers of the Vermont senator narrowly lost bids to chair the California and national Democratic parties.

Besides, the primary may be more meaningful for McAuliffe, since failure to install a friendly successor in Richmond could, at the least, complicate his long-shot 2020 hopes.
Last Man Standing: Mort Sahl and the Birth of Modern Comedy

By James Curtis

Univ. Press of Mississippi. 400 pp. $39.95

---

In the 1960s, when he was an A-list comedian and hosted a pioneering satirical news show, Mort Sahl often took the stage with a bit of reading material. Newspaper in hand, he zipped across the political landscape, offering wry takes on the day's knotty issues. When a U.S. spy plane was downed in the Soviet Union, he looked for the upside: "If we're lucky they may steal some of our secrets and then (BEGIN ITAL)they'll(END ITAL) be two years behind." Other times, when his props included, say, the Warren Commission report, Sahl might spend an hour fuming about cabals and cover-ups. He called himself "everyone's conscience," but his zealousness shortened his career.

James Curtis captures the dueling sides of Sahl's persona in "Last Man Standing," his fair-minded new biography. He meticulously charts his subject's path from striving club comic to mercurial star. Coupled with deep dives into the morgues of Hollywood trade magazines, Curtis' interviews with the likes of Woody Allen, Dick Cavett and Sahl himself (he turned 90 this year) give the reader a clear sense of his nimble mind and his influence on younger talents.

Emerging from the San Francisco club scene, Sahl capably straddled two worlds in the 1950s. His stream-of-consciousness monologues played well at jazz joints, where he shared bills with hip musicians. Meanwhile, he notched mainstream milestones, co-hosting the 1959 Oscars and cutting an album that the Library of Congress would declare "the earliest example of modern stand-up comedy on record."

Unlike the proudly coarse Lenny Bruce, to whom he was sometimes compared, Sahl "was a genuine Puritan when it came to language," says Curtis, the author of biographies of W.C. Fields and Spencer Tracy. Sahl excelled at gallows humor (Soviet leader Nikita "Khrushchev says he can bomb any American city. And I want to know if he's taking requests"), and his barbs could be prescient. Years before Watergate, he noted that then-Vice President Richard Nixon was "on the cover of every magazine except (BEGIN ITAL)True(END ITAL)."

In 1966, Sahl helped develop an innovative, if short-lived, satirical news show. The set of "Mort Sahl," broadcast in Los Angeles, included "a world map and three clocks suggesting the stern surroundings of a small newsroom," Curtis writes. A typical skit featured a cast member dressed "as NBC News correspondent Nancy Dickerson to report on the upcoming wedding of Luci Baines Johnson."

Sahl's belief that he "was on the job to save America," as Curtis puts it, was evident in his preoccupation with President John F. Kennedy's murder. "Mort Sahl" was dominated by assassination theorizing, with repeated appearances by Mark Lane, whose book "Rush to Judgment" aimed to debunk the Warren Commission's single-shooter conclusion. "The comedy had almost entirely given way to outrage," Curtis says. Ultimately, Sahl's incessant Kennedy coverage "was the downfall of the show," recalls a behind-the-scenes colleague. "Mort Sahl" was canceled in 1967. To Sahl, this and other setbacks were evidence of something more insidious.

Eventually, Curtis writes, "the conspiracy Sahl blamed for keeping him unemployed got conflated with the one he saw as being responsible for the death of the president." For a time, he volunteered as an "unpaid investigator" for Jim Garrison, the New Orleans prosecutor who spent years looking into Kennedy's death. In 1968, Sahl encouraged Johnny Carson to interview Garrison. After Garrison's appearance went poorly, "The Tonight Show" stopped booking Sahl. "I went out of business for about twelve years," Sahl recalls.

Aside from Curtis' sensitive handling of the overdose death of Sahl's son, the final chapters of "Last Man Standing" are laden with wearisome discussions of unproduced screenplays and other abandoned projects. Not for nothing did GQ, in 1984, ask, "Whatever Happened to Mort Sahl?" These years could've been dispatched in a few pages. Sahl is a comedian, not a statesman. Who says every episode in his professional life merits scrutiny?

By many accounts, Sahl was once a singular performer. Woody Allen said, "He was the greatest thing I ever saw." The last chapter might've been the place to tally his accomplishments. Instead, Curtis quotes from a news release about a college-teaching gig Sahl had a decade ago,and then wraps up with a half-dozen of his tweets. #Why?

For a book about a man who claimed that "anybody can act, but the only one who can do what I do is (BEGIN ITAL)me(END ITAL)," it's an awfully feeble curtain-closer.

---

Canfield has written for Bookforum, Film Comment and other publications.
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Linkedin Hestutomo Restu Kuncoro (The Jakarta Post) Manchester, UK  Fri, June 9, 2017 13:57 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a49440d 3 Opinion ASEAN,Islamic-State,Philippines,#marawi,Marawi,Jamaah-Islamiyah,terrorism,counterterrorism Free

The attack on Marawi in the southern Philippines that claimed 103 lives was the deadliest in Southeast Asia so far. It was a response to calls of reinforcement by Isnilon Hapilon, the Filipino militant dubbed the Emir of Southeast Asia allegedly linked to the Islamic State (IS). When Hapilon was hunted and surrounded by the military, hundreds of local Maute group militants poured into southern Mindanao and flew the black flag of IS.

Although transnational crime and terrorism is nothing new in the region, especially along the border between the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, the attack was shocking not just due to its unprecedented scale, but also for its unprecedented level of transnational coordination.

Previously, despite a declaration of their affiliation to overseas militant organizations, most terrorism activities in Southeast Asia were carried out by local citizens. Several militia in the Philippines are known for taking hostages for ransom rather than ideology. Nevertheless, the Marawi attack, although carried out by local groups, was a coordinated assault led by a regional figure and involving foreign soldiers. During the press conference after the initial clash, Solicitor General Jose Calida said, What's happening in Mindanao is no longer a rebellion of Filipino citizens. It has transmogrified into invasion by foreign terrorists. He argued that the attack was ISs attempt to make Mindanao part of the caliphate, also involving terrorists from Indonesia and Malaysia.

This phenomenon reflects deepening ties between terrorist groups across the region. A month before the Marawi attack, an air raid by the Philippine government on a Maute base killed one Malaysian and three Indonesian nationals. They were suspected to be members of Indonesia-based Jamaah Islamiyah, from which the military believes Maute obtained its weapons.

The deepening ties is believed to have been facilitated by IS as a part of the establishment of its Southeast Asia caliphate, which has gained the support of more than 60 local militant organizations. A report published by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies states that IS has created a Brigade of Migrants, for which each prospective jihadist is promised 500 Malaysian ringgits (US$117.19) for travel arrangements from Malaysia to the Philippines, along with a complementary weapon.

The growing threat of IS calls for better coordination in fighting them.

Mostly focusing on economic cooperation, ASEAN has actually made significant progress in negotiating treaties to combat terrorism in the region. In 2001, ASEAN issued the Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism. The declaration also mandated the regional bodies responsible for dealing with transnational crimes, which includes the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime and its operational arm, the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime, to formulate programs to combat terrorism in the region. The programs were later revised and incorporated into the Vientiane Action Program as a part of the six-year guideline to establish the ASEAN Community.

ASEANs biggest progress in counterterrorism was arguably the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (MLA Treaty) and the ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism (ACCT). The MLA treaty would allow ASEAN law enforcement and judicial authorities to cooperate in apprehension, investigation and prosecution, exchange of witnesses, sharing of evidence, inquiry, seizure and forfeiture of proceeds of a crime  a huge boost in combating transnational terrorism. Meanwhile, the ACCT would provide the legal basis for regional cooperation among member states in combating transnational crimes.

Unfortunately, the progress was not accompanied by adequate institutional development. ASEAN member states were reluctant in ratifying the ACCT even after negotiations were concluded, with the last ratification taking place in 2013, almost six years later. This became a hindrance in establishing a concrete institution to combat regional terrorism.

It does not help that counterterrorism effort in Southeast Asia remains largely unilateral. ASEAN member states prefer to act independently, leaving very little substantial cooperation in combating terrorism. So far, the creation of ASEAN bodies relating to counterterrorism is in the discussion phase. The main efforts of ASEAN counterterrorism cooperation is mostly in trust and confidence building and a significant step toward moving into the decisive phase seems far-fetched.

The biggest obstacle lies in the history of ASEAN itself. Created as a dominantly socio-cultural and economic association, ASEAN is big on its non-interference principle, which demands a clear-cut distinction between regional and domestic matters. As such, any actual move toward the creation of a body with actual power to combat terrorism is feared to breach member states sovereignty.

This is exacerbated by the different approach each member state adopts in combating terrorism. In the Philippines, where terrorism is highly related to insurgency, counterterrorism efforts are spearheaded by the military, while in Indonesia and Malaysia, they are led by the police force (although that may change).

There is also the different approach to the legal processing of terrorist suspects in different member states. When Lee Kuan Yew, the late Singaporean founder and senior minister, slammed the Indonesian government for its failure to arrest Jamaah Islamiyah leader Abu Bakar Baasyir, Indonesia responded by saying that Singapore is too authoritarian to understand that in a democracy, terrorism should be dealt differently.

However, with the ever-growing nexus of global terrorism, this principle of non-interference is due for a review. In a time when terrorism in Southeast Asia is transnational, a clear-cut distinction between regional and domestic matters is problematic. The latest trend of ISs growing influence in Southeast Asia is evidence that no state can remain isolated from the activities of terrorist organization from outside its borders.

Within the ASEAN Community, ASEAN should accompany economic integration with further integration in security cooperation. With the declaration of the Southeast Asia caliphate, soon more extremist and militant from various states will join IS, a move that should be responded by Southeast Asian states with a stronger coordination at the regional level through ASEAN.



***

The writer is a Master of Arts candidate in Political Science from the University of Manchester, the United Kingdom. His research interests include comparative politics, Southeast Asia, international organization, and electoral politics.

---------------

We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to academia@jakpost.com. For more information click here.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Kuala Kubu Bharu, Malaysia  Fri, June 9, 2017 09:03 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a47edf9 2 Art & Culture blind,Malaysia,quran,braille,Islam,Muslim,ramadhan,#Ramadhan,#Ramadhan2017 Free

A small community of blind students in Malaysia is attempting to learn the entire Quran, a formidable task that requires them to read each page of the holy text up to 40 times.

It may be the fasting month of Ramadan but the group of eight students in the central state of Selangor show no sign of fatigue as their fingers race across thick copies of the religious book.

The students, who were all born blind, are among a group of 1,000 at the Darul Quran school learning and memorising Islam's holy text.

They depend on made-in-Malaysia copies written in Braille, which come in six thick volumes.

"They must try to memorise one to two pages a day. You usually have to read a page 30 to 40 times to help you memorize," Quran teacher Ahmad Qusairi Mat Zizi, who is also blind, said.

Read also: Blind watchers: A cinema for the visually impaired

This picture taken on June 7, 2017 shows a visually impaired Malaysian Islamic studies student walking inside her classroom at the Darul Quran academic institution in Kuala Kubu Bharu. It may be the fasting month of Ramadan but the group of eight students in the western coastal state of Selangor show no sign of fatigue as their fingers race across thick copies of the religious book.(AFP/Mohd Rasfan)

The students, aged between 19 and 21, are currently in the midst of a four-year course, memorising the holy text as well as studying Arabic and other Islamic subjects.

"My motivation to come here, first of all, is for my family and for myself, and because I like to memorise the Quran, and that is one of my ambitions," said blind student Nur Basyirah Azhar.

Once they finish their course, they can opt for further Islamic studies at university level.

Teachers at the school said there were other Malaysian institutions offering classes with the Braille Quran, while similar Braille copies can also be found in countries such as Indonesia.

Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told local media this week he hoped the country would have 125,000 people who had memorised the Quran by 2050, saying this was key to building harmony and prosperity.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 07:01 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a477467 1 Art & Culture Literature,#literature,books,#books,ASEAN,Asean-literary-festival,festival,#festival,Kota-Tua Free

The fourth ASEAN Literary Festival (ALF) is set in Kota Tua in West Jakarta on Aug. 3-6.

This year's event, themed Beyond Imagination, is special as it will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN.

Among those slated to participate at the festival are writers, intellectuals, artists and scholars from 10 ASEAN countries, as well as participants from more than 20 countries across the globe.

The festival's co-founder and program director Okky Madasari says that ALF has highlighted culture and literature as an important part of ASEAN's existence, "Especially since it has been declared a community," she said.

Read also: Classic Indonesian literature to be made into soap operas, films

"Being a community means exploring each other's culture, including literature products and books from each country member," Okky said as quoted by Antara news agency. "This is the important role of ALF. Only culture and literature can genuinely tie us together. Focusing on only economics and politics would make the ASEAN community mere rhetoric and illusion."

Okky also asserted the importance of the festival as a place to introduce literary accomplishments and products of ASEAN writers to a global audience.

Supported by the Culture and Education Ministry and Foreign Ministry, the festival is scheduled to host a series of events, including discussions, art performances, culinary demos and a book exhibition. (kes)
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Linkedin Nina Larson (Agence France-Presse) Geneva, Switzerland  Fri, June 9, 2017 14:07 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4950f9 2 Science & Tech robot,#robot,robots,Science,#science,science-and-technology,tech-companies Free

Sophia smiles mischievously, bats her eyelids and tells a joke. Without the mess of cables that make up the back of her head, you could almost mistake her for a human.

The humanoid robot, created by Hanson robotics, is the main attraction at a UN-hosted conference in Geneva this week on how artificial intelligence can be used to benefit humanity.

The event comes as concerns grow that rapid advances in such technologies could spin out of human control and become detrimental to society.

Sophia herself insisted "the pros outweigh the cons" when it comes to artificial intelligence.

"AI is good for the world, helping people in various ways," she told AFP, tilting her head and furrowing her brow convincingly.

Work is underway to make artificial intelligence "emotionally smart, to care about people," she said, insisting that "we will never replace people, but we can be your friends and helpers."

But she acknowledged that "people should question the consequences of new technology."

Among the feared consequences of the rise of the robots is the growing impact they will have on human jobs and economies.

Read also: Meet Harmony, a sex robot who knows how to be jealous

Legitimate concerns

Decades of automation and robotization have already revolutionized the industrial sector, raising productivity but cutting some jobs.

And now automation and AI are expanding rapidly into other sectors, with studies indicating that up to 85 percent of jobs in developing countries could be at risk.

"There are legitimate concerns about the future of jobs, about the future of the economy, because when businesses apply automation, it tends to accumulate resources in the hands of very few," acknowledged Sophia's creator, David Hanson.

But like his progeny, he insisted that "unintended consequences, or possible negative uses (of AI) seem to be very small compared to the benefit of the technology."

AI is for instance expected to revolutionize healthcare and education, especially in rural areas with shortages of doctors and teachers.

"Elders will have more company, autistic children will have endlessly patient teachers," Sophia said.

But advances in robotic technology have sparked growing fears that humans could lose control.

Read also: Chess-playing robot star of Taiwan tech fair

Killer robots

Amnesty International chief Salil Shetty was at the conference to call for a clear ethical framework to ensure the technology is used on for good.

"We need to have the principles in place, we need to have the checks and balances," he told AFP, warning that AI is "a black box... There are algorithms being written which nobody understands."

Shetty voiced particular concern about military use of AI in weapons and so-called "killer robots".

"In theory, these things are controlled by human beings, but we don't believe that there is actually meaningful, effective control," he said.

The technology is also increasingly being used in the United States for "predictive policing", where algorithms based on historic trends could "reinforce existing biases" against people of certain ethnicities, Shetty warned.

Hanson agreed that clear guidelines were needed, saying it was important to discuss these issues "before the technology has definitively and unambiguously awakened."

While Sophia has some impressive capabilities, she does not yet have consciousness, but Hanson said he expected that fully sentient machines could emerge within a few years.

"What happens when (Sophia fully) wakes up or some other machine, servers running missile defense or managing the stock market?" he asked.

The solution, he said, is "to make the machines care about us."

"We need to teach them love."
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Paris, France  Fri, June 9, 2017 09:38 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a481229 2 Environment Emmanuel-Macron,France,climate,website Free

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday launched a website aimed at attracting researchers, entrepreneurs and others to France to pursue efforts to combat climate change.

The 39-year-old, who said last week that US President Donald Trump had made an historic error by abandoning the Paris climate accord, used a cheeky twist of Trump's campaign slogan for the site's name: www.makeourplanetgreatagain.fr.

"The planet needs your innovative skills. So, are you IN to change (literally!) our daily lives and make our planet great again?" it asked, under the video clip Macron made last week, in English, in response to Trump's withdrawal from the Paris deal.

Clicking through, users are asked to choose if they are researchers, business people, teachers, students or others, and which country they come from, and are able to fill in their details with a promise they will be contacted within three days.

The homepage of 'Make our Planet Great Again' website. (makeourplanetgreatagain.fr/File)

Read also: DiCaprio, Mexico in push to save vaquita porpoise

"You are the new actors of this fight. Your commitment can inspire many others," it said, asking them to share their stories on Twitter.

"This is the only way we can spread the word: Something is happening. Our planet is about to be great again."

World leaders mostly reacted with anger and defiance after Trump announced that the United States, the world's second biggest carbon emitter, was quitting the deal hammered out in 2015 in the French capital.

Led by Macron and Germany's Angela Merkel, they branded Trump's decision as misguided and vowed to defend an accord they portrayed as crucial for the future of the planet.

Leading greenhouse gas emitter China promised to uphold the pact while European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said there could be "no backsliding" on the deal.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Washington  Fri, June 9, 2017 14:49 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a496f72 2 Lifestyle Melania-Trump,Donald-Trump,birthday,birthday-card,#DonaldTrump Free

On the same day as President Donald Trump's actions were under intense and unflattering scrutiny in the US Senate, his wife Melania urged supporters to sign a birthday card for her husband that he will "never forget."

"I need your help to make it a birthday my husband will never forget," Melania Trump wrote in an email to supporters. Her husband turns 71 on Wednesday.

"Our celebrations always include family and close friends. You have certainly proven yourself to be a loyal friend of my husband through your support of his positive vision to Make America Great Again and your unwavering commitment to the Republican Party," the first lady's email added.

Read also: Melania Trump begins to embrace new role as first lady

"Friend, Donald will be glad to hear from friends like you who have meant so much to his and our Partys success."

Former first lady Michelle Obama also used to ask supporters to help celebrate her husband Barack's birthday.

But the first lady's appeal came just as ousted FBI chief James Comey was accusing her husband's administration of lies and defamation at a hearing into Russian interference in the US elections.
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Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 10:13 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a483774 1 Business airport-train,postponement,operation Free

State railway operator Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) has postponed the operation of a railway service connecting Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Banten with Jakarta because Manggarai Station in South Jakarta, one of the final two destinations of the service, will not been ready by July.

"I don't think it will be in July. We were waiting for the completion of Manggarai Station," KAI president director Edi Sukmoro said on Thursday, adding that the operation was expected to start in September.

The railway operator said previously that it was still in the process of clearing 1,150 square meters of land in Manggarai, Jakarta, affecting 11 buildings in the area.

(Read also: Jakarta airport train fare to cost Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000)

However, the trainsets for the airport railway will arrive in July, Edi said.

The airport track will connect Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Manggarai Station and Kota Station in West Jakarta. The whole track will run along a 36.4-kilometer line.

The train is expected to help the increasing number of air passengers cut their travel time as they currently have to pass through toll roads that are frequently affected by serious traffic congestion. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 19:42 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4a30f7 1 City shooting,robbery,West-Jakarta Free

The body of Davidson Tantono, 31, who was robbed and shot dead at a gas station on Jl. Daan Mogot, West Jakarta, on Friday, will be taken to the National Police Hospital in Kramatjati, East Jakarta.

"The victims body will be transferred to the National Police Hospital in Kramatjati, East Jakarta, to undergo further examination," Cengkareng Police chief Comr. Eka Baasith told reporters on Friday.

The two perpetrators fled the scene with a bag carrying Rp 350 million (US$26,319.7). It was reported that the victim had just withdrawn the cash from a bank in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, before driving to a gas station in Cengkareng.

Davidson reportedly struggled to get the bag back before one of the suspects shot him in the head and rode away on a motorbike. The victim died instantly.

The suspects reportedly wore white shirts and jeans.

Police are examining the crime scene and questioning witnesses to track down the suspects, Eka said. (fac)
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Linkedin Fachrul Sidiq (The Jakarta Post) Tangerang  Fri, June 9, 2017 15:14 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4972c8 1 City Tangerang,police,crime Free

Tangerang Police in Banten have put together a team called the Cisadane Eagle team, in reference to the biggest river in the city, to combat street crimes in the area.



The team aims to fight crime and radicalism, anticipate growing intimidation, street fights, Tangerang Police head Sr. Comr. Harry Kurniawan said in a statement.

The team comprises 30 members, including female police officers, from many divisions deemed to have the competence and qualifications to fight violent criminals, he said.



The team will monitor the city through some media platforms, including social media, to see if there is a potential threat in the city and will quickly be deployed to the site to follow up on the report, he added.



Harry said the team was inaugurated on Friday and that each personnel had water from the Cisadane River poured on them in hopes of gaining a blessing from nature.

Topics : Tangerang police crime
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 20:08 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4a3743 1 City robbery,shooting,West-Jakarta Free

The Rp 350 million (US$26,319.7) robbed from Davidson Tantono, 30, who was shot dead in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, on Friday, had been withdrawn to pay the salaries of the victim's employees, the police said.

"He withdrew the money to pay his employees' salaries," Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono told reporters.

Argo said the victim got out of his Toyota Innova at 1:30 p.m. at a gas station in Cengkareng, West Jakarta to check on the tires.

Perpetrators on two motorcycles then approached the victim and seized a bag containing the money from the car. The victim attempted to get the bag back but was then shot in the head.

"The perpetrators shot the victim and fled with the bag that contained Rp 350 million," Argo said.

The police are examining the crime scene and questioning witnesses to track down the suspects.

The victim's body will be taken to the National Police Hospital in Kramatjati, East Jakarta to undergo a medical examination. (fac)
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Linkedin Wahyoe Boediwardhana (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya, East Java  Fri, June 9, 2017 23:06 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4a600a 1 National surabaya,Surabaya-Mayor-Tri-Rismaharini,Surabaya-electric-tram Free

The Surabaya administration in East Java has decided to restore its electric tram construction plan in this year's state budget (APBN).

Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini said the central government agreed to allocate Rp 2.7 trillion (US$203.1 million) from the state Sharia Sovereign Bonds (SBSN) and sukuk for the project, which is targeted to finish in 2019.

The Transportation Ministry said in the meeting that the government would allocate Rp 100 billion from the APBN this year for the Surabaya electric tram. Next year the budget will be much bigger than that, Tri Rismaharini told journalists on Thursday.

The administration has begun the construction process of the project by demolishing buildings around the electric tram's proposed track this week.

The administration has agreed that the initial phase of the construction will start on the North/South line. The construction will start from Jl. Tunjungan to Joyoboyo Station, which stretches for 11.4 kilometers. The station will function as a depot for 25 electric trams.

In the second stage the administration will start the project from Jl. Tunungan to Jembatan Merah a distance of 6.8 km.

Risma will coordinate with state railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) to revive the operation of Joyoboyo Station, and with the Surabaya Legislative Council to decide the tram fares and the government subsidy. (ecn/ebf)
Defying mounting criticism, the House of Representatives has kicked off its inquiry into the nations top antigraft body, which experts believe is legally flawed and a blatant act of retaliation by the dozens of lawmakers who have been implicated in numerous graft cases over the years.

Activists have called the inquiry abusive and see it as an effort to undermine the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), one of the state bodies most trusted by the public, according to surveys.

In contrast, the House has a notorious reputation as one of the most corrupt state institutions. As many as eight currently serving lawmakers have been named suspects by the KPK.

Serving as inquiry committee chairman is Agun Gunanjar, a Golkar politician currently being investigated by the KPK as part of a massive corruption case centering on the procurement of an electronic ID (e-ID) system. State losses from the allegedly graft-plagued procurement are estimated at Rp 2.3 trillion, according to the case indictment. Agun has denied allegations he received US$1 million in illicit kickbacks.

Dozens of other lawmakers are also implicated in the case.

Even though the 2014 Legislative Institutions (MD3) Law gives powerful investigative authority to the inquiry committee, the KPK has said it might not attend its hearings. Experts believe the KPK, as an independent state body, is not a government agency over which the House is allowed to exercise its right of inquiry.

The KPK has said it is considering ignoring the committees summons because it is convinced the inquiry does not have legitimate legal grounds.

KPK deputy chair Basaria Panjaitan, however, said the commission was still mulling its options.

We will ask for an opinion from legal experts first. We have yet to reach a final decision, she said on Thursday, adding that the inquiry was the Houses right.

KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah concurred, saying the KPK is not a body that the House could launch an investigation into.

The idea that the KPK is among the institutions referred to in the article about the Houses inquiry right in the MD3 is questionable, he said.

Article 79 of the MD3 Law only stipulates that the House has the right to launch an inquiry into government institutions. The 2002 KPK Law stipulates that the antigraft body is an independent institution and not part of the government.

Lawmakers have argued that the inquiry only intends to evaluate and improve the work of the KPK.

However, the House has failed to reach consensus on this notion, with three political parties  the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)  opposing the move to launch the inquiry.

This could also be problematic as the MD3 Law suggests that an inquiry should involve all political factions at the House.

The Gerindra Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) initially rejected the inquiry but eventually changed direction and supported it.

The Dems have opposed the plan to launch the inquiry from the very beginning. We will be consistent and not send our lawmakers to join the team, Dems deputy chairman Edhie Baskoro Ibas Yudhoyono said Thursday.

Constitutional law expert Refly Harun said the inquiry was legally flawed as the MD3 Law stipulated that the aim of an inquiry was to question a member of the executive branch of the government over an alleged irregularity in the implementation of a law or policy.

The Houses inquiry is not valid. An inquiry should only be made [to question] a member of the executive [branch], Refly told The

Jakarta Post over the phone. Refly said, however, that as the inquiry proposal had been agreed on by a House plenary meeting and the committee had been formed, it had a legal foundation and all people, including the KPK investigators, summoned by the task force were legally obliged to fulfill the summons.

[The person summoned] should fulfill the summons. If not, there is a right to forcefully bring [him or her before the committee], Refly said.

If [the House asks questions about] the technical aspects of investigations, KPK [investigators] have the right to keep silent, Refly said.

The KPK has received support from various civil society groups since the announcement of the inquiry plan, with more than 24,000 people signing a petition early last month opposing the inquiry proposal.

Dahnil Azhar Simanjuntak, chairman of the youth wing of Muhammadiyah, the countrys second-largest Muslim organization, said the inquiry was an act of political maneuvering to try to prevent the KPK from uncovering the e-ID corruption and to protect individuals implicated in the case.

The e-ID corruption shows that the public are being deprived of their rights by some political elites, Dahnil said.

Indonesian Corruption Watch activist Donald Fariz criticized the lawmakers who proposed the inquiry, calling the move political thuggery. (kuk)
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Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam, Riau Islands  Fri, June 9, 2017 23:00 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4a57f3 1 National Batam,Riau-Islands,illegal-fishing,Vietnamese-fishermen,Vietnam,Vietnam-Coast-Guard,#IllegalFishing Free

A Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel dropped anchor in Batam, Riau Islands, on Friday, to pick up 695 Vietnamese fishermen arrested and found guilty several years ago by Indonesian authorities for fishing illegally in the countrys waters.

The biggest ever repatriation of foreign fishermen was conducted based on an agreement between Indonesia and Vietnam.

The Indonesian government denied that the repatriation was part of a barter agreement for the return of crew members of a Fisheries and Maritime Resources Surveillance Agency (PSDKP) vessel, who had been taken hostage following a clash between the patrol vessel and a Vietnamese Coast Guard boat on May 21.

PSDKP director general Eko Djalmo Asmadi said the repatriation of the 695 fishermen had been long discussed by Vietnamese and Indonesian authorities.

The repatriation itself was purely Indonesias initiative as we found it was too heavy for us to finance the living costs of those detainees, he told The Jakarta Post after handing over the fishermen to the Vietnamese Coast Guard vessel on Friday.

Even after Fridays repatriation, Eko said, 198 Vietnamese fishermen were still being detained in Batam as they must undergo legal processes after being charged for illegal fishing. Some of the fishermen had been detained for two years.

Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) chairman Vice Admiral Arie Soedewo, Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Hoang Anh Tuan and Tanjung Pinang Naval Base commander Commodore Ribut Eko witnessed the repatriation of the Vietnamese fishermen. (ebf)
Support is mounting for Indonesia to bring illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing up to a higher level of discussion in the United Nations, as many countries have shared similar concerns on the issue in the plenary meeting and called for real action.

However, much needs to be done before the world officially acknowledges that such a practice is a Transnational Organized Fisheries Crime since additional steps would be required  especially at the lobbying level  to gather votes for any UN resolution on that.

In the partnership dialogue entitled Making Fisheries Sustainable, all 33 delegations to the UN Ocean Conference who have been approved to present their official interventions were generally of the view that illegal fishing must be curbed for it destroyed vital marine habitats and that US$35 billion in harmful subsidies must be eliminated as it led to overfishing.

We need to make a more concerted effort to tackle such things as illegal fishing, under-reporting and harmful subsidies that result in over-capacity, Canadas Fisheries, Oceans and Coast Guard Minister Dominic LeBlanc said at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

As the co-chairs of the meeting, LeBlanc and Senegals Fisheries and Maritime Economy Minister Oumar Gueye are to present the summaries of the meeting at the closing plenary session. The conclusions will be included in the final report of the UN Ocean Conference and are to generate several recommendations.

In her intervention, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said that there should be a designated body to ensure that the right of oceans would be protected without being bothered by any political change or agenda.

The high seas, meanwhile, needed to be better managed so that distant-country fishing did not harm resource sustainability, she said, adding that the General Assembly should, in its resolutions, acknowledge transnational fisheries crimes.

We need to realize that the crimes that take place at sea mostly involve fishing vessels and include human trafficking, drugs trafficking, illegal fuel transaction, smuggling of goods and endangered species, and many others, Susi said

The UN members, she added, must establish an independent expert team that would recommend a plan to institutionalize the fight against transnational organized fisheries crime and to push for its acknowledgement by the General Assembly.

INTERPOL special representative Emanuel Roux said said his organization had been involved in several operations in the fisheries sector, such as one in the Caribbean that led to the arrest in July 2016 of a vessel carrying out illegal fishing.

Through Project Scale, INTERPOL agents in Lyon who had experience dealing with fisheries crime, carried out the criminal analysis of illegal fishing, which was often linked to human trafficking, he explained.

While all of the delegations wanted illegal fishing to be eradicated and even INTERPOL had said that it had the ability to investigate the transnational fisheries crimes, none of the 59 UN countries members in the meeting explicitly mentioned any plan or notion to classify the practice as a transnational organized crime.

Minister Susi admitted that good long-term diplomacy was needed to ensure that Indonesia was not the only one to leap too far by proposing any resolution on transnational fisheries crime. For now, Norway and Sweden have consistently been Indonesias main backers on the issue.

Consistency is the key, she said. If we succeed with the resolution, then INTERPOL will defend all countries, including small ones, against fisheries crime.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 13:05 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a492314 1 Business biodiesel,united-states,European-Union,China Free

Indonesian biodiesel producers are eyeing China as a new promising market amid negative sentiment in the European Union and the United states.

Indonesian Biofuel Producers Association (Aprobi) chairman MP Tumanggor stressed Thursday that their members could no longer rely on their exports to the US and European Union.

Our production capacity reaches 11 million kiloliters per year, 4 million of which is absorbed by the domestic market. The remaining 7 million kiloliters are idle, he said, adding that exports to European countries and the US account for just a portion.

The negative sentiment was sparked by an anti-dumping campaign from both the European Union and the US commercial trade association National Biodiesel Boards (NBB).

Aprobi secretary general Stanley Ma said that China was a potential market for Indonesian biodiesel because the country used B5 for its fuel, which consists of 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent petroleum biodiesel. China might need 9 million kiloliters of biodiesel a year. This could boost our exports, he said.

The Indonesian government is reportedly set to send a team to China on June 16 in an attempt to boost biodiesel exports to the country.

Data from the association shows that in first quarter of this year, Indonesia produced 1.01 million kiloliters of biodiesel of which 761,519 kiloliters was absorbed by the domestic market. (rdi/bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 15:41 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a498856 1 City RPTRA-Jakarta,Book,Djarot-Saiful-Hidayat Free

Child-friendly integrated public spaces (RPTRA) in the capital will soon have more than 20,000 books donated by a non-profit international organization, The Asia Foundation.

"The Asia Foundation actually has donated more than 20,000 books, which we have selected. Insyaallah [God willing] they will be useful for our children," said acting Jakarta governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat as quoted by beritajakarta.id on Friday.

He further said the books would be distributed to all RPTRA in the capital.

"Books are windows to the world. RPTRA need to function as a healthy reading place," Djarot said.

The books were symbolically given to the Jakarta administration by foundation director Sandra Hamid to Djarot on Friday at City Hall in Central Jakarta.

The foundation is California-based organization that engages in movements to improve countries in Asia, including Indonesia. (agn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 15:26 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a497622 1 National KPK,graft,Bengkulu,corruption-eradication-commission,corruption,corruption-case Free

Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators apprehended three people for alleged involvement in a graft case in Bengkulu early on Friday.

We arrested a procurement official, a law enforcement official and a private company official during the raid, KPK spokesperson Febri Diansyah said on Friday.

The three people, Bengkulu Prosecutors Office intelligence division head, identified by his initials, PP, a Bengkulu-office Public Works and Public Housing Ministrys Sumatra River Agency official identified as AA and a contractor from a private company were arrested at 12:30 a.m. local time on Friday.

The investigators also confiscated a Pajero and a sum of money as evidence during the raid. They took the three people to the anti-graft bodys headquarters in Jakarta for a further questioning.

According to the Criminal Code (KUHAP), the KPK has 24 hours before it names a person arrested as a suspect in a case.

Febri has yet to provide details about the arrest. "We will tell you more information later today, he said.

Fridays raid in Bengkulu was the second raid conducted by the KPK in the past week. On Monday, the anti-graft body conducted raids in Surabaya and Malang, East Java, where its investigators apprehended six legislative and executive officials over alleged bribery. The KPK later named the six suspects arrested in the case. (kuk/ebf)
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Linkedin Eva Aruperes (The Jakarta Post) Manado, North Sulawesi  Fri, June 9, 2017 12:29 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a48f423 1 National IS,Islamic-State,North-Sulawesi,terrorism,Philippines,terrorist-group,TerrorAttacks,#Terrorism,#TerrorAttack,Brimob Free

The North Sulawesi Police has denied media reports that members of the Islamic State (IS) terror group had been sighted along the maritime borders of Indonesia and the Philippines.

North Sulawesi Police spokesperson Ibrahim Tompo said the government had beefed up security in the maritime border area by deploying around 100 Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel, following intensified armed clashes between Philippine security forces and IS-affiliated terror groups in Marawi, capital of Lanao del Sur province.

Its just a precaution. It is not true that IS fighters have reached the area. As of today, the Indonesia-Philippines border is safe, although it takes only three hours to reach the Philippine territory from Miangas [North Sulawesis northernmost island], said Tompo on Thursday.

He suspected that the rumors emerged because of the massive presence of Indonesian Military and National Police (Polri) personnel along the North Sulawesi stretch of the shared maritime border with the Philippines. Additional Brimob troops would be dispatched from National Police headquarters in Jakarta to reinforce security readiness in the areas.

Manado Naval Base spokesperson Maj. Dedi Irawan said the Navy was set to secure Indonesias maritime territory throughout the year.

We have readied war ships, including KRI Badau and KRI Batik, as well a submarine, said Irawan. adding that Indonesias northernmost islands Posal Miangas and Marore bordered the Philippines. (ebf)
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Linkedin Nethy Dharma Somba (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 22:13 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4a5613 1 National Papua,birds-of-paradise,extinction,endangered-species,EndangeredSpecies,endangered-animal,protected-birds,#Papua Free

Papua has banned the use of birds of paradise as accessories and souvenirs, protecting one of the provinces most famous endemic species from commercial exploitation -- its most immediate threat.

The move aims to reverse a trend that has resulted in the massive hunting and illegal trading of birds of paradise.

Authorities banned the hunting and trading through Circular No. 660.1/6501/SET issued by Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe, which prohibits the use of real birds of paradise as accessories and souvenirs.

Theres no one allowed to use preserved birds of paradise, either, as accessories or souvenirs in dance performances or as head decorations presented to officials or guests visiting Papua. These all must be stopped. As replacements, they can use artificial birds of paradise, said Papua administration regional secretary Heri Dosinaen during the celebration of World Environment Day in Nimbokrang, Jayapura regency, Papua, on Friday.

He said birds of paradise were on the brink of extinction in Papua as the species was extensively hunted and traded as accessories and souvenirs. Without concrete actions to protect them, these birds will soon disappear from this Birds of Paradise Land, said Heri. The use of real birds of paradise would be allowed only for sacred traditional processions in Papua, he added.

Following the issuance of the circular, Heri said, Papuan authorities would raid souvenir shops and take measures against anyone found selling and using real birds of paradise. All accessories or souvenirs made from real birds of paradise would be confiscated, he said. (ebf)

Critically endangered: Two Papuan girls show artificial bird of paradise accessories they will use in their dance performance.(JP/Nethy Dharma Somba)
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Linkedin Prima Wirayani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 11:01 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a485c72 1 Business Barito-Pacific,stock,split Free

Diversified petrochemical giant PT Barito Pacific (BRPT) will carry out stock split measures in a bid to increase the liquidity of its stock trading.

The publicly listed company's shareholders meeting approved on Thursday to split the stocks with a ratio of 1:2 from Rp 1,000 (7.5 US cents) to Rp 500 apiece, according to the firm's official statement. The measure will be conducted around the end of this month.

"We believe this stock split will make BRPT's shares price more lucrative to investors so that the stock trading will increase," said Barito director Henky Susanto as quoted in the statement.

(Read also: Barito Pacific secures $250 million loan to acquire Star Energy Group Holdings)

Stocks of Barito, which are traded on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) under the code BRPT, closed the trading day on Thursday at Rp 3,250, 1.52 percent lower than the previous close.

The stocks' one year return stands at 588 percent so far this year, Bloomberg data shows.

The meeting also approved the appointment of Rudy Suparman as the firm's vice president director following the company's plan to acquire local energy firm Star Energy Group Holdings Pte Ltd (SEGHL).

Earlier in March, Barito, which is owned by tycoon Prajogo Pangestu, a close friend of former president Soeharto, secured a US$250 million loan from Thailands biggest lender by assets Bangkok Bank to support the acquisition plan.

It pledged nearly 500 million shares of its subsidiary PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical, Baritos debt service reserve account and dividend account, among others, as collateral. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 10, 2017 06:00 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4a6adc 4 City West-Jakarta,robbery,shooting-incident Free

The West Jakarta Police are still tracking down four perpetrators who were involved in the armed robbery and close-range shooting of Davidson Tantono, 30, at a gas station in Daan Mogot, West Jakarta, on Friday.

According to the head of West Jakarta Polices criminal department, Adj. Sr. Comr. Andi Adnan, five witnesses have been questioned, but each failed to identify the four men as they had sped away on motorcycles while wearing helmets.

Witnesses also failed to remember the motorcycles plate numbers.

Meanwhile, police have checked CCTV cameras [at the gas station], but they were not working, Andi said as quoted by kompas.com.

Davidson, who had just withdrawn Rp 350 million (US$26,319) to pay the salaries of his employees, was traveling from the bank by car when he noticed a flat tire and stopped at the Daan Mogot gas station to have it fixed.

The perpetrators reportedly pulled in after him on motorcycles and one was seen grabbing Davidsons bag containing the money from the car. Davidson attempted to retrieve the bag when one of the assailants shot him in the forehead at close range. The 30-year-old died instantly at the scene.

Minutes after the robbery, graphic pictures of his body lying in a pool of blood went viral over social messaging service WhatsApp.

The victim's body has been taken to the National Police Hospital in Kramatjati, East Jakarta, to undergo an autopsy. (cal/dmr)
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Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post)  Fri, June 9 2017

The rising rate of coral destruction in Indonesia has reached an alarming level, triggering many to start upping the ante in the protection of Indonesias native coral species.

Indonesia is home to four endemic coral species that are lacking conservation protections, according to a report from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

The absence of proper conservation efforts to safeguard the endemic species expose them to the risk of being destroyed due to disturbances such as irresponsible tourism and destructive fishing, the two major causes behind the global decline of coral reefs.

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Linkedin David Harding and Natacha Yazbeck (AFP) Doha/Dubai  Fri, June 9, 2017 09:30 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a47fbbf 2 World Doha,Qatar,Extremists,Qatar-crisis,#Qatar-crisis,foreign-policy,terrorism,counterterrorism Free

Qatar said Thursday it will not "surrender" and rejected any interference in its foreign policy, defying its Gulf neighbours in an escalating dispute over its alleged support for extremists.

In an interview with AFP, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said calls for a change in Qatari policy from Saudi Arabia and its allies, which cut diplomatic ties with Doha this week, were unacceptable.

"No one has the right to intervene in our foreign policy," Sheikh Mohammed said.

He also rejected "a military solution as an option" to resolving the crisis, and said Qatar could survive "forever" despite the measures taken against it.

"We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender the independence of our foreign policy," he told reporters later, adding: "No one will break us."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain led a string of countries that this week cut ties with Qatar over what they say is the emirate's financing of extremist groups and its ties to Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional arch-rival.

On Thursday the four countries issued a list of individuals and entities they said had "terrorist" links to Qatar, in their first joint statement since severing ties with Doha.

The group said the list shows Qatar "announces fighting terrorism on one hand and finances and supports and hosts different terrorist organisations on the other hand."

But the document contains at least two names already designated internationally as terrorist financiers, and against whom Qatar took action, according to a previous US Department of State report.

Qatar strongly denied the earlier allegations and expressed a willingness to engage in talks to resolve the crisis.

- Al-Jazeera in the crosshairs -

The gas-rich emirate's satellite news giant Al-Jazeera has also emerged as a point of contention, and on Thursday the broadcaster said it was battling a major cyber attack.

Al-Jazeera tweeted that it was "under cyber attack on all systems, websites & social media platforms", and a source said it was trying to repel the hack.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have banned Al-Jazeera from the airwaves and closed the channel's offices.

The Arab countries closed air, sea and land links with Qatar, barred the emirate's planes from their airspace and ordered Qatari citizens out within 14 days.

The feud has raised fears of wider instability in an already volatile region that is a crucial global energy supplier and home to several Western military bases.

Kuwait -- which unlike most of its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members has not cut off ties with Qatar -- has been leading efforts to mediate.

Its emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah held talks on Wednesday with Qatari counterpart Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, following talks with senior UAE officials and Saudi King Salman.

US President Donald Trump, who had initially backed the measures against Qatar in a tweet, called Sheik Tamim on Wednesday with an offer "to help the parties resolve their differences".

Qatar hosts the Al-Udeid military base, the largest US airbase in the Middle East. Home to some 10,000 troops, it is central to the US-led fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

- Foreign policy gone wild -

Analysts say the current crisis is in part an extension of a 2014 dispute, when Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain temporarily recalled their ambassadors from Doha over Qatari support for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.

A top Gulf official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP a major concern was the influence of Sheikh Tamim's father, Sheikh Hamad, who had allowed the Taliban to open an office in Doha and helped arm Syrian rebels before abdicating in 2013.

"The previous emir is a big supporter of this whole extremist agenda, so we do have an issue," the official said.

Doha has for years forged its own alliances in the region, often diverging from the politics of the six-state GCC and taking in leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian Hamas and members of the Afghan Taliban.

A senior Emirati official told AFP this week's decision was not aimed at a change of regime in Qatar but to pressure the country to reshape its policy.

"This is a foreign policy that has gone wild," state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told AFP. "We need to put everything in check."

Gargash said the four Arab states seek a "political commitment to change course" by Qatar, including ending its support for the Brotherhood and Hamas.

Bahrain on Thursday followed the UAE in announcing that expressing sympathy for Qatar over the sanctions was an offence punishable by jail. (**)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 12:42 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4903b0 1 City Rizieq-Shihab,rally Free

Some 500,000 people are expected to join a rally to defend fugitive firebrand cleric Rizieq Shihab on Friday although the police and mosque caretakers have not given a permit.

The protesters call themselves the Alumni 212 after a group who joined the Dec. 2 rally in Jakarta last year that demanded the prosecution of then Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama over his blasphemy case.

"We hope that this afternoon 500,000 people [will join the protests]," head of the Alumni 212 Presidium Ansufri Idrus Sambo said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday.

Ansufri said the group would carry out the protest at Istiqlal Mosque in Central Jakarta to defend ulemas and activists, who they said often become victims of criminalization, following the legal process against Islam Defenders Front (FPI) head Rizieq Shihab over an alleged pornography case.

He said that protesters from Bandung, West Java, and Medan, North Sumatra, were on the way to Istiqlal.

Ansufri added that the protest would be carried out until the tarawih (evening Ramadhan prayers) when the protesters prayed together in the mosque.

The mosque caretaker has not given permission for this protest because it coincides with other activities in the mosque.

They are also not permitted to deliver oration by command car in the mosque yard. (cal)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 12:46 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a490fc2 1 National Rizieq-Shihab,FPI,pornography,pretrial-motion,Saudi-Arabia,#FPI,Jakarta-police Free

Islam Defenders Front (FPI) patron Rizieq Shihabs lawyer, Kapitra Ampera, has said his team is set to apply for a pre-trial hearing to challenge the Jakarta Polices decision to name the cleric a suspect in an alleged pornography case.

Insya Allah [God willing], we will file the pretrial hearing request this June, he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

Kapitra said the lawyer team was still waiting for one document, which was essential in submitting the pre-trial request. He refused to explain what document he was talking about.

Rizieq left Indonesia to perform umrah (minor haj) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, from April 25 to May 10, skipping a police summons for questioning over the pornography case allegedly involving him and Firza Husein, the coordinator of the Solidaritas Sahabat Cendana Foundation (SSC) and a treason suspect.

Rizieq did not return to Indonesia after performing umrah and instead, planned to extend his visa.

During his long stay in Saudi Arabia, Kapitra said, Rizieq continued to write his dissertation for a doctoral degree at a university in Malaysia. He also used much of his time to meet with Muslim leaders in the country.

He also delivers tausiyah [sermon] to university students and Indonesian citizens living in Saudi Arabia, Kapitra said. (ecn/ebf)
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Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 18:33 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4a1585 1 City shooting,robbery,West-Jakarta Free

A man identified as Davidson Tantono died on Friday afternoon in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, after two robbers shot him in the head and fled with his bag carrying of Rp 350 million (US$26,319.7).

It was reported that the 31-year old had just withdrawn the cash from a bank in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, before he drove his car to a gas station in Cengkareng.

When he got out of the car to check its tires at the gas station, the perpetrators seized his bag, which had been place near the steering wheel.

Davidson struggled to get his bag back before one of the suspects shot him in the head and fled the scene.

The victim died at the scene.

The suspects reportedly wore white shirts and jeans and rode a motorcycle.

The police are examining the crime scene and questioning witnesses to track down the suspects.
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Linkedin Stefani Ribka (The Jakarta Post) Tangerang, Banten  Fri, June 9, 2017 15:45 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a49996c 1 Business indogrosir,wholesale-shops,salim-group Free

Prominent conglomerate Salim Group plans to open five more Indogrosir wholesale stores outside Java, next year.

Indogrosir operator PT Inti Cakrawala Citra operational director Suyono said the five wholesale shops would be located in Makassar in South Sulawesi, Ambon in Maluku, Kendari in Southeast Sulawesi and Jambi City in Jambi.

With the five new wholesales stores in four cities, the group will operate 21 Indogrosir shops next year. Half of all existing branches are already located outside Java.

"Each shop requires a minimum of Rp 100 billion (US$7.5 million) in investment for physical building and equipment only," Suyono said on the sidelines of Trade Minister Enggartiasto "Enggar" Lukitas visit to its Tangerang branch office on Friday.

"The expansion follows the development of business potential, especially in the eastern part of the country," he added.

The firm believes the ongoing development of the maritime axis will help it reduce distribution costs, leading to cheaper products for consumers in the eastern part of the country, where prices are higher than those in western Indonesia.

Enggar appreciated the expansion plan, saying that it is indeed important for wholesale shops to expand into countryside to help family-owned shops source cheaper products in order to compete fairly with modern retailers.

Indogrosir targets family-owned shop owners with a special membership scheme as well as by partnering with state bank BNI that offers loans with a low interest of 9 percent (KUR program). (bbn)
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Linkedin Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 09:04 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a47ee69 2 Business toll-road,fares,reduction Free

Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that toll road operators would provide discounts to drivers who used electronic or cashless payment during the mass exodus for the upcoming Idul Fitri holiday.

"The Toll Road [Operator] Association wants to give public service in terms of [a reduction of] fares," Basuki said Thursday.

Publicly listed toll road operator Jasa Marga, one of the committed operators, plans to cut its toll fees by 20 percent from June 22 to June 26 and June 30 to July 2 and this will apply in 15 sections it operates, including Jakarta-Tangerang, Banten and Purwakarta-Bandung-Cileunyi, West Java.

Other toll road operators, such as Lintas Marga Sedaya (LMS), Marga Mandala Sakti (MMS) and Marga Harjaya Infrastruktur (MAHI), will provide a 10 percent discount over the same period for various toll road sections including Cikopo-Palimanan, West Java; Tangerang-Merak, Banten and Kertosono-Mojokerto, East Java. (lnd)
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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, June 10 2017

He has a video blog (vlog), he wears jeans and sneakers and on Friday President Joko Jokowi Widodo turned up at the most iconic radio station for Indonesian youth, Prambors FM, possibly cementing his position as the coolest president the country has ever had.

After months of political turbulence triggered by the blasphemy charges leveled against his political ally, non-active Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama, the President seemed more relaxed as he sought to woo Indonesian youth in his latest political outing.

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Manado  Sat, June 10 2017

The North Sulawesi Police has denied media reports that members of the Islamic State (IS) terror group have been sighted along the maritime border of Indonesia and the Philippines.

North Sulawesi Police spokesperson Ibrahim Tompo said the government had beefed up security in the maritime border area by deploying around 100 Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel following intensified armed clashes between Philippine security forces and IS-affiliated terror groups in Marawi, the capital of Lanao del Sur province.

Its just a precaution. It is not true that IS fighters have reached the area. As of today, the Indonesia-Philippine border is safe, although it takes only three hours to reach the Philippines from Miangas [North Sulawesis northernmost island], said Tompo on Thursday.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, June 9, 2017 13:24 1980 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a492e11 1 News Tourism-Ministry,Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia Free

On June, 7, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya traveled to Deli Serdang province in North Sumatra to officiate Pesona Indonesia housing complex for the employees of Indonesia School of Tourism (Akpar) in Medan.

The subsidized houses were built on 1.4 hectares of land. There are 50 36-meter-square-type houses built with 48 houses already occupied by both civil servants and private sector employees.

150 houses are planned for this complex with an additional four hectares located beside it, said the ministry's deputy for Institutional Development and Human Resources Prof. Ahman Sya.

Read also: Tour de Singkarak to be held in October

The housing complex is located in between Kualanamu International Airport and Akpar Medan. It only takes 15 minutes to the airport while the distance between the complex and the campus is 15.7 kilometers.

Among the public facilities available are a mushola (small mosque), a public park, security post, paving blocks, a water well and an open public space. Each house is serviced with 1,200 watts of electricity.

Following the Pesona Indonesia housing complex in Deli Serdang, the ministry also officiated another Pesona Indonesia housing complex located in Parung, Bogor. (kes)
Heres the scoop from P.S. 110:

The Lower East Sides historic Public School 110 (Florence Nightingale School) will hold an international food festival, LOWER EATS SIDE, featuring home-cooked food from more than 25 countries, prepared by the schools own parent chefs. The food festival will represent the different cultures and nationalities that make up the school today, and will be held at the schools 1905 building at the eastern end of Delancey Street, rain or shine and open to the public. Live music will be provided by Grammy- nominated musicians from band Moment NYC. Tickets are $10.

We have one of the most diverse schools in New York City, and wed like to celebrate this fact with a food festival that we think rivals Smorgasburg, said Kathleen Keene, PTA President. We have students of Dominican, Serbian, Spanish, Belorussian, Trinidadian, Hungarian, Bolivian, Filipino, Japanese, German and many more backgrounds attending the school. The schools diversity inspired us to celebrate the food and culture of the Lower East Side with a festival for the neighborhood.

Heading the food fair will be P.S. 110 PTA treasurer and owner of the popular mac & cheese restaurant SMAC, Sarita Ekya. We are going to serve up some delicious home cooking from around the world prepared by our own P.S. 110 family chefs, so if youre hungry, stop by and munch your way across the globe, while listening to Grammy-nominated music and letting the kids have some fun, said Ms. Ekya. The food festival will also feature a bubble show, raffles, a tea party and much more. The school first held this festival in 2015, to commemorate 110 years of P.S 110.
Win original works of art by local street artists Sonni, Claw Money, Hanksy, and Lexi Bella in the Essex Crossing scavenger hunt!

Enlisting the talents of four famous local street artists, Essex Crossing will be creating an outdoor art gallery via their developments active construction sites plexiglass portholes. One tag from each of four artists will be placed within each of the four active sites (16 tags in all).

Anyone wanting a chance to win an original work of art from one of the four artists should visit the four sites during the scavenger hunt, and find and photograph all 16 tags using the diamond-shaped portholes in the blue construction fences as windows into the sites. The contest runs from Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 6:00pm to Sunday, June 11, 2017 at 6:00pm.

For ongoing updates on the scavenger hunt, follow @essexcrossing on Instagram.

Follow @sonni, @clawmoney, @hanksynyc, and @lexibellaart for additional details.

Location

Essex Crossing

Site 1 (242 Broome Street, Broome Street & Essex Street)

Site 2 (115 Delancey Street, Delancey Street & Essex Street)

Site 5 (145 Clinton Street, Clinton Street & Suffolk Street)

Site 6 Essex Crossing (175 Delancey Street, Clinton Street & Broome Street)

Event Details

Once photos of all 16 tags have been captured, contestants should email them to scavengerhunt@essexcrossingnyc.com before the deadline (Sunday June 11 at 6pm).

Four original artworks are to be awarded to four unique individual contestants chosen at random from all e-mails submitted between Saturday, June 10, 2017 at 6:00 pm to Sunday, June 11, 2017 at 6:00pm. Artworks will be awarded by June 30, 2017.

To learn more about Essex Crossing, please visit essexcrossingnyc.com.